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Organs

George Combe's A System of Phrenology, 5th edn, 2 vols. 1853.

Vol. 1: [front matter], Intro, N ervous system, Principles of Phrenology, Anatomy of the brain, Division of the faculties 1.Amativeness 2.Philoprogenitiveness 3.Concentrativeness 4.Adhesiveness 5.Combativeness 6.Destructiveness, Alimentiveness, Love of Life 7.Secretiveness 8.Acquisitiveness 9.Constructiveness 10.Self-Esteem 11.Love of Approbation 12.Cautiousness 13.Benevolence 14.Veneration 15.Firmness 16.Conscientiousness 17.Hope 18.Wonder 19.Ideality 20.Wit or Mirthfulness 21.Imitation.
Vol. 2: [front matter], External senses, 22.Individuality 23.Form 24.Size 25.Weight 26.Colouring 27.Locality 28.Number 29.Order 30.Eventuality 31.Time 32.Tune 33.Language 34.Comparison, General observations on the Perceptive Faculties, 35.Causality, Modes of actions of the faculties, National character & development of brain, On the importance of including development of brain as an element in statistical inquiries, Into the manifestations of the animal, moral, and intellectual faculties of man, Statistics of Insanity, Statistics of Crime, Comparative phrenology, Mesmeric phrenology, Objections to phrenology considered, Materialism, Effects of injuries of the brain, Conclusion, Appendices: No. I, II, III, IV, V, [Index], [Works of Combe].

PRINCIPLES

PHRENOLOGY.

IN the Introduction, I have shewn that the brain is admitted by physiologists in general to be the organ of the mind ; but that two obstacles have impeded the discovery of the uses of its particular parts. In the first place, dissection alone does not reveal the vital functions of any organ : no person, by dissecting the optic nerve, could find out that its office is to minister to vision; or, by dissecting the tongue, could ascertain that it is the organ of taste. Anatomists, therefore, could not, by the mere practice of their art, discover the functions of the different portions of the brain. Secondly, the mind is unconscious of acting by means of organs ; and hence, the material instruments by means of which, in this life, it performs its operations and communicates with the external world, cannot be discovered by reflection on consciousness.

The phrenologist compares development of brain with manifestations of mental power, for the purpose of discovering the functions of the brain, and the organs of the mind. This course is adopted, in consequence of the accidental discovery made by Dr Gall, as already detailed, that certain mental powers are vigorously manifested when certain portions of the brain are large, and feebly when they are small. It is free from the objections attending the anato-

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mical and metaphysical modes of research, and is conformable to the principles of the inductive philosophy.

No inquiry is instituted into the substance or essence of the mind, or into the question, Whether does the mind fashion the organs, or do the organs determine the constitution of the mind ? If dissection of organs does not reveal their functions, and if reflection on consciousness fails to disclose the nature of the mind's connection with matter, no means remain of arriving at philosophical conclusions on these points ;" and speculative reasoning concerning them, although it may amuse the fancy, cannot instruct the understanding. Mr Stewart justly observes, that " the metaphysical opinions -which we may happen to have formed concerning the nature either of body or of mind, and the efficient causes by which their phenomena are produced, have no necessary connection with our inquiries concerning the laws according to which the phenomena take place. . Whether, for example, the cause of gravitation be material or immaterial, is a point about which two Newtonians may differ, while they agree perfectly in their physical opinions. It is sufficient if both admit the general fact, that bodies tend to approach- each other, with a force varying with their mutual distance, according to a certain law. In like manner, in the study of the human mind, the conclusions to which we are led by a careful examination of the phenomena it exhibits, have no necessary connection with our opinions concerning its nature and essence" ^l The object of Phrenology is to discover the faculties of the human mind, the organs by means of which they are manifested, and the influence of the organs on the manifestations. It does not enable us to predict actions.

A mental organ is a material instrument, by means of which the mind in this life manifests a particular power. Dr Gall's discovery leads us to view the brain as a congeries of such organs, and, in the Introduction, reasons have been assigned for regarding this proposition as sufficiently

¹ Elements, vol. i. Introduction.

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probable to justify an inquiry into the direct evidence by which it is supported.

Before entering on this subject, however, I may remark that physiologists have a great aversion to Dr Gall's method of investigation, because they conceive it to be particularly liable to error. There is the want, they say, of that precision which is so desirable in science. There is no measure of the size of an organ. It cannot be estimated in inches, nor by weight. Again, there is no standard by which to try the force of the manifestations. They therefore reject the whole method as empirical and unphilosophical, and incapable of leading to scientific truth.

We at once admit that the two elements in our method of investigation are both in their own nature estimative. We cannot accurately measure the size of particular parts of the brain during life ; but we affirm, that if an observer possess an average natural endowment of the observing faculties, he may, by due practice, learn to estimate it with sufficient precision to lead him to positive conclusions. Again, we confess that we cannot measure the force of each manifestation of the faculties by ounces or inches, but we maintain, that, by proper instruction and the exercise of the understanding, we may estimate it also. Phrenology, in its evidence, rests on the same foundation as the practice of medicine. The existence of disease cannot in general be determined by weight or measure, and the characters of diseases can be judged of only by their appearances, or the symptoms which they present. The organs affected,-the degree to which they are affected,-and the extent to which medicines act on them, are all estimated by the exercise of observation and reflection on mere symptoms. In the practice of medicine-anatomy, physiology, and pathology, shed their lights to help the judgment in its estimates, but they do not reveal the theory of medicine à priori, nor do they render it a demonstrative science.

The same general laws of evidence must necessarily apply to the study of Phrenology. The mental manifesta-

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tions are not ponderable or measurable, any more than the capacity for pain or pleasure, or the powers of hearing or sight, are so. We estimate the degree in which these susceptibilities and capacities arc possessed by different individuals, and regard our knowledge as substantial ; and we must of necessity learn to estimate the force of the mental manifestations by a similar exercise of observation and reflection, or remain for ever ignorant of mental science. Again, the differences between the forms of particular organs, and between their sizes when large and small, are so palpable that it is absurd to deny the possibility of distinguishing them in favourable cases ; and, in proving a science, we are not only entitled, but bound by the dictates of common sense, to select the simplest and the most striking cases, the instantia ostentiva of Bacon, as best calculated to bring the truth to light.

It must therefore be by the exercise of observation and reflection, or by the practice of the method of estimating, that we shall discover the primitive faculties connected with particular parts of the brain, if we shall ever discover them ; and it will be only after these discoveries shall have been made, that anatomy, physiology, and pathology, will shed light on our path. Until we have followed this method, they are as little adapted by their own beams to reveal the functions of the different parts of the brain, as they are to unfold à priori the symptoms and best modes of treatment of diseases.

Those individuals, therefore, who object to the evidence on which Phrenology is founded and supported, appear to me not to understand the nature of the inquiry. In the phrenological books, there is as clear a specification of the localities and appearances of the organs, of the functions which they perform, and of the effects of their different degrees of development in point of size, as there is in treatises on the practice of physic of the organs affected, and the symptoms which constitute particular diseases. The authors of medical treatises do not record all the cases, by which

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the propositions which they announce were first ascertained, and may still be traced. They assume that the inquirer has qualified himself, by previous study, for understanding and appreciating what they describe, and they refer him to the sick-beds of the people for verification of their remarks. We teach our student how to observe, and refer him to the active theatre of the world, where he will find faculties manifested, and developments of organs exhibited, to an unlimited extent, and we bid him verify our observations there. We refer him to prisons and lunatic asylums, and to pathological cases reported by phrenologists, for evidence of excessive, of deficient, and of diseased, manifestations. The opponents, however, object to pathological cases reported by phrenologists, because, they say, they are interested in representing them in favour of their own views.

