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SECOND EDITION
CHRISTIAN
PHRENOLOGY,
A GUIDE TO
SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
BY
JOSEPH BUNNEY
[Greek: GNOTHI SEAUTON].
A. DREWETT AND Co,
PUBLIC LIBRARY, 62, REGENT STREET.
MDCCCXXXIX.
[Illustration]
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF PHRENOLOGY.
Phrenology is a system of Mental Philosophy. It enquires into the quality
and condition of the mind, estimating the faculties, sentiments, and
propensities of the individual, without being deceived by personal esteem
or the voice of partial praise; for as it too frequently occurs that minds
of the highest order are more or less under the influence of self love, or
a desire for the admiration of others, so are they blinded to their own
weaknesses and in some measure rendered incapable of acknowledging their
faults even to themselves. This defect, a defect of the race rather than
of the individual, presents an effectual barrier to all mental
improvement, for minds however highly gifted are always in some measure
led astray by self gratulation or the flattering commendations of others,
and thus they are led to overlook their own errors, or to congratulate
themselves that they are not as other men are, and the mental eye becomes
blinded to what is wrong in its own intellectual organization although
sensitively awake to the erroneous feelings and propensities of others. It
is the province of PHRENOLOGY to measure the external features of the
mind's agent, and to facilitate the study of MAN without diverging into
metaphysical error on the one hand, or materialism on the other.
Phrenology then is one of those beautiful revelations of applicable
science which could only have been made known in an aera of intellectual
cultivation. It is in accordance with man's advancement in civilization
and refinement.--It was not needed in the days of
"High emprise or priestly power."
for when men were measured by their prowess, and when might was right, a
standard of intellect would have been of little value; but amidst the
discoveries of the 19th century it comes to us as a monitor and a friend;
Its developement forms a striking fact in the philosophy of history--for
as we trace the long and varied records of physical discovery from the
time of Archimedes to the coronation of Victoria,--we invariably find that
whatever science, or whatever art has been made known to us, it has always
been the forerunner of new chapters in the history of man: thus Astronomy
led the way to magnetism--Magnetism led to the scientific principles of
navigation,--and the steam engine, mighty as its power appears, is but in
accordance with the advanced wants of mankind; and so with every other
instance, in proportion to the discoveries of intellect, has man advanced
in the scale of intelligence and humanity,--with mind, so has matter
progressed, until from the unlettered savage, he has arrived at the gates
of that scientific temple whose lessons teach him, that now, having laid
out the earth for his sustenance, peopled the ocean with his race, and
proved his mastery over all things, it is time that he should arise and
conquer self,--
Know then thyself, and seek not God to scan,
The proper study of mankind is man!
POPE.
To do this, man must be studied in his moral, social, and religious
condition; thus only is he enabled to gratify that inward yearning after
what is great and good which is the basis of all improvement. It is
necessary however to learn what is imperfect before improvement can be
attempted. We must learn our own mental constitution and compare it with a
standard of excellence, and what standard can we have, but that all
surpassing goodness that created man in his own image? HE in whom even
Pilate found no fault--who said "I am the vine, and ye are the
branches,"--who went about doing good, and who said to his disciples, "Be
ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect."
This is the standard that we should look up to--to the Author of all
good;--to His life upon earth as the line of our conduct here--to his
sufferings in our day of tribulation--to His glory as the end that we
would one day share in.
Such is the object that forces itself upon the mind, when liberated from
the baser passions of humanity, the spirit can indulge in its own lofty
aspirations--it feels a noble elevation of purpose in contemplating the
improvement of its being--and it feels capable of following out a design
so beautiful,--there is a dimly revealed pleasure in devoting every energy
to the acquisition of an end so glorious, and the pleasure is pure,
elevated, and ennobling, it is neither transient nor violent, but it seems
to be breathed into the heart, making it wiser, better, and happier--It is
not the pleasure that we have sought for in life, but the calm and quiet
enjoyment that is referred to the mind, as the seat of all pure and
rational delight: and to the brain, as a pleasure that will endure and
increase, and fade not away like the momentary intoxications of animal
delight: the pleasure of a good object is referrible to the mind, and to
the brain as the seat of that mind, and we ask, Is the mind the offspring
of that brain? or, Is the brain the organ through which the mind acts? a
moment's thought answers the question; in a few short years that brain
will be mouldering away in the silent tomb, whilst the mind that animated
it, can never die; thus then we arrive at the seat of the mind, a fact
universally allowed by all philosophers, in all places, and at all times,
and by reasoning upon this simple fact, we are led through progressive
stages of induction, until we have arrived at a knowledge of that most
valuable but most difficultly exercised faculty, Self-control.
