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66

X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

The mental symptoms were not
changed materially after the
paroxysm was over, in the cases
which I have seen. Epilepay is
caused sometimes by mechanical
violence, a8 a stroke or blow on
the head, sometimes by grief,
joy, fear, fright, or soon. All the
passions, or most of them, may
produce it, Some say that the
rain of the subject will on dis-
section show traces of the dis-
ease, while many deny it, The
disease is characterized by a dis-
turbance of the mental faculties,
which some say affects chiefly
the brain, but others of high an-
thority say the eeat of the dis-
ease is the stomach and intes-
tines, French writers say so.
Epileptic patients generally com-
plain of pain in the head. Nev-
er attended patients in a Ina-
tie asylum, The work I refer to
is Pinel. Don’t recollect to have
seen Esquirrol given as author-
ity, nor Mark. Have sean Prit-
chard quoted but not Gaylor nor
Beck. Have seen Ray. Have
read Pinel, Pritchard and Ray,
but have not studied them eare-
fally. It is not within the usual
range of my practice; in this I
do not pretend to be posted up.
1 know that it is a very diffie
thing to determine frequently if
a man is sane or insane. I will
give the reasons why I think so.
Tn the first place, I know of no
physieal reasons peenliar to in-
sanity. Some men are perfectly
sane on all subjects but one, and
unless you touch on that subject
you can’t tell whether they aro
insane or not. This is called
monomania. The difficulty of
determining insanity would be
increased by feigning it. It is
represented that insane persons
conceal theix insanity, and that

inereases the diffleulty. Insane
persons sre reported as having
80 carefully concealed their in-
sanity as to escape from lunatic
asylums, By insanity I mean
alienation of the mind or men-
tal aberration. When there is a
departure in an individual's
course from what he has usually
been, then there has heen a men-
tal departure from his usual
standard, and without cause for
any sudden change, it would
show insanity. An ‘entire sad-
den and complete change in the
line of a man’s conduet from his
former self without any appar-
ent cause, is in my view of it an
alienation of min
Re-eramined. When s de-
praved motive or a eourse of
conduct or lina of conduct in-
tended to carry such out is ex-
hibited, I would not consider
that to be insanity. If a mur-
der be committed, the body eon-
cealed by the murderer, the prop-
of the murdered man appro~
priated to the use of the mur-
derer, the murderer flies, changes
his name, travels 1,000 miles be-
fore he is caught, is found with
the murdered man’s property in
his possession, I would in such
case see no evidence of insanity.
I bave attended a great many in-
sane patients, I have never seen
epilepsy produce —_ insanity,
though some authors have said
it would. The anthors say it
produces imbecility, It ia not
dangerous insanity. Imbecility
is an approximation to idiocy.
Would not be afraid of an imbe-
eile except from the excitement
of the moment, Sometimes by
plaguing them they might mo-
mentarily be aroused to do harm,
An idiot ean at onee be recog-
nized, An imbecile is not 20

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