Buffon's Natural History. Volume 04 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &cBuffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
History
Buffon's Natural History. Volume 04 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
Natural history
In jealousy, envy, and malice, the eye-brows fall down, and are
wrinkled; the eye-lid is raised and the pupil lowered; the upper lip
is raised on each side, while the corners of the mouth are rather
lowered; and the middle of the under lip is raised, in order to join
the middle of the upper lip. [See _fig._ 16.]
In laughter the two corners of the mouth are drawn back and somewhat
raised; the upper part of the cheeks is raised; and the eyes are
more or less closed; the upper lip is raised, while the under one is
lowered; and in immoderate laughter the mouth is opened, and the skin
of the nose is shrivelled. [See _fig._ 17.]
The arms, the hands, and the body in general, likewise assist the
countenance by different gestures, in the expression of the emotions
of the soul. In joy, for example, the eyes, the head, the arms, and
the whole body, are agitated by quick and varied movements. In languor
and melancholy the eyes are sunk, the head is reclined, and the whole
body is motionless. In admiration, surprize, and astonishment, all
motion is suspended, and we remain in one and the same attitude. These
expressions of the passions are independent on the will; but there is
another sort of expression, which seems to be produced by a reflection
of the mind, by a command of the will, and by which the eyes, the head,
the arms, and the whole body, are put in action. They appear to be
so many efforts of the mind to defend the body, or at least so many
secondary signs sufficient to express particular passions. In love,
desire, and hope, we raise the head and eyes towards heaven, as if
to implore the good we wish for; we bend the head forward, as if to
hasten, by this approach, the possession of the desired object; and
we extend the arms, and open the hands, in order to embrace and seize
it. On the contrary, in fear, hatred, and horror, we advance the arms
with precipitation, as if to repel the object of our aversion; and in
order to shun it we turn aside the eyes and head, and shrink back.
These movements are so quick that they appear involuntary: but it is by
habit we are deceived, for they are motions which depend on reflection,
and which mark the perfection of the springs of the human body, by the
readiness with which each member obeys the dictates of the will.
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