-No.11.] LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPT. 17, 1825.

LECTURESON

PHRENOLOGY,BY

DR. SPURZHEIM.

LECTURE 17.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,WE have spoken of Phrenology in

its application to several of the’sciences; I wish, to-day, to make anapplication of it to the medical pro--fession. The question is, whetherphrenology is useful to the healingart ? You Rzll excuse me if any se-vere expressions escape me, becausein this matter it is difficult to remainindifferent with my profession, for inthe consideration of the derangedfunctions of the brain we consider themost painful situation in which mancan be placed, and here I confess thatthe medical profession has not con-tributed much to confirm and’propa-gate phrenology ; however, I shallpropose to them a few motives fordoing so.

1st. Do you think that phrenologyis founded in nature, and that it hasor will become a species of philoso-phical knowledge ? I should like toknow whether our profession mightnot be interested to raise itself as

high as possible. Ifit be ascertainedthat man must be studied in the sameway as other beings, why neglect thatpart of man tthich is the most import-ant, a knowledge of which is abso-lately necessary if we wish to makeany application of our studies to thetreatment of disease. The philosophyof mind, we have shown, must befounded on phrenology. Hithertophysicians have conqulted philoso-phers in the stndy of the mind, in-ttead of cultivating an acquaintance

with nature, as taught by phrenology;Moreover the question is, can we re-main indifferent abont the functionsof the brain ? Must we not know itsfunctions in a healthy before we cantreat of them in a deranged state? Weacknowledge the importance of ana-tomy, physiology, and pathology, andof every other part, and admit suchknowledge to be necessary before wethink of treating a part; why theaneglect the brain As to its anatomy,it has been little understood ; it hasbeen sliced down like cheese ; itsphysiology, or healthy functions, havebeen unattended to, and as to its pa-thology or derangements, many of themare never thought of. Shall we go onin this way? If medical men do notfeel an inclination to attend to theseinquiries, let the public know whatthey are, and let them be forced to dotheir duty, or confess their ignorance,because hitherto they have not studiedphrenology, but have neverthelessjoined in abusing it.To come to Insanity, a most im-

portant branch of phrenology in con-nexion with medical science. Whatis insanity? give me a definition ofits nature. If we speak of other dis-eases, we give definitions in confor-mity with the healing art ; if we speakof inflammation of the Inngs, or ofinflammation of the eyes, every medi-cal man knows what to do, and howto treat them. Go through the wholecatalogue of diseases, and their namesindicate what part-) of the bodv arediseased. What is insanity ? Is it adiseased state of the body ? Are yousure of that even ? Xotat all. Wespeak of diseases of the mind. Canthe mind be diseased ? the mind is

immaterial, can it be diseased? I donot sav so; I d.) not know a moredangerous doctrine than that of themind being di:eaed. If yon attachany meaning to the expression, whatis meant by it ? My organization way

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be diseased, and that disease maycontinue till it produces death. Canthe mind be altered by degrees, andcan it be destroyed ? .There is nothingannihilated in this life, although thingschange their form. Now what is this?Is there derangement of the mindfrom any cause without or from within?Shall we go back to the times wheninsane persons were considered to be__possessed of evil spirits ? If the causebe evil spirits, or any other causefrom without, what have medical mento do with the treatment of insanity.Hence, I repeat, let medical men be

forced to confess their ignorance or

take azz interest in the study of phreno-logy. If they say insanity is an affec-tion of the understanding, let thetreatment of it be confided to me-

taphysicians and philosophers, aud letthem reason with them. We have an

influence, as medical men, upon theorganic conditions of the body, butwe cannot act upon the immaterialexistence itself. I repeat, therefore,What is insanity ? ’It is important togive a medical definition of this state,the most lamentable man can fall into.An individual being declared insane,is deprived of all the rights of society,and is no longer considered answer-

