Remarks on the erroneous impressions and spirit of hostility at present existing, more especially amongst the religious public, in regard to the diffusion of scientific knowledge in general, and of phrenology and its supposed effects in particular / [H.G. Wright].

  • Wright, H. G.
Date:
1836
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on the erroneous impressions and spirit of hostility at present existing, more especially amongst the religious public, in regard to the diffusion of scientific knowledge in general, and of phrenology and its supposed effects in particular / [H.G. Wright]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    deprived of the food which formerly kept them in so rampant a condition. Now, that this has actually been the case in highly civilized nations is a fact well known to phrenologists, and hence we are able to see in an intelligible manner how mere 44 secular knowledge,” by thus improving, both positively and negatively, the medium through which religion acts on the mind (or, to re¬ cur to our former expression, by improving the mind’s eye), has enabled us to view the spirit of Christianity in a totally dif¬ ferent light from what our unenlightened ancestors did, and ig¬ norant and barbarous nations still do. Many who have not been accustomed to consider the moral •/ man as so intimately connected with, and dependent upon, the physical man, may perhaps feel their prejudices shocked with the doctrine of the mind being made to act in so mechanical a manner; but let them steadily continue to investigate the truth -—let them consider how fruitless have been the repeated at¬ tempts to civilize many savage tribes and nations, or to engraft the mild precepts of Christianity on their ferocious natures. I would, in particular, point to the case noticed by Mr Combe in his 44 Constitution of Man.”* From this case it appears, that Mr Timothy Flint, a Presbyterian clergyman, after passing ten years amongst the savage tribes near the Mississippi, endeavour¬ ing by all means in his power to christianize them, at last gave up the task as totally hopeless, concluding with these remark¬ able words: 44 It strikes me, that Christianity is the religion of civilised man ; that the savages must first be civilised ; and that, as there is little hope that the present generation of Indians can be civilised, there is but little more that they will be christian¬ ized.” Now, I would say, let the inquirer or the doubter com¬ pare the character of such savage tribes with the development of their brain in the phrenological museum ; let him contrast it with that of the most moral and intellectual nations ; and per¬ haps that examination will do more to remove prejudices than volumes of argument. If, then, we have been so deeply indebted to general know¬ ledge for the progress of true religion, with what intense interest ought we to regard that science, which—pointing to masses of every species of evidence, dead and living—professes to have * Henderson edition, p. 198.