whom the testicles had not been removed, but destroyed by
crushing; this practice is referred to by Hippocrates. 4.
_Thlasiæ_, in whom the spermatic cord had simply been cut.
Millant, from whose Paris thesis (_Castration Criminelle et
Maniaque_, 1902) I take these definitions, points out that it was
recognized that _spadones_ remained apt for coitus if the
operation was performed after puberty, a fact appreciated by many
Roman ladies, _ad seouras libidinationes_, as St. Jerome
remarked, while Martial (lib. iv) said of a Roman lady who sought
eunuchs: "Vult futui Gallia, non parere." (See also Millant, _Les
Eunuques à Travers les Ages_, 1909, and articles by Lipa Bey and
Zambaco, _Sexual-Probleme_, Oct. and Dec., 1911.)

In China, Matignon, formerly physician to the French legation in Pekin,
tells us that eunuchs are by no means without sexual feeling, that they
seek the company of women and, he believes, gratify their sexual desires
by such methods as are left open to them, for the sexual organs are
entirely removed. It would seem probable that, the earlier the age at
which the operation is performed, the less marked are the sexual desires,
for Matignon mentions that boys castrated before the age of 10 are
regarded by the Chinese as peculiarly virginal and pure.[10] At
Constantinople, where the eunuchs are of negro race, castration is usually
complete and performed before puberty, in order to abolish sexual potency
and desire as far as possible. Even when castration is effected in
infancy, sexual desire is not necessarily rendered impossible. Thus Marie
has recorded the case of an insane Egyptian eunuch whose penis and scrotum
were removed in infancy; yet, he had frequent and intense sexual desire
with ejaculation of mucus and believed that an invisible princess touched
him and aroused voluptuous sensations. Although the body had a feminine
appearance, the prostate was normal and the vesiculæ seminales not