criminal psychology-第89部分

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　First；　there　is　the　woman's　unintelligible　arithmetic；　then　her　ceaseless　requirements；　finally　the　man's　surrender　to　the　limit　of　his　powers；　then　fresh　demands；　a　long　period　of　opposition；　then　surrender；　and　finally　one　unlawful　action。　From　that　it　is　only　a　step　to　a　great　crime。　This　is　the　simple　theme　of　the　countless　variations　that　are　played　in　the　criminal　court。　There　are　proverbs　enough　to　show　how　thoroughly　the　public　understands　this　connection　between　love　and　money。＇2＇


＇2＇　Cf。　Lombroso　and　Ferrero；　The　Female　Offender：　Tr。　by　Morrison。　N。　Y。　1895。



An　apparently　insignificant　feminine　quality　which　is　connected　with　her　intelligence　is　her　notorious；　‘‘never　quite　ready。''　The　criminalist　meets　this　when　he　is　looking　for　an　explanation　of　the　failure　of　some　probably　extraordinarily　intelligent　plan　of　crime。　Or　when　a　crime　occurs　which　might　have　been　prevented　by　a　step　at　the　right　minute；　women　are　always　ten　minutes　behind　the　time。　But　these　minutes　would　not　be　gained　if　things　were　begun　ten　minutes　earlier；　and　once　a　woman　suffers　real　damage　through　tardiness；　she　resolves　to　be　ten　minutes　ahead　of　time。　But　when　she　does　so　she　fails　in　her　resolution　and　this　failure　is　to　be　explained　by　lack　of　intelligence。　The　little　fact　that　women　are　never　quite　on　time　explains　many　a　difficulty。

Feminine　conservatism　is　as　insignificant　as　feminine　punctuality。　Lombroso　shows　how　attached　women　are　to　old　things。　Ideas；　jewelry；　verses；　superstitions；　and　proverbs　are　better　retained　by　women　than　by　men。　Nobody　would　venture　to　assert　that　a　conservative　man　must　be　less　intelligent　than　a　liberal。　Yet　feminine　conservatism　indicates　a　certain　stupidity；　less　excitability　and　smaller　capacity　for　accepting　new　impressions。　Women　have　a　certain　difficulty　in　assimilating　and　reconstructing　things；　and　because　of　this　difficulty　they　do　not　like　to　surrender　an　object　after　having　received　it。　Hence；　it　is　well　not　to　be　too　free　with　the　more　honorable　attributes　such　as　piety；　love；　loyalty；　respect　to　what　they　have　already　learned；　closer　investigation　discovers　altogether　too　many　instances　of　intellectual　rigidity。

In　our　profession　we　meet　the　fact　frequently　that　men　pass　much　more　easily　from　honesty　to　dishonesty；　and　vice　versa；　that　they　more　easily　change　their　habits；　begin　new　plans；　etc。　Generalizations；　of　course；　can　not　be　made；　each　case　has　to　be　studied　on　its　merits。　Yet；　even　when　questions　of　fact　arise；　e。　g。；　in　searching　houses；　it　is　well　to　remember　the　distinction。　Old　letters；　real　corpora　delicti；　are　much　more　likely　to　be　found　in　the　woman's　box　than　in　the　man's。　The　latter　has　destroyed　the　thing　long　ago；　but　the　former　may　‘‘out　of　piety''　have　preserved　for　years　even　the　poison　she　once　used　to　commit　murder　with。


