EDITOR'S TABLE. 



555 



psychologist holds that the material 

 conditions of mind are of supremo im- 

 portance to the understanding of its 

 laws. To the metaphysician the brain 

 is a thing of but little interest, which lie 

 contentedly leaves to the phrenologist, 

 or he avoids it as opening the danger- 

 ous way to materialism ; the mental 

 physiologist is attracted to brain-stud- 

 ies because they open the way to the 

 largest, truth, because they elucidate 

 the conditions of mental action, con- 

 nect mind with character, explain indi- 

 viduality, and disclose the laws of im- 

 provement on the hitherto neglected 

 side of human nature. Let us here 

 note some of the differences in the 

 practical bearings of these two methods. 

 If we take the phenomena of mental 

 growth certainly of great importance 

 we lind that the metaphysician can 

 give us but little help in treating it. 

 Growth is primarily a biological con- 

 ception, yet mind grows. But mental 

 physiology, or objective psychology, 

 taking into consideration the vital con- 

 ditions, can deal rationally with psy- 

 chical development. The subject of 

 mental growth is at the root of educa- 

 tion. To the metaphysical teacher, ven- 

 tilation, exercise, clothing, and diet, as 

 they are material concernments, are of 

 but indifferent moment ; while to the 

 well-instructed psychological teacher 

 they are the fundamental conditions of 

 successful work. He knows that he can 

 only cultivate the mind in accordance 

 with the laws of the organism of which 

 it is a part. To the metaphysician, mind 

 is an independent entity in an upper 

 sphere of being ; to the mental physi- 

 ologist, it is the activity of an organ- 

 ized mass of nerve-cells and filaments, 

 charged with blood and carrying on 

 processes of thinking and feeling under 

 the laws of nutrition. If the organiza- 

 tion is low, or perverted by hereditary 

 taint, or if the blood is thin or im- 

 pure, so that the nutritive processes are 

 sluggish or enfeebled, he understands 

 that the bodily growth will be hindered, 



and mental action correspondingly low- 

 ered in vigor. 



Another illustration of the contrast 

 of the two methods is furnished by the 

 phenomena of insanity. To the meta- 

 physician in all the metaphysical ages 

 insanity was a sealed book, and by that 

 method would have so continued to the 

 end of time. And this, for the reason 

 that the metaphysician can not or will 

 not recognize in any adequate degree 

 the dependence of psychical effects upon 

 physiological conditions. He refuses to 

 see that it is the brain which, in its 

 health, carries on all the normal opera- 

 tions of mind. He will not have the 

 mental and the corporeal united. He 

 will not degrade the dignity of his sub- 

 ject by mixing it with base material con- 

 siderations. Hence, of diseased mind 

 and the causes and laws of its morbidity, 

 he knew nothing, and could know noth- 

 ing. It is to the physician, and not the 

 metaphysician, to the anatomist who 

 studied the structure of the brain, and 

 to the physiologist who studied its func- 

 tions, and the pathologist who studied 

 its diseases, that we owe all our knowl- 

 edge of that most practical of all sub- 

 jects, irregular and abnormal mental 

 action. 



And now we have another interest- 

 ing illustration of the contrast of these 

 two methods of study exemplified in 

 the able work on suicide of Dr. Morselli, 

 noticed in our December number. It is 

 there shown by multitudinous proofs, 

 and it was illustrated in our notice, that 

 the phenomena of suicide observe a regu- 

 larity to which we give the name of law. 

 But more than this, it is proved that 

 suicidal regularity has an orderly varia- 

 tion corresponding to variations of ex- 

 ternal condition climate, season, coun- 

 try, age, sex, race, cultivation, and social 

 circumstances. The question is, What 

 is the nature of the relation? Nobody 

 will pretend that it is accidental. Is it 

 not, then, dynamic and causal ? 



Now, the metaphysician can do 

 nothing with the problem, because his 



