BEARD. The hair which grows on the chin and cheeks of men. The beard is the distinctive sign of manhood, although exceptional instances occur of women with beards equal to those of men. The presence of the beard is an ethnolog ical characteristic: it is found especially luxu riant among the Celtic and Slavic races, and scarcely at all among the North American aborigines, who customarily eradicate the few hairs which grow on their faces. It is usually the same color as the hair on the head, though shorter, stronger, and more wiry. In early times the beard was considered by almost all nations as a sign of strength and manhood, carefully cherished, and almost regarded as sacred. Its removal was regarded as a degrading pun ishment. (See II. Sam. x., for the case of David's ambassadors.) The Moslems have habitually observed a great care of the beard, carrying combs about with them for the pur pose of dressing it. It is their custom to do so immediately after prayers, while still on their knees; the hairs that fall out are carefully picked up and preserved for burial with their owners. The practice of dyeing the beard was common among the Arabs and Persians; the former usually dyed it red, not only because dye of that color (being merely a paste of henna-leaves) was easily obtainable, but be cause it was an approximation to golden yellow, the color reeommended by :Mohammed, who hated black, the color preferred by the Persians. The Egyptians commonly shaved their beards, except in time of mourning; and an unkempt, neglected beard was also a sign of grief among the Jews. In Greece the beard was universally worn until the time of Alexander the Great, who ordered his soldiers to shave, that their enemies might not seize them by their beards in battle. Shaving was introduced among the Romans about the same time. Pliny sap; that Scipio Africanus was the first Roman who shaved every day. Subsequently. the first day of shaving (generally the twenty-second birthday) was re garded as the entrance upon manhood, and cele brated with great festivities. From the time of Hadrian to that of Constantine, the beard was again commonly worn. The ancient Germans, according to Taeitus, regarded a clean-shaven face as a sign of servitude, and the Lombards (Longobards) received their name from their long beards. The beard was commonly worn in France until the time of Louis XIII., when, the monarch being young and beardless, the fashion changed. French fashions in the matter have,
in fact, usually followed that set by the mon arch—an illustration of which is preserved in the English word 'imperial' for the little tuft on the chin. In like manner the loyal Spanish courtiers removed their beards on the accession of Philip V., who was unable to grow one. Peter the Great compelled shaving in Russia by positive enactment, imposing a tax on beards in proportion to the rank of the wearer. A similar tax was for a while imposed in England under Henry VIII. and Elizabeth: but fashion proved rebellious here, and the latter reign, with that of James I., was distinguished by a fantastic extravagance which clipped the beard into as many formal shapes as the old-fashioned box hedges. The Vandyke beard, familiar to us in the portraits of Charles I., characterized that period; but in the Eighteenth Century the smooth face became usual, so continuing until comparatively recent times. In fact, the wear ing of a beard was regarded in the early part of the Nineteenth Century as a symbol of dan gerous and revolutionary opinions, and as such was restricted by the police regulations of some European countries. The Roman Catholic clergy in modern times, although most of the medheval Popes wore beards. are obliged to shave—an exception being made in the ease of missionary orders and of a few individuals who receive special permission for reasons of health. Those of the Greek Church have constantly worn full beards since the middle of the Ninth Century. As a general rule, the wearing of beards is pro hibited by army regulations, while encouraged in the navy; but climatic conditions or assign ment to exceptional duty may modify the gen eral rule; as, e.g. in the Crimea, the British soldiers were permitted to wear beards.
Physicians recommend that the beard should be allowed to grow on the chin and throat in eases of liability to disease of the larynx or bronehia, because of the unavoidable removal of cuticle in shaving the throat. The heard itself is liable to the same diseases as the hair (q.v.), and to a peculiar disease called parasitic sycosis or 'barber's itch,' in which moderately red patches, covered with a purulent ernst, ap pear on the skin. Consult. Philippe. Histoire philosophique, politigue et religiense de la barbe (Paris, 1845). See BARBER.