chronicle has perhaps known no bang-up advocate of the whiskers than T. S. Gowing . He admired chin whiskers so much that he penned a Scripture on the subject in 1854 , entitledThe Philosophy of Beards .
It ’s free-base on an early lecture that the author hold about beards from a physiologic , esthetic , and historical perspective , which was on the face of it so well - received that Gowing—“an almost unknown pro - beard activist in Britain , ” accord to the book ’s description onAmazon — make up one’s mind to turn it into a 72 - pageboy publication .
Gowing believed it to be the first lecture on beards , which he name as a rude gift from God designate “ for preeminence , protection , and ornament . ” Here are a few other reasons why Gowing make out beards — and why you should , too .
1. BEARDS ARE THE EPITOME OF MANLINESS.
It was a different time back then , and the great unwashed had some fairly rigid ideas about what masculinity and muliebrity meant . The beard , naturally , vanish into the former camp . Gowing called beards “ the honest measure of masculine beauty of expression ” and argued that shaving them off makes men more effeminate . So why do n’t women have beards , you might call for ? Because women were “ never intended to be reveal to the hardships and difficulty valet de chambre are shout upon to undergo , ” Gowing indicate . However , Gowing mentions a couple notable exceptions , including a female soldier in the army of Charles XII who “ defend with a courage worthy of her Beard . ”
2. MEN FROM SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST CELEBRATED CIVILIZATIONS SPORTED FACIAL HAIR.
“ All the leading backwash of men , whether of tender or cold climate … were furnish with an abundant increment of this natural masking , ” Gowing write , quote the Egyptians , Assyrians , Babylonians , Greeks , Romans , and more as illustration . Egyptian kings were depicted as hold beards , as were Etruscan gods . Gowing did n’t think this was merely a coincidence either , reason that the absence of a beard is a sign of strong-arm and moral weakness .
3. BEARDS PROTECT YOU FROM COLD, MOISTURE, AND DISEASE.
Men without beards meet more oft from colds , sore pharynx , and creaky pains , medical texts from the period purpose . Gowing also claimed that blacksmiths and stonemasons were protected from disease because their face fungus collect “ Fe and rock dust ” and prevent these marrow from being inhaled into the lung . ( There might be something to that claim : Onestudyrevealed that beards sometimes harbor bacterium - killing microbe . ) As for the claim that whiskers keep the wearer affectionate , Gowing had to look no further than his own face for evidence : The author , retrieve a frigid six - week excursion in Switzerland during which he grow out his mustache , reportedly “ never felt the least uncomfortableness about the mouth . ”
4. MEN’S CHINS ARE UGLY.
The author is n’t the only one who thinks so , either . He quote a public lecture given at the Government School of Practical Art , in which the verbalizer argued that men ’s Kuki-Chin are designed to be covered because they ’re unsightly , harsh , and angulate , whereas women ’s Chin are “ more often than not beautiful . ” ( The lecturer supported his disputation by note that " The bear , the coney , the cat , and the bird , are hideous to look upon when deprived of their hairy and feathery palm : but the gymnastic horse , the greyhound , and other animals so meagrely covered that the shape stay unaltered by the pelt , are beautiful even in their bare forms . " ) This is specially reliable as men age and take more crinkle , Gowing notes , adding that “ there is scarcely indeed a more course disgusting physical object than a beardless old man ( compared by the Turks to a ‘ plucked pigeon ’ ) . ”
5. BEARDS REGULATE ELECTRICITY?
While the source receipt that there has been little scientific research on the subject , he stress that beards “ function as a non - director of heat and electricity ” and help oneself regulate “ the electricity which is so intimately connected with the condition of the nerves . ” unluckily , he did n’t clarify this peak , but he may have been confusing beard hair withvibrissae , or creature whiskers . Unlikehuman facial hair , whiskers act as sensory variety meat that can give fundamental info about the location , size , and grain of an object upon brushing against it base on movements of the vibrissae .
6. GROOMING IS FUN.
speak of our furry friends , combing and brushing the beard “ confers a positively delightful sensation , similar to that which one may imagine a computerized tomography to go through , ” Gowing notes . There may have been some purring involve in his description
7. SHAVING IS TERRIBLE.
Shaving your beard will irritate your face and cause the shaping of “ pimply eruptions , " as well as a skin consideration so irritating that Gowing likened it to “ a foretaste of purgatory . ” Indeed , our thick - bearded brothers suffer the most , “ for the more effective the natural protection is , the peachy is also the madness of its removal . ”
8. THE LADIES LOVE IT.
The generator specify out to dispel the myth that women do n’t care beards , argue that women like everything considered “ manly . ” Even if they think it seem foreign at first , they ’ll finally get along around , Gowing order . He offer anecdotal evidence of the 18th century Swiss painter Liotard , whose married woman was reportedly so shocked when he shaved off his face fungus that she mention , “ And such a little perking chin , to osculate it seemed almost a sinfulness ! ”
