THE 
 
 BRAIK ATO ITS PHYSIOLOGY; 
 
 A 
 
 CRITICAL DISQUISITION 
 
 ON THE 
 
 METHODS OF DETERAIINING THE RELATIONS 
 
 SrUSISTING BETY7EEN THE 
 
 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ENCEPHALON. 
 
 BY 
 
 DANIEL NOBLE, 
 
 MEMBEE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Inter has cloctrinas de foedere, sive consensibus animse et corporis, non alia 
 fuerit magis necessaria, quam ilia disquisitio de sedibus propriis et doraiciliis, 
 quse singulae animse facilitates habent in corpore, ejusque organis. 
 
 Bacon. De Augmentis Scientiarurtii Lib. iv., Cap. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JOHN CHUKCHILL, PRINCES STREET, SOHO. 
 
 1846. 
 

 MURKAT AND GIRB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH 
 
TO 
 
 JOHN FORBES, M.D., F.R.S., 
 
 PHYSICIAN IN ORDINARY 
 
 TO HER majesty’s HOUSEHOLD, AND PHYSICIAN EXTRAORDINARY 
 TO H. R. H. PRINCE ALBERT, &C. &C. 
 
 Dear Sir, — HaYang, during an acquaintance of some 
 years, had frequent occasion to remark the great interest 
 you take in all subjects connected with the improvement of 
 our methods of research, and the more exact appreciation 
 of scientific evidence, especially as affecting medicine and 
 the collateral branches of knowledge, the idea at once 
 occurred to me, when I undertook the present wmrk, of 
 dedicating it to you; and its chief object being the critical 
 examination of the various methods »of inquiry hitherto 
 pm'sued in elucidating perhaps the most important depart- 
 ment in physiology, the functions of the Brain, subsequent 
 reflection has served only to strengthen my conviction that 
 there is no one to whom I could make the dedication with 
 so much propriety as to yourself. 
 
 If any other reason had been required to influence my 
 decision, I might have found one of no small weight in the 
 fact, that an article which I Avrote at your request, about 
 four years ago, for the British and Foreign Medical Review, 
 touched upon many of the questions more fuUy discussed 
 in the following pages, and was so favourably regarded by 
 you, that you afterivards reprinted it in the pamphlet form, 
 under the title of True and False Phrenology, with a view to 
 
IV 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 give to it a wider cii’culation. The same feelings may 
 probably induce you to take a still greater interest in the 
 present treatise. 
 
 Perhaps, however, these combined motives might not 
 have sufficed, had there not been superadded a thorough 
 respect for your professional and literary character, and an 
 affectionate regard for your private worth, which all must 
 entertain, who have the privilege of regarding you as a 
 personal friend. 
 
 The only reason which, for a time, withheld me from 
 yielding at once to the dictates of my own feelings in this 
 matter, was an apprehension that a dedication to you might 
 be deemed to have originated in a wish to influence, in my 
 own favour, any criticism of the work which might appear 
 in the pages of the Journal over which you so ably preside. 
 But being fully satisfied, on further consideration, that you, 
 at least, would acquit me of being actuated by any such 
 motive, the reason in question ceased to have any weight ; 
 for even the humblest of your collaborateurs must have 
 had opportunities of perceiving that nothing is to be ex- 
 pected from you, in your editorial capacity, beyond what 
 you conscientiously consider to be strict and impartial 
 justice. 
 
 I request you, then, very respectfully, to accept of the 
 present dedication. And that you may long be spared to 
 your profession, and to its literature, to your family, and 
 to your friends, is the sincere wish of, dear Sir, your obliged 
 and faithful servant, 
 
 DAXIEL NOBLE. 
 
 Manchester, June \&th, 1846. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The method in which science should be prosecuted, 
 does not form an indifferent circumstance. It is a 
 condition that affects results upon a fixed and deter- 
 minate principle, and is not an arbitrary matter, or 
 one that can justly be modified according to the caprice 
 or the custom of individuals, or of the age. Method 
 of investigation is to the secrets of nature, what a key 
 constitutes to a treasure that is locked up. If we woxdd 
 not, in the latter case, vainly attempt to gain posses- 
 sion, the hey must be employed that is fashioned for 
 the intended purpose; and so, in the instance of scien- 
 tific researches, we are required to foUow a method 
 that, in its nature, is calculated to lead to the know- 
 ledge which is sought. Nature will but disclose her 
 secrets when rightly invoked. 
 
 This truth is now so universally recognised, and in 
 most departments so invariably acted upon, that it may 
 seem superfluous to some persons to reiterate such 
 axioms in reference to scientific inquiry; but, neverthe- 
 less, if we refer to a very important branch of physio- 
 logy, the applicability of this truth is found but too 
 often overlooked. When the discovery of the relations 
 subsisting between the structure and functions of the 
 
 '■} U' 
 
 C(^ 0 O O 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Encephalon is in question, very little attention, in 
 many cases, would appear to be bestowed upon the 
 matter. Each physiologist appeals to his OAvn special 
 pursuit, and very often conceives that by aid of the 
 information which comes from it, he may approxi- 
 mately attain some positive knowledge upon the 
 subject. 
 
 “ Men are fond of particular sciences and studies, 
 because they have bestowed much pains upon them, 
 and principally applied themselves thereto. And such 
 men as these, if they afterwards take to philosophy 
 and universal contemplations, very often wrest and 
 coiTupt them with their former conceits.” * This 
 aphorism of Lord Bacon accurately expresses a very 
 general state of mind vsdth respect to several branches 
 of physiology. AVithin the present century, researches 
 into the economy of living beings have been prose- 
 cuted with an ardour and an assiduity unequalled in 
 any former age; living animals have been cut and 
 destroyed, diseased structures have been carefully 
 and minutely examined after death, and the brute 
 world has been subjected to a rigid scrutiny; and 
 most valuable facts — much useful information — have 
 been gained in this way. But, accordantly with the 
 long-noted disposition in the human mind when under 
 the influence of the idola specus, each labourer has 
 most commonly expected too much fi'om his own 
 vineyard. At aU times, indeed, men have referred 
 to their own particular sciences for revelations be- 
 yond their capability : mathematicians and mechani- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Fll 
 
 cal philosophers, in dealing with physiology and with 
 medicine, will render them unduly mathematical and 
 mechanical; chemists, engaging themselves inciden- 
 tally with these topics, will render them too chemi- 
 cal ; and divines, mixing themselves up with natural 
 science, exhibit very often an unreasonable tendency 
 to determine from Scripture what is not always within 
 its purpose. 
 
 Each division of natural inquiry is competent to 
 yield its proper results ; but when departmental stu- 
 dents would deduce from any one branch of knowledge, 
 conclusions that have no direct relation to it, error and 
 confusion will be almost sure to characterise the issue 
 of such attempts. When the vivisector anticipates, 
 from his Industry and dexterity, the determination 
 of truths which do not sustain a disclosure by the 
 method employed, he will not fail to be disappointed ; 
 and the same may be affirmed of the pathologist and 
 the comparative anatomist. In the many efforts that 
 have been made to shed light upon the functions of 
 particular parts of the Encephalon, the fashion of the 
 age, or the special pursuit, has generally settled the 
 method of investigation; and so, in great measure, 
 the custom continues to the present day. About 
 thirty years ago, mutilations of living animals led to 
 some decisive results in researches into the functions 
 of nerves, and renown became justly attached to the 
 experimenters ; hereupon, vivisections for a time came 
 into vogue, and every thing doubtful in physiology 
 was to be tested by the fashionable mode. Later on, 
 
Vlll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 morbid anatomy became the subject of an all-absorb- 
 ing interest, and thence was inferred an inexhaustible 
 source of widely-extended discovery; how prema- 
 turely so, the world is beginning to see. The atten- 
 tion of some of our leading physiologists has of late 
 years been more particularly directed to microscopic 
 examination of the animal tissues, and to comparative 
 anatomy ; and these pursuits, as furnishing the means 
 for the solution of all doubtful points in physiology, 
 are, in many quarters, coming into transitory fame. 
 AU these sources of knowledge are important ; they 
 have each most useful ends or aims, beyond which, 
 however, they cannot legitimately advance. Neither 
 the extent to which they are studied, nor the talent 
 and zeal with which they are investigated, can ever 
 determine their adaptation to the discovery of truths 
 to which they are essentially inadequate. The ap- 
 plication of this argument to the particular Instance 
 of the Brain and its Physiology, constitutes the sub- 
 ject and purpose of the following pages. 
 
 The author thinks it right to state, that almost all 
 the cuts which he has employed are taken from the 
 works of Mr G. Combe ; and he has great pleasure in 
 acknowledging the kindness and the promptness with 
 which that gentleman granted his permission to use 
 them. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTEODUCTOET VIEW OE THE QUESTION. 
 
 The Study of cerebral physiology important, whether the br'dn be 
 regarded as a part of the general system of the body, or a.= ihe organ of 
 the mental faculties, 1. Comparative neglect of the study by the gene- 
 rality of medical men, 3. Probable causes of this neglect, 4. Supposed 
 hopelessness of the inquiry into the relations between mind and mat- 
 ter, ib. Cerebral physiology has been improperly detached from the 
 study of mental philosophy, 6. Why have the labours of many dis- 
 tinguished investigators of the physiology of the brain been so barren 
 of satisfactory' results ? ib. Their methods of investigation faulty, 
 ib. Loose manner in which the words “ mind,” “intellect,” &c. have 
 hitherto been applied, 8. No good reason exists why an inquiry into 
 the functions of the brain and its parts should not be successfully pro- 
 secuted, 10. A sound method of investigation necessary, ib. Effects 
 of want of a right method in other departments of physiology exem- 
 plified, ib. Physiologists differ as to the mode in which the functions of 
 the brain are to be studied, 11. Three modes enounced by Desmou- 
 lins : vivisection, and researches in comparative anatomy and patho- 
 logy, 12. Each of these defective and vicious, if regarded as lead- 
 ing to primary fundamental 'evidence, though useful in testing results 
 otherwise obtained, 13. True plan of prosecuting cerebral physiology, 
 ib. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BEAIN, AS A MEANS OF DISCOVEET 
 IN CEEEBEAL PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 Nothing to be learned as to the cerebral functions, from the stndv 
 of mere structure, 15. But anatomy may be usefully resorted to for 
 additional knowledge, when functions have been discovered, ib. Undue 
 credit given to the results of vivisection, 16. Objections to this mode 
 of investigation, 17. The instincts and powers of the animals operated 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 on have not been, and cannot be, systematically recognised, ib. Con- 
 tinued life of the mutilated animal for some weeks is necessary to 
 exhibit the consequences, 18. Uncertainty how far a change of the 
 animal’s habits or movements arise from the removal of the organ of a 
 single faculty, or from injury to a group of organs, ib. Impossibility 
 of ascertaining mental changes in brutes, ib. Impossibility of remov- 
 ing or destroying one part of the brain, without injuring others, 19. 
 Intercommunication of different parts of the nervous sj'stem, ih. Re- 
 sults of their sympathy exemplified, ib. Historical sketch of the pro- 
 ceedings of vivisectors, 21. Experiments on the cerebellum, by Ro- 
 lando, ib. ; Elourens, 22 ; BouiUaud, 23 ; Magendie, ib . ; and Fodera, 
 24. Varying and contradictory character of the phenomena produced, 
 ib. Diversity of the inferences of these experimenters, 25. Experi- 
 ments on the cerebrum have not been more satisfactory, 26. Import- 
 ance generally ascribed to the experiments of Elourens, ib. FovUle’s 
 opinion that they confirm his own notion, that the cerebellum is the 
 central orgac of sensibility, ib. Opinions of Desmoulins, Rostock, 
 Alison, H. Mayo, and Sollj', respecting their inconclusiveness, 28. How 
 far, and in what circumstances, vivisection has been useful, 29. Sir C. 
 Bell’s investigations of the functions of the nerves, 30. Valentin’s ex- 
 periments, 32. Discordance of the inferences from vivisection of nerves, 
 
 33. Experiments of Panizza, H. Jlayo, Dr Alcock, and Magendie, 33, 
 
 34. Little value ascribed by Sir C. Bell and Dr Carpenter to vivi- 
 section , 34. The results of mutilations haimionize with knowledge of 
 function derived fi-om other sources, 35. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 ON COMPABATIVE ANATO.VIY AS THE PRIMAKT AID TO DISCOVERT OP 
 THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 Consciovisness seems always to imply a brain and nervous system, 36. 
 Progressive variations of these in diiferent animals, ib. Insects and 
 mollusca, i6. Fishes, birds, mammalia, 37. General recognition, among 
 physiologists, of the law that size or amount of nervous tissue constitutes 
 a direct element of functional power, 37. This law exemplified by the 
 lungs, heart, and abdominal viscera, and more particularly by the nerves, 
 38, 39. Its recognition by Carpenter, Newport, Todd and Bowman, 
 40, 41. The inference has been drawn that this law furnishes a means 
 of ascertaining the functions of the individual parts of the brain, 41. 
 The opinion stated, that no such means is deriv'able from comparative 
 anatomy directly, ib. Reasons for this opinion : obscurity of the psycho- 
 logy of brutes ; difficulty of pronouncing what cerebral parts in different 
 animals are analogous ; and ignorance of the extent to which the influ- 
 ence of size is modified by other conditions, 41, 42. Imperfection of the 
 psychology of brutes, 42. Difficulty of discovering what cerebral parts 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 are correspondent in animals of different species, 44. Comparison of 
 brains of fishes, mammals, and birds, 46-48. Nothing like uniformitj', in 
 outward appearance, obtains with the constituent parts of the brain and 
 nervous system in different tribes, 48. Modification of the influence of 
 size by other conditions, ib. Results of the attempts which have been 
 made to elucidate the cerebral functions by means of comparative ana- 
 tomy, 49. Superior size of brain no index of the mental superiority of 
 one species of animal over another, 60. Proportion of the brain to the 
 rest of the body, not more to be relied on, 61 ; nor that of the brain to the 
 nerves, 51, or to the spinal cord, 52 ; nor that of the head to the face, 
 ib. Camper’s facial angle, 63. Dr Carus’s threefold division of the 
 human skull, grounded on the analogy of the division in the brain of a 
 fish, 54. Inconsistencies and unsoundness of his doctrine, 55-58. 
 Examination of Dr Carpenter’s doctrine of cerebral physiology, which he 
 has derived mainly from facts of comparative anatomy, 58-74. Insuf- 
 ficiency of comparative anatomy as a primary source of evidence of the 
 functions of the different parts of the brain, 74. The study of the brain 
 of one (and the highest) species of animals ought to precede that of the 
 brains of the animal Idngdom at large, ib. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ON PATHOLOGY AS A MEANS OF DETERMINING THE OFFICES OP 
 PARTICDLAE PARTS OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 Opinion of Sir Everard Home on this subject, 76. Pathology inade- 
 quate, because no constant relation exists between symptoms during 
 life, and structural appearances after death, 78. Opinions and state- 
 ments of Andi’al, 81 ; Brigham, 85 ; Stokes, 87 ; SoUy, 90 ; Abercrombie, 
 ib . ; Lallemand, ib . ; Bouillaud, ib . ; and Otto, 91. Importance of 
 pathology to the medical practitioner, ib. Pathology comprehends 
 not merely the facts of morbid anatomy, but every link in the chain of 
 morbid causation, ib. Conclusion that pathological researches are 
 essentially unfitted for the discovery of the functions of particular parts 
 of the brain, 92. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT COMPARED WITH PSYCHICAL MANIFES - 
 TATION IN INDIVIDUALS OF A SINGLE SPECIES, AS A MEANS OF 
 DETECTING THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 Are vivisection, comparative anatomy, and pathological researches, 
 though singly inadequate, collectively adequate, to reveal the functions 
 of different parts of the brain ? 93. Argument and experience alike 
 answer in the negative, 94. Origin of the idea of causation, when two sets 
 of phenomena have always been witnessed in association, 96. This idea 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 arises when a considerable quantity of cerebral structure in particular 
 regions is found to be, in ordinary circumstances, accompanied by un- 
 common energy of some mental power, 97. So in general physiology, 
 as in the case of the muscles, 98. Neglect, on the part of ancient 
 philosophers, of this mode of studying the brain, 99. Even yet, it is 
 generally overlooked by physiologists, 100. The pressing requirement of 
 the present day is a settlement of the mode in which the inquiry should 
 be prosecuted, 101. The distinctness of the external senses, and 
 separateness of their organs, discovered otherwise than by vivisec- 
 tion, comparative anatomy, and pathology, ib. The same is true 
 with respect to the sentient and voluntary nerves, 102-106 ; and the 
 excito-motory system, 106. Our actual acquaintance with the neirons 
 system has been obtained by inferring from functional manifestation 
 its specialty, and seeking coincidently for some corresponding ana- 
 tomy, 110. The same mode of investigation alone competent to lead 
 to knowledge of the particular physiology of the brain, ib. Diversity 
 of mental character among men, 112. Mental differences are generally 
 regarded as to some extent innate, but no general agreement exists as 
 to what constitute fundamental or primitive faculties of the mind, 114. 
 No agreement possible, so long as the mental phenomena are regarded 
 apart from the organisation, ib. Mode in which Dr Gall’s discoveries 
 in the particular physiology of the brain were made, 115. The form 
 of the human brain sufficiently discoverable during life, 116. Gall’s 
 inferences are as just and valid as those generally admitted in other 
 departments of physiology, 11§. Opposite opinion of Dr Carpenter on 
 this point, 119. Sir D. Brewster’s opinion, 121. The question must be 
 decided by an appeal to facts, 123. How may the facts be scientifically 
 examined ? 124. 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 ON THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED BT THE 
 APPLICATION OF gall’s SIETHOD. 
 
 Study of three regions of the brain is itself adequate to prove the 
 principles of phrenology, 126. Coincidence of size of forehead with 
 strength of intellect, 128-132. Distinction drawn between instances in 
 proof, and circumstances in mere illustration or corroboration, 132. 
 Extreme instances alone fit to prove, extend, and test phrenology, 134. 
 Gall was not led by anatomy in placing certain faculties in certain 
 parts of the brain, 135. Particular results of his method of investiga- 
 tion, ib. Organ of Amativeness, ib. How discovered, ib. Outward 
 indications of its size, 137-9. Gall’s principle in determining the spe- 
 cialty of a faculty, 140. Abundance of the facts confirming his doctrine 
 that the cerebellum is the seat of Amativeness, ib. Objections of Dr 
 Todd and Mr Bowman considered, 141-6. Organs of Love of Ofispring, 
 146 ; Attachment, 149 ; Combativeness, 150 ; Destructiveness, 152 ; 
 Secretiveness, 155 ; Acquisitiveness, 156 ; Self-esteem, 157 ; Love of Ap- 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 probation, 160 ; Cautiousness, 161 ; Individuality and Eventuality, 163 ; 
 Locality, 167; Form, 163; Language, 169; Colour, 171; Tune, 172; 
 Number, 171; Constructiveness, 176 ; Comparison, 178 ; Causality, 180 ; 
 IVit, ; Ideality, 182; Beuevolence, 185; Imitation, 187 ; Veneration, 
 189 ; Firmness, 191 ; Conscientiousness, 192 ; Hope, 197 ; Wonder, ih . ; 
 Size, 200; Weight, ii. ; Time, i6. ; Order, 201; Concentrativeness, 76.; 
 Alimentiveness, 206 ; Love of Life, 76. Character of Vimont as a con- 
 tributor to phrenological knoudedge, 207. Remarks on Gall’s physiology 
 of the brain, 211, Complete analogy between it and the existing physi- 
 ology of the nervous' system, 213. Unreasonableness of summarily^ 
 rejecting it, 214. Difficulties in the application of phrenology admitted, 
 76. Similar difficulties attach to the physiology of the spinal cord, 215. 
 
 HAHMOXy OP CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGT WITH STRUCTURAL AXATOMT 
 AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 A true cerebral physiology must harmonise with structure and men- 
 tal philosophy, 217. Relation between cerebral anatomy and mental 
 philosophy, 218. General constitution of the nervous system, 219. 
 Relation of the anatomy of the nerves to their functions, 220. Is there 
 a similar relation in the case of the brain ? 221. Wretched state of 
 cerebral anatomy before the time of Gall, 76. Anatomical researches 
 of Gall and Spurzheim, 223. Exposition of their doctrine of cerebral 
 anatomy, 224-233. It is now generally received, but not always ascribed 
 to its discoverer. Gall, 233. Harmony of cerebral structure with Gall’s 
 physiology, 234. Volimtary, instinctive, and emotional movements, 235. 
 Mutual influence of the mental faculties, 76. Consideration of the 
 objection that no mechanical divisions of the brain, corresponding with 
 Gall’s organology, exist, 236-9. Want of perfect symmetry of the two 
 hemispheres, 239-241. Connexion of the cerebral hemispheres with the 
 spinal cord, 241. Harmony of Gall’s physiology of the brain with 
 mental philosophy, 242. Innateness and variety of talents and disposi- 
 tions, 242-5. Gall’s physiology has been forced on the conviction of 
 many, merely by the soundness of the mental pliilosophy developed by 
 it, 246. Silent adoption of this mental philosophy by authors, 247. 
 In disputed questions like phrenology, direct evidence should be re- 
 sorted to, in preference to indirect, or analogy, 76. 
 
 HARMONY OP gall’s PHYSIOLOGY OP THE ENCEPHALON, AND THE 
 RECORDED EPFECTS OP ITS MUTILATIONS. 
 
 Phenomena consequent on mutilations of the nervous system, 250. 
 Confusion arising from sympathy of different parts, 76. The brain 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CHAPTER VIH. 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 subject to this cause of confusion, 251. Detailed examiimtion of 
 vivisections of the cerebellum, 252. Inquiry into the validity of the 
 doctrine that it is the balancer of the body and the co-ordinator of 
 muscular actions, 253-262. Conclusion that the \uvisections which 
 have been made of the cerebellum, neither disprove, nor are fitted to 
 materially support, Gall’s view of its function, 263. !Many recorded 
 mutilations, however, corroborate his doctrine, ib. Certain kinds of 
 facts, though inadequate to prove a doctrine, may yet be available as 
 confirmations of it, 263. Pathological cases con-oborative of Gall’s 
 view of the function of the eerebellum, 261-6. Cases of its degeneracy 
 after castration, 266. Does this degeneracy occur so regularly and 
 uniformly as to indicate more than mere coincidence ? 268. Leuret’s 
 attempt to disprove Gall’s view of the function of the cerebellum by 
 weighing brains and cerebella of mares, geldings, and unmutilated 
 horses, 270. Inconclusiveness of his observations, 273. Relation be- 
 tween weight and volume of the encephalic masses, 275. Value of 
 statistical evidence in such researches considered, 276. Weights and 
 measurements published by authors previous to Leuret, 279 : Mr Stone, 
 ib . ; Sir AV. Hamilton, 283; Professor Tiedemann, 285; M. Parchappe, 
 291 ; Dr Morton, 296 ; Dr John Reid, 298. Results obtained by Dr 
 Reid contrasted with Sir AVilliam Hamilton’s, ib. Leuret’s facts re- 
 verted to, 300. Reasons for distrusting the facts and conclusions of 
 anti-phi-enologists, 291-302. Recapitulation, 303. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HARMONY OF GALl’s PHYSIOLOGY VTITH C05IPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 Remarkable gradation, as regards the number of the cerebral con- 
 volutions, from the lower to the higher classes of animals, 306. This 
 gradation most conspicuous in the anterior and superior parts of the 
 brahi, ib. Comparative values of primary and secondary evidence 
 of phrenologj', 307. Attempts often unavailingly made to confute it by 
 weakening its secondary evidence, 308. Recent attack by AIi- Marshall 
 on the ground of comparative anatomy, 308-321. Leurefs statement 
 that the organ of destructiveness is larger in some herbivorous than in 
 carnivorous animals, 310. Timont's method of identifying equivalent 
 parts of the brain in diifereiit animals, 311. Leuret's method, 312. 
 Objection considered, that the posterior lobe is larger in man than in 
 brutes, 315. Mr Holm's account of the brain of the chetali, and com- 
 parison of it with the brains of man and some other animals, 318. 
 Consideration of Dr Carpenter’s arguments from comparative anatomy, 
 against Gall’s physiology of the cerebellum, 321-333. Objections of 
 Serres to Gall's doctrines, 327. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HAKMONT OP GALL S PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA, 
 AND THE GENERAL FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 
 
 Pathology affords not primary evidence, but only confirmation of 
 truths otherwise ascertained, 334. Value of phrenology in relation to 
 insanity, 335 ; especially monomania, 340. Does the morbid anatomy 
 of insanity corroborate Gall’s physiology of the brain ? ib. For the 
 satisfactory treatment of disease, the relation between organs and the 
 agents that influence their functions must be understood, 343. Appli- 
 cation of this remark to the treatment of insanity, 344. Its moral and 
 physical treatment, 345. Illustrative case from the author’s practice, 346. 
 Consideration of the objection, that in cases of partial cerebral excite- 
 ment no benefit can be derived from local blood-letting, 347. Further 
 observations on the theory that the cerebellum performs the function 
 of balancing the body, 349. Case from Andral, 350. Case from Dr 
 Cowan, 353. Disease of the cerebellum has often been observed in 
 conjunction with erotic disturbance, 359. Case from Dr Stokes, 360. 
 Case from Dr Carpenter, 361. Dr Alison quoted on the connexion of 
 the sexual feelmg with the cerebellum, ih. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL 
 MANIFESTATION. 
 
 The influence of size upon power is modified by quality, alike in 
 physical, vegetable, and animal beings, 363. This effect of quality ought 
 to be kept in view by phrenologists, 367. Errors from neglecting it, 
 368. The temperaments, 370. Distinction between power and activity 
 of brain, 372. Characteristics and effects of the lymphatic tempera- 
 ment, 372 ; of the sanguine, 373 ; bilious, ib . ; nervous, 374. Blixed tem- 
 peraments, 375. Uncertainty how far intensity of cerebral function is 
 indicated by the temperaments, 376. Some conditions of structural 
 quality are undiscoverable by physical signs, 377. The theory regarded 
 as probable, that the grey substance of the brain gives power or in- 
 tensity of function, 378. Dr Carpenter’s argument against phrenology, 
 on the ground of that theory, 379. How far is it possible to decide on 
 mental characteristics by physical signs ? 381-386. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ON PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF 
 PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 
 
 Claims of phrenology to be regarded as a science, 387. What are 
 the marks of scientific truth? ib . ; and are they exhibited by phrenology? 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 •390. The principle, that the brain is the organ of the mind, is, as a 
 scientific truth, a discovery of Gall 392. Denial, by KenneH| Jeflrey, 
 and Brougham, of the dependence of the mental functions on the brain, 
 ib. Scientific character of the principle, that particular parts of the 
 brain are the organs of particular faculties, 393. Phrenology entitled 
 to be regarded as a science, 394. Are there no exceptions in phreno- 
 logical observation ? 394. Distinction between induction and deduction 
 in phrenologj', 394-399. Unreasonableness of rejecting its details, while 
 accepting the general principles which they have evolved, 39-5. Mate- 
 rialism in relation to phrenology, 398. Importance of the distinction 
 above draivn between induction and deduction, 399. Unfair manner in 
 which attacks on phrenology are generally made, ib. INIisapprehensions 
 respecting it often occasioned by its ignorant and over-zealous friends, 
 400. Religious objections to phrenology, 401. Error of regarding 
 every doctrine of IMr Combe as identical with phrenologj', 402. The 
 success with which deductions can be applied in practice, is the surest 
 test of their soundness, 403. Practical utilitj' of phrenology, 4(13. 
 Testimonies of !Mr Richard Carmichael, Dr W. A. F. Browne, Dr IV. 
 B. Hodgson, Dr John Conollj', and Professor Gregorj', to this effect, 
 404-406. No other cerebral physiology can show such practical fruits, 
 406. Frequency of cases in which there is a near approach to accuracj' 
 in pronouncing on dispositions and talents from an examination of the 
 head, 406. Cranioscopical experience of Drs Roget and Carpenter, 407. 
 Unfairness of condemning phrenology on account of the proceedings of 
 quacks, 408. The scientific phrenologist will never appeal to ordinary 
 heads for proofs of his science, 409. Report of Jlr Combo's jihrenolo- 
 gical observations in Richmond Lunatic Asjlmn, Dublin, 4(»9-418 ; and 
 in the Dublin Penitentiai-y, 418-429. Dr Toisiivs observations in a 
 prison at Toulon, 427. The doctrine of Flourens at variance with the 
 fact, that men do not excel in muscular agility and dexteritj' in propor- 
 tion to the size of the cerebellum, 429. Recapitulation of the present 
 work, 430. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE ORGAN OF DESTRUCTIVENESS. 
 
 Organ of Destructiveness in the brains of c.arnivorous and gramini- 
 vorous animals, 437. Proofs of the organ and facultj' in man, 438. 
 Cases of murderers, 439-443. Jloderate in the Hindoos, 442. Valuable 
 imrpose served bj' this faculty in tlie human economy, 443. Phenomena 
 of human nature, corroborative of the fact of the existence of tliis pro- 
 pensity, 44.5. Cases of homicidal impulse, 446-450. 
 
THE BRAIN AND ITS PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 nSTTRODUCTORT VIEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 The doctrine of the functions of the brain constitutes, most 
 assuredly, a subject of discussion inferior to no other branch 
 of science, either in interest, extent of its objects, or in 
 general importance ; and, in physiology, it must, for many 
 reasons, be esteemed the highest department. If anatomical 
 structure and relations furnish any evidence of the con- 
 sideration to be attached to individual organs of the body, 
 certainly the brain has every title to pre-eminence.. Its 
 elaborate and retined texture is probably unmatched in 
 the entire animal fabric, and it receives for its nutrition a 
 larger supply of blood than any of the other organs ; its 
 communications are the most extensive and varied, con- 
 necting it, more or less directly, with most other structures, 
 by means of the nerves, which, at first view, might be 
 taken to be prolongations of its substance ; and, finally, its 
 very position being regarded, it surmounts, as if crowning, 
 the whole corporeal mechanism. 
 
 And yet, whatever demands upon our attention, on 
 grounds purely physical, may justly be made by the brain, 
 the psychical considerations, associated with this organ, 
 
 A 
 
2 
 
 INTRODUCTORr VIEW OF THE QUESTION'. 
 
 Still more powerfully challenge regards on its behalf. 
 Whatever be the actual facts of the case, it is certain 
 that, to the unsophisticated understanding, the brain has 
 ever seemed to exist as the special instrument of thought; 
 and how much there is implied in that simple proposition, 
 — the manifestation of the conscious principle with all 
 its attributes ! We intuitively localize consciousness within 
 the head, which forms a cavity knovTi to be filled up by 
 the brain ; and the popular phraseology of all nations has 
 used the terms, head and brain, to express and to charac- 
 terize the capacity of thought. In our own language, it 
 is said, in the description of a feeble-minded person, he 
 has got no head — no brains, or, he is a weak-headed person ; 
 and, in an opposite sense, he has a famous head, or, he has 
 a cunning brain. The poets and dramatists of every epoch 
 and clime, emplojdng the language of constant experience, 
 frequently speak of the mind, or conscious principle, under 
 the designations of head and brain. The infliction of 
 injuries upon the brain is always observed to influence, in 
 some way or another, the activity and power of thought ; 
 and, reciprocally, prolonged and anxious exertion of the 
 mind sensibly reacts upon the contents of the cranial 
 ca\dty. 
 
 Not only on these grounds does the brain possess the 
 highest claims upon the labours of physiologists, — not only 
 because of its refined anatomical structure, and because, in 
 our experience of the present life, it has ever been noticed 
 as the associate of the intelligence, but because, moreover, 
 it is an organ absolutely essential to the prolonged con- 
 tinuance of life, and one, the healthful condition of which, 
 most powerfully influences every other vital organ. Causes 
 which affect injuriously the condition of the cerebral struc- 
 ture, deteriorate, in consequence, both the circulatory and 
 digestive functions ; and, in this way, deprave nutrition and 
 diminish vigour. And thus, in whatever point of view 
 this organ be regarded, it must rightly be deemed the 
 
IKTRODUCTOKT VIEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 3 
 
 most important of the body, and its functions or offices 
 among the highest objects of human study. 
 
 Surely, when proper consideration shall . have been 
 bestowed upon these simple and universally recognised 
 truths, a second-rate position will no longer be assigned to 
 the cerebral physiologist. Yet to him who elaborately 
 investigates the functions of the lungs and viscera, — to 
 him who astonishes by injection of the minuter tissues, and 
 who, microscope in hand, strives successfully to shed some 
 additional light upon the mode of interstitial deposition 
 or absorption or to him who, by the novelty, and the 
 boldness, and the cruelty of his vivisections, sheds at best 
 but a doubtful lustre on some branch of physiology ; — to 
 such as these, most commonly, are contemporary honours 
 awarded, and the first places conceded. “ Strange to say,” 
 observes Dr Cowan,^ “ the discovery of the function of a 
 single nervous filament, seems to excite more interest and 
 controversy among the majority of medical observers, than 
 the ascertaining the functions of the brain ; and those who 
 have devoted their lives and talents to what is incomparably 
 the most important and difficult of aU physiological problems, 
 have too firequently only encountered ridicule or opposition, 
 academic condemnation, and scholastic contempt. Our 
 estimate of effort is not always proportioned to the value 
 of the object which it seeks to attain, and our respect and 
 admiration, for a time, are often withheld from those whose 
 labours have most tended to advance the best interests of 
 mankind. The period, however, never fails to arrive, 
 sooner or later, when public opinion acknowledges the 
 force of truth ; and we believe a far higher rank will be 
 conceded to those who have so successfully laboured to 
 advance our cerebral physiology, than has hitherto been 
 their good fortune to secure.” 
 
 Yes, it is indeed true, that, associated with its functions. 
 
 * Prov. Med. Transactions, vol. vii. p. 401. 
 
4 
 
 INTKODUCTORT VIEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 the brain has not received that amount of attention and 
 investigation, which, a priori, was to have been expected. 
 Although at every period wherein the study of anatomy 
 and physiology has flomished, able men have constantly 
 arisen who have laboured diligently and strenuously at this 
 subject, it has yet, from several causes, failed most generally 
 to interest the bulk of their disciples and students. The 
 last century or two have witnessed a succession of eminent 
 men, who have more or less devoted themselves to re- 
 searches on the brain ; there have been Sylvius, TTillis, 
 Vieussens, Soemmering, the Wenzels, Rolando, Reil, Serres, 
 Tiedemann, Flourens, Gall, Spurzheim, Yimont, and some 
 others, all of whom have furnished us with some record of 
 their labours ; and yet how does it happen that they have 
 failed to interest the masses, and that the field of their in- 
 vestigations has, in most instances, exhibited so scanty a 
 harvest ? The probable causes of this state of things are 
 various ; amongst the most prominent of these may be 
 placed the supposed hopelessness of any inquiiy concerning 
 the relations subsisting between mind and matter. Phy- 
 siologists have always observed the intimate connexion 
 between the conscious principle and the cerebral organi- 
 zation ; and, in some instances, general propositions have 
 been advanced expressive of the dependence, in this life, 
 of the one upon the other ; yet, up to a recent period, there 
 was always a want of definitiveness in every proposition 
 hazarded, even with respect to the general fact, that the 
 mind was associated with the brain as its organ. It has 
 often been proclaimed that the brain is the organ of the 
 mind, when those teaching and those receiving this doc- 
 trine, have not settled the idea to be attached to this latter 
 term ; by some, the purely intellectual faculties have been 
 comprehended, and the affections, passions, and sentiments, 
 have been excluded from the definition ; by others, the 
 exact meaning has been left uncertain ; and only since the 
 investigations of GaU, has the brain been, in any case. 
 
rSTEODUCTOEY VIEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 5 
 
 fairly and unequivocally regarded as tlie instrument of 
 manifestation of the conscious principle, with all its attri- 
 butes, — feeling and intellect alike. Still the presumed 
 impossibility of settling, decisively, such questions, has cer- 
 tainly indisposed many to the prosecution of cerebral 
 physiology ; thus, in one of the latest works wherein this 
 topic is discussed, it is affirmed, that — “ The nature of the 
 connexion between the mind and nervous matter has ever 
 been, and must continue to be, the deepest mystery in 
 physiology ; and .they who study the laws of nature as 
 ordinances of God, will regard it as one of those secrets 
 of his councils ‘ which angels desire to look into.’ ” ^ To a 
 certain extent, this may be true; the nature of the connexion 
 between mind and matter, in its most intimate signification, 
 will certainly be always hidden from us; but so are, and will 
 ever be, the intimate causes of gravitation, electricity, che- 
 *mical affinity, the movement of the sap in vegetables, and 
 every other natural phenomenon. But this circumstance 
 does not interfere with our search after the conditions under 
 which these things occur, nor prevent us from obtaining 
 large and legitimate inductions with respect to them. And 
 so with cerebral physiology ; we cannot hope to ascertain 
 the essence of thought or feeling, or the ultimate essence 
 
 or substance of the brain, nor even the precise mode in 
 which structure manifests thought, or thought affects struc- 
 ture, because these are placed beyond the reach of our 
 faculties. In speaking, therefore, of an analysis of the 
 mind, or of cerebral matter, we exclude altogether these 
 inquiries ; yet, it is in our power, and within the lawful 
 domain of human inquixy, to ascertain, in great measure, 
 under what conditions of the bi’ain particular manifesta- 
 tions of the mind occm’ ; and in this way, from sound 
 premises, we may deduce logical conclusions. 
 
 * The Physiological Anatomy and Physiology of Man. By Todd and 
 Bowman. Part II. p. 262. 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTOET VIEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 Heretofore, with certain exceptions to be subsequently 
 dwelt upon, the physiology of the brain, even by its most 
 prominent cultivators, has been detached from the study of 
 mental philosophy ; the mind, without any serious attempt 
 at analysis, has been located in and associated -nuth its 
 presumed organ, and the doctrine has gone no farther. 
 Like other departments of science, when improperly treated, 
 it has, under such circumstances, yielded no practical 
 results ; and whether there has been question of training 
 the mind in the healthful state, or of treating the brain when 
 diseased and inducing mental aberration, precepts drawn 
 from what is thus erroneously assumed to be physiological 
 experience, have too often been found valueless, or conducive 
 to mischief. 
 
 Yet an immense and unsurpassed amount of talent and 
 industry has been bestowed upon this matter. Not only 
 the eminent names just recounted have been deeply engaged 
 in the inv^estigation, but, as before observed, at all times 
 when anatomical and physiological studies have interested 
 philosophers, there have been found some who have devoted 
 their best energies to the dissipation of the darkness encom- 
 passing the subject ; and yet how is the barrenness of result 
 to be explained ? If great capabilities and con-espouding 
 industry have been apphed in these researches, why should 
 so little that is physiological have come down to us, uni- 
 versally recognized ; and why, until very lately, should 
 the most unmeaning anatomical descriptions have consti- 
 tuted almost the entfre sum of our knowledge regarding 
 the most exalted structure of the animal fabric? The 
 reply to this inquiry may he preceded by another. From 
 what cause has intellectual exertion, in any age. been 
 devoid of useful result? How has it happened that, in 
 the early history of any of the sciences, very often the 
 ablest men, and the most laborious efforts, conduced to no 
 progi’ess? For the very obrious reasons, in these days 
 well understood, that the talent was misapplied. — that the 
 
INTRODUCTORY VIEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 7 
 
 labour was expended in a wrong direction — that the way 
 was not rightly appreciated. The method of investigation 
 being faulty, no sure or permanent addition to our know- 
 ledge, in any department, is ever to be hoped for. In the 
 study of the relations subsisting between the structure and 
 functions of the encephalon, as in any other scientific 
 pursuit, more valuable results may be expected from men 
 of plain understanding prosecuting a just mode of examina- 
 tion, than from those of the highest genius who do but pursue 
 a devious track. In the language of Lord Bacon, “ a 
 cripple in the right way may beat a racer in the wrong 
 one. Nay, the fleeter and better the racer is, who has 
 once missed his way, the farther he leaves it behind.” 
 
 Unbounded industry in determining the physical peculi- 
 arities of the brain ; a comparison of the human structure 
 with animal brains of all species ; a watchful observation 
 of the changes this organ undergoes in the progress of 
 embryonic development ; its absolute and relative weight 
 at aU ages, and in aU nations ; its most intimate constitution, 
 as revealed by the microscope and by chemical analysis ; 
 all these sources of knowledge have been appealed to, as 
 if in ■ expectation that function should be made known. 
 The changes induced by disease, leaving their traces on 
 the inanimate brain, have, with most commendable dili- 
 gence, been watched and recorded for years, in the same 
 anticipation. Living animals have been subjected to the 
 severest sufferings ; their brains have been mutilated ; 
 philosophers have “ tortured nature,” truly ; but, through 
 this means, they have but rarely detected her secrets. 
 Whatever advantages science may have indii-ectly derived 
 from such researches, it wfll be the object of the present 
 work to show that they have ever failed, and that they 
 are essentially inadequate to develope the particular physi- 
 ology of the brain. 
 
 In this state of things, the results that have been obtained 
 by physiologists generally, have been few, unsatisfactory. 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTORT VIEW OP THE QUESTION. 
 
 and contradictory among themselves. Whilst all have, 
 in some way or another, recognised the brain as more 
 particularly identified with the mind than any other organ, 
 no precise or uniform meaning, as before observed, has 
 been attached to the terms of the proposition. Some by 
 mind have understood only the intelligence which they 
 have located in the brain, and the feelings they have 
 referred either to the viscera or to the ganglia of the great 
 sympathetic system of nerves ; others have assigned to the 
 encephalon the manifestation of all conscious attributes, 
 referring the intelligence to the cerebral hemispheres, and 
 the instincts and emotions to certain ganglionic masses of 
 dneritious matter (so called) at the base. In every statement, 
 however, including views of this kind, nothing is more 
 striking than the complete absence of all exactness of 
 expression. Mention is made of intellect, reason, power 
 of mind, intelligence, instincts, emotions, and so on ; but 
 the usages of speech attach no tixed, particular, or definite 
 idea to such terms ; it is like speaking of air, instead of 
 oxygen, hydrogen, or any other specific gas. Intellect 
 may mean the memory or the judgment, each being, in the 
 estimation of mental philosophers, distinct qualities of the 
 mind, equally so as any two of the external senses. Reason, 
 intelligence, instinct, emotions, as terms of scientific value, 
 have scarcely any precise signification. Mankind are not 
 altogether agreed as to what “ reason” is, nor whether it 
 inheres exclusively in our o-wn species, or also in some of 
 the higher animals. “ Intelligence” may, in some sense, 
 apply to the lowest conscious being as coiTectly as to the 
 highest, every animal being intelligent within the sphere of 
 its proper conscious activity. And so ■with respect to 
 “ instinct” and “ emotions,” what are they'? Sometimes 
 modes of actions, rather than special powers ; and, if so. 
 they cannot be expected to have distinct seats -within the 
 organism, any more than can whispering be supposed to be 
 effected by one 'vocal apparatus, and loud sjmddng by 
 
INTKODUCTORY VIEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 9 
 
 another. Fear, when sudden and intense, is experienced 
 emotionally; but it is recognised in a different manner, 
 when it moderately and continuously operates, inducing 
 circumspection. To pursue this theme, however, would 
 he to anticipate ; the intention is simply to illustrate the 
 indefinite character of the mental philosophy developed by 
 the physiology of those investigators whose conclusions 
 have been arrived at by an erroneous route. 
 
 Although, the difficulties of the subject, as displayed in 
 the imperfect results obtained by so many men of science, 
 may not have deterred master spirits from returning to 
 such researches, it is yet certain, that the absence of all 
 uniformity, alike in the inferences and the data from which 
 they have been drawn, has contxibuted greatly to discourage 
 large numbers from any attempt to acquire some positive 
 knowledge concerning the physiology of the brain, and it 
 has often been abandoned as a field of inquiry that was 
 sterile and unproductive. The various teachings on the 
 subject have much more frequently been regarded as 
 amusing hypotheses, or as idle speculations, than as con- 
 taining solid information, capable of being applied in the 
 practical departments of life. Thus, for the most part, it 
 has happened that, when cerebral physiology has necessarily 
 claimed, in books or in lectures, some share of attention, it 
 has either been summarily disposed of by vague references 
 ,to the brain’s connexion with certain nerves, and to its 
 presiding influence over the nervous system generally, — or 
 certain current ideas, received from the teacher’s immediate 
 predecessor, have been repeated, — commingled, possibly, 
 here and there with some favourite speculation of his own ; 
 and so, among certain classes, the physiology of the brain 
 has been at a dead stand, notwithstanding the prodigious 
 acquisitions to our knowledge of its anatomy, both in health 
 and disease. The history of every science has exhibited 
 some such state of things, as, under like cfrcumstances, 
 will ever be the case ; until observation and experiment. 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTORY VIEW OP THE QUESTION. 
 
 rightly conducted, supersede speculation and inference from 
 vague analogy, the mind of the student 'wdll always be 
 “ imaginary parallels, correspondencies, and relations, 
 which have no existence.” 
 
 And yet there is no good reason why an inquiry into 
 the functions of the brain, and of its various parts, should 
 not be successfully prosecuted; for there is no obscurity 
 in this department of physiological research which is not 
 common to many others. Cerebral physiology has its own 
 obstacles and its own difficulties, like any other branch of 
 science, requiring certain mental peculiarities and favour- 
 able opportunities for their removal and dissipation ; but 
 still, under just cfrcumstances, the discovery, not only of 
 the general office of the brain, but of the functions of its 
 particular parts, is an object of pursuit for the philosopher 
 as legitimate, and as likely to reward the labour of mvesti- 
 gation, as the solution of any other physiological problem. 
 The attempt will be found useless, or productive of im- 
 perfect or contradictory results, only so long as the method 
 pursued is defective or faulty. All sciences, — physiological 
 not less than those purely physical, — have sustained both 
 error in their development and retardation in their pro- 
 gress, wherever they have been cultivated, without the 
 guidance of sound principles in the investigation. Under 
 such circumstances, talent has but led to confusion, and 
 industry has yielded no fi’uit. How long were mankind 
 before the true relations of the heart and blood-vessels 
 to the circulating fluid were satisfactorily explained ; and 
 yet the physiology of the blood, and the nutrition of 
 the system, had always been objects of interest and atten- 
 tion. For ages, physicians and philosophers received 
 and taught the erroneous doctrine that a vital air pro- 
 ceeding from the lungs to the heai’t, passes through the 
 aorta, and is distributed byits branches throughout the body, 
 in this way giving rise to the arterial pulsation ; no account 
 being taken, from ignorance of the fact, of the circulation 
 
tN'TEODUCTORT VrEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 11 
 
 of the blood. Such a conclusion resulted from no want of 
 mental acumen on the part of our predecessors, but from 
 fault in their method of inquiry. Cesalpinus and Servetus, 
 pursuing, in the sixteenth century, a better, but yet im- 
 perfect mode of research, obtained some glimpse of the 
 truth. And when Harvey applied to the investigation 
 the direct and sure method of induction, by carefully de- 
 monstrating the function, and comparing this with the 
 aptitude of structure, and apjjealing to other sources of 
 information for the confirmation of his positions, a sure 
 addition was made to our knowledge, and the physiology 
 of the heart and the blood-vessels was established on a 
 scientific basis. Again, take the physiology of the spinal 
 cord. Up to a recent period, it was for the most part re- 
 garded but as a continuation of the cerebral structure with 
 the same general functions ; the conclusions in this respect 
 hardly assuming to rest upon anypai’ticular facts. Although 
 Galen had conjectured that there were nerves for three dis- 
 tinct purposes ; namely, for sensation, for motion, and for the 
 discrimination of what may be salutary, and what injurious 
 to the system ; making, at the same time, a distinction 
 between the powers of voluntary and involuntary motion ; 
 it was not until speciality in function was studied in con- 
 nexion with divisions of the anatomical structure, that any 
 approach was made to positive knowledge on this matter ; 
 and it was only after a sound mode of inquiry had taken 
 the place of one that was essentially vicious, that we had 
 any definite physiology of the spinal cord. To this subject, 
 however, more detailed reference will be made in the sequel; 
 and the illustration need not be here extended. 
 
 The mode in which the functions of the brain should be 
 ascertained is by no means settled among physiologists. 
 Canons for our guidance in this respect that are of universal 
 recognition, do not exist. And, yet, at a time when science 
 is achieving its mightiest triumphs, and when, in this great 
 movement, the brain and nervous system are beginning to 
 
12 INTEODUCTOKT VTETV OP THE QUESTION. 
 
 receive a fair share of general attention and study, and 
 when, by the acknowledgment of most physiologists, so 
 much obscurity continues to envelope cerebral physiology, 
 it is surely time that this problem should be solved, and 
 the question settled : How are the offices of particular parts 
 of the brain to be determined ? Wliat method of investi- 
 gation is best calculated to develope the relations subsisting 
 between the structure and functions of the encephalon ? 
 
 Desmoulins formally prc^ounds three modes of becom- 
 ing acquainted with the physiology of the brain and 
 nervous system, and he is followed in his philosophy by 
 large numbers of modern inquirers. “ The first is that of 
 experiment : by removing successively the several parts 
 of the brain and its appendages, and by observing what 
 effect is produced by these successive removals, we attempt 
 to gain the knowledge of the specific uses, both of the 
 parts that are removed, and of those that are left. The 
 two other modes proceed upon the principle of induction. 
 They consist in duly appreciating tlie facts which are to 
 be obtained by the study of comparative anatomy and of 
 pathology. There is scarcely any part of the nervous 
 system which is not Avanting in some class of animals, so 
 that by sufficiently multiplying our observations, we have 
 the means of discovering the result of every combination 
 of the cerebral organs, with respect to the poAvers and 
 functions of the system. The symptoms and phenomena 
 of disease afford us the same kind of inductiA'e evidence, 
 for the operation of the several paiis of the neiwous system, 
 although seldom in that clear and decided manner as in 
 the former case.”^ 
 
 In the present treatise, it is proposed to examine the 
 validity of these three methods for determining the func- 
 tions of the brain — vivisection, comparative anatomy, and 
 pathology. The author believes himself to be in a condi- 
 
 > Bostock’s PhysiologT, vol. iii. p. 3S6. 
 
rNTKODUCTORT TEEW OF THE QUESTION. 
 
 13 
 
 tion to show that each of these three methods, as leading 
 to the primary fundamental evidence relative to the cere- 
 bral functions, is both defective and vicious ; defective, by 
 supplying insufficient data at the best ; and vicious, by, in 
 many instances, suggesting erroneous conclusions. It will 
 not be denied that results, capable of being turned to useful 
 account, may sometimes be educed by such methods of in- 
 vestigation ; on the contrary, such results may have given, 
 and will probably continue to give, many hints useful in 
 the further prosecution of inquiry into the cerebral offices ; 
 and although they have hardly ever of themselves furnished 
 any addition to our sure knowledge of the physiology of 
 the brain, it is yet certain that their usefulness has often 
 been witnessed, in the confirming and the strengthening, 
 and in trying, as it were, the results obtained in another 
 and more direct manner, and, in this way, furnishing 
 secondaiy or indirect proofs. It will be the author’s aim 
 to show that, vdth respect to many of the published facts 
 of vivisection, comparative anatomy, and pathology, the 
 greatest uncertainty, and even contradictions, aboimd ; 
 that, the facts themselves being admitted, no agreement 
 exists in regard to their doctrinal value, being conceived 
 by certain physiologists to lead to some inference which 
 others of equal authority controvert and deny ; themselves, 
 probably, deducing one that is totally different. It will 
 appear, moreover, that almost every physiologist of weight, 
 when untrammeled by the defence of some position which 
 rests mainly upon such objectionable grounds, has readily 
 conceded that the means in question ai'e utterly inadequate 
 to their proposed end. 
 
 After reviewing the character, history, and results of 
 those methods of investigation which, it is here contended, 
 are faulty and erroneous, the author wiU proceed to submit 
 what he, along with many able physiologists, deems to 
 to be the true plan of prosecuting cerebral physiology. 
 Structure associated with function' — magnitude in the 
 
14 
 
 INTRODUCTORT VIEW OP THE QUESTION. 
 
 development of the former, in connexion with excessive 
 manifestation of the latter — the size of certain parts of the 
 brain, in alliance with corresponding powers of the mind — 
 he believes to he the primary objects of inquiry. That the 
 brain is the organ of the conscious principle, all physiolo- 
 gists of admitted authority are agreed ; that, in the case of 
 the nervous system at large, power and development usually 
 coincide, is a proposition concerning which a like general 
 consent obtains ; and it is conceded to be a probable fact, 
 that various portions of the encephalic mass have different 
 functions. In the sequel, the winter expects to show that 
 the offices of these particular parts can be made out only 
 by noticing the invariable co-existence, cceteris paribus, of 
 peculiarity in their development, and speciality in the 
 mental characteristics ; and that, when conclusions of this 
 kind have once been directly gained, they never fail to 
 harmonise with the sure results obtained from every other 
 source ; receiving fi’om the phenomena of vivisection, com- 
 parative anatomy, and pathology, a further confirmation ; 
 and throwing back upon them a light which greatly assists 
 in the interpretation of such phenomena, as matters pre- 
 viously obscure. 
 
[ 15 ] 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 ON MUTILATIONS OP THE LIVING BEAIN \AS A MEANS OP 
 DISCOVERY IN CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 The impossibility of gaining additions to our knowledge 
 of the cerebral functions by mere dissection of structure, 
 would appear to be generally conceded. No examination 
 of tbe intimate constitution of the dead brain could ever do 
 more than exhibit its physical qualities. The most powerful 
 microscope could but reveal its molecular disposition. 
 Nevertheless, a minute anatomical investigation of parts, 
 the functions of which have already been determined, may 
 shed considerable light on the mode in which these are 
 performed ; and the sympathies subsisting between one 
 animal function and another, are sometimes beautifully 
 illustrated, by demonstration of a correspondence in the 
 organic arrangements. This, however, always presupposes 
 that function is ascertained. In this state of things, minute 
 anatomical researches would naturally succeed, rather than 
 precede, the recognition of specific offices in various parts ; 
 yet when the brain is concerned, the contrary rule is too 
 often acted upon. Whilst by many physiologists no sure 
 information is admitted respecting the precise function of 
 its various parts, inquiries, conducted by aid of the 
 microscope and by chemical analysis supply to us results 
 affecting its physical characteristics of so varied and 
 complex a kind, that, without a very arduous study, a clear 
 comprehension of the details is almost impracticable. One 
 really wonders what many of these investigators propose 
 
16 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BRAIN AS A 
 
 to themselves ; they cannot expect that, in this way, a 
 revelation of function will take place ; and yet Muthout 
 such an issue, no application of the facts to physiology can 
 be made ; nor, otherwise, can any beneficial influence 
 upon practical medicine be exerted. It may fairly be 
 questioned, whether it be not the fault of the present day 
 to give undue importance to mere facts -without regard to 
 general principles, just as philosophers in foregoing ages 
 erred in the other direction, — by disregai'ding the accumu- 
 lation of experience in their premature and hasty gene- 
 ralisations. “ Disgusted,” says Dr A. Combe, ^ “ -with 
 the -Fisionary theories which once maintained a mischievous 
 ascendancy over the minds of men, and led them far from 
 the observation of the phenomena occuning in the great 
 laboratories of nature, we have passed, in our aversion, 
 almost to the opposite extreme, and, discarding general 
 views, we cry aloud for facts. And as facts are the only 
 basis of accurate knowledge, it is fortunate for mankind 
 that the present mode should be attended with so much 
 practical usefulness. But facts alone ai’e not sufiicient ; 
 and unless they be collated, and their relations to each 
 other and to general laws be deduced by a careful induction, 
 they lose the greater part of their value, and become, to 
 use the apposite illustration of an able -writer on political 
 economy, little better than the undigested erudition of an 
 almanack-maker, and afford no means of judging of the 
 truth or falsehood of a principle or rule of practice.’’ 
 
 The sterile results of mere anatomical researches, would 
 seem to have suggested the mutilation of the living orga- 
 nism as a means of discovery in cerebral physiology ; jmd 
 certain conclusions which some of the earher vivisectors 
 arrived at in this way having been confirmed by subse- 
 quent experience, an importance has become attached to 
 this method of investigation which it but little merits, and 
 
 ‘ Observations on Slental Derangement, Introduction, p. xxiv. 
 
MEANS OP DISCOVERT IN CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY. 17 
 
 which it never would have obtained, had its whole history- 
 been duly considered. Many of our minute, laborious, 
 and pains-taking anatomists, when they do arise from the 
 dryness of mere detail, and deign to glance at the physiology 
 of the brain, generally include the inferences of vivisectors 
 as among the nearest approaches to ascertained truth ; 
 yes, even in those instances where the whole procedure, 
 abstractedly considered, shall have received from them 
 an unmistakeable condemnation, as regai’ds its fitness for 
 developing our knowledge of function. 
 
 K, “by removing successively the several parts of the 
 brain and its appendages, and by observing what effect is 
 produced by these successive removals,” we could really 
 “ gain the knowledge of the specific uses, both of the parts 
 that are removed, and of those that are left,” any objection 
 to this mode of experiment, resting on its mere cruelty, 
 might justly be overruled. But is it quite so certain that 
 this proceeding is at aU adapted to the attainment of any 
 such end? Let us examine this question in detail. 
 
 Before the expected result could reasonably be looked 
 for, many conditions are absolutely demanded, an absence 
 of any one of which would -vitiate, or leave defective, the 
 entire affafr. In the first place, the instincts and powers, 
 as displayed in the habits of animals made the subject of 
 operation, must be recognised systematically; no mere 
 general acquaintance with these could sufiice ; unless they 
 were fairly defined and systematised, how could we de- 
 tennine the absence of one or more, and the presence of 
 the remainder, in any given case ? The mental philosophy, 
 Bo to speak, of each animal selected for cerebral vivisection 
 must, before experiment, be agreed upon. Will the most 
 profound natural historian assume, for a moment, that 
 this is possible, in the existing state of our knowledge? 
 Certainly not ; and so the very fii’st prerequisite of success 
 is wanting to this method of investigation. Further, if it 
 were conceded that the above conditions could be realised, 
 
18 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BRAIN AS A 
 
 it would be necessary that the animal, whose brain had 
 been mutilated, should maintain an existence of at least 
 some weeks after the operation ; for, othenvise, sufficient 
 opportunity could not be afforded for watching the result, 
 seeing that scope for the performance of the whole series 
 of its instinctive and intelligential actions must be allowed, 
 or the absence of none could be assured. "We know, 
 however, that only in a few instances, and these somewhat 
 problematical, and low down in the animal scale, would 
 life persist, for any length of time, after serious lesions of 
 tlie cerebral structure. StUl, we \vill suppose that even 
 this difficulty were surmounted. After a prolonged and 
 almost uninten-upted observation of the mutilated animals’ 
 habits and movements, and on the exhibition of some un- 
 doubted defect, it would yet be uncertain how far this was 
 occasioned by the loss of some one faculty coincidently 
 with removal of its organ, or by disorder of several 
 faculties from injury to a group of organs. If it were pos- 
 tulated that the brain is no congeries of organs, but simple 
 in function, and manifesting the aggregate of faculties, 
 ffivisection of parts could supply no possible effidence of 
 the fact that was new. In all experiments, moreover, 
 upon animals, it must be remembered that they are in a 
 position different to that of human beings ; they cannot 
 teU us what they inwardly experience ; we can only judge 
 of results by manifestation of muscular action ; and how 
 many sources of fallacy lurk here? One obseiwer will 
 attach a signification to a series of animal efforts after 
 operation, which will be interpreted in quite a contrary 
 sense by some other. In the sequel, it shall be shoivn 
 that, in point of fact, such has always been the case ; no 
 two vivisectors, conducting their proceedings indeiiendently, 
 hardly ever coinciding in the statements which they make 
 regarding the consequences of the same mutilation. 
 
 A group of difficulties, however, of another order, oppose 
 themselves to success in the results of such experiments. 
 
MEAJfS OF DISCOVERT IN CEREBRAL PHTSIOLOGT. 19 
 
 In any attempt, by vivisection, to determine the functions 
 of portions of the encephalic mass, there ought certainly to 
 be a practicability of removing, or destroying, one dhdsion 
 without causing sensible lesion to any of the others ; this 
 must be admitted ; or, if it be denied, what value should 
 attach to conclusions respecting the functions of any part, 
 when others participate in the injury ? But, what happens, 
 indeed, in these vivisections of the encephalon ? First of 
 all, the integuments investing the cranium are wounded ; 
 here at once, we have a probable cause of muscular 
 exertion in the animal to complicate the coming results. 
 Then, the cerebral membranes are injured ; can this 
 take place vdthout some irritation and extravasation oc- 
 curring? Last of all, the substance of the brain itself 
 must be cut and scooped ; and what prodigious laceration 
 of fibre, and infiltration of blood and serum must thence of 
 necessity ensue. Yet, we are to be told that, after such a 
 proceeding, we may “ gain the knowledge of the specific 
 uses both of the parts that are removed, and of those that 
 are left,” by observing “ what effect is produced by these 
 successive removals.” 
 
 Let us take into account the manifold offices of the entire 
 nervous system in the higher classes of animals on which 
 we are supposed to be operating ; let consideration, also, 
 rest upon the extensive symjiathies subsisting between all 
 its parts ; and then, if we can, let us say what worth there 
 can be in these mutilations of the living brain. It is known, 
 and admitted by all, that every division of the nervous 
 system holds some communication with the others ; that 
 the fibres of one part are continuous, and interlace with 
 those of others, whose functions are separate and distinct ; 
 that under such circumstances, an affection of some par- 
 ticular set of fibres may not only lead to depravation 
 of their function, but of those with which they com- 
 municate, even to the remotest parts of the system. This 
 happens occasionally in tetanus. A few fibres at the ex- 
 
20 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LTVHXG BEAIN AS A 
 
 tremity of a finger sustain laceration ; an irritation extends 
 along their whole course, to the spinal origins ; here- 
 upon, the cord participates in the injury ; almost the entire 
 nervous system becomes, more or less, involved in the 
 lesion ; the frame is shaken, and convulsed by the morbid 
 influence ; and, often, the patient dies. Other remarkable, 
 yet more simple, examples of nervous sympathy are familiar 
 to every medical practitioner, A decayed tooth frequently 
 induces far more disturbance in the facial nerves, than in 
 those of its own immediate locality ; tic doloureux, arising 
 from a bad tooth, is a cfrcumstance common enough. 
 Disease of the hip-joint, in the incipient stage, makes 
 itself felt in the nerves about the knee, rather than in those 
 of the hip-joint itself. A renal calculus occasions a drag- 
 ging sensation along the back of the thigh, in the course 
 of the sciatic nerve ; and stone in the bladder gives rise to 
 benumbing sensations at some distance from its actual 
 situation. Indeed, the instances might be adduced in 
 abundance, so familiar are they to all who are engaged in 
 the treatment of disease. There are sympathies which arise 
 from appreciable communication of nervous fibre ; there ai'e 
 othei’s which appear to be dependent upon some associa- 
 tion in function, subsisting between different organs, as 
 the uterus and the mamma ; and others apparently ori- 
 ginate in the mere contiguity of parts, as in the case of the 
 bladder and the rectum, where there is no special con- 
 nexion, vascular or nervous. Now, if we reflect upon these 
 vmrious conditions of sympathy, it will be noticed that, 
 among the vai-ious parts of the encephalic mass, they all 
 prevail in an eminent degree. There is intimate com- 
 munication and intei’lacement of cerebral fibre ; there is 
 perpetual association of function ; and the contiguity is 
 complete. Under all these circumstances, it surely is not 
 by mutilations of the living brain, that we can establish 
 an acquaintance with its physiology ; that we can ever 
 “ assign to each pai’t of it its specific office.” 
 
BIEANS OF DISCOVEEY IN CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY. 21 
 
 Let US here examine the actual facts of the case. By- 
 tracing some little account, historically, of these encephalic 
 Yivisections, we shall attain a still firmer position in pro- 
 nouncing finally -with respect to the inadequacy of the 
 method now under discussion. From the subjoined state- 
 ments, it will be apparent that the facts themselves, when 
 they have been obtained by different experimenters, never 
 present the same aspect ; that, indeed, they are positively 
 contradictory one of another ; and that, in this way, they 
 become depi'ived of all the value they might otherwise 
 possess. As the cerebellum has been the favourite subject 
 of -vivisection, — presenting as it does the greatest facilities 
 for operation, owing to its comparative detachment, — the 
 mutilations which have been practised upon this structure, 
 shall mainly come under review; and if their value be dis- 
 proved, no importance can be attached to other lesions of 
 the encephalon, for very ob-vious reasons. 
 
 Rolando, of Turin, in the early part of the present 
 century, haidng, from consideration of the anatomy, 
 been led to regard the cerebellum as in some way or 
 another concerned in locomotion, proceeded to test the 
 validity of his opinion by the following expei’iments.^ He 
 removed, by successive efiPorts, as much of the cerebellum 
 as he could from one side of a pig, and also of a sheep. But 
 scarcely did the lesion extend beyond the trepanned side, 
 than the animal was struck with hemiplegia, and it perished 
 very soon amidst convulsive spasms and haemorrhage. He 
 cut the cerebellum, in one of the animals, in different 
 ways; the animal could no longer sustain itself upon the legs, 
 as if it were paralytic; after twenty-four hours, it died of 
 convulsions. Rolando professes constantly to have observed, 
 that a diminution of the movements was in a direct ratio 
 
 ' The account is detailed in a work by Kolando, on the Brain and 
 Nervous System, published in 1809. The statements in the text are 
 taken from Gall’s “ Sur les Fonctions du Cerveau,” vol. vi., which con- 
 tains extracts from a French translation of Rolando’s work by M. Coster. 
 
22 
 
 ON JirTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BRAIN AS A 
 
 with lesion of the cerebellum ; the animal being sometimes 
 paralytic altogether, at times only hemiplegic, according as 
 the cerebellum was destroyed in whole or in part. 
 
 The experiments were extended to birds. Rolando re- 
 moved nearly the half of the right side of the cerebeUnm of 
 the common domestic fowl ; immediately it became paralytic, 
 and fell on the corresponding side, without in any manner 
 being able to make use of the right leg, or execute with this 
 leg the least movement. Finally, the paralysis extended 
 itself to the two sides. It is acknowledged, however, that this 
 fowl occasionally shook its wings, and even moved its 
 inferior extremity, — a result attributed either to the mere 
 mobility of the muscular fibre, or to some remnant of the 
 cerebellum. 
 
 Early in the year 1822, a report, drawn up by the late 
 M. Cuvier, was presented to the Royal Academy of 
 Sciences of the Institute, on a memoir by M. Flourens, 
 having for its object the determination of the properties of 
 the nervous system, and of the action of these, and of 
 dilFerent parts of this system, in the motions called volun- 
 tary, or those of locomotion and prehension. The following 
 extract relates to cutting and removal of the cerebellum, 
 and is taken from a translation of M. Cuvier’s report, as it 
 occurs in IVIr Solly’s valuable work on the brain. The 
 subject of experiment was a pigeon. 
 
 “ During the ablation of the first slices, only a little 
 weakness and a want of harmony in the movements occur. At 
 the removal of the middle slices, an almost general agitation 
 is the result. The animal, continuing to hear and to see, 
 only executes abrupt and disorderly movements. Its facilities 
 of flying, walking, standing up, &c., are lost by degrees. 
 I\Tien the cerebellum is removed, the faculty of performing 
 regulated movements has entirely disappeared. Placed on its 
 back, the creatm’e could not get np; yet it saw the blow 
 that threatened it; it heard noises; it endeavoured to avoid 
 danger, and made many eflPorts to do so, without accom- 
 
5IEANS OF DISCOVERT IN CEREBRAE PHYSIOLOGY. 23 
 
 plishing its object. In a few words, it retained the facul- 
 ties of perception and of volition, but it bad lost tbe power 
 of making the muscles obey its will. It was with difficulty 
 that the bird stood up, resting upon its wings and tail. De- 
 prived of its brain, it was in a dormant state ; deprived of 
 its cerebellum, it was in a state of apparent drunkenness.”^ 
 M. Bouilland repeated these experiments, and published 
 an account of his proceedings in a pamphlet, in which the 
 results are stated in the following terms : — “ Mutilations 
 of the cerebellum were not accorrvpanied hy paralysis, or con- 
 vulsions, properly so called, but merely by disorder of tlve 
 locomotive functions ; the faculties of equilibrium and progres- 
 sion were destroyed. The animals mutilated were still 
 capable of reflection, of hearing, of moving their limbs in all 
 directions, and most frequently these movements were 
 executed with extraordinary quickness and violence.” 
 
 * * * When the cerebellum is totally disorga- 
 
 nised, or entirely removed, the animal is for ever deprived 
 of the faculty of equilibration, of walking, and of flying, if 
 a bu’d : all the efibrts it makes are useless ; they merely 
 demonstrate, that though unable to perform any combined 
 motions, out of which station or locomotion results, it 
 nevertheless retains the faculty of executing partial move- 
 ments, and of moving its limbs in all directions.^ 
 
 Magendie, who practised also these mutilations, states 
 that, if a wound be inflicted on the cerebellum, the animal 
 seems compelled by an inicard force to a retrograde movement, 
 although making an effort to advance ; and that if the 
 anis cerebelli on one side be injured, the animal is caused 
 to roU over towards the same side. Sometimes the animals 
 made sixty revolutions in a mmute, and continued this 
 movement for a week without cessation. Division of the 
 second crus cerebelli restored the equilibrium.^ 
 
 Magendie, moreover, states, in his work on Physiology, 
 
 * Solly on the Brain, p. 306. ^ Ibid. p. 314. 
 
 ® Vide Carpenter’s Human Physiology, 2d edit. p. 217. 
 
24 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BR.UN AS A 
 
 that he has seen, and has demonstrated to others a great 
 many times, in his course of lectures, animals deprived of 
 cerebellum, and which, nevertheless, executed very regular 
 rwovements} 
 
 The following quotation furnishes an account of further 
 experiments on the living cerebellum, practised by M. 
 Fodera, in presence of Gall, Dannecy, Fpssati, Londe, and 
 Georget ; the results are given by GaU, in the subjoined 
 statement : — 
 
 “ The two first rabbits from which the central and 
 superior parts of the cerebellum were removed, died in 
 tliree or four minutes. The hiemoiThage, as well as the 
 convulsions, were considerable. The section was made 
 fi’om below, upwards. In one of them, the medulla oblon- 
 gata was reached by the instrument, and tetanic convul- 
 sions were the results.” 
 
 “ The same operation was performed on a third rabbit. 
 It had an astonished look, started, ran almost constantly 
 backwards, drew the head several times backward, leaped 
 into the air in starting ; twice it leaped to the height of a 
 foot and a half. TTlien it was pricked, it drew back its 
 limb rapidly. We destroyed, by little and little, the whole 
 of the centre, and a portion of the hemispheres of the 
 cerebellum. The s}Tnptoms increased with the destruction.” 
 
 “ The first pigeon whose cerebellum we destroyed, like 
 the preceding rabbit, drew its head strongly backwards, 
 going sometimes forward and sometimes backward.”^ 
 
 Here, then, we see the results of mutilating that par- 
 ticular division of the encephalon, which furnishes the 
 greatest facilities of all for its separate lesion. The varying 
 and contradictory character of the effects obtained, wUl be 
 appreciated at a glance by referring to the sentences in 
 the foregoing extracts which have here been rendered in 
 italics. Rolando found the vivisection in question to induce 
 
 ' JliEipan’s Translation, 4th edit. p. IS3. 
 
 ^ Combe’s Translation of Gall on the Cerebellum, p. 405. 
 
MEANS OF DISCOVERT IN CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY. 25 
 
 convulsions and pai-alysis ; Flourens gained by his pro- 
 ceedings a loss of harmony in the action of voluntary 
 muscles ; Bouillaud’s subjects sustained no paralysis, but a 
 destruction only of the powers of maintaming equilibrium 
 and of progression, vath retention of muscular mobility in 
 any direction ; Magendie obtained an invincible disposition 
 to retrograde movement, stating that his animals, after loss 
 of the cerebellum, could yet execute very regular, com- 
 bined movements ; and, lastly, Fodera’s mutilations were 
 followed in some instances by convulsions and death, in 
 others, by kicking and leaping, and by movements pro- 
 gressive as well as retrograde. 
 
 It win thus be seen that no two of the above instances 
 presented anything like coincidence in the results ; but 
 that, on the contrary, direct contradictions occur. Rolando’s 
 pai’alysis is met by Bouftlaud’s no paralysis ; Flourens’ 
 inability to regulate movement, is counterpoised byMagendie’s 
 capability, confirmed by Fodera’s experience ; and the same 
 contradiction is seen throughout the entire history of these 
 ■sdvisections ; there is no single fact recorded by one 
 operator, which is not counteracted in its tendency to 
 any conclusion, by the experience of some of the others. 
 
 Diverse as are the statements regarding the visible eflfects 
 of lesions of the living, cerebellum, the inferences regarding 
 the functions of this organ deduced by the experimenters 
 themselves vary quite to the same extent. Rolando pro- 
 claimed it to be the source of locomotive power ; Flourens 
 decided that it was no such thing, but only the co-ordinator 
 of the voluntary movements, and the balancer ; Bouillaud 
 maintained that it balanced the body only in station and 
 progression ; and Magendie concluded its office to be the 
 source merely of movements fonvard. Gall, who carefully 
 watched the repetition of these experiments, drew no 
 positive inference fi'om the results which he Avitnessed, 
 observing, that “ they will alvAmys be found to differ accord- 
 ing to the irritability and the age of the creature, and 
 
 B 
 
26 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LI'VTNG BEaIN AS A 
 
 according as the instrument is blunt or sharp, so that it 
 pulls more than it cuts.” 
 
 Many mutilations of the cerebrum have been practised, 
 with equal or greater contrariety of consequent doctrine ; 
 those performed on the cerebellum, however, have alone 
 been detailed, for the reasons before stated, and also be- 
 cause from many individuals they have received an amount 
 of attention and consideration which, it is conceived, can 
 have arisen only from a total disregard, or forgetftilness, 
 of their true history. 
 
 The experiments of Flourens, in particular, are perpe- 
 tually appealed to, as if they furnished results uniformly to 
 he obtained ; whilst those of the other vivisectors receive but 
 little notice, and that only in so far as they are supposed to 
 coincide with those of Flourens. The great name of Cuvier, 
 always mixed up with them, has probably supplied the 
 reason of this pre-eminence. It is yet remarkable that 
 physiologists, commenting on mutilations of the cerebellum, 
 and assuming the effects narrated in Cuvier’s report, to 
 constitute the normal consequences, so to speak, do hut 
 rarely agree with Flourens as to their doctrinal value ; 
 scarcely any two deducing identical conclusions from the 
 same premises. 
 
 M. Foville,' admitting the facts adduced, thinks they 
 confirm his own notion, that the cerebellum is the central 
 organ of sensibility. “ The opinion advanced,” says he, 
 “ that the cerebellum is the regulator of the voluntary 
 movements, if we attentively consider the reasoning on 
 which it rests, seems to me to strengthen the idea which 
 places the central seat of sensibility in the cerebellum. 
 After having injured the stnicture of the cerebellum ex- 
 tensively, we have observed that animals preserved the 
 power of moving their limbs, but had lost that of co-ordi- 
 
 ' Diction, de Med. Pratique, Art. Encephale, p. 204. Quoted by 
 SoUy. 
 
MEANS OF DISCOVERT IN CEREBRAD PHTSIOLOGT. 27 
 
 Dating the movements of these in a manner convenient 
 to station, progression, flight, &c. But when we will to 
 perform, and actually perform, certain movements, do we 
 not distinctly feel that we execute them ? The man who, 
 vdth his eyes shut, moves his hand or his arm, does he 
 not also as distinctly feel that he moves these parts as if 
 he followed them with his eyes ? whilst the paralysed man 
 who, with his eyes shut, is desired to move the paralysed 
 limbs, may be very willing to do so, though incapable, and 
 perfectly aware of his incapability of obeying ; nor would 
 it be possible to persuade the individual so circumstanced 
 that he did move his limbs.” 
 
 “ If this be true (and no one, I think, will doubt it), how 
 can we expect, that an animal deprived of the faculty of 
 perceiving the sensation of the movements which it exe- 
 cutes, should execute them in the ensemble ivith harmony, 
 and in accordance with a proposed end. How can we 
 expect it to walk deliberately, and to keep its equilibrium, 
 if it does not feel the ground upon which it stands, if it is 
 ignorant of the position in which its limbs are placed ? I 
 remember conversing with Sir Astley Cooper on this 
 subject towards the end of the year 1830. Sir Astley cited 
 to me the case of a man completely deprived of the faculty 
 of sensation in one arm and hand, the muscular power of 
 which was however preserved. When this man was de- 
 sired to take hold of and to lift any thing, he did so 
 very well ; but if, whilst holding the object, his attention 
 was taken away from the hand, irregular contractions 
 of the limb commenced, and very soon the object fell to 
 the ground ; as soon as the patient ceased to follow the 
 contraction of his fingers with his eyes, nothing remained 
 to inform him that he held the object, when, of course, it 
 escaped from his grasp.” 
 
 “ This and other cases of a similar description seem con- 
 clusive as to the fact of sensation being the true regulator 
 of the muscular motions ; it is by means of sensation that 
 
28 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BRAIN AS A 
 
 we are aware of the mode or degree of action of our 
 muscles, that we have the power of co-ordinating their 
 contractions in a suitable manner, and of executing a suc- 
 cession of voluntary movements in harmony with one 
 another. The faculty of perceiving the movements being 
 lost, we cannot answer for their precision or duration.” 
 Such is the reasoning which FoviUe employs, in dis- 
 proof of the essential office which Flourens and his followers 
 would attach to the cerebellum, as revealed by its mutila- 
 tions. It is hereby seen that, whilst F offiUe treats the results 
 as if they were invariable, and matters of course (which 
 it has just been shovm that they are not), he yet regards 
 the inferences to be unwaivanted by the facts of the case. 
 
 Dr Bostock states that Desmoulins disagi’ees vdth both 
 Flourens and Rolando, in thinking “ that the cerebellum is 
 the great agent either in producing or regulating muscular 
 motion, an hjqoothesis which appears to be disproved by 
 the most direct experiments.”^ Dr Bostock himself says, 
 in reference to the experiments in question, “ In some 
 oases I should be inclined to draw an inference precisely 
 the reverse of that which has been formed by the author.”^ 
 Dr Alison, suggesting his own explanation, remarks, 
 with regard to the effects induced by the mutilation, “ This 
 may be supposed to he, either because the injury produces 
 certain permanent uneasy feelings, such as vertigo, which 
 interfere with and confuse the sensations, by which the 
 voluntary movements are regulated; or because the re- 
 collection of muscular sensations, which are the guide to 
 all definite voluntaiy movements, depends upon the cere- 
 bellum, and is lost when it is destroyed.”^ 
 
 Mr Herbert Mayo, on the same subject, says, “ Tlie 
 simplest explanation of the phenomena above described, 
 i.s to suppose that an injury of the cerebellum, to a certain 
 
 ■ Bostock’s Physiology, vol. iii. p. .390. 
 
 - Bostock'sPhysiology, vol. iii.p. 374. = Alison's Physiology, p 253. 
 
MEANS OF DISCOVERT IN CEREBRAL PHTSIOLOGY. 29 
 
 depth, produces a sensation analogous to vertigo ; that the 
 animal conceives itself either to be hurried forward, and 
 makes a more or less perfect exertion to repel the ima- 
 ginary force, or to be moving backward, and moves its 
 limbs to a certain degree in correspondence.”^ 
 
 Mr SoUy in discussing the present subject, observes, 
 “ A candid consideration of M. Foville’s opinions must, 
 at any rate, convince us that the views of Messrs Flourens 
 and BouiUaud cannot yet be regarded as established doc- 
 trines of physiology.”^ 
 
 Thus, then, it would appear that, under circumstances 
 the most favourable for encephalic vivisection (which the 
 instance of the cerebellum certainly supplies), no uni- 
 formity in the results exists ; that the facts proclaimed by 
 different physiologists are opposed one to another ; and that 
 the inferences deduced are as various and contradictory 
 as the premises. This is so obvious, that had not aU of 
 these writers had a prejudice against Gall’s views, they 
 would, probably, never have attached that importance to 
 these experiments, which most of them have done. The 
 chief merit of them in their eyes seems to have been, that 
 they appeared to afford something like fact and argument 
 in opposition to GaU. 
 
 It will, however, be asserted that vivisections have, in 
 many cases, advanced the progress of physiology, and 
 especially that, in the determination of the functions of 
 individual nerves, the method has proved itself to be sound 
 and effective. That the experimental proceedings with 
 living animals have been turned to useful and practical 
 account, is certain ; but what fact, noticed in the animal 
 economy, under any set of circumstances, will not be 
 beneficially employed by a philosophic observer ? This, 
 however, is not the place to discuss the true value of vivi- 
 sections in all cases ; the present purpose is to determine 
 
 Mayo’s Physiology, p. 245. 
 
 ‘‘ Solly on the Brain, p. 323. 
 
30 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BRAIN AS A 
 
 their worth as a means of discovery in cerebral •physiology ; at 
 the same time, the writer conceives himself to be authorised 
 in afhrming that, even in the case of particular nerves, the 
 functions have not, properly speaking, been made out by 
 vivisections ; and that, where any certainty exists on the 
 subject, a great deal had been done to bring this about 
 before the mutilations were practised ; and that these latter 
 may be said to have confirmed what was previously all 
 but ascertained, rather than to have constituted the primary 
 means of discovery, after the manner of modem attempts 
 by lesions of the living brain. This subject, however, in 
 its positive bearings, will receive a more ample discussion 
 in a subsequent part of this treatise. At present, it may 
 be sufficient, in going back to the history of experiments 
 on the nerves, to show that, if the experimenters had 
 commenced in utter ignorance of the definite functions of 
 various parts of the nervous system, — if they had pro- 
 ceeded, in the absence of aU preliminary and fi’uitful 
 research, to have cut, and simply to have looked at the 
 immediate consequence, the results would have been little 
 less jejune than those with regard to the cerebellum, and 
 other portions of the encephalon. And as the discovery 
 of the functions of the spinal nerves, and the various 
 mutilations practised in the course of the investigations, 
 have contributed more, probably, to mislead physiologists, 
 in their estimate of the actual value of vivisections, than 
 any thing else, it shall here be shown how little unifonuity, 
 either in the facts or the conclusions, has been obtained 
 in the mere matter of the mutilations ; and of what little 
 value the inferences would have been, had they been de- 
 duced solely, or primarily, from noticing “ what effect is 
 produced.” 
 
 Wlien Sir Charles Bell experimented on the facial branch 
 of the fifth nerve, he found, on dividing its trunk, that the 
 power of elevating and projecting the lip, as in gathering 
 food, was no longer exerted ; and thence inferred that its 
 
MEANS OF DISCOVERY IN CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY. 31 
 
 function was for voluntary motion as well as for sensation. 
 Other experimenters showed that here was a mistake, and 
 that the motion did not occur, because of the absence 
 of excitor sensibility; just as Foville reasons on the de- 
 fective movements after destruction of the cerebellum. 
 Whilst Bell is considered to have reaUy established the 
 separate functions of the different roots of the spinal nerves, 
 the anterior being for motion and the posterior for sensation, 
 the history of this question presents the greatest contrariety 
 in the results of vivisection. Bellingeri was in this way 
 led to the belief that the anterior roots were for the flexion 
 of the various articulations, and the posterior for their 
 extension. Magendie, in prosecuting this department of 
 experimental inquiry, maintained that the anterior were 
 subservient in some respects to sensation as well as to 
 voluntary motion. Altogether, the effects consequent upon 
 the vivisections were any thing but decisive ; and it was 
 only by the correction and explanation which they received 
 from other sources of knowledge, that conclusions at all 
 satisfactory could be dravra fi'om them. It is not meant 
 that there is a precise parallel between such experiments, 
 and those that have been referred to in the case of the 
 encephalon ; the conditions of experiment vary most ma- 
 terially. In a subsequent part of this work there ivill be 
 occasion to refer to the matter in this point of view ; they 
 have been noticed at present as indicating that, even in the 
 chef d'cemre of the vivisectors, the course has not been quite 
 so smooth, and so facile, as popularly supposed. Further, 
 it may be observed that, up to a very recent period, the 
 vivisections in question were always conceived to de- 
 tei'mine that the functions of divisions of the spinal cord 
 were respectively similar to those of the roots connected 
 with them. “ No one,” says Sir Charles Bell,^ “ has given 
 reason to doubt the con’ectness of the statement that I 
 
 ‘ Bell’s Anatomy, vol. ii. p. 388. 
 
32 
 
 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BRAIN AS A 
 
 liave made, that the anterior column is for motion, and the 
 posterior for sensibility.” How prematurely all this was 
 assumed, will be apparent from the follQwing circumstances 
 related by Dr Carpenter, who states as follows : — “ The 
 recent experiments of Valentin, whilst they fully confirm 
 Sir C. Bell’s determination of the functions of the roots of 
 the nerves, coincide, to no small degree, with Bellingeri’s 
 opinion in regard to the offices of the anterior and posterior 
 divisions of the cord. He obtained reason to believe that, 
 in the frog, neither the superior nor inferior strand of the 
 cord (posterior and anterior columns in man) solely pos- 
 sesses motor functions ; but he found that, when the former 
 were irritated, sensations predominated ; and when the 
 latter, motions were chiefly excited. He further states 
 that, if the superior strand (posteidor column) be irritated 
 at the point at which the nerves of either extremity are 
 given off, that extremity is extended ; and that if the inferior 
 strand (anterior column) be irritated, the extremity is 
 flexed. At their entrance into the spinal cord, therefore, 
 it would appear that the motor fibres of the extensors pass 
 towards the superior stratum (posterior column in man), 
 whilst those of the flexors are continuous with the inferior 
 stratum (anterior column) ; their course being more altered, 
 however, when they are examined far from the point of 
 issue.” ^ And, in the latest publication of any standing 
 which the author has seen, and which refers to this sub- 
 ject, the following occurs : — “ Could it be proved that the 
 anterior or motor roots were exclusively connected with 
 the antero-lateral columns, and that the posterior or sensiti\-e 
 ones arose exclusively from the posterior columns, then 
 there would be good anatomical gi'ounds for the doctrine 
 so long erroneously prevalent, that the functions of the 
 columns coincided ivith those of the roots, that the posterior 
 columns were sensitive, and the anterior motor ; but no- 
 
 Human Physiology, 2d edit. p. 129. 
 
MEANS OF DISCOVERY IN CEREBRAE PHYSIOLOGY. 33 
 
 thing is more certain than that both roots are connected 
 with the antero-lateral columns. Hence, all that anatomy 
 warrants us in stating is, that the antero-lateral columns 
 are probably compound in function, both motor and sen- 
 sitive. Respecting the office of the posterior columns little 
 can be said.”^ 
 
 Other mutilations, exploratory of the functions of indi- 
 vidual nerves, have produced opinions and views equally 
 discordant. Thus, with regard to the sense of taste ; that 
 it constitutes a special sense, like smeU, sight, and hearing, 
 physiologists are now pretty well agreed. In the uncer- 
 tainty which has existed as to its subservient nerve, the 
 vivisectors have again taken the field ; with what uni- 
 formity in the results, let the following facts decide. In 
 1834 or 1835, Professor Panizza cut sundry nerves sup- 
 plying the tongue, and drew the conclusion from the effects 
 produced, that the glosso-pharyngeal was the special nerve 
 of taste immediately after the publication of these ex- 
 periments in this country, they were repeated byklr Herbert 
 Mayo, who obtained contrary results, and maintained that, 
 not the glosso-pharyngeal, but the lingual branch of the 
 fifth nerve, endowed the tongue with gustatory sensibility. 
 Shortly after. Dr Alcock of Dublin, followed in the same 
 track, and concluded that filaments of both glosso-pha- 
 ryngeal, and lingual division of the fifth nerve, subserved 
 the function in question.^ 
 
 In illustration, however, of the inutility of vivisection 
 as a soui’ce of direct proof in these researches, nothing is 
 
 ' Anatomy and Physiology of Man. By Todd and Bowman. Part 
 2d, p. 316. 
 
 ^ Panizzas’ experiments are related hy Dr Burrows in one of the 
 numbers of the London Medical Gazette, for October 1835; the account 
 of Mr Mayo’s experiments occurs in a later number of the same year. 
 Dr Alcock read an account of his own proceedings at the meeting of 
 the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in the year 
 1836 ; the paper was reprinted in the Medical Gazette in the following 
 December. 
 
34 
 
 ON MUTILATIONS OF THE LIVING BKAIN AS A 
 
 probably more striking than Magendie’s experiments on 
 the facial branch of the fifth nerve. “ I have cut,” says 
 he, “ the fifth pair of nerves in an animal, and instantly 
 it lost the sight of the same side.”* From this and other 
 experiments, he threatened, for a while, to supersede the 
 understood functions of the optic nerve ; and, indeed, of 
 those of the other nerves of special sense — conceiving the 
 fifth to supply the main requirements, judging fi’om the 
 mere vivisections. 
 
 Mutilations of the living brain, as a means of discovery 
 in physiology, would, it is conceived, have been long since 
 given up, had their worth been estimated without prejudice; 
 and, indeed, it is only when support has to be rendered to 
 some favourite theory which rests primarily upon facts 
 obtained by this means, that any physiologist of note 
 attaches much importance to them. It is known that 
 even Sir Charles Bell, in his later publications, spoke very 
 slightingly of the method, notwithstanding the comparative 
 success that attended his own employment of it. And, in 
 the rising school of more modem physiologists, it is grati- 
 fying to notice that Dr Carpenter virtually gives it up as a 
 source of discovery. “ It frequently happens,” says he, in 
 his Human Physiology, “ that when such violent operations 
 are practised on the nervous centres, they occasion an 
 amount of general disturbance, which suspends or modifies 
 functions that have no immediate connexion with the organ 
 in question ; so that we cannot safely attribute the alteration 
 in them to the loss of it.” And again, “ There is much 
 difficulty m ascertaining the really elementary functions of 
 the nervous system by experiments upon animals ; and it 
 is only when their results are corrected and explained by 
 pathological observation on man, that they have much 
 value to the physiological inquirer.” 
 
 There will, in the sequel, however, be an attempt to 
 
 * Magendie’s Physiology. Milligan's Translation, p. 48. 
 
OF DISCOVERY IN CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY. 35 
 
 show that, after the functions of individual parts of the 
 encephalon and of the nervous system have been truly 
 discovered, the results of mutilations harmonise completely 
 with the knowledge which has been obtained by a method 
 of research more justly fitted for its purpose. In the 
 meantime, it is conceived that it may safely be maintained, 
 as a corollary from aU that has preceded, that vivisections 
 should never supply the primary fundamental evidence 
 respecting the functions of any portion of the encephalic 
 mass, or, indeed, of the nervous system at large, however 
 they may, in some instances, confirm what they must ever 
 be inadequate to prove. 
 
36 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS THE PRIMARY AID 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 ON COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS THE PRIMARY AID TO 
 DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FLTICTIONS. 
 
 Wherever there are observed sure and unequivocal signs 
 of conscious existence, the presence of a brain and nervous 
 system is inferred. Self-consciousness, in the order of 
 nature, would seem to be universally manifested by the 
 instrumentidity of brain ; a communication with the outer 
 world being established, and maintained, by the agency 
 of nerves. On these general propositions physiologists are 
 mainly agreed. Among speculative philosophers, some 
 will be found who contend that the soul of man, the imma- 
 terial principle of his nature, wiU, in some of its attributes, 
 display activity in complete independence of bodily organ- 
 isation ; this, however, is a hypothesis which may safely 
 be disregarded, seeing that it is opposed to all conclusions 
 of experience, and to the opinions of those whose antecedent 
 studies give weight to the judgments which they enounce. 
 
 The office of the brain and nervous system, then, is 
 to subserve the superior and special properties of animal 
 life ; and it is ascertained as a fact — (which in the absence 
 of positive knowledge might have been inferred) — that a 
 remarkable and ob\uously adapted modification of the 
 subservient tissues coincides ■with variations in the animal 
 type. Thus, at the bottom of the scale, insects and the 
 mollusca have so inconsiderable a development of the 
 nervous structure, that some have conceived them to be 
 devoid of its crowning constituent, denying that they 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 37 
 
 possess a brain. This, however, must be a mistake ; if they 
 have consciousness, it must operate through some organisa- 
 tion,. and whatever he the form or locality of the latter, it 
 must, because of its function, constitute the analogue of what 
 all acknowledge to be brain in the higher classes of animals. 
 In ascending the scale, and coming to fishes, we observe 
 a decided advance in the organisation of the brain and 
 nervous system. Whilst, in the invertebrata, the- actual 
 brain is hardly distinguishable from the ganglial termi- 
 nation of the nerves of sense, in fishes, with which the 
 vertebrated creatures commence, nervous masses, corres- 
 ponding to the cerebral hemispheres and the cerebellum in 
 mammals, become apparent; and with these coincide higher 
 instincts, and shades of intelligence in its lower forms. The 
 yet higher power, and the varied states of consciousness 
 which birds exhibit, correspond with increased development 
 of the cerebral structure ; the proportion of this to the size 
 of the body, to the ganglia of the nerves, and to the spinal 
 cord, far surpassing that which exists in fishes. In the 
 mammalia, the advance which is made in the organisation 
 of brain, is very remarkable. Its magnitude, absolutely 
 and relatively, greatly exceeds the corresponding structure 
 in the inferior tribes ; and the hemispheres begin to assume 
 a convoluted and more complex appearance. Indeed, the 
 law obtains throughout the whole animal series, com- 
 mencing with the very lowest creatures, and ascending till 
 we arrive at Man ; the loftier the psychical attributes, the 
 more highly organised is the associated brain. 
 
 Not only is there agreement among physiologists with 
 respect to the above general truths ; but a yet more striking 
 law, in relation to this subject, seems also to receive a 
 recognition that is all but universal. This law may thus be 
 stated; — Size, orajviount op nervous tissue, constitutes 
 A direct elejeent of functional power, — a law which 
 brings the brain and nervous system into harmony with all 
 other created things. In physics, the law is obvious at 
 
38 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS THE PRIMARY AID 
 
 once. Size of any given body is always regarded as not 
 the least important property, in an estimate of its power; 
 and, in the vegetable world, productive energy is always 
 qualified by size or amount of structure. In the animal 
 kingdom, independently of the nervous system, the influence 
 of organic size upon energy of function, is every where 
 admitted. Capacious lungs are more likely to be vigorous 
 in the execution of their office, than smaller ones. A large 
 heart will usually propel the circulating fluid with more 
 energy than one that is small ; and a like principle holds good 
 with respect to the abdominal viscera; in short, observation 
 has revealed the truth, that the law which regulates the 
 vigour and energy of inorganic matter, of vegetable, and 
 general animal life, prevails also in the particular constitu- 
 tion of the brain and nerves. Thus, as a general rule, the 
 sentient nerves bear a proportion in size to the degree in 
 which the power of sensation is possessed. Desmoulins 
 states that, in man, the posterior roots of the spinal nerves, 
 being for sensation, in suppljdng the superior extremity, 
 have at once an excess of volume and of surface, at least 
 five times greatei’, both for each indi\’idual fibre, and for 
 the bundle resulting fi'om them, than the anterior roots 
 which are appropriated to motion. And this fact corre- 
 sponds with the exquisite sense of touch possessed by the 
 human hand. The same author further mentions, that the 
 single nerve of feeling ramified on the tactile extremity of 
 the proboscis of an elephant, exceeds in size the united 
 volume of all the muscular nerves of that organ. 
 
 As in animals, and parts of animals, possessed of acute 
 sensation, the subservient nerves predominate orer those 
 which are for motion, so, in like manner, where muscular 
 power is predominant, the motor nerves are in excess. 
 It is said that in the horse and the ox, the sum of the 
 muscular roots supplying the limbs exceeds considerably 
 that of the sensitive roots; this arrangement corresponding 
 with their imperfect sense of touch, and great bodily 
 
TO DISCOVEliT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 39 
 
 strength. In birds and reptiles, whose scaly skins limit 
 their sensibility, a like preponderance of motor over sentient 
 nerves exists. The tail in some species of monkeys, the 
 wings in some hats, and the claws of certain birds, are re- 
 markable for acuteness of sensation; and, in such cases, 
 the parts are largely furnished with nerves that correspond. 
 
 As with the nerves of common sensation, so it is with 
 those of the special senses. The olfactory nerve, as a 
 general rule, bears a fixed relation to the extent of surface 
 within the nasal cavity, to which it is distributed. The 
 pituitary membrane which lines this cavity, always exhibits 
 some proportion, in sm’facp and extent, to the intensity and 
 energy of the sense of smeU. The internal nostrils of the 
 North American, who is remarkable for acuteness in this 
 sense, are of unusual size; and the same is said to be true 
 of all the savage tribes, who possess an extraordinary 
 endowment in this respect. The olfactory nerve iu Man, 
 and the quadrumana, is much smaller than in the horse, 
 and the dog, and many other creatures. In some animals, 
 the ganglion with which it is in especial connexion, called 
 bulbus olfactorius, is so large as to have been mistaken for 
 the brain itself. In the mole it is very large, while the 
 optic nerve is small; whereas in the eagle, these proportions 
 are reversed, the optic greatly predominating over the 
 olfactory nerve. In aU these instances, there obtains a 
 striking coincidence between the size or amount of nervous 
 tissue, and the energy of the associated function. The same 
 law is found to prevail with respect to the other nerves of 
 special sense. Wherever a remarkable manifestation of 
 power is discovered, there (regard being had to certain 
 qualifying circumstances), wiU a predominating nervous 
 apparatus be always found. Thus it has long been known, 
 that most mammals exceed man in the acuteness of their 
 hearing, and they equally excel him in the size of the 
 auditory nerve. This may be verified by examining that 
 structure in the sheep, the cow, or the horse, in whicl\ 
 
40 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS THE PRIMARY AID 
 
 instances it is of much greater extent than in the human 
 subject. 
 
 These illustrations, however, need not be pursued. The 
 great fact that sixe of constituent parts of the neiwous 
 system influences energy of function, is never questioned, 
 excepting to serve some temporary purpose. All the leading 
 physiologists of the present day distinctly recognise it. 
 “ No intelligent person,” says Dr Carpenter,^ “ can doubt 
 that, as we descend the scale of being, instinct is gradually 
 superseding reason; and that, in the lowest vertebrata, the 
 manifestations of the latter are extremely feeble, nearly all 
 the actions of life being guided, by the former. Now, on 
 looking at the encephalon, we perceive a diflerence in the 
 relative proportions of its principal dirtsions, so closely 
 corresponding with these, that it is difficult to imagine 
 them unconnected. In proportion as we descend the scale, 
 we find the cerebral hemispheres diminishing in relative 
 size, whilst the ganglia, at the origin of the nerves of special 
 sensation increase to a remarkable degree ; and we cannot, 
 therefore, but consider it probable that these ganglia and 
 tracts of grey matter whose size in man is so trifling in 
 comparison to the bulk of his cerebral hemisphei’es, are 
 subservient to those instinctive actions which are prompted 
 by sensations, but in which vohtion does not partake.” 
 The particular views expressed in tliis quotation, will be 
 discussed before the termination of the present chapter. 
 The immediate purpose is to exhibit the getieral notions 
 propounded regarding the influence of organic size upon 
 functional power. 
 
 In a marginal note^ that occurs in one of l\Ir Newport’s 
 contributions to the Royal Society, referring to an anato- 
 mical examination of the spinal cord of a lobster, which 
 exhibited the motor columns and nerves of the usual size 
 and appearance, but the ganglia of the sensitive columns 
 
 * Human Physiology, p. 210. 
 
 * Quoted by Solly on the Brain, p. 38. 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 41 
 
 exceedingly small, this gentleman asks : — “ May we not 
 infer from this fact, that the degree of sensation in the 
 nerves belonging to the spinal column very much depends 
 upon the size of the gapglia, and the quantity of grey 
 matter they contain?” 
 
 Dr Todd and Mr Bowman, in their work before quoted,^ 
 observe — “ We think that all observation, both in man 
 and in the lower animals, proves that the energy of any 
 nervous centre always bears a direct proportion to its 
 bulk, whether absolute or relative.” 
 
 From the foregoing circumstances, a means is consi- 
 dered by many to have arisen, by which a demonstration 
 of the offices of individual parts of the encephalon could 
 be made. Because, in the manifold species of animals, a 
 modification in form and size of the brain and nervous 
 system is witnessed, presenting an obvious correspondence 
 with their position in the scale of psychical endowment, 
 physiologists have attempted from such data to pronounce 
 particularly upon the relations subsisting between structure 
 and function; conceiving themselves to be, in some respects, 
 in a condition to decide upon the office of individual parts 
 of the encephalic mass. The possibility of accomplishing 
 this result, in any supposition, wiU be discussed presently; 
 meanwhile, it is here contended that, by comparative ana- 
 tomy as a direct means, aU atterhpts of the kind are likely 
 to continue, as they have ever been, useless and void of 
 aU sure and positive issue. 
 
 K the natural history of the best examples of every class 
 of animals were complete; if their habits, and feelings, and 
 varying shades of intelligence could all be deduced accu- 
 rately, through the existing opportunities for watching 
 their actions ; and, more especially, if the conclusions re- 
 garding these would admit of some definite classification, 
 without which, facts could hardly be multiplied by different 
 
 Physiology of Man, p. 367. 
 
42 C05IPARATIVE ANATOMY AS THE PRIMARY AID 
 
 observers, so as to admit of comparison with one another ; 
 if, in one word, there were materials for some reasonable 
 psychology of the lower creation, then the first requisite 
 of success would be possessed. In order, however, that 
 individual qualities, as evinced in the habits to which they 
 systematically led, should, in different species, be success- 
 fully compared with some particular arrangement of ner- 
 vous matter, would it not be necessary that the brain and 
 nerves shoidd be constructed upon some model approxi- 
 matively unique in form, so that analogous parts in different 
 tribes of animals should with certainty be recognised? 
 Should not function and structure both be understood, ere 
 any comparisons betw^een them could be availably made ? 
 Again, as another preliminary condition for the successful 
 prosecution of cerebral physiology, through comparative 
 anatomy as the direct way, the influence of size of structure 
 upon functional power, needs consideration. It does not 
 require to be verified. It is already demonstrable, hut the 
 modifying power of other conditions on it is what is w'anted to 
 be known. If we could realise all these prerequisites, 
 cerebral physiology might become, to a great extent, parti- 
 cularised and assured, directly, by the method in question. 
 
 But the required conditions most certainly do not exist. 
 Respecting the precise actions of many species of animals, 
 much uncertainty prevails; arising, in some instances, from 
 defective means of observation, and in others from the 
 contradictory accounts afforded by vwiters of equal weight 
 and authority. On the inwardly conscious states which 
 originate habits and tendencies in the lower animals, doubt 
 must always prevail to an extent admitting of no compa- 
 rison with that w’hich obtains in our own species; we 
 communicate among each other by means of speech, and 
 we have the experience of our own thoughts and feehngs, 
 in reasoning concerning the springs of conduct in others ; 
 but this is not our case with respect to the inferior creatures ; 
 we can judge of them only from their movements and cries, 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAE FUNCTIONS. 43 
 
 and reason from analogy regarding their import. And 
 when did mankind ever agree, in reasoning uniformly 
 from analogy ? Thus, with animals, the same actions, 
 when considered in relation to the internal impulses 
 whence they originate, receive in many cases different 
 interpretations from different observers ; and again, where 
 concord in this respect obtains in great part, a contrariety 
 will not unfrequently arise as to whether the habits come 
 from instinctive inclination, or from some training of the 
 intelligence. Illustrations of these propositions abound in 
 works on zoology and natural history, and their notoriety 
 renders it unnecessary that they should here be exempli- 
 fied; they go, however, plainly to show that we neither 
 are, nor are likely to be, in a state for classifying the in- 
 stincts, the feelings, and intellectual powers of the brute 
 creation, in such a manner as to furnish independent mate- 
 rials for comparing these with separate divisions of the 
 encephalon. 
 
