Scott's encyclopaedia of sex : a practical encyclopaedia arranged in alphabetical order, explanatory of everything pertaining to sexual physiology, psychology and pathology.

  • Scott, George Ryley, 1886-
Date:
[1939]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Scott's encyclopaedia of sex : a practical encyclopaedia arranged in alphabetical order, explanatory of everything pertaining to sexual physiology, psychology and pathology. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    34/404 (page 14)
    ADULTERY AGAP^ mediately a temporary rejuvenation or reinvigoration.1 ADULTERY. In English law, a married man or woman who voluntarily engages in sexual intercourse with any person, married or single, other than his or her wife or husband, as the case may be, is guilty of adultery. It is important to note that for adultery to be committed, one party to the sex act must be married. The married party is the one guilty of adultery. The female partner may be a professional prostitute. This does not, as so many people think, alter the nature of the offence or the degree of guilt. The ancient Romans looked upon the matter rather differently. It was essen- tial to the commission of adultery that the woman concerned should be married. Sexual intercourse between a married man and a single and unbetrothed woman did not constitute an offence. With the development of asceticism under Chris- tianity, the ecclesiastical authorities con- sidered both parties to an adulterous act equally guilty in the eyes of God. This view has tinctured the ethics of adultery until recent years. The condemnation of adultery is as old as marriage itself. It is based upon the possessive ideas which are inseparable fiom true love, and the property rights of man in woman. It is only because of these powerful fundaments that adultery can rank as a crime in face of the fact that every man is a potential adulterer and every woman a potential adulteress. Adultery has always been looked upon as a far more serious crime in the woman than in the man. This is plainly in- dicated by the fact that only within com- paratively recent years has adultery per se in man ranked as sufficient ground for the granting of a divorce. The tendency in modern civilization is for adultery to increase. Though rank- ing as an offence against society's laws it is condemned far less severely than it has been for centuries. The woman caught in adultery is no longer ostracized. This change in the reaction of society is due to (i) the decline in ecclesiastical power and capacity to terrorize; (2) the sexual equality of man and woman; and (3) the vast extension of the practice of birth control. AEROCOLPOS. The presence of gas or air in the vagina resulting in distension. AEROPHORE. An appliance used to resuscitate a still-born child by the forc- ible introduction of air into the lungs. ^SCHROMYTHESIS. See ESCHRO- MYTHESIS. AFFILIATION ORDER. The order given by a Court of Summary Jurisdic- tion to a single woman, or to a married woman living apart from her husband, compelling the father to pay for the maintenance of her bastard child a sum not exceeding £1 a week until it reaches the age of sixteen years. See also under ILLEGITIMACY. A FRONTE. The face-to-face posture during the sex act. This is the orthodox position adopted in Europe and America. AFTER-BIRTH. The fcetal membranes and the placenta which are ejected from the womb after the birth of the child. The secundines. AFTER-PAINS. The cramp-like ab- dominal pains caused by contractions of the womb, which occur after delivery and may continue for several days. Women who have given birth to several children usually suffer more in this respect with each successive delivery. AGALACTIA. Entire absence or in- sufficient supply of milk in a woman who has given birth to a child. AGALORRHEA or AGALORRHCEA. The cessation of the secretion of milk. AGAMIC. Relating to that form of re- production where there are no sexual relations. Parthenogenous. AGAMIST. A man or a woman who is unmarried and does not uphold marriage. AGAMOGENESIS. See PARTHENO- GENESIS. AGAMOUS. The absence of the organs of generation. AGAP/E. The love-feast of the early Christian Church, usually following the Lord's Supper, at which all classes, rich and poor, joined in a sort of communal celebration. There are strong grounds for the belief that these love-feasts, what- ever may have been their precise char- acter in the beginning, quickly degener- 1 Walter B. Cannon, Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage. Appleton, New York, 1929.