criminal psychology-第108部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！


All　in　all；　we　may　say　that　nobody　has　brought　any　evidence　to　show　that　children　are　any　worse…behaved　than　adults。　Experience　teaches　that　hypocrisy；　calculating　evil；　intentional　selfishness；　and　purposeful　lying　are　incomparably　rarer　among　children　than　among　adults；　and　that　on　the　whole；　they　observe　well　and　willingly。　We　may　take　children；　with　the　exception　of　pubescent　girls；　to　be　good；　reliable　witnesses。


Section　82。　（c）　Senility。

It　would　seem　that　we　lawyers　have　taken　insufficient　account　of　the　characteristics　of　senility。　These　characteristics　are　as　definitive　as　those　of　childhood　or　of　sex；　and　to　overlook　them　may　lead　to　serious　consequences。　We　shall　not　consider　that　degree　of　old　age　which　is　called　second　childhood。　At　that　stage　the　question　seriously　arises　whether　we　are　not　dealing　with　the　idiocy　of　age；　or　at　least　with　a　weakness　of　perception　and　of　memory　so　obvious　that　they　can　not　be　mistaken。

The　important　stage　is　the　one　which　precedes　this；　and　in　which　a　definite　decline　in　mental　power　is　not　yet　perceivable。　Just　as　we　see　the　first　stage　of　early　youth　come　to　an　end　when　the　distinction　between　boy　and　girl　becomes　altogether　definite；　so　we　may　observe　that　the　important　activity　of　the　process　of　life　has　run　its　course　when　this　distinction　begins　to　degenerate。　It　is　essentially　defined　by　the　approximation　to　each　other　of　the　external　appearance　of　the　two　sexes；their　voices；　their　inner　character；　and　their　attitude。　What　is　typically　masculine　or　feminine　disappears。　It　is　at　this　point　that　extreme　old　age　begins。　The　number　of　years；　the　degree　of　intelligence；　education；　and　other　differences　　are　of　small　importance；　and　the　ensuing　particularities　may　be　easily　deduced　by　a　consideration　of　the　nature　of　extreme　old　age。　The　task　of　life　is　ended；　because　the　physical　powers　have　no　longer　any　scope。　For　the　same　reason　resistance　to　enemies　has　become　lessened；　courage　has　decreased；　care　about　physical　welfare　increased；　everything　occurs　more　slowly　and　with　greater　difficulty；　and　all　because　of　the　newly…arrived　weakness　which；　from　now　on；　becomes　the　denotative　trait　of　that　whole　bit　of　human　nature。　Hence；　Lombroso＇1＇　is　not　wrong　in　saying　that　the　characteristic　diseases　of　extreme　old　age　are　rarer　among　women　than　among　men。　This　is　so　because　the　change　in　women　is　not　so　sudden；　nor　so　powerful；　since　they　are　weak　to　begin　with；　while　man　becomes　a　weak　graybeard　suddenly　and　out　of　the　fullness　of　his　manly　strength。　The　change　is　so　great；　the　difference　so　significant　and　painful；　that　the　consequence　must　be　a　series　of　unpleasant　properties；egoism；　excitability；　moroseness；　cruelty；　etc。　It　is　significant　that　the　very　old　man　assumes　all　those　unpleasant　characteristics　we　note　in　eunuchsthey　result　from　the　consciousness　of　having　lost　power。

It　is　from　this　fact　that　Kraus　（loc。　cit。）　deduces　the　crimes　of　extreme　old　age。　‘‘The　excitable　weakness　of　the　old　man　brings　him　into　great　danger　of　becoming　a　criminal。　The　excitability　is　opposed　to　slowness　and　one…sidedness　in　thought；　he　is　easily　surprised　by　irrelevancies；　he　is　torn　from　his　drowse；　and　behaves　like　a　somnolent　drunkard。。。。　The　very　old　individual　is　a　fanatic　about　restevery　disturbance　of　his　rest　troubles　him。　Hence；　all　his　anger；　all　his　teasing　and　quarreling；　all　his　obstinacy　and　stiffness；　have　a　single　device：　‘Let　me　alone。'　''

This　somnolent　drunkenness　is　variously　valued。　Henry　Holland；　in　one　of　his　‘‘Fragmentary　Papers；''　said　that　age　approximates　a　condition　of　dreams　in　which　illusion　and　reality　are　easily　confused。　But　this　can　be　true　only　of　the　last　stages　of　extreme　old　age；　when　life　has　become　a　very　weak；　vegetative　function；　but　hardly　any　crimes　are　committed　by　people　in　this　stage。

It　would　be　simpler　to　say　that　the　old　man's　weakness　gives　the　earlier　tendencies　of　his　youth　a　definite　direction　which　may　lead　to　crime。　All　diseases　develop　in　the　direction　of　the　newly　developing　weakness。　But　selfishness　or　greed　are　not　young。　Hence　we　must　assume　that　an　aging　man　who　has　turned　miser　began　by　being　prudent；　but　that　he　did　not　deny　himself　and　his　friends　because　he　knew　that　he　was　able　to　restore；　later；　what　they　con…


＇1＇　The　Female　Offender。

　sumed。　Now　he　is　old　and　weak；　he　knows　that　he　can　no　longer　do　this　easily；　i。　e。；　that　his　money　and　property　are　all　that　he　has　to　depend　on　in　his　old　age；　and　hence；　he　is　very　much　afraid　of　losing　or　decreasing　them；　so　that　his　prudence　becomes　miserliness；　later　mania　for　possession；　and　even　worse；　finally　it　may　turn　him　into　a　criminal。

