KLEPTOMANIA (Gr. klept, to steal). Among the ordinary phenomena of minds that are not regarded as insane or criminal are observed'inordinate tendencies to acquire, to collect, to hoard. So long as such an impulse does not interfere with the rights and property of others, or involve a flagrant breach of law, it is readily admitted as an indi cation of disease, or as an absurdity and eccentricity which may fairly consign the indi vidual to an asylum or to contempt, but concerns no one else. But whenever the amount of the object appropriated, or the circumstances under which it is' purloined, bring the matter into a court of law, the act is treated as a theft, and punished. In many cases, however, such conduct is the obvious result of disease. The inclination to steal is a premonitory indication of many forms of mental disorder: it is a characteristic symptom of many others, where violence, or delusions, or incoherence, leave no doubt as to the source from which it springs. But there are other cases in which the morbid origin cannot be so clearly demonstrated—where the mind is clear is cogent, the morals pure, and where theft is the only proof of insanity. There is evidence, how ever, in favor of the opinion, that the propensity to acquire may become so irresistible, and the will so impotent, that the appropriation is involuntary, and the perpetrator irresponsible. The gratification of the impulse is found associated with.physical changes and conditions which may be regarded as incompatible with the healthy discharge of the functions of the nervous systein; but the connection isnot invariable, and the best mode of establishing the reality of such a disease is to consider marked cases in relation to the character, interests, and previous deportment of the individual—to the nature of the articles taken—and to the motives which seem to have determined the action. A bar
onet of large fortune stole, while on the continent, pieces of old iron and of broken crockery, and in such quantities that tons of these collections were presented to the custom-house officers. A clergyman of respectable bearing and great usefulness abstracted from hook-shops and stalls hundreds of copies of the Bible, perhaps with the intention of distribution. A physician pocketed sonic small object whenever he entered the apartment of a patient; another member of this profession stole nothing but table cloths. The incongruities in such narratives point to the existence of deep-seated unhealth. Although each case must be tested on its own merits, there are various features, com mon to a number of even doubtful cases, which should be embraced wherever a judg ment is formed. The objects are often stolen ostentatiously, or without any adequate precautions to conceal the attempt; they are of no value in themselves, or useless to the thief; the act is solitary, independent, without motive, and promptly and spontane ously avowed, and, if overlooked, repeated. The article acquired is restored, or alto gether disregarded; and although money is rarely taken, bright and colored objects most generally excite cupidity. It is observed in extreme youth; it is associated with preg nancy; it is hereditary; and often follows affections of the brain, and those critical and crucial changes in disposition which are only explicable on the supposition of cor responding alterations in the organization.—A Manual of Psychological •edicine, by Drs. Bucknell and Tuke, pp. 224 et seq.; Ann. Ned. Psychol.; t. v. p. 666 (1853).