The Cause. 



of their culture, and it is then that we first find 

 any mention of its prevalence. It is significant 

 that both nations began to decline very rapidly, 

 so soon as they came in contact with the 

 Persians, whose depraved physical condition 

 was almost phenomenal at the time. 



The earliest mention of the habit in Europe, 

 so far as I am aware, is in connection with 

 Sappho, the celebrated Greek poetess, who is 

 said to have founded at Lesbos a school of young 

 women who made a boast of their indulgence in 

 it. " Chez les Grecs, Sapho, qui etait possedee 

 de cette passion, fit 6cole. Elle s'entourait de 

 jeunes Lesbiannes, qui professaient le mepris 

 pour les hommes, et qui se vanterent d'eriger 

 sans eux et a elles seules, un nouveau culte a 

 Venus. Elles furent surnommees Tribades." 

 Jaccoud Dictionnaire de Medecin et de Chir- 

 urgee. We also find a similar statement in the 

 Dictionnaire Encyclopedique des Sciences Medi- 

 cales : " Sapho est accusee d'avoir la premiere 

 introduit et repandu la pratique de 1'onanisme 

 lacoul parmi les jeunes filles de Lesbos, d'ou le 

 nom de lesbianisme." 



Emanating from such a source, one can 

 imagine how rapidly such a practice would be 

 communicated from one to another throughout 

 the State, and the amount of harm which would 

 result from it. That it was communicated is 

 evident, for we find frequent mention of its 

 prevalence with the other sex at a later period. 



" Dans Tancienne Grece, certaines ecoles 

 philosophiques poussaient tres-loin le mepris de 

 la femme qu' Aristotle considerait comme une 



79 



