After
he has left the nursery, there follows in the life of the boy a period
during which he associates only with his school-friends, shuns the
society of his mother and sisters, and is ashamed of his female
relatives. This represents the revival of the men's unions of remote
antiquity in the life of the individual of the present day.
At the period of puberty the sexual instinct makes itself felt for the
first time; as a rule, if its nature is not recognised, it is
accompanied by restlessness and depression. I do not believe that the
instinct is, as soon as it appears, directed to the other sex, or
anything else outside the individual. This fact cannot be explained by
want of opportunity, shyness or bad example; there is a positive reason
for it; the longing for a member of the other sex is still unfelt.
Between his twentieth and thirtieth year a man is often dominated by an
enthusiastic spiritual love quite unconnected with the sensuality which
has hitherto ruled his emotions.
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