OBSERVING FACULTIES.
Thefunction of this organ is to recognise existences, or the identity of substances without reference to their peculiarities; it has been termed the memory of things. Its recollective powers are limited to simple details, or facts having no reference to their form, colour, &c.
Predominant.—One in whom Individuality is predominant, will be distinguished for his powers of observation. No object will escape his scrutiny, and no opportunities will satiate his curiosity. If his reflective powers are weak, he will require a great mass of facts, but they will lie in his mind confused and unoccupied: he will be unable to employ them in illustration or argument. If in the habit of writing, his compositions will abound with personifications. If Causality is large, and Concentrativeness is small, his reflective powers will be weakened by the tendency imparted by individuality to dwell upon substances instead of causes.
Large.—With Individuality large, one is induced to observe and examine every object that comes under the limits of his vision. His scrutiny does not appear to include the peculiarities of substances, but rests satisfied with their mere corporeal existence. He is distinguished as a close observer of men and things. In description he is exceedingly minute; and with Concentrativeness large, prolix and tedious to the last degree. With Eventuality and Time large, he will not only notice quickly, but will remember with exactness; and with Language large, can describe accurately events, manners, customs, &c. With these organs large, he will have a great desire for reading, and for collecting facts. With the Reflective Powers and Language large, will be much given to reflection, and in expressing his thoughts will be clear and perspicuous.
Moderate.—With Individuality moderate, and the Reflective Powers and Concentrativeness large, will be subject to abstraction of mind, and will be much more given to reflection than to observation, still, when any thing peculiar is offered to his attention, he can readily examine its character. He will generally notice existences more in relation to their uses and adaptations, than as mere identities.
Small.—A person whose Individuality is small, is generally heedless and unobserving. With Locality moderate or small, he may travel extensively; and yet remain as ignorant as if he had staid at home. Nothing but the more obvious characteristics has power to excite his attention. If Constructiveness and Ideality are full, he will notice works of architecture, but his descriptions of such will lack unity in consequence of his incapacity to notice details. If Causality and Comparison are large, he will be addicted to reflection, but his expressions will be vague and apparently inconsistent, consequent on his inability to collect minute details.
Thisorgan gives the ability to discriminate forms. It aids the artist, and a prominent developement is indispensable to the skilful mechanic.
Predominant.—With Form predominant, one never forgets the appearance of any thing that has once came distinctly under his cognition. He will readily discriminate the forms of objects at a distance, and perceive differences and resemblances where many others will not; can recollect the name of a person by remembering its appearance when written; will easily detect typographical errors; and with Size and Individuality large, can read with great facility and correctness.
Large.—With Form large, one much more readily recollects the appearance of a person than his name, this is more particularly the case with Individuality large. With Individuality small, he will not be apt to pay attention to ordinary matters, but if his attention is called to them, he recollects their appearance with distinctness. With Imitation large, he will be able to draw and copy with great facility, and will excel in penmanship.
Moderate.—With Form moderate, and the Reflecting organs large, one will never notice the shapes of substances, until something particular enforces his attention. He will then require considerable examination to enable him to recognise them afterwards. His recollection of persons and things will usually be confused and indistinct. With Individuality large, observes much, and with tolerable distinctness; but with Individuality small, is heedless and inattentive.
Small.—With Form small, a person will be unable to recollect the countenances of persons even with whom he is intimate. He will be apt to miscall words in reading. He will find it difficult to decipher obscure handwriting. It will also be difficult, if not impossible, for him to make much progress in the natural sciences.
Thisorgan gives the idea of space, and the power of judging the relative dimensions of objects; it also gives the ability to judge of distances or of lineal space.
Predominant.—With Size predominant, one’s perceptions of the dimensions of objects will be singularly accurate, he will be enabled to tell at a mere glance the dimensions of a room, the length and relative distances of objects, the centre of a circle, and to perform any other action requiring the exercise of this organ.
Large.—With Size large, one will possess all the attributes ascribed to Size predominant, but in a minor degree.
Moderate.—With Size but moderate, and without having been accustomed to the exercise of the organ, one will greatly err in judging of the dimensions of objects and size generally.
