John Baptiste Porta, an Italian, published, about three hundred years ago, a treatise on Physiognomy, from which the extracts in the following pages are translated. Although Lavater has ridiculed the system of Porta, he is, nevertheless, indebted to him for many of his best ideas on the subject.
In this treatise Porta says, that Ptolemy Maternusa, Vitruvius, and others, describe all known nations as follows: viz. “The Scythians are cruel, the Italians noble, the Gauls merry and inconsiderate, the Greeks fickle, Africans deceitful, Syrians covetous, Asiatics lecherous, Sicilians cunning, Spaniards haughty, proud, and vain of their courage, Egyptians wise, Babylonians prudent.”
It was the opinion of Plato, that the variety of manners and constitution observable in the inhabitants of different countries is to be attributed solely to the difference of climate.
Aristotle thus writes to Alexander, respecting the character of man.
Nature has formed him more perfect than all other animals, and still he possesses all the different characters of the latter. He is as bold as the lion, timid as the hare; he can be compared to the cock for his pride and liberality, to the dog for his avarice; he is harsh and austere as the crow, gentle as the turtle-dove, domestic as the pigeon, fickle as the roebuck, passionate as the leopard, lazy as the bear, affectionate as the elephant, stupid as the ass, vain as the peacock, industrious as the bee, ungovernable as the bull, cross as the mule, mute as a fish; his malice renders him equal to the lioness, his cunning to the fox, his meekness to the lamb, his love of roving to the kid. The reason with which he is endowed renders him worthy of being compared to angels; he is given to lust as the swine, is wicked as the owl, useful as the horse, and hurtful as the rat. In short, there is no vegetable, mineral, or other substance in the world, but what possesses some quality that can be referred to man. Adamantius says that we may judge of the manners and tempers of all animals by their looks. For instance, it is natural for the lion to be strong and easily provoked, which can be perceived by his form and looks. The leopard is pretty and delicate, but is, nevertheless, subject to anger, to lying in ambush, to treachery, and is at once timid and bold, which exactly corresponds with his external appearance; and so it is with all other animals. The bear is cruel, deceitful, unsocial and savage; the wild boar has a fearless fury, to which he gives himself up; the ox is severe and simple; the horse is proud and desirous of glory; the fox is cunning, and lies in wait; the monkey is jocose and dissembling; the sheep is plain and dull; the goat is lazy; the hog is filthy and gluttonous. The same thing holds good with respect to birds and reptiles. If, then, it happens that a man possesses a member or feature which resembles that of an animal or bird, it is by that resemblance he must be judged. For if his eyes are of a tawny colour, and a little concave, you must remember that they are similar to that of the lion; if very much concave, they denote bad manners, and agree with those of the monkey; if level, they resemble those of the bull; if they seem to start from his head, and are very prominent, stupid, and disagreeable to the sight, they have some likeness to those of the ass.
Man, that master-piece, formed by the Creator in his own image, and impressed with the brilliancy of his character—in short, that earthly divinity, was endowed with a strong and loud voice, a large body, and a slow gait. With respect to his manners and disposition, he has a generous and fearless heart, is equitable, candid, desirous of glory, and eager of success in all his undertakings.
