{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_35409/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_35409","id":"gutenberg_35409","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35409","summary":null,"tags":["Beauty, Personal","Category: Gender & Sexuality Studies","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Psychiatry/Psychology","Sociology","Women"],"text":"\n\n\n\n BEAUTY;\n ILLUSTRATED CHIEFLY BY AN\n ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION\n OF BEAUTY IN WOMAN,\n\n BY ALEXANDER WALKER,\n AUTHOR OF \"INTERMARRIAGE,\" \"WOMAN,\" \"PHYSIOGNOMY FOUNDED\n ON PHYSIOLOGY,\" \"THE NERVOUS SYSTEM,\" ETC.\n\n EDITED BY AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN\n\n NEW YORK:\n HENRY G. LANGLEY, 8 ASTOR-HOUSE.\n 1845.\n\n\n\n\nEntered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, BY J. & H. G.\nLANGLEY, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern\nDistrict of New York\n\nSTEREOTYPED BY J. S. REDFIELD,\n\n_13 Chambers Street, New York_\n\n\n\n\nDEDICATION.\n\n\nTO GEORGE BIRBECK, M.D., F.G.S.,\n\nPRESIDENT OF THE LONDON MECHANICS' INSTITUTION, &c., &c., &c.\n\n\nA department of science, which in many respects must be regarded as new,\ncannot so properly be dedicated to any one as to the inventor of the best\nmode of diffusing scientific knowledge among the most meritorious and most\noppressed classes of society.\n\nWhen the enemies of freedom, in order effectually to blind the victims of\ntheir spoliation, imposed a tax upon knowledge, you rendered the\nacquirement of science easy by the establishment of mechanics'\ninstitutions--you gave the first and greatest impulse to that diffusion of\nknowledge which will render the repetition of such a conspiracy against\nhumanity impossible.\n\nYou more than once also wrested a reluctant concession, in behalf of\nuntaxed knowledge, from the men who had evidently succeeded, in some\ndegree, to the spirit, as well as to the office, of the original\nconspirators, and who unwisely hesitated between the bad interest which is\nsoon felt by all participators in expensive government, and their dread of\nthe new and triumphant power of public opinion, before which they know and\nfeel that they are but as the chaff before the whirlwind.\n\nFor these services, accept this respectful dedication, as the expression\nof a homage, in which I am sure that I am joined by thousands of Britons.\n\nNor, in writing this, on a subject of which your extensive knowledge\nenables you so well to judge, am I without a peculiar and personal motive.\n\nI gratefully acknowledge that, in one of the most earnest and strenuous\nmental efforts I ever made, in my work on \"The Nervous System,\" I owed to\nyour cautions as to logical reasoning and careful induction, an anxiety at\nleast, and a zeal in these respects, which, whatever success may have\nattended them, could not well be exceeded.\n\nI have endeavored to act conformably with the same cautions in the present\nwork. He must be weak-minded, indeed, who can seek for aught in philosophy\nbut the discovery of truth; and he must be a coward who, believing he has\ndiscovered it, has any scruple to announce it.\n\nALEXANDER WALKER.\n\nAPRIL 10, 1836.\n\n\n\n\nAMERICAN ADVERTISEMENT.\n\n\nThe present volume completes the series of Mr. Walker's anthropological\nworks. To say that they have met with a favorable reception from the\nAmerican public, would be but a very inadequate expression of the\nunprecedented success which has attended their publication.\n\"INTERMARRIAGE,\" the first of the series, passed through six large\neditions within eighteen months, and \"WOMAN,\" has met with a sale scarcely\nless extensive. The numerous calls for the present work, have compelled\nthe publishers to issue it sooner than they had contemplated; and, it is\nbelieved, that it will be found not less worthy of attention than the\npreceding.\n\nAll must acknowledge the interesting nature of the subject treated in the\npresent work, as well as its intimate connexion with those which have\nalready passed under discussion. The analysis of beauty on philosophical\nprinciples, is attended with numerous difficulties, not the least of which\narises from the want of any fixed and acknowledged standard. The term\nBeauty is, indeed, generally considered as a vague generality, varying\naccording to national, and even individual taste and judgment.\n\nMr. Walker claims, in his advertisement, numerous points of originality,\nsome of which, on examination, may perhaps prove to have been proposed\npreviously by other writers. Enough, however, will remain to entitle him\nto the credit of great ingenuity and acuteness. As treated by him, the\nsubject assumes an aspect very different from that exhibited in any other\npublication. To trace the connexion of beauty with, and its dependance on,\nanatomical structure and physiological laws--to show how it may be\nmodified by causes within our control--to describe its different forms and\nmodifications, and defects, as indicated by certain physical signs--to\nanalyze its elements, with a view to its influence on individuals and\nsociety, in connexion with its perpetration in posterity--all these were\nnovel topics of vast and exciting interest, and well adapted to the\ngenius, taste, and research of our author.\n\nIn preparing the present edition, it has been thought expedient to make\nsome verbal alterations, and omit a few paragraphs, to which a refined\ntaste might perhaps object, and to bring together in the Appendix such\ncollateral matter, as might serve to correct, extend, or illustrate the\nviews presented in the text. With these explanations, the work is\nconfidently commended to the popular as well as philosophical reader, as\nworthy of studious examination.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n PRELIMINARY ESSAY Page ix\n\n English Advertisement 1\n\n CHAPTER I.--Importance of the Subject 11\n\n CHAPTER II.--Urgency of the Discussion of this Subject in\n relation to the Interests of Decency and Morality 21\n\n CHAPTER III.--Cautions to Youth 35\n\n CHAPTER IV.--Nature of Beauty 46\n\n CHAPTER V.--Standard of Taste in Beauty 56\n\n CHAPTER VI.--The Elements of Beauty 72\n\n SECTION I.--Elements of Beauty in Inanimate Beings 74\n\n SECTION II.--Elements of Beauty in Living Beings 88\n\n SECTION III.--Elements of Beauty in Thinking Beings 93\n\n SECTION IV.--Elements of Beauty as employed in\n Objects of Art 103\n\n Beauty of Useful Objects 104\n\n Beauty of Ornamental Objects 108\n\n Beauty of Intellectual Objects 113\n\n Summary of this Chapter 120\n\n APPENDIX to the Preceding Chapters 123\n\n SECTION I.--Nature of the Picturesque 123\n\n SECTION II.--Cause of Laughter 125\n\n SECTION III.--Cause of the Pleasure received from\n Representations exciting Pity 131\n\n CHAPTER VII.--Anatomical and Physiological Principles 139\n\n CHAPTER VIII.--Of the Ages of Women in relation to Beauty 152\n\n CHAPTER IX.--Of the Causes of Beauty in Woman 166\n\n CHAPTER X.--Of the Standard of Beauty in Woman 171\n\n CHAPTER XI.--Of the Three Species of Female Beauty generally\n viewed 185\n\n CHAPTER XII.--First Species of Beauty: Beauty of the Locomotive\n System 189\n\n First Variety or Modification of this Species of\n Beauty 191\n\n Second Variety or Modification of this Species\n of Beauty 197\n\n Third Variety or Modification of this Species of\n Beauty 198\n\n CHAPTER XIII.--Second Species of Beauty: Beauty of the Nutritive\n System 203\n\n First Variety or Modification of this Species of\n Beauty 208\n\n Second Variety or Modification of this Species\n of Beauty 210\n\n Third Variety or Modification of this Species of\n Beauty 212\n\n CHAPTER XIV.--Third Species of Beauty: Beauty of the Thinking\n System 225\n\n First Variety or Modification of this Species of\n Beauty 226\n\n Second Variety or Modification of this Species\n of Beauty 227\n\n Third Variety or Modification of this Species of\n Beauty 229\n\n CHAPTER XV.--Beauty of the Face in particular 233\n\n CHAPTER XVI.--Combinations and Transitions of the Three\n Species of Female Beauty 254\n\n CHAPTER XVII.--Proportion, Character, Expression, &c. 259\n\n CHAPTER XVIII.--The Greek Ideal Beauty 280\n\n CHAPTER XIX.--The Ideal of Female Beauty 307\n\n CHAPTER XX.--Defects of Beauty 320\n\n Defects of the Locomotive System 320\n\n Defects of the Vital System 323\n\n Defects of the Mental System 327\n\n CHAPTER XXI.--External Indications, or Art of Determining the\n precise Figure, the degree of Beauty, the Mind,\n the Habits, and the Age of Women, notwithstanding\n the Aids and Disguises of Dress 329\n\n External Indications of Figure 329\n\n External Indications of Beauty 332\n\n External Indications of Mind 335\n\n External Indications of Habits 337\n\n External Indications of Age 339\n\n Appendix 343\n\n\n\n\nPRELIMINARY ESSAY,\n\nBY THE AMERICAN EDITOR.\n\n Her beauty hangs upon the cheek of night\n Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear:\n\n * * * * *\n\n Death hath no power yet upon thy beauty--\n Thou art not conquered; beauty's ensign yet\n Is crimson on thy lips, and in thy cheeks.--SHAKSPEARE.\n\n\nIt maybe set down, we suppose, as a matter sufficiently settled to become\na principle, that men are moved by nothing more generally and certainly\nthan by the power of Beauty--particularly Beauty in Woman. That it has an\ninfluence upon _all_ of one sex, like that which Master Shakspeare has\ngiven picture of in the lines we have set upon our front, we would not\npretend to say: but that the wild bard was no freshman in his knowledge of\nhumanity so far as heart and mind matters were concerned, we feel safe to\nassert--and feel confident that the passionate language of Romeo\ntrespasses no bounds, and is but a faithful declaration of a power that\nrules with a milder or a mightier sway in the bosoms of all who answer to\nthe distinctive name of Man.\n\nThis may seem a wide assertion. But it is no less true. The reason of the\nslow belief in this universality is, that men are not always subject to\nthe influence, while the principle of it is always a tenant within them.\nThere is a time--and with the time comes the development. The mind, as it\nunfolds, becomes acquainted with nothing so calculated to excite its\nwonder, as its own properties and capabilities--its new perceptions--its\nnew affections. Till progress brings with it this knowledge of ourselves,\nwe remain ignorant of half that is within us to affect us like a spell,\nand within whose reach we have been unconsciously passing onward and\nupward, by a Providential ordering, from our childhood at least, if not\nfrom our cradles.\n\nKeeping this in view, let us consider for a moment something of the\nelements of Beauty, and their influence, as a principle, upon the\nprinciples of our nature.--And first it must be admitted that they are\ngood--of a good origin--and tend to a good result. They are good elements,\nwe believe, for we find them almost ever associated with what is pleasing,\nimproving, and satisfactory to us. Indeed, in this connexion, we find them\na source of consolation and delight, where all else has failed to minister\nor even suggest them. They are of a good origin--for, if they were not, no\nsuch effect would be wrought upon a system so sadly prone to evil and\nvillanous principles, and so little open to pure, and elevating, and\ncomforting ones, that they may be said to come about it, most\nemphatically, like \"angel-visits.\" They are elements, again, that tend to\na good result, in their operation, for their consequences are almost ever,\nto make men better satisfied with their condition--where they come in, as\nan influence upon it, at all--better satisfied with almost everything\nabout them, so long as they are conscious they are creatures of\nproportions and proprieties, and affected intrinsically by them.\n\nIf what we here set down respecting the _elements_ of Beauty be true, it\nis certainly of an interesting importance in view of the influence of that\nquality upon the principles of our nature. We call it _quality_. Perhaps\nthis is not name enough for something so peculiar and powerful in its\nconnexion with the _total_ of our spirits. We will term it such, however,\nfor want of a wider language--and leave men to _feel_ out such definition\nas they may deem more good and grateful.\n\nImplanted, then, so deeply as Beauty is in the human heart--so universal,\nthat millions bow to it as something to fear while they worship--so\ncertain, as a principle, that scarcely a human being can be said to walk\nwithout the sphere of its influence--it would be needless as well as\nunphilosophical to deny that the great object of its fixture--its\nenthronement upon its high place, should be one of no common character, or\nof a tendency and effect within us, which it would be wrong and\ninexcusable to overlook.\n\nWhat then is the design of this singular and mysterious power, in\nconnexion with this sad and unaccountable nature--so often the theme of\neulogy and lament--of lofty, long, and desperate satire, among men? The\nbest answer, we think, is rendered in the influence, where operation is\nopen to every one who thinks, observes, reasons, acts, among his\nfellows.--To enter into particular definitions here, would be needless as\nwell as wearisome. The general effect upon man, as a sentient and moral\nbeing, must be the point to which our simple remarks and reasons must be\nconfined.\n\nWe have somewhere seen it observed--and have little doubt in the publicity\nand good sense of the thought--that there was perhaps no one thing which\ntended so materially to awaken lofty and good sentiments among the\npeople--to qualify the rough outline of character--and soften and\nharmonize the untaught elements of their nature, as the frequent,\nunrestrained, and encouraged contemplation of the perfect statuary, which\ntheir master sculptors were continually erecting in their temples. This\nfreedom was a perpetual lesson to a nation. The principle was developed,\nand the power of Beauty had a new, and forming, and mastering sway. A\npeople were coming into the light of better feeling--better\nsociety--better government, under the gradual but no less certain\noperation of a living principle, brought into great and beautiful action,\nunder the commanding hand of Genius, that seemed to pass at once from the\nsky, whose perfect things it presented to the sons of earth!--It is not\nsingular, we think, that such a leading forth of Beauty to the\ncontemplation of awakened man, should produce effects like those to which\nwe have adverted. It strikes us that it would have been strange had this\nconsequence not been generated, and noble sculpture thus have stood before\na world as cold as the marble from which it was stricken. We believe that\nBeauty saw a renovating power in the wonder of the Venus--and it would be\na sad thing to feel that it had ever ceased in its progress where woman or\nthe chisel were doing such things to advance it. Nor has it ceased.\nHistory presents too many instances of the monarch power of Beauty in\nwoman, to permit us to doubt upon this subject. It has passed upon the\nspirit of Man like a thing of necromance--winning him to its command, and\nbowing him to its will, until royalty itself has stood powerless in its\npresence, and the poor mass of mortals, stricken and panting like cornered\ndeer before the inexorable hunter. It has been the salvation and ruin of\nnations, as well as families and individuals--for queens have obeyed its\nsupremacy as well as maidens, and kings squared their mandates, and\nregulated their course, by the \"line of beauty.\" All this is matter of\nrecord. Sacred and profane story abounds with instances which admit of no\ndenial, while they excite our wonder. But the wonder ceases,\nnotwithstanding, when we turn from record to our own experience, and _see_\nthe effect, on others and ourselves, of what we once _read_ about in the\ncurious annals of our species. We now see the finished sculpture that\ndelighted and softened the people of an age, gazed on and admired by every\nbeing whom we are accustomed to regard as rational. No one pretends to\nquestion, much less to deny the beauty of the lovely statue, in which the\nperfection of woman is portrayed in the finished feature or the swelling\nform. Insensibility here would properly be regarded as a thing to be\nashamed of--as little better than a moral paralysis, which might well\nexclude the questionable man from the circle of reasonable, enlightened,\nand rising people, as a sad fellow, and a poor pilgrim on the earth. You\nwill rarely find the roughest nature with a cuticle that will not confess\nsome sensibility in a presence such as this--and I think we may set it\ndown as a thing well ascertained, that the picture or chiselling of a\nbeautiful woman will command the tribute of delight--the\nacknowledgment--and loud one too--of a whole and hearty worship from the\ntar, as well as the amateur. The galleries of our artists, in which the\nprinciple of Beauty is made to speak and command, sufficiently prove that\nthere is no passing away of this power which has moved, ruled, and\nregulated, to a degree almost incredible, the world of Man, from the time\nhe came to this school, and this trial of the passions and affections. Let\nthe question be asked of any one, whose spirit is in healthful action, if\nhis experience before the work of art, imbodying the Beauty we speak of,\nis not of a humanizing--and we will add civilizing, as well as elevating\ncharacter, and we are willing to abide the issue of his answer, in full\nsupport of the position we have taken. Such is our belief on the\nuniversality of this influence or element. We have heard it denied, it is\ncertain--but it was even by those who have never tested the power by an\napplication of it to themselves, or a surrender to its mysteries, by an\napproach to the real presence--and who, like bachelors upon the fearful\nsubject of matrimony, only betray a silliness just in proportion to their\nignorance. These are the men who have not yet unfolded. They are in the\nchrysalis condition--and to be pitied accordingly. They may depend upon\nit, when they pass from the _slough_, they will be ready to confess they\nare, alas! too deep in that other \"Slough of Despond,\" which is too well\nrepresented by a sad sensitiveness to the magic of Beauty, and as sad a\nconsciousness that there is no approach for them, which can be crowned by\na capture of the citadel, or the least enjoyment of the glorious delights\nit encloses. When we hear men deteriorating this power, or thanking the\ngods they never bent knee or uttered vow at its shrine, we are ever ready\nto believe they have either bowed all their days to far other and sadder\nprinciples, and made oath to idols of bad material and worse sculpture, or\nthat they are as much beyond the reach of any good, and proper, and\nbeautiful influence, as the clod of the valley to which they are\nhastening. They may take pride in denial of such influence--but what is\nthere to boast of in insensibility of any kind, where the very betrayal of\nadmiration is the best evidence of a good taste--a good feeling--a good\nfaith--a good principle? It cannot have escaped common observation, we\npresume, that a love of Beauty--or, at least, any peculiar sensitiveness\nto that quality in the female sex, has been held--and by sensible men,\ntoo--as a weakness, or an index only of a weak mind, or a feminine spirit.\nThis is certainly very foolish--and a lamentable mistake. But it is easily\naccounted for. It will be observed that the doctrine is never held save by\nmen who see beauty in things which other persons would hold abhorrent.\nThey are men who are in love with metaphysics, or glory in a mathematical\nexistence. They like, beyond all, the _features_ of a problem, and think\nonly of the _good face_ of a speculation. They see, as they profess, at\nleast, no proportions, save in some cold system of an absurd philosophy,\nand are only fit for judgment in things either too abstract for the mass\nof men, or too decidedly \"earthy\" to be worthy the attention of beings\nmade for a better sphere, and capable of seeing something in much that is\naround us, which intimates the order and beauty by which that sphere is\ndistinguished. This is enough to put an end to this objection, in\nreference to the subtle element of which we are venturing our humble, but\nwe believe, orthodox sentiments. For ourselves, we know of no more sad or\nsenseless mental condition in which we could be placed--we mean in the\nsocial relation--than this one of such ungraceful stupidity, as this of\nwhich a boast is made by such weary fellows as we have adverted to. If\nBeauty is an _outside_ principle, which they argue is of no utility, and\nquite unworthy of one who should look beyond the mere _coating_ of this\nexistence for his reward or his satisfaction, then we say that even an\n_outside_ of loveliness and grace, is better than an _interior_ of\ndeformity, uselessness, indefiniteness, chaos--even though it pretend to\nbe all spiritual, while it suggests little but nonsense, and is quite\ncertain to end in nothing.\n\nThere is another thought in connexion with this element of Beauty in\nWoman, which certainly deserves consideration. We believe the philosophy\nwhich it intimates is founded in very good sense, and withal, in\npropriety. Insensibility to the power, we have observed, is no index of\nanything virtuous or elevated. It is rather, in all cases, a bad omen. Men\nlook upon it--and that very rationally--as indicative of something\nunhealthy in the moral system. It seems to tell of a hardness--bad\npropensities--a crustaceous nature. In short, man regards his fellow, who\nis dead to this influence, as rather to be suspected at all times, than to\nbe trusted at any. But this is not his saddest trial--or what should be\nregarded as such, if he can sign himself a man, with any conscience\nwhatever. His estimation by woman is unqualified and unquestioned. He is\nset down by her as a creature as unworthy of regard by the sisterhood, as\nhe is devoid of warmth or wit in anything that has to do with the social\nrelations, and, above all, with the mysteries of the passions and\naffections. He is marked by them with a timble brand. He is set apart as\na poor thing, who knows nothing of what he was made for, and whose ideas\nof the graceful and lovely in life are about as defined and worthy as\nthose of the brutes that perish. He is run upon and laughed at by the\nplayful, and satirised and scathed by the witty. In the circle he is\ntreated--not pitied--as a piece of circulating insensibility; in the\nstreet he is pointed at as one who might be well set up as a mark at its\ncorners. And this is right. It is well he should be visited by rebuke from\nher who presents so continually around him the elements of that power he\nis foolish to resist, and unable, after all, to depreciate. Woman's\nopinion, here, is a part of the great system which the influence she\ndefends is meant to support--and we truly hope that she will maintain it\naloud as long as she can utter it. Of the power of Beauty, both the world\nof fact, and the world of fancy, are abounding in instances. The records\nof ancient story present us with their Helens and their Cleopatras, who\nwrought upon nations by the magic of their faces. Later times show us the\nwonder of the power in Mary of Scotland, and many a page might be adverted\nto, full of the adventures which marked the love passages of kings as well\nas clowns, originating in this mysterious influence, as developed in the\ngraces and glories of woman.\n\nThe power of Beauty operates widely, and everywhere. It takes the good man\ncaptive as well as the miscellaneous one, who has no definite rule to\nguide him on his wanderings. It bows the masters and teachers of men at\nits shrine, as well as the scholars and children of life. It draws the\nmerchant from his desk--the philosopher from his chair. It gives new\nutterance to the poet, while it wins the statesman to confess that there\nis some virtue in the outside of the world, after all, and some attraction\napart from the chaos of cabinets and broad seals.\n\nThere is a beautiful exemplification of this power given by Florian, in\nhis story of a Theban sculptor. He is a wandering orphan in the streets\nof his native city, and his first entrance into the workshop of the\ncelebrated Praxitiles well proves the truth of what we have set down in\nthe foregoing pages.--\"He is suddenly transported on beholding so many\nmasterpieces of art! He gazes upon them--he is lost in admiration! and\nturning to Praxitiles with an air of grace and juvenile freedom, \"Father,\"\ncried he, \"give _me_ the chisel, and teach me to become as great as thou\nart.\" Praxitiles stared at the boy, astonished at the fire of enthusiasm\nwhich kindled in his eyes, and embracing him with affection, \"Yes!\" said\nhe, \"remain with me; I will now be _your_ master, but my hope shall be\nthat you may soon be _mine_.\"\n\nThe pupil soon becomes worthy of his teacher. He becomes the heir of his\nfortune, and removes to Miletus. There, the daughter of the governor\nvisits his statuary, and from the time of that visit, his destiny is\nsealed. Love usurps the place of every other passion, and the chisel is\ncast aside in silence, under that supremacy. The Venus of marble that\nadorned his study, was no longer a Venus before that living one which\nfilled his eye and his bosom. He felt that he must tell his love, or die.\nHe declares it, in a hurried letter--a slave betrays him--and the\nindignant father accuses him before the council. He is banished from the\ncity--and embarks in a Cretan vessel.\n\nAt this time pirates surprise the city, and pillage the temple of Venus.\nThe statue of that goddess is torn from its pedestal. It was the Palladium\nof the island, and on its possession hung the happiness of the Milesians.\nThe oracle of Delphos was consulted, and it was answered that Miletus\nwould not be safe till a new statue of Venus, beautiful as the Goddess\nherself, should replace that ravished by the pirates. The inhabitants were\nin despair. They accused the governor of unjustly banishing the only man\nwho might now save the city. He is seized, and hurried in chains to a\ndungeon. Now came the trial of the daughter, whose beauty had brought on\nthis fearful crisis. She equips her vessel, and with treasures about her,\ndetermines to go in person to Athens--Corinth--Thebes--to find some artist\nwho should emancipate her father. Tempted to land on a delicious island,\nshe there comes suddenly upon her lover, whom she had been taught to\nbelieve had been long laid under the waters that lashed the heights of\nNaxos.\n\nThe story is soon told. In the humble cabin of his solitude he had\nprepared a statue which he said would meet the demand of the sybil. But he\nclaimed to have it placed veiled upon the pedestal in the temple of\nMiletus, before she should even look upon the marble. She consents--and\nthey embark for that island. The artist is received with shoutings and\njoy. The statue is borne to its trial on the altar of Venus. It stands\nerect. He fears nothing--and it is unveiled. The features are not\nmistaken--and the people utter cries of joy as they behold the image of\nhis mistress! The enamored sculptor had made her, in his loneliness, the\nmodel of his Venus!--He is called on to claim his reward. \"Release him you\nhave imprisoned,\" he cried--\"release her father--and I ask no more.\"--It\nis done--and the father gives up the daughter to his preserver, at the\nfoot of her statue.\n\nCan the power of Beauty be better illustrated than in this simple tale? We\nare not shown simply its effect upon an uneducated, artless\nindividual--upon a mind in its singleness, and just awakened to its own\ncapabilities of suffering and joy--but we see it operating in a wide and\nunquestioned influence, upon the spirit of a whole people. It was not\ndemanded by fate that there should be merely a replacing of the piece of\nmarble upon the pedestal from which it had been torn--it was required that\nthe statue should be as royal in its _Beauty_ as that was whose place it\nshould supply. Beauty was the spirit-word of the destiny of Miletus. It\nwas Beauty which had been guardian of the city--and it was Beauty which\nmust now restore it, by her return to her temple.\n\nBut we will not dwell upon this story, though it so beautifully\nexemplifies the position we maintain. There are many instances of frequent\noccurrence in the world, which tell as strong a tale, of the influence of\nGrace and Beauty, as is here presented in the Grecian record. We may not\nwitness them--but the power is working ever like fate in the mingled\nmaterial of our life; and it only requires a sober faith, together with a\nmoderate observation, to convince all men that they are the creatures of\nBeauty, as much as they are of destiny and dust.\n\nBut there is another consideration connected with this subject--an\nimportant one, too--and for that reason we have reserved it to the last.\n\nWe are settled in our conviction that there is something in Personal\nBeauty, of a representative and correspondent character. It represents a\nspiritual beauty--corresponds with a moral symmetry. Though we call it an\n_outward_ property, still it must be a picture of the _internal_. It would\nseem impossible that there can be a speaking expression of grace and\nloveliness, upon a face that is but a telegraph of an inward deformity and\nugliness. Perhaps all this may seem somewhat ideal in its philosophy--and,\nperhaps, almost transcendental. But we hold it to be true. It certainly\nappears to us reasonable that the minor should reflect the reality, as\nwell in this heaven-made humanity, as amid the earthy art of our\ndrawing-rooms. That the spirit should speak out in the language of the\ncountenance, is to us as excellent sense as that it should tell its story\nin protuberances and indentations. Who can deny this--and where will the\nargument fail? We pause for a reply.\n\nLet us be understood, however. We have no idea of going beyond reason in a\ntheory, which, though it may appear more than plausible to us, may seem\nfar this side of plausible to others. Yet we think we are borne out by\nexample. We do not maintain, it will be remembered, that beauty of person\nmust necessarily be the representative of _moral beauty_, according to the\nbest and highest definition of that term. That definition, we presume,\nwould include the virtuous and the heavenly. That these traits are\nunfailing accompaniments of noble features--the beautiful countenance--the\nfinished form--it would be hazardous and foolish to assert. What we intend\nto say is this--that we believe external beauty is the representation of\nan internal and spiritual quality of the same nature. That Beauty may be\nspiritual, though it may not be moral--the Beauty of Virtue. It may be the\nbeauty of superior and surpassing powers--the Beauty of Genius. It may be\nthe beauty of a mind, uncommon in its attractions, and in its proportions\nbeyond fault or question. It may be the beauty of intellectual\nsymmetry--and this may find its speaking resemblance in the chiseled face\nand figure, as certainly as the moral loveliness of the\nheaven-inspired--the emphatically _good_ man. Of what more perfect mental\nproportions could the human countenance have been indicative, than the\ncountenance of Napoleon? The symmetry of Genius spake there, if it _was_\ntrue--as it certainly was--that moral beauty had no telegraph in that\nsplendid sculpture of the man.\n\nBut we have said as much as we can afford to--though the more particular\nsubject of our remarks--or what in good faith should have been, if it has\nnot--Beauty in Woman, would seem to be one on which it would not be deemed\nunknightly to give way to a pretty expression. We must, however, leave all\nconsiderations of gallantry on this score, to others who can amplify\nbetter than we can, when we have got to the end of our chapter.\n\n\n\n\nADVERTISEMENT.\n\n\nThere is perhaps no subject more universally or more deeply interesting\nthan that which is the chief subject of the present work. Yet no book,\neven pretending to science or accuracy, has hitherto appeared upon it. The\nforms and proportions of animals--as of the horse and the dog--have been\nexamined in a hundred volumes: not one has been devoted to woman, on whose\nphysical and moral qualities the happiness of individuals, and the\nperpetual improvement of the human race, are dependant.\n\nThe cause of this has been, probably, the neglect on the part of\nindividuals, to combine anatomical and physiological knowledge with the\ncritical observation of the external forms of woman; and, perhaps, some\nrepugnance to anthropological knowledge on the part of the public. The\nlast obstacle, if ever it existed, is now gone by, as many circumstances\nshow; and it will be the business of the author, in this work, to endeavor\nto obviate the former.\n\nThe present work, beside giving new views of the theory of beauty, and of\nits application to the arts, presents an analysis and classification of\nbeauty in woman. A subsequent work will apply the principles here\nestablished to intermarriages and crossings among mankind, and will\nexplain their results in relation to the happiness of individuals, and to\nthe beauty and the freedom from insanity of their offspring. A final work\nwill examine the relations of woman in society, will expose the\nextravagant hypothesis of writers on this subject who have been ignorant\nof anthropology, and will describe the reforms which the common interests\nof mankind demand in this respect.\n\nIt is now to be seen, whether a branch of science which is strictly\nfounded on anatomy and physiology--one which entangles the reader in no\nmystical and delusive hypothesis, and presents to him only indisputable\nfacts--one which is applicable to the subject most universally and deeply\ninteresting to mankind, the critical judgment of female beauty, as founded\non necessary functions--and one which unravels the greater difficulties\nwhich that subject presents--may not excite and permanently command a\ngreat degree of public interest.\n\nA preliminary view of the importance of this subject is given in the first\nchapter; the urgency of its discussion, in relation to the interests of\ndecency and morality, is established in the second; and some useful\ncautions as to youth are offered in the third.\n\nIn regard to the importance of the subject, I may, even here, avail myself\nof the highest authorities.\n\nTHOMAS MORE, speaking of the people of his commonwealth, says: \"They do\ngreatly wonder at the folly of all other nations, which, in _buying a\ncolt_ (whereas, a little money is in hazard), be so chary and circumspect,\nthat, though he be almost all bare, yet they will not buy him, unless the\nsaddle and all the harness be taken off--lest, under those coverings, be\nhid some gall or sore. And yet, in _choosing a wife_, which shall be\neither pleasure or displeasure to them all their life after, they be so\nreckless, that, all the residue of the woman's body being covered with\nclothes, they esteem her scarcely by one hand-breadth (for they can see no\nmore but her face), and so to join her to them, not without great jeopardy\nof evil agreeing together--if anything in her body afterward should chance\nto offend and mislike them.\"[1]\n\nFRANCIS BACON is of similar opinion.\n\nHappily, the advancement of anthropological science in modern times, may,\nas is here shown, be so applied as to render quite unnecessary the\n_objectionable methods_ proposed by both these philosophers, in order to\ncarry their doctrines into practice.\n\n_Shall I be blamed, because I avail myself of the progress of knowledge to\nrender all that these great men desired on this subject of easy attainment\nand inoffensive to woman? Shall I be blamed, because I first facilitate\nthat which the still farther advancement of knowledge will inevitably\nrender an everyday occurrence, and the guide of the most important act of\nhuman life?_--I care not.\n\nIn the details as to female beauty, it will be seen how incorrectly\nWinckelmann says: \"In female figures, the forms of beauty are not so\ndifferent, nor the gradations so various, as in those of males; and\ntherefore in general they present no other difference than that which is\ndependant upon age.... Hence, in treating of female beauty, few\nobservations occur as necessary to be made, and the study of the artist is\nmore limited and more easy.... It is to be observed, that, in speaking of\nthe resemblance of nude female figures, I speak solely of the body,\nwithout concluding from it that they also resemble each other in the\ndistinctive characters of the head, which are particularly marked in each,\nwhether goddess or heroine.\"--The differences, even in the bodies of\nfemales, are here shown to be both numerous and capable of distinct\nclassification.\n\nIt is right to observe, that this work has nothing to do with an early\nproduction of the writer, a consciousness of the small value of which\nprevented his attaching his name to it, which he now knows to be utterly\nworthless, and which has since been vamped up with things which are more\nworthless still.\n\nThe most valuable features of the present work are entirely new and\noriginal. Others are such as the writer thought not unworthy of\npreservation from earlier essays. He has also, throughout this work,\nadopted from other writers, with no other alteration than accuracy\nrequired, every view, opinion, or remark, which he thought applicable to\na department of science, of which all the great features are new.\n\nSuch being the case, he thinks it just, at once to himself and others, to\nindicate here the only points on which he can himself lay any claim to\noriginality. These are as follows:--\n\nThe more complete establishment of the truth that, in relation to man and\nwoman in particular, beauty is the external sign of goodness in\norganization and function, and thence its importance.--Chapter I., and the\nwork generally.\n\nThe showing that the discussion of this subject, though involving the\nexamination of the naked figure, is urgent in relation to decency (the\ntheory of which is discussed), morality, and happy intermarriage.--Chapter\nII.\n\nThe showing that the ancient religion was the cause of the perfection of\nthe fine arts in Greece, by its personification of simple attributes or\nvirtues, as objects of adoration.--Chapter II.\n\nThe exposition of the nature, the kinds, and the characteristics of\nbeauty; and of some errors of Burke, Knight, &c., on this\nsubject.--Chapter IV.\n\nThe showing that there are elements of beauty invariable in their nature\nand effect, and that these are modified and complicated in advancing from\nsimple to complex beings, and the arts relating to them.--Chapter VI.\n\nThe pointing out these elements of beauty, and their mode of operation in\ninanimate beings; and the errors of Knight and Allison on this\nsubject.--Sect. I., Chapter VI.\n\nThe pointing out these elements, and others which are superadded, in\nliving beings; and the errors of Allison on this subject.--Sect. II.,\nChapter VI.\n\nThe pointing out these elements, and others which are farther superadded,\nin thinking beings; and the errors of Burke and Knight on this\nsubject.--Sect. III., Chapter VI.\n\nThe exposition of these elements, as differing, or variously modified, in\nthe useful, ornamental, and intellectual arts, respectively; and some\nremarks on ornament in architecture, and in female dress.--Sect. IV.,\nChapter VI.\n\nThe explanation of the nature of the picturesque, after the failure of\nKnight and Price in this respect.--Sect. I., Appendix to preceding\nchapters.\n\nThe vindication of the doctrine of Hobbes, as to the cause of laughter;\nand exposition of the errors of Campbell and Beattie on this\nsubject.--Sect. II., Appendix.\n\nThe explanation of the cause of the pleasure received from representations\nexciting pity; and of the errors of Burke, &c., on that subject.--Sect.\nIII., Appendix.\n\nThe arrangement of anatomy and physiology, and the application of the\nprinciples of these sciences to the distinguishing and judging of\nbeauty.--Chapter VII.\n\nThe explanation of the difference in the beauty of the two sexes even in\nthe same country.--Chapter IX.\n\nVarious arguments establishing the standard of beauty in woman; and\nexposure of the sophistry of Knight, on this subject.--Chapter X.\n\nThe showing, by the preceding arrangements, that the ancient temperaments\nare partial or complex views of anthropological phenomena.--Chapter XI.,\net seq.\n\nThe description of the first species of beauty, or that of the locomotive\nsystem, and of its varieties, as founded on examination of\nstructure.--Chapter XII.\n\nThe description of the second species of beauty, or that of the nutritive\nsystem, and of its varieties, as founded on examination of\nstructure.--Chapter XIII.\n\nThe description of the third species of beauty, or that of the thinking\nsystem, and of its varieties, as founded on examination of\nstructure.--Chapter XIV.\n\nThe explanation of the cause of the deformity produced by the obliquely\nplaced eyes of the Chinese, &c.--Chapter XV.\n\nThe explanation of the mode in which the action of the muscles of the face\nbecomes physiognomically expressive.--Ibid.\n\nThe explanation of the physiognomical character of the different kinds of\nthe hair.--Ibid.\n\nThe explanation of the cause of the different effects of the same face,\neven in a state of repose.--Ibid.\n\nThe indication of the faulty feature, and its gradual increase, even in\nbeautiful faces.--Ibid.\n\nThe exposition of the different organization of Greek and Roman\nheads.--Ibid.\n\nThe explanation of the combinations and transitions of beauty.--Chapter\nXVI.\n\nThe explanation of the numerical, geometrical, and harmonic methods of\nproportion, employed by the ancient Greeks.--Chapter XVII.\n\nSome remarks on character, expression, and detail in art.--Ibid.\n\nSome observations on the Greek forehead, actual as well as ideal.--Chapter\nXVIII.\n\nThe explanation of the reason of the Greek ideal rule, as to the\nproportion between the forehead and the other parts of the face.--Ibid.\n\nThe explanation of the reason of the Greek ideal rule, as to the profile\nof the forehead and nose, or as to the direction of the mesial line which\nthey form, and the exposition of Winckelmann's blunder respecting\nit.--Ibid.\n\nThe explanation of the reason why the Greeks suppressed all great degrees\nof impassioned expression.--Ibid.\n\nThe mere indication of the Greek idealizations as applied to the nutritive\nand locomotive systems, and the explanation of the latter in the\nApollo.--Ibid.\n\nThe replies to the objections of Burke and Alison, as to ideal\nbeauty.--Ibid.\n\nThe enunciation of the ideal in attitude.--Ibid.\n\nVarious views as to the Venus de Medici, the conformation of the nose, and\nthe connexion of odor with love, in animals and plants.--Chapter XIX.\n\nSome remarks on the Venus de Medici.--Ibid.\n\nThe pointing out and explanation of various defects in beauty.--Chapter\nXX.\n\nThe pointing out and explanation of various external indications of\nfigure, beauty, mind, habits, and age.--Chapter XXI.\n\nThe writer may possibly be mistaken as to the originality of one or two of\nthese points; but, leaving the critical reader to deduct as many of these\nas it is in his power to do, enough of novelty would remain for the\nwriter's ambition, in this respect, if he had done no more than exposed\nthe errors of Burke, Knight, Alison, &c., and established the true\ndoctrine of beauty, in the first chapters--given an analysis and\nclassification of beauty in woman, in the chapters which follow--and\napplied this to the fine arts, and solved the difficulty of Leonardo da\nVinci, &c., in the last chapters.\n\n\n\n\nANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF BEAUTY IN WOMAN.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nIMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT.\n\n\nIt is observed by Home, in his \"Elements of Criticism,\" that a perception\nof beauty in external objects is requisite to attach us to them; that it\ngreatly promotes industry, by promoting a desire to possess things that\nare beautiful; and that it farther joins with utility, in prompting us to\nembellish our houses and enrich our fields. \"These, however,\" he says,\n\"are but slight effects, compared with the connexions which are formed\namong individuals in society by means of this singular mechanism: the\nqualifications of the head and heart are undoubtedly the most solid and\nmost permanent foundations of such connexions; but as external beauty lies\nmore in view, and is more obvious to the bulk of mankind, than the\nqualities now mentioned, the sense of beauty possesses the more universal\ninfluence in forming these connexions; at any rate, it concurs in an\neminent degree, with mental qualifications, to produce social\nintercourse, mutual good-will, and, consequently, mutual aid and support,\nwhich are the life of society.\"\n\nDr. Pritchard similarly observes, that \"the perception of beauty is the\nchief principle in every country which directs men in their marriages.\"\n\nAdvancing a step farther, Sir Anthony Carlisle thinks a taste for beauty\nworthy of being cultivated. \"Man,\" he observes, \"dwells with felicity even\non ideal female attributes, and in imagination discovers beauties and\nperfections which solace his wearied hours, far beyond any other resource\nwithin the scope of human life. It cannot, then, be unwise to cultivate\nand refine this natural tendency, and to enhance, if possible, these\ncharms of life. We increase and heighten all our pleasures by awakening\nand cultivating reflections which do not exist in a state of ignorance.\nThus, the botanist perceives elegances in plants and flowers unknown and\nunfelt by the vulgar, and the landscape-painter revels in natural or\nimaginary scenery, with feelings which are unknown to the multitude. It\nwould be absurd to pretend that the more exquisite and more deeply\nattractive beauty of woman is not worthy of more profound, as well as more\nuniversal cultivation.\"\n\nSuch are the observations of philosophical anthropologists, who,\nnevertheless, in these remarks, consider mere physical beauty independent\nof its connexion with corresponding functions or moral qualities.\n\nIf, however, the external beauty of woman, calculated as it is to flatter\nthe most experienced eye, limited its effect to a local impression, to an\noptical enjoyment, the sentiment of beauty would be far from having all\nits extent and value. Happily, ideas of goodness, of suitableness, of\nsympathy, of progressive perfection, and of mutual happiness, are, by an\nintimate and inevitable association, connected with the first impression\nmade by the sight of beauty.\n\nThe foundation of this feeling is well expressed by Dr. Pritchard, in his\nobservation that \"the idea of beauty of person is synonymous with that of\nhealth and perfect organization.\"\n\nHence, it has been observed, the great ideal models of beauty please us,\nnot merely because their forms are disposed and combined so as to affect\nagreeably the organ of sight, but because their exterior appears to\ncorrespond to admirable qualities, and to announce an elevation in the\ncondition of humanity. Such do the Greek monuments appear to physiologists\nand philosophical artists, whose minds pass rapidly from the beauty of\nforms to that locomotive, vital, or mental excellence which it compels\nthem to suppose.\n\nGoodness and beauty in woman will accordingly be found to bear a strict\nrelation to each other; and the latter will be seen always to be the\nexternal sign of the former.\n\nThere are, however (slightly to anticipate what must afterward be\nexplained), different kinds, both of beauty and of goodness, which are\nconfounded by vulgar observers; or rather there are beauty and goodness\nbelonging to different systems of which the body is composed, and which\nought never to be confounded with each other.\n\nWhere, consequently, one of these kinds of beauty and of goodness is\nwanting, even in a remarkable degree, others may be found; and, as the\nvulgar do not distinguish, it is this which leads to the gross error that\nthese qualities have no strict relations to their signs.\n\nWant of beauty, then, in any one of the systems of which the body is\ncomposed, indicates want of goodness only in that system; but it is not\nless a truth, and scarcely of less importance, on that account.--I will\nnow illustrate this by brief examples.\n\nThere may, in any individual, exist deformity of limbs; and this will\nassuredly indicate want of goodness in the locomotive system, of that or\ngeneral motion. There may exist coarseness of skin, or paleness of\ncomplexion; and either of these will as certainly indicate want of\ngoodness in the vital system, or that of nutrition. There may exist a\nmalformation of the brain, externally evident; and this no less certainly\nwill indicate want of goodness in the mental system, or that of thought.\n\nIt follows that even the different kinds and combinations of beauty, which\nare the objects of taste to different persons, are founded upon the same\ngeneral principle of organic superiority. Nay, even the preferences which,\nin beauty, appear to depend most on fancy, depend in reality on that\ncause; and the impression which every degree and modification of beauty\nmakes on mankind, has as a fundamental rule only their sentiment, more or\nless delicate and just, of physical advantage in relation to each\nindividual. Such is the foundation of all our sentiments of admiration and\nof love.\n\nThe existence or non-existence of these advantages, and the power of\ndetermining this, or the judgment of beauty, are therefore of transcendent\nimportance to individuals and to families. Such judgment can be attained\nby analysis and classification alone. Nothing, therefore, can more nearly\naffect all human interests than that analysis and classification of beauty\nwhich are here proposed.\n\nTo place beyond a doubt, and to illustrate more minutely, the\nextraordinary importance of this subject, as regards advantages real to\nthe species, I may anticipate some of the more minute applications of my\ndoctrine.\n\nIf, in the locomotive system of the female, much of the delicacy of form,\nand the ease and grace of her movements, depend upon the more perfect\ndevelopment of the muscles of the pelvis, and its easily adapting itself\nto great and remarkable changes, how important must be the ability to\ndetermine, even by walk or gesture, the existence of this condition!\n\nIf, in the vital system, the elasticity and freshness of the skin are the\ncharacteristics of health, and their absence warns us that the condition\nof woman is unfavorable to the plan of nature relatively to the\nmaintenance of the species--or, if the capacity of the pelvis, and the\nconsequent breadth of the haunches, are necessary to all those functions\nwhich are most essentially feminine, impregnation, gestation, and\nparturition, without danger either to parent or to child--of what extreme\nimportance must be the ability to determine this with certainty and ease!\n\nIf, in the mental system, the capacity and delicacy of the organs of\nsense, and the softness and mobility of the nervous system, are necessary\nto the vivid and varying sensibility of woman--if it is in consequence of\nthis, that woman is enabled to act on man by the continual observation of\nall that can captivate his imagination or secure his affection, and by the\nirresistible seduction of her manners--if it is these qualities which\nenable her to accommodate herself to his taste, to yield, without\nconstraint, even to the caprice of the moment, and to seize the time when\nobservations, made as it were accidentally, may produce the effect which\nshe desires--if it is by these means that she fulfils her first duty,\nnamely, to please him to whom she has united her days, and to attach him\nto her and to home by rendering both delightful--if all this is the case,\nof what inexpressible importance must be the ability to determine, in each\nindividual, the possession of the power and the will to produce such\neffects!\n\nIf (descending to still more minute inquiries) external indications as to\nfigure are required as to parts concealed by drapery--if such indications\nwould obviate deception even with regard to those parts of the figure\nwhich are more exposed to observation by the closer adaptation of\ndress--if, even when the face is seen, the deception as to the degree of\nbeauty, is such that a correct estimate of it is perhaps never formed--if\nindications as to mind may be derived from many external circumstances--if\nexternal indications as to the personal habits of women are both numerous\nand interesting--if such indications even of age and health are sometimes\nessential--if all this be the case, let the reader say what other object\nof human inquiry exceeds this in importance.\n\nLet us not then deceive ourselves respecting the source of those\nimpressions which one sex experiences from the sight of the other. It is\nevidently nothing else than the more or less delicate and just perception\nof a certain conformity of means with a want which has been created by\nnature, and which must be satisfied.\n\n\"It is very obvious,\" says Dr. Pritchard, \"that this peculiarity in the\nconstitution of man must have considerable effects on the physical\ncharacter of the race, and that it must act as a constant principle of\nimprovement, supplying the place in our own kind of the beneficial control\n[in the crossing of races] which we exercise over the brute creation.\" And\nhe adds: \"This is probably the final cause for which the instinctive\nperception of human beauty was implanted by Providence in our nature.\"\n\nWe need not wonder, then, that the Greeks should have preferred beauty to\nall other advantages, should have placed it immediately after virtue in\nthe order of their affections, or should have made it an object of\nworship.\n\nEven the practical application of this principle to the improvement of the\nhuman race is not a matter of conjecture. We have seen both families and\nnations ameliorated by the means which it affords. Of this, the Turks are\na striking example. Nothing, therefore, can better deserve the researches\nof the physiologist, or the exertions of the philanthropist, than the fact\nthat there are laws, of which we have yet only a glimpse, according to\nwhich we may influence the amelioration of the human race in a manner the\nmost extensive and profound, by acting according to a uniform and\nuninterrupted system.\n\nWell might Cabanis exclaim: \"After having occupied ourselves so curiously\nwith the means of rendering more beautiful and better the races of animals\nor of plants which are useful or agreeable--after having remodelled a\nhundred times that of horses and dogs--after having transplanted, grafted,\ncultivated, in all manners, fruits and flowers--how shameful is it to have\ntotally neglected the race of man! As if it affected us less nearly! as if\nit were more essential to have large and strong oxen than vigorous and\nhealthy men, highly odorous peaches or finely striped tulips, than wise\nand good citizens!\"\n\nI actually know a man who is so deeply interested in the doctrine of\ncrossing, that every hour of his life is devoted to the improvement of a\nrace of bantam fowls and curious pigeons, and who yet married a mad\nwoman, whom he confines in a garret, and by whom he has some insane\nprogeny.\n\nLet it not be imagined that the discovery of the precise laws of crossing\nor intermarriage, and the best direction of physical living forces, in\nrelation both to the vital faculties and to those of the mind, upon which\nknowledge and skill may operate for the improvement of our race, is a\nmatter of difficulty.\n\nIt will be shown in this work, that there exist not only an influence of\nbeauty and defects on offspring, but peculiar laws regulating the\nresemblance of progeny to parents--laws which regard the mode in which the\norganization of parents affects that of children, or regulates the organs\nwhich each parent respectively bestows.\n\nIt will accordingly be shown, that, as, on the size, form, and proportion,\nof the various organs, depend their functions, the importance of such laws\nis indescribable--whether we regard intermarriages, and that immunity from\nmental or bodily disease which, when well directed, they may ensure, or\nthe determination of the parentage of a child--or the education of\nchildren, in conformity with their faculties--or the employment of men in\nsociety.\n\nI conclude this brief view in the words of the writer just quoted: \"It is\nassuredly time for us to attempt to do for ourselves that which we have\ndone so successfully for several of our companions in existence, to\nreview and correct this work of nature--a noble enterprise, which truly\nmerits all our cares, and which nature itself appears to have especially\nrecommended to us by the sympathies and the powers which it has given\nus.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nURGENCY OF THE DISCUSSION OF THIS SUBJECT IN RELATION TO THE INTERESTS OF\nDECENCY AND MORALITY.\n\n\nIt has now been seen that beauty results from the perfection, chiefly of\nexternal forms, and the correspondence of that perfection with superiority\nof internal functions; on the more or less perfect perception of which,\nlove, intermarriage, and the condition of our race, are dependant.\n\nThis mode of considering the elements, the nature, and the consequences of\nbeauty, is equally applicable to the two sexes; but, in woman, the form of\nthe species presents peculiar modifications.\n\nIn this work, it is the form of woman which is chosen for examination,\nbecause it will be found, by the contrast which is perpetually necessary,\nto involve a knowledge of the form of man, because it is best calculated\nto ensure attention from men, and because it is men who, exercising the\npower of selection, have alone the ability thus to ensure individual\nhappiness, and to ameliorate the species; which are the objects of this\nwork.\n\nLet it not be imagined that the views now taken are less favorable to\nwoman than to man. Whatever ensures the happiness of one ensures that of\nthe other; and as the variety of forms and functions in man requires as\nmany varieties in woman, it is not to exclusion or rejection with regard\nto woman that this work tends, but to a reasoned guidance in man's choice,\nto the greater suitableness of all intermarriages, and to the greater\nhappiness of woman as well as man, both in herself and in her progeny.\n\nBut notwithstanding the importance of any work which is in any degree\ncalculated to promote such an object, some will tell us that the analysis\nof female beauty, on which it can alone be founded, is indelicate.--I\nshall, on the contrary, show that decency demands this analysis; that the\ninterests of nature, of truth, of the arts, and of morality, demand it.\n\nOur present notions of sexual decency belong more to art than to nature,\nand may be divided into artificial and artful decencies.\n\nArtificial decencies are illustrated in the habits of various nations.\nThey have their origin in cold countries, where clothing is necessary, and\nwhere a deviation from the degree or mode of clothing constitutes\nindecency. They could not exist in hot climates, where clothing is\nscarcely possible.\n\nIn hot climates, natural decency can alone exist; and there is not, I\nbelieve, one traveller in such countries whose works do not prove that\nnatural decency there exists as much as in cold countries. In\nexemplification of this, I make a single quotation: it would be easy to\nmake thousands. Burchell, speaking of the Bushmen Hottentots, says: \"The\nnatural bashful reserve of youth and innocence is to be seen as much among\nthese savages, as in more polished nations; and the young girls, though\nwanting but little of being perfectly naked, evinced as just a sense of\nmodesty as the most rigid and careful education could have given them.\"\n\nIn mild climates, the half-clothed or slightly-clothed people appear to be\nsomewhat at a loss what to do. Fond of decorations, like all savage or\nhalf-civilized people, they seem to be divided between the tatooing and\npainting of hot climates, and the clothing of cold ones; and when they\nadopt the latter, they do not rightly know what to conceal.\n\nThe works of all travellers afford the same illustrations of this fact. I\nquote one. Kotzebue describes the custom among the Tartar women of Kasan,\nof flying or of concealing their countenance from the sight of a stranger.\nThe necessity of conforming to this custom threw into great embarrassment\na young woman who was obliged to pass several times before the German\ntraveller. She at first concealed her face with her hands; but, soon\nembarrassed by that attitude, she removed the veil which covered her\nbosom, and threw it over her face. \"That,\" adds Kotzebue, \"was, as we say,\nuncovering Paul to cover Jacques: the bosom remained naked. To cover that,\nshe next showed what should have been concealed; and if anything escaped\nfrom her hands, she stooped, and then,\" says Kotzebue, \"I saw both one\nand the other.\"\n\nIn colder or more uncertain climates, the greatest degree of covering\nconstitutes the greatest degree of artificial decency: fashion and decency\nare confounded. Among old-fashioned people, of whom a good example may be\nfound in old countrywomen of the middle class in England, it is indecent\nto be seen with the head unclothed; such a woman is terrified at the\nchance of being seen in that condition; and if intruded on at such a time,\nshe shrieks with terror and flies to conceal herself. In the equally\npolished dandy of the metropolis, it is indecent to be seen without\ngloves. Which of these respectable creatures is the most enlightened, I do\nnot take upon me to say; but I believe that the majority of suffrages\nwould be in favor of the old woman.\n\nSo entirely are these decencies artificial, that any number of them may\neasily be created, not merely with regard to man or woman, but even with\nregard to domesticated animals. If it should please some persons partially\nto clothe horses, cows, or dogs, it would ere long be felt that their\nappearing in the streets without trowsers or aprons was grossly indecent.\nWe might thus create a real feeling of indecency, the perception of a new\nimpurity, which would take the place of the former absence of all impure\nthought, and once established, the evil would be as real as our whims have\nmade it in other respects.\n\nMoral feeling is deeply injured by this substitution of impure thoughts,\nhowever fancifully founded, for pure ones, or rather for the entire\nabsence of thought about worthless things. Artificial crimes are thus\nmade, which are not the less real because artificial; for if aught of this\nkind is believed to be right, there is weakness or wrong in its violation.\nBut violated it must be, if it were but accidentally.\n\nTo corrupt minds, this very violation of artificial decency in the case of\nwoman affords the zest for the sake of which many of these decencies seem\nto have been instituted; and thus are created the artful decencies.\n\nThe purpose and the zest of artful decency are well illustrated by\ncoquetry. Coquetry adopts a general concealment, which it well knows can\nalone give a sensual and seductive power to momentary exposure. Coquetry\neschews permanent exposure as the bane of sensuality and seduction; and\nwhere these are great, as among the women of Spain, the concealment of\ndress is increased, even in warm climates. Nothing can throw greater light\nthan this does on the nature of these decencies.\n\nThat coquetry has well calculated her procedure, does not admit of a\ndoubt. She appeals to imagination, which she knows will spread charms over\neven ugly forms; she seeks the concealment under which sensuality and lust\nare engendered; and, in marriage, she at last lifts the veil which\ngratifies, only to disgust, and repays a sensual hallucination by years of\nmisery.\n\nOught religion to claim the right of saying grace to such unveiling of\nconcealment and the nuptial rites that follow it? Ought religion to profit\nby the impurities of sexual association? Marriage is a civil ceremony in\nother countries, even in Scotland. Such profane and profitable sanctions\nhave nothing to do with primitive Christianity: they are abhorrent to its\nletter as well as to its spirit. But worldly and profitable religion is\nconnected in business with government, under the firm of Church and State,\nand drives a thriving trade, in which the junior partner is contented with\nthe profit arising from the common acts of life, while the senior one\ndraws much of his living from other rites.[2]\n\nWhat is said here, is no argument for living nudity: that, our climate and\nour customs forbid; and, in so doing, we can only regret that they are\nunfavorable to natural purity; while perfect familiarity with the figure\nensures that feeling in the highest degree.\n\nA distinguished artist informs me that greater modesty is nowhere to be\nseen than at the Life academy; and it was an observation of the great\nFlaxman, that \"the students, in entering the academy, seemed to hang up\ntheir passions with their hats.\" I can, from personal experience, give the\nsame testimony in behalf of medical students at the dissecting-rooms. The\nfamiliarity of both these classes with natural beauty leads them only to\nseek to inform their minds and to purify their taste.[3]\n\nSinibaldi observes, that \"nothing is more injurious to morals and to\nhealth, than the incitements of the women who in such numbers walk our\nstreets,\" and that \"the laws as to offences against morals ought certainly\nto affect them the moment their language or actions can be deemed\noffensive.\" But it is not to those who are critically conversant with the\nhighest beauty of the human figure, that defective forms, ill-painted\nskins, rude manners, and contagious diseases, are at all seductive.\n\nNothing, then, can be more favorable to virtue than the decoration of\nevery house with the beautiful copies of the glorious works of ancient\nGreece; and it is only humiliating to think that what has been so\nextensively done in this respect in the best houses, is less owing to our\nown taste than to the poor wanderers from Lucca or Barga. Experiment on\nthis subject is peculiarly easy in London: let any one spend an hour in\nthe shop of the very able Mr. Sarti, of Dean street, where he will meet\nthe most liberal attention, and let him ask himself, in coming out,\nwhether his moral feeling, as well as his taste, is not improved.\n\nThose who cannot make this experiment, will perhaps be satisfied with the\nassurance of Hogarth, who says: \"The rest of the body, not having\nadvantages in common with the face, would soon satiate the eye, were it\nto be as constantly exposed, nor would it have more effect than a marble\nstatue.\" Surely this is decisive enough in its way! Now let them mark what\nfollows. \"But,\" he continues, \"when it is artfully clothed and decorated,\nthe mind at every turn resumes its imaginary pursuits concerning it. Thus,\nif I may be allowed a simile, the angler chooses not to see the fish he\nangles for, until it is fairly caught.\" He meant of course--\"the _fish_\nchooses not to see the _angler_, until it is fairly caught!\"\n\nBe it known then to all, even the most aristocratic as to sexual\nassociation--I say the most aristocratic, and not the most religious,\nbecause religion is in some countries made the pander to aristocracy--be\nit known that the critical judgment and pure taste for beauty are the sole\nprotection against low and degrading connexions.\n\nHome observes that \"the sense of beauty does not tend to advance the\ninterests of society, but when in a due mean with respect to strength.\nLove in particular arising from a sense of beauty, loses, when excessive,\nits sociable character: the appetite for gratification, prevailing over\naffection for the beloved object, is ungovernable, and tends violently to\nits end, regardless of the misery that must follow. Love in this state is\nno longer a sweet agreeable passion: it becomes painful, like hunger or\nthirst, and produces no happiness but in the instant of fruition. This\ndiscovery suggests a most important lesson, that moderation in our desires\nand appetites, which fits us for doing our duty, contributes at the same\ntime the most to happiness: even social passions, when moderate, are more\npleasant than when they swell beyond proper bounds.\" Payne Knight says:\n\"When, at the age of puberty, animal desire obtrudes itself on a mind\nalready qualified to feel and enjoy the charms of intellectual merit, the\nimagination immediately begins to form pictures of perfection, by\nexaggerating and combining in one hypothetic object every excellence that\ncan possibly belong to the whole sex; and the first individual that meets\nthe eye, with any exterior signs of any of these ideal excellences, is\nimmediately decorated with them all, by the creative magic of a vigorous\nand fertile fancy. Hence, she instantaneously becomes the object of the\nmost fervent affection, which is as instantaneously cooled by possession:\nfor, as it was not the object herself, but a false idea of her raised in\nheated imagination, that called forth all the lover's raptures, all\nimmediately vanish at the detection of his delusion; and a degree of\ndisgust proportioned to the disappointment, of which it is the inevitable\nconsequence, instantly succeeds. Thus it happens that what are called\nlove-matches are seldom or ever happy.\"\n\nNow, nothing can more effectually prevent even the existence of the mania\ndescribed by these two philosophers than a critical judgment and a pure\ntaste for beauty, which again therefore are the sole protection against\nlow and degrading connexions.\n\nA just sense of this truth will give high encouragement to sculpture and\npainting--arts which may everywhere be looked upon as the best tests, as\nwell as the best records, of civilization. Such encouragement they need in\ntruth; for the monstrous monopoly of landed property and the accumulation\nof wealth in few hands--the great aim of our political economy--renders\nart poor, indeed.\n\nI am aware that the vulgar among artists think otherwise; from the few\nrich they obtain employment; and, like the dog with his master, they look\nnot beyond the hand that doles out their pittance. But the rich are few;\nand their palaces are already filled. A diffusion of wealth alone can give\nencouragement to art; nor can this ever be while British industry is\ncrushed under the weight of enormous taxation.\n\nHaving removed some objections to art, I would add a few words to artists\non the cause of the fine arts in Greece, from a paper I, two years ago,\ncontributed to a monthly periodical.[4]\n\nThat the mythology of Greece had an influence over its arts, is generally\ngranted; but I am not aware, that it has either been shown to be\nexclusively their cause, or that its mode of operation has ever been\nexplained.\n\nReligion, I may observe, is as natural to man as his weakness and\nhelplessness. There is not one of its systems, not even the vilest, which\nhas not afforded him consolation. Of its higher and better systems, some\nare equally admirable for the grandeur and the beauty of the truths on\nwhich they are founded, the simplicity and the elegance of their\nostensible forms, the power and applicability of their symbols, and their\nsympathy with, and control over, the affections and the imagination.\n\nThese high characteristics peculiarly distinguished the religion of\nancient Greece.\n\nBy bigots, we are indeed told, that, though Homer is our model in epic,\nAnacreon in lyric, and \u00c6schylus in dramatic poetry--though the music of\nGreece doubtless corresponded to its poetry in beauty, pathos, and\ngrandeur--though the mere wreck of her sculpture is never overlooked in\nmodern war and negotiation--though the mere sight of her ruined Parthenon\nis more than a reward for the fatigue or the peril of a journey to the\nEternal city--though these products of art are the test of the highest\ncivilization which the world has witnessed--though to these chiefly Rome\nowed the little civilization of which she was capable, and we ourselves\nthe circumstance that, at this hour, we are not, like our ancestors,\ncovered only with blue paint or the skins of brutes--though all this is\ntrue as to the arts of Greece, we are told that, by the strangest\nexception, the religion of Greece was a base superstition.\n\nThat religion, however, was the creator of these arts. They not only could\nnot have existed without it, but they probably could never have been\ncalled into existence by any other religion.\n\nThe personification of _simple_ Beauty, Valor, Wisdom, or Omnipotence, in\nVenus, Mars, Minerva, or Jupiter, respectively, was essential to the\n_purity_ and the _power_ of expression of these attributes in the worship\nof the deities to whom they respectively belonged. The union of absolute\nbeauty and valor in one being, is not more impossible than their union in\none expression of homage and admiration. Delicacy, elegance, and grace,\nwere as characteristic of the statue, the worship, and the temple, of the\ngoddess of beauty, as attributes nearly opposite to these were of the\nstatue, the worship, and the temple, of the god of war. Thus, were the\nfine arts in Greece created by the personification of _simple_ attributes\nor virtues as objects of adoration; and thus is excellence in these fine\narts incapable of being elicited by any system of religion in which more\nthan one attribute is ascribed to the god.\n\nThey must be ignorant, indeed, of the wonderful people of whom I now\nspeak, who allege, that the Greeks worshipped the mere statue of the god\nand not the personified virtue. Even the history of their religion proves\nthe reverse. It was the tomb which became the altar, and retained nearly\nits form. It was the expression of love, of regret, and of veneration for\ndeparted virtue, which became divine adoration; and, as individual acts\nand even individual names were ultimately lost in one transcendent\nattribute, so were individual forms and features, in its purified and\nideal representation. Here, then, instead of finding the worship of men or\nof their representations, we discover a gradual advance from beings to\nattributes--from mortal man to eternal virtue--and a corresponding and\nsuitable advance from simple veneration to divine adoration.\n\nWhen, in great emergencies of the state, the sages and the soldiers of\nAthens, in solemn procession repaired to the temple of Minerva, turned\ntheir faces toward the statue of the goddess, and prostrated themselves in\nspirit before her--let the beautiful history of Grecian science tell,\nwhether in the statue they worshipped the mere marble structure, or, in\nits forms and attributes, beheld and adored a personification of eternal\ntruth and wisdom, and so prepared the mind for deeds which have rendered\nGreece for ever illustrious. Or, when returning from a Marathon, or a\nSalamis, the warriors of Athens, followed by trains of maidens, and\nmatrons, and old men, returned thanks to the god of victories--let the\nimmortal record of the long series of glorious achievements which\nsucceeded these, tell, whether gratitude to their heroes was not there\nidentified with homage to the spirit or the divinity that inspired them.\n\nTrue it is, that, whenever physical or moral principles are personified,\nthe ignorant may be led to mistake the sign for that which is signified;\nbut one of the most admirable characteristics of the Grecian religion is,\nthat, with little effort, every external form may be traced to the spirit\nwhich it represents, and every fable may be resolved into a beautiful\nillustration of physical or moral truth. So that when mystic influences,\nwith increasing knowledge, ceased to sway the imagination, all-powerful\ntruths directed the reason.\n\nThe natural and poetical religion of Greece, therefore, differed from\nfalse and vulgar religions in this, that it was calculated to hold equal\nempire over the minds of the ignorant and the wise; and the initiations of\nEleusis were apparently the solemn acts by which the youths and maidens of\nGreece passed from ignorance and blind obedience to knowledge and\nenlightened zeal. Thus, in that happy region, neither were the priests\nknaves, nor the people their dupes.[5]\n\nAnd what has been the result of this fundamental excellence?--that no\ninterpolated fooleries have been able to destroy it;--that the religion of\nGreece exists, and must ever exist, the religion of nature, genius, and\ntaste;--and that neither poetry nor the arts can have being without it.\nSchiller has well expressed this truth in the following lines:--\n\n \"The intelligible forms of ancient poets,\n The fair humanities of old religion,\n The power, the beauty, and the majesty,\n That had their haunts in dale, or piny mountains,\n Or forest, by slow stream, or pebbly spring,\n Or chasms, and watery depths--all these have vanished;\n They live no longer in the faith of reason;\n But still the heart doth need a language; still\n Doth the old instinct bring back the old names;\n * * And even, at this day,\n 'Tis Jupiter who brings whate'er is great,\n And Venus who brings everything that's fair.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nCAUTIONS AS TO YOUTH.\n\n\nIn relation to _early_ sexual association, it cannot be doubted, that,\nwhen the instinct of reproduction begins to be developed, the reserve\nwhich parents, relatives, and instructers, adopt on this subject, is often\nthe means of producing injurious effects; because, a system of concealment\non this subject, as observed in the preceding chapter, is quite\nimpracticable. Discoveries made by young persons in obscene books, the\nunguarded language or shameless conduct of grown-up persons, even the wild\nflights of an imagination which is then easily excited, will have the most\nfatal consequences.\n\nParents or instructers ought, therefore, at that critical period, to give\nrational explanations as to the nature and the object of the propensity,\nthe mechanism of reproduction in various vegetable and animal beings, and\nthe fatal consequences to which this propensity may lead. Such procedure,\nif well conducted, cannot but have the most beneficial results; because,\nin order that a sane person should avoid any danger, it is only necessary\nthat he should see it distinctly.\n\nThe advantage, it has been observed, which the parent, relative, or\ninstructer, derives, from himself in forming the adolescent in the new\nfaculty which is developed in him, is to prevent his choosing, among\ncorrupt servants or ignorant youths of his own age, the confidants of his\npassion. The parent or instructer, moreover, is then justly entitled to,\nand has gratefully given to him, the entire confidence of the adolescent;\nand he is thereby enabled exactly to appreciate the degree of power of the\npropensity which he desires to divert or to guide.\n\nSuch being the case, it is the business of the parent to present a true\npicture of the effects of too early association of this kind, on the\nstature, the various development of the figure, the muscular power, the\nquality of the voice, the health, the moral sense, and especially on the\nacuteness, the power, the dignity, and the courage, of the mind.