criminal psychology-第93章

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　remember　it　even　though　we　are　convinced　that　the　people　who　made　our　picture　book　were　quite　mistaken。　Now；　as　it　frequently　happens　that　the　sizes　are　incorrectly　reproduced；　as　when；　e。　g。；　a　horse　and　a　reindeer　occur　in　the　same　picture；　and　the　latter　seems　bigger　than　the　former；　the　reindeer　appears　in　imagination　always　bigger。　It　does　not　matter　if　we　learn　later　how　big　a　reindeer　is；　or　how　many　times　we　have　seen　one；　we　still　find　the　animal　‘‘altogether　too　small；　it　must　be　bigger　than　a　horse。''　Educated　adults　do　not　make　this　mistake；　but　the　uneducated　do；　and　many　false　statements　depend　on　ideas　derived　from　pictures。　If　their　derivation　is　known　we　may　discover　the　source　of　the　mistake；　but　if　the　mistake　occurred　unconsciously；　then　we　have　to　combine　the　circumstances　and　study　further　to　find　the　reason。

Finally；　the　general　influence　of　the　failure　of　ignorant　people　to　see　things　as　they　are；　upon　their　feeling…tone　is　shown　in　two　characteristic　stories。　Bulwer　tells　of　a　servant　whose　master　beat　him　and　who　was　instigated　to　seek　protection　in　court。　He　refused　indignantly　inasmuch　as　his　master　was　too　noble　a　person　to　be　subject　to　law。　And　Gutberlet　tells　the　story　of　the　director　of　police；　Serafini；　in　Ravenna；　who　had　heard　that　a　notorious　murderer　had　threatened　to　shoot　him。　Serafini　had　the　assassin　brought　to　him；　gave　him　a　loaded　pistol　and　invited　him　to　shoot。　The　murderer　grew　pale　and　Serafini　boxed　his　ears　and　kicked　him　out。


Section　87。　（3）　_One…Sided　Education_。

Just　a　few　words　about　the　considerable　danger　in　the　testimony　presented　by　persons　of　one…sided　education。　Altogether　uneducated　　people　warn　us　in　their　own　way；　but　people　who　have　a　certain　amount　of　training；　in　at　least　one　direction；　impress　us　to　such　a　degree　that　we　assume　them　to　be　otherwise　also　educated　and　thus　get　involved　in　mistakes。

It　is　hard　to　say　correctly　what　constitutes　an　educated　man。　We　demand；　of　course；　a　certain　amount　of　knowledge；　but　we　do　not　know　the　magnitude　of　that　amount　of　knowledge；　and　still　less　its　subject　matter。　It　is　remarkable　that　our　time；　which　has　devoted　itself　more　than　all　others　to　natural　science；　does　not　include　knowledge　of　such　science　in　its　concept　of　the　educated　man。　Some　ignorance　of　history；　or　of　the　classics；　or　even　of　some　modern　novels；　failure　to　visit　the　theaters　and　the　picture　exhibitions；　neglect　of　French　and　English；　etc。；　classifies　a　man　at　once　as　lacking　essential　‘‘culture。''　But　if　he　knows　these　things；　and　at　the　same　time　exhibits　in　the　most　nave　way　an　incredible　ignorance　of　zology；　botany；　physics；　chemistry；　astronomy；　etc。；　he　still　remains　‘‘an　educated　man。''　The　contradiction　is　inexplicable；　but　it　exists；　and　because　of　it；　nobody　can　definitely　say　what　is　meant　by　a　one…sided　education。　The　extent　of　one…sidedness　is；　however；　illustrated　by　many　examples。　We　mention　only　two。　Linnaeus'　own　drawings　with　remarks　by　Afzelius　show　that　in　spite　of　his　extraordinary　knowledge　of　botany　and　his　wonderful　memory；　he　did　not　know　a　foreign　language。　He　was　in　Holland　for　three　years；　and　failed　to　understand　even　the　Dutch　language；　so　very　similar　to　his　own。　It　is　told　of　Sir　Humphrey　Davy；　that　during　the　visit　to　the　Louvre；　in　Paris；　he　admired　the　extraordinary　carving　of　the　frames　of　the　pictures；　and　the　splendid　material　of　which　the　most　famous　of　the　Greek　sculptures　were　made。

