Sir William Hamilton and phrenology. I. Correspondence published in the Caledonian Mercury between Sir William Hamilton and Dr. Spurzheim, and between Sir William Hamilton and Mr. George Combe.

  • Hamilton, William, Sir, 1788-1856.
Date:
1828
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sir William Hamilton and phrenology. I. Correspondence published in the Caledonian Mercury between Sir William Hamilton and Dr. Spurzheim, and between Sir William Hamilton and Mr. George Combe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    Sir WILLIAM HAMILTON, Bart., AND PHRENOLOGY. I.—CORRESPONDENCE PUBLISHED IN THE CALEDONIAN MERCURY BETWEEN SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON AND DR SPURZHEIM, AND BETWEEN SIR WILLIAM HA- MILTON AND MR GEORGE COMBE. Letter from Sir William Hamilton, Bart. To the Editor of the Caledonian Mercury. Sir,—The report of Dr Spurzheim’s lectures on Phrenology, published in your paper of last Thursday, contains allusions to me of such a nature, that I cannot with propriety suffer them to pass without an immediate correction of their inaccuracy. What Dr Spurzheim may state within the walls of his lecture-room I have taken no opportunity of learning; and I certainly should not have deemed it incumbent on me to notice any observations relative to my proceedings, had these not been thus obtruded on my attention, and published to the world. Dr Spurzheim complains that I have acted unfairly, in refus- ing to print the papers against Phrenology which I read before the Royal Society, and in not openly discussing the opinions which I had ventured to attack. Before thus animadverting on my conduct, he was certainly bound to have ascertained the ac- curacy of his allegations; and he ought therefore to have known, from my correspondence with Mr Combe, (to be read in the Fifteenth Number of the Phrenological Journal,) that, far from refusing to publish these papers, I explicitly declared that I only awaited the decision of the umpires appointed to report in re- gard to the truth or falsehood of certain essential phenomena, A c