■■■ ■HI SHK •-■'■■ WMC ■ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,!! I / # f tINITED STATES OF AMERICA. !l / INTERNAL EVIDENCES CHRISTIANITY DEDUCED FROM PHRENOLOGY. By JOHN EPPS, M. D., Member of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society ; Member of the Anthropological Society ; Lecturer on Chemistry, Materia Medica, and Botany, at the Westminster Dispensary ; President of the Finsbury Discussion Society ; Honorary Member of the Liverpool Mechanics Institution, &c. &c WITH A PREFACE AND NOTES BY JOSEPH A. WARNE, A.M. BOSTON : PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM PEIRCE. 1837. Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1837, by William Peirce, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Dis- trict of Massachusetts. Cambridge Press . Metcalf, Torry, and Ballon. NOTICE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The first edition of this work was pub- lished in Edinburgh, in the year 1827. I was at that time pursuing my medical studies in the University of Edinburgh, and was twenty-one years of age. It was published under the title, " Internal Evidences of Christianity deduced from Phrenology, by Medictts, Member of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society." I need not mention the organs that were active in making me use Medicus instead of my own name. These particulars regarding myself, I record not from any desire to write about myself, but merely to form a preface to the following remarks, that I have not, on reperusing the work, found any reason to alter any essential part of the work, either in reference to the arguments or the illus- trations. This may appear strange to many ; it did at first sight to myself. Considering the great variety of views that must pass before the mind, in the period of life the most critical of all, at least to a profes- IV sional man, from twenty-one to thirty- one; considering the great influence of circumstances which must occur during such a period, and considering the expan- sion of views that a period of nine years must produce in any person who is not cased in prejudice, I thought that in re- perusing the work, I should find some change. I have not ; and this appears to me a strong evidence of the clearness of view which Phrenology affords to those who cultivate acquaintance w T ith its de- tails. I feel no inconsiderable pleasure in presenting this second edition to the pub- lic, more particularly as I believe that / was the first who directed Phrenology.. into the channel of bearing testimony to the truth of Christianity ; and, also, be- cause I know that this book has been earnestly sought after by many, and that it will be reprinted in America as soon as the sheets arrive in that country. Wishing you, reader, the "same pleasure in perusing that I had in writing, I remain your obedient servant, JOHN EPPS, M.D. London, February 15, 1836. EDITOR'S PREFACE. The fears of the religious, among men, and the desires and hopes of the irreli- gious, operate unitedly to prevent the progress of truth. The former dread the introduction of anything new, lest it should unsettle the foundations of reli- gious faith; for these fears are, often, not sufficiently enlightened to perceive, that all truths are in harmony ; and that, there- fore, a newly discovered truth cannot, really, be inimical to those of more ancient date, nor incompatible with them. The latter are ill at ease in their irreligion, because they are not assured of its safety ; and these desire the disproof of the pre- tensions of real religion, and welcome VI almost every novelty, having a bearing on religion and morality, in the hope that they may be shown to have no claim on the regards of mankind. It was thus that the discoveries of Gali- leo, relative to the true system of Astron- omy, operated. The unenlightened reli- gious fears of his contemporaries were alarmed ; and his judges determined that his doctrines were heretical, false, and absurd, being contrary to the express language of Holy Scripture. But the irreligious of his day, and indeed of every period since, have been ready, (at least the more enlightened of them,) to believe his doctrines true, because they supposed, that if this were admitted, the earth would be reduced to so mere a speck in creation, that it would derogate from the dignity of the Creator, to suppose him so to regard it, and the interests of its inhabitants, as the Volume of Revelation declares that he does; — they seem to VI 1 have supposed that the Copernican Sys- tem of Astronomy being the true one, it follows that men are the inhabitants of " a forsaken and fatherless world." More perfect knowledge, however, has shown to investigators, both religious and irre- ligious, that their fears and hopes were, alike, unfounded ; and that there is no discordance between the discoveries of astronomical science and the disclosures of the Christian Revelation. The same fears and hopes prevailed, though in somewhat different classes of persons, relative to the effects to be pro- duced, on the prevalent orthodox Chris- tianity, by the labors of the German critics : — critics, that is, of the Rational School. They had brought a prodigious amount of unsanctified learning and tal- ent to the investigation of the Sacred volume ; in some respects, perhaps, they had disabused the confidence of men, as to the true import of passages, supposed Vlll to be of vital importance to the establish- ment of Orthodox opinions, and hastily presumed that Exegesis was destined to effect the overthrow of evangelical reli- gion. Spirits, kindred to those of the Rationalists, — not in vigor or attain- ments, but in irreligion and self-compla- cent pretensions, — both in this country, and in England, caught the echoes of this faintly expressed presumption, and swell- ed them into a paean of premature praise of Exegesis, as the annihilator of Ortho- doxy. So strong was the confidence they felt, or, at least, so unhesitating was the ex- pression of it, that the friends of Evan- gelical Religion were, in a measure, stun- ned and bewildered. They were, per- haps, secretly afraid of Exegetical interr pretation ; and approached it tremblingly. They were, however, somewhat embolden- ed, by the discovery, that there were certain, among the German critics them- IX selves, who held fast their evangelical opinions ; and contended that a sound exegesis was friendly to evangelical truth. Much time had not elapsed, before it was discovered that exegesis furnished weapons for the war in behalf of truth ; and she thus came to be hailed as an ally, instead of being hated as a foe. The lion was bearded in his den, and the des tined prey plucked from between his teeth. In testimony of this, the very names of Heno;stenburg, Hug, Xeander, and Tholuck are sufficient. At the pres- ent time, therefore, in all our theological institutions, Sacred Criticism receives a very large portion of attention; and the principal ground for apprehension appears to be, lest our ministers, in their confi- dence in the power of theological learning, to lead them into the signification of the Sacred Oracles, should overlook the indis- pensableness of Divine illumination, in b order to their understanding what is the mind of the Spirit. Fears and hopes have, in like manner, divided almost all who have given a little attention to the science of Phrenology. The irreligious have hoped to find it true ; because they concluded, that, this being once established, it would follow that man was only material and mortal ; and that, of course, the revelations of the Volume of Inspiration were fictions, and fit only to delude and frighten children and idiots. The religious, on the contrary, taking it for granted that such (of the opposite class) as cherished the hopes just express- ed, were correctly informed of the nature and tendencies of the science, were afraid to examine it for themselves. They knew that Revelation was of God; and hearing, from those, whom they supposed fully acquainted with the subject, that Phre- nology was at variance with Revelation, they joined in the hue and cry — " Fatal- XI ism, Materialism/' &c. — regarding Phre- nology as the natural enemy of Christian- ity. So loud and clamorous was the outcry, that a very long period elapsed before Christians, whose "law condemns no man before it hears him," who are commanded to " prove all things, and hold fast that which is good," would even allow Phre- nology to plead her cause at the tribunal of their judgment. After a while, how- ever, her advocates appeared. In 1824 the publication of the u Edinburgh Phre- nological Journal" was commenced; and, some of the Scottish Phrenologists being evangelical Christians, its pages soon be- gan to reply to the accusations respecting the tendencies of Phrenology. It was shown that Phrenology leaves Materialism exactly where it was, before the existence of Phrenology ; and that, as regards Fatalism, supposing the doctrines of Phre- nology to be true, it does not inflict ne- Xll cessity of action, nor destroy the doctrine of accountability. Some writers in that journal even went so far as to analyze, phrenologically, some fundamental doc- trines of revealed religion ; especially that of Regeneration ; and thus to prove that Phrenology is not inimical to Reli- gion. About the year 1826 the writer of the following work, then quite a young man, but a well instructed phrenologist, and withal, an intelligent and devoted Chris- tian, ventured to appear before the public, in an independent work, entitled, " Inter- nal Evidences of Christianity deduced from Phrenology." He appears to have been the first to perceive, or at least to declare, that Phrenology, so far from hos- tility to religion, casts an aspect of friend- liness towards it ; and that weapons, in defence of religion, may be borrowed from the arsenal of Phrenology. It is somewhat strange, that the first edition Xlll of that work never found its way to this country; — nor was even its title known, until another work of the author was re- published here, (Horas Phrenologicae,) in which a reference is made to it. The publication of the last mentioned work was the occasion of a correspondence being commenced, between the Author of this work and the Editor ; the conse- quence of which was, the transmission of the proofs of a new edition of the work for publication. The first work published in this coun- try, distinctly recognising both Phrenolo- gy, and the distinguishing peculiarities of evangelical religion, was the "Horse Phrenologicee" of Dr. Epps. He stands, therefore, so far as the writer knows, the first man in both the old and new worlds, who, in a separate work, brings Phrenolo- gy and Religion, at once, into view. But his Horse Phrenologicae has been scarcely read at all ; at least, by the evan- 61 XIV gelical portion of the community, for the following reason. The sentiments of the author do not appear alone: — Notes, at variance with the very foundations of evangelical religion, have been added, by the American Editor ; w T hose name has operated with such persons, (I say not how justly,) to prevent the perusal of the work ; and it is, to this day, generally unknown, that so evangelical a phreno- logical work exists. It is hoped, how- ever, that, at no distant period, it may appear from the American press, totally free from any admixture; or, at least, from any which w T ill contravene the au- thor's views. Soon after the publication of the " Hora Phrenologies," an enlarged edition of Mr. George Combe's work, on " The Con- stitution of Man," was issued from the press ; with an additional chapter, " On the Harmony between Phrenology and Revelation." Of this chapter no notice XV would here be taken, were it not that the writer is desirous of expressing the pleas- ure it affords him, to find that the views expressed in it, so exactly harmonize with those given by Dr. Epps in the following work. It is true, that the field laid out by Dr. Epps is more general, than that pre- sented in the chapter appended to the " Constitution of Man 5 " but an attentive perusal of both will convince the reader, that, in so far as Dr. Epps has directed his remarks, specifically, to the subject of that chapter, there is perfect harmony, at least, not to say perfect coincidence of views. This coincidence is especially gratifying to the writer, not merely (nor chiefly) because he finds himself in so good company; (though he will not pre- tend to be insensible to gratification from this source;) but because the indepen- dent views of two writers, who had never corresponded, but who, both, were famil- iar with the two subjects, Phrenology and 62 XVI Christianity, are found exactly to agree ; and thus, in the fact of their agreement, to furnish an evidence of the truth of the position which each, separately, labored to establish ; for it is a law of evidence that the agreement of two or more inde- pendent witnesses confirms the truth, to which they testify, in a much greater degree, than that in which their numbers are increased. * But it may perhaps be said, if the harmo- ny of Phrenology with Religion be estab- lished, in a work already before the public, land if this subject comes into prominence in Dr. Epps's new work, why introduce that to the notice of the world ? Is it not a work of supererogation ? We answer, it is not. In the first place, the subject of the following work is more general, and comprehensive, than that of the additional chapter in Combe. And, * Gambier's Moral Evidence. XVII secondly, the work of Dr. Epps is valua- ble, for its able supply of what was want- ing, on the subject of Internal Evidences of Christianity. What was wanting, he has clearly show r n, in his own Introduc- tion, and therefore it need not be repeat- ed here. It may suffice to say, that Butler had only rendered pointless the dart which infidel objectors shook at the heart of Revealed Religion, by showing the incomprehensibleness of many opera- tions of nature : and though Erskine had gone a step farther, even his work on Internal Evidences is seen, on examina- tion, to be incomplete and unsatisfactory. To be complete and conclusive, it must be proved, and not assumed, that man is so constituted, as that the volume of revela- tion is adapted to his nature and condi- tion ; and thus, that what is so adapted to his nature, must have the same author, as that nature itself. To illustrate this position ; if, in examining a machine, our 63 XV111 attention is arrested by a female screw, our first impression is, that it has a cer- tain capacity; that the thread is of a certain shape, (square or otherwise,) and that it is coiled in a certain direction, and at certain regular intervals, &c. Now if, in the process of our examination, we discover a male screw, which is in all respects the exact converse of this, so that the worm in the one, exactly fills the channel in the other, we are almost com- pelled to ascribe the device and construc- tion of both to the same mechanician ; and to conclude, certainly, that the former was intended to receive the latter; be- cause it is exactly adapted to it. There is "internal evidence 55 in both of adapta- tion, each to the other. Now this is what Dr. Epps has done. He has shown that Phrenology has proved human nature to be such, as that it is adapted to receive the Christian Revela- tion ; and the Christian Revelation he has XIX shown to be such, as meets all the exigen- cies of human nature ; and then concludes, as logically as a man would, with relation to the two screws, that both human na- ture and the Christian Revelation are the works of the same divine hand. In proving this, he has done a valuable service to the cause of truth: for it will soon be seen, by those enemies to revela- tion who hold the truth of Phrenology, that, to be consistent, they must abandon it, or embrace Revelation. And, moreover, the friends of Revelation will be emboldened to examine the pretensions of what is so valuable an ally in the war with error ; and, wresting the legitimate weapons of truth from the hands of the advocates of error and irreligion, turn their glittering points toward their own bosoms. It is the hope that these results may follow, which prompts the Editor to present to the American public the work on the Phrenological Evidences of Christianity ; XX and he trusts it may be the means of hastening the time, when an anticipation of the Author shall be realized; that, " in a few years, when intellectualized Chris- tians shall be more common, such will be the diligent use that will be made of Phrenology, that infidelity will throw up the system, as one which cannot exist in coincidence with itself/' — (Preface to Horae Phrenologicae.) Nor will the rejection of Phrenology be confined to avowed infidels : it will prob- ably extend to all religionists, whose creeds do not correspond with the plain and obvious import of the sacred page. For, if it shall be found that Phrenology establishes the truth of Revelation in its plain and obvious meaning ; then those, whose creeds are at variance with that meaning, will be reduced to the dilemma of either embracing that, as its true mean- ing, or of rejecting the system which re- duces them to this necessity. Which will XXI be the most likely of the two, will scarce- ly be questioned by those, who are ac- quainted with the native enmity of the human heart to truth and righteousness. It will then no longer be said, as it has been, and is, even now, sometimes said, that the disciples of Phrenology, and writers on the science, and even the pub- lishers of their works, are " deniers of the Lord that bought them ; " and of those Eternal Retributions, which he has denounced. Such language, even now, reflects no credit on either the knowledge or the candor of those who employ it More extensive knowledge would have shown them, that phrenologists and phre- nological writers are not all of the char- acter above given of them : and more christian candor would have prevented their condemning the science as unworthy of attention, because of the theological errors of its votaries. It were scarcely philosophical to denounce the Vaccine XX11 Innoculation, because its illustrious dis- coverer was a Quaker ; or to disprove the Copernican System of Astronomy., from the fact, that both its author and its reviver, Galileo, were Papists. This, surely, is to revive the old, and, we had hoped, exploded inquiry, " Can any good thing come out of Nazareth ? " and, be- fore examining the truth of a system, to ask, " Have any of the rulers believed ? " The American Public, and the American Christian Public, especially, will rather ask, Is it true ? and will follow truth wherever it may lead; being assured that all truth is of God ; and that no truth will lead from God. CONTENTS. PREFACE. General Perversion of the Gifts of God — The Christian's Duty — Butler's, Erskine's, Chalmers's, Dick's, and Douglas's Labors — The Train of Thought giving rise to this Dissertation — Difficulties in the way — Two Objections considered : first, Phrenology opposed to Religion; secondly, Phrenology not advocated by great men — Phrenology asserted to be true — Objec- tion against this and other applications of this Science — Conclusion by an extract from Balguy — Thanks expressed to Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Combe. Doubts overcome — Necessity of pointing out the Nature and Deficiencies of other arguments, in order to show the Novelty of the present — Most of the arguments reducible into three classes — Their insufficiency — Two other arguments — The misapplication of Butler's — The defects of Erskine's — Phrenology supplies these Deficiencies — Objection, that experience is equally good as Phrenological demonstration, consider- ed — Three points in which all Religions agree — XXIV Christianity considered with respect to these may be ranged into two grand divisions, forming the founda- tions of two separate arguments. PART I . Argument 1st — General Character of God proved to be conformable and approved of by our Faculties — Propo3. I. That max is so constituted as to be cox- strained TO WORSHIP SOME BEING Tbis, tO some persons, self-evident — Opinions of mankind — Cicero, Seneca, the Greeks — Two objections urged by skeptics against this proposition — First, No cause to believe in a Superior Existence — Paley's Natural Theology — Deficiency in this argument according to the Infidel — Man, no Reason — Difficulties in proving he has — Phrenology demonstrates the Point — Second objection, That, allowing a Superior Power to exist, no reason for worshipping Him — Difficulty to convince the Infidel that his explanation of facts is wrong — Phrenology sets aside the objection — Nature of Ven- eration — Necessity of Directing faculties — Propos. II. That man is endowed with certain facul- ties ENABLING HIM TO DECIDE UPON THE OB- JECT TO BE WORSHIPPED. Propos. III. That this must be such as the FACULTIES, UNBIASSED, APPROVE OF. Propos. IV. That'the God of Christianity is the only such being — Faculties demonstrated XXV by Phrenology — Their language unvarying — Poly- theism condemned by them — Also the Grecian and Roman Gods — Also the Gods of the Philosophers — Also the Gods of the Deists — The God of Christianity approved of — Conclusion — That this is the God of our Nature. PART II. Fact, that Men have never Chosen the God of Christiani- ty, explained in reference to the Particular Character of God, as exhibited in the Means to obtain and Pre- serve His Favor. Propos. V. That man can do nothing good in THE SIGHT OF GOD, AND THAT CHRISTIANITY recognises this inability — Some general Ob- liquity of sentiment — Alienation of the Mind from God — The nature of this Alienation Recognised by Christianity — The nature of Virtue as made known by Phrenology — Illustrated by Scripture — The Striking Nature of the Coincidence — Can do nothing Acceptable or Good on account of this Alienation of Mind — The Doctrine of Necessity — Term Explain- ed — Doctrine established by Phrenology — The bear- ings of this Doctrine on the Question. Propos. VI. That the means to be employed to obtain and preserve God's favor are in conformity to the character of man as necessarily evil — What needed bv Man — The XXVI Christian Method of Reconciliation — Belief of a Tes- timony; The Effect of this Belief — The Preserving of God's Favor ; Motives thereto — Enemies Opposing ; The Means for Resistance; Threefold — Himself his own Enemy: Enemies Without — 1st, The World — Why