Small.—With Size small, one will be signally deficient in all the qualities ascribed to this organ.
Theoffice of this organ is to impart to its possessor the idea of the power of gravity, or of mechanical force and resistance. It gives great ability to judge of momentum, and is large in the heads of all those who excel in fencing, boxing, archery, skating, quoit playing, &c.
Predominant.—With Weight predominant, one will be remarkable for his power in the use of this faculty. In performing gymnastic feats, in balancing, riding a fractious horse, and in every other exercise that requires a display of agility he will be pre-eminently conspicuous.
Large.—With Weight and Self-esteem large, one can easily adapt himself to the laws of gravity, will never fall in precarious situations, can go aloft at sea in the most intrepid manner, and readily perform any operation requiring the exercise of this endowment.
Moderate.—With Weight but moderate, one will be rather deficient in the qualities ascribed to the functions of this organ, but with practice, may attain considerable skill and success in the arts to which it conduces.
Small.—With Weight but small, one will easily lose his balance, even in situations where no danger is to be apprehended. He will be enabled to excel as a marksman or wrestler; will be enabled to learn to skate, or to pitch quoits. With large Form, Constructiveness and Imitation, will have a mechanical turn, but will be unable to excel as a machinist in consequence of his inability to perform the functions ascribed to this organ.
Thisorgan gives the perception of Colour, and renders one sensible to their different shades, their harmony and discord.
Predominant.—With this organ predominant, one will notice the colour of an object before any other peculiarity appertaining to it; will take delight in colours, in their arrangement, order and beauty.
Large.—With Colour, Ideality and Comparison large, one will be distinguished for his love of colours, and his ability to discriminate and arrange them. With large Form, Ideality, Individuality, Constructiveness and Imitation, Size and Order, will excel as a portrait painter, and take great delight in that occupation; and with Eventuality, Locality and Comparison, as an historical painter.
Moderate.—With Colour but moderate, and in an occupation that does not exercise the function of this organ, one will be decidedly deficient in his ability to discriminate colours, but if his pursuits are the reverse of what is here presumed, he will be a tolerable judge of colours, and possess considerable taste in his arrangement and selection of them.
Small.—With this organ but small, an individual will be unable to discriminate any but the most striking colours. With Ideality large, may be fond of paintings, but will be unable to point out their peculiar beauties. He can never tell the colour of the eyes or hair of even his familiar acquaintances.
Thisorgan imparts that quality of mind, which prompts an individual to preserve order and arrangement in his several pursuits and occupations. The peculiar action of the organ is much dependent upon the character of the other developements.
Predominant.—With this organ predominant, one will be distinguished for his love of order and arrangement. His maxim will be “a place for every thing, and every thing in its place.” This quality of mind will be a prominent trait in his character, and will influence to a great degree his conduct and actions.
Large.—With this organ large, one will be much annoyed by disorder; his room, clothes, books, papers, and every thing under his control, will always be kept in the utmost neatness and regularity. With Adhesiveness large, will be fond of social enjoyments, but his pleasures will be much interrupted on discovering a want of neatness and order in the persons of his friends and acquaintances. With Ideality and Individuality large, will be exceedingly neat and fastidious. With Combativeness and Destructiveness large, will easily get offended and angry at seeing things out of place. With Locality large, he will be enabled to perform actions in places in the dark, with which he is acquainted almost as well as in the light. With Ideality but moderate or small, he will be slovenly in his dress and appearance, yet preserve order, arrangement and neatness with his books, papers, &c.
Moderate.—With Order but moderate, one will be rather deficient in the qualities ascribed to this organ. He will be fond of order, and acknowledge its utility, but will be unable to observe it. With Ideality large, and having been educated in habits of order and neatness, the action of this organ will be much improved. He will possess most of the qualities ascribed to Order large, but will never sacrifice much to this quality of mind; but with Ideality small, and with an imperfect education, he will be slovenly, loose and irregular in all his actions and movements.
