BF C7£9c 1834 .a.a . UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WASHINGTON, D.C. B19574 THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN CONSIDERED IN ** V RELATION TO EXTERNAfc/OBJECTS y GEORGE COMBE. Vain is the ridicule with which one sees some persons will divert themselves, upon finding lesser pains considered as instances of divine punishment. There is no possibility of answering or evad- ing the general thing here intended, without denying all final causes.—Butler's Analogy. THIRD AMERICAN EDITION. BOSTON: ALLEN AND TICKNOR 1834. B v !$3are bestowed,< 52 SOURCES OF HUMAN HAPPINESS; f and these, aided by Constructiveness, J Form, Locality, Ideality, and other fa- ► are given, •! culties> find scope in Painting, Sculp- [ture, Poetry, and the other fine arts. Language is given,—and our faculties inspire us with lively emo- tions and ideas, which we desire to communicate by its means to other individuals. rand these faculties, aided by Individu- ality, Form, Size, Weight, and others ] already enumerated, find ample gratifi- **■ cation in Natural Philosophy, in Moral, Political, and Intellectual Science, and „their different branches. Imitation is bestowed,—and everywhere man is surrounded by be- ings and objects whose actions and appearances it may benefit him to copy. Colouring, Time, Tune, Comparison, Causality, Wit, exist, SECTION VI. ON THE SOURCES OF HUMAN HAPPINESS, AND THE CONDITIONS REQUISITE FOR MAINTAINING IT. Having now given a rapid sketch of the Constitution of Man, and its relations to external objects, we are prepared to inquire into the sources of his happiness, and the condi- tions requisite for maintaining it. The first and most obvious circumstance which attracts attention, is, that all enjoyment must necessarily arise from activity of the various systems of which the human con- stitution is composed. The bones, muscles, nerves, diges- tive and respiratory organs, furnish pleasing sensations, directly or indirectly, when exercised in conformity with their nature; and the external senses, and internal facul- ties, when excited, supply the whole remaining perceptions and emotions, which, when combined, constitute life and rational existence. If these were habitually buried in sleep, or constitutionally inactive, life, to all purposes of CONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING IT. 53 enjoyment, might as well be extinct; for existence would be reduced to mere vegetation, without Consciousness. If, then, Wisdom and Benevolence have been employed in constituting Man, we may expect the arrangements of creation, in regard to him, to be calculated as a leading object to excite his various powers, corporeal and men- tal, to activity. This, accordingly, appears to me to be the case; and the fact may be illustrated by a few exam- ples. A certain portion of nervous and muscular energy is infused by nature into the human body every twenty-four hours, and it is delightful to expend this vigour. To pro- vide for its expenditure, the stomach has been constituted so as to require regularly returning supplies of food, which can be obtained only by nervous and muscular exertion : the body has been created destitute of covering, yet stand- ing in need of protection from the elements of Heaven ; but this can be easily provided by moderate expenditure of corporeal strength. It is delightful to repair exhausted nervous and muscular energy, by wholesome aliment; and the digestive organs have been so constituted, as to perform their functions by successive stages, and to afford us fre- quent opportunities of enjoying the pleasures of eating. In these arrangements, the design of supporting the various systems of the body in activity, for the enjoyment of the individual, is abundantly obvious. A late writer justly re- marks, that ' a person of feeble texture and indolent habits has the bone smooth, thin, and light; but nature, solicit- ous for our safety, in a manner which we could not antici- pate, combines with the powerful muscular frame a dense and perfect texture of bone, where every spine and tuber- cle is completely developed.' * As the structure of the parts is originally perfected by the action of the vessels, the function or operation of the part is made the stimulus to those vessels. The cuticle on the hand wears away like a glove; but the pressure stimulates the living surface to force successive layers of skin under that which is wearing, 54 SOURCES OF HUMAN HAPPINESS? or, as anatomists call it, desquamating; by which they mean, that the cuticle does not change at once, but comes off in squama? or scales.' Directing our attention to the Mind, we discover that Individuality, and the other Perceptive Faculties, desire, as their means of enjoyment, to know existence, and to become acquainted with the qualities of external objects; while the Reflecting Faculties desire to know their depend- ences and relations. ' There is something,' says an elo- quent writer, ' positively agreeable to all men, to all, at least whose nature is not most grovelling and base, in gain- ing knowledge for its own sake. When you see anything for the first time, you at once derive some gratification from the sight being new; your attention is awakened, and you desire to know more about it. If it is a piece of work- manship, as an instrument, a machine of any kind, you wish to know how it is made ; how it works; and what use it is of. If it is an animal, you desire to know where it comes from ; how it lives; and what are its dispositions, and generally, its nature and habits. This desire is felt, too, without at all considering that the machine or the ani- mal may ever be of the least use to yourself practically ; for, in all probability, you may never see them again. But you feel a curiosity to learn all about them, because they are new and unknown to you. You, accordingly make in- quiries ; you feel a gratification in getting answers to your questions, that is, in receiving information, and in know- ing more,—in being better informed than you were before. If you ever happen again to see the same instrument or animal, you find it agreeable to recollect having seen it before, and to think that you know something about it. If you see another instrument or animal, in some respects like it, but differing in other particulars, you find it pleasing to compare them together, and to note in what they agree and in what they differ. Now, all this kind of gratifica- tion is of a pure and disinterested nature, and has no refer- CONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING IT. 55 ence to any of the common purposes of life; yet it is a pleasure—an enjoyment. You are nothing the richer for it; you do not gratify your palate, or any other bodily ap- petite ; and yet it is so pleasing that you would give some- thing out of your pocket to obtain it, and would forego some bodily enjoyment for its sake. The pleasure derived from science is exactly of the like nature, or rather it is the very same.'* This is a correct and forcible exposition of the pleasures attending the active exercise of our intel- lectual faculties. Supposing the human faculties to have received their present constitution, two arrangements may be fancied as instituted for the gratification of these powers. 1st. In- fusing into them at birth intuitive knowledge of every ob- ject which they are fitted ever to comprehend; or, Idly. Constituting them only as capacities for gaining knowledge by exercise and application, and surrounding them with objects bearing such relations towards them, that, when ob- served and attended to, they shall afford them high gratifi- cation ; and, when unobserved and neglected, they shall occasion them uneasiness and pain ; and the question oc- curs, Which mode would be most conducive to enjoyment 1 The general opinion will be in favour of the first; but the second appears to me to be preferable. If the first meal we had eaten had forever prevented the recurrence of hunger, it is obvious that all the pleasures of satisfying a healthy appetite would have been then at an end ; so that this apparent bounty would have greatly abridged our en- joyment. In like manner, if, our faculties being constitut- ed as at present, intuitive knowledge had been communi- cated to us, so that, when an hour old, we should have been thoroughly acquainted with every object, quality, and rela- tion that we could ever comprehend, all provision for the sustained activity of many of our faculties would have been * Objects, Advantages, and Pleasures of Science, page 1. 56 SOURCES OF HUMAN HAPPINESS; done away with. When wealth is acquired, the miser's pleasure in it is diminished. He grasps after more with increasing avidity. He is supposed irrational in doing so; but he obeys the instinct of his nature. What he possess- es, no longer satisfies Acquisitiveness ; it is like food in the stomach, which gave pleasure in eating, and would give pain were it withdrawn, but which, when there, is attended with little positive sensation. The Miser's pleasure arises from the active state of Acquisitiveness, and only the pursuit and obtaining of nno treasures can maintain this state. The same law is exemplified in the case of Love of approbation. The gratification which it affords depends on its active state, and hence the necessity for new incense, and higher mounting in the scale of ambition, is constantly experienced by its victims. Napoleon, in exile, said ' Let us live upon the past:' but he found this impossible; his predominating desires originated in Ambi- tion and Self-esteem ; and the past did not stimulate these powers, or maintain them in constant activity. In like manner, no musician, artist, poet, or philosopher, would reckon himself happy, however extensive his attainments, if informed, Now you must stop, and live upon the past; and the reason is still the same. New ideas, and new emotions, best excite and maintain in activity the faculties of the mind, and activity is essential to enjoyment. If these views be correct, the consequences of imbuing the mind with intuitive knowledge, would not have been un- questionably beneficial. The limits of our acquirements would have been reached ; our first step would have been our last: every object would have become old and famil- iar ; Hope would have had no object of expectation ; Cau- tiousness no object of fear; Wonder no gratification in novelty; monotony, insipidity, and mental satiety, would apparently have been the lot of man. According to the view now advanced, creation, in its present form, is more wisely and benevolently adapted to CONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING IT. 57 our constitution than if intuitive instruction had been showered on the mind at birth. By the actual arrange- ment, numerous noble faculties are bestowed; their objects are presented to them ; these objects are naturally endowed with qualities fitted to benefit and delight us, when their uses and proper applications are discovered, and to injure and punish us for our ignorance, when their properties are misunderstood or misapplied ; but we are left to find out all these qualities and relations by the exercise of the fac- ulties themselves. In this manner, provision is made for ceaseless activity of the mental powers, and this constitutes the greatest delight. Wheat, for instance, is produced by the earth, and admirably adapted to the nutrition of the body; but it may be rendered more grateful to the organ of taste, more salubrious to the stomach, and more stimu- lating to the nervous and muscular systems, by being stripped of its external skin, ground into flour, and baked by fire into bread. Now, the Creator obviously pre-arranged all these relations, when he endowed wheat with its properties, and the human body with its qualities and functions. In withholding congenital and intuitive knowledge of these qualities and mutual relations, but in bestowing faculties of Individuality, Form, Colouring, Weight, Constructiveness, &,c. fitted to find them out; in rendering the exercise of these faculties agreeable ; and in leaving man, in this con- dition, to proceed for himself,—he appears to me to have conferred on him the highest boon. The earth produces also hemlock and foxglove ; and, by the organic law, those substances, if taken in certain moderate quantities, remove diseases ; if in excess, they occasion death : but, again, man's observing faculties are fitted, when applied under the guidance of Cautiousness and Reflection, to make this dis- covery ; and he is left to make it in this way, or suffer the consequences of neglect. Further, water, when elevated in temperature, becomes steam ; and steam expands with prodigious power ; this 58 SOURCES OF HUMAN HAPPINESS; power, confined by muscular energy, exerted on metal, and directed by intellect, is capable of being converted into the steam-engine, the most efficient, yet humble servant of man. All this was clearly pre-arranged by the Creator ; and man's faculties were adapted to it ; but still we see him left to observe and discover the qualities and relations of water for himself. This duty, however, must be ac- knowledged as benevolently imposed, the moment we dis- cover that the Creator has made the very exercise of the faculties pleasurable, and arranged external qualities and relations so beneficially, that, when known, they carry a double reward in adding by their positive influence to human gratification. The Knowing Faculties, as we have seen, observe the mere external qualities of bodies, and their simpler rela- tions. The Reflecting Faculties observe relations also; but of a higher order. The former, for example, discover that the soil is clay or gravel; that it is tough or friable ; that it is wet, and that excess of water impedes vegetation ; that in one season the crop is large, and in the next defi- cient. The reflecting faculties take cognizance of the causes of these phenomena. They discover the means by which wet soil may be rendered dry; clay may be pulver- ized ; light soil may be invigorated ; and all of them made more productive ; also the relationship of particular soils to particular kinds of grain. The inhabitants of a coun- try who exert their knowing faculties of their soil, their re- flecting faculties in discovering its capabilities and rela- tions to water, lime, manures, and the various species of grain, and who put forth their muscular and nervous ener- gies in accordance with the dictates of these powers, re- ceive a rich reward in a climate improved in salubrity, in an abundant supply of food, besides much positive enjoy- ment attending the exercise of the powers themselves. Those communities, on the other hand, who neglect to