1. PHYSICAL DEFORMITIES.--Masquerading is a modern accomplishment.
Girls wear tight shoes, burdensome skirts, corsets, etc., all of which
prove so fatal to their health. At the age of seventeen or eighteen,
our "young ladies" are sorry specimens of feminality; and palpitators,
cosmetics and all the modern paraphernalia are required to make them
appear fresh and blooming. Man is equally at fault. A devotee to all
the absurd devices of fashion, he practically asserts that "dress
makes the man." But physical deformities are of far less importance
than moral imperfections.
2. DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL.--It is not possible for human beings
to attain their full stature of humanity, except by loving long
and perfectly. Behold that venerable man! he is mature in judgment,
perfect in every action and expression, and saintly in goodness. You
almost worship as you behold. What rendered him thus perfect? What
rounded off his natural asperities, and moulded up his virtues? Love
mainly. It permeated every pore, and seasoned every fibre of his
being, as could nothing else. Mark that matronly woman. In the bosom
of her family she is more than a queen and goddess combined. All her
looks and actions express the outflowing of some or all of the human
virtues. To know her is to love her. She became thus perfect, not in a
day or year, but by a long series of appropriate means. Then by what?
Chiefly in and by love, which is specially adapted thus to develop
this maturity.
3. PHYSICAL STATURE.--Men and women generally increase in stature
until the twenty-fifth year, and it is safe to assume, that perfection
of function is not established until maturity of bodily development
is completed. The physical contour of these representations plainly
exhibits the difference in structure, and also implies difference of
function. Solidity and strength are represented by the organization of
the male, grace and beauty by that of the female. His broad shoulders
represent physical power and the right of dominion, while her bosom is
the symbol of love and nutrition.
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