Part 30 (1/2)
The habit of child-bearing is indicated by a flatter breast, a broader back, and thicker cartilages of the bones of the pubis, necessary widening the pelvis.
The same habit is also indicated by a high rise of the nape of the neck, so that the neck from that point bends considerably forward, and by an elevation which is diffused between the neck and shoulders. These all arise from temporary distensions of the trunk in women whose secretions are powerful, from the habit of throwing the shoulders backward during pregnancy, and the head again forward, to balance the abdominal weight; and they bestow a character of vitality peculiarly expressive.
The same habit is likewise indicated by an excess of that lateral rolling of the body in walking, which was already described as connected with voluptuous character. This is a very certain indication, as it arises from temporary distensions of the pelvis, which nothing else can occasion. As in consequence of this lateral rolling of the body, and of the weight of the body being much thrown forward in gestation, the toes are turned somewhat inward, they aid in the indication.
The habit of nursing children is indicated, both in mothers and nursery-maids, by the right shoulder being larger and more elevated than the left.
The habits of the seamstress are indicated by the neck suddenly bending forward, and the arms being, even in walking, considerably bent forward or folded more or less upward from the elbows.
Habits of labor are indicated by a considerable thickness of the shoulders below, where they form an angle with the inner part of the arm; and, where these habits are of the lowest menial kind, the elbows are turned outward and the palms of the hands backward.
The habits of many of the inferior female professions might easily be indicated; but they would be unsuitable to a work like this.
_External Indications of Age._
External indications of age are required chiefly where the face is veiled, or where the woman observed precedes the observer and may reasonably excite his interest.
In either of these cases, if the foot and ankle have lost a certain moderate plumpness, and a.s.sumed a certain sinewy or bony appearance, the woman has generally pa.s.sed the period of youth.
If in walking, instead of the ball or outer edge of the foot first striking the ground, it is the heel which does so, then has the woman in general pa.s.sed the meridian of life.--Unlike the last indication, this is apparent, however the foot and ankle may be clothed.--The reason of this indication is the decrease of power which unfits the muscles to receive the weight of the body by maintaining the extension of the ankle-joint.
Exceptions to this last indication are to be found chiefly in women in whom the developments of the body are proportionally much greater, either from a temporary or a permanent cause, than those of the limbs, the muscles of which are consequently incapable of receiving the weight of the body by maintaining the extension of the ankle-joint.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX.
A.
Mr. Walker's extravagant admiration of the Grecian mythology has led him to over-estimate its influence upon poetry and the arts. That these were influenced, in a very important degree, by the religion of Greece, no one acquainted with the history of that nation, can doubt; but, that the arts cannot exist where the Grecian mythology is not the popular religion, is an opinion unsupported by the history of the past, and altogether opposed to their present flouris.h.i.+ng state in civilized countries. In no age or nation has the art of painting, for example, attained higher perfection, than in Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries; a period which has been called ”the golden age of Italian art,” and its high excellence has been justly attributed to the introduction of Christianity. ”The walls and cupolas,” says a late writer, ”of new and splendid churches were immediately covered, as if by enchantment, with the miracles of paintings and sculpture--the eager mult.i.tude were not compelled to wait till genius had labored for years on what it had been years in conceiving. Those eager spirits seemed to breathe out their creations in full and mature beauty--performing at once, by the buoyant energies of well-disciplined genius, more than all the cold precision of mechanical knowledge can ever accomplish.” Allan Cunningham, in his life of Flaxman, the artist, speaking of these paintings, remarks: ”Into these Flaxman looked with the eye of a sculptor and of a Christian. He saw, he said, that the mistress to whom the great artists of Italy had dedicated their genius was the Church; that they were unto her as chief priests, to interpret her tenets and her legends to the world in a more brilliant language than that of relics and images. To her illiterate people, the Church addressed herself through the eye, and led their senses captive by the external magnificence with which she overwhelmed them.”
