hat a man possesses a dog, because I can classify the dogs I have seen
all over the world. But supposing I had never met any specimen of the
canine race but a King Charles spaniel, and on seeing a Scotch deerhound
in the possession of a friend was told that the man had a 'dog:' I
should be justified in doubting whether the deerhound was a dog at all
in the sense in which the tiny spaniel--the only dog I had ever
seen--represented the canine race in my mind and experience. The
biblical 'devil,' which 'possessed' men, took as many shapes and
characteristics as the _genus_ 'dog' does: there was the devil that
dwelt in tombs, the devil that tore its victim, the devil that entered
into swine, the devil that spoke false prophecies, and many more. It is
the same with insanity. No two mad people are alike. If I find a person
with any madness I know, I can say he is mad; but if I find a person
acting in a very unusual way under the influence of strong and
protracted emotion, I am not justified in concluding that he is crazy. I
have not seen everything in the world yet. I have not seen every kind of
dog, nor every kind of devil, nor every kind of madness."

"You choose strange illustrations," I said, "but you speak clearly."

"Strange cases and strange examples. Insanity is the strangest phase of
human nature, because it is the least common state of humanity. If a
majority of men were mad, they would have a right to consider themselves
sane, and sane men crazy. Your original question was whether, when she
attempted suicide, Madame Patoff were sane or not. I do not know. I have
known many persons to attempt to take their lives when, according to all
their other actions, they were perfectly sane. The question of their
sanity could be decided by placing a large number of sensible people in
similar circumstances, in order to see whether the majority of them
would kill themselves or not. That sort of experiment is not likely to
be tried. I found Madame Patoff placed in very extraordinary
circumstances, but I did not know her before she was so placed. The case
interests me exceedingly. I am still trying to understand it."

"You speak as though you were still treating it," I remarked.

"A physician, in his imagination, will continue to study a case for
years after it has passed out of his treatment," answered my companion.
"I must go and see Paul, however, since he was good enough to mention me
to you." Whereupon Professor Cutter butt