CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY.
By means of the nervous system, an intimate relation is maintained
between mind and body, for nervous energy superintends the functions of
both. The fibres of nervous matter are universally present in the
organization, uniting the physical and spiritual elements of man's
being. Even the minutest nerve-rootlets convey impressions to the dome
of thought and influence the intellectual faculties. We recognize
_muscular_ force, the strength of the body, _molecular_ force, molecules
in motion, as heat, light, chemical force, electricity, and _nervous_
force, a certain influence which reacts between the animal functions and
the cerebrum, thus connecting the conditions of the body with those of
the mind. We cannot speak of the effects of mind or body separately, but
we must consider their action and reaction upon each other, for they are
always associated. There are many difficulties in understanding this
relationship, some of which may be obviated by a study of the
development of nervous matter, and its functions in the lower orders of
organization.
Within the plant-cells is found a vital, vegetable substance termed
bioplasm, or protoplasm; which furnishes the same nutritive power as the
tissues of the polyp and jelly fish. Many families of animals have pulpy
bodies, and slight instinctive motion and sensibility, and in proportion
as the nervous system is developed, both of these powers are unfolded.
Plants have a low degree of sensibility, limited motion, respiratory and
circulatory organs. Animals possess quicker perceptions and
sensibilities, the power of voluntary motion, and, likewise a rudimental
nervous system. Some articulates have no bony skeleton, their muscles
being attached to the skin which constitutes a soft contracting
envelope. One of the simplest forms of animal life in which a nervous
system is found, is the five-rayed star-fish. In each ray there are
filaments which connect with similar nerve-filaments from other rays,
and form a circle around the digestive cavity. It probably has no
conscious perception, and its movements do not necessarily indicate
sensation or volition. In some worms a rudimentary nervous system is
sparingly distributed to the cavities of the thorax and abdomen, and, as
in the star-fish, the largest nerve-filament is found around the
esophagus, presiding over nutrition.
[Illustration: Fig. 66.]
A higher grade of organization requires a more complete arrangement of
nervous substance. Stimulus applied to one organ is readily communicated
to, and excites activity in another.
[Illustration: Fig. 67.
A. Nervous system of a Crab, showing its
ganglia. B. The nervous system of a Caterpillar.]
The nervous system of some insects consists of two long, white cords,
which run longitudinally through the abdomen, and are dilated at
intervals into knots, consisting of collections of nerve-cells, called
ganglia. They are really nerve-centers, which receive and transmit
impulses, originate and impart nervous influence according to the nature
of their organic surroundings. The ganglia situated over the esophagus
of insects correspond to the medulla oblongata in man, in which
originate the spinal accessory, glosso-pharyngeal, and pneumogastric
nerves. The latter possess double endowments, and not only participate
in the operations of deglutition, digestion, circulation, and
respiration, but are also nerves of sensation and instinctive motion.
The suspension of respiration produces suffocation. In insects, these
ganglia are scarcely any larger than those distributed within the
abdomen, with which they connect by means of minute, nervous filaments.
Insects are nimble in their movements, and manifest instinct,
corresponding to the perfection of their muscular and nervous systems.
When we ascend to vertebrates, those animals having a backbone, the
amount of the nervous substance is greater, the organic functions are
more complex, and the actions begin to display intelligence.
Man possesses not only a complete sympathetic system, the rudiments of
which are found in worms and insects, and a complete spinal system, less
perfectly displayed in fishes, birds, and quadrupeds, but, superadded to
all these is a magnificent cerebrum, and, as we have seen, all parts of
the body are connected by the nervous system. The subtle play of sensory
and motor impulses, of sentient and spiritual forces, indicates a
perfection of nervous endowments nowhere paralleled, and barely
approached by inferior animals. This meager reference to brainless
animals, whoso knots of ganglia throughout their bodies act
automatically as little brains, shows that instinct arises
simultaneously with the development of the functions over which it
presides. Here begins rudimentary, unreasoning intelligence. It
originates within the body as an inward, vital impulse, is manifested in
an undeviating manner, and therefore displays no intention or
discretion. While Dr. Carpenter likens the human organism "to a keyed
instrument, from which any music it is capable of producing can be
called forth at the will of the performer," he compares "a bee or any
other insect to a barrel organ, which plays with the greatest exactness
a certain number of tunes that are set upon it, but can do nothing
else." Instinct cannot learn from experience, or improve by practice;
but it seems to be the prophetic germ of a higher intelligence. It is
nearly as difficult to draw the dividing line between instinct and a low
grade of intelligence, as it is to distinguish between the psychical and
psychological[4] functions of the brain.
The intimate relation of instinct to intelligence is admirably
illustrated in the working honey-bee. With forethought it selects a
habitation, constructs comb, collects honey, provides a cell for the
ova, covers the chrysalis, for which it deposits special nourishment,
and is disposed to defend its possessions. It is a social insect, lives
in colonies, chastises trespassers, fights its enemies, and defends its
home. It manifests a degree of intelligence, but its sagacity is
instinctive. Reason, though not so acute as instinct, becomes, by
education, discerning and keenly penetrative, and reveals the very
secrets of profound thought. We recall the aptness of Prof. Agassiz's
remark: _"There is even a certain antagonism between instinct and
intelligence, so that instinct loses its force and peculiar
characteristics, whenever intelligence becomes developed."_ Animals
having larger reasoning powers manifest less instinct, and some, as the
leopard, exercise both in a limited degree. This double endowment with
instinct and low reasoning intelligence, is indicated by his lying in
ambush awaiting his prey, the hiding-place being selected near the haunt
of other animals, where nature offers some allurement to gratify the
appetite.
Simple reflex action is an instinctive expression, manifesting an
intuitive perception, almost intelligent, as shown by the contraction of
the stomach upon the food, simply because it impinges upon the inner
coats, and thus excites them to action. A better illustration, because
it displays sympathy, is when the skin, disabled by cold, cannot act,
and its duties are largely performed by the kidneys. Though reflex
action is easily traced in the lower organic processes, some writers
have placed it on a level with rational deliberation. Undoubtedly, all
animals having perception have also what perception
implies--consciousness--and this indicates the possession, in some
degree, of reason. _Compound_ reflex action extends into the domain of
thought. _Simple_ reflex action, or instinct, answers to the animal
faculties, such as acquisitiveness, secretiveness, selfishness,
reproductiveness, etc., and accomplishes two important purposes;
self-preservation and the reproduction of the specie. With many persons,
these appear to be the chief ends of life!
The psychical functions connect, not only with animal propensities, but
also with the highest psychological faculties. Instinct is the
representative of animal conditions, just as the highest spiritual
faculties are indicative of qualities and principles. The consistent
mean of conduct is an equilibrium between these ultimate tendencies of
our being. The psychological functions render the animal nature
subservient to the rule of purity and holiness, and deeply influence it
by the essential elements of spiritual existence. The psychical organs
sustain an intermediate relation, receiving the impressions of the
bodily propensities, and, likewise, of the highest emotions. Obviously,
these extreme influences, the one growing out of animal conditions, the
other, the result of spiritual relations, pass into the psychical medium
and are refracted by it, or made equivalent to one force. The body
requires the qualifying influences of mind. The tendencies of the animal
faculties are selfish and limiting, those of the emotive, general,
universal. The propensities, like gravity, expend their force upon
matter; the emotions pour forth torrents of feeling, and produce
rhapsodies of sentiment. The propensities naturally restrict their
expression to a specific object of sense; the emotions respond to
immaterial being. The tendencies of the former are acquisitive, selfish,
gratifying; of the latter, bestowing, expanding, diffusing. The one
class is restricted to the orbits of time and matter, the other flows on
through the limitless cycles of infinity and immortality. The former is
satiated in animal gratification, the latter in spiritual beatification.
