Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-11-10
LIT f. Il 4 X y Z.
FACES.

IMPRESSED lis pECuhT tI!llc7 anu VIRTUES,
hopes and struggle, the faces of il great men. Let
It's enlarge upon this text, which has already been i'll
dicatcd III brief.
The faco being the outward index of the passions
aud sentiments Within the Immortal! dwcCr fashions
aud moulds the plastic substance ot its home, nnd
helps form and 10 alter the architecture ot IT, house.
like the bees and birds. In return, his mind Is not
seldom influenced by the house itself. Between the
head of u SlIaks spenrc ar of Il Bucun and that of |
Nrwgate murderer there is As much difference us be-
tween Il stately palace standing apart and ruttinS !
ove in blind alley. The spiritual principle writes
its character on lis exterior walls and chronicles
from time 20 time, its upward aspirations or lis more
co!nple:c abascmen for every one must have OBJ
served that even III comparatively mature life, face
may alter for the better or wUr-e--nay wavcr with
til" wavcring mr!-may report with terrible fidelity |
the progress of that inner struggle between the good
and evil darkness and the light. Such face be- |
comes of itself drama of prnfou and pathetic inter-
cs;-:oo often tragedy i'll lis ending, though some
times triumph but in any case tremendous spccta-
Gle: because. in the vsagr of our human fellow
lures behold the buteSrounlof the oldest antuso-
nsts in the world IA visible incarnation o the Mani
chaan drcamtlir ancient mystery" y"i Evil wrestling
| Openly with Good. The features may also be ini-
pressed with the character uf surrounding influences,
rld too often made Sord.d nnl earthly by their
owners being compelled to live in the midst of sqund
anl depressing sccIrs-likc The Lady Chrstabcl of
ColcrGSr~ beautiful iIocin who is obliged nvulnua-
| rily tu initiate the serpent slHncCS oi the witch.
1t is moreover generally admitted that the cutiva-
ton "i particular branches "i intellect leads Ia dis
tinrtve character OF phySiogGomy, and tat-pcrhalS
-. consequence "i s--nil nations have IL cast oi
cuuntctncr peculiar Ia themselves, nnl Hot to br
mistaken by Thoughtful observer. For instance, the
Greeks nnd the IlainIIS, who III former times were
the most artistic people in the world possess 10 this
dav the most ideal heads and faces that To be met
| with anywhere; and cannot we Src i'll the mclancho-
! ly, mrditave eyes U the poor llinLooS who sweep
London crossings, the essential characteristics of
| that ancient from whom all mythology and all
mystical philosophy derived, and who spccuatrd
So long and profoundly the grey secrets uf birth!
death and resurrection, tha; they became pe,ried
Intss among the living nations of the earth In
tnmcs where ancestral portraits arc kept, il will ".
ten be found that particular form ot r"untcnance
r-appcars in different successive generations, con-
Joined with similar tendency nj mud ar heart.
Leigh Hunt remarks in his Autobiography, that there
! Is famous historical Bit Of tram. mission called the
Austrian lip: [them there il the pcarshapcd face at
! the BourbUis and faces which we consider tO bc
peculiar to individuals snd to be- common TO whole
districts-such as the Boccaccio face in part al
Tuscany, and the Dante face in another. Il myself"
he adds, "havc seen i'll the Gcnorsc territory many
face like that of the BOnapartcs.' William Hewitt
pro.ssrs 10 have discovered schooboy at S,rnttnrl-
upOn-A yoi named hakspcarr, by his likeness Ia the
portraits o the poet: but these ranSisSonS less
! common in England than elsewhere, account ri
the mixed population of our island and the continual
influx OF fresh foreign blood which is known To have
al influence upon our national physiognomy
| 4 parity "f physical md moral characteristics III
different individuals however, may exist without any
relationship. llaZlIt once remarked that the heads n
the more brualiScd Of the Roman cmpcrors were very
like our English prize fighters uni the ith"a"nm
writer 10 whom We have alluded observes that "thc
dcprnved women of the imperial tir.cs Faustina
Agrppina. &c., have tn" hard, round forehead, and
small, weak chin which became the marked irnfur"s
at the Louis (niizc o@", or may be- trncrd in the
sleepy eyed anl beauties of Llv ami of Knclcr"
That the face is smo,licd by the passions of its
cr and that the character uy III great degree, be
predicted from itS linrancnts, has we know, bccu
universally granted ever since the time nt Lavatcr-
my, even asserted by the ancient Greeks, among
, whom Il phySioSnonis gavr TINT memorable charac-
ter of Socrates, which Socrates himself acknowledged
| to he Just But what more especially wish To
| force, and which, think. has not been suiii-
! cicmy recognized, is the fact that national
physi"gnomy, though always preserving certain
brnnd and general distinctions, varies i'll Diff
terrnt ages, in accordance with the prevail
ing moral ar intellectual tendency of the time. Most
men must have observed III looking over any collcc-
ton of portraits ot the great men of successive cras,
change i'll the shape of the head, in the outlines of
the features and in the general expression: and this in
the case of individuals bconsin. To th" same nation.
