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Show 158 Al'l't:NDJX. of our position. In litem,, we ·find the whole of the physical organization perfect, except the head-and here the doctrine of ph_renologists is .mo~t incontestibly confinned in the deficiency o~ that por.uon of the bram m which arc located the intellecLUal and reaso ntr~ g f:iculues. Hence we find that a sound and perfect brain is absolutely essential to a sound and vigorous mind; and, in proponion as the former is diseased or i1tiured, so the manifestations of the Iauer will be likewise impaired. But another highly important function of the brain is, that of its being the sourl!e of the nervous influence of the whole body. 'f'his, however, is entirely distinct from its intellectual duties, though equally dependant on its healthy :ttH.I vigorous action. I will to raise my arm, and it obeys me; I will to put it down again, and it is likewise performed. The will emanates from the brain ; the nerves, which are the messengers of the brain, carry its commands to the muscles, and these, if in a healthy condition, execute them by means of th eir contractile power. But, supposing the one-half of a person's bot.ly to be under the elfects of palsy, the will may issue its commands, but, in consequence of the par<~iyzed condition of the brain, it cannot exert that nervous influence which acts as a stimulus, and is absolutely necessary for the performance of the required motion. Such is likewise the case with a person who is intoxicated, or who is under the influence of a narcotic ;-the nervous energy of the brain is, in both instances, impaired i so that, although he may will to do, yet the influence of the brain is not sufficient to enable him to put his will into execution. Hence we perceive the necessity of ascertaining the laws by which the brain and mind are governed; for if these laws are infringed, we cannot ex~ pect their emanations to be of a heahhy character. One of the laws, then,-the observance of which we shall state as being es~ sential to the due developementand subsequent vigor of the mental facuhies,rclates to the proper exercise of the organ from which these faculties em a~ nate. There is the greatest conceivable diJl"erence between the developement of a mental faculty, and the developement of the physical organ upon which all of the mental faculties depend. In other words, there is a vast difference between cultivating the mind of a child by initiating him into the rudiments of the various sciences,-teaching him the different class ics,-\eading him into the intricate mazes of the mathematical studies,-caosing him to commit to memory abstract propositions which he cannot understand, and requiring of him a stretch of the imaginative powers to grasp the whole of nature's works and scrutinize the cause of all her varied operations: I say there is a vast difl'erence between thus improving the mind or cultivating the intellect of a child, and simply promoting the growth and consolidation of that organ, the brain, upon the strength and perfection of which, not only the health and life of the child, but also the permanency of t!Lese very faculties themselves depend. For the brain is a portion of our physical fram e, and is consequently subject to the same physical laws by which the rest of it is governed. And, if we examine these laws, we shall find that a tlue degree of exercise is essential to the growth and developement of every portion of the body. By means of it the blood circulates more freely throughout the whole system, the respiration is more efficient, the powers of digestion are more active, the process of absorption and nutrition is rentlered more vigorous, mm;cle, bone, sinew, and nerve, become formed of better materials and of a larger size, and the strength and energy of every portion of it are proportionally increased. Thus our every day observation teaches us that the mu!:icles of the arms of a blacksmith, or of a bricklayer, or of a carpenter, are of much lar~er dimensions than those of a gentleman, so called, who has been brought up in the lap of indolence, and eaten of the bread of idle- E SSAY, DV J. L. l' F.1R<.:F.1 iU. 0. tau nes!:l; and the same observation may be made respecting the lower Jimbs of a farmer, or of any other person in whom these members of the body arc greatly exercised. And similar observations may be made respecting the bony fabric of the system. The peculiar ofllce or function of all these various portions of our bodies is to administer to our physical necessities. llut we should be careful not to carry the duties required of them beyond certain limits, and particularly before they shall have arri ved at the full period of de \•elopement; for if the muscles of a lad, who is rapidly running up into manhood, are unduly exercised, instead of that exercise administering to the tone and strength uf the muscular fibre, it has an opposite effect, and the indiviliual becomes weakened and emaciated. And if we pursue the practice so genera!ly, though erroneously, adopted, of causing an infant to walk before the bones of the limbs and lower portion of the body become thoroughly converted from their cartilaginous to a bony state, we injure the frame-work or the system, and produce a permanent deformity, which, in ma11y in s tances, is productive of the utmost mischief in subsequent yean1. Bnt it is not in bones to think, nor in muscles to reason; and inasmuch as it is the intellectual and reOectiye faculties which constitute man as a superior order of being, any injury resulting to the former may be regarded as of little importance in comparison with an injury of that organ from which emanates the nervous energy of the whole body as well as all of the manifestations of the mind. But, inasmuch as the brain is a two-fold organ, an organ which executes the double function of adminstering to both mind and matter, it seems necessary for us to study it in its two-fold churacter, and ascertain the laws by which it is controlled in each of its operations. Now we may lay it down, as an established maxin1, that unless the brain is in a healthy condition , its emanations must also be of an unhealthy clmracter: those pert<1ining to the physical system must be deficient in nervous energy, and those relating to the intellectual faculties must be incapable of imparting that vigor, strength, and durability to the mental operations which we all so earnestly covet. \Ve should likewise cons iller that there are two kinds of exercise requisite to stimulate the differ~nt functions of the brain ;-the One for its physical organization, the other for its intellectual developement. The brain itself, as we have before obseT\'ed, is a portion of the physical structure of the body, and, as such, is subject to the same laws as govern the rest of our corporeal frame. Exercise, fresh air, an eflicien t respiration, and proper arterialization of the blood, a suitable diet and perfect digestion, are as essential for its growth and perfection, as for that of any other portion of the body. Another kind of exercise1 we h:1ve also remarked, is likt:wise essential for the proper devclopement of the intellectual faculties; and this exercise is of a mental character, the stimulus of the mental operations. Now it has become a well established point in Phrenology that mental ex~ ercise has the effect, not only of improving the in tel lectual faculties, but also of enlarging the various portions of the brain itself; it is, therefore, to a certain extent, highly salutary; but, if carried beyond its proper limits, injurious consequences rhust ensue, as we have already shown to be likewise the case with the muscular or osseous portions of our frame when they are unduly exercised. Each mental effort drives to the brain a certain quantity of blood. If this elfort be very intense in its character, or if it be 1ong continu~d, or oft~repeated, the accumulation of blood must produce a partial congestion~ or a degree of irritation, which lays the foundation of innumerrtble diseases in subsequent years, of both a mental and physical character. We may, I am fully aware, produce by such means a wonderful temporary increase of mental power, such as is calculated to excite the fond hopes of |