\n\nIn doing this, it would be as stupid as injurious to employ the slightest\ndegree of false representation, of unjust reprimand, or too much of what\nis called moralizing, which is often only the contemptible cant of a being\nwho cannot reason, especially when it takes the place of a simple and\npowerful statement of facts. All of these would only render the young man\na dissembler, and would compel him to choose another confidant.\n\nAmong other considerations, varying according to the circumstances of the\ncase, those stated below may with advantage be presented.\n\nAt a certain period in the life both of plants and animals, varying\naccording to their kind and the climate they live in, they are fit for\nand disposed to the reproduction of their species. The sexes in both are\nthen attracted to each other. In plants, the powder termed pollen, in\nanimals a peculiar liquid which, deriving its name by analogy from the\nseeds of plants, is termed seminal, is secreted by the male plant or\nanimal, and, by organs differently formed in each kind, is cast upon ova\nor eggs either contained within, or deposited by, the female. The details\nof this process are among the most beautiful and interesting of the living\neconomy. In mankind, the attainment of this period is termed puberty.\n\nIt is with this critical period, and his conduct during it, that all that\nthe youth deems most valuable, all that can decide his fortunes and his\nhappiness in the world, his stature, figure, strength, voice, health, and\nmental powers, are most intimately connected.\n\nIn regard to stature, the body appears to complete its increase in height\nchiefly at the age of puberty, and during the first years which succeed\nthat age. To be assured of the powerful influence of his own conduct, at\nthis period, upon his stature, the youth has only to compare the tall men\nand women of the country as in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland,\nCumberland, and the Scottish borders, where they have not been overworked,\nwith the stunted and dwarfed creatures of the metropolis, where a\nstranger, when he first enters it, is apt to think he sees so many ugly\nboys and girls, whereas, they are full-grown London men and women. Half\nthe population of the metropolis is affected in this way; and it is the\nobvious consequence of the acceleration of puberty by confinement,\nstimulating food, indecent plays, and sexual association.\n\nIn regard to the perfect development and beauty of the figure, the youth\nis probably aware that the most beautiful races of horses and dogs rapidly\ndeteriorate, if men do not carefully maintain them by continence as well\nas by crossing. The too early employment, the depraved abuses, the injury,\nor the removal, of the sexual organs, are all of them causes still more\ncertain of deformity. The latter of these causes acts, of course, most\nobviously; and it is evidenced in the almost universal malformation of\neunuchs, geldings, &c.\n\nThat, in regard to bodily strength, sexual continence adds energy to the\nmuscular fibre, is clearly seen by observing the most ardent quadrupeds\nprevious to the time of the union of their sexes. But, this being past,\nprecisely in the same proportion does the act of reproduction debilitate\nand break down the strongest animal. Many male animals even fall almost\nexhausted by a single act of union with the opposite sex.\n\nEvery classical student has read the beautiful allegory of Hercules, who,\nhaving spun at the knees of Omphale ([Greek: omphalos] the navel, here put\nfor the most essential part of the female generative organ), thereby lost\nhis strength: this beautifully expresses the abasement of power amid the\nindulgences of love. Euripides also depicts the terrible Achilles as timid\nbefore women, and respectful with Clytemnestra and Iphigenia. Hence, when\na foolish lord reproached the poet Dryden with having given too much\ntimidity toward women to a personage in one of his tragedies, and added\nthat he knew better how to employ his time with the ladies, the poet\nanswered: \"You now acknowledge that you are no hero, which I intended that\npersonage to be.\"\n\nAs to voice, which depends on the muscles of respiration, and more\nimmediately on those of the mouth and throat, as general strength does on\nthe muscles of the whole body, both merely affording expressions of the\nmind, the influence of the sexual union upon it is prodigious. How\nentirely it is altered by the removal of the testes in eunuchs is known to\nevery one: in corresponding proportion, is it altered by every act of the\ngenerative organs, but especially by sexual indulgence during puberty. The\nhorrible voice of early libertines and prostitutes presents an alarming\nexample of this. To those who value voice in conversation, in the\ndelightful and humanizing exercise of music, or in the grander efforts of\npublic speaking, nothing more need be said.\n\nAs to health, the less we are prodigal of life, the longer we preserve it.\nEvery one capable of observing may see that the stag loses his horns and\nhis hair after procreation; that birds fall into moulting and sadness; and\nthat male insects even perish after this effort, as if they yielded their\nindividual life to their progeny. Indeed, everything perishes so much the\nmore readily, as it has thus transmitted life to its descendants, or has\ncast it away in vain pleasures.\n\nIn mankind, as in other animals, to procreate is in effect to die to one's\nself, and to leave one's life to posterity; especially, if this takes\nplace in early life. It is then that man becomes bald and bent; and that\nthe charms of woman fade. Even in advanced age, epicures are so well aware\nof this, that they are known to abstain from amorous excess, as the\nacknowledged cause of premature death.\n\nIn relation to mind--as the generative power is the source of several\ncharacteristics of genius, the exhaustion of that power at an early age\nmust take away these characteristics. Genius as surely languishes and is\nextinguished amid early sexual indulgence, as do the faculties of voice\nand locomotion, which are merely its signs and expressions.\n\nIt is thus with all our faculties, locomotive, vital, mental, at an early\nage. They are strengthened by all that they do not dissipate; and that\nwhich their organs too abundantly dispense is not only taken immediately\nfrom their own power, and mediately from that of the other organs, but it\nensures the permanent debility of the whole.\n\nIt is true that the strong passions which are modified or characterized by\nthe sexual impulse, excite the imagination and impel the mind to sublime\nexertions; but the sole means of either obtaining or preserving such\nimpulsion is, to shun the indulgence of pleasure in early life, and its\nwaste at later periods.\n\nIt has accordingly been observed, that the passion of love appears to be\nmost excessive in animals which least excel in mental faculties. Thus the\nbeasts which are the most lascivious, the ass, the boar, &c., are also the\nmost stupid; and idiots and cretins display a sensuality which brutifies\nthem still more. Hence, the Homeric fable that Circe transformed men into\nbeasts.\n\nIt would also appear that the most stupid animals, swine, rabbits, &c., in\ngeneral produce the greatest number of young; while men of genius have\nengendered the fewest. It is remarked that none of the greatest men of\nantiquity were much given to sexual pleasure.\n\nIt is, then, of the greatest importance to young men who are ambitious of\nexcellence, to mark well this truth, that the most powerful and\ndistinguished in mental faculties, other things being equal, will be he\nwho wastes them least in early life by sexual indulgence--who most\neconomizes the vital stimulant, in order to excite the mental powers on\ngreat occasions. By such means may a man surely surpass others, if he have\nreceived from his parents proportional mental energy.\n\nBeside the means already indicated, there is one proposed by an able\nwriter, as serving to divert the instinct of propagation when too early\nand excessive, and consequently dangerous: that is, the sentiment of love.\nTo employ this means, he observes, \"it is necessary to search early, after\nknowing the character of the adolescent whom it is wished to direct, for a\nyoung woman whose beauty and good qualities may inspire him with\nattachment. This means will serve, more than can easily be imagined, to\npreserve the adolescent both from the grosser attractions of libertinism\nand the disease it entails, and from _the more dangerous snares of\ncoquetry_. It is,\" he adds, \"a virtuous young woman and a solid\nattachment that are here spoken of.\"--At some future period I shall\nprobably show how wise this recommendation is, as well as the necessity\nand the advantages of early marriages, under favorable circumstances.\n\nHaving now shown the evils of early sexual association, I may briefly\nnotice those of later libertinism.\n\nIf, even in more advanced life, and when the constitution is stronger, the\ninstinct of propagation be not restrained within just limits, it\ndegenerates into inordinate lewdness or real mania: \"Repperit obsc\u00e6nas\nveneres vitiosa libido.\" By such depravation, nobleness of character is\nutterly destroyed.\n\nThis scarcely evitable consequence of great fortune and of the facility of\nindulgence, it has been justly observed, will ever be the ruin of the\nrich, and a mode of enervating the most vigorous branches of the most\npowerful house.\n\nThe libertine, then, owing to exhaustion, by sexual indulgence, is\ncharacterized by physical and moral impotence, or has a brain as incapable\nof thinking, as his muscles are of acting.\n\nAs libertines are enfeebled by indulgence, it follows that they are\nproportionally distinguished by fear and cowardice. Nothing, indeed,\ndestroys courage more than sexual abuses.\n\nBut, from cowardice, spring cunning, duplicity, lying, and perfidy. These\ncommon results of cowardice are uniformly found in eunuchs, slaves,\ncourtiers, and sycophants; while boldness, frankness, and generosity,\nbelong to virtuous, free, and magnanimous men.\n\nAgain, cowardice, artifice, falsehood, and perfidy, are the usual elements\nof cruelty. Men feel more wounded in self-love, as they are conscious of\nbeing more contemptible; and they avenge themselves with more malignity\nupon their enemy, as they find themselves more weak and worthless, and as\nthey consequently dread him more.\n\nThese are the causes of that malignant revenge which princes have often\nshown, as, in ancient times, Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Domitian,\nHeliogabalus, &c. In later times, Catharine de Medici solicited the\nmassacre of the Protestants; Paul, Constantine, and Nicholas, of Russia,\nwere happy only when they wallowed in blood; Charles X., equally\neffeminate and bigoted, perpetrated the massacre of the Parisians; Don\nMiguel covered Portugal with his assassinations; and nearly all the\nsovereigns and sycophants in Europe upheld or palliated his atrocities.[7]\n\nThe strong and brave man, on the contrary, scarcely feels hurt, and scorns\nrevenge.\n\nIt is not cruelty only with which we may reproach these effeminate\nindividuals: it is every vice which springs from baseness of character.\n\nLibertinism, moreover, is not hurtful only to the health and welfare of\nthese individuals: it is so also to those of their posterity.\n\nFinally, the results of libertinism have constantly marked, not merely the\nruin of families, but the degeneration of races, and the decay of empires.\nThe delights of Capua caused the ruin of Hannibal; and the Roman, once so\nproud before kings, finally transformed himself into the wretched slave of\nmonsters degraded far below the rank of humanity.\n\nSo little, however, do men look to remote consequences that perhaps the\nmost frightful punishments of libertinism are the diseases which it\ninflicts. Man may, then, be said to meet only death on the path of life.\n\nThe dangers of promiscuous love are, indeed, far beyond what young men\nwill easily believe. I do not exaggerate when I state, that, out of every\nthree women, and those the least common of the promiscuous, two at least\nare certainly in a state of disease capable of the most destructive\ninfection. A surgeon in the habit of receiving foul patients at a public\nhospital tells me, I might safely say that nine out of every ten are in\nthis state.[8]\n\nWhile writing this, Sir Anthony Carlisle observes to me, that, \"the\nspecial disease which appears to be a punishment for sexual profligacy, is\nnot only malignant, painful, and hideous, in every stage of it, but the\nonly remedy known for its cure, mercury, is a poison which generally\nleaves its own evils for the venom which it destroys. This frightful\ndisease has no natural termination but in a disgusting disgraceful death,\nafter disfiguring the countenance, by causing blindness, loss of the nose,\nthe palate and teeth, and by the spoliation of the sinning organs. The\nmiserables, who thus perish in public hospitals, are so offensive to the\nmore respectable patients, that they are confined to appointed rooms,\ntermed foul wards, where they linger and die in the bloom of life, either\nof the penalty inflicted by their profligacy, of the poison administered\nto them, or of incurable consequent diseases, such as consumption, palsy,\nor madness.\"\n\nHence, it has been observed, that, if we have to deal with a young man\nincapable of guidance by the nobler motives, of feeling contempt for vice,\nand horror for debauchery, there yet remain means to be employed. Let him\nbe conducted to the hospital, where he will find collected the poor\nvictims of debauchery--the unhappy women whom, even the day before, he may\nhave seen in the streets, with faces dressed in smiles, amid the torments,\nthe corrosion, and the contagion of disease. This may leave an impression\nsufficiently deep. But let him also know that these unhappy creatures are\na thousand times more pitiable than the libertine who destroys them, and\nwho forfeits the only good we cannot refuse to other wretches, compassion\nfor the misery he endures.[9]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nNATURE OF BEAUTY.\n\n\nIn this chapter, my aim is to show that there is more than one kind of\nbeauty, and that much confusion has arisen among writers, from not clearly\ndistinguishing the characteristics of these kinds.\n\nAn essential condition, then, of all excitement and action in animal\nbodies, is a greater or less degree of novelty in the objects impressing\nthem--even if this novelty should arise only from a previous cessation of\nexcitement.\n\nNow, objects of greater or less novelty are the causes of excitement,\npleasurable or painful, by means of their various relations.\n\nThe lowest degree of bodily pleasure (though, owing to its constancy,\nimmense in its total amount) is that which arises, during health, from\nthose relations of bodies and that excitement which cause the mere local\nexercise of the organs--a source of pleasure which is seldom the object of\nour voluntary attention, but which seems to me to be the chief cause of\nattachment to life amid its more definite and conspicuous evils.\n\nAll higher mental emotions consist of pleasure or pain superadded to more\nor less definite ideas. Pleasurable emotions arise from the agreeable\nrelations of things; painful emotions, from the disagreeable ones.\n\nThe term by which we express the influence which objects, by means of\ntheir relations, possess of exciting emotions of pleasure in the mind, is\nBEAUTY.\n\nBeauty, when founded on the relations of objects, or of the parts of\nobjects, to each other, forms a first class, and may be termed _intrinsic\nbeauty_.\n\nWhen beauty is farther considered in relation to ourselves, it forms a\nsecond class, and may be termed _extrinsic_ beauty.\n\nWe are next led (hitherto this has apparently been done without analyzing\nor defining the operation) to a division of the latter into two genera;\nnamely, the _minor beauty_, of which prettiness, delicacy, &c., are\nmodifications, and that which is called _grandeur_ or _sublimity_.\n\nThe characters of the minor beauty or prettiness, with relation to\nourselves, are smallness, subordination, and subjection. Hence female\nbeauty, in relation to the male.\n\nThe characters of grandeur or sublimity, with relation to ourselves, are\ngreatness, superordination, and power. Hence male beauty, in relation to\nthe female.\n\nBy the preceding brief train of analysis and definition, is, I believe,\nanswered the question--\"whether the emotion of grandeur make a branch of\nthe emotion of beauty, or be entirely distinct from it.\"\n\nHaving, by this concise statement of my own views on these subjects, made\nthe reader acquainted with some of the materials of future consideration\nhere employed, I may now examine the opinions of some philosophers, in\norder to see how far they accord with these first principles, and what\nanswer can be given to them where they differ.\n\nThat _beauty_, _generally considered_, has nothing to do with particular\nsize, is very well shown by Payne Knight, who, though he argues\nincorrectly about it in many other respects, here truly says: \"All degrees\nof magnitude contribute to beauty in proportion as they show objects to be\nperfect in their kind. The dimensions of a beautiful horse are very\ndifferent from those of a beautiful lapdog; and those of a beautiful oak\nfrom those of a beautiful myrtle; because, nature has formed these\ndifferent kinds of animals and vegetables upon different scales.\n\n\"The notion of objects being rendered beautiful by being gradually\ndiminished, or tapered, is equally unfounded; for the same object, which\nis small by degrees, and beautifully less, when seen in one direction, is\nlarge by degrees, and beautifully bigger, when seen in another. The stems\nof trees are tapered upward; and the columns of Grecian architecture,\nhaving been taken from them, and therefore retaining a degree of analogy\nwith them, were tapered upward too: but the legs of animals are tapered\ndownward, and the inverted obelisks, upon which busts were placed, having\na similar analogy to them, were tapered downward also; while pilasters,\nwhich had no analogy with either, but were mere square posts terminating a\nwall, never tapered at all.\"\n\nSpeaking of beauty generally, and without seeing the distinctions I have\nmade above, Burke, on the contrary, states the first quality of beauty to\nbe comparative smallness, and says: \"In ordinary conversation, it is usual\nto add the endearing name of little to everything we love;\" and \"in most\nlanguages, the objects of love are spoken of under diminutive epithets.\"\n\nThis is evidently true only of the objects of _minor_ or _subordinate\nbeauty_, which Burke confusedly thought the only kind of it, though he\nelsewhere grants, that beauty may be connected with sublimity! It shows,\nhowever, that relative littleness is essential to that first kind of\nbeauty.\n\nWith greater knowledge of facts than Burke possessed, and with as feeble\nreasoning powers, but with less taste, and with a perverse whimsicality\nwhich was all his own, Payne Knight similarly, making no distinction in\nbeauty, considered smallness as an accidental association, failed to see\nthat it characterized a kind of beauty, and argued, that \"if we join the\ndiminutive to a term which precludes all such affection, or does not even,\nin some degree, express it, it immediately converts it into a term of\ncontempt and reproach: thus, a bantling, a fondling, a darling, &c., are\nterms of endearment; but a witling, a changeling, a lordling, &c., are\ninvariably terms of scorn: so in French, '_mon petit enfant_,' is an\nexpression of endearment; but '_mon petit monsieur_,' is an expression of\nthe most pointed reproach and contempt.\"\n\nNow, this chatter of grammatical termination and French phrase, though\nmeant to look vastly clever, is merely a blunder. There is no analogy in\nthe cases compared: a \"darling\" or little dear unites _dear_, an\nexpression of love, with _little_, implying that dependance which enhances\nlove; while \"witling\" or little wit unites _wit_, an expression of talent,\nwith _little_, meaning the small quantity or absence of the talent alluded\nto; and it is because the latter term means, not physical littleness,\nwhich well associates with love, but moral littleness and mental\ndegradation, that it becomes a term of contempt.\n\nEven from the little already said, it seems evident that much of the\nconfusion on this subject has arisen from not distinguishing the two\ngenera of beauty, and not seeing that \"the emotion of grandeur\" is merely\n\"a branch of the emotion of beauty.\"\n\nThe other genus of beauty, _grand_ or _sublime beauty_, is well described\nby the names given to it, grandeur or sublimity. Some have considered\nsublimity as expressing grandeur in the highest degree: it would perhaps\nbe as well to express the cause of the emotion by grandeur, and the\nemotion itself by sublimity.\n\nNothing is sublime that is not vast or powerful, or that does not make him\nwho feels it sensible of its physical or moral superiority.\n\nThe simplest cause of sublimity is presented by all objects of vast\nmagnitude or extent--a seemingly boundless plain, the sky, the ocean,\n&c.; and the particular direction of the magnitude or extent always\ncorrespondingly modifies the emotion--height giving more especially the\nidea of power, breadth of resistance, depth of danger, &c. Of the objects\nmentioned above, the ocean is the most sublime, because, to vastness in\nlength and breadth, it adds depth, and a force perpetually active.\n\nNow, that these objects, though sublime, are beautiful, is very evident;\nand it is therefore also evident how much Burke erred in asserting\ncomparative smallness to be the first character of beauty generally\nconsidered. This and similar errors, as already said, have greatly\nobscured this subject, and have led Burke and others so to modify and\nqualify their doctrines, as to take from them all precision and certainty.\n\nHence, in one place, Burke says: \"As, in the animal world, and in a good\nmeasure in the vegetable world likewise, the qualities that constitute\n_beauty_ may _possibly_ be united to things of _greater dimensions_ [that\nis, littleness may be united with bigness!]; when they are so united they\nconstitute _a species something different both from the sublime and\nbeautiful_, which I have before called, Fine.\"\n\nSo also he says: \"Ugliness I imagine likewise to be consistent enough with\nan idea of the sublime. But I would by no means insinuate that ugliness of\nitself is a sublime idea, unless united with such qualities as excite a\nstrong terror.\"\n\nHere, he confounds sublimity with terror, as do Blair and other writers,\nwhen they say that \"exact proportion of parts, though it enters often\ninto the beautiful, is much disregarded in the sublime.\" It is a fact,\nthat exactly in proportion as ugliness is substituted for beauty in vast\nobjects, is sublimity taken away, until at last it is utterly lost in the\nterrible.\n\nEven Blair shows that sublimity may exist without terror or pain. \"The\nproper sensation of sublimity appears,\" he observes, \"to be\ndistinguishable from the sensation of either of these, and, on several\noccasions, to be entirely separated from them. In many grand objects,\nthere is no coincidence with terror at all; as in the magnificent prospect\nof wide-extended plains, and of the starry firmament; or in the moral\ndispositions and sentiments, which we view with high admiration; and in\nmany painful and terrible objects also, it is clear, there is no sort of\ngrandeur. The amputation of a limb, or the bite of a snake, is exceedingly\nterrible, but is destitute of all claim whatever to sublimity.\"\n\nPayne Knight shows that terror is even opposed to sublimity: \"All the\ngreat and terrible convulsions of nature; such as storms, tempests,\nhurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, &c., excite sublime ideas, and impress\nsublime sentiments by the prodigious exertions of energy and power which\nthey seem to display: for though these objects are, in their nature,\nterrible, and generally known to be so, it is not this attribute of terror\nthat contributes, in the smallest degree to render them sublime.... Timid\nwomen fly to a cellar, or a darkened room, to avoid the sublime effects of\na thunder-storm; because to them they are not sublime, but terrible. To\nthose only are they sublime, '_qui formidine nulla imbuti spectant_,' who\nbehold them without any fear at all; and to whom, therefore, they are in\nno degree terrible.\"\n\nThis farther confirms the distinction which I made of beauty into minor or\nsubordinate, and grand or sublime beauty, although Knight adopted other\nprinciples, if principles they may be called, and neglected such\ndistinction.\n\nThere is but one other error on this subject which I need to notice. Burke\nsays: \"To make anything very terrible, obscurity seems in general to be\nnecessary. When we know the full extent of any danger, when we can\naccustom our eyes to it, a great deal of the apprehension vanishes. Every\none will be sensible of this, who considers how greatly night adds to our\ndread, in all cases of danger.... Those despotic governments which are\nfounded on the passions of men, and principally upon the passion of fear,\nkeep their chief as much as may be from the public eye. The policy has\nbeen the same in many cases of religion. Almost all the heathen temples\nwere dark.\"\n\nFrom what has already been said, it is evident that all this contributes\nto terror, not to sublimity; and that the same error is made by Blair when\nhe says, \"As obscurity, so disorder, too, is very compatible with\ngrandeur, nay, frequently heightens it.\"\n\nTo expose the weakness and to destroy the authority of some writers on\nthis subject, can only set the mind free for the investigation of truth.\nI may, therefore, conclude this chapter by quoting the shrewd remarks of\nKnight on some of the principles of Burke. I shall afterward be forced\ncritically to examine the notions of Knight in their turn.\n\nBurke states that the highest degree of sublime sensation is astonishment;\nand the subordinate degrees, awe, reverence, and respect; all which he\nconsiders as modes of terror. And Knight observes that this graduated\nscale of the sublime, from respect to astonishment, cannot, perhaps be\nbetter illustrated than by applying it to his own character.\n\n\"He was certainly,\" says Knight, \"a very respectable man, and reverenced\nby all who knew him intimately. At one period of his life, too, when he\nbecame the disinterested patron of remote and injured nations, who had\nnone to help them, his character was truly sublime; but, unless upon those\nwhom he so ably and eloquently arraigned, I do not believe that it\nimpressed any awe.... If, during this period, he had suddenly appeared\namong the managers in Westminster Hall without his wig and coat, or had\nwalked up St. James's street without his breeches, it would have\noccasioned great and universal astonishment; and if he had, at the same\ntime, carried a loaded blunderbuss in his hands, the astonishment would\nhave been mixed with no small portion of terror: but I do not believe that\nthe united effects of these two powerful passions would have produced any\nsentiment or sensation approaching to sublime, even in the breasts of\nthose who had the strongest sense of self-preservation and the quickest\nsensibility of danger.\"\n\nThus, I believe, it now appears that novelty[10] is the exciting cause of\npleasurable emotion, and of the consequent perception of beauty in the\nrelations of things, and that the two genera of beauty--the minor or\nsubordinate beauty, and grandeur or sublimity--have distinct\ncharacteristics, the confounding of which by writers has led to the\nobscurity of this part of the subject.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nSTANDARD OF TASTE IN BEAUTY.\n\n\nThe expression, \"standard of taste,\" is used to signify the basis or\nfoundation of our judgments respecting beauty and deformity, and their\nconsequent certainty.\n\nSetting aside such objection as might be raised to a standard of taste on\nthe doctrine of Berkeley (which I refuted in 1809, and which I need not\nenter into here), this matter was long ago settled by David Hume; and I\nhave nothing new to say upon the subject (there is probably enough of\nnovelty in other chapters, whatever its worth may be), except that Burke\nappears to have borrowed all he knew about it from that incomparably more\nprofound philosopher.\n\nAs I ought not, however, to omit here a view of the subject, I cannot do\nbetter than transcribe the words of Hume and Burke respectively. While\nthis will put the reader in possession of all that I think necessary upon\nthis subject, it will farther tend to show in what Burke's ability as a\nphilosopher consisted.\n\nI must first, however, observe that the word \"taste,\" as expressing our\njudgment of beauty, is a metaphor whimsically borrowed from the lowest of\nour senses, and is applied to our exercise of that faculty, as regards\nboth natural objects, and the fine arts which imitate these.\n\nIt is not wonderful that the variety and inconstancy of tastes respecting\nthe attributes and the characters of beauty, should have led many\nphilosophers to deny that there exist any certain combinations of forms\nand of effects to which the term beauty ought to be invariably attached.\n\nIn his \"Philosophical Dictionary,\" Voltaire, after quoting some nonsense\nfrom the crazy dreamer who did so much injury to Greek philosophy, says:\n\"I am willing to believe that nothing can be more beautiful than this\ndiscourse of Plato; but it does not give us very clear ideas of the nature\nof the beautiful. Ask of a toad what is beauty, pure beauty, the [Greek:\nto kalon]; he will answer you that it is his female, with two large round\neyes projecting from her little head, a large and flat throat, a yellow\nbelly, and a brown back. Ask the devil, and he will tell you that the\nbeautiful is a pair of horns, four claws, and a tail. Consult, lastly, the\nphilosophers, and they will answer you by rigmarole: they want something\nconformable to the archetype of the beautiful in essence, to the [Greek:\nto kalon].\" This is wit, not reason: let us look for that to a deeper\nthinker--as proposed above.\n\nDavid Hume says: \"It appears that, amid all the variety and caprice of\ntaste, there are certain general principles of approbation or blame, whose\ninfluence a careful eye may trace in all operations of the mind. Some\nparticular forms or qualities from the original structure of the internal\nfabric, are calculated to please, and others to displease.... If they fail\nof their effect in any particular instance, it is from some apparent\n_defect_ or imperfection in the organ.\n\n\"In each creature there is a sound and a defective state; and the former\nalone can be supposed to afford us a true standard of taste and sentiment.\nIf, in the sound state of the organ, there be an entire or a considerable\nuniformity of sentiment among men, we may thence derive an idea of the\nperfect beauty; in like manner as the appearance of objects in daylight,\nto the eye of a man in health, is denominated their true and real color.\"\n\nTo the same purpose writes Burke, after some preliminary observations:--\n\n\"All the natural powers in man, which I know, that are conversant about\nexternal objects, are the senses, the imagination, and the judgment.\n\n\"First, with regard to the senses. We do and we must suppose, that, as the\nconformations of their organs are nearly or altogether the same in all\nmen, so the manner of perceiving external objects is in all men the same,\nor with little difference.\n\n\"As there will be little doubt that bodies present similar images to the\nwhole species, it must necessarily be allowed, that the pleasures and the\npains which every object excites in one man, it must raise in all mankind,\nwhile it operates naturally, simply, and by its proper powers only.\n\n\"Custom, and some other causes, have made many deviations from the natural\npleasures or pains which belong to these several tastes; but then the\npower of distinguishing between the natural and the acquired relish\nremains to the very last.\n\n\"There is in all men a sufficient remembrance of the original natural\ncauses of pleasure, to enable them to bring all things offered to their\nsenses to that standard, and to regulate their feelings and opinions by\nit.\n\n\"Suppose one who had so vitiated his palate as to take more pleasure in\nthe taste of opium than in that of butter or honey, to be presented with a\nbolus of squills; there is hardly any doubt but that he would prefer the\nbutter or honey to this nauseous morsel, or to any other bitter drug to\nwhich he had not been accustomed; which proves that his palate was\nnaturally like that of other men in all things, that it is still like the\npalate of other men in many things, and only vitiated in some particular\npoints.\"\n\nIn the same manner, Payne Knight observes that \"things, naturally the most\nnauseous, become most grateful; and things, naturally most grateful, most\ninsipid.\n\n\"This extreme effect, however, only takes place where the palate has\nbecome morbid and vitiated by continued, and even forced gratification;\nand even when the metaphors taken from this sense, and employed to express\nintellectual qualities, show that it is always felt and considered as a\ncorruption, even by those who are most corrupted: for though there are\nmany who prefer port wine to malmsey, and tobacco to sugar, yet no one\never spoke of a sour or bitter temper as pleasant, or of a sweet one as\nunpleasant.\" By this concession, Knight answers several of his own\nobjections.\n\n\"When it is said,\" farther observes Burke, very properly, \"taste cannot be\ndisputed, it can only mean, that no one can strictly answer what pleasure\nor pain some particular man may find from the taste of some particular\nthing. This indeed cannot be disputed; but we may dispute, and with\nsufficient clearness too, concerning the things which are naturally\npleasing or disagreeable to the sense. But when we talk of any peculiar or\nacquired relish, then we must know the habits, the prejudices, or the\ndistempers of this particular man, and we must draw our conclusions from\nthose.\"\n\nHume proceeds to a second point, by observing that \"one obvious cause, why\nmany feel not the proper sentiment of beauty, is the want of that\n_delicacy_ of imagination which is requisite to convey a sensibility of\nthose finer emotions.\n\n\"Where the organs are so fine, as to allow nothing to escape them, and at\nthe same time so exact, as to perceive every ingredient in the\ncomposition; this we call delicacy of taste, whether we employ these terms\nin the literal or metaphorical sense.\"\n\nBurke enlarges on this, after preliminary observing that \"the power of the\nimagination is incapable of producing anything absolutely new; it can only\nvary the disposition of those ideas which it has received from the\nsenses. Now, the imagination is the most extensive province of pleasure\nand pain, as it is the region of our fears and our hopes, and of all our\npassions that are connected with them.\n\n\"Since the imagination is only the representation of the senses, it can\nonly be pleased or displeased with the images, from the same principle on\nwhich the sense is pleased or displeased with the realities; and\nconsequently there must be just as close an agreement in the imaginations\nas in the senses of men.\n\n\"There are some men formed with feelings so blunt, with tempers so cold\nand phlegmatic, that they can hardly be said to be awake during the whole\ncourse of their lives. Upon such persons, the most striking objects make\nbut a faint and obscure impression. There are others so continually in the\nagitation of gross and merely sensual pleasures, or so occupied in the low\ndrudgery of avarice, or so heated in the chase of honors and distinction,\nthat their minds, which had been used continually to the storms of these\nviolent and tempestuous passions, can hardly be put in motion by the\ndelicate and refined play of the imagination. These men, though from a\ndifferent cause, become as stupid and insensible as the former; but\nwhenever either of these happen to be struck with any natural elegance or\ngreatness, or with these qualities in any work of art, they are moved upon\nthe same principle.\"\n\nOn a third point, Hume says: \"But though there be naturally a wide\ndifference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing\ntends farther to increase and improve this talent, than _practice_ in a\nparticular art, and the frequent survey or contemplation of a particular\nspecies of beauty.\n\n\"So advantageous is practice to the discernment of beauty, that, before we\ncan give judgment on any work of importance, it will even be requisite\nthat that very individual performance be more than once perused by us, and\nbe surveyed in different lights with attention and deliberation.\"\n\nThis is well illustrated by Burke, who observes: \"It is known that the\ntaste (whatever it is) is improved exactly as we improve our knowledge, by\na steady attention to our object, and by frequent exercise.\n\n\"To illustrate this--(that there is a difference, not in the causes, nor\nin the manner of men's being affected, but in the degree, owing to natural\nsensibility, or greater attention to the object)--to illustrate this by\nthe procedure of the senses in which the same difference is found, let us\nsuppose a very smooth marble-table to be set before two men; they both\nperceive it to be smooth, and they are both pleased with it because of\nthis quality. So far they agree.\n\n\"But suppose another, and after that another table, the latter still\nsmoother than the former, to be set before them. It is now very probable\nthat these men, who are so agreed upon what is smooth, and in the pleasure\nthence, will disagree when they come to settle which table has the\nadvantage in point of polish.... Nor is it easy, when such a difference\narises, to settle the point, if the excess or diminution be not glaring.\n\n\"In these nice cases, supposing the acuteness of the sense equal, the\ngreater attention and habit in such things will have the advantage. In the\nquestion about the tables, the marble-polisher will unquestionably\ndetermine the most accurately.\n\n\"In the imagination, beside the pain or pleasure arising from the\nproperties of the natural object, a pleasure is perceived from the\nresemblance which the imitation has to the original.\n\n\"All men are nearly equal in this point, as far as their knowledge of the\nthings represented or compared extends.\n\n\"The principle of this knowledge is very much accidental, as it depends\nupon experience and observation, and not on the strength or weakness of\nany natural faculty; and it is from this difference in knowledge that what\nwe commonly, though with no great exactness, call a difference in taste,\nproceeds.\n\n\"A man to whom sculpture is new sees a barber's block, or some ordinary\npiece of statuary; he is immediately struck and pleased, because he sees\nsomething like a human figure; and entirely taken up with this likeness,\nhe does not at all attend to its defects. No person, I believe, at the\nfirst time of seeing a piece of imitation, ever did. Some time after, we\nsuppose that this novice lights upon a more artificial work of the same\nnature; he begins to look with contempt on what he admired at first; not\nthat he admired it even then for its unlikeness to a man, but for that\ngeneral though inaccurate resemblance which it bore to the human figure.\nWhat he admired at different times in these so different figures, is\nstrictly the same; and though his knowledge is improved, his taste is not\naltered. Hitherto his mistake was from a want of knowledge in art, and\nthis arose from his inexperience; but he may be still deficient, from a\nwant of knowledge in nature. For it is possible that the man in question\nmay stop here, and that the masterpiece of a great hand may please him no\nmore than the middling performance of a vulgar artist; and this not for\nwant of better or higher relish, but because all men do not observe with\nsufficient accuracy on the human figure, to enable them to judge properly\nof an imitation of it.\"\n\nOn other points, Hume makes the following observations:--\n\n\"Without being frequently obliged to form _comparisons_ between the\nseveral species and degrees of excellence, and estimating their proportion\nto each other ... a man is indeed totally unqualified to pronounce an\nopinion with regard to any object presented to him. By comparison alone,\nwe fix the epithets of praise or blame, and learn how to assign the due\ndegree of each.\n\n\"But to enable a critic more fully to execute this undertaking, he must\npreserve his mind free from all _prejudice_ and allow nothing to enter\ninto his consideration, but the very object which is submitted to his\nexamination.\n\n\"It is well known, that, in all questions submitted to the understanding,\nprejudice is destructive of sound judgment, and perverts all operations of\nthe intellectual faculties: it is no less contrary to good taste; nor has\nit less influence to corrupt our sentiments of beauty. It belongs to _good\nsense_ to check its influence in both cases; and in this respect, as well\nas in many others, reason, if not an essential part of taste, is at least\nrequisite to the operations of this latter faculty. In all the nobler\nproductions of genius, there is a mutual relation and correspondence of\nparts; nor can either the beauties or blemishes be perceived by him whose\nthought is not capacious enough to comprehend all those parts, and compare\nthem with each other, in order to perceive the consistence and uniformity\nof the whole. Every work of art has also a certain end or purpose for\nwhich it is calculated; and is to be deemed more or less perfect, as it is\nmore or less fitted to attain this end.\"\n\nTo a repetition of this, Burke adds some useful remarks:--\n\n\"As many of the works of imagination are not confined to representation of\nsensible objects, nor to efforts upon the passions, but extend themselves\nto the manners, the characters, the actions, and designs of men, their\nrelations, their virtues and vices, they come within the province of the\njudgment, which is improved by attention and by the habit of reasoning.\n\n\"The cause of a wrong taste is a defect of judgment. And this may arise\nfrom a natural weakness of understanding (in whatever the strength of\nthat faculty may consist), or which is much more commonly the case, it\nmay arise from a want of proper and well-directed exercise, which alone\ncan make it strong and ready. Beside that ignorance, inattention,\nprejudice, rashness, levity, obstinacy, in short, all those passions, and\nall those vices which pervert the judgment in other matters, prejudice it\nno less in this its more refined and elegant province. These causes\nproduce different opinions upon everything which is an object of the\nunderstanding, without inducing us to suppose, that there are no settled\nprinciples of reason.\n\n\"A rectitude of judgment in the arts, which may be called a good taste,\ndoes in a great measure depend upon sensibility; because, if the mind has\nno bent to the pleasures of the imagination, it will never apply itself\nsufficiently to works of that species to acquire a competent knowledge in\nthem. But though a degree of sensibility is requisite to form a good\njudgment, yet a good judgment does not necessarily arise from a quick\nsensibility of pleasure; it frequently happens that a very poor judge,\nmerely by force of a greater complexional sensibility, is more affected by\na poor piece, than the best judge by the most perfect; for as everything\nnew, extraordinary, grand, or passionate, is well calculated to affect\nsuch a person, and that the faults do not affect him, his pleasure is more\npure and unmixed.\n\n\"In the morning of our days, when the senses are unworn and tender, when\nthe whole man is awake in every part, and the gloss of novelty fresh upon\nall the objects that surround us, how lively at that time are our\nsensations, but how false and inaccurate the judgments we form of things!\n\n\"Every trivial cause of pleasure is apt to affect the man of too sanguine\na complexion: his appetite is to keen to suffer his taste to be\ndelicate.... One of this character can never be a refined judge; never\nwhat the comic poet calls '_elegans formarum spectator_.'\n\n\"The rude hearer is affected by the principles which operate in these arts\neven in their rudest condition; and he is not skilful enough to perceive\nthe defects. But as arts advance toward their perfection, the science of\ncriticism advances with equal pace, and the pleasure of judges is\nfrequently interrupted by the faults which are discovered in the most\nfinished compositions.\"\n\nThe chief idea above expressed, is again repeated by Sir J. Reynolds, who\nsays: \"The principles of these (the imagination and the passions) are as\ninvariable as the former (the senses), and are to be known and reasoned\nupon in the same manner, by an appeal to _common sense_ deciding upon the\ncommon feelings of mankind.\"\n\nThese views are thus summed by Hume: \"The organs of internal sensation are\nseldom so perfect as to allow the general principles their full play, and\nproduce a feeling correspondent to those principles. They either labor\nunder some defect, or are vitiated by some disorder; and by that means,\nexcite a sentiment, which may be pronounced erroneous. When the critic has\nno delicacy, he judges without any distinction, and is only affected by\nthe grosser and more palpable qualities of the object: the finer touches\npass unnoticed and disregarded. Where he is not aided by practice, his\nverdict is attended with confusion and hesitation. Where no comparison has\nbeen employed, the most frivolous beauties, such as rather merit the name\nof defects, are the object of his admiration. Where he lies under the\ninfluence of prejudice, all his natural sentiments are perverted. Where\ngood sense is wanting, he is not qualified to discern the beauties of\ndesign and reasoning, which are the highest and most excellent. Under some\nor other of these imperfections, the generality of men labor; and hence, a\ntrue judge in the finer arts is observed, even during the most polished\nages, to be so rare a character: strong sense, united to delicate\nsentiment, improved by practice, perfected by comparison, and cleared of\nall prejudice, can alone entitle critics to this valuable character; and\nthe joint verdict of such, wherever they are to be found, is the true\nstandard of taste and beauty.\"\n\nTaking the principal ideas above, Burke also concludes: \"On the whole it\nappears to me, that what is called taste, in its most general acceptation,\nis not a simple idea, but is partly made up of a perception of the primary\npleasures of sense, of the secondary pleasures of the imagination, and of\nthe conclusions of the reasoning faculty, concerning the various relations\nof these, and concerning the human passions, manners, and actions.\"\n\n\"It is sufficient for our present purpose,\" Hume farther observes, \"if we\nhave proved that the taste of all individuals is not upon an equal\nfooting, and that some men in general, however difficult to be\nparticularly pitched upon, will be acknowledged by universal sentiment to\nhave a preference above others.\n\n\"Though men of delicate taste be rare, they are easily to be distinguished\nin society by the soundness of their understanding, and the superiority of\ntheir faculties above the rest of mankind. The ascendant which they\nacquire, gives a prevalence to that lively approbation, with which they\nreceive any productions of genius, and renders it generally predominant.\nMany men, when left to themselves, have but a faint and dubious perception\nof beauty, who yet are capable of relishing any fine stroke which is\npointed out to them. Every convert to the admiration of the real poet or\norator, is the cause of some new conversion. And though prejudices may\nprevail for a time, they never unite in celebrating any rival to the true\ngenius, but yield at last to the force of nature and just sentiment.\"\n\nHume finally obviates some apparent difficulties:--\n\n\"But notwithstanding all our endeavors to fix a standard of taste, and\nreconcile the discordant apprehensions of men, there still remain two\nsources of variation, which are not sufficient indeed to confound all the\nboundaries of beauty and deformity, but will often serve to produce a\ndifference in the degrees of our approbation or blame. The one is the\ndifferent humors of particular men; the other, the particular manner and\nopinions of our age and country.\n\n\"A young man, whose passions are warm, will be more sensibly touched with\namorous and tender images, than a man more advanced in years, who takes\npleasure in wise, philosophical reflections concerning the conduct of life\nand moderation of the passions. At twenty, Ovid may be the favorite\nauthor; Horace at forty; and perhaps Tacitus at fifty. Vainly would we, in\nsuch cases, endeavor to enter into the sentiments of others, and divest\nourselves of those propensities which are natural to us. We choose our\nfavorite author as we do our friend, from a conformity of humor and\ndisposition.\n\n\"Such preferences are innocent and unavoidable, and can never reasonably\nbe the object of dispute, because there is no standard by which they can\nbe decided.\n\n\"For a like reason, we are more pleased, in the course of our reading,\nwith pictures and characters that resemble objects which are found in our\nown age or country, than with those which describe a different set of\ncustoms.\n\n\"A man of learning and reflection can make allowance for these\npeculiarities of manners; but a common audience can never divest\nthemselves so far of their usual ideas and sentiments, as to relish\npictures which nowise resemble them.\"\n\nThus I believe the reader has before him a view, sufficiently clear, of\nthat popular topic, the standard of taste, as well as of the agreement\nwhich subsists among the best writers on the subject. In the next chapter,\nwe proceed to a more fundamental and difficult inquiry.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY.[11]\n\n\nOn the subject of the preceding chapter, even the reasonings of Hume\nappear to me to be of too vague and indefinite a kind. It requires the\nmore minute scrutiny into which I shall now enter, in order to place it\nupon a deeper and more scientific foundation. If I can here show that, in\nthe material qualities of the objects of nature and art, there exist\nelements of beauty equally invariable in themselves and in the kind of\neffect they produce upon the mind, it is evident there can be no farther\ndispute about a standard of beauty.\n\nMany attempts have been made to determine the material elements of beauty,\nby Hogarth, Home, and others. All have more or less failed, from not\nobserving that these elements are modified, varied, and complicated, as we\nadvance from the most simple to the most complex class of natural beings,\nor of the arts which relate to these respectively. Many partial views of\nperfect truth and great interest have been taken, and by every one of\nthese it will be my duty here to profit: but, from the failure just\npointed out, no philosophical and systematic doctrine of beauty, ascending\nfrom its origin in elements through its higher combinations, has ever been\nattained by any of the numerous, deep, acute, and elegant thinkers who\nhave devoted their time to this subject, as the foundation of taste and of\nthe fine or intellectual arts.\n\nProfiting, as I ought to do, by the partial views of these philosophers, I\npretend here only to take one larger view--to analyze, to generalize, to\nsystematize, the materials which they present to me.\n\nIn the hope of accomplishing this, I shall now endeavor successively to\ntrace the elements of beauty which belong respectively to inanimate,\nliving, and thinking beings, and to the useful, ornamental, and\nintellectual arts which have a reference to these, the neglect of all\nwhich I have described as the fundamental cause of previous failure.\n\nAgain, I repeat, it is to this analysis and generalization alone, and to\nthe systemization founded upon it, that I make any pretence. The materials\nhave long been presented by all the great writers on the subject: they\nhave only left them in confusion, and without conclusion. I shall now\nproceed to employ them.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nELEMENTS OF BEAUTY IN INANIMATE BEINGS.\n\nThough Burke did not accurately trace the elements of beauty in any one\nclass of the objects of nature or art, he yet states a preliminary truth\non this subject so well, that I here quote it: \"It would be absurd,\" he\nobserves, \"to say that all things affect us by association only; since\nsome things must have been originally and naturally agreeable or\ndisagreeable, from which the others derive their associated powers; and it\nwould be, I fancy, to little purpose to look for the cause of our passions\nin association, until we fail of it in the natural properties of things.\"\n\nHome, advancing farther, says: \"If a tree be beautiful by means of its\ncolor, its figure, its size, its motion, it is in reality possessed of so\nmany different beauties, which ought to be examined separately, in order\nto have a clear notion of the whole.\n\n\"When any body is viewed as a whole, the beauty of its figure arises from\nregularity[12] and simplicity; and viewing the parts with relation to each\nother, from uniformity[12], proportion, and order.\"\n\nI will here only observe that these are the qualities, as will speedily\nappear, which Burke should have set down as the fundamental and first\ncharacteristics of beauty, instead of relative littleness, which belongs\nnot to beauty generally, but only to the minor or subordinate beauty.\n\nEven Home, having arrived thus far, says: \"To inquire why an object, by\nmeans of the particulars mentioned, appears beautiful, would, I am afraid,\nbe a vain attempt.\"\n\nBut he truly adds: \"One thing is clear, that regularity, uniformity,\norder, and simplicity, contribute each of them to readiness of\napprehension, and enable us to form more distinct images of objects than\ncan be done, with the utmost attention, where these particulars are not\nfound.\" And he subjoins: \"This final cause is, I acknowledge, too slight,\nto account satisfactorily for a taste that makes a figure so illustrious\nin the nature of man; and that this branch of our constitution has a\npurpose still more important, we have great reason to believe.\"\n\nNow had Home seen that the characteristics of general beauty always are,\nwith regard to the object, accordant and agreeable relations, the\nimportance of the qualities he has just enumerated would have been\nevident; for, without them, these characteristics of the object could not\nexist: simplicity, regularity, uniformity, order, &c., are the very\nelements of accordant and agreeable relations. This is in reality the\nstill more important purpose in which Home believed, and to which the\nreadiness of apprehension he now alludes to eminently contributes.\n\nAs to simplicity, he observes, that \"a multitude of objects crowding into\nthe mind at once, disturb the attention, and pass without making any\nimpression, or any lasting impression; and in a group, no single object\nmakes the figure it would do apart, when it occupies the whole attention.\nFor the same reason, even a single object, when it divides the attention\nby the multiplicity of its parts, equals not, in strength of impression, a\nmore simple object comprehended in a single view: parts extremely complex\nmust be considered in portions successively; and a number of impressions\nin succession, which cannot unite because not simultaneous, never touch\nthe mind like one entire impression made as it were at one stroke.\n\n\"A square is less beautiful than a circle, because it is less simple: a\ncircle has parts as well as a square; but its parts not being distinct\nlike those of a square, it makes one entire impression; whereas, the\nattention is divided among the sides and angles of a square.... A square,\nthough not more regular than a hexagon or octagon, is more beautiful than\neither, because a square is more simple, and the attention less divided.\n\n\"Simplicity thus contributes to beauty.\"\n\nBy regularity is meant that circumstance in a figure by which we perceive\nit to be formed according to a certain rule. Thus, a circle, a square, a\nparallelogram, or triangle, pleases by its regularity.\n\n\"A square,\" says Home--(who here furnishes the best materials to a more\ngeneral view, because he most frequently assigns physical causes, and\nwhom, with some abbreviation, I therefore continue to quote)--\"a square is\nmore beautiful than a parallelogram, because the former exceeds the latter\nin regularity and in uniformity of parts. This is true with respect to\nintrinsic beauty only; for in many instances, utility comes in to cast the\nbalance on the side of the parallelogram: this figure for the doors and\nwindows of a dwelling-house, is preferred because of utility; and here we\nfind the beauty of utility prevailing over that of regularity and\nuniformity.\"\n\nThus regularity and uniformity contribute to intrinsic beauty.\n\n\"A parallelogram, again, depends for its beauty on the proportion [or\nrelation of quantity] of its sides. Its beauty is lost by a great\ninequality of these sides: it is also lost by their approximating toward\nequality; for proportion there degenerates into imperfect uniformity, and\nthe figure appears an unsuccessful attempt toward a square.\"\n\nThus proportion contributes to beauty.\n\n\"An equilateral triangle yields not to a square in regularity nor in\nuniformity of parts, and it is more simple. Its inferiority in beauty is\nat least partly owing to inferiority of order in the position of its\nparts: the sides of an equilateral triangle incline to each other in the\nsame angle, which is the most perfect order they are susceptible of; but\nthis order is obscure, and far from being so perfect as the parallelism of\nthe sides of a square.\"\n\nThus order contributes to the beauty of visible objects.\n\n\"A mountain, it may be objected, is an agreeable object, without so much\nas the appearance of regularity; and a chain of mountains is still more\nagreeable, without being arranged in any order. But though regularity,\nuniformity, and order, are causes of beauty, there are also other causes\nof it, as color; and when we pass from small to great objects, and\nconsider grandeur instead of beauty, very little regularity is required.\"\n\nIt follows, from all that has been here said, and this has been shown by\nBurke, that any rugged, any sudden projection, any sharp angle, is in the\nhighest degree contrary to the idea of beauty. Such projections and angles\nare destitute of all the qualities which have just been\nenumerated--simplicity, regularity, uniformity, proportion, order; and\nconformably to the principles I have laid down in a previous chapter, they\ncan present only relations which are naturally disagreeable. This view is\ncorroborated by the fact, that all very sharp, broken, or angular objects,\nwere disagreeable to the boy couched by Cheselden, as they are to all eyes\nof very nice sensibility.\n\nNow, as angular forms give, to the sense of touch, sharpness, roughness,\nor harshness, so do opposite forms give smoothness or fineness. Hence,\nBurke makes smoothness his second characteristic of beauty, and that far\nmore truly than he makes littleness its first, for, as he observes,\n\"smoothness is a quality so essential to beauty, that I do not now\nrecollect anything beautiful that is not smooth.\"\n\nSuch being really the case, I am bound to expose Knight's sophistry on\nthis point. \"This elegant author,\" says he, \"has expatiated upon the\ngratifications of feeling smooth and undulating surfaces in general: but,\nI believe, these gratifications have been confined to himself; and\nprobably to his own imagination acting through the medium of his favorite\nsystem: for, except in the communication of the sexes, which affords no\ngeneral illustration, and ought therefore to be kept entirely out of the\nquestion, I have never heard of any person being addicted to such\nluxuries; though a feeling-board would certainly afford as cheap and\ninnocent a gratification, as either a smelling-bottle, a picture, or a\nflute, provided it were capable of affording any gratification at all.\"\n\nThis is a good specimen of the kind of perverted reasoning, which\npeculiarly distinguishes Knight.\n\nA man affecting the character of philosopher, ought calmly to have\nobserved that, by young people before puberty, and, consequently, when\nthere is not the slightest sexual bias, smooth objects are generally found\nto be agreeable, and rough or harsh ones to be the reverse. This would at\nonce have set him right upon this point.\n\nIf, to such a man, it should for a moment have appeared worth while to ask\nwhy we do not make use of feeling-boards, as well as of smelling-bottles,\nhe ought to have sought the solution of his difficulty in the nature of\nthe senses; and then, with a trifle more of ability than Payne Knight\nhereby shows himself to have possessed, he would have seen that smoothness\naffords us as much pleasure as any smell, but that, as it would have been\nalways troublesome, and often impossible, to apply our fingers to smooth\nsurfaces, we generally receive the varied and incessant pleasure it\naffords, by means of sight; that it is borne by light to the eye, as smell\nis by the air; and that this is the reason why, except when contact is\nindispensable, we have no need of anything in the way of a feeling-board.\n\nBut Knight says: \"Smoothness being properly a quality, perceivable only by\nthe touch, and applied metaphorically to the objects of the other senses,\nwe often apply it, very improperly, to those of vision; assigning\nsmoothness as a cause of visible beauty, to things which, though smooth to\nthe touch, cast the most sharp, harsh, and angular reflections of light\nupon the eyes; and these reflections are all that the eye feels, or\nnaturally perceives.... Such are all objects of cut-glass or polished\nmetal; as may be seen by the manner in which painters imitate them: for,\nas the imitations of painting extend only to the visible qualities of\nbodies, they show those visible qualities fairly and impartially.... Yet\nthe imitative representation of such objects in painting is far less harsh\nand dazzling than the effects of them in reality: for there are no\nmaterials that a painter can employ, capable of expressing the sharpness\nand brilliancy of those angular reflections of the collected and\ncondensed rays, which are emitted from the surfaces of polished metals.\"\n\nIt seems, to me, scarcely possible to find sophistry more worthless than\nthis, or rather a more contemptible quibble; for that which, availing\nhimself of our technicalities about light, he calls angularity, sharpness,\n&c., has no analogy with disagreeable angularity of form. To produce the\nbrilliance and splendor which he calls angular, and describes as so\n_offensive_, we polish crystalline and metallic bodies in the highest\ndegree!--we value precisely those which thus admit of greatest\nsplendor!--and, on that very account, the diamond (rightly or wrongly, is\nnot the question) is deemed the most valuable object on earth!\n\nSo much for those elements of beauty, in inanimate things, which fall\nunder the cognizance of our fundamental sense, or that of touch.\n\nAs to sight and its objects, it is true that, as this organ varies in\ndifferent persons, their taste is modified, with regard to colors. But the\npreference of light and delicate colors to dark and glaring ones, is\nalmost universal among persons of sensibility.\n\nAlison, indeed, ascribes the effects of all colors to association.\n\"White,\" he says, \"as it is the color of day, is expressive to us of the\ncheerfulness or gayety which the return of day brings: black, as the color\nof darkness [night], is expressive of gloom and melancholy.\" And he adds:\n\"Whether some colors may not of themselves produce agreeable sensations,\nand others disagreeable sensations, I am not anxious to dispute.\" But\nthis is the very point into which Alison ought to have inquired. Nature\ndoes nothing without foundation in the simplest principles; and this\nfoundation is not only anterior to, but is the cause of all association.\n\nThat, independent of any association, blackness is naturally disagreeable,\nif not painful, is happily determined by the case of the boy restored to\nsight by Cheselden, who tells us that the first time the boy saw a black\nobject, it gave him great uneasiness; and that, some time after, upon\naccidentally seeing a negro-woman, he was struck with great horror at the\nsight. This appears to be perfectly conclusive.\n\nKnight indeed says: \"As to the uneasiness which the boy, couched by\nCheselden, felt at the first sight of a black object, it arose either from\nthe harshness of its outline, or from its appearing to act as a partial\nextinguisher applied to his eyes, which, as every object that he saw,\nseemed to touch them, would, of course, be its effect.\" It is highly\nprobable that black operates in both these ways; and it has therefore\nnatural effects, independent of all association.\n\nAs to sounds, Alison observes, that the cries of some animals are sublime,\nas the roar of the lion, the scream of the eagle, &c.; and he thinks they\nbecome so, because we associate them with the strength and ferocity of the\nanimals which utter them. By opposite associations, he accounts for the\nbeauty of the notes of birds. And he says, that there is a similar\nsublimity or beauty, in the tones of the human voice, and that \"such\nsounds are associated, in our imaginations, with the qualities of mind of\nwhich they are in general expressive, and naturally produce in us the\nconception of these qualities.\"\n\nThis writer endeavors to establish his views on this subject, by\nobserving, that \"grandeur or sublimity of sound, can no otherwise arise\nfrom its loudness, than as that loudness excites an idea of power in the\nsonorous object, or in some other associated with it in the mind: for a\nchild's drum, close to the ear, fills it with more real noise, than the\ndischarge of a cannon a mile off; and the rattling of a carriage in the\nstreet, when faintly and indistinctly heard, has often been mistaken for\nthunder at a distance. Yet no one ever imagined the beating of a child's\ndrum, or the rattling of a carriage over the stones, to be grand or\nsublime; which, nevertheless, they must be, if grandeur or sublimity\nbelong at all to the sensation of loudness. But artillery and lightning\nare powerful engines of destruction; and with their power we sympathize,\nwhenever the sound of them excites any sentiments of sublimity.\"\n\nNow, all this is directly opposed to the doctrine it is meant to support.\nIt distinctly implies that loudness is so natural and so frequent a result\nof the violent contact of bodies, that we sometimes mistakenly ascribe\npower to objects, of which we have not correctly distinguished the sounds,\nowing to imitation, distance, &c. The occasional mistake implies the\ngeneral truth.\n\nAlison, himself, notwithstanding his doctrine of association, is\naccordingly led to observe, that \"there are some philosophers who consider\nthese as the natural signs of passion or affection, and who believe that\nit is not from experience, but by means of an original faculty, that we\ninterpret them: and this opinion is supported by great authorities.\"\n\nHe adds the following observations, which, notwithstanding the error they\ninvolve, are too much to the purpose to be omitted here, and which in\nreality illustrate a natural and true theory, better than they do his\nown:--\n\n\"It is natural, however, to suppose, that in this, as in every case, our\nexperience should gradually lead to the formation of some general rules,\nwith regard to this expression.\n\n\"The great divisions of sound are into loud and low, grave and acute, long\nand short, increasing and diminishing. The two first divisions are\nexpressive in themselves: the two last, only in conjunction with others.\n\n\"Loud sound is connected with ideas of power and danger. Many objects in\nnature which have such qualities, are distinguished by such sounds; and\nthis association is farther confirmed from the human voice, in which all\nviolent and impetuous passions are expressed in loud tones.\n\n\"Low sound has a contrary expression, and is connected with ideas of\nweakness, gentleness, and delicacy. This association takes its rise, not\nonly from the observation of inanimate nature, or of animals, where, in a\ngreat number of cases, such sounds distinguish objects with such\nqualities, but particularly from the human voice, where all gentle, or\ndelicate, or sorrowful affections are expressed by such tones.\n\n\"Grave sound is connected with ideas of moderation, dignity, solemnity,\n&c., principally, I believe, from all moderate, or restrained, or\nchastened affections being distinguished by such tones in the human voice.\n\n\"Acute sound is expressive of pain, or fear, or surprise, &c., and\ngenerally operates by producing some degree of astonishment. This\nassociation, also, seems principally to arise from our experience of such\nconnexions in the human voice.\n\n\"Long or lengthened sound seems to me to have no expression in itself, but\nonly to signify the continuance of that quality which is signified by\nother qualities of sound. A loud or a low, a grave or an acute sound\nprolonged expresses to us no more than the continuance of the quality\nwhich is generally signified by such sounds.\n\n\"Short or abrupt sound has a contrary expression, and signifies the sudden\ncessation of the quality thus expressed.\n\n\"Increasing sound signifies, in the same manner, the increase of the\nquality expressed.\n\n\"Decreasing sound signifies the gradual diminution of such qualities.\n\n\"Motion furnishes another sort of beauty.\n\n\"Figure, color, and motion, readily blend in one object, and one general\nperception of beauty. In many beautiful objects they all unite, and\nrender the beauty greater.\"\n\nThese characteristics are too universal not to support the doctrine of\nnatural appropriation and power, of which association is merely a\nconsequence.\n\nIt may be said, that all this chiefly regards mere geometrical forms, not\nobjects in nature. But, on referring to inanimate objects, it will be\nfound that they everywhere present these forms.\n\nThe round, the simplest form appears to characterize all elementary bodies\nand all that are free from compression, to be in fact the most elementary\nand the most readily assumed in nature. This form, accordingly, is\npresented by the drops of water and of every liquid, by every atom\nprobably of oxygen, hydrogen, and azote, by the smallest as well as the\nlargest bodies, even the innumerable celestial orbs.\n\nAll the other, the angular forms are presented by inanimate bodies under\ncompression, or by mineral crystals.\n\nThus, then, do these simple geometrical forms characterize the simplest\nbodies in nature; and it appears that this first kind of beauty is\npeculiarly their own. It will, in the sequel, be as clearly seen, that\neach of the other classes of natural beings presents beauty of a different\nkind, which similarly characterizes it. Hence, no rational theory of\nbeauty could be formed by writers, who indiscriminatingly jumbled together\nthe characteristics of all the kinds of beauty, and expected to find them\neverywhere.\n\nAs, then, from all that has been said, it appears that all the elements of\nbeauty which have thus been noticed, belong to inanimate beings, and as\nthis is shown by the passages I have quoted from the best writers, it\nseems surprising, not merely that they should not have seen this to be the\ncase, but, that it should not have led them to observe, that there exists\nalso a second beauty, of living beings, and third, of thinking beings, as\nwell as others of the useful, the ornamental, and the intellectual arts\nrespectively, in each of which some new element was only added to the\ncharacters of the preceding species.\n\nIt seems still more surprising that Alison, who deviates so widely from\nall fundamental principles, should have actually stumbled upon an\nobservation of a few of the characteristics of inanimate beings, and\ntraced them as they pass upward through some living and thinking\nbeings--whose new characteristics, however, he did not discriminate. He\nobserves, that \"the greater part of those bodies in nature, which possess\nhardness, strength, or durability, are distinguished by angular forms. The\ngreater part of those bodies, on the contrary, which possess weakness,\nfragility, or delicacy, are distinguished by winding or curvilinear forms.\nIn the mineral kingdom, all rocks, stones, and metals, the hardest and\nmost durable bodies we know, assume universally angular forms. In the\nvegetable kingdom, all strong and durable plants are in general\ndistinguished by similar forms. The feebler and more delicate race of\nvegetables, on the contrary, are mostly distinguished by winding forms. In\nthe animal kingdom, in the same manner, strong and powerful animals are\ngenerally characterized by angular forms; feeble and delicate animals, by\nforms of the contrary kind.\"[13]\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nELEMENTS OF BEAUTY IN LIVING BEINGS.\n\nI have now to show that, in living beings, while the characters of the\nfirst and fundamental beauty, that of inanimate beings, are still\npartially continued, new characteristics are added to them.\n\nPlants accordingly possess both rigid parts, like some of those described\nin the preceding section, and delicate parts, which, in ascending through\nthe classes of natural beings from the simplest to the most complex, are\nthe very first to present to us new and additional characters totally\ndistinct from those of the preceding class.\n\nI. To begin as nature does, then, we find the trunks and stems of plants,\nwhich are near the ground, resembling most in character the inanimate\nbodies from among which they spring. They assume the simplest and most\nuniversal form in nature, the round one; but as growth is their great\nfunction, they extend in height and become cylindrical.\n\nEven the branches, the twigs, and the tendrils, continue this elementary\ncharacter; but it is in them, or in the stem when, like them, it is\ntender, that such elementary characters give way to the purposes of life,\nnamely, growth and reproduction, and that we discover the new and\nadditional characters of beauty which this class presents to us.\n\nII. To render this matter plain, I must observe that the formation of\nrings, which unite in tubes, appears to be almost universally the material\ncondition of growth and reproduction. Every new portion of these tubes,\nmoreover, and every superadded ring, is less than that which preceded it.\n\nIt is from this that results the first characteristic of this second kind\nof beauty, namely, fineness or delicacy. Hence, Burke made the possession\nof a delicate frame, without any remarkable appearance of strength, his\nfifth condition in beauty; and he here erred only from that want of\ndiscrimination which led him to confound together all the conditions of\nbeauty, and prevented his seeing that they belonged to different genera.\n\nNow, as fine and delicate bodies, which are growing, will shoot in that\ndirection where space, air, and light, can best be had, and as this, amid\nother twigs and tendrils, will greatly vary, so will their productions\nrarely continue long in the same straight line, but will, on the contrary,\nbend. Hence, the curved or bending form is the second characteristic of\nthis kind of beauty.\n\nIt is worthy of remark, that, as the trunks, stems, twigs, and tendrils,\nof plants assume the simplest and most universal form in nature, the round\none, so their more delicate parts have again the tendency to bend into a\nsimilar form.\n\nIn the young and feeble branches of plants, it is observed by Alison, that\nthe bending form is \"beautiful, when we perceive that it is the\nconsequence of the delicacy of their texture, and of their being\noverpowered by the weight of the flower.... In the smaller and feebler\ntribe of flowers, as in the violet, the daisy, or the lily of the valley,\nthe bending of the stem constitutes a very beautiful form, because we\nimmediately perceive that it is the consequence of the weakness and\ndelicacy of the flower.\"\n\nFrom the circumstances now described, it results that all the parts of\nplants present the most surprising variety. They vary their direction\nevery moment, as Burke observes, and they change under the eye by a\ndeviation continually carrying on, but for whose beginning or end you will\nfind it difficult to ascertain a point.\n\nVariety is therefore the third characteristic of this second kind of\nbeauty; and in the indiscriminating views of Burke, he made two similar\nconditions, viz: \"Thirdly, to have a variety in the direction of the\nparts; but, fourthly, to have those parts not angular, but melted as it\nwere into each other;\" thus applying these to beauty generally, to which\nthey are not applicable, but in a confused and imperfect way.\n\nIt is scarcely necessary to observe that variety, as a character of\nbeauty, owes its effect to the need of changing impressions, in order to\nenliven our sensibility, which does not fail to become inactive under the\nlong-continued impression of the same stimulant.\n\nIt is connected with this variety that unequal numbers are preferred, as\nwe see in the number of flowers and of their petals, in that of leaves\ngrouped together, and in the indentations of these leaves.\n\nFrom all this springs the fourth and last characteristic of this second\nspecies of beauty, namely, contrast. This strikes us when we at once look\nat the rigid stem and bending boughs, and all the variety which the latter\ndisplay.\n\nIt will be observed, that, of all the characteristics of beauty, none tend\nto render our perceptions so vivid as variety and contrast.\n\nI conclude this section with a few remarks on the errors which Alison has\ncommitted on this subject.\n\n\"In the rose,\" says that writer, \"and the white lily, and in the tribe of\nflowering shrubs, the same bending form assumed by the stem is felt as a\ndefect; and instead of impressing us with the idea of delicacy, leads us\nto believe the operation of some force to twist it into this\ndirection.\"--This, however, is no defect arising from the bending form not\nbeing abstractly more beautiful, but from its being contrary to the nature\nof the stem of flowering shrubs to bend, from its being, as he himself\nobserves, the result of some force to twist it.