PHRENOLOGY. A LECTURE DELIVERED BEFORE THE WOODVILLE LYCEUM ASSOCIATION, BY MARIANO CUBf I SOLER, ^- ■ || ' '" "'" '' I'" |||| PROFESStR OF MODERN LANGUAGES IN THE COLLEGE OF LOUISIANA. BOSTON: MARSH, CAPEN, LYON, AND WEBB. 1840. CAMBRIDGE: _.,,, AND THURSTOH, FOLSOM, WELLS, i»« r,.H»M TO THBOMV«S,TT. LECTURE. Ladies and Gentlemen, Anxious to embrace any opportunity of using my feeble efforts in the promotion of science and letters, I have cheer- fully accepted an invitation to lecture before you on this oc- casion. I much fear, however, that presumption, rather than knowledge, has guided me in the choice of my subject. Should this prove to be the case, I must humbly beseech your kind indulgence. My studies and pursuits have chiefly been linguistical. For many years past, I have almost exclusively devoted my attention to the modern languages, and especially to the Spanish, my native tongue. I have, therefore, been able to command but little time for Phrenology ; and yet this is the subject which I have selected for your entertainment this eve- ning. My object will not be to make believers or followers of this science, but merely to draw attention to a subject, which, in my humble opinion, is of the highest importance in all our religious, moral, and social relations. For the sake of perspicuity and methodical arrangement, I shall divide my subject into three parts. In the first, I shall lay down the general principles, or fundamental truths, of Phrenology. In the second, I shall point out the cerebral or- gans, through which the mind acts, and their respective local- ities, as they are externally manifested in the human skull. In the third and last, I shall endeavour to explain the various mental functions of these organs. Phrenology, Ladies and Gentlemen, should be consid- ered as a mass of facts concerning mind, from which general principles can be, and are, established. Viewed in this light, there will not be room for the caviller to impugn or deny ; for all discussion and debate- may be obviated by an appeal to facts. Neither shall we abandon Phrenology, merely because it may happen to clash with some favorite theory of ours. This mode of proceeding will also fasten our attention solely on facts ; and, if what we discover be really facts, and our fa- 6 vorite theory, whether religious, moral, or political, be really correct, they must necessarily be in harmony ; for all truth emanates from God, and God cannot be inconsistent. By mind is understood that which ia us hopes, fears, loves, hates ; in short, that which in us perceives, thinks, and feels. Whether this be the effect of a purely spiritual es- sence, or the result solely of physical organization, it is not the province of Phrenology to investigate, much less to de- termine. Phrenology has nothing to do with the essence of mind ; it only collects facts concerning the manifestations of mind as connected with the brain. Upon these facts, which constitute Phrenology, there are established three great fun- damental principles, as the origin or basis of all phrenological doctrines. The first of these principles, or general truths, is, that the mind acts through the brain. The second is, that the mind employs, variously, different portions of the brain. And the third and last, is, that size of brain is a chief ele- ment of mental power. ^ That the mind acts through the brain, or, which is the same thing,.that the brain i» the organ or machinery of the mind, appears from evidence and demonstration, which our senses cannot repel. An injury of the brain always, invariably, without exception, is accompanied by a correspondent affec- tion of the mind. If the brain be influenced by any narcotic or by alcohol, the mind partakes of, and manifests, the same influence. "Fever, or a blow on the head," say^.Dr. Xeil Arnott, " will change the most gifted individual into a maniac, causing the lips of virgin innocence to utter the most revolt- ing obscenity, and those of pure religion to speak the most horrible blasphemy ; and most cases of madness and eccen- tricity can now be traced to a peculiar state of the brain." * The common sense of mankind has placed in the headf the operations of mind. In all the languages with which I am acquainted, not even excepting local dialects, we find ex* pressions equivalent to "numbskull," "thick-headed," "addle- pated," "badly furnished in the upper story," and many others of the same import, used to designate stupid persons. On the other hand, individuals possessed of uncommon mental pow- * Quoted from Combe's "System of Phrenology," p. €. Boston ed. 8vo t Head, thus used, means always the inside and outside of it, that is, the brain and the skull. 7 ers are said to have plenty of brains, to be strong-headed, to have a ferge heacl.* * The facts which support this first principle of Phrenology are so numerous, so obvious, that there is scarcely now an anatomist or a physiologist of any note, who does not admit it. Indeed, it is revealed to us by our own consciousness,— by our own perception of the fact. There is not one among us, who will not perceive that it is in his head, and not in any other part of his body, that the phenomena of thought and feeling take place, if he will pay attention to it. Where is it, but in the head, and not in the arms or the limbs, or any other portion of our body, that the pain of fatigue is felt when our mind has been tasked to excess ? What was it, but the conscious perception of the operations of mind being in the head that made the young French poet Ancfrfis, as he was on the scaffold to be guillotined, strike his forehead, and ex- claim, "Ah, there was something here! What a pity to die so young ! " The irresistible evidence of numberless facts, and our own consciousness, therefore, establish the first fundamental prin- ciple of Phrenology, namely, that the brain is the organ of the mind, at least in this our sublunary world. Some individuals impressed with the belief that the mind or soul is identical and unchangeable in every individual, dis- card Phrenology, because, say