Woman'S Characteristics
CHAPTER I
It is only a woman that can make a man become the parody of himself.--French Proverb.
PROVERBIAL philosophy has long agreed that woman is a complex creature, little understood, and, according to Michelet, "she is a miracle of Divine contradictions;" an opinion endorsed by Pope, who in his "Moral Essays," writes, "Woman's at best a contradiction still;" and, further, by Richter, who says, "A woman is the most inconsistent compound of obstinacy and self-sacrifice that I am acquainted with." The wisest sages from the earliest period have been forced to admit that he would be a truly clever man who could understand, and account for, the many and varied characteristics of womankind, for, as Lord Byron wrote:--
"What a strange thing is man! And what a stranger
Is woman! What a whirlwind is her head!
And what a whirlpool, full of depth and danger,
Is all the rest about her! Whether wed
Or widow, maid or mother, she can change her
Mind like the wind; whatever she has said
Or done, is light to what she shall say or do--
The oldest thing on record, and yet new."
And yet it is universally acknowledged that woman is indispensable to man's happiness and well-being, for, as it is said in Germany, "Man without woman is head without body, woman without man is body without head," which corresponds with the French adage, "Without woman the two extremes of life would be without help, and the middle of it without pleasure;" and, long ago, the Egyptians were wont to represent a man without a woman by a single millstone, which cannot grind alone. The Burmese, too, of to-day maintain that "of all beings woman is most excellent; she is the chief of supporters;" and, according to another of their proverbial maxims, "her intelligence is four times that of man, her assiduity six times, and her desires eight times." Eastern proverbs are highly complimentary to women; for whereas, says a Sanskrit adage, "they are instructed by nature, the learning of men is taught by books;" or, as another piece of Oriental wisdom reminds us, "Nature is woman's teacher, and she learns more sense than man, the pedant, gleams from books." And, in short, the power and influence of woman have been admirably described by Thomas Otway in his "Venice Preserved" (act i. sc. I):--
"O woman! lovely woman! Nature made thee
To temper man; we had been brutes without you.
Angels are painted fair to look like you"--
Which is somewhat at variance with a popular Russian proverb to the effect that "the man is head of the woman, but she rules him by her temper;" and with the Spanish maxim, "A woman's counsel is not much, but he that despises it is a fool;" and again, with the Hindustani proverb, "Woman is wise when too late." But it would appear that, in summing up the characteristics of woman, proverbial lore, taken as a whole, is far more favourably disposed to her good points than the reverse, as is clearly the case with that of our French neighbours, who, long ago, have freely admitted the power of her influence in the world. Thus we are told that "women can do everything, because they rule those who command everything;" and "Women are the extreme, they are either better or worse than men;" and, again, it is said, "The world is the book of women"--Kashmiri proverb truly maintaining that "One woman is wealth to you, another ruination."
Woman has often been said to be equal to any emergency, a German saying expressing this idea thus: "Though an elephant and a tiger come she will leap over them;" and Hindustani lore waxes eloquent on this point--"What cannot a woman do? What cannot the ocean contain? What cannot the fire burn? What cannot death destroy?"
Most Oriental proverbs are much to the same effect, and it is said that "None know the wily tricks of a woman; they will kill their husbands, and then burn themselves," in order to prove their innocence; and again we are told, "Women's wills and thieves' tricks cannot be fathomed." And an old Welsh proverb warns us against the artifices of womankind, for--
"Nothing earthly hath a way
Like a woman to betray;"
and Hindustani lore tells us that "Womankind is perfidious;" and much to the same purport is the Assamese saying--
Of women, Miris, the parrot, and the crow,
The minds of these four you cannot know;"
for the Assamese never trust women; and not very complimentary is the Hindu saying, "My lady drops a spark in the chaff, and stands off to see the fun." Another common notion, underlying the proverbial lore relating to women, is their meanness--an amusing illustration of which may be quoted from Hindustani maxims, one of which runs thus: "Three cakes of a pennyweight each, and all her friends to eat them." But the reason for this frequent trait of character has been assigned to a woman's proverbial love of money, for--
"Nothing agreeth worse
Than a lady's heart and a beggar's purse."
But, it must be remembered, another proverb tells us that--
"Weal and women cannot pan
But woe and women can"--
"pan" being equivalent to harmonise.
Proverbial philosophy is full of warning against forming hastily an estimate of women's character, for, as the German adage runs, "He must have keen eyes that would know a maid at sight." We are further told that a woman should be seen at home, when engaged in her household duties, to form a clear estimate of her character; and the Danish proverb inculcates this rule: "You must judge a maiden at the kneading trough, and not at the dance."
