18 THE TONER LECTURES. 



I have presented here. The first of these points I have already 

 spoken of. It is, that we find that agraphia is connected with 

 the left side of the brain in persons who are right-handed, and 

 with the right side of the brain in persons who are left-handed. 

 This, certainly, is a very strong argument to show that the 

 side of the brain which serves the motion of one side of the 

 bodj?^, that side — if the side of the body be the one which leads, 

 is the most important of the two — that side of the brain then 

 is the one that serves chiefly to the mental life in our system. 

 The mental life of our system, thei'efore, seems to be developed 

 considerably in the organ which itself seems to be developed in 

 a great measure owing to the action of will in one-half of the 

 bod3^ There is certainly a connection between these things, 

 but that will come out more by and b}^ 



The second point is, that in children who have not yet 

 learned to talk, or who have already learned only a little, if 

 disease comes in the left side of the brain, the one, I repeat, 

 which is, usually, the most rapid in its development if disease 

 comes to produce atrophy, so that the left side of the brain 

 becomes useless, those children then learn to talk just as well, 

 or nearly as well, as if they had no such affection, and the}'^ 

 learn it with the right side of the brain, which is the onl}^ one 

 acting. They were not born (the most of them, if not all of 

 them, if there is any exception I don't know it) of parents who 

 were left-handed, and there was no reason for their being left- 

 handed. They had the misfortune of losing the half of the 

 brain which served usually to the mental faculties, and other 

 mental faculties became developed — the power of speech and 

 action — and they make use of the left arm then just as well as 

 any one of the right-handed people makes use of the right ann. 

 There is in these facts clear proof that the right side of the 

 brain can be educated to become a leader in mental faculties as 

 well as the left side of the brain. There is a clear proof that 

 the right side of the brain can lead movements and obtain exe- 



