174 PHYSIOGNOMY OF DISEASE. 



that are presumably in great measure, if not altogether, 

 physical. Brehm describes the c pitiable ' expression of a 

 baboon's face, accompanying headache, after a debauch ; as 

 he does also the grimaces of drunken apes. A woeful cast 

 of features is exhibited also in griefs of all kinds. Dr. John 

 Brown speaks of the ( sour ' or * glum ' look of the dog. 



Gravity of look, as of demeanour, is a common indication 

 of disease, actual or approaching, though it is an attribute 

 also of mere age. It is an accompaniment of decay of the 

 mental and bodily powers ; and it is said, moreover, to be a 

 natural characteristic of certain animals. In the young, 

 however, it may be safely regarded as morbid as an indica- 

 tion of disease, mental or bodily ; and it is a symptom or 

 condition always significant, even in the adult. No doubt 

 experience especially that of want and persecution of the 

 seriousness of life will beget it ; and where such a cause is 

 readily provable there need be no difficulty in accepting this 

 view of its etiology. 



Want of expression in the face or features, impassiveness 

 of facial expression, has been remarked upon in the orang. 

 But the commentator (Buchner) adds to his statement that 

 the said orang's * features remained always alike .... just 

 as those of savages do ' in which case it did not necessarily 

 point to the presence of, or arise from, disease. Grenville 

 Murray draws attention to the occasional want of expression 

 or of expressiveness in the features or facial physiognomy of 

 the dog, as well as to the evil expression of its countenance, 

 both under certain circumstances. 



Biting is a habit or action that deserves special attention 

 in reference to its occasional pathological origin and signifi- 

 cance. In such animals as the dog and horse it may, as has 

 been shown in another chapter, be a mere act of self-defence, 

 as when either animal is teased by mischievous children, or 

 when the bitch is harassed by her own pups ; or it may be 

 quite innocuous, as when the toothless pup bites in play. 

 But, on the other hand, it may possess a serious significance, 

 which is either not properly understood or is perversely mis- 

 understood, in reference, for instance, to rabies. In the dog 

 it cannot be sufficiently borne in mind that the propensity to 