so — Nature of the Enmity; 2d, The Devil; His Character — Means of Resistance threefold — 1st, Precepts — Love to Christians — Adhesiveness, its Ef- fects — A Christian Church — The Strength gained by Communion — Individual Precepts Directing Individ- ual Faculties — Remarks on the Nature of the Pre- cepts and the Way of Reception — Difficulty, that Men have Different Judgments, considered — 2d, Ex- ample, its influence; The Faculties it appeals to — 3d, Rewards and Punishments — Difference between Divine and Human Governments — Faculties appealed to; the Power of the Combined Means; Contrasted with that of Philosophy — Some Examples of their Effi- caciousness — Conclusion — Some Concluding Remarks on the Necessity of Worshipping with the Intellect — On the Importance and Necessity of the Christian ex- hibiting the Effects of Belief — The Objection that Professing Christians are oftentimes very Bad Men — Finally, The Privileges of the Christian in Life but particularly in Death. PREFACE Wisdom, that will be proved in the course of the following argument to be divine, has asserted, that God made man upright, but he has sought out many inventions. These, from the corrup- tion of his nature, have, in general, been such as to increase the many and oppressive evils connected with the fall ; and even those which were good in themselves, have, from the sad perversity, been turned to evil by their misdi- rection. The gifts of Providence, matters quite independent of man, have been grossly abused ; the means of sustenance to his body he has rendered the destroyers of his frame; and those intended for the nourishment of his mind have been so used as to produce, not a veneration 1 for the Author of his understanding, but an impious disbelief of that Being's existence ; or, if not of that, a disregard for His testimony, verifying the truth of another assertion of wis- dom, " knowledge puffeth up." In fine, intel- lectual and bodily strength have been, are, and, it is likely, will be, exerted in ways contrary to that relationship in which every man stands to God, as the moral Governor of the universe. So that the same Being had said with truth, " Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me." Hosea vii. 15. In the midst of this general perversion of what is good, and of defection from God, the Author of good, the Christian is bound to come forward, and manfully endeavour, in humble dependence upon his Creator, to direct the gifts of Providence, and the many useful inven- tions and discoveries of man, into proper channels; thereby bringing back all matters to their source, and making every gift, every in- vention, to show forth God's glory. Within the last century, as well as in the present, many are the powerful intellectual energies which have been exercised in deliver- ing science from the thraldom of infidelity. Many have come forward as champions in this good cause ; and many a gauntlet has been thrown down by the heroes of truth, which, as yet, no skeptic warrior has succeeded in trium- phantly raising. Need I instance a Butler, a Watson, a Paley, a Sherlock, a Littleton, a Wardlaw, a Haldane ; men who have made history, natural philosophy, and every branch of metaphysical science, so far as consistent with truth, speak to the honor and glory of the God of nature and of grace ? And, among the many laborers in the vineyard of late years, in which it may truly be said, " the harvest is plenteous," Dick and Douglas hold preeminent places ; the former having shown how all true science leads to its Author ; the latter, how every species of knowledge may be made to bear upon the diffusion of the true knowledge of God. Many of the names mentioned will be recog- nised as those of men who have exercised their faculties in one of the most important direc- tions, namely, in demonstrating the evidences of Christianity. Butler has shown the folly of disbelieving facts and doctrines, stated in Scrip- ture, on the account that we cannot understand them, by proving that many of the commonest things in nature, perpetually presented to our view, and others constantly recognised by con- sciousness, are not known, and imperfectly, if at all, understood, even by the wisest. Chalmers has given us a view of the stable foundations on which Christianity, as it regards its external evidences, rests ; and, amongst the others, Erskine has opened up a new field of investiga- tion, in the attempt to demonstrate the truth of Christianity by its internal evidences. He has, in his own words, " analyzed the compo- nent parts of the Christian scheme of doctrine with reference to its bearings, both on the character of God, and on the character of man ; " and this, in order to demonstrate, " that its facts not only present an expressive exhibi- tion of all the moral qualities which can be conceived to reside in the divine mind, but also contain all those objects which have a natural tendency to excite and suggest in the human mind that combination of moral feelings, called moral perfection ; and that, as this object is one suited to the character of God, the system hav- ing this tendency must be of divine origin." When reading Erskine, the author of the following argument was induced to conclude, that another illustrative view of the internal evidences of Christianity might be founded upon the constitution of the human mind. The train of thought, leading to this conclusion, was the following : It is with man that relig- ion has to do. All the rest of animals, as well as all the other parts of creation, show forth, by a kind of necessity, the glory of God ; their uses, wonderful contrivances, grandeur, vari- ety, changes, the peculiar adaptations in their constitution to their particular habits, speak a silent language of praise to the Creator. But man is endowed with a principle, concerning the abstract nature of which there has been much useless dispute, but which, instead of going downwards like that of a beast, rises upwards, and finds, as its resting-place, no other than the Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Man has a mind, and this has been so constituted, that God requires its willing and joyful exercise in offering to Him a rational worship. We find, that when man was first created, this was the case. Adam's happiness in Eden consisted in the enjoyment of God'f 1* presence, and his pleasure was found in show- ing forth his Creator's glory. But this happy scene of things soon changed ; man fell — his mind became enmity against God: and, instead of being directed into the channel of showing forth his Maker's glory, ran in the polluted stream of evil imaginations, and that only, and that continually. But God took pity upon his miserable subject, and in the midst of wrath at the violation of his covenant by his creature, the Creator remembered mercy, and taught the rebel man the way of obtaining favor. This was gradually unveiled, until the fulness of time came, when God sent his Son, made of a woman, who delivered to his disciples precepts durable for ever, and dictated to his apostles those doctrines, exhortations, and admonitions, all of which are collected in the New Testa- ment, and all the preceding circumstances in the Old ; both being comprised in the book called, by way of eminence, " The Bible." The Bible, then, it appears, contains the way by which man can show forth the glory of God, by performing with acceptance those duties which he owes to his Maker; and provides means by which his mind, from the corruption of his nature, continually misdirected, may be made to run in the channel of obedience to God's will, its legitimate direction. To effect this grand purpose (for the former is comprised within the latter), it is evident that the Bible must contain certain motives, having such a powerful influence as to lead the mind from one track into another, in which they will keep it, and, in pursuing which, they cause the renewed man to find pleasure. This, we shall discover, is the case. Religion, then, is a system of MOTIVES, AND THESE ARE, AND MUST BE, SUCH AS WILL AFFECT THE HUMAN MIND. If, then, we possess a correct knowledge of this mind ; if we know its principles, its constituent parts, on which the motives act, we shall be enabled to deduce thence a series of tests probatory of the position, that the Bible is the word of God. How we are enabled to do this, depends upon the following indisputable conclusion. If the Bible comes from God, the Author of our being, and if religion is a collection of motives acting in a certain way upon the mind, con- nected with this being, it is evident that these motives must be suited thereto. If we find that they, and no others, are suited to produce s the effects which Christianity recognises, we have a right, indeed it is our imperative duty, to infer, that the system containing these is from the Author of our being. If not suited thereto, the contrary inference must be the one arrived at. These conclusions admit of no dispute, for we may reasonably inquire, " He that planteth the ear, shall he not hear ? He that formed the eye, shall he not see ? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall he not know ? " Psalm xciv. 9. But here a difficulty presents itself — where are we to meet with a correct system of the human mind ? Till within these last few years, a search for a true system of the human mind among the ponderous volumes written upon the subject, was as vain as that of the alchymists to find out the philosopher's stone. Indeed, all the systems of the mind, which have appeared, are the results of the endeavours of some men of mighty genius to bend the facts, discovered by observation, to their peculiar pre-conceived notions ; and, having taken these results for principles, these individuals have endeavoured to reduce all the varied manifestations of the mind to them, as their first sources. They have seated themselves in the judgment-hall of their own consciousness, and have adopted its decisions as the laws which regulate mental phenomena; forgetting that other minds are not constituted as their own, and trying to blot from the page of memory, that one well-established opposing fact overturns the validity of any sup- posed universal law. Of late years, however, a system of the human mind has been brought to light, the principles of which are dependent upon observations, whence, by the Baconian system of induction, they have been patiently deduced. Such is the phrenological, at least to those who believe in it, and to such principally these pages are addressed. However, to satisfy the scruples of some who have not studied the evidences on which Phrenology rests, (which indeed, if studied, are sufficient to convince a candid mind,) a few remarks will be made in reply to some objections which are frequently brought forward by good-meaning people ; both by those who have a great respect for religion, but who have, in some points, a zeal without knowledge ; and those who care little about things which are not recognised by any whom they have been taught to consider " great men." 10 An objection frequently made by the former class is, that Phrenology is opposed to religion. To this, the argument contained in the follow- ing pages is a sufficient reply ; and it may, with truth, and the kindest feeling, be affirmed, that the birth-place of this objection is igno- rance. But strange to say, some, when told of this application of the science, cried out against it with unbecoming vehemence. These people seem offended when any thing except the Bible testifies to Bible truths. To object to Phre- nology, on this account, is equally absurd as to object to the works of God, because on the page of nature, as well as on that of revelation, the attribute of goodness is imprinted. Another objection, made by the latter class, is, " How is it that so many great men oppose Phrenology ? " To this it might be replied, that this is no argument against the science ; since every man of strong common sense (a possession, however, by Juvenal said to be very rare) must be aware, that the question necessary to be first decided in every inquiry is, Is this truth or untruth? It may be re- marked, in addition, that a respect for authority is one of the greatest obstacles to 11 the obtaining of truth. The " ipse dixit " of an ancient sage closed the eyes of observa- tion for ages. This foolish reverence forbids any originality of thought ; indeed, few are fond of thinking, and are very happy that others are willing to take the trouble out of their hands. These people take all things upon trust; they obey the dicta of a man great respecting literary honors, with as much deference as the subjects of the Ottoman empire the commands issued by the Caliphate. If they who urge this objection be such, and it is to be feared they are, it is begged of them to deliver themselves from this mental bondage, and be free Britons, not only in respect to their bodies, but also in relation to their minds. The inveteracy of habit must be allowed to have an influence on great as well as on little- minded men. These persons have been long used to one train of thinking. They conse- quently find it difficult to adopt another ; and as the acquisition of the system of mental metaphysics has, it is likely, cost thern much labor, their interest and self-esteem, and a number of other motives, are roused to refuse any aggressor entrance at the gate of their 12 mental territory, inveterate habit being the door-keeper. No wonder, then, that Phrenol- ogy, which threatens to overturn the ancient building, reared at first by Aristotle, remod- elled by Reid, partially altered again by another, daubed over by another, embellished by Dugald Stewart, and his admiring followers, should be refused admission. In fine, it may be inquired of the scientific men, what did Galileo and other worthies suffer ? and, to the Christian, the question may be applied, what was the treatment that the holy and unblamable life, and equally holy and unblamable opinions of the Saviour met with from the enthusiasti- cally zealous Scribes and Pharisees, and from the philosophic Sadducees ? In the following pages, therefore, Phrenology is assumed to be a true system of the human mind ; a postulate, which it is believed every candid mind, upon a fair investigation of the evidence, will be ready to allow. Let it be remembered, however, that this is not consid- ered by Phrenologists as a postulate, but a truth, demonstrable by facts numerous as those on which the principles of any other scientific system are built. For the Phrenologist will find 13 no difficulty in proving that chemistry, botany, natural history, or civil sciences, generally be- lived in, have not evidences equally numerous and indisputable, as grounds on which they are established, or considered by their adherents to be so. These remarks may anticipate an objection, which has frequently been made by persons ignorant of these evidences, against the appli- cation of Phrenology to matters of history, of government, of literature, and of mind. They think it wrong, that a science, according to them not yet established, should be applied to these subjects. In order to obviate this objec- tion, and to remove the apprehensions of some at the following employment of this science in relation to Christianity, the truth must be stated, that its principles rest upon no other foundation than the solid rock of observation. These have been accumulating for years, and will continue to accumulate, till the human mind has for ever ceased its functions ; a period when neither Phrenology nor any other human sci- ence will any longer be applicable. If, then, we were to delay the application of the princi- ples of Phrenology till the mighty structure be 2 14 completely reared, we should delay till the end of time; for, till that period, the science will be receiving accessions. Indeed, the applica- tions serve to build the fabric quicker by enab- ling its architects to bring supplies from every quarry out of which the human mind has worked materials ; and the readiness and the neatness, with which the matters collected help to form the fabric, show that the principles of the science agree with those of nature, and its pro- fessors to be skilful master builders. Yet some people would have the Phrenologists delay. These persons, however, do not argue thus with respect to other sciences. Chemistry, the present system is referred to, has been estab- lished but a few years, and yet who refrains from applying it? and who objects to the appli- cation ? No one ; indeed, the man would be reckoned a fool who should say to a chemist, " Your science, Sir, is not established ; you must not apply it to the illustration of chemical phenomena." The objection, that Phrenology is applied too far, and in too many ways, is often made in a very angry spirit. People might as well be angry, that out of twenty-six alphabetical letters, many thousand words are 15 made ; or that, from seven notes of the gamut, such a countless number of sounds should be worked. Phrenology, as a true system of the human mind, will apply to every exhibition of its anti- type, and will be useful in every relation in which the mind is called into exercise. Con- sider its possessor as a child, Phrenology will lead to the proper means to be made use of in cherishing some, and restraining others, of the dispositions and faculties. If we view man as a member of a community, this scienee teaches what talents he has, and how he can best employ them for the common good. And, finally, if we behold man as a creature of God, a knowledge of Phrenology will enable him to examine that historical code which boasts a divine origin ; to try whether it deserves this high dignity, by investigating whether its doc- trines and precepts are accordant with our nature. This last and most important applica- tion is the one taken advantage of, in the follow- ing pages. To show the justness of this application, it is worthy of reiteration, that religion is addresed 16 to the mind.* It is evident, then, that if we are in possession of a correct mental system, we have data, or grounds, from which we can deduce tests. 'witnessing to the Bible being the word of God, by showing that its doctrines are conformable to the constitution of that mind with which it has to do. This species of ana- logical proof rests on the possibility of inferring the truth of one proposition, from its consis- tency with another, which we know to be true ; and the evidence derived from this source, is second only to that of direct facts. By some it may be thought, that, in this de- monstration, too much is given to Phrenology: they may say, you would never have found out this application of the science, without the mind having been illuminated by Scripture truth. The author most readily allows this; and, in so doing is olad to acknowledge, that the word of God is the best purifier of the mental vision. * This word is used in the broad phrenological view, as comprehending the desires commonly called the flesh ; the sentiments mimed, in the Bible, the soul ; and the intellectual {'acuities represented in the same book by the word spirit. In this threefold division of the mental fac- ulties, Phrenology agrees with Scripture. 17 But it does not follow, because this applica- tion would not have been seen without the aid of the light of Scripture, that therefore the application did not exist ; any more than that the imperfection of our natural sight does not at all argue against the existence of things which we do not see; for I do not suppose, that many are so ignorantly blind, as to refuse to believe in any thing but what is evident to their own senses. We should, rather than im- pugn this application, rejoice in it, and value and study, constantly, the word of God, which alone is capable of enabling us to direct our knowledge to proper objects. This introduction may be concluded by an extract from a work published in the eigh- teenth century : — " The two volumes of nature and grace are so divinely perfect ; contain so much true beauty and solid worth, that, in order to be thoroughly admired, they can want noth- ing more than to be well understood. And, moreover, they correspond so strictly, and tally so exactly in numberless respects, and are so peculiarly fitted to illustrate, unfold, and enforce each other, that nothing can redound more to the credit and esteem of either, than a nearer 2* 18 contemplation of both. Doubtless the more intimately men are acquainted with them, the greater excellencies they will discover ; and the severest search, if honestly made, must end in deriving both from the same original." * The author cannot let this opportunity pass without testifying his gratitude to an anatomical lecturer, Mr. Sleigh, of London, for having directed his attention to the discoveries of Gall and Spurzheim ; and also to Mr. Combe, whose labors, in the cause of Phrenology, will ever entitle him to respect, and will obtain him, in future days, a place, and that no mean one, among the benefactors of mankind. Edinburgh, 1827. * Balguy's Tracts, Moral and Theological, page xxix. Preface. INTRODUCTION When my thoughts were first turned to the subject discussed in these pages, so many and so powerful seemed the obstacles against their successful prosecution, that, had not an ardent desire to direct any additional knowledge to the developement of the most important truths, given its potent assistance, the following attempt would never have been made. Indeed many, and they men of sound sense, and extensive reading, asserted that every thing that could be said upon the evidences of Christianity had already been offered to the world, and enumer- ated a train of so many illustrious spirits, who had directed the powerful energies of their minds to this momentous question, that it seem- ed almost presumption to persevere. Still, how- 20 ever, the conviction of being in possession of a fountain of knowledge, which has been, till of late years, undiscovered ; and the certainty, that from it flows a purer stream than that which has formed the mighty, but Stygian, river of mental metaphysics ; and the hope that by seizing the stream in its course, it might be directed into the fields of truth, encouraged me to proceed. It is hoped, from the observations contained in the Preface, that the nature of the argument will be perceived. But as it is, naturally enough, a common case, that an author, like a painter, observes peculiarities, and sees farther and more in his productions, than the reader or the spectator beholds, it may be proper to make some additional remarks, proving, that the argument herein brought forward, has something new in it, and is not, as some may be apt to imagine, a substitution of new expres- sions for new ideas. In order to exhibit its novelty, it will be necessary to undertake the unpleasant, though useful, duty of showing the nature — and, in doing so, the defects — of former arguments (for they all seem more or less defective), and then to point out the nature 21 of the following. The ungracious nature of the task of dwelling upon the misconceptions of great men, must be evident to all : its per- formance, however, is a duty rendered impera- tive by their very celebrity. The arguments of those who have written upon the internal evidences of Christiani- ty : may be reduced under three classes. The first consists of those who have argued upon the reasonableness of the doctrines, or the accord- ance between the nature of the Christian religion, and the character of the Supreme. The divine character, it will be seen, is the touchstone in this species of argument. But to make this serve such a purpose is illogical, and conse- quentl , unsound. We have no knowledge of the char cter of God, but from his works and his word. Our information upon this head, from his works, is very limited ; indeed, so much so, that we cannot be justified in making our experience thereupon a standard of truth. Chalmers's reasoning on this subject is conclusive : " To assign," says he, " the character of the divine administration from the little that offers itself to the notice of our own personal observation, 22 would be far more absurd than to infer the history and character of the kingdom, from the history and character of our own family." Any reasoning, therefore, as to the truth of Christi- anity, from the accordance between its doctrines and the character of God, as made known by his works, is * inconclusive. Our knowledge from the word of God is far more extensive. Indeed, therein we are taught the real charac- ter of the Deity ; therein he who fills all is made known ; a view of his immeasurable attributes, under the veil of some interesting and important facts, is presented. This knowl- edge, thus obtained, is the proper standard to use in examining the divine character. But this is that which Christianity makes to appear; and, in proving that the general doctrines of the Christian system correspond with those that relate to the Being held forth therein, as the object of adoration, all that is demonstrated * It is not said, that it was inconclusive, but that it is. To Adam, whose vision was not biassed by the prepon- derance of his lower feelings, the creation was a continu- al preacher of the Creator ; and now that the light of Revelation has dawned, it has become again an in- structer. 