criminal psychology-第18部分

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es　which　permitted　his　men　to　plague　themselves　uselessly　with　bad　tools　and　which　justified　altogether　his　lack　of　skill　in　the　purchase　of　tools。　So　I　thought　how　the　few　words　of　the　old；　much…experienced　peasant　were　confirmed　utterlythey　told　the　whole　story。　Such　men；　indeed；　who　say　little　but　say　it　effectively；　must　be　carefully　attended　to；　and　everything　must　be　done　to　develop　and　to　understand　what　they　mean。

But　the　judge　requires　attention　and　appropriate　conservation　of　his　own　observations。　Whoever　observes　the　people　he　deals　with　soon　notices　that　there　is　probably　not　one　among　them　that　does　not　possess　some　similar；　apparently　unessential　quality　like　that　mentioned　above。　Among　close　acquaintances　there　is　little　difficulty　in　establishing　which　of　their　characteristics　belong　to　that　quality；　and　when　series　of　such　observations　are　brought　together　it　is　not　difficult　to　generalize　and　to　abstract　from　them　specific　rules。　Then；　in　case　of　need；　when　the　work　is　important；　one　makes　use　of　the　appropriate　rule　with　pleasure；　and　I　might　say；　with　thanks　for　one's　own　efforts。

One　essential　and　often　useful　symbol　to　show　what　a　man　makes　of　himself；　what　he　counts　himself　for；　is　his　use　of　the　word　_*we_。　Hartenstein＇1＇　has　already　called　attention　to　the　importance　of　this　circumstance；　and　Volkmar　says：　‘‘The　_*we_　has　a　very　various　scope；　from　the　point　of　an　accidental　simultaneity　of　images　in　the　same　sensation；　representation　or　thought；　to　the　almost　complete　circle　of　the　family　_*we_　which　breaks　through　the　_*I_　and　even　does　not　exclude　the　most　powerful　antagonisms；　hatred；　just　like　love；　asserts　its　_*we_。''　What　is　characteristic　in　the　word　_*we_　is　the　opposition　of　a　larger　or　smaller　group　of　which　the　_*I_　is　a　member；　to　the　rest　of　the　universe。　I　say　_*we_　when　I　mean　merely　my　wife　and　myself；　the　inhabitants　of　my　house；　my　family；　those　who　live　in　my　street；　in　my　ward；　or　in　my　city；　I　say　_*we_　assessors；　we　central…Austrians；　we　Austrians；　we　Germans；　we　Europeans；　we　inhabitants　of　the　earth。　I　say　we　lawyers；　we　blonds；　we　Christians；　we　mammals；　we　collaborators　on　a　monthly；　we　old　students'　society；　we　married　men；　we　opponents　of　jury　trial。　But　I　also　say　_*we_　when　speaking　of　accidental　relations；　such　as　being　on　the　same　train；　meeting　on　the　same　mountain　peak；　in　the　same　hotel；　at　the　same　concert；　etc。　In　a　word　_*we_　defines　all　relationships　from　the

＇1＇　Grundbegriffe　der　ethisehen　Wissensehaft。　Leipzig　1844。

　narrowest　and　most　important；　most　essential；　to　the　most　individual　and　accidental。　Conceivably　the　_*we_　unites　also　people　who　have　something　evil　in　common；　who　use　it　a　great　deal　among　themselves；　and　because　of　habit；　in　places　where　they　would　rather　not　have　done　so。　Therefore；　if　you　pay　attention　you　may　hear　some　suspect　who　denies　his　guilt；　come　out　with　a　_*we_　which　confesses　his　alliance　with　people　who　do　the　things　he　claims　not　to：　_*we_　pickpockets；　_*we_　house…breakers；　_*we_　gamblers；　inverts；　etc。

It　is　so　conceivable　that　man　as　a　social　animal　seeks　companionship　in　so　many　directions　that　he　feels　better　protected　when　he　has　a　comrade；　when　he　can　present　in　the　place　of　his　weak　and　unprotected　_*I_　the　stronger　and　bolder　_*we_；　and　hence　the　considerable　and　varied　use　of　the　word。　No　one　means　that　people　are　to　be　caught　with　the　word；　it　is　merely　to　be　used　to　bring　clearness　into　our　work。　Like　every　other　honest　instrument；　it　is　an　index　to　the　place　of　the　man　before　us。


