45 
 
 Carmichael, Andrew. 
 
 A memoir of the life and 
 philosophy of Spurzheim 
 
 

Digitized by the Internet Archive # 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/memoiroflifephil00carm_0 
 
TVIEMOIR OF SPURZIIEIM. 
 
“ New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any 
 other reason, but because they are not already common; but Truth, like 
 gold, is not the less so for being newly brought out of the mine.” 
 
 Locke. 
 
 “ The harmony of a science, supporting each part the other, is, and 
 ought to bg, the true and brief confutation and suppression of all the smaller 
 sort of objections." * 
 
 Lord Bacon. 
 
 “ The enquiry of truth, which is the love-making or wooing of it; the 
 knowledge of truth, W'hich is the presence of it; and the belief of truth, 
 which is the enjoying of it—are the sovereign good of human nature. 
 
 “ Certainly it is heaven upon earth, to have a man’s mind move in cha¬ 
 rity, rest in providence, and turn upon the poles of truth.” 
 
 Lord Bacon. 
 
A MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY 
 
 /- 
 
 SPUllZHElM. 
 
 BY 
 
 ANDREW CARMICHAEL, M.R. LA. 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF THE PHRENOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF DUBLIN; AND PUB 
 LISHED AT THE DESIRE OF THAT SOCIETY. 
 
 “ Friend of Man—of God tlie Servant; 
 
 Advocate of truths divine; 
 
 Nature’s Priest—how pure and fervent 
 Was thy worship at her shrine!” 
 
 Rev. Mr. Pierpont's Ode at the Funeral qf 
 Spur%heim. Mov. 17, lS3'i. 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY W. F. WAKEMAN, 9, D’OLIER-ST. 
 
 LONDON : SIMPKIN & MARSHALL, AND R. GROOMBRIDGE : 
 AND JOHN ANDERSON, JUN. EDINBURGH. 
 
 1833 
 
DUBLIN : 
 
 PRINTED BY P. D. HARDY, CECILIA-STREET, 
 
TO THE 
 
 PRESIDENT, VICE-PRESIDENTS, AND MEMBERS OF 
 
 THE PHRENOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF DUBLIN, 
 
 IS INSCRIBED 
 
 This iniperleot ami inadequate Memoir of the efforts and 
 triumphs of our common Friend. Justly attached to him, 
 you extend your good-will to every thing connected with his 
 name ; and too hastily presume, that whatever is interesting 
 to you will prove of equal interest to the world. Your wishes 
 are commands to me; and they have been obeyed. Yet we 
 may find that the world will sympathise but little with us, in 
 the studies we pursue, or the loss we deplore. 
 
 Amongst you are many of the most valued and attached 
 of my Friends. To each and to all, these pages are dedi¬ 
 cated ; but particularly to him, who, more partial still than 
 others, imposed this task as a sacred duty upon me—w'ho, 
 ardent in the cause of truth, yet delights in quiet as his 
 element—and whose affectionate, cheerful, philosophic, ra- 
 tionally-religious converse has mingled such rare felicity with 
 so many of my hours. Next: to him, of similar disposi¬ 
 tions, but more adventurous daring—equally a man of peace. 
 
IV 
 
 DEDICATIQN. 
 
 yet shrinking from no field of eontroversy—alike in diversi¬ 
 fied excellence, alike in unvarying kindness, and alike in the 
 happy inclination to encourage and approve. Again : to 
 HIM, who w'as the first to commend, and call forth the com¬ 
 mendations of others—to him, and to every one, who reflect¬ 
 ed back his good-nature, and re-echoed his suffrage ; and 
 who, I am confident, will form an union of talent, energy, 
 and information, amply qualified to disseminate through the 
 community the principles and influence of Phrenology— 
 ambitious as they must be to emulate the example of that 
 highly-gifted body, which is the ornament and the boast of 
 the Athens of Britain— 
 
 “THE PHRENOLOGICAL SOCIETY.” 
 
 To the Members of that enlightened Association, whose breath 
 has dissipated the mists of ignorance, prejudice, and malig¬ 
 nity, which overclouded the horizon, not only of their own, 
 but of many another realm, I also tender my devoted ho¬ 
 mage. But particularly to him, who was first and last in the 
 sacred cause—always persevering, always indefatigable, al¬ 
 ways victorious; and who, more than all others, participates in 
 our present regret, because, more than all others, he knew' the 
 value of Spurzheim; and is competent to appreciate the mag¬ 
 nitude of a bereavement like this, to the disappointed affec¬ 
 tions of Friends, and the unsatisfied wants of Society—who 
 already has achieved such Herculean labours in vindication 
 of THE TRUE Science of mind —who alone can replace the 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 V 
 
 unwearied Atlas we have lost; and sustain the ponderous 
 burthen he so proudly upheld. 
 
 And lastly, I am desirous to include, in my warmest pro¬ 
 fessions of respect and admiration, 
 
 THE PHRENOLOGISTS OF BOSTON, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE OTHER CITIZENS OF AMERICA, 
 
 who, trained to liberty, tintrammelled by prejudice, and dis¬ 
 daining every species of mental bondage, sought, from the 
 opposite side of the globe, an Instructor, well knowing how 
 to emancipate Minds from the despotism of Error, and estab¬ 
 lish the commonwealth of Truth and Nature, Freedom and 
 Morality, Reason and Religion. Every city, every village, 
 every university, every school of art and academy of science, 
 thirsted for the promised stream of knowledge ; but while it 
 yet poured its living waters, the source was dried up—the 
 current ceased to flow. How inscrutable are the ways of 
 Providence! The good intended by God is always, in the 
 end, accomplished—yet how seldom accomplished by the 
 means expected or prescribed by man. In the mid-day ex¬ 
 ertion of his resplendent usefulness, Spurzheim perished. 
 It is for Providence, who has the will and the power, to re¬ 
 pair this great calamity. 
 
 The Americans at first welcomed him as a stranger —early 
 
VI 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 they acknowledged him as a Friend —too early they wei)t 
 over him as a Brother. At this side of the Atlantic, with 
 the tears of sorrow for the man, are mingled tears of applause, 
 of gratitude, of sympathizing affection, an unextorted tribute 
 of the heart, to that great ])eo})le, who knew so well how to 
 honour distinguished Worth, and consecrate the memory of 
 distinguished Wisdom and distinguished Virtue. 
 
A MEMOIR, 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 The world has lost another benefactor.—The founder 
 of Phrenology, that science teeming with the ameliora¬ 
 tion of society and the happiness of the species, was 
 soon followed by his equally illustrious coadjutor .— 
 Gall is no more—Spurzheim is no more. They are 
 both beyond the influence of their presumptuous, arro¬ 
 gant, envious, shallow, malignant adversaries—and 
 may peaceably take their places in the temple of Fame, 
 among the Bacons, the Harveys, the Newtons, and the 
 Lockes ; and the noblest inmates of the fane will not 
 disdain to see them grace even loftier pedestals than 
 their own. 
 
 At the close of our last session we were extolling 
 the magnanimity of our celebrated friend, in disregard¬ 
 ing the quiet of home and the discomforts and suffer¬ 
 ings of an Atlantic voyage, to visit, in the autumn of 
 his days, a land of strangers, in the simple hope of being 
 serviceable to mankind, by planting his science in ano- 
 
 B 
 
o 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 ther hemisphere. We anticipated the welcome those 
 strangers would give him—we anticipated the vigour 
 with which his science would flourish in that new and 
 healthy soil—we were proud to believe that, under his 
 own skilful and fostering hand, it would overspread 
 that mighty continent—and above all, we strenuously 
 hoped, that the disappointments and vexations he had 
 too often and too bitterly experienced in Europe, 
 Avould be expunged from his recollection in America; 
 and that the triumph of his doctrines, the increased 
 splendor of his reputation, and the idolatry of his new 
 friends (for the friendship with which Spurzheim was 
 ever regarded was almost idolatry) would encompass 
 liim Avith a halo of happiness beyond any he could look 
 for at this side of the Atlantic.—But Ave did not antici- 
 ])ate—Ave did not expect, that, at the opening of this 
 session—so soon—so suddenly—Ave should have to la¬ 
 ment that his active usefulness had ceased—his en¬ 
 lightened labours ended. Yet Ave have still Avhere- 
 Avithal to console us. It is true, his lamp of life is ex¬ 
 tinguished ; but he has not left the Avorld in darkness ; 
 he has lighted up a flame in every civilized region of 
 the earth. Philosopher after Philosopher—Phrenolo¬ 
 gist after Phrenologist may die—but Phrenology can 
 never perish — It is everlasting, like the other 
 TRUTHS OF God. 
 
 John Caspar Spurzheim was born on the 3Ist of 
 December, 1776, at Longuich, near Treves, on the 
 Moselle, about sixty or seventy English miles from its 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 3 
 
 confluence with the Rhine, at Coblentz. It is stated 
 in recent public journals, that his father w'as a farmer, 
 and educated him for the clerical profession. He ac¬ 
 quired the first rudiments of Greek and Latin in his 
 native village ; to which, he added Hebrew at the uni¬ 
 versity of Treves, uhere he matriculated in 1791, in 
 his fifteenth year, and where he also entered upon the 
 study of Divinity and Philosophy, of both of which, in 
 his riper years, he was a consummate master. In 1792, 
 the republican armies of France overran the south of 
 Germany, and seized upon Treves. Spurzheim retired 
 to Vienna, where he was received into the family of 
 Count Splangen, who entrusted to him the education of 
 his sons. 
 
 Gall, at that time, w'as settled as a physician in Vi¬ 
 enna, and had in his charge many of the hospitals, and 
 other public institutions requiring medical superinten¬ 
 dence. His house was open to every one who wished 
 for information in his newly discovered science. In 
 1796, he delivered his first private course ; but it does 
 not appear that Spurzheim attended his lectures until 
 1800 ; and even, at this time, they continued to be pri¬ 
 vate. “ He then spoke of the brain as the general or¬ 
 gan of the mind—of the necessity of considering the 
 brain as divided into different special organs—and of 
 the possibility of determining those organs by the deve¬ 
 lopment of individual parts of the brain, exhibited in 
 the external configuration of the head. He admitted 
 organs of different specific memories, and of several 
 
4 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 feelings,”^ particularly language, constructiveness, co¬ 
 lour, tune, locality, form, number, and individuality; 
 and these he chiefly dwelt on as organs of memory, 
 and did not advert with much attention to the other 
 powers and propensities inherent in them, although the 
 second in the list (and I have named them in the order 
 in which they were discovered) obviously consisted 
 more of an intellectual impulse than a memory. 
 
 Such was the physiological state of the science when 
 Spurzheim became a convert to its doctrines, in his 
 twenty-third year. Its condition, with respect to ana¬ 
 tomy, was equally imperfect. Gall was sensible that 
 physiognomical means alone, w'ere not sufficient to dis¬ 
 cover the physiology of the brain ; and that anatomy 
 was a necessary coadjutor. He was confirmed in this 
 conviction, by observing a poor woman affected with 
 hydrocephalus, who, though reduced to great weakness, 
 continued to possess an active and intelligent mind. 
 After her death, four pounds of water were found in her 
 head; the brain was much distended, but not destroyed 
 or dissolved ; he therefore concluded, tliat the struc¬ 
 ture of this organ must be very different from what it 
 was commonly supjiosed to be. 
 
 As Gall’s time was greatly occupied by his profession¬ 
 al duties, he employed a student to dissect for him. Mr. 
 Niclas’ investigations were, however, conducted accord¬ 
 ing to the old school, and Avith mere mechanical views; 
 
 ' See Spurzheim’s notes to Chenevix’s pamphlet on Phreno¬ 
 logy. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 O 
 
 but, from the moment Spurzheim became the associate 
 of Gall, which was in 1804, the anatomy of the brain 
 assumed a new character. He specially undertook the 
 prosecution of the anatomical department; and in their 
 public and private demonstrations, he always made the 
 dissections, and Gall explained them to the students. 
 
 Before he united with Gall he had terminated his 
 studies in the medical schools; he was, therefore, at 
 full liberty to devote all'his time and intelligence to 
 the science, wdiich, even at its first opening upon 
 him, had fascinated his understanding; and which con¬ 
 tinued through life his occupation, his pleasure, and, in 
 a double sense, his glory. With redoubled zeal, and 
 accumulated power, they pursued their investigations 
 together. Their reflections on the existence of so 
 many specific memories, altogether different, soon led 
 them to a discovery still more important. They ob¬ 
 served that those who possessed a peculiar memory 
 were gratified in exerting it, and felt a pleasure in pur¬ 
 suing the objects connected with it. Those endowed 
 with Si^erbal memory had a strong propensity to exer¬ 
 cise it in recitation, or in the study of languages ; while 
 those who were remarkable for a local memory, enter¬ 
 tained a similar inclination to visit a variety of places, 
 and observe and compare the diversified relations of 
 sensible space, and so of the memory of persons, tunes, 
 facts, <&c. It therefore naturally occurred to their 
 understandings, that tlie organs of the mind are very 
 different from those supposed by philosophers, from 
 
 B 2 
 
6 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 Aristotle down to Locke, Reid, and Stewart; and that 
 tliere is not a general perception which takes cogni¬ 
 zance of all sensations -a general memory which re¬ 
 tains the recollection of names, numbers, places, tunes, 
 facts, and every kind of object—a general imagination 
 which combines them in new forms, and a general 
 judgment which compares and ascertains their diffe¬ 
 rences ; but, that the organ of language, the organ of 
 space, the organ of number, the organ of music, are 
 gifted, at once, with their own separate and distinct 
 perception, memory, imagination, and judgment, and 
 actuated by a propensity to exercise their respective 
 faculties on their appropriate objects. They, there¬ 
 fore, were led to believe, that each organ Avas devoted 
 to a special purpose, not hitherto imagined by philoso¬ 
 phers ; and, in subservience to that purpose, Avas sepa¬ 
 rately endoAved Avith all the faculties, Avhich, till noAA", 
 Avere ascribed to the understanding at large. 
 
 Animals, Avhose intellectual poAvers are so much infe¬ 
 rior to those of man, obviously possess perception, memo¬ 
 ry, judgment, and imagination, though restricted Avithin a 
 narroAV and limited range of exercise. But, they can 
 neither abstract, nor generalize, nor discern the rela¬ 
 tion of cause and effect. It may then be considered 
 an argument for the existence of those separate and 
 peculiar poAvers of perception, memory, judgment, and 
 imagination, that other animals possess those gifts as Avell 
 as man, in proportion to the organs Avith Avhich they 
 are endoAved, Avhether fcAv or numerous. But if they 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 7 
 
 can exercise their understandings in comparing such ob¬ 
 jects as are under the cognizance of any one of their or¬ 
 gans, and even exerting the power of invention in a 
 partial and unconnected manner, they can probably 
 go no farther. They cannot, like man, bring into one 
 general comparison the divers objects of all their or¬ 
 gans ; and analyze, select, and combine, the similar and 
 kindred, tlie remote and heterogeneous materials of in¬ 
 vention, scattered through' different regions of the 
 brain. Man, alone, enjoys this privilege; and it be¬ 
 came the first objeet of the united labours of these phi¬ 
 losophers to discover the organ of this important fa¬ 
 culty. Among men remarkable for the talent of illus¬ 
 trating one circumstance by another, and bringing to¬ 
 gether particulars that create a reciprocal light, they 
 found the organ of comparison.—Among those who 
 studied the philosophy of mind and the phenomena of 
 nature, they found the organ of causality. 
 
 Gall had been led to the discovery of all the organs 
 he had yet ascertained, by observing the actions of in¬ 
 dividuals, and attending to their mental operations in a 
 state of activity; such, for example, as the facility in 
 recollecting and repeating whatever series of words had 
 been committed to memory—skill in the mechanical arts, 
 designing, and music—the exercise of memory in re¬ 
 spect of places, persons, numbers, events and pheno 
 mena—the propensity to travel, to calculate, to search 
 after knowledge, to compare the analogies of things, to 
 ascend to causes, to descend to effects. These several 
 
8 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 faculties during their activity and manifestation in indi¬ 
 viduals, betrayed one after another the seat of their re¬ 
 spective organs. It was, therefore, not surprising, that 
 Gall, when he abandoned the beaten track of the schools, 
 after an irksome and unprofitable search for general or¬ 
 gans of memory, judgment, and imagination, should seize 
 with eagerness, the conjecture, that every class ofactions 
 might have an appropriate organ in the brain. In consi¬ 
 dering, therefore, the most striking and energetic actions 
 of men, he noticed rapine, murder, and lust—he ob¬ 
 served benevolence, justice, and piety—unshaken firm¬ 
 ness, and hesitating caution—pride wrapped in its 
 own opinion, ambition wrapped in the opinions of 
 others—cunning that succeeds in the dark—violence, 
 courage, and magnanimity, that disdain any but an 
 open triumph. He visited the prisons, the hospitals, 
 the schools, and the churches of Vienna; and he found 
 organs which he did not hesitate to name as the organs 
 of theft, murder, and cunning, benevolence, and reli¬ 
 gion. He considered the actions of men, whether 
 good or evil, as necessarily flowing from the organiza¬ 
 tion they received from nature, without adverting to 
 the primitive power their organs were destined to ex¬ 
 ercise in a healthy and unvitiated state. But as no 
 man is a universal genius, it was here his philosophj^ 
 was eclipsed by that of his coadjutor. Spurzheim had 
 the merit of pointing out the primitive powers of the 
 different organs, and discriminating between the insti¬ 
 tutions of God, and the abuses of those institutions. 
 
MEMOIR OP SPURZHEIM. 
 
 9 
 
 Gall continued to lecture in his own house, at Vien¬ 
 na, until the government of Austria, in 1802, thought 
 proper to interdict his lectures. He lingered, how¬ 
 ever, for three years in that city; but, at length, on 
 the 6th of March, 1805, he and his fellow-labourer 
 took their departure together, with the intention, how¬ 
 ever, of retiu’iiing to this, their home, if a more liberal 
 spirit should arise. But this spirit has not yet arisen 
 in Austria. They first visited the parents of Gall, who 
 resided at Tiefenbrun, near Pforsheim, in Swabia ; and 
 various invitations from the northern universities of 
 Germany, induced them to go from place to place, dis¬ 
 seminating their doctrines, making new observations, 
 collecting facts in every region they visited, satisfying 
 public curiosity, which had become intense on the 
 subject, and establishing a renown which may now bid 
 defiance to every assailant. 
 