Small.—With this organ small, one will be exceedingly disorderly and incoherent in all his arrangements, and business details. His actions will not be guided by system, his books, papers, &c. will be left where he happens to use them. He will be unable to appreciate the utility of order, and complain of those who practice it as being over nice.
Thisorgan enables us to form the idea of number, or the plurality of objects. It assists in the recollection of dates and quantities. It enables one to readily understand numbers and their combinations. Its activity takes place, whenever there is a departure from unity. A large endowment of this organ is not essential to the algebraist and geometrician, its functions being limited to arithmetical calculations.
Predominant.—One having Calculation predominant, will reckon in his head almost any arithmetical problem that can be proposed to him. If Causality and Comparison are large, he will excel in the higher branches of mathematics, and possess a great fondness for these studies.
Large.—With calculation large, one will be distinguished among his acquaintances for his skill in arithmetical calculations. He will be enabled to tell at a glance, operations which to an ordinary accountant require the use of figures. If Causality and Comparison are large, he will excel in solving difficult problems in the higher mathematics, but if these organs are deficient, his talent will be limited to arithmetical calculations.
Moderate.—With Calculation moderate, and in a situation which constantly demands the act of ready calculation, one may become highly talented in this respect. He will, however, require time and effort to go through an intricate operation. If Causality and Comparison are large, in ordinary circumstances he will accustom himself to the use of a slate and pencil for all operations of a complicated character.
Small.—With Calculation small, one can succeed in arithmetical calculations only by dint of great labour, and then only to a limited extent. If Causality and Comparison are large, he may be capable of the higher branches of mathematics, but the difficulty, which his arithmetical calculations cost him, will render him averse to all mathematical speculations.
Thisorgan gives the power of noticing and recollecting the peculiar position of objects, and gives a desire for travelling, and for the study of geography. It is essential to the scene painter. It strongly aids the power of association.
Predominant.—With Locality predominant, one will have an insatiable desire for travelling, roving about, and for visiting strange places, will readily recollect their peculiar position, the localities of the prominent objects of attention, and will be excessively fond of reading geography and works of travels.
Large.—With Locality large, one will have a great desire for travelling; and with Acquisitiveness and Inhabitiveness moderate or small, will be prompted to roam about regardless of expense, or of family considerations. In visiting strange places, he readily notices their peculiar localities, and will ever after recollect them. He will be excessively fond of studying geography, and works of travels; and will be enabled to point out the particular position of a sentence in a book or newspaper containing an idea to which he wishes to direct attention. He will never stumble in the dark, and will find his way with little instruction through unfrequented places.
Moderate.—With Locality but moderate, one will have but little desire for travelling, and will be nearly regardless of the localities of the places which he visits. He will often lose his way in forests and cities, with which he is not familiar, and will seldom find a place if obscurely situated without great trouble. With Individuality and Ideality large, will have a fine taste for natural scenery, but his descriptions will be vague and unsatisfactory in consequence of his inability to point out the particular localities of the different objects.
Small.—With Locality small, one will be extremely unobservant of, and inattentive to the localities of objects. He will often lose his way even in places with which he is familiar, and will be nearly wanting in the attributes ascribed to this organ.
Thisorgan takes cognizance of actions as they exist; and thus observes the phenomena that is constantly taking place throughout nature. It is a principal element in the desire for knowledge, and greatly aids in giving an ability for practical business involving details.
Predominant.—With Eventuality predominant, one will notice and remember every transaction and occurrence that comes within his observation, in all their varied details. He will have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and seldom allow any incident to escape his recollection. He will attend much more to facts than to principles, and will be given more to narration than to reasoning, often weakening his arguments by narrating unimportant particulars, which have little connexion with the point contested.
Large.—Those in whom this organ is large, possess a clear and distinct recollection of events and transactions, and are much given to reading and observation. They are particularly fond of historical and other works, abounding in facts and incidents. With Language large, will be fond of relating with extreme minuteness, occurrences and facts with which he is familiar. If Concentrativeness is large his narrations will be given in a clear and connected style; but if Concentrativeness is small, they will want method and connexion. With large Individuality, Language and Comparison, he will possess a great thirst for knowledge, and will readily collect, analyze and classify ideas. If, with this combination, Causality being moderate or small, he will have a large fund of knowledge, but be unable to profit by it.
