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Sexual Relations of Mankind
This is the 3rd volume of his Love Trilogy.
Paolo Mantegazza (1831–1910) is remembered mainly as a sex writer, sometimes a term of reproach, sometimes a term of honor. As a delineator of love, he's never been surpassed & rarely equaled. He has faults as a writer, but they're invariably the faults of superabundance from the depths of his nature there poured a thousand pages surcharged with passion & never of emotional poverty. When he wrote about love, he couldn't be calm. For everywhere he saw sex, the source of the profoundest of emotions, bringing tragedy instead of happiness to humankind. As a pioneer sexologist, he encountered much opposition. In the Era of the fig-leaf, they didn't understand, & often assailed the writer of the Trilogia. In this warfare, he couldn't retreat. His pen was as a lance striking in dark places, unloosening rusty hinges from the rotting door of prudery. "You who have known me for a long time as a physician & friend," he said, "know that I have the courage to work in the open, & that I have never been among those who applaud the lasciviousness of a ballet dancer, & place fig leaves on Greek statues."
Paolo Mantegazza (1831–1910) is remembered mainly as a sex writer, sometimes a term of reproach, sometimes a term of honor. As a delineator of love, he's never been surpassed & rarely equaled. He has faults as a writer, but they're invariably the faults of superabundance from the depths of his nature there poured a thousand pages surcharged with passion & never of emotional poverty. When he wrote about love, he couldn't be calm. For everywhere he saw sex, the source of the profoundest of emotions, bringing tragedy instead of happiness to humankind. As a pioneer sexologist, he encountered much opposition. In the Era of the fig-leaf, they didn't understand, & often assailed the writer of the Trilogia. In this warfare, he couldn't retreat. His pen was as a lance striking in dark places, unloosening rusty hinges from the rotting door of prudery. "You who have known me for a long time as a physician & friend," he said, "know that I have the courage to work in the open, & that I have never been among those who applaud the lasciviousness of a ballet dancer, & place fig leaves on Greek statues."
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1885
About the author
Paolo Mantegazza
271 books6 followersPaolo Mantegazza was an italian doctor, phisiologist, patologist, hygienist, neurologist, anthropologist, politician, essayst and novelist.
He was one of the very first populariser of Darwin's theories in Italy. He was deputy from 1865 to 1876 and then senator from 16 November 1876 for Italian government
He wrote numerous books and pamphplet about anthropology, medicine and sexuality. He published some novels as Testa (Head, 1887), sequel of Edmondo De Amicis's Cuore (Heart, 1886), and L'anno 3000: Sogno (The Year 3000: A Dream, 1897), written as a response to Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, 2000-1887 and considered one of the first italian sci-fi novels.
He was one of the very first populariser of Darwin's theories in Italy. He was deputy from 1865 to 1876 and then senator from 16 November 1876 for Italian government
He wrote numerous books and pamphplet about anthropology, medicine and sexuality. He published some novels as Testa (Head, 1887), sequel of Edmondo De Amicis's Cuore (Heart, 1886), and L'anno 3000: Sogno (The Year 3000: A Dream, 1897), written as a response to Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, 2000-1887 and considered one of the first italian sci-fi novels.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 14, 2020
Great book for those looking for an empirical analysis about the topic. Mantegazzna deals with everything from Ancient Egypt to Pre-Colombian tribes of North America. This book is a must read for those that want to understand the topic of human sexuality.
August 18, 2015
Don't ask me how I wound up with a copy of this book, because I don't know. It must've been in the depths of one of those library sale grab bags, once upon a time.
It's less science than a collection of hearsay, apocrypha, and late 19th century cultural imperialism and casual racism. For all that, I found it oddly fascinating. The author catalogs, for example, the marriage rituals of (I can only assume) every society he's ever heard of. Sometimes the lists cross the line into exhaustively repetitive and dull (especially since there's very little analysis), but I actually thought it was kind of neat to think about the big picture of humanity and how our beliefs and taboos and rituals vary from culture to culture.
Even Mantegazza, while clearly a product of his time, seemed oddly open-minded at moments. You have to roll your eyes at all his talk of "the lower races" and the role of women in marriage, and don't even get me started on his views of masturbation and homosexuality (mostly amusing, but also sad). But then he talks about the hypocrisy of religion and standards of fidelity, and how even modern Italian culture isn't so far removed from "the savages".
Some of my favorite anecdotes:
"William Tegg states that the Ostiacks, by way of making sure that their women are virtuous, are in the habit of tearing out a tuft of hair from a bear's pelt and presenting them with it; if the woman unhesitatingly accepts this gift, it is for the reason that she is free of any sin; if she were not, she would refuse it, being sure that at the end of three years' time the bear would come to life and eat her."
"Among the Loango Negroes... Marriage is not finally consummated until after three nights' experience. On the first two mornings, the girl leaves the young man at cock-crow; but on the third she stays with him until broad daylight, thus signifying that she is content with him."
"[Among] the Aeta of the Phillipine Islands... The suitor asks the girl of her parents, and the latter send her into the forest before sun-up. The young man may not leave home until an hour later, when he must go and track her down, bringing her back home before sunset. Should he be unable to accomplish this, he must desist from any further attentions to her."
"A man may be in love with a girl without his love being requited. He then seeks to procure a lock of her hair and, covering it over with grease and with red earth, he carries it about with him for a year. This makes the girl so sad that she frequently dies of a broken heart, and the result may be a bit of bloodthirsty vengeance."
"In the customs of East Prussia... when a woman remarries for the second or the third time, musicians climb up on the roof of the house as the bridal pair enter and serenade them down the chimney, so that the couple may not be struck dead."
