Her _yoni_ [vulva] resembles the opening lotus bud, and her
love-seed is perfumed like the lily that has newly burst. She
walks with swanlike [more exactly, flamingolike] gait, and her
voice is low and musical as the note of the Kokila bird [the
Indian cuckoo]; she delights in white raiment, in fine jewels,
and in rich dresses. She eats little, sleeps lightly, and being
as respectful and religious as she is clever and courteous, she
is ever anxious to worship the gods and to enjoy the conversation
of Brahmans. Such, then, is the Padmini, or lotus-woman." (_The
Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana_, 1883, p. 11.)
The Hebrew ideal of feminine beauty is set forth in various
passages of the _Song of Songs_. The poem is familiar, and it
will suffice to quote one passage:--
"How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince's daughter!
Thy rounded thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a cunning workman.
Thy navel is like a rounded goblet
Wherein no mingled wine is wanting;
Thy belly is like a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies.
Thy two breasts are like two fawns
They are twins of a roe.
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