{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_54662/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_54662","id":"gutenberg_54662","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54662","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Psychiatry/Psychology","Category: Science - Biology","Mesmerism","Phrenology"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1843 J. W. Aikin and J. Thew edition by David Price,\nemail ccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\n                                A DEFENCE\n                           OF THE INQUIRY INTO\n                         MESMERISM & PHRENOLOGY,\n                           CHIEFLY IN RELATION\n                        TO RECENT EVENTS IN LYNN.\n\n\n                                    BY\n\n                              WILLIAM ARMES.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  LYNN:\n                  PUBLISHED BY J. W. AIKIN, AND J. THEW,\n                               HIGH STREET.\n\n                                  1843.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n\n\n\nA DEFENCE &c.\n\n\nIn offering this address to the consideration of the candid and sober\nminded of my fellow Townsmen, I am guided by no desire to prop, by my\nsmall influence, any new, and possibly false, theory; or to cry down,\nwithout examination, the pretensions of any science (so called) however\nadverse to my preconceived ideas.\n\nThe subject of Mesmerism and of Mesmeric Phrenology has, for some time\npast, occupied the attention of the inhabitants of Lynn, and the various\nphenomena exhibited, as might have been expected, have called forth the\ncredulous wonder of one class, the unworthy ridicule of another, and the\npatient and quiet examination of a third.\n\nTwo pamphlets have appeared upon the subject, which it is not my\nintention to remark upon at any length.  The first (written, I have no\ndoubt, with the very best intention) is from the pen of an individual who\nwas associated with a small party, employed in the rigid scrutiny of the\nexhibitions of the Lecturer; who did not, in the Meetings held for that\npropose, express his doubt or dissent to much of the most novel and\nstarling phenomena; but, who thought it not inconsistent with his\nposition, to leave his friends in the midst of their unfinished inquiry;\nand, prejudging the question, to placard the Town, with yellow handbills,\nafter the style of other Pamphleteers, advertizing his proportion.  This\npublication, certainly, in the estimation of most intelligent men, is not\nremarkable for any thing approaching critical investigation or inquiry;\nbut may, possibly, amuse the children and the vulgar, by the low\nexhibitions of art, imitating wit, by which the author has adorned it.\n\nThe last Pamphlet, by Mr. Cotton, published under the ambiguous title of\n\u201cPopular delusions applied to Mesmerism,\u201d has just issued from the press;\nI have read it very carefully, and am perfectly astonished to find how\nvery little Mr. C. to say upon the subject.\n\nI can well believe him when he says, \u201cWe have gone out of our way to draw\nup these lines,\u201d it really appears so, and I feel persuaded, that,\nwhatever opinion his readers may form of the entire work, this passage,\nat least, will be universally received as perfectly clear and veracious.\n\nMr. C. tells us, at the outset, he is \u201cbut a gatherer,\u201d this also is very\nevident, and, I only regret that he had not been directed to quarters\nwhere he might have gathered something upon the subject; or, at least,\nmore relevant than the conglomerated mass of hard names and phrases, with\nwhich he has soiled his pages; which can only induce the head-ache in any\nof his readers, who should be induced to follow him, in his mental\nmeanderings.  And, I have no doubt, this has been the result to the\nAuthor, in his toilsome \u201cgathering\u201d of such mighty material!\n\nThese two gentlemen, sheltering themselves under the names of those great\nmen, who, it is very true, have discarded, or thrown doubt upon the\nsubject of Mesmerism, have pleased themselves with the idea of their\nhonourable companionship: they have exulted in the presumption of being\ninfluenced by the same genius; and, looking at the track, marked out by\nthese larger vessels, they have sung to themselves very innocently,\n\n    \u201cThere let my little bark, attendant, sail,\n    Pursue the triumph and partake the gale.\u201d\n\nIndeed Mr. Taylor says, \u201cI would not have sent it thus hurriedly to the\npress, but, fearing that Mesmerism might die a natural death, before I\nhad given it one kick, I would not delay.\u201d  Very unkind indeed towards a\nfalling phantom, which needed not, it appears from our author, a blow so\nheavy, as must be the consequence of a kick from so weighty a man as Mr.\nTaylor!\n\nHad Mr. Taylor and Mr. Cotton merely exercised their right of publishing\nto the Town their own opinions; or, had they only recorded the opinions\nof others, I should not have felt it my duty to have taken any special\nnotice of their labors; but, when Mr. Cotton, at the close of his labored\nessay, which, indeed treats of almost every subject save that of\nMesmerism, and to produce which, he must have been very diligent in\nporing over the pages of the several books upon his shelves; when, at the\nclose of his toil, he charges those, who have seen it to be their duty to\nenquire into the subject, with \u201cWonder, Impressibility, and Credulity;\u201d\nwith affording \u201cpartisanship, patronage, and encouragement to their\nMesmeric Protogees,\u201d I may perhaps be excused for offering to my fellow\nTownsmen, some remarks upon the subject, which, but for the attempts at\nsatire of Messrs. Taylor and Cotton, would, possibly, not have appeared.\n\nWhen Mr. Brookes first lectured in Lynn, I was induced to attend, as I\nhad been informed that he would experiment on a lad who was my\napprentice.  I went to that Meeting quite as skeptical as any person\ncould be, having seen nothing in Mesmerism, myself, and, having read only\nas much as gave me a most unfavorable opinion of its pretensions.  I saw\nthe experiments; I endeavoured to account for them, but, was unable.  I\nconfess, honestly, that I was astonished at what I saw.  I found, that\nthe Lecturer was applauded by the mass of the audience.  I felt persuaded\nthat a clever impostor was deluding the people; or, that a power, in\nNature, was, then, brought before me of which I had had no previous\nconception.  At the close of his experiments, being desirous that the\nintelligence of the Town should be brought to the examination of these\nnew phenomena, I proposed, to the Lecturer, that I should endeavour to\nprocure a Meeting at the Town Hall, of a class of persons competent to\nthe investigation.  To this he readily assented, with the definite\nunderstanding that on his part it would be quite gratuitous; and, that my\nonly object was a rigid examination of his experiments.  The Meeting was\nheld; and, I can appeal to those who were present whether there was not,\non the part of the audience, a disposition to debate every inch of the\nargument, as the experiments proceeded.\n\nThe result of that Meeting was quite what I expected; The Medical and\nScientific Gentlemen present, departed, not satisfied; but, disposed\nstill farther to investigate.  Many smaller Meetings have been held, at\nthe houses of the several Gentlemen engaged in the inquiry, and, at those\nMeetings, a process of examination and of testing the experiments has\nbeen pursued, which, could not be adopted at a Public Meeting.  I would\nhere remark, that, at all these Meetings, Mr. Brookes has, cheerfully and\ngratuitously, afforded every possible opportunity of testing his\nexhibitions; and, I feel assured, that he will not dissent from my\ntestimony to the courteous, though careful and rigid, character of the\ninvestigation.\n\nI wish the reader to bear in mind that, in any statement or opinion I may\nplace upon these pages, I particularly disclaim any intention to commit\nany Gentleman engaged in the investigation of the subject; whether they\nmay or not hereafter be disposed to publish the result of the inquiry, I\nam not prepared to say; but, all I now write is upon my own exclusive\nresponsibility.\n\nFor myself, I state clearly, that, while I dissent from the extraneous\nand ridiculous nonsense by which the subject has been allayed and\nencumbered; yet, that I have seen, in the Meetings to which I refer, such\nmanifestations as were undeniably genuine in their character, and, could\ncertainly not be accounted for by the power of Imagination, laid down by\nMr. Taylor; or by any of the hard Words by the employment of which Mr.\nCotton has endeavoured to impress the Public with a high idea of his\nWisdom.\n\nOf the facts which have been seen, in the course of the inquiry, I, at\npresent, state no more than this.  That nothing has been credited upon\ndoubtful evidence; but, that the Inquirers have trod in the investigation\nwith the utmost caution, doubting every thing, debating every thing, and\nonly advancing to a judgment as they were enabled to connect, link by\nlink, the increasing chain of evidence.\n\nI disclaim for myself, and I feel sure I may for the Gentlemen with whom\nI have been connected, any design or desire to promote Mesmerism, or to\nadvance the interest of the Lecturer.  With the Individual none of us has\nhad the most remote connection, before his visit to Lynn; and for the\nScience we could not be supposed to have any great predelictions or\nregard.  Our only object has been, as far as possible, to examine the\nfacts, and to prevent, if in our power, any imposture being palmed upon\nthe Town; and I submit that we have been as honorably employed as Messrs.\nTaylor and Cotton in their mere attempts at ridicule.  