The Man of Great Chest Expansion

The largest part of this man's body is around the chest. (See Chart 3) His chest is high for the reason that he has larger lungs than the average.

Advantages of a High Chest

The man of unusual chest-expansion has one great physical asset. The person who breathes deeply has a decided advantage over the man who breathes deficiently. The lungs form the bellows or air-supply for the body's engine, the heart, and with a deficient supply of air the heart does deficient work. Efficient breathing is easy only to the man of large lungs, and only the high chested have large lungs.

Long-Waisted People

A long waist is another thoracic sign, for it is a natural result of the extra house-room required by the large lungs and heart. It is easily detected in both men and women. (See Chart 3)

If you are a close observer you have noticed that some people appear to have a waist line much lower than others; that the belt line dividing the upper part of the body from the lower is proportionately much nearer the floor in some than in others of the same height.

Passing of the "Wasp Waist"

The "straight-up-and-down" lines of today's woman and the slimpsy shoulder-to-heel garments she wears have obliterated her waistline, but you will recall how differently the old "wasp waist" fashions of a score of years ago betrayed the secrets of the short and long waist.

The eighteen-inch belt, of which we were so falsely proud in 1900, told unmistakable facts about milady's thoracic development.

Belts vs. Suspenders

As the tell-tale belt disappeared from woman's wardrobe it appeared in man's, and now betrays the location of his waist with an exactness of which the old-fashioned suspenders were never guilty.

To Test Yourself

If you are a man and have difficulty in getting ready-made coats long enough for you this is certain proof that you have decided thoracic tendencies. If you are a woman who has to forego many a pretty gown because it is not long enough in the waist, the same is true of you.

In women this long waist and high chest give the appearance of small hips and of shoulders a little broader than the average; in men it gives that straight, soldier-like bearing which makes this type of man admired and gazed after as he strides down the street.

The Pure Thoracic Head

A high head is a significant characteristic of the typical Thoracic. (See Chart 4) The Anglo-Saxons tend to have this head and, more than any other races, exhibit thoracic qualities as racial characteristics.

This is considered the handsomest head known. Certainly it lends the appearance of nobility and intelligence. It is not wide, looked at from the front or back, but inclines to be slightly narrower for its height than the Alimentive head.

The Kite-Shaped Face

A face widest through the cheek bones and tapering slightly up the sides of the forehead and downward to the jaw bones is the face of the pure Thoracic. (See Chart 4) This must not be mistaken for the pointed chin nor the pointed head, but is merely a sloping of the face upward and downward from the cheek bones as a result of the unusual width of the nose section. (See Chart 4)

His Well-Developed Nose

The nose section is also high and wide because the typical Thoracic has a nose that is well developed. This is shown not only by its length but by its high bridge.



The cause for the width and length of this section is obvious. The nose constitutes the entrance and exit departments of the breathing system. Large lung capacity necessitates a large chamber for the intake and expulsion of air.

Signs of Good Lungs

Whenever you see a man whose face is wide through the cheek bones—with a long, high-bridged open-nostrilled nose—you see a man of good lung capacity and of quick physical energy. When you see any one with pinched nostrils, a face that is narrow through the cheek bones and a low or "sway-back" nose, you see a man whose lung capacity is deficient. Such a person invariably expends his physical energy more slowly.

Freckles, being due to the same causes as red hair and high color, are further indications of thoracic tendencies, though you may belong to this type with or without them.

The Typical Thoracic Hand

The pointed hand is the hand of the pure Thoracic. (See Chart 4) Note the extreme length of the second finger and the pointed effect of this hand when all the fingers are laid together. Any person with a pointed hand such as this has good thoracic development whether it occupies first place in his makeup or not.

The fingers of the Thoracic are also inclined to be more thin-skinned than those of other types.

One may be predominantly Thoracic without these elements but they are indications of the extreme Thoracic type. Naturally the hand of the extreme Thoracic is more pink than the average.

The Beautiful Foot

The Thoracic tends to have more narrow, high-arched feet than other types. As a result this type makes the majority of the beautifully shod.

The Man of Energetic Movements

A hair-trigger nimbleness goes with this type. He is always "poised ready to strike."

All Thoracics use their hands, arms, wrists, limbs and feet alertly and energetically. They open doors, handle implements and all kinds of hand instruments with little blundering. Also their movements are more graceful than those of other types.

The Thoracic Walk

"The springy step" must have been invented to describe the walk of the Thoracic. No matter how hurried, his walk has more grace than the walk of other types. He does not stumble; and it is seldom that a Thoracic steps on the train of his partner's gown.

The Graceful Sitter

The way you sit tells a great deal about your nature. One of the first secrets it betrays is whether you are by nature graceful or ungainly. The person who sits gracefully, who seems to drape himself becomingly upon a chair and to arise from it with ease is usually a Thoracic.

Their excess of energy sometimes gives them the appearance of "fidgeting," but it is an easy, graceful fidget and not as disturbing as that of other types.

Keen Eye and Ear Senses

Quick eyes and keen ears are characteristic of the Thoracics. The millions of stimuli—the sounds, sights and smells impinging every waking moment upon the human consciousness—affect him more quickly and more intensely than any other type. The acuteness of all our senses depends, to a far greater extent than we have hitherto supposed, upon proper heart and lung action.

Take long, deep breaths for five minutes in the open air while walking rapidly enough to make your heart pound, and see how much keener your senses are at the end of that time.

The Thoracic is chronically in this condition because his heart and lungs are going at top speed habitually and naturally all his life.

Susceptible to Heat

Because bodily temperature varies according to the amount of blood and the rapidity of its circulation, this type is always warmer than others. He is extremely susceptible to heat, suffers keenly in warm rooms or warm weather and wears fewer wraps in winter. The majority of bathers at the beaches in summer are largely of this type.

The High-Strung

Nerves as taut as a violin string—due to his acute physical senses and his thin, sensitive skin—plus his instantaneous quickness make the Thoracic what is known as "high-strung."

The Most Temperamental

Because he is keyed to high C by nature, the Thoracic has more of that quality called temperament than any other type.

The wag who said that "temperament was mostly temper" might have reversed it and still have been right. For temper is largely a matter of temperament. Since the Thoracics have more "temperament" it follows naturally that they have more temper, or rather that they show it oftener, just as they show their delightful qualities oftener.

A Continuous Performance

This type, consciously and unconsciously, is a "continuous performance." He is showing you something of himself every moment and if you are interested in human nature, as your reading of this book suggests, you are going to find him a fascinating subject. He is expressing his feelings with more or less abandon all the time and he is likely to express as many as a dozen different ones in as many moments.

The Quick Temper

"Flying off the handle," and "going up in the air" are phrases originally inspired by our dear, delightful friends, the Thoracics.

Other types do these more or less temperamental things but they do not do them as frequently nor on as short notice as this type.

The Human Firefly

A fiery nature is part and parcel of the Thoracic's makeup. But did you ever see a fiery-natured man who didn't have lots of warm friends! It is the grouch—in whom the fire starts slowly and smoulders indefinitely—that nobody likes. But the man who flares up, flames for a moment and is calm the next never lacks for companions or devotees.

The Red-Haired

One may belong to the Thoracic type whether his hair is blonde or brunette or any of the shades between, but it is an interesting fact that most of the red-haired are largely of this type. "He didn't have red hair for nothing" is a famous phrase that has been applied to the red-haired, quick-tempered Thoracic for generations.

You will be interested to note that this high color and high chest are distinctly noticeable in most of the red-haired people you know—certain proof that they approximate this type.

As you walk down the street tomorrow look at the people ahead of you and when you find a "red-head" notice how much more red his neck is than the necks of the people walking beside him. This flushed skin almost always accompanies red hair, showing that most red-haired people belong to this type.

The "Flash in the Pan"

The red-haired man's temper usually expends itself instantly. His red-hot fieriness is over in a moment. But for every enemy he has two friends—friends who like his flame, even though in constant danger from it themselves.

Whereas the Alimentive avoids you if he disagrees with you, the Thoracic likes to tell you in a few hot words just what he thinks of you. But the chances are that he will be so completely over it by lunch time that he will invite you out with him.

Desire for Approbation

To be admired and a wee bit envied are desires dear to the heart of this type. Everybody, to a greater or lesser degree, desires these things, but to no other type do they mean so much as to this one. We know this because no other type, in any such numbers, takes the trouble or makes the sacrifices necessary to bring them about.

Acts Indicate Desires

The ego of every individual craves approval but the majority of the other types craves something else more—the particular something in each case depending upon the type to which the individual belongs.

You can always tell what any individual WANTS MOST by what he DOES. The man who thinks he wants a thing or wishes he wanted it talks about getting it, envies those who have it and plans to start doing something about it. But the man who really WANTS a thing GOES AFTER it, sacrifices his leisure, his pleasures and sometimes love itself—and GETS it.

Shines in Public Life

The lime-light appeals more to this type than to others because it goes further toward gratifying his desire for approbation. So while other men and women are dreaming of fame the Thoracic practises, ploughs and pleads his way to it.

