TOM S, priN ate ( from (co'. !lies.:; connected %till! Lat. suns, :skt. xru, own), .1 condition of arrest of de• telopment of the brain. and, in consequence, I If the intelleetual faculties. of the infant or child. It the non-decd. ',mem is such that the child is capable of feeding himself and of appreciating enough of his surroundings to avoid injury, the condition is usually termed ontr, catty, If there is no such evidence of mental capacity. idiocy is the 11.1'111 usually el11111"y4.41. ebb.- infIrd 'less occupie. an intermediate position between nor mality and imbeeility. defeet or disease Of the brain tvhiell interferes with normal evolution may be congenital or acquired: the cerebral fun• tions may be all more or less involved. ltilmt and also tsollier maintain that the slow &Velar ille111 of the cerebral Meulties is due to want of attention; that spontaneous attention is caused try affective states brought into action by sensa• lions. and that those young children are the most nttentive nervous systems are most easily stimulated. Hence the faculty of attention is closely related to the aetit ity of the sensations. The greater the power of attention. the more in telligent the individual bee( me. In idiocy, owing to the diminution or loss of the power of attention, the perceptions aroused by sensations are more or less indefinite, and the resultant idea likewise ill-defined. S.I•nsations become more numerous as the organism develops, and the lack ul ideas and recognitions becomes more notice• able. Fraferiek Peterson. whose translation of oilier we quote, sounds a warning that there are other faculties of mind, such as will and memory, whiell are absolutely necessary to all subsequent 111e111.111 activity, and adds that lack of power of while common ill idiocy, cannot be taken in any M ay as distinguishing this condition of mind from other forms of mental im pairment. Frequently somatic and especially era nial and facial charaeterist its are noticeable 111/011 the birth of the idiot. though idiocy exists also when physieal 4.‘ 14 se:1111111g. All idiot may not take the breast. may err without motive and with different notes from normal children. Deaf nes.: or blindness may be emig•nital. The senses
of smell and of taste may be undeveloped. The movements of the 4.y1-4 may be irregular. The idiot may be slow in responding to the stimulus of touch: lie Indy not laugh: thermic sensibility is diminished; a constant rhythmic. automatic motion may be present : he may not learn to walk. and all voluntary movements may be acquired late in youth. and imperfe•tly, Organic sensa tions aro blunted. ineluding hunger. thirst. desire for defecation or urination. Lack of the faculty of attention exists. OM ill!' to defective senses convey feeble impressions to the brain, as well as to a lack of the affective state: the in ternal form of attention (reflection of Hibert) is absent or deficient in the idiot. Ile is practically incapable of preoeeupat his instinets are de fective, whether of hunger or of self preservat ion while the instinct of irritation is very strong: and the sexual instinct t, _gel (ed. absent, or perverted. tte• easionally kalde sp•eial aptitmles are seen in idiots in the direction of Mei:II/1111CA drawing, memory for or daft-, certain and a order of wit or It is said that the Court fools and jesters of ancient times were idiots of high grade or imbeciles, until others. seeing the C1110111111e111. to be stmlied and prauticed the art. Ribot that Sikorski is authority for the statement that the activity and attention of normal children are Ina inly developed through play. idiots for the great( r part manifest little tendency to play, clinging to the simplest games of infancy and preferring solitary pastimes. Others of higher grade prefer noisy, (le-trio-Ilse sports. and traits of brntality, selfishness. and quarrelsomeness are apparent. Cis ility and po liteness are l'.1 nely Ile111111'441. /4“-.1 rIlel 1% eV • (kneed in their play, may develop into a vicious satisfaetion in inflicting injury. commission of arson, or of homicide, or of self-mutilation. S•n timents and sensation are rudimentary or absent : the absence of ideas of right and tvrvutg. the vary ing respect fur authority, the absence of religious feeling, and the absence of veracity Irving estre •ially noticeable.