they, " It leads to establish the doctrine that men's souls are different." Phrenology disclaims having any such tendencies ; because, as I have ob- served before, it has nothing to do with the essence, but mere- ly and solely with the manifestations of mind. That these manifestations are different in different persons, and in the same person in different ages and, conditions, is a fact, which irresistibly forces itself upon our senses at every moment of our existence. Be it granted, however, that the mind, or soul, is, in es- sence, identical in every individual, whatever be the age or condition. Does it hence follow, that its manifestations, ■connected as they are with physical organization, must also be identical ? Not at all. The frequent comparison of the human brain to steam machinery ,f will serve for an illustra- tion to show, that such a conclusion would be untenable. •Voltaire (Charles XII. Behr's ed. 1830. 18ino. p. 204,) says that Charles the XII. was called " the Iron-head." Seso, "brain " ; or cabeza, " head," is more often used, in Spanish, to designate mind than the word mind itself. 1 The first time, however, that I read this appropriate and exact simile. 8 We all know tjiat the propelling power of a steam vessel is in the steam ; and yet, whatever be the essence, quantity, or quality of this power, it will always be manifested in precise accordance with the machinery through which it acts. Inso- much, that, if all the steamboats which now ply upon the waters had an equal quantity and quality of steam, their propelling pow- ers would be different if their machinery were different. Just so in regard to the mind and the brain. Even if it had pleased Almighty Wisdom to have endued all human beings with equal minds, having connected them with a different brain, or mental machinery, in every individual, they would appear as variously manifested as there are human beings in creation. But this is not Phrenology ; because Phrenology deals with facts alone, and not hypotheses. And I merely mention this to remove scruples from certain individuals, at least so far as to induce them not to abandon Phrenology until they have examined its principles and are able to appreciate its tenden- cies, which they may find, as others have found, conducive to man's religious, moral, social, and intellectual improvement. It is a second principle of Phrenology, that the mind, in its operations, does not employ the whole, entire brain in every act, but that, for every one of its faculties, it employs a differ- ent portion of the brain. In other words, the mind hopes through one portion of the brain, thinks through another, fears through a third, in the same manner as it sees through the eyes, it smells through the nose, it hears through the auditory nerves. This principle has been assailed with many shafts of ridi- cule, and it has often been the subject of much discussion and debate. I shall therefore lay before your consideration a greater amount of those facts and that evidence upon which it is established, than would otherwise be allowed by the nar- row limits to which I must confine this address. That the brain is complex, that it is a congeries of organs designed for the performance of different functions, appears from its external configuration. Unless we can deny the ev- idence of our senses, we must necessarily confess, that the base of the brain, as you perceive by this cast,* is as dif- ferent from its top, the frontal from its occipital region, as the chin is different from the lips, or the mouth from the was in Caldwell's " Thoughts on Physical Education." Boston ed. 8vo. I think tliat it is original in that gentleman. This book should be read and recommended by every one who has in his heart the desire of im- proving, and spreading happiness among mankind. * The lecturer exhibiting the cast of a human brain. 9 cheeks. Will any one say, without denying the evidence of sight, that this portion of the brain (destructiveness) is equal to this (benevolence)-, or that these convolutions (language, weight, color, form,) are like this mass (the cerebellum)? Im- possible. If, therefore, by a slight inspection, we see as much variety in the external form of the brain as we do in the external form of the face, will not the conclusion that the brain is designed for different functions, as the face is, be irresistible ? I know not what others may think ; for my part, I think it must. Besides the evidence of our senses, analogy, harmony, our own consciousness, and the appearance of many diseased mental phenomena, establish the same principle, that the brain is a series of organs, and that the mind employs them, vari- ously, for the performance of its functions. All animal creation affords a standing proof, that one dis- tinct function is performed by one distinct organ ; and that, if the function be complex, the organ is also complex. If hating, therefore, be different from loving, hoping from fearing, we must naturally suppose that nature, which is al- ways, invariably, consistent, will perform those different func- tions through the instrumentality of different organs. Partial genius, dreaming, monomania, partial idiocy, the successive appearance of mental powers in man, could not exist unless the mind acted through a variety of organs. If we thought through the same organ by which we feel and produce music, it would follow, as an inevitable con- sequence, that great power of thought would always be ac- companied by great musical talent, which, every one knows, is not the case. This observation is applicable to every other mental faculty. If dreaming be the awakened action of some mental powers, while others cannot be exercised, as its nature imports, it follows that the brain must be capable of being awake and asleep, active and inactive, at one and the same time, which could not possibly be the case, unless it were complex, unless it were a compound of pans. I say nothing in regard to the other mental phenomena, because it is self-evident that they could not exist, were