PREFACE. THIS Work would not have been presented to the Public, had I not believed that it contains views of the constitution, condition, and prospects of Man,which deserve attention. But these, I trust, are not ushered forth with anything approaching to a presumptuous spirit. I lay no claim to originality of conception. My first notions of the natural laws were derived from a manuscript work of Dr Spurzheim, with the perusal of which I was honoured in 1824, and which was afterwards published under the title of "A Sketch of the Natural Laws of Man, by G. Spurzheim, M. D." A comparison of the text of it with that of the following pages, will shew to what extent I am indebted to my late excellent and lamented master and friend for my ideas on the subject. All my inquiries and meditations since have impressed me more and more with a conviction of their importance. The materials employed lie open to all. Taken separately, I would hardly say that a new truth has been presented in the following work. The parts have nearly all been admitted and employed again and again, by writers on morals, from the time of Socrates down to the present day. In this respect, there is nothing new under the sun. The only novelty in this work respects the relations which acknowledged truths hold to each other. Physical laws of nature, affecting our physical condition, as well as regulating the whole material system of the universe, are universally acknowledged to exist, and constitute the elements of natural philosophy and chemical science: Physiologists, medical practitioners, and all who take medical aid, admit the existence of organic laws: And the sciences of government, legislation, education, indeed our whole train of conduct through life, proceed upon the admission of laws in morals. Accordingly, the laws of nature have formed an interesting subject of inquiry to philosophers of all ages; but, so far as I am aware, no author has hitherto attempted to point out, in a systematic form, the relations between those laws and the constitution of Man; which must, nevertheless, be done, before our knowledge of them can be beneficially applied. Dr Spurzheim, in his "Philosophical Principles of Phrenology," adverted to the independent operation of the several classes of natural laws, and pointed out some of the consequences of this doctrine, but without entering into detailed elucidations. The great object of the following Treatise is to exhibit the constitution of Man, and its relations to several of the most important natural laws, with a view to the improvement of education, and the regulation of individual and national conduct. But although my purpose is practical, a theory of Mind forms an essential element in the execution of the plan. Without it, no comparison can be instituted between the natural constitution of man and external objects. Phrenology appears to me to be the clearest, most complete, and best supported system of mental philosophy which has hitherto been taught; and I have assumed it as the basis of this work. But the practical value of the views to be unfolded does not depend entirely on Phrenology. The latter as a theory of Mind, is itself valuable only in so far as it is a just exposition of what previously existed in human nature. We are physical, organic, and moral beings, acting under general laws, whether the connection of different mental qualities with particular portions of the brain, as taught by Phrenology, be admitted or denied. Individuals, under the impulse of passion, or by the direction of intellect, will hope, fear, wonder, perceive, and act, whether the degree in which they habitually do so be ascertainable by the means which it points out or not. In so far, therefore, as this work treats of the known qualities of Man, it may be instructive even to those who contemn Phrenology as unfounded; while it can prove useful to none, if the doctrines which it unfolds shall be found not to be in accordance with the principles of human nature, by whatever system these may be expounded. Some individuals object to all mental philosophy as useless, and argue, that, as Mathematics, Chemistry, and Botany, have become great sciences without the least reference to the faculties by means of which they are cultivated, so Morals, Religion, Legislation, and Political Economy, have existed, have been improved, and may continue to advance, with equal success, without any help from the philosophy of mind. Such objectors, however, should consider that lines, circles, and trianglesearths, alkalis, and acids- -and also corollas, stamens, pistils, and stigmas,-are objects which exist independently of the mind, and may be investigated by the application of the mental powers, in ignorance of the constitution of the faculties themselves-just as we may practise archery without studying the anatomy of the hand; whereas the objects of moral and political philosophy are the qualities and actions of the mind itself: These objects have no existence independently of mind; and they can no more be systematically or scientifically understood without the knowledge of mental philosophy, than optics can be cultivated as a science in ignorance of the structure and modes of action of the eye. I have endeavoured to avoid religious controversy. "The object of Moral Philosophy," says Mr Stewart, "is to ascertain the general rules of a wise and virtuous conduct in life, in so far as these rules may be discovered by the unassisted light of nature; that is, by an examination of the principles of the human constitution, and of the circumstances in which man is placed."