diff options
Diffstat (limited to '1227-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 1227-0.txt | 10968 |
1 files changed, 10968 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/1227-0.txt b/1227-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c4dcfe2 --- /dev/null +++ b/1227-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10968 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1227 *** + +THE EXPRESSION OF THE EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS + +By Charles Darwin + +_With Photographic And Other Illustrations_ + +New York + +D. Appleton And Company + +1899 + + +CONTENTS + + + DETAILED CONTENTS. + + ON THE EXPRESSION OF THE EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS. + + INTRODUCTION. + + CHAPTER I. — GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION. + + CHAPTER II. — GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION—_continued_. + + CHAPTER III. — GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION—_concluded_. + + CHAPTER IV. — MEANS OF EXPRESSION IN ANIMALS. + + CHAPTER V. — SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF ANIMALS. + + CHAPTER VI. — SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF MAN: SUFFERING AND WEEPING. + + CHAPTER VII. — LOW SPIRITS, ANXIETY, GRIEF, DEJECTION, DESPAIR. + + CHAPTER VIII. — JOY, HIGH SPIRITS, LOVE, TENDER FEELINGS, DEVOTION. + + CHAPTER IX. — + REFLECTION—MEDITATION-ILL-TEMPER—SULKINESS—DETERMINATION. + + CHAPTER X. — HATRED AND ANGER. + + CHAPTER XI. — DISDAIN—CONTEMPT—DISGUST-GUILT—PRIDE, ETC. + + CHAPTER XII. — SURPRISE—ASTONISHMENT—FEAR—HORROR. + + CHAPTER XIII. — SELF-ATTENTION—SHAME—SHYNESS—MODESTY: BLUSHING. + + CHAPTER XIV. — CONCLUDING REMARKS AND SUMMARY. + + FOOTNOTES + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + + Muscles of the Human Face. Fig 1-2 + + Muscles of the Human Face. Fig 3 + + Small Dog Watching a Cat on A Table. Figure 4 + + Dog in a Hostile Frame of Mind. Fig. 5 + + Dog in a humble and Affectionate Frame of Mind. Fig. 6 + + Dog in a Hostile Frame of Mind. Fig. 7 + + Dog Carressing his Master. Fig. 8 + + Cat, Savage, and Prepared to Fight. Fig. 9 + + Cat in an Affectionate Frame of Mind. Fig. 10 + + Sound Producing Quills from Tail of a Porcupine. Fig. 11 + + Hen Driving Away a Dog from Her Chickens. Fig. 12 + + Swan Driving Away an Intruder. Fig 13 + + Head of Snarling Dog. Fig 14 + + Cat Terrified at a Dog. Fig.15 + + Cynopithecus Niger, Pleased by Being Caressed. Fig.17 + + Chimpanzee Disappointed and Sulky. Fig. 18 + + Screaming Infants. Plate I. + + Obliquity of the Eyebrows. Plate II + + Moderate Laughter and Smiling. Plate III + + Ill-temper. Plate IV + + Anger and Indignation. Plate VI + + Scorn and Disdain. Plate V + + Gestures of the Body. Plate VII + + Photograph of an Insane Woman. Fig. 19 + + Terror. Fig. 20 + + Horror and Agony. Fig. 21 + + +_N.B_.—Several of the figures in these seven Heliotype Plates have been +reproduced from photographs, instead of from the original negatives; +and they are in consequence somewhat indistinct. Nevertheless they are +faithful copies, and are much superior for my purpose to any drawing, +however carefully executed. + + +DETAILED CONTENTS. + +INTRODUCTION + +CHAP. I—GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION. +The three chief principles stated—The first principle—Serviceable +actions become habitual in association with certain states of the mind, +and are performed whether or not of service in each particular case—The +force of habit—Inheritance—Associated habitual movements in man—Reflex +actions—Passage of habits into reflex actions—Associated habitual +movements in the lower animals—Concluding remarks + +CHAP. II—GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION.—_continued_. +The Principle of Antithesis—Instances in the dog and cat—Origin of the +principle—Conventional signs—The principle of antithesis has not arisen +from opposite actions being consciously performed under opposite +impulses + +CHAP. III—GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION.—_concluded_. +The principle of the direct action of the excited nervous system on the +body, independently of the will and in part of habit—Change of colour +in the hair—Trembling of the muscles—Modified +secretions—Perspiration—Expression of extreme pain—Of rage, great joy, +and terror—Contrast between the emotions which cause and do not cause +expressive movements—Exciting and depressing states of the mind—Summary + +CHAP. IV—MEANS OF EXPRESSION. IN ANIMALS. +The emission of sounds—Vocal sounds—Sounds otherwise produced—Erection +of the dermal appendages, hairs, feathers, &c., under the emotions of +anger and terror—The drawing back of the ears as a preparation for +fighting, and as an expression of anger—Erection of the ears and +raising the head, a sign of attention + +CHAP. V.—SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF ANIMALS. +The Dog, various expressive movements of—Cats—Horses—Ruminants—Monkeys, +their expression of joy and affection—Of pain—Anger Astonishment and +Terror + +CHAP. VI.—SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF MAN: SUFFERING AND WEEPING. +The screaming and weeping of infants—Form of features—Age at which +weeping commences—The effects of habitual restraint on +weeping—Sobbing—Cause of the contraction of the muscles round the eyes +during screaming—Cause of the secretion of tears + +CHAP. VII.—LOW SPIRITS, ANXIETY, GRIEF, DEJECTION, DESPAIR. +General effect of grief on the system—Obliquity of the eyebrows under +suffering—On the cause of the obliquity of the eyebrows—On the +depression of the corners of the mouth + +CHAP. VIII.—JOY, HIGH SPIRITS, LOVE, TENDER FEELINGS, DEVOTION. +Laughter primarily the expression of joy—Ludicrous ideas—Movements of +the features during laughter—Nature of the sound produced—The secretion +of tears during loud laughter—Gradation from loud laughter to gentle +smiling—High spirits—The expression of love—Tender feelings—Devotion + +CHAP. IX.—REFLECTION—MEDITATION—ILL—TEMPER—SULKINESS DETERMINATION. +The act of frowning—Reflection with an effort or with the perception of +something difficult or disagreeable—Abstracted +meditation—Ill-temper—Moroseness—Obstinacy—Sulkiness and +pouting—Decision or determination—The firm closure of the mouth + +CHAP. X.—HATRED AND ANGER. +Hatred—Rage, effects of on the system—Uncovering of the teeth—Rage in +the insane—Anger and indignation—As expressed by the various races of +man—Sneering and defiance—The uncovering of the canine teeth on one +side of the face + +CHAP. XI.—DISDAIN—CONTEMPT—DISGUST—GUILT—PRIDE, +ETC.—HELPLESSNESS—PATIENCE—AFFIRMATION AND NEGATION. +Contempt, scorn and disdain, variously expressed—Derisive +Smile—Gestures expressive of contempt—Disgust—Guilt, deceit, pride, +etc.—Helplessness or impotence—Patience—Obstinacy—Shrugging the +shoulders common to most of the races of man—Signs of affirmation and +negation + +CHAP. XII.—SURPRISE—ASTONISHMENT—FEAR—HORROR. +Surprise, astonishment—Elevation of the eyebrows—Opening the +mouth—Protrusion of the lips—Gestures accompanying surprise—Admiration +Fear—Terror—Erection of the hair—Contraction of the platysma +muscle—Dilatation of the pupils—horror—Conclusion. + +CHAP. XIII.—SELF-ATTENTION—SHAME—SHYNESS—MODESTY: BLUSHING. +Nature of a blush—Inheritance—The parts of the body most +affected—Blushing in the various races of man—Accompanying +gestures—Confusion of mind—Causes of blushing—Self-attention, the +fundamental element—Shyness—Shame, from broken moral laws and +conventional rules—Modesty—Theory of blushing—Recapitulation + +CHAP. XIV.—CONCLUDING REMARKS AND SUMMARY. +The three leading principles which have determined the chief movements +of expression—Their inheritance—On the part which the will and +intention have played in the acquirement of various expressions—The +instinctive recognition of expression—The bearing of our subject on the +specific unity of the races of man—On the successive acquirement of +various expressions by the progenitors of man—The importance of +expression—Conclusion + + + + +ON THE EXPRESSION OF THE EMOTIONS IN MAN AND ANIMALS. + +INTRODUCTION. + + +Many works have been written on Expression, but a greater number on +Physiognomy,—that is, on the recognition of character through the study +of the permanent form of the features. With this latter subject I am +not here concerned. The older treatises,[1] which I have consulted, +have been of little or no service to me. The famous ‘Conférences’[2] of +the painter Le Brun, published in 1667, is the best known ancient work, +and contains some good remarks. Another somewhat old essay, namely, the +‘Discours,’ delivered 1774-1782, by the well-known Dutch anatomist +Camper,[3] can hardly be considered as having made any marked advance +in the subject. The following works, on the contrary, deserve the +fullest consideration. + +Sir Charles Bell, so illustrious for his discoveries in physiology, +published in 1806 the first edition, and in the third edition of his +‘Anatomy and Philosophy of Expression.’[4] He may with justice be said, +not only to have laid the foundations of the subject as a branch of +science, but to have built up a noble structure. His work is in every +way deeply interesting; it includes graphic descriptions of the various +emotions, and is admirably illustrated. It is generally admitted that +his service consists chiefly in having shown the intimate relation +which exists between the movements of expression and those of +respiration. One of the most important points, small as it may at first +appear, is that the muscles round the eyes are involuntarily contracted +during violent expiratory efforts, in order to protect these delicate +organs from the pressure of the blood. This fact, which has been fully +investigated for me with the greatest kindness by Professors Donders of +Utrecht, throws, as we shall hereafter see, a flood of light on several +of the most important expressions of the human countenance. The merits +of Sir C. Bell’s work have been undervalued or quite ignored by several +foreign writers, but have been fully admitted by some, for instance by +M. Lemoine,[5] who with great justice says:—“Le livre de Ch. Bell +devrait être médité par quiconque essaye de faire parler le visage de +l’homme, par les philosophes aussi bien que par les artistes, car, sous +une apparence plus légère et sous le prétexte de l’esthétique, c’est un +des plus beaux monuments de la science des rapports du physique et du +moral.” + +From reasons which will presently be assigned, Sir C. Bell did not +attempt to follow out his views as far as they might have been carried. +He does not try to explain why different muscles are brought into +action under different emotions; why, for instance, the inner ends of +the eyebrows are raised, and the corners of the mouth depressed, by a +person suffering from grief or anxiety. + +In 1807 M. Moreau edited an edition of Lavater on Physiognomy,[6] in +which he incorporated several of his own essays, containing excellent +descriptions of the movements of the facial muscles, together with many +valuable remarks. He throws, however, very little light on the +philosophy of the subject. For instance, M. Moreau, in speaking of the +act of frowning, that is, of the contraction of the muscle called by +French writers the _soucilier_ (_corrigator supercilii_), remarks with +truth:—“Cette action des sourciliers est un des symptômes les plus +tranchés de l’expression des affections pénibles ou concentrées.” He +then adds that these muscles, from their attachment and position, are +fitted “à resserrer, à concentrer les principaux traits de la _face_, +comme il convient dans toutes ces passions vraiment oppressives ou +profondes, dans ces affections dont le sentiment semble porter +l’organisation à revenir sur elle-même, à se contracter et à +_s’amoindrir_, comme pour offrir moins de prise et de surface à des +impressions redoutables ou importunes.” He who thinks that remarks of +this kind throw any light on the meaning or origin of the different +expressions, takes a very different view of the subject to what I do. + +In the above passage there is but a slight, if any, advance in the +philosophy of the subject, beyond that reached by the painter Le Brun, +who, in 1667, in describing the expression of fright, says:—“Le sourcil +qui est abaissé d’un côté et élevé de l’autre, fait voir que la partie +élevée semble le vouloir joindre au cerveau pour le garantir du mal que +l’âme aperçoit, et le côté qui est abaissé et qui paraît enflé,—nous +fait trouver dans cet état par les esprits qui viennent du cerveau en +abondance, comme polir couvrir l’âme et la défendre du mal qu’elle +craint; la bouche fort ouverte fait voir le saisissement du cœur, par +le sang qui se retire vers lui, ce qui l’oblige, voulant respirer, à +faire un effort qui est cause que la bouche s’ouvre extrêmement, et +qui, lorsqu’il passe par les organes de la voix, forme un son qui n’est +point articulé; que si les muscles et les veines paraissent enflés, ce +n’est que par les esprits que le cerveau envoie en ces parties-là.” I +have thought the foregoing sentences worth quoting, as specimens of the +surprising nonsense which has been written on the subject. + +‘The Physiology or Mechanism of Blushing,’ by Dr. Burgess, appeared in +1839, and to this work I shall frequently refer in my thirteenth +Chapter. + +In 1862 Dr. Duchenne published two editions, in folio and octavo, of +his ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,’ in which he analyses by +means of electricity, and illustrates by magnificent photographs, the +movements of the facial muscles. He has generously permitted me to copy +as many of his photographs as I desired. His works have been spoken +lightly of, or quite passed over, by some of his countrymen. It is +possible that Dr. Duchenne may have exaggerated the importance of the +contraction of single muscles in giving expression; for, owing to the +intimate manner in which the muscles are connected, as may be seen in +Henle’s anatomical drawings[7]—the best I believe ever published it is +difficult to believe in their separate action. Nevertheless, it is +manifest that Dr. Duchenne clearly apprehended this and other sources +of error, and as it is known that he was eminently successful in +elucidating the physiology of the muscles of the hand by the aid of +electricity, it is probable that he is generally in the right about the +muscles of the face. In my opinion, Dr. Duchenne has greatly advanced +the subject by his treatment of it. No one has more carefully studied +the contraction of each separate muscle, and the consequent furrows +produced on the skin. He has also, and this is a very important +service, shown which muscles are least under the separate control of +the will. He enters very little into theoretical considerations, and +seldom attempts to explain why certain muscles and not others contract +under the influence of certain emotions. + +A distinguished French anatomist, Pierre Gratiolet, gave a course of +lectures on Expression at the Sorbonne, and his notes were published +(1865) after his death, under the title of ‘De la Physionomie et des +Mouvements d’Expression.’ This is a very interesting work, full of +valuable observations. His theory is rather complex, and, as far as it +can be given in a single sentence (p. 65), is as follows:—“Il résulte, +de tous les faits que j’ai rappelés, que les sens, l’imagination et la +pensée elle-même, si élevée, si abstraite qu’on la suppose, ne peuvent +s’exercer sans éveiller un sentiment corrélatif, et que ce sentiment se +traduit directement, sympathiquement, symboliquement ou +métaphoriquement, dans toutes les sphères des organs extérieurs, qui la +racontent tous, suivant leur mode d’action propre, comme si chacun +d’eux avait été directement affecté.” + +Gratiolet appears to overlook inherited habit, and even to some extent +habit in the individual; and therefore he fails, as it seems to me, to +give the right explanation, or any explanation at all, of many gestures +and expressions. As an illustration of what he calls symbolic +movements, I will quote his remarks (p. 37), taken from M. Chevreul, on +a man playing at billiards. “Si une bille dévie légèrement de la +direction que le joueur prétend lui imprimer, ne l’avez-vous pas vu +cent fois la pousser du regard, de la tête et même des épaules, comme +si ces mouvements, purement symboliques, pouvaient rectifier son +trajet? Des mouvements non moins significatifs se produisent quand la +bille manque d’une impulsion suffisante. Et cliez les joueurs novices, +ils sont quelquefois accusés au point d’éveiller le sourire sur les +lèvres des spectateurs.” Such movements, as it appeirs to me, may be +attributed simply to habit. As often as a man has wished to move an +object to one side, he has always pushed it to that side when forwards, +he has pushed it forwards; and if he has wished to arrest it, he has +pulled backwards. Therefore, when a man sees his ball travelling in a +wrong direction, and he intensely wishes it to go in another direction, +he cannot avoid, from long habit, unconsciously performing movements +which in other cases he has found effectual. + +As an instance of sympathetic movements Gratiolet gives (p. 212) the +following case:—“un jeune chien à oreilles droites, auquel son maître +présente de loin quelque viande appétissante, fixe avec ardeur ses yeux +sur cet objet dont il suit tous les mouvements, et pendant que les yeux +regardent, les deux oreilles se portent en avant comme si cet objet +pouvait être entendu.” Here, instead of speaking of sympathy between +the ears and eyes, it appears to me more simple to believe, that as +dogs during many generations have, whilst intently looking at any +object, pricked their ears in order to perceive any sound; and +conversely have looked intently in the direction of a sound to which +they may have listened, the movements of these organs have become +firmly associated together through long-continued habit. + +Dr. Piderit published in 1859 an essay on Expression, which I have not +seen, but in which, as he states, he forestalled Gratiolet in many of +his views. In 1867 he published his ‘Wissenschaftliches System der +Mimik und Physiognomik.’ It is hardly possible to give in a few +sentences a fair notion of his views; perhaps the two following +sentences will tell as much as can be briefly told: “the muscular +movements of expression are in part related to imaginary objects, and +in part to imaginary sensorial impressions. In this proposition lies +the key to the comprehension of all expressive muscular movements.” (s. +25) Again, “Expressive movements manifest themselves chiefly in the +numerous and mobile muscles of the face, partly because the nerves by +which they are set into motion originate in the most immediate vicinity +of the mind-organ, but partly also because these muscles serve to +support the organs of sense.” (s. 26.) If Dr. Piderit had studied Sir +C. Bell’s work, he would probably not have said (s. 101) that violent +laughter causes a frown from partaking of the nature of pain; or that +with infants (s. 103) the tears irritate the eyes, and thus excite the +contraction of the surrounding in muscles. Many good remarks are +scattered throughout this volume, to which I shall hereafter refer. + +Short discussions on Expression may be found in various works, which +need not here be particularised. Mr. Bain, however, in two of his works +has treated the subject at some length. He says,[8] “I look upon the +expression so-called as part and parcel of the feeling. I believe it to +be a general law of the mind that along with the fact of inward feeling +or consciousness, there is a diffusive action or excitement over the +bodily members.” In another place he adds, “A very considerable number +of the facts may be brought under the following principle: namely, that +states of pleasure are connected with an increase, and states of pain +with an abatement, of some, or all, of the vital functions.” But the +above law of the diffusive action of feelings seems too general to +throw much light on special expressions. + +Mr. Herbert Spencer, in treating of the Feelings in his ‘Principles of +Psychology’ (1855), makes the following remarks:—“Fear, when strong, +expresses itself in cries, in efforts to hide or escape, in +palpitations and tremblings; and these are just the manifestations that +would accompany an actual experience of the evil feared. The +destructive passions are shown in a general tension of the muscular +system, in gnashing of the teeth and protrusion of the claws, in +dilated eyes and nostrils in growls; and these are weaker forms of the +actions that accompany the killing of prey.” Here we have, as I +believe, the true theory of a large number of expressions; but the +chief interest and difficulty of the subject lies in following out the +wonderfully complex results. I infer that some one (but who he is I +have not been able to ascertain) formerly advanced a nearly similar +view, for Sir C. Bell says,[9] “It has been maintained that what are +called the external signs of passion, are only the concomitants of +those voluntary movements which the structure renders necessary.” Mr. +Spencer has also published[10] a valuable essay on the physiology of +Laughter, in which he insists on “the general law that feeling passing +a certain pitch, habitually vents itself in bodily action,” and that +“an overflow of nerve-force undirected by any motive, will manifestly +take first the most habitual routes; and if these do not suffice, will +next overflow into the less habitual ones.” This law I believe to be of +the highest importance in throwing light on our subject.’[11] + +All the authors who have written on Expression, with the exception of +Mr. Spencer—the great expounder of the principle of Evolution—appear to +have been firmly convinced that species, man of course included, came +into existence in their present condition. Sir C. Bell, being thus +convinced, maintains that many of our facial muscles are “purely +instrumental in expression;” or are “a special provision” for this sole +object.[12] But the simple fact that the anthropoid apes possess the +same facial muscles as we do,[13] renders it very improbable that these +muscles in our case serve exclusively for expression; for no one, I +presume, would be inclined to admit that monkeys have been endowed with +special muscles solely for exhibiting their hideous grimaces. Distinct +uses, independently of expression, can indeed be assigned with much +probability for almost all the facial muscles. + +Sir C. Bell evidently wished to draw as broad a distinction as possible +between man and the lower animals; and he consequently asserts that +with “the lower creatures there is no expression but what may be +referred, more or less plainly, to their acts of volition or necessary +instincts.” He further maintains that their faces “seem chiefly capable +of expressing rage and fear.”[14] But man himself cannot express love +and humility by external signs, so plainly as does a dog, when with +drooping ears, hanging lips, flexuous body, and wagging tail, he meets +his beloved master. Nor can these movements in the dog be explained by +acts of volition or necessary instincts, any more than the beaming eyes +and smiling cheeks of a man when he meets an old friend. If Sir C. Bell +had been questioned about the expression of affection in the dog, he +would no doubt have answered that this animal had been created with +special instincts, adapting him for association with man, and that all +further enquiry on the subject was superfluous. + +Although Gratiolet emphatically denies[15] that any muscle has been +developed solely for the sake of expression, he seems never to have +reflected on the principle of evolution. He apparently looks at each +species as a separate creation. So it is with the other writers on +Expression. For instance, Dr. Duchenne, after speaking of the movements +of the limbs, refers to those which give expression to the face, and +remarks:[16] “Le créateur n’a donc pas eu à se préoccuper ici des +besoins de la mécanique; il a pu, selon sa sagesse, ou—que l’on me +pardonne cette manière de parler—par une divine fantaisie, mettre en +action tel ou tel muscle, un seul ou plusieurs muscles à la fois, +lorsqu’il a voulu que les signes caractéristiques des passions, même +les plus fugaces, fussent écrits passagèrement sur la face de l’homme. +Ce langage de la physionomie une fois créé, il lui a suffi, pour le +rendre universel et immuable, de donner à tout être humain la faculté +instinctive d’exprimer toujours ses sendments par la contraction des +mêmes muscles.” + +Many writers consider the whole subject of Expression as inexplicable. +Thus the illustrious physiologist Müller, says,[17] “The completely +different expression of the features in different passions shows that, +according to the kind of feeling excited, entirely different groups of +the fibres of the facial nerve are acted on. Of the cause of this we +are quite ignorant.” + +No doubt as long as man and all other animals are viewed as independent +creations, an effectual stop is put to our natural desire to +investigate as far as possible the causes of Expression. By this +doctrine, anything and everything can be equally well explained; and it +has proved as pernicious with respect to Expression as to every other +branch of natural history. With mankind some expressions, such as the +bristling of the hair under the influence of extreme terror, or the +uncovering of the teeth under that of furious rage, can hardly be +understood, except on the belief that man once existed in a much lower +and animal-like condition. The community of certain expressions in +distinct though allied species, as in the movements of the same facial +muscles during laughter by man and by various monkeys, is rendered +somewhat more intelligible, if we believe in their descent from a +common progenitor. He who admits on general grounds that the structure +and habits of all animals have been gradually evolved, will look at the +whole subject of Expression in a new and interesting light. + +The study of Expression is difficult, owing to the movements being +often extremely slight, and of a fleeting nature. A difference may be +clearly perceived, and yet it may be impossible, at least I have found +it so, to state in what the difference consists. When we witness any +deep emotion, our sympathy is so strongly excited, that close +observation is forgotten or rendered almost impossible; of which fact I +have had many curious proofs. Our imagination is another and still more +serious source of error; for if from the nature of the circumstances we +expect to see any expression, we readily imagine its presence. +Notwithstanding Dr. Duchenne’s great experience, he for a long time +fancied, as he states, that several muscles contracted under certain +emotions, whereas he ultimately convinced himself that the movement was +confined to a single muscle. + +In order to acquire as good a foundation as possible, and to ascertain, +independently of common opinion, how far particular movements of the +features and gestures are really expressive of certain states of the +mind, I have found the following means the most serviceable. In the +first place, to observe infants; for they exhibit many emotions, as Sir +C. Bell remarks, “with extraordinary force;” whereas, in after life, +some of our expressions “cease to have the pure and simple source from +which they spring in infancy.”[18] + +In the second place, it occurred to me that the insane ought to be +studied, as they are liable to the strongest passions, and give +uncontrolled vent to them. I had, myself, no opportunity of doing this, +so I applied to Dr. Maudsley and received from him an introduction to +Dr. J. Crichton Browne, who has charge of an immense asylum near +Wakefield, and who, as I found, had already attended to the subject. +This excellent observer has with unwearied kindness sent me copious +notes and descriptions, with valuable suggestions on many points; and I +can hardly over-estimate the value of his assistance. I owe also, to +the kindness of Mr. Patrick Nicol, of the Sussex Lunatic Asylum, +interesting statements on two or three points. + +Thirdly Dr. Duchenne galvanized, as we have already seen, certain +muscles in the face of an old man, whose skin was little sensitive, and +thus produced various expressions which were photographed on a large +scale. It fortunately occurred to me to show several of the best +plates, without a word of explanation, to above twenty educated persons +of various ages and both sexes, asking them, in each case, by what +emotion or feeling the old man was supposed to be agitated; and I +recorded their answers in the words which they used. Several of the +expressions were instantly recognised by almost everyone, though +described in not exactly the same terms; and these may, I think, be +relied on as truthful, and will hereafter be specified. On the other +hand, the most widely different judgments were pronounced in regard to +some of them. This exhibition was of use in another way, by convincing +me how easily we may be misguided by our imagination; for when I first +looked through Dr. Duchenne’s photographs, reading at the same time the +text, and thus learning what was intended, I was struck with admiration +at the truthfulness of all, with only a few exceptions. Nevertheless, +if I had examined them without any explanation, no doubt I should have +been as much perplexed, in some cases, as other persons have been. + +Fourthly, I had hoped to derive much aid from the great masters in +painting and sculpture, who are such close observers. Accordingly, I +have looked at photographs and engravings of many well-known works; +but, with a few exceptions, have not thus profited. The reason no doubt +is, that in works of art, beauty is the chief object; and strongly +contracted facial muscles destroy beauty.[19] The story of the +composition is generally told with wonderful force and truth by +skilfully given accessories. + +Fifthly, it seemed to me highly important to ascertain whether the same +expressions and gestures prevail, as has often been asserted without +much evidence, with all the races of mankind, especially with those who +have associated but little with Europeans. Whenever the same movements +of the features or body express the same emotions in several distinct +races of man, we may infer with much probability, that such expressions +are true ones,—that is, are innate or instinctive. Conventional +expressions or gestures, acquired by the individual during early life, +would probably have differed in the different races, in the same manner +as do their languages. Accordingly I circulated, early in the year +1867, the following printed queries with a request, which has been +fully responded to, that actual observations, and not memory, might be +trusted. These queries were written after a considerable interval of +time, during which my attention had been otherwise directed, and I can +now see that they might have been greatly improved. To some of the +later copies, I appended, in manuscript, a few additional remarks:— + +(1.) Is astonishment expressed by the eyes and mouth being opened wide, +and by the eyebrows being raised? + +(2.) Does shame excite a blush when the colour of the skin allows it to +be visible? and especially how low down the body does the blush extend? + +(3.) When a man is indignant or defiant does he frown, hold his body +and head erect, square his shoulders and clench his fists? + +(4) When considering deeply on any subject, or trying to understand any +puzzle, does he frown, or wrinkle the skin beneath the lower eyelids? + +(5.) When in low spirits, are the corners of the mouth depressed, and +the inner corner of the eyebrows raised by that muscle which the French +call the “Grief muscle”? The eyebrow in this state becomes slightly +oblique, with a little swelling at the Inner end; and the forehead is +transversely wrinkled in the middle part, but not across the whole +breadth, as when the eyebrows are raised in surprise. + +(6.) When in good spirits do the eyes sparkle, with the skin a little +wrinkled round and under them, and with the mouth a little drawn back +at the corners? + +(7.) When a man sneers or snarls at another, is the corner of the upper +lip over the canine or eye tooth raised on the side facing the man whom +he addresses? + +(8) Can a dogged or obstinate expression be recognized, which is +chiefly shown by the mouth being firmly closed, a lowering brow and a +slight frown? + +(9.) Is contempt expressed by a slight protrusion of the lips and by +turning up the nose, and with a slight expiration? + +(10) Is disgust shown by the lower lip being turned down, the upper lip +slightly raised, with a sudden expiration, something like incipient +vomiting, or like something spit out of the mouth? + +(11.) Is extreme fear expressed in the same general manner as with +Europeans? + +(12.) Is laughter ever carried to such an extreme as to bring tears +into the eyes? + +(13.) When a man wishes to show that he cannot prevent something being +done, or cannot himself do something, does he shrug his shoulders, turn +inwards his elbows, extend outwards his hands and open the palms; with +the eyebrows raised? + +(14) Do the children when sulky, pout or greatly protrude the lips? + +(15.) Can guilty, or sly, or jealous expressions be recognized? though +I know not how these can be defined. + +(16.) Is the head nodded vertically in affirmation, and shaken +laterally in negation? + +Observations on natives who have had little communication with +Europeans would be of course the most valuable, though those made on +any natives would be of much interest to me. General remarks on +expression are of comparatively little value; and memory is so +deceptive that I earnestly beg it may not be trusted. A definite +description of the countenance under any emotion or frame of mind, with +a statement of the circumstances under which it occurred, would possess +much value. + +To these queries I have received thirty-six answers from different +observers, several of them missionaries or protectors of the +aborigines, to all of whom I am deeply indebted for the great trouble +which they have taken, and for the valuable aid thus received. I will +specify their names, &c., towards the close of this chapter, so as not +to interrupt my present remarks. The answers relate to several of the +most distinct and savage races of man. In many instances, the +circumstances have been recorded under which each expression was +observed, and the expression itself described. In such cases, much +confidence may be placed in the answers. When the answers have been +simply yes or no, I have always received them with caution. It follows, +from the information thus acquired, that the same state of mind is +expressed throughout the world with remarkable uniformity; and this +fact is in itself interesting as evidence of the close similarity in +bodily structure and mental disposition of all the races, of mankind. + +Sixthly, and lastly, I have attended as closely as I could, to the +expression of the several passions in some of the commoner animals; and +this I believe to be of paramount importance, not of course for +deciding how far in man certain expressions are characteristic of +certain states of mind, but as affording the safest basis for +generalisation on the causes, or origin, of the various movements of +Expression. In observing animals, we are not so likely to be biassed by +our imagination; and we may feel safe that their expressions are not +conventional. + +From the reasons above assigned, namely, the fleeting nature of some +expressions (the changes in the features being often extremely slight); +our sympathy being easily aroused when we behold any strong emotion, +and our attention thus distracted; our imagination deceiving us, from +knowing in a vague manner what to expect, though certainly few of us +know what the exact changes in the countenance are; and lastly, even +our long familiarity with the subject,—from all these causes combined, +the observation of Expression is by no means easy, as many persons, +whom I have asked to observe certain points, have soon discovered. +Hence it is difficult to determine, with certainty, what are the +movements of the features and of the body, which commonly characterize +certain states of the mind. Nevertheless, some of the doubts and +difficulties have, as I hope, been cleared away by the observation of +infants,—of the insane,—of the different races of man,—of works of +art,—and lastly, of the facial muscles under the action of galvanism, +as effected by Dr. Duchenne. + +But there remains the much greater difficulty of understanding the +cause or origin of the several expressions, and of judging whether any +theoretical explanation is trustworthy. Besides, judging as well as we +can by our reason, without the aid of any rules, which of two or more +explanations is the most satisfactory, or are quite unsatisfactory, I +see only one way of testing our conclusions. This is to observe whether +the same principle by which one expression can, as it appears, be +explained, is applicable in other allied cases; and especially, whether +the same general principles can be applied with satisfactory results, +both to man and the lower animals. This latter method, I am inclined to +think, is the most serviceable of all. The difficulty of judging of the +truth of any theoretical explanation, and of testing it by some +distinct line of investigation, is the great drawback to that interest +which the study seems well fitted to excite. + +Finally, with respect to my own observations, I may state that they +were commenced in the year 1838; and from that time to the present day, +I have occasionally attended to the subject. At the above date, I was +already inclined to believe in the principle of evolution, or of the +derivation of species from other and lower forms. Consequently, when I +read Sir C. Bell’s great work, his view, that man had been created with +certain muscles specially adapted for the expression of his feelings, +struck me as unsatisfactory. It seemed probable that the habit of +expressing our feelings by certain movements, though now rendered +innate, had been in some manner gradually acquired. But to discover how +such habits had been acquired was perplexing in no small degree. The +whole subject had to be viewed under a new aspect, and each expression +demanded a rational explanation. This belief led me to attempt the +present work, however imperfectly it may have been executed. + + +I will now give the names of the gentlemen to whom, as I have said, I +am deeply indebted for information in regard to the expressions +exhibited by various races of man, and I will specify some of the +circumstances under which the observations were in each case made. +Owing to the great kindness and powerful influence of Mr. Wilson, of +Hayes Place, Kent, I have received from Australia no less than thirteen +sets of answers to my queries. This has been particularly fortunate, as +the Australian aborigines rank amongst the most distinct of all the +races of man. It will be seen that the observations have been chiefly +made in the south, in the outlying parts of the colony of Victoria; but +some excellent answers have been received from the north. + +Mr. Dyson Lacy has given me in detail some valuable observations, made +several hundred miles in the interior of Queensland. To Mr. R. Brough +Smyth, of Melbourne, I am much indebted for observations made by +himself, and for sending me several of the following letters, +namely:—From the Rev. Mr. Hagenauer, of Lake Wellington, a missionary +in Gippsland, Victoria, who has had much experience with the natives. +From Mr. Samuel Wilson, a landowner, residing at Langerenong, Wimmera, +Victoria. From the Rev. George Taplin, superintendent of the native +Industrial Settlement at Port Macleay. From Mr. Archibald G. Lang, of +Coranderik, Victoria, a teacher at a school where aborigines, old and +young, are collected from all parts of the colony. From Mr. H. B. Lane, +of Belfast, Victoria, a police magistrate and warden, whose +observations, as I am assured, are highly trustworthy. From Mr. +Templeton Bunnett, of Echuca, whose station is on the borders of the +colony of Victoria, and who has thus been able to observe many +aborigines who have had little intercourse with white men. He compared +his observations with those made by two other gentlemen long resident +in the neighbourhood. Also from Mr. J. Bulmer, a missionary in a remote +part of Gippsland, Victoria. + +I am also indebted to the distinguished botanist, Dr. Ferdinand Müller, +of Victoria, for some observations made by himself, and for sending me +others made by Mrs. Green, as well as for some of the foregoing +letters. + +In regard to the Maoris of New Zealand, the Rev. J. W. Stack has +answered only a few of my queries; but the answers have been remarkably +full, clear, and distinct, with the circumstances recorded under which +the observations were made. + +The Rajah Brooke has given me some information with respect to the +Dyaks of Borneo. + +Respecting the Malays, I have been highly successful; for Mr. F. Geach +(to whom I was introduced by Mr. Wallace), during his residence as a +mining engineer in the interior of Malacca, observed many natives, who +had never before associated with white men. He wrote me two long +letters with admirable and detailed observations on their expression. +He likewise observed the Chinese immigrants in the Malay archipelago. + +The well-known naturalist, H. M. Consul, Mr. Swinhoe, also observed for +me the Chinese in their native country; and he made inquiries from +others whom he could trust. + +In India Mr. H. Erskine, whilst residing in his official capacity in +the Admednugur District in the Bombay Presidency, attended to the +expression of the inhabitants, but found much difficulty in arriving at +any safe conclusions, owing to their habitual concealment of all +emotions in the presence of Europeans. He also obtained information for +me from Mr. West, the Judge in Canara, and he consulted some +intelligent native gentlemen on certain points. In Calcutta Mr. J. +Scott, curator of the Botanic Gardens, carefully observed the various +tribes of men therein employed during a considerable period, and no one +has sent me such full and valuable details. The habit of accurate +observation, gained by his botanical studies, has been brought to bear +on our present subject. For Ceylon I am much indebted to the Rev. S. O. +Glenie for answers to some of my queries. + +Turning to Africa, I have been unfortunate with respect to the negroes, +though Mr. Winwood Reade aided me as far as lay in his power. It would +have been comparatively easy to have obtained information in regard to +the negro slaves in America; but as they have long associated with +white men, such observations would have possessed little value. In the +southern parts of the continent Mrs. Barber observed the Kafirs and +Fingoes, and sent me many distinct answers. Mr. J. P. Mansel Weale also +made some observations on the natives, and procured for me a curious +document, namely, the opinion, written in English, of Christian Gaika, +brother of the Chief Sandilli, on the expressions of his +fellow-countrymen. In the northern regions of Africa Captain Speedy, +who long resided with the Abyssinians, answered my queries partly from +memory and partly from observations made on the son of King Theodore, +who was then under his charge. Professor and Mrs. Asa Gray attended to +some points in the expressions of the natives, as observed by them +whilst ascending the Nile. + +On the great American continent Mr. Bridges, a catechist residing with +the Fuegians, answered some few questions about their expression, +addressed to him many years ago. In the northern half of the continent +Dr. Rothrock attended to the expressions of the wild Atnah and Espyox +tribes on the Nasse River, in North-Western America. Mr. Washington +Matthews Assistant-Surgeon in the United States Army, also observed +with special care (after having seen my queries, as printed in the +‘Smithsonian Report’) some of the wildest tribes in the Western parts +of the United States, namely, the Tetons, Grosventres, Mandans, and +Assinaboines; and his answers have proved of the highest value. + +Lastly, besides these special sources of information, I have collected +some few facts incidentally given in books of travels.—— + + + +Muscles of the Human Face. Fig 1-2 + + + +Muscles of the Human Face. Fig 3 + +As I shall often have to refer, more especially in the latter part of +this volume, to the muscles of the human face, I have had a diagram +(fig. 1) copied and reduced from Sir C. Bell’s work, and two others, +with more accurate details (figs. 2 and 3), from Herde’s well-known +‘Handbuch der Systematischen Anatomie des Menschen.’ The same letters +refer to the same muscles in all three figures, but the names are given +of only the more important ones to which I shall have to allude. The +facial muscles blend much together, and, as I am informed, hardly +appear on a dissected face so distinct as they are here represented. +Some writers consider that these muscles consist of nineteen pairs, +with one unpaired;[20] but others make the number much larger, +amounting even to fifty-five, according to Moreau. They are, as is +admitted by everyone who has written on the subject, very variable in +structure; and Moreau remarks that they are hardly alike in +half-a-dozen subjects.[21] They are also variable in function. Thus the +power of uncovering the canine tooth on one side differs much in +different persons. The power of raising the wings of the nostrils is +also, according to Dr. Piderit,[22] variable in a remarkable degree; +and other such cases could be given. + +Finally, I must have the pleasure of expressing my obligations to Mr. +Rejlander for the trouble which he has taken in photographing for me +various expressions and gestures. I am also indebted to Herr +Kindermann, of Hamburg, for the loan of some excellent negatives of +crying infants; and to Dr. Wallich for a charming one of a smiling +girl. I have already expressed my obligations to Dr. Duchenne for +generously permitting me to have some of his large photographs copied +and reduced. All these photographs have been printed by the Heliotype +process, and the accuracy of the copy is thus guaranteed. These plates +are referred to by Roman numerals. + +I am also greatly indebted to Mr. T. W. Wood for the extreme pains +which he has taken in drawing from life the expressions of various +animals. A distinguished artist, Mr. Riviere, has had the kindness to +give me two drawings of dogs—one in a hostile and the other in a humble +and caressing frame of mind. Mr. A. May has also given me two similar +sketches of dogs. Mr. Cooper has taken much care in cutting the blocks. +Some of the photographs and drawings, namely, those by Mr. May, and +those by Mr. Wolf of the Cynopithecus, were first reproduced by Mr. +Cooper on wood by means of photography, and then engraved: by this +means almost complete fidelity is ensured. + + + + +CHAPTER I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION. + +The three chief principles stated—The first principle—Serviceable +actions become habitual in association with certain states of the mind, +and are performed whether or not of service in each particular case—The +force of habit—Inheritance—Associated habitual movements in man—Reflex +actions—Passage of habits into reflex actions—Associated habitual +movements in the lower animals—Concluding remarks. + +I will begin by giving the three Principles, which appear to me to +account for most of the expressions and gestures involuntarily used by +man and the lower animals, under the influence of various emotions and +sensations.[101] I arrived, however, at these three Principles only at +the close of my observations. They will be discussed in the present and +two following chapters in a general manner. Facts observed both with +man and the lower animals will here be made use of; but the latter +facts are preferable, as less likely to deceive us. In the fourth and +fifth chapters, I will describe the special expressions of some of the +lower animals; and in the succeeding chapters those of man. Everyone +will thus be able to judge for himself, how far my three principles +throw light on the theory of the subject. It appears to me that so many +expressions are thus explained in a fairly satisfactory manner, that +probably all will hereafter be found to come under the same or closely +analogous heads. I need hardly premise that movements or changes in any +part of the body,—as the wagging of a dog’s tail, the drawing back of a +horse’s ears, the shrugging of a man’s shoulders, or the dilatation of +the capillary vessels of the skin,—may all equally well serve for +expression. The three Principles are as follows. + +I. _The principle of serviceable associated Habits_.—Certain complex +actions are of direct or indirect service under certain states of the +mind, in order to relieve or gratify certain sensations, desires, &c.; +and whenever the same state of mind is induced, however feebly, there +is a tendency through the force of habit and association for the same +movements to be performed, though they may not then be of the least +use. Some actions ordinarily associated through habit with certain +states of the mind may be partially repressed through the will, and in +such cases the muscles which are least under the separate control of +the will are the most liable still to act, causing movements which we +recognize as expressive. In certain other cases the checking of one +habitual movement requires other slight movements; and these are +likewise expressive. + +II. _The principle of Antithesis_.—Certain states of the mind lead to +certain habitual actions, which are of service, as under our first +principle. Now when a directly opposite state of mind is induced, there +is a strong and involuntary tendency to the performance of movements of +a directly opposite nature, though these are of no use; and such +movements are in some cases highly expressive. + +III. _The principle of actions due to the constitution of the Nervous +System, independently from the first of the Will, and independently to +a certain extent of Habit_.—When the sensorium is strongly excited, +nerve-force is generated in excess, and is transmitted in certain +definite directions, depending on the connection of the nerve-cells, +and partly on habit: or the supply of nerve-force may, as it appears, +be interrupted. Effects are thus produced which we recognize as +expressive. This third principle may, for the sake of brevity, be +called that of the direct action of the nervous system. + +With respect to our _first Principle_, it is notorious how powerful is +the force of habit. The most complex and difficult movements can in +time be performed without the least effort or consciousness. It is not +positively known how it comes that habit is so efficient in +facilitating complex movements; but physiologists admit[102] “that the +conducting power of the nervous fibres increases with the frequency of +their excitement.” This applies to the nerves of motion and sensation, +as well as to those connected with the act of thinking. That some +physical change is produced in the nerve-cells or nerves which are +habitually used can hardly be doubted, for otherwise it is impossible +to understand how the tendency to certain acquired movements is +inherited. That they are inherited we see with horses in certain +transmitted paces, such as cantering and ambling, which are not natural +to them,—in the pointing of young pointers and the setting of young +setters—in the peculiar manner of flight of certain breeds of the +pigeon, &c. We have analogous cases with mankind in the inheritance of +tricks or unusual gestures, to which we shall presently recur. To those +who admit the gradual evolution of species, a most striking instance of +the perfection with which the most difficult consensual movements can +be transmitted, is afforded by the humming-bird Sphinx-moth +(_Macroglossa_); for this moth, shortly after its emergence from the +cocoon, as shown by the bloom on its unruffled scales, may be seen +poised stationary in the air, with its long hair-like proboscis +uncurled and inserted into the minute orifices of flowers; and no one, +I believe, has ever seen this moth learning to perform its difficult +task, which requires such unerring aim. + +When there exists an inherited or instinctive tendency to the +performance of an action, or an inherited taste for certain kinds of +food, some degree of habit in the individual is often or generally +requisite. We find this in the paces of the horse, and to a certain +extent in the pointing of dogs; although some young dogs point +excellently the first time they are taken out, yet they often associate +the proper inherited attitude with a wrong odour, and even with +eyesight. I have heard it asserted that if a calf be allowed to suck +its mother only once, it is much more difficult afterwards to rear it +by hand.[103] Caterpillars which have been fed on the leaves of one +kind of tree, have been known to perish from hunger rather than to eat +the leaves of another tree, although this afforded them their proper +food, under a state of nature;[104] and so it is in many other cases. + +The power of Association is admitted by everyone. Mr. Bain remarks, +that “actions, sensations and states of feeling, occurring together or +in close succession, tend to grow together, or cohere, in such a way +that when any one of them is afterwards presented to the mind, the +others are apt to be brought up in idea.”[105] It is so important for +our purpose fully to recognize that actions readily become associated +with other actions and with various states of the mind, that I will +give a good many instances, in the first place relating to man, and +afterwards to the lower animals. Some of the instances are of a very +trifling nature, but they are as good for our purpose as more important +habits. It is known to everyone how difficult, or even impossible it +is, without repeated trials, to move the limbs in certain opposed +directions which have never been practised. Analogous cases occur with +sensations, as in the common experiment of rolling a marble beneath the +tips of two crossed fingers, when it feels exactly like two marbles. +Everyone protects himself when falling to the ground by extending his +arms, and as Professor Alison has remarked, few can resist acting thus, +when voluntarily falling on a soft bed. A man when going out of doors +puts on his gloves quite unconsciously; and this may seem an extremely +simple operation, but he who has taught a child to put on gloves, knows +that this is by no means the case. + +When our minds are much affected, so are the movements of our bodies; +but here another principle besides habit, namely the undirected +overflow of nerve-force, partially comes into play. Norfolk, in +speaking of Cardinal Wolsey, says— + +“Some strange commotion +Is in his brain; he bites his lip and starts; +Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground, +Then, lays his finger on his temple: straight, +Springs out into fast gait; then, stops again, +Strikes his breast hard; and anon, he casts +His eye against the moon: in most strange postures +We have seen him set himself.”—_Hen. VIII_., act iii, sc. 2. + + +A vulgar man often scratches his head when perplexed in mind; and I +believe that he acts thus from habit, as if he experienced a slightly +uncomfortable bodily sensation, namely, the itching of his head, to +which he is particularly liable, and which he thus relieves. Another +man rubs his eyes when perplexed, or gives a little cough when +embarrassed, acting in either case as if he felt a slightly +uncomfortable sensation in his eyes or windpipe.[106] + +From the continued use of the eyes, these organs are especially liable +to be acted on through association under various states of the mind, +although there is manifestly nothing to be seen. A man, as Gratiolet +remarks, who vehemently rejects a proposition, will almost certainly +shut his eyes or turn away his face; but if he accepts the proposition, +he will nod his head in affirmation and open his eyes widely. The man +acts in this latter case as if he clearly saw the thing, and in the +former case as if he did not or would not see it. I have noticed that +persons in describing a horrid sight often shut their eyes momentarily +and firmly, or shake their heads, as if not to see or to drive away +something disagreeable; and I have caught myself, when thinking in the +dark of a horrid spectacle, closing my eyes firmly. In looking suddenly +at any object, or in looking all around, everyone raises his eyebrows, +so that the eyes may be quickly and widely opened; and Duchenne remarks +that[107] a person in trying to remember something often raises his +eyebrows, as if to see it. A Hindoo gentleman made exactly the same +remark to Mr. Erskine in regard to his countrymen. I noticed a young +lady earnestly trying to recollect a painter’s name, and she first +looked to one corner of the ceiling and then to the opposite corner, +arching the one eyebrow on that side; although, of course, there was +nothing to be seen there. + +In most of the foregoing cases, we can understand how the associated +movements were acquired through habit; but with some individuals, +certain strange gestures or tricks have arisen in association with +certain states of the mind, owing to wholly inexplicable causes, and +are undoubtedly inherited. I have elsewhere given one instance from my +own observation of an extraordinary and complex gesture, associated +with pleasurable feelings, which was transmitted from a father to his +daughter, as well as some other analogous facts.[108] Another curious +instance of an odd inherited movement, associated with the wish to +obtain an object, will be given in the course of this volume. + +There are other actions which are commonly performed under certain +circumstances, independently of habit, and which seem to be due to +imitation or some sort of sympathy. Thus persons cutting anything with +a pair of scissors may be seen to move their jaws simultaneously with +the blades of the scissors. Children learning to write often twist +about their tongues as their fingers move, in a ridiculous fashion. +When a public singer suddenly becomes a little hoarse, many of those +present may be heard, as I have been assured by a gentleman on whom I +can rely, to clear their throats; but here habit probably comes into +play, as we clear our own throats under similar circumstances. I have +also been told that at leaping matches, as the performer makes his +spring, many of the spectators, generally men and boys, move their +feet; but here again habit probably comes into play, for it is very +doubtful whether women would thus act. + +_Reflex actions_—Reflex actions, in the strict sense of the term, are +due to the excitement of a peripheral nerve, which transmits its +influence to certain nerve-cells, and these in their turn excite +certain muscles or glands into action; and all this may take place +without any sensation or consciousness on our part, though often thus +accompanied. As many reflex actions are highly expressive, the subject +must here be noticed at some little length. We shall also see that some +of them graduate into, and can hardly be distinguished from actions +which have arisen through habit?[109] Coughing and sneezing are +familiar instances of reflex actions. With infants the first act of +respiration is often a sneeze, although this requires the co-ordinated +movement of numerous muscles. Respiration is partly voluntary, but +mainly reflex, and is performed in the most natural and best manner +without the interference of the will. A vast number of complex +movements are reflex. As good an instance as can be given is the +often-quoted one of a decapitated frog, which cannot of course feel, +and cannot consciously perform, any movement. Yet if a drop of acid be +placed on the lower surface of the thigh of a frog in this state, it +will rub off the drop with the upper surface of the foot of the same +leg. If this foot be cut off, it cannot thus act. “After some fruitless +efforts, therefore, it gives up trying in that way, seems restless, as +though, says Pflüger, it was seeking some other way, and at last it +makes use of the foot of the other leg and succeeds in rubbing off the +acid. Notably we have here not merely contractions of muscles, but +combined and harmonized contractions in due sequence for a special +purpose. These are actions that have all the appearance of being guided +by intelligence and instigated by will in an animal, the recognized +organ of whose intelligence and will has been removed.”[110] + +We see the difference between reflex and voluntary movements in very +young children not being able to perform, as I am informed by Sir Henry +Holland, certain acts somewhat analogous to those of sneezing and +coughing, namely, in their not being able to blow their noses (_i.e._ +to compress the nose and blow violently through the passage), and in +their not being able to clear their throats of phlegm. They have to +learn to perform these acts, yet they are performed by us, when a +little older, almost as easily as reflex actions. Sneezing and +coughing, however, can be controlled by the will only partially or not +at all; whilst the clearing the throat and blowing the nose are +completely under our command. + +When we are conscious of the presence of an irritating particle in our +nostrils or windpipe—that is, when the same sensory nerve-cells are +excited, as in the case of sneezing and coughing—we can voluntarily +expel the particle by forcibly driving air through these passages; but +we cannot do this with nearly the same force, rapidity, and precision, +as by a reflex action. In this latter case the sensory nerve-cells +apparently excite the motor nerve-cells without any waste of power by +first communicating with the cerebral hemispheres—the seat of our +consciousness and volition. In all cases there seems to exist a +profound antagonism between the same movements, as directed by the will +and by a reflex stimulant, in the force with which they are performed +and in the facility with which they are excited. As Claude Bernard +asserts, “L’influence du cerveau tend donc à entraver les mouvements +réflexes, à limiter leur force et leur étendue.”[111] + +The conscious wish to perform a reflex action sometimes stops or +interrupts its performance, though the proper sensory nerves may be +stimulated. For instance, many years ago I laid a small wager with a +dozen young men that they would not sneeze if they took snuff, although +they all declared that they invariably did so; accordingly they all +took a pinch, but from wishing much to succeed, not one sneezed, though +their eyes watered, and all, without exception, had to pay me the +wager. Sir H. Holland remarks[112] that attention paid to the act of +swallowing interferes with the proper movements; from which it probably +follows, at least in part, that some persons find it so difficult to +swallow a pill. + +Another familiar instance of a reflex action is the involuntary closing +of the eyelids when the surface of the eye is touched. A similar +winking movement is caused when a blow is directed towards the face; +but this is an habitual and not a strictly reflex action, as the +stimulus is conveyed through the mind and not by the excitement of a +peripheral nerve. The whole body and head are generally at the same +time drawn suddenly backwards. These latter movements, however, can be +prevented, if the danger does not appear to the imagination imminent; +but our reason telling us that there is no danger does not suffice. I +may mention a trifling fact, illustrating this point, and which at the +time amused me. I put my face close to the thick glass-plate in front +of a puff-adder in the Zoological Gardens, with the firm determination +of not starting back if the snake struck at me; but, as soon as the +blow was struck, my resolution went for nothing, and I jumped a yard or +two backwards with astonishing rapidity. My will and reason were +powerless against the imagination of a danger which had never been +experienced. + +The violence of a start seems to depend partly on the vividness of the +imagination, and partly on the condition, either habitual or temporary, +of the nervous system. He who will attend to the starting of his horse, +when tired and fresh, will perceive how perfect is the gradation from a +mere glance at some unexpected object, with a momentary doubt whether +it is dangerous, to a jump so rapid and violent, that the animal +probably could not voluntarily whirl round in so rapid a manner. The +nervous system of a fresh and highly-fed horse sends its order to the +motory system so quickly, that no time is allowed for him to consider +whether or not the danger is real. After one violent start, when he is +excited and the blood flows freely through his brain, he is very apt to +start again; and so it is, as I have noticed, with young infants. + +A start from a sudden noise, when the stimulus is conveyed through the +auditory nerves, is always accompanied in grown-up persons by the +winking of the eyelids.[113] I observed, however, that though my +infants started at sudden sounds, when under a fortnight old, they +certainly did not always wink their eyes, and I believe never did so. +The start of an older infant apparently represents a vague catching +hold of something to prevent falling. I shook a pasteboard box close +before the eyes of one of my infants, when 114 days old, and it did not +in the least wink; but when I put a few comfits into the box, holding +it in the same position as before, and rattled them, the child blinked +its eyes violently every time, and started a little. It was obviously +impossible that a carefully-guarded infant could have learnt by +experience that a rattling sound near its eyes indicated danger to +them. But such experience will have been slowly gained at a later age +during a long series of generations; and from what we know of +inheritance, there is nothing improbable in the transmission of a habit +to the offspring at an earlier age than that at which it was first +acquired by the parents. + +From the foregoing remarks it seems probable that some actions, which +were at first performed consciously, have become through habit and +association converted into reflex actions, and are now so firmly fixed +and inherited, that they are performed, even when not of the least +use,[114] as often as the same causes arise, which originally excited +them in us through the volition. In such cases the sensory nerve-cells +excite the motor cells, without first communicating with those cells on +which our consciousness and volition depend. It is probable that +sneezing and coughing were originally acquired by the habit of +expelling, as violently as possible, any irritating particle from the +sensitive air-passages. As far as time is concerned, there has been +more than enough for these habits to have become innate or converted +into reflex actions; for they are common to most or all of the higher +quadrupeds, and must therefore have been first acquired at a very +remote period. Why the act of clearing the throat is not a reflex +action, and has to be learnt by our children, I cannot pretend to say; +but we can see why blowing the nose on a handkerchief has to be learnt. + +It is scarcely credible that the movements of a headless frog, when it +wipes off a drop of acid or other object from its thigh, and which +movements are so well coordinated for a special purpose, were not at +first performed voluntarily, being afterwards rendered easy through +long-continued habit so as at last to be performed unconsciously, or +independently of the cerebral hemispheres. + +So again it appears probable that starting was originally acquired by +the habit of jumping away as quickly as possible from danger, whenever +any of our senses gave us warning. Starting, as we have seen, is +accompanied by the blinking of the eyelids so as to protect the eyes, +the most tender and sensitive organs of the body; and it is, I believe, +always accompanied by a sudden and forcible inspiration, which is the +natural preparation for any violent effort. But when a man or horse +starts, his heart beats wildly against his ribs, and here it may be +truly said we have an organ which has never been under the control of +the will, partaking in the general reflex movements of the body. To +this point, however, I shall return in a future chapter. + +The contraction of the iris, when the retina is stimulated by a bright +light, is another instance of a movement, which it appears cannot +possibly have been at first voluntarily performed and then fixed by +habit; for the iris is not known to be under the conscious control of +the will in any animal. In such cases some explanation, quite distinct +from habit, will have to be discovered. The radiation of nerve-force +from strongly-excited nerve-cells to other connected cells, as in the +case of a bright light on the retina causing a sneeze, may perhaps aid +us in understanding how some reflex actions originated. A radiation of +nerve-force of this kind, if it caused a movement tending to lessen the +primary irritation, as in the case of the contraction of the iris +preventing too much light from falling on the retina, might afterwards +have been taken advantage of and modified for this special purpose. + +It further deserves notice that reflex actions are in all probability +liable to slight variations, as are all corporeal structures and +instincts; and any variations which were beneficial and of sufficient +importance, would tend to be preserved and inherited. Thus reflex +actions, when once gained for one purpose, might afterwards be modified +independently of the will or habit, so as to serve for some distinct +purpose. Such cases would be parallel with those which, as we have +every reason to believe, have occurred with many instincts; for +although some instincts have been developed simply through +long-continued and inherited habit, other highly complex ones have been +developed through the preservation of variations of pre-existing +instincts—that is, through natural selection. + +I have discussed at some little length, though as I am well aware, in a +very imperfect manner, the acquirement of reflex actions, because they +are often brought into play in connection with movements expressive of +our emotions; and it was necessary to show that at least some of them +might have been first acquired through the will in order to satisfy a +desire, or to relieve a disagreeable sensation. + +_Associated habitual movements in the lower animals_.—I have already +given in the case of Man several instances of movements associated with +various states of the mind or body, which are now purposeless, but +which were originally of use, and are still of use under certain +circumstances. As this subject is very important for us, I will here +give a considerable number of analogous facts, with reference to +animals; although many of them are of a very trifling nature. My object +is to show that certain movements were originally performed for a +definite end, and that, under nearly the same circumstances, they are +still pertinaciously performed through habit when not of the least use. +That the tendency in most of the following cases is inherited, we may +infer from such actions being performed in the same manner by all the +individuals, young and old, of the same species. We shall also see that +they are excited by the most diversified, often circuitous, and +sometimes mistaken associations. + +Dogs, when they wish to go to sleep on a carpet or other hard surface, +generally turn round and round and scratch the ground with their +fore-paws in a senseless manner, as if they intended to trample down +the grass and scoop out a hollow, as no doubt their wild parents did, +when they lived on open grassy plains or in the woods. Jackals, +fennecs, and other allied animals in the Zoological Gardens, treat +their straw in this manner; but it is a rather odd circumstance that +the keepers, after observing for some months, have never seen the +wolves thus behave. A semi-idiotic dog—and an animal in this condition +would be particularly liable to follow a senseless habit—was observed +by a friend to turn completely round on a carpet thirteen times before +going to sleep. + +Many carnivorous animals, as they crawl towards their prey and prepare +to rush or spring on it, lower their heads and crouch, partly, as it +would appear, to hide themselves, and partly to get ready for their +rush; and this habit in an exaggerated form has become hereditary in +our pointers and setters. Now I have noticed scores of times that when +two strange dogs meet on an open road, the one which first sees the +other, though at the distance of one or two hundred yards, after the +first glance always lowers its bead, generally crouches a little, or +even lies down; that is, he takes the proper attitude for concealing +himself and for making a rush or spring although the road is quite open +and the distance great. Again, dogs of all kinds when intently watching +and slowly approaching their prey, frequently keep one of their +fore-legs doubled up for a long time, ready for the next cautious step; +and this is eminently characteristic of the pointer. But from habit +they behave in exactly the same manner whenever their attention is +aroused (fig. 4). I have seen a dog at the foot of a high wall, +listening attentively to a sound on the opposite side, with one leg +doubled up; and in this case there could have been no intention of +making a cautious approach. + + + +Small Dog Watching a Cat on A Table. Figure 4 + +{illust. caption = for making a rush or FIG. 4.—Small dog watching a +cat on a table. From a photograph taken by Mr. Rejlander.} + +Dogs after voiding their excrement often make with all four feet a few +scratches backwards, even on a bare stone pavement, as if for the +purpose of covering up their excrement with earth, in nearly the same +manner as do cats. Wolves and jackals behave in the Zoological Gardens +in exactly the same manner, yet, as I am assured by the keepers, +neither wolves, jackals, nor foxes, when they have the means of doing +so, ever cover up their excrement, any more than do dogs. All these +animals, however, bury superfluous food. Hence, if we rightly +understand the meaning of the above cat-like habit, of which there can +be little doubt, we have a purposeless remnant of an habitual movement, +which was originally followed by some remote progenitor of the +dog-genus for a definite purpose, and which has been retained for a +prodigious length of time. + +Dogs and jackals[115] take much pleasure in rolling and rubbing their +necks and backs on carrion. The odour seems delightful to them, though +dogs at least do not eat carrion. Mr. Bartlett has observed wolves for +me, and has given them carrion, but has never seen them roll on it. I +have heard it remarked, and I believe it to be true, that the larger +dogs, which are probably descended from wolves, do not so often roll in +carrion as do smaller dogs, which are probably descended from jackals. +When a piece of brown biscuit is offered to a terrier of mine and she +is not hungry (and I have heard of similar instances), she first tosses +it about and worries it, as if it were a rat or other prey; she then +repeatedly rolls on it precisely as if it were a piece of carrion, and +at last eats it. It would appear that an imaginary relish has to be +given to the distasteful morsel; and to effect this the dog acts in his +habitual manner, as if the biscuit was a live animal or smelt like +carrion, though he knows better than we do that this is not the case. I +have seen this same terrier act in the same manner after killing a +little bird or mouse. + +Dogs scratch themselves by a rapid movement of one of their hind-feet; +and when their backs are rubbed with a stick, so strong is the habit, +that they cannot help rapidly scratching the air or the ground in a +useless and ludicrous manner. The terrier just alluded to, when thus +scratched with a stick, will sometimes show her delight by another +habitual movement, namely, by licking the air as if it were my hand. + +Horses scratch themselves by nibbling those parts of their bodies which +they can reach with their teeth; but more commonly one horse shows +another where he wants to be scratched, and they then nibble each +other. A friend whose attention I had called to the subject, observed +that when he rubbed his horse’s neck, the animal protruded his head, +uncovered his teeth, and moved his jaws, exactly as if nibbling another +horse’s neck, for he could never have nibbled his own neck. If a horse +is much tickled, as when curry-combed, his wish to bite something +becomes so intolerably strong, that he will clatter his teeth together, +and though not vicious, bite his groom. At the same time from habit he +closely depresses his ears, so as to protect them from being bitten, as +if he were fighting with another horse. + +A horse when eager to start on a journey makes the nearest approach +which he can to the habitual movement of progression by pawing the +ground. Now when horses in their stalls are about to be fed and are +eager for their corn, they paw the pavement or the straw. Two of my +horses thus behave when they see or hear the corn given to their +neighbours. But here we have what may almost be called a true +expression, as pawing the ground is universally recognized as a sign of +eagerness. + +Cats cover up their excrements of both kinds with earth; and my +grandfather[116] saw a kitten scraping ashes over a spoonful of pure +water spilt on the hearth; so that here an habitual or instinctive +action was falsely excited, not by a previous act or by odour, but by +eyesight. It is well known that cats dislike wetting their feet, owing, +it is probable, to their having aboriginally inhabited the dry country +of Egypt; and when they wet their feet they shake them violently. My +daughter poured some water into a glass close to the head of a kitten; +and it immediately shook its feet in the usual manner; so that here we +have an habitual movement falsely excited by an associated sound +instead of by the sense of touch. + +Kittens, puppies, young pigs and probably many other young animals, +alternately push with their forefeet against the mammary glands of +their mothers, to excite a freer secretion of milk, or to make it flow. +Now it is very common with young cats, and not at all rare with old +cats of the common and Persian breeds (believed by some naturalists to +be specifically extinct), when comfortably lying on a warm shawl or +other soft substance, to pound it quietly and alternately with their +fore-feet; their toes being spread out and claws slightly protruded, +precisely as when sucking their mother. That it is the same movement is +clearly shown by their often at the same time taking a bit of the shawl +into their mouths and sucking it; generally closing their eyes and +purring from delight. This curious movement is commonly excited only in +association with the sensation of a warm soft surface; but I have seen +an old cat, when pleased by having its back scratched, pounding the air +with its feet in the same manner; so that this action has almost become +the expression of a pleasurable sensation. + +Having referred to the act of sucking, I may add that this complex +movement, as well as the alternate protrusion of the fore-feet, are +reflex actions; for they are performed if a finger moistened with milk +is placed in the mouth of a puppy, the front part of whose brain has +been removed.[117] It has recently been stated in France, that the +action of sucking is excited solely through the sense of smell, so that +if the olfactory nerves of a puppy are destroyed, it never sucks. In +like manner the wonderful power which a chicken possesses only a few +hours after being hatched, of picking up small particles of food, seems +to be started into action through the sense of hearing; for with +chickens hatched by artificial heat, a good observer found that “making +a noise with the finger-nail against a board, in imitation of the +hen-mother, first taught them to peck at their meat.”[118] + +I will give only one other instance of an habitual and purposeless +movement. The Sheldrake (_Tadorna_) feeds on the sands left uncovered +by the tide, and when a worm-cast is discovered, “it begins patting the +ground with its feet, dancing as it were, over the hole;” and this +makes the worm come to the surface. Now Mr. St. John says, that when +his tame Sheldrakes “came to ask for food, they patted the ground in an +impatient and rapid manner.”