Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from New Physiognomy, or Signs of Character: As Manifested Through Temperament and External Forms, and Especially in "the Human Face Divine"
The study of man, from any stand-point, is interesting. His anatomical structure is wonderful. His physiology, with the vital organs of breathing, circulation, digestion, and assimilation, furnishes the materials for illimitable investigation. But when we come to the nervous system, including the brain, the organ through which mind is manifested, we seem to approach the verge of another world. From this, the highest and most comprehensive stand-point, we may trace, locate, and name the various nerves, arteries, and veins through all their ramifications and discover the particular office or function of each; but what can we know of the immortal mind? We can comprehend something of matter, its properties and uses, but almost nothing of the mind itself, save that it occupies and uses the body for a time, and then drops it to return to the God who gave it.
We know how widely mankind differ in looks, in opinion, and in character, and it has been our study to discover the causes of these differences. We find them in organization. As we look, so we feel, so we act, and so we are. But we may direct and control even our thoughts, our feelings, and our acts, and thus, to some extent - by the aid of grace - become what we will. We can be temperate or intemperate; virtuous or vicious; hopeful or desponding; generous or selfish; believing or skeptical; prayerful or profane. We are free to choose what course we will pursue, and our bodies, our brains, and our features readily adapt themselves and clearly indicate the lives we lead and the characters we form.
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