)duction<br >~ERNE， nee Eric Leonard Bernstein， alias Cyprian St. Cyr，<br >~ric Leonard Ramsbottom Gaudalae Bernstein， was a<br >:t thinker， innovator， and therapist. But these gifts would<br >，ly not have sufficed to bring him fame within his lifetime<br >not had a wonderful wit which made it possible for him to<br >the most radical ideas to what is probably the most<br >al， competitive， and discounting audience in the social<br >S.<br >"n sure that this piece， just like his last public statement，<br >:t out the same approximate response with his creative and<br >approach laughter on one hand and huffy indignation on<br >er.<br >itnessed Eric Berne s last public speech， given on June 20，<br >Lt the luncheon of the Golden Gate Group Psychotherapy<br >~tion s }， early conference where he was the keynote speaker.<br >mber him as clearly as if it was today， with his back to a<br >mic view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate， lacing a<br >illed to overflowing， as he did for the last time what he did<br >1 throughout his lifetime-speak openly and freely about<br >he thought of psychiatry. He was earnest as well as<br >.ining， the audience laughed many times on that occasion，<br >as usual， walked away with a number of new insights. He<br >L few weeks later; this speech therefore represents his<br >te latest thoughts as he was willing to share them with an<br >ce of fellow psychotherapists. It contains his wit， his<br >，， n<br >gh ess， his playfulness， his interest in people and their well-<br >all of which characterized him throughout his writings and<br >:. His wit was present in all of his writings. One of his very<br >~blished articles， "Who Was Condom?" is an exploration of<br >