The Illustrated Self-Instructor in Phrenology and Physiology Part 15

SMALL.--Is deficient in reasoning and planning power; needs perpetual telling and showing; seldom arranges things beforehand, and then poorly; should work under others; lacks force of idea and strength of understanding: p. 238.

VERY SMALL.--Is idiotic in reasoning and planning: p. 238.

37. COMPARISON.

INDUCTIVE reasoning; ability and disposition to CLa.s.sIFY, COMPARE, DRAW INFERENCES from a.n.a.logy, etc. Adapted to those cla.s.sifications which pervade universal nature. Perverted, is too redundant in proverbs, fables, and figures of speech.

LARGE.--Reasons clearly and correctly from conclusions and scientific facts up to the laws which govern them; discerns the known from the unknown; detects error by its incongruity with facts; has an excellent talent for comparing, explaining, expounding, criticising, exposing, etc.; employs similes and metaphors well; puts this and that together, and draws inferences from them; with large Continuity uses well-sustained figures of speech, but with small Continuity, drops the figure before it is finished; with large Individuality, Eventuality, activity, and power, gives scientific cast of mind; with large Veneration, reasons about G.o.d and his works; with large Language uses words in their exact signification; with large Mirthfulness, hits the nail upon the head in all its criticisms, and hits off the oddities of people to admiration; with large Ideality gives beauty, taste, propriety of expression, etc.: p. 241.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 99. LARGE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 100. SMALL.]

VERY LARGE.--Possesses this a.n.a.lyzing, criticising, and inductive faculty in a truly wonderful degree; ill.u.s.trates with great clearness and facility from the known to the unknown; discovers the deeper a.n.a.logies which pervade nature, and has an extraordinary power of discerning new truths; with large Individuality, Eventuality, and activity, has a great faculty of making discoveries; with large Language, uses words in their exact meaning, and is a natural philologist; with full Language, explains things plausibly and correctly: p. 243.

FULL.--Possesses a full share of clearness and demonstrative power, yet with large Causality and only moderate Language, cannot explain to advantage; with large Eventuality, reasons wholly from facts; with moderate Language, fails in giving the precise meaning to words; and makes good a.n.a.lytical discriminations: p. 243.

AVERAGE.--Shows this talent in a good degree in conjunction with the larger faculties; but is rather wanting in reference to the smaller ones: p. 239.

MODERATE.--Rather fails in explaining, clearing up points, putting things together, drawing inferences, and even uses words incorrectly; with Individuality and Eventuality moderate, shows much mental weakness; with large Causality, has good ideas, but makes wretched work in expressing them, and cannot be understood; with Mirthfulness full or large, tries to make jokes, but they are always ill-timed and inappropriate: p. 244.

SMALL.--Has a poor talent for drawing inferences; lacks appropriateness in every thing, and should cultivate this faculty: p. 244.

VERY SMALL.--Has little, and shows almost none of this element: p. 244.

C. HUMAN NATURE.

Discernment of CHARACTER; perception of MOTIVES; INTUITIVE physiognomy.

Adapted to man's need of knowing his fellow-men. Perverted, it produces suspiciousness.

LARGE.--Reads men intuitively from their looks, conversation, manners, and walk, and other kindred signs of character; with Individuality and Comparison large, notices all the little things they do, and founds a correct estimate upon them, and should follow first impressions touching persons; with full Secretiveness and large Benevolence added, knows just how to take men, and possesses much power over mind; with Mirthfulness and Ideality large, sees all the faults of people, and makes much fun over them; with Comparison large, has a turn for metaphysics, etc.

VERY LARGE.--Possesses this faculty in an extraordinary degree; reads every body right through at first sight. For combinations see large.

FULL.--Reads character quite well from the face or external signs, yet is sometimes mistaken; may generally follow first impressions safely; loves to study character; with Ideality and Adhesiveness large, the excellences of friends; with Philoprogenitiveness large, of children; with Combativeness large, all the faults of people; and with only average Adhesiveness, forms few friendships, because it detects so many blemishes in character, etc.

