EXTENSION OF THE SCIENCE OF PHYSIOGNOMY, WITH SOME REMARKS UPON THE
PRACTICAL USES OF CRANIOLOGY.
_Hanc ergo scientiam blande excipiamus, hilariterque amplectamur, ut
vere nostram et de nobismet ipsis tractantem; quam qui non amat, quam
qui non amplectitur, nec philosophiam amat, neque suæ vitæ discrimina
curat._
BAPTISTA PORTA.
They who know that the word physiognomy is not derived from phiz, and
infer from that knowledge that the science is not confined to the
visage alone, have extended it to handwritings also, and hence it has
become fashionable in this age of collectors to collect the autographs
of remarkable persons. But now that Mr. Rapier has arisen, “the
Reformer of illegible hands,” he and his rival Mr. Carstairs teach all
their pupils to write alike. The countenance however has fairer play
in our days than it had in old times, for the long heads of the
sixteenth century were made by the nurses, not by nature. Elongating
the nose, flattening the temples, and raising the forehead are no
longer performed by manual force, and the face undergoes now no other
artificial modelling than such as may be impressed upon it by the aid
of the looking-glass. So far physiognomy becomes less difficult, the
data upon which it has to proceed, not having been falsified _ab
initio_; but there arises a question in what state ought they to be
examined? Dr. Gall is for shaving the head, and overhauling it as a
Turk does a Circassian upon sale, that he may discover upon the
outside of the skull the organs of fighting, murder, cunning, and
thieving (near neighbours in his _mappa cerebri_,) of comparing
colours, of music, of sexual instinct, of philosophical judgement &c.
&c. all which, with all other qualities, have their latitudes and
longitudes in the brain, and are conspicuous upon the outward skull,
according to the degree in which they influence the character of the
individual.
It must be admitted that if this learned German's theory of craniology
be well founded, the Gods have devised a much surer, safer and more
convenient means for discovering the real characters of the Lords and
Ladies of the creation, than what Momus proposed, when he advised that
a window should be placed in the breast. For if his advice had been
followed, and there had actually been a window in the sternum,—it is I
think beyond all doubt that a window-shutter would soon have been
found indispensably necessary in cold climates, more especially in
England where pulmonary complaints are so frequent; and, secondly, the
wind would not be more injurious to the lungs in high latitudes, than
the sun would be to the liver in torrid regions; indeed every where
during summer it would be impossible to exist without a green curtain,
or Venetian blinds to the window; and after all, take what precautions
we might, the world would be ten times more bilious than it is.
Another great physical inconvenience would also have arisen; for if
men could peep into their insides at any time, and see the motions and
the fermentations which are continually going on, and the rise and
progress of every malady distinctly marked in the changes it produced,
so many nervous diseases would be brought on by frequent inspection,
and so many derangements from attempting to regulate the machine, that
the only way to prevent it from making a full stop would be to put a
lock upon the shutter, and deliver the key to the Physician.
But upon Dr. Gall's theory how many and what obvious advantages
result! Nor are they merely confined to the purposes of speculative
physiognomy; the uses of his theory as applied to practice offer to us
hopes scarcely less delightful than those which seemed to dawn upon
mankind with the discovery of the gasses, and with the commencement of
the French Revolution, and in these later days with the progress of
the Bible Society. In courts of Justice for instance how beautifully
would this new science supply any little deficiency of evidence upon
trial! If a man were arraigned for murder, and the case were doubtful,
but he were found to have a decided organ for the crime, it would be
of little matter whether he had committed the specific fact in the
indictment, or not; for hanging if not applicable as punishment, would
be proper for prevention. Think also in State Trials what infinite
advantages an Attorney General might derive from the opinion of a
Regius Professor of Craniology! Even these are but partial benefits.
Our Generals, Ministers, and Diplomatists would then unerringly be
chosen by the outside of the head, though a criterion might still be
wanted to ascertain when it was too thick and when too thin. But the
greatest advantages are those which this new system would afford to
education; for by the joint efforts of Dr. Gall and Mr. Edgeworth we
should be able to breed up men according to any pattern which Parents
or Guardians might think proper to bespeak. The Doctor would design
the mould, and Mr. Edgeworth by his skill in mechanics devise with
characteristic ingenuity the best means of making and applying it. As
soon as the child was born the professional cap, medical, military,
theological, commercial or legal, would be put on, and thus he would
be perfectly prepared for Mr. Edgeworth's admirable system of
professional education. I will pursue this subject no farther than
just to hint that the materials of the mould may operate
sympathetically, and therefore that for a lawyer in _rus_ the cap
should be made of brass, for a divine of lead, for a politician of
base-metal, for a soldier of steel, and for a sailor of heart of
English oak.
Dr. Gall would doubtless require the naked head to be submitted to him
for judgement. Contrariwise I opine,—and all the Ladies will agree
with me in this opinion,—that the head ought neither to be stript, nor
even examined in undress, but that it should be taken with all its
accompaniments, when the owner has made the best of it, the
accompaniments being not unfrequently more indicative than the
features themselves. Long ago the question whether a man is most like
himself drest or undrest, was propounded to the British Apollo; and it
was answered by the Oracle that a man of God Almighty's making is most
like himself when undrest; but a man of a tailor's, periwig-maker's,
and sempstress's making, when drest. The Oracle answered rightly; for
no man can select his own eyes, nose, or mouth,—but his wig and his
whiskers are of his own chusing. And to use an illustrious instance,
how much of character is there in that awful wig which alway in its
box accompanies Dr. Parr upon his visits of ceremony, that it may be
put on in the hall, with all its feathery honours thick upon it, not a
curl deranged, a hair flattened, or a particle of powder wasted on the
way!
But if we would form a judgement of the interior of that portentous
head which is thus formidably obumbrated, how could it be done so well
as by beholding the Doctor among his books, and there seeing the food
upon which his terrific intellect is fed. There we should see the
accents, quantities, dialects, digammas, and other such small gear as
in these days constitute the complete armour of a perfect scholar; and
by thus discovering what goes into the head we might form a fair
estimate of what was likely to come out of it. This is a truth which,
with many others of equal importance, will be beautifully elucidated
in this nonpareil history. For Daniel Dove the Father had a collection
of books; they were not so numerous as those of his contemporary
Harley, famous for his library, and infamous for the Peace of Utrecht;
but he was perfectly conversant with all their contents, which is more
than could be said of the Earl of Oxford.
Reader whether thou art man, woman or child, thou art doubtless
acquainted with the doctrine of association as inculcated by the great
Mr. Locke and his disciples. But never hast thou seen that doctrine so
richly and so entirely exemplified as in this great history, the
association of ideas being, in oriental phrase, the silken thread upon
which its pearls are strung. And never wilt thou see it so clearly and
delightfully illustrated, not even if the ingenious Mr. John Jones
should one day give to the world the whole twelve volumes in which he
has proved the authenticity of the Gospel History, by bringing the
narratives of the Four Evangelists to the test of Mr. Locke's
metaphysics.
“Desultoriness,” says Mr. Danby, “may often be the mark of a full
head; connection must proceed from a thoughtful one.”