PHYSIO 
and that man does not rife fuperior of other animals in the 
fize of the general mafs of his brain, but only byanincreafe 
in thofe portions which arethe organsof the fuperior facul¬ 
ties. He thinks too that, were the brain a common mafs, we 
Ihould find every man of genius equally energetic in all 
the mental faculties ; whereas fuch is not the cafe. 
He draws a ftronger argument from the affertion, that 
fome faculties are not manifefted in youth, until certain 
organs of the brain are carefully developed. He thinks 
- that the phenomena of dreaming, talking, or walking, 
during deep, may be accounted for by admitting a plu¬ 
rality of organs ; for all fee here fome adtions, as reafon- 
ing or moving, difplayed while all others are quiefcent. 
He thinks alfo that an analogy between mental and bodily 
fatigue favour his propofition. It is this; when the 
mufcles of one part are fatigued, we find it irkfome to 
employ them longer, but we are ftill capable of employing 
thole of another part with facility. So, after we have been 
employed long in abftrufe ftudies, we find their conti¬ 
nuance impoffible; yet we are able to enjoy with ardour 
works of imagination, or to exercife our brains in any 
other way. Now this analogy feems to Gall, to prove a 
plurality of organs ; becaufe, if all actions are performed 
by one organ, over-exertion mufl equally fatigue it in all 
its adtions, however their objects were changed. Laftly, 
fome proofs of this propofition are found in pathology: 
it is well known that infane perfons are often mad only 
cn one fubjedt; that is to fay, according to Gall, they 
have only one organ affedted : nay, inftances are not 
wanting of perfons in whom, during a paroxym of mad- 
nels, molt diftindt and oppofite inclinations have been 
inanifeft; as, e. g. Pinel relates a cafe of a man who was 
affedted with a propenfity to murder fo irrefiltible, that 
he could by no effort control it; yet he was aware of the 
heinoufnefs of the crime, befought thofe he loved to put 
him in irons, or get far from him, or remove all weapons 
of annoyance from within his reach. Partial affedtions 
alfo are produced by blows on the head. Cafes are re¬ 
lated of perfons, who, from fuch caufes, have loft the 
memory of proper names ; of others who loft the memory 
of nouns altogether, by whom nevertbelefs all other 
parts of fpeech were well remembered. One Lereard of 
Marfeilles, after having received a blow from a foil in the 
orbit, loft entirely the memory of names; fometimes he 
did not recolledt thofe of his intimate f riends, or even of 
his father. Cuvier, in his hiftorical eulogium on Brouf- 
fonet, ftates that this celebrated botanift, after having 
recovered from an apoplectic fit, never could recolledt 
propernames norfubftantives,though he had recoveredhis 
prodigious memory w-ith refpedt to other objedts. He 
• knew plants, their figure, leaves, and colours; he recol- 
ledted the adjedtives, but could never recover the generic 
fubftantives by which they were defignated. Some cafes 
of inability to diflinguifh the differences of colours, while 
the vifion was otherwife unimpaired, are alfo related in 
“ .Tranfadtions of the Phrenological Society,” (Edinburgh, 
1824.) and the relaters confider, that, as fuch anomalies 
cannot be accounted for on optical principles, they at 
once illuflrate and are explained by the hypothefis of 
Gall. The premifes feem, however, very weak in this 
laft cafe. If the authority of mere opinion were of any 
value on this fubjedt, the names of Boerhaave, Haller, 
Prochafka, and many eminent phyfiologifts, might be 
quoted, who believe, under fome modifications, that the 
brain is an affemblage of many organs. 
The fourth propofition, that the fiize of a particular 
organ indicates the energy of its fundtion, is one which 
Gall allows us to modify in fome degree. He is not able, 
of courfe, to overlook the importance of ultimate delicacy 
of ltrudture, nor of exercife in producing energetic facul¬ 
ties in fmall organs; fo that he contents himfelf with 
the general rule, fubjedt to fome exceptions. Pie proves 
it by analogy to the common properties of matter, a large 
loadftone having ftronger power of attradtion than a fmall 
one ; by analogy with the mufcular fyftem, in which bulk 
G N O M Y. ‘323 
and energy are nearly correfpondent f and by diredt re¬ 
ference to the phenomena of the nervous fyftem in ani¬ 
mals; the energies of the fenfes of feeing, hearing, See. 
according with the relative bulk of the olfactory or au¬ 
ditory nerves. 
