pathology of lying-第26章

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ntal　control　on　the　language　side。　　Motor　control　was　fair。　　He　was　able　to　tap　75　of　our　squares　with　2　errors　in　30　seconds；　just　a　medium　performance。　　A　letter　written　on　this　date　contains　quite　a　few　mis…spelled　short　words：　　‘‘My　father　Send　me　to　This　Court　for　The　troubels　I　had　with　my　sister；''　etc。

While　awaiting　trial　Adolf；　stating　that　he　was　desirous　of　doing　so；　was　given　ample　opportunity　to　study　arithmetic。　　After　a　few　days　he　told　us　unhesitatingly　that　he　now　could　do　long　division；　but　he　utterly　failed；　and；　indeed；　made　many　errors　in　a　sum　in　addition。　　He　had　acquired　part　of　the　multiplication　table。

Study　of　his　range　of　information　brought　out　some　curious　points。　　He　told　of　some　comparative　merits　of　law　schools；　had　some　books　on　home…taught　law；　and　was　a　great　reader　of　the　newspapers。　　In　the　latter　he　chiefly　perused　reports　of　court　cases。　　He　was　quite　familiar　with　the　names　of　various　attorneys　and　judges。　　He　could　give　the　names　in　contemporary　politics；　and　knew　about　sporting　items。　　His　knowledge　of　the　history　of　this　country　was　absolutely　deficient；　but　he　does　not　hesitate　to　give　such　statements　as　the　following：　　‘‘The　Fourth　of　July　is　to　remember　a　great　battle　between　President　Lincoln　and　the　English　country。''　　Again　he　makes　a　bluff　to　give　scientific　items；　although　he　has　the　shallowest　information。　　When　it　comes　to　athletics；　much　to　our　surprise；　we　hear　that　our　flabby　boy　is　a　champion。　　Of　course；　he　knows　some　of　the　rulers　in　Europe　and　by　what　route　he　came　to　New　York；　but　he　informs　us　that　Paris　is　the　largest　country　in　Europe。

Adolf　says　he　plays　a　very　good　game　of　checkers；　that　he　had　played　much；　but　on　trial　he　shows　a　very　poor　game；　once　moving　backwards。　　When　purposely　given　chances　to　take　men　he　did　not　perceive　the　opportunities。

We　asked　him　to　analyze　out　for　us　a　couple　of　moral　situations；　one　being　about　a　man　who　stole　to　give　to　a　starving　family。　　He　tells　us　in　one　way　the　man　did　right　and　in　another　way　wrong。　　It　never　is　right　to　steal；　because　if　caught　he　would　be　sent　to　the　penitentiary　and　would　have　to　pay　more　than　the　things　are　worth；　and；　then；　if　he　was　not　caught；　a　thief　would　never　get　along　in　the　world。　　The　other　was　the　story　of　Indians　surrounding　a　settlement　who　asked　the　captain　of　a　village　to　give　up　a　man。　　Adolf　thought　if　he　were　a　chief　he　would　say　to　give　battle　if　the　man　had　done　no　wrong；　but　on　further　consideration　states　that　he　would　rather　give　up　one　man　than　risk　the　lives　of　many；　and　if　he　were　a　captain　he　would　surely　rather　give　this　man　up　than　put　his　own　life　in　it。　　He　thinks　certainly　this　is　the　way　the　question　should　be　answered。

On　our　‘‘Aussage''　or　Testimony　Test　Adolf　gave　volubly　many　details；　dramatically　expressing　himself　and　putting　in　interpretations　that　were　not　warranted　by　the　picture。　　Indeed；　he　made　the　characters　actually　say　things。　　On　the　other　hand；　he　did　not　recall　at　all　one　of　the　three　persons　present　in　the　picture。　　He　accepted　three　out　of　six　suggestions　and　was　quite　willing　to　fill　in　imaginary　details；　besides　perverting　some　of　the　facts。　　This　was　unusually　unreliable　testimony。

