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William Walker Atkinson - How To Read Human Nature
William Walker Atkinson - How To Read Human Nature
H U M A N N A T UR E '
W IT H N U M E R O U S I L L U S T R ATIO N S
L . N . FO W L E R CO .
1916
T H E E LI' AB ET H T O WN E CO .
H O L YO ' E , M A S S .
C O NT E NT S
Chap t e r Page
I . Inner State and O uter 9
II . The I nner Phas e ' Character . 29
III . The O uter Form ' Personality . 38
IV . Th e Temperaments 47
V . The Menta l Qualities 68
VI . The E goistic Qualities 76
VII . T h e Motive Q ualities 81
VIII . T h e V itative Q ualities 89
IX . T h e E motive Q ualities 93
XI . The M o d ifi c at iv e Qualities 10 7
“ ” “
Human of cours e means of or per
, ,
”
taining to man o r ma nk ind Therefore.
,
“
The natural disposition o f mind of any p er
s on ; temper ; pers onal character ; indi vidual
9
10 HU M A N NA T URE
“
Prof Wm James says
. . What k ind o f
emotion o f fea r woul d be l eft if the feeling
neither o f trembling lip s no r o f wea k ened
limbs neither o f goo s e fl e sh nor of visceral
,
-
”
calm b reathing and a pl ac i d face ?
,
“
P r of H allec k s ay s
. All t h e emotions
h ave wel l d e fine d muscular expre s sion Da r
-
.
T h e E xp r e s s io n o f t h e E mo t io ns in M an and
A nimals , to which students must refer for a
detailed account of such expres sion . A v ery
INN ER S TA T E A N D O U T ER F O R M 13
fact that a p hy s ic al e xp r e s s io n r el at e d t o a
INN E R S TA T E A ND O U T E R F O R M 15
m e n t al s t at e , wil l, if v o lu nt ari ly in d u c e d ,
t e nd t o in t u r n ind u c e t h e men t al s t at e ap
p p i at e
r o r t o it
We have used these quota
.
”
feeling frivolous .
“
Prof Wm Jame s says '
. . Whistling to
k eep up courage i s no mere figure o f speech .
16 H U M A N NA T URE
“
Dr Wo o d Hutchinson s ays '
. T o what,
”
t er te l ls o f a b oy at scho ol who attained
great proficiency in the game o f even o r
”
odd in which o ne player strives to g u es s
whether the marbles held in th e hand o f h i s
Opp onent are o d d o r even The boy s pl a n
.
’
f as hi o n t h e exp r e s s io n of my f ac e as ac c u l ,
-
r at e ly as p o s s ib l e in ac c o r d anc e wit h t h e ex
h e ar t , as if t o m at c h o r c o r r es p o nd wi t h t h e
’
e xp r e s s io nThi s respons e o f the s chool b oy
.
t o Campanella .
as fo l lows
‘
s u ad e d I become that whatever coars e af ’
“
Mar sh says E very human movement
'
”
p anie d with atomi c disturbance Pi c ton .
“
says ' The s oul n ever doe s one single action
by itself apart from s ome excitement of bod
“
ily tis sue E mers on says ' The rolling rock
l eave s it s s cratches o n the mountain ; the
river its channel in the soil ; the an ima l it s
bones in the stratum ; the fern and leaf their
modest epitaph in the coal The falling drop .
”
nature this s elf re gi stration is inces sant
-
.
”
tions wil l well s erve the purp o s e
,
“
Fear is often p receded b y a stonishment ,
usage means
,
a stamp mark o r S i g n e n , ,
”
gr aved o r stamped A s time pas sed the
.
“
term wa s extended to mean ' the p art e n
”
ac ted b y anyone in a play I n the common .
29
30 HU M A N NA TU RE
“
h as s a i d ' Heredity mean s much b ut what
,
”
forces .
“
G ates ha s said ' A t least ninety p er cent o f
our mental life i s sub cons cious I f y o u will
-
.
”
guide the ship by a moving of the he lm .
t h en, is f wi
a r e s u l t an t
ll po w eor h e r e d i ty ,
“
A s ' iehen says ' We cannot th i nk as we will ,
larger and s o on
,
.
