sent particular conceptions correspond, when the head is lifted or lowered or turned sideways, to the arms; and when the countenance is contracted, expanded, or drawn down, to the hands. From these brief suggestions with reference to the representative effects of the different parts of the body as a whole, let us turn to consider the gestures formed by the hands. We may begin by saying that there are three planes on which the stroke of a gesture may be made. One is on a level with the breast, which is the seat of the motive or emotive nature. One is below the breast, and one is above it. The principle underlying the phase of thought represented by the hand, when carried to either of the three planes, is as follows: Every one inside of a body feels or conceives himself to be at the centre of the universe, which the horizon rims, the earth grounds, and the zenith domes. When he gestures, he cannot do otherwise than give expression to this feeling. His hands are carried on a level with the breast to represent what he conceives to be on a physical, and hence, by analogy, a mental or moral level with himself. They move before him to indicate that which he really sees there, or to refer ideally to the truth or hope that he anticipates in the future. They move behind him to indicate that which is really behind him, something that he has abandoned or turned from possibly with loathing or regret; or they may refer ideally to a condition of opinion. and life beyond which he has progressed. They move to one side to refer to some actual physical presence there, or, ideally, if the hand indicate exclusion, to something that is a side issue from the main line of his thought; possibly to some course that is a diversion from straightforward action. But if the hand do not indicate exclusion, the gesture to the side may refer to the general and comprehensive. The hands are carried below the breast to represent that which one conceives to be physically, mentally, or morally below himself; i. e., below his sight, comprehension, or control; to indicate a pathway, an idea that he can understand, a power that he can master. They are carried above the breast to represent that which he conceives to be physically, mentally, or morally above himself; above his sight, comprehension, or control; to indicate a star, a grand idea, a mighty force. In applying these principles, it must always be borne in mind that the different directions of the gesture represent not what actually is, but what a man conceives to be. Most of the published discussions of this subject do not sufficiently emphasise this fact. We are told, for instance, that good and God must receive upward gestures, and bad and the Devil downward gestures. But this depends entirely upon one's point of view, upon one's conception. The expression, "Get thee behind me, Satan," would require a downward and backward gesture, because the speaker would conceive of Satan as below and behind himself morally; but the expression There was a Brutus once that would have brooked Julius Cæsar, i., 2 Shakespeare. would require an upward and forward gesture; because in it Satan is conceived of as a foe of overwhelming force, whom one is facing, therefore, as one physically above and before the speaker, and not by any means below or behind him. Now let us consider the shapes assumed by the hand in the place where the gesture is struck. There may be said to be three of these shapes, namely, that of the fist, of the finger, and of the exposed palm. These all seem to interpret the gesture mentally by adding significance to its mode of emphasis. We shall find that they represent, |