Observations on the illusions of the insane, and on the medico-legal question of their confinement / tr. from the French of M. Esquirol by William Liddell.

  • Esquirol, Etienne, 1772-1840.
Date:
1833
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the illusions of the insane, and on the medico-legal question of their confinement / tr. from the French of M. Esquirol by William Liddell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    4th. That they cannot be confounded with hallu- cinations, (visions,) since in the latter cases the brain only is excited. 5th. That illusions lead the judgment astray re- specting the nature and cause of the impressions actually received, and urge the insane to acts dangerous to themselves and to others. 6th. That sex, education, profession, and habits, by modifying the reaction of the brain, modify also the character of the illusions. (Observations 5, 11, 15, &c.) 7th. That illusions assume the character of the passions, (12, 14, 15,) and of the ideas which govern the insane, (8, 9, 10, 20, 21, 22.) 8th. That reason dissipates the illusions of the man of sound mind, whilst it is not powerful enough to destroy those of the insane. If by observation I have been able to elucidate a psycological phenomenon, but little appreciated, al- though common in delirium,—if the facts which I have related throw some light upon the still obscure history of the aberrations of the understanding, or if they furnish therapeutic views, applicable to the treatment of mental diseases, these observations will not be entirely without interest.