JEWISH PSYCHOPATHOLOGY 271 



produced a race with a paranoid make-up seems not altogether improb- 

 able. The general paranoid attitude of the race is shown in an almost 

 universal tendency to assume the possession of superior racial mental 

 qualifications, and when these are denied or in any way gainsaid, to fail 

 to appreciate the point of view of the one who opposes them. 



This idea of superiority to other people is so inbred that it has 

 probably become a hereditary character for which the individual is 

 entirely irresponsible. But a paranoid make-up is not particularly 

 dangerous to its possessor who is otherwise normal, unless by great 

 stress or a very unusual combination of disagreeable experiences this 

 tendency be diverted into abnormal channels. 



The chief danger lies in the accentuation of the character by too 

 close inbreeding with those having a like tendency. In fact, the gen- 

 eral attitude of the person who has this paranoid make-up in a mild 

 degree may be said to be an enviable one rather than otherwise. He 

 is aggressive in upholding his rights, suspicious of attempts to thwart 

 him in the pursuit of the same, and strives constantly to reach the goal 

 of his ambitions. These are all admirable traits. It is only when they 

 become accentuated to the point where they are pervaded by delusions 

 of grandeur and persecution, that they render the person possessing 

 them a menace to society. 



To return to the thought expressed at the beginning of this paper, 

 that the prevention of mental diseases is quite the most important part 

 of their treatment, it would seem that the Jews have it in their power 

 to ultimately stamp out the feeble-minded and insane from among their 

 race. The way in which they can do this must be plain to whoever has 

 followed the gist of my argument. It is all a question of eugenics. 

 A little more care in the matter of consanguineous marriages and a 

 quick and thorough departure from the old beaten tracks which forbid 

 the introduction of non-Jewish blood into their veins, will, in the 

 course of a few generations, redeem them from the unhappy mental 

 state info which they have fallen. 





