Christian Gottfried Flittner

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Christian Gottfried Flittner (born June 6, 1770 in Düben ; † January 6, 1828 in Berlin ) lived as a doctor and pharmacist in Berlin. In the spirit of the Berlin Enlightenment , he wrote popular books on sex education and other topics of general interest.

Biographical

Flittner was born in Düben, a city between Leipzig and Wittenberg. In Leipzig he studied medicine, pharmacy and philosophy . At the Royal Veterinary School in Berlin he got a job as an assistant teacher. In 1808 he became an assessor at the "Collegium medico-chirurgicum", the supervisory authority for the Prussian health system. As a pharmacist and doctor he owned the "Apotheke zum König Solomo " in Berlin. He was also the owner of the "Luisenbad", a healing spring that was opened in 1758 as "Friedrichs-Gesundbrunnen" in the north outside the city; Today Gesundbrunnen is part of the Mitte district of Berlin. Flittner was also the owner of bookstores in Berlin, Frankfurt (Oder) and Cottbus .

Works (selection)

Inside title with title copper and vignette

Flittner was a very prolific writer . The focus of his work as a writer was on sex education texts. In addition to questions of anatomy , moral-philosophical , legal and ethnological topics are dealt with in detail. Some of the works were self-published, some of them appeared anonymously and with a fictitious place of publication.

  • Signs and defenses of the undamaged virginity according to national terms physiology u. Morality: To take note of and Warning of all Mr. Ladies who appreciate this gem and wish to preserve. Berlin, bey W. Oehmigke dem Jüngern, 1793 ( digitized version ).
  • Gynaeology or Sexual Life in All Its Extent. A physiological , historical and philosophical presentation. with Oehmigke the Younger, 1795. Flittner's main work, it appeared in several editions and reprints.
  • Grace and beauty from the mysteries of nature and art for single and married women. Berlin, near Oehmigke, 1797.
  • The art of being happy with women, according to Göthe , Lafontaine , Rousseau and Wieland . Vienna, by Jos Gerold, 1800.
  • The physical love of the living with their preludes . An appendix to gynecology. Rome, with Giovane Tosoni. 1797.
  • About the art of reaching old age. A problem which has been resolved, how the sexual instinct is to be treated from its awakening on and to be used as a spice and a means of prolonging life until it disappears, with a discussion of the most important questions belonging to it. Berlin, self-published, 1798.
  • The cautious girl friend or the art of protecting oneself from venereal infection, along with proposals to exterminate the lust epidemic through police stations. Berlin 1802.
  • Wives' trick and vengeance in true events from the real world. A side piece to the book “Nobility of Femininity”. Berlin, near Oehmigke, 1802.
  • Secrecy or copulation and reproduction in heaven and on earth. Berlin, near Matzdorff, 1804/1805.
  • The oracle - a daily help book to remember strange news from the world, earth, states and nature for social life and interaction. Berlin, with Hayn, 1810.
  • Teachings on the secret of the procreation of man, for educated, serious people. Berlin, self-published, 1817.
  • Talisman of luck or the self-tutor for all card, chess, billiards, ball and skittles games. Berlin, Flittner'sche Buchhandlung, 1819.
  • Protection and rescue in danger of death. A collection of royal Prussian ordinances on the treatment of those who froze, drowned, etc. An emergency and help book for everyone. Berlin, self-published, 1825.

Quotes

Inside title with title copper and vignette

(Explanation of the title vignette in “The intercourse ...”, the third part of “Gynaeology”): The vignette represents the triumph of virtue. A snake is crushed under the weight of a rock on which roses wind up. This indicates the high power with which we can only defeat the serpentine coils of our sensuality, this cunning enemy of our happiness. We overpower them, and gentle, inspiring joys crown our triumph.

(From "View of the moral situation of the human race. Hope for improvement" in "The intercourse ..."): The more this moral system is stripped of all learned jewelry, drawn down from the schools of the philosophers into the turmoil of bourgeois life, the more it is To a certain extent we may hope that humanity will progress for the better, and to contribute something to this through the following treatise will be the sweetest reward for me.

(From: “The art of being happy with women”, p. 17 of the facsimile of the original edition): Nature made sexual love the mediator of the reproduction of our species; but one would have little need to know their admirable events if one discovered nothing higher than animal impulses in them. Apparently, the union of the sexes is aimed at mutual formation and ennobling of the character. Here the rough should be softened, there the tender should be strengthened, and as the stronger strings of the male soul tune into a harmonious harmony with the softer melodies of the female sensation, one thing goes over into the other, the individual existence is annihilated and both are forgotten that they are doomed to separate beings.

(Dedication in “Talisman of Happiness”): “Dedicated in deepest reverence to the most exquisite Napoleon Buonaparte . Sire! Who could possibly have this work more suitable for its protector than the most exalted of all players who have ever been. Where has a hero ever held heavier cards in hand, shuffled them more cunningly and endured the change of luck with more composure than your Majesty? "

All quotations from the “Goethezeitportal”, s. Web links.

literature

  • Hilmar Spiske: Christian Gottfried Flittner. The popular work of a doctor and pharmacist in Goethe's time in the spirit of the Enlightenment. University of Munich, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for the History of Medicine. Dissertation 1965.

Web links