Christian Phrenology Part 2

10. ACQUISITIVENESS.

This organ is situated at the inferior range of the parietal bone. The faculty of the mind is a tendency to _acquire_ whatever is regarded valuable and whether riches or learning or articles of vertu be the object of acquisition, there appears to be little doubt, that such a faculty is natural to the nature of man. Although such an instinctive desire presents the aspect of meanness we must in some measure look at its effects; what would England or any civilized country be, if there had never been a desire for storing up the products of intellect and philosophy,--and the wealth that enables England to send out millions in spreading the word of G.o.d over a benighted and barbarous world?--If industry were to be limited by present wants, man would always continue the creature of mere impulse; it is the faculty of acquisitiveness that directs a systematic aim at supplying the comforts and elegancies of life, and to this, acc.u.mulation is necessary: when however the pursuit of wealth becomes the chief business of life the moral sentiments are deadened, the intellect and the n.o.bler faculties of the mind become engrossed in a debasing pursuit, the sympathy that characterizes a true christian is lost sight of. To provide for immediate wants of ourselves and those dependant upon us, to furnish the means of some repose for the body so as to enable the mind to enjoy cultivation, and to provide for the education of offspring:--to give a natural tendency for learning, for religious instruction, or the acquisition of that knowledge which is power, may be set down as the proper objects of this faculty: where the faculty of acquisitiveness is unduly exercised, and the propensity to acquire is not balanced by veneration and conscientiousness, the character is often influenced to dishonesty. In ABUSE; a miserly h.o.a.rding and total neglect of charity is evident, covetousness which St Paul condemns as idolatry, avarice and selfishness, a total disregard of distress, of conscientious principle, and of honour and duty are first and foremost;--from this organ, the weak fall a prey to the strong, the poor to the avarice of the lovers of mammon as they are called, that riches are valued more than public virtue or private integrity--that riches are pursued to the total ruin of the loftier principles of human nature, and to this prost.i.tution of spirit and of soul is owing the difficulty of a rich man's entering the kingdom of heaven. If there be such an instinctive tendency of the human mind, no better advice can ever be offered than that of the christian's pattern "seek ye first the kingdom of G.o.d and his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you." "For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"--

Besides these organs of the propensities, phrenologists have imagined the existence of a peculiar instinct termed _Vitativeness_, or love of life: the fact is probable but requires much caution and much experience before it can be definitely decided: the existence of a few isolated facts does not necessarily include the whole human race as being like a few individuals, and there is great necessity for not increasing the number of organs without due confirmation, because the simplicity of arrangement and the plainness of the science is thereby disturbed. Of this organ Spurzheim says "I look for this organ at the basis, where the middle and posterior lobes of the brain meet each other, at the internal border of Combativeness."

DIVISION II. INTELLECTUAL AND PERCEPTIVE FACULTIES OF THE MIND.

11. LANGUAGE.

It was owing to this organ, a full prominent eye, that Dr Gall first directed his attention to a scientific investigation of the faculties of the mind. vide Page. 13

A large developement is indicated by the prominence and depression of the eye, this appearance being produced by convolutions of the brain situated in the posterior and transverse part of the orbitary plate, pressing downward and outward in proportion to its convolutions. A full developement of this organ indicates a faculty for the acquisition and employment of words, or artificial signs, expressing our ideas; the meaning of the signs must be determined by other faculties, exactly as force or power of any kind requires to be guided and directed: from this reason may originate the very different significations given to the same abstract word, a different organization producing a difference in the meaning attached to it in spite of every effort to give an accurate definition; this will be self evident, if we merely quote the three leading features of Christianity, Faith, Hope, and Charity, and refer to different degrees of moral and intellectual elevation or turpitude, for the vague, unsatisfactory, and degraded meaning that we find frequently attached to them. Persons with a large endowment of this faculty, abound in words; in conversation they pour forth with volubility, but when excited they pour forth a torrent; this should be moderated by good sense, and appropriate language rather than verbosity will be employed in their speaking efforts as well as in their writings: when the organ is deficient, the individual wants a command of expression, he writes and speaks with great poverty of style, and when possessed of ideas is unable to clothe them in elegant or even appropriate language. The talent for, or facility of learning foreign languages originates in the same faculty, taken connectedly with the mental capacity for entering into the style and combinations of other countries. Some individuals in whom the organ is large do not necessarily possess a ready memory, which usually occurs when the faculty that apprehends the primitive idea (of which words only p.r.o.nounce the name) is more than ordinarily small. The organ abused generally makes a speechifier of small worth, a talker for the mere sake of talking, who frequently loses sight of reason and subject as well as his own good sense.--Its best use is a felicity of diction in describing the sentiments and opinions of the individual so that they may be exactly comprehended by others.

