Antip'athy is the term applied to a class of cases in which individuals are disagreeably affected by, or violently dislike, things innocuous or agreeable to the majority of mankind. These peculiarities are sometimes innate—James I.'s, for instance, to a drawn sword; sometimes they are due to a child's having been injudiciously terrified with some object, the mental impression becoming permanent. In many cases, antipathy arises from mental association, often unconscious, of one object or impression with some other admittedly unpleasant, or with some painful experience in the past life of the person affected. A large class of persons have an antipathy to animal food, and from childhood refuse to taste it. In others, again, the aversion is limited to one kind of meat, as veal or pork; others are averse to eggs or milk. Nor is this feeling a conscious caprice, which an exertion of the will might remove; for it is generally found that contact with the object of the antipathy is resented by the bodily economy, and symptoms of poisoning are rapidly produced. Some are affected with these symptoms who have no mental aversion to the article. Some medicines affect particular persons dangerously, even when given in very minute doses; on others, medicines have a peculiar effect—astringents may purge. The air of some places has a peculiar influence on individuals.
The most remarkable antipathies are those affecting the special senses. Nearly all persons have a loathing at reptiles, but some few faint on seeing a toad or lizard, others on seeing insects. Tycho Brahé fainted at sight of a fox, Henry III. of France at that of a cat, and Marshal d'Albert at a pig. Hearing a wet finger drawn on glass, the grinding of knives, or a creaking wheel, is sufficient to produce fainting in some. Smelling musk or ambergris throws some into convulsions; and we have seen how articles of food affect others—often, no doubt, owing to perverted taste. The touch of anything unusually smooth has the same effect sometimes. Zimmerman records the case of a lady who was thus affected by the feeling of silk, satin, or the velvety skin of a peach.—Strong predispositions towards things, also of frequent occurrence, constitute a converse idiosyncrasy.