23 is, that a consistency exists throughout. But this, though pleasant to behold, and, to the believer, one confirmatory evidence of the truth of his system, the object of belief, is not sufficient to authorize any one to believe the Bible to be in- deed the word of God. The harmony proves that truth is the general feature of the work ; but not that the God, who is Truth, is its author. In Euclid's elements there is throughout a consistency ; but who considers this as proving that of this work Euclid was the author ? The insufficiency of this argument will be rendered still more apparent, when it is remembered that this consistency is not perfect, at least to most minds ; for, with some matters revealed, all that can be said is, to use Paul's language, and to inquire, " Who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say to Him who formed it, Why hast thou made me thus ? 55 The next class of reasoners are those who have argued in favor of Christianity, from its doctrines being superior, both in morality and in faith, to those of any existent system, and from its precepts being opposed to the predominant desires of the generality of men. Therefore, it 24 has been concluded by many, that Christianity could not have been the work of men, or of devils, but necessarily of God. This conclu- sion depends upon a want of knowledge; for, in many works written by heathen philoso- phers,* we find very proper practices recom- mended, and many duties enjoined, requiring for their performance the sacrifice of feelings which men hold dear. Wicked men have often inculcated highly moral precepts. Voltaire, in his Philosophical Dictionary, has some excellent laudatory and illustrative remarks, on self-denial, and other commonly called virtues. The mo- rality of Christianity, it is true, is distinguished by the principle to which, in this system, it owes its rise, namely, the love of God. The arguments of this class, can be called no more than illustrations of Christianity : as such, they have been useful in exhibiting the grandeur and elevation of the Christian system, even as a system of philosophy ; but do not prove that the same is a revelation from God, because we are not certain, upon like reasoning, but some * See Apologia Dei ; a valuable work, as containing records of the opinions of the ancients. 25 system ma}' yet come forward superior to it. Before, then, this argument can be convincing, it will be necessary for us to possess the stand- ard of perfection, and to find that, upon com- paring Christianity with it, they agree. The third class of arguments consists of those drawn from the honesty, manifested by their sufferings, of the persons who bore testi- mony to the truths stated in the Bible, and from the successful elevation of Christianity above all the numerous, varied, and powerful attempts to overthrow it. The withstanding of this opposition, it is said, is sufficient to demon- strate, that the Christian system has God for its author. But this way of reasoning is not conclusive. Many persons, moreover, have devoted their lives in the defence of what are now believed not only false, but absurdly child- ish religions : and it is w r ell known, that the best way to perpetuate a name, is to persecute its possessor. Indeed, a philosopher, who wished his opinions to be known, cried, " Per- secute me, persecute me." Persecuted men band together, stir up one another, and often unjustly identify their cause with that of God, and, by so doing, acquire an intrepidity superior 3 26 to every difficulty. And, allowing, that the bearing of persecution for conscience* sake shows the honesty of the belief of the persecut- ed, it is no proof that the thing believed is not a lie. For, though what Gamaliel said to the Jewish sanhedrim respecting the infliction of punishment on the first preachers of Christian- ity, namely, " If this counsel, or this work be of men, it will come to nought ; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it" (Acts v. 38, 39), is true, yet it is a species of evidence that is merely subsidiary, and only that, when ages are past. Such reasoning would establish, in the mind of the Papist, the Romish church as the right church; in the opinion of the Turk, the Mahommedan. Indeed, this logic is one, which laziness has begotten upon fear. Instead of investigating the evident, and, to Gamaliel, sensibly evident testimonies to the divine mission of the apostles, and to the heavenly nature of the doctrines taught by them, he, afraid of examining matters which came so near home, contented himself in this doctrine of expediency. And let those who argue thus on any truth beware, lest, by this lukewarmness, they depart from the way of duty, and cease to do good to men. 27 These three classes comprise almost all the arguments that have been written upon the in- ternal evidences of Christianity ; and, though not conclusive, have not been without use. They have been the means of removing much of the rubbish that prevented some of the strong and well-defended buttresses of the Christian's citadel being seen. They have shown the bul- warks of Zion, and have pointed out thy beauties, O Jerusalem ! Two arguments, however, remain to be noticed ; these not being comprised within the three above. Reference is made to those of Butler and Erskine. Some had disputed the truth of Revelation, upon the ground that it contains many things which are opposed to our reason, and to the light afforded us by natural religion. To this objection Butler replied, by showing, that if this argument was sufficient to overturn the truth of revelation, it was equally so in destroy- ing the truth of what we observe in nature. For, in the natural world, we see and believe in many things which we do not understand, and which we cannot reconcile with our notions derived from any natural source. But if our 28 belief be refused, unless our understandings per- ceive the nature of all things, we must shut our eyes, we must deny the most evident, yea, sen- sibly evident truths. Hkherto the argument of Butler is good. As overturning the objection, it is unanswerable ; but the positive application which some have made of it in attempting to establish Christianity, is not so good. It can do only as a negative argument. For that man wanders wide, and in a latitude not in Butler's measurement, when from the similarity between nature and revelation, that difficulties exist in each, he argues that, there- fore, the God of nature and the God of revela- tion are the same. There is more of neatness than of conclusiveness in this way of reasoning; a similar kind of logic would demonstrate, that, because two things agree in one respect, they shall coincide altogether. Erskine has, however, struck out a new road. The character and condition of man hold pre- eminent places in his argument. The character of God, namely, that recognised by natural religion, has its place. He endeavours to show, that the doctrinal facts contained in the Bible are such as must necessarily arise from the di- 29 vine character ; and that the nature of these facts, in relation to man, is such, that the effects, which it is said in the Christian system, will be produced by their exhibition and recep- tion, are such as, on the known principles of human nature, must be : thence concluding, that Christianity is a revelation from God. To use, however, his own words — " I mean to show, that there is an intelligible and necessary connexion between the doctrinal facts of reve- lation, and the character of God (as deduced from natural religion), in the same way as there is an intelligible and necessary connexion be- tween the character of a man, and his most characteristic actions ; and farther, that the belief of these doctrinal facts has an intelligible and necessary tendency to produce the Christian character, in the same way that the belief of danger has an intelligible and necessary tenden- cy to produce fear." This method of reasoning, though, as far as I have been able to learn, never objected to, is inconclusive ; on three grounds. I state this opinion with all humility ; but truth does not admit of a compromise, even among friends warring in the same cause. It is liable to objection, first, from the assumption 3* 30 of the character of God as recognised by natural religionists ; second, from certain known 'prin- ciples of human nature being taken for granted ; and third, from the condition in which human nature is, and to which the motives contained in the facts of Christianity are suited, not being explained or proved. To consider these grounds individually, may be beneficial and just; and, therefore, with respect to the first, it may be observed, that until that which is called natural Teligion, is proved to present a correct standard of the character of God, it cannot be consist- ently used in demonstrating that the doctrinal facts of Scripture are of divine origin. But this is the method of demonstrating the divine original of Scripture by Erskine, as may be seen by reading over the first portion of the recorded extract. The uncertainty of the dicta of natural religion must be evident to every one who has examined his own mind, and has observed how others' thoughts have become so incorporated in his mental exercises, that, when they appear, he takes them for his own. The Deists of modern days have, it is true, brought forward a more consistent system than those, their fellows of the ages before the Christian era. But to 31 what is this superiority referrible ? Is it not THAT REVEALED RELIGION HAS BEEN INCORPO- RATED INTO THE MINDS OF THE DEISTS BY EARLY EDUCATION, AND THENCE BEING BIASSED, THEY HAVE DEVISED A SYSTEM IN WHICH ALL THE REAL BEAUTIES ARE BORROWED FROM CHRIS- TIANITY? And in making the dicta of natural religion the means of deciding upon the divine origin of the doctrinal facts of the Christian system, we fall into the error of making the experience of those whom every Christian must allow are enemies of revealed truth, the judge, before whom the character and the proceedings of the Deity are arraigned. If natural religion was demonstrated to be true, in all its decisions respecting the character of God, this might be permitted, but not till then. I am aware it may be said, that man was created in God's image ; and that, by giving to God all the moral traits in man in an infinite degree (the way of natural religionists), we cannot err. But this way of reasoning is fallacious ; because it is only from revelation that we learn, that man was created in his Maker's image : and the strength of this species of argument depends upon what, to an unbeliever, is an assumption. 32 The second ground on which Erskine's argu- ment must be inconclusive to the infidel, is, that certain features of human character are taken as known principles of human nature. Many may allow that the principles of Erskine are the fixed ones of the nature of man, but there are others that will not; and before the argu- ment deduced from such principles is valid, these must be demonstrated to be the immutable standards of human character. If he had es- tablished the principles of human nature upon a foundation as firm as that on which the laws of mechanics are fixed, his reasoning from them would be fair. This we have a right to expect ; for Erskine introduces his argument by a beau- tiful illustration. He fancies a traveller returned from China, where, among the many wonders seen, it is supposed one was a steam-engine. He tells his countrymen, the Syracusans. The stupid believe all; the judicious doubt; but Archimedes, on hearing the description of the boiler, the pipes, valves, and of the other parts, acknowledges the truth of the narration, al- though the narrator may not be trust-worthy : and why 1 Because the effects stated agree with the known principles of mechanics. Thence it follows, that, for Evskine's argument to hold good, it is necessary that the principles of man's iould be demonstrated; because the mere decisions of experience cannot be ccn- iratil all experiences decide similarly. The third defect in Erskine's argument is, that, in it, man is assumed to be in a certain condition. Every one must allow that much evil is in the world, and most will agree in re- ferring its origin to the fall. But the motives of Christianity are addressed to our nature, as affected in a certain way by the fall ; and the force, and the suitableness, of the doctrinal facts can be seen, to the full extent, only when a con- viction of being in this condition is driven home upon the mind, by a demonstration of its truth. It is true, Christianity says that we are in this condition ; but the infidel does not be- lieve : and, before he can be convinced of the suitableness of the doctrinal facts of the Chris- tian system to produce certain effects, he must have it demonstrated that such is the condition of human nature ; for it must be allowed, that is very suitable to a person in one state, may be very unsuitable to him in another. 34 Having thus pointed out the nature of former arguments, **it remains that the one pursued in the following pages should be brought forward. Previous, however, to doing this, it seems to the writer a bounden duty to bear testimony to the beauties of Erskine's publication ; and to add, that though it is not a conclusive argu- ment, it affords the most striking illustrations of the genuine influence of Christian principles. Every Christian must be pleased with the work, and must be happy to see the extensive circula- tion which it has had ; and its writer, it must be acknowledged, has made a diligent use of every means he had in his power. And though the deficiencies in the argument already stated, are supplied in the following pages, the author takes no credit to himself; the difference being, that he happens to be in possession of means which Mr. Erskine did not possess ; or, if pos- sessing, did not use. * One argument has not been noticed, and this is, per- haps, the best of all. It is Haldane's; and is well worthy of perusal. It views Christianity as regarding the salva- tion of man. Some others, of which the author is not aware, may have been passed by. 35 Phrenology, as a true system of the human mind, supplies all these defects. It frees its possessor from the need of any appeal, for the sake of argument, either to natural or revealed religion, for the character of God ; puts him in possession of the known, the fixed principles of human nature ; opens up to him the influence of motives on that nature ; enables him to prove, both that man is in the condition in which he is said to be, in Scripture, and to over- rule many unanswerable objections. Before stating the argument, it may be proper to hint at an objection often made by those who have not fully studied the discoveries which the science of Phrenology has made. It is this, that experience is equally sufficient with the evi- dence of phrenological demonstration. This is saying that the stream is equally pure as the* fountain. Experience is the stream flowing from the primitive faculties, demonstrated by Phrenology. Experience consisting of deduc- tions of the mind from facts observed ; which facts themselves have arisen from sources, which were anterior to the facts themselves. It is true, we can say the stream is water, but we cannot be certain that it arises from & fountain. It may be accumulated rain. The metaphysi- cians say that it is : they refer the differences, which Phrenology demonstrates to arise from primitive faculties, to the influence of circum- stances ; and refuse to acknowledge that they flow from individual fountains. Thus we see the uncertainty of experience, from the possi- bility of putting different explanations upon it ; and the certainty of phrenological demonstra- tion, by its not permitting any difference of explanation. Indeed, metaphysicians are, in truth, Owenites, although they will not allow it. But to the argument : — All religions are sim- ilar in the three following respects : in having some superior being or beings for their object ; the favor of the same as their end ; and the means of obtainment as their subject. These remarks apply to Christianity : and, in illustrating them in the following dissertation, it will be proved that this religion alone can boast a divine orig- inal, from the following circumstances : That no God but that of Christianity can be approved of by man, on account of his mental constitution : but man having, in every case, approved of others beside the true 37 God, SOME CHANGE HAS HAPPENED IN HUMAN Nature ; That this change is evil, and that man is necessarily evil : That the means for obtaining God's favor are suited to man in such, and in no other condition : That the obtaining of this favor is connected with cer- tain changes, which the means are effica- cious in producing : That the means for pre- serving the favor of God, are such as, according to the present condition of human nature, are efficiently suited for effecting that great object : Finally, concluding, that as Christianity corresponds thus, in every respect, with the fixed constitution of our nature, it must be the work of the Author of our being. Such are the principal matters discussed in the present work ; and it now remains that we pursue them. The similarity between all religions has been stated. And as the division is natural, between a being and the circumstances in connexion, the argument will embrace two points : First, the general character of the God of Christianity; and, second, His particular character, seen in the means to be made use of by His creatures, to gain, and preserve His favor. 4 INTERNAL EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY DEDUCED FROM PHRENOLOGY, PART I. The argument to be illustrated is, that the •general character of god, as revealed by Christianity, is conformable to the prin- ciples OF OUR NATURE, AS DEMONSTRATED BY Phrenology. In establishing this, four propo- sitions will be offered for consideration : first, That man is so constituted as to be constrained -.o worship some being ; second, That he is en- dowed with certain faculties, enabling him to decide on what ought to be the object worship- ped ; third, That this object must be such as these faculties, unbiassed, approve of; and, fourth, That the God of Christianity is the only such object. 40 The first proposition that requires demon- stration is, That man is so constituted as to BE CONSTRAINED TO WORSHIP SOME BEING. Such a proposition may, to some minds, be so self-evident as to need no proof. Indeed, one writer says, that " it is morally fit that man should reverence his Maker, is a proposition self-evident to all that rightly understand the terms." In proof, it has been urged, that man is called a religious animal. That he should have received such a distinguishing appellation without some adequate cause seems unreason- able. Indeed, this characteristic of human nature is very evident, even upon a superficial observation ; and so strong and so general has been the impression of a superintending power, and of our duty to bow in homage before the same, that the most civilized of nations banish- ed Pythagoras, one of their philosophers, for denying the existence of a God, and put an- other, called by the Delphic oracle the wisest of men, to death, for maintaining the existence of a being thought bv his countrymen to be in opposition to their superintending powers. The lifting up the hands and eyes towards heaven, the natural language of distress, seems to bear 41 testimony to the general impression, both of the existence of a Deity, and of the duty of bowing before him. And, though, in health and pros- perity, many among the heathens, and, in mod- ern times, still many more, have pretended to doubt the existence of God, and consequently their duty to worship him ; yet, in the days of adversity and sickness, we find, as Seneca re- marks, that these skeptics show themselves to be most fearful of this Being, who, according to them, when in health, is the fancy of men. And few will doubt what Cicero says; " There was never a nation so savage, or people so bar- barous, but always confessed the existence of a God." The objects of worship may be, not God, but devils, or, sometimes, even men; and the means for obtaining the favor of the being worshipped, may be not beneficent, but cruel ; yet, the impressions that there is such a being, and that this, as such, should be worshipped, seem to be general. And it is a curious fact, that the very name the Greeks gave to the Deity, 0*°? L theos, signifies fear. If language consists of signs of things, this affords most striking illustration and evidence of the opinions of the Greeks upon this subject. 