HISTORICAL SKETCH.

AWAY back in the dim, misty days of antiquity, of which we catch but a glimmer from the light of history, man was seeking light and knowledge,-to know more of his environment, more of himself, his kindred, and others.

The why of every phase and form of Mental Phenomena was sought for with much avidity and painstaking care. During this chaotic and evolutionary epoch much that, in the hands of Modern Science, has been systematized into form was evolved, until, at the present time," Face and Form Reading," the Modern Physiognomy scientifically explained, stands before us, and must, of necessity, take rank as an important Mental Science.

No science has as yet reached perfection (and probably never will), nor do we claim perfection for the present System of Physiognomy; but such as we give you in this work is capable of Mathematical and Physical, as well as Practical, demonstration.

Many brilliant and solid minds have for ages been engaged in the task of unraveling the tangled threads of life and human action, to assign a cause for every effect.

"The Encyclopædia of Face and Form Reading," while a scientific work, is pre-eminently practical; and, while the limits of the science have not by any means been reached, what we give you in this encyclopædia is the concentrated and sublimated result of the evolution of many ages of thought and research on this interesting and fascinating subject. All that is known on the matter to date is here gathered in systematic arrangement, and the theories and laws for all mental phenomena, so far as is known, render the science practical and useful.

The following eminent Physicians, Scientists, Thinkers, and Philosophers, Ancient and Modern, have thought and written on the all-absorbing subject, "Man, Know Thyself."

WRITERS ON PHYSIOGNOMY AND KINDRED TOPICS.

HISTORIANS, POETS, ETC.

MOSES, "First Elements in the Pentateuch.".
ADAMANTIUS, Ancient Greek Philosopher.
SOCRATES, Greek Philosopher. Born, B.C. 470;
Died, B.C. 399.

PLATO, Greek Philosopher. Born, B.C. 429;
Died, B.C. 348.

ARISTOPHANES, Greek Poet. Born, B.C. 440;
Died, B.C. 380.

ARISTOTLE, Greek Philosopher. Born, B.C.
384; Died, B.C. 322.

ZENO, Greek Stoic Philosopher. Born, B.C. 358: Died, B.C. 260.

CLEANTHES, Greek Philosopher. Born, B.C. 300; Died, B.C. 220.

INTRODUCTION.

F the most learned man of the twelfth century were to return to earth and become cognizant of our advance in the sciences and industrial arts, he would doubtless believe, at first, that he was in the midst of works of magic more wonderful and powerful by far than the mysterious and occult operations of the Magi of his own age. He would note the use of natural forces turned to the economies of life by ingenious and complicated machinery; he would be shown the wonders of steam navigation, of the art of printing, of electricity in its numerous developments and uses, of the telegraph and telephone, together with the telescopic and microscopic discoveries which astonish even this progressed age. The knowledge of the laws of sound, motion, light, and color, which this epoch has evolved, would unfold to his senses a world of realities as new to his mind as if he, in verity, were transported to quite another planet than the one which had been his former habitation. After taking note of all our increased knowledge of science in its various departments, and after examining our museums and institutions of learning, if he were to ask, What do you now know of man?-of his powers and properties? what reply could we make? We might answer that we understand the circulation of the blood, a little about the nervous system, somewhat of the process of digestion; that we know the number of the bones and have named them, and also the action of the muscles; that we are in a state of uncertainty as to the function of the brain; that we know very little of the prevention of disease, much less about its cure, and nothing at all as to the meaning of his physiognomy. What think you would be his opinion of our progress in useful knowledge? Surely, he would conclude that we had vexed our minds with many things that could be dispensed with, and had neglected the most useful of them all. The knowledge of man and how to improve his capacities, how to protect his bodily powers, how to prevent and remedy the diseases which assail him, is surely of more importance than many of the studies upon which valuable time has been spent without advancing the knowledge of man one step. All through the ages of which we have any recorded history we find inklings of an instinctive perception of physiognomy.

The writings of Moses show him to have been a profound student of human nature, and possessed of a power to read and understand countenances and features. His knowledge of sanitary law, in regard to food and diet and the protection of the body, and the success attending the application of these laws, place him even beyond the sanitarians of to-day. Among the earliest Greek writers, Aristotle, Plato, and Galen may be named as having written and taught physiognomy. Hippocrates also formulated a system based upon the several colors of the human complexion. This classification has passed down to the present day, and has been accepted by naturalists in its application to man, while at the same time, with singular inconsistency, the lower animal kingdom has been classified on the basis of form, and correctly so, as color is an effect, not a cause; it is dependent on climate, food, habit, and other accidental surroundings. Even phrenologists, who ought to know better (since their researches extend widely among the animal kingdom), have retained the classification which Hippocrates set up. The differences observable in the human family he denominated temperaments-a word which has no intelligent application even to the false basis upon which the old Greek physician founded his system, long before the circulation of blood was discovered by Harvey, and before the functions of the liver, heart, and brain were at all understood.

Each age has added its contributions to our knowledge of physiognomy, and if these contributions have not given us heretofore a correct system, at once practical and scientific, they have maintained an interest and a belief in this science. This interest and belief have served as a beacon-light, which has flashed far down the ages made brilliant by the works of the most renowned philosophers and literates. Among the Grecians, Aristotle wrote extensively on this subject. Pliny, Cicero, and others of ancient Rome found this science worthy of their consideration, while, later in the advancing centuries, we find Petrus d'Abbano lecturing on physiognomy before the students of the University of Paris. After him followed the renowned Avicenna, Averroës, Michael Scott, and the Italian sculptor and naturalist, J. Baptista Porta, the discoverer of the camera obscura. Later still, many German, French, English, and American observers left their writings among us to be added to and built upon. Lavater, in 1801, wrote numerous volumes on the subject, copiously illustrated, in which he had the assistance of some of the best artists in Europe. It is through his works, and from his associations that this science is best known to modern students. His purity of life and high position (he having been an eloquent clergyman, pastor of St. Peter's Church, at