IALK5 orf W^ApMOLPG LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. www m Shelly UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY THE AET OF KNOWING CHAEACTEE THEOUGH HANDWEITING BY c,0^- H. L. E. and M. L. E. ' To be a well-favored man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature. Shakespeare BOSTON LEE AND SHEPABD PUBLISHERS 10 MIIiK STREET 1892 Copyright, 1892, by Lee and Shepard All Rights Reserved Talks on Graphology Typography and Electrotyping by C. J. Peters & Son, Boston CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Introductory . 1 II. Graphology as a Science ........ 15 III. Beading the Signs 29 IV. Dissection and Analysis 39 V. Analysis of a Letter 85 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY THE ART OF KNOWING CHARACTER THROUGH HANDWRITING CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY " And do you mean to say that if I write you a few lines, you will look carefully at them, draw inferences, form conclusions, and then proceed to tell me facts about myself ? — my habits of thought and action, my disposition, my individual characteristics ? " How many times within the past six months has that question been put to us ! And we, who are but two humble followers of Jean Hippolyte Michon, 2 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY having read his books and tested his methods, answer simply, ** Yes : if you will now write a few lines in ink, on unruled paper, and sign your name, we can tell you something ; if you will give us a letter, written freely and frankly to an intimate friend, we can tell you much ; if you will let us see three or four letters, sent at different periods in your life, we can tell you more about yourself than you could or would tell us." " But that wouldn't be fair ! I write a miserable hand : the capitals are not gracefully formed, the lines are uneven, the letters are irregu- lar ; yet, I'm not so bad as all that ! " " You mistake Graphology," we reply : a the chirography of Fenelon, Racine, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Browning, is nobly beautiful, although in each case it is not pretty to look at." ."But I never write twice alike." — "That in itself is a sign of moods, of mobility, of lack of fixedness ; natures which are calm, cold, and unvarying have a handwriting that shows little change." INTRODUCTORY 3 " But this does not stand to reason : we write as we learned to write. If we studied the ' angular hand/ we write in this fashion : — Plate 1. whereas, if we were taught from curved models, our script is this : — Plate 2. " But do we write as we learned to write ? " At one fashionable school in New York, a number of young ladies were graduated from TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY the writing-class, and received their diplomas. One of these at that time wrote as this address indicates : — Plate 3. Five years subsequent to this her hand had changed as below ^L^OyU j^ZyU^^^C^ Plate 4. And here is a specimen of her writing as it appears to-day : — Plate 5. INTRODUCTORY 5 To our certain knowledge she has not taken a lesson in writing, nor opened a copy-book, since she left school. You know of a hand that has not varied in ten years ? That is a pity. One who shows no change in character as he grows older is a sad sight. In these instances at the least the curves have displaced some of the angles in the letters ; and Graphology declares that even this indicates some growing dif- ferences. If we change, the graphic signs of alteration are always to be found. "Does the handwriting grow prettier and more graceful as we grow nobler?" Perhaps; perhaps not; but the fresh signs will be there. As we said before, mere prettiness has no virtue or merit in Graphology as a science. " As a science ! Do you call Graphology a science?" Yes, we do: it reveals itself as a science; read on, study, compare, and in proper time you cannot but be convinced that there is more scientific method in it than you now believe. Farther on we shall arrive at the philosophical reasons, illustrations, and proofs, as found in 6 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY the " Systeme de Graphologie " of M. Michon, to whom we have already referred. If there were no other proofs, it is reasonable to think that even minute traits of character might stand revealed in the habitual tracing of a line. But, for the present exercise, look at some quite conspicuous national peculiarities as shown by the popular pen. Handwriting is made by races. You can tell almost at once what is foreign and what is home-born ; the rule is easily illustrated : such a people — such a chirog- raphy. Races that are gentle, impressionable, artistic, indolent, have naturally their scriptural movement in soft and graceful curves. On the other hand, those races which are more hardy, rigid, industrious, or phlegmatic, have their scriptural movement in angles, sometimes almost rudely accentuated. Take, for example, the Italians, and contrast them in this respect with the Germans. Put the writing of Cavour, as shown in plate 6, alongside of that of Bismarck which follows : — INTRODUCTORY ioJMUaJ doJ a^m -m^u/tm/ Plate 7. Here you see genius in two men belonging to two races. Further : every one knows at a glance the " English Angular Hand." It has become so fashionable that many of our schools send to London for copy-books. Is it not a portrait of the English national traits ? 