egomania 的詞源

“癡迷的自我中心主義”，1825年（英國評論家威廉·西德尼·沃克的一封信中，於1852年發表），由 ego 和 mania 組成。在1890年代之前並不常用，它是德語 Ich-Sucht 的翻譯。

[The egomaniac, as opposed to the megalomaniac,] does not regard it as necessary to dream of himself as occupying some invented social position. He does not require the world or its appreciation to justify in his own eyes himself as the sole object of his own interest. He does not see the world at all. Other people simply do not exist for him. The whole 'non-Ego' appears in his consciousness merely as a vague shadow or a thin cloud. The idea does not even occur to him that he is something out of the common, that he is superior to other people, and for this reason either admired or hated ; he is alone in the world ; more than that, he alone is the world and everything else, men, animals, things are unimportant accessories, not worth thinking about. [Max Nordau, "Degeneration," English translation, 1895]

【自大狂與誇大狂相反的是，】他不認爲有必要夢想自己佔據某個虛構的社會地位。他不需要世界或其讚賞來證明自己是他自己興趣的唯一對象。他根本不看世界。其他人對他來說根本不存在。整個“非自我”在他的意識中只是一個模糊的影子或薄雲。他甚至沒有想到自己是與衆不同的，他比其他人優越，因此要麼受人欽佩，要麼受人憎恨； 他獨自一人在世界上； 更重要的是，他獨自是世界和其他一切，人、動物、物品都是不重要的附件，不值得思考。【馬克斯·諾爾道，《退化論》，英文翻譯，1895年】

當時，諾爾道的書被廣泛閱讀、爭論和引用，這個詞與他有關（例如，《阿戈拉》1895年7月）。

除了沃克的用法外，在1895年之前，它很少在印刷品上出現，主要出現在處理心理問題的醫學方面：

The most frequent, yet the most extraordinary of these perversions of temper, are seen in young females. It is a species of aberration of the intellect, but short of insanity, real enough, but exaggerated, fictitious, factitious, and real at the same time. It frequently has its origin in dyspepsia, hysteria, or other malady, and in emotion of various kinds, such as disappointment, vexation, &c. Its object is frequently to excite and to maintain a state of active sympathy and attention, for which there, is as it were, a perpetual, morbid, and jealous thirst. It was rather aptly designated, by the clever relative of one patient, an ego-mania. [Marshall Hall, M.D., "Practical Observations and Suggestions in Medicine," London, 1845]

這些脾氣的扭曲中，最頻繁、最奇特的是在年輕女性中看到的。這是一種智力的偏差，但不到瘋狂的程度，既真實又誇張、虛構和真實。它經常起源於消化不良、癔症或其他疾病，以及各種情感，如失望、惱怒等。它的目的通常是激發和維持一種積極的同情和關注狀態，爲此，有一種永久的、病態的、嫉妒的渴望。它被一個病人聰明的親戚恰當地稱爲 ego-mania。【馬歇爾·霍爾醫學博士，《醫學實踐觀察和建議》，倫敦，1845年】