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The phenomenon of 'ego passage', defined as the process by which an 'ego trait is externalized to become an object representation', is discussed. Here it should be noted that the term 'object representation' is not used in the sense of Hartmann and Jacobson. Thus ego passage implies some change in the 'object representation' that derived from a previous identification by virtue of which the later object representations acquire some of the characteristics of the subject. Thus a man's heterosexual love object has characteristics not only of himself but also of his mother. The particular clinical examples which may be understood by use of this concept refer to the self-accusations of melancholic patients which contain not only reproaches against the ambivalently held object but also are reproaches for actions, or repressed wishes, that existed previously. When these accusations are in the form of hallucinations the patient no longer feels guilty. In a manic episode which follows a melancholic state the 'portion of the ego which was persecuted by the superego' becomes externalized; thus the behavior of the manic patient becomes that of a persecutor and accuser of others for their misdeeds, therefore supporting the thesis that during the process of 'ego passage' the object representation is modified by the subject's ego.