Section　13。　（Cc　Particular　Character…signs。


It　is　a　mistake　to　suppose　that　it　is　enough　in　most　cases　to　study　that　side　of　a　man　which　is　at　the　moment　importanthis　dishonesty　only；　his　laziness；　etc。　That　will　naturally　lead　to　merely　one…sided　judgment　and　anyway　be　much　harder　than　keeping　the　whole　man　in　eye　and　studying　him　as　an　entirety。　Every　individual　quality　is　merely　a　symptom　of　a　whole　nature；　can　be　explained　only　by　the　whole　complex；　and　the　good　properties　depend　as　much　on　the　bad　ones　as　the　bad　on　the　good　ones。　At　the　very　least　the　quality　and　quantity　of　a　good　or　bad　characteristic　shows　the　influence　of　all　the　other　good　and　bad　characteristics。　Kindliness　is　influenced　and　partly　created　through　weakness；　indetermination；　too　great　susceptibility；　a　minimum　acuteness；　false　constructiveness；　untrained　capacity　for　inference；　in　the　same　way；　again；　the　most　cruel　hardness　depends　on　properties　which；　taken　in　themselves；　are　good：　determination；　energy；　purposeful　action；　clear　conception　of　one's　fellows；　healthy　egotism；　etc。　Every　man　is　the　result　of　his　nature　and　nurture；　i。　e。　of　countless　individual　conditions；　and　every　one　of　his　expressions；　again；　is　the　result　of　all　of　these　conditions。　If；　therefore；　he　is　to　be　judged；　he　must　be　judged　in　the　light　of　them　all。

For　this　reason；　all　those　indications　that　show　us　the　man　as　a　whole　are　for　us　the　most　important；　but　also　those　others　are　valuable　which　show　him　up　on　one　side　only。　In　the　latter　　case；　however；　they　are　to　be　considered　only　as　an　index　which　never　relieves　us　from　the　need　further　to　study　the　nature　of　our　subject。　The　number　of　such　individual　indications　is　legion　and　no　one　is　able　to　count　them　up　and　ground　them；　but　examples　of　them　may　be　indicated。

