Crime : its causes and remedies / by Cesare Lombroso ; translated by Henry P. Horton.

  • Lombroso, Cesare, 1835-1909. Crime, causes et remèdes. English
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Crime : its causes and remedies / by Cesare Lombroso ; translated by Henry P. Horton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The contest with the cold consumes energy that would other- wise hâve been available for the social and personal activity of the individual. From this fact, and from the depressing effect which the cold exercises directly upon the nervous System, proceed the placidity and mildness of the inhabitants of the polar régions. Dr. Rink depicts certain Eskimo tribes as so pacifie and placid that they hâve not even a word for “quarrel,” their strongest reaction to an affront being merely silence. Larrey notices that on the retreat from Moscow the snows of Russia made weaklings and even cowards of soldiers whom, up to that time, neither danger, wounds, nor hunger had been able to shake. Bove relates that among the Chukchi at 40° below zéro there are no quarrels, acts of violence, or crimes. Preyer, the bold polar traveler, notes how at the same tem- pérature his will became paralyzed, his senses dulled, and his speech embarrassed.^ This explains why, not only despotic Russia, but also the liberal Scandinavian countries, hâve rarely experienced rév- olutions. § 3. Influence of Moderate Températures The influence which is most apt to produce a disposition toward rébellion and crime is that of a relatively moderate degree of heat. This is confirmed by a study of the psychology of the peoples of Southern Europe, which shows us that they tend to be unstable, and to subordinate the interests of the com- munity and state to the individual. This is doubtless because heat excites the nervous centers as alcohol does, without, how- ever, arriving at the point of producing apathy; and further because the climate, without removing human needs entirely, reduces them by increasing the productivity of the soil and at the same time diminishing the necessity for food, clothing, and alcoholic drinks. In the dialect of Parma the sun is called the “Father of Ragamuffins.” Daudet, who lias written an entire novel (“Nouma Rou- mestan”) to depict the great influence of the climate of Southern Europe upon conduct, says: ^ Petermann, “ Mitteilungen,” 1876.
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