,transcribed from the #ahdc ,j4 ,w4 ,aikin and ,j4 ,thew edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,a ,,defence ,,of ,,the ,,inquiry ,,into ,,mesmerism ,,phrenology1 ,,chiefly ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,recent ,,events ,,in ,,lynn4 ,,by ,,william ,,armes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,lynn3 ,,published ,,by ,j4 ,w4 ,,aikin1 ,,and ,j4 ,,thew1 ,,high ,,street4 #ahdc4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,defence c4 ,in offering this address to the consideration of the candid and sober minded of my fellow ,townsmen1 ,i am guided by no desire to prop1 by my small influence1 any new1 and possibly false1 theory2 or to cry down1 without examination1 the pretensions of any science 7so called7 however adverse to my preconceived ideas4 ,the subject of ,mesmerism and of ,mesmeric ,phrenology has1 for some time past1 occupied the attention of the inhabitants of ,lynn1 and the various phenomena exhibited1 as might have been expected1 have called forth the credulous wonder of one class1 the unworthy ridicule of another1 and the patient and quiet examination of a third4 ,two pamphlets have appeared upon the subject1 which it is not my intention to remark upon at any length4 ,the first 7written1 ,i have no doubt1 with the very best intention7 is from the pen of an individual who was associated with a small party1 employed in the rigid scrutiny of the exhibitions of the ,lecturer2 who did not1 in the ,meetings held for that propose1 express his doubt or dissent to much of the most novel and starling phenomena2 but1 who thought it not inconsistent with his position1 to leave his friends in the midst of their unfinished inquiry2 and1 prejudging the question1 to placard the ,town1 with yellow handbills1 after the style of other ,pamphleteers1 advertizing his proportion4 ,this publication1 certainly1 in the estimation of most intelligent men1 is not remarkable for any thing approaching critical investigation or inquiry2 but may1 possibly1 amuse the children and the vulgar1 by the low exhibitions of art1 imitating wit1 by which the author has adorned it4 ,the last ,pamphlet1 by ,mr4 ,cotton1 published under the ambiguous title of 8,popular delusions applied to ,mesmerism10 has just issued from the press2 ,i have read it very carefully1 and am perfectly astonished to find how very little ,mr4 ,c4 to say upon the subject4 ,i can well believe him when he says1 8,we have gone out of our way to draw up these lines10 it really appears so1 and ,i feel persuaded1 that1 whatever opinion his readers may form of the entire work1 this passage1 at least1 will be universally received as perfectly clear and veracious4 ,mr4 ,c4 tells us1 at the outset1 he is 8but a gatherer10 this also is very evident1 and1 ,i only regret that he had not been directed to quarters where he might have gathered something upon the subject2 or1 at least1 more relevant than the conglomerated mass of hard names and phrases1 with which he has soiled his pages2 which can only induce the head-ache in any of his readers1 who should be induced to follow him1 in his mental meanderings4 ,and1 ,i have no doubt1 this has been the result to the ,author1 in his toilsome 8gathering0 of such mighty material6 ,these two gentlemen1 sheltering themselves under the names of those great men1 who1 it is very true1 have discarded1 or thrown doubt upon the subject of ,mesmerism1 have pleased themselves with the idea of their honourable companionship3 they have exulted in the presumption of being influenced by the same genius2 and1 looking at the track1 marked out by these larger vessels1 they have sung to themselves very innocently1 8,there let my little bark1 attendant1 sail1 ,pursue the triumph and partake the gale40 ,indeed ,mr4 ,taylor says1 8,i would not have sent it thus hurriedly to the press1 but1 fearing that ,mesmerism might die a natural death1 before ,i had given it one kick1 ,i would not delay40 ,very unkind indeed towards a falling phantom1 which needed not1 it appears from our author1 a blow so heavy1 as must be the consequence of a kick from so weighty a man as ,mr4 ,taylor6 ,had ,mr4 ,taylor and ,mr4 ,cotton merely exercised their right of publishing to the ,town their own opinions2 or1 had they only recorded the opinions of others1 ,i should not have felt it my duty to have taken any special notice of their labors2 but1 when ,mr4 ,cotton1 at the close of his labored essay1 which1 indeed treats of almost every subject save that of ,mesmerism1 and to produce which1 he must have been very diligent in poring over the pages of the several books upon his shelves2 when1 at the close of his toil1 he charges those1 who have seen it to be their duty to enquire into the subject1 with 8,wonder1 ,impressibility1 and ,credulity20 with affording 8partisanship1 patronage1 and encouragement to their ,mesmeric ,protogees10 ,i may perhaps be excused for offering to my fellow ,townsmen1 some remarks upon the subject1 which1 but for the attempts at satire of ,messrs4 ,taylor and ,cotton1 would1 possibly1 not have appeared4 ,when ,mr4 ,brookes first lectured in ,lynn1 ,i was induced to attend1 as ,i had been informed that he would experiment on a lad who was my apprentice4 ,i went to that ,meeting quite as skeptical as any person could be1 having seen nothing in ,mesmerism1 myself1 and1 having read only as much as gave me a most unfavorable opinion of its pretensions4 ,i saw the experiments2 ,i endeavoured to account for them1 but1 was unable4 ,i confess1 honestly1 that ,i was astonished at what ,i saw4 ,i found1 that the ,lecturer was applauded by the mass of the audience4 ,i felt persuaded that a clever impostor was deluding the people2 or1 that a power1 in ,nature1 was1 then1 brought before me of which ,i had had no previous conception4 ,at the close of his experiments1 being desirous that the intelligence of the ,town should be brought to the examination of these new phenomena1 ,i proposed1 to the ,lecturer1 that ,i should endeavour to procure a ,meeting at the ,town ,hall1 of a class of persons competent to the investigation4 ,to this he readily assented1 with the definite understanding that on his part it would be quite gratuitous2 and1 that my only object was a rigid examination of his experiments4 ,the ,meeting was held2 and1 ,i can appeal to those who were present whether there was not1 on the part of the audience1 a disposition to debate every inch of the argument1 as the experiments proceeded4 ,the result of that ,meeting was quite what ,i expected2 ,the ,medical and ,scientific ,gentlemen present1 departed1 not satisfied2 but1 disposed still farther to investigate4 ,many smaller ,meetings have been held1 at the houses of the several ,gentlemen engaged in the inquiry1 and1 at those ,meetings1 a process of examination and of testing the experiments has been pursued1 which1 could not be adopted at a ,public ,meeting4 ,i would here remark1 that1 at all these ,meetings1 ,mr4 ,brookes has1 cheerfully and gratuitously1 afforded every possible opportunity of testing his exhibitions2 and1 ,i feel assured1 that he will not dissent from my testimony to the courteous1 though careful and rigid1 character of the investigation4 ,i wish the reader to bear in mind that1 in any statement or opinion ,i may place upon these pages1 ,i particularly disclaim any intention to commit any ,gentleman engaged in the investigation of the subject2 whether they may or not hereafter be disposed to publish the result of the inquiry1 ,i am not prepared to say2 but1 all ,i now write is upon my own exclusive responsibility4 ,for myself1 ,i state clearly1 that1 while ,i dissent from the extraneous and ridiculous nonsense by which the subject has been allayed and encumbered2 yet1 that ,i have seen1 in the ,meetings to which ,i refer1 such manifestations as were undeniably genuine in their character1 and1 could certainly not be accounted for by the power of ,imagination1 laid down by ,mr4 ,taylor2 or by any of the hard ,words by the employment of which ,mr4 ,cotton has endeavoured to impress the ,public with a high idea of his ,wisdom4 ,of the facts which have been seen1 in the course of the inquiry1 ,i1 at present1 state no more than this4 ,that nothing has been credited upon doubtful evidence2 but1 that the ,inquirers have trod in the investigation with the utmost caution1 doubting every thing1 debating every thing1 and only advancing to a judgment as they were enabled to connect1 link by link1 the increasing chain of evidence4 ,i disclaim for myself1 and ,i feel sure ,i may for the ,gentlemen with whom ,i have been connected1 any design or desire to promote ,mesmerism1 or to advance the interest of the ,lecturer4 ,with the ,individual none of us has had the most remote connection1 before his visit to ,lynn2 and for the ,science we could not be supposed to have any great predelictions or regard4 ,our only object has been1 as far as possible1 to examine the facts1 and to prevent1 if in our power1 any imposture being palmed upon the ,town2 and ,i submit that we have been as honorably employed as ,messrs4 ,taylor and ,cotton in their mere attempts at ridicule4 ,to the latter ,gentleman ,i would recommend the perusal of ,dr4 ,dickson's 8,fallacies of the ,faculty10 where he would learn that he is not the first professional person who has employed ridicule1 instead of scrutiny1 on the introduction of new theories1 some of which1 by the way1 are now adopted by ,mr4 ,cotton himself1 in common with the profession