We may truly say, in this science, that every man who is not for us, is against us ; and the objection might be urged, that we cannot trust to reports made by antiphrenologists, because they are interested in finding evidence .to justify their opposition. But I go farther, and maintain, that the most honest wow-phrenologist is incapable of reporting pathological cases calculated to establish the functions of the different parts of the brain. A non-phrenologist is a man who has not studied Phrenology, and who is ignorant of its details. Now, such a person does not know the primitive faculties of the mind, nor their modes of manifestation ; and he does not know whether different parts of the brain have or have not different functions. He cannot point to one portion of the convolutions, and say, this manifests such a power, and, when it is diseased, this power, and no other, will suffer. He cannot say that it is an organ at all. In short, persons ignorant of Phrenology, that is, of the functions, situations, and healthy manifestations of the mental organs, are no better qualified to report accurately pathological cases of these organs, with a view to the elucidation of their functions, than a person would be to report pathological cases of the abdomen, who knew only in general that

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it contained the organs of digestion and assimilation, but without being aware that one part serves for chymification, another for chylification, another for the secretion of bile, a fourth for absorption, and so on. For these reasons, it is only phrenologists who are capable of reporting such cases, so as to give them a bearing on the subject. In the case of Mr N. (reported by Mr Craig in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal for October, and by me in the Phrenological Journal for December, 1836), Mr Craig, so far as can be "discovered from his report, did not know that the function of a part of the posterior lobe of the brain, which he saw extensively injured, was to manifest Combativeness, and, in consequence, he did not mention whether Mr N.'s temper was or was not affected by the disease of that part. I, on the other hand, knowing the function of that part in health, saw the importance of investigating this point minutely, and ascertained that the manifestations were as morbid as the organ. Again, Mr Craig reported, that Mr N. spoke ten. and knew four more languages ; yet, although he had the brain in his hands, he did not report whether any particular part of it was large or small in concomitance with that great gift. Apparently he did not know, because he had not studied, where any convolution connected with that talent was to be met with. From previous study, I was aware that a certain convolution lying above each superorbitar plate was regarded as the organ of a faculty for languages, and, in consequence,'I earnestly observed its size, and was able to report that it was very large. I advert to this case, because it is fairly illustrative of my proposition, that a person who has not ascertained the situations of the different mental organs, and the manifestations which accompany them in a state of health, is not capable of reporting pathological cases of these organs with success. We should estimate at a very humble value pathological reports on the organs of the thorax, made by a person ignorant of the separate functions of the lungs, heart, and bloodvessels, however high his general talents

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might be ; and equally valueless and inconclusive will similar reports relative to the brain in all probability appear, when made by those who are ignorant of the uses of its different parts.

I therefore respectfully maintain, not only that the principles of investigation adopted by phrenologists are sound, and adequate to attain the ends in view in employing them ; but that there is no other method by which the primitive faculties attached to particular portions of the brain can be discovered.

For the purpose of comparing mental faculties with cerebral development, then, it is necessary to shew, 1st, that the mental qualities of individuals can be discovered ; and, 2dly, that the size of different parts of the brain can be estimated during life.

Let us consider, therefore, in the first place, whether it be possible to discriminate mental dispositions and talents,-- In regard to the Feelings, men familiar with human life and conduct have observed, that one individual is strongly addicted to covetousness,-another to cruelty,-another to benevolence,-another to pride,-another to vanity ; and they are accustomed to regard these dispositions as natural, uniform, and permanent. They have never believed that a man, by an effort of the will, can totally change his nature, or that the character is so little manifested, that a person may be prone to benevolence to-day, who yesterday was addicted to avarice ; that one who is now sinking in the lowest abasement of self-humiliation in his own eyes, may to-morrow become conceited, confident, and proud ; or that to-day an individual may be deaf to the voice of censure or of fame, who yesterday was tremblingly alive to every breath that was blown upon his character. Nay, they have even regarded these dispositions as independent of one another, and separable ; for they have often found that the possession of one was not accompanied by the presence of the

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whole. Hence, in addressing any individual, they have been in the custom of modifying their conduct according to their previous knowledge of his dispositions or temper, obtained by observing his actions. To the covetous man they address one motive ; to the benevolent another ; to the proud a third ; and to the vain a fourth. When they wish to move such individuals to act, they speak to the first, of his personal interest ; to the second, of the pleasure of doing good ; to the third, of the necessity of preserving his own dignity ; and" to the fourth, of the great praise that will attend the performance of the action recommended.

As to intellectual endowments, a person who has heard, for the most fleeting moment, the bursts of melody which flow from the throat of Catalani, cannot be deceived as to the fact of her possessing a great endowment of the faculty of Tune ; he who has listened but for a few minutes to the splendid eloquence of Chalmers, can have no doubt that he is gifted with Ideality ; and he who has studied the writings of Dr Thomas Brown, cannot hesitate as to his having manifested profound discriminative and analytic talent. In surveying the wonderful performances of some individuals in mechanics, poetry, mathematics, painting, and sculpture, it is equally impossible to doubt the existence of mental powers, conferring capacities for excelling in these different branches of science and art. It is equally easy to find individuals in whom the same powers are as indubitably deficient. Hence, the difficulties of determining the existence of particular intellectual talents, and their degrees of strength, are not insurmountable ; especially if extreme cases be sought for-and these, as the instantia ostentiva, ought to be first resorted to. Men of observation have acted on these principles without hesitation, and without injury to themselves. They have not designed for the orchestra the individual whom they found incapable of distinguishing between a rude noise and a melodious sound, on the notion that " a genius for music" might be " ac-

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quired by habits of study or of business." ^l They do not place in difficult situations, requiring great penetration and much sagacity, individuals who cannot trace consequences beyond the stretch of three ideas ; nor do they conceive that a man who has no intellectual capacity to-day, may become a genius to-morrow, or ten years hence, by an effort of the will.

They, no doubt, have observed, that the faculties are developed in succession ; that the child is not in possession of the powers of the full-grown man ; and that hence a boy may be dull at ten, who may turn out a genius at twenty years of age, when his powers are fully unfolded by time. But they do not imagine that every boy may be made a genius by " habits of study or of business ;" nor do they believe, that, after the faculties are fully developed, any individual may, if he chooses, become great in a department of philosophy or science for which he had previously no natural capacity. They have observed that cultivation strengthens powers in themselves vigorous ; but they have not found that education can render eminently energetic, dispositions or capacities which Nature has created feeble. They would laugh at any one who should attempt to convert an idiot into a profound philosopher. On the other hand, they have remarked, that, where Nature has bestowed a powerful disposition or capacity of a particular kind, it holds the predominant sway in the character during life, notwithstanding every effort to eradicate or subdue it. They have noticed, too, that where Nature has conferred, in an eminent degree, the faculties which constitute genius, the individual manifests his native superiority in spite of great obstacles arising from circumstances or situation. The lives of poets, painters, and artists, in every age, bear witness to the truth of this observation.

An individual, it is true, may do particular actions, or even for a time follow lines of conduct, the same in exter-¹ Dugald Stewart.

