termined by future observations; all that we can say at present is, that the Love of Life seems to be a feeling sui generis, and not proportioned to any faculty, or combination of faculties, yet known,-that in the subject of this notice it was one of the most permanently active which she possessed, and that in her the convolution alluded to was of very unusual magnitude; but bow far the coincidence was fortuitous, we leave to time and observation to determine." 7.-SECRETIVENESS. THE organ is situated at the inferior edge of the parietal bones, immediately above Destructiveness, or in the middle of the lateral portion of the brain. When the organ of Destructiveness is much developed, it may be mistaken, by the inexperienced observer, for the organ of Secretiveness; so that it is necessary to remark, that the latter organ is placed higher, and rather farther forward, than the former; and that, instead of presenting the form of a segment of a circle, it is extended longitudinally. When both organs are highly developed, the lower and middle portion of the side of the head is characterized by a general fulness. Dr GALL gives the following history of the discovery of this organ. In early youth, he was struck with the character and form of the head of one of his companions, who, with amiable dispositions and good abilities, was distinguished by cunning and finesse. His head was very large at the temples, and in his natural attitude it projected forward. Although a faithful friend, he experienced an extraordinary pleasure in employing every possible device to make game of his school-fellows, and to deceive them. His natural language was absolutely the expression of cunning, such as Dr GALL had often observed in cats and dogs, when, playing together, they wished to give each other the slip. At a subsequent period, he had another companion, who, at first, appeared candour personified; no one had ever distrusted him; but his gait and manner were those of a cat watching a mouse; he proved false and perfidious, and deceived, in an unbecoming manner, his young school-fellows, his tutors, and his parents. He carried his head in the same attitude as before mentioned; his figure was handsome; and his head exceedingly large at the temples. One of Dr GALL'S patients, who died of phthisis, generally passed for a very honest man: after his death, Dr GALL was struck with the largeness of his head in the temporal region; and shortly afterwards learned, that he had cheated his acquaintances, and even his mother, of considerable sums of money. At Vienna he was often in the company of a physician, possessed of much information, but who, on account of his character of a cheat, was generally despised. Under pretence of dealing in objects of art, and lending on pledges, he robbed all who put confidence in him. He carried his tricks and cheats to such a length, that the government warned the public, through the medium of the public journals, to beware of him; for he had practised his arts with such dexterity, that he could never be legally condemned. He often told Dr GALL, that he knew no pleasure equal to that of deceiving, especially persons who distrusted him most. As the head of this individual also was very large at the temples, Dr GALL was impressed with the idea that there is a primitive tendency towards cunning in the mind, and that it is manifested by this particular cerebral organ. An immense number of observations have confirmed his conjecture. The nature and object of this propensity appear to be the following: The various faculties of the human mind are liable to involuntary activity from internal causes, as well as from external excitement. Thus, Amativeness becoming active, gives feelings corresponding to its nature: Acquisitiveness inspires with strong desires for wealth; and Love of Approbation fills the mind with projects of ambition. Every one will be conscious that these or similar feelings, at times rush into his mind involuntarily, and fre quently refuse to depart at the command of the understanding. If outward expression were given to these impulses, in all their vivacity, as they arise, social intercourse would be disfigured by a rude assemblage of disgusting improprieties, and man would shun the society of his fellows as more loathsome than pestilence or famine. SHAKSPEARE, with that accuracy of observation which distinguishes him, has pourtrayed this feature of the human mind. "Utter my thoughts? Why, say they are vile and false As where's that palace, whereinto foul things Keep leets and law-days, and in session sit With meditations lawful ?"-Othello, Act iii. Scene 3. Some instinctive tendency, therefore, to restrain within the mind itself, to conceal, as it were, from the public eye the various desires and emotions which involuntarily present themselves in the mind, was necessary to enable the understanding to regulate their outward expression; and nature appears to have provided this power in the faculty of Secretiveness. It is an instinctive tendency to conceal, and the legitimate object of it appears to be, to restrain the outward expression of our thoughts and emotions, till the understanding shall have pronounced judgment on their propriety. Besides, man and animals are occasionally liable to the assaults of enemies, which may be avoided by concealment, in cases where strength is wanting to repel them by force. Nature, therefore, by means of this propensity, enables them to add prudence, slyness, or cunning, according to the direction given to it by other faculties of the individual, to their means of defence. A sufficient endowment of this organ is essential to the formation of a prudent character. It then imposes a salutary restraint on the manifestations of the other faculties, and serves as a defence against prying curiosity. "When NAPOLEON," says Sir WALTER SCOTT, "thought himself closely observed, he had the power of discharging from his countenance all expression, save that of a vague and indefinite smile, and presenting to the curious investigator the fixed eyes and rigid features of a marble bust." Vol. iv. p. 37. I have observed this power to be conferred by large Secretiveness. Those in whom it is deficient, are too open for the general intercourse of society; they are characterized by deficiency of tact, a headlong bluntness of manner, and the instantaneous expression of every thought and emotion, as it flows into the mind, without regard to the proprieties required by time, place or circumstances. Mr SCOTT, in an excellent essay on this propensity, published in the Phrenological Transactions, observes, that it communicates the desire to discover the secrets of others, as well as to conceal our own. The author of Waverley, in his novel of Quentin Durward *, draws the character of LOUIS XI. with exact fidelity to this principle of our nature. The King, says he, was "calm, crafty, and profoundly attentive to his own interest. He was careful in disguising his real sentiments and purposes from all who approached him, and frequently used the expressions,— that the King knew not how to reign, who knew not how to dissemble; and that, for himself, if he thought his very cap knew his secrets, he would throw it into the fire. Like all astutious persons, he was as desirous of looking into the secrets of others, as of concealing his own." This representation is historically correct. According to this view, even a large development of the organ, if combined with good sentiments, and an enlightened understanding, is a valuable endowment. Persons so constituted, possessing themselves the natural talent requisite for intrigue, if they choose to direct the faculty in that way, are naturally fitted to divine and discover intrigues and secret machinations in others, and to defeat them. From the same cause they • Vol. i. p. 7. N read, with great acuteness, the natural language of concealment in other minds, and are able to discover, by the very air and manner of a man, that he is hiding some object or intention, when a person, in whom the organ is small, could not perceive such a purpose. In many of the affairs of life also, secrecy is indispensable both to prudent conduct and success. When too energetic, or not properly directed, Secretiveness is liable to great abuses. It then leads to a liking for concealment, intrigue, and crooked policy, for their own sakes; and to a feeling that it is wise and clever to wrap up the purposes of the mind in the profoundest mystery: cunning is mistaken for ability, and deceit for practical wisdom. It may prompt to the use of lies, hypocrisy, intrigue, or dissimulation, as means to gain an end. Persons in whom it predominates, judging of mankind in general by themselves, are never able to see the affairs of the world, or the conduct of others, in a plain and simple point of view, but imagine life to be a continual stratagem, in which every one is endeavouring to overreach his neighbour. Such persons conceive, that the eye of the world is always looking into their breasts, to read the purposes that are there hatched, but which discovery they are resolved to prevent. The propensity in some instances finds gratification in the most trifling mysteries; an individual under its predominating influence will conceal his going out, his coming in, his engagements, and all his transactions; even although communication of these would greatly facilitate domestic arrangements. In an argument a secretive man will evade all admissions. Dr JOHNSTON mentions of POPE, that he took so "great delight in artifice, that he endeavoured to attain all his purposes by indirect and unsuspected methods; he hardly drank tea without a stratagem. He practised his arts on such small occasions, that Lady BOLINGBROKE used to say in a French phrase, that he played the politician about cabbages and turnips." |