use their mental faculties and muscular and nervous energies, CONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING IT. 59 are punished by ague, fever, rheumatism, and a variety of painful affections, arising from damp air; are stinted in food ; and, in wet seasons, are brought to the very brink of starvation by total failure of their crops. This punishment is a benevolent admonition from the Creator, that they are neglecting a great duty, and omitting to enjoy a great pleasure ; and it will cease as soon as they have fairly re- deemed the blessings lost by their negligence, and obeyed the laws of their being. The winds and waves appear, at first sight, to present insurmountable obstacles to man leaving the island or continent on which he happens to be born, and to his hold- ing intercourse with his fellows in distant climes : But, by observing the relations of water to timber, he is able to construct a ship; by observing the influence of the wind on a physical body placed in a fluid medium, he discovers the use of sails; and, finally, by the application of his fac- ulties, he has found out the expansive quality of steam, and traced its relations until he has produced a machine that enables him almost to set the roaring tempest at defi- ance, and to sail straight to the stormy north, although its loudest and its fiercest blasts oppose. In these instances, we perceive external nature admirably adapted to sup- port the mental faculties in habitual activity, and to reward us for the exercise of them. It is objected to this argument, that it involves an incon- sistency. Ignorance, it is said, of the natural laws, is nec- essary to happiness, in order that the faculties may obtain exercise in discovering them ;—nevertheless, happiness is impossible till these laws shall have been discovered and obeyed. Here, then, it is said, ignorance is represented as at once essential to, and incompatible with enjoyment. The same objection, however, applies to the case of the bee. Gathering honey is necessary to its enjoyment ; yet it cannot subsist and be happy till it has gathered honey, and therefore that act is both essential to, and incompati- 60 SOURCES OF HUMAN HAPPINESS ; ble with its gratification. The fallacy lies in losing sight of the natural constitution both of the bee and of man. While the bee possesses instinctive tendencies to roam about the fields and flowery meadows, and to exert its en- ergies in labour, it is obviously beneficial to it to be furnished with motives and opportunities for doing so; and so it is with man to obtain scope for his bodily and mental powers. Now, gathering knowledge is to the mind of man what gathering honey is to the bee. Apparently with the view of effectually prompting the bee to seek this pleasure, honey is made essential to its subsistence. In like man- ner, and probably with a similar design, knowledge is made indispensable to human enjoyment. Communicating intui- tive knowledge of the natural laws to man, while his pres- ent constitution continues, would be the exact parallel of gorging the bee with honey in midsummer, when its ener- gies are at their height. When the bee has completed its store, winter benumbs its powers, which resume their vigor only when its stock is exhausted, and spring returns to afford them scope. No torpor resembling that of winter seals up the faculties of the human race ; but their cease- less activity is amply provided for. First, The laws of nature, compared with the mind of any individual, are of boundless extent, so that every one may learn something new to the end of the longest life. Secondly, By the actu- al constitution of man, he must make use of his acquire- ments habitually, otherwise he will lose them. Thirdly, Every individual of the race is born in utter ignorance, and starts from zero in the scale of knowledge, so that he has the laws to learn for himself. These circumstances remove the apparent inconsistency. If man had possessed intuitive knowledge of all nature, he could have had no scope for exercising his faculties in ac- quiring knowledge, in preserving it, or in communicating it. The infant would have been as wise as the most revered sage, and forgetfulness would have been necessarily excluded. CONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING IT. 61 Those who object to these views, imagine that after the human race has acquired knowledge of all the natural laws, if such a result be possible, they will be in the same condi- tion as if they had been created with intuitive knowledge; but this does not follow. Although the race should acquire the knowledge supposed, it is not an inevitable consequence that each individual will necessarily enjoy it all; which, however, would follow from intuition. The entire soil of Britain belongs to the landed proprietors as a class ; but each does not possess it all; and hence every one has scope for adding to his territories; with this advantage, however, in favour of knowledge, that the acquisitions of one do not impoverish another. Further, although the race should have learned all the natural laws, their child- ren would not intuitively inherit their ideas, and hence the activity of every one, as he appears on the stage, would be provided for ; whereas, by intuition, every child would be as wise as his grandfather, and parental protection, filial piety, and all the delights that spring from difference in knowledge between youth and age, would be excluded. 3d, Using of acquirements, is, by the actual state of man, essential to the preservation as well as the enjoyment of them. By intuition all knowledge would be habitually present to the mind without effort or consideration. On the whole, therefore, it appears that man's nature being what it is, the arrangement by which he is endowed with powers to acquire knowledge, but left to find it out for him- self, is both wise and benevolent. It has been asked, ' But is there no pleasure in science but that of discovery ? Is there none in using the knowl- edge we have attained 1 Is there no pleasure in playing at chess after we know the moves?' In answer, I observe, that if we know beforehand all the moves that our antago- nist intends to make and all our own, which must be the case if we know everything by intuition, we shall have no pleasure. The pleasure really consists in discovering the 62 SOURCES OF HUMAN HAPPINESS J intentions of our antagonist, and in calculating the effects of our own play; a certain degree of ignorance of both of which is indispensable to gratification. In like manner, it is agreeable first to discover the natural laws, and then to study ' the moves ' that we ought to make, in consequence of knowing them. So much, then, for the sources of hu- man happiness. In the second place, To reap enjoyment in the greatest quantity, and to maintain it most permanently, the faculties must be gratified harmoniously: In other words, if, among the various powers, the supremacy belongs to the moral sentiments, then the aim of our habitual conduct must be the attainment of objects suited to gratify them. For ex- ample, in pursuing wealth or fame as the leading object of existence, full gratification is not afforded to Benevolence, Veneration, and Conscientiousness, and, consequently, complete satisfaction cannot be enjoyed ; whereas, by seek- ing knowledge, and dedicating life to the welfare of man- kind and obedience to God, in our several vocations, these faculties will be gratified, and wealth, fame, health, and other advantages, will flow in their train, so that the whole mind will rejoice, and its delights will remain permanent as long as the conduct continues to be in accordance with the supremacy of the moral powers and the laws of external creation. Thirdly, To place human happiness on a secure basis, the laws of external creation themselves must accord with the dictates of the moral sentiments, and intellect must be fitted to discover the nature and relations of both, and to direct the conduct in coincidence with them. Much has been written about the extent of human igno- rance ; but we should discriminate between absolute in- capacity to know, and mere want of information arising from not having used this capacity to its full extent. In regard to the first, or our capacity to know, it appears pro- bable that, in this world, we shall never know the essence, CONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING IT. 63 beginning, or end of things ; because these are points which we have no faculties calculated to reach. But the same Creator who made the external world constituted our faculties, and if we have sufficient data for inferring that His intention is, that we shall enjoy existence here while preparing for the ulterior ends of our being ; and if it be true that we can be happy here only by becoming acquaint- ed with the qualities and modes of action of our own minds and bodies, with the qualities and modes of action of ex- ternal objects, and with the relations established between them ; in short, by becoming thoroughly conversant with those natural laws, which, when observed, are prearranged to contribute to our enjoyment, and which, when violated, visit us with suffering, we may safely conclude that our mental capacities are wisely adapted to the attainment of these objects, whenever we shall do our own duty in bring- ing them to their highest condition of perfection, and in applying them in the best manner. if we advert for a moment to what we already know, we shall see that this conclusion is supported by high probabi- lities. Before the mariner's compass and astronomy were discovered, nothing would seem more utterly beyond tne reach of the human faculties than traversing the enormous Atlantic or Pacific Oceans ; but the moment these discov- eries were made, how simple did this feat appear, and how completely within the scope of human ability ! But it be- came so, not by any addition to man's mental capacities, nor by any change in the physical world ; but by the easy process of applying Individuality, and the other knowing faculties, to observe, Causality to reflect, and Constructive- ness to build ; in short, to perform their natural functions. Who that, forty years ago, regarded the small-pox as a scourge, devastating Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, would not have despaired of the human faculties ever dis- covering an antidote against it ? and yet we have lived to see this end accomplished by a simple exercise of Individu- 64 SOURCES OF HAPPINESS. ality and reflection, in observing the effects of, and apply- ing vaccine inoculation. Nothing appears more complete- ly beyond the reach of the human intellect, than the cause of volcanoes and earthquakes; and yet some approach towaids its discovery has recently been made.* Sir Isaac Newton observed, that all bodies which re- fracted the rays of light were combustible, except one, the diamond, which he found to possess this quality, but which he was not able by any powers he possessed, to burn. He did not conclude, however, from this, that the diamond was an exception to the uniformity of nature. He inferred, that, as the same Creator made the refracting bodies which he was able to consume and the diamond, and proceeded by uniform laws, the diamond would, in all probability, be found to be combustible, and that the reason of its resisting his power, was ignorance on his part of the proper way to produce its conflagration. A century afterwards, chemists made the diamond blaze with as much vivacity as Sir Isaac Newton had done a wax candle. Let us proceed, then, on an analogous principle. If the intention of our Creator was, that we should enjoy existence while in this world, then He knew what was necessary to enable us to do so ; and He will not be found to have failed in conferring on us powers fitted to accomplish His design, provided we do our duty in developing and applying them. The great mo- tive to exertion is the conviction, that increased knowledge will furnish us with increased means of doing good,—with new proofs of benevolence and wisdom in the Great Archi- tect of the Universe. The human race may be regarded as only in the begin- ning of its existence. The art o f printing is an invention comparatively but of yesterday, and no imagination can yet conceive the effects which it is destined to produce. Phrenology was wanting to give it full efficacy, especially * Vide Codier, in Edin. New Phil. Journ. No. VIII. p. 273. PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF LIFE. 65 in moral science, in which little progress has been made for centuries. Now that this desideratum is supplied, may we not hope that the march of improvement will proceed in a rapidly accelerating ratio 1 SECTION VII. APPLICATION OF THE NATURAL LAWS TO THE PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF LIFE. If a system of living and occupation were to be framed for human beings, founded on the exposition of their na- ture, which I have now given, it would be something like this. 1st. So many hours a day Would require to be dedicat- ed by every individual in health, to the exercise of his ner- vous and muscular systems, in labour calculated to give scope to these functions. The reward of obeying this re- quisite of his nature would be health, and a joyous animal existence; the punishment of neglect is disease, low spirits, and death. Zdly. So many hours a day should be spent in the sed- ulous employment of the knowing and reflecting faculties;.. in studying the qualities of external objects, and their rela- tions; also°the nature of all animated beings, and their re- lation's ; not with the view of accumulating mere abstract and barren knowledge, but of enjoying the positive plea- sure of mental activity, and of turning every discovery to account, as a means of increasing happiness, or alleviating misery.' The leading object should always be to find out the relationship of every object to our own nature, organic, animal, moral, and intellectual, and to keep that relationship habitually in mind, so as to render our acquirements di- rectly gratifying to our various faculties. The reward of this conduct would be an incalculably great increase of 6 66 APPLICATION OF NATURAL LAWS TO properties of external objects, together with a great acces- sion of power in reaping ulterior advantages, and in avoid- ing disagreeable affections. 