That two women seldom keep friends for long without quarrelling has long been proverbial, and a Tamil adage remarks that "A thousand men may live together in harmony, whereas two women are unable to do so though they be sisters." And the many ailments to which, under one form or another, women are supposed to be susceptible, have been incorporated into many a proverb like the following: "A mill, a clock, and a woman, always want mending."
It has long been said that there is no accounting for a woman's tastes, and, according to an old English proverb, "A black man is a jewel in a fair woman's eyes;" and, vice versa, we are told that "A black woman hath turpentine in her," a belief which has been told in various ways, an old proverbial phrase quoted by Hazlitt giving this advice--
"To a red man read thy read;
With a brown man break thy bread;
At a pale man draw thy knife
From a black man keep thy wife"--
in illustration of which he gives the subjoined note from Tofte's translation of Varchi's "Blazon of Jealousie" (1615, P. 21):--"The Persians were wont to be so jealous of their wives, as they never suffered them to go abroad but in waggons close shut, but at this day the Italian is counted the man that is most subject to this vice, the sallow-complexioned fellow with a black beard, being he that is most prone, as well to suspect, as to be suspected about women's matters, according to the old saying."
It would seem that, in early times, the fair sex were supposed to have the greater charms, and accordingly they were styled, "Children of the Gods" by the Greeks. In "As You Like it" (act iii. sc. 5), the Shepherdess Phoebe complains of being scorned on account of her being dark--
"I have more cause to hate him than to love him:
For what had he to do to chide at me?
He said mine eyes were black and my hair black:
And, now I am remember'd, scorned at me."
Indeed, as a writer has observed in the Saturday Review, the time was when the black-haired, black-eyed girl of fiction was as dark of soul as of tresses, while the blue-eyed maiden's character was of "Heaven's own colour." But Thackeray changed this tradition by invariably making his dark heroines nice, his fair heroines "treacherous sirens." Another item of folk-lore tells us that--
"A brown wench in face
Shows that nature gives her grace,"
and many of our country peasantry still affirm that "a too brown lass is gay and cleanly;" whilst, in accordance with an old proverbial rhyme--
"The red is wise, the brown trusty,
The pale envious, the dark lusty."
Dr. Paul Topinard, in his "Anthropology," has made an interesting summary of the variation of the colour of the skin, from the fairest Englishwoman to the darkest African, furnishing us with numerous examples of the many hues which form the distinguishing marks of different nationalities. These are interesting if only as showing how widely one country differs from another in its notion as to what constitutes beauty in the complexion. And, turning to uncultured tribes, Dr. Letourneau has given some curious illustrations in his "Sociology" on this point, which show how vastly different are their conceptions of beauty of complexion, some races even disfiguring themselves with pigments of the most glaring colours.
French proverbial wisdom in further enumerating the main features of a woman's character, says that her heart is a real mirror, which "reflects every object without attaching itself to any;" and in Germany, whilst due praise is bestowed on the fair sex, women's varied traits of character have not escaped criticism--one very common maxim affirming that "she is at the mercy of circumstances just as the sand is at the mercy of the wind;" whilst we are further told that, although "woman reads and studies endlessly, her thought is always an afterthought." The Russian is of the same opinion, for, according to him, "a woman's hair is long, but her sense short," and "a dog is wiser than a woman, he does not bark at his master." Tamil proverbial wisdom declares that "the skill of a woman only goes so far as the fireplace"--in other words, cleverness is no use to a woman outside domestic affairs; and the not very complimentary old English adage says, "When an ass climbs a ladder, we may find wisdom in a woman;" whilst another old saying runs, "She hath less beauty than her picture, and truly not much more wit."
In some instances, we find the essential requirements needed to make a good woman laid down, as in an excellent Chinese proverb, which runs thus: "We ask four things for a woman--that virtue dwell in her heart, modesty in her forehead, sweetness in her mouth, and labour in her hands;" with which may be compared a well-known Sanskrit maxim, "The beauty of the cuckoo is the voice, of women chastity; of the deformed learning, and of ascetics patience." On the other hand, under a variety of forms, proverbial literature inculcates the necessity of our remembrance of these four evils thus summed up in the Italian warning: "From four things God preserve us--painted woman, a conceited valet, salt beef without mustard, and a little late dinner." A similar idea is conveyed in the Assamese proverb: "To be the husband of a worthless woman, a cart covering with a hole in the middle of it, a hired weaver--these three are the agony of death." To understand this proverb it must be remembered that "in Assam the bullock cart is covered with a hood made of matting, with bamboo hoops to support it. Any one who has travelled in a bullock cart with a hole in the hood will appreciate its truth."
