especially among those of criminal inclination. Their lies do not separate themselves either in content or in relation to the rest of their ideas from the lies of the mentally diseased. Here follows his positive contribution to the conception; the pathological lie is active in character, a whole sequence of experiences is fabricated and the products of fancy brought forward with a certainty that is astonishing. The possibility that the untruth may be at any minute demolished does not abash the liar in the least. Remonstrances against the lies make no impression. On closer inspection we find that the liar is no longer free, he has ceased to be master of his own lies, the lie has won power over him, it has the worth of a real experience. In the final stage of the evolution of the pathological lie, it cannot be differentiated from delusion. Pathological lies have long been credited to hystericals, they are now known to arise in alcoholics, imbeciles, degenerates. All pathological liars have a purpose, i.e., to decorate their own person, to tell something interesting, and an ego motive is always present. They all lie about something they wish to possess or be.

[9] ``Ueber die pathologische Lugner,'' Charite-Annalen, 8, 1898. Pp. 674-719.

Koppen offers three case studies: I. A man who had suffered from many epileptic seizures came from a family in which there was insanity. He gave himself many false titles, and from his childhood pathological lying had been a prominent symptom. As an example, when he married against his father's will, he at the wedding read a false dispatch, pretending it to be congratulations from his family. Koppen suggests that this individual was incapable of meeting life as it really was and he therefore wove a mass of phantasies. II. A young man charged with grave falsifications. He had come from an epileptic family and himself had slight attacks in childhood. He bore various pathological stigmata. Koppen considered that the patient believed his own stories about his rather superior education and that in general his lies became delusions which influenced his actions. He diagnosed the case as psychotic; insane in a legal sense. III. A young man undoubtedly insane brought forward his pathological lies with such force that Koppen was persuaded that the patient believed in them.

Bernard Risch[10] has seen many cases of delinquents with more or less marked psychopathic signs in which pathological lying was the focal point. He reports five cases at great length, in all of whom the inclination to fabricate stories, ``der Hang zum fabulieren,'' is irresistible and apparently not to be repressed by efforts of the will. Risch's main points, built up from study of his cases, are worthy of close consideration: 1. Mental processes similar to those forming the basis of the impulse to literary creation in normal people lie at the foundation of the morbid romances and fancies of those afflicted with pseudologia phantastica. The coercive impulse for self-expression, with an accompanying feeling of desire and dissatisfaction, plays a similar part in both. That the making up of tales is an end in itself for the abnormal swindler, just as it is for the normal author, seems clear to Risch. 2. The morbid impulse which forces ``zum fabulieren'' is bound up with the desire to play the role of the person depicted. Fiction and real life are not separated as in the mind of the normal author. 3. The bent of thought is egocentric, the morbid liar and swindler can think of nothing but himself. 4. There is a reduction of the powers of attention in these cases; only upon supposition that this faculty is disturbed can we account for the discrepancies in the statements of patients. One has the impression that their memory for their delinquencies is not clear. Careful investigation proves that they do not like to remember them and this dislike has to be overcome. 5. There is a special weakness in judgment, which for general purposes is sound. The train of thought is logical, but in ethical discernment the lack appears. The pathological liar does not face openly the question of whether his lies can be seen through.

[10] `` `Ueber die phantastische Form des degenerativen Irrseins, Pseudologia phantastica.'' Allgemeine Zeitschrift fur Psychiatrie, 65, 1908, H. 4; pp. 576-639.

Then follows a closer analysis of the qualities possessed by pathological liars: (a) Their range of ideas is wide. (b) Their range of interests is wider than would be expected from their grade of education. (c) Their perceptions are better than the average. (d) They are nimble witted. Their oral and written style is above normal in fluency. (e) They exhibit faultiness in the development of conceptions and judgments. Their judgment is sharp and clear only as far as their own person does not come into consideration. It is the lack of any self criticism combined with an abnormal egocentric trend of thought that biases their judgments concerning themselves. (f) Psychic traumata arise perhaps through a striking reaction in the emotional realm towards external occurrences. (g) Nearly all of Risch's cases were burdened with bad inheritance. He maintains that, above all, these cases show instability and psychic excitability. The entire symptom complex arises upon a basis of degeneracy.

Essential similarities run through all of Risch's cases; it is perhaps valuable here to cite a couple of them. His Case I is that of a soldier, who after being released from prison at 23 years had begun his military duty and in a short time attempted suicide. He was then studied for insanity. It was found that he gave long accounts of his experiences as a chauffeur, rendering his story with fluent details about hairbreadth escapes and other adventures. He also told at length of his love affair with a young girl. These stories were discovered to be false from ``A to Z''; he did not clearly remember them later. The evolving of such fabrications was all along one of his chief characteristics. Examination showed no gross intellectual defect, but there were certain psychopathic signs which had been displayed from early childhood: he had little endurance and was unable to stand criticism. Emotions befitting his stories were correctly expressed by him; there were no facial evidences of conflict or discomfort. It was impossible to tell from his physiognomy that he was engaged in untruths. Mentally he was well oriented and his thoughts flowed in orderly sequence. Despite rather limited education he demonstrated very good style in his conversation and his letters. The train of thought was expressed coherently and logically, so well that one could speak of him as having literary ability. Physically he was quite normal. Investigation of antecedents showed that he was born of an exceedingly nervous mother (more exact diagnosis not given) and that he had a feebleminded brother. During his school career he was considered to have quite fair ability. He learned no trade, and after stopping school would leave a position upon the slightest provocation. Before he was 23 he had been legally punished many times for stealing and had spent, all told, over three years in prison. Once before he had attempted suicide. After the thorough study of him at 23 he was placed in an asylum. There he was occupied at basket weaving and was chiefly notable for keeping up the characteristics that were peculiar to him before. He continually lied and, indeed, seemed to get his main pleasure out of telling fabulous stories to the other patients.

Case IV was a man of 31 years, a decorative painter by trade, who presented himself at the states attorney's office and stated that in a fit of jealousy he had shot and killed a man. Taking up the case it was soon found that this was quite untrue and that the man was a chronic liar. He seemed much