the brain one single unit. To attempt to prove, for example, that monomania, which is the fact of one or more mental faculties being diseased, while others are perfectly healthy, presupposes the existence of more than one mental organ, would be worse than useless. Besides, we need not, go beyond ourselves in search of 2 10 positive proof to support the principle in question. Our own consciousness reveals it to us. When engaged in deep medi- tation, we feel that the brain in the up^>er region of the fore- head is in action. At least I am conscious of it, and I have heard fifty other persons say that they also were conscious of it. Even the external appearance, which the forehead assumes on these occasions, is such that the least observant individual instinctively would ask us, " What are you think- ing about ? " Our own consciousness will also reveal to us, that, when we are earnestly examining some objects, or endeavour to disclose some new qualities in them, by repeated intense ef- forts of perception, the eye, the eyebrows, and the brain lying inside this region, contract themselves, gather force, and seem to be under the influence of impelled action. All this becomes externally so evident, the lower portion of our fore- head expresses so vividly what passes in our minds, that by- standers will ask us, not as on the former occasion, " What are you thinking about ? " but " What are you looking at ? What are you observing ? " , It is, however, in cases where the brain has been partially injured, that the doctrine of a plurality of mental organs forces itself irresistibly upon us. Well authenticated examples of this nature are innumerable. I shall, however, mention only three, which can be easily substantiated by any person in this assembly. Not long since, while a young lady, in the city of New York, was hastily going from one room into another, she struck her head against a nail. The place injured happened to be that in which phrenologists locate the organ of marvel- lousness or wonder. Scarcely had the accident occurred, when the young lady began to see phantoms and various ap- paritions ; her mind in other respects remaining entirely unimpaired. The attendant physician derived, in this case, great benefit from a knowledge of Phrenology. By it he was enabled to establish in her mind the belief, through the medium of her sound reasoning faculties which he addressed, that those visions were not real, but the mere result of organic disorder. This impression greatly tranquillized the young lady, and was of immense aid in her recovery. The celebrated preacher and divine, Mr. Alexander Camp- bell, said, a few months since, that once, after great mental efforts, he felt a pain in and behind the superciliary ridge, as if occasioned by a determination of blood to that region. As soon as this occurred, the memory of names entirely disap- 11 peared ; the other faculties of his mind remaining so healthy and sound at the same time, that he coolly reasoned on his new, and, as he thoii^ht, extraordinary condition. He re- ceived medical aid, and he could plainly perceive, that, in proportion as the pain was disappearing, the memory of names returned, until it was completely restored. " Since that time," added he, " I have been a convert to the general principle's of Phrenology."* But the case which has struck me with peculiar force, and afforded to my mind irresistible proof of the truth of Phre- nology, is that of an insane patient now at the State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester, in Massachusetts. His name is Timothy Tillson, a native of Boston. The first time I saw him, he was playing on the flute. I thought I never heard such exquisite music produced by that instrument. "Yet," said Dr. Woodward, the able, intelligent, and benevolent superintendent of the Hospital, "he is a complete maniac." Now it is plain, that if the mind acted through the whole brain in every operation, these phenomena could not take place ; for it would be impossible that one single, uncom- pound organ should be awake and asleep, active and inac- tive, developed and undeveloped, healthy and diseased, at one and the same time. When such facts and convictions as these are presented before us, what else can we say, but that it has pleased Divine Wisdom to connect various faculties of the mind with various portions of the brain, and that it de- serves our pity and commiseration to see this great, this miraculous workmanship of our Creator denied and vilified by ridicule, fallacy, ignorance, or misrepresentation ? I shall not dwell long on the third, and what may be called the last great fundamental principle of Phrenology, namely, — that size of brain is a chief element of mental power, be- cause its truth is irresistible either to our external or internal senses. If two planks, being in all respects alike except size, be presented to us, we shall at once pronounce that one to be the stronger which is the larger. But, if one of the planks be oak wood, and the other pine, it will also be self-evident that size, in this case, cannot be offered as a standard of comparison ; because the substances are different. * I may not have used the very words of Mr. Campbell, but what I say is the substance and spirit of what he publicly related. 