246 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 



56. There have been a few, but only a few, men of distin- 

 guished ability whose brains have been comparatively small in 

 size the rule being that great men possess large brains. The 

 relative weight of the brain of man, as compared with the 

 weight of the body, does not, in all instances, exceed that of 

 the inferior animals ; the canary and other singing-birds have 

 a greater relative amount of nervous matter than man; but 

 man surpasses all other creatures in the size of the hemi- 

 spheres of the cerebrum, and in the amount of gray substance 

 which they contain. (Bead Notes 7 and 8.) 



57. It is a singular fact that this cerebral substance is insen- 

 sitive, and may be cut without causing pain. The removal of 



7. The Alliance of Mind and Body. "The regular routine of our 

 daily life is the counterpart of the mental routine. A healthy man wakens 

 in the morning with a flush of spirits and energy ; his first meal confirms 

 and reinforces the state. The mental powers and susceptibilities are 

 then at a maximum ; as the nutrition is used up in the system they 

 gradually fade, but may be renewed once and again by refreshment and 

 brief remission of toil. Towards the end of the day lassitude sets in, and 

 fades into the deep unconsciousness of healthy sleep. . . . The influ- 

 ences that affect the body extend not only to the .grosser modes of feel- 

 ing, and to such familiar exhibitions as after-dinner oratory, but also to 

 the highest emotions love, anger, aesthetic feeling, and moral sensibility. 

 Health keeps an Atheist in the dark. Bodily affliction is often the cause 

 of a total change in the moral nature." Bain's Mind and Body. 



8. Large Brains. " As a rule the size of the brain is proportional to 

 the mental development in human beings. The rule is not strictly main- 

 tained in every instance ; occasionally a stupid man has a larger brain 

 than a clever man. But these are only individual exceptions to a prevail- 

 ing arrangement. The following are the brain weights of several distin- 

 guished men : 



Cuvier 64.5 oz. 



Abercrombie 63. " 



Daniel Webster. , . 53.5 " 



Lord Campbell 53.5 oz. 



Agassiz 53.4 " 



De Morgan 52.7 " 



" The average male brain in Europeans is 49.5 oz. ; the female, 44 oz. 

 Among idiots the weights have run from 27 to 8.5 oz. The brains of the 

 insane are below the average of the sane. Tall men, as a rule, have 

 larger brains than small men." Bain's Mind and Body. 



56. What is stated of men in connection with the size of their brain ? With the brains 

 of other animals ? 



5T. Sensitiveness of the brain substance? The removal of a portion of the brain? 

 State the remarkable case mentioned. 