generally4 ,with the doubts or convictions1 resting upon the minds of those who have examined the subject1 ,i have nothing to do2 each individual has the power1 given him by the ,creator1 to examine for himself2 and he should be guided by his own convictions1 and by those convictions alone2 but1 when any person is determined to shut his eyes to evidence1 and then tells me he cannot see1 ,i can only reply1 8,it would be ,mesmerism indeed if you could20 but1 if in addition1 he require me to follow his example1 and to blindfold my perception1 ,i entertain for such person feelings bordering on contempt4 ,what ,i have seen has made an impression on my mind2 the nature of that impression is very unimportant to the ,public1 and ,i only feel called upon to justify the course ,i have pursued in the inquiry2 or rather1 to justify the inquiry itself4 ,in order to this1 ,i shall briefly reply to the arguments against inquiry into the subject of ,mesmerism and ,phrenology as ,i have heard them advanced4 ,the first1 and certainly the most futile of all the reasons alledged why we should not inquire into the fact or fallacy of ,mesmeric and ,phrenological phenomena is this4 ,that the ,lecturer is connected with the ,chartists4 ,had ,i not heard this myself1 and had not ,mr4 ,taylor thrown out in his pamphlet the same insinuation1 ,i confess1 ,i should not have conjectured there was a single individual who could be1 at all1 influenced by such petty1 not to say stupid considerations4 ,who ever dreamed of inquiring1 except as matters of historic interest1 in relation to the individuals themselves1 whether ,newton1 ,harvey1 ,franklin1 and the various discoverers of the useful ,arts and ,sciences were ,whigs or ,tories8 and1 ,i presume1 that the individuals making this objection ride very comfortably in the vehicles of the ,country1 undisturbed as to whether the inventors of stage coaches belonged to their own1 or to an opposite class of ,politicians4 ,for myself1 in examining the ,theory1 ,i conclude ,i have as little guarantee for its truth from the ,chartism1 as ,i should expect from the ,toryism of its ,lecturer4 ,in all such matters ,i judge from the facts1 and not the individuals2 and am too well assured that no political party stands so high in virtue as to offer me a complete security against fraud and imposture4 ,it is argued1 also1 ,that if there had been any truth in ,mesmerism1 it would since the days of its discoverer1 have certainly made more progress4 ,that1 it has now been many years before the public1 and remains1 as to any useful purpose1 in its original position4 ,it were sufficient to reply to this argument1 that1 if no parallel could be found in the introduction of other discoveries1 now held to be useful to the public2 that the presumption is quite illogical1 that ,i must not credit what ,i see1 and what my senses assure me to be fact1 because similar exhibitions have been before1 and often shown to the eyes1 and ears1 of other persons and they have discarded them4 ,i conceive1 the more philosophical mode to be to come to the examination without prejudging it2 and to inquire as closely and carefully as if the subject was being introduced for the first time4 ,no person1 being at all acquainted with ,history1 needs to be informed by what slow process the most useful discoveries have made way in the world4 ,every thing new comes to us clothed with suspicion2 and the most intelligent and best men are reluctant to forego long cherished ideas and hypothesis in favour of a new doctrine1 and too hastily to adopt the novelty1 among such persons1 is to lose cast in society1 and to incur the appellation of ,enthusiasts in the world4 ,farther1 when the bare truth of any discovery has been generally allowed1 we find1 that the movement has been very slow indeed by which it has advanced to perfection4 ,by what tardy steps has ,naval ,architecture advanced from the time that the first ,savage ventured upon a plank across the brook1 until1 in our day1 the ,navies of the ,nations are spreading their canvas up the oceans of the world8 ,it is now1 in the fulness of our knowledge1 difficult to go back1 in idea1 from the recent launch of the 8,great ,britain10 to the remote period when1 the power of ,steam was first observed1 by some old ,lady1 when boiling her kettle on the kitchen fire4 ,we are told1 by ,mr4 ,cotton1 of several individuals1 deservedly eminent in literature1 who have discarded the new ,science2 but1 if ,mr4 ,c4 be on that account entitled to any advantage1 might not ,mr4 ,brookes retort upon him1 8,you have all the advantage of their researches1 and surely1 if it be imposture1 they could have discovered it2 ,i now bring my facts before you1 and1 after all your experience1 challenge your investigation80 