How to Become Rich: A Treatise on Phrenology, Choice of Professions and MatrimonyWindsor, William
Science
How to Become Rich: A Treatise on Phrenology, Choice of Professions and Matrimony
Windsor, William
Phrenology
The second class is composed of that large number of intelligent
persons, in every community, who have not investigated this subject, who
are willing to approach it in a spirit of candor and honest inquiry,
anxious to accept anything which is reasonable and good, and equally
intent upon rejecting that which is fraudulent and evil, and I invite
the careful criticism of this class; and if, in my exposition of this
subject, I announce a single proposition which will not bear the closest
scrutiny; if I say aught which conflicts with common sense or reason,
nay, if you can find one single natural fact to militate against the
principles which I announce as fundamental to this science, I will be
obliged to the gentleman or lady who will raise the question with me,
and I will either prove my position to the satisfaction of this audience
or retire from the field forever.
[Illustration: Idiot.]
The third class, unfortunately, are always with us, but I do not expect
to convince them. They never were known to be convinced of anything. You
can easily learn to distinguish an individual of this class by the shape
of his head. Here is one I carry for illustration. He argues that the
world is flat and does not revolve on its axis once in 24 hours,
because, if it did, the water would all be spilled out of the
Mississippi river. Life is too short to argue with this class, and I can
only promise them that before I leave this platform they will be in the
same category that a fellow was once who went to a prayer-meeting
slightly intoxicated and fell asleep. Toward the close of the meeting
everybody began to get happy, and the preacher called on everybody who
wanted to go to Heaven to stand up. Everybody stood up but our
intoxicated friend, who was awakened by the uprising. Then the preacher
called on everybody who wanted to go to hell to stand up. Our friend by
this time comprehended that something was before the house and staggered
to his feet. He took one look at the preacher standing at the other end
of the church and said: "Parson, (hic) I don't know what the question,
is (hic) before the house, but you and I (hic) are in the smallest
minority that ever I saw."
So it is with you, my friends. If you don't believe in Phrenology when I
dismiss you to-night, remember that you are in the minority in this
audience, and a very small minority at that, composed of unprogressive
mossbacks and persons of small mental capacity, and if you will call at
my rooms to-morrow, I'll tell you to which of these classes you belong.
In the study of scientific topics it is well in the outset to establish
definitions. I will, therefore, commence by looking our subject squarely
in the face, and establishing a concise definition of Phrenology.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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