3 86 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



bolts on Olympus. Who ever saw a man commanding a man-of- 

 war or driving a locomotive with the contentious lip of a school 

 usher ? 



The typical expressions of the members of those three liberal 

 professions which Sir Thomas Browne says are all founded upon 

 the Fall of Adam are well enough recognized to have been long 

 the prey of the caricaturist. The several distinctive traits of 

 each, and the possible causes which give rise to them, are too 

 complex to be dealt within a single article. Speaking very gener- 

 ally, the cleric's face is indicative of authority (of the thin-lipped 

 kind) and of a dignified sense of the sanctity of his office. The 

 doctor's jaw and mouth are less rigid, yet tell of decision. His 

 eye is vigilant and sympathetic, and his whole facial aspect con- 

 veys the idea of a fund of untapped wisdom. The lawyer's coun- 

 tenance is confident and confidential, with a pouncing alertness of 

 the eye, and a prevailing expression of weighty perspicacity. 



Of course it must be understood that in such a summary one 

 is dealing with the broadest generalities. Marked exceptions to 

 the rule for each class will be within every one's experience. I 

 am inclined to think that in the learned professions the facial 

 characteristics are much less marked than formerly. This may 

 partly be accounted for by the modern laxity of fashion as to 

 shaving the lip and chin. But also, there can be little doubt that 

 the custom of carrying a sort of perpetual personal trade-mark is 

 diminishing. Military officers no longer wear their uniform in 

 private life, and the doctor and lawyer have both acquired a weak- 

 ness to be classed, socially, as human beings. 



It is noteworthy (and here my own observation has been sup- 

 ported by one of the most alert minds of this generation) that the 

 leading members of the medical and legal professions do not dis- 

 play the facial symbols to anything like the same extent as the 

 rank and file. This is especially so with regard to the expression 

 of the mouth, and may be due to the absence of that anxious en- 

 deavor to look like a wise doctor or lawyer which possesses most 

 ordinary practitioners in their earlier years. 



The fact that two people who live long together tend to grow 

 alike is accounted for by unconscious mimicry reacting upon the 

 muscles of expression in the same way that a ruling passion does. 

 This tendency to facial imitation is very general in fact, almost 

 universal and may be so marked as to be easily noticed ; so that 

 when two people are engaged in animated conversation, the ex- 

 pression of the listener may often be seen to echo that of the 

 speaker. How " infectious " is a smile or a laugh, even when the 

 idea which gave rise to it in the first case is not transferred ! 



Several times, when talking to young people, I have suddenly 

 and purposely adopted some change of expression, such as the 



