Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

"undertakings by those who, like him, think chiefly of themselves. The ambitious man is unhappy if he be not approved of, or ho"noured to the extent he thinks he has deserved. He who, prompt"ed by charity, does good, finds his reward in the deed itself; but " he who does good to gain approbation, or gratitude, is liable to be "deceived, and, in the very act, often prepares himself a source of In proportion, therefore, as the animal nature shall lose " in energy, and the peculiarly human faculties gain in strength, "the sum of human happiness will increase."

"sorrow.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

66

History proves that nations attain the highest prosperity when every one is permitted to work for his peculiar advantage; but history also proves that this prosperity is not permanent; its very causes involve the elements of decline; for luxury, indolence, "moral corruption, degeneracy of body, and feebleness of mind, are 66 consequences of its temporary endurance, and these are the sure precursors to the death of empires. I leave this discussion to those "who are occupied with politics. I am particularly interested in "calling the attention of all thinking people to the necessity of "founding society on the broad basis of natural morality, itself the "sole, sure, and unalterable foundation of universal welfare. This "ground is more stable than that which sensual pleasures, or the "arts and sciences, can supply. The indulgence of inferior appe"tites degrades, morality ennobles human nature, and is indispen"sable, whilst the arts and sciences are mere embellishments of ex"istence."

"From all I have said, it follows that I consider the practice of "natural morality as indispensable to the welfare of mankind at "large, and that all social institutions ought to be founded on this "natural morality, which has been, is, and will ever be, invariable. "Individually I call those happy who, without difficulty, subject "their animal nature to the faculties proper to man; who, for instance, are satisfied with such things as are merely necessary"with their daily bread; who desire not superfluities, luxuries, "riches, or distinctions; who taste of all pleasures in moderation, enjoying every thing, but abusing nothing; who cultivate art or science for the delights it affords; who in every situation do their 66 duty; and who stand not in need of others' or foreign aid, to sa"tisfy their active faculties. Unhappy, on the other hand, are al"most all who look for their personal well-being in things which "are opposed to natural morality; who have many and active fa"culties, the satisfaction of which depends on others; whose inferior "faculties, in short, are the most energetic, especially if they injure "the health, and if their indulgence be expensive."

[ocr errors]

294

ARTICLE XII.

QUESTIONS WHICH ARE CONSIDERED AS SETTLED BY

PHRENOLOGY.

To the Editor of the Phrenological Journal.

SIR, I have sometimes, for my own amusement, put down some of those points which either were, or still are, matters of dispute in the old school, but which Phrenologists regard as set at rest by the discoveries of their science. I subjoin the following list, without much regard to arrangement of the subjects; and which, I have no doubt, might be greatly enlarged. The bringing of these points into one view may perhaps tend more impressively to shew the advantages which Phrenology is one day destined to confer on mankind, when passion and prejudice shall have given way to a conviction both of its truth and importance :

1. That the brain is exclusively the organ of the mind.

2. That the mind possesses a number of distinct or primitive faculties, each of which is dependent on a particular material organ for its manifestation; the power of manifestation being, ceteris paribus, in proportion to the size of the

organ.

3. That these faculties and organs are divided into three great classes,-propensities, sentiments, and intellect.

These may be considered as the great leading discoveries of Phrenology. The following either flow from, or are included under, the above general heads.

4. That faculties, and not ideas, are innate.

5. That attention, perception, memory, and imagination, are not primitive faculties of the mind, but only modes of activity of all or any of the intellectual faculties.

6. That there is an infinite variety among individuals in their respective endowment of the primitive faculties. Hence

the differences among men are original and innate; a mathematician is not necessarily a metaphysician, nor a poet a painter.

7. That these original differences descend, by the laws of propagation, from parents to children.

8. That it is upon this principle chiefly that national character depends; the feebleness of the Hindoo character, as compared with the European, being caused by the former inheriting from nature a smaller brain than the latter.

9. The distinctive character of the sexes, particularly in the propensities of Amativeness and Philoprogenitiveness, and in general size of brain.

10. The essential distinction between man and the lower animals. In particular, the latter do not possess the organs of the sentiments of Hope, Veneration, Conscientiousness, &c., nor those of the reflecting faculties of Comparison, Causality, or Wit.

