Phrenology is not a fully-developed science. I am glad it is not. I would regret it if a bar should be set to the acquisition of knowledge upon this subject. As long as human intelligence advances, as long as the race improves, as long as men have eyes to see and intellects to comprehend scientific facts, Phrenology will advance. But when you ask me whether Phrenology is sufficiently developed to be of practical value to mankind in its application; when you ask me to compare its development with that of any other science, I answer unhesitatingly that Phrenology is the queen regnant of all sciences, of greater value to the human race than all other sciences combined, because it is the science of humanity itself. Greater than Astronomy because humanity is worth more than all the stars that scintillate in the heavens. Greater than Mathematics, because humanity is better than numbers. Greater than Geology and Zoology, as humanity is above the rocks and animals. Greater than Theology, because it teaches man to know himself, instead of presumptively speculating upon gods and dogmas. Greater than all combined because Phrenology bears upon her resplendent crown the jewels of knowledge, virtue, morality, culture, temperance, wealth and progress, and is pregnant with possibilities of good, beyond the present comprehension of the human imagination.
And when you ask me if Phrenology is developed in the number of practical facts at her command, I answer, that for every principle and rule of Mathematics that are serviceable, I will give you two in Phrenology. For every discovery in Geology, I will give you four in the domain of the mind. For every fact in Zoology, Entomology or Botany that has been of value, I will give you six in the science of humanity. Then you may begin to comprehend the appeal which Phrenology makes to-night to your selfish interests.
I wish now to draw a distinction between Phrenology and Physiognomy, because I don’t believe I ever went into any community to lecture in my life, that I did not hear some old fossil say that he believed in the science of Physiognomy, but he didn’t take much stock in Phrenology. Now I beseech you, as friends of mine (and after I have lectured to an audience for twenty minutes I always feel that I have so many friends in it that I am personally interested in the welfare of each one) that if you have ever made that remark, you will not expose your ignorance of scientific terms in that way again. I’ll excuse you for what you have done heretofore, but if you make that remark after hearing my lectures, I shall feel ashamed of you, just as I always feel humiliated when any friend of mine makes a fool of himself.
Physiognomy is the science of external appearances. The etymology of the word signifies the knowledge of nature derived from examination or observation. We may speak of the physiognomy of a landscape, of a country, a state, a continent, or an individual, and by that we mean the external appearance, that which conveys a knowledge of the character of the object to the eye. We judge the character of the thing by its appearances; and in the relation which Physiognomy bears to character-reading, we judge the character of the man by the external appearances. We study the size and form of the body, its color, its texture, its temperament, the expression of the face and the contour of the head, all of which are physiognomical. We draw certain conclusions from this inspection of the physiognomical signs, and these conclusions are phrenological, for every variation of color, form or size indicates a corresponding variation in a particular kind or intelligence possessed by the individual. Physiognomy, therefore, is the grand channel through which we draw our phrenological conclusions, and in this relation physiognomy forms a part of the grand science of Phrenology, inseparable from it, and bearing about the same relation to it that addition does to arithmetic.
There are those who advertise themselves as delineators of character, under the term Physiognomists. I believe that such persons do so because they lack the ability and learning to comprehend Phrenology, and are unable to combat the prejudices of the ignorant. I have never seen a so-called “Physiognomist” who was not an empirical mountebank of the purest stamp, and who did not trim his sails to pander to the silly sentiment which I have just exposed. The delineations of such persons are worse than valueless, because they are pure guess-work. They pursue a shadow while they reject the substance.
Having thus established our definitions, we may proceed to state the principles of Phrenology. And I believe that I can best do so by taking you through the successive steps of a phrenological examination, and by thus practicing the art, illustrate the science.
In forming an estimate of the character of any person, the practical phrenologist proceeds upon the following physiological postulates, which I shall not stop to demonstrate, because they may be regarded as established facts upon which all physiological authorities are agreed, viz:
1. The brain is the keyboard of the body and the central seat of intelligence.
2. The power of the brain depends upon the anatomical and physiological condition of the body which supports it.
3. The character of any object depends upon its physical attributes, viz: Size, weight, color, form, texture, density, etc.