\n\nHe asserts, however, that in plants, angular forms are beautiful, when\nthey are expressive of fineness, of tenderness, of delicacy, or such\naffecting qualities; and he thinks that this may perhaps appear from the\nconsideration of the following instances:--\n\n\"The myrtle, for instance, is generally reckoned a beautiful form, yet the\ngrowth of its stem is perpendicular, the junction of its branches form\nregular and similar angles, and their direction is in straight or angular\nlines. The known delicacy, however, and tenderness of the vegetable, at\nleast in this climate, prevail over the general expression of the form,\nand give it the same beauty which we generally find in forms of a contrary\nkind.\"--The mistake here committed is in supposing the beauty of the\nmyrtle to depend on its angularity, instead of its being evergreen,\nfragrant, and suggesting pleasures of association.\n\n\"How much more beautiful,\" he says, \"is the rose-tree when its buds begin\nto blow, than afterward, when its flowers are full and in their greatest\nperfection! yet, in this first situation, its form has much less winding\nsurface, and is much more composed of straight lines and of angles, than\nafterward when the weight of the flower weighs down the feeble branches,\nand describes the easiest and most varied curves.\"--But he answers himself\nby adding: \"The circumstance of its youth, a circumstance in all cases so\naffecting, the delicacy of its blossom, so well expressed by the care\nwhich Nature has taken in surrounding the opening bud with leaves, prevail\nso much upon our imagination, that we behold the form itself with more\ndelight in this situation than afterward, when it assumes the more general\nform of delicacy.\"\n\n\"There are few things in the vegetable world,\" he says, \"more beautiful\nthan the knotted and angular stem of the balsam, merely from its singular\ntransparency, which it is impossible to look at without a strong\nimpression of the fineness and delicacy of the vegetable.\"--But it is its\ntransparency, not its angularity, that is beautiful.\n\nThe beauty of color is not less conspicuous than that of form in this\nclass of beings.\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nELEMENTS OF BEAUTY IN THINKING BEINGS.\n\nI have next to show that, in thinking beings, while the characters of\ninanimate, and those of living beauty, are still more or less continued,\nnew characteristics are also added to them.\n\nI. In animals, accordingly, the bones bear a close analogy to the wood of\nplants. They generally assume the same rounded form; but, as thinking\nbeings are necessarily moving ones, their bones are hollow to combine\nlightness with strength, and they are separated by joints to permit\nflexion and extension.\n\nII. As animals, like plants, grow and reproduce, a portion of their\ngeneral organization, their vascular system, which serves the purpose of\ngrowth and reproduction, consists, like plants, of trunks, branches, &c.;\nand the surface of their bodies, the skin, is formed by a tissue of these\nvessels. Accordingly, both the vessels themselves, and the tissue which\nthey form, present the delicacy, the bending, the variety, and the\ncontrast, which are the characters of the preceding species of beauty.\n\nThe undulating and serpentine lines which art seeks always to design in\nits most beautiful productions, exist in greater number at the surface of\nthe human body than at that of any other animal. Wherever, as Hogarth\nobserves, \"for the sake of the necessary motion of the parts, with proper\nstrength and agility, the insertions of the muscles are too hard and\nsudden, their swellings too bold, or the hollows between them too deep,\nfor their outlines to be beautiful; nature softens these hardnesses, and\nplumps up these vacancies with a proper supply of fat, and covers the\nwhole with the soft, smooth, springy, and, in delicate life, almost\ntransparent skin, which, conforming itself to the external shape of all\nthe parts beneath, expresses to the eye the idea of its contents with the\nutmost delicacy of beauty and grace.\"\n\nIt is principally in the features of the face, as has often been observed,\nand on the surface of the torso and of the members of a beautiful woman,\nthat these delicate, bending, varied, and contrasted lines are multiplied:\nby their union, they mark the outlines of different parts, as in the\nregion of the neck, of the bosom, at the shoulders, on the surface of the\nabdomen, on the sides, and principally in the gradual transitions from the\nhead to the neck, and from the loins to the inferior extremities.\n\nThese lines vary under different circumstances; much enbonpoint producing\nround lines, and leanness or old age producing straight ones.\n\nWoman and man stand pre-eminent among animals as to this kind of beauty;\nand to them succeed the swifter animals, as the horse, the stag, &c.\n\nThe animals, on the contrary, of which the surface presents right lines\nand square forms, are correspondingly deprived of beauty; as the toad, the\nhog, and all the animals which seem to us ugly.\n\nIn all animals, also, the beauty of color, even when slightly varied,\nbecomes extremely interesting.--In human beauty, considerable variety is\nproduced by the different shades of the skin.\n\nSuch, indeed, is the variety resulting from all this, that some degree\neven of intricacy is produced. The undulating lines which cross in every\ndirection, and the tortuous paths of the eye, are the means of an\nagreeable complication.\n\nHence Burke, following Hogarth, says: \"Observe that part of a beautiful\nwoman where she is perhaps the most beautiful, about the neck and breasts:\nthe smoothness, the softness, the easy and insensible swell, the variety\nof the surface, which is never for the smallest space the same, the\ndeceitful maze, through which the unsteady eye slides giddily, without\nknowing where to fix, or whither it is carried. Is not this a\ndemonstration of that change of surface, continual, and yet hardly\nperceptible at any point, which forms one of the great constituents of\nbeauty?\n\nThe hair affords an excellent instance of this agreeable complication.\nSoft curls agitated by the wind have been the theme of every poet. And\nyet, says Hogarth, \"to show how excess ought to be avoided in intricacy,\nas well as in every other principle, the very same head of hair, wisped\nand matted together, would make the most disagreeable figure; because the\neye would be perplexed, and at a fault, and unable to trace such a\nconfused number of uncomposed and entangled lines.\"\n\nIII. But animals have a higher system of organs and functions which\npeculiarly distinguishes them, and which presents new and peculiar\ncharacteristics of beauty. This consists of the organs by which they\nreceive impressions from, and react upon the objects around them--the\nfirst organs which Nature presents having altogether external relations,\nand the first, consequently, in which we look for fitness for any purpose.\n\nThe importance of fitness to the beauty of such objects is learned\nimperceptibly. Lines and forms, though the most elegant, fail to please\nus, if ill distributed in this respect: and objects, to a great extent\ndestitute of the other characters of natural beauty, become beautiful when\nregarded in relation to fitness. Thus would this sense appear to be so\npowerful, as in some measure to regulate our other perceptions of beauty.\n\nIt is fitness which leads us to admire in one animal, what would displease\nus if found in another. \"The variety,\" says Barry, \"and union of parts,\nwhich we call beautiful in a greyhound, are pleasing in consequence of the\nidea of agility which they convey. In other animals, less agility is\nunited with more strength; and, indeed, all the different arrangements\nplease because they indicate either different qualities, different degrees\nof qualities, or the different combinations of them.\"\n\nIn relation to the various fitness of the human body, the same writer\nsays: \"We should not increase the beauty of the female bosom, by the\naddition of another protuberance; and the exquisite undulating transitions\nfrom the convex to the concave tendencies, could not be multiplied with\nany success. In fine, our rule for judging of the mode and degree of this\ncombination of variety and unity, seems to be no other than that of its\nfitness and conformity to the designation of each species.\"\n\nBut it is less necessary for me to adduce authorities in support of this\ntruth, than to answer the objections that have been made to it by some of\nthe ablest writers on the subject--objections which have generally their\norigin in the narrow views which these men have taken, and in those\npartial hypotheses which, even when true, led them to reject all other\ntruth.\n\n\"It is said,\" observes Burke, \"that the idea of a part's being well\nadapted to answer its end, is one cause of beauty, or indeed beauty\nitself.... In framing this theory, I am apprehensive that experience was\nnot sufficiently consulted. For, on that principle, the wedgelike snout of\na swine with its tough cartilage at the end, the little sunk eyes, and\nthe whole make of the head, so well adapted to its offices of digging and\nrooting, would be extremely beautiful.\"--And so they are, when the beauty\nof fitness for their purpose is considered; but that purpose being the\nmere growth and fattening of an animal of sensual and dirty habits, it is\na fallacy to represent this, without explanation, as a fair proof of the\nabsence of connexion between fitness and beauty.\n\n\"If beauty in our species,\" says the same writer, \"was annexed to use, men\nwould be much more lovely than women; and strength and agility would be\nconsidered as the only beauties.\"--Burke was a stringer of fine words, not\nfor woman, but for queens, when that served a selfish and venal purpose.\nThe sentence just quoted shows that his gallantry was as ignorant as it\nwas mean. He here asserts by implication that women are less useful than\nmen, although it is to women that the care of the whole human race, during\nits most helpless years, is committed, and although they take upon\nthemselves all that half of the duties of life which men are as little\ncapable of performing, as women are of performing the portion suited to\nmen.\n\n\"And,\" says he, \"I appeal to the first and most natural feelings of\nmankind, whether, on beholding a beautiful eye, or a well-fashioned mouth,\nor a well-turned leg, any ideas of their being well fitted for seeing,\neating, or running, ever present themselves.\"--Is running, then, the\nproper use of the leg in woman! Rousseau more truly thought its use was\nto _fail_ in running, or _not_ to run! Is eating the only use of her\nmouth! This, too from the man who deplored that \"the age of chivalry was\ngone!\"--Nevertheless, I will venture to assert that such things never were\nand never will be seen, without suggesting ideas of fitness of some kind\nor other.\n\n\"There is,\" he proceeds, \"another notion current, pretty closely allied to\nthe former; that perfection is the constituent cause of beauty. This\nopinion has been made to extend much farther than to sensible objects. But\nin these, so far is perfection, considered as such, from being the cause\nof beauty, that this quality, where it is highest in the female sex,\nalmost always carries with it an idea of weakness and imperfection.\"--For\nthis plain reason, that female perfection is utterly incompatible with\ngreat muscular perfection or strength, which would indeed be injurious to\nthe performance of every feminine function.\n\nWe may now advance another step in the subject under discussion. What,\nthen, are the peculiar physical characters of beings thus possessing sense\nand motion, and thus characterized by fitness?\n\n\"It must be remembered,\" says Knight, \"that irregularity is the general\ncharacteristic of trees, and regularity that of animals.\"--It would have\nbeen more correct to say that symmetry is this peculiar characteristic.\nThere is little resemblance between the parts of one side; and it is\nsymmetry which results from the uniform disposition of double parts, and\nfrom the regular division of single ones.\n\nHence an agreeable impression is produced by the corresponding disposition\nand the exact resemblance of the eyes, of the eyebrows, of the ears, of\nthe hemispheres of the bosom, and of the different parts of which the\nlimbs are composed; and the forehead, the nose, the mouth, the abdomen,\nthe back, are agreeably distinguished by means of the median line which\ndivides them.\n\nIt appears that the eye is pleased by the exactness of corresponding\nparts; and that symmetry is the first character of beauty in thinking\nbeings.\n\nOccasional irregularity makes us better appreciate the importance of\nsymmetry. The oblique direction of the eyes, squinting, twisting of the\nnose or lips, unequal magnitude of the hemispheres of the bosom, or\nunequal length of the limbs, disfigure the most beautiful person.\n\nBut how does symmetry contribute to fitness, or why is it necessary?\n\n\"All our limbs and organs,\" says Payne Knight, \"serve us in pairs, and by\nmutual co-operation with each other: whence the habitual association of\nideas has taught us to consider this uniformity as indispensable to the\nbeauty and perfection of the animal form. There is no reason to be deduced\nfrom any abstract consideration of the nature of things, why an animal\nshould be more ugly and disgusting for having only one eye, or one ear,\nthan for having only one nose or one mouth; yet if we were to meet with a\nbeast with one eye, or two noses, or two mouths, in any part of the world,\nwe should, without inquiry, decide it to be a monster, and turn from it\nwith abhorrence: neither is there any reason, in the nature of things, why\na strict parity, or relative equality, in the correspondent limbs and\nfeatures of a man or a horse, should be absolutely essential to beauty,\nand absolutely destructive of it in the roots and branches of a tree. But,\nnevertheless, the Creator having formed the one regular, and the other\nirregular, we habitually associate ideas of regularity to the perfection\nof one, and ideas of irregularity to the perfection of the other; and this\nhabit has been so unvaried, as to have become natural.\"\n\nThis is the common cant of every weak man at loss for a reason. Now, it is\nnot by any \"habitual association\" with \"our limbs and organs serving us in\npairs,\" that we are \"taught to consider this uniformity indispensable to\nbeauty,\" but because, independent of all association, we could not\nconveniently walk upon one leg, or, indeed, on any unequal number of legs:\nand there being two sides in the moving organs, there are necessarily two\nin the sensitive organs, which are mere portions of the same general\nsystem. Thus it is locomotion to be performed that renders \"a strict\nparity, or relative equality, in the correspondent limbs and features of a\nman or a horse\" absolutely essential to beauty; and it is the absence of\nlocomotion which renders it utterly worthless, and therefore very rare, in\n\"the roots and branches of a tree.\"\n\nIn animals, proportion is not less essential than symmetry. It is indeed\nthe second character of this kind of beauty. As this part of the subject\nhas been perfectly well treated by Mr. Alison, I need only quote what he\nhas said:--\n\n\"It is this expression of fitness which is, I apprehend, the source of the\nbeauty of what is strictly and properly called proportion in the parts of\nthe human form.\n\n\"We expect a different form, and a different conformation of limbs, in a\nrunning footman and a waterman, in a wrestler and a racing groom, in a\nshepherd and a sailor, &c.\n\n\"They who are conversant in the productions of the fine arts, must have\nequally observed, that the forms and proportions of features, which the\nsculptor and the painter have given to their works, are very different,\naccording to the nature of the character they represent, and the emotion\nthey wish to excite. The form or proportions of the features of Jove are\ndifferent from those of Hercules; those of Apollo, from those of Ganymede;\nthose of the Fawn, from those of the Gladiator. In female beauty, the form\nand proportions in the features of Juno are very different from those of\nVenus; those of Minerva, from those of Diana; those of Niobe, from those\nof the Graces. All, however, are beautiful; because all are adapted with\nexquisite taste to the characters they wish the countenance to express.\"\n\nIn \"the Hercules and the Antinous, the Jupiter and the Apollo, we find\nthat not only the proportions of the form, but those of every limb, are\ndifferent; and that the pleasure we feel in these proportions arises from\ntheir exquisite fitness for the physical ends which the artists were\nconsulting.\n\n\"The illustration, however, may be made still more precise; for, even in\nthe same countenance, and in the same hour, the same form of feature may\nbe beautiful or otherwise.\"\n\n\nSECTION IV.\n\nELEMENTS OF BEAUTY AS EMPLOYED IN OBJECTS OF ART.\n\nI divide the arts into the useful, the ornamental, and the intellectual,\ncommonly called the fine arts; and I shall endeavor to show, that the\nobjects of each of these are characterized by a peculiar kind of beauty,\ncorresponding to one of those already described.\n\nI shall endeavor to show that the objects of the useful arts are\ncharacterized by the simple geometrical forms which belong to inanimate\nbeings; that those of the ornamental arts are characterized by the\ndelicate, bending, varied, and contrasted forms of living beings; and that\nthose of the intellectual arts are, in their highest efforts,\ncharacterized chiefly by thinking forms, as in gesture, sculpture,\npainting, or by functions of mind actually exercised, in oratory, poetry,\nmusic.\n\nIn all these arts, purpose is implied--not purpose in the hypothetical\nsense, as applied to the existence, conditions, and objects, of natural\nbeings--but in the common intelligible sense of the word, as expressing\nthe intention of men in the pursuit of these arts.\n\n\n_Beauty of Useful Objects._\n\nHere the purpose being utility, this kind of beauty arises from the\nperception of means as adapted to an end, which of course implies, the\nparts of anything being fitted to answer the purpose of the whole.\n\nThis implies an act of understanding and judgment; for of no product of\nuseful art can we perceive the extrinsic beauty, until we know its\ndestination, and the relations which that involves.\n\nWhen these are known, so powerful is the sense of utility, that, though\ndeviation from the elementary beauty never ceases to be felt, yet that\nsense sanctions it to a great extent. Hence it is that an irregular\ndwelling-house may become beautiful, when its convenience is striking.\nHence it is that, in the forms of furniture, machines, and instruments,\ntheir beauty arises chiefly from this consideration; and that every form\nbecomes beautiful by association, where it is perfectly adapted to its\nend.\n\nThe greater, however, the elementary beauty, that can be introduced in\nuseful objects, the more obvious will their utility be, and the more\nbeautiful will they universally appear. This will be granted the moment I\nmention simplicity.\n\nOf all the elements of beauty already spoken of--of all the means of\nproducing accordant and agreeable relations--simplicity appears to be the\nmost efficient; and in all the useful arts, no elementary consideration\nrecommends their objects so much.\n\nThis implies all the rest, regularity, uniformity, proportion, order, &c.,\nas far as is compatible with purpose.\n\nThus, in regard to uniformity, says some one, a number of things destined\nfor the same purpose, as chairs, spoons, &c., cannot be too uniform,\nbecause they are adapted to uniform purposes; but it would be absurd to\ngive to objects destined for one purpose the form suited to those destined\nfor another.\n\nSo also the objects of useful art will resemble in form precisely as they\nresemble in purpose; and where the purpose is similar, and the deviation\nwhich is admissible is slight, this becomes a subject of great nicety,\nand, if ornament be at the same time admissible, a subject of exquisite\ntaste.\n\nIt was by the transcendent exercise of these qualities, that the Greeks\nsucceeded in fixing the orders of architecture. The most beautiful columns\nwould have shocked the sight, if their mass had not corresponded to that\nof the edifice which they sustained; and the difference which existed in\nthis respect, required a difference of ornament.\n\nHome indeed observes, that \"writers on architecture insist much upon the\nproportions of a column, and assign different proportions to the Doric,\nIonic, and Corinthian; but no architect will maintain, that the most\naccurate proportions contribute more to use, than several that are less\naccurate and less agreeable.\"\n\nThat such a man should have committed such an error is surprising. It\nseems evident that the different proportion in the columns of these orders\nis admirably suited to the different quantity of matter in their\nentablatures. A greater superincumbent mass, required shorter and thicker\ncolumns; a less superincumbent mass, longer and slender ones. Many\nexperiments, much observation, were requisite to determine this; but the\nGreeks had the means of making them, and solved every problem on the\nsubject; and the result of the perfection they attained is, that all err\nwho depart from the truth they have determined.\n\nIt was, again, the differing quantities of matter in the entablatures, and\nthe accurately-corresponding dimensions of the columns that determined, of\ncourse amid infinite experiment and observation, the nature of their\nornaments. Hence, the Doric is distinguished by simplicity; the Ionic by\nelegance; and the Corinthian by lightness, in ornament as well as in\nproportion.\n\nEven, therefore, if we were to destroy all the associations of elegance,\nof magnificence, of costliness, and, still more than all, of antiquity,\nwhich are so strongly connected with such forms, the pleasure which their\nproportions would afford, would remain, as in all cases where means are\nbest adapted to their end.\n\nIn his objections to proportion as an element of beauty, Burke only\nconfounds this kind of beauty with that which I have next to describe.\n\n\"The effects of proportion and fitness,\" he says, \"at least so far as they\nproceed from a mere consideration of the work itself, produce approbation,\nthe acquiescence of the understanding, but not love, nor any passion of\nthat species. When we examine the structure of a watch, when we come to\nknow thoroughly the use of every part of it, satisfied as we are with the\nfitness of the whole, we are far enough from perceiving anything like\nbeauty in the watchwork itself; but let us look on the case, the labor of\nsome curious artist in engraving, with little or no idea of use, we shall\nhave a much livelier idea of beauty than we ever could have had from the\nwatch itself, though the masterpiece of Graham.\"\n\nIt is an emotion of pleasure which is the inevitable result of the\nperception of beauty, not love, nor any passion of the kind. These will or\nwill not follow, according to the nature of the object, and of the mind of\nthe observer. A hill, a valley, or a rivulet, may be beautiful, and it\nwill excite an emotion of pleasure when its beauty is discerned; but it\nmay produce no desire or passion of love. There may exist, then, the\nbeauty of utility, as to the structure of the watch, and that of ornament\nas to its case; and some minds will more readily perceive the one; others,\nthe other.\n\nWhen Burke adds, \"In beauty, the effect is previous to any knowledge of\nthe use; but to judge of proportion, we must know the end for which any\nwork is designed;\" he forgets, that, in the instance of the barber's\nblock, &c., he showed that the perception of beauty, as well as\nproportion, required observation, experience, and reflection.\n\n\n_Beauty of Ornamental Objects._\n\nThere are three great arts which, under circumstances of high\ncivilization, become ornamental, namely, landscape-gardening,\narchitecture, and dress--the particular arts by which our persons are more\nor less closely invested;[14] and all of them, then, require beauty of the\nsecond kind, that which belongs particularly to vegetable beings, and is\ncharacterized by delicate, bending varied, and contrasted forms.\n\nAll these, regarded as ornamental arts, have chiefly bodily and sensual\npleasures for their purpose; and this I consider as distinguishing them\nfrom the intellectual arts, which have a higher purpose.\n\nOf landscape-gardening, the materials are plants, and therefore its beauty\nis evidently dependant on, or rather composed of, theirs.\n\nThe same kind of beauty will be found in every ornamental art. Hence,\nAlison says: \"The greater part of beautiful forms in nature, are to be\nfound in the vegetable kingdom, in the forms of flowers, of foliage, of\nshrubs, and in those assumed by the young shoots of trees. It is from\nthem, accordingly, that almost all those forms have been imitated, which\nhave been employed by artists for the purposes of ornament and elegance.\"\n\nOn this kind of beauty, mistaking it for the only one, Hogarth founded his\npeculiar doctrine. \"He adopts two lines, on which, according to him, the\nbeauty of figure principally depends. One is the waving line, or a curve\nbending gently in opposite directions. This he calls the line of beauty;\nand he shows how often it is found in flowers, shells, and various works\nof nature; while it is common also in the figures designed by painters and\nsculptors, for the purpose of decoration. The other line, which he calls\nthe line of grace, is the former waving line, twisted round some solid\nbody. Twisted pillars and twisted horns exhibit it. In all the instances\nwhich he mentions, variety plainly appears to be so important an element\nof this kind of beauty, that he states a portion of the truth, when he\ndefines the art of drawing pleasing forms to be the art of varying well;\nfor the curve line, so much the favorite of painters, derives much of its\nbeauty from its perpetual bending and variation from the stiff regularity\nof the straight line.\" It is evident, however, that in this, he mistakes\none kind of beauty for all.\n\nOf architecture, considered as a fine art, much of the beauty depends on\nthe imitation of vegetable forms. Employing materials which require the\nbest characteristics of the first kind of beauty, it, in its choicest and\nornamented parts, imitates both the rigid trunks, and the delicate and\nbending forms of plants. Its columns, tapering upward, are copied from the\ntrunks of trees; and their decorations are suited with consummate art to\ntheir dimensions, and the weight they support. The simple Doric has little\nornament; the elegant Ionic has more; the light Corinthian has most.\n\nOn the subject of these finely-calculated ornaments, some observations\nhave struck me, which I have not seen mentioned elsewhere. The Doric\npresents only columns, without any other ornament than that of which their\nmere form admits. The Ionic expresses increased lightness, by the\ninterposition of its volute, as if the superincumbent weight had but\ngently pressed a soft solid into a scroll. The Corinthian expresses the\nutmost lightness, by forming its capitals of foliage, as if the weight\nabove them could not crush even a leaf. The Composite expresses gayety, by\nadding flowers to the foliage. It is from imperfect views of this, that\nthe meaning and effect of caryatides have been mistaken: instead of being\noppressed by weight, they seem, when well employed, to have no weight to\nsupport.\n\nIn nearly all internal architectural decorations, it is the delicate,\nbending, varied, and contrasted vegetable forms which are imitated.\n\n\"There is scarce a room, in any house whatever,\" says Hogarth, \"where one\ndoes not see the waving line employed in some way or other. How inelegant\nwould the shapes of all our moveables be without it? how very plain and\nunornamental the mouldings of cornices and chimney-pieces, without the\nvariety introduced by the ogee member, which is entirely composed of\nwaving lines.\"\n\nThe distinctions I have here made, are farther illustrated by the remarks\nof Alison, who says: \"These ornaments being executed in a very hard and\ndurable substance, are in fact only beautiful when they appear but as\nminute parts of the whole. The great constituent parts of every building\nrequire direct and angular lines, because in such parts we require the\nexpression of stability and strength. It is only in the minute and\ndelicate parts of the work, that any kind of ornament is attempted with\npropriety; and whenever ornaments exceed in size, in their quantity of\nmatter, or in the prominence of their relief, that proportion which, in\npoint of lightness or delicacy, we expect them to hold with respect to the\nwhole of the building, the imitation of the most beautiful vegetable forms\ndoes not preserve them from the censure of clumsiness and deformity.\"\n\nIn dress, considered as an ornamental art, and, as practised by the sex\nwhich chiefly studies it, the chief beauty depends on the adoption of\nwinding forms in drapery, and of wreaths of flowers for the head, &c.\nThese are essential to the variety and contrast, as well as to the gayety\nwhich that sex desires.\n\n\"Uniformity,\" says Hogarth, \"is chiefly complied with in dress, on account\nof fitness, and seems to be extended not much farther than dressing both\narms alike, and having the shoes of the same color. For when any part of\ndress has not the excuse of fitness or propriety for its uniformity of\nparts, the ladies always call it formal.\"\n\nThese irregular, varying, and somewhat complicated draperies excite that\nactive curiosity, and those movements of imagination, to which skilful\nwomen never neglect to address themselves in modern costume.\n\nIt is with the same feeling and intention, whether these be defined or\nnot, that, in the head-dress, they seek for bending lines and\ncircumvolutions, and that they combine variously the waves and the tresses\nof the hair.\n\nFor the same reason, a feather or a flower is never placed precisely over\nthe middle of the forehead; and if two are employed, great care is taken\nthat their positions are dissimilar.\n\nIt has sometimes struck me as remarkable, that precious stones are almost\nalways arranged differently from flowers. While the latter are placed\nirregularly, and in waving lines, not only on the head, but the bosom, and\nthe skirt of the dress, the former are in general regularly placed, either\non the median line of the person, as the middle of the forehead and, in\nEastern countries, of the nose, or symmetrically in similar pendants from\neach ear, and bracelets on the arms and wrists.\n\nThe instinctive feeling which gives origin to this is, that flowers adorn\nthe system of life and reproduction, and by their color and smell,\nassociate with its emotions, which they also express and communicate to\nothers--they, therefore, assume the varied forms of that system; whereas,\ndiamonds, attached generally to mental organs, or organs of sense, are\nsignificant of mental feelings, love of splendor, distinction, pride,\n&c.--they, therefore, assume the symmetrical form of these organs. Hence,\ntoo, flowers are recommended to the young; diamonds are permitted only to\nthe old.\n\n\n_Beauty of Intellectual Objects._\n\nI have already said, that the intellectual arts are, in their highest\nefforts, characterized chiefly by animal forms, as in gesture, sculpture,\nand painting, or by animal functions actually exercised, in oratory,\npoetry, and music.\n\nIn the useful arts, the purpose is utility; in the ornamental arts, it is\nbodily or sensual pleasure; and in the intellectual arts, it is the\npleasure of imagination.\n\nThe first elements of beauty, however, are not forgotten in these arts. As\nsimplicity is conspicuous in the works of nature, so is it a condition of\nbeauty in all the operations of mind. In philosophy, general theorems\nbecome beautiful from this simplicity; and polished manners receive from\nit dignity and grace. The intellectual arts are especially dependant upon\nit: it has been a striking character of their most illustrious\ncultivators, and of their very highest efforts.\n\nHow much the characters and accidents of elementary beauty influence\nintellectual art, has been well shown by Mr. Knight.\n\n\"In the higher class of landscapes,\" he says, \"whether in nature or in\nart, the mere sensual gratification of the eye is comparatively so small,\nas scarcely to be attended to: but yet, if there occur a single spot,\neither in the scene or the picture, offensively harsh and glaring--if the\nlandscape-gardener, in the one, or the picture-cleaner, in the other, have\nexerted their unhappy talents of polishing, all the magic instantly\nvanishes, and the imagination avenges the injury offered to the sense. The\nglaring and unharmonious spot, being the most prominent and obtrusive,\nirresistibly attracts the attention, so as to interrupt the repose of the\nwhole, and leaves the mind no place to rest upon.\"\n\n\"It is, in some respects,\" he observes, \"the same with the sense of\nhearing. The mere sensual gratification, arising from the melody of an\nactor's voice, is a very small part, indeed, of the pleasure which we\nreceive from the representation of a fine drama: but, nevertheless, if a\nsingle note of the voice be absolutely cracked and out of tune, so as to\noffend and disgust the ear, it will completely destroy the effect of the\nmost skilful acting, and render all the sublimity and pathos of the finest\ntragedy ludicrous.\"\n\nThis, I may observe, is a concession of much that he elsewhere\ninconsistently contends for; for sensual beauty could never act thus\npowerfully, if it possessed not fundamental importance as an element even\nin the most complex beauty.\n\nThat the second kind of beauty also enters into the acts or products of\nintellectual beauty, is sufficiently illustrated by the observation of\nHogarth, who on this subject observes, that all the common and necessary\nmotions for the business of life are performed by men in straight or plain\nlines, while all the graceful and ornamental movements are made in waving\nlines.\n\nAs Alison has given the best view of the history and character of beauty\nin the intellectual arts, as that indeed constitutes the most valuable\nportion of his work, I shall conclude this section by a greatly abridged\nview of these as nearly as possible in his own words.\n\nThere is no production of taste, which has not many qualities of a very\nindifferent kind; and our sense of the beauty or sublimity of every object\naccordingly depends upon the quality or qualities of it which we consider.\n\nThis, Mr. Alison might have observed, is in great measure dependant upon\nour will. We can generally, when we please, confine our consideration of\nit to the qualities that least excite pleasurable or painful emotion, and\nthat can least interest the imagination.\n\nIt is in consequence of this, that the exercise of criticism always\ndestroys, for the time, our sensibility to the beauty of every\ncomposition, and that habits of this kind generally destroy the\nsensibility of taste.\n\nWhen, on the other hand, the emotions of sublimity or beauty are produced,\nit will be found that some affection is uniformly first excited by the\npresence of the object; and whether the general impression we receive is\nthat of gayety, or tenderness, or melancholy, or solemnity, or terror,\n&c., we have never any difficulty of determining.\n\nBut whatever may be the nature of that simple emotion which any object is\nfitted to excite, if it produce not a train of kindred thought in our\nminds, we are conscious only of that simple emotion.\n\nIn many cases, on the contrary, we are conscious of a train of thought\nbeing immediately awakened in the imagination, analogous to the character\nof expression of the original object.\n\n\"Thus, when we feel either the beauty or sublimity of natural scenery--the\ngay lustre of a morning in spring, or the mild radiance of a\nsummer-evening--the savage majesty of a wintry storm, or the wild\nmagnificence of the tempestuous ocean--we are conscious of a variety of\nimages in our minds, very different from those which the objects\nthemselves present to the eye. Trains of pleasing or of solemn thought\narise spontaneously within our minds; our hearts swell with emotions, of\nwhich the objects before us seem to afford no adequate cause; and we are\nnever so much satiated with delight, as when, in recalling our attention,\nwe are unable (little able, perhaps, and less disposed) to trace either\nthe progress or the connexion of those thoughts, which have passed with so\nmuch rapidity through our imagination.\n\n\"The effect of the different arts of taste is similar. The landscapes of\nClaude Lorraine, the poetry of Milton, the music of the greatest masters,\nexcite feeble emotions in our minds when our attention is confined to the\nqualities they present to our senses, or when it is to such qualities of\ntheir composition that we turn our regard. It is then only we feel the\nsublimity or beauty of their productions, when our imaginations are\nkindled by their power, when we lose ourselves amid the number of images\nthat pass before our minds, and when we waken at last from this play of\nfancy, as from the charm of a romantic dream.\n\n\"The degree in which the emotions of sublimity or beauty are felt, is in\ngeneral proportioned to the prevalence of those relations of thought in\nthe mind, upon which this exercise of imagination depends. The principal\nrelation which seems to take place in those trains of thought that are\nproduced by objects of taste, is that of resemblance; the relation, of all\nothers the most loose and general, and which affords the greatest range of\nthought for our imagination to pursue. Wherever, accordingly, these\nemotions are felt, it will be found, not only that this is the relation\nwhich principally prevails among our ideas, but that the emotion itself is\nproportioned to the degree in which it prevails.\n\n\"What, for instance, is the impression we feel from the scenery of spring?\nThe soft and gentle green with which the earth is spread, the feeble\ntexture of the plants and flowers, the young of animals just entering into\nlife, and the remains of winter yet lingering among the woods and\nhills--all conspire to infuse into our minds somewhat of that fearful\ntenderness with which infancy is usually beheld. With such a sentiment,\nhow innumerable are the ideas which present themselves to our\nimagination! ideas, it is apparent, by no means confined to the scene\nbefore our eyes, or to the possible desolation which may yet await its\ninfant beauty, but which almost involuntarily extend themselves to\nanalogies with the life of man, and bring before us all those images of\nhope or fear, which, according to our peculiar situations, have the\ndominion of our heart!--The beauty of autumn is accompanied with a similar\nexercise of thought.\n\n\"Whatever increases this exercise or employment of imagination, increases\nalso the emotion of beauty or sublimity.\n\n\"This is very obviously the effect of all associations. There is no man\nwho has not some interesting associations with particular scenes, or airs,\nor books, and who does not feel their beauty or sublimity enhanced to him\nby such connexions. The view of the house where one was born, of the\nschool where one was educated, and where the gay years of infancy were\npassed, is indifferent to no man.\n\n\"In the case of those trains of thought, which are suggested by objects\neither of sublimity or beauty, it will be found, that they are in all\ncases composed of ideas capable of exciting some affection or emotion; and\nthat not only the whole succession is accompanied with that peculiar\nemotion which we call the emotion of beauty or sublimity, but that every\nindividual idea of such a succession is in itself productive of some\nsimple emotion or other.\n\n\"Thus the ideas suggested by the scenery of spring, are ideas productive\nof emotions of cheer fulness, of gladness, and of tenderness. The images\nsuggested by the prospect of ruins, are images belonging to pity, to\nmelancholy, and to admiration. The ideas, in the same manner, awakened by\nthe view of the ocean in a storm, are ideas of power, of majesty, and of\nterror.\"\n\nTo prevent circumlocution, such ideas may be termed ideas of emotion; and\nthe effect which is produced upon the mind, by objects of taste, may be\nconsidered as consisting in the production of a regular or consistent\ntrain of ideas of emotion.\n\n\"In those trains which are suggested by objects of sublimity or beauty,\nhowever slight the connexion between individual thoughts may be, it will\nbe found, that there is always some general principle of connexion which\npervades the whole, and gives them some certain definite character. They\nare either gay, or pathetic, or melancholy, or solemn, or awful, or\nelevating, &c., according to the nature of the emotion which is first\nexcited. Thus the prospect of a serene evening in summer, produces first\nan emotion of peacefulness and tranquillity, and then suggests a variety\nof images corresponding to this primary impression. The sight of a\ntorrent, or of a storm, in the same manner, impresses us first with\nsentiments of awe or solemnity, or terror, and then awakens in our minds a\nseries of conceptions allied to this peculiar emotion.\"\n\nThe intellectual, or fine arts are those whose objects are thus addressed\nto the imagination; and the pleasures they afford are described, by way of\ndistinction, as the pleasures of the imagination.\n\n\nSUMMARY OF THIS CHAPTER.\n\nThus, by analysis, generalization, and systematization, of the materials\nwhich the best writers present, I have, in this chapter, endeavored to\ntake new and larger views; and, by an examination of the elements of\nbeauty, I have endeavored to fix its doctrines upon an immoveable basis.\n\nI have shown that there exist elements of beauty equally invariable in\nthemselves, and in the kind of effect they produce upon the mind; that\nthese elements are modified, varied, and complicated, as we advance from\nthe most simple to the most complex class of natural beings, or of the\narts which relate to these respectively; that the elements of beauty in\ninanimate beings, consist in the simplicity, regularity, uniformity,\nproportion, order, &c., of those geometrical forms which are so intimately\nconnected with mere existence; that the elements of beauty in living\nbeings, consist in adding to the preceding the delicacy, bending, variety,\ncontrast, &c., which are connected with growth, and reproduction; that the\nelements of beauty in thinking beings, consist in adding to the preceding\nthe symmetry, proportion,[15] &c., which are connected with fitness for\nsense, thought, and motion; that the elements of beauty in the objects of\nuseful art, consist in the same simplicity, regularity, uniformity,\nproportion, order, of geometrical forms which belong to inanimate beings;\nthat the elements of beauty in the objects of ornamental art consist in\nthe same delicacy, bending, variety, contrast, which belong to living\nbeings; and that the elements of beauty in the objects of intellectual art\nconsist in thinking forms, in gesture, sculpture, and painting, or in\nfunctions of mind actually exercised, in oratory, poetry, and music.\n\nThe elements of beauty have hitherto been confounded by many writers, as\nmore or less applicable to objects of all kinds; and as this general and\nconfused application was easily disproved as to many objects, uncertainty\nand doubt have been thrown over the whole. The remaining writers have\nconsequently been led to adopt, as characters of beauty, only one or two\nof these elements, which were consequently capable of application only to\none or two classes of its objects. Hence, no subject of human inquiry has\nhitherto been left in a more disgraceful condition than this, the very\nfoundation of taste.\n\nI do not hesitate to state that, owing to the near approximations to\ntruth, and the insensible transitions into error, which I have found in\nevery writer, and the immense mass of confused materials which they\npresent, this subject has cost me more trouble than any one I have ever\ninvestigated, except that of my work on the mind;[16] nor without some\nphysiological knowledge, do I think tasks of this kind at all practicable.\nGenerally speaking, each branch of knowledge is most surely advanced by\nacquaintance with its related branches; and philosophers cannot too much\nbear in mind the words of Cicero: \"Etenim omnes artes qu\u00e6 ad humanitatem\npertinent, habent quoddam commune vinculum, et quasi cognatione quadam\ninter se continentur.\"\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX TO THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS.\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nNATURE OF THE PICTURESQUE.[17]\n\nIn landscape, the nature of the beautiful and the sublime seems to be\nbetter understood than that of the picturesque. There are few disputes as\nto the former; many as to the latter. These disputes, moreover, are not as\nto _what is picturesque_, but as to _what picturesque is_.\n\nPayne Knight asserts, that the picturesque has no distinctive character,\nand merely designates what a painter would imitate. Price, on the\ncontrary, has given so many admirable illustrations of it, that its\ncharacteristics are before every reader. Strange to tell, its nature or\nessence has not been penetrated, because these characteristics have not\nbeen rigidly analyzed.\n\nPrice has, indeed, generalized considerably on this subject, by showing\nthat irregularity, roughness, &c., enter into all scenes of a picturesque\ndescription; and the examination of any one of them will certainly verify\nthe truth of his observation.\n\nThus, on a remote country-road, we often observe the deep ruts on its\nsurface which in winter would render it impassable--the huge and loose\nmoss-grown stone, ready to encumber it by falling from the bank--the\nstunted pollard by its side, whose roots are exposed by the earth falling\naway from it, and which must itself be swept away by the first wind that\nmay blow against it in an unfavorable direction--the almost ruined\ncottage, above and beyond these, whose gable is propped up by an old and\nbroken wheel, and whose thatched roof, stained with every hue of moss or\nlichen, has, at one part, long fallen in--the shaggy and ragged horse that\nbrowses among the rank weeds around it--and the old man, bent with age,\nwho leans over the broken gate in front of it.\n\nHere, in every circumstance, is verified the irregularity and roughness\nwhich Price ascribes to the picturesque. But he has failed to observe,\nthat _the irregularity and roughness are but the signs of that which\ninterests the mind far more deeply_, namely, the universal DECAY which\ncauses them. This is the essence of the picturesque--the charm in it which\nbegets our sympathy.\n\nConfining his remark merely to ruins, the author of \"Observations on\nGardening,\" says: \"At the sight of a ruin, reflections on the change, the\ndecay, and the desolation, before us naturally occur; and they introduce a\nlong succession of others, all tinctured with that melancholy which these\nhave inspired; or if the monument revive the memory of former times, we do\nnot stop at the simple fact which it records, but recollect many more\ncoeval circumstances which we see, nor perhaps as they were, but as they\nare come down to us, venerable with age, and magnified by fame.\"--What is\nhere said of ruins, and is indeed as to them sufficiently striking, is\ntrue of the picturesque universally, and it is only surprising that, amid\nsuch disputes, this simple and obvious truth should not have been\nobserved.\n\nIn landscape, therefore, the picturesque stands in the same relation to\nthe beautiful and sublime, that the pathetic does to them in poetry.\nHence, speaking also of ruins only, Alison says: \"The images suggested by\nthe prospect of ruins, are images belonging to pity, to melancholy, and to\nadmiration.\"\n\nA thousand illustrations might be given in support of this truth and the\nprinciple which it affords; but I think it better to leave these to the\nsuggestion or the choice of every reader.\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\nCAUSE OF LAUGHTER.\n\nThis has been partly explained by Beattie, partly by Hobbes; and it is\nchiefly to vindicate the latter, who knew much more of the human mind than\nthe people who have attacked him, that I write the pages immediately\nfollowing.\n\nSpeaking of the quality in things, which makes them provoke the pleasing\nemotion or sentiment of which laughter is the external sign, Beattie says:\n\"It is an uncommon mixture of relation and contrariety, exhibited, or\nsupposed to be united, in the same assemblage.\" And elsewhere he says:\n\"Laughter arises from the view of two or more inconsistent, unsuitable, or\nincongruous parts or circumstances, considered as united in one complex\nobject or assemblage, or as acquiring a sort of mutual relation from the\npeculiar manner in which the mind takes notice of them.\"\n\n\"The latter may arise from contiguity, from the relation of cause and\neffect, from unexpected likeness, from dignity and meanness, from\nabsurdity, &c.\n\n\"Thus, at first view, the dawn of the morning and a boiled lobster seem\nutterly incongruous, but when a change of color from black to red is\nsuggested, we recognise a likeness, and consequently a relation, or ground\nof comparison.\n\n\"And here let it be observed, that the greater the number of incongruities\nthat are blended in the same assemblage, the more ludicrous it will\nprobably be. If, as in the last example, there be an opposition of dignity\nand meanness, as well as of likeness and dissimilitude, the effect of the\ncontrast will be more powerful, than if only one of these oppositions had\nappeared in the ludicrous idea.\"\n\nThe first part of the subject seems, indeed, so clear as to admit of no\nobjection.\n\nHobbes, viewing more particularly the act of the mind, defines laughter to\nbe a \"sudden glory, arising from a sudden conception of some eminency in\nourselves, by comparison with the infirmity of others, or with our own\nformerly.\" And elsewhere he says: \"Men laugh at jests, the wit whereof\nalways consisteth in the elegant discovering and conveying to our minds,\nsome absurdity of another.\"[18]\n\nDr. Campbell objects that \"contempt may be raised in a very high degree,\nboth suddenly and unexpectedly, without producing the least tendency to\nlaugh.\" But if there exist that incongruity in the same assemblage\ndescribed as the fundamental cause of this sudden conception of our own\nsuperiority, laughter, as Beattie has shown, \"will always, or for the most\npart, excite the risible emotion, unless when the perception of it is\nattended with some other emotion of greater authority,\" dependant on\ncustom, politeness, &c.\n\nDr. Campbell also observes, that \"laughter may be, and is daily, produced\nby the perception of incongruous associations, when there is no contempt.\n\n\"We often smile at a witty performance or passage, such as Butler's\nallusion to a boiled lobster, in his picture of the morning, when we are\nso far from conceiving any inferiority or turpitude in the author, that\nwe greatly admire his genius, and wish ourselves possessed of that very\nturn of fancy which produced the drollery in question.\n\n\"Many have laughed at the queerness of the comparison in these lines,\n\n 'For rhyme the rudder is of verses,\n With which like ships they steer their courses,'\n\nwho never dreamed that there was any person or party, practice or opinion,\nderided in them.\n\n\"If any admirer of the Hobbesian philosophy should pretend to discover\nsome class of men whom the poet here meant to ridicule, he ought to\nconsider, that if any one hath been tickled with the passage to whom the\nsame thought never occurred, that single instance would be sufficient to\nsubvert the doctrine, as it would show that there may be laughter where\nthere is no triumph or glorying over anybody, and, consequently, no\nconceit of one's own superiority.\n\nNow, the class of men laughed at in both cases is the same, namely, poets,\nwhose lofty allusions are ridiculed by the former, and silly rhymes by the\nlatter; nor can any one duly appreciate or be pleased with either, to whom\nthis intention of the writer is not obvious. Who ever dreamed of\n\"turpitude in the author,\" as Dr. Campbell supposes!\n\n\"As to the wag,\" says Beattie, \"who amuses himself on the first of April\nwith telling lies, he must be shallow, indeed, if he hope, by so doing, to\nacquire any superiority over another man whom he knows to be wiser and\nbetter than himself; for, on these occasions, the greatness of the joke,\nand the loudness of the laugh, are, if I rightly remember, in exact\nproportion to the sagacity of the person imposed on.\"--No doubt; but it is\nbecause he is thrown into an apparent and whimsical, though momentary\ninferiority; and the greater his sagacity, the more amusing does this\nappear.\n\n\"Do we not,\" says he, \"sometimes laugh at fortuitous combinations, in\nwhich, as no mental energy is concerned in producing them, there cannot be\neither fault or turpitude? Could not one imagine a set of people jumbled\ntogether by accident, so as to present a laughable group to those who know\ntheir characters?\"--Undoubtedly; but then the slouch of one, and the\nrigidity of the other, &c., make both contemptible, as to physical\ncharacteristics at least, and there is no need of turpitude in either.\n\nThe strongest apparent objection, however, is that of Dr. Campbell, who\nsays: \"Indeed, men's telling their own blunders, even blunders recently\ncommitted, and laughing at them, a thing not uncommon in very risible\ndispositions, is utterly inexplicable upon Hobbes's system. For, to\nconsider the thing only with regard to the laugher himself, there is to\nhim no subject of glorying, that is not counterbalanced by an equal\nsubject of humiliation (he being both the person laughing, and the person\nlaughed at), and these two subjects must destroy one another.\"\n\nBut he overlooks the precise terms employed by Hobbes, who says: \"The\npassion of laughter is nothing else but sudden glory, arising from a\nsudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the\ninfirmity of others, or with _our own formerly_. For men laugh at _the\nfollies of themselves past_, when they come suddenly to remembrance,\n_except they bring with them any present dishonor_.\"\n\nIt is not therefore true, as Dr. Campbell says, that \"with regard to\nothers, he appears solely under the notion of inferiority, as the person\ntriumphed over.\" He, on the contrary, appears as achieving a very glorious\ntriumph, that, namely, over his own errors.\n\nThis shows also the error of Addison's remarks, that \"according to this\naccount, when we hear a man laugh excessively, instead of saying that he\nis very merry, we ought to tell him that he is very proud.\"--A man may\ncontemn the errors both of himself and others, without pride: and, indeed,\nin contemning the former, he proves himself to be far above that\nsentiment, and verifies Dr. Campbell's remark that no two characters more\nrarely meet in the same person, than that of a very risible man, and a\nvery self-conceited supercilious man.\n\nIt is curious to see a great man, like Hobbes, thus attacked by less ones,\nwho do not even understand him.\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nCAUSE OF THE PLEASURE RECEIVED FROM REPRESENTATIONS EXCITING PITY.\n\nMany hypotheses have been proposed to explain this cause.\n\nAccording to the Abb\u00e9 Du Bos,[19] in order to get rid of listlessness, the\nmind seeks for emotions; and the stronger these are the better. Hence, the\npassions which in themselves are the most distressing, are, for this\npurpose, preferable to the pleasant, because they most effectually relieve\nthe mind from the less endurable languor which preys upon it during\ninaction.\n\nThe sophistry of this explanation is evident. Pleasant passions, as Dr.\nCampbell has shown, ought in every respect to have the advantage, because,\nwhile they preserve the mind from this state of inaction, they convey a\nfeeling which is agreeable. Nor is it true that the stronger the emotion\nis, so much the fitter for this purpose; for if we exceed a certain\nmeasure, instead of a sympathetic and delightful sorrow, we excite only\nhorror and aversion. The most, therefore, that can be concluded from the\nAbb\u00e9's premises, is, that it is useful to excite passion of some kind or\nother, but not that the distressing ones are the fittest.\n\nAccording to Fontenelle,[20] theatrical representation has almost the\neffect of reality: but yet not altogether. We have still a certain idea of\nfalsehood in the whole of what we see. We weep for the misfortunes of a\nhero to whom we are attached. In the same instant, we comfort ourselves by\nreflecting, that it is nothing but a fiction.\n\nThe short answer to this is, that we are conscious of no such alternation\nas that here described.\n\nAccording to David Hume, whose hypothesis is a kind of supplement to the\nformer two, that which \"when the sorrow is not softened by fiction, raises\na pleasure from the bosom of uneasiness, a pleasure which still retains\nall the features and outward symptoms of distress and sorrow, is that very\neloquence with which the melancholy scene is represented.\"\n\nIn reply, Dr. Campbell has shown that the aggravating of all the\ncircumstances of misery in the representation, cannot make it be\ncontemplated with pleasure, but must be the most effectual method for\nmaking it give greater pain; that the detection of the speaker's talents\nand address, which Hume's hypothesis implies, is in direct opposition to\nthe fundamental maxim, that \"it is essential to the art to conceal the\nart;\" and that the supposition that there are two distinct effects\nproduced by the eloquence on the hearers, one the sentiment of beauty, or\nof the harmony of oratorical numbers, the other the passion which the\nspeaker purposes to raise in their minds, and that when the first\npredominates, the mixture of the two effects becomes exceedingly pleasant,\nand the reverse when the second is superior, is altogether imaginary.\n\nAccording to Hawkesworth,[21] the compassion in question may be \"resolved\ninto that power of imagination, by which we apply the misfortunes of\nothers to ourselves;\" and we are said \"to pity no longer than we fancy\nourselves to suffer, and to be pleased only by reflecting that our\nsufferings are not real; thus indulging a dream of distress, from which we\ncan awake whenever we please, to exult in our security, and enjoy the\ncomparison of the fiction with the truth.\"\n\nThis hypothesis is evidently too gross to need reply.\n\nDr. Campbell has answered the preceding hypotheses at great length, and\nquite satisfactorily. I regret to say that his own is as worthless, as\nwell as remarkably confused and unintelligible.\n\nTo Burke, who wrote at a later period, it falls to my lot to reply at\ngreater length.\n\n\"To examine this point concerning the effect of tragedy in a proper\nmanner,\" says that writer, \"we must previously consider how we are\naffected by the feelings of our fellow-creatures in circumstances of real\ndistress. I am convinced we have a degree of delight, and that no small\none, in the real misfortunes and pains of others; for, let the affection\nbe what it will in appearance, if it does not make us shun such objects,\nif on the contrary it induces us to approach them, if it makes us dwell\nupon them, in this case I conceive we must have a delight or pleasure of\nsome species or other in contemplating objects of this kind.... Our\ndelight in cases of this kind is very greatly heightened, if the sufferer\nbe some excellent person who sinks under an unworthy fortune.... The\ndelight we have in such things hinders us from shunning scenes of misery;\nand the pains we feel, prompt us to relieve ourselves, in relieving those\nwho suffer.... In imitated distress, the only difference is the pleasure\nresulting from the effects of imitation.\"\n\nA more monstrous doctrine than this was never perhaps enunciated. A very\nlittle analysis will expose its fallacy.\n\nIn relation to events of this kind, there are three very distinct\ncases--real occurrence, subsequent inspection or historical narration, and\ndramatic representation; in each, the affection of the mind is very\ndifferent; and nearly all the errors on this subject seem to have occurred\nfrom confounding them. Burke has done this in the greatest degree.\n\nThe real occurrence of unmerited suffering is beheld with no delight, but\nwith unmixed pain, by every well-constituted mind. Hume,[22] therefore,\njustly observes, that \"the same object of distress, which pleases in a\ntragedy, were it really set before us, would give the most unfeigned\nuneasiness.\" It is only by confounding this with the next case, of\nsubsequent inspection or historical narration, that Burke gets into error\nhere.\n\n\"We do not,\" says Burke, \"sufficiently distinguish what we would by no\nmeans choose to do [or _to see done_--he should have added] from what we\nshould be eager enough to see if it was once done. We delight in seeing\nthings [_after they are done_--he should have added], which, so far from\ndoing, our heartiest wishes would be to see redressed.\"\n\nThat the additions I have made, more truly state the case, seems as\nevident, as it is, that they afford a very different conclusion from\nBurke's, of our beholding unmerited suffering with delight. But he himself\nproves this by the very instance which he gives in illustration of his\ndoctrine.\n\n\"This noble capital,\" he says, \"the pride of England and of Europe, I\nbelieve _no man is so strangely wicked as to desire to see destroyed_ by a\nconflagration or an earthquake, though he should be removed himself to the\ngreatest distance from the danger. But _suppose such a fatal accident to\nhave happened_, what numbers from all parts would crowd to behold the\nruins, and among them many who would have been content never to have seen\nLondon in its glory!\"\n\nHere the words which I have put in italics clearly show that I was right\nin the additions I suggested in his previous statement, and that he there\nconfounded delight in seeing the infliction of unmerited suffering, with\ndelight in seeing it after infliction, or of seeing it historically\nnarrated; for, in this his illustration, it is the latter, and not the\nformer, that he supposes--nay he now says \"no man is so strangely wicked\nas to desire to see destroyed!\" &c. Indeed, it is quite plain that,\nsupposing an attempt made to destroy London, so far would every one be\nfrom being delighted to see it done, that he would eagerly prevent it.\nThere is here, therefore, on the part of this writer, only his common and\ncharacteristic confusion of ideas.\n\n\"Choose a day,\" he says, \"on which to represent the most sublime and\naffecting tragedy we have; appoint the most favorite actors; spare no cost\nupon the scenes and decorations; unite the greatest efforts of poetry,\npainting, and music; and when you have collected your audience, just at\nthe moment when their minds are erect with expectation, let it be reported\nthat a state-criminal, of high rank, is on the point of being executed in\nthe adjoining square; in a moment the emptiness of the theatre would\ndemonstrate the comparative weakness of the imitative arts, and proclaim\nthe triumph of the real sympathy.\"\n\nThis presents only another instance of want of discrimination. If the\n\"state-criminal, of high rank,\" were not a real criminal--if he were an\nunmerited sufferer, the place of execution, supposing his rescue\nimpossible, would assuredly be fled from by every person of feeling and\nhonor; as we read of in the public papers, lately, when a murder of that\nkind was perpetrating by some one of the base little jailor-princes of\nGermany. And we know that, in the case of legal perpetrations of that kind\nin England, even upon real criminals, none but the most degraded wretches\ngo to witness such scenes.\n\nIn tragic representation, then, we know that the suffering is not real,\nelse should we fly. There have, indeed, in such cases, been instances of a\nsort of momentary deception, but it is only children, and very simple\npeople, utter strangers to theatrical amusements, who are apt to be so\ndeceived; and as their case always excites the surprise and laughter of\nevery one, it clearly proves that others are under no sort of deception.\n\nEven Burke, notwithstanding his want of discrimination, and his monstrous\nhypothesis, says: \"Imitated distress is never so perfect, but we can\nperceive it is imitation, and on that principle are somewhat pleased with\nit.\" And his case of desertion of the theatre, if it occur under any\ncircumstances, illustrates this.\n\nBurke adds, indeed: \"But then I imagine we shall be much _mistaken_ if we\nattribute any considerable part of our satisfaction in tragedy to the\nconsideration that tragedy is _a deceit_, and its representations _no\nrealities_. [We seek no satisfaction of the kind: we know it to be a\ndeceit throughout!] The nearer it approaches the reality, and the farther\nit removes us from all idea of fiction, the more perfect is its power.\"\n\nThe nearest possible _approach_ to reality, is only necessary to the\nsuccess of fiction, to the pleasure of imagination. He himself has said:\n\"Imitated distress is never so perfect, but we can perceive it is\nimitation!\" Again, therefore, here is only Burke's characteristic\nconfusion of ideas.\n\nMy own doctrine on this subject is already obvious from the remarks made\non others. _We never cease to know that tragic representation is a mere\ndeception; our reason is never imposed upon; our imagination is alone\nengaged; we are perfectly conscious that it is so; and we have all the\nsensibility, fine feeling, and generosity of pity, as well as the\nsatisfaction of being thereby raised wonderfully in our own esteem, at the\nsmall cost of three shillings!_\n\nIt is not a little curious, that this should not have been evident to\nthose who have written so much about it. Dr. Campbell, alone, has\napproached it. \"So great,\" he says, \"is the anomaly which sometimes\ndisplays itself in human characters, that it is not impossible to find\npersons who are quickly made to cry at seeing a tragedy, or reading a\nromance, which they know to be fictions, and yet are both inattentive and\nunfeeling in respect of the actual objects of compassion who live in their\nneighborhood, and are daily under their eye.... Men may be of a selfish,\ncontracted, and even avaricious disposition, who are not what we should\ndenominate hard-hearted, or unsusceptible of sympathetic feeling. Such\nwill gladly enjoy the luxury of pity (as Hawkesworth terms it) when it\nnowise interferes with their more powerful passions; that is, when it\ncomes unaccompanied with a demand upon their pockets.\"--This should have\nled him to the simple truth, and should have prevented his framing the\nmost confused, unintelligible, and worthless hypothesis upon this\nsubject.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES.\n\n\nTo any inquiry respecting the beauty of woman, the replies are, in\ngeneral, various, inconsistent, or contradictory. The assertion might,\ntherefore, appear to be true, that, even under the same climate, beauty is\nnot always the same.\n\nOur vague perceptions, however, and our vague expressions respecting\nbeauty, will be found to be, in a great measure, owing to the inaccuracy\nof our mode of examining it, and, in some measure, to the imperfect\nnomenclature which we possess for describing it.\n\nBeauty, and even true taste, respecting it, are always the same; but, in\nthe first place, we observe beauty partially and imperfectly; and in the\nsecond place, our actual preferences are dependant on our particular\nwants, and will be found to differ only because these wants differ in\nevery individual, and even in the same individual at different periods of\nlife.\n\nThe laws regulating beauty in woman, and taste respecting it in man, have\nnot been attempted to be explained, except in the worthless work alluded\nto in the advertisement. Yet nothing perhaps is more universally\ninteresting.\n\nAs, in this view, the kinds of beauty demand the first and chief\nattention, the following illustrations are necessary:--\n\nWe observe a woman possessing one species of beauty:--Her face is\ngenerally oblong; her neck is rather long and tapering: her shoulders,\nwithout being angular, are sufficiently broad and definite; her bosom is\nof moderate dimensions; her waist, remarkable for fine proportion,\nresembles in some respects an inverted cone; her haunches are moderately\nexpanded; her thighs, proportional; her arms, as well as her limbs, are\nrather long and tapering; her hands and feet are moderately small; her\ncomplexion is often rather dark; and her hair is frequently abundant,\ndark, and strong.--The whole figure is precise, striking, and brilliant.\nYet, has she few or none of the qualities of the succeeding species.\n\nWe observe, next, another species of beauty:--Her face is generally round;\nher eyes are generally of the softest azure; her neck is often rather\nshort; her shoulders are softly rounded, and owe any breadth they may\npossess rather to the expanded chest, than to the size of the shoulders\nthemselves; her bosom, in its luxuriance, seems laterally to protrude on\nthe space occupied by the arms; her waist, though sufficiently marked, is,\nas it were, encroached on by the enbonpoint of all the contiguous parts;\nher haunches are greatly expanded; her thighs are large in proportion; but\nher limbs and arms, tapering and becoming delicate, terminate in feet and\nhands which, compared with the ample trunk, are peculiarly small; her\ncomplexion has the rose and lily so exquisitely blended, that we are\nsurprised it should defy the usual operation of the elements; and she\nboasts a luxuriant profusion of soft and fine flaxen or auburn hair.--The\nwhole figure is soft and voluptuous in the extreme. Yet has she not the\nalmost measured proportions and the brilliant air of the preceding\nspecies; nor has she the qualities of the succeeding one.\n\nWe observe, then, a beauty of a third species:--Her face is generally\noval; her high and pale forehead announces the intellectuality of her\ncharacter; her intensely expressive eye is full of sensibility; in her\nlower features, modesty and dignity are often united; she has not the\nexpanded bosom, the general embonpoint, or the beautiful complexion, of\nthe second species; and she boasts easy and graceful motion, rather than\nthe elegant proportion of the first.--The whole figure is characterized by\nintellectuality and grace.\n\nSuch are the three species of beauty of which all the rest are varieties.\n\nNow, as it is in general one only of these species which characterizes any\none woman, and as each of these species is suited to the wants of, and is\nconsequently agreeable to, a different individual, it is obvious why the\ncommon vague reports of the beauty of any woman are always so various,\ninconsistent, or contradictory.\n\nIn the more accurate study of this subject, it is indispensable that the\nreader should understand the scientific principles on which the preceding\nbrief analysis of female beauty, as reducible to three species, is\nfounded.\n\nTo attain this knowledge, and to acquire facility in the art of\ndistinguishing and judging of beauty in woman, a little general knowledge\nof anatomy is absolutely essential. The writer begs, therefore, attention\nto the following sketch. It may not at first seem interesting to the\ngeneral reader; but it is the sole basis of a scientific knowledge of\nfemale beauty; the study of it during one hour is sufficient to apprehend\nit in all its bearings; and it will obviate every future difficulty.\n\nIn viewing the human organs in a general manner, a class of these organs\nat once obtrudes itself upon our notice, from its consisting of an\napparatus of levers, from its performing motion from place to place or\nlocomotion, and from these motions being of the most obvious kind.--A\nlittle more observation presents to us another class, which is\ndistinguished from the preceding by its consisting of cylindrical tubes,\nby its transmitting and transmuting liquids, performing vascular action or\nnutrition, and by its motions being barely apparent.--Farther\ninvestigation discovers a third, which differs essentially from both\nthese, in its consisting of nervous particles, in its transmitting\nimpressions from external objects, performing nervous action or thought,\nand in that action being altogether invisible.\n\nThus, each of these classes of organs is distinguished from another by the\nstructure of its parts, by the purposes which it serves, and by the\ngreater or less obviousness of its motions.\n\nThe first consists of levers; the second, of cylindrical tubes; and the\nthird, of nervous particles. The first performs motion from place to place\nor locomotion; the second transmits and transmutes liquids, performing\nvascular action or nutrition; and the third transmits impressions from\nexternal objects, performing nervous action or thought. The motion of the\nfirst is extremely obvious; that of the second is barely apparent; and\nthat of the third is altogether invisible.\n\nNot one of them can be confounded with another: for, considering their\npurposes only, it is evident that that which performs locomotion, neither\ntransmits liquids nor sensations; that which transmits liquids, neither\nperforms locomotion nor is the means of sensibility; and that which is the\nmeans of sensibility, neither performs locomotion nor transmits liquids.\n\nNow, the organs employed in locomotion are the bones, ligaments, and\nmuscles; those employed in transmitting liquids or in nutrition, are the\nabsorbent, circulating, and secreting vessels; and those employed about\nsensations or in thought, are the organs of sense, cerebrum, and cerebel,\nwith the nerves which connect them.\n\nThe first class of organs may, therefore, be termed locomotive, or (from\ntheir very obvious action) mechanical; the second, vascular or nutritive,\nor (as even vegetables, from their possessing vessels, have life) they may\nbe termed vital; and the third may be named nervous or thinking, or (as\nmind results from them) mental.\n\nThe human body, then, consists of organs of three kinds. By the first\nkind, locomotive or mechanical action is effected; by the second,\nnutritive or vital action is maintained; and by the third, thinking or\nmental action is permitted.\n\nAnatomy is, therefore, divided into three parts, namely, that which\nconsiders the mechanical or locomotive organs; that which considers the\nnutritive or vital organs; and that which considers the thinking or mental\norgans.\n\nUnder the mechanical or locomotive organs are classed, first, the bones or\norgans of support; second, the ligaments or organs of articulation; and\nthird, the muscles or organs of motion.\n\nUnder the nutritive or vital organs are classed, first, the absorbent\nvessels or organs of absorption; second, the bloodvessels, which derive\ntheir contents from the absorbed lymph, or organs of circulation; and\nthird, the secreting vessels, which separate various matters from the\nblood, or organs of secretion.[23]\n\nUnder the thinking or mental organs are classed, first, the organs of\nsense, where impressions take place; second, the cerebrum or organ of\nthought, properly so called, where these excite ideas, emotions, and\npassions; and third, the cerebel or organ of volition, where acts of the\nwill result from the last.[24]\n\nWe may now more particularly notice the functions of these organs, which\nare the subject of physiology.\n\nIn the locomotive functions, the bones at once give support, and form\nlevers for motion; the ligaments form articulations, and afford the points\nof support; and the muscles are the moving powers. To the first, are owing\nall the symmetry and elegance of human form; to the second, its beautiful\nflexibility; and to the third, all the brilliance and grace of motion\nwhich fancy can inspire, or skill can execute.\n\nIn the nutritive functions, the food, having passed into the mouth, is,\nafter mastication, aided by mixture with the saliva, thrown back, by the\ntongue and contiguous parts, into the cavity behind, called fauces and\npharynx; this contracting, presses it into the oesophagus or gullet;\nthis also contracting, propels it into the stomach, which, after its due\ndigestion aided by the gastric juice, similarly contracting, transmits\nwhatever portion of it, now called chyme, is sufficiently comminuted to\npass through its lower opening, the pylorus, into the intestines; these,\nat the commencement of which it receives the bile and pancreatic juice,\nsimilarly pressing it on all sides, urge forward its most solid part to\nthe anus; while its liquid portion partly escapes from the pressure into\nthe mouths of the absorbents. The absorbents arising by minute openings\nfrom all the internal surfaces, and continuing a similar contractile\nmotion, transmit it, now called chyle, by all their gradually-enlarging\nbranches, and through their general trunk, the thoracic duct, where it is\nblended with the lymph brought from other parts, into the great veins\ncontiguous to the heart, where it is mixed with the venous or returning\nand dark-colored blood, and whence it flows into the anterior side of that\norgan. The anterior side of the heart, forcibly repeating this\ncontraction, propels it, commixed with the venous blood, into the lungs,\nwhich perform the office of respiration, and in some measure of\nsanguification; there, giving off carbonaceous matter, and assuming a\nvermilion hue and new vivifying properties, it flows back as arterial\nblood, into the posterior side of the heart. The posterior side of the\nheart, still similarly contracting, discharges it into the arteries;\nthese, maintaining a like contraction, carry it over all the system; and a\ngreat portion of it, impregnated with carbon, and of a dark color, returns\nthrough the veins in order to undergo the same course. Much, however, of\nits gelatinous and fibrous parts is retained in the cells of the\nparenchyma, or cellular, vascular, and nervous substance forming the basis\nof the whole fabric, and constitutes nutrition, properly so called; while\nother portions of it become entangled in the peculiarly-formed labyrinths\nof the glands, and form secretion and excretion--the products of the\nformer contributing to the exercise of other functions, and those of the\nlatter being rejected. As digestion precedes the first, so generation\nfollows the last of these functions, and not only continues the same\nspecies of action, but propagates it widely to new existences in the\nmanner just described.