, able for his actions to society; he istreated like an outcast, and is shutout from the society of man. The

consideration of insanity, therefore, isimportant to society at large, andnot to the medical profession alone,although medical men are commonlycalled upon to declare whether a manis insane or not; but how can they do

this, unless they are nr:t acquaintedwith the healthy functions of the mind ?Must we not know the healthy stateof the functions of the body first?Must not pathology be founded on

anatomy and physiology? and theseteach us where the derangement isgoing on. If the respiration be im-peded, we know by anatomy andphysiology that respiration is per-formed by the lungs, assisted by otherapparatus, hence we know when thelungs are diseased ; and to know whenthe respiration is deranged, we mustknow how it is performed in the

healthy state. If we give a definitionof insanity according to the notionsnow prevalent in society, we shouldsay, " that it is a state in which an

individual has lost his moral liberty ;a state in which a man is no longerfree, whether the detect lies in theintellectual or effective powers;" but1 cannot say that a derangement inthe functions of the mental powers issufficient to constitute a man insane.My eyes may be deranged, I may see

things yellow, ’but I may know thedisease, and am not insane ; I mayhave various morbid sensations, butam not therefore insane; I may havemy feelings altered, and yet not beinsane; as long as I know what is

goiug on in things around me, I amnot considered insane ; but as soon asone of the three conditions I have

spoken of in moral liberty is destroy-ed, then a man is declared insane.Look at an individual who has an in-ternal sensation ; as soon as he thinksthat the object drawn in-his mind hasa true existence he is announced afool. There are insane people whoknow that they have deran;;ed feel-ings, and that these feelings are

stronger than they ought to be; theyhave understanding enough to knowthat these powers are too active, bntnot understanding enough to controlthem. This definition is given bysociety at large, and is right in onerespect, since this state is practicallyconsidered in its iniluence on society,and there is no other morbid state

which has the same influence on so.ciety as this.

Here is another great difficultywith respect to insanity, and 1 thiukit is better for men to contes’. their ig-norance than commit an error liere ;there is a state of insanity which is

partial, or intermittent. It happensthat individuals, for certain miuntes,cannot rectify their notions; they have

! certain feelings stronger than others,’and cannot resist them; they have,tbr the time, no free wt)t, and wedeclare them to be insane. Beingdeclared insane for one siugie minuteis sufficient to prevent a man, for hiswhole life after, from doing any thingcivil or social. Let this be dune forthe sake of society and I liave 1;0 ob-jecLion to it. Cowper uas iutane at

intervals, yet he made fine verses

when he was not so, and shall we rejecthis poetry because he was insane ati particular times. I wish to call your

attention to the difficulties which ex-

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ist in this respect in legislation, andthere are difficulties in legislation aswell as iu phrenology. In various dis-eases the patients know individualsabout them, but are you sure that themind is perfect because they can dothat; animals can do the same, andso can insane persons, they have theirlucid intervals, and can distinguishand recognise persons. I state thisto make you reflect on the difficultieswhich exist even in deciding uponinsanity, particularly so, since it isadmitted that if they reason well theyare not considered insane. Now someinsane persons reason as well as wedo upon certain subjects, and not

upon others, and phrenology teachesus how this can happen, since it showsthat some powers can be in action andothers not, and some diseased whilstothers remain healthy. In short, thestudy of insanity is extremely difficult,and it is more difficult to decide uponinsanity than is generally considered.

I go on to ask, whether any definition can be given of insanity withrespect to the healing art ? If wespeak of inflammation in general, weknow how to proceed and what treat-ment to adopt, but when the mind isderanged and the state of moral li-herty, both the conditions under whichthat state occurs may be very diffe-rent, and indeed must be so, sincewe find that the most opposite treat-ment cures insanity. This state is oneand the same as respects the mani.festations of the mind, but the condi-tions of the body may be various, andthis is what we want to know. I ay,not only to medical men, but to ailothers who take an interest in phre-nology, and who have opportunitiesfor observing patients of this decrip-tiun, that they must proceed here asin the investigation of any other dis-ease; anatomy and physiology mostbe tirst studied, and thfn the deranjlP-ment ot’ function must be observed.I shall give you, on this point, a fewgeneral notions, since many personsremain yet prejudiceed against phreno-tosy, and since 1 do not see that thosewho even take some interest ill it aresufficiently anxious to oppose popularerrors.

