H. G. Wells gives us some interesting data in regard to Aristotle. He places him among the six greatest men in history. He was the founder of the scientific method, made a study of physiognomy and wrote a treatise upon the subject which is mentioned by Diogenes Laertius in his Life of Aristotle.
Before the days of this great philosopher, political and natural science were unknown; previously, men meditated and speculated, arriving at ingenious but mostly false conclusions. It remained for Aristotle to devise a method for gathering facts; and a rigid analysis of every fact presented.
Unlimited resources in men, means and opportunity were placed at his disposal by his august pupil, Alexander the Great. At one time he had a thousand men throughout Asia and Greece collecting material for his Natural History. Under his direction, the students of the Lyceum made analyses of one hundred and fifty-eight political constitutions.
It is reasonable to suppose that he brought the same epoch making power and titanic intellect into his study of physiognomy. His treatise on the subject is sufficient proof that he considered the study of vital importance, so when we meet those who would deny it a place among the sciences we may console ourselves with the thought that we are in most honored and illustrious company, as we strive to become a little better acquainted with ourselves and our fellow-man.
May we not also respectfully suggest that fair-minded men, especially those who as psychologists and teachers, have need of all possible light on the great human problems, can scarcely afford to ignore a branch of human science which has received the stamp of approval from the greatest minds throughout the ages.
Iamblichus relates that the Pythagoreans admitted none to their lectures unless their external appearance indicated capacity for learning. Cicero speaks of physiognomy as "the art of discerning the manner and dispositions of men by observing their bodily characteristics-the character of the face, the eyes and the forehead." The Sophists taught the correspondence between the internal character and the external developments. Plato speaks of it with approval in "Timaeo."
A collection of the writings of the Greek authors on this subject was published at Altenburgh, Germany, in 1780, under the title of "Physiognomiae V eteres Scriptores, Graeci."
Bacon classes physiognomy among the sciences and writes, "It is founded on observation and ought to be cultivated as a branch of natural history."
In 1598 Baptista Porta, a distinguished scientist, published a work in Naples entitled "De Humana Physiognomia" which entitles him to be called the founder of modern physiognomy. Fifty years later the physician of Louis XIII, Cm-eau de la Chambre, wrote on the subject.
In 1778, Lavater published his "Physiognomical Fragments" which was translated into all the European languages.
In 1806 Sir Charles Bell published his "Anatomy of Expression" with its enlightening information in regard to the effect of thought and emotions upon the muscles.
In 1874, Duchenne began his experimental researches. He taught that physiognomy is subject to exact rules and that each muscle has an expression peculiar to itself.
To one who has watched the changes which take place III the human face over a period of years, there can be no doubt as to the truth of these conclusions.