Daily national Democrat., 1859-12-24
MARYSvILLR.
SATURDAY MORNING, DEC. Gath
Remarkable Contradictions of PhrenOl-


in America than in any other quarter of the
world. The reason is that the masses of the
people read here more than elsewhere, and
chronological publications, containing one
sided demonstrations or socalled demonsta-
tions of the science, are almost universally
distributed. Scarcely any class OF our 'ocle-
ty have failed to have it drilled into their
understandings that large head, with i'm
mense bumps of certain character. is sign
Of great intellectual faculties; and many
thick skulled BOBBY, who happens to have a
broad forehead, with knobs upon it like
door knocker, imagines, in spite of all testi-
mony to the contrary, that he is undoubtedly
a great man.
In France and in Germany the skepties are
more abundant In fact they are largely In
the majority. A belief in phrenology is the
exception and not the rule in those countries
1t will be recolected, that the savans OF the
French Academy, when Gall submitted his
collection of facts to their scrutiny, reported
upon thorough examination that there was
no foundation for the theories which he had
built upon them. The metaphysicians and
psychologists of Germany pronounced the
same verdict. The masses accepted this judg-
ment of their leading men in the walks of
science, and it remains as authoritative as
ever.
Werecolleet reading, in Blackwood's Maga
zine, of December, 1857, review of high
ly interesting work by NJ. Peisse, distin-
guished French author, in which he cited
many notable instances in which the confor-
nation of heads was q flat contradiction to
the theories of phrenologists. We shall al
lude to q few of them, not because we are
hostile to phrenology, for we are not, but for
the purpose of throwing what little light We
can upon highly important subject. We
may remark that, as far as our own very
humble opinion is concerned, we believe that
the system Of phrenology, as it at present ex-
lists, contains some truth and great deal Of
error. We think that phrenologists have
been much more anxious to make out a case,
than to discover truth, and that, while they
have rejected or explained away al contra.
dictions to their theories, they have carefully
boarded up and noted down the smallest
facts or circumstances IN their favor. 1t Ger
tainly makes no difference to any sensible
man whether the facts preponderate in favol
of or against the phrenolOgical Science"
ell that is wanted is that the facts appear.
Mons. Peisse cites the case of the Stellar
boy, Msngiamele, who was a wonderful
arithmetician at eleven years of age and en-
tirely selftaught An examination of his
skull showed positive depression over the
so called organ of Number, instead of the
existence of the huge knot which Gall or
Spurzheim would have expected to find.
He next cites the head of Napoleon Bona
parte. SculptOrs and painters. be says, have
idealized this great mans head, and thus con-
veyed the impression that it was large in its
general form and monstrously developed,
whereas it was in truth decidedly small and
by no means extraordinarily developed in
the anterior bumps. The phrenologists
have relied on these ideal busts and portraits
instead of any actual measurement of Ma
poleon's head or examination of its develop
ments, and have therefore triumphantly an.
nounced to the world, that the large head
and extraordinary genealogical developments
of this wonderful man furnish such testimo-
ny to the truth of phrenology as cannot asily
be overthrownl But, let as see what Mons.
Peisse says He declares what is doubtless
true, that cast of Napoleon's face and the
anterior half oil his skull was taken by Dram
tomarchi, few hours after death. This cast
shows that the forehead of Napoleon was
quite mediocre" So much for the broad
high forehead theory. 1t also shows that
the great faculties of Ideally and Imagination,
for which Napoleon was greatly distin.
guished. had no corresponding ideal and i'm
Hginative bumps on his head. On the con-
trary the bumps were small In the busts
and portraits they are represented as large
Those faculties of the mind which phrenolo-
gists denominate Causality and Comparison
were the grand features of this great mans
intellect. But, how were the bumps of Caus-
ality and COmparisonf Not whit more
largely developed than on the head of ordin.
ary men.
Descartes, Voltaire and Raphael are also
cited by Mons Peisse. Descartes was re-
nowned, not only in France but over the
whole civilized world, as a great philoso
pher and profound thinker. If any man
should have had large head and big bumps,
according to phrenology, he was the man.
Well, cast of his head was shown to Spurz.
heim.and it proved that the front and top part
of his head was very small, while his bumps
were nothing extraordinary. 1t was re-
marked to Spurzheim that this was rather
singular. "Wen," he replied, "the fact is
Deseartes was not so great q thinker as he
was supposed to be-" A very poor subter-
fuge, for the greatest minds have acknowl-
edged the power of Descartes as reasoner.
Voltaire is next mentioned as a man of
wonderful genius and a small head. Raphael
is also in the same category. To the distin-
guished men mentioned by Peisse we might
add Byron, whose head was of an uncom-
monty small size. Daniel webster's head
was very large one, but when the brain
was taken out it was found to be of weight
very little beyond that of the brains en-.
cased in average human heads.
We by no means assert that such facts as
these overthrow phrenologY, as q progressive