 Their first scientific visit was to Berlin, which they 
 entered, on the 17th of April, 1805. There they pur¬ 
 sued their phrenological investigations in the prisons 
 and hospitals; and repeated their anatomical demon¬ 
 strations in the presence of the medical professors and 
 numerous auditors. Outlines of their lectures were 
 published by Professor Bischoif. From Berlin they 
 went to Potsdam, thence to Leipzig, Dresden, and 
 Halle. At Halle, their lectures and demonstrations 
 were attended by the very Reil from whom they were 
 charged with pillaging the self-same discoveries, in 
 the structure of the brain, which, on that occasion. 
 
10 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 they taught him, both in public and private dissections. 
 —His own acknowledgments, were, “ I have seen 
 more in the anatomical demonstrations of the brain, 
 by Gall, than, I conceived, a man could discover in the 
 course of a long life.” In the same year they visited 
 Weimar, Jena, Gottingen, Brunswick, HamBurgh, 
 Kiel, and Copenhagen. In 1806, they visited Bremen, 
 Munster, Amsterdam, Leyden, Frankfort, Heidelberg, 
 Manheim, Stutgard, and Fribourg. In 1807, they 
 visited Marbourgh, Wurtzbourg, Munich, Augsburgh, 
 Ulm, Zurich, Berne and Bale. They either lectured on, 
 or demonstrated the brain in each of those cities ; and 
 Doctor Knoblanch, of Leipzig, Doctor Bloed, of Dres¬ 
 den, and many other scientific men, followed the ex¬ 
 ample of Professor BischoflP, in publishing outlines of 
 their anatomical and physiological views, and other 
 works connected u ith the subject. Their classes were 
 well attended ; but the great mass of the learhed'Te- 
 mained unconverted. They are now, however, re¬ 
 penting of their injustice to their distinguished country¬ 
 men ; they are investigating the truth of the science 
 with ardour; and a translation of Gall’s great work 
 into his native language, has, at length, appeared. 
 
 In the autumn of 1807, they arrived in Paris; and 
 in the presence of Cuvier, Fourcroy, GeoflTroy de St. 
 Hilaire, Dumaril, Demangeou, and others, they dis¬ 
 sected the brain, and repeated their demonstrations 
 before many learned societies. Here, at length, they 
 became tired of wandering; and determined on re- 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 11 
 
 maining a few years. In this city they continued their 
 investigations and lectures. The objections made to 
 their doctrines, on the ground of the intellectual pow¬ 
 ers evinced by hydrocephalic patients, induced them 
 to renew their anatomical studies with still greater ar¬ 
 dour; and they were, at length, enabled to demon- 
 trate, that the convolutions of the brain consist of a 
 double pellicle, and that the.water insinuating between 
 the parts, unfolds and distends them into the form of a 
 thin and expanded vesicle; and which, they argued, 
 might retain, to a considerable extent, the original 
 powers of the brain. They also entered into the mi¬ 
 nutest examination of every part of the brain and ner¬ 
 vous system, and presented a memoir on the subject, 
 in the year 1808, to the French Institute. It was re¬ 
 ferred to a committee of five, amongst whom was the 
 celebrated Cuvier. Their report was favourable to 
 Gall and Spurzheim in some parts, they differed from 
 them in others; and_^ as to some of their discoveries, 
 they gave the merit to other anatomists. But little 
 pleased with this report. Gall and Spurzheim vindicat¬ 
 ed their claims to originality in their answer, and main¬ 
 tained the utility of their discoveries, and the truth of 
 their demonstrations, with so much vigour and perspi¬ 
 cuity, that there never was any reply on the part of 
 the Institute. 
 
 In 1810, they published, conjointly, in the French 
 language, their “ Anatomy and Physiology of the 
 Nervous System in general, and of the Brain in particu- 
 
12 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 lar.” But neither their writings or lectures, seem to 
 have made, at tliat period, many converts in the capi¬ 
 tal of France. There is no adversary to truth so pov'- 
 erful any where, as the force of ridicule ; and among 
 tlie French, it seems to have double power; unfortu¬ 
 nately, phrenology in its infancy was too open to this 
 assailment; and where was the Frenchman that would 
 offer himself as the champion, even of truth, at the ha¬ 
 zard of being thought ridiculous ? Spurzheim got 
 weary of endeavouring to teach those who Avere ashamed 
 to learn, and hoped, that England would prove a more 
 practicable field. His separation from Gall took place 
 in 1813. Fie first, however, returned to Vienna, to 
 take his degree ofM. D., leaving Gall in Paris, where 
 he was desirous of establishing himself as a physician. 
 
 Spurzheim passed over to England in 1814, and in 
 the same year, delivered lectures in London, which 
 were well attended. He lost no time in publishing a 
 large volume, which he entitled, “ The Physiognomi¬ 
 cal System of Drs. Gall and Spurzheim, founded on 
 an Anatomical and Physiological examination of the 
 Nervous System in general, and of the Brain in parti¬ 
 cular, and indicating the dispositions and manifesta¬ 
 tions of the Mind.” This work appeared in 1815, and 
 instantly, a swarm of reviewers fastened on it. The 
 Quarterly, the Eclectic, the British, the Edinburgh, the 
 Critical and the Monthly, the London Medical Reposi¬ 
 tory, and the British Critic, all exerted their powers 
 of ridicule, invective and argument; not a reviewer 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 13 
 
 was found to stand up in defence of these novel truths 
 —not one had the sagacity to perceive that they were 
 truths —or having the sagacity, it was their duty as re¬ 
 viewers, to extinguish them because they were new. 
 
 The Quarterly affords a splendid specimen of witty 
 malignity—The Edinburgh, a miserable specimen of ma¬ 
 lignity without wit. For instance, the writer of this re¬ 
 view compliments these itinerant philosophers, quacks, 
 mountebanks, and men of skulls, on their superior cle¬ 
 verness in discovering that a man’s reputation as well 
 as his health may often be prolonged by a little well- 
 timed locomotion. “ There is indeed nothing,” con¬ 
 tinues this reviewer, “ in the shape of reasoning calcu¬ 
 lated to mislead in their whole writings. Not one cle¬ 
 ver sophistry to captivate ; nor even an occasional 
 successful induction to redeem ; nothing but a perpe¬ 
 tual substitution of assertion for demonstration, and 
 conjecture for fact. Were they even to succeed in 
 shaking off the suspicion of malaJides, which we ap¬ 
 prehend is inseparably attached to their character, we 
 should not hesitate to say, that we do not know any 
 writers, who with a conceit so truly ludicrous, and so 
 impudent a contempt for the opinions and labours of 
 others, are so utterly destitute of every qualification 
 necessary for the conduct of a philosophical investiga¬ 
 tion.”* 
 
 The reviewer is so heartily tired of the mass of non- 
 
 • Edinburgh Review, June, 1815, p. 227 
 
 c 
 
14 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 sense he has been obliged to Avade through, that he 
 could most willingly have done. But the anatomical 
 discoveries of Drs. Gall and Spurzheim are on no ac¬ 
 count to be passed over in silence ; for it appears to 
 him, that in this department they have displayed more 
 QUACKERY than in any other; and their bad faith is 
 here the more unpardonable that it was so much more 
 likely to escape detection.”* “ The writings of Drs. 
 Gall and Spurzheim have not added one fact to the 
 stock of our knowledge respecting either the structure 
 ox \}ae, functions oi man; but consist of such a mix¬ 
 ture of gross errors, extravagant absurdities, downright 
 misstatements, and unmeaning quotations from scri])- 
 ture, as can leave no doubt, we apprehend, in the minds 
 of honest and intelligent men as to the real ignorance, 
 the real hypocrisy, and the real empiricism of the au- 
 thors.”-|- 
 
 Such was the beneficent harbinger that preceded the 
 advent of Dr. Spurzheim to this country at the close 
 of the same year. He arrived in November, 1815, bu 
 found every mind poisoned against him by these libe¬ 
 ral and philosophic effusions.—I did not myself escape 
 the infection. It Avas Avith difficulty I Avas persuaded 
 to enter his lecture-room ; but having then an abun¬ 
 dance of leisure, I thought a few hours would not be 
 much mispent in indulging an idle curiosity, and reap- 
 
 
 Edinljurgh ReA'iew, June, 1815, p. 254. 
 
 t Id. 26.8. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 15 
 
 ing some little amusement where I could hope but for 
 little information. 
 
 I listened to his first lecture, expecting it to breathe no¬ 
 thing but ignorance, hypocrisy, deceit, and empiricism. 
 I found it fraught with learning and inspired by truth ; 
 and in place of a hypocrite and empiric, I found a 
 man deeply and earnestly imbued with an unshaken 
 belief in the importance and value of the doctrines he 
 communicated. 
 
 I listened to his second lecture, and I adopted his 
 belief. I was satisfied of the importance and value of 
 those doctrines, and exulted in participating those 
 treasures of knowledge, of whose enjoyment the Edin¬ 
 burgh Review had well-nigh overreached and swindled 
 me. 
 
 1 listened to his third lecture, and perceived, with 
 all the force of thorough conviction, that there was 
 nothing of any value in the metaphysics of ancient or 
 modern schools, except so far as they coalesced and 
 amalgamated with the new system. From that hour to 
 the present, I have regarded the science with increas¬ 
 ing confidence and unalterable devotion. More cer¬ 
 tain or more important truths the divine finger has not 
 written in any of the pages of nature, than those which 
 Spurzheim, on this occasion, unfolded to our examin¬ 
 ation—our study—our admiration. 
 
 He was attended by a large and intelligent class of 
 both sexes, and consequently made many ardent con¬ 
 verts to phrenology in this city. Indeed, whoever 
 
16 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 listened attentively to his lectures, must, voluntarily 
 or involuntarily, become a disciple. Of the numbers 
 who received his instructions, I have personally known 
 only three who were not convinced of the truth and 
 value of his doctrines. 
 
 In January, 1816, he went to Cork, where he deli¬ 
 vered two courses. In a letter from that city he ob¬ 
 serves :—“ From the beginning the fair sex has been 
 favorable to our science : it is so in Cork. Very few 
 of the medical profession think proper to be interested 
 in our investigations, and prefer dinners and suppers 
 to phrenology. The greater number of the gentlemen 
 are occupied with mercantile speculations; ladies, 
 alone, turn their minds toward scientific pursuits. 
 Those ladies who attended my first course of lectures 
 are desirous of repeating the lesson, and are anxious 
 that their friends may partake of their satisfaction, so 
 their will be done.’’ 
 
 In February he returned to Dublin and delivered 
 two concurrent courses, repeating in the evening the 
 same lecture he had given in the morning. Many at¬ 
 tended both ; and though the topics were the same, his 
 language, manner, and illustrations varied so much, 
 that his auditors felt unabated gratification whenever 
 they heard him. 
 
 In the beginning of March he left Ireland and ar¬ 
 rived in Liverpool, where he remained two months, 
 waiting for fine weather to visit the lakes of Cumber¬ 
 land and Westmoreland. He found that the reviewers 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 17 
 
 had formed the public opinion there as elsewhere. He 
 however delivered a course to a small class, not expec¬ 
 ting to make an extensive impression, but merely to 
 give a better opinion of the objects of phrenology, to 
 those who attended his lectures. The leading men 
 seemed to him to be governed by a mercantile spirit; 
 and those who wished to be looked on as scientific, 
 were too jealous to encourage knowledge which was 
 not their own. He, however, left behind him in Liver¬ 
 pool, many attached and immutable friends to his sci¬ 
 ence and himself. 
 
 In May he visited the public institutions of Man¬ 
 chester and Lancaster, and felt great delight in view¬ 
 ing the lakes of Lancashire, Westmoreland, and Cum¬ 
 berland. In June he made an extensive tour in Scot¬ 
 land, by Glasgow, Dumbarton, Inverness, Banff, 
 Aberdeen, Perth, and Stirling, to Edinburgh. During 
 his excursion he dwelt with pleasure on the lakes, val- 
 lies, and mountains ; but the iniiabitants of the high¬ 
 lands engrossed the greatest share of his attention- 
 “ Scotland,” he says, “ contains several races of inha¬ 
 bitants. The genuine highlanders, are entire feelings : 
 accordingly, I would consider them as the Avarmest 
 friends, or the most dangerous enemies, always acting 
 by strong feelings. They have adhesiveness, comba¬ 
 tiveness, destructiveness, secretiveness, self-esteem, ap¬ 
 probation, firmness, and individuality strong; many 
 have cautiousness. The upper part of the forehead is 
 
 c 2 
 
18 
 
 MEMOIR OP SPURZHEIM. 
 
 mostly narrow; tune is good—order is almost wanting, 
 of this I have seen many confirmations/’* 
 
 On the 24th of June he arrived at Edinburgh ; that 
 city which Avas then up in arms against his doctrines ; 
 but is now the strongest of the fortresses leagued in 
 their defence. He brought with him many letters of 
 introduction, and amongst them one addressed to 
 Doctor Gordon, the head of the party against him, and 
 the well-known writer of that article in the Edinburgh 
 Review Avhich so cruelly and unjustly maligned him¬ 
 self, his principles, and his science. 
 
 “ Generally speaking,’’ he says, “ I am very po¬ 
 litely received by every one to whom I am introduced. 
 There are parties; but I shall not interfere with any 
 one. I wish to know them all, and shall make it a pe¬ 
 culiar business to study their individual characters. I 
 was naturally anxious to face my conscientious review¬ 
 er. The first day I presented myself at his door he 
 was out. The servant advised me to come back on the 
 next morning, between ten and eleven o’clock. I Avas 
 there at ten. He again Avas out. On the third day, 
 at nine o’clock in the morning I found him. In 
 reading the letter of introduction he kept good coun¬ 
 tenance. Then he feigned not to knoAv me at all, 
 supposed me to be quite a stranger in Edinburgh, 
 and asked Avhether I had never been before in this 
 
 * In his letters Spurzheim specified the organs by their num¬ 
 bers ; for sake of perspicuity I have preferred giving their names. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 19 
 
 town ? He could not bear my facing him, and was 
 evidently embarrassed. I put him at his ease, as much 
 as I could ; spoke of the institutions, the university, 
 tlie plan of teaching, &c.” 
 
 “ The next morning I breakfasted at Dr. Thomp¬ 
 son’s, whose partner he is. He came there, but more 
 embarrassed than when I saw him at his house. He 
 feels his bad conscience. I shall see how far he will 
 mend. His partner, who has certainly contributed 
 to the review, is an old fox, and may have escaped 
 other snares. He knoivs better to keep countenance. 
 I attend the lectures of both. I shall never hnoxo the 
 reviewer; but keep every where the same free and 
 open language, and provoke him to appear if he like 
 trutli.” 
 
 “ 1 had also an interview with Jeffrey, the editor. 
 I was introduced to him at the hall of the Courts. He 
 asked me whether I was a stranger in Edinburgh ? 
 Whether I had come from London ? and, whether 1 
 intended to make a long stay here ? Yes ! to give 
 to the Edinburghers opportunity to learn what I main¬ 
 tain. He replied : To instruct them. 1 merely say, 
 to show what I maintain. He : We are infidel incre¬ 
 dulous. I: In natural history there is no belief. 
 We must see the things. Then he ■was called off to 
 plead. Hence our conversation was short, but long 
 enough to see that he is a rogue* with self-conceit. 
 
 * In Spurzheim’s language this merely means an adept in the 
 savoir faire. 
 
20 
 
 MEMOIR OP SPURZHEIM. 
 
 He has ’a fine foreliead, combativeness, covetiveness, 
 secretiveness, self-esteem ; not much cautiousness, and 
 less apjirobation, firmness, and ideality. I shall see 
 more of him. The melo-drame has only begun. Its 
 evolution requires time; at the end I shall give you a 
 description of the scenes.’’ 
 
 He kept his word. The next scene was his triumph 
 over his reviewer, by proving in the presence of him¬ 
 self and his class, and the most eminent members of 
 the Faculty in Edinburgh, the truth and importance of 
 his anatomical discoveries. 
 
 “ From the beginning,” says Spurzheim, “ I re¬ 
 quested these gentlemen not to lose an opportunity of 
 getting a brain. The partner of the reviewer, surgeon 
 of the Military Hospital, furnished me with arms to 
 combat them in their own lecture-room. Indeed I 
 could never have expected such a gratification. The 
 whole happened accidentally, but I could not wish it 
 more favorably. I gave notice to a few of my friends 
 that the opposite party might not be alone. The re¬ 
 viewer was to lecture at two to his class. I intended 
 to cease and continue after; but he was so kind as 
 to yield his hour to me ; so that I had the pleasure o. 
 demonstrating the brain to his own class at his lecture 
 table in presence of himself, Drs. Thompson, Barclay, 
 Duncan, jun., Irwin, Emery, and many others.” 
 
 “ There could not have been a better brain, every 
 thing was clear and satisfactory. The poor reviewer 
 was in the most disagreeable predicament. However, 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 21 
 
 as I Avas at his table I did not wish to appear unpolite. 
 I did not mention him; and it was not necessary as he 
 was known to the audience. I only stated : This is de¬ 
 nied, and then made the preparation. We are. accused 
 of such a thing, or blamed for shcAving such or such a 
 structure. And then I presented the structure in nature. 
 At the same time I had our plates at hand, and asked 
 the audience, Avhether they represented the preparations, 
 as I had made them. The ansAver Avas al\Aays affirma¬ 
 tive.” 
 
 “ The revicAver avoids me entirely. After the lec¬ 
 ture he went immediately to his little room. His part¬ 
 ner spoke to me, and mentioned that noAV he Avill study 
 our plates.” 
 
 “ You perceive by this that I have taken a strong 
 position, and am no longer on the defensive. My 
 friends, Avho are in opposition to the revicAver’s party, 
 tell the story every Avhere; and I continue to invite 
 every one to procure me an opportunity of shoAving 
 Avhat Ave maintain. As to the anatomy, complete vic¬ 
 tory is no longer doubtful, because competent judges 
 Avere present; and Avith that gratification I shall begin 
 to speak to the public in November. The poor re- 
 vicAver, as Physiologist, can scarcely avoid to come. I 
 shall iimte him, and he must be prepared to undergo 
 a severe discipline. I certainly shall provoke him to 
 appear, if he like candour and truth. I Avas right in 
 shoAving, at my lectures in Dublin, a form of head 
 Avhich coidd not he that of my revietoer. He has too 
 
22 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 much self-esteem, approbation, firmness, and secretive¬ 
 ness ; but not sufficient of cautiousness and compari¬ 
 son.” 
 