\n\nIn the thinking functions, the organs of sense receive external\nimpressions, which excite in them sensations; the cerebrum, having these\ntransmitted to it, performs the more complicated functions of mental\noperation, whence result ideas, emotions, and passions; and the cerebel,\nbeing similarly influenced, performs the function of volition, or causes\nthe acts of the will.\n\nIt is not unusual to consider the body as being divided into the head, the\ntrunk, and the extremities; but, in consequence of the hitherto universal\nneglect of the natural arrangement of the organs and functions into\nlocomotive, nutritive, and thinking, the beauty and interest which may be\nattached to this division, have equally escaped the notice of anatomists.\n\nIt is a curious fact, and strongly confirmative of the preceding\narrangements, that one of these parts, the extremities, consists almost\nentirely of locomotive organs, namely, of bones, ligaments, and muscles;\nthat another, the trunk, consists of all the greater nutritive organs,\nnamely, absorbents, bloodvessels, and glands; and that the third, the\nhead, contains all the thinking organs, namely, the organs of sense,\ncerebrum, and cerebel.[25]\n\nIt is a fact not less curious, nor less confirmative of the preceding\narrangements, that, of these parts, those which consist chiefly of\nlocomotive or mechanical organs--organs which, as to mere structure, and\nconsidered apart from the influence of the nervous system over them, are\ncommon to us with the lowest class of beings, namely, minerals[26]--are\nplaced in the lowest situation, namely, the extremities; that which\nconsists chiefly of nutritive or vital organs--organs common to us with a\nhigher class of beings, namely, vegetables[27]--is placed in a higher\nsituation, namely, the trunk; and that which consists chiefly of thinking\nor mental organs--organs peculiar to the highest class of beings, namely,\nanimals[28]--is placed in the highest situation, namely, the head.\n\nIt is not less remarkable, that this analogy is supported even in its\nminutest details; for, to choose the nutritive organs contained in the\ntrunk as an illustration, it is a fact, that those of absorption and\nsecretion, which are most common to us with plants, a lower class of\nbeings, have a lower situation--in the cavity of the abdomen; while those\nof circulation, which are very imperfect in plants,[29] and more peculiar\nto animals, a higher class of beings, hold a higher situation--in the\ncavity of the thorax.\n\nIt is, moreover, worthy of remark, and still illustrative of the preceding\narrangements, that, in each of these three situations, the bones differ\nboth in, position and in form. In the extremities, they are situated\ninternally to the soft parts, and are generally of cylindrical form; in\nthe trunk, they begin to assume a more external situation and a flatter\nform, because they protect nutritive and more important parts, which they\ndo not, however, altogether cover; and, in the head, they obtain the most\nexternal situation and the flattest form, especially in its highest part,\nbecause they protect thinking and most important organs, which, in some\nparts, they completely invest.\n\nThe loss of such general views is the consequence of arbitrary\nmethods.[30]\n\nWe may now apply these anatomical and physiological views to the art of\ndistinguishing and judging of beauty in woman.\n\nIt is evidently the locomotive or mechanical system which is highly\ndeveloped in the beauty whose figure is precise, striking, and brilliant.\n\nIt is evidently the nutritive or vital system which is highly developed in\nthe beauty whose figure is soft and voluptuous.\n\nIt is not less evidently the thinking or mental system which is highly\ndeveloped in the beauty whose figure is characterized by intellectuality\nand grace.\n\nThus can anatomical principles alone at once illustrate and establish the\naccuracy of the three species of beauty which I have analytically\ndescribed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nOF THE AGES OF WOMAN IN RELATION TO BEAUTY.\n\n\nThe variations of the organization of woman do not distinctly mark the\nseasons of life. Many connected phenomena glide on imperceptibly; and we\ncan distinguish the strong characters of different and distinct ages, only\nat periods remote from each other. Although, therefore, woman is\nperpetually changing, it requires some care to discriminate the principal\nepochs of her life.\n\nThe first age of woman extends from birth to the period of puberty.\n\nIn beginning the career of life, woman is not yet truly woman; the\ncharacters of her sex are not yet decided; she is an equivocal being, who\ndoes not differ from the male of the same age even by the delicacy of the\norgans; and we observe between them a perfect identity of wants,\nfunctions, and movements. Their existence is, then, purely individual; we\nperceive none of the relations which afterward establish between them a\nmutual dependance; each lives only for self.\n\nThis conformity and independence of the sexes are the more remarkable, the\nearlier the age and the less advanced the development.\n\nConfining our view to woman alone, it is not only in dimensions that, at\nthis age, her person differs from that in which the growth is terminated:\nit presents another model. The various parts have not, in relation to each\nother, the same proportions.\n\nThe head is much more voluminous; and this is not a result of the extent\nof the face, for that is small and contracted, because the apparatus of\nsmell and of mastication are not yet developed. Nor is the head only more\nvoluminous; it is also more active, and forms a centre toward which is\ndirected all the effort of life.\n\nThe spine of the back has not either the minuter prominences or the\ngeneral inflexions which favor the action of the extensor muscles, a\ncircumstance which is opposed to standing perpendicularly during the first\nmonths. The infant consequently can only crawl like a quadruped.\n\nLittle distinction can then be drawn, and that with difficulty, from the\ncomparative width of the haunches, and magnitude of the pelvis. That part\nis scarcely more developed in the female than in the male; its general\nform is the same; and its different diameters have similar relations to\neach other.\n\nThe length of the trunk is great in proportion to the limbs, which are\nslightly and imperfectly developed.\n\nOwing to the great length of the chest, and the imperfection of the\ninferior members, the middle of the body then corresponds to the region of\nthe umbilicus. An infant having other proportions, would appear to be\ndeprived of the characters of its age.\n\nIn the locomotive system, the muscles have not yet acted with sufficient\npower and frequency to modify the direction of the bones, and to bestow a\npeculiar character upon their combination in the skeleton. The fleshy and\nother soft parts do not yet appear to differ from those of the male,\neither as to form or as to relative volume.\n\nThe vital functions of digestion, of circulation and respiration, of\nnutrition, secretion, and excretion, are performed in the same manner. The\nwant of nourishment is unceasingly renewed, and the movements of the\npulse, and of inspiration and expiration, are rapidly performed, owing to\nthe extreme irritability of all the organs.\n\nThe mental functions present the same resemblance; the ideas, the\nappetites, the passions, have the greatest analogy; and similar moral\ndispositions prevail. Little girls, it has been observed, have in some\nmeasure the petulance of little boys, and these have in some measure the\nmobility and the inconstancy of little girls.\n\nOwing to the pelvis not being yet developed, little girls walk nearly like\nchildren of the other sex.\n\nThese points of resemblance do not continue during a long period: the\nfemale begins to acquire a distinct physiognomy, and traits which are\npeculiar to her, long before we can discern any of the symptoms of\npuberty; and although the especial marks which distinguish her sex do not\nyet show themselves, the general forms which characterize it may be\nperceived. These differences, however, are only slight modifications, more\neasily felt than determined.\n\nThe cartilaginous extremities of the bones appear to enlarge; and the\nmucous substance, which ultimately gives the soft reliefs which\ndistinguish woman, is not yet secreted. She is now perhaps more easily\ndistinguished by the nature of her inclinations and the general character\nof her mind: while man now seeks to make use of his strength, woman\nendeavors to acquire agreeable arts. The movements, the gait, of the\nlittle girl begin to change.\n\nThese shades are so much the more sensible as the development is more\nadvanced. Still, woman, in advancing toward puberty, appears to remove\nless than man from her primitive constitution; she always preserves\nsomething of the character proper to children; and the texture of her\norgans never loses all its original softness.\n\nAt the near approach to puberty, woman becomes daily more perfect.\n\nWe observe a predominance of the action of the lungs and the arteries; the\npelvis enlarges; the haunches are rounded; and the figure acquires\nelegance.\n\nThere is in particular a remarkable increase of the capacity of the\npelvis, of which the circumference at last presents the circular form; it\nbeing no longer, as in the little girl and in man, the anteroposterior\ndiameter which is the greatest, but the transverse one. It has been\nobserved that the same occurs in the females of the greater quadrupeds.\nThe pelvis, however, does not acquire, till the moment of perfect puberty,\nits proper form and dimensions.\n\nThe changes which the same cause produces at the surface, are a general\ndevelopment of the cellular tissue, the delicacy of all the outlines, the\nfineness and the animation of the skin, and the new state of the bosom.\n\nThe fire of the eyes, and the altogether new expression of the\nphysiognomy, show that there now also exists the sensation of a new want,\nwhich various circumstances may for a time enfeeble or silence, but can\nnever entirely stifle; and with it come those tastes, that direction of\nthe mind, and those habits, which are the effect of an internal power now\ncalled into activity.\n\nThe gait and bearing of woman are now no longer the same; and the voice\nchanges as well as the physiognomy.\n\nIn all that has yet occurred, it will be observed that nutrition and\ngrowth take place with great rapidity in woman. Her internal structure,\nher external form, her faculties, are all developed promptly. It would\nappear that the parts which compose her body, being less, less compact,\nand less strong, than those of man, require less time to attain their\ncomplete development.\n\nWoman consequently arrives earlier at the age of puberty, and her body is\ncommonly, at twenty years of age, as completely formed as that of a man\nat thirty. Thus beauty and grace, as has been observed, seem to demand of\nnature less labor and time than the attributes of force and grandeur.\n\nIn many women, however, nutrition languishes even until the sexual organs\nenter into action, and determine a revolution under the influence of which\ngrowth is accomplished.\n\nStill it is certain that, for several years, the locomotive system\npredominates in young women, even in figures promising the ultimate\ndevelopment of the vital system in the highest degree.\n\nThe second age of woman extends from puberty to the cessation of the\nmenses, or, we may say, from the period of full growth, the general time\nof bearing children, to the time of ceasing to bear--generally perhaps\nfrom twenty to forty.\n\nIt is at the beginning of this period that woman has acquired all her\nattributes, her most seducing graces. She is not now distinguished merely\nby the organs which are the direct instruments of reproduction: many other\ndifferences of structure, having a relation to her part in life, present\nthemselves to our view.\n\nAt this maturer age, the whole figure is, in the female, smaller and\nslenderer than in the male. The ancients accordingly gave seven heads and\na half to the Venus, and eight heads and some modules to the Apollo.\n\nThe relations between the dimensions of the different parts differ also in\nthe two sexes.\n\nIn woman, the head, shoulders, and chest, are small and compact, while\nthe haunches, the hips, the thighs, and the parts connected with the\nabdomen, are ample and large. Hence, her body tapers upward, as her limbs\ntaper downward. And this is the most remarkable circumstance in her\ngeneral form.\n\nOwing to smaller stature, and to greater size of the abdominal region, the\nmiddle point, which is at the pubis in the male, is situated higher in the\nfemale. This is the next remarkable circumstance in a general view.\n\nThe inferior members still continue shorter.\n\nIn general, woman is not only less in stature, and different in her\ngeneral proportions, but her haunches are more apart, her hips more\nelevated, her abdomen larger, her members more rounded, her soft parts\nless compact, her forms more softened, her traits finer.\n\nDuring youth, especially, and among civilized nations, woman is farther\ndistinguished by the softness, the smoothness, the delicacy, and the\npolish, of all the forms, by the gradual and easy transitions between all\nthe parts, by the number and the harmony of the undulating lines which\nthese present in every view, by the beautiful outline of the reliefs, and\nby the fineness and the animation of the skin.\n\nThe soft parts which enter into the composition of woman, and the cellular\ntissue which serves to unite them, are also more delicate and more supple\nthan those of man.\n\nAll these circumstances indicate very clearly the passive state to which\nnature has destined woman, and which will be fully illustrated in a future\nvolume.\n\nIf, in a living body, any part liable to be distended had too much\nfirmness, or even elasticity, it might press against some essential organ;\nand the liquids being impeded in their course, would in that case be\nspeedily altered, if the neighboring parts offered not flexible vessels\nfor their reception.\n\nNow, in the body of woman, certain parts are exposed to suffer great\ndistentions and compressions. It is therefore necessary that her organs\nshould be of such structure as to yield readily to these impressions, and\nto supply each other when their respective functions are impeded.\n\nFrom this it follows, that woman never enjoys existence better, than when\na moderate plumpness bestows on her organs, without too much weakening\nthem, all the suppleness of which they are capable.\n\nThis leads to the consideration of the natural mobility of the organs of\nwoman.\n\nTheir mobility is a necessary consequence, in the first place, of their\nlittleness. The movements of all animals, appear to be executed with more\nrapidity, the less their bulk. It has been observed, that the arteries of\nthe ox beat only thirty-five times, while those of the sheep beat sixty,\nand that the pulse of women is smaller and more rapid than that of men.\n\nA second physical quality, which concurs to render more mobile the\nvarious parts of woman, is their softness.\n\nA certain feebleness is the necessary consequence of these two\ncircumstances. But it is thence that spring woman's suppleness and\nlightness of movement, and her capacity for grace of attitude.\n\nIt has been conjectured, that even the elements of the parts which\nconstitute woman, have a particular organization, on which depends the\nelegance of the forms, the vivacity of the sensations, and the lightness\nof the movements, which characterize her.\n\nThe result of these circumstances is that, while man possesses force and\nmajesty, woman is distinguished by beauty and grace. The characteristics\nof woman are less imposing and more amiable; they inspire less admiration\nthan love. As has been observed, a single trait of rudeness, a severe air,\nor even the character of majesty, would injure the effect of womanly\nbeauty. Lucian admirably represents to us the god of love frightened at\nthe masculine air of Minerva.\n\nWhile man, by force and activity, surmounts the obstacles which embarrass\nhim, woman, by yielding, withdraws from their action, and adds to beauty,\na gentle and winning grace which places all the vaunted power of man at\nher disposal.\n\nIt is evidently the influence of the organs distinguishing the two sexes,\nwhich is the primary cause of their peculiar beauty.\n\nAs the liquid which, in man, is secreted in certain vessels for the\npurpose of reproduction, communicates a general excitement and activity to\nthe character, so when, in woman, the periodical excretion appears, the\nbreasts expand, the eyes sparkle, the countenance becomes more expressive,\nbut at the same time more timid and reserved, and a character of\nflexibility and grace distinguishes every motion.\n\nConformably with this view, the appearance and the manners of eunuchs\napproach to those of women, by the softness and feebleness of their\norganization, as well as by their timidity, and by their acute voice.\n\nThe very opposite is naturally the result of the extirpation of the\novaries in women. Pott, giving an account of the case of a female, in whom\nboth the ovaries were extirpated, says, the person \"has become thinner,\nand more apparently muscular; her breasts, which were large, are gone; nor\nhas she ever menstruated since the operation, which is now some years.\"\nHaighton found that, by dividing the Fallopian tubes, which connect the\novaries with the womb, sexual feelings were destroyed, and the ovaries\ngradually wasted.\n\nThe women, also, in whom the uterus and the ovaries remain inert during\nlife, approximate in forms and habits to men. It is stated, in the\nPhilosophical Transactions for 1805, that an adult female, in whom the\novaries were defective, presented a corresponding defect in the state of\nthe constitution.\n\nTo the same general principle, it has been observed, we must refer the\npartial growth of a beard on females in the decline of life, and the\ncircumstance that female-birds, when they have ceased to lay eggs,\noccasionally assume the plumage, and, to a certain extent, the other\ncharacters of the male.\n\nUnder the influence of this cause, the first exercise of her new faculty\ndetermines remarkable modifications in woman. Her neck swells and augments\nin size--\n\n \"Non illam nutrix orienti luce revisens\n Hesterno collum poterit circumdare filo;[31]\n\nher voice assumes another expression; her moral habits totally change: and\nmany women owe to love and marriage more splendid beauty.\n\nThe women thus happily constituted are not those of hot climates, but\nthose of cooler regions and calmer temperament, whose placid features and\nmore elastic forms announce a gentler and more passive love.\n\nImpassioned women, on the contrary, do not so long preserve their\nfreshness: the expansive force, from which the organs derived their form\nand coloring, abates; and a less agreeable flaccidity succeeds to the\nelasticity with which they were endowed, if the plumpness which adult age\ncommonly brings does not sustain them.\n\nDuring pregnancy and suckling, the firstmentioned class of women retain a\nremarkable freshness and plumpness.\n\nThe lastmentioned class of women most frequently become meager, and lose\ntheir freshness during the continuance of these states.\n\nIf, however, during these states, suitable precautions and preservative\ncares be not employed, it is the first class who most suffer from traces\nof maternity.\n\nConception, pregnancy, delivery, and suckling, being renewed more or less\nfrequently during the second age, hasten debility in feeble and\nill-constituted women; especially if misery or an improper mode of life\nincrease the influence of these causes.\n\nIn the third age of woman, extending generally from forty to sixty, the\nphysical form does not suddenly deteriorate; and, as has often been\nobserved, \"when premature infirmities or misfortunes, the exercise of an\nunfavorable profession, or a wrong employment of life, have not hastened\nold age, women during the third age preserve many of the charms of the\npreceding one.\"\n\nAt this period, in well-constituted women, the fat, being absorbed with\nless activity, is accumulated in the cellular tissue under the skin and\nelsewhere; and this effaces any wrinkles which might have begun to furrow\nthe skin, rounds the outlines anew, and again restores an air of youth and\nfreshness. Hence, this period is called \"the age of return.\"\n\nThis plumpness, though juvenile lightness and freshness be wanting,\nsustains the forms, and sometimes confers a majestic air, which, in women\notherwise favorably organized, still interests for a number of years.\n\nThe shape certainly is no longer so elegant; the articulations have less\nelasticity; the muscles are more feeble; the movements are less light; and\nin plump women we observe those broken motions, and in meager ones that\nstiffness, which mark the walk or the dance at that age.\n\nAt this period occurs a remarkable alteration in the organs of voice.\nWomen, therefore, to whom singing is a profession, ought to limit its\nexercise.\n\nWhen women pass happily from the third to the fourth age, their\nconstitution, as every one must have observed, changes entirely; it\nbecomes stronger: and nature abandons to individual life all the rest of\nexistence.\n\nBeauty, however, is no more; form and shape have disappeared; the\nplumpness which supported the reliefs has abandoned them; the sinkings and\nwrinkles are multiplied; the skin has lost its polish; color and freshness\nhave fled for ever.\n\nThese injuries of time, it has been observed, commonly begin by the\nabdomen, which loses its polish and its firmness; the hemispheres of the\nbosom no longer sustain themselves; the clavicles project; the neck\nbecomes meager; all the reliefs are effaced; all the forms are altered\nfrom roundness and softness to angularity and hardness.\n\nThat which, amid these ruins, still survives for a long time, is the\nentireness of the hair, the placidity or the fineness of the look, the air\nof sentiment, the amiable expression of the countenance, and, in women of\nelegant mind and great accomplishments, caressing manners and charming\ngraces, which almost make us forget youth and beauty.\n\nFinally, and especially in muscular or nervous women, the temperament\nchanges, and the constitution of woman approaches to that of man; the\norgans become rigid; and, in some unhappy cases, a beard protrudes.\n\nOld age and decrepitude finally succeed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nOF THE CAUSES OF BEAUTY IN WOMAN.\n\n\nThe crossing of races is often spoken of as a means of perfecting the form\nof man, and of developing beauty; and we are told that it is in this\nmanner that the Persians have become a beautiful people, and that many\ntribes of Tartar origin have been improved, especially the Turks, who now\npresent to us scarcely anything of the Mongol.\n\nIn these general and vague statements, however, the mere crossing of\ndifferent races is always deemed sufficient; whereas, every improvement\ndepends on the circumstance that the organization of the races subjected\nto this operation is duly suited to each other. It is in that way only,\nthat we can explain the following facts stated by Moreau:--\n\nIn one of the great towns of the north of France, the women, half a\ncentury ago, were rather ugly than pretty; but a detachment of the guards\nbeing quartered there, and remaining during several years, the population\nchanged in appearance, and, favored by this circumstance, the town is now\nindebted to strangers for the beauty of the most interesting portion of\nits inhabitants.\n\nThe monks of Citeaux exercised an influence no less remarkable upon the\nbeauty of the inhabitants of the country around their monastery; and it\nmay be stated, as the result of actual observation, that the young\nfemale-peasants of their neighborhood were much more beautiful than those\nof other cantons. And, adds this writer, \"there can be no doubt that the\nsame effect occurred in the different places whither religious houses\nattracted foreign inmates, whom love and pleasure speedily united with the\nindigenous inhabitants!\"\n\nThe other circumstances which contribute to female beauty, are, a mild\nclimate, a fertile soil, a generous but temperate diet, a regular mode of\nlife, favorable education, the guidance and suppression of passions, easy\nmanners, good moral, social, and political institutions, and occupations\nwhich do not injure the beautiful proportions of the body.\n\nBeauty, accordingly, is more especially to be found in certain countries.\nThus, as has often been observed, the sanguine temperament is that of the\nnations of the north; the phlegmatic is that of cold and moist countries;\nand the bilious is that of the greater part of the inhabitants of southern\nregions. Each of these has its degree and modification of beauty.\n\nThe native country of beauty is not to be found either in regions where\ncold freezes up the living juices, or in those where the animal structure\nis withered by heat. A climate removed from the excessive influence of\nboth these causes constitutes an essential condition in the production of\nbeauty; and this, with its effect, we find between the 35th and 65th\ndegree of northern latitude, in Persia, the countries bordering upon\nCaucasus, and principally Tchercassia, Georgia and Mongrelia, Turkey in\nEurope and Asia, Greece, Italy, some part of Spain, a very small part of\nFrance, England, Holland, some parts of Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden,\nand a part of Norway and even of Russia.\n\nEven under the same degree of latitude, it is observed that the position\nof the place, its elevation, its vicinity to the sea, the direction of the\nwinds, the nature of the soil, and all the peculiarities of locality which\nconstitute the climate proper to each place, occasion great differences in\nbeauty.\n\nIn relation to the causes of beauty, some observations which seem to be\nimportant, arise out of the remarks of de Pauw on the Greeks.\n\nDe Pauw endeavored to show, that, though the men of ancient Greece were\nhandsome, the women of that country were never beautiful. He thence\naccounted for the excessive admiration which there prevailed of courtesans\nfrom Ionia, &c.\n\nThis, however, was so contrary to the notions formed of the beauty of that\npeople from what was known of their taste, that it was considered as a\nparadox. Travellers, accordingly, sought for such beauty in the women of\nmodern Greece. They were disappointed in not finding it.\n\nWhat rendered this the more remarkable was, that in various places they\nfound the ancient and beautiful cast of countenance among the men, and not\namong the women of that country--thus corroborating in all respects the\ndoctrine of de Pauw.\n\nOn considering that doctrine, however, and comparing it with more extended\nobservations, it would seem to be only a particular application of a more\ngeneral law unknown to de Pauw--that, in most countries, one of the sexes\nexcels the other in beauty.\n\nThus, in some parts of the highlands of Scotland, we find the men as\nremarkable for beauty as the women for ugliness; while, in some eastern\ncounties of England, we find precisely the reverse. The strong features,\nthe dark curled hair and the muscular form, of the highlander, are as\nunsuitable to the female sex, as the soft features, the flaxen hair, and\nthe short and tapering limbs, of the woman of the eastern coast, are\nunsuitable to the male.\n\nIf the soil, climate, and productions, of these countries be considered,\nwe discover the causes of the differences alluded to. The hardships of\nmountain life are favorable to the stronger development of the locomotive\nsystem, which ought more or less to characterize the male; and the\nluxuriance of the plains is favorable to those developments of the\nnutritive system, which ought to characterize the female.\n\nThis is illustrated even in inferior animals. Oxen become large-bodied and\nfat in low and rich soils, but are remarkable for shortness of legs;\nwhile, in higher and drier situations, the bulk of the body is less, and\nthe limbs are stronger and more muscular.\n\nThe quantity and quality of the aliments are another cause, not less\npowerful in regard to beauty. Abundance, or rather a proper mediocrity, as\nto nutritious food, contributes to perfection in this respect.\n\nBeauty is also, in some measure, a result of civilization. Women,\naccordingly, of consummate beauty, are found only in civilized nations.\n\nProfessions can rarely be said to favor beauty; but they do not impede its\ndevelopment when their exercise does not compel to laborious employments\nan organization suited only to sedentary occupations.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nOF THE STANDARD OF BEAUTY IN WOMAN.\n\n\nThe ideas of the beautiful vary in different individuals, and in different\nnations. Hence, many men of talent have thought them altogether relative\nand arbitrary.\n\n\"Ask,\" says Voltaire, \"a Negro of Guinea [what is beauty]: the beautiful\nis for him a black oily skin, deep-seated eyes, and a broad flat nose.\"\n\n\"Perfect beauty,\" says Payne Knight, \"taking perfect in its most strict,\nand beauty in its most comprehensive signification, ought to be equally\npleasing to all; but of this, instances are scarcely to be found: for, as\nto taking them, or, indeed, any examples for illustration, from the other\nsex of our own species, it is extremely fallacious; as there can be little\ndoubt that all male animals think the females of their own species the\nmost beautiful productions of nature. At least we know this to be the case\namong the different varieties of men, whose respective ideas of the beauty\nof their females are as widely different as those of man, and any other\nanimal, can be. The sable Africans view with pity and contempt the marked\ndeformity of the Europeans; whose mouths are compressed, their noses\npinched, their cheeks shrunk, their hair rendered lank and flimsy, their\nbodies lengthened and emaciated, and their skins unnaturally bleached by\nshade and seclusion, and the baneful influence of a cold humid climate....\nWho shall decide which party is right, or which is wrong; or whether the\nblack or white model be, according to the laws of nature, the most perfect\nspecimen of a perfect woman?... The sexual desires of brutes are probably\nmore strictly natural inclinations, and less changed or modified by the\ninfluence of acquired ideas, or social habits, than those of any race of\nmankind; but their desires seem, in general, to be excited by smell,\nrather than by sight or contact. If, however, a boar can think a sow the\nsweetest and most lovely of living creatures, we can have no difficulty in\nbelieving that he also thinks her the most beautiful.\"\n\n\"Among the various reasons,\" says Reynolds, \"why we prefer one part of\nnature's works to another, the most general, I believe, is habit and\ncustom; custom makes, in a certain sense, white black, and black white; it\nis custom alone determines our preference of the color of the Europeans to\nthe Ethiopians, and they, for the same reason, prefer their own color to\nours. I suppose nobody will doubt, if one of their painters were to paint\nthe goddess of beauty, but that he would represent her black, with thick\nlips, flat nose, and woolly hair; and it seems to me, he would act very\nunnaturally if he did not; for by what criterion will any one dispute the\npropriety of his idea? We indeed say, that the form and color of the\nEuropean are preferable to those of the Ethiopian; but I know of no other\nreason we have for it, but that we are more accustomed to it.\"\n\nThe coquetry of several tribes, it has been observed, leads them to\nmutilate and disfigure themselves, to flatten their forehead, to enlarge\ntheir mouth and ears, to blacken their skin, and cover it with the marks\nof suffering.--We make ugliness in that way, says Montaigne.\n\nBut, to confine our observations to individual nations, and these\ncivilized ones; we every day see irregular or even common figures\npreferred to those which the enlightened judge deems beautiful.\n\nHow, then, it is asked, amid these different tastes, these opposite\nopinions, are we to admit ideas of absolute beauty?\n\nThese are the strongest objections against all ideas of absolute and\nessential beauty in woman.\n\nTo establish, in opposition to these objections, a standard of womanly\nbeauty, equal talent has been employed; but the reasoning, though\nsufficient for such objections, has been rather of a vague description.\nAs, however, the subject is of great importance, I shall endeavor to\nabridge and concentrate the arguments of which it consists, before I point\nout the surer method which is founded on the Elements of Beauty already\nestablished.\n\nTo refute these objections, it has been thought sufficient to examine the\nchief conditions which are necessary, in order to appreciate properly the\nimpression of those combinations, which woman presents, and to expose the\nprincipal circumstances which are opposed to the accuracy of opinions, and\njudgments respecting them.\n\nThe conditions necessary to enable us to pronounce respecting the real\nattributes of beauty, are, first, a temperate climate, under which nature\nbrings to perfection all her productions, and gives to their forms and\nfunctions, generally, and to those of man in particular, all the\ndevelopment of which they are capable, without excess in the action of\nsome, and defect in that of others;--secondly, in man in particular, a\nbrain capable of vigorous thought, sound judgment, and exquisite\ntaste;--and thirdly, a very advanced civilization, without which these\nfaculties cannot be duly exercised or attain any perfection.\n\nIt is evident enough that none of these conditions are to be met with in\nthe whimsical judgments and tastes of many nations.\n\nThe consequence of the absence of these conditions, in relation to the\nuncivilized and ignorant inhabitants of hot climates, is marked in their\ndeeming characteristics of beauty, the thick lips of Negresses, the long\nand pendent mamm\u00e6 of the women in several nations both of Africa and\nAmerica, or the gross forms of those of Egypt.\n\nThe consequence of the absence of these conditions, in relation to the\nuncivilized and ignorant inhabitants of cold climates, is equally marked\nin their deeming characteristics of beauty the short figures of the women\nof icy regions, in which, deprived of the vivifying action of heat and\nlight, living beings appear only in a state of deformity and alteration;\nand in their similarly deeming beautiful the obliquely-placed eyes of the\nChinese and Japanese, and the crushed nose of the Calmucs, &c., &c.\n\nThose who take these views, which are true, though somewhat vague and\ninconclusive, should, I think, have seen and added, that the deviations\nfrom beauty in the forms of the women of hot climates are commonly in\n_excess_, owing to the great development of organs of sense or of sex;\nwhile the deviations from beauty, in the forms of the women of cold\nclimates, are commonly in _defect_, owing to the imperfect development of\norgans of sense, and of the general figure.\n\nThis view renders it more clear that both these kinds of deviation are\ndeformities, incompatible with the consistent and harmonious development\nof the whole. And without this view, the preceding arguments are indeed\ntoo vague to be easily tenable.\n\nIn relation more especially to the second of the preceding conditions, the\npossession of a brain capable of vigorous thought, sound judgment, and\nexquisite taste, Hume observes that the same excellence of faculties which\ncontributes to the improvement of reason, the same clearness of\nconception, the same exactness of distinction, the same vivacity of\napprehension, are essential to the operations of true taste.\n\nHere, again, those who take these true, but vague and inconclusive views,\nshould, I think, have seen and added that this excellence of the thinking\nfaculties is incompatible with the obviously constricted brain, which is\na defect common both to the Negro and the Mongol--a _defect_ which is\nincompatible with beauty either of form or function, and which I have\nshown, in my work on physiognomy, to be intimately connected with climate.\nThis renders the argument sufficiently strong.\n\nThose who employ these arguments as to a standard of beauty in woman,\nproceed to show the modes in which defects of this kind unfit persons to\njudge of beauty; and though their farther arguments are similarly vague,\nthey nevertheless tend to support the truth.\n\nIf, say they, among the forms and the features which we compare, some are\nassociated by us with certain qualities or sentiments which please us,\nthey equally lead us to a predilection or prejudice, in consequence of\nwhich the most common or the least beautiful figure is preferred to the\nmost perfect. In this case, the imagination has perverted the judgment.\n\nWinckelmann truly observes, that young people are most exposed to such\nerrors: placed under the influence of sentiment and of illusion, they\noften regard, as very beautiful, women who have nothing capable of\ncharming, but an animated physiognomy, in which breathe desire,\nvoluptuousness, and languor. The results of this as to life may easily be\nforeseen.\n\nOf the excess to which such prejudice may go, a good instance is adduced\nin Descartes, who preferred women who squinted to the most perfect\nbeauties, because squinting was one of the most remarkable features of\nthe woman who was the first object of his affections.\n\nWinckelmann observes that even artists themselves have not always an\nexquisite sentiment of beauty: their first impressions have often an\ninfluence which they cannot overcome, nor even weaken, especially when, at\na distance from the admirable productions of the ancients, they cannot\nrectify their first judgments.\n\nCircumstances of profession, it is truly observed, may also lead to\nassociations of ideas capable of deceiving us in our opinions respecting\nbeauty. Men are apt to refer everything to their exclusive knowledge and\nthe mode of judging which it employs. The \"what does that prove\" of the\nmathematician, when judging the finest products of imagination, has passed\ninto a proverb. And every one knows of that other cultivator of the same\nscience, who declared that he never could discover anything sublime in\nMilton's Paradise Lost, but that he could never read the queries at the\nend of one of the books in Newton's Optics, without his hair standing on\nend and his blood running cold.\n\nThe necessity of the third condition, namely, advanced civilization, to a\nright judgment respecting a standard of beauty in woman, is evident, when\nwe consider that it requires a taste formed by the habit of bringing\nthings together and of comparing them.\n\nOne accustomed to see, says Hume, \"and examine, and weigh the several\nperformances, admired in different ages and nations, can alone rate the\nmerits of a work exhibited to his view, and assign its proper rank among\nthe productions of genius.\"\n\nFrom all this, it is certainly evident--not merely that that which pleases\nus is not always beautiful; that numerous causes may form so many sources\nof diversity and of error on this subject; and that we cannot thence\nconclude that the ideas of beauty are relative and arbitrary--but that\ncertain conditions are indispensable to form the judgment respecting\nbeauty; and that the principal of these conditions are, a temperate\nclimate and fertile soil, a well-developed brain, sound judgment, and\ndelicate taste, and a highly-advanced civilization.\n\nThis is perfectly conformable with the practical fact that it was under a\nmost delightful climate, among a people of unrivalled judgment, genius,\nand taste, and amid a civilization which the world has never since\nwitnessed, that the laws of Nature as to beauty were discovered, and\napplied to the production of those immortal forms which the unfavorable\naccidents occurring to the existence of all beings, have never permitted\nNature herself to combine in any one individual.\n\nThough I have endeavored to amend these arguments respecting a standard of\nbeauty in woman, I prefer those which may be founded on the doctrine I\nhave laid down respecting the Elements of Beauty. It will be found that\nthe greatest number of these elements are combined in the woman whom we\ncommonly deem the most beautiful.\n\nTo illustrate this, it will be sufficient to examine their most striking\nand distinctive characteristic, namely, their fair complexion, which is\nintimately connected with all their other characteristics, and which gives\nincreased splendor and effect to their form and features.\n\nIt is remarkable that even Alison, though the advocate of all beauty being\ndependant on association, grants that the pure white of the countenance is\nexpressive to us, according to its different degrees, of purity, fineness,\ngayety; that the dark complexion, on the other hand, is expressive to us\nof melancholy, gloom, or sadness; and that so far is this from being a\nfanciful relation, that it is generally admitted by those who have the\nbest opportunities of ascertaining it, the professors of medical science.\nHe also observes that black eyes are commonly united with the dark, and\nblue eyes with the fair complexion; and that, in the color of the eyes,\nblue, according to its different degrees, is expressive of softness,\ngentleness, cheerfulness, or severity; and black, of thought, or gravity,\nor of sadness.\n\nEven this, however, is less conclusive than the pathological or\nphysiological facts stated by Cheselden, as to the boy restored by him to\nsight, namely, that the first view of a black object gave him great pain,\nand that that of a negro-woman struck him with horror.\n\nIndependently of this, white, as every one is aware, is the color which\nreflects the greatest number of luminous rays; and, for that reason, it\nbestows the brilliance and splendor upon beautiful forms with which all\nare charmed.\n\nWinckelmann, indeed, observes that the head of Scipio the elder, in the\nPalazzo Rospigliosi, executed in basalt of a deep green, is very\nbeautiful. But, in that case, it is the form, not the color, of the head,\nthat is beautiful. While greenness of complexion would not be beautiful in\na man, it would certainly be hideously ugly in a woman.\n\nMoreover, while, in a dead black or any dark color of face, it cannot be\npretended that, considering its color only, we should have more than\nblackness or darkness for admiration, it is evident that, in a fair\ncomplexion, we have, in addition to its general brilliance or splendor,\nthe infinite variety of its teints, their exquisite blendings, and the\nbeautiful expression of every transient emotion.\n\nI have now only to expose the sophistry which Payne Knight has employed\nupon this subject.\n\n\"I am aware,\" he says, \"indeed, that it would be no easy task to persuade\na lover that the forms upon which he dotes with such rapture, are not\nreally beautiful, independent of the medium of affection, passion, and\nappetite, through which he views them. But before he pronounces either the\ninfidel or the skeptic guilty of blasphemy against nature, let him take a\nmould from the lovely features or lovely bosom of this masterpiece of\ncreation, and cast a plum-pudding in it (an object by no means disgusting\nto most men's appetite), and I think he will no longer be in raptures with\nthe form, whatever he may be with the substance.\"\n\nNow, it happens that a grosser incongruity can scarcely be supposed than\nthat which exists between lovely features or a lovely bosom and a\nplum-pudding, or between the sentiment of love and the propensity to\ngluttony; and therefore to place the substance of the pudding, in which\ninternal composition is alone of importance, and shape of none, under the\nform of features or a bosom, in which internal structure is unknown or\nunthought of, and shape or other external properties are alone considered,\nis a gross and offensive substitution, intended, not to enlighten judgment\nrespecting form, but to pervert it, and to degrade the higher object by\ncomparison with the lower one. The shape, moreover, is a true sign in the\none case, and a false one in the other.--Of nearly similar character is\nthe following:--\n\n\"If a man, perfectly possessed both of feeling and sight--conversant with,\nand sensible to the charms of women--were even to be in contact with what\nhe conceived to be the most beautiful and lovely of the sex, and at the\nmoment when he was going to embrace her, he was to discover that the parts\nwhich he touched only were feminine or human; and that, in the rest of her\nform, she was an animal of a different species, or a person of his own\nsex, the total and instantaneous change of his sentiments from one extreme\nto another, would abundantly convince him that his sexual desires depended\nas little upon that abstract sense of touch, as upon that of sight.\"\n\nThat, in detecting an imposture of this kind, admiration would give place\nto disgust, only proves that the external qualities which were admired\nwere the natural and appropriate signs of the internal qualities expected\nto be found under them, and that they now cease to interest only because\nthey have become, not naturally less the signs of these qualities, but\nbecause they have by a mere trick been rendered insignificant, because\ntruth and nature have been violated, and because the mind feels only\ndisgust at the imposture. I cannot help saying that if Knight was in\nearnest when he framed such arguments, his mind was sometimes dull as well\nas perverse.\n\n\"The redness of any morbid inflammation,\" he says, \"may display a\ngradation of teint, which, in a pink or a rose, we should think as\nbeautiful as 'the purple light of love and bloom of young desire;' and the\ncadaverous paleness of death or disease, a degree of whiteness, which, in\na piece of marble or alabaster, we should deem to be as pure, as that of\nthe most delicate skin of the fairest damsel of the frigid zone:\nconsequently, the mere visible beauty is in both the same; and the\ndifference consists entirely in mental sympathies, excited by certain\ninternal stimuli, and guided by habit.\"\n\nThere is here the same confusion of heterogeneous and inconsistent\nobjects, as in the preceding cases. To judge of beauty in simple objects,\neach quality may be separately considered; and in this view, if the\ninflammation presented the same teint as the pink or the rose, then, as a\nmere teint, abstracted from every other quality of the respective\nobjects, it would be precisely as beautiful in the one as in the other;\nbut as the color of a rose on the human body would indicate that flow of\nblood to the skin which can result only from excessive action, it ceases\nto be considered intrinsically, and is regarded only as a sign of disease.\nThe same observations are applicable to the other case here adduced.\n\n\"The African black,\" he says, \"when he first beholds an European\ncomplexion, thinks both its red and white morbid and unnatural, and of\ncourse disgusting. His sunburnt beauties express their modesty and\nsensibility by variations in the sable teints of their countenances, which\nare equally attractive to him, as the most delicate blush of red to us.\"\n\nIn treating of the Elements of Beauty, I have endeavored to show, that the\nmore those simpler elements of beauty, which characterize inanimate\nbodies, are retained in more compound ones, the more beautiful these\nbecome; but that the latter retain these elements in very different\ndegrees, dependant upon internal or external circumstances, and that such\nelementary beauty is often sacrificed to the higher ones of life or mind.\nNow, in the case of the African, he is born whitish, like the European,\nbut he speedily loses such beauty for that of adaptation, by his color, to\nthe hot climate in which he exists. The latter beauty is the higher and\nmore important one, and forms for the African a profitable exchange; but\nthe European is still more fortunate, because, in the region he inhabits,\nthe simple and elementary beauty is compatible with that of adaptation to\nclimate. The climate of Africa, the cerebral structure of its inhabitants,\nand the degree of their civilization, are as unfavorable to the existence\nof beauty as to the power of judging respecting it. What he adds as to\nvariation in sable countenances is a mere exaggeration.\n\n\"Were it possible for a person to judge of the beauty of color in his own\nspecies, upon the same principles and with the same impartiality as he\njudges of it in other objects, both animal, vegetable, and mineral, there\ncan be no doubt that mixed teints would be preferred; and a pimpled face\nhave the same superiority over a smooth one, as a zebra has over an ass, a\nvariegated tulip over a plain one, or a column of jasper or porphyry over\none of a common red or white marble.\"\n\nHere the same mistake is committed. Elementary beauty is preferred to that\nof adaptation to climate, fitness for physiognomical expression, &c.\nKnight's other arguments all involve similar errors, and admit of similar\nanswers.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHE THREE SPECIES OF FEMALE BEAUTY GENERALLY VIEWED.\n\n\nThese have been already briefly mentioned. They are repeated and\nillustrated here.\n\nThe view which is given of them will throw light on the celebrated\ntemperaments of the ancients. It will appear that all the disputes which\nhave occurred respecting these, have arisen from their being founded, not\non precise data, but on empirical observation, at a time when the great\ntruths of anatomy and physiology were unknown; that, to the rectification\nof the doctrine of temperaments, the arrangement of these sciences, laid\ndown in a preceding chapter, is indispensable; that some of these\ntemperaments are comparatively simple, and consist in an excessive or a\ndefective action of locomotive, nutritive, or thinking organs; that\nothers, which have been confounded with these, are, on the contrary,\ncompound; and that, from this want of classification, their nature has\nbeen imperfectly understood.\n\nTo make this clear, it is necessary to lay before the reader a succinct\nview of the doctrine of temperaments.\n\nThe ancients classed individuals in one or other of four temperaments,\nfounded on the hypothesis of four humors, of which the blood was supposed\nto be composed--the red part, phlegm, yellow and black bile. These were\nregarded as the elements of the body, and their respective predominance\npassed for the cause of the differences which it presented. Hence were\nderived the names of the sanguine, the phlegmatic, the choleric, and the\nmelancholic temperament.\n\nAlthough the hypothesis on which this doctrine was founded is universally\ndiscarded, the phenomena which observation had taught the ancients, and\nwhich they had hypothetically connected with these elements, were so true,\nthat that classification has been more or less employed in all the\nhypotheses which have since been invented to explain their cause; and\ntheir nomenclature has continued in use to the present day.\n\nA temperament may be defined a peculiar state of the system, depending on\nthe relative proportion of its different masses, and the relative energy\nof its different functions, by which it acquires a tendency to certain\nactions.\n\nThe predominance of any particular organ or system of organs, its excess\nof force, extends its sphere of activity to all the other functions, and\nmodifies them in a peculiar manner. Thus, conforming in the illustration\nto the preceding arrangement, in one person, the muscles are more\nfrequently employed than the brain; in another, the stomach or the organs\nof reproduction are more employed than the muscles; and in a third, the\nbrain and nerves are more employed than either. This predominance or\nexcess establishes the temperament.\n\nThe relative feebleness of any organ or system of organs, similarly forms\nmodifications not less important. Thus in one person, the organs of the\nabdomen are less employed; in another, those of the chest; in a third, the\nbrain.\n\nDisease, it is observed, \"commonly enters into the organization by these\nfeeble points: death even attacks them first; extends afterward from one\nto another; and makes progress more or less rapid, according to the\nimportance of the organ primitively affected.\"\n\nTemperaments, however, vary infinitely. It may be said that every\nindividual has a peculiar one, to which he owes his mode of existence and\nhis degree of health, ability, and happiness.\n\nThe temperament, moreover, of each individual is not always characterized\nby well-marked symptoms; and even where it has been strongly marked by\nnature, education, age, the influence of climate, the exercise of\nprofessions and trades, and various habits, produce in it infinite\nchanges.\n\nTemperaments also combine together, so that all men are, in some degree,\nat once sanguine and bilious, or otherwise compound. Thus all intermediate\nshades of temperament are produced; and it is often difficult, or, under\nparticular circumstances, impossible, to determine under which temperament\nindividuals may be classed.\n\nThe simple temperaments are therefore abstractions, which it is difficult\nto realize; and the influence of any temperament is sometimes\nundiscoverable except in some extraordinary circumstances of disorder or\ndisease, during which it may be observed.\n\nCullen admits the four temperaments of Hippocrates, and remarks concerning\nthem, that it is probable they were first founded upon observation, and\nafterward adapted to the theory of the ancients, since we find they \"have\na real existence.\"\n\nDr. Prichard remarks, that \"this division of temperaments is by no means a\nfanciful distinction.\"\n\nTo the four temperaments of Hippocrates, Gregory adds a fifth, the nervous\ntemperament.\n\nThus are formed five temperaments generally admitted, namely, 1st, the\nphlegmatic or relaxed; 2d, the sanguine arterial; 3d, the sanguine venous\nor bilious; 4th, the nervous; and, 5th, the muscular or athletic.\n\nSome writers join to these the partial temperaments which determine the\nascendency of the functions exercised by particular organs; whence\nprincipally come the temperaments which they call the cerebral,\nepigastric, abdominal, hepatic, genital, &c.\n\nAs already said, it will in the sequel appear that some of these\ntemperaments are comparatively simple, that others are compound, and that\nfrom this want of classification, their nature has been imperfectly\nunderstood.[32]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nFIRST SPECIES OF BEAUTY--BEAUTY OF THE LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM.\n\n\nThe average stature of woman, as already said, is two or three inches less\nthan that of man.\n\nThe bones of woman remain always smaller than those of man; the\ncylindrical ones being more slender, and the flat ones thinner, while the\nformer are also rounder. The muscles render the surfaces of the bones less\nuneven; the projections of the latter are less; and all their cavities and\nimpressions have less depth. The bones of woman have likewise less\nhardness than those of man.\n\nSuch being the solid and fundamental parts of this system in woman, the\nmost remarkable circumstances in their combination should next be noticed.\n\nIn woman, the magnitude of the pelvis or lower part of the trunk, has the\ngreatest influence on the apparent proportion of parts, and on the general\nfigure.\n\nThe most remarkable differences between the two sexes, in relation to this\nsystem, are consequently those presented by the inferior and superior part\nof the trunk in each. The breast and the haunches are in an inverse\nproportion in the two sexes. Man has the breast larger and wider than that\nof woman: woman has the haunches less circumscribed than those of man.\n\nThe upper part of the body is also less prominent, and the lower part more\nprominent, in woman than in man; and therefore, when they stand upright,\nor lie on the back, the breast is most prominent in the male, and the\npubes in the female. The indication this affords of the fitness of woman\nfor impregnation, gestation, and parturition, is obvious.\n\nFrom the same cause, the back of woman is more hollow.\n\nStill farther to increase the capacity of the lower part of the body,\nwoman has the loins more extended than man. This portion of her body is in\nevery way enlarged at the expense of neighboring parts. Hence, the chest\nis shorter above; and the thighs and legs are shorter below.\n\nThe thigh-bones of woman are also more separated superiorly; the knees are\nmore approximated; the feet are smaller; and the base of support is less\nextended.\n\nThe reader desirous of thoroughly understanding these matters, should\ncompare the beautiful plates of the male and female skeletons by Albinus\nand Soemmerring.\n\nBeauty of the locomotive system in woman, depends especially upon these\nfundamental facts, and those tendencies of structure which thus\ndistinguish her from man.\n\nIn the woman possessing THIS SPECIES of beauty, therefore, the face is\ngenerally somewhat bony and oblong;--the neck, less connected with the\nnutritive system, is rather long and tapering;--the shoulders, without\nbeing angular, are sufficiently broad and definite for muscular\nattachments;--the bosom, a vital organ, is of but moderate\ndimensions;--the waist, enclosing smaller nutritive organs, is remarkable\nfor fine proportion, and resembles, in some respects, an inverted\ncone;--the haunches, for the same reason, are but moderately\nexpanded;--the thighs are proportional;--the arms, as well as the limbs,\nbeing formed chiefly of locomotive organs, are rather long and moderately\ntapering;--the hands and feet are moderately small;--the complexion, owing\nto the inferiority of the nutritive system, is often rather dark;--and the\nhair is frequently dark and strong.--The whole figure is precise,\nstriking, and often brilliant.--From its proportions, it sometimes seems\nalmost aerial; and we would imagine, that, if our hands were placed under\nthe lateral parts of the tapering waist of a woman thus characterized, the\nslightest pressure would suffice to throw her into the air.\n\nTo this class belong generally the more firm, vigorous, and even\nactively-impassioned women: though it may doubtless boast many of greatly\nmodified character.\n\n\n_First Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nIt may here be observed, that the varieties or modifications of each\nspecies of beauty naturally correspond with the greater or less\ndevelopment of some one of the various organs on which the species is\nfounded. Thus, the modifications of beauty of the locomotive system\ncorrespond with the greater or less development of the bones, the\nligaments, or the muscles; those of the nutritive system correspond with\nthe greater or less development of the absorbents, the bloodvessels, or\nthe glands; and those of the thinking system correspond with the greater\nor less development of the organs of sense, the brain, or the cerebel. A\nlittle reflection will show, that some of these modifications will be\nmore, and others less beautiful.\n\nTo understand the present variety, the bony structure on which it\nespecially depends, must now be more minutely described.\n\nCommencing with the trunk of the body--the chest in woman is shorter but\nmore expanded; the breast-bone is shorter but wider; the two upper ribs\nare flatter; the collar-bones are more straight or less curved, and do not\npresent that prominent relief which appears on the chest of man; the\nshoulders are carried farther back, and project less from the trunk.\n\nThe haunches, as already stated, are proportionally wider in woman than in\nman, and the interior cavity of the pelvis, which is between them, being\nadapted to gestation, is more capacious. This greater capacity of the\npelvis arises from the lateral parts having in woman more convexity\noutward; from the bones called ossa pubis, which form the anterior part,\ntouching at a smaller number of points, and running obliquely or forming\na greater angle, to enlarge the space which is between them and the\ninferior extremity of the posterior part of the pelvis; from the arch of\nthe pubis being larger; from the greater concavity and breadth of the os\nsacrum or posterior bone of the pelvis, its posterior part forming a\ngreater prominence outward; and from the whole pelvis being thus wider and\nless deep, its circumference approaching more to the circular form. The\ncavities, it may be added, in which the heads of the thigh-bones are\nreceived, are of course farther apart: they are also oblique and less\ndeep.\n\nThe arms of woman are shorter than in man.--As these members are well\nmarked in beauty of the locomotive system, they may the more fully be\nconsidered here.--The arms, and especially their extremities, are\nsusceptible of a degree of beauty of which we see few examples. Their\nbases, the bones, ligaments, and muscles, belong to the locomotive system;\nand their fundamental beauty consequently depends upon its proportions;\nbut to the nutritive system are owing the circumstances that, in woman,\nthe arm is fatter and more rounded, has softer forms and more flowing and\npurer outlines. The hand in woman is smaller, more plump, more soft, and\nmore white. It is peculiarly beautiful when full; when it is gently\ndimpled over the first joints; when the fingers are long, round, tapering\ntoward the ends; when the other joints are marked by slight reliefs and\nshadows; and when the fingers are delicate and flexible. Beauty of the\nhand becomes the more precious, because it is the principal organ of a\nsense which may be considered as the most valuable of all.\n\nIn regard to the lower extremities, it has been observed, that the lateral\nconvexity of the pelvis causes the bones of the thighs attached to them to\nbe farther separated from each other; and this separation of the bones of\nthe thighs causes an increase of the size of the haunches. It is over the\nposterior part of the space thus produced, that we observe the reliefs\nwhich the inferior members present superiorly, and which unite them with\nthe trunk, by forms so beautifully rounded. The thighs are also\nproportionally larger, on account of this separation: they are more\nrounded, as well as much more voluminous: they are also more curved before\nthan in man. At their inferior part, they approximate; and the knees\nproject a little inward. It has been truly observed, that this\nconformation manifests, relatively to gestation and parturition,\nadvantages of which the exterior expression is not found in the women who\nare commonly regarded as well made, and who, however, are not so, if the\nbest conformation or beauty result from a direct and well-marked relation\nbetween the form of the organs and their functions. It is owing to the\nthighs of woman being thus carried more inward when she walks, that the\nchange of the point of gravity which marks each step, is in her much more\nremarkable. All the other parts of the inferior members are in general\ndistinguished by forms more softly rounded; the leg is remarkable for its\ndelicacy; the long line of the anterior bone is entirely hid under its\nenvelope; its inferior part is shaped with more elegance; the foot is\nsmaller; and the base of support is less extended. The feet, like the\nhands, are susceptible of a kind of beauty of which nature is sparing.\n\nFrom all this it appears that the only bones which nature tends to enlarge\nin woman are those of the pelvis; that all the rest are small; and that\nthey proportionally diminish in size, as we pass from that central part to\nthe extremities.\n\nThe FIRST MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the development of the bones, those of the pelvis excepted, is\nproportionally small.\n\nThis character will be especially apparent where the long bones approach\nthe surface; as in the arm immediately above the wrist, and, in the leg,\nimmediately above the ankle. Its effect will be proportionally delicate\nand feminine.\n\nVarious subordinate modifications of this kind of beauty are found in\nvarious countries, and under the influence of various circumstances.\n\nThe women of Rome, we are told, present beauty of the shoulders in the\nhighest degree, when they arrive at that period of life in which plumpness\nsucceeds to juvenile elasticity.\n\nIt has been suggested, that the Greek or Ionian women, whose arms were of\nso perfect a form, owed that beauty in some measure to the custom of\nleaving them nude, or covered only by loose drapery: as in that case, no\npressure constricted the roundness of the fleshy parts, and prevented\ntheir development; no ligature, binding the upper part of the arm, altered\nthe color of the skin; and the arm, being always uncovered, received at\nthe toilet the same attention as other parts. Hence, it is supposed\nantique statuary has left us such admirable models of the beauty of this\npart.\n\nIt is certainly not improbable that we may attribute the absence of this\nbeauty, in some measure, to a custom which, in many cases, medicine may\napprove, but which is unfavorable to the arm, that of wearing long\nsleeves; but want of exercise is its great cause.\n\nThe form of the hand often announces the occupation of the person to whom\nit belongs, and sometimes even her particular capabilities. There\ncertainly are hands that we may call intellectual; and there are others\nthat we may call foolish or stupid. Of the hand, Lavater says, that,\nwhether in movement or in repose, its expression cannot be mistaken: its\nmost tranquil position indicates our natural dispositions; its flexions,\nour actions and our passions.\n\nThe ancients, it has been observed, attached much importance to the form\nof the feet: the philosophers did not neglect it in the general view of\nthe physiognomy; and the historians as well as the poets made mention of\ntheir beauty, in speaking of Polyxene, Aspasia, and others; as they did of\ntheir deformities in speaking of the emperor Domitian.\n\nPerfection or deformity of the feet is no doubt in general hereditary; but\ngood management will preserve the former of these, and repair the latter.\nWe commonly deform these parts by means of our shoes: the second toe,\nobserves a writer on this subject, which naturally projects most, as we\nsee from the antique, is arrested in its development, and the foot, which\nought, in the outline of its extremity, to approach to the elegant form of\nthe ellipsis, is rounded without beauty, and is disfigured by our\nridiculous compressions.[33]\n\n\n_Second Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nThe joints generally are small in woman, and especially so in the\nextremities. The elbow joint is softly rounded; and the various joints of\nthe fingers are marked chiefly by little reliefs and faint shadows. The\narticulation of the knee is feebly indicated; the ankles are disposed in\nsuch a manner as to offer only agreeable outlines; and there are dimples\nover the first joints of the toes, with exceedingly gentle indications of\nthe other joints.\n\nThe SECOND MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the development of the ligaments and the articulations they form, is\nproportionally small.\n\nThis conformation will be especially apparent--in the arm, at the\nwrist--and, in the leg, at the ankle. Its effect will be proportionally\nhandsome.\n\n\n_Third Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nThe muscles of women are more slender and feeble than those of man; their\nbundles are rounder; their fibres are finer, more humid, soft, and\ndelicate, and less compact; their central parts or bellies are less\nprominent; their reliefs do not appear in any strength at the surface of\nthe body; but being, on the contrary, surrounded on all sides by a loose\ncellular tissue, they only render that surface beautifully rounded.\n\nAlthough, however, the muscular system of woman is weaker, and the muscles\nproportionally smaller, yet, as already said, in some parts the muscular\nsystem is more developed than in man. This, owing to the magnitude of the\npelvis, is most remarkable about the thighs. The muscles of these parts\nhaving larger origins from the pelvis, and being less compressed by\nreciprocal contact, have more liberty to extend themselves. It is from\nthis, that results much of the delicacy of the female form, as well as the\nease, suppleness, and capability of grace in its movements.\n\nIt is otherwise in all parts remote from the pelvis. Women, accordingly,\ncan less be said to have calves, than legs which, like their arms and\nfingers, gently taper.\n\nThe THIRD MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the development of the muscles is proportionally large around the\npelvis, and delicate elsewhere.\n\nThis conformation being concealed by the drapery, may nevertheless be\nconjectured from the imperfect view of the hip, or of the calf of the leg,\nor more accurately by means of the external indications of forms which are\ngiven in a subsequent chapter. Its effect will be proportionally elegant.\n\nWoman's power of muscular motion being thus limited to the vicinity of the\npelvis, that of her extremities is generally feeble.\n\nOther causes contribute to this. Thus, with regard to the upper\nextremities, it has been observed, that the collar-bone, not separating so\nmuch the arm from the axis of the body, the extent of its movements is\nlimited; and this circumstance explains why women, who wish to overcome\ngreat resistances with the superior members, experience difficulty in\ndoing so--why, for example, when they wish to throw a stone, they are\nobliged to turn the body on the foot opposite to the arm with which they\nthrow.\n\nThus also the largeness of the pelvis, and the approximation of the knees,\ninfluence the gait of woman, and render it vacillating and unsteady.\nConscious of this, women, in countries where the nutritive system in\ngeneral and the pelvis in particular are large, affect a greater degree of\nthis vacillation and unsteadiness. An example of this is seen in the\nlateral and rotary motion which is given to the pelvis in walking, by\ncertain classes of the women of London.\n\nFor the same reason, united to a smaller foot, and some other\ncircumstances, women, it is observed, who execute gentle and light\nmovements with so much skill, do not attempt with advantage great\nevolutions, run with difficulty and without grace, and fly--in order to be\ncaught, as Rousseau has said.\n\nIn woman, however, the muscular fibre is thus soft, yielding, feeble, and\nincapable of great evolutions, because it is necessary that it should\neasily adapt itself to remarkable changes.\n\nFrom all this, from women having more address in the use of their fingers,\nfrom their aptitude for little and light domestic works, the care of\nchildren, and sedentary occupations, it is evident that they cannot devote\nthemselves to toilsome labors without struggling against their\norganization, and suffering proportionally.\n\nThe voice being connected with the motive organs, it may here be noticed\nthat the larynx or flute part of the throat in woman is more contracted\nand less prominent than in man; that the glottis does not enlarge in the\nsame proportion; that the tongue-bone is much smaller; and that the\ntongue, its muscles, and the organs of speech in general, being, like all\nthe other parts, more mobile, young girls articulate and pronounce much\nmore quickly. Their voice is also so much more acute, that if man and\nwoman sing in unison, there is always between them the relation of an\noctave, which forms the most natural and most agreeable consonance.\n\nIt is evidently the UNION of all that is good in these varieties which\nrenders beauty in the locomotive system perfect.\n\nThis is perfectly represented in the Diana of Grecian sculpture, in which,\nwith admirable taste, it is neither the nutritive nor the thinking, but\nthe locomotive system, which is developed.\n\n * * * * *\n\nI have already said, that the temperaments of the ancients are only\npartial views of some of the varieties I am now describing. The _athletic\ntemperament_ falls under the _last of these varieties_; and it is the only\none that falls under this species. Happily, it does not occur in woman.\n\nThis temperament results from a great development of the bones and\nmuscles, and it is that of mere physical strength. It is marked by all the\noutward signs of strength: the head is small, the neck thick behind, the\nshoulders broad, the chest expanded, the haunches firm, the intervals of\nthe muscles deeply marked, the tendons apparent through the skin, and all\nthe joints not covered by muscles, seemingly small.\n\nIn this temperament, muscular strength prevails over the functions of the\nother organs, and especially usurps the energies necessary to the\nproduction of thought; the perceptions are deficient in quickness,\ndelicacy, accuracy, and strength; and all the mental functions are with\ndifficulty excited; but the body is capable of great exertion, and it\nsurmounts great physical resistance when roused.\n\nThe Farnese Hercules, says a French physiologist, exhibits a model of the\nphysical attributes of this constitution; and that which fabulous\nantiquity relates of the exploits of this demi-god, gives us the idea of\nthe moral dispositions that accompany it. In the history of his twelve\nlabors, without reflection, and as by instinct, we see him courageous,\nbecause he is strong, seeking obstacles to conquer them, certain of\noverwhelming whatever resists him, but joining to such strength so little\nsubtlety, that he is cheated by all the kings he serves, and by all the\nwomen he loves.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nSECOND SPECIES OF BEAUTY--BEAUTY OF THE NUTRITIVE SYSTEM.\n\n\nWith the vital system of woman, the capacity of the pelvis, and the\nconsequent breadth of the haunches, are still more connected than with the\nlocomotive system; for, with these, all those functions which are most\nessentially feminine--impregnation, gestation, and parturition--are\nintimately connected.\n\nCamper, in a memoir on physical beauty, read to the Academy of Design, at\nAmsterdam,[34] showed, that, in tracing the forms of the male and female\nwithin two elliptical areas of equal size, the female pelvis extended\nbeyond the ellipsis, while the shoulders were within; and the male\nshoulders reached beyond their ellipsis, while the pelvis was within.--The\npelvis of the African woman is said by some to be greater than that of the\nEuropean.\n\nThe abdominal and lumbar portion of the trunk, as already said, is longer\nin woman. In persons above the common stature, there is almost half a\nface more in the part of the body which is between the mamm\u00e6 and the\nbifurcation of the trunk.\n\nThe abdomen, placed below the chest, has more projection and roundness in\nwoman than in man: but it has little fulness in a figure capable of\nserving as a model; and the slightest alteration in its outlines or its\npolish is injurious.\n\nThe waist, which is most distinctly marked in the back and loins, owes all\nits advantages to its elegance, softness, and flexibility.\n\nThe neck should, by the gentlest curvature, form an almost insensible\ntransition between the body and the head. It should also present fulness\nsufficient to conceal the projection of the flute part of the throat in\nfront, and of the two large muscles which descend from behind the ears\ntoward the pit above the breast-bone.[35]\n\nOver all these parts, the predominance of the cellular tissue, and the\nsoft and moderate plumpness which is connected with it, are a remarkable\ncharacteristic of the vital system in woman. While this facilitates the\nadaptation of the locomotive system to every change, it at the same time\nobliterates the projection of the muscles, and invests the whole figure\nwith rounded and beautiful forms.\n\nIt has been well observed that the principal effect of such forms upon\nthe observer must be referred to the faculties which they reveal; for, as\nremarked by Roussel, if we examine the greater part of the attributes\nwhich constitute beauty, if reason analyze that which instinct judges at a\nglance, we shall find that these attributes have a reference to real\nadvantages for the species. A light shape, supple movements, whence spring\nbrilliance and grace, are qualities which please, because they announce\nthe good condition of the individual who possesses them, and the greater\ndegree of aptitude for the functions which that individual ought to\nfulfil.\n\nBeauty, then, of the nutritive system in woman, depends especially upon\nthese fundamental facts, and those tendencies of structure which thus\ndistinguish her from man.\n\nIn the woman possessing THIS SPECIES of beauty, therefore, the face is\ngenerally rounded, to give greater room to the cavities connected with\nnutrition;--the eyes are generally of the softest azure, which is\nsimilarly associated;--the neck is often rather short, in order intimately\nto connect the head with the nutritive organs in the trunk;--the shoulders\nare softly rounded, and owe any breadth they may possess rather to the\nexpanded chest, containing these organs, than to any bony or muscular size\nof the shoulders themselves;--the bosom, a vital organ, in its luxuriance\nseems laterally to protrude on the space occupied by the arms;--the waist,\nthough sufficiently marked, is, as it were, encroached on by that\nplumpness of all the contiguous parts, which the powerful nutritive\nsystem affords;--the haunches are greatly expanded for the vital purposes\nof gestation and parturition;--the thighs are large in proportion;--but\nthe locomotive organs, the limbs and arms, tapering and becoming delicate,\nterminate in feet and hands which, compared with the ample trunk, are\npeculiarly small;--the complexion, dependant upon nutrition, has the rose\nand lily so exquisitely blended, that we are surprised it should defy the\nusual operation of the elements;--and there is a luxuriant profusion of\nsoft and fine flaxen or auburn hair.--The whole figure is soft and\nvoluptuous in the extreme.\n\nTo this class belong all the more feminine, soft, and exquisitely-graceful\nwomen.\n\nThe kind of beauty thus characterized is seen chiefly in the Saxon races\nof our eastern coast; and it is certainly more frequent in women of short\nstature.\n\nThe vital system is peculiarly the system of woman; and so truly is this\nthe case, that any great employment, either of the locomotive or mental\norgans, deranges the peculiar functions of woman, and destroys the\ncharacteristics of her sex.\n\nWomen who greatly occupy the locomotive organs, acquire a coarse and\nmasculine appearance; and so well is this incompatibility of power, in the\nuse of locomotive organs with the exercise of vital ones, known to the\nbest female dancers, that, during the time of their engagements, they\ngenerally live apart from their husbands.\n\nAs to intellectual ladies, they either seldom become mothers, or they\nbecome intellectual when they cease to be mothers.\n\nThese few facts are worth a thousand hypotheses and dreams, however\namiable they may be.