 Yet, if this precise classification of the instincts, emotions, 
 and powers, throughout the animal kingdom, were prac- 
 ticable, the difficulty would stiU remain of fixing upon the 
 particular nervous mass appropriated to each sense or 
 faculty, so long as the basis of our investigations consisted 
 primarily, in the comparison of different species one with 
 another. By this means, excepting as a secondary or 
 subsidiary source of aid, we never could be sure that in 
 all, or even in most cases, we had defined the exact ana- 
 logues of any given structure in various species. As the 
 matter stands, this is sometimes accomplished in general 
 physiology with some difficulty, proceeding, as we do in 
 reality, on a different plan to the one now under discussion. 
 If we could imagine to ourselves, that physiologists were 
 commencing thefr inquiries de novo, without any antecedent 
 knowledge gained primarily by studying the human type, 
 the unfitness of comparative anatomy for constituting the 
 first path to any obscure, and totally undetermined, region 
 
44 COJrPARATIVE A>*ATOMY AS THE PRIJIART AID 
 
 of physiology, would require but little argument for its 
 demonstration. Suppose, for examjde, we had not made 
 out from studying our own species, — from knowing, by 
 consciousness as weU as by general experience, the dis- 
 tinctness of the senses and their organic connexions, hoAV 
 unavailable would have been all our dissections of reptiles, 
 fishes, birds, and mammals ; the difference in form of 
 analogous tissues would probably for ever have interfered 
 vrith a recognition of their functional identity. Cerebral 
 physiology, vdth some physiologists, is very much in this 
 supposed state ; to this matter, however, ample recurrence 
 will be made as we advance. 
 
 Let us assume, for the argument’s sake, that a complete 
 and satisfactory psychology of the inferior creation were 
 determined, and, at the same time, that no use could be 
 made of knowledge gained by researches already made on 
 man ; how, in such a case, would the comparative anatomist 
 proceed to compare cerebral structure wdth cerebral structure 
 in different species, so as to verify their analogies, and to ap- 
 propriate any given faculty thereunto? Mechanical forms and 
 lines of demarcation would never enable him to do this ; in 
 such a point of -sdew, no unity of type peiwades the animal 
 creation. Some physiologists, looking only to external 
 resemblance, formerly imagined that that portion of the 
 nervous system termed the great sjunpathetic was identical 
 with the aggxegate system, as it exists in certain lower 
 orders of creatiues. It is now, however, generally admitted 
 that, where there exist separate sets of functions, organic 
 and animal, there, also, are to be found two coiTesponding 
 systems of nerves. Indeed, by keeping in mind, in some 
 instances, the distinctness of function, separateness of the 
 organic connexion has been discovered, where previously 
 it had been scarcely suspected. How Avould the analogy of 
 the supra-oesophageal ganglia, in some of the invertebrata, 
 with the encephalic masses in the vertebrata, have been 
 determined by mere contemplation of the forms ? In the 
 
TO DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 45 
 
 butterfly and in the sepia, one rounded mass gives origin to 
 the various nerves of special sense ; whereas, in the fish, 
 the corresponding structure is diidded into several distinct 
 parts, each being connected with some special nerve. 
 Who, judging fi-om configuration and external appearance 
 merely, would pronounce the intracranial structures in 
 fishes to constitute the analogue of the structures enclosed 
 ■within the head of the higher mammalia? Anatomists of 
 the highest repute, not-withstanding the aid derived from 
 other sources of knowledge, are not yet agreed as to the 
 correspondence which obtains among the particular masses, 
 in a comparison of mammal brains with those of fishes, or 
 in some instances even, on comparing different kinds of 
 fishes’ brains one -with another. Thus, 'with respect to the 
 first, or anterior pair of knots of nervous substance, found 
 within the heads of fishes, they are considered by Arasky, 
 Serres, Desmoulins, Cams, and Tiedemann, to be analogous 
 to the cerebral hemispheres in man ; whilst Collins, Monro, 
 Camper, Ebel, Treviranus, and Cuvier, regard them merely 
 as connexions of the olfactory nerves. Again, the second 
 cerebral mass is believed, by the last named physiologists, 
 to constitute the cerebral hemispheres ; the former group 
 consider it to form the analogue of the corpora quadri- 
 gemina. The subjoined extract still further illustrates the 
 difficulty of identifying corresponding parts of the brain in 
 different species the brain of fishes is in question. 
 
 “ The tubercles situated on the inferior surface of the 
 brain, and immediately beneath the optic lobes, are gene- 
 rally of small size, and seldom contain a cavity ; between 
 them are the infundibulum and pituitary gland, generally 
 of very large proportional size. Respecting their analogies 
 and names very much difference of opinion exists. HaUer 
 termed them the inferior protuberances of the olfactory 
 nerves ; Cuvier considered them as the two optic lobes ; 
 Dr Grant calls them the cerebral hemispheres, and sup- 
 poses they are the representatives of those parts in the 
 
46 COMPARATIVE ANATOilT AS THE PRIMARY AID 
 
 higher animals ; Serres considers them appendages to the 
 optfc nerves, and analogous to the tuber cinereum ; Vicq 
 d’A^yr, Arasky, and Cams, consider them analogous to 
 the corpora mammiUaria of higher animals ; Tiedemann 
 does not decide upon this point, but judges (from the situa- 
 tion and form of the tubercles) that the latter hypothesis is 
 the more probable one.”^ 
 
 Mr Solly, in treating of the structures in the whiting, 
 which he himself conceives to form the analogues of the 
 cerebral hemispheres, observes that Serres has even ne- 
 glected to include them at all in his description of this fish ; 
 they are noticed by Tiedemann, “ who describes them,” 
 says Mr Solly, ^ “ as analogous to the corpora striata rather 
 than to the hemispheres of the brain, and by Desmoulins 
 to the optic thalami. With aU deference to the talented 
 authors of these opinions, I must say that I do not imagine 
 either of these analogies to be founded in fact.” 
 
 In birds, the encephalic configuration varies considerably 
 from that characterising the creatures below them in the 
 scale. The several ganglia, or accumulations of neivous 
 substance, which constitute the encephalon, are not placed, 
 as in fishes, one behind another, but rather one below the 
 other ; the hemispheres being of such relative magnitude 
 as to overlap, in great measure, the ganglia which give 
 origin to the nerves of special sense. Yet the brain in 
 birds does not, for the most part, exhibit any thing of that 
 convoluted appearance observable in the brain of mammals. 
 The cerebellum is of such magnitude, and is so located, as 
 not to be difficult of recognition, although it differs from 
 the same organ in man in one important particular. The 
 lateral lobes ai-e altogether deficient, or as nearly so as 
 possible ; there is little beyond the middle portion which 
 corresponds, or, at least, is supposed to coivespond, with 
 
 ’ Cyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology. Art. Nervons System, 
 (Comparative). By Mr Anderson. 
 
 ^ On the Brain, p. 72. 
 
TO DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 47 
 
 the vermiform process in the human subject. StUl, in 
 actual fonn, the departure of this organ from the type 
 observable in many other creatures, is great enough to 
 render its identification very improbable, if other aids than 
 those supplied by the mere configuration were not afforded. 
 
 In the mammalia, the convoluted character of the cere- 
 bral hemispheres distinguishes them remarkably ; and the 
 secondary structures belonging to the encephalon, show 
 very decided modifications in outward appearance. When 
 different species among mammals are compared, the form 
 and relative position of constituent parts of the brain vary 
 very considerably. Thus, some anatomists have gone so 
 far as to deny the existence of posterior lobes in the cerebrum, 
 excepting in man and the quadrumana, resting this opinion 
 on the fact of the cerebellum being uncovered by the brain ; 
 amongst these rank names so high as those of Cuvier, 
 Serres, and Tiedemann. But Gall, Spurzheim, and others, 
 have maintained that such a conclusion is thoroughly 
 vicious ; that the horizontal posture in animals, in station 
 and progression, so modifies the relation of the vertebral 
 column to the cranium, that the great opening through 
 which the spinal cord communicates with the encephalon 
 is necessarily thrown further back than is the case in man, 
 and that this circumstance explains why the cerebellum, 
 instead of lying under, is situated behind, the posterior 
 lobes. It is observed by Dr Spurzheim, “ Were it thus, 
 the existence of the front and middle lobes in all the lower 
 animals might also be disputed with perfect propriety. Tlie 
 bulb of the olfactory nerve is covered by certain cerebral 
 parts in man, monkeys, and the phocse ; but in the gene- 
 rality of mammiferous animals and bfrds, it lies, altogether, 
 anterior to the cerebral hemispheres ; nevertheless, no one 
 concludes that they therefore want the front lobes.” ^ M. 
 Serres, in apparent contradiction with himself, yet says. 
 
 Anatomy of Brain, p. 175. 
 
48 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS THE PRIMARY AID 
 
 “ The encephalon of all vertebrated animals is constructed 
 after one uniform type, and with the same elements.”^ 
 And also Cuvier, with like inconsistency, — “ The brains 
 of the mammalia have the same parts as that of man.”* 
 Sufficient has been brought forward to show that nothing 
 like uniformity, in outward appearance, obtains with the 
 constituent parts of the brain and nervous system in different 
 tribes of creatures ; and that, without some definite and 
 precise knowledge of function to start -with, we could never 
 make out the physiologj^ where it was previously unknown, 
 by any study of the forms and the relative position of the 
 several nervous masses. And even if, to some extent, 
 configuration and lines of demarcation did, in every species, 
 indicate speciality and analogy of structure, size, almost 
 independently of other conditions, would need to constitute a 
 measure of power, ere physiologists could detennine the 
 allied function ; or how, in striving to attach this to some 
 particulai’ organisation, could any remaihable energy which 
 an animal might display be compared vdth some presumed 
 nervous apparatus, unless the development were absolutely 
 more considerable than in others, where the correspondent 
 power was but feebly manifested ? Instances aheady ad- 
 duced have clearly shovni that size of an organ is an dement 
 in functional energy ; yet it is but one, however important ; 
 for the rule respecting size as a measui’e of power, con- 
 stantly requii’es qualification, and more especially when 
 different species are compared. The ox and the horse, 
 whose brains exceed in magnitude that of the dog, seem 
 much below this animal in the vigour of their psychical 
 powers. The spider, or the bee, whose brain, or apparatus 
 through which consciousness is manifested, is among the 
 smallest, far transcends, in signs of intelligence, the various 
 tribes of fishes. Indeed, in estimating the influence of size 
 
 ' Anatomie du Cerveau, quoted by Spurzbeim. 
 
 ■ Anat. Compavee, t. ii. — The asserted deficiency in the posterior 
 lobes of animals will again come under notice in a subsequent chapter. 
 
TO DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 49 
 
 upon power, it is obvious, on a moment’s consideration, 
 that the extent of equality in all the other conditions must 
 first he ascertained ; and it is certain, that it is only when 
 the associated circumstances correspond, that size of struc- 
 ture supplies the true measure of functional power. And 
 how widely do all the conditions vary, when there is 
 question of different species ; and yet there are physiologists 
 who would determine the functions of parts of the en- 
 cephalon by comparative anatomy, as a direct means. 
 
 It must seem conclusive, then, that every prerequisite 
 of success is wanting for the prosecution of cerebral phy- 
 siology by such processes. We have no adequate know- 
 ledge of the mental functions in animals, to enable us to 
 single them out for the piu’pose of comparing them with 
 special structures ; and, even if we had, these latter exhibit 
 no appropriate similarity in type throughout the animal 
 creation, so as to admit of the required comparison, and 
 identification in various species. The method, however, 
 has been tried ; and, now let us see with what results. 
 
 Nearly all philosophers who have advanced definitive 
 propositions regarding the relations subsisting between the 
 structure and functions of the encephalon, have started 
 with the assumption that the intelligence was a faculty 
 unique, as consciousness was simple ; thence they have made 
 comparisons which have been devoid of all positive result, 
 and deduced inferences which have not been confirmed by 
 extended observation, and which, in any case, would have 
 been almost valueless in practical application. It is noto- 
 rious that the conscious attributes, in different orders of 
 being, vary in kind as well as in degree ; some creatures 
 possessing psychical qualities, of Avhich others make no 
 recognised manifestation. Were it, however, not so, it is 
 yet certain that the intelligence is compounded of many 
 faculties or aptitudes, notwithstanding the undoubted unity 
 of consciousness in the normal state ; this is a conclusion 
 in which aU coincide, who have made the mind a subject 
 
50 comparati'vt; anatomy as a primary aid 
 
 of deep meditation. Under such circumstances, it is no 
 wonder that all attempts to define the organic relations 
 of the aggi’egate intelligence should have led to no 
 positive result. There would have been a similar failure 
 in the case of sense, in respect of which also, there is 
 unity of consciousness, could it have been studied only 
 in its general signification, wdthout descending to the 
 particularities of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. 
 Such a proceeding very much resembles an effort to ex- 
 plain the physiology of digestion, as though it were a 
 simple function. “ If,” says M. Georget,^ “ it be easy to 
 explain by one general power alone, the manifestation of 
 intellectual phenomena, it is not less so to explain that of 
 the digestive phenomena, by the general faculty of diges- 
 tion ; yet this general faculty is composed in man of the 
 particular faculties of masticating the aliment, of secreting 
 the saliva, of chyinification, of secreting the bile and pan- 
 creatic fluid, of absorbing the chyle, and of ejecting the 
 alimentary residue ; all of which fiinctions are attached to 
 distinct organs, the action of all of which concurs to the 
 same end.” 
 
 Proceeding in the way indicated above, assuming the 
 brain to form the simple organ of the intelligence, and its 
 absolute size to determine the functional vigour, Aristotle, 
 Erasistratus, Pliny, and Galen, as well as several modem 
 writers, have laid it down that hlan owes his mental superi- 
 ority, organically, to the possession of a cerebral structure, 
 whose magnitude excels that of all other creatures. As 
 to a cursory observer the fact appears to be even so, the 
 notion, upon a superficial examination, looks plausible 
 enough. Yet, although, in far the gi'eater number of in- 
 stances the rule holds good, it is liable to many exceptions, 
 and cannot constitute, therefore, the natural law. The 
 elephant, and certain cetaceous animals, have larger brains 
 
 ’ Phj'siolog'ie du Systeme Nerveux, p. 127. 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 51 
 
 than man. Again, the dog and the monkey, have smaller 
 brains than the horse, the ox, or the ass, and yet these 
 latter are inferior to the former' in point of intelligence. 
 Indeed, in whatever way this assumed principle may be 
 tested, it will be found to be vicious in any extended 
 application. 
 
 Physiologists, perceiving the obvious fallacy involved in 
 the above rule, and yet certain, from observation, that size 
 of the brain has- something to do with the intelligence 
 manifested in the animal creation, have next proposed to 
 estimate it, by ascertaining the proportion which the cere- 
 bral structure bears, in magnitude, to the rest of the body. 
 And here, as before, the proposition seems to hold good so 
 long as general results only are regarded ; and, at the same 
 time, some of the difficulties, created by the former scheme, 
 appear to be got rid of by the present one ; in the case of 
 the elephant, for example, — although this quadruped does 
 possess a brain that is absolutely larger than that of man, 
 it is yet smaller in relation to the size of the body. But un- 
 happily for this supposed discovery, it was soon ascertained 
 that the sparrow, the red-breast, the wren, the canary, and 
 some species of monkeys, have brains much larger in pro- 
 portion to their bodies, than man himself. Here, again, 
 the faulty method of comparing different species, as the 
 primary means of discovery, ended in its customary failure. 
 
 Soemmering, followed by some other physiologists, seeing 
 the insufficiency of this rule, attempted another, yet one still 
 resting on the comparison of things essentially dissimilar, 
 and things at best but understood in their generalities. He 
 set forth that the volume of brain, in relation to that of the 
 nerves, would furnish a true measure of the intelligence ; 
 and here, again, failure ensued. The proposition was not 
 based upon any careful analysis of instances, so as, by 
 individual facts, to come at the general issue; but the 
 opposite plan was adopted. It was remembered that, 
 vaguely speaking, man has generally the advantage over 
 
52 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS A PRIMARY AID 
 
 animals in the predominance of brain over the nerves ; 
 descending, however, to particulars, the rule is not uni- 
 versal ; in the monkey, the dolphin, and in many birds, 
 the proportion is higher than in man. 
 
 Cuvier and some others have conceived that the pro- 
 portion between the brain and the siiinal cord might furnish 
 the surest measure of intelligence in various species ; such 
 a method exhibiting the predominance of the mental organ 
 over the nervous apparatus of the senses. Cuvier himself, 
 however, acknowledges exceptions, and cites the dolphin 
 as one. 
 
 Another scheme, had recourse to, among others, by 
 Richerand, consisted in estimating the relative magnitude 
 of the head and face ; the degree in which the former 
 preponderates over the latter being supposed to supply the 
 right measure of the intelligence. Thus, man is at the top 
 of the scale ; and the most stupid and ferocious animals, 
 with enormous jaw-bones and small brains, are at the 
 bottom ; and this fact arises, it is maintained, from the 
 circumstance of their whole existence being concentrated 
 in the exercise of the senses of taste and smeU. Tliis very 
 plausible idea, however, wiU not harmonise vdth all ex- 
 perience ; for in this instance, once more, two sets of facts 
 are compared, not in their nature directly comparable ; the 
 face has its own functions to perform, and its size, in a 
 general way, can have but an accidental relation to that of 
 the brain, whose functions are of an entii’ely different order. 
 If we go no farther than our own species, the failure of the 
 present scheme is at once revealed. Leo X., Montaigne, 
 Racine, Mirabeau, and Franklin, had large heads and large 
 faces; but ■whilst Bossut, Kant, and Voltaire had large 
 brains, their faces were small. There is no erfdence that, 
 in the former named personages, the size of face was an)" 
 cause of deterioration to their intelligence ; or that the 
 latter received any intellectual exaltation, reasonably to be 
 attributed to their smalhiess of visage. 
 
TO DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 53 
 
 Camper’s celebrated facial angle, as a means of gauging 
 the intelligence, took its origin in notions directly and 
 primarily obtained from comparative anatomy ; the angle 
 in question is formed, as is well known, by di’awing one 
 line fr’om the incisory teeth, in the anterior part of the 
 upper jaw, to the meatus auditorius, and prolonging 
 another from the same part to the most elevated part of 
 the forehead. The more nearly the angle formed by the 
 union of these two lines approaches to a right angle, the 
 higher will be the degree of intelligence ; and Lavater, in 
 conformity with such an ideal scale of perfection, has 
 constituted a progressive series, commencing with the frog, 
 and ascending to the Apollo Belvidere. This proposition 
 has received great attention, even from anatomists and 
 physiologists of gi-eat reputation ; Cuvier furnishes a long 
 list of animals in its support. Now, although this method 
 leads, in many instances, to correct results, it will not serve 
 for universal application ; as a principle it is faulty, resting 
 upon vague analogy, and quite incapable of enduring any 
 rigorous test. Thus, the configuration and general mass 
 of brain being the same in two individuals, the one with a 
 large projecting jaw, and the other with a small one, the 
 angle will indicate a ditference of ten, fifteen, or twenty 
 degTees, where no ditference of intelligence really exists ; 
 again, according to Blumenbach, three-fourths of the animals 
 known to man have the same facial angle, -with every 
 possible difference in the kind and degree of faculties which 
 they possess ; further, in many animals, the outer table of 
 the skull is so far removed from the internal, as in the 
 elephant, for example, that Camper’s facial angle yields no 
 index whatever to the development of the brain. 
 
 It is certain, indeed, that aU the positions just reviewed 
 are baseless and untenable, yet they profess, nevertheless, 
 to shed such light upon cerebral physiology as to render 
 it a subject susceptible of practical application ; and are 
 all assumed, more or less, from considerations resting. 
 
54 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANAT05IY AS A PROIARY AID 
 
 primarily, on comparative anatomy. It may be noticed, 
 that the foregoing pi’opositions have been advanced by 
 their authors rather in the semblance of rules of art, than 
 definitively set down as axioms in science. More recently, 
 however, the functions of separate parts of the encephalon 
 have been expounded, by means of comparative anatomy, 
 in forms professedly scientific ; how far the spirit of science 
 pervades the doctrines now to be examined, the reader may 
 be in a condition to form some judgment on terminating 
 the present chapter. 
 
 Dr Cams, who is Physician in Ordinary to the King of 
 Saxony, has for many years enjoyed considerable reputa- 
 tion throughout Europe, both as a human and comparative 
 anatomist ; and, about five years ago, he propounded to 
 the world, in a small volume, the “ Pi’inciples of a new and 
 scientifically based Cranioscopy.”^ Li this work. Dr Carus 
 recognises a three-fold division of the contents of the 
 cranial cavity, grounded on the analogy of that which 
 obtains in the brain of a fish. “ In fishes,” says he, “ the 
 middle portion, that of the corpora quadidgemina, which 
 in man is so inconsiderable, is the most important and 
 most extensively developed ; while in the higher order of 
 animals, the anterior mass (the hemispheres), and the 
 posterior mass (the cerebellum), are the most conspicuous. 
 In man, the characteristic feature is the enormous develop- 
 ment of the hemispheres. Farther, I have shown that 
 these three cerebral masses, which appear almost in the 
 same relations in the early human embryo as in fishes 
 (that is to say, the middle central mass is the largest), ai-e 
 always to be recognised as endowed with a peculiar func- 
 tion. The posterior cerebral mass is the centre of the 
 primitive fibres of the muscular nerves, and of those of sex. 
 In the middle cerebral portion, the primitive fibres of the 
 reparative organs are collected ; while in the antenor cere- 
 
 ' Grundziige einer neuen und wissenschaftlich begriindeten Cranios- 
 copie. Von Carl Gustav Cams. Stuttgart, 1841. 
 
TO DISCO'V’ERT OR THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 00 
 
 bral mass essentially, we find the primitive fibres of the 
 organs of sense, through the medium of which we derive 
 our ideas of sensible objects, and in a higher degree our 
 knowledge. Li short, the three cerebral masses stand in 
 relation to the following psychological qualities : — 
 
 “ 1. The anterior cerebral mass (or the hemispheres) 
 is related to the power of representing ideas, to that of 
 recognising and distinguishing them, and to that of imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 “2. The middle cerebral mass (corpora quadrigemina) 
 is related to the feeling of the condition of our o'wn organic 
 life (common sensation) ; and to sentiment, or to the feelings 
 which result from the combmed action of all our moral 
 faculties. 
 
 “ 3. The posterior cerebral mass (cerebellum) is related 
 to wiU, desire, and the instinct of generation. 
 
 “As the fundamental elements of mental life are only three 
 — to know, to feel, and to will — so are these three masses 
 the essential portions of the cerebral structure. From these 
 three proceed the three important nerves of sense, those of 
 smell, vision, and hearing, which again correspond to three 
 great regions of the cranial structure, the forehead, the 
 middle head, and the hinder head.” 
 
 An analysis, in further detail, need not be made of Dr 
 Carus’s scientific cranioscopy. It may be sufiicient to point 
 out some few of its gross inconsistencies, and its utter 
 variance with all sound physiological demonstration or 
 reasoning. It is to be presumed that when the author in 
 question speaks of that which he calls “ scientific,” he does 
 not propose to institute a new system of philosophy as well 
 as of ci’anioscopy, but that he recognises the validity of the 
 Baconian system, as applicable to the investigation of the 
 economy of nature. As then, in the progress of his work, 
 the infiuence of organic size in the communication of 
 fiinctional energy is admitted and dwelt upon, it may be 
 well to ask him, whether it be a constant and universal 
 
56 
 
 COMPAKATIVE ANATOOT AS A PEI3IARY AID 
 
 fact that, according to the development of the cerebral 
 hemispheres, the “ intelligence” of the individual is exalted; 
 that, to take his own nomenclature in specifying the faculties 
 appertaining to the intelligence. Conception, (Vorstellen), 
 Perception, (Erkennen), and Imagination (Einbildung), are 
 in corresponding strength and activity, according as the 
 cerebrum, or brain proper (being healthy), is large or small '? 
 A very few instances, taken from mankind indiscriminately, 
 would disprove such a position at once. If we go to the 
 next conclusion arrived at by Dr Cams, that Feeling is 
 associated vrith the corpora quadrigemina, where is the 
 proof that energy or intensity of this characteristic bears 
 any such relation? Vague analogies, admitting of various 
 interpretations, collected from the animal kingdom, assuredly 
 constitute no “ scientific” basis for any such proposition. 
 Again, in regarding the cerebellum as the organ of the 
 Will and Desire, (Wollen,Begehren,) asweU as of the sexual 
 instinct, where is the shadow of proof, physical or meta- 
 physical ? Have men strong determination and resoluteness 
 of purpose, in the general sense, always in proportion to 
 the development of the cerebellum? "Wliat evidence is 
 there to show that Desire, the subjectively-felt requirement of 
 any individual, apart from what relates to sex, is associated 
 specially mth this stmcture, or is coincident, in any way, 
 3vith strength of the Will ? We shall see, by and by, some 
 of the proofs which our transcendental philosopher adduces. 
 Meanwhile, let us ask, could a more unsatisfactoi*y series 
 of propositions have been brought forward ? Could a more 
 meagre, gi-atuitous, and inconclusive analysis of the psychical 
 principle have been offered ? 
 
 We shall now proceed to the mode in which the above 
 notions are illustrated and supported. We ai'e told, then, 
 that a large forehead, for the proper estimate of which 
 minute directions ai-e given, indicates high intelligence, 
 and an appeal is made to well known examples for corro- 
 boration of this assertion. Let this particular fact, how- 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 57 
 
 ever, be as it may, it is absolutely untrue that size of the 
 frontal region furnishes any measure of the magnitude of 
 the cerebral hemispheres in the aggregate, which Dr Cams 
 maintains to constitute the organ purely of the intelligence. 
 It would be a wanton consumption of the time and patience 
 of the reader, to give proof of the justice of the assertion 
 that the size of the cerehrum stands in no fixed relation to 
 that of the frontal bone ! Again, after having been given 
 to understand that Feeling, in what precise sense Dr Cams 
 very imperfectly defines, resides in the corpora quadri- 
 gemina, and that these are developed according to the 
 “ dominance of the vegetative life, and of the individual 
 feelings, without enlightenment by knowledge, and without 
 force of will,” we are directed to ascertain the capacity of 
 the region enclosed by the parietal bones, in order to ascer- 
 tain the degree of prevalence of the qualities allocated in 
 the “ middle cerebral mass,” as he calls the corpora quad- 
 rigemina. To this, it may be observed, that the middle 
 region of the brain is certainly in excess over the anterior 
 and posterior regions, when the fulness and superficial 
 extent of the bones by which it is covered are propor- 
 tionately great, but it is the middle lobes of the hemi- 
 spheres, and not the corpora quadrigemina, that fashion 
 this portion of the outer head. It would be pure supere- 
 rogation to go into any defence of this assertion. Power 
 of will, and strength of desire, are to be inferred when a 
 large occipital region is discovered, according to Dr Cams. 
 The “ posterior cerebral mass” influences certainly the 
 size of the hasilar portion of the occipital bone ; but not, 
 necessarily, the entire occipital region, which is here pre- 
 sented to us, however, as corresponding in development 
 with the cerebellum. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive how a man of Dr Carus’s un- 
 doubted acquirements can have offered to the world such 
 an incongruous series of propositions as those exhibited 
 to us in this scientific cranioscopy ; and yet, within the 
 
58 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS A PRIMARY AID 
 
 last two or three years, it has been published in an 
 English dress by Dr Freund, in the pages of the Medical 
 Gazette, with a prefatory recommendation of its scientific 
 pretensions, in contrast with all previous attempts of an 
 analogous character.^ Respecting the whole scheme, it 
 certainly is no injustice to pronounce it baseless, absurd, 
 and inconsistent ; a scheme wherein the facts are only 
 partially true, and, when true, standing in no reasonable 
 relation to the conclusions deduced from them. Can this 
 be disproved ? If not, there is decisive evidence of the 
 valuelessness of comparative anatomy, even in able hands, 
 when it is appealed to as the primary source of discovery 
 in cerebral physiology. It is surprising, indeed, to what 
 eiToneous views a fault in method will lead the most 
 talented and the best informed. The mind, under such 
 circumstances, is with difficulty turned aside fi'om the 
 anticipated result, even on the presentation of the most 
 glaring evidence. 
 
 Yet one other doctrine affecting the physiolog}' of the 
 brain, formed mainly by studying the facts supplied by 
 comparative anatomy, remains to be examined; the one 
 suggested by Dr Carpenter.^ This doctrine exhibits, in 
 form, a much more philosophical character than that of 
 Dr Cams, though bearing some resemblance to it ; on 
 
 ’ Dr Todd and Mr Bowman, in their recent work, refer to the notions 
 reviewed in the text in the following terms : — “ Cams has lately pro- 
 pounded a new Cranioscopy, founded upon a tripartite composition of 
 the cranium, wliich bids fair to rival the system of Gall.^ What utter 
 ignorance of the actual character of Gall's doctrine, its origin, and 
 progress, is implied in such remarks ! No wonder that men do not 
 accept the physiology of the distii^^uished German, under such circum- 
 stances. Carus’s “ Scientific Cranioscopy” rival Gall’s Physiology of 
 the Brain ! Nous verrons ! 
 
 ^ Not only here, but in other places in this work, the author will have 
 to controvert the views of his ft-iend. Dr Carpenter, who, for several 
 reasons, is the last physiologist with whom he would willingly differ. 
 Dr Carpenter’s talents and attainments, however, natm'ally render him 
 most influential with the rising generation ; and he is, undoubtedly, one of 
 the ablest exponents of physiological science we at present possess. F or 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 59 
 
 detailed examination, however, it betrays the faults and 
 imperfections which all the others exhibit, developed by a 
 method of investigation which is radically vicious ; and, in 
 consequence, it will, in spirit, be found to deviate little 
 from its predecessors. In order that no accidental mis- 
 representation maybe made regarding the views of this able 
 physiologist. Dr Carpenter’s own words, though previously 
 quoted for another purpose, shall again be given. “No 
 intelligent person,” says he, “ can doubt, that as we descend 
 the scale of being, instinct is gradually superseding reason ; 
 and that, in the lowest vertebrata, the manifestations of 
 the latter are extremely feeble, nearly all the actions of 
 life being guided by the former. Now, on looking at the 
 encephalon, we perceive a difference in the relative pro- 
 portions of its principal divisions, so closely corresponding 
 with these, that it is difficult to imagine them unconnected. 
 In proportion as we descend the scale, we find the cerebral 
 hemispheres diminishing in relative size, whilst the ganglia 
 at the origins of the nerves of special sensation increase to 
 a remarkable degree ; and we cannot, therefore, but con- 
 sider it probable, that these ganglia and tracts of grey 
 matter, whose size is in man so trifling, in comparison to 
 the bulk of his cerebral hemispheres, are subservient to 
 those instinctive actions, which are prompted by sensations, 
 but in which volition does not partake.” From what 
 follows, it would appear that Dr Carpenter, very much 
 after the manner of Cams, regards the corpora quadri- 
 gemina, as constituting the organic centre of the nerves of 
 special sense, and the encephalic seat of the mstincts and 
 emotions, alike in man and animals. “ It has been seen 
 that there is a distinct group of fibres in the medulla 
 oblongata, which has its ganglionic centre in the corpora 
 quadrigemina, and cannot be traced into the cerebral 
 hemispheres ; it is reasonable, therefore, to suppose that it 
 
 these reasons, it becomes the more necessary that his positions should 
 be disputed when deemed to be erroneous. 
 
60 
 
 COMPiVItATlVE ANATOMY AS A PRIMARY AID 
 
 is functionally as well as structurally distinct ; and no 
 function can be attributed to them -with such probability, 
 as that of producing those instmctive and emotional move- 
 ments of the body, which are excited and directed through 
 the sense of sight.” ’ Dr Carpenter, folio-wing Flourens, 
 maintains that the cerebellum is the harmoniser of combined 
 movements. Thus, then, according to these views, the 
 physiological division of the encephalon, is, first, into 
 cerebrum, the seat of intellect ; next, eoi'pora quadrigemina, 
 for the manifestation of the Instincts and Emotions ; and 
 lastly, cerebellum, for co-ordinating the muscular actions. 
 
 Now in this theory, there is first of all to be noticed, 
 an entire absence of any definitive analysis of the mental 
 powers ; and, next, an aiTangement of cerebral parts, 
 suggested mainly, it would seem, by the mechanical 
 arrangements of structure. The cerebrum forming, in 
 some physical points of view, a simple organ is made to 
 constitute the material instrument of the intelligence as a 
 faculty unique ; the corpora quadrigemina, especially in 
 many mferior tribes, present every mechanical indication 
 of distinctness, and they are made to lodge the aggi’egate 
 of the feelings (which unguided or uninfluenced by intellect, 
 lead to instinctive and emotional actions) ; and the cere- 
 bellum, a separate organ, is made to preside over muscular 
 equilibrium. Before going into any details in objection 
 to the psychology involved in this doctrine, it may be well 
 to consider, in the first instance, how far Dr Carpenter is 
 warranted by facts, in refendng to the quadidgeminal bodies 
 as constituting the central termini of all the nerves of 
 special sense ; afterwards, the difficulties of the theory in re- 
 lation to mental philosophy, and to certain generally admitted 
 principles in physiological science — principles at any rate 
 recognised by Dr Carpenter himself — shall receive attention. 
 
 It is to be gathered fi’om the whole tenor of Dr Car- 
 penter’s observations upon this subject, that he regards the 
 * Hum. Physiol, p. 211. 
 
TO DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FTTNCTIONS. 61 
 
 corpora quadrigemina as standing in the same relation to 
 the olfactory, optic, auditory, and gustatory nerves, as the 
 grey matter of the cord holds to the true spinal system of 
 nerves ; these latter, if iVIr Grainger’s dissections are to be 
 relied upon, always terminating in particular segments of 
 the said grey matter. But what anatomist has ever traced 
 the nerves of special sense, all, so far central as the termi- 
 nation which Dr Carpenter assigns to them? The present 
 writer would not rely upon his own acquaintance with this 
 matter, if it did not correspond with the statements of 
 others whose special vocation is practical anatomy ; as it 
 is, he believes himself to be authorised when he maintains 
 that no reason whatever exists, apart from Dr Carpenter’s 
 theory, for thinking any of the nerves of special sense, 
 excepting the optic, run into the quadrigeminal bodies. 
 The olfactory nerves arise from the cerebral hemispheres, 
 and (except through these) have no connexion with the 
 ganglionic masses in question ; the auditory nerve arises 
 from the medulla oblongata ; and, with respect to the 
 gustatory nerve, whether this be the glosso-pharyngeal, or 
 lingual branch of the fifth, or a bundle made up of filaments 
 from both, there is no tracing its fibres beyond the medulla, 
 and certainly not to the corpora quadrigemina. It is 
 granted that inability, on the part of anatomists, to trace a 
 set of fibres beyond a certain point, is no proof that the 
 actual termination is at that point; until, however, some 
 evidence beyond mere assumption can be adduced to the 
 contrary, it must be taken to be so ; or at least no one can, 
 meanwhile, justly reason on the opposite supposition. There 
 is, however, another, and more strictly physiological, ditfi- 
 culty in the way of Dr Carpenter’s location of the instincts 
 and emotions, if the principle be kept in view which he 
 himself all along concedes, that size forms a leading element 
 of power ; it is this, — there is strong reason for concluding 
 the anterior pair of the quadrigeminal bodies to be already 
 engaged by the sense of sight ; a fact which leaves only 
 
62 
 
 COMPAKATIVE AJS’ATOMY AS A PEDIAEY AID 
 
 the posterior pair for the manifestation of every instinct, 
 and of every emotion ; although these testes, as they are 
 sometimes called, amount only to about a fourth the mag- 
 nitude of the nates, or optic ganglia. A brief summary of 
 the evidence in favour of the optical functions of the an- 
 terior pair of the quadi’igeminal bodies rests, may not here 
 be out of place. 
 
 In fishes, the optic lobes, the presumed analogues of the 
 human nates, very generally bear a proportion to the size 
 of the optic nerves ; and this relation becomes particularly 
 apparent in those species which possess unusually small 
 organs of vision, as the eel, or have eyes of different dimen- 
 sions, as the pleuronectes. In those fishes which have two 
 optic nerves of unequal size, the tubercles in question pre- 
 sent corresponding differences in dimensions. In the class 
 of reptiles, the ganglia giving origin to the nerves of vision 
 are in some proportion in magnitude to the development 
 of these nerves. The size of the optic lobes in birds, cor- 
 responds to the extent and acuteness of the sense of sight ; 
 they are, accordingly, immense in birds of prey, and much 
 smaller in birds not equally remarkable for perfection of 
 sight. Human pathology would seem to confirm the pre- 
 valent notion regarding the ofiice of the anterior pair of the 
 corpora quadrigemina ; in every case of long continued 
 atrophy of the optic nerve, where the wasting had involved 
 the tractus opticus. Gall and Spurzheim found the nates of 
 the side corresponding to the diseased tract lessened in size ; 
 and cases of long-continued blindness have been recorded 
 by them, in which there was marked deminutiou in their 
 size. Vivisection has also supplied its subsidiary proof ; 
 Flourens, Magendie, Desmoufins, and Hertwig, aU agree 
 that destruction of the quadrigeminal bodies constantly 
 occasions blindness of the opposite eye. One or two in- 
 stances in the mole species seem to be opposed to the 
 above facts, their supposed ansilogues to the quadi'igeminal 
 tubercles existing in almost an inverse ratio to their appa- 
 
TO DISCOVEET OF THE CEKEBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 63 
 
 rent visual powers; this difficulty, however, cannot be 
 regarded as decisive, when it is considered how uncertain 
 is the determination, in many cases, of analogous cerebral 
 parts in different species ; and, at the same time, it supplies 
 another illustration of the vanity of going to comparative 
 anatomy, primarily, for proof in these researches. Let the 
 case, however, be as it may, it is certain that the gi-eat 
 preponderance of evidence leads to the conclusion which 
 assigns to vision, as its central seat, the anterior pair of the 
 corpora quadrigemina, which are considerably larger in 
 man than the posterior pair. 
 
 If the inference be admitted which disposes of the ante- 
 rior pair as the ganglia of vision, the human feelings, in 
 all their varied extent and intensity, are, on the principle 
 of size measuring power, of much less importance in the 
 mental constitution than one single sense, according to Dr 
 Carpenter’s theory traced to its legitimate consequences, 
 seeing that one-fourth only of the quadrigeminal bodies, 
 the testes, is disengaged for the reception of all the instincts, 
 passions, and emotions. It may be maintained, however, 
 that the nates have functions beyond their office, in relation 
 to the optic nerves, and- that their ministration to the 
 visual faculty is probably their least important destination. 
 It may be so ; but as yet the evidence is all the other way. 
 Destruction of the sense causes atrophy of the structure; 
 and we have no reason to think that, coincident herewith, 
 any or all of the instincts and emotions sustain deteriora- 
 tion. The contrary would rather be inferred; the feelings 
 are often most acute, and the instincts most remarkable, in 
 blind people, the major part of whose corpora quadrige- 
 mina, it is reasonable to suppose, from a great many 
 facts, is in a state of atrophy. Moreover, in birds, the 
 optic tubercles (the nates), alone are found ; the certain 
 analogues of the testes do not exist; yet birds have instincts 
 and emotions. It is observed, however, that up to a cer- 
 tain period of embryonic development, the human corpora 
 
64 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOSIY AS A PEDIAEY AID 
 
 quadrigemina are, as in birds, bigeminal; whence it has 
 been inferred that, in these creatures, the bigeminal bodies 
 correspond with the four met wdth in other classes; an 
 arrest, so to speak, having taken place in their development, 
 in the case of birds. The probability of this explanation is 
 conceded; it accomplishes nothing, however, towards re- 
 moval of the main difficulty as to the functions. 
 
 Even if it were true that no pre-occupation of the 
 corpora quadrigemina by the visual sense had been made 
 out, the proposition that all the instincts and emotions, 
 alike in man and in animals, had in these ganglia their 
 encephalic location, would yet encounter objections still 
 more serious, and of a character utterly insurmountable; 
 always provided that the principle, now aU but universally 
 recognised — that magnitude of organic structure furnishes 
 a most important element of functional power — ^were not 
 abandoned ; and it is upon this principle that Dr Carpenter 
 proceeds all along in the proofs and illustrations of his 
 doctrine. 
 
 If we go back to that paid of this doctrine which assigns 
 to the cerebral hemispheres the intelligence, and determine 
 what are the psychical properties comprehended in this 
 term; if we then come to some understanding concerning 
 the qualities stated to be organically associated with the 
 quadiTgeminal bodies; it may tend to prove the complete 
 discordance subsisting between the anatomy and the physio- 
 logy which this theory involves, to show that, con’espondent 
 with the admitted piinciple of development, no relative pro- 
 portions subsist between the structm’e and the functions. 
 
 “ The psychologist,” say Dr Todd and ]\Ir Bowman,* 
 “ must determine what are, and what are not, fundamental 
 faculties of the mind, before the physiologist can venture to 
 assign to each its local habitation.” Although the present 
 witer cannot altogether coincide in this proposition, more 
 especially where it assumes the possibility of settling defi- 
 ' Op. citat. p. 366. 
 
TO DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 65 
 
 nitively the analysis of the mental powers and qualities, 
 anterior to any study of - the organic apparatus, he yet 
 conceives that, by recognising the impossibility of any 
 complete physiology of the brain which excludes a mental 
 philosophy that is analytical, it is sufficiently true for the 
 more immediate illustration. Yet, Dr Carpenter, in speak- 
 ing of intelligence as the property of aU animated beings 
 beyond a certain height in the scale, furnishes no analysis 
 of this property, but discusses it as one simple function, or 
 power, varying in degree rather than in kind, through the 
 several species of creatures, from a low point in the series 
 up to man. At least, such seems to be the meaning fairly 
 deducible from his language. “ By intelligence,” says he, 
 “ we do not mean, however, the reasoning faculties only, 
 but the combination of those powers which are of an 
 educable character, and which become the springs of 
 voluntary action in very different proportions in different 
 animals of the same tribe.” To exhibit the general con- 
 sent which obtains with respect to differences in kind of 
 intelligence amongst different species, and to show the 
 unphilosophical character of comparing things utterly 
 dissimilar for the purpose of settling supposed questions of 
 degree, would involve a repetition of much of the reasoning 
 that has preceded ; the present purpose is rather to show 
 that (not to go farther than our own species), the law of 
 structural development in relation to vigom’ of function 
 absolutely contradicts and overturns the theory in question. 
 If the direct and comparatively sure evidence, furnished 
 by the human organization, go against Dr Carpenter, it is 
 in vain to appeal for support to the anatomy of inferior 
 tribes and their assumed psychical manifestations. If 
 notions are to be taken up, resting only on certain real or 
 fancied analogies existing amongst the various classes in 
 the animal kingdom, there is no reason why there may not 
 be as many systems of physiology as there are different 
 students ; for the perception of, and inference from, analogy. 
 
66 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS A PELMAEY AID 
 
 will ever vary amongst individuals, according to their 
 anterior knowledge and natural cast of thought. A series 
 of facts win seem related to one set of ideas in the mind of 
 one individual, and will present a comparative aspect totally 
 different to another, whose stock of information shall be 
 arranged in another manner. It is dii’ect relation alone, 
 not that of mere resemblance among facts, that can establish 
 any proposition bearing upon the economy of natm’e. 
 Materials gathered from various som’ces, having certain 
 general correspondences, do admirably well for the pur- 
 pose of strengthening and elucidating some conclusion ; but 
 facts which are intended for proof, should all present the 
 same relation to the inference deduced. 
 
 To retmm, however, to Dr Carpenter’s physiology of the 
 brain. The “ intelligence,” it seems, constitutes that pro- 
 perty in beings which impai'ts to their actions a volitional 
 character y and its organic apparatus is the entire cerebrum. 
 The “ instincts and emotions” constitute “ a mental con- 
 dition, analogous to that which exists in man, when the 
 emotions, passions, or propensities, are so strongly excited, 
 as to act at once on the body without the intervention of the 
 will ' and these are lodged in the corpora quadrigemina. 
 
 A very ready method of testing, in some degree, the 
 justice and the accuracy of these riews suggests itself 
 at once ; it is this ; first, to ascertain, at least in a general 
 way, what projiortion exists in point of size between the 
 quadi’igeminal bodies and the cerebral hemispheres in 
 man ; then to determine what relative influence the intel- 
 ligence and the feelings exert over human actions respec- 
 tively ; and, lastly, to see if this corresponds with the 
 differences in structural magnitude. If the physiology in 
 these respects, assumed by Dr Carpenter, be sound ; and 
 if it obtain throughout the whole scale of animated being ; 
 it surely cannot fail when its application is made to man. 
 
 It is immaterial for the present ai’gument to determine. 
 
 ‘ Hum. Physiol, p. 208. 
 
TO DISCOVERY OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 67 
 
 with mathematical exactness, the relative proportions in 
 man of the brain proper and the quadi’igeminal bodies ; 
 it is certain, however, that the former is immensely pre- 
 ponderant over the latter ; fifty to one is below the real 
 estimate, yet we wiU assume it to he the actual one. In 
 accordance, then, with the theory in question, the intelli- 
 gence in our own species should influence and determine 
 human actions fifty times, where the feelings, — the “ emo- 
 tions, passions, or propensities,” — do the same thing hut 
 once. But how stands the fact ? We will attempt, in the 
 first place, to come at some more definitive acquaintance 
 with the import of the terms employed ; inquiring, at the 
 same time, concerning the proportion in which the faculties 
 appertaining to the intelligence stand to the aggregate of 
 the feelings ; and, this being done, we shall he in some con- 
 dition for deciding whether human actions be induced more 
 by a rational volition, than by the activity and energy of the 
 emotions, passions, and propensities. 
 
 Although Dr Carpenter, in his physiology, associates 
 intelligence as a simple faculty with the entire cerebrum, yet 
 he obviously regards it, in his reserved mental philosophy, 
 as compound in its nature. “ We do not mean the reason- 
 ing powers only,” says he, “ but the combination of those 
 powers which become the springs of voluntary action.” In 
 one word, the intellect, in all its aptitudes, is clearly in- 
 dicated. Now, in any analysis that may be made of the 
 mental faculties and qualities for the purpose of aiding the 
 present discussion, mathematical precision must not be 
 looked for ; if less will not satisfy the mind, such subjects 
 of inquiry must be abandoned ; we must take the best 
 evidence we can get in these matters ; and this must always 
 be made up of propositions to be estimated by the mind, 
 not to he mechanically weighed or measured ; and accord- 
 ingly as these receive an approximation to general consent 
 amongst inquirers in this department, should their value as 
 evidence he fixed. 
 
68 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOlDf AS A PRIMARY AID 
 
 It is beyond dispute that the powers of obsei-vation. and 
 of becoming acquainted with what are called phenomena, 
 are the primary faculties of the intelligence, and supply 
 the raw material, as it were, for aU intellectual exertion. 
 Sletaphysicians, generally, speak of the “ desire for know- 
 ledge.” Lord Karnes calls it the “ appetite for knowledge.” 
 “ Language,” as a primitiv-e faculty of the mind, is very 
 commonly recognised. Dugald Stewart, in his Outlines, 
 refers to it, “ as an auxiliary faculty and piinciple.” 
 Knowledge and language being obtained, reasoning takes 
 place, by powers tracing the relations of cause and effect, 
 and determining the analogies which subsist among things 
 essentially dissimilar ; a division of the reasoning faculties 
 which is generally acknowledged among metaphysicians, 
 including Bacon, Malebranche, Karnes, Locke, and others. 
 Thus, then, “ intelligence” would appear to be compounded 
 of the faculties for acquiring knowledge, and for language ; 
 and of powers for reasoning upon the knowledge gained, 
 distinguished most commonly into two, and not badly 
 indicated by the terms comparison and causality. 
 
 Now, let us proceed to some definitive account of the 
 instincts and emotions, taking for our guidance, in an 
 analysis, the most general consent which obtains amongst 
 mental philosophers. The “ sexual instinct,” all wUl admit 
 to be a distinct feeling ; ]\L’ Stewart, in his Outlines, 
 admits it to be so. “ Love of the young and helpless.” 
 as something distinct from ordinary affection, is recognised 
 by Reid and Stewart. “ Attacliment,” INK Stewart 
 acknowledges as the “ desire of society ;” Lord Kames. 
 as an “ appetite for society ;” it is discussed also, as a 
 primitive feeling, by Dr Thomas Brotvn. The instincp 
 which leads to contention, “ combativeness,” is admitted 
 by Reid and Stewart, under the name of “ sudden resent- 
 ment;” and also by Dr Thomas Brown, described as 
 “ instant anger Lord Kames refers to the feeling as 
 “ courage.” The destructive propensity. Dr Brown recog- 
 
TO DISCOYERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 69 
 
 nises as the “ principle of malevolence Lord Karnes, as 
 an “ appetite for hunting.” “ Acquisitiveness,” as an 
 independent feeling, is disputed by Mr Stewart and Dr 
 Brown ; but admitted by Lord Karnes under the name of 
 a “ sense of property,” and as “ an appetite for storing up 
 things of use.” The “ disposition for concealment,” Lord 
 Bacon minutely describes in his essay “ On Cunning.” 
 “ Self-esteem,” Dr Eeid and Mr Stewart treat of, under 
 the designation of “ desire of power ;” Dr Thomas Brown 
 calls it “ pride,” and defines it as “ that feeling of vivid 
 pleasure which attends the consciousness of our own excel- 
 lence ;” Lord Karnes refers to it as the “ sense of dignity,” 
 and again under the name of “ pride.” Dr Reid and Mr 
 Stewart mention the “ desire of esteem,” referred to by 
 Dr Brown as the “ desire of glory Lord Karnes calls it 
 the “ appetite for praise.” “ Cautiousness” is described by 
 Lord Karnes under the name of “ fear.” Dr Brown ranks 
 “ melancholy” among the primitive emotions ; as, how- 
 ever, melancholy is rather a morbid than a natural mani- 
 festation, it most probably consists in depraved activity of 
 the sense of cautiousness. “ Benevolence” is admitted by 
 Dr Thomas Brown, and also by Eeid and Stewart. 
 “ Veneration” is treated of by Lord Karnes as a ‘‘ sense 
 of Deity ;” and the devotional sense, as a distinct sentiment, 
 is recognised by hosts of writers on human character, 
 although not adverted to by Stewart, Reid, or Brown, as 
 an original quality.' “ Hope,” as a primitive feeling, is 
 alluded to by Stewart ; and, as a principle which “ springs 
 eternally in the human breast,” is recognised by all the 
 world. “ Ideality ” corresponds with Lord Karnes’s “ sense 
 of grace and taste,” and with Dr Thomas Brown’s “ origi- 
 nal emotion of beauty;” it is the poetic sense. “ Wonder” 
 is noticed by Dr Adam Smith as a sentiment ; Dr Thomas 
 Brown admits it as an original emotion ; and Lord Karnes 
 expressly mentions it as a primitive feeling of the mind. 
 “ Conscientiousness” corresponds to the “ moral sense” of 
 
70 
 
 comparative; anatomy as a PRIjIARY aid 
 
 most metaphysicians and moral philosophers ; Cudvorth, 
 Hutcheson, Karnes, Reid, Stewart, and Brown, all admit 
 it. “ Firmness,” perseverance, obstinacy,* stubbornness, 
 are recognised by many authors and observ'ers, as funda- 
 mental traits of character. 
 
 Although the foregoing exposition of the varied attri- 
 butes of the conscious principle, in our own species, may 
 be far from unobjectionable in several points of view, it 
 may be sufficiently detailed and accurate for the present 
 inquiry, the purpose of which is to estimate the relative 
 bearings which the “ intelligence” and the “ instincts and 
 emotions” have upon human actions, and to see if these in 
 any way correspond with the proportional development of 
 the cerebral hemispheres and the corpora quadrigemina. 
 These relative proportions may receive an imperfect illus- 
 tration from the subjoined table, based upon the analysis 
 just furnished. 
 
 4 
 
 located in the 
 Cerebrum 
 as 
 
 located in the 
 Corpora Quadrig’emina 
 as 
 1 . 
 
 Intelhgence, 
 which includes 
 
 Capacity of acquiring knowledge, 
 j Attribute of Language, 
 
 ) Faculty of Comparison, 
 
 I Power of Causality, 
 
 Instincts and Emotions, 
 which include 
 
 Instinct of generation. 
 Love of young. 
 Attachment, 
 Combativeness, 
 Propensity to destroy 
 Sense of property. 
 Disposition to conceal, 
 Self-Esteem, 
 
 Love of approbation. 
 Cautiousness, 
 Benevolence, 
 Veneration, 
 
 Hope, 
 
 Poetic Imagination, 
 VT ouder. 
 
 Conscientiousness, 
 
 Firmness, 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL EUXCTIORS. 
 
 71 
 
 In the above table, we gain a representation of the 
 “ intelligence” by the figure 4, and of the “ instincts and 
 emotions” by 17 ; so that number of qualities indicating 
 importance, and size determining power, the organic con- 
 nexions of the latter should, in extent, surpass those of 
 the former by upwards of four to one ; yet the theory now 
 under discussion places them — the seventeen qualities — in a 
 structure but one-fiftieth the volume of that which consti- 
 tutes the encephalic seat of the four attributes of the 
 intelligence. 
 
 Undoubtedly, Dr Carpenter will object to this mode of 
 testing his physiology ; but it is not here proposed as one 
 that is valid and altogether just ; and yet it is but his own 
 reasoning traced to its legitimate consequences. Whilst 
 he admits, what everybody knows, that the intelligence 
 comprehends various powers, he supplies no detailed account 
 of them ; as, then, he furnishes no classification of his own, 
 it is fair to presume that he refers to the intellectual powers 
 as most commonly recognised and arranged by those who 
 have made mental analysis a special study; in like manner, 
 the emotions, passions, and propensities, are stated by Dr 
 Carpenter only in general terms ; and this being the case, 
 the sense in which these are most commonly understood 
 by metaphysicians and moral philosophers, must necessa- 
 rily be taken as the basis of particular definition. Dr 
 Carpenter lays claim to the character of a scientific writer, 
 and is not sparing in his condemnation of other inquirers 
 who infifinge or neglect to observe the rules which should 
 govern all scientific investigations. It appears allowable, 
 therefore, to remind him, that if words be employed only 
 in their general signification, vdthont resort to individualities, 
 it is impossible to test the validity of any scientific propo- 
 sition ; and it has been shown that the arrangement of 
 individual psychical attributes, adopted above, is most con- 
 formable to ordinarily received notions on such matters. 
 Dr Todd and Mr Bowman, who, in their method of deal- 
 
72 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS A PRIMARY AID 
 
 ing with subjects like the present, are very much in accord 
 with Dr Carpenter, insist, as before quoted, that the “ psy- 
 chologist must determine what are, and what are not, 
 fundamental faculties of the mind, before the physiologist 
 can venture to assign to each its local habitation.” At 
 any rate, it is quite certain that, before any substantial 
 advance can be made in cerebral physiology, the philosophy 
 of mind must coincidently be studied. No physiological 
 conclusion regarding the mental organs, which glarmgly 
 contradicts well ascertained psychological facts, can be true. 
 
 Dr Carpenter may contend that numerical superiority, 
 on the part of one set of attributes, is no proof whatever 
 of a corresponding superiority, in power or influence, over 
 human actions, — no more than it would be right to say 
 that number of muscles will determine the aggregate 
 strength, seeing that it is energy and intensity, rather 
 than variety of operation, which leads to the estimate of 
 functional power. The validity of all this is conceded at 
 once. To render it, however, applicable to the present 
 argument, it must be shown that, in point of fact, the 
 intellectual suggestions in man do actually exert an in- 
 fluence over his deeds, surpassing that of all his feelings, 
 to tlie extent, at the lowest estimate, of fifty to one. 
 Surely no one whose habit it is to reflect upon his own 
 consciousness, or to observe human conduct, and, in the 
 process, to trace action to motive, Avill venture upon an 
 assertion so opposed to the fact. "iMiat human doing is 
 not determined, mainly, by some feeling ? And what is 
 the function, in most cases, of the intelligence, but partially 
 to supply the to the inward disposition, and, 
 
 ultimately, the volitional mandate, in obedience to the 
 predominant emotion? It is very questionable whether 
 the intellect leads directlg to any action, excepting to such 
 as yield immediate gratification to itself, as particular 
 studies for their own sake. Even in purely intellectual 
 pursuits, the emotions, passions, and propensities, yield 
 
TO DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 
 
 73 
 
 very generally the principal motives. A youth may study 
 because he loves the occupation, and for little besides ; 
 but he prosecutes science, letters, or philosophy, much 
 oftener, from love of approbation or of gain, or fi’om a 
 sense of moral duty. It is because there is unity of con- 
 sciousness, and because intellect always supplies the ultimate 
 element of will, that the relative influence of the feelings 
 over actions is overlooked ; just as Dr Carpenter informs 
 us, that the voluntary control which is possessed over 
 some of the functions, mainly excito-motory, causes us, in 
 many cases, to be unmindful of their true character, which 
 is essentially involuntary. 
 
 An objection which applies to locating the intellect in 
 the aggregate of the hemispheres has before been dwelt 
 upon ; it may, however, be reiterated in relation to this 
 notion, as propounded by Dr Carpenter. It is this : No 
 constant relation exists between their development and the 
 vigour of intellectual manifestation; an assertion which 
 the daily experience of any observer may confirm ; and 
 yet such a relation, in a single species, ought to be discovered, 
 if Dr Carpenter’s theory were sound. It is quite true, 
 that “ as we descend in the scale of being, instinct is 
 gradually superseding reason ; and that, in the lowest 
 vertebrata, the manifestations of the latter are extremely 
 feeble and it is certain that, “ as we descend the scale, 
 we find the cerebral hemispheres diminishing in relative 
 size;” and yet it must now have been rendered plain 
 enough, that such premises do not warrant the inference 
 that has been deduced from them. In a subsequent part 
 of this work, it wiU be shown that other psychical qualities 
 besides those of intellect diminish as we descend in the 
 scale of being, in accordance with the diminution of the 
 cerebral hemispheres. Meantime, it may be remarked, that 
 Dr Prichard, adopting, for a particular purpose, a similar 
 style of reasoning, observes, in an article on the Tempera- 
 ments, published in the Cyclopedia of Practical Medicine, 
 
74 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AS A PRIMARY AID 
 
 — “ When we consider the great amplitude which the 
 cerebellum attains in man, in comparison with its size in 
 the lower animals, we are obliged, if we really attach any 
 importance to such a system of correspondences, to ac- 
 knowledge some relation between this circumstance and 
 the transcendent superiority of the human intellect, com- 
 pared with the psychical powers of brutes.” And, truly, 
 if resemblances among things are to be estimated, in disregard 
 of their differences, a warranty might exist for Dr Prichard’s 
 conditional inference, that the intellectual powers had some 
 organic association with the cerebellum. But, as it is well 
 remarked by Dr Roget, in his article Cranioscopy, in the 
 Encyclopedia Britannica, “ Comparative anatomy, upon 
 which so much is made to hinge, is of aU guides the most 
 fallible in questions of this nature and this, vdth all due 
 respect to Dr Carpenter, is as true of his cerebral physiology 
 as of that of others belonging to the same school. And 
 when comparative anatomy, as the primaiy source, fails 
 for its purpose in the hands of one to whose extensive 
 knowledge and superiority of intellect the author can pay 
 a willing and merited tribute, it furnishes to his own mind, 
 at least, an additional evidence that even the highest abihties 
 can accomplish but little in the absence of a just method of 
 investigation. 
 
 Dr Carpenter’s views regarding the office of the cere- 
 bellum, not being peculiar to himself, nor deduced primarily 
 from comparative anatomy, need not in this place be- exa- 
 mined; more especially as the physiology which assigns 
 the co-ordination of muscular action to this structure, mtU 
 receive attention, more appropriately, in another portion of 
 this work. 
 
 The physiology of the brain is inseparably associated 
 •with mental philosophy. It cannot be otherwise, if the 
 brain be the organ of the mind. And if we would advance 
 our knowledge beyond the general proposition, so as to 
 ascertain the functions of indi%-idual cerebral parts, the 
 
TO THE DISCOVERT OF THE CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS. 75 
 
 study of one species, and that one most appropriately the 
 highest, where anatomical variety and psychical peculiarity 
 can with the greatest facility he compared, should ever 
 precede that of the animal kingdom at large. When 
 researches, for the purposes of direct induction, are made 
 upon different species, facts are gained which can only he 
 compared with the greatest difficulty either in an anato- 
 mical or physiological point of view. Their relations one 
 to another cannot always he traced, and so they become 
 utterly unfitted to establish any sm-e conclusion. Most 
 valuable, however, are they in their legitimate place. 
 When facts fi’om the animal kingdom, relating to the 
 anatomy and physiology of the brain are estimated by the 
 guidance of what is already knowm in our own species, 
 and when inferences with regard to them rest oh their 
 probable analogies to the human type, they are important 
 in themselves, and conducive to the advancement of our 
 general knowledge. Moreover, comparative anatomy con- 
 stantly strengthens and elucidates truths ascertained, in the 
 first instance, by observations made on the human struc- 
 ture; and where it does not, it may sometimes lead to 
 detection of probable inaccuracies in previous observations 
 on man, bringing about their rectification by the induction 
 of a more strict investigation. 
 
7 6 PATHOLOGY ASA MEANS OF DETERMINING TH5 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ON PATHOLOGY AS A MEANS OF DETER3HNING THE OFFICES 
 OF PARTICULAR PARTS OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 Enough has been advanced, the author conceives, to prove 
 the complete inadequacy of vivisections and comparative 
 anatomy to illumine the overhanging obscurity, when 
 complete ignorance prevails with respect to the functions 
 of any part of the animal organisation, and more particu- 
 larly in those cases where the nervous structure is involved. 
 It must, indeed, he obvious to aU who have reflected much 
 upon this subject, that such methods of investigation can 
 never lead to the knowledge of physiological truths, where 
 previously all was unknown; notwithstanding the results 
 may, and often do, corroborate and elucidate, by har- 
 monising with, the conclusions obtained tlirough researches 
 prosecuted in accordance with a sounder philosophy. How 
 fares it vath the third and last rule, advanced by Desmoulins, 
 for investigating the physiology of the brain and nerves? 
 Do the phenomena of disease afford us any better kind of 
 evidence for determining directly the functions of individual 
 parts of the encephalon than that which is gained by muti- 
 lations of the living brain, or by the institution of compa- 
 risons among the cerebral structures of fishes, birds, and 
 mammals ? 
 
 The late Sm Everai’d Home was one of the first to give 
 prominence to pathological facts in these researches. “ The 
 various attempts,” says he, ^ “ which have been made to 
 
 * Philosopliical Transactions for 1814. 
 
OFFICES OF PARTICULAR PARTS OP THE BRAIN. 77 
 
 procure accurate information respecting the functions that 
 belong to individual portions of the human brain, having 
 been attended Avith very little success, it has occurred to 
 me that, were anatomical surgeons to collect, in one view, 
 all the appearances they had met .with, in case of injury of 
 that organ, and of the effects that such injm’ies produced 
 upon its functions, a body of evidence might be formed that 
 would materially advance this higlily important investi- 
 gation.” 
 
 It is a conclusion of experience, as well as a suggestion 
 of right reason, that the natural performance of any function 
 must be associated with, and depend upon, a normal condi- 
 tion of structure; that health, in one word, must arise 
 from integrity of the organisation. It is certain that, when 
 any disorder occurs in the functions — when there is any 
 departure from their proper manifestation — some change in 
 the molecular disposition of the correspondent organ or 
 organs has taken place. If the tegumentary investment of 
 the frame were transparent, so that, with the eyes, we could 
 examine this fact as a matter of direct observation, it would 
 probably be seen that every deviation from healthy action 
 involved temporarily some appreciable alteration in the con- 
 dition of structure. We do not, however, come at this truth 
 by so ready or so facile a process. It is rather an inference 
 that we deduce from the often observed fact, that the 
 molecular change in an organ, going on during life, is at 
 death so considerable as to leave obvious traces when it is 
 examined post mortem. Alterations in colour, form, size, 
 and consistence, are frequently noticed precisely in those 
 structures of the body which had evidenced unequivocal 
 aberration of function during life. For these reasons, it 
 has been conceived that, by recording what had gone 
 wrong during life, and comparing this with the necro- 
 scopic result, an organ whose office was unknown should 
 have its physiology revealed. 
 
 If every alteration in function, as revealed by symp- 
 
78 PATHOLOGY AS A 5IEANS OF DETEKMINIXG THE 
 
 toms, were attended with such decided changes in the or- 
 ganisation, that they could be readily ascertained after 
 death ; and if, at the same time, the *changes in question 
 did not involve organs whose functions, during life, had 
 evinced but little disturbance ; there would be some reason 
 for going dmectly to pathology and to morbid anatomy, in 
 the determination of the unknown functions of any part 
 of the body. Yet, it would be necessary to the success 
 of even this species of investigation, that a knowledge 
 of the functional manifestation should precede the attempt 
 to make out the related structure ; or, how could a com- 
 parison be instituted 1 How could we assign function to 
 structure without some such previous knowledge? Two 
 things can never be associated for the purposes of an 
 inference, unless both are, to some extent at least, knoAvn 
 and appreciated. 
 
 Now, let us, in the first place, inquire whether so con- 
 stant a relation do really exist between symptoms during 
 life, and appearances after death, as to give any great degree 
 of value to physiological researches prosecuted through this 
 means, in those instances where the primary steps have to 
 be taken. Let us see if such be the case with respect to 
 the organisation at large, and then we shall be in a better 
 condition for appljdng the inquiry to the particular case 
 of the encephalon. 
 
 As a matter of fact, the relations between the main seat 
 of diseases, and the irregular manifestations to which they 
 lead, are most uncertain and variable, bidding defiance to 
 every attempt at classification. A set of symptoms will often 
 display themselves, refei’able to some obvious change that 
 may be detected after death ; and the very same symptoms, 
 so far as an observer can judge, -will, in another case, be 
 dependent upon a totally different condition of the struc- 
 tures, as revealed by post-mortem inspection. It will not 
 unft’equently happen that the central disease shall orginate 
 external mdications that direct the physician’s attention 
 
OFFICES OF PARTICULAK PARTS OF THE BRAJX. 
 
 79 
 
 far more to the organs, secondarily, or sympathetically, 
 affected, than to those which are the subjects of permanent 
 physical change, noticeable after death. Moreover, some 
 very vital structure shall become so seriously affected by 
 disease as to induce a fatal termination, and yet no very 
 material alterations in its appreciable characteristics be 
 afterwards witnessed ; and, on the other hand, deep and 
 irreparable changes in the organisation will, at times, have 
 advanced to the most serious lengths, without any very 
 sensible alteration in the functional manifestations. Thus, 
 blindness from paralysis of the optic nerve, dependent upon 
 recognisable fault in its tissue, or in that of its connexions, 
 will sometimes come on ; and, at others, the exciting cause 
 may be the presence of intestinal worms, implicating the 
 visual apparatus only by sympathy; and yet the differences in 
 functional irregularity, may hardly be perceptible in the two 
 cases. The author remembers the case of a friend, occurring 
 some years ago, where there had been a long continued 
 liability to paroxysms of intense headache ; in one of these, 
 the face became flushed and excited, convulsions ensued, 
 and the patient died. The symptoms had directed the notice 
 of the attendant practitioner to the head ; and, when the 
 convulsions occurred, blood was rapidly withdrawn from a 
 vein in the arm, and death very shortly took place, as if from 
 collapse. The writer assisted in the post-mortem examina- 
 tion. Within the head not the slightest trace of disease was 
 to be found ; but, on examining the interior of the stomach, 
 its lining membrane was observed to be thickened, in- 
 durated, and very slightly ulcerated ; and this state of 
 things was considered by all present to have constituted 
 the essential disease. Yet the patient had experienced 
 dyspeptic symptoms only of a very ordinary character, 
 certainly much less severe than such as often coexist with 
 a state of stomach evincing no structural change. Then, 
 again, we have many examples of severe stomachic dis- 
 orders enduring for years, and even causing death, without 
 
80 PATHOLOGY AS A MEAN'S OP DETERMIXLN'G THE 
 
 having occasioned any perceptible disorganisation. Cases 
 innumerable of sudden death are on record, wherein no 
 appreciable lesion either of the hearfr or nervous centres 
 can be discovered. Tetanus and Hydrophobia, which are 
 diseases presenting the greatest uniformity in their symp- 
 toms, have not yet revealed any uniform organic changes, 
 notwithstanding the most assiduous necroscopic researches. 
 Such is the uncertainty and variability in pathological 
 investigations, relating to the system at large. How stands 
 the matter when there is question of the brain in general, 
 or of its parts in particular. 
 
 If the sympathies between distant and remote organs, 
 in which there is compai’atively but little analogy in their 
 respective offices, be so considerable as to have rendered 
 the facts of pathological anatomy the most incongruous of 
 accumulated records ; how much more decidedly and 
 strikingly may this incongi'uity be expected to obtain, 
 when there is question of individual parts of the encephalon, 
 where every condition of sympathy exists to its fullest 
 extent, — ^where, between the constituent portions of the 
 structure, there is direct communication by blood-vessels 
 and cerebral fibres, — where there is most intimate asso- 
 ciation among the various functions (an undoubted fact, 
 whatever differences may prevail as to the exact character 
 of these functions), — and where its various parts are packed 
 up in the closest contiguity. The anticipation which any 
 plain understanding would unavoidably form Avith respect 
 to this matter, receives abundant realization in the best 
 authenticated statements contamed in pathological records. 
 As this point of the inquiry is not less important in its 
 bearings upon the subject of this work than the topics dis- 
 cussed in the foregoing chapters, a satisfactory establish- 
 ment of the position here taken becomes necessary. 
 
 The most valuable, the most faithful, and the most impar- 
 tial accounts, adapted for the present purpose, are probably 
 to be found in the Clinique MedicaU, of that distinguished 
 
OFFICES OF PAETICULAR PARTS OF THE BRAIN. 81 
 
 pathologist, M. Andral. A detail of numerous examples, 
 showing the uncertainty that prevails in regard to the 
 relations subsisting" between the symptoms of cerebral 
 disease, and the organic lesions discoverable after death, 
 would he an affair of disproportionate prolixity, and in- 
 compatible with the general design of the present work ; 
 the recapitulatory statements, however, which M. Andral 
 has affixed to various groups of cases, shall he supplied ; 
 and in this way, the reader vdll have exhibited to him all 
 requisite corroboration of what has just been asserted, and 
 have brought before the mind at once their general bear- 
 ings, which might probably have escaped his notice during 
 a tedious perusal of the cases in detail. 
 
 After furnishing particulars of numerous cases of cerebral 
 haemorrhage, which had induced complete or partial para- 
 lysis, M. Andral observes as follows, in recapitulation of 
 the results, so far as these involved the power of voluntary 
 motion : — 
 
 “ The most characteristic symptom of cerebral hasmorr- 
 hage is paralysis. We know of no instance of haemorrhage, 
 which was not accompanied by a diminution, more or less 
 complete, more or less extensive, and more or less per- 
 manent, of the power of motion. In the cases above cited 
 it may have been seen, that a veiy slight effusion was 
 sufficient to produce paralysis ; that in general its intensity 
 was in the direct ratio of the extent of the effusion ; that 
 it took place no matter what pai’ts of the cerebral hemi- 
 spheres were the seat of the lesion ; and that, in fine, the 
 differences with respect to the seat of the hEemorrhage had 
 very little influence in determining what parts of the body 
 were attacked 'with paralysis.”' 
 
 Lesions of sensibility, as dependent upon extravasations 
 of blood within the head, are referred to in the subjoined 
 quotation : — 
 
 Clinique Medicale. Spillan’s Translation, p. 107. 
 
82 PATHOLOGY AS A MEANS OF DETERinXCNG THE 
 
 “ These lesions are much more constant in cases of 
 cerebral haemorrhage, than those of motility ; and, up to 
 the present time, it has been impossible to detect, in the 
 nature or in the seat of the alterations of the brain, the 
 cause which sometimes suffers the sensibility to be intact, 
 and sometimes produces its more or less complete abo- 
 lition.”! 
 
 M. Andral recapitulates the various lesions sustained 
 by the intellectual faculties in the cases detailed, and 
 states, — 
 
 “ These differences in the state of the intelligence at the 
 time the attack of apoplexy tahes place, depend princi- 
 pally on the greater or less extent of the effiision. Isot 
 only have we seen the loss of consciousness coincide with 
 haemorrhage in aU possible points of the cerebral hemi- 
 spheres, but we have even found it in cases where the 
 haemorrhage had its seat outside the hemispheres, in the 
 cerebellum for example, or in the pons varolii. Dr Fabre 
 has cited the very interesting case of an old man, who died 
 of an attack of apoplexy, accompanied with complete loss 
 of consciousness, in whom the neiwous centres presented 
 no other lesion than an effusion of blood into the substance 
 of the left anterior pyramid ; a very striking example, no 
 doubt, of the wonderful connexion which holds together, 
 and brings into unity of action, all the parts of the nervous 
 system.”^ 
 
 In the lucid summary of a considerable number of cases 
 of cerebral ramollissement, the same pathologist, remarking 
 on the influence exerted by this morbid condition, states, that 
 
 “ The presence or absence of disturbance of the intellect, 
 in cases of cerebral softening, seems to depend much less 
 on the nature of the alterations discovered after death, than 
 on the mode peculiar to each subject, according to which 
 
 ■ Clinique Medicale. Spillan’s Translation, p. 113. 
 
 ^ Op. citat. p. 118. 
 
OFFICES OF PARTICDLAR PARTS OF THE BRAIN. 83 
 
 the irritation extends itself fi’om the soft parts to the rest 
 of the encephalon ; the traces of this irritation are not such 
 as the scalpel has been as yet able to discover.” ^ 
 
 M. Andral observes — ^what indeed is, more or less, 
 within the experience of most practitioners who, having 
 watched disease during life, have looked, after death, for 
 the visible ravages it may have made — that “ the nervous 
 centres may be injured in their functions without the 
 anatomist being able to discover any alteration.” ^ 
 
 The above remarks and expressions of opinion fi’om one 
 of the leading pathologists of the day, are particularly 
 important from the fact, that they are not mere general 
 observations, but the recapitulation, as before stated, of 
 what had been noticed in cases whose details precede the 
 passages just given ; and, fi’om the incongruous character 
 of the phenomena, it is obvious enough that they establish 
 completely the position, taken in the present work, that 
 for the direct purpose of discovery in physiology, they are 
 utterly unavailable. Indeed, so sure has this always ap- 
 peared, when the subject has been examined dispassionately, 
 that very few theories have been erected upon this as the 
 prime foundation ; fewer, certainly, than have been raised 
 upon that of comparative anatomy, or even that of vivisec- 
 tion ; although, with respect to this latter, the difficulties 
 m principle are precisely similar. Nevertheless, some little 
 has been attempted in this way, which, hov/ever, receives 
 its speedy overthrow in appealing to the records of an 
 extended experience. Serres and Foville asserted that 
 lesions of the corpus striatum and anterior parts of the 
 brain are followed by paralysis of the lower extremities of 
 the opposite side, and that lesions of the optic thalamus, 
 and posterior parts of the cerebrum, cause paralysis of the 
 upper extremities, — ^pathological facts which, if invariable, 
 might justly be regarded as capable of leading to some 
 
 ' Op. citat. p. 167. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 6. 
 
84 PATHOLOGY AS A MEANS OF DETEKMENING THE 
 
 physiological inference. M. Andral comments as follows, 
 upon these phenomena : — 
 
 “ Some cases have been recently puhKshed with the view 
 of proving that paralysis of the upper extremities depends 
 on a lesion confined to the optic thalami, or to the nervous 
 mass situated on a level with and posterior to them, and 
 that paralysis of the lower extremities depends on a lesion 
 of the corpora striata, or of a nervous mass situated on a 
 level with and anterior to them. To determine the accuracy 
 of this opinion, we too have interrogated facts. Now, 
 taking those only in which the lesion was perfectly limited, 
 we found seventy-five of them in which this lesion (haemor- 
 rhage or otherwise) was cuxumscrihed with sufficient exact- 
 ness to qualify them for sohing the question now before us. 
 
 “ Out of the seventy-five cases, we reckoned forty in 
 which the two extremities of one side were paralysed at 
 the same time. Of these forty, there were twenty-one in 
 which the seat of the lesion was the anterior lobe or corpus 
 striatum, and nineteen in which the lesion was seated in 
 the posterior lobe or optic thalamus. 
 
 “ Of these seventy-five cases, there were twenty- three in 
 which the paralysis was confined to the upper extremity, 
 in eleven of which the seat of the brain was in the corpus 
 striatum or anterior lobe, in ten the lesion was seated in 
 the optic thalamus or posterior lobe, and in tAVO the seat 
 of the lesion was the middle lobe. 
 
 “ Again, of these same seventy-five cases we found 
 twelve others in Avhich the paralysis was confined to the 
 upper extremity, in ten of Avhich the seat of the lesion 
 was in the corpus striatum, or anterior lobe, whilst in two 
 the lesion was in the optic thalamus, or posterior lobe. 
 
 “ From these facts, we are led to the conclusion, that, 
 in the present state of science, we cannot yet assign in the 
 brain a distinct seat to the motions of the upper and lower 
 extremities.” ^ 
 
 Op. citat. p. 100. 
 
OFFICES OP PARTICULAB PARTS OP THE BRAIN. 85 
 
 Dr Amariali Brigham, an able physician of the United 
 States, has written a book on the physiology and pathology 
 of the brain and nerves to the general soundness of the 
 views contained in which book, the present writer bears 
 a willing testimony ; he experiences no little surprise, 
 however, that a man of Dr Brigham’s information and 
 precision of thought should, apparently, attach consider- 
 able importance to pathology as a source of discovery in 
 cerebral physiology. For example, Dr Brigham thus 
 refers to the method now under discussion, as one which 
 “ we shall be richly repaid for pursuing. The method I 
 allude to is that of pathological investigation, to careful 
 dissection of the brain of those who have died from affec- 
 tions of this organ, and noticing the symptoms manifested 
 during life.”^ He observes, a little further — “ We have 
 already learned something of importance by this method 
 of investigating the subject. 
 
 “ Fii’st, we have, it appears to me, ascertained from 
 pathological observations, that the functions of the cineri- 
 tious and the medullary portions of the brain are quite 
 different ; that the cineritious portion of the brain is more 
 particularly concerned in intellectual operations, while the 
 office of the medullary part is to conduct sensation and 
 volition ; that when the medullai'y part is alone affected, 
 disturbance of motion ensues, but not of the intellect ; and 
 that when the cineritious portion is diseased, the intellect 
 is alone affected.” ^ 
 
 Now, with all proper deference to Dr Brigham, it is 
 most assuredly incorrect to state that any such discovery 
 has been made by any such process. It is a highly pro- 
 bable fact, but hardly one that is actually ascertained, 
 that, in the cineritious nervous matter so called, the proper 
 
 ^ An Inquiry concerning the Diseases and Functions of the Brain, 
 the Spinal Cord, and the Nerves. By Amariah Brigham, M.D. New 
 York. 1840. 
 
 ^ Brigham, p. 48. ^ Brigham, Op. citat. 
 
86 PATHOLOGY AS A 3IEAJIS OF DETERMTMKG THE 
 
 functional change originates, while the medullary or fibrous 
 substance is for the purpose of conducting the impression 
 or impulse ; hut this proposition does not yet rank as a 
 recognised truth, and, such as it is, it has not been deduced 
 primarily from pathological phenomena. The inference 
 has been drawn fl’om the observation of manifestations 
 occurring in the natural and healthful state, and comparing 
 these with certain peculiarities of the nervous structures 
 with which they have been associated. Thus, in the case 
 of the nerves of special sense, the peripheral expansion on 
 which the appropriate impression is made, is foimd to be 
 composed of pulpy matter, analogous to the cineritious 
 substance of the encephalon, and the fibres running fi’om 
 this, in the direction of the nervous centres, are seen to 
 lose themselves in the cineritious matter of their corres- 
 ponding ganglia. In the case of the spinal nerves, there 
 is every reason to believe that the cutaneous filaments 
 expand, on the surface, very much after the manner of 
 the nerves of special sense in their ultimate distribution. 
 It is on the pul^iy nervous papUlEe that incident impres- 
 sions are received, whence, by afferent fibres, they are 
 conducted to the nervous centres, again the locality of 
 cineritious substance. The muscular nerves originate, 
 likewise, in cineritious matter, from which the motor im- 
 pulse is very reasonably supposed to arise ; this, by efferent 
 fibres, is communicated to the subsidiary apparatus, the 
 muscles, where there is considered to he little or none of 
 the pulpy structure characterising the tenninal ramifica- 
 tion of the sentient nerves, whose office is for the immediate 
 reception of impressions. From these and some other like 
 circumstances, the probable conclusion has been attained, 
 that the respective offices of the two kinds of nervous 
 matter vary as above stated. The notion, however, rests, 
 primarily, upon observation and comparison of structure 
 and function in the normal state ; and, once obtained, it 
 has received strength and confirmation fi'om numerous 
 
OFFICES OF PARTICTJEAR PARTS OF THE BRAIN. 87 
 
 indirect sources, from vivisections, comparative anatomy, 
 and pathalogical plienomena. Since the cerebral structure 
 presents a like arrangement, in respect of its two consti- 
 tuents of fibrous and pulpy substance, the inference has 
 been very reasonably extended to the brain ; but it does 
 not go beyond the assumption that the cineritious matter 
 is exclusively for the origination of functional change, 
 and the medullary for the conducting of impulses or im- 
 pressions. Most decidedly, there is no warranty, either in 
 pathology or in any thing, else, for making the cineritious 
 structure purely for the intelligence, and the medullary for 
 motion and sensation. The fact is simply this : Whatever 
 he the functions of the brain in general, and of its parts in 
 particular, it is highly probable that the true seat thereof 
 is in the vesicular or cineritious substance, and that the 
 office of the fibrous tissue is simply to convey impressions 
 received, or impulses originating, in the more essential 
 organism. It would, however, be premature to pursue 
 this theme just now. 
 
 The facts which Dr Brigham adduces in support of the 
 position which he has taken, are but circumstances which 
 frequently, but not invariably, happen in partial confirmation 
 of the doctrine in question. All the phenomena on which 
 he relies, are substantial^ comprised in the following 
 quotation taken by him from a work by Dr Stokes of 
 Dublin:!— 
 
 “ The fact of delirium occurring so frequently in inflam- 
 mation of the membranes of the brain is of considerable 
 importance, as showing, not that membranes of the brain 
 have any thing to do with intelligence, but as supporting 
 the opinions of those who believe the periphery of the 
 brain to be the seat of the intellectual faculties ; and here 
 is a fact which, so far as it goes, is in favour of the doctrine 
 of phrenology. If we compare those cases of cerebral 
 disease in which there is delirium, with those in which it 
 ‘ Lectures on Cerebral Diseases. 
 
88 PATHOLOGY AS A MEANS OF DETERMINING THE 
 
 does not occur, we shall find that it is most common in cases 
 where disease attacks the periphery of the brain, as in 
 arachnitis. The cases in which we observe great lesions 
 of the brain without delirium, are (jenerally cases of deep- 
 seated inflammations of a local nature, or inflammation of 
 those portions of the brain which the phrenologists consider 
 not to be subservient to the production of mental phenomena. 
 This fact, also, would seem to confirm the truth of the 
 opinion of the difference in function between the medullary 
 and cortical parts of the brain. It is supposed that the 
 cortical part of the brain is the organ of intelligence, while 
 the medullary portion performs a different function. 
 
 “ It is, however, a curious fact, that in delirium the 
 inflammation is generally confined to the surface of the 
 brain, and that, in cases of deep-seated inflammation, the 
 most important symptoms are those which are derived 
 fi’om the sympathetic affections of the muscular system.” 
 
 Such facts, however, as those to which Dr Stokes refers, 
 are utterly inadequate to^?’ove any physiological proposition : 
 Neither negatively nor positively, is their influence to be 
 recognised as leading to any uniform conclusion. Yet in 
 no other way can proof be obtained, and the fact validly 
 substantiated. Things occun’ing in the majority of instances 
 may be said to be generally true ; and if they support some 
 view or proposition previously supposed to be established, 
 they furnish confirmation of it, but notliing more. Dr Stokes 
 evidently regards this matter very much in the same point 
 of view, by no means considering the pathological phe- 
 nomena upon which he descants as competent for the 
 purpose to which Dr Brigham would assign them. In the 
 passage just quoted, he refers only to what generally happens, 
 and states the result as confirming a previous notion. This 
 win be apparent from a careful perusal of this passage ; 
 certain expressions occumug in which have been rendered 
 in italics for the purpose of dii'ecting attention to this 
 circumstance. 
 
OFFICES OF PAKTICULAR PARTS OP THE BRAIN. 89 
 
 It is, indeed, wonderful how able and thoughtful phy- 
 siologists should ever have attached the least value to 
 phenomena of this class, as a means of primarily deter- 
 mining the relations subsisting between the structure and 
 functions of the encephalon. When every attribute of the 
 conscious principle — when the whole office of the brain — 
 may be thoroughly suspended by lesions undiscoverable 
 by the scalpel, how shall we be “ richly repaid,” in this 
 point of view, “ by careful dissection of the brain of those 
 who have died from affections of this organ, and noticing 
 the symptoms during life?” WThen a slight effusion of 
 blood about one of the anterior pyramids has been known 
 to constitute the only change appreciable on post-mortem 
 inspection, though associated with the most complete anni- 
 hilation of consciousness during life, how can we “ procure 
 accurate information respecting the functions that belong 
 to individual portions of the human brain,” though “ ana- 
 tomical sm’geons” should “ collect, in one view, aU the 
 appearances they had met with, in case of injmy of that 
 organ, and of the effeets that such injuries produced upon 
 its functions?” Is Sm Everard Home quite right in 
 declaring that, in this way, “ a body of evidence might be 
 formed that would materially advance this highly important 
 investigation ? ” 
 
 Here, again, might be adduced the observations pre- 
 viously made with respect to the impossibility of comparing 
 lesions of particular divisions of the brain with the previous 
 symptoms, so as to come at any knowledge of the exact 
 dependence of function upon structure, without some cor- 
 responding attention to the phenomena of mind analytically; 
 a consideration but rarely entertained, either by those who 
 have recommended or practised the method of pathological 
 investigation as a primary means of determining the phy- 
 siology of the brain. 
 
 But, indeed, the method in question is now rarely prac- 
 tised, except for the occasional purpose of defending some 
 
90 PATHOLOGY AS A MEAHS OF DETERMUONG THE 
 
 favourite hypothesis, or of doing battle to some doctrine, 
 against which the prejudices are enlisted. When it is 
 regarded abstractedly, or by the light of unbiassed expe- 
 rience, its fallacy is at once perceived and acknowledged. 
 
 Mr Solly says, “ From repeated experience, I can myself 
 state decidedly, that there are few investigations more 
 unsatisfactory and disappointing in their results than those 
 which have diseases of the nervous system for their subject, 
 in reference to a connexion betwixt disordered function 
 and diseased structure.”^ 
 
 Dr Abercrombie, in his valuable work on Diseases of 
 the Brain, expresses himself thus: — “ We find the same 
 difiiculty in attempting to ascertain the effects of rainollisse- 
 ment of particular parts of the brain in producing symptoms 
 in particular organs, as in distinguishing ramollissement from 
 other lesions of the brain. Convulsions in the same side 
 with the disease, and paralysis on the opposite side, appear 
 to be frequent symptoms, but are by no means uniform. 
 In several cases the speech is remai’kably affected, but 
 they present no uniformity in the seat of the disease.”^ 
 
 Lallemand, the celebrated French pathologist, in reference 
 to the study of cerebral disease, says, “ It is easy enough, 
 in theory, to consider diseases in their simple state — to 
 isolate them in our study, but in practice nothing is more 
 difficult than to meet vdth a disease exempt fi’om com- 
 plication.”^ 
 
 BouiUaud, who, in practice, would seem on many occa- 
 sions to have approved of the method now under discussion, 
 adds his testimony, nevertheless, to its insufficiency for the 
 solution of any physiological problem. “ It is but,” he 
 says, “ in accordance with strict truth, to declare that a 
 great many more researches are to be made before we can 
 discover in all cases what are the constant pathognomonical 
 
 * Solly on the Brain, p. 325. ■ Third Edit. p. 116. 
 
 ^ Quoted by Solly, p. 326. 
 
OFFICES OF PAETICULAE PAETS OF THE BEAIN. 91 
 
 symptoms which correspond exclusively to the lesion of 
 such and such a portion of the cerebral mass.” * 
 
 Dr Otto of Copenhagen, in his Compendium of Patho- 
 logical Anatomy, observes, — “ In no instance do we find 
 greater difficulty than in the brain, in making the results 
 of dissection agree with the phenomena of disease previously 
 exhibited.” 2 
 
 To the medical practitioner. Pathology should ever con- 
 stitute a systematic and unremitting study ; hut the term 
 comprises vastly more than the facts of morbid anatomy ; 
 it comprehends every link in the chain of morbid causation. 
 The first deviation from healthful manifestation, the primary 
 disturbance of function, and the immediate influences to 
 which this is attributable, are, to the practitioner and 
 philosophic physician alike, points of equal importance 
 with the final results of disease, as affectmg the organisation 
 in the production of sensible physical changes. If Hippo- 
 crates and his school were defective in their pathology by 
 neglecting the latter, it is questionable whether, in modern 
 times, we are not equally open to condemnation for our 
 most inordinate and disproportionate attention to it, since 
 it leads, in many cases, to grievous disregard of the former. 
 It has long been the opinion' of the present writer, that 
 if the study of pathology were regulated more in con- 
 sideration of the primary external causes of disease, and 
 relatively less with regard to the ultimate internal effects, 
 it would lose nothing of its completeness, and at the same 
 time would yield much more decided utility, by rendering 
 to mankind a practice of medicine more just and available, 
 and, in consequence, better calculated to alleviate the ills 
 and the sorrows “ which flesh is heir to.” 
 
 To return, however, from this digression ; let us determine 
 the inferences fairly authorised by what has preceded. It 
 
 * Dictionnaire de M^decine et de Chirurgie Practiques, p. 27, tome 
 7me. 
 
 " South’s Translation, p. 365. 
 
92 
 
 USE OF PATHOLOGY. 
 
 is, then, certainly no undue or hasty assumption to conclude 
 that pathological researches, like vivisections and com- 
 parative anatomy, are but little fitted for the discovery of 
 the functions of particular parts of the encephalic mass ; 
 that however they may occasionally supply hints that lead 
 to successful results on the application of a sounder method 
 of investigation, — however they may corroborate truths 
 otherwise obtained, they are* in their very nature, vmsuitable 
 as direct guides in the prosecution of Cerebi'al Physiology. 
 
CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 93 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT COMPARED AVITH PSYCHICAL 
 MANIFESTATION IN INDIVIDUALS OF A SINGLE SPECIES, 
 AS A MEANS OF DETECTING THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY 
 OP THE BRAIN. 
 
 If neither vivisection, nor comparative anatomy, nor 
 pathological researches, he adapted to the development of 
 cerebral physiology; if none of these, singly considered, 
 can lead to the determination of structural relation with 
 function, may it not happen that, taken collectively, they 
 are competent to bring about this result? We constantly 
 see evidence adduced, and expressions of opinion ven- 
 tured, by writers of all shades of opinion, obviously in 
 condemnation of some or all of these methods regarded in 
 the abstract ; and yet, dealing with the concrete, the very 
 same writers will very often be seen to recur to them as 
 valid, especially when in conjunction. Dr Carpenter, 
 entering upon the consideration of the functions of the 
 brain, says, “ It vdll be desirable to inquire what may be 
 considered as firmly established, before we proceed with 
 details of a more questionable nature. We shall apply to 
 comparative anatomy, to experiment, and to pathology 
 for our chief data.’”; This would suggest that, however 
 fallacious the results may be, obtained from any one of these 
 sources, nevertheless, if the facts bearing upon some prob- 
 lem were collected fi-om aU these departments, a conclusion 
 
 Human Physiology, p. 223. 
 
94 CEREBRAJL DEATILOPJIENT A JEEAlfS OF DETECTTN’G 
 
 might probably be gained, upon which a firm rebance 
 could be placed. 
 
 If, in some one instance, a mutilation of the encephalon 
 led to a definitive issue with any thing like uniformity, 
 if all the known facts of comparative anatomy corre- 
 sponded, and if pathology constantly supported the in- 
 ference, it is conceded that then the highest approach 
 to proof would be obtained, — nay, probably actual proof — 
 unless the facts would admit of some simpler exifianation, 
 to the exclusion of the supposed inference. But, here, a 
 case is supposed that has never yet occurred; and the 
 actual state of our knowledge certainly does not warrant 
 the expectation that any such case wiU ever happen. 
 Unquestionably, however, in proportion to the extent that 
 coincidence really obtains among the phenomena furnished 
 by these several departments, is the likelihood of justice 
 in the conclusion ; and, as corroboration of inductions 
 gained by a more direct method of inquiry, their value, 
 under such circumstances of coincidence, is proportionately 
 enhanced. Of themselves, however, in their very nature, 
 they do not afiTord proof. It has been established, in the 
 preceding chapter’s, that vivisections cannot determine the 
 function of any part of the brain, that comparative ana- 
 tomy is in the same position, and that pathology is infinitely 
 too uncertain in the whole of its data for any such pmrpose. 
 It might then be contended that three negatives cannot make 
 one affirmative, but such a mathematical style of reasoning 
 is hardly admissible in physiological discussions. But the 
 author can appeal, in support of his ovm position, to 
 testimony of another kind, to that of past experience ; and 
 he conceives that it may safely be asserted and maintained, 
 that no discovery has ever yet been made in the physiology 
 of the nervous system by the mere methods in question, 
 as they have been applied in the case of the encephalon. 
 As, regarding the nerves, so much is allowed on aU hands 
 to have been made out, we gain a very important subject 
 
THE PAETICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 95 
 
 for comparative examination ; and, in the sequel, it shall 
 receive some attention in detail; meanwhile, the author 
 hesitates not to assert that, in neurological researches, 
 experiment, comparative anatomy, and pathology, when- 
 ever appealed to with a sure result, have always been 
 in subservience to some previous knowledge, obtained 
 in another way, — knowledge of a character that is riot, 
 that cannot be, possessed by physiologists investigating 
 the brain only by the aids in question. At the risk 
 of undue repetition, it must again be said, that if pri- 
 marily resorted to, they can, singly or in unison, supply 
 only hints for further researches, and furnish at best but 
 a high probability. lu all investigations of the nervous 
 system, it must be remembered, that knowledge of function 
 has preceded the search for its nerve ; not so with the 
 researches of a certain class of cerebral physiologists ; they 
 have made nothing like any successful attempt to specify 
 the individual faculties of the mind, in reasoning from 
 vivisection, comparative anatomy, and pathology, regard- 
 ing the offices of particular parts of the brain ; they have 
 not compared function defined and structure demonstrated; 
 no ; in mutilations of the living brain, they have contented 
 themselves with seeing what effect is produced in the 
 gross; in dealing with comparative anatomy, they have 
 traced resemblances, overlooking the differences ; and, in 
 pathological investigation, they have, in many cases, asso- 
 ciated a general disturbance of the mental attributes with 
 some lesion of brain with which the previous symptoms 
 may possibly have had an accidental, rather than an 
 essential relation. 
 
 If it be decided that none of the methods hitherto dis- 
 cussed, as primary steps for discovering the particular 
 physiology of the brain, be valid, and fertile in result, may 
 it not be a question, whether or not means exist at all 
 for determining the relations subsisting between the struc- 
 ture and the functions of the encephalon ? May not 
 
96 CEEEBRAX DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 some very reasonably contend that, if contradiction and 
 uncertainty prevail with respect to modes of inquiry pim- 
 sued by master spirits at all periods when sucb subjects 
 have occupied attention, no confidence can be placed in 
 any method, nor importance be attached to any results I 
 Let the decision of these questions be postponed for a 
 while. 
 
 Whenever two things are seen to be associated, so that 
 the presence or absence of one indicates the presence or 
 absence of the other, an idea is at once suggested to the 
 mind, that the connexion is one more intimate than that 
 which mere coincidence involves. The discovery of leaves 
 and branches in the air constafitly suggests the existence 
 of roots within the earth ; the two things ha\dng always 
 been -witnessed in association, and there being, moreover, 
 a general relation observable between the state of the 
 former and that of the latter; the conclusion becomes 
 inevitable, that one set of organs is subservient in function 
 to the other. So it is, in some respects, with the brain ; if 
 an unusual development of part of this structure always 
 coincide, under given circumstances, with some remarkable 
 energy in mental manifestation, the inference is naturally 
 deduced, that the two cu’cumstances ai’e not accidents of 
 coincidence, but that the particular power is in some de- 
 pendence upon the development. 
 
 “ Tenterden steeple is the cause of Goodwin Sands,” is the 
 sarcastic rejoinder, ever ready, when it is advanced that 
 two sets of phenomena exist to each other in the relation 
 of cause and effect, in case the connexion be not readily 
 apparent. The fixed stars appear to us always coincidently 
 ■with some of the planetary bodies, and yet we do not on 
 this account recognise any close dependence of the stars 
 on the planets, or the planets on the stars, or, in a general 
 way, any tiling beyond mere coincidence in their joint 
 appearance. If, because to human perceptions the stars 
 become luminous after the larger planets, some one were 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 97 
 
 to advance that the light of the former is in any way 
 attributable to the latter as its cause, an appropriate reply 
 might be formed by employment of the adage concerning 
 the steeple of Tenterden and the Goodwin Sands. The 
 case of cerebral development and mental manifestation, 
 however, is, in some sense, that of the root and the 
 branches, not that of the planets and the stars. K the 
 root sustain detriment, the effect is witnessed in the de- 
 pendent branches ; and, contrariwise, if the former be 
 favourably conditioned, the effect is witnessed beyond 
 itself in the latter ; and so is the root demonstrated to be 
 an organic requirement, in life, of the leaves and the 
 branches. The movements of the planets, the disappear- 
 ance of some and reappearance of others, leave the light 
 of the stars uninfluenced ; and the condition of Tenterden 
 steeple maintains no sort of correspondence with that of 
 the Goodwin Sands. Development of the brain, however, 
 constantly influences the manifestations of mind ; if the 
 quantity of cerebral structure in particular regions be 
 considerable, some related power or quality of the con- 
 scious principle will, under ordinary circumstances, be 
 displayed in unwonted energy ; and, with great deficiency 
 in volume of brain in the same region, the corresponding 
 power or quality will in every case be but feebly mani- 
 fested ; and not only so, but changes wrought in one set 
 of conditions will often be recognisably induced in the 
 other. Under all these circumstances, the idea of causa- 
 tion becomes irresistible ; the induction, that the particular 
 power is organically connected with the particular struc- 
 ture, is philosophically gained. 
 
 It is even so with physiology in general. The existence 
 of some distinct organisation, constantly in connexion with 
 some speciality of office, has induced the recognition of 
 mutual relation. Large size and perfection of structure, 
 associated with great vigour and vivacity in function, 
 modifications in the one corresponding with those in the 
 
98 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 Other — the observation of these things has led to the 
 existence of physiology as a science. For example, the 
 faculty of locomotion, the invariable co-existence of muscles 
 in parts possessed of the endowment, and the reciprocal 
 influence here exercised, readily suggested that the struc- 
 tures were instruments of the power. Their size being 
 seen, in some degree, to constitute a measure of functional 
 energy, there is obtained a means whereby the locomotive 
 power may be inferred firom developement of the muscular 
 system. From this, in a great majority of instances, we 
 could say in what parts of the body the greatest strength 
 resided ; and, conversely, from the relative power dis- 
 played, we could, generally, teU what limbs were most 
 largely furnished with muscle ; accuracy in the judgment 
 being the more frequent, in proportion to the extent of 
 correspondence in the allied circumstances. If the same 
 individual were always in question, and if no undue deter- 
 mination of particular muscular actions had preceded, the 
 size would always reveal the power ; if circumstances had 
 called the legs into acthity to the prejudice of the arms, 
 an equality of the other conditions failing, size, absolutely, 
 would not be sufficient for the purpose. If different indi- 
 viduals were the subjects of comparison, the constancy of 
 result, in attempting to predicate the absolute amount of 
 strength from muscular magnitude, would be less obseiw- 
 able ; and still less so, if individuals of diflferent species were 
 taken for the relative estimate, because the dependence of 
 power iqion size is always modified by variations in the 
 elemental type, in the constitutional pecnliarities affecting 
 quality of structure, and in the antecedent training of the 
 individual. These are truths relating to the muscular 
 system, which nobody disputes, and they are justly re- 
 garded as resting upon a principle — a principle, moreover, 
 which does not apply to the muscular system alone, but 
 which involves the whole range of animal physiology. 
 
 It is by application of this same principle to the brain. 
 
THE PARTICTJLAK PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 99 
 
 and its parts, that we may successfully study the functions. 
 By comparing vigorous manifestation of some faculty of 
 the min d with development of some particular cerebral 
 region, and witnessing a correspondence between the two 
 conditions, we immediately fix upon the one as, in some 
 way, connected with the other ; and with the more confi- 
 dence, the oftener the coincidence is observed. When, 
 besides, a seiious deficiency in the development is always 
 seen to be associated with defect in the said faculty, the 
 idea of mere coincidence cannot possibly be entertained, 
 that of organic dependence becomes irresistible. By pro- 
 secuting such a method of investigation in the case of man 
 only, in the first instance, where differences in elementary 
 type do not obtain, and where, generally speaking, there 
 prevails an equality in most other conditions, we make the 
 first advances towards an acquaintance vsdth the parti- 
 cular physiology of the brain ; for surely it •will not be 
 denied, that, if such comparisons do, in point of fact, pro- 
 duce uniformity of result, the desideratum in this inquiry 
 becomes realised, the true method of determining the rela- 
 tions subsisting between the structure and functions of the 
 encephalon is attained. 
 
 In the various attempts of ancient philosophers to pro- 
 mote cerebral physiology, this particular analytical mode 
 of comparing structural size with manifestation of special 
 qualities, was not pursued; and, as a necessary conse- 
 quence, no particular or precise knowledge of the brain 
 and its ofiices was gained. The observations were made 
 on the aggregate organ ; its constant association -with 
 unmistakeable signs of consciousness; the influence mu- 
 tually exerted between mind and brain in changes occurring 
 in their respective conditions ; the large head, in many 
 instances, indicating great psychical energy, and the dimi- 
 nutive head, as noted by Galen, ^ never being accompanied 
 
 * Kidd’s Analysis of Galen’s works. Prov. Transact., vol. vi. p. 328. 
 
100 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 by great talents. These circumstances very early settled 
 the question among physiologists, that the brain is the 
 organ of the mind. Beyond this, however, no advance 
 was made. The method, so far as it went — so far as it 
 produced any valid result — was strictly in accordance with 
 the principle here contended for. Yet the observations 
 being but general, a general result was only obtained. Still 
 it was the uniform co-existence of brain with mind, and 
 their observed reciprocal influence, that established even 
 the general proposition. Consciousness, or mind, as sepa- 
 rate in its nature from the other functions of life, was 
 recognised, and then its relation to certain conditions in 
 tlie organisation became noted; but no recognition of indi- 
 vidual faculties of the mind, in alliance with particular 
 parts of the brain, took place; and thus it was that the 
 ancients never did, never could, advance beyond the general 
 proposition. Up to a recent period, it has been even so 
 with the moderns. Nay, at the present time, some of our 
 most distinguished physiologists, as it has been shown in 
 foregoing parts of this work, are, vtith all their researches, 
 scarcely in advance of Aristotle in their knowledge of 
 cerebral physiology. They are at a complete stand ; and 
 so must they ever remain, if they fashion not their labours 
 to the requirements of the work. 
 
 Not only has an acquaintance with the general fact 
 respecting the mind’s dependence, in this life, upon the 
 brain been gained by the true physiological method, but all 
 our best and surest knowledge of the nervous functions has 
 been obtained primarily in the same way, as will presently 
 be shorni. In the ordinary confusion which is made of 
 direct and corroborative evidence, this circumstance is 
 not always attended to. On careful inquiry, however, it 
 will be found to be the case ; just as it was seen that 
 all advances in natural science, anterior to the epoch of 
 Bacon, had really been made, not by syllogism or hypo- 
 thesis, but by the true method of induction, when once 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 101 
 
 this method had been demonstrated, and been generally 
 assented to. 
 