A trait of character, however, which women are proverbially said to their disadvantage to possess, is a lack of truth and reliability; and, according to an old proverb, "He who takes an eel by the tail, or a woman at her word, soon finds he holds nothing." The popular adage which warns a man not to trust a woman further than he can see her has been variously expressed, one version in Germany being "Arms, women, and books should be looked at daily;" and, according to another, it is said, "Beware of a bad woman, and put no trust in a good one;" which are similar to the Hindustani adage, "A hare and a woman are yours while in your power." The Italians have a maxim to the same effect, "Woman always speak the truth, but not the whole truth," and hence there are the frequent admonitions against trusting womankind, for the French affirm that "he who trusts a woman and leads an ass will never be free from plague;" and, similarly, it is said, "The ruses of women multiply with their years;" and where truth is deficient in a woman there can be no reliance in her word, for, as the Chinese affirm, "An untruthful woman is rotten grass and tangled hemp." But, unreliable as a woman at times may be, we cannot endorse the Turkish maxim, "The dog is faithful, woman never;" which is not unlike the Kashmiri proverb: "A horse, a wife, and a sword, these three are unfaithful;" and Hindu proverbial literature, speaking of woman's insincerity, says that "while the wife is eating her husband's food, she is inwardly singing the praises of her mother."
On the other hand, in defence of woman, it has been urged that good-nature and simplicity of character are liable to imposition, for, as it is commonly said, "All lay load on the winning horse," a version of which is to be found among Sindhi proverbs "A mild-faced woman has her cheeks pulled." We may further compare our own proverbs: "She is as quiet as a wasp in one's nose," and "She looks as if butter would not melt in her mouth;" and, again, "A gentle housewife mars the household"--in other words, through her leniency there is "a want of discipline."
An amusing phrase to denote a proud woman is this, "She holds up her head like a hen drinking water;" and when Herefordshire folk speak of a strong, robust girl, the remark may still occasionally be heard, "She hath one point of a good hawk, she is hardy." When a girl simpers and puts on an affected appearance, in such a way as to excite ridicule and amusement, she is still, in old proverbial phraseology, said to "simper as a mare when she eats thistles," or to "simper like a furmity kettle." An indolent girl is described as "having broken her elbow," and the phrase applied to a woman who grows inactive after marriage is, "She hath broken her elbow at the church-door." The same idea, again, is conveyed in the adage, "She had rather kiss than spin," implying that many a young girl, instead of being industrious at home, would much sooner gad about and play with love; and, if this be not in her power, to use a Somersetshire phrase, "She is as crusty as that is hard-baked."
Chastity, to which references will be found in ensuing chapters, has been universally regarded as an essential necessity for a good woman, for as a popular proverb, current under a variety of forms in most countries, enjoins, "An immodest woman is food without salt;" and a Chinese maxim tells its that "modesty is a woman's courage;" whereas Tacitus wrote in his day, "When a woman has lost her character, she will shrink from no crime." And, where this trait of character is wanting, the consensus of opinion seems to be that no amount of care, or foresight, will prevent a woman going astray; for a Kural saying, too, teaches much the same lesson
"Of what avail are prisons barred,
Their chastity is women's guard."
And a Malay proverb emphasises the tenacity of a woman's purpose, whether that be good or bad--
"A whole herd of buffaloes might be shut up in a pen,
There is one thing not to be guarded--a woman."
Much to the same effect is the Eastern proverb, "Women, if confined at home by faithful guardians, are not really guarded; but those women who guard themselves by their own will, are well guarded," to which may be added the German adages: "A sackful of fleas is easier to watch than a woman," and "A woman and a glass are always in danger;" whilst the old English proverbial phrase, "She will stay at home, perhaps, if her leg be broken," implies that nothing but what happens through compulsion will keep many a woman at home. Indeed, it has always been held that there is no compensation for the lack of chastity in a woman, an old Tamil maxim declaring that "beauty without chastity is a flower without fragrance."
On the other hand, an Arabic proverb says that "The modest woman's walk lasts from morning till evening," which has been thus explained, "The modest woman rarely goes out, or meets any one, and, when she does get the opportunity to go out, she is as delighted with the various sights as if she were a stranger, and she spends a long time in looking at them, and in chatting with those of her intimate friends whom she meets, so that the length of her absence from the house has become proverbial."
