Johann Caspar Lavater, the Swiss theologian, poet, and
physiognomist, was born at Zürich on November 15, 1741. He began
his public life at the age of twenty-one as a political reformer.
Five years later he appeared as a poet, and published a volume of
poetry which was very favourably received. During the next five
years he produced a religious work, which was considered heretical,
although its mystic, religious enthusiasm appealed to a
considerable audience. His fame, however, rests neither on his
poetry nor on his theology, but on his physiognomical studies,
published in four volumes between 1775-78 under the title
"Physiognomical Fragments for the Advancement of Human Knowledge
and Human Life" ("Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beförderung des
Menschenkenntniss und Menschenliebe"). The book is diffuse and
inconsequent, but it contains many shrewd observations with respect
to physiognomy and has had no little influence on popular opinion
in this matter. Lavater died on January 2, 1801.
_I.--The Truth of Physiognomy_
There can be no doubt of the truth of physiognomy. All countenances, all
forms, all created beings, are not only different from each other in
their classes, races, kinds, but are also individually distinct. It is
indisputable that all men estimate all things whatever by their external
temporary superficies--that is to say, by their physiognomy. Is not all
nature physiognomy, superficies and contents, body and spirit, external
effect and internal power? There is not a man who does not judge of all
things that pass through his hands by their physiognomy--there is not a
man who does not more or less, the first time he is in company with a
stranger, observe, estimate, compare, judge him according to
appearances. When each apple, each apricot, has a physiognomy peculiar
to itself, shall man, the lord of the earth, have none?
Man is the most perfect of all earthly creatures. In no other creature
are so wonderfully united the animal, the intellectual, and the moral.
And man's organisation peculiarly distinguishes him from all other
beings, and shows him to be infinitely superior to all those other
visible organisms by which he is surrounded. His head, especially his
face, convinces the accurate observer, who is capable of investigating
truth, of the greatness and superiority of his intellectual qualities.
The eye, the expression, the cheeks, the mouth, the forehead, whether
considered in a state of entire rest, or during their innumerable
varieties of motion--in fine, whatever is understood by physiognomy--are
the most expressive, the most convincing picture of interior sensations,
desires, passions, will, and of all those properties which so much exalt
moral above animal life.
Although the physiological, intellectual, and moral are united in man,
yet it is plain that each of these has its peculiar station where it
more especially unfolds itself and acts.
It is, beyond contradiction, evident that, though physiological or
animal life displays itself through all the body, and especially through
all the animal parts, yet it acts more conspicuously in the arm, from
the shoulder to the ends of the fingers.
It is not less evident that intellectual life, or the powers of the
understanding and the mind, make themselves most apparent in the
circumference and form of the solid parts of the head, especially the
forehead; though they will discover themselves to the attentive and
accurate eye in every part and point of the human body, by the
congeniality and harmony of the various parts. Is there any occasion to
prove that the power of thinking resides not in the foot, nor in the
hand, nor in the back, but in the head and its internal parts?
The moral life of man particularly reveals itself in the lines, marks,
and transitions of the countenance. His moral powers and desires, his
irritability, sympathy, and antipathy, his facility of attracting or
repelling the objects that surround him--these are all summed up in, and
painted upon, his countenance when at rest.
Not only do mental and moral traits evince themselves in the
physiognomy, but also health and sickness; and I believe that by
repeatedly examining the firm parts and outlines of the bodies and
countenances of the sick, disease might be diagnosed, and even that
liability to disease might be predicted in particular cases.
The same vital powers that make the heart beat and the fingers move,
roof the skull and arch the finger-nails. From the head to the back,
from the shoulder to the arm, from the arm to the hand, from the hand to
the finger, each depends on the other, and all on a determinate effect
of a determinate power. Through all nature each determinate power is
productive of only such and such determinate effects. The finger of one
body is not adapted to the hand of another body. The blood in the
extremity of the finger has the character of the blood in the heart. The
same congeniality is found in the nerves and in the bones. One spirit
lives in all. Each member of the body, too, is in proportion to the
whole of which it is a part. As from the length of the smallest member,
the smallest joint of the finger, the proportion of the whole, the
length and breadth of the body may be found; so also may the form of the
whole be found from the form of each single part. When the head is long,
all is long; when the head is round, all is round; when the head is
square, all is square.