 Unless physiologists consent to abandon attempts alto- 
 gether to advance the physiology of the brain, the pressing 
 requirement of the present day^ is a settlement of the mode in 
 which the inquiry should he prosecuted. Concord and unani- 
 mity once prevailing upon this point, progress would 
 certainly ensue. Let the results of vivisection, compara- 
 tive anatomy, and pathology, rank in their appropriate, 
 secondary place, for the purpose of corroborating and 
 elucidating results obtained by comparisons of cerebral 
 development and mental manifestation, and then the entire 
 aspect of this subject, in the regards of a certain class of 
 physiologists, able as industrious, would surely undergo 
 a change, as striking as satisfactory. 
 
 If we refer to the past history of physiology, it will be 
 seen that, with respect to the special senses, distinctness of 
 function and separateness of organic apparatus were not 
 discovered by the method that many practise in their 
 searches for the function of particular parts of the encepha- 
 lon. Function was previously recognised in its speciality, and 
 in a single species, the human ; and, owing to the possession, 
 by the special nerves, of an exterior, subsidiary organisa- 
 tion, positive knowledge was obtained in the very morning 
 of existence. Sight was perceived to be essentially dilFerent 
 from hearing, smell, taste, and touch ; but the idea of dis- 
 tinctness was placed beyond dispute, only by demonstration 
 of its special organic connexion. It was the same with 
 the other senses ; the function was recognised in the fii'st 
 instance, and the organ, from the peculiar circumstances of 
 the case, was readily associated therewith. If, however, 
 the organic connexions of the special senses could not have 
 been made out, it is by no means certain that the analysis 
 of sense would have taken place in any uniform manner. 
 Why should not the sense of bitterness have been supposed by 
 some to have differed specifically from that of sweetness, just 
 
102 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 as much, at least, as from the perception oi fragrance ? It is 
 difficult to see how indisputable demonstration could have 
 had place, without the demonstrable existence of a special 
 organ. Nay, with all our present knowledge upon such 
 subjects, physiologists are hardly yet agreed concerning 
 the specific character of the sense of taste, in the absence 
 of positive knowledge regarding a special nerve of taste. 
 Indeed, at the period of the writer’s anatomical studies, the 
 dominant notion was, that taste was not a special sense, but 
 only a modification of common sensation. And so it must 
 ever be ; distinctness of function can be finally determined 
 only by exhibition of its dependence upon some speciality 
 of structure ; but the manifestations of function must fairly 
 be noted, and the speciality be inferred, ere any successful 
 attempt can be made to fix upon the organ ; that is to say, 
 the two things must be appreciated, before they can be 
 compared ; for, without a compai’ison, how can the rela- 
 tions of function and structm’e be traced ? In the case of 
 vision, seeing, as a faculty, was, by a mental process, 
 estimated as a power apart ; the eye, and its appendages, 
 were observed ; the mutual relation of the two sets of facts 
 was noted ; the ministration of the latter to the former was 
 inferred; and thus, sight, as a special sense, was unques- 
 tionably made out, through determination of its organic 
 connexions. Afterwards, whatever was observed in mutila- 
 tions, in the animal kingdom, and in disease, was found 
 to correspond ; and, not only so, but the knowledge in 
 question, by aids of these collateral branches, became cor- 
 roborated, elucidated, and extended. It should, however, be 
 always recollected, that, before physiological facts gathered 
 from compai'ative anatomy, and other such sources, can be 
 rendered at all available, the key to their true interpreta- 
 tion must have been obtained from the human type. 
 
 The discovery of the distinction between the sentient 
 and voluntary nerves, is an example of research which 
 furnishes no parallel to the proceeding of our modem 
 
THE PARTICULAE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 103 
 
 vivisectors, comparative anatomists, and pathologists, 
 when they attempt to ascertain the particular physiology 
 of the brain. For, while these neglect entirely the com- 
 parison of special faculties of the mind with individual 
 portions of the brain, physiologists, in reference to the 
 nerves of feeling and voluntary motion, had long re- 
 garded the functions as distinct, and had even inferred 
 a distinctness in the subservient organisation. It is well 
 known that Hierophilus and Erasistratus, the first known 
 dissectors of a human body, made a distinction between 
 the nerves of feeling and those of motion ; and pathological 
 facts had ah’eady confirmed the idea, for paralysis of 
 one function was not always coincident with that of the 
 other. Galen, also, was well aware of the same fact, — 
 insisting, fi’om observation and analysis, that every part 
 which is capable of motion, and at the same time possesses 
 sensibility, must receive two classes of nerves — motor and 
 sensitive. The differences between the two functions con- 
 tinued to be recognised during the long period in which 
 the writings of Galen maintained an autocratic sway ; and, 
 on the revival of science, Vesalius, Fallopius, Van Swieten, 
 and others, maintained a knowledge of the special fact, 
 though no serious effort was made for the attainment of a 
 more extended acquaintance with the subject. It was not 
 till the time of Gall, that the principle of distinctness of 
 function always being coincident with distinctness of struc- 
 tm’e in the nervous system, became fairly and systematically 
 insisted upon as a demonstrable truth. In the first volume 
 of his Anatomy of the Nervous System, published in 1810, 
 some time anterior to the published papers of Bell and 
 Magendie, he contends for this principle ; and, in illustra- 
 tion, refers even to the double origin of the fifth pair, as 
 correspondent with its combined functions of sensibility and 
 motion. And Spurzheim, some years afterwards, follow- 
 ing out the same idea, remarks, three years anterior to the 
 date of Bell’s first publication on the subject, as follows : — 
 
104 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 “ The same nervous fibres do not go to the muscles and 
 to the skin, and each of these parts has a distinct function. 
 The nerves which are necessary for voluntary motion 
 cannot propagate the impressions of the sense of touch, 
 nor the latter the impressions of movement. The muscles 
 receive their impressions fi’om within, but the sense of 
 touch from without. * * * It may be objected, that the 
 nerves of motion and of sensation arise from the same pair, 
 and that, consequently, they must be the same. That 
 inference is erroneous ; for the fifth pair of cerebral nerves 
 shows the contrary. In fact, the functions of the nervous 
 fibres of that pair are evidently different, and, accordingly, 
 a difference in their fibres is admitted. The pairs of the 
 spinal nerves are divided into different fasciculi, and in a 
 more distinct manner than the fifth, and, consequently, 
 these divisions may also have different functions.”* 
 
 From the above circumstances, it is clear that knowledge 
 of speciality in function preceded the determination of 
 distinctness in the associated structures ; and it is tolerably 
 certain, also, that so far as the principle is in question, the 
 discovery which BeU and others, by vivisections, con- 
 firmed and completed, was substantially made anterior to 
 their researches and experiments ; and made, too, by the 
 combined aids of anatomy and physiology, by the study 
 and comparison of function and structure. Differences in 
 the sensible properties of the muscles and of the skin had 
 been noticed as a fact, functional differences in the sub- 
 servient nerves had been regarded as a necessary conse- 
 quence, and the connexion of these circumstances with the 
 separate roots of the fifth and spinal nerves had been 
 reasonably inferred ; mvisection, guided by the previous 
 knowledge, and the results being interpreted by its aid, 
 determined the motor functions of the anterior roots, and 
 the sentient properties of the posterior. Tlie principle. 
 
 Observations sur la Folie, par G. Spurzheim, pp. 26, 27. Paris. 1815. 
 
THE PAHTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OP THE BRAIN. 105 
 
 however, was all made out before ; and it is difficult to 
 see in what possible addition to our knowledge, mutilations 
 of living animals could have issued, if the operators had 
 proceeded in the manner of our cerebral vivisectors, arrang- 
 ing within themselves nothing with regard to the individual 
 faculties of the mind, whose aggregate organ they mutUate, 
 in seeming expectancy of detecting function in seeing 
 “ what effect is produced” on the body at large. Yet it 
 must be remembered that the immediate subject of this 
 discussion is the grand department of the vivisectors ; from 
 the presumed success herein obtained, have encephalic 
 mutilations maintained any material ground in the estima- 
 tion of physiologists. Yet, allowing the advocates of such 
 a procedure all the advantages which they claim for the 
 vivisectorial method in this instance, no parallel is sup- 
 plied betweeh the present case and that of the encephalon. 
 This matter is so concisely and so lucidly put by Mr Combe, 
 that the writer has great pleasure in transcribing the fol- 
 loAving passage from that gentleman’s System of Phi’eno- 
 logy.i 
 
 “ Some physiologists have endeavoured to discover the 
 functions of the parts of the brain, by mutilating certain 
 portions of it in animals, and observing the effects produced 
 on their mental manifestations. But four conditions are 
 necessary to the success of this method of investigation : — 
 First, The part destroyed must be a distinct organ with a 
 specific function ; secondly, The part injured must be such 
 that it can be cut without necessarily involving the disorder 
 of the functions of a variety of other parts ; thirdly. If it be 
 nerves that we cut, the functions of the organ to which they 
 are distributed must be known and, fourthly. After the 
 operation, the state of these functions must be completely 
 within reach of observation. These conditions were present 
 
 * Fifth Edition, p. 70. 
 
 * This is the essential knowledge, obtained purely by comparison of 
 structure with function, as before insisted upon. 
 
106 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 in Sir Charles Bell’s experiments in irritating or cutting 
 roots of the nerves of motion and sensation. For, 1st, 
 These nerves were distinct organs, each having a specific 
 function ; 2dli/, It was possible to cut a branch of the fifth 
 pair, or a root of a spinal nerve, without involving the 
 functions of the nervous system in general in derangement ; 
 Zdly, It was known that the muscles manifest voluntary 
 motion and sensation ; and hence, when one of these powers 
 was suppressed, it was possible to distinguish its absence ; 
 Aithhj, The muscles on which the cut nerves were rami- 
 fied, were so much within reach of observation, that they 
 could be forced into action or sensation at the will of the 
 experimenter, and hence he could discover the effect of 
 his operations.” 
 
 It has been rendered sufiBciently plain, in a preceding 
 chapter, how very differently all the above conditions of 
 experiment exist in the encephalon ; and yet, even in the 
 case of the cerebro-spinal nerves, it has been seen that 
 the co-existence and reciprocal influence of structure and 
 function really afforded the particular knowledge which 
 developed the principle ; and this being obtained at first, 
 by study of the human type, it received corroboration 
 and extension from the secondary somces of physiological 
 inquiry. 
 
 The existence of a separate system of nerves — the true 
 spinal, apart from the cerebro-spinal — is not as yet univer- 
 sally admitted amongst physiologists ; the vTiter, however, 
 considers it to rest upon evidence quite as valid as that 
 which is generally allowed to authorise other physiological 
 conclusions. And, with regard to this matter, he conceives 
 that it may readily be shown that the leading facts and 
 reasonings, in support of the doctrine, were gained neither 
 by animal mutilations, nor fi’om comparative anatomy, nor 
 from pathology. Before proceeding to demonstrate this 
 circumstance, a brief statement of the modern views con- 
 cerning the excito-motory function may not be out of place, 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OP THE BRAIN. 107 
 
 as some who may peruse this hook, may not probably 
 have attained to any very clear notions respecting it. It ' 
 is taught, then, by Dr Marshall Hall, Mr Grainger, Dr 
 Carpenter, and others, that, besides the sensory filaments 
 of nerves which pass upwards along the spinal cord to the 
 encephalon, and the motor set which convey the influence 
 of volition downwards from the same, there exist excitor, 
 centripetal filaments, bound up in the same sheath, which 
 conduct impressions to the grey matter of the cord ; that 
 the latter, as a centre of vital influence, reflects motor im- 
 pressions by centrifugal fibi’es, still in the same sheath, back 
 again to the muscles ; and that this excito-motory function 
 is independent of consciousness, and that the subservient 
 nerves are both anatomically and physiologically distinct 
 from those of feeling and voluntary motion. The general in- 
 fluence of this division of the nervous system would appear 
 to he ancillary to the preservation and conservation of the 
 frame, in presiding over the functions of ingestion and 
 egestion, and by conducing to the repulsion of injurious 
 agencies. 
 
 Now, the class of actions deemed to he more especially 
 under the influence of the excito-motory system of nerves, 
 had long been observed and commented upon, anterior to 
 the researches of Dr Marshall HaU ; and the inference had 
 been attained, that they were, in an especial manner, 
 dependent upon the physiological agency of the spinal 
 cord. In the opinion of the present writer, the great merit 
 of Dr HaU consists, mainly, in his having more extensively 
 and harmoniously grouped together the related phenomena 
 than any preceding physiologist, and in having insisted 
 (apparently at least, though, in his earlier papers, he 
 guarded himself against distinctly saying as much) on the 
 necessity of separate nervous filaments for the performance 
 of what was obviously a special function. The principle, 
 however, was made out before ; the chief facts had been 
 observed ; and Dr MarshaU HaU is in relation to the 
 
108 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A 5IEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 true spinal system, very mucli in tlie same position as 
 Dr Spurzheim to the cerebro-spinal nerves. This is an 
 assertion calculated to startle some parties ; hut let the 
 facts of the case be judged without bias, and it will be 
 seen that the previous extract from Dr Spurzbeim’s works 
 warrants the writer in what he has stated ; moreover, 
 this latter physiologist insists, in the work before quoted, 
 that anatomists should always seek for the existence of 
 separate nerves, upon good evidence being adduced of 
 speciality in function. It is difficult to make out that Dr 
 Marshall Hall did more than this ; the demonstration, so 
 far as this can be allowed, arose from the researches of 
 Mr Grainger, Dr Carpenter, and ]\Ir Newport, whose 
 labours upon the anatomy were undoubtedly induced by 
 the reasonings and the statements of Dr Marshall HaU. 
 
 It has been said, that the class of actions more especially 
 dependent upon the spinal cord had long been noticed. 
 Dr Carpenter, the reputed author of several very able 
 papers upon this subject in the British and Foreign Medical 
 Reriew, has satisfactovily shown that physiologists, for 
 years before the researches of Dr Marshall HaU, had 
 observed the involuntary character of nictitation, of de- 
 glutition, of respiration (essentiaUy), the closure of the 
 glottis, the action of the sphincters, and the reflex move- 
 ments induced in some cases by external impressions 
 without consciousness. These things had been noticed 
 by Wliytt, Cullen, Hunter, Sir Gilbert Blane, and, above 
 all, by Prochaska ; some of these writers distinctly referred 
 the influence to the spinal cord, in recognising the invo- 
 luntary character of the phenomena in question. The 
 performance of reflex actions, moreover, in the anencepha- 
 lous foetus — a fact which was weU known — rendered the 
 entire notion respecting the independent, involuntary, un- 
 conscious agency of the cord, as much of a demonstration 
 as facts could make it. And if the doctrine which regards 
 the vesicular or grey matter of the brain and nerves, as 
 
THE PAKTICULAH PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BEAIN. 109 
 
 exclusively tlie true functional structure, be allowed, IVIr 
 Grainger’s is the merit of having established (at least if 
 his dissections be confirmed) the existence of filaments in 
 the sheaths of the spinal nerves adapted to the excito- 
 motory office ; he having traced, he informs us, some fibres 
 directly into the grey substance of the cord, and others, 
 avoiding it, upwards towards the encephalon. And thus the 
 whole matter, as a subject of modern investigation, would 
 appear to stand : — The vivisections and reasonings of Dr 
 Marshall Hall did much to corroborate and to render more 
 clear what was previously known, suggesting, moreover, 
 anatomical inquiry ; this being undertaken by Mr Grainger, 
 a structure was apparently discovered, fairly comparable 
 with the function ; researches in comparative anatomy, 
 prosecuted by Mr Newport and Dr Carpenter, stUl further 
 strengthened, whilst elucidating, the foregone conclusion ; 
 and the pathological facts, recorded by Dr W. Budd and 
 others, have contributed additional testimony in support of 
 the same ; altogether, such an amount of direct and col- 
 lateral evidence has been brought to bear upon the subject, 
 that the doctrine of the true spinal system of nerves, and 
 its correspondent functions, is rapidly assuming the cha- 
 racter of established truth in physiological science. It 
 must be apparent, however, from what has preceded, that 
 it was by the combined aids of anatomy and physiology, 
 as displayed in the human subject, that the essential know- 
 ledge was first obtained, without which all the other 
 investigations would have issued purposeless and unintel- 
 ligible ; the vivisections were not practised merely to see 
 “ what effect is produced,” and thence to have deduced 
 function, but to test an interpretation previously put upon 
 certain natural phenomena that had been obseiwed ; facts 
 in comparative anatomy were re-examined, and, in ob- 
 taining for themselves a new elucidation, they still further 
 confirmed, in extending the application of, the antecedent 
 conclusions ; and pathological phenomena, hitherto obscure. 
 
110 CEREBKAL DEVELOP3IENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 became explained, and, in tbe process, contributed to fill 
 up the measure of subsidiary proof. 
 
 It is a curious fact, that, in great part, Galen both recog- 
 nised the function in question, and inferred the existence of 
 separate nerves in subservience to its manifestations. “ He 
 conjectures,” says the learned Dr Kidd, as before quoted, 
 “ that there are nerves for three distinct purposes, namely, 
 for sensation, for motion, and for the discrimination of what 
 may be salutary, and what injurious to the system. * * * 
 He makes a distinction between the powers of voluntary 
 and involuntary motion.” 
 
 Thus, then, it is apparent that, in point of fact, our 
 actual acquaintance -with the physiology of the nervous 
 system has been obtained by a method clearly analogous 
 to that which, in the case of the brain, has been insisted 
 upon as the true one — by inferring from functional mani- 
 festation its speciality, and seeking coincidently for some 
 correspondent anatomy. 
 
 Assuredly, the particular physiology of the brain can be 
 ascertained in no other way. Its general office being, on 
 all hands, admitted to be in subservience to the conscious 
 attributes, the evidence upon which this leading truth rests 
 needs not receive any additional discussion. It may, how- 
 ever, be reiterated, that it has been made out, and received 
 confirmation, exactly in the same manner as our knowledge 
 of the nerves, by the invariable recognition of consciousness 
 in coincidence Tvlth cerebral structure, and their reciprocal 
 influence — a fact which has been supported and corrobo- 
 rated, and its application extended, by all the pheno- 
 mena furnished by mutilations, the animal kingdom, and 
 disease. 
 
 Now, what reason is there that similar evidence should 
 not develope the special functions of individual paids of the 
 brain? Are there any circumstances interfering with the 
 probability of a valid issue, in this particular case ? The 
 author sees none. On the contrary, facilities seem to exist. 
 
THE PAHTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OP THE BRAIN. Ill 
 
 in some respects, for the purpose, which do not obtain in 
 some other departments of physiology. 
 
 If the comparison of mind and brain, in their constant 
 connexion, have justly led to a recognition of the latter as 
 the organic condition of the former, ivhy should not a 
 similar comparison of special faculties of the mind with 
 particular parts of the cerebral mass lead to a like conclu- 
 sion ? Any one at aU acquainted with the physical charac- 
 teristics of the encephalon, knows very weU that it is not a 
 homogeneous pulpy mass, as was once believed, but that it 
 is mainly a fibrous, convoluted structure, as fairly divisible 
 into separate portions as the spinal cord, or the medulla 
 oblongata, whose division into parts, functionally distinct, 
 is an undoubted truth. In like manner, every writer on 
 the psychical attributes of man, has distinguished variety, 
 and admitted plurality in the faculties of the mind. This 
 proceeding on the part of metaphysicians and moral philo- 
 sophers, has been clearly exhibited in a foregoing chapter. 
 From these circumstances, even if we had no other reasons, 
 there would arise a probability, from analogy, that, as the 
 aggregate brain subserved the totality of mental attributes, 
 separate parts were particularly associated with the indivi- 
 dual faculties, just as separateness of function in the nerves, 
 always implies the existence of some speciality in structure 
 subservient thereunto. 
 
 If the human species had been cast uniformly in the 
 same mould, if either the psychical properties or the cere- 
 bral structure had presented no differences amongst indivi- 
 duals, the method now under discussion could not have 
 been applied in the case of the encephalon ; and it is 
 difficult to see in what way progress could ever have been 
 made in the present investigation. Neither mutilations of 
 the living brain, nor study of structures presumed to be 
 correspondent in the inferior tribes of creatures, nor the 
 phenomena of morbid anatomy, could possibly have ad- 
 vanced the inquiry beyond some not unreasonable conjecture. 
 
112 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 It would be tedious to reiterate the reasons for this impos- 
 sibility. Let us proceed rather to explain how the existence 
 of varieties in the same species conduces to a branch of 
 knowledge, utterly unattainable in a contrary state of 
 things ; a knowledge, in a word, of the particular physio- 
 logy of the brain. 
 
 Mankind reason from human actions concerning the 
 motives — the inward dispositions and external influences 
 — whence they spring ; and when an individual is seen 
 greatly to surpass his fellows in the energy and the fre- 
 quency with which, by his actions, he evinces some 
 powerful internal impulse, such an one is regarded as 
 characterised remarkably in a particular point of view, 
 more especially if the resultant conduct seem to have been 
 but slightly induced by external circumstances. For 
 example, a person vnll be distinguished by his actions, as 
 one that is cautious, timid, and apprehensive, and this, 
 too, under outward circumstances, furnishing no reason- 
 able gi’ounds for such indications ; the characteristic feature 
 shall have been displayed in very childhood, shall have 
 marked the boyhood, and the rising manhood of youth, 
 and at all subsequent times shall have stood in relief, in 
 every estimate of the particular qualities of the individual. 
 Every one has met, in life’s actual experience, with some 
 such instances. On the other hand, persons are to be 
 observed exhibiting, under aU circumstances, a daring and 
 a fearlessness in diametrical opposition to the case just 
 supposed. In this state of things, we always contrast the 
 timid with the feai'less person ; and the quality, wherein 
 the difference is manifested, becomes very generally re- 
 garded as one that is fundamental. In like manner, judging 
 from actions and personal demeanour, we notice and con- 
 trast the proud and the meek man, the kind and the 
 unfeeling one, those who are covetous, and those eminently 
 unselfish ; and so with respect to every thing which, in the 
 language of daily experience, relates to the natural di^osi- 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 113 
 
 tion. Not only in this way have metaphysicians and moral 
 philosophers reasoned from actions to inherent faculties or 
 qualities, and to variety in the case of different individuals, 
 but divines, moreover, taught by observation and scripture 
 alike, have usually recognised the same great truth. The 
 passions and affections, as internal impulses to he restrained 
 and governed, and the moral sense by whose guidance 
 deeds should be done, are constantly dwelt upon in their 
 disquisitions ; and, not only so, but differences in their 
 inherent strength, in variety of individuals, are frequently 
 admitted and descanted upon. In a volume of sermons 
 now before the writer, the following truthful passages 
 occur : — 
 
 “ The great Author of nature has given us several different 
 feelings and natural dispositions, for wise and salutary 
 purposes ; he intended that we should form these feelings 
 to virtue, and render them instrumental to our eternal 
 salvation, by directing them to their proper objects ; but, 
 alas ! in the present state of corrupted nature, they are 
 generally turned into vices, degenerate into disorderly 
 passions, and are made subservient to numberless sins. 
 Amongst the various passions that men are subject to, 
 there is one passion in particular , that commands the rest, 
 and sets them all in motion ; this passion is called the 
 predominant, or prevailing passion, because it is more 
 strong and more lively, more violent and more imperious 
 than the rest ; it is it that usually forms a man’s character, 
 disposition, and the complexion of his temper. * * * 
 
 We are to examine carefully what particular vice influences 
 om’ actions most, what sinful habit has the greatest empire 
 and ascendancy over us — for the predominant passion, or 
 prevailing vice, is different in different persons, according 
 to the difference of their humours and natural dispositions. 
 In some, the predominant passion is an overbearing pride, 
 and an insolent haughtiness ; in others it is an insatiable 
 avarice ; in some it is a restless ambition ; in others, a 
 
114 CEREBRAL DEVEL0P3IEXT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 brutal lasciviousness ; in some, a crimmal excess and in- 
 temperance in eating and drinking ; in others, an impla- 
 cable hatred, anger, and desire of revenge, or some other 
 disorderly passion.” ^ 
 
 It is the same with the intellectual powers as with the 
 feelings ; their essential differences in kind, and in indi- 
 viduals their differences in degree, are matters of constant 
 observation. One man is profound in thought, and subtle 
 in reasoning, whose stock of knowledge is not in the same 
 proportion ; whilst another shall have acquired, with in- 
 finitely less pains, double the information, having no ability 
 to trace this to its consequences. Some person shall be 
 deeply versed in mathematics, whose inaptitude for acquiring 
 other kinds of knowledge, or for reasoning upon general 
 subjects, would be deemed incredible in the absence of 
 repeated experience. And so it is in extenso; talents, of 
 every sort, vary both in kind and in degree ; a truth so 
 obvious, on referring to all past experience, as to require 
 but little further illustration. “ Some persons,” says Dr 
 Alison, “ are strongly impressed by differences of colour, 
 some of forms ; the minds of some dwell habitually on 
 certain abstractions, such as numbers, or mathematical 
 figures ; those of others on certain of the properties of 
 external objects ; those of others on the words by which 
 thoughts are expressed, »&:c.”^ 
 
 In the general fact, that individuals present differences 
 among themselves in their moral qualities and intellectual 
 powers, aU writers are pretty well agi’eed ; and it is very 
 generally conceded that these differences, to some extent, 
 are innate. As to what constitute the particular qualities 
 and faculties to be esteemed fundamental or primitive, 
 concord does not obtain ; and it is impossible that it should 
 do so, so long as they are regarded apart from the organisa- 
 
 ■ Sermons and jMoral Discourses. By tke Rev. W. Gahan. Dublin. 
 1836. 
 
 * Physiology, p. 225. 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OP THE BRAIN. 115 
 
 tion; because, however clear and satisfactory to each 
 philosopher his own analysis and definitions may seem, 
 there is nothing, in the very nature of the thing, to com- 
 mand assent by the force of actual demonstration. To 
 reproduce the comparative illustration, previously afibrded; 
 if sense, in its general signification, could be supposed to 
 have become the subject of analysis without any guidance 
 from the organisation, there is no certainty that sight, 
 hearing, smell, taste, and touch would, as specifically distinct 
 perceptions, have uniformly constituted the group. As- 
 suredly, it has been owing to the allocation of particular 
 senses in separate structures, readily observable, that an 
 unquestioned analysis of sensation has been obtained. And, 
 through a corresponding state of things, in the case of the 
 encephalon, was the immortal GaU led to the discovery of 
 the particular physiology of the brain, and at the same 
 time to a systematic demonstration of the true method of 
 prosecuting such researches. 
 
 GaU compared the development in individuals of parts 
 of the brain with some energetic manifestation of power 
 or feeling, and, in deducing the necessary connexion, 
 regarded the cerebral structure as the organic condition of 
 the associated faculty. In some instances, he was first 
 struck with the unvarying predominant energy of a par- 
 ticular capability or disposition, as evinced by conduct, 
 and then he sought to determine the portion of brain cor- 
 respondmgly in excess ; and, in others, having noticed the 
 development at the onset, he perseveringly sought for the 
 psychical quality that distinguished the possessor. In the 
 early steps of discovery of an organ, the first idea always 
 arose in one of these ways, on the attainment of which, he 
 appealed to multitudes of facts indiscriminately obtained; 
 when large numbers were accumulated, aU suggesting the 
 same conclusion, he would regal’d his provisional inference 
 as probable ; and he would only venture to pronounce any 
 proposition to be fairly made out, after the most extensive 
 
116 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 and scrutinising observation. It is stated that, at times, 
 after his collected facts had for a long time pointed to some 
 particular notion, the occurrence of one certain, unequivocal 
 exception, always caused him to start anew. . 
 
 It may be conceived that the task of seizing the striking 
 and salient points of character could very readily be per- 
 formed ; some, however, may not so easily see how these 
 could be compared with the development of particular 
 parts of the brain in the living subject, seeing that the 
 aggregate mass is excluded from sight, by interposition of 
 its bony investments. In the human species, this is but a 
 slight affair, as, by concurrence of all distinguished ana- 
 tomists, the configuration of the head is allowed to be 
 formed pretty regularly by the development of the brain ; 
 this, however, is not the case with mathematical exactness, 
 because the two tables of bone, which enter into the con- 
 stitution of the skull, are not uniformly parallel. But, 
 except in some instances of old age and disease (excluded 
 by Gall as evidence for, or against, his doctrine), the diver- 
 gence in parallelism is rarely so much as a line, whilst 
 variations in the cerebral development of particular regions 
 ■will, very often, exceed an inch ; so that, for all practical 
 purposes, the form of the head may be deemed coincident 
 •with the figurate surface of the brain. 
 
 The annexed woodcut "will render this apparent in some 
 degree. 
 
 This figure exhibits a skull A\nth a 
 
 the two sides cut away, down nearly 
 to the level of the eye-brow, leaving 
 a narrow ridge in the middle of the 
 top standing. A A A is a section of 
 the skull, resembling an arch ; it is 
 here represented thicker, in propor- 
 tion to the size, than it is in nature, in order to exhibit the 
 better the separation of the two tables whose interspace 
 contains a spongy substance called the diploe; the average 
 
THE PAETICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OP THE BRAIN. 117 
 
 divergence in parallelism, however, is faithfully represented. 
 The skull is not opened at B C, where the cerebellum lies. 
 It is obvious then, that, whenever there is question con- 
 cerning the magnitude of the cerebral convolutions in any 
 of its regions, posteriorly, superiorly, or anteriorly, the 
 projections of the cranium in any particular direction will 
 furnish the measure. Indeed, the fact touching the paral- 
 lelism of the encephalon and the outer head, is but seldom 
 controverted ; and, when it is so, it is seen to he for some 
 temporary purpose. It is taught not only by those who 
 admit, but by those who reject, the physiology of Gall. 
 Thus, Cuvier states that “ The brain moulds itself in the 
 cavity of the skull, which it Jills exactly in such a manner 
 that knowledge of the bony part gives us information at 
 least of the form of the exterior of the hrain.” Magendie 
 says, that “ The only way of estimating the volume of the 
 brain in a living person, is to measure the dimensions of 
 the skuU ; every other means, even that proposed by 
 Camper, is uncertain.” Sir Charles Bell, in his Anatomy, 
 also observes that, “ The bones of the head are moulded to 
 the brain, and the peculiar shapes of the bones of the 
 head are determined by the original peculiarity in the 
 shape of the brain.” Dr Gordon, in his day, notoriously 
 the most virulent opponent of Gall’s doctrine, states, in an 
 article written by him, which appeared in the forty-ninth 
 number of the Edinburgh Review, as follows : — “ But we 
 will acquiesce implicitly for the present in the proposition 
 (familiar to physiologists long before the age of Gall and 
 Spurzheim), that there is, in most instances, a general 
 correspondence between the size of the cranium and the 
 quantity of the cerebrum ; that large heads usually con- 
 tain large brains, and small heads small brains.” More 
 recently, in the Cyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology, 
 it is observed in the article cranium, — “ A comparison of 
 the external and internal surfaces of the cranium establishes 
 the fact, that there is a general correspondence of the two. 
 
118 CEEEBKAl DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 as fax* as regards those parts which are in contact M-ith the 
 periphery of the brain.” The authorities might be multi- 
 plied, but this topic need not be pursued. 
 
 From the preceding statements, the method of Gall must 
 be intelligible enough. In discovery, he noticed remarkable 
 manifestation of some particular mental characteristic in 
 individuals, in which procedure no great ditSculties were 
 in the way ; this he compared with some prominent 
 development of brain, to the detection of which it has 
 been shown that the skull presented no obstacle ; on the 
 presumed ascertainment (in the normal condition of things) 
 of invariability in the association, the conclusion was 
 drawn, that the one circumstance stood in the same rela- 
 tion to the Other, as that in which a particular sense stands 
 to its correspondent nerve. He then appealed for con- 
 firmation and extension of his induction to aU collateral 
 sources of evidence. The inferences in this way deduced 
 are, in all respects, as just and as valid, as those which 
 have been obtained, and are generally admitted in other 
 departments of physiology. Disease, old age, or some 
 congenital malfonnation, vitiating the intimate structure 
 of the encephalon, or inducing abnormal deposit of bony 
 matter, so as to destroy the parallelism of cranial form and 
 cerebral development, will interfere with the uniformity of 
 result in the attempt at positive illustration ; and, in a 
 veiy few cases — certainly not one in fifty — a great deve- 
 lopment, truly cerebral, and dependent upon no imdue 
 presence of bone or other obvious indications of disease, 
 will not correspond with its ordinarily associated condi- 
 tion ; — just as, in some cases, lai’ge muscles will be unequal 
 to the power most commonly witnessed in structures of like 
 magnitude ; or in the same way as the optic nerve wiU 
 occasionally be amaurotic, partially or entii’ely, though no 
 very obvious lesion be discovered after death, nor consequent 
 derangement of the health have been witnessed during life. 
 These disturbing influences, however, can only afiect positive 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 119 
 
 results ; negativeli/, there is invariability in the sequence ; 
 when the cerebral organ of some given faculty is ascertained 
 to be much below the average size, its manifestations, in a 
 high degree, are never to be witnessed. In this point of \dew, 
 unqualified demonstration may be had; the fact is universal. 
 The reasons of the differences affecting positive and negative 
 cases are clear enough ; a large amount of brain may be 
 unequal to its customary power fi’om defective quality, 
 — a small one can never display remarkable energy ; as 
 with the muscular system, a large development of some 
 particular muscle does not always coincide with the ex- 
 pected strength, but a very small muscle wiU always be 
 relatively weak. 
 
 However plainly to most minds the premises, if accurate, 
 suggest the conclusions arrived at by Gall, there are some 
 physiologists apparently disposed to regard the matter more 
 as an affair of coincidence than of consequence, as more in 
 parallelism with the Goodwin Sands and Tenterden steeple, 
 than wijh the general physiology of the nervous system. 
 Dr Carpenter, in his Human Physiology, observes, — 
 
 “ It may be freely adtoitted that mankind is in the 
 habit of forming an impression of an individual’s intellectual 
 capacity by the height and expansion of his forehead ; and 
 that a low forehead and crown, with great development of 
 the occipital portion of the brain, generally accompanies a 
 character in which the influence of the animal passions is 
 predominant ; and correspondences even more detailed may 
 be admitted, without the inference being then conclusive, 
 that these several parts are the distinct organs of the several 
 faculties, or that the size of the organ is a measm’e of its 
 functional power. It may be thought to be, in regard to 
 the form of the head, very much as in respect to the cha- 
 racter of the face, — that we may draw from it a general 
 idea as to the character of the mind, and may not unfi-e- 
 quently be able to predicate correctly some minute details; 
 and yet that an attempt to localize the organs more minutely 
 
120 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 may be as destitute of truth as were the details of the 
 system ofLavater.”^ 
 
 It should be remembered, however, that the occurrence, 
 in nature, of coincidences with undue frequency, must ever 
 involve some law. Mere accident can never explain the 
 almost invariable association of two sets of conditions in 
 the routine of natural phenomena ; and if a weU developed 
 forehead be habitually regarded as indicative of intellectual 
 capacity, and if great development of the occipital region 
 of the brain, with moderate size of the anterior, superior 
 portions, do “ generally accompany a character in which 
 the influence of the animal passions is predominant,” some 
 principle must hold these facts in subservience ; and what 
 is the principle more obvious and rational than the funda- 
 mental axiom in the special physiology of Gall, that size 
 of cerebral structure, caeteris paribus, constitutes a measure 
 of functional power ? an axiom which, so far as size is in 
 question, is very generally recognised among modern 
 physiologists in relation to the nervous system at large, 
 and, amongst others, by Dr Carpenter himself; — to an 
 extent, moreover, which the disciples of Gall would not 
 admit, as they always demand an equality in the associated 
 circumstances, regarding mere size but as one, though an 
 important element. Lavater’s physiognomy has no parallel 
 in GaU’s physiology. There is absolutely no evidence at 
 all to prove regular correspondences between the features 
 of the face (excluding the forehead) and mental character- 
 istics, apart from expression; no form of any individual 
 feature maintains, positively or negatively, any thing like 
 an invariable connexion with the intellect or the disposition, 
 enabling us to “ draw from it a general idea as to the 
 character of the mind.” "Will Dr Carpenter afiirm that 
 there is a particular form of nose, or cheek, or chin, which 
 as generally accompanies a particular disposition or in- 
 
 P. 237. 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIX. 121 
 
 teUectual talent, as a large forehead does superior inteUectual 
 power, and vice versa ? Such a state of things obtains only 
 when the encephalon is in question, proving, so far as 
 evidence can demonstrate any physiological proposition, 
 not only that the brain is the organ of the mind, but that 
 it forms a congeries of organs, the function of each being 
 to manifest some pai’ticular power or disposition. 
 
 Certain minds that have been habitually intent upon the 
 more exact sciences, such as mathematics or astronomy, 
 may not unreasonably be expected to find that sort of proof 
 insufficient, of which GaU’s physiology is susceptible. Its 
 just and actual force can be appreciated by those only 
 whose pursuits familiarise them with the phenomena of 
 life, the study of which so rarely affords that full and 
 complete satisfaction to the rigorous mind, which some 
 other sciences afford. The impel fection in question, how- 
 ever, is not peculiar to the doctrine of Gall ; it is common 
 to almost every department of physiology. As a striking 
 illustration of the want of acquaintance with the actual 
 character of all physiological evidence, the following ex- 
 tract is taken from a critical notice of the “ Vestiges of the 
 Natural History of Creation,” which appeared in the North 
 British Review, for August 1845, generally ascribed to 
 Sir David Brewster : — “ Every branch of study that de- 
 serves the name of science, has its system of facts and its 
 code of laws ; but phrenology has never yet been able to 
 adduce a single indisputable fact in favour of its doctrine.” 
 What is the invariable and unmistakeable absence of great 
 intellectual power, when the forehead is low, narrow, and 
 receding? It is an “ indisputable” fact, and one that is 
 obvious to every observer. The reviewer proceeds — “ Its 
 object is to discover a relation between certain intellectual 
 and moral truths, and certain physical magnitudes ; and 
 yet it does not directly compai’e those truths with those 
 magnitudes, but with certain other magnitudes, supposed 
 to be similar, and with which the truths in question have 
 
 F 
 
122 CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT A MEANS OF DETECTING 
 
 no connexion.” Here is a grievous confusion of thought. 
 The reviewer, it is to he inferred, alludes to comparisons 
 of psychical qualities with cranial configuration ; but he 
 ought to have known that phrenologists attach no import- 
 ance to the latter, but in so far as it supplies the index to 
 the cerebral development, which alone is considered in the 
 induction, and with which the mental properties, “ the 
 truths in question — have connexion.” He continues — “ In 
 making such a comparison, we must be sure of the correct- 
 ness of what we assume to be truths. The mental or 
 moral phase must be so prominent and unambiguous, that 
 every man can recognise its existence ; and the corre- 
 sponding magnitude must be so distinctly marked, that all 
 men can see it. The feature in the brain must not be 
 inferred from the feature in the external cranium, covered, 
 as it may be, with hair, and flesh, and skin, and possibly 
 exaggerated or diminished by some external cause. It 
 must be directly observed in the healthy brain itself ; and 
 if the cerebral development corresponds in magnitude with 
 the mental feature, ive become possessed of a single fact, 
 half moral and half physical. If this correspondence is 
 invariable in all other cases, we have then one phrenolo- 
 gical fact in reference to one portion of the brain, which, 
 if, as we assume, it rests on accurate observation, we can 
 compel every sound mind to believe. But if there be one 
 distinct and unambiguous exception, for which no reason- 
 able cause can be assigned, the whole doctrine must he at 
 once abandoned. Were there a single satellite in the solar 
 system, whose motion did not correspond with the universal 
 law of attraction, even the doctrine of gravity must be 
 rejected. How difficult, then, must it be to determine 
 phrenological facts, and in what storehouse can we expect 
 to find them ? Who could venture to record it as a scien- 
 tific truth, that Voltaire had not, and that Sir Walter Scott 
 had, piety as an element of his mind ; and that the brain 
 of tlie one wanted, while that of the other possessed, the 
 
THE PARTICULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 123 
 
 corresponding elevation ? Who can testify to us as a fact, 
 that a murderer possesses a truly murderous disposition, or 
 a thief a truly thievish one ? Jit is only insulated acts, and 
 these generally not the result of habit, but of momentary 
 impulse, of -which man ever takes cognizance. It is God 
 alone that can pronounce upon the real condition of the 
 heart and soul, out of which are the issues of life. A true 
 phrenological fact, therefore, which we can force a sound 
 mind to believe, must involve in one of its aspects a species 
 of knowledge which it is not in the power of man, and still 
 less -within his province, to attain ; and in the other, a 
 physical fact, which can be seen only in the brain itself, 
 and which cannot be inferred from any external sign. For 
 such facts, anxious as we have been to find them, we have 
 long sought in vain.” 
 
 The applicability of principles of inquiry thus rigorous 
 and exact, to sciences like mathematics or optics, must be 
 allowed to be clear enough ; if, however, such canons of 
 evidence were enforced in researches into -Gtal phenomena, 
 then adieu to all physiology, natural history, and medicine ; 
 scarcely any science with respect to any of these could 
 possibly exist. 
 
 By whomsoever phrenology, or Gall’s doctrine concern- 
 ing the brain, shall receive ample and complete attention 
 in a serious and philosophic spirit, -with perfect immunity 
 from the prejudices that result from anterior notions or pre- 
 -vious habits of thought, to such an one the whole question 
 will present itself purely as a question to be determined by the 
 state of facts ; if the instances recorded have been accurately 
 observed, if the premises in their general character be sure, 
 the conclusions follow irresistibly. In a few words, unless 
 rules of investigation apply to the brain’s physiology which 
 differ from those relating to the remaining organization, 
 facts will be found to necessitate the admission, — -first, That 
 the brain is the organ of the mind ; secondly, That different 
 parts of the cerebral structure subserve the manifestation 
 
124 CEREBRAL DEVELOPJIENT A MEAN'S OF DETECTIN'G 
 
 of different mental faculties; and, thirdly, That size of 
 organic apparatus, cceieris paribus, constitutes a measure of 
 functional power. 
 
 It is idle and vain to discuss any of these axioms with- 
 out previous acquaintance with the observations upon which 
 they are raised ; no appeal to other axioms, however con- 
 stantly admitted or validly established, can rightly deal with 
 the subject. The facts must be fairly met, and, when these 
 can be disproved, the inferences may be rejected, but not 
 one moment before. The greatest and the 'wisest cannot 
 meet the question honestly in any other way, or propose 
 one single rational objection in a different manner. The 
 observations should be repeated, whether the purpose be 
 to learn or to controvert; but before these can be well and 
 accurately made, some preliminary capability, as in every 
 other depai’tment of knowledge, must be procured. With 
 respect to this matter, the day is now past for all pre- 
 posterous nonsense about feeling if there be any bumps! 
 Phrenology, or the physiology of the brain, must be re- 
 garded “ as it exists in the minds of those who have actually 
 studied it, and not in the crude and contradictory form in 
 which it is presented to us by those who have never ex- 
 amined its pretensions.” ^ If a scientific examination of 
 the facts in question be proposed, in contradistinction to 
 one that is merely physiognomical and empirical, a general 
 acquaintance should be had with the philosophy of mind, 
 so that the inquii’er shall be able to recognise piimitive 
 faculties when he observes their manifestations, and to 
 distinguish these from mere modes of action or feeling 
 common to the faculties in general ; and Avith the anatomy 
 of the brain, the disposition of its convoluted, vesicular 
 structure, and the relation of this to the fibrous portion, 
 and the ganglionic masses and tracts of grey matter at the 
 base. By this means alone can the true principle, guid- 
 
 Di- Combe. Ou Jlental Derangement. Preface, p. xxiv. 
 
THE PARTICULAK PHYSIOLOGY OE THE BRAIN. 125 
 
 ing the estimate of development, be fully and rightly 
 understood. Hereunto should be added a pretty accurate 
 knowledge of the bones of the head, whereby the chance 
 of confounding mere osseous prominence with that induced 
 by development of brain Avill be avoided. Moreover, as 
 coincidence of cranial form and cerebral configuration is 
 not in every region quite to the same extent, due importance 
 cannot be attached to this circumstance in ignorance of 
 the proper osteology of the head. Further, a familiarity 
 must be obtained with such disturbing influences as create 
 difiiculties in the application, not only of cerebral, but of 
 general physiology ; the influence of constitutional quality 
 of brain in modifying the ordinary effects of quantity — the 
 influence of disease, that of old age, and of early childhood, 
 — have all to be estimated, before the facts can be rightly 
 dealt with. These things, however, constitute no speciality 
 in the case of the brain ; it is so with the muscular system, 
 it is so with the nerves. It must yet always be borne in 
 mind that, both with the brain and with the other struc- 
 tures, the influences in question do but disturb the results 
 in exceptional instances ; they must be known and ap- 
 preciated, however, otherwise Gall’s doctrine can never 
 be examined and tested scientifically. 
 
 Having now exhibited what the author believes to be 
 the true method of determining the relations subsisting 
 between the structure and the functions of the encephalon 
 — a method which de facto has ever been applied in phy- 
 siological investigations that have eventuated successfully, 
 — he shall now proceed to show the results which have been 
 gained by its application, and more especially in the hands 
 of Dr Gall, its systematic discoverer. 
 
126 THE ^U^'CT10NS OF THE BRAT>f, AS REVEALED 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ON THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED BY THE 
 APPLICATION OF GALL’S 3IEXHOD. 
 
 When any doctrine, as yet doubted, is proposed for the 
 examination and consideration of mankind, it is always 
 desirable that those wliose attention to it is solicited, .should 
 receive some ready guarantee that the probability of truth 
 in the subject in question is such as to render it worthy of 
 inquiry, — that the grounds, at least, on whicli the proposed 
 doctrine rests, are substantial enough to satisfy the inquirer 
 tliat he will not idly be wasting time in attempting their 
 verification. In most matters of this kind, certain decided 
 and obvious facts are generally at hand, of a character so 
 easily appreciated, that no obstacle whatever exists to 
 becoming acquainted vuth them readily, nor any obscurity 
 concerning their veritable import. Under these circum- 
 stances, it is always well to appeal, in the beginning, to 
 this class of facts, — to procure a recognition of them, to 
 cause their importance to be justly estimated, and so to 
 fuimish motives to the inquirer for the further prosecution 
 of the subject ; motives which shall constitute assurances 
 that the object sought shall compensate, when foimd, for 
 the time and the labour consumed in the search. 
 
 Now, with regard to the functions of the brain, as 
 revealed by the application of GaU’s method of investigation, 
 there exists a facility for supplying the motives and the 
 assurances in question ; certain prominent instances may 
 at any time be observed, which are calculated to satisfy 
 every reflecting mind that the pi'inciples, at least, of 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 127 
 
 Phrenology have an actual foundation in nature. Illustra- 
 tions of this proposition shall be afforded. 
 
 The brain, considered as the organ of the mind, may, 
 for this purpose, be divided into three regions ; the first 
 comprises the anterior lobe, and is subservient to the in- 
 tellectual faculties ; the second, the coronal region, is more 
 immediately in connexion with the moral qualities and 
 disposition ; and the third comprehends the posterior lobe 
 and the base, in subservience to the propensities, — speaking 
 in a general way, — common to man and the lower animals. 
 Now, in a person of well constituted mind, the three regions 
 and the corresponding psychical features are in such relative 
 proportion, as to furnish neither a development that is 
 remarkable, nor mental characteristics of an unusual order, 
 so far, at least, as natural constitution is in question. But 
 let us suppose an individual to exist, who is unmistakeably 
 the slave of low and grovelling passions, in whose bosom 
 no spark of exalted feeling can be recognised or enkindled, 
 and whose intellectual manifestations display but the most 
 wretched imbecility, and we obtain a prominent instance ; in 
 such a person, the posterior and basilar regions of the head 
 must be strikingly in excess, or in Gall’s physiology there 
 is no validity. Cases like this one, hypothetically adduced, 
 are not difficult to be met with ; any large prison, unhappily, 
 supplies too many such illustrations ; authenticated casts of 
 notorious criminals confirm the same truth. On the other 
 hand, let some one be selected, whose excellence of moral 
 and religious disposition, and whose intelligence, constitute 
 the leading features of character, and whose animal passions 
 display but little power ; in such a case, the anterior and 
 coronal regions will at once be seen to exhibit a marked 
 preponderance. Such facts, to novices in these observations, 
 become the more obvious when contrasted ; — extremes on 
 each side. 
 
 Suppose that some one, whose thoughts had never been 
 particularly directed to inquiries of this kind, should have 
 
128 
 
 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 SALFORD IDIOT. 
 
 presented to him some such heads as those represented by 
 the annexed woodcuts; sup- 
 pose that he were asked to 
 declare, judging from the ce- 
 rebral development, which of 
 the two heads was that of an 
 idiot, and which that of a 
 powerful creative genius; could 
 there be any hesitation in the 
 decision ? Most assuredly 
 not. The smaUness of brain 
 
 
 in the one case, and the large size in the other, would be 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 129 
 
 sure to receive their just interpretation ; for all past expe- 
 rience, however little reflected upon, would have exhibited 
 the influence of size upon power ; and the amply developed 
 forehead and crown of the one, compared with the small 
 head and diminutive brow of the other, would immediately 
 suggest the importance of cerebral configuration. The 
 genius of Michael Angelo is before the world ; the utter 
 idiotcy in the case contrasted is within the personal ex- 
 perience of the writer, who, some years ago, formed one of 
 a society at whose instance the head was moulded, and 
 from the cast the above figure has been taken. If, through- 
 out aU time, and in every country, the form of head which 
 accompanies exalted genius contrasts in some such way 
 with the configuration represented above, as being associated 
 with mental imbecility, there is most assuredly a fact in- 
 capable of explanation by any notions of mere coincidence ; 
 for what in nature is universally true, must always induce 
 the recognition of some principle or laiv} 
 
 In this state of things, a circumstance becomes revealed 
 well calculated for supplying a motive to pursue the 
 inquiry ; it is not difficult to procure illustration of this 
 kind. If it be of too limited a character to weigh much 
 with the mind, other illustrations can easily be procured, 
 if not quite so striking, yet equally decided. Let any 
 individual enumerate some half-dozen of his most sensible, 
 intelligent, and well-informed fidends ; let him then select, 
 in like manner, the same number of his most ignorant and 
 
 ’ It is not meant that every head, resembling in form and size that of 
 Michael Angelo, will necessarily display the same power ; there may be 
 difference in the associated conditions. Every example, however, of 
 such a class of genius will exhibit some such cerebral development. 
 Again, as regards the idiot, every case of idiotcy will not exhibit the 
 style of head belonging to the same category ; mental imbecility may be 
 occasioned by faulty condition of structure, as well as by imperfection 
 in development. It is meant, however, that two heads so contrasting in 
 form and size, will always be associated with psychical qualities furnish- 
 ing, in principle, a similar contrast. 
 
130 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 weak-minded acquaintances ; and let tke development of 
 the forehead in the two groups he compared respectively. 
 Under a moderate equality of all the other circumstances, 
 such as health, age, and general education, a large anterior 
 lobe of brain, comparatively, will always be found in the 
 superior class, and a small one in the other. By forehead, 
 is not meant the mere breadth and height as regarded 
 in popular physiognomy, because in such a way no accu- 
 rate measure of the true forehead is gained. It is well 
 known to anatomists, that the anterior lobe of brain rests 
 upon the supraorbital plates, at the posterior margin of 
 which the fissure of Sylvius, so called, divides it from the 
 middle lobe ; thus an anterior lobe, wdiose depth (estimated 
 by its projection in advance of the fissure of Sylvius) is shal- 
 low, however expanded so as to give height and breadth 
 to the brow, must, in aggregate size, be really small. It 
 happens very often that such cases are cited in disproof 
 decided, as it is thought, of Gall’s doctrine ; but the fallacy 
 is perceived at once, when such instances are examined in 
 profile. The distance forward from the lower extremity 
 of the coronal suture is a good indication of the length of 
 the anterior lobe, and will be found to vary considerably, 
 even where the mere fi’onts look equally large. An excel- 
 lent illustration of this point is afforded by a writer in the 
 British and Foreign Medical Eeview, ' who observes: — 
 “ This will be easily understood, by supposing an observ^er 
 to be placed directly opposite the ends of two logs of wood, 
 each a foot square, but the one twenty feet long, and the 
 other only ten. It is clear, that were he to judge merely 
 from the end view, he would declare both logs to be equal, 
 although, in reality, the one was double the size of the 
 other. It is the same vrith the anterior lobe ; in order to 
 avoid mistakes, its depth or length must be reckoned, as 
 well as its height and breadth. We have heard this called 
 
 * Vol. ix. p. 212. The author thinks it right to state, that the article 
 from which he here approvingly quotes, was not supplied by himself. 
 
BY THE APPETCATION OF GALL’s 5TETHOD. 
 
 131 
 
 a ‘ loop-hole’ for the phrenologists ; but call it by what 
 name you please, the question which concerns us is, simply, 
 whether it is a fact ? ” 
 
 The subjoined wood-cuts will render this matter stiU 
 plainer ; one represents the skull of a Peruvian, the other 
 that of Robert Burns ; regarded in front, very little differ- 
 ence might seem to exist in the respective foreheads ; 
 estimated in profile, however, as above directed, the much 
 greater depth of anterior cerebral lobe in the poet’s head, 
 than in that of the Peruvian’s, is at once apparent. 
 
 With respect to this kind of observation, it may- be well 
 to refer to another source of mistake in judging of the 
 forehead, which is this : there is great difference in the 
 degree of advance which the growth of hair makes, a 
 circumstance which, it is clear, can have nothing to do 
 with development of the anterior lobe of brain. Yet the 
 author has known a really low, shallow forehead, mistaken 
 for one that was favourably developed, because the space 
 uncovered, superiorly and posteriorly, has been consider- 
 able, giving a false idea of altitude regarded in front. 
 
 Another means of readily procuring some cei’tain assur- 
 ance that there is something in phrenology, and that, con- 
 sequently, the subject is worthy of scientific investigation, 
 is afforded by the observer’s fixing upon such persons of 
 his acquaintance as display remarkable facility in acquiring 
 knowledge, and yet who at the same time exhibit an utter 
 
 3 
 
 PERUVIAN. 
 
 ROBERT BURNS. 
 
132 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BKAIN, AS EEVEALEH 
 
 inaptitude for reasoning on the knowledge attained; any 
 one at all accustomed to study the varied phases of the 
 human intellect, will be sure to remember some such indi- 
 viduals. Let the forehead, in these instances, be observed ; 
 the fullness and prominence distinguishing the inferior 
 region, just above the superciliary ridge, or the anterior 
 middle region, will certainly be recognised ; the higher 
 lateral portions falling back, and giving a receding appear- 
 ance to the brow. Next, let persons be taken whose 
 intellectual peculiarities are just the reverse, individuals 
 sound-thinking and reflective, distinguished for their judg- 
 ment, yet of slender acquirements, and with but little relish 
 for details in matters of fact ; here the relations also in 
 frontal development will be reversed, in correspondence 
 with the contrast they form in their mental chai’acteristics ; 
 the upper division of the forehead wiU project, and at the 
 least it may be expected to exhibit a perpendicular, in 
 opposition to the rapid slope observable in the preceding 
 instances. 
 
 A very slight acquaintance with these leading circum- 
 stances, easily observed, ought to yield abundant grounds 
 for the conviction that plirenology is no %ain conceit nor 
 phantasm of the imagination, but that it is, more or less, a 
 reality resting on the sure foundation of nature. 
 
 It has been said that, in the prosecution of this branch 
 of science, as of every other, a certain preliminary capabi- 
 lity must be gained before the student can rightly estimate 
 and judge for himself, concerning the facts upon which it 
 is based ; in what this capability consists, has been already 
 stated. When it has been obtained, and when the inquirer 
 has become satisfied fi’om getwal observation, that Gall’s 
 procedure has revealed important truths, he ought then to 
 determine the value of the method, by investigathig the 
 validity of the particular results. 
 
 A distinction should be drawn at the very outset of the 
 inquiry, between instances in proof, and circumstances in 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 133 
 
 mere illustration or in corroboration.^ The average run 
 of mankind can hardly furnish proof of the individual pro- 
 positions, nor yet the evidence which statuary and painting 
 supply, although they do very well for illustration, and, at 
 the same time, supply a species of confirmation, after con- 
 viction has been reahsed by a study of the appropriate 
 cases, always formed by instances of extreme development. 
 These, in the beginning, should always afibrd the chief 
 materials for observation, whether the object be to confute 
 or to corroborate any particular point ; and they are best 
 studied, at the commencement of the inquiry, upon the 
 living head, specially distinguished in one or two respects 
 only. Thus, if some individual be known, whose benevo- 
 
 ‘ It appears to the author, that to persons unaccustomed to exact 
 analysis, or to close research, the distinction drawn between evidence 
 that proves, and that which only confirms, may not at once be appreciated ; 
 and it may be said, if a truth be proved, what confirmation can it need, 
 and what value can attach to any evidence wliich only supphes a super- 
 fluity ? The case stands thus : all evidence comes from observation of 
 facts ; certain facts, if they have been rightly observed, necessitate a 
 particular conclusion, and constitute direct testimony fitted to establish 
 the inference to which they point. The invariable correspondence 
 between cerebral development and speciality in the psychical charac- 
 teristics, can, in reason, receive but one explanation — it necessitates 
 the conclusion arrived at by Gall. On the other hand, there are other 
 facts which, however accurately they may have been observed, do but 
 suggest a conclusion, and which are, at the same time, compatible with 
 some different one. Thus, all the facts which have been developed by- 
 vivisections, comparative anatomy, and pathology, and which have been 
 placed in relation to cerebral physiology, may have been accurately 
 stated, and yet, in the absence of other sources of knowledge, be sus- 
 ceptible of various interpretations. Now, in the present imperfect 
 condition of the human mind, some doubt may reasonably be enter- 
 tained with regard to any observations and facts not universally 
 admitted ; and, pending such doubts, the inference must of course 
 remain uncertain. In this state of things, the direct testimony becomes 
 fortified, not only by additions, but by exhibition of the harmony and 
 analogy that subsist between it and other circumstances with which it 
 is in some relation. As in criminal jurisprudence, direct evidence alone 
 can prove incontestibly ; that which is circumstantial, however faithful, 
 can hut corroborate the former ; by itself, at the very best, it could but 
 furnish a high probability. 
 
134 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 lence of disposition be singular, whose every action seems 
 prompted by love to his fellow-men ; if, from childhood 
 upwards, kindness of heart have constantly been exhibited 
 as the predominant feeling — and who is not gifted in the 
 power of Imitation — let the region assigned by Gall, as 
 the cerebral seat of this disposition, be noted, and, a dis- 
 tinct elevation of the skull wiU be remarked in the cor- 
 responding part of the head, so defined in its character 
 as to furnish a reasonable presumption, that the peripheral 
 form of the organ is exhibited; more especially as, on 
 multiplication of such examples, a general similarity wall 
 be observed, not only in the elevation, but also in the 
 configuration, of the particular region. In the opposite 
 class of cases, where the feeling of benevolence is scarcely 
 to be recognised, let the observer seek for the organ, 
 and assuredly a corresponding absence of all elevation 
 will be noticed. In this way, each proposition should 
 be investigated individually, by selection of extreme cases, 
 positive and negative ; a means whereby alone a phi- 
 losophical conviction can be obtained, on one side or the 
 other. Striking and unequivocal examples, wherein some 
 peculiar characteristic is indisputably present, are by no 
 means difficult of attainment ; and these, when carefully 
 observed and studied, will convince every sound-thinking 
 and right-minded person, that phrenology, in its main 
 particulai’s, is true. After the extreme cases shall have 
 been seen to be real, no doubt whatever can arise with 
 respect to the existence of some general law ; and any 
 difficulty which may be encountered, in afterwards deal- 
 ing with cases in general experience, can never shake 
 a conviction that has in this way been gained. Extremis 
 probatis media prcesumantur. By extreme instances, was 
 Gall’s discovery made ; by extreme instances, it must 
 receive extension ; and, by extreme instances, it must 
 be verified, or otherwise, by all who would scientifically 
 test its validity. In all other sciences, we bring forward 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALl’s METHOD. 135 
 
 the strongest evidence we can obtain, as best calculated 
 to establish new truths ; and we make no unreasonable 
 demand in requiring the same rational mode of proceed- 
 ing to be followed in the study of phrenology. 
 
 Now may we advance to the particular results of Gall’s 
 method of investigation ; and, in proceeding to this division 
 of the subject, the facts and propositions shall be adduced 
 very much in the order in which they are given in his 
 published works. Subsequent additions, real or sup- 
 posed, shall also be discussed, — not according to any 
 arrangement fixed upon by the author, but just as for the sake 
 of scientific regularity, they are most commonly presented 
 to us in systematic books. It is no part of his design to 
 exhibit the progressive steps by which Gall came to the 
 prosecution of his peculiar method of studying the physi- 
 ology of the brain ; but yet it is right to notice, in this 
 place, an idea not unfrequently entertained, that he was 
 induced by anatomical investigations to allocate particular 
 faculties of the mind in certain parts of the brain, and 
 that, having done so, he appealed to nature for corrobora- 
 tion of his ingenuity. Nothing can be a greater mistake, 
 as will be further and most abundantly illustrated in the 
 ensuing pages. When a writer so accomplished and well- 
 informed as Dr Bostock^ falls into such an error of asser- 
 tion, it becomes proper to direct attention to this circum- 
 stance. 
 
 By comparing development with manifestation. Gall 
 was led to ascertain, in the following way, the encephalic 
 organ of the sexual instinct, usually denominated 
 
 Amativeness. Dr GaU was the medical attendant of a 
 young widow, who, shortly after the death of her husband, 
 was seized vsdth melancholy and with hysterical convulsions. 
 These attacks were preceded by a sense of tension and 
 
 Vide Physiology, vol. iii. p. 264. 
 
136 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BKAIN, AS EEVEALED 
 
 heat about the nape of the neck ; in a few moments after- 
 wards, she would fall to the earth in a state of rigidity, 
 the neck and vertebral column being violently dragged 
 backwards. “La crise ne manquait jamais de se terminer 
 par une evacuation qui avait lieu avec les tressaillements 
 de la volupte, et dans une veritable extase ; apres quoi, 
 elle restait sans attaques pendant quelque temps. Dur- 
 ing these paroxysms. Gall had several times occasion to 
 support the neck ; and, in doing so, remarked a very con- 
 siderable prominence at the nape, between the tv’O mastoid 
 processes of the occipital bone. This circumstance arrested 
 his attention ; it was exactly on6 of those incidents which 
 ordinarily originated some primitive suggestion from which, 
 as a starting point, he followed out an investigation. It 
 occurred to him that a connexion might exist between the 
 erotic disposition of the patient, and the fulness in the 
 neck ; more especially as he learnt, shortly afterwards, 
 from her oivn acknowledgments, that, from infancy upwards, 
 the predominant inclinations had always coiTesponded with 
 what was now so distressingly obvious. Hereupon, he inter- 
 rogated nature upon a large scale, multiplied observations, 
 and procured abundant confirmation and realfration of the 
 idea which he had previously formed ; always discovering 
 a fulness in the basilar region of the occiput, whenever he 
 liad moral certainty that the sexual instinct was powerful, 
 and a receding, contracted nape, when he had reason to 
 feel assured that the passion was but weak. Connecting 
 tliese observations with liis anatomical knowledge, he de- 
 termined the cerebellum to be the organ of the propensity 
 in question ; because, according to the development of 
 this structure, there is a degi'ee of amplitude and fulness, 
 greater or less, in the space marked out by the occipital 
 ridge. 
 
 In this way. Gall was led to the discovery that the cere- 
 
 Gall. Sur les fonctions du Cerveau. Vol. ill. p. 240. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALl’s METHOD. 
 
 137 
 
 bellum is the organ of amativeness. Proof may he obtained 
 of reality in the discovery, by repeating the observations ; 
 and it is only by making counter observations, that any just 
 attempt can be undertaken in disproof. If the facts have 
 been accurately observed, by reiterated researches they 
 can but be confirmed; and no seeming difficulties encountered 
 in vivisections, the study of the animal kingdom, or in 
 disease, can weaken the conclusion to which they fairly 
 and directly lead. “ If every theory,” says M. Bouillaud, 
 “ found in contradiction with one rightly observed fact be 
 false, so every fact in contradiction with a theory rigorously 
 demonstrated has been badly observed.” 
 
 In the repetition of Gall’s observations upon the cere- 
 bellum, let the inquirer, pursuing the directions given 
 above with regard to the necessity of taking extreme cases, 
 first familiarise himself with the outward indications of 
 size in the cerebellum. The woodcuts below will ex- 
 emplify the external appearances presented under different 
 conditions of magnitude. 
 
 Fig. 1. Fig-. 2. 
 
 REV. MB M. LINN. 
 
138 TUE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 As the volume of the cerebellum is indicated by the 
 extension of the inferior surface of the occipital bone back- 
 wards and downwards, or by the thickness of the neck at 
 these parts, between the ears, so the difference between a 
 moderate and large development will be appreciated by ob- 
 ser^’ing the thickness of the top of the neckinthe two figures. 
 
 The annexed cuts represent, in profile, three skulls illus- 
 trating different degrees of size in the cerebellum, as 
 indicated externally. 
 
 Fig. 3. Fig. 4. 
 
 o M 
 
 Cerebellum large. Cerebellum middlmg. 
 
 In Fig 3, 0 represents a large development downwards ; 
 backwards also, the exten- Fig. .5. 
 
 sion is considerable ; in Fig. 
 
 4, the distance between M, 
 the mastoid process, and S, 
 the spine of the transverse 
 ridge of the occipital bone, 
 is large, although the swell- 
 ings O, do not drooj) as in 
 
 the preceding skull ; in Fig. 
 
 . „ . „ Cerebellum small. 
 
 5, the cerebellum is small, 
 
 and it will be seen that the base of the occipital bone ex- 
 tends only a short distance backwards from the mastoid 
 process, while the occipital fulness downwards is not mani- 
 fest as in Fig. 3. 
 
 To the correctness of this mode of estimating the volume 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 139 
 
 of the cerebellum, no sound objection will apply. Dr 
 Todd and Mr Bowman, however, in their recent work, 
 observe that “ a thick neck and large occipital region may, 
 and probably do, indicate a large mesocephale more fre- 
 quently than a large cerebellum.” Now, the mesocephale, 
 so called, can only be expected to influence the develop- 
 ment of the basilar portion of the occipital bone by agency 
 of the pons Varolii — the commissure of the cerebellum — 
 which enters so largely into the composition of the struc- 
 ture in question ; and, as Dr Todd and IVIr Bowman state 
 in the same work, “ the fibres of the pons are always 
 developed in the direct ratio of the hemispheres of the 
 cerebellum,” it is difficult to see in what way their objection 
 is intended to apply. If the mesocephale be large, so is 
 the cerebellum ; and if the “ thick neck and large occipital 
 region do indicate” the former fact, how can it exist more 
 frequently than the lattei’, to any extent, if “ the fibres of 
 the pons are always developed” in a corresponding ratio ? 
 There is not even plausibility in this objection. 
 
 In the early observations conducing to the establishment 
 of any point. Gall first ascertained the coincident existence 
 of the two sets of conditions, and the reciprocal dependence 
 which they appeared to hold ; and, simply noting the undue 
 tendency to particular actions associated with a correspond- 
 ent development of brain, he named the cerebral portion 
 the organ, sometimes of the tendency in question, and 
 sometimes of the conduct to which it led. Thus, Amative- 
 ness was designated the Instinct of propagation; and, in 
 reference to other cerebral organs, he spoke of an organ 
 of Theft, of Cunning, and so on ; mainly intending, by 
 this course, to keep clear of all premature speculation, 
 and to retain his disciples within the limits of demonstra- 
 tion. Nevertheless, it is a grievous error to suppose, that 
 Gall was not well aware of the distinction to be made 
 between the fundamental powers and dispositions, and the 
 actions to which he regarded these latter as mainly contri- 
 
140 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 buting. Indeed, he reasoned most powerfully, perspicu- 
 ously, and successfully, upon such matters, and proposed 
 to decide upon the speciality of any instinct, inclination, 
 sentiment, or talent, by determination of the existence, or 
 otherwise, of the following conditions : — Fhst, Its presence 
 in one kind of animal and not in another; Secondly, Its 
 systematic variation in the sexes of the same species ; 
 Thirdly, The absence of all proportion in its energy to the 
 other faculties of the same individual ; Fourthly, Its mani- 
 festation and decay occurring, earlier or later, irrespective 
 of the other powers ; Fifthly, Its capability of action or 
 repose, singly; and. Sixthly, Its separate suspension or 
 deterioration by disease. Wlien, moreover, he had traced 
 the mutual relation subsisting between some special faculty 
 (shown to be such by correspondence with the conditions 
 just enumerated) and some particular cerebral region, he 
 would finally advance a proposition as established ; just as 
 we do in the case of the senses and their nerves. The 
 specific differences in the functions of sight, hearing, smell, 
 taste, and touch, and the fact of division in their respective 
 organs, are, in fact, maintained byan identical course of rea- 
 soning, and substantiated by a like process of demonstration. 
 
 In this way did Gall determine the speciality of the 
 sexual instinct, and its organic dependence upon the cere- 
 bellum; a truth which, thoroughly studied, cannot be 
 doubted. It has not only been attested by the direct 
 observations of Gall himself, as recorded in his works, 
 but it has been abundantly confirmed by those of Spurz- 
 heim. Combe, and many others. The proposition has 
 been sti’engthened by the results of many mutilations, 
 some of which have been recounted by Gall, Yimont, 
 and Larrey ; facts in natural history and comparative ana- 
 tomy have been extensively contributed by the discoverer, 
 and more especially by Yimont, in further corroboration ; 
 and the phenomena of disease have largely been adduced, 
 more particularly by Spurzheim, Serres, and Andrew 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALL S METHOD. 
 
 141 
 
 Combe, to confirm the doctrine in question ; altogether, 
 constituting such a mass of accumulated testimony as 
 rarely is equalled, and certainly never surpassed, in the 
 instance of any analogous proposition. The author is well 
 aware that other functions have been assigned to the 
 cerebellum by many able physiologists, though few have 
 ventured to controvert, absolutely, its association with the 
 amative propensity. Without actually denying the accuracy 
 of the notion which locates some special infiuence over the 
 muscles to the cerebellum, the writer dares to affirm that 
 the assumption is purely gratuitous, and that it has not one 
 tittle of conclusive evidence upon which to rest. This 
 position he shall seek to maintain in succeeding chapters, 
 when discussing the statements made by vivisectors, com- 
 parative anatomists, and pathologists, in support of the 
 muscular function of the cerebellum ; he expects to be able 
 to show, not only that the facts stated are inadequate to 
 prove the doctrine, in support of which they are adduced, 
 but that they are in perfect harmony with that which 
 appropriates the whole cerebellum to the function assigned 
 to it by Gall. 
 
 Dr Todd and Mr Bowman have been several times 
 referred to in the present treatise ; their work on the Phy- 
 siological Anatomy and Physiology of Man possesses 
 many and merited recommendations ; and, as it is among 
 the most recent books discussing such subjects as the 
 present one, the author thinks it desirable to cite, and 
 briefly to remark upon, certain reasons which they have 
 advanced, formally and in detail, in opposition to the 
 physiology of the cerebellum, as taught by Gall ; reasons 
 which, in some quarters, would appear to be regarded as 
 possessed of force, since, in one of the journals (the “ Pro- 
 vincial Medical),” they ivere quoted as the choice specimen 
 of the work. 
 
 Objection . — “ 1. It is extremely questionable how far 
 the sexual instinct admits of being separated from the emo- 
 
142 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 tions, — from those especially which are clearly instinctive 
 in their nature ; and, even if it were separable jfrom them, 
 it seems scarcely of such importance, when compared with 
 other instincts, as to need a separate organ of great magni- 
 tude and of complex structure. If we compare it, for ex- 
 ample, with the instinct of self-preservmtion, as manifested 
 in providing, either for the wants of the body, or for 
 defence against assault, it certainly cannot be admitted to 
 have a superior influence in the animal economy to this, 
 the most pressing of all. Yet it is not pretended to a.ssign 
 a separate seat even to this.” 
 
 Remarks . — The preceding objections seem resolvable 
 into three distinct propositions ; first, That no adequate 
 proof exists of speciality in the feeling in question ; secondly. 
 That its importance in the animal economy is too incon- 
 siderable to demand a large subservient organ ; and, 
 thirdly. That a more powerful instinct, that of self-pre- 
 servation, has no distinct cerebral apparatus assigned to 
 it. Now, as regards' the first 'proposition, what do these 
 writers deem to be evidence of distinctness in the character 
 of any instinct? The conditions of speciality expounded 
 by Gall, and bi’iefly adduced in a foregoing page, are all 
 present in the case of the generative feeling. "Would these 
 be objected to by Dr Todd and Mr Bowman ? If so, can 
 they propose any reasonable canons of their own, which 
 ■will not, in their application to the sexual feeling, re- 
 sult in a like conclusion ? By every rule determining 
 the distinctness of any of the special senses, the instinct 
 in question must be deemed fundamental and primitive. 
 This will easily be ascertained by application of any test 
 to the latter, which demonstrates the fact in the case of the 
 former. Let Dr Todd and Mr Bovunan try the experi- 
 ment. Indeed, the first proposition in objection is mere 
 unsupported assertion. Then, as regards the next, what 
 do these physiologists consider to constitute a measure of 
 importance in the economy of life, in assigning only a 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 143 
 
 secondary, comparatively insignificant place to the feeling 
 now under discussion ? No explanation upon this point is 
 aflPorded. If, however, the design or final cause of any 
 inward impulse is to pass for something in an estimate of 
 its importance, what^ can possibly be more important than 
 the continuation of the species, in obedience to the first and 
 most universal injunction, “ Increase and multiply f’ If we 
 do but reflect, for one moment, upon the influence which 
 the sexual passion has exercised upon individuals, families, 
 society, or nations, who shall maintain with justice that 
 other feelings have evinced, in their effects individually, a 
 greater extent of operation? Witness the disastrous con- 
 sequences of its irregular and depraved manifestations ! 
 Ruin to health, loss of fortune, blighted character, temporal 
 and eternal ruin to individuals; the tenderest ties violated, 
 hearths made desolate, and utter destruction to aU peace 
 and happiness, the occasional results in families; society 
 vitiated to the heart’s core, and the seeds of its dissolution 
 sown in the perpetration of deeds at which nature is aghast; 
 and, as respects nations, wars the most distracting, bloody, 
 and desolating, have had their origin traceable to the lust- 
 ful vices of potentates. And, if we contemplate the oppo- 
 site picture, who shall over-estimate the advantages to 
 virtue and happiness in individuals and in the world, flow- 
 ing from a right direction of the disposition, or the feeling, 
 which produces marriage? What can Dr Todd and Mr 
 Bowman have been thinking about, in declaring this psychi- 
 cal quality to be of but little “ importance when compared 
 with the other instincts?” In the third proposition which 
 the objection includes, an assertion is hazarded which would 
 have been avoided, had a more complete knowledge of the 
 subject been possessed. It is affirmed, in regard to the 
 instinct of self-preservation, that “ it is not pretended to 
 assign a separate seat to this.” And yet, whether the in- 
 stinct of self-preservation have reference to “ providing for 
 the wants of the body, or for defence against assault,” there 
 
1 44 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 is a separate seat in eadi case, at least pretended to be 
 assigned; and if mere love of life be principally signified, 
 there is at any rate pretence even here. Dr Spurzheun, 
 without any assumed discovery upon the subject, conceived 
 that, for such a feeling, a special organ must exist. Dr 
 A. Combe has recorded an observation suggestive of its 
 seat; and Dr Vimont thinks that he has demonstration upon 
 the subject. It is truly astonishing to see the groundless 
 complacency with which some parties conceive themselves 
 entitled to dispose of the physiology of Gall, by the loosest 
 and most random assertion. It has long been so popular 
 a vocation to write against phrenology, that even able and 
 sensible men do not hesitate unthinkingly to publish non- 
 sense, by way of objections against it, which they would 
 unhesitatingly reject if addressed to their own understand- 
 ings on a serious subject by other authors. It is only in 
 this way that we can account for the appearance, in some 
 works of merit, of arguments against Gall’s doctrine, which 
 are wholly unworthy of the sources from which they 
 proceed. 
 
 Objection . — “ 2. The nature of the generative instinct is 
 scarcely such as to require, in its central organ, connexions 
 so extensive as those possessed by the cerebellum. It is 
 not likely that this organ would be connected with any 
 other part of the .spinal cord than that from which nerves 
 are derived to the organs of generation ; nor is it con- 
 ceivable that an instinct like this should require for its 
 exercise fibrous matter in such large quantity as it exists 
 in the cerebellum, taking its rise fr’om so great a surfiice of 
 * vesicular matter.” 
 
 Remarks . — It is a fundamental maxim in science, that 
 neither a fact, nor the opposition to a fact, should be 
 allowed to rest upon an argument, when it can be deter- 
 mined by observation ; yet this is an example of attempting 
 to set aside an alleged fact by mere argument on its pro- 
 bability. This objection, moreover, is supported neither 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 145 
 
 by fact nor by argument ; it is a series of assertions, based 
 only on the sense of analogy, as it obtains in the minds of 
 the objecting parties. “ It is not likely — nor is it con- 
 ceivable,” constitute the entire foundation. May it not 
 justly be replied : It is likely and it is conceivable — when 
 the subject is regarded in the whole of its bearings? 
 
 Ohjection . — “ 3. The generative instinct is not so pre- 
 eminently developed in man, as to account for the gi'eat 
 superiority in size, as well as structure, of the human 
 cerebellum over that of the lower animals, even of the 
 mammiferous class. On the contrary, it may be safely 
 asserted that this instinct is much more powerful in the 
 monkeys, and also in the frogs ; in the latter of which 
 the cerebellum is absolutely very small, and especially so, 
 relatively to the spinal cord and the cerebral lobes.” 
 Remarks . — Unsupported assertion, once more ; the first 
 proposition is neither proved, nor justly illustrated, by what 
 is affirmed in the second, respecting the monkey and the 
 fr'og ; the writer shall return to this subject in the sequel.^ 
 Ohjection . — “ 4. If the cerebellum be the seat of the 
 generative instinct, it ought to exhibit marked indications 
 of wasting, in cases where the genital organs have been 
 mutilated; or where they have decayed in the natural 
 progress of age. Yet the recorded cases of this nature are 
 by no means conclusive ; on the contrary, M. Leuret’s 
 remarkable observations show, that, in the gelding, tho 
 cerebellum is actually heavier than in either the stallion 
 or the mare.” 
 
 Remarks . — That which Dr Todd and Mr Bowman say 
 “ ought” to happen, if the cerebellum be the seat of the 
 generative instinct, has happened ; the recorded cases 
 of this kind are as complete and satisfactory as other 
 analogous facts ; and before they are pronounced to he 
 “ by no means conclusive,” reasons ought surely to have 
 
 ’ Vide chapter ix. 
 
 G 
 
1 46 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BEAIN, AS EEYEALED 
 
 been given. M. Leuret’s statements will receive attention 
 in the course of the ensuing pages.^ 
 
 Objection . — “ 5. It does not appear, from pathological 
 research, that the cerebellum has any particular influence 
 upon the genital organs. Injury or disease of that organ 
 very rarely produces any effect upon the penis ; but lesion 
 of the medulla oblongata or the spinal cord is very apt to 
 occasion a semi-erection of that organ.” 
 
 Remarks . — It appears, on the contrary, from pathological 
 research, that the cerebellum has some peculiar influence 
 upon the genital organs. Injury or disease of that organ 
 very often produces an effect upon the penis.^ Whether 
 lesion of the medulla oblongata or the spinal cord be, or 
 be not, very apt to occasion a semi-erection of that organ, 
 does not immediately relate to the present question. 
 
 Love of offspeing. For several years before Gall 
 was led to connect this feeling with any distinct portion of 
 the brain, he was struck with an almost constant variation 
 in the skulls of the two sexes ; he noticed that, in general, 
 there was a much larger mass of brain projecting in the 
 dfrection of the higher portion of the occiput in women than 
 in men, indicated by a fulness in this region, and greater 
 distance from the external opening of the ear. He strove, 
 for a long time, to think of some quality wliich was re- 
 markable in women in comparison Avith men, AATth which 
 he might possibly be able to associate this cerebral peculi- 
 arity. His efforts for a long time were vain. At length, 
 he observed that the cranium of monkeys presented a 
 marked resemblance to that of women, in the peculiarity 
 before mentioned. From this circumstance, he assumed 
 it to be probable, that the portion of brain behind the 
 prominence in question was the encephalic organ of some 
 faculty or quality Avhich women and monkeys possessed, 
 alike, in a high degree. But it was some time before he 
 
 ’ Vide chapter viii. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALl’s METHOD. 
 
 147 
 
 hit upon the right route ; in a favourable moment, how- 
 ever, he was struck with the extreme affection which 
 monkeys notoriously bear to their young. Hereupon, he 
 proceeded to contrast aU the male and female skulls of 
 every species, in his collection, and discovered a general 
 correspondence in the same respect ; the occipital region 
 being developed, for the most part, to a greater degree in 
 the female crania of all animals than in those of the 
 males, just as he had previously noticed the fact to be in 
 the human species. In this way, GaU attained the pidmitive 
 suggestion ; the proof was obtained, as in all other cases, 
 by taking individuals of the same species, remarkable for 
 their opposition in the degree in which this feeling was 
 manifested, and observing that the development of the 
 region, presumed to be the seat of the instinct, always 
 corresponded, under just circumstances of comparison, with 
 the extent of power in the manifestations. On propound- 
 ing to his disciples the fact which he considered himself to 
 have established, he appealed largely to the animal kingdom 
 and to the phenomena of disease, for corroboration and 
 illustration. His own works, those of Spurzheim, and 
 Vimont, the publications of Dr and IMr Combe, and the 
 Edinburgh Phrenological Journal, abound, not only in 
 direct evidence of the existence and cerebral locality of 
 this feeling, but also in the subordinate proofs which 
 indirect sources afford. The testimony seems complete. 
 
 It has sometimes been alleged, that Gall discovered the 
 organ of Love of Offspring, or Philoprogenitiveness, as it is 
 technically denominated, primarily by comparative anatomy ; 
 a circumstance which, if true, would invalidate much of 
 the reasoning that has gone before. It is a mistake, how- 
 ever. The first notation of difference in the cerebral 
 development of the two sexes was made upon the human 
 head ; a correspondence was afterwards observed in animal 
 heads, confirmatory of the previous notion ; a hint was then 
 obtained by remembering a certain peculiarity in the 
 
148 THE FtmCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 monkey tribe ; the experimentum crucis was made upon the 
 human species ; and thus was they>roq/’gained, corroborated 
 by comparative anatomy, natural history, and other col- 
 lateral branches of knowledge, — the whole proceeding 
 having been rigorously in conformity with the philosophy 
 set forth in the present work. 
 
 The figures below illustrate the aspect of the cranial 
 conformation in extreme instances, the organ (2) being large 
 in the girl and small in the Peruvian, 
 
 Let any one seeking either for comdction or for facts in 
 confutation, examine the heads of separate individuals, 
 distinguished for their opposition in the present particular ; 
 it will in that case be seen that, where there is a passion 
 for children, the occiput has some resemblance to that of 
 the girl in the woodcut, and that where there is comparative 
 indifference, the configuration will more nearly resemble the 
 Peru\'ian’s head. If, after sufficiently extensive and accui’ate 
 observation, this do not appear to be tbe case. Gall’s 
 physiology y»ro tanto is disproved ; and inasmuch as phreno- 
 logical observers all coincide in ranking the organ of 
 philoprogenitiveness in the best established category, disproof 
 in this one particular would certainly shake the jiresumption 
 in favour of the entire doctrine. In no other way, however, 
 than by accumulation and presentation of direct facts faith- 
 fully observed, can the proposition be justly controverted ; 
 nor in any other way, wiU a conviction of its truth be 
 
 GIBL. 
 
 PEBUVIAX. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 149 
 
 attained, of a character that is firm, and to be permanently 
 relied upon. But when once the mind has been philosophi- 
 cally satisfied, by study of the extreme cases, middling ones 
 will supply yet further evidence ; painting and statuary 
 will afford illustration : and so will departments of know- 
 ledge but incidentally related to inquiries of this nature. 
 
 Attachment. Dr GaU was requested to, mould for his 
 collection the head of a lady, who, he was told, was a 
 model of friendship. He states that he did so, rather fi'om 
 a wish to oblige, than in the expectation of making a dis- 
 covery. In examining this head, he observed two decided 
 prominences, one on each side, and slightly above the 
 organ of philoprogenitiveness. Never having before no- 
 ticed projections in this region, and knowing from their 
 locality, and other circumstances, that they must be occa- 
 sioned by development of the subjacent convolutions of 
 brain, he supposed it to be likely that the prominences in 
 question might be an outward indication of some special 
 faculty or disposition of mind. Hereupon, he procured all 
 possible information concerning the character of the lady, 
 both by inquiry and by personal observation. Every 
 thing concurred to exhibit her as maintaining, under all 
 circumstances, a firm and inviolable attachment to her 
 friends. Although her fortune had experienced great 
 changes, at different epochs, and although, at several 
 times, she had passed fi'om poverty to high station, the 
 sentiments which she ever maintained towards fHends 
 were unchangeable. This circumstance gave rise to reflec- 
 tion ; the idea arose in the mind of Gall, that this disposi- 
 tion of attachment might very likely be fundamental, in 
 association with the cerebral region, so conspicuous in her 
 head. He observed extensively, and arrived at the con- 
 clusion that this was actually the case. Dr Spurzheim, 
 hlr Combe, and others, have so frequently repeated Gall’s 
 observations in this particular, with the same results, that 
 no rational doubt upon the subject can exist in the minds 
 
150 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 of those who shall inten’ogate nature for themselves. The 
 author has done so, and in such a way obtained a convic- 
 tion, which no supposed analogies or speculations can or 
 ought to remove. Observation upon this point is not 
 difficult ; strong friendly feeling is readily discriminated, and 
 the corresponding development in extreme cases is easily 
 ajipreciated : let the two conditions be compared, and the 
 result will be seen. If the experiment be made in this 
 manner, by examination of remarkable cases, both posi- 
 tive and negative, conviction will surely come. Aftenvards, 
 do as GaU did, extend and elucidate the knowledge you 
 have thus gained, by study of natural history, comparative 
 anatomy, or moral philosophy ; seek for illustrations in 
 the ordinary actions of mankind. In criticism of statuary 
 and painting, you may avail yourself of an acquaintance 
 with this physiological fact, and, in this way, strengthen 
 your convictions. Do not, however, let them rest funda- 
 mentally on any of these latter grounds. The situation of 
 the organ of Attachment precludes aU satisfactory illustra- 
 tion of the development by woodcut. 
 
 CosiBATiVENESs. Di’ Gall observes that, in most cases, 
 it is much more easy to discover the organ which mainly 
 determines a certain conduct, than the fundamental faculty 
 or disposition itself. Actions, the consequences of extra- 
 ordinary activity in an organ, strike the attention much 
 more readily than its primitive destination, or even than 
 the conduct which ordinarily flows from its influence. For 
 this reason, GaU was led, in the great majority of instances, 
 to discover through manifestations of unwonted activity. 
 The leading peculiarity, and the speciality of some faculty 
 or disposition, being in this way, through actions, once 
 fairly recognised, its primitive destination may gradually 
 become a matter of reasonable inference. The history of 
 the discovery of Combativeness elucidates these remai'ks. 
 
 Feeling uncertain how far language afforded suitable 
 expressions for designating all the fundamental faculties 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALl’s JIETHOD. 
 
 151 
 
 and qualities, GaU ivas anxious to see in what way the 
 common people discriminated various . manifestations of 
 character, and how they expressed themselves. He as- 
 sembled in his house a certain number of individuals, 
 taken from the lowest classes of society, and of different 
 occupations — coach-drivers, porters, and servants. He 
 acquired their confidence, and disposed them to frankness, 
 by distributing to them money, wine, and beer. When he 
 found them in a favomable disposition of mind, he made 
 them teU him all that they knew of one another, good or 
 bad, relating to their several dispositions. 
 
 In the revelations which followed, most prominence was 
 given to the quarrelsome traits of character ; the disputa- 
 tious and pugnacious tribe delighted to recount their valo- 
 rous exploits, dwelling with contempt upon the conduct of 
 some of the others, their pacific associates, whom they 
 contemptuously denominated poltroons. GaU was curious 
 to see if there was any thing in the heads of the one class 
 distinguishing them from those of the other. Accordingly, he 
 placed the quarrelsome persons aU in a row, and did the same 
 thing with the pacific ones ; then he proceeded to a careful 
 inspection of their heads. He observed that, uniformly, 
 the heads of the pugnacious class were largely developed 
 in the region immediately behind, and on a level with, the 
 upper portion of the ears ; and that, in the opposite class, 
 a comparative deficiency existed in this respect. The 
 researches being continued, confirmation of these observa- 
 tions was obtained. GaU himself designated, in varying 
 phraseology, the inward characteristic whose outward 
 sign he thus detected : he caUed the portion of brain occa- 
 sioning this external indication, the organ of the Instinct of 
 Self-Defence, of the Disposition for Contention, of Courage. 
 The term Combativeness is now most commonly employed ; 
 and, however open to objection, it probably expresses the 
 meaning better than any other single word ; which mean- 
 ing may best be inferred by study of the associated class 
 
152 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BEAIN, AS EEVEAUEH 
 
 of actions. It would be unnecessary repetition to say in 
 what manner Gall procured subsidiary proofs and illus- 
 trations. The two skulls represented below, exhibit the 
 requirements for primary observation — cases of extreme 
 development, and of deficiency — of the organ of Comba- 
 tiveness, the situation of which is indicated by the figure 5. 
 
 OENEHAL WCKMSEB. CIXGAEESE EOT. 
 
 Destructiveness. In comparing the crania of animals. 
 Dr Gall discovered a characteristic difference between 
 those subsisting on fruits and those consuming flesh. He 
 placed on a table, horizontally, a number of crania of 
 herbivorous animals, and, raising a perpendicular line fi'om 
 the external opening of the ear, he found that there was 
 placed behind this line but a small portion of the posterior 
 cerebral lobes, in addition to the cerebellum. In repeating 
 this experiment 'with the skulls of carnivorous animals, 
 he ascertained that a considerably larger mass is situated 
 there. He found also that the skulls of the latter were 
 more prominent above the ear than those of the former. 
 For some time, he made no special application of these 
 observations to his particular physiology. He contented 
 himself with pointing out to his auditors, in the delivery 
 of his lectures, that, by inspecting the cranium, even in the 
 absence of the teeth, it was possible to distinguish whether 
 an animal belonged to the graminivorous, or the car- 
 nivorous classes. At length the skull of a parricide was 
 brought to him ; he put it aside, never imagining that the 
 
 Large. 
 
 Small. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 153 
 
 heads of murderers would aid him in his researches. 
 Shortly afterwards, he received the skull of a highway- 
 man who, not satisfied with robbery, had assassinated 
 several persons. He placed the two crania in juxta- 
 position, and frequently examined them. Every time that 
 this was done, he was struck with the circumstance, that, 
 however different their configuration was in every other 
 respect, both skulls were alike in this ; they had each a 
 prominence fully developed, immediately above the ex- 
 ternal opening of the ear ; but then he discovered the 
 same prominence in certain other crania in his collection ; 
 still he could not resist the idea, that there was something 
 more than mere chance in the coincident development of 
 the two murderers. He reverted to his previous observa- 
 tion regarding the difference to be noticed between the 
 skulls of graminivorous and carnivorous animals, and he 
 conceived it possible that some connexion might exist 
 between the carnivorous instinct in animals, and the homi- 
 cidal tendency in man. He resumed his examination of 
 human heads, and very soon procured evidence that the 
 cerebral parts lying beneath the before-mentioned region 
 of the skull, are instrumental in the manifestation of a 
 feeling which, in its abuse, leads to cruelty, and, where 
 predominant, as an ill-guided passion, hurries, occasionally, 
 to the perpetration of murder. Dr Gall named the 
 psychical quality, \h& propensity to kill. It is an error to 
 suppose that he spoke of an organ of murder, in the English 
 sense of the word. Killing, in certain cases, being a neces- 
 sary operation, as in procuring adequate supplies of food, 
 he regarded this as one of the legitimate aims of the dis- 
 position in question ; but, “ I have never,” says he, “ in 
 speaking of the instinct du meurtre, meant a propensity to 
 homicide.” The word destructiveness, employed by Dr Spur- 
 zheim, expresses very nearly the meaning of this propensity, 
 abstractedly considered. IVIr Combe’s System of Phre- 
 nology contains some striking illustrations of this feeling, 
 
154 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 as displaying itself under every variety of circumstances ; 
 to these the author -would refer, as it is no part of his o-wn 
 plan to discuss these details in any extended point of view. 
 
 The casual reader may imagine, from the account just 
 given of the discovery of the organ in question, that, here 
 at least, comparative anatomy constituted the primary 
 source. Yet the contrary is the fact. llTiilst Gall studied 
 and compared the crania of different animals, -svithout guid- 
 ance from human physiology, no advance whatever was 
 made towards a just interpretation of the facts he saw ; it 
 was after he had obtained the skuUs of the two murderers, 
 and noticed their points of coincidence, that he seized upon 
 the primitive idea. In the further progress of his reflec- 
 tions and ohseiwatious, hints were gathered from com- 
 parative anatomy, natural history, and disease, but the 
 flrst notion, and the subsequent proofs, were obtained by 
 comparing development and manifestation in the human 
 species ; then, as was his wont, he di’ew largely from other 
 depai’tments to illustrate, and to corroborate, the previous 
 induction. 
 
 The subjoined figure, on the left, represents the skuU of 
 Tardy, who was a bloody pirate, and in whom the organ 
 of destructiveness (6) is very large ; in contrast with which, 
 on the right, is again placed a Cingalese, a tribe remai'kable 
 for aversion to the destruction of life. 
 
 TARDY. 
 
 CINGALESE. 
 
 In the Appendix will be found a brief account of some 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 155 
 
 of the facts, direct and collateral, by which the organ of 
 Destructiveness is established. It is given as an example 
 of the evidence upon which the functions of the cerebral 
 organs ai'e affirmed. 
 
 Seceetpveness : The disposition to conceal ; the essential 
 element in cunning. Dr GaU, in early youth, was struck 
 Avith the character and form of the head of one of his 
 companions, whose disposition was generally good, but who 
 delighted in cimning and finesse. Although a faithful 
 friend, he experienced a singular pleasure in making game 
 of his school-feUows, and in mistifying them. His expres- 
 sion of countenance and general manner ivere remarkably 
 indicative of cunning. The head of this person was very 
 large above the temples. At a later period, he had 
 another acquaintance who, at first sight, appeared to be 
 candour itself; he was distrusted by no one. Yet his 
 gait Avas suspicious, his deportment, in some respects, like 
 that of a cat seeking to ensnare a mouse ; he was, in fact, 
 false and perfidious, deceiving friends, instructors, and 
 parents alike. He had a like configuration of head. Gall 
 had a patient who died of consumption, and who, during 
 life, had generally passed for an honest man. After his 
 death. Gall was struck Avith the breadth of his head in tiie 
 temporal region ; a little afterwards he ascertained that he 
 had been a thorough cheat. At Vienna, hebecameacquainted 
 Avith a physician of considerable attainments, who, however, 
 was very generally despised, on account of his reputation 
 as a trickster. He often declared to Gall, Avith a serious 
 air, that he knew no pleasure equal to that of making 
 dupes ; and especially in deceiving persons the most dis- 
 trustful of him. As this physician had a similar deA'elop- 
 ment of head, he naturally fell upon the idea that the 
 sentiment, or disposition, mainly inducmg cunning., was 
 located in a particular cerebral organ, corresponding Avith 
 the cranial prominences he had noticed. Repeated obser- 
 vations, on his own part, and that of others, leave it in the 
 
15G THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 highest degree probable that the chief ingredient in a cun- 
 ning disposition, — the propensity 
 to conceal, — is a primitive feeling 
 associated, as conceived by Gall. 
 
 Mr Combe regards this point as 
 established ; the present writer caii 
 scarcely vouch for so much, from 
 his own experience. The Hindoo 
 skull, here represented, exliibits a 
 large development in the region in question (7). 
 
 Acquisitiveness. When Gall was in the habit of col- 
 lecting in his house people of the lower classes of society, 
 and engaging them to tell tales of one another, for the 
 purpose previously stated, a considerable number accused 
 their fellows of petty thefts, and delighted in pointing out 
 such as excelled in this respect. These, moreover, put 
 tliemselves prominently forward, as if proud of their savoir 
 faire. Others, on'the contrary, expressed the greatest horror 
 at any approach to theft, prefenang to suffer from hunger, 
 rather than to accept any share in the booty of their com- 
 rades. These were ridiculed for their conduct and stigma- 
 tised as fools. 
 
 When Gall had got together a considerable number of 
 instances, he divided them into three groups. The first 
 included the thievishly disposed persons ; the second^ those 
 who shrunk from the very idea of theft ; and third, those 
 who seemed indifferent in this particular. He studied the 
 cranial peculiarities of these three classes of persons, and 
 found that, constantly in the first, a long prominence was 
 observable, extending fi’om the last mentioned organ, almost 
 iis far as the external angle of the superciliary ridge ; and 
 that, on the contrary, in the class abhorring aU thought of 
 robbery, there was a flatness in the same region. With 
 the group remarkable in neither respect, the part was 
 undistinguished, varying in the individual cases, but to 
 no very great extent. On repeating this kind of experi- 
 
 HIXDOO. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALL’s ilETHOD. 
 
 157 
 
 ment with other assemblages, the same results uniformly 
 occurred. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the idea was conceived by 
 Gall, that the propensity and the development stood in some 
 fixed relation to one another. Great numbers of facts, 
 recorded both by himself and others, leave no reasonable 
 doubt upon this subject; and any one who shall go to 
 nature to judge for himself, may readily obtain decisive 
 evidence of this point. The general conclusion firom the 
 whole of the facts seems to be, that the sentiment of pro- 
 perty, the disposition to acquire, is a fundamental quality of 
 the mind, having its cerebral organ situated as before de- 
 scribed; and that, in its abuse, it leads to avarice; and, 
 unrestrained by other and higher motives, to theft. The 
 situation of the organ, and its appearance when largely 
 developed, are shown in the subjoined wood-cut (8). 
 
 OLD MISER. 
 
 Self-Esteem. This feeling, as associated with a special 
 cerebral organ, was ascertained by Gall in the following 
 manner : — He was struck with the superior manners of a 
 certain beggar, wondering how such a person could have 
 
158 THE rUXCTIONS OF THE BRATS, AS REVEALED 
 
 been reduced to mendicity. He took a cast of bis head, 
 and discovered, on examining it with attention, a projection 
 extending from above do^vnwa^ds, on the upper and back 
 part of the middle line, which could but arise fi’om the 
 development of the subjacent cerebral parts. Kot having 
 noticed this prominence particularly in other heads, he was 
 anxious to make out what it indicated. After many ques- 
 tions directed to the mendicant, with a view to discover 
 the salient points of character, Gall requested liim to relate 
 his history. Tlie beggar stated that he was the son of a 
 rich merchant, from whom he had inherited a considerable 
 fortune, but that he had always been too proud to apply to 
 business, either for the preservation of his inheritance, or 
 for the acqufrement of a new fortune, and that this imhappy 
 pride was the sole cause of his VTetchedness. Dr Gall made 
 several remarks to him, shovung that he doubted his vera- 
 city ; but the beggar always reverted to his pride, and 
 seriously stated that, even now, he could not bring himself 
 to follow any kind of work. By this person’s reiterated 
 assurances. Gall was led to think of pride as a fundamental 
 sentiment, and to observe other heads, wherein the parti- 
 cular development remarked in the present instance, was 
 conspicuous ; and the conclusion attained was the complete 
 establishment of the relation subsisting between the feehng 
 of pride and the cerebral part noticed in excess in the case 
 of the mendicant. Of the reality of this discovery, no one 
 who consults nature can doubt. 
 
 Unusual facilities exist, in the present instance, for deter- 
 mining the accuracy of Gall’s observations. Little argu- 
 ment or illustration is needed to show the innate character 
 of ])ride, or its complete independence, in many cases, of all 
 outward cfrcumstances. No sentiment or state of mind is 
 more easily identified. The cranial form, moreover, which 
 indicates excess or deficiency of the cerebral organ, is very 
 readily recognised and appreciated. If you do not think tlie 
 proof of Gall’s doctrine, in this paidicular, unworthy the 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s 3IETHOD. 
 
 159 
 
 very little trouble the experiment will cost you, select two 
 of your proudest friends. Let these have displayed a sense 
 of self-importance under aU sorts of circumstances — you 
 wiU not mistake foolish ebullitions of vanity for the well- 
 marked indications of self-esteem — see the sedate step, the 
 unrelaxed features, the high uplifted head. When you shall 
 have realised these examples, take two of your meekest 
 friends — persons with no self-rehance; whose every action 
 and gesture shall evince a degree of modesty excessive, and 
 at times even painful to contemplate: every body meets 
 with such instances. Regard the heads of these different 
 characters; look at them in profile; see if the crown, com- 
 monly so called, do not rise high above the opening of the 
 ear in the examples of pride ; compare its elevation in these 
 ■with what you find in the other cases, where you will 
 notice, in the corresponding region, a relative depression. 
 The respective examples, in each extreme, you wiU find to 
 resemble very much the subjoined outhnes, the figure 10 
 pointing out the exact locality of the organ. 
 
 P. COKDON.MEK. MR A . 
 
 If, moreover, in the proud instances selected, the hand 
 
160 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 be placed on the crown of the head, a fulness and promi- 
 nence will be disclosed, and a comparative flatness in the 
 opposite cases. No observer, after such appeals, wull doubt 
 regarding the reality of discovery in the case of this portion 
 of the encephalon. 
 
 Love of Approbation. Whilst Gall was engaged in 
 verifying his discovery concerning the organ of Self-Esteem, 
 he encountered, in a lunatic asylum, a woman who imagined 
 herself to be the Queen of France. He looked for a large 
 organ of Self-Esteem; but, instead of the oval prominence 
 at the superior posterior region of the head, which he 
 expected to find, he perceived a very sensible depression, 
 and, on each side of this, a large round projection. He 
 was at first greatly embarrassed by this circumstance. How- 
 ever, he soon perceived that the kind of madness charac- 
 terising this instance, differed altogether fi’om that which 
 seemed to depend upon, or to be associated with, undue 
 pride, as he had noticed it in men. These latter, under 
 tlie said circumstances, are serious, calm, imperious, lofty, 
 and arrogant, affecting a rigorous air of majesty. Even 
 in the most marked paroxysms, their every movement, 
 every expression, carries the imprint of the feeling of 
 power and rule which they believe themselves to exercise 
 over others. With persons mad from vanity, on the con- 
 trary, aU this is quite different. There is displayed a rest- 
 less frivolity, and unceasing babble, the most afifected 
 forwardness, eagerness to set forth their supposed high 
 birth, and inexhaustible riches, promises of honour and 
 favour ; in a word, a ridiculous mixture of folly and ab- 
 surdity. 
 
 “ T\xq proud man,” says Gall, “ is penetrated with a sense 
 of his superior merit, and from the summit of his grandeur 
 treats all other mortals either with indifference or contempt. 
 The vain man attaches the greatest importance to the 
 opinions of others, and seeks their approbation with eager- 
 
BY THE APPLICATIOK OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 161 
 
 ness. The proud man expects that his merit shall be sought 
 out ; the vain man knocks at every door in order to fasten 
 attention upon himself, and he supplicates for the smallest 
 honour. The proud man disdains the marks of distinction 
 which constitute a source of happiness to the vain man. 
 The proud man revolts at foolish eulogiums ; the vain man 
 inhales with delight the incense of applause, however 
 absurdly and unskilfully administered.” 
 
 The justice of this distinction will be readily admitted by 
 all to whom the study of character has been a habit. Ee- 
 peated observations revealed to GaU the distinctness of 
 Love of Approbation and Self-Esteem, and the existence 
 of separate cerebral organs ; that of the former being, 
 curiously enough, on each side that of the latter; fi'om 
 which circumstance, many may have supposed that his 
 location of the organ was consequent upon the distinctions 
 between pride and vanity, above drawn. It was not so, 
 however ; the primitive idea was seized upon, as just 
 related, from observation, and the reasoning was aU d 
 posteriori. 
 
