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Un des symboles su' 7 i^n-ysioLoa-TT IK THOUGHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. BY DANIEL CLARK, M.D., Medical Superintendent, Asylum for the Insane, Toronto. ]sr two people among all the sons and daughters of Adam are alike in every respect. This law of diversity applies to everything animate and in- animate, from the definite forms of the crystal, the dewdrop and organized bodies up to the planetary orbs. Tliis Absence of uniformity is also seen in the mental constitution of every in- dividual. The phlegmatic, the nervous, th" emotional, the affectional, and the intellectual can be singled out from among the masses by the observation of physical appearances, movements as well as mental states. Temperaments are substratal agen- cies which modify, to some extent at least, the mental constitution of each of us. The instrument may not de- cide the kind of its operations, but it - tions of men and things, or it may be his honest convictions, lead him to hold out with great tenacity against his op- ponenta From childhood this has been his trait, and were it not that it might be looked upon as a photograph of some one in particular, his physi- cal appearance might be readily sketch- ed. A change of base in many such might be looked upon as an exai.'iplo of a modern miracle. Did the occa- sion arise such a man would be a mar- tyr for right or wrong. Martyrdom only implies that a man believes ho is right, and has the courage of his con- victions. Had he lived in the days of Mahomet, when converts were out- wardly made by giving them the alter- native of acce{)ting the Koran or the sword, the stubborn man would have chosen the latter and have been thank- ful for the opportunity of becoming a martyr to Iiis convictions. Such a man is a great contrast to the weak, vacil- lating creature who has no opinion of his own. His poor life is mostly au- tomatic. He is almost as passive as a looking glass, which reflects im- ages passing before it, but can ori- ginate none of its own. He is the pliant wax ready at any time to re- ceive imjiressions from every imping- ing stamp. The last impression re- mains only until a successor displaces it. He may be good-natured and agree with everybody from pliability or sheer indifference ; led by the present, the influences of the past are lost upon him. He is a waif tossed upon the surf of opinion. Having neither sail nor rudder, this fickle craft drifts help- lessly about on the ocean of life, the sport of circumstance and the play- thing of every passing breeze. He was always of this manner and re- mains so in spite of warning, educa- tion, or of experience. We all know such among either kinsmen or acquaint- ancea Some men again have a natur- ally sensitive moral nature. From childhood upwards their moral judg- ments are so commendable that it is said of them that they are too good to live long. A child, born next door, shews from the earliest years of life bad propensities. The badness crops out with every year's growth, and in everything he does. Time, good example, a wholesome education, do <) \> ^' 1 I] PHYSIOLOGY IN THOUGHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. ^ 11 m % ♦^ not eradicate the innate wickedness. Bluntness is seen in the sense of moral obligation. He is selfish, cruel, crafty, with low instincts ; although he may hehavo himself, having I'espect to the punishment of crime in a law-abid- ing country, yet his conscientious scru- l)k'8 are of the faintest kind. Selfish- ness and its interests guide all his actions. From the cradle to the grave — as a juvenile specimen of depravity, or as a hoary-headed sinner and hypo- crite — he is full of all manner of in- grained evil, and it seems utterly be- yond human effort to straighten the crooked moral nature. He is the Pariah of society, to whom precept, example and education bring no change of ])ropensity. Let the Christian phil- anthropist study these sad unfortu- nates in the haunts of vice, in the homes of charity, and in the prisons of any land. How far such are re- sponsible for conduct or belief lies with Infinite Wisdom. In many such de- plorable cases the generous and loving nature will see that it is pertinent to ask, as was done before on a memor- able occasion : " Did this man sin, or his parents 1 " and the answer will be to all of us, " Our fathers have sinned and are not, and we have borne their iniquities." Can it not often be said that this downward tendency is the fulfilment of a hereditary law which " visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation ? " The next typical class is too often seen in this nervous and excitable age, in which men trot through life and gallop into the grave. The impetuous man is continually running headlong into difficulty. He jumps at conclusions without due de- liberation. He passes through life in the work of continually making mis- takes and correcting them ; or, as Syd- ney Smith has phrased it, in continu- ally passing empty buckets down into an empty well and then drawing them up. If experience have any effect upon him, it is only by continually watch- ing himself and standing guard over his natural bent of mind. He is a perpetual blunderer, unless on the alert to check his heedlessness in forming half-thought-out opinions and plans, then acting upon them without due forethought and circumspection. Usu- ally of a nervous temperament, he either enjoys life hugely, or is suffer- ing more acutely than his phlegmatic brother. If sanguine, he is anticipa- ting with pleasure the fruition of some ill-(ligested scheme ; or failing in that he is immediately in hot pursuit after another chimera. He, doubtless, has a mission to fulfil, but few can find it out. His schemes are of short dura- tion, and have the spice of variety — one at a time, but nothing long. Intellectual activity does not always mean will-strength. Mozart was a musical prodigy, not simply in the execution of music, but also in its creation ; yet he had no strength of character. Coleridge had his imagi- nation not only active but also under the control of the intellect, as is evi- denced in the weird rhyme of ' The Ancient Mariner.' In decision of character he was a weakling. Poe was a man of undoubted genius and great mental activity ; but was as unstable as water, being driven to and fro in the most vacillating manner by every tenipest of desire and passion. His will was the slave, not the master : he wanted equilibrium. Byron has shown in his poetry the highest genius com- bined with keen powers of analysis ; yet he was the veriest child of im- pulse and emotion. Cowper, in his poems and letters, shows keen dis- crimination, deep pathos, and rare humour, yet he was so weak-willed that his moods might have been taken like degrees on the thermometer, to indicate his mental condition, ranging from zero to fever heat. His volition was the weakest part of his being, and so he was a child of circumstance. In none of these was one faculty a coun- terpoise or complement of the other to constitute a well balanced mind. 6 PHYSIOLOGY IN THOUnHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. Such men can bo culled hy tlio doKon out of every coiiimunity. They can- not help the unph'ivflant fact that they have nervous, irritahle, and impulsive temperaments. This typical organiza- tion is to a great extent characteristic of all true poets, musicians, and chil- dren of art, great or small. They are strung to a greater degree of tension than are ordinary mortals. At the same time, there is much force in what John Stuart Mill says (' Autobiogra- phy,' p. 169): ' I saw that though our character is formed by circumstances, our own desires can do much to shape these circumstances ; and that what is really inspiriting and ennobling in the doctrine of free will is the convic- tion that we have real power over the formation of our own character ; that our will by influencing some of our circumstances can modify our future habits or capacity of willing.' Certain aptitudes are obviously na- tural to many, hence the juvenile love of certain playthings ; yet perfection is acquired by practice, and so it is in all our efforts of thought and volition. The tendency of physical bias may ob- struct desires, but its restraining power is made somewhat inoperative and partially powerless by a new direction being given to bodily and psychic force. In this way a new governor keeps rebellion down in the domain of potentiality and eneigy. This is a a most prominent influence which is brought to bear to curb a natural and malign disposition, or to intensify a good propensity. These, and such as these, are correctives or exciting agents to keep in abeyance or lead in a con- trary direction the individual, yet the innate tendency, temperament, or phy- sical condition is constantly cropping up in spite of these deterrents or di- rectors. All proper training must take into account the aptitudes of the mind, have in view the natural bias, and incite the latent faculties. Dispo- sition ia a natural growth, and cannot be a manufaulured product. Every character •^'H asert itself according to its own laws of development, just as much as the oak or the rose. We can train them, but we cannot change their nature. The men of keen intelbct and low emotional qualities, such as Voltaire, llousseau, Oibbon, John Stuart Mill, and Herbert Spencer, could never look upon matters of 8j)eculation or faith, except by miracle, in the same light as gentle and loveable Melancthon, genial and sympathetic Wesley ; soul-stirring Chalmers ; kin«lly and attractive Pio Nono ; or long-suffering, patient and brotherly liivingstone. In these men, the vehichiS of emotion, aflection, in- tellection and volition were widely varied, and, as a consequence, so were their modes of thought and conduct. It is seldom this earth is visited by men who excel in all their receptive and active powers. Even those of moderate capacity