3dly. So many hours a day ought to be devoted to the cultivation and gratification of our moral sentiments ; that is to say, in exercising these in harmony with intellect, and especially in acquiring the habit of admiring, loving, and yielding obedience to the Creator and his institutions. This last object is of vast importance. Intellect is barren of practical fruit, however rich it may be in knowledge, un- til it is fired and prompted to act by moral sentiment. In my view, knowledge by itself is comparatively worthless and impotent, compared with what it becomes when vivifi- ed by elevated emotions. It is not enough that Intellect is informed; the moral faculties must simultaneously co-ope- rate ; yielding obedience to the precepts which the intellect recognises to be true. One way of cultivating the senti- ments would be for men to meet and act together, on the fixed principles which I am now endeavouring to unfold, and to exercise on each other in mutual instruction, and in united adoration of the great and glorious Creator, the seve- ral faculties of Benevolence, Veneration, Hope, Ideality, Wonder, and Justice. The reward of acting in this man- lier would be a communication of direct and intense plea- sure to each other; for I refer to every individual who has ever had the good fortune to pass a day or an hour with a really benevolent, pious, honest, and intellectual man, whose soul swelled with adoration of his Creator, whose in- tellect was replenished with knowledge of his works, and whose whole mind was instinct with sympathy for human happiness, whether such a day did not afford him the most pure, elevated, and lasting gratification he ever enjoyed. Such an exercise, besides, would invigorate the whole moral and intellectual powers, and fit them to discover and obey the divine institutions. pleasure, in the very act of acquiring knowledge of the real PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF LIFE. 67 Phrenology is highly conducive to this enjoyment of our moral and intellectual nature. No faculty is bad, but, on the contrary each, when properly gratified, is a fountain of pleasure; in short, man possesses no feeling, of the le- gitimate exercise of which an enlightened and ingenuous mind need be ashamed. A party of thorough practical phrenologists, therefore, meets in the perfect knowledge of each other's qualities; they respect these as the gifts of the Creator, and their great object is to derive the utmost pleasure from their legitimate use, and to avoid every ap- proximation to abuse of them. The distinctions of coun- try and temperament are broken down by unity of princi- ple ; the chilling restraints of Cautiousness, Self-esteem, Secretiveness, and Love of Approbation, which stand as barriers of eternal ice between human beings in the ordi- nary intercourse of society, are gently removed ; the direct- ing sway is committed to Benevolence, Veneration, Con- scientiousness, and Intellect; and then the higher princi- ples of the mind operate with a delightful vivacity unknown to persons unacquainted with the qualities of human nature. Intellect also ought to be regularly exercised in arts, science, philosophy, and observation. I have said nothing of dedicating hours to the direct gratification of the animal powers; not that they should not be exercised, but that full scope for their activity will be included in the employments already mentioned. In muscular exercises, Combativeness, Destructiveness, Con- structiveness, Acquisitiveness, Self-esteem, and Love of Approbation, may all be gratified. In contending with and surmounting physical and moral difficulties, Combat- iveness and Destructiveness obtain vent; in working at a mechanical employment, requiring the exertion of strength, these two faculties, and also Constructiveness and Acquisi- tiveness, will be exercised ; in emulation who shall accom- plish most good, Self-esteem and Love of Approbation will obtain scope. In the exercise of the moral faculties, sev- 68 APPLICATION OF NATURAL LAWS TO eral of these and others of the animal propensities, are cm- ployed ; Amativeness, Philoprogenitiveness, and Adhesive- ness, for example, acting under the guidance of Benevo- lence, Veneration, Conscientiousness, Ideality, and Intel- lect receive direct enjoyment in the domestic circle. From proper direction also, and from the superior delicacy and refinement imparted to them by the higher powers, they do not infringe the moral law, and leave no sting or repent- ance in the mind. Finally, a certain portion of time would require to be dedicated to taking of food and sleep. All systems hitherto practised have been deficient in pro- viding for one or more of these branches of enjoyment. In the community at Orbiston, formed on Mr. Owen's principles, music, dancing, and theatrical entertainments were provided; but the people soon tired of these. They had not corresponding moral and intellectual instruction. The novelty excited them, but there was nothing substan- tial behind. In common society, very little either of ra- tional instruction or amusement is provided. The neglect of innocent amusement is a great error. If there be truth in these views, they will afford answers to two important questions, that have puzzled philosophers in regard to the progress of human improvement. The first is, why should man have existed so long, and made so small an advance in the road to happiness ?* If I am right in the fundamental proposition, that activity in the faculties is synonymous with enjoyment of existence,—it follows that it would have been less wise and benevolent towards man, constituted as he is, to have communicated to him intui- tively perfect knowledge, thereby leaving his mental pow- ers with diminished motives to activity, than to bestow on him faculties endowed with high susceptibility of action, * In offering a solution of this problem, I do not inquire why man has received his present constitution. PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF LIFE. 69 and to surround him with scenes, objects, circumstances, and relations, calculated to maintain them in ceaseless ex- citement ; although this latter arrangement necessarily sub- jects him to suffering while ignorant, and renders his first ascent in the scale of improvement difficult and slow. It is interesting to observe, that, according to this view, al- though the first pair of the human race had been created with powerful and well balanced faculties, but of the same nature as at present; if they were not also intuitively in- spired with knowledge of the whole creation, and its rela- tions, their first movements as individuals would have been retrograde ; that is, as individuals, they would, through pure want of information, have infringed many natural laws, and suffered evil; while, as parts of the race, they would have been decidedly advancing ; for every pang they suffered would have led them to a new step in knowledge, and prompted them to advance towards a much higher condition than that which they at first occupied. Accord- ing to the hypothesis now presented, not only is man really benefited by the arrangement which leaves him to discover the natural laws for himself, although during the period of his ignorance, he suffers much evil from unacquaintance with them ; but his progress towards knowledge and hap- piness must from the very extent of his experience, be actu- ally greater than can at present be conceived. Its extent will become more obvious, and his experience itself more valuable, after he has obtained a view of the real theory of his constitution. He will find that past miseries have at least exhausted countless errors, and he will know how to avoid thousands of paths that lead to pain ; in short, he will then discover that errors in conduct resemble errors in philosophy, in this, that they give additional importance and practicability to truth, by the demonstration which they afford of the evils attending departures from its dictates. The grand sources of human suffering at present arise from bodily disease and mental distress, and, in the next ,. 70 APPLICATION OF NATURAL LAWS. chapter, these will be traced to infringement, through igno- rance or otherwise, of physical, organic, moral, or intellect- ual laws, which, when expounded, appear in themselves calculated to promote the happiness of the race. It may be supposed that, according to this view, as knowledge ac- cumulates, enjoyment will decrease ; but ample provision is made against this event, by withholding intuition from each generation as it appears on the stage; each successive age must acquire knowledge for itself; and, provided ideas are new, and suited to the faculties, the pleasure of acquir- ing them from instructers, is only second to that of discov- ering them for ourselves; and, probably countless ages may elapse before all the facts and relations of nature shall have been explored, and the possibility of discovery exhausted. If the universe be infinite, knowledge can never be complete. The second question is, Has man really advanced in happiness, in proportion to his increase in knowledge 1 We are apt to entertain erroneous notions of the pleasures enjoyed by past ages. Fabulists have represented them as peaceful, innocent, and gay; but if we look narrowly at the condition of the savage and barbarian of the present day, and recollect that these are the states of all individu- als previous to the acquisition of knowledge, we shall not much or long regret the pretended diminution of enjoy- ment by civilization. Phrenology renders the superiority of the latter condition certain, by showing it to be a law of na- ture, that, until the intellect is extensively informed, and the moral sentiments assiduously exercised, the animal propen- sities bear the predominat sway ; and that wherever they are supreme, misery is an inevitable concomitant. Indeed, the answer to the objection that happiness has not increased with knowledge, appears to me to be found in the fact, that until phrenology was discovered, the nature of man was not scientifically known ; and in consequence, that not one of his institutions, civil or domestic, was correctly founded on the principle of the supremacy of the moral sentiments, INFRINGEMENTS OF PHYSICAL LAWS. 71 or in accordance with the other laws of his constitution. Owing to the same cause, also, much of his knowledge has necessarily remained partial, and inapplicable to use; but after this science shall have been appreciated and ap- plied, clouds of darkness, accumulated through long ages that are past, may be expected to roll away, as if touched by the rays of the meridian sun, and with them many of the miseries that attend total ignorance or imperfect infor- mation.* CHAPTER III. TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THE MISERIES OF MANKIND REFERABLE TO INFRINGEMENTS OF THE LAWS OF NATURE ? In the present chapter, I propose to inquire into some of the evils that have afflicted the human race ; also whether they have proceeded from abuses of institutions benevolent and wise in themselves, and calculated, when observed, to promote the happiness of man, or from a defective or vic- ious constitution of nature, which he can neither remedy nor improve. SECTION I.—CALAMITIES ARISING FROM INFRINGE- MENTS OF THE PHYSICAL LAWS. The proper way of viewing the Creator's institutions, is to look, first, to their uses, and to the advantages that flow * Readers who are strangers to phrenology, and the evidence on which it rests, may regard the observations in the text as extravagant and en- thusiastic 5 but I respectfully remind them, that, while they judge in comparative ignorance, it has been my endeavour to subject it to the severest scrutiny. Haviug found its proofs irrefragable, and being con- vinced of its importance, I solicit their indulgence in spealri.:g of it as it appears to my own mind. 72 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM from observance of them; and, secondly, to their abuses, and the evils consequent thereon. In Chapter II., some of the benefits conferred on man, by the law of gravitation, are enumerated; and I may here advert to the evils originating from that law, when human conduct is in opposition to it. For example, men are lia- ble to fall from horses, carriages, stairs, precipices, roofs, chimneys, ladders, masts, to slip in the street, &c, by which accidents life is frequently altogether extinguished, or rendered miserable from lameness and pain ; and the question arises, Is human nature provided with any means of protection against these evils, at all equal to their fre- quency and extent. The lower animals are equally subject to this law : and the Creator has bestowed on them external senses, nerves, muscles, bones, an instinctive sense of equilibrium, the sense of danger, or cautiousness, and other faculties, to place them in accordance with it. These appear to afford sufficient protection to animals placed in all ordinary cir- cumstances ; for we very rarely discover any of them, in their natural condition, killed or mutilated by accidents referable to gravitation. Where their mode of life exposes them to extraordinary danger from this law, they are pro- vided with additional securities. The monkey, which climbs trees, enjoys great muscular energy in its legs, claws, and tail, far surpassing, in proportion to its gravitating ten- dency, or its bulk and weight, what is bestowed on the legs and arms of man; so that, by means of them, it springs from branch to branch, in nearly complete security against the law in question. The goat, which browses on the brinks of precipices, has received a hoof and legs, that give precision and stability to its steps. Birds, which are destined to sleep on branches of trees, are provided with a muscle passing over the joints of each leg, and stretching down to the foot, which, being pressed by their weight, produces a proportionate contraction of their claws, INFRINGEMENTS OF PHYSICAL LAWS. 73 so as to make them cling the faster, the greater their liabil- ity to fall. The fly, which walks and sleeps on perpen- dicular walls, and the ceilings of rooms, has a hollow in its foot, from which it expels the air, and the pressure of the atmosphere on the outside of the foot holds it fast to the object on which the inside is placed. The sea-horse, which is destined to climb up the sides of ice-hills, is provided with a similar apparatus. The camel, whose native region is the sandy deserts of the torrid zone, has broad spreading hooves to support it on the loose soil. Fishes are furnished with air bladders, by dilating and contracting of which they can accommodate themselves with perfect precision to the law of gravitation. In these instances, the lower animals, under the sole guidance of their instincts, appear to be placed admirably in harmony with gravitation, and guaranteed against its infringement. Is Man, then, less an object of love with the Creator 1 Is he alone left exposed to the evils that spring inevitably from its neglect ? His means of protec- tion are different, but when understood and applied, they will probably be found not less complete. Man, as well as the lower animals, has received bones, muscles, nerves, an instinct of equilibrium,* and organs of Cautiousness ; but not in equal perfection, in proportion to his figure, size, and weight, with those bestowed on them :—The difference, however, is far more than compensated by other organs, particularly those of Constructiveness and Reflection, in which he greatly surpasses them. Keeping in view that the external world, in regard to man, is arranged on the principle of supremacy in moral sentiments and intellect, we shall probably find, that the calamities suffered by him from the law of gravitation, are referable to predominance of the animal propensities, or to neglect of proper exercise of his intellectual powers. For example, when coaches * Vide Essay on Weight, Phren. Journ. vol. ii. p. 412. 