[Footnote: An extract from a Treatise on Insanity shortly to be
published by D. Appleton & Co.]
By WILLIAM A. HAMMOND, M.D., Surgeon-General U.S. Army (Retired List),
Professor of Diseases of the Mind and Nervous System in the New York
Post-Graduate Medical School, etc.
ECCENTRICITY.--Persons whose minds deviate in some one or more notable
respects from the ordinary standard, but yet whose mental processes are
not directly at variance with that standard, are said to be eccentric.
Eccentricity is generally inherent in the individual, or is gradually
developed in him from the operation of unrecognized causes as he
advances in years. If an original condition, it may be shown from a very
early period of life, his plays, even, being different from those
of other children of his age. Doubtless it then depends upon some
peculiarity of brain structure, which, within the limits of the normal
range, produces individuality of mental action.
But eccentricity is not always an original condition, for, under certain
circumstances, it may be acquired. A person, for instance, meets with
some circumstance in his life which tends to weaken his confidence in
human nature. He accordingly shuns mankind, by shutting himself up in
his own house and refusing to have any intercourse with the inhabitants
of the place in which he resides. In carrying out his purpose he
proceeds to the most absurd extremes. He speaks to no one he meets,
returns no salutations, and his relations with the tradesmen who supply
his daily wants are conducted through gratings in the door of his
dwelling. He dies, and the will which he leaves behind him is found to
devote his entire property for the founding of a hospital for sick and
ownerless dogs, "the most faithful creatures I have ever met, and the
only ones in which I have any confidence."
Such a man is not insane. There is a rational motive for his
conduct--one which many of us have experienced, and which has, perhaps,
prompted us to act in a similar manner, if not to the same extent.
Another is engaged in vast mercantile transactions, requiring the most
thorough exercise of the best faculties of the mind. He studies the
markets of the world, and buys and sells with uniform shrewdness and
success. In all the relations of life he conducts himself with the
utmost propriety and consideration for the rights and feelings of
others. The most complete study of his character and acts fails to show
the existence of the slightest defect in his mental processes. He goes
to church regularly every Sunday, but has never been regarded as a
particularly religious man. Nevertheless, he has one peculiarity. He
is a collector of Bibles, and has several thousand, of all sizes and
styles, and in many languages. If he hears of a Bible, in any part of
the world, different in any respect from those he owns, he at once
endeavors to obtain it, no matter how difficult the undertaking, or how
much it may cost. Except in the matter of Bibles he is disposed to be
some what penurious--although his estate is large--and has been known to
refuse to have a salad for his dinner on account of the high price of
good olive-oil. He makes his will, and dies, and then it is found that
his whole property is left in trust to be employed in the maintenance of
his library of Bibles, in purchasing others which may become known to
the trustees, and in printing one copy, for his library, of the book
in any language in which it does not already exist. A letter which is
addressed to his trustees informs them that, when he was a boy, a Bible
which he had in the breast-pocket of his coat preserved his life by
stopping a bullet which another boy had accidentally discharged from a
pistol, and that he then had resolved to make the honoring of the Bible
the duty of his whole life.
Neither of these persons can be regarded as insane. Both were the
subjects of acquired eccentricity, which, in all likelihood, would have
ensued in some other form, from some other circumstance acting upon
brains naturally predisposed to be thus affected. The brain is the soil
upon which impressions act differently, according to its character, just
as, with the sower casting his seed-wheat upon different fields, some
springs up into a luxuriant crop, some grows sparsely, and some, again,
takes no root, but rots where it falls. Possibly, if these individuals
had lived a little longer, they might have passed the border-line which
separates mental soundness from mental unsoundness; but certainly, up to
the period of their deaths, both would have been pronounced sane by all
competent laymen and alienists with whom they might have been brought
into contact; and the contest of their wills, by any heirs-at-law, would
assuredly have been a fruitless undertaking.
They chose to have certain ends in view, and to provide the means for
the accomplishment of those ends. There were no delusions, no emotional
disturbance, no hallucinations or illusions, and the will was normally
exercised to the extent necessary to secure the objects of their lives.
At any time they had it in their power to alter their purposes, and in
that fact we have an essential point of difference between eccentricity
and insanity. We may regard their conduct as singular, because they made
an unusual disposition of their property; but it was no more irrational
than if the one had left his estate to the "Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals," and the other had devoted his to sending
missionaries to Central Africa.
Two distinct forms of eccentricity are recognizable. In the one, the
individual sets himself up above the level of the rest of the world,
and, marking out for himself a line of conduct, adheres to it with an
astonishing degree of tenacity. For him the opinions of mankind in
general are of no consequence. He is a law unto himself; what he says
and does is said and done, not for the purpose of attracting attention
or for obtaining notoriety, but because it is pleasing to himself. He
does not mean to be singular or original, but he is, nevertheless, both.