Section　74。　（b）　Honesty。

We　shall　speak　here　only　of　the　honesty　of　the　sort　of　women　the　courts　have　most　to　do　with；　and　in　this　regard　there　is　little　to　give　us　joy。　Not　to　be　honest；　and　to　lie；　are　two　different　things；　the　latter　is　positive；　the　former　negative；　the　dishonest　person　　does　not　tell　the　truth；　the　liar　tells　the　untruth。　It　is　dishonest　to　suppress　a　portion　of　the　truth；　to　lead　others　into　mistakes；　to　fail　to　justify　appearances；　and　to　make　use　of　appearances。　The　dishonest　person　may　not　have　said　a　single　untrue　word　and　still　have　introduced　many　more　difficulties；　confusions　and　deceptions　than　the　liar。　He　is　for　this　reason　more　dangerous　than　the　latter。　Also；　because　his　conduct　is　more　difficult　to　uncover　and　because　he　is　more　difficult　to　conquer　than　the　liar。　Dishonesty　is；　however；　a　specially　feminine　characteristic；　and　in　men　occurs　only　when　they　are　effeminate。　Real　manliness　and　dishonesty　are　concepts　which　can　not　be　united。　Hence；　the　popular　proverb　says；　‘‘Women　always　tell　the　truth；　but　not　the　whole　truth。''　And　this　is　more　accurate　than　the　accusation　of　many　writers；　that　women　lie。　I　do　not　believe　that　the　criminal　courts　can　verify　the　latter　accusation。　I　do　not　mean　that　women　never　liethey　lie　enough　but　they　do　not　lie　more　than　men　do；　and　none　of　us　would　attribute　lying　to　women　as　a　sexual　trait。　To　do　so；　would　be　to　confuse　dishonesty　with　lying。

It　would　be　a　mistake　to　deal　too　sternly　in　court　with　the　dishonesty　of　women；　for　we　ourselves　and　social　conditions　are　responsible　for　much　of　it。　We　dislike　to　use　the　right　names　of　things　and　choose　rather　to　suggest；　to　remain　in　embarrassed　silence；　or　to　blush。　Hence；　it　is　too　much　to　ask　that　this　round…aboutness　should　be　set　aside　in　the　courtroom；　where　circumstances　make　straight　talking　even　more　difficult。　According　to　Lombroso；＇1＇　women　lie　because　of　their　weaknesses；　and　because　of　menstruation　and　pregnancy；　for　which　they　have　in　conversation　to　substitute　other　illnesses；　because　of　the　feeling　of　shame；　because　of　the　sexual　selection　which　compels　them　to　conceal　age；　defects；　diseases；　because　finally　of　their　desire　to　be　interesting；　their　suggestibility；　and　their　small　powers　of　judgment。　All　these　things　tend　to　make　them　lie；　and　then　as　mothers　they　have　to　deceive　their　children　about　many　things。　Indeed；　they　are　themselves　no　more　than　children；　Lombroso　concludes。　But　it　is　a　mistake　to　suppose　that　these　conditions　lead　to　lying；　for　women　generally　acquire　silence；　some　other　form　of　action；　or　the　negative　propagation　of　error。　But　this　is　essentially　dishonesty。　To　assert　that　deception；　lying；　have　become　physiological　properties　of　women　is；　therefore；　wrong。　According　to　Lotze；　women　hate　analysis　and　hence　can　not　distinguish　between　the　true　and　the　false；　but　then　women　hate　analysis　　only　when　it　is　applied　to　themselves。　A　woman　does　not　want　to　be　analyzed　herself　simply　because　analysis　would　reveal　a　great　deal　of　dishonesty；　she　is　therefore　a　stranger　to　thorough…going　honest　activity。　But　for　this　men　are　to　blame。　Nobody；　as　Flaubert　says；　tells　women　the　truth。　And　when　once　they　hear　it　they　fight　it　as　something　extraordinary。　They　are　not　even　honest　with　themselves。　But　this　is　not　only　true　in　general；　it　is　true　also　in　particular　cases　which　the　court　room　sees。　We　ourselves　make　honesty　difficult　to　women　before　the　court。　Of　course；　I　do　not　mean　that　to　avoid　this　we　are　to　be　rude　and　shameless　in　our　conversation　with　women；　but　it　is　certain　that　we　compel　them　to　be　dishonest　by　our　round…about　handling　of　every　ticklish　subject。　Any　half…experienced　criminal　justice　knows　that　much　more　progress　can　be　made　by　simple　and　absolutely　open　discussion。　A　highly　educated　woman　with　whom　I　had　a　frank　talk　about　such　a　matter；　said　at　the　end　of　this　very　painful　sitting；　‘‘Thank　God；　that　you　spoke　frankly　and　without　pruderyI　was　very　much　afraid　that　by　foolish　questions　you　might　compel　me　to　prudish　answers　and　hence；　to　complete　dishonesty。''