The one culminates in animal enjoyment, the other expands to its
ultimate conceptions in the perfections of Divine Love.
In the present life, mind and body are intimately connected by nervous
matter. In this dual constitution, the spiritual mental, and animal
functions are made inseparable, and modify one another. The ultimate
tendencies of each extreme exist, not absolutely for themselves, but for
qualifying purposes, to establish a basis for the deeper economy of
life. By the employment of reason, animal and spiritual experiences are
mutually benefited, and the consciousness rendered accountable. The
bodily and mental workings are in many senses one, and help to interpret
each other.
Every fact of mind has many aspects. A brain force, which results in
thought, is simultaneously a physiological force, if it influences the
bodily functions. Likewise, spiritual conceptions take their rise in the
same blood that feeds the grosser tissues. This vital fluid is
momentarily imparting and receiving elements from all the bodily organs,
and these, in turn, must influence the process of thought, and, in a
degree, determine its quality. The delicate outline, yea, even the
substance of an idea, may depend upon the condition of the animal
organs. Thought is subject to the laws of biology, and, therefore, is a
symbol of health. Morbid conditions of the system hang out their signs
in words and utterances. Words which express fear are as true symptoms
of functional difficulty as is excessive palpitation. The organ
representing fear sustains a special relation to the functions of the
heart both in health and disease. Bright hopes characterize pulmonary
complaints as certainly as cough. Exquisite susceptibility of mind
indicates equally extreme sensibility of body, and those persons capable
of fully expressing the highest emotions are especially susceptible to
bodily sensations. Tears are physical emblems of grief, and
fellow-feeling calls forth sympathetic tears. Excessive anxiety of mind
produces general excitability of body, which soon results in chronic
disease. Pleasurable emotions stimulate the processes of nutrition, and
are restorative. This concomitance of mental and bodily states is very
remarkable. Joy and Love, as well as jealousy and anger, flash in the
eye and mould the features to their expression. Grief excites the
lachrymal, and rage the salivary glands. Shame reddens the ears, drops
the eyelids, and flushes the face; but profligacy destroys these
expressions. The blush which suffuses the forehead of the bashful maiden
betrays her love, and _maternal_ love, stirred by the appeals of an
idolized infant, excites the mammary gland to the secretion of milk. The
sigh of melancholia indicates hepatic torpor, thus showing a special
relation between the liver and respiratory organs. These conditions of
mind and body react upon one another. Even the thought of a luscious
peach may cause the mouth to water. The thought of tasting a lemon fills
the mouth with secretions, and a story with unsavory associations may
completely turn the stomach.
The relationship of mental and physical functions may be illustrated by
entirely removing the spleen of an animal, as that of a dog. An
invariable result of its extirpation is an unusual increase of the
appetite, for at times the animal will eat voraciously any kind of food.
The dog will devour, with avidity, the warm entrails of recently killed
animals, and thrive in consequence of such an appetite. Another symptom,
which usually follows the removal of the spleen, is an unnatural
ferocity of disposition. Without any apparent provocation, the animal
will attack others of its own, or of a different species. In some
instances, these outbursts of irritability and violence are only
occasional, but the experiments show quite conclusively that the spleen
moderates combativeness, restrains the appetite, and co-operates with
the will and judgment in controlling them.
We shall briefly consider the practical question whether the elements of
mind can be ideally arranged and presented, so as to more completely
reveal their relations to, and disclose their effects upon the bodily
functions. Modern philosophers conceive that mind consists of a triad of
essentials; _Intellect, Emotion,_ and _Volition_. Physiologists assign
to the cerebrum its functions, and neurological, as well as
phrenological writers, have located them as represented in Fig. 68.
True, there is no structural division between the parts of the cerebrum
to indicate this diversity of function, nor is there any perceptible
limit between the sensory and motor filaments of the game nerve. As no
one has any reason for denying that separate portions of the brain may
manifest distinct functions of the mind, we shall assume it as a
conceded proposition. The regions of the cerebrum, thus ideally
represented, occupy but little more than half of the arc of a circle,
whereas it is evident that the base of the nervous mass is not idle, and
is equally entitled to our consideration. In the posterior chamber of
the skull is the cerebellum, anterior to, and below which, is the
medulla oblongata, connecting with the spinal cord and sympathetic
system. These various parts are essential to the harmonious blending of
mind and body. To this end, two conditions are necessary. (1.) All the
nervous forces must be so related that action and reaction may be fully
established. (2.) A complete nervous circuit is requisite for the
reciprocal influence of mind and body.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.]
[Illustration: Fig. 69. ]
Nature answers to mind in physical correspondences. The planetary system
is fashioned after a circle. Life itself springs from a spherule of
forces. The perfection of an idea, or the completeness of a conception
may be expressed by a circle. The elements of Science, Astronomy,
Geology, and Natural History, are pictorially represented in this
manner. How appropriately and logically can a fragment of natural
history, this epitome of all nature and science--_the mind_--be
illustrated by a simple circle! Every element must act and react, and be
equal and opposite. Thus may the existence of the opposing energies and
functions of each faculty be equally represented. The contrast aids us
in understanding their ultimate tendencies, and enables us to correctly
value and define their nature. Faculties of kindred qualities may be
grouped together, and their antagonisms represented in the opposite arc
of the circle. Let us employ a circle to represent mind. The conception
of the abstract quality of _good_, requires contrast with one of a
converse nature, _bad_, (see Fig. 69). Opposite faculties may be
portrayed in the same manner. The functions of the cerebrum and spinal
system may be symbolically represented as those of the highest and
lowest organs, thus giving rise to the positive and negative extremes of
feeling. The writer conceives of no other way in which the widely
contrasted facts of human experience can be so perfectly symbolized.
_Good_ (Fig. 69) may represent moral faculties, and _bad_, their
opposites. Undoubtedly, nature is not so arbitrary in her arrangements
as we are in shadowing forth our imperfect conceptions, yet is not this
a decided improvement in determining cerebral faculties and their
relations? We observe how scholars and philosophers confound the noblest
and most exalted emotions with the animal propensities instead of
distinguishing between them. "_The emotions are a department of the
feelings, formed by the intervention of intellectual processes. Several
of them are so characteristic that they can be known only by individual
experiences; as Wonder, Fear, Love, Anger_." See Logic: Deductive and
Inductive, by Alexander Bain, LL. D., page 508, (1874).
This is not an exceptional, but a common example of classifying Love,
the highest and purest of the emotions, with Anger, an animal
propensity. Is it not more practical and philosophical to group the
emotional faculties together, and upon an opposite arc represent their
antagonistic energies, the ultimate tendencies of which are criminal?