 “ Instead of retracting, he thinks he can make 
 believe that his Review is true. In conformity with 
 the Review, he opposed my demonstration, and de¬ 
 nied what others admitted, and disputed about words 
 and definitions. The battle was quite unique. He 
 lost his temper, while I remained calm. He ascribed 
 to me things which I had never maintained. I was 
 twice obliged to provoke him to show where he had 
 read his proposition. He looked for the meaning in 
 my book; and, instead of finding it, found its opposite.” 
 
 “ The ground on which I actually stand (23d Sep¬ 
 tember, 1816) is much more solid than I had expected. 
 I was prepared to be much longer afloat in this city ; 
 but, I can assure you, it Avas very easy to take a strong 
 position. From Avhat I have done, the greatest curio¬ 
 sity is excited. The unfavorable impression which the 
 revicAver had propagated is mostly removed from this 
 place. Our doctrine is no more quackery or trash ; 
 on the contrary, there is more anxiety here to become 
 acquainted Avith it, than in any other city of the unit¬ 
 ed kingdoms. Since I left Germany, I have not ob¬ 
 served a greater enthusiasm. I have far the greatest 
 number in favour. Only Doctor Gordon and his sa¬ 
 tellites are opposed to me.” 
 
 “ I have dissected the brain on various occasions, 
 and the anatomy is noAV admitted by Professor Monro, 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 23 
 
 Drs. Barclay, Rutherford, Saunders, Duncan, Aber¬ 
 crombie, Bell, Pryce, and hundreds of inferior weight 
 in anatomy. I have also given six lectures on the 
 physiological and philosophical part, to show what 
 the thing is, and not what it has been represented; 
 and I have quite attained my object. I had made it 
 known only among friends; but the number of the 
 audience increased every day, so that in the sixth lec- 
 ture, Dr. Barclay’s lecture-room was scarcely large 
 enough. They stood even to the staircase.” 
 
 “ I am on friendly terms with almost all the profes¬ 
 sors ; but Gordon has placed himself in such a situa¬ 
 tion, that he can no more attend my lectures: he is 
 known as the reviewer, and I shall treat him with the 
 greatest freedom and openness. I showed here, in one 
 of the six lectures, the two heads with the anti-reviewer 
 form which I exhibited in Dublin, and provoked the 
 review^er to appear, and show^ that he is blest wdth such 
 a configuration. When speaking of pride, I stated that 
 my reviewer must have that organ large, and washed 
 that he might prove the contrary, by producing his 
 own head. They all applauded this observation.” 
 
 Before he left Edindurgh he delivered two public 
 courses, which were received with great approbation 
 b}" the numerous auditors that attended them. Amongst 
 them, however, was not to be found the review'er, or 
 any of his satellites. “ None of them,” says Dr. Spurz- 
 heim, “ had candour enough to look at the proofs 
 which 1 submit to the judgment of my auditors. It 
 
24 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 seems the opponents find it more easy to deny than to 
 examine.” 
 
 In the midst of the anatomical contests he thought 
 that the readiest mode to put an end to the misrepre¬ 
 sentations of Dr. Gordon, and, at tlie same time, fix 
 the attention, and guai’d against the misconception of 
 his auditors, would be to publish a prospectus of the 
 anatomical propositions maintained by himself and Gall. 
 This was accordingly done, and produced the most 
 beneficial results : Gordon was instigated by his 
 friends, and particularly by Jeffrey, to comment on 
 this prospectus in a jiamphlet—not as a nameless re¬ 
 viewer, but under the overwhelming authority of his 
 own formidable name. Spurzheim, however, was not 
 overcome, but gave him a decisive and satisfactory re¬ 
 ply before he left Edinburgh, in a pamphlet which he 
 entitled “ Examination of the Objections made in Bri¬ 
 tain against the Doctrines of Gall and Spurzheim.” In 
 a letter on this subject, Spurzheim observes that Gor¬ 
 don did not in his pamphlet defend the statements he 
 advanced in the Edinburgh Review, but employed his 
 principal force to prove that they had no claim to ori¬ 
 ginality ; and that their ideas of the anatomy of the 
 brain, were known a hundred and fifty years ago. 
 Spurzheim adds, that his answer was considered in 
 Edinburgh as quite satisfactory. 
 
 Before he took his final departure from that city, he 
 honoured Dugald Stewart with a visit. He waited on 
 him with an introductory letter at his country resi- 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 25 
 
 dence ; btit Dugald Stewart refused to receive this dis¬ 
 tinguished visitor. He probably, however, lived to 
 regret that he had suffered his petulance or prejudice, 
 in an unhappy moment, to so far diminish the magni¬ 
 tude and weight of his long-established character, in 
 the indignant regard of this high-minded man. 
 
 During his stay in Scotland he was anxious to see 
 James Mitchell, of Nairn^, in Morayshire, of whom 
 Dugald Stewart has given an account, and who was 
 born blind and deaf. “ I would not miss the opportu¬ 
 nity,” says Dr. Spurzheim, “ of comparing his organi¬ 
 zation with the previous manifestations of his mind, 
 which cannot be considered as the result of education, 
 but of internal impulse and intuitive reflection. You 
 may conceive that I have derived great pleasure from 
 finding his organization conformable to the manifesta¬ 
 tions of his mind. He is intelligent and good-natured; 
 so is the brain. The coronal part is more developed 
 than behind the ears. He has adhesivness, destruc¬ 
 tiveness, secretiveness, approbation, benevolence, com¬ 
 parison and causality strong. Self-esteem and cau¬ 
 tiousness are less. Destructiveness is active under op¬ 
 position, or if he likes to get rid of any thing. When 
 he has got new clothes, of which he is very fond, In* 
 has torn the old ones and thrown them into a river, in 
 order to prevent his relatives to give them to him 
 again. In short, there are many facts which prove 
 the activity of the organs I have mentioned. I had, 
 twice, long conversations with his sister, who takes so 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 great pains in his treatment; and I was three hours 
 with Mitcliell himself. He is twenty years of age and 
 stout.” 
 
 1 have dwelt thus long on Dr. Spurzheim’s visit to 
 Scotland, because that visit was the cause of perma¬ 
 nently establishing his doctrines in the British islands, 
 and more widely diffusing them over other regions. 
 It was in Edinburgh he had the good fortune to meet 
 Mr. Combe—to convince him of the truth of his science, 
 and to leave him not only an enthusiastic disciple, but 
 a practical and skilful master and teacher of phrenolo¬ 
 gy. Since Ave have lost Spurzheim he is noAv the 
 main buttress and support of this noble edifice. He 
 Avas the first to establish a phrenological society in his 
 native city, and to contribute to the establishment of 
 similar societies elsewhere. They have been nume¬ 
 rous in the British empire, on the Continent and in 
 America, and have even reached Van-Diemen’s Land, 
 almost our antipodes. They Avere requisite in the in¬ 
 fancy of the science. In a little time it Avill flourish, 
 like astronomy and chemistry, Avithout adventitious 
 assistance. Under his auspices also the phrenological 
 journal has greatly advanced the interests of this sci¬ 
 ence—and his convincing and poAverful Avritings, have 
 left the adversaries of phrenology little noAV to object, 
 and its friends little more to desire. 
 
 On Spurzheim’s return to London, after a little re¬ 
 pose, Avhich Avas necessary after so much excitement 
 and so many conflicts, he resumed his lectures, and de- 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 27 
 
 livered alternate courses in the city, and west end of 
 the town, which were well attended. His permanent 
 residence was in Foley-place, Portland-street. But he 
 frequently accepted invitations to lecture in the larger 
 towns of England, and wherever he lectured he grafted 
 a durable and flourishing scion. 
 
 He occasionally visited Paris, and permanently (as 
 he then conceived) settled there in the year 1818. For 
 at this juncture he married Mademoiselle Perier ; and 
 so attached were her relatives to this amiable man, 
 that they induced him to make that city his biding 
 place. At that period the press of France was com¬ 
 paratively free, and the progress of truth, if not encou¬ 
 raged by the government, was at least not repressed. 
 He delivered his lectures to large and attentive clg^s- 
 ses, and was prosperous, comfortable, and happy. 
 Mrs. Spurzheim was a pleasing, accomplished, and va¬ 
 luable woman. Those beautiful drawings which Spurz¬ 
 heim exhibited at his lectures were the production of 
 her pencil. In the year 1820 I had the gratification 
 of witnessing their prosperity, comfort, and happiness, 
 at their hospitable mansion in the Rue de Richelieu, in 
 Paris. But their enjoyments were not long permitted 
 to continue. The Jesuits contrived to mine their way 
 to a predominating influence with the French govern¬ 
 ment—the liberty of the press was curtailed—and pub¬ 
 lic lectures were forbidden without a state licence. 
 But discussions whether political, scientific, or religious. 
 
■2S 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 are equally unpalatable to the Jesuits; and’ at that 
 period (1822) the Jesuits governed the government. 
 
 By the law as it then stood, Spurzheim might have 
 lectured to a class of twenty individuals; but he was 
 refused a licence to instruct a larger class. I do not 
 know how long he struggled with this oppression ; but 
 during his residence in Paris, he published his “ Ob¬ 
 servations sur laPhrenologie ou la Connaissance morale 
 et intellectuelle, fondee sur l«s fonctions du Systeriie 
 Nerveux.” This was in 1818. In 1829, he published 
 his “ Essai Pliilosophique sur la nature morale et intel¬ 
 lectuelle de I’homme,” but for a few years he distribu¬ 
 ted his time, as circumstances induced him, between 
 France and England. 
 
 In May, 1826, he writes from his residence, Gower- 
 street, London, “ The pleasure to see you and my 
 friends in Dublin is postponed. I return to France 
 for the present, and am willing to pay a visit to Dublin 
 at the beginning of the next winter, if a class can be 
 assured. If this be impossible, I remain in England. 
 Here the progress of phrenology is extraordinary. I 
 have lectured at the London Institution to such an au¬ 
 dience as never before w^as brought together by any 
 scientific subject.” 
 
 In the interval which he divided between Paris and 
 London he published several works in the English lan¬ 
 guage : his essay on the principles of Education, Philo¬ 
 sophical principles of Phrenology, Observations on In- 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 29 
 
 sanity, Sketch of the natural Laws of Man, Anatomy of 
 the Bi’ain and Nerves, and other smaller works, some 
 of which have passed through more editions than one. 
 His great work on Phrenology had arrived at its third 
 edition in 1825. 
 
 In 1827, he lectured at Cambridge, where he uas 
 received with distinguished respect. The use of the 
 public lecture-rooms of the University were granted to 
 him by the Vice-Chancellor. But the libera,lity of 
 Cambridge has become proverbial as contrasted with 
 the moody and bigoted spirit of her learned sister. 
 
 He also lectured with the most triumphant success 
 at Bath, Bristol, and Hull; and from the last men¬ 
 tioned town continued his journey to Edinburgh, 
 where he arrived, by invitation, in the first week of Ja¬ 
 nuary, 1828. He was accompanied by Mrs. Spurz- 
 heiin. 
 
 On this occasion his reception formed a strong con¬ 
 trast to that which he had experienced eleven years 
 before. There was no longer the smile of incredulity, 
 or the watchful look, eager to pounce on the expected 
 blunder, extravagance, or absurdity ; but all was sin¬ 
 cere respect, profound attention, and anxious cordiality. 
 He delivered two general courses ; and a third con¬ 
 fined to the anatomy and pathology of the Brain ; and 
 on those several occasions his classes Avere numerous, 
 respectable, and intelligent. 
 
 But the most gratifying incident accompanying this 
 visit, was a dinner given in honour of Dr. Spurzheim, 
 
t 
 
 ■30 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 by the Phrenological Society, on Friday, the 2.5th of 
 January. The enthusiasm of that day will not readily 
 be forgotten by those who had the happiness of being 
 present. The most conspicuous were Mr. Combe, Sir 
 George Stewart Mackenzie, the Honorable David 
 Gordon Haliburton, Mr. Neill, and Mr. Simpson, all 
 active, energetic, laborious, devoted phrenologists. 
 
 Powerful must have been the impression when Mr. 
 Combe, the president of the day, proposed the health 
 of Dr. Spurzheim ; and avowed the pleasure he took 
 in repeating that he owed every thing he possessed in 
 the science to him ; that his lectures fixed his Avan- 
 dering conceptions, aird directed them to the true 
 STUDY OF MAN. But where is the phrenologist whose 
 heart does not respo-nd to his gloAving asseveration, 
 that Avere he at that moment offered the AA'ealth of 
 India, on the condition that phrenology should be 
 blotted from his mind for ev'er, he vrould scorn the 
 gift; nay, that Aimre every thing he jiossessed in the 
 Avorld placed in one hand, and phrenology in the 
 other, and that he Avere required to choose one, phre¬ 
 nology, Avithout a moment’'s Iresitation, would be pre¬ 
 ferred. 
 
 Perhaps Spurzheim’s happiness was at its height, 
 'when he heard the eloquent lips of his friend thus 
 continue his eulogium—“ How AAmuld we rejoice to sit 
 at table Avith Galileo, Harvey, or Newton, and pay 
 them the homage of our gratitude and respect; and 
 yet w'e have tire felicity to be noAV in company Avith an 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 31 
 
 individual whose name M ill rival theirs in brilliancy 
 and duration ; to Mhoni ages unboni will look with 
 fond admiration as the first great champion of this 
 magnificent discovery; as the partner in honour, in 
 COURAGE, and in toil, with Dr. Gall; as the rival in 
 genius of him by whose master-mind the science of 
 man started into existence.” 
 
 But a burst of sympathising jilaudits accompanied 
 his w'ords as he proclaimed “ Dr. Spurzheim, ray 
 friends, is an historical personage;—a glory dM'ells 
 on that brow which will never wax dim, and Mdiich 
 wdll one day illuminate the civilized Mmrld. His great¬ 
 ness is all moral and intellectual. Like the sun of a 
 long and resplendent day, Spurzheim, at his rising, 
 was obscured by the mists of prejudice and envy; 
 but, in ascending, he has looked down upon and dis¬ 
 pelled them. His reputation has become brighter and 
 brighter as men have gazed ujion and scrutinized his 
 doctrines and his life. No violence and no anguish 
 tarnish the laurels that flourish on his broM'. The re¬ 
 collections of his labours, are all elevating and enno¬ 
 bling ; and in our applause he hears not the voice of a 
 vain adulation, but a feeble overture to a grand strain 
 of admiration which a grateful posterity will one day 
 sound to his name.” 
 
 Striking, impressive, and affecting was Dr. Spurz- 
 heiin’s reply. ‘‘I never felt so much the want of 
 mental powers necessary to express the gratification 
 and gratitude I feel. This day is for me a day of joy. 
 
32 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 which I never hoped to see. My joy would be com¬ 
 plete were Dr. Gall amongst us. Dr. Gall and myself 
 often conversed together about the future admission of 
 our doctrines. Though we relied with confidence on 
 the invariable laws of the Creator, we, however, never 
 expected to see them in our life time admitted to such 
 a degree as they actually are. I often placed my con¬ 
 solation IN MAN BEING MORTAL, Or ill future genera¬ 
 tions, to Avhom it is generally reserved to take up new 
 discoveries. But we are more fortunate.” 
 
 I cannot dismiss this most convivial and interesting of 
 meetings without adverting to an incident that places in 
 a strong light, the high respect and affectionate estima¬ 
 tion with which women were regarded by this amiable 
 man. The vice-president, Mr. Simpson, in a speech 
 at once humourous, earnest, and philosophic, in com¬ 
 mendation of the sex, particularly that portion of 
 them who had the sagacity to perceive, and tlie good 
 sense to embrace the truths of phrenology, concluded 
 by proposing “ with all the honours, the health of 
 Mrs. Spurzheim, and all the Matrons and all the 
 Maids who devote themselves heart and soul to Phre¬ 
 nology.” Dr. Spurzheim rose and said, “ Mr. Chair¬ 
 man—Gentlemen—As Mrs. Spurzheim has had the 
 honour to be named at the head of the females who 
 study Phrenology, I think it is incumbent upon me to 
 thank you in her name. There can be no doubt 
 among phrenologists, that the minds of ladies should 
 be cultivated as well as ours, to fit them for their social 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 33 
 
 relations and duties. With respect to Phrenology in 
 particular, I am convinced that among an equal num¬ 
 ber of ladies and gentlemen., a greater number of the 
 FORMER, are fitted to become practical phrenolo¬ 
 gists : that is, to become able to distinguish the dif¬ 
 ferent forms and sizes of the head in general, and of its 
 parts in particular. The reason seems to be, because 
 girls and women, from the earliest age, exercise the 
 intellectual powers of configuration and size, more than 
 boys and men, in their daily occupations.” 
 
 “ You have already done justice to those mothers 
 whose influence has been great on the education of 
 their children. It is also evident, that ladies may 
 greatly contribute ^to the dififusion of phrenology in 
 society, and may make frequent use of it in practical 
 life. But if ladies do render service to phrenology, this 
 science will also be of great advantage to them —I mag 
 sag, of the greatest advantage, after Christianity. 
 The fate of women is very unfortunate amongst savage 
 and barbarous tribes; and their condition was very 
 hard in the Jewish dispensation, since every man was 
 permitted to give a bill of divorce to his wife, if it was 
 his good pleasure to dismiss her; whilst Christianity 
 re-established the law as it was from the creation .— 
 Phrenology teaches us to appreciate women, as well 
 as men, according to their personal merit of talent and 
 virtue. You may daily observe that boys resemble 
 rather their mother than their father in mental dispo- 
 
34 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 sitions; and it is known that great men generally de¬ 
 scend from INTELLIGENT MOTHERS.” 
 
 These observations contain a sufficient refutation of 
 of the heartless and ill-sustained sarcasm with which 
 his memory has been assailed by a foreign pretender 
 to phrenological acumen, who maintains, with as much 
 presumption as if he had been daily in his society, that 
 “ in his youth, manhood, and advanced age. Doctor 
 Spurzheim showed, if not an aversion, at least a sort 
 of indifference for the fair sex.”* “ And as for his 
 fondness, attachment, and love for his wife,” this skil¬ 
 ful phrenologist is willing to ascribe them to his con¬ 
 scientiousness, self-esteem, approbation, veneration, 
 acquisitiveness, or any other cause, rather than Ids kind, 
 disinterested, and affectionate dispositions—his fer¬ 
 vent and cordial adherence to those who were worthy 
 of his friendship or love. 
 