lack in symmetry of nature. If one faculty or trait towers above its fellows, it is too often at their expense. We may find the man of keen and commanding intellect low in emotion and affection. He is like a wintry sky, very clear but very cold. Intense feeling, passion, excitability and nervous impressibility are not often found with a towering intellect ; yet humanity thus varied is threat- ened with ostracism if it give not unanimous assent to trifles in belief. We all know what reception awaits any man in society who cannot in honesty accept any of the Christian creeds in their entirety. In discussing this matter, it is not to be forgotten that many influences ai"e brought to bear to counteract these physiological tendencies. Constant eflbrt to overcome bad propensities and to cultivate moral conduct, at length form a habit which becomes a rule or law of nature, and to some ex- tent, at least, dominates over natural bias. There is a spontaneity ii.. e^' ry person, which, in its constant exercise, is increased in potency for good or evil The more good a man does, the more easily is it performed ; and the 1 1 PHYSIOLOnV IN THOUOHT, CONDUCT AND liELIEF. 4) converse is true in rcsjiect to evil. The handiwork of the cleft crafts- man, which, at HrHt, in cinnisily TPl l> PHYSrOLOOY IN THOUQHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. !> * » of magniticont teniploa, models of tnsto, beautiful inoutliim iind fair in propor- tions. Anotlier chiHS «(pially enthusi- astic with iconoclastic fury made them a mass of ruins or looked upon them with contempt, and as a standing tes- timony of their detestation worshipped in structures, with no more architec- tural taste than is displayed in a match-box or an oyster can. Tliese hideous erect' ans were meant as an emphatic |)roteHt against the :«'Sthetic tastes of the former, and undoubtedly thoy were a remonstrance in carica- ture, as fur as stone and mortar could embody indignation. One class wor- shipped with grand oratorios, wailing chants, and stirring anthems, in which is the highest ',tyle of harmony and melody. The other in marked contra- distinction, must sing their uncouth rhymes to simple music. The latter were in dead earnest, but honest purpose found no rhythmical expression. The one had an elaboiate ritual, tlie other must eschew it as an abomination : the one kneel in • ayer, the other enter a standing })rote&t In the one form magnificent instrumental music as- sisted at worship ; therefore the other must have nothing more complicated and melodious than an instrumental tuning-fork. Organs, fiddles, flutes, cornets, and such like were agencies of Satanic device. The one must attach great importance to stoles, surplices, genuflexions, and divers postures, the other, in strong Anglo Saxon, anathe- matized the use of these and the in- troduction of forms as sacrilege and pride, and then took equal pride iu going to the other extreme. These tidal waves of thought are seen ebbing and flowing in one generation after another. Christianity pure and simple is followed by a showy medievalism. Prot'38tingheretics surge to the surface, and with trenchant billows of argu- ment maintain the ascendency for a time, until their doctrines become he- i-esyno longer. Prelacy is followed by Puritanism. Moderatism is submerg- ed in Emotionalism. Now. it is natural- ism against supernaturalism, or more properly, natural theology against re- vealed theology. Scientific truth ia forced into an unnatural conflict against speculative dogma : the pheno- mena of nature against the evidences of Christianity The two citadels ai'o really one, an when the clouds of combat clear away, it will be seen that they have one common foe in Nihilism. The warfare will doubtless accomplish this result, that religious thought will turn to the future with its grand pos- sibilities, and not to the past with ita imperfect knowledge and halting in- terpretations. Few take much interest in the jontroversies between Augus- tine and Pelagius, Luther and Calvin, Wesley and Whitfield, or between High and Low Churchism. The issues of to-day are betweea natural and revealed religion. Both have the same author, but multiform reasoning puts too often upon each different and divergent interpreta- tions. The mere scientist defies the antiquated theologian, and points tO' history as evidencesof his blunders and errors in liblical hermeneutics. He flings at hi^ head the opinions of the early fathers, in respect to cosmo- graphy, astronomy, physiology and in latter times, the science of geology and natural history. He shows how the mere dogmatic theologian has been forced to change his ground to- meet the requirements of undisputed scientific facts. Within the last quarter of a century, the Christian Church has- advanced in intelligent thou^ ht far be- yond the old camping grour a. Many creeds remain on the ecclesiastical statute books, but as far as belief ia them is concerned they are virtually obsolete and inoperative. Even