The effect is commonly attributed tn difference OF COS
tune, 10 change in the method of arranging the
har to the fact of the beard and moustachc being
worn in instances and in others: all OF which
may be admitted To have an influence in modifying
The cuuntenancc. But this Is not everything; the
main dist ncons lie deeper Shave the face of Saks-
pcarc, clap powdered wiz upon his head and
he would no more look Ike the men OF the Georgian
! cra--evcm the most intellectual of ihem-thnn nj
.""i. De ',,. W o,M , I'M .,, ~ "
De5 W. i -. VA '' ~, - .;a, @ nol
- ~ 70 iot ''e.ei! t',,, %. 't'i' !, '' ' va m To-
ue7iec y, LII '.e,Iee' Mn :,"ahspc..e % u ;,o
~ ~ .t st ''c. mon % ~ I ~ ,Ii :,
w ."S P'l"'T VI .'I sun "a ~ ~ ~ ~ i;,r', 81
oc" io'ho t"l'uSH 'S "iHuo"' wa" " "''S''"'
glance.
! Let the reader, then, east back his mind far
the time of Chnuccr, about five hundred years ago.
and let him contemplate the portrait of TINT truly
| yrcat poet Ia engraved bv Ecrtuc from the rough
sketch drawn by the poets own friend, Occ!cve. lie
will here see face of the Eo5lcsi KINDA head beau
tiiully built and proportio ana therefore III perfect
harmony with Iis"lf IN all tS component parts OVAL
grentcr IN lcilSth tnan orca'ii' anu Win INC Dr"i
t-t part NJ me top--thM Is I" say, III !he region ~
the brain: the fnreheui broHl, Hmo"ti ana hSh,
the n"'e straight ana SENSITIVE ana .hr NOUN ahu
lower parts ot the iace hc'hcr bru'aiiscu ih!" an
aHHhke thickness nor starved l''l" ''i hscec ris'!
ty which denies its own hnmahv rs c"lnpct:iy a' IL
refuses to sympstlzn WIN that "i DINERS. we nave
here, III short the lace oil poet anu Il huihshiS''
which Chaurcr cnIphaucaiy wns Dul we hlso hafc I'VE
some caracrristcs WHICH iliark me aac 10 WHICH 'e
poet belonged. llut era was citIlcr miary or monk
! isii; nh'l' aiti"usn Chhuccr wis " ",ekhi'c' nn"
icrccy SltirSed thc corruplios l .lc rS"'in' 'a''
Ole Church he had great deal "t the goou part "i
the lontis character III hIhi-tiie io'e "i ci17'cIe
ing nnd mc'ntlyc leisure. 1t ls probable. ns"
That hr c'!'S t." beIlc IN sanity miracles i"r We
find several "i those stories III the Canterbury aIeT
apparently with perfect tath on the part of IN" author
and not with any un'er.currcnt Of involuntary snrIr
laughter AT amy rnc he had thni love "i bodily IN
dolcnce combined with mental activity winch 'istn-
guiSled the better order of monks. This Is PLAINLY
visible in his portrait. The are Intensely nd