“
this sense is defined a s ' That which con
,
“
p e r s o n a
,
meaning a mask u sed by
,
play ao -
”
tors ,
which in turn wa s derived from the
“ ”
two words p e r meaning through ,
and ,
“ ” “
s o no meaning
,
to s ound o r combined to
, , ,
”
sound through A nd the derivation of the
.
w h ic h i t s o u n d s sp ea ks or manifest s i tself
, , ,
“
Jeremy Taylor once s aid ' N 0 man can lon g
38
THE O U T E R P H A S E ' PER S O N AL I T Y 39
”
no respecter o f p e rs o ns i s that the Almighty
cared nothing for what p ar t in life a p erson
plays but h o w he plays it The old time
, .
-
—
his mask o f p ersonality his p er s o na —b y
which thos e who u n derstand may recognize
the p art he plays o r his chara cter I n both
,
.
“ ”
The mask o r make up of personality
, ,
found approval .
“
t o the discus sion ' S o slight a symptom a s
the s n ar l o r sneer th e o ne sided uncovering
,
-
g ro w to wa l k t al k c ar ry t h emselv es and
, , ,
“
look like their habitual mental attitude .
‘
Dr A T S c h ofi el d s ays '
. . . He I S a dull
,
‘
s cholar it is said w h o c annot read a man s
,
’
,
’
“
fabled ve il of the goddes s c onceals b ut to
,
”
r ev e a l
.
C HA PT ER IV
TH E T E MPE RA M E NTS
The student of Human Nature so on dis
covers that among men a s among the ani ,
Q UAL I T Y
T he first cla s sifi c ation of the individual s
o f the human race is that of Q u ali t y Inde .
“ ” “ ”
breed in other anim al s and Often b loo d
in men and women Perhap s o ne may unde r
.
50 HU M A N NA T URE
“
and yet wi ll b e recognized a s o ne o f Na
” “
ture s noblemen
’
and a s a natural gentle
,
”
man .
”
in the p ar l or These individua l s howeve r ,
.
,
“ ”
sou l and no t o f birth wealth o r even of
, , ,
”
education ' We may find many gentlemen ,
“ ”
education ; and a l s o many educated pigs
o f high line age and full coffers .
” “ ”
finenes s and coarsenes s come easily to
the mind and tongue and are p erhap s the
term s mos t sugge stive o f the two extremes of
this attribut e o f the Ma n .
T E MP ERA M E N T
“
is de fin ed a s That individual p eculi ar i ty
Of organiz ation by which the manner o f act
ing feeling and thinking o f e ach pe r s on i s
,
”
pas sions a nd a ffections .
brain .
suffering .
56 HU M A N NA T U R E
“ ”
crave the good things o f life ; fond o f
sport game s and play ; love variety of enter
,
”
fel l ows when it does not cost to o much physi
cal discomfort to themsel v es ; usually enj oy
go od health yet when ill are apt to b e v e r v
,
“
phrenologist says o f them that they in c line
to become agents overseers captains hotel
, , ,
”
hard work We have noticed that a large
.
“ ”
time s execute a quick right about face .
“ ” “ ”
artistic temp erament the crank with ,
B AL A NC E D T E M PERA M E NTS
“
says up on this point ' A well balanced o r
g anis m with all the temp eraments large and
,
“
t h o r it y said I n nature the temperament s
exist in combination o n e being however the
, , ,
os t extraordinary heritage ; it
would be constitutional perfection But .
,
64 HU M A N NA T U R E
M I ' E D T E M P E RA M E NTS
The exp erience of the older phrenol ogists ,
ou t o f do or trade s
- -
mechanics s oldiers and
, ,
“ ”
stout forms of the Vital When the Vi tal .
The Vi t al M e nt al and M en t al Vi t al t em
- -
68
FIG . 1
T H E ME N T A L QUA L IT IE S
70 HU M A N NA T URE
the individual .
power s .
“
A S E rbes states it the effect the scheme of
cranial mus cles have had and still have up on
the conformation o f the S kull and o ons s , ,
“
The same writer als o says ' The cereb r al
mas s owes its location and subs equent e xp an
sion moreover in a mea sure th at mind owes
, ,
72 HU M A N NA T URE
“ ”
brain and the nerve centres afo resaid .
and t h at c e r t ain ar e as o f t h e s ku l l a r e t hu s
as s o c i at e d wit h c e r t ain me n t al s t at e s , t h e s iz e
an d s h ap e o f thef o r m e r d en o t ing t h e d eg r e e
o f ac t ivi t y o f t h e l at t e r .