8 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY Let us make a slight study of them to find their influence on that thing so delicate, so fine, so intimate, so personal, that we name it " the hand." The English chirography has for its dominating characteristic a prodigality of angles. As the character of the English nation has more and more bent towards all that is positive, angular, practical, and almost mathematical in its methods, so has the angle, right or acute, accumulated in the national hand. After this graphic sign, which always bespeaks firmness, rigidity, and severity, comes the sign of determination, — terminals like a club : see the ys ; see the ps in happy : — / Plate 8. ' INTRODUCTORY 9 These belong to men of resolution, men who are able to will, and to carry out to the smallest detail any purpose once formed. The next graphic sign in this writing is that of prudence. The English are observant. They are constantly making moral experiments, and so learning experience. But experience teaches them how easy it is to be deceived ; hence they become guarded and defiant, whereupon the short dash appears, scattered profusely between phrases. Is not this generally to be found in their writing, even in letters written by English women ? Usually, also, the English hand has the sign of candor : few tapering words are to be found. The Englishman is not afraid to be outspoken. Finally, this hand shows little or no susceptibility or sensitivity ; the letters slant but very slightly. In that strong race it is the brain that governs. Of course it is hardly necessary to say that no fixed rule obtains in such a case. Not all English men and women write alike ; the variations of individual temperament are to be expected. Only we 10 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY shall see that when the handwriting contains none of the signs enumer- ated above, the writer certainly will be found to possess few of the national characteristics of the English people. And so, if there were space for the exercise just now, we might dis- sect the French, German, and Italian handwriting, as well as our own ; although Americans, perhaps, are too young a people to claim a typical chirography. We can here, however, only suggest this interesting study, leaving our readers to pursue it at their own pleasure. In our next paper will be found an abridged translation of a single, and really very fine, chapter of one of Michon's books. But here we may as well state that the most convincing proof of the verity of this science will be secured from one's personal application of it. A careful observation is safer than any mere process of argumentation. Take letters of your own ; study them in the light of the rules we propose to give. Use a magnifying glass ; no good work in Graphology can be done without such a help : examine your own handwriting. Observe a INTRODUCTORY 11 few carefully chosen signs, and compare them as to their intensity, as directions will be given later on. Remember that one graphic sign never destroys another, even when it seems to act upon it. In our own characters there are warring elements. Our well-being and well-living depend on the balance of power, the domination of the good over the bad. . You may find secretiveness and dissimulation indicated : see if there are signs of frankness and honesty to control the tendency. Note which are the stronger. You may find melan- choly and depression of spirits strongly marked : look for the sign of a vigorous will-power there also, encouraging you to fight your way to higher ground. Study yourself : it is worth while. Our friends never tell us quite the truth : why should they ? Should we love them better if they threw no kindly cloak over our shortcomings ? Nosce te ipsum :. it is for each man to know himself. Your handwriting will tell you your faults, quite possibly with even brutal honesty. Then you can correct them ; and the writing will, in due time, show you that 12 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY you have done a new deed of self-help in all that promises for a fresh future. Furthermore, here is a hint of the way in which you can become better acquainted with some of your friends. Study their letters with critical care. Do you find falsity, jealousy, egotism ? Consider such indications kindly but prudently, in case the great crisis of life or experience depend upon them. Withhold your trust for a little if the signs are overpowering. Do you find sincerity and constancy ? Give an affectionate confidence without hesitation, and be thankful. That has always been the way in which you have searched' their looks and speech and actions : why should you not search the letters they write you? In the training of children could there be a greater help to a mother or a teacher than the perfect understanding of the children under her care ? A lady showed to a graphologist the handwriting of her little son. "What do you find there?" she asked, seeing him repress an INTRODUCTORY 13 exclamation of surprise. " Madame/' he replied, "you may never fear to trust him with his father's fortune: he will not squander it." — "No, I should think not!" exclaimed the mother. " He is a little miser." In business what a safeguard to men of affairs ! For even in the days of typewriting like ours, much is revealed in the signing of one's checks. If this science be shown to be intelligible and trustworthy, there will be singular help in it. He is strong who can judge character, penetrate instincts, and discover the passions of the men he has to deal with in the intricacies and exposures of business life. And, beyond all this, there might be assistance in the processes of our law-courts. A man is accused of base wickedness : if his hand- writing should show brutality, dishonesty, vile passions, and a lack of all good impulses, would it not be safe to conclude the verdict of "guilty" a just one, if decided upon by the jury ? On the other hand, if his writing indicated a life of purity, self-abnegation, uprightness, and 