August 26, 1887.] 



SCIENCE. 



lOI 



maximum importance, the passion that so permeates our mental 

 tissue that we read ancient history and literature through the spec- 

 tacles it puts before our eyes, — this passion was unknown, or, 

 where known, neglected, until modern times. This announcement 

 is most startling. If it can be satisfactorily established, it will take 

 its place not only as a most important historical fact, but as a richly 

 suggestive generalization, reflecting light on certain obscure prob- 

 lems of anthropology, giving the marriage and courtship customs 

 of all peoples, primitive, ancient, and modern, a newer, fuller biologi- 

 cal meaning, as well as pointing the way to the solution of many 

 social questions of the day which irrelevant and unscientific discus- 

 sion has done much to confound. 



Mr. Finck is a biologist, and includes in his treatment the arrange- 

 ments for mutual attractiveness of the sexes found in plants and 

 animals. This prevents a too narrow anthropocentric view of the 

 affections, and escapes the danger into which literary men have 

 fallen of regarding as typical what is almost accidental. But first 

 the characteristics, the 'overtones of romantic love,' must be set 

 forth. Mr. Finck enumerates eleven. (l) Individual preference. 

 The savage chief does not hesitate to exchange one bride for 

 another equally attractive ; the lover cares for one alone. (2) 

 Monopoly. Not only does he prefer her alone ; he expects all her 

 attentions. (31 Any neglect leads to the third 'overtone,' jealousy, 

 which by inspiring watchfulness and fear keeps the flame aglov/. 

 (4) Coyness, a feminine trait, which by retarding increases the 

 lover's passion. (5) Gallantry, a masculine trait, acknowledging 

 the conquest. (6) Self-sacrifice, which may be an exaggerated 

 gallantry or a suicidal impulse of unrequited love. (7) Sympathy. 

 No pleasure is complete unless enjoyed by both. (8) Pride of con- 

 quest or possession. (9) Emotional hyperbolse. The lover sees, 

 thinks, and feels in superlatives. (10) Mixed moods. Finally, (11) 

 Admiration of personal beauty, — that all-important sesthetic over- 

 tone that now more than ever leads the way to love. 



Many of these qualities are shown by animals. Individual 

 preferences, gallantry, jealousy, sympathy, are illustrated in many 

 authentic anecdotes. Birds especially — and along with this goes 

 their monogamous habit — show a much more refined and noble 

 courtship than the lowest savages. In savage life, where courtship 

 consists in knocking the girl on the head and carrying her away, 

 love can hardly find a place. Even in the higher forms of court- 

 ship by purchase or service, nothing but a very rudimentary form 

 of real love can enter. Individual preference there was none ; 

 polygamy flourished. The woman was the slave, and none of the 

 romantic virtues were possible. In historic nations the advance is 

 at first small. Egypt had trial marriages of one year's duration. 

 Amongst the Hebrews polygamy, the exclusion of woman from all but 

 the minor social duties, and the selection of the wife by the father of 

 the suitor, prevented true romantic love, in spite of the elevation of the 

 woman to be the companion of man, which that nation introduced. 

 The Greeks show no true love-stories. They say much of con- 

 nubial love ; filial and sisterly love is a frequent theme. Friendship 

 and platonic love is the type of the highest Greek affection. The 

 women were excluded from the living interests of the nation ; male 

 beauty was the admired type. Rome made an advance, but not a 

 great one. Engagements were made by parents at a very early 

 age. Social customs forcing the girl to marry one of the same pro- 

 fession as her father, and the like, prevented a choice. In later days 

 marriage was a farce, and divorce the rule. The poets, in advance 

 of their age, uttered a few strains of romantic love ; Ovid especially 

 pleaded for gallantry and the tender emotions. But all such begin- 

 nings were crushed by mediaeval asceticism. Marriage became al- 

 most a degradation, celibacy a virtue ; beauty and the personal 

 hygiene that led to it were considered sensuous. Love was to be 

 subdued and self-mutilation rewarded. Only with the dawn of the 

 renaissance did love again begin. Dante was the first love-poet ; 

 Romeo was the first hero-lover of a play. The chivalry that pre- 

 ceded these was either merely fictitious and fashionable, or more 

 usually an adoration of a married lady. It was not a courtship. 