 ©■wing to the situation of the organ, its greater or less 
 dev;elopment cannot be very well shown by illustrations, as 
 in the case of most of the others. It is one, however, very 
 easy of recognition; and its size, in extreme cases, is appre- 
 ciable at once by the mei’est novice. It is cleaily esta- 
 blished. 
 
 Cautiousness. At Vienna, Gall was acquainted with a 
 prelate, a man of excellent sense and considerable intellect, 
 who nevertheless incurred the dislike of many persons, 
 because, from fear of compromising himself, he infused 
 into his discom’ses reflections interminable, and delivered 
 them with an insupportable slowness. When any one 
 began a conversation with him, it was very difficult to 
 come to a conclusion. In the midst of his sentences, he 
 would perpetually pause, repeating the commencement of 
 
162 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 them two or three times before proceeding. Gall’s patience 
 was often severely tried on such occasions. He never in 
 his life gave himself freely up to the current of his thoughts. 
 He recurred a hundred times to what he had said, as if 
 consulting with himself whether an amendment could not 
 be made in some point. His actions were just like his 
 speech. He prepared -with infinite precautions for under- 
 takings the most insignificant. He submitted every con- 
 nexion, before it was formed, to the most rigorous calcu- 
 lation. This particular instance, however, did not, singly, 
 arrest his attention. 
 
 This prelate happened to be connected, in some public 
 business, with a councillor of the regency, whose habitual 
 irresolution had procured for him the sohriquet of Cacadubio. 
 At certain examinations which took place in the public 
 schools, these two individuals were placed one beside the 
 other, and Gall had a seat immediately behind them : this 
 circumstance furnished him vdth the opportunity of exa- 
 mining their heads. What struck him in both cases was, 
 that the head was very broad in the superior-posterior- 
 lateral region. This extraordinary breadth coinciding with 
 the peculiarity of character in the two men, differing, at 
 the same time, as they did, in nearly every other respect, 
 suggested that then- irresolution and ridiculous caution 
 might be the manifestation of some primitive feeling, in 
 connexion with the cerebral portion inducing the remark- 
 able conformation of the head just noticed. Repeated 
 observations, both by Gall and others, have established 
 beyond all doubt an organ of Cautiousness, the situation of 
 which is beneath the central points of ossification in the 
 parietal bones. Wlien the brain in that region is deve- 
 loped in excess, it gives great breadth to the head in the 
 manner observed in the foregoing experience of the dis- 
 
 coverer. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 163 
 
 The woodcuts below represent its appearance when large 
 and small ; its excess or deficiency is very easy of recog- 
 nition ; fig. 12 points out its exact locality. 
 
 Individuality and Eventuality. By the faculty of 
 Individuality, the mind is considered to .become acquainted 
 with objects simply as existences-, and by that of Eventuality, 
 with changes in their relations — a distinction not made by 
 Gall, whose observations merely led him to associate the 
 capacity for knowledge with the middle of the lower part 
 of the forehead ; he named the cerebral part as one organ — 
 that of the “ sense of things.” Gall says, that after he 
 had ascertained the existence of an outward sign of the 
 talent for learning by heart, he soon saw that it did not 
 indicate all kinds of memory. He observed that, among 
 his schoolfellows, some were remarkable for verbal me- 
 mory, remembering words even which they did not under- 
 stand ; while others were deficient in this qualification, 
 but recollected readily facts and events. Others were dis- 
 tinguished for the facility with which they remembered 
 places ; some would repeat a piece of music faultlessly, 
 which they had heard but once or twice ; while others 
 principally recollected numbers, others dates, and so on. 
 No individual, however, in Gall’s experience, seemed to 
 excel in all these talents in a like degree. These circum- 
 stances induced him, on discovering a special memory, to 
 
 CINGALESE BOY. 
 
 GIBL. 
 
 Large. 
 
 Small. 
 
1 64 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS EEVEAEED 
 
 regard it as a distinct power, in probable alliance with a 
 particular part of the brain. 
 
 In society, he noticed persons who, though not always 
 profound, were learned, had a superficial knowledge of the 
 arts and sciences, and knew enough to be capable of speak- 
 ing on them with facility : in such persons, he found the 
 middle of the lower part of the forehead very much deve- 
 loped. At first, he regarded this as the organ of the 
 memory of things ; but, on farther reflection, he considered 
 that such a designation does not include the whole sphere 
 of activity of the power which he recognised. He ob- 
 served, that persons who had this part of the brain, not 
 only possessed a great memory for facts, but were dis- 
 tinguished for prompt conception in general, and an ex- 
 treme facility of apprehension — a strong desire for infor- 
 mation and instruction — the “ appetite for knowledge.” 
 He therefore rejected the designation oi memoi'y of things, 
 and adopted the appellations. Sense of Things, Educability, 
 Perfectibility, to distinguish the capacity which he had 
 observed in coincidence with the development before men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Dr Spurzheim, from observation and reasoning, airived 
 at the conclusion, that Gall’s facts comprised manifesta- 
 tions of two separate faculties, whose cerebral organs were 
 distinct — the one. Individuality (according to an improved 
 nomenclature), being placed below the other. Eventuality. 
 The function of the former, according to Spm’zheim, is to 
 render the mind observant of objects which exist, forming 
 the class of ideas represented by substantive nouns, as 7nan, 
 tree, animal. Persons in whom it is large, will examine 
 particular objects with pleasure, iirespective of any pur- 
 pose to which they may be applied. The faculty prompts 
 to observation, and is a gi’eat element in a genius for those 
 sciences which consist in a knowledge of specific existences, 
 such as natural history, mineralogy, conchology, and so on. 
 No doubt can exist with respect to Gall’s more general 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OF GALl’s IIETHOD. 165 
 
 observation, and very little, if any, as to the separate 
 function of the inferior division of the cerebral portion 
 appropriated by Gall to the “ sense of things.” 
 
 The ofi&ce of Eventuality would appear to be to take cog- 
 nisance of changes, events, or circumstances ; differing from 
 Individuality thus, — by the expression, the man is, a fact 
 is stated which the latter faculty apprehends ; when it is 
 said, the man dies, an occurrence is affirmed which Eventu- 
 ality cognises. P^sons who delight in the relation of 
 historical events, and who abound in what is called general 
 information, have the forehead full in the region of Eventu- 
 ality. Observation will very soon satisfy the unbiassed 
 inquirer of these things. An anecdote is related by Mr 
 Combe, in his System of Phrenology, which illustrates, 
 singularly well, the outward conditions in immediate rela- 
 tion mth the faculty now under discussion, and at the 
 same time, admirably contrasts the speciality of this 
 power with that of Individuality ; the anecdote is as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 “ In visiting the State Prison of Connecticut, in the 
 United States, on the 22d October 1839, I observed that 
 the head of Sir Pillsbury, the superintendent of the prison, 
 presented a deficient organ of Individuality, with a large 
 organ of Eventuality ; on which the Rev. IVIr GaUaudet, 
 who accompanied him, without giving any explanation to 
 Mr P. of the subject of his inquiry, asked him whether, in 
 seeing a review, he would observe, and recollect best, the 
 appearance of the men or the evolutions ; he re2ilied 
 instantly, ‘ the evolutions.’”' 
 
 The outlines given below exhibit, in the case of Pitt, a 
 large Eventuality 30, and a moderate Individuality 22 ; 
 Moore, the poet, presents a large Individuality and a small 
 Eventuality; Sheridan’s forehead displays both organs 
 largely developed. 
 
 ‘ System of Phrenology, vol. ii. p. 94. 
 
166 THE FOTfCTIONS OF THE BEAIK, AS REVEALED 
 
 In estimating the development of these organs on the 
 living head, the breadth of the space at the root of the 
 nose between the inner angles of the eyebrows should first 
 be regarded ; then the depth of this part of the forehead 
 must be taken into account, which cannot be done imless 
 the subject of examination be viewed in profile ; this 
 estimate may be fomied by noticing the degree of pro- 
 jection anterior to the Sylvian fissure, the situation of 
 which is laterally bounded by the inferior edge of the 
 coronal suture, which corresponds pretty exactly with the 
 most prominent portion of the malar bone. 
 
 In judging of Individuality, a difficulty will often arise 
 owing to the presence to an undue extent of the frontal 
 sinus ; yet, however this may occasionally interfere with 
 the application of Gall’s discovery in this particular, it does 
 not affect the validity of the discovery itself, even in the 
 individual instance. In young persons in whom the sinus 
 is not formed, the correspondence in power and develop- 
 ment may be noticed ; and the negative evidence at all 
 ages supplies proof, in this way : — when the forehead at 
 the root of the nose is narrow, contracted, and depressed, 
 the subjacent brain is unavoidably small, and the par- 
 ticular power is universally weak ; reasoning fi'om this 
 invariable sequence, the conviction may be gained, philoso- 
 phically, of the reality even of this organ, a conviction, 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALl’s METHOD. 167 
 
 moreover, not to be shaken by the difficulties which at 
 times may arise from the presence of the frontal sinus. 
 
 Locality. Gall had always had a taste for natural 
 history. This led him frequently to the woods to seek for 
 birds’ nests ; he was accomplished enough in the pursuit ; 
 yet when he wished to return to the nests, he had always 
 a difficulty in finding his way, and could rarely discover 
 the particular tree that he sought, or the snares that he 
 had laid. A school-fellow, named Scheidler, often ac- 
 companied him in these excursions. This young man, 
 without any effort, always went directly to the place where 
 a snare was set, although they had sometimes placed ten 
 or fifteen in a quarter not familiarly known to them. In 
 other respects, this youth possessed but very moderate 
 abilities ; a circumstance which caused Gall to ask, how 
 it happened that he could hit his way so exactly on aU 
 occasions ; the reply to which question was another inter- 
 rogation, as to how it happened that Gall contrived to lose 
 his way perpetually. In the hope of one day receiving 
 more information upon this subject. Gall took a cast of 
 his head. 
 
 Afterwards, he endeavoured to discover other persons 
 distinguished in the same particular. The celebrated land- 
 scape painter, Schoenberger, related to him that, in his 
 travels, he was in the habit of only making a very general 
 sketch of the countries which interested him ; and that, 
 afterwards, when he wished to produce a more complete 
 picture, each tree, each group of bushes, each stone of any 
 material magnitude, presented itself spontaneously to his 
 mind. A cast of the head of this painter was taken and 
 placed by the side of that of his fellow student Scheidler. 
 At this time. Gall made the acquaintance of M. Meyer, 
 author of the romance of Dia na Sore! this person ex- 
 perienced no happiness but in a wandering life. Sometimes, 
 he went from one country house to another ; at others, he 
 attached himself to some rich man as a travelling com- 
 
168 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 panion. He had a remarkable facility of recalling to mind 
 the different places he had seen. A cast of the head -was 
 again taken, which was placed by the side of the other 
 two. The three heads were then compared with the greatest 
 attention. They offered great differences in many respects, 
 but that which struck the observer was, a singular con- 
 formation which aU three possessed in the region im- 
 mediately above the eyes, on the two sides of Indiidduality ; 
 this consisting of two distinct prominences which com- 
 menced near each side of the root of the nose, and which, 
 going obliquely upwards and outwards, passed towards the 
 middle of the forehead. From the time of making this 
 observation, the idea arose in his mind, that the faculty of 
 remembering places might be primitive, having its cerebral 
 organ in the region just indicated. Subsequent observations 
 confirmed this notion, hlr Combe, and most other phre- 
 nologists, regard the existence and function of this organ 
 as established, although they do not altogether coincide 
 as to the exact nature of the fundamental power ; stiU, 
 possession of the development in a high degree is very 
 generally considered, conformably to the observations of 
 Gall, to be necessary to facility in place-finding. Upon 
 this matter, the author’s ovm experience has been but 
 inconclusive and unsatisfactory to himself; he cannot, from 
 his own observations, feel that confidence in the case of 
 localitij, which he feels in so many other instances. A figure 
 would not very well illustrate the appearance of this organ, 
 either in excessive or in defective development. 
 
 Form. Dr Gall remarked that certain persons, and even 
 animals, recognise, with the greatest facility, individuals 
 whom they have not seen for years ; and even then, seen 
 only in passing. In his own case, this faculty was very 
 weak, and the defect was often a source of considerable 
 annoyance to him. Amongst all classes of people, he 
 noticed persons at the two extremes in this respect. Being 
 desired to examine the head of a young girl who had an 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OP GALL’S METHOD. 
 
 169 
 
 extreme facility of distinguishing and recollecting persons, 
 he found her eyes pushed laterally outwards, the intervening 
 space being considerable. After many additional observa- 
 tions, he I’ecognised an organ of a power for knowing 
 persons, regarding the physiognomical sign just indicated, 
 as the result of excess in development of a particular portion 
 of brain in the inferior part of the anterior lobe. Dr 
 Spurzheim, reasoning that persons became recognised by 
 their forms, inferred that the primitive function was to take 
 cognisance of configuration generally. The present ■writer 
 has observed many cases corroborative of this organ. — It 
 is generally regarded as established. 
 
 Language. In the ninth year of Gall’s age, his parents 
 sent him to reside with one of his uncles, who was a curate 
 in the Black Forest. This person associated another 
 boy of the same age with GaU, in order to excite his 
 emulation. He was often reproached, however, for not 
 learning his lessons so well as his fellow-pupil, although 
 more had been expected from him. After some time, both 
 Gall and his associate went to a public school, containing 
 about thirty scholars ; here, whenever learning by heart 
 was in question, he had to fear the very persons who, by 
 their original compositions, could only obtain a seventh or 
 even a tenth rank. Two scholars, in particular, surpassed 
 even his ancient rival in the facility with which they learnt 
 by heart. As both ^ad very prominent eyes, they were 
 nicknamed ox-eyes. Three years afterwards he changed 
 his place of education ; and, in his new school, was again 
 doomed to meet with mortification in the afifair of learning 
 by heart, being constantly surpassed in this respect by 
 ox-eyed scholars. Two years later, he went to study at 
 Strasburg, and continued to remark that those students 
 who very readily learnt by heart were distinguished by the 
 same sign, although possessed of but very moderate abilities 
 generally. Although GaU, during these observations, had 
 no kind of preliminary knowledge fitted for guiding him to 
 
 H 
 
170 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 the true interpretation of the phenomenon in question, he 
 could not avoid the conclusion, that prominent eyes were 
 an external mark of good memory. It was aftenvards that 
 he connected the sign with verbal memory simply, as other 
 observations enlarged his knowledge and corrected his 
 earlier inferences. Gall states it as a singular fact, that 
 although these early observations were the first of the kind 
 that led to his future researches, the exact conclusions 
 which they aflrord always constituted a source of the greatest 
 difficulty to him. In speaking of the physiognomical sign. 
 Gall employs the French idiom, “ Les yeux d Jleur de tcte,” 
 literally. Eyes on a level with the head. This appearance 
 is produced by convolutions of brain, lying on the posterior 
 and transverse part of the upper orbital plate, pressing the 
 latter, and, with it, the eyes, forwards, downwards, and 
 outwards, more or less, according to the development of 
 cerebral structure. 
 
 Gall thought that there were two distinct faculties for 
 language, and indications externally to correspond. Tlie 
 prominence of the eye he conceived to be produced by 
 portions of brain, which, in excess, cause shaUovmess 
 of the orbit, in consequence of their situation behind 
 the posterior third of its external wall; and these he 
 believed to be in subservience to mere knowledge of 
 words. The depression of the eyes, and its anatomical 
 cause. Gall refers to as follows ; — “ Wlien the gi'eater part 
 of the middle portion of the inferior- anterior convolutions 
 placed upon the supra-orbitar plate is very much developed, 
 this part, the vault of the orbit, is not only flattened, but 
 even depressed. In this case, the eyes are at once d 
 jleur de tele, and depressed towards the cheeks ; so that a 
 certain interval is appreciable between the globe of the 
 eye and the superciliary ridge. The eye, thus depressed, 
 augments the slope of the inferior arch of the orbit.” 
 He then goes on, — “ Persons who have the eyes in this 
 way, not only possess an excellent verbal memory, but 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 171 
 
 they experience a particular vocation for the study of 
 languages.” ^ 
 
 Upon any details affecting this question, the author 
 believes that very little positive knowledge exists. Ob- 
 servations and critical disquisitions without number have 
 been made upon the organ, or organs, of language ; beyond 
 the fact, however, originally observed and recorded by 
 Gall, that eyes prominent — a fleur de tete — indicate good 
 verbal memory and facility of expression, the present writer 
 doubts the existence of any demonstrative certainty. It is, 
 however, no part of his design to enter minutely into any 
 of these discussions ; his present object being little more 
 than to record the discovery of the individual organs, real 
 or supposed; and this only in so far as it exhibits the 
 method pursued. Any inquirer may satisfy himself of the 
 reality of the fact in question, up to a certain point, by 
 resorting to some public school, and requesting that a given 
 number of boys be brought up, remarkable for talent in 
 getting off their tasks, irrespective of any other capability, — 
 and then, that a like number of scholars, equally remark- 
 able for deficiency in the same particular, be grouped near 
 the others ; an inspection would be sure to show prominent 
 eyes in the former class, and eyes sunken, comparatively, 
 in the latter. 
 
 CoLOUK. The internal appreciation of colour, as distinct 
 from the faculties cognising other qualities of objects, is 
 set forth by Gall and his disciples as depending upon that 
 portion of the brain which is situated under the middle of 
 the arch of the eyebrows. Gall records cases of greater 
 or less development in this region, corresponding with the 
 strength of the faculty of discriminating colours ; and in the 
 Edinburgh Phrenological Journal, and in the works of Mr 
 Combe, much confirmatory evidence is adduced. In this 
 instance. Gall does not relate the precise mode in which 
 the idea first arose in his mind, nor what were the detailed 
 
 * Sur les Fonctions du Cerveau, vol. v. pp. 30, 31. 
 
172 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 proceedings by which he established the conclusion to the 
 satisfaction of his own mind. The present writer, either 
 in consequence of natural inaptitude for minute observa- 
 tions on his own part, or from some other cause, has never 
 felt any gi-eat degi’ee of confidence in the observations 
 recorded with respect to the smaller organs assumed to be 
 situated beneath the superciliary ridge ; although he thinks 
 it a highly probable notion, that the internal faculties for 
 cognising the general qualities, or accidents, of objects 
 (individuality appreciating substance), have their cerebral 
 connexions in this particular region ; this seems probable 
 from metaphysical considerations ; and his omi general 
 observations have certainly strengthened the idea ; but he 
 confesses himself to be decidedly unsatisfied as to the parti- 
 cular organs. He apprehends that negative evidence, in 
 the proof of such instances as that of colour, must be looked 
 to for the strongest facts ; if depression in some particular 
 point of the arch of the eyebrows always coincide with 
 defective appreciation of some quality in objects, colour 
 for example, the conclusion he conceives to be warranted ; 
 but the bony inequalities of this part of the forehead must 
 ever, he thinks, render valueless the positive facts for the 
 purposes of proof, as an uncertainty must always exist 
 whether a full development, or projection, be caused by 
 bone or by cerebral substance. But whatever be the validity, 
 or otherwise, of these particular details, the method of in- 
 vestigation pursued by the phrenologists is just and philo- 
 sophical; and that is the subject vdth which the writer, 
 at present, is more immediately interested. 
 
 Tune. In the early stage of GaU’s observations, when 
 he was looking rather for outward signs of diflferent kinds 
 of memory, than for faculties in connexion with distinct 
 cerebral organs in a more physiological sense, a girl, named 
 Bianchi, scarcely five years old, was taken to him, and 
 he was asked for what talent this child was remarkable. 
 He discovered nothing in her head which, judging from 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OP GALL’s 5IETHOD. 
 
 173 
 
 his past experience, was indicative of any particular 
 memory ; and the idea of an organ or outward sign of 
 music had not yet occurred to him. He was told by his 
 friends that little Bianchi had an extraordinary talent for 
 remembering music ; she would repeat whatever she heard 
 sung, or played on the piano, and recollected entire con- 
 certs that she had heard but twice. Gall inquired if she 
 learned by heart with equal facility, but was told that she 
 was distinguished only in this particular. Hereupon, he 
 thought that the talent for music was special ; although, in 
 the case of the little girl, he did not attach it to any con- 
 spicuous development. He prosecuted his researches with 
 renewed ardour, examining the heads of musicians 
 whenever he encountered them. Accidentally, he met seve- 
 ral in whom the superior lateral part of the forehead was 
 very narrow, and the temporal part very broad. As at 
 this time he was but little advanced in his researches, not 
 having begun systerq^tically to assign special cerebral 
 parts to special faculties of the mind, but looking rather 
 for cranial forms indicative of particular talents, he first 
 thought that a forehead displaying the figure of a trun- 
 cated cone, like what he had observed in certain musicians, 
 might constitute the external sign of a talent for music. 
 Observing the heads of some distinguished persons in this 
 department, including Beethoven, Mozart, and others, not 
 to present this character of forehead, he was compelled to 
 relinquish the notion. As Vienna furnished abundant 
 examples of musical talent, he obtained casts from the 
 heads of several persons remarkable in this way, in 
 order to have an opportunity of comparing them with 
 great care. At last, he succeeded in discovering a re- 
 gion, in which all the instances had a cranial prominence. 
 He next observed all sorts of persons, children and adults, 
 who had no kind of liking for music, some whom he 
 examined expressed a positive disrelish for it ; in these, he 
 found the corresponding region decidedly flat and un- 
 
174 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 developed ; he procured skulls that had appertained to 
 great musicians, and every thing confirmed the dis- 
 covery. 
 
 The organ of Tune is situated at the middle of the lateral 
 portions of the forehead, giving to this latter, when largely 
 developed, a rounded appearance. Great practice is neces- 
 sary for qualifying to observe this organ successfully in all 
 cases ; extreme instances, however, contrasted, -will always 
 lead to its verification. The two figures below may furnish 
 some idea of the appearances induced by a large and by a 
 small development (32). 
 
 The one is an outline of Handel’s forehead ; the other is 
 that of one Anne Ormerod, who was admitted, at twelve 
 years of age, into the Blind Asylum at Liverpool. During 
 two years, this latter was instructed in music, and no jiains 
 were spared in the attempt to cultivate and improve any 
 talent in this respect which she might possess, but it was 
 all in vain ; her teachers were at last compelled to abandon 
 the attempt. The organ is well established by numerous 
 observations. 
 
 Nujiber. At Vienna, there was much talk of a scholar 
 of St Poelton who was distinguished throughout the country 
 about, for his talent for numerical calculation. The boy 
 was the son of a blacksmith, and had received no better 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OF GALL’S METHOD. 175 
 
 education than his ordinary associates, to whom he was 
 very much the equal in general ability and acquirement. 
 Dr Gall caused him to he brought to Vienna, and he was 
 presented to his auditors ; at this period the hoy was nine 
 years of age. He exhibited wonderful feats of mental cal- 
 culation, accomplishing difficult problems in arithmetic 
 more readily, and in less time, than the spectators with 
 pen and paper in hand. The child, like other such pro- 
 digies, had created a method of his own, whereby his 
 calculations were wrought. The circumstance exeited 
 considerable attention in Vienna ; and a barrister of that 
 city stated to Gall, the regret which he had that his own 
 son, only five years of age, occupied himself almost exclu- 
 sively with numbers and calculation, so that it was impos- 
 sible to fix his attention on any other object, even the 
 games of youth. Dr Gall compared the heads of the two 
 children, and found no particular resemblance, except in a 
 remarkable prominence at the external angle of the eye, 
 and a little to the side. In both, the eye was in some 
 measure covered by the eyebrow at its outer angle. 
 
 These two examples of distinguished arithmetical genius, 
 coinciding in the conformation of a particular region of the 
 head, suggested to Gall that the talent for calculation 
 might be a fundamental faculty dependent upon a special 
 cerebral organ ; for, at this time, he states himself to have 
 made considerable progress in his theory of the plurabty 
 of organs. In order to verify, or to explode, his notion, he 
 sought out men distinguished for the power in question. 
 He repaired to the Councillor Mantelli, whose favourite 
 pursuit was to invent and to solve mathematical problems, 
 especially in arithmetic, and he discovered in him the con- 
 figuration before mentioned. He next went to Baron Vega, 
 author of Tables of Logarithms, at that time Professor of 
 Mathematics, and who, in every other talent, was only 
 commonplace ; the same peculiarity was observable, also, 
 in his head. He then visited private families and schools. 
 
176 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BEAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 and desired the children distinguished for ability in calcu- 
 lation to be pointed out to him; the same development 
 always presented itself. “ How could I do otherwise,” 
 says Gall, “ than consider the sense of numbers to be a 
 special faculty, and admit the existence of a particular 
 organ for this faculty ? ” 
 
 A selection of extreme cases, positive and negative, will 
 satisfy any unbiassed observer that Gall was right. The 
 author’s own observations leave no doubt upon his own 
 mind that the organ is established. 
 
 Constructiveness. It will have been gathered from 
 previous accounts, that, in the early stages of Gall’s career, 
 his object was to obtain physiognomical signs, in the cranial 
 conformation, of particular talents ; it was not until he 
 had made some advances in this inquiry, that he inter- 
 preted the facts in the sense in which they are now gene- 
 rally regarded. It was very often the general form of the 
 head which he sought, as an indication of aptitude for 
 particular pursuits ; afterwards, from increased knowledge 
 and continued reflection, he attained the conclusion, that 
 the subjacent brain wms the special organ of the indi- 
 vidual faculty, just as the different nerves subserve the 
 respective manifestations. Thus he directed his attention 
 to the cranial configuration of celebrated mechanicians, 
 and was struck with the circumstance, that the heads of 
 such artists were frequently as broad in the temporal re- 
 gion as at the cheek-bones. Yet although this occurred 
 very often, it was not constant ; nevertheless, he was more 
 and more convinced that mechanical talent was special, 
 and he continued his search for an outward sign in the 
 head. He everyivhere sought the acquaintance of distin- 
 guished mechanicians, studied their cranial configuration, 
 and took casts of their heads. TThilst engaged in these 
 researches, he met Avith tAvo persons very celebrated for 
 ability in this respect, and in these there appeared two 
 swellings, round and distinct, at the temples; proAusion- 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OF GALl’s JIETHOD. 
 
 177 
 
 ally, lie assumed this characteristic to be the external in- 
 dication of mechanical talent. 
 
 Submitting the idea to the appropriate test, Dr Gall 
 most assiduously multiplied his observations. At Vienna, 
 some gentlemen of distinction brought to him a person 
 concerning whose talents they solicited his opinion. Gall, 
 from the development which he witnessed, stated that he 
 ought to have a great tendency towards mechanics. The 
 gentleman imagined that he was mistaken, hut the subject 
 of the experiment was greatly struck with the remark : he 
 was the famous painter Unterbergen. To show that Gall 
 had judged with perfect accuracy, he declared that he had 
 always had a passion for the mechanical arts, and that he 
 painted only for a livelihood. He took the parties to his 
 house, and showed them there a multitude of machines 
 and instruments, some of which he had invented, and 
 others improved. Several of Gall’s fi-iends spoke to him 
 of a man who was gifted with an extraordinary talent for 
 mechanics ; GaU described to them beforehand what form 
 of head this person ought to have, and then they went to 
 visit him. It was the ingenious mathematical instrument 
 maker, Lindner of Vienna ; and his temples rose out as 
 in the former instance. Many years afterwards, at Paris, 
 Prince Schwarzenberg, then the Austrian minister, wished 
 to put Drs GaU and Spurzheim to the test. When they 
 rose from table, he conducted Dr GaU into an adjoining 
 apartment, and showed him a young man : without speak- 
 ing a word, he and the prince rejoined the company, and 
 Dr Spurzheim was requested to go and examine the young 
 man’s head. During his absence, GaU told an assembled 
 company what he thought of the youth. Spurzheim very 
 shortly returned, and said that he heUeved him to he a great 
 mechanician, or an eminent artist in some branch demand- 
 ing constructive talent. The prince, in fact, had brought him 
 to Paris on account of his great talents in this respect, and 
 supplied him with the means of prosecuting his studies. 
 
178 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 The recorded observations of Spurzheim, Combe, and 
 others, confirmatory of Gall’s accuracy in this matter, leave 
 very little doubt that some special property of the mind, 
 concerned in mechanical talent, has its cerebral seat under- 
 neath the frontal bone, just above the spheno-temporal 
 suture. Some differences of opinion exist as to the pre- 
 cise character of the fundamental faculty; this circum- 
 stance, however, does not affect the validity of Gall’s dis- 
 covery, in so far as it is an affair of fact. 
 
 The skulls of the ancient Greek, and the New Hollander, 
 seem to furnish contrasts in the developement of Construc- 
 tiveness (9), corresponding with the recognised psychical 
 aptitudes of the two races. 
 
 ANCIENT GREEK. NEW HOLLANDER. 
 
 Large. Small. 
 
 CoaiPARi.soN. Dr Gall fi’equently conversed on philo- 
 sophical subjects vGth a savant, who was endowed with 
 much vivacity of mind. Whenever the latter was embar- 
 rassed in any attempt to prove the accuracy of his views, 
 he had recourse to a comparison. He would in this way 
 strive to make good his argument ; those with whom he 
 debated, were often driven from their position and carried 
 away by what he advanced, an effect which he could never 
 produce by direct reasoning. 
 
 When Gall perceived this method of argument, he began 
 to think that it might spring fi’om some mental peculiarity, in 
 
BY THE APPLK7ATI0N OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 179 
 
 connexion with a particular form of the head. He had by 
 this time learnt, fi-om past experience, to look to the forehead 
 for signs of special traits in intellectual manifestation ; and 
 in the instance just mentioned, his attention was soon en- 
 gaged by a fulness in the upper and middle region of the 
 forehead. The tendency to resort to analogy, or to com- 
 parative illustration, in reasoning, was at once associated 
 in Gall’s mind, with the cerebral structure producing the 
 development noticed. Observations were accumulated, 
 and they all corroborated the first idea. There were two 
 ex-jesuits, in particular, whose heads came into the posses- 
 sion of GaU. These ecclesiastics, in their day, had been 
 most successful preachers ; they had attached to themselves 
 both the educated and the unlearned ; their sermons were 
 chiefly remarkable for the profusion of parables, and the 
 abundance of illustration by comparison. Further, there 
 was the head of one Father Barhanmer, a renowned popular 
 preacher: close reasoning did not characterise his discourses ; 
 hut he swayed his auditors, and suspended theu’ very breath, 
 by his numberless comparisons, always taken from the 
 ordinary affairs of life. In these three heads, the anterior, 
 superior, and middle part of the forehead exhibited the 
 same prominence as the subject of Gall’s first observation. 
 Subsequent experience, both on his own part and that of 
 others, has rendered it pretty well established, that the 
 disposition and power to reason by analogy, in opposition 
 to a more direct process, have some dependence on the 
 portion of brain in question, though it may he difficult to 
 determine the precise character of the primitive faculty. 
 Much speculation, and many differences of opinion, have 
 prevailed amongst phrenologists upon this subject; these 
 circumstances, however, leave the observed facts un- 
 touched. 
 
 The development is conspicuous in Moore, and only 
 moderate in Sheridan, as illustrated by the subjoined out- 
 lines at the positions marked (34). 
 
180 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS EE'VEALEH 
 
 Casuality, At Vienna, Dr Gall remarked that in the 
 most zealous disciples of Kant, — men distinguished for pro- 
 found, penetrating, metaphysical talent, — ^the parts of the 
 brain lying immediately at the sides of the organ of Com- 
 parison Avere distinctly enlarged. He and Dr Spurzheim 
 subsequently saw a mask of Kant himself, moulded after 
 death, and obser\-ed an extraordinary projection of these 
 parts. At a later period, they became personally acquainted 
 with Fichte, and found in his head a still larger develop- 
 ment of that region than in Kant’s. Innumerable facts 
 have satisfied all observers that the disposition and the 
 power to reason directly fi’om effect to cause ha\'e a cere- 
 bral connexion, as pointed out by Gall. In judging of this 
 development, as also of Comparison, the method of ex- 
 amining in profile, as before indicated, must be practised. 
 Extreme cases, positive and negative, may soon conAdnce 
 any one of the truth of phrenology in this particular. 
 
 Wit. Dr Gall states, that in the heads of Rabelais, 
 Cervantes, Boileau, Racine, Sivift, Sterne, and Voltaire, 
 the antero-superior and lateral parts of the forehead ai’e pro- 
 minent and rounded ; he considered that the wit (a term 
 notoriously difficult of precise definition, though pretty well 
 understood in its general sense) which characterises their 
 compositions, flows from some mental peculiarity — some 
 primitive faculty — located in the region just referred to. 
 
 MOOKE. 
 
 SHEEIDAN. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD, 
 
 181 
 
 In Dr Spurzheim’s first English work, the faculty was 
 discussed as an intellectual power; hut, in his French and 
 later English works, it is considered rather as a sentiment, 
 and in this opinion hlr Combe and the Edinburgh school 
 of phrenologists generally coincide. In the yarious essays 
 which have been written upon this matter, speculation and 
 ingenious dogmatism, in the judgment of the present Aiu’iter, 
 have been far more actively at work than rigorous induction. 
 For his own part, although hlr Combe and many others 
 have regarded this presumed organ and its essential func- 
 tions as fairly made out, he has never been enabled to 
 satisfy himself that any discovery has been made upon the 
 subject ; yet he has observed, anxiously and often. It has 
 appeared to him that the things compared in the case of 
 Wit have not always been the same ; that one phrenologist 
 has had one idea of the quahty, and another, another ; and 
 that cases have dwelt upon the mind of the observer, only 
 when the coincidence has been found. He has thought 
 that Spurzheim generalised prematurely from Gall’s few 
 facts ; and that the authority of the former has wedded 
 phrenologists to the idea ; and that the difficulty of defining 
 the quality in terms, and the facility of explaining results, 
 by combination of other faculties, when the development is 
 absent, has tended to keep up the premature assumption. 
 He may be wrong ; — but he sincerely believes that the sup- 
 posed region of the organ of wit, or mirthfulness, is terra 
 incognita. The author’s immediate business, however, is 
 rather vsdth the principle involved in the method, than with 
 the results, of these investigations ; and, in pursuance of 
 this object — the enforcement of a just method of deter- 
 mining relations between structure and function, — he would 
 suggest that some acute and powerful observer should tax 
 himself with the discovery of the function of this cerebral 
 part, hi the following manner; — Let him begin by dis- 
 carding for a while all metaphysical refinement based upon 
 a few selected cases ; let him collect records of the mental 
 
182 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 peculiarity of every individual encountered, who is charac- 
 terised by the development in question ; when the accumu- 
 lation has become considerable, let him examine the records 
 in order to see what is common, or nearly so, to every fact 
 in the series, striking out of the result every circumstance 
 not, in some way or another, common to the whole ; what 
 is left may go far to suggest the special manifestations of 
 the organ under scrutiny. Let the proceeding then be 
 followed up by obtaining, indiscriminately, negative instances 
 in large number ; if it should be found that, in all cases of 
 deficiency in organic size, a defect is appreciable in the 
 peculiarity which distinguished the positive class, the proof, 
 it is conceived, would be tolerably complete. All this 
 would constitute the method of induction. 
 
 Ideality. This is a name which is given to the feeling 
 that constitutes the essential soul of poetry. Gall spoke 
 of the “ poetic talent.” The first poet whose head arrested 
 his attention by its form, was one of his friends, who com- 
 posed verses extempore when least expected to do so, and 
 who, in consequence, had acquired some reputation, though 
 but an ordinary person in other respects. His forehead, 
 immediately above the nose, rose perpendicularly, then 
 retreated, and extended itself a good deal laterally, as if a 
 part had been added on each side. In other poets he did 
 not find, as a constant occurrence, the forehead first per- 
 pendicular and then retreating, so that, in this respect, he 
 regarded the shape of his friend’s head as an accidental 
 circumstance ; but he states that in all poets he observed 
 the prominences in the anterior-lateral parts of the head, 
 above the temples. Hereupon he began to think that these 
 prominences might indicate a natural talent for poetry ; 
 yet he spoke to his class with doubt. He hesitated, until 
 continued and extended observations should confirm and 
 establish his notion. 
 
 A short time afterwards, Gall procured the head of the 
 poet Alxinger, in which this part of the brain was very 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD, 
 
 183 
 
 much developed. A little after this circumstance, the poet 
 Junger died, and he found the prominences also in this 
 head. He found the same parts still larger in the poet 
 Blumauer. At this period Wilhelmina Maisch acquired 
 reputation at Vienna by her poetry ; and the same enlarge- 
 ment above the temples was found in her head. The same 
 organisation was observed in Madame Laroch, at Offen- 
 bach, near Frankfort ; in Angelique Kaufman ; in Schiller, 
 of whom he had a mask; and also in Gessner of Zurich. 
 In Berlin, some years after his first observations, he still 
 spoke of this organ with some reserve, when M. Nicolai 
 invited him and Dr Spurzheim to see a collection of about 
 thirty busts of poets in his possession. They found, in 
 every one of them, the part in question projecting more or 
 less considerably, according as the talent was manifested 
 more or less in the individual poet. 
 
 In Paris, Dr Gall moulded the head of Legouve after 
 his death, and found this organ large. He and Dr Spur- 
 zheim opened the head of Delftle, and pointed out to se- 
 veral physicians who were present, the full development 
 of the convolutions placed under the external prominences 
 at this part : these convolutions projected beyond all the 
 vicinant ones. In a pretty numerous assemblage. Dr Gall 
 was asked what he thought of a little man who sat at a 
 considerable distance fi’om him. As it was rather dark, 
 he replied that, in truth, he could not see him very dis- 
 tinctly, but that, nevertheless, he observed the organ of 
 poetry to be greatly developed. He was then informed 
 that this was the famous poet FrauQois, generally named 
 Cordonnier, from his having been brought up as a shoe- 
 maker. From these, among other circumstances, GaU 
 finally taught, that the talent for poetry depends upon a 
 primitive faculty, and that it is connected with the cere- 
 bral region before indicated. 
 
 The following figures represent the organ large in Chaucer, 
 and small in Locke (19). 
 
184 THE FUNCTION'S OF THE BEAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 CHAUCEB. 
 
 Although very little doubt can exist with respect to the 
 substantial reality of this discovery, the author is not sa- 
 tisfied that any very exact notion of what the primitive 
 quality is, has been made out. His facts and reasons are 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 185 
 
 numerous, but his object being, not to settle disputed 
 points in the science, but only to show the method by 
 which they may be determined, he does not consider it 
 proper here to enter into details. 
 
 Benevolence. One of Gall’s friends frequently said to 
 him : “ As you are engaged in seeking external signs which 
 indicate internal faculties and qualities, you must examine 
 the head of my servant Joseph. It is impossible to find 
 goodness superior to that of this young man. For upwards 
 of ten years that he has been in my service, I have never 
 seen any display but that of kindness and goodness of heart, 
 — a sui’prising thing in a man who, devoid of education, 
 has been brought up among servants of very inferior habits.” 
 Although at this time Gall had no idea of locating goodness 
 of heart in the brain, nor consequently of seeking for an 
 outward sign of that quality in the cranial configuration, 
 the reiterated remarks of his friend awakened his curiosity. 
 
 He called to mind the habitual conduct of a young man 
 whom he had known fi’om infancy, and who was distin- 
 guished fi’om his numerous brothers and sisters by his 
 excellence of disposition. Although the youth was pas- 
 sionately fond of the games proper to his age, and delighted 
 to range the forest in search of birds’ nests, yet no sooner 
 did any of his brothers or sisters fall sick, than an inclina- 
 tion still more powerful kept him at home, and drew fi’om 
 him the most assiduous attentions towards the sufierer. 
 When grapes, or apples, or cherries, were distributed 
 among the children, his own share was always the least, 
 yet he rejoiced in seeing the others partake more largely 
 than himself. He was never more pleased than when some 
 good fortune happened to those whom he loved, on which 
 occasions he would often shed tears of joy. He was fond 
 of taking charge of sheep, dogs, rabbits, pigeons, and birds ; 
 and if one died, he wept bitterly, at which circumstance 
 his associates would jest. These dispositions certainly did 
 not arise from education. On the contrary, he had been all 
 
186 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 along surrounded by those whose conduct was calculated 
 to produce the very opposite results. 
 
 On one occasion, GaU was speaking, amidst a numerous 
 family, of the boasted excellence of the servant Joseph. 
 “ Ah!” said the eldest daughter, “ our brother Charles is 
 exactly the same; you must really examine his head. I 
 could not tell you how good a child he is.” 
 
 “ I had then before me,” says Gall, “ three cases, in 
 which goodness of heai't was strongly marked. I took 
 casts of the three heads; placed them beside each other, and 
 continued to examine them, until I should discover a trait 
 of character common to the three. This I at length found, 
 although the heads were, in other respects, very differently 
 formed. In the mean time, I tried to find similar cases in 
 families, schools, &c., that I might be in a condition to 
 multiply and correct my observations.” 
 
 The development discovered by GaU, in the above cases, 
 consisted in a raised, arched appearance, at the anterior 
 summit of the fi’ontal bone, just above the organ of Com- 
 parison. The foUowing cuts afford specimens of contrast 
 in tliis particular (13); the skull of Bums being elevated 
 high above the eyes, while that of Griffiths (a murderer), is 
 low and flat. 
 
 BURNS. GRIFFITHS. 
 
 Every observer has witnessed instances corroborative of 
 Gall’s accuracy in this matter. Tlie author inclines to say, 
 with the discoverer, “ that there is scarcely any fundamental 
 quality or faculty whose existence and organ are better 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 187 
 
 established than that of Benevolence.” It is, moreover, a 
 point in phrenology, singularly easy of verification, for 
 obvious reasons — the quality is readily appreciable, and 
 the cranial form, when the organ is in excess, may at once 
 be identified. 
 
 Imitation. One day, a friend, with whom Gall was in 
 conversation concerning forms of head, assured him that 
 his own had a configuration quite peculiar. “ He directed 
 my hand,” says Gall, “ to the superior anterior region of 
 the head. I found this region elevated in the form of a 
 segment of a sphere, and behind the protuberance there was 
 a transverse depression in the middle of his head.” Here- 
 unto, Gall had not observed this conformation. The person 
 had a remarkable talent for mimicry, imitating the walk, 
 the gesture, the sound of the voice, in a manner so striking 
 that the person imitated was at once ascertained. He 
 repaired immediately to the institution for the deaf and 
 dumb, in order to examine the head of a pupil named 
 Casteigner, who only six weeks before had been received 
 into the establishment, and from his entrance had attracted 
 notice by his amazing talent for mimicry. One Shrove 
 Tuesday, when a little play was performed at the institu- 
 tion, he imitated so perfectly the gestures, gait, and looks 
 of the director, inspector, physician, and surgeon of the 
 establishment, and above all of some women, that it was 
 impossible to mistake them. This exhibition was the more 
 amusing, as nothing of the kind had been expected from 
 the boy. To Gall’s great astonishment, he found the same 
 part of the head elevated, as in the case of his before 
 mentioned friend. 
 
 “ Is the talent for mimicry, then,” said Gall, “ founded 
 on a particular faculty and organ?” He sought every 
 opportunity of repeating his observations. He visited 
 families, schools, &c., examining the heads of all individuals 
 distinguished for their powers of mimicry. At this time, Mr 
 Marx, secretary to the minister of war, had acquired a 
 
188 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 great reputation by playing several characters in a private 
 theatre. The same development as that which had been 
 noticed in the two first cases, was discovered here, and in 
 all succeeding cases; generally, to an extent proportionate 
 to their possession of the corresponding talent. The heads 
 of actors were examined, and these constantly presented 
 the same characteristics when the power was great. He 
 procured the skull of Junger, a poet and comedian, and 
 afterwards used it to demonstrate this organ. Subsequently, 
 he and Spurzheim, in their travels, found the same organi- 
 sation in all the great actors whom they had an opportunity 
 of examining; many of the leading ones Gall enumerates 
 by name. 
 
 The observations of IVIr Combe, and others, in confir- 
 mation, leave very little doubt upon this organ ; it seems 
 to be estabhshed. Its peripheral expansion is longitudi- 
 nally backwards above, and somewhat external to. Causa- 
 lity, on each side of the organ of Benevolence. Some idea 
 of the different appearances which the development pre- 
 sents, when large and small, may be formed by studying 
 the subjoined outlines. One figui’e represents Miss Clara 
 Fisher, who, at eight years of age, exliibited great talents 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 189 
 
 as an actress; the other one, Jacob Jervis, is remarkable 
 for benevolence. ' 
 
 In both these figures, the head rises high in the region of 
 Benevolence ; but in Jervis there is a rapid slope on the two 
 sides, indicating a deficiency in Imitation 21 ; whereas, in 
 Miss Clara Fisher, it is as high at 21, showing considerable 
 development in both organs. 
 
 Veneration. Gall states that he was one of ten chil- 
 dren; all, in childhood, received very much the same 
 education, but their talents and dispositions were very 
 different. One of his brothers had an extremely pious 
 nature, manifested from the tenderest infancy. His very 
 recreations bore a religious character. He was constantly 
 occupied in religious exercises, hearing mass every day. 
 When compelled to be absent from church, he spent his 
 time at home in beautifying a wooden crucifix. His father 
 had destined him for commerce, but he entertained a de- 
 cided aversion to the occupation of a merchant, because, 
 said he, it exposes to the danger of lying. At the age of 
 twenty-three he abandoned merchandise ; and having lost 
 all hope of then being enabled to pursue ecclesiastical 
 studies, he fled from his father’s house and became a her- 
 mit. The father at length, at Gall’s solicitation, permitted 
 this young man to study for the church. Five years after- 
 wards he entered the priesthood, and lived till his death 
 in habits of devotion and penitential exercises. 
 
 GaU further noticed, that in schools some of the chil- 
 dren took no interest in religious instruction, whilst others 
 received it with avidity ; also that those individuals in the 
 classes who voluntarily devoted themselves to the church, 
 exhibited the inclination firequently without any intellec- 
 tual qualifications for the vocation. This commendable 
 feeling, says Gall, sprang up in them nobody knew how ; 
 and, in many cases, it certainly was not attributable either 
 to example, education, or to the general circumstances in 
 which they had been placed. 
 
190 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BHAIN, AS EE\-EAEED 
 
 At a later period, when his attention was constantly 
 fixed upon innate qualities of the mind, and their essential 
 differences, he recollected these observations of his youth, 
 and began to examine the heads of persons distinguished 
 by devotional feeling, satisfied that it ■svas innate. He 
 visited the churches of all denominations, and particularly 
 noticed the heads of individuals wlio prayed with the 
 greatest fervour, or w'ho were the most completely absorbed 
 in religious contemplation. He soon observed that the 
 heads of such persons were elevated in the centre of the 
 coronal region. Being struck with this fact, he repaired 
 to the convents, and noticed the monks. His observations 
 were confirmed generally in the case of such as exercised 
 the more sacred duties, as of preacher or of confessor ; but 
 not always in the instances of those occupying the inferior 
 posts. The more his experience upon this point extended, 
 the more certain did he feel that a special faculty is the 
 source of devotional feeling, and that its cerebral seat is in 
 the superior and middle region of the head. Numerous 
 other observations, and the constant experience of aU phre- 
 nologists, leave the truth of this fact beyond all dispute. 
 
 The configuration of the skull when the organ is large, 
 and when it is small, is shown in the figures below (14). 
 
 DK HETTE. GIRL. 
 
 The figure annexed is the head of St John the Evan- 
 gelist, in w'hich the high development of A'eneration is 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL S METHOD, 
 
 191 
 
 exhibited. It is from the portrait of the Last Sapper, by 
 Leonardo da Vinci. 
 
 ST JOHN. 
 
 Firmness. Gall observed that the posterior part of the 
 coronal region, close upon the middle line behind Venera- 
 tion is largely developed in persons of a firm and constant 
 character, and thence concluded that the cerebral parts 
 there located manifest the mental property which mainly 
 contributes to fortitude, perseverance, and determination, 
 and, in its abuse, to obstinacy and stubbornness. The 
 quality 'will ever be recognised in the man who is “ tenax 
 propositi” corresponding with altitude in the proper region 
 of the head; as also in children who are stubborn and 
 intractable. Its deficiency will be noticed in persons who, 
 in the prosecution of any object, are vacillating and un- 
 
192 THE ECNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS RF. W. A T.F.T) 
 
 steady in the means which they employ; captivated by 
 one project to-day, by another to-morrow, and by a third 
 on the next day. 
 
 The cranial configuration in question was noticed by 
 Lavater, as a mere physiognomical indication of the pe- 
 culiar trait of character mth which Gall’s observations 
 connected it. And, indeed, no fact in phrenology seems 
 to be better established than the present one ; no organ, 
 in its high or low development, is more readily discri- 
 minated. 
 
 The woodcuts below represent appropriate cases for 
 early observers. The region of Firmness is indicated by 
 fig. 15. 
 
 FRENCH SOLDIER. 
 
 15 
 
 GIRL. 
 
 Large. 
 
 Small. 
 
 Conscientiousness. Most moral philosophers admit 
 the existenee of conscience in the psychical constitution of 
 man, as a species of inner instinct wliich gives the love of 
 the true in contradistinction to the false, of the real in 
 opposition to the pretended, and of the genuine in contra- 
 diction to that which is fictitious, producing the feeling of 
 duty, obligation, and incumbency. Gall did not admit a 
 separate faculty and organ of conscientiousness ; but, to- 
 wards the close of his career, regarded the sentiment as 
 comprised in benevolence. Spurzheim, however, was sa- 
 tisfied, both from observation and reasoning, that the sense 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALl’s 5IETHOD. 
 
 193 
 
 of right and wrong was a distinct faculty, bearing no fixed 
 relation to any other quality of the mind. Kind-hearted 
 good-natured people were noticed, whose moral integrity 
 was none of the strictest ; and upright, rigorously just in- 
 dividuals were encountered, of no great benevolence of 
 disposition. From these circumstances, he was led to seek 
 for a distinct cerebral organ, which he ascertained to exist 
 in the posterior and lateral parts of the coronal r^ion, 
 on each side the organ of Firmness. Dr Spurzheim does 
 not detail the particular facts which guided him originally 
 in the discovery, as was the custom of his great master. 
 Mr Combe, however, in his System of Phrenology, treating 
 of the organ of Conscientiousness, supplies some striking 
 cases in illustration and corroboration of it, some of which 
 may not inaptly be here epitomised. 
 
 In 1816, Mr Combe, having then but a slight acquaint- 
 ance with phrenology, which he had gained from attending 
 Dr Spurzheim’s lectures, was requested to find out and 
 engage a person accustomed to business, of strict integrity, 
 to act as confidential clerk and cashier to a manufacturing 
 company. An indhddual was recommended to Mr Combe, 
 for the purpose, by an Edinburgh merchant, whom he had 
 long known and esteemed : the qualifications as to integrity 
 and general excellence being represented as of the highest 
 order, Mr Combe’s friends at once engaged him. 
 
 From the first, Mr Combe had been struck with a very 
 moderate development of Conscientiousness in the head of 
 this person ; he had observed, also, that Firmness was not 
 large. Having at that time, however, very little expe- 
 rience in estimating development, and no great reliance 
 on phrenology as a science for practical application, he 
 was not much infiuenced by the circumstance. The in- 
 tellectual organs were large, as were those also of Bene- 
 volence and Veneration ; Love of Approbation was very 
 large. Mr Combe, nevertheless, expressed to the gentleman 
 who had recommended him, his regret that the organs of 
 
194 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BEAIN, AS EEVEAXED 
 
 Conscientiousness were so palpably defective. To tbis, the 
 reply on the part of the gentleman was, that he knew 
 nothing about the effect of organs, but that he knew, from 
 experience, the party recommended to be an honest man. 
 The matter dropped ; and for several years the person’s 
 conduct appeared to be irreproachable. 
 
 He was a leading member of a dissenting congregation, 
 and his house was the resort of numerous friends for 
 prayer, hir Combe considered that there was compensa- 
 tion for a great natural defect in other principles. Time, 
 however, evolved different views of his character. His 
 cash-book, became confused ; the days for balancing it were 
 postponed by him under a variety of pretences ; the usual 
 returns from the sales began seriously to diminish ; and 
 Mr Combe was led to insist on an investigation of his 
 conduct and transactions. The result was an exposure of 
 habits of peculation and embezzlement that had run over 
 a long period. He confessed freely the use to which he 
 had applied the fraudulently obtained money ; he was not 
 in the least addicted to sensual debauchery in any form ; 
 but his natural kindness of disposition, in alliance with 
 vanity, had led to habits of extravagance and improvi- 
 dence — ^moral principle not having been powerful enough 
 to hold them in due check. 
 
 This case made a strong impression upon ]\Ir Combe. 
 It was conceived that, with the natural qualities of the 
 delinquent, he ought not to have been exposed to the 
 temptation involved in a situation of pecuniary trust ; and, 
 in this view of the case, he was dismissed from his employ- 
 ment, without prosecution. Subsequently, he entered into 
 trade on his own account ; and, after one or two bank- 
 ruptcies, he left Edinburgh for the United States, where 
 he was at times heard of as still living by the practice of 
 plausibility and falsehood. 
 
 From this time fonvard, hir Combe adopted the rule of 
 engaging no one for his own service, without previous 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 195 
 
 examination of the head. At the period of forming this 
 regulation, however, he had already certain individuals in 
 his employment, in whom Conscientiousness was deficient; 
 these, from feelings of kindness, he did not dismiss. There 
 was one who exhibited a large development of the intellec- 
 tual organs, with large Benevolence, large Self-Esteem and 
 Acquisitiveness, hut with very deficient Conscientiousness : 
 by this one, notwithstanding a vigilant superintendence 
 which was exercised over his conduct, he was repeatedly 
 cheated and plundered of sums of money. On one occa- 
 sion, hlr Combe wished to hire a lad as a stable boy : one 
 of thu-teen or fourteen years of age was highly recom- 
 mended by a woman from the country, whom he had 
 long known and respected. She said that the boy was 
 the son of one of her neighbours, that she had known 
 him from infancy, and that Mr Combe might rely alike 
 on his moral qualities and his knowledge of horses. On 
 examining the lad’s head, the mtellectual organs, and also 
 those of Benevolence, Veneration, and Firmness, were found 
 to be well developed ; but Secretiveness and Acquisitive- 
 ness were large, and Conscientiousness was very deficient. 
 The woman who had recommended the boy was informed 
 that he would not suit Mi- Combe. She left the house in 
 high indignation, that he should “ reject honest men’s sons 
 fi’om his service, because their heads did not please.” In 
 about a month she returned, stating, with some shame, 
 that she had since learned he had been dismissed from his 
 last place on account of thieving ; and that in the locality 
 where he had served, his character had become pretty 
 notorious in that respect. A man of education and talent, 
 relates Mr Combe, holding civil and ecclesiastical ofiices 
 in Edinburgh, was noted for the active interest which he 
 took in missionary societies and other such schemes. The 
 cerebral development, on the whole, was not unfavourable, 
 but there was great deficiency in Conscientiousness. After 
 nearly thirty years of ostensible piety and respectability. 
 
196 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BEAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 it was discovered that he had all along been deviating 
 widely from the paths of rectitude : dishonesty and licen- 
 tiousness were the conspicuous features of his delinquency. 
 Another individual, with deficiency in Conscientiousness, 
 was obliging and generous to excess, but reckless of justice : 
 he borrowed money from all who would lend it to him, 
 pledged his faith most positively to each lender to repay 
 the loan on a particular day, hut never thought more of the 
 promise, until he was importuned or compelled to perform. 
 
 These cases, detailed by IVIr Combe as examples, among 
 others, occuiring within his own experience, both illustrate 
 and confirm the discovery of Spurzheim ; and they are but 
 specimens of what any one may realise by personal obser- 
 vation. Indeed, judging from this, irrespective of recorded 
 cases, the function of the part in question is, to the satis- 
 faction of the author’s mind, perfectly established ; he 
 should almost as soon doubt the office of the optic nerve. 
 
 The appearance which the head presents in extreme 
 cases, may be understood to some extent from the follow- 
 ing cuts, which represent the head viewed posteriorly : 
 fig. 16 indicates the locality of the organ. 
 
 DAVID HAGGAET. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 197 
 
 Hope. Dr Gall considered this sentiment to be a mode 
 of action, not a primitive quality, believing that hope apper- 
 tains to every faculty. Spurzheim, however, conceived 
 that, although every faculty may desire, “ hope” is really 
 a sentiment proper. Little doubt can exist upon this 
 point, even were there no discovery, real or supposed, of 
 a correspondent organisation. Numerous observations 
 have rendered it in the highest degree probable, that the 
 situation of the organ of Hope is on each side that of 
 Veneration. It was Spurzheim who first suggested this 
 locality, and many observations have confirmed the idea. 
 
 WoNDEE. Dr Gall made certain observations relative 
 to the probable function of that part of the brain which is 
 situated beneath the superior and lateral parts of the 
 frontal bone, though he did not set forth any positive 
 determination upon the subject. He noticed that some 
 individuals are very prone to believe in ghosts and appa- 
 ritions, and that this disposition occurs among the well- 
 educated and instructed classes, as well as amongst the 
 ignorant. Dr Jung Stelling, whom he often saw with the 
 late Grand Duke of Baden, was a tailor in his youth, 
 then a tutor, afterwards physician, moralist, journalist, 
 illuminatus, and visionary. In him, this part of the brain 
 was largely developed. He firmly believed in apparitions, 
 and wrote a book in exposition of the doctrine. A gentle- 
 man who moved in the best society in Paris, asked Dr 
 Gall to examine his head. The doctor’s first remark was, 
 “ You sometimes see visions and believe in ghosts.” The 
 gentleman started from his chair in astonishment, and said 
 that it was so, but that heretofore he had maintained silence 
 on the subject, lest he should be ridiculed for his credulity. 
 On another occasion. Gall told one Dr W. that he ought 
 to have a strong liking for the marvellous and superna- 
 tural. He was informed that for once, at any rate, he was 
 quite mistaken ; that it was a rule with him. Dr W., to 
 believe nothing that was not mathematically demonstrable. 
 
198 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 Gradually, and by design. Gall advanced to the subject of 
 animal magnetism, which appeared a fit topic for putting 
 the mathematical rigour of his proofs to the test. He 
 instantly brightened up ; assured Dr Gall that in magne- 
 tism a spiritual being operated, even at great distances; 
 that no extent of space obstructed its influence; and that 
 on this account it could sympathise with persons in any 
 part of the world. “ It is the same thing,” he went on, 
 “ that produces apparitions. Ghosts and visions are rare, 
 no doubt, but they certainly exist ; and I am acquainted 
 with the laws which regulate their production.” After 
 this. Gall thought that he had not been so very far wrong. 
 Several other such instances are recorded by Gall, whose 
 inferences, however, did not extend beyond the following 
 suggestions : — “ Does this convolution form part of the 
 organ of Imitation, and does its extreme development exalt 
 the talent for mimicry to such a degree, as to personify 
 •simple ideas, and to give them, thus metamorphosed, a 
 locality out of the individual? Or does it constitute parts 
 both of Ideality and Imitation ? Or, finally, does it con- 
 stitute a separate organ ? These points can only be deter- 
 mined by further researches.” The facts and contingent 
 conclusions just recounted admirably exemplify the cautious 
 and truly philosophical spirit introduced by Gall into aU 
 his investigations. 
 
 After his separation from GaU, Spurzheim multiplied 
 observations, and constantly taught the existence of an 
 organ of marvellousness, as a branch of what was positively 
 established in the particular physiology of the brain. 
 
 Mr Combe’s facts and reasonings upon this point are 
 thus summed up in the System of Phrenology :* — “ I have 
 met with persons excessively fond of news, which, if ex- 
 travagant, were the more acceptable ; prone to the expres- 
 sion of surprise and astonishment in ordinary discourse ; 
 
 5tli Edit., Yol. i. p. 455. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OP GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 199 
 
 deeply affected by tales of -wonder ; deUgbting in the Ara- 
 bian Nights’ Entertainments, and the mysterious incidents 
 abounding in the Waverley Novels; and in them I have 
 uniformly found the part of the brain in question lai’gely 
 developed. When the organ predominates, there is a pe- 
 culiar look of Avonder, and an unconscious turning up of 
 the exterior portions of the eyelashes, expressive of sur- 
 prise. In other persons, I have found the part of the 
 brain in question small, and in them it was accompanied 
 ■with a staid soberness of feeling, diametrically opposite to 
 the manifestations above described. Such individuals were 
 annoyed by every thing new or strange ; they scarcely felt 
 or expressed surprise, and had no taste for narratives leav- 
 ing the beaten track of probability or reality, and soaring 
 into the regions of supernatural fiction. On analysing 
 these manifestations, they all appear to be referable to the 
 sentiment of wonder; an emotion which is quite distin- 
 guishable from those hitherto enumerated.” 
 
 It is presumed that the organ, as associated -with the 
 disposition in question, is established; the -writer’s own 
 observations would not wairant him in raising it above 
 the probable grade. The developement is seen large in the 
 subjoined figure of the ancient Greek skuU, and small in 
 the tivo Esquimaux skuUs. 
 
 ESQUIMAUX. 
 
200 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 In the Greek head, the fuU rounded aspect of the supe- 
 rior lateral regions of the frontal bone is very obvious; 
 whilst in the Esquimaux, the low, narrow, and depressed 
 character of the skull in the same part is equally obvious. 
 
 Size. Dr Spurzheim inferred by reasoning, that there 
 must be a faculty whose function is to appreciate dimension; 
 observation led him to conceive that he had discovered 
 the organ for its manifestation, placed on the two sides of 
 the lower portion of Individuality, and indicated exter- 
 nally, when large, by prominence at the internal extremity 
 of the arch of the eyebrow. l\Ir Combe states, that the 
 soundness of this conclusion is proved by experience. The 
 author has no opinions of his own upon the subject; the 
 remarks in reference to his own notions on these minor 
 organs, made in discussing the organ of Colour, may in all 
 respects apply here. 
 
 Weight. Dr Spurzheim, judging that the faculty of 
 estimating w-eight and resistance is included in no other, 
 conceived that a separate organ for this power exists, situ- 
 ated between those of Size and Colour. Much ingenious 
 speculation has been expended upon this supposed faculty, 
 and various views have been advanced as to its sphere of 
 action ; to an extent, indeed, that has destroyed all confi- 
 dence, on the part of the writer, in the validity of most of 
 the observations that have been recorded on this matter. 
 An ingenious theory has been constructed, and facts have 
 readily been imagined to exist, and to present themselves 
 corroborative thereof. The author can neither confirm 
 nor controvert the reality of this organ of weight. IMr 
 Combe states, that “ persons who excel at archery and 
 quoits, and also those who find great facility in judging of 
 momentum and resistance in mechanics, are observed to 
 possess this organ largely developed.” 
 
 Time. Phrenologists generally conceive that there is an 
 organ for estimating duration, situated in the middle of the 
 forehead, on each side of Eventuality, a little above, and 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 201 
 
 external to, Locality. “ The power of conceiving time,” 
 says Mr Combe, “ and of remembering circumstances 
 connected by no link but the relation in which they stand 
 to each other in chi’onology, and also the power of observing 
 time in performing music, is very different in different 
 individuals. The faculty gives the power of judging of 
 time, and of intervals in general.” All the reasoning is 
 in favour of the existence of such a faculty. The writer 
 would hardly say as much in favour of the facts cited in 
 support of the organ, although he would rank it as highly 
 probable. 
 
 Order. A sense of order in the physical ai’rangements 
 of objects, is considered to depend upon a primitive faculty 
 whose cerebral organ, largely developed, is indicated by a 
 great fulness, that produces a square appearance at the ex- 
 ternal angles of the superciliary ridge. Gall states that he 
 had met with facts corroborative of the notion that the sense 
 of order depends upon a primitive faculty, observing at the 
 same time, that on account of the difficulty of observing 
 the organs placed about the superciliary ridge, and the 
 small size of this alleged one in particular, he was not able 
 to collect a sufficiency of determinate facts to authorise him 
 to decide on its situation, as pointed out by Spurzheim. Mr 
 Combe regards it as established. 
 
 CoNCENTRATTVENESs. The region of the head below 
 Self-Esteem and above Philoprogenitiveness, is a disputed 
 territory, as regards its functions. Dr Gall had noticed a 
 disposition to fix in high places, in certain of the lower 
 animals, whose crania he conceived to exhibit considerable 
 development in or about the situation just mentioned. 
 This circumstance, however, was considered by him to 
 exemplify a peculiai’ manifestation of Self-Esteem in these 
 creatures. No determinate inference was drawn fi’om such 
 observations. Gall simply recorded the fact. 
 
 Dr Spurzheim, however, believed himself to have made 
 out the functions of the part in question, in the recognition 
 
202 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 of its excessive development in the heads of those whose 
 attachment to particular places is remarkable. To judge from 
 his language, it would seem that he was mainly guided to 
 the notion by facts witnessed in the animal kingdom. In 
 his work entitled Phrenology he observes, “ I consider, in 
 animals, the cerebral part immediately above the organ of 
 Philoprogenitiveness, as the organ of the instinct that 
 prompts them to select a particular dwelling, and caU it the 
 organ of Inhabitiveness. It is knonm that cats are more 
 attached to places, and dogs to persons. The former remain 
 in the house which is sold, while the latter follow their 
 master.” He states that his attention had been, and was 
 still directed to such individuals of the human species as 
 exhibited great regard for their dwelling-places. “ I have 
 many facts,” says he, “ in confirmation. I saw a clergyman 
 in Manchester, known to his friends as particulai’ly attached 
 to his dwelling-place, so that he should be imhappy if 
 obliged to sleep elsewhere. I examined his head, in com- 
 pany of several gentlemen, some of whom were opponents, 
 but every one was obliged to admit that the spot of the 
 head where No. 3 (Inhabitiveness) is situated, was warmer 
 than the rest of the head.” Some other general facts are 
 stated by Spurzheim, but his conclusion has not, for the 
 most part, been deemed valid. For several reasons, the 
 author attaches hut little value to what he has advanced, 
 either in the way of fact or inference. Any objections 
 which the writer may entertain on metaphysical grounds, it 
 would he foreign to his present purpose to adduce. He 
 must, however, take serious exception to the whole method 
 apparently pursued by Spurzheim, in this particular instance, 
 deviating so vddely, as it does, from the rigorous and 
 successful procedure of GaU, — constituting an example, 
 among several, of his undue disposition to speculate, and to 
 generalise prematurely, after his separation from the gi-eat 
 discoverer. Our judgment concerning Spurzheim’s pro- 
 ceedings, must be formed by study of his writings, and these 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 203 
 
 most decidedly indicate that the basis upon which he rested 
 for proof of this organ of Inhabitiveness, was in natural 
 history and comparative anatomy; and that he sought, from 
 the human kind, facts in corroboration, rather than as direct 
 evidence — a mode of procedure essentially wrong, for 
 reasons amply stated in foregoing chapters. If an idea once 
 fix itself in the mind, no matter in what way — let it be on 
 grounds ever so unsure — such cases as that of the clergyman 
 at Manchester may be found in abundance to confirm it. 
 In this instance, the head, in the region of Inhabitiveness, 
 was obviously warmer than the remaining surface. Yet 
 how many sources of fallacy lurk in the determination of 
 such a circumstance ! May it not have been that contact 
 was longer maintained in the region in question, in the 
 expectation of realising the asserted fact? It is certain that 
 if you apply the hand but slightly to one part, and intently 
 to some other, the subjective impression of heat, in the 
 absence of aU difference in the object, will be greater in the 
 latter case. But the author has been informed by a gentle- 
 man who was present on the occasion, that an increase in 
 the local temperature was not so obvious ; that to himself, 
 indeed, it was not appreciable ; and this gentleman is no 
 opponent, but probably the earliest of Spurzheim’s adherents 
 in Manchester, and a personal friend. Further, the author 
 has learned fl’om the same authority, that the intensely in- 
 habitive clergyman, who “ should be unhappy if obliged to 
 sleep elsewhere” than at his then home, did not decline 
 subsequently a better living, although it involved a change 
 of residence. Let us take this fact, moreover, in another 
 aspect. The recorded excitement of the feeling was plainly 
 of a chronic nature; yet it is only with temporary and acute 
 excitement that analogy would justify us in associating 
 probable elevation of temperature in the scalp. A student, 
 plunged in profound and intense abstraction, may not 
 unreasonably be expected to present a heated forehead ; but 
 no evidence exists to show that intellectual foreheads, in- 
 
204 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEAI,ED 
 
 ordinary, are unduly warm. The other circumstances 
 cited by Spurzheim are too vague to admit of any close 
 criticism. 
 
 It is no wonder that a proposition so loosely advanced, 
 and resting upon evidence so defective, has never been 
 admitted by phrenologists as established doctrine. Respect 
 for its propouuder, rather than the constant testimony of cer- 
 tain facts, has kept up a degree of attention to it, which a 
 conclusion andved at by so vicious a process would not, 
 under common circumstances, have received. The appli- 
 cation of Gall’s system of investigation to Spurzheim’s 
 view has not supplied any decisive corroboration of it, 
 wliich indeed was hardly to have been expected ; for when 
 the way is missed at the outset, a sure goal is not very 
 readily attained. 
 
 Mr Combe has for some years taught, that the particular 
 division of the brain now under discussion is associated with 
 the faculty of mental concentration ; and he denominates 
 the presumed organ that of Concentrativeness. It is difficult, 
 by any bidef definition, to render the idea to be attached to 
 this term any plainer than it already is by emjiloyment of 
 the term itself. In detailed explanation, however, ]\Ir 
 Combe describes it as an ability to detain the feelings and 
 ideas in the mind so as to give them the quality of con- 
 tinuity ; and the absence of it is evinced, he states, in 
 persons who “ experience gi’eat difficulty in detaining their 
 emotions and ideas so as to examine and compare them.” 
 The following passage from the System of Phrenology will 
 exhibit the facts and the reasonings by which Mr Combe 
 supports his views. 
 
 “ In conversing with some individuals, we find them fall 
 naturally into a connected train of thinking ; either dwell- 
 ing on a subject which interests them, till they have placed 
 it clearly before the mind, or passing naturally and grace- 
 fully to a connected topic. Such persons uniformly have 
 this organ large. We meet with others who, in similar 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 205 
 
 circumstances, never pursue one idea for two consecutive 
 seconds, but shift from topic to topic without regard to 
 natural connexion, and leave no distinct impression on the 
 mind of the listener. This happens even with individuals 
 in whom reflection is not deficient ; but the organ in ques- 
 tion is in such persons uniformly small. I have met a 
 military otlicer, with Locality and Concentrativeness both 
 large, who declared that he liked the stirring and diffuse 
 life of a soldier, while engaged in active operations ; but 
 that when the army halted, he was equally pleased, and 
 found equal facility, in concentrating his mind to reading, 
 writing, or business, and was not annoyed by that dissipa- 
 tion of intellect of which many of his brother officers com- 
 plained. On the other hand, a gentleman bred to the 
 profession of the law, who has this organ rather deficient, 
 declares that the effort of concentrated thinking is to him 
 painful, though he has excellent Comparison, Causality, 
 and Language.” ' 
 
 The author experiences the greatest difficulty in forming 
 an independent judgment with respect to this alleged organ 
 and faculty of Concentrativeness. ^^Tien he has been dis- 
 posed to test the proposition by his own opportunities of 
 observation, he has generally had occasion to distrust the 
 correctness of his appreciation of the mental quality. On 
 the whole, he considers that, at best, this proposition is 
 but rationally conjectural; and Mr Combe, he believes, 
 does not rank it as established. But whatever may be 
 thought of the precise character of the results of Mr 
 Combe’s investigations in this particular, the method assur- 
 edly is unexceptionable. 
 
 The annexed figures represent the development, large 
 and small ; the distance from the external opening of the 
 ear to the situation of the presumed organ, 3, being in 
 Burns considerable, and in the other comparatively slight. 
 
 ' 5th Edit. Vol. i., pp. 214, 215. 
 
206 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 Ali5IENTt\'eness. From several considerations, it earlv 
 occurred to phrenologists, including Gall and Spurzheim, 
 that the apiietite for food was a mental instinct not refer- 
 able to mere sensation, nor to any of the recognised qua- 
 lities of the mind, but that it was primitive, and, in con- 
 sequence, associated with a distinct cerebral organ, ilr 
 Combe, Dr Hoppe of Copenhagen, and Dr Crook of Lon- 
 don, aU about the same time, appear to have pitched upon 
 the convolutions anterior to Destructiveness as the organ 
 in question, indicated to be in excess when the corre- 
 sponding part of the head is full and prominent, causing 
 great breadth generally in the zygomatic arch. Many 
 observations have been made directly on man, and other 
 confirmatory facts have been obtained from the lower 
 animals which render it in the highest degree 'prdbahle that 
 the instinct for aliment is organically dependent upon the 
 structure mentioned, hir Combe regards this point as 
 sufBciently well established by eAddence to be considered 
 certain. The writer has seen cases tending to the same 
 conclusion, and none of a contraiy chai'acter, but not in 
 such numbers, nor of character so unequivocal, as to warrant 
 any decisive speaking on his owm jiart. 
 
 Love of Life. The varying degree in which individuals 
 display this feeling, has rendered it probable that it is 
 connected with some special part of the brain; and this by 
 
 BURNS. 
 
 NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN. 
 
 Large. 
 
 Small. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 207 
 
 analogy has been supposed to be at the base. Dr A. Combe 
 has recorded the only fact, in detail, suggestive of its 
 situation, in a case pubbsbed in the third volume of the 
 Edinburgh Phrenological Journal. In describing the dis- 
 section of the brain of a lady, upwards of sixty, who for 
 many years bad been remarkable for perpetual anxiety 
 about her own death. Dr Combe observes as follows : — 
 
 “ The enormous development of one convolution at the 
 base of the middle lobe of the brain, the function of which 
 is unknown, was too striking not to arrest our attention. 
 It was that lying towards the mesial line, on the basilar and 
 inner side of the middle lobe, and consequently of Destruc- 
 tiveness. The coiTesponding part of the skull showed a 
 very deep and distinctly moulded cavity or bed running 
 longitudinally, ivith high and prominent sides, and present- 
 ing altogether an appearance much more striking than in 
 any skull I ever saw. Whether it may have any connexion 
 with the Love of Life, is a cii’cumstance which may be 
 determined by future observations. All that we can say at 
 present is, that the Love of Life seems to be a feeling sui 
 gene)'is, and not proportioned to any faculty, or combination 
 of faculties, yet known; that, in the subject of this notice, 
 it was one of the most permanently active which she 
 possessed; and that, in her, the convolution alluded to was 
 of very unusual magnitude ; but how far the coincidence 
 was fortuitous, we leave to time and observation to deter- 
 mine.” 
 
 Dr Vimont, by observation on the lower animals, as well 
 as on man, conceives that he has reason for coming to a 
 more positive, though identical, conclusion respecting the 
 function of the part in question ; but the writer believes that 
 Dr Combe’s philosophically cautious statements embrace all 
 that can be very well said upon the subject in the existing 
 state of our knowledge. 
 
 Dr Vimont ranks amongst the most distinguished of the 
 disciples of GaU. As a contributor, by illustration, to the 
 
208 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 knowledge, as already made out, he is in some respects 
 unrivalled. His splendid folio atlas, which contains mag- 
 nificent representations of the brains and the crania of 
 numberless species of animals, under every set of circum- 
 stances, far transcends that of Gall, both in execution and 
 scientific value. Moreover, the light which in his Traite de 
 Phrenologie Hamaine et Comparie he has shed upon some 
 obscure points in phrenology, by aid of comparative ana- 
 tomy and natural history, is at once considerable and most 
 valuable. Again, the courage, the perseverance, and the 
 disinterestedness with which he has prosecuted his whole 
 career, and more especially the laborious undertaking 
 involved in the production of his great work, are beyond 
 all praise. The author, however, regrets that his commen- 
 dation, unqualified, can extend no farther. Dr Yimont, 
 he conceives, has very much over-estimated his vocation, 
 manifesting, as he does, at every step, a jealous anxiety to 
 take a rank in the history of phrenology, for which clearly 
 nature never intended him. In every movement, he is 
 goaded by the ambition of discovery. This spirit leads him 
 constantly to depreciate the actual value of Gall’s labours, 
 and by implication to impeach the accuracy of his habits of 
 observation. He strives perpetually to reduce the results 
 obtained by the great master to the lowest possible point, 
 and this very often quite gratuitously, to say the very least. 
 In the detailed exposition of the physiology of the, brain, he 
 has, in almost every point, something either to rectify, or 
 to disprove, or to supei’sede, or to amplify; constantly falling 
 back upon his vast attainments in comparative anatomy and 
 natural history, from which sources only, he most osten- 
 tatiously challenges confutation. Although, in various parts 
 of his work. Dr Yimont recognises, in terms clear enough, 
 the soundness of the method of investigation advocated in 
 the present treatise, viz. the necessity, in attempted dis- 
 covery, of studying a single species, and of comparing the 
 cerebral development of dilferent individuals only where 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OP GALL’s METHOD. 209 
 
 an identity of elemental type exists, and wliere all other 
 circumstances are as nearly as possible the same, he has 
 never any scruple in departing from these canons, v^hen he 
 has an idea that he has hit upon something new ; and, in 
 such a way, he assumes himself to have discovered several 
 new organs. In the case of Concentrativeness and Inhahi- 
 tiveness, he would reconcile Dr Spurzheim and Mi’ Combe, 
 by making the upper half of the presumed organ to be for 
 the latter, and the lower half for the former. Philoproge- 
 nitiveness he splits into two, in like manner; the central 
 portion retaining its prescriptive rights, and the lateral 
 portions being assigned to a supposed faculty leading to 
 union for life, in marriage — a faculty apart and distinct 
 from the feelings of attachment and of sex. Then, the 
 questionable organ of Size is not only settled, but is divided 
 into two; one being for appreciation of dimension, and the 
 other for that of distance. He also believes, or sets forth, 
 that he has discovered an organ of geometric seiise (organe 
 du sens geometrique), in animals which fly, swim, or march 
 in groups, and always in a definite and regular order. He 
 does not know whether such an organ exists in man or not. 
 
 It is true that when Dr Vimont is formally propounding 
 principles of discovery, he inculcates the necessity of com- 
 paring animals of the same species — of the same parentage 
 even, where practicable, and as much as possible under 
 like circumstances of bringing up ; he represents this, 
 moreover, to have been, in some instances, his own 
 proceeding; — hut then he never adheres to it, nor feels 
 himself bound by the principle. Vimont’s discoveries nearly 
 always rest directly on comparative anatomy and natural 
 history ; the brains of different species are contrasted for 
 the purpose of detecting the functions of individual parts, — 
 a method, the essential vitiousness of which has already 
 been abundantly shown. As an illustration exemplifying 
 what has just been stated, the instance of the cerebellum 
 may be cited. This structure he makes out to constitute 
 
210 THE FXmCTIONS OF THE BEAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 two separate organs, whereby he, once more, most con- 
 veniently reconciles conflicting doctrines, — the doctrine of 
 Flourens and that of Gall. The lateral portions of the 
 cerebellum, or lobes, Vimont allows to be for the mani- 
 festation of sexual feeling, but the central, vermiform 
 process, he believes to be for muscular co-ordination. The 
 probable grounds of this latter notion consist in such facts 
 as the foUo^ving, which he adduces : The cat, the marten, 
 and the squirrel, are instances of great relative development 
 of the middle portion of the cerebellum, and they are dis- 
 tinguished for their muscular adroitness and agility; as, 
 also, the chamois, the goat, the mule, the ass, the horse, 
 and the sheep. “ I should not be surprised,” says he, “ if 
 there should exist some relation between the development 
 of this part of the cerebro-spinal nervous system, and the 
 agility and security of the step in these animals.”^ Cer- 
 tainly, this is no positive conclusion ; and, so far at least, 
 it may be conceived that injustice has been done to Dr 
 Vimont, in asserting that, in the practical details, he deviates 
 from principles recognised by himself in the abstract. Yet 
 how does he expect the matter to be settled ? Is it by the 
 institution of comparisons of the relative development of 
 the central portion of the cerebellum mth degrees of dex- 
 terity and agility in individuals of a single species ? Not 
 a word of this is asserted ; but another defective method, 
 that of pathology, is aflirmed to be the probable som'ce of 
 the futui’e proof. In the concluding words of the paidicular 
 section he says, — “ Pathological facts will one day, pro- 
 bably, clear up this question.” And yet the physiology of 
 the central portion of the cerebellum has already been 
 positively proclaimed, by aid of data primarily formed by 
 the phenomena of pathology; and what is the result? 
 Why, M. Serres, haiung by this means apphed himself 
 most especially and assiduously to the matter, maintained. 
 
 * Traitd, vol. ii. p. 2L2. 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 211 
 
 whilst opposing Gall, that the part in question (of the 
 whole cerebellum, that alone shut out by Vimont from 
 organic connexion with the sexual instinct) is the only 
 portion associated with the amative propensity. Thus to 
 Vimont comparative anatomy reveals one proposition, and 
 to Serres pathology produces one that is diametrically and 
 most remarkably opposed ! Behold the unsatisfactory results 
 which come f^:om fault in method. 
 
 The above details ha,ve been presented to the reader only 
 as an imperfect sketch of the functions of the brain, as made 
 out by the application of Gall’s method ; they have not 
 been offered even as an epitome of Phrenology, in the 
 more extended sense in which the term is most commonly 
 employed. It has not been, nor is it, the author’s intention 
 to trench upon the moral and metaphysical considerations 
 which the subject involves, excepting in so far as the 
 realisation of his particular design may be concerned ; in the 
 present division of the work, it has been his intention simply 
 to furnish an historical account of the individual organs, 
 illustratmg in this way the proceeding of Gall, and ex- 
 hibiting the general nature of the propositions to which 
 the method leads. Moreover, in supplying the history of 
 the discovery, and subsequent confirmation, of the several 
 details, the author has been anxious to avoid aU presenta- 
 tion of the subject in a systematic form ; and, for this reason, 
 the individual facts and statements have been given, re- 
 gardless of mere order or arrangement. A contrary course 
 is infinitely preferable in teaching a subject whose principles 
 and evidence are undisputed ; but when the purpose is to 
 direct attention to the solid basis of fact upon which a 
 disputed doctrine is averred to rest, the exposition of any 
 department of science without regard to system, and rather 
 after some such manner as that in which it has been raised, 
 seems better adapted for conveying to the mind an exact 
 idea of its proofs, and of the mode in which these have 
 
212 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN, AS REVEALED 
 
 been obtained, and must yet be procured. In this view of 
 the case, the writer has first taken the accounts of particular 
 organs just as they have occurred in Gall’s own writings ; 
 then he has supplied notices of Spurzheim’s additions ; and, 
 lastly, he has made a brief record of some other propositions 
 which have been advanced by later phrenologists, and in 
 particular by Mr Combe and Dr Vimont. At the close of 
 each notice he has usually given some expression to the 
 convictions of his own mind, as to how far the recorded 
 statements, qualified by his own observations, warrant the 
 inferences generally deduced. And in no other way can 
 Gall’s physiology be j udged : it is altogether an afiair of fact, 
 which observation alone can determine; no profusion of all 
 sorts of knowledge, including every other branch of anatomy 
 and phy.siology, added to the most eminent powers of rea- 
 soning, can deal with this question in the absence of direct 
 experience ; no argument, however subtile, — no illustration 
 or analogy, however ingeniously exhibited, — can affect it 
 as ixfiict. 
 
 If the things set forth and maintained be a reality, the 
 conclusion is obvious. Unlike what happens in the phy- 
 siology which erects itself jnimarily upon vivisections, 
 comparative anatomy, and pathological phenomena, the 
 premises, if sound, admit but of one inference — that of 
 Gall and his successors. A constant association and re- 
 ciprocal influence of structure and function, determine the 
 former to be the organic condition of the latter. If strength 
 in some particular faculty or disposition of the mind be 
 generally accompanied by excess in development of particular 
 parts of the brain, and great deficiency in the same sti’ucture 
 be always followed by feeble displays of the corresponding 
 power, the induction is irresistible, that the cerebral mass 
 is the organ of the associated mental faculty. Deny this ; 
 or, like the writer in the North British Eeview, demand 
 for its proof, before you receive it, evidence that is mathe- 
 matically rigorous, and you must reject physiology alto- 
 
BT THE APPLICATION OF GALL’s METHOD. 
 
 213 
 
 gether ; and, at the same time, you must throw medicine, 
 and all other sciences atFecting vital phenomena, back again 
 into the regions of mysticism and charlatanism. 
 
 Settle, in the first place, the direct question of fact, then 
 reason, mutilate animals, compare anatomical structure 
 in diverse species, conjecture psychical correspondence, 
 give the best explanation you may to morbid phenomena; 
 but decide, first, upon the validity of the phrenological 
 facts. 
 
 Does not the existing condition of the Physiology of the 
 Nervous System exhibit, in every respect, an analogy to 
 the foregoing exposition of Gall’s Physiology of the Brain ? 
 Are not the individual propositions affecting the former, 
 like those of the latter, susceptible of classification to some 
 extent, according to their different degrees of validity? 
 For example, certain propositions are received as firmly 
 established ; no one doubts, not even Magendie, that the 
 optic nerve is for seeing. It is the same thing with cerebral 
 physiology; all who have observed, recognise the ascertained 
 existence of the organ of Self-esteem ; those who have not, 
 are without title to speak on the subject. Again, other 
 particulars in Neurology do not obtain an uniform and 
 unqualified assent, as the excito-motory functions in de- 
 pendence upon speciality of structure ; so, in regard to 
 Phi’enology, the preceding sketch has set forth several of 
 the details as ranking but in the category of the highly 
 probable. In the case of Phrenology, there are some 
 statements advanced whose authenticity is incomplete, and 
 certain inferences which are but rationally conjectural, just 
 as obtains with respect to particular divisions of the nervous 
 system, — the Great Sympathetic, for instance. Premature 
 generalisation and groundless speculation have occasionally 
 damaged the career of Cerebral Phj^siology; who shall 
 declare that the same thing has not happened in the history 
 of the Physiology of the Nervous System ? 
 
 What would be thought of the philosopher who, in 
 
214 THE FDTS’CTIONS OF THE BEAIX, AS EETEAUEH 
 
 dealing with Neurology, should set out by affirming a 
 total disbelief in it, without any specification of the items 
 to which he took exception, or on what facts observed he 
 advanced a sweeping negation of the aggregate doctrine ? 
 If the grounds of disbelief consisted only of certain general 
 circumstances, bearing collaterally on the question at issue, 
 assuredly we should pronounce him to be of some other 
 school than that of Bacon. In such a case, we should deny 
 to the sceptic the right to any expression of opinion upon 
 the matter, until he had repeated the processes which had 
 led to the particular discoveries, or else had given reasons 
 for distrusting the fitness of such processes for developing 
 solid conclusions. In the instance supposed, we should justly 
 expect the whole, item by item, to be settled by a system 
 of induction as rigorous as such subjects will admit of. 
 
 Should it not be so with Phrenology ? When its claims 
 are summarily rejected by the physiological sceptic, do we 
 not act rightly in demanding what it is that he objects to ? 
 Is it to Phrenology altogether, or to some of its details ? 
 or is it to the kind of evidence by which it is supported ? 
 State to us the facts which relate directly to the question, 
 and that bring about your disbelief, or the reasons why 
 you object to our method of investigation. Do this, and 
 we may approach to some settlement of the matter; but, 
 previously, do not scoff at, and deride, or contemptuously 
 treat with indifference, what you do not understand. Take 
 up the propositions, one by one ; test their validity by facts 
 parallel to those by which it is asserted that they have been 
 established ; and then you vdU deal with Phrenology as 
 you do with Neurology, — admit what is ascertained truth, 
 doubt, and yet fui’ther investigate, what is uncertain, and 
 reject what observation shall decree to be imfoimded. 
 
 Nevertheless, however clear’ and cei’tain particular pro- 
 positions in phrenology may be discovered to be, it is verj- 
 sure that frequently, in application, difficulties will arise, 
 of a character very likely to shake the conviction as to the 
 
BY THE APPLICATION OF GAXL’s METHOD. 
 
 215 
 
 truth of Gall’s doctrine, in cases where it rests only upon 
 vague analogy and general facts. But whosoever shall 
 have studied phrenology in the only way in which it can 
 scientijiccdly be learned and yet further pursued, will but 
 see in such difficulties, points to be set down for explana- 
 tion at some future time, when a more extensive know- 
 ledge and a larger experience shall have yielded additional 
 light in relation to the subject. This is the course we 
 adopt in kindred departments of science : every day we 
 encounter, in the facts of morbid anatomy, things which 
 to us for a time are inexplicable, and often at variance in 
 their outward seeming -with some of the best established 
 doctrines in physiology. The diseases of the spinal cord 
 may serve for illustration of this assertion. Many morbid 
 conditions of this structure did, for a while, look as if di- 
 rectly at variance with the doctrine finally ratified by Bell. 
 The philosophical physiologist, however, knew that what 
 was rigorously demonstrated could be contravened by no 
 other fact in nature ; and, confident in the legitimacy of 
 certain inductions relating to the spinal cord, he calmly 
 awaited the advent of additional light to illumine the tem- 
 porary obscurity. That light is now being shed; and 
 hereby is afforded a practical lesson, teaching us never to 
 undervalue direct evidence because of some indirect diffi- 
 culty. For, assuredly,, no collateral fact, nor any circum- 
 stance yet to be revealed, however unexplainable it may be 
 for a while, can be shewn to be truly at variance with 
 other facts, rightly determined to be such. Principles 
 once established never become shaken by extended inves- 
 tigations ; on the contrary, further support and subsidiary 
 testimony are in this way afforded, by demonstration of the 
 admirable harmony always subsisting between one truth 
 and another. Thus it happens when the arsenals out of 
 which opponents to phrenology take their choicest weapons 
 of attack, are faithfully explored, that these sources supply 
 to it the best secondary testimony of which it is susceptible. 
 
216 
 
 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. 
 
 Structural anatomy and mental philosophy, vivisections, 
 comparative anatomy, and pathology, all singularly con- 
 firm the very doctrine which they are so often cited to 
 overthrow, hy an exhibition of the most striking harmony 
 subsisting between the sure facts which they afford, and 
 the real, not the caricatured, doctrine of Phrenology. To 
 the illustration of this harmony the ensuing chapters will 
 he assigned. 
 
[ 217 ] 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 HAKMONT OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY WITH STRUCTURAL 
 ANATOMY AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 It is obvious to common sense, that when a truth shall 
 have been certified by strict induction, all other circum- 
 stances rightly ascertained, will harmonise with it; conse- 
 quently, if Gall’s Physiology of the Brain do actually rest 
 on nature’s sure foundations, every other branch of know- 
 ledge which exists in any sort of relation to it, must supply 
 corroboration and support by the very circumstances of the 
 correspondence exhibited. And this subsidiary evidence 
 will vary in value and in strength, according as it is drawn 
 from sources more or less nearly allied to the main subject; 
 the more intimate the relation, the more striking should be 
 the demonstrable harmony. 
 
 Now, it is quite clear that any exposition of the func- 
 tions of the brain which is just, must exhibit a doctrine 
 which is closely correspondent with the anatomical struc- 
 ture ; at any rate, it is certain that such exposition must 
 involve no proposition which is at actual variance with 
 the known laws of structural adaptation. If the cerebral 
 physiology maintained by phrenologists be sound, it can 
 encounter no insurmountable difficulties in the anatomy ; 
 on the contrary, every arrangement of parts of the brain 
 should in some respects elucidate the correspondence sub- 
 sisting between the structure and the function. A like 
 principle obtains in regard to mental philosophy. If the 
 brain be the organ of the mind, a physiology which rightly 
 
 E 
 
218 HAEMONY OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY WITH 
 
 expounds the functions of particular parts, cannot be in 
 discordance with truths which the experience of mankind 
 in all ages has made known, and which have ever been 
 recognised all but universally ; and as the association be- 
 tween cerebral physiology and the psychical constitution 
 of man is of necessity so intimate, there should, in accord- 
 ance with what has been set forth in the premises, be just 
 so much the more facility in deducing secondary proofs of 
 the former, from the certain and weU-ascertained facts of 
 the latter. 
 
 Phrenology, though made up of the anatomy of the 
 brain and the philosophy of the mind, is, in itself, something 
 comprised neither in the one nor in the other ; but, as a 
 science, it is constituted of certain propositions affecting the 
 association — the organie union — of the two. Mind and its 
 philosophy were studied, and, in some points of view, 
 understood ; the brain and its anatomy were investigated, 
 and, in many respects, accurately described ; these things 
 were objects of inquii’y anterior to the epoch of Gall. Yet 
 these two branches of science continued to stand as widely 
 apart as if there were no natural connexion between them. 
 The iihysiologist did not apply his knowledge of the brain 
 to the elucidation or advancement of mental philosophy ; 
 and the psychologist prosecuted mental science as com- 
 pletely oblivious of the brain as if it exercised no influence 
 whatever over mental manifestations. In short, no true 
 physiology of the brain was ascertained; there was no phi'e- 
 nology ; — the science whieh sets forth the laws that affect 
 the mutual dependence and reciprocal influence of mind and 
 brain, and must then, if true, maintain nothing that is 
 inconsistent with the sure cii'cumstances of either. It ought, 
 however, to be remarked, that the observations of GaU. 
 and others, respecting the correspondence of cranial con- 
 figuration and psychical peculiarity, could not have been 
 invalidated by any revelation resulting from an examination 
 of the interior of the head ; the facts, as facts, must have 
 
STRUCTURAL ANATOMY AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 219 
 
 stood, however little susceptible they should have been of 
 any scientific interpretation. If no parallelism had sub- 
 sisted between the form of the head, and the figurate surface 
 of the brain — even if this latter had been found to be a 
 semi-fluid, fluctuating pulp — such things would have left 
 the facts in question, in so far as they were rightly ob- 
 served, absolutely unscathed. Their value, as suggesting 
 a practical inference, could only have been depreciated by 
 the collection of others, similar in their kind, but of a 
 contrary tendency ; and, in this way, reducing them to 
 the position of mere coincidences. Gall’s observations, 
 however, have not in such a manner been invalidated ; 
 yet, had the difiiculty alluded to, of affixing to them their 
 true interpretation, been really encountered, we could not 
 have deduced from them the physiology of the brain ; their 
 philosophical character would not have been so apparent, 
 and phrenology, as a branch of science now understood, 
 could not have had existence. But if, on the other hand, 
 the outward signs of imvard capability result from deve- 
 lopment of particular parts of the brain, and if this structure 
 be, in all respects, analogous to the constitution of the 
 nervous system at large, in regard to an obvious adapta- 
 tion to its several purposes, a scientific explanation of the 
 facts accumulated by Gall and his successors becomes 
 practicable. And the very circumstance of the discovery 
 of an anatomy, after many of the observations had been 
 made, by which these latter can be interpreted physiologi- 
 cally, constitutes one of the strongest corroborations of 
 their essential accuracy, that this, or any other subject, 
 could have received. 
 
 Before proceeding to furnish any account of the leading 
 features in Gall’s anatomy of the brain, it may be weU to 
 call to mind the general constitution of the nervous system, 
 in so far as this is considered to shed light on its functional 
 manifestations. As observed in a previous chapter, the 
 nervous structure is composed of two substances, the white 
 
220 HAEJIO^TT OF CEKEERAL PHTSIOLOGA’ 'WITH 
 
 and the grey, the former being fibrous, and the latter 
 vesicular; the grey matter, which is more vascular than 
 tlie white, is found abundantly at the centric extremities 
 of the nerves, and also at the peripheral expansion of 
 probably all the sentient nerA^es ; the white, fibrous struc- 
 ture is intermediately placed, forming the proper nervous 
 trunks. Numerous circumstances have rendered it highly 
 probable — not a certainty — that all functional change 
 originates in the grey substance, and that the fibrous 
 structure does but conduct incident impressions, or centric 
 impulses. The presence of the vesicular matter so con- 
 stantly at the understood source of power, and at the 
 periphery of the nerves of sense, constitutes the direct 
 evidence in support of this probability, which is strength- 
 ened, moreover, by many collateral facts. "When much 
 communication and association take place in the functions 
 of different divisions of the nervous system, a correspond- 
 ing connexion by the white fibrous tissue is observed to 
 exist ; apparatus of union being everywhere found, which 
 place one part of the system more or less in relation -with 
 the various others. This state of things in the anatomy, 
 however, never revealed function ; but tbis, once ascer- 
 tained, had its mode of manifestation greatly elucidated 
 by the knowledge of such facts. This circumstance may 
 be exemplified by adducing the visual function and its 
 nervous dependencies. Sight, as a special sense organi- 
 cally connected with a particular portion of the nervous 
 system, was long known ; an accurate and extended 
 acquaintance with the anatomy shed light upon the va- 
 rious steps in the process by which vision is accomplished. 
 Thus, rays of light, suitably converged by physical arrange- 
 ments in the globe of the eye, impress the retina composed of 
 vesicular substance ; the fibrous structure of the optic nerve 
 conducts the impression to a grey, vesicular centre in the 
 encephalon, where the function, as invohdng conscious- 
 ness, is considered to have place. Again, if we elucidate 
 
STRUCTUKAi ANATOMY AND JIENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 221 
 
 the excito-motory function, by aid of tlie anatomy (as most 
 generally admitted), we must suppose the motor impulse 
 to emanate from the grey substance of the spinal cord, 
 excited by incident impressions on the peripheral expan- 
 sion, in vesicular matter, of the nervous filaments, and 
 conveyed to the cord by the white fibres ; Avhich kind of 
 nervous substance also rejiects, eccentrically, the motor 
 influence from vuthin. And the same probable law, as 
 relating to the two kinds of nervous substance, may be 
 applied to the explanation of other offices of the system ; 
 the grey matter being properly functional, and the white 
 internuncial. 
 
 How stands the case with the brain ? Does its anatomy 
 exhibit any analogy to what we observe in the instance of 
 the nerves, their ganglia, and the spinal cord, in such a 
 way as to display a seeming fitness for the performance of 
 different offices by its different parts ? And are the several 
 structures, entering into its aggregate composition, so dis- 
 posed as to explain the inferences which Gall drew from 
 his physiognomical observations, conformably with nature’s 
 apparent plan in the nervous system at large? As the 
 anatomy was uniformly taught previously to the researches 
 of Gall, the reply to these interrogations could hardly have 
 been in the affirmative. For what were the views ordi- 
 narily taught, and most generally in vogue, amongst 
 anatomists ? Concerning the essential differences between 
 the gi’ey and the white substance of the brain, no uniform 
 or satisfactory doctrine was inculcated. Some anatomists, 
 among whom was Vicq d’Azyr, believed that the grey 
 matter was fibrous in its composition, to some extent. 
 Respecting the white substance, the greatest differences 
 prevailed as to its intimate structure ; some maintaining it 
 to be solid, and others tubular. Some conceived both it 
 and the grey matter to be globular ; and, whilst some 
 esteemed the white matter to be devoid of blood-vessels, 
 others contended for its being composed entirely of them. 
 
222 HAKMOOT OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY YFITH 
 
 Lewenhoeck, Vieussens, and Steno, recognised its fibrous 
 character; but, anterior to the laborious demonstrations 
 persevered in by Gall, this truth was never very generally 
 x’eceived. It is notorious, that when Spurzheim first exhi- 
 bited the cerebral fibres in this country, the appearances 
 were sometimes attributed by opponents to the scraping of 
 the scalpel, to the impression of blood-vessels, and some- 
 times to the force employed in tearing the more consistent 
 masses asunder. Indeed, the old anatomical designations of 
 cortical and medullary substances, scarcely as yet obsolete, 
 sufficiently indicate the opinions that were long entertained 
 regarding the intimate structure of the brain. Then, with 
 regard to its several parts these were demonstrated, 
 indeed; but who shall say that the proceeding adopted 
 was at all calculated to suggest the rudest idea of function? 
 The grossest notions of mere physical characteristics guided 
 alike the dissections and the nomenclature : mention was 
 made of hemispheres, convolutions, callous body, ventricles, 
 striated bodies, pea-shaped bodies, legs of the brain and 
 cerebellum, writing pen, ram’s horns, semicircular tape- 
 worms, pyramidal bodies, and so on. As regards the mode 
 of dissection, — unlike the custom prevalent whenever a 
 notion concerning function has to be illustrated or corrobo- 
 rated by the anatomy, as in tracing parts according to their 
 natural arrangement when dissecting a muscle, a blood- 
 vessel, or a nerve, — the brain was rudely cut up into slices, 
 its fibres, even when recognised, never being traced in their 
 course, but the whole structure was most grossly and unphi- 
 losophically mangled and desti’oyed. And the wretched 
 trash resulting from this procedure continues yet, in some 
 places, to form the only cerebral anatomy which is taught. 
 And, certainly, such an anatomy would not harmonise -ndth 
 Gall’s physiology. 
 
 Dissatisfied with this state of things, and convinced from 
 several circumstances that just ideas did not prevail with 
 respect to the structure of the encephalon. Dr GaU pro- 
 
STRUCTITRAL AlfATOMZ AOT> MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 223 
 
 ceeded to examine the entire matter anew. After he had 
 advanced considerably in the determination of a more exact 
 and just account of cerebral anatomy, he associated himself 
 Avith Spurzheim, in conjunction with whom he taught and 
 showed that the brain, in its anatomical constitution, was 
 essentially analogous to the rest of the nervous system, and 
 that, like this latter, it was seemingly adapted to the per- 
 formance of various functions, so far as this circumstance 
 could he iaferred from the anatomy, which tended to eluci- 
 date in several respects the physiological views first sug- 
 gested by the physiognomical observations. 
 
 Dr GaU was not an acute observer and philosophical 
 physician only, he was also an excellent anatomist. It 
 must he stated yet once more, that he did not go to the 
 anatomy for the physiology ; he did not dissect the brain 
 in order to discover the organs. As will he apparent from 
 details set forth in previous chapters, he ascertained, first, 
 that configuration of the head exhibited the relative deve- 
 lopment of particular parts of the brain, and that this 
 relative development coincided with peculiarity of thought 
 and feeling ; and it was after this determination that he 
 minutely investigated the structure of the encephalon, 
 seeking to make out to what extent there was an appre- 
 ciable adaptation in the organic disposition of parts to 
 manifest the functions, in accordance with some general 
 plan or design, traceable throughout the whole of the 
 nervous system. 
 
 That such an adaptation existed, he felt sure ; and, 
 relying with confidence upon the uniformity of mode in 
 which nature brings about analogous results, he did not 
 doubt that this adaptation was discoverable ; he was cer- 
 tain that the previous observations on the cranium would, 
 in some way or another, harmonise with the structural 
 arrangements of its iuner contents. His researches re- 
 vealed the cerebral anatomy, a brief epitome of which is 
 subjoiued. 
 
224 HARMOXY OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY lYITH 
 
 The encephalon, comprising in the term the whole of 
 the nervous masses within the head, was traced from 
 below, upwards, in the direction of its fibres ; and not, as 
 by most previous anatomists, by slicing it transversely. In 
 this way, a method was employed exactly correspondent 
 with what had been, and continues to be, practised in the 
 case of the nerves, muscles, blood-vessels, and other tex- 
 tures. The commencement of the encephalic fibres at the 
 superior extremity of the spinal cord was recognised, and 
 their course pursued upwards to their peripheric expansion 
 in the grey matter of the convolutions; just as we proceed 
 with a nerve in examining its anatomical relations physio- 
 logically, we begin at the centiic origin, dissecting along 
 the course of the fibres, until we attain its expansion at the 
 periphery. 
 
 The ensuing account of the direction of the cerebral 
 fibres, and their relation to the convolutions superioi'ly, 
 and the meduUa oblongata inferiorly, will be rendered 
 tolerably clear and intelligible by aid of the following cuts. 
 They and the explanations are taken fi’om the Introduction 
 to Mr Combe’s Translation of GaU on the Cerebellum. 
 Fig. 1, represents the base of the brain and the cere- 
 bellum. 
 
STRUCTURAL ANATOJIY ANB JIENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 225 
 
 AC ) 
 
 ^(2; f the right and left hemispheres of the brain. 
 
 FF, The cerebellum. 
 
