History of Monsters, page 91

is seen in those burning with a desire for almost all virtues. A long chin that is sharp at the bottom indicates shifty, "turncoat" individuals, while a round one suggests the effeminate. If we observe a fold of flesh beneath the chin toward the throat with a dimple, we may predict a man overwhelmed by a ruinous lust. From the chin hangs the beard; a thick, bushy one belongs to the melancholic. If it is well-formed, it shows an excellent temperament, for the opposite is true of a messy or shapeless beard. As for a bearded woman, she cannot be led away from excessive sexual desire—hence the proverb: "A bearded woman should be greeted from a distance."

Now it is time to descend through the neck and chest to the lower parts of the body. A thick neck is found in a strong man, while a slender one is found in the weak and effeminate. A neck that is thick and fleshy, like a bull's, shows a wrathful man; a moderate one, like a lion's, shows the magnanimous; a long and slender one, like a deer's, the timid; and finally, a very short neck, like a wolf's, reveals the deceitful.

Similarly, a large and well-formed chest is observed in robust men, and a broad one in the even stronger. If it is hairy, like a bird's, it signifies those who are spirited but unstable. A hairless chest shows the timid and soft. A very fleshy chest suggests the lazy and unteachable. However, if the distance from the throat to the stomach is greater than from the end of the thorax to the navel, it predicts a prudent man. Fleshy, hanging breasts are seen only in effeminate men. Finally, if thick, raised flesh appears on the left side of the chest with a mole—whether with one or many hairs—Ptolemy used to predict honor and riches from it.

If we consider the upper back, or the space between the shoulder blades, it may be large, well-formed, and not at all fleshy, which indicates a man's strength. Conversely, when it is small and shapeless, it belongs to soft men and women. If it is curved with the shoulders hunched toward the chest, it shows corrupted morals. If it is arched back like a horse's, madness will dominate the subject.

Similarly, large shoulders are strong; small ones are weak, typical of women and delicate men. Raised shoulders belong to the treacherous, while broad ones belong to strong and clever men. From this, we can also gather that broad ribs are found in powerful men, and narrow ones in the soft and delicate. Furthermore, a swelling around the ribs suggests talkativeness and folly.

From the shoulders hang the arms. Those who have them so long that they can touch their knees with their hands without bending the body are strong men—though such individuals are rare. More common are those with stunted arms, who are considered the worst and most malevolent. Adamantius notes that some move their heads to their hands while eating rather than their hands to their heads, and he judges these to be imbued with bad character. If the fingers seem somewhat fused together, they belong to the intemperate; if they are short and stiff, to the reckless. A thumb tucked into the hand is a sign of greed. Very long and delicate fingers signify folly. Finally, large and well-formed fingers indicate an excellent bodily constitution. Broad, white, and reddish fingernails are observed in robust men; narrow and oblong ones in the cruel. When they are curved like the talons of birds, they signify the impudent and rapacious. Tiny nails belong to the crafty, while raised and white ones belong to the delicate. From a thin, clear, and reddish nail, we can argue for a sharp wit. Moreover, roughness and roundness in nails designate men prone to luxury, while shortness designates the malignant. Nails marked with white spots are seen in those of decent birth, while those marked with black spots are found in the envious.

A fleshy stomach region indicates the strong, while one that is not at all fleshy indicates the soft. A protruding belly shows the gluttonous; a small and elegantly formed one, the clever. A very hairy area below the navel reveals the talkative. If the distance from the bottom of the chest to the navel is long, it belongs to those enslaved by gluttony, but if it is proportionate, it argues for an excellent constitution. Additionally, slender and compressed flanks, like those of frogs, are observed in timid men; if they are full of flesh, they denote the unteachable. A very hairy pubic region shows not only fertility but also immoderate lust; when it is bare of hair, it argues for chastity.