“ ” “
not to us e the t erms faculties ,
propen ,
” “ ”
sities and sentiments
,
in referring to ,
“ ” “
The term quality while denoting th e
,
to disprove it .
( See Fig .
and A pprobativenes s .
t iv e ly a s S e lf E s t e em and A pp ro b at ive n e s s
,
-
,
.
therefrom .
76
’ ‘
T H E E GO I S I I C QUA L ITIE S
78 HU M A N NA T URE
“ ”
middle line of the head at the crown ( see ,
“
found on the po p ular side and with th e
TH E EG OI ST I C Q U A L I T I E s ‘
79
”
c rowd . They thrive upon praise approval ,
“ ”
e nj oy a scrap and in the words of the
, ,
“
familiar s aying would rather fight than
,
”
eat . When c ombined with Vitativenes s it
manifest s in the tenden c y to fight hard fo r
l ife When combined with A cquisitivenes s it
.
81
F IG . 3
TH E MO TIV E QUA L ITIE S
84 HU M A N NA T URE
“
renders o ne very secretiv e and clo se
”
mouthed . With s trong A c qu is it iv ene s s it
renders one sly and tricky in b usines s Wit h .
( s e e group fig ure ) .
s e l f p rotecti on e t c I n exces s i t i s a p t to
-
, .
c o wa rdl y ,
b ut i n c o mbination wi th other
Q ualities i t t ends to gi v e t o o ne a b alance
and to r e s train him from ra shne s s and u n
n eces s ary ris k I ts directio n is al s o largely
.
in a s trong d es i re eit h er to a c qu i re o r e l s e
,
b u il ds up n ew s tructures up on the ru i n s
creat ed by that Quality I n persons o f the
.
“
I n broad b uilt and sto cky p e rs on s it ca uses
-
o u t upon them ,
and hence shows to b e less
”
than it really is . I t is directly b elow I deal
ity and in front of A cquisitiv ene s s .
CHA PT ER VIII
TH E VI T A T IVE Q UAL I T I E S
The third group is known as t h e Vitative
Qualities whic h is compos e d o f the three
,
VI TA T IV E N E SS T hi s quality manifes t s in
.
“
and is especially noticeable in the bro ad
”
headed people and animals The cat tribe .
,
“ ”
w hile it is deficient in the narrow headed -
“ ”
in whom it is developed die h ard while ,
89
F IG . 4
TH E VITA T I V E Q UAL I TIE S
92 HU M A N NA T URE
AM A TI VE N E SS Th i s Qu ality manifests in
.
“ ”
cient l ac k s pi rit and ener g y wh i le tho se ,
93
FIG 5
.
p r av e d .I ts s eat i s in t h e cereb e l l um o r
”
little b rain and it man i fest s outer form
,
“ ”
by an enlarged fullnes s at the nap e of the
neck at the b a s e o f the sku ll ( see grou p fi g
,
“
h eim sa y s o f i t ' I t i s s ituated at the top
of the n eck and it s size i s p ro p o rt i onate t o
,
“ ” —
a strong desire for a mate and o n e mate
only While Amativenes s may caus e o ne t o
.
“ ”
desire t o mate f o r life I t i s s omething
.
“ ”
strong ar e true unto death while tho se i n ,
“ ”
etc I t i s the s ocia l s ense
. Tho s e in whom
.
figure ) .
“
j ust above and just below the crown ,
( s ee Fig .
”
tabl e will arises from this Quality in fact ,
“
this Quality might w ell be termed the Will
”
Quality ,
a l though it manifests b y that a s
100
F IG . 6
TH E A PPL IC A TIV E QU A L ITIE S
1 02 H U M A N NA T URE
“
Fowler S peaking o f this Qua l ity said '
,
No ,
u i
g s h e d for anything not even crimes to lac k
, ,
it I t is an indispensable prerequisite o f
.
s t ifi ,
determined fortitude decision o f char ,
“ ”
there is manifested a fi ig h t ine s s tendency ,
“
and general instability and lack of s t ick to -
”
i t iv e n e s s
. This Quality manifest s outer
form on the centre line of the t O p back of the
head j ust below the cro w n ( Self E steem )
,
-
crescent shape ,
horns downward In .
