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their special opportunities to such good account, that, half a century after the discovery, and the announcement of the fact by Gall, they have just found out-apparently to their great astonishment that there really is a relationship between certain convolutions of the under surface of the anterior lobe of the brain, reposing on the roof of the orbit, and the faculty of articulate language.

Strange to say, however, whether to excuse the long blindness of which they stand self-convicted, or from a misgiving that the public may begin to suspect that they have been greatly misled by these orthodox authorities as to the truth and value of Gall's researches, with singular bad taste, they signalize their conversion by depreciatory nibblings at the fame of the great master, and by deprecating the supposition that the occurrence forms any ground for believing in the probability of his other discoveries.

As to the charge of "dogmatic teaching "-if a perpetual inculcation of the necessity of collecting facts, and a steady refusal to submit their doctrines to any other arbitrament-in short, a never-ceasing though ever-fruitless call upon their opponents to bring forward observations, in lieu of reasonings and assumptions-be evidence of dogmatic teaching, then Dr. Gall and his followers must plead guilty. But let us listen to the teaching of the accused, and hear the words of Gall, couched in the clear and forcible language which so unmistakably tells the tale of energy of brain:

"Whoever is not impelled by an innate instinct of observation; whoever finds it hard to sacrifice his opinions and the views he has derived from his earlier studies; whoever thinks more of making his fortune, than of exploring the treasures of Nature; whoever is not fortified by inexhaustible patience, against the interpretations of envy, jealousy, hypocrisy, ignorance, apathy, and indifference; whoever thinks too highly of the force and correctness of his reasoning, to submit it to the test of experiments a thousand times repeated, will never do much toward perfecting the physiology of the brain."

This is Gall's dogmatism; that of his accusers consists in doggedly refusing to take the direct road to knowledge he so clearly pointed out, and persistently confining themselves to suppositions, reasonings, and opinions, garnished with a few occasional flourishes on the "true scientific method," the preaching of which they appear to think a satisfactory substitute for its practice. The study of Nature is evidently uncongenial to their minds, and, in lieu of observations, and the testimony of facts, instead of "I have seen," we get, "I entertain a strong persuasion "-" from inquiries I have made "-" the fact seems to be "-" if I am not mistaken "_"it would rather seem probable," etc., etc.

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This is, no doubt, easier than collecting facts, by all the difference between talking and doing; but, unfortunately, like the former, establishes nothing, but leaves the work still to be done. In short, the charge of dogmatism does not attach to those who record their observations of Nature, and invite the coöperation of others, but to those who indolently and arrogantly assume such observations to be erroneous, and treat them with ridicule and contempt. Dr. Hoppe, of Copenhagen, Mr. Crook, and Mr. George Combe, independently arrived at the conclusion that the portion of brain lying under the zygomatic arch is the seat of the instinct to take food. During twenty years that I have observed the development of this portion of the brain, I have never seen a case where a great depression in this region was not accompanied with more or less weakness of the digestive functions, and I entertain no more doubt of the connection than I do of my own existence. How are we adequately to realize the intellectual torpor of a man in the daily practice of the medical profession, hearing the statement that such an important means of diagnosis exists, yet not taking sufficient interest in the question to make a single observation to determine the truth, but apathetically resting in preference in the assurance, born of the prejudices of his teachers, that phrenology is all humbug? and who, I ask, are so responsible and so much to blame as the orthodox professors of anatomy, physiology, and medicine, for the "inadequate appreciation" of Gall's discoveries by the existing generation?

Among other objections brought against Gall's discoveries by those who prefer theory and speculation to observation, it is argued that the organs are more numerous than is necessary, and that a smaller number of primitive faculties would suffice by their combination to produce all the varieties of character we behold in man. I believe that just the reverse is the fact, and that analysis requires, and that observation will ultimately prove, that many require subdivision. To take the "organ of Love of Approbation," for example, shall we conclude that the same portion of gray matter originates the "desire of notoriety or distinction," and the "desire of pleasing?" I think not. Again, with regard to the functions of the "organ of Secretiveness"-I meet with some individuals who instinctively suppress the outward manifestation of the thoughts and emotions that arise in their minds, are habitually shy and reserved, and dislike even being looked at, who yet have no tendency actively to employ deception as a means to attain their ends. Other individuals, on the contrary, who have no shrinking from publicity, instinctively resort to deception as the readiest weapon to their hands in fighting the battle of

life, and, unless restrained by moral considerations, are profoundly treacherous, and lie from instinct. The first faculty is a defensive one, the latter an aggressive. According to my observations, the former class are characterized by the large development of the portion of brain lying above destructiveness, and now marked secretiveness in the busts sold in this country; the latter by the prominence of the region immediately before destructiveness, directly at the spot where the upper part of the front of the ear loses itself in the cheek.

No doubt much remains to be done, before we shall possess a strictly philosophical analysis and classification of all the primitive faculties, and their mutual relations, but this by no means lessens the truthfulness and value of the mass of facts and luminous deductions for which we are indebted to the genius and industry of Gall. For instance, Gall's disciples know, as surely as they know any fact in Natural History, that a portion of the anterior lobe lying on the roof of the orbit is connected with the talent for philology, and that another portion, at the corners of the forehead, bestows the capacity for music, and such knowledge has a substantive value, although we are not able to define the exact boundary of the tract of neurine which, considered as a whole, has the function of cognizing the peculiar qualities of sound appreciable by man-as articulateness, timbre, pitch, and some others-or even to demonstrate, what is doubtless the case, that the organ of articulate language, and that of music or pitch, are continuous with each other, and the rest.'

