Johann Kaspar Lavater (November 15, 1741 - January 2, 1801), was a poet and physiognomist. November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... Events April 10 – Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz December 19 – Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 – Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius William Browning invents mineral water Elizabeth of Russia became czarina. ... January 2 is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1801 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. ... Physiognomist- One who studies the outer appearance of the person (primarily the face) to gain access to knowledge of the inner personality. ...

Lavater

He was born at Zürich, and educated at the Gymnasium there, where J. J. Bodmer and J. J. Breitinger were among his teachers. When barely twenty-one, he greatly distinguished himself by denouncing, in conjunction with his friend, the painter Henry Fuseli, an iniquitous magistrate, who was compelled to make restitution of his ill-gotten gains. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Zürich IPA (in English often Zurich, which is also the standard French form of the name) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 364,558 in 2002; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... A gymnasium is a type of school of secondary education in parts of Europe. ... Johann Jakob Bodmer (July 19, 1698 - January 2, 1783) was a Swiss-German author and critic. ... Henry Fuseli (in German Johann Heinrich Füssli) (February 7, 1741 - April 16, 1825) was a British painter and writer on art, of German-Swiss family. ...

In 1769 Lavater took Holy Orders, and officiated till his death as deacon or pastor in churches in his native city. His oratorical fervour and genuine depth of conviction gave him great personal influence; he was extensively consulted as a casuist, and was welcomed with enthusiasm on his journeys through Germany. His mystical writings were also widely popular. 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the sacrament. ... Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... A pastor is the head minister or priest of a Christian church. ... Casuistry (argument by cases) is an attempt to determine the correct response to a moral problem, often a moral dilemma, by drawing conclusions based on parallels with agreed responses to pure cases, also called paradigms. ...

Lavater's name would now be forgotten but for his work on physiognomy, Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beförderung der Menschenkenntnis und Menschenliebe (1775-1778). The fame of this book, which found admirers in France and England as well as in Germany, rests upon the handsome style of publication and the accompanying illustrations. The two principal sources from which Lavater developed his study of physiognomy were from the writings of the Italian polymath Giambattista della Porta and the observations made by Sir Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici (translated into German in 1748 and praised by Lavater). Physiognomy ( from physis, nature and gnosis, knowledge) is a pseudoscience, based upon the belief that the study and judgement of a persons outer appearance, primarily the face, reflects their character or personality. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Leonardo da Vinci A polymath (also known as a polyhistor) is a person who excels in multiple fields, particularly in both arts and sciences. ... Giambattista della Porta. ... Sir Thomas Browne (October 19, 1605 - October 19, 1682) was an English author of varied works that disclose his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric. ... Sir Thomas Brownes Religio Medici (The Religion of a Doctor) was in its day a European best-seller which brought its author fame and respect throughout the continent. ...

As a poet, Lavater published Christliche Lieder (1776-1780) and two epics, Jesus Messias (1780) and Joseph von Arimathia (1794), in the style of Klopstock. More important and characteristic of the religious temperament of Lavater's age are his introspective Aussichten in die Ewigkeit (4 vols. 1768-1778); Geheimes Tagebuch von einem Beobachter seine selbst (2 vols., 1772-1773) and Pontius Pilatus, oder der Mensch in allen Gestalten (4 vols., 1782-1785). Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, which retells in a continuous narrative the life and works of a heroic or mythological person or group of persons. ... Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (July 2, 1724 - March 14, 1803), German poet, was born at Quedlinburg, the eldest son of a lawyer, a man of sterling character and of a deeply religious mind. ...

From 1774 on, Goethe was intimately acquainted with Lavater, but later he fell out with him, accusing him of superstition and hypocrisy. Lavater had a mystic's indifference to historical Christianity, and, although regarded as a champion of orthodoxy, was in fact only an antagonist of rationalism. 1774 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749 – March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Superstition is a set of behaviors that are related to magical thinking, whereby the practitioner believes that the future, or the outcome of certain events, can be influenced by certain specified behaviors. ... Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ... Rationalism, also known as the rationalist movement, is a philosophical doctrine that asserts that the truth should be determined by reason and factual analysis, rather than faith, dogma or religious teaching. ...

During the later years of his life his influence waned, and he incurred ridicule by his vanity. His patriotic conduct during the French occupation of Switzerland brought about his tragic death. On the taking of Zürich by the French in 1799, Lavater, while endeavouring to appease the aggressors, was shot by an infuriated grenadier; he died over a year later, after long sufferings borne with great fortitude. 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Lavater himself published two collections of his writings, Vermischte Schriften (2 vols., 1774-1781), and Kleinere prosaische Schriften (3 vols., 1784-1785). His Nachgelassene Schriften were edited by G. Gessner (5 vols., 1801-1802); Sämtliche Werke (poems only) (6 vols., 1836-1838); Ausgewählte Schriften (8 vols., 1841-1844). See G Gessner, Lavaters Lebensbeschreibung (3 vols., 1802—1803); U. Hegner, Beiträge zur Kenntnis Lavaters (1836); F. W. Bodemann, Lavater nach seinem Leben, Lehren und Wirken (1856; 2nd ed., 1877); F. Muocker, J. K. Lavater (1883); H. Waser, J. K. Lavater nach Hegners Aufzeichnungen (1894); J. K. Lavater, Denkschrift zum 100. Todestag (1902).

External links

• Lavater correspondence (http://www.idc.nl/referer.php?id=290)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...