THE PHRENOLOGICAL JOURNAL. No. XLVIII. ARTICLE I. REMARKS ON THE LAWS OF ACTION OF BENEVOLENCE IN a former essay (vol. ix. p. 402) I collected a multitude of facts and illustrations, very diverse in their aspect, and brought together from the most dissimilar sources, but all tending to support the conclusion, that, by a law of human nature, the organ of Destructiveness is uniformly excited sympathetically, whenever any other of the cerebral organs is disagreeably active, the intensity of the destructive emotion varying with that of the exciting pain. My present object is to shew, that, by a law perfectly analogous, the organ of Benevolence receives excitement from the agreeable or pleasurable action of the organs of the other mental powers. As formerly observed, it is through the medium of those faculties which predominate in the human mind, and which, by reason of their strength, are most liable to experience painful as well as pleasurable emotions, that Destructiveness is most frequently roused. Such a faculty, par excellence, is Self-Esteem. Hence an insult is very a apt to kindle him who receives it into fury. On the other hand, by offering gratification to Self-Esteem, the benevolence of human beings is wonderfully increased. Goodwill and clemency, therefore, are every where sought for by means of submissive and respectful conduct towards those whose favour it is wished to obtain. So universally is this known and understood, that it hardly stands in need of illustration. A humorous anecdote, related by Selden in his Table-Talk, will therefore suffice for the purpose. A Spaniard being told by his confessor what torments were inflicted by the devil upon sinners, replied, "I hope my lord the devil is not so cruel." The confessor reproving him for this," Excuse me," said the Spaniard, "for calling him so: I know not into what hands I may fall; and if I happen into his, I hope he will use me the better for giving him good words." Objects which gratify Philoprogenitiveness and Adhesiveness uniformly attract the benevolent regard of the party to whom they give delight. A man's wife, children, and friends, are treated by him with an amount of kindness far beyond what is extended to his fellow-citizens at large. Dr Thomas Brown expresses nearly the same idea, by saying, that "we desire in a particular degree the happiness of those whom we love, because we cannot think of them without tender admiration ;"* and indeed, so uniformly is Benevolence excited towards the objects of the domestic affections, that the results of its activity in such cases have frequently been confounded with those of the propensities by which it is stimulated. + Philoprogenitiveness and Adhesiveness seem to me to be the sources of nothing beyond mere attachment, and desire of the society of their respective objects; deeds of kindness, intentionally such, I humbly conceive to arise from Benevolence alone. Where Amativeness and Adhesiveness concur in rendering a person extremely agreeable, the kindly feeling thus occasioned as an accompaniment, or rather constituent, of love, is of a very intense and decided character. There is nothing, in fact, which a lover will not do in order to please his mistress: "How have I seen a gentle nymph draw nigh, Victorious tenderness! it all o'ercame, Husbands looked mild, and savages grew tame."‡ Here, consequently, is found a clear and obvious explanation of the fact, that, generally speaking, there is much more of kindly feeling between males and females than between persons of the same sex. And the more agreeable a lady is rendered by her beauty, the more flattering are the marks of attention she receives. With respect to Acquisitiveness, it is sufficient to remark, that in all countries, and from the earliest ages of the world down to our own time, gifts have been resorted to as one of the surest and most effectual means of exciting good-will. Love of Approbation is another feeling very generally appealed to for compassing the same end. Savage and other heathen nations, ascribing to their deities the passions and desires of which they themselves were conscious, have universally sought to appease * Lectures, iii. 541. + See in particular Dr Gall's remarks on the influence of Adhesiveness upon the character-Sur les Fonctions du Cerveau, iii. 475-7. Young's Love of Fame, Sat. 5, v. 109–112. their wrath and obtain their favour by offerings and praise, while they have likewise addressed the most submissive language and attitudes to the Self-Esteem of the supernatural powers. The Greeks and Romans, with the same object, reared sumptuous temples in honour of their divinities. Flattery, delightful alike to Self-Esteem and Love of Approbation, has always been employed as a means of producing good-nature and generosity. Thus, it is related of Voltaire, that, during his residence in England, he was mobbed by the populace, and in danger of suffering ill usage at their hands. Having harangued them, however, on the noble manner in which Englishmen were famed for treating. foreigners, their temper underwent a radical change, and they carried him away in the utmost good-humour on their shoulders. It is said also of Agesilaus, that, having heard, during the Theban war, that some of his soldiers intended to betray an important post to the enemy, he entirely conciliated them by addressing them as "comrades," affecting at the same time ignorance of their plot. When bodily pain is inflicted upon any one, resentment (or activity of Destructiveness) is the immediate consequence. So agreeable applications to the sense of feeling have always the opposite effect. Parents instinctively have recourse to fondling and caresses in order to excite good-nature in their children; and the same method is widely employed in pacifying the lower animals. The foregoing remarks apply to cases where pleasure is given. I shall now endeavour to shew that, just as the existence of an aggressor is not indispensable to the excitement of Destructive ness, so is the existence of a benefactor not indispensable to the stimulation of Benevolence. Pleasurable feelings, however caused, have the effect of calling Benevolence into action. ger, Various illustrations were given in the essay above referred to, of the fact, that