New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-17
CH[NS AND CHARACTER
Why Does a Square Ja1o Denote
FirmneSS?
BY DIR. Louis Robinson.

BY DIR. Louis Robinson.
II there is one point which all physiognomists
seem agreed IT is that hrmness of character is
expressed in the chin and lower Jaw.
| Strictly speaking. although all talk Familiarity
of firm chin" the anatomical chin is not the
part which is chiefly concerned in giving that cast
/ OF vissge which goes with determined will II is
possible to have q fairly well developed chin and
| yet to be unstable water. The chin proper
which may be defined that part OF the lower
| Jaw Immediately adjacent to the "symphysis' Tor
line where the two halves of the bone Joined IN
'front.'. appears TO be quite distinct. when
slider its anatomical history, from that part OF the
mandible which gives a index OF will power.
| At first sight the problem to the OF the
link which we all admit to exist between the will
and the jsWbone appears welngh insouble Why
should a man who has certain mental characters
ties, the origin OF which must without doubt be
looked for in the tissues OF the brain, show clear
and unmistakable sign OF them IN his lower Jaw
more than anywhere else?
There can be very little doubt that the jswbone
is greatly Influenced. both IN size and shape by the
vigorous actions of the muscles attached to its
surfaces 1t is surprising how rapidly tho shape
! Of many of the bones OF the human body may be
altered even in adult life, by the use or disuse OF
muscles. Every surgeon who has to examine the
part OF limb which remains intact after an am
putation has observed how rapidly the bones which
have been rendered useless diminish in size and
strength
powerful muscles. such attached to tho lower
jaw were TO become vigorously active. might In
like manner expect change in the conhguration OF
the bone and in the outline of the face That such
/ changes do occur be shown without the intro
duction of moral or physiognomical problems
! Until within the last few months the crews of
! our fighting ships have had to live mainly upon
! 'hardtack" Such food throws heavy work on the
muscles Of mastication and, as a consequence one
| never sees sailor with weak jaw.
/ A similar development Of the lower Jaw appears
| to result from the habit Of chewing gum, which
! IS common in the United States. Certainly among
the classes where this habit is prevalent one can
| detect a wider dental arch than the average and
! also an increased prominence OF the lower Jaw
| Tobacco chewing has been productive Of q cast
/ OF countenance which will remain historic for all
! tme. Uncle Sam will probably be forever por-
! trayed individual lean of flank and Iank OF
| jaw Oliver Wendell Holmes verbally depicts
! him
| Those familiar with the portraits Of the grea,
soldiers Of the American CTvi War can hardly fail
20 have Been struck b. the curious family likeness
which runs through their dour. determined visages
II Is scarcely too much to that this military
! type is practically extinct in America now Almost
TO man. these long faced. saIlow heroes were to-
bacco chewers, were also many OF the prominent
statesmen Of the period II was however by
no means exclusively American custom Most
| people Of middle age remember among sailors
and workingmen OF Great Britain men with long
angular jaws and wrinkled. sallow checks resenl-
bling those Of that extinct ruminant, tho typical
Yankee" OF caricature.
1t is worth while TO note in passing that there is
one facial trait that the tobacco chewer possesses
in common with the man-of- wars man and nearly
all hard living savages and barbarians. His mouth
| shuts firmly, conveying the impression that he
| knows his mind. The same may be said Of
most Of the portraits that have down 10 US
from ancient and medieval times Let any one
/ curious in such matters compare these portraits
with those Of modern people such may be seen
! IN any photographers window. and he will find
| that it Is quite exceptional to among contem-
porary faces that easy and firm set OF the mouth
depending the shape OF the lips and jaws
which is so necessary to the dignity of the human
countenance. Three faces out of four which We
| encounter as pass along the street lack char
| acter' for the same reason.
When consider how many otherwise pleasing
! faces among young people Of modern times are
| marred by certain weakness IN the outline Of
| the jaw. probably due to the fact that our food
nov t, so p,eEaITa lot us as 10 need
| now figuring as improvers Of human looks have
offered their services professors OF Jaw gymnas-
Having now. hope. made IT sufficiently plain
enced in early life by the action Of muscles upon
/ upon the main question with which we set out
/ II IL can be shown that an innate obstlnacy Of
biting muscles shall be far from a solution.
Of our moral nature come into the world with US
Without going into metaphysics and discussing the
| between soul and soul, we can say with confidence
| that certain specific arrangements of the nerve
cells Of the brain which exist in each Of US alb
initio have TO do with the outward manifestations
| OF those differences Not only is the boy the
father Of the man, but the embryo is father OF
The boy VERY carly in infancy It is possible to
those who arc naturally timid and those who are
th5 sr1 sn the @ b :fa W
was a wlful youth and a wilfql baby.
den erss Of r e eat IN Ffso99 mood we st F
question why this is the case we must back
very far indeed, 10 state to- OF development when
| or other-except such demanded instant flight
| was settled by vigorous biting. Darwin shows in
his book entitled SThe Expression OF the Emotions
| In Man and Animals" that is really the
remnant of very expressive threat viz lifting Of
like manner the action of setting the teeth which
consists in bracing the biting muscles. is relic of
difficulty In the simple prehistoric way nature
for the moment being obllvious Of the fact that the
| old dental TACTICS have been superseded
dren has shown that even before there are any
teeth to bite with the infant IN determined mood
| clenches its gums together by contracting its
! temporal and masseter muscles I am inclined to
think that the action of the temporal is re-
sponsible for the determined jaw than that Of the
This may perhaps explain the difference. which
| is readily discernibie. between the square jaw
attention has already been drawn which comes
| from chewing hard food In hard biting animals
such as the bulldog ana tho badger IT Is the fully
developed temporal muscle which gives the char
acta-istic buIgiug behind the cheeks; IN
Of determined visage not only do we get the effect
Of constant pull OF the powerful muscle upon the
angles Of the lower jawbone, but also the equally
characteristic funess Of outline of that part OF the
head between the upper margin of the ear and
the skull. Broadly speaking. although they both
act together, the temporal appears 70 be the biting
the masseter IS the biting muscle as far chewing
teeth are concerned: