Section One: On the Venereal Acts of Spouses

The passages in this chapter are veiled. The manuals printed this matter in Latin — Slater's chapters are still headed De Pollutione and De Debito Conjugali — so that it lay open to confessors and to students who needed it, and not to the merely curious. Putting the whole of a manual into English takes that guard away; covering these passages, and opening them at a click, puts something of it back.

St. Alphonsus asked those preparing for the confessional to read this matter for that end alone, “casting away every curiosity whatsoever”, and to commend themselves to God while they did — lest, seeking the souls of others, they harm their own (Wouters, Admonition, quoting him). Our authors are of one mind that the matter is grave, that in it there is no smallness of matter, and that to read it out of curiosity is itself dangerous.

“How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done.”— Shakespeare, King John, IV, ii

Nothing is hidden: the covering is only here, on the page. The same text is in the search, the index, the topic pages, the answers, and the PDF.

Chapter I. On the Complete Use of Marriage, or on Perfect Conjugal Intercoursenn. 223–256
- Article I. Which Complete Use of Marriage is Morally Goodnn. 223–242
  - § 1. On the End of Morally Good Intercoursenn. 224–226
  - § 2. On the Circumstances of Morally Good Intercoursenn. 227–242
    I. Circumstance: Whonn. 228–237
    II. Circumstance: Whyn. 238
    III. Circumstance: Whenn. 239
    IV. Concerning the Circumstance: In what Mannern. 240
    V. Concerning the Circumstance: By what Aidsn. 241
    VI. Concerning the Circumstance: Wheren. 242
- Article II. What Use of Marriage is to be Desiredn. 243
- Article III. What Use of Marriage is Owednn. 244–255
- Appendix. On the Consequent Duty of Cohabitingn. 256
Chapter II. On the Incomplete Use of Marriagenn. 257–277
- Article I. On Onanistic Intercourse and Similar Violations of Naturenn. 257–270
- Article II. On Other Mutual Incomplete Actsnn. 271–277
Chapter III. On the Non-Mutual Venereal Acts of Spousesnn. 278–289
- I. On the Separate Complete Actn. 278
- II. On Separate Incomplete Actsnn. 279–284
- Appendix. What is to be Observed in Practice concerning Civil Marriage and Civil Divorcenn. 285–289

Section One: On the Venereal Acts of Spouses

Before you read this chapter

Contents