14 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY virtue, would it not be fair to weigh the evidence once again, for fear of a possible and, in the end, a remediless mistake ? If Graphology, then, is at all philosophical, and if it can be relied upon for such exigencies, of what untold value must this science be to those who wish to read and understand their fellow-men. GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 15 CHAPTER II GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE Among observers of human nature it has come to be a recognized truth that every one manifests in external signs his inmost personality, frequently while quite unaware of his self-betrayal. A man snows by his walk, by his gestures, by his habits of dress, his real character. The individuality of the person is so strong that it colors all that he does. A trained ear listening to music will recognize at once a Mozart Overture, a Beethoven Symphony, or a Wagner Opera, by the utter un- likeness of each to the work of another composer. A connoisseur in painting will tell at a glance a Schreyer from a Daubigny, or a Raphael from a copy made by one of the master's own pupils, If a hundred 16 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY artists, all studying under the same teacher, draw from the same model, and if all these copies resemble the original most strikingly, neverthe- less will each one have a character peculiar to itself, a touch or a color, ing that will distinguish it from the others. Since this is true in painting, how much more striking is it in writing, where the delicate mechanism of the fingers responds so subtly and so swiftly to the spirit directing it. The philosophy of Graphology, as a manifestation of the soul by means of written signs, rests on the great fact of the intimate relation existing between every sign that emanates from the personality and the soul itself, which is the substance of this personality. Who can doubt that a word is the swift translation of a thought ? And is not every handwriting a translation equally subtle and instantaneous ? The beloved friend a hundred miles away who receives those char- acters that express to her so many affectionate thoughts, hears them with the eye, just as though distance were annihilated and the writer GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 17 suddenly appearing spoke with his lips the words represented by the pen. These are simple but indisputable facts. Writing has been called "the art of speaking to the eyes,' 1 and this expression is strictly correct. Since, then, there is such an intimate relation between the thought and the handwriting that the latter disappears, in reality, and is no longer anything more than a sign beneath which the living thought reaches instantly another thought that perceives it. why should there not be an equally intimate relation between the form of this writing and the intellectual and moral traits of the individual behind it ? If we write ten lines rapidly under the influence of a profound grief or a great love, are we likely to be scrupulously careful as to the form we give to the letters ? Does the lightning calculator who sums up figures with startling rapidity, think of the various arithmetical pro- cesses through which his studies have led him ? The hand that writes, as well as the pen that calculates, does a purely intellectual action. 18 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY When the child has learned to write, or the beginner in arithmetic has studied the rules, he has acquired an art. But when he has had long practice, and has learned to write or to calculate with the mental activity that outstrips the quickest pen, the mechanical process ceases to be of importance : it is the soul that writes, the brain that calculates. It is just so with the visible form given to a word in any language. It becomes finally an automatic act, so that the pen perpetually makes one letter in place of another, quite uncon- sciously. For example, many persons write boubou for bonbon — the n assuming the form of u. See below the n in Band of Hope. Others use a y for a g, as in Browning. Plate 8B. n*-£#i4> /br*K/ Plate 9. O^C^tCj GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 19 We therefore reach this conclusion, that after long habit of writing or speaking, it is the mind that writes or speaks the sound in the word, the letter in the writing being merely a sign employed to express the thought. A second fact of great importance is that there are as many vari- eties of handwriting as of character. In searching through the West- ern world, including America, peopled by Europeans, one is struck by the invariability of this rule, even in those languages whose alphabet is composed of letters like those we print, — placed side by side with- out touching, such as the Arabic or the Hebrew. The same differences are to be seen : individuality still asserts itself. The tall, stately char- acters attributed to Mahomet, the delicate, airy lines of Abd-el-Kader, the irregular, heavy writing of the fierce Ali Pacha of Janina, do not resemble each other in the least respect. Now, this fact has great value if we remember that we have all commenced to write according to models closely resembling each other. 