Now, we know well that the eye and the ear receive their faculties from
the brain, through the medium of the nerves. Thus, the eye may be
delighted by gazing on an extended view of nature; the ear by listening to
the sublime cadences of sacred music; but if we sever the delicate
filament that conveys the sense of enjoyment to the brain, as the seat of
all pleasure, resulting from the exercise of the eye or the ear, so do we
immediately sever the sentient being from the perception of beauty in form
or landscape, or of harmony in sound. So it is with a limb, if we divide
the fibre or nerve connecting the muscles of that limb with the brain, we
immediately deprive the organ of feeling and volition. Thus, then, the
feelings, the senses, and the enjoyments are referred to the brain as the
seat of the mind, and it would be as irrational to suppose that the brain
in its entirety is influenced by every sensation, perception, or impulse,
as to suppose that the whole body is required for an operation affecting
only a part: so by analogy we learn, that as the eye is given us to see
with, the ear to hear with, the tongue to speak with; when neither eye,
ear, or tongue is adapted to any other use, so, in like manner we are led
to infer, that particular parts of the brain are endowed with powers,
peculiar to themselves; for it would be equally rational to suppose that a
man could in some measure read with the ear, smell with the eye, or see
with the nose, as to assert that the same portion of brain could be
directed by the mind at will, to study poetry, or sculpture, the arts of
money getting, or direct to the enjoyments of love. Such operations of the
mind are essentially different; the poet, the sculptor, the man of this
world, and the lover of pleasure have portions of the brain, individually
adapted to the various operations of the mind, and as the mind is
developed by natural circumstances, by hereditary prejudices,--the effects
of early training,--the results of education,--the influence of good or
bad example, or the untoward events that occur in life,--so is the effect
of each and every one of these duly registered upon the mind, and upon the
brain, as the organ of that mind, so that at any and every period of
existence an external examination of the brain points out what
propensities, sentiments, and faculties are at that period in existence,
and as a due cultivation or improper neglect of the mental powers is
invariably recorded through the mind itself acting upon the brain with
more or less energy in those individual parts most generally exercised, so
does Phrenology--the science of the brain, as an unbiassed friend, point
out what errors of the imagination are to be shunned--what propensities to
be conquered, what faculties to be cultivated, what sentiments to be given
up. So does it present itself as a means whereby we may know our own
weaknesses and conquer them--our strength, and be enabled to exert it. So
does it point out whatever may be predominant in our nature for good or
for evil, teaching us by a monitor far more true than even the heart
itself, how to remedy our faults in this life, and gradually by severe and
constant practice, teaching us how to become more fitted for the life to
come.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF PHRENOLOGY.
In examining the history, or the progress of discovery in any particular
science, we are irresistibly led to enquire _why_ a series of facts like
those which constitute its basis should have remained so long hidden from
the eye of man. We know that the doctrines we are investigating are
founded upon facts, and if those facts are in operation at this moment,
they must have been equally so a thousand years ago, or our enquiries
cannot be based upon Truth, since Truth is eternal. If, then, in perusing
the records of phrenology, we are led to wonder at the long ages of human
ignorance, Are we not equally surprised that all physical science should
have existed so many ages, without the cognizance of man? Do we not wonder
that thousands of years floated down the stream of Time, before man
discovered _why_ the lightning flashed across the heavens, or _why_ the
needle pointed to the pole, and are we not even now unable to tell _why_
the polar Aurora diffuses its ethereal light? Why then single out
Phrenology for disbelief, because it is new, is gold the less gold because
fresh from the mine? or truth less true because recently revealed? _We_
cannot tell why phrenology has so long remained unknown, but we may refer
the reason to the wisdom of that Almighty Intelligence who placed his bow
in the heavens, and fashioned that wonderful cycle of events that in every
age has been suited to the wants and capacities of man. Phrenology could
not have existed in any age but one wherein mind had asserted its mastery
over matter, and although the understanding was in some measure prepared
for the reception of new truths by the physiognomy of Lavater, and the
facial line introduced by Camper, yet experience proved that Lavater's
theories were not generally applicable, and the means proposed by Camper
at the best times uncertain. Anatomists and physiologists toiled at
discovering the seat of the mind, they dissected and drew conclusions--but
so vague and unsatisfactory was the knowledge communicated, that the more
the anatomist dissected, the more he became entangled in a mass of
conjecture and perplexity. The metaphysician failed too; he studied the
mind chiefly through himself and by recording his own knowledge of his
faculties, was led into error: like the nautilus he retreated into his own
shell and thus sought to learn what was without, and as may be supposed
men of different minds arrived at different results:--such was the state
of mental knowledge about 1760. The method pursued by Dr. Gall, was
essentially different; at an early period he was led to notice the
difference of talents and disposition in his schoolmates and companions,
he found one with a retentive memory, another with a talent for languages,
one was remarkable for elegance of style, another for dullness, and a
third for close reasoning; he found their dispositions equally different,
and this diversity appeared to regulate their partialities and aversions;
some showed a liking for play, others for books, and a third class for
mechanical handiwork. In this manner every one presented an individual
character; some years after he found that persons with a great talent for
learning by heart were those with whom it was most difficult for him to
compete, and he noticed that all these had prominent eyes, he then
recollected that his early companions had the same feature prominent, and
when he entered the University he directed his attention to this fact, and
found that all those who had prominent eyes possessed a great facility of
learning by heart, even in cases where they possessed no particular
talent. Although this connexion between talent and external appearance was
not sufficiently established to be considered as a _certain_ circumstance,
Dr. Gall could not divest himself of a belief in the relationship of the
one fact to the other, and after much reflection he conceived that if
memory for words had an external indication, the same circumstance might
be traced to the other intellectual powers; looking therefore only at
general indications he believed he could trace the existence of talents
for painting, music and mechanics, he marked also the external features
of individuals possessing great determination of character, this suggested
to him the idea of looking to the head for all the moral sentiments,
referring the state of the skull to the influence of the Brain.
