"wishing only to appear what he ought determi"nately to be, he will yet become more vain, "and will court the praife of men, not by words " and deeds alone, but by affumed looks and coun"terfeited forms? Oughteft thou not rather to "weaken this already too powerful motive for "human actions, and to ftrengthen a better; "to turn the eyes inward, to teach actual im<< provement and filent innocence, instead of in"ducing him to reafon on the outward fair ex"preffions of goodness, or the hateful ones of "wickednefs?"

This is a heavy accufation, and with great appearance of truth. Yet how eafy is defence to me, and how pleasant, when my opponent accufes me from motives of philanthropy, and not of fplenetic difpute! The charge is twofold, Cenforiousness and Vanity. I will answer these charges feparately; and now proceed to reply to the first objection.

I teach no black art; no noftrum, the fecret of which I might have concealed, which is a thoufand times injurious for once that it is profitable, the difcovery of which is therefore fo difficult. I do but teach a fcience, the most general, the moft palpable, with which all men are acquainted; and state my feelings, obfervations, and their confequences.

It ought never to be forgotten, that the very purport of outward expreffion is to teach what paffes in the mind, and that to deprive man of this fource of knowledge were to reduce him to utter ignorance; that every man is born with a certain portion of phyfiognomonical fenfation, as certainly as that every man, who is not deformed, is born with two eyes; that all men, in their inter

courfe

courfe with each other, form phyfiognomonical decifions, according as their judgment is more or lefs clear; that it is well known, though phyfiognomy were never to be reduced to a fcience, moft men, in proportion as they have mingled with the world, derive fome profit from their knowledge of mankind, even at the first glance, and that the fame effects were produced long before this question was in agitation. Whether, therefore, to teach men to decide with more perfpicuity and certainty, instead of confufedly; to judge clearly with refined fenfations, instead of rudely and erroneously with fenfations more gross; and, inftead of fuffering them to wander in the dark, and venture abortive and injurious judgments, to learn them by phyfiognomonical experiments, by the rules of prudence and caution, and the fublime voice of philanthropy, to mistrust, to be diffident and flow to pronounce, where they imagine they discover evil: whether this, I fay, can be injurious, I leave the world to determine.

I think I may venture to affirm, that very few perfons will, in confequence of this work, begin to judge ill of others, who had not before been guilty of the practice.

The fecond objection to phyfiognomy is, that "it renders men vain, and teaches them to assume "a plaufible appearance." The men thou wouldst reform are not children, who are good, and know that they are fo; but men who must, from experience, learn to diftinguish between good and evil; men who, to become perfect, muft neceffarily be taught their own various, and confequently their own beneficent qualities. Let, therefore, the defire of obtaining approbation from the good, act in concert with the impulfe to good

nefs.

4

nerable traits and marks of fecret inclinations, powers, and paffions, accompanied by perception, fenfation, and an impulfe to interpret them to his advantage; and, after beftowing fuch ftrong incitements, fhall fhe have denied him the poffibility of quenching this his thirit of knowledge? She who has given him penetration to discover sciences ftill more profound, though of much inferior utility; who has taught him to trace out the paths, and measure the curves of comets; who has put a telefcope into his hand, that he may view the fatellites of the planets, and has endowed him with the capability of calculating their eclipfes through revolving ages; fhall fo kind a mother have denied her children (her truth-feeking pupils, her noble philanthropic offspring, who are fo willing to admire and rejoice in the majefty of the Most High, viewing man his mafter-piece) the power of reading the ever prefent, ever open book of the human countenance; of reading man, the most beautiful of all her works, the compendium of all things, the mirror of the Deity?

Awake! view man in all his infinite forms! Look, for thou mayeft eternally learn; fhake off thy floth, and behold. Meditate on its importance; take refolution to thyfelf, and the most difficult fhall become cafy.

Let me now mention the Difficulties attending this ftudy. There is a peculiar circumftance attending the ftarting of difficulties. There are fome who poffefs the particular gift of difcovering and inventing difficulties, without number or limits, on the most common and eafy fubjects. I fhall be brief on the innumerable difficulties of phyfiognomy; because, it not being my intention. to cite them all in this place, the most important will

will occafionally be noticed and answered in the course of the work. I have an additional motive to be brief, which is, that most of these difficulties are included in the indefcribable minutenefs of innumerable traits of character, or the impoffibility of feizing, expreffing, and analysing certain fenfations and obfervations.

Nothing can be more certain than that the fmalleft fhades, which are fcarcely difcernible to an unexperienced eye, frequently denote total oppofition of character. How wonderfully may the expreffion of countenance and character be altered by a fmall inflexion or diminishing, lengthening or fharpening, even though but of a hair's breadth !

How difficult, how impoffible, must this variety of the fame countenance, even in the moft accurate of the arts of imitation, render precifion! How often does it happen, that the feat of character is fo hidden, fo enveloped, fo masked, that it can only be caught in certain, and perhaps uncommon pofitions of the countenance; which will again be changed, and the figns all disappear, before they have made any durable impreffion! or, fuppofing the impreffion made, thefe diftinguishing traits may be fo difficult to feize, that it fhall be impoffible to paint, much less to engrave, or describe them by language.

It is with phyfiognomy as with all other objects of tafte, literal or figurative, of fenfe, or of spirit. How many thousand accidents, great and fmall, phyfical and moral; how many fecret incidents, alterations, paffions; how often will drefs, pofition, light and fhade, and innumerable difcordant circumstances, fhew the countenance fo difadvantageously, or, to speak more properly, betray

the

the phyfiognomist into a falfe judgment on the true qualities of the countenance and character! How eafily may these occafion him to overlook the effential traits of character, and form his judgment on what is wholly accidental! How furprifingly may the small-pox, during life, disfigure the countenance How may it deftroy, confufe, or render the most decifive traits imperceptible!

We will therefore grant the oppofer of phyfiognomy all he can afk, although we do not live without hope, that many of the difficulties fhall be refolved, which, at firft, appeared to the reader and to the author inexplicable *.

It is highly incumbent upon me, that I should not lead my readers to expect more from me than I am able to perform. Whoever publishes a confiderable work on phyfiognomy, gives his readers apparently to understand, that he is much better acquainted with the subject than any of his cotemporaries. Should an error efcape him, he exposes himself to the fevereft ridicule; he is contemned, at least by those who do not read him, for pretenfions which probably they fuppofe him to make, but which in reality he does not make.

The God of truth, and all who know me, will bear teftimony, that from my whole foul I despise deceit, as I do all filly claims to fuperior wifdom and infallibility, which so many writers, by a thoufand artifices, endeavour to make their readers imagine they poffefs.

First, therefore, I declare, what I have uniformly declared on all occafions, although the perfons who speak of me and my works endeavour to conceal it

The following lines, to the end of the Introduction, contain M. Lavater's own remarks on himself.

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