 AA, The anterior lobe. 
 
 e e, The line which denotes the separation between the anterior lobe 
 and the middle lobe. 
 
 BB, The middle lobe. 
 
 CC, The posterior lobe. 
 
 GG, The Pons Varolii, which brings the two sides of the cerebelliun 
 into communication. It is also named the Tuber annulare. 
 
 HH, The Medulla oblongata. 
 rr. The Corpora pyramidalia. 
 s s, The Corpora olivaria. 
 
 1 1, The Corpora restiformia. 
 
 1. First pair, or olfactory, arise by three origins. These unite and 
 proceed forwards and inwards in a groove in the inferior surface 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 t 
 
226 HAEMONY OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY WITH 
 
 of the anterior lobes of the brain, and form a greyish swelling or 
 ganglion. From this ganglion a great number of filaments pro- 
 ceed through the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, and are 
 distributed upon the mucous membrane of the nose. It is the 
 nerve of the sense of smell. 
 
 2. Second pair, or optic, arise principally from the anterior corpora 
 quadrigemina. Each nerve passes outwards through the optic 
 foramen in the sphenoid bone, and is expanded upon the retina. 
 It is the nerve of the sense of sight. 
 
 ■3. Third pair, or motores oculorum, originate from the motor tract of 
 the spinal chord, immediately after they have passed through the 
 pons Varolii. Each nerve escapes through the sphenoidal fissure, 
 and supplies five of the muscles within the orbit with motor 
 filaments. 
 
 i. Fourth pair, or trochleares, originate from the processus e cerebello 
 ad testes and valvula of Vieuss^ns. Each nerve passes out from 
 the cranium at the sphenoidal fissure, and is entirely distributed 
 upon the superior oblique muscie of the eyeball. It is a motor 
 nerve. 
 
 5. Fifth pair. These nerves issue from the surface of the brain, near 
 
 the junction of the pons Varolii and crus cerebelli, but actually 
 arise from the restiform bodies. Each nerve escapes from the 
 cranium by three separate openings, and is extensibly distributed 
 upon the orbit and other parts of the face. Part of the filaments 
 of this nerve are sensitive, and part motor. 
 
 6. Sixth pair originate from the pyramidal bodies, as they are about 
 
 to enter the pons Varolii. Each nerve escapes through the 
 sphenoidal fissure, and is entirely distributed upon tlie external 
 rectus muscle of the eye-baU. It is a motor nerve. 
 
 7. Portio dura of the seventh pair originate from the restiform bodies. 
 
 Each nerve is extensively distributed in the muscles of the face 
 and external ear. It is the motor nerve of the muscles of ex- 
 pression of the face. 
 
 8. Portio mollis of the seventh pair, or auditory nerves (eighth pair of 
 
 some authors), arise principally from a small grey swelling on 
 the upper surface of the restiform bodies at the side of the fourth 
 ventricle. Each nerve is distributed upon the internal ear, and 
 is the nerve of the sense of hearing. 
 
 !). Glossopharnygeal nerves, or upper di\-ision of the eighth pair 
 (ninth pair of some authors), arise from the restiform bodies 
 near the sulcus which separates them from the olivary, and are 
 distributed upon the pharynx and mucous membrane at the back 
 part of the tongue. They are sensitive nerves. 
 
 10. Par vagum, or pneumogastric nerves, or principal division of the 
 eighth pair (tenth pair of some authors), originate in the same 
 line with, and close upon, the glossopharnygeal. These nerves 
 are extensively distributed upon the larynx, pharynx, trachea. 
 
'*■ 
 
 STRUCTURAL ANATOJIY AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 227 
 
 w 
 
 ,V oesophagi, heart, lungs, and stomach. Part of the filaments of 
 
 ■i this nerve are sensitive, and part are motor. 
 
 11. Spinal accessory nerves, or lower division of the eighth pair 
 
 ' (eleventh pair of some authors), originate from the upper part of 
 
 the spinal chord, in the same line ivith the two preceding nerves. 
 They enter the cranium by the foramen magnum, and pass out 
 again from the cranimn through the foramen lacerum, along with 
 the other two divisions of the eighth pair. They are principally, 
 if not entirely, motor nerves. 
 
 12. Hypoglossal or ninth pair (twelfth pair of some authors). Each 
 
 originates from the sulcus between the pyramidal and olivary 
 bodies, and escapes from the base of the cranium through the 
 anterior condyloid foramen, and is distributed upon the muscles 
 of the tongue. It is the motor nerve of the tongue. 
 
 The next figure represents a perpendicular section of the 
 interior of the brain, not far from the middle line, proceed- 
 ing fi’om the surface of the convolutions down to the spinal 
 cord. In this cut, the darker portions represent the vesi- 
 cular structure, and the white radiated part displays the 
 general character of the fibrous portion. 
 
228 HARMONY OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY WITH 
 
 e e, Is a section of one of the corpora restiformia. 
 c, Is a section of one of the corpora pyramidalia. 
 b, Is the pons Varolii. 
 g, Is one of the crura of the brain. 
 
 34, 3.5, 37, 38, and 11, Are the cerebral fibres, which, originating in the 
 medulla oblongata, as after described, pass under the pons Varolii, 
 through the crura, and corpora striata, and thalami nervorum opti- 
 corum, and ultimately expand into the convolutions of the brain. 
 47, 48, Situation of the cerebellum within the skull. 
 
 A third figure is introduced, which shows the situation 
 of the tuhercula quadrigemina, and some other parts, fre- 
 quently referred to in the present work. 
 
 Fisr. 3. 
 
 A, Represents the medulla oblongata, 
 a. Corpus pyramidale. 
 
 B, Pons Varolii, or tuber annulare. 
 
 C, Tubercula quadrigemina, with the fibres of the posterior columns 
 
 passing in front of them. 
 
 D, Crus cerebri, with some of the fibres of the anterior columns. These 
 fibres are more fully shown in fig. 2. 
 
 E, The thalamus nervi optici of one side. 
 
 F, The anterior corpus striatum. 
 
 G, Substance of the hemisphere springing out from the front of the 
 
 anterior corpus striatum. 
 
 H, Space between the corpus striatum and the hemispheres, caused, in 
 
 this figure, by the introduction of a small piece of wood. 
 
 I, The two surfaces, being in contact in the natural state. 
 
 K, Fissura Silvii. 
 
 L, The cerebellum. 
 
 T, The tentorium, separating the cerebellum from the brain. 
 
STEUCTUKAL A^TATOMT AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 229 
 
 At the upper extremity of the spinal cord, the fibres 
 continuous with the motor tract run into the corpora pyra- 
 midalia, situated on the anterior portion of the medulla 
 oblongata. These co-ipora are mainly composed of white 
 fibres, which decussate at their lower extremity (H of 
 fig. 1.); they then proceed upwards through ih.& pons varolii 
 (Gr G of fig. 1.); emerging from its upper border, the greater 
 number pass still upwards, forming the anterior and external 
 bundles of the crura cerebri (g of fig. 2.), and the exterior 
 part of the corpora striata; and, finally, they expand into 
 the inferior, anterior, and exterior convolutions of the ante- 
 rior and middle lobes of the brain. Gall maintains, and it 
 is generally allowed, that there is an observable proportion 
 between the size of the pyramidal bodies, and the convo- 
 lutions in traceable connexion with them. 
 
 A portion of the fibres of the corpora pyramidalia pass 
 into the tlialami optici (erroneously so called); these, the 
 principal ganglia of the posterior and middle lobes of the 
 brain, as they were taught to be by GaU, contain much 
 gi’ey matter, supposed to yield reinforcement to the fibres 
 passing through them, which ultimately expand to form 
 the posterior and some of the middle cerebral convolutions. 
 
 A number of fibres from the pyramidal bodies near the 
 point of decussation, accompanied by cei-tain fibres fi’om 
 the motor tract of the cord, proceed to the cerebellum. 
 
 If this account of the final distribution of the constituent 
 fibres of the corpora pyramidalia be correct (and that it 
 mainly is so, there is no question), we have these bodies 
 chiefly in relation with the anterior cerebral lobe, but to 
 some extent also with the hemispheres at large, and with 
 the cerebellum. 
 
 A connexion between the pyramidal bodies and the 
 posterior and middle, as well as the anterior portions of 
 the cerebrum, has recently been confirmed and elucidated 
 by the researches of M. FoviEe.^ 
 
 ‘ A brief account of FovOle’s anatomy in this particular occurs in the 
 
230 HARMONY OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY WITH 
 
 The fibres of the corpora olivaria (S of fig. 1) pass 
 upwards into the pons Varolii, and form the posterior and 
 interior parts of the crura cerebri', from these they proceed 
 
 last — the sixth — edition of IMr Combe’s Elements of Phrenology, supplied 
 by Dr John Reid, the learned and scientific professor of St Andrews. 
 It is as follows : — 
 
 “PovUle represents the ascending fibres of the anterior column of 
 the crus cerebri (motiferous column) as proceeding to the whole of the 
 convex and upper surface of the brain, even to its posterior extremity. 
 See his Plate 18, N N, n n. He describes the connexion of the sensiferous 
 column as follows : — The ascending fibres of this column, G L, in his 
 plate, are seen passing onwards to the substantia perforata anterior, 
 and becoming connected with the olfactory and optic neiwes attached 
 to tills part of the encephalon. These sensiferous fibres also form the 
 medullary covering of the floor of the lateral ventricles. The connexion 
 of the sensiferous fibres with the convolutions of the hemispheres, 
 according to Foville, takes place in the following manner: — The grey 
 layer placed upon the surface of the convolutions, and forming their 
 periphery, consists of alternate layers of grey and white medullary 
 matter. Proceeding from the surface inwards, these layers are ar- 
 ranged (parallel to the external surface) as follows : — 1st, medullary or 
 white ; 2d, grey ; 3d, white ; 4th, grey ; 5th, white ; 6th, grey. This last 
 layer of grey is placed on a layer of white. These white layers, entering 
 into what is called the grey matter on the surface of the brain, are 
 continuous with the lining medullary membrane of the floor of the 
 lateral ventidcles ; in other words, with the sensiferous fibres. If tliis 
 view be correct, the sensiferous fibres extend in the fonn of a medullary 
 expansion in contact with the grey matter, over the surface of all the 
 convolutions of the brain. This connexion between the medullary 
 layers in the cortical substance on the surface of the hemispheres and 
 the sensiferous fibres of the medulla oblongata, takes place at the 
 substantia perforata anterior. This part of the brain, to which are 
 united the only two cerebral nerves — the optic and olfactory — and from 
 which emanate, as from a centre, all the convolutions on the surface of 
 the brain, has not been suflBciently attended to by anatomists. 
 
 “ According to Foville, it is composed of a substance of a peculiar 
 kind, differing from all other parts of the brain, perforated bj' innumer- 
 able vessels united to, suiTounded and enclosed by, the roots of the 
 above-named nerves, which cover and penetrate it by prolongations 
 from their own substance, and is situated in the deep central part of 
 the basOar region of the fissure of SUvius. It is of a quadrilateral 
 form, placed below the insertion of the fasciculated part of the crura 
 cerebri (peduncle) in the substance of the brain. It is separated from 
 the peduncle by the tractus opticus, which is attached to its posterior 
 
STRUCTURAL ARATOIIT AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 231 
 
 through the great posterior ganglia (thalami optic{), and 
 then expand, partly into the convolutions of the anterior 
 lobe that lie on its superior surface towards the middle 
 line, partly into the superior convolutions towards the 
 central line of the middle lobe, but chiefly into the con- 
 volutions of the posterior lobe. 
 
 Some anatomists assert that a decussation of the fibres 
 of the olivary bodies takes place at the same point as that 
 where the corpora pyramidalia decussate. 
 
 The fibres of the corpora restiformia (t t, fig. 1) ascend 
 and form the principal part of the cerebellum ; a portion, 
 however, pass onwards, and enter into the constitution of 
 the posterior cerebral convolutions. 
 
 In the centre of the crus cerebri, the fibres from the cor- 
 pora pyramidalia (D, in fig. 3) are separated from the fibres 
 of the posterior division of the medulla oblongata (to the left 
 of the letter C, in fig. 3) by a portion of darkish grey 
 substance called locus niger. 
 
 border. But, for a more particular description, we must refer to Foville, 
 Anatomie, p. 181. 
 
 “ The radiating fibres of the motiferous columns of the medulla ob- 
 longata occupy the centre of the hemispheres, send ramifications into 
 all the convolutions on the lateral and upper surfaces of the hemispheres, 
 and penetrate the internal layers of the cortical substance covering the 
 external surface of these convolutions. 
 
 “ The radiating fibres of the motiferous column of the crus cerebri 
 have, therefore, their peripheral extremities covered by the expanded 
 layers of the sensiferous column, which are intermi.xed with and form a 
 part of the grey cortical substance on the surface of the convolutions. 
 
 Foville, in his resume of the structure of the brain, given at p. 487 of 
 his work, states that the cerebral prolongations of the posterior column 
 occupy in this organ the situation wMch the skin and mucous mem- 
 branes do in the body ; and upon these two tegumentary membranes of 
 the body numerous branches of the sensiferous nerves connected with 
 this posterior column are ramified, while none of the motiferous nerves 
 reach it. 
 
 “ The cerebral prolongations of the anterior column, contained in the 
 interspace between the membranous expansions of the posterior column, 
 occupy in the brain the place which the muscular system, animated by 
 the nerves attached to the anterior column, holds in the body.” 
 
232 HARMONY OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY IVITH 
 
 The two hemispheres of the brain, as well as its several 
 subdivisions, are brought into mutual communication by 
 means of structures called commissures^ composed chiefly of 
 white fibrous tissue. An excellent classification of these 
 is supplied by IMr Solly, in his work on the Brain, under 
 three heads, — the transverse, longitudinal, and oblique. 
 
 The transverse commissures are the following : — 
 
 1. The great transverse commissure of the hemispheres, 
 the corpus callosum. 
 
 2. pineal commissure. 
 
 3. The posterior commissure, or commissure of the pos- 
 terior cerebral ganglia. 
 
 4. The soft commissure, also of the posterior ganglia. 
 
 5. The anterior commissure, or commissure of the ante- 
 rior cerebral ganglia {corpora striata). 
 
 6. The commissure of the cerebellum, the pons Varolii. 
 
 The longitudinal commissures are two : — 
 
 1. The superior longitudinal commissure. 
 
 2. The inferior longitudinal commissure, the forviix. 
 
 There is but one oblique commissure, commonly called 
 
 the processus e cerebello ad testes, wuth the vcdve of Vieussens. 
 
 Cerebellum. This organ, in description, is commonly 
 divided into two portions, — the lobes, or lateral portions, 
 and the vermiform process, or central part. In the formation 
 of the cerebellum, the greater part of the fibres of the 
 corpora restiformia run into it, and upwards in the direction 
 of certain vesicular matter forming the proper ganglion of 
 the cerebellum, usually denominated corpus dentatum ; 
 having attained this structui’e, they become inserted in it. 
 and emerging greatly enforced, they expand, finally, to 
 form the lobes, in the same w'ay as the fibres issuing from 
 the great cerebral ganglia {corpora striata and thalami optici) 
 go to form the hemispherical convolutions. 
 
 Certain fibres arising from the summit of the anterior 
 column of the spinal cord, and from the inferior extremity 
 of the corpora pyramidalia, proceed, as before stated, in the 
 
STKTJCTUKAL ANATOMT AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 233 
 
 direction of the cerebellum, and enter its substance, bring- 
 ing the organ into anatomical connexion with the motor 
 division of the cord. The existence of this connexion is 
 alluded to by Gall and Spurzbeim, but Mr Solly seems to 
 have been the first who clearly demonstrated it. 
 
 The Pons VAEOLii is to the cerebellum what the corpus 
 callosum is to the cerebrum, its great transverse commissure. 
 
 Corpora Quadrigemina. These four little eminences ■ 
 (as they exist in the mammalia), seem to be in especial 
 connexion, by fibres, with the coipora olivaria; some fibres, 
 moreover, from the pyi’amidal bodies run also to them. 
 
 The preceding description of the encephalic structures 
 has been adduced only as furnishing materials for an esti- 
 mation of the analogy which subsists between the true 
 anatomy of the brain, and the recognised constitution of 
 the nervous system. Although it can, of course, make no 
 pretensions to a full anatomical exposition, it may yet be 
 sufficient for the purpose of recalling to the mind of the 
 student the relations which obtain among the various parts 
 of the encephalon, as also its general constitution. The 
 presence of grey substance at the extremities of the white 
 fibres, displays a striking correspondence with the anatomy 
 of the nerves; and the analogy will also have been stiU 
 further apparent in the mode in which the cerebral masses 
 are brought into reeiprocal communication. This being 
 accomplished, both in the case of the brain and of the 
 nerves, by intercommunication of fibres among the several 
 parts. 
 
 The anatomy of the brain, as made out by Gall, and first 
 taught by himself and Spurzheim, is now but very rarely 
 disputed, although for a while it was ridiculed and denied. 
 Afterwards, when its justice and fidelity could no longer be 
 concealed, the prejudices that existed among many persons 
 against its real author, caused it to be attributed to Reil, 
 and to almost any anatomist who, soon after it was first 
 propounded, gave to it a sanction hy teaching it at second 
 
234 
 
 HARMONY OP CEREBRAR PHYSIOLOGY 'WTTH 
 
 hand. Now, however, that time has done its usual work, 
 and mitigated early hostility, its true origin is very generally 
 allowed, and an impartial posterity will not fail to award 
 to Gall the great merit, which is his own, not only of dis- 
 covering the true physiology of the brain, but also of having 
 been the first rightly to make out its intimate structural 
 constitution. It is not meant that no eiTors in detail are 
 to be found in Gall’s descriptions, or that every appearance 
 which he noticed, received a correct interpretation. It must 
 be maintained, however, that all the leading features of his 
 anatomy are substantially accurate, and that they exhibit, 
 moreover, an adaptation to function in the encephalon on a 
 plan that is common to it and the nervous system at large, 
 by analogous disposition of the vesicular and the fibrous 
 substances, and by I’eciprocal communication of its various 
 divisions ; and that, in this way, the brain and its physio- 
 logy, are in harmony with all mu’ well established notions 
 concerning the fitness of structure for the manifestation of 
 function. 
 
 It has been already shown, in the present chapter, how 
 the exercise of function, on the part of individual nerves, 
 or systems of nerves, harmonises with their physical 
 arrangements; how grey matter receives the impressions 
 ah extra, which are conducted by white fibres to a grey 
 ganglionic centre, where the specialities of function are 
 supposed principally to have place. A precisely similar 
 explanation may be developed in regard to the brain, by 
 admission of Gall’s anatomy and physiology. 
 
 The convolutions of the hemispheres appear to stand in 
 a relation to the ganglionic centres of the nerves of animal 
 life, very analogous to that in which these centres them- 
 selves stand to the superficial expansion of their respective 
 nerves. Thus the nerves of special sense, and of common 
 sensation, terminate all in grey matter at the base of the 
 brain. This grey matter is universally in communication 
 with the white fibrous structure which runs into the convo- 
 
STRUCTUKAl AISTATOMT Am> 3IENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 235 
 
 lutions, again composed largely of grey matter. Now, when 
 an impression is made upon the senses, as when objects are 
 seen; when articulate sounds are heard; or when the body 
 is bruised ; the sensible impression made upon the gan- 
 glionic centre acts upon the intellect, located in the anterior 
 convolutions, and it may also, and very generally does, 
 exert an influence upon the feelings ; and these effects are 
 explained by the existence of communicating fibres. In 
 many cases, the impression gives I’ise to some action accom- 
 plished by the muscular system, through the instrumenta- 
 lity of motor fibres, connected, through the pyramidal 
 bodies, chiefly with the intellectual compartment of the 
 brain, whence proceeds Wt'll. Very often impressions on 
 the sentiments and propensities induce visible effects on 
 the muscular system, in emotional expression and gesture, 
 independently of all volition, and at times even in opposition 
 to it; and, in correspondence with these cii’cumstances, 
 modern researches have exhibited, as before stated, a fibrous 
 connexion between the motor strands of the spinal cord 
 and the encephalic organs of the feelings, as discovered and 
 taught by Gall, — a connexion which supplies all necessary 
 data for the formation of a reasonable and highly probable 
 theory of instinctive and emotional movements, by assump- 
 tion of a reflex influence upon the motor system, inherent 
 in all the central ganglia, and brought into operation by 
 incident impressions. ^ 
 
 In aU mental phenomena, the intellectual faculties, the 
 moral sentiments, and animal propensities, act and react 
 
 ^ The author has great pleasure in referring the reader for some 
 curious and interesting points in relation to this subject, to an able and 
 valuable paper by Dr Laycock, published in the British and Foreign 
 Medical ReNdew for January 1845, “ On the Reflex Functions of the 
 Brain.” Also to a remarkable correspondence between that gentleman, 
 Mr Combe, and Professor Reid, published in consecutive numbers 
 of the Lancet, during the months of August, September, and October 
 1845. Mr Combe, in the last edition of his “ Elements,” has applied 
 Dr Laycock’s theory, with very beautiful effect, to the whole subject of 
 phrenology. 
 
236 HAHMONT OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY \YITII 
 
 one upon the other, displaying reciprocal influence in all 
 sorts of ways ; and, correspondent with such a state of 
 things, the several masses of both grey and white matter 
 are brought into mutual communication by the general 
 fibrous aiTangement of the structure and by the commis- 
 sures. These views might be considerably extended ; it 
 would, however, be beyond the general purpose of this 
 work, to do more than briefly to indicate them. The 
 whole subject, in this point of view, is most ably and fuUy 
 discussed, in the publications just referred to in the note. 
 
 An objection to Gall’s physiology is sometimes deduced 
 from the anatomy of the braip, because mechanical divi- 
 sions corresponding with the organology do not exhibit 
 themselves, — mapping out the encephalic surface after the 
 manner of the phrenological bust ; and some persons would 
 appear to reject phrenology, or at least to disregard it as a 
 scientific pursuit, on this very account. In a course of 
 popular lectures on physiology, recently delivered by a 
 distinguished metropolitan professor, in the town in which 
 the author vu’ites, the lecturer adduced excellent reasons 
 for preferring the mental philosophy evolved by phrenology 
 to every other, — admitted the general correctness of the 
 physiognomical observations, — avowed himself, moreover, 
 to have been for some years a member of a phrenological 
 society, vsdth a view to satisfy himself of the amount of 
 truth contained in the subject ; and yet this professor 
 concluded by asserting that “ it does not appear to be 
 altogether sustained by the anatomy,” suggesting, in this 
 way, that, so far as true, phrenology is but a species of 
 improvement on the system of Lavater. Again, in a paper 
 published in the Edinburgh Review, July 1845 — the 
 authorship of which is imputed, with every probability, to 
 Professor SedgI^^ck — the writer, reviewing “ Vestiges of 
 the Natural History of Creation,” objects to Gall’s doctiine, 
 not because the observations are too scanty or inaccurately 
 made, but because it is “ unsustained by any direct anato- 
 
STRUCTURAL ARAT03IT AND SffiNTAL PHILOSOPHY. 237 
 
 mical proof and the reviewer further states, “ We have 
 several times seen the human brain dissected (and twice 
 by Dr Spurzheim himself), and we affirm that neither he 
 nor any one else has been able to demonstrate any sub- 
 division of its structure, corresponding to the organ theory.” 
 Objections such as these can only arise from singular 
 thoughtlessness, or from utter ignorance of nature’s plan 
 in the development of the nervous system, which, as a rule, 
 exhibits no mechanical divisions coincidently with distinctness in 
 function ; — if it were otherwise, there might be some plausi- 
 bility in the objection, although its conclusiveness could not 
 be admitted, seeing that, in the case of the brain, the spe- 
 cialities might be such as to demand some deviation from 
 the customary method. But, in point of fact, the physical 
 arrangements of the nervous system accord with no such 
 mechanical prescriptions, either in man or in animals. 
 The trunks of the nerves are composed of filaments in sub- 
 servience to various functions, and the several filaments 
 are absolutely undistinguishable in their relation to func- 
 tion : not only is this the case, but the grey masses of 
 ganglionic substance at their origin frequently defy aU 
 attempts to discriminate lines of demarcation coincident 
 with functional differences. If we take the spinal cord 
 itself for examination, we shall certainly discover furrowed 
 lines on its various sides; but there is no reason whatsoever 
 to believe that these correspond with differences in office ; 
 indeed, the evidence is aU the other way ; it is pretty 
 certain that they do not. The roots of the motor and 
 sensitive nerves, in their connexion with the cord, do not 
 come from mechanically-divided portions ; for they issue, 
 in both cases, from the antero-lateral strands ; one root 
 originating behind the other, but in each case anterior to 
 the lateral furrow. The medulla oblongata is linearly 
 divided, but no certainty exists that such division is alto- 
 gether coincident with distinctness in function. Certain 
 filaments of nerves emanating from vesicular structure. 
 
238 HARMONY OF CEREBRAX PHYSIOLOGY MTTH 
 
 wherein no marked division obtains, undoubtedly have 
 plurality of function ; and when doubts are expressed Muth 
 regard to this fact in some particular case, they are not 
 caused by the absence of lines of demarcation. JIany 
 esteemed physiologists think that the glosso-pharyngeal 
 nerve has more offices than one — an inference that is de- 
 duced from the supposed manifestations, and not from a 
 recognition of mechanical divisions. It is the same thing 
 \vith the entire nervous system. Why, then, should it 
 have been assumed that a different plan was necessary in 
 the instance of the brain ? If it were not matter of con- 
 stant experience to what utter perversion of all sound 
 reasoning prejudice leads, it would be impossible to con- 
 jecture how this should have happened. As the case 
 stands, it is very probable that such an argument oiagi- 
 nated in some determination to put down phrenology^ and 
 that it has been kept up from its obvious fitness for capti- 
 vating the supeifficially informed. 
 
 Nevertheless, it may be asserted that such lines of de- 
 mai'cation as do permit themselves to be noticed in the 
 ganglionic origins of nerves, and in the spinal cord, are 
 constant, and admit of ready identification ; suggesting, 
 under these circumstances, that differences of function do 
 exist, however little these may correspond with the mecha- 
 nical divisions ; but that, on the other hand, the furrows 
 indicative of distinctness in the cerebral convolutions, are 
 in no regular order, whilst every thing looks more like 
 accidental packing up, than a settled anatomical arrange- 
 ment. This is an old objection, not yet altogether aban- 
 doned ; and, for a long time, it was deemed to be of serious 
 import. When Dr Spm’zheim denied the premises, con- 
 tending for the fact as existing differently, and when he 
 maintained that order and symmetry obtained as com- 
 I)letely in the co-ordination of the convolutions of the brain, 
 as in other pai’ts of the nervous system, his position Avas 
 controA^erted, and sought to be demonstrated in the nega- 
 
STEUCTUEAL ANATOMY AND MENTAL PHIEOSOPHT. 239 
 
 tive. Yet, how stand the actual circumstances of the case? 
 Why, the fact is, that, at the present day, no manner of 
 doubt remains that the disposition of the cerebral convolu- 
 tions is upon a plan that is systematic ; every anatomist of 
 any repute admits it to he so ; and if individuals wih hut 
 consult nature’s hook impartially, they wiU discover it to 
 authorise the statements which affirm the fact. 
 
 Recently, M. Leuret, an opponent of phrenology, has 
 shown that, by comparing the most complex and highly 
 convoluted brains with others in which the folds are few 
 and simple, the convolutions of the latter, which, in their 
 mode of disposition, form the primitive type, may he 
 demonstrated in each successive group of brains, as they 
 constitute, seemingly, a rest in the ascending scale. Dr 
 Todd and IVIr Bowman, who cannot he charged with 
 any predilection for the physiology of Gall, do yet, in the 
 following terms, corroborate his anatomy, in its relation to 
 the arrangement of the vesicular structure of the hemi- 
 spheres : they say — “ When the brain has acquu’ed an 
 enonnous size, as in the elephant and in man, new convo- 
 lutions seem to he added to the primary ones met with in 
 inferior groups, and the secondary folds are greatly iucreased 
 in number. The additional convolutions are found chiefly 
 at the superior and anterior part of the hemisphere.” ^ 
 
 Some persons have contended that, although phrenology, 
 according to external indications, makes out a double brain 
 with symmetrical disposition of the organs, the brain actu- 
 ally shows no such symmetry in the ai’rangement of con- 
 volutions in the two hemispheres. Now, every work on 
 phrenology, possessing the slightest pretensions to scientific 
 merit, admits that, very often, the development on the two 
 sides of the head is unequal, but that, nevertheless, the 
 essential organs exist symmetrically, just as it happens 
 with other structures in the two halves of the body. The 
 
 ’ Physiology of IMan, pp. 281-2. 
 
240 HARMONY OF CEREBRAI, PHYSIOLOGY M'lTH 
 
 special senses, the component parts of the face, the volun- 
 tary muscles, and some other organs, are found upon each 
 side of the mesial line with a general development and 
 arrangement alike on both halves of the body ; hut the 
 symmetry is neither absolute nor uniform. How far does 
 all this correspond with our present knowledge of the 
 cerebral convolutions ? The results of the researches of 
 Dr Todd and Mr Bovonan, the latest v-riters of any autho- 
 rity upon the subject, are set forth in the following terms : 
 “ In man, the convolutions of the right and left hemi- 
 spheres do not present a perfect symmetry. It is im- 
 portant, however, to notice, that careful examination will 
 invariably display the same essential convolutions on each 
 side, although they present such striking differences in 
 detail, that it is at times difficult to recognise the likeness ; 
 and it is not a little remarkable, that, in general, the lower 
 the development of a brain, the more exact will he the 
 symmetry of its convolutions. Thus, the brains of all the 
 inferior mammalia, even of those which make the nearest 
 approach to man, are exactly symmetrical. The imper- 
 fectly developed brain of the cliild exhibits a similar sym- 
 metry ; and that of the inferior races of mankind, in whom 
 the neglect of mental culture, and habits approaching those 
 of the brute, are opposed to the growth of the brain, also 
 presents a symmetrical disposition of the convolutions.” ^ 
 
 It is, indeed, certain, and placed beyond all doubt, that, 
 whatever be the structural adaptation for the performance 
 of different functions in the several ganglionic centres of 
 the nervous system at large, a corresponding state of things 
 is discoverable in the cerebral convolutions, and an analo- 
 gous disposition of the grey matter. Order and symmetry 
 characterise the presence of this latter everywhere, both in 
 the nerves and in the encephalon ; but, so far as the evi- 
 dence yet goes, furrowed lines do not appear to mark the 
 
 physiology of Man, p. 283. 
 
STRUCTTJRAJL ANATOMY AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY, 241 
 
 the structures coincidently with division in their functions. 
 This is admitted with regard to the nerves ; why should a 
 different plan be anticipated in the case of the brain ? If 
 a necessity for such deviation from the general scheme be 
 in question, the onm prohandi lies not with the phrenolo- 
 gists who see no need for it, but with such writers as the 
 Edinburgh Eeviewer of “ Vestiges of the Natural History 
 of Creation.” 
 
 Reference has already been made to Foville’s Anatomy 
 of the Brain, which, coincidently with some other researches 
 of recent date, sets forth that all parts of the cerebral 
 hemispheres are in direct fibrous connexion with the motor 
 division of the spinal cord ; and it has been maintained that 
 this fact harmonizes well with certain phenomena involved 
 in emotional actions of the muscular system, which, so long 
 as it appeared that the motor tract was only in communi- 
 cation with the anterior cerebral lobes, were somewhat difli- 
 cult of explanation. The author, however, has heard it 
 objected, that from the inherent difficulties of the investi- 
 gation no such separate and distinct connexion can be made 
 out between various parts of the hemispheres and portions 
 of the spinal cord. In reply to this it is to be observed, 
 that it may indeed be an impossibility to trace every fibre 
 in all parts of the brain through the optic tlialami, and 
 corpora striata, beneath the pons varolii, along the crura 
 cerelri, down to the divisions of the medulla oblongata and 
 cord : all that is practicable is to show that fibres from the 
 lower structures ascend, and run continuously into some 
 of the fibres demonstrable in the higher. It is a sure 
 physiological inference that the sensori-vohtional fibres, 
 distributed throughout the body, have a connexion with 
 the medulla oblongata ; but there is no possibility of tracing 
 every individual nervous fibre, through the trunks, to the 
 spinal cord, and up to the medulla : if every fibre was 
 separately and distinctly continued into this latter structure, 
 its volume would far exceed that which we witness. The 
 
 L 
 
242 HAJRJIONY OF CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY WITH 
 
 fact stands thus : — A connexion, to some extent, can be 
 made out between the motor fibres of the cord, for ex- 
 ample, and the pyramidal bodies, through which latter, 
 the will transmits its influences to the muscles from the 
 anterior lobes of the brain. To gain the recognition of 
 this inference, it is not thought necessary to demonstrate 
 that the pyramidal bodies, or that the anterior division of 
 the upper segment of the cord, include by continuation 
 the aggregate of all the volitional nerves. Any difficulties, 
 therefore, wdiich may arise in reference to these matters, 
 from impeifect demonstration of the communication sub- 
 sisting between the several convolutions of the brain and 
 the motor strands of the spinal column, are but of a 
 character with that which obtains in the whole structural 
 anatomy of the nervous system. 
 
 If the anatomy of the brain so strikingly harmonise with 
 Gall’s physiology, how does the mental philosophy which 
 it developes correspond wdth the daily experience of human 
 nature, as recorded by metaphysicians, moral philosophers, 
 and theologians ? As the author’s present object is almost 
 altogether physiological, he will enter but very slightly into 
 this topic, and this with the view rather of giving a sort 
 of completeness to the illustrations of the evidence attesting 
 the soundness of Gall’s physiology of the brain, than with 
 an intention of entering into any full discussion of the 
 matter in its moral bearings. He wall, therefore, revert 
 only to some leading circumstances calculated to exhibit 
 the harmony and correspondence in question. 
 
 The physiology discovered by Gall renders it a matter 
 of scientific demonstration, that special talents and parti- 
 culai’ dispositions are innate ; that genius is bom, and not 
 created by education ; that goodness of heart, and other dis- 
 tinctive properties of the inward feeling, are not accidental 
 circumstances, but that, radically, and in great part, they 
 are dependent upon the natural constitution of the indi- 
 vidual. Further, it is rendered demonstrable, that the va- 
 
STRUCTURAL ANATOSOT AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 243 
 
 rieties which, are to be observed in talent and disposition 
 come, in like manner, from natm-e’s primitive ordination. 
 As exemplified in the foregoing chapter, one person shall 
 have one kind of talent in a high degree, and be distin- 
 guished for nothing besides ; whilst another person shall 
 be remarkable, in the same way, for some other talent 
 only : one individual shall reason most acutely and pro- 
 foundly, and yet be no linguist, in spite of efforts that may 
 have been made to overcome the defect ; in some other 
 instance, the exact converse of this will be found to have 
 place. As regards the moral disposition : whilst one per- 
 son shall ever feel kindly towards his fellow-creatures, 
 another shall be almost an entire stranger to the sentiment 
 of benevolence, and yet be rigidly just: these different 
 qualities shall have displayed themselves in their respec- 
 tive subjects ah initio, although, essentially, the outward 
 training shall have been the same. All this is sure ; and 
 phrenology places it beyond mere opinion, because it reveals 
 organic conditions which are congenital, and coincident 
 with such psychical diversity. 
 
 Does not such a state of things harmonise ivith our con- 
 stant experience? Would it ever have been doubted in 
 an absence of all speculative philosophy ? Every one who 
 is conversant with the nursery, with schools, or with 
 childhood and youth, under any set of circumstances, must 
 laugh to scorn the theories of the closet. Let three chil- 
 dren, all of the same parents, and brought up under like 
 circumstances, be regarded ; one shall surpass its fellows 
 prodigiously in the faculty of learning by heart ; another 
 shall be remarkable for arithmetical abihty, obtaining re- 
 sults con amove, which may have cost the other two much 
 and difficult appliance of the mind ; and the third shall be 
 distinguished for neither of these capabilities, nor for any 
 other particular aptitude for learning, but, nevertheless, 
 shall, in spite of some seeming dullness, strike an attentive 
 and reflective observer, by undoubted indications of thought 
 
244 HAEMONT OF CEEEBKAE PHYSIOLOGY WITH 
 
 beyond its years, in asking old-fashimed questions, and in 
 seeking perpetually for reasons rather than for mere infor- 
 mation. To pursue the illustration : differences of disposi- 
 tion shall he equally remarkable in the supposed instances, 
 ivith the intellectual peculiarities; one shall he good- 
 natured, another selfish, and the third vain and conceited, 
 and all this in complete absence of any diversity in the 
 outward circumstances ; proving that the difiPerences are 
 innate. Cerebral physiology, as made out and taught by 
 Gall, harmonises with all such facts (more or less within 
 every one’s experience), inasmuch as it shows that the or- 
 ganization which, in our earthly existence, manifests mind, 
 exhibits diversity in constant correspondence with this 
 variety in the talents and the dispositions. 
 
 However metaphysicians may have differed among them- 
 selves respecting analysis and classification, they have very 
 generally recognised the fact of plurality in the mental 
 powers, and of their diversities of strength in different 
 individuals. “ The varieties of intellectual character among 
 men,” says IMr Stew'art, “ present another very interesting 
 object of study, which, considering its practical utility, has 
 not yet excited, as much as might have been expected, the 
 curiosity of our countrymen.”* Merely contemplative stu- 
 dents do not, however, always regard these varieties as 
 dependent upon the innate constitution; yet that they are 
 so, in great part, is a conclusion of experience; and cere- 
 bral physiology puts the question beyond a doubt. Moral 
 philosophers, it has been shoivn in a previous chapter, 
 admit a like state of things in the case of the feelings, 
 susceptible of a physiological explauation by the discovery 
 of Gall. Divines have, in all ages, taught the existence of 
 variety in the gifts and talents of mankind, in illustration of 
 the doctrine that much is required w'here much is given. 
 Diversity in temptation and facilities for pai'ticular virtues, 
 
 ' Disseitation, Encyclopaidia Britannica, vol. i. p. 222. 
 
STRUCTUKAL ANATOJIT AND MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 245 
 
 according to natural constitution, are familiar to tlie thoughts 
 of moral theologians and of casuists. How beautifully do 
 all these things correspond 'with their dependence, in some 
 measure, upon the natural constitution of the cerebral 
 organisation! Who have ever been regarded as the great 
 masters in the knowledge of human nature, in spite of the 
 obloquy which, justly or unjustly, they have so often sus- 
 tained? Wlio, in their educational capabilities, have long 
 been celebrated as a class? W^hy, the Jesuits, whose 
 distinctive proceedings in dealing with the education of 
 youth, have always consisted in the acuteness and assiduity 
 with which they have determined specialities in the indi- 
 vidual, in reference alike to intellectual capability and to 
 moral tendency. The Jesuits, both by enemies and friends, 
 are reputed to have studied mankind most successfully, and 
 the results, in their practical bearings, harmonise most 
 remarkably with the physiology of Gall. Here may also 
 be mentioned, the notorious fact, that certain faculties 
 display a prominent activity and power, only at particular 
 seasons of life — a circumstance utterly inexplicable except- 
 ing on the theory that different faculties act through 
 separate organs. Indeed, in whatsoever way we should 
 propose to demonstrate the harmony which subsists between 
 the true physiology of the brain and a sound philosophy of 
 mind, the difficulty occurs, not in the discovery of appro- 
 priate illustrations, but in a selection of such as may appear 
 the most striking; for every where it is seen that difficult 
 problems affecting the human mind receive their best, and 
 in some cases, their only scientific elucidation in this phy- 
 siology of Gall. 
 
 The existence of native differences in particular talents 
 and dispositions, is &fact. It is just one of those things 
 which mankind takes for granted: ere it is doubted, sophis- 
 tical speculation must have done its work. All the views 
 and schemes we form regarding our fellow men, rest essen- 
 tially upon this truth; and the moral consequences flowing 
 
246 HARMONY OP CEREBRAL PHYSIOLOGY 'VYITH 
 
 fi’oin it, have ever been deducible ; the additional truth that 
 recognisable specialities in the organisation, exist in coin- 
 cidence, constitutes no novelty in respect of tendency; the 
 moral truth itself is absolutely unaffected by the discovery 
 of phrenology. In all these things there is harmony, as in 
 the rest of God’s works. One truth is sustained by another ; 
 moral philosophy and physiology are in concord and unison. 
 Be assured that, whatever he the moral hearings of Gall’s 
 physiology, they are not new; and the present writer 
 scruples not to affirm that, when conclusions are deduced, 
 by particular writers, from phrenology, which, as is some- 
 times the case, shock the general sense of the community, 
 they have not been foimed by phrenology in fact, but have 
 existed in the mind, in germ at least, quite irrespective of 
 it. Men, from totally different premises, lean to certain 
 notions regardhig morality and religion. lYlien they 
 become acquainted with phrenology, they use it, as they 
 use all their collateral knowledge, to con’oborate and to 
 develope still further, their previous ideas. 
 
 When attentive consideration is bestowed upon the 
 harmony subsisting between certain physiological facts 
 and correlative mental phenomena, it is impossible not to 
 recognise, in such a cfrcumstance, a powerful corrobora- 
 tion of the truth of the doctrine by which it is developed. 
 Indeed, so potent and irresistible has this sort of evi- 
 dence been felt to be by large numbers, that Gall’s phy- 
 siology has often been admitted on account of its mere 
 force, without any direct examination of the facts of the 
 case. It has been maintained, that, in the main, phreno- 
 logy must be true, as on any other supposition so admir- 
 able and so practical a system of mental philosophy could 
 not have emanated from it. Many most esteemed winters on 
 other subjects have avowed, that no analysis or classification 
 of the mental faculties, is at aU compai'able with that of the 
 phrenologists ; and others, less candid, will be found to draw 
 lai’gely from phrenological som’ces, without acknowledg- 
 
STRUCTURAL ANAT03IT AND JIENTAL PHTSIOLOGT. 247 
 
 ment. In many of these cases, no thought may have been 
 bestowed upon the organology; hut parties, having dis- 
 covered a mode of specifying and aiTanging the mental 
 faculties, singularly apt for explaining the phenomena of 
 mind, as encountered in the constant experience of man- 
 kind, avail themselves furtively of it, not ha\dng the inge- 
 nuousness to avow themselves pro tanto phrenologists. It 
 is really amusing, sometimes, to read medical and educa- 
 tional disquisitions which have gained the best part of their 
 reputation from the unacknowledged use made of phreno- 
 logy ; their authors having discovered that ideas which 
 strictly flow from it, are sometimes accepted the more 
 readily, if sufiiciently disguised to conceal their true 
 paternity. 
 
 There is nothing singular in the fact, that many persons 
 should have become satisfied of the truth of Gall’s physio- 
 logy by merely reflecting upon its accordance Avith sound 
 mental philosophy ; the same kind of thing happens, more 
 or less, in every department of knowledge. Secondary 
 proofs — those based chiefly on considerations of analogy — 
 are appreciated the most easily, and, on this account, 
 naturally weigh more with the great bulk of inquirers 
 than Avould a chain of du’ect evidence, the tracing of which 
 may involve an amount of labour and a degree of thought 
 which are not always practicable. With respect to disputed 
 questions, however, — those regarding which no imiversal 
 consent obtains, — conviction of their truth, resting only on 
 secondary evidence, is but rarely to be depended upon, 
 because this latter, of itself, is never conclusive. In the 
 case of Phrenology, the evidence of direct facts gained by 
 personal observation can alone lead to a decision that is 
 flxed and sure. When this shall have been obtained in 
 such a manner, corroborative proofs will be felt by the 
 student in double force ; serving, however, it must once 
 more be said, for illustration and elucidation of the several 
 propositions in teaching the willing neophyte, rather than 
 
248 
 
 HAEMOOT OF CEEEBEAL PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 for materials applicable in tbe confutation of some sceptical 
 opponent, who may insist upon affixing to them some other 
 interpretation, the fallacy of which cannot always he ren- 
 dered apparent, unless by changing the mode of argument, 
 and recurring to the primary proofs. 
 
HAEMONT OF GALL’S PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 249 
 
 CHAPTER Vin. 
 
 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY OF THE ENCEPHALON, 
 ANT) THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 
 
 It has been shown in an early chapter how unsatisfactory 
 and inconclusive have been the results attained, in aU 
 attempts to determine the particular functions of separate 
 parts of the encephalon by mutilating the brains of living 
 animals. It will have been seen that this procedure is 
 utterly inadequate, as the jDi’imary step, to the discovery 
 either of the cerebral or of the nervous functions. It has 
 been conceded, however, that vivisections, when justly 
 interpreted, are yet fitted for the corroboration of inferences 
 already obtained by a sounder method of investigation, and 
 also for shedding further light on facts that are previously 
 understood in their principal relations. These views the 
 author will now proceed to illustrate : and, in the first 
 place, he proposes to exhibit the fallacy of certain conclu- 
 sions deduced by encephalic vivisectors ; secondly, he will 
 demonstrate the complete harmony which subsists between 
 the recorded effects of mutilations of the encephalon, and 
 Gall’s doctrine concerning its physiology ; and then he will 
 adduce instances of such lesions, authenticated in the most 
 unexceptionable manner, which afford most valuable te.sti- 
 mony of a subsidiary kind, eminently in favour of the 
 identical deductions in opposition to which this class of 
 facts is so often cited. 
 
 Before advancing to the execution of this design, it may 
 be well to determine the general character of the pheno- 
 mena which ensue on mutilations of structure, and the 
 
250 gaxl’s physiology of the encephalon, and 
 
 influence wHch these latter exercise upon function ; and, 
 for this purpose, let us take the instance of the nervous 
 system at large, many of whose otflces are well understood, 
 and which, in its general physiological relations, presents 
 the closest analogy to the case of the encephalon. Let us 
 ascertain the extent to which aberration in functional 
 manifestation occurs in injury of the nerves, as also the 
 mode in which actions of a sympathetic character are 
 developed, and then we shall he in a better condition for 
 reasoning upon the recorded effects of encephalic mutila- 
 tions. 
 
 It is certain, that if some particular nerve sustain any 
 injury, symptoms ivill very often he developed which 
 indicate that irregularity in the performance of its func- 
 tion has been induced ; this result may also occur if the 
 centric origin of nerves be irritated. Now, although it is 
 most probable that, whenever any dirision or portion of 
 the nervous system is abnormally acted upon, some change 
 in its functional operation takes place, tliis is not always 
 appreciable from any external manifestation ; and even 
 when it is so, there is nothing like uniformity in different 
 cases. Moreover, disturbances of function wiU coincidently 
 arise in other structures Avhich have sustained no direct 
 lesion, on account of conditions of sympathy existing, 
 dependent, as previously set forth, upon fibrous communi- 
 cation, contiguity of position, and association in the re- 
 spective offices. All these things taken together, render 
 it very difficult to settle the exact relations of injury of .a 
 nerve to the changes in functional manifestation that foUow, 
 because the conditions are constantly varying with the 
 special circumstances of individual instances, and the vari- 
 ation in question is not of a nature always to be understood. 
 Let us take, for an illustration, the example of a wounded 
 finger, the nervous fibrils of which shall have been cut; 
 sometimes, the only effect produced is pain, which entirely 
 subsides on cessation of the inflammation ; at other times 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 251 
 
 spasmodic tivitchings of the contiguous fingers occur ; and 
 again, in other cases, tetanus even will be induced, ex- 
 hibiting the remarkable extent of the sympathies which 
 pervade the whole of the nervous system; and facts like 
 these exemplify such as are explicable by direct fibrous 
 communication. Then, again, the vicinity of parts as a 
 source of sympathetic infiuence, may be exemplified by 
 appeal to Magendie’s operation upon the fifth pair of nerves, 
 which was followed, if his account is to be relied upon, by 
 instantaneous loss of sight. Lesions of any kind affecting 
 the uterine nerves will notoriously provoke the sensibility 
 of the mammary gland, a species of sympathy explained 
 by reference to the allied character' of their respective offices. 
 In all these instances, which display the sympathies in 
 question in the absence of any decided nervous communi- 
 cation at the periphery, it is likely enough that some ana- 
 tomical connexion exists at the centres, of a kind scarcely 
 to be traced by anatomical research, yet such a mere 
 probability cannot of course be rendered the basis of any 
 sound physiological theory, however reasonable it may 
 appear to be. 
 
 If these illustrations of nervous sympathy be fairly re- 
 presentative of its general phenomena, we must keep such 
 facts constantly in mind in our estimate of the value to be 
 attached to mutilations of the encephalon, unless it can be 
 shown that, in the latter case, there are reasons for inferring 
 the existence of conditions of sympathy differing from those 
 which obtain in the case of the nervous system, — a line of 
 argument not very likely to be adopted. Let us, then, 
 proceed to inquire, first, what the conclusions are which 
 Gall’s opponents have deduced from mutilations in opposi- 
 tion to his doctrine ; and, secondly, to what extent they 
 may be just, or, on the other hand, susceptible of disproof; 
 then, by application of the principles which have been 
 illustrated above in their relation to the nerves, let us see 
 if certain facts gained by vivisection, and employed very 
 
252 gall’s phtsiologt of the encephalon, and 
 
 generally in opposition to phrenology, 'will not admit of a 
 true physiological explanation, in correspondence and har- 
 mony with all that Gall discovered respecting the functions 
 of the encephalon. 
 
 In proceeding with this division of the subject, the author 
 shall confine himself, in the detail, to examination of the 
 vivisections of the cerebellum, because, while those of the 
 cerebrum have mostly been abandoned as inconclusive, some 
 of the most able of modern physiologists continue to attach 
 force to the mutilations which have been practised upon 
 the former, and to advocate a doctrine founded upon them, 
 — which doctrine they seek to maintain and corroborate in 
 all sorts of ways, especially by compai’ative anatomy and 
 pathological phenomena. 
 
 The present writer is one of those who think with 
 Georget, that the organic connexion of the sexual instinct 
 with the cerebellum is probably that particular point of 
 phrenological doctrine, in favour of which the largest 
 amount of proof is obtained ; and, on this account, he con- 
 ceives it to be most important that the facts and the reason- 
 ings of the vivisectors should be thoroughly sifted, vdth a 
 view to discover whether or not their deductions concerning 
 the cerebellum rest upon any solid foundation ; — whether, 
 in a word, the observations of Gall and his disciples on 
 the one hand, or those of Flourens and his followers on 
 the other, possess the higher physiological value. 
 
 Here there need be no repetition of the accounts which 
 have been afforded by Rolando, Flourens, Bouillaud, and 
 others, regarding their experiments upon the cerebellum, 
 nor any further exhibition of their contradictory character. 
 All this has been sufficiently dwelt upon in a previous 
 chapter. At present, the author proposes to examine the 
 validity of the doctrine w'hich sets forth that the office of 
 the cerebellum is to balance the body, and so to co-ordinate 
 the action of the muscles as to bring about consensual 
 movements. This physiological view was primarily oh- 
 
THE EECOEDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 253 
 
 tained by encephalic mutilation, and the vivisections of 
 Flourens continue to form its principal support: it is, 
 moreover, the only conclusion of the kind which has main- 
 tained its ground for any length of time. The doctrine is 
 accepted and taught by men like Dr Carpenter, Dr Todd, 
 and Ml’ Bowman, in this country ; and by several leading 
 physiologists on the continent. It has also been partially 
 adopted by some who have publicly vindicated the. general 
 physiology of the brain taught by Gall — by Bouillaud in 
 France, by Dr Cowan in this country, and by Dr Brigham 
 in America. Even Mi’ Combe has exhibited a disposition 
 to concede, in some degree, the conclusion in question, by 
 assuming it as probable that a small portion of the cere- 
 bellum may be in subservience to some locomotive func- 
 tion. For all these reasons, the author will be at some 
 pains to demonstrate the imperfections of the inference in 
 question ; dwelling, however, in the present chapter, prin- 
 cipally upon the fallacies involved in the vivisections. He 
 wiU also return to the subject in succeeding chapters, 
 and expect, ere the conclusion of the work, to have shown, — 
 not that no portion of the cerebellum has absolutely any 
 share in maintaining muscular equilibrium, but — that such 
 a proposition rests upon no adequate evidence drawn 
 from any department of knowlege ; whilst the doctrine of 
 Gall is supported by every kind of testimony, whatever be 
 the source from which it is sought. 
 
 Let us inquire, first of all, how far there is reason for 
 regarding the power of balancing the body, and of exe- 
 cuting combined movements through muscular agency, as 
 one that is primitive and special, so as to need a separate 
 organ for its encephalic centre ; let us see if the ascertained 
 ofiices of the brain and nerves do not yield every necessary 
 condition for muscular co-ordination and for balancing, in 
 such a way as to pre-engage, so to speak, the assumed 
 function. And if it shall be found to be so, it were surely 
 unphilosophical to infer the existence of a large and im- 
 
254 Gael’s physiology of the encephalon, and 
 
 portant structure for the accomplishment of what is very 
 well performed without it. 
 
 Now, in the execution of combined movements, and in 
 maintaining station and equilibrium, what takes placed 
 The primary action is certainly cerebral ; the will operates 
 on the nerves, and through these upon the muscles. We 
 will to perform a certain evolution, the volitional mandate 
 goes forth, and the combined action of particular muscles 
 ensues. Where does the agency of the cerebellum come 
 in ? Not certainly in volition, although some physiologists 
 have thought that if the vivisections of Flourens prove 
 any thing, it is “ to show that the cerebrum is the more 
 immediate seat of perception, and the cerebellum of voli- 
 tion.”^ A proposition of tliis kind, however, is too out- 
 rageous to require any serious comment. It is yet very 
 important to know wliether, in the estimation of physio- 
 logists who follow Flourens in this matter, the supposed 
 balancing function has any dependence on consciousness ; 
 because if it be excluded, it is very difficult to form an 
 idea of the power in question ; and yet Dr Carpenter says, 
 that “ the cerebellum is not in any way the instrument of 
 psychical operations.”^ Does the influence of this organ, 
 then, come into operation after the cerebral volitional 
 command has issued, and before it arrives at the muscles ? 
 There is no anatomical evidence whatsoever of such a 
 thing. On the contrary, a particular disposition of many 
 of the nervous trunks in plexuses seems to supply every in- 
 termediate requirement for the performance of movements 
 that are consensual. In discussing the subject of ners'ous 
 plexuses. Dr Carpenter observes as follows : — 
 
 “ It is not unlikely also that, by this an-angement, a 
 consentaneousness of action is in some degree favom’ed, as is 
 supposed by Sir C. Bell; for comparative anatomy shows 
 
 * Dr Bostock. Physiologi.% vol. i., note, p. 276. 
 
 - Human Pliysiology, p. 217. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 255 
 
 that something resembling it may be traced wherever a 
 similar piu'pose has to be attained. Thus in the Hymenop- 
 tera, there is a similar interlacement between the nerves of 
 the anterior and posterior pairs of wings, which act very 
 powerfully together; whilst in the Coleoptera, in which the 
 anterior wings are converted into elytra, and are motionless 
 during flight, the nerves supplying each pair run their 
 course distinctly. In the Octopus, or Poulp, again, the 
 trunks which radiate fi'om the cephalic mass to the eight 
 large arms surrounding the head, are connected by a cir- 
 cular band, forming a kind of plexus, which evidently 
 contributes to the very powerful and harmonious move- 
 ments of the arms of this Cephalopod.”^ 
 
 In the successive steps of this supposed functional mani- 
 festation, we come at last to the muscles themselves. Are 
 we to infer that the cerebellum furnishes these structures 
 ivith some vital endowment, necessary to harmony in the 
 voluntary movements, and in balancing the body? But if 
 so, upon what evidence? Every conceivable condition 
 required for the due maintenance of tension Lind antagonism 
 in the muscles, is afforded by their own contractility, and 
 by the excito-motory system of nerves; and, so far as 
 balancing and harmony of movement can be supposed to 
 have place without volition, the true spinal cord should be 
 regarded as the actual nervous centre. It is well known 
 that, in many of the inferior creatures, regular locomotive 
 actions take place, after removal of the encephalon alto- 
 gether, and this must be referable to the reflex agency of 
 the spinal cord. “ In the Dysticus,” says Dr Carpenter,^ 
 “ whose head had been removed, the stimulus of the con- 
 tact of water immediately excited regular and continued 
 locomotive actions, which lasted for some time.” Further, 
 it is observed by the same physiologist, “ In the healthy 
 condition of the human system, when the will is controlling 
 
 1 Human Physiology, p. 89. 
 
256 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, and 
 
 all the movements which are not immediately concerned in 
 the maintenance and regulation of the organic functions, 
 no such actions can he excited; but, in proportion as its 
 control is lost, does the independent power of the spitial 
 cord manifest itself.” 
 
 Under all these circumstances, there appear to be no 
 grounds whatever for regarding the balancing faculty as 
 one that is special and distinct. To speak of harmony 
 and co-ordination of muscular action, suggests ivill. or 
 cerebral action; to refer to the complicated character of 
 certain voluntary movements, directs our attention to the 
 disposition of the nerves in plexuses; and when we revert 
 to balance and movement in the muscles, in the absence of 
 all consciousness, we are reminded of the true spinal cord. 
 What is the part left, it may finally be asked, for the 
 cerebellum to perform? It is high time that the disciples 
 of Flourens should reply to this question definitively.' 
 
 It would yet appear to be certain, that mutilations of the 
 cerebellum do really disturb the harmony of combined 
 muscular action, and throw animals upon whom they are 
 practised, very much olF their balance; but why, for this 
 reason, shonld we conclude the structure itself to constitute 
 the general balancer of the body? Do the experiments 
 themselves suggest no other inference? Are the results 
 susceptible of no simpler explanation, than that of pro- 
 nouncing an oi’gan, like the cerebellum, to be connected 
 with a function which is already engaged? Let us examine 
 this matter somewhat in detail. 
 
 The general character of the sympathies which obtain in 
 the case of the nerves, has been already dwelt upon; the 
 conditions upon which they appear to depend have been 
 illustrated; and it remains to be seen whether the several 
 phenomena of convulsions, paralysis, staggering, whirling 
 round, leaping, and so on, which have attended Uvisections 
 
 Human Physiology, p. 166. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MXJTILATIOKS. 257 
 
 of the cerebellum, do not allow of all reasonable explanation, 
 through the anatomical and physiological relations which 
 subsist between the organ in question and the medulla 
 oblongata and motor division of the spinal cord. 
 
 It is an anatomical fact, that certain fibres from the 
 anterior columns of the cord run into the cerebellum. As 
 before stated, Mr Solly has the merit of being the first 
 clearly to indicate this fact. “ The corpora restiformia, 
 or the processus e cerebello ad medullam oblongatam, are 
 not, therefore, as they have usually been described, bodies 
 which are formed solely by the posterior columns ; nor are 
 they bodies which consist of fibres from the posterior 
 columns, to which some fibres from the anterior columns 
 are added, the additional fibres lying perfectly parallel to 
 those of the posterior columns ; but they are bodies which 
 consist of fibres that interlace in rather an intricate man- 
 ner, the interlacing fibres consisting of some from the 
 antero-lateral, and some from the posterior columns.” * 
 
 Now, in this disposition of the upper extremity of the 
 motiferous tract of the spinal cord, have we not ample 
 data for explaining all the derangements that arise in 
 muscular manifestation, on lesion of the cerebellum ? 
 Wherever there is close relation of two parts by inter- 
 lacement of their respective nervous fibres, injury to one 
 is well known to influence generally the actions of the 
 other. When Legallois wounded the spinal cord in the 
 dorsal region, perturbation of the heart’s action ensued ; 
 but no one, from such a circumstance, would think of 
 arguing, at the present day, that the office of the dorsal 
 segment of the cord is to balance the heart ; then, why 
 insist upon the cerebellum balancing the body, because 
 staggering, and other such symptoms, follow its mutila- 
 tions ? Moreover, the close propinquity of the medulla 
 oblongata to the cerebellum, independently of direct com- 
 
 Solly on the Brain, p. 158. 
 
258 gall’s physiology of the encephalox, axd 
 
 munication, supplies an additional reason for anticipating 
 muscular disturbance on vi\dsections of tbe latter, seeing 
 that these can scarcely fail to influence the corpora pyi-a- 
 midalia, and the continuous motor fibres, by sympathy of 
 contiguity. But most of all, is it likely that, in the experi- 
 ments now under discussion, there has been actual lesion 
 of the medulla oblongata ; or, at least, that it has been 
 raised or displaced by the rudeness and violence of the 
 operation ? It appears to the author, that diflferences in 
 the degree of dexterity and skill -with which the mutila- 
 tions have been practised, will, moreover, explain, in great 
 measure, the diversity in result, which has characterised 
 the vivisections, as related. 
 
 It has been maintained that the objection to the experi- 
 ments of Flour^ns and others, on the gi’ound of nervous 
 sympathy, is untenable, for reasons stated, in the follow- 
 ing terms, by Dr Carpenter : — “ The fallacy of this objec- 
 tion, however, is shown by the fact, that the much more 
 severe operation of remo’ving the hemispheres, does not 
 occasion such an aberration ; the power of performing the 
 associated movements, and of maintaining equilibrium, 
 being remai’kably preserved after the loss of them.”^ But 
 then it should be recollected, that here there is no question 
 of severity of operation, but of conditions of sympathy ; in the 
 case of the cerebral hemispheres, the mutilation does not 
 occur, as in the instance of the cerebellum, contiguously to 
 the medulla oblongata ; and the maintenance of harmony 
 in the movements after theii’ removal, may be explained 
 by the reflex agency of the spinal cord, — just as Dr Car- 
 penter suggests to us the idea that locomotion, even in the 
 human subject, may, in certain states of the mind, go on 
 mainly through tins influence. 
 
 AVlien we cai-efuUy analyse the report made by Cuvier 
 on the proceedings of Flourens, it becomes very obrtous 
 
 ' Human Physiologj', p. 215. 
 
THE EECORDED EFFECTS OP ITS MUTILATIONS. 259 
 
 that the varying elFects of encephalic vivisections upon the 
 motor functions, are best explained by the greater or less 
 degree of contiguity of the mutilated structures to the 
 medulla oblongata. From the document in question, we 
 leai’n that, after the removal of the cerebrum, the animal so 
 mutilated becomes drowsy, exhibits no signs of will, makes 
 no spontaneous motion ; but that, when struck or irritated, 
 it moves. Equilibrium is preserved in whatsoever way 
 the creature is placed. If laid on its back, it rises ; it 
 walks if pushed. When it is a frog, it jumps if touched ; 
 when a bird, it flies if thrown into the air ; it struggles, if 
 annoyed; if water be poured into its throat, it is swallowed. 
 The animal at times moves oflT without any apparent object 
 in view, and stumbles repeatedly against the same obstacles. 
 What do all these circumstances manifest? Why, so far 
 as they go, results most remarkably harmonious with Gall’s 
 physiology of the cerebral hemispheres, wherein volition and 
 intelligence reside, — psychical conditions obviously absent 
 on removal of the cerebrum ; the animal under such cfrcum- 
 stances, according to the expressions occurring in the report, 
 existing as if in a dormant state ; the movements, which 
 always needed to be excited, were clearly referable to the 
 reflex function of the uninjured cord. When M. Flourens 
 wounded the tubercula quadrigemina, a whirling round 
 ensued, plainly owing to their communication with the motor 
 portion of the nervous centres. “ After all,” says Cuvier’s^ 
 report, “ it must be observed, that in too deeply extirpating 
 these tubercles, we interfere with the medidla oblongata ; 
 and then violent convulsions, which last long, make their 
 appearance.” Is it not strange that the same reasoning 
 should not have been made to explain the convulsions, the 
 whirling round, and the staggering, which arose on cutting 
 and scooping the cerebellum ? for, let it be observed, in the 
 case of the pigeon subjected to experiment, the removal of 
 the first fragments of cerebellum did but produce weakness 
 in the action of the muscles, and some diminution in their 
 
260 call’s physiology of the encephalon, anh 
 
 harmony ; and how should it have been otherwise ? On 
 attaining the middle of the cerebellum, and so coming 
 nearer to the medulla oblongata, the creature displayed 
 universal agitation ; and, on removal of the whole, it no 
 longer had the power of walking or flying ; and, placed 
 upon its back, it was unable to raise itself. And where is 
 the wonder, if the anatomical connexions of the organ be 
 but considered for a moment? 
 
 But, indeed, we possess a .species of evidence in absolute 
 and incontrovertible disproof of the doctrine of Flourens 
 respecting the cerebellum, to which we may here advert — 
 evidence which no sort of reasoning from any other class 
 of facts can invalidate. This consists in the retention of 
 the assumed function after complete removal of the organ. 
 “ I have seen,” says Magendie, as quoted in a previous 
 chapter, “ and have demonstrated to others, a great many 
 times, in my coimse of lectures, animals deprived of cere- 
 bellum, and which nevertheless executed very regular 
 movements.” And, as before stated, a pigeon whose ce- 
 rebellum had been destroyed by M. Fodera, walked back- 
 wards and forwards ; and to do this, some co-ordination of 
 muscular action was required. If these statements be 
 doubted, so may those of M. Flourens : the authority in 
 the latter case is no better than in the former. Indeed, 
 some might contend that Magendie, at any rate, from 
 great practice, should be regai’ded as the most expert of 
 vivisectors. It might further be said that, in this physi- 
 ologist’s experienced procedure, the medulla oblongata was 
 in all probability but little interfered with, and that this 
 circumstance may explain the persistence of harmonious 
 movements after the operation. 
 
 But, in point of fact, it is diflicult to conceive the oc- 
 currence of any severe mutilation of the nervous system, 
 involving a lesion of sensibility, without the production of 
 some such effects as paralysis, convulsions, staggering, 
 or whirling round, by excitation of the appropriate ner- 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 261 
 
 vous centres. . It is certain, at any rate, that injuries 
 inflicted near the base of the brain will constantly exert 
 some disturbing influence on the muscular system ; and 
 how, in an animal, can this be evinced except by some 
 loss of harmony in the movements and power of co-ordi- 
 nating the locomotive structures? M. Flourens himself, 
 in one of his papers,^ recounts certain results of cutting 
 the terminal branches of the auditory nerve as they ramify 
 in the semicircular canals, which seem to vary very little 
 from those obtained by some vivisectors in their doings 
 with the cerebellum. If the horizontal canal on each side 
 was divided, horizontal movements of the head took place 
 from side to side, and rotation of the whole body. Divi- 
 sion of the inferior vertical canals on each side produced 
 vertical movements of the head, hut the animal lay for- 
 wards. If all the canals were divided, all sorts of violent 
 motions took place. All which effects are obviously re- 
 feralfle to sympathy, and to the reflex agency of the nerv- 
 ous centres. Yet who shall doubt, that if some young 
 aspiring vivisector were to injure the cerebellum, and, in 
 the process, were to ■witness the very symptoms recorded by 
 Flourens as coming from lesion of the acoustic nerve — who 
 shall doubt that the results would he appealed to as certain 
 corroboration of the muscular functions of the organ? The 
 hasty inferences, indeed, which have been deduced from 
 vivisections regarding the office of the cerebellum, constitute 
 an excellent specimen of that gratuitous kind of reasoning 
 which is hut too characteristic of the proceedings of a certain 
 class of experimentalists, who, in their excessive zeal for 
 mere facts and striking novelties, abandon almost entirely 
 the just requirements of a sound and philosophical in- 
 duction. 
 
 There are really no arguments whatsoever of the 
 slightest weight, that prove the power of co-ordinating 
 
 ‘ Memoir de I’Academie des Sciences, t. iv., p. 445 et seq. 
 
262 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, and 
 
 muscular action to be an independent, primitive faculty ; 
 nor do the mutilations ■which have been practised upon 
 living animals in any "way determine the cerebellum to be 
 the organ of such a function. And at the same time it 
 may be asserted, further, that nothing which is related in 
 the accounts furnished of the "vivisections of this structure, 
 is in the remotest degree opposed to the physiology of 
 Gall. In none of the instances is there the slightest evi- 
 dence adduced, whereby it is so much as pretended that 
 the sexual instinct survived the loss of the organ ; so that 
 the harmony of this class of facts with the phrenological 
 doctrine is, at least, not negatived. But then it will be said, 
 that as no influence was exerted upon the generative func- 
 tion by these powerful actions upon its assumed encephalic 
 centre, neither was such harmony affiy-med. Yet, where 
 is the proof that the sexual instinct 'wus actually unaffected 
 by vivisections of the cerebellum ? "When extraordinary 
 ■violence is done to any structure, the effect is very often 
 to paralyse its influence altogether : what reason is there 
 for supposing that this may not have been the case in the 
 instances in question ? Moderate violence, inducing what 
 may not much exceed stimulation, very generally provokes 
 functional manifestation ; but, then, this merely stimulant 
 action is certainly not what is brought about in severe 
 mutilations, and in the destruction of an organ. Again, it 
 should be remembered that the habitual state of the function 
 now under consideration is one of quiescence, and, on that 
 account, it is one not so likely to reveal the fact, even 
 when present, of its loss or diminution. Further, in such 
 creatures as the pigeon and others, in which these lesions 
 of the cerebellum have been practised, the outward indica- 
 tions of internal activity of the instinct (did we even suppose 
 this to exist) could not very well be appreciated under the 
 circumstances in question. But, indeed, how entirely vain 
 it must be to expect, for a moment, that any animal dis- 
 tracted "with pain could e^vince feelings which every body 
 
THE EECOEDED EFFECTS OF ITS MDTHATIONS. 263 
 
 knows demand psychical concentration, in an eminent de- 
 gree, for their sensible display. In a few words, it may 
 be said of these vivisections of the cerebellum, that whilst 
 they most certainly make nothing against the physiology of 
 GaU, they have not been calculated, in their very nature, 
 to yield any thing of moment in its favour. 
 
 Many mutilations, however, are on record, which most 
 unmistakeably corroborate Gall’s doctrine concerning the 
 cerebellum ; some of these are recounted by Gall himself, 
 as having come under his own observation ; there are others 
 related by Vimont, as having occurred within his particular 
 experience ; and some very important cases, ranking in a 
 like category, are detailed by Baron Larrey, in his Memoires 
 de CMrurgie et Campagnes. Other writers have also accu- 
 mulated instances tending to a similar result, — a result 
 harmonious with phrenology, and supplying secondary 
 evidence of its truth. 
 
 Before proceeding to exemplify what has just been stated 
 by any narration of cases, it must here again be stated, that 
 all such facts as those which the subjoined accounts include, 
 are utterlyinadequate to prove any physiological proposition ; 
 they are cited in the present place, because they confirm a 
 truth which has already been established by a more direct, 
 legitimate process ; they furnish excellent subsidiary testi- 
 mony; the phenomena receive their simplest and most 
 obvious explanation, interpreted by the doctrine of Gall ; 
 for the statements will exhibit a reciprocal influence, 
 maintained between the cerebellum and the external organs 
 of generation, which is only intelligible on the theory of 
 association in function; they admit of no elucidation by 
 attention to other conditions of sympathy, for, unlike the 
 facts of Flourens and other advocates of the muscular office 
 of the cerebellum, neither immediate communication by 
 nervous fibres, nor contiguity of position, will afford reasons 
 for the action of one upon the other, which is affirmed to 
 have taken place. 
 
264 gai-l’s physiology of the encephalon, and 
 
 Gall relates that, at Vienna, he was consulted by two 
 officers who had become impotent in consequence of blows 
 from fire-ai’ms, which had grazed the napes of their necks. 
 At Berlin, Dr Formey spoke to him of a man who, in 
 consequence of a wound in the region of the cerebellum, 
 had, at first, high and irregular excitement of the corre- 
 spondent instinct, and then fell into the very opposite state ; 
 a recovery, in all respects, took place in six months from 
 the period at which the injury was inflicted. Tlie case was 
 interpreted pathologically, thus, — the inflammation which 
 ensued upon the wound was considered to have induced 
 irritation of the cerebellum ; this was followed by debility, 
 as an ordinary consequence of undue excitation ; and, 
 finally, restoration to ordinary health took place, as is not 
 unusual, fi’om the mere, lapse of time. 
 
 The following cases are reported by Baron Larrey, in 
 the wqi’k just mentioned; they are, here, slightly abbre- 
 viated from a translation given by Mr Combe, in an ap- 
 pendix to his English version of Gall on the Cerebellum. 
 Greater confidence may probably be placed in these recitals, 
 and they may carry more weight, as Larrey had no phre- 
 nological prepossessions, or reputation, of which he could 
 be supposed to be jealous. 
 
 Fran9ois (Auguste) Marechal des logis, of the Horse 
 Guard Artillery, received, at the battle of Benevento, a 
 wound from a musket-ball, which traversed from side to 
 side the insertions of the extensor muscles of the head, 
 grazing upon the two inferior occipital swellings (corresponding 
 to the lobes of the cerebellum), which, being very promi- 
 nent in this individual, were denuded or stripped of their 
 tendinous attachments. Larrey dilated the two openings 
 made by the ball, and extracted a portion of his shirt 
 Avdiich had remained in the wound, and then dressed it 
 with emollients. A variety of symptoms ensued, the most 
 remarkable of which, however, were a diminution in the size 
 of the testicles, which fell into a state of atrophy or wasting. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 265 
 
 The penis was also reduced in size, and remained without action : 
 however, the wound healed, and all the symptoms disap- 
 peared in about two months. 
 
 Bigot (Rene), chasseur a cheval, or light horseman, of a 
 strong and very amorous constitution, received, at the 
 same battle, a cut from a sword, which divided the skin 
 and all the convex or projecting portion of the occipital 
 bone through to the dura mater, of which a very small 
 part was touched. The right lobe of the cerebellum was 
 seen through the opening of the dura mater. The slightest 
 pressure upon this organ caused giddiness, fainting, and 
 convulsive movements.* From the first day, the patient 
 lost the sight and hearing of the right side. He expe- 
 rienced at the same time acute pain in the coirrse of the 
 dorsal spine, and a kind of tingling in the testes ; these 
 diminished sensibly, and in fifteen days were reduced to 
 the size of a bean. Soon after he lost all idea or recollection 
 of past sexual excitement. The patient at one time gave 
 hopes of cure, except with regard to the functions of sight, 
 hearing, and generation ; but, soon relapsing, he died ulti- 
 mately of tetanus, on the thirty-ninth day, being the 7th 
 February 1807. On dissection, great loss of substance at 
 the occiput was found ; the opening of the dura mater cor- 
 responding to the right lobe of the cerebellum which was 
 shrimk, was of a yellow colour, without suppuration or 
 effusion. The medulla oblongata and upper part of the 
 spinal cord were of dull white, of firmer consistence, and 
 reduced in size by one-fourth. The nerves arising from 
 these parts were likewise wasted. 
 
 Pierre Soult, 22d chasseurs, received from a Mameluke, 
 at the battle of Salehyeh, a cut from a sabre, which, after 
 dividing the skin and external protuberance of the occipital 
 bone, divided the extensor muscles of the head as far down 
 as the sixth vertebra. The man was cured ; but Larrey 
 
 ' This circumstance strikingly illustrates the extensive sympathies 
 determined by mechanical violence done to the cerebellum. 
 
 M 
 
266 gaxl’s physiology of the encephalon, ■vyith 
 
 adds in a note , — “ I have since had occasion to see this 
 soldier, who declares that he has been deprived of his 
 generative powers ever since that wound.” 
 
 Now, the above cases are not absolutely inexplicable on 
 some other hypothesis than that of the cerebellum being 
 the encephalic seat of the sexual instinct, because, the 
 lesions taking place in such instances being of a nature 
 seriously to impress the whole cerebro-spinal axis, it may 
 be assumed that, under such circumstances, the spermatic 
 nerves so shared in the general injui-y as to have led to 
 deterioration in the external organs. But, although this 
 might constitute a possible explanation of the facts, most 
 assuredly it would not form the probable one ; much more 
 likely is it that association in function originated the sympa- 
 thetic disturbance, in the same way as the mammary 
 gland will sometimes take on irregidar action sympathe- 
 tically with the uterus. There are very few problems 
 affecting morbid agency which do not admit of several 
 possible modes of solution ; it is meet and just, however, 
 to adopt the one which harmonises the most readily vrith our 
 experience of that which obtains in analogous matters. 
 
 In this view of things, and with such reserves as the 
 above reasonings imply, the author will now adduce 
 another class of mutilations which tend, yet more deci- 
 sively, to corroborate the physiology of Gall, in its relation 
 to the office of tlie cerebellum ; allusion is made to facts 
 which exliibit degeneracy of this structure, consequent 
 upon removal of the testes. 
 
 Gall caused several rabbits to be castrated, some on the 
 right side and others on the left. Having had them killed 
 six or eight months afterwards, he found in aU, without ex- 
 ception, that the lobe of the cerebellum of the side opposite to 
 that on which the castration had taken place was smaller, 
 and that the occipital swelling was flatter than on the other. 
 
 These experiments have been repeated by Yimont, with 
 varying results. In a memoir which he presented to the 
 
TIIE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 267 
 
 French Institute, in 1827, he stated that he had observed 
 no diminution in either lobe of the cerebellum of four 
 rabbits, which he had castrated on one side, and preserved 
 alive during eight months. Subsequently, however, he 
 operated on four other rabbits, which he fed during eighteen 
 months^ and after death he noticed a very perceptible 
 diminution in the opposite lobe of the cerebellum. 
 
 “ Baron Larrey,” says Gall, “ sent to me a soldier who, 
 in undergoing an operation for hernia, had lost the right 
 testicle. Several years afterwards, his right eye became 
 weak. He began to squint with the diseased eye, and 
 could scarcely any longer distinguish objeets with this eye. 
 I examined the nape of his neck, in presence of the two 
 physicians who had brought him, and I found the occipital 
 swelling of the left side much less prominent than that of 
 the right side. The difference was so perceptible, that the 
 two physicians were struck with it at first sight.” 
 
 M. Dannecy communicated to Gall the following fact, 
 which he had observed himself in the hospital of the school 
 of medicine, in presence of M. Patrix, assistant surgeon of 
 the establishment, and of several pupils. It is recorded 
 under the No. 108 (15th July 1817,) in the volume of the 
 pathological observations made in the hospital. In the 
 dissection of Jean IMichael Brigand, who died the 14th July, 
 1817, after having, on the 30th December, 1815, undergone 
 an operation for diseased testiele of the right side, the 
 following remarks were made: — “ The brain and the cere- 
 bellum were covered with a light layer of a white trans- 
 parent albuminous substanee. The left lobe of the cere- 
 bellum was much softer and flatter than the right lobe. 
 The convolutions or folds appeared also more sunk or 
 obliterated on the same side. Each of these lobes havin» 
 been opened at exactly six lines of distance from the lateral 
 portion, corresponding to the medulla oblongata, we were 
 surprised to see how much greater the proportion of the 
 white matter and of the grey matter was in the light lobe. 
 
268 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, with 
 
 The difference was estimated at more than a third. The 
 interior development of the cranium also corresponded to 
 this difference.” 
 
 Many other such cases might be cited. The above, 
 however, sufficiently serve for the present purpose, which, 
 according to the terms in which this chapter is headed, is 
 simply to illustrate the harmony and correspondence which 
 subsist between the physiology of Gall, and the recorded 
 effects of mutilations. And surely the experiments per- 
 formed by Eolando, and Flourens, and Bouillaud, possess 
 nothing like the force, in relation to the conclusions 
 which their authors have drawn, that such instances as 
 those just recounted have, in regard to the inferences which 
 phrenologists deduce concerning the cerebellum. It is true 
 that they do not the point, but they most powerfully 
 confirm it ; and, of all the subsidiary testimony capable of 
 being cited in support of any physiological proposition, it 
 is impossible to conceive of any that is more decisive than 
 that which consists in a demonstration of the degenerative 
 effects produced by unilateral castration on a single lobe of 
 the cerebellum. 
 
 Still the inquiry may arise. Does the degeneration take 
 place with such regularity and uniformity, as to authorise 
 its being regarded in any other light than that of an acci- 
 dental circumstance? May it not be, that the facts recorded 
 have been selected ti’om amongst many others, where no 
 such effects have been witnessed? And if this be so, is not 
 their value, as bearing upon any positive inference, very 
 seriously diminished? The objections which these inter- 
 rogations imply, are more plausible than valid; because, in 
 point of fact, the abnormal actions of the living organism 
 do but rarely exhibit an invariability in sequence. There 
 is scarcely a single lesion that can be inflicted upon the 
 body, which provokes universally a given train of symp- 
 toms. Let us recur to the analogous case of the uterus and 
 the mamma. Here we very generally find, that sympa- 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS SIUTILATIONS. 269 
 
 thetie phenomena develope themselves whenever an un- 
 wonted influence is exerted upon either structure. Yet 
 this is far from being a circumstance that is always to be 
 detected. We will take a very simple illustration — that 
 which pregnancy affords. In a large number of instances, 
 the breast, during this state, becomes larger, fuller, and 
 more sensitive, frequently even displaying the presence of 
 milk, in very considerable amount; but then cases occur in 
 which little or nothing of the kind is appreciable. On 
 account of the exceptions, however, no one thinks of doubt- 
 ing the intimate relation which subsists between the womb 
 and the breast ; and a unity of purpose in the respective 
 functions of these structures (both being concerned in the 
 supply of nourishment to the early being), is not the less 
 recognised. The reciprocal influences, when observed, 
 yield corroboration and illustration of the leading truth, 
 piimarily ascertained by direct process of demonstration; 
 and because every case alike does not exhibit the mutual 
 sympathies which commonly have place, the instances 
 wherein the fact is so, are not put down to the account of 
 what is fortuitous and accidental, but receive an interpre- 
 tation from what is ah-eady known of the functions in 
 question, furnishing examples in confirmation of a great 
 physiological law — that which proclaims that there is a cer- 
 tain consentaneousness of action in different organs where, 
 in function, there is something like unity of purpose. 
 
 The relations between the cerebellum and the exterior 
 apparatus should be estimated and regarded in a like 
 point of view ; if the vital conditions of either structure 
 display obvious sympathy with those of the other, the 
 phenomena should receive explanation from the knowledge 
 already obtained, by direct evidence, concerning the func- 
 tions of these organs. If removal of the testes be at times 
 followed by atrophy or degeneracy of the cerebellum ; and, 
 reciprocally, if lesion of the latter structure be also suc- 
 ceeded by occasional derangement of the external organs ; 
 
270 gall’s physiology of the encephalox, tyith 
 
 a remarkable fact is exliibited, in illustration of the mutual 
 sympathy which obtains betAveen structures associated in 
 function, — a fact which stren<rthens the convictions of 
 those who have already satisfied themselves, by direct 
 observation, of the justice of Gall’s physiology of the 
 cerebellum, and one which is calculated to furnish the 
 sceptic with testimony of a striking character, though hut 
 of a secondary kind. As before maintained, the circum- 
 stance of the sympathetic phenomena not being always 
 developed, proves nothing; similar exceptions obtain in 
 all analogous instances. 
 
 Tliere has been an attempt made by 31. Leuret, to dis- 
 prove the sexual functions of the cerebellum, by a series of 
 statements intended to antagonise the class of facts just 
 adduced ; their value, however, as related to the essential 
 proposition, is entirely misunderstood, when cited in dis- 
 proof of GaU ; and it is clear, fi'om the account to which 
 they have been turned by opponents, that no coiTect 
 appreciation of the evidence upon Avhich plu’enologists 
 rest their conclusions is formed by many otherAA-ise able 
 physiologists. Allusion is here made to certain recorded 
 weights of the brain and cerebellum in the case of mares, 
 geldings, and horses unmutilated, furnishing results en- 
 tirely ojjposed to such facts as had been observed by Gall, 
 Vimont, and others ; results, moreover, which, in the esti- 
 mation of some parties, are calculated to destroy altogether 
 the phrenological doctrine in so far as the cerebellum is in 
 question. The statements of 31. Leuret shall receive a 
 detailed examination ; because, if passed by, or alloAved to 
 remain uncontroverted, they are likely to exert a most 
 undue influence upon the minds of parties little accustomed 
 to estimate the relative A'alue of ditferent kinds of evidence. 
 The annexed account is taken fi’om Dr Carpenter’s Human 
 Physiology ; * and the facts recorded appear to have great 
 weight Avith this able AAwiter : — 
 
 ‘ Second Edition, pp. 220-22. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS 5IIJTILATIONS. 271 
 
 “ The following is the result of a series of observations 
 on this subject, suggested by M. Leuret,^ and carried into 
 effect by M. Lassaigne : — The weight of the cerebellum, 
 both absolutely, and as compared with that of the cere- 
 brum, was adopted as the standard of comparison. This 
 was ascertained in ten stallions, of the ages of from nine 
 to seventeen years ; in twelve mares, aged from seven to 
 sixteen years ; and in twenty-one geldings, aged from 
 seven to seventeen years. The average weight of the 
 cerebrum in the stallions was 433 grammes ; the greatest 
 being 4l85 gr., and the least (which was in a horse of ten 
 years old) being 350. The average weight of the cere- 
 bellum was 61 gr. ; the greatest being 65 gr., and the 
 least 56 gr. The average proportion borne by the weight 
 of the cerebellum to that of the cerebrum, was, therefore, 
 1 to 7'07 ; the highest (resulting from a very small cere- 
 brum) being 1 to 6'25 ; and the lowest (resulting from an 
 unusually large cerebrum) being 1 to 7‘46. Throughout 
 it might be observed, that the variation in the size of the 
 cerebellum was much less than in that of the cerebrum. 
 In the twelve mares, the average weight of the cerebrum 
 was 402 gr. ; the highest being 432 gr., and the lowest 
 336 gr. That of the cerebellum was 61 gr. ; the highest 
 being 66 gr. (which was in the individual with the smallest 
 cerebrum), and the lowest 58 gv. The average proportion 
 of the weight of the cerebellum to that of the cerebrum 
 was 1 to 6‘59 ; the highest being 1 to 5’09, and the lowest 
 1 to 7. The proportion was, therefore, considerably higher 
 in the perfect female, than in the pei’fect male. In the 
 twenty-one geldings, the average weight of the cerebrum 
 was 419 gr. ; the highest being 566 gi\, and the lowest 
 346 gr. The average of the cerebellum was 70 gr. ; the 
 highest being 76 gr., and the lowest 64 gr. The average 
 proportion was, therefore, 1 to 5'97 ; the highest being 
 1 to 5T6, and the lowest 1 to 7'44. It is curious that this 
 ' Anat. Comp, du Systeme Nerveux, tom. i. p. 427. 
 
272 gall’s physiology op the excephalon, ivith 
 
 last was in the individual which had the largest cerebellum 
 of the whole ; but the proportional weight of the cerebrum 
 was still greater. 
 
 “ Bringing together the results of these observations, 
 they are found to be quite opposed to the statement of 
 Gall. The weight of the cerebrum, reckoning the cere- 
 bellum as 1, is thus expressed in each of the foregoing 
 descriptions of animals ; — 
 
 Average. Highest. Lowest. 
 Stallions, . . 7‘07 7-46 6-2.5 
 
 Mares, . . 6-59 7'00 5-09 
 
 Geldings, . . 5'97 7-44 5 16 
 
 The average jprcporfioml size of the cerebellum in geldings 
 therefore is so far fi’om being /ess than that which it bears 
 in entire horses and mares, that it is positively greater ; 
 and this depends not only on diminution in the relative 
 size of the cerebrum, but on its otvn larger dimension, as 
 the following comparison of absolute weights will show : — 
 
 Stallions, 
 
 Average. 
 
 61 
 
 Highest. Lowest. 
 
 65 56 
 
 Marcs, 
 
 61 
 
 66 
 
 58 
 
 Geldings, 
 
 70 
 
 76 
 
 64 
 
 Tlie difference is so remarkable, and appears, from exami- 
 nation of the individual results, to be so constant, that it 
 cannot be attributed to any accidental circumstance, aris- 
 ing out of the small number of animals experimented on. 
 The average weight of the cerebellum in the ten stallions 
 and twelve mares is seen to be the same ; and the extremes 
 differ but little in the two ; Avhilst the average in the geld- 
 in<y is more than one-seventh hisrher, and the lowest is 
 considerably above the average of the preceding, while the 
 highest far exceeds the highest amongst the entire horses. 
 It is curious that Gall would have been much nearer the 
 truth, if he had said that the dimensions of the cerebrum 
 are usually reduced by castration ; for it appears from the 
 following table that this is really the case : — 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 273 
 
 
 Average. 
 
 Greatest. 
 
 Least. 
 
 Stallions, 
 
 433 
 
 485 
 
 350 
 
 Mares, 
 
 402 
 
 432 
 
 336 
 
 Geldings, 
 
 419 
 
 566 
 
 346 
 
 The weight of the largest cerebrum of the gelding is far 
 above the highest of the stallions ; but it seems to be an 
 extraordinary case, as in no other was the weight above 
 490 gr. If this one be excluded, the average will be 
 reduced still further, being then about 412 ; this may be 
 seen, by looking over the whole table, to give a very fan- 
 idea of the usual weight in these animals, which is therefore 
 less, by one-twentieth, than the average of the stallions.” 
 
 These facts then, if facts they be, do really seem, on a 
 superficial consideration, not only to disprove the accuracy 
 of observation, on the part of Gall and some of his fol- 
 lowers, in regard to the influence of mutilations, and to 
 the relative development of structure in the sexes, but 
 even to invalidate, probably, the best established proposi- 
 tion in phrenology ; and, in such a way, to discredit very 
 materially the entire doctrine. A close attention to this 
 matter, however, will exhibit several sources of fallacy in 
 these vaunted records (even on the assumption of complete 
 accuracy in their minutest particulars), calculated to show 
 their inconclusiveness, to say the very least. 
 
 For, it is quite certain that forty-three instances — ten 
 stallions, twelves mares, and twenty-one geldings — are 
 utterly insufficient to exemplify an average state of things, 
 — an assertion which no one will doubt who has directed 
 the slightest attention to vital statistics ; the fact, however, 
 shall be rendered obvious enough presently, by exhibition 
 of contrariety of results in this species of investigation, when 
 much larger numbers have been taken. Again, there is 
 nothing to prove that the cases were taken indiscriminately ; 
 they may, in some measure, have been selected ; and it 
 has never been maintained by phrenologists that all males, 
 of any species, have the cerebellum more largely developed 
 
274 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, with 
 
 than the females, but only that this is the case in a majority 
 of instances. The true test of Gall’s doctrine would have 
 consisted, in comparing the volume of the organ with the 
 intensity of function, as manifested in the particular ex- 
 amples, and not in contrasting the weight of a small number 
 of male cerebella ■with that of those belonging to a few 
 females. M. Leuret adduces no evidence to show that the 
 sexual instinct was not reaUy more powerful in the mares 
 in question, than in the horses. If we take the human 
 kind, nothing would he more easy than to procure t'welve 
 females and ten males, and to ascertain, as a highly pro- 
 bable fact at least, that the amative passion was more 
 intense in the former than in the latter ; but then the 
 phrenologist, under such circumstances, would expect the 
 development of cerebellum to correspond. Then, -ndth 
 regard to the geldings, in wliich the heavy cerebella were 
 detected, we are not informed at what age the mutilations 
 took place. Had not the cerebellum, at the period of 
 emasculation, attained its maximiun development? — in 
 which case no diminutive size was confidently to have been 
 anticipated. The decay of the cerebellum, in consequence 
 of mutilation, was not stated by Gall to be a constant fact : 
 and, as will have been seen in a previous page, Vimont 
 relates instances in which the occurrence did, and in which 
 it did not, take place. Spurzheim merely asserts that the 
 further gi'owth of the organ is checked, if emasculation be 
 performed very early ; he 'writes : “ Sic castratio cerebelli 
 incrementum imminuit ; nam in hominibus et animalibus 
 castratis cerebellum crescere desinit. Quamobrem eunu 
 chis atque animalibus, in prima setate castratis, est coUum 
 valde exiguum, et copulandi cupido nulla. Contra, ho- 
 mines caeteraque animalia, post plenos aiinos castrati, 
 quamquam testium expertes, sensum tamen eroticum et 
 copulandi stimulum conservant.” ^ 
 
 Physiognomical System, 1815. Note p. 280. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 275 
 
 In the case of the geldings, however, is it quite certain 
 that no atrophy of the cerebellum had occurred ? Rela- 
 tively heavy as the structure revealed itself to he, had not 
 its dimensions been yet more considerable prior, than sub- 
 sequent, to the operation ? These are important points 
 to be determined, before we should attach any decisive 
 value to the statements of M. Leuret ; and they are fair 
 and reasonable matters of inquiry, when we consider the 
 paucity of instances which go to form the recorded average. 
 
 But there is yet another point of view in which these 
 statements should be regarded. The observations of Gall 
 and the phrenologists have reference always to the volume, 
 not to the weight, of an organ. Undoubtedly, in cases 
 where the organic quality is exactly similar, weight will 
 maintain a uniform relation to volume ; but disease — any 
 departure from the normal condition of things — may so 
 alter the intimate composition of the encephalic substance, 
 as probably to influence very sensibly the correspondences 
 of weight and volume. M. Parchappe, in his researches 
 on the encephalon, exhibits, in tables, a variety of facts 
 which appear to show this point, so far at least as statis- 
 tics on a moderate scale can determine any such matter. 
 
 The following table, taken as an example of many others 
 occurring in the work just mentioned, gives the mean 
 weight of the cerebral substance in ninety-four instances ; 
 the facts occurred within the experience of M. Cruveilhier; 
 they exhibit the difierences induced, seemingly, by insa- 
 nity, the observations and comparisons having been made 
 in the case of twenty-nine sound-minded men and twenty- 
 five who were mad, and of eighteen sound-minded women 
 and of twenty-two who were mad : — 
 
 Mean weight 
 
 Of the 
 Encephalon. 
 
 Of the 
 Cerebrum. 
 
 Of the 
 Cerebellum. 
 
 With 29 sound men, . 
 
 . . 1-323 . . 
 
 . 1-155 . 
 
 . . 179 
 
 26 mad men, . . 
 
 . . 1-390 . . 
 
 . 1-173 . 
 
 . . 162 
 
 18 sound women. 
 
 . . 1-210 . . 
 
 . 1-055 . 
 
 . . 147 
 
 22 mad women, . 
 
 . . 1-262 . . 
 
 . 1-095 . 
 
 . . 161 
 
276 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, with 
 
 The present writer is not one who places any very great 
 degree of value upon mere statistics, when the object is to 
 gain demonstration of some doubtful matter affecting such 
 questions as the one now under discussion ; because an 
 uncertainty always remains whether the general circum- 
 stances of the aggregate of facts have been so nearly 
 equal, as to permit decisive weight to be attached to the 
 particular difference of result, concerning which the in- 
 quiry is made. And, judging from what occurs in other 
 analogous investigations, doubt must ever prevail with 
 respect to the numbers required to yield the just average, 
 as it exists in nature. 
 
 The true value of statistics in these researches, the author 
 believes to consist in their aptness for corroborating results 
 procured by closer and more direct investigation, and in their 
 tendency to suggest extended inquiry, or to cause re\-ision 
 of previous researches, so as to bring about more accurate 
 results. Without, then, recognising any conclusiveness in 
 such a table as the one exhibited above, the writer directs 
 attention to the fact, that it indicates a tendency, in mania, 
 to increase the weight of the encephalon, although most 
 writers on the subject represent a diminution in its bulk to 
 be a very frequent consequence ; the table further goes to 
 show that, with insane men, the cerebellum becomes lighter, 
 and with women heawer, under the like circumstances. 
 Now, if any great degree of importance could be attached 
 to such results as these, it might be contended that Leuret’s 
 facts and Gall’s physiology harmonise in the following 
 manner : After dismemberment', the cerebellum exists in 
 an abnormal condition, as occurs in mania ; this may oc- 
 casion a deposition of matter, in the process of nutrition, 
 specifically hea^der than that which exists in the normal 
 state, and so yield a structure capable of weighing more 
 than before, though of reduced volume. But, in truth, 
 such a procedure would very much resemble special plead- 
 ing ; the author is convinced that no valid conclusion 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 277 
 
 whatsoever can rest upon any such limited number of 
 instances. 
 
 The table just cited contains also another element, cal- 
 culated to show the fallacy of deducing results from so 
 small an amount of facts ; this circumstance may be illus- 
 trated thus : Suppose that it had been maintained, after 
 acknowledgment of the fact that disease modified structural 
 density, that the cerebellum had its weight increased al- 
 ways by madness, the author of such a proposition might 
 support the idea by conclusions deduced from no less than 
 fifty-four cases (as shown with respect to the men in the 
 foregoing table), a number surpassing by eleven the num- 
 ber of Leuret’s horses ; then might arise some opponent to 
 the notion, and with forty instances of women (as shown 
 above) exhibit a state of things just the contrary! Yet 
 both parties in such an affair would have been right in 
 their facts, the number of which, however, would have been 
 far too inconsiderable to warrant any general inference. 
 
 The above considerations must at least demonstrate 
 possible sources of fallacy in Leuret’s facts; nothing that 
 has been advanced disproves them, but surely their value, 
 as determining any conclusion, can no longer be insisted 
 upon by the opponents of Gall. Any one who is disposed 
 to confide, to any extent, in a slender array of figures in 
 relation to such inquiries, will have seen that, judging 
 from corresponding data, weight and volume of the ence- 
 phalic structures do not vary coincidently, and that morbid 
 states influence the one condition as well as the other, and 
 this under no appreciable rule. Such questions as these, 
 however, it should now be clear enough, must be settled 
 by processes of a very different character. 
 
 But “ it is necessary to be on one’s guard against facts 
 which are attested only by the adversaries of a science, 
 because it is weU known to what extent the spirit of specu- 
 lation may lead to falsehood in assertion ^ and, after the 
 * Broussais. Cours de Phr^nologie. 
 
278 gaxl’s physiology op the excephalox, aahth 
 
 experience which phrenologists have had in this respect, 
 the most illiberal opponent should extend to them a pardon 
 when they doubt the accuracy of M. Leuret, even in the 
 affair of fact. It is the present writer’s conviction, that 
 some mistake (not wilful it is to be hoped) has found its 
 way into the proceeding by which the instances were 
 examined and reported, because they are completely opposed, 
 in their general character and tendency, to the recorded 
 observations of many other able men in various coimtries. 
 The author, judging from his ovti experience, considers 
 that Gall’s discovery, with regard to the cerebellum, is an 
 affair of rigorous demonstration ; and, for this reason, he 
 must hesitate before he admits the truth of statements even 
 in seeming opposition ; for, once more, in the language of 
 Bouillaud, “ if every theory found in conbadiction with a 
 single fact well observed be false, so every fact found in 
 contradiction vdth a theory rigorously demonstrated has 
 been badly observed.” 
 
 As it has been previously shewn, there is no actual con- 
 tradiction to the results of Gall’s observation in Leuret’s 
 statements ; the limited amount of the cases readily permits 
 them to be explained, so as to leave the phrenological 
 doctrine unaffected ; there is, nevertheless, pro tanto, a case 
 made out against it, if the facts have been accurately ob- 
 served, and the instances indiscriminately taken. On this 
 account, it is very difficult to divest one’s self of the impres- 
 sion, that, either through negligence or some other cause, 
 they have been misapprehended or distorted. W eights and 
 measurements have, on several prior occasions, been ad- 
 duced in order to overthrow the physiology of Gall ; and 
 it is very remarkable that, when they have been procured 
 by parties who had previously rendered themselves, like 
 M. Leuret, conspicuous as opponents, the result has always 
 been made to corroborate the foregone conclusion. This 
 circumstance is of itself justly calculated to excite suspi- 
 cion ; more especially, as it may be noticed, that, when 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATION. 279 
 
 corresponding instances and groups of figures are collected 
 by individuals uncommitted upon either side, the result is 
 very generally the other way. Mr Stone, Sir William 
 Hamilton, and Professor Tiedemann have, at several times, 
 rendered themselves prominent in their opposition to phreno- 
 logy; their positions have been largely maintained by 
 figures, representing weights and measurements ; these shall 
 be carefully examined. On the other hand, M. Parchappe, 
 Dr Morton, and Dr John Reid, have weighed and measured 
 to a very great extent, without any apparent object beyond 
 that of accurately recording fair average results ; and these 
 latter have presented not even a seeming opposition to the 
 observations of Gall and his disciples, whilst, in several 
 particulars, they have supplied neiv and very important 
 confirmation. When all these circumstances have been 
 reviewed in detail, the reader will be in a somewhat better 
 condition for estimating the worth of any inference, deduced 
 from such statements as those of M. Leuret. 
 
 About sixteen or seventeen years ago, Mr Thomas Stone, 
 at that time of Edinburgh, published the results of certain 
 weighings and measurings of crania, which the prejudiced 
 and the supeidicial then considered to have given to phren- 
 ology its permanent quietus; a pamphlet which he wrote 
 “ On the Phrenological Development of Burke, Hare, and 
 other atrocious Murderers, &c.,” was spoken of, in the 
 following terms, by the Edinburgh Literary Journal : — 
 
 “ This is one of the most efiicient knock-down blows 
 which phrenology has yet received. Nobody can read this 
 pamphlet and believe in phrenology ; we question whether 
 Mr Combe himself can. We should not be sm’prised to 
 hear of his abruptly terminating his lectures in Dublin, and 
 going into retirement for the rest of his life. ‘ Assail our 
 facts, and we are undone ; phrenology admits of no ex- 
 ceptions,’ has been his continual exclamation. ‘ Eh ! bien,’ 
 says Mr Stone, ‘ we’ll take a look at your facts, and see 
 how they answer.’ Mr Stone’s former pamphlet on the 
 
280 gall’s physiology of the encephalox, ayith 
 
 same subject was a learned and able one, but tbis is a 
 thousand times more convincing, because there is no 
 theorizing in it, nothing but plain statements and incon- 
 trovertible deductions. He has ‘ assailed their facts’ with 
 a vengeance, and has succeeded in making it perfectly clear 
 that there is no such thing as a well-established fact in the 
 whole science. We do not speak rashly, nor do we speak 
 partially.” 
 
 In this (for a time) celebrated pamphlet, IMr Stone ex- 
 hibited tables, the object of which was to prove mathe- 
 matically, that the heads of depraved murderers, like Burke 
 and Hare, were very favourably developed ; and this he 
 assumed to do, by comparing them with the heads of 
 twenty-eight Englishmen, twenty-seven Irishmen, and 
 twenty-five Scotchmen, — in all, eighty cases. The com- 
 parisons were, professedly, based upon systems of measure- 
 ment and weighing that had no correspondence with any 
 rule, or method laid down, either by Gall, or by any of his 
 followers ; for, in the first place, the measurements had 
 relation only (and this after an erroneous plan) to what 
 phrenologists call the length of an organ ; no attempt was 
 made to estimate, or determine, the breadth. The facilities 
 for misstatement under these circumstances, with only a 
 little latitude of conscience, are very obvious to any one 
 having the least practical acquaintance with the subject. 
 Then, in measuring living crania, in order to ascertain their 
 capacity., ISIr Stone took the length, breadth, and height, 
 and added these together ! The humblest arithmetician must 
 see the absurdity of such a proceeding, which, however 
 applicable for the hatter’s purpose, is most preposterous in 
 reference to phrenology ; besides its arithmetical absurdity, 
 it takes no cognisance of the general elevation of the coronal 
 region, or of the depth of the forehead, and, tested in such 
 a way, the low wretched head of Hare, or of a Carib, 
 might seem to be equal to that of some of our greatest men. 
 Weighing and measuring were put in requisition, also, for 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 281 
 
 the purpose of making out the relative development of the 
 individual organs ; the plan consisted in filling crania with 
 sand, in order to determine the weight of the brain ; then, 
 a comparison was made between this — the weight, and the 
 length of particular organs, and this was called the ratio 
 between the size of an organ and the size of the head! A glaring 
 error, well known to mathematicians as the comparison of 
 incommensurable quantities. 
 
