eral effect, since they are often as various as the had denied them, Art took care to supply the countenances they sit upon; and in making this deficiency. We are told of a Spanish general, distinction nicely, lies all the skill of the physi- | who, when he borrowed a large sum of money from ognomist. In being able to distinguish what the Venetians, pawned his whisker, which he part of the face is marked by nature, and what afterwards took proper care to release. Kingson by the mind; what part has been originally assures us, that a considerable part of the religion formed, and what is made by habit; constitutes of the Tartars consists in the management of this science, upon which the ancients so much their whiskers; and that they waged a long and valued themselves, and which we at present so bloody war with the Persians, declaring them little regard. Some, however, of the most acute infidels, merely because they would not give their men among us have paid great attention to this whiskers the orthodox cut. The kings of Persia art; and by long practice, have been able to give carried the care of their beards to a ridiculous some character of every person whose face they excess, when they chose to wear them matted examined. Montaigne is well known to have with gold thread: and even the kings of France, disliked those men who shut one eye in looking of the first races, had them knotted and buttoned upon any object; and Fielding asserts that he with gold. But of all nations, the Americans never knew a person with a steady glavering take the greatest pains in cutting their hair, and smile, but he found him a rogue. However, most plucking their beards. The under part of the of these observations, tending to a discovery of beard, and all but the whisker, they take care to the mind by the face, are merely capricious; and pluck up by the roots, so that many have supNature has kindly hid our hearts from each other, posed them to have no hair naturally growing to keep us in good humour with our fellow-crea-on that part; and even Linnæus has fallen into tures." that mistake. Their hair is also cut into bands; and no small care employed in adjusting the whisker. In fact, we have a very wrong idea of savage finery; and are apt to suppose that like the beasts of the forest, they rise and are dressed with a shake, but the reverse is true; for no The parts of the head which give the least expression to the face, are the ears: and they are generally found hidden under the hair. These, which are immovable, and make so small appearance in man, are very distinguishing features in quadrupeds. They serve in them as the princi-birth-night beauty takes more time or pains in pal marks of the passions; the ears discover their joys or their terrors, with tolerable precision; and denote all their internal agitations. The smallest ears in men are said to be the most beautiful; but the largest are found to be the best for hearing. There are some savage nations who bore their ears, and so draw that part down that the tips of the ears are seen to rest upon their shoulders. the adorning her person than they. I remember, when the Cherokee kings were over here, that I have waited for three hours during the time they were dressing. They never would venture to make their appearance till they had gone through the tedious ceremonies of the toilet : they had their boxes of oil and ochre, their fat and their perfumes, like the most effeminate beau, and generally took up four hours in dressThe strange variety in the different customs ing before they considered themselves as fit to of men appears still more extravagant in their be seen. We must not, therefore, consider a manner of wearing their beards. Some, and delicacy in point of dress, as a mark of refineamong others the Turks, cut the hair off their ment, since savages are much more difficult in heads, and let their beards grow. The Europeans, this particular than the most fashionable or on the contrary, shave their beards and wear tawdry European. The more barbarous the peotheir hair. The negroes shave their heads in ple, the fonder of finery. In Europe, the lustre figures at one time, in stars at another, in the of jewels, and the splendour of the most brilliant manner of friars; and still more commonly in colours, are generally given up to women, or to alternate stripes; and their little boys are shaved the weakest part of the other sex, who are willin the same manner. The Talapoins, of Siam, ing to be contemptibly fine: but in Asia, these shave the heads and the eye-brows of such chil-trifling fineries are eagerly sought after, by every dren as are committed to their care. Every condition of men, and as the proverb has it, we nation seems to have entertained different prejudices, at different times, in favour of one part or another of the beard. Some have admired the hair upon the checks on each side, as we see with some low-bred men among ourselves, who want to be fine. Some like the hair lower down; some choose it curled; and others like it straight. "Some have it cut into a peak; and others shave all but the whisker. This particular part of the beard was highly prized among the Spaniards; till of late, a man without whiskers was considered as unfit for company; and where Nature | find the richest jewels in an Ethiop's ear. The passion for glittering ornaments is still stronger among the absolute barbarians, who often exchange their whole stock of provisions, and whatever else they happen to be possessed of, with our seamen, for a glass-bead, or a looking-glass." Although fashions have arisen in different countries from fancy and caprice, these, when they become general, deserve examination. Mankind have always considered it as a matter of moment, and they will ever continue desirous of ¦¦ drawing the attention of each other, by such