[119] This therefore may almost be +considered as their expression of hunger. Mr. Bartlett informs me that +the Flamingo and the Kagu (_Rhinochetus jubatus_) when anxious to be +fed, beat the ground with their feet in the same odd manner. So again +Kingfishers, when they catch a fish, always beat it until it is killed; +and in the Zoological Gardens they always beat the raw meat, with which +they are sometimes fed, before devouring it. + +We have now, I think, sufficiently shown the truth of our first +Principle, namely, that when any sensation, desire, dislike, &c., has +led during a long series of generations to some voluntary movement, +then a tendency to the performance of a similar movement will almost +certainly be excited, whenever the same, or any analogous or associated +sensation &c., although very weak, is experienced; notwithstanding that +the movement in this case may not be of the least use. Such habitual +movements are often, or generally inherited; and they then differ but +little from reflex actions. When we treat of the special expressions of +man, the latter part of our first Principle, as given at the +commencement of this chapter, will be seen to hold good; namely, that +when movements, associated through habit with certain states of the +mind, are partially repressed by the will, the strictly involuntary +muscles, as well as those which are least under the separate control of +the will, are liable still to act; and their action is often highly +expressive. Conversely, when the will is temporarily or permanently +weakened, the voluntary muscles fail before the involuntary. It is a +fact familiar to pathologists, as Sir C. Bell remarks,[120] “that when +debility arises from affection of the brain, the influence is greatest +on those muscles which are, in their natural condition, most under the +command of the will.” We shall, also, in our future chapters, consider +another proposition included in our first Principle; namely, that the +checking of one habitual movement sometimes requires other slight +movements; these latter serving as a means of expression. + + + + +CHAPTER II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION—_continued_. + +The Principle of Antithesis—Instances in the dog and cat—Origin of the +principle—Conventional signs—The principle of antithesis has not arisen +from opposite actions being consciously performed under opposite +impulses. + +We will now consider our second Principle, that of Antithesis. Certain +states of the mind lead, as we have seen in the last chapter, to +certain habitual movements which were primarily, or may still be, of +service; and we shall find that when a directly opposite state of mind +is induced, there is a strong and involuntary tendency to the +performance of movements of a directly opposite nature, though these +have never been of any service. A few striking instances of antithesis +will be given, when we treat of the special expressions of man; but as, +in these cases, we are particularly liable to confound conventional or +artificial gestures and expressions with those which are innate or +universal, and which alone deserve to rank as true expressions, I will +in the present chapter almost confine myself to the lower animals. + + + +Dog in a Hostile Frame of Mind. Fig. 5 + + + + Fig. 6 + + + +Dog in a Hostile Frame of Mind. Fig. 7 + +When a dog approaches a strange dog or man in a savage or hostile frame +of mind be walks upright and very stiffly; his head is slightly raised, +or not much lowered; the tail is held erect, and quite rigid; the hairs +bristle, especially along the neck and back; the pricked ears are +directed forwards, and the eyes have a fixed stare: (see figs. 5 and +7). These actions, as will hereafter be explained, follow from the +dog’s intention to attack his enemy, and are thus to a large extent +intelligible. As he prepares to spring with a savage growl on his +enemy, the canine teeth are uncovered, and the ears are pressed close +backwards on the head; but with these latter actions, we are not here +concerned. Let us now suppose that the dog suddenly discovers that the +man he is approaching, is not a stranger, but his master; and let it be +observed how completely and instantaneously his whole bearing is +reversed. Instead of walking upright, the body sinks downwards or even +crouches, and is thrown into flexuous movements; his tail, instead of +being held stiff and upright, is lowered and wagged from side to side; +his hair instantly becomes smooth; his ears are depressed and drawn +backwards, but not closely to the head; and his lips hang loosely. From +the drawing back of the ears, the eyelids become elongated, and the +eyes no longer appear round and staring. It should be added that the +animal is at such times in an excited condition from joy; and +nerve-force will be generated in excess, which naturally leads to +action of some kind. Not one of the above movements, so clearly +expressive of affection, are of the least direct service to the animal. +They are explicable, as far as I can see, solely from being in complete +opposition or antithesis to the attitude and movements which, from +intelligible causes, are assumed when a dog intends to fight, and which +consequently are expressive of anger. I request the reader to look at +the four accompanying sketches, which have been given in order to +recall vividly the appearance of a dog under these two states of mind. +It is, however, not a little difficult to represent affection in a dog, +whilst caressing his master and wagging his tail, as the essence of the +expression lies in the continuous flexuous movements. + + + +Dog Carressing his Master. Fig. 8 + +We will now turn to the cat. When this animal is threatened by a dog, +it arches its back in a surprising manner, erects its hair, opens its +mouth and spits. But we are not here concerned with this well-known +attitude, expressive of terror combined with anger; we are concerned +only with that of rage or anger. This is not often seen, but may be +observed when two cats are fighting together; and I have seen it well +exhibited by a savage cat whilst plagued by a boy. The attitude is +almost exactly the same as that of a tiger disturbed and growling over +its food, which every one must have beheld in menageries. The animal +assumes a crouching position, with the body extended; and the whole +tail, or the tip alone, is lashed or curled from side to side. The hair +is not in the least erect. Thus far, the attitude and movements are +nearly the same as when the animal is prepared to spring on its prey, +and when, no doubt, it feels savage. But when preparing to fight, there +is this difference, that the ears are closely pressed backwards; the +mouth is partially opened, showing the teeth; the fore feet are +occasionally struck out with protruded claws; and the animal +occasionally utters a fierce growl. (See figs. 9 and 10.) All, or +almost all these actions naturally follow (as hereafter to be +explained), from the cat’s manner and intention of attacking its enemy. + + + +Cat, Savage, and Prepared to Fight. Fig. 9 + + + +Cat in an Affectionate Frame of Mind. Fig. 10 + +Let us now look at a cat in a directly opposite frame of mind, whilst +feeling affectionate and caressing her master; and mark how opposite is +her attitude in every respect. She now stands upright with her back +slightly arched, which makes the hair appear rather rough, but it does +not bristle; her tail, instead of being extended and lashed from side +to side, is held quite still and perpendicularly upwards; her ears are +erect and pointed; her mouth is closed; and she rubs against her master +with a purr instead of a growl. Let it further be observed how widely +different is the whole bearing of an affectionate cat from that of a +dog, when with his body crouching and flexuous, his tail lowered and +wagging, and ears depressed, he caresses his master. This contrast in +the attitudes and movements of these two carnivorous animals, under the +same pleased and affectionate frame of mind, can be explained, as it +appears to me, solely by their movements standing in complete +antithesis to those which are naturally assumed, when these animals +feel savage and are prepared either to fight or to seize their prey. + +In these cases of the dog and cat, there is every reason to believe +that the gestures both of hostility and affection are innate or +inherited; for they are almost identically the same in the different +races of the species, and in all the individuals of the same race, both +young and old. + +I will here give one other instance of antithesis in expression. I +formerly possessed a large dog, who, like every other dog, was much +pleased to go out walking. He showed his pleasure by trotting gravely +before me with high steps, head much raised, moderately erected ears, +and tail carried aloft but not stiffly. Not far from my house a path +branches off to the right, leading to the hot-house, which I used often +to visit for a few moments, to look at my experimental plants. This was +always a great disappointment to the dog, as he did not know whether I +should continue my walk; and the instantaneous and complete change of +expression which came over him as soon as my body swerved in the least +towards the path (and I sometimes tried this as an experiment) was +laughable. His look of dejection was known to every member of the +family, and was called his _hot-house face_. This consisted in the head +drooping much, the whole body sinking a little and remaining +motionless; the ears and tail falling suddenly down, but the tail was +by no means wagged. With the falling of the ears and of his great +chaps, the eyes became much changed in appearance, and I fancied that +they looked less bright. His aspect was that of piteous, hopeless +dejection; and it was, as I have said, laughable, as the cause was so +slight. Every detail in his attitude was in complete opposition to his +former joyful yet dignified bearing; and can be explained, as it +appears to me, in no other way, except through the principle of +antithesis. Had not the change been so instantaneous, I should have +attributed it to his lowered spirits affecting, as in the case of man, +the nervous system and circulation, and consequently the tone of his +whole muscular frame; and this may have been in part the cause. + +We will now consider how the principle of antithesis in expression has +arisen. With social animals, the power of intercommunication between +the members of the same community,—and with other species, between the +opposite sexes, as well as between the young and the old,—is of the +highest importance to them. This is generally effected by means of the +voice, but it is certain that gestures and expressions are to a certain +extent mutually intelligible. Man not only uses inarticulate cries, +gestures, and expressions, but has invented articulate language; if, +indeed, the word INVENTED can be applied to a process, completed by +innumerable steps, half-consciously made. Any one who has watched +monkeys will not doubt that they perfectly understand each other’s +gestures and expression, and to a large extent, as Rengger +asserts,[201] those of man. An animal when going to attack another, or +when afraid of another, often makes itself appear terrible, by erecting +its hair, thus increasing the apparent bulk of its body, by showing its +teeth, or brandishing its horns, or by uttering fierce sounds. + +As the power of intercommunication is certainly of high service to many +animals, there is no _à priori_ improbability in the supposition, that +gestures manifestly of an opposite nature to those by which certain +feelings are already expressed, should at first have been voluntarily +employed under the influence of an opposite state of feeling. The fact +of the gestures being now innate, would be no valid objection to the +belief that they were at first intentional; for if practised during +many generations, they would probably at last be inherited. +Nevertheless it is more than doubtful, as we shall immediately see, +whether any of the cases which come under our present head of +antithesis, have thus originated. + +With conventional signs which are not innate, such as those used by the +deaf and dumb and by savages, the principle of opposition or antithesis +has been partially brought into play. The Cistercian monks thought it +sinful to speak, and as they could not avoid holding some +communication, they invented a gesture language, in which the principle +of opposition seems to have been employed.[202] Dr. Scott, of the +Exeter Deaf and Dumb Institution, writes to me that “opposites are +greatly used in teaching the deaf and dumb, who have a lively sense of +them.” Nevertheless I have been surprised how few unequivocal instances +can be adduced. This depends partly on all the signs having commonly +had some natural origin; and partly on the practice of the deaf and +dumb and of savages to contract their signs as much as possible for the +sake of rapidity.[203] Hence their natural source or origin often +becomes doubtful or is completely lost; as is likewise the case with +articulate language. + +Many signs, moreover, which plainly stand in opposition to each other, +appear to have had on both sides a significant origin. This seems to +hold good with the signs used by the deal and dumb for light and +darkness, for strength and weakness, &c. In a future chapter I shall +endeavour to show that the opposite gestures of affirmation and +negation, namely, vertically nodding and laterally shaking the head, +have both probably had a natural beginning. The waving of the hand from +right to left, which is used as a negative by some savages, may have +been invented in imitation of shaking the head; but whether the +opposite movement of waving the hand in a straight line from the face, +which is used in affirmation, has arisen through antithesis or in some +quite distinct manner, is doubtful. + +If we now turn to the gestures which are innate or common to all the +individuals of the same species, and which come under the present head +of antithesis, it is extremely doubtful, whether any of them were at +first deliberately invented and consciously performed. With mankind the +best instance of a gesture standing in direct opposition to other +movements, naturally assumed under an opposite frame of mind, is that +of shrugging the shoulders. This expresses impotence or an +apology,—something which cannot be done, or cannot be avoided. The +gesture is sometimes used consciously and voluntarily, but it is +extremely improbable that it was at first deliberately invented, and +afterwards fixed by habit; for not only do young children sometimes +shrug their shoulders under the above states of mind, but the movement +is accompanied, as will be shown in a future chapter, by various +subordinate movements, which not one man in a thousand is aware of, +unless he has specially attended to the subject. + +Dogs when approaching a strange dog, may find it useful to show by +their movements that they are friendly, and do not wish to fight. When +two young dogs in play are growling and biting each other’s faces and +legs, it is obvious that they mutually understand each other’s gestures +and manners. There seems, indeed, some degree of instinctive knowledge +in puppies and kittens, that they must not use their sharp little teeth +or claws too freely in their play, though this sometimes happens and a +squeal is the result; otherwise they would often injure each other’s +eyes. When my terrier bites my hand in play, often snarling at the same +time, if he bites too hard and I say GENTLY, GENTLY, he goes on biting, +but answers me by a few wags of the tail, which seems to say “Never +mind, it is all fun.” Although dogs do thus express, and may wish to +express, to other dogs and to man, that they are in a friendly state of +mind, it is incredible that they could ever have deliberately thought +of drawing back and depressing their ears, instead of holding them +erect,—of lowering and wagging their tails, instead of keeping them +stiff and upright, &c., because they knew that these movements stood in +direct opposition to those assumed under an opposite and savage frame +of mind. + +Again, when a cat, or rather when some early progenitor of the species, +from feeling affectionate first slightly arched its back, held its tail +perpendicularly upwards and pricked its ears, can it be believed that +the animal consciously wished thus to show that its frame of mind was +directly the reverse of that, when from being ready to fight or to +spring on its prey, it assumed a crouching attitude, curled its tail +from side to side and depressed its ears? Even still less can I believe +that my dog voluntarily put on his dejected attitude and “_hot-house +face_,” which formed so complete a contrast to his previous cheerful +attitude and whole bearing. It cannot be supposed that he knew that I +should understand his expression, and that he could thus soften my +heart and make me give up visiting the hot-house. + +Hence for the development of the movements which come under the present +head, some other principle, distinct from the will and consciousness, +must have intervened. This principle appears to be that every movement +which we have voluntarily performed throughout our lives has required +the action of certain muscles; and when we have performed a directly +opposite movement, an opposite set of muscles has been habitually +brought into play,—as in turning to the right or to the left, in +pushing away or pulling an object towards us, and in lifting or +lowering a weight. So strongly are our intentions and movements +associated together, that if we eagerly wish an object to move in any +direction, we can hardly avoid moving our bodies in the same direction, +although we may be perfectly aware that this can have no influence. A +good illustration of this fact has already been given in the +Introduction, namely, in the grotesque movements of a young and eager +billiard-player, whilst watching the course of his ball. A man or child +in a passion, if he tells any one in a loud voice to begone, generally +moves his arm as if to push him away, although the offender may not be +standing near, and although there may be not the least need to explain +by a gesture what is meant. On the other hand, if we eagerly desire +some one to approach us closely, we act as if pulling him towards us; +and so in innumerable other instances. + +As the performance of ordinary movements of an opposite kind, under +opposite impulses of the will, has become habitual in us and in the +lower animals, so when actions of one kind have become firmly +associated with any sensation or emotion, it appears natural that +actions of a directly opposite kind, though of no use, should be +unconsciously performed through habit and association, under the +influence of a directly opposite sensation or emotion. On this +principle alone can I understand how the gestures and expressions which +come under the present head of antithesis have originated. If indeed +they are serviceable to man or to any other animal, in aid of +inarticulate cries or language, they will likewise be voluntarily +employed, and the habit will thus be strengthened. But whether or not +of service as a means of communication, the tendency to perform +opposite movements under opposite sensations or emotions would, if we +may judge by analogy, become hereditary through long practice; and +there cannot be a doubt that several expressive movements due to the +principle of antithesis are inherited. + + + + +CHAPTER III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSION—_concluded_. + +The principle of direct action of the excited nervous system on the +body, independently of the will and in part of habit—Change of colour +in the hair—Trembling of the muscles—Modified +secretions—Perspiration—Expression of extreme pain—Of rage, great joy, +and terror—Contrast between the emotions which cause and do not cause +expressive movements—Exciting and depressing states of the +mind—Summary. + +We now come to our third Principle, namely, that certain actions which +we recognize as expressive of certain states of the mind, are the +direct result of the constitution of the nervous system, and have been +from the first independent of the will, and, to a large extent, of +habit. When the sensorium is strongly excited nerve-force is generated +in excess, and is transmitted in certain directions, dependent on the +connection of the nerve-cells, and, as far as the muscular system is +concerned, on the nature of the movements which have been habitually +practised. Or the supply of nerve-force may, as it appears, be +interrupted. Of course every movement which we make is determined by +the constitution of the nervous system; but actions performed in +obedience to the will, or through habit, or through the principle of +antithesis, are here as far as possible excluded. Our present subject +is very obscure, but, from its importance, must be discussed at some +little length; and it is always advisable to perceive clearly our +ignorance. + +The most striking case, though a rare and abnormal one, which can be +adduced of the direct influence of the nervous system, when strongly +affected, on the body, is the loss of colour in the hair, which has +occasionally been observed after extreme terror or grief. One authentic +instance has been recorded, in the case of a man brought out for +execution in India, in which the change of colour was so rapid that it +was perceptible to the eye.[301] + +Another good case is that of the trembling of the muscles, which is +common to man and to many, or most, of the lower animals. Trembling is +of no service, often of much disservice, and cannot have been at first +acquired through the will, and then rendered habitual in association +with any emotion. I am assured by an eminent authority that young +children do not tremble, but go into convulsions under the +circumstances which would induce excessive trembling in adults. +Trembling is excited in different individuals in very different degrees +and by the most diversified causes,—by cold to the surface, before +fever-fits, although the temperature of the body is then above the +normal standard; in blood-poisoning, delirium tremens, and other +diseases; by general failure of power in old age; by exhaustion after +excessive fatigue; locally from severe injuries, such as burns; and, in +an especial manner, by the passage of a catheter. Of all emotions, fear +notoriously is the most apt to induce trembling; but so do occasionally +great anger and joy. I remember once seeing a boy who had just shot his +first snipe on the wing, and his hands trembled to such a degree from +delight, that he could not for some time reload his gun; and I have +heard of an exactly similar case with an Australian savage, to whom a +gun had been lent. Fine music, from the vague emotions thus excited, +causes a shiver to run down the backs of some persons. There seems to +be very little in common in the above several physical causes and +emotions to account for trembling; and Sir J. Paget, to whom I am +indebted for several of the above statements, informs me that the +subject is a very obscure one. As trembling is sometimes caused by +rage, long before exhaustion can have set in, and as it sometimes +accompanies great joy, it would appear that any strong excitement of +the nervous system interrupts the steady flow of nerve-force to the +muscles.[302] + +The manner in which the secretions of the alimentary canal and of +certain glands—as the liver, kidneys, or mammæ are affected by strong +emotions, is another excellent instance of the direct action of the +sensorium on these organs, independently of the will or of any +serviceable associated habit. There is the greatest difference in +different persons in the parts which are thus affected, and in the +degree of their affection. + +The heart, which goes on uninterruptedly beating night and day in so +wonderful a manner, is extremely sensitive to external stimulants. The +great physiologist, Claude Bernard,[303] has shown how the least +excitement of a sensitive nerve reacts on the heart; even when a nerve +is touched so slightly that no pain can possibly be felt by the animal +under experiment. Hence when the mind is strongly excited, we might +expect that it would instantly affect in a direct manner the heart; and +this is universally acknowledged and felt to be the case. Claude +Bernard also repeatedly insists, and this deserves especial notice, +that when the heart is affected it reacts on the brain; and the state +of the brain again reacts through the pneumo-gastric nerve on the +heart; so that under any excitement there will be much mutual action +and reaction between these, the two most important organs of the body. + +The vaso-motor system, which regulates the diameter of the small +arteries, is directly acted on by the sensorium, as we see when a man +blushes from shame; but in this latter case the checked transmission of +nerve-force to the vessels of the face can, I think, be partly +explained in a curious manner through habit. We shall also be able to +throw some light, though very little, on the involuntary erection of +the hair under the emotions of terror and rage. The secretion of tears +depends, no doubt, on the connection of certain nerve-cells; but here +again we can trace some few of the steps by which the flow of +nerve-force through the requisite channels has become habitual under +certain emotions. + +A brief consideration of the outward signs of some of the stronger +sensations and emotions will best serve to show us, although vaguely, +in how complex a manner the principle under consideration of the direct +action of the excited nervous system of the body, is combined with the +principle of habitually associated, serviceable movements. + +When animals suffer from an agony of pain, they generally writhe about +with frightful contortions; and those which habitually use their voices +utter piercing cries or groans. Almost every muscle of the body is +brought into strong action. With man the mouth may be closely +compressed, or more commonly the lips are retracted, with the teeth +clenched or ground together. There is said to be “gnashing of teeth” in +hell; and I have plainly heard the grinding of the molar teeth of a cow +which was suffering acutely from inflammation of the bowels. The female +hippopotamus in the Zoological Gardens, when she produced her young, +suffered greatly; she incessantly walked about, or rolled on her sides, +opening and closing her jaws, and clattering her teeth together.[304] +With man the eyes stare wildly as in horrified astonishment, or the +brows are heavily contracted. Perspiration bathes the body, and drops +trickle down the face. The circulation and respiration are much +affected. Hence the nostrils are generally dilated and often quiver; or +the breath may be held until the blood stagnates in the purple face. If +the agony be severe and prolonged, these signs all change; utter +prostration follows, with fainting or convulsions. + +A sensitive nerve when irritated transmits some influence to the +nerve-cell, whence it proceeds; and this transmits its influence, first +to the corresponding nerve-cell on the opposite side of the body, and +then upwards and downwards along the cerebro-spinal column to other +nerve-cells, to a greater or less extent, according to the strength of +the excitement; so that, ultimately, the whole nervous system maybe +affected.[305] This involuntary transmission of nerve-force may or may +not be accompanied by consciousness. Why the irritation of a nerve-cell +should generate or liberate nerve-force is not known; but that this is +the case seems to be the conclusion arrived at by all the greatest +physiologists, such as Müller, Virchow, Bernard, &c.[306] As Mr. +Herbert Spencer remarks, it may be received as an “unquestionable truth +that, at any moment, the existing quantity of liberated nerve-force, +which in an inscrutable way produces in us the state we call feeling, +MUST expend itself in some direction—MUST generate an equivalent +manifestation of force somewhere;” so that, when the cerebro-spinal +system is highly excited and nerve-force is liberated in excess, it may +be expended in intense sensations, active thought, violent movements, +or increased activity of the glands.[307] Mr. Spencer further maintains +that an “overflow of nerve-force, undirected by any motive, will +manifestly take the most habitual routes; and, if these do not suffice, +will next overflow into the less habitual ones.” Consequently the +facial and respiratory muscles, which are the most used, will be apt to +be first brought into action; then those of the upper extremities, next +those of the lower, and finally those of the whole body.[308] + +An emotion may be very strong, but it will have little tendency to +induce movements of any kind, if it has not commonly led to voluntary +action for its relief or gratification; and when movements are excited, +their nature is, to a large extent, determined by those which have +often and voluntarily been performed for some definite end under the +same emotion. Great pain urges all animals, and has urged them during +endless generations, to make the most violent and diversified efforts +to escape from the cause of suffering. Even when a limb or other +separate part of the body is hurt, we often see a tendency to shake it, +as if to shake off the cause, though this may obviously be impossible. +Thus a habit of exerting with the utmost force all the muscles will +have been established, whenever great suffering is experienced. As the +muscles of the chest and vocal organs are habitually used, these will +be particularly liable to be acted on, and loud, harsh screams or cries +will be uttered. But the advantage derived from outcries has here +probably come into play in an important manner; for the young of most +animals, when in distress or danger, call loudly to their parents for +aid, as do the members of the same community for mutual aid. + +Another principle, namely, the internal consciousness that the power or +capacity of the nervous system is limited, will have strengthened, +though in a subordinate degree, the tendency to violent action under +extreme suffering. A man cannot think deeply and exert his utmost +muscular force. As Hippocrates long ago observed, if two pains are felt +at the same time, the severer one dulls the other. Martyrs, in the +ecstasy of their religious fervour have often, as it would appear, been +insensible to the most horrid tortures. Sailors who are going to be +flogged sometimes take a piece of lead into their mouths, in order to +bite it with their utmost force, and thus to bear the pain. Parturient +women prepare to exert their muscles to the utmost in order to relieve +their sufferings. + +We thus see that the undirected radiation of nerve-force from the +nerve-cells which are first affected—the long-continued habit of +attempting by struggling to escape from the cause of suffering—and the +consciousness that voluntary muscular exertion relieves pain, have all +probably concurred in giving a tendency to the most violent, almost +convulsive, movements under extreme suffering; and such movements, +including those of the vocal organs, are universally recognized as +highly expressive of this condition. + +As the mere touching of a sensitive nerve reacts in a direct manner on +the heart, severe pain will obviously react on it in like manner, but +far more energetically. Nevertheless, even in this case, we must not +overlook the indirect effects of habit on the heart, as we shall see +when we consider the signs of rage. + +When a man suffers from an agony of pain, the perspiration often +trickles down his face; and I have been assured by a veterinary surgeon +that he has frequently seen drops falling from the belly and running +down the inside of the thighs of horses, and from the bodies of cattle, +when thus suffering. He has observed this, when there has been no +struggling which would account for the perspiration. The whole body of +the female hippopotamus, before alluded to, was covered with +red-coloured perspiration whilst giving birth to her young. So it is +with extreme fear; the same veterinary has often seen horses sweating +from this cause; as has Mr. Bartlett with the rhinoceros; and with man +it is a well-known symptom. The cause of perspiration bursting forth in +these cases is quite obscure; but it is thought by some physiologists +to be connected with the failing power of the capillary circulation; +and we know that the vasomotor system, which regulates the capillary +circulation, is much influenced by the mind. With respect to the +movements of certain muscles of the face under great suffering, as well +as from other emotions, these will be best considered when we treat of +the special expressions of man and of the lower animals. + +We will now turn to the characteristic symptoms of Rage. Under this +powerful emotion the action of the heart is much accelerated,[309] or +it may be much disturbed. The face reddens, or it becomes purple from +the impeded return of the blood, or may turn deadly pale. The +respiration is laboured, the chest heaves, and the dilated nostrils +quiver. The whole body often trembles. The voice is affected. The teeth +are clenched or ground together, and the muscular system is commonly +stimulated to violent, almost frantic action. But the gestures of a man +in this state usually differ from the purposeless writhings and +struggles of one suffering from an agony of pain; for they represent +more or less plainly the act of striking or fighting with an enemy. + +All these signs of rage are probably in large part, and some of them +appear to be wholly, due to the direct action of the excited sensorium. +But animals of all kinds, and their progenitors before them, when +attacked or threatened by an enemy, have exerted their utmost powers in +fighting and in defending themselves. Unless an animal does thus act, +or has the intention, or at least the desire, to attack its enemy, it +cannot properly be said to be enraged. An inherited habit of muscular +exertion will thus have been gained in association with rage; and this +will directly or indirectly affect various organs, in nearly the same +manner as does great bodily suffering. + +The heart no doubt will likewise be affected in a direct manner; but it +will also in all probability be affected through habit; and all the +more so from not being under the control of the will. We know that any +great exertion which we voluntarily make, affects the heart, through +mechanical and other principles which need not here be considered; and +it was shown in the first chapter that nerve-force flows readily +through habitually used channels,—through the nerves of voluntary or +involuntary movement, and through those of sensation. Thus even a +moderate amount of exertion will tend to act on the heart; and on the +principle of association, of which so many instances have been given, +we may feel nearly sure that any sensation or emotion, as great pain or +rage, which has habitually led to much muscular action, will +immediately influence the flow of nerve-force to the heart, although +there may not be at the time any muscular exertion. + +The heart, as I have said, will be all the more readily affected +through habitual associations, as it is not under the control of the +will. A man when moderately angry, or even when enraged, may command +the movements of his body, but he cannot prevent his heart from beating +rapidly. His chest will perhaps give a few heaves, and his nostrils +just quiver, for the movements of respiration are only in part +voluntary. In like manner those muscles of the face which are least +obedient to the will, will sometimes alone betray a slight and passing +emotion. The glands again are wholly independent of the will, and a man +suffering from grief may command his features, but cannot always +prevent the tears from coming into his eyes. A hungry man, if tempting +food is placed before him, may not show his hunger by any outward +gesture, but he cannot check the secretion of saliva. + +Under a transport of Joy or of vivid Pleasure, there is a strong +tendency to various purposeless movements, and to the utterance of +various sounds. We see this in our young children, in their loud +laughter, clapping of hands, and jumping for joy; in the bounding and +barking of a dog when going out to walk with his master; and in the +frisking of a horse when turned out into an open field. Joy quickens +the circulation, and this stimulates the brain, which again reacts on +the whole body. The above purposeless movements and increased +heart-action may be attributed in chief part to the excited state of +the sensorium,[310] and to the consequent undirected overflow, as Mr. +Herbert Spencer insists, of nerve-force. It deserves notice, that it is +chiefly the anticipation of a pleasure, and not its actual enjoyment, +which leads to purposeless and extravagant movements of the body, and +to the utterance of various sounds. We see this in our children when +they expect any great pleasure or treat; and dogs, which have been +bounding about at the sight of a plate of food, when they get it do not +show their delight by any outward sign, not even by wagging their +tails. Now with animals of all kinds, the acquirement of almost all +their pleasures, with the exception of those of warmth and rest, are +associated, and have long been associated with active movements, as in +the hunting or search for food, and in their courtship. Moreover, the +mere exertion of the muscles after long rest or confinement is in +itself a pleasure, as we ourselves feel, and as we see in the play of +young animals. Therefore on this latter principle alone we might +perhaps expect, that vivid pleasure would be apt to show itself +conversely in muscular movements. + +With all or almost all animals, even with birds, Terror causes the body +to tremble. The skin becomes pale, sweat breaks out, and the hair +bristles. The secretions of the alimentary canal and of the kidneys are +increased, and they are involuntarily voided, owing to the relaxation +of the sphincter muscles, as is known to be the case with man, and as I +have seen with cattle, dogs, cats, and monkeys. The breathing is +hurried. The heart beats quickly, wildly, and violently; but whether it +pumps the blood more efficiently through the body may be doubted, for +the surface seems bloodless and the strength of the muscles soon fails. +In a frightened horse I have felt through the saddle the beating of the +heart so plainly that I could have counted the beats. The mental +faculties are much disturbed. Utter prostration soon follows, and even +fainting. A terrified canary-bird has been seen not only to tremble and +to turn white about the base of the bill, but to faint;[311] and I once +caught a robin in a room, which fainted so completely, that for a time +I thought it dead. + +Most of these symptoms are probably the direct result, independently of +habit, of the disturbed state of the sensorium; but it is doubtful +whether they ought to be wholly thus accounted for. When an animal is +alarmed it almost always stands motionless for a moment, in order to +collect its senses and to ascertain the source of danger, and sometimes +for the sake of escaping detection. But headlong flight soon follows, +with no husbanding of the strength as in fighting, and the animal +continues to fly as long as the danger lasts, until utter prostration, +with failing respiration and circulation, with all the muscles +quivering and profuse sweating, renders further flight impossible. +Hence it does not seem improbable that the principle of associated +habit may in part account for, or at least augment, some of the +above-named characteristic symptoms of extreme terror. + +That the principle of associated habit has played an important part in +causing the movements expressive of the foregoing several strong +emotions and sensations, we may, I think, conclude from considering +firstly, some other strong emotions which do not ordinarily require for +their relief or gratification any voluntary movement; and secondly the +contrast in nature between the so-called exciting and depressing states +of the mind. No emotion is stronger than maternal love; but a mother +may feel the deepest love for her helpless infant, and yet not show it +by any outward sign; or only by slight caressing movements, with a +gentle smile and tender eyes. But let any one intentionally injure her +infant, and see what a change! how she starts up with threatening +aspect, how her eyes sparkle and her face reddens, how her bosom +heaves, nostrils dilate, and heart beats; for anger, and not maternal +love, has habitually led to action. The love between the opposite sexes +is widely different from maternal love; and when lovers meet, we know +that their hearts beat quickly, their breathing is hurried, and their +faces flush; for this love is not inactive like that of a mother for +her infant. + +A man may have his mind filled with the blackest hatred or suspicion, +or be corroded with envy or jealousy, but as these feelings do not at +once lead to action, and as they commonly last for some time, they are +not shown by any outward sign, excepting that a man in this state +assuredly does not appear cheerful or good-tempered. If indeed these +feelings break out into overt acts, rage takes their place, and will be +plainly exhibited. Painters can hardly portray suspicion, jealousy, +envy, &c., except by the aid of accessories which tell the tale; and +poets use such vague and fanciful expressions as “green-eyed jealousy.” +Spenser describes suspicion as “Foul, ill-favoured, and grim, under his +eyebrows looking still askance,” &c.; Shakespeare speaks of envy “as +lean-faced in her loathsome case;” and in another place he says, “no +black envy shall make my grave;” and again as “above pale envy’s +threatening reach.” + +Emotions and sensations have often been classed as exciting or +depressing. When all the organs of the body and mind,—those of +voluntary and involuntary movement, of perception, sensation, thought, +&c.,—perform their functions more energetically and rapidly than usual, +a man or animal may be said to be excited, and, under an opposite +state, to be depressed. Anger and joy are from the first exciting +emotions, and they naturally lead, more especially the former, to +energetic movements, which react on the heart and this again on the +brain. A physician once remarked to me as a proof of the exciting +nature of anger, that a man when excessively jaded will sometimes +invent imaginary offences and put himself into a passion, unconsciously +for the sake of reinvigorating himself; and since hearing this remark, +I have occasionally recognized its full truth. + +Several other states of mind appear to be at first exciting, but soon +become depressing to an extreme degree. When a mother suddenly loses +her child, sometimes she is frantic with grief, and must be considered +to be in an excited state; she walks wildly about, tears her hair or +clothes, and wrings her hands. This latter action is perhaps due to the +principle of antithesis, betraying an inward sense of helplessness and +that nothing can be done. The other wild and violent movements may be +in part explained by the relief experienced through muscular exertion, +and in part by the undirected overflow of nerve-force from the excited +sensorium. But under the sudden loss of a beloved person, one of the +first and commonest thoughts which occurs, is that something more might +have been done to save the lost one. An excellent observer,[312] in +describing the behaviour of a girl at the sudden death of her father, +says she “went about the house wringing her hands like a creature +demented, saying ‘It was her fault;’ ‘I should never have left him;’ +‘If I had only sat up with him,’” &c. With such ideas vividly present +before the mind, there would arise, through the principle of associated +habit, the strongest tendency to energetic action of some kind. + +As soon as the sufferer is fully conscious that nothing can be done, +despair or deep sorrow takes the place of frantic grief. The sufferer +sits motionless, or gently rocks to and fro; the circulation becomes +languid; respiration is almost forgotten, and deep sighs are drawn. All +this reacts on the brain, and prostration soon follows with collapsed +muscles and dulled eyes. As associated habit no longer prompts the +sufferer to action, he is urged by his friends to voluntary exertion, +and not to give way to silent, motionless grief. Exertion stimulates +the hear, and this reacts on the brain, and aids the mind to bear its +heavy load. + + +Pain, if severe, soon induces extreme depression or prostration; but it +is at first a stimulant and excites to action, as we see when we whip a +horse, and as is shown by the horrid tortures inflicted in foreign +lands on exhausted dray-bullocks, to rouse them to renewed exertion. +Fear again is the most depressing of all the emotions; and it soon +induces utter, helpless prostration, as if in consequence of, or in +association with, the most violent and prolonged attempts to escape +from the danger, though no such attempts have actually been made. +Nevertheless, even extreme fear often acts at first as a powerful +stimulant. A man or animal driven through terror to desperation, is +endowed with wonderful strength, and is notoriously dangerous in the +highest degree. + +On the whole we may conclude that the principle of the direct action of +the sensorium on the body, due to the constitution of the nervous +system, and from the first independent of the will, has been highly +influential in determining many expressions. Good instances are +afforded by the trembling of the muscles, the sweating of the skin, the +modified secretions of the alimentary canal and glands, under various +emotions and sensations. But actions of this kind are often combined +with others, which follow from our first principle, namely, that +actions which have often been of direct or indirect service, under +certain states of the mind, in order to gratify or relieve certain +sensations, desires, &c., are still performed under analogous +circumstances through mere habit although of no service. We have +combinations of this kind, at least in part, in the frantic gestures of +rage and in the writhings of extreme pain; and, perhaps, in the +increased action of the heart and of the respiratory organs. Even when +these and other emotions or sensations are aroused in a very feeble +manner, there will still be a tendency to similar actions, owing to the +force of long-associated habit; and those actions which are least under +voluntary control will generally be longest retained. Our second +principle of antithesis has likewise occasionally come into play. + +Finally, so many expressive movements can be explained, as I trust will +be seen in the course of this volume, through the three principles +which have now been discussed, that we may hope hereafter to see all +thus explained, or by closely analogous principles. It is, however, +often impossible to decide how much weight ought to be attributed, in +each particular case, to one of our principles, and how much to +another; and very many points in the theory of Expression remain +inexplicable. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. MEANS OF EXPRESSION IN ANIMALS. + +The emission of Sounds—Vocal sounds—Sounds otherwise produced—Erection +of the dermal appendages, hairs, feathers, &c., under the emotions of +anger and terror—The drawing back of the ears as a preparation for +fighting, and as an expression of anger—Erection of the ears and +raising the head, a sign of attention. + +In this and the following chapter I will describe, but only in +sufficient detail to illustrate my subject, the expressive movements, +under different states of the mind, of some few well-known animals. But +before considering them in due succession, it will save much useless +repetition to discuss certain means of expression common to most of +them. + +_The emission of Sounds_.—With many kinds of animals, man included, the +vocal organs are efficient in the highest degree as a means of +expression. We have seen, in the last chapter, that when the sensorium +is strongly excited, the muscles of the body are generally thrown into +violent action; and as a consequence, loud sounds are uttered, however +silent the animal may generally be, and although the sounds may be of +no use. Hares and rabbits for instance, never, I believe, use their +vocal organs except in the extremity of suffering; as, when a wounded +hare is killed by the sportsman, or when a young rabbit is caught by a +stoat. Cattle and horses suffer great pain in silence; but when this is +excessive, and especially when associated with terror, they utter +fearful sounds. I have often recognized, from a distance on the Pampas, +the agonized death-bellow of the cattle, when caught by the lasso and +hamstrung. It is said that horses, when attacked by wolves, utter loud +and peculiar screams of distress. + +Involuntary and purposeless contractions of the muscles of the chest +and glottis, excited in the above manner, may have first given rise to +the emission of vocal sounds. But the voice is now largely used by many +animals for various purposes; and habit seems to have played an +important part in its employment under other circumstances. Naturalists +have remarked, I believe with truth, that social animals, from +habitually using their vocal organs as a means of intercommunication, +use them on other occasions much more freely than other animals. But +there are marked exceptions to this rule, for instance, with the +rabbit. The principle, also, of association, which is so widely +extended in its power, has likewise played its part. Hence it follows +that the voice, from having been habitually employed as a serviceable +aid under certain conditions, inducing pleasure, pain, rage, &c., is +commonly used whenever the same sensations or emotions are excited, +under quite different conditions, or in a lesser degree. + +The sexes of many animals incessantly call for each other during the +breeding-season; and in not a few cases, the male endeavours thus to +charm or excite the female. This, indeed, seems to have been the +primeval use and means of development of the voice, as I have attempted +to show in my ‘Descent of Man.’ Thus the use of the vocal organs will +have become associated with the anticipation of the strongest pleasure +which animals are capable of feeling. Animals which live in society +often call to each other when separated, and evidently feel much joy at +meeting; as we see with a horse, on the return of his companion, for +whom he has been neighing. The mother calls incessantly for her lost +young ones; for instance, a cow for her calf; and the young of many +animals call for their mothers. When a flock of sheep is scattered, the +ewes bleat incessantly for their lambs, and their mutual pleasure at +coming together is manifest. Woe betide the man who meddles with the +young of the larger and fiercer quadrupeds, if they hear the cry of +distress from their young. Rage leads to the violent exertion of all +the muscles, including those of the voice; and some animals, when +enraged, endeavour to strike terror into their enemies by its power and +harshness, as the lion does by roaring, and the dog by growling. I +infer that their object is to strike terror, because the lion at the +same time erects the hair of its mane, and the dog the hair along its +back, and thus they make themselves appear as large and terrible as +possible. Rival males try to excel and challenge each other by their +voices, and this leads to deadly contests. Thus the use of the voice +will have become associated with the emotion of anger, however it may +be aroused. We have also seen that intense pain, like rage, leads to +violent outcries, and the exertion of screaming by itself gives some +relief; and thus the use of the voice will have become associated with +suffering of any kind. + +The cause of widely different sounds being uttered under different +emotions and sensations is a very obscure subject. Nor does the rule +always hold good that there is any marked difference. For instance with +the dog, the bark of anger and that of joy do not differ much, though +they can be distinguished. It is not probable that any precise +explanation of the cause or source of each particular sound, under +different states of the mind, will ever be given. We know that some +animals, after being domesticated, have acquired the habit of uttering +sounds which were not natural to them.[401] Thus domestic dogs, and +even tamed jackals, have learnt to bark, which is a noise not proper to +any species of the genus, with the exception of the _Canis latrans_ of +North America, which is said to bark. Some breeds, also, of the +domestic pigeon have learnt to coo in a new and quite peculiar manner. + +The character of the human voice, under the influence of various +emotions, has been discussed by Mr. Herbert Spencer[402] in his +interesting essay on Music. He clearly shows that the voice alters much +under different conditions, in loudness and in quality, that is, in +resonance and _timbre_, in pitch and intervals. No one can listen to an +eloquent orator or preacher, or to a man calling angrily to another, or +to one expressing astonishment, without being struck with the truth of +Mr. Spencer’s remarks. It is curious how early in life the modulation +of the voice becomes expressive. With one of my children, under the age +of two years, I clearly perceived that his humph of assent was rendered +by a slight modulation strongly emphatic; and that by a peculiar whine +his negative expressed obstinate determination. Mr. Spencer further +shows that emotional speech, in all the above respects is intimately +related to vocal music, and consequently to instrumental music; and he +attempts to explain the characteristic qualities of both on +physiological grounds—namely, on “the general law that a feeling is a +stimulus to muscular action.” It may be admitted that the voice is +affected through this law; but the explanation appears to me too +general and vague to throw much light on the various differences, with +the exception of that of loudness, between ordinary speech and +emotional speech, or singing. + +This remark holds good, whether we believe that the various qualities +of the voice originated in speaking under the excitement of strong +feelings, and that these qualities have subsequently been transferred +to vocal music; or whether we believe, as I maintain, that the habit of +uttering musical sounds was first developed, as a means of courtship, +in the early progenitors of man, and thus became associated with the +strongest emotions of which they were capable,—namely, ardent love, +rivalry and triumph. That animals utter musical notes is familiar to +every one, as we may daily hear in the singing of birds. It is a more +remarkable fact that an ape, one of the Gibbons, produces an exact +octave of musical sounds, ascending and descending the scale by +halftones; so that this monkey “alone of brute mammals may be said to +sing.”[403] From this fact, and from the analogy of other animals, I +have been led to infer that the progenitors of man probably uttered +musical tones, before they had acquired the power of articulate speech; +and that consequently, when the voice is used under any strong emotion, +it tends to assume, through the principle of association, a musical +character. We can plainly perceive, with some of the lower animals, +that the males employ their voices to please the females, and that they +themselves take pleasure in their own vocal utterances; but why +particular sounds are uttered, and why these give pleasure cannot at +present be explained. + +That the pitch of the voice bears some relation to certain states of +feeling is tolerably clear. A person gently complaining of +ill-treatment, or slightly suffering, almost always speaks in a +high-pitched voice. Dogs, when a little impatient, often make a high +piping note through their noses, which at once strikes us as +plaintive;[404] but how difficult it is to know whether the sound is +essentially plaintive, or only appears so in this particular case, from +our having learnt by experience what it means! Rengger, states[405] +that the monkeys (_Cebus azaræ_), which he kept in Paraguay, expressed +astonishment by a half-piping, half-snarling noise; anger or +impatience, by repeating the sound _hu hu_ in a deeper, grunting voice; +and fright or pain, by shrill screams. On the other hand, with mankind, +deep groans and high piercing screams equally express an agony of pain. +Laughter maybe either high or low; so that, with adult men, as Haller +long ago remarked,[406] the sound partakes of the character of the +vowels (as pronounced in German) _O_ and _A_; whilst with children and +women, it has more of the character of _E_ and _I_; and these latter +vowel-sounds naturally have, as Helmholtz has shown, a higher pitch +than the former; yet both tones of laughter equally express enjoyment +or amusement. + +In considering the mode in which vocal utterances express emotion, we +are naturally led to inquire into the cause of what is called +“expression” in music. Upon this point Mr. Litchfield, who has long +attended to the subject of music, has been so kind as to give me the +following remarks:—“The question, what is the essence of musical +‘expression’ involves a number of obscure points, which, so far as I am +aware, are as yet unsolved enigmas. Up to a certain point, however, any +law which is found to hold as to the expression of the emotions by +simple sounds must apply to the more developed mode of expression in +song, which may be taken as the primary type of all music. A great part +of the emotional effect of a song depends on the character of the +action by which the sounds are produced. In songs, for instance, which +express great vehemence of passion, the effect often chiefly depends on +the forcible utterance of some one or two characteristic passages which +demand great exertion of vocal force; and it will be frequently noticed +that a song of this character fails of its proper effect when sung by a +voice of sufficient power and range to give the characteristic passages +without much exertion. This is, no doubt, the secret of the loss of +effect so often produced by the transposition of a song from one key to +another. The effect is thus seen to depend not merely on the actual +sounds, but also in part on the nature of the action which produces the +sounds. Indeed it is obvious that whenever we feel the ‘expression’ of +a song to be due to its quickness or slowness of movement—to smoothness +of flow, loudness of utterance, and so on—we are, in fact, interpreting +the muscular actions which produce sound, in the same way in which we +interpret muscular action generally. But this leaves unexplained the +more subtle and more specific effect which we call the _musical_ +expression of the song—the delight given by its melody, or even by the +separate sounds which make up the melody. This is an effect indefinable +in language—one which, so far as I am aware, no one has been able to +analyse, and which the ingenious speculation of Mr. Herbert Spencer as +to the origin of music leaves quite unexplained. For it is certain that +the _melodic_ effect of a series of sounds does not depend in the least +on their loudness or softness, or on their _absolute_ pitch. A tune is +always the same tune, whether it is sung loudly or softly, by a child +or a man; whether it is played on a flute or on a trombone. The purely +musical effect of any sound depends on its place in what is technically +called a ‘scale;’ the same sound producing absolutely different effects +on the ear, according as it is heard in connection with one or another +series of sounds. + +“It is on this _relative_ association of the sounds that all the +essentially characteristic effects which are summed up in the phrase +‘musical expression,’ depend. But why certain associations of sounds +have such-and-such effects, is a problem which yet remains to be +solved. These effects must indeed, in some way or other, be connected +with the well-known arithmetical relations between the rates of +vibration of the sounds which form a musical scale. And it is +possible—but this is merely a suggestion—that the greater or less +mechanical facility with which the vibrating apparatus of the human +larynx passes from one state of vibration to another, may have been a +primary cause of the greater or less pleasure produced by various +sequences of sounds.” + +But leaving aside these complex questions and confining ourselves to +the simpler sounds, we can, at least, see some reasons for the +association of certain kinds of sounds with certain states of mind. A +scream, for instance, uttered by a young animal, or by one of the +members of a community, as a call for assistance, will naturally be +loud, prolonged, and high, so as to penetrate to a distance. For +Helmholtz has shown[407] that, owing to the shape of the internal +cavity of the human ear and its consequent power of resonance, high +notes produce a particularly strong impression. When male animals utter +sounds in order to please the females, they would naturally employ +those which are sweet to the ears of the species; and it appears that +the same sounds are often pleasing to widely different animals, owing +to the similarity of their nervous systems, as we ourselves perceive in +the singing of birds and even in the chirping of certain tree-frogs +giving us pleasure. On the other hand, sounds produced in order to +strike terror into an enemy, would naturally be harsh or displeasing. + +Whether the principle of antithesis has come into play with sounds, as +might perhaps have been expected, is doubtful. The interrupted, +laughing or tittering sounds made by man and by various kinds of +monkeys when pleased, are as different as possible from the prolonged +screams of these animals when distressed. The deep grunt of +satisfaction uttered by a pig, when pleased with its food, is widely +different from its harsh scream of pain or terror. But with the dog, as +lately remarked, the bark of anger and that of joy are sounds which by +no means stand in opposition to each other; and so it is in some other +cases. + +There is another obscure point, namely, whether the sounds which are +produced under various states of the mind determine the shape of the +mouth, or whether its shape is not determined by independent causes, +and the sound thus modified. When young infants cry they open their +mouths widely, and this, no doubt, is necessary for pouring forth a +full volume of sound; but the mouth then assumes, from a quite distinct +cause, an almost quadrangular shape, depending, as will hereafter be +explained, on the firm closing of the eyelids, and consequent drawing +up of the upper lip. How far this square shape of the mouth modifies +the wailing or crying sound, I am not prepared to say; but we know from +the researches of Helmholtz and others that the form of the cavity of +the mouth and lips determines the nature and pitch of the vowel sounds +which are produced. + +It will also be shown in a future chapter that, under the feeling of +contempt or disgust, there is a tendency, from intelligible causes, to +blow out of the mouth or nostrils, and this produces sounds like pooh +or pish. When any one is startled or suddenly astonished, there is an +instantaneous tendency, likewise from an intelligible cause, namely, to +be ready for prolonged exertion, to open the mouth widely, so as to +draw a deep and rapid inspiration. When the next full expiration +follows, the mouth is slightly closed, and the lips, from causes +hereafter to be discussed, are somewhat protruded; and this form of the +mouth, if the voice be at all exerted, produces, according to +Helmholtz, the sound of the vowel _O_. Certainly a deep sound of a +prolonged _Oh!_ may be heard from a whole crowd of people immediately +after witnessing any astonishing spectacle. If, together with surprise, +pain be felt, there is a tendency to contract all the muscles of the +body, including those of the face, and the lips will then be drawn +back; and this will perhaps account for the sound becoming higher and +assuming the character of _Ah!_ or _Ach!_ As fear causes all the +muscles of the body to tremble, the voice naturally becomes tremulous, +and at the same time husky from the dryness of the mouth, owing to the +salivary glands failing to act. Why the laughter of man and the +tittering of monkeys should be a rapidly reiterated sound, cannot be +explained. During the utterance of these sounds, the mouth is +transversely elongated by the corners being drawn backwards and +upwards; and of this fact an explanation will be attempted in a future +chapter. But the whole subject of the differences of the sounds +produced under different states of the mind is so obscure, that I have +succeeded in throwing hardly any light on it; and the remarks which I +have made, have but little significance. + + + +Sound Producing Quills from Tail of a Porcupine. Fig. 11 + +All the sounds hitherto noticed depend on the respiratory organs; but +sounds produced by wholly different means are likewise expressive. +Rabbits stamp loudly on the ground as a signal to their comrades; and +if a man knows how to do so properly, he may on a quiet evening hear +the rabbits answering him all around. These animals, as well as some +others, also stamp on the ground when made angry. Porcupines rattle +their quills and vibrate their tails when angered; and one behaved in +this manner when a live snake was placed in its compartment. The quills +on the tail are very different from those on the body: they are short, +hollow, thin like a goose-quill, with their ends transversely +truncated, so that they are open; they are supported on long, thin, +elastic foot-stalks. Now, when the tail is rapidly shaken, these hollow +quills strike against each other and produce, as I heard in the +presence of Mr. Bartlett, a peculiar continuous sound. We can, I think, +understand why porcupines have been provided, through the modification +of their protective spines, with this special sound-producing +instrument. They are nocturnal animals, and if they scented or heard a +prowling beast of prey, it would be a great advantage to them in the +dark to give warning to their enemy what they were, and that they were +furnished with dangerous spines. They would thus escape being attacked. +They are, as I may add, so fully conscious of the power of their +weapons, that when enraged they will charge backwards with their spines +erected, yet still inclined backwards. + +Many birds during their courtship produce diversified sounds by means +of specially adapted feathers. Storks, when excited, make a loud +clattering noise with their beaks. Some snakes produce a grating or +rattling noise. Many insects stridulate by rubbing together specially +modified parts of their hard integuments. This stridulation generally +serves as a sexual charm or call; but it is likewise used to express +different emotions.[408] Every one who has attended to bees knows that +their humming changes when they are angry; and this serves as a warning +that there is danger of being stung. I have made these few remarks +because some writers have laid so much stress on the vocal and +respiratory organs as having been specially adapted for expression, +that it was advisable to show that sounds otherwise produced serve +equally well for the same purpose. + +_Erection of the dermal appendages_.—Hardly any expressive movement is +so general as the involuntary erection of the hairs, feathers and other +dermal appendages; for it is common throughout three of the great +vertebrate classes. These appendages are erected under the excitement +of anger or terror; more especially when these emotions are combined, +or quickly succeed each other. The action serves to make the animal +appear larger and more frightful to its enemies or rivals, and is +generally accompanied by various voluntary movements adapted for the +same purpose, and by the utterance of savage sounds. Mr. Bartlett, who +has had such wide experience with animals of all kinds, does not doubt +that this is the case; but it is a different question whether the power +of erection was primarily acquired for this special purpose. + +I will first give a considerable body of facts showing how general this +action is with mammals, birds and reptiles; retaining what I have to +say in regard to man for a future chapter. Mr. Sutton, the intelligent +keeper in the Zoological Gardens, carefully observed for me the +Chimpanzee and Orang; and he states that when they are suddenly +frightened, as by a thunderstorm, or when they are made angry, as by +being teased, their hair becomes erect. I saw a chimpanzee who was +alarmed at the sight of a black coalheaver, and the hair rose all over +his body; he made little starts forward as if to attack the man, +without any real intention of doing so, but with the hope, as the +keeper remarked, of frightening him. The Gorilla, when enraged, is +described by Mr. Ford[409] as having his crest of hair “erect and +projecting forward, his nostrils dilated, and his under lip thrown +down; at the same time uttering his characteristic yell, designed, it +would seem, to terrify his antagonists.” I saw the hair on the Anubis +baboon, when angered bristling along the back, from the neck to the +loins, but not on the rump or other parts of the body. I took a stuffed +snake into the monkey-house, and the hair on several of the species +instantly became erect; especially on their tails, as I particularly +noticed with the _Cereopithecus nictitans_. Brehm states[410] that the +_Midas œdipus_ (belonging to the American division) when excited erects +its mane, in order, as he adds, to make itself as frightful as +possible. + +With the Carnivora the erection of the hair seems to be almost +universal, often accompanied by threatening movements, the uncovering +of the teeth and the utterance of savage growls. In the Herpestes, I +have seen the hair on end over nearly the whole body, including the +tail; and the dorsal crest is erected in a conspicuous manner by the +Hyaena and Proteles. The enraged lion erects his mane. The bristling of +the hair along the neck and back of the dog, and over the whole body of +the cat, especially on the tail, is familiar to every one. With the cat +it apparently occurs only under fear; with the dog, under anger and +fear; but not, as far as I have observed, under abject fear, as when a +dog is going to be flogged by a severe gamekeeper. If, however, the dog +shows fight, as sometimes happens, up goes his hair. I have often +noticed that the hair of a dog is particularly liable to rise, if he is +half angry and half afraid, as on beholding some object only +indistinctly seen in the dusk. + +I have been assured by a veterinary surgeon that he has often seen the +hair erected on horses and cattle, on which he had operated and was +again going to operate. When I showed a stuffed snake to a Peccary, the +hair rose in a wonderful manner along its back; and so it does with the +boar when enraged. An Elk which gored a man to death in the United +States, is described as first brandishing his antlers, squealing with +rage and stamping on the ground; “at length his hair was seen to rise +and stand on end,” and then he plunged forward to the attack.[411] The +hair likewise becomes erect on goats, and, as I hear from Mr. Blyth, on +some Indian antelopes. I have seen it erected on the hairy Ant-eater; +and on the Agouti, one of the Rodents. A female Bat,[412] which reared +her young under confinement, when any one looked into the cage “erected +the fur on her back, and bit viciously at intruding fingers.” + +Birds belonging to all the chief Orders ruffle their feathers when +angry or frightened. Every one must have seen two cocks, even quite +young birds, preparing to fight with erected neck-hackles; nor can +these feathers when erected serve as a means of defence, for +cock-fighters have found by experience that it is advantageous to trim +them. The male Ruff (_Machetes pugnæ_) likewise erects its collar of +feathers when fighting. When a dog approaches a common hen with her +chickens, she spreads out her wings, raises her tail, ruffles all her +feathers, and looking as ferocious as possible, dashes at the intruder. +The tail is not always held in exactly the same position; it is +sometimes so much erected, that the central feathers, as in the +accompanying drawing, almost touch the back. Swans, when angered, +likewise raise their wings and tail, and erect their feathers. They +open their beaks, and make by paddling little rapid starts forwards, +against any one who approaches the water’s edge too closely. Tropic +birds[413] when disturbed on their nests are said not to fly away, but +“merely to stick out their feathers and scream.” The Barn-owl, when +approached “instantly swells out its plumage, extends its wings and +tail, hisses and clacks its mandibles with force and rapidity.”[414] So +do other kinds of owls. Hawks, as I am informed by Mr. Jenner Weir, +likewise ruffle their feathers, and spread out their wings and tail +under similar circumstances. Some kinds of parrots erect their +feathers; and I have seen this action in the Cassowary, when angered at +the sight of an Ant-eater. Young cuckoos in the nest, raise their +feathers, open their mouths widely, and make themselves as frightful as +possible. + + + +Hen Driving Away a Dog from Her Chickens. Fig. 12 + +{illust. caption = FIG. 12—Hen driving away a dog from her chickens. +Drawn from life by Mr. Wood.} + + + +Swan Driving Away an Intruder. Fig 13 + +{illust. caption = FIG. 13.—Swan driving away an intruder. Drawn from +life by Mr. Wood.} + +Small birds, also, as I hear from Mr. Weir, such as various finches, +buntings and warblers, when angry, ruffle all their feathers, or only +those round the neck; or they spread out their wings and tail-feathers. +With their plumage in this state, they rush at each other with open +beaks and threatening gestures. Mr. Weir concludes from his large +experience that the erection of the feathers is caused much more by +anger than by fear. He gives as an instance a hybrid goldfinch of a +most irascible disposition, which when approached too closely by a +servant, instantly assumes the appearance of a ball of ruffled +feathers. He believes that birds when frightened, as a general rule, +closely adpress all their feathers, and their consequently diminished +size is often astonishing. As soon as they recover from their fear or +surprise, the first thing which they do is to shake out their feathers. +The best instances of this adpression of the feathers and apparent +shrinking of the body from fear, which Mr. Weir has noticed, has been +in the quail and grass-parrakeet.[415] The habit is intelligible in +these birds from their being accustomed, when in danger, either to +squat on the ground or to sit motionless on a branch, so as to escape +detection. Though, with birds, anger may be the chief and commonest +cause of the erection of the feathers, it is probable that young +cuckoos when looked at in the nest, and a hen with her chickens when +approached by a dog, feel at least some terror. Mr. Tegetmeier informs +me that with game-cocks, the erection of the feathers on the head has +long been recognized in the cock-pit as a sign of cowardice. + +The males of some lizards, when fighting together during their +courtship, expand their throat pouches or frills, and erect their +dorsal crests.[416] But Dr. Günther does not believe that they can +erect their separate spines or scales. + +We thus see how generally throughout the two higher vertebrate classes, +and with some reptiles, the dermal appendages are erected under the +influence of anger and fear. The movement is effected, as we know from +Kolliker’s interesting discovery, by the contraction of minute, +unstriped, involuntary muscles,[417] often called _arrectores pili_, +which are attached to the capsules of the separate hairs, feathers, &c. +By the contraction of these muscles the hairs can be instantly erected, +as we see in a dog, being at the same time drawn a little out of their +sockets; they are afterwards quickly depressed. The vast number of +these minute muscles over the whole body of a hairy quadruped is +astonishing. The erection of the hair is, however, aided in some cases, +as with that on the head of a man, by the striped and voluntary muscles +of the underlying _panniculus carnosus_. It is by the action of these +latter muscles, that the hedgehog erects its spines. It appears, also, +from the researches of Leydig[418] and others, that striped fibres +extend from the panniculus to some of the larger hairs, such as the +vibrissae of certain quadrupeds. The _arrectores pili_ contract not +only under the above emotions, but from the application of cold to the +surface. I remember that my mules and dogs, brought from a lower and +warmer country, after spending a night on the bleak Cordillera, had the +hair all over their bodies as erect as under the greatest terror. We +see the same action in our own _goose-skin_ during the chill before a +fever-fit. Mr. Lister has also found,[419] that tickling a neighbouring +part of the skin causes the erection and protrusion of the hairs. + +From these facts it is manifest that the erection of the dermal +appendages is a reflex action, independent of the will; and this action +must be looked at, when, occurring under the influence of anger or +fear, not as a power acquired for the sake of some advantage, but as an +incidental result, at least to a large extent, of the sensorium being +affected. The result, in as far as it is incidental, may be compared +with the profuse sweating from an agony of pain or terror. +Nevertheless, it is remarkable how slight an excitement often suffices +to cause the hair to become erect; as when two dogs pretend to fight +together in play. We have, also, seen in a large number of animals, +belonging to widely distinct classes, that the erection of the hair or +feathers is almost always accompanied by various voluntary movements—by +threatening gestures, opening the mouth, uncovering the teeth, +spreading out of the wings and tail by birds, and by the utterance of +harsh sounds; and the purpose of these voluntary movements is +unmistakable. Therefore it seems hardly credible that the co-ordinated +erection of the dermal appendages, by which the animal is made to +appear larger and more terrible to its enemies or rivals, should be +altogether an incidental and purposeless result of the disturbance of +the sensorium. This seems almost as incredible as that the erection by +the hedgehog of its spines, or of the quills by the porcupine, or of +the ornamental plumes by many birds during their courtship, should all +be purposeless actions. + +We here encounter a great difficulty. How can the contraction of the +unstriped and involuntary _arrectores pili_ have been co-ordinated with +that of various voluntary muscles for the same special purpose? If we +could believe that the arrectores primordially had been voluntary +muscles, and had since lost their stripes and become involuntary, the +case would be comparatively simple. I am not, however, aware that there +is any evidence in favour of this view; although the reversed +transition would not have presented any great difficulty, as the +voluntary muscles are in an unstriped condition in the embryos of the +higher animals, and in the larvae of some crustaceans. Moreover in the +deeper layers of the skin of adult birds, the muscular network is, +according to Leydig,[420] in a transitional condition; the fibres +exhibiting only indications of transverse striation. + +Another explanation seems possible. We may admit that originally the +_arrectores pili_ were slightly acted on in a direct manner, under the +influence of rage and terror, by the disturbance of the nervous system; +as is undoubtedly the case with our so-called _goose-skin_ before a +fever-fit. Animals have been repeatedly excited by rage and terror +during many generations; and consequently the direct effects of the +disturbed nervous system on the dermal appendages will almost certainly +have been increased through habit and through the tendency of +nerve-force to pass readily along accustomed channels. We shall find +this view of the force of habit strikingly confirmed in a future +chapter, where it will be shown that the hair of the insane is affected +in an extraordinary manner, owing to their repeated accesses of fury +and terror. As soon as with animals the power of erection had thus been +strengthened or increased, they must often have seen the hairs or +feathers erected in rival and enraged males, and the bulk of their +bodies thus increased. In this case it appears possible that they might +have wished to make themselves appear larger and more terrible to their +enemies, by voluntarily assuming a threatening attitude and uttering +harsh cries; such attitudes and utterances after a time becoming +through habit instinctive. In this manner actions performed by the +contraction of voluntary muscles might have been combined for the same +special purpose with those effected by involuntary muscles. It is even +possible that animals, when excited and dimly conscious of some change +in the state of their hair, might act on it by repeated exertions of +their attention and will; for we have reason to believe that the will +is able to influence in an obscure manner the action of some unstriped +or involuntary muscles, as in the period of the peristaltic movements +of the intestines, and in the contraction of the bladder. Nor must we +overlook the part which variation and natural selection may have +played; for the males which succeeded in making themselves appear the +most terrible to their rivals, or to their other enemies, if not of +overwhelming power, will on an average have left more offspring to +inherit their characteristic qualities, whatever these may be and +however first acquired, than have other males. + +_The inflation of the body, and other means of exciting fear in an +enemy_.