The personal adulation of friends and of the multitude is the breath of life to him. Extremes of this type consider no self-denial too great a price to pay for it.

Many on the Stage

The stage in all its forms is as natural a field to the Thoracic as salesmanship is to the Alimentive. The pleas of fond papas and fearsome mamas are usually ineffective with this type of boy or girl when he sets his heart on a career before the foot-lights or in the movies.

Whether they achieve it or not will depend on other, and chiefly mental, traits in each individual's makeup, but the yearning for it in some form is always there. So the managers' waiting rooms are always crowded with people of this type. It is this intensity of desire which has goaded and inspired most stage artists on to success in their chosen fields.

"Put Yourself in His Place"

To be able to put one's self in the role of another, to feel as he feels; to be so keenly sensitive to his situation and psychology that one almost becomes that person for the time being, is the heart and soul of acting.

The Thoracic has this sensitiveness naturally. After long study and acquaintance you may be able to put yourself in the place of a few friends. The Thoracic does this instantly and automatically.

Tendency, Not Toil, Makes Fame

Those who have succeeded to fame in any given line are wont to proclaim, "Hard work is the secret of success," and to take great credit unto themselves for the labor they have expended on their own.

It is true of course that all success entails hard work. But the man or woman sufficiently gifted to rise to the heights gets from that gift such a strong inward urge towards its expression that what he does in that direction is not work to him. The long hours, concentration and study devoted to it are more pleasurable than painful to him. He chooses such activities voluntarily.

Nature the Real Artist

Nothing can rightly be called work which one does out of sheer preference. Work never made an actress and work never made a singer where innate talent for these arts was lacking. Nature, the true maker of every famous name, bestows ninety per cent and man, if he hustles, can provide the other very necessary ten. But his sense of humor if not his sense of justice should be sufficient to prevent his trying to rob the Almighty of His due.

Success for All

Every individual who is not feeble-minded can be a success at something in this big world. Every normal-minded individual is able to create, invent, improve, organize, build or market some of the myriads of things the world is crying for. But he will succeed at only those things in which his physiological and psychological mechanisms perform their functions easily and naturally.

Why We Work

Man is, by inclination, very little of a worker. He is, first, a wanter—a bundle of instincts; second, a feeler—a bundle of emotions; last and least, he is a thinker. What real work he does is done not because he likes it but because it serves one of these first two bundles of instincts.

When the desire for leisure is stronger than the other urges, leisure wins. But in all ambitious men and women the desire for other things outweighs the leisure-urge.

Ambition and Type

Now what is it that causes some to have ambition and others to lack it?

Your ambitions take the form determined by your predominating physiological system. For instance, in every great singer the Thoracic has been present either as the first or second element.

The effect of the physical upon our talents is no more marked anywhere than here. For it is his unusual lung power, his high chest, the sounding boards in his nose section and his superior vocal cords that make the real foundation of every singer's fame. These physiological conditions are found in extreme degree only in persons of thoracic tendencies.

It was the great lung-power of Caruso that made him a great singer. It was his remarkable heart-power that brought him through an illness in February, 1921, when every newspaper in the world carried on its front page the positive statement that he could not live another day. That he lived for six months afterward was due chiefly to his remarkable heart.

The nature resulting from a large heart and large lungs is one distinctly different from all others—in short, the Thoracic nature.

The Best Dressed

The best dressed man and the best dressed woman in your town belong predominantly to this type. This is no accident. The Thoracics, being possessed of acute eye senses, are more sensitive to color and line than any other type. These are the foundations of "style" and artistic grooming.

Clothes Can Unmake the Man

Being desirous of the approval of others and realizing that though clothes do not make the man they can unmake him, this type looks to his laurels on this point.

Because clothes determine the first impressions we make upon strangers and because that impression is difficult to change, clothes are of vast importance in this maze of human relationships.

The Thoracic is more sensitive to the attitude of others because their attitude is more vital to his self-expression. He senses from childhood the bearing that clothes have for or against him in the opinion of others and how they can aid him to express his personality.

The Glass of Fashion

The Thoracic therefore often becomes "the glass of fashion and the mold of form." His consciousness of himself is so keen that, even when alone, he prefers those things in dress which are at once fine, fancy and fashionable.

Some types are indifferent to clothes, some ignorant of clothes and some defiant in their clothes but the Thoracic always has a keen sense of fitness in the matter of apparel.

Distinction in Dress

The distinctive dresser is one who essays the extremely fashionable, the "last moment" touch. He is always a step or two ahead of the times. His ties, handbags, handkerchiefs and stick pins are "up to the minute." Such a man or woman invariably has a large thoracic development and is well repaid by the public for his pains.

Dress the Universal Language

The public looks more eagerly than we suppose to changes in styles and fads. It gives, in spite of itself, instantaneous admiration of a sort to those who follow the dictates of fashion. This being one of the quickest roads to adulation, it is often utilized by this type.

The Newest in Hairdressing

The latest thing in coiffures is always known by the Thoracic woman. And because she is, more often than any other type, a beautiful woman she can wear her hair in almost any style and find it becoming.

So when puffs were the thing this type of woman not only wore puffs but the most extreme and numerous puffs. When the "sticking-to-the-face" style was in vogue she bought much bandoline and essayed the sleekest and shiniest head of all. When the ear-bun raged she changed those same paper-like curls over night into veritable young sofa cushions.

Always on "Dress Parade"

With intent to keep the spotlight on himself the Thoracic is always on dress parade. He is vividly aware of himself; he knows what kind of picture he is making. He is seldom "self-conscious," in the sense of being timid. When he does happen to be timid he suffers, by reason of his greater desire for approval, more acutely than any other type.

Affectability His Keynote

Instantaneous reaction to stimuli—with all the reflex actions resulting therefrom—constitutes the keynote of this type. This makes an individual who is physiologically and psychologically affectable.

Because life is full of all kinds of stimuli, acting during every waking moment upon every sense in the organism, any person who is high strung finds himself in the midst of what might be called "nerve-bedlam."

Gets the Most Out of Everything

Because of this same highly sensitized makeup the Thoracic gets more sensations out of every incident than the rest of us do. He experiences more joy in the space of a lifetime but also more disappointment.

The Human Violin

For the same reason that the violin vibrates to a greater number of sounds than the organ, the Thoracic is a more vibrant individual than others. He is impelled to an expressiveness of voice, manner and action that often looks like pretence to less impulsive people. In other types it would be, but to the Thoracic it is so natural and normal that he is often much surprised to hear that he has the reputation of being "affected."

A Reputation for Flightiness

This lightning-like liveliness of face, body and voice, his quick replies and instantaneous reactions to everything also cause him to be called "flighty."

The Quick Thinker

We are prone to judge every one by ourselves. People whose mental or physical senses are less "keyed-up," less sensitive, call the Thoracic "rattle-brained."

Usually such a man's brain is not rattled at all; it is working, as all brains do in response to the messages reaching it, via the telegraph wires of the five senses.

In the Thoracic these wires happen to be more taut than in the other types. He gets sensations from sights, sounds, tastes, touches and smells much more quickly than the rest of us do. These messages are sent to the brain more rapidly and, since sensation is responsible for much of our thinking, this man's brain thinks a little more speedily than that of other types.

It does not necessarily think any better. Often it does need slowing down. But compared to the thought-power of some of the other types the Thoracic's speed makes up for much of his carelessness. He makes more mistakes in judgment than other types but can "right-about-face" so quickly he usually remedies them while other types are still trying to decide when to start.

To hold himself back is the hardest lesson for this type to learn.

His Changeability

This tendency to let himself go brings the Thoracic a great deal of unhappiness and failure. He plunges so quickly that he often fails to take into consideration the various elements of the situation.

His physical senses tell him a thing should be done and rush him headlong into actions that he knows are ill-advised the moment he has time to think them over. In turning around and righting his mistakes he often hears himself called "changeable" and "vacillating."

His "Batting Average"

In this, as in other things, we have a tendency toward smugness, shortsightedness and egotism. The man who makes but one mistake a year because he makes but two decisions is wrong fifty per cent of the time. Yet he self-satisfiedly considers himself superior to the Thoracic because he has caught the latter in six "poor deals within six months." At the rate the average Thoracic acts this would be about one mistake in a thousand—a much "better batting average" than the other man's.

But because the confidence of others in our stability is of prime importance to us all, this type or any one inclined to definite thoracic tendencies should take pains to prevent this impression from settling into the minds of his friends.

Should Get Onto the Highway

The greatest reason for striving toward stability in action and more slowness in decision, however, is for his own future's sake. The man who is constantly making decisions and being compelled to alter them gets nowhere. He may have the best engine and the finest car in the world but if he runs first down this by-path, and then that, he will make little progress on the main highway.

Should Have an Aim

An aim, a definite goal is essential to the progress of any individual. It should be made with care and in keeping with one's personality, talents, training, education, environment and experience, and having been made should be adhered to with the determination which does not permit little things to interfere with it.

