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1Phrenology merely points out those relations established by Na¬ ture between given developments and conditions of the brain, and corresponding manifestations of mind. Its simple but comprehensive tenet is this: “Every faculty of the mind is manifested by means of a particular portion of the brain, called its organ; the size of which, other things being equal, is proportionate to its power of function.” It is the latter portion of this definition that contains the whole mys¬ tery of the apparent contradictions with which the phrenologist has to deal. The “other things” are never, in any two cases, equal; hence, the exact action of the brain organs cannot be scientifically demon¬ strated. As soon as phrenology attempts to define with exactness a person’s true character or the powers of the cranial organs, from a simple knowledge of the size of these organs, it becomes a complete failure. The potency, or otherwise, of any organ or group of organs, depends not nearly so much upon their relative size as upon their sensitiveness, or, in other words, upon the state of their etherealization; and this magnetic condition depends solely upon the position and power of that planet which has chief rule over those particular 220 THE LIGHT OF EGYPT
2organs. Decisive proof of this assertion, as regards the size of the organs, may be obtained by each student for himself, by carefully noting the heads of individuals. Even among our own personal ac¬ quaintances we shall find that it is not an absolute fact that those who possess the largest heads have the most brains, but often the very reverse. In fact, we shall find that the majority of men dis¬ tinguished in science, politics and literature are those who possess comparatively small but well balanced heads, combined with a fine, highly sensitive organism, while the ordinary citizen or farmer, who is utterly incapable of forming any opinion worth listening to be¬ yond the value of his whiskey, his hogs or his cattle, is possessed of a large head filled, not with intellectual brains, but with coarse animalized “brain stuff” which is utterly incapable of manifesting its powers upon the higher mental planes of our nature.
3The old and now much abused Chaldean sages were thoroughly acquainted with these facts, and in order to teach these principles to their youth, they elaborated beautiful imagery in the form of fables and allegories. They gave the nature and power of each group of organs in the human brain to the character of that planet which they knew controlled its activities, and then worked out the facts, so elaborated, into a series of mythical histories of gods and divine per¬ sonages, who incarnated themselves for the benefit of man. Thus Mars took the character of Vulcan, the god of war; Venus and her innocent companion Cupid were assigned the character of Love and the sympathetic tendencies of the human heart, while the benevolent Jupiter assumed the position of Father, the kindly, generous parent, good alike to all his offspring, and so on with the others.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
1Phrenology merely points out those relations established by Na¬ ture between given developments and conditions of the brain, and corresponding manifestations of mind. Its simple but comprehensive tenet is this: “Every faculty of the mind is manifested by means of a particular portion of the brain, called its organ; the size of which, other things being equal, is proportionate to its power of function.” It is the latter portion of this definition that contains the whole mys¬ tery of the apparent contradictions with which the phrenologist has to deal. The “other things” are never, in any two cases, equal; hence, the exact action of the brain organs cannot be scientifically demon¬ strated. As soon as phrenology attempts to define with exactness a person’s true character or the powers of the cranial organs, from a simple knowledge of the size of these organs, it becomes a complete failure. The potency, or otherwise, of any organ or group of organs, depends not nearly so much upon their relative size as upon their sensitiveness, or, in other words, upon the state of their etherealization; and this magnetic condition depends solely upon the position and power of that planet which has chief rule over those particular 220 THE LIGHT OF EGYPT
2organs. Decisive proof of this assertion, as regards the size of the organs, may be obtained by each student for himself, by carefully noting the heads of individuals. Even among our own personal ac¬ quaintances we shall find that it is not an absolute fact that those who possess the largest heads have the most brains, but often the very reverse. In fact, we shall find that the majority of men dis¬ tinguished in science, politics and literature are those who possess comparatively small but well balanced heads, combined with a fine, highly sensitive organism, while the ordinary citizen or farmer, who is utterly incapable of forming any opinion worth listening to be¬ yond the value of his whiskey, his hogs or his cattle, is possessed of a large head filled, not with intellectual brains, but with coarse animalized “brain stuff” which is utterly incapable of manifesting its powers upon the higher mental planes of our nature.
3The old and now much abused Chaldean sages were thoroughly acquainted with these facts, and in order to teach these principles to their youth, they elaborated beautiful imagery in the form of fables and allegories. They gave the nature and power of each group of organs in the human brain to the character of that planet which they knew controlled its activities, and then worked out the facts, so elaborated, into a series of mythical histories of gods and divine per¬ sonages, who incarnated themselves for the benefit of man. Thus Mars took the character of Vulcan, the god of war; Venus and her innocent companion Cupid were assigned the character of Love and the sympathetic tendencies of the human heart, while the benevolent Jupiter assumed the position of Father, the kindly, generous parent, good alike to all his offspring, and so on with the others.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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