—Certain Amphibians and Reptiles, which either have no spines to +erect, or no muscles by which they can be erected, enlarge themselves +when alarmed or angry by inhaling air. This is well known to be the +case with toads and frogs. The latter animal is made, in AEsop’s fable +of the ‘Ox and the Frog,’ to blow itself up from vanity and envy until +it burst. This action must have been observed during the most ancient +times, as, according to Mr. Hensleigh Wedgwood,[421] the word _toad_ +expresses in all the languages of Europe the habit of swelling. It has +been observed with some of the exotic species in the Zoological +Gardens; and Dr. Günther believes that it is general throughout the +group. Judging from analogy, the primary purpose probably was to make +the body appear as large and frightful as possible to an enemy; but +another, and perhaps more important secondary advantage is thus gained. +When frogs are seized by snakes, which are their chief enemies, they +enlarge themselves wonderfully; so that if the snake be of small size, +as Dr. Günther informs me, it cannot swallow the frog, which thus +escapes being devoured. + +Chameleons and some other lizards inflate themselves when angry. Thus a +species inhabiting Oregon, the _Tapaya Douglasii_, is slow in its +movements and does not bite, but has a ferocious aspect; “when +irritated it springs in a most threatening manner at anything pointed +at it, at the same time opening its mouth wide and hissing audibly, +after which it inflates its body, and shows other marks of anger.”[422] + +Several kinds of snakes likewise inflate themselves when irritated. The +puff-adder (_Clotho arietans_) is remarkable in this respect; but I +believe, after carefully watching these animals, that they do not act +thus for the sake of increasing their apparent bulk, but simply for +inhaling a large supply of air, so as to produce their surprisingly +loud, harsh, and prolonged hissing sound. The Cobras-de-capello, when +irritated, enlarge themselves a little, and hiss moderately; but, at +the same time they lift their heads aloft, and dilate by means of their +elongated anterior ribs, the skin on each side of the neck into a large +flat disk,—the so-called hood. With their widely opened mouths, they +then assume a terrific aspect. The benefit thus derived ought to be +considerable, in order to compensate for the somewhat lessened rapidity +(though this is still great) with which, when dilated, they can strike +at their enemies or prey; on the same principle that a broad, thin +piece of wood cannot be moved through the air so quickly as a small +round stick. An innocuous snake, the _Trovidonotus macrophthalmus_, an +inhabitant of India, likewise dilates its neck when irritated; and +consequently is often mistaken for its compatriot, the deadly +Cobra.[423] This resemblance perhaps serves as some protection to the +Tropidonotus. Another innocuous species, the Dasypeltis of South +Africa, blows itself out, distends its neck, hisses and darts at an +intruder.[424] Many other snakes hiss under similar circumstances. They +also rapidly vibrate their protruded tongues; and this may aid in +increasing their terrific appearance. + +Snakes possess other means of producing sounds besides hissing. Many +years ago I observed in South America that a venomous Trigonocephalus, +when disturbed, rapidly vibrated the end of its tail, which striking +against the dry grass and twigs produced a rattling noise that could be +distinctly heard at the distance of six feet.[425] The deadly and +fierce _Echis carinata_ of India produces “a curious prolonged, almost +hissing sound in a very different manner, namely by rubbing the sides +of the folds of its body against each other,” whilst the head remains +in almost the same position. The scales on the sides, and not on other +parts of the body, are strongly keeled, with the keels toothed like a +saw; and as the coiled-up animal rubs its sides together, these grate +against each other.[426] Lastly, we have the well-known case of the +Rattle-snake. He who has merely shaken the rattle of a dead snake, can +form no just idea of the sound produced by the living animal. Professor +Shaler states that it is indistinguishable from that made by the male +of a large Cicada (an Homopterous insect), which inhabits the same +district.[427] In the Zoological Gardens, when the rattle-snakes and +puff-adders were greatly excited at the same time, I was much struck at +the similarity of the sound produced by them; and although that made by +the rattle-snake is louder and shriller than the hissing of the +puff-adder, yet when standing at some yards distance I could scarcely +distinguish the two. For whatever purpose the sound is produced by the +one species, I can hardly doubt that it serves for the same purpose in +the other species; and I conclude from the threatening gestures made at +the same time by many snakes, that their hissing,—the rattling of the +rattle-snake and of the tail of the Trigonocephalus,—the grating of the +scales of the Echis,—and the dilatation of the hood of the Cobra,—all +subserve the same end, namely, to make them appear terrible to their +enemies.[428] + +It seems at first a probable conclusion that venomous snakes, such as +the foregoing, from being already so well defended by their +poison-fangs, would never be attacked by any enemy; and consequently +would have no need to excite additional terror. But this is far from +being the case, for they are largely preyed on in all quarters of the +world by many animals. It is well known that pigs are employed in the +United States to clear districts infested with rattle-snakes, which +they do most effectually.[429] In England the hedgehog attacks and +devours the viper. In India, as I hear from Dr. Jerdon, several kinds +of hawks, and at least one mammal, the Herpestes, kill cobras and other +venomous species;[430] and so it is in South Africa. Therefore it is by +no means improbable that any sounds or signs by which the venomous +species could instantly make themselves recognized as dangerous, would +be of more service to them than to the innocuous species which would +not be able, if attacked, to inflict any real injury. + +Having said thus much about snakes, I am tempted to add a few remarks +on the means by which the rattle of the rattle-snake was probably +developed. Various animals, including some lizards, either curl or +vibrate their tails when excited. This is the case with many kinds of +snakes.[431] In the Zoological Gardens, an innocuous species, the +_Coronella Sayi_, vibrates its tail so rapidly that it becomes almost +invisible. The Trigonocephalus, before alluded to, has the same habit; +and the extremity of its tail is a little enlarged, or ends in a bead. +In the Lachesis, which is so closely allied to the rattle-snake that it +was placed by Linnaeus in the same genus, the tail ends in a single, +large, lancet-shaped point or scale. With some snakes the skin, as +Professor Shaler remarks, “is more imperfectly detached from the region +about the tail than at other parts of the body.” Now if we suppose that +the end of the tail of some ancient American species was enlarged, and +was covered by a single large scale, this could hardly have been cast +off at the successive moults. In this case it would have been +permanently retained, and at each period of growth, as the snake grew +larger, a new scale, larger than the last, would have been formed above +it, and would likewise have been retained. The foundation for the +development of a rattle would thus have been laid; and it would have +been habitually used, if the species, like so many others, vibrated its +tail whenever it was irritated. That the rattle has since been +specially developed to serve as an efficient sound-producing +instrument, there can hardly be a doubt; for even the vertebrae +included within the extremity of the tail have been altered in shape +and cohere. But there is no greater improbability in various +structures, such as the rattle of the rattle-snake,—the lateral scales +of the Echis,—the neck with the included ribs of the Cobra,—and the +whole body of the puff-adder,—having been modified for the sake of +warning and frightening away their enemies, than in a bird, namely, the +wonderful Secretary-hawk (_Gypogeranus_) having had its whole frame +modified for the sake of killing snakes with impunity. It is highly +probable, judging from what we have before seen, that this bird would +ruffle its feathers whenever it attacked a snake; and it is certain +that the Herpestes, when it eagerly rushes to attack a snake, erects +the hair all over its body, and especially that on its tail.[432] We +have also seen that some porcupines, when angered or alarmed at the +sight of a snake, rapidly vibrate their tails, thus producing a +peculiar sound by the striking together of the hollow quills. So that +here both the attackers and the attacked endeavour to make themselves +as dreadful as possible to each other; and both possess for this +purpose specialised means, which, oddly enough, are nearly the same in +some of these cases. Finally we can see that if, on the one hand, those +individual snakes, which were best able to frighten away their enemies, +escaped best from being devoured; and if, on the other hand, those +individuals of the attacking enemy survived in larger numbers which +were the best fitted for the dangerous task of killing and devouring +venomous snakes;—then in the one case as in the other, beneficial +variations, supposing the characters in question to vary, would +commonly have been preserved through the survival of the fittest. + +_The Drawing back and pressure of the Ears to the Head_.—The ears +through their movements are highly expressive in many animals; but in +some, such as man, the higher apes, and many ruminants, they fail in +this respect. A slight difference in position serves to express in the +plainest manner a different state of mind, as we may daily see in the +dog; but we are here concerned only with the ears being drawn closely +backwards and pressed to the head. A savage frame of mind is thus +shown, but only in the case of those animals which fight with their +teeth; and the care which they take to prevent their ears being seized +by their antagonists, accounts for this position. Consequently, through +habit and association, whenever they feel slightly savage, or pretend +in their play to be savage, their ears are drawn back. That this is the +true explanation may be inferred from the relation which exists in very +many animals between their manner of fighting and the retraction of +their ears. + +All the Carnivora fight with their canine teeth, and all, as far as I +have observed, draw their ears back when feeling savage. This may be +continually seen with dogs when fighting in earnest, and with puppies +fighting in play. The movement is different from the falling down and +slight drawing back of the ears, when a dog feels pleased and is +caressed by his master. The retraction of the ears may likewise be seen +in kittens fighting together in their play, and in full-grown cats when +really savage, as before illustrated in fig. 9 (p. 58). Although their +ears are thus to a large extent protected, yet they often get much torn +in old male cats during their mutual battles. The same movement is very +striking in tigers, leopards, &c., whilst growling over their food in +menageries. The lynx has remarkably long ears; and their retraction, +when one of these animals is approached in its cage, is very +conspicuous, and is eminently expressive of its savage disposition. +Even one of the Eared Seals, the _Otariapusilla_, which has very small +ears, draws them backwards, when it makes a savage rush at the legs of +its keeper. + +When horses fight together they use their incisors for biting, and +their fore-legs for striking, much more than they do their hind-legs +for kicking backwards. This has been observed when stallions have +broken loose and have fought together, and may likewise be inferred +from the kind of wounds which they inflict on each other. Every one +recognizes the vicious appearance which the drawing back of the ears +gives to a horse. This movement is very different from that of +listening to a sound behind. If an ill-tempered horse in a stall is +inclined to kick backwards, his ears are retracted from habit, though +he has no intention or power to bite. But when a horse throws up both +hind-legs in play, as when entering an open field, or when just touched +by the whip, he does not generally depress his ears, for he does not +then feel vicious. Guanacoes fight savagely with their teeth; and they +must do so frequently, for I found the hides of several which I shot in +Patagonia deeply scored. So do camels; and both these animals, when +savage, draw their ears closely backwards. Guanacoes, as I have +noticed, when not intending to bite, but merely to spit their offensive +saliva from a distance at an intruder, retract their ears. Even the +hippopotamus, when threatening with its widely-open enormous mouth a +comrade, draws back its small ears, just like a horse. + +Now what a contrast is presented between the foregoing animals and +cattle, sheep, or goats, which never use their teeth in fighting, and +never draw back their ears when enraged! Although sheep and goats +appear such placid animals, the males often join in furious contests. +As deer form a closely related family, and as I did not know that they +ever fought with their teeth, I was much surprised at the account given +by Major Ross King of the Moose-deer in Canada. He says, when“two males +chance to meet, laying back their ears and gnashing their teeth +together, they rush at each other with appalling fury.”[433] But Mr. +Bartlett informs me that some species of deer fight savagely with their +teeth, so that the drawing back of the ears by the moose accords with +our rule. Several kinds of kangaroos, kept in the Zoological Gardens, +fight by scratching with their fore-feet and by kicking with their +hind-legs; but they never bite each other, and the keepers have never +seen them draw back their ears when angered. Rabbits fight chiefly by +kicking and scratching, but they likewise bite each other; and I have +known one to bite off half the tail of its antagonist. At the +commencement of their battles they lay back their ears, but afterwards, +as they bound over and kick each other, they keep their ears erect, or +move them much about. + +Mr. Bartlett watched a wild boar quarrelling rather savagely with his +sow; and both had their mouths open and their ears drawn backwards. But +this does not appear to be a common action with domestic pigs when +quarrelling. Boars fight together by striking upwards with their tusks; +and Mr. Bartlett doubts whether they then draw back their ears. +Elephants, which in like manner fight with their tusks, do not retract +their ears, but, on the contrary, erect them when rushing at each other +or at an enemy. + +The rhinoceroses in the Zoological Gardens fight with their nasal +horns, and have never been seen to attempt biting each other except in +play; and the keepers are convinced that they do not draw back their +ears, like horses and dogs, when feeling savage. The following +statement, therefore, by Sir S. Baker[434] is inexplicable, namely, +that a rhinoceros, which he shot in North Africa, “had no ears; they +had been bitten off close to the head by another of the same species +while fighting; and this mutilation is by no means uncommon.” + +Lastly, with respect to monkeys. Some kinds, which have moveable ears, +and which fight with their teeth—for instance the _Cereopithecus +ruber_—draw back their ears when irritated just like dogs; and they +then have a very spiteful appearance. Other kinds, as the _Inuus +ecaudatus_, apparently do not thus act. Again, other kinds—and this is +a great anomaly in comparison with most other animals—retract their +ears, show their teeth, and jabber, when they are pleased by being +caressed. I observed this in two or three species of Macacus, and in +the _Cynopithecus niger_. This expression, owing to our familiarity +with dogs, would never be recognized as one of joy or pleasure by those +unacquainted with monkeys. + +_Erection of the Ears_.—This movement requires hardly any notice. All +animals which have the power of freely moving their ears, when they are +startled, or when they closely observe any object, direct their ears to +the point towards which they are looking, in order to hear any sound +from this quarter. At the same time they generally raise their heads, +as all their organs of sense are there situated, and some of the +smaller animals rise on their hind-legs. Even those kinds which squat +on the ground or instantly flee away to avoid danger, generally act +momentarily in this manner, in order to ascertain the source and nature +of the danger. The head being raised, with erected ears and eyes +directed forwards, gives an unmistakable expression of close attention +to any animal. + + + + +CHAPTER V. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF ANIMALS. + +The Dog, various expressive movements of—Cats—Horses—Ruminants—Monkeys, +their expression of joy and affection—Of pain—Anger—Astonishment and +Terror. + +_The Dog_.—I have already described (figs. 5 and 7) the appearance of a +dog approaching another dog with hostile intentions, namely, with +erected ears, eyes intently directed forwards, hair on the neck and +back bristling, gait remarkably stiff, with the tail upright and rigid. +So familiar is this appearance to us, that an angry man is sometimes +said “to have his back up.” Of the above points, the stiff gait and +upright tail alone require further discussion. Sir C. Bell remarks[501] +that, when a tiger or wolf is struck by its keeper and is suddenly +roused to ferocity, every muscle is in tension, and the limbs are in an +attitude of strained exertion, prepared to spring. This tension of the +muscles and consequent stiff gait may be accounted for on the principle +of associated habit, for anger has continually led to fierce struggles, +and consequently to all the muscles of the body having been violently +exerted. There is also reason to suspect that the muscular system +requires some short preparation, or some degree of innervation, before +being brought into strong action. My own sensations lead me to this +inference; but I cannot discover that it is a conclusion admitted by +physiologists. Sir J. Paget, however, informs me that when muscles are +suddenly contracted with the greatest force, without any preparation, +they are liable to be ruptured, as when a man slips unexpectedly; but +that this rarely occurs when an action, however violent, is +deliberately performed. + +With respect to the upright position of the tail, it seems to depend +(but whether this is really the case I know not) on the elevator +muscles being more powerful than the depressors, so that when all the +muscles of the hinder part of the body are in a state of tension, the +tail is raised. A dog in cheerful spirits, and trotting before his +master with high, elastic steps, generally carries his tail aloft, +though it is not held nearly so stiffly as when he is angered. A horse +when first turned out into an open field, may be seen to trot with long +elastic strides, the head and tail being held high aloft. Even cows +when they frisk about from pleasure, throw up their tails in a +ridiculous fashion. So it is with various animals in the Zoological +Gardens. The position of the tail, however, in certain cases, is +determined by special circumstances; thus as soon as a horse breaks +into a gallop, at full speed, he always lowers his tail, so that as +little resistance as possible may be offered to the air. + +When a dog is on the point of springing on his antagonist, he utters a +savage growl; the ears are pressed closely backwards, and the upper lip +(fig. 14) is retracted out of the way of his teeth, especially of his +canines. These movements may be observed with dogs and puppies in their +play. But if a dog gets really savage in his play, his expression +immediately changes. This, however, is simply due to the lips and ears +being drawn back with much greater energy. If a dog only snarls at +another, the lip is generally retracted on one side alone, namely +towards his enemy. + + + +Head of Snarling Dog. Fig 14 + +{illust. caption = FIG. 14.—Head of snarling Dog. From life, by Mr. +Wood. + +The movements of a dog whilst exhibiting affection towards his master +were described (figs. 6 and 8) in our second chapter. These consist in +the head and whole body being lowered and thrown into flexuous +movements, with the tail extended and wagged from side to side. The +ears fall down and are drawn somewhat backwards, which causes the +eyelids to be elongated, and alters the whole appearance of the face. +The lips hang loosely, and the hair remains smooth. All these movements +or gestures are explicable, as I believe, from their standing in +complete antithesis to those naturally assumed by a savage dog under a +directly opposite state of mind. When a man merely speaks to, or just +notices, his dog, we see the last vestige of these movements in a +slight wag of the tail, without any other movement of the body, and +without even the ears being lowered. Dogs also exhibit their affection +by desiring to rub against their masters, and to be rubbed or patted by +them. + +Gratiolet explains the above gestures of affection in the following +manner: and the reader can judge whether the explanation appears +satisfactory. Speaking of animals in general, including the dog, he +says,[502] “C’est toujours la partie la plus sensible de leurs corps +qui recherche les caresses ou les donne. Lorsque toute la longueur des +flancs et du corps est sensible, l’animal serpente et rampe sous les +caresses; et ces ondulations se propageant le long des muscles +analogues des segments jusqu’aux extrémités de la colonne vertébrale, +la queue se ploie et s’agite.” Further on, he adds, that dogs, when +feeling affectionate, lower their ears in order to exclude all sounds, +so that their whole attention may be concentrated on the caresses of +their master! + +Dogs have another and striking way of exhibiting their affection, +namely, by licking the hands or faces of their masters. They sometimes +lick other dogs, and then it is always their chops. I have also seen +dogs licking cats with whom they were friends. This habit probably +originated in the females carefully licking their puppies—the dearest +object of their love—for the sake of cleansing them. They also often +give their puppies, after a short absence, a few cursory licks, +apparently from affection. Thus the habit will have become associated +with the emotion of love, however it may afterwards be aroused. It is +now so firmly inherited or innate, that it is transmitted equally to +both sexes. A female terrier of mine lately had her puppies destroyed, +and though at all times a very affectionate creature, I was much struck +with the manner in which she then tried to satisfy her instinctive +maternal love by expending it on me; and her desire to lick my hands +rose to an insatiable passion. + +The same principle probably explains why dogs, when feeling +affectionate, like rubbing against their masters and being rubbed or +patted by them, for from the nursing of their puppies, contact with a +beloved object has become firmly associated in their minds with the +emotion of love. + +The feeling of affection of a dog towards his master is combined with a +strong sense of submission, which is akin to fear. Hence dogs not only +lower their bodies and crouch a little as they approach their masters, +but sometimes throw themselves on the ground with their bellies +upwards. This is a movement as completely opposite as is possible to +any show of resistance. I formerly possessed a large dog who was not at +all afraid to fight with other dogs; but a wolf-like shepherd-dog in +the neighbourhood, though not ferocious and not so powerful as my dog, +had a strange influence over him. When they met on the road, my dog +used to run to meet him, with his tail partly tucked in between his +legs and hair not erected; and then he would throw himself on the +ground, belly upwards. By this action he seemed to say more plainly +than by words, “Behold, I am your slave.” + +A pleasurable and excited state of mind, associated with affection, is +exhibited by some dogs in a very peculiar manner, namely, by grinning. +This was noticed long ago by Somerville, who says, + +“And with a courtly grin, the fawning hound +Salutes thee cow’ring, his wide op’ning nose +Upward he curls, and his large sloe-back eyes +Melt in soft blandishments, and humble joy.” +_The Chase_, book i. + + +Sir W. Scott’s famous Scotch greyhound, Maida, had this habit, and it +is common with terriers. I have also seen it in a Spitz and in a +sheep-dog. Mr. Riviere, who has particularly attended to this +expression, informs me that it is rarely displayed in a perfect manner, +but is quite common in a lesser degree. The upper lip during the act of +grinning is retracted, as in snarling, so that the canines are exposed, +and the ears are drawn backwards; but the general appearance of the +animal clearly shows that anger is not felt. Sir C. Bell[503] remarks +“Dogs, in their expression of fondness, have a slight eversion of the +lips, and grin and sniff amidst their gambols, in a way that resembles +laughter.” Some persons speak of the grin as a smile, but if it had +been really a smile, we should see a similar, though more pronounced, +movement of the lips and ears, when dogs utter their bark of joy; but +this is not the case, although a bark of joy often follows a grin. On +the other hand, dogs, when playing with their comrades or masters, +almost always pretend to bite each other; and they then retract, though +not energetically, their lips and ears. Hence I suspect that there is a +tendency in some dogs, whenever they feel lively pleasure combined with +affection, to act through habit and association on the same muscles, as +in playfully biting each other, or their masters’ hands. + +I have described, in the second chapter, the gait and appearance of a +dog when cheerful, and the marked antithesis presented by the same +animal when dejected and disappointed, with his head, ears, body, tail, +and chops drooping, and eyes dull. Under the expectation of any great +pleasure, dogs bound and jump about in an extravagant manner, and bark +for joy. The tendency to bark under this state of mind is inherited, or +runs in the breed: greyhounds rarely bark, whilst the Spitz-dog barks +so incessantly on starting for a walk with his master that he becomes a +nuisance. + +An agony of pain is expressed by dogs in nearly the same way as by many +other animals, namely, by howling writhing, and contortions of the +whole body. + +Attention is shown by the head being raised, with the ears erected, and +eyes intently directed towards the object or quarter under observation. +If it be a sound and the source is not known, the head is often turned +obliquely from side to side in a most significant manner, apparently in +order to judge with more exactness from what point the sound proceeds. +But I have seen a dog greatly surprised at a new noise, turning, his +head to one side through habit, though he clearly perceived the source +of the noise. Dogs, as formerly remarked, when their attention is in +any way aroused, whilst watching some object, or attending to some +sound, often lift up one paw (fig. 4) and keep it doubled up, as if to +make a slow and stealthy approach. + +A dog under extreme terror will throw himself down, howl, and void his +excretions; but the hair, I believe, does not become erect unless some +anger is felt. I have seen a dog much terrified at a band of musicians +who were playing loudly outside the house, with every muscle of his +body trembling, with his heart palpitating so quickly that the beats +could hardly be counted, and panting for breath with widely open mouth, +in the same manner as a terrified man does. Yet this dog had not +exerted himself; he had only wandered slowly and restlessly about the +room, and the day was cold. + +Even a very slight degree of fear is invariably shown by the tail being +tucked in between the legs. This tucking in of the fail is accompanied +by the ears being drawn backwards; but they are not pressed closely to +the head, as in snarling, and they are not lowered, as when a dog is +pleased or affectionate. When two young dogs chase each other in play, +the one that runs away always keeps his tail tucked inwards. So it is +when a dog, in the highest spirits, careers like a mad creature round +and round his master in circles, or in figures of eight. He then acts +as if another dog were chasing him. This curious kind of play, which +must be familiar to every one who has attended to dogs, is particularly +apt to be excited, after the animal has been a little startled or +frightened, as by his master suddenly jumping out on him in the dusk. +In this case, as well as when two young dogs are chasing each other in +play, it appears as if the one that runs away was afraid of the other +catching him by the tail; but as far as I can find out, dogs very +rarely catch each other in this manner. I asked a gentleman, who had +kept foxhounds all his life, and he applied to other experienced +sportsmen, whether they had ever seen hounds thus seize a fox; but they +never had. It appears that when a dog is chased, or when in danger of +being struck behind, or of anything falling on him, in all these cases +he wishes to withdraw as quickly as possible his whole hind-quarters, +and that from some sympathy or connection between the muscles, the tail +is then drawn closely inwards. + +A similarly connected movement between the hind-quarters and the tail +may be observed in the hyaena. Mr. Bartlett informs me that when two of +these animals fight together, they are mutually conscious of the +wonderful power of each other’s jaws, and are extremely cautious. They +well know that if one of their legs were seized, the bone would +instantly be crushed into atoms; hence they approach each other +kneeling, with their legs turned as much as possible inwards, and with +their whole bodies bowed, so as not to present any salient point; the +tail at the same time being closely tucked in between the legs. In this +attitude they approach each other sideways, or even partly backwards. +So again with deer, several of the species, when savage and fighting, +tuck in their tails. When one horse in a field tries to bite the +hind-quarters of another in play, or when a rough boy strikes a donkey +from behind, the hind-quarters and the tail are drawn in, though it +does not appear as if this were done merely to save the tail from being +injured. We have also seen the reverse of these movements; for when an +animal trots with high elastic steps, the tail is almost always carried +aloft. + +As I have said, when a dog is chased and runs away, he keeps his ears +directed backwards but still open; and this is clearly done for the +sake of hearing the footsteps of his pursuer. From habit the ears are +often held in this same position, and the tail tucked in, when the +danger is obviously in front. I have repeatedly noticed, with a timid +terrier of mine, that when she is afraid of some object in front, the +nature of which she perfectly knows and does not need to reconnoitre, +yet she will for a long time hold her ears and tail in this position, +looking the image of discomfort. Discomfort, without any fear, is +similarly expressed: thus, one day I went out of doors, just at the +time when this same dog knew that her dinner would be brought. I did +not call her, but she wished much to accompany me, and at the same time +she wished much for her dinner; and there she stood, first looking one +way and then the other, with her tail tucked in and ears drawn back, +presenting an unmistakable appearance of perplexed discomfort. + +Almost all the expressive movements now described, with the exception +of the grinning from joy, are innate or instinctive, for they are +common to all the individuals, young and old, of all the breeds. Most +of them are likewise common to the aboriginal parents of the dog, +namely the wolf and jackal; and some of them to other species of the +same group. Tamed wolves and jackals, when caressed by their masters, +jump about for joy, wag their tails, lower their ears, lick their +master’s hands, crouch down, and even throw themselves on the ground +belly upwards.[504] I have seen a rather fox-like African jackal, from +the Gaboon, depress its ears when caressed. Wolves and jackals, when +frightened, certainly tuck in their tails; and a tamed jackal has been +described as careering round his master in circles and figures of +eight, like a dog, with his tail between his legs. + +It has been stated[505] that foxes, however tame, never display any of +the above expressive movements; but this is not strictly accurate. Many +years ago I observed in the Zoological Gardens, and recorded the fact +at the time, that a very tame English fox, When caressed by the keeper, +wagged its tail, depressed its ears, and then threw itself on the +ground, belly upwards. The black fox of North America likewise +depressed its ears in a slight degree. But I believe that foxes never +lick the hands of their masters, and I have been assured that when +frightened they never tuck in their tails. If the explanation which I +have given of the expression of affection in dogs be admitted, then it +would appear that animals which have never been domesticated—namely +wolves, jackals, and even foxes—have nevertheless acquired, through the +principle of antithesis, certain expressive gestures; for it is not +probable that these animals, confined in cages, should have learnt them +by imitating dogs. + +_Cats_.—I have already described the actions of a cat (fig. 9), when +feeling savage and not terrified. She assumes a crouching attitude and +occasionally protrudes her fore-feet, with the claws exserted ready for +striking. The tail is extended, being curled or lashed from side to +side. The hair is not erected—at least it was not so in the few cases +observed by me. The ears are drawn closely backwards and the teeth are +shown. Low savage growls are uttered. We can understand why the +attitude assumed by a cat when preparing to fight with another cat, or +in any way greatly irritated, is so widely different from that of a dog +approaching another dog with hostile intentions; for the cat uses her +fore-feet for striking, and this renders a crouching position +convenient or necessary. She is also much more accustomed than a dog to +lie concealed and suddenly spring on her prey. No cause can be assigned +with certainty for the tail being lashed or curled from side to side. +This habit is common to many other animals—for instance, to the puma, +when prepared to spring;[506] but it is not common to dogs, or to +foxes, as I infer from Mr. St. John’s account of a fox lying in wait +and seizing a hare. We have already seen that some kinds of lizards and +various snakes, when excited, rapidly vibrate the tips of their tails. +It would appear as if, under strong excitement, there existed an +uncontrollable desire for movement of some kind, owing to nerve-force +being freely liberated from the excited sensorium; and that as the tail +is left free, and as its movement does not disturb the general position +of the body, it is curled or lashed about. + +All the movements of a cat, when feeling affectionate, are in complete +antithesis to those just described. She now stands upright, with +slightly arched back, tail perpendicularly raised, and ears erected; +and she rubs her cheeks and flanks against her master or mistress. The +desire to rub something is so strong in cats under this state of mind, +that they may often be seen rubbing themselves against the legs of +chairs or tables, or against door-posts. This manner of expressing +affection probably originated through association, as in the case of +dogs, from the mother nursing and fondling her young; and perhaps from +the young themselves loving each other and playing together. Another +and very different gesture, expressive of pleasure, has already been +described, namely, the curious manner in which young and even old cats, +when pleased, alternately protrude their fore-feet, with separated +toes, as if pushing against and sucking their mother’s teats. This +habit is so far analogous to that of rubbing against something, that +both apparently are derived from actions performed during the nursing +period. Why cats should show affection by rubbing so much more than do +dogs, though the latter delight in contact with their masters, and why +cats only occasionally lick the hands of their friends, whilst dogs +always do so, I cannot say. Cats cleanse themselves by licking their +own coats more regularly than do dogs. On the other hand, their tongues +seem less well fitted for the work than the longer and more flexible +tongues of dogs. + + + +Cat Terrified at a Dog. Fig.15 + +Cats, when terrified, stand at full height, and arch their backs in a +well-known and ridiculous fashion. They spit, hiss, or growl. The hair +over the whole body, and especially on the tail, becomes erect. In the +instances observed by me the basal part of the tail was held upright, +the terminal part being thrown on one side; but sometimes the tail (see +fig. 15) is only a little raised, and is bent almost from the base to +one side. The ears are drawn back, and the teeth exposed. When two +kittens are playing together, the one often thus tries to frighten the +other. From what we have seen in former chapters, all the above points +of expression are intelligible, except the extreme arching of the back. +I am inclined to believe that, in the same manner as many birds, whilst +they ruffle their feathers, spread out their wings and tail, to make +themselves look as big as possible, so cats stand upright at their full +height, arch their backs, often raise the basal part of the tail, and +erect their hair, for the same purpose. The lynx, when attacked, is +said to arch its back, and is thus figured by Brehm. But the keepers in +the Zoological Gardens have never seen any tendency to this action in +the larger feline animals, such as tigers, lions, &c.; and these have +little cause to be afraid of any other animal. + +Cats use their voices much as a means of expression, and they utter, +under various emotions and desires, at least six or seven different +sounds. The purr of satisfaction, which is made during both inspiration +and expiration, is one of the most curious. The puma, cheetah, and +ocelot likewise purr; but the tiger, when pleased, “emits a peculiar +short snuffle, accompanied by the closure of the eyelids.”[507] It is +said that the lion, jaguar, and leopard, do not purr. + +_Horses_.—Horses when savage draw their ears closely back, protrude +their heads, and partially uncover their incisor teeth, ready for +biting. When inclined to kick behind, they generally, through habit, +draw back their ears; and their eyes are turned backwards in a peculiar +manner.[508] When pleased, as when some coveted food is brought to them +in the stable, they raise and draw in their heads, prick their ears, +and looking intently towards their friend, often whinny. Impatience is +expressed by pawing the ground. + +The actions of a horse when much startled are highly expressive. One +day my horse was much frightened at a drilling machine, covered by a +tarpaulin, and lying on an open field. He raised his head so high, that +his neck became almost perpendicular; and this he did from habit, for +the machine lay on a slope below, and could not have been seen with +more distinctness through the raising of the head; nor if any sound had +proceeded from it, could the sound have been more distinctly heard. His +eyes and ears were directed intently forwards; and I could feel through +the saddle the palpitations of his heart. With red dilated nostrils he +snorted violently, and whirling round, would have dashed off at full +speed, had I not prevented him. The distension of the nostrils is not +for the sake of scenting the source of danger, for when a horse smells +carefully at any object and is not alarmed, he does not dilate his +nostrils. Owing to the presence of a valve in the throat, a horse when +panting does not breathe through his open mouth, but through his +nostrils; and these consequently have become endowed with great powers +of expansion. This expansion of the nostrils, as well as the snorting, +and the palpitations of the heart, are actions which have become firmly +associated during a long series of generations with the emotion of +terror; for terror has habitually led the horse to the most violent +exertion in dashing away at full speed from the cause of danger. + +_Ruminants_.—Cattle and sheep are remarkable from displaying in so +slight a degree their emotions or sensations, excepting that of extreme +pain. A bull when enraged exhibits his rage only by the manner in which +he holds his lowered head, with distended nostrils, and by bellowing. +He also often paws the ground; but this pawing seems quite different +from that of an impatient horse, for when the soil is loose, he throws +up clouds of dust. I believe that bulls act in this manner when +irritated by flies, for the sake of driving them away. The wilder +breeds of sheep and the chamois when startled stamp on the ground, and +whistle through their noses; and this serves as a danger-signal to +their comrades. The musk-ox of the Arctic regions, when encountered, +likewise stamps on the ground.[509] How this stamping action arose I +cannot conjecture; for from inquiries which I have made it does not +appear that any of these animals fight with their fore-legs. + +Some species of deer, when savage, display far more expression than do +cattle, sheep, or goats, for, as has already been stated, they draw +back their ears, grind their teeth, erect their hair, squeal, stamp on +the ground, and brandish their horns. One day in the Zoological +Gardens, the Formosan deer (_Cervus pseudaxis_) approached me in a +curious attitude, with his muzzle raised high up, so that the horns +were pressed back on his neck; the head being held rather obliquely. +From the expression of his eye I felt sure that he was savage; he +approached slowly, and as soon as he came close to the iron bars, he +did not lower his head to butt at me, but suddenly bent it inwards, and +struck his horns with great force against the railings. Mr. Bartlett +informs me that some other species of deer place themselves in the same +attitude when enraged. + +_Monkeys_.—The various species and genera of monkeys express their +feelings in many different ways; and this fact is interesting, as in +some degree bearing on the question, whether the so-called races of man +should be ranked as distinct species or varieties; for, as we shall see +in the following chapters, the different races of man express their +emotions and sensations with remarkable uniformity throughout the +world. Some of the expressive actions of monkeys are interesting in +another way, namely from being closely analogous to those of man. As I +have had no opportunity of observing any one species of the group under +all circumstances, my miscellaneous remarks will be best arranged under +different states of the mind. + +_Pleasure, joy, affection_—It is not possible to distinguish in +monkeys, at least without more experience than I have had, the +expression of pleasure or joy from that of affection. Young chimpanzees +make a kind of barking noise, when pleased by the return of any one to +whom they are attached. When this noise, which the keepers call a +laugh, is uttered, the lips are protruded; but so they are under +various other emotions. Nevertheless I could perceive that when they +were pleased the form of the lips differed a little from that assumed +when they were angered. If a young chimpanzee be tickled—and the +armpits are particularly sensitive to tickling, as in the case of our +children,—a more decided chuckling or laughing sound is uttered; though +the laughter is sometimes noiseless. The corners of the mouth are then +drawn backwards; and this sometimes causes the lower eyelids to be +slightly wrinkled. But this wrinkling, which is so characteristic of +our own laughter, is more plainly seen in some other monkeys. The teeth +in the upper jaw in the chimpanzee are not exposed when they utter +their laughing noise, in which respect they differ from us. But their +eyes sparkle and grow brighter, as Mr. W. L. Martin,[510] who has +particularly attended to their expression, states. + +Young Orangs, when tickled, likewise grin and make a chuckling sound; +and Mr. Martin says that their eyes grow brighter. As soon as their +laughter ceases, an expression may be detected passing over their +faces, which, as Mr. Wallace remarked to me, may be called a smile. I +have also noticed something of the same kind with the chimpanzee. Dr. +Duchenne—and I cannot quote a better authority—informs me that he kept +a very tame monkey in his house for a year; and when he gave it during +meal-times some choice delicacy, he observed that the corners of its +mouth were slightly raised; thus an expression of satisfaction, +partaking of the nature of an incipient smile, and resembling that +often seen on the face of main, could be plainly perceived in this +animal. + +The _Cebus azaræ_,[511] when rejoiced at again seeing a beloved person, +utters a peculiar tittering (_kichernden_) sound. It also expresses +agreeable sensations, by drawing back the corners of its mouth, without +producing any sound. Rengger calls this movement laughter, but it would +be more appropriately called a smile. The form of the mouth is +different when either pain or terror is expressed, and high shrieks are +uttered. Another species of _Cebus_ in the Zoological Gardens (_C. +hypoleucus_) when pleased, makes a reiterated shrill note, and likewise +draws back the corners of its mouth, apparently through the contraction +of the same muscles as with us. So does the Barbary ape (_Inuus +ecaudatus_) to an extraordinary degree; and I observed in this monkey +that the skin of the lower eyelids then became much wrinkled. At the +same time it rapidly moved its lower jaw or lips in a spasmodic manner, +the teeth being exposed; but the noise produced was hardly more +distinct than that which we sometimes call silent laughter. Two of the +keepers affirmed that this slight sound was the animal’s laughter, and +when I expressed some doubt on this head (being at the time quite +inexperienced), they made it attack or rather threaten a hated Entellus +monkey, living in the same compartment. Instantly the whole expression +of the face of the Inuus changed; the mouth was opened much more +widely, the canine teeth were more fully exposed, and a hoarse barking +noise was uttered. + +The Anubis baboon (_Cynocephalus anubis_) was first insulted and put +into a furious rage, as was easily done, by his keeper, who then made +friends with him and shook hands. As the reconciliation was effected +the baboon rapidly moved up and down his jaws and lips, and looked +pleased. When we laugh heartily, a similar movement, or quiver, may be +observed more or less distinctly in our jaws; but with man the muscles +of the chest are more particularly acted on, whilst with this baboon, +and with some other monkeys, it is the muscles of the jaws and lips +which are spasmodically affected. + + + +Cynopithecus Niger, in a Placid Condition. Fig.16-17 + +I have already had occasion to remark on the curious manner in which +two or three species of Alacacus and the _Cynopithecus niger_ draw back +their ears and utter a slight jabbering noise, when they are pleased by +being caressed. With the Cynopithecus (fig. 17), the corners of the +mouth are at the same time drawn backwards and upwards, so that the +teeth are exposed. Hence this expression would never be recognized by a +stranger as one of pleasure. The crest of long hairs on the forehead is +depressed, and apparently the whole skin of the head drawn backwards. +The eyebrows are thus raised a little, and the eyes assume a staring +appearance. The lower eyelids also become slightly wrinkled; but this +wrinkling is not conspicuous, owing to the permanent transverse furrows +on the face. + +_Painful emotions and sensations_.—With monkeys the expression of +slight pain, or of any painful emotion, such as grief, vexation, +jealousy, &c., is not easily distinguished from that of moderate anger; +and these states of mind readily and quickly pass into each other. +Grief, however, with some species is certainly exhibited by weeping. A +woman, who sold a monkey to the Zoological Society, believed to have +come from Borneo (_Macacus maurus_ or _M. inornatus_ of Gray), said +that it often cried; and Mr. Bartlett, as well as the keeper Mr. +Sutton, have repeatedly seen it, when grieved, or even when much +pitied, weeping so copiously that the tears rolled down its cheeks. +There is, however, something strange about this case, for two specimens +subsequently kept in the Gardens, and believed to be the same species, +have never been seen to weep, though they were carefully observed by +the keeper and myself when much distressed and loudly screaming. +Rengger states[512] that the eyes of the _Cebus azaræ_ fill with tears, +but not sufficiently to overflow, when it is prevented getting some +much desired object, or is much frightened. Humboldt also asserts that +the eyes of the _Callithrix sciureus_ “instantly fill with tears when +it is seized with fear;” but when this pretty little monkey in the +Zoological Gardens was teased, so as to cry out loudly, this did not +occur. I do not, however, wish to throw the least doubt on the accuracy +of Humboldt’s statement. + +The appearance of dejection in young orangs and chimpanzees, when out +of health, is as plain and almost as pathetic as in the case of our +children. This state of mind and body is shown by their listless +movements, fallen countenances, dull eyes, and changed complexion. + +_Anger_.—This emotion is often exhibited by many kinds of monkeys, and +is expressed, as Mr. Martin remarks,[513] in many different ways. “Some +species, when irritated, pout the lips, gaze with a fixed and savage +glare on their foe, and make repeated short starts as if about to +spring forward, uttering at the same time inward guttural sounds. Many +display their anger by suddenly advancing, making abrupt starts, at the +same time opening the mouth and pursing up the lips, so as to conceal +the teeth, while the eyes are daringly fixed on the enemy, as if in +savage defiance. Some again, and principally the long-tailed monkeys, +or Guenons, display their teeth, and accompany their malicious grins +with a sharp, abrupt, reiterated cry.” Mr. Sutton confirms the +statement that some species uncover their teeth when enraged, whilst +others conceal them by the protrusion of their lips; and some kinds +draw back their ears. The _Cynopithecus niger_, lately referred to, +acts in this manner, at the same time depressing the crest of hair on +its forehead, and showing its teeth; so that the movements of the +features from anger are nearly the same as those from pleasure; and the +two expressions can be distinguished only by those familiar with the +animal. + +Baboons often show their passion and threaten their enemies in a very +odd manner, namely, by opening their mouths widely as in the act of +yawning. Mr. Bartlett has often seen two baboons, when first placed in +the same compartment, sitting opposite to each other and thus +alternately opening their mouths; and this action seems frequently to +end in a real yawn. Mr. Bartlett believes that both animals wish to +show to each other that they are provided with a formidable set of +teeth, as is undoubtedly the case. As I could hardly credit the reality +of this yawning gesture, Mr. Bartlett insulted an old baboon and put +him into a violent passion; and he almost immediately thus acted. Some +species of Macacus and of Cereopithecus[514] behave in the same manner. +Baboons likewise show their anger, as was observed by Brehin with those +which he kept alive in Abyssinia, in another manner, namely, by +striking the ground with one hand, “like an angry man striking the +table with his fist.” I have seen this movement with the baboons in the +Zoological Gardens; but sometimes the action seems rather to represent +the searching for a stone or other object in their beds of straw. + +Mr. Sutton has often observed the face of the _Macacus rhesus_, when +much enraged, growing red. As he was mentioning this to me, another +monkey attacked a _rhesus_, and I saw its face redden as plainly as +that of a man in a violent passion. In the course of a few minutes, +after the battle, the face of this monkey recovered its natural tint. +At the same time that the face reddened, the naked posterior part of +the body, which is always red, seemed to grow still redder; but I +cannot positively assert that this was the case. When the Mandrill is +in any way excited, the brilliantly coloured, naked parts of the skin +are said to become still more vividly coloured. + +With several species of baboons the ridge of the forehead projects much +over the eyes, and is studded with a few long hairs, representing our +eyebrows. These animals are always looking about them, and in order to +look upwards they raise their eyebrows. They have thus, as it would +appear, acquired the habit of frequently moving their eyebrows. However +this may be, many kinds of monkeys, especially the baboons, when +angered or in any way excited, rapidly and incessantly move their +eyebrows up and down, as well as the hairy skin of their +foreheads.[515] As we associate in the case of man the raising and +lowering of the eyebrows with definite states of the mind, the almost +incessant movement of the eyebrows by monkeys gives them a senseless +expression. I once observed a man who had a trick of continually +raising his eyebrows without any corresponding emotion, and this gave +to him a foolish appearance; so it is with some persons who keep the +corners of their mouths a little drawn backwards and upwards, as if by +an incipient smile, though at the time they are not amused or pleased. + +A young orang, made jealous by her keeper attending to another monkey, +slightly uncovered her teeth, and, uttering a peevish noise like +_tish-shist_, turned her back on him. Both orangs and chimpanzees, when +a little more angered, protrude their lips greatly, and make a harsh +barking noise. A young female chimpanzee, in a violent passion, +presented a curious resemblance to a child in the same state. She +screamed loudly with widely open mouth, the lips being retracted so +that the teeth were fully exposed. She threw her arms wildly about, +sometimes clasping them over her head. She rolled on the ground, +sometimes on her back, sometimes on her belly, and bit everything +within reach. A young gibbon (_Hylobates syndactylus_) in a passion has +been described[516] as behaving in almost exactly the same manner. + +The lips of young orangs and chimpanzees are protruded, sometimes to a +wonderful degree, under various circumstances. They act thus, not only +when slightly angered, sulky, or disappointed, but when alarmed at +anything—in one instance, at the sight of a turtle,[517]—and likewise +when pleased. But neither the degree of protrusion nor the shape of the +mouth is exactly the same, as I believe, in all cases; and the sounds +which are then uttered are different. The accompanying drawing +represents a chimpanzee made sulky by an orange having been offered +him, and then taken away. A similar protrusion or pouting of the lips, +though to a much slighter degree, may be seen in sulky children. + + + +Chimpanzee Disappointed and Sulky. Fig. 18 + +Many years ago, in the Zoological Gardens, I placed a looking-glass on +the floor before two young orangs, who, as far as it was known, had +never before seen one. At first they gazed at their own images with the +most steady surprise, and often changed their point of view. They then +approached close and protruded their lips towards the image, as if to +kiss it, in exactly the same manner as they had previously done towards +each other, when first placed, a few days before, in the same room. +They next made all sorts of grimaces, and put themselves in various +attitudes before the mirror; they pressed and rubbed the surface; they +placed their hands at different distances behind it; looked behind it; +and finally seemed almost frightened, started a little, became cross, +and refused to look any longer. + +When we try to perform some little action which is difficult and +requires precision, for instance, to thread a needle, we generally +close our lips firmly, for the sake, I presume, of not disturbing our +movements by breathing; and I noticed the same action in a young Orang. +The poor little creature was sick, and was amusing itself by trying to +kill the flies on the window-panes with its knuckles; this was +difficult as the flies buzzed about, and at each attempt the lips were +firmly compressed, and at the same time slightly protruded. + +Although the countenances, and more especially the gestures, of orangs +and chimpanzees are in some respects highly expressive, I doubt whether +on the whole they are so expressive as those of some other kinds of +monkeys. This may be attributed in part to their ears being immovable, +and in part to the nakedness of their eyebrows, of which the movements +are thus rendered less conspicuous. When, however, they raise their +eyebrows their foreheads become, as with us, transversely wrinkled. In +comparison with man, their faces are inexpressive, chiefly owing to +their not frowning under any emotion of the mind—that is, as far as I +have been able to observe, and I carefully attended to this point. +Frowning, which is one of the most important of all the expressions in +man, is due to the contraction of the corrugators by which the eyebrows +are lowered and brought together, so that vertical furrows are formed +on the forehead. Both the orang and chimpanzee are said[518] to possess +this muscle, but it seems rarely brought into action, at least in a +conspicuous manner. I made my hands into a sort of cage, and placing +some tempting fruit within, allowed both a young orang and chimpanzee +to try their utmost to get it out; but although they grew rather cross, +they showed not a trace of a frown. Nor was there any frown when they +were enraged. Twice I took two chimpanzees from their rather dark room +suddenly into bright sunshine, which would certainly have caused us to +frown; they blinked and winked their eyes, but only once did I see a +very slight frown. On another occasion, I tickled the nose of a +chimpanzee with a straw, and as it crumpled up its face, slight +vertical furrows appeared between the eyebrows. I have never seen a +frown on the forehead of the orang. + +The gorilla, when enraged, is described as erecting its crest of hair, +throwing down its under lip, dilating its nostrils, and uttering +terrific yells. Messrs. Savage and Wyman[519] state that the scalp can +be freely moved backwards and forwards, and that when the animal is +excited it is strongly contracted; but I presume that they mean by this +latter expression that the scalp is lowered; for they likewise speak of +the young chimpanzee, when crying out, as having the eyebrows strongly +contracted. The great power of movement in the scalp of the gorilla, of +many baboons and other monkeys, deserves notice in relation to the +power possessed by some few men, either through reversion or +persistence, of voluntarily moving their scalps.[520] + +_Astonishment, Terror_—A living fresh-water turtle was placed at my +request in the same compartment in the Zoological Gardens with many +monkeys; and they showed unbounded astonishment, as well as some fear. +This was displayed by their remaining motionless, staring intently with +widely opened eyes, their eyebrows being often moved up and down. Their +faces seemed somewhat lengthened. They occasionally raised themselves +on their hind-legs to get abetter view. They often retreated a few +feet, and then turning their heads over one shoulder, again stared +intently. It was curious to observe how much less afraid they were of +the turtle than of a living snake which I had formerly placed in their +compartment;[521] for in the course of a few minutes some of the +monkeys ventured to approach and touch the turtle. On the other hand, +some of the larger baboons were greatly terrified, and grinned as if on +the point of screaming out. When I showed a little dressed-up doll to +the _Cynopithecus niger_, it stood motionless, stared intently with +widely opened eyes, and advanced its ears a little forwards. But when +the turtle was placed in its compartment, this monkey also moved its +lips in an odd, rapid, jabbering manner, which the keeper declared was +meant to conciliate or please the turtle. + +I was never able clearly to perceive that the eyebrows of astonished +monkeys were kept permanently raised, though they were frequently moved +up and down. Attention, which precedes astonishment, is expressed by +man by a slight raising of the eyebrows; and Dr. Duchenne informs me +that when he gave to the monkey formerly mentioned some quite new +article of food, it elevated its eyebrows a little, thus assuming an +appearance of close attention. It then took the food in its fingers, +and, with lowered or rectilinear eyebrows, scratched, smelt, and +examined it,—an expression of reflection being thus exhibited. +Sometimes it would throw back its head a little, and again with +suddenly raised eyebrows re-examine and finally taste the food. + +In no case did any monkey keep its mouth open when it was astonished. +Mr. Sutton observed for me a young orang and chimpanzee during a +considerable length of time; and however much they were astonished, or +whilst listening intently to some strange sound, they did not keep +their mouths open. This fact is surprising, as with mankind hardly any +expression is more general than a widely open mouth under the sense of +astonishment. As far as I have been able to observe, monkeys breathe +more freely through their nostrils than men do; and this may account +for their not opening their mouths when they are astonished; for, as we +shall see in a future chapter, man apparently acts in this manner when +startled, at first for the sake of quickly drawing a full inspiration, +and afterwards for the sake of breathing as quietly as possible. + +Terror is expressed by many kinds of monkeys by the utterance of shrill +screams; the lips being drawn back, so that the teeth are exposed. The +hair becomes erect, especially when some anger is likewise felt. Mr. +Sutton has distinctly seen the face of the _Macacus rhesus_ grow pale +from fear. Monkeys also tremble from fear; and sometimes they void +their excretions. I have seen one which, when caught, almost fainted +from an excess of terror. + +Sufficient facts have now been given with respect to the expressions of +various animals. It is impossible to agree with Sir C. Bell when he +says[522] that “the faces of animals seem chiefly capable of expressing +rage and fear;” and again, when he says that all their expressions “may +be referred, more or less plainly, to their acts of volition or +necessary instincts.” He who will look at a dog preparing to attack +another dog or a man, and at the same animal when caressing his master, +or will watch the countenance of a monkey when insulted, and when +fondled by his keeper, will be forced to admit that the movements of +their features and their gestures are almost as expressive as those of +man. Although no explanation can be given of some of the expressions in +the lower animals, the greater number are explicable in accordance with +the three principles given at the commencement of the first chapter. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF MAN: SUFFERING AND WEEPING. + +The screaming and weeping of infants—Forms of features—Age at which +weeping commences—The effects of habitual restraint on +weeping—Sobbing—Cause of the contraction of the muscles round the eyes +during screaming—Cause of the secretion of tears. + +In this and the following chapters the expressions exhibited by Man +under various states of the mind will be described and explained, as +far as lies in my power. My observations will be arranged according to +the order which I have found the most convenient; and this will +generally lead to opposite emotions and sensations succeeding each +other. + +_Suffering of the body and mind: weeping_.—I have already described in +sufficient detail, in the third chapter, the signs of extreme pain, as +shown by screams or groans, with the writhing of the whole body and the +teeth clenched or ground together. These signs are often accompanied or +followed by profuse sweating, pallor, trembling, utter prostration, or +faintness. No suffering is greater than that from extreme fear or +horror, but here a distinct emotion comes into play, and will be +elsewhere considered. Prolonged suffering, especially of the mind, +passes into low spirits, grief, dejection, and despair, and these +states will be the subject of the following chapter. Here I shall +almost confine myself to weeping or crying, more especially in +children. + +Infants, when suffering even slight pain, moderate hunger, or +discomfort, utter violent and prolonged screams. Whilst thus screaming +their eyes are firmly closed, so that the skin round them is wrinkled, +and the forehead contracted into a frown. The mouth is widely opened +with the lips retracted in a peculiar manner, which causes it to assume +a squarish form; the gums or teeth being more or less exposed. The +breath is inhaled almost spasmodically. It is easy to observe infants +whilst screaming; but I have found photographs made by the +instantaneous process the best means for observation, as allowing more +deliberation. I have collected twelve, most of them made purposely for +me; and they all exhibit the same general characteristics. I have, +therefore, had six of them[601] (Plate I.) reproduced by the heliotype +process. + + + +Screaming Infants. Plate I. + +The firm closing of the eyelids and consequent compression of the +eyeball,—and this is a most important element in various +expressions,—serves to protect the eyes from becoming too much gorged +with blood, as will presently be explained in detail. With respect to +the order in which the several muscles contract in firmly compressing +the eyes, I am indebted to Dr. Langstaff, of Southampton, for some +observations, which I have since repeated. The best plan for observing +the order is to make a person first raise his eyebrows, and this +produces transverse wrinkles across the forehead; and then very +gradually to contract all the muscles round the elves with as much +force as possible. The reader who is unacquainted with the anatomy of +the face, ought to refer to p. 24, and look at the woodcuts 1 to 3. The +corrugators of the brow (_corrugator supercilii_) seem to be the first +muscles to contract; and these draw the eyebrows downwards and inwards +towards the base of the nose, causing vertical furrows, that is a +frown, to appear between the eyebrows; at the same time they cause the +disappearance of the transverse wrinkles across the forehead. The +orbicular muscles contract almost simultaneously with the corrugators, +and produce wrinkles all round the eyes; they appear, however, to be +enabled to contract with greater force, as soon as the contraction of +the corrugators has given them some support. Lastly, the pyramidal +muscles of the nose contract; and these draw the eyebrows and the skin +of the forehead still lower down, producing short transverse wrinkles +across the base of the nose.[602] For the sake of brevity these muscles +will generally be spoken of as the orbiculars, or as those surrounding +the eyes. + +When these muscles are strongly contracted, those running to the upper +lip[603] likewise contract and raise the upper lip. This might have +been expected from the manner in which at least one of them, the +_malaris_, is connected with the orbiculars. Any one who will gradually +contract the muscles round his eyes, will feel, as he increases the +force, that his upper lip and the wings of his nose (which are partly +acted on by one of the same muscles) are almost always a little drawn +up. If he keeps his mouth firmly shut whilst contracting the muscles +round the eyes, and then suddenly relaxes his lips, he will feel that +the pressure on his eyes immediately increases. So again when a person +on a bright, glaring day wishes to look at a distant object, but is +compelled partially to close his eyelids, the upper lip may almost +always be observed to be somewhat raised. The mouths of some very +short-sighted persons, who are forced habitually to reduce the aperture +of their eyes, wear from this same reason a grinning expression. + +The raising of the upper lip draws upwards the flesh of the upper parts +of the cheeks, and produces a strongly marked fold on each cheek,—the +naso-labial fold,—which runs from near the wings of the nostrils to the +corners of the mouth and below them. This fold or furrow may be seen in +all the photographs, and is very characteristic of the expression of a +crying child; though a nearly similar fold is produced in the act of +laughing or smiling.[604] + +As the upper lip is much drawn up during the act of screaming, in the +manner just explained, the depressor muscles of the angles of the mouth +(see K in woodcuts 1 and 2) are strongly contracted in order to keep +the mouth widely open, so that a full volume of sound may be poured +forth. The action of these opposed muscles, above and below, tends to +give to the mouth an oblong, almost squarish outline, as may be seen in +the accompanying photographs. An excellent observer,[605] in describing +a baby crying whilst being fed, says, “it made its mouth like a square, +and let the porridge run out at all four corners.” I believe, but we +shall return to this point in a future chapter, that the depressor +muscles of the angles of the mouth are less under the separate control +of the will than the adjoining muscles; so that if a young child is +only doubtfully inclined to cry, this muscle is generally the first to +contract, and is the last to cease contracting. When older children +commence crying, the muscles which run to the upper lip are often the +first to contract; and this may perhaps be due to older children not +having so strong a tendency to scream loudly, and consequently to keep +their mouths widely open; so that the above-named depressor muscles are +not brought into such strong action. + +With one of my own infants, from his eighth day and for some time +afterwards, I often observed that the first sign of a screaming-fit, +when it could be observed coming on gradually, was a little frown, +owing to the contraction of the corrugators of the brows; the +capillaries of the naked head and face becoming at the same time +reddened with blood. As soon as the screaming-fit actually began, all +the muscles round the eyes were strongly contracted, and the mouth +widely opened in the manner above described; so that at this early +period the features assumed the same form as at a more advanced age. + +Dr. Piderit[606] lays great stress on the contraction of certain +muscles which draw down the nose and narrow the nostrils, as eminently +characteristic of a crying expression. The _depressores anguli oris_, +as we have just seen, are usually contracted at the same time, and they +indirectly tend, according to Dr. Duchenne, to act in this same manner +on the nose. With children having bad colds a similar pinched +appearance of the nose may be noticed, which is at least partly due, as +remarked to me by Dr. Langstaff, to their constant snuffling, and the +consequent pressure of the atmosphere on the two sides. The purpose of +this contraction of the nostrils by children having bad colds, or +whilst crying, seems to be to check the downward flow of the mucus and +tears, and to prevent these fluids spreading over the upper lip. + +After a prolonged and severe screaming-fit, the scalp, face, and eyes +are reddened, owing to the return of the blood from the head having +been impeded by the violent expiratory efforts; but the redness of the +stimulated eyes is chiefly due to the copious effusion of tears. The +various muscles of the face which have been strongly contracted, still +twitch a little, and the upper lip is still slightly drawn up or +everted,[607] with the corners of the mouth still a little drawn +downwards. I have myself felt, and have observed in other grown-up +persons, that when tears are restrained with difficulty, as in reading +a pathetic story, it is almost impossible to prevent the various +muscles. which with young children are brought into strong action +during their screaming-fits, from slightly twitching or trembling. + +Infants whilst young do not shed tears or weep, as is well known to +nurses and medical men. This circumstance is not exclusively due to the +lacrymal glands being as yet incapable of secreting tears. I first +noticed this fact from having accidentally brushed with the cuff of my +coat the open eye of one of my infants, when seventy-seven days old, +causing this eye to water freely; and though the child screamed +violently, the other eye remained dry, or was only slightly suffused +with tears. A similar slight effusion occurred ten days previously in +both eyes during a screaming-fit. The tears did not run over the +eyelids and roll down the cheeks of this child, whilst screaming badly, +when 122 days old. This first happened 17 days later, at the age of 139 +days. A few other children have been observed for me, and the period of +free weeping appears to be very variable. In one case, the eyes became +slightly suffused at the age of only 20 days; in another, at 62 days. +With two other children, the tears did NOT run down the face at the +ages of 84 and 110 days; but in a third child they did run down at the +age of 104 days. In one instance, as I was positively assured, tears +ran down at the unusually early age of 42 days. It would appear as if +the lacrymal glands required some practice in the individual before +they are easily excited into action, in somewhat the same manner as +various inherited consensual movements and tastes require some exercise +before they are fixed and perfected. This is all the more likely with a +habit like weeping, which must have been acquired since the period when +man branched off from the common progenitor of the genus Homo and of +the non-weeping anthropomorphous apes. + +The fact of tears not being shed at a very early age from pain or any +mental emotion is remarkable, as, later in life, no expression is more +general or more strongly marked than weeping. When the habit has once +been acquired by an infant, it expresses in the clearest manner +suffering of all kinds, both bodily pain and mental distress, even +though accompanied by other emotions, such as fear or rage. The +character of the crying, however, changes at a very early age, as I +noticed in my own infants,—the passionate cry differing from that of +grief. A lady informs me that her child, nine months old, when in a +passion screams loudly, but does not weep; tears, however, are shed +when she is punished by her chair being turned with its back to the +table. This difference may perhaps be attributed to weeping being +restrained, as we shall immediately see, at a more advanced age, under +most circumstances excepting grief; and to the influence of such +restraint being transmitted to an earlier period of life, than that at +which it was first practised. + +With adults, especially of the male sex, weeping soon ceases to be +caused by, or to express, bodily pain. This may be accounted for by its +being thought weak and unmanly by men, both of civilized and barbarous +races, to exhibit bodily pain by any outward sign. With this exception, +savages weep copiously from very slight causes, of which fact Sir J. +Lubbock[608] has collected instances. A New Zealand chief “cried like a +child because the sailors spoilt his favourite cloak by powdering it +with flour.” I saw in Tierra del Fuego a native who had lately lost a +brother, and who alternately cried with hysterical violence, and +laughed heartily at anything which amused him. With the civilized +nations of Europe there is also much difference in the frequency of +weeping. Englishmen rarely cry, except under the pressure of the +acutest grief; whereas in some parts of the Continent the men shed +tears much more readily and freely. + +The insane notoriously give way to all their emotions with little or no +restraint; and I am informed by Dr. J. Crichton Browne, that nothing is +more characteristic of simple melancholia, even in the male sex, than a +tendency to weep on the slightest occasions, or from no cause. They +also weep disproportionately on the occurrence of any real cause of +grief. The length of time during which some patients weep is +astonishing, as well as the amount of tears which they shed. One +melancholic girl wept for a whole day, and afterwards confessed to Dr. +Browne, that it was because she remembered that she had once shaved off +her eyebrows to promote their growth. Many patients in the asylum sit +for a long time rocking themselves backwards and forwards; “and if +spoken to, they stop their movements, purse up their eyes, depress the +corners of the mouth, and burst out crying.” In some of these cases, +the being spoken to or kindly greeted appears to suggest some fanciful +and sorrowful notion; but in other cases an effort of any kind excites +weeping, independently of any sorrowful idea. Patients suffering from +acute mania likewise have paroxysms of violent crying or blubbering, in +the midst of their incoherent ravings. We must not, however, lay too +much stress on the copious shedding of tears by the insane, as being +due to the lack of all restraint; for certain brain-diseases, as +hemiplegia, brain-wasting, and senile decay, have a special tendency to +induce weeping. Weeping is common in the insane, even after a complete +state of fatuity has been reached and the power of speech lost. Persons +born idiotic likewise weep;[609] but it is said that this is not the +case with cretins. + +Weeping seems to be the primary and natural expression, as we see in +children, of suffering of any kind, whether bodily pain short of +extreme agony, or mental distress. But the foregoing facts and common +experience show us that a frequently repeated effort to restrain +weeping, in association with certain states of the mind, does much in +checking the habit. On the other hand, it appears that the power of +weeping can be increased through habit; thus the Rev. R. Taylor,[610] +who long resided in New Zealand, asserts that the women can voluntarily +shed tears in abundance; they meet for this purpose to mourn for the +dead, and they take pride in crying “in the most affecting manner.” + +A single effort of repression brought to bear on the lacrymal glands +does little, and indeed seems often to lead to an opposite result. An +old and experienced physician told me that he had always found that the +only means to check the occasional bitter weeping of ladies who +consulted him, and who themselves wished to desist, was earnestly to +beg them not to try, and to assure them that nothing would relieve them +so much as prolonged and copious crying. + +The screaming of infants consists of prolonged expirations, with short +and rapid, almost spasmodic inspirations, followed at a somewhat more +advanced age by sobbing. According to Gratiolet,[611] the glottis is +chiefly affected during the act of sobbing. This sound is heard “at the +moment when the inspiration conquers the resistance of the glottis, and +the air rushes into the chest.” But the whole act of respiration is +likewise spasmodic and violent. The shoulders are at the same time +generally raised, as by this movement respiration is rendered easier. +With one of my infants, when seventy-seven days old, the inspirations +were so rapid and strong that they approached in character to sobbing; +when 138 days old I first noticed distinct sobbing, which subsequently +followed every bad crying-fit. The respiratory movements are partly +voluntary and partly involuntary, and I apprehend that sobbing is at +least in part due to children having some power to command after early +infancy their vocal organs and to stop their screams, but from having +less power over their respiratory muscles, these continue for a time to +act in an involuntary or spasmodic manner, after having been brought +into violent action. Sobbing seems to be peculiar to the human species; +for the keepers in the Zoological Gardens assure me that they have +never heard a sob from any kind of monkey; though monkeys often scream +loudly whilst being chased and caught, and then pant for a long time. +We thus see that there is a close analogy between sobbing and the free +shedding of tears; for with children, sobbing does not commence during +early infancy, but afterwards comes on rather suddenly and then follows +every bad crying-fit, until the habit is checked with advancing years. + +_On the cause of the contraction of the muscles round the eyes during +screaming_.