.
1 06 HU M A N NA T URE
“
S p u r z h e im says o f it ' A poetic turn o f
mind results from a peculiar mode o f feel
ing Vividnes s glow e xaltation imagina
.
, , ,
c e p t ib il it y
. I t often act s with Spirituality
( Mysticism ) located adj oining it in embel
, ,
thi s o rgan .
“
Combe s ays ' This facu l ty loves exquisite
nes s perfection and the beau ideal ; gives
, ,
-
“ ”
tween top and bottom o f that part o f the
head which cont ains the brain ( see grou p
figure ) I t is back of I de ality and in fron t
.
,
” “
c rable S ize Combe says
. I have found
in the manifest ations o f those whos e Wit
( Mirthful n es s ) predominates over Causa l it y
( L ogi c ) a striking love of the pure l y l udi
cr o u s ; their gre at delight being to heap
ab surd and incongruous idea s together ; ex
tract laughter o u t of every Obj ect ; and e u
j oy the mirth their s al lies created ; and there
fore a g ree with S pu r z h e im that t h e s enti
ment of th e l udicrous is its primitive func
TH E M O D I F I C A T IV E QUAL I T I E S 1 13
”
t i on
. Thos e in whom it is very l arge ar e
apt to be regarded as trifling and u nd ig nifi e d ,
1 14
1 16 HU M A N NA T URE
“
the lines o f its cultivation a s follo w s Scan
,
”
b ot h a s a phil o s ophy and a sentiment .
T H E R E L A T IVE Q UAL I T I E S 117
“
Tact These p eople are all things t o all
.
men ,
and S how every evidence of having
“
kis s ed the Blarney Stone and of under
“
standing th e manufacture a n d use o f soft
”
s o ap .
”
fore swa l lowing When the adj oining Qual
.
“ ” “ ”
d er s o ne t o o s mooth and oi l y ; while it s
120 HU M A N NA T URE
a little forward .
“ ”
work s of others ; to catc h their S pirit ; and
t o reproduce their wo rk o r ideas I n connec .
TH E R E L A T IVE QUAL I T I E S 12 1
b a c k o f S u a vi t y .
CHA PT ER X III
TH E P E R C E PT IVE QUAL I T I E S
T h e eighth group is known a s the Percep
tive Qualities comp os ed of the following par
,
F o rm ; S iz e ; W eig h t ; Co l o r ; O r d e r ; Calc u l a
t i o n ; T u n e ; T ime ; L o c ali ty ; E v e n t u a l it y and ,
12 2
1 24 HU M A N NA T URE
“ ”
name o f I ndividuality by the early phren
ologists but this term is considered mislead
,
“
Prof Sizer says of it that it gives a reco g
.
”
and ea c h i s an indiv iduality .
“
Prof O S Fowler say s '
. . . I t i s ada p ted
, ,
“
fact Prof O S Fowler s ays ' When it i s
. . .
“
I n p ro p ortion a s i t is large i t c au s e s the in
n e r p o rtion of the eye b rows to proj ect over
”
i nner p ort i on o f each eye .
n iz anc e appreciation
,
and recol l ect i on o f
,
“
s ay s ' D r aw a per p end i cul ar lin e fr om th e
TH E PER C E PT IVE QUA L I T I E S 1 29
”
this line under the eyebrows .
o rd e r,
me t h o d and ar r ang e ment Tho se in .
“ ”
They have a place for ev erything and like ,
1 30 HU M A N NA T U R E
“ ”
t o keep everything in its place I n busi .
“ ”
ness they are strong o n system sometime s ,
“
ler s ays ' When very large it forms an arch ,
n u mb e r fig u r es c alc u l at i o ns
, etc
,
Tho se in ,
.
t u n e mu s ic h ar m o ny m e l o d y etc
, ,
Those in
, , .
“
s ays '
When large i t fi l l s o u t the lowe r,
frontal p ortions o f the temples .
”
larger than i n adults .
d u r at i o n r hy t hm e t c
,
Tho se in whom it i s
,
.
” “
s ion o f phenomena I t may b e called the
.