One form, one mind, one root appertain to all. Each organised body is so
much a whole that, without discord, destruction, or deformity, nothing
can be added or subtracted. Those, therefore, who maintain that
conclusion cannot be drawn from a part to the whole labour under error,
failing to comprehend the harmony of nature.
_II.--Physiognomy and the Features_
The Forehead. The form, height, arching, proportion, obliquity, and
position of the skull, or bone of the forehead, show the propensity of
thought, power of thought, and sensibility of man. The position, colour,
wrinkles, tension of the skin of the forehead, show the passions and
present state of the mind. The bones indicate the power, the skin the
application of power.
I consider the outline and position of the forehead to be the most
important feature in physiognomy. We may divide foreheads into three
principal classes--the retreating, the perpendicular, and the
projecting, and each of these classes has a multitude of variations.
A few facts with respect to foreheads may now be given.
The higher the forehead, the more comprehension and the less activity.
The more compressed, short, and firm the forehead, the more compression
and firmness, and the less volatility in the man.
The more curved and cornerless the outline, the more tender and flexible
the character; and the more rectilinear, the more pertinacious and
severe the character.
Perfect perpendicularity implies lack of understanding, but gently
arched at top, capacity for cold, tranquil, profound thought.
A projecting forehead indicates imbecility, immaturity, weakness,
stupidity.
A retreating forehead, in general, denotes superior imagination, wit,
acuteness.
A forehead round and prominent above, straight below, and, on the whole,
perpendicular, shows much understanding, life, sensibility, ardour.
An oblique, rectilinear forehead is ardent and vigorous.
Arched foreheads appear properly to be feminine.
A forehead neither too perpendicular nor too retreating, but a happy
mean, indicates the post-perfect character of wisdom.
I might also state it as an axiom that straight lines considered as
such, and curves considered as such, are related as power and weakness,
obstinacy and flexibility, understanding and sensation.
I have seen no man with sharp, projecting eyebones who was not inclined
to vigorous thinking and wise planning.
Yet, even lacking sharpness, a head may be excellent if the forehead
sink like a perpendicular wall upon horizontal eyebrows, and be greatly
rounded towards the temples.
Perpendicular foreheads, projecting so as not to rest immediately upon
the nose, and small, wrinkled, short, and shining, indicate little
imagination, little understanding, little sensation.
Foreheads with many angular, knotty protuberances denote perseverance
and much vigorous, firm, harsh, oppressive, ardent activity.
It is a sure sign of a clear, sound understanding and a good temperament
when the profile of the forehead has two proportionate arches, the lower
of which projects.
Eyebones with well-marked, firm arches I never saw but in noble and
great men.
Square foreheads with extensive temples and firm eyebones show
circumspection and steadiness of character.
Perpendicular wrinkles, if natural, denote application and power.
Horizontal wrinkles and those broken in the middle or at the extremities
generally denote negligence or want of power.
Perpendicular, deep indentings in the forehead between the eyebrows, I
never met save in men of sound understanding and free and noble minds,
unless there were some positively contradictory feature.
A blue frontal vein, in the form of a Y, when in an open, smooth,
well-arched forehead, I have only found in men of extraordinary talents
and of ardent and generous character.
The following are the traits of a perfectly beautiful, intelligent, and
noble forehead.
In length it must equal the nose, or the under part of the face. In
breadth it must be either oval at the top-like the foreheads of most of
the great men of England--or nearly square. It must be free from
unevenness and wrinkles, yet be able to wrinkle when deep in thought,
afflicted by pain, or moved by indignation. It must retreat above and
project beneath. The eyebones must be simple, horizontal, and, if seen
from above, must present a simple curve. There should be a small cavity
in the centre, from above to below, and traversing the forehead so as to
separate it into four divisions perceptible in a clear descending light.
The skin must be more clear on the forehead than in other parts of the
countenance.
Foreheads short, wrinkled, and knotty, are incapable of durable
friendship.
Be not discouraged though a friend, an enemy, a child, or a brother
transgress, for so long as he have a good, well-proportioned, open
forehead there is still hope of improvement.
