MISCELLANY. Outlines of Physiology, with an Appendix on Phrenology, by P. M. Roget, M. D.-This is the title of an octavo volume of 516 pages, recently issued from the press in this city. It is composed of two articles, originally prepared by Dr. Roget for the "Encyclopædia Bri tannica." Their present republication is introduced to the public with a brief preface and numerous notes, by an "American editor." The article on phrenology, including nearly fifty pages, appears in the form of an appendix. Dr. R. has been an unbeliever in phrenology ever since its first introduction into Great Britain; and it would be very strange, if a man of his age, circumstances, and relations to the public, when once having committed himself decidedly and unequivocally against it, should take any other ground but that of an open opposer to the science. In his treatise on physiology, page 449, Dr. Roget states the fact, that no physician over forty years of age would admit the truth of Harvey's celebrated discovery of the circulation of the blood; so in relation to the truth of Dr. Gall's discovery of the functions of the brain, though there may be many honourable exceptions to the above historical fact, yet we presume Dr. Roget will never be enrolled among that number. Notwithstanding Dr. R.'s objections to phrenology have been repeatedly answered in Great Britain, yet they are republished in this country with the evident design of prejudicing the public against the science-a thing which they are peculiarly calculated to effect, both from the well-known reputation of their author, as well as from his misrepresentations and plausible mode of reasoning. Since this is the fact, we shall present a thorough and extended review of the work in a future number of the Journal. We are gratified to find that it has already met with some strictures in the September number of the Eclectic Journal of Medicine. The Literary Examiner and Western Monthly Review, published at Pittsburg, Pa.-The August number of this periodical contains a critical and able review of Dr. Sewall's lectures against phrenology, as well as an extended notice of the famous letter of J. Q. Adams. The writer displays a thorough knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and phrenology; and completely exposes the sophistry and misrepresentations of these two anti-phrenologists. We should be pleased to notice this review at length, did our limits permit, and had not the same subjects already been discussed in this Journal; and, as it is, we cannot refrain from copying the following excellent paragraph in commendation of Phrenology: "This science studies man only as a living agent, confining its enquiries to his organisation and its resulting phenomena. Strictly Baconian in all its parts and processes, it pushes its investigations no farther than the safe ground of observation and experience, and pretends only to examine the proper subjects of rational enquiry. Of all the systems of mental philosophy that recognise the truth of the Christian Scriptures, it alone deserves the high praise of rejecting all ontological hypotheses, and reverently leaving to revelation its proper province of unfolding the condition of the soul in a future state. It is the only science of mind which consists exclusively of facts and phenomena, and their classified arrangement, dealing only with the certainties which sense and reflection are competent to attain, and walking cautiously by the sound rule, that first causes and the intimate nature of things is the wisdom of God-observation and legitimate deduction, the proper knowledge of man." - Southern Literary Messenger.-This monthly periodical, which is deservedly popular, and has an extensive circulation in the southern states, is furnishing its readers with the full reports of Mr. Geo. Combe's lectures on phrenology, as they first appeared in the New Yorker. Each number contains a report of one lecture. We doubt whether the editor of the Messenger could select matter more interesting and instructive to the great mass of its readers; and in confirmation of this remark, we observe that several papers, in their recent notices of the work, have spoke of its value in high terms, with special reference to the full reports of these lectures. W. Lawrence, F. R. S., Professor of Anatomy and Surgery, London, makes the following statement in his lectures on physiology:-"I consider the difference between man and animals, in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that which we assign for the variations in other functions, viz. difference in organisation; and that the superiority of man in rational endowments, is not greater than the more exquisite, complicated, and perfectly developed structure of his brain, and particularly of his ample cerebral hemispheres, to which the rest of the animal kingdom offers no parallel, nor even any near approximation." Usefulness of Phrenology to the Treatment of Insanity.—Very great improvements have been made within twenty years in the treatment of the insane, and in the management of lunatic asylums. It is now generally admitted, that mental derangement of every kind and degree is the result of a diseased state of the brain; and it has been found, by actual experiment, that this disease, like others, is curable to a very great extent by the application of proper remedies. Nearly all cases of mental alienation, if taken in season and properly treated, are now found to result in the restoration of health to the body, as well as of sanity to the mind of the patient. Once the insane were regarded universally as incurable, and comparatively no exertions were made to promote their happiness or prolong their lives. The important changes which have been brought about in this respect, are attributable in no small degree to the lights which phrenology has shed upon medical science. But this unfortunate class of our fellow-beings, as a body, have scarcely yet begun to enjoy its healing and beneficial influences. The next fifty years will witness far greater changes and improvements in the treatment of the insane, than have occurred during the last half century. For some time past, several lunatic asylums in Great Britain have been under the superintendence of medical gentlemen who have availed themselves of the helps of phrenology. And it has been found, we believe, in every instance, that the number of cures has been greater, and the general management better, in these institutions, than in those superintended by persons entirely ignorant of the science. There is evidence to believe, both from experience as well as philosophy, that, ultimately, all hospitals and asylums for the insane will be managed by superintendents who understand the principles and application of phrenology. Dr. James Scott, of the Royal Hospital at Haslar, England, recently gave, in a public document, the following testimony of the utility of the science: "I unhesitatingly give it as my deliberate conviction," says he, “that no man, whatever may be his qualifications in other respects, will be very successful in the treatment of insanity in its various forms, if he be not well acquainted with practical phrenology; and I will add, that whatever success may have attended my own practice in the Lunatic Asylum of this great national establishment, over which I have presided as chief medical officer for many years, I owe it, almost exclusively, to my knowledge of phrenology." Phrenology in Louisiana.