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could obtain no reply. All seemed regardless of his presence. Regardless of his presence! The awful thought rushed into his mind, that the social law was suspended as to him. He now saw, in all its horror, the import of the words of Jupiter, which before he had not fully comprehended. Terrified, he seized a rope, and set a sail. Every physical law was in force, and obeyed his will. The sail filled, and strained forward from the mast. He ran to the helm-it obeyed his muscles, and the ship moved as he directed it. But its course was short; the anchor stopped its progress in the sea. He lowered the sail, seized a handspike, and attempted to weigh it; but in vain. The strength of five men was required to raise so ponderous a mass of iron. Again he called to his crew; but again he found that the social law was suspended as to him: he was absolved from all suffering caused by the misconduct of others, but he was cut off from every enjoyment and advantage derivable from their assistance.

In despair he seized the boat, rowed into the port of Syracuse, proceeded straight to the house of his commercial correspondent, and begged his aid to deliver him from the apathy of his crew. He saw his friend, addressed him, and told him of his fruitless endeavours to leave the anchorage; but his friend was quite inattentive to his speeches. He did not even look upon him, but proceeded in business of his own, with which he seemed entirely occupied. The merchant, fatigued by his exertions, and almost frantic with alarm, hurried to a tavern on the quay, where he used to dine; and, entering, called for wine to recruit his exhausted strength. But the servants seemed unconscious of his presence; no movement was made; and he remained as if in a vast solitude, amidst large companies of merchants, servants, and assistants, who all bustled in active gaiety, each fulfilling his duty in his own department. The merchant now comprehended fully the horrors of his situation, and called aloud to Jupiter "O Jupiter, death in the waves, or by consuming flame, was better than the life thou hast assigned to me. Let me die, for my cup of misery is full beyond endurance; or restore me to the enjoyments of thy social law, and I shall cease to complain of the pains which it inflicts."

"But," said Jupiter, "if I restore to thee my social law, thy ship will be consumed, thou and thy crew will escape in

a boat, but thou shalt be a very beggar; and, in thy poverty, thou wilt upbraid me for dealing unjustly by thee."

"O bountiful Jupiter," replied the merchant, "I never knew till now what enjoyments I owed to thy social law; how rich it renders me, even when all else is gone; and how poor I should be, with all the world for a possession, if denied its blessings. True, I shall be poor; but my nerves, muscles, and mental powers will be left me: now I see that employment of these is the only pleasure of existence; poverty will not cut me off from exercising them in obedience to thy laws, but will rather add new motives to excite me to do So. Under thy social law, the sweet voice of friendship will cheer me in adversity, the aid of kindred companions will soothe the remainder of my days! And now that I see thy designs, I shall avoid employing my fellow-men in situations unsuitable to their talents, and thereby shall escape the penalties of infringing thy social law. Most merciful Jupiter, restore me to the benefit of all thy laws, and I accept the penalties attached to their infringement.' request was granted; his ship was consumed, but he escaped in the boat, and ever afterwards made Jupiter's laws and the nature of Man his study; he obeyed those laws, became moderately rich, and found himself happier than he had ever been in his days of selfishness and ignorance.

Jupiter was assailed with many other prayers from unfortunate sufferers under the effects of infringement of his laws; but, instead of hearing each in endless succession, he assembled his petitioners, and introduced to them the slater, the husbandman, the young heir, and the merchant, whom he requested to narrate to the supplicants their knowledge and experience of the natural laws; and he intimated, that if, after listening to their account, any petitioner should still be dissatisfied with his condition, he would suspend for him the particular law which caused his discontent. But no application followed. Jupiter saw his creatures employ themselves with earnestness in studying and conforming to his institutions, and ever afterwards they offered up to him only gratitude and adoration for his infinite wisdom and goodness.

CHAPTER IX.

CONCLUSION.

It has frequently been asked, What is the practical use of Phrenology, even supposing it to be true? A few observations will suffice to answer this inquiry, and, at the same time, to present a brief summary of the doctrine of the preceding work.

Before the age of Copernicus, the earth and sun presented to the eye phenomena exactly similar to those which they now exhibit; but their motions appeared in a very different light to the understanding.

Before the age of Newton, the revolutions of the planets were known as matter of fact; but mankind were ignorant of the principle of their motions.

Previously to the dawn of modern chemistry, many of the qualities of substances were ascertained by observation; but their ultimate principles and relations were not understood.

