Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Wayne County, Ind.) 1831-1837, 1837-02-04

De correct ] am, however, At . less, TO u0der-
stand the motives which could have dictated such
u communication the alluded to. The
thor certainly knows nothing Of the science Of
j'hresology or its history, and he aPpea,s to be e.
Of the best established principles Of ply sioo
81. but let his motives be what they may. il mat
tiers nothing to Phrenoiogy-he has thrown the
gauntlet. and friend to the science feel bound
TO take it up.
Near the commencement Of his remarks he says
1.-THE founder Of the and his disciples have laid
their ground with considerab1 and shire wd-
ness, having called largely upon the imag ina tion
tn support them; it 10, herefore, a subject we'll
calculated to deceive many, As but few posses
sed ofthat kind Of knowledge adapted to detect
It's failacy." The first part Of this quotation, be-
trays an ignorance Of the history of PhrenolOgy,
very cuipable, in one who processes to enlighten
the public mind, in relation to the truth falsty
of its principles The reader would naturally sup
pose from what he here says, that the etended
science Of phrenology. was nothing more than al
theory, the result Of mere taPhy al enquiry.
Such is not the fact. The science originated 10
Iobserration-has been prosecuted by obseruation,
and depends entirely upon 0bserU0fion for its
Fs~aion. Its i"strious founder. while yet school
boy. noticed that many Of his fellows some of
" hose capacities he believed weIe inferior his
own, could always excel him in learning BY heart.
3y and by he observed that all those who had this
faculty strongly marked had prominent yes. After
he had arrived at more mature age, had again,
and again, observed the relation between promi-
nent eyes, and a memory for words, he was led to
belle that this coincidence, could not be alto
gether accidental, and that il this one faculty Of
the mind, was indicated by an external sign, it
was but natural to suppose, that all the faculties
we're similarly Indicated. lie dete rmned to
cute his enquiries; and whenever be met with
an individual. IN whom some particular trait Of
character. was more prOmine 4 than the rest he
would examine his head; and after long continued
observation IN this manner, satisfied himself Of the
truth Of the position which his earlier
led him to assume. Aided after a time, bv the en-
ergetic mind ofSp"rzheim. they ultimately produ-
ced the pobe edifice, which your ndent so
miserabIy misre presents In the discovery of this
science then, the imagination had no part; aud IT
is equally incorrect, (f phrenology be not a true
scicncc) that 'but few are possessed Of that kind
Of know ledge, adapted to detect its fallacy." All
rational minds are more or less capable of obser-
wing; and scientific observation, is the rock upon
which favorite, rests for its support. SO much
for friends exordium, and in the anatomic al
part Of his essay. fe he has been sill more IN
fortunate.
lie tells us, that the brain is homog nou. mass,
and I'kens il TO a lump Of soap. a pretty good
deA by the by. i he strong mans b. aims is like
hard SOAP and the weak in elect like soft soa o.
Good! Reader. con- d say some thing funny a.
bout this soaPy idc1. but believe will defer it,
not homogeneous mass, but presents diferen, ap.
PearanCcs. "i'art Of IT is ~hite in Color Fl ,rous
or striated IN texture, arrange in l;nes disantl.
resembling the outer surface Of cookie she'll
This is gene ally named meduiary substance and a
bounds most in the interior. The other matter is
Of grey color, and has . Gbrous appearance II
is called cine ritIous, from the Of its hue
to that Of ashes, and times c.rtical from n,
supposed resem b. ance to bark. 1t forms the out
part Of the BRAIN The language Of j. W. s. in
the paragraph now under review, seems intended
to convey the idea. that the brain has a perfectly
even surface ('lihe q lump Of soap') upon which
the CT aniologist marks out his various organs II
his readers have SO understood him, they have re-
ceiyed an erroneous impression. Most Of then,
have seen the brains Of some Of domestic ami
mails, and no couht have noticed, that lnste al OF
presenting smooth, even surface. they appear 10
he IF anatomical friend will allow me the ex-
preston wrinkIed, or more technically speaking
the whole surface Is formed Of great number OF
ccnvoiutiOns Now these cow olutions are much
more prominent in the human BRAIN than tn I OF
any O. her animal. Should any have any doub Is
Of the correctness Of the above remarks upon the
structure Of the brain. If he will take the troube
to call on any intelligent physician. he can be
shcwn authority enough to convince him Of their
correctness.
The arguments in the last paragraph are too f;,-
tile to demand any notice. I will, however, ask
J. w. 3 one or two questions. is not the skull OF
a child at year. perfectly ossified! And becau
il is thus ossI6ed does the cLilds brain cease to
grow! Will you explain to me, how it Is, that the
the branches ofthe menngcai artery are ntl
found almost completely imbedded in the skull.
These queries will furnish you with the ground
/ work tor another chapter.
Our author says he '.0nce knew a to live "a
hours, after having portion Of the upper and front
part Of the brain. carried away by the bursting Of
q gun, yet he never for insts mt gave evidence.
Of sny faculty Of the mind remaining Perfectly
correct. Any Phrenologist would have told him,
that such must necessarily be the result, hen the
intellectual organs were removed. But the " ritter
Of this article vas present, when . portion Of the
skull was removed in consequence Of very severe
fracture, and the intellectual faculties remained
perfectly sound for severa! hours; and the reason
vas because the Intellectual organs uninjured
/ 1.-The blow received near the top Of the head
close to the organ Of "cautiousness.''
The remarks shout the frontal sinus, are too
hackneyed to require refutation this day-but
supPGsing all to be correct that he has SAID about
il. yet these sinuses cannot possibly interfere With
more than or 6 Of the perceptive organs and con-
seq"enty there are % OF 30 yet left for the prac-
teal PhrenOlOgist to study and observe.
BUMP