Now；　how　are　we　to　meet　people　of　this　kind　when　they　are　on　the　witness　stand？　They　offer　no　difficulty　when　they　tell　us　that　they　know　nothing　about　the　subject　in　question。　Suppose　we　have　to　interrogate　a　philologist　on　a　subject　which　requires　only　that　amount　of　knowledge　of　natural　science　which　may　be　presupposed　in　any　generally　educated　individual。　If　he　declares　honestly　that　he　has　forgotten　everything　he　had　learned　about　the　matter　in　college；　he　is　easily　dealt　with　in　the　same　way　as　‘‘uneducated　people。''　If；　however；　he　is　not　honest　enough　immediately　to　confess　his　ignorance；　nothing　else　will　do　except　to　make　him　see　his　position　by　means　of　questions；　and　even　then　to　proceed　carefully。　It　would　be　conscienceless　to　try　to　spare　this　man　while　another　is　shown　up。　

The　same　attitude　must　be　taken　toward　autodidacts　and　dilettantes　who　always　measure　the　value　of　their　knowledge　by　the　amount　of　effort　they　had　to　use　in　getting　it；　and　hence；　always　overestimate　their　acquirements。　It　is　to　be　observed　that　they　assert　no　more　than　their　information　permits　them　to；　and　their　personality　is　easily　discoverable　by　the　manner　in　which　they　present　their　knowledge。　The　self…taught　man　is　in　the　end　only　the　parvenu　of　knowledge；　and　just　as　the　parvenu；　as　such；　rarely　conceals　his　character；　so　the　autodidact　rarely　conceals　his　character。

There　is　an　additional　quality　of　which　we　must　bewarethat　is　the　tendency　of　experts　to　take　pride　in　some　different；　incidental；　and　less　important　little　thing　than　their　own　subject。　Frederick　the　Great　with　his　miserable　flute…playing　is　an　example。　Such　people　may　easily　cause　mistakes。　The　knowledge　of　their　attainment　in　one　field　causes　us　involuntarily　to　respect　their　assertions。　Now；　if　their　assertions　deal　with　their　hobbies　many　a　silly　thing　is　taken　at　its　face　value；　and　that　value　is　counterfeit。


Section　88。　（4）　_Inclination_。

Whether　a　scientific　characterization　of　inclination　is　possible；　whether　the　limits　of　this　concept　can　be　determined；　and　whether　it　is　the　result　of　nature；　culture；　or　both　together；　are　questions　which　can　receive　no　certain　answer。　We　shall　not　here　speak　of　individual　forms　of　inclination；　i。　e。；　to　drink；　to　gamble；　to　steal；　etc。；　for　these　are　comparatively　the　most　difficult　of　our　modern　problems。　We　shall　consider　them　generally　and　briefly。　Trees　and　men；　says　the　old　proverb；　fall　as　they　are　inclined。　Now；　if　we　examine　the　inclination　of　the　countless　fallen　ones　we　meet　in　our　calling　we　shall　have　fewer　difficulties　in　qualifying　and　judging　their　crimes。　As　a　rule；　it　is　difficult　to　separate　inclination；　on　the　one　hand；　from　opportunity；　need；　desire；　on　the　other。　The　capacity　for　evil　is　a　seduction　to　its　performance；　as　Alfieri　says　somewhere；　and　this　idea　clarifies　the　status　of　inclination。　The　ability　may　often　be　the　opportune　cause　of　the　development　of　an　evil　tendency；　and　frequent　success　may　lead　to　the　assumption　of　the　presence　of　an　inclination。