—We have seen that infants and young children, whilst +screaming, invariably close their eyes firmly, by the contraction of +the surrounding muscles, so that the skin becomes wrinkled all around. +With older children, and even with adults, whenever there is violent +and unrestrained crying, a tendency to the contraction of these same +muscles may be observed; though this is often checked in order not to +interfere with vision. + +Sir C. Bell explains[612] this action in the following manner:—“During +every violent act of expiration, whether in hearty laughter, weeping, +coughing, or sneezing, the eyeball is firmly compressed by the fibres +of the orbicularis; and this is a provision for supporting and +defending the vascular system of the interior of the eye from a +retrograde impulse communicated to the blood in the veins at that time. +When we contract the chest and expel the air, there is a retardation of +the blood in the veins of the neck and head; and in the more powerful +acts of expulsion, the blood not only distends the vessels, but is even +regurgitated into the minute branches. Were the eye not properly +compressed at that time, and a resistance given to the shock, +irreparable injury might be inflicted on the delicate textures of the +interior of the eye.” He further adds, “If we separate the eyelids of a +child to examine the eye, while it cries and struggles with passion, by +taking off the natural support to the vascular system of the eye, and +means of guarding it against the rush of blood then occurring, the +conjunctiva becomes suddenly filled with blood, and the eyelids +everted.” + +Not only are the muscles round the eyes strongly contracted, as Sir C. +Bell states and as I have often observed, during screaming, loud +laughter, coughing, and sneezing, but during several other analogous +actions. A man contracts these muscles when he violently blows his +nose. I asked one of my boys to shout as loudly as he possibly could, +and as soon as he began, he firmly contracted his orbicular muscles; I +observed this repeatedly, and on asking him why he had every time so +firmly closed his eyes, I found that he was quite unaware of the fact: +he had acted instinctively or unconsciously. + +It is not necessary, in order to lead to the contraction of these +muscles, that air should actually be expelled from the chest; it +suffices that the muscles of the chest and abdomen should contract with +great force, whilst by the closure of the glottis no air escapes. In +violent vomiting or retching the diaphragm is made to descend by the +chest being filled with air; it is then held in this position by the +closure of the glottis, “as well as by the contraction of its own +fibres.”[613] The abdominal muscles now contract strongly upon the +stomach, its proper muscles likewise contracting, and the contents are +thus ejected. During each effort of vomiting “the head becomes greatly +congested, so that the features are red and swollen, and the large +veins of the face and temples visibly dilated.” At the same time, as I +know from observation, the muscles round the eyes are strongly +contracted. This is likewise the case when the abdominal muscles act +downwards with unusual force in expelling the contents of the +intestinal canal. + +The greatest exertion of the muscles of the body, if those of the chest +are not brought into strong action in expelling or compressing the air +within the lungs, does not lead to the contraction of the muscles round +the eyes. I have observed my sons using great force in gymnastic +exercises, as in repeatedly raising their suspended bodies by their +arms alone, and in lifting heavy weights from the ground, but there was +hardly any trace of contraction in the muscles round the eyes. + +As the contraction of these muscles for the protection of the eyes +during violent expiration is indirectly, as we shall hereafter see, a +fundamental element in several of our most important expressions, I was +extremely anxious to ascertain how far Sir C. Bell’s view could be +substantiated. Professor Donders, of Utrecht,[614] well known as one of +the highest authorities in Europe on vision and on the structure of the +eye, has most kindly undertaken for me this investigation with the aid +of the many ingenious mechanisms of modern science, and has published +the results.[615] He shows that during violent expiration the external, +the intra-ocular, and the retro-ocular vessels of the eye are all +affected in two ways, namely by the increased pressure of the blood in +the arteries, and by the return of the blood in the veins being +impeded. It is, therefore, certain that both the arteries and the veins +of the eye are more or less distended during violent expiration. The +evidence in detail may be found in Professor Donders’ valuable memoir. +We see the effects on the veins of the head, in their prominence, and +in the purple colour of the face of a man who coughs violently from +being half choked. I may mention, on the same authority, that the whole +eye certainly advances a little during each violent expiration. This is +due to the dilatation of the retro-ocular vessels, and might have been +expected from the intimate connection of the eye and brain; the brain +being known to rise and fall with each respiration, when a portion of +the skull has been removed; and as may be seen along the unclosed +sutures of infants’ heads. This also, I presume, is the reason that the +eyes of a strangled man appear as if they were starting from their +sockets. + +With respect to the protection of the eye during violent expiratory +efforts by the pressure of the eyelids, Professor Donders concludes +from his various observations that this action certainly limits or +entirely removes the dilatation of the vessels.[616] At such times, he +adds, we not unfrequently see the hand involuntarily laid upon the +eyelids, as if the better to support and defend the eyeball. + +Nevertheless much evidence cannot at present be advanced to prove that +the eye actually suffers injury from the want of support during violent +expiration; but there is some. It is “a fact that forcible expiratory +efforts in violent coughing or vomiting, and especially in sneezing, +sometimes give rise to ruptures of the little (external) vessels” of +the eye.[617] With respect to the internal vessels, Dr. Gunning has +lately recorded a case of exophthalmos in consequence of +whooping-cough, which in his opinion depended on the rupture of the +deeper vessels; and another analogous case has been recorded. But a +mere sense of discomfort would probably suffice to lead to the +associated habit of protecting the eyeball by the contraction of the +surrounding muscles. Even the expectation or chance of injury would +probably be sufficient, in the same manner as an object moving too near +the eye induces involuntary winking of the eyelids. We may, therefore, +safely conclude from Sir C. Bell’s observations, and more especially +from the more careful investigations by Professor Donders, that the +firm closure of the eyelids during the screaming of children is an +action full of meaning and of real service. + +We have already seen that the contraction of the orbicular muscles +leads to the drawing up of the upper lip, and consequently, if the +mouth is kept widely open, to the drawing down of the corners by the +contraction of the depressor muscles. The formation of the naso-labial +fold on the cheeks likewise follows from the drawing up of the upper +lip. Thus all the chief expressive movements of the face during crying +apparently result from the contraction of the muscles round the eyes. +We shall also find that the shedding of tears depends on, or at least +stands in some connection with, the contraction of these same muscles. + +In some of the foregoing cases, especially in those of sneezing and +coughing, it is possible that the contraction of the orbicular muscles +may serve in addition to protect the eyes from too severe a jar or +vibration. I think so, because dogs and cats, in crunching hard bones, +always close their eyelids, and at least sometimes in sneezing; though +dogs do not do so whilst barking loudly. Mr. Sutton carefully observed +for me a young orang and chimpanzee, and he found that both always +closed their eyes in sneezing and coughing, but not whilst screaming +violently. I gave a small pinch of snuff to a monkey of the American +division, namely, a Cebus, and it closed its eyelids whilst sneezing; +but not on a subsequent occasion whilst uttering loud cries. + +_Cause of the secretion of tears_.—It is an important fact which must +be considered in any theory of the secretion of tears from the mind +being affected, that whenever the muscles round the eyes are strongly +and involuntarily contracted in order to compress the blood-vessels and +thus to protect the eyes, tears are secreted, often in sufficient +abundance to roll down the cheeks. This occurs under the most opposite +emotions, and under no emotion at all. The sole exception, and this is +only a partial one, to the existence of a relation between the +involuntary and strong contraction of these muscles and the secretion +of tears is that of young infants, who, whilst screaming violently with +their eyelids firmly closed, do not commonly weep until they have +attained the age of from two to three or four months. Their eyes, +however, become suffused with tears at a much earlier age. It would +appear, as already remarked, that the lacrymal glands do not, from the +want of practice or some other cause, come to full functional activity +at a very early period of life. With children at a somewhat later age, +crying out or wailing from any distress is so regularly accompanied by +the shedding of tears, that weeping and crying are synonymous +terms.[618] + +Under the opposite emotion of great joy or amusement, as long as +laughter is moderate there is hardly any contraction of the muscles +round the eyes, so that there is no frowning; but when peals of loud +laughter are uttered, with rapid and violent spasmodic expirations, +tears stream down the face. I have more than once noticed the face of a +person, after a paroxysm of violent laughter, and I could see that the +orbicular muscles and those running to the upper lip were still +partially contracted, which together with the tear-stained cheeks gave +to the upper half of the face an expression not to be distinguished +from that of a child still blubbering from grief. The fact of tears +streaming down the face during violent laughter is common to all the +races of mankind, as we shall see in a future chapter. + +In violent coughing especially when a person is half-choked, the face +becomes purple, the veins distended, the orbicular muscles strongly +contracted, and tears run down the cheeks. Even after a fit of ordinary +coughing, almost every one has to wipe his eyes. In violent vomiting or +retching, as I have myself experienced and seen in others, the +orbicular muscles are strongly contracted, and tears sometimes flow +freely down the cheeks. It has been suggested to me that this may be +due to irritating matter being injected into the nostrils, and causing +by reflex action the secretion of tears. Accordingly I asked one of my +informants, a surgeon, to attend to the effects of retching when +nothing was thrown up from the stomach; and, by an odd coincidence, he +himself suffered the next morning from an attack of retching, and three +days subsequently observed a lady under a similar attack; and he is +certain that in neither case an atom of matter was ejected from the +stomach; yet the orbicular muscles were strongly contracted, and tears +freely secreted. I can also speak positively to the energetic +contraction of these same muscles round the eyes, and to the coincident +free secretion of tears, when the abdominal muscles act with unusual +force in a downward direction on the intestinal canal. + +Yawning commences with a deep inspiration, followed by a long and +forcible expiration; and at the same time almost all the muscles of the +body are strongly contracted, including those round the eyes. During +this act tears are often secreted, and I have seen them even rolling +down the cheeks. + +I have frequently observed that when persons scratch some point which +itches intolerably, they forcibly close their eyelids; but they do not, +as I believe, first draw a deep breath and then expel it with force; +and I have never noticed that the eyes then become filled with tears; +but I am not prepared to assert that this does not occur. The forcible +closure of the eyelids is, perhaps, merely a part of that general +action by which almost all the muscles of the body are at the same time +rendered rigid. It is quite different from the gentle closure of the +eyes which often accompanies, as Gratiolet remarks,[619] the smelling a +delicious odour, or the tasting a delicious morsel, and which probably +originates in the desire to shut out any disturbing impression through +the eyes. + +Professor Donders writes to me to the following effect: “I have +observed some cases of a very curious affection when, after a slight +rub (_attouchement_), for example, from the friction of a coat, which +caused neither a wound nor a contusion, spasms of the orbicular muscles +occurred, with a very profuse flow of tears, lasting about one hour. +Subsequently, sometimes after an interval of several weeks, violent +spasms of the same muscles re-occurred, accompanied by the secretion of +tears, together with primary or secondary redness of the eye.” Mr. +Bowman informs me that he has occasionally observed closely analogous +cases, and that, in some of these, there was no redness or inflammation +of the eyes. + +I was anxious to ascertain whether there existed in any of the lower +animals a similar relation between the contraction of the orbicular +muscles during violent expiration and the secretion of tears; but there +are very few animals which contract these muscles in a prolonged +manner, or which shed tears. _The Macacus maurus_, which formerly wept +so copiously in the Zoological Gardens, would have been a fine case for +observation; but the two monkeys now there, and which are believed to +belong to the same species, do not weep. Nevertheless they were +carefully observed by Mr. Bartlett and myself, whilst screaming loudly, +and they seemed to contract these muscles; but they moved about their +cages so rapidly, that it was difficult to observe with certainty. No +other monkey, as far as I have been able to ascertain, contracts its +orbicular muscles whilst screaming. + +The Indian elephant is known sometimes to weep. Sir E. Tennent, in +describing these which he saw captured and bound in Ceylon, says, some +“lay motionless on the ground, with no other indication of suffering +than the tears which suffused their eyes and flowed incessantly.” +Speaking of another elephant he says, “When overpowered and made fast, +his grief was most affecting; his violence sank to utter prostration, +and he lay on the ground, uttering choking cries, with tears trickling +down his cheeks.”[620] In the Zoological Gardens the keeper of the +Indian elephants positively asserts that he has several times seen +tears rolling down the face of the old female, when distressed by the +removal of the young one. Hence I was extremely anxious to ascertain, +as an extension of the relation between the contraction of the +orbicular muscles and the shedding of tears in man, whether elephants +when screaming or trumpeting loudly contract these muscles. At Mr. +Bartlett’s desire the keeper ordered the old and the young elephant to +trumpet; and we repeatedly saw in both animals that, just as the +trumpeting began, the orbicular muscles, especially the lower ones, +were distinctly contracted. On a subsequent occasion the keeper made +the old elephant trumpet much more loudly, and invariably both the +upper and lower orbicular muscles were strongly contracted, and now in +an equal degree. It is a singular fact that the African elephant, +which, however, is so different from the Indian species that it is +placed by some naturalists in a distinct sub-genus, when made on two +occasions to trumpet loudly, exhibited no trace of the contraction of +the orbicular muscles. + +From the several foregoing cases with respect to Man, there can, I +think, be no doubt that the contraction of the muscles round the eyes, +during violent expiration or when the expanded chest is forcibly +compressed, is, in some manner, intimately connected with the secretion +of tears. This holds good under widely different emotions, and +independently of any emotion. It is not, of course, meant that tears +cannot be secreted without the contraction of these muscles; for it is +notorious that they are often freely shed with the eyelids not closed, +and with the brows unwrinkled. The contraction must be both involuntary +and prolonged, as during a choking fit, or energetic, as during a +sneeze. The mere involuntary winking of the eyelids, though often +repeated, does not bring tears into the eyes. Nor does the voluntary +and prolonged contraction of the several surrounding muscles suffice. +As the lacrymal glands of children are easily excited, I persuaded my +own and several other children of different ages to contract these +muscles repeatedly with their utmost force, and to continue doing so as +long as they possibly could; but this produced hardly any effect. There +was sometimes a little moisture in the eyes, but not more than +apparently could be accounted for by the squeezing out of the already +secreted tears within the glands. + +The nature of the relation between the involuntary and energetic +contraction of the muscles round the eyes, and the secretion of tears, +cannot be positively ascertained, but a probable view may be suggested. +The primary function of the secretion of tears, together with some +mucus, is to lubricate the surface of the eye; and a secondary one, as +some believe, is to keep the nostrils damp, so that the inhaled air may +be moist,[621] and likewise to favour the power of smelling. But +another, and at least equally important function of tears, is to wash +out particles of dust or other minute objects which may get into the +eyes. That this is of great importance is clear from the cases in which +the cornea has been rendered opaque through inflammation, caused by +particles of dust not being removed, in consequence of the eye and +eyelid becoming immovable.[622] The secretion of tears from the +irritation of any foreign body in the eye is a reflex action;—that is, +the body irritates a peripheral nerve which sends an impression to +certain sensory nerve-cells; these transmit an influence to other +cells, and these again to the lacrymal glands. The influence +transmitted to these glands causes, as there is good reason to believe, +the relaxation of the muscular coats of the smaller arteries; this +allows more blood to permeate the glandular tissue, and this induces a +free secretion of tears. When the small arteries of the face, including +those of the retina, are relaxed under very different circumstances, +namely, during an intense blush, the lacrymal glands are sometimes +affected in a like manner, for the eyes become suffused with tears. + +It is difficult to conjecture how many reflex actions have originated, +but, in relation to the present case of the affection of the lacrymal +glands through irritation of the surface of the eye, it may be worth +remarking that, as soon as some primordial form became semi-terrestrial +in its habits, and was liable to get particles of dust into its eyes, +if these were not washed out they would cause much irritation; and on +the principle of the radiation of nerve-force to adjoining nerve-cells, +the lacrymal glands would be stimulated to secretion. As this would +often recur, and as nerve-force readily passes along accustomed +channels, a slight irritation would ultimately suffice to cause a free +secretion of tears. + +As soon as by this, or by some other means, a reflex action of this +nature had been established and rendered easy, other stimulants applied +to the surface of the eye—such as a cold wind, slow inflammatory +action, or a blow on the eyelids—would cause a copious secretion of +tears, as we know to be the case. The glands are also excited into +action through the irritation of adjoining parts. Thus when the +nostrils are irritated by pungent vapours, though the eyelids may be +kept firmly closed, tears are copiously secreted; and this likewise +follows from a blow on the nose, for instance from a boxing-glove. A +stinging switch on the face produces, as I have seen, the same effect. +In these latter cases the secretion of tears is an incidental result, +and of no direct service. As all these parts of the face, including the +lacrymal glands, are supplied with branches of the same nerve, namely, +the fifth, it is in some degree intelligible that the effects of the +excitement of any one branch should spread to the nerve-cells or roots +of the other branches. + +The internal parts of the eye likewise act, under certain conditions, +in a reflex manner on the lacrymal glands. The following statements +have been kindly communicated to me by Mr. Bowman; but the subject is a +very intricate one, as all the parts of the eye are so intimately +related together, and are so sensitive to various stimulants. A strong +light acting on the retina, when in a normal condition, has very little +tendency to cause lacrymation; but with unhealthy children having +small, old-standing ulcers on the cornea, the retina becomes +excessively sensitive to light, and exposure even to common daylight +causes forcible and sustained closure of the lids, and a profuse flow +of tears. When persons who ought to begin the use of convex glasses +habitually strain the waning power of accommodation, an undue secretion +of tears very often follows, and the retina is liable to become unduly +sensitive to light. In general, morbid affections of the surface of the +eye, and of the ciliary structures concerned in the accommodative act, +are prone to be accompanied with excessive secretion of tears. Hardness +of the eyeball, not rising to inflammation, but implying a want of +balance between the fluids poured out and again taken up by the +intra-ocular vessels, is not usually attended with any lacrymation. +When the balance is on the other side, and the eye becomes too soft, +there is a greater tendency to lacrymation. Finally, there are numerous +morbid states and structural alterations of the eyes, and even terrible +inflammations, which may be attended with little or no secretion of +tears. + +It also deserves notice, as indirectly bearing on our subject, that the +eye and adjoining parts are subject to an extraordinary number of +reflex and associated movements, sensations, and actions, besides those +relating to the lacrymal glands. When a bright light strikes the retina +of one eye alone, the iris contracts, but the iris of the other eye +moves after a measurable interval of time. The iris likewise moves in +accommodation to near or distant vision, and when the two eyes are made +to converge.[623] Every one knows how irresistibly the eyebrows are +drawn down under an intensely bright light. The eyelids also +involuntarily wink when an object is moved near the eyes, or a sound is +suddenly heard. The well-known case of a bright light causing some +persons to sneeze is even more curious; for nerve-force here radiates +from certain nerve-cells in connection with the retina, to the sensory +nerve-cells of the nose, causing it to tickle; and from these, to the +cells which command the various respiratory muscles (the orbiculars +included) which expel the air in so peculiar a manner that it rushes +through the nostrils alone. + +To return to our point: why are tears secreted during a screaming-fit +or other violent expiratory efforts? As a slight blow on the eyelids +causes a copious secretion of tears, it is at least possible that the +spasmodic contraction of the eyelids, by pressing strongly on the +eyeball, should in a similar manner cause some secretion. This seems +possible, although the voluntary contraction of the same muscles does +not produce any such effect. We know that a man cannot voluntarily +sneeze or cough with nearly the same force as he does automatically; +and so it is with the contraction of the orbicular muscles: Sir C. Bell +experimented on them, and found that by suddenly and forcibly closing +the eyelids in the dark, sparks of light are seen, like those caused by +tapping the eyelids with the fingers; “but in sneezing the compression +is both more rapid and more forcible, and the sparks are more +brilliant.” That these sparks are due to the contraction of the eyelids +is clear, because if they “are held open during the act of sneezing, no +sensation of light will be experienced.” In the peculiar cases referred +to by Professor Donders and Mr. Bowman, we have seen that some weeks +after the eye has been very slightly injured, spasmodic contractions of +the eyelids ensue, and these are accompanied by a profuse flow of +tears. In the act of yawning, the tears are apparently due solely to +the spasmodic contraction of the muscles round the eyes. +Notwithstanding these latter cases, it seems hardly credible that the +pressure of the eyelids on the surface of the eye, although effected +spasmodically and therefore with much greater force than can be done +voluntarily, should be sufficient to cause by reflex action the +secretion of tears in the many cases in which this occurs during +violent expiratory efforts. + +Another cause may come conjointly into play. We have seen that the +internal parts of the eye, under certain conditions act in a reflex +manner on the lacrymal glands. We know that during violent expiratory +efforts the pressure of the arterial blood within the vessels of the +eye is increased, and that the return of the venous blood is impeded. +It seems, therefore, not improbable that the distension of the ocular +vessels, thus induced, might act by reflection on the lacrymal +glands—the effects due to the spasmodic pressure of the eyelids on the +surface of the eye being thus increased. + +In considering how far this view is probable, we should bear in mind +that the eyes of infants have been acted on in this double manner +during numberless generations, whenever they have screamed; and on the +principle of nerve-force readily passing along accustomed channels, +even a moderate compression of the eyeballs and a moderate distension +of the ocular vessels would ultimately come, through habit, to act on +the glands. We have an analogous case in the orbicular muscles being +almost always contracted in some slight degree, even during a gentle +crying-fit, when there can be no distension of the vessels and no +uncomfortable sensation excited within the eyes. + +Moreover, when complex actions or movements have long been performed in +strict association together, and these are from any cause at first +voluntarily and afterwards habitually checked, then if the proper +exciting conditions occur, any part of the action or movement which is +least under the control of the will, will often still be involuntarily +performed. The secretion by a gland is remarkably free from the +influence of the will; therefore, when with the advancing age of the +individual, or with the advancing culture of the race, the habit of +crying out or screaming is restrained, and there is consequently no +distension of the blood-vessels of the eye, it may nevertheless well +happen that tears should still be secreted. We may see, as lately +remarked, the muscles round the eyes of a person who reads a pathetic +story, twitching or trembling in so slight a degree as hardly to be +detected. In this case there has been no screaming and no distension of +the blood-vessels, yet through habit certain nerve-cells send a small +amount of nerve-force to the cells commanding the muscles round the +eyes; and they likewise send some to the cells commanding the lacrymal +glands, for the eyes often become at the same time just moistened with +tears. If the twitching of the muscles round the eyes and the secretion +of tears had been completely prevented, nevertheless it is almost +certain that there would have been some tendency to transmit +nerve-force in these same directions; and as the lacrymal glands are +remarkably free from the control of the will, they would be eminently +liable still to act, thus betraying, though there were no other outward +signs, the pathetic thoughts which were passing through the person’s +mind. + +As a further illustration of the view here advanced, I may remark that +if, during an early period of life, when habits of all kinds are +readily established, our infants, when pleased, had been accustomed to +utter loud peals of laughter (during which the vessels of their eyes +are distended) as often and as continuously as they have yielded when +distressed to screaming-fits, then it is probable that in after life +tears would have been as copiously and as regularly secreted under the +one state of mind as under the other. Gentle laughter, or a smile, or +even a pleasing thought, would have sufficed to cause a moderate +secretion of tears. There does indeed exist an evident tendency in this +direction, as will be seen in a future chapter, when we treat of the +tender feelings. With the Sandwich Islanders, according to +Freycinet,[624] tears are actually recognized as a sign of happiness; +but we should require better evidence on this head than that of a +passing voyager. So again if our infants, during many generations, and +each of them during several years, had almost daily suffered from +prolonged choking-fits, during which the vessels of the eye are +distended and tears copiously secreted, then it is probable, such is +the force of associated habit, that during after life the mere thought +of a choke, without any distress of mind, would have sufficed to bring +tears into our eyes. + +To sum up this chapter, weeping is probably the result of some such +chain of events as follows. Children, when wanting food or suffering in +any way, cry out loudly, like the young of most other animals, partly +as a call to their parents for aid, and partly from any great exertion +serving relief. Prolonged screaming inevitably leads to the gorging of +the blood-vessels of the eye; and this will have led, at first +consciously and at last habitually, to the contraction of the muscles +round the eyes in order to protect them. At the same time the spasmodic +pressure on the surface of the eye, and the distension of the vessels +within the eye, without necessarily entailing any conscious sensation, +will have affected, through reflex action, the lacrymal glands. +Finally, through the three principles of nerve-force readily passing +along accustomed channels—of association, which is so widely extended +in its power—and of certain actions, being more under the control of +the will than others—it has come to pass that suffering readily causes +the secretion of tears, without being necessarily accompanied by any +other action. + +Although in accordance with this view we must look at weeping as an +incidental result, as purposeless as the secretion of tears from a blow +outside the eye, or as a sneeze from the retina being affected by a +bright light, yet this does not present any difficulty in our +understanding how the secretion of tears serves as a relief to +suffering. And by as much as the weeping is more violent or hysterical, +by so much will the relief be greater,—on the same principle that the +writhing of the whole body, the grinding of the teeth, and the uttering +of piercing shrieks, all give relief under an agony of pain. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. LOW SPIRITS, ANXIETY, GRIEF, DEJECTION, DESPAIR. + +General effect of grief on the system—Obliquity of the eyebrows under +suffering—On the cause of the obliquity of the eyebrows—On the +depression of the corners of the mouth. + +After the mind has suffered from an acute paroxysm of grief, and the +cause still continues, we fall into a state of low spirits; or we may +be utterly cast down and dejected. Prolonged bodily pain, if not +amounting to an agony, generally leads to the same state of mind. If we +expect to suffer, we are anxious; if we have no hope of relief, we +despair. + +Persons suffering from excessive grief often seek relief by violent and +almost frantic movements, as described in a former chapter; but when +their suffering is somewhat mitigated, yet prolonged, they no longer +wish for action, but remain motionless and passive, or may occasionally +rock themselves to and fro. The circulation becomes languid; the face +pale; the muscles flaccid; the eyelids droop; the head hangs on the +contracted chest; the lips, cheeks, and lower jaw all sink downwards +from their own weight. Hence all the features are lengthened; and the +face of a person who hears bad news is said to fall. A party of natives +in Tierra del Fuego endeavoured to explain to us that their friend, the +captain of a sealing vessel, was out of spirits, by pulling down their +cheeks with both hands, so as to make their faces as long as possible. +Mr. Bunnet informs me that the Australian aborigines when out of +spirits have a chop-fallen appearance. After prolonged suffering the +eyes become dull and lack expression, and are often slightly suffused +with tears. The eyebrows not rarely are rendered oblique, which is due +to their inner ends being raised. This produces peculiarly-formed +wrinkles on the forehead, which are very different from those of a +simple frown; though in some cases a frown alone may be present. The +comers of the mouth are drawn downwards, which is so universally +recognized as a sign of being out of spirits, that it is almost +proverbial. + +The breathing becomes slow and feeble, and is often interrupted by deep +sighs. As Gratiolet remarks, whenever our attention is long +concentrated on any subject, we forget to breathe, and then relieve +ourselves by a deep inspiration; but the sighs of a sorrowful person, +owing to his slow respiration and languid circulation, are eminently +characteristic.[701] As the grief of a person in this state +occasionally recurs and increases into a paroxysm, spasms affect the +respiratory muscles, and he feels as if something, the so-called +_globus hystericus_, was rising in his throat. These spasmodic +movements are clearly allied to the sobbing of children, and are +remnants of those severer spasms which occur when a person is said to +choke from excessive grief.[702] + +_Obliquity of the eyebrows_.—Two points alone in the above description +require further elucidation, and these are very curious ones; namely, +the raising of the inner ends of the eyebrows, and the drawing down of +the corners of the mouth. With respect to the eyebrows, they may +occasionally be seen to assume an oblique position in persons suffering +from deep dejection or anxiety; for instance, I have observed this +movement in a mother whilst speaking about her sick son; and it is +sometimes excited by quite trifling or momentary causes of real or +pretended distress. The eyebrows assume this position owing to the +contraction of certain muscles (namely, the orbiculars, corrugators, +and pyramidals of the nose, which together tend to lower and contract +the eyebrows) being partially cheeked by the more powerful action of +the central fasciæ of the frontal muscle. These latter fasciæ by their +contraction raise the inner ends alone of the eyebrows; and as the +corrugators at the same time draw the eyebrows together, their inner +ends become puckered into a fold or lump. This fold is a highly +characteristic point in the appearance of the eyebrows when rendered +oblique, as may be seen in figs. 2 and 5, Plate II. The eyebrows are at +the same time somewhat roughened, owing to the hairs being made to +project. Dr. J. Crichton Browne has also often noticed in melancholic +patients who keep their eyebrows persistently oblique, “a peculiar +acute arching of the upper eyelid.” A trace of this may be observed by +comparing the right and left eyelids of the young man in the photograph +(fig. 2, Plate II.); for he was not able to act equally on both +eyebrows. This is also shown by the unequal furrows on the two sides of +his forehead. The acute arching of the eyelids depends, I believe, on +the inner end alone of the eyebrows being raised; for when the whole +eyebrow is elevated and arched, the upper eyelid follows in a slight +degree the same movement. + + + + Obliquity of the Eyebrows. Plate II + +But the most conspicuous result of the opposed contraction of the +above-named muscles, is exhibited by the peculiar furrows formed on the +forehead. These muscles, when thus in conjoint yet opposed action, may +be called, for the sake of brevity, the grief-muscles. When a person +elevates his eyebrows by the contraction of the whole frontal muscle, +transverse wrinkles extend across the whole breadth of the forehead; +but in the present case the middle fasciae alone are contracted; +consequently, transverse furrows are formed across the middle part +alone of the forehead. The skin over the exterior parts of both +eyebrows is at the same time drawn downwards and smooth, by the +contraction of the outer portions of the orbicular muscles. The +eyebrows are likewise brought together through the simultaneous +contraction of the corrugators;[703] and this latter action generates +vertical furrows, separating the exterior and lowered part of the skin +of the forehead from the central and raised part. The union of these +vertical furrows with the central and transverse furrows (see figs. 2 +and 3) produces a mark on the forehead which has been compared to a +horse-shoe; but the furrows more strictly form three sides of a +quadrangle. They are often conspicuous on the foreheads of adult or +nearly adult persons, when their eyebrows are made oblique; but with +young children, owing to their skin not easily wrinkling, they are +rarely seen, or mere traces of them can be detected. + +These peculiar furrows are best represented in fig. 3, Plate II., on +the forehead of a young lady who has the power in an unusual degree of +voluntarily acting on the requisite muscles. As she was absorbed in the +attempt, whilst being photographed, her expression was not at all one +of grief; I have therefore given the forehead alone. Fig. 1 on the same +plate, copied from Dr. Duchenne’s work,[704] represents, on a reduced +scale, the face, in its natural state, of a young man who was a good +actor. In fig. 2 he is shown simulating grief, but the two eyebrows, as +before remarked, are not equally acted on. That the expression is true, +may be inferred from the fact that out of fifteen persons, to whom the +original photograph was shown, without any clue to what was intended +being given them, fourteen immediately answered, “despairing sorrow,” +“suffering endurance,” “melancholy,” and so forth. The history of fig. +5 is rather curious: I saw the photograph in a shop-window, and took it +to Mr. Rejlander for the sake of finding out by whom it had been made; +remarking to him how pathetic the expression was. He answered, “I made +it, and it was likely to be pathetic, for the boy in a few minutes +burst out crying.” He then showed me a photograph of the same boy in a +placid state, which I have had (fig. 4) reproduced. In fig. 6, a trace +of obliquity in the eyebrows may be detected; but this figure, as well +as fig. 7, is given to show the depression of the corners of the mouth, +to which subject I shall presently refer. + +Few persons, without some practice, can voluntarily act on their +grief-muscles; but after repeated trials a considerable number succeed, +whilst others never can. The degree of obliquity in the eyebrows, +whether assumed voluntarily or unconsciously, differs much in different +persons. With some who apparently have unusually strong pyramidal +muscles, the contraction of the central fasciae of the frontal muscle, +although it may be energetic, as shown by the quadrangular furrows on +the forehead, does not raise the inner ends of the eyebrows, but only +prevents their being so much lowered as they otherwise would have been. +As far as I have been able to observe, the grief-muscles are brought +into action much more frequently by children and women than by men. +They are rarely acted on, at least with grown-up persons, from bodily +pain, but almost exclusively from mental distress. Two persons who, +after some practice, succeeded in acting on their grief-muscles, found +by looking at a mirror that when they made their eyebrows oblique, they +unintentionally at the same time depressed the corners of their mouths; +and this is often the case when the expression is naturally assumed. + +The power to bring the grief-muscles freely into play appears to be +hereditary, like almost every other human faculty. A lady belonging to +a family famous for having produced an extraordinary number of great +actors and actresses, and who can herself give this expression “with +singular precision,” told Dr. Crichton Browne that all her family had +possessed the power in a remarkable degree. The same hereditary +tendency is said to have extended, as I likewise hear from Dr. Browne, +to the last descendant of the family, which gave rise to Sir Walter +Scott’s novel of ‘Red Gauntlet;’ but the hero is described as +contracting his forehead into a horseshoe mark from any strong emotion. +I have also seen a young woman whose forehead seemed almost habitually +thus contracted, independently of any emotion being at the time felt. + +The grief-muscles are not very frequently brought into play; and as the +action is often momentary, it easily escapes observation. Although the +expression, when observed, is universally and instantly recognized as +that of grief or anxiety, yet not one person out of a thousand who has +never studied the subject, is able to say precisely what change passes +over the sufferer’s face. Hence probably it is that this expression is +not even alluded to, as far as I have noticed, in any work of fiction, +with the exception of ‘Red Gauntlet’ and of one other novel; and the +authoress of the latter, as I am informed, belongs to the famous family +of actors just alluded to; so that her attention may have been +specially called to the subject. + +The ancient Greek sculptors were familiar with the expression, as shown +in the statues of the Laocoon and Arretino; but, as Duchenne remarks, +they carried the transverse furrows across the whole breadth of the +forehead, and thus committed a great anatomical mistake: this is +likewise the case in some modern statues. It is, however, more probable +that these wonderfully accurate observers intentionally sacrificed +truth for the sake of beauty, than that they made a mistake; for +rectangular furrows on the forehead would not have had a grand +appearance on the marble. The expression, in its fully developed +condition, is, as far as I can discover, not often represented in +pictures by the old masters, no doubt owing to the same cause; but a +lady who is perfectly familiar with this expression, informs me that in +Fra Angelico’s ‘Descent from the Cross’ in Florence, it is clearly +exhibited in one of the figures on the right-hand; and I could add a +few other instances. + +Dr. Crichton Browne, at my request, closely attended to this expression +in the numerous insane patients under his care in the West Riding +Asylum; and he is familiar with Duchenne’s photographs of the action of +the grief-muscles. He informs me that they may constantly be seen in +energetic action in cases of melancholia, and especially of +hypochondria; and that the persistent lines or furrows, due to their +habitual contraction, are characteristic of the physiognomy of the +insane belonging to these two classes. Dr. Browne carefully observed +for me during a considerable period three cases of hypochondria, in +which the grief-muscles were persistently contracted. In one of these, +a widow, aged 51, fancied that she had lost all her viscera, and that +her whole body was empty. She wore an expression of great distress, and +beat her semi-closed hands rhythmically together for hours. The +grief-muscles were permanently contracted, and the upper eyelids +arched. This condition lasted for months; she then recovered, and her +countenance resumed its natural expression. A second case presented +nearly the same peculiarities, with the addition that the comers of the +mouth were depressed. + +Mr. Patrick Nicol has also kindly observed for me several cases in the +Sussex Lunatic Asylum, and has communicated to me full details with +respect to three of them; but they need not here be given. From his +observations on melancholic patients, Mr. Nicol concludes that the +inner ends of the eyebrows are almost always more or less raised, with +the wrinkles on the forehead more or less plainly marked. In the case +of one young woman, these wrinkles were observed to be in constant +slight play or movement. In some cases the comers of the mouth are +depressed, but often only in a slight degree. Some amount of difference +in the expression of the several melancholic patients could almost +always be observed. The eyelids generally droop; and the skin near +their outer comers and beneath them is wrinkled. The naso-labial fold, +which runs from the wings of the nostrils to the comers of the mouth, +and which is so conspicuous in blubbering children, is often plainly +marked in these patients. + +Although with the insane the grief-muscles often act persistently; yet +in ordinary cases they are sometimes brought unconsciously into +momentary action by ludicrously slight causes. A gentleman rewarded a +young lady by an absurdly small present; she pretended to be offended, +and as she upbraided him, her eyebrows became extremely oblique, with +the forehead properly wrinkled. Another young lady and a youth, both in +the highest spirits, were eagerly talking together with extraordinary +rapidity; and I noticed that, as often as the young lady was beaten, +and could not get out her words fast enough, her eyebrows went +obliquely upwards, and rectangular furrows were formed on her forehead. +She thus each time hoisted a flag of distress; and this she did +half-a-dozen times in the course of a few minutes. I made no remark on +the subject, but on a subsequent occasion I asked her to act on her +grief-muscles; another girl who was present, and who could do so +voluntarily, showing her what was intended. She tried repeatedly, but +utterly failed; yet so slight a cause of distress as not being able to +talk quickly enough, sufficed to bring these muscles over and over +again into energetic action. + +The expression of grief, due to the contraction of the grief-muscles, +is by no means confined to Europeans, but appears to be common to all +the races of mankind. I have, at least, received trustworthy accounts +in regard to Hindoos, Dhangars (one of the aboriginal hill-tribes of +India, and therefore belonging to a quite distinct race from the +Hindoos), Malays, Negroes and Australians. With respect to the latter, +two observers answer my query in the affirmative, but enter into no +details. Mr. Taplin, however, appends to my descriptive remarks the +words “this is exact.” With respect to negroes, the lady who told me of +Fra Angelico’s picture, saw a negro towing a boat on the Nile, and as +he encountered an obstruction, she observed his grief-muscles in strong +action, with the middle of the forehead well wrinkled. Mr. Geach +watched a Malay man in Malacca, with the comers of his mouth much +depressed, the eyebrows oblique, with deep short grooves on the +forehead. This expression lasted for a very short time; and Mr. Geach +remarks it “was a strange one, very much like a person about to cry at +some great loss.” + +In India Mr. H. Erskine found that the natives were familiar with this +expression; and Mr. J. Scott, of the Botanic Gardens, Calcutta, has +obligingly sent me a full description of two cases. He observed during +some time, himself unseen, a very young Dhangar woman from Nagpore, the +wife of one of the gardeners, nursing her baby who was at the point of +death; and he distinctly saw the eyebrows raised at the inner comers, +the eyelids drooping, the forehead wrinkled in the middle, the mouth +slightly open, with the comers much depressed. He then came from behind +a screen of plants and spoke to the poor woman, who started, burst into +a bitter flood of tears, and besought him to cure her baby. The second +case was that of a Hindustani man, who from illness and poverty was +compelled to sell his favourite goat. After receiving the money, he +repeatedly looked at the money in his hand and then at the goat, as if +doubting whether he would not return it. He went to the goat, which was +tied up ready to be led away, and the animal reared up and licked his +hands. His eyes then wavered from side to side; his “mouth was +partially closed, with the corners very decidedly depressed.” At last +the poor man seemed to make up his mind that he must part with his +goat, and then, as Mr. Scott saw, the eyebrows became slightly oblique, +with the characteristic puckering or swelling at the inner ends, but +the wrinkles on the forehead were not present. The man stood thus for a +minute, then heaving a deep sigh, burst into tears, raised up his two +hands, blessed the goat, turned round, and without looking again, went +away. + +_On the cause of the obliquity of the eyebrows under suffering_.—During +several years no expression seemed to me so utterly perplexing as this +which we are here considering. Why should grief or anxiety cause the +central fasciae alone of the frontal muscle together with those round +the eyes, to contract? Here we seem to have a complex movement for the +sole purpose of expressing grief; and yet it is a comparatively rare +expression, and often overlooked. I believe the explanation is not so +difficult as it at first appears. Dr. Duchenne gives a photograph of +the young man before referred to, who, when looking upwards at a +strongly illuminated surface, involuntarily contracted his +grief-muscles in an exaggerated manner. I had entirely forgotten this +photograph, when on a very bright day with the sun behind me, I met, +whilst on horseback, a girl whose eyebrows, as she looked up at me, +became extremely oblique, with the proper furrows on her forehead. I +have observed the same movement under similar circumstances on several +subsequent occasions. On my return home I made three of my children, +without giving them any clue to my object, look as long and as +attentively as they could, at the summit of a tall tree standing +against an extremely bright sky. With all three, the orbicular, +corrugator, and pyramidal muscles were energetically contracted, +through reflex action, from the excitement of the retina, so that their +eyes might be protected from the bright light. But they tried their +utmost to look upwards; and now a curious struggle, with spasmodic +twitchings, could be observed between the whole or only the central +portion of the frontal muscle, and the several muscles which serve to +lower the eyebrows and close the eyelids. The involuntary contraction +of the pyramidal caused the basal part of their noses to be +transversely and deeply wrinkled. In one of the three children, the +whole eyebrows were momentarily raised and lowered by the alternate +contraction of the whole frontal muscle and of the muscles surrounding +the eyes, so that the whole breadth of the forehead was alternately +wrinkled and smoothed. In the other two children the forehead became +wrinkled in the middle part alone, rectangular furrows being thus +produced; and the eyebrows were rendered oblique, with their inner +extremities puckered and swollen,—in the one child in a slight degree, +in the other in a strongly marked manner. This difference in the +obliquity of the eyebrows apparently depended on a difference in their +general mobility, and in the strength of the pyramidal muscles. In both +these cases the eyebrows and forehead were acted on under the influence +of a strong light, in precisely the same manner, in every +characteristic detail, as under the influence of grief or anxiety. + +Duchenne states that the pyramidal muscle of the nose is less under the +control of the will than are the other muscles round the eyes. He +remarks that the young man who could so well act on his grief-muscles, +as well as on most of his other facial muscles, could not contract the +pyramidals.[705] This power, however, no doubt differs in different +persons. The pyramidal muscle serves to draw down the skin of the +forehead between the eyebrows, together with their inner extremities. +The central fasciae of the frontal are the antagonists of the +pyramidal; and if the action of the latter is to be specially checked, +these central fasciae must be contracted. So that with persons having +powerful pyramidal muscles, if there is under the influence of a bright +light an unconscious desire to prevent the lowering of the eyebrows, +the central fasciae of the frontal muscle must be brought into play; +and their contraction, if sufficiently strong to overmaster the +pyramidals, together with the contraction of the corrugator and +orbicular muscles, will act in the manner just described on the +eyebrows and forehead. + +When children scream or cry out, they contract, as we know, the +orbicular, corrugator, and pyramidal muscles, primarily for the sake of +compressing their eyes, and thus protecting them from being gorged with +blood, and secondarily through habit. I therefore expected to find with +children, that when they endeavoured either to prevent a crying-fit +from coming on, or to stop crying, they would cheek the contraction of +the above-named muscles, in the same manner as when looking upwards at +a bright light; and consequently that the central fasciae of the +frontal muscle would often be brought into play. Accordingly, I began +myself to observe children at such times, and asked others, including +some medical men, to do the same. It is necessary to observe carefully, +as the peculiar opposed action of these muscles is not nearly so plain +in children, owing to their foreheads not easily wrinkling, as in +adults. But I soon found that the grief-muscles were very frequently +brought into distinct action on these occasions. It would be +superfluous to give all the cases which have been observed; and I will +specify only a few. A little girl, a year and a half old, was teased by +some other children, and before bursting into tears her eyebrows became +decidedly oblique. With an older girl the same obliquity was observed, +with the inner ends of the eyebrows plainly puckered; and at the same +time the corners of the mouth were drawn downwards. As soon as she +burst into tears, the features all changed and this peculiar expression +vanished. Again, after a little boy had been vaccinated, which made him +scream and cry violently, the surgeon gave him an orange brought for +the purpose, and this pleased the child much; as he stopped crying all +the characteristic movements were observed, including the formation of +rectangular wrinkles in the middle of the forehead. Lastly, I met on +the road a little girl three or four years old, who had been frightened +by a dog, and when I asked her what was the matter, she stopped +whimpering, and her eyebrows instantly became oblique to an +extraordinary degree. + +Here then, as I cannot doubt, we have the key to the problem why the +central fasciae of the frontal muscle and the muscles round the eyes +contract in opposition to each other under the influence of +grief;—whether their contraction be prolonged, as with the melancholic +insane, or momentary, from some trifling cause of distress. We have all +of us, as infants, repeatedly contracted our orbicular, corrugator, and +pyramidal muscles, in order to protect our eyes whilst screaming; our +progenitors before us have done the same during many generations; and +though with advancing years we easily prevent, when feeling distressed, +the utterance of screams, we cannot from long habit always prevent a +slight contraction of the above-named muscles; nor indeed do we observe +their contraction in ourselves, or attempt to stop it, if slight. But +the pyramidal muscles seem to be less under the command of the will +than the other related muscles; and if they be well developed, their +contraction can be checked only by the antagonistic contraction of the +central fasciae of the frontal muscle. The result which necessarily +follows, if these fasciae contract energetically, is the oblique +drawing up of the eyebrows, the puckering of their inner ends, and the +formation of rectangular furrows on the middle of the forehead. As +children and women cry much more freely than men, and as grown-up +persons of both sexes rarely weep except from mental distress, we can +understand why the grief-muscles are more frequently seen in action, as +I believe to be the case, with children and women than with men; and +with adults of both sexes from mental distress alone. In some of the +cases before recorded, as in that of the poor Dhangar woman and of the +Hindustani man, the action of the grief-muscles was quickly followed by +bitter weeping. In all cases of distress, whether great or small, our +brains tend through long habit to send an order to certain muscles to +contract, as if we were still infants on the point of screaming out; +but this order we, by the wondrous power of the will, and through +habit, are able partially to counteract; although this is effected +unconsciously, as far as the means of counteraction are concerned. + +_On the depression of the corners of the mouth_.—This action is +effected by the _depressores anguili oris_ (see letter K in figs. 1 and +2). The fibres of this muscle diverge downwards, with the upper +convergent ends attached round the angles of the mouth, and to the +lower lip a little way within the angles.[706] Some of the fibres +appear to be antagonistic to the great zygomatic muscle, and others to +the several muscles running to the outer part of the upper lip. The +contraction of this muscle draws downwards and outwards the corners of +the mouth, including the outer part of the upper lip, and even in a +slight degree the wings of the nostrils. When the mouth is closed and +this muscle acts, the commissure or line of junction of the two lips +forms a curved line with the concavity downwards,[707] and the lips +themselves are generally somewhat protruded, especially the lower one. +The mouth in this state is well represented in the two photographs +(Plate II., figs. 6 and 7) by Mr. Rejlander. The upper boy (fig. 6) had +just stopped crying, after receiving a slap on the face from another +boy; and the right moment was seized for photographing him. + +The expression of low spirits, grief or dejection, due to the +contraction of this muscle has been noticed by every one who has +written on the subject. To say that a person “is down in the mouth,” is +synonymous with saying that he is out of spirits. The depression of the +corners may often be seen, as already stated on the authority of Dr. +Crichton Browne and Mr. Nicol, with the melancholic insane, and was +well exhibited in some photographs sent to me by the former gentleman, +of patients with a strong tendency to suicide. It has been observed +with men belonging to various races, namely with Hindoos, the dark +hill-tribes of India, Malays, and, as the Rev. Mr. Hagenauer informs +me, with the aborigines of Australia. + +When infants scream they firmly contract the muscles round their eyes, +and this draws up the upper lip; and as they have to keep their mouths +widely open, the depressor muscles running to the corners are likewise +brought into strong action. This generally, but not invariably, causes +a slight angular bend in the lower lip on both sides, near the corners +of the mouth. The result of the upper and lower lip being thus acted on +is that the mouth assumes a squarish outline. The contraction of the +depressor muscle is best seen in infants when not screaming violently, +and especially just before they begin, or when they cease to scream. +Their little faces then acquire an extremely piteous expression, as I +continually observed with my own infants between the ages of about six +weeks and two or three months. Sometimes, when they are struggling +against a crying-fit, the outline of the mouth is curved in so +exaggerated a manner as to be like a horseshoe; and the expression of +misery then becomes a ludicrous caricature. + +The explanation of the contraction of this muscle, under the influence +of low spirits or dejection, apparently follows from the same general +principles as in the case of the obliquity of the eyebrows. Dr. +Duchenne informs me that he concludes from his observations, now +prolonged during many years, that this is one of the facial muscles +which is least under the control of the will. This fact may indeed be +inferred from what has just been stated with respect to infants when +doubtfully beginning to cry, or endeavouring to stop crying; for they +then generally command all the other facial muscles more effectually +than they do the depressors of the corners of the mouth. Two excellent +observers who had no theory on the subject, one of them a surgeon, +carefully watched for me some older children and women as with some +opposed struggling they very gradually approached the point of bursting +out into tears; and both observers felt sure that the depressors began +to act before any of the other muscles. Now as the depressors have been +repeatedly brought into strong action during infancy in many +generations, nerve-force will tend to flow, on the principle of long +associated habit, to these muscles as well as to various other facial +muscles, whenever in after life even a slight feeling of distress is +experienced. But as the depressors are somewhat less under the control +of the will than most of the other muscles, we might expect that they +would often slightly contract, whilst the others remained passive. It +is remarkable how small a depression of the corners of the mouth gives +to the countenance an expression of low spirits or dejection, so that +an extremely slight contraction of these muscles would be sufficient to +betray this state of mind. + +I may here mention a trifling observation, as it will serve to sum up +our present subject. An old lady with a comfortable but absorbed +expression sat nearly opposite to me in a railway carriage. Whilst I +was looking at her, I saw that her _depressores anguli oris_ became +very slightly, yet decidedly, contracted; but as her countenance +remained as placid as ever, I reflected how meaningless was this +contraction, and how easily one might be deceived. The thought had +hardly occurred to me when I saw that her eyes suddenly became suffused +with tears almost to overflowing, and her whole countenance fell. There +could now be no doubt that some painful recollection, perhaps that of a +long-lost child, was passing through her mind. As soon as her sensorium +was thus affected, certain nerve-cells from long habit instantly +transmitted an order to all the respiratory muscles, and to those round +the mouth, to prepare for a fit of crying. But the order was +countermanded by the will, or rather by a later acquired habit, and all +the muscles were obedient, excepting in a slight degree the +_depressores anguli oris_. The mouth was not even opened; the +respiration was not hurried; and no muscle was affected except those +which draw down the corners of the mouth. + +As soon as the mouth of this lady began, involuntarily and +unconsciously on her part, to assume the proper form for a crying-fit, +we may feel almost sure that some nerve-influence would have been +transmitted through the long accustomed channels to the various +respiratory muscles, as well as to those round the eyes, and to the +vaso-motor centre which governs the supply of blood sent to the +lacrymal glands. Of this latter fact we have indeed clear evidence in +her eyes becoming slightly suffused with tears; and we can understand +this, as the lacrymal glands are less under the control of the will +than the facial muscles. No doubt there existed at the same time some +tendency in the muscles round the eyes at contract, as if for the sake +of protecting them from being gorged with blood, but this contraction +was completely overmastered, and her brow remained unruffled. Had the +pyramidal, corrugator, and orbicular muscles been as little obedient to +the will, as they are in many persons, they would have been slightly +acted on; and then the central fasciae of the frontal muscle would have +contracted in antagonism, and her eyebrows would have become oblique, +with rectangular furrows on her forehead. Her countenance would then +have expressed still more plainly than it did a state of dejection, or +rather one of grief. + +Through steps such as these we can understand how it is, that as soon +as some melancholy thought passes through the brain, there occurs a +just perceptible drawing down of the corners of the mouth, or a slight +raising up of the inner ends of the eyebrows, or both movements +combined, and immediately afterwards a slight suffusion of tears. A +thrill of nerve-force is transmitted along several habitual channels, +and produces an effect on any point where the will has not acquired +through long habit much power of interference. The above actions may be +considered as rudimental vestiges of the screaming-fits, which are so +frequent and prolonged during infancy. In this case, as well as in many +others, the links are indeed wonderful which connect cause and effect +in giving rise to various expressions on the human countenance; and +they explain to us the meaning of certain movements, which we +involuntarily and unconsciously perform, whenever certain transitory +emotions pass through our minds. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. JOY, HIGH SPIRITS, LOVE, TENDER FEELINGS, DEVOTION. + +Laughter primarily the expression of joy—Ludicrous ideas—Movements of +the features during laughter—Nature of the sound produced—The secretion +of tears during loud laughter—Gradation from loud laughter to gentle +smiling—High spirits—The expression of love—Tender feelings—Devotion. + +Joy, when intense, leads to various purposeless movements—to dancing +about, clapping the hands, stamping, &c., and to loud laughter. +Laughter seems primarily to be the expression of mere joy or happiness. +We clearly see this in children at play, who are almost incessantly +laughing. With young persons past childhood, when they are in high +spirits, there is always much meaningless laughter. The laughter of the +gods is described by Homer as “the exuberance of their celestial joy +after their daily banquet.” A man smiles—and smiling, as we shall see, +graduates into laughter—at meeting an old friend in the street, as he +does at any trifling pleasure, such as smelling a sweet perfume.[801] +Laura Bridgman, from her blindness and deafness, could not have +acquired any expression through imitation, yet when a letter from a +beloved friend was communicated to her by gesture-language, she +“laughed and clapped her hands, and the colour mounted to her cheeks.” +On other occasions she has been seen to stamp for joy.[802] + +Idiots and imbecile persons likewise afford good evidence that laughter +or smiling primarily expresses mere happiness or joy. Dr. Crichton +Browne, to whom, as on so many other occasions, I am indebted for the +results of his wide experience, informs me that with idiots laughter is +the most prevalent and frequent of all the emotional expressions. Many +idiots are morose, passionate, restless, in a painful state of mind, or +utterly stolid, and these never laugh. Others frequently laugh in a +quite senseless manner. Thus an idiot boy, incapable of speech, +complained to Dr. Browne, by the aid of signs, that another boy in the +asylum had given him a black eye; and this was accompanied by +“explosions of laughter and with his face covered with the broadest +smiles.” There is another large class of idiots who are persistently +joyous and benign, and who are constantly laughing or smiling.[803] +Their countenances often exhibit a stereotyped smile; their joyousness +is increased, and they grin, chuckle, or giggle, whenever food is +placed before them, or when they are caressed, are shown bright +colours, or hear music. Some of them laugh more than usual when they +walk about, or attempt any muscular exertion. The joyousness of most of +these idiots cannot possibly be associated, as Dr. Browne remarks, with +any distinct ideas: they simply feel pleasure, and express it by +laughter or smiles. With imbeciles rather higher in the scale, personal +vanity seems to be the commonest cause of laughter, and next to this, +pleasure arising from the approbation of their conduct. + +With grown-up persons laughter is excited by causes considerably +different from those which suffice during childhood; but this remark +hardly applies to smiling. Laughter in this respect is analogous with +weeping, which with adults is almost confined to mental distress, +whilst with children it is excited by bodily pain or any suffering, as +well as by fear or rage. Many curious discussions have been written on +the causes of laughter with grown-up persons. The subject is extremely +complex. Something incongruous or unaccountable, exciting surprise and +some sense of superiority in the laugher, who must be in a happy frame +of mind, seems to be the commonest cause.[804] The circumstances must +not be of a momentous nature: no poor man would laugh or smile on +suddenly hearing that a large fortune had been bequeathed to him. If +the mind is strongly excited by pleasurable feelings, and any little +unexpected event or thought occurs, then, as Mr. Herbert Spencer +remarks,[805] “a large amount of nervous energy, instead of being +allowed to expend itself in producing an equivalent amount of the new +thoughts and emotion which were nascent, is suddenly checked in its +flow.”... “The excess must discharge itself in some other direction, +and there results an efflux through the motor nerves to various classes +of the muscles, producing the half-convulsive actions we term +laughter.” An observation, bearing on this point, was made by a +correspondent during the recent siege of Paris, namely, that the German +soldiers, after strong excitement from exposure to extreme danger, were +particularly apt to burst out into loud laughter at the smallest joke. +So again when young children are just beginning to cry, an unexpected +event will sometimes suddenly turn their crying into laughter, which +apparently serves equally well to expend their superfluous nervous +energy. + +The imagination is sometimes said to be tickled by a ludicrous idea; +and this so-called tickling of the mind is curiously analogous with +that of the body. Every one knows how immoderately children laugh, and +how their whole bodies are convulsed when they are tickled. The +anthropoid apes, as we have seen, likewise utter a reiterated sound, +corresponding with our laughter, when they are tickled, especially +under the armpits. I touched with a bit of paper the sole of the foot +of one of my infants, when only seven days old, and it was suddenly +jerked away and the toes curled about, as in an older child. Such +movements, as well as laughter from being tickled, are manifestly +reflex actions; and this is likewise shown by the minute unstriped +muscles, which serve to erect the separate hairs on the body, +contracting near a tickled surface.[806] Yet laughter from a ludicrous +idea, though involuntary, cannot be called a strictly reflex action. In +this case, and in that of laughter from being tickled, the mind must be +in a pleasurable condition; a young child, if tickled by a strange man, +would scream from fear. The touch must be light, and an idea or event, +to be ludicrous, must not be of grave import. The parts of the body +which are most easily tickled are those which are not commonly touched, +such as the armpits or between the toes, or parts such as the soles of +the feet, which are habitually touched by a broad surface; but the +surface on which we sit offers a marked exception to this rule. +According to Gratiolet,[807] certain nerves are much more sensitive to +tickling than others. From the fact that a child can hardly tickle +itself, or in a much less degree than when tickled by another person, +it seems that the precise point to be touched must not be known; so +with the mind, something unexpected—a novel or incongruous idea which +breaks through an habitual train of thought—appears to be a strong +element in the ludicrous. + +The sound of laughter is produced by a deep inspiration followed by +short, interrupted, spasmodic contractions of the chest, and especially +of the diaphragm.[808] Hence we hear of “laughter holding both his +sides.” From the shaking of the body, the head nods to and fro. The +lower jaw often quivers up and down, as is likewise the case with some +species of baboons, when they are much pleased. + + + +Moderate Laughter and Smiling. Plate III + +During laughter the mouth is opened more or less widely, with the +corners drawn much backwards, as well as a little upwards; and the +upper lip is somewhat raised. The drawing back of the corners is best +seen in moderate laughter, and especially in a broad smile—the latter +epithet showing how the mouth is widened. In the accompanying figs. +1-3, Plate III., different degrees of moderate laughter and smiling +have been photographed. The figure of the little girl, with the hat is +by Dr. Wallich, and the expression was a genuine one; the other two are +by Mr. Rejlander. Dr. Duchenne repeatedly insists[809] that, under the +emotion of joy, the mouth is acted on exclusively by the great +zygomatic muscles, which serve to draw the corners backwards and +upwards; but judging from the manner in which the upper teeth are +always exposed during laughter and broad smiling, as well as from my +own sensations, I cannot doubt that some of the muscles running to the +upper lip are likewise brought into moderate action. The upper and +lower orbicular muscles of the eyes are at the same time more or less +contracted; and there is an intimate connection, as explained in the +chapter on weeping, between the orbiculars, especially the lower ones +and some of the muscles running to the upper lip. Henle remarks[810] on +this head, that when a man closely shuts one eye he cannot avoid +retracting the upper lip on the same side; conversely, if any one will +place his finger on his lower eyelid, and then uncover his upper +incisors as much as possible, he will feel, as his upper lip is drawn +strongly upwards, that the muscles of the lower eyelid contract. In +Henle’s drawing, given in woodcut, fig. 2, the _musculus malaris_ (H) +which runs to the upper lip may be seen to form an almost integral part +of the lower orbicular muscle. + +Dr. Duchenne has given a large photograph of an old man (reduced on +Plate III. fig 4), in his usual passive condition, and another of the +same man (fig. 5), naturally smiling. The latter was instantly +recognized by every one to whom it was shown as true to nature. He has +also given, as an example of an unnatural or false smile, another +photograph (fig. 6) of the same old man, with the corners of his mouth +strongly retracted by the galvanization of the great zygomatic muscles. +That the expression is not natural is clear, for I showed this +photograph to twenty-four persons, of whom three could not in the least +tell what was meant, whilst the others, though they perceived that the +expression was of the nature of a smile, answered in such words as “a +wicked joke,” “trying to laugh,” “grinning laughter.... half-amazed +laughter,” &c. Dr. Duchenne attributes the falseness of the expression +altogether to the orbicular muscles of the lower eyelids not being +sufficiently contracted; for he justly lays great stress on their +contraction in the expression of joy. No doubt there is much truth in +this view, but not, as it appears to me, the whole truth. The +contraction of the lower orbiculars is always accompanied, as we have +seen, by the drawing up of the upper lip. Had the upper lip, in fig. 6, +been thus acted on to a slight extent, its curvature would have been +less rigid, the naso-labial farrow would have been slightly different, +and the whole expression would, as I believe, have been more natural, +independently of the more conspicuous effect from the stronger +contraction of the lower eyelids. The corrugator muscle, moreover, in +fig. 6, is too much contracted, causing a frown; and this muscle never +acts under the influence of joy except during strongly pronounced or +violent laughter. + +By the drawing backwards and upwards of the corners of the mouth, +through the contraction of the great zygomatic muscles, and by the +raising of the upper lip, the cheeks are drawn upwards. Wrinkles are +thus formed under the eyes, and, with old people, at their outer ends; +and these are highly characteristic of laughter or smiling. As a gentle +smile increases into a strong one, or into a laugh, every one may feel +and see, if he will attend to his own sensations and look at himself in +a mirror, that as the upper lip is drawn up and the lower orbiculars +contract, the wrinkles in the lower eyelids and those beneath the eyes +are much strengthened or increased. At the same time, as I have +repeatedly observed, the eyebrows are slightly lowered, which shows +that the upper as well as the lower orbiculars contract at least to +some degree, though this passes unperecived, as far as our sensations +are concerned. If the original photograph of the old man, with his +countenance in its usual placid state (fig. 4), be compared with that +(fig. 5) in which he is naturally smiling, it may be seen that the +eyebrows in the latter are a little lowered. I presume that this is +owing to the upper orbiculars being impelled, through the force of +long-associated habit, to act to a certain extent in concert with the +lower orbiculars, which themselves contract in connection with the +drawing up of the upper lip. + +The tendency in the zygomatic muscles to contract under pleasurable +emotions is shown by a curious fact, communicated to me by Dr. Browne, +with respect to patients suffering from GENERAL PARALYSIS OF THE +INSANE.[811] “In this malady there is almost invariably +optimism—delusions as to wealth, rank, grandeur—insane joyousness, +benevolence, and profusion, while its very earliest physical symptom is +trembling at the corners of the mouth and at the outer corners of the +eyes. This is a well-recognized fact. Constant tremulous agitation of +the inferior palpebral and great zygomatic muscles is pathognomic of +the earlier stages of general paralysis. The countenance has a pleased +and benevolent expression. As the disease advances other muscles become +involved, but until complete fatuity is reached, the prevailing +expression is that of feeble benevolence.” + +As in laughing and broadly smiling the cheeks and upper lip are much +raised, the nose appears to be shortened, and the skin on the bridge +becomes finely wrinkled in transverse lines, with other oblique +longitudinal lines on the sides. The upper front teeth are commonly +exposed. A well-marked naso-labial fold is formed, which runs from the +wing of each nostril to the corner of the mouth; and this fold is often +double in old persons. + +A bright and sparkling eye is as characteristic of a pleased or amused +state of mind, as is the retraction of the corners of the mouth and +upper lip with the wrinkles thus produced. Even the eyes of +microcephalous idiots, who are so degraded that they never learn to +speak, brighten slightly when they are pleased.