Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/575

* PSORIASIS. 505 PSYCHICAL RESEARCH. No part of the body i» exempt but the mucous nicnibranes. The disease frequently accompanies rheumatism. Its cause is still obscure. The treatment consists of tlie internal use of arsenic, iodide of potassium, thyroid extract, salicylates, quinine, and citrate of potash, together with the local use of alkaline baths, subacetate of lead, zinc oxide, mercurial ointments, thymol, beta- naphthol, chrysarobin, etc. The waters at sev- eral spas, as Levico, Bourboule, Royat, which contain arsenic, have a vogue in the" treatment of psoriasis. PSOVIE, or BiBzojf. See Gbethound. PSYCHE, si'ke (Lat., from Gk. ^j,vxf|, breath, life, MU, butterfly, from i^i/x"", psychein, to breathe). As a mythological cliaracter Psyche is a creation of the later Greek speculation, "and in literature is scarcely known before the story in Apuleius (q.v.). Here Psyche appears as" the youngest and most beautiful of three daughters of a king. .She aroused the jealousy of Venus, who sent Cupid to inspire her with "passion for the meanest of men. The god. however, loved her, and caused her removal to a fairy palace of delight, where he visited her in darkness, strictly for- bidding her to see his face. Her jealous sisters persuaded her to disobey this injunction, but when she approached the sleeping god with a lighted lamp, his unexpected beauty caused her to start, a drop of oil fell on the god. who woke, and after rebuking her curiosity dis- appeared. Vainly Psyche sought him through- out the earth and finally came to the palace of Venus, who treated her as a slave, and laid upon her impossible tasks, which, however, the unseen aid of her lover enabled her to accomplish. Finally even Venus's wrath was appeased, .Jove gave her immortality, and she was united to Cupid. In this form a common folk-tale has been adapted to the philosophy which taught the preexistence of the soul in happiness, its hard service in the body, and final immortality in bliss. Though there is no other literary testi- mony to this myth, the works of art show that as early as the second century- B.C. the love of Eros and Psyche had eng.iged the Greek artists. One aspect of this story is only found on works of art of the Roman Imperial period — the torture of Psyche by Eros. Sometimes we see him hold- ing the butterfiy over a torch; at other times he binds and scourges the maiden Psyche, or with a torcli singes the butterfly's wings which spring from her shoulders: again. Psyche lies prostrate before him in entreaty. The earlier groups show the lovers embracing. In the Pompeian wall- paintings or on gems we also find Psyche or Psyches with Erotes engaged in various human occupations or amusements. On the Roman sar- cophagi of the second and third centuries of our era, the myth of Psyche is used with obvious reference to the life of the soul, and naturally the representations pass over into the early Christian symbolism. Consult: .John's edition of Apuleius (Leipzig. lS.5fil ; an English version m Walter Pater's Mnriiis tlir Epicurean : Conze, De Psi/ches Imaginibus Quibusdam (Berlin, IS.5.5) : CoUignon, Esuai xtir Irs monuments re- latifn nu miithex de Psyche (Paris, 1877). PSYCHIATRY (from Gk. ^|,vx■n. psyche. breath, life, soul 4- larptla. intreia, healing, from larpeifiv, iatreuein. to heal, from larpii, iatros, physician). The science which treats of the pathology, clinical conditions, progress, cause, and treatment of diseases affecting the mind. Whether diseases are within the domain of neurology or that of psychiatry is determined by a study of the symptoms and physical signs. JIany diseases affecting the mind present marked physical changes, such as tremors, alteration in tendon reflexes, pupilary anomalies, etc., as well as perversions of conduct or of action, such as exaltation, prodigality, suspicion, abulia, etc. A physician who devotes himself to the study of psychiatry is termed a psychiatrist or alienist. See Insaxity. PSYCHICAL RESEARCH (from psychic, from Gk. 'f/vxiK6s, psyciiikos, relating to the soul or mind, from 'pvxv, pxyche, breath, life, soul). The term 'psychical research' takes its meaning from the activities of the Society for Psvchieal Research (q.v.), founded in England in 1882. The original programme of the society proposed a systematic investigation of "that l.irge group of debatable phenomena designated by such terms as mesmeric, psychical, and spiritualistic." The work of investigation of these 'residual phenom- ena' was intrusted to six committees, who were to inquire severally into "the nature and extent of any influence which ma3- be exerted by one mind upon another apart from an}' generally recognized mode of perception;" into hypnotism, the so-called mesmeric trance, clairvoyance, ancl other allied phenomena; to undertake a revision of Reichenbach's researches with reference to discovering whether his "sensitives' possessed "any power of perception bevond a highly exalted sensibility of the recognized sensory organs;" to investigate the reports of apparitions at the moment of death, and of houses reputed to be haunted ; to inquire into the causes and general laws of the phenomena of spiritualism ; and to collect material relative to the history of these subjects. It becomes apparent that the group of inquiries thus circimiscribed does not consti- tute a subdivision of an established body of knowledge, but contemplates an extension or revised interpretation of physical and psychical modes of action. The most extensive investigations of 'psychical research' have been concentrated upon the effort to establish or detect evidence for the transfer- ence of thought apart from the recognized chan- nels of sense. The experimental evidence has been accumulated by arranging that one person, called the 'agent,' shall think intently of a defi- nite mental (usually a visual) impression and attempt to transfer the impression to the mind of the 'percipient,' who is supposed to be en- dowed with peculiar powers of this type and who in turn tries to read and record the impres- sion thus 'transferred.' Xumbers, words, draw- ings of simple geometrical forms, sketches of familiar objects, colors, actions, simple calcula- tions, or even sounds, tastes, and odors have been 'transferred' in this way. The process of 'trans- ference' seems to be more effective when the percipient is in an hypnotic or trance-like condi- tion. In such a state there is an increased sensi- ti%-eness to slight indications of sense (hyper- jesthesia), which in turn suagests the fimction- ing of an unusual desree of sensibility of the ordinarv kind in cases of successful percipiency. Tlie data needed to iustifv the assumption of a non-sensory mode of thought transference are most difficult to collect: first, becau.se the ex-