For every man is singular and original whose conduct, within the limits
of reason and intelligence, differs from that of his fellow-men. He
endeavors to carry out certain ideas which seem to him to have been
overlooked by society to its great disadvantage. Society usually thinks
different; but if the promulgator is endowed with sufficient force of
character, it generally happens that, eventually, either wholly or in
part, his views prevail. All great reformers are eccentrics of this
kind. They are contending for their doctrines, not for themselves. And
they are not apt to become insane, though sometimes they do.
The subjects of the other form occupy a lower level. They affect
singularity for the purpose of attracting attention to themselves, and
thus obtaining the notoriety which they crave with every breath they
inhale. They dress differently from other people, wearing enormous
shirt-collars, or peculiar hats, or oddly cut coats of unusual colors,
or indulging in some other similar whimsicality of an unimportant
character, in the expectation that they will thereby attract the
attention or excite the comments of those they meet.
Or they build houses upon an idea perhaps correct enough in itself, as,
for instance, the securing of proper ventilation; but in carrying it out
they show such defective judgment that the complete integrity of the
intellect may, perhaps, be a matter of question. Thus, one gentleman of
my acquaintance, believing that fireplaces were the best ventilators,
put four of these openings into every room in his house. This, however,
was one of the smallest of his eccentricities. He wore a ventilated hat,
his clothing was pierced with holes, as were even his shoes; and no
one could be in his company five minutes without having his attention
directed to these provisions for securing health.
In addition to these advanced notions on the subject of ventilation,
he had others equally singular in regard to the arrangement of the
furniture in his dwelling and the care that was to be taken of it. Thus,
there was one room called the "apostles' room." It contained a table
that represented Christ, and twelve chairs, which were placed around
it, and typified the twelve apostles; one chair, that stood for Judas
Iscariot, was covered with black crape. The floor of this room was very
highly polished, and no one was allowed to enter it without slipping his
shod feet into cloth slippers that were placed at the door ready for
use. He had a library, tolerably large but of little value, and every
book in it which contained Judas's name was bound in black, and black
lines were drawn around the name wherever it occurred. Such eccentricity
as this is not far removed from insanity, and is liable at any time,
from some cause a little out of the common way, to pass over the line.
Thus, a lady had since her childhood shown a singularity of conduct as
regarded her table furniture, which she would have of no other material
than copper. She carried this fancy to such an extent that even the
knives and forks were of copper. People laughed at her, and tried to
reason her out of her whim, but in vain. She was in her element as soon
as attention was directed to her fancy and arguments against it were
addressed to her. She liked nothing better than to be afforded a full
opportunity to discuss with any one the manifold advantages which copper
possessed as a material to be used in the manufacture of every article
of table ware. In no other respect was there any evidence of mental
aberration. She was intelligent, by no means excitable, and in the
enjoyment of excellent health. She had, moreover, a decided talent for
music, and had written several passably good stories for a young ladies'
magazine. An uncle had, however, died insane.
A circumstance, trifling in itself, but one, as it afterward resulted,
of great importance to her, started in her a new train of thought, and
excited emotions which she could not control. She read in a morning
paper that a Mr. Koppermann had arrived at one of the hotels, and she
announced her determination to call upon him, in order, as she said, to
ascertain the origin of his name. Her friends endeavored to dissuade
her, but without avail. She went to the hotel, and was told that he
had just left for Chicago. Without returning to her home, she bought a
railway ticket for Chicago, and actually started on the next train for
that city. The telegraph, however, overtook her, and she was brought
back from Rochester raving of her love for a man she had never seen,
and whose name alone had been associated in her mind with her fancy for
copper table furniture. She died of acute mania within a month. In this
case erotic tendencies, which had never been observed in her before,
seemed to have been excited by some very indirect and complicated mental
process, and these in their turn developed into general derangement of
the mind.
In another case, a young man, a clerk in a city bank, had for several
years exhibited peculiarities in the keeping of his books. He was
exceedingly exact in his accounts, but after the bank was closed always
remained several hours, during which he ornamented each page of his
day's work with arabesques in different-colored inks. He was very vain
of this accomplishment, and was constantly in the habit of calling
attention to the manner in which, as he supposed, he had beautified what
would otherwise have been positively ugly. His fellow-clerks amused
themselves at his expense, but his superior officers, knowing his value,
never interfered with him in his amusement. Gradually, however, he
conceived the idea that they were displeased with him, and at last
the notion became so firmly rooted in his mind that he resigned his
position, notwithstanding the protestations of the directors that his
idea was erroneous. Delusions of various other kinds supervened, and he
passed into a condition of chronic insanity, in which he still remains.
