Although this list of explicable confession-types is long, it is in no
way exhaustive. It is only a small portion of all the confessions that
we receive; of these the greater part remain more or less unexplained.
Mittermaier[59] has already dealt with these acutely and cites examples
as well as the relatively well-studied older literature of the subject.
A number of cases may perhaps be explained through pressure of
conscience, especially where there are involved hysterical or nervous
persons who are plagued with vengeful images in which the ghost of their
victim would appear, or in whose ear the unendurable clang of the stolen
money never ceases, etc. If the confessor only intends to free himself
from these disturbing images and the consequent punishment by means of
confession, we are not dealing with what is properly called conscience,
but more or less with disease, with an abnormally excited
imagination.[60] But where such hallucinations are lacking, and
religious influences are absent, and the confession is made freely in
response to mere pressure, we have a case of conscience,[61]--another of
those terms which need explanation. I know of no analogy in the inner
nature of man, in which anybody with open eyes does himself exclusive
harm without any contingent use being apparent, as is the case in this
class of confession. There is always considerable difficulty in
explaining these cases. One way of explaining them is to say that their
source is mere stupidity and impulsiveness, or simply to deny their
occurrence. But the theory of stupidity does not appeal to the
practitioner, for even if we agree that a man foolishly makes a
confession and later, when he perceives his mistake, bitterly regrets
telling it, we still find many confessions that are not regretted and
the makers of which can in no wise be accused of defective intelligence.
To deny that there are such is comfortable but wrong, because we each
know collections of cases in which no effort could bring to light a
motive for the confession. The confession was made because the confessor
wanted to make it, and that’s the whole story.
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