Ninth Attitude,--This is a stiff second attitude, in which the strong leg and also the free one are equally rigid. The body in this attitude bends backward; it is the sign of distrust and scorn.

The legs have one aspect. If, in the second, the strong leg advances slowly to find the other, it is the tiger about to leap upon his prey; if, on the contrary, the free leg advances softly, the vengeance is retarded.

The menace made in figure 3, with inclination of the head and agitation of the index finger, is that of a valet who wishes to play some ill turn upon his master; for with the body bent and the arm advanced, there is no intelligence. But it is ill-suited to vengeance, because that attitude should be strong and solid, with the eye making the indication better than the finger.

Criterion of the Legs: [Part 1], [Part 2]

Chapter VIII.
Of the Semeiotic, or the Reason of Gesture.

The Types which Characterize Gesture.

The semeiotic is the science of signs, and hence the science of the form of gesture. Its object is to give the reason for the forms of gesture according to the types that characterize it, the apparatus that modifies it, and the figures that represent it.

There are three sorts of types in man: constitutional or formal, fugitive or passional, and habitual.

The constitutional type is that which we have at birth.