Part 2 (1/2)
The well balanced temperament, the _temperamentum temperatum_, of the ancients is an ideal condition in which there is in fact no temperament, all the organs of the body being perfectly in harmony, and exhibiting no preponderance of one over the other. Many persons approximate this condition, but it is difficult to find one in which it is so nearly attained as to make the proper cla.s.sification of his temperament under the above heads a difficult matter. However desirable such a condition may be from a purely physiological standpoint, the fact remains that all great and powerful natures, the men who have been the leaders in the battles of literature, art, science and war itself, have had well defined and p.r.o.nounced temperamental conditions of organization.
We have now fully demonstrated that in his scientific delineation of character the professional phrenologist depends upon something more than mere configuration of skull. The great modifying conditions of health, quality and temperament in every case give us the foundation of the character. It will be seen, some medical authorities to the contrary, notwithstanding, that the science of Phrenology has a firm basis on the established principles and known facts of Physiology and Anatomy.
Bearing these facts in mind we will now proceed to the discussion of the scientific principles governing the phrenological examination of
SIZE AND CONFIGURATION OF BRAIN, or the theory of the localization in different organs of the brain of the corresponding faculties of the mind.
THE BRAIN is the key-board of the body. It is an error to claim that it is the exclusive organ of intelligence. The brain performs substantially the same function for the body which the key-board does for the piano, or which the central office of the telephone system performs for its various subscribers.
Magnetism received from the exterior of the body is transmitted to the brain where it produces a result. This result in turn is transmitted to various portions of the body. Properly, therefore, intelligence is distributed over the entire body and the amount of intelligence which any individual possesses will be found to be in exact proportion to the size and quality of his body and the perfect adaptation, cooperation and adjustment of its parts.
The brain is an oval ma.s.s of soft tissue which completely fills the internal cavity of the skull. It is composed of two substances, a white fibrous substance which forms the internal portion and a gray, cortical tissue which forms the external layer. This gray substance lies in folds or convolutions, the furrows or sulci, dipping deeply into the interior of the brain.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Brain with Skull Removed.]
It is found by dissection that the brain of an intellectual man exhibits a larger number of convolutions than one of small intellectual calibre, and that the convolutions are deeper and the layer of gray substance thicker, and in consequence of the increase in number and depth of convolutions there is a wider expanse of surface as well, for the distribution of gray matter. Hence the relative proportion of gray matter in different brains has come to be regarded by physiologists as a test of mental power. Many idiots have large and well formed brains but the convolutions are shallow and few and the gray matter small in quant.i.ty and extent of surface. Physicians often ask me how I can estimate the relative quant.i.ty of gray matter in a living head without cutting into it. I refer them to the study of quality and temperament which I have clearly expounded in this lecture. Do you ever find hickory leaves growing on a pine tree? Show me the bark of a tree and I'll tell you the quality of the wood within; show me the skin, the hair, the eyes of a man and I'll tell you the quality of every organ in his body as well as the quality of the brain. I recently astonished the superintendent of an insane asylum by pointing out to him that the quality of the hair, the eyes and the skin of idiots was essentially different from the quality of those of more highly endowed persons, and could be told in the dark by a person of educated sensibilities. The quality and texture of the brain being determined, the next step is the consideration of its size.
Other things being equal in all natural objects, size is the measure of power. By the term ”other things” in relation to the brain, we mean temperament, quality and health. This simple principle explains why a great many people who carry large heads are endowed with but little intellectual power. Their heads are filled with ”sawdust,” in other words, a brain of poor quality, supported by a feeble body, or vitiated by excessive temperamental conditions.
Men who carry small and misshapen heads are often brilliant in certain directions, and this limited brilliancy in special lines causes them to be spoken of by superficial observers as men of great ability and apparent exceptions to the phrenological rule. The fact remains, however, that in no case is comprehensive greatness ever exhibited in a head of small dimensions.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Small Head. Brilliant in Observation, Deficient in Reflection.]
Large size of brain, accompanied with robust health, high quality and good temperamental conditions, gives the highest phase of powerful mentality and comprehensive greatness. Small size of brain, with poor health, low quality and erratic temperamental conditions gives the lowest form of mentality and const.i.tutional inferiority. Between these two extremes we may find every conceivable modification and form of human character according to the various combinations of normal and abnormal conditions.
Size of brain then is a measure of power when judged by an enlightened understanding of physiological, anatomical and pathological conditions.
The phrenologist goes one step farther and a.s.serts that size of brain in any particular region, judged by the same standards of comparison, is an indication of local power.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Criminal.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Philosopher.]