To the latter\nGentleman I would recommend the perusal of Dr. Dickson\u2019s \u201cFallacies of\nthe Faculty,\u201d where he would learn that he is not the first\n_professional_ person who has employed ridicule, instead of scrutiny, on\nthe introduction of new theories, some of which, by the way, are now\nadopted by Mr. Cotton himself, in common with the profession generally.\n\nWith the doubts or convictions, resting upon the minds of those who have\nexamined the subject, I have nothing to do; each individual has the\npower, given him by the Creator, to examine for himself; and he should be\nguided by his own convictions, and by those convictions alone; but, when\nany person is determined to shut his eyes to evidence, and then tells me\nhe cannot see, I can only reply, \u201cIt would be _Mesmerism_ indeed if you\ncould;\u201d but, if in addition, he require me to follow his example, and to\nblindfold my perception, I entertain for such person feelings bordering\non contempt.\n\nWhat I have seen has made an impression on my mind; the nature of that\nimpression is very unimportant to the Public, and I only feel called upon\nto justify the course I have pursued in the inquiry; or rather, to\njustify the inquiry itself.\n\nIn order to this, I shall briefly reply to the arguments _against\ninquiry_ into the subject of Mesmerism and Phrenology as I have heard\nthem advanced.\n\nThe first, and certainly the most futile of all the reasons alledged why\nwe should not inquire into the fact or fallacy of Mesmeric and\nPhrenological phenomena is this.  _That the Lecturer is connected with\nthe Chartists_.  Had I not heard this myself, and had not Mr. Taylor\nthrown out in his pamphlet the same insinuation, I confess, I should not\nhave conjectured there was a single individual who could be, at all,\ninfluenced by such petty, not to say stupid considerations.  Who ever\ndreamed of inquiring, except as matters of historic interest, in relation\nto the individuals themselves, whether Newton, Harvey, Franklin, and the\nvarious discoverers of the useful Arts and Sciences were Whigs or Tories?\nand, I presume, that the individuals making this objection ride very\ncomfortably in the vehicles of the Country, undisturbed as to whether the\ninventors of stage coaches belonged to their own, or to an opposite class\nof Politicians.  For myself, in examining the Theory, I conclude I have\nas little guarantee for its truth from the Chartism, as I should expect\nfrom the Toryism of its Lecturer.  In all such matters I judge from the\nfacts, and not the individuals; and am too well assured that no political\nparty stands so high in virtue as to offer me a complete security against\nfraud and imposture.\n\nIt is argued, also, _That if there had been any truth in Mesmerism_, _it\nwould since the days of its discoverer_, _have certainly made more\nprogress_.  _That_, _it has now been many years before the public_, _and\nremains_, _as to any useful purpose_, _in its original position_.\n\nIt were sufficient to reply to this argument, that, if no parallel could\nbe found in the introduction of other discoveries, now held to be useful\nto the public; that the presumption is quite illogical, that I must not\ncredit what I see, and what my senses assure me to be fact, because\nsimilar exhibitions have been before, and often shown to the eyes, and\nears, of other persons and they have discarded them.\n\nI conceive, the more philosophical mode to be to come to the examination\nwithout prejudging it; and to inquire as closely and carefully as if the\nsubject was being introduced for the first time.\n\nNo person, being at all acquainted with History, needs to be informed by\nwhat slow process the most useful discoveries have made way in the world.\nEvery thing new comes to us clothed with suspicion; and the most\nintelligent and best men are reluctant to forego long cherished ideas and\nhypothesis in favour of a new doctrine, and too hastily to adopt the\nnovelty, among such persons, is to lose cast in society, and to incur the\nappellation of Enthusiasts in the world.\n\nFarther, when the bare truth of any discovery has been generally allowed,\nwe find, that the movement has been very slow indeed by which it has\nadvanced to perfection.\n\nBy what tardy steps has Naval Architecture advanced from the time that\nthe first Savage ventured upon a plank across the brook, until, in our\nday, the Navies of the Nations are spreading their canvas up the oceans\nof the world?\n\nIt is now, in the fulness of our knowledge, difficult to go back, in\nidea, from the recent launch of the \u201cGreat Britain,\u201d to the remote period\nwhen, the power of Steam was first observed, by some old Lady, when\nboiling her kettle on the kitchen fire.\n\nWe are told, by Mr. Cotton, of several individuals, deservedly eminent in\nliterature, who have discarded the new Science; but, if Mr. C. be on that\naccount entitled to any advantage, might not Mr. Brookes retort upon him,\n\u201cYou have all the advantage of their researches, and surely, if it be\nimposture, they could have discovered it; I now bring my facts before\nyou, and, after all your experience, challenge your investigation?