Here then commenced the difficulties which appeared as soon as Dr. Gall
compared his own observations from nature, with the opinions of
Physiologists and Metaphysicians; he found that while some placed the
sentient soul or intellectual faculties in the brain, others placed it in
the heart, or the cerebellum, or even in the viscera, so that he hesitated
about the correctness of his conclusions, he observed also that the
principal difference of mental faculty was not owing to difference of
education or accidental circumstances,--if the difference were accidental,
the project he now contemplated would be hopeless, but he recollected that
his brothers, and sisters, and schoolfellows had all received a similar
education and equal care, yet many upon whom the teachers had bestowed
great attention were still far behind their companions.
"Often," says Dr. GALL, "we were accused of want of will, or
deficiency in zeal; but many of us could not, even with the most
ardent desire, followed out by the most obstinate efforts, attain, in
some pursuits, even to mediocrity; while in some other points, some
of us surpassed our schoolfellows without an effort, and almost, it
might be said, without perceiving it ourselves. But, in point of
fact, our masters did not appear to attach much faith to the system
which taught equality of mental faculties: for they thought
themselves entitled to exact more from one scholar, and less from
another. They spoke frequently of natural gifts, or of the gifts of
God, and consoled their pupils in the words of the Gospel, by
assuring them that each would be required to render an account, only
in proportion to the gifts he had received."
Convinced by this, that there is a diversity of talent and of disposition,
he encountered another obstacle in the conventional terms used to express
the actions of the mind. Metaphysicians spoke of judgment, perception,
thought, memory and imagination, but Gall wished to express a faculty for
music, for painting and for mechanics, he therefore abandoned the theories
and opinions of others resolving to learn by direct observation from
nature; he visited prisons, schools and lunatic asylums, was introduced to
courts, to colleges and the seats of justice; and wherever he heard of
persons distinguished for any particular endowment or deficiency, he
observed and studied the external features of those particular heads. In
this manner by degrees of induction he felt himself warranted in his
belief that the configurations of the head indicate the mental powers; in
addition to this examination during life, whenever any of the persons died
with whose peculiarities he had become acquainted during life, he used
every means to be allowed to examine their brain after death, and thus he
succeeded in arriving at the first outlines of those facts which time
afterwards developed. In these researches he found that the brain covered
by the _dura mater_ presented a form exactly corresponding to that which
the skull had exhibited during life: and being confident in the
correctness of his system he announced it to the world at Vienna, in
1796. The successive steps that he passed over, were, 1. He observed the
relationship between particular talents and particular forms of the head.
2. He ascertained that the figure and size of the brain corresponded in
every point with the skull. 3. He dissected the brain minutely so as to
investigate its structure.
Dr. Spurzheim studied under Gall, in 1800, and in 1804 became associated
with him in his labours; since that period many new and valuable
discoveries were made by them in the anatomy and physiology of the brain;
the truths thus elucidated mere formed into a system of mental philosophy.
