Preliminary Notions

The things which we are about to say concerning the virtue of chastity and the vices opposed to it cannot be rightly understood unless certain points concerning the diversity of the sexes and the propagation of the human race are first set down.

I. Diversity of Sex. The human race, like the more perfect species of animals, is propagated through the cooperation of two, namely male and female. Since these have different functions in relation to propagation or generation, there exists a great difference between the body of the male and that of the female with respect to the organs of generation. From this diversity especially arises the diversity of sex.

II. The Male Organs which concur in generation are chiefly these: the two testicles, the epididymides, the two deferent canals, and the male member.

1. The two testicles, or testes, are two oval bodies which are contained in the scrotum. In these the male seed or sperm is produced; in order that it be prolific, it must be full of spermatozoa. Now semen is a liquid substance, white in color and somewhat thick. Moreover, from the time of puberty the testicles begin to produce semen, though for the most part not immediately prolific; this production continues throughout the whole of life, although from the fifty-eighth to the sixty-second year onward the semen is commonly no longer prolific; there are, however, exceptions.

2. The epididymis is a canal, folded back upon itself many times and existing beneath the outer skin of the testis, through which semen is led to the deferent canals.

3. The two deferent canals go out from the testicles and terminate in the male member; through these canals, therefore, the semen is conveyed to the male member.

4. The male member, which is also called the penis, rod, mentula, or veretrum, consists of two cavernous bodies, and emits both urine and semen. When blood has been drawn in, it is erected and made rigid. In the extreme part of the male member is found the glans, which is covered by the foreskin, and is said to be the chief seat of venereal pleasure.

III. The Female Organs which concur in generation are chiefly enumerated as follows: the two ovaries, the uterus, the vagina, and the vulva.

1. The two ovaries are spongy bodies, which are attached to the uterus on the right and on the left, and they produce ova, from which, beginning at puberty, one matures each month, falls from the ovary, and slowly proceeds through the oviduct into the uterus.

2. The uterus, or womb, has the form of an inverted pear and serves for the development of the fertilized ovum.

3. The vagina extends like a flaccid canal from the neck of the uterus and terminates in the vulva.

4. The vulva, in which the vagina terminates, is situated in the lowest and middle part of the body, that is, between the thighs, and consists of the larger or external labia of the pudendum, the smaller or internal labia, and the clitoris. The clitoris is situated between the smaller labia, and is a rudimentary mentula, or as it were a very small penis. It is said to be, together with the bulbs of the vestibule of the vagina, the chief organ of venereal pleasure.

Before the mouth or entrance of the vagina, yet in the vulva, there is the orifice of the urethra, which terminates in the bladder. Thus, beginning from the anterior part of the body, there are: 1. the orifice of the urethra; 2. the mouth of the vagina; 3. the anus. The mouth of the vagina is in large part closed by the hymen, that is, a thin membrane which, once torn, for example by intercourse, is not restored again. It is commonly called the sign of virginity. But since it is sometimes absent, and is not always broken in first acts of intercourse, others place the sign of virginity in a certain contraction and compression by which the parts of the orifice of the vagina are constricted so long as they have not been dilated by carnal intercourse.¹

One should also note the breasts or mammae, which serve for producing milk and giving it to the offspring.

Finally, in women one should note the phenomenon which is called the menses. The menses are a flow of blood which women undergo each month from the vagina. They are interrupted during the time of pregnancy and, at least commonly, of lactation. The menstrual flow is prolonged for two or three days, sometimes for several days. In warmer regions they appear earlier than in colder regions; among us, from the twelfth to the fourteenth year of age. The menses continue until the forty-fifth or fiftieth year of age, at which time a woman's fertility is wont to cease, and this time is called menopause, the critical age, or the age of return.

Moreover, observe:

1. The menstrual flow is very beneficial to health; its suspension, except during pregnancy, or its irregularity is harmful and has an influence especially upon the brain in nervous girls. During the time of the menses, especially the first menses, women undergo an irritation of the nerves, and not rarely are agitated by feelings of anger and sadness. Hence at that time they should be treated more indulgently by the husband.

2. At the time when menopause begins, melancholy and great irritability and sensitivity are accustomed to occupy women; these indeed ordinarily last for a few months. When these have passed, a notable change in physical and moral being often takes place. Those who until then had been subject to infirmities not rarely recover health. Moreover, reason and will seem to acquire something of virile strength.

¹ Vermeersch, De Castitate, n. 139.

IV. Puberty. According to canon law, a male is considered pubescent after the completion of the fourteenth year, a female after the completion of the twelfth year (can. 88, § 2). According to the development of the genital organs, a male is pubescent when he has begun to produce fertile semen, among us from the fifteenth to the eighteenth year of age; a female is pubescent from the time of the production of an ovum or ova. That this time has arrived is manifested by the menstrual flow, which follows the discharge of a mature ovum, and among us begins from the twelfth to the fourteenth year of age.

V. The Act Ordered to Generation, that is, intercourse, consists in this: the male member, made erect and rigid, penetrates the female vagina and pours seed or sperm into it. It is called active generation. Intercourse can take place lying down, standing, or even sitting; likewise, since the vagina is in the lowest part of the body, it can take place both from the posterior and from the anterior part of the woman. But the natural and ordinary position is that it take place lying down and from the anterior part; hence the woman lies beneath and on her back, with knees raised and spread, and the man lies upon her.