* By following this method of inquiry, Dr Hutcheson, Dr Adam Smith, Dr Reid, Mr Stewart, and Dr Thomas Brown, have, in succession, produced highly interesting and instructive works on Moral Science; and the present Treatise is an humble attempt to pursue the same plan, with the aid of the new lights afforded by Phrenology. I confine my observations exclusively to Man as he exists in the present world, and beg that, in perusing the subsequent pages, this explanation may be constantly kept in view. In consequence of forgetting it, my language has occasionally been misapprehended, and my objects misrepresented. When I speak of man's highest interest, for example, I uniformly refer to man as he exists in this world; but as the same God presides over both the temporal and the eternal interests of the human race, it seems to me demonstrably certain, that what is conducive to the one will in no instance impede the other, but will in general be favourable to it also. This work, however, does not directly embrace the interests of eternity. These belong to the department of theology, and demand a different line of investigation: I confine myself exclusively to philosophy. 66 Since the first edition of this work appeared, on 9th June 1828, additional attention has been paid to the study of the laws of nature, and their importance has been more generally recognised. In A Discourse on the Studies of the University, by Adam Sedgwick, M. A., &c." of which a third edition was published at Cambridge in 1834, the author remarks, that " we are justified in saying, that, in the moral as in the physical world, God seems to govern by general laws." "I am not now," says he, "contending for the doctrine of moral necessity; but I do affirm, that the moral government of God is by general laws, and that it is our bounden duty to study these laws, and, as far as we can, to turn them to account." "If there be a superintending Providence, and if his will be manifested by general laws operating both on the physical and moral world, then must a violation of these laws be a violation of his will, and be pregnant with inevitable misery." Nothing can, in the end, be expedient for man, except it be subordinate to those laws the Author of Nature has thought fit to impress on his moral and physical creation." "In the end, high principle and sound policy will be found in the strictest harmony with each other." These are precisely the views which it is the object of the present work to enforce; and it is gratifying to me to see them so ably and eloquently recommended to the attention of the students of the University of Cambridge. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. GENERAL VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION OF HUMAN NATURE, AND ITS RELATIONS TO EXTERNAL OBJECTS. Man compared with the lower animals-Opposite phases of his character-The world seems constituted on the principle of slow and progressive improvement-Light thrown by geology on the physical history of the globe before the creation of man-Death and reproduction appear to have existed before his creation-The world arranged so as to afford him every inducement to cultivate and exercise his understanding-Power of man to control and turn to account the capabilities of the physical world-Barbarism and civilization compared-Progressive improvement of man apparent from history-Reasons for anticipating a future increase of the happiness and intelligence of the race -Mental philosophy hitherto very imperfect--Do the physical and moral worlds contain the elements of ameliora tion? The capabilities of physical and human nature have hitherto been ignorantly undervalued-Errors of theologians on this subject-Light thrown upon the question by phrenology-Constitution of the human mind, and its adaptation to the external world, not expounded in the Bridgewater Treatises-Natural laws, physical, organic, and moral -The independent operation of these, very important in relation to the moral government of the world-The present work not hostile to religion-Philosophy and Scripture cannot be at variance-Physiological preliminaries of moral and religious conduct must exist before preaching can produce its full effects. IN surveying the external world, we discover that every creature and every physical object has received a definite constitution, and been placed in certain relations to other objects. The natural evidence of a Deity and his attributes is drawn from contemplating these arrangements. Intelligence, wisdom, benevolence, and power, characterize the works of creation; and the human mind ascends by a chain of correct and rigid induction to a great First Cause, in whom these qualities must reside. But hitherto this great truth has excited a barren though sublime admiration, rather than led to beneficial practical results. Man obviously stands pre-eminent among sublunary objects, and is distinguished by remarkable endowments above all other terrestrial beings. Nevertheless no creature presents such anomalous appearances as man. Viewed in one aspect he almost resembles a demon; in another he still bears the impress of the image of God. Seen in his crimes, his wars, and his devastations, he might be mistaken for the incarnation of an evil spirit; contemplated in his schemes of charity, his discoveries in science, and his vast combinations for the benefit of his race, he seems a bright intelligence from Heaven. The lower animals exhibit a more simple and regulated constitution. The lion is sly and ferocious, but he is regularly so; and, besides, is placed in circumstances suited to his nature, in which at once scope is given, and limits are set, to the gratification of his instincts. The sheep, on the other hand, is mild, feeble, and inoffensive; but its external condition also is suited to its constitution, and it apparently lives and flourishes in as great enjoyment as the lion. The same remark applies to other inferior creatures. Their bodily organs, faculties, instincts, and external circumstances, form parts of a system in which adaptation and harmony are discoverable; and the enjoyment of the animals depends on the adaptation of their constitution to their