Both groups are mutually modifying and restraining; the one relates
instinctively to the bodily wants, the other to the requirements of
mind, and each is essential to a consistent life. Accordingly, we deem
it philosophical to consider words as symbols of mental faculties, and
to classify together such spiritual unities as joy, hope, faith, and
love, the tendencies of which are to quicken and transform the ultimates
of carnal life into the rudiments of an immortal one, the beginning of
heaven on earth. These restrain those opposites, which lead to crime and
death. Love and Hate are as antagonistic as heat and cold, and the
usefulness of both depends upon their _proper_ temperament. Fig. 70
represents the antagonism of the Intellectual faculties to the Animal,
the Emotional to the Criminal, the Volitive to the Enfeebling. It is not
essential to discover in the nerve-substance the precise power from
which an impulse originates. We may reasonably interpret the functions
of the brain, and yet be unable to disclose the duties of any ganglionic
corpuscle composing it. We may foretell what each season of the year
will bring forth, when we cannot forecast the history of a blade of
grass or a single grain of any kind. We may predict the amount of rain
for a month, and be unable to prognosticate correctly, the character of
any storm, or give the history of a special drop of water. Although we
cannot follow the movements of individuals in a battle, yet we may
predict the result of the combat; and thus, we judge of the functions of
the brain without the ability to reveal the actions of one of the
organic molecules of which it is composed. We aim to give a general,
reasonable, and popular description of cerebral functions and their
bearing upon health and disease.
[Illustration: Fig. 70.]
REGIONAL DIVISIONS.
[Illustration: Fig. 71.]
The anterior portion of the cerebrum is devoted to intellectual
processes, which freely expend the vital energies. The Intellectual
faculties are classified as represented in Fig. 71. The lower portion of
the brain, bounded exteriorly by the superciliary ridge, corresponds to
the Perceptive, the middle region to the Recollective, and the upper to
the Reflective faculties. (See also Fig. 65, _b_.) If we divide the
forehead by vertical lines, as shown in Fig. 71, the divisions thus
formed represent respectively, the Active, Deliberative, and
Contemplative departments of the intellect, all the processes of which
are sustained by vital changes, the transformation of organized
materials. No mental effort can be made without waste of nervous matter.
The gardener's hoe wears by use, and so does every part of the animal
organism. Otherwise, nutrition would be unnecessary for the adult. The
production of thought wears away the cerebral substance. In ordinary
use, the brain requires one-fifth of the blood to support its growth and
repair. Great mental efforts are attended by a corresponding expenditure
of vital treasures, which are abstracted from the total forces available
for the necessities of the system. To repair the losses thus occasioned,
materials are appropriated from the blood, which furnishes supplies in
proportion to the demands made by the mental activities. The production
of thought wears away the gray matter of the cerebrum as surely as the
digging of a canal wears away the iron particles of the spade. The brain
would soon wear out did not the nutritive functions constantly make good
the waste. The intellect, whether engaged in observation,
generalization, or profound study consumes the brain and blood, hence
intellectual activity implies VITAL EXPENDITURE. _Expenditure_ is an
emphatic word because all functions are essential to the production of
this nerve-energy, which returns to the system no equivalent. Physical
exercise, although attended by structural waste, is advantageous to the
circulation of the blood, nutrition, secretion, and, in fact, beneficial
to all the organic processes. This is not true of vigorous and prolonged
mental labor, which is not attended by any of these incidental
advantages. If a child attends a school in which mental development
supersedes physical culture, an inordinate ambition sways the youthful
mind, and its baneful effects upon the health soon become manifest.
Rigorous application of the intellectual faculties consumes the blood,
exhausts the vital forces, weakens the organic functions, while pallor
covers the face, and the eyes sparkle with a hectic radiance. The family
physician pronounces the condition _Anæmia_ (a deficiency of red
corpuscles in the blood), and this change in the quality of the blood is
owing to the undue appropriation by the brain. Conversely, if the blood
be destroyed, or its vitality reduced, in the same proportion will the
mental energies be weakened and all the functional powers of the
physical system enfeebled. In brief, if the intellect be unduly
exercised, the red corpuscles of the sanguine fluid will be gradually
destroyed, and the serum allowed to predominate. The blood becomes weak
and watery, the subject is nervous, dropsical, consumptive and
derangement of the important functions follows almost invariably.
Excessive intellectual activity often produces weak state of the system,
and the person thus affected becomes languid, spiritless, and an easy
prey to disease. This mental cause and its bodily results may be
classified in the following order. Mental Cause: EXCESSIVE MENTAL
EXERTION, which produces _waste of the brain substance and blood_.
/ VITAL EXPENDITURE,
Bodily results: { ANÆMIA,
\ A WEAK CONDITION.
This kind of waste is best summed up in the words, VITAL EXPENDITURE.
Upon the forehead, as represented in Fig. 72, we will therefore inscribe
INTELLECT, ACTIVITY, and VITAL EXPENDITURE. Intellectual employment is
usually accompanied by sedentary habits, neglect of healthful exercise,
and a deprivation of pure air, to all of which ill health may be
attributed. Were the intellectual expenditure arrested, and the forces
turned into recuperative channels, many a person would become beautiful
with the ruddy glow of health. Without health there is no use for
thought; cultivation of the mind is just as natural and essential as the
culture of the body, and the trained development of both is needed for
mutual improvement.
EMOTIVE FACULTIES.
[Illustration: Fig. 72.]
What results follow the _natural_ and the _excessive_ exercise of the
EMOTIVE FACULTIES? AS distinct organs of the body have diverse
functions, so, in like manner, different parts of the brain perform the
separate operations of the mind. It is easier to discriminate between
the products of these dissimilar endowments than to determine the
location of the faculties. The intellect deals with concrete subjects,
and the emotions with abstractions; the intellect is exercised with
material things, the emotions dwell upon attributes; the intellect
considers the forces of matter, the emotions, the powers of the soul;
the former deliberates upon the truths of science, the latter is
concerned with duties, obligations, or moral responsibilities; the first
is satisfied only with new truths, original ideas, and rational changes,
the last rest securely on fundamental principles, moral certainties, and
the absolute constancy of perfect love. The intellectual faculties are
wakeful, questioning, mistrustful; the emotions are blind, hopeful,
confiding; the one reasoning, exacting, demonstrating; the other,
believing, inspiring, devout. The intellect sees, the emotions feel;
and, though these functions may blend, the one can never supersede the
other.
The quality of the emotional faculties is represented by Benevolence,
Sympathy, Joy, Hope, Confidence, Gratitude, Love, and Devotion, all of
which are the very antitheses of the attributes of animal feeling,
described as Melancholy, Fear, Anger, Hate, Malevolence, and Despair. To
the emotions we refer the highest qualities of character, while their
opposites represent the animal or baser impulses. True, the emotions
modify the propensities, as sympathy softens grief. They may subdue and
refine the animal feelings, and thus veil them with a delicacy
characteristic of their own purity; but the unrestrained influences of
grief find vent in loud lamentations, and the bitter disappointments of
the selfish faculties are passionate and violent.
The _Emotive Faculties_--the organs of spiritual perceptions--are
impersonal, outflowing, bestowing. The function represented by
Benevolence, is willing, giving. Devotion expresses dedication,
consecration; Gratitude manifests a warm and friendly feeling toward a
benefactor.
"The depth immense of endless gratitude."--MILTON.
Love flames toward its object, is out-pouring, blessing; indeed, all the
emotions are gushing, effusive, impetuous, and profusely flowing; grand,
torrent-like, overwhelming; employing ideal, immaterial, spiritual
expressions, developing principles and perfections while aspiring to
happiness and immortality. Though beginning with humanity, they embody
the Divine. They expand to their ultimate conceptions in the sublime
attributes: the perfections of the God of Love; associating with
mortality a divine destiny commencing on earth, extending through time,
pausing not at the portals of death, the gateway to eternity, but
flowing onward into the realms of eternal day.