It was impossible to foresee what results would follow the exposition of
this doctrine. Dr. Gall's mode of enquiry was plain and simple; thus he
found that a desire for gain bore relation to the size of one part of the
brain--he called it the organ of _theft_, because he found it largest in
thieves; the propensity to destroy, he called _murder_, because he found
it largest in individuals condemned for that crime--in like manner
benevolence and other organs, for as Dr. Gall had not laid out any
arrangement, a series of disjointed facts was all that could be arrived
at, leaving their value to be determined at a future period, when the
multitude of facts should require some arrangement. As soon, therefore, as
the value of the materials had been ascertained by time and further
investigation, the eye of philosophy at once detected the materials for a
system of mental elucidation, and phrenological facts were arranged into a
scientific system, whose importance has been universally recognized:
facts that had hitherto appeared isolated were soon connected with others
and the obloquy that had been thrown upon it by public ridicule, was
overpowered by the presence of truth. The doctrines which at first were a
rude and undigested mass of unconnected facts, whose apparent results were
neither promising nor inviting, now became changed in character,--it was
recognized to be the science of mind and its value was apparent, the new
opinions had been doubted, simply because they were new, but they bore
upon them the impress of truth: those who were adverse to its doctrines,
were those who had not studied its principles; and those who doubt it now
are those who have never examined the volume of nature, from which the
page of science has been torn. Those who consider its relative bearing,
both upon individuals and the human race, will be convinced that
Phrenology carries in its train the most valuable assistance in furthering
the cause of education, morality, and religion. We cannot conclude this
chapter better than by quoting the annexed extract by a popular writer
from the Foreign Quarterly Review;--
"Nothing that ever was devised by man has put in his hands so
powerful an instrument to know himself, as that which we
(phrenologists) have given him; for, if he believes in us, he cannot
deny the evidence of his own organization. The first key to unlock
the hearts of others is that which opens our own; and to know whether
we judge our neighbour fairly or not, we should measure the quantity
of our own feelings which we mix up in the judgment. But from this
acquaintance with ourselves and others may result the greatest
benefit that could accrue to social intercourse, mutual indulgence.
When we recollect that each has his own particular organization, as
we have ours; that it is not easy to controul the dispositions which
nature has thus implanted in our minds; that we have defects as
insupportable, perhaps, as any that we encounter, we shall be more
disposed to bear with others' foibles, that they may pardon ours; and
mutual necessity will make us tolerant.
"A still higher function of phrenology, as it relates to mankind at
large, not merely to the few unfortunates who labour under malady, is
its empire over education. The vast error, that men are alike fitted
for all professions, that all can turn their mental powers to the
same account and profit, has done much injury to the education of
individuals, and consequently to the general progress of the world.
But our science (continue Drs. Gall and Spurzheim) shows that all men
are not alike fitted for all purposes; that, in one, a receptiveness
for musical, in another for mathematical instruction predominates;
that some are endowed with the power of prompt perception, and others
with that of abstruse induction; in short, that every walk of social
life has its destined votaries. Now, it is to be hoped, that when
parents have the authority of phrenology for the talents and
disposition of their children, they will cultivate those which nature
has made the most salient in their cranium, and not torment them with
studies for which they have no sufficient organ. Should one of their
boys, in defiance of birch-rods and ferulas, neglect his vocabulary
to carve his taw, or cut out waggon-wheels with his penknife, let
them consult one of us, and we will tell them that all the betula of
Windsor forest will not make a scholar of him; we will show that, not
being one of the ox-eyed, he can but ill remember words, but that
having a fulness in the frontal bone just above the spheno-temporal
suture, he may become an expert mechanic, an engineer, a mill-wright,
or a Watt; that it is in vain to thrust in through the gluteus
maximus what cannot penetrate the head; and that flog him as they
may, his _propria quae maribus_ will always be covered with chips and
chisels. In the same manner we will teach them to oppose the bad
propensities of youth, by withholding aliment from self-love, from
obstinacy, from cruelty, and by cherishing benevolence, justice,
piety; and correcting levity by gently stimulating the reflecting
faculties. We can tell, too, why many a school-boy, who has carried
away prizes and rewards, sinks into an ordinary adult; and why more
than one dunce has burst out like a luminary in later years; for we
can show the organs which make a brilliant infant and a dull man, and
those which are of little use at Eton, but most essential to a
statesman or a philosopher. Neither shall we allow ourselves to be
imposed upon by any urchin's cunning, or mistake ill will and
idleness for inability. The marks by which we judge are registered by
nature, indelible, immutable, and clear to every eye.
"But individual education is a very small portion of the good which
we aspire to teach--(these people really are mad; their ambition is
unbounded!). We will educate nations; and nothing can prevent us from
fulfilling this mission, but the destruction of the human race. We
will tell the men of every country their faults and their vices,
their virtues and their talents, and hold them up as clearly as size
and form can be held up, to the notice of mankind. None shall escape
us. Already, not only Europeans,--English, French, Germans,
Italians,--the most enlightened, the most refined of men, have we
scrutinized, but Asiatics under every latitude, Africans thirsting on
both sides of the Equator, Americans as wild as Africans, as
civilized as Europeans. We have told truths to all, and pointed out
the means of improvement. At this moment, indeed, they may not listen
to us, but the day will come when they will advance but by us. To us
is given to decide the great question of original national
propensities, as of individual propensities, and to show how they may
be expanded or repressed. We shall instruct rulers how to govern, and
subjects how to submit, and strike the just balance--as various as
the races and the regions of the earth--between the sovereign and the
people; and the first time that we inspire oppressed reason to demand
her rights, and to demand no more--that we teach men how much liberty
they can bear, how much privation they must yet endure, we shall have
our full reward.