Eliminating Non-Essentials

The big problem of individual success is the problem of eliminating non-essentials—of "hewing to the line, letting the chips fall where they may." Most of the things that steal your time, strength, money and energy are nothing but chips. If you pay too much attention to them you will never hew out anything worth while.

No Vain Regrets

If you are a Thoracic don't regret the fact that you are not a one-decision-a-year man, but try to make fewer and better decisions.

Your quickness, if called into counsel, will enable you to see from what instincts your mistakes habitually arise and the direction in which most of them have pointed. And you will see this with so much greater dispatch than the average person that you will lose little time.

You should begin today to analyze your most common errors in judgment that you may guard against their recurrence.

Always Slightly Thrilled

Even when apparently composed the Thoracic is always a wee bit thrilled. Everything he sees, hears, touches, tastes or smells gives him such keen sensations that he lives momentarily in some kind of adventure.

He languishes in an unchanging environment and finds monotony almost unbearable.

Lights and Shadows

"Never two minutes the same" fitly describes this type. He passes rapidly from one vivid sensation to another and expresses each one so completely that he is soon ready for the next. He has fewer complexes than any other type because he does not inhibit as much.

The Uncorked Bottle

The "lid" is always off of the Thoracic. This being the case he suffers little from "mental congestion" though he sometimes pays a high price for his self-expression.

Everybody is Interesting

Most of us are much more interesting than the world suspects. But the world is not made up of mind readers. We keep our most interesting thoughts and the most interesting side of ourselves hidden away. Even your dearest friends are seldom given a peep into the actual You. And this despite the fact that we all recognize this as a deficiency in others.

We bottle up ourselves and defy the world's cork-screws—all save the Thoracic. He allows his associates to see much of what is passing in his mind all the time. Because we are all interested in the real individual and not in masks this type usually is much sought after.

Not Secretive

The Thoracic does not by preference cover up; he does not by preference secrete; he does not, except when necessary, keep his plans and ways dark. He is likely to tell not only his family but his newest acquaintances just what he is planning to do and how he expects to do it.

The naturally secretive person who vaguely refers to "a certain party" when he has occasion to speak of another is the exact opposite of this type.

His "Human Interest"

We are all interested in the little comings and goings of our friends. Upon this fact every magazine and newspaper builds its "human interest" stories. We may be indifferent to what the President of the United States is doing about international relations but what he had for breakfast is mighty interesting. Few people read inaugural addresses, significant though they often are to the world and to the reader himself. But if the President would write ten volumes on "Just How I Spend My Sundays," it would be a "best seller."

Naturally Confidential

Personal experiences, personal secrets and personal preferences are subjects we are all interested in. These are the very things with which the Thoracic regales his friends and about which he is more frank and outspoken than any other type. He makes many friends by his obvious openness and his capacity for seeing the interesting details which others overlook.

Charming Conversationalist

Colorful, vivid words and phrases come easily to the tongue of this type for he sees the unusual, the fascinating, in everything. Since any one can make a thing interesting to others if he is really interested in it himself, the Thoracic makes others see and feel what he describes. He is therefore known as the most charming conversationalist.

Beautiful Voice

The most beautiful voices belong to people who are largely of this type. This is due, as we have said before, to physiological causes. The high chest, sensitive vocal cords, capacious sounding boards in the nose and roof of the mouth all tend to give the voice of the Thoracic many nuances and accents never found in other types.

His pleasing voice plus the vividness of his expressions and his lack of reticence in giving the intimate and interesting details are other traits which help to make the Thoracic a lively companion.

The Lure of Spontaneity

The most beloved people in the world are the spontaneous. We lead such drab lives ourselves and keep back so much, we like to see a little Niagara of human emotion occasionally. The Thoracic feels everything keenly. Life's experiences make vivid records on the sensitive plate of his mind. He puts them on the Victrola that is himself and proceeds to run them off for your entertainment.

Sometimes a "Bubbler"

"A constant stream of talk" must have been first said in describing this type. For while others are carefully guarding their real feelings and thoughts the Thoracic goes merrily on relieving himself of his.

More sedate and somber types call the Thoracics "bubblers" or "spouters" just for this reason.

The Incessant Talker

"That person's talk gets on my nerves," is a remark often made by one of the staid, stiff types concerning the seldom silent, extremely florid individual. So natural is this to the Thoracic that he is entirely unconscious of the wearing effect he has on other people.

A Sense of Humor

Seeing the funny side of everything is a capacity which comes more naturally to this type than to others. This is due to the psychological fact that nothing is truly humorous save what is slightly "out of plumb."

Real humor lies in detecting and describing that intangible quirk. No type has the sensitiveness essential to this in any such degree as the Thoracic. Individuals of other types sometimes possess a keen sense of humor. This trait is not confined to the Thoracic. But it is a significant fact that almost every humorist of note has had this type as the first or second element in his makeup.

The Human Fireworks

"He is a skyrocket," or "she is a firefly," are phrases often used to describe that vivacious individual whose adeptness at repartee puts the rest of the crowd in the background. These people are always largely or purely Thoracic. They never belong predominately to the fourth type.

The next time you find such a person note how his eyes flash, how his color comes and goes and the many indescribable gradations of voice which make him the center of things.

"He is always shooting sparks," said a man recently in describing a florid, high-chested friend.

Never Dull Company

His "line" may not interest you but the Thoracic himself is usually interesting. He is an actual curiosity to the quiet, inexpressive people who never can fathom how he manages to talk so frankly and so fast.

Such a person is seldom dull. He is everything from a condiment to a cocktail and has the same effect on the average group of more or less drab personalities.

Lives in the Heights and Depths

"Glad one moment and sad the next" is the way the ticker would read if it could make a record of the inner feelings of the average Thoracic. These feelings often come and go without his having the least notion of what causes them. Ordinarily these unaccountable moods are due to sensations reaching his subconscious mind, of which no cognizance is taken by his conscious processes.

Called "Intuitive"

This ability to "get" things, to respond quickly with his physical reactions while devoting his mental ones to something else, has obtained for this type the reputation of possessing more "intuition" than others.

Source of "Hunches"

That there is no such thing as intuition in the old sense of getting a "hunch" from the outside is now agreed by psychologists. The thing we have called intuition, they maintain, is not due to irregular or supernatural causes but to our own normal natural mental processes.

The impression that he gets this knowledge or suspicion from the outside is due, the scientists say, to the fact that his thinking has proceeded at such lightning-like speed that he was unable to watch the wheels go round. The only thing of which he is conscious is the final result or sum at the bottom of the column called his "hunch." He is not aware of the addition and subtraction which his mind went through to get it for him.

Easily Excited

"Off like a shot" is a term often applied to the Thoracic. He is the most easily excited of all types but also the most easily calmed. He recovers from every mood more quickly and more completely than other types. Under the influence of emotion he often does things for which he is sorry immediately afterward.

On the Spur of the Moment

This type usually does a thing quickly or not at all. He is a gun that is always cocked. So he hits a great many things in the course of a lifetime and leads the most exciting existence of any type. Being able to get thrills out of the most commonplace event because of seeing elements in it which others overlook, he finds in everyday life more novelty than others ever see.

The Adventurers

Romance and adventure always interest this type. He lives for thrills and novel reactions and usually spares no pains or money to get them. A very slangy but very expressive term used frequently by these people is, "I got a real kick out of that."

This craving for adventure, suspense and zest often lures this type into speculation, gambling and various games of chance. The danger in flying, deep-sea diving, auto-racing and similar fields has a strong appeal for this type—so strong that practically every man or woman who follows these professions is of this type.

Tires of Sameness

The Thoracic soon tires of the same suit, the same gown, the same house, the same town and even the same girl. He wrings the utmost out of each experience so quickly and so completely that he is forever on the lookout for new worlds to conquer. Past experiences are to him as so many lemons out of which he has taken all the juice. He anticipates those of the future as so many more to be utilized in the same way.

Likes Responsive People

We all like answers. We want to be assured that what we have said or done has registered. The Thoracic is always saying or doing something and can't understand why other people are so unresponsive. He is as responsive as a radio wire. Everything hits the mark with him and he lets you know it. So, naturally, he enjoys the same from others and considers those less expressive than himself stiff, formal or dull.

The kind of person the Thoracic likes best is one sufficiently like himself to nod and smile and show that he fully understands but who will not interrupt his stream of talk.

People He Dislikes

The stolid, indifferent or cold are people the Thoracic comes very near disliking. Their evident self-complacency and immobility are things he does not understand at all and with which he has little patience.

Such people seem to him to be cold, unfeeling, almost dead. So he steers clear of them. It was surely a Thoracic who first called these people "sticks." But the reason for their acting like sticks will be apparent in another chapter.

His Pet Aversions

Whereas the Alimentive avoids people he does not care for, the Thoracic is inclined to betray his aversions. He occasionally delights to put people he dislikes at a disadvantage by his wit or satire. The stony individual who walks through life like an Ionian pillar is a complete mystery to the Thoracic; and the pillar returns the compliment. We do not like anything we do not understand and we seldom understand anything that differs decidedly from ourselves.