\n\nThe vital system is relatively largest in little women, especially after\nthey have been mothers. The shorter stature of woman ensures, indeed, in\nalmost all, a relative excess of the vital system after, if not before,\nthey become mothers; for, whatever the stature, the mamm\u00e6, abdomen, &c.,\nnecessarily expand. In those of short stature, these parts, of course,\nbecome nearly as large as in the tall; and this circumstance causes them\nto touch on the limits of each other in little women.\n\nAs, in pregnancy and suckling, the abdomen and mamm\u00e6 necessarily expand,\nand as they would afterward collapse and become wrinkled, were not a\ncertain degree of plumpness acquired, that acquisition is essential to\nbeauty in mothers. Meagerness in them, accordingly, becomes deformity.\n\nA French writer indeed says: \"Most of our fashionables are extremely\nslender; they have constituted this an essential to beauty; leanness is in\nFrance necessary to the _air \u00e9l\u00e9gant_.\" It must be remembered, however,\nthat the vital system--that which we have just said is peculiarly the\nsystem of woman--is, in its most beautiful parts, peculiarly defective in\nFrance; and that, owing in a great measure to that circumstance, the women\nof France are among the ugliest in Europe.--But of that in its proper\nplace.\n\n\n_First Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nIt may here be observed, that the varieties of beauty of the locomotive\nsystem, and also those of beauty of the mental system, are easily\nexplicable, because these systems are, in some respects, more limited and\nsimple. The varieties of beauty of the vital system are, on the contrary,\nmore difficult of explanation, because that system is, in some respects,\nmore diffused and complicated.\n\nEven the preparatory vital organs and functions differ somewhat in the two\nsexes.\n\nWoman has frequently a smaller number of molar teeth than man; those\ncalled wisdom teeth not always appearing. Mastication is also less\nenergetic in woman.\n\nThe stomach, in woman, is much smaller; the appetite for food is less;\nhunger does not appear to press her so imperiously; and her consumption of\nfood is much less considerable.[36] Hence, indubitable cases of long\nabstinence from food, have generally occurred in females.\n\nIn the choice and the preference of certain aliments, woman also differs\nmuch from man. In general, women prefer light and agreeable food, which\nflatters the palate by its perfume and its savor. Their appetites are also\nmuch more varied.\n\nWomen, whom vicious habits have not depraved, use also beverages less\nabundantly than men. Fermented, vinous, and spirituous beverages are\nindeed used only by the monsters engendered in the corruptions of\ntowns--amid the insane dissipation of the rich, or the wretched and\npitiable suffering of the poor; and both are then brought to one\nhumiliating level, marked by the red and pimpled, or the pallid face, the\nswimming eye, the haggard features, the pestilential breath. The\nscarf-skin in these cases divides all that may be worthy from all that is\nutterly worthless: the worthy part may be external to the cuticle, in\nsubstantial, though polluted clothing; the worthless is the yet living\nportion, which, whether called body or soul, is no longer worth picking\noff a dunghill.[37]\n\nDigestion in woman is made, however, with great rapidity; and the whole\ncanal interested in that process, possesses great irritability.\n\nThe absorbent vessels in woman are much more developed, and seem to enjoy\na more active vitality. The circumstances of pregnancy and suckling,\nappear also to augment the energy of these vessels.\n\nThe FIRST MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the digestive and absorbent system is small but active; for the\ngreat purpose of life in woman is secretion, whether it regard the\nformation of the superficial adipose substance which invests her with\nbeautiful and attractive forms, or the nutrition of the new being which\nis the object of her attractions and of her life.\n\nHence it is, that women naturally and instinctively affect abstemiousness\nand delicacy of appetite. Hence it is, that they compress the waist, and\nendeavor to render it slender.\n\n\n_Second Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nWomen have, in greater abundance than men, several of the fluids which\nenter into the composition of the body. They appear to have a greater\nquantity of blood; and they certainly have more frequent and more\nconsiderable hemorrhages. There is less force in the circulation and\nrespiration; but the heart beats more rapidly. The pulse also is less\nfull, but it is quicker.\n\nIn woman, the purer lily and more vivid rose of complexion, depend on\nvarious causes.\n\nIt would appear that, in women, the blood is in general carried less\nabundantly to the surface and to the extremities, where also the white\nvessels are more developed; and that, to this, as well as to the subjacent\nadipose substance, the skin owes its whiteness.\n\nIn youth, however, one of the constituent parts of the skin, the reticular\ntissue, or whatever the substance under the scarf-skin may be called,\nappears to be more expanded, especially in women; and it would seem that\nthis tissue is then filled with a blood which is less dark, and which\nforms the coloring of youth. This, differently modified by the\nscarf-skin, gives the blue, the purple, and all the teints formed by these\nand the color of the skin. Where the vessels are more patent, and the skin\nmore thin, delicate, and transparent, as in the cheeks, the hue of the\nrose is cast over that of the lily. In addition to this, the slightest\nemotions of surprise, of pleasure, of love, of shame, of fear, often\ndiversify all these teints.\n\nLightness of complexion, however, is probably dependant more particularly\non the arterial circulation, and darkness of complexion on the venous\ncirculation; for we know that in fairer woman the arteries possess greater\nenergy, while in darker man the veins are more developed, larger, and\nfuller.\n\nFarther confirmation of this is afforded by an observation, which\nphysiologists have neglected to make, that the kidneys, receiving arterial\nblood, are the artery-relieving glands, while the liver, receiving venous\nblood, is the vein-relieving gland. Now, it is certain that, in cold\nclimates, the urinary secretion and fairness prevail; while, in hot\nclimates, the hepatic secretion and darkness prevail. Many physiologists\nhave indeed made the insulated remark, that the dark complexion has much\nto do with the hepatic secretion. The more abundant urinary and hepatic\nsecretions, however, may not be the causes, but only concomitant effects\nof the same cause with fairness and darkness of complexion.\n\nThe SECOND MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the circulating vessels, being moderately active and finely\nramified, bestow upon the skin a whiteness, a transparency, and a\ncomplexion, which are necessary to beauty.\n\nThe whiteness, the transparency, and the color of the skin, have, in all\nhighly civilized nations, been deemed essential conditions of beauty.\n\nThe ancients regarded whiteness, in particular, as the distinctive\ncharacter of beauty; and they estimated that character so highly, that the\nname of Venus, from the Celtic _ven_, _ben_, or _ban_, signifies white, or\nwhiteness; and Venus herself is said to be fair and golden-haired.\n\nAmong the civilized moderns, also a taste which women seek always to\nsatisfy, is that for whiteness of the skin: hence, the white lily,\nnew-fallen snow, white marble, or alabaster, are the images which poetry\nemploys, when the color of a woman is its subject. So greatly, indeed,\ndoes whiteness contribute to beauty, that many women deemed beautiful by\nus, have little other right to that epithet except what they derive from a\nbeautiful skin.\n\n\n_Third Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nThe branches of the great artery of the body, the aorta, supplying the\nabdomen and pelvis, are larger in woman than in man, as well as more\nhabitually liable to variation in the quantity of their contents. The\nquantity of blood, also, which passes to the abdomen, is greater.\n\nAt the same time, the excretions are generally less in woman. Hippocrates\nsays: \"_Nam corpus muliebre minus dissipatur quam virile_;\" the\nexpenditure of the body of woman is less than that of man.\n\nIt is evident, then, that the secretions, nutrition, in particular, must\nbe greater. We actually know them to be so.\n\nBut the nourishment of the organs concerned in locomotion is less active,\nand that of the cellular and adipose substance is generally more active,\nthan in man. And on this, important consequences depend.\n\nWoman is subject to crises which would destroy all her organs, if they\noffered too powerful a resistance. Some parts of her body are exposed to\ngreat shocks, to alternate extensions, compressions, and reductions, which\ncould not take place with impunity, but by means of this predominance of\nthe cellular and adipose structure.\n\nThe cellular expansion, the general basis of the structure, appears then\nto be more abundant in woman, more lax and yielding, more dilated and\nfuller of liquids; and it is by yielding gradually, by decomposing and\nweakening shocks by means of the general suppleness of the different\norgans, thus procured, that nature seems, in woman, to avoid, or to\ndestroy, every hurtful effort.\n\nIt is observed, moreover, that certain parts, naturally more loose,\nreceive into all their vessels a more considerable quantity of liquid, and\nassume a particular enlargement, at the moment when their sympathy with\nthe uterus causes them to enter into action in concert with it; and it is\nalso observed that they dilate more easily during pregnancy.\n\nIt is thus, then, that nature gives to all the parts of woman that\nsuppleness which renders her capable of easily yielding to the great\nrevolutions which affect her organization in regard to reproduction, as\nwell as mark the different periods of her life.\n\nThe great development of the cellular and fatty tissue in woman is\nillustrated by the remarkable fact, that anciently the Romans, in order to\nburn the bodies of dead men, were obliged to join to them those of women,\nthe fat of which greatly facilitated combustion.\n\nNow, with the great purposes described above, beauty is naturally\nassociated. It is principally this excess of the cellular and fatty\ntissues which gives to the members of woman those round and beautiful\noutlines, that soft and polished surface, which the body of man does not\npossess.\n\nIn every part, however, of the human figure, as observed by Reynolds,\n\"when not spoiled by too great corpulency, will be found distinctness, the\nparts never appearing uncertain or confused, or as a musician would say,\nslurred; and all those smaller parts which are comprehended in the larger\ncompartment are still found to be there, however marked.\"\n\nNow, while all this is the case, it appears that the true skin is much\nthinner and more delicate in woman than in man, and that it derives more\nor less of its clear whiteness from the quantity of fat which is below\nit; for meagerness inevitably tarnishes and dries it. Hence, to possess a\nfine, soft, white, and fresh skin, it is also indispensable to possess\nplumpness.\n\nIn relation to this purer white, it must also be observed, that\ntranspiration, which might soil it, appears to be much less abundant in\nwoman; and that the liver or vein-relieving gland, is very large. The\nexcretions of the skin in women are indeed chiefly limited to certain\nparts; and it is thence that it has, in various parts, an odor which a\nFrench writer observes \"it is difficult to describe, but which an\nexercised sense of smell easily succeeds in distinguishing in women who\nfully enjoy all the attributes of their sex, and who are women even in the\natmosphere which exhales from them.\"\n\nWhile the skin is thus more white in women, it is also more transparent.\nThe reticular tissue, or substance interposed between the true skin and\nscarf-skin, appears to have more clearness and turgescence, especially on\nthe face, where, under the influence of various emotions, it easily\npermits a passage to the blood, as we see in blushing. It is in youth that\nthis turgescence and clearness are most evident.\n\nHence, the skin in woman less conceals the veins, of which the color, only\nenfeebled or modified by the skin, \"gives all those shades of azure which\nthe charmed eye follows with so much pleasure on the surface of the bosom\nand of all the parts where the skin has least of thickness.\"\n\nAll this constitutes freshness, or animation, which is nearly synonymous\nwith health, and without which there is no beauty. When that quality, as\nobserved by Roussel, \"is wanting, all other attractions strike but feebly,\nbecause the prompt judgment, which instinct suggests, warns us that the\nwoman whose person does not present all the characters of perfect health,\nis in a disposition little favorable to the plan of nature, relatively to\nthe maintenance of the species.\"\n\nThe whiteness and the animation of the skin, however, do not alone\nconstitute its beauty: there is still another quality which is absolutely\nnecessary to it. This is the softness and the polish which, as the reader\nhas seen, is one of the first conditions of physical beauty. In woman,\nthis is probably derived from a slight degree of oleaginous secretion.\nHence, she has few asperities of the skin, especially on the surface of\nthe bosom, and other parts, where the skin is excessively smooth.\n\nBrown women, who probably have more of this oleaginous secretion, are said\nto possess in a greater degree the polish of skin which gives impressions\nso agreeable to the organ of touch; and hence, Winckelmann has said that\npersons who prefer brown women to fair ones allow themselves to be\ncaptivated by the touch rather than the sight. There is reason, however,\nto doubt the accuracy of this. Brown women appear to have greater\nsoftness, but less smoothness of skin.\n\nThe body of woman is nearly deprived of hairs upon all parts, except the\nhead, axill\u00e6, &c.; and the hair of her head is generally long, fine, and\nflexible.\n\nThe quantity and the color of the hair are always in relation to the\nconstitution of the individual to which it belongs, and generally to the\ntemperature of the place. The people of northern countries have the hair\nof a silken fineness and of surprising length.\n\nThe hair which is most admired is not only very fine and flexible, but\nlight colored. Fair golden hair was, of all its teints, that which the\nancient artists preferred.\n\nIn woman, the hair of the head whitens and falls later than in man.\n\nIt is curious that, in regard to the hair, the distinctive characters of\nthe sexes should not always have been preserved. Though nature gives long\nhair to woman, it has sometimes been the fashion to wear it short; and\nthough man has naturally shorter hair, it has sometimes been the fashion\nto cherish its growth, and to shave the beard from his face. The latter\nhas especially been the case in degenerate and effeminate times; and this\nhas sometimes been accompanied by remarkable consequences.\n\nOne of the greatest misfortunes, says a French writer, which France ever\nhad to lament, the divorce of Louis le Jeune from Elinor of Guyenne,\nresulted from the fashion, which this prince wished to introduce, of\nshaving his chin and cropping his head. The queen, his wife, who appears\nto have possessed, with a masculine beauty, considerable acuteness of\nintellect, observed with some displeasure, that she imagined herself to\nhave espoused a monarch, not a monk. The obstinacy of Louis in shaving\nhimself, and the horror conceived by Elinor at the sight of a beardless\nchin, occasioned France the loss of those fine provinces which constituted\nthe dowry of this princess; and which, devolving to England by a second\nmarriage, became the source of wars which desolated France during four\nhundred years.\n\nThe habit of wearing the beard is a manly and noble one. Nature made it\ndistinctive of the male and female; and its abandonment has commonly been\naccompanied not only by periods of general effeminacy, but even by the\ndecline and fall of states. They were bearded Romans who conquered the\nthen beardless Greeks; they were bearded Goths who vanquished the then\nbeardless Romans; and they are bearded Tartars who now promise once more\nto inundate the regions occupied by the shaven and effeminate people of\nwestern Europe.\n\nIn farther illustration of the manliness of this habit we may observe,\nthat throughout Europe, wars have generally led to its temporary and\npartial introduction, as at the present day. Those assuredly blunder, who\nridicule the wearing of the beard. Silly affectation, on the contrary, is\nimputable only to those who, by removing the beard, take the trouble so\nfar to emasculate themselves! and who think themselves beautified by an\nunnatural imitation of the smoother face of woman!\n\nAs appendages of the skin, the nails may here be noticed. Their beauty\nconsists in their figure, their surface, and their color.\n\nBy their figure, they serve as a defence to the delicate extremities of\nthe fingers, which would otherwise be easily hurt against hard bodies.\nThey form at once shields and supporting arches to the fingers; and they\ngive facility in laying hold of bodies which would escape from their\nsmallness. They ought accordingly to be arched, and to extend as far as\nthe flesh which terminates the fingers.--The form of the nails depends\nmuch on the care employed in cutting them during infancy, and still more\non the mode of employing the hand.\n\nThe nails ought also to be smooth and polished, somewhat transparent, and\nrose-colored. Their rosy color seems to show that their texture has less\ndensity and more transparence.\n\nIt is in this view of the nutritive system and the characteristics which\nrender it beautiful, and especially after this portion of it which regards\nthe organs and functions of secretion, that the mamm\u00e6 and their beauty\nshould be considered.\n\nIn woman, the bust is smaller and more rounded than in man; and it is\ndistinguished by the volume and the elegant form of the bosom.\n\nThe external and elevated position of the mamm\u00e6 is by far the most\nsuitable for a nursling, which, no longer deriving subsistence from within\nthe mother, nor yet able of itself to find it without, must be gently and\nsoftly borne toward her; an admirable position, says a French writer,\n\"which, in keeping the infant under the eyes and in the arms of the\nmother, establishes between them an interesting exchange of tenderness, of\ncares, and of innocent caresses, which enables the one the better to\nexpress its wants, and the other to enjoy the sacrifices which she makes,\nin continually contemplating their object.\"\n\nAccording to Buffon, in order that the mamm\u00e6 be well placed, it is\nnecessary that the space between them should be as great as that from the\nmamm\u00e6 to the middle of the depression between the clavicles, so that these\nthree points form an equilateral triangle.\n\nThe two portions of the mamm\u00e6 should be well detached. The whole presents,\nin beautiful models, more elegance than volume; and the areola, it may be\nobserved, is red in fair women and deeper colored in brown ones.\n\nWinckelmann observes that, in the antique statues, the mamm\u00e6 terminate\ngently in a point, and that they have always virginal forms, as a\nconsequence of the system of the ancient artists, which consists in not\nrecalling in the ideal the wants and the accidents of humanity.\n\nFinally on this particular head, I must observe that the reproduction of\nthe species is, in woman, the most important object of life, and that\nevery thing in her physical organization has evident reference to it. Of\nall the passions in woman, says Richerand, \"love has the greatest sway: it\nhas even been said to be her only passion. All the others are modified by\nit, and receive from it a peculiar cast, which distinguishes them from\nthose of man.... Fontenelle used to say of the devotion of some women,\n'One may see that love has been here.' It has been said, in speaking of\nSt. Theresa, '_To love God, is still to love_.' Thomas maintains that,\n'With women a man is more than a nation.'--'Love,' says Madame de Stael,\n'is but an episode in the life of man; it is the whole history of the life\nof woman.'\"\n\nThe THIRD MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the secreting vessels being active, not only cause the plumpness,\n&c., necessary to beauty, but furnish the mammary and uterine secretions,\non which progeny is dependant. This must inevitably be followed by\nmoderate excretions.\n\nIt should not pass unobserved that there exist, in some women, a fair skin\nand dark hair, forming a rather extraordinary and striking combination. As\nsuch women have the skin remarkably smooth and moist, this is probably\nconnected with some peculiarity of secretion and excretion.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIt is evidently the UNION of all that is good in these varieties which\nrenders beauty in the vital system perfect.\n\nThis union is nowhere so frequently to be seen, as in England and in\nHolland.\n\nIt is curious that cleanliness among women seems necessarily to increase\nwith the development of this system; and that, in general slovenliness and\nfilth increase as we pass from England and Holland, toward France, Italy,\nSpain, and Portugal, even among women of the highest condition.\n\n * * * * *\n\nOf the temperaments of the ancients, which, as already said, are only\npartial views of some of the varieties I am now describing, two, the\n_phlegmatic temperament_ and the _sanguine temperament_, appear to belong\nfundamentally to _this species_. It has been supposed, that the first\naffects the absorbent, the second the circulating system. They appear to\nme to be exactly opposite affections of the whole nutritive system at\nleast.\n\nThe phlegmatic temperament may exist in both sexes. The causes which tend\nto develop it, are infancy, humidity with cold, the absence of light,\nindolence, and the feeble influence of the reproductive functions upon the\ngeneral system.\n\nIn this temperament, there exists an excess in the proportions of the\nabsorbent vessels; the pulse is weak, slow, and soft; there is a\nturgescence of the cellular tissue, and a more marked development of the\nglands; the internal stimulants, having less energy than in the other\ntemperaments, life is less active, and all its actions are more or less\nlanguid; even the uterus is not endowed with suitable energy.\n\nBut these characteristics are not confined to the nutritive system: they\nextend to the thinking one. The attention is not continuous; the\nperceptions succeed with some difficulty; the memory is not to be trusted;\nthe imagination is weak; and the propensities, the appetites, and the\npassions, are so languid, as to be scarcely capable of troubling the\nquietude and the indolence which depend on such a constitution.\n\nThese characteristics of the phlegmatic temperament, present to us forms\nmore rounded and less expressive, a general softness, a feeble color of\nthe skin, a sort of etiolation, a pale countenance, a light and abundant\nhair, and, generally, an insurmountable inclination to sloth, averse alike\nto labors of the mind and body.\n\nIt has been observed, that the sanguine temperament, so generally met with\namong northern nations, is the necessary consequence of the continual and\nvery energetic reaction of the powers of circulation, against the effects\nof external cold; that it is only by the constant activity of the heart\nand vessels that calorification can be effected with the necessary vigor:\nand that the effects of this redoubled action are the same to the organs\nof circulation as to the muscles, under the influence of volition;\nexertion in both increasing the power of the organs exerted.\n\nIn the sanguine temperament, the lymphatic, circulating, and secreting\nsystems appear to be in a sort of equilibrium; the chest is larger, and\nthe lungs more voluminous; the circulation is more rapid, the arterial\npredominance is obvious; the pulse is sharp, frequent, and regular; the\ncomplexion is ruddy; all the vital actions are extremely easy; and the\nhealth is rarely altered.\n\nThe mental functions correspond. The conception is quick; the memory is\nprompt; the imagination is lively; the judgment has more readiness than\ndepth and extent; the mind, easily affected by the impressions of outward\nobjects, passes rapidly from one idea to another; the tastes,\npropensities, appetites, passions, are equally ephemeral; and there is\nmuch activity, but the strength is soon exhausted.\n\nIn persons of this temperament, the countenance is animated; the hair is\nfair, and inclining to chestnut; the shape is good; the form is softened,\nthough distinct; and the muscles are of tolerable consistence, and\nmoderate development. The whole appearance is generally so amiable, that\nthis temperament may be called that of health, beauty, and happiness.\n\nIn the women who present the attributes of their sex with the greatest\nunity, we distinguish, especially during youth and adult age, the traits\nof the sanguine temperament, which may be regarded as the most suitable to\nthe organization of woman.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nTHIRD SPECIES OF BEAUTY--BEAUTY OF THE THINKING SYSTEM.\n\n\nIn woman, the organs of sense are proportionally larger, and the\nsensibility is more quick and delicate than in man.\n\nHence, also, the mental quickness and delicacy of woman are greater. Her\nperceptions succeed with rapidity and intenseness; and the last of them\ngenerally predominates. In well-organized women, accordingly, the forehead\nand the observing faculties are peculiarly developed.\n\nThe general nervous system of woman is likewise far more mobile than that\nof man.\n\nBeauty of the thinking system in woman depends especially upon these\nfundamental facts, and those tendencies of structure, which thus\ndistinguish her from man.\n\nIn the woman possessing THIS SPECIES of beauty, accordingly, the greater\ndevelopment of its upper part gives to the head, in every view, a pyriform\nappearance;--the face is generally oval;--the high and pale forehead\nannounces the excellence of the observing faculties;--the intensely\nexpressive eye is full of sensibility;--in the lower features, modesty and\ndignity are often united;--she has not the expanded bosom, the general\nplumpness, or the beautiful complexion, of the second species of\nbeauty;--and she boasts easy and graceful motion, rather than the elegant\nproportion of the first.--The whole figure is characterized by\nintellectuality and grace.\n\nThis species of beauty is less proper to woman, less feminine, than the\npreceding. It is not the intellectual system, but the vital one, which is,\nand ought to be most developed in woman.\n\n\n_First Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nIn woman, the nervous extremities appear to be larger than in man; a pulpy\nappearance is more remarkable in them; and the papill\u00e6 in which they\nterminate, appear to have less rigidity.\n\nThe organs of sense are proportionally larger, and more delicately\noutlined. There is indeed in woman more development in the organs of\nsensation, than in that of understanding, reasoning, and judging; while\nthe contrary is the case in man. The sensations, accordingly, are in woman\nmore acute, and their minute differences are more easily discerned. Man\nreflects more than he feels: woman always feels more than she reflects.\n\nThe FIRST MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the development of the organs of sense is proportionally large, and\nthe sensibility greater.\n\nIt ought to be observed, that though, in woman, when well organized, the\nwhole head is proportionally less than in man, yet, the organs of sense\nwill be found to be proportionally larger. This sufficiently indicates the\nimportance of such proportional development. Upon it, indeed, depend that\nincreased sensibility and quickness of observation, which are essential to\nthe female character.\n\n\n_Second Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nOf all parts of the brain in woman, when well formed, the forehead,\nespecially, is found to be large. Without this, she would have sensibility\nwithout observation, a most unhappy condition of the nervous system.\n\nIn woman, the brain partakes of the softness of all the other parts of her\nstructure. The cellular tissue which covers it, and which descends between\nits convolutions, is more abundant, mucous, and loose.\n\nThe mind, correspondingly, is more impressed by any new object of thought;\nthe whole nervous system is more extensively affected by impressions on\nthe brain; the propensity to emotion is stronger, and women are more\nhabitually under its influence.\n\nThe intimate connexion of the thinking, with a peculiar modification of\nthe reproductive faculties, inspires in woman the want of maternity, which\nis more powerful than life, and which renders her capable of every\nsacrifice. Associated with this, are her affection, tenderness, and\ncompassion.\n\nUpon the whole, sensibility in woman is greater than understanding; the\ninvoluntary play of the imagination, more active than its regulated\ncombinations; and passion, generally of the gentler kind, predominates\nrather than resolve or determination. She has, therefore, more finesse and\nactivity, than depth or force of thought; and her nervous system is also\nmore frequently deranged by accidents unknown to man.\n\nThe extent of the brain, anteriorly, is measured by the different degrees\nof the opening of an angle, which Camper has called the facial angle; and\nso far it is favorable to woman well conformed; but it gives no notion of\nthe magnitude of the brain superiorly, posteriorly, or laterally.[38]\n\nThe brain of woman, however, in general, extends a good deal posteriorly\nas well as anteriorly, though it narrows in the former of these\ndirections; and, to the proportional length thus acquired, is owing that\nintensity in her functions, which I have just described. Superiorly,\ncentrally, and laterally, the brain of woman is generally much less than\nthat of man; and hence the want of elevation, depth, and endurance, in her\nmental faculties.[39]\n\nUpon the whole, the brain of woman is less than that of man, and it is\nespecially less in its superior, central, and, intellectually considered,\nmore important portions.\n\nThe SECOND MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the development of the brain is proportionally small. This is an\nevident corollary from what we have just stated as to the first\nmodification of this species; for it is not possible that the organs of\nsense should be proportionally large, without the rest of the head being\nproportionally small.\n\nThis is not quite conformable with the wishes of phrenology; but we must\nleave any dispute between that art and nature to its own issue. A Venus,\nmoreover, with a small, yet beautifully proportioned head, is often seen\nto be the mother of a boy who has a large head; the difference of sex\ncausing a vast modification and difference of development.\n\n\n_Third Variety or Modification of this Species of Beauty._\n\nFrom what has been already said, it may be concluded that, in action or\nconduct, women are less guided by intellect, and are more biased by\nfeeling and emotion; and it may also be concluded, that all their\nmovements to fulfil the purposes of feeling and emotion, are made in a\nmanner more easy and more prompt, though less sustained. This is increased\nby the ready obedience of the muscular fibre, and the relative shortness\nof the stature.\n\nThis more easy and less forcible action is perfectly conformable\nphysically with the small and elongated form of the cerebel, or organ of\nthe will, in woman; as it is morally with the part which woman performs in\nlife, and her desire to please, while it is that of man to protect and to\ndefend.\n\nConformably with the smaller size of the cerebel, and especially with its\nsmaller breadth (the influence of which is explained in the work last\nreferred to), the disposition of woman to sustained exertion, whether\nmental or bodily, is much less; and hence the character \"_varium et\nmutabile semper foemina_.\"\n\nIt is, then, the prompt and easily-affected sensibility of woman, not her\nunderstanding or force of mind, which renders her so eminently fit to be\ninterested in infancy, which enables her to surmount maternal pains by the\nsentiment of affection and pity, and which makes agreeable to her the\ncares and the details of housekeeping; and it is this which sometimes\nrenders nothing too irksome or too painful for a mother, a wife, or a\nmistress, to endure.\n\nHence, the constitution of woman is perfectly adapted to these functions;\nhence, her existence is more sedentary than man's; hence, she has more\ngentleness of character than he; and hence, she is less acquainted with\ngreat crimes.\n\nThe THIRD MODIFICATION, therefore, of this species of beauty, is that in\nwhich the development of the cerebel or organ of the will, as well as the\nmuscles which it actuates, is proportionally small.\n\nThe situation of this considerable organ is in the back and lower part of\nthe head, and may be pretty accurately indicated by saying, that a line\npassing through it would complete, posteriorly, a longer line passing\nbackward from the nose through the lower part of the ear.\n\nWhen this organ, which is that of the will, is high, and more especially\nwhen it is large, a determination and force seem to be given by it to the\ncharacter, which render it the reverse of feminine.\n\nHaving spoken here of the ready exercise of the will in woman, and its\nadaptation to her wish to please, it seems to be here that some\ncircumstances dependant on these should be noticed.\n\nWith this ready exercise of the will and desire to please, are evidently\nconnected the light carelessness, the graceful ease, and the gentle\nsoftness, which add so much to the power of beauty. Hence, artists give to\nwoman the bending form which associates so well with all her\ncharacteristics; for all feel with Hogarth that undulating lines are more\nor less formed in all movements executed with the intention of expressing\nsentiments of courtesy, respect, benevolence, or love.\n\nBut it is grace that we must especially consider here--grace which\ndirectly emanates from this ready exercise of the will and desire to\nplease, especially when combined with observing faculties so perfect and\nso perpetually active as those of woman.\n\n\"Gracefulness,\" says Burke, \"is an idea not very different from beauty; it\nconsists in much the same thing.... Gracefulness is an idea belonging to\nposture and motion. In both these, to be graceful, it is requisite that\nthere be no appearance of difficulty; there is required a small inflexion\nof the body; and a composure of the parts in such a manner, as not to\nencumber each other, nor to appear divided by sharp and sudden angles. In\nthis ease, this roundness, this delicacy of attitude and motion, it is\nthat all the magic of grace consists, and what is called '_je ne scais\nquoi_.'\"\n\nIt is not in these mere physical qualities, that all the magic of grace\nconsists, which, in the state of Burke's knowledge, he might indeed well\ncall \"_je ne scais quoi_!\" Let the reader hear what is said on this\nsubject by a man who could look a little deeper than Burke, and who owed\nno fame to the little art of substituting a flash of words for depth of\nthought, and serving by it a venal purpose as little as the art itself.\n\n\"What grace,\" says Smith, \"what noble propriety do we not feel in the\nconduct of those who exert that recollection and self-command which\nconstitute the dignity of every passion, and which bring it down to what\nothers can enter into! We are disgusted with that clamorous grief, which,\nwithout any delicacy, calls upon our compassion with sighs and tears, and\nimportunate lamentation. But we reverence that reserved, that silent and\nmajestic sorrow, which discovers itself only in the swelling of the eyes,\nin the quivering of the lips and cheeks, and in the distant, but affecting\naddress of the whole behavior. It imposes the like silence upon us; we\nregard it with respectful attention, and watch over our whole behavior,\nlest, by any impropriety, we should disturb that concerted tranquillity\nwhich it requires so great an effort to support.\" This is eloquence,\nindeed.\n\nAlison duly appreciates this earliest definition of grace. \"It is,\" he\nsays, \"this 'recollection and self-command,' which in such scenes\nconstitute what even in common language is called the graceful in behavior\nor deportment; and it is the expression of the same qualities in the\nattitude and gesture, which constitutes, in my apprehension, the grace of\nsuch gestures or attitudes.... Wherever, in the movements of the form,\nself-command or self-possession is expressed, some degree of grace, at\nleast, is always produced.... Whenever in such motions grace is actually\nperceived, I think it will always be found to be in slow, and, if I may\nuse the expression, in restrained or measured motions.\n\n\"The motions of the horse, when wild in the pasture, are beautiful; when\nurged to his speed, and straining for victory, they may be felt as\nsublime; but it is chiefly in movements of a different kind that we feel\nthem as graceful, when, in the impatience of the field, or in the\ncurvetting of the manege, he seems to be conscious of all the powers with\nwhich he is animated, and yet to restrain them, from some principle of\nbeneficence or of dignity. Every movement of the stag almost is beautiful,\nfrom the fineness of his form and the ease of his gestures; yet it is not\nin these or in the heat of the chase that he is graceful: it is when he\npauses upon some eminence in the pursuit, when he erects his crested head,\nand when, looking with disdain upon the enemy who follows, he bounds to\nthe freedom of his hills. It is not, in the same manner, in the rapid\nspeed of the eagle when he darts upon his prey, that we perceive the\ngrace of which his motions are capable. It is when he soars slowly upward\nto the sun, or when he wheels with easy and continuous motion in airy\ncircles in the sky.\n\n\"In the personification which we naturally give to all inanimate objects\nwhich are susceptible of movement, we may easily perceive the influence of\nthe same association. We speak commonly, for instance, of the graceful\nmotions of trees, and of the graceful movements of a river. It is never,\nhowever, when these motions are violent or extreme, that we apply to them\nthe term of grace. It is the gentle waving of the tree in slow and\nmeasured cadence which is graceful, not the tossing of its branches amid\nthe storm. It is the slow and easy winding which is graceful in the\nmovements of the river, and not the burst of the cataract, or the fury of\nthe torrent.\n\n\"It is only in the perfection of the human system, in the age when the\nform has assumed all its powers, and the mind is awake to the\nconsciousness of all the capacities it possesses, and the lofty\nobligations they impose, that the reign of physical grace commences; and\nthat the form is capable of expressing, under the dominion of every\npassion or emotion, the high and habitual superiority which it possesses,\neither to the allurements of pleasure or the apprehensions of pain. It is\nthis age, accordingly, which the artists of antiquity have uniformly\nrepresented, when they sought to display the perfection of grace, and when\nthey succeeded in leaving their compositions as models of this perfection\nto every succeeding age.\"\n\n * * * * *\n\nIt is evidently the UNION of all that is good in the varieties now\ndescribed which renders beauty, in the thinking system, perfect.\n\nThis is well illustrated in the Minerva of the Giustiniani gallery, which,\nin this respect, is scarcely the less valuable because it is draped, for\nit is the head that ever bears the greatest impress of intellectuality.\n\nThis union is by no means perfect in the English female head, although,\nfrom the considerable development of the forehead and the moderate one of\nthe backhead, the general form of that head is beautiful. As to the French\nfemale head, a Frenchman, writing under the name of Count Stendhal,\nscruples not to say: \"The form of the head in Paris is ugly; the cranium\napproaches to that of the ape; and this occasions the women to have the\nappearance of age very early in life.\" The women of Paris differ not, in\nthis respect, from those of France generally. Nearly all have the\ncharacter here described.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIt is under this species that the _nervous temperament_ falls, which is\nconstituted by great sensibility and corresponding mobility, and therefore\nbelongs to the _first and the last of those varieties_; a temperament\nchiefly to be found among women.\n\nThis temperament scarcely exists in the athletic, is weak in the\nphlegmatic, is moderate in the sanguine, and is rather active in the\nbilious.\n\nIt is characterized by the smallness and the emaciation of the muscles,\nthe quickness and intensity of the sensations, and the suddenness and\nfickleness of the determinations.\n\nIt is seldom natural, but commonly depends on a sedentary and inactive\nlife, on a diseased condition of the brain produced by reading works of\nimagination, and on habits of sensual indulgence. In confirmation of this,\nwe are told that the Roman ladies became subject to nervous affections\nonly in consequence of those depraved manners which marked the decline of\nthe empire; and that these affections were extremely common in France in\nthe licentious times preceding the fall of the corrupt and corrupting\nmonarchy.\n\nAnother partial view falling under this species, and properly under the\n_second variety_, is the _cerebral temperament_, which results from the\nenergy and influence of the brain.\n\nThis temperament, being thus determined by an excess in the power of the\nbrain, has been called the temperament of genius. When it is increased by\neducation and habits, the other organs are generally more feeble.\n\nIn woman, the cerebral temperament is more particularly characterized by a\npredominance of imagination, which is evidently dependant on the\norganization which has already been described.\n\nIt has been truly observed, that to contribute to the perfection of reason\nas well as to the preservation of health, the brain ought to be exercised\nand developed in every direction; that the mere exercise of memory\ncarried too far renders persons foolish; that the predominance of\nimagination disposes to nervous affections, and even to alienation; that\nmeditation alters the digestive functions; and that the dry and minute\ncontention which business requires, disposes, when joined to a defect of\nexercise (and I may add the vinous excesses in which men of business\nindulge), to apoplexy and to paralysis.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nBEAUTY OF THE FACE IN PARTICULAR.\n\n\n\"It is probable,\" says Dr. Prichard, \"that the natural idea of the\nbeautiful in the human person has been more or less distorted in almost\nevery nation. Peculiar characters of countenance, in many countries,\naccidentally enter into the ideal standard. This observation has been made\nparticularly of the negroes of Africa, who are said to consider a flat\nnose and thick lips as principal ingredients of beauty; and we are\ninformed by Pallas that the Kalmucs[40] esteem no face as handsome, which\nhas not the eyes in angular position, and the other characteristics of\ntheir race. The Aztecs of Mexico have ever preferred a depressed\nforehead,[41] which forms the strongest contrast to the majestic contour\nof the Grecian busts: the former represented their divinities with a head\nmore flattened than it is ever seen among the Caribs, and the Greeks, on\nthe contrary, gave to their gods and heroes a still more unnatural\nelevation.\"\n\nKnowing, as the reader now does, what constitutes the worth, the dignity,\nand the beauty, of the various organs, this statement tends to show the\nvalue of that standard of beauty which we owe to the Greeks. I proceed to\nillustrate it in regard to the FACE.\n\nThe beauty of the human countenance is described by various writers, as\nincluding the beauty of form, in the various features of the face; the\nbeauty of color, in the shades of the complexion; the beauty of character,\nin some distinctive and permanent relations; and the beauty of expression,\nin some immediate and temporary feeling.\n\nIn regard to the form of the face, considered as a whole, the opening of\nthe facial angle of Camper, in measuring geometrically the extent of the\nupper part of the head, marks the development of the brain or organ of\nthought, and shows the proportion which it bears to the middle and lower\npart of the face, or to the organs of sense and expression.\n\nThis development of the upper part of the head contributes essentially to\nbeauty, by giving to the whole head that pyriform appearance already\ndescribed, by which in every view it is larger at the superior part,\ndiminishes gradually as it descends, and terminates by the agreeable\noutline of the chin.\n\nIn the most beautiful race of men, the facial angle extends to eighty-five\ndegrees, acquiring an increase of ten degrees above the inferior\nvarieties; the face is diminished; the eyes are better placed; the nose\nassumes a more elegant form; and all appearance of muzzle vanishes.\n\nIn the Greek ideal head, the development presenting a facial angle of\nninety degrees, confers the highest beauty of the form of the head, the\nmajesty of the forehead, the position of the eyes upon a line which\ndivides the face into two equal parts, the elegant projection of the nose,\nthe absence of all tumidity of the lips.--But of that, in the sequel.\n\nIn the face, generally, as observed by Winckelmann, beauty of form depends\ngreatly upon the profile, and particularly on the line described by the\nforehead and nose, by the greater or less degree of the concavity or\ndeclivity of which, beauty is increased or diminished. The nearer the\nprofile approaches to a straight line, the more majestic, and at the same\ntime softer, does the countenance appear, the unity and simplicity of this\nline being, as in everything else, the cause of this grand, yet soft\nharmony.\n\nThe face being the seat of several organs, each must be examined in its\nturn.\n\nWinckelmann observes, that \"a large high FOREHEAD [an excess, in this\nrespect] was regarded by the ancients as a deformity.\"--And \"Arnobius\nsays, that those women who had a high forehead, covered a part of it with\na fillet.\" The reason of this will afterward be pointed out.\n\nThe sense of TOUCH resides in all parts of the face, but especially in\nthe lips. It is most perfect, however, at the tips of the fingers.\n\nA thinner skin permits to the touch of woman, more vivacity, delicacy, and\nprofoundness. It seizes the details which generally escape the touch of\nman. It is more easily hurt by hard, rough and angular, cold or hot\nbodies.\n\nHence, woman requires vestments which are light and smooth; and she enjoys\nmore than man the pleasure of reposing on flocculent substances which\nsoftly resist her pressure.\n\nIn the face, the lips are peculiarly the organ of touch.\n\nOf all the organs of sense, the mouth admits, I believe, of the greatest\nbeauty and the greatest deformity. Considered in repose, nothing certainly\nis more lovely than this organ when beautifully formed in a beautiful\nwoman. And in action, during speech, the simplest words passing through it\nreceive a charm altogether peculiar.\n\nThe mouth ought to be small, and not to extend much beyond the nostrils: a\nlarge mouth and thick lips are contrary to beauty. The curve of the upper\nlip is said to have served as a model to the ancient artists for the bow\nof Love. The lower lip should be most developed, rounded and turned\noutward; so as to produce, between it and the chin, that beautiful hollow\nwhich assists so much in giving the latter a more perfect rotundity. Both,\nbut especially the upper, should become thin toward the angle of the\nmouth.\n\nAlthough we see many lips without evident and offensive defects, there\nare very few of them really beautiful; and indeed it is only persons of\ngreat delicacy and of refined taste who attach the highest value to\nperfect beauty of the lips.\n\nLips of beautiful form and of vermillion hue, teeth which are small,\nequal, slightly rounded, white, clean, and well arranged, and a pure\nbreath, are the circumstances which constitute a beautiful mouth.\n\nThe sense of TASTE is more delicate and more exquisite in woman than in\nman. She accordingly seeks for savors which are less rough and irritating\nthan those which are agreeable to him.\n\nThe NOSE is the most prominent and conspicuous feature of the face; it is\nthe central fixed point around which are arranged all its other parts; and\nit is thus essential to the regularity of the features. When these,\nmoreover, are in action, the nose, by its immobility, marks the degree of\nchange which they undergo, and renders intelligible all the movements\nproduced by admiration, joy, sadness, fear, &c.\n\nTo perfect beauty of the nose, it is necessary that it should be nearly in\nthe same direction with the forehead, and should unite with that part,\nwithout leaving more than a slight inflexion to be seen. This constitutes\nthe Greek profile; and the various degrees of deviation from it\nconstitute, as to this organ, the various degenerations from beauty the\nmost consummate to ugliness the most disgusting.\n\nNature says Winckelmann, is sparing of this beauty both in burning\nclimates and in frozen regions.[42]\n\nThe same writer says: \"The flat compressed nose of the Kalmucs, Chinese,\nand other distant nations, is also a defect, because it destroys the\nharmony of forms, according to which all the other parts are constructed:\nnor is there any reason why nature should compress and hollow it, instead\nof continuing the straight line begun in the forehead.\" The fact is true;\nthe reasoning false, as will be seen in a subsequent chapter, to which\nthis point properly belongs.\n\nUnder the influence of passion, the nostrils expand and are drawn upward;\nand these two motions are the only ones of which the lower and moveable\npart of the nose is capable.\n\nThe sense of smell, like that of taste, is more delicate and more\nexquisite in woman than in man. Woman accordingly enjoys more, and suffers\nmore, by that sense than man does; and its influence is said to dispose\nher more than man to those pleasures which have remarkable relations to\nthat sense.\n\nTo beauty of the EYE, magnitude and elongated form contribute more perhaps\nthan color: if its form be bad, no color will render it beautiful. In\nwoman, however, the most beautiful eyes, in relation to color, are those\nwhich appear to be blue, hazel, or black. But no color of the eye is\nbeautiful without clearness in every part.\n\n\"The more obliquely, and at an angle to each other,\" says Winckelmann,\n\"that the eyes are placed, as in cats, the more their position is removed\nfrom the base, or from the fundamental lines of the human face, which form\na cross that divides it into four parts, the nose dividing it\nperpendicularly into two equal parts, and the eyes dividing it\nhorizontally. When the eyes are placed obliquely, they form an angle with\na line parallel to that which we suppose to pass through their centre. And\nthis indeed is doubtless the reason why it displeases us to see a mouth\nwhich goes awry, because it generally offends the eye to see two lines\ndiverging from each other without any reason. Thus eyes placed obliquely,\nas may be seen sometimes among ourselves, and commonly among the Chinese,\nJapanese, and in Egyptian heads, are an irregularity and a deformity.\"\n\nHere, again, Winckelmann's fact is true, and his reasoning false, or\nrather, perhaps, superficial. The real cause of the deformity of\nobliquely-placed eyes is, that the vital parts of the head preponderate.\nThe cavities of the upper jaw, which open into the internal nose, are, in\nthe Mongelic races, so large, that they raise the cheek-bones, throw the\norbit upward at its lateral part, and encroach apparently upon the space\nwhich should contain a nobler organ, the brain. The causes assigned by\nWinckelmann are but consequences of this.\n\nThe eyelids in woman, when well formed, present the gentlest inflexions.\nThe eyelashes, when long and silky, form a sign of gentleness, and\nsometimes of softness. The eyebrows ought to be furnished with fine hairs,\narched, and separated: if they are too thin, they do not sufficiently\nprotect the organ of sight: if they unite, they render the physiognomy\nsombre; their too-marked approximation, and their extreme separation, are\nreal deformities.\n\nThe sense of sight in woman is rapid and active; yet, in her, the slow and\nlanguid motion of the eye is generally employed, and is more beautiful\nthan a brisk one. Woman requires a mild light, and colors of moderate\nvividness, rather than otherwise.\n\nThe beauty of the EAR is too little regarded. To an experienced eye it\npresents great beauties, and great deformities, in form, magnitude, and\nprojection.\n\nThe size and prominence of the ear, which characterize several nomadic\ntribes, are contrary to beauty, not merely because they alter the\nregularity of the oval of the head, and surcharge its outline with\nprominences, but because they are in themselves ugly, indicating rather\nthe coarse strength common to inferior animals than the delicacy to be\nfound in man.\n\nIn woman, the ear is also more delicate, more sensible, but more feeble,\nthan in man. Strong sounds, loud noises, which may be agreeable to the ear\nof man, are offensive to her. She prefers soft and tender, gay, or\npathetic music, to every other; and whatever may be the perfection of her\nmusical education, she also prefers sweet and tender melody to the most\ncomplicated Sclavonic harmony.\n\nSuch are the organs of sense or those of impression, which form the first\nand most important portion of the face of woman.--The organs of\nexpression, the MUSCLES of the face, on the contrary, are feeble in her;\nand correspondingly feeble and rounded are the bony points to which they\nare attached.\n\nWoman presents very little prominence of the frontal sinuses; the\ncheek-bones display beautiful curves; the edges of the alveoli containing\nthe teeth are much more elliptical than in man; and the chin is softly\nrounded. Of the chin, it should be observed that it is a distinctive\ncharacter of the human species, and is not found in any other animal. When\nwell formed, it is full, united, and generally without a dimple; and it\npasses gently and almost insensibly into the neighboring parts. In woman\nespecially, the chin ought to be finely rounded; for when projecting, it\nexpresses, owing to its connexion with muscular action and power, a\nfirmness and a determination which we do not wish to discover in her\ncharacter. \"The apparent convexity of the cheeks,\" says Winckelmann,\n\"which in many heads appears greater than natural, contributes to this\nrotundity: it is not, however, ideal, but taken from natural beauty.\"\n\nThe muscles of the face express all the shades of emotion and passion, not\nbecause such expression is the primary, or the proper object of their\nmotion, but because their various motions adapt the organs to the farther\npurposes required of them in consequence of preceding impressions; and\nthese motions become expressive to us only because we are thus enabled to\ninfer the feeling and purpose of the person in whom they occur. This is a\nfundamental principle of physiognomy; and its not being understood has led\nto many of our errors in that science.\n\nIn woman, the countenance is more rounded, as well as more abundantly\nfurnished with that cellular and, fatty tissue which fills all the chasms,\neffaces, all the angles, and unites all the parts by the gentlest\ntransitions. At the same time, the muscles are feebler, more mobile,\nresigned for a shorter time to the same contraction, and as inconstant as\nthe emotions and passions which their rapid play expresses.\n\nThe result of all this is, that the muscles do not profoundly modify the\nface, which consequently has not so much of permanent character as that of\na man, and which permits us more difficultly to discover, through the\nrounded, short, and shifting parts, the nature of her various feelings.\nAs, however, the abundance of the cellular tissue diminishes with age, and\nas the sentiments become at the same time less ephemeral, the\nphysiognomical character and expression of woman become more decided.\n\nAs to COLOR of the face, it may be observed that the forehead, the\ntemples, the eyelids, the nose, the upper part of the superior lip, and\nthe lower part of the inferior lip, ought in woman to be of a beautiful\nand rather opaque white. The approach to the cheeks and the middle of the\nchin ought to have a slight teint of rose-color, and the middle of the\ncheeks ought to be altogether rosy, but of a delicate hue.--Cheeks of an\nanimated white are preferable to those of a red color, although less\nbeautiful than those of rosy hue.\n\nWith regard to the HAIR, it may be observed, that sometimes, rising from\nits bulbs, it turns in irregular rings, and, by displaying a forehead\nrather large, confers a certain sanguine, as well as open air upon the\nphysiognomy. This, however, is most frequently seen in men, and chiefly in\nmen of exuberant vitality, rather than intellectuality: it indeed depends\nentirely on the former.\n\nIn other men, and almost always in women, the hair generally divides in a\nline extending from the crown to the forehead, and falls over the temples.\nThe line thus formed, uniting with the median line, of the face in\ngeneral, and that of the nose in particular, gives to the whole of the\nfeatures a peculiar symmetry and beauty.\n\nI have said, already, that symmetry is a characteristic of thinking\nbeings, and I have explained the reason of this. The present case\nadmirably illustrates it. This symmetrical arrangement of the hair bestows\nan intellectual air; and it well may, for, when natural, it derives its\ntendency to fall on each side, from the top of the head, either from the\ngeneral elevation of the calvarium, or from the particular elevation of\nthe forehead, which is characteristic of beauty in woman.\n\nIt accordingly announces in the individual higher observing faculties:\nhence, the ancient sculptors never omitted this in their highest\npersonages: hence, we find it in the heads of Raffaelle and Guido.\n\n\"A fair hue, [Greek: xanthos],\" says Winckelmann, \"has ever been regarded\nas the most beautiful; and flaxen-colored hair was assigned to the most\nbeautiful, not only among the gods, as Apollo [[Greek: chrysokoman\nApoll\u00f4na], golden-haired Apollo] and Bacchus, but also among the heroes:\nAlexander the Great had flaxen hair.\" The modern Italians call Cupid \"Il\nbiondo Dio.\"\n\nHaving concluded what I have here to say of the parts of the face, I may\nobserve, that the _different effects of the same face_, even in a state of\nrepose, have often been observed, never explained. I have, however, in\nanother work, shown that the face is composed of motive, nutritive, and\nthinking parts or organs. Now, circumstances bring these variously into\naction; and the different effects alluded to, in reality depend on the\nmotive, or the nutritive, or the intellectual expression being at the\ntime, respectively, most apparent, or most attended to by us. The study of\nthis subject, which I have not space here to develop, is of infinite\nimportance to the man of taste, the physiognomist, and the artist. The\nlatter cannot easily excel without understanding it.\n\nAnother curious fact, not hitherto observed, is, that though beauty of\nface is, owing to the power of the vital system, almost universal at a\ncertain age, there is always a _faulty feature_, which the physiognomist\nmay observe, and which ever continues to exaggerate, until it terminate in\nrelative ugliness. Thus we scarcely observe the long upper lip during\nyouth, in some women; and yet it afterward gives to them the sober grimace\nof baboons. We admire in youth the spirit of the piercing eye, and\naquiline nose in others, to whom these afterward give the look of so many\nold hawks. In others, still, we are charmed with the round, rosy, and\ninnocent cheeks, which, when they become paler and more pendent, confer on\nthem the aspect either of seals or of mastiffs, according to other\ncircumstances of temper and disposition. I could easily trace these, and\nmany more, from youth to middle age, and illustrate them convincingly, by\ndrawings: but I have no room for it here.\n\nEach, indeed, of the subjects of the two immediately preceding paragraphs,\nis worthy of a volume; for the first is as essential to all judgment of\nexisting beauty at the instant of its being before us, as the second is to\nall prescience of what beauty will very soon be--to all who have no love\nfor a leap in the dark.\n\nI add to this chapter but a few words on the very _different organization\nof the head and face_, and the very different mind, of the Greeks and\nRomans.\n\nWhoever, for the purpose of comparing the heads of these two nations, may\nwalk into the British Museum, will be struck with the difference between\nthem.\n\nThe forehead is almost always rather narrow, and rather high, in the most\nillustrious Greeks; and this could not so uniformly have been so\nrepresented, in sculpture, unless it had been so also in fact. This is\nverified, in the third room of the Townley collection, by the heads of\nHomer, Hippocrates, Epicurus, Pericles, &c.--by the almost universal\nconformation of Greek heads, to which there are but few exceptions:\nSophocles, in this room, and Demosthenes, in the eleventh, are rather\nbroader.\n\nOn the contrary, the forehead, the face, the jaws, are excessively broad,\nand the cranium is depressed and low, in the Romans--in Severus, Nero,\nCaracalla, &c., in the sixth room, and in Tiberius and Augustus, in the\neleventh; nor is this owing to the circumstance that these generally were\nmen degraded in feeling or intellect, for nearly the same configuration is\nfound in Trajan, Hadrian, &c., in the fourth, sixth, and other rooms. The\nfaces of the Romans are not less ugly than their heads; and those of their\nwomen are absolutely detestable, as may be seen in Faustina, Plautilla,\nSabina, Domitia, &c., in the sixth of these rooms.\n\nIf farther illustration of this be wanting, it may be found in the\ncircumstance that, while the Greeks preferred the rather high forehead,\nand invented the ideal one, the Romans, on the contrary, preferred a\nlittle forehead and united eyebrows. Ovid assures us that the women of his\ntime painted their eyebrows in such a manner, that they might appear to\nform only one.\n\nIn the work so often referred to, I have shown that the intensity of\nfunctions is as the length of their organs, and the permanence of\nfunctions as the breadth of their organs. No truth can be better\nillustrated than this is, in the organization and the faculties of the\nGreeks and Romans. With the higher and larger head of the Greeks was\nunited an intensity of genius, which no other people has yet rivalled; and\nwith the broader head of the Romans, a perseverance, equally obstinate and\nunfeeling, which has been similarly unrivalled.\n\nA good illustration of the vaunted Roman virtue is recorded in Porcia, the\ndaughter of Cato, the wife of Brutus, who plunged a toilet-knife into her\nthigh, and kept it eight days in the wound, without complaining, to prove\nto her husband that her courage and her discretion rendered her worthy of\nentering into the conspiracy, which he meditated; and who also destroyed\nherself by swallowing burning coals, when she heard of his defeat.\nObstinacy and insensibility were great sources of the crimes either\nperpetrated, or, by their lying historians, pretended to be perpetrated,\nunder the name of Roman virtue.\n\n * * * * *\n\nIt would be out of place, here, to enter farther into the character and\nexpression of the face. Those whom these remarks dispose to do so, may\nrefer to the physiognomical work, which I have been so often compelled to\nallude to.[43] To those who are satisfied, neither with the vague, though\ntasteful inspirations of Lavater, nor with the empyrical or unreasoned\nmanifestations of Gall and Spurzheim, but who desire _the assignment of a\nreason for every description of physiognomical character or expression_,\nthat work may afford some satisfaction.\n\nThat the Greeks, either intuitively or reasonedly, distinguished the three\nspecies of beauty as to the figure, has been already seen. The heads of\nDiana, Venus, and Minerva, respectively present beauty of the locomotive,\nvital, and mental systems.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nCOMBINATIONS AND TRANSITIONS OF THE THREE SPECIES OF FEMALE BEAUTY.\n\n\nAs to the COMBINATIONS of beauty, it must now be observed, that some one\nof these species of beauty always characterize the same individual during\nevery stage of life; and, to the experienced observer, it never is\ndifficult to say which of them predominates. Attention to the preceding\nprinciples will render this easy.\n\nIt is right to mention here the cause of this general predominance of one\nspecies of beauty over the rest. It depends on this, that the slightest\noriginal or accidental preponderance of strength in one system above that\nof the rest, though unobserved at first, leads to a more frequent\nemployment of its functions, and therefore to a more perfect development\nof its organs, until at last the disproportion between these and those of\nthe other systems, becomes characteristic of the individual.\n\nIn a truly beautiful woman, none of the systems described can exist in a\ngreat degree of degradation; but of the three, the nutritive or vital\nsystem is to woman the most essential. In England, from thirty to forty is\ngenerally the age of its highest perfection.\n\nIt often, however, occurs, that two, or even the whole of these species of\nbeauty, are blended in considerable perfection. In those females in which\nit is found, the locomotive system is well developed in the length and\nelegance of the limbs; the vital or nutritive system everywhere presents\nsoft forms, and rounds both body and limbs; and the mental or thinking\nsystem displays a capability of grace in action, notwithstanding the\nconstrained attitude assumed to conceal the face.\n\nAlthough there can indeed be no great degree of beauty in which this\ncombination is not more or less the case, yet a union of all the three\nspecies of beauty, in the greatest compatible degree, is to be found only\nin some of those immortal images of ideal beauty, which were created by\nthe genius and the chisel of the Greeks.\n\nHaving briefly spoken of these combinations, I may notice also those\n_combinations which similarly occur among the temperaments_, which, as\nalready said, constitute partial views of the varieties I have been\ndescribing.\n\nIn relation to a combination of the _phlegmatic_ and _nervous_\ntemperament, I may refer to Richerand, who says, that, \"among the moderns,\nthe easy Michael Montaigne, all of whose passions were so moderate, who\nreasoned on everything, even on feeling, was truly pituitous. But in him\nthe predominance of the lymphatic system was not carried so far, but that\nhe joined to it a good deal of nervous susceptibility.\"\n\nOf women, more especially, it is observed, that they rarely present\nexamples of the lymphatic temperament, unmodified by nervous mobility;\nwhence come extreme vivacity in the sensations with great feebleness,\ndeterminations equally precipitate and unsteady, excited imagination and\nephemeral tastes, absolute will, &c.\n\nThe _sanguine_ temperament is similarly combined with the _nervous_ one.\nHence, the physiologist above quoted says, that \"to the extreme love of\npleasure, sanguine men join, when circumstances require it [he should have\nsaid, in some cases], great elevation of thought and character, and can\nbring into action the highest talents in every department: the history of\nHenry IV., of Mirabeau, and others, proves that.\"\n\nThe ancients gave the name of _bilious_, to a temperament in which the\nsanguineous system is energetic, the pulse strong, hard, and frequent, the\nsubcutaneous veins prominent, the development of the liver excessive, the\nsuperabundance of bile remarkable, the sensibility easily excited, yet\ncapable of dwelling upon one object, the passions violent, the movements\nabrupt and impetuous, and the character inflexible. This is evidently a\nvery compound temperament, and should never have been classed, any more\nthan the two preceding, with the simple temperaments, the athletic or\nmuscular, the phlegmatic or lymphatic, the sanguine, and the nervous,\nwhich I have noticed under the heads to which they belong.\n\nIn persons of this temperament, the skin is of a yellowish brown, the hair\nblack, the muscles marked, the form harshly expressed. \"Bold in the\nconception of a project,\" says Richerand, \"constant and indefatigable in\nits execution, it is among men of this temperament, that we find those\nwho, in different ages, have governed the destinies of the world: full of\ncourage, boldness, and activity, they have signalized themselves by great\nvirtues or great crimes, and have been the terror or admiration of the\nuniverse. Such were Alexander, Julius Cesar, Brutus, Mahomet, Charles\nXII., the Czar Peter, Cromwell, Sixtus V., Cardinal Richelieu [and, he\nshould have added, Bonaparte].... To attain to results of such importance,\nthe profoundest dissimulation and the most obstinate constancy are equally\nnecessary; and these are the most eminent qualities of the bilious.\"\n\nA still more compound temperament is the _melancholic_, in which disease\nis added to the bilious temperament, a derangement of the functions of the\nnervous system, and the diseased obstruction of some one of the organs of\nthe abdomen, so that the nutritive functions are feebly or irregularly\nperformed, the bowels sluggish, the pulse hard and contracted, the\nexcretions difficult, the imagination gloomy, the disposition suspicious.\n\nIn persons of this temperament, the skin is of a still deeper hue, and the\nlook uneasy and gloomy. Rousseau and Tiberius are excellent examples of\nthis temperament, as associated with genius and virtue in one, and with\ntruly royal vice in the other. In women, this temperament is rarely so\nintense as in men.\n\nOf the TRANSITIONS of beauty, I have now to observe, that, though one\nspecies of beauty always characterizes the same individual during every\nstage of life, yet it is remarkable, that the young woman (whatever\nspecies of beauty predominates) has always a tendency to beauty of the\nlocomotive system;--that the middle-aged woman has always a tendency to\nbeauty of the nutritive system;--and that the woman of advanced age has\nalways a tendency to beauty of the thinking system.\n\nSome women would seem, in the progress of life, to pass through all these\nsystems (and the more perfect the whole organization, the more will this\nseem to be the case); but the accurate observer will always see the\npredominance of the same system.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nPROPORTION, CHARACTER, EXPRESSION, ETC.\n\n\nWinckelmann says: \"I cannot imagine beauty without the PROPORTION which is\nalways its foundation.--The drawing of the naked figure is founded upon\nthe idea and the knowledge of beauty; and this idea consists partly in\nmeasures and relations, and partly in forms, the beauty of which was, as\nCicero observes, the object of the first Grecian artists: the latter\ndetermine the figure; the former fix the proportions.\"\n\nThe great variety of proportions presented by the human body causes much\ndifficulty in determining with precision what are the best. The difficulty\nbecomes quite insurmountable if we attempt to assign precise dimensions to\nthe details of configuration or to minute parts.\n\nMany circumstances are opposed to the exactness of these measures. Even in\nthe same person, one part is rarely in all respects similar to the\ncorresponding part; we are taller in the morning than in the evening; and\nthe proportions change at different periods of life. In different\nindividuals, the differences are still more evident. Moreover, habits,\nprofessions, trades, all unite to oppose regularity in the proportions.\n\nIt has farther been observed that, in the conformation of woman, both as\nregards the whole and as regards the various parts, nature still more\nrarely approaches determinate proportions than in man.\n\nIt is remarked by Hogarth, whose views I now abridge, that in society we\nevery day hear women pronounce perfectly correct opinions as to the\nproportions of the neck, the bosom, the hands, and the arms of other\nwomen, whom they have an interest in observing with severity. It is\nevident that, for such an examination, they ought to be capable of\nseizing, with great precision, the relation of length and thickness, and\nof following the slight sinuosities, the swellings, the depressions,\nalmost insensible and continually varying, at the surface of the parts\nobserved. If so, it is certainly in the power of a man of science, with as\nobserving an eye, to go still farther, and conceive many other necessary\ncircumstances concerning proportion.\n\nBut he says: \"Though much of this matter may be easily understood by\ncommon observation, assisted by science, still I fear it will be difficult\nto raise a very clear idea of what constitutes or composes the utmost\nbeauty of proportion.... We shall soon find that it is chiefly to be\neffected by means of the nice sensation we naturally have of what certain\nquantities or dimensions of parts are fittest to produce the utmost\nstrength for moving or supporting great weights, and of what are most fit\nfor the utmost light agility, as also for every degree, between these two\nextremes.\"\n\nAfter some illustrations of this, which naturally leave the method very\nvague, he adds: \"I am apprehensive that this part of my scheme, for\nexplaining exact proportion, may not be thought so sufficiently\ndeterminate as could be wished.\" So that Hogarth's method as to\nproportions, both general and particular, reduces itself to the employment\nof the eye and the nice sensation we have of quantities or dimensions.\n\nBut the Greek artists had not only done what Hogarth thus vaguely speaks\nof, but advanced much farther; and indeed all that has been done on this\nimportant subject belongs rather to the history of art than that of\nnature.\n\n\"It is not,\" says Buffon, \"by the comparison of the body of one man with\nthat of another man, or by measures actually taken in a great number of\nsubjects, that we can acquire this knowledge [that of proportion]: it is\nby the efforts which have been made exactly to copy and imitate nature; it\nis to the art of design that we owe all that we know in this respect.\nFeeling and taste have done all that mechanics could not do; the rule and\nthe compass have been quitted in order to profit by the eye; all the\nforms, all the outlines, and all the parts of the human body, have been\nrealized in marble; and we have known nature better by the representation\nthan by nature itself. It is by great exercise of the art of design and by\nan exquisite sentiment, that great statuaries have succeeded in making us\nfeel the just proportions of the works of nature. The Greeks have formed\nsuch admirable statues, that with one consent they are regarded as the\nmost exact representation of the most perfect human body. These statues,\nwhich were only copies from man, are become originals, because these\ncopies were not made from any individual, but from the whole human species\nwell observed, so well indeed, that no man has been found whose figure is\nso well proportioned as these statues: it is then from these models that\nthe measures of the human body have been taken.\"\n\nIt is now necessary to lay before the reader the principles of the Greeks,\nas to the proportions of the human body. Much has been well done on this\nsubject by Winckelmann, Bossi, and others; but, at the same time, from\nwant of enlarged anatomical and physiological views, they have overlooked\nsome fundamental considerations, and have failed to unravel the greatest\ndifficulties which the subject presents. That the reader may be satisfied\nof the accuracy of my representations, I shall lay the statements of these\nwriters before him in their own words, rendering them only as succinct as\npossible.[44]\n\nOf the first epoch of art among the Etruscans and Greeks, Mengs says:\n\"They preferred the most necessary things to those which were less so; and\ntherefore they directed their attention first to the muscles, and next to\n_proportion_, these constituting the two parts the most useful and\nnecessary of the human form; and this is, throughout, the character of\ntheir primitive taste. All this we observe in history, and in the divine\nand human figures which they have represented.\n\n\"In these figures,\" he farther observes, \"we find a proportion, impossible\nto be known and practised, without an art which furnishes sure _rules_.\nThese rules could not be founded otherwise than in proportion, which was\ninvented and practised by the Greeks.\"\n\nIn this, Flaxman agrees, when he says: \"It must not be supposed that those\nsimple geometrical forms of body and limbs, in the divinities and heroes\nof antiquity, depended upon accidental choice, or blind and ignorant\narbitration. They are, on the contrary, a consequence of the strict and\nextensive examination of nature, of rational inquiry into its most perfect\norganization and physical well-being, expressed in outward appearance.\"\n\n\"That the Greeks,\" says Bossi, \"wrote much on this subject [their doctrine\nrespecting symmetry] we have ample evidence in Pliny, Vitruvius himself,\nPhilostratus the younger, and others.\n\n\"Polycletus did not confine himself to giving a commentary upon this\nfundamental point, but, in illustration of his treatise, according to\nGalen, made an admirable statue that confirmed the precepts laid down in\nthe work; and 'The Rule of Polycletus,' the name given to this statue,\nbecame so famous for its beauty, that it passed into a proverb to express\na perfect body, as we may find in Lucian.\n\n\"But of so many writings, which ought at least to equal the works that\nremain to us, and probably were superior, inasmuch as it is easier to lay\ndown precepts than to put them in execution--of so many treatises, I say,\nnot a fragment remains [except the few lines of Vitruvius], nor is there,\nnow, any hope that a vestige will be found, unless something may remain\nfor posterity among the papyri of Herculaneum.\"\n\nNow, to approach to the ancients in excellence is quite impossible, until\nsome one shall explain the great principles on which they acted. Assuredly\nthey are, in some of the most important respects, unknown at present.