\u201d and I\ncannot but think the labour of the learned has been ill employed, for so\nmany years, if they have been able, after all, to lay down no plan by\nwhich to detect this presumed imposture.\n\nIt is argued also, _That_, _if Mesmerism be true it can be of no real use\nin Society_; _and that it may possibly be ill employed_.\n\nThe answer to this objection I hold to be, that at present, we have\nnothing to do with the use or abuse of the assumed power; our only object\nis, to inquire into its existence; that must necessarily be ascertained\nbefore it can, in any way, be employed: I feel assured, that, if the\npower, claimed by Mesmerism, do really exist, it, in common with all the\npowers of Nature, is capable of producing good; and I would caution\nObjectors against the reflection upon Providence obviously implied in the\nopposite idea.\n\nIf the real use of a discovery were required, before it could be advanced\nto the world, it would operate most fatally to the interests of Science.\n\nHad Dr. Franklin been called upon to prove the use of Electricity, before\nhe was allowed to exhibit his discoveries, he would have been stopped on\nthe very threshold of his experiments, and much of his ingenious\ndiscovery would have been lost to the world.\n\nI am here speaking of Mesmerism, alone, as I shall hereafter have to\nspeak of Phrenology.  As to any remedial effect to be expected from the\npractice of Mesmerism, in cases of physical or of nervous disease, it\nwould be quite out of my province, publicly, even to conjecture: I can\nonly state, that I have heard, on most unquestionable authority, of cases\nof cure, of a most important kind; but, that, in the estimation of\nMedical men, the result would have been, fairly attributable to the\noperation of Mesmerism I presume not to determine.\n\nIt is creditable to the Medical Gentlemen of Lynn, that they have, with\nfew exceptions, applied themselves to the consideration of the subject,\nand I have no doubt, would be glad to find in Mesmerism, as in any thing\nelse, an additional auxiliary in their endeavours to ease the couch of\nsuffering, and to lessen the amount of human misery.  The curative\nproperties we may leave to the better information of the Faculty, while\nwe employ our perceptive powers in endeavouring to ascertain the fact, or\nfallacy, of the presumed Science.\n\n_That the discovery may be abused_ is at once admitted, though by no\nmeans, to the extent of the fears of some individuals; but, we do well to\ninquire how the same idea applies to other matters.  I incline to the\nbelief that there are few powers in Nature not capable of being abused.\n\nWho is not aware of the destructive properties of Fire, and how often it\nis employed, by the Incendiary, to the damage of the honest and\nunsuspecting?  Who has not heard, day after day, of Juries sitting upon\nthe bodies of unfortunate persons who have been destroyed by this\npowerful element of Nature? and yet, who ever heard of any sane person\nwho would argue, that it had been better for Mankind had Fire not been\nknown?\n\nWho does not know the mighty power for ill, as well as for good, the\n_Materia Medica_ confers upon the professional part of civilized Society?\nyet, who would argue, that it would be better for mankind to discontinue\nthe use and practice of Medicine?\n\nThe exhibitions of Mesmerism have been compared to the feats of the\nJugglers of India, and, we have been pressed with the assurance, _that\nthe Mesmeriser is quite outdone by the Juggler_.  It may be so, but I\nsubmit, that there is a clear line of distinction to be drawn between the\ntwo cases.\n\nThe Indian comes before you professing to deceive, he defies you indeed\nto discern the process of imposture, and sometimes the observer is so\nastonished that he falls back on the only idea that can serve him at the\nmoment, (so completely are his senses paralyzed) that, there must be some\nsuperhuman agency employed; but, after all, it only professes to be the\nfeat of a Conjuror, and he offers you no clue to the practice of the same\ndelusion.\n\nThe Mesmeriser exhibits, before your eyes, phenomena very strange and\nstartling, but he says \u201cI am no Conjuror; I only profess to show you a\nlatent power in Nature, as yet but imperfectly developed; I believe that\nits knowledge may be useful to Society; I profess to do nothing which you\ncannot do yourselves; test my experiments in every possible way, _I will\nassist you to do so_.\u201d\n\nWho, I ask, does not at once see, that in the one case, we are imposed\nupon by a clever Impostor, and cannot help ourselves; while in the other,\nwe can test almost every experiment by trials of our own, and need draw\nno conclusion but from the result of our own individual and absolute\nexperiment.