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with the rest, were much quicker in apprehending what was taught them: and further, by observing in different individuals of the same species of animals, as dogs, that some were fierce, some mild: again, that in birds of the same species some continued to sing their own notes only, while others would listen to, and imitate, artificial music and with reference to the last mentioned instance particularly, he argued that the difference could not arise from the greater or less degree of perfection in the organ of hearing, for it is the same in both; but must be looked for in the brain, to which the organ of hearing conveys sounds; and in which, and not in the ear itself, they are perceived. There are moreover numerous instances which show that the sense of hearing is by no means in proportion to the degree of perfection in the construction of the ear. Thus, the dog hears with indifference the sweetest melody: and yet the construction of his ear approximates more to that of man than the construction of the ear of even the most musical birds. And on this point Dr. Gall asks, if the organ of hearing determine the power of singing, why should the female bird be mute, seeing that in this part of its bodily construction it differs not from the male? It is equally observable that in men the talent for music is not in proportion to any superiority in the organ of hearing; in the construction of which indeed there is little if any apparent difference between any two individuals.

Partial insanity and partial idiocy are among the circumstances which Dr. Gall considers as favouring his theory. The frequency of the former must be a fact well known to all: the latter is not uncommon; and even persons of considerable intelligence occasionally exhibit very obscure traces of this or that particular faculty. Other arguments in favour of his system he draws from the temporary effects produced by cerebral inflammation on the state of the mental powers: in the case, for instance, of idiots, who during the inflammatory action have manifested

a considerable degree of understanding; but after the cessation of that action have relapsed into their former state of fatuity.

It would seem, in the instances here adduced by Dr. Gall, that the mental faculties which had been previously in a state of fatuity, are rendered for the time rational, in consequence of a degree of excitement which in individuals not labournig under fatuity would have probably produced delirium: and, as a rational state of the faculties may be considered, to use a mathematical expression, as a mean proportional to fatuity and delirium, it might be expected that the same cause which would raise a rational state of the faculties to delirium, would raise an idiotic only to a natural state: as, in a similar manner, wine is observed to modify the characters of individuals of different temperaments, by elevating them for the moment:

"It keeps the unhappy from sinking,

And makes e'en the valiant more brave."

It would occupy too much time to enter into the detail of this interesting part of Dr. Gall's system: nor was more originally intended than to introduce the subject to the consideration of those, who happen not to have reflected on it before, in such a manner as to enable them to form some judgment of the merits of a theory, the character of which has been injured to the full as much by its injudicious friends as by its professed enemies. Of this theory it may perhaps be affirmed with truth, that, considered as an abstract philosophical speculation, it is highly ingenious, and founded upon unobjectionable principles and that while the general conclusion is inevitable with respect to the collective functions of the brain, there is nothing unreasonable in supposing that specific parts serve specific purposes. The rock, on which Dr. Gall and his implicit advocates have split, is the attempt to fix the local boundaries of the several faculties of the soul. Had he satisfied him

self with developing the structure of the brain in the various classes of animals; and had he been content to show that, in tracing its structure from those animals which manifest the least indications of intelligence to those which exhibit still stronger and stronger, it proportionally advances in its resemblance to the structure of the human; and lastly, had he only drawn from these premises the general probable conclusion, that specific parts had specific uses with respect to the manifestations of the immaterial principle of animal existence; (and assuredly brutes are endued with such a principle, though, as being devoid of the moral sense, they are not fitted for a future state, and consequently perish when their bodies die ;) had Dr. Gall been content to have stopped at this point, without venturing to define the local habitations of the supposed specific organs, he would have acquired the unalloyed fame of having developed a beautiful train of inductive reasoning in one of the most interesting provinces of speculative philosophy: whereas, in the extent to which he has carried his principles, his doctrine has become ridiculous as a system; while in its individual applications it is not only useless, but of a positively mischievous tendency: for, without the aid of this system, every man of common sense has sufficient grounds on which to judge of the characters of those with whom he associates; and it is evidently more safe to judge of others by their words and actions, and the general tenor of their conduct, than to run the risk of condemning an individual from the indication of some organ, the activity of which, for a moment allowing its existence, may have been subdued by the operation of moral or religious motives.

But there is an occasional absurdity in the application of the theory, which, though obvious, does not seem to have been noticed. Let us suppose, for instance, the case of a murderer; and that a disciple of Dr. Gall were to maintain that, as the crime of murder proceeds from the operation of the organ of

destructiveness, that organ would be found highly developed in such an individual; and yet, upon actual inspection, this were not found to be the case. Here, although the disciple of Dr. Gall might be disappointed in finding no such developement, a plain reasoner would not be so disappointed: for is it not obvious that avarice, or shame, or jealousy, might in a moment operate so powerfully as to lead an individual to the crime of murder, whose nature and habits were as far as possible removed from the propensity to that crime; and who, consequently, according to Dr. Gall's own principles, would be devoid of any undue developement of the organ of murder? With respect to ourselves indeed, the study of the system may be attended sometimes with the happiest consequences: for if, from the contemplation of it, we can be strengthened in our conviction of the fact, which both reason and revelation teach us, that each individual is liable to particular temptations depending on his specific temperament, we shall thus have one additional memento of our frailty, one additional incentive to watch over, and combat "the sin which doth so easily beset us."

SECTION IV.

The general Doctrine of Physiognomy, as connected with the Form of the Body.

As the indiscreet zeal, not only of Dr. Gall, but of physiognomists in general, has thrown unmerited discredit on that department of speculative philosophy which they have cultivated, it may be worth while to examine the subject on other authority than that of professed physiognomists.

There are many phenomena, then, connected with the moral and intellectual faculties of man, both in a healthy and diseased state, which, by showing the reciprocal influence of the two distinct parts of our nature, the soul and the body, render it probable that

the energies of the former, although it be itself immaterial, may be manifested by means of a material instrument. The existence of this reciprocal influence, which indeed we might expect from their intimate though mysterious union, cannot be denied. Thus grief or expectation destroys appetite; and mental application to any fovourite pursuit makes us insensible of the want of food: and, on the other hand, a disordered state of the digestive organs evidently impedes the free exercise of the mental powers; or oppresses the soul with those dreadful, though really groundless apprehensions, which have been termed hypochondriacal from the situation of the organs, the morbid state of which is supposed to give rise to those apprehensions. Again, intoxication confuses the memory and judgment; and the repeated abuse of wine permanently debilitates the mind, and often terminates in confirmed insanity. The state of the air affects the mental energies and moral feelings of many individuals, to a degree inconceivable to those who are not thus subject to its influence. And the impression of fear has been known suddenly to arrest the symptoms of endemic ague and epilepsy.

The general idea that this connexion of the soul and body may be traced in the conformation of the latter, it will be at once remembered, is by no means new: and the anecdote of the unfavourable judgment passed on the moral disposition of Socrates, from the character of his countenance, will readily recur to the mind on this occasion. Aristotle has even entered into some details on the forms and shades of colour of the hair and features, and indeed of various other parts of the body, as indicative of particular temperaments or constitutions of the mind.*

*For an exposition of Aristotle's views on this subject, consult a work of Galen, entitled ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΨΥΧΗΣ ΗΘΩΝ, in which the question of the connexion between the faculties of the soul and the conformation of the body is discussed. Galen. op. Kühn, vol. iv. p. 768-798.

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