and ,i cannot but think the labour of the learned has been ill employed1 for so many years1 if they have been able1 after all1 to lay down no plan by which to detect this presumed imposture4 ,it is argued also1 ,that1 if ,mesmerism be true it can be of no real use in ,society2 and that it may possibly be ill employed4 ,the answer to this objection ,i hold to be1 that at present1 we have nothing to do with the use or abuse of the assumed power2 our only object is1 to inquire into its existence2 that must necessarily be ascertained before it can1 in any way1 be employed3 ,i feel assured1 that1 if the power1 claimed by ,mesmerism1 do really exist1 it1 in common with all the powers of ,nature1 is capable of producing good2 and ,i would caution ,objectors against the reflection upon ,providence obviously implied in the opposite idea4 ,if the real use of a discovery were required1 before it could be advanced to the world1 it would operate most fatally to the interests of ,science4 ,had ,dr4 ,franklin been called upon to prove the use of ,electricity1 before he was allowed to exhibit his discoveries1 he would have been stopped on the very threshold of his experiments1 and much of his ingenious discovery would have been lost to the world4 ,i am here speaking of ,mesmerism1 alone1 as ,i shall hereafter have to speak of ,phrenology4 ,as to any remedial effect to be expected from the practice of ,mesmerism1 in cases of physical or of nervous disease1 it would be quite out of my province1 publicly1 even to conjecture3 ,i can only state1 that ,i have heard1 on most unquestionable authority1 of cases of cure1 of a most important kind2 but1 that1 in the estimation of ,medical men1 the result would have been1 fairly attributable to the operation of ,mesmerism ,i presume not to determine4 ,it is creditable to the ,medical ,gentlemen of ,lynn1 that they have1 with few exceptions1 applied themselves to the consideration of the subject1 and ,i have no doubt1 would be glad to find in ,mesmerism1 as in any thing else1 an additional auxiliary in their endeavours to ease the couch of suffering1 and to lessen the amount of human misery4 ,the curative properties we may leave to the better information of the ,faculty1 while we employ our perceptive powers in endeavouring to ascertain the fact1 or fallacy1 of the presumed ,science4 ,that the discovery may be abused is at once admitted1 though by no means1 to the extent of the fears of some individuals2 but1 we do well to inquire how the same idea applies to other matters4 ,i incline to the belief that there are few powers in ,nature not capable of being abused4 ,who is not aware of the destructive properties of ,fire1 and how often it is employed1 by the ,incendiary1 to the damage of the honest and unsuspecting8 ,who has not heard1 day after day1 of ,juries sitting upon the bodies of unfortunate persons who have been destroyed by this powerful element of ,nature8 and yet1 who ever heard of any sane person who would argue1 that it had been better for ,mankind had ,fire not been known8 ,who does not know the mighty power for ill1 as well as for good1 the ,materia ,medica confers upon the professional part of civilized ,society8 yet1 who would argue1 that it would be better for mankind to discontinue the use and practice of ,medicine8 ,the exhibitions of ,mesmerism have been compared to the feats of the ,jugglers of ,india1 and1 we have been pressed with the assurance1 that the ,mesmeriser is quite outdone by the ,juggler4 ,it may be so1 but ,i submit1 that there is a clear line of distinction to be drawn between the two cases4 ,the ,indian comes before you professing to deceive1 he defies you indeed to discern the process of imposture1 and sometimes the observer is so astonished that he falls back on the only idea that can serve him at the moment1 7so completely are his senses paralyzed7 that1 there must be some superhuman agency employed2 but1 after all1 it only professes to be the feat of a ,conjuror1 and he offers you no clue to the practice of the same delusion4 ,the ,mesmeriser exhibits1 before your eyes1 phenomena very strange and startling1 but he says 8,i am no ,conjuror2 ,i only profess to show you a latent power in ,nature1 as yet but imperfectly developed2 ,i believe that its knowledge may be useful to ,society2 ,i profess to do nothing which you cannot do yourselves2 test my experiments in every possible way1 ,i will assist you to do so40 ,who1 ,i ask1 does not at once see1 that in the one case1 we are imposed upon by a clever ,impostor1 and cannot help ourselves2 while in the other1 we can test almost every experiment by trials of our own1 and need draw no conclusion but from the result of our own individual and absolute experiment4 ,the only remaining argument advanced against inquiring into the assumed sciences1 of which we are speaking1 is this1 that ,the establishment of the truth of ,mesmerism1 and specially of ,phrenology1 would be destructive to the ,christian ,religion1 and would subvert the authority of the ,scriptures upon which that ,religion is based4 ,to my mind1 this is1 by far1 the gravest argument with which we have to deal1 and ,i should be sorry indeed to treat it in an improper or unbecoming manner2 yet1 ,i feel that ,i should be failing in the duty ,i have imposed upon myself1 were ,i not to look the presumed difficulty fairly in the face2 and at least endeavour to justify my own conduct in regard to it2 and if possible1 to remove the delusion which1 ,i humbly suggest1 hangs upon the mind of those who make this objection4 ,i am quite aware that it is impossible that ,i should do complete justice to this part of my subject2 or1 offer more than a comparatively very small part of the argument which might be adduced4 ,my purpose1 in this publication1 would not be served by a long treatise2 and ,i shall therefore endeavour to compress the argument as much as possible1 begging the reader to judge impartially of what ,i do advance2 and not to condemn the argument because ,i have been unable to compress that which would require a volume1 into the pages of a small pamphlet4 ,before ,i proceed farther1 ,i would altogether dismiss the objection1 ,that we cannot comprehend the phenomena1 observing1 merely1 that that remark applies1 with equal force1 to a vast variety of subjects and objects1 which we are compelled to believe4 8,go ask your mother ,earth why ,oaks are made ,taller or stouter than the ,weeds they shade40 ,to the serious1 christian man1 upon whom this objection has any influence1 ,i would remark1 that he who is disposed to admit the truth of that only which he can comprehend1 confines his faith in a very narrow circle1 within the circumference of which there can be no ,god6 ,i here feel it incumbent upon me to state1 that ,i have no sympathy with those individuals who would foster and encourage any ,theory by which they hope to damage ,christianity2 and ,i wonder that any person can be found so hardy as to endeavour1 covertly1 to undermine the rock upon which the hopes of so many have been founded2 to put out the light which has1 for ages1 served to guide the pious1 humble christian in his journey through life2 to take away and to destroy that feeling1 with regard to a future world of happiness1 which has been the ,hope of the pious in all ages1 which ,hope they have cherished in their hearts1 in every difficulty and in every distress1 and which has been to them1 on the stormy ocean of the ,world1 as an 8anchor to the soul40 ,mine is a far different object1 ,i desire to shew the unlettered ,christian that he has not believed in a 8cunningly devised fable10 but1 that his ,faith rests upon a sure basis1 and that he may take his ,bible in his hand and laugh to scorn the insidious attempts of the learned infidelity and skepticism of the world4 #ai ,i believe much harm is done to ,religion by the well intentioned but idle fears of ,christians1 upon the introduction of any new ,science2 their ,faith and not their ,fears should be called into exercise4 ,i believe the ,bible to be given by the ,author of ,nature1 and that he never gave any information to his ,creatures which could ever be adverse or inconsistent to any subsequent development that ,nature could afford4 ,i dare not admit the idea that the testimony of ,scripture depends for its acceptance upon the sufferance of ,modern ,science4 ,i take vastly higher ground1 and believe that the ,christian man may approach with confidence to the investigation of any phenomena in ,nature1 in the assurance that1 so far as it is true1 it will not be found inconsonant with what he rightly considers to be the ,word of ,god4 ,much of the difficulty in the minds of well meaning ,christians1 in all ages1 in relation to discoveries in ,nature has doubtless arisen from the peculiar and poetical language in which the ,scriptural ,record is expressed4 ,in the fact that it was just so expressed as to be understood by the particular people to whom it was originally given4 ,that it does not profess to be a guide to man1 in his researches through the arcanum of ,nature2 but1 incidentally alludes to natural phenomena only so far as the people of that age were acquainted with such subjects1 and in order only1 to give a proper impression as to the greatness and goodness of ,god4 ,had these propositions been more generally observed1 ,i venture to suggest1 that ,religion and ,science would not have been found so often in circumstances of apparent collision4 ,the best men have1 in all ages1 been