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A LECTURE 
 
 ON THE SUBJECT OF 
 
 PHRENOLOGY NOT OPPOSED TO THE PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF RELIGION; NOR THE PRECEPTS OF 
 
 CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 J 
 BY WILLIAM INGALLS, M. D. 
 
 FELLOW OF THE MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND AND NEW HAMPSHIRE 
 MEDICAL SOCIETIES : FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY, SUR- 
 GERY AND PHYSIOLOGY IN BROWN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 True Religion and true Philosophy must ultimately arrive at the same principle." 
 
 [S. S. Smith. 
 
 
 BOS TON: 
 
 DUTTON AND WENTWORTH, PRINTERS 
 1839. 
 
X 
 
 9 
 
 >w 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, 
 
 By William Ingalls, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 It was my intention to deliver the following lecture last Autumn at 
 the Lyceum in Chelsea ; but a demonstration of the mental organs on 
 the cast was substituted, — as being better calculated to engage the 
 attention of a mixed audience. In the selection of the subject, I was 
 influenced by the suggestion of an eminent physician, that phrenology 
 was opposed to religion. With regard to myself, the science has pro- 
 duced no change in my religious sentiments. Every metaphysical 
 disquisition, however, on the science of the mind, or the nature of the 
 soul, is apt to lead to materialism or pantheism — doctrines repugnant 
 to Christianity. " It is human to err ;" hence errors will continue to 
 interrupt the progress of truth, until the period, when " true religion 
 and true philosophy" will have " arrived at the same principle. 1 ' 
 
 Between the properties of certain vegetables, and the lowest animals 
 in the scale of beings, there is scarcely any difference to be discerned ; 
 nor between the faculties of individuals of the highest class of animals, 
 and those of the lowest of human kind. 
 
 Tonicity and contractility are vital properties, which in certain parts 
 of living organized bodies, — independently of nervous influence, — 
 execute movements more or less remarkable, whenever they are 
 brought into action by the application of an exciting cause. These 
 movements, " which characterize life, and require no organ," are found 
 in the most simple organized bodies, as in the polypus, and in the mus- 
 cular fibre of the most complicated in the animal series. 
 
 Tonicity is the primary and essential quality of vitality ; without it 
 all organized bodies would cease to live. When it is redundant or 
 deficient, the power of muscular contractility is proportionably aug- 
 mented or diminished. Its influence, however, is not limited to the 
 muscular fibre ; — it extends to every organic solid. 
 
 That tonicity and contractility exist, also, in certain vegetables, is 
 
exemplified in the sensitive plant : when green, it is vigorous ; — the 
 slightest touch will cause a rapid contraction of rows of leaves ; then 
 the branchlets ; and eventually the branch ; but when sallow, it is fee- 
 ble, and requires some degree of roughness to cause a few leaves to 
 contract. Hence the above — which are the only vital properties be- 
 longing to the zoophite — reside in great activity in the sensitive plant. 
 
 When to the qualities essential to the production of muscular motion 
 nervous influence be added, a new train of phenomena appears. In 
 beings possessing a nervous system in its most simple form, there com- 
 mences between it and the muscular a reciprocal action ; and as we 
 advance from the more simple to the more complicated living organ- 
 ized bodies, the ascendency of the nervous over the muscular power 
 becomes more and more perceptible, until we arrive at the highest de- 
 gree in the animal scale : — at each grade the animal acquires a new — 
 not a different — accession of powers. In the highest species of the 
 mammalia or the quadrumana, there are individuals who evince 
 instinctive intelligence closely allied in its character to that which is 
 derived from the human understanding. Their faculties are gradually 
 and successively unfolded ; their educability, sagacity and power of 
 concentration, — within the sphere of their several instincts — bear a 
 strong resemblance to the same qualities in man ; but, without the 
 sphere of their several instincts, they are incapable of acquiring knowl- 
 edge, or receiving instruction. By discipline, indeed, the most fero- 
 cious animals may be brought into subjection and obedience, and the 
 docile taught to perform feats, which appear to be the result of human 
 intelligence ; but without the discipline and instruction of man, they 
 would never transcend the natural impulses of their peculiar instincts. 
 
 Beside the propensities, the possession of self-esteem, love of 
 approbation, cautiousness and benevolence — sentiments common to 
 man and animals — constitutes another point of resemblance between 
 intelligence and instinct. 
 
 Concentrativeness is an organ of instinct which plays an important 
 part in the animal economy. It is the seat of attention, mem- 
 ory and the power of giving efficacy to the functions of the per- 
 ceptive and affective organs. Without its agency, the receptive organs 
 would be but the passive recipients of sensation ; — they would not res- 
 pond to the impressions made upon them by external objects. Of this 
 we are conscious, when the attention is so completely absorbed in listen- 
 ing to an unusual noise, — though the organs of sight may be anatomi- 
 
cally and physiologically sound — objects will make so slight an impres- 
 sion on those of form and color, as to be scarcely recognized. 
 
 Concentrativeness has, also, the power of concatenating instinctive mo- 
 tions. Whenever by the stimulus of hunger or thirst, or the incitement 
 of light and darkness, or the impression of any other exciting cause, 
 the attention be awakened, this faculty is called into action ; and, under 
 its guidance, the animal goes through the routine of its peculiar in- 
 stincts. Thus, the monarch of the feathered tribe daily soars aloft, 
 and, after making the circuit of his wide serial domain, he descends 
 and alights upon some lofty crag on the margin of a lake, and while 
 surveying the watery expanse below, he descries a hawk who had 
 seized upon his prey, and is bearing it off; indignant he darts down 
 from the dizzy height ; at his approach the affrighted marauder lets go 
 his booty, which in pursuance of his royal prerogative, the monarch 
 claiming as his indefeasible right, secures before it reaches the liquid 
 element. All these various and successive movements, which seem to 
 be dictated by reason, are the offspring of concentrativeness alone. 
 
 To the interior and spontaneous power of action in animals, in man 
 are superadded the reflective faculties, forming a compound, the com- 
 ponent parts of which are, in numerous instances, so blended, it is diffi- 
 cult to distinguish what are the animal from what are the human. 
 Hence the diversity of opinions with regard to animals being endowed 
 with reflective faculties. 
 
 On the assumption, there is a plurality of organs, it may not be in- 
 applicable to the design of the following lecture to give a few examples 
 of the situation of such as have come under my observation. 
 
 Dr. Spurzheim was exceedingly averse to the prevailing opinion, 
 there should be a distinct prominence to denote each organ or faculty. 
 He taught, for instance, the sincipital region — the seat of the moral 
 sentiments — may be developed without discovering any remarkable 
 protuberance, and yet the respective faculties which belong to this 
 genus, may be of a very high grade. 
 
 Dr. Mayo, who seems not to be a thorough convert to phrenology, as 
 taught by Dr. Gall, has advanced an opinion in consonance with the 
 above, in his Elements of the Pathology of the human mind : from 
 which we shall make the following extract. 
 
 " But the phrenologists appear to have been forced into an hypothe- 
 sis by accumulated observation, and being remarkably deficient in the 
 
 V* 
 
faculty of generalizing, they have thrown their work into a great num- 
 ber of detached pigeon-holes, and have separated very arbitrarily into 
 small parcels, what more skilful theorists would have collected into 
 larger masses. This procedure has laid them open to much ridicule. 
 But, as it is opposed to the more dangerous fault of rapid systematizing, 
 it in some degree increases the claims of their labors to our attention. 
 
 " It would, I imagine, be very easy to state the views of the physi- 
 ologists, in a form, which would appear perfectly reasonable to those 
 by whom they are derided on the above grounds. The facial angle of 
 Camper has long ago directed our attention to the shape of the head in 
 connection with the manifestations of intellect ; and again, the connec- 
 tion between our intellectual and moral departments, would dispose us 
 to accept with attention, the evidence of their having a common organic 
 agent. But, if we think and feel through the instrumentality of the 
 brain, we shall probably think and feel agreeably to laws which will 
 imply one kind of action in the brain one operation intellectual or 
 emotive, another for another ; and it is far from improbable that this 
 difference of cerebral action should be connected with a difference in 
 the fibres appropriated to each function, or in other words, with a dif- 
 ference in the parts of the brain relative to each. On this basis, the 
 general principle of a division into organs might be erected without any 
 antecedent improbability ; and if the divisions of Gall appear unphilo- 
 sophically minute, it would be easy to reduce them into more general 
 heads, without interfering with the location assigned to them by their 
 discoverer. Viewing them, indeed, in groups according to their juxta- 
 position, we shall often find that a generic character prevails, such as 
 the experience which we possess of the human mind would lead us to 
 expect. Thus benevolence and imitation, (organs which touch each 
 other in the phrenological map,) embody the great principle of sympa- 
 thy. Again the elation of spirit, the self-congratulation which men ex- 
 perience, when the witness in their own breast commends them, is the 
 same emotion differently exerted, with that which elevates the success- 
 ful competitor for public applause. These organs accordingly are in 
 contact. Hope, veneration, wonder and ideality constitute a mass of 
 contiguous organs, which might easily be taught under common meta- 
 physical principles. It would be easy to soften off the hard distinctness 
 with which Gall and Spurzheim have split the cerebral mass. Their 
 comparative neglect to do this for themselves, may well be accounted 
 
for, if their statements are true, by the marvellous individual facts, 
 which seem first to have drawn their attention to the subject and kept 
 them entangled in their details. 
 
 " With respect to the mistakes of the phrenologists, they may lay 
 claim to the same indulgence, which other mistakes meet with. At all 
 events, from the professors of medical science they might expect to find 
 sympathizing criticism. We lay down the symptoms of disease ; but 
 we do not consider ourselves candidly dealt with, if our repeated fail- 
 ures in diagnosis lay our science under the imputation of charlatanism. 
 And yet it is to be observed, that many of its professors assert the gen- 
 eral skill of the faculty in discovering disease, just as confidently as the 
 phrenologists assert their skill in the discovery of character." 
 
 There are instances, in which organs may be found in an isolated 
 state as well as in groups, as will appear in the sequel. 
 
 On a visit to Philadelphia in company with my son, in the winter of 
 1836-37, several opportunities were afforded us of testing the correct- 
 ness of the doctrines of phrenology. 
 
 At the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, at Worcester, by the 
 politeness of Dr. Woodward we were admitted into the several rooms. 
 In the course of our walks we met with an exemplification of the " ges- 
 tures of the faculties," in an individual who — continually expatiating on 
 the large landed property he owned, and his personal influence, in the 
 town to which he belonged — held his head erect and inclined backward 
 in the direction of the organ of self-esteem. A number of the inmates, 
 aware of the peculiar character of his hallucination, locked arms with 
 him, and while walking up and down the avenue, and enlarging upon 
 his possessions and influence, the indication of the faculty was carried 
 to the utmost extreme. Not long since, at a literary soiree, the atti- 
 tude was displayed by a gentleman in as remarkable a degree, while 
 engaged in conversation on a favorite topic. But, in a civilized com- 
 munity, occupied by a multiplicity of pursuits, and whose native habits, 
 manners, and perhaps dispositions, are modified by intercourse with 
 strangers and intercommunication with foreign nations, it is not to be 
 expected that the natural bent of the minds of the people could be dis- 
 covered by natural language. , 
 
 In one of the apartments, I entered into conversation with a man 
 who had in a fit of jealousy committed homicide. He was in height 
 more than six feet, and of an athletic frame. He claimed to be the 
 Almighty, and justified the act alluded to by the example of Cain. On 
 
8 
 
 the left side of the head, in the region of amativeness, there was a 
 prominence of a conical form, and of considerable size ; on the same side, 
 in the region of destructiveness, there was one similar in form and size : 
 — there was none on the right side, or in any other part of the cranium. 
 
 At the Retreat for the Insane at Hartford, Dr. Fuller had the good- 
 ness to accompany us through all the apartments. Among the numer- 
 ous cases that were detailed, the doctor pointed out to us a female who 
 had been in the Asylum for many years, and who was continually re- 
 peating various receipts for various kinds of cookery. There was a 
 conical projection on the left side, just before the base of the zygomatic 
 process of the temporal bone, in the place where Dr. Spurzheim sup- 
 posed the organ of alimentiveness to be located : there was none to 
 be seen on the other side, nor in any other part of the cranium. 
 
 In one of the apartments for males, we saw a person, whose eyes 
 protruded from their sockets so far, as to produce deformity ; — to con- 
 ceal which he wore spectacles. Dr. Fuller remarked, that he possess- 
 ed an extraordinary memory, and was thorough master of history and 
 philosophy. 
 
 At the Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane in New York — a magni- 
 ficent and extensive establishment — Dr. Ogden was so obliging as to 
 conduct us through various departments. In one, we saw a female 
 maniac in one of her most raving paroxysms ; in another, a female 
 who had just recovered from puerperal mania ; in another building, one 
 who fancied himself Alexander the Great ; another, who from excessive 
 indulgence had become idiotic ; in another apartment, a termagant in a 
 violent rage ; and a young handsome lady in neat attire, of the most 
 placid countenance ; — so various are the several species of insanity. 
 
 At the Institution for the Blind in New York, by the courtesy of Mr. 
 Jones, the superintendent, who is thoroughly conversant with phrenolo- 
 gy, both theoretically and practically, opportunity was afforded us of 
 seeing the manner in which the establishment is conducted. Among 
 the pupils was a lad, about six years of age, who possessed the power of 
 calculation, Mr. Jones thought, in a greater degree than Zeba Colbum. I 
 proposed a question, which appeared to him of so easy solution, as to 
 cause him to smile. Mr. Jones, then, asked him how many months, weeks, 
 days, hours, minutes and seconds there were in sixty years ; he gave the 
 answer in a very short space of time. I observed his countenance very 
 closely ; and by the play of the muscular fibre in the region of the 
 organ of constructiveness, a sufficient ground is afforded for the 
 
supposition, this organ is implicated in extemporaneous computation, — as 
 it is requisite, rules should be mentally constructed to conduct the pro- 
 cess to a correct issue. 
 
 Mr. Jones drew my attention to a miss, who was wholly destitute of 
 the organ of weight and resistance. He observed, she found the way 
 from one room to another with difficulty, and when walking she expe- 
 rienced the sensation of falling ; or rather, as she expressed herself, of 
 the floor rising up against her ; on the other hand, he showed me one 
 who had arrived at adult age, in whom the organ was very conspicu- 
 ous, who could walk to every part of the city without a guide. 
 
 During my residence in Philadelphia, I was introduced to Dr. Mor- 
 ton, the Corresponding Secretary of the Academy of Sciences. The 
 Doctor gave me an invitation to visit the museum belonging to the So- 
 ciety, in which there was a large collection of preparations appertain- 
 ing to Natural History ; — among which were many skeletons of human 
 heads, of which he gave me a particular account. One was the head 
 of a Dutch officer on the East India station ; in which the organs of 
 cembativeness, destructiveness and alimentiveness, were so prominent 
 as to arrest my attention at once. He had indulged in the propensities 
 of which these organs are indicative to such excess, as to bring him to 
 a premature grave. The next was that of the cannibal of Van Die- 
 man's Land, who, after enticing away, killing and eating several men, 
 was finally caught, and brought to condign punishment. In addition to 
 the organs above enumerated, his forehead was low and narrow, and 
 the sincipital region much contracted.* In the officer and in the can- 
 nibal, the organs of alimentiveness, destructiveness, combativeness and 
 secretiveness, formed groups in which one organ was not more promi- 
 nent than another, so that the organ of alimentiveness, though " very 
 large," would not be readily detected by one not a proficient in practi- 
 cal phrenology. In the female at Hartford, the organ of alimentive- 
 ness, being " very large," isolated, of a conical form, and the organs 
 in juxtaposition, " very small," might be discovered by a very superfi- 
 cial examination. Dependent undoubtedly on the different development 
 of the affective organs, there was a striking contrast in the habits and 
 inclinations of the female, and the anthropophagite : the former was 
 partial to the delicacies of civilized life ; the latter betrayed the appe- 
 tite and voracity of a carnivorous animal. 
 
 * By the politeness of Pr. Morton we were permitted to take casts of these heads. 
 
10 
 
 That the mental organs, therefore, may be found in a separate state 
 as well as in groups ; and that the science of phrenology, as taught by 
 Gall and Spurzheim, is established on the firmest foundation — obser- 
 vation and experience — the above facts are conclusive. 
 
 The following cases are also illustrative of the science of phrenology. 
 
 At the New England Institution for the Education of the Blind, in 
 company with Dr. Howe, we went — seriatim — through the rooms, in 
 which were taught reading, history, vocal music, arithmetic, grammar 
 and instrumental music. The Doctor pointed out the process employed 
 in giving instruction to each class. In one of the rooms, about three 
 weeks after her admittance into the institution, we saw Laura Bridgman, 
 a miss about eight years old, blind, deaf mute, and destitute, or deprived, 
 of the sense of smell. She was very much under the command of the 
 Doctor,* and very much attached to her governess. 
 
 At this early period, she gave such evidences of the power of ratio- 
 cination, and exhibited such capacity of acquiring knowledge, as were 
 sufficient to convince the greatest sceptic of the existence of the soul.f 
 
 Last autumn, the day after Thanksgiving, I saw the child again ; 
 she had made a surprising progress in the acquisition of knowledge. 
 
 On the evening previous, the children were indulged with the privi- 
 lege of amusing themselves in the rotunda, in a distant part of the 
 building. Miss Laura happened to be among them ; not wishing her 
 
 * The Doctor said, in answer to my inquiry, that he took her by the hand; she resisted ; 
 but holding- her hand firmly, she soon yielded, and permitted him to lead her about the 
 room ; — ever after his authority over her was perfect. 
 
 t Of the above remark, the following- statement is confirmatory: 
 
 After making a lew observations on the plan of instruction he designed to adopt, the 
 doctor took Laura by the hand, led her down stairs through his office to an adjoining 
 china closet, from which he took two hazel-nuts, which he put into her hand, and also 
 a nut-cracker, which she attempted to use, but did not succeed ; the doctor having reverted 
 the instrument so as to act on die nut, and returned il, she proceeded to crack one of diem, 
 put the shells into his hand, and so vviih the second — taking care to retain the meats. We 
 then relumed to the room. The governess was not present. As soon as Laura found 
 herself at liberty, she ran without a guide through a short entry to the opposite side of an- 
 other loom, with the intention of seating herself on an ottoman ; she happened to gel on the 
 wrong side, and had she not had the sagacity to discover her error, she would have fallen 
 on the floor. 
 
 The manner of yielding to the authority of Dr. Howe ; her understanding the object of 
 placing in her hand the nuts and nut-cracker ; the putting the shells in the doctor's hands ; 
 the retaining the meats ; the running from one room to the other of her own accord and 
 without a guide ; the intention of seating herself on the ottoman, the timely discovery of 
 her mistake} are operations of the mind very far from being tiie result of mere iusimet. 
 
11 
 
 company, they gave her to understand she must withdraw ; when she 
 had quit the room, she fastened the door; and, had it not been acci- 
 dentally discovered, the misses might have remained there all night. 
 To punish her, the governess refused to receive her caresses, or pay 
 her the usual attentions. She became dull and dejected ; but her ex- 
 pressions of happiness at being reconciled with her governess — which 
 took place in consequence of my being present — were particularly in- 
 teresting. 
 
 The consciousness of misdemeanor, the effect of the punishment as 
 well as of the reconciliation, are, in my opinion, so many abstract oper- 
 ations of the mind ; and so many proofs, that she entertains a just sense 
 of right and wrong. 
 
 Laura had learned the manual alphabet, by means of which she 
 could maintain an interchange of ideas with the governess with a ra- 
 pidity and correctness scarcely credible. She asked my name and 
 business. At my suggestion, she went leisurely and without groping 
 her way, opened the door at the opposite part of the room, and re- 
 turned ; then went and shut it and returned again ; she knew about a 
 hundred common names or nouns ; when requested to give the idea 
 of God, she raised her hand above her head, and made the same 
 gesture for sky. These are acts which no animal, not possessing re- 
 flective faculties, and deprived of so many senses, could be taught.* 
 
 The following account of this interesting child is contained in the 
 " Annual Report" to the Corporators of the New England Institution 
 for the Education of the Blind, for the year 1837 : 
 
 " Among the pupils who have entered during the last year, is one 
 whose situation makes her an object of peculiar interest and lively 
 sympathy ; Laura Bridgman, a very pretty, intelligent, and sprightly 
 girl, of eight years, is entirely blind, deaf, dumb, and almost entirely 
 deprived of smell,f and has been so since her infancy. Here is a 
 human soul shut up in a dark and silent cell ; all the avenues to it are 
 closed, except that of touch, and it would seem that it must be but a 
 blank; nevertheless it is active, and struggling continually, not only to 
 put itself in communication with things without, but to manifest what is 
 going on within itself. The child is constantly active ; she runs about 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
 f For all purposes of use she is without smell, and lakes no notice of the odour of a rose, 
 or the smell of cologne water, when held quite near her, though acrid and pungent odours 
 seem to affect the olfactory nerve. 
 
12 
 
 the house, and up and down stairs ; she frolics with the other children, 
 or plays with her toys ; she dresses and undresses herself with great 
 quickness and precision, and behaves with propriety at the table and 
 every where ; she knows every inmate of the house by the touch, and 
 is very affectionate to them. She can sew, and knit, and braid, and is 
 quite as active and expert as any of the rest of the children. Bat all 
 this, interesting as it is, is nothing compared to the mental phenomena, 
 which she presents ; she has a quick sense of propriety ; a sense of 
 property ; a love of approbation ; a desire to appear neatly and smooth- 
 ly dressed, and to make others notice that she is so ; a strong tendency 
 to imitation, insomuch that she will sit and hold a book steadily before 
 her face in imitation of persons reading. It is difficult to say whether 
 she has any sense of right and wrong disconnected with the feeling 
 that such an action will be reproved, and such an one approved by 
 those about her, but certain it is, she will retain nothing belonging to 
 another ; she will not eat an apple or piece of cake which she may 
 find, unless signs are made that she may do so. She has an evident 
 pleasure in playfully teasing or puzzling others. The different states 
 of her mind are clearly marked upon her countenance, which varies 
 with hope and fear, pleasure and pain, self-approbation and regret ; 
 and which, when she is trying to study out any thing, assumes an ex- 
 pression of intense attention and thought. 
 
 " It was considered doubtful when she came whether it would be pos- 
 sible to teach her any regular system of signs by which she could ex- 
 press her thoughts or understand those of others ; it was deemed highly 
 desirable, however, to make the experiment, and thus far it has been 
 successful. Common articles, such as a knife, a spoon, a book, &c. 
 were first taken, and labelled with their names in raised letters ; she 
 was made to feel carefully of the article with the name pasted upon it ; 
 then the name was given her on another piece of paper, and she quick- 
 ly learned to associate it with the thing. Then the name of the thing 
 being given on a separate label, she was required to select the thing 
 from a number of other articles, or to find the article ; for instance, 
 the word key was given her, on a bit of paper in raised letters ; she 
 would at once feel for a key on the table, and, not finding it, would 
 rise and grope her way to the door, and place the paper upon the key 
 with an expression of peculiar gratification. Thus far no attention was 
 paid to the component letters of the word ; the next step was to ascer- 
 tain the correctness of her notion, by giving her metal types with the 
 
13 
 
 separate letters on their ends ; these she soon learned to arrange and 
 to spell the word ; for instance, the teacher would touch the child's 
 ear, or put her hand on a book, then to the letters, and she would in- 
 stantly begin to select the types and to set them in order in a little 
 frame used for the purpose, and when she had spelt the word correctly, 
 she would show her satisfaction and assure her teacher that she under- 
 stood, by taking all the letters of the word and putting them to her ear, 
 or on the book. 
 
 " She then learned the arrangement of the letters in the alphabet, and 
 is now occupied in increasing her vocabulary of words. Having 
 learned the alphabet and the arrangement of letters into words, which 
 she associated with things, she was next taught the manual alphabet, 
 as used by the deaf mutes, and it is a subject of delight and wonder to 
 see how rapidly, correctly, and eagerly she goes on with her labors. 
 Her teacher gives her a new object, for instance a pencil, first lets her 
 examine it, and get an idea of its use, then teaches her how to spell it 
 by making the signs for the letters with her own lingers ; the child 
 grasps her hand, and feels of her fingers, as the different letters are 
 formed — she turns her head a little one side, like a person listening 
 closely — her lips are apart — she seems scarcely to breathe — and her 
 countenance, at first anxious, gradually changes to a smile, as she 
 comprehends the lesson. She then holds up her little fingers and 
 spells the word in the manual alphabet ; next takes her types and 
 arranges her letters, and last, to make sure that she is right, she takes 
 the whole of the types composing the word, and places them upon or 
 in contact with the pencil, or whatever the object may be. 
 
 " The process of teaching her is of course slow and tedious ; the dif- 
 ferent steps to it must be suggested by her successive attainments, for 
 there are no precedents to go by ;* but thus far the results have been 
 most gratifying. She has not yet been long enough under instruction 
 (four months only) to have got beyond the names of substances ; the 
 more difficult task of giving her a knowledge of names, expressive of 
 qualities, feelings, &c. remains yet to be accomplished. No sure prog- 
 
 * Julia Brace, the deaf, dumb, and blind girl, in the Institution for the Deaf Mutes, at 
 Hartford, did not succeed in attaining' a knowledge of the written signs significative of ob- 
 jects. Julia possessed her senses until the age of four years, and she is aided by a sense of 
 smell, sharpened by practice, to the acutencss of the vulture, while Laura has it so imper- 
 fectly as that she may be said to be without smell. James Mitchell, whose case is noticed 
 by Dugald Stewart and other philosophers, did not learn any system of arbitrary signs, nor 
 is there any case on record of a person deprived of sight and hearing succeeding in doing so. 
 
14 
 
 nostic can be made, but much is to be hoped from the intelligence 
 of the child, and the eager delight with which she lends all her atten- 
 tion, and the strong effort she evidently makes to gain new ideas ; not 
 from fear of punishment, or hope of reward, but from the pleasure 
 which the exercise of the faculties confers- upon her. No pains or 
 expense will be spared in efforts to develop the moral and intellectual 
 nature of this interesting child, and no opportunity lost, of gathering for 
 science whatever mental phenomena her singular case may furnish."* 
 
 When we were at Hartford, we visited the Retreat for the Deaf and 
 Dumb, where we saw Julia Brace, who was a blind and deaf mute. 
 At the intimation of the matron, she came into the parlor, walked 
 about the room in an awkward manner, smelt of a geranium leaf, and 
 passed out. We saw her again in the room where she usually resides. 
 The matron gave her to understand she wished for a pin, she took one 
 from her pinball, and kept her finger on the place whence she took it, 
 until it was returned ; — occasioning the remark, that she was selfish, and 
 that her disposition was far from being amiable. Her aspect was 
 morose and repulsive ; she could find the way alone to every part of 
 the house ; took charge of the misses' wardrobe : knew all the female 
 inmates ; the kind of dress they wore ; and was vain of her own, which 
 she was very particular to have made in fashion. Hence with respect 
 to this unfortunate young woman,f acquisitiveness and approbativeness 
 have degenerated into selfishness and vanity, vices which do not pertain 
 to the animal nature. 
 
 On " the importance of the study of the structure and functions of 
 the brain," we shall make an extract from Galls Works, vol. ii. p. 40 : 
 
 " In the more complicated animals of the higher orders, all the func- 
 tions are more or less subordinate to the brain." " The striking differ- 
 ence between the wounds of some animals, and those of man, is well 
 known." " Tenacity of life diminishes in proportion as the brain be- 
 comes more complex." " In persons whose brains are irritable, how 
 often are the most trifling wounds followed by tetanus and trismus ?" 
 
 " It may be assumed, that this irritability is strong in different indi- 
 viduals, in proportion as their brain is voluminous and active. In idiots, 
 in paralytics, and generally in diseases where the cerebral sensations 
 are blunted from any cause, this irritability frequently cannot be excited 
 by the most powerful internal and external stimulants. 
 
 * See Appendix. + She bad grown to adult years. 
 
15 
 
 " Reflect on the tumults which the affections and passions, whose 
 immediate seat and original source is in the brain, excite the whole 
 man. Do we not behold chagrin, jealousy, envy, languor, homesick- 
 ness, misplaced affection, &c. devouring the principle of life ? How 
 often has not a too sudden transport of joy, violent fright, or anger, 
 destroyed life as suddenly as a thunderbolt ?* Who does not know the 
 power of imagination, of attention, and of confidence, in the production 
 and cure of diseases, especially nervous diseases, such as epilepsy and 
 intermittent fevers ? Those most grievous afflictions, melancholy, hy- 
 pochondriasis, despair, a tendency to suicide, hysteria, all the mental 
 alienations, with their influences on so many other parts of the body, 
 have their principal or immediate causes in the derangement of the 
 brain. What an index, consequently, is it, to the treatment of these 
 sad maladies ! 
 
 " Volumes have been written on the reciprocal influences of the 
 brain, and the viscera of the abdomen and chest. And in general, 
 how great must be the utility of the pathological study of the brain, in 
 diseases of infancy, in cerebral, atonic, adynamic fevers, in apoplexy, 
 in inflammations of the brain, frequently so deceptive, and which, by 
 the tremor, spontaneous vomiting, and depression of strength, simulate 
 diseases of a total opposite nature." 
 
 The intellectual faculties, and the moral sentiments as well as the 
 propensities, in many instances, appear to be hereditary. 
 
 During the time of the embargo, I was desired to visit some sick peo- 
 ple, in a large house near Fort Hill wharf, in which lived many poor 
 families. I entered a room in which a mother and several children lay 
 sick with typhus fever. The whole family consisted of a laboring man, 
 with his wife and five children, who, in a state of extreme poverty, had 
 recently arrived from the State of Maine, for the purpose of seeking a 
 livelihood. The man was employed on board of a vessel, at very small 
 wages, — more as a deed of charity, than because his labor was required. 
 One of the children lay at the point of death ; two were confined to the 
 
 * Marshall Hall's Theory and Practice of Medicine, edited by Professor Bigelow and by 
 Professor Holmes, contains the following- note appended to §293. A ndral cites from an- 
 other author the case of an old man, who on hearing, while seated at table, the news of 
 Napoleon's landing in France, in 1815, rose suddenly and exclaimed, 
 
 " Le voila done comme connu ce secret plein d'honeur !' ; 
 and immediately fell in an apoplectic fit, which soon proved fatal. 
 
 I was once called to a female, who expired instantly in a fit of anger. The same year, 
 Dr. Rand was called to a gentleman, who also died instantly from the same cause. 
 
16 
 
 bed. Languid from fatigue, anxiety, and want of warmth and suste- 
 nance, rather than exhausted by the depressing nature of typhus, the 
 mother was unable to rise from her bed ; at her bosom was an infant, 
 trying in vain to draw nutriment from a dried-up fountain. It was in 
 the month of December ; the weather was raw and cold ; a few embers 
 were the only indication of a fire ; a sprightly child, about six years 
 old, performed the duties of a nurse and help ; and the supply of food 
 and clothing were inadequate to the wants of the family. Without the 
 necessaries of life and proper nursing, I told the neighbors, the usual 
 remedies would be unavailing. My first visit was in the morning ; I 
 called again at noon, and was informed a lady was disposed to render 
 the family such assistance as might be required to relieve their distressed 
 condition, and that she wished to see me at four o'clock. Punctually at 
 the time appointed I arrived, and met a lady of a benign aspect and 
 dignified deportment. At her request, the nature of the disease was par- 
 ticularly described, and every thing calculated to contribute to the com- 
 fort and recovery of the sick enumerated. Next morning, I was agreeably 
 surprised to find the whole family had been transferred from an abode 
 of poverty and misery to a paradise. From a lower, dark and gloomy 
 room, they had been removed to a large, commodious, and well-lighted 
 chamber, enlivened with a cheerful fire ; a nurse was in attendance ; 
 changes of clothing of every description, and, indeed, every requisite 
 for a sick chamber, were furnished in abundance ; and, to neglect noth- 
 ing that might contribute to the more perfect accommodation of the 
 family, several adjoining apartments were procured. But the lady did 
 not content herself merely with making ample provision for the comfort 
 of the family ; she took upon herself the office of receiving my prescrip- 
 tions and directions, and seeing they were followed. At every visit, I 
 found her present for the same purpose, until the patients were in a 
 state of convalescence. 
 
 The same beneficent spirit which actuated the lady, descended to 
 her sons ; — of whose acts of munificence the City affords ample evi- 
 dence. 
 
 I have given the above narrative, not only as an example that child- 
 ren may inherit the virtues of a parent ; but as an instance of disinter- 
 ested benevolence, worthy of the imitation of every disciple of the 
 Great Founder of our religion. 
 
 " The heart that feels for others' woes. 
 Shall feel each selfish pleasure less ; 
 The hand, that happiness bestows. 
 Reflected happiness shall bless." 
 
17 
 
 In the following passage from the Lancet, it appears the celebrated 
 French pathologists and physiologists, Andral, Bouillard and Broussais, 
 have given their testimony in favor of the doctrine of phrenology : 
 
 " The April number of the Parisian Phrenological Journal contains 
 a discourse, pronounced at the annual meeting of the Phrenological 
 Society of Paris, 22d of August, 1834, by Professor Andral, the presi- 
 dent. The object of Professor Andral in his address, is to show, that 
 phrenology " ought henceforth to form a part of the grave and serious 
 studies of physiology." He states that, though not a single organ in 
 the brain had been determined by Gall, " the foundation of the science 
 would not, on that account, have existed the less." He regards excep- 
 tions to well established principles as apparent only; and quotes, with 
 approbation, the remark of M. Bouillard, that, " while every theory 
 which is contradicted by a well observed fact is false, it is not less true 
 that every fact which is in contradiction with a rigorously demonstrated 
 theory, has been ill observed." " If phrenology," he adds, " be true, give 
 yourselves no uneasiness about its future success ; for there is no ex- 
 ample on record of any truth which, once launched into the world, has 
 failed there to make its way." The following extract from the account 
 of the Society's proceedings, by Dr. Casimir Broussais, shows that the 
 members take a sound view of their duties : — " I affirm and repeat, in 
 the name of my colleagues, that we study phrenology with the com- 
 pletest independence : we are fully convinced of the reality of its fun- 
 damental principles, but far from pretending that the science is com- 
 plete ; we do all in our power to contribute to bring about such a 
 result." — Edinburgh Phren. Journal, June, 1835." 
 
LECTURE: 
 
 PHRENOLOGY NOT OPPOSED TO THE PRINCIPLES OF RELIGION j 
 NOR TO THE PRECEPTS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Phrenology, as its name denotes, is the doctrine of 
 the mind. It is founded on the belief, the individual 
 and associate action of the propensities, sentiments and 
 intellectual faculties is dependent on certain cerebral 
 organs, which are indicated by corresponding prominen- 
 ces on the surface of the cranium. 
 
 As the principles of phrenology are considered by 
 some to be hostile to the doctrines of Christianity, I 
 shall succinctly give my views in relation to this sub- 
 ject, which, though they appear, in my opinion, to be 
 correct, may not be in consonance with those of the 
 reader ; — on the ground, that, by a free intercommuni- 
 cation of our belief, whenever a fit opportunity pre- 
 sents, the cause of true religion is ultimately advanced. 
 But to render what follows more intelligible, I shall 
 give a cursory view of the ground-work of the science 
 of phrenology. 
 
 As the cerebrum and cerebellum, are the seat of the 
 mental faculties, and as the cranium affords the evidence 
 of their situation, we shall now proceed to a description 
 of these parts. 
 
20 
 
 The cerebrum, or great brain, of a conical form with 
 its apex forward, is composed of two hemispheres, 
 separated from each other by a firm membrane, called 
 the falciform process of the dura mater, which is not 
 seen in the casts of the brain ; each hemisphere is 
 divided into three lobes ; the anterior, however, is 
 alone conspicuous ; to display the middle and poste- 
 rior lobes, it is necessary to have recourse to dis- 
 section. Each hemisphere is also of a conical form, 
 with its apex pointing forward ; the side towards its 
 fellow is pendicular and flat ; its superior and lateral 
 surface is round ; its inferior, uneven. Numerous con- 
 volutions are seen on the surface ; some taking a longi- 
 tudinal direction, others an oblique or transverse ; at 
 the bottom of the internal or perpendicular surface, 
 there is situated a longitudinal convolution of great 
 length, by which a communication is maintained be- 
 tween the anterior and posterior lobes, called by Solly 
 the superior longitudinal commissure : there are also 
 seen anfractuosities or fissures of considerable depth, 
 which, however, in the casts, are not very obvious. In 
 this organ, the convolutions are the seat of the mental 
 faculties. 
 
 The cerebellum, or little brain, somewhat of the form 
 of an inverted cone, is situated beneath the cerebrum, 
 and is composed of laminae This organ is separated 
 from the cerebrum by a firm and strong membrane, call- 
 ed the tentorium, which prevents the cerebellum from 
 being compressed by the superincumbent weight of a 
 portion of the cerebrum. The whole of the cerebellum 
 constitutes but one organ. 
 
 The cranium, which contains the brain, has numer- 
 ous prominences on its surface, which answer to convo- 
 
21 
 
 lutions beneath them ; each prominence indicating the 
 situation of a mental organ. 
 
 The unity of the functions of the brain, as well as the 
 unity of disease, has its advocates. If the brain be an 
 unit, it cannot be under the influence of but one faculty 
 at a time ; because when one is active the rest must be 
 dormant : thus when destructiveness is predominant, 
 combativeness, without the co-operation of which the 
 propensity to destroy must remain ungratified, cannot 
 be brought into action. If veneration were the pre- 
 dominant sentiment, it might be intense, but it is incon- 
 ceivable how it is to be manifested, unless by genuflec- 
 tion or the utterance of inarticulate sounds ; the lan- 
 guage of adoration would be impossible ; as where 
 unity exists, two cerebral functions cannot be performed 
 at the same time : — nothing but the feeling of reverence 
 can remain. In the phrenological catalogue, the cere- 
 bellum is destined to perform but one function : neither 
 destructiveness, combativeness, nor veneration can be 
 called into action by this portion of the encephalon ; 
 nor, on the other hand, can the function of the cerebel- 
 lum be transferred to the cerebrum. The cerebellum 
 is a unit, and, therefore, can perform but one function. 
 
 The belief in the plurality of organs is gaining 
 ground so rapidly, to discuss the subject at present would 
 be superfluous. Among the numerous instances with- 
 out having allusion to phrenology, or any knowledge of 
 the science, in which observations have been made con- 
 firmatory of the existence of a diversity of mental fac- 
 ulties, the opinion of Origen alone may suffice, " who 
 thinks that every vice has its presiding bad angel, the 
 demon of avarice, the demon of fornication, the demon 
 of pride, &,c." 
 
22 
 
 The successive additions of organs in animals, as 
 they rise in the scale of beings, and in the growth of 
 the fetus, is clearly elucidated by Tiedeman, the learn- 
 ed and distinguished German physiologist ; and by 
 Solly of England, who is rapidly rising to the highest 
 eminence in his profession. 
 
 Every faculty is modified by the condition of its 
 organ. One of the chief objects of Dr. Spurzheim's 
 coming to this country, was to visit Indian tribes, 
 that had not been vitiated by civilization, or by inter- 
 course with the civilized, to ascertain what peculiarities 
 there might be in the form of the cranium and the struc- 
 ture of the brain, to solve the question, whether the 
 character and identity of a nation may be known by the 
 shape of the head. For the same purpose, he intended 
 to visit the Southern States : as the planters are careful 
 to inform themselves of the habits and dispositions of 
 the various African tribes,* with the view of being bet- 
 ter qualified to select individuals, that promised to be 
 the most serviceable, it would afford him a better op- 
 portunity of discovering their national traits, than by 
 visiting the country from which they are brought. 
 
 * The various tribes of negroes in Cuba are thus classified by Mr. Mur- 
 ray, in his " Travels." It will be seen that the Congos — the tribe to which 
 Joseph, the leader of the Armistad insurrection, belongs — are not very cele- 
 brated for their heroism or their bravery. Joseph, however, seems to be an 
 exception to the general rule. — Transcript. 
 
 "J. The Congo negroes from the neighborhood of the Gold coast. Of 
 these there are several tribes known among the slave dealers ; e. g. the Con- 
 go-reales, Congo-loaldo, Congo-mondongo, &c. Their general character is 
 lazy, mischievous, and apt to run away ; but lively in their amusements, as 
 music, dancing, &c ; very much given to lying, thieving, and all roguery. 
 2. Lucumi, also from the west coast of Africa; very proud and haughty; 
 they are brave, and are often known to commit suicide, under the irritation 
 
23 
 
 The following apostrophe from Herder on Man, may 
 not be inaptly introduced in favor of this position. 
 
 " Great Parent of nature ; with what trifles hast thou 
 connected the fate of the human species ! With a 
 change in the form of the head and brain, with a little 
 alteration in the structure of the organization and 
 nerves, effected by climate, descent and habit, the fate 
 of the world, the whole sum of what mankind do and 
 suffer throughout the earth, is also changed." 
 
 " Of the absolute or proportionate size of the brain," 
 in his Outlines on Phrenology, chap. iv. Doctor Spurz- 
 heim says, " a great number of natural philosophers, 
 convinced that the brain is the organ of the understand- 
 ing, have concluded that its functions must be propor- 
 tionate to its absolute size. More exact observations 
 
 of punishment or disgrace,* 3. Macau tribe : from the Mozambique coast ; 
 generally quiet, docile, and lazy; not very numerous in Cuba. 4. Caravali 
 tribe : from the western coast of Africa ; very industrious and avaricious ; 
 also choleric and hasty in temper. Most of the free negroes in the island 
 who are rich belong to this tribe. 5. Mina tribe : also from the west ; lazy 
 stupid, and of no marked character. 6. Gangas: also from the west; very 
 mild and docile, but lazy. The greatest number of the Cuban slaves are 
 from this nation. 7. Avara : also from the west ; of no peculiar character. 
 8. Mandinga : from the western side ; general character, quiet, obedient, and 
 honest." 
 
 * In another part of his work, Mr. M. gives the following 1 instance of the proud disposition 
 of the people of this tribe : " While I was yet Mr. l). ; s guest, a messenger arrived from 
 his "ingenio" to announce to him that one of his negroes had hanged himself: on inquiry 
 he proved to be a young man of the Lucumi tribe. He had not been in the island above 
 nine or ten months, and had never been punished, nor had he complained of any ill-treat- 
 ment. He committed this suicide under the circumstances which Mr. D. informs me usually 
 accompany such an action among the negroes : he asked for his new suit of clothes which 
 happened to be due to him at this time, and put them on; he then took his pig, his " ma- 
 chete," (a kind of bill-hook with which they cut sugar-cane, wood, &c.) and whatever 
 little moveable property he possessed, and gathering it all in a heap under a tree hunp- 
 himself over it, This is, doubtless, owing to a superstition prevalent in his tribe, that in the 
 world to which he was going, such articles would be useful to him. I have before noticed a 
 belief, very similar to this, as common among some of the North American Indians. 
 
24 
 
 however, show the conclusion to be erroneous. The 
 ox has more brain than the dog, and the elephant 
 than man, &c. It is indeed impossible, in animals of 
 different species, and even in various individuals of the 
 same species, to estimate innate mental dispositions by 
 the absolute size of the brain in general, or of its parts 
 in particular ; because the size of the cerebral organs is 
 not the only condition to (of) the greater or less ener- 
 gy of their functions. 
 
 "Others, therefore, endeavored to show that the 
 powers of the mind are indicated by the proportionate 
 volume to the size of the body. Experience, however, 
 proves that this mode of measurement is also inexact." 
 * # * * "In mankind, it may be well to add, that 
 middle sized persons have commonly the largest brains." 
 
 The learned and talented physician, Broussais, en- 
 tertains a similar opinion. In speaking of large heads, 
 in his lectures on phrenology, he observes, " When 
 several organs, tending to produce some great effect, 
 co-exist in the same individual, and are endowed with 
 a sufficient activity, he becomes a being of a superior 
 order, and a blessing to mankind ; though his head be 
 a few inches less voluminous than those of several other 
 men, his superiority manifests itself, and is obeyed." 
 
 In entertaining and promulgating opinions in accord- 
 ance with those of the above gentlemen, I was consid- 
 ered to be opposed to phrenology ; and because, it is 
 the prevailing belief of the citizens of Boston that the 
 perfection of the intellect depends on the size of the 
 head. The opinion of Dr. Spurzheim on this subject, 
 or that of Dr. Gall, was not known to me till after the 
 arrival of the former gentleman in this city. 
 
 In Gall's works, vol. 2d, p. 183, edited by Nahum 
 
25 
 
 Capen, Esq., " the absolute volume of the brain, com- 
 pared with its functions, is discussed/ ■■ 
 
 " If it be admitted/' says the celebrated Dr. Gall, 
 " that the brain is the organ of the mind, the conclusion, 
 that its functions must have a direct relation with this 
 volume, is perfectly natural. A much larger cerebral 
 mass has been found in man than in the largest of our 
 domestic animals, for example, the ox, and horse ; and, 
 without more accurate researches in the animal king- 
 dom, the prominent qualities of man were attributed to 
 his greater cerebral mass ; the world maintained, gen- 
 erally, with Aristotle, Erasistratus, Pliny and Galen, that 
 of all animals, man had the most considerable mass of 
 brain ; an opinion which has been embraced by some 
 moderns. " 
 
 "At a later period it was found, that the cerebral 
 mass of the elephant, and several of the cetaceous order, 
 was more considerable than that of man. This circum- 
 stance would naturally embarrass the partisans of the 
 opinion to which we have just referred. In vain shall 
 we extol the faculties of the elephant, and constitute 
 the whale king over the marine inhabitants ; we shall 
 scarcely be authorized to attribute to them those quali- 
 ties which form the pride of man. It became necessary, 
 therefore, to renounce the opinion, that the intellectual 
 faculties were to be estimated by the absolute mass of 
 the brain." 
 
 " We see, moreover, that, by means of an extremely 
 small cerebral mass, nature can produce the most won- 
 derful effects ; instances of this are the ant and the 
 bee ; who has not observed their domestic economy, 
 local memory, mechanical activity, their anger, the re- 
 venge which they inflict in a body, their careful educa- 
 4 
 
26 
 
 tion of the young, the harmony which reigns in a hive, 
 or ant-hill?" " Who will venture to say, that nature 
 is deficient in the brain of the minutest insect, and that 
 she has exhausted her resources in the brain of the 
 whale ?" 
 
 " If the mass were to be considered, if its integrant 
 parts were not to be regarded as elements in the calcu- 
 lation, the only difference between animals possessing 
 a large cerebral mass, and those having a small brain, 
 would be a greater or less intensity in the exercise of 
 the intellectual faculties. The qualities peculiar to 
 each species cannot be explained by the mere mass of 
 the brain. The individuals of one species live solitary, 
 those of another form societies ; in some, the males and 
 females live in a state of marriage ; in others, no lasting 
 union exists between the sexes. One kind of animal 
 takes the greatest care of its offspring ; another aban- 
 dons them : some animals build habitations ; others 
 migrate ; others sing, &c. Can all these different in- 
 stincts be explained by the magnitude of the cerebral 
 mass 1 It is then idle, to seek, in the absolute mass of the 
 brain, for a scale by which to measure the instincts, propen- 
 sities and faculties." 
 
 In the American Phrenological Journal and Miscel- 
 lany, August 1, 1839, article 1st, Thoughts on the most 
 effective condition of the Brain or the organ of the mind, 
 and on the modes of obtaining it, by Dr. Caldwell, M. D., 
 is found the Professor's views on the subject. 
 
 " By the foes of phrenology, its advocates are charged 
 with an attempt to maintain, as one of their settled and 
 fundamental tenets, that the size of the human brain is 
 alone a correct measure of the amount and strength of 
 the human intellect. In more definite language, that 
 
27 
 
 as are the dimensions of the contents of the cranium, so 
 are, and must be, the mental compass, power, and ac- 
 tion of the individual to whom they belong. 
 
 " From whatever cause or motive it may arise, this 
 is a casual mistake, or an intentional misrepresentation, 
 which might be well called disreputable, not to charac- 
 terize it by a more condemnatory epithet. Phrenolo- 
 gists, as their writings and teachings abundantly prove, 
 do not represent size alone as the exclusive measure of 
 the power and excellence of the human brain. " 
 
 These extracts have been made for two reasons; 1st, 
 because, entertaining and promulgating opinions in ac- 
 cordance with those of the above gentlemen, as will 
 appear in the sequel, I was considered to be opposed 
 to phrenology ; and 2d, because it is the prevalent be- 
 lief of the citizens of Boston, that the perfection of the 
 intellect depends on the size of the brain. On this 
 subject, the opinion of Drs. Spurzheim, Gall, Broussais 
 and Caldwell were unknown to me, until after the arri- 
 val of the former in this city. 
 
 In an Essay on the Ganglionary System of Nerves in 
 the Cavity of the Cranium, and its Use, by William In- 
 galls,* M. D Boston, (Marsh, Capen and Lyon,) are to 
 be found the following passages : 
 
 § I. — " The energy of the brain and the due perform- 
 ance of its functions, as it has been supposed, do not 
 depend — wholly — on its volume, nor the size of its 
 convolutions. " 
 
 § II. — " As in other viscera, the perfect organization 
 of the brain is undoubtedly a condition essential to the 
 performance of its functions with exactitude and ener- 
 
 # The author of this Lecture. 
 
28 
 
 gy; for, a malconformation, or some defect in its minute 
 structure, not cognizable by the senses, may render the 
 viscus unsusceptible of impressions, necessary to its 
 vigorous and healthy action." 
 
 § III. — " From the following post-mortem examina- 
 tions it may be inferred, the size of the brain, the 
 number, depth and thickness of the convolutions, are 
 merely conditions, but, perhaps, necessary conditions, 
 in the production of thought, and the propensities to 
 which man is subject." 
 
 Case 1.— "In this case, the person was subject to 
 frequent, and great mental excitations. The brain was 
 of extraordinary dimensions, and all its parts were un- 
 commonly developed : the convolutions were large, 
 distinct and numerous." 
 
 Case 2. — " Was the dissection of the brain of a person 
 who sustained the reputation of possessing fine intellec- 
 tual powers, and who had practised law with reputation 
 and success. The brain was small ; the convolutions 
 were diminutive, comparatively indistinct, and appa- 
 rently more numerous than usual." 
 
 Case 3. — " Was the dissection of the brain of an idiot, 
 of a very diminutive stature. In this subject, the ca- 
 pacity of the cranium in proportion to the size of the 
 body, was exceedingly small ; the cerebrine convolu- 
 tions were few in number, but very large and uncom- 
 monly distinct. This idiot was wholly destitute of 
 understanding, and devoid of every propensity, good or 
 bad." 
 
 Case 4. — " Was the brain of a man possessing a de- 
 gree of intellect, but was so much of an idiot, he was 
 incapable of providing for his physical wants ; and, on 
 this account, he was placed under the superintendence 
 
29 
 
 of a brother. The brain was large, and all its parts 
 fully developed." 
 
 " In this individual, the intellect remained unimpaired 
 till he arrived at the age of nine years, when, after a 
 severe fever, ensued, the mental imbecility, which con- 
 tinued through life. Several analogous cases occurred 
 in the same family." 
 
 The mental faculties maybe divided into two orders; 
 " the feelings and the intellectual faculties." Belong- 
 ing to the first order are two genera : — the 1st, com- 
 prises " propensities common to man with the lower 
 animals;" — the 2d, " sentiments common to man and 
 the lower animals;" and " sentiments proper to man;" 
 the first is situated in the lower, lateral and posterior 
 part of the head ; the second in the superior, lateral 
 and occipital region. Belonging to the second order, 
 are four genera; 1st, — "the external senses;" — 2d, 
 the " knowing faculties which perceive the existence and 
 qualities of external objects ;" — 3d, the " knowing fac- 
 ulties which perceive the relations of external objects ;" 
 — 4th, the " reflective faculties, which compare, judge, 
 and discriminate :"* — the three last genera are situated 
 chiefly in the frontal region. 
 
 In the superior part of the forehead, on each side of 
 the mesial line are situated two organs, which have re- 
 ceived the appellation of the organs of comparison and 
 causality, which are the seat of the reflective faculties. 
 Dependent on these are the operations of the various 
 affections of the understanding, namely conscientious- 
 ness, memory, reason, judgment, motives and freedom 
 
 # I have adopted the classification of Mr. George Combe. 
 
30 
 
 of the will. All the combinations of these affections in 
 the last result may be resolved into intuition. 
 
 The manifestations of the freedom of the will, are 
 very different from the promptings of instinct. The 
 sphere of action of the latter is very limited, while that 
 of the former is unbounded. The one is confined to 
 the objects of sense, the other is not necessarily con- 
 trolled by extraneous influences. The power of re- 
 ducing the impulses of instinct into subjection, and con- 
 forming to the dictates of conscience and reason, is a 
 property of the will pertaining exclusively to man. 
 Animals of the lower order are instigated to action 
 solely by their appetites, passions, and involuntary ef- 
 forts, arising from the instinctive apprehension of danger. 
 
 The will is the faculty, by which we are capacitated 
 to submit or refuse to be governed in our conduct by 
 adventitious circumstances. This position may be elu- 
 cidated by analyzing the operations of the general laws 
 by which the universe is governed in producing the 
 effect of a special providence. 
 
 A gentleman living in a village owes a person in a 
 distant hamlet, a sum of money, which he is prepared to 
 pay. Accordingly he sets apart a particular day to 
 visit his creditor, and pay him the amount due. A per- 
 son, hearing of his intention, resolved to waylay him in 
 a wood which was on the road, for the purpose of rob- 
 bing him. The gentleman set out with the view of ful- 
 filling the object of his visit. When on his way, just 
 before he arrived at the wood, where the robber was 
 concealed, a thunder-storm arose which determined him 
 to take shelter in a farm-house near by. The robber 
 having waited a long while after the time appointed for 
 the gentleman to pass had elapsed, abandoned his pro- 
 
31 
 
 ject. After the storm subsided the gentleman accom- 
 plished his object without molestation. 
 
 Hence, actuated by conscientiousness, it did not 
 require much reasoning nor exercise of judgment to 
 determine the gentleman in the choice of measures, 
 or in willing to do an act of justice. Notwithstand- 
 ing the storm alluded to induced him to seek shell er 
 in the farm-house, his will was free to pursue his jour- 
 ney, or to return, or remain stationary. In resolving to 
 rob the gentleman, in selecting the place of conceal- 
 ment, and in the relinquishing his design, the conduct 
 of the robber — in whom undoubtedly existed acquisi- 
 tiveness with its auxiliary organs, secretiveness and 
 combativeness — was influenced by so many acts of the 
 will. But to return : 
 
 Religion is the peculiar characteristic of humanity, 
 the capacity of a knowledge of the Supreme Being, and 
 rendering him homage, is the prerogative of man. No 
 other animal is capable of improvement in the social 
 state, acquisition in the arts and sciences, or holding 
 communion with the Infinite. Though the lower ani- 
 mals possess some propensities and sentiments in com- 
 mon with man, they are not susceptible of religious 
 impressions, nor feeling the influence of moral restraint ; 
 but conscience and freedom of the will are faculties pe- 
 culiar to man, and constitute him a free and moral agent. 
 Hence it is the duty of the latter to obey the command- 
 ments of God, and conform to the precepts of morality; 
 while, destitute of the capacity of distinguishing between 
 good and evil, and devoid of the sense of moral obliga- 
 tion, animals are not amenable to divine or human laws. 
 
 God is incomprehensible, and necessarily so ; as it 
 is impossible for a finite to comprehend an infinite be- 
 
32 
 
 ing, or entertain an adequate idea of the nature, the 
 eternity or the perfections of the Supreme Intelligence.* 
 " My thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither are 
 your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the 
 heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways 
 higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your 
 thoughts." 
 
 There is bat one only living true God. Infinite, all- 
 powerful, self-existent. He is prior and superior to all 
 other beings. These attributes are inalienable. No 
 person, then, can be equal to him either in substance 
 or power, or glory. — Two infinite beings cannot exist at 
 the same time. 
 
 In my apprehension, all the attributes of the Deity 
 are deducible from supreme intelligence ; the basis or 
 source of which is altogether inexplicable. It is also 
 in vain we attempt to affix a definite idea to essence, 
 spirit, entity or immateriality. Whatever notions we 
 entertain of these subjects are necessarily inferential. 
 The arguments adduced by Cousin, that a positive 
 knowledge of God may be acquired, is in my opinion 
 more ingenious than convincing. 
 
 The term substance is, perhaps, inapplicable to the 
 divine nature, as its etymology implies subordination ; 
 
 # In the newspapers, there have been recently some amusing attempts to 
 limit the duration of eternity and the extent of infinity — subjects far above 
 human comprehension — by mathematical theorems. In our present state of 
 existence, the mind is conscious of past and future time ; it follows, then, as 
 there is neither beginning nor end of time, there must be a retrospective 
 and a prospective eternity; which inference may be demonstrated to be as 
 correct by calculation, as a self-evident proposition ; — arithmetic being found- 
 ed entirely on supposition. On assumed data, also, the existence of as 
 many infinities as there are mathematical points in the periphery of a circle 
 whose diameter is infinite, may be demonstrated. 
 
33 
 
 it may with far more propriety be applied to the soul, 
 it being the production of creative power. Further, 
 substance has reference to the body as well as the soul. 
 Hence we are apt to fancy the soul in the future state 
 represents, but in a faint or almost imperceptible man- 
 ner, the form and image of the body previous to disso- 
 lution. But as God is only known by the manifesta- 
 tions of his attributes, the possibility of his possessing, 
 even in imagination, the similitude of material or imma- 
 terial substance, can by no means be admitted. 
 
 In this place, it may not be improper to advert to an 
 objection to phrenology, which is, that our knowledge 
 of religion is already sufficient, and to attempt to get a 
 clear view of God's providence, his relation to man, 
 and the connection of the soul with the body, amounts 
 almost to profanation. As if, by investigating the laws 
 of universal nature, it be within the grasp of the human 
 mind to trace effects to causes, till we arrive at the first 
 cause of all things, and in point of knowledge become 
 equal with God ; vain attempt ! In intelligence, the 
 highest archangel is, and ever will be at an infinite dis- 
 tance from the all-wise God. This objection to phren- 
 ology, and the bigotry which induced the Kalif Omar 
 to give to his general Amrou the order to destroy the 
 Alexandrian library are similar in principle, and in 
 their tendency to check the career of knowledge.* 
 
 * The above sentiment is much more elegantly and forcibly expressed in 
 the following extract from " Practical Observations upon the Education of 
 the People," by Lord Brougham : 
 
 " Happily the time is past and gone when bigots could persuade mankind 
 that the lights of* philosophy were to be extinguished as dangerous to reli- 
 gion ; and when tyrants could proscribe the instructers of the people as en- 
 emies to their power. It is preposterous to imagine that the enlargement 
 
34 
 
 By means of the Aristotelian art, Xenophanes under- 
 took to prove the eternity and self-existence of God ; 
 and maintained his ground with great ability and inge- 
 nuity ; but the attempt to render a subject that is far 
 above the comprehension of the most exalted minds 
 clear and conclusive by metaphysical subtilty, or syllo- 
 gistic reasoning, must from its very nature be ineffec- 
 tual and unsatisfactory. Truth is intuitive. There is 
 no direct process of reasoning by which truth can be 
 proved ; but when by the dissipation of the mists of 
 error by which it is obscured, it be clearly seen, the 
 mind becomes instantaneously and immediately con- 
 vinced not only of its existence, but its nature and 
 essential quality. The God of truth, however, is 
 placed at such an immeasurable distance, the finite 
 mind will never arrive at a full vision of his perfection 
 and glory. 
 
 Prior to the christian era, there were numerous sects 
 of philosophers ; men of lofty genius, extensive learn- 
 ing, indefatigable in study, and permitting no obstacle 
 to deter them from the acquisition of knowledge ; who 
 
 of our acquaintance with the laws which regulate the universe, can dispose 
 to unhelief. It may be a cure for superstition — for intolerance it will be the 
 most certain cure ; but a pure and true religion has nothing to fear from the 
 greatest expansion which the understanding can receive by the study either 
 of matter or of mind. The more widely science is diffused, the better will 
 the Author of all things be known, and the less will the people be " tossed 
 to and fro by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie 
 in wait to deceive." To tyrants, indeed, and bad rulers, the progress of 
 knowledge among the mass of mankind, is a great object of terror : it is 
 fatal to them and their designs : they know this by unerring instinct, and 
 unceasingly they dread the light. But they will find it more easy to curse 
 than to extinguish. It is spreading in spite of them, even in those countries 
 where arbitrary power deems itself most secure ; and in England, any at- 
 tempt to check its progress would only bring about the sudden destruction 
 of him who should be insane enough to make it," 
 
35 
 
 treated of the nature of the gods ; the immortality of 
 the soul ; metempsychosis ; the apotheosis of heroes 
 and benefactors of mankind ; the existence of good 
 and evil spirits ; pantheism ; theodicy ; theurgy ; and 
 such other subjects as their fancy might suggest, or 
 their judgment approve. Among the most conspicuous 
 were Zoroaster, Thales, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, 
 Aristotle, Diogenes, Zeno and Epicurus, who founded 
 schools, in which were taught their theories of philos- 
 ophy and their systems of ethics. 
 
 At the present day, it is almost incredible, the 
 length of time these philosophers devoted to their 
 studies, as well as the time they consumed in visiting 
 various and distant countries for the purpose of being 
 instructed in esoteric doctrines of philosophy, and initi- 
 ated in the mysteries of priesthood. Pythagoras, it is 
 said, visited Babylon, Persia and Hindostan before his 
 return. In this way, without doubt, they imbibed many 
 theories and principles, which were incorporated in 
 their systems of philosophy. 
 
 The several systems maintained their ground, until 
 they were supplanted by the eclectic philosophy, which 
 originated in Alexandria, the great literary emporium, 
 and the great mart of the Eastern continent. This city, 
 having free and uninterrupted intercourse with the in- 
 habitants of Asia, Africa and Europe, afforded facilities 
 favorable for the attainment of the prevalent doctrines 
 of the Eastern and Western philosophy. No particular 
 system having obtained the preeminence, recourse was 
 had to the demolition of the fabrics, which had been 
 erected with unwearied labor by men possessing genius, 
 learning, wisdom, unsurpassed in any age ; and the es- 
 tablishment of the eclectic philosophy on its ruins. 
 
36 
 
 This innovation, so far from being attended with benefi- 
 cial results, led to the abandonment of the usual, and, 
 perhaps, correct ratiocination ; the introduction of phi- 
 losophism ; depravity of manners and morals ; and the 
 dereliction of a due sense of Divine superintendence. 
 Thus, the ligaments which bind society together were 
 loosened ; and the people, not feeling the restraining 
 influence of moral and religious duty, became licentious 
 and dissolute ; addicted to excessive indulgence of the 
 passions and appetites, and, deluded by the necroman- 
 cy, incantation and divination of sorcerers, false prophets 
 and false Messiahs, were induced to believe, these pow- 
 ers were derived from a divine source ; and, of course, 
 these impostors had a right to demand acquiescence in 
 their impositions, and compliance with such exactions 
 as they might see fit to impose. "There were, also, 
 many gods, celestial, terrestial and infernal ; superior 
 and inferior ; who were adored as independent gods, or 
 intermediate beings, appointed to authority, in distinct 
 departments, by their supreme deity ; and mediators in 
 some sense between him and mankind." * The suprem- 
 acy of the one only and true God was not acknowl- 
 edged ; the mind wandering and benighted had no dis- 
 tinct conception of piety toward God, nor duty towards 
 man ; moral darkness and religious gloom assumed 
 daily a deeper shade. At this juncture, there appeared 
 a small, mild but inextinguishable light ; " the true light 
 that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." 
 
 The Messiah referred to by St. John, is not only the 
 true light, but from his own declaration he is the " way, 
 the truth and the life ; no man cometh unto the Father 
 
 # Scott's Notes on the Bible, 
 
37 
 
 but by him." "As many as received him (the true 
 light) to them gave he power (the right and privilege) 
 to become the sons of God." * "As many as are led 
 by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. The 
 spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are 
 the children of God, and if children, then heirs and joint 
 heirs with Christ." | Thus it seems we are not only 
 elevated to the dignity of the sons of God, but the in- 
 estimable privilege of being joint heirs with Christ. If 
 we are the sons of God and joint heirs with Christ, we 
 are entitled to all the privileges and immunities of the 
 latter. 
 
 The great design of the ministry of the Messiah was, 
 and indeed now is, not only to detach man from the 
 worship of idols ; the commission of crime ; and the 
 indulgence of the passions, to which they were incited 
 by the genial influence of the climate, and the frequent 
 repetition of sensual gratifications ; but in accordance 
 with his divine example, to make the Deity the supreme 
 object of adoration, and his attributes the subject of 
 our meditation ; as the certain means of exalting the 
 affections, and purifying the heart. To avoid, there- 
 fore, the seductions of metaphysical philosophy, and 
 shun the delusions of false prophets, on the one hand ; 
 and, on the other, to make the doctrines of the gospel 
 the guide in temporal and spiritual concerns ; constitute 
 the palingenesia required and insisted upon with so 
 much earnestness to be essential for us to become by 
 adoption the sons of God. 
 
 In the first epistle to the Corinthians, the subordina- 
 tion of the Messiah is unequivocally expressed : " when 
 
 * St. John. f St. Paul. 
 
38 
 
 all things," says St. Paul, " shall be subdued unto him, 
 then shall the son be subject unto him that put all 
 things under him, that God may be all in all." Beside, 
 his addressing the Deity as his father, and his acknowl- 
 edging the relation to him, as son, show, the Messiah 
 lays no claim to divine perfection, nor to his being 
 competent to assume and exercise the underived attri- 
 butes of the Supreme Being. Hence it follows, the 
 meek and lowly Jesus aspired to no exclusive privi- 
 leges ; nor aimed to attain a station more exalted than 
 might fall to the lot of every man who should worship 
 God in spirit and truth. 
 
 Because the Messiah virtually disclaims the title and 
 prerogative of the Sovereign of the Universe, is the 
 religion pure and undefined which cometh down from 
 heaven, and is so easily understood that he that runs 
 may read, to be rejected — is the divine system of mor- 
 ality contained in the scriptures to be disregarded — are 
 his consolations which are neither few nor small to be 
 withheld ? By no means. The truth as promulgated 
 by the ministry of the Messiah is self-evident, and from 
 its rapid progress, and extensive propagation, it amounts 
 almost to demonstration, its prevalence will become 
 ultimately universal. 
 
 With regard to religion, the sects may be resolved 
 into three grand divisions, christians, mohammedans, 
 and pagans, the number that has embraced Christianity 
 is two hundred and fifty millions, while that of moham- 
 medans and pagans is two hundred millions each. Such 
 is the silent, progressive and efficient influence of the 
 doctrines of the Prince of Peace, the christians exceed 
 in number both of the other denominations fifty mil- 
 
39 
 
 lions,* and the continual addition of converts to the 
 cross is an irrefragable demonstration of the potency of 
 truth ; which will undoubtedly continue to go forth 
 conquering and to conquer, until the errors of pagan 
 idolatry, Jewish bigotry, popish superstition, moham- 
 medan delusion, christian intolerance and sectarian- 
 ism — the great obstacles to its progress — be exposed 
 and exterminated. 
 
 At the first glance, the following text seems to mili- 
 tate with the subordination of the Messiah : " who, as 
 St. Paul says, " being in the image of God, thought it 
 not robbery to be equal with God." In its limited 
 sense, this sentence may be of similar import with the 
 one in the sermon on the mount ; " be ye perfect, even 
 as your Father in heaven is perfect/' and, therefore, is 
 not repugnant to the christian religion ; but taken in 
 its most comprehensive signification it involves the doc- 
 trine of emanation, a doctrine incompatible with the 
 existence of an immortal soul ; and, therefore, incon- 
 sistent with Christianity. According to this doctrine, 
 the emanation imparted to the human frame, and on 
 which, its believers think, life and the functions both 
 physical and mental depend, at death, returns to the 
 source whence it proceeded, with which it becomes 
 blended, and all consciousness of a prior and sepa- 
 rate existence is lost. If, therefore, the existence of 
 the Messiah were attributable to a direct emanation 
 from the Deity — if I may be allowed the absurdity of 
 reversing the definition of the term — the emanation 
 which gave activity to his corporeal powers and mental 
 
 -"Boodhism enchains the mind of more 
 than half of the human race." 
 
40 
 
 faculties when he departed this life, went back to the 
 boundless and unfathomable fountain, whence it issued ; 
 by which event, as the river returns and is lost in the 
 ocean, all distinction between him and God disappeared, 
 together with his personality and mediatorial office. It 
 is thought by the Gnostics, that to divine emanations or 
 eons (aeons) heroes and benefactors of mankind, are in- 
 debted for eminence and distinction. According to this 
 doctrine, it follows necessarily, that in the future state 
 individuality and accountability are made void ; man- 
 kind are irresponsible for the deeds done in the body ; 
 the existence of the soul impossible ; and annihilation 
 inevitable. 
 
 God and the holy spirit are co-existent ; conse- 
 quently, the influences of the divine attributes and the 
 operations of the Holy Spirit are identical. God and 
 the holy spirit are not distinct persons ; they are in- 
 separable in office and attributes. There is but one 
 Supreme Being ; " the Lord our God is but one Lord ;" 
 there is no necessity of having recourse to a triune God 
 to explain the precepts of Christianity. Christianity 
 has no need of being bolstered up by the devices of 
 human wisdom. The path of duty is plain, which is to 
 follow in the footsteps of the Savior of mankind, and to 
 obey the commandments, " to love the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart ; and with all thy soul, and with all 
 thy strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbor 
 as thyself." 
 
 To exercise our intellectual faculties in investigating 
 the phenomena of nature, the philosophy of the mind, 
 and, abstractly, the relation between God and man, 
 tends to exalt the understanding, and strengthen the 
 mind. However proper and salutary this exercise may 
 
41 
 
 be, so far from being productive of religion, it renders 
 the mind less susceptible of its influences. It leads to 
 refinements and subtle distinctions, repugnant to the 
 simplicity of the Gospel ; to metaphysical and theolog- 
 ical speculations and polemic divinity, which so over- 
 shadow the mind with doubt and distrust, as to render 
 the vision of evangelical truth confused and indistinct. 
 According to President Dwight, " the numerous here- 
 sies, which have disturbed the church, and visited man- 
 kind, have been, almost without exception, the offspring 
 of philosophy." 
 
 This, indeed, will be the effect of philosophy, until 
 its principles be fully developed and clearly defined. 
 To arrive at this desirable goal, is the aim of every 
 cultivated and well-regulated mind — but its progresses 
 retarded by an obstacle which is not easily surmounted. 
 Truth is seldom unalloyed. Every system hitherto 
 promulgated, has been blended with numerous errors. 
 Theory has been supplanted by theory. The time, 
 however, will come, when the clouds of error — by which 
 philosophical theories are surrounded and rendered ob- 
 scure — will be dispersed, and truth appear in all its 
 brightness and just proportions ; when " true philoso- 
 phy and true religion must ultimately arrive at the same 
 principle/' 
 
 As philosophy has not been reduced to fixed princi- 
 ples it may, in some measure, deserve the above cen- 
 sure of the Rev. Doctor. Heresy, however, is un- 
 doubtedly, partly, ascribable to the formation of churches 
 distinguished by different creeds, which cannot bear the 
 test of philosophic scrutiny ; partly, to their retaining, 
 even in this enlightened age, the spirit of authority, 
 which was almost universally exerted over the mind, 
 6 
 
42 
 
 during the prevalence and ascendency of Eclecticism 
 or New Platonism, which formed the great obstacle to 
 the introduction of Christianity ; and, partly, to the 
 authority of the several churches by which each mem- 
 ber is bound to submit, and espouse their creed ; — 
 otherwise, he is denounced as an outcast ; or, if he 
 embrace the tenets of another persuasion, he is stigma- 
 tized as a heretic. Sectarianism in religion as well as 
 diversity of opinions in philosophy is, at the pres- 
 ent day, as repugnant to the simplicity of scriptural 
 doctrines and the acquisition of knowledge, human and 
 divine, as it was, of old, among the Jews ; — the absurd- 
 ity of which is exposed and reproved in the interesting 
 allegory of the good Samaritan. The religion taught 
 by the Messiah consists, not in the attainment of world- 
 ly authority, but in yielding implicit belief in the ex- 
 istence of God, as our Heavenly Father ; the wisdom 
 of providence ; and the necessity of a strict observance 
 of the precepts of morality, as embodied in the gospel. 
 During the middle ages, the mind was shackled by 
 authority. " Politics, morality, religion, literature and 
 the sciences," were subjected to certain established 
 dogmas, a deviation from which was denounced as he- 
 retical. But from the revival of letters, " the spirit of 
 authority" was gradually undermined, and eventually 
 overthrown by the spirit of independence. For specu- 
 lation were substituted experience and observation. 
 Bacon and Descartes led the way ; — but it was reserved 
 for the genius of Locke to liberate the mind from scho- 
 lastic thraldom. This great metaphysician considered, 
 our ideas were derived from sensation and reflection ; 
 and preserved the distinction between these two sources 
 of knowledge with great care ; but by a perversion of 
 
43 
 
 his theory, his followers reduced them to sensation 
 alone ; — which by a necessary gradation leads to mate- 
 rialism, atheism and nihilism. The theory of Dugald 
 Stewart and other Scotch metaphysicians is, that our 
 ideas are derived mainly from judgments which we in- 
 tuitively form of the objects of contemplation, rather than 
 from " transformed sensations." Cousin and other French 
 metaphysicians are assiduously engaged in establishing 
 a system of psychology on this basis. The school to 
 which these belong is denominated the spiritual ; the 
 one of which Locke is the founder the sensual. Of the 
 tendency of the latter, and its perversion by his follow- 
 ers we have already spoken. The exaggeration of the 
 doctrines of Cousin, and the neglect of giving due 
 weight to the knowledge to be obtained through the 
 medium of the senses, tend to pantheism and, conse- 
 quently, the subversion of Christianity. 
 
 From these premises, it follows, sectarianism and 
 discordant opinions in philosophy, are great impedi- 
 ments to the progress of evangelical truth. 
 
 Man is endued with a soul possessing faculties with 
 which he is able not only to receive impressions from 
 the external world, and to originate ideas without the 
 instrumentality of the senses ; but to hold communion 
 with the Divinity. 
 
 The soul is an immaterial and intelligent substance. 
 The reflective faculties, when brought into a state of 
 action, are merely the manifestations of the soul, and 
 its mode of action on the human body. Notwithstand- 
 ing the soul resides chiefly in the reflective organs, it 
 is capable of controlling the sentiments and propensi- 
 ties, and exerting an influence throughout the rest of 
 the system. The organs in the basilar region we 
 
44 
 
 possess in common with the brute creation. From 
 the perceptive and reflective organs man derives 
 the power of perceiving an illimitable number of 
 external objects, and the capacity of knowing his 
 thoughts. Deficient in these respects, animals are 
 confined to the perception of a few surrounding ob- 
 jects, and to the influence of a few instinctive propen- 
 sities, essential to the preservation and continuance of 
 their kind ; and, further, their intellectual powers, if, 
 indeed, they possess any, are very partially developed, 
 and, in a very slight degree, impart additional activity 
 to the various instincts of the several species. Thus, 
 the actions of. animals being determined chiefly by nat- 
 ural impulse or propensity, their capacity for the acqui- 
 sition of knowledge is extremely problematical ; but 
 man, beside possessing the instinctive sagacity of ani- 
 mals, has the power of contemplating the wide range 
 of nature ; and exploring the spiritual, and, of course, 
 the invisible world. 
 
 Gall, in the location of the mental organs, adopted 
 strictly the method of Bacon and Descartes — observa- 
 tion and experience. His positions relative to phren- 
 ology were the result of the most rigorous induction. 
 
 The consciousness and reason of philosophers, the 
 inward man of the New Testament, the I of Descartes, 
 the inner man of the Friends, the subjective certainty 
 of Watts, the reflection of Locke, the intuition of Du- 
 gald Stewart, the moi of the French psychologists, the 
 spontaneity of Cousin, designate the same operation of 
 the soul. Among the above synonyms is the French 
 term — moi, translated by Ripley, author of Foreign Lite- 
 rature — me. (Those who would wish to become con- 
 versant with psychology, by the perusal of his defini- 
 
45 
 
 tion relative to the me, would find himself richly re- 
 paid.) The me is the consciousness of our identity, 
 the power of abstraction, and the ability of discerning 
 and appreciating goodness, beauty and truth. The 
 agency of the me or inner light in conducting us to the 
 knowledge of the Deity, as well as the principles of 
 true philosophy, is most ably illustrated in the contrast 
 between the work of Penn and of Locke. # The same 
 writer has translated the French term — non moi — not 
 me. The not me refers to ideas we receive through 
 the medium of the senses. 
 
 By the me and not me we are not only capacitated 
 to derive knowledge from the impressions of sensible 
 objects ; but from thoughts unincumbered by the intru- 
 sion of ideas arising from the material world. By the 
 me we have it in our power to call home our thoughts, 
 and shut out the world : this we do whenever we are 
 engaged in profound meditation. The me and not me 
 are elegantly alluded to in the following quotation : 
 " The scholar who is accustomed to the pursuits of ab- 
 stract philosophy, lives in a region of thought far dif- 
 ferent from that by which he is surrounded." * The 
 me, or inner light, has relation to a power (soul) differ- 
 ent from the body ; but which is capable of exerting 
 an influence on the encephalon so as to give activity 
 and efficiency to the intellectual organs ; the not me 
 embraces the knowledge derived from material objects 
 through the medium of the senses ; but no impression 
 from without or within can take effect when conscious- 
 ness is absent, for this is the connecting bond or tele- 
 graph between the body and soul, by which intelligence 
 between them is maintained. 
 
 * History of the United States, by George Bancroft. 
 
46 
 
 With regard to the materiality of the soul, the opin- 
 ion of President Dwight is, " thoughts cannot be super- 
 added to matter so as in any sense to render it true that 
 matter can be cogitative." The President, it seems, 
 indirectly concedes the point, that thoughts are con- 
 nected with matter, and, T believe, this is all that 
 phrenologists claim ; our position is, that matter does 
 not think ; but that certain organs are essential to the 
 manifestation of the mental faculties ; so that when an 
 organ is deficient, the faculty peculiar to it cannot be 
 called into action. 
 
 Moral perfection consists in the well poised faculties 
 of the mind ; in conforming to the dictates of unbiassed 
 reason ; in a due subjection of the propensities ; and 
 the perfect regulation of the sentiments. No endow- 
 ment of the mind in the state of innocence had the pre- 
 ponderance ; each performed its function in harmony 
 with the rest. This was exemplified before the fall in 
 the person of Adam ; " the glory of whose mind, then, 
 was, its freedom from every false bias ; it. had no beset- 
 ting sin, no warp to injure it." But with the first 
 transgression, the empire of the mind was shaken to its 
 foundation ; the sentiments and passions revolted ; and 
 notwithstanding the combined efforts of reason and 
 will to reduce them to subjection, they often proved 
 abortive ; so that the mental faculties no longer retain- 
 ing their equipoise ; — the propensities, sentiments, and 
 reflective faculties, affording every gradation of exces- 
 sive and defective energy, may account for diversity of 
 talent, the great number and variety of crimes, and 
 their dependence on the disproportionate dimensions 
 and activity of the mental organs. 
 
 Adam lived nine hundred years, which afforded am- 
 
47 
 
 pie time for a change in the cranium and brain to have 
 taken place ; if it were not so, it is evident, it must 
 have happened in the encephalon of Cain — his first born 
 son — the organ of destructiveness was inordinately de- 
 veloped. 
 
 It affords me singular satisfaction to find my opin- 
 ion, that the conformation of the head may be alter- 
 ed, and the mind become degenerate, by the irreg- 
 ular excitations of the several mental organs, is corrob- 
 orated by Baron Swedenborg, the author of the system 
 of doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church, in the fol- 
 lowing extract ; which must be peculiarly interesting 
 to the reader, as is every other product of the pen of 
 this illustrious personage. " Every man that is born 
 has a disposition to all sorts of evil, which must be 
 checked by education, and as far as is possible rooted 
 out, This is first to be attempted by correction and 
 punishment ; then by good society and example, which 
 lead to imitation ; and at last good is secured upon a 
 true and reasonable religious root. When these con- 
 ditions are all observed, it is indicated by the beautiful 
 skull of the individual. On the contrary, should the ed- 
 ucation be neglected, or no sudden misfortune, nor op- 
 position, hinder the first outbreakings of evil, or disor- 
 der, the evil afterwards becomes habit, and produces 
 peculiar wishes, both in design and practice, which 
 cause the formation of a badly shaped skull. The 
 cause of the difference of the skulls is this : The pe- 
 culiar distinctions of man, will and understanding, have 
 their seats in the brain, which is excited by the fleeting 
 desires of the will, and the ideas of the intellect. Near 
 the various spots where these irritations produce their 
 effects, this or that part of the brain is called into a 
 
48 
 
 greater or less degree of activity, and forms along with 
 itself corresponding parts of the skull" 
 
 From the concurrent testimony of painters, divines, 
 and ecclesiastic historians, it appears the configuration of 
 the head of the Messiah was perfect, and his features 
 regular and handsome. However this may be, he pos- 
 sessed the divinity that stirs within us, or the inner 
 light, or the me, in the highest degree, by which he 
 was endowed with the capacity of holding the most in- 
 timate communion with his Father in heaven, and by 
 the not me — which he also possessed in an eminent de- 
 gree — he had the clearest insight into human nature and 
 the operations of physical laws. 
 
 The Messiah was worthy of being the Vicegerent of 
 God, the founder of our religion, and the framer of the 
 perfect system of morality. His powers of mind were 
 equal to Adam's in the state of innocence ; all his fac- 
 ulties were accurately balanced ; the sentiments and 
 propensities were perfectly under the command of his 
 will ; no temptation, nor flattery, nor torment, could 
 overcome his firmness, or disturb his equanimity. The 
 most poignant suffering and gross indignity he bore 
 without a murmur. Nothing could induce him to 
 swerve from doing the work his Father gave him to 
 do. He maintained rectitude in morals and rever- 
 ence of God, from the commencement of his ministry 
 to the time when he bowed his head and gave up the 
 ghost. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 "The biography of a child may furnish much to "point a moral ," 
 though it may not serve to " adorn a tale ;" and there is in the simple 
 story of the past sufferings and present dreary isolation of Laura 
 Bridgman much to interest and instruct. 
 
 She was born of intelligent and respectable parents, in Hanover, N. 
 H. When a mere infant, she was subject to very painful and danger- 
 ous " fits," the nature of which do not seem to have been well under- 
 stood. Until twenty months old, though a pretty and interesting child, 
 she was weak and fragile — a breath would have blown out the flame ; 
 but at that age she began to rally ; her health seemed firmly establish- 
 ed ; her mental faculties rapidly developed themselves, and when she 
 attained her second year she was more intelligent and sprightly than 
 common children; she could already prattle some words, and had 
 mastered the difference between A and B. But in a month after, her 
 sky was again overcast ; she sickened and came near unto death ; the 
 disease, however, seemed to be baffled within, and to have fastened 
 upon the external organs of sense, and in five weeks it was perceived 
 that her sight and hearing were forever destroyed. During seven weeks 
 of pain and fever she tasted not a morsel of food ; for five months was 
 she obliged to be kept in a darkened room ; it was a year before she 
 could walk unsupported, and two years before she could sit up all day. 
 She was now four years old, and as her health and strength began to 
 be established, she learned to go about the house, and manifested a de- 
 sire to be employed ; not by her looks, for she was blind — not by 
 words, for she was dumb. She could, it is true, for a time pronounce 
 the few words she had before learned ; but not hearing the sound of 
 her own voice, she soon lost the command of her articulation — the 
 sound answered not to the thought — the will lost command of the 
 tongue — and the last articulate word she was ever heard to utter was 
 " book !" But she was not only deaf, and dumb, and blind, her isola- 
 
 7 
 
50 
 
 tion was still more complete — the sense of smell was so blunted as to 
 be entirely useless, and only affected by pungent odours ; of course, 
 half the pleasure of taste was gone, and she manifested indifference 
 about the flavor of food. 
 
 It would seem that in this total darkness — this dreary stillness — this 
 isolation from all communication with kindred spirits, the immaterial 
 mind must have remained in infantile imbecility, while the body grew in 
 stature and strength, or have attained a perception of its loneliness, 
 only to pine and die at the discovery. But not so ; every day she be- 
 came more active and more cheerful ; and she is now (as far as the 
 closest scrutiny can ascertain the state of her mind,) not only unre- 
 pining, but contented and happy. The sense of touch alone remains, 
 and the sight of this unfortunate girl fills one with admiration, not only 
 of the perfectibility of the senses, but of the wonderful power of the 
 mind to adapt its operations to any circumstances of its bodily tene- 
 ment — to put itself in relation with external things, and to obtain its 
 own stimuli and manifest its own emotions through the most imperfect 
 media. 
 
 There is the strongest evidence of a thirst for knowledge — of an in- 
 ternal, intellectual want which can be gratified only by a new idea. 
 Her greatest pleasure is to learn a new stitch — a new way of knitting 
 or braiding — a new word — or to discover the application and use of 
 any new thing ; and her eagerness to learn is only equalled by the 
 quickness of perception which she manifests. 
 
 There is strong hope that, if her life be spared, the patient and per- 
 severing efforts of the humane, aided by the ingenuity and councils of 
 the wise, will succeed in throwing much light into her dreary prison, 
 and be rewarded not only by the satisfaction of imparting happiness, 
 but by new views of the operations of mind." 
 

 
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