The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

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178 THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBR^US.
thick eyebrows, and a meagre stature, and hasty movements,
and a ruddy colour, and a round face, 'and a
mole on his cheek, is an impudent and audacious man.
DCLXXXIII. He that hath an emaciated face, and
eyebrows which do not meet, and slow movements, is
a man who grieveth and despaireth habitually.
DCLXXXIV. He whose head leaneth to the right,
and whose knees are stretched out from each other in
walking, who moveth his arms as he goeth along, who
leaneth with his hand on the top of his side when he
sitteth down, and who doth not look upon the various
sides [of a matter] in a disordered manner, is a man
who is blessed in all his movements and actions, and
he is naturally noble.
DCLXXXV. He that hath a broad cheek, and coarse
thick hair upon it, and quick movements of the head,
is a man of wrath.
DCLXXXVI. He that hath the upper lip
larger than
lower one, and a ruddy colour, and a hasty gait,
is a man easily [moved] to words of abuse.
DCLXXXVII. He that hath a whitish colour, and
very fat eyes, and a round nose, and moist eyes, is a
man prone to the passion of love and to the love of
women; he will never allow himself to do harm to
any man whatsoever, and usually daughters are born
to
him.
DCLXXXVIII. The man who hath the upper members
of his body larger than the lower ones, and a flat nose,
and a fat body, and a fluent speech, and a superabundance
of hair on his belly, loveth his children exceedingly.
DCLXXXIX. The man who hath a thick neck is a
man of wrath, and is even like the bull.