Knowledge, as I observed in the Introduction, may be made beneficial in two ways-either by rendering the thing discovered directly subservient to human enjoyment; or, where this is impossible, by enabling Man to modify his conduct in harmony with its qualities. While knowledge of any department of nature remains imperfect and empirical, the unknown qualities of the objects comprehended in it may render abortive our efforts either to apply those which are known, or to act in accordance with them. Hence it is only after the qualities and modes of action of things have been discovered, their relations ascertained, and this knowledge systematised, that science can attain its full character of utility. The merits of Copernicus and Newton consist in having rendered this service to astronomy.

Before the appearance of Gall and Spurzheim, mankind were practically acquainted with the feelings and intellectual

operations of their own minds, and anatomists knew the appearances of the brain. But the science of mind was very much in the same state as that of the heavenly bodies before the times of Copernicus and Newton.

First, No unanimity prevailed among philosophers concerning the elementary feelings and intellectual powers of Man. Individuals deficient in conscientiousness, for instance, denied that the sentiment of justice is a primitive mental quality others, deficient in veneration, asserted that Man is not naturally prone to worship, and ascribed religion to the invention of priests.

Secondly, The extent to which the primitive faculties differ in strength, in different individuals, was matter of dispute, or of vague conjecture; and concerning many qualities there was no agreement among philosophers whether they were gifts of Nature or the results of mere cultivation.

Thirdly, Different modes or states of the same feeling were often mistaken for different feelings; and modes of action of all the intellectual faculties were mistaken for distinct faculties.

Fourthly, The brain, confessedly the most important organ of the body, and that with which the nerves of the senses, of motion, and of feeling communicate, had no ascertained functions. Mankind were ignorant of its uses, and of its influence on the mental faculties.

If, in physics, imperfect and empirical knowledge renders the unknown qualities of bodies apt to frustrate the efforts of Man to apply or to accommodate his conduct to their known qualities, and if science becomes useful only in proportion as it attains to a complete and systematic exhibition of ultimate principles and their relations,―the same doctrine applies with equal or greater force to the philosophy of

mind.

The science of POLITICS embraces forms of government, and the relations between different States. All government is designed to combine the efforts of individuals, and to regulate their conduct when united. To arrive at the best means of accomplishing this end, systematic knowledge of the nature of Man seems to be highly important. A despotism, for example, may restrain some abuses of the propensities, but it assuredly impedes the exercise of reflection, and others of the highest and noblest powers. A form of government can be suited to the nature of Man, only when

it is calculated to permit the legitimate use, and to restrain the abuses, of all his mental feelings and capacities: and how can such a government be devised, while these faculties, with their spheres of action and external relations, are imperfectly known? Again, all relations between different States must also, to prove permanently beneficial, be in accordance with the nature of Man; and the question recurs, How are these to be framed while that nature is a matter of conjecture? Napoleon disbelieved in a sentiment of justice as an innate quality of the mind, and, in his relations with other States, relied on fear and interest as the grand motives of conduct: but that sentiment existed, and, in combination with other faculties which he outraged, prompted Europe to hurl him from his throne. If Napoleon had comprehended the principles of human nature, and the relations of these, as forcibly and clearly as he did the principles of mathematics, in which he excelled, his understanding would have greatly modified his conduct, and Europe would have escaped numerous calamities.

LEGISLATION, civil and criminal, is intended to regulate and direct the human faculties in their efforts at gratification; and laws, to be useful, must accord with the constitution of these faculties. But how can salutary laws be enacted, while the subject to be governed, or human nature, is not accurately understood? The inconsistency and intricacy of the laws, even in enlightened nations, have afforded themes for the satirist in every age;-yet how could the case be otherwise? Legislators provided rules for directing the qualities of human nature, which they conceived themselves to know; but either error in their conceptions, or the effects of other qualities unknown or unattended to, defeated their intentions. The law, for example, that punished heresy with burning, was addressed by our ancestors to cautiousness and the love of life; but intellect, veneration, conscientiousness, and firmness, were omitted in their estimate of human principles of action-and these set the law at defiance. There are many laws still in the statute-book equally at variance with the nature of Man.*

EDUCATION is intended to enlighten the intellect, to train

* See an example of Phrenology applied to Legislation, in "Essays on Human Rights and their Political Guaranties," by the Hon. E. P. Hurlbut, late one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Reprinted at Edinburgh, 1847.

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