feeling, and thought, and the medium through which the mental faculties are manifested. How the connection between the brain and the operations of the mind exists is as yet a mystery; but modern physiology has, by induction, sufficiently established the fact, to place it beyond doubt; and it may unhesitatingly be affirmed, that the action of the mind is commensurate with the activity of the brain: its functions are in strict obedience to the laws which regulate this organ.

The proper exercise and the consequent healthy condition of this wonderful organ ought to be carefully attended to, since intellectual improvement greatly depends on its activity and soundness. Good digestion might as well be expected from a diseased stomach as a sound intellect from a disordered brain, In the first period of youth the brain, being extremely delicate and but partially developed, is not yet ready for the important office which it is intended to perform; an undue excitement of the intellectual powers, at this time, would be productive of the most pernicious effects on this organ, and, by a corresponding excitement of the nerves, on the whole animal economy.

The exercises to which the brain is subjected affect the physical as well as the spiritual elements of our constitution; for this organ not only communicates all its impressions to the soul, but, by a most admirable reaction, produces on the muscles of the body, and particularly on those of the face, infinite modifications which correspond to those impressions, and which are the external marks of their existence. It originates those movements of the limbs and attitudes of the whole figure, that paleness and blush, those frowns and smiles, those tears and bursts of laughter, those sighs, groans, sobs, and cries, all those changes of the countenance and inflections of the voice which are the natural signs of the desires, emotions, and thoughts within. Spirit and matter are so closely united in man, that every motion of the physical organs is a manifestation of the soul which animates them. These signs, the collection of which has been called the language of action, are the innate elements of communication amongst men; for not only do particular desires, emotions, and thoughts excite corresponding external expressions, but no sooner are these expressions assumed in one individual, than, by the effect of sympathy, the concomitant feelings arise in the minds of the beholders; thus proving that man was destined to be a communicative and a social creature.

The accidental and variable states of the soul are not alone expressed by the external appearances of the body; its propensities and inclinations are also indicated by an habitual deportment and a fixed expression of countenance. Moral and mental habits produce in the whole person, and especially in the external muscles of the face, corresponding modifications which become permanent, and which faithfully represent them. On this truth, which is universally known, the painter, the sculptor, and the poet have founded the most exquisite productions of their arts. The habit of low thought and degrading inclination vilifies the features, and that of thoughtlessness and ignorance stupifies them; but the ugliness which proceeds from vice is the most shocking of all; while virtue diffuses an unspeakable charm over the features, and intellect beams in the eye of its gifted possessor. What object is more lovely than the serene and bright countenance which bespeaks uprightness and benevolence, intellect and wisdom? This is the physical beauty to which every human being may aspire, and which a proper moral and intellectual education can bestow.

2. The Sensitive Organs.

Seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling, the faculties of sensation, are the mediums through which the mind and the material world act upon each other. By the intervention of the nerves, they receive from external objects, and communicate to the brain all the perceptions which come under the cognisance of the mind; they give the first stimulus by which the mental powers are roused into action. These instruments of sensation need exercise, in order to reach their utmost accuracy and energy. The degree of excellence to which some of their qualities are brought by practice may be seen in the blind and the deaf -whose healthy organs are usually much exercised, and consequently very acute and accurate—as also in eminent painters and musicians, who attain a remarkable delicacy and correctness of the organ engaged in their respective arts. The Indian, whose ear is cultivated as a means of pursuing his prey or avoiding danger, hears sounds which are inaudible to a European. How keen the sight of a seaman, how delicate the sense of taste in a wine-taster, how exquisite the touch of those whose employment requires them to examine the texture or the polish of bodies!

VOL. I.

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The exercise of the senses is essential as a means of intellectual education; for primary ideas can be received only through their medium: our sensations are, in fact, the origin of our knowledge. The more the senses are cultivated, the more clear, just, and lasting are the impressions which they convey to the mind. This cultivation must, however, be effected within rational limits man was not intended to vie with certain animals in the acuteness of physical organs; and, although education might enable him to compete with them in this respect, he ought not to aim at an organic superiority which could be attained only to the injury of higher faculties, and to the prejudice of the general improvement of all his being. The collective development of the external senses will enable them mutually to aid each other, by corroborating or correcting the impressions received by each. Nevertheless, the senses of touch, hearing, and sight call for a greater share of attention, as being the great inlets of knowledge, and having a more intimate connection with the mind than the other two.

The sense of touch, more delicate in man than in animals, differs from the other sensitive faculties, inasmuch as its function is voluntary, and implies some degree of reflection in the being who exercises it. The eagerness with which infants lay hold of every object within their reach, is the first indication of their reason; and, consequently, it should be encouraged. This sense assumes an active part in intuitive instruction; for it takes cognisance of a very considerable number of properties in external nature.