 It is hardly worth while, at the present day, to extend 
 the criticism upon these weights and measurements any 
 further ; it may be sufficient to state that, on the cessation 
 of the first flush of triumph at their publication, they fell 
 into absolute disregard, even with the opponents of Gall’s 
 physiology.’ Absiu’d as these measm’ements are, so signally 
 ignorant do some writers continue concerning the merits of 
 Phrenology, that l\Ir Thomas Monck Mason, B.A., in a 
 work published in opposition to the author of the “ Vestiges 
 of the Natural History of Creation,” so lately as 1845,^ ac- 
 tually founds his rejection of the science on the measure- 
 ments by IMr Stone, reported at second-hand by the late 
 
 ' Mr Combe published a reply to Mr Stone in the sixth volume of the 
 Phrenologieal Journal ; and the following extract from it exemplifies, 
 in an amusing way, the accuracy of the anti-phrenological calculations ; — 
 
 “ The results of his measurements and tables show that he has pro- 
 ceeded on no inteUigihle or consistent principle whatever. They are so 
 palpably ludicrous that they actually thrust a ‘reductio ad absurdum’ 
 upon the notice of the reader. For example, — in discussing Hare’s head 
 he says, “ The proportion of Destructiveness to the size of the head is as 
 I to 2'319. The proportion of Benevolence to ditto is as I to 2‘555. 
 The proportion of Conscientiousness to ditto is as 1 to 3;” that is to 
 say, of Hare’s head, Destructiveness constitutes within a small fi-action 
 of one half; it is as I to 2| ; Benevolence constitutes very nearly another 
 half, for it is as 1 to 2 J ; and Conscientiousness is exactly one-third ; so 
 that the size of these three organs exceeds that of the whole head which 
 contains them, and aU the other 32 organs have no size whatever ! 
 
 “ In citing this example I am not taking Mr Stone at disadvantage, 
 catching him tripping, at it were, in some huge calculation amidst his 
 
 ^ “ Creation by the Immediate Agency of God, as opposed to Creation 
 by Natural Law,” by Thomas Monck Mason. 1845. 
 
282 gaxl’s physiology of the encephaloy, with 
 
 Dr ]\Iilligan ! Nevertheless, it is certain that strong reasons 
 afterwards arose for doubting something more important 
 than the accuracy, or even than the judgment, of ]\Ir 
 Stone. 
 
 Prefixed to the “ Anatomy of the Brain, by Dr Monro,” 
 published about fourteen years ago, there is an account of 
 Experiments on the Weight and Relative Proportions of the 
 Brain, Cerebellum, and Tuber Annulare in Man and Ani- 
 
 mighty chaos of decimals ; on the contrary, his whole tables present 
 similar absurdities to the eye. ‘ Table II.’ will serve as an illustration. 
 “ ‘ Table II. Measurements of the Heads of hving persons, — English- 
 
 men. 
 
 “ ‘ Average size of the head in 28 Englishmen, . . 13’557 
 
 “ ‘ Average proportion of Destructiveness to the size of the 
 
 head in ditto, 2"282 
 
 “ ‘ Ditto ditto of Benevolence to ditto in ditto, . . 2’4G4 
 
 “ ‘ Ditto ditto of Conscientiousness to ditto in ditto, . 2'785 
 
 “ ‘ Ditto ditto of Acquisitiveness to ditto in ditto, . 2'4-37 
 
 “ Proportion of these four organs to the size of the 
 
 whole head, O'OGS 
 
 “Remains for the other t/iirty-one oryanv, . . 3'-589 
 
 “ It is quite obvious that, if 3Ir Stone had proceeded two steps farther 
 in his measurement of particular organs, he would again have made the 
 sum of the separate dimensions of a few organs gi’eater than the size of 
 the whole head. 
 
 “ He is equally unmerciful to his Scotchmen and Irishmen. 
 
 “ The size of the whole head in the Scotchmen is . . 13'G94 
 
 “ The aggregate size of the same four organs is . . 10'002 
 
 “ Remains for the other 31 organs of the Scotchmen, . 3'692 
 
 “ The size of the whole head in Mr Stone’s Irishmen is . 13’631 
 
 “ The aggregate size of the same four organs is . . 10T24 
 
 “ Remains for 31 organs of Irishmen, .... 3‘507 
 
 Such then is a specimen of “ one of the most efficient knock-down 
 blows which Phrenology has yet received.” 2sothiug but the most un- 
 reasoning eagerness to disparage Phrenologj' without one moment's 
 consideration of the grounds for doing so, could have prompted the 
 editor of a respectable literary journal to become the champion of such 
 nonsense as this ; and nothing but the knowledge of the existence of a 
 similar feeling in the public mind, could have rendered it safe for liim 
 to do so. 
 
THE KECOEDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATION. 283 
 
 mals, under the varying circumstances of Age, Sex, and 
 Country, by Sii' William Hamilton, which, as usual, when 
 coming from some notorious anti-phrenologist, goes to inva- 
 lidate many of the general statements of Gall, and others 
 of the same school. And, truly, the data display a very 
 imposing aspect. “ The conclusions,” says Sir William, 
 “are founded on an induction drawn from above sixty 
 human brains, from nearly 300 human skulls of deter- 
 mined sex, the capacity of which, by a method I devised, 
 was taken in sand, and the original AFeight of the brain 
 thus recovered, and from more than 700 brains of different 
 animals.” 
 
 AU this would appear, surely, to afford materials for 
 determinate conclusions ; Leuret’s forty-three horses sink 
 into absolute insignificance by the side of Sir William Ha- 
 milton’s pompous parade of facts and figures. 
 
 The first conclusion deduced from the premises in ques- 
 tion, is, that the adult male encephalon is somewhat 
 heavier than that of the female, — a fact accordant with 
 the statements of Gall, and with the results generally ob- 
 tained by observers. 
 
 The next conclusion is, that, in man, the encephalon 
 reaches its full size about the age of seven. This pro- 
 position, if true, would make nothing against phrenology, 
 because, even if the brain should attain its full size in early 
 childhood, the organic quality is not at that time matured, 
 so that full mental vigour would not be predicated. But 
 Gall thought, and stated his belief, that the full develop- 
 ment, in the human species, did not take place till nearly 
 forty years of age ; and, by discrediting Gall’s accuracy in 
 this particular. Sir William Hamilton, doubtless, expected 
 to discredit him in other respects. Yet, other weighings, 
 conducted on much more extensive materials than Sir 
 William’s, lead to a conclusion more nearly approaching to 
 that of Gall ; this will be seen upon coming to the figures 
 of Dr John Reid, and some others, — no phrenologists. 
 
284 gall’s physiology of the encephalok, with 
 
 The third proposition is opposed to the opinion formed by 
 Gall, and generally adopted by his disciples, that the cranial 
 contents usually diminish in old age. “ The vulgar opinion 
 that they do,” says Sir W. Hamilton, “ rests on no adequate 
 evidence, and my induction would prove the negative.” 
 “Adequate evidence,” however, shall be adduced in the 
 sequel (so far as figures representing the weights of diflferent 
 brains at different ages can form such evidence), to show at 
 least the high probability of this “ vulgar opinion.” 
 
 Another induction obtained by Sir W. Hamilton is ex- 
 pressed as follows : — “ The opinion that the African brain, 
 and, in particular, that of the Negro, is gi’eatly smaller 
 than that of the European, is false. By a comparison of 
 the capacity of two Caffre skulls, male and female, and of 
 thirteen Negro crania (six male, five female, and two of 
 doubtful sex), the encephalos of the African was found not 
 inferior to the average size of the European.” How far 
 this series of weights and measurements corresponds ■with 
 others relating to the same subject, and on a larger scale, 
 will be seen shortly. 
 
 “ In Man,” we are further told, “ the cerebellum, in 
 relation to the brain proper, comes to its full proportion 
 about three years. This anti-phrenological fact is proved 
 by a great induction.” The sources of fallacy incident to 
 the employment of a small number of instances, with respect 
 to any such proposition, are obvious enough. 
 
 Again : “ The cerebellum, in the female, is in general 
 considerably larger, in proportion to the brain proper, than 
 in the male. In the human subject, the former is nearly 
 as 1 to 7'6 ; the latter nearly as 1 to 8‘4 ; and this sexual 
 difference appears to be more determinate in man than in 
 most other animals. Almost the whole difference of weight 
 between the male and female encephali lies in the brain 
 proper ; the cerebella of the two sexes absolutely are nearly 
 equal, — the preponderance rather in favour of the women. 
 This observation is new, and the truth of the phrenological 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 285 
 
 doctrine implies the reverse.” This “ new observation” 
 has, at any rate, received no corroboration. Dr John Reid’s 
 Tables, and those also of Professor Tiedemann, exhibit re- 
 sults affecting this matter, in perfect harmony with “ the 
 truth of the phrenological doctrine,” and entirely opposed 
 to the facts of Sir William Hamilton. 
 
 Such are the leading deductions gained by this observer 
 from weights and measurements ; and what is extraordin- 
 ary is, that whenever any particular result would affect 
 very sensibly the accuracy of the phrenologists, this dis- 
 tinguished opponent never fails to come at it ; he never 
 exhibits a lack of figures and facts that favour, decisively, 
 his own anti-phrenological notions. The present writer 
 has no means of forming a judgment respecting the cause 
 of this circumstance ; whether it may have been owing to 
 accident incidental to insufficient data, or to some prejudiced 
 carelessness in the mode of his proceeding, he offers no 
 opinion. The fact itself, however, is curious. 
 
 A still more remarkable circumstance is to be discovered 
 in regard to certain statements of Professor Tiedemann of 
 Heidelberg, founded on certain researches of this kind, and 
 contained in a communication published in the Philosophical 
 Transactions iov 1836, “ On the brain of the negro compared 
 with that of the European and the Ouran Outang.” Tiede- 
 mann has long been known, and committed, as an opponent 
 of the cerebral physiology of his fellow-countryman. Gall, 
 who, in illustration and confirmation of some of his positions, 
 had appealed, in a general way, to the small size of the 
 African head, as a fact corresponding with the slender 
 endowment of psychical energy, when contrasted with that 
 which obtains in the European. It did not appear to be 
 a prominent object -with the Professor to interfere with 
 Gall’s physiology : it cannot even be said with certainty 
 that he intended to scathe the same by a dart obliquely 
 cast. It is certain, however, that he advanced, as results 
 of weighing and measuring, inductions having such a ten- 
 
286 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, with 
 
 dency. His particular purpose was to prove that the Negro 
 race was behind the European nations, neither in general 
 capacity, nor in educability ; he having adopted the opinion, 
 that human perfectibility is in relation to the capacity of 
 the cranial cavity. The most singular business of all about 
 this business is, that the Professor actually published a 
 conclusion at variance with his O'wn figures ! And yet, 
 strange to say, the Royal Society, and half of our scientific 
 men and journals, not only failed to discover this error, 
 but received and propagated hjs facts and inferences as liter- 
 ally correct, and as of vast importance. The men of science 
 of this generation, in their eagerness to hail any evidence or 
 argument apparently calculated to refute phrenology, have, 
 on more than one occasion, actually stultified themselves 
 by receiving and commending self-evident errors and incon- 
 sistencies when adduced against it. Well might Broussais 
 observe, in reference to assumed anti-phrenological facts : 
 “ I do not know to what extent such alleged facts merit 
 our confidence. F or my OTvm part, I declare that they Avill 
 inspire me with none, until they shall have been verified 
 by phrenologists.” 
 
 The merit of detecting, and of exposing, the fiiUacies 
 occurring in Tiedemann’s communication to the Royal So- 
 ciety, belongs to Dr A. Combe, who, in a paper, published 
 in the eleventh volume of the Phrenological Journal, well 
 and clearly showed the inconsistency of the figures with 
 the inductions ; and, as this matter possesses considerable 
 interest in exhibiting the little reliance to be placed on 
 anti-phrenological statements, even when assumed to be 
 supported by weights and measurements, abstracts of Dr 
 Combe’s valuable communication shall here be cited at 
 some length. 
 
 “ Tiedemann’s grand objects are, to prove, 1st, that the 
 opinion of Negro inferiority expressed by Camper, Soem- 
 mering, Cuvier, and almost all naturalists of any eminence, 
 is incorrect ; 2dly, that the Negro brain is equal in size 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATION. 287 
 
 and similar in structure to that of the European ; and, 
 3dly, that, consequently, the former is equally capable of 
 cmlization as the latter, and owes his present inferiority 
 entirely to had treatment and unfavourable cii’cumstances, 
 and will lose it when placed in the position in society which 
 has been recently assigned him by the ‘ noble British Go- 
 vernment.’ It is obvious, that of two brains, 
 
 both precisely equal in absolute weight, one may be very de- 
 ficient in intellectual endowment, compared with the other, 
 and this deficiency be perfectly apparent, on inspection, 
 when we attend to the regions of the brain in which the 
 preponderance lies. But as Tiedemann, throughout the 
 whole of his experiments, utterly disregards this distinc- 
 tion, confounds intellectual power, moral feeling, and brute 
 propensity, under one head, and treats of the brain as if it 
 consisted only of one lobe, with only one function, namely, 
 the manifestation of intellect, his inference, that because 
 the Negro brain is equal in weight to the European, there- 
 fore the Negro is also his equal in intellectual power, falls 
 to the ground, as unwarranted by the evidence. To render 
 his conclusions worth any thing, he must show, not only 
 that the two brains are equal in absolute size, but that the 
 anterior lohe, or seat of intellect, is equally developed in both; 
 — a position which he never attempts to substantiate, and 
 which is at variance with some parts even of his own 
 facts.” 
 
 “ Having obtained the weight of a suflicient number of 
 European brains, Tiedemann next endeavours to ascertain 
 the weight of the Negro brain ; but, from the very small 
 number of Negroes to be found in Europe, he has great 
 difficulty in obtaining any thing like a fair average : in 
 fact, he gives the weight of only four Negro brains, — one 
 of a boy of fourteen years of age, stated, on the authority 
 of Soemmering, to have weighed 3 lb. 6 oz. 6 dr. ; a second, 
 of a taU and handsome Negro of twenty years of age, which 
 weighed 3 lb. 9 oz. 4 dr. ; a third, of a large Negro, men- 
 
288 gall’s phtsiologt of the excephalox, with 
 
 tioned by Sir Astley Cooper, of 49 oz. ; and a fourth, 
 examined by himself, of a man twenty-five years of age, 
 which weighed 2 lb. 3 oz. 2 dr.” 
 
 “ In comparing these results vdth the average weight of 
 the European brain, as stated by Tiedemann himself, it is 
 singular to observe the extent to ivhich they are at variance 
 with his inferences. The European average runs, he says, 
 from 3 lb. 2 oz. to 4 lb. 6 oz., while the average of the 
 four Negroes rises to only 3 lb. 5 oz. 1 dr., or 3 oz. above 
 the lowest European averages ; and the highest Negro falls 
 5 oz. short of the highest average European, and no less 
 than 10 oz. short of Cuvier’s brain. And, as if these facts 
 were not inconsistent enough vdth his conclusions, Tiede- 
 mann first affirms that, in the Negro, “the length and 
 height of the cerebral hemispheres do not visibly differ 
 from that of the European ; their breadth being only some- 
 what less,” (p. 515); and, immediately after subjoins three 
 tables of the “ Dimensions of the Cerebrum of Negroes,” 
 “ Dimensions of the Cerebrum of European Males,” and 
 “ Dimensions of the Cerebrum of European Females the 
 
 figures of Avhich directly contradict his a.ssei'tions ! 
 
 This 
 
 seems almost incredible, but on summing up 
 we find the following results, namely : — 
 
 the averages 
 
 Inches. Lines. 
 
 “ Average length of brain in 
 
 4 Negroes, 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 7 European males, . 
 
 6 
 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 6 European females . 
 
 o 
 
 10.J 
 
 ‘ Average greatest breadth in 
 
 4 Negroes, 
 
 4 
 
 86 i 
 
 Do. do 
 
 7 European males, . 
 
 5 
 
 H 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 . 5 European females. 
 
 5‘ 
 
 H 
 
 “ Average height of brain in 
 
 . 3 Negroes, 
 
 2 
 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 7 European males, . 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 4 European females. 
 
 2 
 
 9i 
 
 ' “ This result is an example of the unsatisfactory mode of proceed- 
 ing pursued by Tiedemann. It makes the breadth of the female greater 
 than that of the male brain, in opposition to all his other evidence, and 
 must have arisen fi’om the unequal spreading out of the soft brain ; if, 
 indeed, it is not a mere error of the press." — Db Combe. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATION. 289 
 
 “ From these tables, it is evident that the dimensions of 
 the brain are smaller in the negroes measured by Tiede- 
 mann, than in the European ; but, for our own parts, we 
 are not disposed to lay much stress upon results drawn 
 from such a limited number of facts ; and we notice them 
 merely to show that, such as they are, they directly con- 
 tradict the arithmetical proportions or conclusions drawn 
 
 from them by Tiedemann.” 
 
 “ Not having access to a sufficient number of the actual 
 brains of negroes, Tiedemann has endeavoured to supply 
 the want of direct evidence, by comparing the capacity of 
 the negro skull with that of the European, and thus ob- 
 taining an index to the relative size of their Contained 
 organs. For this purpose he filled the skulls with millet 
 seed, and carefully noted the quantity which each con- 
 tained Among other collections which he 
 
 visited, was the phrenological museum in Edinburgh, to 
 which we twice accompanied him, and from which twenty- 
 three of his observations were taken ; and we can bear 
 witness to the pains which he took to ensure accuracy in 
 the individual details ; and yet, strange to say, on sum- 
 ming up his table of results, and striking an average (a 
 proceeding which he seems not to have thought of), his 
 FACTS AND INFERENCES ARE ONCE MORE AT UTTER VA- 
 RIANCE After giving several pages of tables com- 
 
 prehending the weight of the quantity of millet seed required 
 to fill Ethiopian, Caucasian, Mongolian, American, and 
 Malayan skulls, Tiedemann says, ‘ It is evident from the 
 comparison of the cavum cranii of the negro with that of 
 the European, Mongolian, American, and Malayan, that 
 the cavity of the skull of the negro, in general, is not 
 smaller than that of the European and other human races. 
 The result of Hamilton’s researches is the same. I hope 
 this will comdnce others, that the opinion of many na- 
 turalists, such as Camper, Soemmering, Cuvier, Laivrence, 
 and Virey, that the negro has a smaller skull and brain 
 
 N 
 
290 gaxl’s phtsiologt of the encephalon, and 
 
 than the European, is ill-founded, and entirely refuted hy my 
 researched (p. 511). Now we have already seen that the 
 real question of interest, as regards negro improvement, is 
 not so much the general size of the brain, as the relative 
 size of its anterior lobe and coronal surface compared to 
 the basilar and posterior portions. But even as concerns 
 the absolute size of the whole brain, it is an extraordinary 
 fact, that Tiedemann’s own tables give a decided superiority 
 to the European over the negro brain, to the average ex- 
 tent of nearly four ounces ! The average capacity of forty- 
 one negro skulls in his own tables amounts only to 37 oz. 
 
 1 dr. 10 gr., while the average of seventy-seven Europeans 
 of every nation, also in his own tables, amount to 41 oz. 
 
 2 dr. 30 grains. Of the negroes, indeed, three are females, 
 but even subtracting these, the negro average amounts 
 only to 37 oz. 6 dr. 18 gi’ains.^ Here, then, on Tiede- 
 mann’s own showing, we have, first, an inferiority in the 
 dimensions of the negro brain, and a greater naiTowness of 
 its anterior lobe ; and, secondly, a marked inferiority in 
 the capacity of the negro skull, to the extent of about one- 
 tenth, and yet he very strangely infers that both are equal to 
 
 those of the European If the phrenologists 
 
 had perpetrated such a series of blunders. Sir "William 
 Hamilton and his allies would have shouted in triumph 
 over their stupidity.” 
 
 After all this, is it vmry unnatural that phrenologists 
 should receive with distrust any statement of facts which 
 comes from opponents, though backed, professedly, by 
 weighing and measuring ? When it is seen that some, in 
 their zeal to destroy phrenology, will not scruple to make 
 statements which are positively untrue, and based upon a 
 method of investigation absurd in itself and preposterously 
 
 ' Thus it appears that Tiedemann’s facts do not corroborate Sir 
 William Hamilton’s inductions relating to the African brain, as be 
 himself thought ; but that, on the contrary, they are most conclusively 
 opposed to them. 
 
THE KECOEDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 291 
 
 vicious, as in the case of Mr Stone ; when others, like Sir 
 William Hamilton, advance results of weight and measure- 
 ment opposed to every body’s experience but their own, 
 and thereby force the conclusion that fallacy must lurk 
 somewhere ; and when it is found that one so eminent as 
 Tiedemann can olfer as valid inference that which his own 
 premises confute, — is it unnatural, again let it be asked, 
 that the correctness of Leuret regarding the horse’s brain 
 should at least be doubted? Moreover, the remarkable 
 circumstance in Leuret’s statements should not be over- 
 looked, that, on all points, the result is most happily made 
 to come out in extreme opposition to what Gall had set 
 forth. Thus, according to the observations of phrenologists, 
 the females of species generally, being less ardenfr in sexual 
 feeling than the male, possess, in the majority of instances, 
 a smaller cerebellum correspondently, yet Leuret makes 
 the cerebellum of the mare to exceed that of the unmutilated 
 horse. Again, Gall, Vimont, and others, have recorded 
 cases in which removal of the testes led to atrophy of the 
 encephahc organ, and the cu’cumstance has been considered 
 by phrenologists to be probably not an unfrequent fact ; yet 
 Leuret makes the cerebellum in the gelding, to surpass in 
 weight that either of the mare or of the stallion. The 
 fact, that averages of so small a number of examples 
 should, in each little particular, run just counter to all 
 phrenological statements, is in itself a somewhat suspicious 
 affair. But M. Leuret has an anti-phrenological reputation 
 to maintain ! 
 
 Let us now proceed to examine the result of certam 
 other weighings and measurings on the part of Tiedemann, 
 which, so far as can be judged, were conducted without 
 bias, and without any seeming view either to controvert or 
 to corroborate the observations of GaU and his followers. 
 Under such circumstances, it may be noticed, i almost 
 universally, that the results constitute a confirmation 
 of the phrenological observations, and, certainly, that 
 
292 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, and 
 
 they nowhere exhibit any very material discordance with 
 them. 
 
 However opposed to truth the inferences of Tiedemann 
 may have been, no suspicion can attach to his good faith, 
 or to the accuracy of his facts. Dr A. Combe, it -will have 
 been seen from the foregoing extracts, personally testifies 
 to the scrupulous fidelity with which, in his owm obsen'a- 
 tion, he prosecuted his inquiries in the procuring of data. 
 It is no wonder, then, to the phrenologist, that, in point of 
 fact, all his figures do, pro tanto, support the statements of 
 Gall, notwithstanding that his wish and expectation were, 
 in all probability, quite the other way. This, to some 
 extent, will have been apparent from what has already 
 been advanced ; and it may still further be shown from 
 examination of some others of his results. 
 
 Tiedemann says, — “ The brain of men who have dis- 
 tinguished themselves by their gi’eat talents is often 
 very large. The brain of the celebrated Cuvier weighed 
 4 lb. 11 oz. 4 dr. 30 gr. troy, and that of the celebrated 
 surgeon, Dupuytren, weighed 4 lb. 10 oz. troy. The 
 brain of men endowed with but feeble intellectual powers 
 is, on the contrary, often very small, particularly in 
 congenital idiotism.” In another place, speaking of cer- 
 tain tribes who inhabit the interior of Africa, as being 
 far more intellectually constituted than those on the coast, 
 he says, “Most of them have well /ormct? skulls;” and 
 again, “ the Caffres and Bachapins, or Betchuanas, have 
 the same form of skull, and the same high forehead and pro- 
 minent nose, as the European.” Sir William Hamilton, 
 in his onslaught on phrenology by the agency of tables, 
 expected to have struck a fatal blow, when he made it out 
 that the development of the cerebellum is much smaller in 
 males than in females, and that the brain sustains no 
 diminution in old age, as Gall had asserted. Tiedemann. 
 however, shows, by his tables, that not only the female 
 brain, but the female cerebellum also, is decidedly smaller. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OP ITS MUTILATIONS. 293 
 
 In his list of “ conclusions,” he expressly atBrms that “ the 
 female brain is lighter than that of the male, and weighs, 
 on an average, from four to eight ounces less.” In ano- 
 ther of his conclusions, after remarking that Sir William 
 Hamilton denies the decrease of the brain in old age, he 
 observes, “ It is very remarkable that the brain of a man 
 eighty-two years old was very small, and weighed but 
 3 lb. 2 oz. 3 dr., and the brain of a woman about eighty 
 years old weighed but 2 lb. 9 oz. 1 dr. I have generally 
 found the cavity of the skull smaller in old men than in 
 middle-aged persons. It appears to me, therefore, probable, 
 that the brain really decreases in old age, only more re- 
 marJcably in some persons than in, others ;” just as may happen 
 under circumstances of emasculation in horses ; — decrease 
 of the cerebellum will probably happen ; but may not this 
 occur more remarkably in some geldings than in others 1 This 
 should be kept in mind, in every estimate of Leuret’s facts. 
 
 “ Again, in regard to Sir William Hamilton’s assertion 
 of the equal or superior size of the female cerebellum,” says 
 Dr A. Combe, “ we find, at page 514, a table entitled, 
 ‘ Dimensions of the Cerebellum and Nodus Encephali.’ In 
 it, the greatest breadth of the cerebellum in six male 
 Europeans, varies from 4 inches 3 lines, to 3 inches 6 
 lines, being the highest and lowest measurements. But in 
 three female Europeans, the highest is only equal to the 
 lowest male, namely, 3 inches 6 lines ; the other being 3 
 inches, 5 lines, and 3 inches 3 lines respectively. Here, 
 again, the superior accuracy of the phrenologists is proved 
 even by hostile testimony.” 
 
 M. Parchappe, physician to the lunatic asylum of Rouen, 
 proposed in the work whose title has been previously men- 
 tioned, to estimate, by weights and measurements, the rela- 
 tions subsisting between the intellectual faculties and the 
 size of the brain. His proceeding being, first, to measure the 
 head in the living subject, and then to measure the head, 
 and to weigh the brain of the same individual; noticing, at 
 
294 gall’s phlsiologt of the encephalon, and 
 
 the same time, every circumstance of sex, age, stature, 
 health, intellect, and so on, which was calculated to throw 
 any light upon the subject. The facts observed by the author 
 amount to 344; or 169 heads measured, 58 skulls measured, 
 22 skulls weighed, and 95 brains weighed. M. Parchappe 
 is no phrenologist; and he has consequently overlooked, in 
 his investigations, several conditions that might have illus- 
 trated the phrenological question to a much greater extent 
 than his actual results appear to do; nevertheless, on re- 
 viewing the conclusions, it will be seen that, in the main, 
 they substantiate the accuracy of Gall’s observations, and 
 tliat they, in no instance, manifest opposition to the prin- 
 ciples of his physiology. The leading inferences, drawn 
 from the facts regarding the relations of size of brain, and 
 development of the intelligence, are as stated below: — 
 
 Size of Head and Brain. This is much smaller in the 
 female than in the male, not only era masse, but in all the 
 separate diameters. The weight of the cranium also is less 
 in the female. This greater development of brain in the 
 male than in the female has long been maintained by several 
 writers, as a fact coincident •with the less energetic consti- 
 tution of mind in the latter. 
 
 Development of Intelligence. The intelligence bears 
 no proportion to the size of the head in fools and idiots. 
 But on comparing the average of size of ten heads of men 
 of superior intellect with that of ten heads of persons whose 
 faculties were below par, the advantages were clearly on 
 the side of the fomier. In men, a certain size of head is 
 necessary for a proper development of the intellect ; but 
 beyond this we find no necessary connexion between the 
 volume of the head and the development of the intellect. 
 
 The statements in the latter paragraph harmonise entirely 
 with the recorded experience of every phrenologist. The 
 intelligence does not bear a relation to the size of the whole 
 head (as some physiologists, placing this property in the 
 entire cerebrum, would seem to hold), but to the size of its 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATION'S. 295 
 
 anterior division. As a very frequent fact, however, dis- 
 tinguished intellect is found to be associated with a large 
 aggregate head, mainly on account of the greater height 
 and breadth of the forehead, so that the results of striking 
 an average of the absolute magnitude of ten intellectual 
 heads, and comparing it with a corresponding average of 
 ten weak-minded persons, the phrenologist would always 
 expect to constitute an advantage “ clearly on the side 
 of the former.” “ In men, a certain size of the head is 
 necessary for a proper development of the intellect,” because 
 a head below a certain size is always found to possess, 
 necessarily, a feebly developed forehead. 
 
 It ■will he recollected that Sir William Hamilton asserts 
 that, “ In man, the encephalos reaches its full size about 
 seven years;” advancing this proposition upon the strength of 
 his weights and measurements, he very complacently goes 
 on to say, “ This was never before proved. The Wenzels 
 rashly generalised from two cases the conclusion, that the 
 brain reaches its fnll size about seven years ; as Scem- 
 mering had, in like manner, on a single case, assumed that 
 it attains its last growth by three. Gall and Spurzheim, 
 on the other hand, assert that the increase of the encephalos 
 is only terminated about forty. The result of my induction 
 is deduced from an average of thirty-six brains and skulls 
 of children, compared with an average of several hundred 
 brains and skulls of adults.” Let us now see to what 
 results the balance and the rule led M. Parchappe ; these 
 correspond much more nearly with the opinions of Gall, 
 than with the positive statements of Sir William Hamilton. 
 According to the French observer, the volume of the head 
 does not appear to be limited by the period at which the 
 general growth of the body ceases ; the head seems to 
 enlarge gradually up to the age of sixty years. The increase 
 of size shows itself almost exclusively in the horizontal, 
 circular development of the head, and, in the later period, 
 depends chiefly on enlargement of the frontal sinuses. 
 
296 gall’s physiology of the encephalox, and 
 
 After sixty years of age, the size of the head diminishes ; 
 the weight of the skull also diminishes in old age. M. 
 Parchappe’s observations on the brain, considered apart 
 from its cranial investments, lead him to conclude that the 
 brain continues to increase up to the age of forty, that it 
 remains stationary to seventy, and then begins to decline. 
 And these results too, it must be kept in mind, come from 
 weighing and measuring. 
 
 o o o 
 
 Dr Morton, professor of anatomyin Pennsylvania college, 
 Philadelphia, has published, in a work entitled Crania 
 Americana, the results of numerous weighings and measure- 
 ments, which, undertaken -tt-ithout any express regard to 
 phrenology, strikhigly confirm some of its leading truths, 
 in so far as these latter can be affected by such methods of 
 investigation. Certain phrenological measurements, how- 
 ever, of a large number of crania, taken by i\Ii' Phillips, 
 are introduced into the work, though Dr Morton himself 
 scarcely alludes to phrenology in his own descriptions of 
 the crania, and gives only a qualified assent to “ the details 
 of cranioscopy as taught hy Dr Gall, and supported and 
 extended by subsequent observers.” The general con- 
 clusions, however, to be drawn from the facts recorded in 
 the work, are certainly con’oborative of Gall’s physiology, 
 so far as they go. The native American head is shei\Ti to 
 be decidedly inferior to the average European head, a fact 
 which indisputably coincides ivith their psychical differences. 
 The internal capacity of cranium, in the five principal races 
 of mankind, is stated in cubic inches, in the subjoined table. 
 
 
 Ko. of 
 
 Mean Internal 
 
 Largest in 
 
 Smallest in 
 
 
 Skulls. 
 
 Capacity. 
 
 the series. 
 
 the series. 
 
 Caucasian, 
 
 . 52 . 
 
 . . 87 . . 
 
 . 109 . 
 
 . . 75 
 
 Mongolian, 
 
 . 10 . 
 
 . . 83 . . 
 
 . 93 . 
 
 . . 69 
 
 JIalay, 
 
 . 18 . 
 
 . . 81 . . 
 
 . 89 . 
 
 . 64 
 
 American, 
 
 . 117 . 
 
 . . 80 . . 
 
 . 100 . 
 
 '. 60 
 
 Ethiopian, 
 
 . 29 . 
 
 . . 78 . . 
 
 . 94 . 
 
 . 65 
 
 The Caucasians were, with one exception, derived from 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 297 
 
 the lowest and least educated class of society. Distin- 
 guished into national races, they consisted of the follow- 
 
 ing 
 
 Anglo-American, 6 
 
 Germans, Swiss, Dutch 7 
 
 Celtic, Irish, Scots, 7 
 
 English, 4 
 
 Guanche (Libyan), 1 
 
 Spanish, 1 
 
 Hindoo, 3 
 
 Europeans (unascertained nations), ... 23 
 
 52 
 
 The Mongolians were seven Chinese and three Esquimaux. 
 The Malays were thirteen Malays proper, and five Poly- 
 nesians. The Ethiopians were all unmixed negroes, nine 
 of them native Africans. The Americans were of both 
 the two leading races, as recognised by Dr Morton, namely, 
 the Toltecan, and the barbarous nations. 
 
 In the course of the work, a series of measurements is 
 given of the several regions, rudely fitted for exliibiting the 
 relative capacity of the several divisions of the cranial 
 cavity, corresponding with the development of different por- 
 tions of the brain, the general result of which is such as the 
 phrenologist would anticipate ; but so much possible fallacy 
 is involved in all yet ascertained methods of proceeding 
 in this respect, that the present writer is not disposed to 
 place very great confidence in any conclusions thus obtained ; 
 moreover, as the measurements were taken by l\Ir Phillips, 
 a professed phrenologist, an introduction of them here would 
 not strengthen the argument, which is to show, that all 
 weighings and measurings done by indi\dduals previously 
 uncommitted upon either side of the controversy, have 
 always resulted, mainly, in corroboration of Gall. Dr 
 Morton himself is, or at least was, neuter; hence value 
 may attach to a statement which he makes, in a prefatory 
 letter to Mr Phillips, as follows, — “ I am free to acknow- 
 ledge that there is a singular harmony between the mental 
 
298 gall’s phtsiologt of the encephalon, and 
 
 character of the Indian, and his cranial developments, as 
 explained by phrenology.” 
 
 Dr John Ecid, after weighing so many as 253 brains 
 under all sorts of circumstances, supplies conclusions which, 
 although they do not in all respects coincide ■with the state- 
 ments of Gall, no where contradict the principles of his 
 physiology ; whilst, in several particulars, they are directly 
 opposed to the inductions of Sir William Hamilton, the 
 only authority (omitting Leuret) whose figures appear to 
 weaken the substantial accuracy of the phrenologists ; for, 
 as regards Tiedemann, it will have been seen that his figures 
 are -with GaU, though the inferences deduced fi’om them by 
 himself, are the other way ; and, as to IVIr Stone, his doings 
 have long ago sunk beneath contempt. Now then, let us 
 see the results obtained by Dr Eeid ; let us contrast them 
 with those of Sir William Hamilton on the one hand, and 
 with the statements of Dr Gall on the other. 
 
 Sir William stated, that “ the encephalos reaches its 
 full size about seven years of age, Gall had said, between 
 the ages of twenty and thirty, and in some indiHduals 
 not till forty ; Dr Eeid states the average weight of the 
 encephalon, at the age from five to seven, to be 43 oz. 
 10 dr. ; from twenty to thirty, 50 oz. 9-^ dr. ; Sir Wil- 
 liam Hamilton said, that his inductions prove that the 
 cranial contents do not decrease in old age, as Gall had 
 asserted ; Dr Eeid states the average weight of the ence- 
 phalon, between sixteen and twenty years of age. to 
 be 52 oz. 10§ dr., and at seventy and upwards, 48 oz. 
 4f dr. 
 
 Sii’ William Hamilton propounded, not only that the 
 cerebellum is much larger in relation to the cerebiaim in 
 the female, than it is in the male, but even that it is abso- 
 lutely larger. Dr Eeid reports the female cerebellum to 
 be decidedly lighter at every age ; thus, at the ages from 
 five to seven, this organ in the male weighs 4 oz. 7 dr., 
 and in the female 3 oz. 1 1 dr. ; from sixteen to twenty, in 
 
THE EECOEDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 299 
 
 the one case, its weight is 5 oz. 4^ dr., and in the latter 
 4 oz. 
 
 Sh' William Hamilton affirmed, that the cerebellum, in 
 man, attains its full development in relation to the brain, at 
 about three years of age. “ This anti-phrenological fact,” 
 says he, “ is proved by a great induction.” Dr Reid, 
 however, in a table representing the “ Relative Weights 
 of Encephalon to Cerebellum,” in 172 cases, gives the 
 average proportion in the male, at the ages between one 
 and five, as 1 to . 10 2-5ths, and, between thirteen and 
 fifteen, as 1 to 9 1-1 1th ; and a similar proportion is given 
 for the female. The reader toU now judge upon which 
 side of the phrenological controversy the weights of Dr 
 Reid preponderate, — whether they favour more the induc- 
 tions of Hamilton, or the statements of Gall. 
 
 A great deal of the preceding may seem to the reader to be, 
 what in point of fact it is, very much of a digression from the 
 professed object of the present chapter. It may appear to 
 some, that all these discussions regarding the physical cha- 
 racteristics of the brain and the skull would have occurred 
 more appropriately in the previous chapter, the professed 
 purpose of which was, to show the harmony subsisting 
 between the anatomy and the physiology of Gall. Yet, the 
 necessity that existed for a different course may at once strike 
 the reader, who will readily appreciate the reasons for this 
 seeming digression. It has been the author’s intention to 
 exhibit, in the first place, the absence of all discordance 
 between phrenology and the effects of mutilations of the 
 encephalon, and then, the actual corroborations of it which 
 many of this class of facts afford. In the prosecution of 
 this design, it became necessary to adduce the recorded 
 instances attesting the reciprocal influence of lesions of the 
 cerebellum, and of the external organs of generation ; and 
 especially, to direct attention to the cases evincing marked 
 effects upon the cerebellum from removal of the testes. In 
 relation to these latter facts, certain weighings of the brain 
 
300 gall’s physiology of the EXCEPHALOIf, AM> 
 
 and cerebellum in the horse, under the different circum- 
 stances of sex and emasculation, were considered by some 
 persons to have antagonised any value which might other- 
 wise have belonged to them ; and not only M. Leuret, but 
 several influential physiologists also in this country, have 
 of late cited the weights in question as being all but destruc- 
 tive of Gall’s physiology of the cerebellum. How were the 
 objections based upon M. Leuret’s facts to be met? First of 
 all, by showing that they really furnish no decisive objection 
 at all, even if no inaccuracy have found its way into the pro- 
 ceeding adopted in collecting them. But stiU their tendency, 
 if fairly representing the average state of things, must un- 
 doubtedly be allowed to be towards neutralising much of the 
 evidence gathered together in favour of the sexual functions 
 of the cerebellum ; and, how was it to be shown that, as 
 demonstrating a general fact, no reliance whatever is to be 
 placed upon them ? Doubtless, it will be said, by accumu- 
 lating corresponding instances, in equal, or in greater num- 
 ber, that may fairly antagonise those of M. Leuret. All this 
 is very easily said; but, to render any aggregate of such 
 flicts of the slightest worth, — available for any conclusion, 
 — some hundi'eds of instances, at least, would have to be 
 collected. And what possible means exist for any ordinary 
 individual to accomplish such a purpose? To obtain, 
 indeed, a very limited number of examples would be a 
 work of extreme difficulty, and the result would be but 
 little likely to compensate any inquirer for the pains he 
 might take, whatever condition of things should be revealed. 
 In this Hew of the question, the author deemed it to be 
 the best proceeding to detail, at some length, the circum- 
 stances which deprive aU such figures as those of M. 
 Leuret of any value in his own estimation, and to leave 
 such circumstances to produce their natural effects upon 
 the mind of the reader. From the facts which have been 
 set forth, the fallacious and contradictory character of any 
 conclusions deduced from a limited number of cases, must 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS MUTILATIONS. 301 
 
 have been rendered obvious. The necessarily inconclusive 
 results taken from only forty-three observations, — the num- 
 ber of horses’ brains referred to by Leuret, — ought, surely, 
 to carry with them no weight. Of the utter insufficiency of 
 such data, no one seems to be better aware than Dr John 
 Reid, who, in his communication to the London and Edin- 
 burgh Monthly Journal of Medical Science, for April 1843, 
 wherein his communication upon this matter first appeared, 
 says : — “ No one can be more perfectly satisfied than my- 
 self, that though, at first sight, the data I have amassed 
 appear sufficiently ample to enable us to- draw satisfactory 
 conclusions regarding the average weight of some of the 
 most important organs of the body at different periods of 
 life ; yet that they are, when more naiTOwly examined, 
 much too scanty for the purposes intended.” And this is 
 said in regard to 253 examples, nearly six times the num- 
 ber of Leuret’s horses. Respecting the disturbing influences 
 of abnormal conditions on the weight of structure. Dr Reid 
 notices the impossibility of an’iving at sure conclusions, 
 in the absence of far more extensive materials than had 
 been at his command. “ The accumulation,” says he, 
 “of individual facts on the subject with which we have at 
 present to do, is chiefly valuable in pointing out the great 
 variety in the weight of the same organs in a state of 
 health in different individuals of the same age, — thus en- 
 forcing upon us the sources of fallacy to which we are 
 liable in drawing our averages from a small number of 
 cases, and impressing upon us the insufficiency of any 
 comparison between the weight of a diseased organ in any 
 indiffidual case, and the average weight of a healthy organ 
 at the same period of life, in enabling us to form any cor- 
 rect estimate of the change in weight which it has under- 
 gone in consequence of morbid action, or other causes.” 
 
 It has been already advanced that Gall’s experience, 
 that of Vimont, and of some others, in reference to dege- 
 neracy of the cerebellum after castration, regarded volume, 
 
302 gall’s physiology of the encephalon, and 
 
 not weight; as before observed, we have no certainty that, 
 even in Leuret’s instances, the higher average of weight 
 in the cerebellum of the twenty-one geldings was coiTe- 
 spondent with greater volume ; certainly, this is not 
 affirmed. Yet, whatever were the actual facts of the case, 
 the phrenological question is entirely unaffected by them, 
 on account of the many sources of fallacy which they in- 
 clude, the chief of which, undoubtedly, is their limited 
 number. 
 
 The author would just venture to observe, before taking 
 leave of this subject, that from past experience the advo- 
 cates of phrenology are justified in withholding assent 
 altogether from such facts as those of M. Leuret, so long 
 as they are unconfirmed by less partial individuals. IMis- 
 statements, on the part of opponents, have more than once 
 been detected ; and, when we consider the difficulty of 
 repeating such experiments as those in question, it is seen 
 at once how they must have furnished imusual temptation 
 to strain a point. This may have been done, in the pro- 
 cess of separating the actual cerebellum from its attach- 
 ments, isolating it very completely when a light weight 
 was hoped for, and doing this but imperfectly when the 
 contrary state of things was expected and wished. Tliis, 
 however, is but thi’own out as a hint for caution in the 
 estimate of such experiments. To some persons, the merest 
 suggestion of possible inaccuracy through bad faith, may 
 appear to be in any thing but good taste ; and it may, in 
 point of fact, be in very bad taste ; yet, in the case of phren- 
 ology, it is justified by past experience.^ 
 
 ’ It may here be stated, that M. Leuret himself does not furnish the 
 guarantee with regard to the correctness of the observations upon 
 which the author has commented so much in the text ; the weighing of 
 the brains of the forty-three horses took place at his suggestion, but 
 was executed by 31. Lassaigne. The writer is not sufficiently acquainted 
 with the reputation of this latter gentleman, to form any opinion as to 
 how far the character for accuracy, or for fidelity, in tlie proceedings in 
 question, may be influenced by tliis circumstance. 
 
THE RECORDED EFFECTS OF ITS JIUTILATIONS. 303 
 
 In bringing the present chapter to a close, the author 
 may observe, in recapitulation, that it has been his prin- 
 cipal object to prove two things ; first, That no recorded 
 facts concerning mutilations of the encephalon are at va- 
 riance either with the principles or with the leading details 
 of the cerebral physiology taught by G-all — but that, on 
 the contrary, they harmonise most completely with this 
 physiology, when rightly interpreted ; and, secondly, That, 
 whatever be the true state of matters as to any possible 
 function in the cerebellum affecting locomotion, vivisections 
 have established nothing of the kind. The discussion has 
 been extended, in the case of the cerebellum, because op- 
 ponents, of late years, have levelled their whole force at 
 this particular point of GaU’s doctrine ; and because, in 
 opposition to it, much plausible evidence has been accu- 
 mulated, which, however, on careful examination, shows 
 that plausibility is the highest commendation it ought to 
 receive. 
 
 It was stated, at the commencement of this chapter, that 
 mutilations of the cerebral hemispheres had, apparently, 
 been given up, as making either for or against phrenology; 
 nevertheless, at times, it will be feebly reiterated that large 
 portions of the cerebrum have been removed by accident, 
 and yet that no corresponding disturbance, or diminution, 
 of the mental manifestations, has been witnessed as a per- 
 manent consequence. To this it may be said, that, if such 
 facts have any discordance with phrenology, they exist in 
 exactly the same relation to every physiology which recog- 
 nises the brain to be the organ of the mind. Whenever 
 it shall be shown that the whole cerebral structure, in each 
 hemisphere, associated in the phrenological doctrine with 
 some particular faculty or quality, has been removed, and 
 that the said faculty or quality of mind has yet continued 
 to be displayed, the functions of one, phrenological organ will 
 be disproved ; yet, even in such a case (which has never 
 yet occurred), plirenology, as a true physiology of the 
 
304 gall’s physiology of the encephalon. 
 
 brain, would yet remain, 'With respect, hoAvever, to all 
 such circumstances of cerebral mutilation, doubt must 
 nearly always prevail as to their true bearings, for reasons 
 already adduced in an earlier chapter upon the same sub- 
 ject. The detailed argument need not be repeated. 
 
gall’s physiology and comparative anatomy. 805 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HARMONY OP GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY IVITH COMPARATIVE 
 ANATOMY. 
 
 The remarkable and striking analogies which are obser- 
 vable amongst various tribes in the animal kingdom, and 
 particularly in regard to the constitution of the nervous 
 system, have long been subjects upon which philo- 
 sophers have delighted to expatiate. In the several cir- 
 cumstances under which these analogies develope them- 
 selves, it would be difficult to discover more complete and 
 decided correspondences than those which constitute the 
 harmony subsisting between the physiology of Gall and 
 the leading facts of comparative anatomy. A few words 
 will render the general truth apparent. ^ 
 
 According to the physiology in question, it has been 
 shown in the foregoing pages, not only that the brain is 
 the organ of the mind, but that it is a congeries of organs, 
 the function of each being to display some special faculty 
 of the mind ; the cerebral convolutions maintaining a 
 characteristic relation to the power and multiphcity of the 
 psychical attributes. It has further been shown, that those 
 convolutions which, in man, are placed in the posterior 
 region of the cranial cavity, are proved by numberless 
 observations to form the organic instruments of the more 
 animal dispositions of the species ; that those which are 
 situated anteriorly, constitute the intellectual organs ; and 
 that the structures located between the posterior and an- 
 terior lobes of brain, are for the manifestation, in tliis life. 
 
306 HARMONY OF GALl’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 of the moral and religious tendencies of human nature, in 
 so far as these depend upon certain inward feelings or 
 sentiments. Now, comparative anatopay demonstrates the 
 existence, in the entire animal kingdom, of a constitution 
 of brain exactly correspondent with such a state of things. 
 The harmony, indeed, of Gall’s physiology with every thing 
 that is known of cerebral anatomy, is so striking, that no 
 one who examines this subject, free from bias, can fail to 
 recognise it at once. The circumstance is obvious to every 
 observer. “ A remarkable gradation,” say Todd and 
 Bowman in their recent work,^ “ is observable as regards 
 the number of the cerebral convolutions from the lowest 
 mammalia up to man. Some of the Eodentia, Cheirop- 
 tera, and Insectivora, occupy the loM'est place ; and monkeys, 
 the elephant, and the whale, rank next to man, in whom 
 the convolutions reach their highest point of development.” 
 
 It is certain that, in those species where the presence of 
 a structure analogous to the cerebral hemispheres is really 
 wanting, there is no clear or certain manifestation of the 
 principle of consciousness ; in fishes, where undoubted 
 evidence of this to a slight extent is noticed, an extremely 
 simple development of brain is discovered ; in birds, where 
 an obvious increase of psychical energy takes place, a 
 correspondingly higher type obtains in the encephalon, 
 rudiments of the convoluted character in some instances 
 exhibiting themselves ; and, lastly, in pursuing the anatomy 
 of the brain through whole classes or mammalia up to 
 man himself, a continuous illustration of the same fact is 
 to be found. 
 
 Gall’s physiology shows that the anterior and superior 
 portions of the human brain are associated with the more 
 exclusively human attributes; and it is notorious that, in 
 these regions, convolutions develope themselves more and 
 more as we ascend in the scale, and attain their highest per- 
 
 > P. 280 . 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 307 
 
 fection and greatest complexity in man himself. “ When 
 the brain,” say Todd and BoAvman, “ has acquired an 
 enormous increase of size, as in the elephant and in man, 
 new convolutions seem to be added to the primary ones 
 met with in inferior groups, and the secondary folds are 
 greatly increased in number. The additional folds are found 
 chiefly at the superior and anterior part of the hemispheres,” 
 Thus distinctly, in all its material details, is the cerebral 
 anatomy of Gall admitted, even by those who reject his 
 physiology. Yet the present writer would suggest, that the 
 opponents of this latter should of all others be the most 
 scrupulously honourable in doing justice to Gall, — in at- 
 tributing to its original author that which they do not 
 reject. It is really most unfair that Gall and Spurzheim 
 should be so slightly passed over as they are in many 
 modem anatomical works. This proceeding, indeed, has 
 been the besetting sin of anti-phrenological anatomists from 
 Reil downwards ; there have been a few honourable ex- 
 ceptions ; but, more generally, the anatomy has been ap- 
 propriated without any open and distinct acknowledgment. 
 
 So very complete is the harmony of comparative anatomy 
 with the doctrine of phrenology, that it is no uncommon 
 circumstance to find, that a conviction of the truth of this 
 latter has resulted mainly from the evidence which the 
 former affords. When this is the case, how^ever, the 
 philosophy of the question chiefly discussed in this work — 
 the method of investigation, and the value of evidence — is 
 entirely unaffected. Because some phrenologists largely 
 appeal to the facts of comparative anatomy iov proofs of the 
 doctrine advocated, they are not the less inadequate as 
 primary data ; and, in like manner, when the opponents 
 cite corresponding phenomena in its disproof they virtually 
 waste their strength ; because, in the very nature of things, 
 analogies, however forcible they may seem, can never an- 
 tagonise inductions legitimately procured by direct obser- 
 vation. Yet, undoubtedly, from the very constitution of 
 
308 
 
 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 certain minds, analogies, and secondary proofs generally, 
 will seize upon the understanding more readily and firmly 
 than rigorous and more direct demonstrations. 
 
 And yet the attempt to confute phrenology by weakening 
 its secondary evidences is a proceeding constantly adopted. 
 Under such circumstances, there is rarely any disposition 
 to deal with the direct fact, or even to dispute the con- 
 clusions in the event of accuracy in the premises ; but 
 individuals of all degrees of standing will advance unceas- 
 ingly, that particular phenomena, recognised in the animal 
 kingdom, prove phrenology to be untrue, because, in their 
 estimation, they do not correspond with it. A thing is to 
 be rejected, because certain other things, respecting whose 
 true import knowledge is at the best uncertain, do not 
 appear to be in harmony. 
 
 A happy illustration of this procedure presents itself to 
 the author, even while he is engaged upon the present 
 pages. At the Medical Society of the London Lmiversity 
 College, a paper relating to the present subject, by !Mr 
 John Marshall, was read on the 14th November 1845, and 
 an abstract was published in the Lancet for the 29th of the 
 same month. As the paper in question hashes up sundry 
 old objections to Gall’s physiology originating vdth really 
 able men, but at the present day not very often repeated, 
 excepting by inferior persons who have occasion to get up 
 an attack upon phrenology, some detailed examination of 
 Mr Marshall’s statements shall here be made ; more espe- 
 cially since they embody, in some respects (as the present 
 ■writer has been informed) the objections which Professor 
 Sharjiey is in the habit of adducing in his lectures. There 
 is little doubt, however, that the objections, to whomsoever 
 Mr Marshall is immediately indebted for them, are most 
 imperfectly retailed, as the paper itself yields ample evi- 
 dence that its writer is not at all acquainted with his 
 s)ibject, — no uncommon thing with the out-and-out op- 
 ponents of phrenology. 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 309 
 
 Mr Marshall sufficientlj justifies this very severe criti- 
 cism in several places ; and nowhere., more than in the 
 following passages, taken from the abstract inserted in the 
 before mentioned number of the Lancet. Introducing the 
 subject of GaU’s discoveries, he says: “In pursuing this 
 inquiry, it is important to remember, that the cranioscopical 
 method of determining the existence of a separate organ in 
 the brain, was conceived by GaU in his youth, and adopted 
 when he was yet avowedly unacquainted with its anatomy 
 in man, its mode of development in the fcetus, and its form 
 in the lower animals.” And very properly so too, it may 
 be contended, for reasons already stated in other parts of 
 this work. Have not vital functions — those of the nerves, 
 for example — been always recognised, anteriorly to any pre- 
 cise acquaintance with the anatomy of organs ? He then 
 goes on, “ Of the two latter subjects (the brain of the 
 foetus and that of the lower animals), he continued to know 
 comparatively little.” This is an assertion made by the 
 author of the paper in ignorance. It is both presump- 
 tuous and absurd for persons to speak of what VTiters 
 have said, and what they knew, without any actual 
 knowledge of their works, satisfied with repeating what 
 they have somewhere read, or heard ; for, in justifi- 
 cation of these remarks as applicable to Mr Marshall, 
 it is quite certain that he has never studied the writings 
 of GaU, who, as it happens, did know a great deal 
 about these “ two latter subjects.” Next, — “ The first, 
 with the aid of Spurzheim, he pursued with assiduity and 
 success ; but it is obvious that here anatomy followed 
 physiology, instead of having preceded it.” If this passage 
 have any available meaning, it signifies that dissection 
 conduces primarily to the knowledge of function ; now, let 
 Mr MarshaU adduce some iUustration, by example, of this 
 doctrine ; let him take the instance from the spinal cord 
 or the nerves, in order to make the parallel complete. 
 It is folly to talk about determining the offices of the 
 
310 
 
 HARMONY or gall’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 brain by study of its anatomy, antecedently to recognition 
 of functional manifestation. Again, — “ He made no suc- 
 cessful application of his anatomical researches to the main 
 idea of his system.” This is simply untrue. 
 
 Our essayist then comes to the point wherein the par- 
 ticular argument of the present chapter is involved, and 
 goes on to say : — “ The cranioscopical observations of Gall, 
 Vimont, and other phrenologists, in the lower animals, 
 based essentially on the form of the skull and its cavity, 
 are inconclusive, inasmuch as their knowledge of the con- 
 volutions was too incomplete to enable them to assign 
 precise limits to their assumed cerebral organs, or to identfy 
 equivalent parts of the brain in different cases. M. Leuret, 
 indeed, who has compared analogous parts of the brain in 
 man and the lower animals, arrives, on the phrenological 
 hypothesis, at the following, amongst other ludicrous con- 
 clusions : — that the organ of Destructivenessis largerin some 
 herbivorous than in carnivorous animals ; that the wolf 
 ought to be more submissive than the domestic dog ; that 
 the rabbit should be more cunning, cruel, or courageous, 
 than the wolf ; that the sheep should have more intelligence 
 than the shepherd’s dog ; that the ai-sloth should have 
 more talent for constructiveness than the beaver and the 
 burrowing rodent animals ; and that the faculty of music 
 should be manifested in the ox, sheep, and donkey, more 
 perfectly than in the lark, nightingale, and finch.” Xow, 
 should not all this strike every sensible person as being 
 somewhat de trap ? It is really too complete an affair to 
 convey any idea that the statements faithfully represent 
 what is in nature ; it looks, prima facie at least, very much 
 like a case%got up; but let us examine some of the pro- 
 positions contained in IMr Marsliall’s paper a little more 
 pai’ticularly. 
 
 It is argued that, because the precise limits of an organ 
 cannot be defined in the brain, therefore phrenological 
 observations can lead to no certain conclusion. This ob- 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 311 
 
 jection lias been anticipated, and answered, in an earlier 
 chapter ; it may however be repeated, that, until mechanical 
 division of the nervous masses be shown to coincide with 
 physiological distinction, the objection in question can have 
 no force whatsoever. As before seen, an exactly contrary 
 state of things obtains, so far as our present knowledge 
 extends ; witness, once more, the spinal cord. Neverthe- 
 less, the practical anatomist who is well acquainted with 
 Gall’s physiology, experiences no difficulty in pointing out, 
 in the human brain, the convolution, or group of convolu- 
 tions, associated with particular faculties. If klr Marshall 
 will select cases of extreme development, or of extreme de- 
 ficiency of particular organs, he wdll find, first, the form of 
 the organ, as it is delineated on the phrenological bust, 
 sufficiently recognisable on the skull, and, secondly, he will 
 find the subjacent convolutions large when the extreme 
 development is large, and small when it is small, and this 
 in a degree peculiar to these parts. By these means, he may 
 approximatively, though not precisely, “ assign limits to the 
 assumed cerebral organs.” 
 
 Mr Marshall states, moreover, that Gall, Vimont, and 
 other phrenologists, have had too incomplete a knowledge 
 of the cerebral convolutions in the lower animals, to 
 identify equivalent parts of the brain, on the phrenological 
 hypothesis. Let us clearly understand what process of 
 observation these writers followed in studying the brains 
 of the lower animals. Mi’ Combe, in speaking of Vimont, 
 thus correctly describes his method. “ Dr Vimont,” says 
 he, “ rests his opinions on direct observations made on the 
 difi'erent races of animals, and not on loose analogies. He has 
 observed the energy of particular mental powers in indi- 
 viduals of each species, and compared this power with the 
 size of particular parts of the brain in each, and by this 
 means assigned special localities to different faculties, and 
 special functions to different parts of the brain, in the 
 different races. The positions of the organs, as well as the 
 
312 
 
 HARMONY OF GALL’s rHYPTOYOGT 
 
 size of each in relation to the others, he finds to be modified in 
 each species.”^ It is necessary only to look into Yimont’s 
 magnificent Atlas of Comparative Phrenology to see 
 abundant evidence of the correctness of this representa- 
 tion. Mr Combe, in his System, has copied his drawings 
 of the skull of a “ full grown cat,” a “ spaniel bitch,” 
 and a “ crow,” and he might have added many others, 
 in which the same organs (Destructiveness and Secre- 
 tiveness for example) are represented as situated in slightly 
 different localities, and of different proportions to the 
 other organs, in each animal ; and drawings of their 
 brains are given by Yimont in accordance wfith the 
 skulls. This, we repeat, was accomplished by direct ob- 
 servations of the concomitance betw^een particular mental 
 manifestations and the size of particular parts of the 
 brain in individual animals of each species. On what 
 ground, then, either of reason or of fact, can ]\Ir hlar- 
 shall venture to assert that Yimont had too incomplete 
 a knowledge of the cerebral “ convolutions in the lower 
 animals, to identify equivalent parts of the brain, on the 
 phrenological hypothesis?” Evidently ignorant of Yi- 
 mont’s method, he imagines that he attempted to identify 
 the equivalent parts by structural peculiarities alone. 
 This, in the present state of knowledge, is impossible : 
 but as M. Leuret assuredly did not follow Yimont’s 
 method, and as no other can lead to true results, let us 
 beg of this most wise and consistent philosopher, to tell 
 us how M. Leuret, an opponent, decidedly ignorant of 
 the true bearings of the “ phrenological hypothesis,” was 
 able to accomplish this identification ? For, do not you, 
 Mr Marshall, speak of sundry “ ludicrous conclusions” at 
 which M, Leuret arrived by aid of this (to the phreno- 
 logists) impracticable deed ? How, in comparing analogous 
 parts of the brain in man and the lower animals, did h« 
 
 System of Phrenology, vol. ii., p. 388. 5tb Edition. 
 
AYITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 313 
 
 (proceeding phrenologically for the nonce) make out that, 
 in so many instances, equivalent parts of the brain exhibit 
 developments diametrically opposed to the fact reasonably 
 to be anticipated “ on the phrenological hypothesis?” 
 What knowledge of the cerebral convolutions in man and 
 the lower animals had M. Leuret, which was not already 
 taught, essentially, in the writings of Gall, Spurzheim, and 
 Vimont, more especially in any relation it may hold to the 
 subject of phrenology ? But the truth is, — the entire pro- 
 cedure of Leuret was erroneous. Safe inductions can never 
 be obtained from comparisons of various species, when 
 resemblances only are traced, the differences being over- 
 looked and, consequently, not taken into the estimate. It 
 is, indeed, certain, that the very best comparative anato- 
 mist cannot always determine analogous parts in different 
 tribes of animals f7'om structm'al appearances alone ; and, 
 especially, when there is question of an organisation so 
 complicated as that of the cerebral convolutions. Many 
 circumstances, on Leuret’s part, display a thorough ignorance 
 of the true physiology of the brain, and of the true method 
 of studying it, — an ignorance so unequivocal as to render 
 him quite unfit to apply the “ phrenological hypothesis,” 
 in cases of the kind under discussion. The statements 
 which he makes, therefore, respecting the cerebral develop- 
 ment in various animals, are wholly valueless. The 
 testimony of Vimont on the same points, is all in favour of 
 the physiology rejected by Leuret ; and, in this matter, the 
 experience of the former is, for the simple reason, that he 
 founds his results on a correct method, much more trust- 
 worthy than that of the latter.' In point of fact, no man pos- 
 
 ‘ Dr Carpenter, in a note, p. 237 of his Human Physiology, says, — 
 “ If authority is to decide the matter, the author would certainly give 
 the preference to M. Leuret, as a man of general eminence, and one 
 who had a reputation to lose; whOst M. Vimont was previously un- 
 known, and has brought himself into notoriety by his advocacy of 
 phrenology.” But Dr Carpenter should not forget that men “ of 
 general eminence ” may have their prejudices, as well as smaller persons ; 
 
 O 
 
314 
 
 IIAPvMONT OF gall’s PHRENOLOGY 
 
 sessed of a philosophical understanding, would continue to 
 dispute Vimont’s statements, unlesshehad made observations 
 by the same method, and attained to different conclusions. 
 
 and that, in such cases, the observations may be unduly biassed by the 
 foregone conclusions. Tiedemann is “ a man of general eminence,’ 
 and he too made assertions, differing from the statements of Gall and 
 the phrenologists, respecting the negro head ; unluckily for his con- 
 clusion, however, he exhibited the premises, and the phrenological 
 inference to which these led has already been seen. StOl more tikely 
 was Leuret, imperfectly acquainted with phrenology, to make mistakes 
 in so complicated an affair, relatively, as the comparative anatomy and 
 physiology of the cerebral convolutions. That, previous to the publi- 
 cation of his phrenological researches, Yimont was unknown as a man 
 of science, proves nothing, if he have since been found worthy to take 
 this rank ; indeed, as this circumstance left liim uncommitted, without 
 any formerly publi.shed convictions to retract or to confirm, it Ls much 
 more likely that w'e should have, in his case, an immunity from pre- 
 possession, and, on this account, a more favourable state of mind for 
 impartial observation. Not having “ had a reputation to lose ’’ was there- 
 fore a decided advantage. In fact, IM. Yimont informs us (and his vera- 
 city is unquestioned), that, anterior to experience, whatever bias he had 
 was aU the other way ; and that he commenced liis long, laborious, and 
 most expensive researches, in expectation of a different result from the 
 one he obtained. And as to attaining notoriety by advocating phreno- 
 logy, — who can doubt that so vulgar an ambition would have received 
 infinitely more pabulum, had he given to the world the same body of 
 facts in opposition to the doctrine to an advocacy of which he was only 
 led by evidence on the subject which actually disappointed liis original 
 anticipations ? 
 
 But, indeed, the whole of tliis argument is an unworthy mode of deal- 
 ing wdth the question, which is an affair, not of authority, but of fact. 
 Why discuss the qualifications and the fidelity of Leuret and of Yimont, 
 wlien the subjects of observation themselves can, without difficulty, be 
 appealed to ? If comparative anatomy had been a sealed book to all 
 but a very few, it would hav'e been exceedingly proper to reason concerning 
 the validity of the statements of the physiologists referred to, and to have 
 been influenced, in some measure, by the circumstances under which 
 the researches had been made ; for, in that case, the credibility of their 
 assertions could have been settled in no other way. As the matter 
 stands, however, each man of science should judge for himself, fi’om his 
 own observation ; and it is wholly unphilosophical to balance testimony 
 on points that can be ascertained by independent inquiry. 
 
 There is, in Dr Carpenters mention of gaining notoriety by advocating 
 phrenology, an ungraciousness of tone, involving gratuitous depreciation 
 of Yimont, to which it seems right to refer. If phrenology be not untrue 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 315 
 
 The next objection mns as follows; — “ So, too, the gradual 
 development of the posterior lobe of the brain in higher 
 mammalia, and its extreme proportionate size in man, are 
 unfavourable to the idea entertained by phrenologists, that 
 it is the seat of animal instincts, which are acknowledged 
 to be so powerfully manifested in creatures low in the scale, 
 and which are by no means strongly marked in the cha- 
 racter of man ! ” This is a very old story, and rests altogether 
 upon the erroneous assumption that relative position ofstntc- 
 ture, in different species, determines the identity of function ; 
 and thus because, in most of the lower animals, the cere- 
 bellum is uncovered by the posterior lobe, whilst in man 
 it is covered, it is inferred that, in the latter case, the 
 relative development of this portion of the brain is so much 
 the more considerable. 
 
 Now, in the first place, it should be remembered that, 
 excepting in animals of the same kind, relative position and 
 outward form constitute no sure guides to identification of 
 analogous structures ; in different species, organs whose 
 functions are essentially similar will be situated variously, 
 and in many cases they present very opposite forms. Com- 
 
 pare the giUs of fishes with the lungs of mammals : in each 
 instance the essential function is the same, but the form and 
 position of the organs are different ; a modification being 
 found to exist, correspondent with the differences observ- 
 able in the whole economy of their being. Again, we see 
 how nervous structures, remarkably analogous, are modi- 
 fied in their outward relations, in creatures -widely diffe- 
 rent in elemental type. Who, from mere anatomy, could 
 (and Dr Carpenter constantly' deprecates the idea of being set down 
 as its opponent), it is the physiology of the brain , — a branch of natural 
 science second to no other ; and whoever evinces high attainments in 
 the department becomes ipso facto a man of science and a philosopher, 
 even if he have done notMng extraordinary besides. So, if Vimont’s 
 Comparative Phrenology be essentially somid, he is a great scientific 
 writer, and deservedly a “ man of eminence.” To deny him a high 
 position, before venturing a decision affecting the real value of his 
 researches, is a palpable absurdity. 
 
316 
 
 HAEMONT OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 pronounce the supra-oesophageal ganglia in certain of the 
 invertehrata, to form the analogue of the encephalon in the 
 higher animals ? Or, who can be surprised that anatomists, 
 ignorant of the true physiology, should have believed the 
 ganglionic chain, as found in the articulata, to be the 
 analogue of the great sympathetic system in vertebrated 
 animals ? Wlien species are nearly allied in type, there is 
 comparatively little divergence in the leading characters 
 of the organisation ; still, some variety in aU instances of 
 diversity is more or less to be looked for ; and, in these 
 circumstances, we have the key to a solution of the diffi- 
 culty which many persons have raised concerning the 
 posterior lobe of brain in man and animals. 
 
 When anatomists set forth that the posterior lobe is 
 relatively small in the lower animals, and found this 
 assertion upon the fact, that the hemispheres of the brain 
 do not extend backwards so as to overlap the cerebellum in 
 the same way that they do in man, they should have some 
 regard to the circumstance of their bodies being in the 
 horizontal position, which demands such an accommodation 
 of the cranium as shall fit them for it ; the foramen magnum 
 of the occipital bone is unavoidably placed further back 
 in these creatures, than it is in the human subject; and 
 this modification causes the cerebellum, of course, to be 
 placed rather behind than under the cerebrum. A moment’s 
 reflection upon this matter will render it clear enough. 
 The actual size, however, of the posterior lobe of brain 
 cannot be affected by the mere circumstance of its relative 
 position. There is also another point for consideration, in 
 connexion Avith this subject; — WTiat is to determine the 
 limit of the posterior lobe, anteriorly ? how is it to be 
 settled Avhere the posterior lobe ends, and where the middle 
 begins ? In estimating the development of any division of 
 the cerebrum, it surely cannot be just to regard but one of 
 its boundaries. The fact is, — in discussing such questions 
 as these physiologically, we gain no advantage by the 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOJIY. 
 
 317 
 
 simple aid of mechanical data ; we must go to function, in 
 order to make out correlative parts. In this view of the 
 case, it must be remembered that the brain of man pos- 
 sesses several portions which the inferior animals want, 
 correspondently with the possession of other and more 
 exalted faculties of mind. It must he recollected, also, that 
 these superadded structures are constituted of certain con- 
 volutions situated, for the most part, in the superior region 
 of the cerebrum, just above and behind the anterior lobe ; 
 the necessary consequence of which state of things is, to 
 supply the true posterior lobe with a comparatively back- 
 ward locality. 
 
 Let any one take up the brain of a sheep, and compare 
 it with that of man ; he will, in the latter case, notice seve- 
 
 SHEEP’s BRAIN. 
 
 ral transverse convolutions superiorly, which are completely 
 absent in the former. If the analogy of the respective 
 structures be made a matter of any study, it may be seen 
 that certain longitudinal convolutions, which in the human 
 
318 
 
 HAEMONT OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 brain belong to wbat is called tbe posterior lobe, in the 
 sheep, run into what some may be pleased to designate the 
 middle lobe ; and this circumstance arises from the absence 
 of parts in the one instance, which are found to be present 
 in the other. It should always be kept in mind, that the 
 anatomical divisions into middle and posterior lobe are quite 
 arbitrary, and, as ordinarily formed, have no physiological 
 basis. The author has referred to the sheep’s brain as the 
 subject for comparison with the human structure, not be- 
 cause it constitutes any exceptional case, but on account of 
 its ready accessibility. As may be gathered from many of 
 the statements that have preceded, a like principle pervades 
 the brain and nervous system throughout the whole scale 
 of animal organisation. 
 
 As supplying an excellent illustration of the principle in 
 question, and as tending to elucidate many of the preceding 
 remarks, the following account is subjoined of the cerebral 
 convolutions of the chetah ; it is from the pen of the late 
 JIi’ Henry Haley Holm, whose premature decease the 
 author regrets to have seen announced but very recently. 
 
 On the 10th September 1833, Professor Owen commu- 
 nicated to the Zoological Society, a paper “ On the Ana- 
 tomy of the Chetah,” with a note from Mr Holm, expound- 
 ing his ideas on the cerebral anatomy of this creature. 
 Professor Owen, after giring his own account of the brain, 
 prefaces Mr Holm’s descriptions as follows : 
 
 “ Of the constancy of the disposition of the convolutions 
 represented by Gall and Spiu’zheim as characteristic of 
 the brain of the feline genus. I was first assured by our 
 fellow-member H. H. Holm, Esq., lecturer on Phrenology,' 
 whose attention has long been directed to this part of 
 anatomy. 
 
 “ The foUovdng note contains Mi' Holm’s opinions of 
 the functions of the different convolutions in the brain of 
 the chetah, after a compai'isou of it with the human brain, 
 and that of some other animals. 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 319 
 
 “ ‘ In the human brain the convolutions of the posterior 
 lobe appear formed in thi-ee longitudinal masses, meeting 
 behind, and diverging in their progress forwards. 
 
 These masses have very fi’equent interconnexions, are 
 much convoluted in their course, and have great numbers 
 of subconvolutions. 
 
 “ ‘ In the common cat we see the same type prevails, 
 but the masses are simple. The inter- 
 nal mass dilates anteriorly, and forms 
 
 , . , - . 1 T from Dr Vimont. 
 
 a large portion oi the anterior lobe : 
 
 the middle one turns outwardly, and 
 joins particularly the external lateral 
 mass, which does not extend farther 
 forwards than about two-thirds of the 
 whole extent of the cerebrum : the ex- 
 ternal or lateral mass is subdivided by 
 two transverse perpendicular fissures 
 into three convolutions, of which, pro- 
 bably, the posterior may be Combativeness, the middle 
 Destructiveness, the anterior Secretiveness and Alimen- 
 tiveness ; these three all unite below. 
 
 “ ‘ The under surface of the anterior lobe is divided by 
 a fissure extending nearly in the direction of the outer 
 margin of the olfactory nerve, as in man, in whom the 
 mesial convolution contains Individuality : this in the cat 
 may perhaps include other organs. 
 
 “ ‘ The brains of the whole genus I^elis are similar as to 
 these general divisions, though the convolutions vary as to 
 their relative proportions in each species, and fi’equently 
 in individuals of the same species. 
 
 “ ‘ In comparing the genus J^ebis with the dog tribes, 
 the posterior internal longitudinal mass is much smaller 
 
 The internal mass. 
 The middle mass, 
 
 The external mass. 
 
 ^Inhabitiveness, Self-Esteem. 
 . . Tj, \ Adhesiveness, Love of Ap- 
 
 roSt^mm^ probation.’ 
 progemtiveness, V Combativeness,I)estructive- 
 
 V ness, Alimentiveness. 
 
320 
 
 HAKIIOISTT OF GAFL’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 than the middle ; and, in the jackal, the middle mass is 
 half as much more voluminous as the internal mass ; while 
 in most of the cats these parts are nearly equal, and in 
 some the internal preponderates. The posterior division 
 of the external lateral mass (Comhativeness) is smaller 
 than the middle one (Destructiveness) in the cats while 
 the opposite fact appears in dogs. In this respect, the lion 
 approaches more to the dog tribe than any of the genus 
 Felis. — H. H. H.’ ” (Zoolog. Soc. Trans, vol. i. p. 135.) 
 
 The preceding account exhibits the probable arrange- 
 ments of the cerebral convolutions, in their relation to 
 function, in the animals described ; it shows that structures 
 which, in the human brain, are located almost altogether 
 in the posterior lobe so called, may, in the brains of infe- 
 rior creatm-es, advance far anteriorly, owing to the absence 
 of parts which are present in the highest type. The above 
 description, however, in so far as it is founded on mere 
 structural analogies, does not possess a true scientific value. 
 It affords a reflected light only on the subject, and can at 
 best be I’egarded but as probably correct in gi’eat pait. 
 The practicability of identifjung particular convolutions in 
 the lower animals, by their structural appeai’ances alone, 
 is by no means complete ; and, under all circumstances, 
 we must either resort to Dr Yimont’s method of direct 
 study of manifestations and development in indi\-iduals of 
 each species, or remain ignorant of the scientific relations 
 of the brains of the inferior animals to that of man. 
 
 Dr Vimont’s work, and ]\Ir Holm’s communication, 
 however, expose the folly of such assertions as those which 
 jMi' Marshall repeats, — that the phrenologists have made 
 no study of the cerebral convolutions in the lower animals. 
 In aU the descriptions of these sti’uctures which Leuret, 
 Todd, and Bowman, and others, have of late years publish- 
 ed, it is not only not pretended that they compared mani- 
 festations and development in the lower animals and arrived 
 at new conclusions, but it is impossible to recognise any 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 321 
 
 thing which is essentially new, which was not previously 
 known, in principle at least, to anatomical phrenologists. 
 Although it is nearly thirteen years since IMr Holm, through 
 Professor Owen, communicated to the world but one item 
 of his practical knowledge of such matters, it is known that 
 he had previously learnt a great deal upon the subject from 
 Dr Spurzheim, whose resident pupil he had been both in 
 London and Paris. Mr Holm himself prosecuted compa- 
 rative cerebral anatomy, in further elucidation of Gall’s 
 physiology, with great ardour. He was a Fellow of the 
 Zoological Society ; and, residing near the Society’s me- 
 nageries, he had ready access to the collection, of which 
 he availed himself, to study the habits and dispositions of the 
 animals ; and, having permission to examine the crania and 
 brains of those which died, he had singular facilities for 
 comparing these habits and dispositions with the develop- 
 ment of their brains, — in other words, for independent 
 research. It is to be regretted that he did not publish the 
 results which he obtained, to a greater extent ; ill health, 
 it is to be presumed, restricted his activity in this point of 
 view. 
 
 But, returning from what may be deemed to be, in some 
 respects, a digression, let us resume the pai’ticular question 
 of the posterior lobe, and its relative size in man and ani- 
 mals. In more detailed illustration of the argument em- 
 ployed by the present writer, the following passage is 
 transcribed fi’om IMr Combe’s System of Phrenology : ' — 
 “ Besides the organs and faculties already spoken of, 
 common to him (man) and the brutes, he is endowed with 
 a variety of sentiments, which constitute the peculiarly 
 human character. Of these the lower animals appear to 
 be destitute. The convolutions which form the organs of 
 Veneration, Hope, and Conscientiousness, in the human 
 brain, run transversely; and in the brains of the lower 
 
 1 Vol. i. p. 381. 
 
It 
 
 V 
 
 322 HAEMONT OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 animals, so far as I have observed, no corresponding con- 
 volutions appear.” 
 
 It may be said that all this is very weU, if it be real ; 
 that if structures in the human brain, recognisable by their 
 outward forms, do really exist in its more central and 
 superior region, and Avhich are not found in the inferior 
 animals, it does explain in some measure the backward posi- 
 tion of the true posterior lobe in relation to the cerebellum. 
 But then ]\Ii’ Marshall — or rather those whose objections 
 this gentleman repeats — may say. Prove your case ; let it 
 be clearly shown that the transverse convolutions men- 
 tioned by hlr Combe actually exist. The cuts of the brain, 
 before given on pages 317 and 319, speak for themselves, so 
 far as they go. The paper read before the University 
 College Medical Society, doubtless, disproves every thing 
 of the kind. There is, indeed, a passage referring to these 
 said transverse convolutions, and see how it runs : — “ The 
 observations of Leuret on the cerebral convolutions in 
 mammiferous animals have led him to conclude, that there 
 are certain fundamental gyri which fii’st appear in the 
 animal series ; that these have a general longitudinal direc- 
 tion, and that in the brains of different animals they vary 
 in regard to number, complexity, degi’ee of subdivision, and 
 mode of junction. In the elephant fii’st, but afterwards 
 in monkeys, another system of convolutions appear at the 
 upper part of the brain, which are more or less transverse 
 in their direction, and ai’e thus easily distinguishable from 
 the fundamental longitudinal gyri observed lower m the 
 scale. Continuing his comparison, Leuret finds that in 
 the human fcetus these transverse gyri approach in character 
 to those observed in the monkey ; and, in the adult, they 
 reach their highest, and, indeed, an extraordinary develop- 
 ment, occu 2 iying a considerable space on the ujijier and con- 
 vex part of the cerebral hemispheres.” 
 
 The loose wording of this passage may suggest to 
 some persons that, anatomically at least, the higher types 
 
WITH COSEPAIIATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 323 
 
 of brain in mammiferous animals possess, fundamentally, 
 the same convolutions as the human brain, differing 
 only in degree of development. Whatever may be the 
 actual opinion of Leuret, the combined study of cerebral 
 anatomy and cerebral physiology leads undoubtedly to a 
 contrary inference. Dr Spurzheim, who paid much atten- 
 tion to this matter, states, in his “ Appendix to the Ana- 
 tomy of the Brain,” published in 1830, that “ the brain of 
 the ourang-outang, which, among all other brains, has the 
 greatest analogy with the human brain in its healthy state, 
 is yet deprived of several 
 parts. M.Tiedemann men- 
 tions, that the brain of the 
 ourang-outang essentially 
 differs from that of man, — 
 
 1st, byits whole mass being 
 smaller ; and, 2dly, by its 
 smaller number of convo- 
 lutions and aufractuosities ; 
 yet he had no idea of the 
 special portions being more 
 defective than in man, and 
 of certain parts being want- 
 ing altogether. . . . 
 
 The greatest difference is 
 evident about the portion of the head which corresponds 
 to the fontanelle m childi’en : farther, about the portion 
 under the upper lateral part of the frontal bone, and in the 
 anterior lobes, particularly along the superciliary ridge, and 
 in the upper part of the forehead.” In Dr Spurzheim’s 
 paper, from which this extract is taken, these statements ai-e 
 supported by di’awdngs, taken under his own immediate 
 inspection, fr'om nature ; and, whatever doubt may obtain 
 respecting their accuracy in aU the details, it is certain that 
 they are substantially correct. 
 
 Now, after this, the author of the paper will surely con- 
 
 BRAIN OP OURANG OUTANG. 
 
324 
 
 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 fess to there being some correspondence between Gall’s 
 physiology and comparative anatomy, and concede that 
 the objection concerning the posterior cerebral lobe, drawn 
 from the fact of the cerebellum being uncovered by it in 
 the lower animals, is futile, seeing that the facts which he 
 cites not only are in strict accordance with phrenology, 
 but, at the same time, explain away the particular objec- 
 tion in question. Let us see what hlr Marshall has to say 
 upon this point. “ Now,” says he, “ the position of these 
 superadded convolutions, which appear to he peculiarly 
 developed in the human hrain, certainly does not coincide with 
 that allotted by phrenologists to the higher mental faculties.” 
 And yet, certainly, no phrenological anatomist could have 
 described more clearly the existence of some of the principal 
 convolutions allotted to thehigherpsychicalattributes; which 
 convolutions, he informs us, reach, in the adult man, “ their 
 highest, and, indeed, an extraordinary development, occupy- 
 ing a considerable space on the upper and convex part of the cere- 
 bral hemispheres." Does ]\Ir Combe himself, in a preceding 
 exti-act, put the case more phrenologicaUy ? Shall it be said 
 with justice, that unduly harsh criticism was employed, when 
 it was affirmed that such Avriters as the author of the Univer- 
 sity College paper are utterly unacquainted with their subject f 
 Comparative anatomy, hke vivisections, has been espe- 
 cially adduced in opposition to the assignment of the sexual 
 instinct to the cerebellum : the facihties which exist for 
 observing this organ, naturally make it a matter of very 
 considerable attention, ahke by the ad^'ocates and the 
 opponents of Gall’s physiology. The arguments from this 
 source, in opposition, are very clearly put By Dr Carpenter, 
 in the tone of whose statements and remarks there is a 
 general fairness and candour : on this account the Avriter 
 shall enter into some examination of their A’alue. The 
 folloAving passages comprehend the chief objections cited by 
 Dr Carpenter, and are taken from his Human Physiology.* 
 
 ' Page 218, et seq. 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 325 
 
 “ The results of fair observation as to the comparative size 
 of the Cerebellum in different animals, can scarcely be re- 
 garded as otherwise than very unfavourable to the doctrine 
 in question. In the greatest number of fishes, it is well 
 known that no sexual congress takes place ; the seminal 
 fluid being merely effused, like any other excretion, into the 
 surrounding water ; and being thus brought into accidental 
 contact with the ova, of which a large proportion are never 
 fertilised. On the other hand, in many reptiles the sexual 
 instinct appears extremely strong ; and this is especially 
 the case in the frog, the whole system of which is endowed, 
 at the season of fertility, with an extraordinary degree of 
 excitability, analogous to a morbid condition that sometimes 
 presents itself in the human bemg. It has been remarked 
 that, if the head of a male fi’og be cut oflf, during the con- 
 gress (which lasts for some time), his embrace will not be 
 relaxed, and wfil even continue, until the body of the female 
 is becoming gangrenous fi'om the pressure ; thus showing 
 that the action is one of a purely reflex character. Now, 
 on comparing the size of the cerebellum of the frog with 
 that of the cod (we exclude the higher cartilaginous fishes, 
 in which the reproductive function has a more elevated 
 type), we find that it is not above one-half the proportional 
 size. Moreover, not only is the size much inferior, but the 
 structure is much less complicated in the former than in the 
 latter. Again, in comparing the gallinaceous birds, which 
 are polygamous, with the Kaptorial and Insessorial tribes, 
 which live in pairs, we find that the former, instead of hav- 
 ing a larger cerebellum, have one of inferior size. Further, 
 on looking at the mammalia, the same disproportion may 
 be noticed. A friend, who kept some kangaroos in his 
 gai’den, informed the author that they were the most sala- 
 cious animals he ever saw ; yet their cerebellum is one of 
 the smallest to be found in the class.” 
 
 Now, with respect to the statements set forth in the above 
 quotation, they may aU be strictly true, and yet Gall’s 
 
326 
 
 HAE3I0NY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 physiology of the cerebellum remain unaffected. The 
 fundamental principle guiding the plirenologists in their in- 
 vestigations, — the one by which they demand the accuracy 
 of their doctrine to be tested, — and the principle by the 
 application of which the various details have been esta- 
 blished to their own satisfaction, — is, not that size of organ 
 absolutely, but cceteris parihus, is a measure of functional 
 power. The conditions qualifying the influence of de- 
 velopment are constantly overlooked ; so well informed a 
 writer as Dr Carpenter does hot keep this circumstance in 
 view ; he observes that phrenologists, treating of the cere- 
 bellum in connexion with the function, “ assert that they 
 can judge of its intensity, by the degree of development of 
 the organ.” On this supposition, he goes on, consistently 
 enough, to controvert the phrenological doctrine in the 
 manner ah'eady before the reader. It must yet be reite- 
 rated, that if Gall’s proposition upon this subject is to be 
 controverted successfully, it must be shown that, in in- 
 dividuals of the same species, sexual feeling is as intense 
 with small as with large cerebeUa. It vtII not do to take 
 instances for mutual compai-ison from different kinds of 
 animals; it should be made apparent that, in such ex- 
 amples as the frog, one with a moderate cerebellum is 
 more salacious than another unth a large one. Frogs 
 must be compared with frogs, and not with fishes, when 
 proofs are in question. Comparisons of different species 
 may often be very usefully made for illustration, and, in a 
 general way, for corroboration, of the influence of organic 
 size upon functional strength ; but they are essentially 
 unfitted for the exact determination of individual proposi- 
 tions. Animals differ so much among themselves in ele- 
 mental type, that it is always unsafe, when the object is to 
 infer function fi’om development, to reason from one of a 
 high to one of a low type, or vice versa. 
 
 But, in point of fact, is the state of things, in all respects, 
 as set forth by Dr Carpenter ? TTe do not gather from 
 
WITH C05IPAKATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 327 
 
 his work that, in this matter, he has been guided by his 
 own observations ; he appears rather to have adopted the 
 statements of Serres, made in his “ Comparative Anatomy 
 of the Brain.” The present writer has not that practical 
 acquaintance with the details of this question, which would 
 authorise his controverting, of his own knowledge, the 
 assertions of M. Serres, relative to the size of the cere- 
 bellum in different animals ; yet certain circumstances lead 
 him to distrust this authority altogether, on doubtful points 
 affecting the development of parts of the brain and nervous 
 system, for the following reasons. 
 
 M. Serres has always been one of the most strenuous 
 opponents of Gall and his physiology ; and not only so, 
 but he has been complained of as a most unfair one. Dr 
 Spurzheim, in the preface to his Anatomy of the Brain, 
 observes : — “ M. Serres, whose memoir was deemed wor- 
 thy of its prize by the Academy of Sciences of Paris, in 
 the first volume of his work uses our names no fewer than 
 fifteen times, in connexion with a single idea, which he 
 fancies he can refute ; and generally, along with every fact 
 that looks unfavourable to our opinion, he names us, but 
 he always forgets to cite us in relation to very many fun- 
 damental conceptions which we had announced at the 
 same time.” Again, M. Serres, in various parts of his 
 work on the Brain, evidences a singular fondness for 
 generalisations affecting comparative magnitudes, which, 
 in many cases, he most axiomatically propounds, even 
 when no grounds whatever exist for the propositions. As 
 an illustration of this circumstance, the following extract 
 from Spurzheim’s Anatomy of the Brain is subjoined : — 
 
 “ ‘ The spinal marrow and the corpora quadrigemina,’ 
 says M. Serres in another place, ‘ are so rigorously de- 
 veloped in the ratio of each other, that the size of the first 
 being given in any class, or in any of its families, the 
 volume of the latter may be determined vrith precision.’ ” 
 
 “ But,” says Dr Spurzheim, “ the bigeminal tubercles 
 
328 HARIIOXT OF gall’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 in the carp are much larger, in proportion to the spinal 
 cord, than in the eel and the roach. M. Serres himself 
 has given representations of the optic apparatus in the 
 cassowary, ostrich, and other birds, much larger in pro- 
 portion to the spinal cord, than it is in the many mam- 
 miferous animals whose brains he has figured; and the 
 disproportion between the development of the quadri- 
 geminal bodies and spinal cord, is even greater in the 
 dolphins and porpoises, than in the ox, camel, and horse.” ^ 
 As an additional example of the faulty determination of 
 relative development, on the part of M. Serres, another 
 passage from Dr Spurzheim is presented to the reader, 
 taken fi'om the same work as the preceding extract. 
 
 “ hi. Serres maintains that the corpus callosum is pro- 
 portionate to the annular protuberance, and that the hemi- 
 spheres of the brain are developed in the direct ratio of 
 those of the cerebellum. It is easy to demonstrate this 
 error. The masses mentioned vary extremely, and are 
 never developed directly in the ratio of each other, neither 
 in different kinds, nor in different individuals of the same 
 kind of animals. To be convinced of this truth, it is 
 enough to glance over the tables of the comparative sizes 
 of the brain and cerebellum, which various authors (among 
 the number, M. Cu\der) have drawn up. The proportion 
 between the brain and cerebellum even varies in the same 
 individual at different periods of life.”' 
 
 Under all these circumstances, the author maintains his 
 right to distrust the authority of INI. Serres on questions 
 affecting in any way the integi’ity of Gall’s physiology, 
 more especially when the opposition rests upon compari- 
 sons of development ; for his haste in generalisation must 
 have been rendered sufficiently appai’ent by the statements 
 that have preceded. Whether Spurzheim be, or be not. 
 altoaether accurate in the instances which he adduces in 
 confutation of Serres, it is quite certain that the propositions 
 > Pp. 86, 87. = Page 183. 
 
WITH COjMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 329 
 
 cannot be held good for a moment. No anatomist of repute 
 will confirm the assertion, that a definite proportion exists 
 between the development of the spinal cord and that of the 
 quadrigeminal bodies, or that the brain and the cerebellum 
 have any fixed relation in size one to the other, or that a 
 correspondence of this kind obtains between the annular 
 protuberance and the corpus caUosum. 
 
 However, assuming the rigid accuracy of the various 
 facts cited by Dr Carpenter in opposition to Gall’s physio- 
 logy of the cerebellum, it has often appeared to the present 
 writer that inferences are at times deduced from them which 
 the premises do not warrant. Dr Carpenter lays great 
 stress upon the particular case of the frog ; and this instance 
 shall be taken as an illustration of what the author means. 
 That this reptile possesses a diminutive cerebellum is un- 
 disputed ; but is it quite so sure that its sexual feeling is 
 strong ? Let us sift this matter a little more closely. 
 
 It must be premised that all phrenological observations go 
 to show, not that every vital function concerned in propa- 
 gation depends immediately upon the cei’ebellum, but that 
 the feeling which prompts to the generative act is organically 
 dependent upon this structure. If we analyse, so to speak, 
 the process in question, we shall see that several functions are 
 involved, — sentient, reflex, and secernent. The first, which 
 involves consciousness, must have an encephalic organ ; 
 this, according to plirenology, is the cerebellum ; the next 
 — the reflex — must take place through the agency of the 
 appropriate segment of the true spinal cord ; and the last 
 occurs through the external glandular organs. Dr Car- 
 penter himself admits the distinct share which the reflex 
 functions of the cord have, in the circumstances under" 
 consideration; there is every reason to believe that not 
 only the ejaculatio seminis, but to some extent also the 
 embrace, is under this influence, which operates indepen- 
 dently of the will, from local excitation. “ That this 
 ii’ritation,” says Dr Carpenter, “ need not amount to a 
 
330 
 
 HARMONY OF GALL S PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 sensation, is proved It has been shown by 
 
 experiment, that section of the spinal cord in the lumbar 
 region does not prevent the act from being performed, the 
 lower division only being concerned in the reflexion of the 
 impression.” Now, it is only in accordance with analogy 
 to anticipate that, in different species, the energy with 
 which individual functions share in the generative process, 
 wll vary according to the different circumstances of par- 
 ticular creatures ; and thus, that in some the act of propa- 
 gation will be predominantly sentient ; in others, mainly 
 reflex ; and, in some again, chiefly secretory or vegetative. 
 We Mull now apply this reasoning to the case of the frog, 
 wdth a view to determine the principal agency by which 
 generation occurs in tliis reptile, and the coiTespondence 
 of the fact with the physiology of GaU. 
 
 Dr Carpenter, having stated that in many reptiles, the 
 generative instinct is very powerful, observes, — “ This is 
 especially the case in the frog, the whole system of which is 
 endowed, at the season of fertility, Muth an extraordinary 
 degree of excitability.” May not this excitability, however, 
 result rather from some peculiar state of the excito-motory 
 function and the spinal cord, than from exalted sensibility as 
 placed by phrenologists in the cerebellum ? This would 
 appear to he demonstrably the case, if the fact be as stated 
 by Dr Carpenter, “ That, if the head of a male frog he cut 
 off, during the congress fwhich lasts for some time), his 
 embrace will not he relaxed, and will even continue, until 
 the body of the female is becoming gangrenous from the 
 pressure.” Dr Carpenter would thus appear to take the 
 same position as the present winter, to an extent, indeed, 
 beyond which he himself would deem it to be defen- 
 sible, for he says “ the action is one of a purely reflex cha- 
 racter.” Now, although it seems likely that the action is 
 mainly reflex, it is rather in advance of the premises to 
 infer that it is ^'•purely” so. That the phrenic excitability 
 of the frog at the season of fertility is but low, may be 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 331 
 
 presumed also fi’om the long continuance of the congress, 
 because, so far as our positive knowledge extends, an oppo- 
 site state of things is incompatible with tediousness in the 
 process. Besides, if sensation — a powerful excitation of the 
 cerebellum — prevailed, would not speedy exhaustion be 
 likely to ensue ? But sensible fatigue rai-ely, if ever, follows 
 the action of the true spinal nerves. And thus the just — 
 the true physiological — explanation of the whole affair 
 would appear to he as ’follows : That, in generation, the 
 frog has but little phrenic — truly sentient — impulse, a fact 
 which harmonises pro tanto with the diminutive cerebellum ; 
 that, as if in compensation, the vital impression upon the 
 true spinal cord leads to vigorous reflex action, which con- 
 tinues for an unusually long period, without very obvious 
 fatigue, as in the case of other functions of chiefly an 
 excito-motory character. This view of the subject corre- 
 sponds with the anatomy ; foi', proportionately to tlie pre- 
 dominance which the reflex office of the cord maintains 
 over true animal feehng, the development of this structure 
 would seem to exceed that of the cerebellum. As Dr Todd 
 and hlr Bowman observe, after stating that in frogs this 
 latter organ is very small, it is “ especially so, relatively 
 to the spinal cord.” The ^author believes that, if this ana- 
 lytical mode of regarding the generative process were pro- 
 secuted extensively in comparative physiology, it would 
 lead to some very interesting results. 
 
 Comparative anatomy has largely been appealed to by 
 physiologists, in support of the conclusions deduced by 
 Flourens from vivisections respecting the function of the 
 cerebellum. Almost all the opponents of Gall’s doctiine, 
 in attempting the disproof, by comparative anatomy, of 
 the sexual functions of the cerebellum, strive to main- 
 tain its muscular claims by facts obtained from the same 
 source. Dr Carpenter thus sums up the evidence, furnished 
 by the inferior creation, in support of Flourens’ views, 
 which, it has been before stated, he himself adopts. 
 
332 
 
 HAEMONY OF GALl’s PHYSIOLOGY 
 
 “ In the first place, the proportional development of the 
 cerebellum is seen to be smallest in the vermiform fishes, 
 which approach most nearly to the invertebrata ; but it is 
 much gi’eater in the higher fishes than it is in reptiles. If 
 we consider in what particular, that may he reasonably 
 supposed to have a connexion with this organ, the former 
 surpass the latter, we should at once be struck with their 
 superiority in activity and variety of movement. Passing 
 on to birds, we remark that the average dimensions of the 
 cerebellum greatly surpass those of the organ in reptiles ; 
 but that they do not exceed those occasionally met with in 
 fishes. The greatest size is not found in those species, 
 which approach most nearly to the mammalia in general 
 conformation, such as the ostrich ; but in those of most 
 active and varied powers of flight. Lastly, on ascending 
 the scale of mammiferous animals, we cannot but be struck 
 with the rapid advance in the proportional size of the cere- 
 bellum, that we observe, as we ris&from the lowest, wliich 
 are surpassed in this respect by many birds, towards man, 
 in whom it attains a development which appears enormous, 
 even when contrasted Avith that of the quadi’umana.”^ 
 Now, all the facts may be as set forth in the above 
 quotation, and yet they wull not authorise any physiolo- 
 gical inference aflfecting particular structures. The objec- 
 tions that apply to the whole procedure have ah-eady been 
 sufficiently dwelt upon ; it may yet be added that, in 
 ascending from fishes and reptiles tirrough various classes 
 of birds and mammals up to man, there is nothing remark- 
 able in the circumstance that a more extensive and com- 
 plicated development of cerebellum shoidd be found coin- 
 cidently with gi-eater variety in the movements, because 
 there is a progressive advance in the development of the 
 aggi’egate organisation, more particularly in the cerebral 
 hemispheres, the sensori-volitional neires, and the muscu- 
 lar system ; and this circumstance frumishes a sufficient 
 
 * Human Physiology, p. 214. 
 
WITH COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, 
 
 333 
 
 explanation of tlie matter, without assuming the existence 
 of any presiding influence in the cerebellum over muscular 
 equilibrium. The reader will remember the position of 
 Dr Prichard, that, “ if we really attach any importance to 
 such a system of correspondences,” we must, in consistency, 
 acknowledge some relation between the development of the 
 cerebellum and the intellectual powers of man and brutes. 
 One thing is quite certain, — whatever be the share in gene- 
 ration which the glandular and spinal structures possess 
 in different animals, the higher we ascend in the scale, the 
 more phrenic, in a general way, becomes the character of 
 the whole function. 
 
 The subject of the present chapter involves so many facts 
 and considerations, that any thing like a complete exposi- 
 tion of the existing state of knowledge mth respect to it, 
 would have been utterly beyond the author’s capability ; 
 and, indeed, to have done full justice to this topic would 
 have required an acquaintance with comparative ana- 
 tomy and natural history, much exceeding any that he 
 has the happiness to possess. His intention in the whole 
 scheme of the work, has been rather to indicate principles 
 fitted for tha prosecution of the subject, than to collect an 
 adequate body of evidence for exhibiting the full measure 
 of proof which attaches, not only to the great truths of 
 phrenology, but also to its leading details. In correspon- 
 dence with this design, as relating to the harmony of Gall’s 
 doctrine and comparative anatomy, the author conceives 
 himself to have shewn, in the first instance, that numerous 
 facts exist which display very strikingly the harmony in 
 question ; and, in the next place, that none of the ordinary 
 objections to phrenology, taken from the inferior creatures, 
 wiU justly apply; that, in some instances, such objections 
 come fi-om misapprehension of the actual facts ; and that 
 in certain others, most probably, they arise from an erro- 
 neous interpretation being affixed to phenomena, not in 
 themselves inaccurately observed. 
 
334 HARMONY OF GALL’S PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 PHENOMENA, ANX) THE GENERAL FACTS OF MEDICAL 
 SCIENCE. 
 
 It has been the object of the preceding chapters to show 
 that, although collateral sources of information, like com- 
 parative anatomy and the records of encephalic mutila- 
 tions, are essentially unfitted for leading to sure or uni- 
 form conclusions, when primarily appealed to in the 
 search for the physiology of particular portions of the 
 brain, they are yet valuable auxiliaries in the coirohora- 
 tion and extension of some inference, already established 
 by direct and legitimate induction. It is the intention, in 
 the present chapter, to investigate the hearings of patholo- 
 gical phenomena upon cerebral physiology, in order to see 
 whether, like the subjects recently discussed, they do not 
 likevdse furnish subsidiary testimony to the truth of phre- 
 nology, by virtue of the admirable harmony which they 
 display between it and themselvns. 
 
 A great deal of what has been advanced in an earlier 
 chapter, wherein it was exhibited how morbid alterations 
 of structure noticeable after death are hut little calculated 
 to demonstrate the actual function of the nervous masses, 
 will to some extent he applicable in the progress of the 
 ensuing discussion. As it has been already seen, that, in 
 determining the hai'mony subsisting between the physio- 
 logy and the pathology of any of these structures, we mu.<t 
 not expect always to find visible changes after death cor- 
 respondent vrith previous abeiTation in functional mani- 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAE SCIENCE. 335 
 
 festation, the best proceeding, probably, by which the 
 relations of Gall’s physiology to morbid states of the 
 encephalon can be exhibited, is an exposition of the mode 
 in which phrenology sheds light upon the subject of in- 
 sanity — of the way in which, by its aid, this class of dis- 
 eases can be regarded, both pathologically and therapeuti- 
 cally, in the same point of view, and be studied through 
 the same kind of evidence, as that which obtains in the 
 instance of general medical science. And if it can be 
 shown that, anterior to the discoveiy of Gall, all Avas 
 uncertain and dai’k in reference to insanity; and that, 
 since the application of this discovery to the consideration 
 of what has been called mental disease, a remarkable elu- 
 cidation of its phenomena has resulted, a strong support 
 from analogy — additional secondary proofs — wiU have been 
 gained to the soundness of phrenological science. 
 
 Gall’s method of observation having proved — what pre- 
 viously was but a well-gi'ounded h3rpothesis — that the brain 
 is the organ of the mmd, it follows that a morbid condi- 
 tion of this structure should tend to the depraved mani- 
 festation of the mental phenomena. Phrenology, moreover, 
 having shown that the encephalic mass is a congeries of 
 organs — the office of each being to display an individual 
 faculty of the mind — has afforded a flood of light to 
 illumine the once obscure path pursued in the investiga- 
 tion of mental derangement; and, indeed, it bids fair, if 
 but once generally understood and assiduously cultivated, 
 to dissipate much of the intricacy and mystery that for- 
 merly involved this subject of inquiry — for so many ages 
 the opprobrium, not only of medical men, but of the civil- 
 ised world at large. 
 
 But here it may rightly be asked. In what manner has 
 the subject of insanity been placed in a more advantageous 
 position, as a matter of philosophical investigation, by the 
 discovery of phrenology ? Precisely in this way : — by 
 enabling the student to prosecute his inquiries on very 
 
336 HAEMONT OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 much the same principles as those upon which other scien- 
 tific pursuits are in these days based ; and by enabling the 
 medical philosopher, and the medical practitioner, to re- 
 gard the matter substantially in the point of view that he 
 regards the morbid manifestation of any of the more ex- 
 clusively corporeal functions ; and by enabling the inquirer 
 to deduce principles of treatment in the management of 
 the insane, grounded upon the analogies furnished by the 
 actual condition of medical science — principles which, for 
 a very long period, were most ignorantly and wofuUy dis- 
 regarded in the case of the brain. 
 
 By demonstrating that diseased manifestation of the 
 mental functions is associated with corresponding derange- 
 ment of the material organ; by affording a reasonable and 
 practical, if not perfectly accurate, analysis of the human 
 mind, in an enumeration of most of its primitive powers 
 and inclinations; by exhibiting the organic connexion be- 
 tween special parts of the brain and determinate mental 
 faculties; by showing that the phenomena of insanity must 
 be regarded as pathological conditions of the brain — phren- 
 ology (emjiloying this term in its widest acceptation) offers 
 for the first time a distinct clue to a system of cerebral 
 pathology and cerebral medicine, as experimental in its 
 nature, and as rational, as that which is afforded by other 
 branches of the heahng art. 
 
 The gi’and points always kept in view, and the great 
 objects proposed, in the study of disease, by the scientific 
 inquirer, are, — to know well the ordinary and normal state 
 of the functions, and the organic conditions upon which 
 this depends ; to recognise accurately any deviation from 
 such state, with its kind and extent ; to ascertain, so far 
 as may be practicable, the state also of the particular 
 organ, or organs, whose functions are distm’bed ; and, with 
 philosophical caution, to attempt the deduction of a con- 
 nexion between this disturbance and the associated struc- 
 tural change. In the prosecution of these topics of medical 
 
 I 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 337 
 
 inquiry, the best attainable understanding should always 
 exist of the relation between the corporeal organs and the 
 agents by which they are influenced ; and the conditions, 
 in this respect, must receive attention in each particular 
 subject of investigation. It is under such circumstances 
 that the study of medicine becomes a philosophical pursuit, 
 in opposition to the empirical procedure of administering 
 medicaments in the mere expectation of a beneficial result, 
 without reference to the known adaptation of the remedial 
 agency to that alteration in structure, or function, upon 
 which disease depends. 
 
