The aspects of the hands would be simply telegraphic movements, were it
not for the inflections of the voice, and, above all, the expression of
the eyes. The expressions of the hand correspond to the voice. The hands
are the last thing demanded in a gesture; but they must not remain
motionless, as (if they were stiff, for instance) they might say more
than was necessary.
The hands are clasped in adoration, for it seems as if we held the thing
we love, that we desire.
The rubbing of the hands denotes joy, or an eager thirst for action; in
the absence of anything else to caress, we take the hand, we communicate
our joy to it.
There is a difference between the caress and the rubbing of the hands.
In the caress, the hand extends eagerly, and passes lightly,
undulatingly, for fear of harming. There is an elevation of the
shoulders.
The hand is an additional expression of the face. The movement must
begin with the face, the hand only completes and interprets the facial
expression. The head and hand cannot act simultaneously to express the
same sentiment. One could not say _no_ with head and hands at the same
time. The head commands and precedes the movement of the hand.
The eyes, and not the head, may be parallel with the hand and the other
agents.
The hand with its palm upward may be caressing, if there is an elevation
of the eyebrow; repellent with the eyebrow concentric.
The waving hand may have much sense, according to the expression of the
face.
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