A well and harmoniously developed body, tense muscles,
an elastic and finely toned skin, bright eyes, grace and
animation of carriage--all these things which are essential to
beauty are the conditions of health. It has not been demonstrated
that there is any correlation between beauty and longevity, and
the proof would not be easy to give, but it is quite probable
that such a correlation may exist, and various indications point
in this direction. One of the most delightful of Opie's pictures
is the portrait of Pleasance Reeve (afterward Lady Smith) at the
age of 17. This singularly beautiful and animated brunette lived
to the age of 104. Most people are probably acquainted with
similar, if less marked, cases of the same tendency.
The extreme sexual importance of beauty, so far, at all events, as
conscious experience is concerned is well illustrated by the fact that,
although three other senses may and often do play a not inconsiderable
part in the constitution of a person's sexual attractiveness,--the tactile
element being, indeed, fundamental,--yet in nearly all the most elaborate
descriptions of attractive individuals it is the visible elements that are
in most cases chiefly emphasized.
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