"So much for the practical pretensions of our science. The reader
must now hear our claims to speculative superiority. Dr. Spurzheim
has said, and been most heartily abused for saying--and, if the
science be false, most heartily deserves to be abused for
saying,--that the whole philosophy of the mind must be entirely
changed; that the study of man in this respect will become a new
study, &c. In this dictum--most noble or most arrogant, according to
events--we (phrenologists) concur, with the loudest cheers; and in
this, do we say, lies the stupendous monument of our science. Since
the earliest records of philosophy, sages have speculated on the
heart, the mind, the passions, and the understanding. For more than
three thousand years systems have flashed, and disappeared without
leaving a trace. Some of these, indeed, were abundantly ingenious;
but were defective in that which alone can make them lasting, truth.
It would be curious to examine the hypotheses which have grown up,
one after the other, in the fertile soil of fancy, Arabian, Chinese,
Persian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and modern European, and to see how
specious and how futile all have been. Not one of them was founded on
any thing but conjecture; and, until Gall appeared, it was not
supposed that mental philosophy, that psychology, ever could have any
other basis. But Gall proceeded entirely upon fact; and those who
accuse his system as imaginative, will probably call the 'Faerie
Queene' an historical poem, and 'Lear' an algebraical tragedy. He
stalked from brain to brain, from organ to organ, and trampled
conjecture under foot. 'The man of skulls'--aye, Mr. Edinburgh
Reviewer, the _boy_ of skulls--endowed in truth, with not less
imagination than his predecessors, had yet more love of fact than
they had; and this single faculty has placed him above them all. It
is, indeed, most wonderous, that the catalogue of the innate
faculties of man should have escaped the grey-haired philosophers of
every age and climate, and that its first-fold should have been
opened to a child of nine years old, who in maturity unrolled it all,
except a leaf or two, which he left to his followers. Such a
discovery, had it been made by a man after so long concealment, and
so many attempts to accomplish it, would have been wonderful; but let
it never be forgotten that it was the work, and not the accidental
work, of an infant."
ADVANTAGES AND OBJECTS OF PHRENOLOGY.
"In proportion as any branch of study leads to important and useful
results--in proportion as it tends to overthrow prevailing errors--in
the same degree it may be expected to call forth angry declamation
from those who are trying to despise what they will not _learn_, and
wedded to _prejudices_ which they _cannot defend_."--ARCHBISHOP
WHATELY.
Having pointed out in the introductory chapter the great end and aim of
all learning--THE ADVANCEMENT OF MANKIND IN RELIGION, MORALITY, AND
VIRTUE, we shall proceed to point out the advantages of Phrenology, in
enabling man to become wiser, better, and happier. It will be universally
conceded, that this life is a state of probation, that if we do well--that
is, if we become God's people, we shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but if we do evil, we shall have our portion in the lake which burneth
with everlasting fire; for this reason St. Paul exhorts us to press
forward to the prize of our high calling. "Let us go on unto perfection,"
says he, and again, "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth
so easily beset us"--and in another place he tells us, that "it is
appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment."
Such then, being our situation, how imperative is the command to, "cease
to do evil, and learn to do well." We must first learn what is imperfect
and then strive to improve,--we must look upon SELF IMPROVEMENT, as
something possible, something allied to the better portion of human
nature, something worthy of the noblest care and the mightiest efforts
that human beings, aiming at perfection, can even hope to aspire to. We
must recall the past, watch over the present, and strengthen ourselves
against the future,--we must learn what we _are_ and what we _may be_, for
we have in ourselves the power of controlling as well as of watching our
passions and our energies, and it is this prerogative that causes human
responsibility. Phrenology teaches us that mental energy is invariably
accompanied by an increase of the brain, in the portion which is acted on
by that energy; if the intellect be expanded, the perceptive faculties in
active operation, the nobler energies of charity and veneration employed
for good, it is at once apparent; so too with the baser passions, the
sensualist, the ignorant, and the depraved alike reveal by their
organization the spirit that moves within them, and as we know by endless
facts that the brain alters in proportion to the use or disuse of
faculties, sentiments, or passions; so if we are right-minded we must
infer that God created no such master-piece of unerring workmanship
without designing it for our good; and if so, how culpable, how criminal
must they be, who dare to doubt the hand of a nobler being in a design so
beautiful,--how culpable must they be who neglect to use the means laid
down for their advancement,--how criminal, when they know, yet slight or
scorn to employ it? But it may be asked, how can the brain enlarge or
decrease by the action of the mind? Can an invisible, immaterial principle
enlarge or lessen the organ through which it operates? most certainly it
can,--what but _use_ developes the muscular system--what but the amount of
exertion makes the right arm of the gold beater nearly twice the size of
his left? or why does active exertion give strength and tone to the limbs,
whilst indolence renders them effeminate and small,--and if any one doubt
the parallel, they cannot have examined and enquired for truth, on which
alone enquiry can be based. Muscular power, considered abstractedly, is to
the full as invisible and deep seated as the powers of the mind,--the mind
must first direct the motions of animal power through the medium of the
nerves, and the exertion of their power forms the muscles, or if the power
be not exerted, the muscles, however fully developed previously, must
quickly decrease; so it is with the brain, the index of the mind: and as
no one can behold the brawny frame of the laborious artisan without being
led to consider the exertion of muscular force as the cause of that
powerful form, so no one ought to dispute the identical operation in
another part of the human system, simply because they _are_ familiar with
one and _will not_ be familiar with the other.