We see, however, that the general law, that the organs most indispensable to the well-being of the animal are placed nearest the base of the brain and the mesial line, holds good with regard to the subdivisions of sound, and thus the more essential organ of articulate language is seated below and within the comparatively ornamental faculty of music.

It has never yet fallen to my lot to hear any one declare that, after qualifying himself to judge of the development of the organs by the requisite study, the result of careful examination convinced him that there was no connection between the primitive faculties and the localities assigned to them by Gall; nor can I conceive such a result possible with a person of average intelligence and caution. As far as my experience goes, the reason assigned for disbelief is invariably the authority of somebody else; some apocryphal tale, or the old thread

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As far as my observations have gone, and the fact is worthy of note in all great musical composers, language, as well as music, is large; indeed, the whole region of the corners of the forehead, including order and nunber, presents a development much above the average.

bare stock objection so often refuted, and so intrinsically silly, of the frontal sinus, and the want of parallelism between the tables of the skull-an objection which, as it presents an exact parallelism in point of absurdity with avowing a disbelief in astronomy, on account of the aberration of light, or the unavoidable errors in optical instruments, is quite unworthy of serious refutation. In short, it is perfectly clear and palpable that those who reject phrenology do not reject it on account of "insufficient evidence," because they do not examine the evidence already in existence. No! the real cause is the intellectual indolence and apathy which prevent their taking this step, and induce them to content themselves with assuming its falsehood.

Why, indeed, should those who are in the secrets of Nature, and able to pronounce a priori as to what is true and what is ridiculous, have recourse to so troublesome and laborious a method of obtaining knowledge as observation?

No one, who really desires to arrive at a definite conclusion as to the truth of Gall's discoveries, need remain in doubt from any difficulty in procuring the data necessary for forming a judgment. Evidence abounds, easily attainable, unlimited in amount, decisive in character. Setting aside the direct foundation and unassailable basis of his doctrines-the correspondence between energy of function and local development of brain-the beauty and harmony (so greatly beyond human ability to have devised) revealed in the arrangement of the organs (more especially having regard to their gradual and isolated discovery), and also the irresistible confirmation of the accuracy of their localities afforded by "natural language,' are alone sufficient to stamp Gall's discoveries with truth, in the eyes of all those capable of appreciating the difficulty, or rather miracle, involved in the adoption of any other alter

native.

Tests the most conclusive, from which every thing dubious may be eliminated, are within the reach of all. Color is one of the smallest of the organs of Gall, and the determination of its size presents far greater difficulty than that of the tenfold larger organs of the affective faculties, but it possesses the advantage that the nature of its function renders its manifestation little open to dispute. Every few years I find myself in presence of a new batch of hazy speculations on color-blindness, in which this imperfection is attributed to some supposed defect in the eye, in utter ignorance of the fact that, more than half a century before, Gall had clearly shown the defect to be cerebral, and pointed out its exact seat. As there are individuals color-blind and incapable of distinguishing one color from

another, so, on the other hand, there are painters who excel in the harmonics of color. Here we have a faculty easily discriminated, both in its positive and negative manifestations. Take the masks of half a dozen persons afflicted with colorblindness, and half a dozen painters who excel as colorists, and mix them together, and any tolerable practical phrenologist would have no difficulty in separating the two classes. Now, when such things can be done done even in the case of the smallest organs-and that they can is notorious-ridicule becomes ridiculous, and doubt a sign of feebleness of mind.

Individuals, to whom such facts do not carry the conviction of logical sequence and connection, may be perfectly qualified to rank under Plato's definition animal implume bipes, but they assuredly lack that nobler characteristic of the genus Homo, the gift of reason.

On the Medicinal Use of Phosphorus and its Compounds. By JOHN C. THOROWGOOD, Senior Assistant Physician to the Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, Victoria Park.

Since the discovery and isolation of the element phosphorus by Brandt, of Hamburg, in 1669, it has become the practice with physicians, in this and other countries, occasionally to prescribe this substance as a remedy in cases where some special stimulant to the nervous centres has seemed to be required. Thus we find that phosphorus has been administered in cases attended with great prostration of the vital powers, as in the latter stages of typhus fever, also in such chronic diseases of the nervous system as epilepsy, paralysis, melancholia, amaurosis, etc., occurring in debilitated subjects; and there is good evidence to show that in many of these nervous affections the effect of phosphorus, properly administered, has been decidedly beneficial.

It is hardly necessary to remind the reader how largely the compounds of phosphorus enter into the composition of the juices and tissues of the animal system generally; while, specially, in brain and nerve tissue are found certain phosphorized fats which appear to contain phosphorus in considerable proportion at a low degree of oxidation, so that the accurate analysis of these phosphorized fats of the nerve-tissue has always been a matter of difficulty to the chemist, since the necessary processes of analysis almost inevitably raise the phosphorus to a higher degree of oxidation, and so bring it under the analyst's notice as phosphoric acid-free, or combined with an alkaline or earthy base. According to the experiments of Gobley, subsequently confirmed by those of Lehmann, an acid phosphate of glycerine has been demon

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