\n\nThe only remaining argument advanced against inquiring into the assumed\nsciences, of which we are speaking, is this, that _The establishment of\nthe truth of Mesmerism_, _and specially of Phrenology_, _would be\ndestructive to the Christian Religion_, _and would subvert the authority\nof the Scriptures upon which that Religion is based_.\n\nTo my mind, this is, by far, the gravest argument with which we have to\ndeal, and I should be sorry indeed to treat it in an improper or\nunbecoming manner; yet, I feel that I should be failing in the duty I\nhave imposed upon myself, were I not to look the presumed difficulty\nfairly in the face; and at least endeavour to justify my own conduct in\nregard to it; and if possible, to remove the delusion which, I humbly\nsuggest, hangs upon the mind of those who make this objection.\n\nI am quite aware that it is impossible that I should do complete justice\nto this part of my subject; or, offer more than a comparatively very\nsmall part of the argument which might be adduced.  My purpose, in this\npublication, would not be served by a long treatise; and I shall\ntherefore endeavour to compress the argument as much as possible, begging\nthe reader to judge impartially of what I do advance; and not to condemn\nthe argument because I have been unable to compress that which would\nrequire a volume, into the pages of a small pamphlet.\n\nBefore I proceed farther, I would altogether dismiss the objection, _That\nwe cannot comprehend the phenomena_, observing, merely, that that remark\napplies, with equal force, to a vast variety of subjects and objects,\nwhich we are compelled to believe.\n\n    \u201cGo ask your mother Earth why Oaks are made\n    Taller or stouter than the Weeds they shade.\u201d\n\nTo the serious, christian man, upon whom this objection has any\ninfluence, I would remark, that he who is disposed to admit the truth of\nthat only which he can comprehend, confines his faith in a very narrow\ncircle, within the circumference of which there can be no God!\n\nI here feel it incumbent upon me to state, that I have no sympathy with\nthose individuals who would foster and encourage any Theory by which they\nhope to damage Christianity; and I wonder that any person can be found so\nhardy as to endeavour, covertly, to undermine the rock upon which the\nhopes of so many have been founded; to put out the light which has, for\nages, served to guide the pious, humble christian in his journey through\nlife; to take away and to destroy that feeling, with regard to a future\nworld of happiness, which has been the Hope of the pious in all ages,\nwhich Hope they have cherished in their hearts, in every difficulty and\nin every distress, and which has been to them, on the stormy ocean of the\nWorld, as an \u201canchor to the soul.\u201d\n\nMine is a far different object, I desire to shew the unlettered Christian\nthat he has not believed in a \u201ccunningly devised fable,\u201d but, that his\nFaith rests upon a sure basis, and that he may take his Bible in his hand\nand laugh to scorn the insidious attempts of the learned infidelity and\nskepticism of the world. {19}\n\nI believe much harm is done to Religion by the well intentioned but idle\nfears of Christians, upon the introduction of any new Science; their\nFaith and not their Fears should be called into exercise.  I believe the\nBible to be given by the Author of Nature, and that he never gave any\ninformation to his Creatures which could ever be adverse or inconsistent\nto any subsequent development that Nature could afford.\n\nI dare not admit the idea that the testimony of Scripture depends for its\nacceptance upon the sufferance of Modern Science.  I take vastly higher\nground, and believe that the Christian man may approach with confidence\nto the investigation of any phenomena in Nature, in the assurance that,\nso far as it is true, it will not be found inconsonant with what he\nrightly considers to be the Word of God.\n\nMuch of the difficulty in the minds of well meaning Christians, in all\nages, in relation to discoveries in Nature has doubtless arisen from the\npeculiar and poetical language in which the Scriptural Record is\nexpressed.  In the fact that it was just so expressed as to be understood\nby the particular people to whom it was originally given.  That it does\nnot profess to be a guide to man, in his researches through the arcanum\nof Nature; but, incidentally alludes to natural phenomena only so far as\nthe people of that age were acquainted with such subjects, and in order\nonly, to give a proper impression as to the greatness and goodness of\nGod.\n\nHad these propositions been more generally observed, I venture to\nsuggest, that Religion and Science would not have been found so often in\ncircumstances of apparent collision.\n\nThe best men have, in all ages, been too much disposed to put their Faith\nin abeyance, while their Fears have been allowed to proclaim a danger to\nReligion; and, alas! too often to persecute those who have made the most\nuseful and important discoveries.