In speaking of the proof; of thefundamental powers of the mind, wehave ,,aid, that any power singly may

become deranged in its function. Thepower situated in the cerebellum maybecome deranged; the love of off-spring may become deranged; self-esteem, attachment, cautiousness, anypower whatever may become derang.ed in insanity, and be the cause ofthe different symptoms we observe ininsane persons. In phrenology we caneasily conceive how one power maybe deranged, and how the others maygo on in a healthy state, and hencegive rise to the various forms of in-sanity. Some arc bold in their insa-

nity, others very fearful and melau-choly. Persons separated from theirchildren become insane from the loveof offspring becoming too active ;others from the feeling of attachment,and others again on account of reli-ions feelings. If you read the variousdivisions of insanity given by authors,yon will find that they speak of me-lancholia, mania, dementia, and so

on ; and then there is the religiousmelancholy, and various other m’lan.cholies; yon will find in ARNOLD’Sbook such divisions, but you cannotbe satisiied with a pathological divi-sion of that kind.

The most important point which in.terests us here is, to acknowledgethat the cause of’ Insanity is corporealand physical. The proximate cause isseated in the brain, and it yon reflecton the state of derangement, it is in-conceivable how any man can donbtthe cause of it to be physical.

I come now to consider a prejudicerespecting insanity; it is said to be

hereddary; is that true? Many donot like to have such a disease spoken

of. it is considered a disgrace to afamily; hot I say it i, no disgrace,

but the most pitiable calamity thatcaii befall any one. We, as medicalmen, must say, that it is hereditary,

as well as many other complaints.There are family faces, and family; nosea, and there are family brains,and there are, as well as peculiar con-figurations in families, peculiar dis-

orders, such as gont, goitre, apoplexy- &c. and why should not thf affection

of the brain be hereditary? Others

; say it is a disgrace, and a mo-

tive comes in, and other families donot like to itttermarty with them;

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that may be very proper, but let nsconsider the ordinary way in whichsuch persons are treated ; they are

concealed, separated from society,and shut up. But would yon neglecta patient who has inflammation of thelungs and scrofula ? will you separatehim from society, conceal his disease,and confine him, and not call a phy-sician to treat him ? Certainly not;no such proceeding is thought of; hutthe poor patient who manifests anyderangement of the function of thebrain is neglected, and a physician isnot called in until the disorder is esta-blished, whereas, if called in at the be-ginning, great good might have beendone. Unfortunately, medical aid isoften called in too late. The longer adisease lasts, the worse it is, and themore difficult to cure. It should beknown that the brain can fall sick aswell as other parts of the body, and itis of the highest importance to seekfor advice in the beginning of the ma-lady, and that by doing so its causemaybe frequently arrested, and theknowledge of the natural functions ofthe mind is very necessary to be ableto " minister to a mind diseased."Insanity is corporeal, it depends upona deranged action of the brain. Thebrain undergoes variations, as otherparts of the body, and seeing that dis-eases of the brain follow these varia.tions as in other parts, so we infer-that insanity is corporeal. We sel-dom see insanity in children, but veryfrequently in the adult, and at thatperiod of a man’s life in which th(mind is most exercised, between 2Cand 50, and after that period thenare not many who become insane. liis the result of causes acting fron-without, and not from causes calledmoral, but such as act upon the head,as too much loss of blood, too muchdrinking, and many other causes. In-

sanity has its fits ; it comes on fromtime to time, and goes off again, andit is difficult to suppose how this couldbe so, provided the mind were dils-eased. An inflammation of the eyescomes and goes away again, and it isthe same with the brain, producingfor the time that state called insanity.As to those fits of insanity, I shouldlike to know how they may be ex-

plained. The phenomena of natureare constant in their operations, but

they are more active sometimes thanothers, and what is here said of in-sanity must be considered as a gene-ral law, and will be found useful inevery situation. No power is con-

