PHYSIOGNOMY AND CRANIOLOGY.

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(lie entierty of the medullary of the cerebrum and cerebellum,consists of nervous fibres, and the whole of the corticalsubstance of ganglions, by means of which the nervousfibres are nourished, strengthened, and more intimatelyconnected. That the nerves, which constitute the essentialpart of the cerebrum and cerebellum, as well as of thespinal marrow, are like blood vessels, of two kinds, theexcurrent, or diverging, and recurrent, or converging,which all arise from the spinal marrow, or terminate in it;consequently, that the origin of the medullary substance ofthe cerebrum and cerebellum is derived from the spinalmarrow. That the cortical substance is the superficialganglion of the cerebrum and cerebellum; and that all theexcurrent nerves terminate in the outer surface of thecortical substance, on which the pia mater rests, and allthe recurrent nerves take their origin in that place.

Prior anatomists have supported the reverse of Gall’sdiscoveries ; they believing the medulla oblongata, the me-dulla spinalis, and the pons varolii, are formed by elonga-tions of the substance composing the cerebrum andcerebellum. Waller declares there is no truth in whatGall pretends to have discovered ; that the preparations hedisplayed, and the structure described, are only the fictionsof his own fancy; and protests he saw nothing of what was£aid to be so clearly proved ; whilst others, equally capableof judging, and perhaps more quick-sighted, not only sawwhat Dr. Gall proposed to show, but evidence their opinionin justice to his observations. Bischoff has written in hisdefence, and amongst others, adduces the names of two ofthe most respectable men in the University of Halle, Loderaud Red, to support Dr. Gall’s claim to truth and theaccuracy of his description ; which Loder himself has alsodeclared, where he expresseth himself in terms of greatpraise and high commendation, communicates a case inpoint to illustrate Gall’s position; but at the same timelaments the paucity of facts to confirm the theory.

It is in the hands of men well qualified to judge of itstruth; and by their skill, and from their experience it musteither stand or fall.

The brain has been generally believed to be the seat ofall nervous sensation, as well as the origin of thought; butthe term thinking is supposed to be too general an expression,when the intellectual phenomena of thought includes a vastvariety of specific particulars ; and the term brain, express-ing a very complicated organ. Gall inquires if we shallrest content with the general assertion, that the brain is