cians may be enabled thoroughly to ascertain its existence, and
conscientiously depose to that effect, and also that it may be
recognized by the jury, when they "proceed to make their inference," in
order that, by their return, your Lordship may appoint the proper
committees of the person and property.

Respecting the human intellect, two very opposite opinions prevail among
physiologists and metaphysicians. One party strenuously contends that
the phenomena of mind result from the peculiar organization of the
brain, although they confess themselves to be as "entirely ignorant how
the parts of the brain accomplish these purposes, as how the liver
secretes bile, how the muscles contract, or how any other living purpose
is effected."--The other maintains that we become intelligent beings
through the medium of a purer emanation, which they denominate SPIRIT,
diffused over, or united with, this corporeal structure. The former of
these suppositions is held by many grave and pious persons to be
incompatible with the doctrines of the Christian Religion; and if I am
not mistaken, your Lordship, on a late occasion, after having perused a
work attempting to establish such principles, did incline, by "rational
doubts," to suspect that these opinions were "directed against the truth
of Scripture."

It is particularly fortunate that the arguments concerning the nature of
unsoundness of mind and imbecility do not involve either of these
presumptions:--if the most decided victory over their opponents were to
be conceded to the fautors of organization, no advantage could be
derived from their philosophy by lawyer or physician, whose object is
to ascertain the existing state of an individual's mind, and not to
detect the morbid alterations of the cerebral structure by the scrutiny
of dissection: nor is it necessary, for the elucidation of the present
subject, to contend for the pre-eminence of the spiritual doctrine, as
it would be extremely difficult, and perhaps irreverent, to suppose,
that this immaterial property, this divine essence, that confers
perception, reverts into memory, and elaborates thought, can be
susceptible of unsoundness. These high attributes, proudly distinguished
from perishable matter;--this sanctuary, which "neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt," cannot undergo such subordinate changes, without an
obvious degradation.

To the furtherance of that pure and substantial justice, which it has
been the tenor of your L