20 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY What the teachers of writing call " copy-books " have been the general type by which generations of children have formed their hands. The teachers have watched with utmost care to obtain uniformity in all these writings : they have taught the evenness of the letters, their height, their harmonious proportions, and on leaving school we are considered to have acquired an art called calligraphy. If we examine work of this sort it is easy to see that it is purely mechanical. The object of the teacher has been, not to give the pupil ideas to express, but simply forms that will 'be applicable later on to all sorts of ideas. But, although one can read with accuracy the character of an Arab or a Jew by a few lines of his writing, it is impossible to decipher anything in a page written exactly according to the rules of calligraphy. The Graphologist is as dumb before such a task as he would be before a printed page. The reason is obvious. This hand has only reproduced fixed, unchanging forms, and the brain of the writer has had but one thought : to make the letters as beautiful as possible. GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 21 But there is still another phenomenon. From the day when the child, the youth, even the man who has taken lessons in penmanship, enters into active life, when he wishes to express rapidly and without constraint the thoughts, the affections, he desires to communicate to others, he instinctively abandons art, and begins to form an individual hand. Sometimes the new writing becomes angular, sometimes rounded ; again it assumes a vertical position, or slopes decidedly. Oc- casionally the final lines of words may tend to an extreme slenderness, or, on the contrary, they may become heavily shaded and square in outline. What has happened to the writer ? Simply this : the hand has ceased to labor at calligraphy, the letters have become as familiar to the pen as the sounds of the language to his ear after he learned to speak. Since infancy he has not concerned himself with the sounds. Now when he writes he does not concern himself with the letters. They be- come for him like fixed sounds to the eye. This remarkable fact is best 22 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY expressed in this formula : the handwriting becomes the visible effect of the idea, and consequently the graphic signs change when the mind changes. Let us take for an example the sign of extravagance. A person prodigal in expenditures does not value money. The " base metal " is for him merely an easy and delightful agent for satisfying his taste or caprices. Consequently, when he is writing he spreads his words so far apart on the paper that two or three will frequently fill an entire line : he leaves a broad margin ; he makes long flourishes at the end of words ; he is as lavish with the ink as he is with the bank account of his father. But if, by one of those changes that occur so often in life, the young man becomes satiated with pleasure, or his father's death sud- denly places him in control of a fortune, he begins to realize the advan- tages of a sober manner of living and an economical use of his property. The immediate result will be an instinctive modification of his writing. Having become systematic and economical, like his parent, he will GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 23 begin to show a more regular, compact hand. If the father was not a lover of art, and the son, on the contrary, has strong artistic tastes, his writing will retain the sign of these tastes ; if he is impressionable and tender-hearted, while his father had a cold nature, he will still show the signs of sensitivity in his writing. All that remains unchanged in him- self remains so in his writing ; but in a short time the signs of extrava- gance, which were so plain, will have disappeared entirely. We have here a proof that cannot be questioned, as it is based on a fact established by reason and by experience. If the spendthrift, after having become economical, should still retain his writing full of signs of extravagance, the theory of graphology would be radically wrong, since the sign would denote a passion after it had ceased to exist in the writer. The law of the variability of signs is a demonstration of the philosophic truth of the system. Let us take another example in a totally different direction. Here is a young girl whose nature is singularly open and frank. 24 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY Her candor shows itself in her writing almost as much as that of children is apt to do. Nearly all her words increase in size toward the end, a habit her teacher has labored to correct, as it detracts from the beauty of the chirography. When this young girl enters society, and begins to find out that she has a role to play, and is expected to shine in it by her beauty and wit, she loses the maidenly freshness and candor which had been so conspicuous in her character, and revealed them- selves so plainly in her writing. By slow degrees she begins to conceal her feelings, to appear different from what she really is ; and here the graphic sign reflects each mental change. At first the words increasing in size grow fewer, here and there one remains as a witness to her native frankness ; but when the habits of diplomatic self-control and even of dissimulation become dominant in her nature, the writing will be the reverse of the former type. Words that taper to a point, the sign of diplomacy, will replace the words increasing in size that in- dicated candor. This change will have occurred without the conscious- GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 25 ness of the writer : nothing in it will be the result of a plan ; it will be strictly involuntary. These examples might be extended indefinitely. A nature that is growing hard and selfish will lose the graceful and beautiful slope of the letters, sign of a generous, loving heart, and will assume the stiff, vertical lines peculiar to those in whom the soul is becoming atrophied. We have therefore established the accuracy of a double law : the change in