We may consider their counteracting influences, for, without doubt, by
checking the selfish tendencies and restraining the animal propensities,
they assist in controlling the sensual passions, and thus balance the
mind and body. Such an equilibrium we call _happiness_. If the emotions
be acute and vehement, they will absorb all other impressions and revel
in their culminating and delightful experiences. They exhaust all the
bodily energies, and a functional suspension, termed _ecstasy_, follows.
It is a swooning, or fainting, a temporary loss of sensation and
volition, accompanied by involuntary movements of the arms, smiting of
the hands, sighing, and short ejaculatory expressions of rapture. This
condition, occasioned by excessive emotion, as in praying, singing,
exhortations, and sympathetic appeals, is contagious, often spreading
with mysterious rapidity. Its culmination, ecstasy, is popularly termed
"_the power_." When gradually induced, it is called _trance_, and each
state is regarded by many as supernatural, caused by the immediate
influence of the Holy Spirit. The explanation is this: when the emotive
faculties are suddenly and powerfully excited, they quickly expend the
organic forces, so that the individual swoons from sheer exhaustion.
Undue expenditure of this class of brain functions not only consumes the
bodily powers, but exhausts and prevents other mental operations. The
sudden collapse of all voluntary functions resembles the fainting
produced by blood-letting. We may sum up this rapid expenditure of
energy in one expressive word, EXHAUSTION, which results in _Ecstasy_,
or trance, and which, if carried a degree further, terminates in death.
Beginning with the natural exercise of the emotions, we may state the
order of sequences thus:
Ordinary exercise leads to CALMNESS.
Proper exercise " " HAPPINESS.
Increased exercise " " ECSTASY.
Excessive exercise " " SYNCOPE.
Prolonged exercise " " TRANCE.
Fatal exercise " " MORTALITY.
Their tendencies are EXHAUSTIVE.
VOLITIVE FACULTIES.
What are the physiological and morbid results attending the ordinary and
the immoderate exercise of the VOLITIVE FACULTIES?
The generic term _will_, comprehends those faculties, the action of
which is termed _volition_. The faculties of the will are Determination,
Firmness, Decision, Ambition, Authority, and Vigilance, all of which
indicate strength and continuity of purpose. Bordering upon the emotions
are Patience and Perseverance, while adjoining the animal faculties are
Power, Coarseness, and Love of Display. The former exhibit moral, the
latter animal heroism. A sense of power urges forward, whether it be
higher or lower, just as the sense of greatness makes a man _great_ by
inspiring him with confidence to put forth exertion. Nature is truthful
in her aspirations. We know that courage, assurance, and conscious power
are necessary for the fulfillment of purpose, because intention precedes
action. Will-power is an indication of HEALTH, and the constant exercise
of these mental faculties exerts a steady, regular, and strengthening
influence over the bodily functions. We translate mental energies into
physiological industry. These faculties impart tone to the system,
sustain the processes of nutrition, circulation, assimilation, secretion
and excretion, and their distinguishing characteristics are vigor,
tension, and elasticity. They temper each element of character, as well
as every vital act. They infuse the organism with a resisting power
which renders it proof against the influence of miasma and malaria, and
overcomes that passivity and impressionability so favorable to disease.
Firmness expresses a physiological cohesiveness which strongly binds
together the fibers of the tissues, and renders the organization compact
and powerful. He, who can skillfully employ these energies, is already
master of half of the diseases incident to mankind, and wields an
indispensable adjunct to medicine, in the practice of the healing art.
It is the key to success, for it unlocks difficulties and opens wide the
door which leads to favorable results.
Surplus energy sustains the circulation, increases capillary action, as
if the excess of nerve-power were discharged from the distant extremity
of each nerve and pervaded every tissue. The voluntary muscles indicate
their participation in this energy, and, indeed, the whole organism is
exalted by the influence of the mental faculties. They oppose the
tendencies of Feebleness, Relaxation, and Derangement, and modify their
proclivities to Disease. The will is the servant of the intellect,
emotions, and propensities, and the executive agent of all the
faculties. When the volitive faculties are in excess, they may overdo
the other functions, prematurely break down the bodily organs, and, by
overtaxing the system, subject it to pain and disorder.
_VOLITIVE FACULTIES._
The natural effect of FIRMNESS is physiological stability. The exercise
of the volitive faculties displays both mental and bodily ENERGY.
/ TEMPERANCE,
Their tendencies are to { SANITY,
\ HEALTH.
ANIMAL FACULTIES.
[Illustration: Fig. 73. is a representation of the cranial conformation
of Alexander VI., exhibiting a full development of the conservative
faculties. His character, according to history, brought reproach upon
the papal chair.]
[Illustration: Fig. 74. represents Zeno, a profound thinker and moral
philosopher. The contrast in their cranial developments was no greater
than that of their lives.]
Under this generic term we will group those cerebral powers which are
common to the inferior animals, and closely allied to bodily conditions
and necessities. As denoting a group of animal faculties they relate not
only to the organic functions and self-preservation, but combat the
action of the intellect, oppose the evolution of new ideas, resist
investigation, and discredit the value of truth. Adhesiveness, being
blindly conservative, clings to old ideas and traditionary opinions. The
animal faculties tend to stifle investigation, and put authority above
truth and science. Having a fixity of nature, a stationary attachment,
they treat all intellectual developments as absurd. When these faculties
predominate, thought is obscured, intolerance of disposition is
manifested, and mental progress is arrested. Thus they evince their
conservative nature, and, since they relate to individual interests,
they represent the elements of instinct. Such are the functions of
Acquisitiveness, Secretiveness, Selfishness, and Combativeness, as well
as the Generative powers. If these faculties predominate, all
intellectual advancements are treated as experiments or theoretical
novelties, and rejected as evanescent and worthless. If the promptings
of these be followed, there will be no innovation, and the orthodoxy of
the dark ages will remain the standard for all time. The animal
faculties coincide with Lethargy, Sleep, and Nutrition, thus favoring
organic restoration. The intellectual faculties are wakeful, active,
irrepressible, while the animal powers tend to repose, sleep, and
renovation, and thus suspend the activities of thought, sense, and
motion. The intellect expends the energy of the sensorial centers,
induces fatigue and suffering, whereas the animal faculties overcome the
vigils of thought, and produce refreshing slumber. Dr. Young styles
sleep "tired nature's sweet restorer." Swedenborg declared that, "in
sleep the brain folded itself up, and the soul journeyed through the
body, repairing the wastes of the previous day." When sleep is natural,
the insane are in a fair way to recovery, the sick become convalescent,
ulcers granulate, and lesions are made whole.
The animal faculties are skeptical, stubborn, and dogmatic, readily
combining with those of the violent class, the ultimate tendencies of
which are criminal. They are likewise conceited, assuming, and clannish.
Any person distinguished by them, will cling to old associations,
perpetuate the status of existing parties, be a stickler for creed,
ceremonies, and stale opinions, and adhere to ancient orthodoxy in
medicine and religion. The animal faculties, since they are staid and
regular, are naturally antagonistic to genius, sensibility, and
originality. Their mental tendencies have been fairly described and
their physiological results may be represented as follows:
/ RESTRAINT,
/ SLEEP,
The animal faculties produce { NUTRITION,
\ RESTORATION,
\ CONSERVATION.
