PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE 



CHAPTER VI 



SEXUAL DIMORPHISM 



III. Vertebrates (continued). Man and woman. 

 Characteristics and limits of human dimorphism. 

 Effects of civilization. Psychologic dimorphism. The 

 insect world and the human. Modern dimorphism, 

 basis of the pair. Solidarity of the human pair. 

 Dimorphism and polygamy. The pair favours the 

 female. Sexual (Esthetics. Causes of the superiority 

 of feminine beauty. 



III. VERTEBRATES (continued) Man and woman. 

 Among primates sexual dimorphism is but little accent- 

 uated, especially when the male and female live the same 

 life in the open air and share the same labours. The male 

 gorilla, very strong and very pig-headed, flees from no 

 enemy; the female on the contrary is almost timid: when 

 surprised in company with the male, she cries out, gives 

 the alarm and escapes. But attacked when alone with 

 her offspring, she resists. One can easily distinguish 

 the male and female orang-outang, the male is larger 

 with longer more bristling hair, he alone has a Horace 

 Greeley beard; in the female the patches of bald skin are 

 much less callous. But the great difference between the 

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