, 1885-04-19
A STUDY OF HANDS.
THE PHILOSOPHY or Misunderstanding
AND OTHER GESTURES.
Meaning of Movements OF the Hands
JOY. conErAtuiation. Timidity.
Akony--Facs'' of the Hand
-"Zon of Gesture"


The true character OF the hand is 10 be
sought for In their movements 1t is in
their power Of expression that the orator,
the singer. the actor, the inexhaustible
source Of their finest efforts. In prayer, in
pain, n,joy-when man commands or when
he supphcates-his hand uplifted, lowered,
or lowering in space, seem to be sowing his
thoughts in air, just as grain is scattered to
the wind by the sower-
In all our social relations, is not the hand
the veritatls medium of exchange between
hearts, It gives the welcome, 1t opens hos
pitaiity. it seals friendship; it is by the
hand that w convey .h> visible sign OF the
bond which unitss two affections or two
destinies.
Before attempting to enter into any an
alysis Of the movements Of the hand, how
ever, we must lay down one general rule,
viz Thai usually the activity Of the
hands, as well as the mobility OF the physi-
ognomy Outside Of all special influences OF
character or surroundings, is an almost
certain sign Of cerebral activity. and CON
sequently of intelligence. We often meet in
society persons who can never remain a
minute without handling something, or who
keep moving their fingers all the time II
they have nothing to handle; such persons
are nearly always persons Of great intelli-
gence. Their hands, irritatsd by i~naction,
are like those fine thorougnbreds who paw
the ground with impatience TO begin the
race. And it is highly important TO notice
this tendency in children, for it ugurs well
for their future intelligence.
In regard to the movements of the hand
we can classify according to a few general
principles.
Whatever tends to open, to spread out the
hand, signifies clearness, breadth, truth, sim
plicity, facility.
Whatever feeling causes tbs hand to
clench itself, to close, TO diminish its appear
ance, IS connected with obscurity Limitation.
doubt, complication, difficulty.
The more energetic and rapid these move
nents are, the more violent AMI sudden the
feeling or the intellectual action which in
spires them. W
There are certain gestures which have be-
come so Identified with certain sentiments
that their mere definition is equivalent to "A
verb. We say SHOW ones fist for
-threaten;' we say point ones finger at u
person TO designate malice. The gestures
Of designation, of warning. of precision. IN
dictated by more or less tension of the index
finger, are too ~well-known TO dwell upon.
We press the fingers fiat upon the fore
head to recall a memory; the open hand to
concentrate thought. We rub or scratch
the forehead in trying to think how to get
out of a difficulty; a man often scratches
his ear when he feels embarrassed. And
as one scratches also when bothered by a
flea, the saying hes got n flea in his ear" Is
applied to a man who does not know what
to do.
To finger ones chin, 70 cares IL often in
succession expresses in common belief de-
liberation, the search for means TO fulfill n
purpose.
Finally to rub ones hands together-a
-frr, II Low haa noeaal int, A., -
lance tse fraiter les mains) as an expression
Indicative Of joy. self-congratulation. The
Same thing may be said Of ciapping the
hands, which has always and among all
people, been accepted as the sign and the
metaphor OF enthusiasm. The swapping Of
ones fingers is also a mark of joy.
Agony also has its gestures the autoin-
attic repetition OF two or three movements,
always the same, and always the infallible
forerunners Of death The dying man
pinches his bed -sheets between the finger
and thumb, or lit, up his forearm and
mover it in a curve as though trying TO ward
off something If r
We shall make only a brief obser vation
upon the manner of turning the hand. In
all expansive sentiments, such as frank
ness, confidence, conviction. affection. tho
guesturer displays his hands with the palms
upwards.
The contrary is observable any where in
the ordinary manner OF giving ones hand
While a frank handshake /, given with the
hand offered palm up, a coldly polite, or re-
served greeting is the reverse; certain hypo-
critical or timid people nevsr offer their
hAnd in an open manner. Generally speak
ing, to offer the hand palm downwards is a
sign Of repulsion or distrust. This may be
fully confirmed by noticing whether the arm
refuses to bend, or whether il drawn forci-
bly, toward you the palm still remains turned
down by reason OF the play OF the articula-
tions OF the bones OF the arm and wrist.
For we know that in all feelings OF repulsion
the arms are naturally drawn Gloss TO the
badly.
The palm is the face of the hand; it Il the
principal seat OF touch; it is by me ans Of its
surface that we place ourselves in contact
with objects AMI with men; it is par excel
lencs the medium OF communication with all
that surrounds VI. This is the reason why
the more such communication is sympa-
thatic and desirable, the more we feel in
clined to let that part Of the most sensitive
TO m lros-ions bear witness to our feelings.
ltssems to me that what we call "the zone
Of gesture" deserves remark. II We consider
the degree of elevation to which each gesture
is raised. We can perhaps generally divins
with correctness the classes Of thoughts TO
which It belongs. II the hand, in making
its gestures, is Elevated as high as the head,
or nearly so is, its because it is bearing wit
ness TO a purely intellectual operation. II
it Is lifted TO the neighborhood OF the heart
or the epigastrium, it Is testifying OF feeling
only, in order to give the expression Of that
feeling a more communicative power. II
it is brought lower than the waist. its ges-
lures simply emphasize determination Of
the valuations or facts over which neither
intelligence nor feeling have control.