11. That man possesses a natural sentiment leading him to the worship of a God.

12. That man has an innate moral sense. This depends chiefly, though not solely, on Conscientiousness. The exis tence of this faculty disproves the theories of virtue given by Hume, Hobbes, Mandeville, Paley, &c.

13. The existence of the faculties of Adhesiveness, Acquisitiveness, Secretiveness, Love of Approbation, Benevolence, Conscientiousness, and Intellect, prove that a state of society or civilization is natural to man, in opposition to the reve ries of Rousseau, Monboddo, &c., who held that the solitary or savage state was natural, and the social unnatural.

14. That we may determine, a priori, the education most suitable to be given to, and the professions best adapted for, different individuals.

15. That insanity is, in every case, a bodily and not a mental malady; and that the seat of the disease is exclusively in the brain, or in some particular part of it.

16. Hence the cause of partial insanity,-the organ of

7

Self-esteem, for example, may alone be diseased, in consequence of which the individual may suppose himself to be a king; while every other organ, and in particular the organs of the intellectual faculties, may be in a state of perfect sanity.

17. The causes of idiocy, partial or total, arising from the deficiency of size or structure in all or any of the organs.

18. The phenomena of dreaming,-profound sleep being the repose of all the organs, and dreaming the activity of only some of the organs.

The points above-mentioned are held by Phrenologists as indubitable. Some of those which follow may admit of doubt, but are considered as, at least, highly probable.

19. The analysis of humour, the combination of Wit and Secretiveness.

20. Analysis of the different faculties which concur in producing music, chiefly Tune, Time, Imitation, and Secre

tiveness.

21. The necessity and importance of Imitation and Secretiveness (the latter in particular giving expression) in acting, and in the fine arts.

22. That the disputes which existed as to the reality of an external world arose from Causality attempting to take cognizance of that which belonged exclusively to Individuality and the other knowing faculties.

23. Phrenological theory of virtue; the faculties on which it depends being Benevolence, Veneration, and Conscientiousness,-former theories having been founded chiefly on propriety, prudence, or benevolence.

24. That the causes of the different degrees of liberty, enjoyed by different nations, are dependent chiefly on their respective endowment of the higher sentiments, and not on their particular forms of government,-free institutions being the effects, and not the causes of liberty.

It would unnecessarily swell this detail, were I to notice the light which Phrenology has shed on sympathy, associa

tion, habit, taste, beauty, &c., &c., which occupy so prominent a place in the books on the philosophy of mind. I also abstain from pointing out its utility in its application to legislation, criminal jurisprudence, political economy, &c. Enough has been stated to shew the high importance of Phrenology, if true, and hence the moral obligation under which I conceive every man is laid to examine and judge of its pretensions for himself. I am, L.

ARTICLE XIII.

DR GALL'S VISIT TO THE PRISONS OF BERLIN AND

SPANDAU.

THE sixth and last volume of Dr Gall's admirable and imperishable work, "Sur les Fonctions du Cerveau," has just reached us, and we cannot resist the temptation of making a few extracts from its pages. Let any one read the following passage taken from Dr Gall's conclusion, and then say if he is a reckless theorist, a visionary, or a quack :

"I could have wished," says Dr Gall, "to have deferred this pub"lication still longer, in order to mature more fully the fruits of my "researches; but the last term approaches, and I must resign my"self to leave this first sketch of a physiology of the brain much "less perfect than it will be fifty years hence." "Whoever is not "impelled by an innate instinct of observation,-whoever finds the "abnegation of his own opinions, and of his own learning, acquired " in his earlier studies, too difficult to accomplish,-whoever is more "bent upon the improvement of his fortune, than upon unfolding "the treasures of nature,-whoever is not possessed of an imperturb"able patience against the interpretations of envy, jealousy, hypo"crisy, ignorance, apathy, and indifference,-whoever has too high "an idea of the force and justness of his own reasoning, to believe ❝ himself obliged to submit it to the test of experience, a thousand " and a thousand times repeated,-will never advance the physiology "of the brain; and yet these are the only means by which my dis"coveries can be verified, corrected, or refuted. The reader will "therefore pardon me if, independently of all the proofs adduced

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »