Phrenology Examined [pp. 267-277]

186]Prnlg rmnd 6
res from his pen, as he carelessly rounded those
s periods for the edification of his friend, Dr.
son. Whether true or false, Phrenology is
condemned by a fair interpretation of the lang e. Had he simply declared that the science
lcated false morals, it would have been another
er. But he says, "if" it be a baseless hypothit teaches wrong views of moral responsibility.
v, precisely the same ethics is taught by the
pothesis" which would be taught by the sci, if true. A certain set of facts, real or imary, constitute the system: upon these, phlregists reason in a particular way, and in the
same way would they reason, whether these
existed in nature, or only in their own fancy.
en Swedenborg entertained the twelve Disci, at dinner, in his own house, he no doubt playhe host exactly as he would have done, had
been bodily present. The creatures of his
heated brain were, for him, flesh and blood, to
ntents and purposes. So, the phrenological
rs, which Dr. Meigs so pungently disapproves,
Ild remain just as at present, were the science
ecome as fixed as Newton's theory, and he
Ild be bound by his logic to deprecate such suc; to mourn with suffering morality that the
em was true; to sanction the ridiculous heresy,
there are discoverable truths in nature, of
lsh mankind had b etter continue ignorant.
rofessor Flourens observes in his own preface,
ach succeeding ace has a philosophy of its own.
seventeenth century recovered from the phiphy of Descartes,-the eighteenth, from that
ocke and Condillac; is the nineteenth to recover
that of Gall? I frequently quote Descartes;
en go further; for I dedicate my work to his
tory. I am writing in opposition to a bad phiphy, while I am endeavoring to recall a sound
Heed her good promptings-muse and learn- e
And, haply, to thy toils return
With a clear heart and courage stern.
P. P. COOKE.
PHRENOLOGY EXAMINED. By P. FLOURENS, Member
of the French Academy, perpetual Secretary of
t h e Royal Academy of Sciences, ( Institute of
France,) &c., &c., "J'ai un sentiment clair d e
ma libert6." —Bossuet, Trait6 du l ibre arbitre.
Translated from the Second Edition of 1845, by
C h a r l e s De Lucena Meigs, M, D., Memb. Amer.
P h i l. Soc. etc., etc. Philadelphia: Ho gan &
Thompson. 1846.
"Professor Flourens," says the translator, in a
prefatory letter to Dr. James Jackson of Boston,
"by his writings on the brain and nervous system,
by his courses of lectures at the Jardin des Plantes, by numerous writings on various scientific
subjects, by his position in the Institute, has acquired a place among the literary and scientific
celebrities of the age. * * * He is one of the
best and most precise thinkers in Europe. * * *
A pulverizing blow is given in this work to so considerable an error, (i. e., to Phrenology.) * * *
In order to have a just view of human responsibility, it is indispensab le to entertain th e justest
notions of the nature of the human mind. If
Phrenology be an unsubstantial hypothesis, no phreinologist is fit to be a juror, a judge, or a legislator."
On this quotation, which we make for the instruction of our readers, as to the reputation and aims
of our author, we will offer but one remark, and
that to Dr. Meigs. We would most respectfully
suggest, that the last sentence contains thrice-wonderful doctrine, and must, assuredly, have run un
These, we think, are very strange expre ssio ns for
one of the " best and mos t precise thinker s in EuropP." Wba y nh ich Di s silthe soun d phil osophy that he endeavors to recall h The Cart esi an; and yet, he speaks
in the same brea th of the seventeenth entur y having recover ed from it, afte r th e very fashi on in
wh ich he would gladly s ee the nineteenth recover
from that of Gall. Moreover, if each succeeding
age must have a philosophy of its own-if all the
systems are idly traced in sand, w hy do es he quite
earnestly and dogmatically draw his own little diagram. The next wave of time will sweep it away.
Nay, why does he even try to revive the marks
which Descartes scribbled there, and over which
the obliterating tide of time has twice rolled.
The truth is, both our author and his translator
evidently entertain cloudy notions of what a science, or a philosophy really is, which must spread
confusion through all their reasonings on the subject. They cram the experiments of Gall, and the
fantastic speculations of Descartes, into the same
267
1846.]
Phrenology Examined.,
Bare is the gray peak where he stood
Again the blue sky seems to brood
Over a lovely solitude.
V.
Our life on earth is ftill of cares,
And ttie worn spirit oft despairs
Under the groaning load it bears.
When such dark moods will force their wayWhen the soul cowers beneath their sway,
Go forth as 1 have done to-day.
Boon Nature is a foe severe
To pallid brow and shadowy fear,
And lifts the fallen to valiant cheer.
Virginia.
PHRENOLOGY EXAMINED.
one.