12 Be it always remembered, therefore, that in comparing power through size, all other conditions must be equal. This self-evident truth once established, it is clear that a mind or a mental faculty which God has connected with a small brain, or a small portion of brain, must be more feebly developed than another which has a large brain or portion of brain to operate with, provided, permit me to repeat, that, in every other respect beside size, the brains or portions of brain are perfectly equal. / Size must never be considered as the sole criterion of power. Various other properties must be taken into account. In mental manifestations, texture of brain, and quality of temperament, are great elements or modifiers of power ; and, if in our estimates of character, we do not take them into consideration, our decisions will very seldom be correct. I have not time, at present, to enter into, nor has it been my design to explain fully, this interesting portion of Phrenology. But I cannot leave it without repeating the warning against considering size as the only element or in- dication of power in an object, and especially in the human brain. For a comparatively small brain may, and frequently does, manifest more mental power than a comparatively large one, if other conditions besides size, favorable to pow- er and activity, are in it better developed. Phrenology has suffered much from friends and foes ; many wrong estimates of character, which have produced sneers and ridicule, have been given, by disregarding the all-important consideration, that size of brain is but one element of mental power.* I shall now proceed to point out the cerebral organs through which the mind acts, and their respective localities as externally manifested in the human skull. Facts, and not any reasoning a priori, of which phrenolo- gists have been very seldom guilty, prove that the organs through which the mind acts are a few over thirty-five. But thirty-five have been discovered ; and, with the exception of two or three, are now considered as fully established. These thirty-five organs may be classed into three great divisions, and six subdivisions, which plan I shall follow for the sake of brevity and simplicity, absolutely required by the nature of this lecture. The three great distinctive orders of the faculties of our mind, * Persons interested in this subject, may consult Gall's " Organology," translated from the French. Boston e'd. l'imo. 6 vols. Caldwki.l's " Phrenology Vindicated," in the " Annals of Phrenology," Art! 1. Combk's System of Phrenology, already quoted, p. 6, et seq. 13 have been distinguished by the names of moral, intellectual, and animal. These divisions exactly correspond with the upper, the frontal, and the basilar portions of the brain. In order to be plain and perspicuous, permit me to say in othei words, that the mind performs its moral functions through the top of the brain ; it manifests its intellectual powers, through the frontal region of the brain, and shows its animal passions through the basis and back of the brain. By crossing a string, a handkerchief, or a tape made for the purpose, around the head in this mariner, (over concen- trativeness, cautiousness, ideality, and reflective intellect,) we shall discover the moral division of the brain; it consists of all the space above the line described by the string. The portion of head lying under the string, from the temples for- wards, contains the intellectual division, and from the temples backwards, the animal. The relative size of these three portions of the head,— the top, the frontal, and the basis and back,—all other con- ditions being equal, will indicate what mental order of facul- ties preponderates in the individual examined. I repeat, if all other conditions, size excepted, be equal ; because, in cases of monomania, of great continued exertion of one por* tion of the brain, and inactivity of another, one organ or set of organs, may, in the same head, evince more or less power, depending on conditions which have no relation with size. I wish tq be explicit; one brain may not only differ from another" brain in texture, in fineness of fibre, in activity, on account of temperament and other causes, but one portion of the same brain may differ from another portion, if not in these, in other properties, in which case size affords no in- dex to the phrenologist for the deduction of mental power, even in the same individual. It is difficult to discover any difference of size in our arms ; and yet, owing to ascertained natural causes, the left, in right-handed persons, is always weaker than the right. I do not say this to discourage per- sons from studying Phrenology; but merely to induce them to be cautious in their examination of heads, and to refrain from forming opinions of character and talents by taking size of brain alone into consideration. Let them remember, that a brain, individually considered, is uniform in the qualities of its organs, except size, as a general rule only, and not as an oc- currence which takes place invarably and without exception. It may be useful to observe, that the three great divisions of cerebral organs,— the moral, the intellectual, and the ani- mal, — may be divided into six classes or clusters ; namely, 14 the moral, the regulating, the perceptive, the reflective, the domestic, and the animal. A knowledge of the locality of these subdivisions or clusters will greatly aid you in ascer- taining the locality of the individual organs of which these clusters are composed ; and will tend to accustom you to pay attention rather to large portions of the brain than to in- dividual organs, an invaluable habit for forming correct esti- mates of character and talents by an inspection of the head. The portion of brain, which the mind employs to manifest the perceptive faculties, lies behind the lower forehead, or the eyes and the superciliary ridge. The upper forehead is employed for the reflective manifestations. The top of the head, excluding the summit, are the moral organs. The cluster formed in and around the summit, constitutes the regulating. The domestic feelings are manifested through the occipital or back part of the head ; the animal, or purely animal organs, lie in the basis of the brain, from the temple backwards up to the place where the head turns in. The relative size of these portions of head, all other things being equal, will indicate the relative degree of their mental power. None of these localities has been established a priori; they are each and all, the result of a multitude of facts, which the nature of this lecture does not allow me time even to men- tion. They are, however, recorded in books ; they appear before us every moment in nature. Those among you, who feel interested in the subject, may gratify their curiosity, and