\n\nIt is well known that the Copernican System was declared by the Pope, on\nits introduction, in a bull, specially issued for the purpose, to be\n\u201cfalse in fact and heretical in religion,\u201d and its author was doomed to\nimprisonment for his discovery! and we find that while Plato, Cicero,\nAristotle, Strabo, and other heathen authors allowed the rotundity of the\nearth, that Lactantius, _one of the Christian Fathers_, influenced by the\nwell meaning, but ill employed fear I have described, contended for the\nold opinion.  He asks, \u201cIs any one so foolish, as to believe that there\nare men whose feet are higher than their heads; trees growing downwards;\nrain, snow, and hail, falling upwards?\u201d\n\nLactantius feared that his Religion and the new theory could not exist\ntogether.  We have become assured of the truth of the theory, and who\n_now_ fears for the Scriptures on account of the globular form of the\nEarth?\n\nSome few years since Geology was introduced as a science, the Christian\nWorld became alarmed; the pens of divines were busily employed to write\ndown the supposed delusion; the patient Investigators of the structure of\nthe Earth continued their labor, and we now find that, as the science\nmakes way the fear subsides, and Geology, in the present day, numbers\namong its supporters and defenders some of the brightest ornaments of the\nChristian Church.\n\nIt may not be familiar to my readers, that even Navigation, by the\ndiscovery and pursuit of which mankind in our day are always passing in\nlarge numbers upon the Ocean, which we term in modern language, the\n\u201cHighway of Nations;\u201d which is quite indispensible to the intercourse and\ncommerce of the world; which conduces so much, and in so many ways, to\nhuman happiness: by the aid of which the providential bounties of the\nTorrid are conveyed to the Inhabitants of the Frigid Zone: and even the\nPolar Seas themselves are laid under contribution and made to minister to\nthe comfort and enjoyment of the Inhabitants of more temperate climes.\n\nIt may, possibly, astonish some of my Christian Readers to be informed\nthat Navigation without which the precept of the Scripture \u201cPreach the\nGospel to every Creature\u201d could never be complied with; and the\nabandonment of which would involve the annihilation to a large extent of\nBenevolent and Missionary enterprise, it may astonish them to know that\neven Navigation has been denounced as impiety, but such is the fact! we\nfind the accomplished Horace writing thus:\u2014\u201cIn vain did a God\n_purposely_, cut off the lands from the Ocean, _forbidding all\nintercourse_, if, nevertheless, the impious Barks bound contemptuously\nover the seas not to be touched.\u201d {23}\n\nThe difficulty appears to be, to get mankind to understand that the\nwonders of Nature are no less wonderful because we are permitted,\nsuccessfully, to explore the various laws and modes of her operations.\n\nAre we at all less indebted to Providence for the \u201cshowers that water the\nEarth\u201d because we now know that the moisture is exhaled from our planet\nbefore it is dropped from the cloud?\n\nIs the genial influence of the Sun of less importance because we are,\nnow, aware that the Earth revolves around it, instead of (as our fathers\nsupposed) the Sun revolving round the Earth?\n\nIs the planetary system at all less interesting to us because the\nextension of telescopic vision has shewn us new worlds beyond the ken and\ncredence of our forefathers?  Surely not!  But, should we not rather be\nthe more impressed with the greatness and the condescension of God, just\nin proportion as we are permitted to advance, cautiously and tremblingly\nindeed, in the contemplation and understanding of his work?\n\nMan is a complex being, \u201cfearfully and wonderfully made,\u201d having, besides\nhis bodily powers, some principle which keeps the machine in motion, and\nsome unseen, yet evident power of volition by the aid, and at the command\nof which his several actions are performed.\n\nIn what part of the system that power is deposited was long held to be\ndoubtful; but, it is now generally allowed that the seat of that power is\nthe brain, and several industrious and learned men have, of late years,\nbeen carefully engaged in endeavours to understand the anatomy of that\npart of the human frame.\n\nThe result of their inquiries, as might be supposed, has been variously\nstated by different individuals; among other ideas, some have supposed\nthey were able to trace, with tolerable correctness, the various parts of\nthe brain which impelled the individual to various actions; and they\nendeavoured to assign to each class of human sentiment and faculty its\npeculiar portion which they have designated Organs.