Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1806-06-25


OF hostilities having been commenced a.
] galnst his troops by Prussia, has ordered
Z an embargo to be laid on all Prsssian yes.
sells IN his ports. The Swedish troops are
evaeuasing Lauenburg, and retiring to
. Swedish Pomerania, which it is supposed
the Prussians will Immediately invade"
Systems of Lavater and Doctor Gail.
Every person is acquainted with the name
Of Lavater, and of his researches into the
human physiognomy. The name of DR..
Gall is less known in England, thong h is
has lately become very famous upon the
continent; and perhaps it will not be un-
acceptable 10 our readers to be informed of
the nature and subject Of the system to
which be owes his celebrity.
DIR. Galias professor of medicine at
Vienna, and has delivered course OF lee
lures in that capital, and all the principal
towns OF Germany, in which he eudea7ors
TO demonstrate that the external couforma.
ton Of the human skull is certain index
TO the moral character. The object of
this System is the same with that Of Lava.
ter, bat,his ia the only point OF resem-.
blance. hey think to arrive at the same,
objeci bv different routes.
Lavaterr pretended to divine the differ.
ence Of characters by comparison be-
tween the coE6elration of the countenanc.
is of animals and those Of men : and boast
ed of being able, upon mathematical princ,.
pies, 70 decypt!er The hierogivphics of the
face. lie has left ser les of prohles, which
he has conducted from the Fr.g to the A,
polio Belvidere = lie has chosen The frog
as the lowest Of brutes. According to
him in proportion as nature is degraded,
the loager always is the angle which one
can trace from the extremity OF the eye 10
the extremity Of the mouth DIR. Gall pre-.
tends to being able to make the Same dis
eovery, By comparing the heads OF animals
with those cfmen. He places li,tle conf.
dence in the, language Of the features and
his remarks DO not extend below the sock.
cts of the eyes Far from entering into
the labarynth ofthe BRAIN he confines his
observations to the external conformation
oil the skull. At our bir.h he says the skull
is membrane extremely hexible, and soft,
which receives the 'lmpression OF the brain,
The force IF Whth is prodigious, and its
increase rapid. Thus we find the heads Of
children are pro2ortlonally larger than the
other pars of their bodies. - his mem
brane insebsibly becomes hard, acquires
covering Of bone, which however always
take the original shape Of membrane.
To this it is objected without ground. that
il the skull takes the impression Of the
br ain, this impression would De better seen
on The iusidethan 90 The out side of the skull.
DR.. Gall answers this oblectlonby observ.
ing that the mass Of the brain does no:
continueiu the same STATE that it has its
full extention only in The period OF youth,
tina. afterwards il dlnilnishes in volume,
and dries up more or less, so that the
skull ossifies internally in proportion to
,nls diminu n which is the cause OF the
little rrespondence we often observe be-
tween the two surfaces, and whlch conse.
quentiy readers the external conformation
Of the skull more certain index to the ma
ture of the, b, ain than the brain itself.
10 this argument ne likewise finds an
easy mode of ex,ricating himself from oc-
casional difficulties; for if man should be
loundreally not to possess the faculty which
The particular conformation Of his skull an
aounces him to have, the doctor may all
lese, that nature intended he should' pos.
<ess it, but that circumstances have oPPos.
cd its developement, or that he has lost it
by some accident, some disease or some
other physical cause, produced by this di.
ninuticn Of the mass of brain.
The system of Dir. Gall places all our
Intellectual and moral faculties in the brain.
The comparison Of ourskulls with those OF
certain animals which have been distinguish.
ed at all times by certain vices or certain
qualities is doubtless his strongest argument
q fLs AM n, ale lways furnish rs with lessons