stantly active, hut less so sometimesthan at others; a man may have at-tachment strong, he may be a verysincere friend, but his friendship maybe more active at one time than ano-ther. So our other feelings are notalways active in the same degree.There are periods of sleeping andwaking in the twenty-four hours; thebrain wants rest, and we cannot actwith our intellectual or effectivepowers without rest. Moreover, thereare certain varieties in the feelings,even the higher feelings, on certaindays. Persons are very little activeon certain days, they cannot exertthemselves much, and I am sure thatany one who has what is called a ner-

vous temperament, is particularly sen-

sible of this ; a little thing offends, andhe is tonchy and irritable, and althoughhis friends perceive it, he does notknow it himself; in a few days thisgoes off, and he is as well as before.It is an important thing to attend, incommon life, to mutual forbearance ;it is founded in nature, as well ;is

commanded by the laws, and me-dicai men particularly are reqnirecl topay attention to it in the treatment ofcertain diseases. I appeal to them,whether their patients are not betteron certain days than on others, with-out the influence of medicine. It isthe same in this species of insanity,a power is irritable and excited, andwe do not know why. We know thatsuch things happen, and that there area great many changes to which the

body is snbmitted. We know thatthe body increases for a certain num-ber of years, and then stands still;

and there are times of decay, the

climacteric age. The influence of edu-cation will be considered in the nextLecture. All those who take charge

of education know how different theintellectual powers of children are atcertain periods. Seeing these facts,and considering the intermissions andexacerbations of insanity, it is impos-sible not to draw the inference thatits cause is corporeal. I am convinced,that the cause of all mental derange-ment is physical, and that its proxi-

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mate cause is to be found in the brain,and to satisfy yourselves of this, youmust study anatomy and physiology.When digestion is deranged, we knowwhat part suffers, and we know, fre-quently, that the circulation is dis-turbed with it; the l:eart being af-fected by sympathy with the stomach.Now we cannot know where the de.rangement takes place, without know-ing the functions of the parts in thehealthy state, and, therefore, what Ihave said of the individual organs,must be studied singly and combined-ly, and then it will be seen that theproximate cause of insanity is in thebrain, either immediately originatingin the brain itself, or being affectedby the disturbance of a distant part bysympathy.

Some persons have said, that thecause of insanity is not corporeal, be-cause they have not found derange.ments in the organization of the brainafter death ; but if they will study thehealthy brain, and examine those af-terwards who die of chronic insanity,they may depend on finding a greatdifference. 1 have never seen a casein which I could not find a great dif-ference ; but this cannot be seen, un-less the healthy structure of the brainis first well known. Having studiedthe ahole of the configuration of thebrain and its functions, some personshave asked the phrenologist, can yousay whether a person will become in-sane or not? No, our knowledgewill never go so far. I may see a per-son very active, a muscular agile man,perhaps a tumbler or rope dancer,can I say to him, you will have an in-flammation of the lungs, or to anotherwho has a good appetite, you willhave an inflammation’ofthe stomach ? !*Every part of the body may becomederanged, and the brain, as well as:mv other part. If I saw certain con-

figurations, such as these before me,I would say, that the species of insanitycalled idrotism goes with them, becausethey are too small. (Three casts of theheads ot idiots vt ere on the table.) Somepeople have from iufaflcy certain

feelings stronger than others, and ifwe learn that a boy, for example,has always shown great love of appro.Lation, and a desire to commandothers, yon may b" geuerally sure

that such a person, if he should be.

come insane, will show the predomi-nance of this feeling. The organ isfound large in such a person. I havenever known an instance to the con.trary. Here is the cast of a personwho became insane from excess ofpride, and you see how very largelydeveloped the organs are here about.(the upper and back part of the head.)If you know persons who have beenserious from infancy, and who byany acquired weakness have becomeinsane, you will be sure to find suchindulge in melancholy, and cautious-ness will be found very large. If per-sons labour under religious derange-ment, as is sometimes the case, thenthe organ of veneration will be foundlarge.

