BEAUTY AND THE ELECTIVE AFFINITIES 169 



No doubt the savage respect for strength and courage 

 is deeply engrained in our nature, so much so that few 

 men, however intellectual, would refrain from showing 

 off their physical prowess before ladies if the oppor- 

 tunity arose. Nor could the most intellectual woman 

 deny the force of such a bid for her admiration. 



But the man of strong mind nowadays possesses 

 points of beauty — that is to say, of attractiveness — 

 wholly independent of physical form. How often do 

 we hear a pretty woman say, " Mr. So-and-So is an 

 ugly little man, but he is so nice." The speaker is 

 conscious that her sentiment conflicts with the tra- 

 ditional idea of beauty, hence the apologetic form in 

 which it is expressed. But what she says is the 

 truth ; instinctively she feels that in the battle of life 

 as it has now to be waged her ugly but intellectual 

 friend will prevail over a brainless Adonis. That 

 fine physique is still an element of beauty it would 

 be idle to deny ; it is no longer, however, the only 

 one. Men and women attract each other by their 

 moral as weU as their physical gifts. 



Intimately associated with the question of beauty 

 is that of the elective affinities. The attraction of 

 physical excellence aU can recognise, and heredity 

 tells us that its importance to the species is great. 



