Thursday, April 12, 2018

Michael Ceraolo writes


July 25, 1881

Garfield:

I studied my temperature chart, 
and remarked:

“The condition of that man’s case must have been 
extremely critical at one time”

Guiteau:

“You prayed God . . .        
to send you help, 
and he has sent me”
 Image result for guiteau phrenology paintings


[Michael has composed "Eighty Days," dramatic monologues for each day from July 2, 1881 through September 19, 1881 (from the day president James Garfield was shot until the day he died).]



1 comment:

  1. Clark Mills made a cast of Guiteau's head and made a phrenological study of it. From the ear to the cranial organs the distances (in inches) were as follows: Individuality 5, Eventuality 5 1/2, Comparison 5 5/8, Human Nature 5 3/4, Benevolence 6, Veneration 6 1/2, Firmness 6 1/2, Self-Esteem 6 1/2, Concentrativeness 6, Inhabitiveness 5 1/2, Philoprogenitiveness 5 1/8, Amativeness 4 1/4, Destructiveness 6 3/4, Secretiveness 6 1/8, Caution 5 3/8, Ailimentiveness 5 3/4, Combativeness 4 3/4, Vitativeness 5 5/8. Mills' son presented a phrenological analysis: "Guiteau's head is 23 1/2 inches in circumference... Daniel Webster's head measured 25 3/4 inches. Notwithstanding this difference, Guiteau's Self-Esteem and Firmness are as large as shown in Webster's head... His Secretiveness is immense, but Caution is small. His Vitativeness or love of life is also large... His Self-Esteem is so immense that it makes him believe he is really a greater or more important person than he is... His Firmness makes him keep to his opinion ... It is no good reasoning with such a man ... the intellectual development of Guiteau is not sufficient to counterbalance them ... I don't think, speaking exactly, that they indicate insanity; they rather indicate conceit ..." An additional note stated that "the photographs of the assassin seem to indicate a rather large organ of Marvelousness, which in a diseased state of mind would account for pretensions to divine inspiration."

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