haracter. An inert and weak soul, which never overflows in passions,
has no physiognomy at all; and want of expression is the leading
characteristic of the countenance of the imbecile. The original features
which nature gave him continue unaltered; the face is smooth, for no soul
has played upon it; the eyebrows retain a perfect arch, for no wild
passion has distorted them; the whole form retains its roundness, for the
fat reposes in its cells; the face is regular, perhaps even beautiful,
but I pity the soul of it!

A physiognomy of (perfect) organic parts, e.g., as to the form and size
of the nose, eyes, mouth, ears, etc., the color of the hair, the height
of the neck, and such like, may perhaps possibly be found, but certainly
not very easily, however much Lavater should continue to rave about it
through ten quarto volumes. He who would reduce to order the capricious
play of nature, and classify the forms which she has punished like a
stepmother, or endowed as a mother, would venture more than Linnaeus, and
should be very careful lest he become one with the original presented to
him, through its monstrous sportive variety.

Yet one more kind of sympathy deserves to be noticed, since it is of
great importance in physiology. I mean the sympathy of certain
sensations for the organs from which they sprang. A certain cramp in the
stomach causes a feeling of disgust; the reproduction of this sensation
brings back the cramp. How is this?

S 23.--The Remains of the Animal Nature is also a Source of Perfection.

Although the animal part of man preserves for him the many great
advantages of which we have already spoken, still, one may say that, in
another aspect, it remains always despicable; viz., the soul thus
depends, slave-like, on the activity of its tools; the periodical
relaxation of these prescribes to the soul an inactive pause and
annihilation at periods. I mean sleep, which, one cannot deny, robs us
at least of the third part of our life. Further, our mind is completely
dependent on the laws of the body, so that the cessation of the latter
puts a sudden stop to the continuance of thoughts, even though we be on
the straight, open path towards truth. If the reason have ever so little
fixed upon an idea, when the lazy matter refuses to carry it out, the
strings of the thinking organs grow weary, if they have been but slightly
strained; the body fails us where we need it most. What astonishing
steps, one may inf