[812] Under extreme +laughter the eyes are too much suffused with tears to sparkle; but the +moisture squeezed out of the glands during moderate laughter or smiling +may aid in giving them lustre; though this must be of altogether +subordinate importance, as they become dull from grief, though they are +then often moist. Their brightness seems to be chiefly due to their +tenseness,[813] owing to the contraction of the orbicular muscles and +to the pressure of the raised cheeks. But, according to Dr. Piderit, +who has discussed this point more fully than any other writer,[814] the +tenseness may be largely attributed to the eyeballs becoming filled +with blood and other fluids, from the acceleration of the circulation, +consequent on the excitement of pleasure. He remarks on the contrast in +the appearance of the eyes of a hectic patient with a rapid +circulation, and of a man suffering from cholera with almost all the +fluids of his body drained from him. Any cause which lowers the +circulation deadens the eye. I remember seeing a man utterly prostrated +by prolonged and severe exertion during a very hot day, and a bystander +compared his eyes to those of a boiled codfish. + +To return to the sounds produced during laughter. We can see in a vague +manner how the utterance of sounds of some kind would naturally become +associated with a pleasurable state of mind; for throughout a large +part of the animal kingdom vocal or instrumental sounds are employed +either as a call or as a charm by one sex for the other. They are also +employed as the means for a joyful meeting between the parents and +their offspring, and between the attached members of the same social +community. But why the sounds which man utters when he is pleased have +the peculiar reiterated character of laughter we do not know. +Nevertheless we can see that they would naturally be as different as +possible from the screams or cries of distress; and as in the +production of the latter, the expirations are prolonged and continuous, +with the inspirations short and interrupted, so it might perhaps have +been expected with the sounds uttered from joy, that the expirations +would have been short and broken with the inspirations prolonged; and +this is the case. + +It is an equally obscure point why the corners of the mouth are +retracted and the upper lip raised during ordinary laughter. The mouth +must not be opened to its utmost extent, for when this occurs during a +paroxysm of excessive laughter hardly any sound is emitted; or it +changes its tone and seems to come from deep down in the throat. The +respiratory muscles, and even those of the limbs, are at the same time +thrown into rapid vibratory movements. The lower jaw often partakes of +this movement, and this would tend to prevent the mouth from being +widely opened. But as a full volume of sound has to be poured forth, +the orifice of the mouth must be large; and it is perhaps to gain this +end that the corners are retracted and the upper lip raised. Although +we can hardly account for the shape of the mouth during laughter, which +leads to wrinkles being formed beneath the eyes, nor for the peculiar +reiterated sound of laughter, nor for the quivering of the jaws, +nevertheless we may infer that all these effects are due to some common +cause. For they are all characteristic and expressive of a pleased +state of mind in various kinds of monkeys. + +A graduated series can be followed from violent to moderate laughter, +to a broad smile, to a gentle smile, and to the expression of mere +cheerfulness. During excessive laughter the whole body is often thrown +backward and shakes, or is almost convulsed; the respiration is much +disturbed; the head and face become gorged with blood, with the veins +distended; and the orbicular muscles are spasmodically contracted in +order to protect the eyes. Tears are freely shed. Hence, as formerly +remarked, it is scarcely possible to point out any difference between +the tear-stained face of a person after a paroxysm of excessive +laughter and after a bitter crying-fit.[815] It is probably due to the +close similarity of the spasmodic movements caused by these widely +different emotions that hysteric patients alternately cry and laugh +with violence, and that young children sometimes pass suddenly from the +one to the other state. Mr. Swinhoe informs me that he has often seen +the Chinese, when suffering from deep grief, burst out into hysterical +fits of laughter. + +I was anxious to know whether tears are freely shed during excessive +laughter by most of the races of men, and I hear from my correspondents +that this is the case. One instance was observed with the Hindoos, and +they themselves said that it often occurred. So it is with the Chinese. +The women of a wild tribe of Malays in the Malacca peninsula, sometimes +shed tears when they laugh heartily, though this seldom occurs. With +the Dyaks of Borneo it must frequently be the case, at least with the +women, for I hear from the Rajah C. Brooke that it is a common +expression with them to say “we nearly made tears from laughter.” The +aborigines of Australia express their emotions freely, and they are +described by my correspondents as jumping about and clapping their +hands for joy, and as often roaring with laughter. No less than four +observers have seen their eyes freely watering on such occasions; and +in one instance the tears rolled down their cheeks. Mr. Bulmer, a +missionary in a remote part of Victoria, remarks, “that they have a +keen sense of the ridiculous; they are excellent mimics, and when one +of them is able to imitate the peculiarities of some absent member of +the tribe, it is very common to hear all in the camp convulsed with +laughter.” With Europeans hardly anything excites laughter so easily as +mimicry; and it is rather curious to find the same fact with the +savages of Australia, who constitute one of the most distinct races in +the world. + +In Southern Africa with two tribes of Kafirs, especially with the +women, their eyes often fill with tears during laughter. Gaika, the +brother of the chief Sandilli, answers my query on this head, with the +words, “Yes, that is their common practice.” Sir Andrew Smith has seen +the painted face of a Hottentot woman all furrowed with tears after a +fit of laughter. In Northern Africa, with the Abyssinians, tears are +secreted under the same circumstances. Lastly, in North America, the +same fact has been observed in a remarkably savage and isolated tribe, +but chiefly with the women; in another tribe it was observed only on a +single occasion. + +Excessive laughter, as before remarked, graduates into moderate +laughter. In this latter case the muscles round the eyes are much less +contracted, and there is little or no frowning. Between a gentle laugh +and a broad smile there is hardly any difference, excepting that in +smiling no reiterated sound is uttered, though a single rather strong +expiration, or slight noise—a rudiment of a laugh—may often be heard at +the commencement of a smile. On a moderately smiling countenance the +contraction of the upper orbicular muscles can still just be traced by +a slight lowering of the eyebrows. The contraction of the lower +orbicular and palpebral muscles is much plainer, and is shown by the +wrinkling of the lower eyelids and of the skin beneath them, together +with a slight drawing up of the upper lip. From the broadest smile we +pass by the finest steps into the gentlest one. In this latter case the +features are moved in a much less degree, and much more slowly, and the +mouth is kept closed. The curvature of the naso-labial furrow is also +slightly different in the two cases. We thus see that no abrupt line of +demarcation can be drawn between the movement of the features during +the most violent laughter and a very faint smile.[816] + +A smile, therefore, may be said to be the first stage in the +development of a laugh. But a different and more probable view may be +suggested; namely, that the habit of uttering load reiterated sounds +from a sense of pleasure, first led to the retraction of the corners of +the mouth and of the upper lip, and to the contraction of the orbicular +muscles; and that now, through association and long-continued habit, +the same muscles are brought into slight play whenever any cause +excites in us a feeling which, if stronger, would have led to laughter; +and the result is a smile. + +Whether we look at laughter as the full development of a smile, or, as +is more probable, at a gentle smile as the last trace of a habit, +firmly fixed during many generations, of laughing whenever we are +joyful, we can follow in our infants the gradual passage of the one +into the other. It is well known to those who have the charge of young +infants, that it is difficult to feel sure when certain movements about +their mouths are really expressive; that is, when they really smile. +Hence I carefully watched my own infants. One of them at the age of +forty-five days, and being at the time in a happy frame of mind, +smiled; that is, the corners of the mouth were retracted, and +simultaneously the eyes became decidedly bright. I observed the same +thing on the following day; but on the third day the child was not +quite well and there was no trace of a smile, and this renders it +probable that the previous smiles were real. Eight days subsequently +and during the next succeeding week, it was remarkable how his eyes +brightened whenever he smiled, and his nose became at the same time +transversely wrinkled. This was now accompanied by a little bleating +noise, which perhaps represented a laugh. At the age of 113 days these +little noises, which were always made during expiration, assumed a +slightly different character, and were more broken or interrupted, as +in sobbing; and this was certainly incipient laughter. The change in +tone seemed to me at the time to be connected with the greater lateral +extension of the mouth as the smiles became broader. + +In a second infant the first real smile was observed at about the same +age, viz. forty-five days; and in a third, at a somewhat earlier age. +The second infant, when sixty-five days old, smiled much more broadly +and plainly than did the one first mentioned at the same age; and even +at this early age uttered noises very like laughter. In this gradual +acquirement, by infants, of the habit of laughing, we have a case in +some degree analogous to that of weeping. As practice is requisite with +the ordinary movements of the body, such as walking, so it seems to be +with laughing and weeping. The art of screaming, on the other hand, +from being of service to infants, has become finely developed from the +earliest days. + +_High spirits, cheerfulness_.—A man in high spirits, though he may not +actually smile, commonly exhibits some tendency to the retraction of +the corners of his mouth. From the excitement of pleasure, the +circulation becomes more rapid; the eyes are bright, and the colour of +the face rises. The brain, being stimulated by the increased flow of +blood, reacts on the mental powers; lively ideas pass still more +rapidly through the mind, and the affections are warmed. I heard a +child, a little under four years old, when asked what was meant by +being in good spirits, answer, “It is laughing, talking, and kissing.” +It would be difficult to give a truer and more practical definition. A +man in this state holds his body erect, his head upright, and his eyes +open. There is no drooping of the features, and no contraction of the +eyebrows. On the contrary, the frontal muscle, as Moreau observes,[817] +tends to contract slightly; and this smooths the brow, removes every +trace of a frown, arches the eyebrows a little, and raises the eyelids. +Hence the Latin phrase, _exporrigere frontem_—to unwrinkle the +brow—means, to be cheerful or merry. The whole expression of a man in +good spirits is exactly the opposite of that of one suffering from +sorrow. According to Sir C. Bell, “In all the exhilarating emotions the +eyebrows, eyelids, the nostrils, and the angles of the mouth are +raised. In the depressing passions it is the reverse.” Under the +influence of the latter the brow is heavy, the eyelids, cheeks, mouth, +and whole head droop; the eyes are dull; the countenance pallid, and +the respiration slow. In joy the face expands, in grief it lengthens. +Whether the principle of antithesis has here come into play in +producing these opposite expressions, in aid of the direct causes which +have been specified and which are sufficiently plain, I will not +pretend to say. + +With all the races of man the expression of good spirit appears to be +the same, and is easily recognized. My informants, from various parts +of the Old and New Worlds, answer in the affirmative to my queries on +this head, and they give some particulars with respect to Hindoos, +Malays, and New Zealanders. The brightness of the eyes of the +Australians has struck four observers, and the same fact has been +noticed with Hindoos, New Zealanders, and the Dyaks of Borneo. + +Savages sometimes express their satisfaction not only by smiling, but +by gestures derived from the pleasure of eating. Thus Mr. Wedgwood[818] +quotes Petherick that the negroes on the Upper Nile began a general +rubbing of their bellies when he displayed his beads; and Leichhardt +says that the Australians smacked and clacked their mouths at the sight +of his horses and bullocks, and more especially of his kangaroo dogs. +The Greenlanders, “when they affirm anything with pleasure, suck down +air with a certain sound;”[819] and this may be an imitation of the act +of swallowing savoury food. + +Laughter is suppressed by the firm contraction of the orbicular muscles +of the mouth, which prevents the great zygomatic and other muscles from +drawing the lips backwards and upwards. The lower lip is also sometimes +held by the teeth, and this gives a roguish expression to the face, as +was observed with the blind and deaf Laura Bridgman.[820] The great +zygomatic muscle is sometimes variable in its course, and I have seen a +young woman in whom the _depressores anguli oris_ were brought into +strong action in suppressing a smile; but this by no means gave to her +countenance a melancholy expression, owing to the brightness of her +eyes. + +Laughter is frequently employed in a forced manner to conceal or mask +some other state of mind, even anger. We often see persons laughing in +order to conceal their shame or shyness. When a person purses up his +mouth, as if to prevent the possibility of a smile, though there is +nothing to excite one, or nothing to prevent its free indulgence, an +affected, solemn, or pedantic expression is given; but of such hybrid +expressions nothing more need here be said. In the case of derision, a +real or pretended smile or laugh is often blended with the expression +proper to contempt, and this may pass into angry contempt or scorn. In +such cases the meaning of the laugh or smile is to show the offending +person that he excites only amusement. + +_Love, tender feelings, &c_.—Although the emotion of love, for instance +that of a mother for her infant, is one of the strongest of which the +mind is capable, it can hardly be said to have any proper or peculiar +means of expression; and this is intelligible, as it has not habitually +led to any special line of action. No doubt, as affection is a +pleasurable sensation, it generally causes a gentle smile and some +brightening of the eyes. A strong desire to touch the beloved person is +commonly felt; and love is expressed by this means more plainly than by +any other.[821] Hence we long to clasp in our arms those whom we +tenderly love. We probably owe this desire to inherited habit, in +association with the nursing and tending of our children, and with the +mutual caresses of lovers. + +With the lower animals we see the same principle of pleasure derived +from contact in association with love. Dogs and cats manifestly take +pleasure in rubbing against their masters and mistresses, and in being +rubbed or patted by them. Many kinds of monkeys, as I am assured by the +keepers in the Zoological Gardens, delight in fondling and being +fondled by each other, and by persons to whom they are attached. Mr. +Bartlett has described to me the behaviour of two chimpanzees, rather +older animals than those generally imported into this country, when +they were first brought together. They sat opposite, touching each +other with their much protruded lips; and the one put his hand on the +shoulder of the other. They then mutually folded each other in their +arms. Afterwards they stood up, each with one arm on the shoulder of +the other, lifted up their heads, opened their mouths, and yelled with +delight.[822] + +We Europeans are so accustomed to kissing as a mark of affection, that +it might be thought to be innate in mankind; but this is not the case. +Steele was mistaken when he said “Nature was its author, and it began +with the first courtship.” Jemmy Button, the Fuegian, told me that this +practice was unknown in his land. It is equally unknown with the New +Zealanders, Tahitians, Papuans, Australians, Somals of Africa, and the +Esquimaux. But it is so far innate or natural that it apparently +depends on pleasure from close contact with a beloved person; and it is +replaced in various parts of the world, by the rubbing of noses, as +with the New Zealanders and Laplanders, by the rubbing or patting of +the arms, breasts, or stomachs, or by one man striking his own face +with the hands or feet of another. Perhaps the practice of blowing, as +a mark of affection, on various parts of the body may depend on the +same principle.[823] + +The feelings which are called tender are difficult to analyse; they +seem to be compounded of affection, joy, and especially of sympathy. +These feelings are in themselves of a pleasurable nature, excepting +when pity is too deep, or horror is aroused, as in hearing of a +tortured man or animal. They are remarkable under our present point of +view from so readily exciting the secretion of tears. Many a father and +son have wept on meeting after a long separation, especially if the +meeting has been unexpected. No doubt extreme joy by itself tends to +act on the lacrymal glands; but on such occasions as the foregoing +vague thoughts of the grief which would have been felt had the father +and son never met, will probably have passed through their minds; and +grief naturally leads to the secretion of tears. Thus on the return of +Ulysses:— + +“Telemachus Rose, and clung weeping round his father’s breast. +There the pent grief rained o’er them, yearning thus. +* * * * * * +Thus piteously they wailed in sore unrest, +And on their weepings had gone down the day, +But that at last Telemachus found words to say.” +_Worsley’s Translation of the Odyssey_, Book xvi. st. 27. + + +So again when Penelope at last recognized her husband:— + +“Then from her eyelids the quick tears did start +And she ran to him from her place, and threw +Her arms about his neck, and a warm dew +Of kisses poured upon him, and thus spake:” +—Book xxiii. st. 27. + + +The vivid recollection of our former home, or of long-past happy days, +readily causes the eyes to be suffused with tears; but here, again, the +thought naturally occurs that these days will never return. In such +cases we may be said to sympathize with ourselves in our present, in +comparison with our former, state. Sympathy with the distresses of +others, even with the imaginary distresses of a heroine in a pathetic +story, for whom we feel no affection, readily excites tears. So does +sympathy with the happiness of others, as with that of a lover, at last +successful after many hard trials in a well-told tale. + +Sympathy appears to constitute a separate or distinct emotion; and it +is especially apt to excite the lacrymal glands. This holds good +whether we give or receive sympathy. Every one must have noticed how +readily children burst out crying if we pity them for some small hurt. +With the melancholic insane, as Dr. Crichton Browne informs me, a kind +word will often plunge them into unrestrained weeping. As soon as we +express our pity for the grief of a friend, tears often come into our +own eyes. The feeling of sympathy is commonly explained by assuming +that, when we see or hear of suffering in another, the idea of +suffering is called up so vividly in our own minds that we ourselves +suffer. But this explanation is hardly sufficient, for it does not +account for the intimate alliance between sympathy and affection. We +undoubtedly sympathize far more deeply with a beloved than with an +indifferent person; and the sympathy of the one gives us far more +relief than that of the other. Yet assuredly we can sympathize with +those for whom we feel no affection. + +Why suffering, when actually experienced by ourselves, excites weeping, +has been discussed in a former chapter. With respect to joy, its +natural and universal expression is laughter; and with all the races of +man loud laughter leads to the secretion of tears more freely than does +any other cause excepting distress. The suffusion of the eyes with +tears, which undoubtedly occurs under great joy, though there is no +laughter, can, as it seems to me, be explained through habit and +association on the same principles as the effusion of tears from grief, +although there is no screaming. Nevertheless it is not a little +remarkable that sympathy with the distresses of others should excite +tears more freely than our own distress; and this certainly is the +case. Many a man, from whose eyes no suffering of his own could wring a +tear, has shed tears at the sufferings of a beloved friend. It is still +more remarkable that sympathy with the happiness or good fortune of +those whom we tenderly love should lead to the same result, whilst a +similar happiness felt by ourselves would leave our eyes dry. We +should, however, bear in mind that the long-continued habit of +restraint which is so powerful in checking the free flow of tears from +bodily pain, has not been brought into play in preventing a moderate +effusion of tears in sympathy with the sufferings or happiness of +others. + +Music has a wonderful power, as I have elsewhere attempted to +show,[824] of recalling in a vague and indefinite manner, those strong +emotions which were felt during long-past ages, when, as is probable, +our early progenitors courted each other by the aid of vocal tones. And +as several of our strongest emotions—grief, great joy, love, and +sympathy—lead to the free secretion of tears, it is not surprising that +music should be apt to cause our eyes to become suffused with tears, +especially when we are already softened by any of the tenderer +feelings. Music often produces another peculiar effect. We know that +every strong sensation, emotion, or excitement—extreme pain, rage, +terror, joy, or the passion of love—all have a special tendency to +cause the muscles to tremble; and the thrill or slight shiver which +runs down the backbone and limbs of many persons when they are +powerfully affected by music, seems to bear the same relation to the +above trembling of the body, as a slight suffusion of tears from the +power of music does to weeping from any strong and real emotion. + +_Devotion_.—As devotion is, in some degree, related to affection, +though mainly consisting of reverence, often combined with fear, the +expression of this state of mind may here be briefly noticed. With some +sects, both past and present, religion and love have been strangely +combined; and it has even been maintained, lamentable as the fact may +be, that the holy kiss of love differs but little from that which a man +bestows on a woman, or a woman on a man.[825] Devotion is chiefly +expressed by the face being directed towards the heavens, with the +eyeballs upturned. Sir C. Bell remarks that, at the approach of sleep, +or of a fainting-fit, or of death, the pupils are drawn upwards and +inwards; and he believes that “when we are wrapt in devotional +feelings, and outward impressions are unheeded, the eyes are raised by +an action neither taught nor acquired.” and that this is due to the +same cause as in the above cases.[826] That the eyes are upturned +during sleep is, as I hear from Professor Donders, certain. With +babies, whilst sucking their mother’s breast, this movement of the +eyeballs often gives to them an absurd appearance of ecstatic delight; +and here it may be clearly perceived that a struggle is going on +against the position naturally assumed during sleep. But Sir C. Bell’s +explanation of the fact, which rests on the assumption that certain +muscles are more under the control of the will than others is, as I +hear from Professor Donders, incorrect. As the eyes are often turned up +in prayer, without the mind being so much absorbed in thought as to +approach to the unconsciousness of sleep, the movement is probably a +conventional one—the result of the common belief that Heaven, the +source of Divine power to which we pray, is seated above us. + +A humble kneeling posture, with the hands upturned and palms joined, +appears to us, from long habit, a gesture so appropriate to devotion, +that it might be thought to be innate; but I have not met with any +evidence to this effect with the various extra-European races of +mankind. During the classical period of Roman history it does not +appear, as I hear from an excellent classic, that the hands were thus +joined during prayer. Mr. Rensleigh Wedgwood has apparently given[827] +the true explanation, though this implies that the attitude is one of +slavish subjection. “When the suppliant kneels and holds up his hands +with the palms joined, he represents a captive who proves the +completeness of his submission by offering up his hands to be bound by +the victor. It is the pictorial representation of the Latin _dare +manus_, to signify submission.” Hence it is not probable that either +the uplifting of the eyes or the joining of the open hands, under the +influence of devotional feelings, are innate or truly expressive +actions; and this could hardly have been expected, for it is very +doubtful whether feelings, such as we should now rank as devotional, +affected the hearts of men, whilst they remained during past ages in an +uncivilized condition. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. REFLECTION—MEDITATION-ILL-TEMPER—SULKINESS—DETERMINATION. + +The act of frowning—Reflection with an effort, or with the perception +of something difficult or disagreeable—Abstracted +meditation—Ill-temper—Moroseness—Obstinacy Sulkiness and +pouting—Decision or determination—The firm closure of the mouth. + +The corrugators, by their contraction, lower the eyebrows and bring +them together, producing vertical furrows on the forehead—that is, a +frown. Sir C. Bell, who erroneously thought that the corrugator was +peculiar to man, ranks it as “the most remarkable muscle of the human +face. It knits the eyebrows with an energetic effort, which +unaccountably, but irresistibly, conveys the idea of mind.” Or, as he +elsewhere says, “when the eyebrows are knit, energy of mind is +apparent, and there is the mingling of thought and emotion with the +savage and brutal rage of the mere animal.”[901] There is much truth in +these remarks, but hardly the whole truth. Dr. Duchenne has called the +corrugator the muscle of reflection;[902] but this name, without some +limitation, cannot be considered as quite correct. + +A man may be absorbed in the deepest thought, and his brow will remain +smooth until he encounters some obstacle in his train of reasoning, or +is interrupted by some disturbance, and then a frown passes like a +shadow over his brow. A half-starved man may think intently how to +obtain food, but he probably will not frown unless he encounters either +in thought or action some difficulty, or finds the food when obtained +nauseous. I have noticed that almost everyone instantly frowns if he +perceives a strange or bad taste in what he is eating. I asked several +persons, without explaining my object, to listen intently to a very +gentle tapping sound, the nature and source of which they all perfectly +knew, and not one frowned; but a man who joined us, and who could not +conceive what we were all doing in profound silence, when asked to +listen, frowned much, though not in an ill-temper, and said he could +not in the least understand what we all wanted. Dr. Piderit[903] who +has published remarks to the same effect, adds that stammerers +generally frown in speaking, and that a man in doing even so trifling a +thing as pulling on a boot, frowns if he finds it too tight. Some +persons are such habitual frowners, that the mere effort of speaking +almost always causes their brows to contract. + +Men of all races frown when they are in any way perplexed in thought, +as I infer from the answers which I have received to my queries; but I +framed them badly, confounding absorbed meditation with perplexed +reflection. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Australians, Malays, +Hindoos, and Kafirs of South Africa frown, when they are puzzled. +Dobritzhoffer remarks that the Guaranies of South America on like +occasions knit their brows.[904] + +From these considerations, we may conclude that frowning is not the +expression of simple reflection, however profound, or of attention, +however close, but of something difficult or displeasing encountered in +a train of thought or in action. Deep reflection can, however, seldom +be long carried on without some difficulty, so that it will generally +be accompanied by a frown. Hence it is that frowning commonly gives to +the countenance, as Sir C. Bell remarks, an aspect of intellectual +energy. But in order that this effect may be produced, the eyes must be +clear and steady, or they may be cast downwards, as often occurs in +deep thought. The countenance must not be otherwise disturbed, as in +the case of an ill-tempered or peevish man, or of one who shows the +effects of prolonged suffering, with dulled eyes and drooping jaw, or +who perceives a bad taste in his food, or who finds it difficult to +perform some trifling act, such as threading a needle. In these cases a +frown may often be seen, but it will be accompanied by some other +expression, which will entirely prevent the countenance having an +appearance of intellectual energy or of profound thought. + +We may now inquire how it is that a frown should express the perception +of something difficult or disagreeable, either in thought or action. In +the same way as naturalists find it advisable to trace the +embryological development of an organ in order fully to understand its +structure, so with the movements of expression it is advisable to +follow as nearly as possible the same plan. The earliest and almost +sole expression seen during the first days of infancy, and then often +exhibited is that displayed during the act of screaming; and screaming +is excited, both at first and for some time afterwards, by every +distressing or displeasing sensation and emotion,—by hunger, pain, +anger, jealousy, fear, &c. At such times the muscles round the eyes are +strongly contracted; and this, as I believe, explains to a large extent +the act of frowning during the remainder of our lives. I repeatedly +observed my own infants, from under the age of one week to that of two +or three months, and found that when a screaming-fit came on gradually, +the first sign was the contraction of the corrugators, which produced a +slight frown, quickly followed by the contraction of the other muscles +round the eyes. When an infant is uncomfortable or unwell, little +frowns—as I record in my notes—may be seen incessantly passing like +shadows over its face; these being generally, but not always, followed +sooner or later by a crying-fit. For instance, I watched for some time +a baby, between seven and eight weeks old, sucking some milk which was +cold, and therefore displeasing to him; and a steady little frown was +maintained all the time. This was never developed into an actual +crying-fit, though occasionally every stage of close approach could be +observed. + +As the habit of contracting the brows has been followed by infants +during innumerable generations, at the commencement of every crying or +screaming fit, it has become firmly associated with the incipient sense +of something distressing or disagreeable. Hence under similar +circumstances it would be apt to be continued during maturity, although +never then developed into a crying-fit. Screaming or weeping begins to +be voluntarily restrained at an early period of life, whereas frowning +is hardly ever restrained at any age. It is perhaps worth notice that +with children much given to weeping, anything which perplexes their +minds, and which would cause most other children merely to frown, +readily makes them weep. So with certain classes of the insane, any +effort of mind, however slight, which with an habitual frowner would +cause a slight frown, leads to their weeping in an unrestrained manner. +It is not more surprising that the habit of contracting the brows at +the first perception of something distressing, although gained during +infancy, should be retained during the rest of our lives, than that +many other associated habits acquired at an early age should be +permanently retained both by man and the lower animals. For instance, +full-grown cats, when feeling warm and comfortable, often retain the +habit of alternately protruding their fore-feet with extended toes, +which habit they practised for a definite purpose whilst sucking their +mothers. + +Another and distinct cause has probably strengthened the habit of +frowning, whenever the mind is intent on any subject and encounters +some difficulty. Vision is the most important of all the senses, and +during primeval times the closest attention must have been incessantly: +directed towards distant objects for the sake of obtaining prey and +avoiding danger. I remember being struck, whilst travelling in parts of +South America, which were dangerous from the presence of Indians, how +incessantly, yet as it appeared unconsciously, the half-wild Gauchos +closely scanned the whole horizon. Now, when any one with no covering +on his head (as must have been aboriginally the case with mankind), +strives to the utmost to distinguish in broad daylight, and especially +if the sky is bright, a distant object, he almost invariably contracts +his brows to prevent the entrance of too much light; the lower eyelids, +cheeks, and upper lip being at the same time raised, so as to lessen +the orifice of the eyes. I have purposely asked several persons, young +and old, to look, under the above circumstances, at distant objects, +making them believe that I only wished to test the power of their +vision; and they all behaved in the manner just described. Some of +them, also, put their open, flat hands over their eyes to keep out the +excess of light. Gratiolet, after making some remarks to nearly the +same effect,[905] says, “Ce sont là des attitudes de vision difficile.” +He concludes that the muscles round the eyes contract partly for the +sake of excluding too much light (which appears to me the more +important end), and partly to prevent all rays striking the retina, +except those which come direct from the object that is scrutinized. Mr. +Bowman, whom I consulted on this point, thinks that the contraction of +the surrounding muscles may, in addition, “partly sustain the +consensual movements of the two eyes, by giving a firmer support while +the globes are brought to binocular vision by their own proper +muscles.” + +As the effort of viewing with care under a bright light a distant +object is both difficult and irksome, and as this effort has been +habitually accompanied, during numberless generations, by the +contraction of the eyebrows, the habit of frowning will thus have been +much strengthened; although it was originally practised during infancy +from a quite independent cause, namely as the first step in the +protection of the eyes during screaming. There is, indeed, much +analogy, as far as the state of the mind is concerned, between intently +scrutinizing a distant object, and following out an obscure train of +thought, or performing some little and troublesome mechanical work. The +belief that the habit of contracting the brows is continued when there +is no need whatever to exclude too much light, receives support from +the cases formerly alluded to, in which the eyebrows or eyelids are +acted on under certain circumstances in a useless manner, from having +been similarly used, under analogous circumstances, for a serviceable +purpose. For instance, we voluntarily close our eyes when we do not +wish to see any object, and we are apt to close them, when we reject a +proposition, as if we could not or would not see it; or when we think +about something horrible. We raise our eyebrows when we wish to see +quickly all round us, and we often do the same, when we earnestly +desire to remember something; acting as if we endeavoured to see it. + +_Abstraction. Meditation_.—When a person is lost in thought with his +mind absent, or, as it is sometimes said, “when he is in a brown +study,” he does not frown, but his eyes appear vacant. The lower +eyelids are generally raised and wrinkled, in the same manner as when a +short-sighted person tries to distinguish a distant object; and the +upper orbicular muscles are at the same time slightly contracted. The +wrinkling of the lower eyelids under these circumstances has been +observed with some savages, as by Mr. Dyson Lacy with the Australians +of Queensland, and several times by Mr. Geach with the Malays of the +interior of Malacca. What the meaning or cause of this action may be, +cannot at present be explained; but here we have another instance of +movement round the eyes in relation to the state of the mind. + +The vacant expression of the eyes is very peculiar, and at once shows +when a man is completely lost in thought. Professor Donders has, with +his usual kindness, investigated this subject for me. He has observed +others in this condition, and has been himself observed by Professor +Engelmann. The eyes are not then fixed on any object, and therefore +not, as I had imagined, on some distant object. The lines of vision of +the two eyes even often become slightly divergent; the divergence, if +the head be held vertically, with the plane of vision horizontal, +amounting to an angle of 2° as a maximum. This was ascertained by +observing the crossed double image of a distant object. When the head +droops forward, as often occurs with a man absorbed in thought, owing +to the general relaxation of his muscles, if the plane of vision be +still horizontal, the eyes are necessarily a little turned upwards, and +then the divergence is as much as 3°, or 3° 5’: if the eyes are turned +still more upwards, it amounts to between 6° and 7°. Professor Donders +attributes this divergence to the almost complete relaxation of certain +muscles of the eyes, which would be apt to follow from the mind being +wholly absorbed.[906] The active condition of the muscles of the eyes +is that of convergence; and Professor Donders remarks, as bearing on +their divergence during a period of complete abstraction, that when one +eye becomes blind, it almost always, after a short lapse of time, +deviates outwards; for its muscles are no longer used in moving the +eyeball inwards for the sake of binocular vision. + +Perplexed reflection is often accompanied by certain movements or +gestures. At such times we commonly raise our hands to our foreheads, +mouths, or chins; but we do not act thus, as far as I have seen, when +we are quite lost in meditation, and no difficulty is encountered. +Plautus, describing in one of his plays[907] a puzzled man, says, “Now +look, he has pillared his chin upon his hand.” Even so trifling and +apparently unmeaning a gesture as the raising of the hand to the face +has been observed with some savages. Mr. J. Mansel Weale has seen it +with the Kafirs of South Africa; and the native chief Gaika adds, that +men then “sometimes pull their beards.” Mr. Washington Matthews, who +attended to some of the wildest tribes of Indians in the western +regions of the United States, remarks that he has seen them when +concentrating their thoughts, bring their “hands, usually the thumb and +index finger, in contact with some part of the face, commonly the upper +lip.” We can understand why the forehead should be pressed or rubbed, +as deep thought tries the brain; but why the hand should be raised to +the mouth or face is far from clear. + +_Ill-temper_.—We have seen that frowning is the natural expression of +some difficulty encountered, or of something disagreeable experienced +either in thought or action, and he whose mind is often and readily +affected in this way, will be apt to be ill-tempered, or slightly +angry, or peevish, and will commonly show it by frowning. But a cross +expression, due to a frown, may be counteracted, if the mouth appears +sweet, from being habitually drawn into a smile, and the eyes are +bright and cheerful. So it will be if the eye is clear and steady, and +there is the appearance of earnest reflection. Frowning, with some +depression of the corners of the mouth, which is a sign of grief, gives +an air of peevishness. If a child (see Plate IV., fig. 2)[908] frowns +much whilst crying, but does not strongly contract in the usual manner +the orbicular muscles, a well-marked expression of anger or even of +rage, together with misery, is displayed. + + + +Ill-temper. Plate IV + +If the whole frowning brow be drawn much downward by the contraction of +the pyramidal muscles of the nose, which produces transverse wrinkles +or folds across the base of the nose, the expression becomes one of +moroseness. Duchenne believes that the contraction of this muscle, +without any frowning, gives the appearance of extreme and aggressive +hardness.[909] But I much doubt whether this is a true or natural +expression. I have shown Duchenne’s photograph of a young man, with +this muscle strongly contracted by means of galvanism, to eleven +persons, including some artists, and none of them could form an idea +what was intended, except one, a girl, who answered correctly, “surely +reserve.” When I first looked at this photograph, knowing what was +intended, my imagination added, as I believe, what was necessary, +namely, a frowning brow; and consequently the expression appeared to me +true and extremely morose. + +A firmly closed mouth, in addition to a lowered and frowning brow, +gives determination to the expression, or may make it obstinate and +sullen. How it comes that the firm closure of the mouth gives the +appearance of determination will presently be discussed. An expression +of sullen obstinacy has been clearly recognized by my informants, in +the natives of six different regions of Australia. It is well marked, +according to Mr. Scott, with the Hindoos. It has been recognized with +the Malays, Chinese, Kafirs, Abyssinians, and in a conspicuous degree, +according to Dr. Rothrock, with the wild Indians of North America, and +according to Mr. D. Forbes, with the Aymaras of Bolivia. I have also +observed it with the Araucanos of southern Chili. Mr. Dyson Lacy +remarks that the natives of Australia, when in this frame of mind, +sometimes fold their arms across their breasts, an attitude which may +be seen with us. A firm determination, amounting to obstinacy, is, +also, sometimes expressed by both shoulders being kept raised, the +meaning of which gesture will be explained in the following chapter. + +With young children sulkiness is shown by pouting, or, as it is +sometimes called, “making a snout.”[910] When the corners of the mouth +are much depressed, the lower lip is a little everted and protruded; +and this is likewise called a pout. But the pouting here referred to, +consists of the protrusion of both lips into a tubular form, sometimes +to such an extent as to project as far as the end of the nose, if this +be short. Pouting is generally accompanied by frowning, and sometimes +by the utterance of a booing or whooing noise. This expression is +remarkable, as almost the sole one, as far as I know, which is +exhibited much more plainly during childhood, at least with Europeans, +than during maturity. There is, however, some tendency to the +protrusion of the lips with the adults of all races under the influence +of great rage. Some children pout when they are shy, and they can then +hardly be called sulky. + +From inquiries which I have made in several large families, pouting +does not seem very common with European children; but it prevails +throughout the world, and must be both common and strongly marked with +most savage races, as it has caught the attention of many observers. It +has been noticed in eight different districts of Australia; and one of +my informants remarks how greatly the lips of the children are then +protruded. Two observers have seen pouting with the children of +Hindoos; three, with those of the Kafirs and Fingoes of South Africa, +and with the Hottentots; and two, with the children of the wild Indians +of North America. Pouting has also been observed with the Chinese, +Abyssinians, Malays of Malacca, Dyaks of Borneo, and often with the New +Zealanders. Mr. Mansel Weale informs me that he has seen the lips much +protruded, not only with the children of the Kafirs, but with the +adults of both sexes when sulky; and Mr. Stack has sometimes observed +the same thing with the men, and very frequently with the women of New +Zealand. A trace of the same expression may occasionally be detected +even with adult Europeans. + +We thus see that the protrusion of the lips, especially with young +children, is characteristic of sulkiness throughout the greater part of +the world. This movement apparently results from the retention, chiefly +during youth, of a primordial habit, or from an occasional reversion to +it. Young orangs and chimpanzees protrude their lips to an +extraordinary degree, as described in a former chapter, when they are +discontented, somewhat angry, or sulky; also when they are surprised, a +little frightened, and even when slightly pleased. Their mouths are +protruded apparently for the sake of making the various noises proper +to these several states of mind; and its shape, as I observed with the +chimpanzee, differed slightly when the cry of pleasure and that of +anger were uttered. As soon as these animals become enraged, the shape +of the month wholly changes, and the teeth are exposed. The adult orang +when wounded is said to emit “a singular cry, consisting at first of +high notes, which at length deepen into a low roar. While giving out +the high notes he thrusts out his lips into a funnel shape, but in +uttering the low notes he holds his mouth wide open.”[911] With the +gorilla, the lower lip is said to be capable of great elongation. If +then our semi-human progenitors protruded their lips when sulky or a +little angered, in the same manner as do the existing anthropoid apes, +it is not an anomalous, though a curious fact, that our children should +exhibit, when similarly affected, a trace of the same expression, +together with some tendency to utter a noise. For it is not at all +unusual for animals to retain, more or less perfectly, during early +youth, and subsequently to lose, characters which were aboriginally +possessed by their adult progenitors, and which are still retained by +distinct species, their near relations. + +Nor is it an anomalous fact that the children of savages should exhibit +a stronger tendency to protrude their lips, when sulky, than the +children of civilized Europeans; for the essence of savagery seems to +consist in the retention of a primordial condition, and this +occasionally holds good even with bodily peculiarities.[912] It may be +objected to this view of the origin of pouting, that the anthropoid +apes likewise protrude their lips when astonished and even when a +little pleased; whilst with us this expression is generally confined to +a sulky frame of mind. But we shall see in a future chapter that with +men of various races surprise does sometimes lead to a slight +protrusion of the lips, though great surprise or astonishment is more +commonly shown by the mouth being widely opened. As when we smile or +laugh we draw back the corners of the mouth, we have lost any tendency +to protrude the lips, when pleased, if indeed our early progenitors +thus expressed pleasure. + +A little gesture made by sulky children may here be noticed, namely, +their “showing a cold shoulder.” This has a different meaning, as, I +believe, from the keeping both shoulders raised. A cross child, sitting +on its parent’s knee, will lift up the near shoulder, then jerk it +away, as if from a caress, and afterwards give a backward push with it, +as if to push away the offender. I have seen a child, standing at some +distance from any one, clearly express its feelings by raising one +shoulder, giving it a little backward movement, and then turning away +its whole body. + +_Decision or determination_.—The firm closure of the mouth tends to +give an expression of determination or decision to the countenance. No +determined man probably ever had an habitually gaping mouth. Hence, +also, a small and weak lower jaw, which seems to indicate that the +mouth is not habitually and firmly closed, is commonly thought to be +characteristic of feebleness of character. A prolonged effort of any +kind, whether of body or mind, implies previous determination; and if +it can be shown that the mouth is generally closed with firmness before +and during a great and continued exertion of the muscular system, then, +through the principle of association, the mouth would almost certainly +be closed as soon as any determined resolution was taken. Now several +observers have noticed that a man, in commencing any violent muscular +effort, invariably first distends his lungs with air, and then +compresses it by the strong contraction of the muscles of the chest; +and to effect this the mouth must be firmly closed. Moreover, as soon +as the man is compelled to draw breath, he still keeps his chest as +much distended as possible. + +Various causes have been assigned for this manner of acting. Sir C. +Bell maintains[913] that the chest is distended with air, and is kept +distended at such times, in order to give a fixed support to the +muscles which are thereto attached. Hence, as he remarks, when two men +are engaged in a deadly contest, a terrible silence prevails, broken +only by hard stifled breathing. There is silence, because to expel the +air in the utterance of any sound would be to relax the support for the +muscles of the arms. If an outcry is heard, supposing the struggle to +take place in the dark, we at once know that one of the two has given +up in despair. + +Gratiolet admits[914] that when a man has to struggle with another to +his utmost, or has to support a great weight, or to keep for a long +time the same forced attitude, it is necessary for him first to make a +deep inspiration, and then to cease breathing; but he thinks that Sir +C. Bell’s explanation is erroneous. He maintains that arrested +respiration retards the circulation of the blood, of which I believe +there is no doubt, and he adduces some curious evidence from the +structure of the lower animals, showing, on the one hand, that a +retarded circulation is necessary for prolonged muscular exertion, and, +on the other hand, that a rapid circulation is necessary for rapid +movements. According to this view, when we commence any great exertion, +we close our mouths and stop breathing, in order to retard the +circulation of the blood. Gratiolet sums up the subject by saying, +“C’est là la vraie théorie de l’effort continu;” but how far this +theory is admitted by other physiologists I do not know. + +Dr. Piderit accounts[915] for the firm closure of the mouth during +strong muscular exertion, on the principle that the influence of the +will spreads to other muscles besides those necessarily brought into +action in making any particular exertion; and it is natural that the +muscles of respiration and of the mouth, from being so habitually used, +should be especially liable to be thus acted on. It appears to me that +there probably is some truth in this view, for we are apt to press the +teeth hard together during violent exertion, and this is not requisite +to prevent expiration, whilst the muscles of the chest are strongly +contracted. + +Lastly, when a man has to perform some delicate and difficult +operation, not requiring the exertion of any strength, he nevertheless +generally closes his mouth and ceases for a time to breathe; but he +acts thus in order that the movements of his chest may not disturb, +those of his arms. A person, for instance, whilst threading a needle, +may be seen to compress his lips and either to stop breathing, or to +breathe as quietly as possible. So it was, as formerly stated, with a +young and sick chimpanzee, whilst it amused itself by killing flies +with its knuckles, as they buzzed about on the window-panes. To perform +an action, however trifling, if difficult, implies some amount of +previous determination. + +There appears nothing improbable in all the above assigned causes +having come into play in different degrees, either conjointly or +separately, on various occasions. The result would be a +well-established habit, now perhaps inherited, of firmly closing the +mouth at the commencement of and during any violent and prolonged +exertion, or any delicate operation. Through the principle of +association there would also be a strong tendency towards this same +habit, as soon as the mind had resolved on any particular action or +line of conduct, even before there was any bodily exertion, or if none +were requisite. The habitual and firm closure of the mouth would thus +come to show decision of character; and decision readily passes into +obstinacy. + + + + +CHAPTER X. HATRED AND ANGER. + +Hatred—Rage, effects of on the system—Uncovering of the teeth—Rage in +the insane—Anger and indignation—As expressed by the various races of +man—Sneering and defiance—The uncovering of the canine tooth on one +side of the face. + +If we have suffered or expect to suffer some wilful injury from a man, +or if he is in any way offensive to us, we dislike him; and dislike +easily rises into hatred. Such feelings, if experienced in a moderate +degree, are not clearly expressed by any movement of the body or +features, excepting perhaps by a certain gravity of behaviour, or by +some ill-temper. Few individuals, however, can long reflect about a +hated person, without feeling and exhibiting signs of indignation or +rage. But if the offending person be quite insignificant, we experience +merely disdain or contempt. If, on the other hand, he is all-powerful, +then hatred passes into terror, as when a slave thinks about a cruel +master, or a savage about a bloodthirsty malignant deity.[1001] Most of +our emotions are so closely connected with their expression, that they +hardly exist if the body remains passive—the nature of the expression +depending in chief part on the nature of the actions which have been +habitually performed under this particular state of the mind. A man, +for instance, may know that his life is in the extremest peril, and may +strongly desire to save if; yet, as Louis XVI. said, when surrounded by +a fierce mob, “Am I afraid? feel my pulse.” So a man may intensely hate +another, but until his bodily frame is affected, he cannot be said to +be enraged. + +_Rage_.—I have already had occasion to treat of this emotion in the +third chapter, when discussing the direct influence of the excited +sensorium on the body, in combination with the effects of habitually +associated actions. Rage exhibits itself in the most diversified +manner. The heart and circulation are always affected; the face reddens +or becomes purple, with the veins on the forehead and neck distended. +The reddening of the skin has been observed with the copper-coloured +Indians of South America,[1002] and even, as it is said, on the white +cicatrices left by old wounds on negroes.[1003] Monkeys also redden +from passion. With one of my own infants, under four months old, I +repeatedly observed that the first symptom of an approaching passion +was the rushing of the blood into his bare scalp. On the other hand, +the action of the heart is sometimes so much impeded by great rage, +that the countenance becomes pallid or livid,[1004] and not a few men +with heart-disease have dropped down dead under this powerful emotion. + +The respiration is likewise affected; the chest heaves, and the dilated +nostrils quiver.[1005] As Tennyson writes, “sharp breaths of anger +puffed her fairy nostrils out.” Hence we have such expressions as +“breathing out vengeance,” and “fuming with anger.”[1006] + +The excited brain gives strength to the muscles, and at the same time +energy to the will. The body is commonly held erect ready for instant +action, but sometimes it is bent forward towards the offending person, +with the limbs more or less rigid. The mouth is generally closed with +firmness, showing fixed determination, and the teeth are clenched or +ground together. Such gestures as the raising of the arms, with the +fists clenched, as if to strike the offender, are common. Few men in a +great passion, and telling some one to begone, can resist acting as if +they intended to strike or push the man violently away. The desire, +indeed, to strike often becomes so intolerably strong, that inanimate +objects are struck or dashed to the ground; but the gestures frequently +become altogether purposeless or frantic. Young children, when in a +violent rage roll on the ground on their backs or bellies, screaming, +kicking, scratching, or biting everything within reach. So it is, as I +hear from Mr. Scott, with Hindoo children; and, as we have seen, with +the young of the anthropomorphous apes. + +But the muscular system is often affected in a wholly different way; +for trembling is a frequent consequence of extreme rage. The paralysed +lips then refuse to obey the will, “and the voice sticks in the +throat;”[1007] or it is rendered loud, harsh, and discordant. If there +be much and rapid speaking, the mouth froths. The hair sometimes +bristles; but I shall return to this subject in another chapter, when I +treat of the mingled emotions of rage and terror. There is in most +cases a strongly-marked frown on the forehead; for this follows from +the sense of anything displeasing or difficult, together with +concentration of mind. But sometimes the brow, instead of being much +contracted and lowered, remains smooth, with the glaring eyes kept +widely open. The eyes are always bright, or may, as Homer expresses it, +glisten with fire. They are sometimes bloodshot, and are said to +protrude from their sockets—the result, no doubt, of the head being +gorged with blood, as shown by the veins being distended. According to +Gratiolet, “the pupils are always contracted in rage,” and I hear from +Dr. Crichton Browne that this is the case in the fierce delirium of +meningitis; but the movements of the iris under the influence of the +different emotions is a very obscure subject.[1008] + +Shakspeare sums up the chief characteristics of rage as follows:— + +“In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man, +As modest stillness and humility; +But when the blast of war blows in our ears, +Then imitate the action of the tiger: +Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, +Then lend the eye a terrible aspect; +Now set the teeth, and stretch the nostril wide, +Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit +To his full height! On, on, you noblest English.” +_Henry V_., act iii. sc. 1. + + +The lips are sometimes protruded during rage in a manner, the meaning +of which I do not understand, unless it depends on our descent from +some ape-like animal. Instances have been observed, not only with +Europeans, but with the Australians and Hindoos. The lips, however, are +much more commonly retracted, the grinning or clenched teeth being thus +exposed. This has been noticed by almost every one who has written on +expression.[1009] The appearance is as if the teeth were uncovered, +ready for seizing or tearing an enemy, though there may be no intention +of acting in this manner. Mr. Dyson Lacy has seen this grinning +expression with the Australians, when quarrelling, and so has Gaika +with the Kafirs of South America. Dickens,[1010] in speaking of an +atrocious murderer who had just been caught, and was surrounded by a +furious mob, describes “the people as jumping up one behind another, +snarling with their teeth, and making at him like wild beasts.” Every +one who has had much to do with young children must have seen how +naturally they take to biting, when in a passion. It seems as +instinctive in them as in young crocodiles, who snap their little jaws +as soon as they emerge from the egg. + +A grinning expression and the protrusion of the lips appear sometimes +to go together. A close observer says that he has seen many instances +of intense hatred (which can hardly be distinguished from rage, more or +less suppressed) in Orientals, and once in an elderly English woman. In +all these cases there “was a grin, not a scowl—the lips lengthening, +the cheeks settling downwards, the eyes half-closed, whilst the brow +remained perfectly calm.”[1011] + +This retraction of the lips and uncovering of the teeth during +paroxysms of rage, as if to bite the offender, is so remarkable, +considering how seldom the teeth are used by men in fighting, that I +inquired from Dr. J. Crichton Browne whether the habit was common in +the insane whose passions are unbridled. He informs me that he has +repeatedly observed it both with the insane and idiotic, and has given +me the following illustrations:— + +Shortly before receiving my letter, he witnessed an uncontrollable +outbreak of anger and delusive jealousy in an insane lady. At first she +vituperated her husband, and whilst doing so foamed at the mouth. Next +she approached close to him with compressed lips, and a virulent set +frown. Then she drew back her lips, especially the corners of the upper +lip, and showed her teeth, at the same time aiming a vicious blow at +him. A second case is that of an old soldier, who, when he is requested +to conform to the rules of the establishment, gives way to discontent, +terminating in fury. He commonly begins by asking Dr. Browne whether he +is not ashamed to treat him in such a manner. He then swears and +blasphemes, paces tip and down, tosses his arms wildly about, and +menaces any one near him. At last, as his exasperation culminates, he +rushes up towards Dr. Browne with a peculiar sidelong movement, shaking +his doubled fist, and threatening destruction. Then his upper lip may +be seen to be raised, especially at the corners, so that his huge +canine teeth are exhibited. He hisses forth his curses through his set +teeth, and his whole expression assumes the character of extreme +ferocity. A similar description is applicable to another man, excepting +that he generally foams at the mouth and spits, dancing and jumping +about in a strange rapid manner, shrieking out his maledictions in a +shrill falsetto voice. + +Dr. Browne also informs me of the case of an epileptic idiot, incapable +of independent movements, and who spends the whole day in playing with +some toys; but his temper is morose and easily roused into fierceness. +When any one touches his toys, he slowly raises his head from its +habitual downward position, and fixes his eyes on the offender, with a +tardy yet angry scowl. If the annoyance be repeated, he draws back his +thick lips and reveals a prominent row of hideous fangs (large canines +being especially noticeable), and then makes a quick and cruel clutch +with his open hand at the offending person. The rapidity of this +clutch, as Dr. Browne remarks, is marvellous in a being ordinarily so +torpid that he takes about fifteen seconds, when attracted by any +noise, to turn his head from one side to the other. If, when thus +incensed, a handkerchief, book, or other article, be placed into his +hands, he drags it to his mouth and bites it. Mr. Nicol has likewise +described to me two cases of insane patients, whose lips are retracted +during paroxysms of rage. + +Dr. Maudsley, after detailing various strange animal-like traits in +idiots, asks whether these are not due to the reappearance of primitive +instincts—“a faint echo from a far-distant past, testifying to a +kinship which man has almost outgrown.” He adds, that as every human +brain passes, in the course of its development, through the same stages +as those occurring in the lower vertebrate animals, and as the brain of +an idiot is in an arrested condition, we may presume that it “will +manifest its most primitive functions, and no higher functions.” Dr. +Maudsley thinks that the same view may be extended to the brain in its +degenerated condition in some insane patients; and asks, whence come +“the savage snarl, the destructive disposition, the obscene language, +the wild howl, the offensive habits, displayed by some of the insane? +Why should a human being, deprived of his reason, ever become so brutal +in character, as some do, unless he has the brute nature within +him?”[1012] This question must, as it would appear, he answered in the +affirmative. + +_Anger, Indignation_.—These states of the mind differ from rage only in +degree, and there is no marked distinction in their characteristic +signs. Under moderate anger the action of the heart is a little +increased, the colour heightened, and the eyes become bright. The +respiration is likewise a little hurried; and as all the muscles +serving for this function act in association, the wings of the nostrils +are somewhat raised to allow of a free indraught of air; and this is a +highly characteristic sign of indignation. The mouth is commonly +compressed, and there is almost always a frown on the brow. Instead of +the frantic gestures of extreme rage, an indignant man unconsciously +throws himself into an attitude ready for attacking or striking his +enemy, whom he will perhaps scan from head to foot in defiance. He +carries his head erect, with his chest well expanded, and the feet +planted firmly on the ground. He holds his arms in various positions, +with one or both elbows squared, or with the arms rigidly suspended by +his sides. With Europeans the fists are commonly clenched.[1013] The +figures 1 and 2 in Plate VI. are fairly good representations of men +simulating indignation. Any one may see in a mirror, if he will vividly +imagine that he has been insulted and demands an explanation in an +angry tone of voice, that he suddenly and unconsciously throws himself +into some such attitude. + + + +Anger and Indignation. Plate VI + +Rage, anger, and indignation are exhibited in nearly the same manner +throughout the world; and the following descriptions may be worth +giving as evidence of this, and as illustrations of some of the +foregoing remarks. There is, however, an exception with respect to +clenching the fists, which seems confined chiefly to the men who fight +with their fists. With the Australians only one of my informants has +seen the fists clenched. All agree about the body being held erect; and +all, with two exceptions, state that the brows are heavily contracted. +Some of them allude to the firmly-compressed mouth, the distended +nostrils, and flashing eyes. According to the Rev. Mr. Taplin, rage, +with the Australians, is expressed by the lips being protruded, the +eyes being widely open; and in the case of the women by their dancing +about and casting dust into the air. Another observer speaks of the +native men, when enraged, throwing their arms wildly about. + +I have received similar accounts, except as to the clenching of the +fists, in regard to the Malays of the Malacca peninsula, the +Abyssinians, and the natives of South Africa. So it is with the Dakota +Indians of North America; and, according to Mr. Matthews, they then +hold their heads erect, frown, and often stalk away with long strides. +Mr. Bridges states that the Fuegians, when enraged, frequently stamp on +the ground, walk distractedly about, sometimes cry and grow pale. The +Rev. Mr. Stack watched a New Zealand man and woman quarrelling, and +made the following entry in his note-book: “Eyes dilated, body swayed +violently backwards and forwards, head inclined forwards, fists +clenched, now thrown behind the body, now directed towards each other’s +faces.” Mr. Swinhoe says that my description agrees with what he has +seen of the Chinese, excepting that an angry man generally inclines his +body towards his antagonist, and pointing at him, pours forth a volley +of abuse. + +Lastly, with respect to the natives of India, Mr. J. Scott has sent me +a full description of their gestures and expression when enraged. Two +low-caste Bengalees disputed about a loan. At first they were calm, but +soon grew furious and poured forth the grossest abuse on each other’s +relations and progenitors for many generations past. Their gestures +were very different from those of Europeans; for though their chests +were expanded and shoulders squared, their arms remained rigidly +suspended, with the elbows turned inwards and the hands alternately +clenched and opened. Their shoulders were often raised high, and then +again lowered. They looked fiercely at each other from under their +lowered and strongly wrinkled brows, and their protruded lips were +firmly closed. They approached each other, with heads and necks +stretched forwards, and pushed, scratched, and grasped at each other. +This protrusion of the head and body seems a common gesture with the +enraged; and I have noticed it with degraded English women whilst +quarrelling violently in the streets. In such cases it may be presumed +that neither party expects to receive a blow from the other. + +A Bengalee employed in the Botanic Gardens was accused, in the presence +of Mr. Scott, by the native overseer of having stolen a valuable plant. +He listened silently and scornfully to the accusation; his attitude +erect, chest expanded, mouth closed, lips protruding, eyes firmly set +and penetrating. He then defiantly maintained his innocence, with +upraised and clenched hands, his head being now pushed forwards, with +the eyes widely open and eyebrows raised. Mr. Scott also watched two +Mechis, in Sikhim, quarrelling about their share of payment. They soon +got into a furious passion, and then their bodies became less erect, +with their heads pushed forwards; they made grimaces at each other; +their shoulders were raised; their arms rigidly bent inwards at the +elbows, and their hands spasmodically closed, but not properly +clenched. They continually approached and retreated from each other, +and often raised their arms as if to strike, but their hands were open, +and no blow was given. Mr. Scott made similar observations on the +Lepchas whom he often saw quarrelling, and he noticed that they kept +their arms rigid and almost parallel to their bodies, with the hands +pushed somewhat backwards and partially closed, but not clenched. + +_Sneering, Defiance: Uncovering the canine tooth on one side_.—The +expression which I wish here to consider differs but little from that +already described, when the lips are retracted and the grinning teeth +exposed. The difference consists solely in the upper lip being +retracted in such a manner that the canine tooth on one side of the +face alone is shown; the face itself being generally a little upturned +and half averted from the person causing offence. The other signs of +rage are not necessarily present. This expression may occasionally be +observed in a person who sneers at or defies another, though there may +be no real anger; as when any one is playfully accused of some fault, +and answers, “I scorn the imputation.” The expression is not a common +one, but I have seen it exhibited with perfect distinctness by a lady +who was being quizzed by another person. It was described by Parsons as +long ago as 1746, with an engraving, showing the uncovered canine on +one side.[1014] Mr. Rejlander, without my having made any allusion to +the subject, asked me whether I had ever noticed this expression, as he +had been much struck by it. He has photographed for me (Plate IV. fig +1) a lady, who sometimes unintentionally displays the canine on one +side, and who can do so voluntarily with unusual distinctness. + +The expression of a half-playful sneer graduates into one of great +ferocity when, together with a heavily frowning brow and fierce eye, +the canine tooth is exposed. A Bengalee boy was accused before Mr. +Scott of some misdeed. The delinquent did not dare to give vent to his +wrath in words, but it was plainly shown on his countenance, sometimes +by a defiant frown, and sometimes “by a thoroughly canine snarl.” When +this was exhibited, “the corner of the lip over the eye-tooth, which +happened in this case to be large and projecting, was raised on the +side of his accuser, a strong frown being still retained on the brow.” +Sir C. Bell states[1015] that the actor Cooke could express the most +determined hate “when with the oblique cast of his eyes he drew up the +outer part of the upper lip, and discovered a sharp angular tooth.” + +The uncovering of the canine tooth is the result of a double movement. +The angle or corner of the mouth is drawn a little backwards, and at +the same time a muscle which runs parallel to and near the nose draws +up the outer part of the upper lip, and exposes the canine on this side +of the face. The contraction of this muscle makes a distinct furrow on +the cheek, and produces strong wrinkles under the eye, especially at +its inner corner. The action is the same as that of a snarling dog; and +a dog when pretending to fight often draws up the lip on one side +alone, namely that facing his antagonist. Our word _sneer_ is in fact +the same as _snarl_, which was originally _snar_, the _l_ “being merely +an element implying continuance of action.”[1016] + +I suspect that we see a trace of this same expression in what is called +a derisive or sardonic smile. The lips are then kept joined or almost +joined, but one corner of the mouth is retracted on the side towards +the derided person; and this drawing back of the corner is part of a +true sneer. Although some persons smile more on one side of their face +than on the other, it is not easy to understand why in cases of +derision the smile, if a real one, should so commonly be confined to +one side. I have also on these occasions noticed a slight twitching of +the muscle which draws up the outer part of the upper lip; and this +movement, if fully carried out, would have uncovered the canine, and +would have produced a true sneer. + +Mr. Bulmer, an Australian missionary in a remote part of Gipps’ Land, +says, in answer to my query about the uncovering of the canine on one +side, “I find that the natives in snarling at each other speak with the +teeth closed, the upper lip drawn to one side, and a general angry +expression of face; but they look direct at the person addressed.” +Three other observers in Australia, one in Abyssinia, and one in China, +answer my query on this head in the affirmative; but as the expression +is rare, and as they enter into no details, I am afraid of implicitly +trusting them. It is, however, by no means improbable that this +animal-like expression may be more common with savages than with +civilized races. Mr. Geach is an observer who may be fully trusted, and +he has observed it on one occasion in a Malay in the interior of +Malacca. The Rev. S. O. Glenie answers, “We have observed this +expression with the natives of Ceylon, but not often.” Lastly, in North +America, Dr. Rothrock has seen it with some wild Indians, and often in +a tribe adjoining the Atnahs. + +Although the upper lip is certainly sometimes raised on one side alone +in sneering at or defying any one, I do not know that this is always +the case, for the face is commonly half averted, and the expression is +often momentary. The movement being confined to one side may not be an +essential part of the expression, but may depend on the proper muscles +being incapable of movement excepting on one side. I asked four persons +to endeavour to act voluntarily in this manner; two could expose the +canine only on the left side, one only on the right side, and the +fourth on neither side. Nevertheless it is by no means certain that +these same persons, if defying any one in earnest, would not +unconsciously have uncovered their canine tooth on the side, whichever +it might be, towards the offender. For we have seen that some persons +cannot voluntarily make their eyebrows oblique, yet instantly act in +this manner when affected by any real, although most trifling, cause of +distress. The power of voluntarily uncovering the canine on one side of +the face being thus often wholly lost, indicates that it is a rarely +used and almost abortive action. It is indeed a surprising fact that +man should possess the power, or should exhibit any tendency to its +use; for Mr. Sutton has never noticed a snarling action in our nearest +allies, namely, the monkeys in the Zoological Gardens, and he is +positive that the baboons, though furnished with great canines, never +act thus, but uncover all their teeth when feeling savage and ready for +an attack. Whether the adult anthropomorphous apes, in the males of +whom the canines are much larger than in the females, uncover them when +prepared to fight, is not known. + +The expression here considered, whether that of a playful sneer or +ferocious snarl, is one of the most curious which occurs in man. It +reveals his animal descent; for no one, even if rolling on the ground +in a deadly grapple with an enemy, and attempting to bite him, would +try to use his canine teeth more than his other teeth. We may readily +believe from our affinity to the anthropomorphous apes that our male +semi-human progenitors possessed great canine teeth, and men are now +occasionally born having them of unusually large size, with interspaces +in the opposite jaw for their reception.[1017] We may further suspect, +notwithstanding that we have no support from analogy, that our +semi-human progenitors uncovered their canine teeth when prepared for +battle, as we still do when feeling ferocious, or when merely sneering +at or defying some one, without any intention of making a real attack +with our teeth. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. DISDAIN—CONTEMPT—DISGUST-GUILT—PRIDE, +ETC.—HELPLESSNESS—PATIENCE—AFFIRMATION AND NEGATION. + +Contempt, scorn and disdain, variously expressed—Derisive +smile—Gestures expressive of contempt—Disgust—Guilt, deceit, pride, +&c.—Helplessness or impotence—Patience—Obstinacy—Shrugging the +shoulders common to most of the races of man—Signs of affirmation and +negation. + +Scorn and disdain can hardly be distinguished from contempt, excepting +that they imply a rather more angry frame of mind. Nor can they be +clearly distinguished from the feelings discussed in the last chapter +under the terms of sneering and defiance. Disgust is a sensation rather +more distinct in its nature and refers to something revolting, +primarily in relation to the sense of taste, as actually perceived or +vividly imagined; and secondarily to anything which causes a similar +feeling, through the sense of smell, touch, and even of eyesight. +Nevertheless, extreme contempt, or as it is often called loathing +contempt, hardly differs from disgust. These several conditions of the +mind are, therefore, nearly related; and each of them may be exhibited +in many different ways. Some writers have insisted chiefly on one mode +of expression, and others on a different mode. From this circumstance +M. Lemoine has argued[1101] that their descriptions are not +trustworthy. But we shall immediately see that it is natural that the +feelings which we have here to consider should be expressed in many +different ways, inasmuch as various habitual actions serve equally +well, through the principle of association, for their expression. + +Scorn and disdain, as well as sneering and defiance, may be displayed +by a slight uncovering of the canine tooth on one side of the face; and +this movement appears to graduate into one closely like a smile. Or the +smile or laugh may be real, although one of derision; and this implies +that the offender is so insignificant that he excites only amusement; +but the amusement is generally a pretence. Gaika in his answers to my +queries remarks, that contempt is commonly shown by his countrymen, the +Kafirs, by smiling; and the Rajah Brooke makes the same observation +with respect to the Dyaks of Borneo. As laughter is primarily the +expression of simple joy, very young children do not, I believe, ever +laugh in derision. + +The partial closure of the eyelids, as Duchenne[1102] insists, or the +turning away of the eyes or of the whole body, are likewise highly +expressive of disdain. These actions seem to declare that the despised +person is not worth looking at or is disagreeable to behold. The +accompanying photograph (Plate V. fig. 1) by Mr. Rejlander, shows this +form of disdain. It represents a young lady, who is supposed to be +tearing up the photograph of a despised lover. + + + +Scorn and Disdain. Plate V + +The most common method of expressing contempt is by movements about the +nose, or round the mouth; but the latter movements, when strongly +pronounced, indicate disgust. The nose may be slightly turned up, which +apparently follows from the turning up of the upper lip; or the +movement may be abbreviated into the mere wrinkling of the nose. The +nose is often slightly contracted, so as partly to close the +passage;[1103] and this is commonly accompanied by a slight snort or +expiration. All these actions are the same with those which we employ +when we perceive an offensive odour, and wish to exclude or expel it. +In extreme cases, as Dr. Piderit remarks,[1104] we protrude and raise +both lips, or the upper lip alone, so as to close the nostrils as by a +valve, the nose being thus turned up. We seem thus to say to the +despised person that he smells offensively,[1105] in nearly the same +manner as we express to him by half-closing our eyelids, or turning +away our faces, that he is not worth looking at. It must not, however, +be supposed that such ideas actually pass through the mind when we +exhibit our contempt; but as whenever we have perceived a disagreeable +odour or seen a disagreeable sight, actions of this kind have been +performed, they have become habitual or fixed, and are now employed +under any analogous state of mind. + +Various odd little gestures likewise indicate contempt; for instance, +_snapping one’s fingers_. This, as Mr. Taylor remarks,[1106] “is not +very intelligible as we generally see it; but when we notice that the +same sign made quite gently, as if rolling some tiny object away +between the finger and thumb, or the sign of flipping it away with the +thumb-nail and forefinger, are usual and well-understood deaf-and-dumb +gestures, denoting anything tiny, insignificant, contemptible, it seems +as though we had exaggerated and conventionalized a perfectly natural +action, so as to lose sight of its original meaning. There is a curious +mention of this gesture by Strabo.” Mr. Washington Matthews informs me +that, with the Dakota Indians of North America, contempt is shown not +only by movements of the face, such as those above described, but +“conventionally, by the hand being closed and held near the breast, +then, as the forearm is suddenly extended, the hand is opened and the +fingers separated from each other. If the person at whose expense the +sign is made is present, the hand is moved towards him, and the head +sometimes averted from him.” This sudden extension and opening of the +hand perhaps indicates the dropping or throwing away a valueless +object. + +The term ‘disgust,’ in its simplest sense, means something offensive to +the taste. It is curious how readily this feeling is excited by +anything unusual in the appearance, odour, or nature of our food. In +Tierra del Fuego a native touched with his finger some cold preserved +meat which I was eating at our bivouac, and plainly showed utter +disgust at its softness; whilst I felt utter disgust at my food being +touched by a naked savage, though his hands did not appear dirty. A +smear of soup on a man’s beard looks disgusting, though there is of +course nothing disgusting in the soup itself. I presume that this +follows from the strong association in our minds between the sight of +food, however circumstanced, and the idea of eating it. + +As the sensation of disgust primarily arises in connection with the act +of eating or tasting, it is natural that its expression should consist +chiefly in movements round the mouth. But as disgust also causes +annoyance, it is generally accompanied by a frown, and often by +gestures as if to push away or to guard oneself against the offensive +object. In the two photographs (figs. 2 and 3, on Plate V.) Mr. +Rejlander has simulated this expression with some success. With respect +to the face, moderate disgust is exhibited in various ways; by the +mouth being widely opened, as if to let an offensive morsel drop out; +by spitting; by blowing out of the protruded lips; or by a sound as of +clearing the throat. Such guttural sounds are written _ach_ or _ugh_; +and their utterance is sometimes accompanied by a shudder, the arms +being pressed close to the sides and the shoulders raised in the same +manner as when horror is experienced.[1107] Extreme disgust is +expressed by movements round the month identical with those preparatory +to the act of vomiting. The mouth is opened widely, with the upper lip +strongly retracted, which wrinkles the sides of the nose, and with the +lower lip protruded and everted as much as possible. This latter +movement requires the contraction of the muscles which draw downwards +the corners of the mouth.[1108] + +It is remarkable how readily and instantly retching or actual vomiting +is induced in some persons by the mere idea of having partaken of any +unusual food, as of an animal which is not commonly eaten; although +there is nothing in such food to cause the stomach to reject it. When +vomiting results, as a reflex action, from some real cause—as from too +rich food, or tainted meat, or from an emetic—it does not ensue +immediately, but generally after a considerable interval of time. +Therefore, to account for retching or vomiting being so quickly and +easily excited by a mere idea, the suspicion arises that our +progenitors must formerly have had the power (like that possessed by +ruminants and some other animals) of voluntarily rejecting food which +disagreed with them, or which they thought would disagree with them; +and now, though this power has been lost, as far as the will is +concerned, it is called into involuntary action, through the force of a +formerly well-established habit, whenever the mind revolts at the idea +of having partaken of any kind of food, or at anything disgusting. This +suspicion receives support from the fact, of which I am assured by Mr. +Sutton, that the monkeys in the Zoological Gardens often vomit whilst +in perfect health, which looks as if the act were voluntary. We can see +that as man is able to communicate by language to his children and +others, the knowledge of the kinds of food to be avoided, he would have +little occasion to use the faculty of voluntary rejection; so that this +power would tend to be lost through disuse. + +As the sense of smell is so intimately connected with that of taste, it +is not surprising that an excessively bad odour should excite retching +or vomiting in some persons, quite as readily as the thought of +revolting food does; and that, as a further consequence, a moderately +offensive odour should cause the various expressive movements of +disgust. The tendency to retch from a fetid odour is immediately +strengthened in a curious manner by some degree of habit, though soon +lost by longer familiarity with the cause of offence and by voluntary +restraint. For instance, I wished to clean the skeleton of a bird, +which had not been sufficiently macerated, and the smell made my +servant and myself (we not having had much experience in such work) +retch so violently, that we were compelled to desist. During the +previous days I had examined some other skeletons, which smelt +slightly; yet the odour did not in the least affect me, but, +subsequently for several days, whenever I handled these same skeletons, +they made me retch. + +From the answers received from my correspondents it appears that the +various movements, which have now been described as expressing contempt +and disgust, prevail throughout a large part of the world. Dr. +Rothrock, for instance, answers with a decided affirmative with respect +to certain wild Indian tribes of North America. Crantz says that when a +Greenlander denies anything with contempt or horror he turns up his +nose, and gives a slight sound through it.[1109] Mr. Scott has sent me +a graphic description of the face of a young Hindoo at the sight of +castor-oil, which he was compelled occasionally to take. Mr. Scott has +also seen the same expression on the faces of high-caste natives who +have approached close to some defiling object. Mr. Bridges says that +the Fuegians “express contempt by shooting out the lips and hissing +through them, and by turning up the nose.” The tendency either to snort +through the nose, or to make a noise expressed by _ugh_ or _ach_, is +noticed by several of my correspondents. + +Spitting seems an almost universal sign of contempt or disgust; and +spitting obviously represents the rejection of anything offensive from +the mouth. Shakspeare makes the Duke of Norfolk say, “I spit at +him—call him a slanderous coward and a villain.” So, again, Falstaff +says, “Tell thee what, Hal,—if I tell thee a lie, spit in my face.” +Leichhardt remarks that the Australians “interrupted their speeches by +spitting, and uttering a noise like pooh! pooh! apparently expressive +of their disgust.” And Captain Burton speaks of certain negroes +“spitting with disgust upon the ground.” Captain Speedy informs me that +this is likewise the case with the Abyssinians. Mr. Geach says that +with the Malays of Malacca the expression of disgust “answers to +spitting from the mouth;” and with the Fuegians, according to Mr. +Bridges “to spit at one is the highest mark of contempt.”[1110] + +I never saw disgust more plainly expressed than on the face of one of +my infants at the age of five months, when, for the first time, some +cold water, and again a month afterwards, when a piece of ripe cherry +was put into his mouth. This was shown by the lips and whole mouth +assuming a shape which allowed the contents to run or fall quickly out; +the tongue being likewise protruded. These movements were accompanied +by a little shudder. It was all the more comical, as I doubt whether +the child felt real disgust—the eyes and forehead expressing much +surprise and consideration. The protrusion of the tongue in letting a +nasty object fall out of the mouth, may explain how it is that lolling +out the tongue universally serves as a sign of contempt and +hatred.[1111] + +We have now seen that scorn, disdain, contempt, and disgust are +expressed in many different ways, by movements of the features, and by +various gestures; and that these are the same throughout the world. +They all consist of actions representing the rejection or exclusion of +some real object which we dislike or abhor, but which does not excite +in us certain other strong emotions, such as rage or terror; and +through the force of habit and association similar actions are +performed, whenever any analogous sensation arises in our minds. + +_Jealousy, Envy, Avarice, Revenge, Suspicion, Deceit, Slyness, Guilt, +Vanity, Conceit, Ambition, Pride, Humility, &c_.—It is doubtful whether +the greater number of the above complex states of mind are revealed by +any fixed expression, sufficiently distinct to be described or +delineated. When Shakspeare speaks of Envy as _lean-faced_, or _black_, +or _pale_, and Jealousy as “_the green-eyed monster_;” and when Spenser +describes Suspicion as “_foul, ill-favoured, and grim_,” they must have +felt this difficulty. Nevertheless, the above feelings—at least many of +them—can be detected by the eye; for instance, conceit; but we are +often guided in a much greater degree than we suppose by our previous +knowledge of the persons or circumstances. + +My correspondents almost unanimously answer in the affirmative to my +query, whether the expression of guilt and deceit can be recognized +amongst the various races of man; and I have confidence in their +answers, as they generally deny that jealousy can thus be recognized. +In the cases in which details are given, the eyes are almost always +referred to. The guilty man is said to avoid looking at his accuser, or +to give him stolen looks. The eyes are said “to be turned askant,” or +“to waver from side to side,” or “the eyelids to be lowered and partly +closed.” This latter remark is made by Mr. Hagenauer with respect to +the Australians, and by Gaika with respect to the Kafirs. The restless +movements of the eyes apparently follow, as will be explained when we +treat of blushing, from the guilty man not enduring to meet the gaze of +his accuser. I may add, that I have observed a guilty expression, +without a shade of fear, in some of my own children at a very early +age. In one instance the expression was unmistakably clear in a child +two years and seven months old, and led to the detection of his little +crime. It was shown, as I record in my notes made at the time, by an +unnatural brightness in the eyes, and by an odd, affected manner, +impossible to describe. + +Slyness is also, I believe, exhibited chiefly by movements about the +eyes; for these are less under the control of the will, owing to the +force of long-continued habit, than are the movements of the body. Mr. +Herbert Spencer remarks,[1112] “When there is a desire to see something +on one side of the visual field without being supposed to see it, the +tendency is to check the conspicuous movement of the head, and to make +the required adjustment entirely with the eyes; which are, therefore, +drawn very much to one side. Hence, when the eyes are turned to one +side, while the face is not turned to the same side, we get the natural +language of what is called slyness.” + +Of all the above-named complex emotions, Pride, perhaps, is the most +plainly expressed. A proud man exhibits his sense of superiority over +others by holding his head and body erect. He is haughty (_haut_), or +high, and makes himself appear as large as possible; so that +metaphorically he is said to be swollen or puffed up with pride. A +peacock or a turkey-cock strutting about with puffed-up feathers, is +sometimes said to be an emblem of pride.[1113] The arrogant man looks +down on others, and with lowered eyelids hardly condescends to see +them; or he may show his contempt by slight movements, such as those +before described, about the nostrils or lips. Hence the muscle which +everts the lower lip has been called the _musculus superbus_. In some +photographs of patients affected by a monomania of pride, sent me by +Dr. Crichton Browne, the head and body were held erect, and the mouth +firmly closed. This latter action, expressive of decision, follows, I +presume, from the proud man feeling perfect self-confidence in himself. +The whole expression of pride stands in direct antithesis to that of +humility; so that nothing need here be said of the latter state of +mind. + +_Helplessness, Impotence: Shrugging the shoulders_.—When a man wishes +to show that he cannot do something, or prevent something being done, +he often raises with a quick movement both shoulders. At the same time, +if the whole gesture is completed, he bends his elbows closely inwards, +raises his open hands, turning them outwards, with the fingers +separated. The head is often thrown a little on one side; the eyebrows +are elevated, and this causes wrinkles across the forehead. The mouth +is generally opened. I may mention, in order to show how unconsciously +the features are thus acted on, that though I had often intentionally +shrugged my shoulders to observe how my arms were placed, I was not at +all aware that my eyebrows were raised and mouth opened, until I looked +at myself in a glass; and since then I have noticed the same movements +in the faces of others. In the accompanying Plate VI., figs. 3 and 4, +Mr. Rejlander has successfully acted the gesture of shrugging the +shoulders. + +Englishmen are much less demonstrative than the men of most other +European nations, and they shrug their shoulders far less frequently +and energetically than Frenchmen or Italians do. The gesture varies in +all degrees from the complex movement, just described, to only a +momentary and scarcely perceptible raising of both shoulders; or, as I +have noticed in a lady sitting in an arm-chair, to the mere turning +slightly outwards of the open hands with separated fingers. I have +never seen very young English children shrug their shoulders, but the +following case was observed with care by a medical professor and +excellent observer, and has been communicated to me by him. The father +of this gentleman was a Parisian, and his mother a Scotch lady. His +wife is of British extraction on both sides, and my informant does not +believe that she ever shrugged her shoulders in her life. His children +have been reared in England, and the nursemaid is a thorough +Englishwoman, who has never been seen to shrug her shoulders. Now, his +eldest daughter was observed to shrug her shoulders at the age of +between sixteen and eighteen months; her mother exclaiming at the time, +“Look at the little French girl shrugging her shoulders!” At first she +often acted thus, sometimes throwing her head a little backwards and on +one side, but she did not, as far as was observed, move her elbows and +hands in the usual manner. The habit gradually wore away, and now, when +she is a little over four years old, she is never seen to act thus. The +father is told that he sometimes shrugs his shoulders, especially when +arguing with any one; but it is extremely improbable that his daughter +should have imitated him at so early an age; for, as he remarks, she +could not possibly have often seen this gesture in him. Moreover, if +the habit had been acquired through imitation, it is not probable that +it would so soon have been spontaneously discontinued by this child, +and, as we shall immediately see, by a second child, though the father +still lived with his family. This little girl, it may be added, +resembles her Parisian grandfather in countenance to an almost absurd +degree. She also presents another and very curious resemblance to him, +namely, by practising a singular trick. When she impatiently wants +something, she holds out her little hand, and rapidly rubs the thumb +against the index and middle finger: now this same trick was frequently +performed under the same circumstances by her grandfather. + +This gentleman’s second daughter also shrugged her shoulders before the +age of eighteen months, and afterwards discontinued the habit. It is of +course possible that she may have imitated her elder sister; but she +continued it after her sister had lost the habit. She at first +resembled her Parisian grandfather in a less degree than did her sister +at the same age, but now in a greater degree. She likewise practises to +the present time the peculiar habit of rubbing together, when +impatient, her thumb and two of her fore-fingers. + +In this latter case we have a good instance, like those given in a +former chapter, of the inheritance of a trick or gesture; for no one, I +presume, will attribute to mere coincidence so peculiar a habit as +this, which was common to the grandfather and his two grandchildren who +had never seen him. + +Considering all the circumstances with reference to these children +shrugging their shoulders, it can hardly be doubted that they have +inherited the habit from their French progenitors, although they have +only one quarter French blood in their veins, and although their +grandfather did not often shrug his shoulders. There is nothing very +unusual, though the fact is interesting, in these children having +gained by inheritance a habit during early youth, and then +discontinuing it; for it is of frequent occurrence with many kinds of +animals that certain characters are retained for a period by the young, +and are then lost. + +As it appeared to me at one time improbable in a high degree that so +complex a gesture as shrugging the shoulders, together with the +accompanying movements, should be innate, I was anxious to ascertain +whether the blind and deaf Laura Bridgman, who could not have learnt +the habit by imitation, practised it. And I have heard, through Dr. +Innes, from a lady who has lately had charge of her, that she does +shrug her shoulders, turn in her elbows, and raise her eyebrows in the +same manner as other people, and under the same circumstances. I was +also anxious to learn whether this gesture was practised by the various +races of man, especially by those who never have had much intercourse +with Europeans. We shall see that they act in this manner; but it +appears that the gesture is sometimes confined to merely raising or +shrugging the shoulders, without the other movements. + +Mr. Scott has frequently seen this gesture in the Bengalees and +Dhangars (the latter constituting a distinct race) who are employed in +the Botanic Garden at Calcutta; when, for instance, they have declared +that they could not do some work, such as lifting a heavy weight. He +ordered a Bengalee to climb a lofty tree; but the man, with a shrug of +his shoulders and a lateral shake of his head, said he could not. Mr. +Scott knowing that the man was lazy, thought he could, and insisted on +his trying. His face now became pale, his arms dropped to his sides, +his mouth and eyes were widely opened, and again surveying the tree, he +looked askant at Mr. Scott, shrugged his shoulders, inverted his +elbows, extended his open hands, and with a few quick lateral shakes of +the head declared his inability. Mr. H. Erskine has likewise seen the +natives of India shrugging their shoulders; but he has never seen the +elbows turned so much inwards as with us; and whilst shrugging their +shoulders they sometimes lay their uncrossed hands on their breasts. + +With the wild Malays of the interior of Malacca, and with the Bugis +(true Malays, though speaking a different language), Mr. Geach has +often seen this gesture. I presume that it is complete, as, in answer +to my query descriptive of the movements of the shoulders, arms, hands, +and face, Mr. Geach remarks, “it is performed in a beautiful style.” I +have lost an extract from a scientific voyage, in which shrugging the +shoulders by some natives (Micronesians) of the Caroline Archipelago in +the Pacific Ocean, was well described. Capt. Speedy informs me that the +Abyssinians shrug their shoulders but enters into no details. Mrs. Asa +Gray saw an Arab dragoman in Alexandria acting exactly as described in +my query, when an old gentleman, on whom he attended, would not go in +the proper direction which had been pointed out to him. + +Mr. Washington Matthews says, in reference to the wild Indian tribes of +the western parts of the United States, “I have on a few occasions +detected men using a slight apologetic shrug, but the rest of the +demonstration which you describe I have not witnessed.” Fritz Müller +informs me that he has seen the negroes in Brazil shrugging their +shoulders; but it is of course possible that they may have learnt to do +so by imitating the Portuguese. Mrs. Barber has never seen this gesture +with the Kafirs of South Africa; and Gaika, judging from his answer, +did not even understand what was meant by my description. Mr. Swinhoe +is also doubtful about the Chinese; but he has seen them, under the +circumstances which would make us shrug our shoulders, press their +right elbow against their side, raise their eyebrows, lift up their +hand with the palm directed towards the person addressed, and shake it +from right to left. Lastly, with respect to the Australians, four of my +informants answer by a simple negative, and one by a simple +affirmative. Mr. Bunnett, who has had excellent opportunities for +observation on the borders of the Colony of Victory, also answers by a +“yes,” adding that the gesture is performed “in a more subdued and less +demonstrative manner than is the case with civilized nations.” This +circumstance may account for its not having been noticed by four of my +informants. + +These statements, relating to Europeans, Hindoos, the hill-tribes of +India, Malays, Micronesians, Abyssinians, Arabs, Negroes, Indians of +North America, and apparently to the Australians—many of these natives +having had scarcely any intercourse with Europeans—are sufficient to +show that shrugging the shoulders, accompanied in some cases by the +other proper movements, is a gesture natural to mankind. + +This gesture implies an unintentional or unavoidable action on our own +part, or one that we cannot perform; or an action performed by another +person which we cannot prevent. It accompanies such speeches as, “It +was not my fault;” “It is impossible for me to grant this favour;” “He +must follow his own course, I cannot stop him.” Shrugging the shoulders +likewise expresses patience, or the absence of any intention to resist. +Hence the muscles which raise the shoulders are sometimes called, as I +have been informed by an artist, the patience muscles. Shylock the Jew, +says, + +“Signor Antonio, many a time and oft +In the Rialto have you rated me +About my monies and usances; +Still have I borne it with a patient shrug.” +_Merchant of Venice_, act i. sc. 3. + + +Sir C. Bell has given[1114] a life-like figure of a man, who is +shrinking back from some terrible danger, and is on the point of +screaming out in abject terror. He is represented with his shoulders +lifted up almost to his ears; and this at once declares that there is +no thought of resistance. + +As shrugging the shoulders generally implies “I cannot do this or +that,” so by a slight change, it sometimes implies “I won’t do it.” The +movement then expresses a dogged determination not to act. Olmsted +describes[1115] an Indian in Texas as giving a great shrug to his +shoulders, when he was informed that a party of men were Germans and +not Americans, thus expressing that he would have nothing to do with +them. Sulky and obstinate children may be seen with both their +shoulders raised high up; but this movement is not associated with the +others which generally accompany a true shrug. An excellent +observer[1116] in describing a young man who was determined not to +yield to his father’s desire, says, “He thrust his hands deep down into +his pockets, and set up his shoulders to his ears, which was a good +warning that, come right or wrong, this rock should fly from its firm +base as soon as Jack would; and that any remonstrance on the subject +was purely futile.” As soon as the son got his own way, he “put his +shoulders into their natural position.” + +Resignation is sometimes shown by the open hands being placed, one over +the other, on the lower part of the body. I should not have thought +this little gesture worth even a passing notice, had not Dr. W. Ogle +remarked to me that he had two or three times observed it in patients +who were preparing for operations under chloroform. They exhibited no +great fear, but seemed to declare by this posture of their hands, that +they had made up their minds, and were resigned to the inevitable. + +We may now inquire why men in all parts of the world when they +feel,—whether or not they wish to show this feeling,—that they cannot +or will not do something, or will not resist something if done by +another, shrug their shoulders, at the same time often bending in their +elbows, showing the palms of their hands with extended fingers, often +throwing their heads a little on one side, raising their eyebrows, and +opening their mouths. These states of the mind are either simply +passive, or show a determination not to act. None of the above +movements are of the least service. The explanation lies, I cannot +doubt, in the principle of unconscious antithesis. This principle here +seems to come into play as clearly as in the case of a dog, who, when +feeling savage, puts himself in the proper attitude for attacking and +for making himself appear terrible to his enemy; but as soon as he +feels affectionate, throws his whole body into a directly opposite +attitude, though this is of no direct use to him. + +Let it be observed how an indignant man, who resents, and will not +submit to some injury, holds his head erect, squares his shoulders, and +expands his chest. He often clenches his fists, and puts one or both +arms in the proper position for attack or defence, with the muscles of +his limbs rigid. He frowns,—that is, he contracts and lowers his +brows,—and, being determined, closes his mouth. The actions and +attitude of a helpless man are, in every one of these respects, exactly +the reverse. In Plate VI. we may imagine one of the figures on the left +side to have just said, “What do you mean by insulting me?” and one of +the figures on the right side to answer, “I really could not help it.” +The helpless man unconsciously contracts the muscles of his forehead +which are antagonistic to those that cause a frown, and thus raises his +eyebrows; at the same time he relaxes the muscles about the mouth, so +that the lower jaw drops. The antithesis is complete in every detail, +not only in the movements of the features, but in the position of the +limbs and in the attitude of the whole body, as may be seen in the +accompanying plate. As the helpless or apologetic man often wishes to +show his state of mind, he then acts in a conspicuous or demonstrative +manner. + +In accordance with the fact that squaring the elbows and clenching the +fists are gestures by no means universal with the men of all races, +when they feel indignant and are prepared to attack their enemy, so it +appears that a helpless or apologetic frame of mind is expressed in +many parts of the world by merely shrugging the shoulders, without +turning inwards the elbows and opening the hands. The man or child who +is obstinate, or one who is resigned to some great misfortune, has in +neither case any idea of resistance by active means; and he expresses +this state of mind, by simply keeping his shoulders raised; or he may +possibly fold his arms across his breast. + +_Signs of affirmation or approval, and of negation or disapproval: +nodding and shaking the head_.—I was curious to ascertain how far the +common signs used by us in affirmation and negation were general +throughout the world. These signs are indeed to a certain extent +expressive of our feelings, as we give a vertical nod of approval with +a smile to our children, when we approve of their conduct; and shake +our heads laterally with a frown, when we disapprove. With infants, the +first act of denial consists in refusing food; and I repeatedly noticed +with my own infants, that they did so by withdrawing their heads +laterally from the breast, or from anything offered them in a spoon. In +accepting food and taking it into their mouths, they incline their +heads forwards. Since making these observations I have been informed +that the same idea had occurred to Charma.[1117] It deserves notice +that in accepting or taking food, there is only a single movement +forward, and a single nod implies an affirmation. On the other hand, in +refusing food, especially if it be pressed on them, children frequently +move their heads several times from side to side, as we do in shaking +our heads in negation. Moreover, in the case of refusal, the head is +not rarely thrown backwards, or the mouth is closed, so that these +movements might likewise come to serve as signs of negation. Mr. +Wedgwood remarks on this subject,[1118] that “when the voice is exerted +with closed teeth or lips, it produces the sound of the letter _n_ or +_m_. Hence we may account for the use of the particle _ne_ to signify +negation, and possibly also of the Greek mh in the same sense.” + +That these signs are innate or instinctive, at least with Anglo-Saxons, +is rendered highly probable by the blind and deaf Laura Bridgman +“constantly accompanying her _yes_ with the common affirmative nod, and +her _no_ with our negative shake of the head.” Had not Mr. Lieber +stated to the contrary,[1119] I should have imagined that these +gestures might have been acquired or learnt by her, considering her +wonderful sense of touch and appreciation of the movements of others. +With microcephalous idiots, who are so degraded that they never learn +to speak, one of them is described by Vogt,[1120] as answering, when +asked whether he wished for more food or drink, by inclining or shaking +his head. Schmalz, in his remarkable dissertation on the education of +the deaf and dumb, as well as of children raised only one degree above +idiotcy, assumes that they can always both make and understand the +common signs of affirmation and negation.[1121] + +Nevertheless if we look to the various races of man, these signs are +not so universally employed as I should have expected; yet they seem +too general to be ranked as altogether conventional or artificial. My +informants assert that both signs are used by the Malays, by the +natives of Ceylon, the Chinese, the negroes of the Guinea coast, and, +according to Gaika, by the Kafirs of South Africa, though with these +latter people Mrs. Barber has never seen a lateral shake used as a +negative. With respect to the Australians, seven observers agree that a +nod is given in affirmation; five agree about a lateral shake in +negation, accompanied or not by some word; but Mr. Dyson Lacy has never +seen this latter sign in Queensland, and Mr. Bulmer says that in Gipps’ +Land a negative is expressed by throwing the head a little backwards +and putting out the tongue. At the northern extremity of the continent, +near Torres Straits, the natives when uttering a negative “don’t shake +the head with it, but holding up the right hand, shake it by turning it +half round and back again two or three times.”[1122] The throwing back +of the head with a cluck of the tongue is said to be used as a negative +by the modern Greeks and Turks, the latter people expressing _yes_ by a +movement like that made by us when we shake our heads.[1123] The +Abyssinians, as I am informed by Captain Speedy, express a negative by +jerking the head to the right shoulder, together with a slight cluck, +the mouth being closed; an affirmation is expressed by the head being +thrown backwards and the eyebrows raised for an instant. The Tagals of +Luzon, in the Philippine Archipelago, as I hear from Dr. Adolf Meyer, +when they say “yes,” also throw the head backwards. According to the +Rajah Brooke, the Dyaks of Borneo express an affirmation by raising the +eyebrows, and a negation by slightly contracting them, together with a +peculiar look from the eyes. With the Arabs on the Nile, Professor and +Mrs. Asa Gray concluded that nodding in affirmation was rare, whilst +shaking the head in negation was never used, and was not even +understood by them. With the Esquimaux[1124] a nod means _yes_ and a +wink _no_. The New Zealanders “elevate the head and chin in place of +nodding acquiescence.”[1125] + +With the Hindoos Mr. H. Erskine concludes from inquiries made from +experienced Europeans, and from native gentlemen, that the signs of +affirmation and negation vary—a nod and a lateral shake being sometimes +used as we do; but a negative is more commonly expressed by the head +being thrown suddenly backwards and a little to one side, with a cluck +of the tongue. What the meaning may be of this cluck of the tongue, +which has been observed with various people, I cannot imagine. A native +gentleman stated that affirmation is frequently shown by the head being +thrown to the left. I asked Mr. Scott to attend particularly to this +point, and, after repeated observations, he believes that a vertical +nod is not commonly used by the natives in affirmation, but that the +head is first thrown backwards either to the left or right, and then +jerked obliquely forwards only once. This movement would perhaps have +been described by a less careful observer as a lateral shake. He also +states that in negation the head is usually held nearly upright, and +shaken several times. + +Mr. Bridges informs me that the Fuegians nod their heads vertically in +affirmation, and shake them laterally in denial. With the wild Indians +of North America, according to Mr. Washington Matthews, nodding and +shaking the head have been learnt from Europeans, and are not naturally +employed. They express affirmation by describing with the hand (all the +fingers except the index being flexed) a curve downwards and outwards +from the body, whilst negation is expressed by moving the open hand +outwards, with the palm facing inwards. Other observers state that the +sign of affirmation with these Indians is the forefinger being raised, +and then lowered and pointed to the ground, or the hand is waved +straight forward from the face; and that the sign of negation is the +finger or whole hand shaken from side to side.[1126] This latter +movement probably represents in all cases the lateral shaking of the +head. The Italians are said in like manner to move the lifted finger +from right to left in negation, as indeed we English sometimes do. + +On the whole we find considerable diversity in the signs of affirmation +and negation in the different races of man. With respect to negation, +if we admit that the shaking of the finger or hand from side to side is +symbolic of the lateral movement of the head; and if we admit that the +sudden backward movement of the head represents one of the actions +often practised by young children in refusing food, then there is much +uniformity throughout the world in the signs of negation, and we can +see how they originated. The most marked exceptions are presented by +the Arabs, Esquimaux, some Australian tribes, and Dyaks. With the +latter a frown is the sign of negation, and with us frowning often +accompanies a lateral shake of the head. + +With respect to nodding in affirmation, the exceptions are rather more +numerous, namely with some of the Hindoos, with the Turks, Abyssinians, +Dyaks, Tagals, and New Zealanders. The eyebrows are sometimes raised in +affirmation, and as a person in bending his head forwards and downwards +naturally looks up to the person whom he addresses, he will be apt to +raise his eyebrows, and this sign may thus have arisen as an +abbreviation. So again with the New Zealanders, the lifting up the chin +and head in affirmation may perhaps represent in an abbreviated form +the upward movement of the head after it has been nodded forwards and +downwards. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. SURPRISE—ASTONISHMENT—FEAR—HORROR. + +Surprise, astonishment—Elevation of the eyebrows—Opening the +mouth—Protrusion of the lips—Gestures accompanying +surprise—Admiration—Fear—Terror—Erection of the hair—Contraction of the +platysma muscle—Dilatation of the pupils—Horror—Conclusion. + +Attention, if sudden and close, graduates into surprise; and this into +astonishment; and this into stupefied amazement. The latter frame of +mind is closely akin to terror. Attention is shown by the eyebrows +being slightly raised; and as this state increases into surprise, they +are raised to a much greater extent, with the eyes and mouth widely +open. The raising of the eyebrows is necessary in order that the eyes +should be opened quickly and widely; and this movement produces +transverse wrinkles across the forehead. The degree to which the eyes +and mouth are opened corresponds with the degree of surprise felt; but +these movements must be coordinated; for a widely opened mouth with +eyebrows only slightly raised results in a meaningless grimace, as Dr. +Duchenne has shown in one of his photographs.[1201] On the other hand, +a person may often be seen to pretend surprise by merely raising his +eyebrows. + +Dr. Duchenne has given a photograph of an old man with his eyebrows +well elevated and arched by the galvanization of the frontal muscle; +and with his mouth voluntarily opened. This figure expresses surprise +with much truth. I showed it to twenty-four persons without a word of +explanation, and one alone did not at all understand what was intended. +A second person answered terror, which is not far wrong; some of the +others, however, added to the words surprise or astonishment, the +epithets horrified, woful, painful, or disgusted. + +The eyes and mouth being widely open is an expression universally +recognized as one of surprise or astonishment. Thus Shakespeare says, +“I saw a smith stand with open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news.” +(‘King John,’ act iv. scene ii.) And again, “They seemed almost, with +staring on one another, to tear the cases of their eyes; there was +speech in the dumbness, language in their very gesture; they looked as +they had heard of a world destroyed.” (‘Winter’s Tale,’ act v. scene +ii.) + +My informants answer with remarkable uniformity to the same effect, +with respect to the various races of man; the above movements of the +features being often accompanied by certain gestures and sounds, +presently to be described. Twelve observers in different parts of +Australia agree on this head. Mr. Winwood Reade has observed this +expression with the negroes on the Guinea coast. The chief Gaika and +others answer _yes_ to my query with respect to the Kafirs of South +Africa; and so do others emphatically with reference to the +Abyssinians, Ceylonese, Chinese, Fuegians, various tribes of North +America, and New Zealanders. With the latter, Mr. Stack states that the +expression is more plainly shown by certain individuals than by others, +though all endeavour as much as possible to conceal their feelings. The +Dyaks of Borneo are said by the Rajah Brooke to open their eyes widely, +when astonished, often swinging their heads to and fro, and beating +their breasts. Mr. Scott informs me that the workmen in the Botanic +Gardens at Calcutta are strictly ordered not to smoke; but they often +disobey this order, and when suddenly surprised in the act, they first +open their eyes and mouths widely. They then often slightly shrug their +shoulders, as they perceive that discovery is inevitable, or frown and +stamp on the ground from vexation. Soon they recover from their +surprise, and abject fear is exhibited by the relaxation of all their +muscles; their heads seem to sink between their shoulders; their fallen +eyes wander to and fro; and they supplicate forgiveness. + +The well-known Australian explorer, Mr. Stuart, has given[1202] a +striking account of stupefied amazement together with terror in a +native who had never before seen a man on horseback. Mr. Stuart +approached unseen and called to him from a little distance. “He turned +round and saw me. What he imagined I was I do not know; but a finer +picture of fear and astonishment I never saw. He stood incapable of +moving a limb, riveted to the spot, mouth open and eyes staring.... He +remained motionless until our black got within a few yards of him, when +suddenly throwing down his waddies, he jumped into a mulga bush as high +as he could get.” He could not speak, and answered not a word to the +inquiries made by the black, but, trembling from head to foot, “waved +with his hand for us to be off.” + +That the eyebrows are raised by an innate or instinctive impulse may be +inferred from the fact that Laura Bridgman invariably acts thus when +astonished, as I have been assured by the lady who has lately had +charge of her. As surprise is excited by something unexpected or +unknown, we naturally desire, when startled, to perceive the cause as +quickly as possible; and we consequently open our eyes fully, so that +the field of vision may be increased, and the eyeballs moved easily in +any direction. But this hardly accounts for the eyebrows being so +greatly raised as is the case, and for the wild staring of the open +eyes. The explanation lies, I believe, in the impossibility of opening +the eyes with great rapidity by merely raising the upper lids. To +effect this the eyebrows must be lifted energetically. Any one who will +try to open his eyes as quickly as possible before a mirror will find +that he acts thus; and the energetic lifting up of the eyebrows opens +the eyes so widely that they stare, the white being exposed all round +the iris. Moreover, the elevation of the eyebrows is an advantage in +looking upwards; for as long as they are lowered they impede our vision +in this direction. Sir C. Bell gives[1203] a curious little proof of +the part which the eyebrows play in opening the eyelids. In a stupidly +drunken man all the muscles are relaxed, and the eyelids consequently +droop, in the same manner as when we are falling asleep. To counteract +this tendency the drunkard raises his eyebrows; and this gives to him a +puzzled, foolish look, as is well represented in one of Hogarth’s +drawings. The habit of raising the eyebrows having once been gained in +order to see as quickly as possible all around us, the movement would +follow from the force of association whenever astonishment was felt +from any cause, even from a sudden sound or an idea. + +With adult persons, when the eyebrows are raised, the whole forehead +becomes much wrinkled in transverse lines; but with children this +occurs only to a slight degree. The wrinkles run in lines concentric +with each eyebrow, and are partially confluent in the middle. They are +highly characteristic of the expression of surprise or astonishment. +Each eyebrow, when raised, becomes also, as Duchenne remarks,[1204] +more arched than it was before. + +The cause of the mouth being opened when astonishment is felt, is a +much more complex affair; and several causes apparently concur in +leading to this movement. It has often been supposed[1205] that the +sense of hearing is thus rendered more acute; but I have watched +persons listening intently to a slight noise, the nature and source of +which they knew perfectly, and they did not open their mouths. +Therefore I at one time imagined that the open mouth might aid in +distinguishing the direction whence a sound proceeded, by giving +another channel for its entrance into the ear through the eustachian +tube, But Dr. W. Ogle[1206] has been so kind as to search the best +recent authorities on the functions of the eustachian tube, and he +informs me that it is almost conclusively proved that it remains closed +except during the act of deglutition; and that in persons in whom the +tube remains abnormally open, the sense of hearing, as far as external +sounds are concerned, is by no means improved; on the contrary, it is +impaired by the respiratory sounds being rendered more distinct. If a +watch be placed within the mouth, but not allowed to touch the sides, +the ticking is heard much less plainly than when held outside. In +persons in whom from disease or a cold the eustachian tube is +permanently or temporarily closed, the sense of hearing is injured; but +this may be accounted for by mucus accumulating within the tube, and +the consequent exclusion of air. We may therefore infer that the mouth +is not kept open under the sense of astonishment for the sake of +hearing sounds more distinctly; notwithstanding that most deaf people +keep their mouths open. + +Every sudden emotion, including astonishment, quickens the action of +the heart, and with it the respiration. Now we can breathe, as +Gratiolet remarks[1207] and as appears to me to be the case, much more +quietly through the open mouth than through the nostrils. Therefore, +when we wish to listen intently to any sound, we either stop breathing, +or breathe as quietly as possible, by opening our mouths, at the same +time keeping our bodies motionless. One of my sons was awakened in the +night by a noise under circumstances which naturally led to great care, +and after a few minutes he perceived that his mouth was widely open. He +then became conscious that he had opened it for the sake of breathing +as quietly as possible. This view receives support from the reversed +case which occurs with dogs. A dog when panting after exercise, or on a +hot day, breathes loudly; but if his attention be suddenly aroused, he +instantly pricks his ears to listen, shuts his mouth, and breathes +quietly, as he is enabled to do, through his nostrils. + +When the attention is concentrated for a length of time with fixed +earnestness on any object or subject, all the organs of the body are +forgotten and neglected;[1208] and as the nervous energy of each +individual is limited in amount, little is transmitted to any part of +the system, excepting that which is at the time brought into energetic +action. Therefore many of the muscles tend to become relaxed, and the +jaw drops from its own weight. This will account for the dropping of +the jaw and open mouth of a man stupefied with amazement, and perhaps +when less strongly affected. I have noticed this appearance, as I find +recorded in my notes, in very young children when they were only +moderately surprised. + +There is still another and highly effective cause, leading to the mouth +being opened, when we are astonished, and more especially when we are +suddenly startled. We can draw a full and deep inspiration much more +easily through the widely open mouth than through the nostrils. Now +when we start at any sudden sound or sight, almost all the muscles of +the body are involuntarily and momentarily thrown into strong action, +for the sake of guarding ourselves against or jumping away from the +danger, which we habitually associate with anything unexpected. But we +always unconsciously prepare ourselves for any great exertion, as +formerly explained, by first taking a deep and full inspiration, and we +consequently open our mouths. If no exertion follows, and we still +remain astonished, we cease for a time to breathe, or breathe as +quietly as possible, in order that every sound may be distinctly heard. +Or again, if our attention continues long and earnestly absorbed, all +our muscles become relaxed, and the jaw, which was at first suddenly +opened, remains dropped. Thus several causes concur towards this same +movement, whenever surprise, astonishment, or amazement is felt. + +Although when thus affected, our mouths are generally opened, yet the +lips are often a little protruded. This fact reminds us of the same +movement, though in a much more strongly marked degree, in the +chimpanzee and orang when astonished. As a strong expiration naturally +follows the deep inspiration which accompanies the first sense of +startled surprise, and as the lips are often protruded, the various +sounds which are then commonly uttered can apparently be accounted for. +But sometimes a strong expiration alone is heard; thus Laura Bridgman, +when amazed, rounds and protrudes her lips, opens them, and breathes +strongly.[1209] One of the commonest sounds is a deep _Oh_; and this +would naturally follow, as explained by Helmholtz, from the mouth being +moderately opened and the lips protruded. On a quiet night some rockets +were fired from the ‘Beagle,’ in a little creek at Tahiti, to amuse the +natives; and as each rocket, was let off there was absolute silence, +but this was invariably followed by a deep groaning _Oh_, resounding +all round the bay. Mr. Washington Matthews says that the North American +Indians express astonishment by a groan; and the negroes on the West +Coast of Africa, according to Mr. Winwood Reade, protrude their lips, +and make a sound like _heigh, heigh_. If the mouth is not much opened, +whilst the lips are considerably protruded, a blowing, hissing, or +whistling noise is produced. Mr. R. Brough Smith informs me that an +Australian from the interior was taken to the theatre to see an acrobat +rapidly turning head over heels: “he was greatly astonished, and +protruded his lips, making a noise with his mouth as if blowing out a +match.” According to Mr. Bulmer the Australians, when surprised, utter +the exclamation _korki_, “and to do this the mouth is drawn out as if +going to whistle.” We Europeans often whistle as a sign of surprise; +thus, in a recent novel[1210] it is said, “here the man expressed his +astonishment and disapprobation by a prolonged whistle.” A Kafir girl, +as Mr. J. Mansel Weale informs me, “on hearing of the high price of an +article, raised her eyebrows and whistled just as a European would.” +Mr. Wedgwood remarks that such sounds are written down as _whew_, and +they serve as interjections for surprise. + +According to three other observers, the Australians often evince +astonishment by a clucking noise. Europeans also sometimes express +gentle surprise by a little clicking noise of nearly the same kind. We +have seen that when we are startled, the mouth is suddenly opened; and +if the tongue happens to be then pressed closely against the palate, +its sudden withdrawal will produce a sound of this kind, which might +thus come to express surprise. + + + +Gestures of the Body. Plate VII + +Turning to gestures of the body. A surprised person often raises his +opened hands high above his head, or by bending his arms only to the +level of his face. The flat palms are directed towards the person who +causes this feeling, and the straightened fingers are separated. This +gesture is represented by Mr. Rejlander in Plate VII. fig. 1. In the +‘Last Supper,’ by Leonardo da Vinci, two of the Apostles have their +hands half uplifted, clearly expressive of their astonishment. A +trustworthy observer told me that he had lately met his wife under most +unexpected circumstances: “She started, opened her mouth and eyes very +widely, and threw up both her arms above her head.” Several years ago I +was surprised by seeing several of my young children earnestly doing +something together on the ground; but the distance was too great for me +to ask what they were about. Therefore I threw up my open hands with +extended fingers above my head; and as soon as I had done this, I +became conscious of the action. I then waited, without saying a word, +to see if my children had understood this gesture; and as they came +running to me they cried out, “We saw that you were astonished at us.” +I do not know whether this gesture is common to the various races of +man, as I neglected to make inquiries on this head. That it is innate +or natural may be inferred from the fact that Laura Bridgman, when +amazed, “spreads her arms and turns her hands with extended fingers +upwards;”[1211] nor is it likely, considering that the feeling of +surprise is generally a brief one, that she should have learnt this +gesture through her keen sense of touch. + +Huschke describes[1212] a somewhat different yet allied gesture, which +he says is exhibited by persons when astonished. They hold themselves +erect, with the features as before described, but with the straightened +arms extended backwards—the stretched fingers being separated from each +other. I have never myself seen this gesture; but Huschke is probably +correct; for a friend asked another man how he would express great +astonishment, and he at once threw himself into this attitude. + +These gestures are, I believe, explicable on the principle of +antithesis. We have seen that an indignant man holds his head erect, +squares his shoulders, turns out his elbows, often clenches his fist, +frowns, and closes his mouth; whilst the attitude of a helpless man is +in every one of these details the reverse. Now, a man in an ordinary +frame of mind, doing nothing and thinking of nothing in particular, +usually keeps his two arms suspended laxly by his sides, with his hands +somewhat flexed, and the fingers near together. Therefore, to raise the +arms suddenly, either the whole arms or the fore-arms, to open the +palms flat, and to separate the fingers,—or, again, to straighten the +arms, extending them backwards with separated fingers,—are movements in +complete antithesis to those preserved under an indifferent frame of +mind, and they are, in consequence, unconsciously assumed by an +astonished man. There is, also, often a desire to display surprise in a +conspicuous manner, and the above attitudes are well fitted for this +purpose. It may be asked why should surprise, and only a few other +states of the mind, be exhibited by movements in antithesis to others. +But this principle will not be brought into play in the case of those +emotions, such as terror, great joy, suffering, or rage, which +naturally lead to certain lines of action and produce certain effects +on the body, for the whole system is thus preoccupied; and these +emotions are already thus expressed with the greatest plainness. + +There is another little gesture, expressive of astonishment of which I +can offer no explanation; namely, the hand being placed over the mouth +or on some part of the head. This has been observed with so many races +of man, that it must have some natural origin. A wild Australian was +taken into a large room full of official papers, which surprised him +greatly, and he cried out, _cluck, cluck, cluck_, putting the back of +his hand towards his lips. Mrs. Barber says that the Kafirs and Fingoes +express astonishment by a serious look and by placing the right hand +upon the mouth, uttering the word _mawo_, which means ‘wonderful.’ The +Bushmen are said[1213] to put their right hands to their necks, bending +their heads backwards. Mr. Winwood Reade has observed that the negroes +on the West Coast of Africa, when surprised, clap their hands to their +mouths, saying at the same time, “My mouth cleaves to me,” i. e. to my +hands; and he has heard that this is their usual gesture on such +occasions. Captain Speedy informs me that the Abyssinians place their +right hand to the forehead, with the palm outside. Lastly, Mr. +Washington Matthews states that the conventional sign of astonishment +with the wild tribes of the western parts of the United States “is made +by placing the half-closed hand over the mouth; in doing this, the head +is often bent forwards, and words or low groans are sometimes uttered.” +Catlin[1214] makes the same remark about the hand being pressed over +the mouth by the Mandans and other Indian tribes. + +_Admiration_.—Little need be said on this head. Admiration apparently +consists of surprise associated with some pleasure and a sense of +approval. When vividly felt, the eyes are opened and the eyebrows +raised; the eyes become bright, instead of remaining blank, as under +simple astonishment; and the mouth, instead of gaping open, expands +into a smile. + +_Fear, Terror_.—The word ‘fear’ seems to be derived from what is sudden +and dangerous;[1215] and that of terror from the trembling of the vocal +organs and body. I use the word ‘terror’ for extreme fear; but some +writers think it ought to be confined to cases in which the imagination +is more particularly concerned. Fear is often preceded by astonishment, +and is so far akin to it, that both lead to the senses of sight and +hearing being instantly aroused. In both cases the eyes and mouth are +widely opened, and the eyebrows raised. The frightened man at first +stands like a statue motionless and breathless, or crouches down as if +instinctively to escape observation. + +The heart beats quickly and violently, so that it palpitates or knocks +against the ribs; but it is very doubtful whether it then works more +efficiently than usual, so as to send a greater supply of blood to all +parts of the body; for the skin instantly becomes pale, as during +incipient faintness. This paleness of the surface, however, is probably +in large part, or exclusively, due to the vasomotor centre being +affected in such a manner as to cause the contraction of the small +arteries of the skin. That the skin is much affected under the sense of +great fear, we see in the marvellous and inexplicable manner in which +perspiration immediately exudes from it. This exudation is all the more +remarkable, as the surface is then cold, and hence the term a cold +sweat; whereas, the sudorific glands are properly excited into action +when the surface is heated. The hairs also on the skin stand erect; and +the superficial muscles shiver. In connection with the disturbed action +of the heart, the breathing is hurried. The salivary glands act +imperfectly; the mouth becomes dry,[1216] and is often opened and shut. +I have also noticed that under slight fear there is a strong tendency +to yawn. One of the best-marked symptoms is the trembling of all the +muscles of the body; and this is often first seen in the lips. From +this cause, and from the dryness of the mouth, the voice becomes husky +or indistinct, or may altogether fail. “Obstupui, steteruntque comae, +et vox faucibus haesit.” + +Of vague fear there is a well-known and grand description in Job:—“In +thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, +fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. +Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It +stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was +before my eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall +mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his +Maker?” (Job iv. 13) + +As fear increases into an agony of terror, we behold, as under all +violent emotions, diversified results. The heart beats wildly, or may +fail to act and faintness ensue; there is a death-like pallor; the +breathing is laboured; the wings of the nostrils are wildly dilated; +“there is a gasping and convulsive motion of the lips, a tremor on the +hollow cheek, a gulping and catching of the throat;”[1217] the +uncovered and protruding eyeballs are fixed on the object of terror; or +they may roll restlessly from side to side, _huc illuc volvens oculos +totumque pererrat_.[1218] The pupils are said to be enormously dilated. +All the muscles of the body may become rigid, or may be thrown into +convulsive movements. The hands are alternately clenched and opened, +often with a twitching movement. The arms may be protruded, as if to +avert some dreadful danger, or may be thrown wildly over the head. The +Rev. Mr. Hagenauer has seen this latter action in a terrified +Australian. In other cases there is a sudden and uncontrollable +tendency to headlong flight; and so strong is this, that the boldest +soldiers may be seized with a sudden panic. + +As fear rises to an extreme pitch, the dreadful scream of terror is +heard. Great beads of sweat stand on the skin. All the muscles of the +body are relaxed. Utter prostration soon follows, and the mental powers +fail. The intestines are affected. The sphincter muscles cease to act, +and no longer retain the contents of the body. + + + +Photograph of an Insane Woman. Fig. 19 + +Dr. J. Crichton Browne has given me so striking an account of intense +fear in an insane woman, aged thirty-five, that the description though +painful ought not to be omitted. When a paroxysm seizes her, she +screams out, “This is hell!” “There is a black woman!” “I can’t get +out!”—and other such exclamations. When thus screaming, her movements +are those of alternate tension and tremor. For one instant she clenches +her hands, holds her arms out before her in a stiff semi-flexed +position; then suddenly bends her body forwards, sways rapidly to and +fro, draws her fingers through her hair, clutches at her neck, and +tries to tear off her clothes. The sterno-cleido-mastoid muscles (which +serve to bend the head on the chest) stand out prominently, as if +swollen, and the skin in front of them is much wrinkled. Her hair, +which is cut short at the back of her head, and is smooth when she is +calm, now stands on end; that in front being dishevelled by the +movements of her hands. The countenance expresses great mental agony. +The skin is flushed over the face and neck, down to the clavicles, and +the veins of the forehead and neck stand out like thick cords. The +lower lip drops, and is somewhat everted. The mouth is kept half open, +with the lower jaw projecting. The cheeks are hollow and deeply +furrowed in curved lines running from the wings of the nostrils to the +corners of the mouth. The nostrils themselves are raised and extended. +The eyes are widely opened, and beneath them the skin appears swollen; +the pupils are large. The forehead is wrinkled transversely in many +folds, and at the inner extremities of the eyebrows it is strongly +furrowed in diverging lines, produced by the powerful and persistent +contraction of the corrugators. + + + +Terror. Fig. 20 + +Mr. Bell has also described[1219] an agony of terror and of despair, +which he witnessed in a murderer, whilst carried to the place of +execution in Turin. “On each side of the car the officiating priests +were seated; and in the centre sat the criminal himself. It was +impossible to witness the condition of this unhappy wretch without +terror; and yet, as if impelled by some strange infatuation, it was +equally impossible not to gaze upon an object so wild, so full of +horror. He seemed about thirty-five years of age; of large and muscular +form; his countenance marked by strong and savage features; half naked, +pale as death, agonized with terror, every limb strained in anguish, +his hands clenched convulsively, the sweat breaking out on his bent and +contracted brow, he kissed incessantly the figure of our Saviour, +painted on the flag which was suspended before him; but with an agony +of wildness and despair, of which nothing ever exhibited on the stage +can give the slightest conception.” + +I will add only one other case, illustrative of a man utterly +prostrated by terror. An atrocious murderer of two persons was brought +into a hospital, under the mistaken impression that he had poisoned +himself; and Dr. W. Ogle carefully watched him the next morning, while +he was being handcuffed and taken away by the police. His pallor was +extreme, and his prostration so great that he was hardly able to dress +himself. His skin perspired; and his eyelids and head drooped so much +that it was impossible to catch even a glimpse of his eyes. His lower +jaw hung down. There was no contraction of any facial muscle, and Dr. +Ogle is almost certain that the hair did not stand on end, for he +observed it narrowly, as it had been dyed for the sake of concealment. + +With respect to fear, as exhibited by the various races of man, my +informants agree that the signs are the same as with Europeans. They +are displayed in an exaggerated degree with the Hindoos and natives of +Ceylon. Mr. Geach has seen Malays when terrified turn pale and shake; +and Mr. Brough Smyth states that a native Australian “being on one +occasion much frightened, showed a complexion as nearly approaching to +what we call paleness, as can well be conceived in the case of a very +black man.” Mr. Dyson Lacy has seen extreme fear shown in an +Australian, by a nervous twitching of the hands, feet, and lips; and by +the perspiration standing on the skin. Many savages do not repress the +signs of fear so much as Europeans; and they often tremble greatly. +With the Kafir, Gaika says, in his rather quaint English, the shaking +“of the body is much experienced, and the eyes are widely open.” With +savages, the sphincter muscles are often relaxed, just as may be +observed in much frightened dogs, and as I have seen with monkeys when +terrified by being caught. + +_The erection of the hair_.—Some of the signs of fear deserve a little +further consideration. Poets continually speak of the hair standing on +end; Brutus says to the ghost of Caesar, “that mak’st my blood cold, +and my hair to stare.” And Cardinal Beaufort, after the murder of +Gloucester exclaims, “Comb down his hair; look, look, it stands +upright.” As I did not feel sure whether writers of fiction might not +have applied to man what they had often observed in animals, I begged +for information from Dr. Crichton Browne with respect to the insane. He +states in answer that he has repeatedly seen their hair erected under +the influence of sudden and extreme terror. For instance, it is +occasionally necessary to inject morphia, under the skin of an insane +woman, who dreads the operation extremely, though it causes very little +pain; for she believes that poison is being introduced into her system, +and that her bones will be softened, and her flesh turned into dust. +She becomes deadly pale; her limbs are stiffened by a sort of tetanic +spasm, and her hair is partially erected on the front of the head. + +Dr. Browne further remarks that the bristling of the hair which is so +common in the insane, is not always associated with terror. It is +perhaps most frequently seen in chronic maniacs, who rave incoherently +and have destructive impulses; but it is during their paroxysms of +violence that the bristling is most observable. The fact of the hair +becoming erect under the influence both of rage and fear agrees +perfectly with what we have seen in the lower animals. Dr. Browne +adduces several cases in evidence. Thus with a man now in the Asylum, +before the recurrence of each maniacal paroxysm, “the hair rises up +from his forehead like the mane of a Shetland pony.” He has sent me +photographs of two women, taken in the intervals between their +paroxysms, and he adds with respect to one of these women, “that the +state of her hair is a sure and convenient criterion of her mental +condition.” I have had one of these photographs copied, and the +engraving gives, if viewed from a little distance, a faithful +representation of the original, with the exception that the hair +appears rather too coarse and too much curled. The extraordinary +condition of the hair in the insane is due, not only to its erection, +but to its dryness and harshness, consequent on the subcutaneous glands +failing to act. Dr. Bucknill has said[1220] that a lunatic “is a +lunatic to his finger’s ends;” he might have added, and often to the +extremity of each particular hair. + +Dr. Browne mentions as an empirical confirmation of the relation which +exists in the insane between the state of their hair and minds, that +the wife of a medical man, who has charge of a lady suffering from +acute melancholia, with a strong fear of death, for herself, her +husband and children, reported verbally to him the day before receiving +my letter as follows, “I think Mrs. —— will soon improve, for her hair +is getting smooth; and I always notice that our patients get better +whenever their hair ceases to be rough and unmanageable.” + +Dr. Browne attributes the persistently rough condition of the hair in +many insane patients, in part to their minds being always somewhat +disturbed, and in part to the effects of habit,—that is, to the hair +being frequently and strongly erected during their many recurrent +paroxysms. In patients in whom the bristling of the hair is extreme, +the disease is generally permanent and mortal; but in others, in whom +the bristling is moderate, as soon as they recover their health of mind +the hair recovers its smoothness. + +In a previous chapter we have seen that with animals the hairs are +erected by the contraction of minute, unstriped, and involuntary +muscles, which run to each separate follicle. In addition to this +action, Mr. J. Wood has clearly ascertained by experiment, as he +informs me, that with man the hairs on the front of the head which +slope forwards, and those on the back which slope backwards, are raised +in opposite directions by the contraction of the occipito-frontalis or +scalp muscle. So that this muscle seems to aid in the erection of the +hairs on the head of man in the same manner as the homologous +_panniculus carnosus_ aids, or takes the greater part, in the erection +of the spines on the backs of some of the lower animals. + +_Contraction of the platysma myoides muscle_.—This muscle is spread +over the sides of the neck, extending downwards to a little beneath the +collar-bones, and upwards to the lower part of the cheeks. A portion, +called the risorius, is represented in the woodcut (M) fig. 2. The +contraction of this muscle draws the corners of the mouth and the lower +parts of the checks downwards and backwards. It produces at the same +time divergent, longitudinal, prominent ridges on the sides of the neck +in the young; and, in old thin persons, fine transverse wrinkles. This +muscle is sometimes said not to be under the control of the will; but +almost every one, if told to draw the corners of his mouth backwards +and downwards with great force, brings it into action. I have, however, +heard of a man who can voluntarily act on it only on one side of his +neck. + +Sir C. Bell[1221] and others have stated that this muscle is strongly +contracted under the influence of fear; and Duchenne insists so +strongly on its importance in the expression of this emotion, that he +calls it the _muscle of fright_.[1222] He admits, however, that its +contraction is quite inexpressive unless associated with widely open +eyes and mouth. He has given a photograph (copied and reduced in the +accompanying woodcut) of the same old man as on former occasions, with +his eyebrows strongly raised, his mouth opened, and the platysma +contracted, all by means of galvanism. The original photograph was +shown to twenty-four persons, and they were separately asked, without +any explanation being given, what expression was intended: twenty +instantly answered, “intense fright” or “horror”; three said pain, and +one extreme discomfort. Dr. Duchenne has given another photograph of +the same old man, with the platysma contracted, the eyes and mouth +opened, and the eyebrows rendered oblique, by means of galvanism. The +expression thus induced is very striking (see Plate VII. fig. 2); the +obliquity of the eyebrows adding the appearance of great mental +distress. The original was shown to fifteen persons; twelve answered +terror or horror, and three agony or great suffering. From these cases, +and from an examination of the other photographs given by Dr. Duchenne, +together with his remarks thereon, I think there can be little doubt +that the contraction of the platysma does add greatly to the expression +of fear. Nevertheless this muscle ought hardly to be called that of +fright, for its contraction is certainly not a necessary concomitant of +this state of mind. + +A man may exhibit extreme terror in the plainest manner by death-like +pallor, by drops of perspiration on his skin, and by utter prostration, +with all the muscles of his body, including the platysma, completely +relaxed. Although Dr. Browne has often seen this muscle quivering and +contracting in the insane, he has not been able to connect its action +with any emotional condition in them, though he carefully attended to +patients suffering from great fear. Mr. Nicol, on the other hand, has +observed three cases in which this muscle appeared to be more or less +permanently contracted under the influence of melancholia, associated +with much dread; but in one of these cases, various other muscles about +the neck and head were subject to spasmodic contractions. + +Dr. W. Ogle observed for me in one of the London hospitals about twenty +patients, just before they were put under the influence of chloroform +for operations. They exhibited some trepidation, but no great terror. +In only four of the cases was the platysma visibly contracted; and it +did not begin to contract until the patients began to cry. The muscle +seemed to contract at the moment of each deep-drawn inspiration; so +that it is very doubtful whether the contraction depended at all on the +emotion of fear. In a fifth case, the patient, who was not +chloroformed, was much terrified; and his platysma was more forcibly +and persistently contracted than in the other cases. But even here +there is room for doubt, for the muscle which appeared to be unusually +developed, was seen by Dr. Ogle to contract as the man moved his head +from the pillow, after the operation was over. + +As I felt much perplexed why, in any case, a superficial muscle on the +neck should be especially affected by fear, I applied to my many +obliging correspondents for information about the contraction of this +muscle under other circumstances. It would be superfluous to give all +the answers which I have received. They show that this muscle acts, +often in a variable manner and degree, under many different conditions. +It is violently contracted in hydrophobia, and in a somewhat less +degree in lockjaw; sometimes in a marked manner during the +insensibility from chloroform. Dr. W. Ogle observed two male patients, +suffering from such difficulty in breathing, that the trachea had to be +opened, and in both the platysma was strongly contracted. One of these +men overheard the conversation of the surgeons surrounding him, and +when he was able to speak, declared that he had not been frightened. In +some other cases of extreme difficulty of respiration, though not +requiring tracheotomy, observed by Drs. Ogle and Langstaff, the +platysma was not contracted. + +Mr. J. Wood, who has studied with such care the muscles of the human +body, as shown by his various publications, has often seen the platysma +contracted in vomiting, nausea, and disgust; also in children and +adults under the influence of rage,—for instance, in Irishwomen, +quarrelling and brawling together with angry gesticulations. This may +possibly have been due to their high and angry tones; for I know a +lady, an excellent musician, who, in singing certain high notes, always +contracts her platysma. So does a young man, as I have observed, in +sounding certain notes on the flute. Mr. J. Wood informs me that he has +found the platysma best developed in persons with thick necks and broad +shoulders; and that in families inheriting these peculiarities, its +development is usually associated with much voluntary power over the +homologous occipito-frontalis muscle, by which the scalp can be moved. + +None of the foregoing cases appear to throw any light on the +contraction of the platysma from fear; but it is different, I think, +with the following cases. The gentleman before referred to, who can +voluntarily act on this muscle only on one side of his neck, is +positive that it contracts on both sides whenever he is startled. +Evidence has already been given showing that this muscle sometimes +contracts, perhaps for the sake of opening the mouth widely, when the +breathing is rendered difficult by disease, and during the deep +inspirations of crying-fits before an operation. Now, whenever a person +starts at any sudden sight or sound, he instantaneously draws a deep +breath; and thus the contraction of the platysma may possibly have +become associated with the sense of fear. But there is, I believe, a +more efficient relation. The first sensation of fear, or the +imagination of something dreadful, commonly excites a shudder. I have +caught myself giving a little involuntary shudder at a painful thought, +and I distinctly perceived that my platysma contracted; so it does if I +simulate a shudder. I have asked others to act in this manner; and in +some the muscle contracted, but not in others. One of my sons, whilst +getting out of bed, shuddered from the cold, and, as he happened to +have his hand on his neck, he plainly felt that this muscle strongly +contracted. He then voluntarily shuddered, as he had done on former +occasions, but the platysma was not then affected. Mr. J. Wood has also +several times observed this muscle contracting in patients, when +stripped for examination, and who were not frightened, but shivered +slightly from the cold. Unfortunately I have not been able to ascertain +whether, when the whole body shakes, as in the cold stage of an ague +fit, the platysma contracts. But as it certainly often contracts during +a shudder; and as a shudder or shiver often accompanies the first +sensation of fear, we have, I think, a clue to its action in this +latter case.[1223] Its contraction, however, is not an invariable +concomitant of fear; for it probably never acts under the influence of +extreme, prostrating terror. + +_Dilatation of the Pupils_.—Gratiolet repeatedly insists[1224] that the +pupils are enormously dilated whenever terror is felt. I have no reason +to doubt the accuracy of this statement, but have failed to obtain +confirmatory evidence, excepting in the one instance before given of an +insane woman suffering from great fear. When writers of fiction speak +of the eyes being widely dilated, I presume that they refer to the +eyelids. Munro’s statement, that with parrots the iris is affected by +the passions, independently of the amount of light, seems to bear on +this question; but Professor Donders informs me, that he has often seen +movements in the pupils of these birds which he thinks may be related +to their power of accommodation to distance, in nearly the same manner +as our own pupils contract when our eyes converge for near vision. +Gratiolet remarks that the dilated pupils appear as if they were gazing +into profound darkness. No doubt the fears of man have often been +excited in the dark; but hardly so often or so exclusively, as to +account for a fixed and associated habit having thus arisen. It seems +more probable, assuming that Gratiolet’s statement is correct, that the +brain is directly affected by the powerful emotion of fear and reacts +on the pupils; but Professor Donders informs me that this is an +extremely complicated subject. I may add, as possibly throwing light on +the subject, that Dr. Fyffe, of Netley Hospital, has observed in two +patients that the pupils were distinctly dilated during the cold stage +of an ague fit. Professor Donders has also often seen dilatation of the +pupils in incipient faintness.[1225] + +_Horror_.—The state of mind expressed by this term implies terror, and +is in some, cases almost synonymous with it. Many a man must have felt, +before the blessed discovery of chloroform, great horror at the thought +of an impending surgical operation. He who dreads, as well as hates a +man, will feel, as Milton uses the word, a horror of him. We feel +horror if we see any one, for instance a child, exposed to some instant +and crushing danger. Almost every one would experience the same feeling +in the highest degree in witnessing a man being tortured or going to be +tortured. In these cases there is no danger to ourselves; but from the +power of the imagination and of sympathy we put ourselves in the +position of the sufferer, and feel something akin to fear. + + + +Horror and Agony. Fig. 21 + +Sir C. Bell remarks,[1226] that “horror is full of energy; the body is +in the utmost tension, not unnerved by fear.” It is, therefore, +probable that horror would generally be accompanied by the strong +contraction of the brows; but as fear is one of the elements, the eyes +and mouth would be opened, and the eyebrows would be raised, as far as +the antagonistic action of the corrugators permitted this movement. +Duchenne has given a photograph[1227] (fig. 21) of the same old man as +before, with his eyes somewhat staring, the eyebrows partially raised, +and at the same time strongly contracted, the mouth opened, and the +platysma in action, all effected by the means of galvanism. He +considers that the expression thus produced shows extreme terror with +horrible pain or torture. A tortured man, as long as his sufferings +allowed him to feel any dread for the future, would probably exhibit +horror in an extreme degree. I have shown the original of this +photograph to twenty-three persons of both sexes and various ages; and +thirteen immediately answered horror, great pain, torture, or agony; +three answered extreme fright; so that sixteen answered nearly in +accordance with Duchenne’s belief. Six, however, said anger, guided no +doubt, by the strongly contracted brows, and overlooking the peculiarly +opened mouth. One said disgust. On the whole, the evidence indicates +that we have here a fairly good representation of horror and agony. The +photograph before referred to (Pl. VII. fig. 2) likewise exhibits +horror; but in this the oblique eyebrows indicate great mental distress +in place of energy. + +Horror is generally accompanied by various gestures, which differ in +different individuals. Judging from pictures, the whole body is often +turned away or shrinks; or the arms are violently protruded as if to +push away some dreadful object. The most frequent gesture, as far as +can be inferred from the action of persons who endeavour to express a +vividly-imagined scene of horror, is the raising of both shoulders, +with the bent arms pressed closely against the sides or chest. These +movements are nearly the same with those commonly made when we feel +very cold; and they are generally accompanied by a shudder, as well as +by a deep expiration or inspiration, according as the chest happens at +the time to be expanded or contracted. The sounds thus made are +expressed by words like _uh_ or _ugh_.