Page:Edward Prime-Stevenson - The Intersexes.djvu/102

 World-Child. (As indicated, the best type of Uranian is not typically pederastic.) He is spontaneously benevolent, tender-hearted, and pacific; with a large and philosophic or other tolerance. His instinct for the aesthetic side of paganism is strong. He is often intensely fond of Nature, even to adoration of her most sombre phases; as if in solitary walks and life with her he harks back to some great and elementary sympathy between Nature and his instincts. He is generally, but not typically, a tasteful and even "finicky" dresser. He is fond of jewellery and ornaments, beautiful and valuable or not such, according to his aesthetic education. It is significant in him, that while as a type, he tends to avoid giving pain to anyone, or seeing it, he is (another indication of the feminine texture of the uranistic psychos) often passionately interested in the deliberately brutal sports. He can love the bull-fight, the boxing-ring, the cock-pit, the fierce sort of foot-ball struggles so common in the United States of North America; he is found haunting even guillotinings and hangings: this, along with an almost childish pleasure in simple, trivial, wholesome things. The uranistic temperament is especially mercurial; now wildly gay, now sombre, easily changed. Though great statesmen have been Uranians, in all grades, the quality of patriotic feeling is likely to be lacking. One part of the world, one race, is almost as acceptable as another, even the native one, with great adaptiveness to foreign environment. Ever, too, occurs the tendency to excess of emotion, to unbalanced moods, to sentiments ill-grounded, to effects lacking causes, to traitorous impulses. Manly will is largely absent.

But when we approach the distinguishing Uranian. sex-element of the Uranian, especially of the 'absolute', inborn type—what shall one say that adequately analyses, or at least describes, this profound problem? Its traits have been outlined in a preceding chapter. The psychologic singularities of such temperaments are hard