remove their doubts if they have any, by reading the " Organ- ology" of Gall, lately translated into English, and published in this country, decidedly the best book upon Phrenology which can be studied. Spurzheim's, and more than Spurzheim's, the celebrated George Combe's writings should be read and learned. I would also recommend " The American Phre- nological Journal," published at Philadelphia, monthly, at the cheap price of two dollars a year. All these works are full of sound doctrine, sound morality,** nay, of sound re- ligion. They will be found to contain, perhaps, the only rational system of Mental Philosophy extant ; at least, the only system founded on positive knowledge and universal observation. * Combe's Constitution of Man, and Combe's Moral Philosophy, are the best books upon morals that have ever been written. The American Phrenological Journal is avowedly Evangelical; and the support of the Christian religion is one of its leading objects. 15 I have now come to the last part of my subject, namely, the explanation of the mental functions, performed through the material organs, the localities of which I have just en- deavoured to point out. Want of time, however, compels me to limit myself to the three great divisions,—the moral, the intellectual, and the animal. Perhaps, in a general lecture, this mode of proceeding, this dealing in prominent points only, is the best plan which can be followed to impart some information. If so, I do not regret that, at present, I can- not enter into details. But, to the subject. Man was evidently created to know, in this world, the ob- jects, and their relations, by which he was surrounded, to act for the purpose of satisfying present and selfish wants, and of ministering to future and universal happiness. In other words, man is a being made to know, to act for himself and for others, for the present and the future. We express this three-fold nature, by saying that man is a moral, an intel- lectual, and an animal being. As a moral being, man stands preeminent in creation. He governs his animal propensities, and directs his ac- tions to ends of future and general good. All inferior animals are exclusively created with a view to present and individual gratification only ; man lives at present, as con- nected with a hereafter ; enjoys selfish pleasures, as con- nected with the pleasures of others. Until man made his appearance, the improving powers of creation were in themselves totally blind or selfish ; they consisted in purely physical and animal action, guided, no doubt, by Almighty Wisdom to ends of universal happiness. But on man the Creator conferred powers and feelings that went beyond himself and the present time ; thus enduing this favorite creature with a portion of that regulating conduct for general and future good, which, up to that time, at least as far as this planet is concerned, God had exclusively kept to himself. This regulating, guiding power, — the origin of all human government, — this desire for the improve- ment of our future condition individually, and for that of others generally, is the function of our moral nature ; it is the operation of our mind acting through the upper portion of the brain. Permit me, therefore, clearly and distinctly to repeat, that the function of the moral organs is to form a salutary check to animal passions, and to impel us to act for 16 future and universal good. With the moral organs, are al- ways included the religious. Man is naturally a religious as well as a moral being. And if I do not now point out, among the moral organs, those which constitute the religious also, and explain their functions, it is because I have not time to enter into details. Be it constantly remembered, however, that when I speak of the moral portion of man, I universally include in it the religious. As an intellectual being, man becomes acquainted with himself and surrounding nature, together with the laws by which they are governed. Inferior animals perceive objects as they affect them individually at the present time ; man per- ceives them as they affect him and others, now and hereafter. He observes and sees results ; and all this is accomplished through the instrumentality of the frontal portion of the brain. Before the creation of man, God did every thing for the beings which tenanted the earth. They lived exclusively in the external condition which had been prepared for them. Herbivorous animals appeared only in prairies and verdant meadows ; the carnivorous were only to be found in places where other animals had been anteriorly created for their sup- port. They lived, and moved, and died, without any knowl- edge of themselves and their ends, and therefore without any willing traces of their existence. Guided by Eternal Wisdom they no doubt, as Geology has recently proved, prepared the way for future, more complicated, more multi- form, higher beings ; but they served this divine purpose indi- rectly, blindly, unconsciously,—they could neither modify external circumstances to harmonize better with their condi- tion, nor could they modify their condition, to adapt it to new or modified external circumstances. Man, by the power of his intellect, can, to a very great extent, accomplish all this. By the knowledge which he ob- tains of definite, constant, unchangeable results, he sows to reap, he modifies all climates, he shapes his conduct and pre- pares himself for known future events, which he commands at will ; he can change for the better the whole face of the earth ; and he obeys, in short, with enlightened and well- directed efforts, our Creator's eternal and universal law, — Improvement. Phrenology having demonstrated what common sense has always perceived, that man is possessed of moral and in- 17 tellectual faculties, which, to a certain extent, enable him to follow or resist desire, to produce or avoid results, will put an end to that question about free agency and fatalism, or liberty and necessity, upon which thousands of volumes have been written and printed, and which has