Taking it for granted then, (and surely no one will deny rashly what
countless facts have proved, and what is only proved the more as the
number of facts increase) that the brain is the organ of the mind, we are
led to the following principles.
1. The brain is the organ through which the mind operates.
2. In proportion to the developement of any part of the brain will be the
power of that corresponding faculty, sentiment, or passion, because that
faculty, sentiment, or passion, by its _anterior action_, has developed
the brain.
3. The increase or decrease of mental passions, affections, or sentiments,
is accompanied by a corresponding increase or decrease of the brain.
4. The brain like the muscle, is only the agent through which the
immaterial spirit acts, for as muscular power resides not in a muscle, so
neither does the mind dwell in the brain;--and as all connection between
the muscle and life, or vital energy is destroyed by severing the
connection of the nerve communicating power to that muscle, so might the
mind and brain be severed, but for the beautiful design of Providence, in
so carefully protecting the brain lest any mental organ be impaired, as
well as by the formation of duplicates to those organs most exposed to
injury; for as in common life, the accident that deprives man of a limb,
does not render him incapable of his higher and loftier duties, so is it
proportionably necessary that the organ through which those higher and
nobler functions are performed should have been rendered most secure from
harm.
5. That the different parts of the brain having been found by long
experience to be appropriated to different functions, those parts are and
have the same design, and are produced by the same faculties in all human
beings.
Under one of these heads all phrenological facts must fall.
From these principles also, it must be evident that the brain is dependant
for its form and character on the developement of the mind in any
individual, and in this manner phrenology ascertains the natural bias of
the mind, so as to direct education;--it ascertains similarity of pursuits
and dispositions so as to improve social intercourse;--it ascertains at
any time of life what faculties require to be cultivated or to be checked,
what sentiments or passions preponderate in the individual, for good or
for evil, what should be repressed, as well as those parts wherein
increase should be aimed at, it points out the persons with whom we
sympathize, or towards whom we may have an antipathy,--in the treatment of
mental disease, its use is obvious. "No more satisfactory proof of this
can be referred to, than the extraordinary success of the experiments at
the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum under the direction of Dr. and Mrs. Ellis.
Regarding the brain not as an entire organized mass, but as an assemblage
of organs, some of which may come into a morbid condition while the rest
remain comparatively healthy, the course pursued at that excellent
institution has been, by kindness and by engaging the attention of the
patient, to exercise those organs which are sound, and, by diminishing the
action of those which are in a diseased state, to restore them to the
healthy performance of their functions. The success which has attended the
experiment stands without precedent in the annals of insanity." From this
treatment we learn that cures have averaged ninety in a hundred.
Phrenology teaches us how to aim at self-improvement, that is, the duty
which every man owes to himself, so as to improve and render more perfect
whatsoever is wrong in his nature.--Improvement is the end and object;--it
demands a vigorous well regulated exertion of all the energies of thought
and feeling.--Phrenology teaches where it is most required--whether it be
moral, intellectual or religious, and whichever it may be, we must make it
the great end of our endeavours, and use solemnly and deliberately the
great powers that GOD has given to us,--without this resolution of purpose
the best means are worthless: but with it the poorest may become mighty in
moral and intellectual powers, the progression of our nature to the
perfection pointed at by St. Paul, must not be regarded as a fiction, but
a reality,--we must look coolly and rationally upon the vast amount of
ignorance--intemperance, sensuality and selfishness that dwell with and
around us,--we must think what an immense field of mind is lost--how many
_might be_ cheered with intelligence, disinterestedness and refinement,
that now _are_ lost in voluptuous extravagance or the exercise of
worthless and depraved passions;--we must learn the dignity of our station
as men--that we shall be made partakers of CHRIST, if we be stedfast unto
the end,--and that if we keep this object in view stedfastly and
zealously, we shall inherit a crown of righteousness that fadeth not
away--and that too in a kingdom of everlasting happiness where the wicked
shall cease from troubling and the weary be at rest.