Prominent hip bones designate strength, while slender ones, as in women, signify weakness. Muscular thighs are strong, while fleshy ones are indeed soft and delicate. Similarly, sharp and bony buttocks are robust, while fleshy and fat ones are effeminate. When they are withered, as in apes, they belong to those with bad character. Slender knees show timidity; knees that curve forward, as is common in women, show the effeminate; fatty knees signify the timid but generous; while lean ones signify the robust and bold.

Legs follow, which when covered with many hairs are seen in men ruined by luxury. When thick and muscular, they accompany a man's strength. Sinewy and thin legs, as in birds, argue for lust. Thick calves belong to the intemperate, while soft ones belong to the effeminate. When calves are moderate and well-formed, they show ingenious men. At the end of the leg is the ankle, which is seen as sinewy and broad in the robust, and fleshy in women and delicate men. If these parts are long and fleshy, they demonstrate madness, just as slender heels demonstrate timidity. It remains for us to say something about the feet, as it would seem absurd in some way to pass over the physiognomy of the foot with "dry feet." Large and well-jointed feet belong to the robust; narrow and small ones, like women's, to the soft and delicate. A sole that is not at all concave, but so flat that it touches the ground with its entire footprint, denotes shifty men according to the teaching of Aristotle. Thick and fleshy feet are seen in foolish men; thick and short in the weak; slender and short in the malignant; very long in the deceitful; fleshy and hard in the dull-witted; and small and beautiful in fornicators. Finally, toes and nails that are curved, as they appear in birds, refer to impudent men; thin and well-colored nails to those born of an honorable place; and bound toes, as in quails, to the fearful.

Furthermore, from the color, movement, and various actions of the entire body, we can elicit behaviors pertaining to physiognomy. For a color that is very black overall, as in an Ethiopian, as well as a pale color, belongs to the fearful; just as a very white color, like a woman's, belongs to the faint-hearted. Darker skin belongs to the robust, and yellow, as in the lion, to the noble. Red, as in the fox, belongs to the crafty and clever; honey-colored to the lazy; and fiery to the manic.

Moreover, a man with an inflexible neck, an unstable foot, a nose breathing out insolence, and petulant laughter—directing his eyes now here, now there, offering agreement and denial at the same time, having a reason that stands on no reason, with disordered questioning and a response that is not at all congruent—is, I say, a man into whose soul all outrages flow as if into a filthy latrine; and such a man did Gregory Nazianzen describe in Julian the Apostate. Men who walk with hunched shoulders, like lions, are of a proud spirit; those who walk with their legs and feet turned inward are soft, like women; those who twist their bodies while walking are flatterers; and finally, those who lean to the right while progressing pass their lives ruined by luxury.

In the end, there are some who profess to recognize the governing planet of one’s birth from the physiognomy of the head, eyes, stature, and similar features. For Georgius Venetus considers a man of handsome and moderate stature, with darkish eyes tending toward greatness, yellow hair with some baldness, and incisor teeth that are longer than normal; thus he testifies that Jupiter was the ruler of this birth. He then considers a faithful, just man, imbued with honorable morals and obedient to his parents, and from this he argues that Jupiter was well-disposed at the birth. Afterward, he considers a man’s reddish color, with varied eyes tending toward citron, as well as a beard, head hair, and other body hair that is dark, dense, and thick, a moderate stature, a round face sprinkled with certain spots, wide nostrils, a horrid gaze, and teeth longer than normal; then he establishes Mars as the ruler of the birth. The same Georgius Venetus, weighing a man having a long face with unequal eyes, joined eyebrows, marked with various spots, foul teeth, and black, sparse hair, thinks that Saturn was the disposer of the birth. Many other things of this kind are to be read in the aforementioned author.

Regarding physiognomy, two other matters would be worthy of observation. The first would be Metoposcopy, which makes a conjecture of divination from the contemplation of the lines of the forehead; for the forehead has been called by some the mirror of the whole life. Indeed, in anger and other disturbances of the soul, various movements appear on the forehead; wherefore, according to the doctrine of the ancients...