OR
THE SCIENCE OF INTERPRETING THE SHAPE OF HANDS
CHAPTER I
THE STUDY OF THE SHAPE OF THE HAND
We now leave the domain of what must be considered Palmistry, the study of the Lines of the Palm—or Cheiromancy, as it was called by the Greeks from the word χεíρ, the hand, and proceed to consider the meanings that can be derived from the shapes of the hands, fingers, etc., which is called Cheirognomy.
These two studies may be taken up separately, but by a knowledge of both the student will be doubly armed, especially in the reading of character.
To a judge of horseflesh the limbs of the horse give him such a fund of information as to the animals' breed, training, etc., that it enables him to draw conclusions that he could not otherwise obtain.
In the same way the shape of the hand gives an enormous wealth of information as to breed and peculiarities of human beings.
In a book of this nature I shall be able to give only the leading traits denoted by each type, but if readers wish to carry out this study further, I must refer them to my larger works on the subject, in which the shapes of the hands are described in the fullest detail.
The most casual observation of character as shown by the formation of hands will soon convince any person of the value of this study. Even in itself it possesses the most far-reaching possibilities in helping to a clear understanding of the difference that exists in races, their various blends of types, that have now spread themselves by intermarriage and travel over the surface of the earth.