"Among the Ossets of the Caucasus, there is still in use a ceremony reminiscent of others yet more ferocious. The widow and the saddle-horse of the deceased are led three times about the grave, after which the woman can no longer be the property of any other man, nor may the horse ever again be mounted by another."
"The Assanian women, of an Arab tribe inhabiting the south of Kartum, reserve for themselves a fourth of their liberty; every fourth day, they may go to live with the lover of their choice. Outside of this, the Assanian women are no more immoral than any others."
"Among the Naudowessis, the marriage rite consists in letting fly arrows at the heads of the bride and groom, who are placed one alongside the other for the purpose. Those who shoot the arrows are the nearest relatives of the couple. A simpler ceremony is that of the Navajos, which consists in eating porridge from the same vessel."
"After the second marriage, if the husband does not like his wife, all he has to do is take the measurements of the first one according to the width of the coffin and put them up beside the bed where the new wife sleeps, and the latter will not be there to trouble him for more than a year."
"Certain of the Californian aborigines, when they wish to keep their women in line, paint themselves with black and white streaks and jump out suddenly at the latter to frighten them; they believe that this keeps them quiet."
It's less science than a collection of hearsay, apocrypha, and late 19th century cultural imperialism and casual racism. For all that, I found it oddly fascinating. The author catalogs, for example, the marriage rituals of (I can only assume) every society he's ever heard of. Sometimes the lists cross the line into exhaustively repetitive and dull (especially since there's very little analysis), but I actually thought it was kind of neat to think about the big picture of humanity and how our beliefs and taboos and rituals vary from culture to culture.
Even Mantegazza, while clearly a product of his time, seemed oddly open-minded at moments. You have to roll your eyes at all his talk of "the lower races" and the role of women in marriage, and don't even get me started on his views of masturbation and homosexuality (mostly amusing, but also sad). But then he talks about the hypocrisy of religion and standards of fidelity, and how even modern Italian culture isn't so far removed from "the savages".
Some of my favorite anecdotes:
"William Tegg states that the Ostiacks, by way of making sure that their women are virtuous, are in the habit of tearing out a tuft of hair from a bear's pelt and presenting them with it; if the woman unhesitatingly accepts this gift, it is for the reason that she is free of any sin; if she were not, she would refuse it, being sure that at the end of three years' time the bear would come to life and eat her."
"Among the Loango Negroes... Marriage is not finally consummated until after three nights' experience. On the first two mornings, the girl leaves the young man at cock-crow; but on the third she stays with him until broad daylight, thus signifying that she is content with him."
"[Among] the Aeta of the Phillipine Islands... The suitor asks the girl of her parents, and the latter send her into the forest before sun-up. The young man may not leave home until an hour later, when he must go and track her down, bringing her back home before sunset. Should he be unable to accomplish this, he must desist from any further attentions to her."
"A man may be in love with a girl without his love being requited. He then seeks to procure a lock of her hair and, covering it over with grease and with red earth, he carries it about with him for a year. This makes the girl so sad that she frequently dies of a broken heart, and the result may be a bit of bloodthirsty vengeance."
"In the customs of East Prussia... when a woman remarries for the second or the third time, musicians climb up on the roof of the house as the bridal pair enter and serenade them down the chimney, so that the couple may not be struck dead."
"Among the Ossets of the Caucasus, there is still in use a ceremony reminiscent of others yet more ferocious. The widow and the saddle-horse of the deceased are led three times about the grave, after which the woman can no longer be the property of any other man, nor may the horse ever again be mounted by another."
"The Assanian women, of an Arab tribe inhabiting the south of Kartum, reserve for themselves a fourth of their liberty; every fourth day, they may go to live with the lover of their choice. Outside of this, the Assanian women are no more immoral than any others."
"Among the Naudowessis, the marriage rite consists in letting fly arrows at the heads of the bride and groom, who are placed one alongside the other for the purpose. Those who shoot the arrows are the nearest relatives of the couple. A simpler ceremony is that of the Navajos, which consists in eating porridge from the same vessel."
"After the second marriage, if the husband does not like his wife, all he has to do is take the measurements of the first one according to the width of the coffin and put them up beside the bed where the new wife sleeps, and the latter will not be there to trouble him for more than a year."
"Certain of the Californian aborigines, when they wish to keep their women in line, paint themselves with black and white streaks and jump out suddenly at the latter to frighten them; they believe that this keeps them quiet."
December 24, 2014
I'd heard about this book and its author, he being discussed as one of the founders of sexology and sexology being treated as one of the tributaries to the development of depth psychology, so when I came upon a copy, I bought it and read it.
Mantegazza is to modern sexology as Herodotus is to modern history: quaint, chatty and charming--but hardly science. My favorite portion of his treatment of sexual customs throughout the world and through the ages was his description of a people who maintained the custom of widows wearing their deceased husband's penises about their necks as pendant necklaces. The elderly female of a a village who had three such vanilla-bean-like organs adorning her breast was, by report, one of the most highly respected members of the community. My own great-grandfather having fathered something like thirty kids on three successive wives, this counter-instance gave me salutory pause.
Mantegazza is to modern sexology as Herodotus is to modern history: quaint, chatty and charming--but hardly science. My favorite portion of his treatment of sexual customs throughout the world and through the ages was his description of a people who maintained the custom of widows wearing their deceased husband's penises about their necks as pendant necklaces. The elderly female of a a village who had three such vanilla-bean-like organs adorning her breast was, by report, one of the most highly respected members of the community. My own great-grandfather having fathered something like thirty kids on three successive wives, this counter-instance gave me salutory pause.
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