12. FORM.

This organ is situated in the corner of the eye next the nose, and when large there is a considerable breadth across the nose at that place: its chief use is in the accurate knowledge of form, whether of persons or objects, and disposes the mind to give a definite form to objects even when unseen: it is to this the acute observation of objects, by which means we compare them one with another, or personal ident.i.ty after absence and probable change in the form of features: to this organ many distinguished sculptors and architects owe much of their excellence, as its necessary action in connection with other organs would be to express an accuracy of outline: it is to an excessive use of this organ that painters study correctness of form in drawing, and neglect colouring; useful to architects for this reason.

13. SIZE.

The organ of size is situated at the corner of the eyebrow, next to individuality, and appears to influence the capability of the eye and mind in its motions of dimension: instances are known where persons deficient in this faculty have been unable to manage perspective in drawings, or even to copy the plainest figure without error in the size: others on the contrary measure size by the eye almost as accurately as by a rule, and are especially accurate in judging about dimensions--the organ is necessary for some professions, but not of great general importance.

14. WEIGHT.

This faculty like the preceding, is shewn only in particular persons: the absence of it is rarely noticed, and the presence of it quite unseen except in some particular walks of life. It gives a power of measuring, and comprehending the resistance of bodies to forces applied to them, is useful in philosophic enquiry, engineering, architecture &c.

15. COLOURING.

The sensation of colour on the eye is very different in different persons; many persons having an acute sense of vision readily perceive the qualities of objects but are incapable of judging about the agreement or disagreement of particular colours, and when the faculty is small they confound them and are incapable of perceiving their effect. When prominent the individual possesses a taste for gaudy colours, careless about their arrangement or harmony with others. It is situated in the centre of the eyebrow giving it a prominent aspect such as may be witnessed in the portraits of t.i.tian, Rubens, and many celebrated artists: The organ of colour well developed gives harmony and excellence in colouring and is useful to botanists, dyers, mercers, and all artists: That the faculty is abused, or rather wanting may be witnessed by the numberless facts that we meet with constantly, where people dress in gaudy colours and appear quite regardless of their being suitable or otherwise.

16. s.p.a.cE.

This hardly appears a positive faculty, we have noticed it from its being mentioned by phrenologists; it appears to be of a similar kind to form, size, and weight, all of which organs are connected with the organ of vision; the persons who have the organ well developed are persons of wide views in every thing, they are enraptured with extensive prospects, mountains, and every thing of a large size--if proved to exist, such a faculty would be valuable to painters.

17. ORDER.

The tendency of this faculty is to produce a love of order and arrangement in every thing; they are distressed by confusion, and are highly pleased with a regular arrangement of their furniture, books and other property.

The organ is located in the superciliary ridge, and from its general small developement, much fact is still necessary before the organ and its value can be definitely determined: there is certainly well marked in some persons, a love of order, and in others a carelessness to disorder, the one often degenerating into precision in trifles that produces great discomfort to other persons, the latter often inducing a disregard of necessary care and attention: the medium is to be sought for by all who detect either in their own character.

