A Study in Human Nature An Interpretation of Hoffmann s "Christ in the Temple" Second Edition LEMUEL E. GIBSON and W. J, PILKINGTON Class Book £ G)IPghtN _ CQEXRIGHT DEPOSfT. A Study in Human Nature Being an Interpretation with Character Analysis Chart of Hoffmann's Master Painting ^Christ in the Temple" Interpretations by LEMUEL E K £IBSON Written by W^JlPILKINGTON SECOND EDITION Copyrighted 1920 Publishers The Human Nature Studq Institute Des Moines, lou?a .T5 §CU60$300 24 ! PICTURES TALK A picture will speak to any individual in his wn native tongue, no matter what his lan- o guage may be; it will talk in the manner of ' his own age, be it child or adult. A picture can speak all languages and talk )to all ages, at one and the same time. Not another thing under the canopy of Heaven can do this, excepting nature itself. It is our ambition and desire to have every boy and girl in the land see and know this great picture. Every Home, every School, every Church should have a good copy of this wonderful painting on the wall. "CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE" Hoffmann's Inspiration. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and ac- quaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. —Luke 2:42-47. —3— A STUDY IN HUMAN NATURE An Interpretation of Hoffmann's "Christ in the Temple" Before proceeding with the interpretation of any picture, that is, before attempting to find out what it was the artist had in mind when he painted the picture, we will do well to first understand some of the great underlying prin- ciples of human nature. The first principle that we deal with, in considering the artist, is that none of us get out of our lives a single thing that we have not first, at some time or other, put into our lives. In other words, the artist can never put on canvas a single thing that he has not first put into his own life. This broad prin- ciple is just as true of the man working in the ditch, the farmer, the salesman, the merchant, the manufacturer, the machinist, or the pro- fessional man as it is true of the artist. Now, that we have established this prin- ciple, let us proceed to tell something about, and to understand something of the life of Hoffmann, the painter of the masterpiece, "Christ in the Temple." Those who were acquainted with Hoffmann tell us that he was a man of very deep spir- itual characteristics, and along with this was his intense interest in human beings. It seems that his life was made up of desires to want to lift people higher; to paint that which would cause people to live better lives and to see life from a bigger view-point. We understand that his home was a very modest one, a home where home friendships and home loves were very strong. Quietness, deep thinking and abiding interest in the Al- mighty were some of the characteristics of the Hoffmann home. Mr. Hoffmann has been frequently criticised because some of the finer touches in this pic- ture were not as smooth and as artistic as some of the artists thought they should be, and in commenting on this Mr. Hoffmann is said to have remarked to a man who is now the president of one of Iowa's great colleges, that what he was seeking to do in the picture was to paint THOUGHT instead of artistic beauty, and after you have read this inter- pretation of this picture you will see that Mr. Hoffmann did paint "thought" into the pic- ture. Before leaving the artist let us again repeat the principle that the artist only puts on can- vas that which he has within his own life. In other words, the picture is a part of the very life of the artist; and this is just as true of any of us in building anything. The business man only builds a business that is in keeping with the breadth, and depth, and strength of his own life. The professional man only builds a following and a reputation that is in keeping with what he has within himself. The kind of a person you are, or if not al- ready matured in life, the kind of a person you are going to be, is found in one or more of the six characters represented in this master painting. You are there. We are all there in representation, that is, so far as our char- acteristics are concerned. And in this picture are the underlying principles of the study of human nature. The principles that the busi- ness man, the salesman, the physician, the attorney, the schoolman, in fact the principles that any thinking person needs to understand are there; and they are the very principles, or rules, in the making of our lives. No lecture, or sermon, can possibly make a stronger plea, or be a greater power for, or have more influence in moulding character into our lives than does this marvelous picture, once it is understood. The characters represented in this master painting. "Christ in the Temple," by Henrick Johann Hoffmann, are, first: The Boy Christ, —5— then: the Scornful Sadducee, the Stern Phar- isee, the Keen Philosopher, the Earnest Seeker after Truth, and the Mild Rabbi. And before reading further see if you can find each of these in the picture, for they are all there, and in some one of them each of us is there. Of course it is easy to pick out The Boy Christ, for there is only one boy there. Jesus is talking to the men. He seems to be telling them something, we do not know just what, but when we look at their faces, and they in- dicate that they believe, or disbelieve, what he is saying, we can readily understand that Christ is pouring into their minds thoughts and suggestions that startle them. Now let us proceed with the study of each man, and see if we can tell from the study of his face, his hands, his whole attitude, the kind of a person he is. First, let us take the fellow to your left, up in the corner, standing back of the man who has his elbow on the desk and his hand on his chin. He is looking over the shoulder of the man between himself and the boy, and you are urged to study his eyes very carefully, and in doing so you immediately get the suggestion that