Thus we distrust and dislike foreigners, and to a greater or lesser extent other families, people from other sections of the country, etc. The Easterner and Westerner have a natural distrust of each other; and the Civil War is not the only reason for the incompatibility of Southerners and Northerners.

So it is with individuals. Those who differ too widely in type never understand each other. They have too little of the chief thing that builds friendships—emotions in common.

The Forgiving Man

If you have once been a real friend of a Thoracic and a quarrel comes between you, he may be ever so bitter and biting in the moment of his anger but in most cases he will forgive you eventually.

Really Forgets Disagreements

It is not as easy for other types to forgive; they often refrain from attempting a reconciliation. But the Thoracic's forgiveness is not only spontaneous but genuine.

The Alimentive bears no grudges because it is too much trouble. The Thoracic finds it hard to maintain a grudge because he gets over it just as he gets over everything else. His anger oozes away or he wakes up some fine morning and finds, like the boy recovering from the chickenpox, that he "simply hasn't it any more."

Diseases He is Most Susceptible To

Acute diseases are the ones chiefly affecting this type. Everything in his organism tends to suddenness and not to sameness.

Just as he is inclined to get into and out of psychological experiences quickly, so he is inclined to sudden illnesses and to sudden recuperations. A Thoracic seldom has any kind of chronic ailment. If he acquires a superabundance of avoirdupois he is in danger of apoplexy. The combination of extreme Thoracic and extreme Alimentive tendencies is the cause of this disease.

Likes Fancy Foods

Variety and novelty in food are much enjoyed by this type. The Alimentive likes lots of rich food but he is not so desirous of varieties or freak dishes. But the Thoracic specializes in them.

You can not mention any kind of strange new dish whose investigation won't appeal to some one in the crowd, and that person is always somewhat thoracic. It gives him another promise of "newness."

Foreign dishes of all kinds depend for their introduction into this country almost entirely upon these florid patrons. According to the statements of restauranteurs this type says, "I will try anything once." Many-course dinners, if the food is good, are especially popular with them.

"The Trimmings" at Dinner

Out-of-the-ordinary surroundings in which to dine are always welcome to this type. The hangings, pictures, and furniture mean much to him. Most people like music at meals but to the Thoracic it is almost indispensable. He is so alive in every nerve, so keyed-up and has such intense capacity for enjoyment of many things simultaneously that he demands more than other types. An attentive waiter who ministers to every movement and anticipates every wish is also a favorite with the Thoracic when out for dinner.

Sensitive to His Surroundings

Colorful surroundings are more necessary to the Thoracic than to other types. The ever-changing fashions in house decorations are welcome innovations to him. He soon grows tired of a thing regardless of how much he liked it to begin with.

Take notice amongst your friends and you will see that the girl who changes the furniture all around every few weeks is invariably of this type. "It makes me feel that I have changed my location and takes the place of a trip," explained one girl not long ago.

Wants "Something Different"

The exact color of hangings, wall-paper, interior decorations and accessories are matters of vital import to this type. Whereas the Alimentives demand comfort, the Thoracics ask for "something different," something that catches and holds the eye—that makes an instantaneous impression upon the onlooker and gives him one more thing by which to remember the personality of the one who lives there.

This type considers his room and home as a part of himself and takes the pains with them which he bestows upon his clothes.

When He is Rich

Wealth to the Thoracic means unlimited opportunity for achieving the unusual in everything. His tastes are more extravagant than those of other types. Uncommon works of art are usually found in the homes of this type. The most extraordinary things from the most extraordinary places are especial preferences with him.

He carries out his desire for attention here as in everything else and what he buys will serve that end directly or indirectly.

Fashion and "Flare"

"Flare" aptly describes the quality which the pure Thoracic desires in all that touches him and his personality. It must have verve and "go" and distinctiveness. It must be "the latest" and "the thing."

He is the last type of all to submit to wearing last year's suit, singing last year's songs, or driving in a last year's model.

Likes Dash

The Thoracic wants everything he wears, drives, lives in or owns to "get across," to make an impression. The fat man loves comfort above all else, but the florid man loves distinction.

He does not demand such easy-to-wear garments as the fat man. On the contrary, he will undergo extreme discomfort if it gives him a distinctive appearance. He wants his house to be elegant, the grounds "different," the view unusual.

Has Color Sense

Whereas the fat man when furnishing a home devotes his attention to soft beds, steam heat and plenty of cushioned divans, the Thoracic thinks of the chandeliers, the unusual chairs, the pretty front doorstep, the landscape gardening and the color schemes.

When He is in Moderate Circumstances

When only well to do this type will be found to have carried out furnishings and decorations with the taste worthy of much larger purses. When merely well to do he wears the very best clothes he can possibly afford, and often a good deal better. This type does not purpose to be outwitted by life. He tries always to put up a good showing.

When He is Poor

The Thoracic is seldom poor. He has so much personality, ginger and go of the sort that is required in the world of today that he usually has a good position. He may not like the position. But in spite of the fact that he finds it harder to tolerate disagreeable things than any other type, he will endure it for he knows that the rewards he is after can not be had by the down-and-outer.

The natural and normal vanity of the Thoracic stands him in hand here more than in almost any other place in life.

The World Entertained by Them

Behind every row of foot-lights you will find more people of this type than any other. The Alimentive manages the world but the Thoracic entertains it.

He comprises more of the dancers, actors, operatic stars and general entertainers than any other two types combined. In everything save acrobatics and oratory he holds the platform laurels.

As already pointed out, his adaptability, spontaneity and love of approval are responsible for this.

His Fastidious Habits

The Thoracic is the most fastidious of all the types. His thin skin and sensitive nerves make him more conscious of roughness and slovenliness than others. The result is that he is what is called "more particular" about his person than are other types. The fat man often wears an old pair of shoes long past their usefulness, but the florid man thinks more of the impression he creates than of his own personal comfort, and will wear the shiniest of patent leathers on the hottest day if they are the best match for his suit.

Likes All Music

Every kind of music is enjoyed by the pure Thoracic because he experiences so many moods.

Entertainment He Prefers

Social affairs of an exclusive order where he wears his "best bib and tucker" and everybody else does the same, are amongst the favorite diversions of this type. He makes a favorable impression under such conditions and is well aware of it.

Other reasons for this preference are his brilliant conversational powers, his charm and his enjoyment of other people and their view-points. The Thoracic is also exceedingly fond of dancing.

Enjoys Vaudeville

The average Thoracic enjoys vaudeville, Follies, revues, etc., because they are full of quick changes of program. He enjoys, as does every type, certain kinds of movies, but he constitutes no such percentage of the movie-going audience as some other types.

Reading

Books and stories that are romantic, adventurous, and different are the favorites of this type. Detective stories are often in high favor with him also.

Physical Assets

The physical advantages of this type are his quick energy—based on his wonderful breathing system—and the rich, rapid-flowing blood, produced by his wonderful heart system.

He is noted for his ability to get "his second wind" and has remarkable capacity for rising to sudden physical emergencies.

Physical Liabilities

A tendency to over-excitement and the consequent running down of his batteries is a physical pitfall often fatal to this type.

Favorite Sports

Hurdling, sprinting, tennis and all sports requiring short, intense spurts of energy are the ones in which this type excels.

Social Assets

Charm and responsiveness are the chief social assets of the Thoracic. Inasmuch as these are the most valuable of all social traits, he has a better natural start in human relationships than any other type.

Social Liabilities

Quick temper, his inflammable nature and appearances of vanity are his greatest social liabilities. They stand between him and success many times. He must learn to control them if he desires to reap the full benefit of his remarkable assets.

Emotional Assets

Instantaneous sympathy and the lack of poisonous inhibitions are the outstanding emotional assets of this type.

Emotional Liabilities

Impatience, mercurial emotions and the expenditure of too much of his electricity in every little experience are the tendencies most to be guarded against.

Business Assets

That he is a "good mixer" and has the magnetism to interest and attract others are his most valuable business traits.

Business Liabilities

An appearance of flightiness and his tendency to hop from one subject to another, stand in the way of the Thoracic's promotion many times.

Domestic Strength

The ability to entertain and please his own family and to give of himself to them as freely as he gives himself to the world at large, is one of the most lovable thoracic traits.

Domestic Weakness

The temperament and temper of this type constitute a real domestic problem for those who live with them. But they are so forgiving themselves that it is almost impossible to hold anything against them.

Should Aim At

The Thoracic should aim at making fewer decisions, at finishing what he starts, and of wasting less energy in unnecessary words and motions.

Should Avoid

All situations, conditions and people who "Slip the belt off the will," who tend to cut life up into bits by dissipation or pleasure-seeking, should be avoided by this type because they aggravate his own weaknesses in that direction.

Strong Points

Personal ambition, adaptability and quick physical energy are the strongest points of the Thoracic.

