The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-06

OUARRELS OF THE ALIENlSTS

TIoii tuc iIHtS-i1eTilu.
Ii an up-to-date dictionary should be
written II would contain these definitions:
Alenist-One who has alienated his
friends.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. who is disposed to
regard all mankind as unit to live.
Criminal anthropologis gist-One who is
cr.mnally disposed as above.
Science run mad has devastated the in
telleets of the world and made us Won
der II there Is q sane mind in a sane body
anywhere. Still the leaders keep up their
single stick exercise, humping each
others heads In the intervals Of failing
the degenerate crowns of all the rest Of
mankind. For which blessing may the
Lord make us duly grateful. Nordau-the
name is as irritating as popular song
of the slang of the day is silent now, con-
tentng himself with reaping the profits
OF his republished early works which We're
no offense, and therefore not TO the taste
of the people. But the Others are at it.
hammer and tongs.
--:ll:-
In the July number of the American
Journal of Insanity, DIR. f.. G. Spitzka, of
New York, well known as an expert in
cerebIal disease, had a tremendous fling
at Nordau and his master, LombrosO, and
of course incidentally at the entire train
of followers-Ferri, Garofalo. Havelock.
Ellis and the rest. DR.. Spitzka may re-
sent the invasion of the lunat!c asylums
by the Lombrosian criminal. At any rate.
he writes with the feeling of a man whose
personal pride has been hurt. He calls
"criminal anthropolOgy" "a pseudo
science" and brands Nordau as "nominally
Il physician, though lacking In that hui
manity toward the insane which Is not
only a matter of duty with aenists, but
of any and every physician. He proposes
ito tear the mantle of science from un-
worthy shoulders" He would lug poor
Nordau over the water and conduct him to
a concert of "the leading German -Ameri-
can musical society" to behold the 'un-
,,,it . tnI at \ tcvt 81,
horrible mal!nterpretat!on of the Lore
lei,'" and to satisfy him that New York
is not degenerate for whereas 1t appre-
ciates the Waldweben In 'Siegfried," the
funeral march in the "Gotterdamner-
ung," "Lohengrin" and ''Tannhaeuser" it
opens its expansive but normal mouth and
yawns over the "Rheingold' and "Parsi-
far Finally he demil!shes Nordau in this
paragraph: Thus it is that Nordau is
enabled to insult Germany by citing
Nietsche as prominent philosophical
writer of that country. He has not even
a bare mention for the great Wundt!
Thus he whom Calderwood and Hart
mann's feeble attempts to harmonize the
old and the new philosophy might have
shown the way the wind of metaphysics
Is blowing, does not recognize the Hux-
leys, Tyndalls, Paul Berts, Meynerts and
Preyers as philosophers. IL Nordau's
metaphysics are century behind his age,
his science Is unfortunate in being as
much wrongly in advance of 1t: In the
same direction as the pseudo-astronomy
of Camille Flammarlon and the pseudo
zoology of Jules Verne. In fact, there
is only one pseudo-science with which
his philosophy Is synchronous. and that Is
dead just about three years-the pseudo
anthropology of Lamboso."
After such a whitening blast Of Teutonc
wrath 1t Is surprising to find DR. I.ombroso
reappear.ng In the Septeber Forum, sad
dened by the robes Of Italian judges and
the unsclentific treatment of his friend,
the br!gand. but not at all disposed to
His paper on Criminal AnthropOlogy; Its
Origin and Application" is an interesting
story of the progress of an interesting
science-or pseudo-science, II that will
better please DIR. Spitzka. Much Of II Is
old, a rehash Of his works on the criminal,
but his deductions are not altogether
stale. Born criminals" should be impris-
oned for life. Banded criminals should
be treated with especial severity. Eplep-
tics and the morally insane" should be
instantly detained Religious and political
offenders, who sometimes anticipate by
some centuries the thought Of the people,
should he punished with much indulgence.
"All efforts at reform should be concen-
trated on the occasional criminal. They
are the only ones for whom much can be
done. They should be removed from all
opportunity by procuring them employ
ment and protecting them from the mis-
chievious influence of alcohol. not only by
proh.bltory laws and fines, which are gem
orally q dead letter. but by giving them
mental amusement" Even the crimnally-
born infant should be segregated. He Is
not amenable to education. And so on at
considerable length, showing that Lom-
broso even If he feels that his life has
been misunderstood and disdained." Is
still ready to trepan the skull of the GRIM
inal (psych.atrst or other), who assa.ls
his philosophy. II political economy he
the dismal this Is the horrible science.
The public Is reasonably tired of the popu-
his scourge or ally. Further discussion of
the subject might profitably be left to the
clinic room, the prison yard and the in
col