he is harsh, that he is grouchy, that he is coarse. If, while this man were walking down the sidewalk he should see a dog sitting in front of him, the probabilities are he would feel like kicking the dog from the walk, rather than to go around him. If he were a boy playing on the school ground he would want his way. He would not hesitate to be cruel in order to gain his point. This man is self centered, for his strong inclination is to look out for him- self. Then take a look at the deep, straight line that begins above the end of his nose, and extends down past the corners of his mouth, and we will find, too, that the corners of his -6— mouth turn down, as is shown in the outline drawing on this page. There are two types of muscles in the hu- man face, one known as the Elevator mus- cles, and the other known as the De- pressor muscles, but this is not the place for us to go into detailed descriptions, or working of these muscles; this will be found in a book on character reading. This char- acter is the Scornful Sadducee; compare the shape of his mouth with the outline drawing on this page. After you have read this and go among your acquaintances, on the street, or wherever it may be, note the expression in the eyes, the lines of the face, the direction of the mouth line, the similarity to this Scornful Sadducee, for you will surely find them in some folks, for they are there. Before going further, it might be well for us to make some comments, something along this line, that our faces are a history, they in- dicate the mould of character, they tell of a past the same as the history of nations do. If the muscles of the face were never moved until one was in mature years, the face would indicate that of a mental imbecile, devoid of any intellectual look, or characteristics, for our faces are moulded by our thinking. This Scornful Sadducee is the type of an in- vidual who would probably ignore the person who stood for the right, or, he might even make fun of such a person. These character- istics came up through generations, and the sternness of character which is indicated in the outward appearance of this man, and in the looks of his face, are simply what might be expected, for we grow the face that indi- cates, or matches, or illustrates, or is the counterpart of the life we have lived. —7— This Sadducee is amazed at the boy's wis- dom, but he will not accept it. He is not willing to learn. Do you ask, how we know? Well, he has written the story on his own face. Next let us look at the man sitting in the chair with the book on his lap. Notice how he is holding his fingers between the leaves of the pages of the book. There is no doubt but what this book is the Law of the Jews. This man belongs to the Pharisee division, or class, of people of his time. They were espe- cially trained to know the Law, and it was their work to instruct other people who had not studied the Law and were not familiar with what it said. There were only a few of these books of the Jewish Law in existence, so that the informa- tion it contained could not be studied by many, therefore it fell to the lot of the Pharisees to know the Law. No doubt this man could quote practically page after page of this book. No doubt he could tell you the word and page. No doubt he could recite it as we would recite a well known poem, for his life had been given to the study of this book. Note the way he holds his left hand between the pages. The next time you see a person using a book in an argument, and they feel they are getting the worst of the argument, you will find them looking for some other place in the book to maintain their statements. While they are waiting for the person with whom they are discussing to finish, they will hold their hand or fingers between the pages, ready to meet the arguments of the antag- onist. Notice, too, that the boy seems to under- stand the book. Notice how, with his left hand, he is pointing to the very page of the book that the man, no doubt, has been refer- ring to. He had learned at his mother's knee what this book said. Mary had taught him concerning the Law, and he too could repeat much of it word for word. —8— Just how far Christ, because of his divine relationship, had gone into the study of the Law, no one knows. So far as the study of this picture is concerned, we can only judge by his looks and his attitude. And just here we want to call your attention to the hand Christ is pointing toward the book. There is no sternness in the way the hand is held. There is just simply the plain, flat statement of the person who knows his ground. If Christ were undecided, if he were irritated, you would find the hand tense; you would find the fingers drawn closer together. When talk- ing with a person in a heated argument and you have any doubt as to whether or not they are becoming deeply agitated, notice their gestures. Watch how they hold their hands. Notice too, how the Pharisee sits in the chair. There is no lopping down, no slouch- \ib1l ^^^0^^^mBj^^ \^II9ilt' would belong to that class who are continually being run over and imposed upon by others. A "wishy-washy" so to speak. But notice that this man's attitude is not indicative of argument. And when you see a person strike the attitude this man is in, the argument is practically over. Then too, if this man wanted to argue, he would not have his hand over his mouth. Notice the argufier on the street corner, or any other place, and you never find his hand over his mouth, for he is too anxious to do the talking himself. This man, the keen philosopher, enjoys listening. This is indi- cated by his having his elbow on the desk and his hand over his mouth, holding his chin. He is listening, he is reasoning as Christ talks. There is one trait of human nature that should be mentioned here, and that is, it seems there is something in our make up which causes us, when meditating about some very important question, to put our hand or hands to some part of our head. Notice