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nal appearance, from, different internal motives. But few men can pass their whole lives in disguise, or acquire the art of acting in the business and enjoyments of life, so habitually and so skilfully, as not to allow their true characters to appear to those who are placed in a favourable situation for observing them : or, if there be persons who do possess this power of dissimulation, it forms the predominant feature in their mental constitution ; and, as will afterwards be shewn, it is indicated by a particular form of organization. But, farther, let it be observed, that it is only in so far as the propensities and sentiments of our nature are concerned, that the display of pretended qualities is possible, even in a single case. In regard to every act which depends on the knowing and reflecting faculties, this is absolutely impracticable. No man can either write logical discourses, or trace profoundly an abstract principle, who has not powerful reflecting faculties. No one can compose exquisite music, who has not the faculty of Tune strong ; or write exquisite poetry, who has not a powerful sentiment of Ideality. When, therefore, we perceive, even with the most transient glance, the performance of such acts, we have evidence, insuperable and irresistible, of the existence of the faculties which produce them.

These opinions have been entertained by persons conversant with society, not in consequence of logical deduction or metaphysical investigations, but from the observation of plain facts presented to their understandings. Medical men are in a situation peculiarly favourable for studying even the most hidden traits of human character. The physician, as Dr Gall remarks, has daily opportunities of knowing the most secret affairs and most intimate relations of families ; and it is not easy for the man who is in the agonies of disease, or struggling with death, to throw a veil over his true character. Besides, with how many private matters are physicians confidentially made acquainted ! for who would not make a friend and adviser of the man to whose care he in-

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trusts the safety of himself and his family? It is to such a friend, as to one who knows and can sympathize with the failings of humanity, that men unfold the secret recesses of their souls. Gall was himself a physician.

For these reasons, I venture to conclude that the first point is established in favour of Phrenology-namely, that it is possible, by accurate, patient, and continued observation of actions, to discover the true dispositions and capacities which individuals possess. As this philosophy is founded on a comparison of the manifestations of these faculties with development of the brain, we now proceed to consider the second question-Whether it be possible, in general, to discover the true form of the brain, by observing the figure of the head ?

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

The anatomy of the brain is minutely described by Drs Gall and Spurzheim, in their anatomical and physiological work.¹ It is not indispensably necessary, although highly advantageous, to become acquainted with it, in order to be a practical phrenologist. A brief description of the general appearance of the brain will suffice to convey an idea of it to the non-medical reader. The proper subjects for observation are healthy individuals not beyond the middle period of life.

The brain, stript of its outward covering the dura mater, is represented in Figure 4. and Plates IV. and V. These figures (which are copied from Dr Spurzheim's plates), and the accompanying descriptions, are not intended for anatomical purposes ; their sole object is to convey some conception of the appearance of the brain to readers who have no opportunity of seeing it in nature.

Figure 1. represents the upper surface of the brain, stript of membrane. The brain consists of two halves, generally

¹ Anatomie et Physiologie du Système Nerveux, &c. torn. i. Also Spurzheim's Anatomy of the Brain, &c. London, 1826.

108 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

named hemispheres, which closely resemble each other. The skull, through the middle part of which a horizontal section is

fig. 4. upper surface of the brain. A

made, surrounds the brain. The front is at A ; and the line AB is the division between the two halves or hemispheres.

Plate IV. represents the base of the brain, as it appears when taken out of the skull ; the forehead being represented uppermost.

The brain is a large nervous web, folded up into the forms presented in the drawings. The waving lines represent the convolutions or folds. They vary in depth from half an inch to an inch, in the adult.

The hemispheres are formed, previously to birth, from before backwards, and from without inwards. At first, they consist only of a thin membranous layer of nervous matter ; and they increase in thickness and volume very gradually. At birth, the hemispheres are in general three inches and four lines in length, and two inches in breadth. They then present the same form as in the adult, and are covered with convolutions, separated from each other by sulci, furrows, or anfractuosities.

The brain exists before the skull is formed. In the foe-

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tus, it is covered by three membranes, called the pia mater, the arachnoid coat, and the dura mater ; and outside of these by a cartilaginous membrane, destined to be changed into bone. In the seventh or eighth month after conception, points of ossification are formed in this membrane ; these, by the deposition of new osseous particles, extend themselves in the form of rays (like the spiculo of ice when water freezes), until solid bones are formed, the edges of which, dovetailing into each other, constitute the sutures afterwards described. (See Plate III.) In the formation of the skull, the deposition of the osseous particles on the cartilaginous membrane before mentioned, and the fact of this membrane being moulded on the brain, render it a matter of absolute necessity that the skull should be moulded on this organ. The ossification of the skull is not complete before the ninth year.

The external or cineritious substance of the brain is arranged, as we have seen, in convolutions or folds. The convolutions appear intended for the purpose of increasing the superficial extent of the brain, without enlarging its absolute size ; an arrangement analogous to that employed in the eye of the eagle and falcon, in which the retina does not form a simple concave surface, as in man and quadrupeds, but is presented in folds to the rays of light ; whereby the intensity of vision is increased in proportion to the extent of nervous surface exposed to their influence. The rolling up of the substance of the brain in folds in a similar manner, strongly indicates that extent of surface is highly important in reference to its functions. In fishes there are no convolutions. In birds, the hemispheres of the brain are larger than in fishes; but they are still smooth, and present no convolutions. In the rat, mouse, marmot, beaver, and even in the rabbit, the upper surface of the hemispheres is as smooth as in birds. In rising in the scale of the mammalia,¹ we find convolutions well marked. They are present

¹ Solly on the Brain, p. 88.

110 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

in the sheep, cat, dog, and ape, and in all the higher classes of animals.

Professor Tiedemann, in his work on the Brains of Apes and of some other animals, has accurately delineated and described the progressive diminution and final disappearance of the folds of the brain in the mammalia, from the apes down to the rodentia ; and, according to Desmoulins,¹this progression corresponds exactly with the diminution of intelligence. The most striking difference exists between the apes of the old world and those of the new. Many of the former are capable of being trained and employed for useful purposes, while the latter are incapable of instruction, and scarcely exceed squirrels in the degree of their intelligence. This corresponds with the state of the convolutions. In some dogs, especially those employed in hunting, the convolutions are scarcely less numerous and deep than in the higher tribes of apes ; while in the less intelligent species, and in wolves, they exist in a much inferior degree of development. There is a great difference as to docility between dogs and cats ; and an equally striking difference is found in. the appearances presented by the number and depth of the convolutions of their brains-a difference so great, that Desmoulins estimates the convolutions of the dog to exceed by six or eight times those of the cat. The paucity of convolutions found in the cat prevails throughout the entire genus to which it belongs. That genus, Felis, which includes the cat, lion, tiger, panther, and other animals of a similar nature, is likewise remarkable for the uniformity observed in the number and arrangement of the convolutions in the different species ; and in no genus are the species more distinguished for similarity of disposition, for through none do the faculties of Secretiveness and Destructiveness prevail in so high a degree of strength.

" In man, above all other animals, are the convolutions numerous, and the sulci (or furrows) deep, and, consequently,

' Anatomie ties Systèmes Nerveux des Animaux Vertébrés, p 602,

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the cineritious mass great, and its extension of surface far beyond that of all other creatures."¹

The opinion of Drs Gall and Spurzheim, that the convolutions are of great importance in reference to the power of manifesting the mental faculties, is entertained by physiologists in general.

It was long since remarked by Soemmering, that, in the earlier months of human existence, there is yet no trace of that complicated and convoluted arrangement of the cerebral surface, which is so striking in the adult brain. According to this eminent anatomist, it is only about the sixth or seventh month of gestation that the convolutions begin to appear. From this period they go on increasing in number and size, with a decreasing rapidity, even to the age of puberty.² To this progressive growth of the convolutions we have a well-marked counterpart in the gradual development of the mental powers, from the state of almost absolute nullity in which they exist in the fotus during the greater part of its intra-uterine life, to the expanded mind of the adult.

