dancing can produce ejaculation in her partner. Most usually
the process is that voluptuous contact and revery which, in
English slang, is called "spooning." From first to last there
need not be any explicit explanations, proposals, or declarations
on either side, and neither party is committed to any
relationship with the other beyond the period devoted to
flirtage. In one form, however, flirtage consists entirely in the
excitement of a conversation devoted to erotic and indecorous
topics. Either the man or the woman may take the active part in
flirtage, but in a woman more refinement and skill is required to
play the active part without repelling the man or injuring her
reputation. Indeed, much the same is true of men also, for women,
while they often like flirting, usually prefer its more refined
forms. There are infinite forms of flirtage, and while as a
preliminary part of courtship, it has its normal place and
justification, Forel concludes that "as an end in itself, and
never passing beyond itself, it is a phenomenon of degeneration."

From the French point of view, flirtage and flirtation generally
have been discussed by Madame Bentzon ("Family Life in America,"
_Forum_, March, 1896) who, however, fails to realize the natural
basis of flirtation in courtship. She regards it as a sin against
the law "Thou shalt not play with love," for it ought to have the
excuse of an irresistible passion, but she thinks it is
comparatively inoffensive in America (though still a
deteriorating influence on the women) on account of the
temperament, education, and habits of the people. It must,
however, be remembered that play has a proper relationship to all
vital activities, and that a reasonable criticism of flirtation
is concerned rather with its normal limitations than with its
right to exist (see the observations on the natural basis of
coquetry and the ends it subserves in "The Evolution of Modesty"
in volume i of these _Studies_).

While flirtation in its natural form--though not in the perverted form of
"flirtage"--has sound justification, alike as a method of testing a lover
and of acquiring some small part of the art of love, it remains an
altogether inadequate preparation for love. This is sufficiently shown by
the frequent inaptitude for the art of love, and even for the mere
physical act of lo