Lastly, due consideration for the frailty of woman is extensively enjoined in proverbial lore, a Tamil adage telling us that "though you see a woman sin with your own eyes, cover it over with earth," for, it adds, "if she says, I am a woman, even the devil will have compassion on her;" and hence a person is sternly warned "not to dare to stand on the earth when passing unjust remarks on a woman." A German proverb says, "Frailty, thy name is woman," which is to the same effect as the Eastern aphorism, "Women, like flowers, are of tender fabric, and should be softly handled;" which coincides with the Indian maxim, "Do not strike, even with a flower, a woman guilty of a hundred crimes," and with the Hindustani proverb, "It is not right to lift one's hand to a woman."
At the same time, our forefathers were strongly of opinion that a certain amount of correction was good for women, an opinion to which we have referred in our chapter on "Woman's Goodness," where we have given some of the proverbial wisdom on the subject. Among Oriental proverbs too much leniency is deprecated, it being said that "the petted boy becomes a gambler, and the petted girl a wanton," which is similar to the Marathi maxim, "By the mother's petting the child becomes an idiot;" and to our own proverbs "A child may have too much of his mother's blessing," and "Mothers' darlings make but milk-sop heroes;" for, says Ray, "Mothers are oftentimes too tender and fond of their children, who are ruined and spoiled by their indulgence." In Hindustani lore we find the same idea expressed, a familiar adage maintaining that, "Melons require the sun, and mangoes want the sun; women need a strong hand, and children want love." The reason for this would seem to be that a woman does not always know what is best for her, hence the Welsh adage:--
"A woman mostly will prefer
The thing that is the worst for her."
And hence, as the Italians say, "Women, apes, and nuts require strong hands." There is an African proverb which says that "a man is not obeyed by his wife in his own house," which, we are told, implies that she does not consider him her husband "unless he beat her, thwack"--a mode of treatment which, it is needless to say, would not be endured by the wives of the West.
CHAPTER II
WOMAN'S BEAUTY
"She's beautiful and therefore to be wooed;
She is a woman, therefore to be won."
1st Henry VI. act v. sc. 3.
"A BEAUTIFUL woman," remarked Napoleon, "pleases the eye, a good woman pleases the heart; one is a jewel, the other a treasure." It is not surprising that the beauty of woman--in praise of which both literature and art have from the earliest period lavished some of their grandest works--should have given rise in most countries to a host of strange and romantic fancies. Many of these survive in our midst to-day, and, although experience has long proved how unreliable such beliefs are, they still retain their hold on the popular mind, often causing unnecessary prejudice and fear.
It is a very old notion, for instance, that beauty is unfortunate; and, according to an old Italian proverb, "Over the greatest beauty hangs the greatest ruin." Allusions to this piece of folk-lore are not only found in the poetry and romance of bygone centuries, but are of frequent occurrence in the literature of modern times. Thus Goethe makes Helena affirm that beauty and happiness remain not long united and Byron, in his "Childe Harold" (iv. 42), speaks of "the fatal gift of beauty." We may recall, too, Lord Tennyson's charming and pathetic language in "A Dream of Fair Women," where he relates how--
"In every land
I saw, wherever light illumineth,
Beauty and anguish walking hand in hand
The downward slope to death.
Those far-renowned brides of ancient song
Peopled the hollow dark, like burning stars,
And I heard sounds of insult, shame, and wrong,
And trumpets blown for wars."
And there is a well-known passage where Fielding, in his "Journey from this World to the Next," (chap. vi.), thus writes: "She--Fortune--was one of the most deformed females I ever beheld, nor could I help observing the frowns she expressed when any beautiful spirit of her own sex passed her, nor the affability that smiled on her countenance on the approach of any handsome male spirits. Hence I accounted for the truth of an observation I had often made on earth, that nothing is more fortunate than handsome men, nor more unfortunate than handsome women;" such, too, was the opinion of the host of the "Canterbury Tales" who bewailed the sad fate of Virginia related by the Doctor of Physic:--
"Allas! too deare boughte sshe her beaute,
Wherefore I say, that alle men may se,
That giftes of fortune, or of nature,
Ben cause of deth of many a creature.
Her beaute was hir deth, I dar well sayn,
Allas! so piteously as she was slayn."
And there is the old mythical tale which tells how Medusa was a maiden of such beauty as to provoke the jealousy of Minerva, wherefore she was transformed into a frightful monster. Her much-admired ringlets became hissing serpents, and no living thing could look upon her without being turned into stone. Legendary lore provides us with many stories of this kind, which illustrates Patterson's well-known lines:--
"O fatal beauty! why art thou bestowed
On hapless woman still to make her wretched?
