of the King of Ithaca in the line of
the furrow and observing the pretended lunatic turn the plow aside, an
act of discretion which was considered sufficient proof that his madness
was not real. Without attempting to pass upon the case of Ulysses, we
may say without fear of contradiction that no one would today depend
upon such criteria. Experience teaches us that an individual may be very
seriously mentally affected and at the same time show sufficient
discretion of conduct to avoid threatening danger and to seek those
means which best subserve his immediate needs and wants. Not only is
this true, but we have arrived at a stage where we are prone to look
upon a great many of the psychoses as the direct expressions of the
individual's wish--as a haven sought out by himself within which he
seeks shelter from the tempests of life. One of my patients tells me
that the gun which he used in the alleged homicide was not loaded with
bullets, but with paper wadding put there by his enemies, hence his
alleged victim could not have been killed; in fact, he knows that this
man is alive and having a good time on the money furnished him by his,
the patient's, enemies. Another instance is that of a colored man who is
serving a life sentence for murder. Among the many symptoms which this
fairly advanced dementia praecox case shows is the one that he considers
himself a white man; that his dark color is due to some paint which he
used in order to disguise himself; and that, inasmuch as the murder with
which he is charged was supposed to have been committed by a colored
man, he is not guilty of it. The motives here are quite obvious. Both
these individuals find life much more bearable believing, as they do, in
their innocence of the crimes imputed to them. Many other examples could
be cited to prove that symptoms in mental disease do serve a definite
purpose; that there may be indeed considerable method in madness.

Nevertheless, the observation is not uncommon that whenever such method
is detected under circumstances where some ulterior motive may be ascribed
to it the lay mind, and not infrequently psychiatrically-trained
physicians, are at once ready to question the genuineness of the
symptoms. It is the more curious that the so-called "insanity dodge" cry
is frequently raised under circumstances where it would seem to be the
least justifiable, as, for instance, in the case of an individual
battling for his life before the bar of jus