Begging the question of idiocy: The definition and socio-cultural meaning of idiocy in early modern Britain: Part 1

History of Psychiatry

Volumn 9, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 65-95

  Andrews, Jonathan ^a  

^a OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; HISTORY; HUMAN; MENTAL DEFICIENCY; MENTAL DISEASE; UNITED KINGDOM;

GREAT BRITAIN; HISTORY, MODERN 1601-; HUMANS; MENTAL DISORDERS; MENTAL RETARDATION;

EID: 0032011854     PISSN: 0957154X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0957154x9800903306     Document Type: Article

References (211)

1. Unlike some other social historians, I will be employing the terms 'mentally disabled' and 'idiot' here to denote all those individuals categorized under the terms 'idiot', 'fool', 'simpleton', 'stupid', etc, in distinction from 'lunatics', the 'mad' et al. 'Mentally disabled' has often been used by historians to comprise both idiots and lunatics. This, I feel, is misleading and insensitive to contemporary semantics. In common parlance (outside of the variegated disabilities qualifying parishioners for poor relief) disability tended to be defined as a more permanent, incurable affliction than mere 'illness'.
2. Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (London: Tavistock, 1971), trans. and abr. from Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique (Paris: Librairie Plon, 1961); Klaus Doerner, Madmen and the Bourgeoisie. A Social History of Insanity and Psychiatry (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1981), trans. from Bürger und Irre (Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 1960).
3. Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (London: Tavistock, 1971), trans. and abr. from Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique (Paris: Librairie Plon, 1961); Klaus Doerner, Madmen and the Bourgeoisie. A Social History of Insanity and Psychiatry (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1981), trans. from Bürger und Irre (Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 1960).
4. Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (London: Tavistock, 1971), trans. and abr. from Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique (Paris: Librairie Plon, 1961); Klaus Doerner, Madmen and the Bourgeoisie. A Social History of Insanity and Psychiatry (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1981), trans. from Bürger und Irre (Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 1960).
5. Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason (London: Tavistock, 1971), trans. and abr. from Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique (Paris: Librairie Plon, 1961); Klaus Doerner, Madmen and the Bourgeoisie. A Social History of Insanity and Psychiatry (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1981), trans. from Bürger und Irre (Europäische Verlagsanstalt, 1960).
6. For a rather different emphasis in terms of prisons, see Pieter Spierenburg, The Prison Experience. Disciplinary Institutions and Their Inmates in Early Modem Europe (New Brunswick and London: Rutgers University Press, 1991). Spierenburg sees the crucial shift in the development of prisons in the early modern period as involving the re-formulation of the prison (more fundamental for its implications in terms of administrative policy, than in terms of practical efficacy, or even cultural meaning), from a punitive institution to a penal institution.
7. Alan Bewell, Wordsworth and the Enlightenment (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989), 57.
8. Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles. A History of Madness from the Restoration to the Regency (London: Athlone, 1987); Max Byrd, Visits to Bedlam (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1974); Michael V. Deporte, Nightmares and Hobbyhorses. Swift, Sterne and Augustan Ideas of Madness (San Marino, California: Huntingdon Library, 1974); Lilian Feder, Madness and Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980).
9. Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles. A History of Madness from the Restoration to the Regency (London: Athlone, 1987); Max Byrd, Visits to Bedlam (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1974); Michael V. Deporte, Nightmares and Hobbyhorses. Swift, Sterne and Augustan Ideas of Madness (San Marino, California: Huntingdon Library, 1974); Lilian Feder, Madness and Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980).
10. Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles. A History of Madness from the Restoration to the Regency (London: Athlone, 1987); Max Byrd, Visits to Bedlam (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1974); Michael V. Deporte, Nightmares and Hobbyhorses. Swift, Sterne and Augustan Ideas of Madness (San Marino, California: Huntingdon Library, 1974); Lilian Feder, Madness and Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980).
11. Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles. A History of Madness from the Restoration to the Regency (London: Athlone, 1987); Max Byrd, Visits to Bedlam (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1974); Michael V. Deporte, Nightmares and Hobbyhorses. Swift, Sterne and Augustan Ideas of Madness (San Marino, California: Huntingdon Library, 1974); Lilian Feder, Madness and Literature (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980).
12. Dekker, The Honest Whore, Pt I, IV, iv, 102-3, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1955), ii; Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, The Changeling, ed. by N. W. Bawcutt (London: Methuen, 1958), I, ii, 79-80.
13. Dekker, The Honest Whore, Pt I, IV, iv, 102-3, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1955), ii; Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, The Changeling, ed. by N. W. Bawcutt (London: Methuen, 1958), I, ii, 79-80.
14. Changeling, III, iii, 204-5.
15. Changeling, I, ii, 44-5, 49-50;
16. Thomas Dekker, Northwood Ho, IV, iii, 171-2, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1955), vol. ii;
17. Edmund Gayton, Pleasant Notes Upon Don Quixot (London: Printed by W. Hunt, 1654), 140-1.
18. Swift, 'Ode to Dr William Sancroft', in The Poems of Jonathan Swift, ed. by Harold Williams (Oxford: Clarendon, 1937), vol. i, 39, ls 161-2.
19. See e.g. Thomas Dekker, Northwood Ho, IV, iii, 51-2, 72, 130-1, 175-6.
20. E.g. The Tatler, ed. by Donald Bond (Oxford: Clarendon, 1987), i, No. 40, 12 July 1709, 289-90.
21. Swift, 'Verses on the Death of Dr Swift', in The Poems of Swift, ed. by Williams, ii, 572, ls 469-70. See, also, London Evening Post, No. 6712, 20-22 Nov. 1770: 'The Ideot and Bedlamite distinctly have equal pretensions to our pity; but when we see them united, laughter, ridicule, and contempt, regularly succeed each other.'
22. Swift, 'Verses on the Death of Dr Swift', in The Poems of Swift, ed. by Williams, ii, 572, ls 469-70. See, also, London Evening Post, No. 6712, 20-22 Nov. 1770: 'The Ideot and Bedlamite distinctly have equal pretensions to our pity; but when we see them united, laughter, ridicule, and contempt, regularly succeed each other.'
23. See e.g. Universal Spectator, 2 June 1733, leading article entitled 'Madness to Folly is ally'd/And thin Partitions do the Bounds divide'.
24. Anon., The History of the Origin and Amusements of Bartholomew Fair (London: J. Arliss, c.1810-15); Henry Morley, Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair (reprint of 1859 edn; London: Hugh Evelyn, 1973); Stephen Smith and Kevin Scrivens, Hull Fair: An Illustrated History (Beverley: Hutton Press, 1991); Alan Crosby, The History of Preston Guild: 800 Years of England's Greatest Carnival (Preston: Lancashire County Books, 1991).
25. Anon., The History of the Origin and Amusements of Bartholomew Fair (London: J. Arliss, c.1810-15); Henry Morley, Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair (reprint of 1859 edn; London: Hugh Evelyn, 1973); Stephen Smith and Kevin Scrivens, Hull Fair: An Illustrated History (Beverley: Hutton Press, 1991); Alan Crosby, The History of Preston Guild: 800 Years of England's Greatest Carnival (Preston: Lancashire County Books, 1991).
26. Anon., The History of the Origin and Amusements of Bartholomew Fair (London: J. Arliss, c.1810-15); Henry Morley, Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair (reprint of 1859 edn; London: Hugh Evelyn, 1973); Stephen Smith and Kevin Scrivens, Hull Fair: An Illustrated History (Beverley: Hutton Press, 1991); Alan Crosby, The History of Preston Guild: 800 Years of England's Greatest Carnival (Preston: Lancashire County Books, 1991).
27. Anon., The History of the Origin and Amusements of Bartholomew Fair (London: J. Arliss, c.1810-15); Henry Morley, Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair (reprint of 1859 edn; London: Hugh Evelyn, 1973); Stephen Smith and Kevin Scrivens, Hull Fair: An Illustrated History (Beverley: Hutton Press, 1991); Alan Crosby, The History of Preston Guild: 800 Years of England's Greatest Carnival (Preston: Lancashire County Books, 1991).