ornaments as mark the riches, the power, or the courage of the wearer. The value of those shining stones, which have at all times been considered as precious ornaments, is entirely founded upon their scarceness or their brilliancy. It is the same likewise with respect to those shining metals, the weight of which is so little regarded, when spread over our clothes. These ornaments are rather designed to draw the attention of others, than to add to any enjoyments of our own; and few there are, that these ornaments will not serve to dazzle, and who can coolly distinguish between the metal and the man. All things rare and brilliant will, therefore, ever continue to be fashionable, while men derive greater advantage from opulence than virtue; while the means of appearing considerable, are more easily acquired, than the title to be considered. The first impression we generally make, arises from our dress; and this varies, in conformity to our inclinations, and the manner in which we desire to be considered. The modest man, or he who would wish to be thought so, desires to show the simplicity of his mind by the plainness of his dress; the vain man, on the contrary, takes a pleasure in displaying his superiority, "and is willing to incur the spectator's dislike, so he does but excite his attention." Another point of view which men have in dressing, is to increase the size of their figure; and to take up more room in the world than Nature seems to have allotted them. We desire to swell out our clothes by the stiffness of art, and raise our heels, while we add to the largeness of our heads. How bulky soever our dress may be, our vanities are still more bulky. The largeness of the doctor's wig arises from the same pride with the smallness of the beau's queue. Both want to have the size of their understanding measured by the size of their heads. There are some modes that seem to have a more reasonable origin, which is to hide or to lessen the defects of nature. To take men all together, there are many more deformed and plain than beautiful and shapely. The former, as being the most numerous, give law to fashion; and their laws are generally such as are made in their own favour. The women begin to colour their cheeks with red, when the natural roses are faded: and the younger are obliged to submit, though not compelled by the same necessity. In all parts of the world, this custom prevails more or less; and powdering and frizzing the hair, though not so general, seems to have risen from a similar control. But leaving the draperies of the human picture, let us return to the figure, unadorned by art. Man's head, whether considered externally or internally, is differently formed from that of all other animals, the monkey-kind only excepted, in which there is a striking similitude.-There are some differences, however, which we shall take notice of in another place. The bodies of all quadruped animals are covered with hair; but the head of man seems the part most adorned, and that more abundantly than in any other animal. There is a very great variety in the teeth of all animals: some have them above and below; others have them in the under jaw only; in some they stand separate from each other; while in some they are continued and united. The palate of some fishes is nothing else but a bony plate studded with points, which perform the offices of teeth. All these substances, in every animal, derive their origin from the nerves; the substance of the nerves hardens by being exposed to the air; and the nerves that terminate in the mouth, being thus exposed, acquire a bony solidity. In this manner the teeth and nails are formed in man; and in this manner also, the beak, the hoofs, the horns, and the talons, of other animals, are found to be produced. The neck supports the head, and unites it to the body. This part is much more considerable in the generality of quadrupeds, than in man. But fishes, and other animals that want lungs similar to ours, have no neck whatsoever. Birds, in general, have the neck longer than any other kind of animals; those of them which have short claws, have also short necks; those, on the contrary, that have them long, are found to have the neck in proportion." In men, there is a lump upon the wind-pipe, formed by the thyroid cartilage, which is not to be seen in women; an Arabian fable says, that this is a part of the original apple, that has stuck in the man's throat by the way, but that the woman swallowed her part of it down.” The human breast is outwardly formed in a very different manner from that of other animals. It is larger in proportion to the size of the body; and none but man, and such animals as make use of their fore-feet as hands, such as monkeys, bats, and squirrels, and such quadrupeds as climb trees, are found to have those bones called the clavicles, or, as we usually term them, the collar bones. The breasts in women are larger than in men; however, they seem formed in the same manner; and, sometimes, milk is found in the breasts of men, as well as in those of women. Among animals, there is a great variety in this part of the body. The teats of some, as in the ape and the elephant, are like those of men, being but two, and placed on each side of the breast. The teats of the bear amount to four. The sheep has but two, placed between the hinder legs. Other animals, such as the bitch and the sow, have them all along the belly; and as they pro duce many young, they have a great many teats for their support. The form also of the teats varies in different animals; and in the same animal at different ages. The bosom, in females, seems to unite all our ideas of beauty, where the out 6 Mr. Buffon says, that none but monkeys have them, but this is an oversight. line is continually changing, and the gradations are soft and regular.7 The graceful