Let us turn now to the other part of the legal phrase, "Does such a person know the nature and quality of his act?" If the writer understands these terms, the first may be translated into the expression, "Does he know what he is doing?" We take it that the expression originated in the attempt to cover those cases where persons, either momentarily or permanently deranged, literally do not know what they are doing. If this is correct, then one cannot, as a rule, say that a high-grade imbecile does not know what he is doing. He is not like the lunatic who acts blindly and is probably no more responsible for his acts than a person walking in his sleep. The imbecile is not in this condition. He has, so to speak, full possession of all the mind that he has ever had and that, in the case of these high-grade imbeciles or morons, is certainly sufficient to enable him to know what he is doing. In the case of Jean Gianini, the writer testified that in his opinion he knew what he was doing. He knew the nature of his act. One cannot speak, it is true, with certainty in such cases. It is entirely possible that, as already intimated, the situation at first may have been a simple altercation or discussion which finally got to a point where the anger of the boy was aroused to such an extent that he acted without really knowing what he was doing. However, there is no more argument for that theory than against it, and without definite evidence on the question it is probably going too far afield to make any such claims of immunity on that ground. We are frank to admit that the probabilities are high that the boy knew the nature of his act. Did he know the quality of his act? By the quality of a thing is meant that which distinguishes it from all other things. This implies a complete and extensive knowledge of the thing in question. To know the quality of an act--murder, for example--means to know all of the elements, forms, or modes of being or action which seem to make it distinct from all other acts. To know the quality of an act of murder is to know that it is unjustifiable; it is to know that it differs from the killing of a rat in that different consequences follow; that human suffering is involved, both that of the victim and of the victim's friends and associates. It is to know, at least in some vague way, that human society could not exist if murder were the rule. To know the quality of an act of murder is to know enough to be able to distinguish it from justifiable homicide, from killing in war, not to mention more obvious necessary distinctions.