28. Allan Ingram, The Madhouse of Language. Writing and Reading Madness in the Eighteenth Century (London and New York: Routledge, 1991).
29. Macbeth, V, iv, 26-8.
30. Swift, 'Dick's Variety' (1745), in The Poems of Swift, ed. by Williams, iii, 788, ls 7-10.
31. Bewell, Wordsworth and the Enlightenment, 63-4.
32. Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated: or, a Body without a Soul. Being Observations upon the Young Forrester Lately Brought to Town from Germany With Suitable Applications. Also, A Brief Dissertation upon the Usefulness and Necessity of Fools, Whether Political or Natural (London: T. Warner, 1726).
33. Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 64.
34. Defoe, Nature Delineated, 27.
35. Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 64.
36. Ibid., 63.
37. Ibid., 64-5.
38. Wordsworth, 'The Idiot Boy', in The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, ed. by William Knight (Edinburgh: William Paterson, 1882), 248-65.
39. William Knight, The Life of William Wordsworth (Edinburgh: William Paterson, 1889), 404.
40. Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 63.
41. Gilbert White, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (London: Printed by T. Bensley for B. White & Son, 1789), ed. by Richard Mabey (London: Century Hutchinson, 1988), 171; Roy Porter (ed.), The Faber Book of Madness (London & Boston: Faber & Faber, 1991), 99; Allan Ingram, The Madhouse of Language, 77-8.
42. Gilbert White, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (London: Printed by T. Bensley for B. White & Son, 1789), ed. by Richard Mabey (London: Century Hutchinson, 1988), 171; Roy Porter (ed.), The Faber Book of Madness (London & Boston: Faber & Faber, 1991), 99; Allan Ingram, The Madhouse of Language, 77-8.
43. Gilbert White, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (London: Printed by T. Bensley for B. White & Son, 1789), ed. by Richard Mabey (London: Century Hutchinson, 1988), 171; Roy Porter (ed.), The Faber Book of Madness (London & Boston: Faber & Faber, 1991), 99; Allan Ingram, The Madhouse of Language, 77-8.
44. For Wilson's letter and Wordsworth's reply, see Knight, Life of Wordsworth, 390-405.
45. Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 54.
46. Ibid., 55.
47. For other source material on the growth of institutional, educational and medical provision for people with learning disabilities, see e.g. Wright and Digby (eds), From Idiocy to Mental Deficiency. Historical Perspectives in People with Learning Disabilities (London: Routledge, 1996). See also M. Rosen, G. R. Clark and M. S. Kivitz (eds), The History of Mental Retardation, Collected Papers (Baltimore: University Park Press, 1976), although this collection is mostly confined to material from the modern period.
48. For other source material on the growth of institutional, educational and medical provision for people with learning disabilities, see e.g. Wright and Digby (eds), From Idiocy to Mental Deficiency. Historical Perspectives in People with Learning Disabilities (London: Routledge, 1996). See also M. Rosen, G. R. Clark and M. S. Kivitz (eds), The History of Mental Retardation, Collected Papers (Baltimore: University Park Press, 1976), although this collection is mostly confined to material from the modern period.
49. Jonathan Andrews, 'The lot of the incurably insane in Enlightenment England', Eighteenth-Century Life, xii(1) (February 1988), 1-18; idem et al., The History of Bethlem (London: Routledge, 1997); idem, 'Bedlam Revisited. A History of Bethlem Hospital c1634-c1770' (PhD diss., University of London, 1991), and idem, '"Hardly a hospital, but a charity for pauper lunatics"? Therapeutics at Bethlem in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries', in Medicine and Charity Before the Welfare State (eds), Jonathan Barry and Colin Jones (London: Routledge, 1991), 63-81.
50. Jonathan Andrews, 'The lot of the incurably insane in Enlightenment England', Eighteenth-Century Life, xii(1) (February 1988), 1-18; idem et al., The History of Bethlem (London: Routledge, 1997); idem, 'Bedlam Revisited. A History of Bethlem Hospital c1634-c1770' (PhD diss., University of London, 1991), and idem, '"Hardly a hospital, but a charity for pauper lunatics"? Therapeutics at Bethlem in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries', in Medicine and Charity Before the Welfare State (eds), Jonathan Barry and Colin Jones (London: Routledge, 1991), 63-81.
51. Jonathan Andrews, 'The lot of the incurably insane in Enlightenment England', Eighteenth-Century Life, xii(1) (February 1988), 1-18; idem et al., The History of Bethlem (London: Routledge, 1997); idem, 'Bedlam Revisited. A History of Bethlem Hospital c1634-c1770' (PhD diss., University of London, 1991), and idem, '"Hardly a hospital, but a charity for pauper lunatics"? Therapeutics at Bethlem in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries', in Medicine and Charity Before the Welfare State (eds), Jonathan Barry and Colin Jones (London: Routledge, 1991), 63-81.
52. Jonathan Andrews, 'The lot of the incurably insane in Enlightenment England', Eighteenth-Century Life, xii(1) (February 1988), 1-18; idem et al., The History of Bethlem (London: Routledge, 1997); idem, 'Bedlam Revisited. A History of Bethlem Hospital c1634-c1770' (PhD diss., University of London, 1991), and idem, '"Hardly a hospital, but a charity for pauper lunatics"? Therapeutics at Bethlem in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries', in Medicine and Charity Before the Welfare State (eds), Jonathan Barry and Colin Jones (London: Routledge, 1991), 63-81.
53. Bethlem Court of Governors Minutes (henceforth BCGM), fols 368 and 137, 1624 and 1629. See, also, Patricia Allderidge, 'Management and mismanagement at Bedlam, 1547-1633', in Charles Webster (ed.), Health, Medicine and Mortality in the Sixteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 158-60. For a further discussion of Bethlem and idiocy, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', 437-44.
54. Bethlem Court of Governors Minutes (henceforth BCGM), fols 368 and 137, 1624 and 1629. See, also, Patricia Allderidge, 'Management and mismanagement at Bedlam, 1547-1633', in Charles Webster (ed.), Health, Medicine and Mortality in the Sixteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 158-60. For a further discussion of Bethlem and idiocy, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', 437-44.
55. Bethlem Court of Governors Minutes (henceforth BCGM), fols 368 and 137, 1624 and 1629. See, also, Patricia Allderidge, 'Management and mismanagement at Bedlam, 1547-1633', in Charles Webster (ed.), Health, Medicine and Mortality in the Sixteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 158-60. For a further discussion of Bethlem and idiocy, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', 437-44.
56. BCGM, fol. 408, 23 November 1649.
57. BCGM, fols 211 and 217, 21 November and 20 December 1638.
58. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (London: Temple Smith, 1972); idem and Michael Shepherd, 'The case of Arise Evans: a historico-psychiatric study', Psychological Medicine, vi (1976), 351-8; Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam. Madness, Anxiety and Healing in Seventeenth-century England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); idem, 'Popular beliefs about mental disorder in early modern England', in Wolfgang Uwe Eckart and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, Heilberufe und Kranke im 17. und 18. Jahrhunden: die Quellen- und Forschungssituation: ein Arbeitsgespraech (Muenstersche Beitraege zur Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin, No. 18; Muenster: Institut fuer Theorie und Geschichte der Medizin der Universitaet Muenster, 1982), 148-73. For further elaboration, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', esp 443-50; idem, 'The politics of committal to early modern Bethlem', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 6-63.
59. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (London: Temple Smith, 1972); idem and Michael Shepherd, 'The case of Arise Evans: a historico-psychiatric study', Psychological Medicine, vi (1976), 351-8; Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam. Madness, Anxiety and Healing in Seventeenth-century England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); idem, 'Popular beliefs about mental disorder in early modern England', in Wolfgang Uwe Eckart and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, Heilberufe und Kranke im 17. und 18. Jahrhunden: die Quellen- und Forschungssituation: ein Arbeitsgespraech (Muenstersche Beitraege zur Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin, No. 18; Muenster: Institut fuer Theorie und Geschichte der Medizin der Universitaet Muenster, 1982), 148-73. For further elaboration, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', esp 443-50; idem, 'The politics of committal to early modern Bethlem', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 6-63.
60. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (London: Temple Smith, 1972); idem and Michael Shepherd, 'The case of Arise Evans: a historico-psychiatric study', Psychological Medicine, vi (1976), 351-8; Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam. Madness, Anxiety and Healing in Seventeenth-century England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); idem, 'Popular beliefs about mental disorder in early modern England', in Wolfgang Uwe Eckart and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, Heilberufe und Kranke im 17. und 18. Jahrhunden: die Quellen- und Forschungssituation: ein Arbeitsgespraech (Muenstersche Beitraege zur Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin, No. 18; Muenster: Institut fuer Theorie und Geschichte der Medizin der Universitaet Muenster, 1982), 148-73. For further elaboration, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', esp 443-50; idem, 'The politics of committal to early modern Bethlem', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 6-63.
61. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (London: Temple Smith, 1972); idem and Michael Shepherd, 'The case of Arise Evans: a historico-psychiatric study', Psychological Medicine, vi (1976), 351-8; Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam. Madness, Anxiety and Healing in Seventeenth-century England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); idem, 'Popular beliefs about mental disorder in early modern England', in Wolfgang Uwe Eckart and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, Heilberufe und Kranke im 17. und 18. Jahrhunden: die Quellen- und Forschungssituation: ein Arbeitsgespraech (Muenstersche Beitraege zur Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin, No. 18; Muenster: Institut fuer Theorie und Geschichte der Medizin der Universitaet Muenster, 1982), 148-73. For further elaboration, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', esp 443-50; idem, 'The politics of committal to early modern Bethlem', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 6-63.
62. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (London: Temple Smith, 1972); idem and Michael Shepherd, 'The case of Arise Evans: a historico-psychiatric study', Psychological Medicine, vi (1976), 351-8; Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam. Madness, Anxiety and Healing in Seventeenth-century England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); idem, 'Popular beliefs about mental disorder in early modern England', in Wolfgang Uwe Eckart and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, Heilberufe und Kranke im 17. und 18. Jahrhunden: die Quellen- und Forschungssituation: ein Arbeitsgespraech (Muenstersche Beitraege zur Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin, No. 18; Muenster: Institut fuer Theorie und Geschichte der Medizin der Universitaet Muenster, 1982), 148-73. For further elaboration, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', esp 443-50; idem, 'The politics of committal to early modern Bethlem', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 6-63.
63. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (London: Temple Smith, 1972); idem and Michael Shepherd, 'The case of Arise Evans: a historico-psychiatric study', Psychological Medicine, vi (1976), 351-8; Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam. Madness, Anxiety and Healing in Seventeenth-century England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); idem, 'Popular beliefs about mental disorder in early modern England', in Wolfgang Uwe Eckart and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, Heilberufe und Kranke im 17. und 18. Jahrhunden: die Quellen- und Forschungssituation: ein Arbeitsgespraech (Muenstersche Beitraege zur Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin, No. 18; Muenster: Institut fuer Theorie und Geschichte der Medizin der Universitaet Muenster, 1982), 148-73. For further elaboration, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', esp 443-50; idem, 'The politics of committal to early modern Bethlem', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 6-63.
64. Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside-Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (London: Temple Smith, 1972); idem and Michael Shepherd, 'The case of Arise Evans: a historico-psychiatric study', Psychological Medicine, vi (1976), 351-8; Roy Porter, Mind-Forg'd Manacles; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam. Madness, Anxiety and Healing in Seventeenth-century England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981); idem, 'Popular beliefs about mental disorder in early modern England', in Wolfgang Uwe Eckart and Johanna Geyer-Kordesch, Heilberufe und Kranke im 17. und 18. Jahrhunden: die Quellen- und Forschungssituation: ein Arbeitsgespraech (Muenstersche Beitraege zur Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin, No. 18; Muenster: Institut fuer Theorie und Geschichte der Medizin der Universitaet Muenster, 1982), 148-73. For further elaboration, see Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', esp 443-50; idem, 'The politics of committal to early modern Bethlem', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 6-63.
65. BCGM, fol. 368, 1624; Allderidge, 'Management and mismanagement', op. cit., ref. 34.
66. BCGM, fol. 368, 1624; Allderidge, 'Management and mismanagement', op. cit., ref. 34.
67. BCGM, fols 266 and 629, 29 May 1646 and 16 November 1653; Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', 442-3. This seems to have been the earliest introduction of certification at any European institution for the insane.
68. BCGM, fols 266 and 629, 29 May 1646 and 16 November 1653; Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', 442-3. This seems to have been the earliest introduction of certification at any European institution for the insane.
69. See e.g. Bethlem Sub-Committee Minutes, fols 296, 261-2 and 442, 5 October 1734, 5 and 11 October 1751, and 8 December 1770: cases of the 'idiots' George Phillips junior and Judith Hanson, and the 'mope', Elias Mordecai. Epilepsy, consumption and other infectious, debilitating or expensive afflictions were also grounds for rejection and discharge from Bethlem and other eighteenth-century hospitals for the insane.
70. Guy's Court of Committees Minutes, Greater London Record Office (GLRO), H9GYA31/1-5, e.g. fols 430 and 450, 2 April 1754 and 19 February 1755 cases of Mary Williams and Lucy Minchin. In an attempt to address this problem in 1755, the Guy's Committee instructed the Steward to write to each nominating governor asking that he 'be very careful, that the person he nominates be a real Lunatick'. See, also, Guy's Admission Register, GLRO H9GYB1/9/1-2, 1772-8, list of lunatics, cases of Cecilia Towers and Elizabeth Appleton, who had remained in Guy's for some years after their recovery.
71. See e.g. C. N. French, The Story of St. Luke's Hospital 1750-1948 (London: William Heinemann, 1951), 15.
72. John Haslam, Observations on Insanity: with Practical Remarks on the Disease, and an Account of the Morbid Appearances on Dissection (London: Printed for F. & C. Rivington, 1798), 112. See, also, Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', Tables 6r and 6s, 543-4.
73. John Haslam, Observations on Insanity: with Practical Remarks on the Disease, and an Account of the Morbid Appearances on Dissection (London: Printed for F. & C. Rivington, 1798), 112. See, also, Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', Tables 6r and 6s, 543-4.
74. Report[s] from the Committee on Madhouses in England (London: House of Commons, 1815-16), e.g. 1st Report, 11, 17.
75. See, e.g., case of the 13-year-old William Bailey, 'a poore Lunatike boy . . . in a very deplorable & miserable Condic[i]on' admitted to Bethlem in 1678: BCGM, fol. 33, 4 September 1674.
76. See Andrews, 'Bedlam Revisited', 227-37.
77. For this and subsequent references to St. Mary Magdalen, I am grateful to Peter K. Carpenter, and his as yet unpublished paper 'The early idiot institutions of Bath'. See, also, J. Jancar, 'The history of mental handicap in Bristol and Bath', Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal, ci (1886), 53-6; Rev. W. Stokes Shaw, 'Notes on the Chapel and Hospital of St Mary Magdalen, Bath', Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, ii (1) (1870-72), 99-110.
78. For this and subsequent references to St. Mary Magdalen, I am grateful to Peter K. Carpenter, and his as yet unpublished paper 'The early idiot institutions of Bath'. See, also, J. Jancar, 'The history of mental handicap in Bristol and Bath', Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal, ci (1886), 53-6; Rev. W. Stokes Shaw, 'Notes on the Chapel and Hospital of St Mary Magdalen, Bath', Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, ii (1) (1870-72), 99-110.
79. For this and subsequent references to St. Mary Magdalen, I am grateful to Peter K. Carpenter, and his as yet unpublished paper 'The early idiot institutions of Bath'. See, also, J. Jancar, 'The history of mental handicap in Bristol and Bath', Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal, ci (1886), 53-6; Rev. W. Stokes Shaw, 'Notes on the Chapel and Hospital of St Mary Magdalen, Bath', Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, ii (1) (1870-72), 99-110.