people when they are thinking seriously. Notice the student in school, for instance, when he is trying to untangle a difficult mathematical problem and you will find the hand has a tendency to go to the part of the body that does the thinking. The writer well remembers, while in college, a young man who, it seems, was not very diligent in studying his lessons. When the —11— professor asked him a question he could not answer, he had the habit of putting his right hand to his forehead and tapping the forehead with his front finger. So one day the professor saw him doing this and said: Mr. Leslie, there is no use in knocking, there is no one at home. The salesman will do well to watch his pros- pect and when he sees the hand go to the head, and especially to the forehead, nine times out of ten you will know that you have the prospect thinking, and that very seriously. The philosopher, no doubt, is resting his el- bow on the same kind of a book that the Pharisee is holding in his lap. He too, is a student of the law. He knows as much and —12— probably more about the law than the Phar- isee does, but he approaches it with a different attitude. We would lose much of the value of this study if we did not stop a moment to look at the eye of the philosopher. After you have noticed this eye, keep it in mind, for later on we are going to compare this eye with some other eyes in the picture. This man has what would be termed a keen eye, or an intelligent eye. There is a sharpness about it, and you will notice that it is wide open. And remem- ber this wide-open phase of the eye in study- ing some other eyes in the picture. The open minded individual, that is the one who is intent on learning, is much more in- clined to have the wide open rather than the squinting eye. Usually the student really in- tent on learning, seldom draws the eyes to a squinting position, except when they feel they have hit a knotty problem, or when they are about to see through, or conquer the informa- tion they desire. Then too, the wide open eye usually indicates a more even temperament than does the squinting eye. Among some of our very prominent men we find some very in- teresting eyes. For instance, Theodore Roose- velt's eyes were of the squinting type, with lids closely drawn together. We do know that Mr. Roosevelt suffered some physical ailments of the eye, and this squinting look may have been caused partly by this physical defect, yet his eyes tell us unmistakably that he was of the extremely aggressive, pugnacious and im- pulsive type. The keen-eyed philosopher is the type of man who never pretends to know more than he does. He is the type of man who has fast friends, for none of us like the individual who poses as knowing a whole lot, when in reality he may not know but very little. There is one other characteristic in this man that we should mention, and that is that usu- ally the deep thinker, the keen philosopher, is —IS— not a man of many words, and where a dis- cussion is going on, as is indicated in this pic- ture, he is more liable to not say anything than he is to enter into the discussion. He never argues just for the sake of arguing. But when he did talk, what he said would be to the point and you would find it difficult to change his opinion, unless you gave him facts. If he disagreed with you he would listen to what you had to say, and if he found you were right, he would not hesitate in saying so. Do you act and look like the philosopher? Or have we found you yet in this inter- pretation? If not, possibly your time is yet to come. The next man is standing by the Pharisee, the one holding out his hand toward the boy. And here we have not only an entirely different attitude from any of the rest so far mentioned, but we have an entirely different looking face, —14— and from him we are going to learn a number of things. First, let us notice the way he holds his hand, and remember what was said about the hand in speaking of Christ. The position of that man's hand does not indicate stubborness. It does not indicate a command; but rather, it indicates an agreeing with the boy. And it might be well to remember that usually in giving a command, where the hand is used, the fingers are nearly always closed and the front finger pointing straight out and the thumb closed down over the fingers. Get in a room by yourself and just imagine you are giving someone a stern, determined command, and you will find that your hand will close up, and under such conditions will never strike the at- titude indicated in this picture. And here we call your attention to the boy and the teacher in the drawing. This teacher is giving this —15— boy a stern command, for look at her face. Now turn to the other picture and notice here the teacher is not giving a rigid command, that is, she may be asking the girl to hand her the papers in question, but she is doing it in a kindly way. She is rather asking a favor in the handing of the paper instead of giving a command. One is a displeased com- mand while the other is a pleased command. So much for the attitude or position of this man's hand, but in studying the position and attitudes indicated by the hand, notice your friends around you, for the most of them use their hands in talking, for indicating their thought and many times the hand tells as much, or if possible, more of a story than does the face. Now, remember what has been said about the hand and immediately you will come to the conclusion that this man, the Earnest Seeker after Truth, is believing what the boy is say- ing. Look at this man's face, and it tells the same story that the hand tells. There is a kindness in that look, there is a gentleness there, and you are wondering how we know what makes it look so. Well, it is because the muscles at the corners of the mouth, or rather, extending from the eyes down past the corners of the mouth, have a tendency to draw up- ward instead of downward. And if you could take this man's face, just as