I might speak here of the moralcauses of insanity, but there are nomoral causes of it. What is meant bymoral causes of insanity ? If you callmoral " the action of the feelingsand intellect," I say, Yes, I agreewith you that there are moral causes ;but if you separate from the moralcauses the influence of the organiza-tion, I say, no, there are none such.What are, then, the moral causes ?They are merely the activity of thebraiu : the feelings and the iclaas arcto the braiu what the aliments are

to the stomach, and the light to theeyes. Give too much food to the

stomach, and too much light to the

eyes, and see if these organs will notbecome deranged ; and give to thebrain more than the brain can bear,and it will become deranged also.

Religious feelings have too often dis-ordered the mind ; if you see religiousfeelings strong, with great action andexaltation going on, encourage them,and you might soon send them to themad-honse, if you liked. What iscalled the moral cause of insanity isthe activity nf the feelings. The feel-

ings, becoming too active, are no longerunder the control of the intellectualpowers, and that constitutes insanity,and it may be o in the lower or inthe superior feelings. A man mayhave benevolence too active ; he maygive away every thin that he hal,and we call such a man a fool. Theindividual feelings being exalted, itbecomes a most important duty to ’ -

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ercise those feelings which are op-posed to them, and thlls tend to pre-vent the excesses. Seeing a feelingexalted, shall we go on with it, or

shall we take such measures as hhattgive no opportunity to encourage theaction of that power. Suppose thefeeling of veneration should be too

strong, shall we give the person re-ligions books to read, which are tomake him more deranged ? So that amedical man requires an absolute

knowledge of the human mind in or.der to treat insanity. I am sure, thatif persons would pay more attentionto the examination of the brain in thehealthy state, they would not have anydifficulty in detecting changes in its

organization in insane persons, andit has been even found that the partof the brain has been found mostdiseased which has been the seat ofthe most predominant feeling duringthe insanity.

Sometimes there is a single powerderanged, at other times there is a

combination ; the animal powers aresometimes very active, and yet theintellectual powers go on, and this

happens in suicide, or suicide com-bined with murder. An individualwishes to die, and he has not courageto kill himself, and, in his insanity, hedoes that for which he will be put todeat!’; he arranges all his concerns,and makes a preparation before hand,and he goes away with a determina-tion to kill some one; and I haveknown many cases of that kind forwhich they say the person must behanged. We see here a case of an in-dividual feeling being deranged, andyet the intellect remaining sound;the man acts so because he wishes tobe killed, but justice says we have noright to do so, since we have declaredonce for ever, that we have no rightto kill an individual because he is in-sane. Judges themselves do not yeknow sufficiently, that individual pow-ers of the may become de-

ranged, and yet the others remainsound. It I am told that an indivi-dual ha committed a mnrder duringhis insanity, do yon suppose that iuevery case I shoutd look for a largeorgan of destructiveness? I would

inquire as to the motive, and if Ifound that a person dispatched anu-

ther in order to save him eternally,

having sent him away that he shouldsin no more, I shonld rather look for

the organ of conscientiousness to belarge than that of destructiveness.

Another proof that the brain is theseat of insanity, and that its derange-ment is the proximate cause, is to befound in the great consotidation andthickening of the bones of the skull,particularly if the insane person hadan acute irritation in the beginningof the disease. We know that sonte-times the skull becomes as hard as

i ivory ; not a mere absorption of theI diploe, by which the outer and innertables approximate, but an absoiutethickening and hardening of the skull,like ivory. (The section of the skitli

of a person who had been idiotic ten

year,,;, was shown.) Altogether, youmust be convinced that the cause is in

) the brain, and if it were not, medicalmen could have no influence ; but asit is, they are allowed to have someinfluence; the sooner they exert it

the better, as it happens in this as in! every other case of disease, that ifattended to in the beginning it maybe materially benefited, if not reo

moved; but if neglected, little or no

advantage can be expected from thesubsequent treatment.

My object has been to-day to showthat the cause of insanity is corporeal,and principally dependent on the

brain, and thdt for this reason medi-cal men must find an interest in the

study of phrenology, because I hopethat by degrees insanity will he takenup as . branch of stutty hy medicalpractitioners in general, and not heconfined, as it is now, to a few per-sons. Why should it not be generally studied ’

In the next Lecture, I shall speakof the application of phrenology to

education.