80. Elizabeth Malcolm, Swift's Hospital, A History of St. Patrick's Hospital, Dublin, 1746-1989 (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1989), 20, 52-5, 83 and 92-3.
81. See e.g. Guildhall MS 4501, agreement drawn up in 1771 between St. Stephen Coleman Street and John Flower for the admission of 'all poor persons whether Men Women or Children', into his Beech Lane workhouse, 'Lunaticks only Excepted', and the rejected 1775 proposal of John Rocket of the workhouse, Rose Street, St. Anne's, Soho, who demanded that the parish 'pay the additional Expence arising' from 'Fowl & Lunaticks'. William Birch who ran the workhouse at Rose Lane, Spitalneids, during the 1760s, also admitted lunatics, but demanded a shilling on top of the ordinary 3/- rate, and 'always Excepted' those 'as are Raving and not Capable of being Controuled'. See his 1765 agreement with St. Dionis, Guildhall MS 12280A/4.
82. See e.g. Janet Saunders, 'Quarantining the weak-minded: psychiatric definitions of degeneracy and the late-Victorian asylum', in W. F. Bynum, Roy Porter and Michael Shepherd (eds), The Anatomy of Madness. Essays in the History of Psychiatry (London: Routledge, 1985-8), 3 vols, III (1988), 273-96, esp. 279-84; Peter Bartlett, 'The Poor Law of Lunacy: The Administration of Pauper Lunatics in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England with Special Emphasis on Leicestershire and Rutland (PhD diss., University of London, 1993).
83. See e.g. Janet Saunders, 'Quarantining the weak-minded: psychiatric definitions of degeneracy and the late-Victorian asylum', in W. F. Bynum, Roy Porter and Michael Shepherd (eds), The Anatomy of Madness. Essays in the History of Psychiatry (London: Routledge, 1985-8), 3 vols, III (1988), 273-96, esp. 279-84; Peter Bartlett, 'The Poor Law of Lunacy: The Administration of Pauper Lunatics in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England with Special Emphasis on Leicestershire and Rutland (PhD diss., University of London, 1993).
84. See Andrews, 'Identifying and providing for the mentally disabled in early modern England', in David Wright and Anne Digby (eds), op. cit., ref. 32, 65-92.
85. Richard Neugebauer, 'Mental Illness and Government Policy in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century England' (PhD diss., Columbia University, 1976); 'Treatment of the mentally ill in medieval and early modern England', Journ. Hist. Behav. Sci., xiv (1978), 158-69, and 'Medieval and early modern theories of mental illness', Archives of General Psychiatry, xxxvi (1979), 477-83.
86. Richard Neugebauer, 'Mental Illness and Government Policy in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century England' (PhD diss., Columbia University, 1976); 'Treatment of the mentally ill in medieval and early modern England', Journ. Hist. Behav. Sci., xiv (1978), 158-69, and 'Medieval and early modern theories of mental illness', Archives of General Psychiatry, xxxvi (1979), 477-83.
87. Richard Neugebauer, 'Mental Illness and Government Policy in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century England' (PhD diss., Columbia University, 1976); 'Treatment of the mentally ill in medieval and early modern England', Journ. Hist. Behav. Sci., xiv (1978), 158-69, and 'Medieval and early modern theories of mental illness', Archives of General Psychiatry, xxxvi (1979), 477-83.
88. E.g. Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language (London: Printed for J. Knapton et al., 1756); John Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language (London: Robinson, 1791).
89. E.g. Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language (London: Printed for J. Knapton et al., 1756); John Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language (London: Robinson, 1791).
90. Thomas Willis, Two Discourses Concerning the Soul of Brutes, which is that of the Vital and Sensitive of Man (London: Dring et al., 1683), trans. S. Pordage from De Anima Brutorum (London: Printed for William Wells and Robert Scott, 1672), 109-214.
91. Thomas Willis, Two Discourses Concerning the Soul of Brutes, which is that of the Vital and Sensitive of Man (London: Dring et al., 1683), trans. S. Pordage from De Anima Brutorum (London: Printed for William Wells and Robert Scott, 1672), 109-214.
92. Act for . . . the More Effectual Punishing such Rogues, Vagabonds, Sturdy Beggars, and Vagrants, and Sending them Whither they Ought to be Sent (1714), 12 Anne, c. 23.
93. John Brydall, Non Compos Mentis: or the Law Relating to Natural Fools, Mad-Folks and Lunatick Persons (London: 1700), facs. repr. of 1st edn (New York and London: Garland, 1979). See, also, Anthony Highmore, A Treatise on the Law of Idiocy and Lunacy (London: Butterworth & Cooke, 1807), in the same facsimile volume, 2-3; A. L. Beier, Masterless Men: The Vagrancy Problem in England 1560-1640 (London: Methuen, 1987).
94. John Brydall, Non Compos Mentis: or the Law Relating to Natural Fools, Mad-Folks and Lunatick Persons (London: 1700), facs. repr. of 1st edn (New York and London: Garland, 1979). See, also, Anthony Highmore, A Treatise on the Law of Idiocy and Lunacy (London: Butterworth & Cooke, 1807), in the same facsimile volume, 2-3; A. L. Beier, Masterless Men: The Vagrancy Problem in England 1560-1640 (London: Methuen, 1987).
95. John Brydall, Non Compos Mentis: or the Law Relating to Natural Fools, Mad-Folks and Lunatick Persons (London: 1700), facs. repr. of 1st edn (New York and London: Garland, 1979). See, also, Anthony Highmore, A Treatise on the Law of Idiocy and Lunacy (London: Butterworth & Cooke, 1807), in the same facsimile volume, 2-3; A. L. Beier, Masterless Men: The Vagrancy Problem in England 1560-1640 (London: Methuen, 1987).
96. Fitzherbert, Natura Brevium (1652), 583; quoted in John Charles Bucknill and Daniel H. Tuke, A Manual of Psychological Medicine: Containing the History, Nosology, Description, Statistics, Diagnosis, Pathology, and Treatment of Insanity. With an Appendix of Cases (London: John Churchill, 1858), 94.
97. Fitzherbert, Natura Brevium (1652), 583; quoted in John Charles Bucknill and Daniel H. Tuke, A Manual of Psychological Medicine: Containing the History, Nosology, Description, Statistics, Diagnosis, Pathology, and Treatment of Insanity. With an Appendix of Cases (London: John Churchill, 1858), 94.
98. Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1765-9 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1765-9), 4 vols, (1783 edn), I, 292-5. See, also, Daniel Hack Tuke, Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles (London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co, 1882), 286-91. For Tuke's discussion of nineteenth century provision for idiots, see chap, viii, 299-320.
99. Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1765-9 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1765-9), 4 vols, (1783 edn), I, 292-5. See, also, Daniel Hack Tuke, Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles (London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co, 1882), 286-91. For Tuke's discussion of nineteenth century provision for idiots, see chap, viii, 299-320.
100. Lord Coke, Coke's Lyttleton, 247a, quoted in Bucknill and Tuke, Psychological Medicine, 94; John Brydall, Non Compos Mentis, 6; Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 210. Generally, Willis and his contemporaries allowed for, and spoke more about, original idiocy occurring through hereditary disposition. Observing and needing to explain, however, why idiots could be born to parents who were not themselves idiots, or were actually rather wise, Willis also emphasized how over-study could exhaust the Animal Spirits, allowing few particles of vital blood to descend to the spermatozoa and thus pass on the intellect. With the decline of interpretations of the human organism based on the Animal Spirits, it is noteworthy how this latter concern somewhat fades out of early modern medical discourse during the eighteenth century.
101. Lord Coke, Coke's Lyttleton, 247a, quoted in Bucknill and Tuke, Psychological Medicine, 94; John Brydall, Non Compos Mentis, 6; Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 210. Generally, Willis and his contemporaries allowed for, and spoke more about, original idiocy occurring through hereditary disposition. Observing and needing to explain, however, why idiots could be born to parents who were not themselves idiots, or were actually rather wise, Willis also emphasized how over-study could exhaust the Animal Spirits, allowing few particles of vital blood to descend to the spermatozoa and thus pass on the intellect. With the decline of interpretations of the human organism based on the Animal Spirits, it is noteworthy how this latter concern somewhat fades out of early modern medical discourse during the eighteenth century.