tho most dogmatic laggard in the onward march is inclined to give a broader- and more rational scope to individual thought. For example, this is espe- cially seen in the materialistic views- formerly held in respect to future punishment. The horrible word pic* turings of the physical suflferings of th& 10 PHYSIOLOGY IN TZIOUOHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. l lost are scarcely ever heard now from •:"ny pulpit T'je same is true in res- pect to many of the views held of the Divine attributes, such as those of justice and mercy. A latitude of opi- nion is given now, which, but a few J ears ago, would have led to acrimon- ous discussion, trials for heresy and ostracism from church organization, •and even from society. The personal is asserting itself against cast iron rules in minor matters of faith. The nature of God, and that of man and his des- tiny, are being discussed with a free- dom which indicates, not disaster to scriptural truth, but an assurance of a more abiding hold on mankind's intel- lect and conscience. Untrammelled judgment will gain the ascendency in spite of edicts, canons or discipline. In view of this fact, it is well to remem- ber that latitude is not license, any more than political freedom is un- bridled passion, let loose to the utter perversion of law and order. If creeds are infallible as are the Scriptures interpreted by them, then are they permanent, unchangeable, and above revision. If their authors are finite men, with limited know- ledge, then is it clear as noonday, that some time or another, their formulated interpretations must be revised, cor- rected, and abridged in details, as surely as have been the scientific de- ductions of centuries ago. The Old Testament is dim, shadowy, typical and incomplete. The New Testament is more full and integral. The latter is •evolved from the former in interpre- tation and fulfilment. More light through man's experience and in na- tural religion will still be thrown upon its pages, and the minor matters in the creeds of to-day will look as ab- surd as many of those which were re- •ceived as gospel truth in the early ages of Christianity. The recent bolt of the able and conscientious ministers of Scotland from the sharp lines of the "Westminster Confession of Faith to i;he other extreme of the widest lati- ^udinarianism, is only another evi- I dence of the desire of the individual to insist upon his right to private opinion. In the volume entitled * Scotch Sermons,' these divines play shuttlecock and battledore with the old landmarks of Biblical interpreta- tion. One of them asserts that there is no reason to impute divine author- ity to those portions of Scripture which treat of matters which belong more properly to science and history than to religion. Another says miracles belong to the * poesy of religion ; ' a man can disbelieve them and still be a very good Christian. The chief inter- est the Church now has in the signs and wonders recorded in the Gospels is a scientific one, lying in the direc- tion of the philosophy of religion, in the field of historical speculation.' The Dutch Co\ enant Theology, as evolved by the Synod of Dort — with its solemn bargainings between God and Adam, and between God the Father and God the Son — appears * a fashion as quaint and artificial as the Dutch landscape gardening, which, along with it, came into vogue in the British Islands ' By one fell swoop they attempt to destroy the creeds of Augustine and Calvin. They reject the dogmas of the descent of man from the Adam of the Book of Genesis ; the fall of Aaam by eating the forbidden fruit; the imputation of Adam's guilt to all his posterity ; the consequent death of all men in sin ; the i*edemption in Christ of an election (or body of elect persons) ac- cording to grace ; the quickening in the elect of a new life ; and the eter- nal punishment and perdition of those who remain unregenerate. This is a pretty thorough weeding out of what we have been led to believe were Gos- pel truths. The God of this new school is the Eternal Reason, the Everlasting Intelligence, the Infinite Love, the Only True Substance of which is this Material Universe as the phenomenal manifestation. The ex- istence of God is assumed, and rests in obscurity and ultimate mystery. The editor (Prof. Caird) uses no figure \1 > ■ I > PHYSIOLOGY IN THOUGHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. 11 •^ > \ 4> of speech when he says, ' he who lives nobly and wisely, who rises above the narrow life of sense to identify him- self with that which is universal and infinite, is sharer in a life of humanity that is never arrested, and shall never o PHYSIOLOGY IN THOUGHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. 