it appears in the picture, without the movement of a muscle being made, and turn the skin back, you would be surprised at what you would find. You could take a little pair of pliers or pinchers that the surgeon or student in the dissecting room uses, and give a little more tension to these muscles that are pulling upward in this man's face, and you would find you would pro- duce still more of a pleased or pleasant look; really, you would bring a grin to the face. And the person who attempts to study character as written in the face, without knowing the position of the muscles of the face and how —16— they act, without having really gotten under the skin at them, will find it difficult to ex- plain just why the face writes the story that it does. No doubt this seeker after truth is saying to himself, that the prophets, hundreds and thousands of years before, had prophesied the coming of Christ. No doubt this man, in studying the book of the law and of the proph- ets had been anticipating the coming of the Christ. As to whether or not this man be- lieves that this boy is the Christ, we do not know, and it probably would be presuming to go so far as to even sugest it. The prob- abilities are that up to the time of this ap- pearance of Christ in the Temple, he had not made it known that he was the Christ, and there are those who feel that Christ himself did not know that he really was the promised one. We do know that this seeker after truth is in wonderment because of the knowledge of this boy. He is looking into the boy's earnest, there the bright, wide-open, frank and tender expression. He believes in the boy and in what the boy is saying. His whole attitude seems to be one of something like this: here honest, good and pure looking face. He sees lad, is my hand, and I pledge you my heart I will stand by you whatever may happen. The last man in the picture is the Mild Rabbi, leaning on his cane. He is white haired, white whiskered, and this man's whole attitude, his face, everything is enough to make a study for a whole twelve months. His eyes, and by the way, remember that back a little farther we told you that in speak- ing of the philosopher we would again come to the question of eyes in analyzing another man of the picture. The Rabbi's eyes are not wide open like the boy's, or like the philoso- pher's. Rather, there is a drawing together of the eyelids. Something of the type that you would expect to find in the face of the in- —17— CHARACTER A] Characteristics Boy i Christ Refined Manners ■*■ Coarse ^ # Refined Conversation ■*■ Coarse - Temperament <* Impulsive -| —^ Agreeable Disposition ■*- Disagreeable _^ - # Attractive Personality ■*■ Repulsive n . «•'• Spiritual Plane of Living ^ Animal ^- Good Character ■*■ Bad The reading matter associated with this chart is found on page 11 \\ the reader can chait his own characteristics and have a record that will to ALYSIS CHART rnfol dacee Stern Pharisee Keen Philosopher Earnest Seeker after Truth Mild Rabbi Self i ' 1 1 will be noticed on this chart that we have provided a column where il've valuable. dividual who was just determining that they would be deceitful, that they would get the best of somebody. Get before the mirror and get these different moods in your own life. Watch your eyes. Watch the muscles in your own W^\ y? J i wf 4 f 5 \ \ "Mil 4- i 7p — -^Jt/s*&&<2£ 7T t AC / £jvy < v / //A/' W// ml y v//J\ V 1 c£iw ^o*kl****- fcww face, for your face, just as the faces in Hoff- mann's great picture, is molded and fashioned by the same natural rules of life. By this time the reader has found that when Mr. Hoffmann painted the faces in this picture, —20— he simply painted life as these people had lived it, and your face has on it the outline of the life you have lived. Notice the lines in this Rabbi's face, and you will find that the wrinkle, or mark, does not run up near the middle of his nose, as does the line in the scornful Sadducee that we first studied. These lines in the Rabbi seem to start near the end of the nose and run diagonally out past the corner of the mouth. And in con- nection with this thought we are reproducing a drawing we have had made of a man without whiskers, and sometimes we have been tempted to have some artist take the whiskers off of the faces of Hoffmann's picture, that we might more easily get at the lines of their faces. Take a card, or a blank piece of paper, and place it over the upper part of the drawing we are presenting, and laying it on the line running from one to two, look at the ex- pression. Now compare it with the expression on the lower part of the face of the Scornful Sadducee, or the first character we studied. Next take you paper and place it from three to four, covering up the chin and the farther corner of the mouth, just leaving the top of the nose untouched, note how the upper lip turns upward, and see how the end of the nose seems to draw down toward the mouth. Now, reader, look into a mirror and try to sneer. Watch your upper lip draw upward on the side where you sneer the worst. Now sneer on the other side; sneer on both sides at the same time; sneer hard and watch how much your upper lip draws upward, and how the end of your nose seems to draw downward toward the lip. Watch what a deep line it causes from your nose down toward the corner of your mouth when you sneer hard. Now then, turn back to the Rabbi and in the light of the experience you have had with this piece of paper and the picture we are giving you, study the face again, for just as surely as you live, this Rabbi has sneered a good many times, —21— so many times that the muscles in his face have painted there a perpetual and prominent sneer. The lines in the face and the expression on the face are caused by continually drawing the muscles in the same way many, many times, and the muscles of the face are moved accord- ing to the way one feels inside. And this leads you to understand that in the interpretation of this picture, we are simply