head of the former is much larger betw xt and behind the ears than the latter. "This also is an unfailing sign to recognise if a horse be shy and timid, or bold and sure. The same difference is observed in game-cocks and gamehens, in comparison with domestic fowls. Horse jockeys, and those who are fond of fighting cocks, have long made this observation."-Physiogn. System, p. 302. The organ is established.

6.-DESTRUCTIVENESS.

THIS organ is situated immediately above, and extends a little backwards and forwards from, the external opening of the ear, and corresponds to the lower portion of the squamous plate of the temporal bone. In Dr GALL's plates it extends a few lines farther back than in those given by Dr SPURZHEIM; and Dr. GALL mentions, that when it is excessively large, the whole portion of the skull from the inferior margin of the parietal bones to the ears is elevated; and that, in cases of smaller development, the prominence is confined to the temporal bones. I have seen examples of both kinds.

Dr GALL gives, in substance, the following account of the discovery of this organ. In comparing attentively the skulls of several of the lower animals, he observed a cha.racteristic difference betwixt those of the carnivorous and the graminivorous tribes. In graminivorous animals, only a small portion of the brain lies behind the external opening of the ear; while in the carnivorous, a considerably larger mass is situated there. For a long time he merely communicated these observations to his hearers, without making the least application of them to Phrenology. He only pointed out that, by inspecting the cranium, even when the teeth are wanting, it is possible to distinguish whether the animals belong to the graminivorous or carnivorous genera. It happened, at length, that some one sent him the skull of a parricide; but he put it aside, without

imagining that the skulls of murderers could be of any use to him in his researches. Shortly afterwards he received also the cranium of a highwayman, who, not satisfied with robbing, had murdered several of his victims. He placed these two crania side by side, and frequently examined them. Every time that he did so he was struck with this circumstance, that although they differed in almost every other point, each of them presented a distinct and corresponding prominence, immediately above the external opening of the ear. Having observed, however, the same prominence in some other crania in his collection, he thought that it might be by mere accident that these two parts were so much developed in the skulls of the murderers. It was only, therefore, after a considerable time, that he began to reflect upon the different conformation of the brain in carnivorous and graminivorous animals; and then observing that the part which was large in carnivorous animals, was precisely that which was so much developed in the murderers, the question occurred to him, Is it possible that there can be any connexion betwixt the conformation of brain thus indicated and the propensity to kill? "At first," says Dr GALL, "I revolted from this idea; but when my only business was to observe, and to state the result of my observations, I acknowledged no other law than that of truth.” "Let us not, therefore," says he, "fear to unfold the mysteries of nature, for it is only when we shall have discovered the hidden springs of human actions, that we shall know how to guide the conduct of men."

The organ has been subjected to much ridicule, owing partly to its having been at first named the organ of Murder, from having been found largest in individuals who had suffered death for this crime. The propensity, however, now designated Destructiveness, is recognised by many authors as existing in the human mind. Lord KAMES observes, that "there is a contrivance of Nature, no less simple than effectual, which engages men to bear with

cheerfulness the fatigues of hunting, and the uncertainty of capture; and that is an appetite for hunting."-" It is an illustrious instance of providential care, the adapting the internal constitution of man to his external circumstances. The appetite for hunting, though among us little necessary for food, is to this day remarkable in young men, high and low, rich and poor. Natural propensities may be rendered faint or obscure, but never are totally eradicated.”— Sketches, b. i.

VICESIMUS KNOX, in his Essays, gives a similar theory of hunting. The delight felt in this sport has been ascribed to the excitement of the chase, to emulation, and to the pleasure of succeeding in our aim; but if these were the sole sources of the enjoyment, then it ought to be as pleasant to gallop over hill and dale, and leap hedge and ditch, without as with an animal in chase, and as agreeable to shoot at any object thrown into the air as at a bird. This, however, is not the case; unless there is a creature to suffer the effects of the hunting and shooting, these acts afford but little pleasure.

The feeling is familiar to poets and authors who delineate human nature. The description by Sir WALTER SCOTT, of King ROBERT BRUCE avenging on CORMAC DOIL the death of ALLAN, is written in the very spirit of Destructiveness:

Not so awoke the King! his hand

Snatched from the flame a knotted brand,

The nearest weapon of his wrath,
With this he crossed the murderer's path,
And venged young Allan well!
The spattered brain and bubbling blood
Hissed on the half-extinguished wood;
The miscreant gasp'd and fell.

The same author recognises several of the phrenological faculties in the following lines; and, in particnlar, Love of Approbation and Destructiveness; the latter, however, only

in a state of abuse. The verses refer to the battle of Ban

nockburn:

But O! amid that waste of life,

What various motives fired the strife!

The aspiring noble bled for fame.

The patriot for his country's claim ;

This knight his youthful strength to prove,

And that to earn his lady's love:

Some fought from ruffian thirst of blood,
From habit some, or hardihood.
But ruffian stern, and soldier good,

The noble, and the slave,
From various cause the same wild road,
On the same bloody morning trode,
To that dark Inn the grave.

In Recollections of the Peninsula, by the author of Sketches in India, the following passage occurs: "As the chill dews of evening were descending on our bivouack, a staff-officer, with a courier, came galloping into it, and alighted at the quarters of our general. It was soon known among us that a severe and sanguinary action had been fought by our brother soldiers at Talavera. Disjointed rumours spoke of a dear-bought field, a heavy loss, and a subsequent retreat. I well remember how we all gathered round our fires to listen, to conjecture, and to talk about this glorious, but bloody event. We regretted that we had borne no share in the honours of such a day; and we talked with an undefined pleasure about the carnage. Yes! strange as it may appear, soldiers, and not they alone, talk of the slaughter of battle-fields with a sensation which partakes of pleasure." I have observed some young men who possessed good moral qualities, but whose thoughts ran habitually on killing and slaughtering. The impulse was restrained, but they confessed that it would have given them great momentary gratification to smash and slay. In them the organ was decidedly large.

The function of the faculty in the human mind, and its utility, are easily discovered. In regarding this scene of creation, we perceive man surrounded by ferocious animals, such as lions, tigers, bears, and wolves; which are not only incapable of being tamed and put to use, but which would be fatal to him, if he did not destroy them. To maintain himself in existence, therefore, he must put many animals to death. Moreover, he has received from nature a stomach fitted to digest animal food, and a bodily system that is nourished and excited, and preserved in health and activity, by the aliment which it affords. To gratify this appetite, he must bereave animals of life by sudden destruction; for their flesh is unwholesome and unfit for use, if they die of old age or disease. In the last place, some human beings themselves are so inspired by evil passions, that no terror short of that of death will suffice to curb their appetites, and prevent them from injuring their fellow men. Now, let us consider in what condition man, placed in these circumstances, would have stood, if he had wanted this propensity. The hare has no Destructiveness; and its only safety is in flight. Man, without this faculty, would have been as little formidable to his foes as the hare; he would have been the timid prey of every ferocious animal in want of a meal. With Destructiveness, the lion and tiger read their fate in his eye; they recognise the natural expression of this power in him, as readily and strongly as in their fellows of the forest, and dread the encounter, unless irresistibly impelled by hunger.

Let us imagine, also, a community of men, known to exist, in whom no Destructiveness was found; who would reason, entreat, or flee from their adversaries, but never raise a weapon in their own defence; how speedily would the profligate and unprincipled flock to the mansions of such a people, as to their appropriate prey; and what contumelies and sufferings would they not compel them to endure? But let the community possess the propensity in