Notes on Noses

CHAPTER I.. Of the Classification of Noses.

OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF NOSES.

It has not been hastily, nor until after long and careful observation, that the theory propounded in the following pages has been published; a theory which, at first sight, may appear to some wild and absurd, to others simply ridiculous, to others wicked and heretical, and to others fraught with social mischief and danger.

Nevertheless, we shall not begin by deprecating the ridicule or the censure of any one. The only vindication which an author is entitled to offer, is that which his works themselves present. If his cause be a good one, it requires no apology; if it be a bad one, to vindicate it is either useless or baneful; useless, if it blind no one to his errors; baneful, if it induce any one blindly to receive his brass for sterling gold.

The only circumstance which can attach any value to our observations is, that they are entirely original, and wholly unbiassed by the theories of any other writers on physiognomy. When we commenced observing Noses, we just knew that some few forms of the Nose had names given them, as the Roman, the Greek, &c.; but we regarded these as mere artistic definitions of form, and were wholly ignorant what mental characteristics had been ascribed to them. So far as this nomenclature went, it appeared best to adopt it, as affording well-known designations of Nasal profiles; and our investigations were, therefore, commenced by endeavouring to discover whether these from of Nose characterised any, and what, mental properties. In order to do this with accuracy, it was absolutely necessary still to keep the mind unacquainted with the system of any other writers, if such there were, lest it should unconsciously imbibe preconceptions and hints which would render its independent researches open to the suspicion of bias. We felt that if the characteristics attributed by us to Noses, after long and extensive observation, corresponded with those of any other writer, a powerful corroboration of our views would thus be gained.

It may happen, therefore (and it is hoped it will be so) that we may sometimes appear to have plagiarised from other physiognomists, and to have adopted their views; but this correspondence must, nevertheless, be accepted as a further proof of the accuracy of their and our honest independent labours.

It was impossible, however, amidst much multifarious reading, to keep the mind, latterly, wholly ignorant that some mental characteristics had been ascribed to Noses; but into the nature of these we never inquired, nor are we aware that anything has been done, beyond throwing out a few unconnected, unattested hints, towards a systematic deduction of mental qualifications from Nasal formation.

If it is improper to vindicate one’s self, it might not seem altogether unfitting to vindicate one’s subject from ridicule; and it might appear prudent, if not altogether necessary, to commence by vindicating the Nose from the charge of being too ridiculous an organ to be seriously discoursed upon. But this ridiculousness is mere prejudice; intrinsically one part of the face is as worthy as another, and we may feel assured that He who gave the os sublime to man, did not place, as its foremost and most prominent feature, a ridiculous appendage.

But this prejudice ought not to weigh with any thinking mind. If it is true—as Dr. Prichard asserts, and as every ethnologist admits—that protruding jaws indicate a low state of civilisation, an animal and degraded mind, is it more ridiculous to assert that the flat, depressed Nose, which always accompanies the prognathous jaws, is likewise an indication of a similar mind? If it is true that the oval form of head indicates a high-class of mind, and a capacity for the highest civilisation, is it absurd to assert that the Romano-Greek Nose, which generally accompanies, and is characteristic of that form of head, is likewise indicative of a similar mind? Nasology is strictly in harmony with the deductions of the ablest physiognomists and ethnologists. It contradicts no laws which have been established between mind and matter; on the contrary, it upholds, supports, and maintains the investigations of the ablest writers on anthropology, and has only not been touched upon by them, because the necessity they are under of forming many of their deductions from skulls, precludes their making the soft parts of the face a standard of comparison.

To come then at once to our subject. We have a belief, founded on long-continued, personal observation, that there is more in a Nose than most owners of that appendage are generally aware. We believe that, besides being an ornament to the face, a breathing apparatus, or a convenient handle by which to grasp an impudent fellow, it is an important index to its owner’s character; and that the accurate observation and minute comparison of an extensive collection of Noses of persons whose mental characteristics are known, justifies a Nasal Classification, and a deduction of some points of mental organisation therefrom. It will not be contended that all the faculties and properties of mind are revealed by the Nose;—for instance, we can read nothing of Temper or the Passions from it. Perhaps it rather reveals Power and Taste—Power or Energy to carry out Ideas, and the Taste or Inclination which dictates or guides them. As these will always very much form a man’s outward character, the proposition which is sought to be established is this:—“THE NOSE IS AN IMPORTANT INDEX TO CHARACTER.”

It may be prudent to observe that we utterly repudiate the doctrine of the Phrenologists, that the form of the Body affects the manifestations, and even properties, of the Mind.

We contend that the Mind forms the Nose, and not the Nose the Mind. We have carefully endeavoured to avoid phraseology which should induce a supposition that we entertain the latter absurdity; but here enter this protest once for all, lest a want of precision in our language, or the obtuseness of critics, should cause us to be charged with it.

It is in vain to require proof of a material connection between the Nose and the Mind, for it is utterly impossible to demonstrate to sense the seat of the divine particle. Material organs cannot apprehend immaterial existence: they even fail to perceive some of the more tenuous materialisms, air, light, heat, electricity, &c., which are known only by their effects. It is in vain to deny physiognomy—of which Nasology is only a department—because we cannot understand by what processes mind acts on the features; because we cannot see any material organisms which operate to contract the muscles in laughter or pain, or which impel the blood to or from the countenance when consciousness or fear affects the mind. It is in vain to deny the blush or the pallor because we know not how the pulsations of the heart and the flow of blood are affected by mental impressions. It is one of the strongest proofs of the immateriality of the soul, that while its existence cannot be denied, it cannot be anatomically demonstrated, nor rendered visible to sense. The mode in which Mind acts on Matter is one of the arcana of Nature, which, perhaps, human science will never penetrate. It is a secret reserved for that state in which the mind will act independently of material media. However numerous and plausible the theories propounded to explain the mystery, they all terminate like the Indian’s world-supports, and the chain of connection breaks at the last link. It is, therefore, in vain to deny physiognomy because we can demonstrate no material connection between the mind and the features, nor would any sane objector insist on such demonstration; yet such demonstration has been insisted on, and the absence of it adduced as a fundamental objection both to physiognomy and phrenology by critics at a loss for valid objections.

And here we might descant, at considerable length, and with much show of learning, on the influence of the Mind over the Body. We might impugn the wisdom of those who, undertaking to cure either, have forgotten that they were so intimately united and mutually dependent, that they could not be treated separately with success. We might show that the first step of the physician towards curing mental disorder, is to free the body from disease; and that of him who would cure the body, is, ofttimes, to apply his remedies to the derangement of the mind. But, though by so doing we might swell our pages and eke out an additional chapter—an important consideration if we were a mere book-maker—we shall not, as we have some qualms of conscience whether it would be quite germane to the matter in hand. It might not, however, be out of place to remind the reader that physiognomy, or the form which mind gives to the features, is universally recognised. A pleasant mouth, a merry eye, a sour visage, a stern aspect, are some of the common phrases by which we daily acknowledge ourselves to be physiognomists; for by these expressions we mean, not that the mouth is pleasant or the visage sour, but that such is the mind which shines out from them. If it were the face alone which we thus intended, we should never trouble or concern ourselves about a human countenance, nor be attracted, nor repulsed by one, any more than if it were a carved head on a gothic waterspout, or a citizen’s door-knocker. We all acknowledge the impression given by the mind to the mouth and the eyes because they express Temper and the Passions—those feelings which more immediately interest us in our mutual intercourse—and because they change with the feelings; now flashing with anger, or sparkling with pleasure, compressing with rage, or smiling with delight.

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