The text discusses the idea that the movement of the lips is crucial for clear speech and communication, citing historical and cultural practices. It mentions how the lips were covered during mourning to prevent clear expression and how visual observation of speech movements enhances understanding. The text also references medical writings and anecdotes that support the power of visual cues in understanding speech.
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the emotions removed, would emerge to disturb. This could be observed when we restrain the lips in speech, or hold them with the fingers, thus limiting their movement. Because this causes a gloomy and sad manner of speaking, the ancients used to cover the lips with cloths during days of mourning and sadness, so that they could only express themselves in mournful tones. This practice was also observed among the Hebrews, as evidenced in Ezechiel 24:22. The Latins call the lips 'Labia', from which we likely derive the words 'Labben', 'Labberkakke', and 'Labey'. We indeed hear a speaker much better when we can see their mouth and lips and entire body move, than when we can only hear them without seeing, although even the deaf can sometimes understand the movements of the lips to grasp what is being said. Remarkable examples of this are found in the books of medical experts. Dr. Tulp has also supported this with a story of a porter in Amsterdam. It is therefore considered possible that a person can also 'hear with their eyes', as recorded by the renowned surgeon Dr. Job van Mekeren. Thus, in passing, we learn here that when the activity of the lips is meticulously adapted to the meaning of the words to be expressed by the speaker, an appropriate and natural action of the hands accompanies this.