Betrayed by thee, how many are undone!"
Chinese folk-lore maintains that beautiful women are unlucky, one of their many proverbs on the subject declaring that "fair maidens are very unlucky, and clever young men have little beauty." It was also supposed that feminine beauty of unusual merit was fatal to long life, and no subject has been more popular with the novelist, or poet, than the gradual fading away of some young girl gifted in a high degree with good looks.
Lord Tennyson, in his "May Queen," has interwoven this idea, and it is found scattered here and there in the literature of most countries. Hence, another reason why beauty has been regarded as unfortunate is owing to its being thought prejudicial to health, a variation of which belief occurs in "Richard III." (act iii. sc. i), where the Duke of Gloucester says:--
"So wise, so young, they say do never live long."
Another misfortune connected with beauty is its evanescence, and, as the German proverbs run, "Woman's beauty, the forest echo and rainbows, soon pass away," and "Maidens and roses soon lose their bloom." And the same truth is conveyed in the Hindustani proverb, "The spring in which he saw the blossoms is gone, now, O bee, only the thorns remain on the rose;" another version of which is, "My fair one don't be proud of your complexion, it is the guest of but a few days." Poets have largely dwelt on beauty's transient character, and Shakespeare, in "The Passionate Pilgrim," says:--
"Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good;
A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly;
A flower that dies when first it 'gins to bud,
A brittle glass that's broken presently,
A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower,
Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour."
And the oft-quoted adage that "Beauty is like an almanac; if it last a year it is well," reminds us of Molier's lines in his "Les Feminies Savantes":--
"La beaute du visage est un frele ornement,
Une fleur passagere, un eclat d'un moment,
Et qui n'est attache qu' a la simple epiderne."
The snares of beauty have been made from early times the subject of much proverbial wisdom, a Servian adage affirming that, "Better sometimes a woman blind than one too beautiful;" for, as the Italian proverb adds, "Tell a woman that she is beautiful, and the devil will repeat it to her ten times;" with which may be compared an old Welsh proverb, which has been translated thus:--
"Three things may make a woman nought
A giddy brain,
A heart that's vain,
A face in beauty's fashion wrought;"
and the German proverb adds, "An impudent face never marries." There is, too, the old English adage, "The fairest silk is soon stained;" for, as Ray has said, "The handsomest women are soonest corrupted, because they are most tempted."
Although we cannot endorse the old German proverb which says that, "Every woman would be rather pretty than pious," yet most women are mightily proud of their beauty, for, as an early English maxim reminds us, "She that is born a beauty is born married;" another version of which we find in an old work entitled, "New Help to Discourse" (1721, P. 134), "Beauty draws more than five yoke of oxen;" with which we may
compare Pope's lines in "The Rape of the Lock" (Canto ii.):--
"Fair tresses man's imperial race insnare,
And beauty draws us with a single hair."
The same idea occurs in French proverbial lore, but it is thus qualified:-- "Amour fait beaucoup Mais argent fait tout;"
and according to German proverbial lore, "Beauty is a good letter of introduction," and, "Good looks are an inheritance," and again, "A pretty face is a good drummer;" but, on the other hand, it is said, "A poor beauty finds more lovers than husbands."
It is not surprising that in all ages women have striven to preserve their beauty, however transient it may be, for, as it has been remarked, "it is valueless to a woman to be young unless pretty, or to be pretty unless young;" and an amusing story is told of an old queen who, day after day, sighed with longing regret that her beauty had vanished, and that her young days were gone. In this sad dilemma she was advised to try some magic restorative to bring back the rosy blush of youth, and accordingly--
"Of rosmayr she took six pounde,
And grounde it well into a stownde,"
and then she mixed with it water, in which she bathed three times a day, taking care to anoint her head with "gode balme afterwards." In a few days her old withered face fell away, and she became so young and pretty that she began to look out for a husband.
But, unfortunately, stories of this class belong to the domain of fairyland, or, otherwise, old age would have a bad time of it, for every woman would remain young if not beautiful. At any rate, there is no disguising the fact that the human brain has done its very best to accommodate the fair sex with the charm of juvenescence, judging from the rules laid down for this purpose; a popular folk-rhyme advising us thus:--
"Those who wish to be fair and stout,
Must wash their faces with the disclout;
Those who wish to be wrinkled and grey,
Must keep the disclout far away."