bodily uneasiness, arising from indigestion, hunand other causes of a similar nature, sharpens the temper in a notable degree; and it is no less obvious that a contrary result ensues from the agreeable sensations which pervade the system in a state of vigorous health, especially during fine weather, and after a hearty meal. Hence it follows, that the benevolent acts performed in such a combination of circumstances are no more to be regarded as indicating habitual generosity, than the irritability found in the former case can justly be considered as a sign of permanent ill-nature. "Not always actions shew the man: we find Pope's Moral Essays, Ep. I. v. 109–112. Carnivorous animals are boldest and most savage when hungry,* the final cause of which is apparent; and among ourselves an empty stomach is wonderfully inimical to generous and benevolent feeling. So much does hunger tend to bring the moral sentiments under subjection to the selfish feelings, that Cardinal de Retz advises politicians never to risk a motion in a popular assembly, however wise or just it may be, immediately before. dinner. Dr Rush mentions that one of the worthiest men he ever knew, who made his breakfast his principal meal, “ was peevish and disagreeable to his friends and family from the time he left his bed till he sat down to his morning repast; after which cheerfulness sparkled in his countenance, and he became the deTight of all around him."+ Shakspeare finely alludes to the same law of human nature in his tragedy of Coriolanus, where the failure of an attempt by Cominius to appease the haughty and offended general is accounted for in the following manner : Menenius. "I'll undertake it : I think he'll hear me. Yet to bite his lip, To give or to forgive; but when we've stuffed Than in our priest-like fasts. Therefore I'll watch him And then I'll set upon him. Brutus. You know the very road into his kindness, In like manner, when Sophia Western, in Tom Jones, intercedes with her father on behalf of Black George the gamekeeper, she is represented as wisely introducing the subject after dinner, when the squire had been enjoying himself over his bottle. The generosity of disposition so produced, she still farther increased through the medium of gratified Tune and Self-esteem, by playing three times over, without any solicitation, all his favourite airs-such as "Old Sir Simon the King," "St George he was for England," and "Bobbing Joan;" melodies of which she herself was no great admirer, and in general did not play without his special request. This, says the novelist, so pleased the good squire, that he declared, "if she would give him t'other bout of Old Sir Simon, he would give the gamekeeper his deputation next morning."-According to Lord Kames, who, however, carelessly omits, as usual, to mention his authority, one branch of worship among the inhabitants of the Molucca Combativeness as well as Destructiveness, is excited by painful sensations; though, for the sake of brevity, the latter only is named in the discussions in the text. See vol. ix. p. 423-4. And other moral faculties besides Benevolence seem to be vivified by happiness. † Rush's Medical Inquiries and Observations, vol. ii. chap. i. 66 Islands is to set meat before the malevolent spirits whom they adore, hoping that when the belly is full there will be less inclination to mischief."* It was doubtless with a similar view, that the burning of fragrant incense was so generally introduced into the religious ceremonies of ancient heathen nations; for, as Dr Rush observes, "agreeable odours seldom fail to inspire serenity, and to compose the angry spirits."+ And that disagreeable odours have the opposite effect, is countenanced by what Brydone states respecting the ferocity of the inhabitants of Mount Etna. "It put me in mind," says he, "of an observation the Padre della Torre, the historiographer of Mount Vesuvius, told me, that he had often made in the confines of Naples ; that, in the places where the air is most strongly impregnated with sulphur and hot exhalations, the people were always most wicked and vicious. Whatever truth there may be in the observation, the people about Nicolosi at least seem to confirm it."‡ The bodily comfort arising from cleanliness seems in like manner favourable to the activity of the moral faculties; and hence, the practice of frequent ablution enjoined by the religious codes of the Jews and Mahometans is in accordance with sound philosophy. Sir John Pringle, in his Oration upon Captain Cook's Voyage, delivered before the Royal Society, alludes to the beneficial effects of cleanliness in promoting good order and other virtues among seamen. Such," says he, 66 as were made more cleanly became more sober, more orderly, and more attentive to duty." On the same principle it is, that a person who goes to bed fatigued, uncomfortable, and ill-natured, rises next day with a temper much sweetened by the balmy influence of sleep. Nothing is more common in families and boarding-schools, for example, than to see boys who bear a slight degree of ill-will towards each other during the day, living on exceedingly good terms when snugly a-bed in the morning.§ It hence appears that bodily comfort and enjoyment are favourable, if not indispensable, to the exercise of Christian charity; while pain and affliction, contrary to the prevalent belief, instead of improving the temper, decidedly tend to sour it. In this view it is not surprising to find Hannah More recording it as the result of her experience that" I see by every fresh trial, that the time of sickness is seldom the season for religious improvement." || In * 66 Sketches, B. III. Sk. 3, chap. iii. § 1. + Medical Inquiries and Observations, vol. ii. ch. i. p. 35. Brydone's Tour through Sicily and Malta, Letter ix. vol. i. p. 165. § The influence of bodily comfort and uneasiness on the temper is most obvious in uneducated persons, especially where the moral and intellectual powers are weak, and above all in children and savages. In civilized life we learn to regulate and control our instincts to such an extent, that their natural operation is sometimes hardly discoverable. This remark should not be lost sight of in perusing the present essay. Memoirs of H. More, ii. 111. |