Every portion of the body is created for a specific function. You never see with your ears, you do not taste with your eyes, you do not walk with your teeth. There is no waste in nature. Every part has its special duty to perform. The part of the brain which lies in front of the ears has a different function from that which lies behind them. The parietal lobes of the brain are not placed in the skull for the same purposes which the frontal and occipital lobes represent. Every fibre has its function, every convolution its purpose. All that remains for us to do is to compare known forms of heads and note the coincidence of character exhibited by similar developments and the divergences of character accompanying diverse developments. In the past century these observations have been sufficiently successful to locate the general functions of the external portions of the brain which are situated so that observation and comparison are possible. Forty-two general organs are now located with definite certainty, and these have been subdivided with sufficient accuracy so that there are over one hundred localized centres of cerebral development which can be accurately measured and their mental power determined to the advantage of the individual and the benefit of society at large.
The brain is double. It is divided into two hemispheres by the _falx cerebri_, a part.i.tion which follows the middle line of the skull. Each hemisphere contains one organ pertaining to each faculty of the mind.
The size of each organ is estimated, not by feeling for b.u.mps or depressions, but by measuring the length of the fibres of the brain from their common center in the _medulla oblongata_, at the head of the spinal column, and at a point equi-distant from the ears in the interior of the head. From this common centre the fibres of the brain range horizontally and upward in all directions like the branches of a tree.
Development of brain fibre laterally gives a wide head, longitudinally, from the _medulla oblongata_ to the forehead and to the occiput, a long head. Development upward raises the crown; and I have in my collection skulls which show by actual measurement a relative difference of over three inches in development of brain fibre to certain localities of brain surface. Viewed in the light of these facts and principles as here expounded, the phrenological position is established, and the childish objections of those who sneer at this beautiful science, fall crumbling to the dust. The last great fact to be considered is this: Exercise of any portion of the body develops it, enlarges it and adds to its strength. Disuse weakens, paralyzes and ultimately destroys. This rule applies to all parts of the body, and to the brain more particularly because the nervous tissue of which the brain is composed is more rapidly used up and renewed than any other portion of the body and hence more susceptible to change. Phrenology solves all problems of education and enables every individual to develop a symmetrical and well formed brain, and with it a harmonious character, by pointing out those portions that are deficient and those that are strong, and thus enabling him to secure a really well trained mind.
By memorizing the different organs and their functions, particularly those in which you are marked as excessive or deficient, and by practicing the observation of your daily conduct and learning to a.n.a.lyze it phrenologically, _i. e._, to note those occasions when deficient faculties have failed to act, and when predominating faculties have caused you to act hastily or contrary to good judgment, you will soon become painfully aware of your true faults, and by a conscientious action of reason and exercise of self-control will be able to correct them. In the same manner predominating talents may be tested and proved and you will rejoice in the birth of new aspirations, hopes and impulses, in a word you may be, by means of this science, placed in full command of your mental powers and learn to control and direct them as the skillful engineer controls and directs his locomotive.
Concede the fact that these differences in form, quality, temperament and health mean anything, and all that we claim for Phrenology follows logically and as a matter of course. In the light of this demonstration of known facts, it follows that character can be read, and if read, then it can be a.s.signed to the position of its best usefulness in the profession, trade or avocation suitable to the employment of the talents demonstrated to exist. If Phrenology gives the index to your character, as we have proved it does, then it also forms the key to the solution of the problem of matrimony by describing the character which will harmonize with yours in congenial companions.h.i.+p, financial success and the improvement of offspring. It likewise is a trusty guide in the formation of business relations as partners, employers or employees, and directs us in the choice of a.s.sociates, teachers or companions in social life. It gives to the anxious parent the knowledge of inherited and acquired talents in cherished darlings of the household, and in every relation of life; at every moment of existence it is an advantage, a comfort, an a.s.sistance, a thing of beauty and a joy forever.
In this lecture, ladies and gentlemen, I have demonstrated the theory of Phrenology. To-morrow night and on each of the succeeding nights of this course, I shall give you practical applications. To-morrow night I shall lecture on the ”Choice of Professions and Trades,” ill.u.s.trating to you the qualities that insure success in Law, Medicine, the Ministry, Journalism and Teaching, in Manufacturing and the various Mechanical Trades, as well as the qualifications for Commercial Life in its various departments, wholesale and retail. I shall follow with my celebrated lecture on Matrimony, in which I shall expound the principles upon which a correct marriage may be consummated, securing amiable a.s.sociation, perfect offspring and financial success, after which I shall separate the s.e.xes and continue the subject of matrimony in its physiological relations, under the head of ”s.e.xual and Creative Science.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Phrenological Location of Faculties and Organs of the Brain.]
Choice of Professions and Trades,
OR