ON THE STRUCTURE AND ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN.
The BRAIN is admitted by physiologists, to be the organ of the mind,
although dissection furnishes no clue to its functions, but the same may
be said of the eye, the tongue or the ear. The phrenologist compares
developement of brain with manifestation of mental power, and by its
classification of organs arranges those instruments through which the mind
manifests its power during life. A brief description of the brain
therefore will be advantageous. It is a mass of soft matter not
homogeneous, but presenting different appearances; part of it white in
colour, and fibrous in texture is named the _medullary substance_ and
abounds in the interior; the other matter is of a grey colour and not
fibrous in appearance, this forms the outer-portion of brain, they do not
blend together, but have a perfect line of distinction. There is no
adipose or fatty matter in the skull. The brain is divided into two
hemispheres, separated by a strong membrane termed the _Falciform process
of the Dura Mater_, and each hemisphere is divided into three lobes,
anterior, middle and posterior: the two hemispheres and the organs of each
side are brought into communication by fibres running transversely. The
_cerebellum and brain_ are only slightly and indirectly connected.
The greater portion of the brain is destitute of sensibility, Sir C. Bell
imagines from this that it possesses a higher office than that of sensual
perception. The external substance of the brain is arranged in
convolutions or folds; these appear to be intended for the purpose of
increasing its superficial extent with the least enlargement of size,--in
the inferior classes of animals there are no convolutions, but they
increase in number and extent as we ascend in the scale of being. Each
side of the _brain_ and also of the _cerebellum_, is supplied with
separate arteries conveying blood to it, while the _sinuses_ or canals
which return the blood to the heart are common to all.
The CEREBELLUM is composed of matter similar to that of the brain in
appearance, but different in arrangement,--it is separated from the brain
by a strong membrane called the _tentorium_: its fibres originate in the
_medulla oblongata_ where the organs of the propensities take their rise,
so that the _brain and cerebellum_ although separated by the _tentorium_
are both connected together. The brain and Cerebellum are protected by the
skull, and the brain is formed before the bones which invest it. The
process of ossification is gradual, the principal portion at birth being
strong membranes in which the points of ossification begin and continue
increasing in extent and strength till about the age of nine years:
between the substance of the brain and the skull are the _pia mater_ and
the _dura mater_, two integuments which enclose the peripheral extent of
the brain and convey blood-vessels to its several parts, the brain with
these membranes exactly fills the interior of the skull. The skull fully
formed is composed of eight bones which are connected by indented edges:
the internal and external surfaces are, from their smooth surface called
the _plates_ and the intermediate part, _diploe_, which is of a loose
cellular texture; as this _diploe_ is nearly equally thick in every part,
the two tables are nearly parallel to each other, and the variations where
they occur do not exceed the eighth or tenth part of an inch; the
integuments being an exact form of the brain, and the bony matter fitting
them exactly, it follows that there is no obstacle of importance to
prevent our observing the form of the brain by the form of the skull.
Disease and old age alone oppose obstacles to this proceeding; for by
these causes the skull may be increased or diminished in volume, and it is
generally irregular in thickness in old age: the _sutures_ also interrupt
absolute parallelism, but their situation is known and allowed for, and
the _frontal sinus_, or cavity at the top of the nose, in the frontal
bone, (which is often enlarged and covered by the _schneiderian membrane_
giving great power to the nerves of smell) is so remotely connected that
it can only affect a few organs,--five at the most. These few objections
are so fully overruled by practice and observation, that they can never
lead to error if the student exercise a proper degree of caution.--We may
conclude then, that if men manifest their _true nature_ in their actions,
(and men cannot always be dissemblers,) the mind influencing the brain,
and thereby the skull, must present a developement corresponding to their
real character--and that PHRENOLOGY or external examination leads to the
results sought for when we examine human nature for the purpose of self
improvement, or for moral and religious elevation of character.
ON TEMPERAMENT.
The Temperaments are commonly stated to be four only, and their
sub-divisions; as these are united in the same individual. These are, the
_Nervous, Sanguine, the Bilious, and the Lymphatic_; they are
however rarely met with in a separate state, the greater number of persons
presenting a mixed temperament, the most predominant of which are the
_Sanguine-Bilious_ and the _Sanguine-Nervous_, a milder form of _Lymphatic
and the Lymphatic_ with the _Sanguine, Bilious and Nervous_, may be stated
as producing twelve varieties. Temperament may be defined as the natural
constitutional tendency of the individual, producing a disposition to
exert certain faculties more than others: for this reason they must be
carefully studied, that their _active_ and _passive_ influence upon the
mind may be ascertained. Their action is chiefly manifested in the
_energy_ or _apathy_, of the individual's character; for when properly
balanced, by their equal influence on a well cultivated mind, they produce
the beautiful harmony of feeling, that leads to a right estimation of
things whether moral, intellectual, or physical; by their combined
influence in the physical man, that is on the passions and affections, or,
on the intellectual being, that is, the perceptives actives, and the
reflectives passive,--or upon the higher sentiments, when the moral
energy is active, and the spiritual zeal passive,--they produce the
noblest developement of character that can actuate human nature--the
disunity of these produces but a heathen morality on the one hand, or
religious fanaticism on the other: in the mind too, while there is an
active _perception_ of facts, without due _reflection_ on causes, or the
reverse of these, the mind may be led into an excess of its favourite
pursuit, to the ultimate loss of much mental power. When rightly exercised
however, the spiritual unity of body, mind and soul, produces a vigorous
pursuit of whatever is great and good in human nature.
