And yet I fancy that those features and moulds of face, and those lineaments, by which men guess at our internal complexions and our fortunes to come, is a thing that does not very directly and simply lie under the chapter of beauty and deformity, no more than every good odour and serenity of air promises health, nor all fog and stink infection in a time of pestilence. Such as accuse ladies of contradicting their beauty by their manners, do not always hit right; for, in a face which is none of the best, there may dwell some air of probity and trust; as, on the contrary, I have read, between two beautiful eyes, menaces of a dangerous and malignant nature. There are favourable physiognomies, so that in & crowd of victorious enemies, you shall presently choose, amongst men you never saw before, one rather than another to whom to surrender, and with whom to intrust your life; and yet not properly upon the consideration of beauty.
然而我认为,脸部的特征、表情以及轮廓,对推测我们的某些内在气质和未来的命运起着辅助作用，它们并不直接也不单纯地属于美和丑的范畴,正如怡人的香味和清新的空气并不能保证人的健康,而瘟疫肆虐期间的污浊空气和臭味也不一定都能传染疾病一样。例如,对女士的品行与美貌相互抵触这一谴责就未必总是正确的。因为一张并不英俊的脸庞也可以显露出正直、或值得信赖的神情;相反,在清秀的眉目之间,我有时却会看到危险和邪恶的预兆。有些相貌确实能令人产生好感,因此,当你面对一群获胜的敌人时,你会立刻挑选这一个而不是那一个素未谋面的人,然后将自己的性命交付于他的手中,但你之所以这样做,并不一定是出于对他相貌之美的考虑。
A person's look is but a feeble warranty; and yet it is something considerable too; and if I had to lash them, I would most severely scourge the wicked ones who belie and betray the promises that nature has planted in their foreheads; I should with greater severity punish malice under a mild and gentle aspect. It seems as if there were some lucky and some unlucky faces; and I believe there is some art in distinguishing affable from merely simple faces, severe from rugged, malicious from pensive, scornful from melancholic, and such other bordering qualities. There are beauties which are not only haughty, but sour, and others that are not only gentle, but more than that, insipid; to prognosticate from them future events is a matter that I shall leave undecided.
一个人的外貌并不能作为可靠的判断依据,但其也有一些参考价值。假如我要谴责恶人,那些辜负并背叛了天性根植于他们额头上的诺言的人将会成为我严厉谴责的对象;我还会更加严厉地惩罚那些外表忠厚、内心却十分恶毒的人。看起来似乎有些人的相貌显得福泽深厚,有些人的相貌却预示着命运多舛。我相信有某种技巧可以区分一些相似的品质,例如严厉和粗野、冷傲和抑郁、和蔼可亲和单纯幼稚、老奸巨猾和足智多谋等等。有些美貌之人不仅傲慢自大,而且尖酸刻薄;而另一些美貌之人则既温和又朴实。至于通过相貌来预测人的未来命运,则是对我来说尚有待解决的问题。
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