divided, and still continues to divide, the minds of men. Phrenology will show, that man is not omnipotent, that is, that he is not ab- solutely and unreservedly a free agent, as some eagerly con- tend, nor altogether and entirely under inevitable necessity, as others warmly maintain ; but that, to a certain extent, he is both a free agent, and a being subject to fatalism. By his intellectual powers, man sees that he can accom- plish some actions and not others ; that he can avoid or re- sist some results and not others. It is, therefore, self-evident that we are free agents, in so far as we can accomplish, — in so far as we can avoid ; and that we are under inevitable ne- cessity, in so far as we cannot accomplish, — in so far as we cannot avoid or resist. In a healthy -condition, and under no external restraints, we can, for a given time, move or not move, our heads, arms, or legs ; we can direct our mental powers, as far as they can go, to this or to that object; because, in these cases, we have the power, or the free agency so to do. On the other hand, we are doomed or fated to walk upon the earth, and not to fly with wings like birds in the air, or to swim like fish in the sea; we are doomed to be burned if we fall into the fire, or drowned, if we fall into the water, because, in these cases, we have no power to perform or avoid. Our liberty or free agency is therefore in exact ratio with our knowledge and power, and our fatalism or necessity, with our ignorance and incapacity. In proportion as we shall become more extensive- ly acquainted with the laws of nature, and obtain more power, we shall increase our free agency, and diminish our fatalism. But a few years since, and man was destined not to travel at a greater continued rate of speed than eight or ten miles an hour ; now he can travel at the rate of fifty or sixty miles an hour, if need be. From time immemorial he has been subject, destined, to suffer the action of storms at sea; from all appearances, his fatalism in this respect will soon give way under the powerful influence of intellect, and his free agency obtain soon a complete mastery over the tempest and the hurricane. Had civilized man, against the laws of his Maker, which compel him to exercise his intellect, said, "Effort is useless, — thought is of no avail, — do what I 3 18 may, I cannot increase speed, or foil the storm," the mighty wonders of steam, the greatest triumph of human power, would have never been achieved ; and the hopes, the for- tunes, and the lives of thousands of human beings would have annually, for ever, continued to be buried in the deep. For my part, I cannot see how, on the one hand, we should be, as we are, able to act or not to act at will,—we should be, as we are, impelled to prepare future results by our- present conduct ; and on the other, that we should have no option, that every effect should be pre-ordained, whatever ef- fort we made, whatever conduct we followed. If it be said that God is omniscient, that, as such, he must know all things, present and future, that to know them he must have created them beforehand, and that, consequently, man can have no agency, no effect, on their essence or ar- rangement, I shall respectfully answer, that we know, by our own experience, that man has power, to a certain extent, over himself, external objects, and results, both in present and future time. This we know by the experience of all our senses, and it is therefore a self-evident truth, as useless to prove, as it is impossible to refute. And indeed, were it not so, For what purpose would the Creator have granted us moral and reasoning faculties, desires that impel and check each other, knowledge of results, and powers of directing and shaping our conduct to chosen ends ? How, on the one hand, from the attributes which we con- ceive in the Almighty, he should know all things before- hand, and yet, on the other, man should possess power to produce or avoid present and future results, — that is, to give or to withhold existence, is a mystery for which, perhaps, our reasoning faculties, in their present state, cannot account. And yet, if we consider, that man, as well as the rest of creation, is guided by laws framed by Almighty Wisdom, at the beginning, for all eternity, God's omniscience and man's limited free agency* may not appear contradictory. It may be argued, also, that the constitution of man is definite, that bis powers are determined, limited ; and that, therefore, the results or existence which he can create, are also limited and determined, — in other words, pre-ordained. But this is the doctrine of the existence of eternal laws, taught by Phrenology as well as common sense, and it sup- ports what I have advanced. It maintains, that free agency in man is determined and limited, which is precisely what I * That is, free agency, subject to the will of God, as manifested in the pre-ordained laws for the government of the universe. 19 have endeavoured to show. Phrenology teaches, that there are some men so constituted by nature or disease, as to be unable to resist a temptation ; and, for the sake of example, I shall say that they cannot resist the temptation, or natural un- controllable desire, to steal ; * that there are others, who can resist this natural propensity with some struggling ; and that the greatest part can resist it without any effort. This only amounts to the fact, that, as far as stealing is concerned, some few men have no free agency at all, and should therefore be prevented by external checks, from committing the crime ; that others have some free agency in regard to it, which should be put in action by all possible inducements ; and that the greatest part of mankind possess entire or complete free agen- cy, either to commit or not commit the crime, and only re- quire the use of their reason not to commit it. It is for this reason that I have so frequently said, that man is a free agent so far, and no farther, as he can produce or avoid action, by the means, mental or external, of which he is in possession