Page:Edward Prime-Stevenson - The Intersexes.djvu/523

 jealousy, and of revengeful self-protection. The recent attempt at assassination of a German of rank by another individual of much higher station, with a terrible risk, had much the like origin. The Italian term "geloso" refers to occasional assassinations in a race which has homosexuality more or less of its tissue, and which is always keen upon homosexual relations with rich foreigners who become residents. But such strangers easily grow tired of connections useful only to the vicious protègé. A tragedy easily results.

Not only from terror and despair under a criminal s persecution, but also m stress of sexual ignorances, we find that uranianism has a long yearly chronicle of murders that are—self-murders. Tormented to madness by his enemy, or even when merely overcome by every-day life, too weary of his riddle and burden, the victim takes the Dark Road to—liberty? He cannot endure any longer! Death is better. The mystery of his impulses, their bondage by social and legislative conditions, tyranny of a villain, the pressure of passion or of dread—enough of it all! He does not fear to meet a God—God hath made him as he is. He fears only humanity. With his secret he will go into the Unknown—if possible taking such secret thither.

So extends an enormous and melancholy volume of suicides, in lands where no liberal sentiments, knowledge or humane Codes aid the philarrhene. In Latin-America and Latin-Europe and so on, the proportion of self-destructions from homosexual causes is extremely small, almost nil—a strong contrast. It is true that the annual tale of suicides from other causes is long. Money-difficulties, domestic unhappiness of normal natures, heterosexual love-affairs, insanity, dread of other than such shames as sexual ones, griefs—all are in the common catalogue. But dread of exposure as