epilepsy and minor neuroses. Dr. Barr gives many instances
illustrating the heredity of imbecility, especially where both parents
were imbeciles, and had imbecile relatives. One case in particular
forcibly illustrates the disastrous results of the marriage of such
unfortunates. It is taken from the reports of the Connecticut Lunacy
Commission:

In one instance, where a pauper female idiot lived in one town,
the town authorities hired an idiot belonging to another town,
and not then a pauper, to marry her, and the result has been
that the town to which the male idiot belongs has for many
years had to support the pair and the three idiot children.[62]

[Footnote 62: Ibid., p. 99.]

Neuroses may remain latent for a generation and reappear in the
grandchildren of the person affected, or the latent tendency may never
reappear unless some disturbing factor such as scarletina, meningitis
or other acute disease attacks the weak spot. This possibility
suggests that the influence of heredity may be vastly greater than the
etiological tables would indicate. The apparent causes may be only
agents which assist in developing the evil really engendered by an
inheritance of imbecility.

It is not at all certain that there is any well marked boundary line
between genius and some forms of imbecility. Many quite irresponsible
idiots have marvelous verbal memories, and can repeat parrot-like,
page after page of books of which they have no comprehension. Dr. Barr
tells of cases of prodigies, musical, mathematical and mechanical, who
except in their specialty were almost totally deficient mentally.[63]