at the time. We are, I must again repeat, under laws of free agency and necessity, but compelled by these very laws, to increase the one and diminish the other, that is, to improve. And here the usefulness of Phrenology shines in all its bril- liancy ; because it teaches man, to a very great extent, how far he can improve. It teaches him more. It teaches him how far his desires are uncontrollable or can be resisted and guided by mental or external checks, and how far he is able or unable to perform an action, or follow a course of con- duct ; thus furnishing him data to obtain a knowledge of that condition for which God designed him. I am precluded from extending my remarks any further upon this subject. What I have said, will draw attention to it, which is all I design at present. * Such persons, however, are to be considered as naturally insane ; and must be placed, consequently, under the guidance and moral agency of society. This is not optional, but obligatory. The enlightened must in- struct the ignorant; the temperate must correct the intemperate; the vir- tuous must improve the vicious; the sane must control the insane; the strong must protect the weak. This is the will of God, manifested through- out creation, which being disregarded, punishment is inevitable; society must irreinissibly suffer the penalty of disobedience. Hence the necessity of considering man what he is, a social being ; that is, a being connected with other beings, to give and to receive reciprocal benefits. One individual human being may, in some respects, have little or no free agency ; in which case it is clear, that the free agency of other human beings, with whom he is naturally associated, is to be exercised upon him. It is not enough, that we individually be virtuous, — we must, besides, endeavour to increase, as far as we can, the virtue or moral happiness of others. 20 As an animal being, man entirely partakes of the nature of the lower creatures. Like them, he is impelled, moved, dragged to present and selfish gratification. Unconscious of any other object but self, of any other existence but the present, these animal organs operate only for individual satis- faction. They have not, in themselves, any check or govern- ment but satiety or over-action, which, once removed by a period of repose, they crave with renewed appetite and re- doubled fury. Guided by them alone, man is a creature of passion, of imperfect instinct, of blind impulse. He sees no consequences, he regards no persons, he commits demon-like actions. But dreadful as the consequences are of these ani- mal propensities, when unrestrained or misguided, if they come in contact with proper checks, they produce the most active pleasures which are given to us to enjoy, and excite to action our moral feelings and mental powers. A too feeble developement of the animal instincts would render man as un- fit for action and happinesss, as a too feeble developenient of the moral sentiments would render him unjust and selfish. Hence the importance, the high importance, of a fair de- velopement of the three orders of mental faculties, the moral and the intellectual preponderating. From the exposition which I have made of the functions of the cerebral organs, as classed into three great divisions, will be substantially deduced, First, that man is impelled, by animal appetites, to present and selfish gratifications. Secondly ; that he is moved by moral desires, to do good to others and to posterity. And Thirdly ; that he can contem- plate, by intellectual powers, these opposed tendencies, and predict results. Such is man. A being composed of clash- ing elements, with intellect to enlighten him. Now it is evident, that, as these constituents may be, and frequently are, different in different men, according to the size and quality of the portions of brain through which they are manifested, our motives and actions must be unlike. That this is the case, we cannot avoid feeling and seeing at every moment of our existence. We find one man more animal, another more moral, a third more intellectual. One is more or less subject to mental combats, to eternal warrings, to in- decision of character, as the antagonistic organs of his mind are more or less in equilibrio; A second is more or less decided to a course of conduct, good or bad, as the upper or lower regions of his head preponderate. A third is extraordinary for the mighty conceptions, and bold and rapid energy, of his mind towards what is good and great; thus becoming the ad- 21 miration of present and future generations, on account of possessing a large and well-balanced brain, of fine texture and of superior quality in every other respect. All men, how- ever, have, by the clashing tendencies of,their nature, more or less power over themselves, and as far as this power ex- tends, they can improve, they can direct their conduct to good ends. Beings who have not this power at all, who are entirely and completely deprived of moral feeling and reflecting in- tellect, belong not to the human species. By his moral desires and reasoning faculties, and by no others, does man feel and see that this world has been created in harmony, not with selfish, but with universal happiness, and that it is his duty, as far as he has the power, to direct his actions to tb.at end. And here is the origin, — whatever portion of our brain pre- ponderates,— of that enlightened struggle, of that illumined effort, which, more or less, all human beings are conscious of making, or of feeling that they ought to make, to direct their conduct to higher objects, to more exalted views, than the mere selfish gratification of the animal propensities. Were man all animal desire, he would be deprived of those exciting and controlling feelings, of those checks and balances, of those mental warrings, of those powers of government and selection, which now constitute his nature. He would then, like the inferior creatures, be solely impelled and guided by blind, perfect instinct, by inevitable necessity, that is, by God's providence. But