The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-05-05
THE DELSARTH THEORY.
Specific Meaning Of cesturcs-Three
Kinds of Motion.

Specific Meaning Of Gesturcs-Three
Kinds of Motion.
Froebel tancbt that all outward form Is
bat the refiec, ii OF a spiritual fact. ~
that there a fundamental rules by
which the inuer life can be correctly
judged by the outer. Dsisarte has taken
this philosophy and elaborated 1t into
sueh an exquisite detail as to make it
truly his own. Going from the streets
II the drawing-rooms OF his friends TO
the aissecttng room IN his search aIter
the ruling laws Of movement u gesture,
he found that in these was expressed the
character of the greatest lady as well as
the humblest peasant. He discovered
also that We all nave an intuitive knows
edge of this fact and unconsciouSly use IL
in judgments OF people.
We judge them mainly by their pear
ing. Ii we can see the poise OF q mans
head. his walk, and hear his voice, we
eau tell whether he is prond. meek, self
possessed or self~-distrustfui. Delsarte
has read the hieroglyphics of bodily ex-
preston, translated them buck into their
fundamental meaning, and turned them
over to us AS a language TO use at u
will. AS the laws Of movement are re-
active, we can, by discovering what
bearing IL the correct expression OF the
impression we wish TO create, cause our
bodies to move on those lines.
Motion is of three kinds: outward,
proceeding from the vital nature; in-
ward, proceeding fromthe mental nature;
emotlve, proceeding from the emotional
nature-when the body Is held in polse.
Every act of life has its motive In U OF
| these three states of being, modified by
the other two, and the action cor
responds to the state from which
it springs. The head expresses
the mental nature. the legs ana
arms the vital nature and the torso the
motive nature. Each of these is again
subdivided, tue eyes and forehead being
mental, the nose and cheeks emotive aud
the mouth and chin vital. In the torso
the lungs are the region of the mental
nature, the heart of the emotive n the
abdomen OF the vital. In the division OF
the legs the upper leg is vital. the lower
leg emotlve, as shown in kneeling, the
foot mental, its movements often betray-
ing agitation when the muscles of the
face are Kept perfectly under control.
The position aud gestures of the feet
and hands show the ruling force in the
individual. Ii the body Is correctly held
upon the feet it expresses polse OF the en-
tire ~ersonality; the emotive nature rules.
If the weight goes to the front of the foot
il declares the vital nature. II it rests
mainly ON the back leg, aud the advanced
leg is slightly tent, 1t shows che thinker.
Legs wide apart Indicate ~vulgarity; feet
near together, rusticity or servility. 1t
the weight is on the back leg, with both
legs straight, it shows defiance. etc. The
attitudes OF the legs and feet are as varied
as the swift changes Of the face, and be-
tray the character as justly; but the arm
and hand. being always III evidence, are
the reader understood. The hand tells
more than all the other features to those
who can understand.s It indicates the
condition of that combination of body
and soul which is called the being, and
varies with the state OF mind.
There are a thousand gestures, all with
their specific meanings m their neces-
sary notifications through corresponding
movements of the body. A weighty idea
will be accompanied by a slowness of
gesture. a light idea by a quick light ges-
ture. A motion OF the hand from ar to
down expresses affirmation; a horizontal
movement from left TO right. negation.
A movement of the hand beginning ut the
right shoulder and moving downward
toward the left side expresses ~annoyance;
upward from left TO right, coutemnt.-
Margaret Fleming In Mansey's Mag
mime