The common wayside flower, the lady's mantle, was once in great repute with ladies; for, according to Hoffman, it had the power of "restoring feminine beauty, however faded, to its early freshness;" and the wild tansy, laid to soak in buttermilk for nine days, had the reputation of "making the complexion very fair." The hawthorn, again, was in high repute among the fair sex, for according to an old piece of proverbial lore:--
"The fair maid who, the first of May,
Goes to the fields at break of day,
And washes in dew from the hawthorn-tree,
Will ever after handsome be";
and the common fumitory "was used when gathered in wedding hours and boiled in water, milk, and whey, as a wash for the complexion of rustic maids."
Various allusions to these old recipes occur in the literature of the past, and we find the Earl of Shrewsbury--who had charge of the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots--making an application for an increased allowance on account of her expensive habit of bathing in wine. Those who could not afford such an extravagant luxury contented themselves with milk-baths, which were all the fashion in the reign of Charles II.
But it is generally acknowledged that the attempt to cheat time of his wrinkles has nearly always proved fruitless, and only too frequently "the would-be fair ones have been driven in despair to conceal what they found it impossible to remove, and hence the feminine fashion of bedaubing the complexion with artificial tints, a custom which it may be remembered was almost universal among Grecian women."
On the other hand, however much fortune may be reputed to be hostile to beauty, good looks have been termed "a woman's glory," and Galen perhaps was not far wrong in maintaining that one reason why misfortune is so often connected with beauty is that "many who have been distinguished for their loveliness have neglected the education of their mind," for, as the German proverbs say, "Beauty and understanding go rarely together;" "Beauty is but dross if honesty be lost," and there is the Tamil adage, "Beauty in the unworthy is poison in a casket of gold." Some, like Ralph Nickleby, may disparage a woman's beauty, but, as it has been remarked, one reason why beauty has been coveted by most women is partly owing to the early belief that a lovely face was the outward indication that a person so adorned was gifted with an equally beautiful soul within. It was long and extensively believed that a lofty soul could not dwell in an ugly casket, and hence a beautiful woman was commonly credited with having a fine and noble character, a notion which in only too many instances history alone has refuted, for, as an old proverb says, "Beauty may have fair leaves, but little fruit." This once popular belief, however, was a favourite one with the poets, and is referred to in the "Tempest," (act i. sc. 2):--
"There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple:
If the ill Spirit have so fair a house,
Good things strive to dwell with't."
And Young alludes to the same idea in these well-known lines:--
"What's female beauty, but an air divine,
Through which the mind's all gentle graces shine?
They, like the sun, irradiate all between,
The body charms, because the soul is seen,
Hence men are often captives of a face
They know not why, of no peculiar grace.
Some forms, though bright, no mortal man can bear,
Some, none resist, though not exceeding fair."
Moralists and others have largely dwelt on this familiar idea, and, in one form or another, it has prevailed in most countries, and has been incorporated in many a legendary romance; an item of folk-lore which Sir A. de Vere Hunt has thus prettily expressed:--
"What is beauty? not the show
Of shapely limbs and features--no!
These are but flowers
That have their dated hours
To breathe their momentary sweets, then go.
'Tis the stainless soul within,
That outshines the fairest skin."
There would appear, however, to be an exception to this rule, for German folk-wisdom tells us that "A fair skin often covers a crooked mind," and "A fair face may hide a foul heart," which reminds us of the whited sepulchres of the New Testament; and it is further said in Germany that "Falseness often lurks beneath fair hair," and there is the Spanish proverb, "A handsome woman is either silly or vain."
But notions of beauty fortunately differ, and, according to a popular adage, "What is one man's meat is another man's poison;" and, whatever truth there may be in the proverb which reminds us that "Beauty is but skin deep," there is no denying that personal appearance has made all the difference in the estimation formed by one person of another. According to an old folk-rhyme we are told that:--
A fair face is half a portion,
A fair face may be a foul bargain,
A fair face may hide a foul heart,
A fair field and no favour."
The power of woman's beauty over man, however, has always been proverbial all over the world, and, from the earliest period, it has formed one of the leading subjects of the wise-saws current in most countries. Thus a popular German maxim tells us that "one hair of a woman draws more than a bell-rope," or, as another version has it, "Beauty draws us with a single hair;" and there is a common saying in the East, "A good-looking woman in a house is the foe of all the plain ones." At the same time there have never been wanting moralists to warn us that, however powerful the fascinatory influence of woman's beauty may be, it is far from being always supreme. Accordingly there are a number of proverbs which affirm that, whereas "beauty is potent, money is omnipotent," with which may be compared the oft-quoted saying to the effect that, "Beauties without fortunes have sweethearts plenty; but husbands none at all;" or, as it is sometimes said, "Beauty without bounty avails nought." Oftentimes those proverbs, which admit the fascinatory charms of a woman's beauty, qualify their statements with a warning, as in the German proverb, "Beauty is the eye's food, and the soul's sorrow;" an old English maxim is to the same effect: "A beautiful woman is the paradox of the eves, the hell of the soul, and the purgatory of the purse;" and again, "Wickedness with beauty is the devil's hook baited;" the same idea being found in Hindustani proverbial wisdom, in which we find this maxim: "All pretty maids are poisonous pests; an enemy kills by hiding these by smiles and jests." It is said in Italy that "a beautiful woman smiling bespeaks a purse-weeping," with which may be compared the German adage:--
"Hares are caught with hounds,
Fools with praises,
Women with gold."
