CHAPTER III.

INSANITY AND CIVILIZATION.

Prevalence of disease among savage nations--Conditions of life not such as to produce insanity--Definitions of civilization-- Several conditions attending civilization combine to increase diseases of the brain--Increase of brain activity-- Over-stimulation of the brain in schools and by the use of alcoholic beverages--A community of interests exists in savage life which is lost in civilized life--In the latter the strong thrive at the expense of the weak--Monopolies in land and other forms of property--Inference to be drawn from the tendency of insanity to increase--The primary condition of insanity one of the brain--Investigations should relate to the nature and causes of this condition 33