George Combe
George Combe
George Combewas the leader of – and the spokesman for – the phrenological movement for more than twenty years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and was the author of the highly influential The Constitution of Man. Combe trained in Scots law and had an Edinburgh solicitor's practice. In his later years, after a successful marriage in 1833, Combe devoted himself to international travel in the promotion of phrenology...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEducator
Date of Birth21 October 1788
CountryUnited States of America
Phrenology taught us that the mind thinks by means of the brain, is liable to become fatigued by too long attention, as the locomotive muscles are by too much walking; and I therefore proposed to them to take a brief rest.
The friends whom I have are invaluable, and although not numerous they are sufficient for my enjoyment; and the texture of my own mind renders me very indifferent to the rest of the world.
I called their attention also to the absence of all means of ventilating the hall, remarking that, as we had already breathed the air which it contained for a full hour, it must have lost much of its vital properties and needed to be renewed.
He has a number of curious facts in illustration of the power of mere goodness to protect against outrage.
I requested the gentlemen to put on their hats, and the ladies their shawls, to avoid catching cold, and then had the windows widely opened. This proceeding caused some astonishment and alarm at first; for the Americans generally have a dread of cold air.