We have seen that physiologists admit that there is a diminution or increase of intelligence in the lower animals, in proportion to any subtraction from, or addition to, the number and depth of the convolutions of their brains. The old objection to Phrenology, that some animals with large brains have less intelligence than others which have small ones, might, even if the comparison of the brains of different species were strictly allowable, be sufficiently answered, not only by referring to the fact of the parts of the brain which are developed not being the same in both, but also by opposing to it the statement of Desmoulins and Magen-die,³ that in numerous examinations of the brains of almost every genus of the mammalia, they found a nearly constant

¹ Bell's Anatomy, 7th edit. ii. 386.

² See a notice of the observations of the Wenzels on this subject, in the Phren. Journ. x. 342.

³ Anatomie des Systèmes Nerveux- des Animux Vertebrés, p. 620.

112 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

relation between the extent of surface presented by the brain in each genus, and the amount of intelligence displayed by it. Where differences occur in one of these points, differences are stated to be usually found in the other, not only between different genera, but between different species of the same genus, and also (which is most to our purpose) between different individuals of the same species.

Differences of mental character are met with to a much greater extent, and with much greater frequency, among men, than among the individuals of any species of the lower animals. It is rare, for instance, to find one sheep differing much from its companions, or one cow from another, in intelligence and instincts. The brains of men vary with respect to the number and depth of their convolutions, in a far greater degree than those of any other species.¹ This fact affords a presumption in favour of the idea that varieties of disposition depend on varieties in the convolutions.

It has been remarked, that, in most idiots, the number and depth of the convolutions are less than usual, on at least one side of the brain. In chronic insanity, too, the convolutions are sometimes diminished in depth, and are more or less separated from each other by the thickening and infiltration of the laminse of the pia mater occupying the furrows of the brain. In these cases, likewise, as well as in individuals of congenital imbecility, the thickness of the clneritious substance of the convolutions has been found greatly diminished ; while in acute mania, on the other hand, it has been found of the usual thickness, and highly injected with blood. In old age the convolutions shrink.

The greater part of the brain is destitute of sensibility ; it may be pierced or cut without the patient being aware, from any feeling of pain, that it is suffering injury. Sir Charles Bell mentions, that he " had his finger deep in the anterior lobes of the brain, when the patient, being at the

¹ Vicq d'Azyr, Mém. de Paris, 1783, p. 512 ; cited by Meckel, Anatomie, &c. vol. ii. p. 64C. See also Wenzel, De penitiori Structura Cerebri, p. 23 ; and Mayo's Physioloyy.

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same time acutely sensible, and capable of expressing himself, complained only of the integument." So far from thinking the parts of the brain which are insensible, to be inferior in function, Sir Charles Bell states that, as every part has its use, he should be led, even by this circumstance, to imagine that they have a higher office-namely, that they are more allied to intellectual operations. The wide difference of function between a part designed to receive such impressions as those belonging to the sense of feeling, and a part which is the seat of thought, is in accordance with the presence of sensibility in some parts of the brain, and its absence in others.

The brain receives an unusually large supply of blood, in comparison with the rest of the body. According to Haller, the quantity is one-fifth of the entire amount which leaves the heart ; Monro, however, estimates it at one-tenth, and other authorities at one-eighth. There are no valves in the large veins of the base of the brain and neck, and the brain may be gorged with blood by holding the head lower than the body ; or, after death, drained of it by the erect position.

Each side of the brain, and also the cerebellum, are supplied with separate arteries conveying the blood to them ; but the sinuses, or canals by means of which the blood is returned to the heart, are common to them all. The carotid artery on one side, may be tied in man, without injury to the cerebral functions. Even both carotid arteries may be tied, without serious consequences, if an interval of twelve days or upwards be allowed between the operations, to permit the distention of the other arteries.

The brain demands blood fully oxygenised. If it is not properly oxygenised, the mental functions are blunted.¹

1 Giddiness in stooping may arise from two causes. If it is felt only when the head u down, there is pressure on the brain from too much blood If it is not felt then, but occurs on raising the head, it is caused by too rapid abstraction of blood from the head. There is then a deficiency of blood in tn6 brain.

114 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

At birth the weight of the brain is about 10 oz. Tiedemann mentions that " the weight of the brain (including the cerebellum) in an adult male European varies between 3 lb. 2 oz. and 4 lb. 6 oz. Troy. The female brain is lighter than that of the male. It varies between 2 lb. 8 oz. and 3 lb. 11 oz. " I never," says he, " found a female brain that weighed 4 lb. The female brain weighs on an average from four to eight ounces less than that of the male ; and this difference is already perceptible in a new-born child." Sometimes the brain is much "heavier. Cuvier's brain weighed 4 lb. 10 oz. 4 ½ dr.¹

Sir William Hamilton, in the appendix to Dr Monro's work on the brain, states the average weights of Scotch brains to be as follows :

Male, 3 lb. 8. oz. Troy.

Female, 3 lb. 4 oz. do.

One male brain in 7, exceeds 4 Ib, : one female brain in 100, exceeds 4 lb.

Cruveilhier states the weights of the brain in three young subjects to have been-

Brain, 2 lb. 2 oz.-Cerebellum, 41/3 oz.-total, 2 lb. 6 1/3 oz.

... 2 lb. 8 oz. ... 3 ½ oz. ... 2 lb. 11 ½ oz.

... 2 lb. 5oz. ... 5 oz. ... 2 1b. 10 oz.

Specific gravity 130.

The human brain grows from birth upwards, but authors dispute the age at which it attains to maturity. Soemmer-

¹ The post-mortem examination of Cuvier's train took place on the 15th May 1832, in presence of MM. Orfila, Duméril, Dupuytren, Allard, Biett, Valenciennes, Laurillard, Rousseau, Andral neveu, and Bérard. It was ascertained that the superiority of size occurred almost exclusively in the cerebral lobes, particularly their anterior and superior parts ; the cerebellum, &c., exhibiting no unusual development. It was stated by M. Bérard to Dr Foissac, the writer whom I follow, that none of the gentlemen present at the dissection remembered to have seen so complicated a brain, convolutions so numerous and compact, or such deep anfractuosities-" un cerveau aussi plissé, des circonvolutions aussi nombreuses et aussi pressées, des anfrac-tuosités si profondes."-Journal de la Sonétt Phrénologique de Paris, tom, ii. No. v.

GENERAL REMARKS ON TUB BRAIN. 115

ing affirms that it stops in its growth at three years of age, and the brothers Wenzel mention seven. Dr Vimont says between twenty-five and thirty ; and M. Parchappe of Paris, who published on the brain in 1836, agrees with Dr Gall in the opinion that it does not attain its full weight and size till forty. He gives the result of weighing about 250 brains. The Wenzels assigned seven years as the age of complete development, on the authority of two cases only. The reader will judge which authority is most to be relied on.¹ I am convinced from observations, that the brain goes on increasing up to 28 or 30 years of age in some individuals, and in the great majority of instances up to 22 or 23. I cannot confirm its spontaneous growth to 40, but I do not deny it. I only have not observed it.

The question has been much agitated among Phrenologists, Whether, after maturity of growth, individual organs increase by exercise, and diminish by inactivity. I shall consider this point under the section " Effects of size in the organs," in "Volume II.

On the approach of old age, the brain, like other parts of the body, begins to diminish ; the convolutions lose their plumpness, and, as they are now shrivelled, flaccid, and less closely packed together than formerly, the anfractuosities or furrows between them become enlarged.