74 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM break down, ships sink, men fall from ladders, &c, how generally may the cause be traced to decay in the vehicle, the vessel, or ladder, which a predominating Acquisitive- ness alone prevented from being repaired ; or when men fall from' houses, scaffolds, or slip on the street, &c, how frequently should we find their muscular, nervous, and mental energies, impaired by preceding debaucheries ; in other words, by predominance of the animal faculties, which, for the time, diminished their natural means of ac- commodating themselves to the law from which they suffer. Or, again, the slater, in using a ladder, assists himself by Constructiveness and Reflection; but, in walking along the ridge of a house, or standing on a chimney, he takes no aid from these faculties ; he trusts to the mere instinct- ive power of equilibrium, in which he is inferior to the lower animals, and, in so doing, clearly violates the law of his nature, that requires him to use reflection, where in- stinct is deficient. Causality and Constructiveness could invent means by which, if he slipped from a roof or chim- ney, his fall might be arrested. A small chain, for in- stance, attached by one end to a girdle round his body, and the other end fastened by a hook and eye to the roof, might leave him at liberty to move about, and break his fall, in case he slipped. How frequently, too, do these ac- cidents happen, after disturbance of the faculties and cor- poreal functions by intoxication 1 The objection will probably occur, that in the gross con- dition in which the mental powers exist, the great body of mankind are incapable of exerting habitually that degree of moral and intellectual energy, which is indispensable to observance of the natural laws; and that, therefore, they are, in point of fact, less fortunate, than the lower animals. I admit, that, at present, this representation is to a considerable extent just; but nowhere do I perceive the human powers exercised and instructed, in a degree at all approaching to their limits. Let any person recollect of how much great- INFRINGEMENTS OF PHYSICAL LAWS. 75 er capacity for enjoyment and security from danger he has been conscious, at a particular time, when his whole mind was filled with, and excited by, some mighty interest, not only allied to, but founded in, morality and intellect, than in that languid condition which accompanies the absence of elevated and ennobling motives, and he may form some idea of what man is capable of reaching when his powers shall have been cultivated to the extent of their capacity. At the present moment, no class of society is systematical- ly instructed in the constitution of their own minds and bodies, in the relations of these to external objects, in the nature of these objects, in the natural supremacy of the moral sentiments, in the principle that activity in the facul- ties is the only source of pleasure, and that the higher the powers, the more intense the delight; and, if such views be to the mind, what light is to the eyes, air to the lungs, and food to the stomach, there is no wonder that a mass of inert mentality, if I may use such a word, should every- where exist around us, and that countless evils should spring from its continuance in this condition. If active moral and intellectual faculties are the natural fountains of enjoyment, and the external world is created with reference to this state ; it is as obvious that misery must result from animal supremacy and intellectual torpidity, as that flame, which is constituted to burn only when supplied with oxy- gen, must inevitably become extinct, when exposed to carbonic acid gas. Finally, if the arrangement by which man is left to discover and obey the laws of his own na- ture, and of the physical world, be more conducive to ac- tivity, than intuitive knowledge, the calamities now con- templated appear to be instituted to force him to his duty ; and his duty, when understood, will constitute his delight. While, therefore, we lament the fate of individual vic- tims to the law of gravitation, we cannot condemn that law itself. If it were suspended, to save men from the effects of negligence, not only would the proud creations of hu- 76 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM man skill totter to their base, and the human body rise from the earth, and hang midway in the air, but our highest en- joyments would be terminated, and our faculties become positively useless, by being deprived of their field of exer- tion. Causality, for instance, teaches that similar causes will always, ceteris paribus, produce similar effects; and, if the physical laws were suspended or varied, to accommo- date man's negligence or folly, it is obvious that this facul- ty would be without an object, and that no definite course of action could be entered upon with confidence in the re- sult. If, then, this view of the constitution of nature were kept steadily in view, the occurrence of one accident of this kind would suggest to Reflection means to prevent others. Similar illustrations and commentaries might be given, • in regard to the other physical laws to which man is sub- ject ; but the object of the present Essay being merely to evolve principles, I confine myself to gravitation, as the most obvious and best understood. I do not mean to say, that, by the mere exercise of in- tellect, man may absolutely guarantee himself against all accidents ; but only that the more ignorant and careless he is, the more he will suffer, and the more intelligent and vigilant, the less ; and that I can perceive no limits to this rule. The law of most civilized countries recognizes this principle, and subjects owners of ships, coaches, and other vehicles, in damages arising from gross infringements of the physical laws. It is unquestionable that the enforce- ment of this liability has increased security in travelling in no trifling degree. SECTION II. ON THE EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND, FROM INFRINGEMENT OF THE ORGANIC LAWS. An organzied being, I have said, is one which derives its existence from a previously existing organized being, INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 77 which subsists on food, grows, attains maturity, decays and dies. Whatever the ultimate object of the Creator, in con- stituting organized beings, may be, it will scarcely be deni- ed, that part of His design is, that they should enjoy their existence here; and, if so, every particular part of their system will be found conducive in its intention to this end. The first law, then, that must be obeyed, to render an or- ganized being perfect in its kind, is, that the germ from which it springs shall be complete in all its parts, and sound in its whole constitution ; the second is, that the moment it is ushered into life, and as long as it continues to live, it shall be supplied with food, light, air, and every physical aliment necessary for its support ; and the third law is, that it shall duly exercise its functions. When all these laws are obeyed, the being should enjoy pleasure from its organized frame, if its Creator is benevolent; and its constitution should be so adapted to its circumstances, as to admit of obedience to them, if its Creator is wise and powerful. Is there, then, no such phenomenon on earth, as a human being existing in full possession of organic vigour, from birth till advanced age, when the organized system is fairly worn out 1 Numberless examples of this kind have occurred, and they show to demonstration, that the corporeal frame of man is so constituted, as to admit the possibility of his enjoying organic health and vigour, during the whole period of a long life. In the life of Cap- tain Cook it is mentioned, that' one circumstance peculiar- ly worthy of notice is, the perfect and uninterrupted health of the inhabitants of New Zealand. In all the visits made to their towns, where old and young, men and women, crowded about our voyagers, they never observed a single person who appeared to have any bodily complaint; nor among the numbers that were seen naked, was once per- ceived the slightest eruption upon the skin, or least mark which indicated that such an eruption had formerly exist- ed. Another proof of the health of these people is the fa- 78 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM cility with which the wounds they at any time receive are healed. In the man who had been shot with the musket ball through the fleshy part of his arm, the wound seemed to be so well digested, and in so fair a way of being per- fectly healed, that if Mr. Cook had not known that no application had been made to it, he declared that he should certainly have inquired, with a very interested curiosity, after the vulnerary herbs and surgical art of the country. An additional evidence of human nature's being untainted with disease in New Zealand, is the great number of old men with which it abounds. Many of them, by the loss of their hair and teeth, appeared to be very ancient, and yet none of them were decrepit. Although they were not equal to the young in muscular strength, they did not come in the least behind them with regard to cheerfulness and vivacity. Water, as far as our navigators could discover, is the uni- versal and only liquour of the New Zealanders. It is greatly to be wished that their happiness in this respect may never be destroyed by such a connexion with the Eu- ropean nations, as shall introduce that fondness for spiritu- ous liquors which had been so fatal to the Indians of North America.'—Kippis' Life of Captain Cook. Dublin, 1788, p. 100. Now, as a natural law never admits of an exception ; for example, as no man ever sees without eyes, or digests without a stomach, we are entitled to say, that the best condition in which an organized being has ever been found is fairly within the capabilities of the race. A human be- ing, vigorous and healthy from the cradle to the grave, could no more exist, unless the natural constitution of his organs permitted it, of design, than vision could exist with- out eyes. Health and vigour cannot result from infringe- ment of the organic laws ; for then pain and disease would be the objects of these laws, and beneficence, wisdom and power, could never be ascribed to the Creator, who had established them. Let us hold, then, that the organized INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. "9 system of man, in itself—admits of the possibility of health, vigour, and organic enjoyment, during the full period of life ; and proceed to inquire into the causes why these ad- vantages are not universal. One organic law, is, that the germ of the infant being must be complete in all its parts, and perfectly sound in its condition, as an indispensable requisite to its vigorous de- velopement, and full enjoyment of existence. If the corn that is sown is weak, wasted, and damaged, the plants that spring from it will be feeble, and liable to speedy decay. The same law holds in the animal kingdom ; and I would ask, has it hitherto been observed by man 1 It is notori- ous that it has not. Indeed, its existence has been either altogether unknown, or in a very high degree disregarded by human beings. The feeble, the sickly, the exhausted with age, and the incompletely developed, through extreme youth, marry, and, without the least compunction regarding the organization which they shall transmit to their offspring, send into the world miserable beings, the very rudiments of whose existence are tainted with disease. If we trace such conduct to its source, we shall find it to originate either in animal propensity, intellectual ignorance, or more frequently in both. The inspiring motives are generally mere sensual appetite, avarice, or ambition, operating in the absence of all just conceptions of the impending evils. The punishment of this offence is debility and pain, trans- mitted to the children, and reflected back in anxiety and sorrow on the parents. Still the great point to be kept in view, is, that these miseries are not legitimate consequences of observance of the organic laws, but the direct chastise- ment of their infringement. These laws are unbending, and admit of no exception; they must be fulfilled, or the penalties of disobedience will follow. On this subject pro- found ignorance reigns in society. From such observa- tions as I have been able to make, I am convinced that the union of certain temperaments and combinations of mental 80 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM organs in the parents, are highly conducive to health, tal- ent, and morality in the offspring, and vice versa, and that these conditions may be discovered and taught with far greater certainty, facility, and advantage, than is generally imagined. It will be time enough to conclude that men are naturally incapable of obedience to the organic laws, after their intellects have been instructed, their moral sen- timents trained to observance of the Creator's natural in- stitutions, as at once their duty, their interest, and a grand source of their happiness; and they have continued to rebel. A second organic law regards nutriment, which must be supplied of a suitable kind, and in due quantity. This law requires also free air, light, cleanliness, and attention to every physical arrangement by which the functions of the body may be favoured or impaired. Have mankind, then, obeyed or neglected this institution 1 I need scarcely answer the question. To be able to obey institutions, we must first know them. Before we can know the organic constitution of our body, we must study that constitution, and the study of the human constitution is anatomy and physiology. Before we can be acquainted with its rela- tions to external objects, we must