\nServile imitation will never answer the purpose; and to learn as the\nancients did, and reach perfection, perhaps, in as many ages, is not very\nrational, when we can avail ourselves of their practice to discover their\nprinciples. I will, in this chapter, endeavor to point out some of these\nprinciples in the practice of art, as I have already done in the general\ntheory of beauty.\n\n\"It is probable,\" says Winckelmann, \"that the Grecian artists, in\nimitation of the Egyptians, had fixed, by well-determined rules, not only\nthe largest, but even the very smallest proportions, and the measure of\nthe length proper to every age and to every kind of contour; and probably\nall these rules were learned by young persons, from books that treated of\nsymmetry.\"\n\nThese rules, we know, were of three kinds--numerical, geometrical, and\nharmonic; and we shall see, in the sequel, that the loss of them has been\nmuch deplored. It is not a little curious, however, that the numerical and\ngeometrical methods are, in some measure, actually practised even at the\npresent day, and that the harmonic method (the loss of which has caused\nthe greatest confusion) is easily deducible from anatomical and\nphysiological principles, as I shall endeavor to show.\n\nAs to the NUMERICAL METHOD, it is evidently that of which Vitruvius has\npreserved some notions, and which is at present practised by artists.\n\n\"As it is the painter's business,\" says Bossi, \"to imitate a great variety\nof human bodies, and as the difference of parts in beautiful bodies is\ngenerally slight, and becomes, as it were, imperceptible, in the most\nusual imitations less than life, Leonardo perceived it was necessary for\nthe artist to use a general measure, for the purpose of preparing\nhistorical compositions quickly. He required that the figure to be\nemployed should be carefully selected on the model of some natural body,\nthe proportions of which were generally considered beautiful.--This\nmeasure, he required, should be employed solely for _length_, and not for\nwidth, which requires more evident variety.\"\n\n\"It has been observed,\" says Flaxman, \"that Vitruvius, from the writings\nof the most eminent Greek painters and sculptors, informs us that they\nmade their figures eight heads high, or ten faces, and he instances\ndifferent parts of the figure measured according to that rule, which the\ngreat Michael Angelo adopted, as we see by a print from a drawing of\nhis.\"\n\nWinckelmann, however, shows that the foot served the Greeks as a measure\nfor all their larger dimensions, and that their sculptors regulated their\nproportions by it, in giving six times its length, as the model of the\nhuman figure. Vitruvius says, \"_Pes vero altitudinis corporis sext\u00e6_.\"\n\n\"The foot,\" says Winckelmann, \"which among the ancients was used as the\nstandard of measures of every magnitude (for a given measure of fluids was\nalso called by this name), was very useful to sculptors in fixing the\nproportions of the body, and with reason; for the foot was a more\ndeterminate measure than that of the head or face, of which the moderns\ngenerally make use. The ancient artists regulated the size of their\nstatues by the length of the foot, making them, according to Vitruvius,\nsix times the length of the foot. Upon this principle, Pythagoras\ndetermined the height of Hercules, by the length of the feet with which he\nmeasured the Olympic stadium at Elis.\n\n\"This proportion of six to one between the foot and the body, is founded\nupon experience of nature, even in slender figures: it is found correct,\nnot only in the Egyptian statues, but also in the Grecian; and it will be\ndiscovered in the greater part of the ancient figures where the feet are\npreserved.\"\n\n\"We would not omit mentioning,\" says Bossi, \"the erroneous opinion of\nthose, who esteem the feet of females beautiful in proportion to their\nsmallness. The beauty of the feet consists in the handsomeness and\nneatness of their shape, not in their being short, or extremely small:\nwere it otherwise, the feet of the Chinese and Japanese women would be\nbeautiful, and those of the Venus de Medici frightful.\"\n\nSuch, then, is evidently the numerical method of the ancients.--Of the\nGEOMETRICAL METHOD, we have many illustrations.\n\nA man standing upright, with his arms extended, is, as Leonardo da Vinci\nhas shown, enclosed in a square, the extreme extent of his arms being\nequal to his height. This is evidently the most general measure of the\nlatter kind.\n\nOf the latter kind, also, is Camper's ellipsis for measuring the relative\nsize of the shoulders in the male, and the pelvis in the female.\n\nSo also is the measure from the centre of one mamm\u00e6 to that of the other,\nas equal to the distance from each to the pit over the breast-bone.\n\nWe now approach the chief difficulty, which evidently formed a\nstumbling-block even to Leonardo da Vinci--that HARMONIC METHOD which,\nstrange as it may appear, will be found to afford rules that are at once\nperfectly _precise_, and yet infinitely _variable_. The apparent\nimpossibility indeed of such a rule seems to have embarrassed every one.\nAnd the statement which Bossi makes in regard to Leonardo da Vinci, in\nthis respect, is exceedingly interesting.\n\n\"He thought,\" says Bossi, \"but little of any general measure of the\nspecies; and that _the true proportion_ admitted by him, and acknowledged\nto be of difficult investigation, is solely _the proportion of an\nindividual in regard to himself_, which, according to true imitation,\nshould be _different in all the individuals of a species_, as is the case\nin nature. Thus, says he, '_all the parts of any animal should correspond\nwith the whole_; that which is short and thick, should have every member\nshort and thick; that which is long and thin, every member long and thin;\nand that which is between the two, members of a proportionate size.' From\nthis and other precepts, it follows, that, when he speaks of proportion,\nhe is to be understood as referring to the _harmony of the parts of an\nindividual_, and not to the general rule of imitation in reference to\ndimensions.\"--How clearly (notwithstanding the error as to _all_ being\nshort and thick) does this point to the harmonic method of proportion\nforthwith to be explained?\n\n\"It would seem he felt within himself that he did not reach the perfection\nof those wonderful ancients of whom he professed himself the admirer and\ndisciple.\n\n\"It became, therefore, Leonardo's particular care and study to approach as\nnearly as he could to the ancients in the true imitation of beautiful\nnature under the guidance of philosophy.\n\n\"But whether from want of great examples, or from not sufficiently\npenetrating, as he himself thought, into these artifices, or from\ncomprehending them too late, he modestly laments that he did not possess\nthe ancient art of proportions. He then protests that he has done the\nlittle he was able to do, and asks pardon of posterity that he has not\ndone more. Such are the sentiments that Platino exhibits in the following\nepitaph:\n\n \"Leonardus Vincia (sic) Florentinus\n Statuarius Pictor que nobilissimus\n de se parce loquitur.\n\n \"Non sum Lysippus; nec Apelles; nec Policletus,\n Nec Zeuxis; nec sum nobilis \u00e6re Myron.\n Sum Florentinus Leonardus Vincia proles;\n Mirator veterum discipulusque memor.\n _Defuit una mihi symmetria prisca_: peregi\n Quod potui: veniam da mihi posteritas.\"\n\n\"It is evident that these sentiments are not to be attributed to the\nimagination of the poet.\"\n\nBossi, having no glimpse of the great principles for which Leonardo sought\nin vain, says: \"Since, then, this great man could not satisfy himself in\nthe difficult task of dimensions, while on other points he seems to dread\nno censure, it should give us a strong idea of the difficulty of\ndetermining the laws of beautiful symmetry, and preserving it in works\nwith _that harmony which is felt, but cannot be explained, and which\nvaries in every figure, according to the age, circumstances, and\nparticular character of each_.\n\n\"And when we recollect that, though Leonardo sought successfully in\nVitruvius the proportions which Vitruvius himself seems to have drawn from\nthe Greeks, he yet lamented that he did not possess the ancient symmetry,\nit is easily seen that he did not mean by this science, as already stated,\na determinate general measure for man, but _that harmony of parts which\nis suited to each individual, according to the respective circumstances of\nsex, age, character, and the like_.\" Again, how clearly does this point to\nthe harmonic method of proportion to be presently explained!\n\n\"But,\" Bossi proceeds, \"how difficult it is to combine the beautiful and\nelegant, with easy and harmonic measures, may be judged from the vain\nattempts of many otherwise ingenious men, as I will here relate for the\nbenefit of artists. The difficulty will be still more evident if we\nreflect how arduous a task it is to make the proportions that the Greeks\ndenominated numerical, harmonic, and geometrical, agree together, and to\napply them thus agreeing, to the formation of rules and measures of a\nvisible object so various in its component parts as the human body.\"--In\ndespair, Bossi tries to show its absolute impossibility!\n\n\"In the second place, to penetrate completely the natural reason of the\nproportions of the human body, would require a knowledge of physics, which\nit is not in man's power to obtain. The universal equilibrium of the\nnumerous constituent parts of the human machine, every one of which\neminently attains the end for which it was destined, without interrupting\nthe course that every other part takes to its respective end, in which\ntrue proportion seems to consist, is more easily stated than understood.\nAnd even if an artist could arrive at such a knowledge of man as to be\nable, so to speak, to compose him, he would have done but little, because\nhe would have made but one man. By the alteration of only one of the\ninfinite parts that compose the human frame, the equilibrium and\nrespective relation of the others are necessarily altered: in short, each\nseparate individual would be the subject of a totally new study.\n\n\"Every human habit, of whatever nature it may be, has an influence over\nthe human figure, and from the indefinable variety and incalculable\nmixture of such habits, there results an infinite variety of figures.\nThus, it is evident that true general proportions cannot be laid down\nwithout violating nature, which it is the object of art to imitate.\"--If,\nby \"general proportions,\" Bossi here means proportions applicable to all\nor to a great number, he completely loses sight of the object of the great\nman on whose opinions he comments; for he sought _a rule for the harmony\nof parts in each distinct individual_!\n\nAgain, Bossi abandons, as impossible, the finding of the harmonic rule,\nwhich was the great object of Leonardo.--\"From what has been said, we may\nfinally conclude that large proportions only can be established, and that\nplacing too much confidence in measures, retards, rather than favors the\narts.\n\n\"It was written of Raphael, and is seen, that he had as many proportions\nas he made figures. Michael Angelo did the same, and it was his saying,\nthat he who had not the compasses in his eye, would never be able to\nsupply the deficiency by artificial means. Vincentio Danti, who treasured\nthe doctrine of Michael Angelo, asserts in his work, that the proportions\ndo not fall under any measure of quantity. We have seen the infinite\nexceptions of Leonardo, respecting the measurement of man, and his own few\nworks confirm it. I speak no more of inferior persons among the moderns;\nbut turning to the ancients, I find that the proportions of every good\nstatue are different.\"--And this will be found conformable to the harmonic\nrule.\n\n\"And speaking generally of works in relievo, what canons can determine the\nlargeness or smallness of some parts, so as to obtain a greater effect\naccording to the circumstances of light, distance, material, visual point,\n&c.? Certainly none.\"--This was not to be expected from the rule sought\nfor.\n\n\"I shall deem that I have gained some recompense for the toil of wading\nthrough so many tedious works, if it shall induce any faith in the advice\nI now give, namely, that 'every student of painting should himself measure\nmany bodies of acknowledged beauty, compare them with the finest\nimitations in painting and sculpture, and from these measures make a canon\nfor himself, dividing it in the manner best suited to his genius and\nmemory. If this plan were more generally adopted, art and its productions\nwould both be gainers.'\"--It might do so, among as ingenious a people as\nthe Greeks, in as many ages as the same method cost them to do it in!\nLeonardo da Vinci wanted to abridge the time, instead of beginning again!\n\nWinckelmann as little understands this great man's object, when, after\nsaying, \"As the ancients made ideal beauty their principal study, they\ndetermined its relations and proportions,\" he adds \"from which, however,\nthey allowed themselves to deviate, when they had a good reason, and\nyielded themselves to the guidance of their genius.\" Why, the whole\npurpose of the rule sought for was to regulate every possible deviation,\nas will now be seen.\n\nThe harmonic method of the Greeks--that measure which Leonardo calls the\n\"true proportion\"--\"the proportion of an individual in regard to\nhimself\"--\"which should be different in all the individuals of a species,\"\nbut in which \"all the parts of any animal should correspond with the\nwhole,\" which constitutes \"the harmony of the parts of an individual,\" and\nwhich, as Bossi adds, \"varies in every figure, according to the age,\ncircumstances, and particular character of each\"--in short, _this method\nfor the harmony of parts in each distinct individual--this method\npresenting rules, perfectly precise, and yet infinitely variable_, has, in\nall its elements, been clearly laid before the reader (though not\nenunciated as a rule)--in the relative proportions of the locomotive,\nnutritive, and thinking systems, or, generally speaking, of the limbs,\ntrunk, and head, and in the three species of beauty which are founded on\nthem.\n\nThese, it is evident, present to the philosophic observer, the sole means\nof judging of beauty by harmonic rule, the great object of Leonardo da\nVinci's desires and regrets. They present the great features of the Greek\nmethod--if that method conformed to truth and nature, as it undoubtedly\ndid. This will be rendered still clearer by a single example.\n\nThus, if any individual be characterized by the development of the\nnutritive system, this harmonic rule of nature demands not only that, as\nin the Saxon-English, the Dutch, and many Germans, the trunk shall be\nlarge, but consequently, that the other two portions, the head and the\nlimbs, shall be relatively small; that the calvarium shall be small and\nround, and the intellectual powers restricted; that the head shall,\nnevertheless, be broad, because the vital cavities of the head are large,\nand because large jaws and muscles of mastication are necessary for the\nsupply of such a system; that the neck shall be short, because the\nlocomotive system is little developed; that it shall be thick, because the\nvessels which connect the head to the trunk are large and full, the former\nbeing only an appendage of the latter; that the lower limbs shall be both\nshort and slender; that the calves of the legs shall be small and\nhigh;[45] that the feet shall be little turned out, &c., &c.\n\nSo also, if any individual be characterized by the development of the\nlocomotive system, the harmonic rule demands, not only that the limbs\nshall be large, but, consequently, that the other two portions, the head\nand the trunk, shall be relatively small; that the calvarium shall be\nsmall and long, and the intellectual powers limited; that the head shall\nbe long, because the jaws and their muscles are extended, &c., &c.\n\nSo likewise, if any individual be characterized by the development of the\nthinking system, the harmonic rule demands, not only that the head shall\nbe large, but, consequently, that the other two portions, the trunk and\nlimbs, shall be relatively small; that the head shall not only be large,\nbut that its upper part, the calvarium, shall be largest, giving a\npyramidal appearance to the head; that the trunk and limbs, however\nelegantly formed, shall be relatively feeble, the former often liable to\ndisease, the latter to accident, as we have seen in the most illustrious\nexamples, &c., &c.\n\nIt must be borne in mind, however, as already explained, that there may be\ninnumerable combinations and modifications of these characteristics;\ncertain greater ones, nevertheless, generally predominating.\n\nSuch, doubtless, was the harmonic method of the Greeks; whether, by them,\nit was thus clearly founded on anthropology, or not.\n\nIt is curious that several writers, and Winckelmann among the rest, should\nhave adopted a triple division of the body--without, however, duly\nfounding it in anthropology. Thus Winckelmann says \"the entire body is\ndivided into three parts, and the principal members are also divided into\nthree. The parts of the body are the trunk, the thighs, and the legs!\"--a\ndistribution and division founded neither in nature nor in truth.\n\nThat the Greeks were more or less aware of the principles here stated,\nthough their writings have not descended to us, is proved by their\nidealizations founded upon them.\n\n\"If different proportions,\" says Winckelmann, \"are sometimes met with in\nany figure, as for example, in the beautiful trunk of a naked female\nfigure in the possession of Signior Cavaceppi at Rome, in which the body\nfrom the navel to the sexual parts is of an uncommon length, it is most\nprobable that such figures have been copied from nature, that is, from\npersons so formed.\"--Nothing certainly would be better founded in natural\ntendency than such idealization.\n\nAll the three Greek methods of proportion being now before the reader, I\nmust briefly notice other circumstances.\n\nIn the head in particular, may be observed CHARACTER, or a permanent and\ninvariable form, which defines its capabilities, and EXPRESSION, or\ntemporary and variable forms, which indicate its actual functions.\n\nThe teachers of anatomy for artists have not, that I know of, clearly\ndescribed the causes of these. I may therefore observe, that as character\nis permanent and invariable, it depends _fundamentally_ on permanent and\ninvariable parts--the bones; and as expression is temporary and variable,\nit depends on shifting and variable parts--the muscles.\n\nIt is well observed by Mengs that, in relation to character, \"the\npeculiar distinction of the ancients is, that from one part of the face,\nwe may know the character of the whole.\" And, of expression, Winckelmann\nobserves that \"the portion which possesses beauty of expression or action,\nor beauty of both added to the figure of any person, is like the\nresemblance of one who views himself in a fountain; the reflection is not\nseen plainly unless the surface of the water be still, limpid, and clear;\nquiet and tranquillity are as suitable to beauty as to the sea. Expression\nand action being, in art as in nature, the evidence of the active or\npassive state of the mind, perfect beauty can never exist in the\ncountenance unless the mind be calm and free from all agitation, at least\nfrom everything likely to change and disturb the lineaments of which\nbeauty is composed.\"\n\nNow the details which, during the period of perfection in art, were so\nskilfully employed, were these very means of expression or circumstances\nattending and indicating them--minuter forms which are universal, and\nwithout which nature is imperfectly represented--minuter forms of the\nhighest order, because the means of expressing intellect, emotion, and\npassion, if required.\n\nThese higher details we find, for instance, in the turn of the inner end\nof the eyebrow, or constriction and elevation of the under eyelid, or a\nhundred other traits dependant on subjacent muscles. We find them in\nslight risings of mere cutaneous parts, when they lie over and are\nelevated by the attachment of muscles, as at the inner angles of the\neyes, the corners of the mouth, and elsewhere. We find them in\ndepressions or furrows, when they are drawn down by contiguous muscles.\nThese are of higher character, because they belong to expression or its\nmeans; and there is a corresponding want of completeness, of truth, of\nnature, without them.\n\nBetween these intellectual means, these higher details, and those of a\nlower order, accidental details, the great artists of Greece\ndistinguished. Accidental details have nothing to do with expression or\nthe means of expression; they depend upon an inferior system, that merely\nof life, and constitute all the depositions, excrescences, and growths,\nwhich confuse the vision of the inexperienced, and embarrass that of the\nmost discriminating, in the examination of higher beauty.\n\nThese lower details we find, for instance, in the puffings of adipose\nsubstance which project from the spaces between the muscles of the face,\nand from other accidents of the vital system, as wrinkles or folds from\nthe absence of adipose substance, fulness or emptiness of the vessels,\nprojecting veins, peculiar conditions of the skin, turbidity of the eyes,\nhairs of the head, beard, or skin, &c. These have always characterized\ninferior artists and inferior periods of art.\n\nFrom these observations, it will be seen that such unqualified statements\nas the following by Azara, lead only to misconception: \"A human face, for\nexample, is composed of the forehead, brows, eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth,\nchin, and beard. These are the great parts; but each of these contains\nmany other minor parts, which also contain an infinity of others still\nless. If the painter will content himself to express well the great parts\nwhich I have taken notice of, he will have a grand style; if he depicts\nalso the second, his style will be that of mediocrity; and if he pretends\nto introduce the last, his style will be insignificant and ridiculous.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nTHE GREEK IDEAL BEAUTY.\n\n\nOn this important doctrine of art, of which Winckelmann says: \"The ideal\nis as much more noble than the mechanical as the mind is superior to the\nbody,\" I shall follow, so far as I can advantageously, the great writers\non this subject, in order that the reader may have all the confidence in\nits recognised portions that authority can bestow, and that he may the\nbetter distinguish them from the new views which are here added.\n\n\"There are,\" says Winckelmann, \"two kinds of beauty, individual and ideal:\nthe former is a combination of the beauties of an individual; the latter,\na selection of beautiful parts from several.\n\n\"The formation of beauty was begun from some beautiful individual, that\nis, from the imitation of some beautiful person, as in the representation\nof some divinity. Even in the ages when the arts were flourishing, the\ngoddesses were formed from the models of beautiful women, and even from\nthose who publicly sold their charms: such was Theodota, of whom Xenophon\nspeaks. Nor was any one scandalized at it, for the opinion of the ancients\non these matters was very different from ours.\"\n\nWinckelmann adds: \"There is rarely or never, a body without fault, all the\nparts of which are such that it is impossible to find or draw them more\nperfect in other persons. The wisest artists, being aware of this ... did\nnot confine themselves to copying the forms of beauty from one individual\n... but seeking what is beautiful from various objects, they endeavored to\ncombine them together, as the celebrated Parrhasius says in his discourse\nwith Socrates. Thus, in the formation of their figures, they were not\nguided by any personal affections, by which we are frequently led, in the\npursuit of beauty that pleases us, to abandon true beauty.\n\n\"From the selection of the most beautiful parts and their harmonious union\nin one figure, arises ideal beauty: nor is this a metaphysical idea,\nbecause all the portions of the human figure taken separately are not\nideal; but merely the entire figure.\" And he elsewhere says: \"It is called\nideal, not as regards its parts, but as a whole, in which nature can be\nsurpassed by art.\"\n\nWith deeper observation still, he adds that, \"though nature tends to\nperfection in the formation of individuals, yet she is so constantly\nthwarted by the numerous accidents to which humanity is subject, that she\ncannot attain the end proposed; so that it is in a manner impossible to\nfind an individual in whom all parts of the body are perfectly beautiful.\"\n\nIt was to the same purport that Proclus had in ancient times said: \"He who\ntakes for his model such forms as nature produces, and confines himself\nto an exact imitation of them, will never attain to what is perfectly\nbeautiful. For the works of nature are full of disproportion, and fall\nvery short of the true standard of beauty. So that Phidias, when he formed\nhis Jupiter, did not copy any object ever presented to his sight, but\ncontemplated only that image which he had conceived in his mind from\nHomer's description.\"[46]\n\nIn short, while the Greek artists perpetually studied nature, they\ndiscovered her best and highest tendencies even in her most perfect forms;\ntheir works accordingly present nothing foreign to that which is strictly\nbeautiful; they present not only no inferior forms, but no idle ornaments;\nand everything in them is accordingly at once simple and sublime.\n\nBarry[47] affords me the means of continuing the view I now wish to\npresent. \"In all individuals,\" he says, \"of every species, there is\nnecessarily a visible tendency to a certain point or form. In this point\nor form, the standard of each species rests. The deviations from this,\neither by excess or deficiency, are of two kinds: first, deviations\nindicating a more peculiar adaptation of certain characters of advantage\nand utility, such as strength, agility, and so forth; even mental as well\nas corporeal, since they sometimes result from habit and education, as\nwell as from original conformation. In these deviations, are to be found\nthose ingredients which, in their composition and union, exhibit the\nabstract or ideal perfection in the several classes or species of\ncharacter. The second kind of deviation is that which, having no reference\nto anything useful or advantageous, but rather visibly indicating the\ncontrary, as being useless, cumbersome, or deficient, is considered as\ndeformity; and this deformity will be always found different in the\nseveral individuals, by either not being in the same part, in the same\nmanner, or in the same degree. The points of agreement which indicate the\nspecies, are therefore many; of difference which indicate the deformity,\nfew.\"\n\nBarry, however, wrongly says: \"Mere beauty, then, though always\ninteresting, is, notwithstanding, vague and indeterminate; as it indicates\nno particular expression either of body or mind.\" But it indicates the\nhighest character, the capability of all noble expression, and this is\nbetter than its sacrifice to actuality in one.\n\nI am now led to the greater rules which their ideal method suggested to\nthe Greeks. Payne Knight indeed says: \"Precise rules and definitions, in\nmatters of this sort, are merely the playthings or tools of\nsystem-builders;\" and, unchecked by any recollection of the practical and\nunrivalled excellence of the founders of these rules, he adds a great deal\nof narrow-minded and mistaken nonsense upon the subject, never\ndistinguishing between rules in themselves rational, and the stretching of\nthem to utter inapplicability. On this subject, even Reynolds properly\nobserves, that \"some of the greatest names of antiquity, and those who\nhave most distinguished themselves in works of genius and imagination,\nwere equally eminent for their critical skill. Plato, Aristotle, Cicero,\nand Horace; and among the moderns, Boileau, Corneille, Pope, and Dryden,\nare at least instances of genius not being destroyed by attention or\nsubjection to rules and science.\"\n\nBut the grossest errors on this subject have been committed by Alison, who\nsays: \"Artists, in every age, have taken pains to ascertain the most exact\nmeasurement of the human form, and of all its parts.... If the beauty of\nform consisted in any original proportion, the productions of the fine\narts would everywhere have testified it; and, in the works of the statuary\nand the painter, we should have found only this sole and sacred system of\nproportion. The fact however is, as every one knows, that, in such\nproductions, no such rule is observed; that there is no one proportion of\nparts which belongs to the most beautiful productions of these arts; that\nthe proportions of the Apollo, for instance, are different from those of\nthe Hercules, the Antinous, the Gladiator, &c.; and that there are not,\nin the whole catalogue of ancient statues, two, perhaps, of which the\nproportions are actually the same.\"\n\nNow, I believe, we may say that this original or most perfect proportion\nis presented in the Apollo, which is not, as generally supposed, an\nexample of _peculiar_, but of _universal_ beauty--the locomotive system\npresenting as much strength as is compatible with agility, and as much\nagility as is compatible with strength, and any other modification of\neither ensuring diminution of power; while the vital and mental systems\nare equally perfect. Wherever this model is deviated from by the ancient\nartists it is _peculiar_ beauty, I believe, that is represented.\n\nHe farther says: \"They have imagined also various standards of this\nmeasurement; and many disputes have arisen, whether the length of the\nhead, of the foot, or of the nose, was to be considered as this central\nand sacred standard. Of such questions and such disputes, it is not\npossible to speak with seriousness, when they occur in the present times.\"\nSo also Burke says: \"It must be likewise shown, that these parts stand in\nsuch a relation to each other, that the comparison between them may be\neasily made, and that the affection of the mind may naturally result from\nit.\"\n\nNow, no man in his senses ever cared which of these measures was adopted,\nexcept as a matter of convenience, or ever imagined that peculiar virtue\nresided in any of them.\n\nThe following are some of the principal rules which either by intuition\nor with due definition, resulted from and guided the practice of the\nancient Greeks.\n\nFirst, in regard to the THINKING SYSTEM, when the ancient artists, either\nfrom taste or from principle, gave greater opening to the facial angle\nthan eighty degrees, they believed that an increase of intelligence\ncorresponded to that conformation. By increasing the angle beyond\neighty-five degrees, they impressed upon their figures the grandest\ncharacter, as we see in the heads of the Apollo, the Venus, and others\nwhose facial angle extends to or exceeds ninety degrees.\n\nIn regard to _the forehead_, then, this afforded their rule for\ndistinguishing beings of a superior kind. How well they observed the\ntendency of nature to increase that angle with the increase of some of the\nthinking faculties, we now know. This ideal rule was, therefore, admirably\nfounded.\n\nWhoever reflects on the nature of this angle will perceive that its\nincrease tended nowise to raise the forehead, but to throw it forward, and\ntherefore to lengthen the head. This conforms to the metaphor by which a\n_long head_ is used for a _wise head_, and which has not yet given place\nto a _broad head_, preferred by the German craniologists, in compliment to\ntheir own organization.\n\nWith regard to the height of the forehead, it has already been observed\nthat it was, among the ancient Greeks, more considerable than its breadth,\nas may be seen by the busts of their most illustrious men. Still, neither\nthe natural nor the ideal forehead much exceeded the space from the\nforehead to the bottom of the nose, or that from the nose to the bottom of\nthe chin.\n\nWinckelmann accordingly says: \"The forehead to be beautiful should be low\n[meaning, as his expressions elsewhere show, no higher than the other two\nspaces just mentioned]; and its lowness was so fixed among the ideas of\nbeauty by the Grecian artists, that it serves as a mark to distinguish\nmodern heads from ancient. The reason of this appears founded in the very\nrules of proportion, which, as in the whole human body, was among the\nancients tripartite: thus, the face also was divided into three parts; so\nthat the forehead should be of the same length as the nose, and the\nremainder of the face to the chin of the same length likewise. This\nproportion was founded on observation, and we may at any time convince\nourselves of it in any individual with a low forehead, by covering with a\nfinger the hair at the top of the forehead, so as to render it so much\nhigher, and we shall then see a want of harmony of proportion and how\ndetrimental a high forehead is to beauty.\"\n\nThese views of Winckelmann, the ideal rule which they illustrate, and,\nabove all, the actual dimension of the forehead among the philosophers,\nthe poets, and the legislators of Greece, whose genius has been unequalled\nin modern times, show the folly of the craniological hypothesis. The\nreason of the ideal rule has not, indeed, been assigned: it appears to me\nto be this, that the three parts of the face which, as I have shown both\nhere and in my work on physiognomy, are respectively connected with\nideas, emotions, and passions, should be equal one to another, or that\nthese acts of the organs of sense and brain should be in due proportion\nand harmony. While, therefore, I do not, with the craniologists, seek the\npredominance of any one of them, neither do I, with Giovani de Laet, take\nno notice of the space between the top of the head and the commencement of\nthe forehead, and say this part is not to be considered in the height of a\nman, _quia pars excrementosa est_!\n\nTheir next rule regarded the form of _the nose_, in nearly the same line\nwith the forehead, and with little indentation between these parts.\n\nThe foundation of this rule I have not seen pointed out; and it was indeed\ndifficult of discovery, without previous knowledge of the physiological\nfact first mentioned in my physiognomical work, namely, that the nose is\nthe inlet of vital emotion or pleasure, as the eye is of mental emotion;\nwhile the passions connected with nutrition and thought respectively,\ndepend upon other organs, the mouth and the ear. Anatomists know how\nclosely associated are the nose and the eyes, and the mouth and the ears,\nrespectively.\n\nNow, as in these ideal representations, their object was to increase the\nmeans of emotion, but not those of passion, the organs of the former, the\nnose and the eyes, were all, at the same time, enlarged by raising the\njunction of the forehead and the nose; while those of passion, the mouth\nand the ears, were relatively decreased. Not only was the passage of nose\nor of the olfactory nerves to the brain strikingly dilated by this\nelevation of the intermediate part, but the orbits of the eyes were\nenlarged. As then we naturally associate the increase of organs with the\nincrease of their sensations and with corresponding effects upon the\nbrain, and as the tendency to such configuration is as conspicuous in the\ncountries they inhabited, as is the energy of the emotions with which they\nare connected, this rule was as admirably founded as the former in natural\ntendencies.\n\nI deem this a pendant to Camper's discovery of the facial angle, and one\ntoo which was not quite so obvious or so easy to be made. It disposes of\nthis middle or intermediate part of the face, and shows that the Greeks in\nbeings of the highest character, desired the gradual predominance of\nemotion over passion, and of ideas or intellect over emotion.\n\nA vague feeling of the curious fact I have here explained, Alison, as a\nman of taste, had, when he said: \"Apply, however, this beautiful form, to\nthe countenance of the warrior, the bandit, the martyr, &c., or to any\ncountenance which is meant to express deep or powerful _passion_, and the\nmost vulgar spectator would be sensible of dissatisfaction, if not\ndisgust.\"\n\nIn endeavoring to assign a reason for the configuration which I have just\nexplained, Winckelmann, in ascribing it to the mere production of effect,\nis driven into a ridiculous inconsistency. He thinks that for large\nstatues seen at a distance, it was necessary, and so came to be used for\nsmall medals seen near, for which it was not necessary.\n\n\"In the heads of statues, and particularly in ideal heads, the eyes are\ndeeper set: the bulb remains more deep than is usual in nature, in which\nsunken eyes render the countenance austere and cunning instead of calm and\njoyful. In this respect, art has departed with reason from nature; for, in\nfigures placed to be seen at a distance, if the bulb of the eye were level\nwith the edge of the orbit, there would be no effect produced of light and\nshade; and the eye itself, placed under the eyebrows which do not project,\nwould be dull and inexpressive. This maxim, adopted for large statues,\nbecame in time universal; so that it may be observed even on medals, not\nonly in ideal heads but in portraits.\" And elsewhere he says: \"Art\nsubsequently established it as a rule to give this form to the eyes even\nin small figures, as may be seen in the heads on coins.\"\n\nThus Winckelmann's reason avowedly explains only the half of that to which\nit is applied, and in reality explains nothing, because it leaves a gross\ninconsistency, of which Greek genius was incapable.\n\nOf the general outline thus formed of the face, Winckelmann more truly\nsays: \"In the formation of the face, the Greek profile is the principal\ncharacteristic of sublime beauty. This profile is produced by the straight\nline, or the line but very slightly indented, which the forehead and nose\nform in youthful faces, especially female ones. Nature seems less\ndisposed to accord this form to the face in cold than in mild and\ntemperate climes; but wherever this profile is found, it is always\nbeautiful. The straight full line expresses a kind of greatness, and,\ngently curved, it presents the idea of agreeable delicacy. That in these\nprofiles exists one cause of beauty is proved by the character of the\nopposite line; for the greater the inflection of the nose, the less\nbeautiful is the face; and if, when seen sidewise, it presents a bad\nprofile, it is useless to look for beauty in any other view.\"\n\nA _third rule_ of the Greek artists, in heads of the highest character, is\ngreatly illustrated by the new views just stated. If, in these, they\ndesired to render ideas and intellect more dominant than emotions of\npleasure or pain, and emotions more dominant than passion, it becomes\nevident why they equally sought to avoid the convulsions of impassioned\nexpression.\n\nA very beautiful object of this, is mistaken by Winckelmann. I quote his\nwords:--\n\n\"Taken in either sense [of action or of passion], expression changes the\nfeatures of the face, and the disposition of the body, and, consequently,\nthe forms which constitute beauty; and the greater the change, the greater\nthe loss of beauty. Therefore, the state of tranquillity and repose was\nconsidered as a fundamental point in the art. Tranquillity is the state\nproper to beauty.\n\n\"The handsomest men are generally the most mild and the best disposed.\n\n\"Besides, tranquillity and repose, both in men and animals, is the state\nwhich allows us best to examine and represent their nature and qualities;\nas we can see the bottom of the sea or rivers only when the waves are\ntranquil and the stream runs smoothly.\n\n\"Therefore, the Grecian artists, wishing to depict, in their\nrepresentations of their deities, the perfection of human beauty, strove\nto produce, in their countenances and actions, a certain placidity without\nthe slightest change or perturbation, which, according to their\nphilosophy, was at variance with the nature and character of the gods. The\nfigures produced in this state of repose, expressed a perfect equilibrium\nof feeling.\n\n\"But, as complete tranquillity and repose cannot exist in figures in\naction, and even the gods are represented in human form, and subject to\nhuman affections, we must not always expect to find in them the most\nsublime idea of beauty. This is then compensated for by expression. The\nancient artists, however, never lost sight of it: it was always their\nprincipal object, to which expression was in some sort made subservient.\n\n\"Beauty without expression would be insignificant, and expression without\nbeauty would be unpleasing; but, from their influence over each other,\nfrom combining together their apparently discordant qualities, results an\neloquent, persuasive, and interesting beauty.\"\n\nSome of these remarks are true and beautiful; but _the great object of the\nGreeks, in suppressing the convulsions of impassioned expression, was the\nbestowal of grace_, the highest quality in all representation. It is\nsurprising that this should have been so universally overlooked, that,\neven among artists, nothing is more common than to hear regrets that the\nGreeks gave so little expression to their figures! Let the reader now\nperuse again Dr. Smith's and Mr. Alison's account of grace, and if he is\nacquainted with the productions of ancient art, he will see that the\nGreeks suppressed impassioned expression only to bestow the highest degree\nof grace. Those, therefore, who complain of this, show themselves ignorant\nof the best object of their art.\n\nIf the explanation of this great purpose be clearly borne in mind, the\nremaining observations of Winckelmann will receive a better application\nthan that to which he limited them:--\n\n\"Repose and tranquillity may be regarded as the effect of that composed\nmanner which the Grecians studied to show in their actions and gestures.\nAmong them, a hurried gait was regarded as contrary to the idea of decent\ndeportment, and partaking somewhat of expressive boldness.... While on the\nother hand, slow and regulated motions of the body were proofs among the\nancients of a great mind.\n\n\"The highest idea of tranquillity and composure is found expressed in the\nrepresentations of the divinities; so that from the father of the gods to\nthe inferior deities, their figures appear free from the influence of any\naffection. The greatest of the poets thus describes Jupiter as making all\nOlympus tremble by merely moving his eyebrow or shaking his locks.... All\nthe figures of Jupiter are not however made in the same style.\n\n\"The Vatican Apollo represents this god quiet and tranquil after the death\nof the serpent Python which he had slain with a dart, and should also\nexpress a certain contempt for a victory so easy to him. The skilful\nartist, who wished to imbody the most beautiful of the gods, has depicted\nanger in the nose, which according to the most ancient poets was the seat\nof it, and contempt in the lips: contempt is expressed by the drawing up\nof the under lip, and anger by the expansion of the nostrils.\n\n\"The expression of the passions in the face should accord with the\nattitude and gestures of the body; and the latter should be suitable to\nthe dignity of the gods in their statues and figures: from this results\nits propriety.\n\n\"In representing the figures of heroes, the ancient artist exercised equal\ncare and judgment; and expressed only those human affections which are\nsuitable for a wise man, who represses the violence of his passions, and\nscarcely allows a spark of the internal flame to be seen, so as to leave\nto those who are desirous of it, the trouble of finding out what remains\nconcealed.\n\n\"We have examples of this in two of the most beautiful works of antiquity,\none of which is the image of the fear of certain death, the other of\nsuffering exceeding anguish.\n\n\"Niobe and her daughters, against whom Diana shot her fatal arrows, are\nrepresented as seized with terror and horror, in that state of\nindescribable anguish, when the sight of instant and inevitable death\ndeprives the mind of the power of thought. Of this state of stupor and\ninsensibility, the fable gives us an idea in the metamorphosis of Niobe\ninto a stone; and hence \u00c6schylus introduces her in his tragedy as stunned\nand speechless. In such a moment, when all thought and feeling ceases, in\na state bordering upon insensibility, the appearance is not altered nor\nany feature of the face disturbed, and the mighty artist could here depict\nthe most sublime beauty, and has indeed done so. Niobe and her daughters\nare, and ever will be, the most perfect models of beauty.\n\n\"Laocoon is the image of the most acute grief, that puts the nerves, the\nmuscles, and the veins, in action. His blood is in a state of extreme\nagitation from the venomous bite of the serpents; every part of his body\nevinces pain and suffering; and the artist has put in motion, so to speak,\nall the springs of nature, and thus made known the extent of his art and\nthe depth of his knowledge. In the representation, however, of this\nexcessive torment, we can still recognise the conduct of a brave man\nstruggling against his misfortunes, stifling the emotions of his anguish,\nand striving to repress them.\"\n\n\"The ancient artists have preserved this air of composure even in their\ndancing figures, except the Bacchanals; and thus an opinion obtained that\nthe action of their figures should be modelled on the manners adopted in\ntheir ancient dances, and therefore, in their later dances, the ancient\nfigures served as a model to the performers to prevent their overstepping\nthe bounds of a modest deportment:\n\n Molli diducunt candida gestu\n Brachia. _Propert._\n\n\"No immoderate or violent passions are ever found expressed in the public\nworks of the ancients.\n\n\"The knowledge of the ancients cannot be better known than by comparing\ntheir performances with the majority of those of the moderns, in which a\nlittle is expressed by much, instead of much by a little. This is what the\nGreeks call [Greek: parenthyrsos]; a word that aptly expresses the defect\nproduced by too much expression in modern artists. Their figures resemble\nin action the comedians of the ancient theatre, who, to render themselves\nvisible even to the most distant portion of the audience, were compelled\nto exceed the limits of nature and truth; and the faces of modern figures\nare like the ancient masks, which for the same reason, the increase of\nexpression, became hideous.\n\n\"This excess of expression is taught in a book which goes into the hands\nof all young artists, 'A Treatise on the Passions,' by Carlo Le Brun, and\nin the annexed drawings, not only is the highest degree of passion\nexpressed on the face, but in some even to madness.\"\n\nHence, we may say with Azara, that \"the Greeks possessed that art in such\nperfection, that in their statues one scarcely discovers that they had\nthought of expression, and nevertheless each says that which it ought to\nsay. They are in a repose which shows all the beauty without any\nalteration; and a soft and sweet motion, of the mouth, the eyes, or the\nmere action, expresses the effect, enchanting at once the mind and the\nsenses.\"\n\nIn the inferior beings, however, when passion is expressed, the features\nare varied by the Greek artists as they are in nature.\n\nSuch are the great ideal rules with regard to the head and the functions\nof thought.\n\nWith regard to the body and the NUTRITIVE SYSTEM, the Greeks similarly\nidealized. \"Seeking for images of worship, consequently of a nature\nsuperior to our own, so that they might awaken in the mind veneration and\nlove, they thought that the representations most worthy of the Divinity,\nand most likely to attract the attention of man, would be those expressing\nthe continuance of the gods in eternal youth and in the prime of life.\n\n\"To the idea derived from the poets, of the eternal youth of the deities,\nwhether male or female, was added another by which they supposed the\nfemale divinities should have all the appearance of virgins.\n\n\"The form of the breast in the figures of the divinities, is like that of\na virgin, which, to be beautiful, must possess a moderate fulness. This\nwas particularly shown in the breasts, which the artists represented\nwithout nipples, like those of young girls, whose cincture, in the poet's\nphrase, Lucina has not yet undone.\n\nOn their treatment of the limbs and LOCOMOTIVE SYSTEM, Hogarth throws\nlight; and, as I am not aware that he was anticipated in this respect, I\nquote him:--\n\n\"May be,\" he says, \"I cannot throw a stronger light on what has been\nhitherto said of proportion, than by animadverting on a remarkable beauty\nin the Apollo Belvidere, which hath given it the preference even to the\nAntinous: I mean a superaddition of greatness, to at least as much beauty\nand grace as is found in the latter.\n\n\"These two masterpieces of art are seen together in the same apartment at\nRome, where the Antinous fills the spectator with admiration only, while\nthe Apollo strikes him with surprise, and, as travellers express\nthemselves, with an appearance of something more than human; which they of\ncourse are always at a loss to describe: and this effect, they say, is the\nmore astonishing, as, upon examination, its disproportion is evident even\nto a common eye. One of the best sculptors we have in England, who lately\nwent to see them, confirmed to me what has been now said, particularly as\nto the legs and thighs being too long, and too large for the upper parts.\n\n\"Although, in very great works, we often see an inferior part neglected,\nyet here it cannot be the case, because, in a fine statue, just proportion\nis one of its essential beauties: therefore, it stands to reason, that\nthese limbs must have been lengthened on purpose, otherwise it might have\nbeen easily avoided.\n\n\"So that if we examine the beauties of this figure thoroughly we may\nreasonably conclude, that what has been hitherto thought so unaccountably\nexcellent in its general appearance, has been owing to what has seemed a\nblemish in a part of it: but let us endeavor to make this matter as clear\nas possible, as it may add more force to what has been said.\n\n\"Statues, by being bigger than life (as this one is, and larger than the\nAntinous), always gain some nobleness in effect, according to the\nprinciple of quantity, but this alone is not sufficient to give what is\nproperly to be called greatness in proportion.... Greatness of proportion\nmust be considered as depending on the application of quantity to those\nparts of the body where it can give more scope to its grace in movement,\nas to the neck for the larger and swanlike turns of the head, and to the\nlegs and thighs, for the more ample sway of all the upper parts together.\n\n\"By which we find that the Antinous being equally magnified to the\nApollo's height, would not sufficiently produce that superiority of\neffect, as to greatness, so evidently seen in the latter. The additions\nnecessary to the production of this greatness in proportion, as it there\nappears added to grace, must then be, by the proper application of them to\nthe parts mentioned only.\n\n\"I know not how farther to prove this matter than by appealing to the\nreader's eye, and common observation, as before.... The Antinous being\nallowed to have the justest proportion possible, let us see what addition,\nupon the principle of quantity, can be made to it, without taking away\nany of its beauty.\n\n\"If we imagine an addition of dimensions to the head, we shall immediately\nconceive it would only deform--if to the hands or feet, we are sensible of\nsomething gross and ungenteel--if to the whole lengths of the arms, we\nfeel they would be dangling and awkward--if, by an addition of length or\nbreadth to the body, we know it would appear heavy and clumsy--there\nremains then only the neck, with the legs and thighs to speak of; but to\nthese we find, that not only certain additions may be admitted without\ncausing any disagreeable effect, but that thereby greatness, the last\nperfection as to the proportion, is given to the human form, as is\nevidently expressed in the Apollo.\"\n\nThis is well done by Hogarth. It required but a little anatomical\nknowledge to see the reason of this. The length of the neck, by which the\nhead is farther detached from the trunk, shows the independence of the\nhigher intellectual system upon the lower one of mere nutrition; and the\nlength of limbs shows that the mind had ready obedience in locomotive\npower.\n\nI have now to obviate some OBJECTIONS to the existence of simple, pure,\nhigh, and perfect ideal beauty, objections, which writers on this subject\nhave hitherto neglected.\n\nAlison says: \"The proportions of the form of the infant are very different\nfrom those of youth; these again from those of manhood; and these again\nperhaps still more from those of old age and decay.... Yet every one\nknows, not only that each of these periods is susceptible of beautiful\nform, but, what is much more, that the actual beauty in every period\nconsists in the preservation of the proportions peculiar to that period,\nand that these differ in every article almost from those that are\nbeautiful in other periods of the life of the same individual.\"\n\nBut the beauty of the infant is not perfect beauty: it is that, on the\ncontrary, of mere promise, not that of fulfilment. So also the beauty of\nold age is not perfect beauty: it is that, on the contrary, which affects\nand interests us chiefly by the regret we feel that its perfection has\npassed, or is gradually vanishing.\n\n\"The same observation,\" says Alison, \"is yet still more obvious with\nregard to the difference of sex. In every part of the form, the\nproportions which are beautiful in the two sexes are different; and the\napplication of the proportions of the one to the form of the other, is\neverywhere felt as painful and disgusting.\" So also says Burke: \"Let us\nrest a moment on this point; and consider how much difference there is\nbetween the measures that prevail in many similar parts of the body, in\nthe two sexes of this single species only. If you assign any determinate\nproportions to the limbs of man, and if you limit human beauty to these\nproportions, when you find a woman who differs in the make and measure of\nalmost every part, you must conclude her not to be beautiful in spite of\nthe suggestions of your imagination; or in obedience to your imagination\nyou must renounce your rules; you must lay by the scale and compass, and\nlook out for some other cause of beauty. For, if beauty be attached to\ncertain measures which operate from a principle in nature, why should\nsimilar parts with different measures of proportion be found to have\nbeauty, and this, too, in the very same species?\"\n\nTo this I might say the beauty of woman is not the highest beauty: it is\nbeauty of the nutritive more than of the higher thinking system. But there\nis another and a better answer: the difference of sex which affects all\nthe higher animals is a greater difference than that which subsists\nbetween some of their varieties or even of their species; and the same\nlaws of ideal beauty are as inapplicable to different sexes as to\ndifferent species.\n\n\"We see, every day, around us,\" says Alison, \"some forms of our species\nwhich affect us with sentiments of beauty. In our own sex, we see the\nforms of the legislator, the man of rank, the general, the man of science,\nthe private soldier, the sailor, the laborer, the beggar, &c. In the other\nsex, we see the forms of the matron, the widow, the young woman, the\nnurse, the domestic servant, &c.... We expect different proportions of\nform from the painter, in his representation of a warrior and a shepherd,\nof a senator and of a peasant, of a wrestler and a boatman, of a savage\nand of a man of cultivated manners.... We expect, in the same manner, from\nthe statuary, very different proportions in the forms of Jove and of\nApollo [this should have been excepted], of Hercules and of Antinous, of a\nGrace and of Andromache, of a Bacchanal and of Minerva,\" &c.\n\nThat, in all these cases, the beauty is partial, is evident from the\ncircumstance that what is found in one is wanting in another; and partial\nbeauty is not perfect beauty. But this last point has been well stated by\nReynolds and Barry.\n\n\"To the principle I have laid down,\" says Reynolds, \"that the idea of\nbeauty in each species of being is an invariable one, it may be objected,\nthat in every particular species there are various central forms which are\nseparate and distinct from each other, and yet are undeniably beautiful;\nthat in the human figure, for instance, the beauty of Hercules is one, of\nthe Gladiator another, of the Apollo another [again the same error]; which\nmakes so many different ideas of beauty.... It is true, indeed, that these\nfigures are each perfect in their kind, though of different character and\nproportions; but still none of them is the representation of an\nindividual, but of a class. And as there is one general form, which, as I\nhave said, belongs to the human kind at large, so in each of these classes\nthere is one common idea and central form, which is the abstract of the\nvarious individual forms belonging to that class. Thus, though the forms\nof childhood and age differ exceedingly, there is a common form in\nchildhood, and a common form in age, which is the more perfect, as it is\nmore remote from all peculiarities. But I must add farther, that though\nthe most perfect forms of each of the general divisions of the human\nfigure are ideal, and superior to any individual form of that class, yet\nthe highest perfection of the human figure is not to be found in any one\nof them. It is not in the Hercules, nor in the Gladiator, nor in the\nApollo, but in that form which is taken from all, and which partakes\nequally of the activity of the Gladiator, of the delicacy of the Apollo,\nand of the muscular strength of the Hercules. For perfect beauty in any\nspecies must combine all the characters which are beautiful in that\nspecies. It cannot consist in any one to the exclusion of the rest: no\none, therefore, must be predominant, that no one may be deficient.\"\n\n\"A high degree of particular character,\" says Barry, \"cannot be\nsuperinduced upon pure or simple beauty without altering its constituent\nparts; this is peculiar to grace only; for particular characters consist,\nas has been observed before, in those deviations from the general standard\nfor the better purpose of effecting utility and power, and become so many\nspecies of a higher order; where nature is elevated into grandeur,\nmajesty, and sublimity.\"\n\nThere is AN IDEAL IN ATTITUDE as well as in the form of the head and body.\n\nThis ideal is exactly opposed to the academical rule mentioned by\nDufresnoy, Reynolds, and others, namely, that the right leg and left arm,\nor the left leg and right arm, should be advanced or withdrawn together.\nThese are the mere attitudes of progression, not those of expression; and\nthe academical rule is only an academical blunder. To anything but\nwalking--to the free and unembarrassed expressions of the body, it is,\nindeed, quite inapplicable, and could produce only contortion.\n\nThe rule of ideal attitude, which I long ago deduced, both from\nphysiological principles, and from the practice of the Greek artists, is\nthat all the parts of one side of the body should be advanced or withdrawn\ntogether; that when one side is advanced, the other should be withdrawn;\nand that when the right arm is elevated, extended, or bent forward, the\nleft leg should be elevated, extended, or bent backward--in all respects\nthe reverse of the academical rule, so complacently mentioned by\nDufresnoy, Reynolds, &c.\n\nThe foundation of this rule in the necessary balance of the body, and that\ndistribution of motion which equally animates every part, must be obvious\nto every one. It is illustrated by the finest statues of the Greeks,\nwherever the expression intended was free and unembarrassed, and even in\nthose, as the Laocoon and his sons, where, though the action was\nconstrained and convulsive, the sculptor was yet at liberty to employ the\nmost beautiful attitude. It is abandoned in these great works, when either\naction embarrassed by purpose, or clownishness, as in the Dancing Faun,\nare expressed.[48]\n\nI have now only to add, with Moreau, that individual beauty, the most\nperfect, differs always greatly from the ideal, and that which is least\nremoved from it, is very difficult to be found. Hence, in all languages,\nthe epithet _rare_ is attached to beauty; and the Italians even call it\n_pellegrina_, foreign, to indicate that they have not frequently an\nopportunity of seeing it: they speak of \"_bellezze\npellegrine_,\"--\"_leggiadria singolare e pellegrina_.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nTHE IDEAL OF FEMALE BEAUTY.\n\n\"Hominum div\u00fbmque voluptas, alma Venus.\"\n\n\nOf this, the most perfect models have been created by Grecian art. Few, we\nare told, were the living beauties, from whom such ideal model could be\nframed. The difficulty of finding these among the women of Greece, must\nhave been considerable, when Praxiteles and Apelles were obliged to have\nrecourse, in a greater or less degree, to the same person, for the\nbeauties of the Venus of Cnidos, executed in white marble, and the Venus\nof Cos, painted in colors. It is asserted by Athen\u00e6eus, that both these\nproductions were, in some measure, taken from Phryne of Thespia, in\nBoeotia, then a courtesan at Athens.\n\nBoth productions are said to have represented Phryne coming out of the\nsea, on the beach of Sciron, in the Saronic gulf, between Athens and\nEleusis, where she was wont to bathe.\n\nIt is said, that there, at the feast of Neptune, Phryne, in the presence\nof the people of Eleusis, having cast aside her dress, and allowing her\nlong hair to fall over her shoulders, plunged into the sea, and sported\nlong amid its waves. An immense number of spectators covered the shore;\nand when she came out of it, all exclaimed, \"It is Venus who rises from\nthe waters!\" The people would actually have taken her for the goddess, if\nshe had not been well known to them.\n\nApelles and Praxiteles, we are told, were both upon the shore; and both\nresolved to represent the birth of Venus according to the beautiful model\nwhich they had just beheld.\n\nSuch is said to have been the origin of two of the greatest works of\nantiquity. The work of Apelles, known under the name of Venus Anadyomene,\nwas placed by Cesar in the temple of Venus Genitrix, after the conquest of\nGreece. An idea of the sculpture of Praxiteles is supposed to have been\nimperfectly preserved to modern times in the Venus de Medici.\n\nWe are farther told, that, after having studied several attitudes, Phryne\nfancied to have discovered one more favorable than the rest for displaying\nall her perfections; and that both painter and sculptor were obliged to\nadopt her favorite posture. From this cause, the Venus of Cnidos, and the\nVenus of Cos, were so perfectly alike, that it was impossible to remark\nany difference in their features, contour, or more particularly in their\nattitude.\n\nThe painting of Apelles, it is added, was far from exciting so much\nenthusiasm among the Greeks, as the sculpture of Praxiteles. They fancied\nthat the marble moved; that it seemed to speak; and their illusion, says\nLucian, was so great, that they ended by applying their lips to those of\nthe goddess.[49]\n\n\"Praxiteles,\" says Flaxman, \"excelled in the highest graces of youth and\nbeauty. He is said to have excelled not only other sculptors, but himself,\nby his marble statues in the Ceramicus of Athens; but his Venus was\npreferable to all others in the world, and many sailed to Cnidos for the\npurpose of seeing it. This sculptor having made two statues of Venus, one\nwith drapery, the other without, the Coans preferred the clothed figure,\non account of its severe modesty, the same price being set upon each. The\ncitizens of Cnidos took the rejected statue, and afterward refused it to\nKing Nicomedes, who would have forgiven them an immense debt in return;\nbut they were resolved to suffer anything so long as this statue by\nPraxiteles ennobled Cnidos.... This figure is known by the descriptions of\nLucian and Cedrenus, and it is represented on a medal of Caracalla and\nPlautilla, in the imperial cabinet of France. This Venus was still in\nCnidos during the reign of the emperor Alcadius, about four hundred years\nafter Christ. This statue seems to offer the first idea of the Venus de\nMedici, which is likely to be the repetition of another Venus, the work of\nthis artist.\" He elsewhere says of the Venus of Praxiteles, it was \"the\nmost admired female statue of all antiquity, whose beauty is as perfect as\nit is elevated, and as innocent as perfect; from which the Medicean Venus\nseems but a deteriorated variety.\"\n\nFlaxman states that he himself had seen, in the stables of the Braschi\npalace, a statue which he supposed might be the original work of\nPraxiteles. Strange to tell, nothing is now known of its fate! A supposed\ncast from this, or from a copy of it, conforming to the figure on the\nmodel of Caracalla, is to be seen at the Royal Academy.\n\nOf the VENUS DE MEDICI, Flaxman says, it \"was so much a favorite of the\nGreeks and Romans, that a hundred ancient repetitions of this statue have\nbeen noticed by travellers. The individual figure is said to have been\nfound in the forum of Octavia. The style of sculpture seems to have been\nlater than Alexander the Great.\n\nLet us now briefly examine this Model of Female Beauty.\n\nThe Venus de Medici represents woman at that age when every beauty has\njust been perfected. \"The Venus de Medici at Florence,\" says Winckelmann,\n\"is like a rose which, after a beautiful daybreak, expands its leaves to\nthe first ray of the sun, and represents that age when the limbs assume a\nmore finished form and the breast begins to develop itself.\"\n\nThe size of the head is sufficiently small to leave that predominance to\nthe vital organs in the chest, which, as already said, makes the nutritive\nsystem peculiarly that of woman. This is the first and most striking proof\nof the profound knowledge of the artist, the principles of whose art\ntaught him that the vast head, on the contrary, was the characteristic of\na very different female personage.[50]--In mentioning the head, it is\nscarcely possible to avoid noticing the rich curls of the hair.\n\nThe eyes next fix our attention by their soft, sweet, and glad expression.\nThis is produced with exquisite art. To give softness, the ridges of the\neyebrows are rounded. To give sweetness, the under eyelid, which I would\ncall the expressive one, is slightly raised. \"The eyes of Venus,\" says\nWinckelmann, \"are smaller, and the slight elevation of the lower eyelid\nproduces that languishing look called by the Greeks [Greek: hygron].\" To\ngive the expression of gladness or of pleasure, the opening of the eyelids\nis diminished, in order to diminish, or partially to exclude, the excess\nof those impressions, which make even pleasure painful. Other exquisite\ndetails about those eyes, confer on them unparalleled beauty. Still, as\nobserved by the same writer, this look is far from those traits\nindicative of lasciviousness, with which some modern artists have thought\nto characterize their Venuses. Love was considered by the ancient masters,\nas by the wise philosophers of those times, to use the expression of\nEuripides, as the counsellor of wisdom: [Greek: t\u00ea sophia paredrous\ner\u00f4tas]. One thing must be observed: there is not here, as in some less\nhappy representations of Venus, any downcast look, but that aspect of\nwhich Metastasio, in his Inno a Venere, says:\n\n \"Tu colle lucide\n Pupille chiare,\n Fai lieta e fertile\n La terra e'l mare.\"\n\nAnd again:\n\n \"Presto \u00e0 tuoi placidi\n Astri ridenti,\n Le nubi fuggono,\n Fuggono i venti.\"[51]\n\nArt still profounder was perhaps shown in the configuration of the nose.\nThe peculiar connexion of this sense with love was evidently well\nunderstood by the great artist; and it is only gross ignorance that has\nmade some persons question the appropriateness of that development of the\norgan which is here represented. Not only is smell peculiarly associated\nwith love, in all the higher animals, but it is associated with\nreproduction in plants, the majority of which evolve delicious odors only\nwhen the flowers or organs of fructification are displayed.[52]--Connected,\nindeed, with the capacity of the nose, and the cavities which open into\nit, is the projection of the whole middle part of the face.\n\nIn the mouth, also, is transcendent art displayed. It is rendered sweet\nand delicate by the lips being undeveloped at their angles,[53] and by the\nupper lip continuing so, for a considerable portion of its length. It\nexpresses love of pleasure by the central development of both lips, and\nactive love by the especial development of the lower lip.[54] By the\nslight opening of the lips, it expresses desire.[55]\n\nThese exquisite details, and the omission of nothing intellectually\nexpressive that nature presents, have led some to imagine the Venus de\nMedici to be a portrait. In doing so, however, they see not the profound\ncalculation required for nearly every feature thus imbodied. More\nstrangely still, they forget the ideal character of the whole: the notion\nof this ideal head being too small, is especially opposed to such an\nopinion. If more is wanting, it will surely be enough that the other works\nwhich we are supposed to possess of Praxiteles, the Faun and the Cupid,\npresent similar fine details.[56]\n\nWithal, the look is amorous and languishing, without being lascivious, and\nis as powerfully marked by gay coquetry, as by charming innocence.\n\nThe young neck is exquisitely formed. Its beautiful curves show a thousand\ncapabilities of motion; and its admirably-calculated swell over the organ\nof voice, results from, and marks, the struggling expression of still\nmysterious love.\n\nIn short, I know no antique figure that displays such profound knowledge,\nboth physiological and physiognomical, even in the most minute details;\nand all who are capable of appreciating these things, may well smile at\nthose who pretend to compare with this any other head of Venus now known\nto us.\n\n\"With regard to the rest of the figure, the admirable form of the mamm\u00e6,\nwhich, without being too large, occupy the bosom, rise from it with\nvarious curves on every side, and all terminate in their apices, leaving\nthe inferior part in each precisely as pendent as gravity demands; the\nflexile waist gently tapering little farther than the middle of the trunk;\nthe lower portion of it beginning gradually to swell out higher even than\nthe umbilicus; the gradual expansion of the haunches, those expressive\ncharacteristics of the female, indicating at once her fitness for the\noffice of generation and that of parturition--expansions which increase\ntill they reach their greatest extent at the superior part of the thighs;\nthe fulness behind their upper part, and on each side of the lower part of\nthe spine, commencing as high as the waist, and terminating in the still\ngreater swell of the distinctly-separated hips; the flat expanse between\nthese, and immediately over the fissure of the hips, relieved by a\nconsiderable dimple on each side, and caused by the elevation of all the\nsurrounding parts; the fine swell of the broad abdomen which, soon\nreaching its greatest height, immediately under the umbilicus, slopes\ngently to the mons veneris, but, narrow at its upper part, expands more\nwidely as it descends, while, throughout, it is laterally distinguished by\na gentle depression from the more muscular parts on the sides of the\npelvis; the beautiful elevation of the mons veneris; the contiguous\nelevation of the thighs which, almost at their commencement, rise as high\nas it does; the admirable expansion of these bodies inward, or toward each\nother, by which they almost seem to intrude upon each other, and to\nexclude each from its respective place; the general narrowness of the\nupper, and the unembraceable expansion of the lower part thus exquisitely\nformed;--all these admirable characteristics of female form, the mere\nexistence of which in woman must, one is tempted to imagine, be, even to\nherself, a source of ineffable pleasure--these constitute a being worthy,\nas the personification of beauty, of occupying the temples of Greece;\npresent an object finer, alas! than nature seems even capable of\nproducing; and offer to all nations and ages a theme of admiration and\ndelight.\n\nWell might Thomson say:--\n\n \"So stands the statue that enchants the world,\n So bending tries to veil the matchless boast,\n The mingled beauties of exulting Greece.\"\n\nAnd Byron, in yet higher strain:--\n\n \"There, too, the goddess loves in stone, and fills\n The air around with beauty;\n within the pale\n We stand, and in that form and face behold\n What Mind can make, when Nature's self would fail;\n And to the fond idolaters of old\n Envy the innate flash which such a soul could mould:\n\n We gaze and turn away, and know not where,\n Dazzled and drunk with beauty, till the heart\n Reels with its fulness; there--for ever there--\n Chained to the chariot of triumphal Art,\n We stand as captives, and would not depart.\"\n\n\nPROPORTIONS OF THE VENUS DE MEDICI.\n\n Has seven heads, seven parts, and three minutes in height.\n\n From the top of the head to the root of the hair, three parts.\n\n From the root of the hair to the eyebrows, three parts.\n\n From the eyebrows to the bottom of the nose, three parts.\n\n From the bottom of the nose, to that of the chin, three parts.\n\n From the bottom of the chin to the depression between the clavicles,\n four parts, three minutes and a half.\n\n From the depression between the clavicles to the lowest part of the\n breast, ten parts, five minutes.\n\n From the lowest part of the breast to the middle of the navel, eight\n parts, three minutes.\n\n From the middle of the navel to the base of the belly and beginning\n of the thighs, eleven parts, four minutes and a half.\n\n From the bottom of the belly to the middle of the kneepan, eighteen\n parts, two minutes.\n\n From the middle of the kneepan to the beginning of the flank,\n twenty-seven parts, three minutes.\n\n From the middle of the kneepan to the ground, twenty-five parts,\n three minutes.\n\n The greatest height of the foot, three parts, five minutes and a\n half.\n\n From the neck of the leg to the end of the toes, nine parts and half\n a minute.\n\n From the commencement of the humerus to the elbow, twenty parts, two\n minutes.\n\n From the elbow to the beginning of the hand, fourteen parts.\n\n The greatest breadth of the forearm, five parts.\n\n The greatest breadth of the arm, four parts, five minutes.\n\n From the depression between the clavicles to the beginning of the\n deltoid, six parts, four minutes.\n\n From the depression between the clavicles to the point of the nipple,\n ten parts and half a minute.\n\n Between the points of the nipples, eleven parts, two minutes.\n\n The breadth of the torso, at the level of the lowest part of the\n breast, fifteen parts, four minutes and a half.\n\n The least breadth of the torso, at the commencement of the flanks,\n fourteen parts, one minute.\n\n The greatest breadth of the torso, at the bottom of the flanks,\n seventeen parts, five minutes.\n\n The breadth from the trochanter of one thigh to that of the other,\n nineteen parts, three minutes.\n\n The greatest breadth of the thigh, nine parts, five minutes.\n\n The greatest breadth of the knee, six parts.\n\n The greatest breadth of the calf of the leg, six parts, three minutes\n and a half.\n\n The breadth from one ankle to another, four parts.\n\n The least breadth of the foot, three parts, three minutes and a half.\n\n The greatest breadth of the foot, five parts and one minute.\n\nThe arms of the Venus de Medici, it should be observed, are of modern\nconstruction, and unworthy of the figure.\n\nThe VENUS OF NAPLES is of altogether a different species of beauty.\n\nThat figure represents an ample and rather voluptuous matron, in an\nattitude of scarcely surpassable grace. The character of the face is\nbeautiful, in profile especially, and its expression is grave. The mouth\nhas much of nature about it, resembling greatly in character that feature\nas seen in Southern Europe; but its expression, though tender, is\nsomewhat serious or fretful.\n\nIt presents, however, many faults. The head is monstrous. The neck is\nequally so, as well as coarse. The forehead, eyes, nose, and cheeks,\npresent none of the finely-calculated details, which surprise and delight\nus in the Venus de Medici. The mamm\u00e6 are not true.\n\nAfter these, the androgynous being, called the VENUS OF ARLES, is scarcely\nworthy of being mentioned. She derives some grandeur from antique\ncharacter and symmetry, and some from her masculine features. The head is\nmonstrous; the neck horrid; the nose heavy; the mouth contemptuous.\n\nUpon the whole, neither the graceful matron of Naples, nor the manlike\nwoman of the Louvre, can be brought into competition with the Venus de\nMedici.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nDEFECTS OF BEAUTY.\n\n\n_Defects of the Locomotive System._\n\n1. If the whole figure be either too broad or too tall; because, the first\nis inelegant, and the last unfeminine. Persons who are too tall are\ngenerally ill at ease and destitute of grace, a greater misfortune to a\nwoman than to a man.--Too low a stature is a defect less disagreeable,\nespecially for women. If, however, on the one side, it gives prettiness,\non the other, it deprives of all imposing appearance.\n\n2. If the bones, except those of the pelvis, be not proportionally small;\nbecause, in woman, this portion of the locomotive system ought to be\ncompletely subordinate to the vital.\n\n3. If the ligaments, and the articulations they form, be not\nproportionally small; because, in woman, this portion of the locomotive\nsystem ought also to be completely subordinate to the vital.\n\nEither of the last two defects will produce what is termed clumsiness.\n\n4. If the muscles, generally more slender, feeble, soft and yielding than\nin man, be not large around the pelvis, and delicate elsewhere; because,\nthis is necessary, for reasons which will be afterward assigned, as well\nas to permit the ease and suppleness of the movements.\n\n5. If, in a mature female, the length of the neck, compared with the\ntrunk, be not proportionally somewhat less than in the male; because, in\nher, the subordination of the locomotive system, the predominance of the\nvital, and the dependance of the mental, are naturally connected with the\nshorter vertebrae and shorter course of the vessels of the neck.