But it is unnecessary to multiply quotations to prove this point. Flaxman never uttered a truer saying, than when he remarked, that ”the Christian religion presents personages and subjects no less favorable to painting and sculpture than the ancient cla.s.sics.” Accordingly, we find among his own immortal productions, that the monument erected in memory of Miss Lus.h.i.+ngton, in Kent, representing a mother mourning for her daughter, comforted by a ministering angel, was inspired by that text of holy writ, ”Blessed are they that mourn;” and the monument in memory of the family of Sir Francis Baring imbodies these words, ”Thy will be done--thy kingdom come--deliver us from evil.” To the first motto belongs a devotional figure as large as life--
”Her looks communing with the skies;”
a perfect image of piety and resignation. On one side, imbodying ”Thy kingdom come,” a mother and daughter ascend to the skies welcomed rather than supported by angels; and on the other, expressing the sentiment ”Deliver us from evil,” a male figure, in subdued agony, appears in the air, while spirits of good and evil contend for the mastery. This has been considered one of the finest pieces of motionless poetry in England. We hold, then, that Mr. Walker's remark that ”neither poetry nor the arts can have being, without the religion of Greece,” is far from being sustained, either by history or observation.
B.
The remarks of Mr. Walker, in relation to the duty of parents and teachers, seem to us well-founded and judicious. If moral, as well as intellectual and physical education, be part of the parental duty, then it would seem to follow, that it should embrace those subjects which are of the most importance, both to the physical and moral well-being of the child; and surely, the relation of the s.e.xes, and the due subjection of the animal propensities, are not the least important of these. There is a delicacy generally felt and observed on this point, which springs from a principle that we honor and respect, while, at the same time, we doubt whether it leads to favorable and auspicious results. No one, who looks back upon the years of his own childhood, can for a moment doubt that judicious advice and seasonable information on certain subjects, which were probably considered of a too delicate nature to be even hinted at, would have been highly useful. The young will inevitably become initiated into certain vices and evil practices, unless put on their guard, by the warning voice of those they love and respect. There are a variety of pa.s.sions, affections, and appet.i.tes, which belong to our nature, and were intended when properly directed and indulged, to promote our interest and happiness. Those under consideration, early begin to manifest themselves, and, when left without the restraints of enlightened intellect and the moral sense, invariably lead to disastrous consequences. The question then is, shall the young and inexperienced be left to the mere accidents of its condition, without an effort to give it sound principles to govern it, or without bringing some conservative influence to bear upon it? We think, with Mr. Walker, that it should not. Both philosophy and reason prove the danger of such a course. The circ.u.mstances which are connected with s.e.xual vices cannot be wholly kept out of view. They meet the eye, or are suggested to the imagination, at almost every turn. A thousand scenes and incidents occur to excite the pa.s.sions, if the mind is not fortified against their influence. Those who are fastidious, and believe that delicacy forbids all allusion to such subjects, will say, ”Keep the youth in ignorance--conceal, if possible, everything from his view, that may excite the pa.s.sions.” Still, there remain the const.i.tutional susceptibilities; pa.s.sion and appet.i.te cannot be eradicated, and they will often be excited by incidents, which the most wakeful vigilance will not detect or suspect. The fact is, that long before parents are aware of it, the child has obtained knowledge on these subjects through many corrupt channels; and the a.s.sociations first formed, are destined to exert, ever afterward, a powerful influence for evil. The early a.s.sociations might, by judicious instruction on the part of parents, be of such character, as to throw around the youth a barrier almost impregnable. As to the _time_ and _manner_ of imparting this instruction, it must be left to the wisdom and prudence of teachers and parents and, perhaps, as a general rule, it should be left wholly to the latter.
C.
Much has been written on the nature of beauty, from the divine Plato, who dedicated one of his dialogues to this subject, to Lord Jeffries, the editor of the Edinburgh Review; who, in his celebrated article in the Supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica, has excelled all previous efforts in its elucidation, and produced an essay, which will stand an imperishable monument of his taste, learning, and genius. It is not our design to enter upon a consideration of beauty in the abstract, or to attempt its a.n.a.lysis, as this has been done by our author in a very able, if not satisfactory manner. We take it, however, to denote that quality, or a.s.semblage and union of qualities in the objects of our perception, whether material, intellectual, or moral, which we contemplate with emotions of pleasure; and we refer it to that internal sense, which is usually called _taste_. When it is asked, why a thing is beautiful, it is not always easy to find a satisfactory answer. We find beauty in color, in sound, in form, in motion, in everything. We have beauties of speech, beauties of thought, beauties in art, in nature, in the sciences, in actions, in affections, and in characters. Dr. Reid well asks, ”In things so different, and so unlike, is there any quality, the same in all, which we may call by the name of beauty?” We shall not attempt to fathom this difficulty; indeed, it could not be done, without entering upon a metaphysical discussion, dry in detail, and uninteresting in result.