One  of  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  phrenologic  observations  is
the  lack  of  absolute  correspondence  of  cranial  and  brain  con-
formity in  many  skulls.  This  has  been  the  chief  argument
against  the  theory.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  Gall
himself  was  the  first  to  call  attention  to  this  formidable  source  of
fallacy.  He  emphasized  the  fact  that  the  two  tables  of  the  skull
did  not  necessarily  correspond,  that  the  size  of  the  frontal  sinuses
varied,  and  that  old  age  and  disease  produced  variations.  Despite
variations  due  to  the  influences  mentioned,  authorities  are  not
lacking  to  prove  that,  in  general,  the  correspondence  of  skull,
brain,  and  mental  attributes  may  be  relied  upon.  Some  of  the
coarser  observations  are  certainly  well  grounded.  Thus,  Mauds-
ley  calls  attention  to  the  importance  of  the  form  and  size  of  the
frontal  region  of  the  skull  in  estimating  the  intellect,  and  em-
phasizes the  fact  that  individual  moral  qualities  are  determinable,
to  a  certain  degree,  by  estimating  the  comparative  development
of  the  posterior,  middle,  and  frontal  regions.  Benedikt  goes  so
far  as  to  say,  "A  special  part  of  the  brain  belongs  to  every  special
part  of  the  skull.  Deficient  evolution  of  a  part  of  the  skull  indi-
cates a  deficiency  of  the  corresponding  part  of  the  brain."  The
accidental  secondary  prominences  that  have  no  counterpart  in  the
brain  refer  only  to  unimportant  changeable  details  and  compara-
tively rare  abnormalities.  It  is  significant  that  criminal  crani-
ology  has  been  studied  along  lines  that  are  at  least  su^estive  of
the  old  phrenologic  bias.  Modem  craniology  has  been  inclined  to
record  many  unessentials,  but,  in  so  far  as  it  claims  the  general


i63  THE  DISEASES  OF   SOCIETY

relation  of  cranial  conformation  to  mental  and  moral  types,  it  is
operating  along  logical  lines.
