THE LIFE LINE.
Dr. W.B. Powell, in his work on "The Human Temperaments," announces the discovery of a measurement which indicates the tenacity of life, and the vital possessions of the individual. He has observed that some persons of very feeble appearance possess remarkable powers of resistance to disease, and continue to live until the machinery of life literally wears out. Others, apparently stronger and more robust, die before the usual term of life is half completed. He also noticed that some families were remarkable for their longevity, while others reached only a certain age, less than the average term of life, and then died. He remarked also that some patients sank under attacks of disease, when, to all appearances, they should recover, and that others recovered, when, according to all reasonable calculations, they ought to die. He, therefore, not only believed that the duration of human life was more definitely fixed by the organization than is supposed, but he set himself to work to discover the line of life, and the measure of its duration. He made a distinction between vital vigor, and vital tenacity. Vital vigor he believed to be equivalent to the condition of vitality, which is indicated by the breadth of the brain found in the sanguine temperament; and vital tenacity to be measured by the depth of the base of the brain. Dr. Powell was an indefatigable student of nature, and followed his theory through years of observation, and measured hundreds of heads of living persons, in order to verify the correctness of the hypothesis. His method of measuring the head may be stated as follows: He drew a line from the occipital protuberance on the back of the head to the junction of the frontal and malar bones, extending it to a point above the center of the external orbit of the eye, near the termination of the brow. Then he measured the distance between this line and the orifice of the ear and thus obtained the measure indicating the vital tenacity or duration of, life. Fig. 88 is a representation of the skull of Loper, who was executed for murder in Mississippi. He might have attained a great age, had not his violent and selfish faculties led him into the commission of crime. In this illustration, B represents the occipital protuberance, and A the junction of the frontal and malar bones at the external angle of the eye. The distance between this line (A B) and the external orifice of the ear, is the measure of the life-force of Loper at the time of his: execution.
The tenacity of an individual's life, Dr. Powell determined by the following scale of measurements: three-fourths of an inch from the orifice of the ear to the life-line, is the average length in the adult, and indicates ordinary tenacity of life. As the distance decreases to five-eighths, one-half, or three-eighths of an inch, vital tenacity diminishes. If the distance is more than three-quarters of an inch, it denotes great vital endurance, excellent recuperative powers, and is indicative of longevity. If it measures less than half an inch, it shows that the constitution has a feeble, uncertain hold upon life, and an acute disease is very likely to sunder the vital relations. Dr. Powell contended that "life force and vital force are not equivalent terms, because much more vital force is expended upon our relations, than upon our organization in the preservation of life. Every muscular contraction, every thought, and every emotion requires an expenditure of vital force." He asserted that we inherit our life force or constitutional power, and that we can determine by this life-line, the amount which we so receive. And he believed that it could be increased by intellectual effort, just as we can increase vital force by physical exercise. Fig. 89 represents the skull of a man who died, at nearly the same age as Loper, of consumption, in the Charity Hospital, at New Orleans. The measurement of the skull in this case gives a space between the life-line and the orifice of the ear of one-sixteenth of an inch, showing that the consumptive had lived the full term of his life. Dr. Powell contended that the depth of a man's brain may be increased after maturity; muscular effort, mental activity, and a sense of responsibility being favorable to longevity, while idleness and dissipation are adverse to it. In justice to the Doctor, we have stated fully his theory and his method of determining the hardihood and endurance of the constitution, and we bespeak for it a candid examination. Without doubt it embodies a great deal of truth. Hereafter we shall endeavor to indicate by cerebral configuration, a better system of judging of the vital tenacity, hardihood, and constitutional energies, both inherited and acquired.