The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 07 (of 12)Hazlitt, William
General
The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 07 (of 12)
Hazlitt, William
English essays -- 19th century
I am utterly ignorant of the anatomical and physiological part of this
question, and only propose to point out a few errors or defects in his
system, which appear on the author’s own showing, in the manner of
marginal notes on the work. I would observe, by the bye, that the style
and manner of the writer are not such as to induce the reader to place a
very implicit reliance on his authority; and in a subject, which is so
much an occult science, a _terra incognita_ in the world of observation,
depending on the traveller’s report, authority is a good deal. The
craniologist may make fools of his disciples at pleasure, unless he is
an honest man. They have no check upon him. The face is as ‘a book where
men may read strange matters:’ it is open to every one: the language of
expression is as it were a kind of mother-tongue, in which every one
acquires more or less tact, so that his own practical judgment forms a
test to confirm or contradict the interpretation which is given of it.
But the skull, on which Drs. Gall and Spurzheim have laid their hands
for the discovery of so many important and undeniable truths, nobody
else knows any thing about, except as they are pleased to tell us. It is
concealed from ordinary observation by a covering of hair, and we must
go by hearsay. We may indeed examine one or two individual instances,
and grope out our way to truth in the dark; but there can be no habitual
conclusion formed, no broad light of experience thrown upon the subject.
The unbeliever in the fashionable system may well exclaim—
‘Oh! let me perish in the face of day!’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account