There is a certain muscle called the proud muscle. It pushes up the under lip. It is chiefly by this that pouting, that ugly expression so common with some children, is done. When the eyebrow-wrinklers act at the same time, there is scowling with the pouting, and then the face is very ugly. I beseech of you not to get into the habit of using these cross muscles. Keep always pleasant and kind, and then those nice little muscles that draw up the corners of the mouth will always be ready to light up your face with a cheerfulness that shall be pleasant to look upon.
Snarling muscles.
The smiling of the dog.
There are some animals that have certain muscles in the face that we have not. These are the snarling muscles. They pull up the lip at the sides of the mouth so as to show the long, tearing teeth. You see them in operation in the dog, the tiger, etc., when they are angry. No animal but man has in the face either the frowning, or the sad, or the smiling muscles. Perhaps you will say that the dog smiles when he is pleased and looks up at his master. He smiles, it is true, but he does it only with his wagging tail, for he has no muscles in his face to do it with.
The chief muscles of expression.
How wonderful is the variety of expression in the human face! And yet all is caused by a few muscles, and the principal ones are those that draw up and draw down the corners of the mouth, and those that wrinkle the eyebrows.
Questions.—How many muscles are there in the arm and hand? How many in the whole body? What is each muscle made up of? What is said of the fibres? Is it common for a motion to be made by one muscle alone? What is said about raising the arm in different ways? What is said about the variety of rapid motions that are sometimes performed? What gives the face its different expressions? How is laughing done? What makes the wrinkling under the eyes in laughing? What is the difference between laughing and smiling? Has the eye any thing to do with them? What is said about the sad muscles? What about the cross ones? What is the difference between a cross and sad face and a laughing one? What is said about certain expressions in common use? What is said about the muscles of expression in the face of animals? What is said of the variety of expression in the human face?
CHAPTER XIX.
THE BRAIN AND NERVES IN ANIMALS.
The brain the mind’s central workshop.