In most of the cases occurring under this head the intellectual powers
are not of a high order, though there may sometimes be a notable
development of some talent, or even a great power for acquiring
learning. Painters, sculptors, musicians, mathematicians, poets, and men
of letters generally, not infrequently exhibit eccentricities of dress,
conduct, manner, or ideas, which not only merely add to their notoriety,
but often make them either the laughing-stocks of their fellow-men or
objects of fear or disgust to all who are brought into contact with
them.
IDIOSYNCRASY.--By idiosyncrasy we understand a peculiarity of
constitution by which an individual is affected by external agents in a
manner different from mankind in general. Thus, some persons cannot eat
strawberries without a kind of urticaria appearing over the body; others
are similarly affected by eating the striped bass; others, again, faint
at the odor of certain flowers, or at the sight of blood; and some are
attacked with cholera-morbus after eating shellfish--as crabs, lobsters,
clams, or mussels. Many other instances might be advanced, some of
them of a very curious character. These several conditions are called
idiosyncrasies.
Bégin,[1] who defines idiosyncrasy as the predominance of an organ, a
viscus, or a system of organs, has hardly, I think, fairly grasped the
subject, though his definition has influenced many French writers on
the question. It is something more than this--something inherent in the
organization of the individual, of which we only see the manifestation
when the proper cause is set in action. We cannot attempt to explain why
one person should be severely mercurialized by one grain of blue mass,
and another take daily ten times that quantity for a week without the
least sign of the peculiar action of mercury being produced. We only
know that such is the fact; and were we to search for the reason, with
all the appliances which modern science could bring to our aid, we
should be entirely unsuccessful. According to Bégin's idea, we should
expect to see some remarkable development of the absorbent system in the
one case, with slight development in the other; but, even were such the
case, it would not explain the phenomena, for, when ten grains of the
preparation in question are taken daily, scarcely a day elapses before
mercury can be detected in the secretions, and yet hydrargyriasis is not
produced; while when one grain is taken, and this condition follows, the
most delicate chemical examination fails to discover mercury in any of
the fluids or tissues of the body.
[Footnote 1: "Physiologic Pathologique," Paris, 1828, t.i., p. 44.]
Bégin's definition scarcely separates idiosyncrasy from temperament,
whereas, according to what would appear to be sound reasoning, based
upon an enlarged idea of the physiology of the subject, a very material
difference exists.
Idiosyncrasies are often hereditary and often acquired. Two or more may
exist in one person. Thus, there may be an idiosyncrasy connected with
the digestive system, another with the circulatory system, another with
the nervous system, and so on.
An idiosyncrasy may be of such a character as altogether to prevent an
individual following a particular occupation. Thus, a person who faints
at the sight of blood cannot be a surgeon; another, who is seized with
nausea and vomiting when in the presence of insane persons, cannot be a
superintendent of a lunatic asylum--not, at least, if he ever expects to
see his patients. Idiosyncrasies may, however, be overcome, especially
those of a mental character.
Millingen[1] cites the case of a man who fell into convulsions whenever
he saw a spider. A waxen one was made, which equally terrified him. When
he recovered, his error was pointed out to him. The wax figure was put
into his hand without causing dread, and shortly the living insect no
longer disturbed him.
[Footnote 1: "Curiosities of Medical Experience," London, 1837, vol.
ii., p. 246.]
I knew a gentleman who could not eat soft crabs without experiencing an
attack of diarrhea. As he was exceedingly fond of them, he persevered in
eating them, and finally, after a long struggle, succeeded in conquering
the trouble.
Individuals with idiosyncrasies soon find out their peculiarities, and
are enabled to guard against any injurious result to which they would be
subjected but for the teachings of experience.
Idiosyncrasies may be temporary only--that is, due to an existing
condition of the organism, which, whether natural or morbid, is of a
transitory character. Such, for instance, are those due to dentition,
the commencement or the cessation of the menstrual function, pregnancy,
etc. These are frequently of a serious character, and require careful
watching, especially as they may lead to derangement of the mind. Thus,
a lady, Mrs. X, was at one time under my professional care, who, at the
beginning of her first pregnancy, acquired an overpowering aversion to
a half-breed Indian woman who was employed in the house as a servant.
