There are five special influences that incite to sexual overindulgence. The abuse of spirituous liquors, which has reached alarming proportions among modern women, increases their sexual desires and destroys their natural modesty. Dancing is another cause of sexual excitement. To-day young girls in their teens frequent public balls and receptions, dance with male partners, and mutually excite each other. The modern stage is another important factor in sexually overstimulating the passions of many of our young men and women. The modern stage no longer appeals to the intellect of trained minds that have reached a certain age. The modern stage is more sensual, it lays the main stress upon the scenery, which may be enjoyed by young boys and girls, scarcely passed the period of puberty. The play is, as a rule, an ordinary, every-day, small suggestive love-affair. (It is euphemistically called a realistic play.) Nude and vulgar art and impure literature have another great influence in exciting sexual desires. The modern novelist finds his greatest delight in descending to the gutter in search for his heroes, and knows no higher aim in art than to give a realistic picture of the blandishments of bad women and of the allurements of degenerated men. One of the strongest sexual excitements which, directly concern only men but indirectly leads to mutual erethism, is the modern woman’s dress. Although from time immemorial woman always so dressed as to accentuate and bring into prominence her secondary sexual characteristics, yet the former modesty, the customs and certain sumptuary laws dictated moderation in this respect. The modern woman acknowledges no restraint. She copies slavishly the Parisian fashion, which, as a rule, is a creation suggested by the demi-mondaine and designed to increase her trade by exciting the passions of the other sex. The modern woman, throughout the civilized world, consciously or unconsciously, imitates her erring Parisian sister. Not only does she try to bring into bold relief by means of the corset her main secondary sexual characteristics, her bosom and her pelvis, but by means of her hose supporters, her legs and the space between them are only partly veiled. Thus a really obscene effect is created which is far more exciting than if she were perfectly nude. The effect of contrast and expectation renders the partly veiled nudity more exciting. This is the psychological reason why man tries to conceal his natural state and covers it by artifice, while animals try to win their mates by showing and exposing their sexual qualities. All these artificial excitements tend to create voluptuousness and lead to excesses in venere. These excesses have the indispensable consequence of making a large number of our men and women highly neurasthenic.[DF] FOOTNOTES: [BJ] Medical students who ought to know the sequels of venereal diseases are not chaster than other young men of the same age.