visions, and sexual connection plays an important
part in his teaching and prophesies. The apostle St. Paul was also a
visionary who passed suddenly from one extreme to another as the
result of hallucination. Pascal, Napoleon, and Rousseau presented very
marked pathological traits.

Although some of these cases have no direct connection with the sexual
question, I have mentioned them to show how such personalities exert
their influence on the masses, and through them on history. As soon as
they acquire authority, their peculiar ideas and sexual conceptions,
however exclusive or even absurd they may be, react strongly on their
contemporaries, as we see to-day the ascetic ideas of Tolstoi
influence his numerous disciples.

Sudden conversions, whatever may be their nature, especially when the
convert goes from one extreme to another, are not the fruit of reason,
but depend on suggestion or auto-suggestion and especially on
pathological suggestibility. (Vide Chapter IX).

In other respects sexual anomalies often govern the acts of hysterical
persons and other psychopaths. The Roman emperors, Nero, Tiberius and
Caligula were almost certainly sadists and enjoyed sexual pleasure at
the sight of the sufferings of their victims. Valerie, Messalina and
Catherine de Medici were also female sadists. Under the hypocritical
veil of religion, Catherine de Medici was the principal instigator of
the Massacre of St. Bartholomew at Paris, and wallowed in pleasure at
the sight of the massacre of the Huguenots.

On the other hand, masochism may give tone to the thoughts and sexual
feelings of certain persons of great influence, such as Rousseau, and
to sects of ascetics, such as the fakirs, etc.

Involuntarily, therefore, the sexual feelings of every prophet and
founder of religion, even during a short period of his life only,
influence more or less his religious system and consequently the laws
of morality based on it, which remain after his death.

Hence it is that sentiments, as variable in different individuals as
sexual sentiments, are obliged to submit to the constraint of fixed
and tyrannical dogmas which martyrize for centuries, or even thousands
of years, men who have other opinions than the founder of the religion
or its interpreters who succeed him.

In religion we see everywhere idealized eroticism, and often idealism
perfumed with eroticism. The Songs of Solomon, the original sense of
which was very lay, like that of m