fall of the shoulders, both in man and woman, constitute no small part of beauty. In apes, though otherwise made like us, the shoulders are high, and drawn up on each side towards the ears. In man they fall by a gentle declivity; and the more so, in proportion to the beauty of his form. In fact, being high-shouldered, is not without reason considered a deformity, for we find very sickly persons are always so, and people when dying are ever seen with their shoulders drawn up in a surprising manner. The muscles that serve to raise the ribs, mostly rise near the shoulders; and the higher we raise the shoulders, we the more easily raise the ribs likewise. It happens, therefore, in the sickly and the dying, who do not breathe without labour, that to raise the ribs, they are obliged to call in the assistance of the shoulders; and thus their bodies assume, from habit, that form which they are so frequently obliged to assume. Women 7 Darwin supports the curious theory, that our idea of the waving line of beauty originates from our early familiarity with the female bosom. "When the babe," says he, "soon after it is born into this cold world, is applied to its mother's bosom, its sense of perceiving warmth is first agreeably affected; next its sense of smell is delighted with the odour of her milk; then its taste is gratified by the flavour of it; afterwards the appetites of hunger and of thirst afford pleasure by the possession of their objects, and by the subsequent digestion of the aliment; and lastly, the sense of touch is delighted by the softness and smoothness of the milky fountain, the source of such variety of happiness. All those various kinds of pleasure at length become associated with the form of the mother's breast; which the infant embraces with its hands, presses with its lips, and watches with its eyes; and thus acquires more accurate ideas of the form of its mother's bosom, than of the odour and flavour, or warmth, which it perceives by other senses. And hence at our maturer years, when any object of vision is represented to us, which by its waving or spiral lines bears any similitude to the form of the female bosom, whether it be found in a landscape, with soft gradations of rising and descending surface, or in the form of some antique vases, or in other works of the pencil or the chisel, we feel a general glow of delight, which seems to influence all our senses; and if the object be not too large, we experience an attraction to embrace it with our arms, and salute it with our lips, as we did in our early infancy the bosom of our mothers. And thus we find, according to the ingenious idea of Hogarth, that the waving lines of beauty were originally taken from the Temple of Venus. If the wide eye the wavy lawns explores, In lively trains of unextinct delight Temple of Nature, page 101. with child, also, are usually seen to be highshouldered; for the weight of the inferior parts drawing down the ribs, they are obliged to use every effort to elevate them, and thus they raise their shoulders of course. During pregnancy, also, the shape, not only of the shoulders, but also of the breast, and even the features of the face, are greatly altered; for the whole upper fore-part of › the body is covered with a broad thin skin, called the myoides; which being, at that time, drawn down, it also draws down with it the skin, and, consequently, the features of the face. By these means the visage takes a particular form; the lower eyelids and the corners of the mouth, are drawn downwards; so that the eyes are enlarged, and the mouth lengthened: and women in these circumstances, are said by the midwives to be "all mouth and ears." The arms of men but very little resemble the fore-feet of quadrupeds, and much less the wings of birds. The ape is the only animal that is possessed of hands and arms; but these are much more rudely fashioned, and with less exact proportion, than in men; "the thumb not being so well opposed to the rest of the fingers, in their hands as in ours." The form of the back is not much different in man from that of other quadruped animals, only that the reins are more muscular in him, and stronger. The buttock, however, in man, is different from that of all other animals whatsoever. What goes by that name in other creatures, is only the upper part of the thigh; man being the only animal that supports himself perfectly erect, the largeness of this part is owing to the peculiarity of his position. Man's feet, also, are different from those of all other animals, those even of apes not excepted. The foot of the ape is rather a kind of awkward hand; its toes, or rather fingers, are long, and that of the middle longest of all. This foot also wants the heel, as in man; the sole is narrower, and less adapted to maintain the equilibrium of the body, in walking, dancing, or running. The nails are less in man than in any other animal. If they were much longer than the extremities of the fingers, they would rather be prejudicial than serviceable, and obstruct the management of the hand. Such savages as let them grow long make use of them in flaying animals, in tearing their flesh, and such like purposes; however, though their nails are considerably larger than ours, they are by no means to be compared to the hoofs or the claws of other animals. "They may sometimes be seen longer, indeed, than the claws of any animal whatsoever; as we learn that the nails of some of the learned men in China are longer than their fingers. But these want that solidity which might give force to their exertions, and could never, in a state of nature, have served them for annoyance or defence." There is little known exactly with regard to quarters. This diminution in their size proceeded from the different times of the day, and the different states of the body, when they happened to