criminal psychology-第134部分

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ccur　when　no　such　control　is　present？　There　is　the　story　of　a　woman　who　could　describe　so　accurately　symptoms　which　resulted　from　a　swallowed　needle；　that　the　physicians　were　deceived　and　undertook


＇1＇　Cf。　Witasek：　Zeitschrift　f。　Psychologie。　Vol。　XII。　‘‘ber　Willkrliche　Vorstellungsverbindung。''

＇2＇　Psychologie。　Wien　u。　Prag。　1897。

　operations　which　only　served　to　show　that　the　woman　had　merely　imagined　it　all。　A　similar　case　is　that　of　a　man　who　believed　himself　to　have　swallowed　his　false　teeth。　He　even　had　serious　feelings　of　choking　which　immediately　disappeared　on　the　discovery　of　the　teeth　under　his　night…table。　A　prominent　oculist　told　me　that　he　had　once　treated　for　some　time　a　famous　scholar　because　the　latter　so　accurately　described　a　weakening　of　the　retina　that　the　physician；　in　spite　of　his　objective　discoveries；　was　deceived　and　learned　his　mistake　only　when　it　appeared　that　the　great　scholar　fortunately　had　been　made　game　of　by　his　own　imagination。　Maudsley　tells　how　Baron　von　Swieten　once　saw　burst　a　rotten　corpse　of　a　dog；　and；　for　years　after；　saw　the　same　thing　whenever　he　came　to　the　same　place。　Many　people；　Goethe；　Newton；　Shelley；　William　Black；　and　others；　were　able　completely　to　visualize　past　images。　Fechner　tells　of　a　man　who　claimed　voluntarily　to　excite　anywhere　on　his　skin　the　feeling　of　pressure；　heat；　and　cold；　but　not　of　cut；　prick　or　bruise；　because　such　imaginations　tended　to　endure　a　long　time。　There　is　the　story　of　another　man　who　had　a　three　days'　pain　in　his　finger　because　he　had　seen　his　child　crush　an　analogous　finger。

Abercrombie　tells　of　an　otherwise　very　excitable　person　who　believed　in　the　reality　of　the　luck　that　a　fortune…teller　had　predicted　for　him；　and　some　authorities　hold　that　practically　everybody　who　eagerly　awaits　a　friend　hears　his　step　in　every　sound。　Hoppe's　observation　that　pruritus　vulv　excites　in　imaginative　women　the　illusion　of　being　raped　is　of　considerable　importance；　and　we　criminalists　must　watch　for　it　in　certain　cases。　Lieber　tells　of　a　colored　preacher　who　so　vividly　painted　the　tortures　in　hell　that　he　himself　could　merely　cry　and　grunt　for　minutes　at　a　time。　Mller　cites　a　lady　who　was　permitted　to　smell　from　an　empty　bottle　and　who　regularly　lost　consciousness　when　she　was　told　that　the　bottle　contained　laughing　gas。　Women　often　assert　that　when　about　to　change　their　homes　they　often　see　the　new　residence　in　dreams　just　as　it　really　appears　later　on。　Then　there　is　a　story　of　a　man　blind　for　fourteen　years　who　nevertheless　saw　the　faces　of　acquaintances　and　was　so　troubled　thereby　that　the　famous　Graefe　severed　his　optic　nerve　and　so　released　him　from　his　imagination。

Taine　describes　the　splendid　scene　in　which　Balzac　once　told　Mad。　de　Girardin　that　he　intended　to　give　Sandeau　a　horse。　He　did　not　do　so；　but　talked　so　much　about　it　that　he　used　to　ask　Sandeau　how　the　horse　was。　Taine　comments　that　it　is　clear　that　the　starting　point　of　such　an　illusion　is　a　voluntary　fiction。　The　person　　in　question　knows　it　as　such　in　the　beginning　but　forgets　it　at　the　end。　Such　false　memories　are　numerous　among　barbarous　peoples　and　among　raw；　untrained；　and　childish　minds。　They　see　a　simple　fact；　the　more　they　think　of　it　the　more　they　see　in　it；　they　magnify　and　decorate　it　with　environing　circumstances；　and　finally；　unite　all　the　details　into　a　whole　in　memory。　Then　they　are　unable　to　distinguish　what　is　true　from　what　is　not。　Most　legends　develop　in　this　way。　A　peasant　assured　Taine　that　he　saw　his　sister's　soul　on　the　day　she　died；though　it　was　really　the　light　of　a　brandy　bottle　in　the　sunset。

In　conclusion；　I　want　to　cite　a　case　I　have　already　mentioned；　which　seems　to　me　significant。　As　student　I　visited　during　vacation　a　village；　one　of　whose　young　peasant　inhabitants　had　gone　to　town　for　the　first　time　in　his　life。　He　was　my　vacation　play…mate　from　earliest　childhood；　and　known　to　me　as　absolutely　devoted　to　the　truth。　When　he　returned　from　his　visit；　he　told　me　of　the　wonders　of　the　city；　the　climax　of　which　was　the　menagerie　he　had　visited。　He　described　what　he　saw　very　well；　but　also　said　that　he　had　seen　a　battle　between　an　anaconda　and　a　lion。　The　serpent　swallowed　the　lion　and　then　many　Moors　came　and　killed　the　serpent。　As　was　immediately　to　be　inferred　and　as　I　verified　on　my　return；　this　battle　was　to　be　seen　only　on　the　advertising　posters　which　are　hung　in　front　of　every　menagerie。　The　lad's　imagination　had　been　so　excited　by　what　he　had　seen　that　day　that　the　real　and　the　imagined　were　thoroughly　interfused。　How　often　may　this　happen　to　our　witnesses！

