THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO EXTERNAL OBJECTS. BY GEORGE COMBE. "Vain is the ridicule with which one foresees some persons will divert themselves, upon finding lesser pains FIFTH EDITION, REVISED, CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED. 4 EDINBURGH: MACLACHLAN, STEWART & CO., AND JOHN ANDERSON JUN.;' 1841. HENDERSON BEQUEST. ON 27th May 1829, the late W. R. Henderson, Esq., younger of Warriston and Eildon Hall, executed a deed of settlement, by which he conveyed to certain Trustees such funds should die possessed of; and, in the event of his dying without leaving children, he appointed them to pay certain legacies and annuities to individual friends, and gave the following instructions regarding the application of the residue of his funds: And, lastly, the whole residue of my means and estate shall, after answering the purposes above written, be applied by my said Trustees in whatever manner they may judge best for the advancement and diffusion of the science of Phrenology, and the practical application thereof in particular; giving hereby and committing to my said Trustees, the most full and unlimited power to manage and dispose of the said residue, in whatever manner shall appear to them best suited to promote the ends in view: Declaring, that if I had less confidence in my Trustees, I would make it imperative on them to print and publish one or more editions of an Essay on the Constitution of Man considered in Relation to External Objects, by George Combe,'--in a cheap form, so as to be easily purchased by the more intelligent individuals of the poorer classes, and Mechanics' Institutions, &c.; but that I consider it better only to request their particular attention to this suggestion, and to leave them quite at liberty to act as circumstances may seem to them to render expedient; seeing that the state of the country, and things impossible to foresee, may make what would be of unquestionable advantage now, not advisable at some future period of time. But if my decease shall happen before any material change affecting this subject, I request them to act agreeably to my suggestion. And I think it proper here to declare, that I dispose of the residue of my property in the above manner, not from my being carried away by a transient fit of enthusiasm, but from a deliberate, calm, and deep-rooted conviction, that nothing whatever hitherto known can operate so powerfully to the improvement and happiness of mankind, as the knowledge and practical adoption of the principles disclosed by Phrenology, and particularly of those which are developed in the Essay on the Constitution of Man, above mentioned." Mr Henderson having died on the 29th of May 1832, his trustees carried his instructions in regard to the present work into effect, and the impressions of it have been as follows: I. EDITION in 12mo. 1828, June. First edition, published at 6s. in boards, Copies. Mr Henderson's Trustees reduced the price of 200 copies of this edi- 1835, March. Second edition, enlarged, and printed on fine paper; the usual price of II. The PEOPLE'S EDITION, in double columns, royal 8vo, published at 1s. Ed. per copy. |