The cerebellum, or " little brain" (F F, Plates IV. and V.,) lies under the brain. It is connected with it by means of medullary fibres ; but its bulk is separated from it by a strong membrane called the tentorium.

POPULAR OBSERVATIONS ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE BRAIN.

in the newly-born infant, all the organs of the body are

1 See remarks on the doctrine of the Wenzels in the Phrenological Journal, x. 342

116 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

immature. The brain is soft and pulpy, and unfit for performing mental operations. Its consistency, however, gradually increases, and its texture becomes more and more firm as the individual approaches to manhood.

The brain, as already remarked, is composed of gray and white nervous matter. In the cerebrum, or brain proper, the gray matter, which is also sometimes called cineritious, from the similarity of its hue to that of ashes, constitutes the superficial or external portion of the nervous mass, and covers the white matter as" the bark of a tree covers the wood. For this reason it occasionally receives the name of the cortical substance, while the white matter, from its internal situation, is sometimes called the medullary substance. In fig. 5. and

Plate VI., the arrangement of the two substances, distinguished by their different shading, is well seen.

When a fresh brain is examined by the naked eye, little difference is seen between the two substances beyond their difference in colour ; but when a brain has been steeped for some time in alcohol, or in a solution of bi-chloride of mer-

GENERAL REMARKS ON TUB BRAIN. 117

cury, its texture becomes much firmer, and the white matter then readily separates into fibrous cords. These are seen to proceed from the summit of the spinal cord, and after spreading in a fan-like manner, they lose themselves in the cortical expansion of the gray matter. This arrangement is seen in fig. 5. The gray matter, on the other hand, by the action of the chemical agent, becomes friable and granular, and shews no tendency to separate into layers. Microscopical examination of the two substances shews further that the white matter is composed of extremely fine tubules, analogous to, but finer than the tubules or fibres of the nerves, and that the gray matter consists of cells or minute vesicles lying in a plexus of extremely fine bloodvesssels. It is now almost universally admitted that the gray matter is the source of the nervous power, while the white matter is its conductor ; the different fibres of the latter acting like the separate wires of the electric telegraph. We formerly saw that the different powers of the spinal cord are associated with differences in the size and form of the cells of the anterior and posterior horns of the gray matter of the cord ; and there is reason to think that the different mental powers displayed by the cerebrum may depend, at least in some degree, on similar differences in the cells of the gray matter of the convolutions. The cells certainly vary in structure in different regions ; but as yet we have no observations to shew that particular mental powers are dependent on particular sizes or forms of cells. The study is one of peculiar difficulty, but the rapid progress which histology (or the science of minute structure) has of late years made, gives us reason to hope that by its means a new path may be opened to a knowledge of the variations of structure on which the differences in the mental powers depend. Should this hope be realised, histology may assist, but cannot supersede, Phrenology; for it is obvious that phrenological observation will still be necessary to determine the mental function performed by the particular cells, and to deduce from their number or development, the probable power

118 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

of their manifestations. It is undeniable, that no extent of knowledge of mere structure will enable us to predicate particular vital functions ; and hence it is vain to expect that investigations into the structure of the brain will ever reveal its functions without corresponding observations on mental action.

Drs Gall and Spurzheim attached much importance to the convolutions, and considered the depth, size, and number of them, to have a great effect on the intensity of the mental manifestations ; but it does not appear that they regarded the cineritious substance as exclusively the organ of the mind. " Dr Gall and I," says Spurzheim, " suppose that each nervous apparatus is composed of two peculiar substances, the pulpy and fibrous, and that both are necessary to produce an instrument adequate to perform a particular function."^x And he is certainly right, for, granting that the gray matter is the special generator of mental power, still, mind could not be manifested without the aid of the conducting white matter, and could not, therefore, be said to exist.

As already remarked, the gray matter is spread like a covering over the white substance, with which it is everywhere in intimate combination, dipping into the anfractuosities, and rising on the summit of the convolutions. In this way the layer of gray matter is much increased in extent, while at the same time, its points of contact with the white matter are greatly multiplied. In fig. 5, the radiated lines of the white matter are seen converging towards the superior extremity of the spinal cord, and it is through them that the gray matter of the cerebrum receives the impressions of the stimuli which had reached the spinal cord through the medium of the nerves. It is through them also that the brain transmits its mandates to the spinal centres for the production of voluntary motion. Thus the mental organs, with their apparatus of communication, extend from the surface of the brain to the medulla oblongata. Each organ has been

¹ Anatomy of the Brain, p. 10.

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN. 119

likened to a cone, of which the apex lies in the medulla oblongata, and the base in the surface of the brain. I introduce this similitude, however, merely as a popular illustration, and not as a technical description of the appearance of the organs ; for they are not separable into definite figures, such as this comparison, if literally understood, would seem to imply. Besides, the structure of the cerebrum is far from being so simple as to permit of such a separation. A moment's reflection will convince any one that something more is necessary for harmonious mental action, than simply the connection of the various mental organs with the physical nervous system. To produce this result, not only must the two hemispheres of the cerebrum stand in intimate relationship to each other, but the different mental organs also must have the means of intercommunication. Accordingly we find that the white matter, or cerebral medulla, constitutes a most complicated apparatus of cross and longitudinal fibres, whereby every part of the brain is brought into intimate reciprocal connection.

Thus, the two sides or hemispheres of the brain are brought into communication by means of numerous fibres called commissures, running across from the one side to the other. The largest is called the corpus callosum, and it crosses below the lower edge of the falciform process of the dura mater (see fig. p. 125). There is a transverse nervous cord which crosses in the anterior lobe, called the anterior commissure ; besides several others. The posterior and anterior regions of the brain are also brought into communication by fibres extending from the front to the back. The superior longitudinal commissure lies, in each hemisphere, immediately above the corpus callosum, and touches the mesial line. A long convolution will be seen there, and by scraping off the cineritious matter in a prepared brain, longitudinal fibres will be perceived passing from the posterior to the anterior lobes.¹The fornix constitutes an inferior longitudinal commissure,

¹ See Solly On the Brain, Plate x.

120 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

connecting the inferior portions of the anterior and posterior lobes. Sir Charles Bell observes, that " whatever we observe on one side has a corresponding part on the other ; and an exact resemblance and symmetry is preserved in all the lateral divisions of the brain. And so, if we take the proof of anatomy, we must admit, that, as the nerves are double, and the organs of sense double, so is the brain double ; and every sensation conveyed to the brain is conveyed to the two lateral parts, and the operations performed must be done in both lateral portions at the same moment."¹ This statement of Sir Charles Bell is not rigidly correct. There is a general correspondence between the parts on the opposite sides of the brain, but not " an exact symmetry" in the strict sense of these words. The approximation to symmetry is about as great as between the bloodvessels in the right and left arms. In some individuals there are slight variations in the size and constitution of corresponding organs on the two sides of the body. The muscle named transversus perinei, in the peri-neal region of the abdomen, is sometimes much larger on one side than on the other. The muscle called pyramidalls abdominis is occasionally wanting on one side, sometimes on both sides. Two muscles of this kind have been seen on one side, and none on the other. The psoasparvus muscle, in the interior of the abdomen, is subject to the same irregularity, and these aberrations may not be discovered during life. The palmaris longus muscle, inserted in the palm of the hand, is frequently wanting. The plantaris muscle, running between the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, which compose the calf of the leg, and which is inserted, tendinous, into the plantar fascia, is sometimes wanting. Mr Solly² men-

¹ Anatomy, ii. 381. An ingenious paper by Mr Hewett C. Watson, on the probable object of the duplicity of the brain, will be found in The Phrenological Journal, vol. ix. p. 608. See Mr Forster's conjectures, in his Observations on the Influence of the Atmosphere on Health, &c., Section xiv.