The Temperaments may be generally referred to some particular constitution
of the organic system--whole families are sometimes of a similar
temperament, and at others no two members are alike: a great portion
probably depends upon parental causes, in the same way that family
likenesses are often observed, probably they may be referred to the blood
as a chief cause, the active circulation producing great action on the
brain and nerves originating the _nervous_: a fulness of the circulating
medium may produce the _sanguine_; a muscular developement the _bilious_;
a sluggish system the _lymphatic_. The classification of the temperaments,
and their combined influence upon the three-fold nature of man may be best
understood from careful observation: when pure they present the following
appearances;--
1. A NERVOUS TEMPERAMENT is indicated by a pale complexion, features sharp
and angular, delicate texture of the muscular system, fine silky hair,
delicate health, quickness of perception and great susceptibility; persons
under the influence of this temperament are very sensitive,--act more from
impulse and feeling than from principle, and feel great languor when
exhausted.
2. The LYMPHATIC TEMPERAMENT, is marked by a full fleshy outline,--round
features,--pale complexion, light straightish hair,--pulse slow, muscles
soft and the disposition lukewarm and indolent: the circulation being
feeble, the mental manifestations are proportionately sluggish and weak.
3. The BILIOUS TEMPERAMENT is distinguished by dark hair, skin of a yellow
hue and coarse angular features, eyes active, and often with a severe
expression, the muscles firm and well developed;--the pulsations partake
of great energy which extends also to the brain.
4. The SANGUINE TEMPERAMENT is evident from a clear florid
complexion,--features well formed and fleshy,--the muscles full and
tolerably firm, mild expression in the eye,--auburn or brown hair, eyes
blue or sometimes hazel,--disposition lively and cheerful.
These, with their combinations will produce all the common varieties, and
where they are well united in a single individual the union generally
improves the character.
ON THE VARIETIES OF THE HUMAN RACE.
When we regard the different quarters of the globe,--the distinct and
permanent features of national character that stamp races of men as races,
we are immediately struck with the great mental and natural dissimilarity
of these varieties of the human race.--The Briton bowing in worship to the
one true and ever living God,--the wild Indian revelling in the
uncontrolled sublimities of a wild and unconquered waste,--the Brahmin,
prostrate at the blood stained relics of human sacrifice, or the ignorant
African, worshipping the carved effigy of some mis-shapen and hideous
monster;--each present characters which indicate some strongly marked
feature of individual and national constitution. The millions that dwell
around the Ganges have a national and characteristic feature in their
mental constitution, and this distinguishing mark is as decidedly evident
in the form of the brain as it is in the customs of the people,--the same
remark applies to all other races;--the European who has long dwelt in a
high state of civilization, and mental culture,--The Asiatic, whose
ancient customs, moderns vainly seek to improve,--The American, in his
native forest, surrounded by civilization, remains even yet in the state
of rude and ancient barbarism.--These differences of _national_
character, must have a great influence upon the _individual_: the
unvarying customs produce a sameness in the organization--the people as a
_whole_ are intellectual, ignorant, or barbarian.
These national differences have been attributed to the influence of soil
and climate:--but although these exercise some influence, they are
inadequate to explain the whole--climate would materially affect the
customs of the people, and these customs would influence the organization
of those parts of the brain influenced by the operations of the mind in
procuring animal comforts,--the developement of constructiveness is
greatly affected by the cause. But when we remember how certainly the same
causes produce the same results throughout the works of nature, we are
often unable to explain much of this influence, the Europeans and native
Indians have lived for centuries under the influence of the same physical
causes--the one has progressed like their brethren of the old
continent,--the other remains stationary in savage and uncivilized
wildness.
Religious and political institutions again, have been brought forward as
the causes of these differences; but this is a superficial view of the
matter, because it will be granted that all our institutions have been
framed as the minds of man require them, not anteriorly: and when we
except institutions like that of christianity, the direct gift of God
himself, from what cause do we consider human institutions to emanate
except from the minds of those who legislate for the wants of a people,
or who impose institutions upon them by right of arbitrary power.