Page:Randolph, Paschal Beverly; Eulis! the history of love.djvu/44

Rh in Greco-Roman days; but this time entailing dreadful penalties instead of rewards upon its multitudinous devotees; for not even the triplicate king evils, opium, alcohol, and tobacco, inflict such awful punishments upon their votaries as Cypriana, the salacious Diva of Harlotdom. To return to the point at issue: In some form or other, most of us worship the disc symbol; and four-fifths of the intelligent world is to-day agitated, not merely concerning the symbol and its nature, but about the tremendous mysteries it shadows, and the vast volume of meanings that underlie and are embosomed within it. I trust, before this task of mine is finished, to demonstrate it to be in very truth what it claims,—a new revelation of sex, and to make one successful effort to remove the subject far above the muck, slime and filth hitherto attendant upon it; for if there is a divine thing on earth, it ought to be Love—its laws, rules, phases and moods,—knowledge of which is a redeeming power. I alluded to the universality of sex emblems, and will close this section by calling attention to our national banner; for the American flair floating from a staff is one of the finest illustrations of the double glory in the world; because the staff symbolizes the Phallus; its cord represents the chain of love binding the sexes together; the folds of bunting are emblems of woman's floating drapery; the blue means his, her, their mutual truth and fidelity; the white, her purity; the red symbolizes her periodicity and ability to defy death by repeopling the world. I shall allude to other colors in another section. XVI. A true negro never reaches a stage of mental development enabling him to master metaphysics; nor at maturity does he ever surpass in capacity the adolescent average Anglo-Saxon; but in the power of maintaining love at high tide he can discount all the white races of the globe! I make this observation at this point for two reasons: first, to draw a parallel; second, to tell the reader that in my medical practice, in nervo-vital diseases, I often prescribe "Negro meetings, and fifty cents in the plate" for being thereby benefited. They did so, these pale, haggard wives and chlorotic girls, and sat there to hear the ardent worshippers preach, sing. pray, shout, get glorious, and fill the room with a rich and healthy magnetism, every inhalation of which, to the sick ones, is worth a month's life, and a