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Lyle Zapato

Physiognomics As She Is Spoke

Lyle Zapato | 2006-09-25.7000 LMT | Random Found Thing | Miscellaneous | Retro
George Morland
Aquasorbitiveness large.
George Morland, a talented painter, who died as he had lived, a great drunkard.

The 1871 book A New Physiognomical Chart by Joseph Simms, M.D. presents an original physiognomic classification system based on over 100 faculties -- such as characterioscopicity, computationumericality, and physiœlpidicity -- discernable by a combination of body types and facial features.

Each faculty is given an entry that includes a descriptive physiognomic characteristic; a grading scale from 1 to 12; methods to increase or decrease ones grade, should one choose; and illustrations of individuals who exemplify the faculty, positively or negatively.

While some of the faculty names are still in usage (e.g. "ambitiousness" and "credulousness" -- which Simms conveniently considers a faculty worthy of promotion), most are all but lost to the Internet (The Phrontistery doesn't even have a list!)

So, for the sake of huntatative types who wish to expand their linguastiveness, find grist for their salitive mill, or are just trying to tell their temporinaturalitiveness from their temporimechanicality, here's a glossary of select physiognomic faculties (those with high degrees of both amicitiveness and ordinimentality, please feel free to add these words to Wiktionary to edify future generations of physiognomicists):

Acquiesciveness
The disposition to be satisfied in a quiet manner.
Amicitiveness
The fraternal disposition and gregarious inclination.
Angularitiveness
The ability of appreciating the qualities and beauties of angles and straight lines.
Animalimitationality
The power of imitating the motions, postures, and actions of animal forms.
Vitellius
Appetentiveness high.
Vitellius, the sensuous gourmand Emperor of Rome, who ate 2000 dish of fowl and 7000 of fish at a single meal.
Appetentiveness
The faculty or quality of appetite.
Aquasorbitiveness
Appreciation and love of water-drinking, water scenery, bathing, etc.
Assaultativesness
The disposition to attack the rights or person of another.
Autohegemony
The faculty which gives a high estimate of one's own actions or capacities.
Characterioscopicity
The endowment which gives the power of penetrating and understanding the character of others.
Chromaticalness
The innate quality that clearly perceives and judges tints, hues, and colours.
Computationumericality
Skill in counting and reckoning.
Concealativeness
The inclination to hide or withhold the knowledge of things or thoughts—the instinct not to tell the mouse that the cat is watching until the mouse is caught.
Cat
Consecutiveness large.
Selfish cat.
Consecutiveness
The capacity of appreciating and producing propositions in consecutive order.
Contrativeness
This quality, or faculty, in human beings, is that which gives the disposition to assume the opposite, and in animals, to act contrary to the wishes of individuals, either men or animals.
Curvativeness
The capacity of being able to appreciate and judge of the beauties and qualities of curves.
Demonlitiousness
The propensity to mar, deface, or destroy.
Economosity
Faculty of economical management.
Elevativeness
That quality of mind that tends to elevate character as well as body.
Factimemoriativeness
The faculty of retaining previously attained knowledge.
Futuritiveness
The desire of a future life.
Graspativeness
The propensity to gain by extortion, or addiction to gain by plunder or oppression.
Huntativeness
The disposition to search for or follow after any person of thing.
Intermutativeness
The capacity of changing or placing one thing in lieu of another.
Linguastiveness
The ability to utter articulate sounds successively in such a manner as to convey intelligence.
Locomotivity
The desire of action and ability of changing place while preserving identity.
Mentimitativeness
The power that copies mental efforts.
Mnemonicnominality
The mnemonic power of recollecting names.
Mrs. Osoli eye
Monoeroticity large.
Mrs Margaret Fuller Osoli, whose connubial love was so strong that she preferred to drown rather than to leave her husband.
Brigham Young eye
Monoeroticity small.
Brigham Young, the noted polygamist, who has upwards of sixty wives.
Monoeroticity
The disposition to love one only. (See Polyeroticity.)
Morivalorosity
The endowment that prompts its possessor to be courageous when thoughts require moral support.
Olfactiveness
Olfactiveness is the sense or faculty by which we perceive the qualities of substance by their effluvia or emanations.
Ordinimentality
The quality or endowment that inclines one to arrange and systematise thoughts, or ideas.
Ordiniphysicality
The desire to arrange physical substances, or attributes.
Persistenacity
The disposition of holding on, the propensity to pursue a course of designs or conduct.
Philomonotopicalness
The affection for one place, or, habit of becoming attached to one situation or locality.
Philonepionality
The characteristic of feeling pleasure in the young.
Physiodelectatiousness
The disposition and inclination for sensual delights.
Physiœlpidicity
The faculty of hope relating to the physical world and material things.
Physioharmonitiveness
The power which appreciates that physical condition in which all parts of the body are rounded and in perfect accordance.
Physiovalorisity
Material and corporeal courage; resistance to every species of physical force.
Polyeroticity
The disposition to love many. (See Monoeroticity.)
Thomas D'Urfey
Practicalitiveness small.
Thomas D'Urfey, a facetious English poet, who wrote several plays and songs, yet they were of no practical value, and justly forgotten because of their licentiousness.
Practicalitiveness
The quality of being practical—making a good use of everything.
Propotionativeness
Recognition of the true relation of parts to each other.
Puritativeness
The virtue of chastity and innocence undefiled.
Rectituditiveness
The faculty that incites honesty of purpose and straight-forwardness of conduct.
Sagacitiveness
Sound of judgement and shrewdness are concomitants of the faculty of sagacitiveness.
Salitiveness
The power of seizing on thoughts and occurrences, and presenting them in a laughable manner, chiefly depending on quickness of fancy.
Sentinelitiveness
The precautious disposition that sets one or more on the watch, to keep a sharp look-out, and give warning of approaching danger.
Solicitusreputativeness
An innate wish for the favourable opinion of others.
Solidativeness
The power that judges of solidity or compactness.
Sonidiffusitiveness
The capacity of producing or making a sound or musical tone with the mouth,—vociferativeness.
Spementality
The faculty that desires some mental or spiritual good.
Structurodexterity
The ability of forming and constructing readily and dexterously, materials or mental products.
Sublimitasity
The expansive swelling of the soul that appreciates the elevated grandeur of nature as well as the elevating, lofty expression of thought and feeling—"all that expands the spirit yet appals."
Temporimechanicality
The ability to judge of time made by instruments, mechanical appliances, or direct motions.
Temporinaturalitiveness
The power of judging or comprehending the time of the year, the seasons, or the revolutions of the planets.
Tonireceptionality
The ability of receiving or appreciating tone, or sound.
Tradistiveness
The tendency to trade and barter.
Voluntativeness
Having strength of will and power to execute it.

Also, be sure to check out Rocky vs. the King of Spain on page 13.

I'll leave you with this side-by-side comparison of Charles "Tom Thumb" Stratton (left) and Abe Lincoln (right) from page 15, illustrating the two extremes of the Osseous or Bony Form:

Lincoln vs. Thumb

End of post.