4 # 42 However evident these conclusions may seem, and however fairly deduced from facts, some have disputed them. So evident, indeed, are they thought by one writer, that he attests " it would be as absurd to demand a reason why man should reverence his Maker, as to ask why a whole is greater than its part." * But this is no argument ; for it should always be remembered, that, before ice can be convinced of the fitness of any thing, it must be evident to ourselves ; it being clear to others, unless they be infallible (an attribute which a real Protestant will not be willing to allow to any man), is no reason why it should appear fit to us. Indeed, two objections have been urged against these conclu- sions, thus deduced : the first is, that there is no cause for a belief in a superior existence ; and second, supposing that a superior being exists, there is no reason why he should be worshipped. These objections must be refuted ; and, in their refutation, an opportunity will be afforded to show the importance of Phrenology, in giving the force of demonstration, to conclusions deduced from otherwise disputable observations. The * See Synge's Method, p. 11. 43 first objection set the master-genius of Paley to work, and the result of his labors was his valua- ble and interesting publication, " Natural The- ology." His main proposition, which he illus- trates by a great variety of examples, is, that wherever there is design, there must be a de- signer. In the world, innumerable instances of design are evident, and therefore, according to his proposition, a contriver must have existed ; and as, in the carrying on of the varying circum- stances of this and other worlds, there must be a presiding mind, that contriver still exists. This argument, so simple, and apparently so free from objection, was nullified by an opposing statement. The skeptic did not pretend to deny the examples of design, but disputed the conclu- sion that these should lead to a designer. Paley illustrates his argument by supposing a plain, over which a person travelling picks up a watch. The archdeacon then analyzes the thoughts that would pass through the man's mind. But here he fell into an error, which almost all met- aphysicians have been in the habit of com- mitting : he made his own consciousness that of the man, and makes the traveller think as one would, who knew the uses of the watch. To 44 Paley it would exhibit the idea of a workman ; but why ? Because he knew that workmen made such things. Here, then, his conviction of design depended upon his knowledge.* But let a savage happen to pick up the watch, what would be his conclusions? said the infidel. He would, it is likely, fancy it was some animal, having peculiar powers, and would be aston- ished ; f he would not think of a designer, un- less he had seen such a thing made by some one. But any other animal, besides man, would have thought in a similar way. The animal creation behold the same objects ; they look around, admire, and wonder; but do not infer any thing respecting a supreme existence. A cat, as well as man, sees itself in a glass ; but does the cat imagine that man made the glass? * The same opinion respecting Paley's reasoning is given by Mr. Rennell, Christian Advocate in the Univer- sity of Edinburgh, in his Remarks on Skepticism. t It is curious that the above was written without any knowledge that such would turn out to be a fact ; but an intelligent lady, to whom the first edition of this book- was lent for perusal, appended a note, that a savage, to whom a watch was presented, did actually regard it as an ani- mal, and feared to handle it lest it might injure him. — See Lander's Expedition to the Niger. 45 The force of this objection is more apparent, when we reflect on what we ourselves would think, had we never seen a watch before, and knew nothing about time. This philosophy, though so humbling, has been advocated ; it puts man on a level with the brute creation, a para- doxical exhibition of philosophical pride. We might almost doubt whether men ever held such opinions, were we not aware that one would-be philosopher of the present day, glories in the idea of being, post mortem, a cabbage. Those, who argued for the existence of a superintending power, were so delighted at the opportunity of attack afforded them by this lowering of man to the rank of the brute creation, that they came to the charge with the word " reason," without having properly considered in what reason con- sists. The possession of reason was their ground, on which it was maintained that man and no other animal, could discover the existence of the Supreme, and, discovering this, could be bound to worship him. Prejudice, it is true, was on their side; but the infidel returned their attack with a vigor and a skill, to the effects of which they had laid themselves open, by the intemper- ance of their charge. He demanded the evi- 46 dence that man is in the possession of reason ; and observed, if we say reason consists in fore- sight, look at the ant, that collects with so much diligence her food for the winter ; if reason be exhibited in suiting ourselves to our circum- stances, behold the beaver, building its two- floored house ; if in being grateful for favors, consider the dog, the faithful remembrancer of kindness ; if in the approval of what is right, read the numerous instances wherein animals act justly. A long dispute was now entered into respecting the nature of reason ; and attempts were made to point out differences between this and instinct. A principal distinction was the following: — That instincts ever lead to the same results, and do not admit of improvement. But against this so many facts were urged, that the objection cannot be considered answered with such clearness as to justify an infidel in bowing before the judgment of his opponents.* * Indeed, the difficulties attendant upon a delineation of the difference between reason and instinct, will be fully seen by reading the valuable work, entitled " Paxton's Illustrations of Scripture;" also an Essay on Instinct, read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; also SmeK lie's Natural History. 47 It was asserted, that reason is a ray of fl the light that enlightens every man who comes into the world;" a beam of the eternal Logos, the " Sun of Righteousness." Many may allow the truth of this beautiful remark ; but the infidel observes, " This is assertion, where is the proof?" This brief view of skeptic opinions has been given with the intent of showing how little cer- tainty the labors of metaphysicians have con- ferred upon these important subjects ; and I think, if phrenology sets these questions for ever at rest, we cannot look upon the science but with a smile of approbation. How then can the question be answered ? how is it to be proved that man possesses rea- son? In order to give a proper reply, it must be established that man has certain facul- ties, NOT IN THE POSSESSION OF OTHER ANI- MALS, THE EXERCISE OF WHICH CONSTITUTES reason. Does phrenology afford this means of proof? It does. This science demonstrates, by observation, and by dissection, that man is in possession of several faculties not possessed by beasts ; and, among these, two in particular, the exercise of which constitutes reason. These are 48 Causality, which traces between cause and effect, and impresses us with au irresistible con- viction, that every phenomenon, or change in nature, is caused by something ; and Compari- son, which gives the power of perceiving resem- blances, similitudes, and analogies. These two faculties, perceiving the wisdom, harmony, power, and beautiful connexion in the works of creation, infer that a supreme creating and directing Mind exists. This they do from the very necessity of their constitution. * The establishment of these faculties takes, away one chief support of the second objection, that supposing a superior being exists, there is no reason why man should worship him. The skeptic maintained that, though he received many benefits from the works of creation, this is no reason why he should bow before the Crea- tor. M For," said he, " does not the insect enjoy the benefits of God's creation, when it revels in the sun-beam ? Does not the lion r * For a fuller illustration of these observations, see Combe's System of Phrenology, article Causality; see also pages 141, 142, 143, Phren. Jour., No. 1; for a fuller exposition of these principles and facts, see also page 145, note, No. 1., Phrenological Journal. 49 wandering through the desert, and stalking along in the dignity of his greatness, receive his food from the hand of Heaven 1 Does not the Crea- tor supply the rivers for the fish, and does He not feed the fowls of every kind ? Why should I, any more than these, who enjoy the benefits of creation, bow before the Creator ? And besides, if I look over the earth, I behold much misery. It is true, the earth is watered, and the sun rises. The face of nature is beautiful; but, sad contrast! I am obliged to obtain my bread by the sweat of my brow ; my life is beset with toils which cannot be avoided. Am I to worship a Being who has permitted such misery?" To reply to the former observations, it was alleged, that man possesses reason ; an allegation demon- strated by phrenology. To the latter, it was urged, happiness is the rule, but misery the ex- ception. To this the skeptic replied by a pas- sage from the Bible, " Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards; 5 ' and added, even allowing that our reason may demonstrate the existence of God, it does not therefore follow that he should be worshipped. " My reason says, He is above all glory and praise. I am the clay in his hands, and his glory is exhibited 5 50 in my constitution. " And besides, the simple belief of an existence does not imply that that existence is to be worshipped ; for " the under- standing only perceives facts and draws inferen- ces, but does not feel emotions ; and adoration is an emotion." Metaphysicians argue to the con- trary, but they have been misguided, by mistak- ing the decision of another faculty of the human mind, for that of those constituting reason. And that simple adoration is not the effect of reason, but of some other faculty equally strong, is proved by the fact, that the deities of the savages are, often, blocks of wood and stone. It surely will not be said, that a logical tiain of deductions gave birth to this species of worship ; a conclu- sion to which we must come, if we allow that the impression of the duty of worshipping a superior Being depends upon the design, harmony, and order, in the works of creation, discoverable by reason. Is it a conclusion of reason that gives rise to idol worship 1 To what then are all the facts connected with adoration referrible? " To the influence of education/' says the skeptic; w and the differences in the elevation of the object worshipped, arise from the relative cultiva- tion of the minds of the worshippers ; and the 51 beginning of worship of every kind, is ascribable to designing priests." This objection is invali- dated by the nature of the facts; for how could the priests have induced such a state of things, unless something exists in the mind of man, leading him to worship; and why should the priests have chosen this method of bringing their fellow-men over to their purposes, unless they had been convinced that, in man, a powerful tendency to worship some Being exists? How- ever, the infidel strenuously maintains his expla- nation of the facts, which he considers as exhibi- tive of the influence of education. Indeed, conviction has not been driven home upon this point ; because, though it is fair to argue, as has already been done, that where light exists, there must be a luminary, so there cannot be any ex- hibitions of a religious principle^ unless the prin- ciple is in existence ; yet, until we can either show that the infidel explanation is insufficient to account for the phenomena, or bring positive evidence to the existence of the principle, we cannot convince the gainsayer. Those, who have been used to reasoning, will know the diffi- culty connected with proving to any one the insufficiency of his explanation ; and, although 52 in this case, a person, void of education, who has had no communication, so far as is known, with human beings, a man of the woods, in fact,* is brought, having manifested in his con- duct the influence of a principle leading him to bow before God, the skeptic objects, and fairly too, " We are unacquainted with all the circum- stances of this person's history. In his early life he may have seen some human being lift his hands and eyes towards heaven, and being imita- tive in his nature, followed the example, and become a worshipper of a being, of whom he is altogether ignorant." On this ground the infidel takes his stand, and defies the utmost efforts of his opponent. For, though it has been (and with truth) asserted, that " a kind of devotion inducing man to worship him, being the Crea- tor and preserver of men, and of all things else, and the provident Father of all, is planted and inseparably fixed in the hearts of all men ; " yet, to prove this, if we can appeal to nothing but * Since the publication of the first edition, Casper Hauser has been brought before the public, and the reader is requested to read the account published of him in the Penny Magazine : also a later account by Lord Stanhope. 53 exhibitions, which, the infidel asserts, arise from circumstances, we can never be successful. We mu?t demonstrate the principle. Such, then, is the condition in which we are left by the observation of facts. Phrenology stops not here, but helps us out of our difficulty, by demonstrating, by positive and incontroverti- ble evidence, the existence in man, and in man only, of a faculty of the mind, the source, the fountain, of all these exhibitions of worship. This faculty is named Veneration, from the emotions to which it gives rise. Its existence (for the evidence is convincing) affords an all- powerful argument ; in fact, the only argument that can be used, to prove to a man, who loves his infidel explanation of the exhibitions of this principle, the inaccuracy of his opinions. And having proved its existence, it may be asked as an illustrative evidence, whether a human being, not idiotic, was ever known, who did not, in any respect, exhibit its influence in adoring some one being or other 1 In answering these objections, the proposition started with has been proved. It has been de- monstrated, that man, from his very constitution, is bound to worship some being. And, when, ir\ 5* 54 addition, we consider that man, and man only, has the faculty of Veneration, we see a distinc- tion between him and the lower animals ; and behold the cause why the soul of man goeth upwards, while that of a beast proceedeth down- wards. The examination of this proposition I cannot conclude better, than by the introduction of a passage, elegant in style, and beautiful in sentiment. " Dr. Gall observes, ' that the exis- tence of the organ (Veneration) is an indirect proof of the existence of God. Destructiveness is implanted in the mind, and animals exist around us to be killed for our nourishment. Adhesiveness and Philoprogenitiveness are given, and friends and children are provided as objects on whom they may be exercised. Benevolence is conferred on us, and the poor and unhappy, on whom it may shed its soft influence, are every where present with us. In like manner, the instinctive tendency to worship is implanted in the mind ; and, conformably to these analogies of nature, we are entitled to infer that a God exists whom we may adore.' " Combe's System, p. 147. 55 The faculty of Veneration produces mere emotion. It is the source of the tendency to worship a superior power, but does not guide its possessor in forming any ideas, correct or incor- rect, of the object worshipped. It is, therefore, natural to expect, that the Being who made man, and has endowed him with a faculty leading to adoration, has also provided his creature with faculties, which, if properly directed, will lead to the knowledge of the character fitted to be the object on whom this faculty may be rightly exercised. Indeed, without such an endowment, man could not discover, in this matter, between good and evil, and would have been left in the chaos of objects, without a test to discover the real and proper one ; he would be, in the wide ocean of his imagination, as a mariner without his compass on the mighty Pacific. These obsersations lead to the second proposi- tion in establishing the argument taken from the general character of God, that Man is endowed WITH CERTAIN FACULTIES, ENABLING HIM TO DECIDE ON WHAT OUGHT TO BE THE OBJECT WORSHIPPED. Phrenology demonstrates the existence of cer- tain faculties ; and it is phrenology, only, that 56 does. Metaphysicians have wandered far from this idea. Common-sense people have asserted their existence under the name of " dispositions/' and in this, as well as in many other points, their sentiments approach phrenological truth. Com- monsense and Phrenology always agree; but there is, in general, little accordance between this product of observant minds, and the mental metaphysics of the ancient school. Mental meta- physics are foolishly abstract; their believers tell us what is going on in the temple of their consciousness, but not in the large theatre of the world. Phrenology studies nature as it is, and teaches us that we have the faculties of Causality and Comparison, the offices of which have been explained ; and also that we are in possession of Conscientiousness, which gives birth to the sense of right and wrong, and produces the feeling of moral duty and obligation ; of Hope, producing the tendency to believe in the possibility of what the other faculties desire, and to look forward into futurity; of Benevolence, the name of which explains its power; of Firmness, of Cautious- ness, and of others. Phrenology proves, in addi- tion, that these faculties harmonize together, so that the intellect cannot, except when biassed by 57 the desires, or misled by ignorance, approve of any thing opposed to the dictates of the moral sentiment?;. These faculties decide always in a similar way ; their language is perpetually the same, although differing in power. This antici- pates the objection, that the decisions of these faculties, when small, are different from those resulting from them, when large. Persons, rea- soning thus, forget that a difference in degree, is not a difference in kind. A drop of rain is water, as much as is the ocean. Benevolence must be benevolent ; Conscientiousness must be just ; Causality must investigate ; Comparison must compare ; Cautiousness must excite caution, whether small or large. The voice may be feeble and faint, but it will never vary. Man has been endowed with these faculties that they may serve for his guidance. His Hope aspires for some object on which to rest ; his Cautiousness bids him beware of resting on a sandy foundation ; his Causality and Comparison dictate that such are all things here below ; his Benevolence makes his Hope sigh for an object of benevolence ; and his Conscientiousness for one who is just. 58 In order that the importance of these faculties may be more fully seen, it may be farther re- marked, that the faculty of Veneration, unguided by them, may urge its possessor to " worship the genius of the storm, the sun, as the source of light, heat, and vegetable life ; " or, if more debased in intellect, he may bow before stocks and stones. It was the faculty of Veneration, not under the presiding influence of the other faculties, and misguided by the vain and proud imaginations of skeptical philosophy, that gave birth to the first verse of Pope's Universal Prayer, the sentiments of which are not less impious, according to the literal meaning, than the versi- fication is pretty. Veneration is blind ,* the un- biassed faculties are its eyes ; and by them, the way in which the former should exercise itself, is found out. The object of these remarks is to impress on the mind the important truth, that Veneration, unguided by the intellectual faculties and moral sentiments, must lead its possessor into the deep night of superstition, affording to design- ing priests an opportunity to way-lay and to strip the traveller, not only of his raiment, but' of his mental freedom — things which all history de- clares they have ever done. 59 The existence of these faculties having been demonstrated by Phrenology, and the nature of their operation, as connected with the present subject, having been thus briefly stated, the third proposition comes into view, namely that THE OBJECT WORSHIPPED, MUST BE SUCH AS THE FACULTIES, UNBIASSED, APPROVE OF. With the view of finding out this object, the principal heathen deities, first, of the commonalty, then, of 'the philosophers, will pass under review ; and, as they march on, their features will be ex- amined through the scrutinizing eye of these faculties. One of the principal features of Paganism — (for, under this term, Grecian and Roman, as well as Egyptian and Persian idolatries must be classed, in spite of the Gibbonian definition * of * "Gibbon, though intellectual by nature, and culti- vated by study; though brilliant in the erudition of re- search, unrivalled, too, in splendor and felicity of diction, his clay-clad heart could discover no terrestrial charms, save in Paganism. Nor could aught of congruous sym- pathy reach his affections from any sentiment impearled with Christian graces, or from any tear by Christian effluence.'' Christianity Epitomized, by Rob. Bourne, Esq. pp. 121, 122, 60 the first, the elegant mythology of the Greeks,) is a plurality of deities. Indeed, polytheism is the leading characteristic of heathen devotion. " In number, titles, and attributes, the objects of adoration may, indeed, occasionally differ ; but a multiplicity of deities still constitutes the general creed of Paganism, and a dereliction of the pure worship of the Unity is equally charge- able upon the refinements of Europe and Asia, the degraded worship of the western hemisphere, and the base superstition of Africa. The wis- dom of Egypt, the learning of Greece, the mas- culine energy of Rome, were alike unable to preserve them from the universal contagion." * It becomes, thence, a matter of inquiry, Is this predominating feature of the ancient idolatries in accordance with the decision of our mental faculties? Veneration, it is true, would as wil- lingly, perhaps, have many, as few, objects of adoration ; but what will Causality and Compari- son decide upon this matter ? Their decision is the following : these numerous deities cannot all be equal : they could not have called them- selves into existence (supposing them to be exis- * Faber's Horae Mosaicae, vol. i. p. 7, chap. 1. 61 tences.) but must have had some one who is their original, the source whence~they derived being. This must be superior to the rest, and ought, therefore, to be the object of worship ; and, unless authority is given to recognise the worship of other beings, his inferiors, Conscien- tiousness and Cautiousness forbid to bow the knee before creatures, themselves created. Thus then, it appears, that the demonstrably existing mental faculties pass the decision of " No " upon the question, whether it is accordant with their constitution that the faculty of Veneration should be directed to more than one object. And this want of accordance is more fully seen when it is remembered, that the Father, Saturn, the origi- nal of the gocfs, is represented in Heathen mythology as being divested of his power by his children ; a palpable absurdity, that the source of power should be overcome by those who derive thence their strength ; and a violation of the dictates of Conscientiousnes, which com- mands us, as being just, to reverence our pa- rents. Some writers, however, have attempted to show, that the religion of the Greeks was, even in this matter, rational, and consequently just. 6 62 I We are told by them, that the great foundation of the Grecian mythology is, one wise and benev- olent God, diffusing happiness around, and pro- tecting his creatures by dispensations equally wise and benevolent. This is a fact giving support to the proposition by showing, that once the impression of a being, in whom justice, mercy, and unity, attributes recognised by Con- scientiousness, Benevolence, and Causality, with Comparison, are constituents, had its abode in the human mind. Of this, further notice will be taken hereafter. We are, in addition, told that the various gods implied only the peculiar opera- tions of nature, as they were beneficial to man ; and mythology consists of the personification of abstract qualities, of the sources of our chief benefits, or of different allegorical representa- tions. But this does not justify the multiplica- tion of deities, and does not make it more consistent in the eye of our faculties, that men should worship objects made : for their decision is, that we should venerate the source whence all the providential manifestations and virtues flow. It may be said, that the philosophers, the initiated, did so. They saw through the in- ferior deities to the one true God. It is possi- 63 ble : but Ideality says, that no likeness of Him by whom are all things, and to whom, and in whom, all things consist, can possibly be made. If it be urged, that it is to help the worshippers to raise their minds, Ideality, Hope, and Won- der dispute the need of this ; * yea, they spurn such, or any assistance, and boast that their powers are sufficient to wing even such a lofty flight. In order to show, more fully, the discordance which subsists, between the decision of our mental faculties upon the object fit for our adoration, and those deities, said, by the above writers, to be representations of virtues, it may be well to consider a few. Jupiter is the head. It is true that be holds the thunder and lightning in his hand ; and, in this, is approved by our Cautiousness, but is * It is true that the practices of Roman Catholi- cism, and of Church of Englandism, may be brought in opposition to this ; but then these practices can be recognised only by those in a very inferior state of mind, and will pass away when men become enlightened. These practices are the children of the darkness of Pagan- ism, and will cease to exist when the sun of Christianity shines clear, 64 abhorred by our Conscientiousness, being rep- resented without natural affection, as a violator of virtue, of the marriage-bed, and as an in- ventor of the most abominable contrivances to gratify his lust. Juno truly is a malicious dame, being full of envy, pride, malice, and practising unheard-of cruelties on the objects of her hatred. Venus represented love, not the pure flame of affection, but the destructive element of passion ; and the nature of her character is well exhibited by the nature of the worship offered, prostitution : look at Corinth. Mercury was the God of thieves ; and the circumstance which gained him his deification, was, his knavery. Saturn is represented as destroying and eating his own children. Mars is a bloody, murderous, mad, cowardly fool. Pluto is the god of hell, and of riches. It is true that Minerva, Ceres, and Proserpine are better than the rest. Bring these boasted dei- ties of Greece and Rome to the bar of Vene- ration, to have the decision of our mental faculties, Causality and Comparison, guided by pure Benevolence and unbiassed Conscientious- ness, and what will be their judgment with respect to the question, whether these are fit 65 objects for adoraton? They will, they must decide in the negative : they will say, " these are no gods." The Romans deified other objects : they gave the divinity ship to Paleness, to Fear, to Disease, and erected temples for their worship. And what do the above faculties say to this deifica- tion and adoration ? They say it is not con- sistent with our constitution, that any one mental faculty should worship the manifestations of other mental faculties ; and Benevolence will never consent that its possessor should bow before such loathed objects. The phrenologist will have perceived another mark of degradation in these objects of adora- tion, inasmuch as, with a few exceptions, they are deifications of our animal propensities, and, what is worse, of their misdirections : thus, Venus is an emblem of misguided Amativeness ; Saturn of deficient Philoprogenitiveness ; the Romans often sacrificed Justice to Friendship, a misdirection of Adhesiveness ; Mars is a good representation of misguided Destructiveness and Combativeness. Mercury is a figure for Secre- tiveness, misdirected to thieving, and so with the rest. Thus the animal propensities have 6* 66 been elevated above the moral sentiments, con- trary to the phrenological and scriptural doc- trine, that the latter are supreme: the organs of the moral feelings being placed at the crown of the head. The deities of the Romans and Greeks have been brought forward, not with the view of presenting the most horrible portraits, but the best ; for these are what the wisdom of Greece, and the gigantic greatness of Rome, gave birth to, and acknowledged. Philosophy has ever presumed to scorn the ignorance of mankind. It may, therefore, be fairly expected, that, in its doctrines, we shall find some gleams of truth, some more exalted notions of the Deity. And, as the friends of philosophical knowledge pretended to be free from the superstitions of the commonalty, we may reasonably hope to discover in their creed, some views more consistent with the irremovable decisions of the mental faculties. As the best example of the deities of philoso- phers, the portrait of the Hindoo God, as given in the institutes of Menu, may be presented. In the Vedanti philosophy, evidently Platonic, the Almighty, known by the mystical and in- 67 communicable appellation of O'M., is the only being; and all others, including Brahma, Vishnu, and Madeva, are only thft creatures of idea or perception, which will perish in the general annihilation, while O'M. alone survives through all eternity. In the translation of a Persic version of the Yoog Vashesti, a very ancient composition in Sanscrit, the following curious sentence is contained; "You are not to consider Vishnu, Brahma, or Madeva, and other incorporate beings as the deity, although they have each the denomination of deva or divine : these are all created, whilst the Supreme Being is without beginning or end, unformed and uncreated ; worship and adore him." Be- fore we obey this injunction, it will be necessary to be further acquainted with this Being's char- acter. Upon examination we find not much to admire. It is true, that this deity made a dis- tinction between right and wrong ; but it seems, that after the work of Creation was completed, the Hindoo Creator interfered little or nothing in the management of the concerns of the world. The Hindoo philosophers held, that he was un- limited in extent, and unequalled in authority. They held also inferior deities, whom they en- 68 dued with divine attributes : and thus introduced Polytheism into their system. Respecting fu- ture rewards and punishments, as far as the author has been able to learn, nothing, or little more than nothing, is said. Conscientiousness may, to a certain extent, approve of this being : but Benevolence cannot look with pleasure on his stoical indifference ; Hope cannot contem- plate him with delight; nor Cautiousness with anxiety. It was my intention to present individual por- traits of the god of each philosopher. But on minutely examining the subject, there is so little congruity, the same person having different no- tions in different parts of his works, or of his life, as to defy all exactness of portraiture. Those who wish to know more on this matter, and to be convinced that the author asserts the truth, need but turn their attention to Enfield's translation of Brucker, or to Brucker's work "itself: and to the scholar, 1 know of nothing that will exhibit the uncertainty of feature of the deities of the philosophers with more brevity and beauty, than Xenophon's remarks concern- ing the gods. In this he introduces the opinions of his master, Socrates, who is represented as 69 pointing out the duty of modesty towards the gods ; as illustrating their benevolence, provi- dence, continual watchfulness, and anxiety con- cerning men, and the impossibility of perceiving them. The philosopher states the character of Him, who made and preserves the world ; in whom every thing useful, lovely, and good ex- ists, as not liable to injury, disease, or old age : as infallible, and as governing the whole uni- verse. Yet we find that he gives the duties or offices of providence to others, and does not confine them to this one Being; and as a most striking instance of the uncertainty of character in the Socratic deity, we find the philosopher, as his last command, ordering a cock to be sacrificed to Esculapius. It need not be re- peated how such contrarieties are in opposition to our mental faculties. The atheistical notions of the ancient philo- sophers are clearly illustrated in the paper on Atheism, in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia. To this, and the above works, the reader is refer- red; and he will find, taking the faculties as demonstrated by Phrenology for his touching- stone, not one of the many deities to stand the test. 70 These remarks will be closed by a portrait of the Epicurean God, which, as drawn by a hea- then philosopher, Seneca, is the most perfect we have. " Epicurus fancies God to be without power, and without arms : above fear himself, and as little to be feared. He places him betwixt the orbs, solitary and idle ; out of the reach of mortals, and neither hearing our pray- ers, nor minding our concerns ; and allows him only such a veneration and respect as we pay to our parents.'' * Of this being our faculties cannot approve. Our Causality and Comparison cannot recognise a God without power ; our Veneration, combined with the other faculties, denies both that God is not to be feared, and that the reverence due to him is not greater than that we owe to our parents. Our Benevo- lence will not allow of a God who is not engaged in benevolent providences ; and Conscientious- ness cannot recognise a being not exercising justice. Amidst this variety of divinityships, we can- not find one portraiture that claims the ap- probation of our mental faculties. All have * Seneca de Beneficiis. 71 some blot, some stain, that renders them, as usurpations of the Divine character, hideous to behold. And, if we direct our attention from them to the God of the Deists of modern times, something more consistent, but, in one respect, glaringly defective, will be seen. It is true, that deistical diligence has worked out a being, in whom are many beautiful traits of character. It is one of their own making; and is nothing more than a melange of whatever pleased them in the gods of heathen idolatry, and in the Author of Christianity. But one feature condemns this creature of fancy ; and this is, that justice does not hold a part in its character. The violated law, whether of nature or of revelation, is overlooked by the Deist's God; whereas, Conscientiousness, a primitive faculty of man's mind, calls aloud for punish- ment upon every offender against any just com- mands. The Deists represent God as merciful, but not as just. Of this Deity, our faculties, unbiassed, cannot allow ; and man cannot, by their unanimous consent, bow before such a being ; for, though it is true that God is a God of mercy, he is enabled to show forth this lovely trait, only as connected with justice. Deists 72 boast of leaving to Christians the God of reve- lation, and taking to themselves the God of nature ; but, if this view be correct, they em- brace a shadow, not a substance ; a being, neither in nature nor in revelation. As yet, the glorious object has not dawned. Are we left in this unpleasant deficiency ? Is there no being on whom our Conscientiousness, Benevolence, Hope, Causality, Comparison, Cautiousness, and Love of approbation will alight ? Is there no being in whom Justice, Mercy, Glory, Infinity, Power, and Holiness shine forth as constituent features ? We have such a Being, who is the God of revelation. In order to prove this, we must have recourse to revelation itself, and take its testimonies concerning its Author. As a prominent feature, we find the Unity of the Deity. * Equally so are the attributes of Love (indeed it is said, " God is love"), Mer- cy,! Goodness, | Wisdom, § Power, || Omnipre- * Exod. xx. 3; Deut. iv. 35. 39. t Exod. xxxiv. 6 ; Joel xi. 13 ; 2 Cor. i. 3. $ Psalm lxxxvi. 5 ; Psalm cxlv. 9. § Psalm xliv ; Acts xv. 18 ; Heb. iv. 13 ; Psalm civ. 24. || Igaiah xiv. 24; Dan. iii. 17, 29; Rom. i. 20. 73 sence,* Immutability, t Justice, t and Holiness. § Wc are taught that He is every where — that nothing is hidden from his eye — and that He will briiiT everv secret thing to light, whether it be good or evil. The Christian's God is represented as being ''jealous'' 5 of His honor, and will not give his glory to another. This, and all other traits in the God of revelation, our faculties, unbiassed, delight to contemplate. It is here that Veneration finds its resting- place; here, alone, that happiness is to be found ; here, that the creature discovers the image in which he was created. It is hoped that the truth of the fourth prop- osition is now fully seen : That it will appear, that man, being constrained by the constitution of his mind to worship some being, can ap- prove of the God of Christianity only as the fit object of worship, I am well aware that objections may be started against this view, by having recourse * Psalm exxxix. 7. t Malachi iii. 6 ; James i. 17. $ Gen. xviii. 25 ; Deut. xxxii. 4; Rev. xv. S. § Lev. xix. 2 ; 1 Sam. ii. 2 ; Isaiah vi. 3 ; Rev. iv. 8. 74 to the particular character of the God of reve- lation, as exhibited in the facts forming the foundations of Christianity ; but, as this part of the argument embraces merely the general character ; and as the nature of these facts will be fully illustrated hereafter, the conclusion remains indisputable, that the God of Christi- anity, as to his general character, is the only one approved of by our unbiassed faculties; and, being so, we are justified in concluding, that the Author of this system is the Creator of our frames, the Former of our mental constitu- tion. Well, then, may the Christian disciple adopt the language of Paul and say, " For though there be indeed, what, by the heathen are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth ; as there are in their estimation many gods and many lords, yet to us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things are, and we are formed for him ; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom all things are, and we are saved by him." — 1 Corinthians viii. 5, 6. PART II Having proved that the unbiassed decision of the intellectual and moral faculties leads to the approval of the God of Christianity as the object of adoration, because that God is, in His attributes, one that can admit of the activity of the whole of these faculties ; and having shown that man, instead of bowing in reverence be- fore this his Maker, has bended his knee before a Venus, a deification of lust ; a Mars, an emblem of war and all its horrors ; a Jupiter, a similitude of a buccaneer, despising laws civil, domestic, and religious ; and others equally bad ; it naturally arises as a question, how has this taken place ? And when we see, in addition, that man still bows before the creatures of his lust, before some inferior ob- ject, which he considers perfection, the question is still more powerfully pressed home, and an 76 impulsive feeling leads to the inquiry, how it is that the world by wisdom knew not God ? The replies to these inquiries, as well as other important points, will be treated of in this, the second part of the dissertation ; and, in order that this paradox may be unravelled, the argument drawn from the particular char- acter of God, as exhibited in the means for obtaining and preserving his favor, coinciding with the constitution of the human mind as demonstrated by Phrenology, will be brought forward and illustrated. The fifth proposition to be examined is, That man naturally can do nothing good in the sight of God, and that Christianity recognises this inability. It has been hinted, that in the earlier ages of Greece and Rome, some faint ideas of one wise and intelligent Being are perceptible. This, no doubt, was the result of the faculties which, unbiassed, lead to the God of Christianity as the fit object for adoration, not being totally 77 overpowered by the animal propensities. Still the ignorance respecting the Supreme was gen- eral ; so much so, that Lactantius says of Plato, " Plato somniaverat Deum, non cognoverat ; " " Plato had dreamed about, but had not known, God." And Seneca remarks, " Nemo novit Deum ; multi de illo male existimant et impu- ne." Ep. xxxi. " No one has known God ; many think wickedly and without punishment respecting him." So great, however, was the blindness, that even the Jews themselves, who were favored by revelations from the God of Christianity, continually forgot him, and fell into the idolatries of the surrounding nations. Seeing, then, that the faculties, unbiassed, lead to the choice of the God of Christianity, and bearing in mind the fact, that none have ever chosen this Being, we must conclude in the existence of a general change in human nature, and that for the worse. Indeed, in any way to account for this ignorance of man, we must conclude that some evil change has taken place in his mental constitution; and the des- perately wicked nature of this is shown in the effect, that it has alienated his mind from God. 78 In order that we may be enabled to under- stand more fully the matters treated of in the fourth proposition, a few remarks will be made upon the nature of this change. In order to investigate this important subject, it is necessary to remark, that Phrenology proves we have certain mental faculties, belong- ing also to animals, and others, peculiarly our own. The former form what has been called the " animal nature," the latter, the " human nature;" and the principal of these latter to be noticed are Benevolence, Veneration, Con- scientiousness, and the intellectual reflective faculties. Through the following paces the terms are used in these senses. A similar dis- tinction exists in the Bible : the " animal na- ture " being designated by the word " flesh," " the human," by the name " spirit." The animal nature is, according to the observations of phrenologists, the predominating, and calls into obedience to its dictates all the other fac- ulties. This, intended to give force to the human, and to be under its sway, has (as is proved by the fact, that no one has chosen the God approved of by the faculties constituting the latter nature) gained the ascendency; has 79 taken the rein, and lashes man on to misery and destruction. The effect of this is, that the moral sentiments, Benevolence, Veneration, Conscientiousness, &c, constituting an impor- tant part of the human nature, instead of being directed to God, as being love, (the proper object of Benevolence ;) as being just, (the suited end for Conscientiousness ;) as being above all, (the lawful outlet of Veneration;) as being unchange- able, (the delight of Hope ;) are made to be subservient to Adhesiveness, so as to make us supremely attached to friends ; to love of Appro- bation, to render us obsequiously kind to the great ; and to Cautiousness, to make us just. And, from the evidence of the fact already estab- lished, such is the sway these animal propensities have