external condition. If we saw the lion one day tearing in pieces every animal that crossed his path, and the next oppressed with remorse for the death of his victims, or compassionately healing those whom he had mangled, we should exclaim, What an inconsistent creature! and conclude that he could not by possibility be happy, on account of this opposition between the principles of his nature. Two conditions are essential to enjoyment: first, the different instincts of an animal must be in harmony with each other; and, secondly, its constitution must be in accordance with its external condition. Man is When, keeping these principles in view, we direct our attention to Man, very formidable anomalies preThe most opposite instincts or imsent themselves. pulses exist in his mind: actuated by Combativeness, Destructiveness, Acquisitiveness, and Self-Esteem, the moral sentiments being in abeyance, he is almost a fiend; on the contrary, when inspired by Benevolence, Veneration, Hope, Conscientiousness, Ideality, and Intellect, the benignity, serenity, and splendour of a highly-ele vated nature beam from his countenance, and radiate from his eye. He is then lovely, noble, and gigantically great. But how shall these conflicting tendencies be reconciled, and how can external circumstances be devised that shall accord with such heterogeneous elements? Here again a conviction of the power and goodness of the Deity comes to our assistance. obviously an essential and most important part of the present system of creation; and, without doubting of his future destinies, we ought not, so long as our knowledge of his nature is incomplete, to consider his condiThe nature of man has tion here as inexplicable. hitherto, to all philosophical purposes, been unknown, and both the designs of the Creator and the situation of man have been judged of ignorantly and rashly. The sceptic has advanced arguments against religion, and in different ages, ignorant or interested men have founded systems of superstition, on the disorder and inconsistency which are too readily admitted to be inseparable attriBut I venture to butes of human existence on earth. hope that man may yet be found in harmony with himself and with the condition in which he is placed. I am aware that some individuals, whose piety is entitled to respect, conceive, that, as the great revolutions of human society, as well as all events in the lives of individuals, take place under the guidance of the Deity, it is presumptuous, if not impious, to endeavour to scan But as the Creator has betheir causes and effects. stowed faculties on man, it is presumable that He governs him in accordance with them, and their constitution implies that he should investigate creation. The young swallow, when it migrates on the approach of the first winter of its life, is impelled by an instinct implanted by the Deity, and it neither knows the causes that prompt it to fly, nor the end to be attained by its flight. It has no powers exciting it to reflect on itself and external objects, and to inquire whence came its Man, however, desires, or to what object they tend. has been differently framed. The Creator has bestowed on him faculties to observe phenomena, and to trace causes and effects; and he has constituted the external world to afford scope to these powers. We are entitled, therefore, to say, that the Creator himself has commanded us to observe and inquire into the causes that operate in us and around us, and into the results that naturally follow, and to modify our conduct according to the discoveries which we shall make. To enable us to form a just estimate of our duty and A interest as the rational occupants of this world, we may | man was created, and since that period there has been inquire briefly into the constitution of our own and of little alteration in the physical circumstances of the external natures. globe. The constitution of this world does not look like a "In all these various formations," says Dr Buckland, system of optimism. It appears to be arranged, to some "the coprolites" (or the dung of the Saurian reptiles in extent, on the principle of slow and progressive im-a fossil state, exhibiting scales of fishes and other traces provement. Physical nature has undergone many re- of the prey which they had devoured) “form records of volutions; and, according to some geologists, it has warfare waged by successive generations of inhabitants been gradually prepared for successive orders of living of our planet on one another; and the general law of beings, rising higher and higher in the scale of intelli-nature, which bids all to eat and be eaten in their turn, gence and organization, until man appeared. is shewn to have been co-extensive with animal existence upon our globe, the carnivora in each period of the world's history fulfilling their destined office to check excess in the progress of life, and maintain the balance of creation." This brief summary of the physical changes of the Globe, is not irrelevant to our present object. The more we discover of creation, the more conspicuously does uniformity of design appear to pervade it. According to this theory, the physical world seems to have been gradually improved and prepared for man. Let us now contemplate Man himself, and his adaptation to the external creation. The world, apparently, was inhabited by living beings, and death and reproduction prevailed before Man occupied its soil. The order of creation seems not to have been changed at his introduction, but he appears to have been adapted to it. He received from his Creator an organized structure, and animal instincts. The brain is unquestionably the workmanship of God, and there exist in it organs of faculties impelling man to kill that he may eat, to oppose aggression, and to shun danger,-impulses related to a constitution of nature similar to that which is con The globe, in the