l excitements even if they be of a
painful nature. The excitations from all these sources do not yet unite,
but they pursue their aim individually--this aim consisting merely in
the gaining of a certain pleasure. The sexual impulse of childhood is
therefore objectless or _autoerotic_.

Still during infancy the erogenous zone of the genitals begins to make
itself noticeable, either by the fact that like any other erogenous zone
it furnishes gratification through a suitable sensible stimulus, or
because in some incomprehensible way the gratification from other
sources causes at the same time the sexual excitement which has a
special connection with the genital zone. We found cause to regret that
a sufficient explanation of the relations between sexual gratification
and sexual excitement, as well as between the activity of the genital
zone and the remaining sources of sexuality, was not to be attained.

We were unable to state what amount of sexual activity in childhood
might be designated as normal to the extent of being incapable of
further development. The character of the sexual manifestation showed
itself to be preponderantly masturbatic. We, moreover, verified from
experience the belief that the external influences of seduction, might
produce premature breaches in the latency period leading as far as the
suppression of the same, and that the sexual impulse of the child really
shows itself to be polymorphous-perverse; furthermore, that every such
premature sexual activity impairs the educability of the child.

Despite the incompleteness of our examinations of the infantile sexual
life we were subsequently forced to attempt to study the serious changes
produced by the appearance of puberty. We selected two of the same as
criteria, namely, the subordination of all other sources of the sexual
feeling to the primacy of the genital zones, and the process of object
finding. Both of them are already developed in childhood. The first is
accomplished through the mechanism of utilizing the fore-pleasure,
whereby all other independent sexual acts which are connected with
pleasure and excitement become preparatory acts for the new sexual aim,
the voiding of the sexual products, the attainment of which under
enormous pleasure puts an end to the sexual feeling. At the same time we
had to consider the differentiation of the sexual nature of man and
woman, and we found that in order to become a woman a new repression is
required wh