18. NUMBER.

The organ of the faculty of NUMBER is situated above and outside the external angle of the eye, a little below the external angle of the frontal bone. The special function seems to be calculation in general: it does not seem to extend to any faculty of computation beyond that of numbers, although from the tact that it a.s.sociates with it, it facilitates the study of mathematics. Many instances are adduced of its large size in good calculators, particularly in George Bidder, the calculating boy. This organ, like the other perceptives requires cultivation.

19. TUNE.

The organ of TUNE bears the same relation to the ears that the organ of _Colouring_ does to the eyes. A large developement of the organ enlarges the lateral parts of the forehead, and great practice is always necessary before the organ can be successfully observed: but if two persons are placed together, the one having it largely, the other smally developed, the superior one will be perceptible at a glance. The faculty gives the perception of melody, which is only _one_ of the ingredients of musical talent; the organs of the mind must be well developed in accordance with this, so that the soul and expression of music may be felt and appreciated, before the organs are perfectly developed; the fingers indeed may be trained to great expertness, but it is only the real lover of harmonious sounds who devotes _all_ his powers to its cultivation that can arrive at any thing like perfect skill. As a natural faculty of nature, this organ is particularly pleasing in calming the pa.s.sions, and producing pleasure by means perfectly innocent. Persons cannot obtain a scientific knowledge of music in whom the organ is deficient, and when _abused_ as this faculty often is, it should be remembered that the line between pleasure and pain is so indefinite, that where one terminates the other begins;--music carried beyond an agreeable pitch, leads the possessor into society, and too frequently into pleasures more enervating and sensual--these are to be dreaded, and the musician should remember that as the n.o.blest employment of his faculty is to "Praise G.o.d in the highest,"--so, nothing can be more debasing than the prost.i.tution of it to unworthy purposes.

20. TIME.

The organ of TIME seems to be related to that of order in its effects, it is essential to music and versification, form some source of pleasure in dancing, and seems to give a power of judging time and intervals of duration in general. The value of time renders this faculty more than usually necessary; it leads to a right estimation of punctuality as well as punctuality in engagements: persons with the organ large are fevered by delay, they become irritated about trifles of time that they may be kept waiting by others and thus incur a charge of bad temper. The organ is especially useful in persons studying history as it tends to give a faculty of remembering dates and other periods of time, the succession of events, &c.

21. LOCALITY.

Dr. Gall was led to infer the position of this organ from witnessing the memory of particular persons in their relation of places they had visited, and the strong impression made upon them by surrounding objects, so that he regarded this to be a primitive faculty. Spurzheim says, "the special faculty of this organ and the sphere of its activity, remains to be determined. It makes the traveller, geographer and landscape painter, recollects localities and gives notions of perspective." Persons in whom the organ is large, form vivid and distinct conceptions of situations and scenery which they have seen or heard described, and have great power in recalling such conceptions.--The organ is large in all eminent navigators and travellers, also in great astronomers and geographers. Persons who have this organ large, are pa.s.sionately fond of travelling: and where firmness is small, it influences to restlessness, and love of change; to physical pleasure as a gratification of this organ, in the neglect of other duties, and thus often exerts a baneful influence on the mind when allowed to operate without control.

