Phrenology vindicated : being a reply to the article by Dr Andrew Wilson, entitled "The old phrenology and the new", which appeared in "The gentleman's magazine", January, 1879 / by A.L. Vago.

  • Vago, A. L. (Ambrose Lewis)
Date:
[1879?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Phrenology vindicated : being a reply to the article by Dr Andrew Wilson, entitled "The old phrenology and the new", which appeared in "The gentleman's magazine", January, 1879 / by A.L. Vago. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    as a newly discovered wonder. If this is to form the basis of the new Phrenology, we cannot regard its foundation but as both second-hand and stolen. It is possible that objects may be found on ground where they had been previously overlooked, and, if only sprats come to our nets, let us not deny there are finer fish in the sea. In the case of modern physiologists, not any- thing in the cerebral, or nervous system, has been dis- covered which had not been previously considered and explained by the phrenologists, other than positive proof of the truth of the doctrines which these advanced —namely, that different parts of the brain perform different and distinct functions, and, therefore, the brain is not a single organ, but a congeries of several organs. In another part of his article Dr. Wilson says: “ The phrenological doctrine of the disposition of faculties must be held to include the idea that, the larger the brain, the better specialised should be the mental faculties of the individual; the greater the amount of brain-substance, forming the good and bad qualities and regions of the phrenologists, the more active should be the mental organisation. Now, it is a patent fact that this rule tells strongly against the phrenologist’s assumption. True, various great men have had large grains ; but cases of great men possess- ing small brains are equally common, as also are