BASILAR FACULTIES.
The ultimate tendencies of the faculties, represented by the posterior
base of the cerebrum, are violent and criminal. Being contiguous to the
junction of the cerebrum and spinal system, they are subject to the
influence of animal experiences. A large development of these faculties
is indicated by an unusual breadth and depth of the back part of the
base of the brain, and a full, thick neck, both of which denote good
alimentary and digestive powers. Active nutrition, plethora of the
circulation, vigorous secretion, a well developed muscular system, a
large heart and lungs, are accessory conditions. We do not associate
corpulence or surplus of vitality with a long, slender neck. The
character of cerebral manifestations is represented by the baser
faculties of mind, such as Combativeness, Destructiveness, Desperation,
Turbulence, Hatred, and Revenge. If unrestrained, these culminate in
violent and criminal acts; if _regulated_, they are employed in personal
defense. When _unduly excited_, they lead to dissipation, obscenity,
swearing, rowdyism, and licentiousness; when _perverted_, they are the
source of recklessness, quarrels, frauds, falsehoods, robberies, and
homicides. They are unlike instinct, inasmuch as they are not
self-limiting. The intimate relation which they sustain to the stomach
and nutritive functions is strikingly displayed in the habit of
alcoholic intoxication. Spirituous drinks deprave the appetite, derange
and destroy the stomach, poison the blood, and pervert all the functions
of mind and body; and their injurious influence upon the nerves and
basilar faculties is equally remarkable. They excite combativeness,
selfishness, irritability, and exaggerate the influence of the animal
organs. Intemperance results in disputes, fights, brawls, and
murders--the legitimate consequences of which are misunderstandings,
suits at law, criminal proceedings, imprisonment, and the gallows. It
is, therefore, evident that the ultimate tendencies of these faculties
are tyrannical, cruel, violent, and atrocious. They are opposed to the
noble, moral faculties--Faith, Love, and Devotion--and, whenever
temptation inordinately allures, the course of life is likely to be
characterized by dishonorable, deceptive, and treacherous conduct.
The pangs of hunger cause soldiers to act more like ravenous beasts,
than rational beings. It is animal instinct which impels the soldier to
seek first for the gratification of his appetite. Some persons,
instigated by carnivorous desires, yearn for raw meat, and will not be
satisfied unless their food is flavored with the flesh of animals. Their
bodies increase and thrive, even to repletion. Contrast these
individuals with pale, lean, anæmic people, who crave innutritious
articles of diet, and eat soft stones, slate, chalk, blue clay, and soft
coal. Such perversions of the appetite are manifested only when there is
either a diminution in the volume of blood, deficient alimentation,
defective assimilation, or a general depravity of the nutritive
functions. Morbid conditions generate vitiating tendencies and destroy
the natural appetite.
While alcoholic stimulants affect the medulla oblongata principally,
opium acts chiefly on the cerebrum, and excites reverie, dreamy
ideality, optical delusions, and the creative powers of the imagination;
some of these hallucinations are said to be grotesquely beautiful and
enjoyable. The effects of this agent differ from those of alcoholic
intoxication by not deadening the moral sensibilities, or arousing the
animal propensities. Opium smokers are dreamy and abstracted, not
quarrelsome or violent. Those who use ardent spirits lose their moral
delicacy, their intellect becomes dull, the reason cloudy, and the
judgment is overruled by appetite. It is conceded that the _trophic
center_ is principally in the medulla oblongata; the cerebellum and
lower cerebral ganglia, however, favorably influence the nutritive
functions, and, when these organs are large and active, a plethoric
condition is the natural consequence. Redundancy of blood in the body
indicates preponderance of the basilar organs. These faculties being
vehement in character, an excess of animal characteristics produces
those conditions which result in acute and inflammatory diseases. We may
express these conditions of the system as follows:
The _Animal Faculties_ correspond to the lower instinctive
manifestations.
/ ACQUISITIVENESS,
The elements of character are { SELFISHNESS,
\ COMBATIVENESS
They tend to / TURBULENCE,
\ CRIME.
/ ALIMENTATION,
They relate especially to the { SECRETION,
functions of \ NUTRITION,
\ REPRODUCTION.
/ VITALITY,
A large development of them { PLETHORA,
indicates \ HYPERAEMIA (congestion).
These naturally give rise to the following diseases: Inflammation,
Rheumatism, Gout, Convulsions, etc., which, in these conditions, pursue
a violent course.
REGION OF FEEBLENESS.
Although the middle lobe of the cerebrum, at the base of the brain, does
not denote decided force of character, or energy of constitution, yet it
has a certain sphere of normal action which is essential to the harmony
of mind and body. If this region is largely developed, the constitution
is languid, inefficient, sensitive, and abnormally disposed. But if it
be deficient, the volitive energies preponderate, and there is a lack of
those susceptibilities of constitution, which prevent excessive waste.
The cerebral faculties are Fear, Anxiety, Sensibility, Servility,
Relaxation, and Melancholy, and their excessive predominance indicates a
weak, vacillating, irresolute character, and the existence of those
bodily conditions which produce _general excitability_ and chronic
derangement. A full development of this portion of the brain indicates
that the person is naturally dependent, inferior, and subservient to
stronger characters. Such a one is fearful, fretful, complaining,
irritable, dejected, morose, and, sooner or later, becomes a fit subject
for chronic disease.[5] The ultimate result of excessive fear,
excitability, and irritability, is functional or organic
derangement,--the morbid conditions represented by the word Disease. The
medulla oblongata and portions of the middle lobe of the brain, the
functions of which represent Excitability, Anxiety, Fear, and
Irritability (symbols of physical profligacy), are located just between
the ears (see Fig. 60). Inferior animals distinguished for breadth
between the ears are not only cunning and treacherous, but very
excitable and irritable. The head of the Fox is remarkable for its
extreme width at the region of Fear. He is proverbially crafty and
treacherous, always excitable, and so variable in temper that he can
never be trusted. He is a very timid thief, exceedingly suspicious,
irregular in habits, and frequently driven by hunger into mischievous
depredations.
[Illustration: Fig. 75.
Sly Reynard]
The organ of alimentiveness, located directly in front of the ear,
indicates the functional conditions of the stomach, which, when aroused
by excessive hunger, exerts a debasing influence upon this and all of
the adjacent organs, and is demoralizing to both body and mind. In
obedience to the instinct of hunger, children will slyly plunder gardens
and orchards, displaying profligate, if not reckless tendencies in the
gratification of the appetite. In this regional division we include the
medulla, the posterior and middle portions of which give rise to the
pneumogastric nerve. This nerve receives branches from the spinal
accessory, facial, hypoglossal, and the anterior trunks of the first and
second cervical, and its filaments are distributed to the lungs,
stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, and gall bladder (see Fig. 60, with
explanation) Its agency is necessary to maintain the circulation, and
the respiration, since, as the medium of communication, it conveys from
the brain large supplies of nervous force to sustain these vital
functions. It likewise instantly reports the impressions of these
physiological processes to the brain, and especially to those parts
which, by analogy of functions. It likewise instantly reports the
impressions of these physiological processes of the brain, and
especially to those parts which, by analogy of functions, are intimately
related to the stomach. Hence, we observe that the conditions of the
stomach give rise to reflex impulses, which involuntarily excite the
animal faculties to the gratification of the appetite. That the stomach
has an intimate connection with the rest of the organism is evident from
the fact that when it is inflamed the body is completely prostrated.
