Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-03-15
THE HUMAN FACE.
Dr.. Talmage Discourses on a Sub.
ject of Universal Interest.
The Face the True Index of Character
Some of ths Chisels Taat Work for
the Di.figuration or Irradia-
ton of the Human
Countenanee.

elesiastes viii, 1: "A mans wisdom
maketh his face to shine and the bold
ness of his face shall be changed, or
sit may be rendered, the sourness OF
IFS face shall be sweetcned.7
Thus a little change in our English
translation brings out the better mean
ing Of the text which sets forth that
the character of the face is decided BY
the character of the soul. The main
features of our countenauce were de-
eided by the Almighty and we cannot
change them: but under God we decide
whether we shall have countenances
benienant or baleful, sour or sweet
wrathful or genial, benevolent or mean.
honest or seoundrelly. impudent or mod.
est, courageous or COW ardly, frank or
sneaking In all the works of Cod
there is nothing more wonderful than
the human countenanee Though the
longest face is less than twelve inches
from the hair line of the forehead to
the bottom of the chin, and the broad
est face is less than eight inches from
cheek bone to cheek bone, vet in that
hlIuAh GAfld lldoH AI1tl lldAA AIOuR III HHNlA
differences that the sixteen hundred
million of the human race may be dis
tinguished from each other by their
facial appearances The face is ordi-
narily the index of character. 1t is
the throne of the emotions. 1t is the
battlefield of the passions 1t is the
catalogue of character. 1t is the map
of the mind. 1t is the geography of
the soul. And while the Lord decides
before our birth whether we shall be
handsome or homely, we are by the
character we form deciding whether
our countenances shall be pleasant or
dsagreeable. This is so much SO that
some of the most beautiful faces are
unattraetive, because of their AFRO
gance or their deceitfulness and some
OF the most rugged and irregular fea
lures are attractive because of the
kindness that shines through them.
Accident, or sickness, or scaritication
may veil the face so that it shall not
express tine soul, but in the ma ority of
cases give me deliberate look at
man countenance and | will tell you
whether he is cynic or an optimist,
whether he is miser or a philanthro-
pist, whether he is noble or ignomini-
Gus whether he is good or bad. Our
first impression of man or woman is
generally the accurate impression. You
at the first glance make up your mind
that some man is unworthy of your
friendship, but afterward by circum
stances being put into intimate associ-
alton with him, you come to trust him.
Yet stay with him long enough, and
you will be compelled to return to
your original estimate of his character,
but it win be after he has cheated you
out Of everything he could lay hands
on. 1t is of Gods mercy that we have
these outside induces of character.
Phrenology is one index, and while it
may be carried TO an absurd extent,
there is no doubt that you can judge
somewhat of a mans chatacter by
the shape of his head. Palmistry is
another index, and while it may
be carried into the fanciful and NEGRO
mantle there is no doubt that certain
lines in the palm of the hand are in
dicative of mental and moral traits.
Physiognomv is another index, and
while the contour of the human face
may sometimes mislead us we can gem
orally after looking into the eye and
noticing the curve of the lip, and the
spread of the nostrils, and the correla-
ton of all the features come to right
estimate of a mans character. If il |
were not so, how would we know whom
to trust and whom to avoid? Whether |
we viii or not, physiognomy decides a |
thousand things in commercial, and |
financial, and social, and religious do |
mains From one lid of the Bible to |
the other there is no science so recog- |
uized as that of physiognomy and |
nothing more thoroughly taken for |
granted than the power of the soul to |
transfgure the face. The Bible speaks
Of the face of God, !" the face of |
Jesus Christ, the face of Esau," the
face of Israel" the ''face of job, " the |
Mace of the old man" the shining |
face of Moses" the wrathful face of
Pharaoh, !" the ashes on the face of hui
niliation. the resurrectionary staff on
the face of the dead child, the hypo-
critics disfiguring their face, and in my
text the Bible declares, "A mans wis
dom maketh his face to shine and the
sourness of his face shall be sweet
ened If the Bible has so much to
say about physiognomy, we do not
wonder that the world has made it
study from the early ages In vain the |
English parliament in the time OF
George II. ordered publicly whipped
and imprisoned those who studied
physiognomy. Intelligent people al
ways have studied it and always will
study it. The pens of Moses, and
Joshua, and Job. and John. and Paul,
as well as of Homer. and Hippocrates,
and Galen, and Aristotle. and Socrates,
and Plato, and Lavater, have been
dipped into it, and whole libraries of
wheat and chaff have been garnered
on this theme.
Now, what practical religious and
eternal use would / make of this sub
lect2 | am going to show that while