We　ask；　for　example；　what　kind　of　man　will　give　us　the　best　and　most　reliable　information　about　the　conduct　and　activity；　the　nature　and　character；　of　an　individual？　We　are　told：　that　sort　of　person　who　is　usually　asked　for　the　informationhis　nearest　friends　and　acquaintances；　and　the　authorities。　Before　all　of　these　nobody　shows　himself　as　he　is；　because　the　most　honest　man　will　show　himself　before　people　in　whose　judgment　he　has　an　interest　at　least　as　good　as；　if　not　better　than　he　isthat　is　fundamental　to　the　general　egoistic　essence　of　humanity；　which　seeks　at　least　to　avoid　reducing　its　present　welfare。　Authorities　who　are　asked　to　make　a　statement　concerning　any　person；　can　say　reliably　only　how　often　the　man　was　punished　or　came　otherwise　in　contact　with　the　law　or　themselves。　But　concerning　his　social　characteristics　the　authorities　have　nothing　to　say；　they　have　got　to　investigate　them　and　the　detectives　have　to　bring　an　answer。　Then　the　detectives　are；　at　most；　simply　people　who　have　had　the　opportunity　to　watch　and　interrogate　the　individuals　in　question；the　servants；　house…　furnishers；　porters；　corner…loafers；　etc。　Why　we　do　not　question　the　latter　ourselves　I　cannot　say；　if　we　did　we　might　know　these　people　on　whom　we　depend　for　important　information　and　might　put　our　questions　according　to　the　answers　that　we　need。　It　is　a　purely　negative　thing　that　an　official　declaration　is　nowadays　not　unfrequently　presented　to　us　in　the　disgusting　form　of　the　gossip　of　an　old　hag。　But　in　itself　the　form　of　getting　information　about　people　through　servants　and　others　of　the　same　class　is　correct。　One　has；　however；　to　beware　that　it　is　not　done　simply　because　the　gossips　are　most　easily　found；　but　because　_people　show　their　weaknesses　most　readily　before　those　whom　they　hold　of　no　account_。　The　latter　fact　is　well　known；　but　not　sufficiently　studied。　It　is　of　considerable　importance。　Let　us　then　examine　it　more　closely：　Nobody　is　ashamed　to　show　himself　before　an　animal　as　he　is；　to　do　an　evil　thing；　to　commit　a　crime；　the　shame　will　increase　very　little　if　instead　of　the　animal　a　complete　idiot　is　present；　and　if　now　we　suppose　the　intelligence　and　significance　of　this　witness　steadily　to　increase；　the　shame　of　appearing　before　him　as　one　is　increases　in　a　like　degree。　So　we　will　control　ourselves　most　before　people　　whose　judgment　is　of　most　importance　to　us。　The　Styrian；　Peter　Rosegger；　one　of　the　best　students　of　mankind；　once　told　a　first…rate　story　of　how　the　most　intimate　secrets　of　certain　people　became　common　talk　although　all　concerned　assured　him　that　nobody　had　succeeded　in　getting　knowledge　of　them。　The　news…agent　was　finally　discovered　in　the　person　of　an　old；　humpy；　quiet；　woman；　who　worked　by　the　day　in　various　homes　and　had　found　a　place；　unobserved　and　apparently　indifferent；　in　the　corner　of　the　sitting…　room。　Nobody　had　told　her　any　secrets；　but　things　were　allowed　to　occur　before　her　from　which　she　might　guess　and　put　them　together。　Nobody　had　watched　this　disinterested；　ancient　lady；　she　worked　like　a　machine；　her　thoughts；　when　she　noted　a　quarrel　or　anxiety　or　disagreement　or　joy；　were　indifferent　to　all　concerned；　and　so　she　discovered　a　great　deal　that　was　kept　secret　from　more　important　persons。　This　simple　story　is　very　significantwe　are　not　to　pay　attention　to　gossips　but　to　keep　in　mind　that　the　information　of　persons　is　in　the　rule　more　important　and　more　reliable　when　the　question　under　consideration　is　indifferent　to　them　than　when　it　is　important。　We　need　only　glance　at　our　own　situation　in　this　matterwhat　do　we　know　about　our　servants？　What　their　Christian　names　are；　because　we　have　to　call　them；　where　they　come　from；　because　we　hear　their　pronunciation；　how　old　they　are；　because　we　see　them；　and　those　of　their　qualities　that　we　make　use　of。　But　what　do　we　know　of　their　family　relationships；　their　past；　their　plans；　their　joys　or　sorrows？　The　lady　of　the　house　knows　perhaps　a　little　more　because　of　her　daily　intercourse　with　them；　but　her　husband　learns　of　it　only　in　exceptional　cases　when　he　bothers　about　things　that　are　none　of　his　business。　Nor　does　madam　know　much；　as　examination　shows　us　daily。　But　what　on　the　other　hand　do　the　servants　know　about　us？　The　relation　between　husband　and　wife；　the　bringing…up　of　the　children；　the　financial　situation；　the　relation　with　cousins；　the　house…friends；　the　especial　pleasures；　each　joy；　each　trouble　that　occurs；　each　hope；　everything　from　the　least　bodily　pain　to　the　very　simplest　secret　of　the　toilettethey　know　it　all。　What　can　be　kept　from　them？　The　most　restricted　of　them　are　aware　of　it；　and　if　they　do　not　see　more；　it　is　not　because　of　our　skill　at　hiding；　but　because　of　their　stupidity。　We　observe　that　in　these　cases　there　is　not　much　that　can　be　kept　secret　and　hence　do　not　trouble　to　do　so。

There　is　besides　another　reason　for　allowing　subordinate　or　indif