Indeed, in most countries there are numerous proverbs to the same effect, demonstrating how one of the penalties--one which oftentimes is man's ruin--paid for woman's beauty is an empty purse. Similarly, we are told that "a handsome hostess is bad for the purse;" and hence there is some truth in the following: "A rich man is never ugly in the eyes of a girl."
Proverb-making cynics, again, have not always been very chivalrous and complimentary in their allusions to the charms of the fair sex. Thus, as beautiful women had the reputation of being less handy and serviceable than plain ones, the adage arose which says--"A fair woman and a slashed gown will always find some nail in the way;" in other words, as women value themselves on their personal attractions, they are in the same degree generally apt to be negligent in other things. According to another version of the same proverb, it is very commonly said that "the more women look in their glasses the less they look to their houses." Cynical savings, happily, of this kind, as far as beauty is concerned, are in the minority;
for, in most legendary and historical lore, good features have been made characteristic of nearly all superior and exalted beings. Hence, at the present day, beauty is often said to be "fairylike," it having been a popular belief that beauty, united with power, was one of the most attractive forms of the fairy tribe. Such was that of Spenser's Fairy Queen, and of Shakespeare's Titania; and it may be remembered how, in "Antony and Cleopatra" (act iv. sc. 8), Antony, on seeing Cleopatra enter, says to Scarus:--
"To this great fairy I'll commend thy acts,
Make her thanks bless thee."
And in "Cymbeline" (act iii. sc. 6), when the two brothers find Imogen in their cave, Belarius exclaims:--
"But that it eats our victuals, I should think Here were a fairy,"
and he then adds :--
"By Jupiter, an angel! or, if not,
An earthly paragon! Behold divineness,
No elder than a boy."
Beauty, too, which Plato described as "a privilege of Nature;" Homer, "a glorious gift of Nature;" Ovid, "a favour bestowed by the Gods;" and Shakespeare, "that miracle and queen of gems," has formed the theme of most of those traditionary tales of love and romance which, embodied in the folk-tales of different countries, portray the many beliefs and fancies which, in the course of centuries, have grouped round this acknowledged charm of womanhood.
The absence of beauty, on the other hand, was, in days of old, considered almost a disgrace, it having been a common idea that the ugliness of the wicked was in proportion to their evil nature. Hence, an unprepossessing appearance subjected the unfortunate woman to the most uncomplimentary stigma, and oftentimes even made her an object of contempt; for, according to an old proverb, "An ugly woman is a disease of the stomach, a handsome woman a disease of the head." And there is the Hebrew adage, "Ugliness is the guardian of women," for the chance is remote of those who are not gifted with beauty yielding to the snares of temptation. But even ugliness occasionally outweighs the advantages of beauty, for the German mother reminds her daughter that "a virtuous woman, though ugly, is the ornament of her house;" and there is the Spanish adage, which says, "the ugliest is the best housewife;" and our own proverb runs: "She's better than she's bonnie;" although a Tamil proverb, referring ironically to an ugly woman, speaks of her as "killed with beauty;" and a Welsh adage tells us that if an ugly woman fall, breaking her hip, the pity she gets is, "how clumsy to trip." It has, however, been generally acknowledged that there is no woman who is not, more or less, fond of flattery, and there is a common saying in Spain, "Tell a woman she is pretty and you will turn her head," a piece of proverbial lore which is found in France and Germany, and also in our own country. But, after all, there is one point to be remembered, for a popular German adage says that "handsome women generally fall to the lot of ugly men." There is truth, also, in the Sindhi adage which says, "Better a blind eye than a blind fate," which means, better be ugly than unfortunate, as many favoured with beauty are supposed to be; for, after all, as the proverb truly remarks, "a good fame is better than a good face." It is recorded that Madame de Bourignon was so ugly when born that the proposal was actually made of smothering her, so as to spare her a life of ridicule and humiliation; and, to quote a further illustration, a story is told of the Emperor Henry IV., of Germany, who, on entering a church, where an ugly priest happened to be officiating, wondered in his mind whether it was possible for God to accept services rendered by so ill-favoured a ministrant. But the imperial ministrations were interrupted by the priest's boy mumbling, almost unititelligibly the versicle: "It is He that hath made us, not we ourselves," whereupon the priest removed him for his indistinct enunciation, and he repeated the Psalmist's words, which the Emperor took as an undesigned rebuke to his own thoughts.