 The poets sound but a weak strain of romantic love. Even Spenser 

 puts friendship above love. If the reader will imagine this outline 

 filled in with a host of corroboratory passages, cited from recognized 

 authorities, he must admit that Mr. Finck has made out a very 

 strong case indeed. Moreover, his scheme of the evolution of love 



answers a critical biological test. The law that the individual epit- 

 omizes the race holds here. Historically, maternal love is the old- 

 est and strongest (until romantic love appears). " Then paternal, 

 filial, and fraternal love are gradually developed, followed by friend- 

 ship (Greek) and finally by love proper." The baby first and most 

 loves its mother ; then the father receives attention, followed by sis- 

 ters and brothers. At school the Greek devotion and friendship 

 develops. Finally comes true love, which, usually passing like the 

 blind chivalry of old through a ' calf-love ' stage, emerges into ro- 

 mantic passion. 



Into the author's long and careful analysis of modern love it will 

 be impossible to enter here. His guiding principle is that love, 

 ' natural selection,' is the bulwark of civilization. In comparing the 

 customs of various nations, those are regarded as highest that give 

 freest opportunity for social intercourse of the young, that widen 

 the play of selection, and thus lead to the amelioration of the race. 

 It is the excluding of French girls from a rational education, the 

 marrying them out of convents, that causes their homeliness and 

 the degeneracy of that race. The German system of chaperonage 

 and formal social equality in marriages is tending, though less seri- 

 ously, to the same end. In England and especially in America have 

 the agencies that lead to a betterment of the race full and free play. 

 This is precisely the view taken by Mr. Grant Allen. He regards 

 falling in love as the expression of the healthy instinct of mankind ; 

 and looks for the improvement of the race, not in any artificial sys- 

 tem of scientific or any other kind of mating, but in removing the 

 trammels from the free choice of partners, — in discountenancing 

 all but love marriages. All this has an important practical bearing 

 which Mr. Finck well expresses. He holds that " love may be 

 safely accepted as a guiding-star in making a proper division of the 

 world's labor between men and women." This point of view pleads 

 for the true higher education of woman, for giving her that intelli- 

 gence without which beauty is dead, that live interest in the world's 

 activities without which frivolity is inevitable. The contrast be- 

 tween the homely, studious, earnest, retired maiden and the 

 pretty, lively, society-loving, frivolous, but silly and ignorant girl is 

 one that the perverseness of man has created. A natural educa- 

 tion will go far towards removing it. Again, the tendency of civil- 

 ization is to make men and women more and more different (we are 

 not speaking of legal and social privileges) ; the recent attempt to 

 make women masculine is biologically absurd. " Whatever ap- 

 proximation there may have been has been entirely on the part 

 of the men, who have become less coarse or ' manly,' " while 

 woman has correspondingly increased her own refinement. The 

 spirit of the women's rights movement is in opposition to the im- 

 pulse of romantic love, and will perish accordingly. Finally, this 

 point of view refutes the notion that intense love is inconsistent with 

 intellectual culture. On the contrary, only the highest culture can 

 appreciate romantic love ; intelligence is an obstacle to marriage 

 only in a silly society ; the education of the head and the heart go 

 hand in hand. True culture teaches, not that this instinct is op- 

 posed to the highest life, but that all the refinements of civilization 

 have been gained by the virtues which it has taught men to ap- 

 preciate. The evolution of romantic love will continue until it has 

 stamped out all other artificial modes of promoting marriage. 



The rest of the book is taken up with a minute discussion of per- 

 sonal beauty. Much interesting and readable matter is there set 

 forth : the scientist will be glad to read that the close relation be- 

 tween true beauty and health is so strongly and ably set forth. 

 Just as morality and hygiene have drawn closer together under a 

 scientific treatment, so hygiene and aesthetics begin to overlap when 

 looked at in the light of science. 



Mr. Finck's book is sure to attract great attention. According to 

 a literary periodical, a German translation is in preparation. The 

 genial vein of humor that runs through much of it will attract the 

 popular reader, and the personal interest of the many titles in the 

 preface is sure to allure those interested in themselves. But, from 

 a scientific point of view, this is a fault of the book. A serious 

 paragraph suggestive of deep reflection is followed by a witty satire 

 on society or a light fling at a local abuse. Mr. Finck wants his 

 book to be taken seriously. A glance at the wide bearing of the 

 topic will at once convince the reader that the serious aspect of 

 the problem is supremely important. Consider in the first place 



