Page:A treatise on hysteria (IA b29314513).pdf/17



perusing the manuscript of this work, a friend, whose judgment I am bound to esteem, represented to me, that in it there were some expressions calculated to give offence to my professional brethren. All I can say is, that, of an intention to cast reproach upon any one, I am perfectly innocent; but where a great and destructive evil prevails, and prevails to a frightful extent, the selection of mild language would be a mistaken delicacy, and would go far to neutralize the effects of the intended remedy.

With this single remark, I submit the work to the indulgent attention of the profession.