² On the Brain, p. 254.

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN. 121

tions that the posterior division of the auditory nerve, " on crossing the posterior fissure of the cord or fourth ventricle, forms by its separation three or four white lines, which are usually very distinct. Meckel,¹ however, states that he has sometimes found the whole of these lines deficient, sometimes on one side and sometimes on both, and that Prochaska and Wenzel have observed them to differ on the two sides of the brain." When, therefore, I mention that slight differences occur between the organs on the two sides of the brain, it will be seen that the brain, in this respect, forms no exception to a general law of the animal economy.

No lines of demarcation between the organs have yet been discovered in dissecting the brain, but this objection to the existence of separate organs is of no real weight, for we do not find that any such line divides the gray matter of the anterior horns of the spinal cord from that of the posterior horns. Yet the fact that the function of the matter of the anterior horns is to produce motion, and that of the posterior horns to produce sensation, is admitted by the best physiologists as indubitable. " The circumstance," says Mr Solly, in speaking of the sensitive and motor columns of the cord, " of there being no decided anatomical line of division between the two columns, is not of itself an argument against the correctness of this view (namely, that they perform different functions) ; for it is quite possible that perfect distinctness of parts, as regards their function, without any visible line of separation between them, may exist. . . . The presence of such gross and palpable divisions, it is true, would save us some trouble, in discovering the line of demarcation, but would not necessarily make it in any degree more efficient."² Many persons are too prone to doubt what cannot at once be made evident to their senses, and they have therefore difficulty in believing that a difference in structure which

¹ Anatomie, tome ii. p. 614, n.

² On the Brain, p. 254.

122 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

escapes the unassisted eye, should produce such remarkable differences in function. But the fact that peculiar powers are manifested by extremely minute cells, so small indeed as to require the aid of the microscope for the appreciation of their structure, will cease to be incredible when it is known that whole organisms, possessed of digestive and locomotive systems, exist, of which we are made cognisant only by the use of powerfully magnifying instruments.

The determination of the functions of the cells occurring in the nervous structures is surrounded by great difficulties, but (as we "have seen in the case of the motor and sensitive cells) these have been partially overcome. For the purpose of determining them recourse was had to experiments on living animals. A certain portion of the nervous system was injured or destroyed, and the change which ensued in the vital functions of the animal was then noted. If it ceased to perceive pain on being subjected to injury, or had lost the power of motion, it was obvious that the portion of nervous matter interfered with, was connected, as the case might be, with the sensitive or motor functions. Here an effect was produced which is palpable to our senses ; but, in the case of the mental nervous system, we have no such means of visual observation at our disposal. Suppose that a part of the organ of Benevolence, of Veneration, of Causality, or of Wit. were removed by the knife, by what unmistakeable test shall we ascertain that any one of these faculties has been injured ? We can see that an animal does not shew symptoms of pain, or that it ceases to contract its muscles ; but we dare not cut out portions of a living man's brain to make experiments on his mental condition after their abstraction. Even accidental removal of portions of the brain rarely assist us in determining the special functions of the part injured, because the mental functions can be performed in a manner to allow of any justifiable conclusions being drawn from actions only when the organism is healthy and entire. We are driven back, therefore, upon Phrenology as the only method

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN. 123

by which a knowledge of the association of certain mental powers with certain conditions of brain can be obtained.

Although, however, no formal lines of demarcation mark the limits of the different organs, the forms of these, as delineated in the bust, are not arbitrary. When any particular organ predominates in size over all those in contact with it, it gives a particular form to the part of the skull which covers it, and the forms thus evolved have been copied in the bust, and on the plates. No one natural head can shew the forms of all the organs distinctly, because they cannot all predominate in one head ; but if a sufficient number be appealed to, complete evidence will be obtained that the forms are not imaginary but natural. Firmness will shew its form in one skull (that of King Robert Bruce, for instance), Conscientiousness in another (Mrs H.J, Benevolence in a third (Jacob Jervis), and so forth.

OF THE INTEGUMENTS OF THE BRAIN.

I have already remarked, that the brain is embraced in its whole peripheral extent by a very thin transparent membrane called the pia mater ; this sinks into the furrows, and is closely applied to the surface, of the gray matter, to which it is the means of conveying the blood. It is exceedingly vascular, and gives off from its internal surface innumerable capillary bloodvessels, which constitute the vascular net-work in which the nervous cells lie. Immediately above the pia mater, are two layers of a still thinner membrane, resembling in its tenuity a spider's web, and thence named the tunica arachnoidea. It covers the surface of the brain uniformly, without passing into its folds. A fluid secretion takes place' from the opposed surfaces of this membrane, by which they are lubricated and prevented from adhering to each other. The dura mater is a thin but strong opaque membrane, lining and strongly adhering to the inner surface of the

124 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BRAIN.

skull. It embraces the outer surface of the brain above the membrane last mentioned. When in health, it does not possess sensibility, and has been pricked without causing pain. The brain, enclosed in these membranes, fills exactly the interior of the skull ; so that a cast, in plaster, of the interior of the skull, is a facsimile of the brain, covered by the dura mater.

Between the two layers of the arachnoid membrane a small quantity of fluid generally exists, but in the state of health it never exceeds a line in thickness. Accordingly this fluid does not, in any degree that can be distinguished by the hand or eye, cause the form of the interior of the skull to differ from the form of the exterior of the brain. In cases of cerebral disease, however, and in old age, the brain occasionally undergoes diminution from absorption ; when the place of the absorbed matter may be occupied either by increased effusion from the arachnoid membrane, or by increased thickness of the walls of the skull, which also occasionally shrinks to accommodate itself to the brain when its size diminishes. The skull, then, is not an adamantine barrier confining the brain within specific boundaries ; but a strong yet changeable covering, shielding it, and accommodating itself to its size while in the progress of its growth.¹At birth it is small ; it increases as the brain increases, and alters its shape with every change of the cerebral form; it stops in development when the brain has attained its full size ; and, as we have just remarked, it is apt to diminish when this organ suffers diminution, through disease or old age. A process of absorption and deposition goes continually on in its substance ; so that, if the brain presses from within, the renovating particles arrange themselves according to this pressure, and thus the figure of the skull and that of the brain in general correspond. In cases of water in the head, the skull sometimes extends itself to an enormous size.

¹ On the admirable fitness of the skull to protect the brain, see The Phrenological Journal, viii. 332.

125 OF THE SKULL.

The skull is composed of nine bones. (See Plate III. and description of it.) These are-two frontal bones E, which compose the forehead, and generally soon unite into one, though in some adults they continue double; two parietal bones D, forming the greater part of the upper and lateral regions of the skull ; two temporal B, around the ears; one sphenoid A, iv-the anterior part of the basilar region; one occipital G, in the back and under part of the skull, immediately above the neck ; and one ethmoidal, at the base behind the nose. The lines of junction of these bones are termed sutures SSS, and form, in most parts, a sort of dovetailing. The principal sutures are the sagittal, separating the two parietal bones at the middle of the top of the head ; the coronal, which divides the frontal from the parietal bones ; the lambdoidal, between the occipital bone and the two parietals, and deriving its name from its resemblance to the Greek letter lambda (a) ; the frontal, dividing the two frontal bones when they are not conjoined ; and the temporal, named also the squamous from its scaly appearance, dividing the temporal bones from the parietal, and to some extent from the sphenoid and occipital.