Whenever this woman came near her she was at once seized with violent
trembling, which ended in a few minutes with vomiting and great mental
and physical prostration, lasting several hours. Her husband would have
sent the woman away, but Mrs. X insisted on her remaining, as she was a
good servant, in order that she might overcome what she regarded as an
unreasonable prejudice. The effort was, however, too much for her, for
upon one occasion when the woman entered Mrs. X's apartment rather
unexpectedly, the latter became greatly excited, and, jumping from an
open window in her fright, broke her arm, and otherwise injured herself
so severely that she was for several weeks confined to her bed. During
this period, and for some time afterward, she was almost constantly
subject to hallucinations, in which the Indian woman played a prominent
part. Even after her recovery the mere thought of the woman would
sometimes bring on a paroxysm of trembling, and it was not till after
her confinement that the antipathy disappeared.
Millingen[1] remarks that certain antipathies, which in reality are
idiosyncrasies, appear to depend upon peculiarities of the senses.
Rather, however, they are due to peculiarities of the ideational and
emotional centers. The organ of sense, in any one case, shows no
evidence of disorder; neither does the perceptive ganglion, which simply
takes cognizance of the image brought to it. It is higher up that the
idiosyncrasy has its seat. In this way we are to explain the following
cases collected by Millingen:
[Footnote 1: _Op cit_., p. 246.]
"Amatus Lusitanus relates the case of a monk who fainted when he beheld
a rose, and never quitted his cell when that flower was blooming.
Scaliger mentions one of his relatives who experienced a similar horror
when seeing a lily. Zimmermann tells us of a lady who could not endure
the feeling of silk and satin, and shuddered when touching the velvety
skin of a peach. Boyle records the case of a man who felt a natural
abhorrence to honey; without his knowledge some honey was introduced in
a plaster applied to his foot, and the accidents that resulted compelled
his attendants to withdraw it. A young man was known to faint whenever
he heard the servant sweeping. Hippocrates mentions one Nicanor, who
swooned whenever he heard a flute; even Shakespeare has alluded to the
effects of the bagpipes. Julia, daughter of Frederick, King of Naples,
could not taste I meat without serious accidents. Boyle fainted when
he heard the splashing of water; Scaliger turned pale at the sight of
water-cresses; Erasmus experienced febrile symptoms when smelling fish;
the Duke d'Epernon swooned on beholding a leveret, although a hare did
not produce the same effect; Tycho Brahe fainted at the sight of a fox;
Henry III. of France at that of a cat; and Marshal d'Albret at a pig.
The horror that whole families entertain of cheese is generally known."
He also cites the case of a clergyman who fainted whenever a certain
verse in Jeremiah was read, and of another who experienced an alarming
vertigo and dizziness whenever a great height or dizzy precipice was
described. In such instances the power of association of ideas is
probably the most influential agent in bringing about the climax. There
is an obvious relation between the warnings given by the prophet in the
one case, and the well-known sensation produced by looking down from a
great height in the other, and the effects which followed.
Our dislikes to certain individuals are often of the nature of
idiosyncrasies, which we can not explain. Martial says:
"Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te;"
or, in our English version:
"I do not like you, Doctor Fell,
The reason why I can not tell;
But this I know, and that full
I do not like you, Doctor Fell."
Some conditions often called idiosyncrasies appear to be, and doubtless
are, due to disordered intellect. But they should not be confounded with
those which are inherent in the individual and real in character. Thus,
they are frequently merely imaginary, there being no foundation for them
except in the perverted mind of the subject; at other times they are
induced by a morbid attention being directed continually to some one or
more organs or functions. The protean forms under which hypochondria
appears, and the still more varied manifestations of hysteria, are
rather due to the reaction ensuing between mental disorder on the one
part, and functional disorder on the other, than to that quasi normal
peculiarity of organization recognized as idiosyncrasy.
Thus, upon one occasion I was consulted in the case of a lady who it was
said had an idiosyncrasy that prevented her drinking water. Every time
she took the smallest quantity of this liquid into her stomach it was at
once rejected, with many evident signs of nausea and pain. The patient
was strongly hysterical, and I soon made up my mind that either the case
was one of simple hysterical vomiting, or that the alleged inability was
assumed. The latter turned out to be the truth. I found that she drank
in private all the water she wanted, and that what she drank publicly
she threw up by tickling the fauces with her finger-nail when no one was
looking.
The idiosyncrasies of individuals are not matters for ridicule, however
absurd they may appear to be. On the contrary, they deserve, and should
receive, the careful consideration of the physician, for much is to
be learned from them, both in preventing and in treating diseases. In
psychiatrical medicine they are especially to be inquired for. It is not
safe to disregard them, as they may influence materially the character
of mental derangement, and may be brought in as efficient agents in the
treatment.--_N.Y. Medical Journal_.
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