A letter to the Right Honorable the Lord Chancellor, on the nature and interpretation of unsoundness of mind, and imbecility of intellect / by John Haslam.

  • Haslam, John, 1764-1844.
Date:
1823
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter to the Right Honorable the Lord Chancellor, on the nature and interpretation of unsoundness of mind, and imbecility of intellect / by John Haslam. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ever, is not the subject of similar investigation ; we are able to discover no virus by which it is con- taminated— no spreading rottenness—no morbid leaven that ferments, or canker that corrodes it. Although we may apply the word unsoundness, in a figurative or metaphorical sense, to the human mind, yet we cannot detect in it any of the marks or indications that characterize the unsoundness of substances acknowledged to be in that state : it is, therefore, under this conviction, and with the view of increasing our knowledge of the human intellect, that, on the behalf of the members of the medical profession, I venture to solicit your Lordship, on the first opportunity that may occur, to elucidate the nature of this unsoundness of mind, so that physicians may be enabled thoroughly to ascertain its existence, and conscientiously depose to that effect, and also that it may be recognized by the jury, when they “ proceed to make their inference,” in order that, by their return, your Lordship may appoint the proper committees of the person and property. Respecting the human intellect, two very op- posite opinions prevail among physiologists and