POSTURES OF THE UPPER EXTREMITY. 181 



the probable indication of the conditions analogous 

 to these, we get some kind of explanation of this 

 posture. The wrist drooping is analogous to that 

 seen in rest; the over-extension of the knuckles 

 and thumb is analogous to conditions such as 

 chorea, nervousness, and exhaustion. 



IX. Consider if the posture be the antithesis of 

 any other known spontaneous posture. 



This principle has been exemplified in contrast- 

 ing the nervous hand and the energetic hand. It 

 is probable that in many cases opposite conditions 

 of the nerve-mechanism producing postures, will 

 produce antithetical postures. Charles Darwin 

 used the principle of antithesis to explain many 

 modes of expression (see " Expression of the Emo- 

 tions," p. 28). 



This principle of antithesis is also recognized by 

 John Bulwer (see p. 325). 



