This observation of the great scientist is most just, for where there is an excess of Ideality the individual imagines unreal, improbable, and often fearful as well as beautiful ideas. Dante, in his "Inferno," shows to what extent the imagination can go in the direction of the horrible. Milton, also, in his "Paradise Lost," reveals to what limits the unrestrained exercise of the imagination may lead one; while the paintings of the old masters teem with the representation of demons and angels, of sprites and satyrs, of heavens and hells-the lovely and hideous as well as the damned and demoniacal. Aside from the immense importance of the imagination when used as an agent to beautify and elevate the mind and senses, as is done by poetry, pictures, and statuary, it forms the basis of the refinements of our every-day life and works. The domestic woman who possesses a fair share of imagination may not be able to write a poem nor paint a picture, yet will set a table with such taste and prepare and serve a meal with such neatness and fitness of decoration as will show that a sense of the ideal has toned and softened her nature to that degree that coarseness cannot enter into the least detail of her domestic occupations. Every community possesses many such characters, and their sense of the fitness of things, of propriety, of ornamentation, of nicety and neatness throws a charm around all their efforts. They are most helpful in elevating commonplace acts of every-day life, and their example sheds abroad an influence which is truly refining. There are many degrees of this faculty, and the being who possesses little of this useful sense is cut off from most of the enjoyments which Nature and art alike offer in such abundance. He is also less useful in the practical walks of life, for as imagination gives him no assistance he must hence depend upon teachers, and work by rule and method, never discovering nor inventing new ways and ideas through the operation of an active imagination. The matter-of-fact person is much more helpless than he who has even a fair share of ability to imagine how acts and works are performed of which he has had no previous experimental knowledge. The matter-of-fact person must be taught all that he does, but one with a good imagination can comprehend the duties of positions for which he has never been trained, and can fill them at a moment's notice in a very acceptable manner. Imaginative children are far more capable of self-amusement than those who are matter-of-fact, for they will originate little games and give birth to characters, localities, plots, and incidents in a very entertaining manner, while the matter-of-fact children must be provided with objects and assisted by the suggestion of others in order to make a game pass off satisfactorily. Where large Observation and other practical faculties are found in combination with a good degree of Ideality, the character will exhibit a talent of common sense, with capacity for filling many diverse positions with readiness and completeness. Many New Englanders possess this combination, which the old ladies term "faculty," that is, a handiness which enables them without preparation to perform many diverse and important duties. Sharp-pointed, gimlet-shaped noses belong to matter-of-fact people, who possess little refinement, good sense, or artistic percep tion, and thus are deprived of those enjoyments of Nature and art that fill a large part of the life of the idealist. I regard such persons with pity, for they are poor indeed. It requires a great deal of money and material to satisfy the latter class, for they cannot derive a moment's entertainment from the observation of the most beautiful landscape in the world. Mountains to them are only so many dirty rocks; the dewdrops, glistening upon the lawn, are only impediments to walking; Niagara, foaming and dashing in grandeur down its depths, only elicits from them the criticism of the Englishman who, when taken by a romantic friend to visit this majestic fall, remarked: "What's to 'inder it falling?" Such insensitive souls remind one of the matter-of-fact Peter Bell, of whom the poet wrote:— "A primrose by the river's brim A yellow primrose was to him— In the case of Ideality, as with all of the higher constructive faculties, there are two ways of manifesting its presence. One may be executive, and by the help of Constructiveness be able to make or create some work of art or beauty, as, for example. a poem, painting, or statue; or he may be capable of enacting a grand character, such as Ristori or Salvini impersonates, while others with less Constructiveness are capable only of appreciating the efforts of the former, yet their enjoyment of the beauties and excellencies of these works may be and often is greater than that of those who create them; one has the talent of creation, the other the talent of appreciation. The natural allies and assistants of Ideality are Analysis, Constructiveness, Mental Imitation, Sublimity, and Acquisitiveness. The imagination requires the aid of Sublimity to give grandeur to the great imitations of Nature in her most majestic moods. It requires also the capacity for separating and analyzing the constituent parts of everything which the artist would imitate by his mental conceptions of the scenes before him. Constructive ness, too, is most essential, for, without the skill of handicraft, the power of manipulating materials by the flexibility of the muscles, as in acting, oratory, singing, playing, and gesture, the artist would stop short at appreciation, and there would be no works of art constructed, no songs sung, no characters enacted,—hence no progress made in taste and refinement. Now, we find that those who possess Ideality and Constructiveness with Acquisitiveness are those who construct the fine works which ornament our homes and add to our elevation of mind; while those who possess Ideality large, with small Constructiveness and Acquisitiveness, are the appreciative people who admire and buy these works, and who fill the opera, theatre, and forum to see and listen to the grand creations of poet, painter, actor, and orator. One not understanding the significance of Acquisitiveness might not see its relation to the art-faculties. The artist must have the capacity for acquiring materials and money to carry on his plans, else he would make no effort to procure money, but pursue art without reference to gain. The portraits of all the great artists disclose this sign very large. It is located next to Constructiveness in the nose and adjoins Ideality and Sublimity, and is very near Human Nature. It is also most decided in the upper eyelid. Let the reader examine the portraits of Guido Reni (who was said by his biographers to be very avaricious and a great gambler), John Flaxman, Schiller, Canova, Sarah Siddons, Mdlle. Rachel, Rembrandt (who was also very avaricious), Claude Lorraine, Titian, Rubens, Raphael, Beethoven, Bach, Weber, Handel, Tennyson, Byron, Dickens, and also the faces of all creative geniuses, and he will find large Constructiveness and Acquisitiveness. In some instances this trait does not take the form of acquiring and amassing money, but it shows its strength by acquiring materials for the work required,-not only materials, but opportunities and occasions. The lover of books seeks to acquire books; the lover of art to acquire art-objects; the seeker after ideas searches far and wide for them. Had I pursued dollars as industriously as I have ideas, and stored them as well, I should now have a bank-book instead of a scientific book. I can understand the greed for gold by my own greed for ideas. Biography is the natural assistant of physiognomy, and in studying the faces of the great and wise who are gone we can account for all the peculiarities of character noted by their biographers. I advise my readers to use this channel of knowledge in connection with this science, particularly if they can find books illustrated with portraits. Savage races show by their love of rude decorations that they possess at least a germ of the ideal, personal decoration being one manifestation of this trait. The animal kingdom, however, in every department exhibits an affluence of the decorative phase of Ideality in its show of bright colors and beautiful forms, and, as we reason logically that all physical appearances are accompanied by suitable mental traits, so we must allow that insects, butterflies, moths, etc., are keenly alive to the beautiful in form and color, while birds show by their manners that the color-sense, love of music, of form, and of atmosphere are pre-eminent in many species. Apropos to this, Darwin remarks that No doubt the perceptive powers of man and the lower animals are so constituted that brilliant colors and certain forms, as well as harmonious and rhythmical sounds, give pleasure and are called beautiful.* The fact that birds are possessed of a very high sense of form and color is proved by the methods which they make use of to display to each other their beautics of form, color, and voice. Of this sense of the beautiful in birds Darwin observes thus: Ornaments of all kinds, whether permanently or temporarily gained. are sedulously displayed by the males, and apparently serve to excite or attract or charm the females. All naturalists who have closely attended to the habits of birds, whether in a state of Nature or under confinement, are unanimously of opinion that the males delight to display their beauty. Audubon frequently speaks of the male as endeavoring in various ways to charm the female. Mr. Gould, after describing some peculiarities in a male humming-bird, says he has no doubt that it has the power of displaying them to the greatest advantage before the female. It must be a grand sight in the forest of India to come suddenly upon twenty or thirty pea-fowl, the males displaying their gorgeous trains and strutting about in all the pomp of pride before the gratified females.* The above not only proves that the birds have a high realization of beauty, or Ideality, but that personal vanity or excessive Approbativeness is the peculiar attribute of the males, and is shown by the number and variety of their numerous extra appendages, such as wattles, combs, tufts, shafts of feathers, etc. This subject is treated at length in the discussion of "Approbative The dimpled chin is more commonly seen in man than in woman. Nearly all the most celebrated poets, painters, actors, and sculptors exhibit a dimpled chin. This is a secondary sign of Ideality, but a very important significator, for it is a sure indication of the love of the beautiful in the opposite sex and bears a strong relation to creative art. It assists the artist or poet in forming and selecting objects of loveliness and beauty in his ideals. * Descent of Man, Charles Darwin, vol. ii, p. 337. + Ibid., p. 83. The straight outline of the nose is another sign of ideal beauty, refinement, taste, and often of poetic feeling. Wherever exhibited it will take one or the other of these forms. Large, bright eyes, if accompanied by a skin of fine texture, reveal a love of beauty and taste; so also do regular, arched, narrow, smooth, and finely-delineated eyebrows. All these characteristics are never observed in the faces of very coarse or low people. I have never seen a dimple in the chin of a Negro, nor any indications of one in the physiognomy of a Tasmanian, a Bosjesman, Papuan, Fuegean, Patagonian, North American Indian, Caribe, or any of the barbarous, undeveloped races, proving conclusively that Ideality is farther advanced in many of the animal tribes, such as birds, butterflies, and insects, than in the former. All animate nature presents these apparent anomalies, and we find by close investigation that many species of animals exhibit certain senses more acutely than even the most advanced races of men. Ideality as shown by the dimpled chin is a mark of beauty in itself, and is caused by a peculiar arrangement of the menti muscle. All art-signs are located in the muscular system, and beauty of the human form is due mainly to the outlines caused by the pliable and curving nature of muscular tissue. HUMAN NATURE. Definition. Intuitive perception of human character by the form, size, color, motion, and expression of man; the physiognomist; spontaneous comprehension of physical and mental conditions of health and disease; the natural physician; capacity for readily comprehending the laws and conditions of animals, plants, and all natural objects; one of the chief faculties of the naturalist, chemist, physiologist, astronomer, poet, painter, scientist, novelist, actor, and detective. An excess causes one to be curious, observing, acute, astute, and prying into the habits, thought, and actions of men and animals, and all things which manifest character. With a good mental development it will lead one to pass his time in studying metaphysics, physiognomy, and kindred sciences. No restraint is necessary unless one infringes upon time that should be devoted to more essential objects. A life-long study, however, should be given to this branch of knowledge, according as one's time and circumstances permit. A deficiency makes one suspicious of motives, and leads to disastrous complications in business, love, and friendship. To remedy this natural defect take lessons in physiognomy of some capable teacher, or read works on this subject and commence a |