350 SEXUAL SELECTION: MAN. Part IL 



We thus see how widely the different races of man 

 differ in their taste for the beautifuh In every nation 

 sufficiently advanced to have made effigies of their gods 

 or of their deified rulers, the sculptors no doubt have 

 endeavoured to express their highest ideal of beauty 

 and grandenr.^^ Under this point of view it is well to 

 compare in our mind the Jupiter or Apollo of the Greeks 

 with tlie Egyptian or Assyrian statues ; and these with 

 the hideous bas-reliefs on the ruined buildings of Cen- 

 tral America. 



I have met with very few statements opposed to the 

 above conclusion. ]\[r. Winwood Reade, however, who 

 has had ample opportunities for observation, not only 

 with the negroes of the West Coast of Africa, but with 

 those of the interior who have never associated with 

 Europeans, is convinced that their ideas of beauty are 

 on the ivhole the same as ours. He has repeatedly found 

 that he agreed with negroes in their estimation of 

 the beauty of the native girls; and that their appreci- 

 ation of the beauty of European women corresponded 

 with ours. They admire long hair, and use artificial 

 means to make it appear abundant ; they admire 

 also a beard, though themselves very scantily pro- 

 vided. Mr. Keade feels doubtful what kind of nose is 

 most appreciated : a girl has been heard to say, " I 

 " do not want to marry him, he has got no nose ; " and 

 this shews that a very flat nose is not an object of admi- 

 ration. We should, however, bear in mind that the 

 depressed and very broad noses and projecting jaws of 

 the negroes of the West Coast are exceptional types 

 with the inhabitants of Africa. Notwithstanding the 

 foregoing statements, Mr. Eeade does not think it pro- 



•'i Cli. Comte lias remarks to this effect in his ' Traite' de Legisla- 

 tion,' 3rd edit. 1837, p. 136. 