getting at the human mind and its characteristics. If you are happy and good natured and have a smile for everyone, the elevator muscles of your face will raise the corners of your mouth, and have a tendency to turn upward. If you are grouchy and sour and scornful, the de- pressor muscles of your face will draw down and the corners of your mouth will turn down. If you sneer at other people very much, and you continue to do so, your face will grow to look just like a sneer as anyone's face will. We mould our faces in exact accordance with the way we think. There is no more interesting study than human beings, and remember that in order for you to paint your character, to paint your very self on your face, it is not necessary for you to be talking all of the time. All you have to do is just think. The reason this Rabbi looks so suspicious to us is because, through intuition, we draw our conclusions. Perhaps nature put this charac- teristic into us for our own protection, for we form our opinion quickly that this Rabbi is not dependable. Look at this man's hands as they rest on the top of his cane. There is no indication of action. The hands, nor the fingers of the hand, indicate any interest at all in what the boy is saying. They are laying there, idle, not wish- ing to take any part. This is the type of an in- dividual that waits to see how the tide goes, how the wind blows, which side is going to —22— come out ahead. He wants everybody to be- lieve that he is on their side, and of course, to do this, he does not dare to take part in the argument, and if he were not with these other men, he would try to make the Boy Christ be- lieve that he was on his side; that he believed everything he said. In this type we have the hypocrite, the deceitful person. We would lose much of the value of this study if we did not again turn to the face of Christ, for in studying it, or in studying the face of any boy of his age, we can learn a great deal. In the first place, notice there are no lines in the boy's face, and neither is there in the average boy's face at his age. And why? Reader, ask yourself the question, Why is it there are not a lot of lines in a child's face? And it is unnecessary for us to tell you that it is simply because the characteristics are not yet written with lines in their faces. They have not lived long enough as the human flesh is most elastic and requires years of operation for the emotions to have produced lines in the face. But every child should be taugh that even though he has no lines in his face, he is forming them each day and that already there is enough expression in his face that folks can tell much of the kind of a disposition he has, and the kind of a person he is going to be when he grows up. If you need any further proof as to the child's face revealing his inner self, you have only to look at the face of the Boy Christ in this picture, or to look at the faces of the children of his age in your own neighborhood. Many a child at the age of six, and some much younger, have such a pronounced ex- pression that most any one can distinctly see it. Not only should the parents teach their children of this great principle, but also should the parents realize that a great responsibility is upon them as to the way their child de- velops his characteristics. Many parents are to blame for the hateful, or spiteful, or selfish, —23— or haughty, or egotistical manners their chil- dren possess. And generally these character- istics are developed in children by teasing them, or allowing them to have just about every thing they want, or by letting them do just about as they please while they are yet very young. Many a parent is glad when their child gets old enough to go to school, and for no higher purpose than to get rid of him at home and put him in the care of the teacher that he might be compelled to mind. May God have mercy upon the parent who has lost con- trol of their child before he is twelve years of age and may He have pity on the child. There are some striking things on the face of Christ, and because we know of his after life, it is an interesting study to note the face. There is firmness there. That is a determined quality to stand for the right. In his eyes and in his manly pose there is the indication of knowing what he is talking about, and when you meet people, when you try to persuade them, remember this face of Christ. Compare his face with most any other in this picture, and you will find it an intensely interesting experience. What was it that made the Phari- see what his face indicates ? What was it that made the philosopher, with a roll in his hand, listen so closely to the boy ? What was it that made any of these characters what they are? Simply that when they were boys they began building into their lives the things we have been studying. Why does the deceitful Rabbi look so sus- picious to us? Simply because he has practiced deceitful ways all of his life. He has sneered at the good. He has been pious when in a pious crowd. He has been rough when in a rough crowd. And these things have simply grown to be a part of him. It is not out of place in drawing this inter- pretation to a close, to refer to one statement made by Solomon when he said: "That as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Solomon —24— gave expression to a truth that is so deep, so eternal, so everlasting that it is worth the study of the keenest and shrewdest minds of any age. Once all of us learn that the char- acteristics, that the things which we build into our lives, not only show in our actions, but in our very faces, in our very attitude, in our position when standing, or sitting, or talking; once we realize that what we are, is an open book to those about us, to our friends, to everybody, it will revolutionize our thinking, for our thinking finally becomes actions, our thinking becomes us. None of us would want what we really are, painted on a great canvas and stretched in our