 During the sixteen years in which I had the happi- 
 piness of knowing him, I had many occasions to wit¬ 
 ness his value for women, and the pleasure he derived 
 from their conversation and society; and this also I 
 witnessed—that the pleasure was reciprocal. Spurz¬ 
 heim had no aversions—or, if he had, they were re¬ 
 served for affectation, presumption, hypocrisy, and 
 vice : whatever shape they might assume, male, femi¬ 
 nine, or angelic, his very nature would intuitively have 
 recoiled from their contact. 
 
 * The Lancet, No. 489. p. 496. 
 
MEiMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 35 
 
 His character was manly, decided, and bold; yet 
 this empty defamer has dared to stigmatize him as a 
 coward : he had “ little physical courage,” forsooth.* 
 His physical courage was at least on a level with that 
 of the generality of men; but as to his moral courage, 
 his firmness and resolution, few indeed were his equals. 
 He excelled in that true and genuine spirit of fortitude 
 and heroism, which is not participated with the brutes, 
 but is peculiar to mankind. 
 
 In the same gossiping and disparaging temper, this 
 writer avers that Dr. Spurzheim Avas inclined to ac¬ 
 quire wealth, and was not eminently generous ; but to 
 this it may justly be replied, that little AA^as the Avealth 
 he acquired; and that, Avithout the means, it Avas 
 scarcely in his poAver to be eminently generous. From 
 my OAvn knowledge I can assert, that he was eminently 
 kind-hearted and eminently hospitable: but the inac¬ 
 curacy of one anecdote of this eulogist leads me to 
 doubt the authenticity of the rest. He states, that in 
 1824 Dr. Spurzheim married, and that he Avas then 
 advanced in age. He married near six years before 
 this period ; and he had not reached his 42d year.— 
 True, he had then no pretensions to youth; but he 
 Avas not advanced in age. The Avords almost imply 
 decrepitude. 
 
 But it is amusing to contemplate the display of gro¬ 
 tesque and ludicrous self-sufficiency, and vanity, Avith 
 
 * The Lancet, No. 489. p. 497. 
 
36 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 which this accomplished phrenologist delivered a lec¬ 
 ture on his own proper cranium ; and found it bursting 
 at all points with every rare excellency, and even its 
 deficiencies constituting perfections yet in his lec¬ 
 ture on Spurzheim’s,"—one of the most perfect of 
 heads,—it shrunk, under his hands, into all that was 
 little, and weak, and mean, and pusillanimous. Hap¬ 
 pily he affords us a clue to his adjudications, in his 
 candid admission, that though he felt only obstinacy 
 towards Gall, to Spurzheim he experienced aver- 
 sion.j- 
 
 But why, it may be asked, have these miserable 
 detractions, which cannot outlive the detractor, been 
 suffered to intrude upon the harmony and conviviality 
 of the happy feast we have just been enjoying ? I am 
 tempted to blot them out as of no worth or interest; 
 but jierhaps they ought to be retained as a curious 
 record of the last effort of malignity which shall assail 
 the character of this illustrious man. 
 
 A circumstance of much more interest is, that, in 
 the course of a few months after this memorable day— 
 that day on which Spurzheim declared that his joy 
 would have been complete had Gall been present to 
 participate with him, in the most intellectual city of 
 the British dominions, the gratification of witnessing, 
 what he never expected to enjoy in his lifetime, the 
 triumphant reception of his novel doctrines—in six 
 
 • See the Lancet, No. 483. p. 319. 
 
 f Id. id. p. 318. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 37 
 
 months after that day, on the 22d of August, 1828, 
 terminated the invaluable life of the Founder of Phre¬ 
 nology. 
 
 Imbued with the spirit of Spurzheim, and animated 
 by the enthusiasm the scenes I have described must 
 have inspired, Mr. Combe visited Dublin in April, 
 1829, and delivered a course of lectures which created 
 a new fervour in the cause of phi-enology. On oc¬ 
 casion of that visit, and arising out of his exertions, 
 this society was founded. At his departure, he ear¬ 
 nestly recommended that Dr. Spurzheim should be in¬ 
 vited to give his powerful assistance to the complete 
 establishment of the science in this city. He accepted 
 the invitation; but in consequence of the lamented 
 death of his wife, he did not arrive until March, 1830. 
 His friends found him much changed in appearance ; 
 his equanimity was the same, but his recent loss had 
 made considerable inroads on his health and strength. 
 He, however, amply fulfilled the promises, made by 
 those who had known him, to those who were strangers 
 to his extraordinary powers. He added many converts 
 to the science, and increased the number of Ids 
 personal friends; but it must be confessed, that his 
 class was but small when considered in reference to 
 the immense numbers in this populous city, that ought 
 to have had some little curiosity upon so new, so 
 strange, and so all-important a subject. 
 
 On this occasion, the Royal Irish Academay elected 
 him an Honorary Member. In complimenting such a 
 
 E 
 
38 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 man, this body did more honor to themselves than to 
 him. 
 
 Another instance may be noticed of the high esti¬ 
 mation in which he was held in Dublin. At a public 
 dinner, to which he was invited by the Protestant Dis¬ 
 senting Congregations of Strand-street and Eustace- 
 street. General Cockburn in the chair, his health was 
 proposed by the Rev. Dr. Drummond, after some pre¬ 
 fatory observations to the following effect:— 
 
 “ Though we subscribe to no human authority in 
 questions of religion, we know how to appreciate the 
 sanction of great names, and cannot help attaching 
 some value to such of our opinions as are approved by 
 those giants of intellect, who adorn human nature and 
 illuminate the world. If he who unfolded the true sys¬ 
 tem of the universe, and established the truth of that 
 system on principles of mathematical demonstration— 
 if he who has made such profound researches into the 
 philosophy of mind, as to have distanced all his pre¬ 
 cursors in that department of inquiry—^and if he, 
 again, who has soared highest in the ‘ heaven of inven¬ 
 tion,’ 
 
 ‘ Into the heaven of heavens who has presumed, 
 
 An earthly guest, and drawn empyreal air’— 
 
 if the greatest of natural philosophers, of metaphysi¬ 
 cians, and of poets, when they brought their great 
 mental powers to the examination of certain religious 
 questions, arrived at the same conclusions as we have 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 39 
 
 reached ourselves, Ave think that those conclusions derive 
 from them a beauty, a lustre, a degree of certainty not 
 to be lightly esteemed, The opinions of such miglity 
 master-minds as Newton, Locke, and Milton, in doc¬ 
 trines of theology, are the more to be prized, when we 
 consider that, in them, they could be the result only of 
 conviction—and that they M^ere embraced in opposition 
 to the prejudices of their own education, and to the 
 prevailing, the established, and fashionable doctrines 
 of their age. And should any new science spring up, 
 and come like another revelation from heaven to pour 
 light on the world of mind—to penetrate the dark re¬ 
 cesses of thought—to display all the exquisite machi¬ 
 nery of the brain—to tread the labyrinth of intellect, 
 and unfold the matchless wisdom and benevolence of 
 the Creator in the constitution of man ; should such a 
 science ever appear, and should its great expounder 
 and demonstrator be seen among us, I dare venture to 
 affirm, that he \vould have a Just claim to be classed 
 with those illustrious sages who have been named—a 
 claim founded not less on his having the same exalted 
 ideas of God and of all moral and religious truth, than 
 on his being animated by the same sublime spirit of 
 philosophy—yes ; he would be a congenial spirit—a 
 kindred star in their magnificent constellation. Such 
 a science has appeared!—such a man is among us !— 
 and you already anticipate the name of the esteemed 
 and eloquent advocate, and founder of that unlooked- 
 for science. Dr. Spurzheim, who this day honors our 
 company by his presence.” 
 
40 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 The liealth of Dr. Spurzheim was drank with 
 every demonstration of cordiality and respect, by tlie 
 numerous and most respectable company assembled on 
 this occasion. In returning thanks, his natural cha¬ 
 racter singularly displayed itself when he observed—■ 
 that though he seldom addressed speeches to convivial 
 parties, yet he could not refrain, on the present occa¬ 
 sion, from expressing the high satisfaction he enjoyed, 
 to meet so many intelligent minds engaged in the no¬ 
 blest of all pursuits—the pursuit of truth. “ This au¬ 
 gurs well,” said he, “ for the future improvement and 
 progressive amelioration of mankind. Such minds are 
 now found in every civilized country. Men are gra¬ 
 dually acquiring courage to burst the trammels of er¬ 
 ror, ignorance, and prejudice. The human intellect is 
 awakened to the investigation of truth throughout all 
 the regions of politics and religion, physical science 
 and mental philosophy.” 
 
 “ Genuine philosophy and genuine religion are very 
 nearly akin. The one explores the elder volume of na¬ 
 ture: the other investigates the later volume of Divine 
 Revelation. Both unite in their practical results; both 
 promote the present improvement of man ; both con¬ 
 duce to his ultimate felicity. Without attaching my¬ 
 self particularly to any of the religious denominations 
 in the British Islands, I cannot but express my appro¬ 
 bation of the liberal and enlightened views of that class 
 to which the present meeting belongs. I admire their 
 universal good will; I admire their fearless and zealous 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 41 
 
 pursuit of tinith; I admire their patient forbearance 
 amidst calumny and misrepresentation. These must 
 gain them the respect even of their opponents ; these 
 prove that they have caught the meek and generous 
 spirit of Him, whose religion it is their object and end 
 to vindicate from all corruption and abuse. May you 
 prosper and be happy !” 
 
 He went from Dublin, by invitation, to Belfast. His 
 class was but small; but he says, “ I am accustomed 
 to take things as they present themselves ; in this way 
 I am never deceived in my expectation. They say 
 that the season is unfavorable, since many families are 
 gone to the country ; yet I must say, that the influen¬ 
 tial men here, behaved with great liberality towards 
 me, in offering the Lecture-room at the Academical 
 Institution. I also believe that all the medical men of 
 note, all the literary characters of Belfast, and the lead- 
 ' ing divines, as Dr. Bruce, Mr. Montgomery, and Dr. 
 Cooke attend my lectures. Hence the seed which I 
 sow here wdll not fall on mere rocks. The interest 
 they take seems to increase in proportion as I go on. 
 I am anxious to see whether Dr. Drummond* will 
 break off in the midst as he intended, and told me he 
 would do.’’ 
 
 I preserve this little trait of vanity, as a curious in¬ 
 mate in so mighty a mind; and 1 trust it was gratified 
 to its fullest extent, by finding that Dr. Drummond 
 
 * James Drummond, Esq. M. D. 
 
 ' • E 2 
 
42 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 could not possibly break off in the middle of a eourse 
 of Dr. Spurzlieim’s 
 
 This was in the beginning of June, 1830. He re¬ 
 turned to London, and travelled to Paris before the 
 end of the month. There, to use his own expressions, 
 he found an opportunity of gratifying his Eventuality, 
 during July, August, and September. He witnessed 
 the revolution which placed Philip on the throne of 
 the French. 
 
 In November he returned to England, and delivered 
 a eourse of lectures in Liverpool. But there was then 
 all the turmoils of a contested election in that town ; 
 and people were too busy with politics, to attend with 
 much interest to phrenology. From thence he went 
 to Oxford: bu£ spiritual pride and learned ignorance 
 were as detrimental to the cause of truth in that seat 
 of the Muses, as passion and party feeling in commer¬ 
 cial Liverpool. Flis own Avords are remarkable: “ I 
 intended to lecture in December at Oxford; but the 
 Vice-Chancellor did not seem to approve of my doing 
 so. I asked for his worshijAful permission by letter,— 
 but he gave an evasive answer, not alloAving or refus¬ 
 ing, but advising me not to lecture, since I might not 
 meet with the encouragement I might expect. I re¬ 
 plied, that his permission was the only encouragement 
 I Avanted; but he did not think proper to give either 
 a refusal or the permission : he remained silent. Hoav 
 happy Ave are that priestcraft has no more poAver.— 
 Oxford does in 1830 Avhat the Jesuits did in 1822, and 
 the Austrian government in 1802. The signs of the 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 43 
 
 times, however, are strong ; but the clergy will be sa¬ 
 tisfied only where they command.”, 
 
 He passed the remainder of the month with some at¬ 
 tached friends in Liverpool, Manchester, and Derby— 
 and in January delivered a course at the Literary In¬ 
 stitution in Bath. 
 
 The Phrenological Society of Dublin was desirous 
 to profit by the impressiofi made by Dr. Spurzheim’s 
 late course; and such numbers had been wailing their 
 misfortune in not having availed themselves of his in¬ 
 structions on that occasion, that the Society thought 
 it was imperatively called upon to request another 
 visit from Dr. Spurzheim. He accepted the invita¬ 
 tion, and arrived in April, 1831. 
 
 Numbers of these wallers and procrastinators lost 
 this last opportunity, and may now wail that they have 
 lost it for ever. It is those who have most leisure who 
 generally fling away their time. It was the busy, the 
 active, the industrious and laborious — those whose 
 very minutes are counted and allocated—that con¬ 
 trived to snatch their daily hour for those lectures ; 
 and well were they repaid.—Treasures of knowledge 
 worth more than ti’easures of gold—unexpected truths, 
 of more value than the unexplored diamonds of Gol- 
 conda, were their reward. They now know what 
 phrenology is, and how much it was misrepresented, 
 and listen to the shallow and antiquated declaimers 
 against this invaluable system of mind and morals, as 
 they would listen to an infidel in the truths of astro- 
 
44 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 nomy endeavouring to argue, that the sun turned 
 round the eartli, and that the earth stood still in the 
 centre of the ecliptic. 
 
 On this occasion Spurzheini delivered two courses 
 of lectures — his general course, which was received 
 with intense interest and frequent bursts of admiration, 
 and a second shorter course, which was confined to 
 the anatomy and pathology of the brain, with a curso¬ 
 ry view of its physiology, intended for those students 
 who had not the good fortune to attend his general 
 course. Immense as was the mass of information com¬ 
 municated to his classes, it was obvious that his mind 
 was overflowing with a redundance of additional infor¬ 
 mation on every topic on which he addressed them; 
 and that twelve lectures, though each extended to the 
 duration of an hour and a half, were altogether inade¬ 
 quate to give a full vent to the results of his extensive 
 experience, vigilant observation, and powerful reflec¬ 
 tion. His course, like those on chemistry, natural 
 philosophy, medicine, and moral philosophy, ought to 
 have embraced a period of months, instead of being 
 contracted to the narrow span of two or three weeks. 
 Of this Doctor Spurzheim was fully sensible; and at 
 this time he was very desirous of being appointed Pro¬ 
 fessor of Anthropology in one of tlie Universities. In¬ 
 deed, his friends for a considerable period entertained 
 the hope that the leading men of London College 
 would have offered him the chair in that liberal insti¬ 
 tution—and who could have filled it with so much ad- 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 45 
 
 vantage to the public as this gifted and profound phi¬ 
 losopher ? 
 
 Who, like him, could boast an intimate acquaint¬ 
 ance with all those branches of science, of such ines¬ 
 timable value to mankind, that he had made the per¬ 
 petual objects of rational, judicious, successful inves¬ 
 tigation ? Who, like him, had fathomed the depths 
 of research in so many neglected and important re¬ 
 gions of knowledge :—the indispensable conditions on 
 which the improvement of the human race depends— 
 the true and practical mode of educating our children, 
 so as to cultivate every good, and repress evei’y mis¬ 
 chievous tendency of their nature—the national pro¬ 
 visions, whether legislative or executive, necessary for 
 the prevention of pauperism and crime—the practica¬ 
 bility of reforming criminals, in every instance where 
 means and motives can operate, and rendering, as a 
 last resourse, the utterly incorrigible of some utility 
 to the state—of ascertaining the true nature of idiocy 
 and insanity, and how far, in the latter, the excesses 
 of the feelings, and the aberrations of the intellect, 
 may be corrected —how our mind is constituted— 
 how much, in its operations and affections, it is ani¬ 
 mal, how much it is human—how far we are bound 
 by the trammels of necessity— how far we are free 
 and accountable creatures—and lastly, the origin and 
 sanction of our rights and duties, as rational, moral, 
 and religious beings—thus comprehending the whole 
 circle of considerations, mental and corporeal, physi- 
 
46 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 cal and metaphysical, in which man has any moment¬ 
 ous interest or concern. 
 
 If this rational, just, and honorable step had been 
 taken by any of our universities ; if, as was confi¬ 
 dently expected, the London college had appointed 
 him to the chair of Anthropology, the world might 
 still have been in the enjoyment of the useful, en¬ 
 lightened, and invaluable services of this wisest and 
 best of men ; and, under his auspicies, society might 
 possibly have gained an advance of half a century or 
 a century, in the general progress of improvement. 
 But the.college lost this splendid opportunity of ac¬ 
 quiring instant and perpetual renown, and society an 
 early accession of blessings unnecessarily deferred from 
 the present to some future generation. 
 
 Spurzheim left Ireland with a determination to de¬ 
 vote the remainder of his days to the labours of this 
 professorship, had the exertions of his friends in his 
 favour proved successful. In the event of a disap¬ 
 pointment, his intention was to bid adieu to England, 
 and remain in quiet, unambitious comfort with the 
 relatives of his late wife, in Paris. They w'ere affec¬ 
 tionately attached to him, particularly M. Perier, his 
 brother-in-lav^—and M. Perier’s residence was in fact 
 his home. 
 
 He had not been long settled in his new abode, 
 when he received pressing invitations from various sci¬ 
 entific bodies in Boston and other cities of the United 
 States, to cross the Atlantic, for their instruction ia 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 47 
 
 the true philosophy of mind. He could not resist so 
 favourable an opportunity of doing good, and doing it 
 to so vast an extent as seemed to be insured by such 
 an invitation. He assented ; and resolved to visit 
 America during the summer of 1832. 
 
 He was always a sufferer from sea-sickness, even in 
 the shortest voyages; and to encounter a long one, 
 with such a constitutional predisposition, required 
 some magnanimity. In the spring of 1832, some 
 friends of mine, who were greatly attached to Spurz- 
 heim, visited him at Paris. He had at that time come 
 to the determination of crossing to the United States; 
 and my friends were remonstrating with him on his 
 imprudence, in braving the inconveniences and ha¬ 
 zards of such a voyage, and asked him, what could 
 possibly compensate him for all that he must necessa¬ 
 rily endure ? His simple and emphatic reply was, 
 “ Shall 1 not see Channing ?” 
 
