An introduction to phrenology, in the form of question and answer. With an appendix, and copious illustrative notes / By Robert Macnish.

  • Robert Macnish
Date:
1836
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to phrenology, in the form of question and answer. With an appendix, and copious illustrative notes / By Robert Macnish. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Al The person is what we call clumsy-handed, and can do nothing with neatness and dexterity. Some men are so very remarkable in this respect that they cannot even make a pen, or shave themselves. In what manner does the faculty exhibit itself in the low- er animals ? In various ways, and in some with exquisite nicety ; wit- ness the beautiful architecture of the honeycomb by that ingenious little artist, the bee ;—the wonderful skill with which the beaver constructs its dwelling, and the art dis- played by birds in the formation of their nests. Is the force of this faculty in the lower animals in the ratio of the general intellect possessed by them ? No more than inman. The most sagacious animals, such as the dog and elephant, never attempt a work of art, while creatures far inferior in genera] sagacity excel in such achievements. This is a decided proof that a special organ exists for the purpose of constructing. Do nations differ greatly with regard to the force of this organ ? Very much indeed. The head of the New Hollander is narrow in the region of Constructiveness, and his defi- ciency in this respect is notorious. The organ is largely developed in the Italian and I’rench head, and more mod- erately in the English. Can Constructiveness be abused ? Yes. The formation of engines for destroying human life, and the erection of such structures as the Sphinx, the Cretan Labyrinth, the Ear of Dionysius, and the Egyptian Pyramids, may all be regarded as abuses of the faculty. The same may be said of many of those trashy, evanescent works of fancy in which so much precious time is wasted by females in the middle and higher grades of society.?” 27 There is a man in London who exhibits what he ealls the learned fleas. He %
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