Note 15 — II

Hirschfeld relates several instances illustrating how heterosexual potence may be increased by the fires of homosexual passion: A merchant relates: “I am able to carry out sexual intercourse with women, only if I keep thinking of the man who possessed the woman before me.” A young workingman from Berlin relates: “When I was 17 years of age and I saw young men of my age pick out sweethearts for themselves I did the same. Later, as man, it seemed natural to me to get a woman, although my own inclination had little to do with it. The physical excitation necessary for the carrying out of the sexual act I could rouse in myself only by thinking of some male person. This sort of thing exhausted me and after a time I decided to give it up. I felt myself strongly attracted to a relative at that time. He was younger and as I had greater influence over women I helped him by putting him in touch with some and so we often carried out coitus together. Seeing him [go at it so hotly] excited me tremendously and then I carried out coitus without any difficulty.” The proprietor of a German hotel also relates that, before intercourse with his wife, he was in the habit of rousing his passion by kissing his head waiter. This furnished him the requisite sexual preparedness and as quickly as possible he hurried to his wife, whose bed was in the next room. Hirschfeld writes further: “These sketches from life I want to conclude with the account of a patient who consulted me for sexual hyperesthesia which in his case was so keen that seeing the statuettes of naked children ornamenting the Berlin castle bridge while crossing it was enough to cause erection. He was a merchant, 42 years of age. In order to obtain potentia coeundi it was necessary for him not only to think, but also to speak aloud of some pleasing man, in some such manner: “Did you notice that servant of the Count’s, who called for a bundle this forenoon, how did you like him? A neat boy, what? His livery seemed quite new! Didn’t you think it fitted him a bit too tightly? How old should you say he was?” Only by carrying on such talk with his wife, and he had to exercise the greatest ingenuity in order to cover his object while doing so, was he able to achieve ejaculation, and to beget children,—he was the father of three.”