On the method of cure

The first attention of the practitioner is to see that the proper means of securing the patient be at hand; or if he be under coercion, he is to determine, from the symptoms, the propriety of continuing or of removing it. His next care should be directed to the causes which are suppsed to have given rise to the insanity, then inform himself whether any peculiarities, natural or acquired, exist, either of body or mind; if the patient be the subject of sudden variations of temper, fits of any kind, such as epilepsy, and convulsions, headache or hernia; marking the leading features of the disease, the subject of hallucinations, the idea that most frequently occupies the mind of the maniac, and determining whether it should be combated or indulged in order to second his curative attempts.

C***
Practical Observations on Insanity, p. 52.