neighborhood where everybody could read it, and yet while it is not written on a canvas and stretched in our neighborhoods, we carry it around every day, wherever we go, in our faces. Now we refer you to the Character Chart in the center of this book. MAKING UP THE CHARACTER ANALYSIS CHART The accompanying character analysis chart on the center pages gives the reader an op- portunity to check up on the information he has obtained in the reading of this little book, but do not attempt to fill out this chart until you have read the foregoing pages — yes read them thoroughly. Until you have done this reading you are not in a position to make use of the chart. We will now take it for granted that you have read this book and we are ready to start with the charting of actual character of each person in the picture. The first person to be considered is the Boy Christ, and in the making of this chart it makes no difference whatever, whether or not you believe in the divinity of Christ. You may keep your present opinion, but all thinking —25— peoples, and history, tells us that the man Christ lived a perfect life, that he was without sin, that he did no wrong, and only good. If we all live the life that Christ lives there would be no wrong, or no sin, in the world. Jew and Gentile alike, agree on the high character of Christ, and for the purposes of this book and character chart, it makes no difference whether you think Christ was the one promised in the ages, long, long ago, or not. Because of the admitted qualities and char- acter of Christ, you will place a check (x) after the first classification in each of the divisions, except in that of Temperament. This indicates the perfect being, and is the standard by which we are to compare every individual life. We call your attention to the way Christ's life checks up in this chart. You will notice he makes a perfect score, therefore in analyz- ing the other characters in * the picture, or characters outside of the picture, we are cer- tainly justified in measuring each by this perfect standard, and mind you this, regardless of what your opinion of Christ may be, he scores a perfect life, as indicated by this chart. Before considering other characters in this picture it is necessary that we give you some information on the thing we call Temperament, for it is somewhat difficult for the in- experienced person to distinguish the difference between Temperament and Disposition. Yoii might find some difficulty in giving a definition of each, and you would have more difficulty in explaining the difference to someone else. There is a great deal of difference between Temperament and Disposition and yet they are closely related. Temperament deals with one's physical tend- encies and principally with the physical side of life. Disposition relates principally to the mind and its power to control physical tendencies. —26— In other words Disposition is what by our will power, we make of our Temperaments. For example — it is quite possible for an individual to have physical tendencies toward irritable- ness, and peevishness, but at the same time the person might control this feeling which his muscles would have a tendency to put into action, and not allow them to act, or to say their feelings. Many a person has had just such natural tendencies, and yet, by the use of their will power have mastered their phys- ical tendencies and by so doing very largely eliminated the desire. Any one who has sufficient will power can master his impulsive Temperament and possess an agreeable Disposition. And the person who says he cannot do this pronounces judgement on himself, and of necessity must admit that his will power is weaker than his physical tendencies. As a last definition dis- tinguishing between Temperament and Dis- position let us say that Temperament is phys- ical tendencies, and Disposition is largely what the will power makes of these physical tendencies. Next let us take the Scornful Sadducee and note the bold expression in his eye, the lines about his mouth, the curve of the mouth line, the position of his head and his general at- titude. Consider these in the light of what was said about him on former pages, and this reveals his life. History tells us he belonged to a sect that had lived the kind of a life this man's face tells us about. You will make no mistake as to exactly how to check him, placing check after the last classification in each of the seven divisions, and notice that we have here the exact contrast of the record Christ made in our chart. It represents the lower, or animal, standard of living. In this book it is impossible for us to give a full analysis by just what is meant by the Plane of Living. The fullness of its meaning, and the proper explanation of it is given in —27— the complete interpretation of the master painting "Daniel in the Lions Den" by Riviere, and of course it is completely given in books dealing with scientific character reading, which are extremely interesting reading. Each individual lives on one of three planes, namely, Spiritual, Moral, or Animal. When a man lives on the Spiritual Plane, his pre- dominating thoughts are of God. Just here, and for the fear the reader may be one who has never realized how closely spirituality is related to all persons let us suggest that in the whole history of man, re- gardless of what part of the earth we found him living in, there has always been present a tendency toward some type of spiritual thinking. No reasoning man will, for one moment, contend but what someway, somehow, we all have a tendency toward spiritual things. If a man lives on the Moral Plane his pre- dominating thoughts are of others, and if he lives on the Animal Plane his predominating thoughts are of self. Animals have one in- stinct, and that is self preservation, they look out for themselves and this is what is meant by the Animal Plane. It will not be necessary to say more, but if you will sit down and think hard on these three