Weakest Points

Too great excitability, irresponsibility and supersensitiveness, are the weakest points of this type.

How to Deal with This Type Socially

Give him esthetic surroundings, encourage him to talk, and respond to what he says. These are the certain methods for winning him in social intercourse.

How to Deal with this Type in Business

Get his name on the dotted line NOW, or don't expect it. If he is an employee let him come into direct contact with people, give his personality a chance to get business for you, don't forget to praise him when deserved, and don't pin him down to routine. This type succeeds best in professions where his personal charm can be capitalized, and does not belong in any strictly commercial business.

Remember, the chief distinguishing marks of the Thoracic in the order of their importance, are FLUSHED COMPLEXION, HIGH CHEST and LONG WAIST. Any person who has these is largely of the Thoracic type, no matter what other types may be included in his makeup.



CHAPTER III

The Muscular Type

"The Worker"

People in whom the muscular system is proportionately larger and more highly developed than any of their other systems are Musculars. This system consists of the muscles of the organism.

The "Lean Meat" Type

The muscle-system of the human body is simply a co-ordinated, organized arrangement of layers of lean meat, of which every individual has a complete set.

An individual's muscles may be small, flabby, deficient in strength or so thin as to be almost imperceptible but they are always there—elementary in the infant, full grown in the adult and remnants in the aged. But they are so smoothly fitted together, so closely knitted and usually so well covered that we seldom realize their complexity or importance.

In the pure Muscular type his muscles are firm and large. Such muscles can not be disguised but seem to stand out all over him.

Helpless Without Them

Without them we would be helpless masses of fat and bone; we could not blink an eye nor lift a finger. Yet we are so accustomed to them that we rarely think of them and seldom give them credit for what they do.

Without their wonder-work to adjust the eyes we could not see; without their power the heart would cease to beat. We can not smile, sob, speak nor sing without using them. We would have no pianists, violinists, dancers, aviators, inventors or workers of any kind without them.

Everything we put together—from hooks and eyes to skyscrapers—is planned by our brains but depends for its materialization upon the muscles of the human body.

How to Know Him

Look at any individual and you will note one of these three conditions: that his bones seem to be covered just by skin and sinews (which means that he belongs to the fourth type) or thickly padded with fat (in which case he is largely of the first type) or well upholstered with firm meat.

In the latter case he is largely Muscular, no matter what other types may be present in his makeup.

In a short time you will be able to tell, at a glance, whether the padding on an individual is mostly fat or mostly muscle, because fat is always round and soft while muscle is firm and definite.

Physical Solidity

A general solidity of structure, as distinguished from the softness of the Alimentive and the resilience of the Thoracic, characterizes the Muscular. (See Chart 5)

Poke your finger into a fat man's hand and though it makes a dent that dent puffs back quickly. Do the same to the Muscular and you will find a firmness and toughness of fiber that resists but stays there longer once the dent is made.

Not So Malleable

This little illustration is typical of the differences between these two natures throughout their entirety. Just as the fat man's face gives to your touch, he will give in to you more easily than any other type; but he will go back to the same place sooner and more smoothly when your pressure is removed.



The Muscular does not mold so easily, is less suggestible, is less tractable than the Alimentive or Thoracic but is less likely to revert afterwards.

Built on the Square

"On the Square" is a figurative expression usually applying to a moral tendency. In this sense it is as often possessed by one type as another. But in a purely literal sense the Muscular is actually built on the square. His whole figure is a combination of squares.

The Alimentive is built upon the circle, the Thoracic on the kite-shape but the pure Muscular always tends toward a squareness of outline.

We repeat, he is no more "square" morally than any other type, so do not make the mistake of attributing any more of this virtue to him than to others.

Each type has its own weaknesses and points of strength as differentiated from other types and these are responsible for most of the moral differences between people.

No Type Superior Morally

Since moral weakness comes from type weakness and since each type possesses about as many weaknesses as the others, it follows that no type is superior "morally" to any other and no type is morally inferior to any other.

Type and Temptation

Morality is mostly a matter of how much temptation you can withstand.

Every individual in a civilized community is surrounded by temptations of some kind most of the time. He does not want to yield to any of them. Every man and woman does the best of which his particular type is capable under a given circumstance.

Each individual resists many temptations for which we fail to give him credit. He yields only to those which make such a strong appeal to his type that he lacks the power of resistance.

In other words, each person yields to the temptations that prey upon his particular weaknesses, and what his weaknesses are will depend upon his type. In the grip of these temptations he may commit anything from discourtesy to crime—according to the strength of the temptation plus his own leaning in that direction.

On the other hand, certain "immoralities" which appeal strongly to some types have no attraction whatever for others and these latter get credit for a virtuousness that has cost them nothing.

Praise and Punishment

On the other hand, each one of the five human types has certain points of strength and from these gets its natural "moral" qualities. We spend a great deal of energy giving praise and blame but when we realize—as we are doing more and more—that the type of an individual is responsible for most of his acts, we will give less of both to the individual and more of both to the Creator.

Type vs. Training

The most that training can do is to brace up the weak spots in us; to cultivate the strong ones; to teach us to avoid inimical environments; and to constantly remind us of the penalties we pay whenever we digress.

Child Training

As this great science of Human Analysis becomes known the world will understand for the first time "how the other half lives," and why it lives that way.

We will know why one child just naturally tells fibs while his twin brother, under identical training, just naturally tells the truth. What is more to the point we will know this in their childhood and be prepared to give to each the kind of training which will weed out his worst and bring out his best.

Short and Stocky

The extreme Muscular type (See Chart 5) is below medium height, though one of any height may be largely muscular.

The extreme type, of which we are treating in this chapter, is shorter and heavier than the average. But his heaviness is due to muscle instead of fat. He has the appearance of standing firmly, solidly upon the ground, of being stalwart and strong.

The Square-Shouldered Man

The Muscular's shoulders stand out more nearly at right angles than those of any other type and are much broader in proportion to his height. The Alimentive has sloping shoulders and the Thoracic inclines to high shoulders. But the shoulders of the pure Muscular are straighter and have a squareness where the Alimentive's have curves. This accounts for the fact that most of the square shouldered men you have known were not tall men, but medium or below medium in height. The wide square shoulders do not accompany any other pure type, though naturally they may be present in an individual who is a combination.

Has Proportionately Long Arms

The arms of pure Musculars are longer in proportion to the body than the arms of other types. The arms of the Alimentive are short for his body but the extreme Muscular's arms are always anywhere from slightly longer to very much longer than his height would lead you to expect.

The Pure Muscular Head

A "square head" is the first thing you think of when you look at a pure Muscular. His head has no such decided digressions from the normal as the round head of the Alimentive or the kite-shaped head of the Thoracic. It is not high for his body like the Thoracic's nor small for his body like the Alimentive's, but is of average proportions.



His Thick Neck

A distinctive feature of this type is his thick neck. It is not fat like that of the Alimentive nor medium long like that of the Thoracic but has unusual muscularity and strength.

This is one of the chief indications of the Muscular's strength. A sturdy neck is one of the most significant indications of physical prowess and longevity, while the frail neck—of which we shall speak in connection with the fifth type—is always a sign of the physical frailty which endangers life. The thickness of his neck may sometimes give you the impression that the Muscular head is small but if you will look again you will see that it is normal for his bodily size.

His Square Face

Looking at him from directly in front you will see that the Muscular's face gives you an impression of squareness. (See Chart 6) You will also notice that his side-head, cheeks and jaw run up and down in such a way as to give him a right-angled face.

His Square Jaw

A broad jaw is another characteristic of this type. Not only is it square, looked at from the front, but you are pretty sure to note that the jaw bones, as they proceed downward under the ear, tend to make a right-angled turn at the corners instead of a rounded curve.

These dimensions tend to give the whole lower part of the Muscular's face a box-like appearance. It is considered becoming to men but robs its female owners of the delicate, pointed chin so much desired by women.

The Typical Muscular Hand

Notice the hands of the people you meet and you will be surprised to see how different and how interesting they are. Their size, shape and structure as seen from the back of the hand are especially significant and tell us much more about the individual's nature than the palm does.

Perhaps you have thought that a hand was just a hand. But there are hands and hands. Each pure type has its own and no other is ever seen on the extreme of that type.

The hand of the Muscular, like all the rest of his body, is built in a series of squares. It runs out from the wrist and down in a straighter line and tends to right angles. (See Chart 6)

The Square Fingers of This Type

"Spatulate fingers"—meaning fingers that are square or paddle-shaped at the tips—are sure indications of a decided muscular tendency.

He may have other types in combination but if his fingers are really square—"sawed off at the ends" in such a way as to give them large instead of tapering ends—that person has more than average muscularity and the activities of his life will tend in the directions referred to in this chapter.

The Manual Worker

Musculars are the hand-workers of the world. They are the artisans, craftsmen, the constructors and builders.

We all tend to use most those organs or parts of the body which are largest and most highly developed. The Muscular's hand is proportionately larger than the hand of any other type. It has more muscle, that one element without which good hand work is impossible.

