Eraclie Sterian (also known as Eracle, Eracli or Iraclie Sterian; November 23, 1872 – January 21, 1948) was a Romanian physician, writer, and political activist, known for introducing sexology and sex education in his country. Trained as a pathologist, he established his reputation as a popularizer of conventional and alternative medicine (primarily hydrotherapy), putting out the influential magazine Medicul Poporului. His early work also dealt with life extension practices and warnings about the effects of pollution. Sterian was a marginal ally of the Symbolist movement, to which his uncle Mircea Demetriade belonged; he had a longstanding friendship with poets Alexandru and Pavel Macedonski. He was a publisher of textbooks and literary works, including Demetriade's "Ali's Dream", and author of dramas. His pro-natalist propaganda play, Tout pour l'enfant, performed at the Théâtre Antoine in 1913.
As a doctor and a social critic, Sterian held unconventional views on eugenics, social hygiene, and the social role of sexual experiences. These caused a lasting scandal for their challenging of ancestral taboos—although, overall, Sterian remained a conservative and an avowed Christian, who claimed to have found a cure for compulsive masturbation. His sex manuals, aimed at a young audience, enjoyed success nationwide, and went through several editions in the 1910s. In parallel, as a disciple of René Quinton, he circulated claims that tuberculosis and its various complications could be successfully treated with seawater. Sterian's interests diversified with time, and he produced essays challenging scientific orthodoxy on topics such as human evolution and Indo-European studies. Also an advocate of Romanian nationalism, he rallied with the Conservative Party, before defecting to the National Liberals in 1914.
A Colonel in the Romanian Land Forces, Sterian was also an expert of typhus, having taken part in the World War I campaign against epidemics, and managing to survive that disease. Immediately after the war, he reported success in his treatment of gonorrhea-based inflammation, especially conjunctivitis. Sterian's results in this field were supervised by Victor Morax during clinical trials at Lariboisière Hospital, where Sterian worked for some three years in the early 1920s. In old age, at the height of the Great Depression, he focused on defending his status as a property owner in Bucharest, founding an Association of Mortgaged Owners and Debtors. He followed Jean Th. Florescu's schism from the National Liberal Party, afterwards joining the nationwide League Against Usury. Upon the latter's disestablishment, Sterian joined a Guard for the Defense of Private Property, then a Taxpayers' Syndicate. He was survived by his son, the writer-politician Paul Sterian, and by his daughter-in-law, painter Margareta Sterian; his granddaughter was actress Raluca Sterian.
Biography
Early activities Born in the port city of Galați, in what was then the Principality of Romania, Eraclie Sterian was the son of Dimitrie and Maria. Both parents were natives of Craiova, and participated in the Romanian War of Independence: Dimitrie as an officer in combat, Maria as a field nurse. Victor Durnea, "Cazul Paul Sterian - Ortodox și futurist", in România Literară, Issue 29/2007 His maternal uncle may have been the pioneering microbiologist Constantin Levaditi; on his paternal side, Eraclie was the nephew of actors Aristide Demetriade and Aristizza Romanescu, and of poet Mircea Demetriade.Rodica Zafiu, "Demetriade Mircea", in Aurel Sasu (ed.), Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române, Vol. I, p. 471. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. Some of Eraclie's political adversaries implied that he was of Greek ethnicity, a "genuine Romanian out of Athens".Radames, "Cinematograful meu", in Mișcarea, May 1, 1910, p. 1 The Sterians were also widely thought of as Jewish, and, more specifically, Eraclie was rumored to have been baptized a Christian from Judaism.Vlaicu Bârna, Între Capșa și Corso (e-book version). Chapter: "Despre judecățile istoriei". Iași: Polirom, 2014. The family rejected such claims.