13 ^ 't factory solutions can be found through the working of such laws, our faith gives place to knowledge of facts in natural religion. The Divine Author is the same, only the uiiracle-worker is changed to the law giver. At one time tempests, earthquakes, epidemics, hobgobli'^-^. ghosts, witches, fairies, spells, t^. omans and omens were looked upon as being direct and potent agents, manifestations or charms outside of natural solutions. These views now nolonger are found where a knowledge of physical science exists. The many diseases which were thought to be di- rect judgments of God have their causes in violations of sanitary laws. The poor maniac who was supposed to Ibe possessed of the devil, is now known to have the demon in a diseased portion of brain, and the kind of imps can be •determined, to some extent, by the l)hysical results. The same radical changes of belief are taking place iu the religious world. A large section of the religious community may agree in believing that sin universally jjre- vails, without giving credence to the dogma that temporal death is a con- sequence of it, and the result of one disobedience. Many millions may not dispute that there is a moral govern- ment in the world, without assent- ing to the belief that eternal punish- ment is a necessary consequence of «vil. The doctrine of a vicarious atonement can be readily accepted, A'ith our knowledge of a sin-stricken world to account for its necessity ; l)ut it is not a corollary of that doc- trine to accept the idea that its etti- cacy extends to all without distinction of moral character. Morality teaches our duty to one another. Piety is oar proper relation to our Maker. Thlfe Ten Commandments and the unparal- leled Sermon on the Mount cover tlirso two classes of duties and relations. These are believed in and acted upon by countless myriads to whom the minor and unmeaning Shibboleths are an abomination. All the faiths of Christianity and of Paganism might be classified into essentials, on the one hand, and insignificant dogmas on the other, to show that such general prin- ciples may not be matters of unani- mous disagreement, even when affected V)y the physical ground of differences of constitution. Thought dependent on physiological conditions finds, in generalization, a common factor. The greater the area of ground, the more numerous can be its occupants, but the nearer the multitude climbs to the top of a conical hill the more contract- ed is the elbow-room. Radical truths may not be gainsaid, because of their wide significance and application. The unimportant may not be agreed to by any two of the community, if left to their own cogitations and reasonings. Human reason, in healthful exer- cise, revolts against the acceptance of these non-essentials en bloc ; yet, a be- lief in the worship of God, in the deity of Christ, in rewards and punish- ments, and in the law of love, would be accepted by millions outside of any church organization. Let us suppose each religious com- munity to be represented by a circle. If these circles areplaced so as to intersect and interpenetrate one another to such an extent as that parts are common to all, it will be seen that all cover a certain uniform area. In this neutral ground of identical faith, all the Chris- tian churches might inscribe the arti- cles of a common creed- This might be comprised in three words — Re- pentance, Faith, and Godliness. These comprehend the three central ideas of all. If these are held fast, the odds and ends in the outlying segments are of little vital moment in the interests j of humanity. All the is7ns may put their distinctive creed marks on these unimportant areas, only let us be free to accept or reject them as seemeth best to the earnest seeker after the cardinal truths of Christianity. Mis- sionaries to the heathen adopt this plan, and herein do they show wordly wisdom and catholicity of spirit, such [ as actuated their Master in his mission 14 PHYSIOLOGY IN THOUGHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF. work. As a rule religious communi- ties are made up of those who have many traits in common. A law of selection operates here. To use phre- nological terms for want of better, any observing person can see one class dis- tinguished by conscientiousness, firm- ness and self-esteem. These give force, pertinacity and earnestness to their views on religion. Another is marked by courtesy, credulity, refinement, cul- tureand reverence. Orderand doctrines inculcated by their religious teachers have great weight with them. A third is characterised by the social, ideal and emotional. Feeling is paranu- nt, and ancient traditions have no ei t on such organizations. A fourth has great veneration, marvellousness, ideality and firmness, a good deal of energy, and not much personal accountability. A fifth has a good deal of intellectuality, benevolence, little veneration, and small respect for forms and ceremo- nies. These typical classes might be extended, and each marked with a sec- tarian brand. This sort of evolution f!om among the masses and this law of selection are constantly going on in the religious world. This grouping is seen also among the sectaries of hea- thendom. The unanimity of classes is largely brought