414 REMARKS OJJ PHRENOLOGr. 



tve think of the farmer who maintained it to be useless knowledge 

 to be conversant with what kinds of grain or roots would thrive in 

 such and such soils ! And if this kind of knowledge is universally 

 admitted to be useful, nay indispensable, of what vital importance 

 must it be for teachers to know what kinds of instruction may be 

 given with the greatest advantage to each pupil, for they may rest 

 assured that " as they sow so shall they reap." 



It is an axiom in phrenology, that it is impossible to create any 

 fiiculty — all that the teacher can do is to strengthen those which his 

 j)upil possesses. Thus phrenology is of inestimable value in 

 indicating those faculties which are very defective. These being 

 ascertained, the teacher will avoid the irksome task of attempting 

 to drag the pupil after him in subjects with which Nature never 

 intended him to be proficient. The '* Phrenological Journal" con-- 

 tains an account of a girl who had no taste tor music. Notwiih- 

 standing this defect masters were employed to teach her the art f 

 great pains were taken, but without success ; music was not only 

 indifferent to her, but absolutely painful ; the finest chorusses of 

 Handel, the swelling peals of the organ, the thrilling harmony 

 of the orchestra, all produced distressing sensations. In this 

 instance the organ of harmony was very deficient, and therefore it 

 was a folly to attempt to impart a taste for music. 



But if the organ instead of being very deficient, is moderately 

 developed, it is advisable to cultivate it, and, by judicious manage- 

 ment, to strengthen and enlarge it. The pupil, of course, will not 

 advance so rapidly as he who has the faculty strong, but the phre- 

 nologist will at once perceive the reason, and will see the folly of 

 punishing the tyro for his comparatively slow progress, and making 

 invidious comparisons between him and his more fortunate com- 

 panions. This system of making comparisons is a most baneful 

 but a very common practice, in the routine of teaching. It is 

 baneful in relation to the pupil compared, as tending to rouse his 

 animal propensities , it wounds his self-esteem, and his approba- 

 tiveness, which in their turn arouse combativeness and destruc- 

 tiveness, to be revenged on the favourites of the teacher j and if 

 the boy happens to be younger or weaker than those whom the 

 injudicious conduct of the master has rendered objects of envy and 

 jealousy, secretiveness will be called into play, in order to obtain 

 that revenge by stealth which would be impracticable openly. And 

 it is baneful with regard to those with whom he is compared, as 

 unduly encouraging their self-esteem and approbativeness, and 

 puffing them up in their own conceits, and teaching them to be 

 proud of (what is no merit of theirs) having superior powers. 

 Superior powers of mind spring from a suj)erior organization 

 of brain — and surely no one will maintain this to arise from any 

 merit in the possessor > the original size of the brain and confor- 

 mation of the head are ])roduced by circumstances before birth, 

 over which the owner had no control. 



We thus see what a number of opposing faculties are called into 

 action by the ignorance of those who ought to " train up a child in 



