The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-04-17
ON FACES.

Lavater, L think it is, says a writ
er in the Victoria Magazine, whS
requires ali right-minded persons
to have what he terms '"homogene-
GUS faces" every feature and trait
and curve in harmony with all the
rest, and all leading up to the same
meaning. In sincere faces, all the
changing features do SO; but it is
difficult to see why, when we take
the permanent features, these
should be good faces; it is essential
to beauty no doubt; but if the face
be an evil one its character will
hardly be mended by having no OPP
posing trait, no redeeming feature
left. The greater Napoleon had g
homogeneous face, and certainly all
the madonnas have. But so also
Tito's must have been, and If any
one has 8 good picture of Hephis-
toheles, l fancy it will be the same
throughout. Indeed one would
think that these people must be
wholly good or wholly bad, only
that there are none such in the
world. The people we call SINGLE
hearted are likely TO haYe homo
geneous faces, so are the simple and
the vigorous. If their Circumstance
es suit them, they will be we'll con-
tent; but you sometimes find them
at war with all their surroundings,
and then they are altogether unhap-
py-no part of their nature is at
rest. These, too, are the people
who can be killed by grief. TAe
ordinary photographs of Keble, the
prints of Pope Plus VII, Rousseau,
and Watts give as heterogeneous
faces. If then, incongruous faces
are not the handsomest, nor the
opposite thing, they are generally
the most difficult to understand and
the most in need of being under
stood. Probably their owners
don't understand themselves.
When one sees one set of features
contradictiug the other, the whole
face tells us of an inward conflict, a
completely of character that must
be always troublesome TO the man
himself and often very inconven-
lent to his friends. And not only
arc these the most in need of being
understood, but as is ever the strug-
gle that pleasss US, they are also the
most interesting to study. Gener-
ally the incongruitY consists, /
think, in the mouth and chin falling
to support the upper part of the
face; and then the meaning of it is
most frequently that the mans ma
ture is better than his requirements,
not being duly supported by his
energy. Now it is wonderful how
far more common good foreheads
and eyes are among US than good
mouths and chins. This Is evident
from the fact that re meet so many
more grand-lookiDg men now they
have readopted their boards than
we used TO do; for there can be no
doubt that when o man has got 3
good mouth and firm chin he loses
greatly in looks by coneealiug these
| inhis beard. And this is very graf
flying fact-not that of the boards,
but that about good upper faces
| being so much the more common.
For our next rule is: 'sObservs the
forehead to discover what 9 man is
by nature, or what he may become
/ according to his nature; and the
motionless closed mouth when you
would know what he actually is, or
u6S DcCO4EC W 0bOAts AIS ORPcA
face, the head, brow, and eyes, ex.
press the intelligence and nature OF
the man the lower part the mouth
and chin, give rs the measure Of
his resolution and strength, his
practical or acquired ability, and
the temper which he himself or his
| circumstances, may have formed iE
him. The movable features which
chiefly (not wholly give Us tbs
passing changes of thought and
feeling, are the mouth aud Boetrill
| on the one part, the eyes, eye:ids
and brow on the other. In pol
ished society the expression of tht
eyebrows, and the mouth are vol
untary, except in moments Of self
forgetfulness or rest, and then iii
lips take the form Of the governing
or habitual disposition.