Once this fine hearing distinguishes the individual who really believes
in the motive he plausibly offers the court, there is another indication
(obviously quite apart from the general signs of deceit) that marks him
further, and this comes to light when one has him speak about similar
crimes of others in which the ostensible motive actually was present. It
is said rightly, that not he is old who no longer commits youthful
follies but he that no longer forgives them, and so not merely he is bad
who himself commits evil but also he who excuses them in others. Of
course, that an accused person should defend the naked deed as it is
described in the criminal law is not likely for conceivable
reasons--since certainly no robbery-suspect will sing a paean about
robbers, but certainly almost anybody who has a better or a
better-appearing motive for his crime, will protect those who have been
guided by a similar motive in other cases. Every experiment shows this
to be the case and then apparent motives are easily enough recognized as
such.
(d) Somatic Character-Units.
Section 14. (1) _General Considerations._
When we say that the inner condition of men implies some outer
expression, it must follow that there are series of phenomena which
especially mold the body in terms of the influence of a state of mind on
external appearance, or conversely, which are significant of the
influence of some physical uniqueness on the psychical state, or of some
other psycho physical condition. As an example of the first kind one may
cite the well known phenomenon that devotees always make an impression
rather specifically feminine. As an example of the second kind is the
fact demonstrated by Gyurkovechky[89] that impotents exhibit
disagreeable characteristics. Such conditions find their universalizing
expression in the cruel but true maxim “Beware of the marked one.” The
Bible was the first of all to make mention of these evil stigmata. No
one of course asserts that the bearer of any bodily malformation is for
that reason invested with one or more evil qualities--“Non cum hoc, sed
propter hoc.” It is a general quality of the untrained, and hence the
majority of men, that they shall greet the unfortunate who suffers from
some bodily malformation not with care and protection, but with scorn
and maltreatment. Such propensities belong, alas, not only to adults,
but also to children, who annoy their deformed playfellows (whether
expressly or whether because they are inconsiderate), and continually
call the unhappy child’s attention to his deformity. Hence, there
follows in most cases from earliest youth, at first a certain
bitterness, then envy, unkindness, stifled rage against the fortunate,
joy in destruction, and all the other hateful similar qualities however
they may be named. In the course of time all of these retained bitter
impressions summate, and the qualities arising from them become more
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account