Our　impressions　as　dictated　at　this　time　state　that　we　had　to　do　with　a　young　man　in　good　general　physical　condition；　of　unusually　flabby　musculature；　who　showed　a　couple　of　signs　that　might　possibly　be　regarded　as　stigmata　of　inferiority。　　Mentally；　the　main　showing　was　irregularity　of　abilities；　in　some　things　he　was　distinctly　subnormal；　in　others　mediocre；　but　in　language　ability　he　was　surprisingly　good。　　No　evidence　of　mental　aberration　was　discovered。　　The　diagnosis　could　be　made；　in　short；　that　the　boy　was　a　subnormal　verbalist。　　His　character　traits　might　be　enumerated　in　part　by　saying　that　he　was　aggressive；　unscrupulous；　boastful；　ambitious；　and　a　continual　and　excessive　liar。　　In　the　exercise　of　these　he　was　strikingly　lacking　in　foresight。　　This　latter　characteristic　also　was　shown　in　his　test　work。　　The　abilities　in　which　he　was　overbalanced　gave　him　special　feelings　of　the　possibility　of　his　being　a　success　and　led　him　to　become　a　pathological　liar。　　From　the　family　history　the　main　suggestion　of　the　causation　of　the　mental　abnormality　is　in　illness　during　developmental　life；　but　neither　ante…natal　nor　hereditary　conditions　are　quite　free　from　suspicion。


At　the　time　of　this　first　trial　Adolf　maintained　a　very　smart　attitude　and　tried　to　show　off。　　He　had　succeeded　in　having　two　witnesses　subpoenaed　in　order　to　prove　that　he　did　not　hit　his　sister；　but　on　the　stand　it　came　out　that　one　of　them　was　not　there　at　all；　and　the　other；　who　was　a　little　girl；　stated　that　she　saw　Adolf　hit　some　one。　　Just　why　the　boy　had　these　witnesses　brought　in　was　difficult　to　explain。　　Perhaps　he　had　the　idea　that　some　one　ought　to　be　called　in　every　case；　or　perhaps　he　thought　they　would　be　willing　to　tell　an　untruth　for　him。　　His　statement　in　court　did　not　agree　with　what　he　had　told　us　and　was　utterly　different　from　what　his　sister　stated。　　It　came　out　that　he　had　struck　her　on　a　number　of　previous　occasions。　　It　was　shown　clearly　that　the　boy　was　a　tremendous　liar。　　The　case　was　transferred　to　the　Juvenile　Court　and　from　there　the　boy　was　sent　away　to　an　institution　for　a　few　months。　　After　the　trial　his　father　said　in　broken　English；　‘‘To　me　he　never　told　the　truth。''

Just　after　his　release　the　family　moved　to　Chicago　and　Adolf　soon　put　himself　in　touch　with　certain　social　agencies。　　He　found　out　where　I　was　and　came　to　see　me；　bright；　smiling；　and　well。　　He　had　gained　eight　pounds　during　his　incarceration。　　He　wanted　to　tell　all　about　his　life　in　the　institution　and　because　we　were　busy　said　he　would　come　the　next　day。　　He　did　not　do　this；　but　a　few　months　later　came　running　up　to　me　on　the　street　with　a　package　in　his　hands；　saying　he　was　already　at　work　in　a　downtown　office　and　was　doing　well　and　going　to　night　school。　　Five　years　more　would　see　him　quite　through　his　law　course。　　A　few　months　after　this　he　applied　at　a　certain　agency　for　work　as　an　interpreter　and　there；　strangely　enough；　some　one　who　knew　him　in　New　York　recognized　him。　　He；　however；　denied　ever　having　been　in　court　and　produced　a　list　of　twenty　or　twenty…five　places　where　he　worked　and　gave　them　as　references。　　It　is　to　be　remembered　that　at　this　time　he　had　already　been　brought　up　in　court　at　least　three　times；　that　he　had　been　on　probation；　and　been　sent　away　to　an　institution。

During　the　last　four　years　we　have　received　much　information　concerning　the　career　of　Adolf；　although　his　activities　have　carried　him　to　Milwaukee；　Cleveland；　St。　Louis；　and　other　towns；　in　several　of　which　he　has　been　in　trouble。　　He　has　very　repeatedly　been　to　see　us　and　we　have　had　many　opportunities　of　gauging　his　mental　as　well　as　his　social　development。

His　family　continued　to　live　in　one　of　the　most　populous　suburbs　of　Chicago　and　Adolf　maintains　that　his　residence　is　there；　an　important　point　for　his　political　activities　which　are　mentioned　later。

