The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-10-29


table of an acquaintance. If he is erha pc
lite and attentive, l infer of right that his re
CARDS centre in himself, not me that he
trying by all this fummery of modern polite
ness to show himself off under the tlimsy pre-
tence OF contributing to my entertainment
If he really sat store by me, he would no
be thus formal. True esteem, pure friend
ship, dispense with ceremonies and artificial
attentions, and seek a direct intercommunior
of soul with soul. So the very tailor and bar
bernied finish and exterior manners Of these
extra polite rascals show them to be hollow
hearted-whited sepulchres attempting to dis
guise their internal deformities by means o.
this external garment of assumed p%oliteness
But how easily this desire can be seen through
by those who look below the surface of ac,
tions, and have learned to scan motiUe tic
trace actions up to those sources from which
they spring. Almost all light fingered gen.
try are extra polite. Their assumed gentili-
ty is their cloak, put on not for comfort, but
under which to carry their booty, without de-
traction and the physiognomical observa-
tons OF most people are so very superficial,
that they fail to discover what is as palpable
as the nose on the face. Even so called ply
s%iognomists know very little, after all, of the
true science Of Discerning characters and hence
their frequent failures.
But their beauty. Generally that man is
considered handsome, especially by the ladies,
who has a bewitching and roguish, that is, an
amorous eye, and this is almost always a to-
ken Of propensity in its other forms as well as
in that of sensuality so that his very beauty,
falsely SO called, is his condemnation. Similar
remarks might be made Of several other SO
considered marks of beauty-that exposition
of true and spurious female beauty already
given also applying to male beauty.
Yet there is a style Of masculine beauty,
which never deigns to accompany any other
than a noble soul. OF this stamp was that of
Washington. His person tall, yet not spind-
ling, but full and broad, as we'll as high, ev-
cry feature ample yet symmetrical, and the
whole clothed with a dignity and majesty
which?awed while it excited universal admira-
ton. The forms of Franklin, Bonaparte,
Hamilton, Bacon, Edwards, Dwight, and
many other truly great men Of the earth har-
monized substantially with this description.
They were well proportional and noble look
ing men. These, and many kindred samples
confirm our doctrine, yet differ essentially
from Count de Orsay's style of beauty, which,
Judging from his portraits, depends more on
his amorous destinations than that exhibition
oftrue manly symmetry and greatness already
specified.
Our sleepy looking and awkward notion
ed raw-b0ned, but strong-minded men alone
remain for canvass. And first, set it down
as certain, that prominent featured, spare
men, unless weakened by disease, are men of
power when reused. The proof of this will
be given when we come to treat on the tenn
peraments as indicating mental characteris-
tics Next, their ~disproportion of features
indicates, according to our rule, strong points
of character, in some respects, and weak ones
in others. The former, circumstances have
developed the latter are not revealed in
their public capacities. Or, more probably,
they consist in a van of refinement and pol
ish, which the power of mind they exhibit,
hides, or else converts into commendation.-
Thus, great scholars, in England, are expect
cd to be ~uncouth, inattentive to dress, and ct
and wanting in all those items which
the fashionable gentleman-a cores
pondence in beautiful keeping with our great
of harmony between shape and char
acter.
Proyerb says truly, "great men have
great faults" Our theory shows why. They
have very strong points of character, so much
so as to amount to idiosyncracies, or at least
outlandish peculiarities. These occasion
their greatness, more properly, DISTINCTIONS and
their faults while that deficiency in 9th
err respects which accompanies these extremes
of organization, leave them liable to great
weaknesses if not blemishes. But truly great
men are great in all things, that is, have few
and this corresponds with that doctrine
that truly great men are always well formed
noble looking, as already stated. Sec
men are generally both homely and
and this corresponds with our doctrine,
but men of the first order of both intellectual
and moral excellence combined, will add a
well formed body and elevated carriage to
mental greatness.
And now, reader, after requesting that you
view this doctrine in all its length and
I dismiss it with this single remark,
that, fully comprehcndcd and rightly applied,
constitutes a fundamental landmark from
to decipher all the outlines of character
talent.