 Now, phrenology furnishes the materials for a like pro- 
 cess of investigation into the phenomena of mental derange- 
 ment, concerning the real nature of which the most vague and 
 indefinite notions prevailed, up to a very recent period, — a 
 circumstance, however, that can excite no surprise, as all 
 sound pathology must necessarily be preceded by a just 
 physiology ; and, in the absence of this in the instance of 
 the brain, it was not possible that any accurate or consist- 
 ent knowledge upon the subject of insanity should be had. 
 Indeed, from the days of Hippocrates downwards, it has 
 been discussed by a succession of writers, foi'mally and 
 incidentally, and yet, up to the present century even, 
 without any very useful contribution to its history, or 
 improvements in its modes of management, — a result that 
 may readily be traced to imperfection in the data upon 
 which the inquiries and the theories had proceeded. Those 
 comparatively modern writers, who, with the advantage of 
 a generally improved condition of pathological science, dis- 
 play the greatest lack of precision, and mostimperfect records 
 of the phenomena, have had no guidance, directly or indi- 
 rectly^ fi’om the physiology of Gall. The definitions and clas- 
 
 ■ It is said indirectly, because, at the present time, considerable ap- 
 propriation of strictly phrenological ideas takes place without acknow- 
 ledgment ; and, in some instances, probably without a knowledge of 
 their actual source. 
 
 P 
 
338 HARMONY OF GAHl’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 sifications of various kinds of insanity, adopted by systematic 
 writers, may be taken as evidence of the state of informa- 
 tion upon the subject where the advantages of phrenology 
 have not been possessed. As illustrating what is here set 
 forth, a definition of insanity shall be cited, as given by an 
 author named Harper, who -wi’ote upon the subject towards 
 the close of the last century, and who is quoted with great 
 respect by the celebrated Pinel : — It is wi’it, “ I 'null take 
 upon me to define and pronounce the proximate cause and 
 specific existence of insanity, to be a positive immediate 
 discord in the intrinsic motions and operations of the 
 mental faculty, exerted above the healthful equilibrium, 
 its exact seat to be in the prime movement, and its precise 
 extent just as far as the nervous power conveys its influ- 
 ence.” As a specimen of classification, the author ■would 
 refer to the one proposed by Dr Mason Good in his Study 
 of Medicine, wherein this nosologist attempts to establish 
 six genera, fifteen species, and twenty-seven varieties, of in- 
 sanity ; of which classification, that very able and practically 
 useful w’riter. Dr A. Combe, most justly observes, in his 
 excellent work on this subject : “ Most of them are symp- 
 toms not peculiai’ to one form of disease, but common to 
 many, and depending, not on different kinds of afi^ections, 
 but chiefly on the particular part of the brain which is in 
 fault ; and, in short, they are symptoms m hich may change 
 into others, or e^•en disappear entirely, and yet the disease 
 remain active and unchanged.” ^ 
 
 The present i^'riter is not aware that the above state- 
 ments constitute any exaggerated or distorted illustration 
 of the way in w'hich mental disorder was for ages regarded. 
 It -was a vain attempt to define morbid manifestation 
 of the mental faculties before the character of the health- 
 ful manifestation was rightly understood ; and, more- 
 over, all speculations concerning the physical conditions 
 
 ’ On Mental Derangement, p. 85. 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAE SCIENCE. 339 
 
 of insanity — the basis of true cerebral pathology — were 
 necessarily futile, in the absence of correct knowledge 
 regarding the organic connexion subsisting between the 
 faculties of the mind and the structure of the brain. Under 
 such circumstances, no other result could have been anti- 
 cipated. 
 
 After what has been advanced, it becomes a very simple 
 matter, to demonstrate the harmony which exists between 
 the physiology of Gall, and the ascertained principles of 
 pathological science. Thus, when it is allowed that the 
 brain is the organ of the mind, that distinct parts subserve 
 distinct functions, that healthful manifestation of a fa- 
 culty depends upon the healthful condition of the corporeal 
 instrument, and that vigour of function is in proportion 
 with the size, cateris paribus, of the cerebral organ, — a 
 standard becomes established by which to estimate the 
 character and the extent of the morbid states, grouped 
 under the designation of insanity. Phrenology, having 
 shown that the mind, in this life, acts through and depen- 
 dency upon the cerebral organisation, leads most unequivo- 
 cally to the conclusion, accordantly -with all analogy, that 
 mental derangement is functional disease of the brain, and, so 
 far as we can reason philosophically upon such a subject, 
 not a disease of the immaterial soul. And, as the variety 
 and the character of the functions of the brain have now to a 
 great extent been developed, its pathological states may be 
 studied upon the same principles as those which guide the 
 scientific inquirer in general pathology. Knowing the ordi- 
 nary and natural manifestations of the individual faculties, 
 and, in great part, the organic condition upon which these 
 depend, we are enabled to observe with greater accuracy the 
 deviation from such manifestations, with its kind and extent; 
 and, by diligent prosecution of the subject, we may expect 
 to be enabled, in many cases, to ascertain, with reasonable 
 exactness, the state of the organ whose function is dis- 
 turbed ; and so may attempt, without rashness, to deduce 
 
340 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 the connexion between altered function and change in 
 structure. 
 
 In the history of insanity, there are few points in con- 
 nexion with it that have presented greater difficulties than 
 that of monomania , — a term, as is known to all, used to 
 designate those cases where the derangement of mind is 
 upon one subject only, or, if upon several, holding a rela- 
 tion, in chief part, to some one particular faculty or mental 
 quality. It must immediately strike every one who has 
 the slightest acquaintance with phrenology, how remark- 
 able is the harmony subsisting between this latter, and the 
 phenomena involved in monomania. “ A very important 
 source of evidence,” says Dr Carpenter, “ is that afforded 
 between the several kinds of monomania, and the forms of 
 the brain of the persons exhibiting them ; and the number 
 of those Avho, having studied this question, have given in 
 their adhesion to the phrenological system, is one of the 
 most weighty evidences of its containing much truth.” ^ 
 The organs, in the aggregate constituting the encephalon, 
 may, in the most perfect accordance with all that is knoMui 
 of disease, be in a morbid condition individually, and then 
 each will affect only the corresponding faculty of the mind, 
 while the others remain in a state of ordinary sanity ; but. 
 in this isolation of morbid manifestation, the derangement 
 need not involve particularly the organs most largely deve- 
 loped, although experience has revealed the fact that such 
 is very often the case. Indeed, if nothing had been heard 
 of monomania, the phrenologist (being at the same time 
 a pathologist) would have declared, d priori, that such a 
 condition must at times occur, unless the brain supplied, in 
 this respect, an exception to the general laws of the animal 
 economy. 
 
 An objection often made may here be started, to the effect 
 that the morbid anatomy of insanity does not furnish 
 
 1 Human Physiologj'. p. 238. 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 341 
 
 that corroborative evidence of the soundness of Gall’s 
 physiology of the brain, which general physiology re- 
 ceives from the same source ; and, in support of this 
 objection, some eminent names may be cited. It has 
 no validity, however ; for it is a fact that, not only 
 phrenologists, but -writers ignorant of, or opposed to, phre- 
 nology, have recorded numerous cases, clearly associating 
 mental derangement -with e\ddent change in cerebral 
 structure ; and many instances even, where the marks of 
 disease, discovered after death, have accorded with the 
 phrenological locality of the function previously disturbed. 
 Still, it may be said that cases of insanity have often been 
 observed, in which no corresponding morbid change in 
 the brain could be detected. Undoubtedly, this is the 
 fact. But then, let us ask, how stands the matter as re- 
 gards the general principles of pathological science ? Why, 
 it is well kno-wn, that aberration in function is not always 
 succeeded by appreciable change of structure, and that 
 marked change of structure is not at all times preceded by 
 obvious aberration in function. These propositions have 
 been abundantly discussed and illustrated in an earlier 
 portion of this work. Moreover, it should be recollected 
 that the nervous tissue, in particular, is of such a chai’acter, 
 that in some circumstances its physical changes are of a 
 less notable kind than those of structure generally. As a 
 matter of fact, it is notorious that there are several affec- 
 tions allowed by pathologists to depend upon some lesion 
 of the nervous substance, for which no visible change in 
 the tissue "will account ; such instances being teclmically 
 denominated functional. It is very likely, however, that 
 few examples exist, wherein functional disease would not, 
 in progressing, finally induce such visible ravages in the 
 structure, as to reveal the organic change, readily enough, 
 on post mortem inspection ; but then functional disease of 
 the brain, does not always advance beyond a certain point 
 so as to become, what, for distinction’s sake, is called 
 
342 HAKMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY ‘WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 organic. Yet, it may be said, — surely when an insane 
 person dies, there is an extreme case ; and you ought, 
 under such circumstances, to find appreciable alteration in 
 the brain, upon inspection, if your docti’ine be true. If 
 every insane person died fi’om the immediate effects of 
 his insanity, there would be plausibility, at least, in this 
 position ; but then such is not the case, for the insane 
 frequently die from other diseases when the cerebral affection 
 has not extended beyond its functional stage ; and, under 
 such circumstances, no characteristic appearances could 
 reasonably be anticipated. But it must here be advanced 
 that, -with respect to the state of evidence concerning mor- 
 bid anatomy in this class of diseases, much uncertainty 
 exists ; because, if phrenology be the true physiology of 
 the brain, the records made of the pathology and morbid 
 anatomy, by persons ignorant of it, can only be received 
 with the greatest distrust, even where there is no sus- 
 picion of inaccuracy resulting from previous bias ; and the 
 fact is, phrenologists alone are competent to prosecute this 
 department of inquiry with the full measure of success. 
 But, in reference once more to the objection itself, — if 
 Gall’s physiology is to be rejected, because it is imperfectly 
 supported (not contravened) by morbid anatomy, all phy- 
 siology, for reasons and facts already adduced, ought to 
 experience the same fate. 
 
 To enter upon any discussion regarding the causes or 
 the sjTnptoms of particular forms of mental derangement, or 
 to suggest, phrenologically, specific modes of management, 
 would be irrelevant to the present purpose ; the object 
 being simply to display tlie applicability of Gall’s phy- 
 siology to the pathology of the bi’ain, in the same way as 
 the principles of general physiology may be, and are. 
 applied to the prosecution of ordinary medical science. This 
 analogy shall be traced a little further ; and it shall be 
 shoAvn that, by the aid of plirenology, we may adopt 
 strictly rational systems of treatment, accordant, in all 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 343 
 
 respects, with those which we follow in the general prac- 
 tice of medicine. 
 
 The principle has already been asserted, that for the 
 satisfactory treatment of all disease, the relation between 
 the corporeal organs and the agents by which their func- 
 tions are influenced, must be understood. Every organ 
 of the body has some special relation to certain ob- 
 jects, or conditions, by and upon which it acts ; thus, 
 the digestive organs are influenced by, and exercise them- 
 selves upon, the various kinds of aliment ; the heart and 
 arteries are acted upon by the blood, and re-act upon 
 it ; the lungs are in the same relation to the atmospheric 
 air ; and so on. Suppose, then, that debility of any of the 
 functions has been induced by some fault on the part of 
 the related objects — by vitiation in quality, or by a too 
 abundant or too defective supply, — plainly, the main indi- 
 cation, under such circumstances, is to modify, corre- 
 spondency, the condition of the patient with respect to 
 them ; suppose, for example, the stomach to have become 
 seriously disordered by errors in diet, a knowledge of the 
 relation between kind and quantity of food and the sto- 
 mach, enables the practitioner to relieve the latter by 
 modifying the amount and quality of the former. Again, 
 if an individual shall have sustained damage in the re- 
 spiratory functions, ascertained to be dependent upon the 
 inhalation of impure air, a knowledge of the relation sub- 
 sisting between the condition of the atmosphere and tlie 
 lungs, causes us to prescribe change of air as an essential 
 proceeding in the management of such a case. Further, 
 experience has taught us, that a certain relation obtains 
 between various organs of the body and certain drugs, and 
 a knowledge of this relation leads to an employment of the 
 latter, when some peculiar state of the former seems to 
 require their appropriate action upon the functions. Thus, 
 it being ascertained that preparations of mercury, in suit- 
 able doses, stimulate the action of the liver, and influence 
 
344 HARMONY OF GARl’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 the secretion of bile, a right understanding of the relation 
 of the medicament to the organ leads to an emplojunent of 
 the former in some conditions of the latter. 
 
 These illustrations of the leading principles which guide 
 the scientific practitioner in the treatment of ordinary dis- 
 ease, will render the harmony subsisting hetw'een phren- 
 ology and pathology still more clear, in a point of view 
 now to he discussed. 
 
 The brain, as before observed, is a congeries of organs, 
 each one performing a special function ; the locality of 
 many of the cerebral organs and their respective offices 
 have been made out ; and, to a very great extent, we can 
 determine the objects or conditions in relation to which 
 the inward faculties become exercised. Thus, the faculties 
 of Individuality and Eventuality — which include the power 
 to know and to remember substantive existences, and events 
 — have their related objects in the external world, and in 
 its mutations ; among the sentiments, a sense of justice is 
 implanted Avithin us, the circumstances related to which 
 are the rights and feelings of our fellow-men ; and, amongst 
 the propensities, amativeness may be adduced, existing in 
 relation to the opposite sex. In like manner, all psychical 
 powers and qualities, manifesting themselves tlmough the 
 instrumentality of cerebral organisation, hold a definite 
 relation to external circumstances, either of a moral or of 
 a physical character, just as the lungs hold a definite rela- 
 tion to the atmosphere, the stomach to the food, or the 
 heart and blood-vessels to the blood. And as in our man- 
 agement of disease generally, we can very often accommo- 
 date, in great measure, the relative circumstances to the 
 disturbance of function, in such a way as to diminish the 
 iiTegularity of the latter, Ave can also, with a knowledge 
 of the actual fault in cerebral function, modify and control, 
 in many cases, the quality the appropriate stimulus. 
 As an example, let us suppose a monomania to have been 
 caused by an undue devotion to metaphysical reading, as 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 345 
 
 happened some time ago within the experience of the author, 
 who was consulted by a youth who had received the impres- 
 sion, from perusing a work by David Hume, that he and all 
 the world had no real existence ; a species of mental irre- 
 gulaiity, occurring under such circumstances, indicating 
 to the phrenologist a state of disease mainly in the organ 
 of Causality. What, in a case like this, should form the 
 principal means of cure, upon general pathological prin- 
 ciples? Why, obviously, to allow the morbid portion of 
 brain to be for a time as much at rest as possible, by 
 withdrawal of aU excitation arising from purely speculative 
 disquisitions, and by augmentation of influences related to 
 other faculties, and so to derive the nervous energy from 
 the diseased to healthy organs. And the same principle 
 could be remembered and acted upon, more or less, in 
 most other cases. Moral treatment of this character might 
 occasionally be conceived, and put into practice, without 
 the guidance of Gall’s physiology ; but even if it were, 
 it could be in subservience to no thoroughly understood 
 principle, and could therefore never rest upon any sure 
 foundation. 
 
 In the physical treatment, moreover, of partial cerebral 
 disorder, there is every reason for thinking that phrenology 
 is susceptible of some distinct application. It is by no 
 means an uncommon circumstance to discover physical 
 signs accompanying mental derangement, in the region of 
 the head corresponding with the organ whose function is 
 disturbed ; such signs, for instance, as increased heat, pain, 
 and partial baldness, all of which are, more or less, -within 
 the experience of the author. In such a state of things, 
 he cannot doubt, judging fr-om what he has himself -wit- 
 nessed, that local treatment may occasionally be adopted 
 ■with advantage. In cases where the cerebral affection 
 would seem to be of an acute character, the topical appli- 
 cation of leeches, or of cold, is at least indicated; and direct 
 results, of a beneficial nature, have been verified in the 
 
346 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 writer’s own practice. It may be supposed, however, that 
 the advantageous effects of such proceeding have come 
 rather from the general effects of the treatment, than from 
 any immediate influence exerted upon the particular cere- 
 bral part through the local appliance ; and in some cases, 
 undoubtedly, such an explanation would be the true one ; 
 but there are others in Avhich it could not very well be 
 admitted — cases where relief has folloAved treatment di- 
 rectly topical, w'hich had yet resisted the same treatment 
 on being employed at some little distance from the affected 
 organ. As an example of this circumstance, the author 
 shall relate the subjoined case. 
 
 ]\Ii- D. C., a gentleman about the middle period of life, 
 of a sanguine complexion, had for several years been sub- 
 ject to occasional attacks of cerebral plethora, evidenced, 
 however, in no other way than by the induction of sjunp- 
 toms jiurely subjective, which were always relieved by 
 cupping in the posterior region of the neck. In the year 
 1839 he became a Avidower, and, from his general cha- 
 racter and other circumstances, there is every reason to 
 believe that he maintained this position in a manner con- 
 sistent with the strictest morality ; the cerebellum, hoAA^eA'er. 
 AAms largely developed ; and, under such circumstances, it 
 occasioned the AA’riter no surprise to find that, within twelve 
 months from the death of his first wife, this gentleman 
 became the husband of a second. Very shortly after this 
 second mai’riage, he called upon the author AAuth the fol- 
 lowing exposition of circumstances. He set forth that his 
 general health A\'as good, that he had of late been little, if 
 at all, affected AAuth any general sense of fulness in the 
 head ; but that, during coitus, he had been suddenly seized, 
 on successive occasions, AA'ith an acute pain at the back 
 of the head, which progressively increasing, abruptly in- 
 terrupted the consummation of the marital rite. With his 
 hand he indicated the region of the cerebellum as the 
 locality of this distressing symptom. He went on to state. 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 347 
 
 that feeling a natural reluctance to make mention of these 
 cii’cumstances, he had had recourse, on his own responsi- 
 bility, to the remedy which had always previously relieved 
 the general affection of the head ; but although the cupping 
 in the neck had been liberally employed, it had failed to 
 procure any sensible relief. On being consulted in such 
 a case, it was impossible that the author should not fall 
 back upon Gall’s physiology. Indeed, he made the diag- 
 nosis, and deduced, moreover, the indications of treatment, 
 by its aid. He directed that the posterior region of the 
 head should be shaved, and a number of leeches be applied 
 as nearly as possible in a line corresponding with the 
 transverse diameter of the cerebellum ; and after this 
 should have been done, that the patient should make use 
 of a cold lotion in the same region. The negative pre- 
 scription may be inferred. These directions were carefully 
 attended to and obeyed. In a very few days the threaten- 
 ing (shall it be called?) of cerebellar apoplexy, arising 
 fi'om only the normal and legitimate excitation of the 
 organ, had totally disappeared. The author has heard of 
 no recurrence of the affection, although he has been in the 
 constant habit of seeing the patient in question. 
 
 Corresponding cases, in reference to other parts of the 
 encephalon, occur from time to time ; and many of these 
 have been recorded, especially certain paroxysmal affec- 
 tions of the organ of Destructiveness. It must yet be 
 reiterated, that no such facts constitute direct proof of 
 phrenology. They serve very well for subsidiary evi- 
 dence of its truth ; but, in their very nature, they can do 
 no more. 
 
 The writer has heard it advanced, that, in undue cere- 
 bral excitation of a partial nature, no benefit should be 
 expected to ensue from local blood-letting, because direct 
 vascular communication does not exist between a particu- 
 lar portion of brain and the corresponding region of the 
 scalp. This objection seems plausible at first sight, but it 
 
348 HARMONY OF GAXL’s PHYSIOLOGY TYITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 will not endure a close examination. The sympathy of con- 
 tiguity abundantly explains the phenomenon ; and, how- 
 ever difficult it may be to give a reason for the fact of parts 
 contiguous to one another exerting reciprocal influence 
 (apparently from the mere circumstance of such contiguity), 
 the fact itself is certain. Irritation of the lining mem- 
 brane of the stomach is often relieved by leeches applied to 
 tlie epigastrium ; yet, between the abdominal integuments 
 and the actual stomach, there is as little direct communica- 
 tion of any kind as between the scalp and the cerebral sub- 
 stance ; and other parallel instances -wili immediately occur 
 to the reader. 
 
 Where no physical signs of local disease of the brain 
 evince themselves, and yet where the function of some 
 special part is obviously deranged, it would seem not im- 
 probable tliat physical treatment directed to the external 
 region of the organ should, in some cases, conduce to a 
 beneficial result. Upon this point, however, the author 
 wishes to speak with caution, as he has not seen the success 
 of such practice. Still, phrenology being true, it is reason- 
 able to expect advantage under these circumstances; a- 
 favourable result would be in perfect harmony with what 
 is known of practical medicine in other departments. For 
 example, there are some forms of dyspepsia, where no 
 tenderness on pressing the epigastrium is apparent, or other 
 local sign beyond the irregularity of function, and yet 
 where decided relief has followed the application of leeches, 
 or counter-irritation. 
 
 A large proportion of the cases met with amongst the 
 inmates of a lunatic asylum being of an incurable nature, 
 it may be well to refer to the assistance which phrenology 
 renders, in some instances, to the medical attendant in his 
 discrimination of the hopeless from the other patients. 
 Many who have displayed mental imperfection from their 
 birth, owe this misfortune, proximately, to faulty size or 
 configuration of the head. It were almost superfluous to 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 349 
 
 observe, that, as phrenology would readily lead to the dis- 
 covery of such instances, it would enable the practitioner 
 to give in these cases a much more firm and accurate 
 prognosis, than it would under other circumstances be 
 practicable to give ; just as an asthmatic chest (in popular 
 phrase), dependent upon organic malformation or deficiency 
 of size, would at once be pronounced incurable. 
 
 Before closing with the question of harmony between 
 the pathological applications of Gall’s physiology and the 
 general science of medicine, some recurrence must be made 
 to the subject of the cei’ebellum. The opinion regarding 
 the balancing function of this organ has been maintained 
 also by the aid of pathology, as well as by vivisections and 
 comparative anatomy. On this account, it may be well to 
 determine, so far at least as is practicable, the just value of 
 certain pathological phenomena, which have been appealed 
 to as corroborative of the theory of Flourens. 
 
 There have been many cases related in which tumours, 
 and other morbid changes, in and near to the cerebellum, 
 have been detected after death, and in which the patient 
 had evinced, during life, a deficiency in the control ordi- 
 narily possessed over the voluntary muscles; and such 
 facts are constantly referred to, as supporting the idea con- 
 cerning the muscular function of the organ. Nay, the 
 medical periodicals, within the last two or three years, 
 have repeatedly published accounts, wherein the cerebellum 
 has been mentioned in connexion with morbid phenomena, 
 as if its balancing function were an established and gene- 
 rally recognised fact ! Some lesion is found in the struc- 
 ture ; the patient, in life, had been unsteady in movement — 
 the comments set forth, very likely, that the morbid 
 alteration is accounted for by the previous derangement in 
 the function of the cerebellum, — evinced by reeling and 
 staggering ; just as if such symptoms, to a greater or less 
 extent, did not arise in most other affections of the en- 
 cephalon, especially in those occurring at the base, and 
 
350 HARMONY OF GALL’s PETTSIOLOGT WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 near to the medulla oblongata. Much that is applicable 
 in this stage of tlie argument has already been advanced 
 in preceding chapters. It may be sufficient to repeat here, 
 that contiguity of the cerebellum to the motor strands of 
 the spinal cord, satisfactorily explains aU the lesions of 
 motion that at any time follow its diseases. Disease of 
 the cerebellum is often succeeded by loss of vision : how 
 do pathologists, most commonly, account for this circum- 
 stance ? By contiguity of the structure primarily disor- 
 dered to the central ganglia of vision — the optic tubercles. 
 It would be just as reasonable to infer that the cerebellum 
 is the organ of sight, because blindness frequently follows 
 its lesions, as to conclude that it is the central seat of a 
 power co-ordinative of muscular action, on account of 
 irregularity in this particular sometimes being exhibited 
 in its morbid states. 
 
 The views entertained by the present ivriter on the class 
 of diseases often adduced in support of the doctrine of 
 Flourens, are so fully illustrated and borne out by the fol- 
 lowing case, that it shall be cited in extenso; it is one of 
 softening of the right lobe of the cerebellum, and is from 
 the Clinique Medicale of M. Andi-al. 
 
 “ A seamstress, thirty-one years old, who had hitherto 
 enjoyed good health, about six weeks before entering the 
 hospital of La Charite, had a fright whilst menstruating : 
 the menses were suppressed, and immediately after their 
 disappearance, she was seized with dizziness and an acute pain 
 in the hack part of the head, towards the right side. The 
 dizziness disappeared after a bleeding, but the pain of head 
 remained ; it was unconnected with any other sjTnptom 
 for eight days ; subsequently the patient began to experience 
 an annoying sense of formication at the ends of the fingers of the 
 left hand; she could use this hand hut awkwardly, and was 
 astonished at seeing what she handled with it fall continually 
 from her grasp : she soon became unable to work with it at 
 all ; the entire arm seemed very heavy. After some time, 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 351 
 
 the lower extremity of the left side became weaker, and in 
 about a month the patient had complete hemiplegia of the left 
 side. At the same time that the patient thus lost the power 
 of motion of one of the sides of the body, her sight, till then 
 extremely good, became very weak, and five weeks after the 
 invasion of the first symptoms, she became completely blind. 
 
 “ This was the state in which we first saw her : deprived 
 of sight, and of the power of moving the limbs of the left 
 side ; the pain of head had then become less acute ; the 
 patient, however, still felt it, and referred it to the lower 
 part of the occipital region of the right side. 
 
 “ The paralysed limbs were fiacid, and could be moved in 
 all directions ; the skin covering them still retained its sen- 
 sibility ; no trace of paralysis of the face ; the pupils, mode- 
 rately dilated, still contracted on the sudden approach of 
 light ; the appearance of the eyes was natural ; there was, 
 however, aU but complete blindness, the patient being 
 scarcely able to distinguish day fi’om night ; the intellect 
 was perfect, the pulse natural ; the catamenia had not re- 
 appeared since they were suppressed by the fright. Leeches 
 were first applied to the nape of the neck, then to the 
 genital organs ; aloetic pills were frequently given, and 
 subsequently the back of the head was covered with a 
 blister. 
 
 “ No change appeared for the first three weeks of her 
 stay in the hospital ; then, without any known cause, the 
 pain of head suddenly became more violent, and extended to the 
 entire cranium ; the extremities of the left side, luhich till then 
 had remained entirely immovable, were several times agitated 
 with convulsive movements, which were slight in the lower 
 extremity, but very violent and almost continual in the 
 upper limb ; acute pains accompanied these convulsions ; 
 the intelligence soon became disturbed; complete delirium set 
 in ; for twenty-four hours the patient spoke, and was 
 agitated incessantly ; she then fell into a profound coma, 
 in which state she died. 
 
352 HARMONT OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 “ Post-mortem examination. The pia mater extending 
 over the convexity of the cerebral hemispheres was very 
 much injected, as was also that covering the cerebellum. 
 The substance of the brain, properly so called, was marked 
 with a considerable number of red points, and presented 
 no other lesion ; lateral ventricles distended with a great 
 quantity of limpid serum ; the fornix and septum lucidum 
 natural. Externally the cerebellum appeared healthy ; 
 but we bad scarcely removed some layers of the substance 
 of its right hemisphere, proceeding from above downwards, 
 when we found an immense cavity, where this substance, 
 deprived of its normal consistence, was changed into a 
 greyish houillie ; this softening occupied at least two-thirds 
 of the right hemisphere of the cerebellum ; it partly impli- 
 cated the prolongations which go from the cerebellum, either to 
 the spinal marrow, or to the tubercula quadrigemina, or to Vte 
 annular protuberance : it did not extend as far as the lower 
 surface ; in no part of its extent was there either injection 
 or infiltration.”^ 
 
 The passages rendered in italics are those to which 
 tlie author, in commenting upon the above particulars, 
 directs special attention. The case exhibits, in the first 
 place, obvious signs of congestion in the posterior region 
 of the encephalon, attributable most likely to the sudden 
 suppression of the catamenia ; the post-mortem inspection 
 places it beyond a doubt that this revulsion was to the 
 cerebellum. Concerning the state of the sexual feeling, 
 nothing is recorded ; but, for obvious reasons, this defect 
 in the evidence must nearly always exist in the case of 
 grown-up females, unless they be out of their senses. But, 
 suppose such lesions to wmaken, or to paralyse altogether, 
 the function in question, the same effect ensues upon almost 
 any severe disease, so that such a fact, if verified in disease 
 of the cerebellum, would amount to nothing. To resume. 
 
 Spillan's Translation, p. 202. 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 353 
 
 however, — the patient, after some time, began to experience 
 irregularity both of motor power and of cutaneous sensi- 
 bility ; these symptoms, Flourens would explain by his 
 muscular theory of the cerebellum, and Foville probably 
 by his idea of its being the centre of common sensation ; 
 the contiguity of the cerebellum to the medulla oblongata 
 and upper segment of the spinal cord, and its fibrous 
 communication with these structures, account, rationally 
 enough, for both sets of phenomena, without involving the 
 views either of Flourens or of Foville. As the disease pro- 
 gressed, considerable paralysis of motion ensued, doubtless 
 from augmentation of the disorderinthe direction of the cord; 
 coincidently herewith, vision became lost, in all proba- 
 bility from extension of the disturbance in the other direction, 
 towards the corpora quadrigemina, through the processus 
 e cerebello ad testes. Shortly before death, morbid mani- 
 festation of the functions of nearly all the nervous centres 
 took place. A reference to the appearances noticed after 
 the patient’s decease will justify the pathological interpre- 
 tation put upon the phenomena by the writer ; and, indeed, 
 the whole case displays, in every respect, harmony, and 
 certainly no discordance, with the physiology of Gall. 
 Yet such are the facts ordinarily adduced by opponents, 
 in pathological confirmation of another physiology of the 
 cerebellum than that of the phrenologists. 
 
 Another case of disease of the cerebellum, of the same 
 general character as the preceding, shall be cited ; it allows 
 of very much the same explanation, as to its collateral 
 bearings ; it was read before the Reading Pathological 
 Society, by Dr Cowan, and published in the Provincial 
 Medical and Surgical Journal, for April 16th, 1845. 
 
 “ Ml'S C., aged 44, mother of sixteen children, brown 
 hair and eyes, sanguine temperament, robust health, active 
 habits, and possessed of an unusually calm and energetic 
 mind, suffered, in January 1844, from attacks of bilious 
 headache, which quickly yielded to ordinary treatment. 
 
354 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY AVITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 “ In February, slie underwent great anxiety and fatigue 
 in consequence of the alarming illness of a daughter, and 
 was observed to be excited, restless, and to lose her flesli 
 and strength. The folloMung month she occasionally awoke 
 with severe headaches, which gradually subsided after get- 
 ting up, and was also sensible of peculiar, uneasy, quiver- 
 ing, fidgetty SENSATIONS in the legs, particularly the left ; 
 these, at times, forced her to continual movements for 
 relief. She felt as if she could not sit still. 
 
 “ In May, she complained, of partial nitmbness in the 
 left cheek, and was now observed to stagger in her walk- 
 ing ; deviating from a straight line, and to the left, as if 
 she had lost the directing power. It was compared by those 
 about her to the effect of slight intoxication. The head- 
 aches became more intense, at times agonising, Muth dis- 
 tressing vomiting ; and on the 8th of June, when preparing 
 to ride out, she was seized with pr^cordial pain and pal- 
 pitation, violent congestion of the head and face, embar- 
 rassed speech, and mental confusion. The day following, 
 the POWER OF UTTERANCE WAS I5IP AIRED, THE LOSS OF 
 SENSATION IN THE CHEEK COMPLETE, AND SHE WAS DEAF 
 IN THE LEFT EAR. For these s}Tnptoms she was bled, 
 leeched, and salivated, and blisters and a seton applied. 
 
 “ For a month subsequently the headaches materially 
 diminished, but the excitement, restlessness, distressing 
 feelings, uncertain movements, emaciation, and general 
 lassitude, gradually increased ; and for two or three months 
 .she was liable to fits of hysterical laughing, excited by the 
 most trivial cause. 
 
 “ In August, her deglutition was rather difficult, and 
 strabismus, principally of the left eye, was noticed, with 
 PARTIAL LOSS OP VISION ON THE SAYEE SIDE. The head- 
 aches returned with still greater intensity, and were referred 
 to the left parietal and occipital regions. The irregularity 
 in her voluntary movements gradually affected the arms 
 as well as the legs. She required to be held and directed 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 355 
 
 in every act, supported at times by two assistants, and 
 pushed forwards by a third, to enable her to move about 
 the room ; and if, by accident, she fell when attempting 
 any effort alone, she was quite unable to raise or to assist 
 herself. There was no paralysis of movement or sensation 
 to the last, nor was one side more distinctly implicated 
 than the other ; but the controlling, the co-ordinating 
 power of the muscular system, appeared abolished, or nearly 
 so. 
 
 “ For six or eight weeks before death, which took place 
 on February 18, 1845, she was merely removed from the 
 bed to the sofa ; the debility and emaciation became ex- 
 treme, and the sphincter muscles ceased to act. 
 
 “ Her mental condition, from the first, was characterised 
 by excitement and great restlessness, seeking relief in 
 change of scene and position ; an inability to be quiet ; a 
 certain indescribable distress ; an effort to restrain and 
 conceal what she felt to be at variance with her natural 
 habits and feelings ; a childishness of thought, with great 
 fickleness of memory and attention ; and yet, throughout 
 a long and painful illness, supported with unvarying pa- 
 tience, and no ordinary fortitude, there were intervals of 
 unexpected and remarkable revivals of the natural feelings 
 and mental powers, with a capability of utterance strik- 
 ingly contrasting with her ordinary state. This singular 
 waking up of the mind occurred within a few days of her 
 death. She appeared sensible to the last. 
 
 “ Post-mortem, thirty-six hours after death. — Extreme 
 emaciation ; scalp dry, thin, and bloodless ; skull of aver- 
 age thickness and density ; it separated easily from the 
 dura mater, and the inner table was deeply furrowed, and 
 of a rather porous structure. All the membranes presented 
 great venous turgescence, with soft dark coagula in the 
 larger trunks ; about an ounce of pink-coloured serum 
 drained from different surfaces to the base ; a small quan- 
 tity of opalescent fluid was lodged under the arachnoid in 
 
356 HAKMONY OF GALl’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 the sulci ; the membranes were of healthy firmness and 
 transparency ; no bony in’egularities. 
 
 “ The cerebral convolutions were deep and numerous ; 
 the grey matter very distinct ; and the brain throughout 
 was vascular, particularly the cerebellum. 
 
 “ At the base we found a dark-red, spongy, and highly 
 vascular substance, presenting aU the well-known charac- 
 ters of encephaloid carcinoma, incorporated with the ante- 
 rior extremity of the left lobe of the cerebellum, of which 
 it seemed a prolongation, and passing forward in insepar- 
 able connexion with the pons, and following the emerg- 
 ing FIBRES OF the CORRESPONDING CRUS CEREBRI, IT 
 TERJHNATED ABOUT AN INCH FtTRTHER, vfithout penetrating 
 the ventricle, in the medullary substance of the middle lobe, 
 where it presented a morebroken-dowm and disorganised ap- 
 pearance. It originated about a quarter of an inch posterior 
 to the pyramidal fissure, involved the whole thickness of this 
 portion of the cerebellum, and nearly an inch in width, 
 penetrating iregularly into the substance of the pons and 
 left crus, fi'om which, as well as from the cerebellum, it 
 seemed to gi’ow and sprout. The jiia mater only covered 
 it at a short distance fi-om the cerebellum, and the general 
 surface was iiTcgular and shaggy. The line of sepa- 
 ration BETAVEEN THE DISEASED AND HE-ALTHY STRUCTURES 
 WAS INDISTINCT, but no membrane intervened, nor was there 
 more than very slight softening of the surrounding cerebral 
 pulp. The medulla oblongata, and the pons, avere 
 
 PUSHED TO THE RIGHT, FOR3HNG AN OBTUSE ANGLE AATTH THE 
 SPINAX MARROAAq AND THE LEFT PYRAJHDAL AND OLIVARY 
 BODIES APPEARED STRETCHED AND SLIGHTLY SOFTENED. 
 Theleft pneumogastric nervewas thinner and more filament- 
 ous than its feUow, and the seventh, fifth, fourth, and sixth 
 nerves, passed over and partially through the morbid groAvth, 
 and, at their exit from the skull, Avere vasculai’ and soft. 
 
 “ At a precisely corresponding point of the right side, 
 in the centre of the white fibres, as they leave the cere- 
 
rHENOJEENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 357 
 
 bellinn to pass over the pons, a small nucleus of encepha- 
 loid matter, about the size of a large pea, was imbedded, 
 as if formed at the expense, and not by the displacement, 
 of the surrounding tissue. 
 
 “ The morbid growth on the left side, was, therefore, 
 limited by the tentorium superiorly, by the petrous portion of 
 the temporal bone anteriorly, and could onlyincrease in bulk 
 by pressing the mesocephale upwards and to the right.” 
 
 The present writer entirely agrees with Dr Cowan in 
 thinking, as expressed by himself in the “ Remarks" sub- 
 joined to the above detail, that “ The correspondence 
 between the lesions, discovered after death, and the symp- 
 toms during life, is, in the instance now before us, more 
 direct than we are often enabled to establish and he has 
 rendered such passages in more prominent type, as appear 
 to himself to be calculated to exhibit the correspondence 
 in question. The extensive disease at the base of the brain 
 accounts alike for the paralysis of some of the senses, in- 
 distinctness of utterance, the staggering gait, and imperfect 
 control over the muscles of the extremities. The cere- 
 bellum was seriously implicated, and (could the fact have 
 been ascertained) the sexual feeling was probably weak- 
 ened. Dr Cowan says , — “ Wliatever other functions the 
 cerebellum may discharge, it is now generally admitted, 
 from the experiments of Flourens, Magendie, and many 
 others, that the integrity of this organ is essential to the pro- 
 per association or harmonising of the voluntary movements. 
 The loss of this power formed the most striking peculiarity 
 of the case we have naiTated.” The italics, moreover, in 
 preceding account, are Dr Cowan’s oAvn ; referring, speci- 
 ally, to the loss of the co-ordinative power over the muscles. 
 From these circumstances, it is to be inferred, that Dr 
 Cowan has given in his adhesion to the doctrine of 
 Flourens ; and that, too, on the evidence exclusively of 
 vivisections and pathological phenomena. Better things 
 were to have been expected from such a quarter. When 
 
358 HARMONY OF GALL’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAI. 
 
 Dr Cowan alluded to the experiments of Flourens and 
 hlagendie, had he forgotten that the two were in anta- 
 gonism one of the other, both in the matter of fact and of 
 inference ? And as to the loss of the directing influence 
 over the muscles, and the staggering gait, how could it have 
 been otherwise, when, besides the general disease at the 
 base of the brain, “ the medulla oblongata, and the pons, 
 were pushed to the right, forming an obtuse angle with 
 the spinal marrow, and the left pyramidal and olivary 
 bodies appeared stretched and slightly softened ? ” How is 
 it that, in this instance. Dr Cowan should have fallen into 
 the vague jargon of the day ? You must not. Dr Cowan, 
 give the respectable sanction of your name to those who 
 would primarily make out the cerebal functions by vivi- 
 sections and pathological observations. No one knows 
 better than you that, — “ To render vivisection available 
 for the discovery of the function of an organ, the latter 
 must be distinct ; its boundaries and distribution known ; 
 the possibility of its being injured or destroyed with- 
 out materially interfering with the other organs and functions 
 must be ascertained ; and, after its removal, we must be able 
 clearly to determine what functions are deficient. Now, 
 while these conditions may be fulfilled in the section of par- 
 ticular nerves, they are wholly deficient in the instance of the 
 brain, and we cannot, therefore, rationally expect to determine 
 the cerebral functions by the means ice have been considering.” 
 
 “ Pathological observations, though of greater value 
 tlian the preceding, are liable to many of the objections already 
 stated, and must be received with great caution as eHdences 
 for or against the functions of particular portions of the 
 brain ; but if conjoined ■with the information derived from 
 extensive physiological research, may prove powerfully con- 
 firmatory of the latter.”^ These excellent truths, Dr 
 Cowan, you published, yourself ; and they are well calcu- 
 
 ‘ Dr Cowan on the Physiology of the Brain. Prov. Medical Transac- 
 tions, vol. vii. p. 391. 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 359 
 
 lated to rectify muchi error that is prevalent in the actual 
 philosophy of medical men. You must permit one, who, 
 some years ago, read what you wrote with pleasure and 
 with profit, to return some of the obligation under which 
 he is to you, — by reproducing, for your consideration, your 
 own reasoning. 
 
 The association of morbid states of the cerebellum with 
 unmistakeable signs of erotic disturbance, has many times 
 been witnessed ; and the positive facts which display such 
 association possess a value corroborative of the phreno- 
 logical doctrine, which no negative facts can weaken. If, 
 in disease of the cerebellum, no departure from the cus- 
 tomary demeanour be observed, in so far as the sexual 
 feeling is concerned, there is no evidence that functional 
 power is not depressed : but, if erotic manifestations evince 
 themselves under such circumstances, there is obvious 
 proof of undue excitement, because it is what a patient 
 would naturally exert his will to conceal fi’om medical 
 observation. Yet, cases exemplifying the positive infiu- 
 ence of disease of the cerebellum upon the generative 
 instinct, have been recorded by opponents, as well as by 
 the supporters, of Gall’s physiology. 
 
 Even M. Serves collected and published a number of 
 cases, mostly observed by himself, where erotic disturbance, 
 of an unmistakeable character, had accompanied disease of 
 the organ ; these were cited by Dr Gall, in his own works ; 
 and, in k'lr Combe’s translation of “ Gall on the Cerebellum,” 
 they also will be found in English. On the strength of 
 these cases, Serres did not hesitate to affirm, that the de- 
 pendence of the sexual instinct upon the cerebellum was 
 proved by pathological phenomena ; but, like a consistent 
 opponent of phrenology, he restricted the function to the 
 middle portion, or vermiform process, of the organ ; doubt- 
 less conceiving that, in this way, he should nulhfy the 
 value of Gall’s labours, whose peculiar method of observ^a- 
 tion was only applicable to the aggregate cerebellum. 
 
360 HARMONY OF GARL’s PHYSIOLOGY WITH PATHOLOGICAL 
 
 The ‘following account, published in the London Medical 
 and Surgical Journal, for June 21, 1834, is from Dr Stokes 
 of Dublin. After allusion to the cases reported by Serres, 
 he mentions two instances which had fallen beneath his 
 own notice, exhibiting a connexion between disease of the 
 cerebellum and visible excitement of the external organs. 
 
 “ I have now seen two cases,” he says, “ in wLich this 
 connexion was observed. Li the case of a young man 
 who was brought into the Meath hospital some time ago 
 with paraplegia, it was observed that the penis was in a 
 state of constant erection, and there were continual seminal 
 emissions. On dissection, an effusion of blood was found 
 in the cerebellum, and another in the hemisphere opposite 
 the paralysed side. There was another case of a patient 
 who was attacked with apoplexy and paralysis of one side, 
 but with the unparalysed hand he continued to attempt the 
 act of masturbation, so that it was necessary to tie down 
 his hand. On dissection, there were several effusions in 
 the substance of the cerebellum. All these facts strongly 
 go to prove the connexion w'hich subsists between the 
 cerebellum and the generative function ; and I think it 
 would not be unsafe to make the diagnosis of disease of that 
 organ in cases of cerebral disease, where the genital system 
 was much excited.” 
 
 A great many cases of similar character, and of very 
 decided import, may be found in the volume which includes 
 the Translation of Gall on the Cerebellum, collected by Mr 
 Combe from various sources. Since the publication of 
 that w'ork many others have been observed, and recorded, 
 for the most part, in the medical periodicals. The com- 
 bined force, indeed, of all the pathological phenomena 
 bearing upon the phrenological doctrine of the cerebellum 
 is so considerable, that if, in any instance, we could deter- 
 mine primarily as to physiology from pathology, it would 
 certainly be in attainment of the conclusion, that this struc- 
 ture subserves the function of generation, in so far at least 
 
PHENOMENA, AND THE FACTS OF MEDIC AE SCIENCE. 361 
 
 as this depended upon any phrenic condition or impulse, 
 and principally, because many of the facts recorded seem 
 almost incapable of explanation upon any other theory. 
 The following, however, occurs in Dr Carpenter’s Human 
 Physiology : — 
 
 “ A case has been recently communicated to the author, 
 in which the sexual desire, w^hich had always been strong 
 through life, but which had been controlled within the 
 limits of decency, manifested itself, during a period of some 
 months preceding death, in a most extraordinary degree : 
 on post mortem examination, a tumour was found on the 
 pons varolii. This fact harmonises vdth the view that 
 the sexual instinct, if connected with the cerebellum at all, 
 has its seat in the central lobe ; but it also corresponds 
 equally wth the idea, that the meduUa oblongata is its 
 centre.”^ 
 
 But the pons varolii, as the great commissure of the cere- 
 bellum, is in more direct and extensive communication — 
 by fibres, too — with its lateral portions than with the central 
 lobe ; and, as to the medulla oblongata, it must be consi- 
 dered, so far as evidence exists, to be functionally y?re- 
 engaged. The fact related by Dr Carpenter is in the most 
 complete and undoubted harmony with Gall’s doctrine. 
 
 Dr Alison, discussing the subject of generation, evidently 
 regards “ the mental feeling, or emotion of desire,” — the 
 phrenic condition — as “ probably connected with some 
 portion of the cerebellum ; because it has often been observed 
 to exist in an unnatural degree, in cases of disease or injury of 
 that parti” 
 
 Dr Alison is no phrenologist ; and yet, upon evidence 
 which any philosophical phrenologist would deem to be 
 insufiicient to prove the functions of any encephalic struc- 
 ture, he is not indisposed to admit of a decidedly phreno- 
 logical conclusion. So wedded are many most able and 
 
 
 ‘ Note, p. 219. 
 
362 
 
 HARMONY OF GALl/s PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 honourable minds to habitual modes of thought ! They muII 
 have no quarrel with your particular propositions, if you su- 
 persede not their fundamental philosophy ; they care not for 
 Gall’s conclusions so much as they shrink from his method. 
 And yet assuredly there is no other method whereby the 
 relations subsisting between the structure and the functions 
 of the encephalon can be validly determined, — relations 
 which, once ascertained by a just system of investigation, 
 will be certain to harmonise fully ■ndth every sure fact which 
 pathology or any other collateral source may afford. 
 
QUALITY OF STRUCTURE. 
 
 363 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS INFLLTENCING FUNCTIONAL 
 5IANLFESTATION. 
 
 Throughout the whole system of nature, the influence of 
 size upon power is modified by the effects of quality. But 
 the great law of size existing as a measure of power, other 
 conditions being equal, is undisturbed by this circumstance. 
 Whether we appeal to the organic or to the inorganic 
 kingdoms of nature, ample confirmation will be afforded 
 of the position just maintained. Thus, as a general rule, 
 a large bar of iron is stronger than a small bar ; yet 
 the size, regarded alone, does not make known to us the 
 exact degree of strength. Eyery one is aware that the 
 degree of perfection with which the processes of fusion, 
 separation of the iron from the dross, and of cooling, have 
 been conducted, greatly determines the quality of the 
 metal, and thereby its strength and efficiency. Let us 
 suppose some piece of mechanism, constituted of iron, the 
 strength of which and of its various parts we are anxious 
 to determine, — howshould we proceed? Why, having no ac- 
 tual experience of its powers of resistance, we should assume, 
 if the external appearance indicated a sound and normal 
 condition of intimate sfructure, that the capability and 
 strength of the whole material were correspondent with 
 those properties in other similar macliines ; and, in most 
 cases, it might be inferred from inspection, whether the 
 quality were excellent or otherwise. Yet, in some instances, 
 this could not be done with precision ; and hence, we could 
 
364 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STEUCTUKE, AS 
 
 not reach to positive certainty of the absolute power of 
 resistance inherent in the machine. In an attempt, how- 
 ever, to ascertain the relative strength of the individual 
 portions, the uncertainty would exist no longer ; know- 
 ing that the entire structure was formed of material from 
 the same source, which had gone through exactly the same 
 process of elaboration, we should experience no diflSculty 
 in saying that the largest portions were the strongest. 
 
 The same rule will be found to prevail if we ascend in 
 the scale, and exhibit a comparative illustration taken from 
 the vegetable world. Here, although magnitude of struc- 
 ture forms an important element, not only in physical, but 
 also in vital energy, it does not afford any absolute index 
 of this endowment. Considerations of quality must alwmys 
 interfere. If we enter an orchard, and contemplate trees 
 of the same species, we hesitate not to affirm that size of 
 each tree, or of portions of the same, cceteiis paribus, fur- 
 nishes a measure of productive energy ; and so, in one 
 recognised as being of fair, uniform, soundness of texture, 
 we could readily point out, from the size, the branches that 
 yielded the most abundant fruits. Yet, a priori, we could 
 not predicate the absolute productiveness of each branch ; 
 nor could we make unfailing comparisons between the 
 capabilities, in this respect, of one tree and another. AV e 
 might, however, by assuming that the objects examined 
 presented an average state of structural quality, obtain 
 results that, probably in a large majority of cases, would 
 remarkably accord with the fact. Nevertheless, inasmuch 
 as this intimate quality of material is not a matter to be 
 accurately determined by mere inspection, ive never could 
 ascertain positively from physical signs, the absolute amount 
 of functional energy in any given instance. 
 
 If we take the animal kingdom, the same principle wiU 
 obtain. Size, with an equality of other conditions, is here, 
 too, an index of vigour. Large animals, as a general rule, 
 possess greater muscular power and energy than smaller 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 
 
 365 
 
 ones ; yet such a statement, unqualified, cannot be main- 
 tained in all instances. We may indeed affirm, and truly, 
 that, in animals of the same species, structural magnitude, 
 with similarity of other circumstances, indicates the degree 
 of individual power ; and, in particularising somewhat 
 further, we can also assert that the individual organs dis- 
 play, usually, greater energy of function when large, than 
 when small ; thus, capacious lungs, cwteris parihus, are 
 more effective in the execution of their office than smaller 
 ones ; a large heart will, commonly, propel the circulating 
 fluid with more force than one that is less so. The same 
 principle holds good in respect of the abdominal viscera. 
 Still, no physiologist deems volume, absolutely, to determine 
 functional energy in these instances ; amongst other cir- 
 cumstances affecting the result, quality of the organs is ever 
 included, — a condition, however, not so open to observation 
 that its influence can in all cases be thoroughly and pre- 
 cisely predicated, in the absence of experience of the results. 
 
 Yet a more apposite illustration of the proposition is 
 afforded by the muscular system. No one will deny — it 
 is too obvious to mere sense to admit of doubt — that the size 
 of a muscle, all other conditions being equal, is a measure 
 of its power ; it cannot, however, be always determined by 
 inspection of muscular development, what is the absolute 
 strength of the individual. In many cases, very consider- 
 able muscular power is observed, without its being asso- 
 ciated with particularly large muscles. Examples are not of 
 unfrequent occurrence, where a man shall possess quadruple 
 the average strength of his fellows ; but, although in such 
 instances the muscular system is always well developed, it 
 certainly is not found to excel the customary proportion to 
 the same extent. Every one has heard of the Greek Milo, 
 the Samson of profane antiquity, whose strength is said 
 to have so much surpassed that of ordinary men, that, 
 without breathing, he could carry an ox for the space of a 
 furlong. Had the muscles of this extraordinary man pos- 
 
366 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTUEE, AS 
 
 sessed, in point of magnitude, the same superiority, he 
 would have constituted a very monster ; yet we nowhere 
 read that he was so characterised. ?so doubt can be 
 entertained that all prodigies of strength that have at any 
 time appeared have had large muscles ; but, certainly, indi- 
 viduals are constantly seen with the highest degree of muscular 
 development, who do not display any very prodigious 
 powers; and, doubtless, this circumstance may he partly 
 attributed to inferiority in the quality of stnicture. Differ- 
 ences in the motor nerves may also, in some degree, account 
 for this ; as illusti’ated in the great vigour of the bird’s wing, 
 with small size in the muscles hut large nerves of motion, 
 and in the less vigour of the fish’s muscles -with large size 
 and smaller nerves. How, then, it may he asked, have we 
 attained a knowledge of the law relative to the connexion 
 between muscular size and bodily strength ? If men with 
 moderately developed muscles shall sometimes exhibit the 
 power of those possessing a more capacious muscular sys- 
 tem, with what certainty or secm-ity can the application of 
 such a law be made in any particular instance ? In reply, 
 it is to be observed that the discovery of size of a muscle, 
 ccderis paribus, being an index of functional vigour, has 
 been made by the constant observation of ordinary facts ; 
 it has been seen that muscles charged with the weightiest 
 duties in the animal economy have had a corresponding 
 magnitude, and that small muscles occur where the required 
 movements need but slight applications of force. Hence, 
 in the same species very generally, and in the same indi- 
 vidual almost invariably, a certain proportion obtains be- 
 tween a particular muscle and the assigned offices. Yet 
 no one, understanding such subjects, has ever attempted 
 to determine the exact amount of strength of individuals 
 by notation, merely, of the muscular development ; nor 
 from such data, exclusively, to be making constant compa- 
 risons between the muscular energies of all classes of persons. 
 At the same time, were such a rule proposed, and submit- 
 
infltjEncing functional manifestation. 367 
 
 ted to experiment, there is no doubt that very precise 
 results would sometimes be obtained, by an assumption, in 
 each case, of an average accompaniment of the associated 
 and qualifying conditions. Still, as a scientific proceeding, 
 such an application of a branch of physiology would be 
 objectionable, because open to fallacy. Yet, in the same 
 individual, with a healthful condition of the whole system, 
 and with a well-balanced state of habitual exercise of the 
 pai'ticular muscles, size would yield the indication of relative 
 power; and, as a principle, such a procedure, in the esti- 
 mate of muscular strength, would universally apiply. 
 
 So far, then, as we have advanced, the importance, not 
 only of size, but also of intimate structure, to the manifes- 
 tation of power, is clearly perceptible, — whether regarded 
 in relation to the mere physical properties of brute matter, 
 or to the vital endowment of organic textures. And as 
 nature seems to delight in unity of method, and constancy 
 in design, should we not have anticipated, even in the 
 absence of all experience upon the subject, that a like 
 principle would pervade the physiological constitution of the 
 brain? Should we not have expected (the cerebral func- 
 tions being assumed,) that not only size, but also the quality 
 of structure, would exert an influence upon vigour of func- 
 tion, conformably with what appeared to be the general 
 plan of creation? The anticipation could not have been 
 otherwise; analogy is all on one side; and it is this alone 
 which, in default of direct evidence, can lead to the 
 formation of a probable inference. But, in coming to a 
 conclusion upon this matter, we do not depend exclusively 
 upon analogy ; actual facts reveal the truth, that the law 
 which determines the vigour and the energy of inorganic 
 matter, of vegetable, and of general animal life, prevails, 
 in like manner, in the particular constitution of the brain. 
 
 Now, in every attempt to determine the true value of 
 Gall’s discovery, it is of the last importance that right 
 notions should be entertained of the influence of quality 
 
368 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS 
 
 of the brain upon the functional manifestations. This 
 consideration, however, does not always receive from 
 popular students of phrenology the attention which it 
 demands — a cii’cumstance attributable, in many cases, to 
 defective acquaintance with the subject in a physiological 
 point of view; and, in others, to an indisposition to exercise 
 the proper labour and caution required in all serious inves- 
 tigations of the economy of nature. In the practice of a 
 certain class of persons calling themselves phrenologists, we 
 often witness mistakes from ignorance or neglect of the con- 
 ditionsaffectingthequalityof the cerebral organs, — mistakes 
 which are most unfairly adduced as evidence of the unsound- 
 ness of Gall’s doctrine; and, occasionally, novices in the 
 inquiry are deterred from its study by such circumstances. 
 Indeed, it is a disposition but too common amongst many 
 soi-disant phrenologists, to pronounce absolutely upon the 
 native energy of talents and inclinations, from an almost 
 exclusive regard to the development of the brain, as indi- 
 cated by the cranial configuration. It is within the expe- 
 rience of all who have devoted any considerable period to 
 tlie testing of phrenological doctrines by appeals to nature, 
 that cases from time to time occur, which occasion the 
 greatest difficulty in the minds of recent inquirers, seem- 
 ing indeed to pi’esent serious anomalies, and even con- 
 tradictions to what they have been disposed to regard as 
 well established principles. For example, individuals are 
 observed, remarkable for their mental qualifications, and 
 actual attainments, whose frontal development is yet inferior 
 to some others, ranking below them in point of intellectual 
 dignity. And again, we shall meet with persons AGtli large 
 foreheads, whose education has been in no respect deficient, 
 and yet who never, in point of actual efficiency, attain 
 more than a respectable mediocrity — who never display 
 the talents, or obtain the distinction, of many inferior to 
 them in cerebral development and extraneous advantages. 
 Yet, how is all this to be explained? Are we hereby to 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 
 
 369 
 
 distrust phrenology, since the laws of every science must he 
 of invariable application, to be valid? Must we regard 
 the facts and observations of Gall, Spurzheim, Vimont, 
 Combe, and others, as coincidences, rather than as illus- 
 trations of general truths? Or, shall we not rather attempt 
 to ascertain whether sufficiently comprehensive notions are 
 entertained concerning the cerebral physiology of Gall, 
 when such instances as those referred to, are supposed to 
 form anomalies or contradictions ? Shall we not see whether 
 the real principles maintained by GaU do not actually 
 embrace such cases, so as to render unimpeachable that 
 character for uniformity and universality which may rightly 
 be claimed for the great laws of phrenology, as for those of 
 every other science ascertained by observation of natural 
 phenomena ? 
 
 Whilst the fundamental principle of Gall’s physiology is 
 comprehended in the proposition that the brain is the organ 
 of the mind, the next principle in point of importance, and 
 one more special, is contained in the affirmation that size 
 of the brain generally, and of its parts particularly, is an 
 index of functional powex’, all other conditions being the same. 
 From the terms in which this axiom is expressed, it is not 
 difficult to perceive the source of the fallacy which too fre- 
 quently vitiates the practice of persons only superficially ac- 
 quainted with the subject. The definitiveness of the phraseo- 
 logy relating to size, as an influential element in the consti- 
 tution of the brain, arrests and retains the attention too forcibly 
 to admit of its being readily lost sight of, whilst the com- 
 parative vagueness with which other conditions are alluded 
 to, often leaves no other impression upon the mind than 
 the remembrance of two words, hardly understood in some 
 cases, the Latin “ cceteris paribus.” Again, the discovery of 
 Gall, having resulted from observation of size, in extreme 
 instances of cerebral development, and appeals to the incre- 
 dulous being necessarily made through the same medium, 
 an additional reason is afforded, why the superficial student 
 
370 
 
 OH QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS 
 
 should be puzzled and confounded when, after having given 
 in his adhesion to the conclusions, upon the strength of 
 such appeals, he observes, occasionallj, the supposed 
 anomalies or contradictions before referred to. 
 
 The real phrenological doctrine then, is, and has alwaj's 
 been, that size of an organ is the measure of power, only 
 when all other conditions are equal ; and, amongst these, 
 not the least important is the quality of cerebral structure. 
 It may, however, be safely asserted that, upon the combined 
 influence of size and quality, strength and capability 
 depend, in so far as these properties are constitutional. 
 “ The energy of the functions of organs,” says Dr Gall, 
 “ does not depend upon their development only, but also 
 upon them excitability.”^ But here the question arises. 
 Are we enabled to decide with certainty respecting the 
 quality of brain, before any experience of its actual efficiency 
 has been obtained? Do physical signs exist externally, 
 empowering us hereupon to speak, in the same manner as 
 we are, in most cases, prepared to speak concernmg the 
 size of an organ? In a few words — Can we, in the present 
 state of knowledge, declare, from outward chai'acteristics, 
 what is the absolute force of innate character? Li reply to 
 this latter question, it is to be observed, that we can only 
 do so approximately; for, although in every suitable sub- 
 ject of examination, we can readily estimate size of the 
 cerebral organs, we cannot determine, with unfaiUt.g accu- 
 racy, the actual character of that other condition — quality, 
 upon which natural capability so much depends. 
 
 The only approach which we possess to determinate 
 knowledge, relating to the subject of the present discus- 
 sion, consists in the doctrine of the temperaments, which 
 has been variously regai’ded and taught, in diflferent ages 
 of the world, by different individuals. The ancients, vrith 
 Hippocrates at their head, regarded the bodies of all the 
 
 ' Sur les Fonctions du Cerveau, tom. i. p. 196. 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL SIANIFESTATION. 
 
 371 
 
 higher classes of animals as consisting of four elements, 
 viz. of blood, of a watery fluid, and of two kinds of bile, 
 yeUow and black ; and the temperament was defined ac- 
 cording as each of these assumed elements had the pre- 
 ponderance : — there was, first, the sanguine, produced by 
 an undue predominance of the quantity of blood in the 
 system ; next, the lymphatic, dependent upon an excess of 
 the watery fluid in the various animal tissues ; third, the 
 bilious or choleric, resulting from a surplus of the yellow 
 bile ; and, lastly, the atrdbiliary or melancholic, produced 
 by excess of the fancied elementary black bile. These 
 respective peculiarities of temperament were considered to 
 be associated with corresponding powers and dispositions ; 
 and thus, what phrenologists regard as the combined effect 
 of cerebral development and quality, was attributed by 
 many of the ancient physiologists to the temperament 
 only. The sanguine temperament, for instance, was 
 considered to be associated with quickness of perception, 
 tenacity of memory, a lively and luxuriant imagination, a 
 disposition readily roused to anger but as easily appeased, 
 and an undue attachment to the indulgence of sense ; and, 
 in like manner, each of the other temperaments was re- 
 garded as the cause of certain other mental characteristics. 
 Such views, in their main bearings, have continued in 
 great favour with many physiologists up to a very recent 
 period. 
 
 But, in point of fact, aU denominations and classifica- 
 tions of temperament have been arbitrary and varying; 
 and, to the present day, the greatest obscurity hangs over 
 their origin and causes; although, in some respects, we 
 can take note and reason concerning their effects upon 
 functional manifestation. So far as the author remembers. 
 Gall did not enter into any detailed investigation of this 
 matter of the temperaments ; Spurzheim, however, at- 
 tempted to effect some reconciliation between the rude 
 observations of previous physiologists upon the subject. 
 
372 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS 
 
 and those facts which had revealed the existence of distinct 
 cerebral organs. It appeared to him to be incontestible, 
 that the varying bodily conditions which had led to the 
 formation of doctrines concerning temperament, did actually 
 exercise some influence upon the mental manifestations ; 
 and he was himself led by observation and reflection to 
 adopt a fourfold division into lymphatic, sanguine, bilious, 
 and nervous, preferably to any other ; conceiving that, to a 
 very great extent at least, the constitutional activity of the 
 cerebral organs was determined by peculiarity of tempera- 
 ment. Subsequent observations by other physiologists 
 have confirmed the views of Spurzheim with regard to 
 this matter. 
 
 The distinction between povver and activity, of any human 
 faculty, is easily appreciated. We are all aware that, in 
 respect to the muscular system, one man is exceedingly 
 quick, restless, and vivacious, but unfit for energetic labour ; 
 while another is little disposed to exertion, tardy in his 
 motions, but able, when set to work, to execute feats of 
 strength which the first individual would attempt in vain. 
 There is a perfect analogy in this respect, between muscu- 
 lar power and all the other animal functions, including 
 those of the brain and nervous system ; and the difterence 
 in question is to be traced, in great part certainly, to varia- 
 tions in the quahty of the organs, as indicated by tempera- 
 ment. 
 
 The physical characteristics of the lymphatic tempera- 
 ment, are a softness of the fleshy parts, from undue reple- 
 tion of the adipose and areolar tissue ; commonly, a fairness, 
 though thickness, of the skin ; the hair most usually of 
 light, flaxen, or sandy complexion ; a plumpness of figure, 
 but without expression ; the pulse weak and slow ; and a 
 languor and want of energy in all the vital actions. Indi- 
 viduals of this temperament are generally remarkable for 
 their aversion to both mental and bodily exercise ; and 
 whatever be the development of brain in such instances. 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 
 
 373 
 
 the quality is generally so low as to render first-rate ex- 
 cellence impracticable in any pursuit. Persons of the 
 lymphatic temperament, even when endowed with high 
 mental power, will often be surpassed in their qualifications, 
 both for the common and extraordinary duties of life, by 
 individuals of far less native strength of mind, but who, 
 with a more favourable temperament, and consequent 
 love of exercise, have laid in larger mental stores. In 
 drawing inferences, therefore, from development of the 
 cerebral organs, great caution should be observed when 
 the temperament is lymphatic, as sometimes the activity of 
 powerful organs will hardly have been induced, in the 
 absence of strong external stimuli. 
 
 The sanguine temperament may be distinguished by the 
 red or light brown hair, blue eyes, and a fair florid com- 
 plexion : the arteries and veins are large, and generally 
 very superficial ; the pulse full and frequent, the skin soft, 
 somewhat thin, and rather delicate ; the body largely made, 
 and inclined, especially in the middle period of life, to 
 obesity. This temperament, probably more than any 
 other, is generally regarded as influencing the mental 
 economy otherwise than by its effects upon the activity 
 and vivacity of function ; and, by some physiologists, it is 
 even yet considered to form the bodily condition determin- 
 ing the psychical peculiarities enumerated in a preceding 
 page ; but an appeal to facts wiU readily show, that neither 
 this, nor any other temperament, is invai'iably associated 
 with any given character in such a point of view. Indivi- 
 duals of the sanguine temperament, however, nearly always 
 possess brains decidedly more active than those of lymplia- 
 tic subjects ; a result which can but be attributed to some 
 influence exercised by it upon the quality of structure. 
 
 The bilious temperament conduces to a still higher degree 
 of functional energy in the brain than the sanguine ; it is 
 characterised by a pulse strong and hard, as in the latter, 
 but somewhat more frequent ; by prominence of the cuta- 
 
374 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS 
 
 neous veins ; the complexion of a somewhat swarthy ap- 
 pearance ; the hair black, or of a darkish brown ; the 
 body but moderately fleshy, and the muscles firm, and well 
 marked ; and often there is a peculiarly strong, and some- 
 what harsh, expression of the countenance. Individuals 
 characterised by this temperament have generally a con- 
 siderable share of native energy, manifesting their predo- 
 minant powers and dispositions with remarkable keenness 
 and persisting endurance. Unlike individuals of the Ijtu- 
 phatic, or even of the sanguine tempei’ament, they require 
 no very powerful external stimulant to bring about Ugorous 
 display. The possession of this temperament is generally 
 regarded as the most favourable to attainment of excellence ; 
 generally the persons who, under all circumstances, evince 
 an indomitable activity, both of mind and body, are found 
 to be of this temperament, being neither enticed to indo- 
 lence or sensuality by the lymphatic or sanguineous con- 
 stitution, nor too speedily exhausted of power, as is very 
 often the case ■wdth individuals of the nervous tempera- 
 ment. 
 
 The temperament denominated nervous is the most fa- 
 vourable to mere activity of the mental powers ; but the 
 activity is not so enduring as in the case of the bilious 
 temperament. In many instances, the mind associated 
 with the nervous temperament may be likened to a taper 
 burning with a light too brilliant, and thence the more 
 speedily consumed ; or to ignited flax, which astonishes 
 by its glare, but whose flame is as transitory as it is bril- 
 liant ; there being in this constitution an extreme suscep- 
 tibility of excitement in the nervous system. The external 
 characteristics are, — a soft skin ; fair and thin hair ; some- 
 times a paleness of the complexion, and sometimes a 
 hectic tinge ; small and soft muscles ; delicacy of the whole 
 organisation ; generally, a slenderness of form ; a spark- 
 ling vivacity of the cornea ; and a quick sharp pulse. 
 These signs, in the aggiegate, constitute indications of the 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 375 
 
 nervous temperament ; giving rise, as before observed, to 
 the highest degree of cerebral activity. Individuals so 
 characterised will be sure to be in a state of very energetic 
 excitement, on the application of stimuli inadequate to the 
 result with the mass of mankind. If a person have strong 
 animal propensities, he will, unless powerfully under the 
 influence of rightly-directed moral feeling, be almost sure 
 to run a short but active career of profligacy and liber- 
 tinism ; if the intellectual organs be in relatively large 
 proportion, he may speedily wear down his bodily strength, 
 and sink prematurely into the grave, the victim of exces- 
 sive mental exercise ; or if the religious feelings predomi- 
 nate greatly over the intellect and the animal propensities, 
 he may become a religious maniac ; and so on. In children, 
 the possession of the nervous temperament, under the pre- 
 sent rage for early and strenuous mental excitation, is 
 sometimes the worst of misfortunes, since their young 
 brains, being so readily excited, often afford, in the mis- 
 taken judgment of their guardians, the highest evidences 
 of genius ; and thus the poor victims are goaded on, until 
 some affection of the exhausted brain or nervous system 
 hurries them to the close of their ill-fated cai’eer, if it do 
 not leave them the prey of some serious nervous aflfection, as 
 epilepsy, hysteria, or even downright fatuity. The author 
 would so far digress as to exhort, seriously, every guardian 
 of youth, or infancy, to consider well the consequences, 
 such as have just been mentioned, — consequences which 
 are more or less within the experience of every one engaged 
 in the practice of medicine. 
 
 The several temperaments, as just described, are rai’ely 
 found unmixed ; they ai-e generally found to run into each 
 other. Thus, a mixture of the sanguine with the bilious, 
 the bilious with the nervous, or the sanguine with the lym- 
 phatic, is very fi'equent ; and, most usually, those tempera- 
 ments whose characteristic activity makes the nearest 
 approach, will be observed to be combined. This, how- 
 
376 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTUEE, AS 
 
 ever, is not invariably the case ; for we may have a 
 mixture of the nervous and sanguine, or of lymphatic and 
 bilious; and, indeed, no limit can be placed to varieties of 
 combination. In estimating the effects of a mixed tem- 
 perament, the characteristic activity of each entering into 
 the mixture should be regarded, and the mean be de- 
 duced. 
 
 Now, although indications of temperament very mate- 
 rially assist in the estimation of quality of brain, in so 
 far as this leads to activity of functional manifestation, it is 
 yet very uncertain to what extent actual power or inten- 
 sity is revealed by the outward signs just detailed. There 
 are some persons who, from want of real knowledge, con- 
 ceive that development and temperament, conjointly, fur- 
 nish all necessary data for pronouncing absolutely upon 
 innate characteristics ; but such persons have not studied 
 phrenology in all its bearings. Indeed, amongst merely 
 believing phrenologists, much misunderstanding appears to 
 prevail upon the whole subject of the temperaments. It is 
 frequently thought that we have the same positive know- 
 ledge upon this matter as we have respecting cerebral 
 development; but the fact is different. Concerning the 
 origin and causes of differences in temperament, we have 
 little or no exact knowledge ; nor do we understand in 
 what manner they affect the quality of the organisation so 
 as to influence its functional activity; consequently, the 
 facts observed and recorded upon this subject ai'e not, 
 strictly speaking, susceptible of scientific arrangement, in 
 such a way as to rank amongst recognised principles in 
 physiology. Nevertheless, the facts (as facts) have a certain 
 degree of scientific value, capable, moreover, of leading to 
 some, though an imperfect, practical result ; for the general 
 views of temperament which Spurzheim advanced, and 
 which Mr Combe and most other phrenologists are in the 
 habit of acting upon, are undoubtedly realised and con- 
 firmed by observation. They show that, very often at 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 377 
 
 least, excellence of quality of brain is associated with par- 
 ticular indications of temperament ; that functional mani- 
 festation is facilitated and rendered more active under 
 certain of these conditions rather than under others ; and 
 there is very little doubt that, besides influencing the 
 activity of the cerebral organs, temperament is to a certain 
 extent a condition of power. 
 
 But notwithstanding the general accuracy of these views, 
 it is yet certain that other conditions of structural quality 
 exist, very sensibly influencing both power and activity of 
 brain, which, however, are not appreciable by external 
 physical signs. Dr Spurzheim was evidently aware of 
 this circumstance, for although in most cases he relied 
 upon indications of temperament as yielding the measure 
 of activity of the cerebral functions, we see him, on other 
 occasions, suggesting that activity of an organ was probably 
 influenced by length of cerebral fibre, and power chiefly by 
 its thicJmess , — an idea quite inconsistent ivith the doctrine 
 that temperament of itself reveals every condition of quality, 
 as influencing manifestation. Attaching all due import- 
 ance to temperament, accordantly with the views of 
 Spurzheim, Mr Combe, in discussing the question, — Do 
 we possess any index to constitutional qualities of brain ? — 
 distinctly recognises residual phenomena. He observes ; 
 “ There are some constitutional qualities which can be 
 judged of only by knowing the qualities of the stock, or 
 race, from which the individual under examination is 
 descended. I have observed a certain feebleness in the 
 brain, indicating itself by Aveakness of mind, without 
 derangement, in some individuals born in India of an 
 English father and Hindoo mother. The tinge of colour, 
 and the form of the features, indicate this descent. I have 
 noticed feebleness and sometimes irregularity of action in 
 the brains of individuals, not insane, but Avho belonged to 
 a family in which insanity abounded. I do not know any 
 external physical indication of this condition. The tern- 
 
378 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS 
 
 peraments indicate, to a certain extent, important constitu- 
 tional qualities.”^ 
 
 The present writer holds, then, that whilst the vigour of 
 the mental faculties, as well as their activity in display, is 
 greatly dependent upon the quality of their material organs, 
 we do not possess sure and determinate means of predicating 
 this quality; that, nevertheless, the bodily differences to 
 which the idea of temperament is attached, aid in the for- 
 mation of some rational estimate thereof, because, in a great 
 majority of instances, a cerhiin coincidence is found to 
 obtain between the quality of the visible tissues — the skin 
 and hair, for example — and that of the brain ; that still the 
 precise causes affecting such coincidence, are quite unascer- 
 tained ; and that, consequently, no doctrine of the tempera- 
 ments that has yet been advanced, can rank as a sure 
 branch of physiological science. 
 
 Since there are no certain physiognomical characteristics 
 by which we can determine the quality of cerebral struc- 
 ture, are we, it may be asked, in a better position for pro- 
 nouncing upon this matter from cayeful examination of the 
 substance of the brain itself? It has long seemed to the 
 writer to be, at least, a probable fact, that as the quantitive 
 relations of the grey and the Avhite matter are not uniform 
 in different individuals, the brain which contains beyond 
 an average proportion of the vesicular or grey substance 
 correspondently excels in the power and intensity of its 
 functional manifestation, — a view which rests upon the 
 assumption that the theory is sound, which regards the 
 vesicular structiu’e as the source of energy. As the pro- 
 portion of the grey to the white substance, maintains most 
 probably, in the same indi\*idual, something like uniformity 
 throughout the ■whole system, the author’s view would 
 explain in what manner relative power is revealed by develop- 
 ment, although the absolute strength may remain an uncer- 
 
 System of Phrenology, p. 49. 
 
INFLUENCrNG FTINCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 379 
 
 tainty. If, however, the hypothesis which attributes the 
 paramount office to the grey nervous substance, should not 
 ultimately be substantiated, it may then he imagined that the 
 relative amount of areolar filamentous tissue which connects 
 the cerebral cells and fibres together, may vary in different 
 cases, so that the encephalon in one person shall be formed 
 more of true cerebral substance, and less of areolar tissue, 
 than in another. Whilst this idea would explain differ- 
 ences in the quality of the aggregate structure, it would 
 likewise exhibit a state of things, in an anatomical point 
 of view, perfectly harmonious with Gall’s doctrine of cere- 
 bral development, since the largest organs in any one head 
 would, under such circumstances, not the less display the 
 predominant energy. Or, indeed, it may be supposed that 
 each set of conditions determines quality of brain, as in- 
 fluencing functional manifestation. Of course, these obser- 
 vations are only thrown out for the consideration of those 
 who have adequate opportunities for testing their validity 
 by investigation of the facts of the case. Many facts, 
 indeed, ah’eady recorded, corroborate the idea respecting 
 the paramount importance of the vesicular structure in the 
 constitution of the cerebral convolutions ; in the head of 
 Cuvier, the brain, independently of its absolute magnitude, 
 was remarkable for the great relative amount of the gi’ey 
 cortical substance. 
 
 “ If it be true,” says Dr Carpenter, “ that the grey mat- 
 ter only is the source of power, and that the white matter 
 is merely a conductor, we have no right to assume that the 
 total size of the organ affords a measure of its power, until 
 it has been shown that the thickness of the cortical sub- 
 stance can be judged of, by the size of the brain, or of any 
 part of it. Certainly there is a considerable variation in 
 this respect among different individuals ; and it is yet to be 
 proved, that the relation is constant in different parts of 
 the same individual brain. Until this is substantiated, all 
 inferences drawn from correspondence between the promi- 
 
380 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS 
 
 nence of a certain part of the brain, and the intensity of a 
 particular function, are invalid ; that is, if the general doc- 
 trine of the relative functions of the grey and white matter 
 be true.” * This reasoning is plausible enough, but a very 
 few remarks will dispose of it. In the first place. Dr Car- 
 penter must once more be reminded, that it is no where 
 maintained by phrenologists, “ that the total size of the 
 organ atfords a measure of its power ; ” there must, in addi- 
 tion, be an equality in all the other conditions. In the 
 next place, though it does “ remain to be proved” that the 
 relation of the grey to the white matter is constant in the 
 same individual brain, yet the fact is highly probable. No 
 persons have investigated the nervous system, in reference 
 to this point, more extensively than Gall and Spurzheim ; 
 and these physiologists affirm that, in tracing the develop- 
 ment of the whole up to and including the brain, they 
 always found a very definite relation, in amount, between 
 the two kinds of nervous tissue. Now, as the grey matter 
 of the cerebral convolutions exists in determinate connexion 
 with the several bundles of cerebral fibres, would it not 
 appear to follow that, in the same individual, the relative 
 quantities should be tolerably constant in different parts ? 
 It must be remembered, that the observations of Gall and 
 Spurzheim concerning the quantitive relations of the two 
 substances, are entirely independent of the inferences which 
 they deduced regarding the origination of the one in the 
 other. Lastly, Dr Carpenter asserts, that until the pro- 
 bable fact now under discussion be proved, “ all inferences 
 drawn from correspondence between the prominence of a 
 certain part of the brain, and the intensity of a particular 
 function, are invalid.” Nevertheless, the truth or the 
 falsehood of such inferences must be determined altogether 
 by the fact ; if the correspondence in question exists as a fact, 
 the state of things with respect to another matter cannot alter 
 
 ' Homan Physiology, p. 237. 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 381 
 
 it. If the proportions of the grey to the white cerebral 
 substance will not harmonise with what is already demon- 
 strated respecting “ correspondence between the prominence 
 of a certain part of the brain, and the intensity of 'a parti- 
 cular function,” the circumstance goes to prove that “ the 
 general doctrine of the relative functions of the grey and 
 white matter ” is not true ; that is all. Although a fact 
 can invalidate a mere inference, an inference can never dis- 
 credit a demonstrable fact. In dealing with this point. Dr 
 Carpenter, indeed, seems to he inverting the natural order of 
 aU sound reasoning, making the premises subservient to the 
 deduction. It is only in attacking phrenology that such 
 arguments as these would he employed by a writer of Dr 
 Carpenter’s usual accuracy of thought; the author would 
 suggest, however, that the stock of public and profes- 
 sional prejudice may at length be overdrawn, and fallacies 
 be viewed in their true light, even when directed against 
 Dr Gall. 
 
 In the uncertainty which exists regarding some of the 
 conditions which affect the quality of brain in its relation 
 to functional energy, some persons, upon a superficial con- 
 sideration of the subject, may think that at least the 
 physiognomical value of Gall’s physiology has been greatly 
 overrated ; and some parties may probably imagine that 
 its evidences are materially weakened by the considerations 
 just advanced. For these reasons, the author will subjoin 
 a few remarks illustrating the extent to which he conceives 
 that innate characteristics may be determined by outward 
 physical signs. And he would premise by observing that his 
 intention, in the present chapter, is mainly to render promin- 
 ent, and to enforce, the practical truth, that, inasmuch as in 
 the present state of knowledge we cannot always determine 
 the intimate quality of the brain, no well instructed phre- 
 nologist attempts to pronounce wdth certainty, in every 
 case, upon the absolute power of the cerebral organs. The 
 true phrenologist disavows altogether the practice of com- 
 
382 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE, AS 
 
 paring the organs in different individuals, except for the 
 single object of accustoming the hand and eye to recognise 
 the form and appearance of each organ in different degrees 
 of development ; because, for example, the same absolute 
 size of the organ Tune may in one man of a low quality of 
 brain be accompanied with only a relish for music, while 
 in another of a high quality it may give rise to powers of 
 musical performance or composition. Hence it will be 
 obvious that any comparisons of cerebral development in 
 different persons (as significant of the relative vigour of 
 their natural endowments), must ever involve doubt as to 
 accuracy in the inference ; because, even in cases of identity 
 of education and other outward circumstances, the organic 
 quality of structure cannot altogether be determined by 
 mere indications of temperament ; and nothing but ex- 
 perience of the actual manifestations can, in some instances, 
 reveal the degree of excellence in the said quality. The 
 proceeding of the practical phrenologist in an inquiry into 
 natural character, .can only lead to exact results in the 
 comparison of different parts of the same head, in an esti- 
 mate — not of the absolute, but of the relative size of the 
 organs. We may thus, by physiognomical signs, determine, 
 under circumstances of health, and excluding cases of early 
 infancy and of old age, whether in an individual the pro- 
 pensities, sentiments, or intellectual faculties, constitute the 
 leading traits of character; and the proportion in which, 
 as compared with the average of mankind, these various 
 properties exist in the natural constitution of that indi- 
 vidual. In further analysis, it may he ascertained whether 
 any primitive faculty be associated AAfitli so large a dcA elop- 
 ment of its correspondent organ as certainly to form a 
 prominent feature in the particular character. F or example, 
 if the organ of Destructiveness be found in much higher 
 proportion than the organs of the other propensities, the 
 corresponding disposition will not fail to distinguish the 
 possessor. The same procedure may, with confidence, be 
 
rNTLTJENCrNG FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 383 
 
 adopted in the estimate of all the leading, well-established 
 organs. Where one or more are in obvious advance of 
 the rest, no hesitation fi’om ignorance either of external 
 circumstances, or of quality of the brain, need deter the 
 observer from at once speaking out : for, most assuredly, in 
 all cases in which no disease exists (and this when present 
 may generally be detected), the proper consciousness of 
 the party under examination will not fail to confirm the 
 judgment, whatever may have been the outward demean- 
 our of the individual, and however he may he esteemed 
 by his fi’iends. It were superfluous to add that, in cases 
 of excessive deficiency of development, corresponding 
 results may confidently he predicated, with the same dis- 
 regard of cerebral quality and other circumstances, as 
 in the opposite class of facts. But it must be reiterated, 
 that all such decisions should have exclusive regard to the 
 mind of the person under examination ; the judgment can 
 never with certainty proceed beyond a declaration concern- 
 ing the relative power of the faculties of the same indi- 
 vidual. It cannot be asserted with perfect confidence, 
 whatever be the development or the temperament in any 
 given instance, that any one possesses extraordinary en- 
 dowment, and that he wiU certainly become eminent under 
 favourable circumstances ; we never can say, and le quite 
 sure, that a person is gifted with great talents, by mere 
 examination of his head. But if we are informed that 
 gi’eat powers do actually exist in some cases, we can tell by 
 observing the organs most prominently developed, what 
 are the faculties distinguishing the party, and in what 
 dmection the talents will be likely to run. The same 
 principle, of course, must guide us in estimating the senti- 
 ments and propensities, in connexion with development of 
 their respective organs. 
 
 In case of the intellect, however, we must not always 
 expect to discover very large organs where we happen to 
 notice powerful manifestations, because, in a high state of 
 
384 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTUEE, AS 
 
 civilisation, the circumstances of human society are such 
 as generally subject the intellectual faculties to the con- 
 centrated influence of every possible stimulant ; and, from 
 this circumstance, it often happens that persons Avith only 
 a fair development of the anterior lobe of brain, especially 
 if coincident -wnth high moral feeling and some ambition, 
 will display considerable mental power. It not unfre- 
 quently happens that, after a very exalted opinion has 
 been formed of some individual from perusal of his wndtings, 
 or from some distinction that he may have achieved, the 
 greatest disappointment is felt if the head do not in such a 
 case present a remarkable front. There is the head of 
 such a person, it will be said, presenting nothing that is 
 unusual, and yet behold how able a man he is ; there are 
 the heads of A and B more favourably developed, yet 
 assuredly they have not the talent of this person ; what does 
 phrenology say to that? To calculate results upon a prin- 
 ciple of this kind is not the proceeding of any but the 
 most empirical phrenologist ; not only size of the cerebral 
 organs, but all the other conditions, require to be esti- 
 mated, In addition to the external circumstances affecting 
 any individual, there is the uncertainty as to quality of 
 structure (not fully removed by indications of temperament) 
 and which always creates a doubt upon the question of abso- 
 lute power ; so that comparisons of one head with another, 
 in his point of view, can never be safely made. As, how- 
 ever, Avith some rare excejitions, uniformity of quality 
 prevails throughout every part of the same brain, develop- 
 ment may justly be taken as indicative of the relative vigour 
 of the several faculties and dispositions. Indeed, in all the 
 instances, in allusion to which the author has heard ex- 
 pressions of disappointment on account of the forehead, tlie 
 particular hent of intellectual character has always been 
 coiTespoudent with the development; the most powerful 
 faculties having always been associated with the best 
 developed organs. 
 
INFLUENCING FUNCTIONAL MANIFESTATION. 385 
 
 It must yet be stated, that, in predicating character from 
 cerebral development, we shall, in a very large number of 
 instances, obtain some striking results, even if abstraction 
 be made of all considerations relative to quality of brain. 
 Because it happens, in regard to phrenology as to the 
 subject of any other investigation, that a certain average 
 state of things will obtain as the rule, extremes forming 
 the exceptions ; and so, in the intimate constitution of the 
 brain, a degree of uniformity will exist amongst the gene- 
 rality of persons ; and this the more particularly, under 
 circumstances of coincidence in the various modifying 
 causes, either of a moral or of a physical nature. Hence, 
 where the sphere of observation on the part of an inquirer 
 is but very limited, — where the immediate relatives and 
 friends, for example, alone supply the subjects for experi- 
 ment, it sometimes happens that the highest and most 
 exclusive confidence becomes placed in the indications of 
 character furnished by the size, of the various organs ; for, 
 under such circumstances, an identity to a great extent 
 prevailing in all the modifying agencies, development 
 supplies almost the sole elements of difference. And any 
 one who shall commence phrenological observations by 
 generalising from such restricted experience, will be very 
 likely, in his future practice, to regard size as an absolute 
 measure of power, to the utter neglect or oblivion of the 
 cceteris parihus. When, however, an observer is not con- 
 fined to some small locality, or to one uniformly constituted 
 circle, the case will be different ; instances will come per- 
 petually under notice, where many sources of difference 
 besides those of cerebral development have to receive 
 attention, before a valid result can be gained. Variations, 
 not only in the habits, associations, and scholastic educa- 
 tion, but also in the quality of the organic structure (only 
 partially indicated by the temperament), may constantly 
 interfere to prevent character from being made out by 
 development with the facility that was probably expe- 
 
386 
 
 ON QUALITY OF STRUCTURE. 
 
 rienced in the earlier career. There is in all this, however, 
 nothing to weaken the evidences of phrenology ; the law 
 wiU obtain universally that, cceteris paribus, the largest 
 organs in any given head •will indicate the most powerful 
 * faculties and dispositions, and consequently the direction in 
 which the particular character vsdll be likely to develope 
 itself ; and -within this law may be comprehended the sup- 
 posed anomalies and contradictions in phrenological expe- 
 rience, to which detailed reference was made in opening 
 the subject of the present discussion. 
 
PHKENOLOGT AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE. 
 
 387 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 ON PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 
 
 Although, at the present day, there are few individuals 
 who will not admit that there is some truth in Phrenology, 
 there is exhibited, in many instances, a disposition to 
 underrate its importance, as if it were a subject unworthy 
 of a serious and pains-taking investigation. Very often, 
 the leading facts upon which it professes to rest, will he 
 undisputed ; and yet, when the legitimate inference is at- 
 tempted to be drawn from them, they will be characterised 
 as not of sufficient weight to be allowed to rank amongst 
 the truths of science. This would appear to have become 
 a species of cuckoo-note; many persons averring them- 
 selves to believe in Phrenology as something “ very curious,” 
 yet not admitting that its scientific, physiological character 
 should he recognised. Here, at least, there is an apparent 
 anomaly ; truths arrived at by observation of natural pheno- 
 mena, are declared to be unfit to he regarded as science ! It 
 becomes, then, a very important and interesting inquiry to 
 ascertain what are the marks of scientific truth, and to what 
 extent these appertain to the discovery of GaU ? 
 
 What do we understand by “ science,” and what con- 
 stitute its essential characteristics ? The etymology of the 
 word simply implies “knowledge;” but the conventional 
 employment of the term restricts its application to that 
 KNOWLEDGE wMch leads to the development of principles ; and 
 an “inductive science” would appear to comprehend any 
 department of inquiry wherein “ principles” become gained 
 
388 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 by direct observation of facts. In this point of view, let 
 us look at Phrenology ; let us see if its observed facts 
 are not of such a character, and so conditioned, as fairly 
 r to authorise certain general expressions, implying that 
 the facts involve principles, by virtue of their universa- 
 lity under appreciable circumstances; let us determine, in 
 short, whether sure inductions have not rightly flowed from 
 the phrenological observations, of a nature, too, calculated 
 to enforce the assent of all who will seriously investigate 
 their true character. 
 
 If the true indications of an inductive science have here 
 been set forth, the next step would appear to be to parti- 
 cularise their application to the present subject. It may 
 be as well, however, to inquire, flrst, in what way the 
 marks of scientiflc truth belong to matters universally re- 
 cognised as science ; and then it can be more readily de- 
 termined whether, by a like process, their application can 
 be made to a disputed subject. For this comparative il- 
 lustration, let us select the instances of Chemistry and 
 Geology ; the one furnishing an example of a science well 
 matured, and the other of one in its infant condition. 
 
 AU whose attention has been directed to the subject, are 
 aware that chemistry, made up as it is of a vast variety of 
 natural facts, affords many examples of general laws, under 
 which may be classed most of the individual phenomena ; 
 thus, it is a law, that all the elementary substances in 
 nature are susceptible of entering into combination ivith 
 each other only in definite proportions ; it is a law that aU 
 gases and vapours dilate equally on the application of 
 equal increments of temperature ; and it is a law also, that 
 in the combustion of any substance which is incapable of 
 flying olF in fumes, an increase of weight takes place. 
 These constitute some of the “ principles” of chemistry; 
 and they are such, because the fact which is affirmed in 
 each proposition, is universally true. Tried, then, by the 
 definition previously advanced, chemistry establishes its 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 389 
 
 claims to rank as an inductive science, because the “ know- 
 ledge” of which it is composed, gained by observation of 
 natural phenomena, does lead to the development of prin- 
 ciples ; these latter embracing the conditions under which, in * 
 the present state of evidence, universality of the facts occurs. 
 
 Geology is probably the latest of the recognised sciences, 
 and furnishes an excellent instance for the employment of 
 the process just adopted with reference to chemistry. Al- 
 though it possesses an immense accumulation of materials 
 obtained by observations carefully conducted, the number 
 of general truths is comparatively small, and many of the 
 inductions are professedly provisional. These circumstances, 
 indicative of its imperfect condition as a science, furnish, 
 however, no reason for its exclusion from the category. 
 For, although the principles are but few, there are some 
 which may be regarded as fairly established. It is, for 
 example, a law, that the superposition of the stratified 
 rocks occurs in a definite and uniform relation ; and also, 
 tha,t specifically different forms of animal and vegetable 
 life characterise the particular strata. Hence, then, if the 
 premises be allowed, the facts collected by the geologists 
 do not stand as isolated phenomena, but constitute, like 
 those of chemistry, that sort of knowledge which leads to 
 the development of principles, and so determine the scien- 
 tific character of the subject to which they belong. 
 
 There was formerly a period in the history of chemistry 
 and geology, when neither had any claims to rank amongst 
 the inductive sciences ; when, notwithstanding the immense 
 amount of labour bestowed upon them, scarcely a solitary 
 law could be said to have been discovered or anticipated ; 
 and when, from the erroneous mode of procedure, obser- 
 vation or experiment could hardly be said to lead to the 
 development of any principle. It is unnecessary to 
 dwell upon that era in the history of human research, 
 when alchemy prevailed, and speculative accounts of the 
 origin and progress of the earth’s formation, — analogous 
 
390 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 in SO many respects to cerebral physiology anterior to the 
 epoch of Gall ; these things, however, may be alluded to 
 as illustrating the position, that the claims of any depart- 
 ment of inquu-y to rank amongst the sciences, proceed, not 
 from the nature of the subject itself, but from the ntethod 
 of investigation pursued, and from the results obtained. 
 
 Now, if it be a correct definition of inductive science to 
 state that it is the knowledge which, gained by observation 
 of natural phenomena, leads to the development of prin- 
 ciples ; and if chemistry and geology have been rightly con- 
 sidered with reference to this definition, Phrenology clearly 
 possesses a just claim to a position amongst the inductive 
 sciences, provided the propositions announced as its general 
 laws, or principles, result fairly from the evidence accu- 
 mulated in their favour, and provided the facts affirmed in 
 each axiom be universally true. 
 
 The question, then, as to whether Phrenology be, or be 
 not, entitled to rank among the sciences, must be deter- 
 mined, not by vague and indefinite notions regarding its 
 probable importance or utility, but altogether by the va- 
 lidity or the fallacy of the principles upon which it is based. 
 Let us, therefore, proceed to inquire Avhether the leading 
 facts observed and recorded by phrenologists, do not de- 
 velope and support certain general laws or principles. It 
 will have been seen, from what has been advanced in pre- 
 ceding chapters, that, in maintenance of the doctrine that 
 the brain is the material instrument by which the mind or 
 conscious principle is manifested in this life, it is asserted, 
 that wherever, throughout animated nature, there are dis- 
 tinct and unequivocal signs of consciousness, the pre- 
 sence of a brain is observed ; and, conversely, wherever 
 a total absence of brain is induced, artificially, or by 
 natural causes, indisputable indications of mind never 
 exist. Now, if these facts be universally true, the prin- 
 ciple would surely seem to result, that the brain is the 
 organic condition upon which mental manifestations de- 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 391 
 
 pend. But let us examine this matter a little further. In 
 collateral support of the proposition, it will have been no- 
 ticed that phi'enologists affirm that the conditions of the 
 mental faculties are universally influenced by variations 
 in the state of the brain, just as the known functions of 
 other organs of the body are affected by their actual con- 
 dition. If these facts be admitted, can it be doubted that 
 they warrant the induction that the brain is the organ of 
 the mind ? Most assuredly, if we be certain that the func- 
 tion of the eye is to see, that of the stomach to digest, or 
 that of the liver to secrete the bile, we must infer from the 
 above evidence, that the functions of the brain are to mani- 
 fest the faculties evincing consciousness. Let us here com- 
 pare the proceeding by which the function of the eye is 
 inferred with that of phrenologists regarding the office of 
 the brain, and we shall see how far the processes are ana- 
 logous. For this purpose, the author will apply the lan- 
 guage which he has used above, to the evidence upon which 
 the former inference rests, changing the Avords only where 
 it is required by the illustration ; thus it will be seen to 
 what extent the analogy exists between the two proofs. 
 
 “ Wherever, throughout animated nature, there are dis- 
 tinct and unequivocal signs of vision, the presence of an 
 eye is observed ; and, conversely, wherever a total absence 
 of eye is induced, artificially, or by natural causes, indis- 
 putable indications of vision never exist. The conditions 
 of vision are universally influenced by variations in the state 
 of the eye.” 
 
 The above paragraph comprises a summary of the evidence 
 upon which rests bur knowledge of the office of the eye ; and 
 it is quite clear that, if the facts affirmed by phrenologists be 
 true, the conclusion which they deduce from them is ine- 
 vitable, if it be an established firct that the eye is the organ 
 of sight ; for it will be observed that, in the two instances, 
 the modes of proof are exactly similar. The first principle 
 of Phrenology, then, as an inductive science, is, that the 
 
392 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 brain is the organ of the mind; and this is a scientific truth, 
 purely within the domain of Gall’s discovery, notwith- 
 standing that at the pi’esent time the assent to it has be- 
 come general, even among parties who affect to disclaim 
 Phrenology. Gall was the first who laboriously and ear- 
 nestly interrogated nature in all her departments, in relation 
 to this subject^ and it was he who first made out the true 
 character of certain pathological phenomena, such as 
 chronic hydrocephalus, and some other states, which had 
 seemed to militate against the doctrine of the mind’s organic 
 dependence upon the encephalon ; and thus it was he who 
 determined the association of brain and consciousness to 
 be a fact universally true — a principle. ^ 
 
 ' Altliough almost all rational physiologists believed the brain to be the 
 organ of the mind, yet there were on record numerous facts which, viewed 
 superficially, appeared to militate against this view, and which rendered 
 the demonstratioTi of its truth difficult. These cases were first success- 
 fully disposed of by means of phrenology. Again, those physiologists 
 who did admit the brain to be connected with the mind, generally re- 
 garded it as a single organ, all the parts of which were involved in every 
 mental act. Dr Andrew Combe demolished this idea, in an elaborate 
 paper published in the Transactions of the Phrenological Society, 
 p. 183 (read 9th January 1823). The then prevailing state of opinion on 
 the subject, may he illustrated by a few citations. Jlr Rennel (Chris- 
 tian advocate), in his work on Scepticism, page 100, asserted that “it 
 would be difficult to find any one portion of the brain, that has not, 
 in some case or another, been deranged in its structure without any 
 injury to the mind.” The Edinburgh Review, No. 48, p. 439, in notic- 
 ing a paper by Sir E. Home, on the functions of the brain, remarks, 
 that “ certain crude ideas are attached to the words Intellectual 
 Faculties, a vague conjecture arises as to the seat and nature of these 
 faculties,” &c. Lord Jeffi-ey may be fairly adduced as rather a favour- 
 able specimen of the general intelligence and information prevalent 
 among educated men during the period in which he presided over the 
 Edinburgh Review. Nevertheless, in his article on Phrenology, in the 
 88th Number of that Journal, he uses these words : — “ The truth, we do 
 not scruple to say it, is, that there is not the smallest reason for supposing 
 that the mind ever operates through the agency of any material organs, 
 except in its perception of material objects, or in the spontaneous 
 TBOvements of the body which it inhabits ; and that this whole science 
 rests upon a postulate or assumption, for which there is neither any 
 shadow of evidence, nor any show of reasoning,” p. 257. Lord Brougham, 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 393 
 
 The next leading principle of Phrenology is, that parti- 
 cular parts of the cerebral mass are the organs of the par- 
 ticular faculties of the mind. Let us now propose the 
 question, whether, if the facts he true, they establish the 
 law, that particular parts of the brain manifest particular 
 faculties of the mind ? This principle was arrived at through 
 the fact, that size of organ, cceteris parihus, is a measure of 
 functional power. If we grant, or allow it to be proved, 
 that particular muscles execute particular movements, and 
 that size of muscle, other conditions being equal, is a mea- 
 sure of its power, it is impossible to avoid the phrenological 
 conclusion, if the facts be admitted. An application shall 
 here be made to the muscular system, of the language 
 employed by phrenologists in reference to the brain; and 
 it vdll be seen how corresponding facts are allowed, univer- 
 sally, to authorise analogous inferences in regard to other 
 structures. 
 
 “ The vigour with which any muscular action is mani- 
 fested is always, other conditions being equal, in a ratio 
 with the size of some corresponding part of the musculai' 
 system ; orders of species whose movements possess the simplest 
 charcwter, furnish instances of the simplest constitution of 
 the muscular system ; whilst, as we ascend in the scale, there 
 is a constant addition of irmscles corresponding to the mul- 
 tiplicity of the movements.” 
 
 The corresponding proposition in phrenology is, that 
 the vigour with which any mental power is manifested, is 
 always, other conditions being equal, in a ratio with the 
 
 in his “ Discourse of Natural Theology,” says, “ We are authorised to 
 conclude from these facts, that unless some unusual and violent acci- 
 dent interferes, such as a serious illness, or a fatal contusion, the ordi- 
 nary course of life presents the mind and the body running courses widely 
 different, and in great part of the time in opposite directions^ p. 120. He 
 adds, that “ this affords strong proof, that the mind is independent of 
 the body.” Would educated men write in similar terms now ? And if 
 they would not, we have to thank Gall and his disciples for having 
 taught the world a sounder view of the relations between the brain and 
 the mind. 
 
394 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 size of a corresponding portion of the brain. The evidence 
 is strengthened by observing that the lower orders of species 
 furnish instances of the simplest constitution of the brain ; 
 while, as we ascend in the scale, there is a constant addi- 
 tion of parts corresponding to a multiplicity of faculties, 
 &c., as detailed in former chapters of this work. 
 
 If, in the foregoing paragraph, we have that which is 
 adequate to prove certain general principles relative to the 
 muscular system, it is certain that, if the phrenological ob- 
 servations be uncontroverted, they must be allowed to de- 
 velope the principle, that the irain is a congeiies of organs, 
 some distinct faculty of the mind being manifested through each ; 
 and also the principle, that size of a cerebral organ, caeteris 
 paribus, constitutes a measure of functional power ; and, con- 
 sequently, it must be granted that phrenology has a higher 
 import and value than would be implied in its mere apti- 
 tude to amuse the curious and inquisitive ; for, in confor- 
 mity with every analogy supplied by other departments of 
 inquiry, it must be regarded as involving “ knowledge 
 which leads to the development of principles,” and entitled, 
 therefore, on the same grounds as chemistry and geology, 
 to rank amongst the inductive sciences. 
 
 It has been said that for a principle to be determined, 
 the facts must be universally true ; hereupon it may he 
 asked. Do the phrenologists then admit of no exceptions ? 
 Do they hold their doctrines to be true in every instance ? 
 When they announce the existence of general laws in refe- 
 rence to the functions of the encephalon, of course they 
 maintain them to be established, for aU laws cease to be 
 regarded as laws upon the occurrence of a sure exception. 
 When, however, mention is made of phrenological doctrine, 
 it must be kept in mind that by the term most commonly 
 is understood, not only certain broad inductions, but also 
 the pursuit of these to their remote consequences, by 
 deduction from the principles ; and it is not contended that 
 even the best writers upon phrenology have always em- 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PKACTICAL APPLICATION. 395 
 
 ployed this — the deductive — process aright; any more 
 than it is contended that writers in other departments of 
 science have always been accurate in their deductions. 
 
 Before proceeding, however, to any illustration of the 
 distinction to be maintained between deduction and induc- 
 tion, in so far as phrenology is concerned, the author 
 would refer to an inconsistency on the part of antagonists 
 diametrically opposed to the one just discussed. K there 
 be individuals who concede the reality of the leading facts, 
 and yet deny their aptitude for the development of prin- 
 ciples, there ai’e others who will apparently accept each 
 of the three generalisations discussed above, and contend 
 at the same time that the facts of the phrenologists are no 
 facts at all. It is the old story of believing in the general 
 principles of phrenology, but not in the details ; as if 
 principles had any existence but as manifested in details, — 
 as expressions, indeed, of the conditions under which their 
 universality is to be traced. It is quite time for this 
 realism of the mediaeval schools to be abandoned. It is 
 certainly competent for any one to contest the accuracy of 
 particular observations, and to retain confidence at the 
 same time in a general principle ; but it is anomalous and 
 self-contradictory to maintain a principle abstractedly, and 
 to reject absolutely the only facts which authorise the 
 generalisation from which it springs. 
 
