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. We do not attempt to explain the susceptibility of
certain persons to certain foods and certain exposures. We know that
such is the fact. According to Begin's idea, there is scarcely any
separation between idiosyncrasy and temperament, whereas from what
would appear to be sound reasoning, based on the physiology of the
subject, a very material difference exists.

Idiosyncrasies may be congenital, hereditary, or acquired, and, if
acquired, may be only temporary. Some, purely of mental origin, are
often readily cured. One individual may synchronously possess an
idiosyncrasy of the digestive, circulatory, and nervous systems.
Striking examples of transitory or temporary idiosyncrasies are seen in
pregnant women.

There are certain so-called antipathies that in reality are
idiosyncrasies, and which are due to peculiarities of the ideal and
emotional centers. The organ of sense in question and the center that
takes cognizance of the image brought to it are in no way disordered.
In some cases the antipathy or the idiosyncrasy develops to such an
extent as to be in itself a species of monomania. The fear-maladies, or
"phobias," as they are called, are examples of this class, and,
belonging properly under temporary mental derangements, the same as