We have already alluded to the perverting tendencies of alcoholic
stimulants. Their peculiar influence upon the cerebellum causes the
subject to reel and stagger, as though a portion of that organ were
removed; the group of energetic faculties is stupefied, and mental as
well as corporeal lethargy is the result. The reaction, which inevitably
follows, is almost unbearable, and relief is sought by repeating and
increasing the poisonous draughts, the primary influence of which is
stimulating, the ulterior, depressing. Alcoholic stimulants unduly
excite the nervous centers, the heart, and the arteries, and,
consequently, the blood is carried to the surface of the body, where it
counteracts the influence of cold and exposure, the frequent attendants
upon drunkenness. The use of alcoholic beverages perverts the appetite,
interrupts habits of industry and destroys all force of character.
Pecuniary, physical, and mental ruin, therefore, are sure to follow as
the consequences of habitual, alcoholic intoxication.
That ordinary alimentation, which includes the process of digestion, the
subsequent vital changes involved in the conversion of food into blood,
and its final transformation into tissue, causes mental languor and
dullness, as well as bodily exhaustion, is attested by universal
experience. A torpid condition of the liver, one of the most inveterate
of chronic derangements, is indicated by sullenness, melancholy,
despondency, loss of interest in the affairs of life, sluggishness,
etc., and the ultimate tendency of this morbid state is towards
_suicide_. A broad and deep development of the middle lobe of the brain,
shown by a fullness under the chin, and of the adjacent portion of the
neck, denotes tendencies to somnambulism, delirium, and insanity. If
such characteristics of the organization do not culminate in mental
derangement, they exhibit childishness, helplessness, and great
dependence. Age abates the vigor of the executive faculties, and old
people manifest not only bodily infirmities, but the relaxing and
enfeebling influences proceeding from the lower portions of the brain.
They totter about in their second childhood, mentally and physically
enervated. Those who become dissipated by the use of intoxicating
beverages are not only weak, trifling, and foolish, but walk with an
unsteadiness which betrays their condition. These illustrations show
that this part of the brain is destitute of energy. Diseases of the
digestive organs also indicate it. Cholera, whether induced by invisible
animalcules in the air, or in water, takes the route of the alimentary
canal, opens the vital gates, and myriads of victims are swept down to
death. It proves remarkably fatal to those having this cerebral
conformation. Perhaps enough has been said to indicate the relaxing and
enfeebling tendencies of this region of the brain. They may be
classified as follows:
_REGION OF FEEBLENESS._
/ SERVILITY,
/ CAUTIOUSNESS,
/ FEAR,
Cerebral Functions: { ANXIETY,
\ SENSIBILITY,
\ CUNNING,
\ PROFLIGACY.
/ ATONIC,
Physiological conditions / EXCITABILITY,
and tendencies: { RELAXATION,
\ FEEBLENESS,
\ DISEASE.
This classification shows their tendencies to chronic disease,
functional derangement, insanity, and suicide.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.
Before the structure of the brain was understood, Buffon spoke of it as
a "mucous substance of no great importance." Its functional significance
was so slightly appreciated that some people hardly suspected they had
any brains, until an _accident_ revealed their existence. Latterly,
however, it is generally understood that the perfection of an animal
depends upon the number and the development of the organs controlled by
the nervous system, the sovereign power of which is symbolized by a
grand cerebrum, the throne of Reason. That animal which is so low in the
scale of organization as to resemble a vegetable, belongs to an
ascending series ending in man. The lowest species have no conscious
perception, and their movements do not necessarily indicate sensation or
volition. Instinct culminates in the _Articulates_, especially in
Insects; while created intelligence reaches its acme in man, the highest
representative of the _Vertebrates_.
"All things by regular degrees arise--
From mere existence unto life, from life
To intellectual power; and each degree
Has its peculiar necessary stamp,
Cognizable in forms distinct and lines."--LAVATER.
[Illustration: Fig. 76.
Outline of Skulls. 1. European. 2. Negro. 3.
Tiger. 4. Hedge Hog. 5. Sloth.]
Man, in the faculties of mind, possesses more than a complement for
instinct; some of the lower animals, however, seem to share his rational
nature, and to a certain degree become responsible to him. Finally, the
manifestations of mind bear a relation to the development of cerebral
substance, and to the bodily organization which supplies the brain with
blood. Fig. 76 shows the relative amount of brain matter in the lower
animals, compared with that of man; the peculiarities of each agreeing
with its cerebral conformation. It is easier to measure the capacity of
skulls in different races than to procure and weigh their brains. The
following table has been published.
CRANIAL CAPACITY OF HUMAN RACES.
Race. CUBIC INCHES.
Swedes,................. 100.00
Anglo-Saxons,............ 96.60
Finns,................... 95.00
Anglo-Americans,......... 94.30
Esquimaux,............... 86.32
North America Indians,... 84.00
Native Africans,......... 83.70
Mexicans,................ 81.70
American Negros,......... 80.80
Peruvians and Hottentots, 75.30
Australians,............. 75.00
Gorilla, adult,.......... 34.50
Idiot,................... 22.57
Mr. Davis, of England, having a collection of about eighteen hundred
cranial specimens obtained from different quarters of the globe,
ascertained the relative volume of brain in different races, by filling
the skulls with dry sand. He found that the European averaged 92 cubic
inches, the Oceanic 89, the Asiatic 88, the African 86, the Australian
81. Dr. Morton, of Philadelphia, had a collection of over one thousand
skulls, and his conclusions were that the Caucasian brain is the
largest, the Mongolian next in size, the Malay and American Indian
smaller, and the Ethiopian smallest of all. The average weight of brain,
in 278 Europeans, was 49.50 oz., in 24 White American soldiers, 52.06
oz., indicating a greater _average_ for the American brain.
OUNCES
The brain of Cuvier, the celebrated naturalist, weighed 64.33
Ruloff, the murderer and linguist, 59.00
Dr. Spurzheim--phrenologist, 55.06
Celebrated philologist, 47.90
Celebrated mineralogist, 43.24
Upholsterer, 40.91
The weight of the human brain varies from 40 to 70 oz.; that of idiots
from 12 to 36 40 oz. The average of 273 male European brains was 49½
oz., while that of 191 females was 44 oz. If we compare the weight of
the female brain with that of the body, the ratio is found to be as
1:36.46, while that of the male is as 1:36.50; showing that, relatively,
the female brain is the larger. It appears that neither the absolute nor
relative size of the cerebrum, but the amount of gray matter which it
contains, is the criterion of mental power. Although a large cerebrum is
generally indicative of more gray matter than a small one, yet it is
ascertained that the grey substance depends upon the number, and depth
of the convolutions of the brain, and the deeper its fissures, the more
abundant is this tissue. It is this substance which is the source of
thought, while the white portion only transmits impressions.
