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Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894

"The Professor at the Breakfast-Table"


It is only necessary to show that its truth is not proved, and cannot be,
by the common course of argument. The walls of the head are double, with
a great air-chamber between them, over the smallest and most closely
crowded "organs." Can you tell how much money there is in a safe, which
also has thick double walls, by kneading its knobs with your fingers? So
when a man fumbles about my forehead, and talks about the organs of
Individuality, Size, etc., I trust him as much as I should if he felt of
the outside of my strong-box and told me that there was a five-dollar or
a ten-dollar-bill under this or that particular rivet. Perhaps there is;
only he does n't know anything about at. But this is a point that I, the
Professor, understand, my friends, or ought to, certainly, better than
you do. The next argument you will all appreciate.
I proceed, therefore, to explain the self-adjusting mechanism of
Phrenology, which is very similar to that of the Pseudo-sciences. An
example will show it most conveniently.
A. is a notorious thief.


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