points, you can check your- self, or others, quite accurately. These sub- jects are more completely covered in books dealing with self development and efficiency. The classification of the next four persons, that is so far as checking them in this chart is concerned, is not so easy, but if we study every face and form by what has been said on previous pages, we will have no trouble in checking each of the four quite accurately. The Stern Pharisee is our next man. Webster says that "Stern, means harsh, or severe, in countenance or manners," and this Pharisee's posture, and his attitude, have been explained in the pages about him. En- cyclopedias tell us that the Pharisee came to —28— feel they were the only people who were living right, that they became over-bearing and self centered, and therefore we cannot classify this man as refined in manners, for refinement means due respect for other peoples' ideas and feelings. He may not necessarily be coarse, and we know assuredly not so coarse as the Scornful Sadducee, therefore you may check him as medium in Speech and Manners. What about this man's Disposition? Any person who is continually arguing, who is stubborn, who thinks their ideas are always correct, who regards the ideas of others not equal to their own, is certainly not the most agreeable person. You may check this man in the second classification in this division. In Temperament, dullness certainly does not fit him, for he is not dull. Neither can he be considered calm for he would very quickly resent any idea, or statement, which did not meet with his approval. We can only check him in the third classification in Temperament. Now if you will sum up the records of the four divisions already checked you can easily see that he would not be checked as at- tractive in Personality, and yet he may not be repulsive, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt and check him as Medium in Per- sonality. The next two divisions — Plane of Living and Character — is where we will have our difficulty, and we will find the same difficulty in checking the Keen Philosopher. The main reason for this is that we have only a picture to study and look at. Were it possible for a keen student of character reading to be where he could look into the faces of these men and as- sociate with them, see their gestures, see them walk, see the way they stand, and hear them talk, he could quite accurately check these qualities, but from a picture we are limited in our ability to read character and to judge the Plane on which these men are living. —29— This Stern Pharisee may actually think he is living a spiritual life. In fact they did so think. You remember the story of how the Pharisee prayed aloud on the street corners, that he was thankful he was not as the Pub- lican. It is not at all likely that he is living on the Spiritual Plane and yet he might be. The probabilities are that he is living on the Moral Plane. He could be living on the Animal Plane, and yet have the checks exactly as they have been indicated so far by our chart. The only thing we can do is to make a question mark to cover these three classifications. If we cannot arrive at his Plane of Living we certainly cannot check his Character, and again the reader should remember that we are studying a picture and not a living person. Of the men here portrayed the Keen Philosopher is the most interesting of the five. He is wonderful, and there is one most noble character in history with whom this man might well be compared. We refer to Solomon, the wisest of all men, the third King of the Jews. But we must make up our chart on the Keen Philosopher, and later compare him to Solo- mon. From the Philosopher's expression, his keen eyes, the manner in which he is posed, his general appearance indicates that he is refined in Manners and Conversation, therefore we may, without making a mistake, check him in the first classification of these two divisions. The Keen Philosopher's Disposition is agree- able so we can again check him in the first classification. We can easily see that his Temperament is not dull, you could not run over him; he has a great amount of dignity; his judgement is keen; he is not firey and im- pulsive; he thinks before making a statement, therefore we can rightly class him as calm, which is the best of the three for any station or any position in life. As for the Philosopher's Personality, we certainly must admire him for he commands —30— our admiration in manner and countenance. You would like to possess the dignity and ap- pearance of this man. His Personality is most attractive, so we know he deserves a check in the first classification of this division. As to the Plane of Living of the Philosopher we are "at sea." He may be living on any one of the three, but with all his high rating in the other five things he should be living on the highest plane, that of the Spiritual. If he is living on the Spiritual Plane, then his rating is as nearly perfect as mortal man can be, to that of the standard set by Jesus. Not that the Philosopher is as perfect in life as Jesus, but in the making of this chart he checks with him, point by point. This Philosopher, even with all his high rating in the five divisions could be living on the Moral Plane, and by the way we find many, many men so living. They live most desirable lives, but they are neglecting entirely the spiritual side of their lives. And again he might be checked with these five high qualities and be living on the Animal Plane, the lower of the three on which any individual can live, but it is not probable for such con- ditions would be abnormal in such a life. Let us again refer to Solomon for he grew from childhood living wholly on the Spiritual Plane. But Solomon, with all of his wisdom; his refined manners and conversations; his agreeable disposition; his calm, cool, and most righteous judgement; his most attractive and commanding personality; his most lofty spirit- uality; a character above