 I trust he did see that distinguished and excellent 
 man. The communion of two such minds, on any occa¬ 
 sion, must bring peculiar gratifications to both—but 
 coming into collision so unexpectedly, and from such 
 distant regions of the globe, they must have enjoyed a 
 double portion of happiness. The first moment they 
 met, their friendships must have been cemented for 
 life ; but life affords but a frail tenure to friendship or 
 happiness. 
 
 On the 20th of June, 1832, he sailed from Havre to 
 New York, full of the hope of establishing his doc- 
 
48 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 trines from Canada to the Floridas. “ He was to have 
 lectured in all the towns—even the villages were pre¬ 
 paring to invite him.” The good he would have done 
 is incalculable. On the 17th of September, he com¬ 
 menced a general course of lectures in Boston. That 
 city has not a population amounting to one-third of 
 the population of Dublin ; yet his class was twice or 
 thrice as numerous as any that ever listened to him 
 here. It exceeded three hundred, and frequently 
 amounted to double that numlier. It is with regret 
 and shame I advert to the contrast. 
 
 He lectured in Boston three evenings in the week; 
 and in the alternate evenings he lectured at Harvard 
 University, Cambridge, a short distance from Boston. 
 In the mornings he delivered occasional lectures to the 
 Medical Faculty on the structure and uses of the 
 brain; and such was the interest and admiration he 
 excited, that his time was in constant demand. Added 
 to these continued engagements, a peculiarly change¬ 
 able climate had an unfavorable influence on his con¬ 
 stitution. Sudden changes exposed him to cold ; and 
 an incautious transition from a warm lecture-room to 
 the evening air was attended with debilitating effects. 
 This variety of causes brought on, at first, a slight in¬ 
 disposition, which, if it had been attended to, might 
 have been easily checked. Regarding his illness of 
 less consequence than the deliv^ery of his lectures, he 
 exerted himself for several days; when prudence re¬ 
 quired an entire cessation from labour. This was the 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 49 
 
 fatal step. Cold produced fever; and this imprudence 
 settled the fever in the system. He was averse to all 
 active medical treatment from the beginning, and re¬ 
 sorted to the simplest drinks and mildest remedies. 
 He was confined to his room about fifteen days; in 
 which time his disease assumed a more alarming as¬ 
 pect until the 10th of November. At eleven o’clock 
 at night, the world was deprived of this extraordinary 
 man. 
 
 “ The most skilful of the Medical Faculty in this 
 city” (continues the able and benevolent writer, from 
 whom I have borrowed those details) “ were unremit¬ 
 ting in their attendance upon him ; and we had two 
 or three physicians with him constantly both day and 
 night. The interest, the exertion, and the strong de¬ 
 sire to save the life of so valuable a man, were deej) 
 and sincere in the hearts of his friends. All within the 
 power and reach of feeble man was extended for his 
 relief; but it was the will of Divine Providence that 
 he should quit for ever the scene of his labour, love, 
 and glory. 
 
 “H is death has cast a gloom over our city. It is 
 not lamented with the cold formality of the world. It 
 produces grief of the most poignant character; and it 
 is expressed in the deepest tones of human affliction. 
 Although he had been with us but a few weeks, his 
 virtues and worth were known and acknowledged. His 
 amiable manners, his practical knowledge, his benevo¬ 
 lent disposition and purposes, his active and discrimi- 
 
 F 
 
50 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 iiating mind, all engaged the good opinions even of 
 the prejudiced, and won the affections of the candid 
 and enlightened.” 
 
 On Saturday the 17th of November, the last solemn 
 offices were paid to this distinguished individual. 
 Crowds attended him to his grave—no votary of sci¬ 
 ence or lover of truth, in that enthusiastic metropo¬ 
 lis, was absent—eulogies were pronounced*—requiems 
 were sung. His body, which had been embalmed, 
 lies enclosed in a leaden coffin, in one of the vaults of 
 the beautiful cemetery of Mount Auburn; and it is 
 intended to erect over his remains a monument to his 
 memory. 
 
 This ebullition of feeling and respect for departed 
 excellence reflects the highest honour on the people 
 of America. Their children M ill, through future ages, 
 visit the tomb of Spurzheim, and shed tears of pride to 
 the memory of their fathers. 
 
 Never did there exist a philosopher more amply ac¬ 
 complished for the pursuit and promulgation of truth. 
 Sanguine, energetic, laborious and indefatigable in his 
 researches—calm, patient, candid, and liberal in his 
 discussions—plain, simple, unpretending, and M^arm- 
 
 • I regret that the eulogy delivered on this remarkable occa¬ 
 sion by Dr. Follen, and of which report speaks so highly, has 
 not yet reached this country. I should have been desirous to 
 have incorporated, in my text, this splendid specimen of trans¬ 
 atlantic eloquence. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 51 
 
 liearted in his manners—penetrating and sagacious as 
 to his understanding, profound and various as to his 
 acquirements, he was exquisitely fitted to develop, 
 illustrate, and establish his doctrines. No wonder that 
 in eveiy soil which he has visited he has planted this 
 new scion of knowledge, and of every assemblage of 
 his students created a circle of admirers and friends. 
 
 The original discoverer 'of these novel truths will 
 justly stand in the highest ranks as a philosopher ; not 
 only as being the first who struck out this undreamt 
 of road to knowledge, but because he ventured to 
 shake off the trammels of the schools, and was bold 
 enough to declai’e, “ This is truth, although it be 
 
 AT ENMITY WITH THE PHILOSOPHY OF AGES.” But 
 next to him in celebrity is the man who adopted with¬ 
 out reserve or jealousy the recent and unreceived dis¬ 
 coveries of another—who dissipated the mists that 
 darkened this new field of science—and showed, in the 
 light of day, that they M^ere useful and necessary pro¬ 
 pensities and affections, pure moral and intellectual 
 powers, and not their occasional abuses and defects, 
 which were the gifts of God to man. 
 
 In reference to this distinguished individual, it has 
 been said with great force and truth, “ that phreno¬ 
 logy is essentially the science of morals; and Spurz- 
 heim practised the doctrines -which he taught. He 
 was eminently virtuous, and uniformly denounced vice 
 as the parent of misery. He had profound sentiments 
 of religion, in harmony with reason. He was simple 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 52 
 
 in his tastes—eminently kind, cheerful, and liberal in 
 his disposition—capable of warm and enduring attach¬ 
 ments, and in his habits, temperate, active, and labo¬ 
 rious.’’ 
 
 It may be added, though of less imjjortance, that 
 he was tall and muscular, and of a large and powerful 
 frame. His countenance was illuminated by his mind. 
 It was open and generous, honest and benevolent;— 
 and one of his votaries has remarked, that his head 
 afforded the finest specimen that could possibly be se¬ 
 lected, to sustain the doctrine to Avhich he had devoted 
 bis life. 
 
 It will here be naturally asked, what new light has 
 phrenology thrown upon the science of mind ; and in 
 what respects lias it altered or improved this branch 
 of philosophy ? But it udll surprise many, and among 
 them not a few phrenologists, to be told, that some of 
 our profoundest metaphysical writers indulged in opi¬ 
 nions not merely coalescing with the ncAV doctrines, 
 but actually identical vith them, and corroborating 
 with tenfold strength the truths of phrenology, as be¬ 
 ing discovered by a widely different mode of investiga¬ 
 tion—in which the philosopher merely watched and 
 examined the phenomena of his owm mind; but never 
 dreamt of extending his researches to the minds of 
 other men or other animals—the material organs in 
 which those minds reside, or the external forms created 
 liy the various powers and faculties of those minds. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 53 
 
 Many careless readers conceive, that when Locke 
 disproved the existence of innate ideas, he also dis¬ 
 proved the existence of innate powers, faculties, ten¬ 
 dencies, dispositions, propensities, or by whatever other 
 name they may be designated. But nothing can be 
 more contrary to the views of Loeke. He strongly 
 insists on the existence of those powers in the mind, 
 and maintains a plurality' of them with as much libe¬ 
 rality as any phrenologist. I shall refer in the margin 
 to the most striking passages I have met with in his 
 writings, on this point.^ Other moral and metaphy¬ 
 sical writers, before him and after him, also entertain¬ 
 ed analagous opinions. I shall only refer to Lord 
 Shaftesbury,^ Hume,^ Reid,^ and Stewart.® 
 
 But Locke advanced a step still nearer to phreno¬ 
 logy, when he maintained that the organs of thmking 
 might be materials’ Hartley’s whole system is founded 
 on the hypothesis that they are material.^ So also is 
 Tucker’s.® Hume, the most refined and sceptical of 
 philosophers, seems most forcibly impressed with this 
 
 1 Locke’s Essay on the Human Understanding, 21st edition, 
 I. 13, 35. II. 325, 331. 
 
 2 Shaftesbury’s Characteristics, I. 184, 353. 
 
 3 Hume’s Essays, 1809, 11. 12, 48, 287, 361, 366, 374. 
 
 4 Reid’s Essays, 1808, II. 77. III. 56,68,121, 124, 160, 166, 
 258, 216, 266. 
 
 5 Stewart’s Elements. 4th ed. I. 24, 25. 
 
 6 Locke, I. 86, 131, 133. II. note pp. 83, 88, 97. 285. 
 
 7 Hartley on Man, 1791, I. 72. 
 
 3 Tucker’s Light of Nature, I. 13, 14, 21, 23, 89, 178, 206, 
 212. II. 7. III. 112, 376, IV. 19. VH. 234. 
 
54 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 opinion anti Priestly^ and Reid,^ though antagon¬ 
 ists on other points, seem equally inclined to favour this. 
 
 The abuse of our natural faculties is adverted to by 
 Tucker, as if he were a phrenologist and the power 
 of natural language is discussed in the same spirit by 
 Reid in more passages than one.^ 
 
 But to make still nearer approaches, the faculties of 
 upwards of twenty of the organs, discovered in nature 
 by Gall and Spurzheim, have been described as innate 
 powers of the mind by various eminent metaphysi¬ 
 cians, whose disciples, at the present day, perhaps 
 disdain to adopt a system that their masters would, 
 with few exceptions, from Locke to Reid inclusive, 
 have hailed with joy, had they lived to see the day of 
 Gall and Spurzheim. 
 
 Conscientiousness has had the greatest number o* 
 supporters, under the name of the moral sense, moral 
 feeling, conscience, sense of right, &c. I shall only 
 refer to Bishop Warburton,*^ Hume,^ Marmontel, ® 
 Rousseau,^ Tucker,Dr. Hutcheson of Glasgow',“ 
 
 1 Hume, 11. 72. 
 
 2 Priestly on Spirit and Matter, I. 4G, 47, 118, 120. 
 
 3 Reid, I. 367. 
 
 ■1 Tucker, II. 391. 
 
 •'■> Reid, II. 262. III. 190, 449. 
 
 Divine Legation of IMoses, I. 233, 257. 
 
 7 Hume’s Essays, II. 219, 248, 263, 339, 340, 341, 343, 346. 
 
 s (Euvres de Marmontel, III. 224. 
 
 9 Les Confessions de Rousseau, Paris, 1822, IV. 189. 
 
 JO Tucker, II. 257, 266, 337. 
 
 IJ Reid’s Essays, I. 347. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 55 
 
 Reicl,^ Dr. Gregory, ^ Dugald Stewart,^ Dr. Thomas 
 Brown,'* the author of “ Clio, a discourse on taste,” 
 and, what will scarcely be credited, the Edinburgh 
 Reviewers themselves.*' 
 
 Veneration, reverence, adoration, religious feeling, 
 or by whatsoever other name it may be distinguished, 
 has had many eminent supporters. Among the fore¬ 
 most is the renowned Columbus, who, though not a 
 professed metaphysician, was yet one of the most pro¬ 
 found of thinkers, and amongst the most astute and 
 sagacious of the observers of nature.^. Montes¬ 
 quieu® also believed in the innateness of this senti¬ 
 ment, as did Warburton,** Hume,*** Tucker,*’ the 
 author of Clio,*^ Gregory,*® Kant,*^ and Davy.*® 
 
 1 Reid’s Essays, II. 21, 60, 350, 353, 354, 355, 440. III. 2 
 154, 228, 229, 236, 240, 255, 376, 412, 414, 425, 443, 477. 
 
 2 Dr. Gregory’s Comparative View, 202. 
 
 3 Stewart’s Elements, 4th ed. I. 367. 
 
 4 Brown’s Philosophy of the Human Mind, Edinburgh, 1828, 
 396, 397, 398, 400, 506, 536, 550, 
 
 5 Clio, 110, 113, 121. 
 
 G Edinburgh Review, March to June, 1829, 295. 
 
 7 Washington Irving’s Life of Columbus, I. 291. 
 
 8 Warburton’s Divine Legation, III, 356. 
 
 9 Id. 1. 314. III. 309, 311. 
 
 10 Hume’s Essays, II. 466. 
 
 11 Tucker, VII. 276, 522. 
 
 12 Clio, 110, 113, 117. 
 
 13 Gregory’s Comparative View, 197. 
 
 I'l Aikin’s Biography, Life of Kant. 
 
 15 Davy’s Last Days of a Philosopher, 10. 
 
56 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 The innateness of Philoprogenitiveness is not with¬ 
 out its advoeates :—I may name Warburton,^ Hume,^ 
 Tucker,® Reid,"* the author of ‘A Theory of Agreea¬ 
 ble Sensations,’® and lastly. Dr. Thomas Browne nor 
 Marvellousness, which is supported by Lord Shaftes¬ 
 bury,^ in discoursing on the opinion of Lucretius upon 
 this subject. Tucker,® Reid,® Frederick Schlegel,*® and 
 Browne.*^ Benevolence is advocated by Hume,*® 
 Reid,*® and Browne.*'* Cautiousness, or prudence, 
 by Tucker*® and Browne.*® 
 
 Self-esteem is maintained by Reid,*^ Madame de 
 Stael,^® and Browne.*® Love of Approbation by 
 
 1 Warburton, I. 259. 
 
 2 Hume’s Essays, II. 198, 354. 
 
 3 Tucker, IV. 194. 
 
 4 Reid, I. 56. III. I5I. 
 
 5 Theory of Agreeable Sensations, 109. 
 
 6 Browm, 401, 442. 
 
 7 Shaftesbury’s Characteristics, I. 49. 
 
 8 Tucker, V. 498. 
 
 9 Reid, III. 115, 315. 
 
 10 Schlegel’s History of Literature, I. 135. 
 
 11 Browne’s Philosophy, 379. 
 
 12 Hume’s Essays, II. 322, 354, 492. 
 
 13 Reid, III. 88, 148. 
 
 14 Brown, 399, 403, 479, 480. 
 
 15 Tucker, II. 297. VIL 521. 
 
 10 Brou-ne, 419. 
 
 17 Reid, III. 243. 
 
 18 Madame de Stael on the Influence of the Passions, 1813, 
 191, 252. 
 
 19 Browne, 398, 412, 416. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 57 
 
 Hume,* de Stael,^ Browne,^ and the author of the 
 theory above adverted to.^’ Hope by the author of 
 Clio.® Ideality by Dugald Stewart^ and Browne.’— 
 Imitation by Reid* and Browne.^ Space,*** Time,** and 
 Tune,*2 Individuality,*® and Causality,*^ by Reid; 
 and Comparison by Locke.*® 
 
 Adhesiveness is supported by Warburton*** and 
 Browne ;*’ Amativeness by Browne ;** Combativeness 
 byHume*^ and Browne;^® Destructiveness by the au¬ 
 thor of ‘ Theory of Agreeable Sensations,’2' by de Stael,^** 
 
 * Hume’s Essays, 11. 327, 361. 
 
 2 De Staijl, 191. 
 
 3 Browne, 412, 455, 507. 
 
 4 Theory of Agreeable Sensations, 90, 92, ISA 
 
 5 Clio, 128, 130. 
 
 6 Stewart’s Elements, I. 530. 
 
 7 Browne, 350, 377, 403. 
 
 8 Reid, II. 68. III. 111. 
 
 9 Browne, 350. 
 
 10 Reid, I. 354. 
 
 *1 Id. id. 
 
 12 Id. II. 392. 
 
 13 Id. 1. 331. II. 256, 396. 
 
 14 Id. II. 295. III. 17, 41, 273, 277. 
 
 15 Locke, II. 178, 244. 
 
 10 Warburton, I. 320. 
 
 17 Browme, 402, 450. 
 
 18 Id. 403. 
 
 10 Hume’s Essays, II. 309. 
 
 20 Browne, 400, 419, 420. 
 
 21 Theory, &c. 49, 88. 
 
 De Stael, 19a 
 
58 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 and Browne;* Firmness by Tucker,^ and Acquisitive¬ 
 ness by Ileid.3 
 
 Browne absolutely admits a faculty of equilibrium, ^ 
 which is identical with the phrenological faculty of 
 weight; and if his principle of relative suggestion be 
 not a component part of the mind, then to account for 
 other phenomena which he discusses, the innate ex¬ 
 istence must be inferred of individuality,^ eventuali¬ 
 ty,® comparison,^ causality,® number,® size,*® form,** 
 colour,*^ and space,*®, in addition to those faculties 
 which he admits without reserve. 
 
 It is not, however, to be forgotten, that Dr. Browne 
 was well acquainted, even in the early part of his pro¬ 
 fessorship, with the doctrines of Gall and Spurzheim ; 
 and that the first critique' in the Edinburgh Review 
 (vol. ii. p. 147) ujion those doctrines, in 1803, is known 
 to be from his pen. It may therefore be presumed, 
 that he derived from phrenology some little assistance 
 
 1 BrovTie, 399, 400, 480, 481. 
 
 2 Tucker, II, 304. 
 
 3 Reid, III. 431, 439. 
 
 4 Browne, 433, 
 
 5 Id. 289, 
 
 c Id. id. 
 
 7 Id. 200, 292. 
 
 8 Id. 289, 329. 
 
 9 Id. 334. 
 
 10 Id. 178. 
 
 11 Id. id. 
 
 12 Id. id. 
 
 13 Id. 290. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 59 
 
 in forming liis own system of mental philosophy, con¬ 
 sisting, as it does, of at least four-and-twenty of the 
 faculties of the very system he rejected. If the rejec¬ 
 tion was ungrateful, he at least made an amende hono¬ 
 rable by so liberal an adoption. 
 