be measured. If, as was said, they were measured in the morning, after the night's refreshment, they were found to be commonly halfan-inch, and very often a whole inch, taller than if measured after the fatigues of the day; if they were measured when fresh in the country, and before a long fatiguing march to the regiment, they were found to be an inch taller than when they arrived at their journey's end. All this is now well known among those who recruit for the army; and the reason for this difference of stature is obvious. Between all the joints of the back-bone, which is composed of several pieces, there is a glutinous liquor deposited, which serves, like oil in a machine, to give the parts an easy play upon each other. This lubricating liquor, or synovia, as the anatomists call it, is poured in during the season of repose, and is consumed by exercise and employment; so that in a body, after hard labour, there is scarce any of it re the proportion of the human figure; and the beauty of the best statues is better conceived by observing than by measuring them. The statues of antiquity, which were at first copied after the human form, are now become the models of it; nor is there one man found whose person approaches to those inimitable performances that have thus, in one figure, united the perfections of many. It is sufficient to say, that from being at | first models, they are now become originals; and are used to correct the deviations in that form from whence they were taken. I will not however pretend to give the proportions of the human body as taken from these, there being nothing more arbitrary, and which good painters themselves so much contemn. Some, for instance, who have studied after these, divide the body into ten times the length of the face; and others into eight. Some pretend to tell us, that there is a similitude of proportion in different parts of the body. Thus, that the hand is the length of the face; the thumb the length of the nose; the space between the eyes is the breadth of an eye; that the breadth of the thigh, at the thick-maining; but all the joints grow stiff, and their est, is double that of the thickest part of the leg, motion becomes hard and painful. It is from and treble the smallest; that the arms extended hence, therefore, that the body diminishes in are as long as the figure is high; that the legs and stature. For this moisture being drained away thighs are half the length of the figure. All this, from between the numerous joints of the backhowever, is extremely arbitrary: and the excel-bone, they lie closer upon each other; and their lence of a shape, or the beauty of a statue, results from the attitude and position of the whole, rather than any established measurements, begun without experience, and adopted by caprice. In general, it may be remarked, that the proportions alter in every age, and are obviously different in the two sexes. In women, the shoulders are narrower, and the neck proportionably longer, than in men. The hips also are considerably larger, and the thighs much shorter, than in men. These proportions, however, vary greatly at different ages. In infancy, the upper parts of the body are much larger than the lower; the legs and thighs do not constitute anything like half the height of the whole figure; in proportion as the child increases in age, the inferior parts are found to lengthen; so that the body is not equally divided until it has acquired its full growth. whole length is thus very sensibly diminished; but sleep, by restoring the fluid again, swells the spaces between the joints, and the whole is extended to its former dimensions. “As the human body is thus often found to differ from itself in size, so it is found to differ in its weight also; and the same person, without any apparent cause, is found to be heavier at one time than another. If, after having eaten a hearty dinner, or having drank hard, the person should find himself thus heavier, it would appear no way extraordinary; but the fact is, the body is very often found heavier some hours after eating a hearty meal than immediately succeeding it. If, for instance, a person, fatigued by a day's hard labour, should eat a plentiful supper, and then get himself weighed upon going to bed; after sleeping soundly, if he is again weighed, he will find himself considerably heavier than before; and this difference is often found to amount to a pound, or sometimes to a pound and a half. From whence this adventitious weight is derived is not easy to conceive; the body, during the whole night, appears rather plentifully perspiring than imbibing any fluid, rather losing than gaining moisture: however, we have no reason to doubt, but that either by the lungs, or perhaps by a peculiar set of pores, it is all this time inhaling a quantity of fluid, which thus increases the weight of the whole body, upon being weighed the next morning." The size of men varies considerably. Men are said to be tall who are from five feet eight inches to six feet high. The middle stature is from five feet five to five feet eight and those are said to be of small stature who fall under these measures. "However, it ought to be remarked, that the same person is always taller when he rises in the morning, than upon going to bed at night; and sometimes there is an inch difference; and I have seen more. Few persons are sensible of this remarkable variation; and I am told, it was first perceived in England by a recruiting officer. He often found that those men whom he had enlisted for soldiers, and answered to the appointed standard at one time, fell short of it when they came 8 From this experiment also, the learned may ga to be measured before the colonel at the head-ther upon what a weak foundation the whole doctrine Although the human body is externally more delicate than any