Size and Configuration of Brain, or the theory of the localization in different organs of the brain of the corresponding faculties of the mind.
The Brain is the key-board of the body. It is an error to claim that it is the exclusive organ of intelligence. The brain performs substantially the same function for the body which the key-board does for the piano, or which the central office of the telephone system performs for its various subscribers.
Magnetism received from the exterior of the body is transmitted to the brain where it produces a result. This result in turn is transmitted to various portions of the body. Properly, therefore, intelligence is distributed over the entire body and the amount of intelligence which any individual possesses will be found to be in exact proportion to the size and quality of his body and the perfect adaptation, coöperation and adjustment of its parts.
The brain is an oval mass of soft tissue which completely fills the internal cavity of the skull. It is composed of two substances, a white fibrous substance which forms the internal portion and a gray, cortical tissue which forms the external layer. This gray substance lies in folds or convolutions, the furrows or sulci, dipping deeply into the interior of the brain.
Brain with Skull Removed.
It is found by dissection that the brain of an intellectual man exhibits a larger number of convolutions than one of small intellectual calibre, and that the convolutions are deeper and the layer of gray substance thicker, and in consequence of the increase in number and depth of convolutions there is a wider expanse of surface as well, for the distribution of gray matter. Hence the relative proportion of gray matter in different brains has come to be regarded by physiologists as a test of mental power. Many idiots have large and well formed brains but the convolutions are shallow and few and the gray matter small in quantity and extent of surface. Physicians often ask me how I can estimate the relative quantity of gray matter in a living head without cutting into it. I refer them to the study of quality and temperament which I have clearly expounded in this lecture. Do you ever find hickory leaves growing on a pine tree? Show me the bark of a tree and I’ll tell you the quality of the wood within; show me the skin, the hair, the eyes of a man and I’ll tell you the quality of every organ in his body as well as the quality of the brain. I recently astonished the superintendent of an insane asylum by pointing out to him that the quality of the hair, the eyes and the skin of idiots was essentially different from the quality of those of more highly endowed persons, and could be told in the dark by a person of educated sensibilities. The quality and texture of the brain being determined, the next step is the consideration of its size.
Other things being equal in all natural objects, size is the measure of power. By the term “other things” in relation to the brain, we mean temperament, quality and health. This simple principle explains why a great many people who carry large heads are endowed with but little intellectual power. Their heads are filled with “sawdust,” in other words, a brain of poor quality, supported by a feeble body, or vitiated by excessive temperamental conditions.
Small Head.
Brilliant in Observation, Deficient in Reflection.