We do not wish to underrate any attempt heretofore made to classify the
functions of mind and assign to them an appropriate nomenclature. It is
not unusual for scientists to give advice to phrenologists and point out
the fallacies of their system; but it is hardly worth while to indulge
in destructive criticism, unless something better is offered, as the day
has passed for ridiculing endeavors to understand and interpret the
physiology of the brain. The all important question is, not whether
phrenologists have properly located and rightly earned all the faculties
of mind, but have their expositions been useful in the development of
truth. While endeavoring to connect each mental power with a local
habitation in the brain, the system of phrenology may be chargeable with
some incongruous classification of the faculties, and yet it has
furnished an analysis of the mind which has been of incalculable service
to writers upon mental philosophy. Phrenology, in popularizing its
views, has interested thousands in their own organizations and powers,
who would otherwise have remained indifferent. It has called attention
to mental and bodily unities, has served as a guide to explain the
physical and psychical characteristics of individuals, and has been
instrumental in applying physiological and hygienic principles to the
habits of life, thus rendering a service for which the world is greatly
indebted. Samuel George Morton, M.D., whose eminent abilities and
scholarship are unquestionable, employs the following language:
"The importance of the brain as the seat of the faculties of the mind,
is pre-eminent in the animal economy. Hence, the avidity with which its
structure and functions have been studied in our time; for, although
much remains to be explained, much has certainly been accomplished. We
have reason to believe, not only that the brain is the center of the
whole series of mental manifestations, but that its several parts are so
many organs, each one of which performs its peculiar and distinctive
office. But the number, locality, and functions of these several organs
are far from being determined; nor should this uncertainty surprise us,
when we reflect on the slow and devious process by which mankind has
arrived at some of the simplest physiological truths, and the
difficulties that environ all inquiries into the nature of the organic
functions."
[Illustration: Fig. 77.
Side view of the brain of a Cat. A. Crucial sulcus
dividing anterior convolutions. B. Fissure of
Sylvius. C. Olfactory bulb.]
We may here allude to the recent experimental researches with reference
to the functions of various portions of the brain, prosecuted by Dr.
Ferrier, of England. He applied the electric current to different parts
of the cortical substance of the cerebrum in lower animals which had
been rendered insensible by chloroform, and by it could call forth
muscular actions expressive of ideas and emotions. Thus, in a cat, the
application of the electrodes at point 2, Fig. 77, caused elevation of
the shoulder and adduction of the limb, exactly as when a cat strikes a
ball with its paw; at point 4, corrugation of the left eye-brow, and the
drawing inward and downward of the left ear; when applied at point 5,
the animal exhibited signs of pain, screamed, and kicked with both hind
legs, especially the left, at the same time turned its head around and
looked behind in an astonished manner; at point 6, clutching movement of
the left paw, with protrusion of the claws; at point 13, twitching
backward of the left ear, and rotation of the head to the left and
slightly upward, as if the animal were listening; at point 17,
restlessness, opening of the mouth, and long-continued cries as if of
rage or pain; at a point on the under side of the hemisphere, not shown
in this figure, the animal started up, threw back its head, opened its
eyes widely, lashed its tail, panted, screamed and spit as if in furious
rage; and at point 20, sudden contraction of the muscles of the front of
the chest and neck, and of the depressors (muscles) of the lower jaw,
with panting movements. The movements of the paws were drawn inward by
stimulating the region between points 1, 2, and 6; those of the eyelids
and face were excited between 7 and 8; the side movements of the head
and ear in the region between points 9 and 14; and the movements of the
mouth, tongue and jaws, with certain associated movements of the neck,
being localized in the convolutions bordering on the fissure of Sylvius
(B), which marks the division between the anterior and middle lobes of
the cerebrum. Dr. Ferrier made similar experiments on dogs, rabbits, and
monkeys. The series of experiments made on the brain of the monkey is
said to be the most remarkable and interesting, not only because of the
variety of movements and distinctly expressive character of this animal,
but on account of the close conformity which the simple arrangement of
the convolutions of its brain bears to their more complex disposition in
the human cerebrum. It is premature to say what import we shall attach
to these experiments, but they have established the correctness of the
doctrine, advanced on page 105, that thought, the product of cerebral
functions, is a class of _reflex actions_. The cerebrum is not only the
source of ideas but also of those co-ordinate movements which correspond
to and accompany these ideas. Certain cerebral changes call forth mental
states and muscular movements which are mutually responsive. They
indicate that various functions are automatic, or dependent upon the
will, and, as we have seen, experiments indicate that the electric
current, when applied to the cerebrum, excites involuntary reflex
action. We cannot say how far these experimental results justify the
phrenological classification of the faculties of mind, by establishing a
_causative_ relation between the physical and psychical states. This
short and unsatisfactory account furnishes one fact which seems to
support the claim of such a relation: the apparent similarity between
the motor center of the lips and tongue in lower animals, and that
portion of the human cerebrum in which disease is so often found to be
associated with _Aphasia_, or loss of voice. While these experiments are
by no means conclusive in establishing a theory, yet they favor it.
It is wonderful that nervous matter can be so arranged as not only to
connect the various organs of the body, but at the same time to be the
agent of sensation, thought, and emotion. It is amazing, that a ray of
light, after traversing a distance of 91,000,000 miles, can, by falling
upon the retina, and acting as a stimulus, not only produce a
contraction of the pupil, but excite thoughts which analyze that ray,
instantly spanning the infinitude of trackless space! The same
penetrative faculties, with equal facility, can quickly and surely
discern the morbid symptoms of body and mind, become familiar with the
indications of disease, and classify them scientifically among the
phenomena of nature. The symptoms of disease which follow certain
conditions as regularly as do the signs of development, and mind itself
is no exception to this uniformity of nature. Thoughts result from
conditions, and manifest them as evidently as the falling of rain
illustrates the effect of gravity. The perceptive and highest emotive
faculties of man depend upon this simple, but marvelously endowed
nervous substance, which blends the higher spiritual with the lower
physical functions. The functions of the body are performed by separate
organs, distinguished by peculiar characteristics. To elucidate the
distinctions between dissimilar, mental faculties, we have assigned
their functions, with characteristic names, to different regions of the
head. As they unquestionably influence the bodily organs, we are
sustained by physical analogy, in our classification. Our knowledge of
the structure and functions of the nervous system is yet elementary, and
we are patiently waiting for scientists to develop its facts, and verify
them by experimental investigations and such researches as time alone
can bring to perfection. While real progress moves with slow and
measured foot-steps, the inspirations of consciousness and the
inferences of logic prepare the popular mind for cerebral analysis. No
true system can contradict the facts of our inner experience; it can
only furnish a more complete explanation of their relation to the bodily
organs. It should be expected that such careful and pains-taking
experiments, as are necessary to establish a science, will be preceded
by intuitive judgments and accredited observations, which may be, for a
time, the substitutes of those more abstruse in detail.
We have, in accordance with popular usage, treated the organs of thought
as having anatomical relations. The views which we have presented in
this chapter may seem speculative, but the facts suggesting the theory
demand attention, and we have attempted to gather a few of the scattered
fragments and arrange them in some order, rather than leave them to
uncertainty and greater mystery. It is by method and classification that
we are enabled to apply our knowledge to practical purposes. Possibly,
to some, especially the non-professional, an allusion to the fact that
cerebral physiology contributes to successful results in the practice of
medicine, may seem to be an exaggerated pretension. None, however, who
are conversant with the facts connected with the author's experience,
will so regard this practical reference, for the statement might be
greatly amplified without exceeding the bounds of truth. Physicians
generally undervalue the nervous functions, and overlook the importance
of the brain as an indicator of the conditions of the physical system,
because they are not sufficiently familiar with its influence over the
bodily functions. Pathological conditions are faithfully represented by
the thoughts, and words, when used to describe symptoms, become the
symbols of feelings which arise from disease. How few physicians there
are who can interpret the thoughts, and glean, from the expressions and
sentences of a letter, a correct idea of the morbid conditions which the
writer wishes to portray! Each malady, as well as every temperament, has
its characteristics, _and both require careful and critical analysis_
before subjecting the patient to the influence of remedial agents.