too much disposed to put their ,faith in abeyance1 while their ,fears have been allowed to proclaim a danger to ,religion2 and1 alas6 too often to persecute those who have made the most useful and important discoveries4 ,it is well known that the ,copernican ,system was declared by the ,pope1 on its introduction1 in a bull1 specially issued for the purpose1 to be 8false in fact and heretical in religion10 and its author was doomed to imprisonment for his discovery6 and we find that while ,plato1 ,cicero1 ,aristotle1 ,strabo1 and other heathen authors allowed the rotundity of the earth1 that ,lactantius1 one of the ,christian ,fathers1 influenced by the well meaning1 but ill employed fear ,i have described1 contended for the old opinion4 ,he asks1 8,is any one so foolish1 as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads2 trees growing downwards2 rain1 snow1 and hail1 falling upwards80 ,lactantius feared that his ,religion and the new theory could not exist together4 ,we have become assured of the truth of the theory1 and who now fears for the ,scriptures on account of the globular form of the ,earth8 ,some few years since ,geology was introduced as a science1 the ,christian ,world became alarmed2 the pens of divines were busily employed to write down the supposed delusion2 the patient ,investigators of the structure of the ,earth continued their labor1 and we now find that1 as the science makes way the fear subsides1 and ,geology1 in the present day1 numbers among its supporters and defenders some of the brightest ornaments of the ,christian ,church4 ,it may not be familiar to my readers1 that even ,navigation1 by the discovery and pursuit of which mankind in our day are always passing in large numbers upon the ,ocean1 which we term in modern language1 the 8,highway of ,nations20 which is quite indispensible to the intercourse and commerce of the world2 which conduces so much1 and in so many ways1 to human happiness3 by the aid of which the providential bounties of the ,torrid are conveyed to the ,inhabitants of the ,frigid ,zone3 and even the ,polar ,seas themselves are laid under contribution and made to minister to the comfort and enjoyment of the ,inhabitants of more temperate climes4 ,it may1 possibly1 astonish some of my ,christian ,readers to be informed that ,navigation without which the precept of the ,scripture 8,preach the ,gospel to every ,creature0 could never be complied with2 and the abandonment of which would involve the annihilation to a large extent of ,benevolent and ,missionary enterprise1 it may astonish them to know that even ,navigation has been denounced as impiety1 but such is the fact6 we find the accomplished ,horace writing thus3--8,in vain did a ,god purposely1 cut off the lands from the ,ocean1 forbidding all intercourse1 if1 nevertheless1 the impious ,barks bound contemptuously over the seas not to be touched40 #bc ,the difficulty appears to be1 to get mankind to understand that the wonders of ,nature are no less wonderful because we are permitted1 successfully1 to explore the various laws and modes of her operations4 ,are we at all less indebted to ,providence for the 8showers that water the ,earth0 because we now know that the moisture is exhaled from our planet before it is dropped from the cloud8 ,is the genial influence of the ,sun of less importance because we are1 now1 aware that the ,earth revolves around it1 instead of 7as our fathers supposed7 the ,sun revolving round the ,earth8 ,is the planetary system at all less interesting to us because the extension of telescopic vision has shewn us new worlds beyond the ken and credence of our forefathers8 ,surely not6 ,but1 should we not rather be the more impressed with the greatness and the condescension of ,god1 just in proportion as we are permitted to advance1 cautiously and tremblingly indeed1 in the contemplation and understanding of his work8 ,man is a complex being1 8fearfully and wonderfully made10 having1 besides his bodily powers1 some principle which keeps the machine in motion1 and some unseen1 yet evident power of volition by the aid1 and at the command of which his several actions are performed4 ,in what part of the system that power is deposited was long held to be doubtful2 but1 it is now generally allowed that the seat of that power is the brain1 and several industrious and learned men have1 of late years1 been carefully engaged in endeavours to understand the anatomy of that part of the human frame4 ,the result of their inquiries1 as might be supposed1 has been variously stated by different individuals2 among other ideas1 some have supposed they were able to trace1 with tolerable correctness1 the various parts of the brain which impelled the individual to various actions2 and they