Onanism Display’d

Onanism Display’d: or, The Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution, and All Its Frightful Consequences in Both Sexes, Considered, With Spiritual and Physical Advice to Those Who Have Already Injured Themselves by This Abominable Practice is an early 18th-century moral and medical treatise by Edmund Crull, a German-born physician who practiced in England. The work belongs to a wave of literature following John Marten’s infamous Onania (1710), which popularized the medical and moral panic around masturbation. Crull’s pamphlet presents masturbation (“onanism”) as both a grave sin and a serious physical disease, drawing on biblical authority (the story of Onan in Genesis 38) and pseudo-medical reasoning. He portrays self-pleasure as an act that defies divine order, weakens the body, corrupts the mind, and leads to an array of dire symptoms — from blindness and insanity to spiritual damnation. The text is split between moral admonition and medical warning. Crull stresses that the act is particularly destructive among the youth, warning parents and teachers to be vigilant against “the secret vice.” His remedies combine religious repentance with practical “cures” — diet, exercise, abstinence, and in some cases, medical tonics meant to restore lost vitality. In tone, Onanism Display’d exemplifies early Enlightenment anxieties about sexual self-control, bodily purity, and moral order. Crull seeks to fuse religion with early modern physiology, using the body’s supposed decay as evidence of divine punishment. Crull’s pamphlet is notable as one of the earliest attempts to medicalize and moralize masturbation in English print culture. It helped entrench the 18th- and 19th-century view of masturbation as a public health crisis — a notion that would persist well into the Victorian era. The materials presented on this page consist of historical works that are in the public domain. Many of these texts contain explicit erotic content and reflect the social attitudes, literary conventions, and cultural norms of the periods in which they were written. Readers should be aware that some works may include themes, language, or subject matter that are considered controversial, offensive, or taboo by modern standards. These elements are not endorsed by this site but are preserved as part of the historical and literary record. This collection is intended for mature audiences and for purposes of research, education, and literary interest. Viewer discretion is advised.