A system of phrenology.

  • Combe, George, 1788-1858.
Date:
1835
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of phrenology. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    and modifications under which these principles fall to be applied in practice, will be stated in a subsequent chapter. First, The brain of a child is small, and its mental vigor weak, compared with the brain and mental vigor of an adult.* Secondly, Small size in the brain is an invariable cause of idiocy. Phrenolo- gists have in vain called upon their opponents to produce a single instance of the mind being manifested vigorously by a very small brain. Deficiency of size, however, in the brain is not the only cause of idiocy. A brain maybe large and diseased, and mental imbecility arise from the disease ; but, although disease be absent, if the size be very deficient, idiocy will be invariable. Thirdly, Men who have been remarkable, not for mere cleverness, but for great force of character, such as Napoleon Bonaparte, have had large heads. Fourthly, It is an ascertained fact, that nations in whom the brain is large, possess so great a mental superiority over those in whom that organ is small, that they conquer and oppress them at pleasure. The Hindoo brain, for example, is considera- bly smaller than the European, and it is well known that a few thousands of Europeans have subdued and keep in subjection millions of Hindoos. The Native American brain is smaller also than the European, and the same result has been exemplified in that country. Lastly, The influence of size is now admitted by the most eminent physiologists. Magendie says, the volume of the brain is generally in direct proportion to the capacity of the mind. We ought not to suppose, however, that every man having a large head is necessarily a person of superior intelligence, for there are many cases of an augmentation of the volume of the head beside the size of the brain, but it is rarely found that a man dis- tinguished by his mental faculties has not a large head. The only way of estimating the volume of the brain, in a living person, is to * It is certified by practical hatters, that the lower classes- of the community, who are distinguished for muscular vigor much more than mental capacity, re- quire a smaller size of hat than those classes whose occupations are chiefly men tal, and in whom vigor of mind surpasses that of body. But the Phrenologist does not compare mental power in general with size of brain in general; and, besides, the hat does not indicate the size of the whole head. The reader will find details on this point in the 4th volume of the Phrenological Journal.