The speech faculty of the epileptic has hitherto received very little attention, though passing references to it have been made from time to time by several writers, viz. Kussmaul, Ross, Wylie, and others. Wylie has stated the well-known fact that temporary aphasia appears sometimes as the “aura,” sometimes as an immediate consequence of a fit. Kussmaul confirms this, and Ross writes, “In some cases the warning of an epileptic attack consists of a sudden inability to speak, and it is very probable that word-deafness and word-blindness are by no means uncommon auræ.” While saying so much, Ross admits what is certainly true, that motor aphasia is the more readily noticed, and, as obscuring the question of aphasic auræ, he admits the mental confusion attending the onset of unconsciousness, a factor of some importance. Bradylalia (slow speech) and echolalia (echo speech) have also been noticed by observers at home and abroad. They are, however, so frequently observed in developmental speech, and in other nervous and mental diseases, that too much may be made of their significance.