Hence it is difficult to determine, with certainty,
what are the movements of the features and of the body,
which commonly characterize certain states of the mind.
Nevertheless, some of the doubts and difficulties have,
as I hope, been cleared away by the observation of infants,--
of the insane,--of the different races of man,--of works of art,--
and lastly, of the facial muscles under the action of galvanism,
as effected by Dr. Duchenne.
But there remains the much greater difficulty of understanding
the cause or origin of the several expressions, and of judging whether
any theoretical explanation is trustworthy. Besides, judging as
well as we can by our reason, without the aid of any rules,
which of two or more explanations is the most satisfactory, or are
quite unsatisfactory, I see only one way of testing our conclusions.
This is to observe whether the same principle by which one expression can,
as it appears, be explained, is applicable in other allied cases;
and especially, whether the same general principles can be applied
with satisfactory results, both to man and the lower animals.
This latter method, I am inclined to think, is the most serviceable of all.
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