gained, that, unless man is delivered by some extraordinary power from their thraldom, he cannot direct the human nature to the proper object. It appears, then, that our animal nature is continually opposing our human, and the one prevents the other from following its own course. Thus the author of Christianity observes, " That light is come into the world, and men loved dark- ness rather than light, because their deeds were evil;" or, in phrenological language, a being 80 came into the world, who was actuated by Benev- olence, Conscientiousness, and Veneration in the highest degree : that men, who lived and acted under the influence of their animal nature, did not love this exhibition of the supremacy of the human; and, that being so biassed, they would not receive the deliverance offered, but preferred to remain under the thraldom of the animal dis- positions. And the continual opposition between these two natures is testified to, by an apostle, who says, the " flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh ; " and who in- forms us also, that " the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." And, so powerful is the effect of the animal nature, that " there is none that understandeth, there is none that seek- eth after God," Rom. iii. 2, Ephes. iv. 18, as has been shown. As long, then, as the supremacy is maintained by the animal nature, so long man can do noth- ing good in the sight of God ; for it has been proved by phrenology, that unless actions are performed from the motives arising from Benevo- lence, Conscientiousness, and Veneration, there is in them nothing virtuous. The reason of this 81 depends upon a phrenological principle, that all the faculties, but the three just mentioned, have self for their object. For illustrations, see Phre- nological Journal, Vol. iii. No. 12. Now, it is well known, that wherever self is concerned, no virtue can exist ; for virtue is ascribed only to those actions which result from Benevolence, Veneration, and Conscientiousness, faculties, not having self directly as their aim. These three have a relation to God, producing, in their un- biassed exercise, love to God ; and, in their rela- tion to man, love to man ; the two great prin- ciples of the moral law. We here see the superiority of the human nature over the animal ; and have the most striking evidence of the change in man, and of the fact, that he can do nothing good in the sight of God, when we consider that the animal nature holds over these an almost unlimited sway, preventing the moral sentiments free exercise in loving God and in loving man. The necessity of these three faculties being exercised in doing any thing good in the sight of God, is borne witness to by the Scriptures. The prophet Micah thus writes, he " hath showed thee, O man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly (the dictate 82 of Conscientiousness), and to love mercy (the dictate of Benevolence), and to walk humbly with thy God (the dictate of Veneration), ch. vi. 8. The prophet Hosea gives the same view ; " Therefore turn- thou to thy God : keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continu- ally," ch. xii. 6. Jesus Christ gives the same interpretation of what is good in the sight of God. He is reproving the Pharisees, " Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe of mint, anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judg- ment, mercy, and faith (outgoings of Conscien- tiousness, Benevolence, Veneration, and Hope) ; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. " Matt, xxiii. 23. Herein is a striking coincidence between the decisions of phrenological science, and the dicta of Christianity : the former, affording a positive proof of the doctrine of the latter, that man can do nothing good in the sight of God ; an inabil- ity dependant upon the fact, that the animal pro- pensities rule ; a dominion constituting a corrupt bias, attended with the misdirection of Benevo- lence, Veneration, and Conscientiousness, by the proper direction of which, only, good can be brought out. 83 It thus appears that man can do nothing good in the sight of God. But this is not the whole extent of the evil; for man is of necessity evil: and though some maintain that man can love and worship God, when he likes * so to do, this is a false position, as will be immediately shown. * Yes ; when he likes to do so, he can ; but the truth is, that he never does like to do so, while the predomi- nance of his animal nature continues; and, moreover, while that predominance continues he never can " like," to love and worship God : just as, while hatred predomi- nates, towards a man, we never can love him. Yet we say " a man can love if he likes ; but the difficulty con- sists in making, or enabling him to like. In the case of the soul exercising love to God, the excellency of the Christian religion consists, in its adaptednessand ability to overcome the hostility of man to God ; — that is, to over- power the " animal nature," by exciting to activity the " human nature." This it does, by the exhibitions it makes, of the benevolence of God. When this is revealed to the Moral Sentiments, through the Intellect, by the Holy Spirit — "We love Him, because He first loved us." We then, "like "or choose to love him, in fact, and the position is not a false one, that we can love God if we like. Against this position, thus explained, the pious author has, elsewhere, shown, that he would not object. Am. Ed. 84 Necessity is a word, which, on account of the different meanings attached to it, needs explana- tion. By necessity, I mean, that man acts from certain fixed principles, the laws of his nature. These laws have such an influence, and are so unbending, that, whenever actions are conforma- ble thereto, happiness is the result ; when not, misery is the consequence. The physical world is guided by fixed laws; or is, in other words, under necessity. Thus, as long as the law of gravitation acts, the earth and other planets must roll round the sun. So it is in the mental world. Certain laws have been fixed to guide our facul- ties, and we must act according to them. Let not the reader be startled : for, with all humil- ity be it said, the Creator himself is under this kind of necessity ; for He cannot look upon sin but with the greatest abhorrence and detestation. It has been seen, that the animal nature gives its dictates contrary to the dictates of the human ; an evidence of an evil change ; and it has been proved by observation, that the power of the former is supreme. As long then as it retains this supremacy, so long must man act in a way contrary to the dictates of the human nature; and as it is only when the actions are dictated 85 by the latter that they are good, it is evident that man is, of necessity, evil. It may perhaps be said, that by cultivating the moral sentiments and intellectual faculties, and adopting every method to diminish the ani- mal propensities, we may at length rear up a power capable of resisting the predominating influence of the last class of faculties. No doubt ; but what means, in the present state of society, can be efficacious in realizing this? The efficacy of the means commonly made use of will be shown in the examination of the fifth proposi- tion ; wherein the means, which God has proffered for this purpose, will be investi- gated. Man, therefore, is a creature, of neces- sitv, evil; and this part of the subject will be closed by an example, wherein the impossibility of his changing the evil direction, and conse- quently the necessary evil tendency of his nature, are most strikingly seen. It is taken from Jewish History. The people of Israel had been deliv- ered by wondrous miracles from Pharaoh's pow- er ; the sea had separated in their presence ; manna had been showered upon them from heaven ; they had seen water gush out of the solid rock ; yet, in spite of all these exhibitions 8 86 of divine power, they, after the absence of Moses in the mount for forty days, called upon Aaron to make a calf that they might worship it. And what is more, this very people, some centuries after, in spite of having suffered numberless afflictions for leaving the worship of the true God, are thus complained of in the book contain- ing their history ; " My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them." Hosea iv. 12. Can there be a stronger evidence of the necessarily evil tendency of the mind of man ? The second part of this proposition, That Christianity recognises us in this state, is now for consideration. In proof of this, all that is necessary will be to bring forward a few statements contained in the volume in which this system is embodied. So abundant are these, that the only difficulty is, which to select. The apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, makes the following statements, not, as his own, but as the words of inspiration; "We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they all are under 87 sin ; as it is written, * there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth ; there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way ; they are together be- come unprofitable ; there is none that clocth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood ; destruction and misery are in their ways ; and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.' 5; Rom. iii. 9-19. And it is re- lated in Genesis vi. 5, " And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" The word, translated imagination, embraces not only imagi- nation, but also the purposes and desires. No language can be more special ; and, when we add to the above, the forcible inquiries, " Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" it cannot be doubted that the doctrine of man being necessarily evil, that is, as con- nected with any means of his own, for deliver- ance, is a feature of the Christian system. And 88 as an additional proof, the Christian is taught, that he is unable to do any thing good of himself. John xv. 4. The sixth proposition is now to be considered. It is this, — That the means to be employed TO OBTAIN AND PRESERVE God's FAVOR ARE IN CONFORMITY TO THE CHARACTER OF MAN, AS NECESSARILY EVIL. It has been already stated, that the end of all religions is to obtain the favor of God, and that their subject consists of the means to be em- ployed for the obtainment. How then shall a creature, necessarily evil, obtain the favor of his Creator, who is necessarily good ? If we review the black pages of ancient history, we shall find many means made use of, alike repug- nant to reason, and to humanity. Men, not con- tent with sacrificing their flocks and herds to appease and propitiate the offended deity, have immolated their children,* a practice which our * In South Africa, in the Felatah country, Mr. Old- field, who accompanied Lander in his two expeditions up 89 mental constitution will never permit us to con- sider as suited to satisfy the justice of a just and good God. Our Benevolence cries out against the latter; and, against the former, Causality and Comparison protest the absurdity of offering to God, as an atonement for offences, that which is God's own. As to man doing any thing for himself, this is impossible. All that he does is evil. He cannot be justified by the deeds of the law, because he cannot do them ; his very constitutional corrup- tion leading him continually to violate the first commandment, which enjoins a perfect love of God ; the duty, to the performance of which his unbiassed faculties lead. If, then, man does obtain the favor of God, it must be in a way that requires nothing to be done on his part : it must be something that will overcome the enmity of his heart, and make all his affections run into that original channel in which they flowed when he was first created. Is the plan which Chris- tianity recognises, as efficient to obtain the Divine the Niger, informed the writer, it is common now to offer the bodies often men at a time, as a sacrifice to the god of the river, or to some of the gods of the country. 8* 90 favor, in accordance hereto ? It is : nothing is required of man but what the most degraded is capable of: man is commanded to believe the testimony of God. This is all in all : this is the first step to favor, indeed it is the only step. The testimony is this : " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- ever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Such is the nature of this testi- mony, that whosoever accounts it as a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, is so changed, that he is said to be born again. The carnal mind, or animal nature, is made to fall under the dominion of the spiritual, or human nature ; and the man thus renewed from being a hater, becomes a lover, of God. Being thus brought under the sway of the moral sentiments and intellectual faculties, actions now spring from these sources ; Benevolence, Veneration, and Conscientiousness, conjoined with the Intel- lect, being busily engaged in exciting to pur- suits, having the love of God and the love of man for their source, and the glory of the Creator and the happiness of the creature for their end. A question now occurs, how can it be proved, that these means are efficacious in producing this 91 change, and its effects? For, lamentable indeed it is, if we were to judge on this point from the lives of many of the professed disciples of Christ, the conclusion must be, that the means are un- able to bring about the end : but we shall leave these characters, to consider the doctrine. Phienology demonstrates, that, in the human mind, Benevolence Veneration, Conscientious- ness, Hope, Causality, and Comparison, and other intellectual faculties, exist; and that these, their proper excitement being applied, must act. Kindness must excite Benevolence ; a deed of justice must awaken Conscientiousness ; and so, with the rest. The emotion produced, moreover, will have a strength just in the proportion in which the faculty is large, and the exciting object influential; which influence will depend upon the object being clearly perceived. It has been shown, in addition, that the human is under the influence of the animal nature. Now, in order to deliver the former from the thraldom of the latter, it is necessary that such an influential ex- hibition of goodness, justice, and wisdom should be presented to the human nature, consisting of the above faculties, as to impart to them a power sufficient to overcome the bias of the ani- 92 mal. The facts of Christianity, regarding the means of obtaining God's favor, present this exhibition, and this must act in the way required, from the very constitution of the mind. This is boldly averred; as, from this constitution, Inno- cence, suffering for the guilty, pleads to Benevo- lence with a force that is irresistible; the Law- giver, bearing the punishment due to those who had broken His law, obliges Conscientiousness to be no longer dormant ; and the deliverance from the curse of the broken law, makes Hope to rejoice, and Cautiousness to cease its anxieties : except in so far, that now the fear is one depen- dant upon Benevolence and Veneration, a filial fear ; whereas, formerly it depended upon the faculty itself, and on Conscientiousness, being a fear of bondage. It thus appears, that the facts of Christianity must produce the effects stated ; and that the force of these facts is so great, as to overcome the bias of the animal nature, and to enable the human to bring every thought into subjection to God. It was remarked, that the influence of these facts depended upon their being clearly per- ceived. The want of their clear perception has made many persons, professing Christianity, to 93 remain with their hearts unchanged ; or, in other words, still to live under the power of their animal nature; the imperfect view they received not being sufficient to overcome the bias of the said nature. This shows the necessity of some en- lightening influence, to free the eyes from the scales which cover them ; and in this view Christianity coincides ; for we are perpetually told of the necessity of the Holy Spirit, who con- vinces " the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." It is, therefore, to be maintained, that the perception is to be made clear; that is, a power, superadded to the facts of Christianity is necessary to clear the power of the mental vision, to perceive the facts ; and that the Holy Spirit is necessary, not because the truth is in- sufficient in itself, but because the opposition of the depraved misdirection of man's faculties can be overcome only by the facts being clearly viewed ; which clearness of view can be obtained only through the agency of the Holy Spirit. A man on the brink of a precipice, and perceiving that he is about to fall, is thankful to his deliv- erer, or to one who offers deliverance : but one lying in a state of torpor, is angry that he is disturbed, though the next moment his limbs 94 should be scattered to the winds. So it is with men, respecting the truths of Christianity. One principal part of their animal nature is self- esteem : this, biassed, leads to self-confidence and pride, and prevents man from perceiving his real condition. In order to overcome this blinding influence, and to enable him to see the danger to which he is exposed, the Spirit of God is nec- essary to convince him of sin; or, in other words, so much to alter the bias of this faculty, as to prevent it from impeding his view. Hence it is, that humility is the characteristic of every one who has been so delivered ; and the Author of the Christian system remarks, " Except ye be as little children, ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." How strikingly the natural laws agree with the revealed ! It may here, perhaps, be brought forward as a question: — When the moral sentiments are small, how can we expect the facts of Christian- ity to communicate to them such a power, as will enable their dictations to be superior to those of the animal propensities? To this it is replied, that an habitually selfish man often, under the influence of a peculiarly powerful motive, does a generous deed. The performance of this deed 95 depends upon the power of the motive exciting to action. So with Christians with small moral sentiments. The facts of Christianity present so powerful a motive exciting these, that their dicta- tions become more potent than those of the ani- mal nature. Every one, moreover, acknowledges the difference between Christians. We have some meek Christians : some impetuous : some zealous : some timid and retiring : some deep- * thinking: others more superficial in their mental exercises. These differences are to be ascribed to their previous mental constitution, the essen- tial nature of which is not destroyed, but merely altered in its direction. Thus Paul was the same zealous, fearless, intellectual being after, as before, his conversion. An important question now presents itself; Can this deliverance from the thraldom of the animal propensities be effected by any other means ? Philosophy has boasted that it can. By cultivating the intellect, and studying works of taste, the wise man of this world refines his character : a delicacy is acquired, which makes its possessor scorn every thing gross in manners, and base in principle. He pursues the path of morality, not so much from loving it, as from 96 an opposite journey being beneath his dignity. Thus his Self-esteem is his grand support ; and though " he is as far removed from the grade of the sensualist, as the lion is from that of the mole, still both are unregenerated animal nature." Ac- cording to this system of deliverance, no Benevo- lence is excited, no Conscientiousness is awak- ened, no Veneration is called forth. These are allowed still to wander from their proper object : and the man, instead of being humbled, is puffed up ; for " knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth." It will be thus seen, that modern philosophy cannot change the bias ; and we have sufficient evidence, that ancient philosophy did not pro- duce any such renewal ; and we must, therefore, conclude, that as Christianity will, it is the only system that can have this effect. Indeed, bear- ing this in mind, we may with justice say of those philosophers, who try to bring about this change by their own means, " Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks ; walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand ; ye shall lie down in sor- row." Isa. 1. 11. 