102. Lord Coke, Coke's Lyttleton, 247a, quoted in Bucknill and Tuke, Psychological Medicine, 94; John Brydall, Non Compos Mentis, 6; Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 210. Generally, Willis and his contemporaries allowed for, and spoke more about, original idiocy occurring through hereditary disposition. Observing and needing to explain, however, why idiots could be born to parents who were not themselves idiots, or were actually rather wise, Willis also emphasized how over-study could exhaust the Animal Spirits, allowing few particles of vital blood to descend to the spermatozoa and thus pass on the intellect. With the decline of interpretations of the human organism based on the Animal Spirits, it is noteworthy how this latter concern somewhat fades out of early modern medical discourse during the eighteenth century.
103. Lord Coke, Coke's Lyttleton, 247a, quoted in Bucknill and Tuke, Psychological Medicine, 94; John Brydall, Non Compos Mentis, 6; Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 210. Generally, Willis and his contemporaries allowed for, and spoke more about, original idiocy occurring through hereditary disposition. Observing and needing to explain, however, why idiots could be born to parents who were not themselves idiots, or were actually rather wise, Willis also emphasized how over-study could exhaust the Animal Spirits, allowing few particles of vital blood to descend to the spermatozoa and thus pass on the intellect. With the decline of interpretations of the human organism based on the Animal Spirits, it is noteworthy how this latter concern somewhat fades out of early modern medical discourse during the eighteenth century.
104. See Andrews, 'Identifying and providing for the mentally disabled', 80.
105. Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, 3 & 4 Geo. 5, c. 38, s. 1; Herbert Davey, The Law Relating to the Mentally Defective (London: Stevens & Sons, 1913), 21-4: '"defectives" within the meaning of the . . . Act . . . include only those whose mental defectiveness can be shown to have existed from birth, or from an early age'.
106. 'Purus idiota' was a legal term, tending to connote, as it did in Blackstone's Commentaries, a congenital absence of understanding.
107. Blackstone, Commentaries, I, 294-5. This point was reiterated by the solicitor Highmore: The Law of Idiocy and Lunacy, 28-9.
108. Blackstone, Commentaries, I, 294-5. This point was reiterated by the solicitor Highmore: The Law of Idiocy and Lunacy, 28-9.
109. Highmore, The Law of Idiocy and Lunacy, 44.
110. Ibid., 34-5.
111. Neugebauer, 'Mental illness and Government Policy'.
112. Highmore, The Law of Idiocy and Lunacy, 42-3.
113. See e.g. Thomas Sydenham, Processus Integri (London: Sam Smith, Benj Walford and J. Knapton, 1693), in The Works of Thomas Sydenham M.D., trans. R. G. Latham (London: Sydenham Society, 1850), 2 vols, II, 290-1: 'mania . . . at last degenerates into ideotism'; William Battie, A Treatise on Madness (London: J. Whiston and B. White, 1758) (eds), Richard Hunter and Ida Macalpine (London: Dawsons, 1962), 98-9: 'many a Lunatic . . . by the repetition of Vomits and other convulsive stimuli would have been strained into downright Idiotism'; Philippe Pinel, Traité Médico-philosophique sur l'Aliénation Mentale (Paris: Richard et al., 1801), trans. as A Treatise on Insanity, in which are contained the Principles of a New and more Practical Nosology of Maniacal Disorders than has yet been offered to the Public, trans. D. D. Davis (Sheffield: W. Todd, 1806), 252 and 165: 'It frequently happens, that bleeding . . . without rule or bounds . . . cause[s] periodical and curable mania to degenerate into dementia or idiotism', or 'Ideotism . . . may originate in . . . excessive use of the lancet in the treatment of active mania'.
114. See e.g. Thomas Sydenham, Processus Integri (London: Sam Smith, Benj Walford and J. Knapton, 1693), in The Works of Thomas Sydenham M.D., trans. R. G. Latham (London: Sydenham Society, 1850), 2 vols, II, 290-1: 'mania . . . at last degenerates into ideotism'; William Battie, A Treatise on Madness (London: J. Whiston and B. White, 1758) (eds), Richard Hunter and Ida Macalpine (London: Dawsons, 1962), 98-9: 'many a Lunatic . . . by the repetition of Vomits and other convulsive stimuli would have been strained into downright Idiotism'; Philippe Pinel, Traité Médico-philosophique sur l'Aliénation Mentale (Paris: Richard et al., 1801), trans. as A Treatise on Insanity, in which are contained the Principles of a New and more Practical Nosology of Maniacal Disorders than has yet been offered to the Public, trans. D. D. Davis (Sheffield: W. Todd, 1806), 252 and 165: 'It frequently happens, that bleeding . . . without rule or bounds . . . cause[s] periodical and curable mania to degenerate into dementia or idiotism', or 'Ideotism . . . may originate in . . . excessive use of the lancet in the treatment of active mania'.
115. See e.g. Thomas Sydenham, Processus Integri (London: Sam Smith, Benj Walford and J. Knapton, 1693), in The Works of Thomas Sydenham M.D., trans. R. G. Latham (London: Sydenham Society, 1850), 2 vols, II, 290-1: 'mania . . . at last degenerates into ideotism'; William Battie, A Treatise on Madness (London: J. Whiston and B. White, 1758) (eds), Richard Hunter and Ida Macalpine (London: Dawsons, 1962), 98-9: 'many a Lunatic . . . by the repetition of Vomits and other convulsive stimuli would have been strained into downright Idiotism'; Philippe Pinel, Traité Médico-philosophique sur l'Aliénation Mentale (Paris: Richard et al., 1801), trans. as A Treatise on Insanity, in which are contained the Principles of a New and more Practical Nosology of Maniacal Disorders than has yet been offered to the Public, trans. D. D. Davis (Sheffield: W. Todd, 1806), 252 and 165: 'It frequently happens, that bleeding . . . without rule or bounds . . . cause[s] periodical and curable mania to degenerate into dementia or idiotism', or 'Ideotism . . . may originate in . . . excessive use of the lancet in the treatment of active mania'.
116. See e.g. Thomas Sydenham, Processus Integri (London: Sam Smith, Benj Walford and J. Knapton, 1693), in The Works of Thomas Sydenham M.D., trans. R. G. Latham (London: Sydenham Society, 1850), 2 vols, II, 290-1: 'mania . . . at last degenerates into ideotism'; William Battie, A Treatise on Madness (London: J. Whiston and B. White, 1758) (eds), Richard Hunter and Ida Macalpine (London: Dawsons, 1962), 98-9: 'many a Lunatic . . . by the repetition of Vomits and other convulsive stimuli would have been strained into downright Idiotism'; Philippe Pinel, Traité Médico-philosophique sur l'Aliénation Mentale (Paris: Richard et al., 1801), trans. as A Treatise on Insanity, in which are contained the Principles of a New and more Practical Nosology of Maniacal Disorders than has yet been offered to the Public, trans. D. D. Davis (Sheffield: W. Todd, 1806), 252 and 165: 'It frequently happens, that bleeding . . . without rule or bounds . . . cause[s] periodical and curable mania to degenerate into dementia or idiotism', or 'Ideotism . . . may originate in . . . excessive use of the lancet in the treatment of active mania'.
117. Doerner, Madmen and the Bourgeoisie, 42.
118. Thomas Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 211.
119. Ibid.
120. Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Men (London: J. Johnson, 1792; 1st edn, 1790), in The Works of Mary Wollstonecraft (eds), Janet Todd and Marilyn Butler (London: William Pickering, 1989), v, 503.
121. Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Men (London: J. Johnson, 1792; 1st edn, 1790), in The Works of Mary Wollstonecraft (eds), Janet Todd and Marilyn Butler (London: William Pickering, 1989), v, 503.
