Pathology of Lying [16]
Martyri.'' The church now took her part and she toured the country as a sort of saint. Later she returned to her former tactics, she set fire to a house, cut off a cow's udder, and accused her former lover of these deeds. Now for the first time it went badly with her. She was finally imprisoned for life on account of attempts to poison people.
In Bresler's second group he places the false accusations of alcoholics, paranoiacs, querulants (whom he calls a sub-class of paranoiacs) and sufferers from head injuries. Besides these, he here classes the false accusations of children.
The third class is so rare that it receives almost no discussion.
Longard[19] reports an interesting case of a chronic liar and swindler, a man who on account of the peculiarities of his swindling was placed under custody for study. Upon detention he went into convulsions and later seemed entirely distracted. He was then 24 years old. Investigation of his case showed that his abnormalities dated from early life and were probably due to the fact that in childhood he had a bad fall from a height. When he was 23 he had served six months on account of swindling. At that time he had been going about in the Rhine country dressed as a monk, begging things of little worth, such as crucifixes, candles, medals, etc. His pious behavior and orderliness gave him a good reception. He sometimes took money or begged it in order to read masses for poor souls. In one village he said he had come to reconnoiter for a site to build a hospital. Some cloister brothers in one place took him for a swindler and decided he was overwrought religiously, and that he really thought he was what he wished to become. He was studied at length in prison where he had one attack of maniacal behavior and tried to hang himself. The physician there thought him a simulator. He was excused from his military service because of stomach trouble. At that time mental abnormalities were not noticed. After this he again acted the part of a monk, wandering through France and Germany, living in monasteries, and being helped along by different organizations, Protestant as well as Catholic. He was arrested in Cologne when discovered to be a fraud. He lay four days in jail apparently unconscious and then appeared stupefied and staggered about. When questioned he responded, ``I am born again.'' He spoke mostly in Biblical terms and was fluent with pious speeches. He was found quite sound physically. He ate a great deal and was known to take bread away from other prisoners at night. He was sentenced for 15 months for swindling. He himself related that in youth he had seen many monks and had become possessed of the idea of being one. He was a sex pervert.
[19] ``Ein forensisch interessanter Fall. Pseudologia phantastica.'' Allg. Zeitschrift f. Psych. LV, p. 88.
The author considered this not a pure case of simulation; the patient was an abnormal being, none of his keepers thought him normal. His entire appearance, his excited way of speaking, his gestures and play of features were all striking to a high degree. His method of going about begging was unreasonable; he gained so little by it. His tendency to untruthfulness stood out everywhere. He imitated the pious as he chattered without aim. The man had lived himself into the role of a cloister brother so completely that he was not clearly conscious of the deceit. The author thinks the case presents some paranoiac features with a pathological tendency towards lying. Thus this pathological liar presents the phenomenon of a mixture of lies and delusions.
From the Zurich clinic of Forel several cases of pathological swindling have been reported at length.[20] It must be confessed that the success of much of the misrepresentation cited in these case histories seems to be as largely due to the naivete of the country folk as to the efforts of the swindlers themselves. Two of the cases were clearly insane and were detained for long periods in asylums after their study in the clinic. But even so, it is
In Bresler's second group he places the false accusations of alcoholics, paranoiacs, querulants (whom he calls a sub-class of paranoiacs) and sufferers from head injuries. Besides these, he here classes the false accusations of children.
The third class is so rare that it receives almost no discussion.
Longard[19] reports an interesting case of a chronic liar and swindler, a man who on account of the peculiarities of his swindling was placed under custody for study. Upon detention he went into convulsions and later seemed entirely distracted. He was then 24 years old. Investigation of his case showed that his abnormalities dated from early life and were probably due to the fact that in childhood he had a bad fall from a height. When he was 23 he had served six months on account of swindling. At that time he had been going about in the Rhine country dressed as a monk, begging things of little worth, such as crucifixes, candles, medals, etc. His pious behavior and orderliness gave him a good reception. He sometimes took money or begged it in order to read masses for poor souls. In one village he said he had come to reconnoiter for a site to build a hospital. Some cloister brothers in one place took him for a swindler and decided he was overwrought religiously, and that he really thought he was what he wished to become. He was studied at length in prison where he had one attack of maniacal behavior and tried to hang himself. The physician there thought him a simulator. He was excused from his military service because of stomach trouble. At that time mental abnormalities were not noticed. After this he again acted the part of a monk, wandering through France and Germany, living in monasteries, and being helped along by different organizations, Protestant as well as Catholic. He was arrested in Cologne when discovered to be a fraud. He lay four days in jail apparently unconscious and then appeared stupefied and staggered about. When questioned he responded, ``I am born again.'' He spoke mostly in Biblical terms and was fluent with pious speeches. He was found quite sound physically. He ate a great deal and was known to take bread away from other prisoners at night. He was sentenced for 15 months for swindling. He himself related that in youth he had seen many monks and had become possessed of the idea of being one. He was a sex pervert.
[19] ``Ein forensisch interessanter Fall. Pseudologia phantastica.'' Allg. Zeitschrift f. Psych. LV, p. 88.
The author considered this not a pure case of simulation; the patient was an abnormal being, none of his keepers thought him normal. His entire appearance, his excited way of speaking, his gestures and play of features were all striking to a high degree. His method of going about begging was unreasonable; he gained so little by it. His tendency to untruthfulness stood out everywhere. He imitated the pious as he chattered without aim. The man had lived himself into the role of a cloister brother so completely that he was not clearly conscious of the deceit. The author thinks the case presents some paranoiac features with a pathological tendency towards lying. Thus this pathological liar presents the phenomenon of a mixture of lies and delusions.
From the Zurich clinic of Forel several cases of pathological swindling have been reported at length.[20] It must be confessed that the success of much of the misrepresentation cited in these case histories seems to be as largely due to the naivete of the country folk as to the efforts of the swindlers themselves. Two of the cases were clearly insane and were detained for long periods in asylums after their study in the clinic. But even so, it is