SEX-LOKE 



INTRODUCTION 



ONE of our greatest painters, G. F. Watts, has given 

 us a picture entitled " Love and Life," which is re- 

 produced in the frontispiece of this book. It shows 

 the figure of Life, represented as a frail, delicate 

 maiden, guided along her path over precipices by 

 Love, a vigorous youth. She is stumbling wearily 

 up a steep and rugged path, and looks almost too 

 weak and faint to go any further, only that Love 

 helps and encourages her. He shelters her with his 

 wing and leads her gently upwards. His presence 

 gives her confidence, and his strength and sympathy 

 save her from giving way to despair. In this alle- 

 gory Watts has embodied a fundamental truth: 

 Love really is the central and sustaining force of 

 Life. Not only does love add beauty to life and 

 brighten it, but life itself springs from love, being 

 created by the very act of love. 



It is love that draws the youth to the maiden, 

 when childhood has been passed and the first stirrings 

 of the growing age or adolescence are felt. Then is 

 the wonderful time of day-dreams and romantic 

 feelings, when everything assumes a rosy hue. The 



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