\n\n * * * * *\n\n(The following defects, from 6 to 15 inclusive, have necessarily a\nreference also to the vital system; because, the form and capacity of the\ncavities here spoken of, as formed by the osseous frame of the locomotive\nsystem, have an obvious relation to the vital organs, which these cavities\nare destined to contain.)\n\n6. If the upper part of the body (exclusive of the bosom) be\nproportionally more, and the lower part of the body less prominent, than\nin man, so that, when she stands perfectly upright or lies on the back,\nthe space between the breasts is more prominent than the mons veneris;\nbecause, such conformation is injurious to impregnation, gestation, and\nparturition.\n\n7. If the shoulders seem wider than the haunches; because, this appearance\ngenerally arises from the narrowness of the pelvis, and its consequent\nunfitness for gestation and parturition.\n\n8. If, on the contrary, the shoulders be much narrower than the pelvis;\nbecause, this indicates extreme weakness of the locomotive system.\n\n9. If the shoulders do not slope from the lower part of the neck; because,\nthis shows that the upper part of the chest is not sufficiently wide of\nitself, but is rendered angular by the muscularity, &c., of the shoulders.\n\n10. If the upper part of the chest be not relatively short and wide, and\nif it owe not its width rather to itself than to the size of the\nshoulders; because, this shows that the vital organs contained in the\nchest are not sufficiently expanded.\n\n11. If, in youth, the upper part of the trunk, including the muscles\nmoving the shoulders, do not form an inverted cone, whose apex is the\nwaist; because, in that case, the lightness and beauty of the locomotive\nsystem are destroyed by the unrestrained expansion of the vital.\n\n12. If the loins be not extended at the expense of the chest above and of\nthe limbs below; because, on this depends their capacity to receive organs\nenlarged or displaced during gestation.\n\n13. If the back be not hollow; because, this shows that the pelvis is not\nsufficiently deep to project posteriorly, nor consequently of sufficient\ncapacity for gestation and parturition.\n\n14. If the haunches be not widely expanded (as already implied in speaking\nof the shoulders); because, the interior cavity of the pelvis is then\ninsufficient for gestation and parturition.\n\n15. If, in consequence of the form of the pelvis, and the arch of the\npubis being larger, the mons veneris be not more prominent than the\nchest; because, the pelvic cavity is then also insufficient for gestation\nand parturition.\n\n * * * * *\n\n16. If the thighs of woman be not wider than those of man; because, the\nwidth of the female pelvis, and the purposes which it serves, require\nthis.\n\n17. If the size of the thighs be not large, the haunches as it were\nincreasing till they reach their greatest extent at the upper part of the\nthigh, which anteriorly rises as high as the mons veneris, and if the\nknees do not approximate.\n\n18. If the arms and the limbs be not relatively short, if they do not\ntaper greatly as they recede from the trunk, and if the hands and feet be\nnot small; because, it is the vital system and the trunk, which is by far\nthe most important part in the female.\n\n19. If the larynx or flute part of the throat be not small; because their\nmagnitude indicates a masculine character.\n\n\n_Defects of the Vital System._\n\n(Defects of the contained vital parts, which have been already implied in\nenumerating those of the containing locomotive parts, are not again\nmentioned here, as the intelligent reader can easily supply these and\nsimilar omissions.)\n\n1. If, in consequence of marriage taking place before their full growth,\nwomen remain always of diminished stature, weak, and pale.\n\n2. If the digestive organs being large rather than active, is inconsistent\nwith the greater activity and less permanence of all the other functions,\nsecretion, gestation, &c., excepted.\n\n3. If the absorbing vessels, being inactive, are insufficient for large\nsecretions.\n\n4. If the circulating vessels, being inactive and imperfectly ramified,\nleave the skin cold, opaque, and destitute of complexion.\n\n5. If the secreting vessels, being inactive, furnish neither the plumpness\nnecessary to beauty, nor those ovarian, uterine, and mammary excretions on\nwhich progeny is dependant.\n\n6. If the neck form not an insensible transition between the body and\nhead, being sufficiently full to conceal the muscles of the neck and the\nflute part of the throat.\n\n7. If, in a young woman, the mamm\u00e6, without being too large, do not occupy\nthe bosom, and rise from it with nearly equal curves on every side, which\nsimilarly terminate in their apices; or if, in the mature woman, they do\nnot, when supported, seem laterally to protrude somewhat on the space\noccupied by the arms; because, these show that this important part of the\nvital system is insufficiently developed.\n\n8. If the waist, tapering little farther than the middle of the trunk, and\nbeing sufficiently marked, especially in the back and loins, by the\napproximation of the expanded pelvis, be not also slightly encroached on\nby the plumpness of all the contiguous parts, without however destroying\nits elegance, softness and flexibility; because, this similarly shows\nfeebleness in a portion of that system, which is by far the most important\nto woman.\n\n9. If the waist be broader than the upper part of the trunk, including the\nmuscles moving the shoulders; because, this indicates that expansion of\nthe stomach, liver, and other glands, which is generally the result of\ntheir excessive use or excitement. It is attended with a common look and\nan inelegant appearance.\n\n10. If the abdomen be not moderately expanded, its upper portion beginning\nto swell out, higher even than the umbilicus, and its greatest projection\nbeing almost immediately under that point; because, this shows a weakness\nof the vital system, and a disproportion to the parts immediately above.\n\n11. If the abdomen, which should be highest immediately under the\numbilicus, slope not gently toward the mons veneris, and be more prominent\nelsewhere; because this is the result of that excessive expansion which\ntakes place during parturition.\n\n12. If the abdomen, which, as well as being elevated, should be narrow at\nits upper part, become as broad there as below, and lose that gentle\nlateral depression by which it is distinguished from the more muscular\nparts on the sides of the pelvis; because, this indicates the operation of\nthe causes mentioned in the preceding paragraph.\n\n13. If a remarkable fulness exist not behind the upper part of the\nhaunches, and on each side of the lower part of the spine, commencing as\nhigh as the waist, and terminating in the still greater swell of the\ndistinctly separated hips; the flat expanse between these and immediately\nover the fissure of the hips, being relieved by a considerable dimple on\neach side, caused by the elevation of all the surrounding parts; because,\nit indicates feebleness in that system which is most essential to woman.\n\n14. If the cellular tissue and the plumpness which is connected with it,\ndo not predominate, so as to obliterate all distinct projection of the\nmuscles; because, this likewise shows that an important portion of the\nvital system is feeble, and it deprives woman of the forms which are\nnecessary to love. Nothing can completely compensate, in woman, for the\nabsolute want of plumpness. The features of meager persons are hard; they\nhave a dry and arid physiognomy; the mouth is without charm; the color is\nwithout freshness; their limbs seem ill united with their body; and all\ntheir movements are abrupt and coarse.\n\n15. If plumpness be too predominant; because, it then destroys the\ndistinctness of parts, and constitutes an excess productive of\ninconvenience.\n\n16. If that excessive plumpness be broken, as it were, into masses;\nbecause, it constitutes coarseness of the vital system.\n\n17. If former plumpness have left the previously-filled cellular tissue\nand expanded integuments enfeebled; because, that constitutes flaccidity.\n\n18. If the almost entire absorption of adipose substance have finally left\nthe bones angular, the muscles and other parts permanently rigid, and the\nskin dry; because, that indicates decay of the vital system, and\ncharacterizes age.\n\n19. If the skin be not fine, soft, and white, delicate, thin, and\ntransparent, fresh and animated, if the complexion be not pure and vivid,\nif the hair be not fine, soft, and luxuriant, and if the nails be not\nsmooth, transparent, and rose-colored; because, these likewise show the\nfeebleness of that system which is most important to woman.\n\n\n_Defects of the Mental System._\n\n1. If the head, compared with the trunk, be not less than that of the\nmale; because, the mental system, in the female, ought to be subordinate\nto the vital, and the reverse is inconsistent with the healthful and happy\nexercise of her faculties as woman.\n\n2. If the organs of sense be not proportionally larger, when compared with\nthe brain, and more delicately outlined than in the male; because,\nsensibility should exceed reasoning power, in the female.\n\n3. If the brain (in other words) be not proportionally smaller, when\ncompared with the organs of sense, than in the male; because, reasoning\npower should be subordinate to sensibility in the female.\n\n4. If the cerebel be not proportionally smaller, when compared with the\norgans of sense, than in the male; because, voluntary power should also be\nsubordinate to sensibility, in the female.\n\n5. If the cerebel be not narrow and pointed posteriorly, that is, long\nrather than broad (its general form in woman); because, the volitions of\nwoman should be intense, not permanent.\n\n6. If the forehead be not large in proportion to the backhead, but on the\ncontrary low, or very narrow; because, the former being the seat of\nobservation, if the organ be small, the function must be correspondingly\nso, and in that case passion will probably predominate.\n\n7. If the delicacy of the skin permit not to the touch of woman\ncorresponding delicacy.\n\n8. If the mouth be not small, or extend much beyond the nostrils, and if\nthe lips be not delicately outlined and of vermillion hue.\n\n9. If the nose be not nearly in the same direction with the forehead, or\nif more than a slight inflexion is to be seen.\n\n10. If the eyes be not relatively large and perfectly clear in every part.\n\n11. If the eyelids, instead of an oblong, form nearly a circular aperture,\nresembling somewhat the eye of monkeys, cats, or birds; because, this\nround eye, when large, and especially when dark, is always indicative of a\nbold, and, when small, of a pert insensibility of character.\n\n12. If the eyelashes be not long and silky, and if the eyebrows be not\nfurnished with fine hairs, and be not arched and distinctly separated.\n\n13. If the ears be prominent, so as to alter the regularity of the oval of\nthe head, or surcharge its outline with prominences.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nEXTERNAL INDICATIONS; OR ART OF DETERMINING THE PRECISE FIGURE, THE DEGREE\nOF BEAUTY, THE MIND, THE HABITS, AND THE AGE OF WOMAN, NOTWITHSTANDING THE\nAIDS AND DISGUISES OF DRESS.\n\n\n_External Indications of Figure._\n\nExternal indications as to figure are required chiefly as to the limbs\nwhich are concealed by drapery. Such indications are afforded by the walk,\nto every careful observer.\n\nIn considering _the proportion of the limbs to the body_--if, even in a\nyoung woman, the walk, though otherwise good, be heavy, or the fall on\neach foot alternately be sudden, and rather upon the heel, the limbs,\nthough well formed, will be found to be slender, compared with the body.\n\nThis conformation accompanies any great proportional development of the\nvital system; and it is frequently observable in the women of the Saxon\npopulation of England, as in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, &c.\n\nIn women of this conformation, moreover, the slightest indisposition or\ndebility is indicated by a slight vibration of the shoulders, and upper\npart of the chest, at every step, in walking.\n\nIn considering _the line or direction of the limbs_--if, viewed behind,\nthe feet, at every step, are thrown out backward, and somewhat laterally,\nthe knees are certainly much inclined inward.\n\nIf, viewed in front, the dress, at every step, is as it were, gathered\ntoward the front, and then tossed more or less to the opposite side, the\nknees are certainly too much inclined.\n\nIn considering _the relative size of each portion of the limbs_--if, in\nthe walk, there be a greater or less approach to the marching pace, the\nhip is large; for we naturally employ the joint which is surrounded with\nthe most powerful muscles, and, in any approach to the march, it is the\nhip-joint which is used, and the knee and ankle-joints which remain\nproportionally unemployed.\n\nIf, in the walk, the tripping pace be used, as in an approach to walking\non tiptoes, the calf is large; for it is only by the power of its muscles\nthat, under the weight of the whole body, the foot can be extended for\nthis purpose.\n\nIf, in the walk, the foot be raised in a slovenly manner, and the heel be\nseen, at each step, to lift the bottom of the dress upward and backward,\nneither the hip nor the calf is well developed.\n\nEven with regard to the parts of the figure which are more exposed to\nobservation by the closer adaptation of dress, much deception occurs. It\nis, therefore, necessary to understand the arts employed for this purpose,\nat least by skilful women.\n\nA person having a narrow face, wears a bonnet with wide front, exposing\nthe lower part of the cheeks.--One having a broad face, wears a closer\nfront; and, if the jaw be wide, it is in appearance diminished, by\nbringing the corners of the bonnet sloping to the point of the chin.\n\nA person having a long neck has the neck of the bonnet descending, the\nneck of the dress rising, and filling more or less of the intermediate\nspace. One having a short neck has the whole bonnet short and close in the\nperpendicular direction, and the neck of the dress neither high nor wide.\n\nPersons with narrow shoulders have the shoulders or epaulets of the dress\nformed on the outer edge of the natural shoulder, very full, and both the\nbosom and back of the dress running in oblique folds, from the point of\nthe shoulder to the middle of the bust.\n\nPersons with waists too large, render them less before by a stomacher, or\nsomething equivalent, and behind by a corresponding form of the dress,\nmaking the top of the dress smooth across the shoulders, and drawing it in\nplaits to a narrow point at the bottom of the waist.\n\nThose who have the bosom too small, enlarge it by the oblique folds of the\ndress being gathered above, and by other means.\n\nThose who have the lower posterior part of the body too flat, elevate it\nby the top of the skirt being gathered behind, and by other less skilful\nadjustments, which though hid, are easily detected.\n\nThose who have the lower part of the body too prominent anteriorly,\nrender it less apparent by shortening the waist, by a corresponding\nprojection behind, and by increasing the bosom above.\n\nThose who have the haunches too narrow, take care not to have the bottom\nof the dress too wide.\n\nTall women have a wide skirt, or several flounces, or both of these:\nshorter women, a moderate one, but as long as can be conveniently worn,\nwith the flounces, &c., as low as possible.[57]\n\n\n_External Indications of Beauty._\n\nAdditional indications as to beauty are required chiefly where the woman\nobserved precedes the observer, and may, by her figure, naturally and\nreasonably excite his interest, while at the same time it would be rude to\nturn and look in her face on passing.\n\nThere can, therefore, be no impropriety in observing, that the conduct of\nthose who may happen to meet the woman thus preceding, will differ\naccording to the sex of the person who meets her.--If the person meeting\nher be a man, and the lady observed be beautiful, he will not only look\nwith an expression of pleasure at her countenance, but will afterward turn\nmore or less completely to survey her from behind.--If the person meeting\nher be a woman, the case becomes more complex. If both be either ugly or\nbeautiful, or if the person meeting her be beautiful and the lady observed\nbe ugly, then it is probable, that the approaching person may pass by\ninattentively, casting merely an indifferent glance: if, on the contrary,\nthe woman meeting her be ugly, and the lady observed be beautiful, then\nthe former will examine the latter with the severest scrutiny, and if she\nsees features and shape without defect, she will instantly fix her eyes on\nthe head-dress or gown, in order to find some object for censure of the\nbeautiful woman, and for consolation in her own ugliness.\n\nThus he who happens to follow a female may be aided in determining whether\nit is worth his while to glance at her face in passing, or to devise other\nmeans of seeing it.\n\nEven when the face is seen, as in meeting in the streets or elsewhere,\ninfinite deception occurs as to the degree of beauty. This operates so\npowerfully, that a correct estimate of beauty is perhaps never formed at\nfirst. This depends on the forms and still more on the colors of dress in\nrelation to the face. For this reason, it is necessary to understand the\nprinciples according to which colors are employed at least by skilful\nwomen.[58]\n\nWhen it is the fault of a face to contain too much yellow, then yellow\naround the face is used to remove it by contrast, and to cause the red and\nblue to predominate.\n\nWhen it is the fault of a face to contain too much red, then red around\nthe face is used to remove it by contrast, and to cause the yellow and\nblue to predominate.\n\nWhen it is the fault of a face to contain too much blue, then blue around\nthe face is used to remove it by contrast, and to cause the yellow and red\nto predominate.\n\nWhen it is the fault of a face to contain too much yellow and red, then\norange is used.\n\nWhen it is the fault of a face to contain too much red and blue, then\npurple is used.\n\nWhen it is the fault of a face to contain too much blue and yellow, then\ngreen is used.\n\nIt is necessary to observe that the linings of bonnets reflect their color\non the face, and transparent bonnets transmit that color, and equally\ntinge it. In both these cases, the color employed is no longer that which\nis placed around the face, and which acts on it by contrast, but the\nopposite. As green around the face heightens a faint red in the cheeks by\ncontrast, so the pink lining of the bonnet aids it by reflection.\n\nHence linings which reflect, are generally of the teint which is wanted in\nthe face; and care is then taken that these linings do not come into the\ndirect view of the observer, and operate prejudicially on the face by\ncontrast, overpowering the little color which by reflection they should\nheighten. The fronts of bonnets so lined, therefore, do not widen greatly\nforward, and bring their color into contrast.\n\nWhen bonnets do widen, the proper contrast is used as a lining; but then\nit has not a surface much adapted for reflection, otherwise it may\nperform that office, and injure the complexion.\n\nUnderstanding, then, the application of these colors in a general way, it\nmay be noticed, that fair faces are by contrast best acted on by light\ncolors, and dark faces by darker colors.\n\nDark faces are best affected by darker colors, evidently because they tend\nto render the complexion fairer; and fair faces do not require dark\ncolors, because the opposition would be too strong.\n\nObjects which constitute a background to the face, or which, on the\ncontrary, reflect their hues upon it, always either improve or injure the\ncomplexion. For this and some other reasons, many persons look better at\nhome in their apartments than in the streets. Apartments may, indeed, be\npeculiarly calculated to improve individual complexions.\n\n\n_External Indications of Mind._\n\nExternal indications as to mind may be derived from figure, from gait, and\nfrom dress.\n\nAs to figure, a certain symmetry or disproportion of parts (either of\nwhich depends immediately upon the locomotive system)--or a certain\nsoftness or hardness of form (which belongs exclusively to the vital\nsystem)--or a certain delicacy or coarseness of outline (which belongs\nexclusively to the mental system)--these reciprocally denote a locomotive\nsymmetry or disproportion--or a vital softness or hardness--or a mental\ndelicacy or coarseness, which will be found also indicated by the\nfeatures of the face.\n\nThese qualities are marked in pairs, as each belonging to its respective\nsystem; for, without this, there can be no accurate or useful observation.\n\nAs to gait, that progression which advances, unmodified by any lateral\nmovement of the body, or any perpendicular rising of the head, and which\nbelongs exclusively to the locomotive system--or that soft lateral rolling\nof the body, which belongs exclusively to the vital system--or that\nperpendicular rising or falling of the head at every impulse to step,\nwhich belongs exclusively to the mental system--these reciprocally\nindicate a corresponding locomotive, or vital, or mental character, which\nwill be found also indicated by the features of the face.\n\nTo put to the test the utility of these elements of observation and\nindication, let us take a few instances.--If, in any individual,\nlocomotive symmetry of figure is combined with direct and linear gait, a\ncharacter of mind and countenance not absolutely repulsive, but cold and\ninsipid, is indicated.--If vital softness of figure is combined, with a\ngentle lateral rolling of the body in its gait, voluptuous character and\nexpression of countenance are indicated.--If delicacy of outline in the\nfigure, be combined with perpendicular rising of the head, levity, perhaps\nvanity, is indicated.--But there are innumerable combinations and\nmodifications of the elements which we have just described. Expressions\nof pride, determination, obstinacy, &c., are all observable.\n\nThe gait, however, is often formed, in a great measure, by local or other\ncircumstances, by which it is necessary that the observer should avoid\nbeing misled.\n\nDress, as affording indications, though less to be relied on than the\npreceding, is not without its value. The woman who possesses a cultivated\ntaste, and a corresponding expression of countenance, will generally be\ntastefully dressed; and the vulgar woman, with features correspondingly\nrude, will easily be seen through the inappropriate mask in which her\nmilliner or dressmaker may have invested her.\n\n\n_External Indications of Habits._\n\nExternal indications as to the personal habits of women are both numerous\nand interesting.\n\nThe habit of child-bearing is indicated by a flatter breast, a broader\nback, and thicker cartilages of the bones of the pubis, necessary widening\nthe pelvis.\n\nThe same habit is also indicated by a high rise of the nape of the neck,\nso that the neck from that point bends considerably forward, and by an\nelevation which is diffused between the neck and shoulders. These all\narise from temporary distensions of the trunk in women whose secretions\nare powerful, from the habit of throwing the shoulders backward during\npregnancy, and the head again forward, to balance the abdominal weight;\nand they bestow a character of vitality peculiarly expressive.\n\nThe same habit is likewise indicated by an excess of that lateral rolling\nof the body in walking, which was already described as connected with\nvoluptuous character. This is a very certain indication, as it arises from\ntemporary distensions of the pelvis, which nothing else can occasion. As\nin consequence of this lateral rolling of the body, and of the weight of\nthe body being much thrown forward in gestation, the toes are turned\nsomewhat inward, they aid in the indication.\n\nThe habit of nursing children is indicated, both in mothers and\nnursery-maids, by the right shoulder being larger and more elevated than\nthe left.\n\nThe habits of the seamstress are indicated by the neck suddenly bending\nforward, and the arms being, even in walking, considerably bent forward or\nfolded more or less upward from the elbows.\n\nHabits of labor are indicated by a considerable thickness of the shoulders\nbelow, where they form an angle with the inner part of the arm; and, where\nthese habits are of the lowest menial kind, the elbows are turned outward\nand the palms of the hands backward.\n\nThe habits of many of the inferior female professions might easily be\nindicated; but they would be unsuitable to a work like this.\n\n\n_External Indications of Age._\n\nExternal indications of age are required chiefly where the face is veiled,\nor where the woman observed precedes the observer and may reasonably\nexcite his interest.\n\nIn either of these cases, if the foot and ankle have lost a certain\nmoderate plumpness, and assumed a certain sinewy or bony appearance, the\nwoman has generally passed the period of youth.\n\nIf in walking, instead of the ball or outer edge of the foot first\nstriking the ground, it is the heel which does so, then has the woman in\ngeneral passed the meridian of life.--Unlike the last indication, this is\napparent, however the foot and ankle may be clothed.--The reason of this\nindication is the decrease of power which unfits the muscles to receive\nthe weight of the body by maintaining the extension of the ankle-joint.\n\nExceptions to this last indication are to be found chiefly in women in\nwhom the developments of the body are proportionally much greater, either\nfrom a temporary or a permanent cause, than those of the limbs, the\nmuscles of which are consequently incapable of receiving the weight of the\nbody by maintaining the extension of the ankle-joint.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\n\nA.\n\nMr. Walker's extravagant admiration of the Grecian mythology has led him\nto over-estimate its influence upon poetry and the arts. That these were\ninfluenced, in a very important degree, by the religion of Greece, no one\nacquainted with the history of that nation, can doubt; but, that the arts\ncannot exist where the Grecian mythology is not the popular religion, is\nan opinion unsupported by the history of the past, and altogether opposed\nto their present flourishing state in civilized countries. In no age or\nnation has the art of painting, for example, attained higher perfection,\nthan in Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries; a period which has been\ncalled \"the golden age of Italian art,\" and its high excellence has been\njustly attributed to the introduction of Christianity. \"The walls and\ncupolas,\" says a late writer, \"of new and splendid churches were\nimmediately covered, as if by enchantment, with the miracles of paintings\nand sculpture--the eager multitude were not compelled to wait till genius\nhad labored for years on what it had been years in conceiving. Those eager\nspirits seemed to breathe out their creations in full and mature\nbeauty--performing at once, by the buoyant energies of well-disciplined\ngenius, more than all the cold precision of mechanical knowledge can ever\naccomplish.\" Allan Cunningham, in his life of Flaxman, the artist,\nspeaking of these paintings, remarks: \"Into these Flaxman looked with the\neye of a sculptor and of a Christian. He saw, he said, that the mistress\nto whom the great artists of Italy had dedicated their genius was the\nChurch; that they were unto her as chief priests, to interpret her tenets\nand her legends to the world in a more brilliant language than that of\nrelics and images. To her illiterate people, the Church addressed herself\nthrough the eye, and led their senses captive by the external\nmagnificence with which she overwhelmed them.\"\n\nBut it is unnecessary to multiply quotations to prove this point. Flaxman\nnever uttered a truer saying, than when he remarked, that \"the Christian\nreligion presents personages and subjects no less favorable to painting\nand sculpture than the ancient classics.\" Accordingly, we find among his\nown immortal productions, that the monument erected in memory of Miss\nLushington, in Kent, representing a mother mourning for her daughter,\ncomforted by a ministering angel, was inspired by that text of holy writ,\n\"Blessed are they that mourn;\" and the monument in memory of the family of\nSir Francis Baring imbodies these words, \"Thy will be done--thy kingdom\ncome--deliver us from evil.\" To the first motto belongs a devotional\nfigure as large as life--\n\n \"Her looks communing with the skies;\"\n\na perfect image of piety and resignation. On one side, imbodying \"Thy\nkingdom come,\" a mother and daughter ascend to the skies welcomed rather\nthan supported by angels; and on the other, expressing the sentiment\n\"Deliver us from evil,\" a male figure, in subdued agony, appears in the\nair, while spirits of good and evil contend for the mastery. This has been\nconsidered one of the finest pieces of motionless poetry in England. We\nhold, then, that Mr. Walker's remark that \"neither poetry nor the arts can\nhave being, without the religion of Greece,\" is far from being sustained,\neither by history or observation.\n\n\nB.\n\nThe remarks of Mr. Walker, in relation to the duty of parents and\nteachers, seem to us well-founded and judicious. If moral, as well as\nintellectual and physical education, be part of the parental duty, then it\nwould seem to follow, that it should embrace those subjects which are of\nthe most importance, both to the physical and moral well-being of the\nchild; and surely, the relation of the sexes, and the due subjection of\nthe animal propensities, are not the least important of these. There is a\ndelicacy generally felt and observed on this point, which springs from a\nprinciple that we honor and respect, while, at the same time, we doubt\nwhether it leads to favorable and auspicious results. No one, who looks\nback upon the years of his own childhood, can for a moment doubt that\njudicious advice and seasonable information on certain subjects, which\nwere probably considered of a too delicate nature to be even hinted at,\nwould have been highly useful. The young will inevitably become initiated\ninto certain vices and evil practices, unless put on their guard, by the\nwarning voice of those they love and respect. There are a variety of\npassions, affections, and appetites, which belong to our nature, and were\nintended when properly directed and indulged, to promote our interest and\nhappiness. Those under consideration, early begin to manifest themselves,\nand, when left without the restraints of enlightened intellect and the\nmoral sense, invariably lead to disastrous consequences. The question then\nis, shall the young and inexperienced be left to the mere accidents of its\ncondition, without an effort to give it sound principles to govern it, or\nwithout bringing some conservative influence to bear upon it? We think,\nwith Mr. Walker, that it should not. Both philosophy and reason prove the\ndanger of such a course. The circumstances which are connected with sexual\nvices cannot be wholly kept out of view. They meet the eye, or are\nsuggested to the imagination, at almost every turn. A thousand scenes and\nincidents occur to excite the passions, if the mind is not fortified\nagainst their influence. Those who are fastidious, and believe that\ndelicacy forbids all allusion to such subjects, will say, \"Keep the youth\nin ignorance--conceal, if possible, everything from his view, that may\nexcite the passions.\" Still, there remain the constitutional\nsusceptibilities; passion and appetite cannot be eradicated, and they will\noften be excited by incidents, which the most wakeful vigilance will not\ndetect or suspect. The fact is, that long before parents are aware of it,\nthe child has obtained knowledge on these subjects through many corrupt\nchannels; and the associations first formed, are destined to exert, ever\nafterward, a powerful influence for evil. The early associations might, by\njudicious instruction on the part of parents, be of such character, as to\nthrow around the youth a barrier almost impregnable. As to the _time_ and\n_manner_ of imparting this instruction, it must be left to the wisdom and\nprudence of teachers and parents and, perhaps, as a general rule, it\nshould be left wholly to the latter.\n\n\nC.\n\nMuch has been written on the nature of beauty, from the divine Plato, who\ndedicated one of his dialogues to this subject, to Lord Jeffries, the\neditor of the Edinburgh Review; who, in his celebrated article in the\nSupplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica, has excelled all previous\nefforts in its elucidation, and produced an essay, which will stand an\nimperishable monument of his taste, learning, and genius. It is not our\ndesign to enter upon a consideration of beauty in the abstract, or to\nattempt its analysis, as this has been done by our author in a very able,\nif not satisfactory manner. We take it, however, to denote that quality,\nor assemblage and union of qualities in the objects of our perception,\nwhether material, intellectual, or moral, which we contemplate with\nemotions of pleasure; and we refer it to that internal sense, which is\nusually called _taste_. When it is asked, why a thing is beautiful, it is\nnot always easy to find a satisfactory answer. We find beauty in color, in\nsound, in form, in motion, in everything. We have beauties of speech,\nbeauties of thought, beauties in art, in nature, in the sciences, in\nactions, in affections, and in characters. Dr. Reid well asks, \"In things\nso different, and so unlike, is there any quality, the same in all, which\nwe may call by the name of beauty?\" We shall not attempt to fathom this\ndifficulty; indeed, it could not be done, without entering upon a\nmetaphysical discussion, dry in detail, and uninteresting in result.\n\nWhen we come to inquire in what _female beauty_ consists, we shall find\nthat there is something which enters into it, beside physical goodness. It\nis not a mere matter of flesh and blood; but color, form, expression, and\ngrace, are all essential to its perfection. The two first have been called\nthe _body_, the two latter, the _soul_ of beauty--and without the soul,\nthe body is but a mass of deformed and inanimate matter:--\n\n \"Mind, mind, alone! bear witness earth and heaven,\n The living fountains in itself contains\n Of beauteous and sublime. Here, hand-in-hand,\n Sit paramount the Graces. Here, enthroned,\n Celestial Venus, with divinest airs,\n Invites the soul to never-failing joy.\"\n\n AKENSIDE\n\nColor and form are only beautiful, because they are expressive of health,\ndelicacy, and softness, in the female sex. It has been remarked, that\nexpression has greater power than either beauty or form, as it is only the\nexpression of the tender and kind passions that gives beauty; that all the\ncruel and unkind ones add to deformity, and that, on their account,\ngood-nature may very properly be said to be the best feature, even in the\nfinest face. Modesty, sensibility, and sweetness, blended together, so as\neither to enliven or correct each other, give almost as much attraction as\nthe passions are capable of adding to a very pretty face. It is owing to\nthis force of pleasingness, which attends all the kinder passions, that\nlovers not only seem, but really are, more beautiful to each other than to\nthe rest of the world; and in their mutual presence and intercourse, says\na French writer, there is a soul upon their countenances, which does not\nappear when they are absent from each other or even in company that lays a\nrestraint upon their features. Indeed, it will appear that all the\ningredients of beauty terminate in expression, and this may be, either\nperfection of the body, or the qualities of the mind. Dr. Reid indeed goes\nso far as to say, that beauty originally dwells in the moral and\nintellectual perfections of mind, and in its active powers. Thus beauty\nmay be ascribed to all those qualities which are the natural objects of\nlove and kind affections, as the moral virtues, innocence, gentleness,\ncondescension, humanity, natural affections, and the whole train of soft\nand gentle virtues--qualities amiable in their nature, and on account of\ntheir moral worth. So also do intellectual talents excite our love and\nesteem of those who possess them; these are knowledge, good sense, wit,\nhumor, cheerfulness, good taste, excellence in any of the fine arts--as\nmusic, painting, sculpture, embroidery, &c. Thus, for example, the beauty\nof good breeding is not originally in the external behavior in which it\nconsists, but is derived from the qualities of mind which it expresses;\nfor it has been well observed, that though there may be good breeding\nwithout the amiable qualities of mind, its beauty is still derived from\nwhat it naturally expresses.\n\nFlaxman has truly said, that neither mind nor any one of its qualities or\npowers, is an immediate object of perception to men. These are perceived\nthrough the medium of material objects, on which their signatures are\nimpressed. The signs of these qualities are immediately perceived by the\nsenses, and by them reflected to the understanding; and we are apt to\nattribute to the sign, the beauty which is properly and originally in the\nthing signified. Thus, the invisible Creator hath stamped on his works\nsignatures of his divine wisdom, power, and benignity, which are visible\nto all men. The works of men in science, in the arts of taste, and in the\nmechanical arts, bear the signatures of those qualities of mind which were\nemployed in their production. Their external behavior or conduct in life,\nexpresses the good or bad qualities of their minds. In every species of\nanimals we perceive, by visible signs, their instincts, appetites,\naffections, or sagacity; and even in the inanimate world, there are many\nthings analogous to the qualities of mind; so that there is hardly\nanything belonging to mind which may not be represented by images taken\nfrom objects of sense; and, on the other hand, every object of sense is\nbeautiful, by borrowing attire from attributes of the mind. Thus, the\nbeauties of mind, though invisible in themselves, are perceived in the\nobjects of sense, in which their beauty is impressed. Thus, also, in those\nqualities of sensible objects to which we ascribe beauty, we discover in\nthem some relation to mind, and the greatest in those that are most\nbeautiful. Every beauty in the vegetable creation, of which we can form\nany rational judgment, expresses some perfection in the object, or some\nwise contrivance in the author. In the animal kingdom we perceive superior\nbeauties, resulting from life, sense, activity, various instincts and\naffections, and, in many cases, great sagacity; which are attributes of\nmind, and possess an original beauty. In their manner of life, we observe\nthat they possess powers, outward form, and inward structure, exactly\nadapted to it; and the more perfectly any individual is fitted for its end\nand manner of life, the greater is its beauty. This, also, was manifestly\nMilton's theory of beauty; for, in his unrivalled description of our first\nparents in Paradise, he derives their beauty from those expressions of\nmoral and intellectual qualities which shone forth in their outward form\nand demeanor:--\n\n \"Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall,\n God-like erect! with native honor clad,\n In naked majesty, seemed lords of all,\n And worthy seemed, for, in their looks divine,\n The image of their glorious Maker, shone\n Truth, wisdom, sanctitude, severe and pure;\n Severe, but in true filial freedom placed,\n Whence true authority in man; though both\n Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed,\n For contemplation he, and valor formed,\n _For softness she, and sweet attractive grace_.\"\n\nFrom these remarks, it will appear that we do not regard novelty alone as\nbeing \"the exciting cause of pleasurable emotions, and of the consequent\nperception of beauty in the relation of things.\" The beautiful, both in\nstatuary and painting, we believe to depend chiefly on the perfection with\nwhich the artist succeeds in expressing the qualities of the mind, whether\ngood or evil; and it is worthy of notice, that Plato, in his Dialogues,\ndeclares that the good and the beautiful are one and the same. Hence, the\nGreeks called the beautiful [Greek: KALOS].\n\nThe influence of novelty has been so well illustrated in an Essay by the\nauthor of a Treatise on Happiness, that we trust no apology will be\nrequired for transferring a portion of it to our pages:--\n\n\"The term novelty applies to everything new--either newly invented, or\nnewly exhibited to us; in the former case the thing is novel to the world,\nin the latter it is novel to ourselves. Novelty powerfully influences the\nsenses, the passions, and the manners of human beings; it furnishes\namusement, employment, and maintenance for man; it accompanies him in his\nprogress through this variable being, from the commencement of life to the\nperiod of dissolution.\n\n\"Novelty may be either pleasing or unpleasing. When it affects the senses\nby grateful influences, it occasions admiration and delight. How\npowerfully must the vision of Adam have been affected, when he was\nintroduced to being! Everything which he beheld was new. There was drawn\nout before him, the plain, the fruitful valley, the verdant hill. Shrubs\nand trees were distributed around him. The earth was strewed with flowers:\nrivulets and rivers diversified the scene--\n\n 'Rolling on orient pearl, and sands of gold.'\n\nThe ocean, perhaps, was stretched out as a plain of silver in the distant\nview; the heavens were robed in splendor; the sun shone brilliantly. His\nown person--himself, was an inextricable mystery. He could move; he could\nthink; he could behold the display of creation; he could close his eyes,\nand exclude every impression. All was new; and everything, he might\nnaturally have fancied, would remain the same; but, he was destined to\nbehold a series of novelties. In a short time, he saw the sun sinking\nbelow the horizon. The heavens were adorned in their most splendid robes,\nlike the gorgeous display of an Eastern monarch. A shade was cast over the\nvalleys, and darkness began to gather among the trees, while their tops\nand branches were still illumined in the sunbeams. The shadows of evening\nare now gathered around him; the twinkling stars adorn the heavens; but\nthe beauties of hill, vale, waters, trees, and flowers, are departed! How\nsensibly must he have been affected! He would now conclude that his future\ntime must be spent in darkness; but he looks toward the East, and across\nthe wide expanse of waters he beholds a gleam of light, which leads the\neye to some great luminary, rising above the horizon, to cheer the nightly\nsolitude; and, as it mounts to the zenith, new beauties delight the vision\nof this lonely and astonished inhabitant of the earth. After a short\nperiod the moon sinks, the sun rises in the heavens, and the same\ndelightful scenery is exhibited which was beheld the previous day.\n\n\"We can imagine the effect of novelty in producing admiration; when\ntravellers, who having been toiling for many days or weeks on the burning\nsands of interminable deserts, come suddenly upon some lovely valley,\nwatered by cooling streams, shaded by groves of trees, and beautified with\nclusters of flowers. Or, we can fancy the pleasure which would be produced\non wayworn voyagers, who had been long toiling on the great deep and they\ncome to some blest isle,\n\n ----'Where the voluptuous breeze\n The peaceful native breathes, at eventide,\n From nutmeg-groves, and bowers of cinnamon.'\n\nTo the infant everything is novel, and almost everything is a source of\nadmiration. The people who move to and fro; the walls and furniture of the\nroom; the fire and the candles; the bustle and movement of men and\ncarriages; the heavens, sunshine, and rain. These occasion interest and\nsurprise. Dr. Brown has inquired, 'What metaphysician is there, however\nsubtile and profound in his analytical inquiries, and however successful\nin the analyses which he has made, who would not give all his past\ndiscovery, and all his hopes of future discovery, for the certainty of\nknowing, with exactness, what every infant feels?\" But he would, probably,\nmeet with few who would sacrifice so much for the purpose; and yet the\nfeelings of an infant must be exceedingly interesting.\n\n\"We can easily suppose the effect which would be produced on a company of\nsavages, if, in the midst of their woods, one of our best military bands\nwere to strike up a powerful strain of martial music. At first they would\nsit motionless, or stand as statues; then look toward the place whence the\nsounds proceeded, where they would behold a company of persons, in\nmany-colored dresses, and splendid ornaments, with curious musical\ninstruments, dropped, as they would fancy, from the clouds.\n\n\"But the effect of novelty may be painful; and this feeling will be\npowerful in the same proportion as the circumstances are important and\nnew. Suppose, for instance, a person who had been trained in the ways of\npropriety and virtue were introduced, for the first time, to a\nvillage-wake, or some such brutal holyday, where he would behold\nbull-baiting and cock-fighting, boxing and drunkenness; where he would\nlisten to quarrelling and profane swearing; how would his feelings be\nshocked! He would scarcely have fancied that a spot so small, on the\nsurface of the globe, could have exhibited so great a variety of\nwickedness.\n\n\"Or, we may imagine some one endowed with a delicate ear for music, who\nhad been accustomed to the practice of delightful harmony, obliged, for\nthe first time, to listen to the harsh scraping of some barbarous laborer\non the violin, or the useless attempts of some tasteless practitioners to\nperform a piece of music! How irksome and insufferable must such an ordeal\nbe to a man of refinement; and how would its painfulness be increased by\nits novelty!\n\n\"By the same rule, a person who may have been accustomed to luxury and\ndainty food, but is obliged, for the first time, to feed on loathsome\nbread and nauseous water, feels doubly the misery of his condition. And\nthus the man who has been used to salubrious air and grateful scents, will\nbe the more effected by disgusting smells.\n\n\"Novelty operates also in powerfully exciting the passions. Suppose a\ngeneral to be usually unfortunate in his combats with the enemy, and his\narmy to be consequently dispirited; but, upon some particular occasion,\nthe favors of fortune and of Providence are bestowed upon them, their\nefforts are successful, and the main body of the enemy begin to waver, how\nwould this inspirit them, and brighten their courage! They would rush\nforward, unconscious and careless of danger, and the foe must fly before\nsuch unconquerable ardor!\n\n\"If a man who had lived in poverty, in dependance on others for a\nsubsistence, had constantly wished for independence and comparative\ninfluence, and had endeavored to swim against the stream of adversity but\nhad never succeeded, and, all at once, a handsome fortune were left to\nhim, how would his eyes sparkle with exultation! If a person had been\nseparated from his friends and doomed to spend his days in the solitude of\na foreign land and he met, unexpectedly, with some of his nearest and\nkindest friends, how would his countenance beam with delight! The novelty\nof the circumstance would increase the amount of his joy!\n\n\"A traveller in a foreign country would be exceedingly pleased to discover\nsome trinket which had been made in his native city; and especially if he\nsaw on it the name of an intimate friend as the manufacturer. A toy, a\ndog, or a cat, under some circumstances, has occasioned tears. A beautiful\nfemale has appeared more lovely, when interesting events have introduced\nher to our notice; and one who is not usually attractive, has appeared so,\nwhen novelty has thrown its fascinations around her.\n\n\"The feeling of hope may be excited most powerfully by novel and\nunexpected circumstances. When the mariner has been long toiling in storms\nand dangers; when the heavens have been covered with darkness, and no\ninformation or guidance could be gained from the stars or the sun, the\ntempest suddenly ceases, the cheering sunbeams break upon him, and he\nfinds himself, unexpectedly, near the haven where he would be--how does\nhis heart exult with hope, and the consciousness of security!\n\n\"The passions may be excited, also, in an unpleasing manner; the feeling\nof fear may be powerfully produced by novelty. Suppose, for instance, a\nyouth, who was trained in the ways of tranquillity and enjoyment, with a\nfeeling heart for the sufferings of others, to be brought, all at once, on\nthe field of war and bloodshed. Suppose him passing along some narrow\ndefile, where the distant scenes could scarcely affect him, and where he\nwould perceive only a din of discordant sounds. But, on a sudden, he\nreaches the termination of the passage, and all the pomp, and\ncircumstance, and horror of war, are exhibited before him. Here he beholds\nrank opposed to rank, in deadly conflict; troops of horsemen butchering\neach other; forests of deadly weapons gleaming in the sunbeams. Now he\nlistens to the shouts of victors, the cries of the vanquished, the groans\nof the wounded and dying; to the swelling notes of some musical band; the\ndiscordant sounds of the drum; the clashing of arms, and the shrill clamor\nof trumpets; to the rattling of musketry and the roaring of artillery! How\nwould his heart sink within him at these novel scenes!\n\n\"Novelty will also occasion sorrow; as, when a man has been accustomed to\nindependence, and the comforts which wealth, judiciously managed, may\nproduce, and his riches are suddenly swept away, he is reduced from\naffluence to dependance, from comforts to privations. And when a person\nhas been used to the society of pleasant friends, and these are removed by\nthe hand of death, and the clay-cold body alone remains as the\nrepresentative of a cheerful and amiable companion, the novelty of this\nevent will occasion heartfelt sorrow.\n\n\"When those who have been accustomed to associate as faithful friends; or,\nwhen a monarch has been surrounded by persons who have pretended feelings\nof attachment, and evinced much hypocritical fidelity, and, all at once,\nthe veil of deception has been drawn aside, and an aspect has presented\nitself of a new and treacherous kind, how powerful have been the feelings\nof abhorrence and anger!\n\n\"And when a person, who has been nurtured in the lap of ease and comfort,\nand blessed with that best of all blessings (if it be rightly managed),\nthe gift of liberty, is torn from his home, and his family, and his\nengagements, and carried into a land of slavery, where he is laden with\noppressive chains, and insulted by a cruel task-master, with no chance of\nfreedom, nor any ray of happiness, how will his spirits sink, and how will\nthe haggard lineaments of despair be drawn on that countenance which was\nformed for cheerfulness! Or, suppose a person who was accustomed to a\ndwelling in some verdant valley, undisturbed by storms or the hazards of\nthe sea; and he was introduced, for the first time, to some of the most\naggravated dangers of that boisterous element. Suppose the winds were\ndriving furiously over the ocean, and the huge billows were breaking on\nthe helpless bark, while the darkness of the night was varied only by the\ngleam of the lightning, which exhibited breakers, and rocks, and\nover-hanging precipices, how would this new and dangerous condition\nagitate his mind, and drive him to despair!\n\n\"Novelty influences the customs or habits of mankind. On some occasions\nnovel engagements are pleasing; and thus we practise them again, and\nacquire a habit of performing them. For instance, the citizen who has\nwalked into the country as a novelty, has been pleased with his ramble,\nand induced to practise it daily. It sometimes occasions a progress in the\narts; and thus the first attempts at music, at painting, and at sculpture,\nhave produced a pleasure which has stimulated the person to future and\ncontinued labors.\n\n\"Sometimes, when the first impression has been rather unpleasing, a custom\nhas been acquired, because, afterward, it had been found pleasing or\nadvantageous. Thus there are many kinds of food, which were originally\nungrateful, but are now esteemed delicious. Port wine is nauseous for a\nchild, but it is pleasing to the taste of a person who has been accustomed\nto it. Smoking, the taking of snuff, and masticating of tobacco, with many\nother useless and dirty customs, are not produced by the pleasing\ninfluence of novelty; but they are rather opposed to it. They arise\nprincipally from the inclination of following injurious examples. In some\ncases ladies have set their faces against such customs, and have\nprohibited the practice among those who would gain their esteem: in other\ncases they have been more lenient, because they have found that a flame of\nlove may burn amid volumes of smoke from cigars or tobacco-pipes. Novelty\nhas occasioned a sensation of unpleasantness, with regard to particular\nmodes of dress; but afterward these fashions have become necessary to our\ncomfort.\n\n\"In some instances, the very things which we commonly hate most, become\nessential to our happiness. When Louis XVI. ascended the throne of France,\nthe doors of some of the dark cells in the Bastile were opened, and the\nhapless residents were allowed once more to breathe the pure air of\nheaven. Among the rest, there was one man who had been immured for nearly\nfifty years in a wretched cell, the area of which was so small as scarcely\nto allow him room to move about; but, having a vigorous body and a firm\nmind, he supported himself, until he had almost forgotten the world in\nwhich he lived, having had no intercourse with any one but the jailer, who\nbrought him his daily food. When he received the summons to depart, which\nseemed like a message in a dream, he was astonished; but when he walked\nthrough the spacious passages and the open courts, and saw the heavens\nextended above him, and the sun shining in his splendor, he was overcome\nby his feelings. He could badly walk, and badly speak, and he seemed as if\nhe had entered a new world. He went into the city, and found the street in\nwhich he had formerly lived, but his friends were dead; there was no\nliving being in the world that knew him, and the poor man wept with\nsorrow. He was a stranger in a strange country. He went to the minister\nwho had given him his freedom, and said: 'Sir, I can bear to die, but to\nlive in a world unknown and forlorn, the last human being of my race, is\ninsupportable; do, therefore, send me to my cell, that I may finish my\ndays there!' No blessing of Providence will be felt as a benefit, unless\nit be possessed by a person for whom it is adapted.\n\n\"Impressions of a novel and pleasing kind soon lose their attraction; and\nthus the honors which are acquired by civil and literary eminence, quickly\nfade away. They are like a beautiful cloud in the heavens, or a dew-drop\non a leaf, which glitters and exhibits its beauties for a while, but the\nfervent sun absorbs both; or, they are like a gaudy flower, which a man\nfixes in his bosom--very lovely at first, but its attractions soon vanish.\nOn the other hand, painful occurrences leave but a faint impression.\nAlthough, at first, a man may be bowed down with trouble, yet he will soon\nregain an erect position and a smiling countenance. A few weeks or months\nhide most of our sorrows from us; and this is an eminent proof of the\nwisdom and beneficence of the Deity: for the general amount of human\nhappiness is by this means more equally divided. A state of elation is\ntemporary, and so is a state of depression; and thus, whether a man rises\nor sinks in worldly possessions and honors, although there will be some\ndifference in the amount of enjoyment, yet there will be much less than we\nare generally disposed to imagine.\n\n\"A taste for novelty affects the engagements of society: it is the source\nof fashion; it gives labor to the mechanic, to the artist, and to almost\nevery man who obtains his maintenance by industry. And thus there are new\nbuildings, new vehicles, new machines, and new methods of doing most\nthings. There are dresses of various kinds the result of ingenuity and\ntaste. One thing is new and attractive, but it soon becomes stale, and\nthen we look for something novel. Some kinds of food are scarce and\ncostly: these are approved by the great, but they become plentiful and\ncheap, and then the rich man looks for something rare, some new discovery\nin the art of cookery. The round of pleasures and amusements is\ncontinually varying. Formerly the men, and even the ladies, were delighted\nby exhibitions of combats among savage beasts--lions, elephants, and\ntigers; they feasted their eyes on the bloody combats of human beings with\neach other, or with bulls and other furious animals. They attended\ndog-fights, cock-fights, and other barbarous diversions. But the taste has\nbecome improved; novelty has taken a praiseworthy direction: boxing,\nwrestling, and other disgraceful exhibitions, are now transferred to the\nvulgar and disreputable; many innocent amusements have been introduced,\nand these also have been regulated by the universal love of novelty. The\nsame variety has existed in language. A certain style of speech, and\ncertain phrases, are fashionable in the best society; these are gradually\nintroduced among the lower ranks, and then the better classes look for\nsomething novel. Many words and phrases originally introduced for the\npurpose of expressing things delicately, become vulgar: terms which were\nprimarily intended as a reproach become a designation of honor, and those\nonce deemed honorable become reproachful.\n\n\"The love of novelty occasions the great variety of tunes which we\npossess, and the diversity of musical skill. A newly-constructed\ninstrument, a new or superior mode of performing on it and the last new\ntune, are objects of universal attraction. The same disposition arises\nwith respect to books. Novelty has occasioned all the variety which the\nhistory of literature exhibits, from the bulky folio to the penny\npamphlet, and the annual publication to the daily newspaper: it has\noccasioned, also, in a great degree, the multitude of opinions which have\ndeluged the world. Something new, as the loungers of Athens demanded, has\nbeen the requirement of the public in all ages. If it be new, it will be\nattractive, and if pleasing or convenient, it will be embraced, and then\nits strength and consistency will soon be deemed demonstrated: but when\nthe writers on the subject, and the readers of those writings, become\ncool; when reason takes the place of imagination, then the system will be\noften discovered to be defective, the vapory fabric will fade away, and\nsome other will obtain its place. We are too frequently going round in our\nprogress, rather than forward. In many respects we are not much farther\nadvanced than the ancients, and yet we ought to be, and should be if we\nhad pursued a direct course.\n\n\"But one of the most pleasing sources of novelty is that which the\nAlmighty has given us in the seasons of the year; and this distinctly\nshows us that the love of novelty is not only natural, but it is allowable\nand praiseworthy, if it be regulated by reason; for the Great Creator\nhimself indulges us in this respect. And thus we have all the variety of\nsummer and winter, of sultry and frosty days, of clear and cloudy skies;\nof the budding and blooming of spring, and the richness and luxuriance of\nautumn; the breaking forth of the sun in the morning, and the setting of\nthat glorious luminary; the light of the stars; the silvery splendor of\nthe moon; the glare of lightnings and meteors, the rolling of thunder,\nwith vapors, rain, hail, and snow.\n\n\"The love of novelty is injurious only when it is carried beyond what the\nAlmighty intended; when it does not animate a person to perform his\nnecessary engagements, but carries him away from them; when it makes him\nrestless and wavering. Novelty accompanies man in infancy and in youth; it\ncheers and exalts him in the changing scenes of manhood; and when we\nleave this earthly sphere, and the soul bursts forth from its corporeal\ndwelling, it will fly upward to regions of still greater novelty, and\nnever-failing interest!\"\n\n\nD.\n\nMr. Walker, in various places of his work, calls the _cerebel_ or\ncerebellum, \"the organ of volition,\" and, at page 145, he attributes\nideas, emotions, and passions, to the cerebrum, though he states that acts\nof the will result from these. Now, if there is any truth established, it\nis that the _will_ is the result of the simultaneous action of the higher\nintellectual powers, and supposes attention, reflection, comparison, and\njudgment, mental operations, which Mr. Walker himself attributes to the\ncerebrum. Gall has made it very evident, that the _will_ is not the\nimpulse that results from the activity of a single organ, but the\nconcurrent action of many of the higher intellectual faculties--motives\nmust be weighed, compared, and judged, before there can be any will, or\ndetermination of mind. The decision resulting from this determination, is\ncalled will. We consider it then proved, that there is no particular organ\nof the will. \"Every fundamental faculty,\" says Dr. Gall, \"accompanied by a\nclear notion of its existence, and by reflection, is intellect or\nintelligence. Each individual intelligence, therefore, has its proper\norgan; but reason supposes the concerted action of the higher faculties.\nIt is the judgment pronounced by the higher intellectual faculties. A\nsingle one of these, however, could not constitute reason, which is the\ncompliment, the result of the simultaneous action of all the intellectual\nfaculties. It is _reason_ that distinguishes man from the brute;\n_intellect_ they have in common to a certain degree. There are many\nintelligent men, but few reasoning ones. Nature produces an intelligent\nman; a happy organization, cultivated by experience and reflection, forms\nthe reasoning man.\" Nearly all physiologists deserving of the name, are\nnow united in the opinion that the cerebellum is the organ of amativeness,\nas well as concerned in the regulation of voluntary motion. \"It is\nimpossible,\" says Dr. Spurzheim, \"to unite a greater number of proofs in\ndemonstration of any natural truth than may be presented to determine the\nfunction of the cerebellum.\"--\"Mr. Scott,\" says George Combe, \"in an\nexcellent essay on the influence of amativeness on the higher sentiments\nand intellect, observes that it has been regarded by some individuals, as\nalmost synonymous with pollution; and the notion has been entertained,\nthat it cannot be even approached without defilement. This mistake has\noriginated from attention being directed too exclusively to the abuses of\nthe propensity. Like everything that forms part of the system of nature,\nit bears the stamp of wisdom and excellence in itself, although liable to\nabuse. It exerts a quiet but effectual influence in the general\nintercourse between the sexes, giving rise in each to a sort of kindly\ninterest in all concerns the other. This disposition to mutual kindness\nbetween the sexes, does not arise from benevolence or adhesiveness, or any\nother sentiment or propensity alone; because, if such were its sources, it\nwould have an equal effect in the intercourse of the individuals of each\nsex among themselves, which it has not. 'In this quiet and unobtrusive\nstate of the feeling,' says Mr. Scott, 'there is nothing in the least\ngross or offensive to the most sensitive delicacy. So far the contrary,\nthat the want of some feeling of this sort is required, wherever it\nappears, as a very palpable defect, and a most unamiable trait in the\ncharacter. It softens all the proud, irascible, and antisocial principles\nof our nature, in everything which regards that sex which is the object of\nit; and it increases the activity and force of all the kindly and\nbenevolent affections. This explains many facts which appear in the mutual\nregards of the sexes toward each other. Men are, generally speaking, more\ngenerous and kind, more benevolent and charitable, toward women, than they\nare to men, or than women are to one another.' The abuses of this\npropensity are the sources of innumerable evils in life; and as the organ\nand feeling exist, and produce an influence on the mind, independently of\nexternal communication, Dr. Spurzheim suggests the propriety of\ninstructing young persons in the consequences of its improper indulgence\nas preferable to keeping them in a state of ignorance that may provoke a\nfatal curiosity, compromising in the end their own and their descendants'\nbodily and mental constitution.\"\n\nIt may be proper in this place, to point out some of the anatomical\ndifferences of the sexes more definitely than has been done by Mr. Walker,\nas they are intimately connected with the form and contour of the body,\nand must be understood to appreciate fully the bearing of much that is\nlaid down by our author:--\n\n\nANATOMICAL SEXUAL DIFFERENCES.\n\nDIGESTIVE SYSTEM.\n\nThe stomach is the only portion of the alimentary canal which presents\nsexual differences. It is larger, shorter, and broader, in the male;\nsmaller, narrower, and longer, in the female. Its muscular coat, like that\nin the whole alimentary canal, is generally also thinner in the female.\n\n\nOSSEOUS SYSTEM.\n\n_Ribs._--The ribs of the female are generally straighter than those of the\nmale. The posterior segment unites sooner with the anterior; its curve\ndiffers less from that of the last, and disappears sooner in the female;\nhence, the chest is narrower. The ribs are usually thinner; hence, the\nedges are sharper. Sometimes, however, this is far from being true. Their\nlength is nearly the same; but according to Mechel, the length of the two\nupper ribs is proportionally, and when the subject is short, absolutely\ngreater in the female than in the male.\n\n_Clavicle._--The clavicle is generally straighter, and proportionably\nsmaller in the female than in the male. The greater straightness depends\nparticularly on the lesser curve of its external portion, while in man it\nextends far backward, and then comes forward. The internal anterior half\npresents nearly the same curve in both sexes. The clavicle of the female\nis rounder than that of the male; we however find clavicles of females\nperfectly like those of males, and _vice versa_. Sometimes, of the two\nclavicles in the same body, one is constructed in the type of the male,\nand the other in that of the female.\n\n_Pelvis._--The chief points of difference between the male and female\nskeleton, beside the disparity in the size and the greater smoothness of\nthe bones, lie in the _pelvis_. In the female this is less strong and\nthick, and contains less osseous matter than that of the male. In the\nfemale, the arch of the _pubis_ is much the greatest, and the long\ndiameter of the brim of the pelvis is from side to side; in the male it is\nfrom before backward; in the female, the brim is more of the oval shape,\nin the male more triangular; in the female, the _ilia_ are more distant;\nthe tuberosities of the _ischia_ are also more remote from each other, and\nfrom the _os coccygis_, and as these three points are farther apart, the\nnotches between them are consequently wider, and there is of necessity a\nconsiderably greater space between the _os coccygis_ and _pubis_ than in\nthe male. The female _sacrum_ is broader and less curved than in the other\nsex. The ligamentous cartilage at the symphysis pubis is broader and\nshorter. In consequence of the cavity of the pelvis being wider in woman,\nthe superior articulations of their thigh bones are farther removed from\neach other, which circumstance occasions their peculiarity in walking;\nthey seem to require a greater effort than men to preserve the centre of\ngravity, when the leg is raised; owing to the greater length of the crural\narch, there is less resistance to the pressure of the abdominal viscera;\nconsequently females are more subject to femoral hernia than males. The\nangle of union of the ossa pubis in the male is from sixty to eighty\ndegrees, whereas, in the female it is ninety degrees. The mean height of\nthe male, at the period of maturity, is about five feet eight and a half\ninches, and that of the female about five feet five inches; a well-formed\npelvis has a circumference equal to one-fourth of the height of the\nfemale.\n\n\nORGAN OF VOICE.\n\nThe _larynx_ is one of the organs which presents most manifestly the\ndifferences of sex. That of the female is usually one third, and sometimes\none half smaller than that of the male: all its constituent cartilages are\nmuch thinner; the thyroid cartilage also is even flatter, because its two\nlateral halves unite at a less acute angle. Hence the reason why the\nlarynx in the male forms at the upper part of the neck a prominence which\nis not visible in the female. The glottis in the female is much smaller\nthan in the male, and the vocal cords are shorter. These sexual\ndifferences do not appear till puberty; until then the larynx has\nprecisely the same form in the two sexes, and consequently the voice is\nnearly the same in both. In eunuchs it is small as in females.\n\n\nPHYSIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF THE BEAUTY OF FORM.\n\nA very ingenious Physiological explanation of the beauty of form, has been\nsuggested by Professor B. T. Joslin, of the University of the city of New\nYork, which is published in the Transactions of the New York State Medical\nSociety for 1836. As this theory is characterized by great originality and\ngenius, and but little known, we shall present our readers with some\nextracts from the Essay, calculated to elucidate the views of the talented\nauthor.\n\nSpeaking of material objects, not including the human form, Dr. J.\nremarks:--\n\n\"There is in objects a kind of beauty which is intrinsic and physical,\nwhich belongs to them in every association, and whether at rest or in\nmotion; such is the beauty of color, and that of configuration. The\ncontemplation of the beauty of coloring and of form gives physical\npleasure, i. e., physical as opposed to mental, but physiological as\nopposed to physical. Employing physical in its comprehensive sense, I say\nthat this physical pleasure attending vision is of two distinct kinds;\n1st, that which depends on the character of the impression on the retina,\nand consequently on the intensity and nature of the light; and 2dly, that\nwhich depends upon the form of the object, and, consequently, on the\nmuscular actions employed in tracing its outlines. As the latter\nconstitutes the proper subject of this essay, I shall dismiss the former\nwith a single remark.\n\n\"Some colors are more agreeable than others, but these differ with\ndifferent eyes, and with the nature of the color to which the eyes have\nbeen previously exposed. A bluish green relieves the eye when over-excited\nwith red, and a mild red is agreeable after the protracted action of\nintense green; and in general, the complementary colors are most agreeable\nin succession. Again, it is well known, that no kind of light is painful,\nunless excessively vivid; we are pleased with a mild radiance in objects\nof every hue, from the whiteness of the moon to the crimson of the setting\nsun. But is there no other physical property by which these luminaries\ndirectly contribute to the gratification of taste? It is true that light,\nabstractedly from all objects is agreeable, and agreeable on the same\nprinciple that sweetness is to the taste, i. e., from the mere character\nof the nervous impression. But this is a pleasure merely passive, and in\nan active being it is, perhaps, on that account, one grade lower than the\ngratification afforded by the beauty of form, and is more allied to the\ngross pleasure of literal taste. Hence, we scarcely employ a figurative\nexpression, in declaring that light is sweet. But the highest degree of\nphysical gratification is not enjoyed by the eye, unless this agreeable\nexcitant proceeds from an object of beautiful form. \"Light is sweet,\" but\n\"it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold the sun.\" What is the\nsource of this additional pleasure which we receive, when light proceeds\neither by radiation or reflection from regular curvilinear objects?\n\n\"I shall offer what I believe to be an original and satisfactory\nexplanation of the beauty of form, on principles purely physiological. It\nis based on the proposition, that the action of every muscle is attended\nwith a sensation which, is at first agreeable, but which, if the action is\ncontinued for a short time with intensity, and without intermission,\nbecomes painful. That there is pleasure attending those varied motions\nwhich depend upon the actions of different muscles in succession after\nintervals of rest in each, we know from our own consciousness as well as\nfrom that instinctive propensity to play which we observe in children and\nyoung animals. That the prolonged action of a muscle is painful, we may\nreadily convince ourselves by endeavoring to hold the arm for some time at\nright angles with the erect trunk. With the arm in this position, a pound\nweight on the hand or even the weight of the arm itself becomes in a few\nminutes almost insupportable. We presently begin to feel pain in the\nshoulder and anterior part of the arm, the former from fatigue of those\nmuscles which originate from the scapula and keep the os humeri elevated,\nand the latter from fatigue of the muscles which originate from the\nscapula and os humeri, whose muscular fibres are in front of the os humeri\nand by their contraction elevate the fore-arm in consequence of their\ntendinous attachment to its bones. Yet a man may labor all day with his\narms without this painful sensation; because a muscle requires but a\nmomentary rest, in order to regain that degree of energy which is\nmomentarily lost by action.\n\n\"None but an anatomist can duly appreciate the variety of separate\nactions, on which depend the motions of a single limb, and the\nconsequently numerous opportunities of rest which the muscles enjoy. To\nthe superficial and unscientific observer, an arm is an arm; it is a\nsingle member which may be fatigued by a day's work and recruited by a\nnight's rest. But to the anatomist the arm is a complex object, and its\nmuscular energy is that of its component muscles, each of which may be\nfatigued by a minute's action and recruited by a minute's repose. It would\nbe easy to extend this farther, and state reasons for believing that the\ncomponent fasciculi and fibres of an individual muscle act still more\ntransiently, and that their momentary and successive actions constitute\nthe action of a single muscle.\n\n\"But waiving this refinement, it will be sufficient for our purpose to\nconsider a single muscle as having a simple action, an action which cannot\nbe sustained with uniformity a minute of time without actual pain, nor a\nsecond of time with positive pleasure. This, however, is not to be\nunderstood as an attempt to fix these limits with precision. To express\nthe law in more general terms, as we diminish the duration of a muscle's\naction we diminish the pain until we arrive at an action whose attendant\nsensation is neutral, i. e., neither painful nor pleasurable; as soon as\nwe have passed that point and have begun to execute motions a little more\ntransient, the attendant sensation becomes positively pleasurable, and the\npleasure increases as the separate actions become more transient. It is\nnot necessary to infer that there is attending each action of shorter\nduration a pleasure exceeding that which attends each action of greater\nduration; for the more transient actions are, in a given time, more\nnumerous; so that with the same amount of pleasure for each muscular\ncontraction, the amount of pleasurable sensation in a given time--say a\nsecond--would exceed the amount attending the less frequent and more\nprolonged actions in the same period: a greater number of separate\nimpressions become--so to speak--crowded together and condensed, and thus\nproduce a more vivid pleasure. Several contiguous impressions thus\nconspire to heighten the contemporaneous effect, inasmuch as we are unable\nto distinguish those impressions which are made at very short intervals on\nthe muscular sense, any more than we are those made at very short\nintervals on the retina. We have an example of the latter in the familiar\nexperiment of swinging a coal of fire in a circle, and in various optical\ninstruments for combining colors and images.\n\n\"The proposition which I have endeavored to establish is, that there is a\nneutral point to which, if constant action is prolonged, its pleasurable\ncharacter begins to be reversed; that the vividness of the sensation\nincreases with the distance from this point, being on the one side\npleasurable, on the other painful; the more transient the actions are, the\nmore pleasurable; the more prolonged they are, the more painful.\n\n\"I am of opinion that this physiological principle is susceptible of\ninteresting applications to a class of pleasures, which metaphysicians\nhave regarded as exclusively mental, and dependant upon certain supposed\nultimate principles of the constitution of mind, principles not resolvable\ninto others more elementary. As physiology shall advance, it may be\nexpected that many of these imaginary elements will yield to its searching\nanalysis. Whether the writer has been so fortunate as to resolve any of\nthe generally admitted elements of mental taste, the reader will be able\nto judge from the sequel.\n\nAs preparatory to the consideration of the beauty of form, it will be\nnecessary to give an explanation of the _gracefulness of motion_. Although\nthis has been vaguely and in part referred to ease of execution, yet, the\nphysiological principle on which ease of execution depends, not having\nbeen clearly understood and distinctly stated, the gracefulness of _all_\nmotions could not be referred to their true source. Thus, writers on taste\nhave been under the necessity of admitting, as a distinct and independent\nsource of gracefulness, the _curvilinear direction_ of motions, and have\nbeen able to generalize this fact no farther than by referring it to the\nbeauty of curved forms, which beauty was considered an _ultimate_ fact. In\napplying the principles above developed, to the explanation of the\npleasure or pain attending the contemplation of particular motions, we\nshall defer for the present the investigation of the intrinsic beauty of\ncurved motions, which is the same as that of curved lines, and assume that\nin general those motions which are physically pleasurable to the agent are\nagreeable to the observer. The pleasure or pain of the agent will engage\nthe sympathy of the observer; for he associates the observed action with\nhis own experience. To make a single application, suppose a public speaker\nextend his arm horizontally and move it slowly in a horizontal position,\nthrough one third of a circle. This motion would not appear graceful. That\nit would not be performed with perfect ease, any one might prove by\nexperiment. The principal difficulty is in preserving for a long time the\nhorizontal position.