As the head is the topmost part of the human body, it came derivatively to signify that which is highest, chief, the highest in position locally being regarded as highest in office, rank, or dignity: whence, as the head is the center of the nervous system, holds the brain, and stands above all the other parts, Plato regarded it as the seat of the deathless soul; and it has generally been considered as the abode of the intellect or intelligence by which man is enlightened and his walk in life directed; while the heart, or the parts placed near it, have been accounted the place where the affections lie (;; ). The head and the heart are sometimes taken for the entire person (). Even the head alone, as being the chief member, frequently stands for the man (). The head also denotes sovereignty (). Covering the head, and cutting off the hair, were signs of mourning and tokens of distress, which were enhanced by throwing ashes on the head, together with sackcloth (;; ,;; ); while anointing the head was practiced on festive occasions, and considered an emblem of felicity (;; ). It was usual to swear by the head ().
1. Ethiopian; 2. Mongolian; 3. Caucasian; 4. Malay; 5. American
The general character of the human head is such as to establish the identity of the human race, and to distinguish man from every other animal. At the same time different families of mankind are marked by peculiarities of construction in the head, which, though in individual cases, and when extremes are compared together, they run one into the other to the entire loss of distinctive lines, yet are in the general broadly contrasted one with the other. These peculiarities in the structure of the skull give rise to and are connected with other peculiarities of feature and general contour of face. In the union of cranial peculiarities with those of the face certain clear marks are presented, by which physiologists have been able to range the individuals of our race into a few great classes, and in so doing to afford an unintentional corroboration of the information which the Scriptures afford regarding the origin and dispersion of mankind. Physiologists have established five classes of heads, corresponding with five great families. 1. The Caucasian family, comprising the nations of Europe, some of the Western Asiatics, etc. have the head of the most symmetrical shape, almost round, the forehead of moderate extent, the cheek bones rather narrow, without any projection, but a direction downwards from the molar process of the frontal bone; the alveolar edge well rounded; the front teeth of each jaw placed perpendicu
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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