[1228] It is not, however, +obvious why, when we feel cold or express a sense of horror, we press +our bent arms against our bodies, raise our shoulders, and shudder. + +_Conclusion_.—I have now endeavoured to describe the diversified +expressions of fear, in its gradations from mere attention to a start +of surprise, into extreme terror and horror. Some of the signs may be +accounted for through the principles of habit, association, and +inheritance,—such as the wide opening of the mouth and eyes, with +upraised eyebrows, so as to see as quickly as possible all around us, +and to hear distinctly whatever sound may reach our ears. For we have +thus habitually prepared ourselves to discover and encounter any +danger. Some of the other signs of fear may likewise be accounted for, +at least in part, through these same principles. Men, during numberless +generations, have endeavoured to escape from their enemies or danger by +headlong flight, or by violently struggling with them; and such great +exertions will have caused the heart to beat rapidly, the breathing to +be hurried, the chest to heave, and the nostrils to be dilated. As +these exertions have often been prolonged to the last extremity, the +final result will have been utter prostration, pallor, perspiration, +trembling of all the muscles, or their complete relaxation. And now, +whenever the emotion of fear is strongly felt, though it may not lead +to any exertion, the same results tend to reappear, through the force +of inheritance and association. + +Nevertheless, it is probable that many or most of the above symptoms of +terror, such as the beating of the heart, the trembling of the muscles, +cold perspiration, &c., are in large part directly due to the disturbed +or interrupted transmission of nerve-force from the cerebro-spinal +system to various parts of the body, owing to the mind being so +powerfully affected. We may confidently look to this cause, +independently of habit and association, in such cases as the modified +secretions of the intestinal canal, and the failure of certain glands +to act. With respect to the involuntary bristling of the hair, we have +good reason to believe that in the case of animals this action, however +it may have originated, serves, together with certain voluntary +movements, to make them appear terrible to their enemies; and as the +same involuntary and voluntary actions are performed by animals nearly +related to man, we are led to believe that man has retained through +inheritance a relic of them, now become useless. It is certainly a +remarkable fact, that the minute unstriped muscles, by which the hairs +thinly scattered over man’s almost naked body are erected, should have +been preserved to the present day; and that they should still contract +under the same emotions, namely, terror and rage, which cause the hairs +to stand on end in the lower members of the Order to which man belongs. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. SELF-ATTENTION—SHAME—SHYNESS—MODESTY: BLUSHING. + +Nature of a blush—Inheritance—The parts of the body most +affected—Blushing in the various races of man—Accompanying +gestures—Confusion of mind—Causes of blushing—Self-attention, the +fundamental element—Shyness—Shame, from broken moral laws and +conventional rules—Modesty—Theory of blushing—Recapitulation. + +Blushing is the most peculiar and the most human of all expressions. +Monkeys redden from passion, but it would require an overwhelming +amount of evidence to make us believe that any animal could blush. The +reddening of the face from a blush is due to the relaxation of the +muscular coats of the small arteries, by which the capillaries become +filled with blood; and this depends on the proper vaso-motor centre +being affected. No doubt if there be at the same time much mental +agitation, the general circulation will be affected; but it is not due +to the action of the heart that the network of minute vessels covering +the face becomes under a sense of shame gorged with blood. We can cause +laughing by tickling the skin, weeping or frowning by a blow, trembling +from the fear of pain, and so forth; but we cannot cause a blush, as +Dr. Burgess remarks,[1301] by any physical means,—that is by any action +on the body. It is the mind which must be affected. Blushing is not +only involuntary; but the wish to restrain it, by leading to +self-attention actually increases the tendency. + +The young blush much more freely than the old, but not during +infancy,[1302] which is remarkable, as we know that infants at a very +early age redden from passion. I have received authentic accounts of +two little girls blushing at the ages of between two and three years; +and of another sensitive child, a year older, blushing, when reproved +for a fault. Many children, at a somewhat more advanced age blush in a +strongly marked manner. It appears that the mental powers of infants +are not as yet sufficiently developed to allow of their blushing. +Hence, also, it is that idiots rarely blush. Dr. Crichton Browne +observed for me those under his care, but never saw a genuine blush, +though he has seen their faces flush, apparently from joy, when food +was placed before them, and from anger. Nevertheless some, if not +utterly degraded, are capable of blushing. A microcephalous idiot, for +instance, thirteen years old, whose eyes brightened a little when he +was pleased or amused, has been described by Dr. Behn,[1303] as +blushing and turning to one side, when undressed for medical +examination. + +Women blush much more than men. It is rare to see an old man, but not +nearly so rare to see an old woman blushing. The blind do not escape. +Laura Bridgman, born in this condition, as well as completely deaf, +blushes.[1304] The Rev. R. H. Blair, Principal of the Worcester +College, informs me that three children born blind, out of seven or +eight then in the Asylum, are great blushers. The blind are not at +first conscious that they are observed, and it is a most important part +of their education, as Mr. Blair informs me, to impress this knowledge +on their minds; and the impression thus gained would greatly strengthen +the tendency to blush, by increasing the habit of self-attention. + +The tendency to blush is inherited. Dr. Burgess gives the case[1305] of +a family consisting of a father, mother, and ten children, all of whom, +without exception, were prone to blush to a most painful degree. The +children were grown up; “and some of them were sent to travel in order +to wear away this diseased sensibility, but nothing was of the +slightest avail.” Even peculiarities in blushing seem to be inherited. +Sir James Paget, whilst examining the spine of a girl, was struck at +her singular manner of blushing; a big splash of red appeared first on +one cheek, and then other splashes, variously scattered over the face +and neck. He subsequently asked the mother whether her daughter always +blushed in this peculiar manner; and was answered, “Yes, she takes +after me.” Sir J. Paget then perceived that by asking this question he +had caused the mother to blush; and she exhibited the same peculiarity +as her daughter. + +In most cases the face, ears and neck are the sole parts which redden; +but many persons, whilst blushing intensely, feel that their whole +bodies grow hot and tingle; and this shows that the entire surface must +be in some manner affected. Blushes are said sometimes to commence on +the forehead, but more commonly on the cheeks, afterwards spreading to +the ears and neck.[1306] In two Albinos examined by Dr. Burgess, the +blushes commenced by a small circumscribed spot on the cheeks, over the +parotidean plexus of nerves, and then increased into a circle; between +this blushing circle and the blush on the neck there was an evident +line of demarcation; although both arose simultaneously. The retina, +which is naturally red in the Albino, invariably increased at the same +time in redness.[1307] Every one must have noticed how easily after one +blush fresh blushes chase each other over the face. Blushing is +preceded by a peculiar sensation in the skin. According to Dr. Burgess +the reddening of the skin is generally succeeded by a slight pallor, +which shows that the capillary vessels contract after dilating. In some +rare cases paleness instead of redness is caused under conditions which +would naturally induce a blush. For instance, a young lady told me that +in a large and crowded party she caught her hair so firmly on the +button of a passing servant, that it took some time before she could be +extricated; from her sensations she imagined that she had blushed +crimson; but was assured by a friend that she had turned extremely +pale. + +I was desirous to learn how far down the body blushes extend; and Sir +J. Paget, who necessarily has frequent opportunities for observation, +has kindly attended to this point for me during two or three years. He +finds that with women who blush intensely on the face, ears, and nape +of neck, the blush does not commonly extend any lower down the body. It +is rare to see it as low down as the collar-bones and shoulder-blades; +and he has never himself seen a single instance in which it extended +below the upper part of the chest. He has also noticed that blushes +sometimes die away downwards, not gradually and insensibly, but by +irregular ruddy blotches. Dr. Langstaff has likewise observed for me +several women whose bodies did not in the least redden while their +faces were crimsoned with blushes. With the insane, some of whom appear +to be particularly liable to blushing, Dr. J. Crichton Browne has +several times seen the blush extend as far down as the collar-bones, +and in two instances to the breasts. He gives me the case of a married +woman, aged twenty-seven, who suffered from epilepsy. On the morning +after her arrival in the Asylum, Dr. Browne, together with his +assistants, visited her whilst she was in bed. The moment that he +approached, she blushed deeply over her cheeks and temples; and the +blush spread quickly to her ears. She was much agitated and tremulous. +He unfastened the collar of her chemise in order to examine the state +of her lungs; and then a brilliant blush rushed over her chest, in an +arched line over the upper third of each breast, and extended downwards +between the breasts nearly to the ensiform cartilage of the sternum. +This case is interesting, as the blush did not thus extend downwards +until it became intense by her attention being drawn to this part of +her person. As the examination proceeded she became composed, and the +blush disappeared; but on several subsequent occasions the same +phenomena were observed. + +The foregoing facts show that, as a general rule, with English women, +blushing does not extend beneath the neck and upper part of the chest. +Nevertheless Sir J. Paget informs me that he has lately heard of a +case, on which he can fully rely, in which a little girl, shocked by +what she imagined to be an act of indelicacy, blushed all over her +abdomen and the upper parts of her legs. Moreau also[1308] relates, on +the authority of a celebrated painter, that the chest, shoulders, arms, +and whole body of a girl, who unwillingly consented to serve as a +model, reddened when she was first divested of her clothes. + +It is a rather curious question why, in most cases the face, ears, and +neck alone redden, inasmuch as the whole surface of the body often +tingles and grows hot. This seems to depend, chiefly, on the face and +adjoining parts of the skin having been habitually exposed to the air, +light, and alternations of temperature, by which the small arteries not +only have acquired the habit of readily dilating and contracting, but +appear to have become unusually developed in comparison with other +parts of the surface.[1309] It is probably owing to this same cause, as +M. Moreau and Dr. Burgess have remarked, that the face is so liable to +redden under various circumstances, such as a fever-fit, ordinary heat, +violent exertion, anger, a slight blow, &c.; and on the other hand that +it is liable to grow pale from cold and fear, and to be discoloured +during pregnancy. The face is also particularly liable to be affected +by cutaneous complaints, by small-pox, erysipelas, &c. This view is +likewise supported by the fact that the men of certain races, who +habitually go nearly naked, often blush over their arms and chests and +even down to their waists. A lady, who is a great blusher, informs Dr. +Crichton Browne, that when she feels ashamed or is agitated, she +blushes over her face, neck, wrists, and hands,—that is, over all the +exposed portions of her skin. Nevertheless it may be doubted whether +the habitual exposure of the skin of the face and neck, and its +consequent power of reaction under stimulants of all kinds, is by +itself sufficient to account for the much greater tendency in English +women of these parts than of others to blush; for the hands are well +supplied with nerves and small vessels, and have been as much exposed +to the air as the face or neck, and yet the hands rarely blush. We +shall presently see that the attention of the mind having been directed +much more frequently and earnestly to the face than to any other part +of the body, probably affords a sufficient explanation. + +_Blushing in the various races of man_.—The small vessels of the face +become filled with blood, from the emotion of shame, in almost all the +races of man, though in the very dark races no distinct change of +colour can be perceived. Blushing is evident in all the Aryan nations +of Europe, and to a certain extent with those of India. But Mr. Erskine +has never noticed that the necks of the Hindoos are decidedly affected. +With the Lepchas of Sikhim, Mr. Scott has often observed a faint blush +on the cheeks, base of the ears, and sides of the neck, accompanied by +sunken eyes and lowered head. This has occurred when he has detected +them in a falsehood, or has accused them of ingratitude. The pale, +sallow complexions of these men render a blush much more conspicuous +than in most of the other natives of India. With the latter, shame, or +it may be in part fear, is expressed, according to Mr. Scott, much more +plainly by the head being averted or bent down, with the eyes wavering +or turned askant, than by any change of colour in the skin. + +The Semitic races blush freely, as might have been expected, from their +general similitude to the Aryans. Thus with the Jews, it is said in the +Book of Jeremiah (chap. vi. 15), “Nay, they were not at all ashamed, +neither could they blush.” Mrs. Asa Gray saw an Arab managing his boat +clumsily on the Nile, and when laughed at by his companions, “he +blushed quite to the back of his neck.” Lady Duff Gordon remarks that a +young Arab blushed on coming into her presence.[1310] + +Mr. Swinhoe has seen the Chinese blushing, but he thinks it is rare; +yet they have the expression “to redden with shame.” Mr. Geach informs +me that the Chinese settled in Malacca and the native Malays of the +interior both blush. Some of these people go nearly naked, and he +particularly attended to the downward extension of the blush. Omitting +the cases in which the face alone was seen to blush, Mr. Geach observed +that the face, arms, and breast of a Chinaman, aged 24 years, reddened +from shame; and with another Chinese, when asked why he had not done +his work in better style, the whole body was similarly affected. In two +Malays[1311] he saw the face, neck, breast, and arms blushing; and in a +third Malay (a Bugis) the blush extended down to the waist. + +The Polynesians blush freely. The Rev. Mr. Stack has seen hundreds of +instances with the New Zealanders. The following case is worth giving, +as it relates to an old man who was unusually dark-coloured and partly +tattooed. After having let his land to an Englishman for a small yearly +rental, a strong passion seized him to buy a gig, which had lately +become the fashion with the Maoris. He consequently wished to draw all +the rent for four years from his tenant, and consulted Mr. Stack +whether he could do so. The man was old, clumsy, poor, and ragged, and +the idea of his driving himself about in his carriage for display +amused Mr. Stack so much that he could not help bursting out into a +laugh; and then “the old man blushed up to the roots of his hair.” +Forster says that “you may easily distinguish a spreading blush” on the +cheeks of the fairest women in Tahiti.[1312] The natives also of +several of the other archipelagoes in the Pacific have been seen to +blush. + +Mr. Washington Matthews has often seen a blush on the faces of the +young squaws belonging to various wild Indian tribes of North America. +At the opposite extremity of the continent in Tierra del Fuego, the +natives, according to Mr. Bridges, “blush much, but chiefly in regard +to women; but they certainly blush also at their own personal +appearance.” This latter statement agrees with what I remember of the +Fuegian, Jemmy Button, who blushed when he was quizzed about the care +which he took in polishing his shoes, and in otherwise adorning +himself. With respect to the Aymara Indians on the lofty plateaus of +Bolivia, Mr. Forbes says,[1313] that from the colour of their skins it +is impossible that their blushes should be as clearly visible as in the +white races; still under such circumstances as would raise a blush in +us, “there can always be seen the same expression of modesty or +confusion; and even in the dark, a rise of temperature of the skin of +the face can be felt, exactly as occurs in the European.” With the +Indians who inhabit the hot, equable, and damp parts of South America, +the skin apparently does not answer to mental excitement so readily as +with the natives of the northern and southern parts of the continent, +who have long been exposed to great vicissitudes of climate; for +Humboldt quotes without a protest the sneer of the Spaniard, “How can +those be trusted, who know not how to blush?”[1314] Von Spix and +Martius, in speaking of the aborigines of Brazil, assert that they +cannot properly be said to blush; “it was only after long intercourse +with the whites, and after receiving some education, that we perceived +in the Indians a change of colour expressive of the emotions of their +minds.”[1315] It is, however, incredible that the power of blushing +could have thus originated; but the habit of self-attention, consequent +on their education and new course of life, would have much increased +any innate tendency to blush. + +Several trustworthy observers have assured me that they have seen on +the faces of negroes an appearance resembling a blush, under +circumstances which would have excited one in us, though their skins +were of an ebony-black tint. Some describe it as blushing brown, but +most say that the blackness becomes more intense. An increased supply +of blood in the skin seems in some manner to increase its blackness; +thus certain exanthematous diseases cause the affected places in the +negro to appear blacker, instead of, as with us, redder.[1316] The +skin, perhaps, from being rendered more tense by the filling of the +capillaries, would reflect a somewhat different tint to what it did +before. That the capillaries of the face in the negro become filled +with blood, under the emotion of shame, we may feel confident; because +a perfectly characterized albino negress, described by Buffon,[1317] +showed a faint tinge of crimson on her cheeks when she exhibited +herself naked. Cicatrices of the skin remain for a long time white in +the negro, and Dr. Burgess, who had frequent opportunities of observing +a scar of this kind on the face of a negress, distinctly saw that it +“invariably became red whenever she was abruptly spoken to, or charged +with any trivial offence.”[1318] The blush could be seen proceeding +from the circumference of the scar towards the middle, but it did not +reach the centre. Mulattoes are often great blushers, blush succeeding +blush over their faces. From these facts there can be no doubt that +negroes blush, although no redness is visible on the skin. + +I am assured by Gaika and by Mrs. Barber that the Kafirs of South +Africa never blush; but this may only mean that no change of colour is +distinguishable. Gaika adds that under the circumstances which would +make a European blush, his countrymen “look ashamed to keep their heads +up.” + +It is asserted by four of my informants that the Australians, who are +almost as black as negroes, never blush. A fifth answers doubtfully, +remarking that only a very strong blush could be seen, on account of +the dirty state of their skins. Three observers state that they do +blush;[1319] Mr. S. Wilson adding that this is noticeable only under a +strong emotion, and when the skin is not too dark from long exposure +and want of cleanliness. Mr. Lang answers, “I have noticed that shame +almost always excites a blush, which frequently extends as low as the +neck.” Shame is also shown, as he adds, “by the eyes being turned from +side to side.” As Mr. Lang was a teacher in a native school, it is +probable that he chiefly observed children; and we know that they blush +more than adults. Mr. G. Taplin has seen half-castes blushing, and he +says that the aborigines have a word expressive of shame. Mr. +Hagenauer, who is one of those who has never observed the Australians +to blush, says that he has “seen them looking down to the ground on +account of shame;” and the missionary, Mr. Bulmer, remarks that though +“I have not been able to detect anything like shame in the adult +aborigines, I have noticed that the eyes of the children, when ashamed, +present a restless, watery appearance, as if they did not know where to +look.” + +The facts now given are sufficient to show that blushing, whether or +not there is any change of colour, is common to most, probably to all, +of the races of man. + +_Movements and gestures which accompany Blushing_.—Under a keen sense +of shame there is a strong desire for concealment.[1320] We turn away +the whole body, more especially the face, which we endeavour in some +manner to hide. An ashamed person can hardly endure to meet the gaze of +those present, so that he almost invariably casts down his eyes or +looks askant. As there generally exists at the same time a strong wish +to avoid the appearance of shame, a vain attempt is made to look direct +at the person who causes this feeling; and the antagonism between these +opposite tendencies leads to various restless movements in the eyes. I +have noticed two ladies who, whilst blushing, to which they are very +liable, have thus acquired, as it appears, the oddest trick of +incessantly blinking their eyelids with extraordinary rapidity. An +intense blush is sometimes accompanied by a slight effusion of +tears;[1321] and this, I presume, is due to the lacrymal glands +partaking of the increased supply of blood, which we know rushes into +the capillaries of the adjoining parts, including the retina. + +Many writers, ancient and modern, have noticed the foregoing movements; +and it has already been shown that the aborigines in various parts of +the world often exhibit their shame by looking downwards or askant, or +by restless movements of their eyes. Ezra cries out (ch. ix. 6), “O, my +God! I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my head to thee, my God.” In +Isaiah (ch. I. 6) we meet with the words, “I hid not my face from +shame.” Seneca remarks (Epist. xi. 5) “that the Roman players hang down +their heads, fix their eyes on the ground and keep them lowered, but +are unable to blush in acting shame.” According to Macrobius, who lived +in the filth century (‘Saturnalia,’ B. vii. C. 11), “Natural +philosophers assert that nature being moved by shame spreads the blood +before herself as a veil, as we see any one blushing often puts his +hands before his face.” Shakspeare makes Marcus (‘Titus Andronicus,’ +act ii, sc. 5) say to his niece, “Ah! now thou turn’st away thy face +for shame.” A lady informs me that she found in the Lock Hospital a +girl whom she had formerly known, and who had become a wretched +castaway, and the poor creature, when approached, hid her face under +the bed-clothes, and could not be persuaded to uncover it. We often see +little children, when shy or ashamed, turn away, and still standing up, +bury their faces in their mother’s gown; or they throw themselves face +downwards on her lap. + +_Confusion of mind_.—Most persons, whilst blushing intensely, have +their mental powers confused. This is recognized in such common +expressions as “she was covered with confusion.” Persons in this +condition lose their presence of mind, and utter singularly +inappropriate remarks. They are often much distressed, stammer, and +make awkward movements or strange grimaces. In certain cases +involuntary twitchings of some of the facial muscles may be observed. I +have been informed by a young lady, who blushes excessively, that at +such times she does not even know what she is saying. When it was +suggested to her that this might be due to her distress from the +consciousness that her blushing was noticed, she answered that this +could not be the case, “as she had sometimes felt quite as stupid when +blushing at a thought in her own room.” + +I will give an instance of the extreme disturbance of mind to which +some sensitive men are liable. A gentleman, on whom I can rely, assured +me that he had been an eye-witness of the following scene:—A small +dinner-party was given in honour of an extremely shy man, who, when he +rose to return thanks, rehearsed the speech, which he had evidently +learnt by heart, in absolute silence, and did not utter a single word; +but he acted as if he were speaking with much emphasis. His friends, +perceiving how the case stood, loudly applauded the imaginary bursts of +eloquence, whenever his gestures indicated a pause, and the man never +discovered that he had remained the whole time completely silent. On +the contrary, he afterwards remarked to my friend, with much +satisfaction, that he thought he had succeeded uncommonly well. + +When a person is much ashamed or very shy, and blushes intensely, his +heart beats rapidly and his breathing is disturbed. This can hardly +fail to affect the circulation of the blood within the brain, and +perhaps the mental powers. It seems however doubtful, judging from the +still more powerful influence of anger and fear on the circulation, +whether we can thus satisfactorily account for the confused state of +mind in persons whilst blushing intensely. + +The true explanation apparently lies in the intimate sympathy which +exists between the capillary circulation of the surface of the head and +face, and that of the brain. On applying to Dr. J. Crichton Browne for +information, he has given me various facts bearing on this subject. +When the sympathetic nerve is divided on one side of the head, the +capillaries on this side are relaxed and become filled with blood, +causing the skin to redden and to grow hot, and at the same time the +temperature within the cranium on the same side rises. Inflammation of +the membranes of the brain leads to the engorgement of the face, ears, +and eyes with blood. The first stage of an epileptic fit appears to be +the contraction of the vessels of the brain, and the first outward +manifestation is, an extreme pallor of countenance. Erysipelas of the +head commonly induces delirium. Even the relief given to a severe +headache by burning the skin with strong lotion, depends, I presume, on +the same principle. + +Dr. Browne has often administered to his patients the vapour of the +nitrite of amyl,[1322] which has the singular property of causing vivid +redness of the face in from thirty to sixty seconds. This flushing +resembles blushing in almost every detail: it begins at several +distinct points on the face, and spreads till it involves the whole +surface of the head, neck, and front of the chest; but has been +observed to extend only in one case to the abdomen. The arteries in the +retina become enlarged; the eyes glisten, and in one instance there was +a slight effusion of tears. The patients are at first pleasantly +stimulated, but, as the flushing increases, they become confused and +bewildered. One woman to whom the vapour had often been administered +asserted that, as soon as she grew hot, she grew MUDDLED. With persons +just commencing to blush it appears, judging from their bright eyes and +lively behaviour, that their mental powers are somewhat stimulated. It +is only when the blushing is excessive that the mind grows confused. +Therefore it would seem that the capillaries of the face are affected, +both during the inhalation of the nitrite of amyl and during blushing, +before that part of the brain is affected on which the mental powers +depend. + +Conversely when the brain is primarily affected; the circulation of the +skin is so in a secondary manner. Dr. Browne has frequently observed, +as he informs me, scattered red blotches and mottlings on the chests of +epileptic patients. In these cases, when the skin on the thorax or +abdomen is gently rubbed with a pencil or other object, or, in +strongly-marked cases, is merely touched by the finger, the surface +becomes suffused in less than half a minute with bright red marks, +which spread to some distance on each side of the touched point, and +persist for several minutes. These are the _cerebral maculae_ of +Trousseau; and they indicate, as Dr. Browne remarks, a highly modified +condition of the cutaneous vascular system. If, then, there exists, as +cannot be doubted, an intimate sympathy between the capillary +circulation in that part of the brain on which our mental powers +depend, and in the skin of the face, it is not surprising that the +moral causes which induce intense blushing should likewise induce, +independently of their own disturbing influence, much confusion of +mind. + +_The Nature of the Mental States which induce Blushing_.—These consist +of shyness, shame, and modesty; the essential element in all being +self-attention. Many reasons can be assigned for believing that +originally self-attention directed to personal appearance, in relation +to the opinion of others, was the exciting cause; the same effect being +subsequently produced, through the force of association, by +self-attention in relation to moral conduct. It is not the simple act +of reflecting on our own appearance, but the thinking what others think +of us, which excites a blush. In absolute solitude the most sensitive +person would be quite indifferent about his appearance. We feel blame +or disapprobation more acutely than approbation; and consequently +depreciatory remarks or ridicule, whether of our appearance or conduct, +causes us to blush much more readily than does praise. But undoubtedly +praise and admiration are highly efficient: a pretty girl blushes when +a man gazes intently at her, though she may know perfectly well that he +is not depreciating her. Many children, as well as old and sensitive +persons blush, when they are much praised. Hereafter the question will +be discussed, how it has arisen that the consciousness that others are +attending to our personal appearance should have led to the +capillaries, especially those of the face, instantly becoming filled +with blood. + +My reasons for believing that attention directed to personal +appearance, and not to moral conduct, has been the fundamental element +in the acquirement of the habit of blushing, will now be given. They +are separately light, but combined possess, as it appears to me, +considerable weight. It is notorious that nothing makes a shy person +blush so much as any remark, however slight, on his personal +appearance. One cannot notice even the dress of a woman much given to +blushing, without causing her face to crimson. It is sufficient to +stare hard at some persons to make them, as Coleridge remarks, +blush,—“account for that he who can.”[1323] + +With the two albinos observed by Dr. Burgess,[1324] “the slightest +attempt to examine their peculiarities invariably caused them to blush +deeply.” Women are much more sensitive about their personal appearance +than men are, especially elderly women in comparison with elderly men, +and they blush much more freely. The young of both sexes are much more +sensitive on this same head than the old, and they also blush much more +freely than the old. Children at a very early age do not blush; nor do +they show those other signs of self-consciousness which generally +accompany blushing; and it is one of their chief charms that they think +nothing about what others think of them. At this early age they will +stare at a stranger with a fixed gaze and un-blinking eyes, as on an +inanimate object, in a manner which we elders cannot imitate. + +It is plain to every one that young men and women are highly sensitive +to the opinion of each other with reference to their personal +appearance; and they blush incomparably more in the presence of the +opposite sex than in that of their own.[1325] A young man, not very +liable to blush, will blush intensely at any slight ridicule of his +appearance from a girl whose judgment on any important subject he would +disregard. No happy pair of young lovers, valuing each other’s +admiration and love more than anything else in the world, probably ever +courted each other without many a blush. Even the barbarians of Tierra +del Fuego, according to Mr. Bridges, blush “chiefly in regard to women, +but certainly also at their own personal appearance.” + +Of all parts of the body, the face is most considered and regarded, as +is natural from its being the chief seat of expression and the source +of the voice. It is also the chief seat of beauty and of ugliness, and +throughout the world is the most ornamented.[1326] The face, therefore, +will have been subjected during many generations to much closer and +more earnest self-attention than any other part of the body; and in +accordance with the principle here advanced we can understand why it +should be the most liable to blush. Although exposure to alternations +of temperature, &c., has probably much increased the power of +dilatation and contraction in the capillaries of the face and adjoining +parts, yet this by itself will hardly account for these parts blushing +much more than the rest of the body; for it does not explain the fact +of the hands rarely blushing. With Europeans the whole body tingles +slightly when the face blushes intensely; and with the races of men who +habitually go nearly naked, the blushes extend over a much larger +surface than with us. These facts are, to a certain extent, +intelligible, as the self-attention of primeval man, as well as of the +existing races which still go naked, will not have been so exclusively +confined to their faces, as is the case with the people who now go +clothed. + +We have seen that in all parts of the world persons who feel shame for +some moral delinquency, are apt to avert, bend down, or hide their +faces, independently of any thought about their personal appearance. +The object can hardly be to conceal their blushes, for the face is thus +averted or hidden under circumstances which exclude any desire to +conceal shame, as when guilt is fully confessed and repented of. It is, +however, probable that primeval man before he had acquired much moral +sensitiveness would have been highly sensitive about his personal +appearance, at least in reference to the other sex, and he would +consequently have felt distress at any depreciatory remarks about his +appearance; and this is one form of shame. And as the face is the part +of the body which is most regarded, it is intelligible that any one +ashamed of his personal appearance would desire to conceal this part of +his body. The habit having been thus acquired, would naturally be +carried on when shame from strictly moral causes was felt; and it is +not easy otherwise to see why under these circumstances there should be +a desire to hide the face more than any other part of the body. + +The habit, so general with every one who feels ashamed, of turning +away, or lowering his eyes, or restlessly moving them from side to +side, probably follows from each glance directed towards those present, +bringing home the conviction that he is intently regarded; and he +endeavours, by not looking at those present, and especially not at +their eyes, momentarily to escape from this painful conviction. + +_Shyness_.—This odd state of mind, often called shamefacedness, or +false shame, or _mauvaise honte_, appears to be one of the most +efficient of all the causes of blushing. Shyness is, indeed, chiefly +recognized by the face reddening, by the eyes being averted or cast +down, and by awkward, nervous movements of the body. Many a woman +blushes from this cause, a hundred, perhaps a thousand times, to once +that she blushes from having done anything deserving blame, and of +which she is truly ashamed. Shyness seems to depend on sensitiveness to +the opinion, whether good or bad, of others, more especially with +respect to external appearance. Strangers neither know nor care +anything about our conduct or character, but they may, and often do, +criticize our appearance: hence shy persons are particularly apt to be +shy and to blush in the presence of strangers. The consciousness of +anything peculiar, or even new, in the dress, or any slight blemish on +the person, and more especially, on the face—points which are likely to +attract the attention of strangers—makes the shy intolerably shy. On +the other hand, in those cases in which conduct and not personal +appearance is concerned, we are much more apt to be shy in the presence +of acquaintances, whose judgment we in some degree value, than in that +of strangers. A physician told me that a young man, a wealthy duke, +with whom he had travelled as medical attendant, blushed like a girl, +when he paid him his fee; yet this young man probably would not have +blushed and been shy, had he been paying a bill to a tradesman. Some +persons, however, are so sensitive, that the mere act of speaking to +almost any one is sufficient to rouse their self-consciousness, and a +slight blush is the result. + +Disapprobation or ridicule, from our sensitiveness on this head, causes +shyness and blushing much more readily than does approbation; though +the latter with some persons is highly efficient. The conceited are +rarely shy; for they value themselves much too highly to expect +depreciation. Why a proud man is often shy, as appears to be the case, +is not so obvious, unless it be that, with all his self-reliance, he +really thinks much about the opinion of others although in a disdainful +spirit. Persons who are exceedingly shy are rarely shy in the presence +of those with whom they are quite familiar, and of whose good opinion +and sympathy they are perfectly assured;—for instance, a girl in the +presence of her mother. I neglected to inquire in my printed paper +whether shyness can be detected in the different races of man; but a +Hindoo gentleman assured Mr. Erskine that it is recognizable in his +countrymen. + +Shyness, as the derivation of the word indicates in several +languages,[1327] is closely related to fear; yet it is distinct from +fear in the ordinary sense. A shy man no doubt dreads the notice of +strangers, but can hardly be said to be afraid of them, he may be as +bold as a hero in battle, and yet have no self-confidence about trifles +in the presence of strangers. Almost every one is extremely nervous +when first addressing a public assembly, and most men remain so +throughout their lives; but this appears to depend on the consciousness +of a great coming exertion, with its associated effects on the system, +rather than on shyness;[1328] although a timid or shy man no doubt +suffers on such occasions infinitely more than another. With very young +children it is difficult to distinguish between fear and shyness; but +this latter feeling with them has often seemed to me to partake of the +character of the wildness of an untamed animal. Shyness comes on at a +very early age. In one of my own children, when two years and three +months old, I saw a trace of what certainly appeared to be shyness, +directed towards myself after an absence from home of only a week. This +was shown not by a blush, but by the eyes being for a few minutes +slightly averted from me. I have noticed on other occasions that +shyness or shamefacedness and real shame are exhibited in the eyes of +young children before they have acquired the power of blushing. + +As shyness apparently depends on self-attention, we can perceive how +right are those who maintain that reprehending children for shyness, +instead of doing them any good, does much harm, as it calls their +attention still more closely to themselves. It has been well urged that +“nothing hurts young people more than to be watched continually about +their feelings, to have their countenances scrutinized, and the degrees +of their sensibility measured by the surveying eye of the unmerciful +spectator. Under the constraint of such examinations they can think of +nothing but that they are looked at, and feel nothing but shame or +apprehension.”[1329] + +_Moral causes: guilt_.—With respect to blushing from strictly moral +causes, we meet with the same fundamental principle as before, namely, +regard for the opinion of others. It is not the conscience which raises +a blush, for a man may sincerely regret some slight fault committed in +solitude, or he may suffer the deepest remorse for an undetected crime, +but he will not blush. “I blush,” says Dr. Burgess,[1330] “in the +presence of my accusers.” It is not the sense of guilt, but the thought +that others think or know us to be guilty which crimsons the face. A +man may feel thoroughly ashamed at having told a small falsehood, +without blushing; but if he even suspects that he is detected he will +instantly blush, especially if detected by one whom he reveres. + +On the other hand, a man may be convinced that God witnesses all his +actions, and he may feel deeply conscious of some fault and pray for +forgiveness; but this will not, as a lady who is a great blusher +believes, ever excite a blush. The explanation of this difference +between the knowledge by God and man of our actions lies, I presume, in +man’s disapprobation of immoral conduct being somewhat akin in nature +to his depreciation of our personal appearance, so that through +association both lead to similar results; whereas the disapprobation of +God brings up no such association. + +Many a person has blushed intensely when accused of some crime, though +completely innocent of it. Even the thought, as the lady before +referred to has observed to me, that others think that we have made an +unkind or stupid remark, is amply sufficient to cause a blush, although +we know all the time that we have been completely misunderstood. An +action may be meritorious or of an indifferent nature, but a sensitive +person, if he suspects that others take a different view of it, will +blush. For instance, a lady by herself may give money to a beggar +without a trace of a blush, but if others are present, and she doubts +whether they approve, or suspects that they think her influenced by +display, she will blush. So it will be, if she offers to relieve the +distress of a decayed gentlewoman, more particularly of one whom she +had previously known under better circumstances, as she cannot then +feel sure how her conduct will be viewed. But such cases as these blend +into shyness. + +_Breaches of etiquette_.—The rules of _etiquette_ always refer to +conduct in the presence of, or towards others. They have no necessary +connection with the moral sense, and are often meaningless. +Nevertheless as they depend on the fixed custom of our equals and +superiors, whose opinion we highly regard, they are considered almost +as binding as are the laws of honour to a gentleman. Consequently the +breach of the laws of etiquette, that is, any impoliteness or +_gaucherie_, any impropriety, or an inappropriate remark, though quite +accidental, will cause the most intense blushing of which a man is +capable. Even the recollection of such an act, after an interval of +many years, will make the whole body to tingle. So strong, also, is the +power of sympathy that a sensitive person, as a lady has assured me, +will sometimes blush at a flagrant breach of etiquette by a perfect +stranger, though the act may in no way concern her. + +_Modesty_.—This is another powerful agent in exciting blushes; but the +word modesty includes very different states of the mind. It implies +humility, and we often judge of this by persons being greatly pleased +and blushing at slight praise, or by being annoyed at praise which +seems to them too high according to their own humble standard of +themselves. Blushing here has the usual signification of regard for the +opinion of others. But modesty frequently relates to acts of +indelicacy; and indelicacy is an affair of etiquette, as we clearly see +with the nations that go altogether or nearly naked. He who is modest, +and blushes easily at acts of this nature, does so because they are +breaches of a firmly and wisely established etiquette. This is indeed +shown by the derivation of the word _modest_ from _modus_, a measure or +standard of behaviour. A blush due to this form of modesty is, +moreover, apt to be intense, because it generally relates to the +opposite sex; and we have seen how in all cases our liability to blush +is thus increased. We apply the term ‘modest,’ as it would appear, to +those who have an humble opinion of themselves, and to those who are +extremely sensitive about an indelicate word or deed, simply because in +both cases blushes are readily excited, for these two frames of mind +have nothing else in common. Shyness also, from this same cause, is +often mistaken for modesty in the sense of humility. + +Some persons flush up, as I have observed and have been assured, at any +sudden and disagreeable recollection. The commonest cause seems to be +the sudden remembrance of not having done something for another person +which had been promised. In this case it may be that the thought passes +half unconsciously through the mind, “What will he think of me?” and +then the flush would partake of the nature of a true blush. But whether +such flushes are in most cases due to the capillary circulation being +affected, is very doubtful; for we must remember that almost every +strong emotion, such as anger or great joy, acts on the heart, and +causes the face to redden. + +The fact that blushes may be excited in absolute solitude seems opposed +to the view here taken, namely that the habit originally arose from +thinking about what others think of us. Several ladies, who are great +blushers, are unanimous in regard to solitude; and some of them believe +that they have blushed in the dark. From what Mr. Forbes has stated +with respect to the Aymaras, and from my own sensations, I have no +doubt that this latter statement is correct. Shakspeare, therefore, +erred when he made Juliet, who was not even by herself, say to Romeo +(act ii. sc. 2):— + +“Thou know’st the mask of night is on my face; +Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek, +For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night.” + + +But when a blush is excited in solitude, the cause almost always +relates to the thoughts of others about us—to acts done in their +presence, or suspected by them; or again when we reflect what others +would have thought of us had they known of the act. Nevertheless one or +two of my informants believe that they have blushed from shame at acts +in no way relating to others. If this be so, we must attribute the +result to the force of inveterate habit and association, under a state +of mind closely analogous to that which ordinarily excites a blush; nor +need we feel surprise at this, as even sympathy with another person who +commits a flagrant breach of etiquette is believed, as we have just +seen, sometimes to cause a blush. + +Finally, then, I conclude that blushing,—whether due to shyness—to +shame for a real crime—to shame from a breach of the laws of +etiquette—to modesty from humility—to modesty from an +indelicacy—depends in all cases on the same principle; this principle +being a sensitive regard for the opinion, more particularly for the +depreciation of others, primarily in relation to our personal +appearance, especially of our faces; and secondarily, through the force +of association and habit, in relation to the opinion of others on our +conduct. + +_Theory of Blushing_.—We have now to consider, why should the thought +that others are thinking about us affect our capillary circulation? Sir +C. Bell insists[1331] that blushing “is a provision for expression, as +may be inferred from the colour extending only to the surface of the +face, neck, and breast, the parts most exposed. It is not acquired; it +is from the beginning.” Dr. Burgess believes that it was designed by +the Creator in “order that the soul might have sovereign power of +displaying in the cheeks the various internal emotions of the moral +feelings;” so as to serve as a check on ourselves, and as a sign to +others, that we were violating rules which ought to be held sacred. +Gratiolet merely remarks,—“Or, comme il est dans l’ordre de la nature +que l’être social le plus intelligent soit aussi le plus intelligible, +cette faculté de rougeur et de pâleur qui distingue l’homme, est un +signe naturel de sa haute perfection.” + +The belief that blushing was SPECIALLY designed by the Creator is +opposed to the general theory of evolution, which is now so largely +accepted; but it forms no part of my duty here to argue on the general +question. Those who believe in design, will find it difficult to +account for shyness being the most frequent and efficient of all the +causes of blushing, as it makes the blusher to suffer and the beholder +uncomfortable, without being of the least service to either of them. +They will also find it difficult to account for negroes and other +dark-coloured races blushing, in whom a change of colour in the skin is +scarcely or not at all visible. + +No doubt a slight blush adds to the beauty of a maiden’s face; and the +Circassian women who are capable of blushing, invariably fetch a higher +price in the seraolio of the Sultan than less susceptible women.[1332] +But the firmest believer in the efficacy of sexual selection will +hardly suppose that blushing was acquired as a sexual ornament. This +view would also be opposed to what has just been said about the +dark-coloured races blushing in an invisible manner. + +The hypothesis which appears to me the most probable, though it may at +first seem rash, is that attention closely directed to any part of the +body tends to interfere with the ordinary and tonic contraction of the +small arteries of that part. These vessels, in consequence, become at +such times more or less relaxed, and are instantly filled with arterial +blood. This tendency will have been much strengthened, if frequent +attention has been paid during many generations to the same part, owing +to nerve-force readily flowing along accustomed channels, and by the +power of inheritance. Whenever we believe that others are depreciating +or even considering our personal appearance, our attention is vividly +directed to the outer and visible parts of our bodies; and of all such +parts we are most sensitive about our faces, as no doubt has been the +case during many past generations. Therefore, assuming for the moment +that the capillary vessels can be acted on by close attention, those of +the face will have become eminently susceptible. Through the force of +association, the same effects will tend to follow whenever we think +that others are considering or censuring our actions or character. + +As the basis of this theory rests on mental attention having some power +to influence the capillary circulation, it will be necessary to give a +considerable body of details, bearing more or less directly on this +subject. Several observers,[1333] who from their wide experience and +knowledge are eminently capable of forming a sound judgment, are +convinced that attention or consciousness (which latter term Sir H. +Holland thinks the more explicit) concentrated on almost any part of +the body produces some direct physical effect on it. This applies to +the movements of the involuntary muscles, and of the voluntary muscles +when acting involuntarily,—to the secretion of the glands,—to the +activity of the senses and sensations,—and even to the nutrition of +parts. + +It is known that the involuntary movements of the heart are affected if +close attention be paid to them. Gratiolet[1334] gives the case of a +man, who by continually watching and counting his own pulse, at last +caused one beat out of every six to intermit. On the other hand, my +father told me of a careful observer, who certainly had heart-disease +and died from it, and who positively stated that his pulse was +habitually irregular to an extreme degree; yet to his great +disappointment it invariably became regular as soon as my father +entered the room. Sir H. Holland remarks, that “the effect upon the +circulation of a part from the consciousness suddenly directed and +fixed upon it, is often obvious and immediate.” Professor Laycock, who +has particularly attended to phenomena of this nature, insists that +“when the attention is directed to any portion of the body, innervation +and circulation are excited locally, and the functional activity of +that portion developed.” + +It is generally believed that the peristaltic movements of the +intestines are influenced by attention being paid to them at fixed +recurrent periods; and these movements depend on the contraction of +unstriped and involuntary muscles. The abnormal action of the voluntary +muscles in epilepsy, chorea, and hysteria is known to be influenced by +the expectation of an attack, and by the sight of other patients +similarly affected. So it is with the involuntary acts of yawning and +laughing. + +Certain glands are much influenced by thinking of them, or of the +conditions under which they have been habitually excited. This is +familiar to every one in the increased flow of saliva, when the +thought, for instance, of intensely acid fruit is kept before the mind. +It was shown in our sixth chapter, that an earnest and long-continued +desire either to repress, or to increase, the action of the lacrymal +glands is effectual. Some curious cases have been recorded in the case +of women, of the power of the mind on the mammary glands; and still +more remarkable ones in relation to the uterine functions. + +See Gratiolet on this subject, De la Phys. p. 287. Dr. J. Crichton +Browne, from his observations on the insane, is convinced that +attention directed for a prolonged period on any part or organ may +ultimately influence its capillary circulation and nutrition. He has +given me some extraordinary cases; one of these, which cannot here be +related in full, refers to a married woman fifty years of age, who +laboured under the firm and long-continued delusion that she was +pregnant. When the expected period arrived, she acted precisely as if +she had been really delivered of a child, and seemed to suffer extreme +pain, so that the perspiration broke out on her forehead. The result +was that a state of things returned, continuing for three days, which +had ceased during the six previous years. Mr. Braid gives, in his +‘Magic, Hypnotism,’ &c., 1852, p. 95, and in his other works analogous +cases, as well as other facts showing the great influence of the will +on the mammary glands, even on one breast alone. + +When we direct our whole attention to any one sense, its acuteness is +increased;[1340] and the continued habit of close attention, as with +blind people to that of hearing, and with the blind and deaf to that of +touch, appears to improve the sense in question permanently. There is, +also, some reason to believe, judging from the capacities of different +races of man, that the effects are inherited. Turning to ordinary +sensations, it is well known that pain is increased by attending to it; +and Sir B. Brodie goes so far as to believe that pain may be felt in +any part of the body to which attention is closely drawn.[1341] Sir H. +Holland also remarks that we become not only conscious of the existence +of a part subjected to concentrated attention, but we experience in it +various odd sensations as of weight, heat, cold, tingling, or +itching.[1342] + +Lastly, some physiologists maintain that the mind can influence the +nutrition of parts. Sir J. Paget has given a curious instance of the +power, not indeed of the mind, but of the nervous system, on the hair. +A lady “who is subject to attacks of what is called nervous headache, +always finds in the morning after such an one, that some patches of her +hair are white, as if powdered with starch. The change is effected in a +night, and in a few days after, the hairs gradually regain their dark +brownish colour.”[1343] + +We thus see that close attention certainly affects various parts and +organs, which are not properly under the control of the will. By what +means attention—perhaps the most wonderful of all the wondrous powers +of the mind—is effected, is an extremely obscure subject. According to +Müller,[1344] the process by which the sensory cells of the brain are +rendered, through the will, susceptible of receiving more intense and +distinct impressions, is closely analogous to that by which the motor +cells are excited to send nerve-force to the voluntary muscles. There +are many points of analogy in the action of the sensory and motor +nerve-cells; for instance, the familiar fact that close attention to +any one sense causes fatigue, like the prolonged exertion of any one +muscle.[1345] When therefore we voluntarily concentrate our attention +on any part of the body, the cells of the brain which receive +impressions or sensations from that part are, it is probable, in some +unknown manner stimulated into activity. This may account, without any +local change in the part to which our attention is earnestly directed, +for pain or odd sensations being there felt or increased. + +If, however, the part is furnished with muscles, we cannot feel sure, +as Mr. Michael Foster has remarked to me, that some slight impulse may +not be unconsciously sent to such muscles; and this would probably +cause an obscure sensation in the part. + +In a large number of cases, as with the salivary and lacrymal glands, +intestinal canal, &c., the power of attention seems to rest, either +chiefly, or as some physiologists think, exclusively, on the vaso-motor +system being affected in such a manner that more blood is allowed to +flow into the capillaries of the part in question. This increased +action of the capillaries may in some cases be combined with the +simultaneously increased activity of the sensorium. + +The manner in which the mind affects the vasomotor system may be +conceived in the following manner. When we actually taste sour fruit, +an impression is sent through the gustatory nerves to a certain part of +the sensorium; this transmits nerve-force to the vasomotor centre, +which consequently allows the muscular coats of the small arteries that +permeate the salivary glands to relax. Hence more blood flows into +these glands, and they secrete a copious supply of saliva. Now it does +not seem an improbable assumption, that, when we reflect intently on a +sensation, the same part of the sensorium, or a closely connected part +of it, is brought into a state of activity, in the same manner as when +we actually perceive the sensation. If so, the same cells in the brain +will be excited, though, perhaps, in a less degree, by vividly thinking +about a sour taste, as by perceiving it; and they will transmit in the +one case, as in the other, nerve-force to the vaso-motor centre with +the same results. + +To give another, and, in some respects, more appropriate illustration. +If a man stands before a hot fire, his face reddens. This appears to be +due, as Mr. Michael Foster informs me, in part to the local action of +the heat, and in part to a reflex action from the vaso-motor +centres.[1346] In this latter case, the heat affects the nerves of the +face; these transmit an impression to the sensory cells of the brain, +which act on the vaso-motor centre, and this reacts on the small +arteries of the face, relaxing them and allowing them to become filled +with blood. Here, again, it seems not improbable that if we were +repeatedly to concentrate with great earnestness our attention on the +recollection of our heated faces, the same part of the sensorium which +gives us the consciousness of actual heat would be in some slight +degree stimulated, and would in consequence tend to transmit some +nerve-force to the vaso-motor centres, so as to relax the capillaries +of the face. Now as men during endless generations have had their +attention often and earnestly directed to their personal appearance, +and especially to their faces, any incipient tendency in the facial +capillaries to be thus affected will have become in the course of time +greatly strengthened through the principles just referred to, namely, +nerve-force passing readily along accustomed channels, and inherited +habit. Thus, as it appears to me, a plausible explanation is afforded +of the leading phenomena connected with the act of blushing. + +_Recapitulation_.—Men and women, and especially the young, have always +valued, in a high degree, their personal appearance; and have likewise +regarded the appearance of others. The face has been the chief object +of attention, though, when man aboriginally went naked, the whole +surface of his body would have been attended to. Our self-attention is +excited almost exclusively by the opinion of others, for no person +living in absolute solitude would care about his appearance. Every one +feels blame more acutely than praise. Now, whenever we know, or +suppose, that others are depreciating our personal appearance, our +attention is strongly drawn towards ourselves, more especially to our +faces. The probable effect of this will be, as has just been explained, +to excite into activity that part of the sensorium, which receives the +sensory nerves of the face; and this will react through the vaso-motor +system on the facial capillaries. By frequent reiteration during +numberless generations, the process will have become so habitual, in +association with the belief that others are thinking of us, that even a +suspicion of their depreciation suffices to relax the capillaries, +without any conscious thought about our faces. With some sensitive +persons it is enough even to notice their dress to produce the same +effect. Through the force, also, of association and inheritance our +capillaries are relaxed, whenever we know, or imagine, that any one is +blaming, though in silence, our actions, thoughts, or character; and, +again, when we are highly praised. + +On this hypothesis we can understand how it is that the face blushes +much more than any other part of the body, though the whole surface is +somewhat affected, more especially with the races which still go nearly +naked. It is not at all surprising that the dark-coloured races should +blush, though no change of colour is visible in their skins. From the +principle of inheritance it is not surprising that persons born blind +should blush. We can understand why the young are much more affected +than the old, and women more than men; and why the opposite sexes +especially excite each other’s blushes. It becomes obvious why personal +remarks should be particularly liable to cause blushing, and why the +most powerful of all the causes is shyness; for shyness relates to the +presence and opinion of others, and the shy are always more or less +self-conscious. With respect to real shame from moral delinquencies, we +can perceive why it is not guilt, but the thought that others think us +guilty, which raises a blush. A man reflecting on a crime committed in +solitude, and stung by his conscience, does not blush; yet he will +blush under the vivid recollection of a detected fault, or of one +committed in the presence of others, the degree of blushing being +closely related to the feeling of regard for those who have detected, +witnessed, or suspected his fault. Breaches of conventional rules of +conduct, if they are rigidly insisted on by our equals or superiors, +often cause more intense blushes even than a detected crime, and an act +which is really criminal, if not blamed by our equals, hardly raises a +tinge of colour on our cheeks. Modesty from humility, or from an +indelicacy, excites a vivid blush, as both relate to the judgment or +fixed customs of others. + +From the intimate sympathy which exists between the capillary +circulation of the surface of the head and of the brain, whenever there +is intense blushing, there will be some, and often great, confusion of +mind. This is frequently accompanied by awkward movements, and +sometimes by the involuntary twitching of certain muscles. + +As blushing, according to this hypothesis, is an indirect result of +attention, originally directed to our personal appearance, that is to +the surface of the body, and more especially to the face, we can +understand the meaning of the gestures which accompany blushing +throughout the world. These consist in hiding the face, or turning it +towards the ground, or to one side. The eyes are generally averted or +are restless, for to look at the man who causes us to feel shame or +shyness, immediately brings home in an intolerable manner the +consciousness that his gaze is directed on us. Through the principle of +associated habit, the same movements of the face and eyes are +practised, and can, indeed, hardly be avoided, whenever we know or +believe that, others are blaming, or too strongly praising, our moral +conduct. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. CONCLUDING REMARKS AND SUMMARY. + +The three leading principles which have determined the chief movements +of expression—Their inheritance—On the part which the will and +intention have played in the acquirement of various expressions—The +instinctive recognition of expression—The bearing of our subject on the +specific unity of the races of man—On the successive acquirement of +various expressions by the progenitors of man—The importance of +expression—Conclusion. + +I have now described, to the best of my ability, the chief expressive +actions in man, and in some few of the lower animals. I have also +attempted to explain the origin or development of these actions through +the three principles given in the first chapter. The first of these +principles is, that movements which are serviceable in gratifying some +desire, or in relieving some sensation, if often repeated, become so +habitual that they are performed, whether or not of any service, +whenever the same desire or sensation is felt, even in a very weak +degree. + +Our second principle is that of antithesis. The habit of voluntarily +performing opposite movements under opposite impulses has become firmly +established in us by the practice of our whole lives. Hence, if certain +actions have been regularly performed, in accordance with our first +principle, under a certain frame of mind, there will be a strong and +involuntary tendency to the performance of directly opposite actions, +whether or not these are of any use, under the excitement of an +opposite frame of mind. + +Our third principle is the direct action of the excited nervous system +on the body, independently of the will, and independently, in large +part, of habit. Experience shows that nerve-force is generated and set +free whenever the cerebro-spinal system is excited. The direction which +this nerve-force follows is necessarily determined by the lines of +connection between the nerve-cells, with each other and with various +parts of the body. But the direction is likewise much influenced by +habit; inasmuch as nerve-force passes readily along accustomed +channels. + +The frantic and senseless actions of an enraged man may be attributed +in part to the undirected flow of nerve-force, and in part to the +effects of habit, for these actions often vaguely represent the act of +striking. They thus pass into gestures included under our first +principle; as when an indignant man unconsciously throws himself into a +fitting attitude for attacking his opponent, though without any +intention of making an actual attack. We see also the influence of +habit in all the emotions and sensations which are called exciting; for +they have assumed this character from having habitually led to +energetic action; and action affects, in an indirect manner, the +respiratory and circulatory system; and the latter reacts on the brain. +Whenever these emotions or sensations are even slightly felt by us, +though they may not at the time lead to any exertion, our whole system +is nevertheless disturbed through the force of habit and association. +Other emotions and sensations are called depressing, because they have +not habitually led to energetic action, excepting just at first, as in +the case of extreme pain, fear, and grief, and they have ultimately +caused complete exhaustion; they are consequently expressed chiefly by +negative signs and by prostration. Again, there are other emotions, +such as that of affection, which do not commonly lead to action of any +kind, and consequently are not exhibited by any strongly marked outward +signs. Affection indeed, in as far as it is a pleasurable sensation, +excites the ordinary signs of pleasure. + +On the other hand, many of the effects due to the excitement of the +nervous system seem to be quite independent of the flow of nerve-force +along the channels which have been rendered habitual by former +exertions of the will. Such effects, which often reveal the state of +mind of the person thus affected, cannot at present be explained; for +instance, the change of colour in the hair from extreme terror or +grief,—the cold sweat and the trembling of the muscles from fear,—the +modified secretions of the intestinal canal,—and the failure of certain +glands to act. + +Notwithstanding that much remains unintelligible in our present +subject, so many expressive movements and actions can be explained to a +certain extent through the above three principles, that we may hope +hereafter to see all explained by these or by closely analogous +principles. + +Actions of all kinds, if regularly accompanying any state of the mind, +are at once recognized as expressive. These may consist of movements of +any part of the body, as the wagging of a dog’s tail, the shrugging of +a man’s shoulders, the erection of the hair, the exudation of +perspiration, the state of the capillary circulation, laboured +breathing, and the use of the vocal or other sound-producing +instruments. Even insects express anger, terror, jealousy, and love by +their stridulation. With man the respiratory organs are of especial +importance in expression, not only in a direct, but in a still higher +degree in an indirect manner. + +Few points are more interesting in our present subject than the +extraordinarily complex chain of events which lead to certain +expressive movements. Take, for instance, the oblique eyebrows of a man +suffering from grief or anxiety. When infants scream loudly from hunger +or pain, the circulation is affected, and the eyes tend to become +gorged with blood: consequently the muscles surrounding the eyes are +strongly contracted as a protection: this action, in the course of many +generations, has become firmly fixed and inherited: but when, with +advancing years and culture, the habit of screaming is partially +repressed, the muscles round the eyes still tend to contract, whenever +even slight distress is felt: of these muscles, the pyramidals of the +nose are less under the control of the will than are the others and +their contraction can be checked only by that of the central fasciae of +the frontal muscle: these latter fasciae draw up the inner ends of the +eyebrows, and wrinkle the forehead in a peculiar manner, which we +instantly recognize as the expression of grief or anxiety. Slight +movements, such as these just described, or the scarcely perceptible +drawing down of the corners of the mouth, are the last remnants or +rudiments of strongly marked and intelligible movements. They are as +full of significance to us in regard to expression, as are ordinary +rudiments to the naturalist in the classification and genealogy of +organic beings. + +That the chief expressive actions, exhibited by man and by the lower +animals, are now innate or inherited,—that is, have not been learnt by +the individual,—is admitted by every one. So little has learning or +imitation to do with several of them that they are from the earliest +days and throughout life quite beyond our control; for instance, the +relaxation of the arteries of the skin in blushing, and the increased +action of the heart in anger. We may see children, only two or three +years old, and even those born blind, blushing from shame; and the +naked scalp of a very young infant reddens from passion. Infants scream +from pain directly after birth, and all their features then assume the +same form as during subsequent years. These facts alone suffice to show +that many of our most important expressions have not been learnt; but +it is remarkable that some, which are certainly innate, require +practice in the individual, before they are performed in a full and +perfect manner; for instance, weeping and laughing. The inheritance of +most of our expressive actions explains the fact that those born blind +display them, as I hear from the Rev. R. H. Blair, equally well with +those gifted with eyesight. We can thus also understand the fact that +the young and the old of widely different races, both with man and +animals, express the same state of mind by the same movements. + +We are so familiar with the fact of young and old animals displaying +their feelings in the same manner, that we hardly perceive how +remarkable it is that a young puppy should wag its tail when pleased, +depress its ears and uncover its canine teeth when pretending to be +savage, just like an old dog; or that a kitten should arch its little +back and erect its hair when frightened and angry, like an old cat. +When, however, we turn to less common gestures in ourselves, which we +are accustomed to look at as artificial or conventional,—such as +shrugging the shoulders, as a sign of impotence, or the raising the +arms with open hands and extended fingers, as a sign of wonder,—we feel +perhaps too much surprise at finding that they are innate. That these +and some other gestures are inherited, we may infer from their being +performed by very young children, by those born blind, and by the most +widely distinct races of man. We should also bear in mind that new and +highly peculiar tricks, in association with certain states of the mind, +are known to have arisen in certain individuals, and to have been +afterwards transmitted to their offspring, in some cases, for more than +one generation. + +Certain other gestures, which seem to us so natural that we might +easily imagine that they were innate, apparently have been learnt like +the words of a language. This seems to be the case with the joining of +the uplifted hands, and the turning up of the eyes, in prayer. So it is +with kissing as a mark of affection; but this is innate, in so far as +it depends on the pleasure derived from contact with a beloved person. +The evidence with respect to the inheritance of nodding and shaking the +head, as signs of affirmation and negation, is doubtful; for they are +not universal, yet seem too general to have been independently acquired +by all the individuals of so many races. + +We will now consider how far the will and consciousness have come into +play in the development of the various movements of expression. As far +as we can judge, only a few expressive movements, such as those just +referred to, are learnt by each individual; that is, were consciously +and voluntarily performed during the early years of life for some +definite object, or in imitation of others, and then became habitual. +The far greater number of the movements of expression, and all the more +important ones, are, as we have seen, innate or inherited; and such +cannot be said to depend on the will of the individual. Nevertheless, +all those included under our first principle were at first voluntarily +performed for a definite object,—namely, to escape some danger, to +relieve some distress, or to gratify some desire. For instance, there +can hardly be a doubt that the animals which fight with their teeth, +have acquired the habit of drawing back their ears closely to their +heads, when feeling savage, from their progenitors having voluntarily +acted in this manner in order to protect their ears from being torn by +their antagonists; for those animals which do not fight with their +teeth do not thus express a savage state of mind. We may infer as +highly probable that we ourselves have acquired the habit of +contracting the muscles round the eyes, whilst crying gently, that is, +without the utterance of any loud sound, from our progenitors, +especially during infancy, having experienced, during the act of +screaming, an uncomfortable sensation in their eyeballs. Again, some +highly expressive movements result from the endeavour to cheek or +prevent other expressive movements; thus the obliquity of the eyebrows +and the drawing down of the corners of the mouth follow from the +endeavour to prevent a screaming-fit from coming on, or to cheek it +after it has come on. Here it is obvious that the consciousness and +will must at first have come into play; not that we are conscious in +these or in other such cases what muscles are brought into action, any +more than when we perform the most ordinary voluntary movements. + +With respect to the expressive movements due to the principle of +antithesis, it is clear that the will has intervened, though in a +remote and indirect manner. So again with the movements coming under +our third principle; these, in as far as they are influenced by +nerve-force readily passing along habitual channels, have been +determined by former and repeated exertions of the will. The effects +indirectly due to this latter agency are often combined in a complex +manner, through the force of habit and association, with those directly +resulting from the excitement of the cerebro-spinal system. This seems +to be the case with the increased action of the heart under the +influence of any strong emotion. When an animal erects its hair, +assumes a threatening attitude, and utters fierce sounds, in order to +terrify an enemy, we see a curious combination of movements which were +originally voluntary with those that are involuntary. It is, however, +possible that even strictly involuntary actions, such as the erection +of the hair, may have been affected by the mysterious power of the +will. + +Some expressive movements may have arisen spontaneously, in association +with certain states of the mind, like the tricks lately referred to, +and afterwards been inherited. But I know of no evidence rendering this +view probable. + +The power of communication between the members of the same tribe by +means of language has been of paramount importance in the development +of man; and the force of language is much aided by the expressive +movements of the face and body. We perceive this at once when we +converse on an important subject with any person whose face is +concealed. Nevertheless there are no grounds, as far as I can discover, +for believing that any muscle has been developed or even modified +exclusively for the sake of expression. The vocal and other +sound-producing organs, by which various expressive noises are +produced, seem to form a partial exception; but I have elsewhere +attempted to show that these organs were first developed for sexual +purposes, in order that one sex might call or charm the other. Nor can +I discover grounds for believing that any inherited movement, which now +serves as a means of expression, was at first voluntarily and +consciously performed for this special purpose,—like some of the +gestures and the finger-language used by the deaf and dumb. On the +contrary, every true or inherited movement of expression seems to have +had some natural and independent origin. But when once acquired, such +movements may be voluntarily and consciously employed as a means of +communication. Even infants, if carefully attended to, find out at a +very early age that their screaming brings relief, and they soon +voluntarily practise it. We may frequently see a person voluntarily +raising his eyebrows to express surprise, or smiling to express +pretended satisfaction and acquiescence. A man often wishes to make +certain gestures conspicuous or demonstrative, and will raise his +extended arms with widely opened fingers above his head, to show +astonishment, or lift his shoulders to his ears, to show that he cannot +or will not do something. The tendency to such movements will be +strengthened or increased by their being thus voluntarily and +repeatedly performed; and the effects may be inherited. + +It is perhaps worth consideration whether movements at first used only +by one or a few individuals to express a certain state of mind may not +sometimes have spread to others, and ultimately have become universal, +through the power of conscious and unconscious imitation. That there +exists in man a strong tendency to imitation, independently of the +conscious will, is certain. This is exhibited in the most extraordinary +manner in certain brain diseases, especially at the commencement of +inflammatory softening of the brain, and has been called the “echo +sign.” Patients thus affected imitate, without understanding every +absurd gesture which is made, and every word which is uttered near +them, even in a foreign language.