 Inductions gained by observation of natural phenomena, 
 constantly furnish a source both of practical and specula- 
 tive deductions. In tracing principles to their consequences, 
 proximate or remote, a mental process goes on, diflfering 
 in some respects from that which is employed in their 
 primitive discovery. In the one instance, facts are collected, 
 compared, and classified, and the truth which they all 
 exemplify is noted, and expressed in some appropriate 
 formula; in the other, however, the relations subsisting 
 between some general truth and other facts which it does 
 not prima facie include, have to be estimated, and the con- 
 
396 PHEENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 elusion is often attained by collateral aid of several branches 
 of knowledge. Induction ascertains a truth ; deduction 
 not only turns it to immediate account, but also leads very 
 often to a partial acquaintance with other circumstances 
 and conditions, respecting which direct experience may 
 have revealed nothing. Thus, the legitimate inductions of 
 astronomers and geologists lead to deductions concerning 
 cosmogony ; the truth or falsehood of which, in many 
 instances, leaves the former entirely unaffected. The 
 induction of Dr Marshall HaU, respecting the independent 
 physiological agency of the spinal cord, has yielded mate- 
 rials for extensive deductions in pathology, natural history, 
 and comparative anatomy, some of which may not be 
 true, and yet Dr Hall’s principle remain unscathed. Thus 
 it is vvdth Phrenology. For, as this is the science which 
 not only forms the physiology of the brain, but must con- 
 stitute, moreover, the only sure basis of mental philosophy, 
 it necessarily stands in some relation to every subject 
 which involves considerations either of the mind or the 
 brain ; and, under such circumstances, questions of educa- 
 tion and corrective discipline, of mental derangement and 
 of jurisprudence, receive considerable elucidation from the 
 light which it affords. In consequence, many important 
 deductions have been made from phrenology bywriters upon 
 Insanity, Moral and Mental Philosophy, Criminal Legisla- 
 tion, and other allied subj ects ; the accuracy or the inaccuracy 
 of which, in particular instances, furnishes no test whatever 
 of the soundness of phrenology as an inductive science. 
 
 This discussion may be rendered more intelligible by a 
 little illustration. In the matter of insanity, it is a phreno- 
 logical doctrine that there is but partial disease of the 
 brain in numerous instances, and that treatment should 
 often be based upon this view; and this is a practical 
 deduction so obvious, and so consequent upon the premises, 
 that it is difficult to conceive the existence of any opposition 
 to it, where the inductions are admitted. At the same 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 397 
 
 time, it is just possible that the reasoning powers in some 
 individual should be weak enough not to recognise so plain 
 a truth, even where the principles of phrenology are 
 allowed; and this too without the individual’s involving 
 himself in palpable self-contradiction, for the inability to 
 see the force of the conclusion in question may, in great part, 
 arise from want of that collateral knowlege which is requisite 
 to the adequate perception of it. Then we may suppose the 
 case of some phrenologist arguing that all cases of mental 
 derangement consist essentially in that alteration of struc- 
 ture, which the term inflammation most commonly implies, 
 — a deduction so faulty and premature, that every one 
 properly acquainted with the subject would at once pro- 
 nounce it to be unsound. And yet its author might 
 consistently maintain his phrenological convictions, not- 
 withstanding the inability to comprehend the facts and 
 principles in their proper relations and consequences. 
 
 There are deductions, moreover, from phrenology, the 
 truth or the falsehood of which may not be so obvious as 
 those which have been illustrated in the preceding remarks ; 
 and this is the case more particularly, in reasoning upon 
 topics which involve considerations, taken from a great 
 variety of other subjects. Thus, if we take the instance of 
 criminal legislation, some persons will argue from phreno- 
 logy, that pains and penalties should be altogether abolished, 
 as such, in the treatment of criminals ; and they would ren- 
 der prisons, in the fullest and most exclusive sense of the 
 word, houses of correction, or moral hospitals, treating the 
 inmates rather as patients, than as offenders to be punished. 
 Others, and Gall amongst the number, have contended for 
 the institution of degrees of severity in the infliction of the 
 capital penalty, in order the more appropriately to influence 
 the sense of fear, in deterring from the commission of 
 crime. Now, whichsoever of these two extreme deductions 
 be nearest the truth, phrenology, as an inductive science, 
 is absolutely unafiected and unconcerned. 
 
398 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 The author will take the present opportunity of sa jdng a 
 few words upon the subject of materialism, to which, in the 
 unreasonable apprehensions of many well meaning persons, 
 phrenology has a tendency. It is certainly true, that some 
 able and accomplished phrenologists have made deduc- 
 tions directly involving conclusions of such a character ; 
 supporting their arguments, moreover, by considerations 
 taken from phrenology ; and yet it is equally sure, that a 
 more numerous class of phrenologists have reasoned in a 
 contrary manner, and mamtained that the science leaves 
 the question unaltered relating to the materiality or imma- 
 teriality of the soul, themselves evincing convictions favour- 
 ing what is understood by the term spiritualism; and 
 amongst such phrenologists, the great discoverer GaU 
 must be ranked. The present writer may adduce himself 
 as a rigorous and unqualified believer in the mind’s dis- 
 tinctness, in essence, from the substance of the brain, and 
 he himself deduces arguments from phrenology, that favour 
 his own views, — of a character more influential with 
 himself, than any others supplied by mere scientific sources ; 
 he conceives that plurality of the material organs in coin- 
 cidence with unity of consciousness, — singleness in the 
 moi — corroborates his own convictions. But stiU he would 
 contend that, philosophically, the mind’s materiality or 
 spirituality does not come within the domain of scientific 
 induction at aU ; and that each individual null ever be 
 likely to form his ideas upon such subjects, either from 
 what is thought to be the teachings of revelation, or 
 from the suggestions of the intuitive consciousness; for, 
 in the present state of existence, we have no endow- 
 ments that fit us for observing and detennining the essence 
 either of spirit or of matter. Indeed, amongst physiolo- 
 gists, the objections to phrenology, on the score of its sup- 
 posed tendencies to materialism, have for some time been 
 abandoned. It is, now, only amongst parties regarding 
 the mind exclusively in its moral and metaphysical rela- 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OP PRACTICAL APPLICATION, 399 
 
 tions, that such difficulties are started; for it is obvious, 
 that if the body, in its union with the soul, be considered 
 for one moment, identical reasons will be ascertained to 
 exist for coming to conclusions, whatever be the theory 
 adopted in regard to the organic connexion of the two. If 
 the whole corporeal structure be regarded as the simple 
 organ of the soul, — an idea that was prevalent amongst 
 certain schoolmen of the middle ages — the reciprocal influ- 
 ence is decided enough ; if the aggregate brain manifest, 
 alike, every mental faculty, the mutual dependence is not 
 the less marked ; and if phrenology be accepted as the best 
 and the only scientific exposition of the mind’s dependence, 
 in this life, upon organisation, no new principle is asserted 
 in this point of view ; the principle maintained upon the 
 other hypotheses, does but sustain an extension, when it is 
 affirmed, that certain conditions of cerebral parts favour 
 the manifestation of particular powers and dispositions inhe- 
 rent in the conscious principle. 
 
 The author trusts that he has rendered himself under- 
 stood, in this attempt to illustrate the distinction to be 
 drawn between the demonstrated or demonstrable axioms 
 raised by the method of induction, and the pursuit of these 
 to theii’ real or supposed consequences by deduction; be- 
 cause, in the case of phrenology, the whole matter has, 
 again and again, been misunderstood, controverted un- 
 fairly, neglected, and reviled, on account of this distinction 
 not being kept in view. 
 
 Opponents, indeed, will very rarely dispute the prin- 
 ciples of phrenology, excepting in a covert manner ; they 
 will rarely even controvert the facts directly ; generally 
 speaking, the opposition is exhibited rather in misrepre- 
 sentation of the whole subject, or in confounding the facts 
 and principles with the defective or vicious reasoning into 
 which phrenologists, like any other class, are liable to fall. 
 In this way, they sometimes find it an easy matter to 
 confute phrenology ; “ they make their giants first, and 
 
400 PHRENOLOGT AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 then they slay them but this proceeding no one will hold 
 to be scientific. 
 
 In the great majority of instances where a truth is re- 
 jected, the result comes partly from some misapprehension 
 of the genuine character of the truth ; and, in reference 
 to the present subject, the causes of such misapprehension 
 rest very much with a class of persons who, without any 
 just pretensions whatsoever, call themselves phrenologists, 
 and proceed to expound the science and the philosophy of 
 cerebral physiology. Some writers, many third-rate lec- 
 turers, and numerous well-meaning but ignorant persons, 
 have notoriously taken up phrenology, not firom any ex- 
 perimental acquaintance with its real nature or its evi- 
 dences, nor yet fi:om any accurate knowledge gained at 
 second hand, but because in some instances it has seemed 
 to corroborate anteiior prepossessions, and in others, to fur- 
 nish material for the pettiest inquisitiveness. In the case 
 of science that is recognised universally, such things would 
 hardly occasion a moment’s notice or concern ; but when 
 a new branch of science is only advancing towards general 
 recognition, the matter is something different, for the truth 
 itself becomes prejudicial by such circumstances — adver- 
 saries, from ignorance or for less creditable reasons, direct- 
 ing their attacks very often against phrenology as it is 
 represented by zealots and half-informed enthusiasts. 
 
 Now, when it is considered that phrenology, besides 
 constituting the physiology of the brain, supplies physiog- 
 nomical indications that furnish the basis of confessedly 
 the most useful philosophy of the mind that has yet been 
 propounded, it should excite no surprise that its expo- 
 sition and pursuit have fallen so much into the hands of 
 persons totally incompetent to deal with it in some of 
 its higher relations. Members of the medical profession, 
 however, are the very last persons who should take advan- 
 tage of this circumstance to neglect or to misrepresent 
 the subject as it exists in nature. As a practical pursuit. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 401 
 
 phrenology rightly belongs to them ; and if the forvt in 
 which it is very often presented to the public be both 
 unscientific and unphilosophical, it is they who are respon- 
 sible, and not Gall’s physiology, when they neglect to 
 acquaint themselves with its true merits. It is readily 
 conceded that, in many of the popular representations of 
 this subject, there is very often, in the affair of fact, much 
 error and overstatement ; and in the reasoning, grievous 
 confusion of induction and hypothesis ; but this circum- 
 stance does not authorise disregard of its just pretensions, 
 on the part of a numerous class of persons who ought to 
 inform themselves of its true character. 
 
 It scarcely falls within the scope of the present writer’s 
 design to touch upon certain other points which, in 
 connexion with phrenology, are sometimes adduced as 
 characterising its dangerous tendencies ; reference is made 
 to such subjects as fatalism, philosophical necessity, moral 
 liberty, revealed religion, or pure theism, — questions, 
 which unhappily are believed by many well-intentioned 
 individuals to be affected prejudicially, in relation to the 
 common good, by the doctrine of phrenology. In re- 
 gard, however, to all such collateral matters, the remarks 
 previously submitted in regard to materialism a\u11 sub- 
 stantially apply here. Gall’s physiology is erected upon 
 numerous and readily observed facts, arranged, compared, 
 and classified, so as to evolve certain general principles, 
 or truths of universal application ; the facts themselves are 
 just competent to develope the principles of phrenology ; 
 these they prove ; but, inductively, they can do no more. 
 On the various points just glanced at, it wiU generally be 
 found that the convictions of individuals have been deduced, 
 primarily, from other than phrenological considerations, 
 whatever they themselves may occasionally think of the 
 matter. Whatever views people may entertain on such 
 subjects, they will be likely to illustrate and partially 
 defend them by appeals to phrenology, if they have a 
 
402 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDDCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 knowledge of this science ; hut the present Avriter is much 
 mistaken if the speculative conviction has often been de- 
 duced from it, in the first instance ; for, in point of fact, 
 all such questions as fatalism, moral liberty, deism, and 
 revelation, have no direct or necessary connexion with 
 physiological discussions ; they remain just where they 
 were before the brain’s physiology Avas discovered ; so 
 far as demonstration and induction can be brought to 
 bear upon them, their aspect is entirely unchanged by 
 phrenology. 
 
 The author may probably convey his meaning yet more 
 clearly, if he illustrate it by example. IMr Combe’s Con- 
 stitution of Man is undoubtedly'the most diffused work in 
 existence, setting forth profound philosophical views, de- 
 duced chiefly from phrenology. Now, it is certain that 
 many indiAuduals regard every thing contained in that 
 book as phrenology itself, and determine their acceptance 
 or rejection of Gall’s physiology of the brain, by the cha- 
 racter of its contents ; notwithstanding that Mr Combe, in 
 anticipation of such a possible result, warns the reader 
 against all such confounding of positive science Avith an 
 individual’s reasoning. To some of Mr Combe’s views, 
 as propounded in the work in question, it is well knoAA-n 
 that many persons object ; and some from this cause are 
 absurd enough to reject phrenology, as if it Avere something 
 proper to Mr Combe rather than a gi'eat fact in nature. 
 Be that gentleman’s philosophical reasonings just and 
 true, or be they not, the evidences of phrenology, as an 
 inductive science, are utterly unaffected. Any one who 
 scientifically acquaints himself Avith Gall’s discovery sees 
 this at once. The late IMr William Scott of Edinburgh, 
 one of those in that city Avho early recognised and admitted 
 the truth of phrenology, and who never swerved from his 
 convictions upon the subject, wrote a book to controvert 
 some of Mr Combe’s positions ; employing phrenology, 
 moreoA'er, in the line of argument which he adopted. Li 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 403 
 
 the Constitution of Man, and in many other phrenological 
 writings, there are philosophical views advanced to which, 
 however ably maintained, the present vmter, as he under- 
 stands them, can by no means assent ; yet wiU any one 
 doubt, after perusal of this book, that he is a sound and 
 orthodox phrenologist ? In quitting this topic, he would 
 remark that, whilst concerning the facts of phrenology 
 and its principles as an inductive science, there may ulti- 
 mately be concord and unanimity amongst physiologists, 
 the deductions from these, on the part of individuals, must, 
 and will, ever vary, according to their other views upon 
 the several subjects in the discussion of which they ap- 
 ply its aids. It is no part of the author’s plan to discuss 
 the validity or the fallacy of the deductions which indi- 
 vidual phrenologists have made in reasoning from their 
 science. 
 
 The surest test, probably, of the soundness of particular 
 deductions, is the success with which they can be applied 
 in practice ; and, regarded in this point of view, it is quite 
 certain that many most valuable ideas have been deduced 
 from phrenology. The present writer is well assured both 
 from reason and experience, that, in the prevention, dis- 
 crimination, and treatment of insanity, and other nervous 
 affections, in education, in the prevention of crime, and in 
 prison discipline, the present science is susceptible of much 
 valuable application. The practical utility of phrenology, 
 in some of these respects, has already been illustrated in 
 earlier portions of this work. The gi’eat aid which this 
 source supplies to the medical practitioner, in the manage- 
 ment of a numerous and important class of diseases, the 
 author can amply attest from his own experience ; but, 
 for several reasons, he forbears to dilate upon this theme. 
 And, indeed, his present object is rather to indicate the 
 general applications of phrenology, than to go into actual 
 detail ; for to do justice to this latter subject would require 
 volumes rather than a small section of a single one ; and. 
 
404 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 besides, be does not feel that, in this respect, he could ad- 
 vantageously add to the literature already in existence. 
 
 It is a very interesting circumstance to notice, that all 
 who have to deal practically and professionally with mind, 
 and who at the same time understand phrenology, recog- 
 nise the light which it sheds on their path. In illustration 
 of this fact, some valuable communications will be found in 
 an appendix to Dr A. Combe’s Address to the Students 
 of Anderson’s University,’ consisting of letters from dis- 
 tinguished individuals addressed to hir George Combe, 
 testifying not only to the truth, but to the practical useful- 
 ness of phrenology, hli- Richard Carmichael of Dublin, 
 President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 
 and eminently a practical man, ivrites as follows : — “ In- 
 deed, the assistance it lends in establishing a confidence in 
 ourselves, and acquiring the confidence of our patients, is 
 of the greatest utihty in the treatment of those ailments 
 which depend upon a morbid state of the brain, or some 
 other portion of the nervous system, such as epilepsy, 
 hysteria, hypochondriacism, and neuralgia.” Dr TV. A. 
 F. Browne, who has for many years been engaged in 
 the practical management of the insane, being physician 
 to the Crichton Institution, Dumfries, says, — “ In the 
 exercise of my profession, I have been enabled, by the aid 
 of phrenology, to be of essential service in directing the 
 education of the young, as a protection against nervous 
 disease, and in removing or alleviating the vaiious forms 
 assumed by insanity in the mature. For many years I 
 have devoted myself to the study of mental diseases, and 
 to the care of the insane. During my studies at Sal- 
 petriere, Charenton, &c., in Paris, I was able to derive 
 great additional information fi’om my previous knowledge 
 
 ’ Phrenologj' — Its Nature and Uses. An Address to the students of 
 Anderson’s University, at the opening of Dr Weir's First Course of 
 Lectures on Phrenology in that Institution. Jan. 7, 1S16. By Andrew 
 Combe, M.D. Edinbmgh, 1846. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 405 
 
 of phrenology ; and since I have been entrusted with the 
 care of public asylums, I am inclined to attribute what- 
 ever success may have attended my efforts to ameliorate 
 the condition of those confided to my charge, to the same 
 cause.” Dr W. B. Hodgson, the able and intelligent 
 Principal of the Liverpool Mechanics’ Institution, writes : 
 “ Of the utility of phrenology in various pursuits, there 
 are not now wanting many influential witnesses. Of its 
 importance to the educationist, I may speak, if with hu- 
 mility, yet with confidence based on actual experience. 
 To the practical teacher phrenology is of eminent service, 
 not merely in enabling him to form rapid and correct 
 judgments of individual characters, but fi’om its clear and 
 simple philosophy of mind, the light it throws on the nature 
 of the being to he instructed, and consequently on the true 
 aim and wisest methods of education.” Dr Conolly, the 
 well-known physician to the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum, 
 whose calm judgment and philosophic spirit render him, 
 in many respects, the very model of a practical physician, 
 addresses Mr Combe, in attestation of the advantages to 
 be derived from phrenology, in the following terms : — 
 “Many and pressing avocations leave me no time just at 
 present to express to you, in a manner at aU worthy, my 
 conviction of the great usefulness of habitual regard to the 
 principles of phrenology, especially in my department of 
 practice, and of the confusion and imperfection of the 
 views which seem to me to be taken both of sound and 
 unsound mind, by those who reject the aid of observations 
 confirmed now by vast experience, and most of which may 
 be daily verified in asylums for the insane. I am also 
 convinced, that attention to the form of the head, conjoined 
 with that cautious consideration of all other physical cir- 
 cumstances which no prudent phrenologist disregards, will 
 often enable the practitioner to form an accurate prognosis 
 in cases of mental disorder, and to foretell the chances of 
 recovery or amelioration, or hopeless and gradual deterio- 
 
406 PHRENOLOGY AS AN rNDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 ration. But I am aware that I am now taking a very- 
 limited -view of the applications of the science ; which, 
 however, I know you will excuse, in consideration of the 
 somewhat exclusive occupation of my mind on these sub- 
 jects.” Dr William Gregory, Professor of Chemistry in 
 the University of Edinburgh, expresses himself thus : — 
 “ Phrenology furnishes the key, so long sought for in vain, 
 to many perplexing facts ; explains, in a natural and 
 simple manner, the phenomena of partial genius, and of 
 partial insanity ; throws equal light on innate tendencies, 
 whether intellectual, moral, or sensual ; yields the most 
 precious hints for the treatment of the insane, as well as 
 of the criminal ; and, finally, forms the only rational foun- 
 dation for an enlightened education.” 
 
 Now, does any one suppose that Dr Carus, or Dr Car- 
 penter, or Dr Todd and INIr Bowman, or any one else hav- 
 ing, like these physiologists, rejected the physiology of 
 GaU, could procure such testimony in favour of their physio- 
 logy of the brain, as that which the above extracts furnish ? 
 Nay, would they themselves even write in such terms of 
 their own doctrines? That a false physiology should be 
 so useful, and a true one so useless, contradicts all rules of 
 philosophy and all experience. 
 
 Althoagh,'in the preceding chapter, there are some indi- 
 cations advanced of the extent to which phrenology -will 
 apply in the estimate of individual character, some addi- 
 tional remarks, it appears to the author, may not here be 
 out of place. And it is to be observed that, under aU cir- 
 cumstances, it is surprising in how near an approach to 
 accuracy, a particular examination of the head -will often 
 issue ; so often, indeed, that the results are eminently cal- 
 culated to satisfy any thoughtful mind, that at least there 
 is something in phrenology, and, moreover, to enforce the 
 obligation upon the student of inquiring, how much ? It is 
 impossible fairly to suppose that the coincidence of cranial 
 configuration and predicated character, in so many instances, 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 407 
 
 is nothing but accident. The author is too little of a 
 mathematician to say how often, on the chance hypothesis, 
 correct conclusions should be gained. Not, certainly, in 
 half the experiments ; nor yet in a fourth ; nor would it, 
 probably, be once in ten times. Yet a good practical 
 phrenologist, not attempting too much, will decide upon 
 natural character in a very large majority of trials. To a 
 great extent, this has been admitted by opponents them- 
 selves. Dr Roget, a very old and persevering enemy of 
 Gall’s discovery, furnishes an example of this circumstance. 
 In a letter addressed to Mr Combe in the year 1819, and 
 republished among other documents appended to the trans- 
 lation of GaU on the Cerebellum, Dr Roget says : “ I have 
 no confidence in the authors of the system, either as faith- 
 ful observers, or as sound reasoners ; and, so far as I have 
 myself had an opportunity of comparing the results they 
 pretend to have obtained, I cannot say that I have found 
 them in any degree verified.” And yet, notwithstanding 
 this professed inability to corroborate, “ in any degree,” the 
 phrenological observations, he goes on to say, in the very 
 next sentence : “ I at one time took some pains to make 
 observations on this subject; and am persuaded that I 
 met, in the course of them, nearly as many exceptions to 
 the rules, as instances in confirmation of them.” Dr Car- 
 penter, upon the same subject, says : “ The author’s own 
 experience of their determinations, however, has certainly 
 led him to the belief that failure is nearly as frequent 
 as success.” k The term “ nearly,” in the cautious lan- 
 guage of Drs Roget and Carpenter, plainly implies that, 
 in a majority of instances witnessed by themselves, the 
 phrenological statements were con’oborated. Indeed, when 
 all the difficulties are remembered that stand in the way 
 of a declaration of character that shall strike, in a large pro- 
 portion of cases, in which nothing remarkable may be 
 
 * Human Physiology, p. 238. 
 
408 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDTjCTTYE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 indicated by the head, the wonder is, not that strict accu- 
 racy should not always mark the result, but that this should 
 be the fact so often as it is. 
 
 Whilst upon the present subject, the author would record 
 his protest against the very unfair practice of opponents, 
 who persist in judging of phrenology and its evidences, by 
 the results' of examining heads on the part of a class of 
 persons calling themselves phrenologists, but who have 
 about as just a title to the designation, as the swarm of 
 empirics of another class have to the title of Doctor, that 
 infest society, and pollute the walls of our cities, and the 
 columns of the newspaper press, with their mendacious 
 and obscene advertisements. It is true that phrenological 
 quacks are run after by all classes of persons, and that 
 phrenology is very often most absiu-dly adopted or rejected, 
 according to the supposed degree of accuracy, characterising 
 particular charts of development obtained from such per- 
 sons. But members of the medical profession do most 
 unjustly and inconsistently quarrel -wnth Gall’s physiology 
 of the brain, on such grounds ; let them conceive the reply 
 they are prepared to make, in case of the argument being 
 applied by analogy, ad hommem. Are we of the medical 
 profession ashamed of our science, and do we therefore 
 neglect it, because ignorance and presumption -within our 
 ranks sometimes, and folly and imposture external to us 
 very often, “ play fantastic tricks? ” Assuredly not ; most 
 egregiously foolish would be the adoption of any such 
 course ; and, mutatis mutandis, plirenology should be regard- 
 ed in a like point of \dew, in reference to the circum- 
 stances alluded to. 
 
 The scientific phrenologist, indeed, would never appeal 
 to examinations of the ordinary run of heads for proofs of 
 phrenology; if a detailed examination of the head be 
 indiscriminately made, it is always as an experiment, and 
 not as a means of gaining positive e\-idence. As in de- 
 monstrating to the philosophical sceptic the efficacy of the 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 409 
 
 Materia Medica, it is always an unsatisfactory procedure to 
 reason from results of combinations of different substances, 
 unless there be a very decided predominance of some one 
 article ; yet the action of individual medicines once satis- 
 factorily recognised upon appropriate grounds, we may 
 experiment upon and trace the agency of the same things 
 in any degree or kind of combination ; so, in like manner, 
 although general examinations of the head cannot uniformly 
 be expected to furnish sure and undoubted results, it is 
 yet certain that where strongly marked peculiarity of 
 individual character exists, the external indications, in 
 appropriate subjects, may always be detected ; but, never- 
 theless, such instances, from the very nature of the case, 
 should not be anticipated as the invariable rule. It has 
 been seen in what way Gall discovered ; the inquirer who 
 seeks for philosophical proof, will repeat the discoverer’s 
 procedure, and will study combinations for instruction, ac- 
 cording to what he may find, and not with the view of 
 testing phrenology. 
 
 Some striking illustrations of the kind of evidence fur- 
 nished by cases of extreme development, and of the class 
 of facts which an honest sceptic should investigate, when 
 the object is to attain a determinate conclusion respecting 
 the truth, or the falsehood, of Gall’s doctrine, were sup- 
 plied by Mr Combe, in the year 1829. During a visit to 
 Dublin, in the spring of that year, he examined the heads 
 of numerous inmates of the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, 
 and of the Penitentiary, in that city ; publishing a narrati ve 
 of the proceedings in the Phrenological J ournal of the fol- 
 lowing August.* The account in question has been long 
 before the world, and statements more or less parallel have 
 many times been made : yet such is the remarkable cha- 
 racter of Mr Combe’s procedure ; so well does it illustrate 
 the true philosophical method adapted for inquisitions of 
 the kind to which it relates ; and so admirably does it 
 ' Vol. vi. p. 80. 
 
 S 
 
410 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 coiToborate the justice of much advanced in the present 
 treatise, that the author conceives that an obligation -will 
 be done to the reader by subjoining the narrative re- 
 ferred to ; more especially, as he has reason to know that 
 physiologists eminent for their talents and attainments, 
 who yet venture to discuss phrenology in an unfavourable 
 tone, are entirely unacquainted vrith the existence of such 
 facts as the account embodies, hlr Combe’s own remarks, 
 prefatory to the actual narrative, supersede the necessity 
 of further observations upon the matter fi’om the present 
 writer. 
 
 “ Bichnond Lunatic Asylum, Dublin. 
 
 This Asylum was founded about 14 years ago, for the 
 reception of pauper lunatics. It contains at present above 
 300 patients. None are admitted without a medical cer- 
 tificate of insanity, and an affidavit of poverty. Dr Jack- 
 son is the physician, and Mr Johnston the sui’geon. Dr 
 Crawford acts at present as Dr Jackson’s temporary sub- 
 stitute. 
 
 hlr Combe visited this institution on 20th April, 1829, 
 in presence of Dr Crawford, — hli- Grace, the Moral Go- 
 vernor, — Major Edgeworth, Governor of the House of In- 
 dustry, — Dr Gumming, Assistant Physician to ditto, and 
 Dr Mollan. 
 
 Dr Crawford stated, that he had written down the 
 characteristic features of several cases of insanity, and pro- 
 posed that Mr Combe should examine the heads of the 
 patients and deliver his opinion on them, and thereafter, 
 that the written notes and IMi’ Combe’s remarks should be 
 compared. 
 
 Mr Combe observed, that he had no objection to make 
 the experiment for the sake of gaining information ; that a 
 small organ may become diseased as well as a lai’ge one, 
 and in these instances the head would not indicate the fea- 
 tures of the alienation ; however, that disproportionate de- 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 411 
 
 velopment of ptirticular organs is itself one cause of insanity ; 
 and, besides, when any organs are particularly large, the 
 feelings connected with them generally show themselves 
 strongly in the manifestations, even although they should 
 not be the seat of diseased aifections; that, therefore, in 
 the majority of cases, the form of the brain ought to present 
 indications of the mental condition of the patients, and that 
 with these explantions he was ready to proceed. Mr C. 
 added, that although he had on other occasions examined 
 the heads of a iiumber of insane patients, he had not before 
 attempted to predicate the features of the insanity from the 
 heads, and therefore this was to himself an experiment ; 
 that he did not know how far he might succeed, but it was 
 interesting to ascertain what effect the mere form of the 
 brain produced in insanity ; that his inexperience threw 
 obstacles in the way of his success, but that in science ex- 
 perience was to be obtained only by practice. He said 
 that he would point out and write down the organs that 
 were pi'ominently developed or very deficient in each case, 
 and then make his remarks ;■ after which he would be glad 
 to see the notes prepared before his arrival. 
 
 The hair of the patients was in general worn short, 
 and the facilities of observation were thus increased. 
 
 We print the observations of Mr Combe and the notes 
 of Dr Crawford in separate columns, in the order in which 
 the patients were introduced. Mr Combe underlined the 
 organs on which he considered the insanity to depend, and 
 these are printed in italics. 
 
 In every instance Mr Combe pointed out the develop- 
 ment to all the gentlemen present. He made them feel it, 
 and contrast it with the heads of other individuals in the 
 room ; and requested them to judge for themselves, and 
 not to look on him as performing a stage-trick, or doing 
 any thing which they could not learn to do as well as he, 
 or far better, as their opportunities were superior. 
 
412 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE iVND AS A 
 
 Mr Combe’s Remarks. 
 
 Patient’s name, Lynch. 
 
 Largest organs, Self-esteem 
 Wonder 
 Causality 
 Language 
 Combativeness 
 Amativeness 
 Philoprogenitiveness 
 Concentrativeness 
 Acquisitiveness 
 Love of Approbation 
 Pirmness 
 Veneration 
 Conscientiousness 
 Mr Combe said, that he considered 
 Wonder, which, when diseased, gives 
 notions of supernatural agency and in- 
 spiration, and Self-esteem, as jtrobably 
 the leading sources of alienation in this 
 case ; that Causality and Language 
 should also be conspicuously manifested. 
 
 Dr Craxrfords Remarks. 
 
 Patrick Ljuch, aged 42, a cooper. 
 Two and a half years ill. Jlairied, 
 and has cliildren. 
 
 Monomania. Religious pride, with 
 vivid imagination and the highest de- 
 gree of excitement, requiring re- 
 straint ; fancies hims elf inspired and 
 endowed mth onmipotence ; frequent 
 hallucinations ; visits from heaven, 
 &c. ; great flow of language in a style 
 quite superior to his rank in life ; 
 drinking the cause of his illness ; se- 
 cond attack. 
 
 Note. — “ Dr Gall remarked in the 
 first fanatic who fell under his obser- 
 vation, a large development of the 
 part of the brain now marked ‘ Von- 
 der,’ and subsequently met with many 
 similar instances.” — See Combes Sys- 
 tem, p. 220. — Editob. 
 
 Also large 
 
 Full 
 
 Deficient 
 
 Patient’s name, E. S.' 
 
 Large Amativeness 
 
 Philoprogenitiveness 
 Very large Destructiveness 
 
 Combativeness 
 
 Large Self-esteem 
 
 Cautiousness 
 Moral organs de- 
 ficient, parti- 
 cularly Veneration and Hope 
 
 ^Moderate Conscientiousness 
 
 Of the moral Benevolence is rather 
 
 organs well developed 
 
 Intellectual Rather well devel- 
 
 organs oped 
 
 The patient was withdrawn, and iMr 
 Combe added : This is the worst head 
 I ever saw. The combination is worse 
 than Hare's. — Corabativeness and De- 
 structiveness are feai-fully large, and the 
 moral organs altogether very deficient : 
 Benevolence is the best developed of 
 them, but it is miserably small com- 
 pared witlt the organs of Combativeness 
 and Destructiveness. I am surprised 
 that that man was not executed before 
 he became insane. 
 
 Patient E. S., aged .34. Ten years 
 since first admission. 
 
 Total want of moral feeling and 
 principle, great depravity of charac- 
 ter, leading to the indulgence of even.- 
 rice, and to the commission even of 
 crime. Considerable intelligence, in- 
 genuity, and plausibility; a scourge 
 to his family from childhood ; turned 
 out of tlie army as an incorrigible 
 villain ; attempted the life of a soldier ; 
 repeatedly flogged ; has since attempt- 
 ed to poison his father. 
 
 (See letter from Dr Crarvford about 
 this patient, Article XV. of this 
 Number. — Editor.) 
 
 1 Where the names arc not published, tlie patients have relations, out of delicacy to 
 Whom they are vvitliheld. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 413 
 
 Mr Combe's Remarks. 
 
 Patient’s name, Dowling. 
 Enormously large, Self-esteem 
 Ditto Firmness 
 
 Large Amativeness 
 
 Combativeness 
 Rather large Destructiveness 
 
 Adhesiveness 
 Benevolence 
 
 Full Acquisitiveness 
 
 Pretty good Intellect 
 
 Deficient Cautiousness 
 
 The organs in great excess are Self- 
 esteem and Firmness. 
 
 Dr Crawford's Remarks. 
 
 Joseph Dowling, silk-weaver, aged 
 29. Two years ill. Unmarried. 
 
 iMonomania. High pride. An em- 
 peror. Very overbearing, quarrel- 
 some, and dangerous, but is easily 
 tamed. 
 
 Note — “ When the organ of Self- 
 esteem becomes excited by disease, 
 the individual imagines himself to be 
 a king, an emperor, a transcendent 
 genius, or even the Supreme Being.” 
 . — Combe’s System, p. 164. — Editor. 
 
 Patient’s name, Bayley. 
 Enormously large. Destructiveness 
 Ditto Secretiveness 
 
 Ditto Acquisitiveness 
 
 Large Self-esteem 
 
 Ditto Amativeness 
 
 Deficient Moral organs, par- 
 
 ticularly 
 
 Very deficient Benevolence, but 
 
 Larger Veneration 
 
 Moderate Reflecting organs 
 
 Pretty large Knowing organs 
 
 The combination here is very bad, 
 the animal organs greatly preponder- 
 ate ; Destructiveness is the largest. 
 
 Patient’s name, Edmundson. 
 
 Very large Destructiveness 
 
 Ditto 
 I have a difficul- 
 ty as to these or- 
 gans, as they are 
 irregular in de- 
 velopment 
 Large 
 
 ^Moderate 
 
 Deficient 
 
 Love of Approbation 
 Hope very large 
 I Wonder, back part 
 ! of it considerable 
 /ideality, back part 
 , of it large 
 Amativeness 
 Adhesiveness 
 Combativeness 
 Cautiousness 
 Veneration 
 Benevolence 
 Conscientiousness 
 Reflecting intellect 
 Knowing intellect 
 It is difficult to point out the leading 
 features of this case. The organs of 
 Hope, Wonder, and Ideality, present an 
 unusual appearance, corresponding to 
 malconformation. 
 
 Patient’s name, Brady. 
 Deficient Combativeness 
 
 Ditto Hope 
 
 Ditto Veneration 
 
 Moderate 
 
 George Bayley, clerk, aged 39; nine 
 years since last attack. Relapsed 
 Dvice. 
 
 Mania. Intermittent. Very violent, 
 pugnacious, and destructive; sullen 
 and morose. An incorrigible drunk- 
 ard and immoral character. 
 
 Christopher Edmundson, clerk to a 
 merchant, aged 47. Twelve years ill. 
 Unmarried. 
 
 Monomania, religious. Fancied 
 himself Jesus Christ, and attempted 
 to walk on the sea and fast for forty 
 days. Imagines now that his body 
 is inhabited by the spirit of another 
 person ; was a clerk and methodist, 
 and gave up liis employment to go 
 about preaching and worldng mira- 
 cles. At times irritable and violent. 
 
 George Brady, servant, aged 37. 
 Twelve years since first attack. Has 
 relapsed. Unmarried. 
 
 Melancholy. Great timidity of dis- 
 
414 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 Mr Combos Remarks. 
 
 Very deficient Ideality 
 Ditto Tune 
 
 Ditto “Wit 
 
 Large Self-esteem 
 
 Ditto Firmness 
 
 Rather large Benevolence 
 
 Ditto Conscientiousness 
 Considerable Cautiousness 
 Large Individuality 
 
 Ditto Eventuality 
 
 The deficient Combativeness, Hope, 
 Veneration, and Ideality, and Wit, large 
 Cautiousness and Conscientiousness, 
 will predispose to melancholy. 
 
 Patient’s name. Mulligan. 
 
 Large Pliiloprogenitiveness 
 
 Ditto Secretiveness 
 
 Ditto Cautiousness 
 
 Rather large Acquisitiveness 
 Deficient Hope 
 
 Tins is another case of melancholy. 
 
 Dr Crawford's Remarks. 
 position. Fancies he was accused of 
 theft, and has constant apprehension 
 of punishment, either human or di- 
 vine. A variety of hallucinations on 
 this subject. Gentle and kind. His 
 master, to whom he was butler, was 
 robbed, and although the thief was 
 discovered, this occasioned his men- 
 tal derangement. 
 
 ^Matthew Mulligan, aged 39, cabinet- 
 maker. One and a hMf years ill. 
 
 Melancholy. Religious despond- 
 ency. Very silent; uncommunica- 
 tive ; suspicious and morose. Is mar- 
 ried, and has a family ; for the fete of 
 whom he shows great anxiety. 
 
 Patient’s name. Petit. 
 
 Very large Self-esteem 
 
 Large Combativeness 
 
 Love of Approbation 
 
 Hope 
 
 Ideality 
 
 Rather large Wit 
 
 Large Philoprogenitiveness 
 
 Adhesiveness 
 Firmness 
 Locality 
 Comparison 
 
 Full Conscientiousness 
 
 Deficient Secretiveness 
 
 I feel a difficulty in pointing out par- 
 ticular organs in this case, but have 
 marked (in italics) those that seem most 
 likely to determine the character. 
 
 Patient’s name, Fogharty. 
 
 Large Destructiveness 
 
 Ditto Love of Approbation 
 
 Ditto Cautiousness 
 
 Ditto TFonder, particularly on 
 
 one side. 
 
 Ditto Imitation 
 
 Deficient Hope 
 Ditto Veneration 
 
 Well developed Intellect 
 
 The leading organs in this case are 
 Wander and Destructiveness. 
 
 James Petit, shopkeeper, aged 32. 
 One year ill. Married. Has one child. 
 
 !Mania, intermittent. Very violent, 
 combative, and brutal. A high opinion 
 of himself. Fancies he has great riches, 
 and was giving away all his property 
 to the ruin of his family. Has a good 
 deal of humour, by the' excitement of 
 which liis violence is easily subdued. 
 
 Thomas Fogharty, a marine and 
 tailor, aged 39. Ten years ill. 
 
 IMonomania, with the singular delu- 
 sion of his being the Almighty. Says 
 he had no beginning and is never "to 
 die ; that he can bestow immortality 
 on whom he chooses ; is very irascible, 
 and threatens those who offend him 
 with heU-fire and brimstone. An ex- 
 traordinaiy combination of servility 
 and humility with these exalted no- 
 tions. Very mean in his appearance ; 
 works as a tailor, and is an importu- 
 nate beggar. Illness brought on by 
 excessive drinking. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 415 
 
 Mr Comhe's Remarks. 
 
 Patient’s name, Duff. 
 
 Very large Self-esteem 
 
 Ditto Firmness 
 
 Ditto Secretiveness 
 
 Large Destructiveness 
 
 Ditto Cautiousness 
 
 Deficient * Hope 
 Small Ideality 
 
 Ditto Wit 
 
 Ditto Philoprogenitiveness 
 
 Moderate V eneration 
 
 The combination here is that which is 
 described in the works of Phrenology, 
 as leading to melancholy and suicide. 
 
 Dr Craioford’s Remarks. 
 
 Bryan Duff', collector of minerals, 
 aged 31. Three years ill. 
 
 Melancholy. Deepest dejection. 
 Silent, morose, inactive. Attempted 
 suicide, and to destroy his own child. 
 After disappointment in his business 
 took to drinking; was seized mth 
 maniacal delirium, which has sunk 
 into permanent melancholy. 
 
 Patient’s name, M'Evoy. 
 
 Mr Combe pointed out that this head 
 was regularly developed, that he could 
 not fix upon any organs as excessive 
 either in largeness or deficiency. He 
 wrote down the organs which were most 
 developed as follows : — 
 
 Michael M'Evoy, aged 28. Ill 
 nearly one year. 
 
 Melancholy. Very silent ; disin- 
 clined to exercise, and the air of being 
 absorbed in thought. No one pro- 
 minent delusion. Is gradually re- 
 covering. 
 
 Large 
 
 Bather large 
 Full 
 
 Moderate 
 Bather small 
 Considerable 
 Large 
 Full 
 
 Destruc&'eness 
 
 Secretiveness 
 
 Love of Approbation 
 
 Acquisitiveness 
 
 Cautiousness 
 
 Constructiveness 
 
 Hope 
 
 Self-esteem 
 
 Wonder 
 
 Knowing Intellect 
 Beflecting do. 
 
 Patient’s name, B. J. C. 
 Very large Combativeness 
 
 Large 
 
 Full 
 
 Bather full 
 Deficient 
 
 Destructiveness 
 
 Amativeness 
 
 Self-esteem 
 
 Veneration 
 
 Firmness 
 
 Cautiousness 
 
 Ideahty 
 
 Philoprogenitiveness 
 
 Conscientiousness 
 
 Patient’s name, B. J. C., aged 34. 
 Four years ill. 
 
 Mania, intermittent. During- the 
 paroxysms he conceives himself to be 
 Jesus Christ, and is the most furious, 
 treacherous, and dangerous patient 
 in the institution. Is very athletic 
 and muscular, and not easOy restrain- 
 ed. The violence of the paroxysms 
 lasts only a few days. During the in- 
 tervals he is free from mental aber- 
 ration, quiet and inoffensive ; was ad- 
 dicted to drinking. 
 
 FEMALES. 
 
 April 21, 1829. 
 Patient’s name. Hall. 
 
 Very large Self-esteem 
 
 Large Concentrativeness 
 
 Ditto Destructiveness 
 
 FEMALES. 
 
 Jane Hall, aged 48. Ill 8 years. 
 Monomania. Pride. Queen of 
 France. Hallucinations about rebels 
 surrounding the house. Fancies she 
 
416 
 
 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTFYE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 Mr Combe’s Remarks. 
 
 Large Hope 
 
 Ditto Veneration 
 
 Full Wonder 
 
 Fairly developed Intellect 
 The organ of Self-esteem is here by 
 far the most predominant. 
 
 Patient’s name, C. C. 
 Enormously large Love of Approbation 
 Large Benevolence 
 
 Ditto Imitation 
 
 Considerable Wonder 
 Moderate Self-esteem 
 
 Ditto Veneration 
 
 Good Intelleet 
 
 The Love of Approbation is here out 
 of all ordinary proportion to the other 
 organs. 
 
 Patient’ 
 Very large 
 Ditto 
 Large 
 Ditto 
 Ditto 
 Ditto 
 IModerate 
 Rather deficient 
 Ditto 
 
 Fairly developed 
 
 ’s name, Dunn. 
 Destructiveness 
 Secretiveness 
 Amativeness 
 Philoprogenitiveness 
 Combativeness 
 Self-esteem 
 Love of Approbatioi 
 Veneration 
 Hope 
 
 intellectual organs. 
 
 After Mr Crawford’s remarks were 
 read, IMr Combe observed, that in this 
 case the development had not afforded 
 aTi index to the leading features of the 
 insanity; and that, as fonnerly men- 
 tioned, diseased affeetion of particular 
 organs may exist which is not mdicated 
 by external signs. 
 
 Patient’s name, Nelson. 
 
 Large 
 
 Philoprogenitiveness 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Adhesiveness on one 
 
 / 
 
 side, and small on 
 
 
 the other. 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Cautiousness 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Love of A]>probation 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Conscientiousness 
 
 Deficient 
 
 Hope 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ideality 
 
 Small 
 
 Intellect 
 
 Mr Combe remarked, that this com- 
 bination indicated melancholy. 
 
 Dr Crawford/s Remarks. 
 has rats inside her forehead. Gene- 
 rally cheerful and quiet. Ulness oc- 
 casioned by fright during distobances 
 in her country. 
 
 Patient’s name, C. C., aged 30. lU 
 3 years. 
 
 Jlonomania. An air of great self- 
 importance. Fancies herself entitled 
 to a fortune withheld from her by her 
 father. Conceived a conspiracy to be 
 formed in the countrj" against her life, 
 and wished to give information on the 
 subject to government. Is very vain 
 ofherperson. Her mind appears con- 
 stantly engaged in great plans. Her 
 connexions are very respectable. She 
 was domineering in her family, and 
 quarrelled with her step-mother. 
 
 Eliza Dunn, aged 56, 9 years ill. 
 
 Monomania. Pride. Fancying her- 
 self at one time a queen, at another 
 Ali Pacha, the Dey of Algiers, or the 
 Grand Turk. Calls the attendants 
 about her uncle Paul, or by the name 
 of some great lord or lady. Very lively 
 and loquacious, but not violent. 
 
 Eliza Nelson, aged 40. Ill ten 
 montns. 
 
 ^Melancholy after the death of her 
 husband. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 417 
 
 Mr Combe's RemarJts. 
 
 Patient’s name, J. H. 
 
 Large Adhesiveness 
 
 Ditto Destructiveness 
 
 Ditto Secretiveness 
 
 Ditto Cautiousness 
 
 Ditto Self-esteem, 
 
 Ditto Love of Approbation 
 
 Deficient Hope 
 
 Fairly developed Intellect 
 Mr Combe stated, that he had under- 
 lined the organs by which the insanity 
 would be characterised. 
 
 Patient’s name, Gallaher. 
 
 Mr Combe stated, that this head was 
 irregularly fonned, and he had gTeat 
 difficulty in stating what the develop- 
 ment of the different organs was. He 
 then wrote as follows : — 
 
 Large Amativeness 
 
 Adhesiveness 
 Combativeness 
 Destructiveness 
 Self-esteem 
 Love of Approbation 
 Cautiousness 
 
 Uncertain on one 
 side, probably 
 large 
 Deficient 
 Uncertain 
 Not so large 
 \ 
 
 Doubtful 
 
 Wonder 
 
 Hope on one side 
 Ideality 
 
 Secretiveness as 
 Cautiousness 
 Acquisitiveness, but, 
 I think, large. 
 
 Patient’s name, Mooney. 
 Rather large Amativeness 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Large 
 
 Deficient 
 
 Moderate 
 
 Full 
 
 Self-esteem 
 
 Love of Approbation 
 
 Secretiveness 
 
 Destructiveness 
 
 Wonder on one side 
 
 Cautiousness 
 
 Combativeness 
 
 Ideality 
 
 Patient’s name, M'Aveeny. 
 
 Large Philoprogenitiveness 
 
 Love of Approbation 
 Very large Firmness 
 
 Indifferently-formed head, but no- 
 thing very remarkable. 
 
 Patient’s name, Kelly. 
 
 Very large Love of Approbation 
 
 Hr Crawford’s Remarks. 
 
 Patient’s name, J. H., aged 41. Ill 
 three years. 
 
 Monomania, with pride. Occasional 
 high excitement. Attempted her hus- 
 band’s life with a knife from jealousy, 
 and also threatened to destroy her 
 cliildren. Is of low birth, and without 
 education, and maiTied a dissenting 
 clergyman. 
 
 Susan Gallaher, aged 23. Six months 
 
 m. 
 
 Monomania. High religious excite- 
 ment, with pride. Imagines that the 
 welfare of the people of her country 
 depends upon her ; that she has re- 
 ceived revelations from Heaven, in- 
 forming her of a conspiracy against 
 their lives and property. Has seen a 
 bright light in her room, from which 
 a voice proceeded. Very excited and 
 destructive, requiring coercion. Vei-y 
 importunate to be sent home. 
 
 Alicia Mooney, aged 30 years. Five 
 years ill. 
 
 Monomania, and occasional mania- 
 cal paroxysms. Fancies she has plenty 
 of money, and is exceedingly importu- 
 nate to be allowed to return home. 
 
 Ellen M'Aveeny, aged 28. Four 
 months Ul. 
 
 Puerperal mania. Cheerful and hu- 
 morous, but restless and destructive, 
 and very positive, requiring coercion. 
 
 Ann Kelly, aged 37. 
 ill. 
 
 Two years 
 
418 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 Mr Combers Remarks. 
 
 Large Secretiveness 
 
 Self-esteem 
 Destructiveness 
 Ideality 
 Imitation 
 Constructiveness 
 Large Destructiveness 
 
 Firmness 
 
 Full Benevolence 
 
 Veneration 
 
 Part of the brain, supposed to be 
 Wonder, large, or it may be Hope. 
 Hope moderately developed, unless as 
 before. 
 
 The characteristic organs in this head 
 are Self-esteem and Love of Approba- 
 tion, as one combination, and Construc- 
 tiveness, Imitation, and Ideality, as an- 
 other. 
 
 Patient’s name, Thomas. 
 
 Very large Amativeness 
 
 Large Pliiloprogenitiveness 
 
 on one side, and 
 full on the other 
 Very large Self-esteem 
 
 Love of Approbation 
 Large Firmness 
 
 Destructiveness 
 
 Veneration 
 
 Full Cautiousness 
 
 The leading organs in this case are 
 Amativeness, Self-esteem, and Love of 
 Approbation. Philoprogenitiveness is 
 unequally developed. 
 
 Patient’s name, O’Neil. 
 
 Largest organ is Destructiveness. 
 None others very remarkable. 
 
 Dr Crawfords Remarks. 
 
 Monomania. Pride. Imapnes she 
 is Napoleon. Very irascible, but 
 easily calmed by a little praise. 
 Dresses partly as a man. Speaks of 
 herself as a man, and in the third 
 person. Has made herself trowsers, 
 and a highly-ornamented cloak with 
 simple threads. Will never wear a 
 cap. 
 
 Aurelia Thomas, aged 34 years. 
 Five years HI. 
 
 Monomania. Great anxiety after 
 her children. Fancied they were 
 starving outside the house, and that 
 she heard their cries, and insisted 
 constantly upon her food being taken 
 to them. Occasionally very violent 
 and outrageous. Disappointment af- 
 ter seduction the supposed cause of 
 her illness. Has ceased now to in- 
 quire after her children, saying, that 
 a voice from heaven had informed her 
 that they were dead, and in heaven. 
 
 Maij A. O’Neil, aged 35. Nine 
 years ill. 
 
 Mania ; high excitement, and very 
 destructive ; requires constant re- 
 straint ; very abusive, and passionate ; 
 no appearance of moral or intellec- 
 tual feebng; rather fatuous. 
 
 Visit to the Penitentiary, Dublin, April, 1829. 
 
 ]VIr Combe visited the Penitentiary, in presence of the 
 Governor, the Chaplain, Dr Cravdbrd, Dr Cumming, Dr 
 MoUan, IVIr Grace, Major Edgeworth, Dr Duncan, &c. 
 After looking at the aivangements of the house, which 
 seemed excellent, and seeing the prisoners at work, Mr C. 
 requested that any ten or twelve convicts who were nearest 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 419 
 
 the apartment in which he then was might he introduced. 
 This was accordingly done. Mr Combe placed the con- 
 victs on a form, and requested any of the visitors to sit 
 
 down on the same seat, with several on each side. Dr 
 
 did so, and Mr Combe pointed out that the organs of the 
 animal propensities lying at the base of the brain were 
 larger, and those of the moral sentiments, lying on the top 
 of the head, relatively smaller in the heads of the convicts 
 
 generally, than in that of Dr and the other visitors 
 
 present. The gentlemen in the room examined the heads, 
 and recognised this difference as an obvious characteristic. 
 
 Mr Combe then examined more minutely the heads of 
 these convicts. He noted down in pencil the particular 
 organs wliich were remarkable for great size or deficiency 
 relatively to the others, and also the general qualities which 
 he inferred fi'om the combination of the whole organs in 
 each head. This course was followed first with sevei’al 
 male, and thereafter -with several female convicts. Mr C. 
 pointed out the appearances of the heads to the gentlemen 
 present, but no observations on the characters which they 
 indieated were ^ade in presence of the prisoners. The 
 party retired to the Governor’s house. Mr C. then read 
 aloud his remarks, on which the Governor and Chaplain 
 delivered an instantaneous opinion. IMr Combe subse- 
 quently transcribed his notes, and sent them through Dr 
 Crawford to the Governor, who very kindly returned them 
 with a vn'itten report, and the following letter; — 
 
 Hill W. Eowan, Esq. to Geo. Combe, Esq. 
 
 Richmond General Penitentiary, 
 Dublin, 28th May 1829. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Dr Crawford has favoured me with the per- 
 usal of yom.' observations respecting the dispositions and 
 propensities of the individuals whose heads you examined 
 in this institution, with a view to phrenological inquiry. 
 
420 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 I have given to that gentleman a short statement of my 
 opinions respecting the same persons, formed from close 
 observation of their dispositions and conduct for several 
 years ; and ~it will probably be satisfactory to those who 
 are impressed with your opinions on the subject of Phre- 
 nology, to find that my experience corroborates, in almost 
 every instance, what it appears Phrenology would predicate 
 of the individuals in question. 
 
 It may be right to add, that I wrote the substance of my 
 observations respecting the gi-eat majority of the persons 
 whose heads you examined befoi'e having read your paper. 
 Indeed, Dr Crawford concurred with me in opinion, that 
 such would be the most satisfactory course to pursue. 
 
 The Penitentiary, respecting which you desire to have 
 some information, is a national government establishment, 
 on the principle of the Millbank General Penitentiary in 
 London. — I am, &c. 
 
 Hill W. Kowan, Governor, 
 
 The foUoiving are hli’ Combe’s remarks, and Mi’ Eowan’s 
 report : — 
 
 Mr Combe’s Sernarks. — Boy, No. 1, G. K. — This indi- 
 vidual has large Acquisitiveness and Secretiveness. He 
 probably has been a thief ; but the development of the 
 moral organs is considerable : he may be much improved 
 by moral and religious education. 
 
 Governor’s Report — No. 1, G. X. — This boy’s conduct 
 has been almost invariably correct since his confinement. 
 He was convicted, along with his brother, of the crime 
 with which he was chai’ged ; and I have no doubt was led 
 into it by his brother’s conduct and importunities. He is 
 lively, thoughtless, and obliging — ^hasty in his temper, but 
 peaceable — -with very good intellectual powers — argumen- 
 tative, and a little cunning. Convicted of larceny. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 421 
 
 Mr Comhe’s Bonarks. — No. 2, J. K. — ^La this individual 
 there are large organs of Cautiousness, Secretiveness, and 
 Acquisitiveness; good Intellect; a deficient Combativeness, 
 not large Destructiveness, with very small Conscientiousness 
 and deficiency of the moral organs in general. Has the 
 dispositions of a thief, but he wiU scarcely have the courage 
 to steal in his own person. 
 
 Governor’s Report. — ^No. 2, J. K. — This young man’s 
 conduct has been generally correct since his confinement ; 
 but I apprehend that this is occasioned as much by cau- 
 tiousness of disposition, good looking to, and fear of cor- 
 rection, as from any good qualities he may possess. I have 
 learned fi’om another prisoner now in confinement, that his 
 influence led his brother (No. 1), into the perpetration of 
 several small felonies. His habit was to commit small thefts, 
 and having deposited the stolen goods with other persons, 
 by cunning and ingenuity to throw on them the imputa- 
 tion of the theft. He is intelligent, and apt to learn. He was 
 once very anxious to be sent to Botany Bay, fi’om a convic- 
 tion, as he stated, that, when discharged from hence, he would 
 be guilty of fi’esh crimes. He was convicted of larceny. 
 
 Mr Comle’s Remarhs. — No. 3, P. K. — ^This boy has 
 large Acquisitiveness and Secretiveness, and large organs 
 of Intellect and Imitation ; but he is very deficient in Con- 
 scientiousness. He closely resembles the boy, John Gib- 
 son (who is mentioned in the phrenological works, and a 
 cast of whose head Mr C. had exhibited at a lecture two 
 days before). He has the talents and dispositions of an 
 expert svnndler.^ 
 
 Governor’s Report. — ^No. 3, P. K. — This is in almost all 
 
 * We repeat, that l\Ir Combe, in drawing his inferences, considered 
 the whole development of the head in each case, and did not found on 
 the particular organs alone which he noted as predominant. He ex- 
 plained this to the gentlemen accompanying him. 
 
222 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDL’CTI\TE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 respects a very had boy ; he is addicted to swearing, Ijdng, 
 gambling, and every kind of meanness and duplicity. He 
 has very considerable intellectual powers, and exercises 
 them only to do wrong, whenever he can do so with im- 
 punity. He was convicted of sheep-stealing. 
 
 Mr Comhds Remarks. — No. 4, E. A. — This individual 
 possesses a very large development of the organs of the 
 propensities, particularly of Combativeness, Destructive- 
 ness, Secretiveness, and Acquisitiveness, with decidedly 
 deficient moral organs. The base of the brain is broad, 
 and the coronal surface narrow. He is a bad subject; his 
 dispositions are to cruelty and falsehood, and it ivill be ex- 
 tremely difficult to amend him. 
 
 Governor’s Report. — No. 4, E. A. — This man has been 
 confined for about four years, and for the greater part of 
 that time has conducted himself quietly, and Avith apparent 
 correctness ; yet I am persuaded he is a very worthless 
 character. He has tolerably good intellectual powers mth 
 respect to ^natters of fact, but slow at his books. He is mean 
 and treacherous — %vill betray any of his fellow-prisoners 
 to serve himself. He is an ill-looking fellow, but very 
 amorous, and has frequently been detected in holding 
 amorous con*espondence with the female prisoners. I have 
 not the least hopes of his reform — on the contrary, am per- 
 suaded that he is incorrigible. His crime was larceny. 
 
 Mr Combe’s Remarks. — No. 5, A. M. — Enormous De- 
 structiveness, Secretiveness, and Acquisitiveness ; deficient 
 moral organs : he would be a fearful thief, and cruel. 
 
 Governor’s Report. — ^No. 5, A. M. — This boy came to 
 me with a very bad character, which he has fully justified. 
 His intellectual powers are of a high order, and he exerts 
 them to the utmost to do all the mischief in his power. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 423 
 
 He is without truth and probity, or good feeling oi any 
 kind, possesses great ingenuity, and is capable of framing 
 a most consistent story with reference to acts in which he 
 has been engaged, not one of which ever in reality happened. 
 I think when he becomes a man, he %vill be a most danger- 
 ous character, and yet I fear he must be soon thrown back 
 on society, as he is an orphan from Scotland, without a 
 single friend to look after him. His crime was larceny. 
 
 Mr Combe's Remarhs. — Ho. 6, M. M. — This woman has 
 Cautiousness, Secretiveness, and Acquisitiveness, very 
 large, with deficient Conscientiousness. 
 
 Governor's Report. — No. 6, M. M. — This woman is, in 
 my opinion, worthless, and not likely ever to be reclaimed. 
 She is mild and gentle in her manners with her superiors, 
 and rather prepossessing in her appearance, but apt to 
 quarrel with her fellow-prisoners. She is utterly destitute 
 of truth, and abounds in low craftiness and cunning. She 
 was convicted of larceny, and will probably pursue a course 
 of theft. 
 
 Mr Combe's Remarks. — ^No. 7, M. G. — Destructiveness, 
 Secretiveness, and Acquisitiveness, very large ; Conscien- 
 tiousness deficient.^ 
 
 Governor's Report. — No. 7, M. G. — This girl is pre- 
 possessing in her appearance, gentle in her manner, and 
 engaging in conversation; but I fear is, notwithstand- 
 ing, very deficient in moral character. She was for a con- 
 siderable time looked upon as superior to most of her fel- 
 low-prisoners, and treated accordingly; but was discovered, 
 
 ^ Quietness in prison, where temptation is removed and powerful re- 
 straints are imposed, may often appear where Combativeness and De- 
 structiveness are large, if there be also good Secretiveness, Cautious- 
 ness, and Firmness to restrain them. 
 
424 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 on being placed in trust-worthy situations, apt to betray 
 her trust, and to show a disposition to pilfer, to aid others 
 in pilfering, and to justify herself by false statements of 
 facts. She was committed for larceny, and vdll, unless 
 attended to by her Mends, probably take to courses of im- 
 purity. 
 
 Mr Comhe’s Remarks. — No. 8, M. C. — This woman has 
 large Acquisitiveness, Secretiveness, Wonder, and Imita- 
 tion ; but she has also the largest development of the moral 
 organs of any whom I have examined. My impression is, 
 that she would not commit crime in ordinary cii’cumstances, 
 and that there is diseased or irregular action of the brain. 
 
 Governor’s Report. — No. 8, M. C. — This woman, for a 
 long period after her confinement, was coarse, brutish, sel- 
 fish, passionate, quarrelsome, and in aU respects unami- 
 able ; — for the last year or two her conduct has been much 
 better, and the violence of her passions much restrained, 
 if not subdued. She has very considerable talent, and a 
 strong mind, with powerful feelings, but has never turned 
 either to any good account that I am aware of. I have 
 always considered her as a very dangerous woman, and 
 not at aU likely to be reclaimed ; but have always had a 
 suspicion that the violence of her temper and frequent out- 
 rageous conduct were occasioned by bodily disease. For 
 a long time after her confinement she complained of acute 
 pains in her head, and showed evident symptoms of deter- 
 mination of blood to it. It is remarkable that the abate- 
 ment of these pains, and the apparent subjugation of her 
 passions, have nearly corresponded in time. I was much 
 struck by hlr Combe’s observations respecting this woman, 
 as he guessed at once that which I had long knovm to be 
 her bodily malady. She was convicted of larceny. 
 
 In addition to these remarks, the Governor in his letter 
 states, — 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION, 425 
 
 “ In the case of M. C., No. 8, it appears to me you have 
 judged too favourably. This woman has been confined 
 here for more than four years, and for a very considerable 
 portion of that time her character was marked by violence, 
 maliciousness, and brutality, and, when under the influence 
 of high excitement, she was perfectly ferocious. I have 
 frequently suspected that this ferocity of character was at 
 least aggravated by a determination of blood to the head ; 
 and have been strengthened in that belief by finding that 
 her violence of disposition became mitigated concomitantly 
 with the abatement of very bad headaches with which she 
 was for a time afflicted. I have been much struck by the 
 fact of your suspecting organic disease in this woman, as 
 coinciding with the result of my own experience, and I be- 
 lieve I may venture to state, with the opinion of our most 
 respectable and intelligent medical attendant. Dr Charles 
 Orpen.” 
 
 In this woman, Mr C. found the organs of the animal 
 propensities lai’gely developed, which, when excited by dis- 
 eased action, would render her ferocious as described ; but 
 the distinguishing characteristic of her head was the supe- 
 rior moral development, which, but for disease, would have 
 sufficed to restrain and direct the proiiensities ; so that the 
 case forms no exception to Phrenology, but the reverse. 
 
 Mr Combe's Remarks. — No, i), A. B. — This woman has 
 very large Destructiveness, Secretiveness, and Acquisitive- 
 ness, with deficient Conscientiousness. She is a bad sub- 
 ject, and will with difficulty be amended. 
 
 Governor's Report. — No. 9, A. B. — This young woman 
 has generally conducted herself weU, though there have 
 been some very flagrant exceptions. These exceptions ap- 
 pear to have been occasioned by Temper, as she is highly 
 irritable, and is, when excited, frightfully furious and vin- 
 dictive. She is perhaps the cleverest (intellectually) female 
 
426 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDLX'TIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 prisoner in the institution, and, although quiet, gentle, and 
 correct in her ordinary demeanour, I fear she is not to be 
 reclaimed. The crime of which she was convicted was 
 grand larceny. 
 
 Mr Combe's Remarks. — No. 10, B. L. — This is a better 
 subject than the last. She is milder and less coarse. She 
 would probably svdndle. By education she will be greatly 
 improved. 
 
 Governor's Report. — No. 10, B. L. — This girl has been 
 unusually well conducted, is prepossessing in her manner 
 and appearance, docile, and anxious to receive instruction. 
 I was very anxious to learn l\Ii- Combe’s opinion of her, 
 and much gratified to find that it exactly coincided Math 
 that I had previously formed. She was convicted of steal- 
 ing bank-notes. 
 
 Mr Combe's Remarks. — No. 11, P. T. — This is a toler- 
 ably good subject, and something may be made of him. 
 
 Goveymor's Report. — No. 11, P. T. — This young man’s 
 conduct since his admission has been generally correct. He 
 does not appear to have strong passions of any kind, neither 
 is his intellectual capacity great. His dispositions appear 
 to be of a mild character, and I should be surprised to hear 
 that he ever committed any flagrant crime ; though, from 
 a general meanness of character, I think he will, unless well 
 attended to for some years, be guilty of petty thefts. I do 
 not consider him to have strong moral feelings, and I know 
 he was at one time addicted to lying. His crime was 
 larceny.” 
 
 It will have been seen that, in the opposition of phy- 
 siologists to Gall’s discovery, almost the only point in 
 which the doctrine has been controverted by direct appeal 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OP PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 427 
 
 to fact, has been the assignment of the sexual instinct to 
 the cerebellum ; and so perseveringiy have opponents con- 
 tested this particular point, and so imperfectly and feebly, 
 as it appears to the author, have they generally been met 
 by phrenologists (when the firm gi'ound upon which they 
 rest, in this respect, is considered), that special attention 
 has been bestowed upon this part of the controversy, in 
 several of the preceding chapters ; and, for the same reason, 
 the writer will here apply the argument again, specially to 
 the topic in immediate consideration. 
 
 The following history supplies an instance in many 
 respects parallel to the experience of Mr Combe, as just 
 recounted, but has regard only to the particular case of 
 the cerebellum : — The account is taken from a work pub- 
 lished a few years ago by Dr Felix Voisin, of Paris.^ On 
 the occasion of a visit to one of the prisons in Toulon, 
 during the year 1828, Dr Voisin proposed to the governor, 
 M. Eeynard, that he should be allowed to predicate the 
 probable cause of detention of the prisoners by judging of 
 the predominant passion, as revealed by the cerebral develop- 
 ment; stating that his object was purely experimental, 
 being anxious, in this way, to test the accuracy of Gall’s ob- 
 servations, and the probable justice of his conclusions. 
 
 “ In hearing me speak thus,” says Dr Voisin, “ M. 
 Reynard, an entire stranger to phrenology, seemed much 
 surprised, and was himself solicitous for the trial. I made 
 an engagement to return the next day, and at an hour 
 mutually agreed upon, I found upon one of the quays 
 within the prison walls, three hundred and fifty prisoners 
 — forgers, robbers, and murderers. Among them had been 
 mingled, at my request, twenty-two men condemned for 
 rape. ‘ Seek these latter,’ said M. Eeynard to me, smiling, 
 
 ‘ and if you find them, take down their numbers ; I await 
 you in my private office.’ ” 
 
 ‘ De L’Homme Animal. Par F. Voison. Paris, 1839. 
 
428 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 “ I proceeded under the inspection of Sper, 
 
 principal surgeon to the navy at Toulon ; Fleury, principal 
 physician ; Louvergne, surgeon-major; andPossel, curator 
 of the museum. Without speaking, without uttering a 
 single word, I examined the three hundred and seventy- 
 two heads placed at my disposal ; and every time that I 
 found an individual presenting a broad and projecting 
 nape of the neck, I made him go out of the ranks, and 
 took his number. 1 thus put aside twenty-tvm persons, 
 and my list being complete, I repaired in great haste to 
 M. Reynard, impatient as I was to see in what manner an 
 experiment made with the utmost impartiality, would 
 decide upon one of the principal questions I was at that 
 time investigating, — Has each predominant faculty in an 
 individual, generally, an exterior sign on the head ? ” 
 
 “ M. Reynard takes his list ; I unfold mine ; not with- 
 out considerable excitement, I state the numbers which I 
 have just inscribed ; and it is to my oum surprise, that of 
 4;wenty-t'\vo individuals condemned for rape, and lost in 
 a crowd of three hundred and fifty other criminals, 1 
 see thirteen revealed to me by a simple inspection of the 
 cranium.” ........ 
 
 “ ‘ It is a very singular thing,’ said the governor to me, 
 
 ‘ the twenty-two individuals whom you have noticed, are 
 not all condemned for rape, as I have just shown you; but 
 I can attest that they are all of licentious manners, that 
 for a long time they have been noted in my prison for 
 being, in this respect, the objects of a most watchful sur- 
 veillance, and that consequently the configuration of their 
 heads has not deceived you in regal’d to the violence of 
 their particular passion.’ 
 
 Now, this experiment on the part of Dr Voisin, consti- 
 tutes a very important fact, in relation to the disputed 
 function of the cerebellum : it is difficult to see how any 
 
 Op. Citat. pp. 97-99. 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PKACTICAL APPLICATION. 429 
 
 reasonable explanation of the result can be given, other 
 than that which the phrenologist would offer. That, in a 
 promiscuous assemblage of 372 prisoners, including 22 
 convicted of rape, 13 of the latter, or nearly two-thii’ds, 
 should have been detected by their development of cere- 
 bellum ; and that the remaining 9, mistakenly selected by 
 Dr Voisin, should nevertheless have been notorious for 
 their licentiousness, is a circumstance so decisive regard- 
 ing Gall’s physiology of the organ, that it is impossible to 
 neutralise its force, except by proving the existence of some 
 collusive deception in the transaction. This, however, will 
 hardly be attempted. M. Lelut, whose anti-phrenological 
 zeal induced him to -write an octavo book against phreno- 
 logy, most feebly strives to diminish its importance, but 
 does not deny or seek to discredit it. 
 
 Those physiologists who maintain the muscular function 
 of the cerebellum, constantly appeal to comparative ana- 
 tomy, as exhibiting, in different species, an advance in 
 the development and magnitude of the organ, correspond- 
 ently -v\dth the increasing facility and readiness in the regu- 
 lation of various combined movements. Now, if under 
 different circumstances as to fundamental type, size influ- 
 ences power, surely the result should be stiU more decisive 
 and marked, when the same elementary conditions are 
 present, as in indmduals of the same species ; it is so cer- 
 tainly, -\Gth regard to other structures, — the muscles for 
 example. Well then, if Flourens’s physiology of the cere- 
 bellum be the true one, let his disciples show that individuals 
 in whom it is large, excel coiucideutly in agility and dex- 
 terity. Let them supply the counterpart of the experiment 
 just related. In the prosecution of such a step, let twenty- 
 two indiGduals be selected, belonging to some class noto- 
 rious for their cleverness in executing varied and combined 
 movements, — the author -would suggest the class to which 
 the harlequin in pantomime belongs, whose facility in the 
 maintenance of equilibrium is matter of constant experience. 
 
430 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 Let then twenty-two harlequins (in plain dress of course) 
 be mingled promiscuously with 350 other persons of nearly 
 the same circumstances in other points of vieiv ; and let us 
 see if, on an attempted identification of the former fi-om 
 the large development of cerebellum, so many as thirteen 
 could he determined, as was accomplished in the parallel 
 experiment by Dr Voisin. Or, if the broad and project- 
 ing basilar region of the head be not admitted as an out- 
 ward indication of magnitude in the organ, let us imagine 
 the accumulation of 372 cerehella, including twenty-two that 
 had appertained to the class before supposed ; now does 
 any one think, that by employment either of the rule or 
 the scales, the disciple of Flourens could detect thirteen 
 out of the twenty-two? The author conceives, judging 
 from his own experience, that, as a matter of fact, harle- 
 quins exhibit generally but a moderate development of the 
 cerebellum. 
 
 In bringing this work to a close, the author will briefly 
 recapitulate the argument by which he hopes, in some mea- 
 sure, to have accomplished the pui’pose with which it was 
 undertaken. And he would here reiterate, that his inten- 
 tion has been, not to exliibit the brain and its physiology 
 in any point of view involving extended or systematic 
 detail, but to show rather the method by which the physio- 
 logy of the brain should be determined. His first aim was 
 to demonstrate the fallacy of certain modes of procedure 
 too much in vogue, in this inquiry, amongst many able 
 men, — to show that vivisections, comparative anatomy, 
 and pathology, are all inadequate to the primary revelation 
 of the functions of particular parts of the encephalon, how- 
 ever well adapted facts from these sources may be, in the 
 corroboration and elucidation of inductions, gained by a 
 process more just and philosophical. The exposition of 
 this process became his next object ; and, in this respect, 
 he conceives himself to have shown, that coincidence of 
 particular functional manifestation with particular structu- 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 431 
 
 ral development, in a single species, alone supplies decisive 
 evidence concerning the physiology of different parts of 
 tlie encephalon ; and the defence of this proposition was 
 succeeded by some account of the results to which the pro- 
 cess had led. It was then shown, that such results har- 
 monise completely with aU sure information procured fi’om 
 collateral sources, — with every well-ascertained fact in the 
 anatomy of the brain and nervous system and in mental 
 philosophy, with all certain results of encephalic mutilation, 
 with the knowledge furnished by researches in comparative 
 anatomy, and with the irregular phenomena recognised in 
 pathological investigations. Having advanced so far, he 
 felt it right to dwell at some length on the intimate quality 
 of structure as modifying functional manifestation, in order 
 to show that what, in this respect, obtains in cerebral 
 physiology, harmonises completely with aU parallel cii’- 
 cumstances in general physiology, and, indeed, in nature 
 at large. In the present chapter, he has striven to estab- 
 lish that phrenology has just claims to rank amongst the 
 inductive sciences, from the circumstance, that its facts 
 admit of generalisation so as to evolve principles, or induc- 
 tions', which latter he has attempted to distinguish from 
 the deductions which, almost as a matter of course, phreno- 
 logists wiU varyingly make in tracing their science to its 
 real or supposed consequences. And, last of all, he has 
 indicated briefly the extent to which phi-enology is sus- 
 ceptible of practical application. The author would here 
 observe that, in the attempts which he has made to demon- 
 strate the accuracy and the utility of the results, his leading 
 purpose has always been to establish the soundness of the 
 method by which they have been obtained, in realisation 
 of the design professed on the title-page. 
 
 To determine the true method of ascertaining the rela- 
 tions subsisting between the structure and the functions 
 of the encephalon, may, at first sight, have appeared so 
 very simple a problem, as to have needed no booh for its 
 
432 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, AND AS A 
 
 solution ; but the experience of the last fifty years affords 
 a sufficient answer to this objection. In the year 1796, 
 exactly half a century ago. Dr Glall publicly announced 
 the discovery of a connexion between certain specific 
 faculties of the mind, and certain particular parts of the 
 cerebrum and the cerebellum ; explaining the method by 
 which he had attained his conclusions. As wUl have been ap- 
 parent from what has preceded, a number of inquirers, from 
 that day to the present, have pursued the method adopted 
 by Dr Gall, and have obtaiped coincident results, have 
 extended his discoveries, and applied them in practice. 
 On the other hand, the great body of physiologists, reject- 
 ing the views of Gall, and condemning his method of 
 investigation, have sought, by methods of their owm, to 
 arrive at a cerebral physiology different fi-om that which 
 he propounded. In reviewing the results of these fifty 
 years’ labour, it is impossible to deny that Gall’s opponents, 
 although many of them men of talent and boundless in- 
 dustry, have failed in the attempt to discoA'er a physiology 
 of particular portions of the brain, Avhich has met vith 
 any very general approval, or Avhich has been applied to 
 any practical purpose. Satisfied that causes existed for so 
 untoward a condition of cerebral physiology, it occurred 
 to the present vTiter that some advantage would result 
 from a systematic and extended inquiry respecting the 
 merits of tlie various routes by which different physiologists 
 have endeavoured to reach the goal. 
 
 The importance of this inquiry will be the more ap- 
 parent, when it is considered that the method of investigation 
 is recognised as of ' paramount importance in all other 
 scientific inquiries ; because it is constantly seen how the 
 liighest abilities, while pui'suing an incompetent method, 
 fail to accomplish what may be achieved ivithout difficulty, 
 by comparatively slender talents applied in the right direc- 
 tion. This truth has been perceived, and long and earnestly 
 insisted upon by the followers of Gall, while it has been 
 
SCIENCE SUSCEPTIBLE OP PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 433 
 
 almost always overlooked by Ms opponents. So early as 
 1819, Mr Combe, in a correspondence with Dr P. M. 
 Eoget, appended to his Essays on Phrenology,^ formally 
 proposed a discussion of this question of method, pointing 
 out the superiority of the mode of investigation pursued 
 by GaU, over that of all his predecessors or contemporaries ; 
 but Dr Eoget did not meet the question with a due ap- 
 preciation of its importance. In most of the phrenological 
 works that have been published since that date, the question 
 of method has occupied a prominent place, while it has 
 been as regularly evaded or overlooked by writers on the 
 other side. Indeed, so regardless have opponents been in 
 regard to the competency of their own methods of inquiry, 
 that the only point in wMch they have been consistent, is 
 their rejection of that of Dr Gall. Every other method, 
 however illegitimate, or however condemned by them- 
 selves in the abstract, has been received by the vast 
 majority of them, as scientific, if it only professed to 
 lead to conclusions subversive of Ms discovery. No rigid 
 scrutiny has been considered necessary into either facts, 
 principles, or deductions, if the aim have been to give the 
 deathblow to phrenology. Facts the most inconsistent, 
 inductions the most unwarranted by the premises, and 
 arguments the most illogical, have passed uriarraigned and 
 uncondenined, when employed with a view to supersede 
 Gall’s physiology of the brain ; and, as 'will have been 
 obvious from many parts of this work, such a state of things 
 has continued to a most unpardonable extent, even to the 
 present day. Surely half a century is a period sufficiently 
 protracted for inquirers to have wandered without profit 
 in a trackless desert. If Dr Gall’s method be fundamentally 
 erroneous and impracticable, let its inadequacy be proved, 
 and then let it be abandoned for ever ; but, on the con- 
 trary, if it be sound, and constitute the best portal to the 
 
 * TMs correspondence is reprinted in Mr Combe’s work, containing 
 the translation of Gall on the Cerebellum, p. 217. 
 
 T 
 
434 PHRENOLOGY AS AN INDUCTIVE SCIENCE, ETC. 
 
 knowledge which is sought, let its utility at length be per- 
 ceived and acknowledged, and let those who desire to enter 
 the field of investigation, avail themselves of the opening 
 which it afibrds, and proceed by the only practicable 
 method to study and to advance the physiology of the 
 brain. 
 
 Such are the views which prompted to the execution of 
 the present work ; of the imperfections which characterise 
 many of the details and illustrations set forth in its progress, 
 no one can be more fuUy sensible than the author ; but of 
 the justness and the soundness of all the leading arguments 
 (in the employment of which he claims no originality), he is 
 profoundly convinced. And, under all these circumstances, 
 he ventures to assert that the time is come when, for many 
 reasons, the opponents of Gall’s physiology are bound to 
 make good, or to abandon, their own methods of investiga- 
 tion, and to fix at the same time the true value of their own 
 achievements in determining the special functions of the par- 
 ticular parts of the brain. Hitherto, they have considered it 
 unnecessary to bestow much attention upon their own posi- 
 tions ; they have principally aimed at negation. But as every 
 erroneous doctrine obstructs the access of inquiring minds 
 to truth, it becomes a useful labour to weigh the principles, 
 to sift the arguments, and to try the facts of the opponents, 
 so that the ore may be separated from the dross, and the 
 latter removed from the student’s path. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
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APPENDIX. 
 
 (Text, p. 154.) 
 
 ORGAN OP DESTRUCXrVENESS. 
 
 The following passages are taken from an able paper in 
 the first number of the Phrenological Journal, published in 
 1 823 ; and, as it is in the single instance of the organ of 
 Destructiveness that the kind and extent of the proofs upon 
 which is based the phrenological doctrine at large are exem- 
 plified, the subjoined extracts are given as an appendix. 
 
 After supplying an account of Gall’s early observations 
 with respect to this subject, coinciding with what has 
 already been cited in the text, the writer of the article 
 in question proceeds as follows : — 
 
 Dr Gall exhibits a plate of the brain of the lion and 
 tiger, and of the calf and kangaroo, and the convolutions 
 which ai’e marked as the organ of Destructiveness exist in 
 the former, while in the latter, they are absolutely wanting. 
 
 “ At the same time,” says Dr Gall, “ it is proper to 
 observe, that the organ is not, in all carnivorous ani- 
 mals, situated with rigorous exactness, above the external 
 opening of the ear. Among some species of birds, for 
 example, in the stork, the cormorant, the heron, the 
 gull, &c., the external opening of the ear is considerably 
 drawn back, and the organ of the propensity to kill is 
 placed immediately behind the orbits, forming a large 
 prominence upon each side, the size of which is found to 
 bear a uniform proportion to the degree in which the 
 animal manifests the propensity to kill. In comparing the 
 
438 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 crania of carnivorous birds with the skulls of those that 
 can live indifferently, either upon animals or vegetables, 
 this prominence is found to be less conspicuous in the latter ; 
 in the duck, for example, and in the different species of 
 thrushes ; and it becomes less and less prominent in pro- 
 portion as the birds exhibit a more distinct preference for 
 vegetables, such as the swan, the goose,” &c. The differ- 
 ences are illustrated by plates in Dr Gall’s work. 
 
 These characteristics of development of the head vary 
 not only in different species, but in different individuals, 
 generally in proportion to the greater or less predominance 
 of the carnivorous instinct. For example, the portion of 
 brain, above alluded to, is perceptibly larger in the eagle 
 and the falcon, than in the crow and the magpie, larger 
 in the wolf than in the dog, and in the tiger than in the 
 lion. In illustration of the difference among individuals. 
 Dr Gall mentions, that he possesses a considerable collec- 
 tion of the heads of cats and dogs, in forming which, he 
 paid particulai’ attention to the degree in which the car- 
 nivorous instinct had manifested itself in each individual ; 
 and he states it as a fact, that in those cats which were 
 ai’dent hunters, this region of the cranium is decidedly 
 more developed than in those whicli were contented to 
 receive their food in kitchens and parlours. The same 
 circumstance holds in regard to dogs : those which had a 
 large development of this part of the head were known to 
 pursue and kill with avidity mice, rats, hares, and foxes, 
 while those which were not naturally given to such pur- 
 suits, had a smaller development of the same part. He 
 mentions, that it is impossible for any one to make a col- 
 lection of the skulls of cats and dogs, paying attention to 
 this difference of their dispositions, wthout being convinced, 
 beyond the possibility of doubt, of the truth of these remarks. 
 
 So much for the lower animals : The following are a 
 few of the facts stated by Dr GaU, in proof of the existence 
 of the propensity and organ in man. Tlie organ is situate. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 439 
 
 in the human head, at the temporal and lower part of the 
 parietal bone, and is about two inches and a half in length, 
 and an inch and a quarter in breadth. This organ is very- 
 apparent in the crania of two of the accomplices of Schin- 
 derhannes, who had committed more than twenty murders. 
 It was large in a soldier in Berlin, who experienced an 
 ii'resistible propensity to commit mm’der, and who, upon 
 the approach of paroxysm, of which he was sensible, 
 before it attained its height, caused himself to be pinioned 
 to prevent deeds of violence. It was found large in a 
 young woman who had assisted her mother to murder 
 her father : — In a young man, nearly an idiot, w-ho had 
 killed a child without any rational motive, under the im- 
 pulse of a blind propensity : — It was large in the skull of 
 a man named Homme-Dieu, exhibited byM. Briiggmans 
 at Leyden. Tliis -wretch had precipitated a number of 
 persons from the banks of the canals into the water, to 
 enjoy their dying struggles. — ^It was also large in a man 
 of Brunswick, who, -without any other motive than the 
 pleasure of kiUing, had committed two mm-ders, the second 
 on a child ; also in twenty -five women, whom Drs Gall 
 and Spurzheim found confined in different prisons, for 
 infanticide : — It was large in a criminal of Frankfort, who 
 was executed, after having committed a second ' murder ; 
 in Bouhours, who felled his -victims -with a mallet, to 
 rob them of their money ; in all the crania of murderers 
 in the collections of Messieurs Haberl, Sax, "Weigel. In 
 LepeUey des Longs- Champs, the organ was largely developed, 
 and the organ of Combativeness very little ; and this per- 
 son conceived the project of a murder, which he bribed 
 Heluin, who was more courageous than liimself, to execute. 
 In the latter, the organ of Acquisitiveness Avas large. A 
 man, named Valet, mm’dered his grandmother and three 
 aunts; and Mercier, under promise of a sum of money, 
 assisted him, by preventing the Avomen fi’om escaping, but 
 Avithout indicting a single blow. In the cranium of Valet, 
 
440 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the organ of Destructiveness is well developed ; in that of 
 Mercier it is not so. In the latter, the organs of Com- 
 bativeness, Cautiousness, and Benevolence, are very small, 
 while the organ of Acquisitiveness is, on the contrary, very 
 prominent. These skuUs are preserved in the museum at 
 the Jardin du Roi,* and Dr GaU possesses casts of them. 
 The cranium of a man named Voirin, a hatter, guillotined 
 in Paris about the year 1808, for having committed two 
 murders, is exceedingly remarkable. The organ is much 
 developed, and prominent. Dr Gall gives an extract from 
 the act of accusation, which indicates exceeding barbarity 
 in his conduct. The organs of Benevolence and Reflection 
 were also small. The head of Dautun, who had murdered 
 his brother, presents almost the same appearance. The 
 skull of a criminal of Tarn, condemned to death on 21st 
 January 1809, for having assassinated his brother-in-law, 
 presents a very large development of the organ. Dr 
 Coutele narrates the circumstances, and certifies the de- 
 velopment to be such as is now described. (Observations 
 sur la Constitution Medicah de VAnne'e 1808, d Albi. Seconds 
 partie, p. 163 and 165.) In the head of Madelaine Albert 
 de Moulins, the organ is prodigiously developed, and this 
 woman mui’dered, with a hatchet, her mother, brothers, 
 and sisters. A cast of this skull is in the Phrenological 
 Society’s possession. 
 
 Dr Gall mentions also, that in the busts and portraits 
 of Caligula, Nero, SyUa, Septimius Sever us, and Charles 
 the Ninth, this part of the head is represented as largely 
 developed. Besides these. Dr GaU mentions several other 
 cases, but the foregoing must suffice as an example of the 
 kind of evidence on which he proceeded. 
 
 * We are mformed by a gentleman, to whom casts of these skulls 
 were shown by M. Royer of the Jardin du Roi, that he pointed out the 
 characteristic indications of each precisely as here stated, without 
 knowing that such a crime had been committed, much less the share 
 which each had had in its commission. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 441 
 
 In the second place, we shall state part of the evidence 
 on Avhich our own belief in this propensity and organ is 
 founded. The following facts may be verified by any 
 person who has a mind to inquii’e. The organ of Destruc- > 
 tiveness is very large, and that of Benevolence small, in 
 the skull of Bellingham, Avho murdered Mr Percival. The 
 temporal bones protrude at least half an inch in the situa- 
 tion of the organ of Destructiveness, on each side, and the 
 fi’ontal bone presents a receding surface at the organ of 
 Benevolence, where the skulls of individuals remarkable 
 for benevolence generally rise into an elevation of half an 
 inch or more. A cast of Bellingham’s skull may be in- 
 spected in the Phrenological Society’s collection. The 
 organ of Destructiveness is also largely developed in the 
 skull of Gordon, who accompanied a half fatuous pedlar 
 boy, and, in the middle of a muir, beat out his brains with 
 the heal of his clog, and robbed him of his pack, not worth 
 twenty shillings. The skull itself is in the society’s col- 
 lection, and the bones protrude nearly half an inch on 
 each side at the region in question. It is large in Charles 
 Rotherham, who pulled a stake from a hedge, and beat 
 out the brains of a poor woman on the highway, ■ and 
 robbed her of some very trifling articles. It is large also in 
 the skulls of Hussey, Nisbet, and Lockey, who were exe- 
 cuted for murder. It, and the organ of Acquisitiveness, 
 appear to have been very largely developed in the head of 
 Heaman, executed at Edinburgh for piracy and murder ; 
 also in the head of Robert Dean, executed for murdering 
 a child, without any rational motive ; and in the head of 
 jNIitchell, executed for miu’dering a young woman whom 
 he had seduced. In the heads of David Haggart and Mary 
 Mackinuon, executed at Edinburgh, and of Booth, a 
 poacher, executed at York, all for murders committed on 
 the impidse of the moment, it appears considerably de- 
 veloped ; while in them Combativeness is also very large. 
 
 In the whole of these heads and skulls now enumerated, 
 
442 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the distance, in a direct line, measured, by means of calli- 
 pers, from the external opening of the ear to the middle of 
 the surface of Philoprogenitiveness on the skull, i. e. about 
 half an inch above the spinous process of the occipital 
 bone, is equal to the distance from the external opening of 
 tlie ear to the external surface of the head at lower In- 
 dividuality, cori’esponding to the top of the nose ; . and the 
 coronal surface is narrow. This indicates a great prepon- 
 derance of the animal organs situate in the lower and 
 back jiart of the brain, over the organs of the moral sen- 
 timents, and of intellect, situate in the coronal and frontal 
 regions of the head. On the other hand, in several hundred 
 individuals of gentle dispositions and good intellects, whose 
 heads we have examined, we found, with few’ exceptions, 
 the distance before the ear, according to the above measure- 
 ment, to exceed the distance behind it to a considerable 
 extent, in many cases amounting to an inch, and in eia'y 
 instance, the coronal surface was large and ample, in pro- 
 portion to the base and posterior part of the brain. 
 
 Dr George Murray Paterson, surgeon in the Honourable 
 East India Company’s Service, mentions, as the result of 
 three thousand actual examinations, that the organ is small 
 in the heads of tlie Hindoos in general ; who are known to 
 be extremely tender in regard to animal life. In the skulls 
 of fourteen Hindoos, twelve of which w’cre presented to 
 the society by this gentleman, and two by Dr Combe of 
 Leith, the development of the organ will be found to be 
 decidedly less than in the skulls of Europeans in general. 
 
 Several years ago, Peter Somners was tried before the 
 High Court of Justiciary, and found guilty of wantonly 
 murdering, in a tit of intoxication, an old man with whom 
 he w’as amusing himself on the road. Me were informed 
 by a gentleman, who had an opportunity to know the fact, 
 that this young man had manifested great cruelty to 
 animals at previous periods of his life. Me saw him in 
 prison, and his organs of Destructiveness were very large. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 443 
 
 In the country, we saw a hoy who had watched the pro- 
 gress of a brood of swallows, and when they were fully 
 fledged, delivered them alive, one by one, into the mouth of 
 a sow, without any other motive than the barbarous 
 pleasure of seeing them devoured ; and in him the organ 
 was very large. We have read a full account of this case 
 in the society’s MS. book of reports, which we found open 
 to public inspection in the society’s hall. In the collection 
 of Dr Barclay, there is the skull of a Negro who. com- 
 mitted several murders, and in it Destructiveness is very 
 large. 
 
 Hitherto, however, we have contemplated Destructive- 
 ness only when acting with excessive and uncontrolled 
 energy, and producing abuses of its legitimate function. 
 W.e have seen it raging, in brutes and in man, “ without 
 check or limitation, without either pity or remorse.” It 
 is quite obvious, that it was precisely in such cases that 
 the organ and the propensity Avere most likely to force 
 themselves upon the notice of the observer, because they 
 were present in that high degi’ee of development and ac- 
 tivity, which produced a predominance of this feeling over 
 the other faculties of the mind. Destructiveness, however, 
 when dii’ected by the higher sentiments, ser\’es a valuable 
 purpose in the mental economy. The form in A\Tich it 
 manifests itself when opposed by obstacles fi’om without, 
 is the passion of anger. When combined with benevo- 
 lence, or a strong sense of justice, it gives rise to a virtuous 
 indignation, some degree of which is absolutely necessary 
 to the true dignity of man. Nothing is more necessary or 
 more becoming a perfectly virtuous character, than a just 
 degree of severity and anger against every species of 
 vice, fraud, deceit, and cruelty. When we witness any 
 signal instance of these, not to be angiy is a proof of a 
 mean and contemptible spirit. It is this faculty which 
 gives to the character its greatest energy and power. It 
 lends a peculiar force to the accents of command. Every 
 
444 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 command so enforced implies in it a threat : “ Do thus, 
 or thus, as ye shall answer.” It is an intimation of the 
 will of the speaker, coupled with the further intimation, ex- 
 pressed or implied, that disobedience will he attended Avith 
 fatal or inconvenient consequences. This power, accord- 
 ingly, is highly necessary to the chiefs of savage or unciA-i- 
 lised nations, and even aniong a more refined people to all 
 in situations of command. Robert Bruce in former days, 
 and Buonaparte in our OAvn, had this organ largely de- 
 veloped. The cast of the skull of Bruce is in the collection 
 of the Phrenological Society, and may he inspected hy 
 those who Avish to verify the statement. Destructiveness 
 also gives edge to sarcasm and satire, and prompts the 
 fixncy to the conception of all those images of terror, which 
 become sublime or horrible, according as they are clothed 
 Avith ideality, or presented in naked deformity. Xow, Ave 
 state as positive fact, that Ave have measured Avith cal- 
 lipers, and noted in inches and tenths, the development of 
 this organ in a great variety of individuals, and that we 
 have found the presence of the peculiar kind of energy noAv 
 mentioned, to bear a regidar proportion to its size. In 
 several eminent public characters in particular, whose 
 head we hax-e examined, but AA'hose names, for obvious 
 reasons, Ave forbear to mention, who manifest, in a strik- 
 ing manner, this mental quality, Ave found the organ large, 
 and Ave neA^er found a single indi\idual who manifested 
 tliis power, in Aidiom the organ Avas small. IVhen, on the 
 other hand, the organ of Destructiveness is small, and the 
 higher sentiments are poAA^erful, there is a want of fire in 
 the character : there is a softness Avhich is little fitted to 
 awe or control a fiery spirit in others, — an effeminacy Avhich 
 does not make itself felt in the contests of life, — and 
 a tendency to listless insipidity, from the want of a spur 
 Avithin ; and those characteristics are gi’eatly aggravated 
 if Combativeness also be small. In private life, we have 
 met with individuals who Avere noted for this undue soft- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 445 
 
 ness and effeminacy of disposition, who, with fail’ talents, 
 were unable to make themselves felt in the circles in which 
 they moved, and whose own exertions were never able to 
 carry them through the difficulties of life ; and in them we 
 found the organ in question small. These differences 
 amounted to at least half an inch on each organ of De- 
 structiveness, or a whole inch on tjie general breadth of the 
 head across the temporal bones. 
 
 The facts now adverted to may be viewed as positive 
 proofs of the existence of this organ and faculty ; but, in 
 the third place, we proceed to advert to some phenomena 
 in human nature, recorded without any view to phrenology, 
 from which some inferences may be drawn concerning the 
 existence of this propensity. We may premise, that meta- 
 physicians and ordinary observers of human nature, admit 
 the existence of instinctive tendencies in the human mind, 
 quite distinguishable from mere intellect or reason. Thus, 
 for example, no one confounds the feeling of love with 
 mere intellectual ideas. The intellect perceives the objects 
 which excite this passion, but the feeling itself is not in- 
 tellectual. The same observation applies to the senti- 
 ments of hope, benevolence, fear, and many others, which 
 are generally admitted to be different fi’om, and not im- 
 mediately dependent upon, the intellectual powers. Now, 
 these feelings are known to become diseased ; and the effect 
 of the diseased excitement on the feelings of love, for ex- 
 ample, is to produce ungovernable desires, — on the senti- 
 ment of hope, to give rise to extravagant joy, without any 
 adequate external cause. But in these cases, a sane feeling 
 is admitted to exist, which disease excites into inordinate 
 activity, but does not create. Now, if we find patients 
 under mental alienation displaying the most irresistible 
 impulse to destroy, we are entitled to argue, upon every 
 principle of analogy, that some propensity of a similar 
 character must exist also in the same state, of which these 
 
446 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 manifestations are only abuses caused by the disturbing 
 influence of disease ; — in short, that disease can no more 
 produce, as a first cause, a violent tendency to destroy, 
 than it can create a sixth sense, a new sentiment, or an 
 intellectual power. Is there, then, such a tendency mani- 
 fested in derangement or not ? 
 
 The following cases are published in Dr Gall’s Phy- 
 siologie du Cervcau. hli’ Mayer of Berlin, surgeon of a 
 regiment, showed Drs Gall and Spurzheim, in presence 
 of Messrs Heim, Formey, Gcericke, and others, a soldier, 
 who, from distress at the loss of his wife, had suffered a 
 wasting of the body, accompanied with excessive irrita- 
 bility. At last he was seized every month with convulsions. 
 He perceived their approach, and as he felt an immoderate 
 propensity to kill increasing upon him, in proportion as 
 the paroxysm approached, he begged his attendants to 
 bind him with chains. At the end of a few days the fit 
 and propensity diminished, and he himself indicated the 
 time he might with propriety be set at liberty. At Haina 
 they saw a man, who, at certain period.®, felt an irre- 
 sistible desire to commit violence on others. He also was 
 aware of his unhappy tendency, and made himself be con- 
 fined tiU such time as he felt that he would not abuse his 
 liberty. A man, subject to melancholy, assisted at the 
 execution of a criminal, and the spectacle excited in him 
 such a vivdd emotion, that he was instantly seized with a 
 vehement desire to kill, and at the same time preserved 
 the gi’eatest abhorrence of such a crime. He spoke of liis 
 unhappy condition with tears and extreme confusion, 
 begued of his friends to save themselves from his hands, 
 and thanked them when they strenuously resisted his 
 attempts. Pinel, also a celebrated vu’iter on insanity, who 
 is not a phrenologist, remarked that patients are frequently 
 furious without derangement of the intellectual faculties, 
 and he therefore testifies dissatisfaction with the definition 
 which Locke has given of insanity. He speaks of an in- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 447 
 
 dividual who was subject to periodical attacks of mania, 
 and whose fits regularly returned after intervals of calm of 
 several months’ duration. “ Their approach,” says he, 
 “ was preceded hy the sensation of a burning heat in the 
 interior of the abdomen, then in the breast, and latterly in 
 the face ; next redness of the cheeks, sparkling eyes, great 
 distention of the veins and arte];ies of the head, and at 
 last an uncontrollable fury, which inspired him with an 
 in’esistible propensity to seize an instrument or olfensive 
 weapon to knock on the head the first person who presented 
 himself to his view. He experienced a sort of internal 
 combat between this ferocious impulse to destroy, and the 
 profound horror which rose in his mind at the very idea 
 of such a crime. There was no mark of wandering of 
 memory, imagination, or judgment. He avowed to me, 
 during his strict seclusion, that his propensity to commit 
 a murder was absolutely forced and invohmtary, — that his 
 wife, whom he tenderly loved, had nearly become his 
 victim, he having scarcely had time to bid her fly to avoid 
 his fury. All his lucid intervals were marked by melan- 
 choly reflections and expressions of remorse ; and so great 
 did his disgust of life become, that he had several times 
 attempted, by an act of suicide” (this is common in the 
 excess of Destructiveness), “ to bring it to a close. What 
 reason have I (said he) to cut the throat of the super- 
 intendent of the hospital, who treats us with so much 
 kindness ? and yet in my moments of fury I am tempted to 
 rush upon him, as well as others, and plunge a dagger 
 in his bosom. It is this unhappy and irresistible pro- 
 pensity which reduces me to dispair, and makes me attempt 
 my own life.” (Sur V Alienation Mentale, deuxieme edition, 
 pp. 102 et 103, § 117.) “Another insane patient,” says 
 Pinel, “ experienced attacks of fury, which recurred 
 periodically during six months of the year. He was sen- 
 sible himself of the decline of the symptoms towards the 
 end of the fits, and indicated precisely the time when he 
 
448 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 might be set at liberty in the interior of the hospital. He 
 requested the attendants to defer his liberation, if he felt 
 doubts of controlling the blind impulse wliich prompted 
 him to commit acts of the greatest violence. During his 
 intervals of calm, he avowed that while the fits lasted, it 
 was impossible for him to repress his fury ; that if any 
 one presented himself before him, he experienced, believing 
 that he saw the blood flo\ving in the veins of the man, an 
 irresistible desire to suck it, and to tear his limbs to pieces 
 with his teeth.” Ibidem, p. 283, 284, § 239. 
 
 The following case is given on the authority of Dr 
 Zimmennan of Eh’umbach. “ A peasant, born at Krum- 
 bach, in Suabia, aged twenty-seven, and unmarried, and 
 of parents who did not enjoy the best of health, was sub- 
 ject, from the age of eight years, to frequent attacks of 
 epilepsy. About two years ago his malady changed its 
 character, without its being possible to assign any reason 
 for the alteration ; — instead of the attack of epilepsy, the 
 man, since this period, felt liimself seized with a violent 
 propensity to commit a murder. He felt the approach of 
 the attack sometimes several hours, sometimes a whole 
 day, before its actual invasion. From the moment in 
 which he felt the presentiment, he earnestly entreated to 
 be chained, to prevent him fr'om committing so fearful a 
 crime. ‘ "When the propensity seizes me (said he), I am 
 absolutely forced to kill or strangle, were it even an in- 
 fant.’ His father and mother, for whom he felt a sincere 
 attachment, -would have been, during the attack, the first 
 Hctims of his propensity. ‘ Mother,’ cried he, in a tone 
 of voice truly terrible, ‘ fly, or I shall be absolutely forced 
 to strangle you.’” 
 
 M. Fodere, also, who is rather an opponent than a 
 convert to phrenology, cites several examples of the great 
 activity of the destructive propensity in mania; among 
 others, that of a young man, of twenty-five years of age, 
 who had several times lifted his hand against his father. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 449 
 
 and who was shut up on this account in a lunatic asylum. 
 He was always very neat in his person, and appeared 
 sensible, “ which induced me,” says Fodere, “ to endeavour 
 to excite in him a feeling of remorse ; but he would never 
 admit the enormity of his crime, and he frequently eyed 
 me to give me a blow, — his manners all the time being 
 extremely polite.” (Traite du Delire applique a la Medecine, 
 par M. Fodere, tome premier, p. 401, § 196.) Other cases 
 are recited by Pinel, pp. 119, 120, and 165, which it is 
 unnecessary to detail. 
 
 These cases might be multiplied to a great extent, by 
 mere reference to the public newspapers. We shall cite 
 only one, which appeared in them in May 1822. “ Mur- 
 
 der OP A CHILD BY ITS MOTHER. — On Sunday morning, 
 about half-past ten o’clock, a most sanguinary and horrid 
 murder, of unparalleled inhumanity, was perpetrated on 
 the body of a fine female infant, about eight months old, 
 named Sarah Mountford, by her own mother, wife of Mr 
 Mountford, weaver. No. 1, Virginia Row, Bethnal Green. 
 The husband, who is a methodist, had gone to chapel, 
 leaving his wife to clean, and send to the Sunday school, 
 her young family. Having done this, it appeared she 
 cleaned herself and her infant, when, overcome by some 
 extraordinary aberration of intellect, she cut off the head 
 of the child with a razor, and, besmeared with the blood, 
 immediately told the persons in the house of the bloody 
 deed, desiring to be given into custody, as she wanted to 
 be hanged. From the conduct of the wretched woman 
 after the transaction, no doubt can be entertained of her 
 insanity. Mrs Mountford underwent a short examination 
 on Monday, and was committed for trial. A coroner’s 
 inquest has since been held, which returned a verdict of 
 wilful murder against the -wretched woman. The distress 
 of the family is extreme. The unhappy husband and two 
 of the eldest daughters are seen running about the streets 
 in a state of distraction. One of the latter has been de- 
 
t 
 
 450 APPENDIX. 
 
 prived of utterance since the horrid transaction.” This 
 woman is said to have been “ overcome by some extra- 
 ordinary aben-ation of intellect which mode of expression 
 may be forgiven in the writer of a newspaper paragraph, 
 but, viewed philosophically, it is absurd. The intellectual 
 powers enumerated by the metaphysicians, such as per- 
 ception, conception, memory, imagination, and judgment, 
 furnish no propensities to action, which, being deranged, 
 could produce such a piece of barbarity. Derangement of 
 intellect causes the patient to reason incorrectly, and 
 speak incoherently ; hut, if his feelings be soimd, he is not 
 mischievous. Here, however, the unhappy woman seems 
 to have been inspired with a blind and irresistible impulse 
 to kill. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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