The Illustrated Self-Instructor in Phrenology and Physiology Part 6

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 51. LARGE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 52. SMALL.]

A patient DWELLING upon one thing till it is finished; CONSECUTIVENESS and CONNECTEDNESS of thought and feeling. Adapted to man's need of doing one thing at a time. Perversion--prolixity, repet.i.tion, and excessive amplification.

LARGE.--Gives the whole mind to the one thing in hand till it is finished; completes as it goes; keeps up one common train of thought, or current of feeling, for a long time; is disconcerted if attention is directed to a second object, and cannot duly consider another; with Adhesiveness large, pores sadly over the loss of friends for months and years; with the Moral faculties large, is uniform and consistent in religious exercises and character; with Combativeness and Destructiveness large, retains grudges and dislikes for a long time; with Ideality, Comparison, and Language large, amplifies figures of speech, and sustains figurative expressions; with the intellectual faculties strong, cons and pores over one thing, and imparts a unity and completeness to intellectual investigations; becomes thorough in whatever study it commences, and delays rather than commences mental operations: p. 70.

VERY LARGE.--Fixes the mind upon objects slowly, yet cannot leave them unfinished; has great application, yet lacks intensity or point; is tedious, prolix, and thorough in few things, rather than an amateur in many: p. 70.

FULL.--Dwells continuously upon subjects, unless especially called to others; prefers to finish up the matter in hand, and can, though with difficulty, give attention to other things; with the business organs large, makes final settlements; with the feelings large, fixes their action, yet is not monotonous, etc.: p. 71.

AVERAGE.--Can dwell upon things, or divert attention to others, as occasion requires; is not confused by interruption, yet prefers one thing at a time; with the intellectual organs large, is not a smatterer, nor yet profound; with the mental temperament, is clear in style, and consecutive in idea, yet never tedious; with Comparison large, manufactures expressions and ideas consecutively, and connectedly, and always to the point, yet never dwells unduly: p. 70.

MODERATE.--Loves and indulges variety, and change of thought, feeling, occupation, etc.; is not confused by them; rather lacks application; with a good intellectual lobe, and an active temperament, knows a little about a good many things, rather than much about any one thing; with an active organization thinks clearly, and has unity and intensity of thought and feeling, yet lacks connectedness; with large Language and small Secretiveness, talks easily, but not long at a time upon one thing; does better on the spur of the moment, than by previous preparation; and should cultivate consistency of character and fixedness of mind, by finishing as he goes all he begins: p. 71.

SMALL.--With activity great, commences many things, yet finishes few; craves novelty and variety; puts many irons into the fire; lacks application; jumps rapidly from premise to conclusion, and fails to connect and carry out ideas; is a creature of impulse; lacks steadiness and consistency of character; may be brilliant, yet cannot be profound; humming-bird like, flies rapidly from thing to thing, but does not stay long; has many good thoughts, yet they are scattered; and talks on a great variety of subjects in a short time, but fails sadly in consecutiveness of feeling, thought, and action. An ill.u.s.trative anecdote. An old and faithful servant to a pa.s.sionate, petulant master, finally told him he could endure his testiness no longer, and must leave, though with extreme reluctance. "But," replied the master, "you know I am no sooner mad than pleased again." "Aye, but," replied the servant, "you are no sooner pleased than mad again:" p. 71.

VERY SMALL.--Is restless, and given to perpetual change; with activity great, is composed of gusts and counter-gusts of pa.s.sion, and never one thing more than an instant at a time: p. 72.

SELFISH PROPENSITIES.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 53. LARGE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 54. SMALL.]

These provide for man's ANIMAL wants; create those desires and instincts which relate more especially to his animal existence and habitual wants.

LARGE.--Gives strong animal desires; creates that selfishness which takes good care of number one; is strongly attached to this world and its pleasures; and, with activity great, uses vigorous exertions to accomplish worldly and personal ends; with the moral organs less than the selfish, connected with bodily disease, is liable to the depraved and sensual manifestation; but with the moral and intellectual organs large, and a healthy organization, gives force, energy, determination, and that efficiency which accomplishes much.

VERY LARGE.--Experiences these animal impulses with still greater intensity; enjoys animal existence and pleasures with the keenest relish; and with great excitability or a fevered state of body, produces a strong tendency to sensual gratification, and sinful desires; yet when properly directed, and sanctified by the higher faculties, gives tremendous force of character, and energy of mind.

FULL.--Creates a good share of energy and physical force, yet no more than is necessary to cope with surrounding difficulties; and, with large moral and intellectual faculties, manifests more mental than physical force.

AVERAGE.--Gives a fair share of animal force, yet hardly enough to grapple with life's troubles and wrongs; with large moral and intellectual faculties, has more goodness than efficiency, and enjoys quiet more than conflict with men; and fails to manifest what goodness and talent are possessed.