THE EYES AND EYEBROWS. Blue eyes are generally more indicative of
weakness and effeminacy than brown or black. Certainly there are many
powerful men with blue eyes, but I find more strength, manhood, thought
with brown.
Choleric men have eyes of every colour, but rather brown or greenish
than blue. A propensity to green is an almost decisive token of ardour,
fire, and courage.
Wide open eyes, with the white visible, I have often observed both in
the timid and phlegmatic, and in the courageous and rash.
Meeting eyebrows were supposed to be the mark of craft, but I do not
believe them to have this significance. Angular, strong, interrupted
eyebrows denote fire and productive activity. The nearer the eyebrows to
the eyes, the more earnest, deep, and firm the character. Eyebrows
remote from each other denote warm, open, quick sensations. White
eyebrows signify weakness; and dark brown, firmness. The motion of the
eyebrows contains numerous expressions, especially of ignoble passions.
THE NOSE. I have generally considered the nose the foundation or
abutment of the brain, for upon this the whole power of the arch of the
forehead rests. A beautiful nose will never be found accompanying an
ugly countenance. An ugly person may have fine eyes, but not a handsome
nose.
I have never seen a nose with a broad back, whether arched or
rectilinear, that did not belong to an extraordinary man. Such a nose
was possessed by Swift, Cæsar Borgia, Titian, etc. Small nostrils are
usually an indubitable sign of unenterprising timidity. The open,
breathing nostril is as certain a token of sensibility.
THE MOUTH AND LIPS. The contents of the mind are communicated to the
mouth. How full of character is the mouth! As are the lips, so is the
character. Firm lips, firm character; weak lips, weak character.
Well-defined, large, and proportionate lips, the middle line of which is
equally serpentine on both sides, and easy to be drawn, are never seen
in a bad, mean, common, false, vicious countenance. A lipless mouth,
resembling a single line, denotes coldness, industry, a love of order,
precision, house-wifery, and, if it be drawn upwards at the two ends,
affectation, pretension, vanity, malice. Very fleshy lips have always to
contend with sensuality and indolence. Calm lips, well closed, without
constraint, and well delineated, certainly betoken consideration,
discretion, and firmness. Openness of mouth speaks complaint, and
closeness, endurance.
THE CHIN. From numerous experiments, I am convinced that the projecting
chin ever denotes something positive, and the retreating something
negative. The presence or absence of strength in man is often signified
by the chin.
I have never seen sharp indentings in the middle of the chin save in men
of cool understanding, unless when something evidently contradictory
appeared in the countenance. The soft, fat, double chin generally points
out the epicure; and the angular chin is seldom found save in discreet,
well-disposed, firm men. Flatness of chin speaks the cold and dry;
smallness, fear; and roundness, with a dimple, benevolence.
SKULLS. HOW much may the anatomist see in the mere skull of man! How
much more the physiognomist! And how much more still the anatomist who
is a physiognomist! If shown the bald head of Cæsar, as painted by
Rubens or Titian or Michael Angelo, what man would fail to notice the
rocky capacity which characterises it, and to realise that more ardour
and energy must be expected than from a smooth, round, flat head? How
characteristic is the skull of Charles XII.! How different from the
skull of his biographer Voltaire! Compare the skull of Judas with the
skull of Christ, after Holbein, and I doubt whether anyone would fail to
guess which is the skull of the wicked betrayer and which the skull of
the innocent betrayed. And who is unacquainted with the statement in
Herodotus that it was possible on the field of battle to distinguish the
skulls of the effeminate Medes from the skulls of the manly Persians?
Each nation, indeed, has its own characteristic skull.
_III.--Nation, Sex, and Family_
NATIONAL PHYSIOGNOMY. It is undeniable that there is a national
physiognomy as well as national character. Compare a negro and an
Englishman, a native of Lapland and an Italian, a Frenchman and an
inhabitant of Tierra del Fuego. Examine their forms, countenances,
characters, and minds. This difference will be easily seen, though it
will sometimes be very difficult to describe it scientifically.
The following infinitely little is what I have hitherto observed in the
foreigners with whom I have conversed.
