Nature's revelations of character, or, The mental, moral and volitive dispositions of mankind, as manifested in the human form and countenance / by Joseph Simms.

Date:
1873
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Nature's revelations of character, or, The mental, moral and volitive dispositions of mankind, as manifested in the human form and countenance / by Joseph Simms. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    the fat stranger’s lips, a huge dish of apple dumplings was placed on the table, when in a moment the half-dosed eyes opened widely, stared with delight at the dumplings, and the supposed philosopher exclaimed, “ Them’s the jockeys for me.” Sydney Smith then learned a lesson in Physiognomy which he never afterwards forgot. In the walks of science and art the fat man takes little delight; to him the thorny path which leads to greatness is an insuperable difficulty, and he is better pleased to reap the harvest which the industry of others has pro- duced, than to work himself in the vineyard. When boys shew a pre-disposition to this form, they are apt to be untruthful; they enjoy fun, but are physi- cally and mentally too lazy to make it; but when it is joined to the Bony and Muscular form, it gives a keen appreciation of wit and humour. They are sluggish, like the stagnant waters of a morass, and inclined to be impure in thought. Not from such, but among the slim and active, must we look for the regenerators of the world. Food, when introduced into the stomach, allays the passions, and by calling the vital energies to the work of digestion, produces an indifference to mental action: hence the importance of setting apart proper hours for thought and study. Whatever power is used in digestion lessens that necessary for the brain. Thousands of lawyers, clergymen, and merchants, invite their friends to their own funei'als, by rushing into mental labour on a full stomach. A clear brain and a clean stomach are so nearly synonymous, that a sermon on health might be preached without any other text. Napoleon attributed the loss of a great battle to the fact of his having eaten something which did not agree with him. Charles VI., Emperor of West Austria, ate a dish of mushrooms that caused dyspepsia, and his death. The destiny of kingdoms sometimes hangs in the balance,