 So much, then, for the coincidences of jihrenology 
 with the other systems of'the philosophy of mind.— 
 Let us now' compare their respective merits and de¬ 
 fects, and ascertain whether the deficiencies of the old 
 school have been supplied by the new'. 
 
 Strange questions have arisen among many meta¬ 
 physicians with respect to the difference betw'een the 
 mind of man and of other animals—the origin of soci¬ 
 ety, language, and property—the nature of the moral 
 sense—and the cause of genius and idiocy, insanity, 
 dreaming, and sleep. Curious questions, and elabo¬ 
 rately discussed; but never decided until Phrexolo- 
 GV, supported by nature and truth, came forth and 
 gave judgment. 
 
 “ Man,” say metaphysicians, “ is guided by his rea¬ 
 son, and brutes by their instincts. From phrenology 
 w'e may learn that brutes also reason ; and that man is 
 not without his instincts. Even the impulse to ana¬ 
 lyze and abstract, or to trace the clue betw'een cause 
 and effect, as far as it is an impulse, is but an instinct. 
 The process by w hich these mental operations are per¬ 
 formed, is more than instinct—it is reasoning ; nor is 
 the imagination that assists in the process, by forming 
 
60 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 uew combinations, nor the judgment tliat selects tlie 
 means, and awards the result, nor the memory that 
 registers all, to be called an instinct; but the propen¬ 
 sity to this exercise of the mind, though the highest 
 enjoyed by man, w «n instinct. T\\e propensity 
 to construct his hut is an instinct in the beaver; but 
 who will say that his mental exertions in chusing’_his 
 materials, in shajiing them, in placing them, in obviat¬ 
 ing accidents, and completing his edifice, are not rea¬ 
 soning ? 
 
 The true difference between man and the inferior 
 animals rests specifically in the greater number and 
 superior nature of the faculties he enjoys. They have 
 many organs in common ; those which he possesses 
 and of which they are destitute, constitute the obvious 
 and immutable distinction between them. 
 
 All the organs displayed at the side of the human 
 head seem connected with the subsistence and preser¬ 
 vation of the individual, and are common also to 
 brutes. Alimentiveness, the last which was admit¬ 
 ted, incites to nourishment, and dictates the choice of 
 food, apparently is the primary propensity of the 
 group : the next is secretiveness, or cunning, that 
 lies in wait for tlie prey, and eludes the pursuer—then 
 DESTRUCTIVENESS, that slaughters the victim, and takes 
 pleasure in carnage —cautiousness, that holds back 
 both depredator and victim from a more powerful anta¬ 
 gonist—and acquisitiveness, that seeks until it ob¬ 
 tains, and then hoards the spoil for use. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 61 
 
 Those at the back of the head are all requisite to 
 the perpetuation of the species, and the formation or 
 advancement of society; and are also appropriate to 
 brutes as well as man. The first is that propensity 
 which reiterates the behest of the Deity, “ Be fruitful 
 and multiply, and replenish the earth.” The second 
 is intended to cherish the early and tender produc¬ 
 tion ; and insure its preservation by an irresistible 
 impulse, the love of offspring. The third knits 
 alFection and attachment between individuals—hus¬ 
 band and wife, brother and sister, friend and friend. 
 Without this instrument of Providence, there would 
 be polygamy, but no marriage; there would be chil¬ 
 dren, but no family. The fourth, whether called 
 INHABITIVENESS with Spurzlieim, or concentra- 
 TivENEss with Combe,* appears in its 'primitive power 
 to be intended to concentrate all these faculties, 
 to bind family and family together, and form of a great 
 portion of the various dwellers upon earth, flocks and 
 herds, communities and nations. 
 
 • Perhaps the best name for this organ as best indicating its 
 primitive power, would he “ the social affection,” “ the love of 
 society,” or “ the propensity to associate.” It is remarkable 
 that Gall confounded this organ with self-esteem in animals that 
 were destitute of the latter faculty. In man, self-esteem is the 
 liighest organ of the posterior part of the head; and in quadru¬ 
 peds that have it not, the organ in question necessarily assumes 
 its place. The chamois was the animal that occasioned Gall’s 
 erroneous conclusion that the love of physical elevation in these 
 creatures is the same propensity as pride in man. But though 
 the chamois be fond of physical height, he is also attached to 
 
 O 
 
62 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZIIEIM. 
 
 Tlie FIFTH is COMBATIVENESS, SO frequently eni' 
 ployed in the cause of all those objects of love, mistress 
 or wife, children or friends, party, sect, or country. 
 The LOVE OF APPROBATION is the sixth. It wins its 
 way in private and in public, with the fluctuating po¬ 
 pulace, or soeiety at large, by endeavouring to please, 
 by courting applause, by deserving, or appearing to 
 deserve the public favour. In little minds and on a 
 narrow seene, it is Vanity—in great minds and on a 
 mighty theatre it is Ambition. How dull and lethean 
 the soul of nations, if not put into motion by these 
 sjiirit-stirring actors I 
 
 The SEVENTH and last is self-esteem. It does not 
 win, but subdue society. It arrogates, it monopolizes, 
 it beeomes despotic ; but these are abuses of its 
 pow'er. It was intended to exalt the consciousness of 
 virtue, and render more dignified the assertion of those 
 exalted talents, extraordinary acquirements, and bene- 
 fieent projects, by which the happiness of a people may 
 be established. In an humbler arena this abuse of the 
 feeling is Pride or Arrogance The feeling itself has 
 been observed among other species inferior to man— 
 so also has the Love of approbation. These more abject 
 
 society, and, wild as he is, he chuses to live in flocks. The 
 latter propensity and not the former is obviously the power of 
 this organ. 
 
 Spurzheim observes, that “ it is larger in Negroes and in the 
 Celtic tribes than in the Teutonic races: in the French, for 
 instance, it is larger than in the Germans.” Let others decide 
 whether this distinction confirms, or not, the social character of 
 this organ. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 63 
 
 societies are not, perhaps, exempt, any more than man¬ 
 kind from the scourge of their abuses. 
 
 In these two regions of the head the organs of man 
 and those of other animals, vv^hose nature most approxi¬ 
 mates to his, afford but little room for drawing a line 
 of distinction between him and them. Not so in the 
 region of the forehead and its confines. It is true they 
 enjoy nearly as many of those intellectual pow'ers as 
 man ; but few in the same perfection. In the external 
 senses, alone, some few of them excel him. In those 
 w'hich give a cognizance of existing things and their 
 relations to each other, which facilitate a communica¬ 
 tion between mind and mind, or which prompt to the 
 exertion of skill and intelligence, for the acquisition of 
 comforts or enjoyments, he is, beyond all comparison, 
 their superior. Individuality and its adjunct space, 
 which in them but confirms the evidence of the senses 
 as to the existence of external things, and confers on 
 some few of them the capability of a narrow educa¬ 
 tion, yields him that insatiable curiosity, that restless 
 thirst of universal knowledge, which exhausts the mi¬ 
 neral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, imbibes all the 
 information this diversified globe can supply, and im¬ 
 pels him to scale the heavens, and take note of all the 
 wonders of the starry Infinite. 
 
 Eventuality, with its adjunct Time, which in them 
 embraces only the present moment, or the present 
 scene, or perhaps looks back for a day or possibly a 
 year, and scarcely looks forward at all—in him com- 
 
64 
 
 MEMOIR OF 8PURZHEIM. 
 
 prebends the history of his species in every portion of 
 the earth, the revolutions of that earth itself, before 
 history had a name; and anticipates, not only the 
 changes of futurity, but ventures to penetrate, with 
 hope, even the secrets of eternity. 
 
 The organ of form, and its adjuncts, size and weight, 
 the organs of colour and constructiveness enable 
 them to distinguish individuals, and know familiar ob¬ 
 jects from strange—to preserve their own equilibrium— 
 to take pleasure in each other’s striped and spotted skins 
 or splendid plumage—to dig a borough, build a nest, 
 or erect a hut; but in him these powers stimulate to 
 new creations: the impulse of the first, aided no doubt 
 by still superior faculties, shapes the marble into beau¬ 
 ty, and almost inspires it with life; the second flashes 
 the colours over the canvass, and brings back to our 
 admiring eyes, in all their living energy, from times 
 long past, deeds of heroic adventure, or the hallowed 
 displays of Divine Benevolence ; while the third ele¬ 
 vates the palace in all its architectural splendour, or 
 dedicates a temple, crowned with magnificence, to Him 
 whom “ the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain.” 
 
 Tune, in the inferior animals, is confined to the song 
 of birds. In man it extends, in variety, from the wild 
 melodies of the Indian to the mirthful or pathetic airs 
 of the Scottish, Welsh, and Irish, the exquisite science 
 of German and Italian sonatas, tlie fascinating operas 
 of Mozart and Rossini, and all the omnipotence of 
 harmony in the divine oratorios of Haydn and Handel. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 65 
 
 Still more confined are the powers of the faculty of 
 LANGUAGE in brutcs. They, however, utter sounds 
 which each individual of the species understands.— 
 They also employ all the gestures of natural language, 
 and even comprehend the few familiar words with which 
 they are habitually addressed. It is not, therefore, 
 irrational to ascribe to them this organ; particularly 
 as Spurzheim found that, such individuals among the 
 deaf and dumb of the human species, as possessed a 
 large development of this organ, understood the mean¬ 
 ing of natural language, and conversed by the use of 
 signs, much better than those of a smaller development. 
 From this humble basis, to all the uses and powers of 
 articulate sounds and artificial language, how exalted 
 is the ascenti how immense the efficacy and enjoyment 
 possessed by man !—the intercommunion of minds in 
 social or scientific converse—the force and perspica¬ 
 city of argument, advanced to such a degree by gene¬ 
 ral terms and intellectual abstractions—the strains of 
 Poetry, inculcating piety, magnanimity, and virtue— 
 and the thunders of Eloquence, commanding the des¬ 
 tinies of nations, and involving in its splendid career 
 the interests both of Time and Eternity ! 
 
 In the forehead is no other organ common to man 
 and his fellow-animals. He differs from them altoge¬ 
 ther, in having an organ of calculation, by which he 
 can number the stars, and with all the instruments af¬ 
 forded by the higher mathematics, can weigh and mea¬ 
 sure the planets, assign their courses and times, mark 
 
 G 2 
 
66 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 out the path and anticipate the coming of comets, cal¬ 
 culate the distance of the most distant nebula, and 
 only terminate his investigations in the inaccessible 
 depths of Infinitude. 
 
 The organ of order is peculiar to him, by which 
 he arranges every object within his cognizance, whe¬ 
 ther material or mental. But, above all, peculiar is 
 that semi-circle of exalted faculties, that adorns his 
 brow like a diadem. The centre of the brilliant as¬ 
 semblage is COMPARISON, by which he perceives re¬ 
 semblances and differences, abstraets and generalizes, 
 analyzes and combines, adapts and illustrates. Next 
 is placed causality, by Avhich he “ ascends from na¬ 
 ture up to nature’s God,” and, in proportion as he en¬ 
 larges his views of the universe, expands his swelling 
 mind to comprehend the immensity of its Creator— 
 What a universe !—when we look up to the stars, and 
 think that every star is a sun, surrounded by worlds ! 
 What a universe !—when we look to the milky-way, 
 and are satisfied that its amazing extent is a congeries 
 of similar suns. What a universe I—when we descry 
 nebula rising after nebula in our telescopes, and are 
 convinced that eaeh is a milky-way like the first—an¬ 
 other universe of suns! The universe, then, is no 
 longer a universe, but a myriad of universes. What 
 Omnipotence! what infinite Omnipotence! This, then, 
 is the organ by which we “ ascend from nature up to 
 nature’s God,”—this the instrument with which he has 
 furnished us, to know him as he is. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 67 
 
 The next organ, mirthfulness, is not of such pro¬ 
 found importance. But if it does not prompt to know¬ 
 ledge, it at least diffuses happiness. Laughter and 
 smiles are peculiar to man ; 
 
 -“ For smiles from reason flow, 
 
 To brute denied.” 
 
 And this faculty seems peculiarly connected with this 
 felicitous privilege. It throws a cheerfulness over 
 every scene of nature and creation of art. It bur¬ 
 lesques poetry with Butler, painting with Hogarth, 
 and statuary with Thom ; it enlivens society with its 
 flashes of merriment, and makes glad the heart of 
 man ; it assures him that he was not intended by his 
 Maker for a gloomy, austere, lumpish, frowning bigot, 
 but a glad and grateful participator in all the innocent 
 enjoyments so profusely and beneficently showered in 
 his path. 
 
 The last in this splendid arrangement is ideality, 
 the vivifying soul of music, poetry, and eloquence— 
 the more than earthly expression of painting and sculp¬ 
 ture, the pure and fascinating grace of architecture, 
 and every other elegant art. It refines, exalts, and 
 dignifies every object susceptible of improvement; it 
 pants after perfection, and is restless until it is attain¬ 
 ed ; it ameliorates the manners, and elevates the tone 
 of society ; and would change even the face of nature 
 with Elysian embellishment. Of those largely en¬ 
 dowed with this faculty, it may be said, that the world 
 is not their world ; they create a world for themselves; 
 
68 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 and if realities often disappoint and disgust them, re¬ 
 alities also bring more enjoyment to them than to 
 others; for they paint them with hues of their own, 
 and fling their internal radiance over every object of 
 their senses, their thoughts, and their passions. 
 
 So much for the organs of the sides, the back, and 
 the front of the head. Those of the crown are almost 
 exclusively peculiar to man, and are connected with his 
 noblest feelings, most imperative duties, and most ex¬ 
 alted expectations. The only exceptions are benevo¬ 
 lence and IMITATION. The first, as far as other ani¬ 
 mals can possess it, is merely a mildness and amenity 
 of disposition, and cannot exalt itself, as in him, to the 
 comprehensive sentiments of generosity, philanthro¬ 
 py, and charity, embracing in their kindness not only 
 friends and countrymen, but mankind—not only man¬ 
 kind, but all living creatures. The second closely bor¬ 
 ders on the first, as if to catch a portion of its spirit, 
 and convey the precept to all, “ Go, and do likewise.” 
 It is as important in its utility, as its high situation 
 among the organs would indicate. It is generally 
 larger in infancy than' in manhood; and its influence 
 in learning languages, imbibing opinions, and acquir¬ 
 ing perfection in the arts, affords a triumphant con¬ 
 trast to the uses made of the same organ by the mon¬ 
 key, the ape, the parrot, and the mocking-bird. 
 
 Here end the pretensions of other animals to cope 
 with man. The organ which has received the name 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 69 
 
 of Marvellousness, but whose primitive power seems 
 to be as yet unknown, is altogether foreign to their 
 necessities and nature. If Ideality be the sense of 
 Beauty, this may be the sense of the Sublime; and 
 those profound and energetic feelings with which we 
 trespass on the solemn silence of a gloomy cathedral, 
 with which we penetrate the dark solitude of a forest, 
 with which we find ourselves alone in a mountainous 
 desert, ridge behind ridge, peak behind peak, like bil¬ 
 lows of an ocean, delight while they oppress us; and 
 we enthusiastically cherish in recollection, or seek in 
 reality to renew these mysterious and almost visionary 
 enjoyments—this religious and almost supernatural 
 awe. 
 
 The organ of hope presents a species of anomaly. 
 To hope for fame, wealth, or any kind of pleasure, 
 appears to be an affection of the organs appropriated 
 to the love of approbation, acquisitiveness, and other 
 propensities'; they all, if excited, desire their peculiar 
 object; if under circumstances where they are likely 
 'to obtain it, they hope, or they expect, in proportion 
 as the probability of enjoyment is smaller or greater. 
 Analogy, therefore, suggests the inference, that the 
 organ in question has, like the other organs, an ob¬ 
 ject of its own ; and why may not that object be a fu¬ 
 ture existence. In every region, civilized or savage, 
 the desire to outlive this transitory life is indulged by 
 all men with anxious hope or certain expectation, ac¬ 
 cording to the degree of their confidence in the pro- 
 
70 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 mises of Revelation—or where the light of Revelation 
 has' not penetrated, in the spontaneous longings of 
 this very organ. If this view be accurate, this faculty 
 is still more remote than the preceding from any na¬ 
 ture inferior to man’s. Nor is this explanation incon¬ 
 sistent with the widest scope of this affection ; for it is 
 not to be forgotten that nations have invented almost 
 as many elysiums and paradises as gods and demigods: 
 yet it is manifest that the organs of Hope and Venera¬ 
 tion are of little comparative importance, except so far 
 as they regard the just expectation of a future state, 
 and the pure homage of the Creator. But, supposing 
 that these organs were primarily designed for those 
 specific objects, it appears necessary, from analogy, 
 that their respective powers should be unrestricted ; 
 and that Hope should embrace every kind of hope, 
 worldly and unworldly—and Veneration every kind of 
 veneration, human and divine. 
 
 Far removed from the participation of other animals, 
 is also Conscientiousness. This potent monitor im¬ 
 pels us to our duties in spite of every seduction of 
 those feelings, which we inherit in common with the 
 brutes. It is supported by the organ of firmness, as 
 if it was intended that they should unite to proclaim, 
 in the most pithy and intelligible language, that grand 
 moral maxim, ‘‘ be just and fear not.” 
 
 Lastly, in the centre of the crown is veneration, 
 that irrestisible power which propels man to the worship 
 of God, or in derogation of the omnipotent, omnisci- 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 71 
 
 ent, universal Father, whatever being, he chuses in his 
 folly, to call God—to seat beside him on his throne— 
 or even substitute in his place. The highest prero¬ 
 gative of rational beings is to know the only true God, 
 and kindle to him, in this organ, the incense of their 
 adoration. They have two roads by which to obtain 
 this knowledge —the study of Scripture, and the 
 study of the Universe. In both these records it will be 
 found that the God of Revelation and Nature is one 
 God, and that there is none other but he. Until this 
 truth be acknowledged, the blind energy of this organ 
 but ignorantly worships the unknown god. 
 