In a treatise by Dr. J.R. Buchanan, entitled "Outlines of Lectures on
the Neurological System of Anthropology," are presented original ideas
pre-eminently useful to the physician. His researches, and those of
later writers, together with our own investigations, have greatly
increased our professional knowledge. It is by such studies and
investigations that we have been prepared to interpret, with greater
facility, the indications of disease, and diagnose accurately from
symptoms, which have acquired a deeper significance by the light of
cerebral physiology. We are enabled to adapt remedies to constitutions
and their varying conditions, with a fidelity and scientific precision
which has rendered our success in treatment widely known and generally
acknowledged. We annually treat thousands of invalids whom we have never
beheld, and relieve them of their ailments. This has been accomplished
chiefly through correspondence. When patients have failed to delineate
their symptoms currently, or have given an obscure account of their
ailments, we have been materially assisted in ascertaining the character
of the disease by photographs of the subjects. The cerebral conformation
indicates the predisposition of the patient, and enables us to estimate
the strength of his recuperative energies. Thus we have a valuable guide
in the selection of remedies particularly suited to different
constitutions. In the treatment of chronic diseases, the success
attending our efforts has been widely appreciated, not only in this, but
in other countries where civilization, refinement, luxurious habits, and
effeminating customs, prevail. This fact is mentioned, not only as an
illustration of the personal benefits actually derived from a thorough
knowledge of the nervous system, but to show how generally and
extensively these advantages have been shared by others.
A careful study of cerebral physiology leads us deeper into the
mysteries of the human constitution, and to the philosophical
contemplation of the relations of mind and body. Self-culture implies
not only a knowledge of the powers of the mind, but also how to direct
and use them for its own improvement, and he who has the key to
self-knowledge, can unlock the mysteries of human nature and be
eminently serviceable to the worlds For centuries the mind has been
spreading out its treasury of revelations, to be turned to practical
account, in ascertaining the constitution, and determining better
methods of treating disease. Since comparative anatomists and
physiologists have revealed the structure of animals and the functions
of their organs, from the lowest protozoan to the highest vertebrate,
the physician may avail himself of this knowledge, and thus gain a
deeper insight into the structure and physiology of man. An intimate
acquaintance with the physical, is a necessary preparation for the study
of the psychical life, for it leads to the understanding of their mutual
relations and reactions, both in health and disease.
Consciousness, or the knowledge of sensations and mental operations, has
been variously defined. It is employed as a collective term to express
all the psychical states, and is the power by which the soul knows its
own existence. It is the immediate knowledge of any object whatever, and
seems to comprise, in its broadest signification, both matter and mind,
for all objects are inseparable from the cognizance of them. Hence, the
significance of the terms, subjective-consciousness and
objective-consciousness. People are better satisfied with their
knowledge of matter than with their conceptions of the nature of mind.
THE NATURE OF MIND.
Since this subject is being discussed by our most distinguished
scientists, we will conclude this chapter with an extract from a lecture
delivered by Prof. Burt G. Wilder, at the American Institute:
"There now remains to be disposed of, in some way, the question as to
the nature and reality of mind, which was rather evaded at the
commencement of the lecture. The reason was, that I am forced to differ
widely from the two great physiologists whom I have so often quoted this
evening. Most people, following in part early instruction, in part
revelation, in part spiritual manifestations, and in part trusting to
their own consciousness, hold that the human mind is a spiritual
substance which is associated with the body during the life of the
latter in this world, and which remains in existence after the death of
the body, and forms the spiritual clothing or embodiment of the immortal
soul; and that the individual, therefore, lives after death as a spirit
in the human form; that of this spiritual man, the soul is the essential
being, of which may be predicted a good or evil nature, while the mind,
which clothes it as a body, consists of the spiritual substances,
affections, and thoughts, which were cherished and formed during the
natural life.
Together with the above convictions respecting themselves, most people,
when thinking independently of theological sublimations, feel willing to
admit that animals have, in common with man, fewer or more natural
affections and thoughts which make up their minds, but that the inner
and immortal soul, which would retain them as part of an individual
after death of the body, is not possessed by the beasts that perish. In
short, the vast majority of mankind, when thinking quietly, and
especially in seasons of bereavement, feel well assured of the real and
substantial existence of the human mind, independently of its temporary
association with the perishable body.
But in antagonism to this simple and comforting faith, stand theological
incomprehensibilities on the one hand, and scientific skepticism on the
other. The former would have us believe that the soul is a mere vapor, a
cloud of something ethereal, of which can be expected nothing more
useful than 'loafing around the Throne,' while the latter asks us to
recognize the existence of nothing which the eyes cannot see and fingers
touch; to cease imagining that there is a soul, and to regard the mind
as merely the product of the brain; secreted thereby as the liver
secretes bile. Let us hear what the two leading nervous physiologists,
of this country, have to say upon this point:
'The brain is not, strictly speaking, the organ of the mind, for this
statement would imply that the mind exists as a force, independent of
the brain; but the mind is produced by the brain substance; and
intellectual force, if we may term the intellect a force, can be
produced only by the transmutation of a certain amount of matter; there
can be no intelligence without brain substance.'--FLINT.
'The mind may be regarded as a force, the result of nervous action, and
characterized by the ability to perceive sensations, to be conscious, to
understand, to experience emotions, and to will in accordance therewith.
Of these qualities, consciousness resides exclusively in the brain, but
the others, as is clearly shown by observation and experiment, cannot be
restricted to that organ, but are developed with more or less intensity,
in other parts of the nervous system.'--HAMMOND.
Thus do the two extremes of theology and science meet upon a common
ground of dreamy emptiness, and we who confess our comparative ignorance
are comforted by the thought that some other things have been 'hid from
the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes.' Yet, while feeling thus,
it must be admitted that the existence of spirit and of a Creator do not
yet seem capable of logical demonstration. The denial of their existence
is not incompatible with a profound acquaintance with material forms and
their operations; and, on the other hand, the belief in their existence
and substantial nature, and in their powers as first causes, have never
interfered with the recognition of the so-called material forces, and of
the organisms through which they are manifested. At present, at least,
these are purely matters of faith; but although the Spiritualist (using
the term in its broadest sense as indicating a belief in spirits), may
feel that his faith discloses a beauty and perfection in the union,
otherwise imperceptible by him, there is no reason why this difference
in faith should make him despise or quarrel with his materialist
co-worker, for the latter may do as good service to science, may be as
true a man, and live as holy a life, although from other motives.
The differences between religious sects are mainly of faith, not of
works, and the wise of all denominations are gradually coming to the
conviction that they will all do God more service by toleration and
co-operation than by animosity and disunion. And so I hold that, until
the spiritualist feels himself able to demonstrate to the unbeliever the
existence of spirit and of God, as convincingly as a mathematical
proposition, there should be no hard words or feelings upon these
points. For the present they are immaterial in every sense of the word;
and so long as he bows to the facts and the laws of Nature, and deals
with his fellow men as he would be done by, so long will I work with
him, side by side, knowing, even though I cannot tell him so, that
whether or not he joins me in this world, we shall meet in the other
world to come, where his eyes will be opened, and where his lips will at
least acquit me of bigotry and intolerance."
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