54 _ On Idiocy. [Jan., 



opened for both. Some pathologists deny congenital idiocy, and 

 assert that the healthy baby develops the disease by thumb-sucking, 

 but experience proves to the contrary, and a long list of material 

 cerebral defects and deformities indicates that although the laws of 

 teratology are often beside the question, there are structural pecu- 

 liarities sufficient to explain the mental condition. The following 

 selected cases will, give an idea of the vast amount of difference in 

 the so-called idiotic. The first is the history of a profound idiot ; 

 the second refers to a case which had locomotive powers ; and the 

 third relates to a child that enjoyed slight communication with 

 others. 



A boy, six years of age, is a well-formed idiot of the lowest 

 class. The head is not badly formed. The face is pale and is 

 without expression. A slight smile is now and then seen when he 

 is much pleased, but there is no evidence of intelligence to be 

 derived from the action of any of the facial muscles. He stares 

 fixedly, and will not follow the hand with his eyes when it is waved 

 to and fro. His power of vision is very slight, and at times the 

 eyes wander from one object to another in an unmeaning manner ; 

 or they remain fixed upon space while the head is slowly moved 

 from side to side. The ears are well formed externally, and he 

 hears, but will not listen when required to do so. The nose is well 

 formed, and the sense of smell exists. His taste is defective, and he 

 can barely distinguish between nice and nasty things. The saliva 

 runs slightly from the mouth, which is usually open. The upper 

 lip is large, the teeth are irregular and bad, and the arch of the 

 palate is high. He has no voice, and cannot hum a tune, and he 

 rarely shrieks or cries. The body is well made, but very weak in its 

 muscular development. The lungs are healthy. The heart is very 

 feeble in its impulse, and its pulsations are slow. The erect posture 

 soon induces faintness. The arms are thin and well formed, and 

 so are the hands. He can move the hands at will, but he cannot 

 grasp in an easy and perfect manner ; they are generally in motion, 

 being waved in the air before the face. The legs are thin. He 

 cannot stand nor sit upright. He can kick about and roll over, 

 but the usual posture is on the back with the legs drawn up. 

 He does not recognize his mother, there is no intelligence; the 

 emotions barely exist, and even passion is rare. The habits are 

 those of the earliest infancy. He has to be treated like an infant 

 of a few days' old. He does not suck, but takes food from a spoon 

 or with his fingers, but he cannot swallow unless the morsel is 

 placed far back on the tongue. He sleeps well and drinks with 

 difficulty. 



The intelligence is at the lowest ebb, the power of muscular 

 co-ordination is very defective, and the inability to walk or to use 

 any of the limbs satisfactorily characterizes the case. The child 