 Such are the numerous and manifest distinctions, 
 established by phrenology, between man and inferior 
 creatures; and, unlike the deductions of the old philo¬ 
 sophy, are corroborated and confirmed in every in¬ 
 stance by nature. Nor are the mental ditferences be¬ 
 tween the different species of animals less striking. 
 The nearer their nature approximates to his, the more 
 propensities and powers they enjoy; they stand lower in 
 the scale as the number and importance of their organs 
 are reduced. Few animals possess Self-esteem, or the 
 Love of approbation, which appear to be restricted to a 
 small number of the social tribes. These also possess 
 Benevolence, but are destitute of Destructiveness;—the 
 solitary savage tribes possess Destructiveness, but are 
 destitute of Benevolence. This observation applies to 
 birds as well as quadrupeds. Constructiveness is rare 
 
72 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 among quadrupeds, but common among birds. Acqui¬ 
 sitiveness is rare or common, in these different classes, 
 nearly in the same proportion. Secretiveness and Cauti¬ 
 ousness are frequent appendages of timid and solitary 
 creatures. Cautiousness is never absent from the circum¬ 
 spect and watchful, which herd together in wilds and 
 mountains. The cerebellum is never absent in quad¬ 
 rupeds—in birds it is transversely furrowed, but not 
 divided into two lobes. Indeed, in all oviparous crea¬ 
 tures it seems to be reduced to the vermiform process. 
 Granivorous birds seem, however, to possess much the 
 same organization as herbivorous quadrupeds, and the 
 carnivorous have many points of resemblance with car¬ 
 nivorous quadrupeds. The most common propensity 
 among birds is Philoprogenitiveness; Attachment is very 
 general. Tune is enjoyed by many species, and Local¬ 
 ity must be the propelling faculty in every tribe that 
 migrates. 
 
 This faculty is manifested also in many families of 
 fishes—but Destructiveness seems to be their preva¬ 
 lent organ. In the shark it must occupy almost the 
 whole mass of the cerebrum. In this class the cere¬ 
 bellum is large in proportion to the cerebrum, and in 
 some instances exceeds it in size. Their history 
 would indicate that they have little or no Philopro¬ 
 genitiveness. It is said they enjoy all the senses but 
 taste. The brain of reptiles, like that of fishes, occu¬ 
 pies but a small part of the cranium. In a crocodile 
 of fourteen feet length, the cavity will hardly admit 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 73 
 
 the thumb. Like the shark’s, this brain must be little 
 more than an organ of destructiveness. The same 
 observation applies to the several tribes of serpents, 
 particularly the poisonous. All reptiles swallow entire 
 animals, and do not masticate their food. They exhi¬ 
 bit great voracity, but also a wonderful power of ab¬ 
 stinence. 
 
 Lower than the reptiles,' in fact in the lowest class, 
 the mollusc(B, creatures are to be found with brains. 
 The most horrible of the productions of nature, is per¬ 
 haps, the octopus of the Indian seas. The eight arms 
 of this monster are said to be nine fathoms in length; 
 and the Indian boatmen are for ever in terror of being 
 entangled in their grasp, and conveyed into a stomach 
 of proportionate dimensions and voracity. Other spe¬ 
 cies of the cuttle-fish are represented as defending their 
 females, and escaping from danger by discharging an 
 inky liquid, which discolours the sea, and baffles the 
 pursuit of their enemy. But no victim can elude the 
 vigilance of their huge glaring eyes, or the tenacity 
 of their widely extended holders, armed with suckers 
 like mouths. 
 
 All these classes possess a brain, and (with the ex¬ 
 ception of the monsters just alluded to) a spinal cord, 
 and a system of nerves. Where there is a head, there 
 is no difficulty in supposing a mind ;* and we can rea- 
 
 * It is necessary to observe, that mind here, does not mean 
 sow/; a confusion of terms not confined to the ignorant, but em¬ 
 ployed even by philosophers. The subject has been largely dis- 
 
 H 
 
74 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 (lily measure the extent of that mind, by the know¬ 
 ledge we have of the propensities and powers of which 
 it is compounded, and such perception, memory, judg¬ 
 ment, and imagination, as may reasonably be conceived 
 as the concomitants of these propensities and powers. 
 But where there is no head, or such a diminutive one 
 as can scarcely form a receptacle for a brain, we are 
 lost in perplexity. The bee, the ant, and various 
 other insects, evince great mental powers; but whe¬ 
 ther they reside in their diminutive heads, or in the 
 nervous filaments, that the microscope has detected in 
 in their bodies, must long remain a mystery. Their 
 consti’uctiveness, acquisitiveness, locality, and com¬ 
 bativeness, are well worthy to be lodged in a brain : 
 but if they are confined to microscopic threads, then 
 these threads may well be considered analogous to the 
 tiltimate fibres of the cerebral organs, endowed with 
 similar powers. 
 
 f Forms have no distinguishable head ; and whatever 
 mind they enjoy must emanate from the great sympa¬ 
 thetic nerve, which, with its adjuncts, occupies their 
 interior, But various other animals are even destitute 
 
 cussed in “ An Essay on such Physical Considerations as are 
 connected with Man’s ultimate destination, the essential consti¬ 
 tution of Superior Beings, and the presumptive unity of Na¬ 
 ture.” But the views insisted on, in that Essay, have no ne¬ 
 cessary connexion with phrenology, except so far as one series 
 of truths may be connected with another. A phrenologist may 
 be a very good phrenologist, whether he adopts or rejects the 
 views of the author. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 75 
 
 of a nerve; and whatever nervous matter enters into 
 their composition, is diffused through their flesh, un- 
 distinguishable from the rest of the mass. Oysters and 
 other bivalves open and close their shells, and fatten 
 on whatever meagre nourishment salt water can supply. 
 
 Actinece, which seem to grow like flowers on the 
 rocks, and so closely resemble the anemony, thre 
 carnation, and the sun-flower, that they are distin¬ 
 guished by these names, can w^alk upon their tenta- 
 cula, and, for this purpose, invert themselves, and their 
 bases become uppermost. They live in holes in the 
 rocks; and, putting the water in motion with their 
 arms, thus bring their distant prey within reach.'— 
 They swallow muscles, and reject the entire shells, af¬ 
 ter extracting the fish. The magnifica is cautious and 
 circumspect; and on the approach of danger with¬ 
 draws its tentacula into its elastic tube; and then this 
 tube into its den in the rock. The medusa and star- 
 fish can sink and rise, and direct their movements at 
 pleasure. They have no nerves or circulation; but 
 their arms are excellent organs of touch. If any of 
 these sea-flowers, medusae, and star-fish, be cut into 
 pieces, each piece becomes as perfect an animal as its 
 original. The polypus possesses an equal facility of 
 reproduction. It is a mere stomach, and can have no 
 other desire or gratification but such as may be sup¬ 
 posed to actuate a stomach not accustomed to much 
 variety. The sponge is a congeries of reticulated 
 fibres, clothed with gelatinous flesh, full of small 
 
76 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 mouths, by which it absorbs and rejects water, and 
 acquires all necessary nourishment. Its pores altei’- 
 nately contract and dilate, and it shrinks from the 
 touch when examined in its native situation. It 
 scarcely seems to possess the organization worthy to 
 raise it to the dignity of a plant; yet it gives unequi¬ 
 vocal proof of animal life, and arrogates a right to be 
 admitted into a superior kingdom. 
 
 Can such creatures have mental powers ?—can Mol- 
 luscae have minds ? I doubt whether this question 
 must not be answered in the affirmative. E/ven the very 
 Sense of existence is a Mind to the animal that yet 
 possesses no other feeling. If the Sponge be a living 
 animal, and possess that feeling, to that extent it must 
 have a Mind. But the other species of Molluscee I have 
 named, enjoy superior powers. They have, all, the 
 powers of voluntary motion, and some of them of loco¬ 
 motion. They have, all, the desire of food ; but, per¬ 
 haps, none of them a choice, even restricted, of the 
 victims they swallow. They have, all, offspring ; but 
 whether they experience any indistinct and feeble type 
 of the feeling, which, in superior animals, resides in 
 the cerebellum—whether they know that they have 
 young, or care whether they have or not, it were vain 
 to conjecture. But thus far we may assume—that 
 whatever pleasure they may feel in swallowing their 
 prey—whatever enjoyment in their voluntary move¬ 
 ments—whatever pain when they shrink from danger— 
 whatever desire of food or other gratification within 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 77 
 
 their narrow sphere—even the very sense of existence 
 itself—all these feelings, as far as they exist in the ani¬ 
 mal, combine to constitute its Mind—and a Mind it 
 has, if it be a living Creature.* 
 
 What difference then, it will be asked, between the 
 Mind emanating from the unorganized nervous mass of 
 these Molluscae, and the highly organized cerebral sys¬ 
 tem of more perfect animals ? The question is start¬ 
 ling, and deserves an ansAver: but it is not easy, in the 
 present state of our knowledge, to attain satisfaction, 
 much less conviction. It is, however, to be observed, 
 that these creatures can neither see, nor hear, nor 
 smell, nor taste, and seem to be only sensible of present 
 feelings and desires ; probably they have no memory, 
 no anticipation, no choice, no inventive resources to 
 gratify any of their wants—and these are the common 
 attributes of every brain and its congeries of organs, 
 every organ being imbued vuth its own propensity, 
 perception, memory, judgment,^and imagination. 
 
 I have dwelt thus long on the first of these important 
 questions, the difference between man and the in¬ 
 ferior ANIMALS, because these minute details will ren¬ 
 der more easy and perspicuous the discussion of the 
 other subjects on which Phrenology appears to have 
 thrown more light than all the labours of metaphysics 
 in all past ages. With respect to the next question, 
 THE ORIGIN OF SOCIETY, wc have cvcn anticipated the 
 
 * See Note, p. p. 73, 74. 
 
 h2 
 
78 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 solution, in discussing the nature and connexion of the 
 organs developed at the back of the head. 
 
 It is admitted that mankind, at the earliest periods, 
 were united in society ; yet various theories have been 
 formed concerning the circumstances and principles 
 which gave rise to this union. These theories suppose 
 the original state of man to be that of savages, without 
 language, intellect, or moral restraint, the “ mutiim et 
 turpe pecus" which the Roman Satirist describes with 
 more of poetical beauty than philosophical truth. Such 
 suppositions are contradicted by the most authentic 
 records of antiquity ; and the Mosaic account of 
 the exalted endowments bestowed upon man — even 
 if it had no higher pretension, carries conviction to the 
 mind, from its consonance with nature and reason.— 
 Children increased, families multiplied, and commu¬ 
 nities were established ; and it could not have been 
 otherwise, from the organization of the mental facul¬ 
 ties bestowed by God upon Man. If he had been de¬ 
 nied the organ of Attachment, husband and wife would 
 have separated witli as little ceremony, and lived as 
 much asunder as the tiger and tigress ; if denied Phi¬ 
 loprogenitiveness, he would have shaken off his off¬ 
 spring as if they were leopard’s cubs, or, like the os¬ 
 trich, abandoned them altogether; if denied Concen- 
 trativeness, family would have fought with family, in¬ 
 stead of uniting into communities, and battling with 
 other communities in defence of their women, their 
 children and their portion of the soil. Without Com- 
 
MEMOIR OP SPURZHEIM. 
 
 79 
 
 bativeness, they would not have battled at all; but 
 sutFered the beasts to make war on them, and yield¬ 
 ed in weakness and despair their lives to the victors ; 
 without Self-esteem and the Love of Approbation, there 
 would have been no government of the community, 
 no desire nor ambition to become its leader or head— 
 no struggle for power—no monarchy, no oligarchy, no 
 republic. Would society be better if it were other¬ 
 wise ? We may venture to decide that it would not. 
 It is according to the mental jjowers given us by God; 
 and what He wills must, on the whole, be best. 
 
 It is the same in the humbler communities of ani¬ 
 mals—the dove-cot, the rookei'y, the domestic flocks 
 and herds, the wild flocks and herds, those which 
 unite for migration, those which unite for the cliase, 
 those which place sentinels, and seek their safety in 
 flight or resistance, all are alike governed by their or¬ 
 ganization ; and where the organization differs, there 
 is also a difference in the constitution of the society. 
 Are they gregarious because they considered effects 
 and causes, and saw that their security and happi¬ 
 ness depended on a union of strength or of intellect? 
 No ! they are gregarious, because they feel the irre¬ 
 sistible Impulse of their organization. — This is the 
 prime and proximate cause of society. 
 
 Philosophers have differed much as to the origin of 
 ARTICULATE LANGUAGE; and some cannot conceive how 
 man could have arrived at so exquisite a power with¬ 
 out the intervention of the Deity; and therefore con- 
 
80 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 elude that this divine gift was bestowed by inspiration 
 on our first parents. 
 
 I admit that the gift is divine, and that God is the 
 the giver, as he is the giver of all good things ; but 
 the inspiration was indirect, not immediate ; the inspi¬ 
 ration resides in the organ of Language, and that or¬ 
 gan is tlie gift of God. Were a family of men to be 
 created by miracle in a wilderness, they would, if si¬ 
 milarly endowed with us, feel the impulse of this or¬ 
 gan, and soon learn, in the first instance, to compre¬ 
 hend each other’s gestures and cries, and other signs 
 of their natural language, and ascend by these means 
 to tlie exalted acquisition of an artificial language, by 
 giving, step after step, conventional names to objects 
 and actions, emotions and passions, generalizations and 
 abstractions. 
 
 If this impulse and ability were not in man, there 
 never could have been more than one language on the 
 face of the earth; that with u hich God inspired Adam, 
 and with which Adam instructed his children and de¬ 
 scendants. 
 
 The RIGHT OF PROPERTY has been assigned by moral 
 philosophers to a similar origin. “ It is the intention 
 of God," says Paley, “ that the produce of the earth 
 be applied to the use of man ; this intention cannot be 
 fulfilled without establishing property; it is consistent, 
 therefore, ndth his luill, that property be established. 
 The land cannot be divided into separate property 
 ■without leaving it to the law of the country to regu- 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 81 
 
 late that division : it is consistent, therefore, with the 
 same will, that the law should regulate the division ; 
 and consequently consistent with the will of God, or 
 right, that I should possess that share which these re¬ 
 gulations assign me. By whatever circuitous train 
 of reasoning you attempt to derive this right, it must 
 terminate at last in the toill of God; the straightest, 
 therefore, and shortest ^v'ay of arriving at this will 
 is the best.”* 
 
 That is simply by expressing it; for Paley did not 
 know that there was a still more satisfactory mode, by 
 pointing out the organ of acquisitiveness in the hu¬ 
 man head, and the heads of such animals as collect and 
 store their food. This organ declares the will of God 
 with the voice of a commandment, and gives us an in¬ 
 disputable right to all the property we can acquire by 
 the sweat of our brow, whether the exsudation be the 
 consequence of bodily or mental labour. No indivi¬ 
 dual, nor even the community itself, can justly despoil 
 us of the smallest portion of it, without our own con¬ 
 sent expressedly or impliedly given, so long as we re¬ 
 spect the same right in others, and conform ourselves 
 to the dictates of another organ, conferred upon us for 
 the very purpose—the organ of conscientiousness. 
 
 Adam Smith was ignorant of the existence of this 
 organ ; and therefore to explain the nature of a con- 
 
 • Paley’s “ Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy"— 
 ‘20th edition : I. 119. 
 
82 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 SCIENCE in man, invented his beautiful Theory of the 
 Moral Sentiments. In this discussion he announces a 
 universal symjiathy, according to whose laws we can¬ 
 not witness the infliction of injustice, oppression, or 
 cruelty, without feeling with the injured and oppress¬ 
 ed, as if we were ourselves the sufferers, and partici¬ 
 pating their indignation against the offender. And 
 even when we ourselves are hurried into a similar 
 violation of justice, this equitable and undiscrimin¬ 
 ating law compels us to sympathise with the very vic¬ 
 tims of our crime, compels us to judge ourselves, and 
 fills our bosom with the same indignation that irritates 
 the spectator and the sufferer against us. Nor does 
 he confine this sympathy to the mind. He makes, of 
 the body, one general organ for its reception, observ¬ 
 ing that we cannot witness any species of torture in¬ 
 flicted, without writhing in the very limb which we see 
 racked in another. 
 
 This theory of the Moral Sense, however plausible, 
 is in fact unfounded. It is not indignation, anger, or 
 aversion, which we feel at our own neglects or breaches 
 of the moral law. No ! These are the feelings of the 
 spectator and sufferer. What we feel is regret at tri¬ 
 vial or unintentional offences, and all the pangs of 
 remorse at wilful and premeditated crimes and cruel¬ 
 ties. 
 
 Conscientiousness, like every other organ, is pleased 
 in being exercised; and its natural exercise is in per¬ 
 forming just, and resisting the tendency to iniquitous 
 actions, fulfilling duties, and overcoming the indolence 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 83 
 
 that would influence us to neglect them. But the 
 want of this pleasure is positive pain; and in propor¬ 
 tion as the faculty is stronger, the pain must be greater. 
 Every neglect of duty, every repetition of vice, must 
 excite a qualm of conscience—a craving after self¬ 
 approbation ; for, like every other propensity, this 
 must have a desire for its natural pabulum, and the 
 painful sense of a vacuum,' while that desire is at once 
 active and ungratified. The remorse which we ex¬ 
 perience has nothing in common with anger, aversion, 
 or indignation, but is rather a yearning after the self¬ 
 approval which we want—an appetite, like hunger, to 
 fill up a painful void which torments us. 
 
 Another question M'hich has divided philosophers is, 
 “ What is the cause of genius in science and the arts ?” 
 The Abbe Dubos, Avho flourished upwards of a cen¬ 
 tury since, maintained, almost in the language of a 
 phrenologist of the present day, that it was “ a happy 
 arrangement of the organs of the brain, and a just con¬ 
 formation of each of these organs.” He adds, rather 
 theoretically, “ as also in the quality of the blood 
 which disposes it to ferment during exercise, so as to 
 furnish plenty of spirits to the springs employed in the 
 functions of the imagination.” 
 