the signs of a handwriting when changes are taking place in the intellectual or moral nature of the person, and the fixity of these same signs as long as the mind remains unaltered in its instincts and its habits. There are some handwritings in which the form of the letters is so simple, clear, and orderly, that one feels that they must have been the work of a well-balanced, clear-headed person whose life is almost monotonous in its regularity. Such are the signatures of many magistrates, ac- 26 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY customed for years to weigh opposing testimonies in the balance, and pronounce impartial judgment. One need not be a graphologist to admire the dignity and simplicity of such writing, revealing a character of mingled strength and honesty. Such handwritings possess in a remarkable degree the quality of un- changeableness. They may be more or less hurried, the pen may be good or bad, the height of the letters will sometimes be greater under the influence of a temporary impulse, but the general effect is always the same ; the dignified reserve of the character still shows in every line ; and hundreds of letters written by such men seem as if they might have been produced by some mechanical process, so closely do they resemble each other. If, on the contrary, we take a hand abounding in long flourishes, in exaggerated strokes above or below the line, in immense curves that soar above the level like captive balloons, we find that we are dealing with an impetuous, undisciplined nature, an imagination that threatens GRAPHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 27 to overcome all restraint and lead to wild vagaries, and eventually to mania. In our collection of autographs there are some specimens of which we could predict with certainty that the writer will die insane. It is a fact that the writing of such unbalanced persons is as un- changing in its graphic signs as is that of the calm, clear minds. The same imperious need oi self-expression forces the one to reveal his disordered intellect, that in the opposite case makes us admire the dignified self-restraint. A wide experience in the analysis of entirely unknown handwritings has only served to confirm the truth of these general principles. If the theory of Graphology were unreliable, it is true that one might some- times by chance hit, in a character, upon some generalities that would fit correctly, though out of a hundred analyses there would be at least ninety greatly at fault. Before long, however, public opinion would decide that graphology had promised what it could not perform, and 28 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY was a method without scientific basis, resting only on conjecture or coincidence. Exactly the reverse is the case. Of one hundred letters sent to the graphologist to acknowledge the receipt of his analysis, each one has the same sentence as if stereotyped, " The analysis you give me is abso- lutely correct : my most intimate friends are astonished at its precision." A graphological diagnosis reflects the soul just as faithfully and minutely as a photograph reproduces the face. In this science there are none of the subterfuges so often practised in phrenology and kindred arts. Instead of seeking to discover by hints or outside aids the true character of a person, the graphologist asks for no assistance from friends of the individual ; on the contrary, he desires to know nothing but what is contained in the writing. Just as a naturalist on seeing the bone of an animal is able to construct the entire skeleton, and classify it in its proper species, so the graphologist from a few lines of writing will picture the inmost soul of a human being. READING THE SIGNS 29 CHAPTER III READING THE SIGNS In the preceding chapter we stated the philosophical argument in support of graphology as a science. Let us now proceed to examine some of the principal signs to be found in handwriting. The system would sink into puerility if it pretended to indicate by some special sign every shade of mental condition. It would become an endless series of theories ; for there are many different degrees in the same feeling or state of being, and the terms descriptive of these de- grees are numerous in proportion as the language is rich and flexible. The majority of Indo-European tongues are rich in synonymes ; they have many words that express very nearly the same idea. It is evident 30 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY that we ought not to demand of graphology a special sign for each of these synonymes, though it frequently happens that we can detect a con- siderable number of degrees by studying the intensity of the signs and their complexity. Take, for example, the group of terms signifying courage. There are many different shades, — courage, vigor, firmness, forcefulness, will, energy, bravery, manliness. Several of those words express almost an identical idea. Forcefulness, courage, and will are like characteristics. Energetic persons have in themselves a constant development of force; their will is strong. Vigor, firmness, and manliness are all closely related traits. In classifying the group of moderation we have calmness, modera- tion, and self-control, three expressions that are almost ,the same. Men who are calm are masters of their movements ; moderate people main- tain in everything a golden mean ; self-controlled people always govern themselves. The graphic sign — the pen's making no unnecessary W I III I in READING THE SIGNS 31 motions in forming the letters — applies to all three degrees, and one can only distinguish these degrees by the intensity of the sign that rep- resents them. In truth, however, there will be one kind of sign, be- cause the mental quality exemplified is but one and the same. These examples will suffice to prove that the graphological sign to be true must be generic, like the idea it represents, and that a system that would pretend to create a special sign for every shade of feeling w^ould be radically false. In order to distinguish different degrees, we have a logical and natural method of procedure. 