Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1874-07-29

Only few years ago q French write
on @sthetics insisted on seeing in on
ideas of physical beauty something con
ventional, and contended that the idea
of female beauty changes, from epocl
to epoch, in accordance with principles
similar to those which govern the revo
lutions that take place, from time t,
time, in the philosophic, religious ant
social views men take of things, 9Th,
chief difference" he says, "being tha
these changes are not so radical anG
striking"
Now, that Arthur Schopenhauer has
given to the world his brilliant chapter
on the metaphysics of love, such a su
Derficial theory can only be defended
by Frenchman. In Germany it would
be hard, nowadays. to find any one oi
culture who would contend that physi
cal beauty is, "a matter of taste. >
Schopenhsuer has clearly shown that
the ideal, radical type OF the human
race is not fixed by the majority of the
cultured nations, but is fully traced
out in the nature of the human organ.
ism. Beauty is Observation-Disclosures
formity to the end in view, suitable.
ness, that perfection necessary to the
accomplishment of a given end-in the
highest sense of the word. The better
adapted the human body is for the per.
formance of its various functions, the
more beautiful it is; in other words, the
more it charms and delights the senses.
The better suited each individual Or
gan is for the discharge of its Office, the
more it pleases the normal human eye.
How it, nevertheless, often happens
that man is fascinated by women
whose physique differs widely from the
radical type (Grundtypus) of the race,
while he remains cold and Indifferent
in the presence of the most perfect
beauty, Schopenhauer, and after him
Won Hartmann, in his PHILOSOPHY OF
the Unconscious" have thoroughly ex-
planned. Were every man himself an
ideal beauty, then he would be incapa-
BILE of loving any but an ideal woman.
Thus nature has provided that the i'm
perfect on the one side shall be neutral
lied by the opposite imperfection on
the other side. For example, we see
the violent pair with the mild; the
plump with the slim; the tall with the
short. Nor do these instructive pre-
ferences prejudice the ideal conception
of beauty. While 1 may fully appre-
ciate the beauty of mountainous land
scape, may, for individual reasons,
prefer to live on the plains.
Schopenhauer has taken the trouble
to examine womanly beauty in detail,
and illustrate, point for point, the
principle of Zweckmassigkeit. At first
he considers the two fundamental con-
ditions without which female beauty is
not conceivable-namely, youth and
health. Here even the unthinking mind
readily sees that beauty and usefulness
(Zweckmassigkeit) go hand-in-hand, for
the human organism performs most
easily and perfectly its varied functions
in that spring time which we call youth,
and the more perfectly these functions
are performed the nearer the approach
to perfect health. After making these
general statements. the philosopher
examines the constituents Of beauty in
detail. Why are faultless teeth pleas
ing? Because the more perfect they
are, the more perfectly they discharge
their functions. Why, in all ages, has
a woman's well-developed bosom been
admired? Because it guarantees ade-
4uate nourishment for her children.
Why are we attracted by soulful eyes
Because they mirror the psychological
characteristics of the individual, and
indicate happily balanced brain. We
also instinctively attach great weight
to those peculiarities which especially
distinguish man from the brute crea-
tion-a well-developed chin, for exam
pie. "The more chin the more man."
says Lavater.
Beauty is clearly the most valuable
gift that Nature has bestowed upon
woman.
"a little turn of the nose up or
down" says Schopenhauer, "has de-
cided the fortunes of many girl for
life-and justly so; for as is the shape
of her nose, SO is she a more or less
perfect specimen of the race"
In this matter the ancients were much
franker than are the moderns. Our
Puritano- Christian, or better, perhaps,
Puritano-hypocritical era, is fond of
disparaging physical beauty, to the ad-
vantage of the moral and intellectual
beauties. We treat physical advan-
tages, which are "only skin-deep," with
a certain dlsdain, and endeavor to be
influenced in our preferences by
"higher" considerations-the graces of
the mentality. 1t would certainly be
foolish to contend that beauty of per-
son may balance every other endow-
ment. but to deny the advantage or
quality of beauty would be silly and
ungrateful toward the Giver of that
which, in all the varied conditions Of
life, has ever been one of the best of
recommendations certain guaran-
tee for goodness of heart and nobility
of soul.
The gifted Paul Heyse, in his charm
ing novel, ''Der Kreisrichter," is most
eloquent in his opposition to this fool
ish affectation. The old argument, that
there is no merit in beauty, might, with
equal justice, ve offered regarding the
qualities of the mind; we have no more
to do with the making of our brains
than with the making of our faces or
forms.
It is somewhat remarkable that wo-
men are themselves most inclined to
depreciate the worth of female beauty.
Beauty" says Madame Germacy,
sis a poor, fragile thing. The woman
who would reign for any length of time
should be careful not to depend for
her authority on anything SO perish
able"
Perishable or not, good looks are, and
will remain, the only thing woman can
safely depend upon for dominion. You
may reason and philosophize as much
as you please; the laws of nature always
have and always will outweigh your
philosophy. hy.-Ernst Echstein.
A jug.