If　the　notion　of　imagination　is　to　be　limited　to　the　activity　of　representation；　we　must　class　under　it　the　premonitions　and　forewarnings　which　are　of　influence　not　only　among　the　uneducated。　Inasmuch　as　reliable　observations；　not　put　together　a　posteriori；　are　lacking；　nothing　exact　can　be　said　about　them。　That　innumerable　assertions　and　a　semi…scientific　literature　about　the　matter　exists；　is　generally　familiar。　And　it　is　undeniable　that　predictions；　premonitions；　etc。；　may　be　very　vivid；　and　have　considerable　somatic　influence。　Thus；　prophecy　of　approaching　death；　certain　threats　or　knowledge　of　the　fact　that　an　individual's　death　is　being　prayed　for；　etc。；　may　have　deadly　effect　on　excited　people。　The　latter　superstition　especially；　has　considerable　influence。　Praying　for　death；　etc。；　is　aboriginal。　It　has　been　traced　historically　into　the　twelfth　century　and　is　made　use　of　today。　Twelve　years　ago　I　was　told　of　a　case　in　which　an　old　lady　was　killed　because　an　enemy　of　hers　had　the　　death…mass　read　for　her。　The　old　lady　simply　died　of　fright。　In　some　degree　we　must　pay　attention　to　even　such　apparently　remote　questions。


（d）　_Misunderstandings_。

Section　106。　（I）　Verbal　Misunderstandings。＇1＇

Here　too　it　is　not　possible　to　draw　an　absolutely　definite　boundary　between　acoustic　illusions　and　misunderstandings。　Verbally　we　may　say　that　the　former　occur　when　the　mistake；　at　least　in　its　main　characteristic；　is　due　to　the　aural　mechanism。　The　latter　is　intended　when　there　is　a　mistake　in　the　comprehension　of　a　word　or　of　a　sentence。　In　this　case　the　ear　has　acted　efficiently；　but　the　mind　did　not　know　how　to　handle　what　had　been　heard　and　so　supplements　it　by　something　else　in　connection　with　matter　more　or　less　senseless。　Hence；　misunderstandings　are　so　frequent　with　foreign　words。　Compare　the　singing　of　immigrant　school　children；　‘‘My　can't　three　teas　of　tea''　for　‘‘My　country　'tis　of　thee；''　or　‘‘Pas　de　lieu　Rhone　que　nous''　with　‘‘Paddle　your　own　canoe。''＇2＇

The　question　of　misunderstandings；　their　development　and　solution；　is　of　great　importance　legally；　since　not　only　witnesses　but　clerks　and　secretaries　are　subject　to　them。　If　they　are　undiscovered　they　lead　to　dangerous　mistakes；　and　their　discovery　causes　great　trouble　in　getting　at　the　correct　solution。＇3＇　The　determination　of　texts　requires　not　only　effort　but　also　psychological　knowledge　and　the　capacity　of　putting　one's　self　in　the　place　of　him　who　has　committed　the　error。　To　question　him　may　often　be　impossible　because　of　the　distance；　and　may　be　useless　because　he　no　longer　knows　what　he　said　or　wanted　to　say。　When　we　consider　what　a　tremendous　amount　of　work　classical　philologists；　etc。；　have　to　put　into　the　determination　of　the　proper　form　of　some　misspelled　word；　we　can　guess　how　needful　it　is　to　have　the　textual　form　of　a　protocol　absolutely　correct。　The　innocence　or　guilt　of　a　human　being　may　depend　upon　a　misspelled　syllable。　Now；　to　determine　the　proper　and　correct　character　of　the　text　is　as　a　rule　difficult；　and　in　most　cases　impossible。　Whether　a　witness　or　the　secretary　has　misunderstood；　makes　no　difference　in　the　nature　of　the　work。　Its　importance　remains　unaffected；　but　in　the　latter　case　the　examining　justice；　in　so　far　as　he　correctly


＇1＇　Many　omissions　have　been　necessitated　by　the　feet　that　no　English　equivalents　for　the　German　examples　could　be　found。　＇Translator。＇

＇2＇　Cf。　S。　Freud：　Psychopathologie　des　Alltagsleben

＇3＇　Cited　by　James；　Psychology；　Buefer　Course。

　remembers　what　he　has　heard；　may　avoid　error。　The　mistakes　of　the　secretaries　may　in　any　event　be　reduced　to　a　minimum　if　all　protocols　are　read　immediately；　and　not　by　the　secretary　but　by　the　examining　judge　himself。　If　the　writer　reads　them　he　makes　the　same　mistakes；　and　only　a　very　intelligent　witness　will　perceive　them　and　call　attention　to　them。　Unless　it　so　happens　the　mistake　remains。

I　cite　a　few　of　the　errors　that　I　have　observed。　From　a　protocol　with　the　suspect：　‘‘On　the　twelfth　of　the　month　I　left　Marie　Tomizil''　（instead　of；　‘‘my　domicile''）。　Instead　of　‘‘irrelevant；''‘‘her　elephant。''　Very　often　words　are　written　in；　which　the　dictator　only　says　by　the　way；　e。　g。；　‘‘come　in；''　‘‘go　on；''　‘‘hurry　up；''　‘‘look　out；''　etc。　If　such　words　get　into　the　text　at　all　it　is　difficult　to　puzzle　out　how　they　got　in。　How　easily　and　frequently　people　misunderstand　is　shown　by　the　oath　they　take。　Hardly　a　day　passes　on　which　at　least　one　witness　does　not　say　some　absolute　nonsense　while　repeating　it。

The　discovery　of　such　errors　and　the　substitution　of　what　is　correct　brings　us