122. Lord Coke, Coke's Lyttleton, 247a, quoted in Bucknill and Tuke, Psychological Medicine, 94; Blackstone, Commentaries, I, 292-5.
123. Lord Coke, Coke's Lyttleton, 247a, quoted in Bucknill and Tuke, Psychological Medicine, 94; Blackstone, Commentaries, I, 292-5.
124. Lord Coke, Coke's Lyttleton, 247a, quoted in Bucknill and Tuke, Psychological Medicine, 94; Blackstone, Commentaries, I, 292-5.
125. See e.g. Basil Clarke, Mental Disorder in Earlier Britain (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1975), 58, and the Lunacy Commission records housed at the PRO, PRO C211.
126. Highmore, The Law of Idiocy and Lunacy, 43-4.
127. See Tuke, History of the Insane, 289-90 and note.
128. John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (London: Printed by Eliz. Holt for Thomas Basset, 1690), ed. by John W. Yolton (London; New York: Dent; E.P. Dutton & Co., 1961), Book II, chap. 11, paras 12 and 13, 127-8.
129. Chris Goodey, e.g. 'John Locke's idiots in the natural history of mind', Hist. Psy., v (2) (1994), 215-50; idem, 'Intelligence levels as criteria of abnormality: the pre-history of intelligence testing', in B. Mayall (ed.), Family Life and Social Control: Discourses on Normality (Social Science Research Unit, London University Institute of Education); idem, 'The psycho-politics of learning and disability in seventeenth-century thought', in Digby and Wright (eds), From Idiocy to Mental Deficiency, 93-118.
130. Chris Goodey, e.g. 'John Locke's idiots in the natural history of mind', Hist. Psy., v (2) (1994), 215-50; idem, 'Intelligence levels as criteria of abnormality: the pre-history of intelligence testing', in B. Mayall (ed.), Family Life and Social Control: Discourses on Normality (Social Science Research Unit, London University Institute of Education); idem, 'The psycho-politics of learning and disability in seventeenth-century thought', in Digby and Wright (eds), From Idiocy to Mental Deficiency, 93-118.
131. Chris Goodey, e.g. 'John Locke's idiots in the natural history of mind', Hist. Psy., v (2) (1994), 215-50; idem, 'Intelligence levels as criteria of abnormality: the pre-history of intelligence testing', in B. Mayall (ed.), Family Life and Social Control: Discourses on Normality (Social Science Research Unit, London University Institute of Education); idem, 'The psycho-politics of learning and disability in seventeenth-century thought', in Digby and Wright (eds), From Idiocy to Mental Deficiency, 93-118.
132. Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 57-8.
133. Ibid.
134. Brydall, Non Compos Mentis, 9.
135. Blackstone, Commentaries, I, 294-5.
136. Fitzherbert, Natura Brevium, 583.
137. See e.g. Esquirol, Treatise on Insanity, 445-96; Bucknill and Tuke, Manual of Psychological Medicine, 92-3, where idiocy is defined as 'a condition of defective development'; and William W. Ireland, The Sensory and Mental Deficiencies of Idiots (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1873); idem, On Idiocy and Imbecility (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1877), esp. 292-333; idem, The Mental Affections of Children, Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity (London: J. & A. Churchill; Edinburgh: James Thin, 1898), esp. 350-88.
138. See e.g. Esquirol, Treatise on Insanity, 445-96; Bucknill and Tuke, Manual of Psychological Medicine, 92-3, where idiocy is defined as 'a condition of defective development'; and William W. Ireland, The Sensory and Mental Deficiencies of Idiots (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1873); idem, On Idiocy and Imbecility (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1877), esp. 292-333; idem, The Mental Affections of Children, Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity (London: J. & A. Churchill; Edinburgh: James Thin, 1898), esp. 350-88.
139. See e.g. Esquirol, Treatise on Insanity, 445-96; Bucknill and Tuke, Manual of Psychological Medicine, 92-3, where idiocy is defined as 'a condition of defective development'; and William W. Ireland, The Sensory and Mental Deficiencies of Idiots (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1873); idem, On Idiocy and Imbecility (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1877), esp. 292-333; idem, The Mental Affections of Children, Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity (London: J. & A. Churchill; Edinburgh: James Thin, 1898), esp. 350-88.
140. See e.g. Esquirol, Treatise on Insanity, 445-96; Bucknill and Tuke, Manual of Psychological Medicine, 92-3, where idiocy is defined as 'a condition of defective development'; and William W. Ireland, The Sensory and Mental Deficiencies of Idiots (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1873); idem, On Idiocy and Imbecility (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1877), esp. 292-333; idem, The Mental Affections of Children, Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity (London: J. & A. Churchill; Edinburgh: James Thin, 1898), esp. 350-88.
141. See e.g. Esquirol, Treatise on Insanity, 445-96; Bucknill and Tuke, Manual of Psychological Medicine, 92-3, where idiocy is defined as 'a condition of defective development'; and William W. Ireland, The Sensory and Mental Deficiencies of Idiots (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1873); idem, On Idiocy and Imbecility (London: J. & A. Churchill, 1877), esp. 292-333; idem, The Mental Affections of Children, Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity (London: J. & A. Churchill; Edinburgh: James Thin, 1898), esp. 350-88.
142. See, e.g. Blackstone, Commentaries, I, 294-5.
143. See Andrews, 'Identifying and providing for the mentally disabled', 82 and 84.
144. C. Cusanus (pseud, for Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, 1401-64), The Idiot in Four Books. The First and Second of Wisdome. The Third of the Minde. The Fourth of Statick Experiments, Or Experiments of the Ballance (London: Printed for William Leake, 1650), 5.
145. Swift, 'Dick's Variety' (1745), in The Poems of Swift, ed. by Williams, III, 788, ls 13-16 and 25-6.
146. Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 213. For an earlier historical exploration of Willis's writings on idiocy, see P. F. Cranefield, 'A seventeenth-century view of mental deficiency and schizophrenia: Thomas Willis on "Stupidity or Foolishness"', Bulletin of the History of Medicine, xxxv (1961), 291-316. For a general overview of the growth of education for the mentally and physically handicapped, see D. G. Pritchard, Education and the Handicapped, 1760-1960 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965). See, also, R. C. Scheerenberger, A History of Mental Retardation (Baltimore: Paul Brookes, 1983).
147. Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 213. For an earlier historical exploration of Willis's writings on idiocy, see P. F. Cranefield, 'A seventeenth-century view of mental deficiency and schizophrenia: Thomas Willis on "Stupidity or Foolishness"', Bulletin of the History of Medicine, xxxv (1961), 291-316. For a general overview of the growth of education for the mentally and physically handicapped, see D. G. Pritchard, Education and the Handicapped, 1760-1960 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965). See, also, R. C. Scheerenberger, A History of Mental Retardation (Baltimore: Paul Brookes, 1983).
148. Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 213. For an earlier historical exploration of Willis's writings on idiocy, see P. F. Cranefield, 'A seventeenth-century view of mental deficiency and schizophrenia: Thomas Willis on "Stupidity or Foolishness"', Bulletin of the History of Medicine, xxxv (1961), 291-316. For a general overview of the growth of education for the mentally and physically handicapped, see D. G. Pritchard, Education and the Handicapped, 1760-1960 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965). See, also, R. C. Scheerenberger, A History of Mental Retardation (Baltimore: Paul Brookes, 1983).
149. Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 213. For an earlier historical exploration of Willis's writings on idiocy, see P. F. Cranefield, 'A seventeenth-century view of mental deficiency and schizophrenia: Thomas Willis on "Stupidity or Foolishness"', Bulletin of the History of Medicine, xxxv (1961), 291-316. For a general overview of the growth of education for the mentally and physically handicapped, see D. G. Pritchard, Education and the Handicapped, 1760-1960 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1965). See, also, R. C. Scheerenberger, A History of Mental Retardation (Baltimore: Paul Brookes, 1983).