-It appears that there is a strong and increasing interest on the subject of phrenology in various parts of this state. At Jackson, where is located the college of Louisiana, a large and flourishing Phrenological Society has for some time existed, which embraces the president and professors of the college, as well as many of the students. In No. 10, Vol. 1, of the Journal, we presented our readers with an excellent address, delivered before this society by President Shannon; and we have the pleasure of presenting them with another address from the same source in the present number of the Journal. We learn, also, that Professor H. H. Gird delivered, last year, an address before the Phrenological Society of the same institution, which is spoken of in high terms. Will some friend of the science send us copies of the Feliciana Republican for February, 2, 9, and 15, containing this address? Meanwhile we copy for our readers its concluding paragraph from an exchange periodical: "For this trait, for its tendency to diffuse the noblest kind of knowledge, I am a warm friend to phrenology. It shuts not itself in the scholar's cell, its sphere is not the narrow bounds of the professor's lecture-room; it goes forth strong in the consciousness of its truth and simplicity, and addresses itself to all who are willing to hear. It calls men together, it teaches them to study themselves and their fellow-men, and to apply their knowledge to useful and benevolent purposes under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of Christianity. It is not extravagant, then, to apply to its authors and propagators the eulogium bestowed on Socrates. Like him, they have brought philosophy down from heaven, and caused her to dwell once more in the abodes of men." The celebrated Dr. Physick, who for many years stood at the head of the medical profession in this country, was, in the year 1821, President of the Philadelphia Phrenological Society. A very scientific gentleman recently stated, in a public lecture, that, from a critical examination of paintings, statues, busts, &c., he was fully convinced of the truth of this fact: viz. that all the signers of the Declaration of American Independence were men possessing large heads, Can any one furnish us with definite information, respecting the general size or particular development of the above class of individuals, or of any of the great leaders in the American Revolution? Several interesting articles on phrenology have appeared in the recent numbers of the "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal," which we shall notice more particularly hereafter. In the consideration of this intricate and much vexed question, it is not my purpose to endeavour to prove that the will of man is free, in the loose and unlimited interpretation which the term may receive. Such freedom, transcending the bounds of rational liberty, would be wild licentiousness. It would be incompatible with subjection or definite responsibility to any form of law. But this is not true of the human will. In the performance of his voluntary actions, man is as strictly under the control of the laws of his moral and intellectual nature, as the streams are under the influence of gravitation in their descent to the ocean, or the planets in the performance of their journeys around the sun. Nor are the laws which govern the movements of mind less definite, positive, and unchangeable, than those which govern the movements of matter. Were the case otherwise, to reason as to the grounds and motives of human conduct would be impossible; and all efforts to that effect would be futile. Let the actions of man be free from the guidance of affective causes and controlling influences, and by no extent of experience or depth of wisdom could they be foreseen, or reasonably calculated on from one moment to another. A moral and intellectual chaos, with the confusion accompanying it, would every where prevail. When I say that I will or will not perform a certain deed, my meaning is, that I purpose to obey a motive which now influences me. And some motive must always influence us, else are we aliens and outlaws from the system of nature, violators of its harmony, and totally dissimilar to every thing else within the compass of creation. VOL. II.-7 In the sphere, however, for which he is intended, and within whose limits alone he can act, man is sufficiently free for all the purposes of moral agency and personal accountability. In his selection and pursuit of a line of conduct, as well as in the performance of individual actions, he feels himself free from any hampering control; though he also feels that, in whatever he does, he is influenced by some cause. And between that cause and the action he performs, there is as natural and positive a bond of law, as there is between a falling body and the earth which attracts it. Were the case otherwise, man, I repeat, would be an anomaly in creation, all things else being governed by law, and he being lawless. To this, even the actions of the Deity form no exception. They are circumscribed and determined by the law (if it may be so called) of his own nature and perfections. He cannot swerve from truth, justice, or goodness, because they are elements of his moral essence, and form a kind of fate, which bind him to maintain them pure and inviolate. Much less can man so far control his nature, as to become independent of the motives and influences which are ordained and fitted by his Creator to govern his actions. My object, then, I say, in the present disquisition, is not to prove the abstract and positive freedom of the human will; but to show that there is nothing in phrenology more inconsistent with it, than is found in other doctrines of moral action. On the contrary, I hope to make it appear that, on the principles of that science, a more satisfactory exposition of Free Will can be given, than on those of any other scheme of mental philosophy.. Without farther preface, therefore, I shall engage in the enterprise. In this attempt, the truth of the science will be regarded, not as a postulate to be demonstrated, but as a theorem demonstrated already. Phrenology shows that the human brain is composed of thirty-six or thirty-seven distinct and specific organs, each being the seat or instrument of a mental faculty, also distinct and specific. These organs and faculties, however, are not independent, but exercise over each other a modifying and, to a certain extent, a controlling influence. They are not only, moreover, essentially different in their nature and tendency; some of them have bearings so directly opposite, as to be checks on one another, should any of them threaten to run to excess in their action. All these faculties are useful, and therefore valuable in themselves, equally consistent, under proper regulation, with morality and virtue, and necessary to the completion of the human mind-necessary, I mean, to fit man for the world he lives in, and to qualify him for the duties of the station he occupies. Vice and crime, therefore, are not the necessary product of the human faculties. |