AVERAGE.--Has fair talents for reading character, yet is not extra in this respect, and may safely cultivate it.

MODERATE.--Fails somewhat in discerning character; occasionally forms wrong conclusions concerning people; should be more suspicious, watch people closely, especially those minor signs of character dropped when off their guard; has ill-timed remarks and modes of addressing people, and often says and does things which have a different effect from that intended.

SMALL.--Is easily imposed upon by others; with large Conscientiousness and small Secretiveness, thinks every body tells the truth; is too confiding, and fails sadly in knowing where and how to take things.

VERY SMALL.--Knows almost nothing about human nature.

D. AGREEABLENESS.

PERSUASIVENESS, PLEASANTNESS, BLANDNESS. Adapted to please and win others.

LARGE.--Has a pleasing, persuasive, conciliatory mode of addressing people, and of saying things; with Adhesiveness and Benevolence large, is generally liked; with Comparison and Human Nature large, says unacceptable things in an acceptable manner, and sugars over expressions and actions.

VERY LARGE.--Is peculiarly winning and fascinating in manners and conversation, and wins over even opponents.

FULL.--Is pleasing and persuasive in manner, and with Ideality large, polite and agreeable, except when the repelling faculties are strongly excited; with small Secretiveness and strong Combativeness and activity, is generally pleasant, but when angry is sharp and blunt; with large Benevolence, Adhesiveness, and Mirthfulness, is excellent company.

AVERAGE.--Has a good share of pleasantness in conversation and appearance, except when the selfish faculties are excited, but is then repulsive.

MODERATE.--Is rather deficient in the pleasant and persuasive, and should by all means cultivate this faculty by sugaring over all it says and does.

SMALL.--Says even pleasant things very unpleasantly, and fails sadly in winning the good graces of people.

VERY SMALL.--It almost totally deficient in this faculty.

RULES FOR FINDING THE ORGANS.

PRE-EMINENTLY is Phrenology a science of FACTS. Observation discovered it--observation must perfect it; observation is the grand instrumentality of its propagation. To be convinced of its truth, nine hundred and ninety-nine men out of every thousand require to SEE it--to be convinced by INDUCTION, founded upon experiment. Hence the importance of giving definite RULES for finding the organs, by which even disbelievers may test the science, and believers be confirmed in its truth, and advanced in its study.

The best mode of investigating its truth, is somewhat as follows: You know a neighbor who has extreme Firmness in character; who is as inflexible as the oak, and as obstinate as the mule. Now, learn the location of the phrenological organ of Firmness, and apply that location to his head--that is, see whether he has this organ as conspicuous as you know him to have this faculty in character; and if you find a coincidence between the two, you have arrived at a strong phrenological fact.

You know another neighbor who is exceedingly cautious, timid, safe wise, and hesitating; who always looks at the objections and difficulties in the way of a particular measure, instead of at its advantages; who always takes abundant time to consider, and is given to procrastination. Learn the location of Cautiousness, and see whether he has this phrenological organ as conspicuous as you know this faculty to exist in his character.

By pursuing such a course as this, you can soon arrive at a sure knowledge of the truth or falsity of phrenological science; and this is altogether the best mode of convincing unbelievers of its truth, by means of the marked coincidence between the Phrenology and character of those they know; and it is not possible for the human mind to resist proof like this.

To promote this practical knowledge--the application of this science--we give the following RULES FOR FINDING the organs, fully a.s.sured that we can fill our pages with nothing more interesting or useful. Follow these rules exactly, and you will have little difficulty in finding at least all the prominent organs.

Your first observation should be made upon TEMPERAMENT, or organization and physiology, with this principle for your basis: that when bodily texture or form is coa.r.s.e, or strong, or fine, or soft, or weak, or sprightly, the texture of the brain will correspond with that of body, and the mental characteristics with that of brain. Still, it is not now our purpose to discuss the influence of various temperaments upon the direction of the faculties.

