302 



The Plea of Insanity, 



ing a side glance at the unconscious and attentive Lord Avoumore, I 

 remember the ridicule with which my learned friend has been pleased 

 so unworthily to visit the poverty of my client ; and remembering it, 

 neither of us can forget the fine sentiment of a great Greek his- 

 torian upon the subject which I shall take the liberty of quoting in 

 the original, as no doubt it must be familiar to all of you. It is to be 

 found in the celebrated work of Hesiod called the Phantasmagoria, 

 After expatiating upon the sad effects of poverty, you may remember he 

 pathetically remarks : 



' Nil babet infelix paupertas duriua in so 

 • Quam quod ridicuios hoinines facit.' " 



Lord Avonmore bristled up at once: "Why, Mr. Curran, Hesiod was 

 not a historian — he was ajwef, andjfor my part, I never heard before 

 of any such poem as the Phantasmagoriar " Oh, my good lord, I assure 

 you he wrote it." ^'Well, well, it may be so; Til not dispute it, as you 

 seem to be so very serious about it ; but, at all events, the lines you 

 quoted are Latin, they are undoubtedly Juvenal's." " Perhaps, my lord, 

 he quotes them from the Phantasmagoria." " Tut, tut, man, I tell you 

 they are Latin ; they are just as familiar to me as my Blackstone." 



Indeed, my good lord, they are Greek." " Why, Mr. Curran, do you 

 want to pursuade me out of my senses ? I tell you they're Latin ; 

 can it be possible that your memory so fails you ?" " Well, my lord, 

 I see plainly enough we never can agree upon the subject ; but I'll tell 

 you how it can easily be determined. If it was a legal question, I 

 should of course bow at once to the decision of your lordship; but it 

 is not — it is a mere matter of fact, and there is only one way I know 

 of deciding it ; send it up as a collateral issue to that jury and I'll be 

 bound they'll it GreeTc.^^ 



When the joke flashed upon the simplicity of Lord Avonmore, he 

 literally shook with laughter. 



One of the most serious embarrassments incident to the procedure 

 is that arising from expert testimony. This class of testimony is, in 

 most cases, a necessity. Questions to which alienists speak on the 

 witness' stand are often intrinsically difficult, — questions upon which 

 there are honest differences of opinion among men of undoubted 

 scientific attainments ; but the worst difficulties encountered are adven- 

 titious. 



In the first place there is no rule or standard by which courts can 

 determine who is and who is not entitled to speak as an expert. 

 True, it is said that neither quacks " nor mere speculative theorists 

 are admitted as experts. But who are ^' quacks " and who mere spec- 

 ulative theorists ? And how shall courts decide these questions? A 



