The Mental Vital.—The finest and most exquisite organization is that which unites the mental in predominance with the animal, the prominent retiring. In this case, the person is rather short, the form light, the face and person full, and the hair brown or auburn, or between the two. It will sometimes be found in men, but much oftener in women. It is the feeling, sentimental, exalted, angelic temperament; and always imparts purity, sweetness, devotion, exquisiteness, susceptibility, loveliness, and great moral worth.
The phrenological organs which accompany this temperament, are—smaller Firmness, deficient Self-Esteem, large or very large Approbativeness, smaller Destructiveness, Appetite not large, Adhesiveness and Philoprogenitiveness very large, Amativeness fair; the head wide, not directly round the ears, but at the upper part of the sides, including Ideality, Mirthfulness, Sublimity, and Cautiousness; and a fine top head, rising at Benevolence quite as much as at Firmness, and being wide on the top, whereas the motive temperament gives perhaps a ridge in the middle of the head, but not breadth on the top, and leaves the head much higher at the back part than at Benevolence. Benevolence, however, often accompanies the animal temperament, and especially that quiet goodness which grants favors because the donor is too pliable, or too easy, to refuse them. But for tenderness of sympathy, and whole-souled interest for mankind, no temperament is equal to the vital mental. The motive mental, however, is the one most common in reformers. The reason is this. The mentality imparted by this temperament sees the miseries of mankind, and weeps over them; and the force of character imparted by it pushes vigorously plans for their amelioration. The outer portion of Causality, which plans, often accompanies the animal temperament; the inner, which reasons, the motive mental and mental.
A WELL-BALANCED ORGANIZATION.
No. 13. Washington.
The more perfect these organic conditions, the better. Greater breadth than sharpness, or more vitality than action, causes sluggishness, dullness of feeling, and inertness, while too great action for strength, wears out its possessor prematurely. More prominence than sharpness, leaves talents latent, or undeveloped, while predominant sharpness and breadth, give such exquisite sensibilities, as that many things harrow up all the finer sensibilities of keen-feeling souls. But when all are powerful and EQUALLY BALANCED, they combine all the conditions of power, activity, and susceptibility; allow neither icy coldness, nor passion’s burning heat, but unite cool judgment, intense but well-governed feelings, great force of both character and intellect, and perfect consistency and discretion with extraordinary energy; sound common sense, and far-seeing sagacity, with brilliancy; and bestow the highest order of Physiology and Phrenology. Such an organization and character were those of Washington.
Besides these prominent signs of character, there are many others, among which,
12.—THE LAUGH CORRESPONDS WITH THE CHARACTER.
Those who laugh very heartily, have much cordiality and whole-souledness of character, except that those who laugh heartily at trifles, have much feeling, yet little sense. Those whose giggles are rapid, but light, have much intensity of feeling, yet lack power; whereas those who combine rapidity with force in laughing, combine them in character. One of the greatest workers I ever employed, I hired just because he laughed heartily, and he worked just as he laughed. But a colored domestic who laughed very rapidly, but LIGHTLY, took a great many steps to do almost nothing, and though she worked fast, accomplished little. Vulgar persons always laugh vulgarly, and refined persons show refinement in their laugh. Those who ha, ha, right out, unreservedly, have no cunning, and are open-hearted in every thing; while those who suppress laughter, and try to control their countenances in it, are more or less secretive. Those who laugh with their mouth closed, are non-committal; while those who throw it wide open, are unguarded and unequivocal in character. Those who, suppressing laughter for a while, burst forth volcano-like, have strong characteristics, but are well governed, yet violent when they give way to their feelings. Then there is the intellectual laugh, the love laugh, the horse laugh, the Philoprogenitive laugh, the friendly laugh, and many other kinds of laugh, each indicative of corresponding mental developments.
13.—THE WALK AS INDICATING CHARACTER.