The annexed figure represents a skull with the two sides cut away, down nearly to the level of the eyebrow, leaving a narrow ridge in the middle of the top standing. AAA is a section of the skull, \ resembling an arch. It is here represented thicker than it is in nature, in order to shew the diploë. Most parts of the skull consist of two plates called the outer and inner tables, having between them a spongy substance, like cells in a marrow-bone, called the diploë. The substance hanging down from the arch of the skull, having delicate lines traced on it, like the sap-vessels in leaves, is the membrane which separates the two halves of the brain. It is a continuation of the dura mater, and is called the falciform process, from its resemblance to a scythe. It is well

126 OF THE SKULL.

supplied with bloodvessels ; and a large portion of the blood returning from the brain to the heart, goes up these vessels into a canal formed by the membrane all along the line of its attachment to the skull. The course of the blood through the canal is from the front backwards, and then downwards. The two hemispheres of the brain are completely separated, as far as this membrane is seen to extend downwards in the cut. At the lower edge of it, an open space appears ;-the commissure, or collection of fibres which unite the two sides, named the 'corpus callosum, goes through that space. The cerebellum lies at B C, in a part of the skull not opened. The membrane, on reaching the point C, spreads out to the right and left, and runs forward, so as to separate the cerebellum from the brain ; the latter lying above, and the former below it. B is the mastoid process, or bone to which the sterno-mastoid muscle is attached. It lies immediately behind the opening of the ear, and is not connected with the brain.

As the diploë, except in the parts to be mentioned, is almost equally thick, it follows that the two tables of the skull are nearly parallel to each other.¹ This is seen in the section represented in fig. 5, p. 116. The internal, indeed, bears some slight impressions of bloodvessels, glands, &c., which do not appear externally ; but these are so small as not to interfere with phrenological observations. The departure from perfect parallelism, where it occurs, is limited to a line, one-tenth or one-eighth of an inch, according to the age and health of the individual. The difference in development between a large and a small organ of the propensities and some of the sentiments, amounts to an inch and upwards ; and to a quarter of an inch in the organs of intellect, which are naturally smaller than the others.²

The squamous portion of the temporal bones is much thinner than the other parts of the skull. But as this is the case

¹ See Dr Caldwell on the parallelism of the tables, Phren. Jour. ix. 222.

² " Jamais je u' ai prétendu distinguer des modifications peu prononcées des formes du crâne, ou de légères nuances du caractère.''-Gall, iii. 41.

OF THE INTEGUMENTS OF THE BRAIN. 127

in all heads indiscriminately, it is not a source of error to the phrenologist. Every skull, moreover, is thick at the ridges of the frontal bone and the transverse ridge of the occipital (48, fig. 5, p. 116), and very thin at the super-orbitar plates of the frontal bone, forming the roof of the sockets of the eyes,-and also in the middle of the occipital fossae. Dr Gall states that sometimes the skulls of very stupid people are unusually thick ;* and Dr Vimont has frequently observed the same thing to occur in persons of an athletic constitution.²In savages the skull is often thick.³

The integuments which cover the skull on the outside, indisputably lie close upon its surface, and are so uniform in their thickness, as to exhibit, with sufficient accuracy, its true figure. The temples and occiput are the only parts where the integuments are thicker than at the others, and the phrenologist attends to this fact in making his observations.

Thus there is no obstacle in general to the discovery of the figure of the brain, by observations on the form of the skull or head.

This doctrine has been frequently disputed by opponents of Phrenology ; but many anatomists have taught it. Cuvier states, that " The brain moulds itself in the cavity of the skull, which it fills exactly, in such a manner that knowledge of the bony part gives us information at least of the form of the exterior of the brain."* Magendie, in his Compendium

¹ Tome iii. p. 43. 2 Vol i. p. 285.

³ " A comparison of the external and internal surfaces of the cranium establishes the fact, that there is a general correspondence of the two, as far as regards those parts which are in contact with the periphery of the brain. But, between the several divisions of that organ, there are developed on the inside of the skull very large ribs and processes which destroy the particular correspondence of the two surfaces. Nevertheless, this does not impair our ability to deduce the internal capacity of the cranium from an examination of its exterior ; since the diploë between the two plates in the spaces intermediate to these ribs, seldom varies more than one or two lines in its thickness." - Cyclopodia of Anatomy and Physiology, edited by Professor Todd ; Article Cranium.

* Anatomie Comparative, ii. 13.

128 OF THE INTEGUMENTS OF THE BRAIN.

of Physiology, says, that " the only way of estimating the volume of the brain in a living person, is to measure the dimensions of the skull; every other means, even that proposed by Camper, is uncertain."¹ Sir Charles Bell also observes, that " the bones of the head are moulded to the brain, and the peculiar shapes of the bones of the head are determined by the original peculiarity in the shape of brain."² And Dr Gordon, in the 49th number of The Edinburgh Review, has the following words :-" But we will acquiesce implicitly for the present in the proposition (familiar to physiologists long before the age of Gall and Spurzheim), that there is, in most instances, a general correspondence between the size of the cranium and the quantity of cerebrum ; that large heads usually contain large brains, and small heads small brains." (P. 246.)

There are, however, cases in which it is not possible to discover the form of the brain by examining the skull. These are instances of disease and old age. In disease, the skull may be enlarged or diminished in volume by other causes than changes of the brain ; and in old age, the inner table of the skull sometimes sinks, while the outer table preserves its original size, and an extraordinary thickness is produced : in such cases, the true development of the brain cannot be accurately inferred from the appearance of the head.⁸ It is

¹ Milligan's Translation, p. 104.

² Bell's Anatomy, ii. 390. Sir C. Bell adds in a foot-note, " Certainly the skull is adapted to the form of the brain ; but there is a deeper question, which our craniologists have forgotten,- Is the brain constituted in shape with a reference to the future form of the head ?" It is difficult to see the importance of this question. Not only is the skull, at every period before the decline of life, adapted to the form of the brain, but it increases in size when the brain enlarges, and decreases when the brain diminishes. The reader will find an answer to Sir Charles Bell's objections in The Phrenological Journal, viii. 333.

³ According to Dr Gall, the skulls of aged people are generally thicker, lighter, and more spongy, than those of young men and adults : but Dr Vimont thinks that farther observations are necessary to determine whether this is the most frequent appearance.-(Gall, iii. 50 ; Vimont, i. 288.) Some-

SUTURES. ¹²⁹

a common trick with the opponents of Phrenology to collect these thickened skulls, and to represent them as average specimens of healthy crania, under the middle period of life ; but this is pure deception, practised on that portion of the public which is unacquainted with anatomy.

There are parts at the base of the brain, in the middle and posterior regions, the size of which cannot be discovered during life, and whose functions in consequence are still unknown. From analogy, and from some pathological facts, they are supposed to be the organs of the love of life, and of some other mental affections for which cerebral organs have not been discovered ; but demonstrative evidence to this effect being wanting, the conjecture is stated merely to incite to farther investigation.

The sutures interrupt the absolute parallelism of the tables ; but their situation is known, and only one of them, the lambdoidal, where it passes over the organ of Concentrativeness, presents any difficulty to the student. In some individuals it occasions at that part a bony projection, which may be mistaken for a large development of Concentrativeness ; but the bone is generally sharp and angular, whereas the development presented by an organ when large is full and round. The sagittal and frontal sutures, which run longitudinally from the back part of the crown of the head forwards and downwards, sometimes so low as the top of the nose, occasionally present a narrow prominent ridge, which is sometimes mistaken for development of the organs of Benevolence, Veneration, Firmness, and Self-esteem. It may, however, be easily distinguished by its narrowness and

times, in extreme old age, portions of the outer table and diuloe are absorbed and not renewed, so that the skull becomes, in various parts, very thin and transparent. There is such a skull in the collection of the Phrenological Society, and Dr Gall possessed several specimens. (Gall, iii. 53; and Phren. Jour. vii. 28.) That the skull becomes thin in old age by absorption is maintained also in a work called Anatomia Senilis, published in 1799. According to Tenon, the skull loses two-fifths of its weight in old age. (Memoirs of the French Institute for the year 6.)

130 FRONTAL SINUS.

isolation from the full broad swell of cerebral development. In anatomy, projecting bony points are called processes. The mastoid process of the temporal bone (B in figure, p. 125), which is a small knob immediately behind the ear, serving for the attachment of a muscle, is sometimes mistaken for the indication of large Combativeness. It is, however, merely a bony prominence, which is found in every head, and does not indicate development of brain at all. Another process, called by anatomists the spinous process of the transverse ridge of the occipital bone, requires to be known. Phrenologists generally name it shortly the occipital spine, and its situation is indicated by C in the figure, p. 125.

There is one part of the skull where the external configuration does not always indicate exactly the size of the subjacent parts of the brain, and upon which objections have been raised. At the part of the frontal bone immediately above the top of the nose, a divergence from parallelism is sometimes produced by the existence of a small cavity called the frontal sinus.

The frontal sinus is the dark hole seen in the annexed cut above the nose. It does not in general appear before the age of twelve ; and as the organs over which it may subsequently be formed, are well developed and very active before that age, there is no obstacle to our comparing their size with the vigour of the mental manifestations, before the sinus exists. We are thus able to determine the functions of these organs with certainty. After puberty it is generally present. Beclard remarks that " the frontal sinuses are not formed till after birth. Towards twelve years of age only the rudiments of them exist, and they appear only as cells a little larger than the others in the ethmoiclal bone. They go on increasing with age, and extend themselves, at the same time, in the frontal and orbitary portion of the bone, which sometimes they entirely

FRONTAL SINUS. 131

cover."¹ Its size in one individual is shewn in the cut ; it is sometimes larger and sometimes smaller than that here represented. It is formed between the two tables of the bone, either by the external table swelling out a little without being followed by the internal, and presenting an appearance like that of a blister on a biscuit, or by the internal table sinking in without being followed by the external.

It has been argued by some individuals, that the existence of a frontal sinus is an insuperable objection to Phrenology in general, because it throws so much uncertainty in the way of our observations as completely to destroy their value. Other opponents, however, more rationally confine their objection to those organs over which the sinus extends.

The first objection is manifestly untenable. Even granting the sinus to be an insuperable obstacle in the way of ascertaining the development of the organs over which it is situated, it is plain that, in ordinary cases, it interferes with only a few, namely, Form, Size, Weight, Individuality, and Locality ; and that the whole external appearances of the other thirty or thirty-one organs are left as unaltered as if no frontal sinus existed. It would be quite as logical to speak of a snow-storm in Norway obstructing the highway from Edinburgh to London, as of a small sinus at the top of the nose concealing the development of Benevolence, Firmness, or Veneration, on the crown of the head.

To enable the reader to form a correct estimate of the value of the objection as applicable to the individual organs particularly referred to, I offer the following observations. In the first place, below the age of twelve or fourteen, the sinus, if it exists at all, rarely extends so high as the base of the frontal lobe of the brain ; secondly, in adult age, it frequently occurs to the extent above admitted ;² and,

¹ Dictionnaire de Médecine, ix. 504.

2 This may seem at variance with a statement given in the first edition of this work, on the authority of a friend in Paris, who, in the course of many months' dissections, bad never found a frontal sinus except in old age

132 FRONTAL SINUS.

thirdly, in old age. and in diseases such as idiocy and chronic insanity, it is often of very great extent, owing to the brain diminishing in size, and the inner table of the skull following it, while the outer remains stationary. The first cases present no objection, for in them the sinus does not exist so high as to interfere with the observation of the size of the organs ; the third are instances of disease, which are uniformly excluded in phrenological observations ; and thus our attention is limited solely to the cases forming the second class. In regard to them the objection is, that large development of brain, and large frontal sinus, present so nearly the same appearance that we cannot accurately distinguish them, and that therefore our observations must be inconclusive.

To this the following answer is given. In the first place, we must distinguish between the possibility of discovering the function of an organ, and the possibility of applying this discovery practically in all cases, so as to be able, in every instance, to predicate the exact degree in which every particular mental power is present in each individual. As already mentioned, the sinus does not, in general, extend so high as the brain until after the age of twelve or fourteen, before which time Individuality is most conspicuously active in the mind. If, then, in children, in whom no sinus exists, that mental power is observed to be strong when the part of the head is large, and weak when it is small, we ascertain the function, whatever may subsequently embarrass us. If in after life the sinus conies to exist, this throws a certain impediment in the way of the practical application of our knowledge ; and accordingly, phrenologists admit a

and in disease. In sawing open the skull for anatomical purposes, the section is almost always made horizontally through the middle of the forehead, or over the organs of Tune, Time, and Eventuality ; in all the cases alluded to by the gentleman in Paris, this line was followed, and as the sinus rarely extends so high up, he could not, and did not, meet with it. On examining vertical sections, however, for the purpose of seeing the sinus, he has since frequently found it to the extent mentioned in the text.

FRONTAL SINUS. 133

difficulty in ascertaining the development of the organs lying immediately-above the top of the nose, except in extreme instances, in which even the sinus itself forms but a fraction of the difference between great development and deficiency.-In the next place, the objection applies only to one set of cases. If there be a hollow or depression in the external surface of the skull at the situation of the organs in question, and the sinus be absent, then the organ must necessarily be deficient in proportion to the depression. If, with such an external appearance, the sinus be present (which is not generally the case, but which, for the sake of argument, I shall suppose), then it must be formed by the inner table receding more than the outer table : hence a greater deficiency of the organs will actually exist than what is externally indicated ; and, of course, the deficiency of mental power will be at least equal to that which is indicated by the exterior of the head. In cases of this kind, therefore, the sinus forms no objection. Thus the only instances in which it can occasion embarrassment are those where it causes a swelling outward of the parts of the skull in question, when there is no corresponding development of brain within. Now, if, in all cases in youth, when no sinus exists, and in all cases in mature age in which a depression is found, the mental power is ascertained to correspond with the external development ; and if, in certain cases in adult age, an external indication appears to which the mental power does not correspond, what conclusion ought to be drawn according to the rules of a correct logic ? Not that the functions of the parts are uncertain-because they have been ascertained in cases not liable to impediment or objection ; but only that, in the particular cases in mature age in which external development is large, and the corresponding power absent, there must be a frontal sinus. Finally, after practice in observing, it is in general possible to distinguish between external appearances produced by a frontal sinus, and those indicating a large development

134 ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN.

of organs. In the former case, the elevations are usually more abrupt and ridgy ; and in the latter, they present a rounder swell, and follow the direction of the organs as delineated on the busts.

If, then, men in general manifest their natural qualities in their actions ; and if, in healthy individuals, not beyond the middle period of life, the form of the brain may be discovered by observing the figure of the head ; it follows that the true faculties, and the true cerebral development, may be compared in living subjects : and on these grounds the proposition is established, that the phrenological mode of philosophising is competent to enable us to attain the results sought for.

Before proceeding to the practical application of the principles of Phrenology, I subjoin a few remarks on the anatomy of the brain, principally taken from those which Dr Fossati has added to his French translation of my Elements of Phrenology.

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