On Phyfiogmmy. 4!^? 



dine, the attention of the learned was awakened 

 to alchemy, magic, judicial ajlrologyy the do£irine of 

 ftgnatures and fympathies, the Myfiic, "theofophic and 

 Roficrucian theology znd phy/iognomy — then fuc- 

 ceeded claftc philology — this gave way to 

 modern poetry and natural philojophy — to which 

 of late have been joined the ftudies of rational 

 theology, chemijiry, the philojophy of hiftory, the 

 hijlory of man and the /cience of politics. 



This very brief and imperfcd outline of the 

 progrefs of human learning, will neverthelefs 

 fufficiently illuftrate my meaning refpefting the 

 injary which phyfiognomy has fufFered from 

 a fortuitous connection with exploded literature. 

 Nothing is more common among mankind 

 than the hafty rejedtion of valuable opinions 

 from their artificial or accidental connexion 

 with other opinions untenable and abfurd. The 

 hiftory of theology in particular, and the 

 prefent complexion of theological opinions in 

 Europe, furnifh a pregnane inftance of the 

 truth of this remark. It will therefore be fuf- 

 ficient for me to obferve at prefent, that 

 during the fpace of about one hundred and 

 fifty years from the commencement of the fix- 

 teenth century, the authors on the fubjed of 

 phyfiognomy were very numerous ; and that 

 very many, if not the greateft part of them, 

 Treated exprefsly as fubjefls of importance 

 either magic alchemy, the do6lrine of figna- 



tures, 



