III-THE MENTAL SYSTEM.

The mental or nervous system forms the medium of connection between the soul and the external world, and is the instrument through which thought and impulse culminate in action. It consists, structurally, of a series of globules bound by membranous investments into fibers of various forms. The chief seat of this system is the head. Its three orders of organs are

1. The Organs of Sense,

2. The Cerebrum, and

3. The Cerebellum.

1. The Organs of Sense.-The organs through which we receive impressions from external objects-the eye, the ear, etc.-need not be described. They communicate their impressions to the brain by means of special nerves, some of which are represented in fig. 87. They all seem to center in the base of the brain.

2. The Cerebrum.-The human brain (fig. 87), speaking of it as a whole, is an oval mass filling and fitting the interior

of the skull, and consisting of two substances-a gray, ashcolored, or cineritious portion, and a white, fibrous, or medullary portion. It is divided, both in form and in function, into two principal masses, called the cerebrum and the cerebellum. At its base there are two other portions, called the annular protuberance and the medulla oblongata.

The cerebrum is divided longitudinally by the falx, or scythe-shaped process, into two equal hemispheres, and each of these, in its under surface, into three lobes. But the most remarkable feature in the structure of the cerebral globe is its complicated convolutions, the furrows between which dip down into the brain and are covered by the pia mater, a delicate fibro-vascular membrane, which lies upon the immediate surface of the brain and spinal marrow, bending down into all their furrows or other depressions. By means of these foldings the surface of the brain is greatly increased and power gained with the utmost economy of space; for it is a wellascertained fact, that in proportion to the number and depth of these convolutions is the power of the brain.

3. The Cerebellum.-The cerebellum is the organ of the procreative function, and of physical life and vital power. It lies behind and immediately underneath the cerebrum (fig. 87, a), and is about one eighth the size of the latter organ. It is divided into lobes and lobules, and consists of a gray and white substance like Fig. 88.-SPINAL CORD AND the cerebrum, but differently disposed, the white substance being internal in the latter and external in the former; in which both substances are disposed in thin plates instead of convolutions. There is said to be no direct communication between the lobes of the cerebrum and the cerebellum.

NERVES.

Extending from the base of the brain to the atlas or bony pivot on which the head rests, is the medulla oblongata. It is conical in shape, and may be considered as merely the head or beginning of the spinal cord, which continues it, and, as it were, extends the brain down the vertebral column; and, by means of the nerves which it gives off, and which pass through notches between the vertebræ, connects it with every part of the body. The general arrangement and distribution of the nerves may be seen in fig. 88.

Space does not permit us to extend our remarks, nor does our plan render it necessary. Those who desire to do so may with profit consult works devoted specially to this subject. Where further details are essential to the full comprehension of the matters which it is our special object to set forth, they will be given in the proper place.

III.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

"The active and plastic principle is the soul-the true man-of which the body is but the external expression and instrument."-PHYSICAL PERFECTION.

E have already, in our introductory remarks, defined the word Physiognomy. It signifies, in its broadest sense (we may repeat), a knowledge of nature, but more particularly the forms of things -the configuration of natural objects, whether animate or inanimate. In this sense we may speak of the physiognomy of a country or a plant, as well as of an animal or of a man; and it is with an instinctive appreciation of this fact that we talk about the face of nature,

the features of a landscape, and so on.

But it is mainly to the human form that physiognomy as a science or system, and as an art, is usually applied; though animal, and even vegetable and mineral forms may be referred to in illustration of principles or of facts. In this narrower application we may define it as a knowledge of the corre

spondence between the external and the internal man-between the physical system and the spiritual principle which animates and controls it-between the manifest effect and the hidden cause-and of the signs by means of which this correspondence is expressed in the face and other parts of the body.. As an art, it consists in reading character by means of its indications in the developments of the body as a whole. but more particularly of the face.

We say, more particularly of the face, because it is there that the greater number of the signs of character are most clearly and legibly inscribed; but physiognomy, as we purpose to expound it, embraces the WHOLE MAN. It takes into account the temperament; the shape of the body; the size and form of the head; the texture of the skin; the quality of the hair, the degree of functional activity, and other physiological conditions, as well as the features of the face. It embraces, in fact, in its practical application, the wide domains. of physiology, phrenology, and their kindred sciences,

A distinction may very properly be made between physiog nomy and pathognomy-the former referring to the powers and inclinations of man, and the latter to his passions. The one is a knowledge of character at rest and the other of character in action. Physiognomy shows what man is in general, pathognomy what he becomes at particular moments. The former deals with permanent traits, the latter with transient expression. The two are, however, inseparable; and we shall consider physiognomy as, in a general sense, covering the whole ground.

I-THE LAW OF CORRESPONDENCE.

The first general principle or law that we shall lay down has already been incidentally but somewhat loosely stated. It is this:

Differences of external form are the result and measure of pre-existing differences of internal character-in other words, configuration corresponds with organization and funetion.

Everything has a form-a configuration-in other words,