The elegant author of _L’Histoire Naturelle_ rightly thinks that we are
so accustomed only to see things from the outside, that we are hardly
aware how much this exterior view of everything influences the judgment
of even the gravest and most thoughtful of us. Thus we are apt to set
down a man as unintellectual whose physiognomy does not particularly
strike us; and we allow his clothes, and even the manner in which he
wears his hair, to influence our judgment of him. Hence, our author goes
on to say, not wholly without some show of reason, that a man of sense
ought to look upon his clothes as part of himself, because they really
are so in the eyes of others, and play an important part in the general
idea that is formed of him who wears them.
The vivacity or languor of the movement of the eyes forms one of the
chief characteristics of facial expression, and their colour helps to
render this characteristic more striking. The different colours seen in
the eye are dark hazel, or black, as it is generally called, light
hazel, blue, greenish grey, dark grey, and light grey. The velvety
substance which gives the colour to the iris is arranged in little
ramifications and specks, the former being directed towards the centre
of the eye, the latter filling up the gaps between the threads.
Sometimes they are both arranged in so regular a manner that instances
have been known in which the irises of different eyes have appeared to
be so much alike that they seemed to have been copied from the same
design. These little threads and specks are held together by a very fine
network.
The commonest colours seen in the eye are hazel and blue, and it mostly
happens that both these colours are found in the same individual, giving
rise to that peculiar greenish-grey hue that is far from being uncommon.
Buffon thinks that blue and black eyes are the most beautiful, but this
of course is a matter of taste. It is true that the vivacity and fire
which play so important a part in giving character to the eye, are more
perceptible in dark eyes than in those whose tints are lighter; black
eyes, therefore, have greater force of expression, while in blue eyes
there is more softness and delicacy. In the former we see a brilliant
fire, which sparkles uniformly on account of the iris, which is of the
same colour throughout, giving in all parts the same reflection; but a
great difference may be perceived in the intensity of the light
reflected from blue eyes, from the fact of the various tints of colour
producing different reflections. There are some eyes that are remarkable
for being almost destitute of colour, and appear to be constituted in an
abnormal manner. The iris is tinted with shades of blue and grey of so
light a hue that it appears quite white in some places. The shades of
hazel in such eyes are so light that they are hardly distinguishable
from grey and white, in spite even of the contrast of colour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account