appears foolish and absurd to
the sexually indifferent.

The pairing of animals, even of insects, awakens a curious interest in
those whose sexual dispositions are strong and precocious; they
comprehend very quickly the reason and are led to draw analogies with
their own sensations in the same domain. The aspect of the female sex
has, however, a much stronger action still on the normal man. But here
is produced a peculiar phenomenon. What especially excites the boy in
the aspect of the female sex is anything unusual; the sight of certain
parts of the skin which are normally covered, the clothes or
ornaments, particular odors, women whom the boy is not accustomed to
see, etc. It is for this reason that brothers and sisters do not
excite, or excite very little, their reciprocal sexual appetite, at
least if there are no anomalies or exceptional exhibitions. The sexual
appetites of boys among savage peoples who live naked is hardly at all
excited by naked girls; on the other hand, it is strongly excited by
those who are clothed or ornamented in a peculiar manner. The sexual
appetite of a Mahometan is strongly excited by the nudity of the
feminine face, that of the European by that of a woman's legs, because
women are accustomed to veil their faces in the first case and their
legs in the second. These are naturally only relative differences.
When the sexual appetite of man is violent and unsatisfied woman
excites it in a general way, if she is not too old or repulsive.

A second important character of the normal sexual appetite is the
special attraction that appearances of health and strength in woman
produce in man. Healthy forms, normal odors, a normal voice, a skin
healthy in appearance and to the touch, constitute attractions which
charm and excite man, while all that is unhealthy or faded, every
pathological odor, produce a repulsive effect and hinders or
diminishes sexual desire.

Everything connected with the sexual organs, their appearance, touch
and odor, tend to excite the sexual appetite, all the more when they
are usually covered; it is the same with the breasts.

The first sexual sensations are of a quite indeterminate nature;
something unconscious and obscure inclines the boy toward the female
sex and makes it appear desirable. A boy may thus become enamored of
the portrait of a woman with a swelling bosom and alluring eyes and be
seized with desire, either at their sight or only on remembrance. This
desir