INSANITY. 



117 



tl frr- 



boat 



.jr..-;.. 



is questionable, is ultimately determined by utility, 

 ' and the influence of example. Minds so constituted 

 by nature, or distorted by disease, that the common 

 motive* of mankind do not reach them, are very dif- 

 ferent from those in whom an obtuseness to humanity, 

 justice, and rational fear, is the direct effect of a de- 

 praved self- indulgence. In the former, common mo- 

 tive* are precluded from all operation, and their ac- 

 tion* are, in this respect, entirely fortuitous ; whereas 

 the Utter are cises by the punishment of which a 

 numerous description of persons are restrained from 

 criminal actions. To prevent crime is the object of 

 criminal legislation, and not to gratify, by the inflic- 

 tion of pain, that just antipathy which the virtuous 

 entertain to moral evil. We by no means assert that 

 this consideration is the sole foundation of the dis- 

 tinctions to be made between the different sources 

 of human action*, and that accountablenea* ha* no 

 meaning in itself. In the greater number of cases, the 

 difference between voluntary and involuntary conduct 

 it broadly marked. But wherever a difficulty exists, 

 the ptiociple* of utility, and a reference to the ultimate 

 consequence* of our decision on the safety of social 

 life, afford the surest aid. Wherever a due degree of at- 

 tention ha* bean paid to the aberration* of the human 

 mind, by the parties called on to give their decision be- 

 fore a man i* to be treated a* insane, and wherever the 

 whole proceeding* are subjected to a fair degree of pub> 

 we have little to apprehend, in an intelligent state 

 of society, from the mere difficulty of the subject It i- 

 from ianieiMillMillllliai mdeneaa, the toleration of low 

 nrnnn-r motive*, the avoidance of a duty fiinliahtf 



~ a* which 



thefabeprideoffomeleadiUMmtoform with other. 

 who are actuated by the wont motive* to cultivate a 



t* >i u v of unnrin ; v o';< r i i irr t ! ii.it thr m< "t !.:! n.t.i- 



bit abaew en the (object of insanity have derived their 

 origin. But it u one of the nMMt animating feature* of 

 the) preaent age, to DM! toe general 

 rior to Mick Mnc and aiista 

 hablr h 



aiistake. We may pro- 



r thinking on all 

 anee of some of the most prei 

 aanity. To know our dub** 



asaprecunorof aaounder 

 iecu, and the diaappear- 



,,.,- 



to those woo an really 



maane, is to be farther removed from a tendency to a 

 uawriripariiio in their malady, than we should otherwise 

 be. 



Insanity, in the 

 the term, implies a 

 one's self in the management of 

 in the relation* of social life. Croat liiiiiiirlii and 



aberration*, indeed, often exist. 

 nrnni nity. 



be called 



wtnen are nevci 1 de- 

 i* generally a difference 

 yah, m addition to what 

 of conduct, 

 t, and thia, 



though readily recognised by persons of observation, 

 doe* not admit nf definition. 



Infinity exist* in variou* forms, a* well aa various 

 Whan we attempt to wtabli.h a division of 

 ; on the form* which it aseume*. our nibdi- 

 too muneron*, and we run the risk of 

 Imitating <ymptnm which are liable to great and 

 " interchange in the Mme individual*, for different 



i and description* of dineaae. 



The most convenient division of the subject, i* that 

 lakh ia founded on the. ervr* of different caw* of in- 

 a marked difference between 



nkal"and" 



insanitv." 



conge- 

 va. 



riety is one from which no recovery is expected. It is Idiotiiin. 

 generally denominated idiolitun, and is usually distin- N ~^Y"*' 

 guished by a deficiency, rather than a derangement of the 

 mental powers. Some one of the senses is often at the Congenital 

 same time dull or abolished. This happens most fre- insanity, 

 quently with that of hearing. The want of a power of 

 giving attention is the most glaring symptom ; and this 

 is distinguished from the volatility of lively minds, by 

 being accompanied with a slowness or inability to form 

 combinations among the ideas of perception, or to draw 

 silent practical inferences for the guidance of their ac- 

 tions. It is readily known by a peculiar look and 

 manner, accompanied with an alienation from all the 

 feelings and pursuits of other persons, an insensibility 

 to those impressions which are derived from social in- 

 tercourse, and an ineptitude to receive instruction. 

 Sometimes the idiot never learns to speak, and his ar- 

 ticulation is always imperfect. He seems insensible 

 to the language of others, and only occasionally per- 

 ceives a rutle glimmering of meaning in words or ex- 

 pressions which have received an habitual association 

 with the supply of his natural wants, or the excitement 

 of strong let-lings of bodily pleasure or pain. Yet 

 there are remarkable instances of partial idiot ism. 

 roui deficiencies are conjoined with great quick- 

 neu, great address, tenacious memory, and even symp- 

 toms of genius. These qualifications are limited, how- 

 to a narrow range of objects. 



congenital in-anity has sometimes assumed a 

 form more nearly allied to the madness which aU 

 tacks adults. Children have been known who, with- 

 out those deficiencies commonly reckoned icliotism, 

 have evinced a degree of estrangement from their spe- 

 cie*, an insensibility to all kindness and good humour, 

 and a perpetual proclivity to the most unprovoked ma- 

 lice, and to the most violent forms of outrage, in a form 

 equally incorrigible and conspicuous as in the most dan. 

 gerous maniacs. Two remarkable cases of this kind are 

 described by Mr. Haslam. We also occasionally see na- 

 tural idiot*, who have a degree of activity which assimi- 

 late* their character more or less to that of other insane 

 person*. On the other hand, an imbecility exactly simi- 

 lar to that of natural idioU has often originated, from va- 

 rious cause*, in persons who had previously been in full 

 pos*ea*iun of their faculties. It is only a prevailing, it is 

 not an universal fact, that congenital insanity assumes 

 the form of idiotUm, and supervening insanity that to 

 which we give the name of madneis. 



To trace the connection between deficiencies of mind Connection 

 and defects or disorders of organisation, i* not an easy witl' "rgn- 

 taak. Nature invite* us to it by some prevailing coin- ic 

 cidences ; but, when we trace these down to their mi- 

 ffotue, she leave* us in the midst of such mere con- 

 jecture and uncertainty, that we find it difficult to dc- 

 termine the point at which our researches Income un- 

 availing. Idiots are evidently distinguished from other 

 persons by a peculiarity in the appearance of the head. 

 Most commonly the head is of diminutive size, and that 

 part of the brain which lies between the forehead and the 

 vertex, is small in quantity. At other times, the back 

 part of the head appears deficient ; the boundary of the 

 occiput is a vertical line in continuity with that of the 

 cervix, and the anterior part of the head is towering 

 and heavy. Some who have professed to prosecute 

 the subject extensively have told us that these were 

 case* in which the ventricles of the brain were distend- 

 ed with a serous secretion, and the cerebral substance 

 both deficient in quantity, and subjected to all the dis- 

 advantage* arising from dropsical oppression and dior- 



