In the conception of feminine beauty we possess an instrument of universal
extension by which it seems possible to measure the nature and extent of
such selection as exercised by men on women. This conception, with which
we set out, is, however, by no means so precise, so easily available for
the attainment of sound conclusions, as at first it may seem to be.
It is true that beauty is not, as some have supposed, a mere matter of
caprice. It rests in part on (1) an objective basis of aesthetic character
which holds all its variations together and leads to a remarkable
approximation among the ideals of feminine beauty cherished by the most
intelligent men of all races. But beyond this general objective basis we
find that (2) the specific characters of the race or nation tend to cause
divergence in the ideals of beauty, since beauty is often held to consist
in the extreme development of these racial or national anthropological
features; and it would, indeed, appear that the full development of racial
characters indicates at the same time the full development of health and
vigor. We have further to consider that (3) in most countries an important
and usually essential element of beauty lies in the emphasis of the
secondary and tertiary sexual characters: the special characters of the
hair in woman, her breasts, her hips, and innumerable other qualities of
minor saliency, but all apt to be of significance from the point of view
of sexual selection.
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