I am least able to characterise the French, They have no traits so bold
as the English, nor so minute as the Germans. I know them chiefly by
their teeth and their laugh. The Italians I discover by the nose, small
eyes, and projecting chin. The English by their foreheads and eyebrows.
The Dutch by the rotundity of their heads and the weakness of the hair.
The Germans by the angles and wrinkles round the eyes and in the cheeks.
The Russians by the snub nose and their light-coloured or black hair.
I shall now say a word concerning Englishmen in particular. Englishmen
have the shortest and best-arched foreheads--that is to say, they are
arched only upwards, and, towards the eyebrows, either gently recline or
are rectilinear. They seldom have pointed, usually round, full noses.
Their lips are usually large, well defined, beautifully curved. Their
chins are round and full. The outline of their faces is in general
large, and they never have those numerous angles and wrinkles by which
the Germans are so especially distinguished. Their complexion is fairer
than that of the Germans.
All Englishwomen whom I have known personally, or by portrait, appear to
be composed of marrow and nerve. They are inclined to be tall, slender,
soft, and as distant from all that is harsh, rigorous, or stubborn as
heaven is from earth.
The Swiss have generally no common physiognomy or national character,
the aspect of fidelity excepted. They are as different from each other
as nations the most remote.
THE PHYSIOGNOMICAL RELATION OF THE SEXES. Generally speaking, how much
more pure, tender, delicate, irritable, affectionate, flexible, and
patient is woman than man. The primary matter of which woman is
constituted appears to account for this difference. All her organs are
tender, yielding, easily wounded, sensible, and receptive; they are made
for maternity and affection. Among a thousand women, there is hardly one
without these feminine characteristics.
This tenderness and sensibility, the light texture of their fibres and
organs, render them easy to tempt and to subdue, and yet their charms
are more potent than the strength of man. Truly sensible of purity,
beauty and symmetry, woman does not always take time to reflect on
spiritual life, spiritual death, spiritual corruption.
The woman does not think profoundly; profound thought is the prerogative
of the man; but women feel more. They rule with tender looks, tears, and
sighs, but not with passion and threats, unless they are monstrosities.
They are capable of the sweetest sensibility, the deepest emotion, the
utmost humility, and ardent enthusiasm. In their faces are signs of
sanctity which every man honours.
Owing to their extreme sensibility and their incapacity for accurate
inquiry and firm decision, they may easily become fanatics.
The love of women, strong as it is, is very changeable; but their hatred
is almost incurable, and is only to be overcome by persistent and artful
flattery. Men usually see things as a whole, whereas women take more
interest in details.
Women have less physical courage than men. Man hears the bursting
thunders, views the destructive bolt with serene aspect, and stands
erect amid the fearful majesty of the torrent. But woman trembles at the
lightning and thunder, and seeks refuge in the arms of man.
Woman is formed for pity and religion; and a woman without religion is
monstrous; and a woman who is a freethinker is more disgusting than a
woman with a beard.
Woman is not a foundation on which to build. She is the gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble--the materials for building on the
male foundation. She is the leaven, or, more expressly, she is oil to
the vinegar of man. Man singly is but half a man, only half human--a
king without a kingdom. Woman must rest upon the man, and man can be
what he ought to be only in conjunction with the woman.
Some of the principal physiognomical contrasts may be summarised here.
Man is the most firm; woman the most flexible.
Man is the straightest; woman the most bending.
Man stands steadfast; woman gently retreats.
Man surveys and observes; woman glances and feels.
Man is serious; woman is gay.
Man is the tallest and broadest; woman the smallest and weakest.
Man is rough and hard; woman is smooth and soft.
Man is brown; woman is fair.
The hair of the man is strong and short; the hair of woman is pliant and
long.
Man has most straight lines; woman most curved.
The countenance of man, taken in profile, is not so often perpendicular
as that of woman.
FAMILY PHYSIOGNOMY. The resemblance between parents and children is very
commonly remarkable. Family physiognomical resemblance is as undeniable
as national physiognomical resemblance. To doubt this is to doubt what
is self-evident.
When children, as they increase in years, visibly increase in their
physical resemblance to their parents, we cannot doubt that resemblance
in character also increases. Howsoever much the character of children
may seem to differ from that of their parents, yet this difference will
be found to be due to great difference in external circumstances.