Chap. XII. ASTONISHMENT. 2S1 



ceive the cause as quickly as possible; and we consequent- 

 ly open our eyes fully, so that the field of vision may be 

 increased, and the eyeballs moved easily in any direc- 

 tion. But this hardly accounts for the eye"brows being 

 so greatly raised as is the case, and for the wild staring 

 of the open eyes. The explanation lies, I believe, in the 

 impossibility of opening the eyes with great rapidity by 

 merely raising the upper lids. To effect this the eye- 

 brows must be lifted energetically. Any one who will 

 try to open his eyes as quickly as possible before a mirror 

 will find that he acts thus; and the energetic lifting up 

 of the eyebrows opens the eyes so widely that they stare, 

 the white being exposed all round the iris. Moreover, 

 the elevation of the eyebrows is an advantage in looking 

 upwards; for as long as they are lowered they impede 

 our vision in this direction. Sir C. Bell gives 3 a curious 

 little proof of the part which the eyebrows play in open- 

 ing the eyelids. In a stupidly drunken man all the mus- 

 cles are relaxed, and the eyelids consequently droop, in 

 the same manner as when we are falling asleep. To coun- 

 teract this tendency the drunkard raises his eyebrows; 

 and this gives to him a puzzled, foolish look, as is well 

 represented in one of Hogarth's drawings. The habit of 

 raising the eyebrows having once been gained in order 

 to see as quickly as possible all around us, the movement 

 would follow from the force of association whenever 

 astonishment was felt from any cause, even from a sud- 

 den sound or an idea. 



With adult persons, when the eyebrows are raised, 

 the whole forehead becomes much wrinkled in trans- 

 verse lines; but with children this occurs onlv to a 

 slight degree. The wrinkles run in lines concentric with 

 each eyebrow, and are partially confluent in the middle. 



3 ' The Anatomy of Expression,' p. 106. 

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