about by extraneous influ- ences. The majority of differences can often be traced to natural bias. This is continually cropping up in all men- tal action. Example, education and sur- roundings may o > er-ride, to some ex- tent, the peculiarities of mind as far as external assent is concerned. Be- neath this apparent consensus of be- lief, there are varieties of faith as dis- tinctive as are the exi)ressions and features of the human face. No two tools of steel have the same temjxjr ; no two instruments of music have the same tone ; no two creatures have the same kind of vocal notes. So it is mentally and physically impossible, as men are constituted, for two rational persons to think alike. No example and no system of education, secular or sacred, can obliterate these radical distinctions, which, for wise purposes, are implanted in our natures. Even hereditary tendencies are no exception to this rule. The reason of this ia plain to any observer. Thought is affected by the body as music is affect- ed in tone and melody by the kind of instrument which produces it The player or composer has no control over its quality and scope of execution. Practice and skill may elicit the best notes of which it is capable, but there his power ends. A penny whistle and an organ may produce the same notes in unison, but there is no comparison in volume, scope and intensity. The colour of the prism will affect the sun's rays which pass through it. So does the body affect thought. The relation of body and mind is the battle ground of to-day. The attempts of the free-thinkers are towards bringing under one general law of development our physical, emotional, intellectual, and moral natures. The Evolution theory, promulgated by Darwin, Hsec- kel and that school of thought, is often held up to ridicule by those who have no other argument to offer. With superficial thinkers, irony, sarcasm, invective and cynicism take the place of refutation. Whether their argu- ments, based on observation, be true or not, these weapons alone are as harmless as Chinese gongs. Their re- search must be met by like assiduity. It will be conceded that the gap be- tween the lowest specimens of human- ity and the highest forms of the next lower creation is not very wide — in fact very close — physiologically or mentally. The distance widens very- much if the average man be taken as a standard. Even were the doc- trine of Evolution true, man, with his exalted powers of mind, might well be called a new creation. His greater capacity of reasoning — his keener sus- ceptibilities — his grasp of abstract ideas — and his moral nature, all, are so transcendently above any other creature found on this terrestrial ball, I I 1 >14 " ■l- PHYSIOLOOY IN THOUGHT, CONDUCT AND BELIEF, 15 > « i. that let him be created de novo, or evolved in the past ages from lower or- ganisms, still he is the crowning work in the animate creation of earth, and points more conclusively thnn aught, in sea or earth or sky, to his Divine origin. The lower forms of animal life, plus these additional capabilities and powers, virtually make man a new being, into whose nostrils was breathed the breath of life. While this is true, it is equally beyond contradiction, that if we compare our nature with that of the quadrumana, it will startle us to find how much we have in common. This school of thinkers do not deny a creator, but only join issue in respect to the number of creations beyond the primordial germs of life. In the same ■way there is really nothing alarming in materialism rightly understood and defined, yet, peoj)le go into hysterics over a caricature of this dogma of sci- entists. These explorers know of noth- ing but matter in its various forms, and hence infer that it is r.ll that exists in the wide universe. We go to the other extreme, and deny a material ex- istence, to much which may be found to come uj^der that class of substances. No doubt that subtle fluid called electricity is a form of matter. As far as we know, there is nothing in nature apparently more unsubstantial, unless we except the ubiquitous ether which pervades space. Suppose that entity called spirit, soul, mind, psi/che or any other name, could be demonstrated ta be matter, but infinitesimally more refined than any known material sub- stance. Endow this sublimated indes* tructable and circumscribed matter with all the qualities, faculties, and active powers attributed to that sub- stance called mind, and there is not an objectionable feature in the thought outside of fanciful sentiments and educational bias. In that sense this substance could have in it that which is involved in the Lucretian idea of being endowed with * the promise and potency of life.' It would even then be a living and immortal personality. This need not wed us to the Agnostic doctrine of Shelley, which defiantly says : ' There is no God ; Infinity within, intinity without, belie crea- tion ! The inexterminable sijirit it contains Is Nature's only God.' ( i' s