The second observation should be to ascertain what faculties CONTROL the character, or what is the dominant motive, desire, object, or pa.s.sion of the person examined; in phrenological language, what faculties predominate in action; and it should here be observed, that the relative size of organs does not always determine this point. Some faculties, though very dominant in power, cannot, in their very nature, const.i.tute a motive for action, but are simply executive functions, simply carrying into effect the dominant motives. For example, Combativeness rarely ever becomes a distinct motive for action. Few men love simply to wrangle, quarrel, and fight for fun, but they exercise Combativeness merely as a means of obtaining the things desired by the other dominant faculties. Few men have for their motive the mere exercise of will--that is, Firmness is generally exercised to carry into effect the design of the other faculties; and instead of subjecting the other faculties to itself, simply keeps them at their work, whatever that work may be. And thus of some other faculties.

But Amativeness, Friendship, Appet.i.te, Acquisitiveness, Benevolence, Veneration, Conscientiousness, or Intellect, Constructiveness, Ideality, or the observing faculties, may all become dominant motives. And it requires much phrenological shrewdness to ascertain what single faculty, cl.u.s.ter, or combination of faculties, leads off the character.

Let us take, then, for our starting point, the outer angle of the eye, and draw a line to the middle of the top of the ears, and DESTRUCTIVENESS is exactly under this point, and it extends upward about half an inch above the top of the ears, and in proportion to its size will the head be wide between the ears. And if Secretiveness be small and Destructiveness large, there will be a horizontal ridge extending forward and backward, more or less prominent, according to the size of this organ.

Three quarters of an inch above the middle of the top of the ears, SECRETIVENESS is located. When this organ is large, it rarely gives a distinct projection, but simply fills and rounds out the head at this point. When the head widens rapidly from the junction of the ears as you rise upward, Secretiveness is larger than Destructiveness; but when the head becomes narrower as you rise, it is smaller than Destructiveness.

To find these two organs, and their relative size, place the third fingers of each hand upon the head just at the top of the ears; let the lower side of the third finger be even with the upper part of the ear; that finger then rests upon Destructiveness. Then spread the second finger about one eighth of an inch from the other, and it will rest upon Secretiveness.

Let the end of your longest finger come as far forward as the fore part of the ears, and they will then rest upon these two organs.

Take, next, this same line, starting from the outer angle of the eye, to the top of the ears, and extend it straight backward an inch and a half to an inch and three quarters, and you are on Combativeness. This organ starts about midway to the back part of the ears, and runs upward and backward toward the crown of the head. To ascertain its relative size, steady the head with one hand, say the left, and place the b.a.l.l.s of your right fingers upon the point just specified letting your elbow be somewhat below the subject's head, which will bring your fingers directly ACROSS the organ. Its size may be ascertained partly from the general fullness of the head, and partly from its sharpness, according as the organ is more or less active; yet observers sometimes mistake this organ for the mastoid process directly behind the lower part of the ears. Remember our rule, namely: a line drawn from the outer angle of the eye to the top of the ear, and continued an inch and a half or three quarters straight back.

Follow that rule, and you cannot mistake the position of this organ; and will soon, by comparing different heads, be able to arrive at those appearances when large or small.

To find PHILOPROGENITIVENESS, extend this line straight back to the middle of the back head, and you are on the organ; and in proportion as the head projects backward behind the ears at this point, will Philoprogenitiveness be larger or smaller.

About an inch, or a little less, directly BELOW this point, is the organ which controls MUSCULAR MOTION; and in proportion as this is more or less prominent, will the muscular system be more or less active. Those who have this prominence large, will be restless, always moving a hand or foot when sitting, and even when sleeping; will be light-footed, easy-motioned, fond of action, and willing to work, and possessed of a first-rate const.i.tution. But when that prominence is weak, they will be found less fond of physical action and labor.