150. Willis, Concerning the Soul of Brutes, 211-4.
151. Julien Offray de La Mettrie, Man A Machine/L'Homme Machine (Leyden: E. Luzac, 1748), trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912), 114-5 and 143-7; Ann Thomson, Materialism and Society in the Mid-Eighteenth Century: La Mettrie's Discours Preliminaire (Geneva: Droz, 1981).
152. Julien Offray de La Mettrie, Man A Machine/L'Homme Machine (Leyden: E. Luzac, 1748), trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912), 114-5 and 143-7; Ann Thomson, Materialism and Society in the Mid-Eighteenth Century:
153. I owe this point to Chris Goodey.
154. Johann Conrad Amman, Surdus Loquens (Amsterdam: Wetstenium, 1692), trans. as The Talking Deaf Man (London: Hawkins, 1694), repr. (Menston, Yorkshire: Scholar Press, 1972); idem, Dissertation de Loquela (Amsterdam: J. Wolters, 1700), trans. as Dissertation sur la Parole in C. F. Deschamps, Cours Elémentaire d'Éducationes Sourds et Muets (Paris: Debure, 1779); La Mettrie, L'Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme (The Hague: 1745), extracts trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912); Harlan Lane, When The Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf (New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 100-3.
155. Johann Conrad Amman, Surdus Loquens (Amsterdam: Wetstenium, 1692), trans. as The Talking Deaf Man (London: Hawkins, 1694), repr. (Menston, Yorkshire: Scholar Press, 1972); idem, Dissertation de Loquela (Amsterdam: J. Wolters, 1700), trans. as Dissertation sur la Parole in C. F. Deschamps, Cours Elémentaire d'Éducationes Sourds et Muets (Paris: Debure, 1779); La Mettrie, L'Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme (The Hague: 1745), extracts trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912); Harlan Lane, When The Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf (New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 100-3.
156. Johann Conrad Amman, Surdus Loquens (Amsterdam: Wetstenium, 1692), trans. as The Talking Deaf Man (London: Hawkins, 1694), repr. (Menston, Yorkshire: Scholar Press, 1972); idem, Dissertation de Loquela (Amsterdam: J. Wolters, 1700), trans. as Dissertation sur la Parole in C. F. Deschamps, Cours Elémentaire d'Éducationes Sourds et Muets (Paris: Debure, 1779); La Mettrie, L'Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme (The Hague: 1745), extracts trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912); Harlan Lane, When The Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf (New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 100-3.
157. Johann Conrad Amman, Surdus Loquens (Amsterdam: Wetstenium, 1692), trans. as The Talking Deaf Man (London: Hawkins, 1694), repr. (Menston, Yorkshire: Scholar Press, 1972); idem, Dissertation de Loquela (Amsterdam: J. Wolters, 1700), trans. as Dissertation sur la Parole in C. F. Deschamps, Cours Elémentaire d'Éducationes Sourds et Muets (Paris: Debure, 1779); La Mettrie, L'Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme (The Hague: 1745), extracts trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912); Harlan Lane, When The Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf (New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 100-3.
158. Johann Conrad Amman, Surdus Loquens (Amsterdam: Wetstenium, 1692), trans. as The Talking Deaf Man (London: Hawkins, 1694), repr. (Menston, Yorkshire: Scholar Press, 1972); idem, Dissertation de Loquela (Amsterdam: J. Wolters, 1700), trans. as Dissertation sur la Parole in C. F. Deschamps, Cours Elémentaire d'Éducationes Sourds et Muets (Paris: Debure, 1779); La Mettrie, L'Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme (The Hague: 1745), extracts trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912); Harlan Lane, When The Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf (New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 100-3.
159. Johann Conrad Amman, Surdus Loquens (Amsterdam: Wetstenium, 1692), trans. as The Talking Deaf Man (London: Hawkins, 1694), repr. (Menston, Yorkshire: Scholar Press, 1972); idem, Dissertation de Loquela (Amsterdam: J. Wolters, 1700), trans. as Dissertation sur la Parole in C. F. Deschamps, Cours Elémentaire d'Éducationes Sourds et Muets (Paris: Debure, 1779); La Mettrie, L'Histoire Naturelle de l'Âme (The Hague: 1745), extracts trans. M. W. Calkins (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1912); Harlan Lane, When The Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf (New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 100-3.
160. John Wallis, letters of 30 Dec. 1661 and May 1662, in Works of Robert Boyle (London: Phillips, 1700); idem, letter of 30 Sept. 1698, repr. in Mathematical Works of John Wallis (Oxford: 1693), iii, 696; Lane, When the Mind Hears, 103-6.
161. John Wallis, letters of 30 Dec. 1661 and May 1662, in Works of Robert Boyle (London: Phillips, 1700); idem, letter of 30 Sept. 1698, repr. in Mathematical Works of John Wallis (Oxford: 1693), iii, 696; Lane, When the Mind Hears, 103-6.
162. John Wallis, letters of 30 Dec. 1661 and May 1662, in Works of Robert Boyle (London: Phillips, 1700); idem, letter of 30 Sept. 1698, repr. in Mathematical Works of John Wallis (Oxford: 1693), iii, 696; Lane, When the Mind Hears, 103-6.
163. La Mettrie, Man A Machine, 101-2.
164. See, e.g., Lane, When The Mind Hears, 42-66 and 71-86; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 222-4.
165. See, e.g., Lane, When The Mind Hears, 42-66 and 71-86; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 222-4.
166. La Mettrie, Man A Machine, op. cit., ref. 4, 103 and 114.
167. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
168. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
169. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
170. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
171. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
172. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
173. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
174. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
175. See e.g. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 375-89; Edward Dudley and Maximillian E. Novak (eds), The Wild Man Within: An Image in Western Thought from the Renaissance to Romanticism (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972), esp. Novak's 'The Wild Man comes to tea', 183-221; Bewell, op. cit., ref. 4, 61-4; Daniel Defoe, Mere Nature Delineated; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Antient Metaphysics: or, The Science of Universals (London and Edinburgh: T. Cadell, J. Balfour & Co., Bell and Bradfute, T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1779-99), 6 vols, III (1784), 57-64, 367-75; Étienne Bonnat de Condillac, Treatise on the Sensations (London; i.e. Paris?: Barois the Elder & Didot, 1788), trans. Geraldine Carr (London: Favil Press, 1930); Jean-Marc Itard, An Historical Account of the Discovery and Education of a Savage Man (London: Printed for R. Phillips, 1802); Harlan Lane, The Wild Boy of Aveyron (London: Allen & Unwin, 1977).
176. La Mettrie, Histoire de l'Âme, 388.
177. E.g. Gentleman's Magazine (February 1751); case of Jebediah Buxton in Gentleman's Magazine for 1754, cited in Darold A. Treffert, Extraordinary People (London: Bantam Press, 1989), 57.
178. E.g. Gentleman's Magazine (February 1751); case of Jebediah Buxton in Gentleman's Magazine for 1754, cited in Darold A. Treffert, Extraordinary People (London: Bantam Press, 1989), 57.
179. E.g. Gentleman's Magazine (February 1751); case of Jebediah Buxton in Gentleman's Magazine for 1754, cited in Darold A. Treffert, Extraordinary People (London: Bantam Press, 1989), 57.
180. Ireland, Idiocy and Imbecility, 292; Mental Affections, 350.
181. Ireland, Idiocy and Imbecility, 292; Mental Affections, 350.
182. S. B. Smith, The Great Mental Calculators (New York: Columbia University Press, 1983); Darold A. Treffert, 'The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlv (1) (1988), 563-72; idem, Extraordinary People', J. Foerstl, 'Early interest in the idiot savant', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlvi (1) (1989), 566 and 'Dr Treffert replies', ibid.
183. S. B. Smith, The Great Mental Calculators (New York: Columbia University Press, 1983); Darold A. Treffert, 'The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlv (1) (1988), 563-72; idem, Extraordinary People', J. Foerstl, 'Early interest in the idiot savant', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlvi (1) (1989), 566 and 'Dr Treffert replies', ibid.