\"\n\n\"In the ordinary state of the muscular system, and within certain limits,\nthe motion of the eye in any direction is pleasurable. Whenever the power\nof directing the eye is acquired, the tracing of a line will, to a certain\nextent and for a certain time, afford some degree of positive pleasure; in\nother words, any short line will possess some degree of positive beauty,\nand the infant becomes conscious of an emotion of which he was previously\nignorant--the emotion of beauty of form. A point awakens no such emotion;\nit never will; it can possess no beauty. It must be recollected, that this\nhas been restricted to minute points of inappreciable form. Circular dots\nwill be considered under the head of figures. The colorific property of a\ndot as compared with that of the ground on which it is placed, may afford\nthat kind of ocular pleasure which is foreign to the present inquiry.\n\n\"From points as compared with lines, we naturally proceed to _lines as\ncompared with each other_.\n\n\"When the head is erect, in examining a _straight horizontal_ line we\nemploy one of the lateral recti; if the line be vertical we employ the\nrectus inferior or superior. In either case, but one muscle acts, and that\ncontinuously. The muscle is not relieved, and its action is not attended\nwith the maximum amount of pleasurable sensation. When the vision has been\nextended along the whole line, if we then immediately proceed to examine\nit in the opposite direction, the opposite rectus must at one exert a\nforce sufficient to overcome the _momentum_ of the eyeball, and then exert\na _continuous_ action. Both these circumstances are unfavorable to\npleasure. If the line is _oblique_, one lateral together with one inferior\nor one superior muscle is exerted, and the same principles which have been\napplied to the single muscles, apply to the muscles acting in pairs.\n\n\"_The Beauty of Curved Lines._--As from the foregoing analysis of the\nvision of straight lines in general, it results that they are deficient in\nthe elements of ocular agreeableness, in other words, of beauty; little\nmore need be said of regular and gentle curves, than that the survey of\nthem is not attended with the abovementioned disadvantages. In viewing a\nregular curve, no muscle of the eyeball acts continuously and uniformly,\nbut enjoys partial relief by remissions, or total relief by intermissions\nof its action; and the regularity of these remissions and intermissions,\nas well as the equal distribution of exercise, is promoted by the\nregularity of the curve. Acting in succession, the muscles afford mutual\nrelief after actions of such short duration and variable intensity, as to\nafford positive pleasure; and in this _muscular pleasure_ of the eye\nconsists the _beauty of configuration_.\n\n\"The successive and accurate survey of distant points is not, however,\ninvariably requisite to a degree of similar pleasure, in viewing a figure\nof such small angular extent as to be instantly recognised by one location\nof its image, as analogous to a larger one whose survey has directly\nafforded muscular pleasure. Although I thus recognise the influence of\nassociation, the facts of this very case afford an interesting\nconfirmation of the physiological theory; for a large circle or ellipse is\nmore beautiful than one of diminutive size. The beauty of the one is\noriginal, its influence is direct; the beauty of the other is in part\nborrowed, and this part is weakened by reflection. Or, to express it more\nliterally, the one excites a pleasurable sensation, the other suggests a\nsimilar idea; the one affords a _perception_, the other a _conception_, of\nbeauty. Such, even with similar color and brilliancy, would be the\ndifference between the full moon and a circular dot (\u00b7) or period; such\nthe difference between a rainbow and a diminutive arc ([Illustration]), a\nshort accent inverted. Here the critic might be inclined to charge us with\nconfounding the beautiful with the sublime. But the fact is, that\ncriticism has constructed the sublime--as it has the beautiful--from\nheterogeneous materials, one of which is identical with one of the\nelements of beauty, and should, in a physiological arrangement, be\nreferred to the same class. In many instances a magnifying instrument will\ndisclose minute irregularities and blemishes; but in every other case,\nphysiology would show, that, within certain limits, to magnify a beautiful\n_object_ is to _magnify beauty_.\n\n\"The foregoing statements of general principles preclude the necessity of\nminute details in relation to particular curves. I shall at present\nconsider those which do not return into themselves, so as to constitute\nthe outlines of figures in the geometrical sense. Let us first select a\nsemi-circumference, for example, that of a rainbow of maximum dimensions.\nIn tracing it once, we employ three out of the four muscles. They are\nbrought into action successively and rapidly, but not abruptly. All these\ncircumstances are favorable to pleasure. Yet they are not conducive to it\nin the highest possible degree; for each muscle acts only once unless the\nexamination be repeated; and in case of its repetition, the momentum of\nthe eyeball is destroyed in stopping and reversing its motion. The waving\nline, as Hogarth's line of beauty, obviates the first difficulty. This\nensures not only the successive action of different muscles, but a\nrepetition of action in the same. If the line forms a number of equal\nwaves, these repetitions will be proportional to the number of waves, and\nwill alternately and totally relieve, at least two muscles, and allow, in\nthe action of a third, regular remissions of intensity at equal intervals.\nWe have proved then, that on this physiological theory, a\nsemi-circumference possesses more of the elements of beauty than any\nstraight line, and a regular-waved line more than either. These results\nare conformable to experience. If there is any difficulty in admitting\nthis, it will vanish on comparing the ocular with other muscles.\n\n\"Let us select a joint, which, in its spherical form, and the circular\narrangement of its muscles, is analogous to the eye; for example, the\nshoulder joint. I think it will be uniformly found, that in the use of\nthis joint, the curves most readily traced, are those of gentle and nearly\nequal curvature, and being such as are most easily traced by the eye, they\nwould appear more beautiful than those drawn by the fingers with the same\neducation. For example, let a man, without bending his wrist or elbow,\ndraw various lines with a light stick or cane on the surface of snow: the\nlines most easily drawn (or most easily traced if already drawn), will be\ncurves of considerable beauty, and nearly equal curvature; such as waved\nlines and spirals and looped curves. Circles and ellipses would also be\namong the figures with most facility and precision traced, and especially\nin cases of repeated tracing; but we are not at present considering\nfigures in the proper geometrical sense of the term. In writing letters by\nthe above method, a succession of 'e's, would be more readily drawn than a\nsuccession of 'i's, or a zigzag line with acute angles.\n\n\"To institute a fair comparison between terminated lines and figures, the\ncomponent lines of the figures should be as beautiful as the terminated\nlines with which they are compared. With this precaution, physiology will\nconduct to the conclusion, that figures are more beautiful than terminated\nlines. For the survey of any figure requires the successive action of all\nthese ocular muscles, and a repeated survey requires no reversal of the\nmotion.\n\n\"We may apply the same principles to _figures as compared with each\nother_. Here we shall find the advantage on the side of those which are\ngeometrically regular. We perceive that the circle and ellipse must\npossess in great perfection the essentials of beauty.\n\n\"From figures, the transition is natural and easy to _solids_ or bodies of\nthree dimensions. The form of a body depends on those of all its faces and\nsections; and these last are plane figures. The elliptical sections of a\nregular spheroid are all highly beautiful, but its sections are not all\nelliptical. Unless the spheroid be in certain positions, the sphere\npossesses still higher beauty, as presenting the same circular and highly\nbeautiful outline in every position; although a variety of positions is\nnot essential to the perception of its peculiar beauty, whenever the\nobserver has learned by different methods, and especially by different\ndegrees of convergence of the two optic axes, to estimate the relative\ndistances of the different points of the visible hemisphere, and thus to\nrecognise the spherical form. I will only add, from the analysis of the\nbeauty of the circle it is evident, that within certain limits, to magnify\na sphere is to magnify its beauty.\n\n\"The relative beauty of the sphere and spheroid, and of the spheroid as\ncompared with itself in different positions, is modified by _symmetry_.\nThe principle of symmetry, is in some measure distinct from any other\nheretofore considered. It may be treated under the heads of 1st,\ngeometrical symmetry, or symmetry of form; 2d, of symmetry of position.\n\n\"_Symmetry of form_, though implied in geometrical regularity, is not\nidentical with it, and requires a separate consideration. The beauty of\nforms geometrically symmetrical, in contradistinction from those\ndeficient in the correspondence of opposite halves, depends upon two\nsimilar series of actions in different pairs or muscles. For example, the\nsurvey of an ovate leaf, or indeed that of almost any vegetable leaf--so\nnumerous are the provisions for our gratification--requires for its\nopposite halves two series of muscular actions, the different parts of the\none corresponding with those of the other in duration, intensity, and\norder of succession. The gratification in this case results from the\nharmony of muscular sensations individually pleasurable. The agreeableness\nof this harmony may depend upon a principle more psychological than that\nof the agreeableness of its elementary sensations. Yet the former is to a\ncertain extent susceptible of a physiological generalization. This harmony\nwould probably have been impaired by any considerable inequality in the\ndistances between the points of insertion of the recti muscles, or in the\nstrength of the antagonists. It is a curious coincidence, that in both\nthese respects, these muscles are more nearly symmetrical than any others\nin the human body. Physiology, then, explains, not only the agreeableness\nof the elementary sensations, which give rise to the perception of beauty\nin regular curves, but unfolds the provisions for two similar series of\nsuch sensations, not only in figures simply regular, but in those which\nare simply symmetrical, and in those which are both symmetrical and\nregular. The principles of muscular action explain the agreeableness of a\nrapid succession of varied actions equally distributed among the muscles,\nand the structure of the optical apparatus explains why the curvature and\nregularity of an object require such actions in vision. Again, we discover\nin the symmetrical structure and arrangement of the ocular muscles, a\nprovision for two similar series of pleasurable sensations in the survey\nof a symmetrical figure, in whatever position it may be placed, provided\nit retains its symmetry with respect to some visual plane. The coincidence\nbetween the location of the ocular muscles diametrically opposite, on the\none hand, and our propensity to compare the opposite halves of bodies, and\nthe pleasure afforded by their similarity on the other hand, is curious,\nand to a certain extent affords a physiological explanation of the beauty\nof symmetrical forms.\n\n\"The same principles which apply to the beauty of form of inanimate\nobjects are applicable to the paths described by them in _motion_. The\nintrinsic beauty of their motions is exclusively referrible to sensations\nin the ocular muscles of the observer, while the gracefulness of human\nmotions is referrible in part to these, and in part to sensations in other\nmuscles.\n\n\"It would be foreign to the subject of the present memoir, to consider the\nbeauty of expression of the human countenance; although this species of\nbeauty is in a great degree referrible to muscular action. That muscular\naction which belongs to the present topic is not that of the object, but\nthat of the observer. It may be scarcely necessary again to disclaim any\ndesign of giving a complete analysis of beauty in general, or to repeat\nthe concession that man's notions of beauty are modified by various\nassociations.\n\n\"_Final Cause._--The benevolence of the Author of nature is strikingly\nmanifested in connecting present pleasure with obedience to the natural\nlaws. It has been shown that vision is attended with muscular action which\nis generally pleasurable. If seeing had required no muscular action, we\nshould have wanted one of our present stimuli to the acquisition of\nknowledge. This stimulus is especially necessary in infancy, and then\npowerfully prompts to observation, even anterior to the dawnings of\nintellectual curiosity, with which it subsequently co-operates. We see, in\nthis arrangement, the exemplification of a principle which extensively\npervades the laws under which we are placed by the Creator--which is, that\nmental attainments, as well as other acquisitions, shall require action;\nand that action shall be attended with pleasure. Whether the acquisition\nis to be made by the manual labor of the artisan, by the manipulations of\nthe artist, the chymist, or the experimental philosopher, by the sedentary\nstudent of books, or by the observer of natural phenomena in his original\nsurvey of the universe--in every case it is muscular action.\n\n\"This application to natural theology, has thus far had reference to that\ndegree of intrinsic agreeableness which is common to forms in general. But\nthe laws of nature specially tend to the production of curved, regular,\nand symmetrical objects and motions, in inorganic vegetable and animal\nbodies; and impose the necessity of similar forms in artificial\nstructures. With a different structure and arrangement of the ocular\nmuscles, those forms peculiarly conducive to our welfare and that of the\nuniverse, had possessed no peculiar attractions; and we had felt no\nspecial impulse of this kind to conform our own artificial structures to\nthose laws of nature, or to investigate many of the most important works\nof the Creator. Yet neither gravity or any other law of the external world\ncould have determined the peculiar formation of the muscles of the human\neye. We must, therefore, refer their actual structure and location to\nthat Being who gives to the objects of his creative power, and to the\nprinciples by which he governs them, such a mutual adaptation as conduces\nto the greatest achievable good. Thus, while muscular pleasure originally\nprompts to the observation of the Creator's works, this observation is\nrewarded and subsequently prompted by a pleasure of an incomparably higher\norder, of a character purely mental, by the discovery of _moral beauty_,\nwhich in rank and refinement surpasses all others. Still, the muscular\npleasure of the eye strongly incites to the examination of the numberless\nforms of beauty in the organic and inorganic kingdoms, such as the\nsymmetrical leaf, the bending bough, the symmetry of the tree itself that\nof inferior animals, and of the human form. Or we may extend our view to\nthe circular or undulating horizon, the apparent limits of the apparently\nround world; or we may elevate the eyes to the arched dome of the\nfirmament, on which the arches of the iris and aurora occasionally confer\nadditional beauty. Or with the telescope we may pierce this apparent limit\nof upward vision, and discover beyond it a universe of spherical and\nspheroidal worlds, revolving in circular and elliptical orbits, worlds and\norbits which present, even in our diminutive diagrams, a high order of\nbeauty, designed to incite us to the contemplation of these most\nmagnificent works of the Creator.\n\n\"All this beauty had been lost to man, but for the property of the eye,\nwhich, on a superficial reflection, might seem a defect. It is no less\ntrue than paradoxical, that the perception of these beauties depends on\n_indistinctness of vision_. To a being so constituted as to see with equal\ndistinctness by oblique and direct vision, the same forms might be\npresented, but not as forms of beauty. Has the Creator, then, sacrificed a\nportion of our perceptive powers to our sensual gratification? I answer\nno. Has he, then, sacrificed a portion of our _direct_ means of acquiring\nknowledge, to afford an incitement which should ultimately and indirectly\nenhance our attainments? Again I am compelled to answer in the negative.\nThere is, in this arrangement, no intellectual sacrifice whatever, direct\nor indirect. This indistinctness of oblique vision, which might seem a\ndefect, I consider an excellence. A simultaneous and distinct impression\nreceived from the whole field of vision, would distract the attention and\npreclude a minute and accurate examination of any particular part. But as\nour eyes are so constituted as to receive a strong and distinct impression\nonly from the images of those objects toward which their axes are\ndirected, and as our minds are so constituted that we can in a great\nmeasure neglect the weaker or less distinct impressions, we are able to\nacquire a more exact knowledge of any part of the field to which we choose\nto attend. To see every thing at once, would be to examine nothing. Such a\nconstitution of the eye would be to vision what an indiscriminating memory\nis to the understanding.\n\n\nE.\n\nSTANDARD OF BEAUTY.\n\nTo show that the sentiments of mankind with regard to female beauty, have\nbeen very various in different ages and nations, and that it is not\npossible to establish a standard which shall comprehend all, without\ndiscriminations, a few facts may be mentioned. Among the ancients, a small\nforehead and joined eyebrows were much admired in a female countenance;\nand in Persia, large joined eyebrows are still highly esteemed. In some\nparts of Asia, black teeth and white hair, are essential ingredients in\nthe character of a beauty; and in the Marian Islands, it is customary\namong the ladies to blacken their teeth with herbs, and to black their\nhair with certain liquors. Beauty, in China and Japan, is composed of a\nlarge countenance, small, and half-concealed eyes, a broad nose, little\nand useless feet, and a prominent belly. The Flat-head Indians compress\nthe heads of their children between two boards, with a view to enlarge and\nbeautify the face; some tribes compress the head laterally; others depress\nthe crown, and others make the head as round as possible. \"The Moors of\nAfrica,\" says Park, \"have singular ideas of female perfection; the\ngracefulness of figure and motion, and a countenance enlivened by\nexpression, are by no means operative points in their standard; with them\ncorpulency and beauty are terms nearly synonymous. Or women of even\nmoderate pretensions, must be one who cannot walk without a slave under\neach arm to support her, and a perfect beauty is a load for a camel. In\nconsequence of this prevalent taste for unwieldiness of bulk, the Moorish\nladies take great pains to acquire it early in life, and for this purpose\nmany of the young girls are compelled by their mothers to swallow a great\nquantity of _kouskous_, and drink a large bowl of camel's milk every\nmorning. It is of no importance whether the girl has an appetite or not,\nthe kouskous and milk must be swallowed, and obedience is frequently\nenforced by blows. I have seen a poor girl sit crying with the bowl at her\nlips for more than an hour, and her mother with a stick in her hand\nwatching her all the while, and using the stick without mercy whenever she\nobserved that her daughter was not swallowing. This singular practice,\ninstead of producing indigestion and disease, soon covers the young lady\nwith that degree of plumpness, which in the eye of a Moor, is perfection\nitself.\" These facts show that every nation almost has ideas of beauty\npeculiar to itself; and it is no less evident that nearly every individual\nhas his own notions and taste concerning it. \"The empire of beauty,\nhowever,\" says a writer already quoted, \"amid these discordant ideas, with\nrespect to the qualities in which it consists, has been very generally\nacknowledged, and particularly in all civilized countries; and when it is\nunited with other accomplishments that tend to render females amiable, it\ncontributes in no small degree, to give them importance and influence, to\npolish the manners of society, and to contribute to its order and\nhappiness.\"\n\n\nF.\n\nTEMPERAMENT.\n\nThe views of Mr. Walker in relation to Temperaments, correspond with those\nusually entertained by physiological writers. It is to be observed,\nhowever, that they rarely occur simple in any individual, two or more\nbeing generally combined. The _bilious_ and _nervous_, for example, is a\ncommon combination, which gives strength and activity; the _lymphatic_ and\n_nervous_, is also common, and produces sensitive delicacy of mental\nconstitution, conjoined with indolence. The _nervous_ and _sanguine_\ncombined, give extreme vivacity, but without corresponding vigor. Dr.\nThomas of Paris, has advanced the following theory of the temperaments:\nWhen the digestive organs, filling the abdominal cavity, are large, and\nthe lungs and brain small, the individual is _lymphatic_; he is fond of\nfeeding, and averse to mental and muscular exertion. When the heart and\nlungs are large, and the brain and abdomen small, the individual is\n_sanguine_; blood abounds, and is propelled with vigor; he is therefore\nfond of muscular exercise, but averse to thought. When the brain is large,\nand the abdominal and thoracic viscera small, great mental energy is the\nconsequence. These proportions may be combined in great varieties, and\nmodified results will ensue.[59] Mr. Combe, in his late lectures in this\ncity, laid great stress on the relative size of the three great visceral\ncavities, in determining the temperament. Thus, if the abdominal and\nthoracic cavities be small, and the cranial cavity large, the _nervous_\ntemperament is indicated. If the abdomen and scull be comparatively small,\nand the chest large, the sanguine temperament is indicated. The\npredominance of the abdominal cavity indicates the lymphatic temperament.\nMr. C. also pointed out the important changes produced in the temperament\nby a long continued course of training. It is common for the bilious, to\nbe changed into the nervous temperament, by habits of mental activity, and\nclose study; and, on the other hand, we often see the nervous or bilious\nchanged into the lymphatic about the age of 40, when the nutritive system\nseems to acquire the preponderance. Spurzheim used to say, that he had\noriginally a large portion of the lymphatic temperament, as had all his\nfamily; but that in himself the lymphatic had gradually diminished, and\nthe nervous gradually increased; whereas, in his sisters, owing to mental\ninactivity, the reverse had happened, and when he visited them, after\nbeing absent many years, he found them, to use his own expression, \"_as\nlarge as tuns_.\" The subject of temperament has been treated with\nconsummate ability by Dr. Charles Caldwell of Kentucky; and as his essay\nis but little known, we shall present some extracts from it. It will be\nseen that his views bear a close resemblance to those of Dr. Thomas,\nalready mentioned; but Dr. C. has shown that they were publicly maintained\nby him, at least two years before the appearance of Dr. Thomas's work.[60]\nAfter explaining the doctrine of the temperaments, as taught by the\nancients, and showing that it is founded on the exploded hypothesis of\nhumoralism, Dr. C. goes on to show, that it is the _solids_ of the body\nwhich make man what he is; that they form the _fluids_, and give them\ntheir character; that they are, in short, the _cause_, and the fluids the\n_effect_.\n\n\"The difference,\" says Dr. C., \"between individuals, or rather classes, of\nthe human family, which temperament is made to designate, appears to\ndepend on two causes; diversity of organization in parts or the whole of\nthe bodies of different persons, giving rise to a corresponding diversity\nin the vital properties; and difference of size and vigor in certain\nruling organs of the system. The existence and influence of the former of\nthese causes are in the highest degree probable; those of the latter\ncertain. The one is susceptible of strong support, the other of proof that\nmay be termed positive. By 'organization' is here meant, the minute\ninterior or radical structure of the tissues which compose the human body.\nThat diversity in this creates a diversity in the vital properties, and\nthat again a diversity in character, cannot I think be doubted. Whether\nthe difference of organization here referred to, consists in different\nproportions of the element of living matter that form the tissues, united\nin the same way, or in their different modes of arrangement and union, or\nboth, or whether it may not arise in part from different proportions of\nthe simpler tissues entering into the formation of the more compound\norgans, is not known. Minute anatomy has not yet attained a degree of\nperfection competent to settle a point of such subtility.\"\n\nDr. C. afterward goes on to prove that no single nerve, or organ, can\nperform two distinct functions, but that each is capable of one mode of\naction, and no more; that between a nerve, a muscle, and a gland, the only\ndifference known to exist, is that of organization; and that if they are\norganized alike, and endowed with life, their properties will be similar,\nand they will act in the same way. So also between animals of the same\nrace, we discover innumerable differences, which can be referred to\nnothing but differences in organization, and the same may be affirmed of\nvegetables. The conclusion to which Dr. C. arrives, and which he maintains\nwith great ingenuity is, that independently of all other causes,\ndifferences in human temperament are to be attributed, in part, to\ncorresponding differences in the organization of certain portions, or the\nwhole of the body; and that, other things being equal, in consequence of\nthis source of influence alone, one person differs from another in many of\nthe qualities of both person and intellect. In other words, he is more\nhighly gifted, sprightly, and vigorous, or the reverse; or he is more\ncourageous or timid, generous or selfish, according to his organization.\n\n\"But the second cause that was represented to be instrumental in\ndiversifying the human temperaments is by far the most powerful. It will\nbe remembered to have been, 'difference of size and vigor in certain\nruling organs of the system.' The organs alluded to are those contained in\nthe three great cavities of the body; the chylopoetic, situated in the\nabdomen, and including the stomach and intestines, with the liver,\npancreas, mesentery, and lacteals; those of sanguification and\ncirculation, situated in the thorax, and consisting of the lungs, heart,\nand bloodvessels; and the brain, with its appendages, the spinal cord and\nnerves. These three _groups_ (for the brain is _multiplex_ as well as the\nother two) are not only the ruling organs in the person of man; connected\nwith the hard and soft parts that enclose them, they _constitute the\nperson_. The upper and lower extremities are but appendages; important and\nnecessary, it must be acknowledged; but still appendages. The individual\ncan exist and be a human being without them. Nor have they any influence\nin imparting constitutional character to their possessors. Standing only\nin the capacity of subordinates to the controlling organs, they are not\nonly nourished and put in motion by them; they labor mechanically for\ntheir uses, and serve as instruments to execute their purposes. They are\ncomposed of the extreme ends of the organized matter of the system,\nconstitute only its outworks, and possess but little influence over its\ncentral parts. This representation rests on evidence that may be termed\ndemonstrative. Many persons destitute of the upper or lower extremities,\nor both, have strong characters and well-marked temperaments. But the\nextremities, if deprived of the influence of any one group of the ruling\norgans, are converted not only into useless but lifeless masses. Of the\nskin, muscles, and bones, which compose the head, neck, and trunk of the\nbody, the same is true. Of themselves they possess no character, and can\ntherefore bestow none. They also are but appendages to the organs they\ncover, affording them a secure lodgment and protection from external\ninjuries, and aiding them in the performance of some of their functions.\nAnd from this alone is their importance derived. Were it possible for them\nto exist apart from the viscera they contain, their grade of being would\nbe below that of many vegetables. Most fatal diseases, moreover, have\ntheir original seat in the viscera of one of the three great cavities of\nthe body, and no disease originating elsewhere can become fatal, until, by\nsympathy or metastasis, some of those parts are deeply affected. To\nenlightened physiologists this statement presents but a series of familiar\ntruths. To the groups of organs exclusively, then, I repeat, contained in\nthe abdomen, the thorax, and the cranium, must we look as the main source\nof human character. And that character is different according to the\npredominance, in different individuals, of one group or another, or of any\ntwo of them. An equilibrium between the three groups constitutes another\nvariety, by bestowing on character a corresponding equilibrium. Let the\nword _temperament_ be substituted for 'character,' and what is true of the\nlatter will be so of the former. As already mentioned, the organs referred\nto will be its source; and the differences in their predominance will give\ndiversity to it.\"\n\nDr. C. then shows that the strength and perfection of each of the senses\nare proportioned to the size of the nerve on which that sense depends.\nThis is illustrated by a powerful array of facts, drawn from different\norders of the animal kingdom, as well as from the different varieties of\nmankind. It is also stated, that where any nerve or set of nerves, is\npeculiarly large, the portion of the brain to which they belong, and by\nwhich they are influenced and commanded, is correspondingly large.\n\n\"Inasmuch, then, as, other things being equal, size gives power to\neverything else, we are not only justified in believing, on grounds of\nanalogy we are compelled to believe, that the same is true of the organs\ncontained in the cranium, the thorax, and the abdomen. When they are in a\nsound and natural condition, their size is also the measure of their\npower. Were not this the case, they would be either altogether abnormal,\nor subject to laws that govern no other kind of matter, whether organic or\ninorganic, of which we have any knowledge. But the position I am\ncontending for is not to be regarded as a mere inference in a process of\nreasoning. It will appear hereafter that it is a positive fact, which\nobservation has discovered, and continues to confirm.\n\nI have alleged that the size of the three groups of ruling organs may be\nascertained by that of the cases in which they are contained. Nor do I\nperceive on what ground any one, who is even moderately acquainted with\nthe structure of the human body, can controvert the belief, or cherish the\nslightest doubt on the subject of it. In healthy persons (and my remarks\nrelate only to such) the size of the brain is necessarily known by that of\nthe head. As the viscus completely fills the cranium, the case cannot be\notherwise. Although the bones of the head and the soft parts that cover\nthem are thicker in some individuals than in others, the difference is so\nsmall as not materially to affect the result. The chest is filled by the\nlungs, heart, and large bloodvessels. Its measure, therefore, cannot fail\nto be the measure of them. Any deviation from exactness in this, that may\nbe produced by varieties in the thickness of the skin, muscles, and other\nparts, is of no moment. Of the chylopoetic viscera the same is true. They\nalso fill exactly the cavity prepared for them. The size of the abdomen,\ntherefore, affords a knowledge of their size sufficiently accurate for all\npractical purposes. By a mere inspection of the person of man, then, the\nabsolute measure of the groups of organs I am considering, as well as\ntheir magnitude in relation to each other, can be fairly ascertained. And\nit will appear on examination, as already stated, that the predominance in\nsize and energy of any one or two of them, always imparts a corresponding\ndiversity to the human character. Does the brain predominate? The\nindividual to whom it belongs is more remarkable for the vigor of his\nintellect or feeling, or both, than for any other constitutional quality.\nThese modes of mental manifestation constitute the natural functions of\nthe brain; and when of an order unusually high, they give a peculiarity of\ncharacter to the whole system. The person thus endowed feels more keenly,\nthinks more strongly, is more eager in pursuit of knowledge, and attains\nit with more facility. His relish for pleasure is also inordinately keen,\nand he pursues it at times with burning ardor. Such was the constitutional\ncharacter of Mr. Fox, and also of our distinguished countryman the late\nMr. Bayard. I need scarcely add, that this predominance of sensibility and\nmental action must necessarily modify the diseases the individual may\nsustain. But of this I shall speak hereafter. Do the lungs, heart, and\nbloodvessels predominate? A larger volume of highly arterialized blood is\nformed, and thrown more forcibly and in greater quantities throughout the\nsystem. From the abundance of that fluid, and the superior size of the\nvessels conveying it, those parts of the body nourished by the red blood\nwill be comparatively most copiously supplied. But it is more especially\nthe muscles that are thus nourished. They will be therefore large and\npowerful. Hence persons with broad and full chests have well-developed and\nvigorous muscles. In proportion to their size their animal strength is\nnecessarily great. Nor can such constitutional peculiarities fail to be\nproductive of peculiarities in disease? Do the chylopoetic viscera\npredominate? The amount of chyle formed is very large in proportion to the\nquantity of food eaten. But the lungs, heart, and bloodvessels being\ncomparatively small, neither is sanguification abundant and perfect nor\ncirculation vigorous. The blood is not either highly arterialized or\nanimalized. Its amount of red globules is small, and it circulates feebly\nthrough vessels of a limited size. The consequence is, that the muscles\nreceive less red blood, and are less fully nourished; the system at large\nis not so highly endued with life, and the soft parts generally have a\nlower tone. The individual thus marked is less robust and vigorous than\none whose system is supplied abundantly with highly arterialized blood,\nand less intellectual and sprightly than those whose brain predominates.\nIt is almost needless to say, that, under such circumstances, disease must\nbe modified in conformity to the constitution.\n\n\"From the preceding views it clearly appears, that the comparative\nstanding of individual man, as relates to his race, is graduated by the\npredominance of his leading organs. Do his abdominal viscera preponderate?\nHe has much of the animal in him, and his grade is low. Are his thoracic\nviscera most highly developed? His qualities are of a superior order; but\nhe still partakes too much of the animal. Does his cerebral system\npredominate; and is it well developed in all its parts? He rises above the\nsphere of animal nature, and stands high in that of humanity. He is formed\nfor an intellectual and moral being, with no more of animality in his\nconstitution, than is necessary to give him practical energy of character.\n\n\"This subject may be farther illustrated by a reference to some of the\nanimals below us. The worm commonly denominated a grub is but little else\nthan a mass of abdominal matter. It is therefore one of the humblest and\ngrossest of worms. The insect has also a large abdomen, with a very small\nchest, and a smaller head. Hence, though superior to the grub, it is low\nin the scale of animal nature. Reptiles and fish are more elevated,\nbecause their abdominal viscera preponderate less. But still they do\npreponderate; and therefore the rank of the animals is humble. In the hog\nthe abdominal viscera are most strongly developed, and hence his standing\namong quadrupeds is low. The same is true of the bear and the ox, and also\nof the sheep and the goat, but in an inferior degree. The horse,\nespecially the barb and the racehorse, furnish no bad specimens of the\nmixed or balanced temperament. When the latter is undergoing preparation\nfor the course, the object of his keeper is to make the thoracic\ntemperament preponderate as much as possible, for the time, in order to\nincrease his vigor and endurance; in the language of the turf, to give him\nmore strength and 'better bottom.' The warhorse approaches the thoracic\ntemperament. In the canine race, more especially in the greyhound, the\nthoracic viscera hold the ascendency. Hence the muscular power of the dog\nis greater, and his grade among quadrupeds higher than those of most of\nthe preceding animals. The same is true of the wolf, the panther, and the\ntiger. In some dogs there is a considerable cerebral development, but it\nis never large enough to counterbalance the thoracic. Of all animals, the\nlion affords the most finished specimen of thoracic preponderance. In\nproportion to his size, his lungs and heart, especially the latter, are\nimmensely large. And his muscular power corresponds to them. The magnitude\nof his heart is generally considered the cause of his boldness. Hence a\nvery courageous man is said to have a _great_ heart, or to be\n_lion-hearted_. All this is popular error. The heart is but a muscle; and,\nin man, has no more connexion with courage than the gastrocnemii muscles;\nnor, in the lion, than the muscles that move his tail. Courage is\nexclusively a cerebral attribute, and has its seat in an organ\nspecifically appropriated to it. In none of the inferior animals does the\nbrain preponderate. That preponderance belongs to humanity, and, as\nalready mentioned, indicates its highest grade. Of all the beings below\nus, some of the ape tribe have the highest cerebral development. And they\napproach nearest to man in their degree of intellect. This is farther\nproof that, other things being alike, the brain gives the measure of\nmental power. I have lately seen a publication, in which it is gravely\nasserted, that the large orang-outang catches crabs with a stick, and\nmakes a rude basket of osiers to contain them. Notwithstanding the\nwell-known sagacity of that animal, this statement savors strongly of the\n'tale of a traveller.'\"\n\n\"Considered in relation to these principles, temperament may be divided\ninto seven varieties. 1, the mixed or balanced, in which the ruling organs\nare in fair proportion to each other; 2, the encephalic; 3, the thoracic;\n4, the abdominal; 5, the encephalo-thoracic; 6, the encephalo-abdominal;\nand 7, the thoracico-abdominal.\"\n\n\"1. _The mixed or balanced variety._ In this the name explains the\ntemperament. The external marks of it are plain. They consist in a\nwell-adjusted proportion between the sizes of the head, thorax, and\nabdomen. If the limbs are in harmony, the symmetry of the entire person is\ncomplete. Although individuals, in whom this temperament prevails, are\nusually above the middle height, and well-formed, they are not necessarily\nso. They may be of any stature, and any shape, straight or crooked,\nprovided the three great cavities and their contents be accurately\nbalanced. This is not the temperament of either early life or old age. It\ncommences with manhood, and continues until the fortieth or forty-fifth\nyear, and then passes into somewhat of the abdominal. The Apollo\nBelvidere, by Phidias, is an exquisite specimen of it. But some modern\nartists have violated it, in painting that statue, by making the chest and\nthe head loo large. Although the manifestation of strength, majesty, and\nintellect, is heightened by this, the beauty of the youthful god is\nmarred. The figure, though more imposing, has lost its charm.\"\n\n\"2. _The encephalic._ In this variety the head is relatively large, but is\nnot always equally developed in every part, a circumstance which varies\ngreatly, as will presently appear, the characters of those who possess the\ntemperament. The development of the thorax and abdomen is moderate, the\nperson lean, and the countenance expressive of intense feeling and deep\npassion. In some individuals, however, the countenance beams with\nintelligence, without much passion, while, in others, manifestations of\npowerful intellect and passion are united. The thoracic and abdominal\nactivity is never high; yet in many instances the personal hardihood and\nendurance are invincible. It is men of this temperament alone that can\nimmortalize themselves by great achievements, good or bad. All history and\nobservation testify to this. Is the development very large in the moral\nand intellectual regions of the brain, and so moderate in the animal as to\nbe held fully in check? The individual will distinguish himself by a\ndignified purity of deportment, and by the performance of great and good\ndeeds.\"\n\n\"Are the animal and mere knowing compartments largely developed, and the\nmoral and reflecting very slightly? As relates to vice and profligacy in\ntheir foulest shapes, this is the worst of all temperaments. Nothing more\nprone to depravity can be imagined. The person possessed of it delights in\nsome sort of animality alone; and if he ever engages in anything higher or\npurer, it is for a sinister purpose, that he may return to his chosen\nindulgences in more security, or on a broader scale.\"\n\n\"Is the development very large, and equally so in all the departments of\nthe brain, animal, moral, and intellectual, giving to the head unusual\nsize? The individual possessing it has a lofty and powerful character, is\ncapable of attaining the highest renown, and making an impression, not to\nbe erased, on the age and country in which he lives. His career may be\noccasionally stained by irregularities and checkered with clouds, but will\nbe brilliant in the main. His designs are vast, because he feels his\npower, the instruments with which he works are men, and he wields them in\nmasses. The term _little_ has no place in his vocabulary, nor its\nprototype in his thoughts. His aim is greatness of some kind--high\nachievement or deep catastrophe.\"\n\n\"3. _The thoracic._ Under this variety the head is small, usually round,\nand covered with thick curling hair, the abdomen of limited dimensions,\nthe chest spacious and powerful, and the muscles swelling and firm.\nWhether fair and ruddy or otherwise, the complexion is strong. Respiration\nis full and deep, and the action of the heart regular and vigorous; and\nthe pulse has great volume. Like the result, in every other kind of\ninordinate vital action, the animal temperature is high. This temperament,\nin which neither feeling nor intellect prevails, begins to show itself\nabout puberty, and continues until the decline of life, when it undergoes\na change. The Farnesian Hercules is the _beau ideal_ of it. This shows\nthat it was known to the ancient Greeks, who were probably indebted for\ntheir acquaintance with it to observations made on the persons of their\nwrestlers. In modern times it is strongly developed in boxers and porters,\nand sufficiently so in bakers, wood-choppers, operative agriculturists,\nand others who have been habituated to labor from their boyhood. I have\nobserved no little of it among the London boatmen, the occupation of whose\nlife is to ply the oar, a mode of exercise well calculated to develop the\nchest, together with the muscles of the upper extremities. I have seen\ngood specimens of it also in the African race.\"\n\n\"4. _The abdominal._ This temperament is easily recognised by the\ncharacter it imparts to the person and intellect. The pelvis is broad in\nproportion to the shoulders and thorax, the abdomen large and prominent,\nand the adipose matter abundant, filling up the interstices of the\nmuscles, and often forming a layer between them and the skin, in\nconsequence of which the limbs are round and smooth and soft to the touch.\nIn such constitutions, ecchymosis succeeds with unusual readiness, to\nslight contusions. Circulation in the skin being feeble, the complexion\nmay be fair and delicate, but never very ruddy or strong. The size of the\nhead is limited, the intellectual moderate, the eye deficient in lustre\nand the countenance in expression, and the movements heavy and seldom\ngraceful. The abdominal viscera seem to draw everything into the vortex of\ntheir action. The amount of vitality is evidently below its common measure\nin the human system, and, in some instances, the flesh seems to hang as a\nload on the spirit.\"\n\n\"5. _The encephalo-thoracic._ This temperament is a type of power both\nbodily and mental. Its compound name expresses fully the external\nappearances that mark it, as well as the attributes that always accompany\nthem. With an abdomen of moderate dimensions, the head of the individual\nwho possesses it is large and vigorous to conceive and direct, and his\nchest and muscles powerful to execute, and hardy to endure. It is the\ntemperament of masculine and comprehensive thought and strong propensity,\nunited to energetic action, rather than of seclusion and profound\nmeditation. As in all other cases, the character is varied in it according\nto the portion of the brain that is most largely developed. He to whom it\nbelongs feels himself in his proper sphere when he is among men, and is\nwell fitted to act his part in times of tumult and scenes of difficulty.\nIs his brain large in each of its compartments? If an occasion present\nitself, he not only mingles in the moral storm, but aspires to direct it.\nIn case of his becoming a warrior, his genius and sword are alike\nformidable. In battle, previously to the invention of fire-arms, such a\nman was the terror of his enemies and the hope of his friends. Ulysses, as\nsketched by Homer, is as fairly the _beau ideal_ of this temperament, as\nHercules is of the thoracic. That chieftain was alike wise to counsel,\nintrepid to dare, and powerful to perform. Plato, so called from the\nuncommon breadth of his chest, who had also a very large head, is another\nexcellent model of the same. Even in times of peace the corporeal\nattributes of a man of this description add to his influence. Jupiter, the\nemblem of wisdom and power, as represented by the ancient statuaries, with\nan immense head and trunk, and arms of matchless strength, is as finished\na specimen of the encephalo-thoracic temperament, as Apollo is of the\nmixed.\"\n\n\"6. _The encephalo-abdominal._ Here again the name bespeaks sufficiently\nthe development, form, and character of those who possess the temperament.\nThe head and abdomen are comparatively large, the thorax small, and the\nshoulders narrow. Hence the sensibility is keen, and the intellect, if not\npowerful, active and respectable. For the reasons given, when the\nabdominal temperament was considered, the limbs and person, under the\npresent one, are round and smooth, and the flesh is soft; but, owing to\nthe influence of a well-developed brain, and nerves that correspond to it,\nthe movements are sprightly and the air graceful. Though rarely powerful,\nthe character is attractive. This is the temperament of childhood and\nwoman, much more than of adult life and man. Fine genius, but elegant and\nplayful, rather than strong and brilliant, is often connected with it. It\nis females, in whom the encephalic development is larger than usual, that\npossess minds truly masculine.\"\n\n\"7. _The thoracico-abdominal._ In this temperament the head is\ncomparatively small, and the thorax and abdomen large, with a\ncorresponding size of the muscles and bones, and much adipose substance.\nIt is the temperament of mere animal strength and patient endurance,\nwithout any of the elevated, sprightly, or attractive qualities of human\nnature. It forms good laborers and fatigue-men, but is entirely unfit for\nthose whose province is to meditate, plan, and direct. It comports well\nenough with the character of soldiers of a certain description, but is\naltogether out of harmony with that of an officer. It is, I think, more\nfavorable to health than any of the other temperaments, except perhaps the\nmixed. If those who possess it have weak intellects, their passions are\nusually moderate, and rarely hurry them into pernicious excesses. The\ntenor of their lives is but little interrupted by either irregularity or\ndisease. Hence they retain their vigor uncommonly well, and are often\nday-laborers and industrious husbandmen at an advanced age. True, their\nappetite for food is strong; but they are not prone to an excessive\nindulgence of it; I mean at a single meal. Like those possessed of the\nabdominal temperament, they eat often rather than superabundantly at once.\nBesides, such is the strength of their chylopoetic viscera, that they\nsubdue and digest without sustaining any injury, as much food as would\nproduce disease in those of different constitutions. Nor are they so much\nendangered by vascular fulness as persons of the simple abdominal\ntemperament. The reason of this is plain. Their bloodvessels are larger,\nand their excretions more copious, especially those by the skin and the\norgan of respiration. From the warmth of their constitutions, owing to an\nabundance of well-arterialized blood, and a concomitant vigorous\ncirculation, they perspire freely, and secrete and exhale copiously from\nthe lungs. This temperament is rarely found among women, and is not very\ncommon among men.\"\n\nDr. C. maintains that at certain periods of life, one temperament passes\ninto another, as the result of the natural changes which take place, in\nthe progress of the growth and decay of the human body; and that every\none, who attains longevity, partakes, in the progress of growth and\ndecline, of five temperaments; the purely _abdominal_, which prevails\nbefore birth; the _encephalo-abdominal_, which exists at birth, and for\nsome years afterward; the _encephalo-thoracic_; the _mixed_; and the\n_abdominal_ of real senility. Thus passes the circle of life, beginning\nwith the abdominal temperament of the foetal state, and terminating in\nthat of extreme old age.\n\nThat there is an intimate connexion between temperament and personal\nbeauty, will be manifest from the above view of the subject. Our limits,\nhowever, forbid an application of Dr. Caldwell's views in illustration of\nMr. Walker's theory; these, however, have been given so much in detail,\nthat the reader will be able to make the application for himself.\n\n\nG.\n\nThere is hardly any habit relating to female dress more destructive of\ngrace and beauty, at least of deportment, than that of compressing the\nfoot in a shoe of one half the proper size. It would seem that our ladies\nwere trying to ape the fashion of the Chinese, in this respect, and though\nthey do not at present carry it to the same extent, yet they carry it\nsufficiently far to destroy their comfort. We look in vain for the\nsprightly, light, and elastic step, where the feet are bound tight, and\ncramped up in disproportionately tight shoes; and it would be strange in\nsuch a case, if we did not find an unhappy and distressed expression of\ncountenance--the muscles of the face sympathizing with the distorted and\npainful feet. Such a custom, also, interferes materially with taking that\nmeasure of exercise which is necessary to health. Mrs. Walker, in her work\non Female Beauty, remarks as follows: \"Ladies are very apt to torture\ntheir feet to make them appear small. This is exceedingly ridiculous: a\nvery small foot is a deformity. True beauty of each part consists in the\nproportion it bears to the rest of the body. A tight or ill-made shoe, not\nonly destroys the shape of the foot, it produces corns and bunions; and it\ntends to impede the circulation of the blood. Besides, the foot then\nswells, and appears larger than it is, and the ankles become thick and\nclumsy.\"\n\nThe pernicious effect of tight or ill-made shoes, is evident also in the\nstiff and tottering gait of these victims of a foolish prejudice; they can\nneither stand upright, walk straight, nor enter a room properly.\n\nTo be too short, is one of the greatest defects a shoe can have; because\nit takes away all chance of yielding in that direction, and without\noffering any compensation for tightness in others, and in itself, it not\nonly causes pain, and spoils the shape of the foot, by turning down the\ntoes, and swelling of the instep, but is the cause of bad gait and\ncarriage. Many diseases arise solely from the use of shoes of very thin\nmaterials in wet weather; but no female who has the slightest regard for\nher health, or indeed for the preservation of her beauty, will object to\nwear shoes thicker than are usually worn, if the pavement is at any time\nwet or damp.\n\n\nH.\n\nThe effect of alcoholic drinks upon beauty, has not been over-estimated by\nMr. Walker, though he is doubtless mistaken in supposing that none but\nthose who reside amid the artificial customs of city life, experience the\ndeleterious influence of such beverages. Not only alcoholic stimulants,\nbut tea and coffee, and especially opium, which has of late come into very\nextensive use as a substitute for the former, tend to produce an unhealthy\naction of the skin, from their influence upon the secerent system, causing\nblotches, pimples, and discolorations, in a greater or less degree. Where\nused moderately, they produce either an unnatural paleness, deadness, or\nduskiness of complexion, or a bloated appearance, far removed from the\nfresh roseate hue of health. Such is the effect of wine, cordials, and\nmalt liquors, which are extensively employed by ladies, particularly in\ncities, during the period of nursing, under a mistaken impression that\nthey cause a greater flow of milk, and tend to invigorate the system.\nWhoever desires to attain health, strength, and beauty, should not seek\nthem through the agency of bitters, tonics, and cordials, or distilled, or\nfermented liquors, which only inflame the blood, but from free exercise in\nthe open air, regular occupations, tranquillity of mind, a mild diet, and\na proper allotment of time for sleep.\n\nIt has been remarked that the lower classes of females in cities, consume\nas much, and probably more intoxicating drinks, than men of the same\nclass, and this is no doubt true. But to the honor of our countrywomen, a\ngreat change has been brought about within last few years, with respect to\nthe use of alcoholic liquors, not only in this, but in other countries,\nwith a corresponding improvement in health, happiness, and beauty. In\nadvancing this blessed reform, the ladies have borne a conspicuous\npart--as they have in every other philanthropic work--and their _combined_\ninfluence is only needed, to banish such drinks entirely from civilized\nsociety.\n\n\nTHE FACIAL LINE OF CAMPER.\n\nIn order to determine the cerebral mass, and, consequently, the\nintellectual faculties, Camper draws a base line from the roots of the\nupper incisors, to the external auditory passage; then another straight\nline, from the upper incisors to the most elevated point of the forehead:\naccording to him, the intellectual faculties of the man or animal, are in\ndirect proportion to the magnitude of the angle, made by those two lines.\nLavater, with this idea for a basis, constructed a scale of perfection\nfrom the frog to the Apollo Belvidere. As nature really furnishes many\nproofs in support of this opinion, it has been generally received, even by\nanatomists and physiologists; and, notwithstanding the arguments by which\nit is victoriously opposed, the learned cannot resolve to abandon it.\nCuvier himself furnishes a list of men and animals, in support of this\ndoctrine; few naturalists oppose it, but almost all give it their\nsupport.[61]\n\nCamper's attempt necessarily failed; for his manner of drawing the lines\nand measuring the facial angle, enabled him to take into consideration the\nanterior parts only of the brain situated near the forehead: he entirely\nneglects the posterior, lateral, and inferior cerebral parts. This method,\nthen, at most, could decide upon those faculties only, whose organs are\nplaced near the forehead.\n\nCuvier estimates the facial angle of the new-born infant at ninety\ndegrees; that of the adult, at eighty-five; that of decrepit old age, at\nfifty.\n\nFrom this statement it appears, that, at different ages, changes take\nplace in the form, either of the brain or the cranium; hereafter I shall\nprove that such changes really occur.\n\nThe forehead of the newborn infant is flattened; on the contrary, that of\na child some months old, and until the age of eight or ten years,\nespecially in the case of boys possessed of superior talents, it is\nprojecting, and forms, notwithstanding the approximation to the age of\npuberty, a larger facial angle than in the adult; this angle, therefore,\ndoes not diminish in the inverse ratio of the age. In like manner we find\ndecrepit old men, whose facial angle is as great as it was in the vigor of\nmanhood; for, although in decrepitude the brain is subject to atrophy,\nthere are old men, the exterior contour of whose crania undergoes no\nchange. The angle, as stated by Cuvier, for different ages, were measured\nupon different individuals; if it were estimated upon the same persons at\ndifferent epochs of his life, the result would be entirely different.\n\nIn general, the proportion between the forehead and the face, is\ndifferent in different individuals. No conclusion can be drawn from the\nproportions, which exist in one person, relative to those of another;\namong a hundred individuals of the same sex and age, no two can be found,\nin whom the same proportion exists between the forehead and the face; it\nnecessarily follows, then, that no two will have the same facial angle.\nPhysiologists seem to admit, that the proportion between the brain and the\nbones of the face, is different in different species of animals: but they\nappear to think that, in all the individuals of the same species, all the\nyoung, all the adults, all the old, there exists a constant proportion\nbetween the cerebral mass and the face.\n\nThe researches of Blumenbach show that threefourths of the animals known,\nhave nearly the same facial angle; and yet what a disparity between their\ninstincts and faculties! What information, then, do we derive from\nCamper's facial angle?\n\nMoreover, as Cuvier himself observes, the cerebral mass is by no means\nplaced in all animals, immediately behind or beneath what is called the\nforehead. In a great many species of animals, on the contrary, the\nexternal table of the frontal is at a considerable distance from the\ninternal, and this distance increases with the age of the animal. The\nbrain of the swine is placed an inch lower than the frontal bones seem to\nindicate; that of the ox, in some parts three inches; that of the\nelephant, from six to thirteen. In other animals, the measurement is\ngenerally commenced at the frontal sinus instead of the cerebrum. From\nthese considerations, Cuvier was induced to draw a tangent to the internal\ninstead of the external surface of the cranium. The cerebrum of the wolf\nand many species of dogs, especially when the individuals are very old, is\nplaced directly behind the frontal sinuses. In the wolf, especially the\nlarge and most ferocious variety, it is depressed as in the hyena; in the\ndog it is situated higher or lower, according to the species; but,\nnotwithstanding this difference in the situation of the brain, the facial\nangle, as it is commonly measured, must be the same; from this the\ninference would be, that the dog, the wolf, and the hyena, have the same\nqualities, and each in the same degree. In the greater part of the\nrodentia, the morse, &c., the brain is so depressed and so placed behind\nthe frontal sinuses, that the facial line cannot be drawn. The facial line\nof the cetacea, on account of the singular conformation of the head, would\nlead to results absolutely false.\n\nI know many negroes, who, with very prominent jaws, are quite\ndistinguished for their intellectual faculties; yet the projection of the\njaws renders the facial angle much more acute, than it would be with the\nusual conformation of Europeans. In order that the same angle should exist\nin a European, the forehead must be flattened and retreating. But the\nforeheads of the negroes in question, on the contrary, are very\nprojecting. Who, under these circumstances, would expect to find the same\namount of intellect corresponding to the same facial angle?\n\nThe facial line cannot be applied to birds, as many naturalists have\nalready observed.\n\nFrom what has been said, we should expect that naturalists would at length\nrenounce the facial angle of Camper; but the most ignorant are generally\nthe most conceited.\n\nIn spite of this complete refutation of Camper's facial line, Delpit\nextols it in the following terms:--\n\n\"If ever a relation of this kind presented characters of generality and\nfixedness, adequate to excite a reasonable confidence in matters belonging\nto the domain of empiricism, rather than that of science, it is the\nrelation or proportion of magnitude, which Camper first perceived and\nrevealed, by comparing the brain of man with that of the different species\nof animals. We here see a successive decrease of intelligence,\nproportionate to the acuteness of the facial angle and the consequent\ndiminution of the cerebral cavity. This affords a constant and fixed\nrelation. It can be appreciated with a sufficient degree of exactness by\nthe direct light of comparative anatomy, and by observation of the habits\nand intelligence of the different classes of animals; it can also be\nverified by the comparison of men very unequally endowed with intellectual\nfaculties, in whom the contraction of the cerebral cavity and the\nmagnitude of the facial angle exhibit the most remarkable diversities.\nHere the physiognomical sign has, if I may be allowed the expression, a\nwide extent of acceptation; it rests upon a broad basis, upon a definite\ndivision, and one of easy comprehension and verification; for, if there is\nsome discrepancy of opinion, in regard to the number and nomenclature of\nthe faculties of the mind, the sentiments of the soul, the modifications\nor shades of character which give birth to particular passions, moral\ndispositions, habits, whether virtuous or vicious; if these\nclassifications are, in a great measure, arbitrary, and the language used\nsomewhat vague; if, in short, the greater part of these nominal faculties\nare mere abstractions of the mind, purely imaginary existences, and\ntherefore cannot be actually located in any part of the brain; the case is\nquite different, when we merely seek to establish a general relation\nbetween a constant sign manifested in the organization, and the degree of\nreason, mind, or intellect, attributed to different men, or the degrees of\nsagacity attributed to different species of animals. Here, no one is at a\nloss, because there is ample latitude for comparing and judging; in the\nsystem of Gall, on the contrary, the comparisons rest upon minute points,\nwhich are subject to discussion, exceptions, a thousand uncertainties in\nthe signs and various applications.\"[62]\n\nIf the reader will review what I have said against Camper's facial line,\nhe will find a refutation of all this reasoning of Delpit; a proof that he\ndefends it merely because it is in vogue. It is this very generality and\nfixedness, which render it, in almost all cases, inapplicable; this is the\ninherent defect in the supposed importance of Camper's facial angle. It is\nimplicitly supposed, that no difference but that of degree, exists between\nthe capacities of the different species and individuals of the human race,\nand the different species and individuals of the animal kingdom. Thus the\nintelligence of men and other animals would always be proportioned to the\nmagnitude of the facial angle. This being premised, I ask, which, out of\ntwo, three, four, &c., has the most intelligence, the dog, ape, beaver,\nthe ant, or the bee? Ants and bees live in an admirable republic, and form\nastonishing constructions, which they know how to modify according to\ncircumstances. The beaver and penduline build with equally marvellous\nskill, and with a foresight which seldom errs; the dog and the ape have\nvery little foresight, and are incapable of the most insignificant\nconstruction. Which has the greater intelligence, Voltaire or Descartes?\nCould the former have been a mathematician and the latter a poet? Which\nhas the higher degree of intellect, Mozart or Lessing, who, with all his\ngenius, detested music? In short, which has the most intelligence, my dog\nwho retraces his steps through the most complicated routes, or myself, who\nam always going astray? Measure now the facial angle of the ant, bee,\nbeaver, penduline, ape, my dog, and of myself, and estimate the result.\nAcknowledge, then, that your division, so definite, so easy to be\napprehended, is absolutely useless, and that you are obliged to advert to\ndivers instincts, propensities, faculties, and their different degrees of\nenergy, to which your facial angle is wholly inapplicable. Your\nintelligence, instinct, address, are in reality mere abstractions,\nimaginary existences. Do you consider the propensity to procreation, the\nlove of offspring, the carnivorous instinct, the talent for music, poetry,\n&c., as imaginary existences? You see, then, that it is more convenient to\ntread the beaten path, than to verify observations.--_Gall on the\nFunctions of the Brain_, page 195.\n\n\n\n\nFootnotes:\n\n[1] Utopia, Book II., chap. viii.\n\n[2] I do not wish to be forced into any discussion of this last point.\nBut, if necessary, I shall not decline it.\n\n[3] We fear that Mr. Walker's analogical reasoning here is not very\nconclusive. To reason from a living to a dead subject may be very logical\nbut it is not altogether satisfactory.\n\n[4] \"The Magazine of The Fine Arts,\" No. VI, for October 1833.\n\n[5] I am not here called upon to vindicate the errors and absurdities\nwhich poets and others introduced into mythology.\n\n[6] Appendix A.\n\n[7] George IV., though the \"first gentleman\" in England, was guilty of\ncheating at a horserace.--ED.\n\n[8] The above remark is true of the same class of females in this\ncountry.--ED.\n\n[9] Appendix B.\n\n[10] Appendix C.\n\n[11] To the reader unaccustomed to inquiries of this kind, it may save\ntrouble to peruse first the brief Summary of the contents of this\nimportant chapter, beginning in page 120.\n\n[12] Regularity expresses the similarity of parts considered as\nconstituting a whole; and uniformity, the similarity of parts considered\nseparately.\n\n[13] Appendix D\n\n[14] The common character of these arts has been overlooked.\n\n[15] Proportion is here employed, not as expressing an intrinsic relation,\nas in the beauty of inanimate beings, but as expressing an extrinsic\nrelation to fitness for ends.\n\n[16] \"The Nervous System, Anatomical and Physiological: in which the\nFunctions of the various Parts of the Brain are, for the first time,\nassigned.\"\n\n[17] Communicated by the writer to the \"Magazine of the Fine Arts,\" No.\n11, for June, 1833.\n\n[18] \"Human Nature,\" chap, ix., sec. 13.\n\n[19] \"Reflexions Critiques sur la Poesie et sur la Peinture.\"\n\n[20] \"Reflexions sur la Poetique.\"\n\n[21] \"Adventurer,\" No. 110.\n\n[22] Essay on Tragedy.\n\n[23] To some it may appear, that the organs and functions of digestion,\nrespiration, and generation, are not involved by this arrangement; but\nsuch a notion can originate only in superficial observation.\n\nDigestion is a compound function easily reducible to some of the simple\nones which have been enumerated. It consists of the motion of the stomach\nand contiguous parts, of the secretion of a liquid from its internal\nsurface, and of that heat, which is the common result of all action,\nwhether mechanical, vital, or mental, and which is better explained by\nsuch motion, than by chymical theories. Similarly compound are respiration\nand generation.\n\nThus, there is no organ nor function which is not involved by the simple\nand natural arrangement here sketched.\n\nCompound, however, as the organs of digestion, respiration, and\ngeneration, are, yet, as they form so important a part of the system, it\nmay be asked, with which of these classes they are most allied. The answer\nis obvious. All of them consist of tubular vessels of various diameter;\nand all of them transmit and transmute liquids. Possessing such strong\ncharacteristics of the nutritive or vital system, they are evidently most\nallied to it.\n\nIn short, digestion prepares the nutritive or vital matter, which is taken\nup by absorption--the first of the simple nutritive functions; respiration\nrenovates it in the very middle of its course--between the two portions of\nthe simple function of circulation; and generation, dependant on\nsecretion--the last of these functions, communicates this nutritive\nmatter, or propagates vitality to a new series of beings. In such\narrangement, the digestive organs, therefore, precede, and the generative\nfollow, the simple nutritive organs; while the respiratory occupy a middle\nplace between the venous and the arterial circulation.\n\nNothing can be more improper, as the preceding observations show, than\nconsidering any one of these as a distinct class.\n\nMore fully, therefore, to enumerate the nutritive or vital organs, we may\nsay, that, under them, are classed, first, the organs of digestion, the\nexternal and internal absorbent surfaces, and the vessels which absorb\nfrom these surfaces, or the organs of absorption; second, the heart,\nlungs, and bloodvessels, which derive their contents (the blood) from the\nabsorbed lymph, or the organs of circulation; and third, the secreting\ncavities, glands, &c., which separate various matters from the blood, or\nthe organs of secretion, and of which generation is the sequel.\n\n[24] Appendix E.\n\n[25] In perfect consistency with the assertion, that, though the organs of\ndigestion, respiration, and generation, were really compound, still they\nwere chiefly nutritive or vital, and properly belonged to that class, it\nis not less remarkable, that, in this division of the body, they are found\nto occupy that part, the trunk, in which the chief simple nutritive organs\nare contained. This also shows the impropriety of reckoning any of these a\nseparate system from the vital.\n\n[26] The bones resemble these, in containing the greatest quantity of\nearthy mineral matter.\n\n[27] It is the possession of vessels which constitutes the vitality of\nvegetables.\n\n[28] In animals, alone, is nervous matter discoverable.\n\n[29] Plants have no real circulation, nor passage of their nutritive\nliquids through the same point.\n\n[30] This arrangement of anatomy and physiology was first published by me\nin 1806; and, notwithstanding its being the arrangement of nature, it has\nnot been adopted by any one that I know of, until very lately, when it was\nin some measure used by Dr. Roget, without acknowledgment.\n\nThe originality, as well as the truth and value, of this arrangement, will\nbe illustrated by referring to any other published previous to 1806, or\neven to 1808, when I republished it in \"Preliminary Lectures,\" Edinburgh.\n\n[31] The cause of this has never been explained; and it could not well be\nexplained, without a perception of the views in my preceding physiological\narrangement.--The brain, at this period, becomes more subservient to\npurposes connected with generation; the communication between the trunk\nand the head is more frequent, intense, and sustained; and the neck, which\ncontains the communicating organs, necessarily increases in size. This\nunexplained circumstance led to the mistake of the craniologists\nrespecting the cerebel. Here, therefore, as in other cases pointed out in\nmy work on Physiognomy, Gall and Spurzheim ascribe to deeper-seated organs\nwhat belongs to more superficial ones.\n\n[32] Appendix F.\n\n[33] Appendix G.\n\n[34] Memoire sur le Beau Physique.\n\n[35] A curious but true remark is made by Moreau, namely, that if these\nconditions are met with without being united to a certain expression, and\nto the most complete combination of the elements of beauty of countenance,\nthey frequently give an air of insensibility and of mental weakness, which\ngreatly enfeebles the impression that a first view had caused.\n\n[36] Statistical results in relation to the supply of hospitals and\nprisons, carry the expense of a man much beyond that of a woman.\n\n[37] Appendix H.\n\n[38] Appendix I.\n\n[39] See the causes of this explained in my work on \"Physiognomy.\"\n\n[40] Pallas--Voyages en Siberie.\n\n[41] Humboldt's Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain.\n\n[42] It is remarkable that, in infants, the nose is almost always flat,\nand that, in some members of the same family, it always remains so, while,\nin others, it rises. This is attended by difference of function.\n\n[43] \"Physiognomy founded on Physiology, and applied to various Countries,\nProfessions, and Individuals: with an Appendix on the Bones at Hythe--the\nSculls of the ancient Inhabitants of Britain, and its Invaders:\nillustrated by Engravings.\"--Smith, Elder, & Co., Cornhill.\n\n[44] Of the best works on this subject, those of Mengs alone, I believe,\nhave been translated; but the translation is so inaccurate as to be\nworthless.\n\n[45] Thus it is not correct, as stated by Leonardo, that when some parts\nare broad or thick, all are broad; though, in peculiar combinations, that\nmay occur.\n\n[46] Lib. II. in Tim\u00e6um Platonis.\n\n[47] This member of the Royal Academy was suspected of having written that\n\"republics had done more for the advancement of the fine arts than\nmonarchies.\" The late George III., who did not approve of truths of that\nkind, was thereby so much enraged, that he instantly sent for the list of\nthe members of the academy, and therefrom erased the name of Barry. The\nacademicians humbly submitted to the indignity which hereditary wisdom\nthus inflicted. It would appear, however, that bad principles are\nspreading among the Royal academicians; for the works of this expelled\nmember are now daringly given by them as a prize to students at the\nacademy!\n\n[48] This rule is well explained, and variously illustrated by Donald\nWalker, in his work, equally philosophical, instructive, and amusing,\nentitled \"Exercises for Ladies,\" a knowledge of which, and the practice of\nits principles, would render beauty, and especially beauty of the\nshoulders and arms, far more common in every family.\n\n[49] It was at the extremity of the modern Cape Crio, anciently Triopium,\na promontory of Doris, a province of Caria, that was built the celebrated\ncity of Cnidos. Here Venus was worshipped: here was seen this statue of\nthat goddess, the most beautiful of the works of Praxiteles. A temple, far\nfrom spacious, and open on all sides, contained it, without concealing it\nfrom view; and, in whatever point of view it was examined, it excited\nequal admiration. No drapery veiled its charms; and so uncommon was its\nbeauty, that it inflamed with a violent passion another Pygmalion.\n\n[50] The phrenologists have told us that the head of this Venus is too\nsmall. They might as well have said, that the head of the Minerva, or of\nthe Jupiter, is too large, or a hundred other ignorant inapplicabilities,\nand ridiculous pedantries. But to set aside ideal forms, I may observe,\nthat sex makes a vast difference in the head, and a woman with a small\nhead often produces a son with a large one.\n\n[51] This is beautiful, but is evidently borrowed from the great\nphilosophical poet's\n\n \"Te, Dea, te fugiunt ventei, te nubila coeli,\n Adventumque tuum.\"\n\n[52] That, in plants, these odors are even necessary to their\nreproduction, is proved by their uniform existence at that period. And if\nbeing affected by odors implies a sense of smell, or some modification of\nit, then must plants possess it.\n\n[53] In all grossly sensual nations and individuals, the lips are everted\neven at the angles.\n\n[54] See this explained in \"Physiognomy.\"\n\n[55] \"Venere suol tenere alquanto aperte le labbra, come per indicare un\nlanguido desiderio ed amore.\"--_Storia delle Arti._\n\n[56] In the Cupid, the form of the head is godlike. The hair not only\ncurls with all the vigor of early years, but, with perfect knowledge of\nnature's tendency, is bent into a ridge along the middle of the upper\nhead. The brow, full, open, and charmingly rounded, is the evident throne\nof young observation, and it flows with such beauty into the parts behind,\nas if it actually _said_ its purpose was to fling its observations back on\nthought and will. Its beginnings at the eyebrows display exquisite\nknowledge: the bony ridge is admirably shown to be yet unformed; and while\nits outer extremity forms but the orbital convexity, or shell for the\nglobe of the eye, the inner extremity of the eyebrow is with infinite art\ndrawn over soft and hollow space, as if the few hairs that composed it\nmade there its only convexity. In short, in every part of the face, fine\nand faint as is every youthful feature, no detail is lost; and this, added\nto the pointed chin and upper lip, declare the purpose of the little god.\n\n[57] Appendix K.\n\n[58] I speak not of paint here. It is now used only by meretricious\npersons and by those harridans of higher rank who resemble them in every\nrespect, except that the former are ashamed of their profession, and the\nlatter advertise it.\n\n[59] Combe's Phrenology.\n\n[60] Physiologie des Temperamens on Constitutions. Paris, 1826.\n\n[61] This doctrine is revived, _Dict. des Sciences med._ Delpit and\nReydellet.\n\n[62] Dictionnaire des Sciences M\u00e9d. t. xxxviii. p. 263.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\nPassages in italics are indicated by _italics_.\n\nThe misprint \"and and\" has been corrected to \"and\".\n\nFootnote 6 appears on page 34; however, it has no corresponding marker.\n\n\n\n\n\n
","title":"Beauty: Illustrated Chiefly by an Analysis and Classification of Beauty in Woman","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":105144}