EDITOR'S TABLE. 



111 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



TILE RELATIONS OF BODY AND MIND. 



THE question of the relation of the 

 mental and the corporeal powers 

 has always had a deep speculative in- 

 terest; but, as science is gradually 

 working it out, it is found to have also 

 a profound practical interest. It is 

 strange that a subject of such fascina- 

 tion, aud concerning which so much 

 has been said in all ages, should be so 

 late in its rational elucidation. But, 

 besides the difficulties which spring 

 from its extreme complexity, the in- 

 quiry has been perpetually hindered by 

 prejudice and passion. Singular as it 

 may appear, the acquisition of the most 

 important of all knowledge, that of the 

 human constitution by dissection, has 

 been held as a crime until the present 

 generation. The prejudice that led to 

 this result led also to the further result 

 that the most important part of the 

 human system, that which is specially 

 devoted to psychical ends, has been 

 considered last. The early anatomists 

 refrained from dissecting the head for 

 fear of committing impiety, and there 

 remained, long after, a kindred feeling 

 against the analysis and study of the 

 brain. Even when it had been demon- 

 strated, and was admitted by all physi- 

 ologists, that the brain was the organ 

 of the mind, there still lingered with 

 many a belief that it was a sort of un- 

 accountable, half-superfluous append- 

 age to the body, with no such reason 

 for its existence as was obvious in the 

 case of other anatomical parts. Physi- 

 ologists might show that it had special 

 relations with the mind, but the stu- 

 dents of mental philosophy denied that 

 it was of any importance to them, and 

 proceeded with their inquiries as if it 

 had no existence at all. Buffon de- 

 scribed the brain as consisting of a 

 kind of " ignorant mucilage," and the 



Rev. F. "W". Robertson expressed the 

 general metaphysical and theological 

 contempt for it by ridiculing the idea 

 of accounting for mental effects " by a 

 few ounces more or less of the hasty- 

 pudding contained within the skull." 

 We are indebted to the phrenological 

 school for having made a vigorous 

 fight in behalf of the claims of the 

 head upon the students of mind, and, 

 whatever may be the imperfections 

 of their scheme, they have certainly 

 cleared away a vast amount of preju- 

 dice in the popular mind, and prepared 

 for the consideration of the material 

 apparatus in connection with mental 

 phenomena. 



It is now well established that, in 

 the study of mind and character, the 

 physiological organism is not only to 

 be taken into account, but is to be 

 made the basis of investigation. Meta- 

 physical treatises open with a descrip- 

 tion of the nervous system, even if it 

 plays no part in the subsequent exposi- 

 tion. But, wherever mind is studied 

 with a view to practical ends, it is 

 found necessary not only to admit in a 

 general way the intimate dependence 

 and close interaction of the mental and 

 corporeal systems, but the relations 

 have to be worked out with the utmost 

 detail on both sides. In dealing with 

 abnormal mental manifestations, as in 

 the numerous forms of insanity and 

 the various grades of feeble-minded- 

 ness, or with the psychological effects 

 of stimulants and narcotics, or with 

 the development and decline of the 

 mental powers, or with the effects of 

 mental overwork and exhaustion, it is 

 now admitted to be indispensable to 

 start from the nervous system, and to 

 regard men,tal manifestations as con- 

 ditioned by its properties and laws. 

 Thus far it is only physicians, compelled 