learn the existence and qualities of these objects, (unfolded by chemistry, natural history, and natural philosophy,) and compare them with the constitution of the body. When we have fulfilled these conditions, we shall be better able to discover the laws which the Creator has instituted in regard to our organic system. It will be said, however, that such studies are impracticable to the great bulk of mankind, and, besides, do not appear much to benefit those who pursue them. They are impracticable only while mankind prefer found- ino- their public and private institutions on the basis of the propensities, instead of that of the sentiments. I have mentioned, that exercise of the nervous and muscular sys- tems is required of all the race by the Creator's fiat, that if INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 81 all, who are capable, would obey this law, a moderate ex- tent of exertion, agreeable and salubrious in itself, would suffice to supply our wants, and to surround us with every beneficial luxury; and that a large portion of unemployed time would remain. The Creator has bestowed on us Knowing Faculties, fitted to explore the facts of these sciences, Reflecting Faculties to trace their relations, and Moral Sentiments calculated to feel interest in such inves- tigations, and to lead us to reverence and obey the laws which they unfold; and, finally, he has made this occupa- tion, when entered upon with the view of tracing His power and wisdom in the subjects of our studies, and of obeying His institutions, the most delightful and invigorat- ing of all vocations. In place, then, of such a course of education being impracticable, every arrangement of the Creator appears to be prepared in direct anticipation of its actual accomplishment. The second objection, that those who study these sciences are not more healthy and happy, as organized be- ings, than those who neglect them, admits also of an easy answer. Parts of these sciences are taught to a few indi- viduals, whose main design in studying them is to apply them as means of acquiring wealth and fame ; but they have nowhere been taught as connected parts of a great system of natural arrangements, fraught with the highest influences on human enjoyment; and in no instance have the intellect and sentiments been systematically directed to the natural laws, as the grand fountains of happiness and misery to the race, and trained to observe and obey them as the Creator's institutions. A third organic law, is, that all our functions shall be duly exercised; and is this law observed by mankind? Many persons are able, from experience, to attest the severity of the punishment that follows from neglecting to exercise the nervous and muscular systems, in the lassi- tude, indigestion, irritability, debility, and general uneasi- 82 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM ness that attend a sedentary and inactive life. But the penalties that attach to neglect of exercising the brain are much less known, and, therefore, I shall notice them more at length. How often have we heard the question asked, What is the use of education ? The answer might be il- lustrated by explaining to the inquirer the nature and ob- jects of the various organs of the body, such as the limbs, lungs, eyes, and then asking him if he could perceive any advantage to a being so constituted, in obtaining access to earth, air, and light. He would, at once, declare, that they were obviously of the very highest utility to him, for they were the only conceivable objects, by means of which these organs could obtain scope for action, which action we suppose him to know to be pleasure. To those, then, who know the constitution of the intellectual and moral powers of man, I need only say, that the objects introduc- ed to the mind by education, bear the same relation to them that the physical elements of nature bear to the nerves and muscles; they afford them scope for action, and yield them delight. The meaning which is commonly at- tached to the word use in such cases, is how much money, influence, or consideration, will education bring ; these be- ing the only objects of strong desire with which uncultivat- ed minds are acquainted ; and they do not perceive in what way education can greatly gratify such propensities. But the moment the mind is opened to the perception of its own constitution and to the natural laws, the great advantage of moral and intellectual cultivation, as a means of exercising the faculties, and of directing the conduct in obedience to these laws, becomes apparent. But there is an additional benefit arising from healthy activity of brain, which is little known. The brain is the fountain of nervous energy to the whole body, and differ- ent modifications of that energy appear to take place, ac- cording to the mode in which the faculties and organs are affected. For example, when misfortune and disgrace im- INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 83 pend over us, the organs of Cautiousness, Self-esteem, Love of Approbation, &,c, are painfully excited; and then they transmit an impaired or a positively noxious nervous influ- ence to the heart, stomach, intestines, and thence to the rest of the body ; the pulse becomes feeble and irregular, digestion is deranged, and the whole corporeal frame wastes. When, on the other hand, the cerebral organs are agreeably affected, a benign and vivifying nervous in- fluence pervades the frame, and all the functions of the body are performed with more pleasure and completeness. Now, it is a law, that the quantum of nervous energy in- creases with the number of cerebral organs roused to activ- ity. In the retreat of the French from Moscow, for exam- ple, when no enemy was near, the soldiers became depress- ed in courage, and enfeebled in body, they nearly sunk to the earth through exhaustion and cold; but no sooner did the fire of the Russian guns sound in their ears, or the gleam of their bayonets flash in their eyes, than new life seemed to pervade them. They wielded powerfully the arms, which a few moments before, they could scarcely carry or trail on the ground. No sooner, however, was the enemy repulsed, than their feebleness returned. The theory of this is, that the approach of the combat called in- to activity a variety of additional faculties ; these sent new energy through every nerve, and while their vivacity was maintained by the external stimulus, they rendered the soldiers strong beyond their merely physical condition. Many persons have probably experienced the operation of the same principle. When sitting feeble and listless by the fire, we have heard of an accident having occurred to some beloved friend, who required our instantaneous aid, or an unexpected visitor has arrived in whom our affections were bound up, in an instant our lassitude was gone, and we moved with an alertness and animation that seemed surprising to ourselves. The cause was the same ; these events roused Adhesiveness, Benevolence, Love of Appro- 84 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM. bation, Intellect, and a variety of faculties, which were pre- viously dormant, and their influence invigorated the limbs. Dr. Sparmann, in his Voyage to the Cape, mentions, that ' there was now again a great scarcity of meat in the wag- on ; for which reason my Hottentots began to grumble, and reminded me that we ought not to waste so much of our time in looking after insects and plants, but give a bet- ter look out after the game. At the same time, they point- ed to a neighbouring dale overrun with wood, at the upper edge of which, at the distance of about a mile and a quar- ter from the spot where we then were, they had seen seve- ral buffaloes. Accordingly, we went thither; but though our fatigue was lessened by our Hottentots carrying our guns for us up a hill, yet we were quite out of breath, and overcome by the sun, before we got up to it. Yet, what even now appears to me a matter of wonder is, that as soon as we got a glimpse of the game, all this languor left us in an instant. In fact, we each of us strove to fire before the other, so that we seemed entirely to have lost sight of all prudence and caution.*—' In the mean time, our temerity, which chiefly proceeded from hurry and ignorance, was considered by the Hottentots as a proof of spirit and intre- pidity hardly to be equalled.' It is a part of the same law that the more agreeable the mental stimulus, the more benign is the nervous influence transmitted to the body. If we imagine a man or woman, who has received from nature a large and tolerably active brain, but who has not enjoyed the advantages of a scientific or extensive educa- tion, so as to feel an interest in moral and intellectual pur- suits for their own sake, and who, from possessing wealth sufficient to remove the necessity for labour, is engaged in no profession, we shall find a perfect victim to infringement of the natural laws. The individual ignorant of these laws, will, in all probability, neglect nervous and muscular exercise, and suffer the miseries arising from impeded cir- INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 85 culation and impaired digestion ; in entire want of every object on which the energy of his brain might be expend- ed, its stimulating influence on the body will be withheld, and the effects of muscular inactivity tenfold aggravated ; all the functions will, in consequence, become enfeebled ; lassitude, uneasiness, anxiety, and a thousand evils, will arise, and life, in short, will become a mere endurance of punishment for infringement of institutions, calculated, in themselves, to promote happiness and afford delight, when known and obeyed. This fate frequently overtakes unedu- cated females, whose early days have been occupied with business, or the cares of a family, but which occupations have ceased before old age had diminished corporeal vigour ; it overtakes men also, who, uneducated, retire from active business in the prime of life. In some instances, these evils accumulate to such a degree that the brain itself gives way, its functions become deranged, and insanity is the result. It is worthy of remark, that the more elevated the ob- jects of our study, the higher in the scale are the mental organs which are exercised, and the higher the organs the more pure and intense is the pleasure ; and hence, a viva- cious and regularly supported excitement of the moral sen- timents and intellect, is, by the organic law, highly favour- able to health and corporeal vigour. In the fact of a living animal being able to retain life in an oven that will bake dead flesh, we see an illustration of the organic law rising above the purely physical ; and, in the circumstance of the moral and intellectual organs transmitting the most favour- able nervous influence to the whole bodily system, we have an example of the moral and intellectual law rising higher than the mere organic. No person after having his intellect and sentiments im- bued with a perception of, and belief in, the natural laws, as now explained, can possibly desire idleness, as a source of pleasure ; nor can he possibly regard muscular exertion 86 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM and mental activity, when not carried to excess, as anything else than enjoyments kindly vouchsafed to him by the be- nevolence of the Creator. The notion that moderate labour and mental exertion are evils, can originate only from igno- rance, or from viewing the effects of over-exhaustion as the result of the natural law, and not as the punishment for infringement of it. If, then, we sedulously inquire, in each particular in- stance, into the cause of the sickness, pain, premature death, and general derangement of the corporeal frame of man, which we see around us, and endeavour to discover whether it has originated in obedience to the physical and organic laws, or sprung from infringement of them, we shall be able to form some estimate how far bodily suffering is justly attributable to imperfections of nature, and how far to our own ignorance and neglect of divine institutions. The foregoing principles being of much practical impor- tance, may, with propriety, be elucidated by a few cases of actual occurrence. Two or three centuries ago, various cities in Europe were depopulated by the plague, and, in particular, London was visited by an awful mortality from this cause, in the reign of Charles the Second. The peo- ple of that age attributed this scourge to the inscrutable decrees of Providence, and some to the magnitude of the nation's moral iniquities. According to the views now presented, it must have arisen from infringement of the organic laws, and been intended to enforce stricter obedi- ence to them in future. According to this view, there was nothing inscrutable in its causes or objects, which, when clearly analysed, appear to have had no direct reference to the moral condition of the people: I say direct reference to the moral condition of the people, because it would be easy to show, that the physical, organic, and all the other natural laws, are connected indirectly, and constituted in harmony, with the moral law; and that infringement of the one often leads to disobedience to another, and brino-s a INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 87 double punishment on the offender. But, in the mean time, I observe that the facts recorded in history exactly correspond with the theory now propounded. The streets of London were excessively narrow, the habits of the peo- ple dirty, and no adequate provision was made for removing the filth unavoidably produced by a dense population. The great fire in that city, which happened soon after the pestilence, afforded an opportunity of remedying, in*some degree, the narrowness of the streets; and the habits of increasing cleanliness abated the filth; these changes brought the people into a closer obedience to the organic laws, and no plauge has since returned. Again, till very lately, thousands of children died yearly of the small-pox, hut in our day, vaccine inoculation saves ninety-nine out of a hundred, who, under the old system, would have died. The theory of its operation is not known, but we may rest assured, that it places the system more in accordance with the organic laws, than in the cases where death ensued. A gentleman, who died about ten years ago at an advanced period of life, told me, that six miles west from Edinburgh, the country was so unhealthy in his youth, that every spring the farmers and their servants were seized with fever and ague, and required regularly to undergo bleeding, and a course of medicine, to prevent attacks, or restore them from their effects. At the