1st, we observe the intensity of the sign, and 2d, the combination of one sign with another ; that is, the complex sign. In treating of the intensity of the sign we find three well-de- fined degrees : 1st, the sign simply indicated ; 2d, the sign strongly marked ; 3d, the sign excessively developed, intense. We have also, 1st, the sign occurring but seldom ; 2d, the sign frequently repeated. The sign may be often repeated, but have no intensity. It may 32 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY occur seldom, but be so sharply defined in its expression that it denotes utmost intensity. If it only appears occasionally, although clearly in- dicated, it does not possess in analysis the value of a sign that is per- petually recurring, almost to affectation. The complex sign, like the simple one, has many degrees of intensity. Take, for example, jealousy. There is not in graphology any one sign that denotes jealousy, as there is one for dissimulation and another for frankness. But a jealous person is of necessity passionate : he loves no one so well as himself, and desires exclusive possession of all that he loves. From a psychological standpoint jealousy is a complex passion : a jealous nature is egotistic and passionate ; it loves, but will not divide the object of its affections. Graphologically the writing will show passion and power of loving, but at the same time the self-centred personality — egotism. We shall have, therefore, in graphology : — The siom of passion. ) ,-, , • -, rpi -° r r , • > = the complex sign : jealousy. lhe sign ot egotism, j r . & j j READING THE SIGNS 33 We have seen that a sign may be slightly, considerably, or intensely indicated. These three easily recognized degrees will give us three well-defined grades of character. Let us now take the sign of imagination : an exaggerated move- ment of the pen above or below the line. As the multiplicity and ex- cessive height of exclamation points are the graphological signs of enthusiasm, and as a very sloping writing indicates passion, we have the complex sign : — Imagination. 1 Enthusiasm. V — very enthusiastic nature. Passion. J The theory of the complex sign is, therefore, entirely logical, and it opens a vast horizon for the new science. The graphological sign is exact. It rests on a physiological law, and upon experience. Wherever it is found clearly indicated, it shows plainly the state of feeling it represents. 34 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY For example, the returning curve (to be shown in plates farther on) which we will call "egotistic curl " reveals the personality, — the pref- erence for self before others. The mind returns upon itself, converges, seeks the centre ; and if it attaches itself, does so like the leech, for what it can get. The pen follows the same movement ; it returns upon the letters as does a claw that curves inward, when it has seized its prey. By a law equally logical and of constant application, a writing in which there are no " egotistic curls " gives us the negative sign, and in- dicates the absence of egotistic personality, the soul forgets itself in thoughtf ulness for others. We find, then, this law : The positive sign speaks clearly of a state or feeling. The negative sign — absence of the positive one — speaks with equal clearness of the opposite condition of sentiment. Let us take another example : Capital letters that are harmoniously proportioned, and whose form is simple and graceful, indicate a lofty READING THE SIGNS 35 mind, literary tastes, or appreciation of beauty. This is the positive sign. Capitals that are awkward, ^proportioned, inharmonious, indicate a lack of mental dignity, absence of literary or other refined tastes, and vulgarity of mind. This is the negative sign. Still another example illustrates this law : Every form that is affected, unnatural, — a mere flourish of the pen, — denotes pretension, a desire to produce an effect, or to be conspicuous. Every form entirely plain and unaffected denotes simplicity of mind, and absence of coquetry or pretension. This is one of the cardinal rules in graphology : A positive sign that is lacking, indicates the negative sign that is opposed to it. Resultants — the word explains itself — are the revelations of char- acter made by combining a series of simple or complex signs. Every graphological sign, taken singly, has its fixed value, and shows with ex- actness the faculty, instinct, or nature of which it is the manifestation. 3fi TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY Two or three simple or complex signs, as we have shown under the heading Enthusiasm, indicate a quality with clearness and accuracy equal to that of one simple sign. Take : — magma ion. i ^ ^ logically and araphologically an exceed- Enthusiasm. > . -. , , ° . /. & r & J -n • mglv enthusiastic nature, rassion. J & ^ But this exceedingly enthusiastic nature may have the sign of high appreciation of art. We have then a fine resultant : great artistic en- thusiasm. Going a step farther, if to the enthusiastic love of art there joins itself the sign of a spiritual nature, lofty aspirations, and no sensuality, we have n j. -I £ / I Resultant: Artistic talent highly developed and Spiritual nature. J ^ This would be an artist of the class of Fra Angelico, a painter of the ideal, the mystic. READING THE SIGNS 37 If, on the contrary, we find : — n , -. £ I Resultant : Artistic ability highly developed, re- Great love ot art. > -, • • ... J , & , J .