22. INDIVIDUALITY.

The tendency of this organ is, the examination of fact as the only foundation of truth; it is situated in the middle of the lower part of the forehead, immediately above the top of the nose, it produces breadth and projection between the eyebrows. This faculty renders us observant of outward objects, and gives a desire to know, and to examine; it prompts to observation and general information, and is necessary for the acquisition of facts as a basis of science. Spurzheim says, "Persons endowed with this faculty in a high degree are attentive to all that happens around them, to every object, to every phenomenon, to every fact: it desires to know all by experience, and consequently puts every other organ into action: is fond of instruction, collects facts, and leads to practical knowledge."--To the influence of this organ we may trace the knowledge of individuals by animals, and even wild beasts in which this organ is large may be tamed to the will of a keeper. It puts into active exertion the perceptive faculties round the eyebrow, and thus influences the quality of the faculty (language) which lies in that portion of brain; so that a person with this organ large, and language small, will say but a few words and those to the purpose, or with individuality small and language large, he will utter ten thousand neatly turned sentences of the meanest commonplace, alike dest.i.tute of information or science. Persons in whom the organ is large, are alive to every thing that pa.s.ses around them, they look at facts and events, leaving it to others to reason upon them, and many great discoveries have been made by persons with this organ large who have not been celebrated for their powers of reasoning. When the organ is small, the individual fails to observe things that are going on around him, he will walk in the streets, or the country and see or rather observe literally nothing; he may visit a house without observing any one object beyond the immediate purpose of his visit.

ABUSES. This organ is often employed in the affairs of other people, in petty knowledge that tends to no real purpose; a superficiality of observation that leads to erroneous inferences, and when largely developed with the reflective and philosophic faculties, it leads to peculiarity of studies and pursuits to the exclusion of all others, and by breaking the unity of learning which points all things to Him who gave, it is too often the cause, of mistaken opinion or downright error.

23. EVENTUALITY.

Enquires into events and takes notice of occurrences; it gives prominence, or a rounded fulness to the middle of the forehead. Dr. Gall comprised this organ and the preceding one in one faculty, but it is now known that the one takes cognizance of objects, the other the relations.h.i.+p and actions of those objects. It seems to unite the reflectives with the perceptives, so that it recognizes the activity of other faculties and directs them to strict action; it desires to know by experience, and thus produces what is termed the _good sense_ of a matter, and by recognizing the functions of the other powers of the brain and the operations of the external senses, it reduces those impressions into conceptions, ideas and opinions.--Eventuality is shewn when we review the past for comparison with the future, it examines the effects of G.o.d's government in the universe and brings home the truths of the gospel to the heart of every one. Eventuality is the intellectual door to the threefold nature of man directing facts to his perceptive, reflective and moral being, thus pointing out the truth of Christianity in the fulfilment of prophecy, the mercy of the Creator and the punishment entailed upon sin; without this faculty the mind acquires a false conception of things, unsound opinions, and a tendency to the doctrines of materialism and infidelity from the animal rather than the intellectual nature being appealed to. Persons distinguished in professional pursuits have this organ large, since they possess readiness of observation as well as talent in the detail, whereby previously acquired knowledge is brought to bear upon present emergencies; where the organ is only partially and imperfectly developed, he will feel great difficulty in commanding his knowledge or appealing to it with any certainty, the organ should therefore be a.s.siduously cultivated. In ABUSE it tends to promote a love of trifles, detailed events, scandal and abuse, the minutest particulars in preference to general information and individual aggrandizement rather than general good.

24. COMPARISON.

The organ of comparison lies upon the upper and middle portion of the frontal bone. The aim of the faculty seems to be to form abstract ideas, generalizations and establish harmony among the operations of the other faculties; thus comparing and establis.h.i.+ng a.n.a.logies among the objects of which a knowledge has been obtained by the perceptives: and it not only traces real resemblances, but the relations which things have to one another; persons with this organ large ill.u.s.trate their ideas by similies drawn from other objects and thus render them plainer to the understanding of another person, and the comparisons thus drawn will be derived from those objects which most commonly engage the attention of the person making them: it is generally large in poets, even when they write prose; 2,500 similies are found in _Moore's Life of Sheridan_; these comparisons please, because they address themselves to the mult.i.tude and produce clearness and force of ill.u.s.tration. Spurzheim says of this organ, "In order to persuade and to affect, the speaker or orator must speak by a.n.a.logy, he must bring spiritual things close to terrestrial objects and compare them with each other; the activity of this faculty is very important, it compares the sensations and ideas of all the other faculties and points out their difference, a.n.a.logy, similitude, or ident.i.ty." By comparison, man is enabled to judge whether his own life is _what it ought to be_, whether he has lived for _time_ or for _eternity_: by comparison he is enabled to determine how far his life agrees with the Christian's pattern, knowing that "as he sows, so will he reap;" the propensities incline to evil, as a necessary sequence to the fall, the moral sentiments urge on to good, a foreshadowing of immortality, the reflectives teach him _how_ to be good, how to compare the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, with his own sinful heart, and learn wherein he errs. This is the proper and should be the only true aim of the Christian. In ABUSE this faculty frequently leads to false reasoning on account of the inactivity of the perceptives, in examining the subjects compared, it gives a love for similies and a.n.a.logies, not always caring for their applicability, and unless duly regulated by the n.o.bler instincts of fallen humanity, it degenerates to sophistry and a blindness to error.