time, these visitations were be- lieved to be sent by Providence, and to be inherent in the constitution of things; after, however, said my informant, an improved system of agriculture and drainingwas establish- ed, and vast pools of stagnant water formerly left between the ridges of the field were removed, dunghills carried to a dis- tance from the houses, and the houses themselves made more spacious and commodious, every system of ague and marsh- fever disappeared from the district, and it became highly salubrious. In other words, as soon as the gross infringe- ment of the organic laws was abated by a more active ex- ertion of the muscular and intellectual powers of man, the S3 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM punishment ceased. In like manner, how many calamities occurred in coalpits, in consequence of infringement of a physical law, viz. by introducing lighted candles and lamps into places filled with hydrogen gas, that had emanated from seams of coal, and which exploded, scorched, and suffocated the men and animals within its reach, until Sir Humphrey Davy discovered that the Creator had estab- lished such a relation betwixt flame, wiregauze, and hy- drogen gas, that by surrounding the flame with gauze, its power of exploding hydrogen was counteracted. By the simple application of a covering of wire-gauze, put over and around the flame, it is prevented from igniting gas be- yond it, and colliers are now able to carry, with safety, lighted lamps into places highly impregnated with inflam- mable air. I have been informed, that the accidents from explosion, which still occasionally occur in coal mines, arise from neglecting to keep the lamps in perfect condition. It is needless to multiply examples in support of the pro- position, that the organized system of man, in itself, admits of a healthy existence from infancy to old age, provided its germ has been healthy, and its subsequent condition has been uniformly in harmony with the physical and organic laws; but it has been objected, that although the human faculties may perhaps be adequate to discover these laws, and to record them in books, yet they are totally incapable of retaining them in the memory, and of formally applying them in every act of life. If, it is said, we could not move a step without calculating and adjusting the body to the law of gravitation, and could never eat a meal without a formal rehearsal of the organic laws, life would become oppressed by the pedantry of knowledge, and rendered miserable by petty observances and trivial details. The answer to this is, that all our faculties are adapted by the Creator to the external world, and act inslint tivcly when their objects are placed in the proper light before them. For example, in walking on a footpath in the country during INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 89 day, we are not conscious, in adjusting our steps to the in- equalities of the surface, of being overburdened by mental calculation. In fact, we perform this adjustment with so little trouble, that we are not aware of having made any particular mental or muscular effort. But, on returning at night, when we cannot see, we stumble, and discover, for the first time, how important a duty our faculties had been performing during day, without our having adverted to their labours. Now, the simple medium of light is suffi- cient to bring clearly before our eyes the inequalities of ground ; but to make the mind equally familiar with the nature of the countless objects, and their relations, which abound in external nature, an intellectual light is necessa- ry, which can be struck out only by exercising and apply- ing the knowing and reflecting faculties; but the moment that light is obtained, and the qualities and relationships in question are perceived by its means, the faculties, so long as the light lasts, will act instinctively in adapting our conduct to the nature of the objects, just as in accommo- dating our movements to the unequal surface of the ground. It is no more necessary for us to go through a course of physical, botanical, and chemical reasoning, before we are able to abstain from eating hemlock, after its properties are known, than it is to go through a course of mathemat- ical demonstration, before lifting the one foot higher than the other, in ascending a stair. At present, physical and political science, morals and religion, are not taught as parts of one connected system ; nor are the relations be- tween them and the constitution of man pointed out to the world. In consequence, theoretical knowledge and prac- tice are often widely separated. Some of the advantages of the scientific education now recommended would be the following. In the 1st place, the physical and organic laws, when truly discovered, appear to the mind as institutions of the Creator, wise and salutary in themselves, unbending in 90 CALAMITIES ARISING FROM their operation, and universal in their application. They interest our intellectual faculties, and strongly impress our sentiments. The necessity of obeying them, comes upon us with all the authority of a mandate of God. While we confine ourselves to a mere recommendation to beware of damp, to observe temperance, or to take exercise, without ex- plaining the principle, the injunction carries only the weight due to the authority of the individual who gives it, and is addressed to only two or three faculties. Veneration and Cautiousness, for instance, or Self-love in him who re- ceives it. But if we are made acquainted with the elements of the physical world, and with those of our organized sys- tem,—with the uses of the different parts of the latter, and the conditions necessary to their healthy action,—with the causes of their derangement, and the pains consequent thereon : and if the obligation to attend to these conditions be enforced on our moral sentiments and intellect, then the motives to observe the physical and organic laws, as well as the power of doing so, will be prodigiously increased. Be- fore we can dance well, we must not only know the motions, but our muscles must be trained to execute them. In like manner, to enable us to act on precepts, we must not only comprehend their meaning, but our intellects and senti- ments must be disciplined into actual performance. Now, the very act of acquiring connected scientific information concerning the natural world, its qualities, and their rela- tions, is to the intellect and sentiments what practical danc- ing is to the muscles; it invigorates them; and, as obedi- ence to the natural laws must spring from them, exercise renders it more easy and delightful. 2. It is only by being taught the principle on which consequences depend, that we see the invariableness of the results of the physical and organic laws ; acquire confi- dence in, and respect for the laws themselves ; and fairly endeavour to accommodate our conduct to their operation. Dr. Johnson defines ' principle ' to be ' fundamental truth ; INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 91 original postulate ; first position from which others are de- duced ;' and in these senses I use the word. The human faculties are instinctively active, and desire gratification ; but Intellect itself must have fixed data, on which to rea- son, otherwise it is itself a mere impulse. The man in whom Constructiveness and weight are powerful, will nat- urally betake himself to constructing machinery ; but, if he be ignorant of the principles of mechanical science, he will not direct his efforts to as important ends, and attain them as successfully, as if his intellect were stored with these. Principles are deduced from the laios of nature. A man may make music by the instinctive impulses of Time and Tune; but there are immutable laws of harmo- ny ; and, if ignorant of these, he will not perform so inva- riably, correctly, and in good taste as if he knew them. In every art and science, there are principles referable solely to the constitution of nature, but these admit of countless applications. A musician may produce gay, grave, solemn, or ludicrous tunes, all good of their kind, by following the laws of harmony ; but he will never produce one good piece by violating them. While the inhabitants west of Edinburgh allowed the stagnant pools to deface their fields, some seasons would be more healthy than others; and, while the cause of the disease was unsuspected, this would confirm them in the notion that health and sickness were dispensed by an overruling Providence, on inscrutable principles, which they could not comprehend ; but the mo- ment the cause was known, it would be found that the most healthy seasons were those that were cold and dry, and the most sickly those that were warm and moist; and they would then perceive, that the superior salubrity of one year, and unwholesomeness of another, were clearly refera- ble to one principle, and would be both more strongly prompted, and rendered morally and intellectually more capable of applying the remedy. If some intelligent friend had merely told them to drain their fields, and remove their 92 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM dunghills, they would not probably have done it; but when- ever their intellects were enlightened, and their sentiments roused, to appreciate the advantages of adopting, and dis- advantages of neglecting, the improvement, it became easy. The truth of these views may be still further illustrated by examples. A young gentleman of Glasgow, whom I knew, went out, as a merchant to North America. Busi- ness required him to sail from New York to St. Domingo. The weather was hot, and he, being very sick, found the confinement below deck, in bed, as he said, intolerable; that is, this confinement was, for the moment, more painful than the course which he adopted, of laying himself down at full length on the deck, in the open air. He was warn- ed by his fellow passengers, and the officers of the ship, that he would inevitably induce fever by this proceeding : but he was utterly ignorant of the physical and organic laws ; his intellect had been trained to regard only wealth and present pleasure as objects of real importance; it could perceive no necessary connexion between exposure to the mild and grateful sea breeze of a warm climate and fever, and he obstinately refused to quit his position. The consequence was, that he was rapidly taken ill, and lived just one day after arriving at St. Domingo. Knowledge of chemistry and physiology would have enabled him, in an instant, to understand that the sea air, in warm climates, holds a prodigious quantity of water in solution, and that damp and heat, operating together on the human organs, tend to derange their healthy action, and ultimately to de- stroy them entirely : and if his sentiments had been deeply imbued with a feeling of the indispensable duty of yielding obedience to the institutions of the Creator, he would have actually enjoyed, not only a greater desire, but a greater power of supporting the temporary inconvenience of the heated cabin, and might, by possibility, have escaped death. Captain Murray, R. N. mentioned to Dr. A. Combe, that, in his opinion, most of the bad effects of the climate INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 93 of the West Indies might be avoided by care and attention to clothing; and so satisfied was he on this point, that he had petitioned to be sent there in preference to the North American station, and had no reason to regret the change. The measures which he adopted, and their effects, are de- tailed in the following interesting and instructive letter: ' Assynt, April 22, 1827. ' My Dear Sir, ' I should have written to you before this, had I not been anxious to refer to some memorandums, which I could not do before my return home from Coul. I attribute the great good health enjoyed by the crew of his Majesty's ship Valorous, when on the West India station, during the peri- od I had the honour of commanding her, to the following causes. 1st, To the keeping the ship perfectly dry and clean ; 2dly, To habituating the men to the wearing of flannel next the skin; 3dly, To the precaution I adopted, of giving each man a proportion of his allowance of cocoa before he left the ship in the morning, either for the pur- pose of watering, or any other duty he might be sent upon; and, 4thly, To the cheerfulness of the crew. ** The Valorous sailed from Plymouth on the 24th De- cember, 1823, having just returned from the coast of La- brador and Newfoundland, where she had been stationed two years, the crew, including officers, amounting to 150 men. I had ordered the purser to draw two pairs of flan- nel drawers, and two shirts extra for each man, as soon as I knew that our destination was the West Indies; and, on our sailing, I issued two of each to every man and boy in the ship, making the officers of each division responsible for the men of their respective divisions wearing these flan- nels during the day and night; and, at the regular morn- ing nine o'clock musters, I inspected the crew personally ; for you can hardly conceive the difficulty I have had in forcing some of the men to use flannel at first; although I 94 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM never yet knew one who did not, from choice, adhere to it, when once fairly adopted. The only precaution after this, was to sec that, in bad weather, the watch, when re- lieved, did not turn in, in their wet clothes, which the young hands were apt to do, if not looked after; and their flannels were shifted every Sunday. ' Whenever fresh beef and vegetables could be procured at the contract price, they were always issued in prefer- ence to salt provision. Lime juice was issued whenever the men had been fourteen days on ship's provisions ; and the crew took their meals on the main deck, except in very bad weather. ' The quarter and main decks were scrubbed with sand and water, and wet holy stones, every morning at day- light. The lower deck, cock-pit, and store-rooms were scrubbed every day after breakfast, with dry holy stones and hot sand, until quite white, the sand being carefully swept up, and thrown overboard. The pump-well was al- so swabbed out dry, and then scrubbed with holy stones and hot sand ; and here, as well as in every part of the ship which was liable to damp, Brodiestoves were constant- ly used, until every appearance of humidity vanished. The lower deck and cock-pit were washed once every week in dry weather; but Brodiestoves were constantly kept burn- ing in them, until they were quite dry again. ' The hammocks were piped up, and in the nettings, from 7 a. m. until dusk, when the men of each watch took down their hammocks