Nicolas Venette (28 May 1633–18 August 1698) was a physician,

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

and French writer. He has also been identified as the writer of an anonymous work on nightingales ''Traite du rossignol'' published in 1697.

Biography

Born in

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

, he studied medicine at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

where he received his doctorate in 1656. He then went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he studied under

Guy Patin Guy (or Guido) Patin (1601 in Hodenc-en-Bray, Oise – 30 August 1672 in Paris) was a French doctor and man of letters. Patin was doyen (or dean) of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (1650–1652) and professor in the Collège de France start ...

and Pierre Petit, before travelling to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He then returned to La Rochelle working as a doctor at the Charite hospital in 1664, Saint-Louis hospital in 1669 while also becoming Regius Professor of

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

and

Surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

in 1668. He married Marie Texler in 1673 and they had eleven children.

Works

In 1671, Venette wrote ''Traité du scorbut'' (Treatise on scurvy), and the better known ''Tableau de l’amour conjugal, ou l'Histoire complète de la génération de l’homme''. This book, published in 1686 in Amsterdam under the title ''Tableau de l'amour humain considéré dans l'état du mariage'' (Table of human love considered in the state of marriage) and under the pseudonym Salocini Venetian (anagram of Nicolas Venette) is considered to be the first treatise on

sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

in West. It proved to be a bestseller and was translated into English, Spanish, German and Dutch. There were 33 editions published sporadically until 1903. The author discusses four sub-topics with respect to sex: anatomy, reproduction, desire, and impotence/infertility. For each topic, he reviews ancient and medieval authors, adding his own observations or those of later authors, and comments where common sense prevails. The resulting composition has an ambiguous mixture of seriousness and light-heartedness bordering upon erotic literature. According to André Dupras, Venette proposes a solution to the crisis of love that exists in his time, advocating a balance between impetuous lovers and religious imperatives. On the one hand, it seeks to defuse the fears of people regarding sex, and to change overall pessimistic views towards love and sexuality. On the other hand, it invites the reader to tame romantic passions by reason and respect for natural laws. The book is not only an instruction manual that provides information on sexuality, it also aims to educate by offering a new way of being and living love in the state of marriage. A book from 1697 ''Traité du rossignol'' on the biology of nightingales is thought to have been written by Venette. This book had nine chapters and incorporated original studies including dissections of nightingales to identify their singing abilities. He was the first to record migratory restlessness (now known as zugunruhe) in nightingales.

Legacy

A street in

is named in honour of Venette.

References

Sources

* Jean Flouret, ''Nicolas Venette : médecin rochelais, 1633-1698 : étude biographique et bibliographique'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Venette, Nicolas People from La Rochelle 1632 births 1698 deaths 17th-century French physicians French sexologists French writers People from Charente-Maritime