MODERATE.--Rather lacks efficiency; yields to difficulties; wants fort.i.tude and determination; fails to a.s.sert and maintain rights; and with large moral organs, is good-hearted, moral, etc.; yet borders on tameness.

SMALL, OR VERY SMALL.--Accomplishes little; lacks courage and force, and with large intellectual organs, is talented, yet utterly fails to manifest that talent; and with large moral organs, is so good as to be good for nothing.

E. VITATIVENESS.

TENACITY of life; resistance to death; love of existence as such; dreads annihilation; loves life, and clings tenaciously to it for its own sake.

LARGE.--Struggles resolutely through fits of sickness, and will not give up to die till it is absolutely compelled to do so. With large animal organs, clings to life on account of this world's gratifications; with large moral organs, to do good--to promote human happiness, etc.; with large social faculties, loves life both for its own sake and to bless family; with very large Cautiousness, dreads to change the present mode of existence, and with large and perverted Veneration and Conscientiousness, and small Hope, has an indescribable dread of entering upon an untried future state; but with Hope large, and a cultivated intellect, expects to exist hereafter, etc.

VERY LARGE.--Shrinks from death, and clings to life with desperation; struggles with the utmost determination against disease and death; nor gives up to die till the very last, and then by the hardest; with Cautiousness very large, and Hope moderate, shudders at the very thought of dying, or being dead; but with Hope large, expects to live against hope and experience. Combinations like those under large, allowance being made for the increase of this faculty.

FULL.--Loves life, and clings tenaciously to it, yet not extravagantly; hates to die, yet yields to disease and death, though reluctantly.

AVERAGE.--Enjoys life, and clings to it with a fair degree of earnestness, yet by no means with pa.s.sionate fondness; and with a given const.i.tution and health, will die easier and sooner than with this faculty large.

MODERATE OR SMALL.--Likes to live, yet cares no great about existence for its own sake; with large animal or domestic organs, may wish to live on account of family, or business, or worldly pleasure, yet cares less about it for its _own sake_, and yields up existence with little reluctance or dread.

VERY SMALL.--Has no desire to live merely for the sake of living, but only to gratify other faculties.

6. COMBATIVENESS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 55. LARGE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 56. SMALL.]

RESISTANCE; OPPOSITION; DEFENCE; DEFIANCE; BOLDNESS; COURAGE; RESENTMENT; SPIRIT; WILLINGNESS to ENCOUNTER; SELF-PROTECTION; PRESENCE OF MIND; DETERMINATION; GET-OUT-OF-MY-WAY; LET-ME-AND-MINE-ALONE. Adapted to man's requisition for overcoming obstacles, contending for rights, etc.

Perversion--anger; contrariety; fault-finding; contention; ill-nature; and fighting.

LARGE.--Imparts a bold, resolute, fearless, determined spirit; disposes to grapple with and remove obstacles, and drives whatever it undertakes; loves debate and opposition; gives great coolness, intrepidity, and presence of mind in time of danger, and nerves one for encounter; with large Philoprogenitiveness, takes the part of children; with large Inhabitiveness, defends country; with a powerful muscular system, enhances the strength in lifting, working, and all kinds of manual labor; with great Vitativeness and Destructiveness, defends life with desperation; with large Acquisitiveness maintains pecuniary rights, and drives money-making plans; with large Approbativeness, resents insult, and large Adhesiveness added, defends the character of friends; with full or large Self-Esteem, defends personal interest, takes its own part with spirit, and repels all aggressions; with Self-Esteem small, and Benevolence and Friendship large, defends the interest of friends more than of self; with large Conscientiousness, prosecutes the right, and opposes the wrong; with large intellectual organs, imparts vigor, power, and impressiveness to thoughts, expressions, etc.; with disordered nerves, is peevish, fretful, fault-finding, irritable, dissatisfied, unreasonable, and fiery in anger, and should first restore the nerves to health, and then restrain this fault-finding disposition, by remembering that the cause is IN THEM, instead of in what they fret at: p. 75.

VERY LARGE.--Manifests those functions ascribed to Combativeness large, only in a still higher degree; and with a fevered stomach, is afflicted and torments others with an ungovernable temper, together with unqualified bitterness and hatefulness: p. 77.

FULL.--Evinces those feelings described under large, yet in a less degree, and is modified more by the larger organs; thus, with large moral and intellectual faculties, evinces much more moral than physical courage, maintains the right and opposes the wrong--yet, with Firmness large, in a decided rather than in a combative spirit, etc.: p. 78.