first state in which the imagination can venture to consider it, says Sir H. Davy,* appears to have been a fluid mass, with an immense atmosphere revolving in space around the sun. By its cooling, a portion of its atmosphere was probably condensed into water, which occupied a part of its surface. In this state no forms of life, such as now belong to our system, could have inhabited it. The crystalline rocks, or, as they are called by geologists, the primary rocks, which contain no vestiges of a former order of things, were the result of the first consolidation on its surface. Upon the farther cooling, the water, which, more or less, had covered it, contracted; depositions took place; shell-fish and coral insects were created, and began their labours. Islands appeared in the midst of the ocean, raised from the deep by the productive energies of millions of zoophytes. These islands became covered with vegetables fitted to bear a high temperature,. such as palms, and various species of plants similar to those which now exist in the hottest parts of the world. The submarine rocks of these new formations of land became covered with aquatic vegetables, on which various species of shell-fish, and common fishes, found their nou-jectured to have existed prior to his introduction. Man, rishment. As the temperature of the globe became lower, species of the oviparous reptiles appear to have been created to inhabit it, and the turtle, crocodile, and various gigantic animals of the Saurian (lizard) kind, seem to have haunted the bays and waters of the primitive lands. But in this state of things, there appears to have been no order of events similar to the present. Immense volcanic explosions seem to have taken place, accompanied by elevations and depressions of the surface of the globe, producing mountains, and causing new and extensive depositions from the primitive ocean. The remains of living beings, plants, fishes, birds, and oviparous reptiles, are found in the strata of rocks which are the monuments and evidence of these changes. When these revolutions became less frequent, and the globe became still more cooled, and inequalities of temperature were established by means of the mountainchains, more perfect animals became its inhabitants, such as the mammoth, megalonix, megatherium, and gigantic hyena, many of which have become extinct. Five successive races of plants, and four successive races of animals, appear to have been created and swept away by the physical revolutions of the globe, before the system of things became so permanent as to fit the world for man. In none of these formations, whether called secondary, tertiary, or diluvial, have the fossil remains of man, or any of his works, been discovered. At last, The description in the text is extracted chiefly from "The Last Days of a Philosopher," by Sir Humphrey Davy, 1831, p. 134, on account of its popular style; but similar representations may be found in several recent works on Geology, particularly" A Geological Manual, by H. T. De La Beche;" the Penny Magazine of 1833, in a very instructive popular form; and Sedgwick's Discourse on the Studies of the University of Cambridge, third edition. Mr Lyell, however, in his Principles of Geology, vol. i. ch. ix. controverts the doctrine of a progressive development of plants and animals, and his view is probably the more strictly philosophic of the two. I have introduced the theory of Sir Humphrey Davy merely as a remote analogy, on which I lay no particular stress; and whether it be correct or not, is a point of no essential importance to the views advanced in this work touching the progress of mankind. then, apparently took his station among, yet at the head of, the beings that inhabited the earth at his creation. He is to a certain extent an animal in his structure, powers, feelings, and desires, and is adapted to a world in which death reigns, and generation succeeds generation. This fact, although so trite and obvious as to appear scarcely worthy of being noticed, is of importance in treating of Man; because the human being, in so far as he resembles the inferior creatures, is capable of enjoying a life like theirs: he has pleasure in eating, drinking, sleeping, and exercising his limbs; and one of the greatest obstacles to improvement is, that many of the race are contented with these enjoyments, and consider it painful to be compelled to seek higher sources of gratification. But to the animal nature of man have been added, by a bountiful Creator, moral sentiments and reflecting faculties, which not only place him above all other creatures on earth, but constitute him a different being from any of them, a rational and accountable being. These faculties are his best and highest gifts, and the sources of his purest and intensest pleasures. They lead him directly to the great objects of his existence, obedience to God, and love towards his fellowmen. But this peculiarity attends them, that while his animal faculties act powerfully of themselves, his rational faculties require to be cultivated, exercised, and instructed, before they will yield their full harvest of enjoyment. The Creator has so arranged the material world as to hold forth strong inducements to man to cultivate his higher powers. The philosophic mind, in surveying it, perceives in external nature, a vast assemblage of stupendous powers, too great for the feeble hand of man entirely to control, but kindly subjected, within certain limits, to the influence of his will. Man is introduced on earth apparently helpless and unprovided for, as a homeless stranger; but the soil on which he treads is endowed with a thousand capabilities of production, which require only to be excited, by his intelligence The impetuous to yield him the most ample returns. torrent rolls its waters to the main; but as it dashes o'er the mountain-cliff, he is capable of withdrawing |