CURRENT LITER AT LIRE.
THE PATHOLOGY OF EMOTIONS.
The Pathology of Emotions. By Ch. Fere. Translated by R. Park, M.D. (The University Press.)—The increasing com- plexity of life, the pace at which we live, work, and take pleasures, make the study of mental and holily welfare of great interest to us. We question whether it is good policy for many to read the interesting cases collected by M. Ch. Fir; it must tend to a somewhat morbid interest in the emotions of ourselves and others. Still, it is well that we should see ourselves as others see us, and realise what apparently trifling habits can build up in the way of nervous disorders, or how an incident or a facc the significance of which years should have busied, may warp a Bound mind or upset an otherwise well-balanced mind. For instance, a man marries for his first wife a woman of bad fame. She dies ; he marries again a woman whom he subjects to years of insults and quarrels, surprise visits, and coarse upbraidings. He acknowledges his unreasonableness, and explains that a terrible weight seems to rest on his chest, a suspicion that must be cleared at any inconvenience to himself and others. Here in this case was a man who worked, led a regular life, of well-nourished body and mind, yet the one fact of his former marriage seems to have ruined his peace and dignity of mind. Again, the fear of certain animals, of certain diseases, as we know, leads people into extremes that make them unbearable from a social point of view, or else objects of pity or contempt. Strong, healthy people suffer from these drawbacks ; a great soldier, perhaps, cannot endure cats, and the sight of dogs has a terrifying effect on many men and women. These are described as mental diseases, and the point is how far are we to consider and respect them as such, and how far to insist on the exercise of a self-control sufficient to bring the afflicted individual into the ranks of the average man or woman ? While these eases of various disorders show us how imperfect mania, they also furnish guidance as to bow we may show consideration to those whose absence of will places them at the mercy of their own emotions and the forbearance of others. To the medical profession the fulness and accuracy of M. Ch. FC:r4's work and the carefulness of the translation must be objects of admiration and gratitude.
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