176 CELL INTELLIGENCE THE CAUSE OF EVOLUTION 



tion; sometimes it looks to me as if we all were walking 

 along the borderland of insanity, hysteria, dementia, 

 idiocy and imbecility, for most of us seem to be afflicted 

 with a mental weakness of some kind. 



I believe that the cause of mental weakness in man 

 arises from over development of the mental faculty, the 

 brain. It becomes too complicated and the wires get 

 crossed. Consider all the religious beliefs ; the foolish 

 patent medicine schemes, faith cures, get rich quick, spirit- 

 ualist and other superstitious nonsense, which rope in 

 people. Consider how the asylums are being filled with 

 the insane of all kinds, people morally insane, intellect- 

 ually insane, as monomania, people afflicted with com- 

 mon mania or raving madness, dementia, imbecility and 

 idiocy. Very few human beings are capable of reasoning, 

 as we understand reason. 



Think of the superstitions of the past centuries, the 

 burning of the witches, etc. The following article from 

 a newspaper is significant of the prevailing condition of 

 the human mental machinery : "The next time you are 

 inclined to scoff at any person for indulging in 'supersti- 

 tious' beliefs and practices, just stop a minute and con- 

 sider whether you are not in some degree superstitious 

 yourself. If you make an honest self-examination I have 

 not the slightest doubt that you will be more charitably 

 disposed toward the 'poor fool' whose belief in ghosts, 

 witchcraft or charms you were about to ridicule. 



"Not long ago there was a notable trial in Boston of a 

 man accused of selling 'lucky stones.' In the course of 

 his trial, which ended in a conviction and jail sentence, it 

 developed that for several years he had done an enormous 

 business in these magic gems. His patrons, who annually 

 numbered up in the thousands, were by no means confined 

 to the ignorant and the uneducated. It was found that 