-, f • i q y, J producing in painting or sculpture the physical, as did Rubens the great colorist, who was a sensual painter. The law of resultants is based on this psychological fact, that one characteristic reacts on another. It does not destroy it, but gives it a special shade or quality. Each graphological sign is therefore influenced by other graphological signs. Again, we have before us. let us suppose, a very logical nature, cold in its affections, clear in judgment, firm in will, and so economical as to approach avarice. It is evident that if we have the same signs, but also the sign of generosity even to prodigality, we have another resultant, and a very remarkable one ; for, although there is a difference of only one sign, the two personalities which have so many points of resemblance yet have a radical difference, which, from a business stand- 38 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY point, would rank the first nature above the second, but as regards no- bility of mind and grandeur of character, would place the second above the first. Every writing is a marvellous synthesis like the mind, be it what it may, that inspired it. The intellectual and moral portrait resulting from an analysis of graphological signs should be as complete in its work of reconstruction as it was in its dissection and analysis. DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 39 CHAPTER IV DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS In these articles we do not even pretend to treat our subject ex- haustively. It would be impossible, within present limits. To write of all the little shades of meaning to be found in even a page of written matter would fill volumes. We can here merely point to certain plainly visible signs, give their meaning, and leave the reader to learn the rest through the study of his ownself and of his friends through his and their handwriting. No sooner is attention drawn to this science than new points show themselves constantly, perfectly clear to the under- standing. To make a complete analysis of any person, spiritually, there are 40 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY eight separate divisions to be considered : I. Faculties, II. Instincts, III. Nature, IV. Character, V. Spirit, VI. Aptitudes, VII. Tastes, VIII. Passions. Let us take up each in its turn. I. Faculties. — Intellectual Manifestations. In classifying handwriting intellectually, there are three clearly defined classes : — Those wholly intuitive. Those partly intuitive, partly deductive. Those wholly deductive. Study well the following three Plates : — ( Ch aT ch u h n * /v »v<-^*_ c/^o'ffl^*' Plate 21. 50 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY is the signature of a little girl of seven who is incredibly opinionated. Here, again, is the sign in a man's writing : — ^e^^^ Plate 22. A weak will is shown in many ways. People in delicate health, adolescent, without strength of purpose, make only light cross- marks : their writing is full of fine, irregular curves ; the pen hesitates, there are no angles at the base of small letters ; the hand shows inde- cision, lack of resolution, laxity, feebleness, no power of determina- tion, laziness. Out of the many autographs we have seen of celebrated personages, — leaders, soldiers, and authors, — not one have we found possessing the graphic signs in Plate 23 : — DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 51 (J 'WvzJtd 1U'A& ^ d, ^ cJ&, cA> % f grace and curve. Number 3 is more marked ; the pen goes back, and even crosses its own line. 4 and 5 have two curls, one at the beginning, and another at the end. 6 shows excessive egotism, and a certain vulgarity ; see how fine the pen was, and yet how heavy and as though swollen the last curve is. The owner of number 6 may love, DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 63 but he will love for himself ; he may be generous under the influence that attacks his own personality, but if you desire assistance in a good secret cause, go tell your story to the owner of number 1. There is still another sign of egotism, exemplified in the following Plate : — C £ t£ J / £££■£- Plate 35. Numbers 1, 2, and 3 are letters not in the least egotistic. Number 4 has a very slight " curl," but notice 5, 6, 7, and 8, In the latter the 64 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY curve of the whole letter, instead of being full and round, has an inward bend. Compare 6, 7, and 8 with 1, and the slight convexity is plain to see. That convexity is a sign of egotism. Turn back to Plate 26 : notice the capital JEJ, the angles, the convex lower part, the flat a, the capital (7, the " egotistic curl " in an angle. The contrast is strongly marked. III. Nature. — Pettiness. Small, narrow, light natures lose themselves in tiny, unimportant details. They occupy themselves seriously with petty matters, and attach great value to them. The graphic sign of a small nature is the " common " form of all capitals, their inharmonious outlines, the lack of height in the writing. Also, importance given to minute details that natures of elevated sentiment would disdain to stop for. Fussy, trivial men take great pains with their penmanship : i's and /s will all be carefully dotted ; commas will never be omitted. DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 65 III. Nature. — Nobility. Nobility has for its graphic sign high, clear writing, a signature absolutely without flourish, or accompanied only by a single rapid stroke, sometimes detached from the signature