“Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled Aphorism
The aphorism “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen” has often been cited as sexual lore that is both Indian and ancient. The idea appears to be medieval Arab lore, however, being recorded in work by Ibn Sina, which explains its ubiquity in early modern Europe. The dictum may have traveled to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Psychosexual Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/26318318251326159 |
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| author | Diederik F. Janssen |
| author_facet | Diederik F. Janssen |
| author_sort | Diederik F. Janssen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aphorism “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen” has often been cited as sexual lore that is both Indian and ancient. The idea appears to be medieval Arab lore, however, being recorded in work by Ibn Sina, which explains its ubiquity in early modern Europe. The dictum may have traveled to Asia (India, but also China) via much later European texts. This historical vignette raises broader questions concerning the global dissemination of sexual lore, past and present. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-76e391c57b294baaace15c11c80c4dc2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2631-8318 2631-8326 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Psychosexual Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-76e391c57b294baaace15c11c80c4dc22025-08-20T03:26:56ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Psychosexual Health2631-83182631-83262025-04-01710.1177/26318318251326159“Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled AphorismDiederik F. Janssen0 Maastricht University, Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht, The NetherlandsThe aphorism “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen” has often been cited as sexual lore that is both Indian and ancient. The idea appears to be medieval Arab lore, however, being recorded in work by Ibn Sina, which explains its ubiquity in early modern Europe. The dictum may have traveled to Asia (India, but also China) via much later European texts. This historical vignette raises broader questions concerning the global dissemination of sexual lore, past and present.https://doi.org/10.1177/26318318251326159 |
| spellingShingle | Diederik F. Janssen “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled Aphorism Journal of Psychosexual Health |
| title | “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled Aphorism |
| title_full | “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled Aphorism |
| title_fullStr | “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled Aphorism |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled Aphorism |
| title_short | “Forty Drops of Blood Make One Drop of Semen”: A Well-Traveled Aphorism |
| title_sort | forty drops of blood make one drop of semen a well traveled aphorism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/26318318251326159 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT diederikfjanssen fortydropsofbloodmakeonedropofsemenawelltraveledaphorism |