NOTES ON NOSES.
CHAPTER I.
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,[[1]] 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.[[2]] 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.”