itself. Orthographic details will not be labored over ; the writing will be spread largely in the lines. Letters and words never will be cramped, and inharmonious capitals will be absent. Ill Nature. — Pride. Pride is the great misery of the human soul. It is born, however, of a true and right sentiment, — self-respect, which is a law of nature. It is then base only when it becomes mere vanity. " There are," says Michon, u men too proud to be vain." When one devotes himself to humanity, to his country, to science, to truth, — and that to the peril of his life, sacrificing all the pleasures that attract less lofty souls, — the nature is elevated and proud. Pride is not culpable when it is but the 66 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY satisfaction felt in doing well. It is wrong only when it becomes a Plate 36. personal and egotistic sentiment, that makes a man consider all other men as his inferiors. The essence of pride is the preference for one's self DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 67 beyond all others; it is vanity. A vain person is full of admiration for his own merit, like the " self-made man who adored his maker." Physiologists have remarked that pride causes a certain extension of the fibres of the body. " Puffed up with pride," we say. The step is assured, the manner pompous, the head held high. Handwriting naturally follows the physiological movement. The letters spread themselves excessively. They are very high. The capital M 9 s, when composed of three parts, have the first up and down stroke several times the height of the other, two. All the vertical letters mount high like a rubber plant standing half in shade, its top high in the air seeking the sunshine. See Plate 36. Of course the sign of humility and modesty is the absence of these above-mentioned signs; i. e., small capitals, and M's with spires of equal height. Occasionally one finds the capitals made by enlarging small ones. Such a sign betokens great simplicity and modesty of nature. See Plate 37. 68 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY III. Nature. — Enthusiasm, Imagination. The graphic signs of enthusiasm and imagination are marked. Every movement of the pen outside of quiet, simple, and regular forms of letters shows an exalted state of the soul. It may be enthusiasm, it to? Plate 37. may be imagination. Enthusiasts usually write with much sweep of movement, long exclamanation points, many of them, also long inter- rogation marks. Imaginative people see everything through a prism that shows them the world other than it is. In speaking here of imagi- DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 69 nation, we do not mean the faculty of producing images, of story-telling. This gift has other graphic signs under the head of originality. The imagination to which we refer is an ill-ordered movement of the brain Plate 38. mounting from feeble disorder to almost incredible eccentricity. It is. of course, the intensity of the sign that shows the degree of brain dis- order. We give in Plate 38 the Duke of Brunswick's signature, who made the city of Geneva his heir. 70 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY III. Nature. — Ardor. It is very evident that active, ardent, spirited natures will not write like lazy, inactive, and nonchalant ones. The graphic signs of ardor are quick, brusque movements, cross-strokes dashed off by the pen ; writ- ing absolutely unstudied, in which the spirit does not trouble itself about making readable words, the lines rather ascending than horizontal. Almost always the signs of sensitivity and impressionability will be found in these hands. Ardent people are sensitive. Long crossings to tfs, with an upward movement, denote ardor and vivacity. III. Nature. — Courage. The graphic sign of courage is complex. Look for firmness of will, as signs have been given. The writing of firm, energetic, courageous natures usually ascends. The signs of discouragement and sadness are the reverse. In these cases lines all run downward, sometimes not only DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 71 iCU/O the lines running downward, but words in lines as well. We have be- fore us a letter just received from a -sad-hearted, depressed, hopeless /yvu/tt. m$y A^MmUl 1 &UA& Plate 39. young girl. The lines on each page are at least a half-inch farther from the top on the right side of the sheet than on the left. The hand seems not to have courage to keep on the level. 72 TALKS ON GRAPHOLOGY III. Nature. — Candor, Honesty. Openness of soul, sincerity, ingenuousness, and trust are graphically shown in an interesting way. The sign is the equal height of letters forming the same word, and often by the increased size of these letters. Plate 39 shows the writing of a very frank little boy. Notice the shape of the word museum. Here is the same sign in the hand of a grown person : — oJr C>_ \j^nrJU XAJ^kJUYL ^^-€^-i^v Plate 40. n Dissimulation, on the contrary, together with ruse, finesse, im- penetrability, and untruth are logically shown by a graphic sign the DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS 73 reverse of the one given above. In Plate 41 you see an entirely untrust- worthy hand : — y*w 6*»~ ™*^> & <&L^ y*~ Plate 41. Add to these tapering words the fact that all the as o's and gs are tightly closed and buckled at the top (see the little tied knot at the top of each), and we have clearly indicated a nature that never betrays its own thoughts, and will not be displeased at the idea of prevarication. In other words, a man whose writing should contain these signs would not hesitate to tell a falsehood if it should appear politic to him to do so. Open natures often make ys in place of Xf^^ ^^