”
t ime sense which i s s o apparent i n s ome p er
s ons ,and s o noticeable by reason of its ah
s ence in others I t manifests outer form
.
, ,
p lac e s p o s it io ns l o c at i o ns d ir e c t io ns etc
, , , ,
.
“ ”
are never lost nor confused as t o direction
o r l ocality ; they h ave an almo st instinctive
“ ”
s ens e o f direction I t is the geographical
.
o r traveller s s ense
’
I t is found large in the
.
“ ”
frequently get l o st o r mixed up re g ar di ng
,
”
t iv it y and vigor in it ( See g roup figure )
. .
t e rms ,
h
p r as es e tc and their me anings
,
.
, .
“ ”
verbosity talka t ivenes s and windines s of
, ,
”
correct measuring p oint of observation .
“ ”
together the r aw m a terial o f p erception ,
”
they are inactive .
“
Profes sor Nel s on Sizer s ays that it fre ,
“
G all says regarding its dis covery ' I Often
,
O S F ow l er s ays o f it
. . I t commence s at
the centre o f t h e forehead and runs upward
nearly to the hair When it p roj ects beyon d
.
it an ascending form .
“ ”
desire to inquire into the Why ? of things
— “
into Causes into the Wherefore ? ”
and to
rea s on therefrom t o eff e c t s and a pp lication
of laws Tho se in whom it is la r ge manifest
.
“
Combe says ' This faculty prompts u s o n
“
all occasions to ask Why is t hi s s o and what
, ,
”
i s its Obj ect ? I t d e mand s r e as o ns and
p r o o fs i n the rea soning o f it s o w ner a s w e ll,
”
a s from others .
“
Prof Nel s on Sizer s ays '
. I t gives ability
to look deeply into subj ect s and t o a p precia t e
,
“
ity g ives the desire to kn o w the w hy and
w h e r ef o r e o f things and to inve stigate the i r
,
”
g i v en mea sures etc , .
146 HU M A N NA T URE
t ic is m O p t imis m and Co ns ci e n t i o u s n es s r e
, , ,
thereof ( s ee Fig .
“ ”
b o l ic all y ex p res sed b y the wo rd Worship
'
,
.
1 48
F IG . 11
T H E RE LTGI O -M O RA L Q UA LI TIE S
1 50 HU M A N NA T URE
nent .
“
best S p u rz h e im says o f it ' Ho p e is nec e s
.
”
air i s full of feathers When this Quality.
“
o f beauty . I t ha s been said that the opti
mist s ees nothing but the body o f the dough
”
nut ; the p es simist noth ing but the hole
,
.
“
the B rotherhood of Man and the social con
,
”
s cience . I n fact the Quality itself gi ves r i se
“
to what is generally c alled the s ocial con
”
scien ce .
“
Combe s ay s of this Propensity ' A fter
more than thirty years expe ri ence o f the
world in actual life and in various count ries ,
t al s t at e s manif e s t in o u t w ar d fo rm T he
.
“
s ons are general l y considered to loo k stu
” “
p id while o thers have a bright intelligen t
, ,
” “ ”
expres sion ; some l o ok tri c ky w hile ,
“ ”
o thers lo o k hon e st and t r ustworthy .
“
Profes so r Nels on Sizer says ' Though all
h uman b eings ha ve the genera l human fo rm
—
and features though all have eyes no s e , ,
”
expres sion s are intens e o r peculiar .
“
Profes s or Drayton says E verything .
,
”
ments and attitudes .
SH A P E S OF F A CE S
The authorities in Physio g nomy divide t he
faces of persons into three general clas ses ,
“ ”
l oo k o u t fo r No 1 i n thi s respect They
. .
o ften j olly .
F IG 1 3
.
O B L N G FA C
O E
F IG . 14
PE P D F CE
A R- S H A E A
”
higher feelings They are general ly stu b
.
F IG 1 5
.
S QU
A RE F C
A E
“ ”
e r al ly known a s spiritual and are often,
”
very p sychic . T h e v are generally imp r ac
F IG 1 6 .
E GG SH P
-
FA C
A ED E
F IG . 17
I N VE R TE D E GG - SH A PE D FA C E
FIG . 19
N AR R O W FA CE
s i de V iew as we l l a s a fu ll face V i ew, o f t he
,
-
1 69
1 70 HU M A N NA T URE
“ ”
th e dominee ring b o s sy
, ,
tyrannical self ,
wi lled character .