184. S. B. Smith, The Great Mental Calculators (New York: Columbia University Press, 1983); Darold A. Treffert, 'The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlv (1) (1988), 563-72; idem, Extraordinary People', J. Foerstl, 'Early interest in the idiot savant', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlvi (1) (1989), 566 and 'Dr Treffert replies', ibid.
185. S. B. Smith, The Great Mental Calculators (New York: Columbia University Press, 1983); Darold A. Treffert, 'The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlv (1) (1988), 563-72; idem, Extraordinary People', J. Foerstl, 'Early interest in the idiot savant', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlvi (1) (1989), 566 and 'Dr Treffert replies', ibid.
186. S. B. Smith, The Great Mental Calculators (New York: Columbia University Press, 1983); Darold A. Treffert, 'The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlv (1) (1988), 563-72; idem, Extraordinary People', J. Foerstl, 'Early interest in the idiot savant', Amer. Jour. Psy., cxlvi (1) (1989), 566 and 'Dr Treffert replies', ibid.
187. See, e.g. Aram Vartanian, La Mettrie's L'Homme Machine: A Study in the Origins of an Idea (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1960), esp. 95-113.
188. E.g. Porter, Mind-Forged Manacles, 188-93; Ingram, The Madhouse of Language, esp. 57-62; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam (1981), esp. 230-1.
189. E.g. Porter, Mind-Forged Manacles, 188-93; Ingram, The Madhouse of Language, esp. 57-62; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam (1981), esp. 230-1.
190. E.g. Porter, Mind-Forged Manacles, 188-93; Ingram, The Madhouse of Language, esp. 57-62; Michael MacDonald, Mystical Bedlam (1981), esp. 230-1.
191. Akihito Suzuki, 'Anti-Lockean Enlightenment?: Mind and body in early eighteenth-century English medicine', in Roy Porter (ed.), Medicine in the Enlightenment (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1995), 336-59;
192. idem, 'Epistemological models of madness: the case of Boissier de Sauvages', unpublished paper delivered at Research in Progress series, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London, 12 Nov. 1990;
193. idem, 'Mind and its Disease in Enlightenment British Medicine' (PhD diss., University of London, 1992).
194. See e.g. Porter, Mind-Forged Manacles, esp. 86-7, 101-3, 188-93, and my own flawed discussion in 'Bedlam Revisited' (1991), chaps 2 and 4.
195. The debt of late eighteenth-century conceptions of idiocy to Sauvages and Locke, and the importance of their distinction between false perception and weak judgement, is nowhere more evident than in Cullen's nosology of mental afflictions. (Cullen had recommended to all his chemistry students at Edinburgh, that they read Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding in order to learn the first principles of 'logic', or what Cullen termed 'the analysis of the human mind'). In his First Lines of the Practice of Physic (1777-84), Cullen's classification of Vesaniae as 'Delirium': 'consist[ing] in an erroneous judgment', or 'Fatuity': 'consist[ing] in a weakness or imperfection of judgment' is virtually a paraphrase of the earlier formulations of Locke and Sauvages. See Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Cullen MS 10, vol. I, 26-7 , quoted in William Cullen and the Eighteenth-Century Medical World, A. Doig, J. P. S. Ferguson, I. A. Milne and R. Passmore (eds) (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993), 16.
196. The debt of late eighteenth-century conceptions of idiocy to Sauvages and Locke, and the importance of their distinction between false perception and weak judgement, is nowhere more evident than in Cullen's nosology of mental afflictions. (Cullen had recommended to all his chemistry students at Edinburgh, that they read Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding in order to learn the first principles of 'logic', or what Cullen termed 'the analysis of the human mind'). In his First Lines of the Practice of Physic (1777-84), Cullen's classification of Vesaniae as 'Delirium': 'consist[ing] in an erroneous judgment', or 'Fatuity': 'consist[ing] in a weakness or imperfection of judgment' is virtually a paraphrase of the earlier formulations of Locke and Sauvages. See Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Cullen MS 10, vol. I, 26-7 , quoted in William Cullen and the Eighteenth-Century Medical World, A. Doig, J. P. S. Ferguson, I. A. Milne and R. Passmore (eds) (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993), 16.
197. The debt of late eighteenth-century conceptions of idiocy to Sauvages and Locke, and the importance of their distinction between false perception and weak judgement, is nowhere more evident than in Cullen's nosology of mental afflictions. (Cullen had recommended to all his chemistry students at Edinburgh, that they read Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding in order to learn the first principles of 'logic', or what Cullen termed 'the analysis of the human mind'). In his First Lines of the Practice of Physic (1777-84), Cullen's classification of Vesaniae as 'Delirium': 'consist[ing] in an erroneous judgment', or 'Fatuity': 'consist[ing] in a weakness or imperfection of judgment' is virtually a paraphrase of the earlier formulations of Locke and Sauvages. See Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Cullen MS 10, vol. I, 26-7 , quoted in William Cullen and the Eighteenth-Century Medical World, A. Doig, J. P. S. Ferguson, I. A. Milne and R. Passmore (eds) (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993), 16.
198. The debt of late eighteenth-century conceptions of idiocy to Sauvages and Locke, and the importance of their distinction between false perception and weak judgement, is nowhere more evident than in Cullen's nosology of mental afflictions. (Cullen had recommended to all his chemistry students at Edinburgh, that they read Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding in order to learn the first principles of 'logic', or what Cullen termed 'the analysis of the human mind'). In his First Lines of the Practice of Physic (1777-84), Cullen's classification of Vesaniae as 'Delirium': 'consist[ing] in an erroneous judgment', or 'Fatuity': 'consist[ing] in a weakness or imperfection of judgment' is virtually a paraphrase of the earlier formulations of Locke and Sauvages. See Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Cullen MS 10, vol. I, 26-7 , quoted in William Cullen and the Eighteenth-Century Medical World, A. Doig, J. P. S. Ferguson, I. A. Milne and R. Passmore (eds) (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993), 16.
199. E. Esquirol, Mental Maladies. A Treatise on Insanity, trans. K. E. Hunt (Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1845), 'Idiocy', 445-96, esp. 446.
200. Thomas Sydenham, Processus Integri, 290-1.
201. Battie, Treatise, 67 and 92.
202. Esquirol, Mental Maladies, 446.
203. Ibid. Walker's dictionary defined 'idiocy' as simply 'want of understanding'; an 'idiot' as 'a fool, a natural, a changeling'; and 'idiotism' as 'folly' and 'natural imbecility of mind', but also as 'peculiarity of expression'. Walker, A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary (1792).
204. For this quote and ensuing discussion, see William Cullen, Synopsis Nosologiae Methodicae Exhibens Genera Morborum Praecipua Definita, Additiis Speciebus Cum Harum Ex Sauvagesio Synonymis (Edinburgh: 1785), in John Thomson (ed.), The Works of William Cullen, M.D. (Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1827), 2 vols, I, 316-17.
205. For this quote and ensuing discussion, see William Cullen, Synopsis Nosologiae Methodicae Exhibens Genera Morborum Praecipua Definita, Additiis Speciebus Cum Harum Ex Sauvagesio Synonymis (Edinburgh: 1785), in John Thomson (ed.), The Works of William Cullen, M.D. (Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1827), 2 vols, I, 316-17.
206. John Haslam, Observations on Insanity, 20-2.
207. William Cullen, Lectures on the Institutions of Medicine, Part I, Physiology (London: 1772), in Works, I, 142; First Lines of the Practice of Physic (Edinburgh: Printed for W. Creech, J. Murray, J. Williams, 1777-84), in Works, II, 508-37.
208. William Cullen, Lectures on the Institutions of Medicine, Part I, Physiology (London: 1772), in Works, I, 142; First Lines of the Practice of Physic (Edinburgh: Printed for W. Creech, J. Murray, J. Williams, 1777-84), in Works, II, 508-37.
209. Physiology, 142.
210. Pinel, Treatise, esp. 165-73.
211. For the legal 'disabilities incurred' by idiots (as well as, and as opposed to lunatics) in this period, see Highmore, The Law of Idiocy and Lunacy, 110-91.