Chap. VIII. EXPRESSION OF HIGH SPIRITS. 211 



the eyebrows a little, and raises the eyelids. Hence the 

 Latin phrase, exporrigere front em — to unwrinkle the 

 brow — means, to be cheerful or merry. The whole ex- 

 pression of a man in good spirits is exactly the opposite 

 of that of one suffering from sorrow. According to Sir 

 C. Bell, " In all the exhilarating emotions the eyebrows, 

 eyelids, the nostrils, and the angles of the mouth are 

 raised. In the depressing passions it is the reverse." 

 -Under the influence of the latter the brow is heavy, the 

 eyelids, cheeks, mouth, and whole head droop; the eyes 

 are dull; the countenance pallid, and the respiration 

 slow. In joy the face expands, in grief it lengthens. 

 Whether the principle of antithesis has here come into 

 play in producing these opposite expressions, in aid of 

 the direct causes which have been specified and which 

 are sufficiently plain, I will not pretend to say. 



With all the races of man the expression of good 

 spirit appears to be the same, and is easily recognized. 

 My informants, from various parts of the Old and New 

 Worlds, answer in the affirmative to my queries on this 

 head, and they give some particulars with respect to 

 Hindoos, Malays, and New Zealanders. The brightness 

 of the eyes of the Australians has struck four observers, 

 and the same fact has been noticed with Hindoos, New 

 Zealanders, and the Dyaks of Borneo. 



Savages sometimes express their satisfaction not only 

 by smiling, but by gestures derived from the pleasure 

 of eating. Thus Mr. Wedgwood 18 quotes Petherick 

 that the negroes on the Upper Nile began a general rub- 

 bing of their bellies when he displayed his beads; and 

 Leichhardt says that the Australians smacked and clacked 

 their mouths at the sight of his horses and bullocks, and 



18 



A ' Dictionary of English Etymology,' 2nd edit. 1872, 

 Introduction, p. xliv. 



