An essay on the system of Messrs. Gall and Spurzheim, read before the Physical Society ... 14th November, 1817 / [Charles Hepburn].
- Hepburn, Charles.
- Date:
- 1818
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: An essay on the system of Messrs. Gall and Spurzheim, read before the Physical Society ... 14th November, 1817 / [Charles Hepburn]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![fascination, that sustains the admiration of his hearers—the man who is labouring1 to diffuse knowledge to his fellow creatures; in short, any man, however eminent and amiable he is, may, in the short period of a few hours, be bereft of all his mental faculties, be divested of his eminent qualities, and sunk into a state too horrible for man to attempt a description. Insanity seems to have three origins—First. An in- flamation of the brain, topical, arising from blows, See. Second. A sympathy of the brain with some other of the viscera diseased ; and, Third. A diseased state of the brain, arising from mental operations. Now, each of these seem to me to be perfectly distinct, and would re- quire a separate treatment: but I find my paper is be¬ coming so extended, that I am obliged, very unwillingly, to curtail this part very much ; but as Dr. Spurzheim has lately published a book upon the diseased manifesta¬ tions of the mind, I must refer my readers to his work for a detailed explanation. But this much must appear evident, that, as a great number of cases of insanity pro¬ ceed from a diseased state of the mental faculties, so that which renders these more simple, must considerably facilitate its cure. I have said little, and fear what I have said] is unsatisfactory: I can only find my excuse in the limitation of the present Essay. Should I ever be tempted to pursue this subject again, it will be my chief aim to prove its utility in this direful malady. Waving finished this part of my subject, I might still enlarge and answer the objections that have been made to this theory, on account of its increasing materialism, fatalism, and hurting moral liberty : but I fear I should weary the society, and shall be happy to remove from the minds of any gentleman these accusations. As to its being the means of lessening morality, I am confident, when it is rightly understood, it will rather tend to increase it. Every person, it is very certain, takes the greatest pains to hide from the worfd their faults; they are careful that they may not be observed; this caution is frequently the means of deterring them from committing actions, which they might otherwise be induced to do. Supposing that by](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30795916_0040.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
