so as to touch the os frontis immediately above the superciliary ridges, and the most prominent part of the occipital bone." The "Phrenological Measurements" by Mr. Phillips are of various kinds; first, by the craniometer, to measure the length of a line from the base of the brain between the orifices of the ear to the external surface of the skull over the different organs; secondly, diameter measurements with the callipers; thirdly, measurements on the forehead, with dividers; fourthly, measurements over the external surface of the skull, by a strap; fifthly, the height of the sincipital organs above the imaginary plane through the centres of Caution and Causality, taken by a machine invented for the purpose of measuring skulls. Of these we can copy the highest, lowest, and means of the calliper measurements only. Mean. Highest. Lowest. Individuality to Philoprogenitiveness - 6·77 Cautiousness to Cautiousness Ideality to Ideality Secretiveness to Secretiveness - 6.22 5.41 4.98 5.55 4.3 5.33 5.95 4.9 4.28 4.7 3.85 Destructiveness to Destructiveness Combativeness to Combativeness It will be seen that in consequence of the peculiar omissions in an Edinburgh reprint of the review of Dr. Morton's work which originally appeared in Silliman's American Journal of Science, we have felt called upon to give publicity to the omitted portions; and to these, accordingly, we may refer those amongst our readers who may desire to learn something more concerning the valuable work of Dr. Morton. See our preceding pages 303-314. II. Mr. Combe's Works on Moral Philosophy. 1. The Constitution of Man. 2. Lectures on Moral Philosophy delivered before the Philosophical Association, at Edinburgh, in the Winter Session of 1835-6. By GEORGE COMBE. Boston and London. 8vo. p. 464. THOUGH it may not be necessary that writers on Moral Philosophy should become familiarly acquainted with all those various peculiarities of structure and function, of figure and habit, in man and animals, the investigation of which falls under the provinces of the physician and the zoologist, yet it may reasonably be asserted, that no sound system of Moral Philosophy will ever be formed by those who refuse to avail themselves of the labours of the anatomist, the physiologist, the phrenologist, and the zoologist. The superiority of Mr. Combe's writings, over the treatises on Moral Philosophy heretofore published, is no doubt in a great measure attributable to the real or apparent foundation for his opinions in the immutable truths of natural science. The absolute dependance of ❝mentation" upon the organic frame, in all sentient beings, and the fact that variations of the former must inevitably occur in correspondence with any variations in the latter, have never been so fully and practically recognised by preceding authors; although, it may be true enough, that general admissions of this character have been made both by medical and other writers. We cannot, indeed, say that Mr. Combe is always successful in his attempts to support his opinions by reference to the facts of natural science; yet, in the general view, we certainly do not hesitate about expressing the conviction, that a just appreciation of the importance of natural science, as the proper foundation of ethical views, is one of the peculiar excelÎencies of Mr. Combe's writings. The one department of natural science, of which Mr. Combe stands the unrivalled chief,—of course, we mean Human Phrenology,—is doubtless by far the most essential; and though he does from time to time seek illustrations and analogies in the other fields of science, we are probably correct in suggesting that his philosophical views have been formed almost exclusively from the study of man, and that he has merely selected from the writings of anatomists, physiologists, zoologists, and geologists, such facts and opinions as apparently tended to confirm those views to which he had already attained by actual and close study of mankind. We cannot otherwise account for the wide difference betwixt his illustrations and arguments drawn from the actions of mankind, and those which he obtains from the departments of knowledge relating to external nature. The former are almost invariably pertinent and conclusive, whilst the latter are not seldom inaccurate or misapplied. In a late No. of this Journal, we spoke of Mr. Combe as "a good thinker, but a bad learner," and we believe this character to be borne out by the difference here alluded to. Mr. Combe has long watched and meditated on the actions of mankind, and his ideas thereon freshly represent realities, somewhat modified, it may be, by the medium through which they pass, but still they are ideas directly drawn from realities. On the contrary, his ideas of anatomy, physiology, zoology, &c., re present only his own construction put upon the language of others lecturers and popular writers; and being an indifferent learner of other men's ideas, he takes in distorted or partial notions, and sometimes unconsciously puts these forward in his writings as accurate or general truths. We shall endeavour to make this view more clear by an example, taken from the Constitution of Man. "Farther," writes Mr. Combe, while attempting the hopeless task of proving death to be an advantage to living creatures, "the wolf, the tiger, the lion, and other beasts of prey, instituted by the Creator as instruments of violent death, are provided, in addition to Destructiveness, with large organs of Cautiousness and Secretiveness, that prompt them to steal upon their victims with the unexpected suddenness of a mandate of annihilation, and they are impelled also to inflict death in the most instantaneous and least painful method; the tiger and lion spring from their covers with the rapidity of the thunderbolt, and one blow of their tremendous paws, inflicted at the junction of the head with the neck, produces instantaneous death. The eagle is taught to strike its sharp beak into the spine of the birds which it devours, and their agony endures scarcely for an instant. It has been objected, that the cat plays with the unhappy mouse, and prolongs its tortures; but the cat that does so, is the pampered and well fed inhabitant of a kitchen; the cat of nature is too eager to devour, to indulge in such luxurious gratification of Destructiveness and Secretiveness. It kills in a moment and eats." This reads plausibly, because there is truth in the representation; for beasts of prey sometimes destroy their victims in the manner stated by Mr. Combe. Every