IMMOBILITY 57 



expression of pride stands in direct antithesis to that 

 of humility " ; from which it follows, if my philo- 

 sophy is sound, that the nose of Uriah Heep was 

 turned upwards. 



Of course, many emotions may share in the 

 moulding of a nose, and the whole subject is too 

 intricate and vast to be treated briefly. I have only 

 given a few examples to illustrate my argument, and 

 my conclusion is that the key to the peculiar signific- 

 ance and personal quality of the nose is to be found 

 in its immobility. The eyes and lips are incessantly 

 in motion, we can twitch and wrinkle the cheeks 

 and forehead, and muscles to move the ears are there, 

 though most men have lost control of them. But 

 the nose stands out like some bold promontory on a 

 level coast, or like the Sphinx in the Egyptian desert, 

 with an ancient history, no doubt, and a mystery 

 perhaps, but without response to any appeal. And 

 for this very reason it is an index, not to that which is 

 transient in the man, but to that which is permanent. 

 He may knit his brows to seem thoughtful and pro- 

 found, or compress his lips to persuade his friends 

 and himself that he has a strong will, but he can play 

 no trick with his nose. There it stands, an incor- 

 ruptible witness, testifying to what he is, and not 

 only to what he is, but to the rock whence he was 

 hewn and to the pit whence he was digged. For his 

 nose is a bequest from his ancestors, an entailed 

 estate which he cannot alienate. 