Moderate.—With Eventuality moderate, one will be able usually to observe actions, but will be inattentive to any but those of the most striking character. If Causality and Comparison are large, will possess a ready power of reasoning and classification, but will be wanting in facts and details to sustain his own opinions. He will be more given to reason than narration, and will collect facts more for the purpose of illustrating his arguments, than the pleasure of acquiring them.
Small.—With Eventuality small, one will be decidedly deficient in his recollection of facts and incidents, and will be dull and incurious. He will be enabled to follow any occupation requiring a close attention to details. In narrating, he will be unable to recollect any but the most striking points.
Thisorgan gives the ability to observe and recollect the lapses of time. It also confers the power of keeping time in music and dancing.
Predominant.—With Time predominant, one will possess an astonishing facility in recollecting dates, the ages of individuals, time at which occurrences have taken place, and the lapses of time generally.
Large.—With Time large, one will readily recollect the date of transactions that have come under his attention, will be fond of history, and will especially recollect the precise time of each event. He will be enabled to perform an action at the given word of command. If in the habit of dancing, will excel, and take great delight in that amusement. He will be able to judge the hour of the day, without the aid of a time piece, with accuracy.
Moderate.—With Time moderate, one will recollect none but the most important dates. If Eventuality is large, will be fond of history, but will generally forget the time of transactions, and thus want clearness in his historical knowledge. He will often forget the day of the week and even his own age.
Small.—With this organ small, one will be nearly deficient in the attributes ascribed to its functions.
Thisorgan gives the taste for music, and makes its possessor take a high degree of pleasure in listening to musical performances.
Predominant.—With this organ predominant, one will have an exquisite taste for music, will make any sacrifices to enjoy the pleasure it imparts, and will readily catch and learn tunes almost by intuition.
Large.—With this organ large, one will have a superior taste for music, and will easily learn tunes, and if his voice be good, will easily learn to sing. If Ideality is large, his performances will be rich and pathetic.
Moderate.—With this organ moderate, one will possess a considerable taste for music, and with a good voice and large Imitation, may learn to sing from hearing others, but can never excel.
Small.—With this organ small, one may be fond of music of particular kinds to which he has been accustomed, but this will not enable him to learn or practice music.
Thefunction of this organ is to enable its possessor to express his ideas in appropriate language, and thus to communicate thoughts and sentiments. The talent of verbal memory depends on this organ.
Predominant.—Those in whom this organ predominates abound with words. They talk merely for the sake of talking, and their style in writing and speaking is characterized by great verbosity. In ordinary conversation they will use a great multitude of words to express a common idea, and will be distinguished among their acquaintance as intolerable talkers. They will be able to commit words to memory with readiness, and will recollect forms of expression, where otherwise the idea would escape them.
Large.—With Language large, one will possess the qualities to a great extent that are ascribed to Language predominant. With large Individuality, Form, Locality and Eventuality, will be enabled to relate with great accuracy the conversation of a speaker, his looks, tones and actions, and will readily recall the precise words used. He will possess great ability to acquire knowledge, and will be distinguished for copiousness, ease and volubility of expression. If Causality and Comparison are moderate or small, his ideas will be of a crude, imperfect character, yet he will converse incessantly nevertheless. With Comparison large, his knowledge of language will be superior, but if Comparison is small his words will often be incorrect and applied in a wrong sense.
Moderate.—With Language but moderate on ordinary occasions, one will be wanting in powers of expression, and to express his ideas with fluency and effect, he will require much excitement. If Causality and Comparison are large, with a large and active brain, he will have many important ideas, but they will lose much of their cogency for want of more appropriate expressions. With Secretiveness large, he will be rather taciturn and indisposed for conversation.
Small.—With Language small, one will be unable to express any but the most common ideas without hesitation and embarrassment. He will find it difficult and almost impossible to commit to memory, and his style of speaking and writing will be dry and common place; talking will be to him a burthen.