Taxil is the authority for the statement that just
before the sexual act rakes sometimes have themselves flagellated
or pricked until the blood flows in order to stimulate their
diminished sexual power. Rhodiginus, Bartholinus, and other older
physicians mention individuals in whom severe castigation was a
prerequisite of copulation. As a ritual custom flagellation is
preserved to the present day by some sects.
Before leaving the subject of flagellation it should be stated
that among the serious after-results of this practice as a
disciplinary means, fatal emphysema, severe hemorrhage, and shock
have been noticed. There are many cases of death from corporal
punishment by flogging. Ballingal records the death of a soldier
from flogging; Davidson has reported a similar case, and there is
a death from the same cause cited in the Edinburgh Medical and
Surgical Journal for 1846.
Idiosyncrasy is a peculiarity of constitution whereby an
individual is affected by external agents in a different manner
from others. Begin defines idiosyncrasy as the predominance of an
organ, of a viscus, or a system of organs. This definition does
not entirely grasp the subject. An idiosyncrasy is something
inherent in the organization of the individual, of which we only
see the manifestation when proper causes are set in action.
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