naturalist, however, must be well aware that the truth is one of only partial application, and has not by any means that general character which it ought to have, in order to give soundness to Mr. Combe's argument; and we are tempted to say, that death "in the most instantaneous and least painful method" is a rare exception to the general rule. In the majority of instances, we believe, the agonies of death are not long protracted in the victims of beasts of prey; but still, they are protracted much more than Mr. Combe's representation can convey any idea of. In a vast many instances, however, though perhaps not in the majority, death may be called lingering and painful; and in a less number, though still not few, death is effected only after protracted sufferings. Wolves, for instance, instead of stealing upon their prey and killing it by a sudden stroke, often unite in packs to hunt down large animals, and, when hunted to bay, they kill them by tearing and biting; the chase perhaps lasting for hours, and the process of destruction being the very reverse of "instantaneous." Again, innumerable creatures, after being crushed, lacerated, or otherwise injured by stronger animals, are left to a lingering death by starvation or other slowly completed consequences of the injuries which they have received. Wild animals of the cat and weasel tribes also kill, not only to eat, but, by all appearance, under the aimless prompting of their destructive propensities, since they will kill many more animals than they can eat. Some, also, treat their prey much after the manner of a cat that "plays" with its mouse. A well fed (not over-fed) cat not merely plays with its mouse when caught, but actually hunts with greater zest and success than a starved cat, as we have had repeated opportunities for verifying; and as, indeed, the creed of phrenologists might lead them to anticipate, seeing that a well nourished organic frame is by them esteemed to be an important condition of vigorous mental manifestation. The butcher bird impales living insects upon thorns, and leaves them to die; so that this bird may be said to have anticipated the entomological cruelty of impaling insects upon pins, and leaving them, so impaled, to die after the lapse of days or weeks. In short, whilst taking even a cursory survey over the ordinary course of nature, we see countless instances of protracted suffering, which, to our imperfect view, must appear great and needless cruelty; and which are, of course, directly in contradiction to Mr. Combe's description of death in the institutions of nature. We have many times heard it remarked by naturalists and physicians, that they believe there is truth in phrenology, "but," often continues the speaker, "I do not agree with Mr. Combe; he says," &c.: the saying of Mr. Combe that is objected to, probably being some insufficiently considered description such as that we have just quoted; and which thus leads an intelligent man into the hasty rejection of doctrines that may really be in themselves sound and highly deserving of attention, although unfortunately sought to be strengthened by a line of argument that thus becomes their weakness, in causing their rejection. We do not justify this hasty rejection; we state only the fact; and would particularly urge those phrenologists who may hear such a reason given, at once to admit Mr. Combe's liability to errors of this kind, and at the same time to show that such an error may readily be committed by an author without the general soundness of his doctrines being at all affected thereby. Mr. Combe, like other master minds, has injudicious and hot-tempered admirers, who will stoutly wrangle for the accuracy of every thing he has printed; but his best friends and defenders are those who can appreciate and explain his real and prevailing excellencies, whilst they allow the existence of minor errors in exception. "Non omnia possumus omnes" is a maxim that admits of universal application, the limit given to it by the last word of the four being quite needless; and when Mr. Combe's arguments are drawn from those departments of natural science above mentioned, he certainly incurs a greater risk of verifying the maxim of the quotation, than is the case whilst his attention takes a direction to the doings of society or individual men. It would be ridiculous to require perfect freedom from error in the works of an author who discusses subjects of so much scope and difficulty; but if we would examine Mr. Combe's philosophical writings, in a critical view, in order to ascertain how far his doctrines are established by direct proof or any unassailable line of argument, it behoves us to know his weaknesses equally as his strength, and not to shrink from stating them. We repeat, therefore, what we have already in effect said in this present notice, or in a former notice of the same author's lectures on Phrenology, that Mr. Combe is too prone to state conclusions in positive terms before the evidence of their soundness amounts to full proof, that he receives and reasons upon mere coincidences as if they constituted the relation of necessary connection, that he exalts probabilities into the rank of certain truths,-that he states partial truths argumentatively as general truths, that he does not sufficiently seek for facts which may oppose his views, and that occasionally he misconceives (and through misconception, mis-states) the ideas and proceedings of others. - In making these remarks, we feel it incumbent upon us to add, that the defects thus enumerated are not stated as the characteristic features of Mr. Combe's writings, but as occasional blemishes, which his readers ought to be aware of, and to be on their guard against. He has now attained that authority with a large body of readers, which makes them willing recipients of almost every thing he may assert; and one who is thus influential, is wielding great power either to enlighten or to darken others. Fortunately, there is in Mr. Combe an almost intuitive perception (if we may so write) of truth and philosophical principle which seldom fails to keep his general course aright, notwithstanding occasional and slight deviations. But the defects, such as we have stated, do exist to some extent, and do, to that extent, throw doubts upon the soundness of his philosophical theories, or, at least, leave them very open to question and objection. Mr. Combe's moral-philosophical creed is essentially hypothetical and theological; and consequently, if we adopt views |