Maudsley　points　out　that　feelings　that　have　once　been　present　leave　their　unconscious　residue　which　modify　the　total　character　and　even　reconstruct　the　moral　sense　as　a　resultant　of　particular　experiences。　That　an　inclination　or　something　similar　thereto　might　　develop　in　this　way　is　certain；　for　we　may　even　inherit　an　inclination；　but　only　under　certain　conditions。　This　fact　is　substantiated　by　the　characteristics　of　vagabonds。　It　may；　perhaps；　be　said　that　the　enforcement　of　the　laws　of　vagabondage　belongs　to　the　most　interesting　of　the　pyschological　researches　of　the　criminal　judge。　Even　the　difference　between　the　real　bona　fide　tramp；　and　the　poor　devil　who；　in　spite　of　all　his　effort　can　get　no　work；　requires　the　consideration　of　a　good　deal　of　psychological　fact。　There　is　no　need　of　description　in　such　cases；　the　difference　must　be　determined　by　the　study　of　thousands　of　details。　Just　as　interesting　are　the　results　of　procedure；　especially　certain　statistical　results。　The　course　of　long　practice　will　show　that　among　real　tramps　there　is　hardly　ever　an　individual　whose　calling　requires　very　hard　or　difficult　work。　Peasants；　smiths；　well…diggers；　mountaineers；　are　rarely　tramps。　The　largest　numbers　have　trades　which　demand　no　real　hard　work　and　whose　business　is　not　uniform。　Bakers；　millers；　waiters　are　hence　more　numerous。　The　first　have　comparatively　even　distribution　of　work　and　rest；　the　latter　sometimes　have　much；　sometimes　little　to　do；　without　any　possible　evenness　of　distribution。　Now；　we　should　make　a　mistake　if　we　inferred　that　because　the　former　had　hard　work；　and　an　equivalent　distribution　of　work　and　rest；　they　do　not　become　tramps；　while　the　latter；　lacking　these；　do　become　tramps。　In　truth；　the　former　have　naturally　a　need　and　inclination　for　hard　work　and　uniform　living；　have；　therefore；　no　inclination　to　tramping；　and　have　for　that　reason　chosen　their　difficult　calling。　The　latter；　on　the　other　hand；　felt　an　inclination　for　lighter；　more　irregular　work；　i。　e。；　were　already　possessed　of　an　inclination　for　vagabondage；　and　had；　hence；　chosen　the　business　of　baking；　grinding；　or　waiting。　The　real　tramp；　therefore；　is　not　a　criminal。　Vagabondage　is　no　doubt　the　kindergarten　of　criminals；　because　there　are　many　criminals　among　tramps；　but　the　true　vagabond　is　one　only　because　of　his　inclination　for　tramping。　He　is　a　degenerate。

Possibly　a　similar　account　of　other　types　may　be　rendered。　If　it　is　attained　by　means　of　a　statistic　developed　on　fundamental　psychological　principles；　it　would　give　us　ground　for　a　number　of　important　assumptions。　It　would　help　us　to　make　parallel　inferences；　inasmuch　as　it　would　permit　us　to　determine　the　fundamental　inclination　of　the　person　by　considering　his　calling；　his　way　of　approaching　his　work；　his　environment；　his　choice　of　a　wife；　his　preferred　pleasures；　etc。　And　then　we　should　be　able　to　connect　this　inclination　with　the　deed　in　question。　It　is　difficult　to　fix　upon　the　　relation　between　inclination　and　character；　and　the　agreement　will　be　only　general　when　a　man's　character　is　called　all　those　things　to　which　he　is　naturally；　or　by　education；　inclined。　But　it　is　certain　that　a　good　or　bad　character　exists　only　then　when　its　maxims　of　desire　and　action　express　themselves　in　fact。　The　emphasis　must　be　on　the　fact；　what　is　factual　may　be　discovered；　and　these　discoveries　may　be　of　use。


Section　89。　（5）　_Other　Differences_。

The　ancient　classification　of　individuals　according　to　temperaments　is　of　little　use。　There　were　four　of　them；　called　humors；　and　a　series　of　characteristics　was　assigned　to　each；　but　not　one　of　them　had　all　of　its　characteristics　at　once。　Hence　temperaments　determined　according　to　these　four　categories　do　not　really　exist；　and　the　categorical　distinction　can　have　no　practical　value。　If；　however；　we　make　use　of　the　significant　general　meaning　of　temperament；　the　apparatus　of　circumstance　which　is　connected　with　this　distinction　becomes　superfluous。　If　you　call　every　active　person　choleric；　every　truculent　one　sanguine；　every　thoughtful　one　phlegmatic；　and　every　sad　one　melancholy；　you　simply　add　a　technical　expression　to　a　few　of　the　thousands　of　adjectives　that　describe　these　things。　These　four　forms　are　not　the　only　ones　there　are。　Apart　from　countless　medial　and　transitional　forms；　there　are　still　large　numbers　that　do　not　fit　in　any　one　of　these　categories。　Moreover；　temperament　alters　with　age；　health；　experience；　and　other　accidents；　so　that　the　differentiation　is　not　even　justified　by　the　constancy　of　the　phenomenon。　Nevertheless；　it　is　to　some　degree　significant　because　any　form　of　it　indicates　a　certain　authority；　and　because　each　one　of　these　four　categories　serves　to　connect　a　series　of　phenomena　and　assumes　this　co