The faculty of hearing acquires a high degree of importance from its awakening and directing the functions of the vocal organs correct pronunciation and accurate singing depend not so much on the voice as on the ear. This organ is valuable, also, as being the medium through which language is acquired, the mind enriched with information, and the soul gratified with the pleasing sensations arising from melody.

But, of all the physical senses, the most valuable is the sight. An infinite variety of sensations and ideas are received through this sense alone; and not only do they embrace a larger range of objects, but the impressions which they make on the brain are more vivid and more easily recalled than those which are received through the other organs. The visual action continues the longest without fatigue, and brings within the cognisance of the mind the most distant and the most sublime parts of the

Creation; it supplies the judgment with the most abundant premises, and the imagination with the most diversified and most pleasing images.

Great differences exist between the primitive constitutions of the same organs in different individuals. The eye which clearly perceives forms and proportions, is often naturally deficient in seeing minute or distant objects, or distinguishing shades of colour, and vice versa. The ear which is the most acute in hearing faint or distant sounds, frequently cannot appreciate the elements of melody, nor accurately distinguish the articulate sounds of foreign languages; nor are these two qualities of hearing always found together in the same individual. It is the duty of the educator to observe these differences, and exercise what is weak, or check what is over-active in the mode of action of each organ, when its natural condition is inconsistent with the future vocation of the child.

Every means should be resorted to for the complete development of these senses. It is by varying the objects of perception that they are cultivated in all their diversities, and that the mind is, through their means, stored with varied intuitive knowledge. We shall indicate in Book IV., the manner of exercising them in connection with the intellectual powers.

3. The Vocal Organs.

The vocal apparatus is composed of a numerous assemblage of organs which concur in the formation and modification of the voice, as it is heard in cries, in articulate language, and in singing. The mechanism of this wonderful apparatus, although simple in appearance, has not yet been completely accounted for by physiologists. It is composed of two classes of organs, each filling a distinct office: these are the lower or vibrating organs, and the upper or articulated organs. The lower organs-of which the principal are the larynx and glottis, with their muscles, cartilages, and ligaments-render sonorous the air expelled from the lungs, and thus produce the voice with its intonations and modulations, its loudness and pitch. The upper organs, namely, the throat, nasal fossæ, palate, tongue, teeth, and lips, have a double function: by the diversity of forms which the various relative positions they assume give to the oral cavity, they engender a corresponding diversity of sounds; and, by their motion, they modify the sonorous air, as it passes through the mouth and nasal fossæ, and thus produce a great variety of vocal

articulations. The lower organs are the organs of voice, and the upper, the organs of speech.

The vocal organs offer the readiest and most effective means of communication amongst mankind, and as such, assume a high degree of importance; for the exchange of thought is an essential element of our perfectibility. The Creator, who has destined man to live in society, has furnished him with these instruments of expression, and bestowed on him, at the same time, an instinctive desire to use them, by making him communicative, He, moreover, has given him the means of doing so, by creating him an imitative and intellectual being; by submitting the action of his vocal powers to the government of the ear and to the determination of the will; as also by providing him with model sounds in the various noises produced by natural objects; in the cries of animals, and in the vocal sounds which he utters as the natural signs of his emotions. The vocal organs obey the social inclinations and intellectual powers which create, select, and combine the words before the organic action gives utterance to them. Thus, speech, arising spontaneously from the natural operation of the faculties, may truly be regarded as of divine inspiration.

The muscles which subserve the purposes of respiration, voice, and articulation, sufficiently demonstrate, by their action and their wonderful adaptation to the properties of the atmosphere, that they were intended to fulfil the office of oral communication in aid of the language of action. The very conformation of the mouth and flexibility of the tongue are the fittest that could be conceived for the modification of sounds and articulations. The spontaneous utterance of certain exclamatory syllables, which often accompanies perceptions and emotions, further proves the natural relation between the inward feelings and the vocal powers. This wise provision of a bountiful Providence becomes particularly obvious, when we contemplate the admirable relations which exist between the vocal and the auditory organs. The voice and the ear seem, indeed, to have been made the one for the other. There is not an articulate sound perceived by the ear which the voice cannot imitate; whilst, on the other hand, the ear can appreciate the slightest shades of intonation in the human voice. When we consider the wonderful functions of the vocal apparatus, its close affinity with the sense of hearing, the variety of its sounds, articulations, and intonations, and all the purposes which it accomplishes for the improvement and well-being of the human race, we know not whether to