You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This book is written by a member of Soviet Russia, and is a lament on the tragedy of homo sapiens and his sexual instinct.
The standpoint taken by the author is akin to that expressed by certain scientists who theoretically link the origin of the death of the individual (protozoa) with nature's adoption of conjugation as a means of propagation. It is also expressed in the philosophy of Schopenhauer, whose genius in the
sphere of abstract thought left no room for the mastery of concrete reality.
The author says, 'Man's whole tragedy rests in the realization that he is but the cheated victim of the race instinct, and yet powerless to resist the lure, whereas the animal dies in illusion that its efforts and sacrifices had been expended solely for self-gratification' (p. 23). Again, 'Due to the excessive growth of his higher brain centres and of his endocrine apparatus, to which man owes his self-consciousness and his individuality, he values and treasures this side of his being, which attains as it were the significance of a completely autonomous self-sufficiency' (p. 27). 'Perhaps the further man will travel from his ape-like forbears, the more will he suffer from this "sex tragedy"' (p. 38).
The author realizes that the sexual instinct cannot be denied, and points out its far-reaching influence on all man's activities. 'The sexual function overspreads man's entire being, and the more deeply science probes into the problem of sex the more convinced it becomes of the infinitely vital significance of this function for all processes active in the human body' (p. 23).
The downfall of man is brought about by the sexual instinct in the act of copulation. 'Thus despite his exalted consciousness, man, when snared in the net, performs the act which in reality is alien to him, and in the delusion brings forth out of non-existence the future generation which in turn will take his place, and in time will repeat the cycle' (p. 21).
The main theme of the book is the suffering imp