Observations on the illusions of the insane, and on the medico-legal question of their confinement / translated from the French of M. Esquirol by William Liddell.

Date:
1833
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the illusions of the insane, and on the medico-legal question of their confinement / translated from the French of M. Esquirol by William Liddell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

    37/96 (page 31)
    to pronounce whether an individual ought to be de- prived of his natural rights. Let us first consider the question of confinement in a medical point of view, and as far as it relates to the health of the individual ; it will be easier after- wards to particularize what is wanting in the legis- lation upon so important a subject. In fact, if con- finement is indispensible for the cure and preserva- tion of the insane, it ought to be authorised by law ; but if the science of medicine does not always order it, but points out precautions to render this means of cure more efficacious, the law ought only to authorize it under certain restrictions. This is an important question ; for there are in France alone more than fifteen thousand individuals deprived of their civil and political rights, and of their liberty, without legal authority. What do facts and experience teach us as to the necessity and utility of confinement ? Section ]. On the necessity of Confinement. The ancients understood the necessity of a specific treatment for mental disorders, and have left excel- lent instructions, in their writings, on the place of abode, and on the intellectual and moral treatment of the insane. CuUen, amongst the moderns, has