97 Christianity, then, produces its effects by en- lightening the mind, and gives such a powerful impulse to Benevolence, Veneration, and Con- scientiousness, as to enable them to overcome the power of the animal propensities, which, when 'predominantly active, not only iceaken, but blind the former. This change being produced, man is enabled to do good in the sight of God ; that is, as long as he acts from his human facul- ties. But as the animal propensities still re- main, and are ever inclined to wander in the old direction, to assume their original sway, it is necessary that the objects presented by Christi- anity should ever be kept in view ; because it is only by attending to this, that the power neces- sary to the human faculties to resist the attempt of conquest over them, can be preserved. In conformity to this view, the Christian is com- manded " to live by faith; " that is, he is contin- ually to bear in mind the glorious truths forming the foundation of the Christian system, which are so many motives exciting to generous activ- ity his moral sentiments. It thus appears, that faith is the beginning of every thing good in the 6ight of God ; and Christianity testifies, that " whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Rom. xiv. 9 98 23 : and Christians are further commanded to add to their faith virtue. Indeed, so necessary- is this faith, that it must be the principle of life; for a person cannot be said to live by it, unless it acts in him as the source of all his actions. This proposition is thus established ; and the accordance between Phrenology and Christi- anity has been seen ; an accordance in examin- ing the last part of this proposition, to be seen more fully. The obtaining of God's favor is, therefore, the first step towards the right performance of any Christian duty. The love to God, and the love of man, produced by the faith, induce an earnest desire to preserve the favor thus obtained. Be- nevolence having been excited, rejoices in obedi- ence ; and, in order to obey, the Christian attends to the command of the Being, whose love has excited his faculties to love, and to study the word of God; to take it as a lamp to his path, and a light to his way. The believer, in exam- ining the Scriptures, finds his own feelings em- bodied in the two short sentences, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 99 soul, and mind ; " and " thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." And, to prevent him from erring in the application of these precepts, the word of God is full of instructions, adapted to every circumstance of life. In the performance of these two duties, the faculties which are su- preme, are Benevolence, Veneration, Conscien- tiousness, Hope, and Ideality, with Causality and Comparison. These have now obtained the sway ; but still the animal nature exists, and, though now brought under the power of those faculties constituting the human, is continually inclined to run into the old channel ; to rush into the service of sklf, rather than to be drawn into the noble employment of God and max. Indeed, though the power communi- cated by belief is sufficient, by the use of the means appointed, to overcome the animal na- ture, yet the power of the latter is not totally destroyed. The old man is crucified, not dead ; indeed, he cannot expire till this corruption is put off, and incorruption put on. The combat, therefore, must be continual. Christianity re- cognises this; the life of the Christian being compared to a fight, a race. The Christian is told, moreover, that " the flesh lusteth against 100 the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh : u and one of the most remarkable disciples of Christ exclaimed, in the agony of the conflict, " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death V The enemies of the Christian are not confined to himself. He has other foes ; and it is now to be shown, phrenologically, that as long as the Christian is such, and the world is the world, he must suffer persecution ; so long must the asser- tion of inspiration be verified, " Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer perse- cution." 2 Tim. iii. 12. It appears from the observations made upon the fifth proposition, and the former part of this, that the animal nature preponderates over the human ; and, that as long as this holds the su- premacy, so long does man act from motives purely selfish. It is evident, then, that as in the majority of the human race, the animal nature is predominant, the institutions of society will be opposed to the human nature. This applies less to the fixed laws of justice, than to the cus- toms and the modes of society. For the very safety of the commonwealth makes legislators to frame laws upon the broad principles of equity ; 101 although, even in our legal code, we find maxims, regulations, and practices recognised, quite op- posed to sound reason and to liberty. Reference is made to test-acts, game-laws, and the sangui- nary punishments inflicted upon offenders.* But, for our present purpose, the opinions, the modes, and the customs of general society will afford abundant illustrations. It is an opinion generally held, that the love of distinction, honor, and fame is proper, enno- bling, and worthy of man. Every public building teems with images, before which, as representing illustrious dead, the youth of our land are taught to bow, and aspire at imitation. A Nelson is deified in one place, a Pitt in another, and a Fox in another. A Mansfield has a niche in the Legal Temple, a Curran in another, and a Brougham in a third. Indeed, everything is pre- sented to the sight, and through it to the imagi- nation, to cultivate a longing for immortality, not in the pure regions of never ending bliss, but in * It will, of course, be understood that the author refers to the laws of his own country ; and to the modifications which they give to society in that country. Let us be grateful for the degree in which our situation is superior >to that of the Mother-Country. Am. Ed. 9* 102 the memory of man, itself to cease. To the bold and adventurous, fortune hangs out all her lau- rels ; the path of the peaceful virtue is the way of silence, and the destructive conqueror holds the highest pinnacle of fame. Christianity for- bids seeking* these honors, or desiring this fame, which comes from man. Higher objects are presented to the grasp of the Christian. He is commanded to seek not the honor that cometh from the world. Yet, in passing through this state of existence, many and powerful are the tempta- tions, having the tendency to lead his mind in the improper channel, and to make him seek the approbation of men rather than of God. Again : the world holds, that it is just to re- taliate injuries. Christianity maintains quite a different sentiment. " Love your enemies," is its precept. " Do good to them that despitefully use you," is another of its injunctions. In the world, dueling is fashionable; for although de- * Christianity does not bid a man to reject these hon- ors, if they come to him in the course of the performance of his duty. This mistaking the arrival of the honors, as a consequence of proper conduct, for the seeking of the honors themselves, has produced much disquiet in the minds of the good. 103 nounced, in the public press, as a general prac- tice, yet in individual cases, the duelists meet with approbation ; the excuse being, that they were obliged, by circumstances, to attempt to precipitate one another into the presence of a holy, good, and just God ! " It is remarkable, " says Dr. Spurzheim (Phi- losophy of Phrenology, p. 50), " that all codes, revealed or profane, with one exception, have declared the amor patrice, or love of country, a principal virtue. The Christian doctrine alone acknowledged no exclusionary patriotism : it alone commands universal love." Herein we see another point in which Christianity differs from the general opinions of mankind. And here we meet with an important confirmation of the necessity of faith, previous to attempting the per- formance of any Christian duty ; for, in order to feel this universal love, taught so simply and beautifully in the parable of the good Samaritan, it is necessary that the human nature be su- preme ; whereas, in none but Christians it is so. The necessity of this supremacy is evident, when we consider, that this love of country is the re- sult of a mere animal propensity, common not only to man, but dogs, cats, and other species of animals. 104 Again : in Christianity it is a doctrine, that father and mother, brother and sister, are not to stand in comparison with Christ. And the evan- gelist informs us, that when the mother of Jesus wished to see him, he replied, that all who did the will of his Father, were his mother, his sis- ters, and his brethren. This doctrine has always sounded harsh to the ears of men ; but when we remember, that the love of parents, children, relations, and friends is merely, in its origin, the result of the animal nature, and is com- mon to ourselves and beasts ; whereas the love of God, and obedience (its effect) are the consequen- ces of the supremacy of the human nature — we see the justness of the command. In fine, the love of the one is to be put aside, when that love interferes with the activity of the higher feelings. Why do men admire the conduct of Brutus in condemning his own sons? For this * subjugation. * Perhaps not, strictly, for this subjugation : but for one which approximates it: viz. the subjugation of a personal feeling to a national one : i. e. the preference of a general to a personal good. Am. Ed. 105 Another prominent feature in Christianity is, that he that is the humblest is the greatest. This is quite in conformity with the predominance of the human, over the animal nature ; for the love of superiority is dependant upon animal desires, namely, Love of Approbation and Self-Esteem ;•' whereas, Humility originates in Benevolence -and Veneration, guided by the intellect. Who can say, that the feature referred to is, at all gener- ally, recognised by mankind, as a practical truth ? Indeed, a volume could be filled with instan- ces, in which the precepts of the world and those of the gospel are at variance. And so diametrical is the opposition, that the God of Christianity as- serts, " If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1 John ii. 15. Not only is the world opposed, but the devil also. With respect to the opposition hence aris- ing, this is known, that it is great. And how- ever much the songs of poets, the scoffs of the vulgar, and the moderating and temporalizing doctrines, and dignified sneers of philosophers, may have had the tendency to strip this enemy of man of his horrible character, and, thereby, to blind men to his nature, the Christian holds it 106 as an undeniable truth, because the God whom he loves says so, that this being, as a roaring J ion, goes about seeking whom he may devour. The devil is continually on the watch — he knows every one's weak point — tries one scheme, and then another, to seduce the Christian. At one -time, he uses poverty, and its unpleasant attendants; at another, presumption ; and when he finds them to fail, has recourse to prosperity and all its blandishments. This is the series of trials to which he had recourse, in tempting Jesus Christ, the Christian's great Exemplar, in the wilderness. It would be inconsistent with the limits of this dissertation to be more minute ; and we may close by remarking, that though an enemy to all mankind, he is peculiarly so to the Christian, often transforming himself into an angel of light, to lead the follower of the Lamb from the fold of God. Such are the enemies with which the Chris- tian has to cope. It now remains to be shown, that the means, appointed for defence, are such as will be sufficient to enable him to make a successful resistance. It has already been hinted, that the Christian's life is a fight : in conformity with this, he is said 107 " to fight the good fight of faith." How, then, is he enabled to maintain this combat? It ha9 been proved, that man is a creature of necessity, and that this necessity, naturally, is towards evil. It has also been proved, that when a believer of the gospel, his faculties are directed into a differ- ent channel ; but that he is still the same weak character as he was before. He is unable, of himself, to do any thing good, as formerly. For though he loves good and God, yet, without assistance from above, so strong is the tendency of the animal desires, that, though to will is present with him, to perform he finds is not. But, according to the principles of Phrenology, as regarding necessity, as long as the love of God is the predominating motive, so long must the Christian, as far as he knows it, walk in the path of duty ; for " the love of God constraineth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to walk soberly, righteously, and godly in this pres- ent evil world." Hence the necessity of being steadfast in faith, by which this love is continu- ally kept before the mind ; and hence the forci- ble beauty of the doctrine of the apostle Paul, " Thou standest by faith," (Rem. xi. iCO )and of the duty of living " by faith." 108 The love of God is, therefore, the moving spring in the machinery of the movements of the Christian's life. From the influence, however, of dampening unbelief, and the enervating op- pressiveness of the atmosphere of the world, in which the lover of God is, to a certain extent, obliged to move, this spring is liable to want of force and due vigor. How, then, may its tone be preserved ? It may rust : how is its polish to be kept untarnished] Or if tarnished, to be restored ? These questions are now to be an- swered ; and in answering them, an opportunity will be afforded, of showing some striking accord- ances between Phrenology and Christianity, since, in the means employed, we shall find the faculties demonstrated by the former science, continually appealed to. These means may be reduced under four heads ; precepts, example, rewards, and punish- ments ; the first, deriving their authority, in guid- ing the Christian, from Benevolence, and approved of by the intellectual faculties ; the second ap- ' pealing to Imitation ; and the third to Hope, Cautiousness, and Love of Approbation. With respect to the precepts ; " All Scripture," the Christian is taught, " is profitable for doctrine, 109 for correction, for instruction in righteousness." It is thence that he draws his rules of conduct. One prominent precept is, the loving of those who show their love to God by obeying his commands : " By this shall all men know that ye are my dis- ciples, if ye have love one to another." This leads the Christian to seek out those, who evi- dence, by their obedience to the ordinances that Christ has appointed, and by a profession of faith in his name, their love to Him. His Benevolence is delighted in contemplating them, as being sharers, together with himself, in the Saviour's love. His Adhesiveness seizes them as objects of attachment, and, urged on by this faculty, he delights in meeting with them, upon every fa- vorable opportunity. Thus meeting, they form a Christian assembly ; and after attending to the precepts given for the regulation of themselves, they become a Christian Church, and meet to- gether on the first day of the week for breaking of bread (or the Lord's supper), for prayers, and other ordinances, appointed by Christ to be ob- served by his disciples. They do not " forsake the assembling of themselves together, and ex- horting one another." And, in obeying these pre- cepts, the Christian's faith, and consequently his 10 110 means of resisting temptation, become strength- ened. The faculties of his mind become more habituated to the proper, but new, channel in which they run ; and the determination of pur- pose, in the pursuit of what is holy and acceptable in the sight of God, acquired by this communion of soul, is astonishing, and is dependant upon a fixed principle of Phrenology — that the faculties are strengthened by exercise. The faculty of Veneration finds daily more ease in running in its proper channel : the Christian traces the fea- tures of his God in every thing ; indeed, he reads his Father's name written on all creation. His Benevolence becomes more active, from an in- creased discovery of the love of Christ, and from the sacred influence of the love of the brother- hood ; and the instructions and exhortations, re- ceived in the church, are such, that he is built up in his most holy faith, and grows in the knowledge and love of God. Daily he obtains fresh victories over his enemy, and finds, that the attempt " to keep under his ichole body," and to bring it more and more into subjection to the' law of Christ, becomes continually more easy. Fresh discoveries are made, every day, of need of divine assistance ; of pardon for sins ; and, in Ill the contemplation of the fulness of Christ, the soul feels all its joy to exist, and its possessor rejoices evermore, on finding, that where sin hath abounded, grace doth much more abound. His Benevolence is necessarily excited more and more ; an enlarged desire to live to the glory of God is produced in the mind, and the soul in- creases in the abhorrence of what is evil, and in the love of what is good. And, in addition, let it be remarked, that the tie upon which the mutual love of Christians is founded, is one which depends on the moral sentiments i it is that of loving their Saviour. This one object is common to all, a possession peculiar to none ; and hence, no one can dis- regard his fellow-Christian, as inferior to him. Whereas, had the tie been founded upon riches, or any other extrinsic circumstance, then, it is evident, the rich or the noble, and the poor or the ignoble, could not have met ; and thus the proud and vain distinctions of society would have been for ever kept up. But Christianity regards all men as equal ; and hence, by its motives and precepts, cultivates the faculties constituting the human nature; faculties recognising mankind as brethren, and as objects worthy of love. Not 112 only are the moral sentiments, but the intellec- tual faculties, of the Christian cultivated. Rea- son is his ; and the Christian is exhorted to give to every one who asks, a reason of the hope that is in him ; and Paul exhorts Titus to use sound speech (or, as the original means, soiind reason), that he who is of the contrary part may be ashamed. The Christian stores his mind well with the word of God, which he finds to be the sword of the Spirit, by the aid of which alone he is able to withstand his enemies. He grows daily in grace, and in the knowledge of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; and the effect of such knowledge is, that he lives not to himself, but to God's glory. And should he happen to fall into any open sin, his brethren are at hand to deliver him, in the spirit of meekness. In this mutual sup- port we see the principles of our nature acted upon ; we behold that the effects intended to be produced by this communion of spirit are such as, according to this nature, must be. But this harmony between the preceptive part of Chris- tianity and our mental constitution, as established by Phrenology, will be more fully seen upon a particular examination of the individual precepts 113 of Christianity ; inasmuch as it will be found, that the faculties, demonstrated by the above sci- ence to exist, as primitive faculties, have precepts given for their proper direction, their existence being thus indirectly recognised by the Author of the Christian system. In this system we are taught, " not to look upon women to lust after them." This preceptive command teems with Benevolence ; and, if attended to, the eye of modesty, and the heart of the feeling, would not be hurt by the sight of those poor creatures, lost to all sense of shame, who parade our principal streets at noon-day. But Christianity has a posi- tive, as well as negative precept regarding the exercise of this faculty : u Love your wives," holds a place among its dicta ; and the apostle Paul commands, " Let the husband render to the wife due btncvolence, and likewise also the wife to the husband." 1 Cor. vii. 8. The chastity of expression, or the natural justice of the com- mand, it is difficult to say which to admire the more. And the same apostle gives another pre- ceptive command, " But if they cannot contain, let them marry ; for it is better to marry than to burn :" and this is given on the account, that " every man hath his proper gift of God, one after 10* 114 this manner, and another after that." 1 Cor. vii. 7, 9. The apostle thus recognises the fact, de- monstrated by Phrenology, that some men have the faculty of Amativeness more powerful than others, and gives advice to them thus endowed, so suited to their condition, and so minute as re- garding their happiness, that that mind must be but very partially enlightened, who cannot see in all this, the wisdom of a kind God, providing for the comfort of His creatures. The faculty of the love of Children, or Philo- progenitiveness, is directed by Christianity into proper channels. " And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath ; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Ephes. vi. 4. The discipline which parents are to use towards their children is abundantly pointed out in the Proverbs. " Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest ; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul." Chap. xxix. 17. " Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." xix. 18. " He that spareth his rod hateth his son ; but he that loveth him chasten- eth him betimes." xiii. 24. And this and other du- ties towards children are urged upon parents by the gracious promises, " Train up a child in the 115 way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it; " and " He shall give thee rest ; yea, he shall give delight to thy soul ;" whereas, on the want of attention, the following evil arises, " A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." And we are taught, moreover, " He that careth not for his own, especially those of his own house, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. 5 ' And those persons, who go about as busy bodies, tatlers, are pointedly con- demned, and commanded to stop at home, and mind the affairs of their oion house. These faculties and Adhesiveness are, as the Phrenologist knows, and as the other reader will perceive, from what has been said, engaged in concerns principally domestic. They are the links which tie the hearts of a family together. To prevent, however, these links being drawn too tight, and thereby rendering the laceration which must take place at death excessively vio- lent, Christianity adds, " He that loveth father or mother, wife or children, more than me, is not worthy of me." The Saviour is referred to. This supreme object keeps all others in their proper place ; and when it is remembered that Jesus Christ can never cease to be an object of 116 attachment, since neither life nor death, things present nor things to come, can separate the Christian from the love of his Lord ; how reason- able is it, that the strongest energies of Adhe- siveness should run out in that quarter ? The intellectual faculties and Moral Sentiments will give to their fellow, thus journeying, their ap- proving smile, their strengthening support. The one class, seeing the propriety ; the other, feeling the pleasantness of this direction. Christianity guides Combativeness into the proper channel by dictating, " Contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints : " " Fight the good fight of faith." It points out the proper course to Destructive- ness, when saying " Be angry and sin not ;" and the existence of a natural disposition, leading to anger, is acknowledged by Jesus Christ, when he forbids any one to be angry with his brother " without cause." We see himself angry against the Scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, styling them " vipers; " and, under the influence of this faculty, guided and impelled by a zeal for God according to knowledge, the Son of man drove the sellers and buyers, with a thong of cords, out of the tem r le, overturning, at the same time, 117 the tables of the money-changers, and stating, in the justification of his conduct, that they made his " Father's house a den of thieves. 