The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-01-30 00:00:00

TEMRSDAY'S LECTURE.

On Thursday evening Mr. Rumball gave his third lecture on
phrenology, at the Medical Institution, Mount Pleasant.
In commencing he said he was afraid he should not give a
satisfactory lecture that evening, as he had been exceedingly ill
and had had no time for preparation and that therefore instead
of drawing on memory for facts he must draw on his actual
knowledge of the subject, He had omitted one of the propen-
sities in his last lecture, which was common to man and ani-
mals, that of constructiveness. If they examined birds and ani-
mals, they saw a very great difference in their habits in this
particular. They saw some with a very great power of con-
structing or fashioning their nests and habitations, the beaver
for instance whose habitation was large and of a complicated
construction. They found other animals of a much higher de-
gree of iutelligence without the smallest sign of this faculty ;
the horse and the elephant for instance. Some animals build
their habitations in a very beautiful manner, in a manner that
could not even be imitated by man with all his ingenuity. This
was evidently not the result of reason, otherwise man would be
able to imitate and surpass these constructions because his rea-
sin was superior. Moreover they would fin-I an uniformity of
construction. The bird born in a cage, if let out, would build
the same nest as its kind. It was clearly, therefore, an instinct
which impelled them into a certain hoe of conduct, so long as
it was nut counteracted by some other instinct. Man had this
instinct, and it was not the result of reason in him, because it
developed itself very early in youth before reason developed
itself. Peter the Great was a ship-builder, and afterwards a
watchmaker, and they had many instances of kings and em-
perors amusing themselves in mechanics. They must also
have remarked the very great difference in ladies in the con-
struction of bonnets and caps, and some milliners would far
surpass others in this respect, not because they were of superior
intelligence. Gall was struck with the width of the head just
beyond the eyebrow in those who had a taste for mechanical
pursuits. They would find that amongst men eminent for me-
chanical ingenuity, their brows swelled in that particular spot.
They might expect that those who had this faculty would delight
in haying their thoughts and expressions arranged in order. ;
Love of approbation belonged to the higher sentiments. It was
said that the higher sentiments evidenced a certain indefinable
emotion, well known to the metaphysicians of old, which they
could better understand than describe. When in early youth
we were praised. we all knew that we had undefined emotion
which we could not describe. So in adhesiveness when you met
your friend,
.but that was placed amongst the lower fi;culties.
From lore of approbation they went on to self esteem. It was
allowed that this feeling was a primary one. Gall gave the
name of hauteur to its abuse. It was essential that man should
not be left to the capriciousness of others for approbation. That
his love of approbation should not receive its cue from the coin-
pan yhe fell into. H e would then be a weathercock veering round
to the opinion ofevery man. Therefore nature had given to him a
feeling which acted as a silent monitor, not of right and wrongs
but of his coming up to his own satisfaction or contentment or
not; and %alien a man lost his self esteem, or self respect, by any
act whatever, he would feel exceedingly the value of this senti-
ment. It was more developed in the English than the French.
The French bad love of approbation strongly developed, the
English, self esteem. The French looked on the English as
proud and haughty, and the English on the French as frivolous.
It had been attributed to animals, but he thought improperly.
The peacock did not bold its head up because it was proud, but
strutted to court its peahen. The proud man was known by his
walk. The late Lord Salisbury went through the whole of the
continent it was said, without once touching the back of, his
carriage; he was so proud that he would not lean even there (a
laugh 1. But if pride taught a man to seek for his own ap-
proval, and if it would preserve him as it would most effectually.
in default of better feelings, from giving way to his lower pas-
sions, his self esteem was his best possession, and if it would
keep him from associating with those whom he considered below
his character, he could see nothing of this feeling whatever in
man. The race horse would as soon lie down with the cart
horse in the commonest shed, as with his brother in his own
well aired and ventilated stable. In holding this opinion he ran
counter to other phrenologists. They saw self esteem more in
its abuse than in its legitimate occupation which was to
keep man in his self respect—to preserve him from falling
in hie rank of life, whether moral or statistical, in which
it had pleased Gad to place him. But in its abuse it
accomplished strange results, and made men fancy themselves
kings, and persons infinitely above what they were. He knew
one man who was always looking after great people' and if he
did not see them he used to fancy he saw them. Vanity and
pride were by many writers confounded, but they were as oppo-
-site as tight and darkness. The vain man was not what God.
had made but what he had acquired. Ile was not satisfied
with his own opinion of himself, but pleased with the opinions
of others. He went cap in hand, asking of everybody their
mite of approbation ; but the proud man was far from wishing
Your approbation—he despised it •it passed like a shadow over
his mind without touching it. What was the natural result of
this? That he was a very contented man, and that ambition
was not one of the attributes of self esteem, as declared by Cox.
What did ambition mean? To get out of the position you are
in. The proud man was contented if as ignorant as an urn and
as ugly as Romeo Coates. The man who was most proud of
himself was frequently the roost ignorant. Because it was quite
evident that the man oho was roost satisfied :with himself
would not try to improve, and, therefore, self esteem was for the
individual a most desirable quality, but for society and man-
kind it was one of those qualities which ought to be kept under
much controul int:eed.• The next quality was benevolence.
The benevolent man would refuse charity with a kind word, but
the man devoid of it would spurn the beggar though he gave a
penny. It was said to belong to animals. The horse dealer
knew a good tempered horse by the roundness of his forehead.
If ever you buy a horse with a hollow forehead and narrow ears,
he assured you will have a vicious bad tempered horse. Bene-
volence taught a man to do good to another to the sacrifice of
himself. It was a very fine feeling, but a feeling as little prac-
tised by the yublic at large as possible, and as much lauded by
the public as possible. Whenever a man did a benevolent
action to his own wrong, he was lauded as the finest indiYidual,
and laughed at as a great fool. He instanced Sir Francis Bur-
dett as an example of this faculty, which he had very largely
present
grewf a
l olders
e state they
of
society. It taught wen to avoid cruelty. developed, and he attributed Sir 'Francis Burdelt's exertions in
early life to relieve the oppressed, and him whom he considered
as suffering wrong, to this faculty.
theye es
m
A benevolent man
e
were obliged to modify this faculty
in
would not half kill an animal and hang it up to gloat on its
agonies, as lie had heard of a butcher doing; therefore it was a
softener. Whenever they found individuals gifted with that
quality, whatever their irritability of temper, they would always
find that in their hearts they had the good of their fellows at
heart, and in spite of their misfortunes they would always be the
pleasanter people to live with. But they would not succeed in
life; they would not be able to go and turn the childless widowld
into the street out of her house; they would not be able to
wring the last farthing from the debtor: but as plenty would do
that taithem, these would get theiefilehts and they would not,"
and roust go to the wall. Nevertheless Wl:vas one of the finest
qualities. It was developed in the front of the top of the tote-
head. It was the part which the hair last left, as if old time left
a lock there to its honour. Veneration wa.sthe next faculty.
The Almighty had revealed himself to man, and had commanded
him not to worship him as the result of reason, not because he
should think it right to worship him, and he told man that it
should be the first impulse of his mind. The traditional reve-
lation of the Deity had descended to the present time amongst