Joseph Bunney

“ Now, we know well that the eye and the ear receive their faculties from the brain, through the medium of the nerves. Thus, the eye may be delighted by gazing on an extended view of nature; the ear by listening to the sublime [Pg 9] cadences of sacred music; but if we sever the delicate filament that conveys the sense of enjoyment to the brain, as the seat of all pleasure, resulting from the exercise of the eye or the ear, so do we immediately sever the sentient being from the perception of beauty in form or landscape, or of harmony in sound. ”

“ Its developement forms a striking fact in the philosophy of history—for as we trace the long and varied records of physical discovery from the time of Archimedes to the coronation of Victoria,—we invariably find that whatever science, or whatever art has been made known to us, it has always been the forerunner of new chapters in the history of man: thus Astronomy led the way to magnetism—Magnetism led to the scientific principles of navigation,—and the steam engine, mighty as its power appears, is but in accordance with the advanced wants of mankind ”

“ We will tell the men of every country their faults and their vices, their virtues and their talents, and hold them up as clearly as size and form can be held up, to the notice of mankind. None shall escape us. Already, not only Europeans,—English, French, Germans, Italians,—the most enlightened, the most refined of men, have we scrutinized, but Asiatics under every latitude, Africans thirsting on both sides of the Equator, Americans as wild as Africans, as civilized as Europeans. We have told truths to all, and pointed out the means of improvement. ”

“ It is this organ that is exercised by the architect, the painter and the poet in refined life, by the artisan of humble life, by the beaver in their huts, birds in their nests and even spiders in their webs: it is a most valuable faculty: and to it we are indebted for the ability to carry out what the mere intellectual faculties have conceived: it depends for its value upon the organs wherewith it is associated, with language and Ideality, it gives poetical ability ”

“ Spurzheim says, “Persons endowed with this faculty in a high degree are attentive to all that happens around them, to every object, to every phenomenon, to every fact: it desires to know all by experience, and consequently puts every other organ into action: is fond of instruction, collects facts, and leads to practical [Pg 61] knowledge.”—To the influence of this organ we may trace the knowledge of individuals by animals, and even wild beasts in which this organ is large may be tamed to the will of a keeper. ”

“ If, then, in perusing the records of phrenology, we are led to wonder at the long ages of human ignorance, Are we not equally surprised that all physical science should have existed so many ages, without the cognizance of man? ”

“ Temperament may be defined as the natural constitutional tendency of the individual, producing a disposition to exert certain faculties more than others: for this reason they must be carefully studied, that their active and passive influence upon the mind may be ascertained. Their action is chiefly manifested in the energy or apathy, of the individual’s character; for when properly balanced, by their equal influence on a well cultivated mind, they produce the beautiful harmony of feeling, that leads to a right estimation of things whether moral, intellectual, or physical ”

“ Spurzheim has said, and been most heartily abused for saying—and, if the science be false, most heartily deserves to be abused for saying,—that the whole philosophy of the mind must be entirely changed; that the study of man in this respect will become a new study, &c. In this dictum—most noble or most arrogant, according to events—we (phrenologists) concur, with the loudest cheers; and in this, do we say, lies the stupendous monument of our science. Since the earliest records of philosophy, sages have speculated on the heart, the mind, the passions, and the understanding. ”

“ Benevolence is the noblest sentiment that man is enabled fully to exercise: it is in the coronal bone, central and immediately before the fontanel, it produces the generous and forgiving Christian, and the faculty is always delighted in doing good, and in ministering to the happiness of others; it compassionates distress, communicating a warmth of generous feeling that overcomes acquisitiveness and selfishness: it disposes to mildness of disposition, general kindness, charity, sympathy and love; it is the foundation of Christian charity and tends to relieve the wants and necessities of others. ”

“ In ABUSE it tends to vanity, a thirst for praise and flattery, a dread of the world’s opinion, and a too easy giving way to the ways of the world to obtain the applause of the worthless;—the faculty is cultivated by the system of rewards for merit offered in youth,—it is not often the abstract value of the object so much as the approbation of those who know us. This organ causes bashfulness or Mauvaise Honte, and produces the fear of doing wrong, which it often originates by over anxiety to do well ”

“ To provide for immediate wants of ourselves and those dependant upon us, to furnish the means of some repose for the body so as to enable the mind to enjoy cultivation, and to provide for the education of offspring:—to give a natural tendency for learning, for religious instruction, or the acquisition of that knowledge which is power, may be set down as the proper objects of this faculty: where the faculty of acquisitiveness is unduly exercised, and the propensity to acquire is not balanced by veneration and conscientiousness, the character is often influenced to dishonesty. ”

“ USE,—This organ is properly exercised in virtuous affection:—the endearments of a domestic circle, and the society of those we love;—it softens the proud, irascible, anti-social principles of human nature, and aids the benevolent affections,—it causes a respectful, and honourable deference to the softer sex;—inspires the poet in his best conceptions of the purity, and self devotedness of Love, and produces that quiet but effectual influence in society, which is shown in the kind interest taken by either sex in the proceedings of the other. ”

“ Phrenology teaches us that mental energy is invariably accompanied by an increase of the brain, in the portion which is acted on by that energy; if the intellect be expanded, the perceptive faculties in active operation, the nobler energies of charity and veneration employed for good, it is at once apparent; so too with the baser passions, the sensualist, the ignorant, and the depraved alike reveal by their organization the spirit that moves within them, and as we know by endless facts that the brain alters in proportion to the use or disuse of faculties, sentiments, or passions ”

