Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-06-03


AS 10 the brain being the seat Of the
Intellect there 10, Of course, no dispute
wbateyer. Phfenology and Physiology
M. teach that the larger the brain,
other things being equal, the greater
the mental power. still there 10
popular misapprehen.ion on this point.
A large head does not necessarily ond
Invariably imply the existence within
Il " n great intellect. tbs head must
tear a proper proportion tothe boiy.Big
men have larger heads than smallm men,
not because their mental grasp IA wider
or stronger, but because their bodies
are larger. Tue proportion oi tho head
10 the whole organism must be taken
into account. IL IL very common To
ind wide differences between In.
diyiduals IN the thickness aud size Of
the bones OF tue skull. A large head
may inclose n comparatively small
brain. This soems to have been thu
case with the celebrated Gambetta.
When his brala was weighed
Alter his death people wers
n.tonlshrI 10 nni that II was below
The average. Such fact 10.
minds " that another thing to b.
tsk,n into account II the quality I
The brain organism. Great size oi
btain may be accompanied with In.
fetior organic quality. 50 on the other
hand a due bfaiu may be- crippled In
IA, operations by lack OF vital power H.
The body. rhe brain need. TO be well
pourlshrd In or,ler 70 perform IL fuBc.
tons with energy, ami thus We are
brought back 10 the old maxim that Il
,ound mind needs n sound body. In
yisw Of all these difficulties Ia meas.
airing the capacity OF n living brain II
il not sufprsing that soinc iucons stem
Giles are encOu tered when an attempt
IL made 70 apply the principles Of phfe.
nology 10 the actual conduct u men.
There are too many elements OF un.
certainty TO render positive judr-
menl strictly trustworthy In all case.
Jus, how great the variation may be- In
the apparent brain capacity OF indl-
viduals, oil OF whom y is-ele extra
ordinary mental ondowments, II
well illustrated by the following
iahle, for which | am indebted
10 d.. n. 4. DrayioD, the iiior Of the
IhrR0logioR Jolradi. II exhibits the
hfain weight, ia ounces, OF nine cele
bfals1 meu. The reader should be In.
formed that the average brain weight
II from 45 ~ ~ ouncvs. Cromwell, IL;
TuryeneG, 10; Curvier, 6gli Byron, d-!;
Schiller, %; Kant, 81, HAns, hl!,
Dante, $40; Gambetta, ~.
Now II can hardly DO supposed that
the mental capacity NJ Cromwell q
Turgenell was really 20 much grcati~
than that OF Dante or Gambolta N this
oomrarlson OF brain weights would
seem TO Indicate. Aud what would
the readers OF Dante say " they were
s0l,mnly asautnd thHt the intellect oil
tne great Italian poot was in'erlOr ~
that o. Byron Ia the prOp0rtini OF -.
10 G2lg Maniiestly, II the figures lu
this table arc correct, there must have
been other things besides the weigh,
ofthc brain which went 20 the making
Of the mental endowmenh Of thee,
men. But when We Hpcak In general
terms We ind that there really Ia AZ
accordance between the weight Of tn,
brain and the manifestation OF In
tellcctual power. Look, tor instance
at the following table In which th'
average b weight Of numOor o
indivlduh different races Ii ex
hibited;