now his moral nature and intellectual nature form, as I have frequently stated before, an enlightened direct- ing check to his imperfect animal propensities, as well as an impelling principle towards virtue ; and, as far as they go, man is constituted his own master, — his own agent; — further, he is left in the hands of his Maker, or, if you choose so to express it, of his fate. In regard to the great variety in size and quality of the differ- ent portions of brain in different individuals, it can only be said, that he whose intellectual and moral regions greatly pre- ponderate, will need no external monitor to apprize him of the duty of improving and guiding himself to higher and high- er ends. His animal passions will ba checked and well guided without effort. He will be a law unto himself. Per- haps, however, a man thus constituted may be too indifferent to self; he may possess too little of the animal nature, in which case external circumstances will arise, which will im- pel him to excite and put in more active operation his selfish organs, or suffer for being too good to others and not good 22 enough to himself. The wicked, or absolutely selfish man, will excite his better portion to renewed efforts of improve- ment by the misery which he will bring upon himself and oth- ers, by the restraints of society, or by other external checks. The poor, deluded, half-civilized human creature, will be ad- monished to improve, to accomplish better deeds, by his phys- ical sufferings, and by the terrors which his blind, moral por- tion will perhaps create. So all human beings see and feel, to a certain extent, if they are really human beings in a healthy condition, either by the workings of their own minds, or the checks of external circumstances, that they must improve, that they must check and guide their animal propensities, or, as they are termed, their evil passions, and aim at greater moral and intellectual excellence, at deeds more worthy of them- selves and their God. If there be human beings in whom the perceptions of wrong, either naturally or through disease, are too feeble for them to live at large, in a society of higher and better gifted individuals, without being greatly injurious, they must be checked, considered as insane, and placed in a confined condition, which will be in harmony with their or- ganization. Why is it, that the Almighty has not created every man a Washington, and every woman an Isabella ? * Why is it, that every man and every woman are not possessed of per- fect instincts, of moral feelings and intellectual powers, just in that preponderating proportion which would render effort unnecessary, wrong unknown, mental misery unfelt ? These are questions which we cannot solve, which we have no or- ganization to solve. We must study man as he has been created ; created by supremely perfect wisdom, for supremely perfect ends ; with imperfect but improving elements, with liabilities to sink into vice, but with powers to walk in the path of rectitude, with tendencies to suffer misery, but with capacities to seek and enjoy present and future happiness. But Religion, as well as Philosophy, shows, that virtue and happiness, not vice and misery, were the object of the Al- mighty in the creation of man. Religion, as well as Philoso- phy, shows, that virtue and happiness consist in obeying, as far as we can, the laws which God has established for the physi- cal and moral government of the universe ; and that therefore it becomes our most imperative duty to discover these laws, H See that masterpiece of historic writing, Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, (Boston, 1839,) Vol. iii. chap. 1G. pp 169-205. 23 that we may act in accordance with the will of our Heavenly Father. Phrenology explains the laws which govern mind here be- low,— mind, as it exists in our present condition, connected with matter. Without a knowledge of it, therefore, we re- main, to a very great extent, ignorant of the manner in which we ought to act, in the most important occasions of our lives, to ensure, now and hereafter, happiness to ourselves and others. Take marriage for example. Without a knowledge of Phrenology, — without knowing that God has, by an eternal, unchangeable decree, ordained that man can only be virtuous and happy by satisfying temperately and harmoniously all his desires, we may enter into that condition and reap from it ourselves, and communicate or transmit to others, affliction and misery instead of gratification and joy. Suppose a per- son influenced only by love of the beautiful and love of prop- erty, disregards the cravings of the remaining thirty-three mental instincts, and forms a matrimonial connexion with an individual beautiful and rich, indeed, but incapable of gratifying the other organs. Ideality and acquisitiveness will no doubt •luxuriate for a while, but, like hunger surrounded by dainties, they will soon cease to crave. In this satiated condition, benevolence, attachment, intellect, self-esteem, will cry aloud for satisfaction, and if, instead of finding in the individual with whom we have connected ourselves for life the proper quali- ties to appease the cravings of these other mental appetites, we only find there immoral principles, levity, ignorance, and undignified deportment, — what a harvest of affliction and misery we shall reap, notwithstanding the transcendent beauty and immense property of our partner ! On the other hand, if we marry chiefly with a view to satisfy what is termed pure, disinterested love, and even all our moral sentiments, but disregard acquisitiveness and the sense of feeling,* thus becoming blind to the known laws of physical existence and transmission, neither the most exquisite, the most re- fined satisfaction of all our affections, nor the most sublime and heaven-like enjoyment of all our virtuous cravings, will make up for the miseries *of want, or the pangs created by a deformed, sickly, half-starved, suffering progeny. * By sense of feeling is understood that quality of the mind, or mental ory