52 Teachings of Thomas Huxley 



formance of certain acts altogether, or indulges 

 itself only when in private. There is there- 

 fore an innate sense for the judgment of con- 

 scious acts which responds to the evidences of 

 experience, highly developed in certain indi- 

 viduals and almost wholly lacking in others. 

 As this latter type fortunately represents a 

 very minor portion of mankind, those who de- 

 viate from the former standard are recognized 

 bv students of abnormal psvcholojrv as moral 

 degenerates and are classified among the irre- 

 sponsible or insane. The conditions may be 

 congenital, in which it most often takes the 

 form of kleptomania or of sexual perversion, 

 or it may be acquired through disease, taking 

 any form toward which the natural passions 

 of the individual are inclined. This latter is 

 most often seen in general paresis or, as it is 

 otherwise known, paralytic dementia. Right 

 conduct depends very largely on the inhibitory 

 control of the higher cerebral centers, and con- 

 sequently when this control is removed the in- 

 dividual becomes physically incapable of proper 

 exercise of judgment. In the maniacal this 

 becomes a matter of clinical experience ; for 

 it is a common observation that in mania 

 (manic depressive insanity) persons often in- 

 dulge in the most obscene and profane lan- 

 guage, no matter how great their previous de- 

 gree of refinement, culture, or religious predi- 

 lection. 