The　situation　is　the　same　sexually。　Too　weak　to　satisfy　natural　instincts　in　adults；　he　attacks　immature　girls；　and　his　fear　of　people　he　can　no　longer　otherwise　oppose　turns　him　into　a　poisoner。　Drobisch　finds　that　by　reason　of　the　alteration　of　characteristics；　definite　elements　of　the　self　are　distinguishable　at　every　stage。　The　distinguishing　element　in　extreme　old　age；　in　senility；　is　the　loss　of　power；　and　if　we　keep　this　in　mind　we　shall　be　able　to　explain　every　phenomenon　characteristic　of　this　period。

Senile　individuals　require　especial　treatment　as　witnesses。　An　accurate　study　of　such　people　and　of　the　not　over…rich　literature　concerning　them　will；　however；　yield　a　sufficient　basis　to　go　on。　What　is　most　important　can　be　found　in　any　text…book　on　psychology。　The　individual　cases　are　considerably　helped　by　the　assumption　that　the　mental　organization　of　senility　is　essentially　simplified　and　narrowed　to　a　few　types。　Its　activities　are　lessened；　its　influences　and　aims　are　compressed；　the　present　brings　little　and　is　little　remembered；　so　that　its　collective　character　is　determined　by　a　resultant；　composed　of　those　forces　that　have　influenced　the　man's　past　life。　Accurate　observation　will　reveal　only　two　types　of　senility。＇1＇　There　is　the　embittered　type；　and　there　is　the　character　expressed　in　the　phrase；　‘‘to　understand　all　is　to　forgive　all。''　Senility　rarely　succeeds　in　presenting　facts　objectively。　Everything　it　tells　is　bound　up　with　its　judgment；　and　its　judgment　is　either　negative　or　positive。　The　judgment's　nature　depends　less　on　the　old　man's　emotional　character　than　on　his　experience　in　life。　If　he　is　one　of　the　embittered；　he　will　probably　so　describe　a　possibly　harmful；　but　not　bad　event；　as　to　be　able　to　complain　of　the　wickedness　of　the　world；　which　brought　it　about；　that　at　one　time　such　and　such　an　evil　happened　to　him。　The　excusing　senile　will　begin　with　‘‘Good　God；　it　wasn't　so　bad。　The　people　were　young　and　merry；　and　so　one　of　them。''　That　the　same　event　is　presented　in　a　fundamentally　different　light　by　each　is　obvious。　Fortunately；　the　senile　is　easily　seen　through　and　his　first　words　show　how　he　looks　at　things。　He　makes　difficulties　mainly　by　introducing　memories


＇1＇　H。　Gross：　Lehrbuch　fr　den　Ausforschungsdienst　der　Gendarmerie。

　which　always　color　and　modify　the　evidence。　The　familiar　fact　that　very　old　men　remember　things　long　past　better　than　immediate　occurrences；　is　to　be　explained　by　the　situation　that　the　ancient　brain　retains　only　that　which　it　has　frequently　experienced。　Old　experiences　are　recalled　in　memory　hundreds　and　hundreds　of　times；　and　hence；　may　take　deep　root　there；　while　the　new　could　be　repeated；　only　a　few　times；　and　hence　had　not　time　to　find　a　place　before　being　forgotten。　If　the　old　man　tells　of　some　recent　event；　some　similar　remote　event　is　also　alive　in　his　mind。　The　latter　has；　however；　if　not　more　vivid　at　least　equally　vigorous　color；　so　that　the　old　man's　story　is　frequently　composed　of　things　long　past。　I　do　not　know　how　to　eliminate　these　old　memories　from　this　story。　There　are　always　difficulties；　particularly　as　personal　experiences　of　evil　generally　dominate　these　memories。　It　is　not　unjust；　that　proverb　which　says　‘‘If　youth　is　at　all　silly；　old　age　remembers　it　well。''


Section　83。　（d）　Differences　in　Conception。

I　should　like　to　add　to　what　precedes；　that　senility　presents　fact　and　judgment　together。　In　a　certain　sense　every　age　and　person　does　so　and；　as　I　have　repeatedly　said；　it　would　be　foolish　to　assert　that　we　have　the　right　to　demand　only　facts　from　witnesses。　Setting　aside　the　presence　of　inferences　in　most　sense…perceptions；　every　exposition　contains；　without　exception；　the　judgment　of　its　subject…　matter；　though　only；　perhaps；　in　a　few　dry　words。　It　may　lie　in　some　choice　expression；　in　the　tone；　in　the　gesture　but　it　is　there；　open　to　careful　observation。　Consider　any　simple　event；　e。　g。；　two　drunkards　quarreling　in　the　street。　And　suppose　we　instruct　any　one　of　many　witnesses　to　tell　us　only　the　facts。　He　will　do　so；　but　with　the　introductory　words；　‘‘It　was　a　very　ordinary　event；''　‘‘altogether　a　joke；''　‘‘completely　harmless；''　‘‘quite　disgusting；''　‘‘very　funny；''　‘‘a　disgusting　piece　of　the　history　of　morals；''　‘‘too　sad；''　‘‘unworthy　of　humanity；''　‘‘frightfully　dangerous；''　‘‘very　interesting；''　‘‘a　real　study　for　hell；''　‘‘just　a　picture　of　the　future；''　etc。　Now；　is　it　possible　to　think　that　people　who　have　so　variously　characterized　the　same　event　will　give　an　identical　description　of　the　mere　f