VI. Fertilization, or passive generation, takes place in this way. Male semen admitted into the vagina ascends to the inner parts of the uterus and to the ovaries, as though carefully seeking or awaiting the mature ovum. When the ovum is found by the semen, the spermatozoa surround it, attempt to penetrate its substance, and fertilize it once penetrated. The mature and fertilized ovum proceeds into the uterus and develops in it.¹

¹ A mature ovum which falls from the ovary, if it has not been fertilized, is expelled through the vagina on the occasion of the menses.

VII. Pregnancy is said to be the condition of a woman who bears a fetus in the uterus. Ordinarily it is prolonged for nine months or about 280 days. In the first three months pregnancy is recognized as probable from the suspension of the menses, from the swelling of the breasts, and from the greater development of the uterus. Afterwards it becomes certain from the movements of the fetus and the pulsations of its heart. Finally it becomes evident from the enlarged abdomen and the gait of the woman. During the time of pregnancy the opening of the uterus is closed, and a new conception does not take place.

VIII. Birth consists in the expulsion of the fetus, which expulsion indeed takes place through the vagina. Birth is accompanied by rather strong pains, and for several days, ten to fifteen, a flow of blood follows it. The time which follows birth is called the puerperal period or the time of purgation.

IX. Lactation. Around the fifth month of pregnancy the breasts of the woman increase in size and prepare for the production of milk. A few days after birth milk is secreted; this secretion can continue for eighteen to twenty-four months.

X. The Venereal Act is distinguished into complete and incomplete; to the latter belongs libidinous distillation.

1. The complete act consists: 1. among men, in the emission of semen, whether in intercourse or outside it; 2. among women, in extreme venereal commotion, that is, carried all the way to its end, so that full satisfaction is had. It is commonly accompanied by the pouring forth of fluids, both vulvo-vaginal fluids and those which flow from the glands situated in the neck of the uterus. These fluids commonly flow into the cavity of the uterus, and sometimes are even poured outside the body, namely from the vagina. Venereal commotion and the secretion of fluids are indeed useful, but are not necessary for generation.

2. The incomplete act consists: 1. among men, in motions and agitations of the genital organs preceding emission; 2. among women, in non-extreme venereal commotion.

3. Distillation in a man is the secretion of a certain fluid distinct from semen and produced by the glands of the urethra. It occurs drop by drop, and can be joined with venereal pleasure or lack it. In a wife, whether and what distillation properly is, insofar as it is distinguished from venereal commotion, I have not been able to discover.

XI. Venereal Pleasure. Pleasure is distinguished in two ways: venereal and sensible.

1. Venereal pleasure is said to be that which is annexed to the venereal act. It is twofold, complete and incomplete; the former is joined with the complete venereal act, the latter with the incomplete act.

2. Sensible pleasure is that which arises from the conformity of a sensible object with the respective sense; for example, from the touch of a soft thing, from the sight of a beautiful thing, from the taste of a sweet thing, and so forth. This pleasure has annexed to it some alteration of the body through the movement of blood or vital spirits around the breast or heart, but without commotion of the spirits serving generation (St. Alphonsus III, 415).

Sensible pleasure is distinguished into carnal sensible pleasure and purely sensible pleasure, according as it arises from an object of itself apt to excite venereal pleasure, for example from the kiss of a woman, or from another object (St. Alphonsus III, 415-416).

Note 1. The pubescent, and likewise those non-pubescent persons, in the canonical sense, who have semen, even infertile semen, are capable of acts both complete and incomplete.

Non-pubescent persons, say at least thirteen years old, are capable of incomplete acts.

It can be doubted whether the sensation in the genitals of boys, say from eight to twelve years old, is venereal or merely sensible-carnal. If it is to be called venereal, it is certainly explained somewhat better why the said sensation is often sought with such ardor, and why such a frequency of immodest touches occurs, for example in colleges or boarding schools where religion and the vigilance of teachers are lacking; and this among boys from eight to twelve years old. Moreover, it is certain that the capacity for having venereal sensation can be hastened by certain circumstances or by intense or frequent immodest acts (cf. also Duynstee, cited work, p. 146 sq.).

Note 2. Eunuchs by birth, or spadones, that is, those who are such by nature, and likewise eunuchs made such, or castrati, who were deprived of the testes in tender years, are not capable even of incomplete venereal acts. Those who have been deprived of the testes in mature age can for some space of time emit semen preserved in the epididymis,¹ and therefore are capable of complete venereal acts; when that semen has been emitted, they now lack semen, but they remain capable of venereal acts.²

And with these matters having been noted beforehand, we shall speak first of chastity generally, and then, on account of the importance of the matter, of conjugal chastity specifically.

¹ Formerly the two seminal vesicles, that is, canals located between the rectum and the urinary bladder, were thought to be receptacles of spermatozoa, so that emitted semen was said to flow proximately from them. But today they are considered rather as an organ of a certain secretion. This secretion accompanies the flow from the testicles. This, however, does not prevent spermatozoa from often being found in the said vesicles. Whether they are dead or living is disputed. But many living ones are found in the epididymis, so that they can be extracted from the epididymis for artificial fertilization (Vermeersch, cited work, p. 7).

² Cf. Eschbach, cited work, p. 150.