Lectures on man: being a series of discourses on phrenology and physiology / Delivered by Professor L.N. Fowler in Great Britain.
- Lorenzo N. Fowler
- Date:
- 1886
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Lectures on man: being a series of discourses on phrenology and physiology / Delivered by Professor L.N. Fowler in Great Britain. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
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![has racked his brain to understand it, but has not yet learned to study, for his mind has never been disciplined, otherwise it would have been an easy task. Those who know how to work physically can labour for many hours without friction, whereas others find a small task very irk- some, and accomphsh it only by making great efforts. By exercising the mind harmoniously we can accomplish a great deal more than if we developed only one or two faculties, while the others remain dormant. A speaker, for instance, can stand and s]3eak for three hours, and not be as weary as an auditor who sits and hstens, or one who stands while hearing. The speaker stands during the whole address, but he is thinking, speaking, and gesticulating. He works with his whole body and mind, and this takes away the conscious- ness of fatigue ; while the person who stands for three hours without doing anything beside listening often becomes very weary though he may be interested. There is always more fatigue connected with the exercise of one faculty of the mind without the harmonious action of the other powers. Phrenology teaches us our appropriate sphere in life. It is a fact that human beings are graded. The same holds true in the animal, mineral, and vegetable kingdoms. We should endeavour to discover where we naturally belong, to the upper or lower strata. It is in vain for us to attempt to adapt ourselves to a sphere which we cannot fill or which we cannot attain, unless we have the organization to sustain ourselves in it. We may improve our condition, but we can never go beyond our mental and physical status. The oak can never be an elm, neither can a horse change himself into a lion. Certain natural qualifications give us an adaptation to a certain sphere, and we should be content to attain the greatest degree of per- fection in that sphere. A man accomplishes the most when he is pur- suing that occupation by which he can use his talents to the best advantage, so as to be in harmony ^dth the natural tendency of his mind. If a man over-exerts himself to gain a certain position, the extra effort consequent upon doing this will disqualify him for the position when he secures it. If he overtax himself to master some- thing which he has not the strength of mind to grasp, he injures him- self by his vain and futile efforts. There are some men who are phy- sically so awkwardly made that the best of tailors cannot fit them with a coat. They may measure the men again and again, and yet their clothes, when fi»nished, only hang loosely, as though not made for them. There are others who appear well in their old suit of apparel. The difference is not in the tailor who cuts the garment, but in the men. There is the same diversity in the tone of mind as in the body. Some men are elevated and original in their ideas, while others have not the power to think or comprehend abstruse subjects. They are on a lower plane, are satisfied with an inferior position, but in the spheres where they are adapted they may attain a fair degree of success. Phrenology is of great advantage in every department of domestic life. Suppose a family wish to adopt a child to whom they can leave](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21053029_0078.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