alternately, by which means, only one half of the hammocks being down at a time, the tween decks were not so crowded, and the watch relieved was sure of turning into a dry bed on going below. The bed- ding was aired every week, once at least. The men were not permitted to go on shore in the heat of the sun, or where there was a probability of their getting spirituous liquors; but all hands were indulged with a run on shore when out of reach of such temptation. INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 95 ' I was employed on the Coast of Caraccas, the West India Islands, and Gulf of Mexico ; and in course of ser- vice, I visited Trinidad, Margarita, Cocha, Cumana, Nue- va Barcelona, Laguira, Porto Cabello, and Maracaibo, on the coast of Caraccas ; all the West India Islands, from Tobago to Cuba, both inclusive ; as also, Caracao and Aruba, and several of those places repeatedly ; also to Vera Cruz and Tampico, in the Gulf of Mexico, which you will admit must have given a trial to the constitutions of my men, after two years amongst the icebergs of the Labrador, without an intervening summer between that icy coast and the coast of Caraccas ; yet I arrived in England on June 24th, without having buried a single man or offi- cer belonging to the ship, or indeed having a single man on the sick list; from which I am satisfied that a dry ship will always be a healthy one in any climate. When in command of the Recruit, of 18 guns, in the year 1809, I was sent to Vera Cruz, where I found the-------46, the -------42, the-------18, and-------gun-brig ; we were joined by the-------36, and the-------18. During the period we remained at anchor (from 8 to 10 weeks), the three frigates lost from 30 to 50 men each, the brigs 16 to 1^} the-------most of her crew, with two different com- manders ; yet the Recruit, although moored in the middle of the squadron, and constant intercourse held with the other ships, did not lose a man, and had none sick. Now, as some of these ships had been as long in the West Indies as the Recruit, we cannot attribute her singular healthy state to seasoning, nor can I to superior cleanliness, be- cause even the breeches of the carronades, and all the pins, were polished bright in both-------and------, which was not the case with the Recruit. Perhaps her healthy state may be attributed to cheerfulness in the men ; to my never allowing them to go on shore in the morning, on an empty stomach ; to the use of dry sand and holy stone for 96 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM the ship; to never working them in the sun ; perhaps to accident. Were I asked my opinion, I would say that I firmly believe that cheerfulness contributes more to keep a ship's company healthy, than any precaution that can be adopted ; and that, with this attainment, combined with the precautions I have mentioned, I should sail for the West Indies, with as little anxiety as I would for any other station. My Valorous fellows were as cheerful a set as I ever saw collected together.' Suppose that two gontlemen were to ascend one of the Scottish mountains, in a hot summer day, and to arrive at the top, bathed in perspiration, and exhausted with fatigue. That one of them knew intimately the physical and organ- ic laws, and that, all hot and wearied as he was, he should button up his coat closer about his body, wrap a handker- chief about his neck and continue walking, at a quick pace, round the summit, in the full blaze of the sun. That the other, ignorant of these laws, should eagerly rUn to the base of a projecting cliff; stretch himself at full length on the turf, under its refreshing shade ; open his vest to the grateful breeze ; and, in short, give himself up entirely to the present luxuries of coolness and repose ;—the former, by warding off the rapid chill of the cool mountain air, would descend with health unimpaired; while the latter would carry with him, to a certainty, the seeds of rheuma- tism, consumption, or fever, from permitting perspiration to be instantaneously checked, and the surface of the body to be cooled with an injurious rapidity. I have put these cases hypothetically, because, although I have seen and experienced the benefits of the former method, I have not directly observed the opposite. No season, however, passes in the Highlands, in which some tragedy of the latter de- scription does not occur; and, from the minutest informa- tion that I have been able to obtain, the causes have been such as are here described. INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 97 I shall conclude these examples by a case which is illus- trative of the points under consideration, and which I have too good an opportunity of observing in all its stages. An individual in whom it was my duty as well as pleas- ure, to be greatly interested, had resolved on carrying Mr. Owen's views into practical effect, and got an establish- ment set agoing' on his principles, at Orbiston, in Lanark- shire. The labour and anxiety which he underwent at the commencement of the undertaking, gradually impaired an excellent constitution ; and, without perceiving the change, he, by way of setting an example of industry, took to dig- ging with the spade, and actually worked fourteen days at this occupation, although previously unaccustomed to labour. This produced haemoptysis. Being unable now for bodily exertion, he gave up his whole time to directing and instruct- ing the people, about 250 in number, and for two or three weeks spoke the whole day, the effusion from his lungs con- tinuing. Nature rapidly sunk under this irrational treat- ment ; and at last he came to Edinburgh for medical ad- vice. When the structure and uses of his lungs were ex- plained to him, and when it was pointed out that his treat- ment of them had been equally injudicious as if he had thrown lime or dust into his eyes, after inflammation, he was struck with the extent and consequences of his own ignorance, and exclaimed, How greatly he would have been benefited if one month of the five years which he had been forced to spend in a vain attempt at acquiring a mastery over the Latin tongue, had been dedicated to con- veying to him information concerning the structure of his body, and the causes which preserve and impair its func- tions. He had departed too widely from the organic laws to admit of an easy return; he was seized with inflamma- tion of the lungs, and with great difficulty got through that attack ; but it impaired his constitution so grievously, that he died, after a lingering illness of eleven months. He acknowledged, however, even in his severest pain, that he 8 98 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANRIND FROM suffered under a just law. The lungs, he saw, were of the first-rate importance to life, and their proper treatment was provided for by this tremendous punishment, inflicted for neglecting the conditions requisite to their health. Had he given them rest, and returned to obedience to the or- ganic law, at the first intimation of departure from it, the door stood wide open and ready to receive him ; but, in utter ignorance, he persevered for weeks in direct oppo- sition to these conditions, till the fearful result ensued. This last case affords a striking illustration of the inde- pendence of the different institutions of the Creator, and of the necessity of obeying all of them, as the only condi- tion of safety and enjoyment. The individual here allud. ed to, was deeply engaged in a most benevolent and dis- interested experiment for promoting the welfare of his fel- low creatures ; and superficial observers would say that this was just an example of the inscrutable decrees of Provi- dence, which visited him with sickness, and ultimately with death, in the very midst of his most virtuous exertions. But the institutions of the Creator are wiser than the imag- inations of such men. The first principle on which exist- ence on earth, and all its advantages depend, is obedience to the physical and organic laws. The benevolent Owenite neglected these, in his zeal to obey the moral law; and, if it were possible to dispense with the one, by obeying the other, the whole theatre of man's existence would speedily become deranged, and involved in inexplicable disorder. Having traced bodily sufferings, in the case of individu- als, to neglect of, or opposition to. the organic laws, by their progenitors or by themselves, I next advert to another set of calamities, that may be called social miseries, and which obviously spring from the same causes ; but of which latter fact complete evidence was not possessed until Phrenol- ogy was discovered. And, first, in regard to evils of a do- mestic nature ;—One fertile source of unhappiness arises from persons uniting in marriage whose tempers, talents, INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. S9 and dispositions do not harmonize. If it be true that na- tural talents and dispositions are connected by the Creator with particular configurations of brain, then it is obviously one of His institutions that, in forming a compact for life, these should be attended to.* If we imagine an individual endowed with the splendid cerebral developement of Ra- phael, under a mere animal impulse, uniting himself for life with a female, possessing a brain like that of Mary Macinnes^ which by no possibility, could sympathise with his, this proceeding would be as direct an obstacle to hap- piness, as if a man were to surround himself with ice to re- move sensations of cold. Until Phrenology was discovered, no natural index to mental qualities, that could Be practi- cally relied on, was possessed, and each individual was left to his own sagacity in directing his conduct ; but the natural law never bended one iota to accommodate itself to that state of ignorance. The Creator having bestowed on man- kind faculties fitted to discover Phrenology, having consti- tuted them so that their greatest enjoyment should consist in activity, framed his institutions in such a way as to con- fer happiness when they were discovered, and observed, and to carry punishment when unknown and infringed, as an arrangement at once benevolent and wise for the race. If it be the fact, that natural talents and dispositions are indicated by cerebral developement; and if an individual, after this truth reaches his mind, shall form a connexion fitted to occasion him sorrow, it is obvious he must do so from one of two causes, either from contempt of the effects of developement of brain, and a secret belief that he may evade its consequences, which is just contempt of an organ- ic law, and disbelief in its consequences ; or, secondly, from the predominance of avarice, or some animal or other feeling precluding his yielding obedience to what he sees to * See Appendix, Note 2. t Casts of these heads are sold in the shops, and will be found in many Phrenelogical collections. 100 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM be an institution of the Creator. In either case, he must abide the consequences ; and although these may be griev- ous, they cannot be complained of as unjust. In the play of the Gamester, Mrs. Beverly is represented as a most ex- cellent wife, acting habitually under the guidance of the moral sentiments and intellect; but she is married to a being who, while he adores her, reduces her to beggary and misery. His sister utters an exclamation to this effect:— Why did just heaven unite such an angel to so heartless a thing ! The parallel of this case occurs too often in real life; only it is "not 'just Heaven' that makes such matches, but ignorant and thoughtless human beings, who imagine themselve's absolved frbm all obligation to study and obey the natural laws of Heaven, as announced in the general arrangement of the universe. Phrenology will put it in the power of mankind to mitigate* these evils, when they choose to adopt its dictates as a practical rule of conduct. The justice and benevolence of rendering the individu- als themselves unhappy who neglect this great institution of the Creator, become more striking when in the next place, we consider the effects, by the organic law, of such con- duct on the children of these ill-assorted unions. Physiologists, in general, are agreed, that a vigorous and healthy constitution of body in the parents, communicates existence, in the most perfect state, to the offspring,* and many observers of mankind, as well as medical authors, have remarked, also, the transmission, by hereditary de- scent, of mental talents and dispositions. Dr. King, in speaking of the fatality which attended the House of Stuart, says,' If I were to ascribe their calami- ties to another cause (than an evil fate), or endeavour to ac- count for them by any natural means, I should think they * Very young hens lay small eggs ; but a breeder of fowls will never set these to be hatched, because the animals produced would be feeble and imperfectly developed. They select the largest and freshest eggs, and endeavour to rear the healthiest stock possible, INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 101 were chiefly owing to a certain obstinacy of temper, which appears to have been hereditary and inherent in all the Stuarts, except Charles II. It is well known that the caste of the Brahmins is the highest in point of intelligence as well as rank of all the castes in Ilindostan ; and it is mentioned by the missiona- ries as an ascertained fact, that their children are naturally more acute, intelligent, and docile, than the children of the inferior castes, age and other circumstances bej^g equal. Dr. Gregory, in treating of the temperafflf^nts in his Conspectus Medicines Theoretica;, says, 'a^ljusmodi varie- tates non corpori smodd, verum et animi^quoque, plerumque congenita?, nonnunquam hffireditjfiro, observantur. Hoc modo parentes saepe in proles^j-J-rfviscunt; certe parentibus liberi similes sunt, non wpitum modo et corporis form am, sed animi indolem, q|^irtutes, et vitia. Imperiosa gens Claudia diu Romas floruit, impigra, ferox, superba ; eadem illachrymabilem Tiberium, tristissimum tyrennum, produx- it; tandem in immanem Caligulam, et Claudium, et Agrip- pinam, ipsumque demum Neronem, post sexcentos annos, desitura.'