During the early years of the Romanian Kingdom, Eraclie left Galați and moved with his family to Craiova, where he would later graduate from Carol I National College, in the same class as mathematician Gheorghe Țițeica.V. Mihăilescu, "O amintire despre Gheorghe Țițeica", in Arhivele Olteniei, Issues 69–70, September–December 1933, pp. 432–433 From 1891 to 1897, he took courses at the University of Bucharest medical school, and then was an intern at Brâncovenesc Hospital.Angheluță, p. 379 As a member of the Medical Students' Society from 1892, he gave lectures on the treatment of gonorrhea and the state of physician–patient privilege.Victor Gomoiu, Istoricul Societăței Studenților în Medicină, 1875–1906. Partea 1, pp. 138–139, 184, 323. Bucharest: Tipografia Ziarului Cronica Thoma Basilescu, 1906 In May 1897, he became a Doctor of Medicine with a thesis on aspergillosis, following up with papers on malaria (1899) and tuberculosis transmission (1902); he also edited for print I. T. Thomescu's courses on pathology and internal medicine,Angheluță, pp. 379–380 and lectured at the Romanian Atheneum on the prevention of gout."Noutăți. Dela Ateneu", in Tribuna Poporului, December 6/19, 1903, p. 7 Settling in Bucharest, where he briefly put out the magazine Spitalul ("The Hospital"), Sterian married Alexandrina Gulimănescu, daughter of a florist from Pitești. Together, they had four children, including sons Paul (born 1904) and Constantin. Their home by 1912 was on Bibescu-Vodă Street, 22.Elvira Botez, "Aniversări astronomice centenare", in Studii și Comunicări, Vol. II, 2009, pp. 372, 375"Din originalitățile d-luĭ dr. Eraclie Sterian. Un apel către centenarii romîni de pretutindeni", in Adevărul, December 30, 1912, p. 2
In parallel to his work in conventional medicine, Sterian was becoming a follower of Sebastian Kneipp's water cures. He published his own introduction on the subject, including a biography of Kneipp, in 1904.Angheluță, p. 380 In 1903, he relaunched his work in medical journalism with a review called Tribuna Sănătăței ("Health Tribune"),D-na D-r ⁂, "Poșta medicului", in Moda Nouă Ilustrată, Issue 12/1904, p. 7 and then involved himself in public debates over the medical implications of wearing corsets. By late 1904, he was arguing, against Dimitrie Gerota, that corsets were not harmful in themselves."Treanca-fleanca. Chestia corsetului. Balul lăutarilor din Brăila", in Furnica, Issue 20/1905, p. 6 From November 1, 1905, to May 7, 1911,Baiculescu et al., pp. 398–399 Sterian put out a weekly magazine, first as Medicina Populară ("Popular Medicine"), then as Medicul Poporului ("People's Physician"). He began writing occasional articles for Familia, including a 1906 piece on life extension, advertising iodine-based cures.Eraclie Sterian, "Prelungirea vieții", in Familia, Issue 21/1906, p. 248
By 1905, Sterian and his Demetriade uncle had joined the circle of Symbolist writers and connoisseurs formed around Alexandru Macedonski.Eugeniu Sperantia, "Alexandru Macedonski și cercul său", in Steaua, Vol. XV, Issue 1, January 1964, pp. 69–70 Sterian also joined the Conservative League, a pressure group within the nationwide Conservative Party. In June 1905, ahead of scheduled elections in Bucharest, he hosted Macedonski and "over 150 electors" in his home. Speaking on this occasion, he urged all members of the League not to rebel against the party leadership."Intrunirea ligeĭ conservatoare", in Dimineața, June 28, 1905, p. 3 Sterian's various opinion pieces were published under pseudonyms: Ester (in Macedonski's Liga Conservatoare), Est, and Ilcare.Straje, pp. 256, 343, 676 Also in 1905,"D-l dr. Eraclie Sterian demizionează din partidul conservator", in Adevărul, December 13, 1912, p. 2 Sterian had become a grassroots organizer of the Conservatives. He was active in the Blue Ward of Bucharest, alongside Demetriade; in February 1906, they both issued a call for reunification between the Conservative mainstream and the Junimea splinter group, noting that the latter has absorbed some of the most talented cadres (including Petre P. Carp and Alexandru Marghiloman)."Intrunirea conservatorilor nemulțumiți din culoarea de albastru", in Dimineața, February 3, 1906, p. 3
A year later, Sterian conferenced at the Atheneum on a highly controversial topic, declaring himself opposed to the immigration of Romanians from Austria-Hungary, and especially Transylvania. In his view, the Transylvanians were an invasive and pervasive presence, whose influence risked subjugating the culture of other Romanian subgroups.M., "Păreri și impresii. Conferința d-lui d-r Eraclie Sterian", in Adevărul, January 21, 1907, p. 1 This stance was mocked by intellectuals who had embraced Romanian nationalism and anti-Symbolist traditionalism. In a March 1907 satire, George Ranetti proposed that Sterian's quarrel with the Transylvanians was inspired by Macedonski—since immigrants from that region were least likely to embrace, or even condone, the "decadent" school.Sc. "Cronică. III. Reviste", in Sămănătorul, Vol. VI, Issue 10, March 1907, p. 198 In his other political stances, Sterian's outlook was that of a compliant nationalist. During the Bosnian crisis of 1908, he addressed the crowds at Dacia Hall to protest against Austria-Hungary and the Triple Alliance; in that context, he called for the Duchy of Bukovina to be annexed by Romania."Intrunirea naționalistă din sala Dacia. Cuvântările oratorilor", in Tribuna, October 16/29, 1908, p. 4
In a March 1910 article for Medicul Poporului, Sterian challenged American eugenicists and their policy of compulsory sterilization, as well as orthodox degeneration theory. In his view, sterilization could provide some form of racial hygiene, but could do nothing to curb crime, mental disease, or alcoholism.Marius Turda, Aaron Gillette, Latin Eugenics in Comparative Perspective, pp. 104, 287. Bloomsbury Publishing, London & New York City, 2014. Around that time, as concerned members of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Sterian and Demetriade joined the movement supporting Gherasim Safirin, the Bishop of Roman, in his conflict with the secularizing Romanian Synod. Sterian publicly referred to the Synod as manipulated by "atheists" and "grave sinners".C. Cernăianu, Biserica din Regat, 1908—1918 (Semnele timpului în Biserica noastră. Publicație specială pentru cazuri extraordinare), pp. 173–174. Bucharest: Apollo, 1920 His wife Alexandrina soon became a major patron of Saint Catherine Church, Bucharest.C. Bobulescu, Cronica Bisericii Sf. Ecaterine din București, 1577—1 octomvri 1924, pp. 72–73. Bucharest: Convorbiri Literare, 1927
Sexology and natalism