1 72 H U M A N NA T URE
AW S '
A l o o s e d r o op ing j aw and O p en mo u t h in
,
p o nd e nc y .
“ ”
primi t iv e bite in the animal o r cave man - .
M OU THS
T h e O rienta l s have a prover b which runs
“
as follows ' By a man s eyes k now w ha t he ’
,
”
knew what he ha s been and is T h e s t udy
,
.
go od n o r b ad .
“ ”
and flexible they denote t h e windy p ers on
,
”
al l around di spo sition .
“
lig h t ly and p r o t ru d e s lig h t ly in a kis s like -
“
S l ant ing mo u t hs indicate trickine s s
-
foxi ,
”
nes s and general unreliability Cro o ke d .
e nc ie s .
th e opposite traits .
sym bol s
CHA PT ER XVIII
E YE S ,
EA RS AN D N OSE S
“
I t h a s been said that the eye s are the wi n
”
dows o f the s oul and indeed they d o expres s
,
“ ”
we call t h e expres sion o f th e e v e their con ,
“ ”
gives a p eculiar coquettish relaxation of
the upper eye lid which i s suggestive of the
-
,
L arg e p r o t ru din
, g ey es are held to b e in
d ic at iv e of wordines s talkativenes s and l ack
, ,
EAR S
Many physio gnomist s pa s s light l y over the
subj ect of the ears as an index o f character ,
a t t h e t ip ( u pp er pa r t ) is held t o be indicative
N OSES
All physio gnomists agree up on the import
ance of the no s e a s an index o f character Th e .
F IG . 21
A , ROMAN ; B , G RE CIA N C , CH E RU R I C
— “ ”
ture a general sharpnes s s o to Sp eak A .
“ ”
b l unt tip indicates a lack of sharpness and
“ ”
inquisitivenes s The upturn ed tip o r pug
.
, ,
feeling .
( )
1 The Sp atulate ; ( )
2 the Square ; ( 3 ) the
A rti s tic ; ( 4 ) th e E lementary ; ( 5 ) the Mixed ;
( 6 ) th e Phil o s 0 phi c ; and ( 7 ) the Psychic .
186
H UM A N NA T URE
F IG 2 .
SQU H ND
A RE A
F IG 2 5
.
AR TI S TIC H A N D
t i s t ic
nature with a ta ste fo r beautiful and r e
,
“ ”
witty speech and choice things generally
,
.
“
to b e we ll develope d in these c a s es and the ,
”
arti s tic temperament is found in it s full de
v e l o p me nt here
.
F IG 2 6
.
T RY H
E LE M E N A AN D
the special peculiarities of which are its short ,
“ ”
owners are of the earth earthy and hav e
, ,
In F ig . 2 8,
we S e e the Psychic Hand ,
F IG
.
P S Y C H IC H AN D
an d th e long thin p ointed fingers I ts own
,
.
ine s s etc
, .Wideness o f the p alm denote s
genero sity b ro ad mindednes s etc ; while a
,
-
,
.
ta l temp erament .
TH E W AL '
The s tudy of the Wa lk a s an index o f c h ar
acter is favored b y many authoritie s Ther e .
VOI CE
The Voice is a great revea l er of characte r .
“
Prof O S Fowler says '
. . . What ever makes
a nois e from the deafenin g roar of sea cat
, ,
”
c ome corres p ondingly r efined and p erfected .
“
Prof L A V aught says '
. . . A ffectionate
v oices always come fr om the b ac kh e ad .
”
ity o r Qualities produce this voice ? in each
cas e Study the v oice s o f tho s e who s e char
.
un known .
L AU GHS
“ ”
d ifference The vulga r haw haw denote s
.
-
TH E H A ND S H A ' E
-
and experience .
F I N IS .
i er i i r i
Un v s ty o f Cal fo n a
I I
S O UT HERN R EG O NAL L B RARY FAC L TY II
i r e e ee
4 0 5 H lg a d Av nu , Lo s Ang l s , CA 90 0 2 4 -1 3 88
e r i i r r
R t u n t h s mate rial to t he l b a y
r i rr e
f o m wh c h It was b o o w d .