The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-12-04
THE STUDY OF FACES.
Seionoe Whicli Is Capable OF Being Ro-
t&i ducrd to Fixed Rules.

Seionoe which Is Capable OF Being Ro-
Ni ducrd to Fixed Rules.
heverond John Kaspar Lavater, cit
lzen OF Zurich was the first to provo
snat physiognomy is a science, which
can be reduced to fixod rules. In n
series OF remarkable essays. with many
illustrations, no claims tho possibility
oi complete system, mental states be-
l1ng revealed by tho occipital muscle,
and tho rcctus superior Of tho eve.
l11avater was inspired with a genuine
'(aove for tho science, ranking no study
nigher, since no says, "What ray Of
divinity in that countenance! Every
thing declares it to DO u COPY after a
/ Divine Original" Lavater himself Is
hargc-mlnded, making many concessions
ana nnding in some faces, which be-
nong to chamoleon-souls, tho possibili-
tios OF what men might and ought to
| Oe. Iopyrus, detecting brutal quail
| sos IN tho face of Socrates, was con-
! nrmed in his statement by the philoso-
pher himself wo read, as no admitted
ehat snch had indeed boon his traits in
carly life, but that, by effort ho eradi-
! Gated them. Lavater instances many
well-known faces, among others that of
cicero, which he characterizes az ''lumi-
nous and intelligent" that Of Plato in
which ne finds wisdom almost divine"
and Brutus. in which no secs "unshaken
hrmnoss." Wisdom and probity" arc
clear to him in Marcus Aurclius, and he
| discovers tho father of poets" in
Homor's countenanco. 81 have seen a
nj "a nj N f,,
angels" says ono author. TO this La
water we'll replies that "a man born with
happy disposition with delicate and ir-
ritable fibers, may plunge into crime, and
u yet be better than n hundred others, who
pass for good and who arc incapable of
( excess Poets, in all ages and coun-
tries, have boon believers in physior-
Monty Letus take testimony from thom.
Herder SPEAKS of the eyes as ''windows
OIL the SOUL Shakespeare saws, there's
mo art to find the minds construction in
enc taco.' Milton and Dryden are of
Tho same mind, as the former saws,
cruel his eye" and the latter sees
counsel in tho human countenancc.
Manly majesty satc in his front. and
dartcd from his eyes, commanding all
ne viewed" we read in Elipus. Aris-
totle, ami in modcrn times ourown EN-
arson perceived in human countcnances
traits resembling tho brute creation.
Coarsoncss cruelty, vanity and shallow
moss hetray themselves, wnilo refine
mont, culture, kindness, the spiritual
1iie VIII transform tho most ordinary
features LrvaLcr became so skilled,
alter years OF study, that he could dis
unguish the farmers from ono part of
england rom those Of another, merely
by observation Of tho differences in their
faces. The modern student will find
this science 4 fascinating one. Tho
protilcs of Dante. Savonarola and George
Eliot resemble each other. In the faces
OF Shakespeare and Burns tho forehead
and eyes cypress lofty intelligence COM
bined with poetic sonsibility. In Shell
iey's broad brow and feminine beauty we
-recognizo the rare and sensitive spirit
that dwclt within, even as seen in tho
scocntcnancc OF our own beloved Haw-
thorno. Had Clcopatra's nose been OF a
different shape, says ono writer, the for
tunes Of tho world would have been
changed. Tho beauty Of Helen was tho
cause OF the Trojan war Tho face of
Nary OF Scotland won for hor many
friends, and made tho ill-favored Queen
of England hor lifo-long and vindictivo
foe. Anna Olcott Commolin, in Open
Court.