teral roads which until now perhaps have been empty. Thus the
manifestly great (though to be sure negative) tendency to perversion in
psychoneurotics may be collaterally conditioned; at any rate, it is
certainly collaterally increased. The fact of the matter is that the
sexual repression has to be added as an inner factor to such external
ones as restriction of freedom, inaccessibility to the normal sexual
object, dangers of the normal sexual act, etc., which cause the origin
of perversions in individuals who might have otherwise remained normal.
In individual cases of neurosis the behavior may be different; now the
congenital force of the tendency to perversion may be more decisive and
at other times more influence may be exerted by the collateral increase
of the same through the deviation of the libido from the normal sexual
aim and object. It would be unjust to construe a contrast where a
cooperation exists. The greatest results will always be brought about by
a neurosis if constitution and experience cooperate in the same
direction. A pronounced constitution may perhaps be able to dispense
with the assistance of daily impressions, while a profound disturbance
in life may perhaps bring on a neurosis even in an average constitution.
These views similarly hold true in the etiological significance
of the congenital and the accidental experiences in other spheres.
If, however, preference is given to the assumption that an especially
formed tendency to perversions is characteristic of the psychoneurotic
constitution, there is a prospect of being able to distinguish a
multiformity of such constitutions in accordance with the congenital
preponderance of this or that erogenous zone, or of this or that partial
impulse. Whether there is a special relationship between the
predisposition to perversions and the selection of the morbid picture
has not, like many other things in this realm, been investigated.
REFERENCE TO THE INFANTILISM OF SEXUALITY
By demonstrating the perverted feelings as symptomatic formations in
psychoneurotics, we have enormously increased the number of persons who
can be added to the perverts. This is not only because neurotics
represent a very large proportion of humanity, but we must consider also
that the neuroses in all their gradations run in an uninterrupted series
to the normal state. Moebius was quite justified in saying that we are
all somewhat hysterical. Hence, the very wide dissemination
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