[1401] In the case of animals, the +jackal and wolf have learnt under confinement to imitate the barking of +the dog. How the barking of the dog, which serves to express various +emotions and desires, and which is so remarkable from having been +acquired since the animal was domesticated, and from being inherited in +different degrees by different breeds, was first learnt we do not know; +but may we not suspect that imitation has had something to do with its +acquisition, owing to dogs having long lived in strict association with +so loquacious an animal as man? + +In the course of the foregoing remarks and throughout this volume, I +have often felt much difficulty about the proper application of the +terms, will, consciousness, and intention. Actions, which were at first +voluntary, soon became habitual, and at last hereditary, and may then +be performed even in opposition to the will. Although they often reveal +the state of the mind, this result was not at first either intended or +expected. Even such words as that “certain movements serve as a means +of expression,” are apt to mislead, as they imply that this was their +primary purpose or object. This, however, seems rarely or never to have +been the case; the movements having been at first either of some direct +use, or the indirect effect of the excited state of the sensorium. An +infant may scream either intentionally or instinctively to show that it +wants food; but it has no wish or intention to draw its features into +the peculiar form which so plainly indicates misery; yet some of the +most characteristic expressions exhibited by man are derived from the +act of screaming, as has been explained. + +Although most of our expressive actions are innate or instinctive, as +is admitted by everyone, it is a different question whether we have any +instinctive power of recognizing them. This has generally been assumed +to be the case; but the assumption has been strongly controverted by M. +Lemoine.[1402] Monkeys soon learn to distinguish, not only the tones of +voice of their masters, but the expression of their faces, as is +asserted by a careful observer.[1403] Dogs well know the difference +between caressing and threatening gestures or tones; and they seem to +recognize a compassionate tone. But as far as I can make out, after +repeated trials, they do not understand any movement confined to the +features, excepting a smile or laugh; and this they appear, at least in +some cases, to recognize. This limited amount of knowledge has probably +been gained, both by monkeys and dogs, through their associating harsh +or kind treatment with our actions; and the knowledge certainly is not +instinctive. Children, no doubt, would soon learn the movements of +expression in their elders in the same manner as animals learn those of +man. Moreover, when a child cries or laughs, he knows in a general +manner what he is doing and what he feels; so that a very small +exertion of reason would tell him what crying or laughing meant in +others. But the question is, do our children acquire their knowledge of +expression solely by experience through the power of association and +reason? + +As most of the movements of expression must have been gradually +acquired, afterwards becoming instinctive, there seems to be some +degree of _a priori_ probability that their recognition would likewise +have become instinctive. There is, at least, no greater difficulty in +believing this than in admitting that, when a female quadruped first +bears young, she knows the cry of distress of her offspring, or than in +admitting that many animals instinctively recognize and fear their +enemies; and of both these statements there can be no reasonable doubt. +It is however extremely difficult to prove that our children +instinctively recognize any expression. I attended to this point in my +first-born infant, who could not have learnt anything by associating +with other children, and I was convinced that he understood a smile and +received pleasure from seeing one, answering it by another, at much too +early an age to have learnt anything by experience. When this child was +about four months old, I made in his presence many odd noises and +strange grimaces, and tried to look savage; but the noises, if not too +loud, as well as the grimaces, were all taken as good jokes; and I +attributed this at the time to their being preceded or accompanied by +smiles. When five months old, he seemed to understand a compassionate, +expression and tone of voice. When a few days over six months old, his +nurse pretended to cry, and I saw that his face instantly assumed a +melancholy expression, with the corners of the mouth strongly +depressed; now this child could rarely have seen any other child +crying, and never a grown-up person crying, and I should doubt whether +at so early an age he could have reasoned on the subject. Therefore it +seems to me that an innate feeling must have told him that the +pretended crying of his nurse expressed grief; and this through the +instinct of sympathy excited grief in him. + +M. Lemoine argues that, if man possessed an innate knowledge of +expression, authors and artists would not have found it so difficult, +as is notoriously the case, to describe and depict the characteristic +signs of each particular state of mind. But this does not seem to me a +valid argument. We may actually behold the expression changing in an +unmistakable manner in a man or animal, and yet be quite unable, as I +know from experience, to analyse the nature of the change. In the two +photographs given by Duchenne of the same old man (Plate III. figs. 5 +and 6), almost every one recognized that the one represented a true, +and the other a false smile; but I have found it very difficult to +decide in what the whole amount of difference consists. It has often +struck me as a curious fact that so many shades of expression are +instantly recognized without any conscious process of analysis on our +part. No one, I believe, can clearly describe a sullen or sly +expression; yet many observers are unanimous that these expressions can +be recognized in the various races of man. Almost everyone to whom I +showed Duchenne’s photograph of the young man with oblique eyebrows +(Plate II. fig. 2) at once declared that it expressed grief or some +such feeling; yet probably not one of these persons, or one out of a +thousand persons, could beforehand have told anything precise about the +obliquity of the eyebrows with their inner ends puckered, or about the +rectangular furrows on the forehead. So it is with many other +expressions, of which I have had practical experience in the trouble +requisite in instructing others what points to observe. If, then, great +ignorance of details does not prevent our recognizing with certainty +and promptitude various expressions, I do not see how this ignorance +can be advanced as an argument that our knowledge, though vague and +general, is not innate. + +I have endeavoured to show in considerable detail that all the chief +expressions exhibited by man are the same throughout the world. This +fact is interesting, as it affords a new argument in favour of the +several races being descended from a single parent-stock, which must +have been almost completely human in structure, and to a large extent +in mind, before the period at which the races diverged from each other. +No doubt similar structures, adapted for the same purpose, have often +been independently acquired through variation and natural selection by +distinct species; but this view will not explain close similarity +between distinct species in a multitude of unimportant details. Now if +we bear in mind the numerous points of structure having no relation to +expression, in which all the races of man closely agree, and then add +to them the numerous points, some of the highest importance and many of +the most trifling value, on which the movements of expression directly +or indirectly depend, it seems to me improbable in the highest degree +that so much similarity, or rather identity of structure, could have +been acquired by independent means. Yet this must have been the case if +the races of man are descended from several aboriginally distinct +species. It is far more probable that the many points of close +similarity in the various races are due to inheritance from a single +parent-form, which had already assumed a human character. + +It is a curious, though perhaps an idle speculation, how early in the +long line of our progenitors the various expressive movements, now +exhibited by man, were successively acquired. The following remarks +will at least serve to recall some of the chief points discussed in +this volume. We may confidently believe that laughter, as a sign of +pleasure or enjoyment, was practised by our progenitors long before +they deserved to be called human; for very many kinds of monkeys, when +pleased, utter a reiterated sound, clearly analogous to our laughter, +often accompanied by vibratory movements of their jaws or lips, with +the corners of the mouth drawn backwards and upwards, by the wrinkling +of the cheeks, and even by the brightening of the eyes. + +We may likewise infer that fear was expressed from an extremely remote +period, in almost the same manner as it now is by man; namely, by +trembling, the erection of the hair, cold perspiration, pallor, widely +opened eyes, the relaxation of most of the muscles, and by the whole +body cowering downwards or held motionless. + +Suffering, if great, will from the first have caused screams or groans +to be uttered, the body to be contorted, and the teeth to be ground +together. But our progenitors will not have exhibited those highly +expressive movements of the features which accompany screaming and +crying until their circulatory and respiratory organs, and the muscles +surrounding the eyes, had acquired their present structure. The +shedding of tears appears to have originated through reflex action from +the spasmodic contraction of the eyelids, together perhaps with the +eyeballs becoming gorged with blood during the act of screaming. +Therefore weeping probably came on rather late in the line of our +descent; and this conclusion agrees with the fact that our nearest +allies, the anthropomorphous apes, do not weep. But we must here +exercise some caution, for as certain monkeys, which are not closely +related to man, weep, this habit might have been developed long ago in +a sub-branch of the group from which man is derived. Our early +progenitors, when suffering from grief or anxiety, would not have made +their eyebrows oblique, or have drawn down the corners of their mouth, +until they had acquired the habit of endeavouring to restrain their +screams. The expression, therefore, of grief and anxiety is eminently +human. + +Rage will have been expressed at a very early period by threatening or +frantic gestures, by the reddening of the skin, and by glaring eyes, +but not by frowning. For the habit of frowning seems to have been +acquired chiefly from the corrugators being the first muscles to +contract round the eyes, whenever during infancy pain, anger, or +distress is felt, and there consequently is a near approach to +screaming; and partly from a frown serving as a shade in difficult and +intent vision. It seems probable that this shading action would not +have become habitual until man had assumed a completely upright +position, for monkeys do not frown when exposed to a glaring light. Our +early progenitors, when enraged, would probably have exposed their +teeth more freely than does man, even when giving full vent to his +rage, as with the insane. We may, also, feel almost certain that they +would have protruded their lips, when sulky or disappointed, in a +greater degree than is the case with our own children, or even with the +children of existing savage races. + +Our early progenitors, when indignant or moderately angry, would not +have held their heads erect, opened their chests, squared their +shoulders, and clenched their fists, until they had acquired the +ordinary carriage and upright attitude of man, and had learnt to fight +with their fists or clubs. Until this period had arrived the +antithetical gesture of shrugging the shoulders, as a sign of impotence +or of patience, would not have been developed. From the same reason +astonishment would not then have been expressed by raising the arms +with open hands and extended fingers. Nor, judging from the actions of +monkeys, would astonishment have been exhibited by a widely opened +mouth; but the eyes would have been opened and the eyebrows arched. +Disgust would have been shown at a very early period by movements round +the mouth, like those of vomiting,—that is, if the view which I have +suggested respecting the source of the expression is correct, namely, +that our progenitors had the power, and used it, of voluntarily and +quickly rejecting any food from their stomachs which they disliked. But +the more refined manner of showing contempt or disdain, by lowering the +eyelids, or turning away the eyes and face, as if the despised person +were not worth looking at, would not probably have been acquired until +a much later period. + +Of all expressions, blushing seems to be the most strictly human; yet +it is common to all or nearly all the races of man, whether or not any +change of colour is visible in their skin. The relaxation of the small +arteries of the surface, on which blushing depends, seems to have +primarily resulted from earnest attention directed to the appearance of +our own persons, especially of our faces, aided by habit, inheritance, +and the ready flow of nerve-force along accustomed channels; and +afterwards to have been extended by the power of association to +self-attention directed to moral conduct. It can hardly be doubted that +many animals are capable of appreciating beautiful colours and even +forms, as is shown by the pains which the individuals of one sex take +in displaying their beauty before those of the opposite sex. But it +does not seem possible that any animal, until its mental powers had +been developed to an equal or nearly equal degree with those of man, +would have closely considered and been sensitive about its own personal +appearance. Therefore we may conclude that blushing originated at a +very late period in the long line of our descent. + +From the various facts just alluded to, and given in the course of this +volume, it follows that, if the structure of our organs of respiration +and circulation had differed in only a slight degree from the state in +which they now exist, most of our expressions would have been +wonderfully different. A very slight change in the course of the +arteries and veins which run to the head, would probably have prevented +the blood from accumulating in our eyeballs during violent expiration; +for this occurs in extremely few quadrupeds. In this case we should not +have displayed some of our most characteristic expressions. If man had +breathed water by the aid of external branchiae (though the idea is +hardly conceivable), instead of air through his mouth and nostrils, his +features would not have expressed his feelings much more efficiently +than now do his hands or limbs. Rage and disgust, however, would still +have been shown by movements about the lips and mouth, and the eyes +would have become brighter or duller according to the state of the +circulation. If our ears had remained movable, their movements would +have been highly expressive, as is the case with all the animals which +fight with their teeth; and we may infer that our early progenitors +thus fought, as we still uncover the canine tooth on one side when we +sneer at or defy any one, and we uncover all our teeth when furiously +enraged. + +The movements of expression in the face and body, whatever their origin +may have been, are in themselves of much importance for our welfare. +They serve as the first means of communication between the mother and +her infant; she smiles approval, and thus encourages her child on the +right path, or frowns disapproval. We readily perceive sympathy in +others by their expression; our sufferings are thus mitigated and our +pleasures increased; and mutual good feeling is thus strengthened. The +movements of expression give vividness and energy to our spoken words. +They reveal the thoughts and intentions of others more truly than do +words, which may be falsified. Whatever amount of truth the so-called +science of physiognomy may contain, appears to depend, as Haller long +ago remarked,[1404] on different persons bringing into frequent use +different facial muscles, according to their dispositions; the +development of these muscles being perhaps thus increased, and the +lines or furrows on the face, due to their habitual contraction, being +thus rendered deeper and more conspicuous. The free expression by +outward signs of an emotion intensifies it. On the other hand, the +repression, as far as this is possible, of all outward signs softens +our emotions.[1405] He who gives way to violent gestures will increase +his rage; he who does not control the signs of fear will experience +fear in a greater degree; and he who remains passive when overwhelmed +with grief loses his best chance of recovering elasticity of mind. +These results follow partly from the intimate relation which exists +between almost all the emotions and their outward manifestations; and +partly from the direct influence of exertion on the heart, and +consequently on the brain. Even the simulation of an emotion tends to +arouse it in our minds. Shakespeare, who from his wonderful knowledge +of the human mind ought to be an excellent judge, says:— + +Is it not monstrous that this player here, +But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, +Could force his soul so to his own conceit, +That, from her working, all his visage wann’d; +Tears in his eyes, distraction in ’s aspect, +A broken voice, and his whole function suiting +With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing! +_Hamlet_, act ii. sc. 2. + + +We have seen that the study of the theory of expression confirms to a +certain limited extent the conclusion that man is derived from some +lower animal form, and supports the belief of the specific or +sub-specific unity of the several races; but as far as my judgment +serves, such confirmation was hardly needed. We have also seen that +expression in itself, or the language of the emotions, as it has +sometimes been called, is certainly of importance for the welfare of +mankind. To understand, as far as possible, the source or origin of the +various expressions which may be hourly seen on the faces of the men +around us, not to mention our domesticated animals, ought to possess +much interest for us. From these several causes, we may conclude that +the philosophy of our subject has well deserved the attention which it +has already received from several excellent observers, and that it +deserves still further attention, especially from any able +physiologist. + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + + +1 (return) [ J. Parsons, in his paper in the Appendix to the +‘Philosophical Transactions’ for 1746, p. 41, gives a list of forty-one +old authors who have written on Expression.] + +2 (return) [ Conférences sur l’expression des différents Caractères des +Passions.’ Paris, 4to, 1667. I always quote from the republication of +the ‘Conférences’ in the edition of Lavater, by Moreau, which appeared +in 1820, as given in vol. ix. p. 257.] + +3 (return) [ ‘Discours par Pierre Camper sur le moyen de représenter +les diverses passions,’ &c. 1792. 1844] + +4 (return) [ I always quote from the third edition, 1844, which was +published after the death of Sir C. Bell, and contains his latest +corrections. The first edition of 1806 is much inferior in merit, and +does not include some of his more important views.] + +5 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie et de la Parole,’ par Albert Lemoine, +1865, p. 101.] + +6 (return) [ ‘L’Art de connaître les Hommes,’ &c., par G. Lavater. The +earliest edition of this work, referred to in the preface to the +edition of 1820 in ten volumes, as containing the observations of M. +Moreau, is said to have been published in 1807; and I have no doubt +that this is correct, because the ‘Notice sur Lavater’ at the +commencement of volume i. is dated April 13, 1806. In some +bibliographical works, however, the date of 1805—1809 is given, but it +seems impossible that 1805 can be correct. Dr. Duchenne remarks +(‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,’-8vo edit. 1862, p. 5, and +‘Archives Générales de Médecine,’ Jan. et Fév. 1862) that M. Moreau “_a +composé pour son ouvrage un article important_,” &c., in the year 1805; +and I find in volume i. of the edition of 1820 passages bearing the +dates of December 12, 1805, and another January 5, 1806, besides that +of April 13, 1806, above referred to. In consequence of some of these +passages having thus been _composed_ in 1805, Dr. Duchenne assigns to +M. Moreau the priority over Sir C. Bell, whose work, as we have seen, +was published in 1806. This is a very unusual manner of determining the +priority of scientific works; but such questions are of extremely +little importance in comparison with their relative merits. The +passages above quoted from M. Moreau and from Le Brun are taken in this +and all other cases from the edition of 1820 of Lavater, tom. iv. p. +228, and tom. ix. p. 279.] + + +7 (return) [ ‘Handbuch der Systematischen Anatomie des Menschen.’ Band +I. Dritte Abtheilung, 1858.] + +8 (return) [ ‘The Senses and the Intellect,’ 2nd edit. 1864, pp. 96 and +288. The preface to the first edition of this work is dated June, 1855. +See also the 2nd edition of Mr. Bain’s work on the ‘Emotions and +Will.’] + +9 (return) [ ‘The Anatomy of Expression,’ 3rd edit. p. 121.] + +10 (return) [ ‘Essays, Scientific, Political, and Speculative,’ Second +Series, 1863, p. 111. There is a discussion on Laughter in the First +Series of Essays, which discussion seems to me of very inferior value.] + +11 (return) [ Since the publication of the essay just referred to, Mr. +Spencer has written another, on “Morals and Moral Sentiments,” in the +‘Fortnightly Review,’ April 1, 1871, p. 426. He has, also, now +published his final conclusions in vol. ii. of the second edit. of the +‘Principles of Psychology,’ 1872, p. 539. I may state, in order that I +may not be accused of trespassing on Mr. Spencer’s domain, that I +announced in my ‘Descent of Man,’ that I had then written a part of the +present volume: my first MS. notes on the subject of expression bear +the date of the year 1838.] + +12 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ 3rd edit. pp. 98, 121, 131.] + +13 (return) [ Professor Owen expressly states (Proc. Zoolog. Soc. 1830, +p. 28) that this is the case with respect to the Orang, and specifies +all the more important muscles which are well known to serve with man +for the expression of his feelings. See, also, a description of several +of the facial muscles in the Chimpanzee, by Prof. Macalister, in +‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ vol. vii. May, 1871, p. 342.] + +14 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ pp. 121, 138.] + +15 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ pp. 12, 73.] + +16 (return) [ ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,’ 8vo edit. p. 31.] + +17 (return) [ ‘Elements of Physiology,’ English translation, vol. ii. +p. 934.] + +18 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ 3rd edit. p. 198.] + +19 (return) [ See remarks to this effect in Lessing’s ‘Lacooon,’ +translated by W. Ross, 1836, p. 19.] + +20 (return) [ Mr. Partridge in Todd’s ‘Cyclopædia of Anatomy and +Physiology,’ vol. ii. p. 227.] + +21 (return) [ ‘La Physionomie,’ par G. Lavater, tom. iv. 1820, p. 274. +On the number of the facial muscles, see vol. iv. pp. 209-211.] + +22 (return) [ ‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ 1867, s. 91.] + +101 (return) [ Mr. Herbert Spencer (‘Essays,’ Second Series, 1863, p. +138) has drawn a clear distinction between emotions and sensations, the +latter being “generated in our corporeal framework.” He classes as +Feelings both emotions and-sensations.] + +102 (return) [ Müller, ‘Elements of Physiology,’ Eng. translat. vol. +ii. p. 939. See also Mr. H. Spencer’s interesting speculations on the +same subject, and on the genesis of nerves, in his ‘Principles of +Biology,’ vol. ii. p. 346; and in his ‘Principles of Psychology,’ 2nd +edit. pp. 511-557.] + +103 (return) [ A remark to much the same effect was made long ago by +Hippocrates and by the illustrious Harvey; for both assert that a young +animal forgets in the course of a few days the art of sucking, and +cannot without some difficulty again acquire it. I give these +assertions on the authority of Dr. Darwin, ‘Zoonomia,’ 1794, vol. i. p. +140.] + +104 (return) [ See for my authorities, and for various analogous facts, +‘The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication,’ 1868, vol. +ii. p. 304.] + +105 (return) [ ‘The Senses and the Intellect,’ 2nd edit. 1864, p. 332. +Prof. Huxley remarks (‘Elementary Lessons in Physiology,’ 5th edit. +1872, p. 306), “It may be laid down as a rule, that, if any two mental +states be called up together, or in succession, with due frequency and +vividness, the subsequent production of the one of them will suffice to +call up the other, and that whether we desire it or not.”] + +106 (return) [ Gratiolet (‘De la Physionomie,’ p. 324), in his +discussion on this subject, gives many analogous instances. See p. 42, +on the opening and shutting of the eyes. Engel is quoted (p. 323) on +the changed paces of a man, as his thoughts change.] + +107 (return) [ ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,’ 1862, p. 17.] + +108 (return) [ ‘The Variation of Animals and Plants under +Domestication,’ vol. ii. p. 6. The inheritance of habitual gestures is +so important for us, that I gladly avail myself of Mr. F. Galton’s +permission to give in his own words the following remarkable case:—“The +following account of a habit occurring in individuals of three +consecutive generations {footnote continues:} is of peculiar interest, +because it occurs only during sound sleep, and therefore cannot be due +to imitation, but must be altogether natural. The particulars are +perfectly trustworthy, for I have enquired fully into them, and speak +from abundant and independent evidence. A gentleman of considerable +position was found by his wife to have the curious trick, when he lay +fast asleep on his back in bed, of raising his right arm slowly in +front of his face, up to his forehead, and then dropping it with a +jerk, so that the wrist fell heavily on the bridge of his nose. The +trick did not occur every night, but occasionally, and was independent +of any ascertained cause. Sometimes it was repeated incessantly for an +hour or more. The gentleman’s nose was prominent, and its bridge often +became sore from the blows which it received. At one time an awkward +sore was produced, that was long in healing, on account of the +recurrence, night after night, of the blows which first caused it. His +wife had to remove the button from the wrist of his night-gown as it +made severe scratches, and some means were attempted of tying his arm. + +“Many years after his death, his son married a lady who had never heard +of the family incident. She, however, observed precisely the same +peculiarity in her husband; but his nose, from not being particularly +prominent, has never as yet suffered from the blows. The trick does not +occur when he is half-asleep, as, for example, when dozing in his +arm-chair, but the moment he is fast asleep it is apt to begin. It is, +as with his father, intermittent; sometimes ceasing for many nights, +and sometimes almost incessant during a part of every night. It is +performed, as it was by his father, with his right hand. + +“One of his children, a girl, has inherited the same trick. She +performs it, likewise, with the right hand, but in a slightly modified +form; for, after raising the arm, she does not allow the wrist to drop +upon the bridge of the nose, but the palm of the half-closed hand falls +over and down the nose, striking it rather rapidly. It is also very +intermittent with this child, not occurring for periods of some months, +but sometimes occurring almost incessantly.”] + +109 (return) [ Prof. Huxley remarks (‘Elementary Physiology,’ 5th edit. +p. 305) that reflex actions proper to the spinal cord are _natural_; +but, by the help of the brain, that is through habit, an infinity of +_artificial_ reflex actions may be acquired. Virchow admits (‘Sammlung +wissenschaft. Vorträge,’ &c., “Ueber das Rückenmark,” 1871, ss. 24, 31) +that some reflex actions can hardly be distinguished from instincts; +and, of the latter, it may be added, some cannot be distinguished from +inherited habits.] + +110 (return) [ Dr. Maudsley, ‘Body and Mind,’ 1870, p. 8.] + +111 (return) [ See the very interesting discussion on the whole subject +by Claude Bernard, ‘Tissus Vivants,’ 1866, p. 353-356.] + +112 (return) [ ‘Chapters on Mental Physiology,’ 1858, p. 85.] + +113 (return) [ Müller remarks (‘Elements of Physiology,’ Eng. tr. vol. +ii. p. 1311) on starting being always accompanied by the closure of the +eyelids.] + +114 (return) [ Dr. Maudsley remarks (‘Body and Mind,’ p. 10) that +“reflex movements which commonly effect a useful end may, under the +changed circumstances of disease, do great mischief, becoming even the +occasion of violent suffering and of a most painful death.”] + +115 (return) [ See Mr. F. H. Salvin’s account of a tame jackal in ‘Land +and Water,’ October, 1869.] + +116 (return) [ “Dr. Darwin, ‘Zoonomia,’ 1794, vol. i. p. 160. I find +that the fact of cats protruding their feet when pleased is also +noticed (p. 151) in this work.] + +117 (return) [ Carpenter, ‘Principles of Comparative Physiology,’ 1854, +p. 690, and Müller’s ‘Elements of Physiology,’ Eng. translat. vol. ii. +p. 936.] + +118 (return) [ Mowbray on ‘Poultry,’ 6th edit. 1830, p. 54.] + +119 (return) [ See the account given by this excellent observer in +‘Wild Sports of the Highlands,’ 1846, p. 142.] + +120 (return) [ ‘Philosophical Translations,’ 1823, p. 182.] + +201 (return) [ ‘Naturgeschichte der Säugethiere von Paraguay,’ 1830, s. +55.] + +202 (return) [ Mr. Tylor gives an account of the Cistercian +gesture-language in his ‘Early History of Mankind’ (2nd edit. 1870, p. +40), and makes some remarks on the principle of opposition in +gestures.] + +203 (return) [ See on this subject Dr. W. R. Scott’s interesting work, +‘The Deaf and Dumb,’ 2nd edit. 1870, p. 12. He says, “This contracting +of natural gestures into much shorter gestures than the natural +expression requires, is very common amongst the deaf and dumb. This +contracted gesture is frequently so shortened as nearly to lose all +semblance of the natural one, but to the deaf and dumb who use it, it +still has the force of the original expression.”] + +301 (return) [ See the interesting cases collected by M. G. Pouchet in +the ‘Revue des Deux Mondes,’ January 1, 1872, p. 79. An instance was +also brought some years ago before the British Association at Belfast.] + +302 (return) [ Müller remarks (‘Elements of Physiology,’ Eng. translat. +vol. ii. p. 934) that when the feelings are very intense, “all the +spinal nerves become affected to the extent of imperfect paralysis, or +the excitement of trembling of the whole body.”] + +303 (return) [ ‘Leçons sur les Prop. des Tissus Vivants,’ 1866, pp. +457-466.] + +304 (return) [ Mr. Bartlett, “Notes on the Birth of a Hippopotamus,” +Proc. Zoolog. Soc. 1871, p. 255.] + +305 (return) [ See, on this subject, Claude Bernard, ‘Tissus Vivants,’ +1866, pp. 316, 337, 358. Virchow expresses himself to almost exactly +the same effect in his essay “Ueber das Rückenmark” (Sammlung +wissenschaft. Vorträge, 1871, s. 28).] + +306 (return) [ Müller (‘Elements of Physiology,’ Eng. translat. vol. +ii. p. 932) in speaking of the nerves, says, “any sudden change of +condition of whatever kind sets the nervous principle into action.” See +Virchow and Bernard on the same subject in passages in the two works +referred to in my last foot-note.] + +307 (return) [ H. Spencer, ‘Essays, Scientific, Political,’ &c., Second +Series, 1863, pp. 109, 111.] + +308 (return) [ Sir H. Holland, in speaking (‘Medical Notes and +Reflexions,’ 1839, p. 328) of that curious state of body called the +_fidgets_, remarks that it seems due to “an accumulation of some cause +of irritation which requires muscular action for its relief.”] + +309 (return) [ I am much indebted to Mr. A. H. Garrod for having +informed me of M. Lorain’s work on the pulse, in which a sphygmogram of +a woman in a rage is given; and this shows much difference in the rate +and other characters from that of the same woman in her ordinary +state.] + +310 (return) [ How powerfully intense joy excites the brain, and how +the brain reacts on the body, is well shown in the rare cases of +Psychical Intoxication. Dr. J. Crichton Browne (‘Medical Mirror,’ 1865) +records the case of a young man of strongly nervous temperament, who, +on hearing by a telegram that a fortune had been bequeathed him, first +became pale, then exhilarated, and soon in the highest spirits, but +flushed and very restless. He then took a walk with a friend for the +sake of tranquillising himself, but returned staggering in his gait, +uproariously laughing, yet irritable in temper, incessantly talking, +and singing loudly in the public streets. It was positively ascertained +that he had not touched any spirituous liquor, though every one thought +that he was intoxicated. Vomiting after a time came on, and the +half-digested contents of his stomach were examined, but no odour of +alcohol could be detected. He then slept heavily, and on awaking was +well, except that he suffered from headache, nausea, and prostration of +strength.] + +311 (return) [ Dr. Darwin, ‘Zoonomia,’ 1794, vol. i. p. 148.] + +312 (return) [ Mrs. Oliphant, in her novel of ‘Miss Majoribanks,’ p. +362. All this reacts on the brain, and prostration soon follows with +collapsed muscles and dulled eyes. As associated habit no longer +prompts the sufferer to action, he is urged by his friends to voluntary +exertion, and not to give way to silent, motionless grief. Exertion +stimulates the heart, and this reacts on the brain, and aids the mind +to bear its heavy load.] + +401 (return) [ See the evidence on this head in my ‘Variation of +Animals and Plants under Domestication,’ vol. i. p. 27. On the cooing +of pigeons, vol. i. pp. 154, 155.] + +402 (return) [ ‘Essays, Scientific, Political, and Speculative,’ 1858. +‘The Origin and Function of Music,’ p. 359.] + +403 (return) [ ‘The Descent of Man,’ 1870, vol. ii. p. 332. The words +quoted are from Professor Owen. It has lately been shown that some +quadrupeds much lower in the scale than monkeys, namely Rodents, are +able to produce correct musical tones: see the account of a singing +Hesperomys, by the Rev. S. Lockwood, in the ‘American Naturalist,’ vol. +v. December, 1871, p. 761.] + +404 (return) [ Mr. Tylor (‘Primitive Culture,’ 1871, vol. i. p. 166), +in his discussion on this subject, alludes to the whining of the dog.] + +405 (return) [ ‘Naturgeschichte der Säugethiere von Paraguay,’ 1830, s. +46.] + +406 (return) [ Quoted by Gratiolet, ‘De la Physionomie,’ 1865, p. 115.] + +407 (return) [ ‘Théorie Physiologique de la Musique,’ Paris, 1868, P. +146. Helmholtz has also fully discussed in this profound work the +relation of the form of the cavity of the mouth to the production of +vowel-sounds.] + +408 (return) [ I have given some details on this subject in my ‘Descent +of Man,’ vol. i. pp. 352, 384.] + +409 (return) [ As quoted in Huxley’s ‘Evidence as to Man’s Place in +Nature,’ 1863, p. 52.] + +410 (return) [ Illust. Thierleben, 1864, B. i. s. 130.] + +411 (return) [ The Hon. J. Caton, Ottawa Acad. of Nat. Sciences, May, +1868, pp. 36, 40. For the _Capra, Ægagrus_, ‘Land and Water,’ 1867, p. +37.] + +412 (return) [ ‘Land and Water,’ July 20, 1867, p. 659.] + +413 (return) [ _Phaeton rubricauda_: ‘Ibis,’ vol. iii. 1861, p. 180.] + +414 (return) [ On the _Strix flammea_, Audubon, ‘Ornithological +Biography,’ 1864, vol. ii. p. 407. I have observed other cases in the +Zoological Gardens.] + +415 (return) [ _Melopsittacus undulatus_. See an account of its habits +by Gould, ‘Handbook of Birds of Australia,’ 1865, vol. ii. p. 82.] + +416 (return) [ See, for instance, the account which I have given +(‘Descent of Man,’ vol. ii. p. 32) of an Anolis and Draco.] + +417 (return) [ These muscles are described in his well-known works. I +am greatly indebted to this distinguished observer for having given me +in a letter information on this same subject.] + +418 (return) [ ‘Lehrbuch der Histologie des Menschen,’ 1857, s. 82. I +owe to Prof. W. Turner’s kindness an extract from this work.] + +419 (return) [ ‘Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science,’ 1853, vol. +i. p. 262.] + +420 (return) [ ‘Lehrbuch der Histologie,’ 1857, s. 82.] + +421 (return) [ ‘Dictionary of English Etymology,’ p. 403.] + +422 (return) [ See the account of the habits of this animal by Dr. +Cooper, as quoted in ‘Nature,’ April 27, 1871, p. 512.] + +423 (return) [ Dr. Günther, ‘Reptiles of British India,’ p. 262.] + +424 (return) [ Mr. J. Mansel Weale, ‘Nature,’ April 27, 1871, p. 508.] + +425 (return) [ ‘Journal of Researches during the Voyage of the +“Beagle,”’ 1845, p. 96. I have compared the rattling thus produced with +that of the Rattle-snake.] + +426 (return) [ See the account by Dr. Anderson, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, +p. 196.] + +427 (return) [ The ‘American Naturalist,’ Jan. 1872, p. 32. I regret +that I cannot follow Prof. Shaler in believing that the rattle has been +developed, by the aid of natural selection, for the sake of producing +sounds which deceive and attract birds, so that they may serve as prey +to the snake. I do not, however, wish to doubt that the sounds may +occasionally subserve this end. But the conclusion at which I have +arrived, viz. that the rattling serves as a warning to would-be +devourers, appears to me much more probable, as it connects together +various classes of facts. If this snake had acquired its rattle and the +habit of rattling, for the sake of attracting prey, it does not seem +probable that it would have invariably used its instrument when angered +or disturbed. Prof. Shaler takes nearly the same view as I do of the +manner of development of the rattle; and I have always held this +opinion since observing the Trigonocephalus in South America.] + +428 (return) [ From the accounts lately collected, and given in the +‘Journal of the Linnean Society,’ by Airs. Barber, on the habits of the +snakes of South Africa; and from the accounts published by several +writers, for instance by Lawson, of the rattle-snake in North +America,—it does not seem improbable that the terrific appearance of +snakes and the sounds produced by them, may likewise serve in procuring +prey, by paralysing, or as it is sometimes called fascinating, the +smaller animals.] + +429 (return) [ See the account by Dr. R. Brown, in Proc. Zool. Soc. +1871, p. 39. He says that as soon as a pig sees a snake it rushes upon +it; and a snake makes off immediately on the appearance of a pig.] + +430 (return) [ Dr. Günther remarks (‘Reptiles of British India,’ p. +340) on the destruction of cobras by the ichneumon or herpestes, and +whilst the cobras are young by the jungle-fowl. It is well known that +the peacock also eagerly kills snakes.] + +431 (return) [ Prof. Cope enumerates a number of kinds in his ‘Method +of Creation of Organic Types,’ read before the American Phil. Soc., +December 15th, 1871, p. 20. Prof. Cope takes the same view as I do of +the use of the gestures and sounds made by snakes. I briefly alluded to +this subject in the last edition of my ‘Origin of Species.’ Since the +passages in the text above have been printed, I have been pleased to +find that Mr. Henderson (‘The American Naturalist,’ May, 1872, p. 260) +also takes a similar view of the use of the rattle, namely “in +preventing an attack from being made.”] + +432 (return) [ Mr. des Vœux, in Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 3.] + +433 (return) [ ‘The Sportsman and Naturalist in Canada,’ 1866, p. 53. +p. 53.{sic}] + +434 (return) [ ‘The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia,’ 1867, p. 443.] + +501 (return) [ ‘The Anatomy of Expression,’ 1844, p. 190.] + +502 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ 1865, pp. 187, 218.] + +503 (return) [ ‘The Anatomy of Expression,’ 1844, p. 140.] + +504 (return) [ Many particulars are given by Gueldenstädt in his +account of the jackal in Nov. Comm. Acad. Sc. Imp. Petrop. 1775, tom. +xx. p. 449. See also another excellent account of the manners of this +animal and of its play, in ‘Land and Water,’ October, 1869. Lieut. +Annesley, R. A., has also communicated to me some particulars with +respect to the jackal. I have made many inquiries about wolves and +jackals in the Zoological Gardens, and have observed them for myself.] + +505 (return) [ ‘Land and Water,’ November 6, 1869.] + +506 (return) [ Azara, ‘Quadrupèdes du Paraquay,’ 1801, tom. 1. p. 136.] + +507 (return) [ ‘Land and Water,’ 1867, p. 657. See also Azara on the +Puma, in the work above quoted.] + +508 (return) [ Sir C. Bell, ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ 3rd edit. p. 123. +See also p. 126, on horses not breathing through their mouths, with +reference to their distended nostrils.] + +509 (return) [ ‘Land and Water,’ 1869, p. 152.] + +510 (return) [ ‘Natural History of Mammalia,’ 1841, vol. 1. pp. 383, +410.] + +511 (return) [ Rengger (‘Sagetheire von Paraquay’, 1830, s. 46) kept +these monkeys in confinement for seven years in their native country of +Paraguay.] + +512 (return) [ Rengger, ibid. s. 46. Humboldt, ‘Personal Narrative, +Eng. translat. vol. iv. p. 527.] + +513 (return) [ Nat. Hist. of Mammalia, 1841, p. 351.] + +514 (return) [ Brehm, ‘Thierleben,’ B. i. s. 84. On baboons striking +the ground, s. 61.] + +515 (return) [ Brehm remarks (‘Thierleben,’ s. 68) that the eyebrows of +the _Inuus ecaudatus_ are frequently moved up and down when the animal +is angered.] + +516 (return) [ G. Bennett, ‘Wanderings in New South Wales,’ &c. vol. +ii. 1834, p. 153. FIG. 18.-Chimpanzee disappointed and sulky. Drawn +from life by Mr. Wood.] + +517 (return) [ W. L. Martin, Nat. Hist. of Mamm. Animals, 1841, p. +405.] + +518 (return) [ Prof. Owen on the Orang, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1830, p. 28. +On the Chimpanzee, see Prof. Macalister, in Annals and Mag. of Nat. +Hist. vol. vii. 1871, p. 342, who states that the _corrugator +supercilii_ is inseparable from the _orbicularis palpebrarum_.] + +519 (return) [ Boston Journal of Nat. Hist. 1845—-47, vol. v. p. 423. +On the Chimpanzee, ibid. 1843-44, vol. iv. p. 365.] + +520 (return) [ See on this subject, ‘Descent of Man,’ vol. i. p. 20.] + +521 (return) [ ‘Descent of Man,’ vol, i. p, 43.] + +522 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ 3rd edit. 1844, pp. 138, 121.] + +601 (return) [ The best photographs in my collection are by Mr. +Rejlander, of Victoria Street, London, and by Herr Kindermann, of +Hamburg. Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 6 are by the former; and figs. 2 and 5, by +the latter gentleman. Fig. 6 is given to show moderate crying in an +older child.] + +602 (return) [ Henle (‘Handbuch d. Syst. Anat. 1858, B. i. s. 139) +agrees with Duchenne that this is the effect of the contraction of the +_pyramidalis nasi_.] + +603 (return) [ These consist of the _levator labii superioris alaeque +nasi_, the _levator labii proprius_, the _malaris_, and the +_zygomaticus minor_, or little zygomatic. This latter muscle runs +parallel to and above the great zygomatic, and is attached to the outer +part of the upper lip. It is represented in fig. 2 (I. p. 24), but not +in figs. 1 and 3. Dr. Duchenne first showed (‘Mécanisme de la +Physionomie Humaine,’ Album, 1862, p. 39) the importance of the +contraction of this muscle in the shape assumed by the features in +crying. Henle considers the above-named muscles (excepting the +_malaris_) as subdivisions of the _quadratus labii superioris_.] + +604 (return) [ Although Dr. Duchenne has so carefully studied the +contraction of the different muscles during the act of crying, and the +furrows on the face thus produced, there seems to be something +incomplete in his account; but what this is I cannot say. He has given +a figure (Album, fig. 48) in which one half of the face is made, by +galvanizing the proper muscles, to smile; whilst the other half is +similarly made to begin crying. Almost all those (viz. nineteen out of +twenty-one persons) to whom I showed the smiling half of the face +instantly recognized the expression; but, with respect to the other +half, only six persons out of twenty-one recognized it,—that is, if we +accept such terms as “grief,” “misery,” “annoyance,” as +correct;—whereas, fifteen persons were ludicrously mistaken; some of +them saying the face expressed “fun,” “satisfaction,” “cunning,” +“disgust,” &c. We may infer from this that there is something wrong in +the expression. Some of the fifteen persons may, however, have been +partly misled by not expecting to see an old man crying, and by tears +not being secreted. With respect to another figure by Dr. Duchenne +(fig. 49), in which the muscles of half the face are galvanized in +order to represent a man beginning to cry, with the eyebrow on the same +side rendered oblique, which is characteristic of misery, the +expression was recognized by a greater proportional number of persons. +Out of twenty-three persons, fourteen answered correctly, “sorrow,” +“distress,” “grief,” “just going to cry,” “endurance of pain,” &c. On +the other hand, nine persons either could form no opinion or were +entirely wrong, answering, “cunning leer,” “jocund,” “looking at an +intense light,” “looking at a distant object,” &c.] + +605 (return) [ Mrs. Gaskell, ‘Mary Barton,’ new edit. p. 84.] + +606 (return) [ ‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ 1867, s. 102. Duchenne, +Mécanisme de la Phys. Humaine, Album, p. 34.] + +607 (return) [ Dr. Duchenne makes this remark, ibid. p. 39.] + +608 (return) [ ‘The Origin of Civilization,’ 1870, p. 355.] + +609 (return) [ See, for instance, Mr. Marshall’s account of an idiot in +Philosoph. Transact. 1864, p. 526. With respect to cretins, see Dr. +Piderit, ‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ 1867, s. 61.] + +610 (return) [ ‘New Zealand and its Inhabitants,’ 1855, p. 175.] + +611 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ 1865, p. 126.] + +612 (return) [ ‘The Anatomy of Expression,’ 1844, p. 106. See also his +paper in the ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ 1822, p. 284, ibid. 1823, +pp. 166 and 289. Also ‘The Nervous System of the Human Body,’ 3rd edit. +1836, p. 175.] + +613 (return) [ See Dr. Brinton’s account of the act of vomiting, in +Todd’s Cyclop. of Anatomy and Physiology, 1859, vol. v. Supplement, p. +318.] + +614 (return) [ I am greatly indebted to Mr. Bowman for having +introduced me to Prof. Donders, and for his aid in persuading this +great physiologist to undertake the investigation of the present +subject. I am likewise much indebted to Mr. Bowman for having given me, +with the utmost kindness, information on many points.] + +615 (return) [ This memoir first appeared in the ‘Nederlandsch Archief +voor Genees en Natuurkunde,’ Deel 5, 1870. It has been translated by +Dr. W. D. Moore, under the title of “On the Action of the Eyelids in +determination of Blood from expiratory effort,” in ‘Archives of +Medicine,’ edited by Dr. L. S. Beale, 1870, vol. v. p. 20.] + +616 (return) [ Prof. Donders remarks (ibid. p. 28), that, “After injury +to the eye, after operations, and in some forms of internal +inflammation, we attach great value to the uniform support of the +closed eyelids, and we increase this in many instances by the +application of a bandage. In both cases we carefully endeavour to avoid +great expiratory pressure, the disadvantage of which is well known.” +Mr. Bowman informs me that in the excessive photophobia, accompanying +what is called scrofulous ophthalmia in children, when the light is so +very painful that during weeks or months it is constantly excluded by +the most forcible closure of the lids, he has often been struck on +opening the lids by the paleness of the eye,—not an unnatural paleness, +but an absence of the redness that might have been expected when the +surface is somewhat inflamed, as is then usually the case; and this +paleness he is inclined to attribute to the forcible closure of the +eyelids.] + +617 (return) [ Donders, ibid. p. 36.] + +618 (return) [ Mr. Hensleigh Wedgwood (Dict. of English Etymology, +1859, vol. i. p. 410) says, “the verb to weep comes from Anglo-Saxon +_wop_, the primary meaning of which is simply outcry.”] + +619 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ 1865, p. 217.] + +620 (return) [ ‘Ceylon,’ 3rd edit. 1859, vol. ii. pp. 364, 376. I +applied to Mr. Thwaites, in Ceylon, for further information with +respect to the weeping of the elephant; and in consequence received a +letter from the Rev. Mr Glenie, who, with others, kindly observed for +me a herd of recently captured elephants. These, when irritated, +screamed violently; but it is remarkable that they never when thus +screaming contracted the muscles round the eyes. Nor did they shed +tears; and the native hunters asserted that they had never observed +elephants weeping. Nevertheless, it appears to me impossible to doubt +Sir E. Tennent’s distinct details about their weeping, supported as +they are by the positive assertion of the keeper in the Zoological +Gardens. It is certain that the two elephants in the Gardens, when they +began to trumpet loudly, invariably contracted their orbicular muscles. +I can reconcile these conflicting statements only by supposing that the +recently captured elephants in Ceylon, from being enraged or +frightened, desired to observe their persecutors, and consequently did +not contract their orbicular muscles, so that their vision might not be +impeded. Those seen weeping by Sir E. Tennent were prostrate, and had +given up the contest in despair. The elephants which trumpeted in the +Zoological Gardens at the word of command, were, of course, neither +alarmed nor enraged.] + +621 (return) [ Bergeon, as quoted in the ‘Journal of Anatomy and +Physiology,’ Nov. 1871, p. 235.] + +622 (return) [ See, for instance, a case given by Sir Charles Bell, +‘Philosophical Transactions,’ 1823, p. 177.] + +623 (return) [ See, on these several points, Prof. Donders ‘On the +Anomalies of Accommodation and Refraction of the Eye,’ 1864, p. 573.] + +624 (return) [ Quoted by Sir J. Lubbock, ‘Prehistoric Times,’ 1865, p. +458.] + +701 (return) [ The above descriptive remarks are taken in part from my +own observations, but chiefly from Gratiolet (‘De la Physionomie,’ pp. +53, 337; on Sighing, 232), who has well treated this whole subject. +See, also, Huschke, ‘Mimices et Physiognomices, Fragmentum +Physiologi-cum,’ 1821, p. 21. On the dulness of the eyes, Dr. Piderit, +‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ 1867, s. 65.] + +702 (return) [ On the action of grief on the organs of respiration, see +more especially Sir C. Bell, ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ 3rd edit. 1844, +p. 151.] + +703 (return) [ In the foregoing remarks on the manner in which the +eyebrows are made oblique, I have followed what seems to be the +universal opinion of all the anatomists, whose works I have consulted +on the action of the above-named muscles, or with whom I have +conversed. Hence throughout this work I shall take a similar view of +the action of the corrugator supercilii, orbicularis, pyramidalis nasi, +and frontalis muscles. Dr. Duchenne, however, believes, and every +conclusion at which he arrives deserves serious consideration, that it +is the corrugator, called by him the sourcilier, which raises the inner +corner of the eyebrows and is antagonistic to the upper and inner part +of the orbicular muscle, as well as to the pyramidalis nasi (see +Mécanisme de la Phys. Humaine, 1862, folio, art. v., text and figures +19 to 29: octavo edit. 1862, p. 43 text). He admits, however, that the +corrugator draws together the eyebrows, causing vertical furrows above +the base of the nose, or a frown. He further believes that towards the +outer two-thirds of the eyebrow the corrugator acts in conjunction with +the upper orbicular muscle; both here standing in antagonism to the +frontal muscle. I am unable to understand, judging from Henle’s +drawings (woodcut, fig. 3), how the corrugator can act in the manner +described by Duchenne. See, also, on this subject, Prof. Donders’ +remarks in the ‘Archives of Medicine,’ 1870, vol. v. p. 34. Mr. J. +Wood, who is so well known for his careful study of the muscles of the +human frame, informs me that he believes the account which I have given +of the action of the corrugator to be correct. But this is not a point +of any importance with respect to the expression which is caused by the +obliquity of the eyebrows, nor of much importance to the theory of its +origin.] + +704 (return) [ I am greatly indebted to Dr. Duchenne for permission to +have these two photographs (figs. 1 and 2) reproduced by the heliotype +process from his work in folio. Many of the foregoing remarks on the +furrowing of the skin, when the eyebrows are rendered oblique, are +taken from his excellent discussion on this subject.] + +705 (return) [ Mécanisme de la Phys. Humaine, Album, p. 15.] + +706 (return) [ Henle, Handbuch der Anat. des Menschen, 1858, B. i. s. +148, figs. 68 and 69.] + +707 (return) [ See the account of the action of this muscle by Dr. +Duchenne, ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine, Album (1862), viii. p. +34.] + +801 (return) [ Herbert Spencer, ‘Essays Scientific,’ &c., 1858, p. +360.] + +802 (return) [ F. Lieber on the vocal sounds of L. Bridgman, +‘Smithsonian Contributions,’ 1851, vol. ii. p. 6.] + +803 (return) [ See, also, Mr. Marshall, in Phil. Transact. 1864, p. +526.] + +804 (return) [ Mr. Bain (‘The Emotions and the Will,’ 1865, p. 247) has +a long and interesting discussion on the Ludicrous. The quotation above +given about the laughter of the gods is taken from this work. See, +also, Mandeville, ‘The Fable of the Bees,’ vol. ii. p. 168.] + +805 (return) [ ‘The Physiology of Laughter,’ Essays, Second Series, +1863, p. 114.] + +806 (return) [ J. Lister in ‘Quarterly Journal of Microscopical +Science,’ 1853, vol. 1. p. 266.] + +807 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ p. 186.] + +808 (return) [ Sir C. Bell (Anat. of Expression, p. 147) makes some +remarks on the movement of the diaphragm during laughter.] + +809 (return) [ ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,’ Album, Légende +vi.] + +810 (return) [ Handbuch der System. Anat. des Menschen, 1858, B. i. s. +144. See my woodcut (H. fig. 2).] + +811 (return) [ See, also, remarks to the same effect by Dr. J. Crichton +Browne in ‘Journal of Mental Science,’ April, 1871, p. 149.] + +812 (return) [ C. Vogt, ‘Mémoire sur les Microcéphales,’ 1867, p. 21.] + +813 (return) [ Sir C. Bell, ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 133.] + +814 (return) [ ‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ 1867, s. 63-67.] + +815 (return) [ Sir T. Reynolds remarks (‘Discourses,’ xii. p. 100), “it +is curious to observe, and it is certainly true, that the extremes of +contrary passions are, with very little variation, expressed by the +same action.” He gives as an instance the frantic joy of a Bacchante +and the grief of a Mary Magdalen.] + +816 (return) [ Dr. Piderit has come to the same conclusion, ibid. s. +99.] + +817 (return) [ ‘La Physionomie,’ par G. Lavater, edit. of 1820, vol. +iv. p. 224. See, also, Sir C. Bell, ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 172, +for the quotation given below.] + +818 (return) [ A ‘Dictionary of English Etymology,’ 2nd edit. 1872, +Introduction, p. xliv.] + +819 (return) [ Crantz, quoted by Tylor, ‘Primitive Culture,’ 1871, Vol. +i. P. 169.] + +820 (return) [ F. Lieber, ‘Smithsonian Contributions,’ 1851, vol. ii. +p. 7.] + +821 (return) [ Mr. Bain remarks (‘Mental and Moral Science,’ 1868, p. +239), “Tenderness is a pleasurable emotion, variously stimulated, whose +effort is to draw human beings into mutual embrace.”] + +822 (return) [ Sir J. Lubbock, ‘Prehistoric Times,’ 2nd edit. 1869, p. +552, gives full authorities for these statements. The quotation from +Steele is taken from this work.] + +823 (return) [ See a full acount,{sic} with references, by E. B. Tylor, +‘Researches into the Early History of Mankind,’ 2nd edit. 1870, p. 51.] + +824 (return) [ ‘The Descent of Man,’ vol. ii. p. 336.] + +825 (return) [ Dr. Mandsley has a discussion to this effect in his +‘Body and Mind,’ 1870, p. 85.] + +826 (return) [ ‘The Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 103, and ‘Philosophical +Transactions,’ 1823, p. 182.] + +827 (return) [ ‘The Origin of Language,’ 1866, p. 146. Mr. Tylor +(‘Early History of Mankind,’ 2nd edit. 1870, p. 48) gives a more +complex origin to the position of the hands during prayer.] + +901 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ pp. 137, 139. It is not +surprising that the corrugators should have become much more developed +in man than in the anthropoid apes; for they are brought into incessant +action by him under various circumstances, and will have been +strengthened and modified by the inherited effects of use. We have seen +how important a part they play, together with the orbiculares, in +protecting the eyes from being too much gorged with blood during +violent expiratory movements. When the eyes are closed as quickly and +as forcibly as possible, to save them from being injured by a blow, the +corrugators contract. With savages or other men whose heads are +uncovered, the eyebrows are continually lowered and contracted to serve +as a shade against a too strong light; and this is effected partly by +the corrugators. This movement would have been more especially +serviceable to man, as soon as his early progenitors held their heads +erect. Lastly, Prof. Donders believes (‘Archives of Medicine,’ ed. by +L. Beale, 1870, vol. v. p. 34), that the corrugators are brought into +action in causing the eyeball to advance in accommodation for proximity +in vision.] + +902 (return) [ ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,’ Album, Légende +iii.] + +903 (return) [ ‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ s. 46.] + +904 (return) [ ‘History of the Abipones,’ Eng. translat. vol. ii. p. +59, as quoted by Lubbock, ‘Origin of Civilisation,’ 1870, p. 355.] + +905 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ pp. 15, 144, 146. Mr. Herbert +Spencer accounts for frowning exclusively by the habit of contracting +the brows as a shade to the eyes in a bright light: see ‘Principles of +Physiology,’ 2nd edit. 1872, p. 546.] + +906 (return) [ Gratiolet remarks (De la Phys. p. 35), “Quand +l’attention est fixee sur quelque image interieure, l’oeil regarde dons +le vide et s’associe automatiquement a la contemplation de l’esprit.” +But this view hardly deserves to be called an explanation.] + +907 (return) [ ‘Miles Gloriosus,’ act ii. sc. 2.] + +908 (return) [ The original photograph by Herr Kindermann is much more +expressive than this copy, as it shows the frown on the brow more +plainly.] + +909 (return) [ ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie Humaine,’ Album, Légende +iv. figs. 16-18.] + +910 (return) [ Hensleigh Wedgwood on ‘The Origin of Language,’ 1866, p. +78.] + +911 (return) [ Müller, as quoted by Huxley, ‘Man’s Place in Nature,’ +1863, p. 38.] + +912 (return) [ I have given several instances in my ‘Descent of Man,’ +vol. i. chap. iv.] + +913 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression.’ p. 190.] + +914 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ pp. 118-121.] + +915 (return) [ ‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ s. 79.] + +1001 (return) [ See some remarks to this effect by Mr. Bain, ‘The +Emotions and the Will,’ 2nd edit. 1865, p. 127.] + +1002 (return) [ Rengger, Naturgesch. der Säugethiere von Paraguay, +1830, s. 3.] + +1003 (return) [ Sir C. Bell, ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 96. On the +other hand, Dr. Burgess (‘Physiology of Blushing,’ 1839, p. 31) speaks +of the reddening of a cicatrix in a negress as of the nature of a +blush.] + +1004 (return) [ Moreau and Gratiolet have discussed the colour of the +face under the influence of intense passion: see the edit. of 1820 of +Lavater, vol. iv. pp. 282 and 300; and Gratiolet, ‘De la Physionomie,’ +p. 345.] + +1005 (return) [ Sir C. Bell ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ pp. 91, 107, has +fully discussed this subject. Moreau remarks (in the edit. of 1820 of +‘La Physionomie, par G. Lavater,’ vol. iv. p. 237), and quotes Portal +in confirmation, that asthmatic patients acquire permanently expanded +nostrils, owing to the habitual contraction of the elevatory muscles of +the wings of the nose. The explanation by Dr. Piderit (‘Mimik und +Physiognomik,’ s. 82) of the distension of the nostrils, namely, to +allow free breathing whilst the mouth is closed and the teeth clenched, +does not appear to be nearly so correct as that by Sir C. Bell, who +attributes it to the sympathy (_i. e_. habitual co-action) of all the +respiratory muscles. The nostrils of an angry man may be seen to become +dilated, although his mouth is open.] + +1006 (return) [ Mr. Wedgwood, ‘On the Origin of Language,’ 1866, p. 76. +He also observes that the sound of hard breathing “is represented by +the syllables _puff, huff, whiff_, whence a _huff_ is a fit of +ill-temper.”] + +1007 (return) [ Sir C. Bell ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 95) has some +excellent remarks on the expression of rage.] + +1008 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ 1865, p. 346.] + +1009 (return) [ Sir C. Bell, ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 177. Gratiolet +(De la Phys. p. 369) says, ‘les dents se découvrent, et imitent +symboliquement l’action de déchirer et de mordre.’I If, instead of +using the vague term _symboliquement_, Gratiolet had said that the +action was a remnant of a habit acquired during primeval times when our +semi-human progenitors fought together with their teeth, like gorillas +and orangs at the present day, he would have been more intelligible. +Dr. Piderit (‘Mimik,’ &c., s. 82) also speaks of the retraction of the +upper lip during rage. In an engraving of one of Hogarth’s wonderful +pictures, passion is represented in the plainest manner by the open +glaring eyes, frowning forehead, and exposed grinning teeth.] + +1010 (return) [ ‘Oliver Twist,’ vol. iii. p. 245.] + +1011 (return) [ ‘The Spectator,’ July 11, 1868, p. 810.] + +1012 (return) [ ‘Body and Mind,’ 1870, pp. 51-53.] + +1013 (return) [ Le Brun, in his well-known ‘Conference sur +l’Expression’ (‘La Physionomie, par Lavater,’ edit. of 1820, vol. lx. +p. 268), remarks that anger is expressed by the clenching of the fists. +See, to the same effect, Huschke, ‘Mimices et Physiognomices, +Fragmentum Physiologicum,’ 1824, p. 20. Also Sir C. Bell, ‘Anatomy of +Expression,’ p. 219.] + +1014 (return) [ Transact. Philosoph. Soc., Appendix, 1746, p. 65.] + +1015 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 136. Sir C. Bell calls (p. +131) the muscles which uncover the canines the snarling muscles.] + +1016 (return) [ Hensleigh Wedgwood, ‘Dictionary of English Etymology,’ +1865, vol. iii. pp. 240, 243.] + +1017 (return) [ ‘The Descent of Man,’ 1871, vol. L p. 126.] + +1101 (return) [ ‘De In Physionomie et la Parole,’ 1865, p. 89.] + +1102 (return) [ ‘Physionomie Humaine,’ Album, Légende viii. p. 35. +Gratiolet also speaks (De la Phys. 1865, p. 52) of the turning away of +the eyes and body.] + +1103 (return) [ Dr. W. Ogle, in an interesting paper on the Sense of +Smell (‘Medico-Chirurgical Transactions,’ vol. liii. p. 268), shows +that when we wish to smell carefully, instead of taking one deep nasal +inspiration, we draw in the air by a succession of rapid short sniffs. +If “the nostrils be watched during this process, it will be seen that, +so far from dilating, they actually contract at each sniff. The +contraction does not include the whole anterior opening, but only the +posterior portion.” He then explains the cause of this movement. When, +on the other hand, we wish to exclude any odour, the contraction, I +presume, affects only the anterior part of the nostrils.] + +1104 (return) [ ‘Mimik und Physiognomik,’ ss. 84, 93. Gratiolet (ibid. +p. 155) takes nearly the same view with Dr. Piderit respecting the +expression of contempt and disgust.] + +1105 (return) [ Scorn implies a strong form of contempt; and one of the +roots of the word ‘scorn’ means, according to Mr. Wedgwood (Dict. of +English Etymology, vol. iii. p. 125), ordure or dirt. A person who is +scorned is treated like dirt.] + +1106 (return) [ ‘Early History of Mankind,’ 2nd edit. 1870, p. 45.] + +1107 (return) [ See, to this effect, Mr. Hensleigh Wedgwood’s +Introduction to the ‘Dictionary of English Etymology,’ 2nd edit. 1872, +p. xxxvii.] + +1108 (return) [ Duchenne believes that in the eversion of the lower +lip, the corners are drawn downwards by the _depressores anguli oris_. +Henle (Handbuch d. Anat. des Menschen, 1858, B. i. s. 151) concludes +that this is effected by the _musculus quadratus menti_.] + +1109 (return) [ As quoted by Tylor, ‘Primitive Culture,’ 1871, vol. i. +p. 169.] + +1110 (return) [ Both these quotations are given by Mr. H. Wedgwood, ‘On +the Origin of Language,’ 1866, p. 75.] + +1111 (return) [ This is stated to be the case by Mr. Tylor (Early Hist. +of Mankind, 2nd edit. 1870, p. 52); and he adds, “it is not clear why +this should be so.”] + +1112 (return) [ ‘Principles of Psychology,’ 2nd edit. 1872, p. 552.] + +1113 (return) [ Gratiolet (De la Phys. p. 351) makes this remark, and +has some good observations on the expression of pride. See Sir C. Bell +(‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 111) on the action of the _musculus +superbus_.] + +1114 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 166.] + +1115 (return) [ ‘Journey through Texas,’ p. 352.] + +1116 (return) [ Mrs. Oliphant, ‘The Brownlows,’ vol. ii. p. 206.] + +1117 (return) [ ‘Essai sur le Langage,’ 2nd edit. 1846. I am much +indebted to Miss Wedgwood for having given me this information, with an +extract from the work.] + +1118 (return) [ ‘On the Origin of Language,’ 1866, p. 91.] + +1119 (return) [ ‘On the Vocal Sounds of L. Bridgman;’ Smithsonian +Contributions, 1851, vol. ii. p. 11.] + +1120 (return) [ ‘Mémoire sur les Microcéphales,’ 1867, p. 27.] + +1121 (return) [ Quoted by Tylor, ‘Early History of Mankind,’ 2nd edit. +1870, p. 38.] + +1122 (return) [ Mr. J. B. Jukes, ‘Letters and Extracts,’ &c. 1871, p. +248.] + +1123 (return) [ F. Lieber, ‘On the Vocal Sounds,’ &c. p. 11. Tylor, +ibid. p. 53.] + +1124 (return) [ Dr. King, Edinburgh Phil. Journal, 1845, p. 313.] + +1125 (return) [ Tylor, ‘Early History of Mankind,’ 2nd edit. 1870, p. +53.] + +1126 (return) [ Lubbock, ‘The Origin of Civilization,’ 1870, p. 277. +Tylor, ibid. p. 38. Lieber (ibid. p. 11) remarks on the negative of the +Italians.] + +1201 (return) [ ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie,’ Album, 1862, p. 42.] + +1202 (return) [ ‘The Polyglot News Letter,’ Melbourne, Dec. 1858, p. +2.] + +1203 (return) [ ‘The Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 106.] + +1204 (return) [ Mécanisme de la Physionomie,’ Album, p. 6.] + +1205 (return) [ See, for instance, Dr. Piderit (‘Mimik und +Physiognomik,’ s. 88), who has a good discussion on the expression of +surprise.] + +1206 (return) [ Dr. Murie has also given me information leading to the +same conclusion, derived in part from comparative anatomy.] + +1207 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ 1865, p. 234.] + +1208 (return) [ See, on this subject, Gratiolet, ibid. p. 254.] + +1209 (return) [ Lieber, ‘On the Vocal Sounds of Laura Bridgman,’ +Smithsonian Contributions, 1851, vol. ii. p. 7.] + +1210 (return) [ ‘Wenderholme,’ vol. ii. p. 91.] + +1211 (return) [ Lieber, ‘On the Vocal Sounds,’ &c., ibid. p. 7.] + +1212 (return) [ Huschke, ‘Mimices et Physiognomices,’ 1821, p. 18. +Gratiolet (De la Phys. p. 255) gives a figure of a man in this +attitude, which, however, seems to me expressive of fear combined with +astonishment. Le Brun also refers (Lavater, vol. ix. p. 299) to the +hands of an astonished man being opened.] + +1213 (return) [ Huschke, ibid. p. 18.] + +1214 (return) [ ‘North American Indians,’ 3rd edit. 1842, vol. i. p. +105.] + +1215 (return) [ H. Wedgwood, Dict. of English Etymology, vol. ii. 1862, +p. 35. See, also, Gratiolet (‘De la Physionomie,’ p. 135) on the +sources of such words as ‘terror, horror, rigidus, frigidus,’ &c.] + +1216 (return) [ Mr. Bain (‘The Emotions and the Will,’ 1865, p. 54) +explains in the following manner the origin of the custom “of +subjecting criminals in India to the ordeal of the morsel of rice. The +accused is made to take a mouthful of rice, and after a little time to +throw it out. If the morsel is quite dry, the party is believed to be +guilty,—his own evil conscience operating to paralyse the salivating +organs.”] + +1217 (return) [ Sir C. Bell, Transactions of Royal Phil. Soc. 1822, p. +308. ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 88 and pp. 164-469.] + +1218 (return) [ See Moreau on the rolling of the eyes, in the edit. of +1820 of Lavater, tome iv. p. 263. Also, Gratiolet, De la Phys. p. 17.] + +1219 (return) [ ‘Observations on Italy,’ 1825, p. 48, as quoted in ‘The +Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 168.] + +1220 (return) [ Quoted by Dr. Maudsley, ‘Body and Mind,’ 1870, p. 41.] + +1221 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 168.] + +1222 (return) [ Mécanisme de la Phys. Humaine, Album, Légende xi.] + +1223 (return) [ Ducheinne takes, in fact, this view (ibid. p. 45), as +he attributes the contraction of the platysma to the shivering of fear +(_frisson de la peur_); but he elsewhere compares the action with that +which causes the hair of frightened quadrupeds to stand erect; and this +can hardly be considered as quite correct.] + +1224 (return) [ ‘De la Physionomie,’ pp. 51, 256, 346.] + +1225 (return) [ As quoted in White’s ‘Gradation in Man,’ p. 57.] + +1226 (return) [ ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 169.] + +1227 (return) [ ‘Mécanisme de la Physionomie,’ Album, pl. 65, pp. 44, +45.] + +1228 (return) [ See remarks to this effect by Mr. Wedgwood, in the +Introduction to his ‘Dictionary of English Etymology,’ 2nd edit. 1872, +p. xxxvii. He shows by intermediate forms that the sounds here referred +to have probably given rise to many words, such as _ugly, huge_, &c.] + +1301 (return) [ ‘The Physiology or Mechanism of Blushing,’ 1839, p. +156. I shall have occasion often to quote this work in the present +chapter.] + +1302 (return) [ Dr. Burgess, ibid. p. 56. At p. 33 he also remarks on +women blushing more freely than men, as stated below.] + +1303 (return) [ Quoted by Vogt, ‘Mémoire sur les Microcéphales,’ 1867, +p. 20. Dr. Burgess (ibid. p. 56) doubts whether idiots ever blush.] + +1304 (return) [ Lieber ‘On the Vocal Sounds,’ &c.; Smithsonian +Contributions, 1851, vol. ii. p. 6.] + +1305 (return) [ Ibid. p. 182.] + +1306 (return) [ Moreau, in edit. of 1820 of Lavater, vol. iv. p. 303.] + +1307 (return) [ Burgess. ibid. p. 38, on paleness after blushing, p. +177.] + +1308 (return) [ See Lavater, edit. of 1820, vol. iv. p. 303.] + +1309 (return) [ Burgess, ibid. pp. 114, 122. Moreau in Lavater, ibid. +vol. iv. p. 293.] + +1310 (return) [ ‘Letters from Egypt,’ 1865, p. 66. Lady Gordon is +mistaken when she says Malays and Mulattoes never blush.] + +1311 (return) [ Capt. Osborn (‘Quedah,’ p. 199), in speaking of a +Malay, whom he reproached for cruelty, says he was glad to see that the +man blushed.] + +1312 (return) [ J. R. Forster, ‘Observations during a Voyage round the +World,’ 4to, 1778, p. 229. Waitz gives (‘Introduction to Anthropology,’ +Eng. translat. 1863, vol. i. p. 135) references for other islands in +the Pacific. See, also, Dampier ‘On the Blushing of the Tunquinese’ +(vol. ii. p. 40); but I have not consulted this work. Waitz quotes +Bergmann, that the Kalmucks do not blush, but this may be doubted after +what we have seen with respect to the Chinese. He also quotes Roth, who +denies that the Abyssinians are capable of blushing. Unfortunately, +Capt. Speedy, who lived so long with the Abyssinians, has not answered +my inquiry on this head. Lastly, I must add that the Rajah Brooke has +never observed the least sign of a blush with the Dyaks of Borneo; on +the contrary under circumstances which would excite a blush in us, they +assert “that they feel the blood drawn from their faces.”] + +1313 (return) [ Transact. of the Ethnological Soc. 1870, vol. ii. p. +16.] + +1314 (return) [ Humboldt, ‘Personal Narrative,’ Eng. translat. vol. +iii. p. 229.] + +1315 (return) [ Quoted by Prichard, Phys. Hist. of Mankind, 4th edit +1851, vol. i. p. 271.] + +1316 (return) [ See, on this head, Burgess, ibid. p. 32. Also Waitz, +‘Introduction to Anthropology,’ Eng. edit. vol. i. p. 139. Moreau gives +a detailed account (‘Lavater,’ 1820, tom. iv. p. 302) of the blushing +of a Madagascar negress-slave when forced by her brutal master to +exhibit her naked bosom.] + +1317 (return) [ Quoted by Prichard, Phys. Hist. of Mankind, 4th edit. +1851, vol. i. p. 225.] + +1318 (return) [ Burgess, ibid. p. 31. On mulattoes blushing, see p. 33. +I have received similar accounts with respect to, mulattoes.] + +1319 (return) [ Barrington also says that the Australians of New South +Wales blush, as quoted by Waitz, ibid. p. 135.] + +1320 (return) [ Mr. Wedgwood says (Dict. of English Etymology, vol. +iii. 1865, p. 155) that the word shame “may well originate in the idea +of shade or concealment, and may be illustrated by the Low German +_scheme_, shade or shadow.” Gratiolet (De la Phys. pp. 357-362) has a +good discussion on the gestures accompanying shame; but some of his +remarks seem to me rather fanciful. See, also, Burgess (ibid. pp. 69, +134) on the same subject.] + +1321 (return) [ Burgess, ibid. pp. 181, 182. Boerhaave also noticed (as +quoted by Gratiolet, ibid. p. 361) the tendency to the secretion of +tears during intense blushing. Mr. Bulmer, as we have seen, speaks of +the “watery eyes” of the children of the Australian aborigines when +ashamed.] + +1322 (return) [ See also Dr. J. Crichton Browne’s Memoir on this +subject in the ‘West Riding Lunatic Asylum Medical Report,’ 1871, pp. +95-98.] + +1323 (return) [ In a discussion on so-called animal magnetism in ‘Table +Talk,’ vol. i.] + +1324 (return) [ Ibid. p. 40.] + +1325 (return) [ Mr. Bain (‘The Emotions and the Will,’ 1865, p. 65) +remarks on “the shyness of manners which is induced between the +sexes.... from the influence of mutual regard, by the apprehension on +either side of not standing well with the other.”] + +1326 (return) [ See, for evidence on this subject, ‘The Descent of +Man,’ &c., vol. ii. pp. 71, 341.] + +1327 (return) [ H. Wedgwood, Dict. English Etymology, vol. iii. 1865, +p. 184. So with the Latin word _verecundus_.] + +1328 (return) [ Mr. Bain (‘The Emotions and the Will,’ p. 64) has +discussed the “abashed” feelings experienced on these occasions, as +well as the _stage-fright_ of actors unused to the stage. Mr. Bain +apparently attributes these feelings to simple apprehension or dread.] + +1329 (return) [ ‘Essays on Practical Education,’ by Maria and R. L. +Edgeworth, new edit. vol. ii. 1822, p. 38. Dr. Burgess (ibid. p. 187) +insists strongly to the same effect.] + +1330 (return) [ ‘Essays on Practical Education,’ by Maria and R. L. +Edgeworth, new edit. vol. ii. 1822, p. 50.] + +1331 (return) [ Bell, ‘Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 95. Burgess, as +quoted below, ibid. p. 49. Gratiolet, De la Phys. p. 94.] + +1332 (return) [ On the authority of Lady Mary Wortley Montague; see +Burgess, ibid. p. 43.] + +1333 (return) [ In England, Sir H. Holland was, I believe, the first to +consider the influence of mental attention on various parts of the +body, in his ‘Medical Notes and Reflections,’ 1839 p. 64. This essay, +much enlarged, was reprinted by Sir H. Holland in his ‘Chapters on +Mental Physiology,’ 1858, p. 79, from which work I always quote. At +nearly the same time, as well as subsequently, Prof. Laycock discussed +the same subject: see ‘Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal,’ 1839, +July, pp. 17-22. Also his ‘Treatise on the Nervous Diseases of Women,’ +1840, p. 110; and ‘Mind and Brain,’ vol. ii. 1860, p. 327. Dr. +Carpenter’s views on mesmerism have a nearly similar bearing. The great +physiologist Müller treated (‘Elements of Physiology,’ Eng. translat. +vol. ii. pp. 937, 1085) of the influence of the attention on the +senses. Sir J. Paget discusses the influence of the mind on the +nutrition of parts, in his ‘Lectures on Surgical Pathology,’ 1853, vol. +i. p. 39: 1 quote from the 3rd edit. revised by Prof. Turner, 1870, p. +28. See, also, Gratiolet, De la Phys. pp. 283-287.] + +1334 (return) [ De la Phys. p. 283.] + +1340 (return) [ Dr. Maudsley has given (‘The Physiology and Pathology +of Mind,’ 2nd edit. 1868, p. 105), on good authority, some curious +statements with respect to the improvement of the sense of touch by +practice and attention. It is remarkable that when this sense has thus +been rendered more acute at any point of the body, for instance, in a +finger, it is likewise improved at the corresponding point on the +opposite side of the body.] + +1341 (return) [ The Lancet,’ 1838, pp. 39-40, as quoted by Prof. +Laycock, ‘Nervous Diseases of Women,’ 1840, p. 110.] + +1342 (return) [ ‘Chapters on Mental Physiology,’ 1858, pp. 91-93.] + +1343 (return) [ ‘Lectures on Surgical Pathology,’ 3rd edit. revised by +Prof. Turner, 1870, pp. 28, 31.] + +1344 (return) [ ‘Elements of Physiology,’ Eng. translat. vol. ii. p. +938.] + +1345 (return) [ Prof. Laycock has discussed this point in a very +interesting manner. See his ‘Nervous Diseases of Women,’ 1840, p. 110.] + +1346 (return) [ See, also, Mr. Michael Foster, on the action of the +vaso-motor system, in his interesting Lecture before the royal +Institution, as translated in the ‘Revue des Cours Scientifiques,’ +Sept. 25, 1869, p. 683.] + +1401 (return) [ See the interesting facts given by Dr. Bateman on +‘Aphasia,’ 1870, p. 110.] + +1402 (return) [ ‘La Physionomie et la Parole,’ 1865, pp. 103, 118.] + +1403 (return) [ Rengger, ‘Naturgeschichte der Säugethiere von +Paraguay,’ 1830, s. 55.] + +1404 (return) [ Quoted by Moreau, in his edition of Lavater, 1820, tom. +iv. p. 211.] + +1405 (return) [ Gratiolet (‘De la Physionomie,’ 1865, p. 66) insists on +the truth of this conclusion.] + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Expression of Emotion in Man and +Animals, by Charles Darwin + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1227 *** |