reproach — Solomon — with all his glory fell from the Spiritual, even down past the Moral Plane into the lower depths of the Animal Plane. He hit the carnel life that is not even known by animals. What is this Keen Philosopher's Plane of Living — we cannot know — we cannot see the man — we can therefore mark him in this Di- —31— vision and in Character the same as the Stern Pharisee, with a question mark. The Earnest Seeker after Truth is easily checked, his gesture, and kindly expression show clearly that he should be checked in the first classification of the first three Divisions, but as to his Temperament he does not come up to the standard. This is his one weak point. He is dull in Temperament; he is inclined to let others impose upon him. A Salesman who was not inclined to take the interest of the customer into consideration could get him into a proposition which he would afterwards regret. This man could not have taken a whip, and single handed, driven the money changers from the temple, as did Jesus. So we are forced to give this man a check in the first classification in Temperament, which is a de- fect, or short coming. The Earnest Seeker after Truth certainly does have an attractive Personality, because he is the very personification of truth, honesty, and patience. Check him in the first classifi- cation in Personality. We will make no mis- take whatever on his Plane of Living. His gesture of approval of the statements made by Jesus, and the expression on his kindly face reveals the spiritual and righteous life. So check him. , Sum up the above six divisions and you have his Character and know just where to check him in this Division. The person who has had the responsibility of managing people can now see the value in being able to chart a man's qualities. Many a school superintendent, many a teacher, many a business man has employed a person having characteristics the same as has this Seeker After Truth, in most Divisions, but did not in- dicate weakness in Temperament. The last man, the Mild Rabbi, as is indicated by the description of this man in the foregoing pages, reveals the fact that he does not have —32— ideal manners and he does not converse much. He prefers to take no part, or side, in any question, therefore we can only check him as Medium in the first two Divisions. The Rabbi's Disposition is agreeable for you could not pick a quarrel with him, even if you tried to do so, so we must check him in Disposition as being agreeable. You could not make this Rabbi angry, there- fore he must be marked as dull in Tempera- ment. You certainly would not like his per- sonality, you would not know where to find him on any subject, he is as "slippery as an eel." You certainly would not pick out a man like him for an associate, for who does not despise hyprocrits ? He is repulsive in Personality and so check him. This man being deceitful is living on the plane of the wild cat species of the jungles, and we are compelled to check him as living on the Animal Plane. Again sum up the above six divisions and you must check him in the third classification of Character. Before closing what we have had to say about the Mild Rabbi we do want to say that the writer has no grudge, or feeling, against any Rabbi, for one of his good friends is a Rabbi, but in dealing with characters in a picture we must take them as we find them. It is impossible for us to close this rating without now asking the reader if Hoffmann's "Christ in the Temple" does not mean more to you than it did before you read this book? You have been given a glimpse of what the real artist tries to do. Never again, when you look upon this picture on any wall, will you feel that it was intended by the artist only for a wall decoration. The person who owns the picture you see may have, and probably has hung it there as a wall decoration, but if so, it is only because the life has not been touched by the real principles of the picture. —33— The study of human beings has been sadly, sadly neglected. We know how fast the flying machine can go. We know the speed of the race horse and the automobile, and we have dug and delved in the very bowels of mother earth, and we have discovered the last bit — the last piece — of ground on the earth, but of all things we know least about man. We are coming to the place, and that rapidly, where we will study him more. We are trying to know ourselves. If any person thinks the scientific study of the human face and characteristics is not for the common person to understand, let us re- mind you that it is only dealing with our minds, it is only learning how we make of our- selves what we are, and we urge you, beg of you, to continue your reading along these lines. Get other books dealing with some study of human nature, and while you have found this interesting it is only a beginning. Figuratively you have only been introduced to the teacher in the kindergarden department. "AS A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART SO IS HE."- Solomon. -34- HUMAN NATURE STUDY INSTITUTE Under direction of W. J. Pilkington. Des Moines, Iowa This Institute has been organized for the purpose of promoting a sane, common sense study of Human Nature. We desire to keep our feet on the ground and yet dig deep. What we do not know about this subject would make a much larger volume than what we do know. An interpretation of the picture, "Daniel in the Lion's Den," by Riviere, is being prepared. In some ways we believe it will be superior to the interpretation of "Christ in the Tem- ple." Other small books teaching how to read character and study human beings are being prepared. One small book will deal entirely with the development of self. Our lectuerors, dealing with the subject, Hu- man Nature, Picture Interpretation, etc., can be had for Commercial Clubs, Teachers' Insti- tutes, Women's Clubs, Public Schools, Churches, Business Institutions and others. Write us. If we do not have what you want we will tell you so. —35—