The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-10-17
THE STUDY OF FACES.


4 Science which Il Capable OF Being Re-
duced to Fixed Rules.
Reverend John Kaspar Lavater, cit
izen of Zurich, was the first to prove
that physiognomy is science, which
can be reduced to fixed rules In .
series of remarkable essays, with many
illustrations, he claims the possibility
of complete system, mental states be-
ing revealed by the occipital muscle.
and the rectus superior of the eye.
Lavater was inspired with . genuine
love for the science, ranking no study
higher, since he says, "What q ray OF
divinity in that countenance! Every
thing declares it to be copy after a
Divine Original" Lavater himself is
large-minded, making many concessions
and finding in ''some faces, which be-
long to chameleon-souls, the possibili-
ties of what men might and ought to
be-" Zopyrus, detecting brutal quail
ties in the face of Socrates, was con-
drmed in his statement by the philoso-
pher himself. we read, as he admitted
that such had indeed been his traits in
early life, but that, by effort he eradi-
Gated them. Lavater instances many
well-known faces, among others that OF
Cicero, which he characterizes as '1umi-
nous and intelligent" that of Plato in
which he finds wisdom almost Divine"
and Brutus. in which he sees ''unshaken
firmness. Wisdom and probity" are
90 - T. ID
discovers the 'father of poets" in
Homer's countenance. 81 have seen
criminal with face like one of Guido's
angels" says one 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
yet be better than a hundred others, who
pass for good, and who are incapable OF
excess" Poets, in all ages and coun-
tries, have been believers in physiog-
nomy. Let us take testimony from them.
Herder speaks Of the eyes as windows
OF the SOUL" Shakespeare says, there's
no art to find the minds construction in
the face" Milton and Dryden are of
the same mind, as the former says,
~ uOA LILO OJOs 6A0 UuO AdUOOA oCCo
counsel" in the human countenance.
"Manly majesty safe in his front, and
darted from his eyes, commanding all
he viewed" we read in Gdipus. Arts
totle, and in modern times our own EN-
erson, perceived in human countenances
traits resembling the brute creation.
Coarseness, cruelty, vanity and shallow
ness betray themselves, while refine
ment, culture, kindness, the spiritual
life will transform the most ordinary
features Lavater became so skilled,
after years of study, that he could dis
tinguish the farmers from one part of
England from those of another, merely
by observation of the differences in their
faces. The modern student will find
this science a fascinating one. The
profles of Dante, Savonarola and George
Eliot resemble each other. In the faces
of Shakespeare and Burns the forehead
and eyes express lofty intelligence COM
bined with poetic sensibility. In Shell
ley'S broad brow and feminine beauty we
recognize the rare and sensitive spirit
that dwelt within, even as seen in the
cOuntenance of our own beloved Haw-
thorne. Had Cleopatra's nose been of a
different shape, says one writer, the for
tunes of the world would have been
changed. The beauty of Helen was the
cause of the Trojan war. The face of
Mary of Scotland won for her many
friends, and made the ill-favored Queen
of England her lifelong and vindictive
foe.-Anna Olcott Commelin, in Open
Court