*—Cap. i. sect. 16. Phrenology reveals the principle on which these phe- nomena take place. Mental talents and dispositions are determined by the size and constitution of the brain. The brain is a portion of our organized system, and as such, is subject to the organic laws, by one of which its qualities are transmitted by hereditary descent. This law, however, faint or obscure it may appear in individual cases, becomes absolutely undeniable in nations. When we place the collection of Hindoo, Charib, Negro, New Holland, North American, and European skulls, possessed by the Phrenological Society, in juxtaposition, we perceive a na- * Parents frequently live again in their offspring. It is quite certain that children resemble their parents, not only in countenance and the form of their body, bu. also in their mental dispositions, in their virtues and vices, &c. 102 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM tional form and combination of organs in each actually obtruding itself upon our notice, and corresponding with the mental characters of the respective tribes; the cere- bral developement of one tribe is seen to differ as widely from that of another, as the European mind does from that of the New Hollander. Here, then, each Hindoo, Chi- nese, New Hollander, Negro, and Charib, obviously inher- its from his parents a certain general type of head ; and so does each European. If, then, the general forms and proportions are thus so palpably transmitted, can we doubt that the individual varieties follow the same rule, modified slightly by causes peculiar to the parents of the individual 1 The differences of national character are equally conspicu- ous as those of national brains, and it is surprising how permanently both endure. It is observed by an author in the Edinburgh Review, that ' the Vicentine district is, as every one knows, and has been for ages, an integral part of the Venetian dominions, professing the same religion, and governed by the same laws, as the other continental provinces of Venice; yet the English character is not more different from the French, than that of the Vicentine from the Paduan; while the contrast between the Vicen- tine and his other neighbour, the Veronese, is hardly less remarkable.'—No. Ixxxiv. p. 459. If, then, form, size, and constitution of brain, are trans- mitted from parents to children, if these determine natural mental talents and dispositions, which in their turn exer- cise the greatest influence over the happiness of individu- als through the whole of life, it becomes extremely impor- tant to discover according to what laws this transmission takes place. Three principles present themselves to our consideration, at the first aspect of the question. Either in the first place, the constitution and qualities of brain, which the parents themselves inherit at birth, are trans- mitted absolutely, so that the children, sex following sex, are exact copies, without variation or modification, of the INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 103 one parent or the other; or, secondly, the natural and in- herent qualities of the father and mother combine, and are transmitted in a modified form to the offspring; or, thirdly, the qualities of the children are determined jointly by the constitution of the stock, and by the faculties which pre- dominate in power and activity in the parents, at the par- ticular time when the organic existence of each child com- mences. Experience shows that the first cannot be the law ; for, as often mentioned, a real law of nature admits of no ex- ceptions, and it is well established, that the minds of child- ren are not exact copies, without variation or modification, of those of the parents, sex following sex. Neither can the second be the law, because it is equally certain that the minds of children, although sometimes, are not always, in talents and disposition, perfect modifications of those of the father and mother. If this law prevailed, no child would be a copy of the father, none a copy of the mother, nor of any collateral relation^ but each would be invariably a compound of the two parents, and all the children would be exactly alike, sex only excepted. Experience shows, that this cannot be the law. What, then, does experience say to the third idea, that the mental character of each child is determined by the particular qualities of the stock, combined with those which predominate in the parents, when its existence commenced. I have already adverted to the influence of the stock, and shall now illustrate that of the condition of the parents, when existence is communicated. A strong illustration, in the case of the lower animals, appeared in the Edinburgh Review, No. Ixxxiv. p. 457. ' Every one conversant with beasts,' says the reviewer, ' knows, that not only their natural, but that many of their acquired qualities, are transmitted by the parents to their offspring. Perhaps the most curious example of the latter fact may be found in the pointer. 104 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM ' This animal is endowed with the natural instinct of winding game, and stealing upon his prey, which he sur- prises, having first made a short pause, in order to launch himself upon it with more security of success. This sort of semicolon in his proceedings, man converts into a full stop, and teaches him to be as much pleased at seeing the bird or beast drop by the shooter's gun, as at taking it him- self. The staunchest dog of this kind, and of the original pointer, is of Spanish origin, and our own is derived from this race, crossed with that of the foxhound, or other breed of dog, for the sake of improving his speed. This mixed and factitious race, of course, naturally partakes less of the true pointer character; that is to say, is less disposed to stop, or at least he makes a shorter stop at game. The factitious pointer is, however, disciplined, in this country, into staunchness; and, what is most singular, this quali- ty IS, IN A GREAT DEGREE, INHERITED BY HIS PUPPY, who may be seen earnestly standing at swallows or pigeons in a farm yard. For intuition, though it leads the off- spring to exercise his parent's faculties, does not instruct him how to direct them. The preference of his master af- terwards guides him in his selection, and teaches him what game is better worth pursuit. On the other hand, the pointer of pure Spanish race, unless he happen to be well broke himself, which in the south of Europe seldom hap- pens, produces a race which are all but unteachable, ac- cording to our notions of a pointer's business. They will make a stop at their game, as natural instinct prompts them, but seem incapable of being drilled into the habits of the animal, which education has formed in this coun- try, and has rendered, as I have said, in some degree, ca- pable of transmitting his acquirements to his descendants. ' Acquired habits are hereditary in other animals besides dogs. English sheep, probably from the greater richness of our pastures, feed very much together; while Scotch sheep are obliged to extend and scatter themselves over their hills, INFRINGEMENT OF ORGANIC LAWS. 105 for the better discovery of food. Yet the English sheep, on being transferred to Scotland, keep their old habit of feeding in a mass, though so little adapted to their new country ; so do their descendants; and the English sheep is not thoroughly naturalized into the necessities of his place till the third generation. The same thing may be observed as to the nature of his food, that is observed in his mode of seeking it. When turnips were introduced from England into Scotland, it was only the third genera- tion which heartily adopted this diet, the first having been starved into an acquiescence in it.' In these instances, long continued impressions on the parents appear to have at last effected change of disposition in the offspring. ' We have seen,' says an author whom I have already quoted, ' how wonderfully the bee works—according to rules discovered by man thousands of years after the insect had followed them with perfect accuracy. The same little animal seems to be acquainted with principles of which we are still ignorant. We can, by crossing, vary the forms of cattle with astonishing nicety ; but we have no means of altering the nature of an animal, once born, by means of treatment and feeding. This power, however, is undeni- ably possessed by the bees. When the queen-bee is lost, by death or otherwise, they choose a grub from among those who are born for workers; they make three cells in- to one, and, placing the grub there, they build a tube round it; they afterwards build another cell, of a pyramidal form, into which the grub grows: they feed it with peculiar food, and tend it with extreme care. It becomes, when trans- formed from the worm to the fly, not a worker, but a queen- bee.'—Objects, Advantages, and Pleasures of Science, p. 33. It is difficult to conceive that man will ever possess such a power as this last. Man, however, as an organized being, is subject to laws similar to those which govern the organization of the lower 106 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM animals. Dr. Pritchard, in his researches into the Phy- sical History of Mankind, has brought forward a variety of interesting facts and opinions on this subject of transmis- sion of hereditary qualities in the human race. He says, ' Children resemble, in feature and constitution, both pa- rents, but, I think more generally the father. In the breed- ing of horses and oxen, great importance is attached, by experienced propagators, to the male. In sheep it is com- monly observed that black rams beget black lambs. In the human species, also, the complexion chiefly follows that of the father ; and I believe it to be a general fact, that the offspring of a black father and white mother is much darker than the progeny of a white father and a black mother.'— Vol. ii. p. 551. These facts appear to me to be referable to both causes. The stock must have had some influence, but the mother, in all these cases, is not impressed by her own colour, because she does not look on herself; while the father's complexion must strikingly attract her atten- tion, and may, in this way, give the darker tinge to the off- spring.* Dr. Pritchard states the result of his investigations to be, First, That the organization of the offspring is always modelled according to the type of the original structure of the parent; and, Secondly,' That changes, produced by external causes in the appearance or constitution of the in- dividual are temporary; and, in general, acquired charac- ters are transient; they terminate with the individual, and have no influence on the progeny.'—Vol. ii. p. 536. He supports the first of these propositions by a variety of facts occurring ' in the porcupine family,' ' in the hereditary na- ture of complexion,' and, ' in the growth of supernumerary fingers or toes, and corresponding deficiencies.' ' Mau- pertuis has mentioned this phenomenon ; he assures us, that there were two families in Germany, who have been * Black hens lay dark-coloured eggs. INFRINGEMENT of organic laws. 107 distinguished for several generations by six fingers on each hand, and the same number of toes on each foot,' &c. He admits, at the same time, that the second proposition is of more difficult proof, and, that an opinion contrary to it 'has been maintained by some writers, and a variety of singular facts have been related in support of it.' But many of these relations, as he justly observes, are obviously fables. In regard to the foregoing propositions, I would observe, that a manifest distinction exists between transmission of monstrosities, or mutilations, which constitute additions to, or abstractions from, the natural lineaments of the body, and transmission of a mere tendency in particular organs to a greater or less developement of their natural functions. This last appears to me to be influenced by the state of the parents, at the time when existence is communicated to the offspring. On this point Dr. Pritchard says, ' The opin- ion which formerly prevailed, and which has been enter- tained by some modern writers, among whom is Dr. Dar- win, that at the period when organization commences in the ovum, that is, at or soon after the time of conception, the structure of the foetus is capable of undergoing modi- fication from impressions on the mind or senses of the pa- rent, does not appear altogether so improbable. It is con- tradicted, at least, by no fact in physiology. It is an opin- ion of very ancient prevalence, and may be traced to so re- mote a period, that its rise cannot be attributed to the speculations of philosophers, and it is difficult to account for the origin of such a persuasion, unless we ascribe it to facts which happened to be observed.' p. 556. A striking and undeniable proof of the effect on the character and dispositions of children, produced by the form of brain transmitted to them by hereditary descent, is to be found in the progeny of marriages between Euro- peans, whose brains possess a favourable developement of the moral and intellectual organs, and Hindoos, and native 108 EVILS THAT BEFALL MANKIND FROM Americans, whose brains are inferior. All authors agree, and report the circumstance as singularly striking, that the children of such unions are decidedly superior in mental qualities to the native, while they are still inferior to the European parent. Captain Franklin says, that the half- breed American Indians ' are upon the whole a good look- ing people; and where the experiments have been made, have shown much expertness in learning, and willingness to be taught; they have, however, been sadly neglected, p. 36. He adds, ' It has been remarked, I do not know with what truth, that half breeds show more personal courage than the pure breeds.' Captain Basil Hall, and other writers on South America, mention that the offspring of native American and Spanish parents, constitute the most active, vigorous, and powerful portion of the inhabitants of these countries; and many of them rose to high com- mands during the revolutionary war. So much is this the case in Hindostan, that several writers have already pointed to the mixed race there, as obviously destined to become the future sovereigns of India. These individuals inherit 4from the native parent a certain adaptation to the climate, and from the European parent a higher developement of brain, the two combined constituting their superiority. Another example of the same law occurs in Persia. In that country, it is said that the custom has existed for ages among the nobles, of purchasing beautiful female Circas- sian captives, and forming alliances with them as wives. It is ascertained that the Circassian form of brain stands comparatively high in the developement of the moral and intellectual organs.* And it is mentioned by some travel- lers, that the race of nobles in Persia is the most gifted in * In Mr. W. Allan's picture of the Circassian Captives, the form of the head is said to be a copy from nature, taken by that artist, when he visited the country. It is engraved by Mr. James Stewart with