BOOKS.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTIONS OF PSYCHOANALYSIS.* Dn. Banzi must be considered as one of the foremost pioneers in Psychoanalysis, for it was he who, as long as fourteen years ago, first introduced Freud to the English-speaking public. Freud seems to have produced two diametrically opposite effects on the amateur reader, for some receive his theories with an almost unholy glee, while the others are violently repelled by them. No doubt both these reactions are easily and amusingly explained by the knowing psychoanalyst, and no doubt, too, the latter variety is to some extent responsible for the view so often expressed that Freud has absurdly exaggerated the influence of sex in human psychology.

Now,whether this is true or not neither we nor many of those who criticize Freud are competent to judge ; it is a technical scientific question which only further research can answer.

But the reasons for the view (except in so far as it is the reasoned opinion of competent scientists) are in the first place that people do not realize the wide significance which Freud implies in his use of the word sex. He uses it to cover the whole of the individual's love-life. "According to the common conception of sex," writes Dr. Brill,

. . . a woman fondling a bundle of rags, as if it were her baby, was not regarded as manifesting a sexual disturbance ; we, however, look upon the case as being sexual, because it deals with her love-life. If people generally would regard sex in the light that we do, they would readily see that it is present in all mental disturbances. Thus Freud's dictum that no neuro- sis is possible in a normal sex life holds true even in the psychosis. I have had the privilege of addressing a large gathering of laymen some time ago, and it was noteworthy that after I had explained to them in what broad sense Freud and his pupils use the word sex, their former resentment was gone. . .

The second reason for the widespread objection to Freud's insistence on sex is that owing to a long tradition of prudery and false modesty the ordinary physical facts of sex are for many people disgraceful, and therefore the suggestion that any of our higher activities are even remotely related to sex is monstrous. The objection in this case is emotional and quite unreasoned : it amounts to the assertion that whether the facts are true or not, they 'absolutely refuse to accept them.

In the case of Freud himself, there is another handicap-- the dullness of some of his books. It is difficult to diagnose the reason of it : possibly it springs from an incapacity for clear and concise statement. Whatever it is, Freud has unhappily the gift of sometimes imposing a heaviness upon even the most absorbing subject.

This exterior unattractiveness is, however, not quite so prominent a feature of his Introductory Lectures on P8ycho-

audysis,2 though this is, on the whole, a disappointing book in spite of a most competent translator. If, however, we can make up our minds to plough through it and are not put off by the redundancy of the style and the author's inability to concentrate upon essentials, there is a great deal of interest

to be found in it.

English readers will probably, for the most part, regret the continued insistence that we just mentioned in connexion with Professor Brill's book of bringing under the name of " sex " so many remotely-associated activities. It would seem to most people a curious tactical error. Surely it would have been easy to have coined a new word which would not have had the undesired emotional atmosphere of the word "sex." It might, indeed, appear to the ordinary man somewhat arbitrary in the Freudians to give to a word which must be translated " sex " the wide and unspecialized signification which it has in all their treatises.

The title of Dr. Brill's book may, perhaps, produce the impres- sion that it is a heavy and technical work, unsuitable for those who are not already well versed in the subject. (It is much more simple than Prof. Freud's, which is ostensibly for the uninitiate.) The truth is the very reverse. It is derived from lectures delivered at the department of pedagogics of the New York University to audiences concerned with education and psychology, and it is expressed in an easy, colloquial style which even when at moments the syntax becomes doubtful is always lucid and

* (1) Fundamental Conceptions of Psychoanalysis. By A. A. Brill. London : Allen and Unwin., [128. Cd. net.]—(2) Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis. By Prof. SigIsmund Freud. Translated by Joan Itiviere. Same publishers. ['ea. net.]

always holds the attention. Dr. Bill's exposition is quite free from unexplained technicalities, and his humour and gaiety and his excellent habit of illustrating his points with plenty of interesting examples result in a book which conveys a great deal of instruction in the form of very interesting and amusing reading. Indeed, we do not know of any introduction to the subject so good as this one.

The book begins with &chapter called "The Cathartic Method," which explains at once the methods and effects of psychoanalysis by giving some account of how Freud was led to elaborate his system. Freud studied in Paris under the famous hypnotist Charcot, and returned to Vienna with the idea of treating neurasthenia by hypnotism. But his attention was drawn by Dr. Breuer to the case of a patient suffering from hysteria who, though apparently incurable by the usual methods, had cured herself by insisting on pouring out her troubles, at great length, to Dr. Breuer. She had apparently talked down to the origin of her symptoms and so removed the trouble. This

suggested to Freud that this "talking cure" might be combined with hypnotism in laying bare the origin of symptoms. But a

drawback to this method was that there were many patients who could not be hypnotized. Some other method must be found. By degrees Freud elaborated the "continuous associa- tion method" through which, by taking large numbers of associations he was able to track down the original cause in the unconscious. Soon he became aware of the important part

which dreams play in the vital economy of the mind. "He found," says Dr. Brill, "that the dream offered the best access, that it was the via regia, as he put it, to the unconscious ; that it was of tremendous help not only in the treatment, but also in the diagnosis. And finally. . . he began to see more and more that everything in the psychic life has meaning, everything has a cause, nothing that the individual may do or say is meaningless. Every slip of the tongue, or mistake in writing, or some unconscious gesture or movement has significance."

A large part of Dr. Brill's book, therefore, deals with dreams. One of the most interesting points in a department in which all is interesting is his discovery (which he subsequently found had been already touched on by Professor Bleuler) that artificial dreams—dreams, that is, invented by the patient to fool the analyst—are, themselves, of great value in tapping the uncon- scious. That this should be so seems, when once it has been pointed out, inevitable, for it is clear that man cannot escape from his personality, his unconscious influences his choice and avoidance of subjects and images even when he resorts to conscious invention. Dr. Brill tells us that he frequently has recourse to artificial dreams in the case of patients who, for some reason, cannot recall actual dreams.

Though the book is purposely elementary and therefore may not contain much that is new to those already experienced in the subject, it summarizes in a clear and memorable form a mass of useful information, and for readers not deeply versed in the subject who seek to understand themselves and others, or are concerned with the treatment and education of children, it is a book to be strongly recommended.