The application of this knowledge is next to be en¬ 
quired into. It is obvious that the brain cannot itfelf be 
contemplated till after death; and confequently, if con- 
clufions were only derivable from its infpedtion, the uti¬ 
lity of our knowledge would be little apparent. Gall 
fays, that the outer part of the head correfponds with the 
internal cavities of the fkull. It is proved beyond doubt, 
that the foft parts of the body are capable, during the 
growth of the body, of moulding and framing the hard 
ones ; that in difeafes the folid ones fuffer abforption and 
decay from the preffure of blood-veffels ; and that, from 
the formation of the bony fabric of a child’s head, no vio¬ 
lent adtion, nothing indeed but the feeble refiftance of 
the fofteft brain, is necefiary to caufe elevations or depref- 
fions on the head. But it may be enquired, Does the 
brain accurately fill the fkull ? and it may be replied (in 
health), Mod perfectly, excepting where fome fmall 
glands, about the fize of pins’ heads, more or lefs 
large and numerous in different perfons, are met with 
near the vertex ; and alfo the imprefiions of the finufes. 
Next it may be aiked, Do the eminences on the outfide of 
the fkull correfpond accurately with the cavities of its 
inner fide? Gall and Spurzheim affert the affirmative; 
but very general experience is againff them: thefe parts 
do not accurately correfpond; the Ikull is not equally 
thick throughout; its general thicknefs is different in 
different perfons, and very often it has been found alto¬ 
gether extremely thick or thin without affignable caufe. 
Thefe multitudinous exceptions are however of no great 
conlequence, becaufe, in the moft marked cafes, they can¬ 
not caufe very .great difcrepancies in organs which are 
faid to be fome inches in depth. The correfpondence, 
then, between the brain and outer table of the fkull being 
eftablifhed, we are enabled to apply our knowledge to 
phyfiognotnical purpofes, the layer of Ikin and tendon 
which covers the fkull being too thin and uniform in fize 
to obftrudt our examination. 
For the reafons here adduced, we may adm t as 
proved the two firft propofitions of the Phrenologiffs. 
We may admit alfo the 1 ait with fome modification. But 
we cannot confider the ftepping-ftone of crar.iology, viz. 
the plurality of the cerebral organs, as at all made out; and 
tlie connexion between energy of action and bulk of fub- 
ffance muff be liable to fo many exceptions, that it is 
of little if any pradtical utility. The plurality of organs 
is affumed chiefly on analogical grounds, and partly 
becaufe the mind mnnifefts a plurality of faculties. Now, 
as to the analogies drawn from the fecretiug or mufcular 
parts of the fyftem, they are quite abfurd. If it were 
poflible to conceive any mode of action which could be 
common to glands and to the brain, or to the brain and 
mufcular fibres, fuch analogy would be very fair 5 but how 
can any one conceive, in the molt diftant manner, that the 
operations of the brain are like fecretion, which is a repa¬ 
ration and recompofition of material particles, or like 
mufcular motion, which is a mere thortening or length¬ 
ening of the fame ? 
The nervous fyftem furnifnes analogy favourable to 
the idea of different adtions of the fame organ, rather than 
to that of a multitude of feparate organs. The retina 
receives imprefiions of different colours; the olfadtory 
nerves are capable of receiving a thousand odours; and 
certainly, as far as Ample conjedture goes, there feems 
more difference between various forts of odours, or rays, 
than between various kinds of memories. The plurality 
of organs is however urged, becaufe fuch adiniffion will 
account for a multitude of mental phenomena : but this 
is done equally well by the admifiion that the brain is 
one organ capable of many adtions. Grant that, when 
the whole brain is affedted one w’ay, fear is produced; 
when 