Queen Elizabeth, similarly, was careful to admit into her household none but those of "stature and birth;" and one day, it is recorded, she went so far as to refuse the services of a certain individual for no other reason than that one of his jaws was deficient of a tooth. But there was Tamerlane's wife, who, although she had no nose, was considered a belle by her contemporaries; and even hunchbacks have had their admirers on the ground that the "dorsal curvature is the true line of beauty."
It has, after all, however, been generally admitted that beauty is, more or less, deceptive, and especially where love is concerned, for, as the popular adage says: "If Jack is in love, he is no judge of Jill's beauty," which corresponds with the Italian saying, "Handsome is not what is handsome, but what pleases." Similarly, the French have a familiar proverb, "Never seemed a prison fair, nor a mistress foul," which has its counterpart in Germany, where it is said, "he whose fair one squints says she ogles;" and "Everybody thinks his own cuckoo sings better than another's nightingale;" with which we may compare what the African negro says, "The beetle is a beauty in the eyes of its mother"--love transforming all imperfections into beauty. But, as an Eastern piece of proverbial wisdom reminds us--
"For virtue a woman our our wife we make;
For her beauty we a concubine take,"
with which may be compared another Eastern adage:--
"Long not for the Goddess's beauty divine,
Long that the star of your husband may shine."
The fact that love has a large mantle to hide faults is further shown in an Arab proverb: "Love is the companion of blindness;" and the Talmud emphasises the same truth: "To love a thing makes the eye blind, the ear deaf;" and a Hindustani proverb runs thus: "Fall in love with an ogress, and even she is a fairy," with which may be compared another not very complimentary one, "Her name is Beauty, and a dog's her face." It is interesting to find the same idea in Assamese folk-lore, wherein occurs the following: "What shall I say of my step-mother's character--in one hand she has chutney and in the other salt; she has no hair in the middle of her head, but her husband calls her the beautiful one?" And much the same idea is conveyed in the Hindustani piece of proverbial wisdom: "She cries over her own idiot, but laugh's at another's;" and the Dutch have a saying, "No ape but swears he has the handsomest children."
Indeed, that in a lover's eyes, plainness oftentimes becomes actual beauty, is exemplified over and over again in the literature of past and modern days, for, in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (act v. sc. i)--
"The lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt."
Lord Lytton, in "Kenelm Chillingly," has introduced the charming song, "The Beauty of the Mistress is in the Lover's Eye," which runs thus:--
"Is she not pretty, my Mabel May?
Nobody ever yet called her so.
Are not her lineaments faultless, say?
If I must answer you plainly--No.
None but myself as she is can see;
Joy that she steals from her heaven above,
And is only revealed on this earth to me."
The same idea is introduced in Mrs. Browning's "My Kate;" and Balzac, too, was of the same opinion, for he says, "When women love, they forgive us everything, even our crimes; when they do not love us, they give us credit for nothing, not even for our virtues." But, on the other hand, there is equal truth in the Welsh proverb, which is only too frequently proved in the romance of daily life, "Faults are thick when love is thin."
Some, again, have tried to disparage beauty by maintaining that it is only "skin-deep," a notion which has found its way into proverbial lore. The literature of the past contains sundry allusions to this idea, and in the Rev. Rob. Fleming's poems (1691) we are reminded that--
"Beauty is but skin-thick, and so doth fall
Short of those statues made of wood or stone."
And in Ralph Venning's "Orthodoxe Paradoxe" (1650) it is said that--
"All the beauty of the world 'tis but skin-deep, a sunne-blast defaceth;"
which is not unlike Sir Thomas Overbury's lines in his poem, "A Wife"--
"And all the carnall beauty of my wife
Is but skin-deep."
And yet there is much truth in the Hindu adage, "The eyes love beauty, the heart loves wisdom," for, as it has been observed elsewhere, there is no denying the truth of the old French proverb, "It is not the greatest beauties that inspire the most profound passion;" and to the same purport is the German adage, "One cannot live on beauty."
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