BEAUTY, 805 



tenance. A merely nice-looking face of a com- 

 monplace sort would have lost all its good looks 

 under such a severe trial — a truly fine and intel- 

 ligent one merely suffers the loss of its first effect, 

 but still retains all its inherent nower to please 

 after the first novelty of the queer external 

 appearance has worn off, and the features, as we 

 rightly say, continue to grow upon us. 



Even more important to every right-thinking 

 and sensible person than these outer signs of 

 intellectual vigor is the natural evidence in every 

 face of the underlying moral qualities, for good or 

 for evil. A gently smiling face is pleasing to all 

 of us; a scowling or frowning one is naturally 

 unpleasant. So deeply ingrained in our very 

 natures is this primordial distinction of feeling 

 that even children in arms will smile responsive 

 to their mother's smile, and cry at a frown or a 

 grimace from their nurse or a stranger. Good 

 temper makes even plain or foolish faces often 

 more than merely endurable ; a fixed and settled 

 look of discontent, or querulousness, or sulky 

 temperament often spoils the most even and regu- 

 lar features. Some otherwise good faces are 

 rendered unpleasing by surliness, some by pride, 

 some by vanity, some by vacuity, some by malevo- 

 lence, and some by envy, hatred, malice, and^l 

 uncharitableness. Still more immediately pairi^l 

 and distressing to every beholder are the visible 



