2U ANGER. Chap. X. 



Dr. Maudsley, after detailing various strange animal- 

 like traits in idiots, asks whether these are not due to 

 the reappearance of primitive instincts — " a faint echo 

 from a far-distant past, testifying to a kinship which 

 man has almost outgrown." He adds, that as every 

 human brain passes, in the course of its development, 

 through the same stages as those occurring in the lower 

 vertebrate animals, and as the brain of an idiot is in an 

 arrested condition, we may presume that it " will mani- 

 fest its most primitive functions, and no higher func- 

 tions." Dr. Maudsley thinks that the same view may 

 be extended to the brain in its degenerated condition 

 in some insane patients; and asks, whence come " the 

 savage snarl, the destructive disposition, the obscene lan- 

 guage, the wild howl, the offensive habits, displayed by 

 some of the insane? Why should a human being, de- 

 prived of his reason, ever become so brutal in character, 

 as some do, unless he has the brute nature within 

 him?" 12 This question must, as it would appear, be 

 answered in the affirmative. 



Anger, Indignation. — These states of the mind differ 

 from rage only in degree, and there is no marked dis- 

 tinction in their characteristic signs. Under moderate 

 anger the action of the heart is a little increased, the 

 colour heightened, and the eyes become bright. The 

 respiration is likewise a little hurried; and as all the 

 muscles serving for this function act in association, the 

 wings of the nostrils are somewhat raised to allow of a 

 free indraught of air; and this is a highly characteristic 

 sign of indignation. The mouth is commonly com- 

 pressed, and there is almost always a frown on the brow. 

 Instead of the frantic gestures of extreme rage, an in- 

 dignant man unconsciously throws himself into an atti- 



12 



' Body and Mind,' 1870, pp. 51-53. 



