Physiognomy, Part 2

There are many other valuable physiognomical works, chief among which are those of Walker, Redfield, De La Sarthe, Simms and Dr. S. R. 'vVells, who has embodied in his work, "New Physiognomy," the following quotations from King Solomon and others, which show how very ancient is the art of character-reading by facial and other physical indications:

"A naughty person-a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. He winketh with his eyes; he speaketh with his feet; he teacheth with his fingers.

"The countenance of the wise showeth wisdom, but the eyes of the fool are in the ends of the earth." "Where there is a high look there is a proud heart. A wicked man hardeneth his face. There is a generation, oh, how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up."Proverbs.

Jesus, son of Sirach, author of "Ecclesiasticus," says:

"The heart of man changeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil; and a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance."

The cranial formation indicates the actual power of the mind; but the face tells the tale as to whether the powers are active or latent. A moderate endowment of talent energized and utilized to its full capacity, makes for far greater success and accomplishment than superlative attributes which never have been trained or aroused to action.

The study of the amazing complexity of the muscular machinery, the action of which produces much of the form and expression of face and body, is a fascinating one, especially when we realize that each muscular action is under the direct command of the master engineer-viz., one's self; that every passing expression leaves its mark; and that the permanent form and expression are the result of one's own thought, impulse and habit. Lovely or unlovely, strong or weak, virtuous or vicious, each face but reflects the character within. Each is marred or beautified according to the action of the mind which controls it.

If the student doubts the possibility of changing the face, let him take the picture of William Jennings Bryan at the time the writer examined and wrote a character sketch of him in 1896, and one taken at a recent date. Not only has the face changed remarkably, but the head itself has changed in outline. This was true of Lincoln, of Roosevelt and can be corroborated by comparing two pictures taken twenty years apart, of any mentally active man or woman.

We have too long taken it for granted that these changes just happen - while the fact of the matter is that our thoughts and emotions are like the chisel and mallet of the sculptor, hammering and chiseling day by day each plastic line and feature.

In the course of my experience I have seen some remarkable changes wrought in faces, both for the better and for the worse. A prominent German physician brought to me a book printed on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary reunion of his medical class. Here in each case (except where death had entered the list) were two pictures of the same man, one taken at graduation, the other twenty years later. One by one I pointed out the changes that had taken place in character during those twenty years. In one case, deterioration was so marked that I said, "That picture looks as though not one day of scientific industry or earnest, elevating thought and endeavor had been spent in the last twenty years."

With surprise, he exclaimed, "One would think that you had kept in touch with the lives of these men, instead of being an utter stranger to them all. This one was rather a shock to us, for he was fairly promising as a student, though a little wild. He was unfortunate enough to have a large fortune left him about the time he was graduated; and that, together with his love of ease and dissipation, has effectually kept him from any ethical development or useful service."