So it has followed inevitably that the manual work of the world is done largely by Musculars. Their hands are also so much more powerful that they do not tire easily.

The Hand of the Creative Artist

"The artist's hand" and "the artistic hand" are phrases long used but misused. Delicate tapering fingers were supposed in ancient times to denote artistic ability. The frail curving hand was also supposed to be a sign of artistic talent.

From the stage of old down to the movies of today the typical artist is pictured with a slight, slender hand.

This tapering-fingered hand denotes a keen sense of artistic values; a love of the esthetic, refined and beautiful; and real artistic appreciation, but not the ability to create.

The "Hand Arts"

Before we explain this, kindly understand that we are speaking only of those arts which require hand work—and not of such arts as singing, dancing, or musical composition which could more properly be called artistic activities. We are referring only to those arts which depend for their creation upon the human hand—such as painting, architecture, craftsmanship, cartooning, sculpture, violin, piano, etc.

All these are created by square fingered people.

We are too much inclined to think of the products of these arts as being created out of sheer artistic sense, artistic taste or artistic insight. But a moment's reflection will show that every tangible artistic creation is the result of unusual hand work combined with gifted head work. Without a sure, strong, well-knit hand the ideas of the greatest artists could never have materialized. The lack of such a hand explains why the esthetic, the artistic-minded and the connoisseur do not create the beautiful things they appreciate.

Head and Hand Partners

The hand must execute what the brain plans and it must be so perfect a mechanism for this that it responds to the most elusive inspirations of the artist. It must be a fifty per cent partner, else its owner will never produce real art.

No type has this strong, sure, co-ordinated hand-machine to any such degree as the Muscular.

The finger ends, which are of the utmost significance in the creation of artistic things, must be fitted with well developed muscles of extreme efficiency or the execution will fall short of the ideal pictured in the artist's mind.

The pure Muscular type seldom makes an artist, for, after all, inspired brain work is the other important element in the creation of art, and this is the forte of the fifth type. A combination of the fifth type with the Muscular makes most hand artists. A combination of the Muscular and Thoracic makes most singers. Every hand artist will be found to have spatulate-fingered hands—in short, muscular hands.

The hand of the famous craftsman, pianist, sculptor and painter, instead of being more frail and delicate, is always larger and heavier than that of the average person. Such a hand is a certain indication of the muscular element in that individual's makeup.

His Powerful Movements

Forceful, decisive movements also characterize this type. He is inclined to go at even the most trivial things with as much force as if the world depended on it.

Recently we were exhibiting a small pencil sharpener to a muscular friend. It was so sharp that it performed its work without pressure. But she took hold of it as if it were a piece of artillery and pushed the pencil into it with all the force she had.

When we remonstrated smilingly—for her face and hands are ultra-square—she said, "But I can't do anything lightly. I just naturally put that much force into everything."

His Forceful Walk

Heavy, powerful, forceful strides distinguish the walk of this type. If he has but ten steps to go he will start off as if beginning an around-the-world marathon.

You Hear Him Coming

All Musculars notify people, by their walk, of their approach. They are unconscious of this loud incisive tread, and most of them will be surprised to read it here. But their friends will recognize it. The chances are that they have often spoken of it amongst themselves.

The Loud Voice

The "steam-calliope voice" belongs almost always to a Muscular. He does his talking just as he does everything else—with all his might.

It is very difficult for the Muscular to "tone down" this powerful voice. His long-suffering friends will testify to this characteristic.

His Stentorian Tones

This loud voice is a serious social handicap to him. His only chance of compensation for it lies in its use before juries, congregations or large audiences.

It might be noted here that every great orator has been largely of this type, and also that his fame came not alone from the things he said but from the stentorian tones in which he said them.

Famous Male Singers

Caruso, John McCormack and all other famous male singers had large thoracic systems, but in every instance it was combined with a large muscular development.

The Solid Sitter

When a Muscular sits down he does it as he does everything—with definiteness and force. He does not spill over as does the Alimentive nor drape himself gracefully like the Thoracic, but planks himself as though he meant business.

Activity His Keynote

Because he is especially built for it the Muscular is more active than any other type. Without muscles no organism could move itself from the spot in which it was born.

Biology teaches us that the stomach was the first thing evolved. The original one-call organism possessed but one function—digestion. As life progressed it became necessary to send nutriment to those parts of the organism not touched by the stomach.

For the purpose of reaching these suburbs there was involved the circulatory or Thoracic system, and this gave rise, as we have seen in the previous chapter, to the Thoracic type.

Movement and Development

As time went on movement became necessary, full development not being possible to any static organism. To meet this need muscles were evolved, and organic life began to move.

It was only a wiggle at first, but that wiggle has grown till today it includes every kind of labor, globe trotting and immigration.

The Muscular is fitted with the best traveling equipment of any type and invariably lives a life whose main reactions express these things.

The Immigrant Muscular

No matter what his work or play the Muscular will make more moves during the course of a day than other types. He loves action because his muscles, being over-equipped for it, keep urging him from within to do things.

As a result this type makes up most of the immigrants of the world. Italians, Poles, Greeks, Russians, Germans and Jews are largely of this type and these are the races furnishing the largest number of foreigners in America.

Inertness Irks Him

Shut up a Muscular and you destroy him. His big muscle system cries out for something to do. He becomes restless, nervous and ill when confined or compelled to be idle.

The Alimentive loves an easy time but the Muscular dislikes ease except when exhausted. Even then it is almost impossible to stop him.

Must Be Doing Something

"I can't bear to be doing nothing!" you often hear people say. Such a person always has plenty of muscle. Musculars want to feel that they are not wasting time. They must be "up and doing," accomplishing something. If there is nothing near them that needs doing they are sure to go and find something.

The Born Worker

Work is second nature to this type. He really prefers it.

Everyone likes some kind of work when in the mood if it serves a purpose or an ideal. But the Muscular likes work for its own sake—or rather for the activity's sake.

Work palls on the Alimentive and monotony on the Thoracic, but leisure is what palls on the Muscular. He may have worked ten years without a vacation and he may imagine he wants a long one, but by the morning of the third day you will notice he has found a piece of work for himself. It may be nothing more than hanging the screen door, chopping the wood or dusting the furniture, but it will furnish him with some kind of activity.

Because he enjoys action for its own sake and because work is only applied action, this type makes the best worker. He can be trusted to work harder than any other type.

Require Less Watching

It is no accident that the three-hundred-men gangs of foreign workmen who dig ditches, tunnels and tubes, construct buildings, railroads and cities work with fewer foremen and supervisors than are ordinarily required to keep much smaller forces of other employees at their posts.

Seldom Unemployed

For this reason the Muscular is seldom out of work. He is in demand at the best current wages because he can be depended upon to "keep at it."

While writing this book our windows overlook a public park in one of America's one-million-population cities. Hundreds of unemployed men sleep there day and night. Having occasion to pass through this park daily for several months it has been interesting to note the types predominating. Hardly one per cent belonged to the Muscular type.

Likes To Do Things

Because he is such a hard worker this type gets a good deal of praise and glory just as the fat people, who manage to get out of work, receive a good deal of blame. Yet work is almost as pleasant to the Muscular as leisure is to the Alimentive.

The Muscular's Pugnacity

Fighters—those who really enjoy a scrap occasionally—are invariably Musculars. Their square jaws—the sure sign of great muscularity—are famous the world over and especially so in these days when war is once more in fashion.

The next time you look at the front faces of Pershing, Haig, Hindenberg or even that of your traffic policeman, note the extremely muscular face and jaw. Combat or personal fighting is a matter of muscle-action. Being well equipped for it this type actually enjoys it. That is why he is oftener in trouble than any other type.

It was no accident that the phrase "big stick" was the slogan of an almost pure Muscular.

Loves the Strenuous Life

"The strenuous life" was another of Roosevelt's pet phrases and came from the natural leanings of his type. The true Muscular is naturally strenuous. Because we are prone to advise others to do what we enjoy doing ourselves it was inevitable that so strenuous a man as T. R. should advocate wholesale, universal and almost compulsory strenuosity.

We tell others to do certain things because "it will do you good" but the real reason usually is that we like to do it ourselves.

The Acrobatic Type

The next time you go to a vaudeville show get there in time for the acrobatics and notice how all the participants are Musculars. If there are any other types taking part please observe that they are secondary to the acrobats—they catch the handkerchiefs or otherwise act as foils for the real performers.

All the hard work in the act will be done by Musculars. You will find no better examples of the short, stocky, well-knit pure Muscular than here. You do not need to wait for another show to realize how true this is. Recall the form and height of all the acrobats you have ever seen. You will remember that there was not one who did not fit the description of the pure Muscular given at the beginning of this chapter.

Acrobats Always Muscular

We once had occasion to refer to this fact in a Human Analysis Class. One member declared that just that week he had seen a very tall, unmuscular man performing in an acrobatic act at the Orpheum.