25. CAUSALITY.

This organ lies immediately at the sides of _Comparison_ and is found large in men distinguished for profound metaphysical talent. We have shown how _Individuality_ and _Eventuality_ take cognizance of things evident to the senses; Causality looks to the _cause_ of the phenomena observed by other faculties: it expresses the irresistible conviction that every phenomenon and change around us emanates from a mighty, an unseen, an ETERNAL G.o.d; it looks to HIM as the cause of our joys, and our possessions here, as the omniscient and ever merciful Father who gave his Son to die for our transgressions, it seeks Him as the cause of our hopes of everlasting bliss, and it bids us to acknowledge and adore. It is the faculty that considers the relation of cause and effect and prompts the question, _Why?_ to whatever is unknown, or imperfectly understood; and for this reason requires to be watched lest the matter of enquiry be placed beyond the limited faculties of man, and infinite subjects be thus reasoned upon by finite capacity. If this organ be in unity with _Veneration_, _Conscientiousness_, and _Comparison_, the individual will be of steady, and rational Christian principles, but if without them, impious doubts and atheistical surmises will tend to require a _visible_ cause for what must be _invisible_ and the germ of error being planted, it may take root and abound to the ruin of n.o.bler and more elevating opinions. In ABUSE, this organ produces a mania for possibilities, denying the existence of causes not evident to the senses, a disbelief in whatever is spiritual, and a direct influence to intellectual pride, sophistry, and error.

26. GAIETY.

The organ of Gaiety is sometimes called WIT; and has been defined by Spurzheim as "a sentiment which disposes men to view every thing in a gay, joyful, and mirthful manner;"--"given to man to render him merry and gay,--feelings not to be confounded with satisfaction and contentment."

The faculty appears to give a characteristic tendency to view every thing that occurs in a light manner, simply as far as it gratifies, and pleases, not in proportion to its intrinsic value, combined with the higher faculties, it produces wit, in common events humour; with the animal propensities, sarcasm and satire, or caricature and excess; with language, punning and double meanings, and in all cases it tends to a levity that is often misplaced. It is situated between Ideality and Causality at the upper part of the side of the forehead. In ABUSE, or when not counteracted by reason and reflection, it tends to severity and satirical remarks on the failings and weaknesses of others: a too easy regard for sin when not positively offensive, a love of pleasure, often leading to vicious excess; and frequently the faculty to gratify itself, offends friends by ill timed remarks and a system of practical jokes.

This organ acting upon the intellect leads to unsound and hasty judgments, because the mind being influenced more by _Ideality_ than _Causality_, (between which two organs _Gaiety_ is situated) it becomes an enemy to self discipline, and study, and leads the possesser into a physical love of pleasure, &c.--it opposes also the operation of the higher intellectual faculties from its close approximation to the true organ of a.n.a.logy which is situated between the duplex organ of _Causality_ in the centre of the forehead, and by a vain influence on the imagination it leads to delusive a.n.a.logies as regards truth, overcoming the careful study of fact by the perceptive faculties and diverting the current of conscious inquiry by a regard for self and its pleasures rather than the true and correct a.n.a.logies of truth.