The constitution of man : considered in relation to external objects / by George Combe.

  • Combe, George, 1788-1858.
Date:
1844
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The constitution of man : considered in relation to external objects / by George Combe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    it will as fully appear, that this our nature, i. e. con- stitution, is adapted to virtue as from the idea of a watch it appears, that its nature, i. e. constitution or system is adapted to measure time. 1 Mankind has various instincts and principles of ac- tion as brute creatures have ; some leading most directly and immediately to the good of the community, and some most directly to private good. 'Man has several, which brutes have not; particu- larly reflection or conscience, an approbation of some principles or actions, and disapprobation of others.' ' Brutes obey their instincts or principles of action, according to certain rules ; suppose, the constitution of their body, and the objects around them.' ' The generality of mankind also obey their instincts and principles, all of them, those propensities we call good, as well as the bad, according to the same rules, namely, the constitution of their body, and the exter- nal circumstances which they are in.' 1 Brutes, in acting according to the rules before men- tioned, their bodily constitution and circumstances, act suitably to their whole nature. ' Mankind also, in acting thus, would act suitably to their whole nature, if no more were to be said of man's nature than what has been now said ; if that, as it is a true, were also a complete, adequate account of our nature. ' But that is not a complete account of nature. Some- what farther must be brought in to give us an adequate notion of it; namely, that one of those principles of action, conscience, or reflection, compared with the rest, as they all stand together in the nature of man, plainly bears upon it marks of authority over all the rest, and claims the absolute direction of them all, to allow or for- bid their gratification ;—a disapprobation on reflection being in itself a principle manifestly superior to a mere propension. And the conclusion is, that to allow no more to this superior principle or part of our nature, than to other parts ; to let it govern and guide only occasionally, in common with the rest, as its turn hap- pens to come, from the temper and circumstances one happens to be in ; this is not to act conformably to the constitution of man: neither can any human creature be said to act conformably to his constitution of nature, unless he allows to that superior principle the absolute authority which is due to it.'—Butler's Works, vol. ii. Preface. The following Essay is founded on the prin- ciples here suggested. SECT. I. MAN CONSIDERED AS A PHYSICAL BEING. The human body consists of bones, muscles, nerves bloodvessels, besides organs of nutrition, of respiration, and of thought. These parts are all composed of phy- sical elements, and to a certain extent, are subjected to the physical laws of creation. By the laws of gravita- tion, the body falls to the ground when unsupported, and is liable to be injured, like any frangible substance ; by a chemical law, excessive cold freezes, and excessive heat dissipates, its fluids ; and life, in either case is ex- tinguished. To discover the real effect of the physical laws of nature on human happiness, we would require to un- derstand, 1st. The physical laws themselves, as levealed by mathematics, natural philosophy, natural history, and their subordinate branches ; 2dly. The anatomical and physiological constitution of the hu- man body ; 3dly. The adaptation of the former to the -after. These expositions are necessary, to ascertain ihe extent to which it is possible for man to place him- self in accordance with the physical laws so as to reap advantage from them, and also to determine how far die sufferings which he endures, fall to be ascribed to iheir inevitable operation and how far to his ignorance and infringement of them. To treat of these views in detail, would require separate volumes, and I therefore confine myself to a single instance as an illustration of the mode in which the investigation might be conducted. By the law of gravitation, heavy bodies always tend toward the centre of the earth. Some of the advan- tages of this law are, that objects remain at rest when properly supported, so that men know where to find them when they are wanted for use ; walls, when erect- ed of sufficient thickness and perfectly perpendicular, stand firm and secure, so as to constitute edifices for the accommodation of man. Water descends from the clouds, from the roofs of houses, from streets and fields, and precipitates itself down the channels of rivers, turns mill-wheels in its course, and sets in motion the most stupendous and useful machinery ; ships move steadi- ly through the water with part of their hulls immersed, and part rising moderately above it, their masts and sails towering in the air to catch the inconstant breeze ; and men are enabled to descend from heights, to pene- trate by mines below the surface of the ground, and by diving-bells beneath that of the ocean. To place man in harmony with this law, the Creator has bestowed on him bones, muscles, and nerves, con- structed on the most perfect principles of mechanical sci- ence, which enable him to preserve his equilibrium, and to adapt his movements to its influence ; also intellec- tual faculties, calculated to perceive the existence of the law, its modes of operation, the relation between it and himself, the beneficial consequences of observing this relation, and the painful results of infringing it. Finally, when a person falls over a precipice, and is maimed or killed ; when a ship springs aleak and sinks ; or when a reservoir pond breaks down its banks and ravages a valley, we ought to trace the evil back to its cause, which will uniformly resolve itself into infringe- ment of a natural law, and then endeavour to discover whether this infringement could or could not have been prevented, by a due exercise of the physical and men- tal powers bestowed by the Creator on man. By pursuing this course, we shall arrive at sound conclusions concerning the adaptation of the human mind and body to the physical laws of creation. The subject, as I have said, is too extensive to be here pro- secuted in detail, and I am incompetent, besides, to do it justice ; but the more minutely any one inquires, tho more firm will be his conviction, that in these relations admirable provision is made by the Creator for human happiness, and that the evils which arise from neglect of them, are attributable, to a great extent, to man's not adequately applying his powers to the promotion of his own enjoyment. SECT. II. MAN CONSIDERED AS AN ORGANIZED BEING. Man is an organized being, and subject to the organic laws. An organized being is one which derives its ex- istence from a previously existing organized being, which subsists on food, which grows, attains maturity, decays, and dies. The first law, then, that must be obeyed, to render an organized being perfect in its kind, is that the germ, from which it springs, shall be com- plete in all its parts, and sound in its whole constitu- tion. If we sow an acorn, in which some vital part has been destroyed altogether, the seedling plant, and the full grown oak, if it ever attain to maturity, will be de- ficient in the lineaments which were wanting in the embryo root; if we sow an acorn entire in its parts, but only half ripened or damaged, by damp or other causes in its whole texture, the seedling oak will be feeble, and will probably die early. A similar law holds in re- gard to man. A second organic law is, that the or- ganized being, the moment it is ushered into life, and so long as it continues to live, must be supplied with food, light, air, and other physical aliment requisite for its support, in due quantity, and of the kind best suited to its particular constitution. Obedience to this law is rewarded with a vigorous and healthy development of its powers ; and in animals, with a pleasing conscious- ness of existence and aptitude for the performance of