VARIATION AND HEREDITY 27 



degenerate families, not necessarily with a previous 

 history of violent crime, who form another third of 

 the population of the police courts and prisons, it is 

 probably true to say that many of them are at times 

 morally insane. They have physical and mental char- 

 acteristics in common with both the born criminal and 

 the epileptic ; but, unlike the born criminal, they fre- 

 quently exhibit remorse for their crimes, and between 

 their outbreaks are amenable to the influence of a good 

 environment. It is an open question how far their 

 criminal actions are committed during some suspension 

 or alteration of the intellectual and moral faculties, in 

 which case they can hardly be said to be responsible 

 for their doings, although they are none the less 

 dangerous to the community. 



Some of the Continental criminologists class hysteria, 

 usually considered to be a distinct disease, as a mild 

 form of epilepsy, especially prevalent among women. 

 This condition also is traced to hereditary influences, 

 similar to those found in cases of actual epilepsy, and 

 is also transmitted by neurotic and inebriate parents ; 

 although, like epilepsy, it is occasionally due to illness, 

 such as meningitis, to a fall, a blow, or a fright. 

 Hysterical patients are known to be profoundly ego- 

 istical, and are frequently willing to do anything to 

 attract attention, whether favourable or unfavourable, 

 a peculiarity of many recognizedly insane persons. 

 Lombroso notes that hysterical women take special 

 delight in slandering and bringing false accusations, 

 charging their servants and neighbours with dis- 

 honesty, their male relatives with indifference, neglect 

 or indecency, and that anonymous letter-writing, with 