5 ' Acquisitiveness is guided by Christianity ; which, though condemning the making haste to be rich, and commanding " Lay not up for your- selves treasures on earth, where moth and rust do corrupt, and thieves break through and steal,'' does not leave the faculty without a direction, inasmuch as it requires of its disciples to " Lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal." At the same time, Chris- tianity does not tell its followers to neglect their worldly concerns ; no, but says, " Be not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." — "Let him labor, that he may have to give to him that needeth." Let the scholar compare this beautiful balancing of directions, with the direc- tions which philosophers have given to this fac- ulty. Some, he will know, taught their follow- ers to despise worldly honours and riches, without giving to the faculty, demonstrated by Phrenol- ogy to exist, any other direction; thus showing their ignorance of its existence : whereas the Bible, pointing out its channel, and condemning 118 its improper employment, recognises both the faculty and its liability to misdirection ; another coincidence between Phrenology and Chris- tianity. Secretiveness, another primitive faculty, has its proper course pointed out, when Christianity teaches its followers to be " wise as serpents, but harmless as doves." Self-esteem is recognised by the dignified character which the Christian is represented as possessing. He is a son of God ; an heir of glory ; he has a crown ; a priesthood ; is the temple of the living God ; and the apostle ap- peals to this faculty in endeavouring to convince the Corinthians of their wickedness, and of the necessity of avoiding fornication. " Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a harlot? By no means. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own ? 5; 1 Cor. vi. 15, 19. Love of Approbation, another primitive faculty, is recognised by Christianity. There is an in- junction, tf Strive that ye may excel ;" and the 119 Corinthian believers were told to " desire earn- estly the best gifts;" and of still higher direc- tions of this faculty mention will presently be made. Paul, moreover, speaking of the prospect of being with the Lord Jesus Christ, observes, " And for this reason, we make it the height of our ambition, that whether we be present or absent, we may be acceptable unto Him." 2 Cor. v. 10. Firmness is recognised when the Christian is told to " remain steadfast in the faith;" to " hold fast that which is good." Thus we see, that every animal propensity, (for, regarding the few not noticed, applications from Scripture might be taken,) for the demon- stration of the existence of which Phrenology has been so much abused, has, in the Scriptures, a direction given. It is the same with our other faculties. Be- nevolence has the highest directions. The Christian is taught to do good unto all men ; to give offence to none. He is taught to love his neighbour as himself. And his doing good is not confined to temporal things, but extends to eternal objects. His desire to do good has its 120 highest direction in the wish of, and using the means for, the salvation of men. This preceptive part of the Christian system cannot be left, without a remark being made, on the way in which knowledge is communicated in the word of God. Any one reading the Bible with attention will perceive, that comparisons and parables are the most common forms of in- struction. Now, it is a fact established by Phre- nology, that the faculty of Comparison is one with which men are most abundantly endowed ; in- deed, if any faculty predominates in the mental constitution, it is this. And in the modes of in- struction adopted in tli€ Bible we see so striking a coincidence, the parabolical and the like, being those which abound, and which are the proper food of this faculty; a circumstance that cannot be attributed to chance, but must be ascribed to this, that the Author of the Christian system is one intimately acquainted with our nature. These comparisons, too, are taken from nature, not from art. They are drawn from objects known to all : the sun, the moon, the stars, the beasts, the winds, the lightnings, objects seen by all. Thus nature is the hand-maiden of grace, and is made to reflect, on the lovely face of her sister, her own brilliant light. 121 In general, it may be remarked of the precepts of Christianity, that they are of the widest extent, embracing every diversity of character, and per- sons in every situation ; — the rich, the poor, the ignorant, the learned, the noble, the ignoble. The system being of such general application, and pretending, as it does, to come from the Creator of all, it follows as a necessary conse- quence, that its precepts must be so suited to all, that none can put an unjust interpretation upon them. How is this to be done ? is an important inquiry : what suits one mind is not adapted to another. Christianity, in all the dignity of being a revelation from heaven, commands the proud- est, the noblest, the wisest, the mightiest, to bow down as little children, and receive, with the way-faring man, in the spirit of child-like hu- mility, its instructions. If a system did not come from God, this would be presumption ; but so ordering all to be abased, testifies to its divine origin, and immediately points out a distinction between it and all the systems of philosophy, the teachers of which had one set of doctrines for the rich, and another for the poor ; and by requiring all to hear as little children, who believe all that they hear, the difference of deci- 11 122 sion arising from different constitution of mind is set aside. , Having thus considered this mean of enabling the Christian to resist the trials to which he will be exposed in passing through the world, the next will be pointed out. One of the most powerful means of stirring up men to run in the career of duty, is the setting an example. Look at Napoleon at the Bridge of Lodi ; Alexander at the city of Tyre. Example appeals to our Imitation, Self-esteem, and to Love of Approbation, which faculties excite the desire of doing what has been done. It seems natural to expect that the God of our nature would not, in a system coming from him, let this powerful motive to action be disregarded. No ; the Christian has a glorious example, leading him to aim at perfection. He sees in Jesus Christ his original, and all that he strives is to be made like Him. He beholds Him as the Cap- tain of his salvation, made perfect through suffer- ings. He holds the world as a theatre of war (carried on, indeed, on his part, with weapons of peace), on which are unfurled the banner of Kim he loves, and the flag of the evil one. Taking his place under the former, he is comforted by 123 the promise, that through Him he will be more than conqueror ; and beholds his own victory in that of his leader. Yes ; looking forward by Hope to a future day, the Christian beholds, in lively portraiture, the triumphs of his Lord ; he sees the enemies of his King following as cap- tives ; experiences the sweetness of the odors of his Priest's atoning blood ; * views the tri- umphal entry of his Captain into the heavenly Jerusalem ; beholds the gates of Zion open ; hears the resounding and glorious question, " Who is the King of Glory ? " and .joins in the choral reply, with innumerable spirits, " The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors ; and the King of Glory shall come in." Psalm xxiv. 8, 9. Thus the apostle felt, 2 Cor. ii. 14. * The meaning to be attached to this important, this grand, this too often ignorantly quoted phrase, will be understood by the reader, if he will undertake the delight- ful duty of investigating the sense in which blood is used throughout the Scriptures ; to aid him in this, it will be well to examine the figurative meaning of water and wine as used in the Scriptures. For the figurative mean- ing of water, see number viii. of the Christian Physician and Anthropological Magazine, published by E. Palmer, 18, Paternoster Row. 124 The remaining means recognised in the word of God, as enabling the Christian to resist temp- tation, and to overcome the many and powerful enemies with whom he has to contend, consists of rewards and punishments. In a human government it is impossible to give virtue a positive reward. Vice, it is true, may be punished ; and punishment* is the only sanc- tion, a powerful one indeed, possessed by an earthly government. Individuals may be re- warded ; but the ribbon and the star await only a few. For whence are rewards to come but from a tax upon the community ? and whence the means to bestow a premium on every one who abstains from murder, theft, and other mis- deeds ? But the faculties recognise, as the God fitted for adoration, a Being in whom Omnipo- tence is a prominent feature. They acknowl- edge that in Him there exists a pow T er to reward * Punishment governs all mankind: punishment alone preserves them ; punishment wakes, while their guards are asleep. The wise consider punishment as the per- fection of justice. Punishment is an active ruler; he is true manager of public affairs; he is the dispenser of laws, and wise men call him the sponsor of all the four orders for the discharge of their several duties. — On the Military Class, Institutes of Menu, Vol. iii. p. 243. 125 all. In his very attribute of Omnipotence, they behold an exhaustless treasury to employ in re- warding those who do well, and in punishing them who do ill. In the Christian system God is represented as dispensing rewards and punish- ments ; and these are so many motives appealing to Love of Approbation, Acquisitiveness, Cau- tiousness, and Hope, faculties existent in our na- ture. To the first three the glorious prospect held forth in the Bible appeals with a mighty energy ; while the dismal futurities, that await those who disobey the commands of God, appeal to the last mentioned faculty with a peculiar force. And to point out the nature of the former prospects, images the most glorious are employed ; while, on the other hand, to show the terrors of the other condition, the most dreadful similitudes are used. Indeed, to exhibit the happiness of the good, every thing lovely, beauteous, and grand in nature and art is collected ; and to show the misery of the bad, every object the most horrible, terrific, and unpleasant is presented. These means, recognised in the Christian sys- tem, as necessary for the effectual aid of man, imply an excessive weakness on the part of him by whom they are needed. Indeed, this peculiar 11* 126 state of human nature, proved by Phrenology, in demonstrating that man is, of necessity, evil, is one which Christianity most boldly avers, but against which all philosophy, except Phrenology, rises in opposition. Indeed, this humiliation of human nature philosophers have ever held to be opposed to the practice of what is good ; and they, in their wisdom, have thought fit to adopt another plan ; and have, in their pretended anxiety for the interests of mankind, talked loudly about the dignity of human nature. It is a delightful thing to see that phrenological sci- ence testifies to the accuracy of Christianity : in testifying, that while there is a dignity in the constitution of the human being, as compared with the constitution of other animals, it, at the same time, maintains, that those parts of man's constitution, in which he is common with the brutes, have gained a lamentable preponderance over those which, if preponderating, would make him dignified, by making him to be a man. Man is a dignified being, but man is undignified, because he is not man. Indeed, it is a matter continually pressed home on the Christian's mind, that he is weak : and on this account he is told to flee from temptation. He begs of God 127 to u lead him not into temptation ; " and is taught, that " as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine/' no more can he, except he abide in Christ. Indeed, without continual faith in Christ, he can do nothing, so strong is the evil tendency of his nature; and though the apostle could do all things, as he himself says, yet it was " through Christ that strengthened him." Thus the means, which Christianity proffers, and such as will enable the Christian to come off more than a conqueror, have passed in re- view ; and the coincidences, which have been pointed out, between them and the faculties on which they act, existing in the mind, are so nu- merous, as to lead to the conviction, that both Christianity, and man's self, are the work of the same author. That this conclusion is just, and that the means are efficacious to the end, will be more fully established by contrasting these means with those of philosophy ; and, secondly, by some ex- amples of their efficacy. The philosopher sub- dues his meaner passions by the power of reason; of this notice has been taken. His Self-esteem is his chief defence against enormities of every 128 kind ; and, though he pretends to despise the approbation of his fellow-men, it is for this, in a great measure, that he is outwardly moral. He adores himself, a more corrupted object of wor- ship than the stocks and stones before which the savage bows. These two faculties, combined with his Moral Sentiments and his Intellect, have to resist the impetuous torrent of his animal propensities. A weak barrier indeed ! This method of inducing morality is one which man has devised ; and which, like all other hu- man institutions, must, from its very nature, be confined to a few ; because, by few, the opportu- nities of the philosopher are possessed. What must become of the poor, the ignorant, the hard- working class of society ? How must they sub- jugate their passions? They have no philosophy, no languages, no sciences, no opportunities of studying the fine arts. Some other plan must be for them. Christianity suits their case; and produces, in them, a higher morality than that possessed by any philosopher. It is by the be- lief of a testimony, which is attended with a love of God as its consequence. This is the founda- tion of real morality ; and, when we review the commencement of a holy life, and the means for 129 its successful prosecution, as exhibited in Chris- tianity, and consider the source of philosophical morality together with its effects, we see how the apostle might well ask, " Hath not God shown the wisdom of this world to be foolishness ? " Indeed, contrast the means of defence, belonging to the philosopher, with that of which the Chris- tian can boast. Weigh the relative powers of the coat of mail, formed by Self-esteem and Love of Approbation, in which the philosopher is in- cased, and of the " breastplate of faith and love," and of the " helmet, the hope of salvation." Estimate the resisting influence of the sayings of antiquity, with the word of God, " the sword of the Spirit." Consider whether it is better to have the armor of philosophy, or " the whole armor of God," in order to " be able to with- stand in the evil day ; " whether, " to have the loins girt about " with philosophy, or " with truth;" whether to have " on the breastplate of righteousness," or the targe of pride : whether, " to have the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace," or with the Stoical doc- trines of philosophic speculation ; whether to use the language of " prayer," or the proud utter- ance of determined independence. Phrenology 130 says that we are weak, evilly-inclined creatures ; and, being such, approves of the Christian's ar- mor. The philosopher may, perhaps, boast that he has before him, as an object of imitation, Virtue. But what is this? She is a plaything to be looked upon in the days of prosperity ; but, in the days of adversity, Hope turns away from her with disgust. The Stoics may deny what they like ; but their boasts are insults upon human nature, and contradictions to common expe- rience. Their conduct belied their doctrines. Brutus, one of their noblest, cried in the ago- nies of death, that Virtue had forsaken him. In the illustration of the efficaciousness of the means, which Christianity recognises, a few examples may be given. One of the most striking circumstances con- nected with the promulgation of Christianity is, the meanness of its first preachers. Several of them were but fishermen ; men of low birth, having little education ; and, as such, generally very obsequious to the great. Yet such persons were boldly to state the truths of Christianity before kings and rulers. Among the number, Peter stands preeminent, not only for the con- 131 spicuous place which he holds, but for his for- wardness. No doubt he was a blunt, warm- hearted man ; meant to do all that he said, not aware of the difficulties id the way of putting his resolutions into execution. Under the in- fluence of this warm-heartedness, he asserted, that though all deserted his Master, he would not. But Jesus knew the nature of the fear of man, and seeing into futurity, warned him that he would deny him. Peter followed his Lord, who, after being betrayed by Judas, was taken before the Chief Priests. Peter attended: and, when warming himself by the fire, a person charged him with being one of Christ's disci- ples : he denied it. And so influenced was he by the love of the approbation of his fellow- men, that he even testified to his ignorance by an oath. Yet this same Peter, after being strengthened from above, and learning to put all his trust upon God, stood before the Jewish Sanhedrim, and, in spite of their threats, boldly stated that he was determined to preach the gospel ; adding, " whether it be right to obey God or men, judge ye ! " Here we see the same faculty, Love of Approbation, differently directed, and the effects are widely diverse. 132 Indeed, I know no change more striking ; when directed to man, Peter lied for fear of a menial servant ; when directed to God, all the terrors of the Jewish Sanhedrim could not move him. Peter was Peter with his faculties misdirected, in the first case ; in the second, was Peter with his faculties in proper direction. Who has ever equalled Paul ? What suffer- ings he endured for the sake of Christ : and the almost miraculous labors that he performed in testifying to the truth in Christ Jesus ; and the glory he took to himself in being so honored, as to be permitted to suffer in defence of the truths he stated, are acknowledged by him to have sprung from faith. Indeed, in writing to the Hebrews, he gives a long list of those who had, through faith, subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead raised to life again ; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; that they might obtain a better resurrection. Heb, xi. 133 Many might be the instances adduced from those living in later times, but this is not neces- sary. The best reference is the part mentioned above. But if any wish others, I would refer them to Biographia Evangelica, by Myddleton, and to the History of the Waldenses, by Jones. In coming to a conclusion, it is trusted, that the sixth proposition is completely proved ; and that, so strict and so exact is the coincidence between Phrenology and Christianity, as to lead every unbiassed mind to conclude, that a series of evidences to the Christian system has been made out, quite satisfactory of the general state- ment, that the Bible is the word of God. If some, however, do not think this, they must have the candor to allow that the views, introduced throughout these pages, have tended to show how science can be applied in the elu- cidation of Scripture ; and to impress on the mind, that the only person, " who overcometh the world," is he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John v. 5. Another important truth which this investiga- tion has tended to show is, that adoration, unless guided by the intellect, and given birth to by the heart, is vain and unacceptable in the sight 12 134 of God. And it will, it is hoped, be seen, that that excitement of devotional feeling, produced by a solemn aisle, by grand music, or by the fervid eloquence of a preacher, is no more true devotion,* than are the hideous noises with which the inhabitants of another quarter of the world welcome the visit of an eclipse. Indeed, if the reader, on rising from the perusal of this work, should be determined to cast aside all confidence in frames and feelings ; to call no man master on earth; and to read the word of Truth for himself, the writer will not have la- bored in vain. No ; but will look forward in confidential delight, that the person so stirred up, will, from beholding " as in a glass the glory of the Lord, be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. iii. 18. To the Christian who may peruse these pages, the author begs to point out how much is de- pendant upon each one exhibiting the influence of that belief which he professes. The gospel, if believed, must, as has been shown, produce * May not these, however, give important aid to the sentiments ? 135 the effects stated. If it does not, then it may with certainty be concluded, that the life is not by faith. From the blinding influence of es- tablished religions, it happens that many assume the name of Christians, who do not believe in Jesus Christ ; they believe another gospel, or else do not understand the one to which they have assented; for, in the parable of the sower, only those brought forth fruit that understood the word preached. This may anticipate an objection, drawn from the deficiencies, and even flagrant wickedness, of professed Christians, that the gospel does not produce the effects stated. The followers of Christ should be living epistles, known and read by all men. Theophrastus remarks, " that the whole aim and credit of philosophy consisted in obtaining a happy life." This may be the aim of philoso- phy, but it is the credit of Christianity to induce and secure happiness. Indeed, the belief of the gospel, the first step in Christianity, brings man into reconciliation with God, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation. And thus secures him joy, both in life and in death. To conclude : Christians are reminded, that their great Exemplar desired his contempora- 136 ries, if they would not credit his testimony, to believe him " for the very works' sake." And to the person not a Christian, a kind voice would hint, that as every truth testifies to Chris- tianity being divine, it becomes him to study and to attend to this revelation from God. THE END, LIBRARY 021 064 178 6 ■■V .