endeavoured to assign to each class of human sentiment and faculty its peculiar portion which they have designated ,organs4 ,they have1 in pursuance of their ,theory1 mapped out the human scull into compartments1 to each of which they have assigned a particular faculty or sentiment1 and they profess to tell1 with some degree of accuracy1 the individual character by the peculiar formation of the head4 ,the reader will bear in mind1 that ,i profess not even to conjecture1 in this argument1 the truth or fallacy of the system1 that ,phrenologists have laid down2 ,i am only endeavouring to disabuse the mind of the serious and pious man of any fears for his ,religion1 on the possibility that ,phrenology should be found true4 ,no man can have observed human ,nature1 with even common or ordinary care1 but must have been impressed with the fact1 that there is as much diversity in the development of mind as is apparent1 to common observation1 in the structure of the body4 ,one man is mentally competent to1 and would excel in one department of ,art or ,science or of ordinary ,business in which another would certainly fail1 while the first would be equally deficient in another department1 not by any means requiring more than common sagacity to insure success4 ,this is a matter of such common observation that ,i need not enlarge upon it4 ,my position then is this2 ,that allowing1 as we must1 the great diversity of mental1 human character1 it will do no damage to ,religion if ,phrenology should succeed in exhibiting that1 minutely and in detail1 which we already admit in the mass4 ,the ,milky ,way is not the less brilliant because to the ,telescopic eye it exhibits a cluster of beauties1 while to common observation1 these minuti are concealed4 ,it can release no man from the common obligations which all owe to ,god1 who judgeth not according to the sight of the eye3 but1 who 8judgeth righteous judgment40 ,if ,phrenology be true1 it may indeed teach us lessons of forbearance and charity to human frailty2 but can in no respect affect our duty and obligations toward ,god4 ,in conclusion ,i observe1 that ,i am1 individually1 quite unconcerned as to whether the ,sciences1 as they are termed1 which we have been considering1 should prove1 on farther and fuller examination1 to be true or to be false4 ,possibly their promoters1 in the sanguine pursuit of a new ,theory1 may have asked of the ,public a too unsuspecting confidence1 and may have pushed their ,theory beyond its legitimate position4 ,this ,i leave to them and to the ,public to determine4 ,i sat down to write this address in order to defend myself1 and as far as ,i may have expressed their sentiments1 my friends also1 from the unsparing censure which has been passed upon us for our efforts to ascertain for ourselves the truth or falsehood of these phenomena4 ,how far ,i have succeeded the ,reader and the ,public must determine4 ,i have designed offence to no one1 and ,i hope that no one has been offended4 ,as to the remarks ,i felt compelled to make upon the ,gentlemen who have published upon the subject1 ,i think the reader will allow that ,i was justified1 by the pamphlets themselves1 for the course ,i have pursued4 ,i now take leave of the subject1 careless as to the success of ,mesmerism or ,phrenology2 and only solicitous that every facility should be afforded for the complete exhibition and testing of so important phenomena4 ,w4 ,a4 ,market-place1 ,lynn1 ,aug4 #aath1 #ahdc4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,finis4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,lynn3 ,,printed ,,by ,j4 ,w4 ,,aiken1 ,,high ,,street4 ,,footnotes4 #ai ,dr4 ,chalmers says--8,perhaps the most singular attempt to graft ,infidelity on any thing called a ,science1 is by those who associate their denial of the ,christian ,revelation with the doctrines of ,phrenology1 as if there were any earthly connection between the form of the human skull1 or its effects upon the human character upon the one hand1 and the truth or falsehood of our ,religion on the other2 for1 granting them all their ,organs1 it no more tells either to the confirmation or disparagement of our historical evidence for the visitation of this earth by a messenger from ,heaven1 than it tells on the historical evidence for the invasion of ,britain by ,julius ,csar4 ,and we venture to affirm of all the other ,sciences1 that no discovery has been made in any of them1 which is not in every way as inconsequential to the point at issue2 and that the truths of all ,philosophy put together as little interfere with the truths of the ,gospel as the discoveries of the ,astronomer interfere with the discoveries of the ,anatomist40 ,preface to ,modern ,philosophy4 #bc ,horace ,car ,,iii4 ,lib4 ,i4