Knowing that this was impossible, we offered a large reward to this member if he were proven right. We sent to the theater and found the acrobat in question. He had just finished his act and kindly consented to come over.

He turned out to be a pure Muscular as we had stated. The class member's mistake came from the fact that the acrobat appeared taller than he really was. High platforms always give this illusion. Furthermore his partner in the act was of diminutive height and the acrobat looked tall and slender by contrast.

Why They Don't Do It

To be an acrobat is the ambition of almost every boy. There have been few who did not dream, while doing those stunts in the haymow on Mother's broomstick, of the glory that should be theirs when they grew up and performed in red tights for the multitudes.

Almost every boy has this ambition because he passes through a stage of decided muscular development in his early years. But only those who were born with much larger muscles than the average ever carry out their dreams. The others soon develop girth or the "sitting still" habit to the point where a cushioned seat in the first row of the parquet looks much better.

Durability in Clothes

Something that will wear well is what this type asks for when he drops in to buy a suit. Musculars are not parsimonious nor stingy. Their buying the most durable in everything is not so much to save money as for the purpose of having something they do not need to be afraid to handle.

Likes Heavy Materials

This type likes heavy, stable materials. Whereas the Alimentive wants comfortable clothes and the Thoracic distinctive ones the Muscular wants wearable, "everyday" clothes.

He wants the materials to be of the best but he cares less for color than the Thoracic. Quality rather than style and plainness rather than prettiness are his standards in dress.

"Making over father's pants for Johnnie" is a job Muscular women have excelled in and for which they have become famous. For this type of mother not only sees to it that father's pants are of the kind of stuff that won't wear out easily but she has the square, creative hand that enjoys construction.

The Plain Dresser

Simple dresses—blue serge, for instance—are the ones the Muscular woman likes. This type cares little about clothes as ornamentation. He is intent on getting his desires satisfied by DOING things, not by looking them. He also resents the time and trouble that fashionable dressing demands. No matter how much money this type has he will not be inclined to extremes in dress. Musculars are not really interested in clothes for clothes' sake. It is not that this type is unambitious. He is extremely so, but he is so concentrated on "getting things done" that he is likely to forget how he looks while doing them.

When a person of this type does take great pains with his clothes it is always for a purpose, and not because he enjoys preening himself. There is little of the peacock in the Muscular.

A Simple Soul

Musculars are the most democratic of all the types. The Thoracic is a natural aristocrat, and enjoys the feeling of a little innocent superiority. But Musculars often refuse to take advantage of superior positions gained through wealth or station, and are inclined to treat everybody as an equal. It is almost impossible for this type, even though he may have become or have been born a millionaire, to "lord it over" servants or subordinates. He is given to backing democratic movements of all kinds. This explains why Musculars constitute the large majority in every radical group.

Humanness His Hobby

Being "human" is an ideal to which this type adheres with almost religious zeal. He likes the commonplace things and is never a follower after "the thing" though he has no prejudices against it, as the fourth type has.

An Everyday Individual

The Muscular does not care for "show" and, except when essential to the success of his aims, seldom does anything for "appearances."

He is not an easy-going companion like the Alimentive nor a scintillating one like the Thoracic, but an everyday sort of person.

When in Trouble

This type is not given to sliding out of difficulties like the Alimentive nor to being temporarily submerged by them like the Thoracic. He "stands up to them" and backs them down. When in trouble he acts, instead of merely thinking.

The Most Practical Type

"The Practicalist" is often used to describe this type. He is inclined to look at everything from the standpoint of its practicality and is neither stingy nor extravagant.

He Likes What Works

"Will it work?" is the question this type puts to everything. If it won't, though it be the most fascinating or the most diverting thing in the world, he will take little interest in it.

This type depends mostly upon his own hands and head to make his fortune for him, and is seldom lured into risking money on things he has not seen.

The Natural Efficiency Expert

The shortest, surest way is the one this type likes. He is not inclined to fussiness. He insists on things being done in the most efficient way and he usually does them that way himself. He is not an easy man to work for, but quick to reward merit. The Muscular does not necessarily demand money nor the things that money buys but he tries to get the workable out of life.

The Property Owner

This type likes to have a fair bank account and to give his children a worth while training. He is less inclined to bedeck them with frills but he will plan years ahead for their education.

These are not rigid parents like the fourth type, lenient like the Alimentives, nor temperamental with their children like the Thoracics, but practical and very efficient in their parenthood. They are very fond of their children but do not "spoil" them as often as some of the other types do.

They bring up their children to work and teach them early in life how to do things. As a result, the children of this type become useful at an early age and usually know how to earn a living if necessary.

Wants the Necessities

The necessities of life are things this type demands and gets. Whereas the Alimentive demands the comforts and the Thoracic the unusual, the Muscular demands the essentials. He is willing to work for them, so he usually succeeds.

He is not given to rating frills and fripperies as necessities but demands the things everyday men or women need for everyday existence. Naturally he goes after them with the same force he displays in everything else.

His Heart and Soul in Things

When some one shows great intensity of action directed toward a definite end we often say "he puts his heart and soul into it." This phrase is apropos of almost everything the Muscular does. He makes no half-hearted attempts.

An Enthusiast

"Enthusiasm does all things" said Emerson, and therein explained why this type accomplishes so much. The reason back of the Muscular's enthusiasm is interesting.

All emotions powerfully affect muscles. A sad thought flits through your mind and instantly the muscles of your face droop and the corners of your mouth go down. Hundreds of similar illustrations with which you are already familiar serve to prove how close is the connection between emotions and muscles. The heart itself is nothing more nor less than a large, tough, leather-like muscle.

Possessing the best equipment for expressing emotion, the Muscular is constantly and automatically using it.

Therefore he becomes an enthusiast over many things during the course of his lifetime. This enthusiasm literally burns his way to the things he wants.

The Plain Talker

When deeply moved this type talks well. If the mental element is also strong he can become a good public speaker for he will then have all the qualifications—a powerful voice, human sympathy, democracy and simplicity.

In private conversation he is inclined to use the verbal hammers too much and to be too drastic in his statements, accusations, etc. But he means what he tells you, no more, and usually not much less.

He avoids long words and complicated phrases even when well educated and speaks with directness and decisiveness.

Straightforward

"Straight from the shoulder" might be used to describe the method of the pure Muscular in what he does and says. He does not deal in furbelows, dislikes the superfluous and the superficial. He goes through life over the shortest roads.

Likes the Common People

Plain folks like himself are the kind this type prefers for friends. He enjoys them immensely, but does not cultivate as large a number of them as does the Thoracic, nor have as many "bowing acquaintances" as the Alimentive.

Snubs the Snobs

The snob is disliked by every one but is the especial aversion of this type. Being so democratic himself and living his life along such commonplace lines, he has no patience with people who imagine they are better than others or who carry the air of superiority.

The only person therefore whom the Muscular is inclined to snub is the snob. He is not overawed by him and enjoys "taking him down a peg," whenever he tries his high and mighty airs on him.

Defends the "Under Dog"

Standing by the under dog is a kind of religion with this type. He glories in fighting for the downtrodden. This explains why he is so often a radical. Much of this vehemence in radicalism is due to the fact that he feels he is getting even with the snobs of the world—the plutocrats—when he furthers the causes of the proletariat.

Often on the Warpath

To "have it out" with you is the first inclination of this type when he becomes angry.

He is apt to say atrocious things and to exaggerate his grievances. Everything must yield to his "dander" once it is up. Being possessed of a highly developed fighting equipment, he is like a battleship, with every gun in place, most of the time.

He is frequently in violent quarrels with his friends, and since he does not recover from his anger quickly like the Thoracic, he often loses them for life.

The Most Generous Friend

When they like you the Musculars are the most abandoned in their generosity of all the types. They "go the limit" for you, as the Westerner says, and they go it with their money, time, love and enthusiasm.

All types do this for short periods occasionally and for a very few choice friends. But the Muscular often does it for people he scarcely knows if they strike his fancy or appeal to him.

His heart and his home belong to the stranger almost as completely as to his family, for he does not feel a stranger to any one. He feels from the first moment, and acts, as though he had known you always.

This accounts for his democracy, for his success as an orator, and—sometimes for his being "broke."

Not a Quick Forgiver

But disappoint him in anything he considers vital and he does not overlook it easily. He finds it especially difficult to forgive people who take advantage of the generosity he so lavishly extends. But he does not make his hate a life-long one, as the fourth type does.

With all his own giving to others he seldom takes much from others.

The Naturally Independent

"Standing on his own legs" is a well-known trait of the Muscular. Dependence is bred of necessity. This type being able to get for himself most of the things he wants, rarely finds it necessary to call upon others for assistance.

Love of self-government, plus fighting pluck, both of which are inherent in the Muscular Irish race, are responsible for the long struggle for their independence.

Likes Plain Foods

"Meat and potatoes" are the favorite diet of the average American Muscular. The Alimentive wants richness and sweetness in food, the Thoracic wants variety and daintiness but the Muscular wants large quantities of plain food.

The Alimentive specializes in desserts, the Thoracic in unusual dishes, but the Muscular wants solid fare. He is so fond of meat it is practically impossible for him to confine himself to a vegetable diet.

When He is in Moderate Circumstances

The Muscular is most often found in moderate circumstances. He is rarely far below or far above them. Most of the plain, simple, everyday things he desires can be secured by people of average means. He does not feel the necessity for becoming a millionaire to obtain comforts like the Alimentive, nor for extravagances like the Thoracic.

When He is Rich

Philanthropy marks the expenditures of this type whenever he is rich. He does not spend as much of his money for possessions but enjoys investing it in what he deems the real—that is, other human beings.

The most plain and durable things in furnishings, architecture and service characterize the rich of this type in their homes.

The World's Work Done by Musculars

Broadly speaking, the fat man manages the world, the florid man entertains the world, and the muscular man does the work of the world.

He composes most of the day-laborers, the middle men, the manual and mechanical toilers the world around, as we have stated before.

He could get out of his hard places into better paid ones if he did not like activity so well, but lacking the love of ease and show he is willing to work hard for the necessities of life.

Simple Habits

The Muscular's nature does not demand the exciting, the gregarious or the food-and-drink things that lead toward laxity.

He is seldom a dissipator. He likes to go to bed early, work hard and make practical progress in his life.

He leads the simple and yet the most strenuous existence of any type.

Entertainment He Enjoys

Plays about plain people, their everyday experiences, hopes and fears are the kind that interest this type most.

The "problem play" of a decade ago was a prime favorite with him. He likes everything dealing with these everyday commonplace affairs with which he is most familiar.

He frequently goes to serious lectures—something the pure Alimentive always avoids—and he especially enjoys them if they deal with the problem of the here and now.

He cares little for comic opera, vaudeville or revues because he feels they serve no practical purpose and get him nowhere. This type does not attend the theater merely to be amused. He goes for light on his everyday experiences and usually considers time wasted that is spent solely on entertainment.

Music He Likes

Band music, stirring tunes and all music with "go" to it appeals to this type.

Reading

True stories, news and the sport page are the favorite newspaper reading of the Muscular. He does not take to sentimental stories so much as the Alimentive, nor to adventure so much as the Thoracic but sticks to practical subjects almost exclusively.

Being active most of his waking hours, and strenuously active at that, the Muscular is often too tired at night to read anything.

His Favorite Sports

The most violent sports are popular with this type. Football, baseball, handball, tennis, rowing and pugilism are his preferences. All experts in these lines are largely Muscular.

Physical Assets

His wonderful muscular development, upon which depends so much of life's happiness—since accomplishment is measured so largely thereby—is the greatest physical asset of this type. With it he can accomplish almost anything of which his mind can conceive.

He is capable of endless effort, does not tire easily, and because of his directness makes his work count to the utmost of his mental capacity.

Physical Liabilities

A tendency to overwork is the chief physical pitfall of this type. The disease to which he is most susceptible is rheumatism. But owing to his love of activity he exercises more than any other type and thus forestalls many diseases.

Social Assets

His generosity is the strongest social asset of the Muscular. He is usually straightforward and sincere and thereby gains the confidence of those who meet him.

Social Liabilities

His loud voice and his plain ways are the disadvantages under which this type labors in social intercourse. He needs polishing and is not inclined to take it. His pugnacity is also a severe drawback.

Emotional Assets

Understanding, enthusiasm and warmth of heart are the emotional qualities which help to make him the public leader he so often is. These have made him the "born orator," the radical and the reformer of all ages.

Emotional Liabilities

His tendency to anger and combat are shackles that seriously handicap him. Many times these lose him the big opportunities which his splendid traits might obtain for him.

Business Assets

Efficiency and willingness to work hard and long are the greatest business assets of this type.

Business Liabilities

Pugnacity over trifles costs the average Muscular many business chances. He has to fight out every issue and while he is doing it the other fellow closes the deal.

He is inclined to argue at great length. This helps him as a lawyer or speaker but it hurts him in business. Curbing his combativeness in business should be one of his chief aims.

Domestic Strength

Practical protection for the future is the greatest gift of the average Muscular to his family. He is not as lenient with his children as is the Alimentive nor as effusive as the Thoracic, but he usually lays by something for their future.

Domestic Weakness

Cruel, angry words do the Muscular much harm in his family life. They cause his nearest and dearest to hold against him the resentments that follow.

Should Aim At

Taking more frequent vacations, relaxing each day, and curbing his pugnacity should be the special aims of this type.

Should Avoid

Superficial and quarrelsome people, all situations requiring pretence, and everything that confines and restricts his physical activity should be avoided by this type.

Strongest Points

Democracy, industry and great physical strength are the strongest points of this type.

Weakest Points

Inclination to overwork and to fight constitute the Muscular's two weakest links.

How to Deal with this Type Socially

Don't put on airs nor expect him to when you are meeting this type socially. Be straightforward and genuine with him if you would win him.

How to Deal with this Type in Business

Remember, this type is inclined to be efficient and democratic and you had better be the same if you wish to succeed with him in business.

He is intensely resentful of the man who tries to put anything over on him; and demands efficiency. So when you promise him a thing see to it that you deliver the goods and for the price stated. He does not mind paying a good price if he knows it in the beginning, but beware of raising it afterwards. The Muscular is serious in business, not a jollier like the Alimentive, nor a thriller like the Thoracic, and he wants you to be the same.

Remember, the chief distinguishing marks of the Muscular, in the order of their importance, are LARGE, FIRM MUSCLES, A SQUARE JAW and SQUARE HANDS. Any person who has these is largely of the Muscular type, no matter what other types may be included in his makeup.



CHAPTER IV

The Osseous Type

"The Stayer"

Men and women in whom the Osseous or bony framework of the body is more highly developed than any other system are called the Osseous type.

This system consists of the bones of the body and makes what we call the skeleton.

Just as the previous systems were developed during man's biological evolution for purposes serving the needs of the organism—first, a stomach-sack, then a freight system in the form of arteries to carry the food to remoter parts of the body, and later muscles with which to move itself about—so this bony scaffolding was developed to hold the body upright and better enable it to defend and assert itself.



Man is a creature who, in spite of his height, walks erect. He can so do only by means of the support given him by his bony framework. The human body is like a tall building—the muscles are like the mortar and plaster, the bones are like the steel framework around which everything else is built and without which the structure could not stand upright.

How to Know Him

Prominent ankles, wrists, knuckles and elbows are sure signs that such an individual has a large osseous or bony element in his makeup.

When you look at any person you quickly discern whether fat, bone or muscle predominates in his construction. If fat predominates he leans toward the Alimentive, no matter what other types he may have in combination; if firm, well-defined muscles are conspicuous, he is largely Muscular; but if his bones are proportionately large for his body he has much of the Osseous type in his makeup.

The "Raw-Boned" Man

"Raw-boned" exactly describes the appearance of the extreme Osseous. (See Chart 7)

Such a man is a contrast to others in any group and a figure with which all of us are familiar. But that his inner nature differs as widely from others as his external appearance differs from theirs is something only recently discovered.

As we proceed through this chapter you will be interested to note how every trait attributed to this type applies with absolute accuracy to every extremely raw-boned, angular person you have ever known. You will also notice how these traits have predominated in every person whose bones were large for his body.

Though this type was the last to be classified by science it is the most extreme of them all.

Physical Rigidity

An impression of physical rigidity is given by the extreme Osseous. Such a man or woman looks stable, unchanging, immovable—as though he could take a stand and keep to it through thick and thin.

So vividly do very tall, angular, raw-boned people convey this impression that they are seldom approached by beggars, barked at by street vendors, or told to "step lively."

His Size Looks Formidable

The power of his physique is evident to all who look at him. The strength indicated by his large joints, angular hands and general bulk intuitively warns others to let this kind of person alone.

He is therefore unmolested for the most part, whether he walks down the streets of his home town or wanders the byways of dangerous vicinities.

His Ruggedness

This type also looks rugged. He reminds us of "the rugged Rockies." He appears firm, fixed, impassive—as though everything about him was permanent.

Externals are not accidental; they always correspond to the internal nature in every form of life. And it is not accidental that the Osseous looks all of these things. He is all of them as definitely as they can be expressed in human nature.

The Steady Man

Of all human types the Osseous is the most dependable and reliable. The phrases, "that man is steady," "never flies off the handle," "always the same," etc., are invariably used concerning those of more than average bony structure.

Immovability His Keynote

The keynote of the bony man's whole nature—mental, physical and moral—is immovability.

Once he settles into a place of any kind—a town, a home, or even a chair—he is disinclined to move. He does not settle as quickly as other types but when he does it is for a longer stay.

Think how different he is from others in this psychological trait and how it coincides exactly with his physiological structure.

The fat man lets you make temporary dents in his plans just as you make them in a piece of fat meat. But the bony man is exactly the opposite, just as bone is difficult to twist, or turn, or alter in any way. It takes a long time and much effort—but once it is changed it is there for good.