AVERAGE.--Evinces the combative spirit according to circ.u.mstances; when vigorously opposed, or when any of the other faculties work in conjunction with Combativeness, shows a good degree of the opposing, energetic spirit; but, when any of the other faculties, such as large Cautiousness or Approbativeness work against it, it evinces irresolution, and even cowardice; with an active temperament, and disordered nerves, especially if dyspeptic, has a quick, sharp, fiery temper, yet lacks power of anger--will fret and threaten, yet will mean but little; with a large brain, and large moral and intellectual organs, will evince some intellectual and moral force, when once thoroughly roused, which will be but seldom; with large Approbativeness, and small Acquisitiveness, will defend character, but not pecuniary rights; with large Cautiousness, may be courageous where there is no danger, yet will run rather than fight; with smaller Cautiousness, will show some resentment when imposed upon, but submit rather tamely to injuries; with very large Philoprogenitiveness, and only average friendship, will resent any injuries offered to children with great spirit, yet not resent indignities offered to friends, etc.: p.

75.

MODERATE.--Rather lacks efficiency; with only fair muscles, is a poor worker, and fails to put forth even what little strength is possessed; with good moral and intellectual organs, possesses talent and moral worth, yet is easily overcome by opposition or difficulty; should seek some quiet occupation, where business comes in of itself, because it cannot urge itself unbidden upon the attention of others; is too good to be energetic; with weak Acquisitiveness, allows virtual robbery without resentment; with large Cautiousness, is tame and pusillanimous; with large Approbativeness, cannot stand rebuke, but will endure it; with moderate Self-Esteem and Hope, is all "I can't, it's hard," etc., and will not do well in life: p.

78.

SMALL.--Is inefficient; can accomplish little; never feels its own strength; and with large moral and intellectual organs, is too gentle and easily satisfied; with large Cautiousness, runs to others for protection, and is always complaining of its bad treatment: p. 79.

VERY SMALL.--Possesses scarcely any energy, and manifests none: p. 79.

7. DESTRUCTIVENESS.

EXECUTIVENESS; SEVERITY; STERNNESS; the DESTROYING and PAIN-causing faculty; HARSHNESS; EXTERMINATION; INDIGNATION; disposition to BREAK, CRUSH, and TEAR DOWN; THE WALK-RIGHT-THROUGH-SPIRIT; adapted to man's destroying whatever is prejudicial to his happiness; performing and enduring surgical operations; undergoing pain, etc. Perversion--wrath; revenge; malice; disposition to murder, etc.

LARGE.--Imparts that determination, energy, and force which removes or destroys whatever impedes its progression; with Firmness large, gives that iron will which adheres till the very last, in spite of every thing, and carries its points any how; with large Combativeness, imparts a harsh rough mode of expression and action, and a severity, if not fierceness, to all its encounters; with large Acquisitiveness and Conscientiousness, will have every cent due, though it costs two to get it, yet wants no more, and retains grudges against those who have injured its pockets; with large Approbativeness and Combativeness, experiences determination and hostility toward those who trifle with reputation or impeach character; with large Self-Esteem, upon those who conflict with its interests, or detract from its supposed merits; with large Adhesiveness, when angry with friends, is very angry; with large Benevolence and Conscientiousness, employs a harsh mode of showing kindness; with large Comparison and Language, bestows very severe and galling epithets upon those who rouse it; with large Ideality, polishes and refines its expression of anger, and puts a keen edge upon its sarcasms, yet they are none the less cutting or efficient, etc. Such should avoid and turn from whatever provokes it: p. 82.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 57. LARGE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. 58. SMALL.]

VERY LARGE.--Feels the most powerful indignation, amounting even to rage and violence, when thoroughly provoked; and with large or very large Combativeness, acts like a chafed lion, and feels like rushing into the midst of perilous dangers. Such persons should never strike, for they will strike harder than they mean to, because it nerves the arm with unwonted strength. This faculty tears up and destroys whatever is in its way; is harsh and often morose in manner, and should cultivate pleasantness; with large Combativeness, Firmness, Self-Esteem, and Approbativeness moderate, is exceedingly repulsive, hating and hateful when angry, and is much more provoked than occasion requires; with large intellectuals, puts forth tremendous mental energy; and should offset this faculty by reason and moral feeling, and cultivate blandness instead of wrath: p. 83.

FULL.--Evinces a fair degree of this faculty, yet its tone and direction depend upon the larger organs; with large propensities, manifests much animal force; with large moral organs, evinces moral determination and force; with large intellectual organs, possesses intellectual might and energy, and thus of its other combinations; but with smaller Combativeness, is peaceful until thoroughly roused, but then rather harsh and vindictive; in boys, attacks only those it knows it can conquer, yet is then harsh; with smaller Self-Esteem, exercises this faculty more in behalf of others than of itself; with large Cautiousness and moderate Combativeness, keeps out of danger, broils, etc., till literally compelled to engage in them, but then becomes desperate, etc.: p. 83.