of the quadruped kind, it is, notwithstanding, extremely muscular; and, perhaps, for its size, stronger than that of any other animal. If we should offer to compare the strength of the lion with that of man, we should consider that the claws of this animal give us a false idea of its power; we ascribe to its force what is only the effects of its arms. Those which man has received from Nature are not offensive; happy had art never furnished him with any more terrible than those which arm the paws of the lion. load, whatever it is, becomes suspended, and the ' column of his bones may be fairly said to support it. If, however, he should but ever so little give way, he must inevitably drop; and no power of his can raise the weights again. But the case is very different with regard to a load laid upon a horse. The column of the bones there lies a different way; and a weight of five hundred pounds, as I am told, would break the back of the strongest horse that could be found. The great force of a horse, and other quadrupeds, is exerted when the load is in such a position as that the column of the bones can be properly applied, which is lengthwise. When, therefore, we are to estimate the comparative strength of a horse, we are not to try what he can carry, but what he can draw; and in this case, his amazing superiority over man is easily discerned; for one horse can draw a load that ten men cannot move. And in some cases it happens that a draught horse draws the better for being somewhat loaded; for, as the peasant says, the load upon the back keeps him the better to the ground." There is still another way of estimating human strength, by the perseverance and agility of our motions. Men who are exercised in running. But there is another manner of comparing the strength of man with other animals; namely, by the weights which either can carry. We are assured that the porters of Constantinople carry burdens of nine hundred pounds weight. Mr. Desaguliers tells us of a man, who by distributing weights in such a manner as that every part of his body bore its share, he was thus able to raise a weight of two thousand pounds. A horse, which is about seven times our bulk, would be thus able to raise a weight of fourteen thousand pounds, if its strength were in the same proportion.10 "But the truth is, a horse will not carry upon its back above a weight of two or three hun-outstrip horses; or, at least, hold their speed for dred pounds; while a man of confessedly inferior a longer continuance. In a journey, also, a man strength is thus able to support two thousand. will walk down a horse; and, after they have Whence comes this seeming superiority? The both continued to proceed for several days, the answer is obvious. Because the load upon the horse will be quite tired, and the man will be man's shoulders is placed to the greatest advan- fresher than in the beginning. The king's mestage; while, upon the horse's back, it is placed sengers of Ispahan, who are runners by profesat the greatest disadvantage. Let us suppose for sion, go thirty-six leagues in fourteen hours. a moment the man standing as upright as possi- Travellers assure us, that the Hottentots outstrip ble, under the great load above mentioned. It is lions in the chase; and that the savages who obvious that all the bones of his body may be com- hunt the elk, pursue with such speed, that they pared to a pillar supporting a building, and that at last tire down and take it. We are told many his muscles have scarce any share in this danger-very surprising things of the great swiftness of the ous duty. However, they are not entirely inac-savages, and of the long journeys they undertive; as man, let him stand never so upright, take on foot, through the most craggy mountains, will have some bending in different parts of his where there are no paths to direct, nor houses to body. The muscles, therefore, give the bones entertain them. They are said to perform a some assistance, and that with the greatest pos- journey of twelve hundred leagues in less than sible advantage. In this manner, a man has been six weeks. "But notwithstanding what travelfound to support two thousand weight; but may lers report of this matter, I have been assured be capable of supporting a still greater. The from many of our officers and soldiers who commanner in which this is done, is by strapping the pared their own swiftness with that of the naload round the shoulders of the person who is to tive Americans during the last war, that although bear it, by a machine, something like that by which the savages held out, and as the phrase is, had milk-vessels or water-buckets are carried. The better bottoms, yet, for a spurt, the Englishmen load being thus placed on a scaffold, on each side, were more nimble and speedy." contrived for that purpose, and the man standing erect in the midst, all parts of the scaffold, except that where the man stands are made to sink; and thus the man maintaining his position, the of Santorian perspiration is built: but this disquisition more properly belongs to medicine than natural history. 9 Mr. Buffon calls it a better manner; but this is not the case. 10 Mr. Buffon carries this subject no farther; and thus far, without explanation, it is erroneous. Nevertheless, in general, civilized man is ignor 11 This may be flattering to humanity: but in justice to the poor horse it may be stated, that a fair trial has never been made of the respective powers of man and horse in regard to pedestrianism. If there were, there can be little doubt but that the horse would prove his superiority. Arab horses, for example, are known to carry their riders and accoutrements across the desert for many successive days, at the rate of 70 and 80 miles a-day How far they might go without weight, may be imagined, but has never been tried.-ED. |