＇1＇　Loco　cit。


We　have　led　women　so　far　by　our　indirection　that　according　to　Stendthal；　to　be　honest；　is　to　them　identical　with　appearing　naked　in　public。　Balzac　asks；　‘‘Have　you　ever　observed　a　lie　in　the　attitude　and　manner　of　woman？　Deceit　is　as　easy　to　them　as　falling　snow　in　heaven。''　But　this　is　true　only　if　he　means　dishonesty。　It　is　not　true　that　it　is　easy　for　women　really　to　lie。　I　do　not　know　whether　this　fact　can　be　proven；　but　I　am　sure　the　feminine　malease　in　lying　can　be　observed。　The　play　of　features；　the　eyes；　the　breast；　the　attitude；　betrays　almost　always　even　the　experienced　female　offender。　Now；　nothing　can　reveal　the　play　of　her　essential　dishonesty。　If　a　man　once　confesses；　he　confesses　with　less　constraint　than　a　woman；　and　he　is　less　likely；　even　if　he　is　very　bad；　to　take　advantage　of　false　favorable　appearances；　while　woman　accepts　them　with　the　semblance　of　innocence。　If　a　man　has　not　altogether　given　a　complete　version；　his　failure　is　easy　to　recognize　by　his　hesitation；　but　the　opinions　of　woman　always　have　a　definite　goal；　even　though　she　should　tell　us　only　a　tenth　of　what　she　might　know　and　say。

Even　her　simplest　affirmation　or　denial　is　not　honest。　Her　‘‘no''　is　not　definite；　e。　g。；　her　‘‘no''　to　a　man's　demands。　Still　further；　when　a　man　affirms　or　denies　and　there　is　some　limitation　to　his　assertion。　He　either　announces　it　expressly　or　the　more　trained　ear　　recognizes　its　presence　in　the　failure　to　conclude；　in　a　hesitation　of　the　tone。　But　the　woman　says　‘‘yes''　and　‘‘no；''　even　when　only　a　small　portion　of　one　or　the　other　asserts　a　truth　behind　which　she　can　hide　herself；　and　this　is　a　matter　to　keep　in　mind　in　the　courtroom。

Also　the　art　of　deception　or　concealment　depends　on　dishonesty　rather　than　on　pure　deceit；　because　it　consists　much　more　in　the　use　of　whatever　is　at　hand；　and　in　suppression　of　material；　than　on　direct　lies。　So；　when　the　proverb　says　that　a　woman　was　ill　only　three　times　during　the　course　of　the　year；　but　each　time　for　four　months；　it　will　be　unjust　to　say　that　she　intentionally　denies　a　year…　long　illness。　She　does　not；　but　as　a　matter　of　fact；　she　is　ill　at　least　thirteen　times　a　year；　and　besides；　her　weak　physique　causes　her　to　feel　frequently　unwell。　So　she　does　not　lie　about　her　illness。　But　then　she　does　not　immediately　announce　her　recovery　and　permits　people　to　nurse　and　protect　her　even　when　she　has　no　need　of　it。　Perhaps　she　does　so　because；　in　the　course　of　the　centuries；　she　found　it　necessary　to　magnify　her　little　troubles　in　order　to　protect　herself　against　brutal　men；　and　had；　therefore；　to　forge　the　weapon　of　dishonesty。　So　Schopenhauer　agrees：　‘‘Nature　has　given　women　only　one　means　of　protection　and　defencehypocrisy；　this　is　congenital　with　them；　and　the　use　of　it　is　as　natural　as　the　animal's　use　of　its　claws。　Women　feel　they　have　a　certain　degree　of　justification　for　their　hypocrisy。''

With　this　hypocrisy　we　have；　as　lawyers；　to　wage　a　constant　battle。　Quite　apart　from　the　various　ills　and　diseases　which　women　assume　before　the　judge；　everything　else　is　pretended；　innocence；　love　of　children；　spouses；　and　parents；　pain　at　loss　and　despair　at　reproaches；　a　breaking　heart　at　separation；　and　piety；in　short；　whatever　may　be　useful。　This　subjects　the　examining　justice　to　the　dangers　and　dif