“ When in unity with faith, benevolence, and the higher sentiments, it is productive of Theosophy, the knowledge of God from his works of love, and by a warm hope of everlasting life, leads men to subdue the lusts of the flesh, to be humble in their own wisdom, and to hope for the accomplishment of the great promise, “to be heirs of glory, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.” ”

“ The brain like the muscle, is only the agent through which the immaterial spirit acts, for as muscular power resides not in a muscle, so neither does the mind dwell in the brain;—and as all connection between the muscle and life, or vital energy is destroyed by severing the connection of the nerve communicating power to that muscle, so might the mind and brain be severed, but for the beautiful design of Providence, in so carefully protecting the brain lest any mental organ be impaired, as well as by the formation of duplicates to those organs most exposed to injury ”

“ Phrenology is a system of Mental Philosophy. It enquires into the quality and condition of the mind, estimating the faculties, sentiments, and propensities of the individual, without being deceived by personal esteem or the voice of partial praise; for as it too frequently occurs that minds of the highest order are more or less under the influence of self love, or a desire for the admiration of others, so are they blinded to their own weaknesses and in some measure rendered incapable of acknowledging their faults even to themselves. ”

“ In ABUSE, this faculty leads into much error, it inspires a love of what is novel and marvellous, a tendency to believe in magic, witchcraft, and other unlawful and unchristian arts, and when uncontrolled by the higher sentiments, to the pursuit of occult subjects; when united with the moral sentiments and due perception and reflection, it searches deep into the truth, tests spiritual causes and prophecies by research and belief, considering that nothing is impossible to God and that His goodness is sufficient for all. ”

“ Some individuals in whom the organ is large do not necessarily possess a ready memory, which usually occurs when the faculty that apprehends the primitive idea (of which words only pronounce the name) is more than ordinarily small. The organ abused generally makes a speechifier of small worth, a talker for the mere sake of talking, who frequently loses sight of reason and subject as well as his own good sense.—Its best use is a felicity of diction in describing the sentiments and opinions of the individual so that they may be exactly comprehended by others. ”

“ The organ is situated nearly on the temporal ridge of the frontal bone. Gall called it, the organ of poetry, because “in every kind of poetry the sentiments are exalted, the expressions warm; and there must be rapture, inspiration, what is commonly called imagination or fancy.” It is this faculty that produces the aspiration after perfection, it aims at endowing every object with the highest degree of perfection which it is capable of assuming, and is thus very valuable to man in his progressive changes towards a more virtuous and perfect existence. ”

“ The organ of size is situated at the corner of the eyebrow, next to individuality, and appears to influence the capability of the eye and mind in its motions of dimension: instances are known where persons deficient in this faculty have been unable to manage perspective in drawings, or even to copy the plainest figure without error in the size: others on the contrary measure size by the eye almost as accurately as by a rule, and are especially accurate in judging about dimensions—the organ is necessary for some professions, but not of great general importance. ”

“ Temperance is allied to caution, it is to the animal portion of man what caution is to the intellectual: its existence is identified with the preceding organ by many phrenologists, and probably the developement of that organ, as it is closer too, and more active upon the animal passions may be coincident with this. In this way Temperance tends to present as cautiousness to future prudence, it gives mind the mastery over matter, overcomes Combativeness and the lower feelings, and teaches temperance in all things: carried into an erroneous action it produces meanness and almost avariciousness ”

“ This faculty regards the opinion that other persons form of us: the organ is situated on each side [Pg 77] of Self esteem about half an inch from the lambdoidal suture: it produces the desire of approbation, admiration, praise and fame: it renders us anxious to please those whose approval we esteem, and to excel in whatever pursuit our associates admire. If well balanced by conscientiousness and veneration, it seeks the approval of the Great Judge of all things, by becoming worthy of eternal life: a due endowment is indispensable to an amiable character. ”

“ By comparison, man is enabled to judge whether his own life is what it ought to be, whether he has lived for time or for eternity: by comparison he is enabled to determine how far his life agrees with the Christian’s pattern, knowing that “as he sows, so will he reap;” the propensities incline to evil, as a necessary sequence to the fall, the moral sentiments urge on to good, a foreshadowing of immortality, the reflectives teach him how to be good, how to compare the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, with his own sinful heart, and learn wherein he errs. ”

“ These few objections are so fully overruled by practice and observation, that they can never lead to error if the student exercise a proper degree of caution.—We may conclude then, that if men manifest their true nature in their actions, (and men cannot always be dissemblers,) the mind influencing the brain, and thereby the skull, must present a developement corresponding to their real character—and that PHRENOLOGY or external examination leads to the results sought for when we examine human nature for the purpose of self improvement, or for moral and religious elevation of character. ”

“ Anatomists and physiologists toiled at discovering the seat of the mind, they dissected and drew conclusions—but so vague and unsatisfactory was the knowledge communicated, that the more the anatomist dissected, the more he became entangled in a mass of conjecture and perplexity. ”

“ Destructiveness itself is rarely found as a principle of destruction, but the various degrees of vice and crime are often persevered in till they become more evil than this organ. A person therefore should endeavour to break off rooted habits (if bad ones) by directing the energy of the mind into other channels, they must walk in the Spirit, and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, knowing that, “they that are Christ’s crucify the flesh and the affections, and lusts that belong to it.” ”