\n\nThey have, in pursuance of their Theory, mapped out the human scull into\ncompartments, to each of which they have assigned a particular faculty or\nsentiment, and they profess to tell, with some degree of accuracy, the\nindividual character by the peculiar formation of the head.\n\nThe reader will bear in mind, that I profess not even to conjecture, in\nthis argument, the truth or fallacy of the system, that Phrenologists\nhave laid down; I am only endeavouring to disabuse the mind of the\nserious and pious man of any fears for his Religion, on the possibility\nthat Phrenology should be found true.\n\nNo man can have observed human Nature, with even common or ordinary care,\nbut must have been impressed with the fact, that there is as much\ndiversity in the development of mind as is apparent, to common\nobservation, in the structure of the body.  One man is mentally competent\nto, and would excel in one department of Art or Science or of ordinary\nBusiness in which another would certainly fail, while the first would be\nequally deficient in another department, not by any means requiring more\nthan common sagacity to insure success.  This is a matter of such common\nobservation that I need not enlarge upon it.\n\nMy position then is this; That allowing, as we must, the great diversity\nof mental, human character, it will do no damage to Religion if\nPhrenology should succeed in exhibiting that, minutely and in detail,\nwhich we already admit in the mass.\n\nThe Milky Way is not the less brilliant because to the Telescopic eye it\nexhibits a cluster of beauties, while to common observation, these\nminuti\u00e6 are concealed.\n\nIt can release no man from the common obligations which all owe to God,\nwho judgeth not according to the sight of the eye: but, who \u201cjudgeth\nrighteous judgment.\u201d\n\nIf Phrenology be true, it may indeed teach us lessons of forbearance and\ncharity to human frailty; but can in no respect affect our duty and\nobligations toward God.\n\nIn conclusion I observe, that I am, individually, quite unconcerned as to\nwhether the Sciences, as they are termed, which we have been considering,\nshould prove, on farther and fuller examination, to be true or to be\nfalse.\n\nPossibly their promoters, in the sanguine pursuit of a new Theory, may\nhave asked of the Public a too unsuspecting confidence, and may have\npushed their Theory beyond its legitimate position.  This I leave to them\nand to the Public to determine.\n\nI sat down to write this address in order to defend myself, and as far as\nI may have expressed their sentiments, my friends also, from the\nunsparing censure which has been passed upon us _for our efforts to\nascertain for ourselves the truth or falsehood of these phenomena_.\n\nHow far I have succeeded the Reader and the Public must determine.  I\nhave designed offence to no one, and I hope that no one has been\noffended.  As to the remarks I felt compelled to make upon the Gentlemen\nwho have published upon the subject, I think the reader will allow that I\nwas justified, by the pamphlets themselves, for the course I have\npursued.\n\nI now take leave of the subject, careless as to the success of Mesmerism\nor Phrenology; and only solicitous that every facility should be afforded\nfor the complete exhibition and testing of so important phenomena.\n\n                                                                     W. A.\n\nMarket-place, Lynn,\n      Aug. 11th, 1843.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  FINIS.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  LYNN:\n                         PRINTED BY J. W. AIKEN,\n                               HIGH STREET.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES.\n\n\n{19}  Dr. Chalmers says\u2014\u201cPerhaps the most singular attempt to graft\nInfidelity on any thing called a Science, is by those who associate their\ndenial of the Christian Revelation with the doctrines of Phrenology, as\nif there were any earthly connection between the form of the human skull,\nor its effects upon the human character upon the one hand, and the truth\nor falsehood of our Religion on the other; for, granting them all their\nOrgans, it no more tells either to the confirmation or disparagement of\nour historical evidence for the visitation of this earth by a messenger\nfrom Heaven, than it tells on the historical evidence for the invasion of\nBritain by Julius C\u00e6sar.  And we venture to affirm of all the other\nSciences, that no discovery has been made in any of them, which is not in\nevery way as inconsequential to the point at issue; and that the truths\nof all Philosophy put together as little interfere with the truths of the\nGospel as the discoveries of the Astronomer interfere with the\ndiscoveries of the Anatomist.\u201d\n\n                                           _Preface to Modern Philosophy_.\n\n{23}  Horace Car III. Lib. I.","title":"A Defence of the Inquiry into Mesmerism & Phrenology: chiefly in relation to recent events in Lynn","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":5716}