What　we　discovered　in　our　further　studies　of　Adolf's　mental　condition　can　be　told　in　short。　　We　have　retested　him　over　and　over。　　（When　he　has　been　hard　up　we　have　given　him　money　to　induce　him　to　do　his　very　best。）　　There　are　no　contradictions　in　our　findings　at　different　times。　　Once；　in　another　city；　in　connection　with　his　appearance　in　court；　Adolf　was　seen　by　a　psychiatrist　who　suggested　that　he　was　a　case　of　dementia　precox；　but　nothing　in　our　long　observation　of　him　warrants　us　in　such　an　opinion。　　His　mental　conditions　and　qualities　seem　quite　unchanged　in　type　during　all　the　time　we　have　known　him；　and　instead　of　any　deterioration　there　has　been　gradual　betterment　in　capacities；　certainly　along　the　line　of　adjustment　to　environment。　　His　wonderful　ability　to　get　out　of　trouble　is　evidence　of　these　powers　of　adjustment；　as　is　also；　perhaps；　his　keen　sensing　of　the　utility　of　the　shadier　sides　of　politics　and　criminal　procedure。

In　work　with　numbers　Adolf　is　still　very　poor。　　He　is　unable　to　do　long　division　or　multiplication；　and　cannot　add　together　simple　fractions。　　Addition　he　does　much　better；　but　even　at　his　best　he　makes　errors　in　columns　where　he　has　to　add　five　numerals。　　He　now　can　do　simple　subtraction　such　as　is　required　in　making　change；　but　fails　on　such　a　problem　as　how　much　change　he　should　get　from　20　after　buying　goods　costing　11。37。　　His　memory　span　is　only　six　numerals；　and　these　he　cannot　get　correctly　every　time。

After　numerous　attempts　to　mentally　analyze　our　simple　‘‘Cross　Line　Test；''　with　much　urging　and　extreme　slowness　he　finally　succeeded　at　one　time　in　getting　it　correctly。　　As　stated　above；　this　is　a　test　that　is　done　with　ease　usually　by　normal　individuals　12　years　of　age。　　On　our　‘‘Code　Test；''　requiring　much　the　same　order　of　ability；　but　more　effort；　he　entirely　failed。　　For　one　thing；　he　has　never　known　the　order　of　the　alphabet　either　in　English；　German；　or　French。　　Our　‘‘Pictorial　Completion　Test；''　which　gauges　simple　apperceptive　abilities；　he　failed　to　do　correctly；　making　three　illogical　errors。

The　result　on　the　Binet　tests　are　most　interesting。　　From　years　of　experience　with　them　we　ourselves　have　no　faith　in　their　offering　sound　criteria　for　age　levels　above　10　years。　　Adolf　goes　up　through　all　of　the　12…year　tests　（1911　series）　except　the　first；　where　he　shows　suggestibility　in　his　judgment　of　the　lengths　of　lines。　　In　the　15…year　tests　he　fails　on　the　first；　but　does　the　three　following　ones　correctly。　　Two　out　of　the　adult　series　are　done　wellthose　where　the　definition　of　a　word　is　required　and　the　statement　of　political　ideas。　　Two　or　three　of　his　specific　answers　are　worth　noting：　　‘‘Honor　is　when　a　person　is　very　honest。　　It　means　he　will　never　do　what　is　wrong　even　if　he　can　make　money　by　it。''　　‘‘Pleasure　is　when　everything　is　pleasant；　when　you　are　enjoying　yourself。''　　Adolf　tells　us　that　the　king　is　head　of　a　monarchy；　he　has　not　the　power　to　veto；　and　he　acquires　his　position　by　royal　birth。　　In　contrast　to　this　he　says　the　president　is　the　presiding　executive　of　a　republic；　he　has　the　power　to　veto；　and　he　gains　his　position　by　election。　　It　is　perfectly　clear　in　this　case；　as　in　many　others；　that　the　Binet　tests　show　very　little　wherein　lies　the　nature　of　a　special　defect　or　ability。　　Adolf's　capacity　for　handling　language　has　grown　steadily。　　He　has　been　reading　law　and　knows　by　heart　a　great　deal　of　its　terminology。　　In　a　short　conversation　he　talks　well　and　is　coherent。　　The　aggressiveness　which　is　ever　with　him　leads　him　to　stick　to　the　point。　　He　has　had　very　little　instruction；　his　pronunciation　is　often　defective　and　he　does　not　know　the　meaning　of　many　of　the　longer　terms　with　which　any　lawyer　should　be　acquainted。　　He　speaks　fluently　and　has　now　long　posed；　among　other　things；　as　an　interpreter。

Our　final　diagnosis　after　all　these　mental　tests　is；　that　while　he　could　by　no　means　be　called　a　feebleminded　person；　still　Adolf　is　essentially　subnormal　in　many　abilitieswe　still　regard　him　as　a　subnormal　verbalist。　　Probably　what　he　lacks　in　powers　of　mental　analysis　has　much　relation　to　the　lack　of　foresight　which　he　continually　shows　in　his　social　career。　　His　lying　and