Every one knows that men's passions, propensities, and peculiarities,
as well as their calling, are reflected in their faces.
It is as impossible to disguise a face as a handwriting. When the
expert comes the disguise is torn off and the face tells the true
story of the spirit inside the body. One only needs to visit the
penitentiary to realize how undeniably vice writes its sign manual
on the features. It is not the drunkard only whose red nose, flabby
cheeks and rheumy eyes betray him; it is the senualist whose vice is
read in his lips, the knave whose propensity is revealed in the shape
of his mouth; the man of violence is surrendered by his eyes. An
experienced detective policeman, or a trained jailer seldom needs to
ask the crime of which the prisoner was guilty. He can tell it by his
face.
It is quite evident that in the future the study of physiognomy is
going to be pursued more vigorously than it has been. As a means of
preventing crime it may prove invaluable. How constantly do we hear of
men "falling from grace," as the phrase goes. Yet these men must have
carried their crime in their faces for a long time. If any one had
been able to read their features the mischief might have been averted.
It is well known that every man's face is more or less stamped by the
pursuit he follows. An experienced observer can generally detect a
lawyer, or a doctor, or a merchant, or a clerk, or a mechanic, or a
clergyman, by merely studying his face.
The instinctive criminal is a social parasite. The conclusion is
irresistible that he is organically morbid. He will proceed to any
extreme, and life and property, separating him from the accomplishment
of his wishes, are but barriers to be overcome. The occasional
criminal is largely a negative creature, who yields himself when
temptation and the stimulus of opportunity exceed his resistive power.
The habitual and professional criminal represents degree rather than
kind. Criminality is to him a profession, a fine art, and susceptible
of division into specialties.