THE IDIOT;
HIS PLACE IN CREATION,
AND
HIS CLAIMS ON SOCIETY.
THE EASTERN COUNTIES' ASYLUM FOR IDIOTS AND IMBECILES.THE IDIOT;
HIS PLACE IN CREATION,
AND
HIS CLAIMS ON SOCIETY.
BY
SIR FREDERIC BATEMAN, M.D., LL.D.,
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians;
Consulting Physician to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, and to the
Eastern Counties' Asylum for Idiots;
Associé et Lauréat de l'Académie de Médecine de Paris;
Citation de l'Institut de France;
Corresponding Member of the Psychiatrical Society of St. Petersburg;
Hon. Member of the New York Neurological Society;
Foreign Associate of the Medico-Psychological Society of Paris.
Author of "Aphasia, or Loss of Speech";
"Darwinism tested by Language," &c.
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON:
JARROLD & SONS, 10 & 11, WARWICK LANE.
1897.
PREFACE
TO
THE SECOND EDITION.
As stated in the preface to the first edition,the arguments contained in this essay formed thenucleus of an address advocating the claims of theIdiot upon the philanthropists of East Anglia, at apublic meeting held in Norwich, in support of theEastern Counties' Asylum for Idiots, under thepresidency of His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, K.G.,Earl Marshal of England.
In acceding to the request of the Board ofDirectors to publish a second edition, I have thoughtit right to retain the form of a public oration, asrequiring less modification in the phraseology of theappeal for help, than would otherwise have beennecessary.[ 8]
Much additional matter has been added, especiallyin reference to Consanguine Marriages, ParentalIntemperance, Overpressure in Education, and otherfactors in the causation of Idiocy.
I have tried to show how the study of theIdiot is calculated to throw light upon the abstrusequestion of the connection between Matter andMind, and that it is a subject fraught with interestnot only to the Philanthropist, but to the Theologian,and to the Political Economist.
Although I have endeavoured to explain myviews in popular language, I trust it has not beenat the sacrifice of strict scientific accuracy.
FREDERIC BATEMAN.
Norwich,
January, 1897.
THE IDIOT;
HIS PLACE IN CREATION,
AND
HIS CLAIMS ON SOCIETY.
As Consulting Physician to the EasternCounties' Asylum for Idiots, it is myprivilege to advocate the claims of oneof the most important charities connectedwith the Eastern District of England, andwhich, as such, is calculated to excite anespecial interest amongst the philanthropistsof East Anglia.
The Eastern Counties' Asylum for Idiotsis an institution founded specially for thereception of patients from Norfolk and thethree other Eastern Counties, just in the[ 10]same way as the Royal Albert Asylum, atLancaster, is intended for patients f