 A compilator who quotes Dubos, at the beginning 
 of the present century, and discusses the subject a 
 little more philosophically, defines genius to be “ a 
 natural talent or disposition to do one thing more than 
 another, or the aptitude a man has received from na- 
 
84 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 lure to perform well and easily that which others can 
 do but indifferently, and with a great deal of pains.” 
 “To know the bent of naturef he continues, “ is of 
 great importance. Men usually come into the world 
 with a genkis determined not only to a certain art, but 
 to certain parts of that art, in which alone they are 
 capable of success. If they quit their sphere, they fall 
 even below mediocrity in their profession. Art and 
 industry add much to natural e7idoivments, but cannot 
 supply them where they are wanting. Every thing 
 depends on genius. A painter often pleases without 
 observing rules, whilst another displeases, though he 
 observes them, because he has not the happiness of 
 being born with a genius for painting. A man born 
 with a genius for commanding an army, and capable 
 of becoming a great general by the help of experience, 
 is one whose organical conformation is such, that his 
 valour is no obstruction to his presence of mind, and his 
 presence of mind causes no abatement of his valour.” 
 
 Helvetius, however, was of a very different opinion. 
 He decides that “it is emulation that produces Genius, 
 and a desire of becoming illustrious that creates ta¬ 
 lents.”* He even maintains that all men have an 
 equal aptitude to understanding, and that this equal 
 aptitude is a dead power in them when not vivified by 
 the passions; but that the passion for Glory is that 
 which most commonly sets them in action.-j- 
 
 • Treatise on Man, fiis Intellectual Faculties, and Educa¬ 
 tion, I. 2.3. 
 
 t Id. I. .361. 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 85 
 
 Reid advances a still different doctrine. “In all 
 invention,” he says, “ there must be some end in 
 view; and sagacity in finding out the road that leads 
 to this end is what we call invention. In this chiefly, 
 and in clear and distinct conceptions, consists that su¬ 
 periority of understanding, which we call genius.”* 
 Thus, according to Helvetius, the poet, the painter, 
 the sculptor, the architect,' the musician, the mathema¬ 
 tician, the naturalist, the metaphysician, and the com¬ 
 mander of armies, who have risen to the highest 
 eminence, each in a career so different, by the tran¬ 
 scendent force of genius, all owe that genius in all these 
 forms, to one single stimulant, the love of glory ; and 
 according to Reid, they owe, each his own peculiar 
 genius, merely to a general superiority of understand¬ 
 ing, which consists in the possession of clear and dis¬ 
 tinct conceptions, and sagacity in finding the right 
 road to an object. Helvetius reduces every kind of 
 genius to Love of Approbation ; and Reid’s hypothesis 
 chiefly points to Individuality and Causality. But the 
 phrenologist knows that, alone and unassisted, the 
 love of approbation confers no genius except that 
 which exhibits itself in vanity or ambition; and that 
 the united powers of individuality and causality, un¬ 
 combined with others, may possibly produce a pro¬ 
 found genius in some branches of philosophy ; but not 
 
 * Reid, II. 344. 
 
 I 
 
83 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 another of that great variety by which the votaries of 
 so many arts and sciences are distinguished. 
 
 But to use the language of jihrenology may look 
 like begging the question, and taking for granted -what 
 remains to be jiroved; let us then suppose that these tu o 
 eminent philosophers considered a comprehensive and 
 ])Owerful understanding, apt, vivid, clear, jierspicuous, 
 and sagacious, as amjily sufficient to account for every 
 kind of genius, aided by such modifications as accident 
 or education may occasion ; but that Helvetius goes 
 a little beyond Reid, by requiring as a stimulant the 
 love of glory. Is it not obvious that an individual gifted 
 with such an understanding ought to be, if not mathe¬ 
 matician, painter, poet, musician, architect, and gene¬ 
 ral, yet capable of becoming all or any of them, by the 
 force of education; yet can it be thought that Jede- 
 diah Buxton, who was such a genius in calcvdation, 
 could ever have become a genius in acting. To see 
 Garrick in Richard was sufficient to have awakened 
 his dormant powers of imitation, if capable of excite¬ 
 ment ; but what did this night’s education do for him? 
 Did he burn with the enthusiasm of an actor? Did 
 he even melt uith the sympathies of a man ? Did he 
 shed a single tear of pity or indignation ? No I His 
 “ comprehensive and powerful understanding, apt, vi¬ 
 vid, clear, perspicuous, and sagacious,” stimulated, as it 
 ought to have been, by the concentrated force of all 
 his feelings and affections, only enabled him to count 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 87 
 
 the M'orcls of Garrick, and announce with accurate 
 precision the number he had uttered. 
 
 No! He was but a genius in that one particular. 
 Others have been geniuses in many particulars. Some 
 few, like the admirable Crichton, Benvenuto Cellini, 
 Michael Angelo, Julio Romano, and others have each 
 of them almost merited to be styled, if not an univer¬ 
 sal genius, at least one of most versatile powers ; and 
 how, without the aid of phrenology, can these differ¬ 
 ences and disproportions be explained ? The facility 
 and perspicuity of the solution leave no room to 
 doubt its truth. 
 
 Were an individual to possess, of supereminent di¬ 
 mensions, the several organs, and that all were active, 
 energetic, and cultivated, such a man would be an 
 universal genius ; he could be any thing for which he 
 chose, by practice, to educate his faculties. But if he 
 were not so amply gifted, but failed in the perfect ex- 
 ubei'ance of one or two of those pou’ers : for instance, 
 if he were deficient in language and ideality, he could 
 never be a poet—if deficient in form and size, he 
 could never be a sculptor—if in form and colour, he 
 could never be a painter—if in form and constructive¬ 
 ness, he could never be an architect—if in tune and 
 time, he could never be a musician—if in calculation 
 and space, he could never be a geometrician—if in 
 comparison and causality, he could never be a philo¬ 
 sopher—or if he Avere deficient in miidhfulness alone, 
 he coukl never be a man of Avit or humour. Not that 
 
88 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 any of tliese can create a genius: comparison, cau- 
 sality, ideality, individuality, must all contribute their 
 assistance. It is a happy combination of organs that 
 makes the genius in whatever art; and if the predo¬ 
 minant organ of that combination be tune, the indivi¬ 
 dual may be a Handel—if ideality, a Milton—if 
 colouring, a Raphael—if form, a Canova—if construc¬ 
 tiveness, an Angelo—if calculation, a Maclaurin—if 
 causality, a Newton, a Herschel, a Lavoisier, a Spurz- 
 heini. 
 
 The grand opposite to Genius is idiocy ; but it has 
 even been admitted by proprietors of the most eminent 
 genius, that this quality and insanity are nearly a-kin. 
 
 “ Great wit to madness ever is allied,” 
 
 But nothing can dilfer more from each other than the 
 primary cause of idiocy and insanity ; yet philosophers, 
 to this day, are in the habit of ascribing both, to one 
 and the same cause, disease of the mind ; as if it Avere 
 possible the mind could be diseased. The mind, like 
 music, has nothing in common with matter, except 
 that it is manifested by means of material instruments. 
 Those instruments of mind, those material organs, may 
 be disordered, unduly excited, inflamed—the mental 
 faculties inherent in them become confused, incoherent, 
 ungovernable; and this is insanity. Even a single 
 organ may be more excited and inflamed than the 
 others, so as no longer to submit to the influence of its 
 
MEMOIR OE SPURZHEIM. 
 
 89 
 
 superiors, the intellectual and moral powers ; and this 
 is monomania. But every species of insanity, whether 
 " demoniac frenzy, moping melancholy, or moon-struck 
 madness,” is altogether ditferent from idiocy, except when 
 it degenerates into that hopeless and abject condition; 
 and that is v/hen the substance of the brain has been 
 disorganized by the disease. This, then, is one 
 s})ecies of idiocy. Another is where the brain is defi¬ 
 cient in size—where it is too diminutive to exercise 
 the powers required of the human encephalon. A 
 third and not uncommon species is where some of the 
 reflecting and moral organs are absolutely wanting; a 
 liuman being, thus imperfect, sinks, in his mental ma¬ 
 nifestations, to a level with the ouran-outang—perhaps 
 belosv him. Spurzheim had an opportunity of dis¬ 
 secting and comparing together the brain of this 
 animal and the brain of an idiot: that of the idiot was 
 <lestitute of almost every organ by which man is dis¬ 
 tinguished from the brutes. He made accurate draw¬ 
 ings of them, wdth an inspection of whicli he gratified 
 many in this city. He also wrote a memoir on the 
 subject, which was never published ; and if not dis- 
 I'overed among his papers, will be an incalculable loss 
 to tlie scientific public. But if we must experience 
 this regret, the Royal Society are principally to blame. 
 It was read before that learned body, but they refused 
 it a place in their Transactions. It is difficult to con¬ 
 jecture why they should reject a paper so valuable, 
 and in the present state of science so calculated to 
 
90 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 nfFord, on an important point, a clear insight into na¬ 
 ture ; and still more difficult to conceive why they 
 should so unceremoniously wound the feelings of its 
 highly gifted author. It was said, indeed, at the time, 
 that the majority of the committee, who imposed this 
 monstrous decision on their brethren, were struck with 
 some awkward resemblance between their own cerebral 
 masses and those under review. But whether this 
 unhappy sensitiveness was occasioned by the brute or 
 the fool, or by both, my profound respect for the 
 members of that learned association forbids me to in¬ 
 quire. 
 
 It is rather whimsical, that an essay on the topics 
 we are next to discuss was honoured with a similar re¬ 
 jection by the twin sister of the Eoyal Society—the 
 Royal Irish Academy. But the paper alluded to was 
 not, perhaps, of so much value ; and certainly was not 
 the offspring of a mind of such gigantic dimensions. 
 It was, however, entitled, “ An Essay on Dreaming, 
 including conjectures on the proximate cause of Sleep.” 
 The majority of the Council of that learned body 
 thought it savoured of materialism, to represent the 
 brain as having any connexion with the mind—it be¬ 
 ing their opinion that this gift of God was a superflui¬ 
 ty, and that the mind could exist, and perceive, and 
 operate in the empty cavern of the skull, as well with- 
 ont as with this “ most miraculous organ.” The essay, 
 however, was more fortunate than Spurzheim’s, and is 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 91 
 
 in no danger of being lost; for the candid and liberal 
 Association of Fellows and Licentiates of the College 
 of Physicians eagerly published it in their Transac¬ 
 tions.* * * § Reviewers were lavish in their recommenda¬ 
 tions of its contents to psychologists and metaphysi¬ 
 cians and Tilloch republished it in the Philosophical 
 Magazine.:!^ It is, therefore, unnecessary, and would 
 be irksome, if not unsuitable, to repeat here what is 
 there detailed of the failure of the most eminent philo- 
 phers—of Locke, Hartley, Beattie, Darwin, and Stew¬ 
 art, in their attempts to explain the phenomenon of 
 dreaming; or to insist over again, with requisite co¬ 
 piousness, on the satisfactory solution of Sjmrzheim. 
 But even Spurzheim himself did not sufficiently eluci¬ 
 date the nature of sleep, where he says, “ All organs, 
 being fatigued, take rest; and this state of rest is 
 sleep.Ӥ We know that that is something more than 
 rest which involves so intense and predominant a 
 change, locks up the senses and the intellect, and in¬ 
 duces an oblivion of all we knew—an annihilation, to 
 the slumberer, of all that existed. Such a change can 
 only be caused by some important vital process, so in¬ 
 dispensable as to be of daily recurrence—and of such 
 general influence as to engage every part of the frame, 
 but particularly the organs of thinking, sensation, and 
 
 * Transactions of the College of Physicians, II. p. 48. 
 
 f London Medical Repositoiy, No. 71—p. 406. London 
 Medical and Physical Journal, No. 242—p. 322. 
 
 I Tilloch’s Philosophical Magazine, LIV_p. 252, 324. 
 
 § Spurzheim’s Phrenology, 1815, p. 216. 
 
92 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 voluntary motion. Such a process is that which re¬ 
 pairs the waste of the brain and nerves, and preserves 
 their consistence and vigour—the process of assimi¬ 
 lation. Powerful and over^dielming must be its effects 
 on the delicate and fragile instruments of thought, 
 feeling, and motion ! and it would be irrational to sup¬ 
 pose that a change which affects their very structure, 
 by the deposit of new particles, must not be attended 
 by a cessation of their functions—an actual, though a 
 natural paralysis —the paralysis of sleep. 
 
 The deposit of those particles, not yet employed in 
 the functions of feeling or thinking, must have a simi¬ 
 lar effect as the imposition of an extraneous body on 
 those tender and exquisite organs ; and their paralyz¬ 
 ing compression must continue, under the form of 
 slee}), until the assimilation is complete, and that the 
 new nervous particles are as fit as the old for the ope¬ 
 rations and uses for which they were designed by the 
 Creator. The function then commences : internal 
 organ after organ, nerve after nerve, enters into acti¬ 
 vity—the external senses resume their daily occupa¬ 
 tions—the mind is in communication with the external 
 M orld—the recent slumberer is awake. 
 
 In the gradual progress from intense sleep, when 
 there can be no dream, to the moment of perfect vigi¬ 
 lance, see what occurs. The first cerebral organ that 
 awakes enters on the train of thinking connected with 
 its faculty : some kind of dream is the result—as organ 
 after organ awakes, the dream becomes more vivid. 
 
MEMOIR OP SPURZHEIM. 
 
 93 
 
 and as the number of active organs increases, so does 
 the complication of dreams ; and if all the internal 
 organs are awake, the man is still asleep until his 
 awaking senses bring him into direct communication 
 with the world. 
 
 Until that event, the mind may exert its influence 
 over the nervous system as powei’fully as if the indivi¬ 
 dual were awake. But this exertion will be fruitless 
 as long as the process of assimilation is acting on the 
 nerves. Under strong excitement we struggle to move 
 our limbs, and cannot. Whatever other causes may 
 supervene, if there were no other but this, we should 
 labour under night-mare —a sense of oppressive re¬ 
 straint attends our ineffectual efforts—we endeavour 
 to shake it off, and, in the exertion, awake. 
 
 But it may happen that the mind, in commanding 
 the nerves, may find them ready to obey—the process 
 of assimilation may have ceased—they may be awake 
 —the sleeper may put his limbs into motion—he may 
 traverse the chambers of the house, or the streets of 
 the city—walk on the battlements of a bridge—fling 
 himself into a river, or accomplish any other frightful 
 freak of somnambulism. But happily this peculiar 
 phenomenon is of rarer occurrence than, from the sim¬ 
 plicity of its obvious cause, might reasonably be sup¬ 
 posed. 
 
 In concluding this subject, let me observe that a 
 REVERIE is but a waking dream, as a dream is but a 
 sleeping reverie. In the one case, though the senses 
 
94 
 
 MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 are in full power to receive external impressions, the 
 mind does not attend to them ; and they are as effec¬ 
 tually excluded as in the other case, where the senses 
 are sealed up, and the world is shut out. In both, the 
 current of our thoughts assumes the vividness of re¬ 
 ality. The landscapes, the cities, the crowds, the indi¬ 
 viduals, the conversations, the tunes, which present 
 themselves to our mind, are as much realities, for the 
 moment, as if we saw and heard them, until the illusion 
 is dissipated, in the one instance, by some strong ex¬ 
 ternal impression, which recals our senses to their 
 duty ; and in the other, by the departure of sleep from 
 those senses, and the consequent renewal of our inter¬ 
 course with the realities of the world. 
 
 If an hypothesis more naturally accounts for phe¬ 
 nomena than its precursors—if it accounts for every 
 phenomenon of which we desire an explanation—if it 
 «lovetails and cements with all our former knowledge 
 on the subject—there is no reason Avhy it should not 
 be received, until another shall be produced more ra¬ 
 tional, satisfactory, and worthy of acceptance. This 
 hypothesis of sleep I owe to phrenology—to phreno¬ 
 logy, then, be all the credit. It occurred to me in 
 preparing an answer to the cavils of the Quarterly 
 Review. Many objections were advanced against it; 
 but they were all fairly and unsophistically answered, 
 w'ithout a single exception. It is unnecessary even to 
 advert to them here :— 
 
 There’s nought so tedious as a twice-told tale.” 
 
MEMOIR OF SPURZHEIM. 
 
 95 
 
 Thus have I endeavoured to lay before you the 
 many instances in nhich phrenology has thrown new 
 light upon the science of mind; and how much it has 
 radically changed, improved, and exalted this import¬ 
 ant, I might say, this momentous department of philo¬ 
 sophy. What a debt of gratitude and admii'ation do 
 we not owe to Gall, whose W'onderful talent for obser¬ 
 vation, whose unwearied perseverance, whose powerful 
 and original mode of conception, led to this grand re¬ 
 sult ; and even from the very abuses, exaggerations, 
 and deformities manifested in the exercise of the men¬ 
 tal powers, struck out and established the constitu¬ 
 tion—nay, the very organization of mind ! But a still 
 deeper debt do we owe to Spurzheim, whose sagacity, 
 amidst a labyrinth of apparent absurdity, found a clue 
 to guide him to the shrine of Reason—whose resistless 
 understanding penetrated the chaos of deformities, ex¬ 
 aggerations, and abuses, and saw beneath the crude 
 and shai^eless mass, the true design of Omniscient 
 Benevolence. It is no longer a chaos, but a creation; 
 not the creation of the philosopher, but the creation of 
 God, where every thing is good. 
 
 We liow know the extent and boundaries of every 
 region within our dominion ; we know the nature of 
 the soil in every district; what it will spontaneously 
 pour forth—what attention and culture will produce. 
 It is for us to use the plough, the spade, and the har¬ 
 row—to sow the good seed, to plant the olive and the 
 vine—to pluck up the tares, to root out the brambles. 
 
MEMOIR ni; SPURZHEIM. 
 
 U6 
 
 “ Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ?” 
 We were aware before, but now we know with redou¬ 
 bled eonviction, that if we sow the wind, we must reap 
 the whirlwind. 
 
 From time to time arise men of highly gifted minds 
 —persuasive, powerful, irresistible reformers. It would 
 be profane here to advert to the inspired messengers 
 of God: of the uninspired, none has given to his race 
 more valuable lessons for its gradual improvement, its 
 progressive exaltation, its ultimate felicity, than the 
 instructor we have lost. Enthusiasm formed no part 
 of his character—all was dispassionate reason; yet, if 
 his precepts were to be influential in projDortion to 
 their worth—if society would but condescend to profit, 
 as far as it might, by his instructions, the perfectibility 
 of man, however visionary, would not appear altogether 
 a dream ; but in the lapse of time, however near man¬ 
 kind may approach, however far they may fall short 
 of the point of perfection, future ages may look back 
 to the present, and with conscious obligation, and re¬ 
 joicing gratitude, exclaim, “ Hallowed be the memory, 
 perpetual the influence of Spurzheim !” 
 
I