fondle; to give ſcope to our imaginations as well as to the ſenſations of our hearts.
At twenty the beauty of both ſexes is equal; but the libertiniſm of man leads him to make the diſtinction, and ſuperannuated coquettes are commonly of the ſame opinion; for, when they can no longer inſpire love, they pay for the vigour and vivacity of youth. The French, who admit more of mind into their notions of beauty, give the preference to women of thirty. I mean to ſay that they allow women to be in their moſt perfect ſtate, when vivacity gives place to reaſon, and to that majeſtic ſeriouſneſs of character, which marks maturity;—or, the reſting point. In youth, till twenty, the body ſhoots out, till thirty the ſolids are attaining a degree of denſity; and the flexible muſcles, growing daily more rigid, give character to the countenance; that is, they trace the operations of the mind with the iron pen of fate, and tell us not only what powers are within, but how they have been employed.
It is proper to obſerve, that animals who arrive ſlowly at maturity, are the longeſt lived, and of the nobleſt ſpecies. Men cannot, however, claim any natural ſuperiority from the grandeur of longevity; for in this reſpect nature has not diſtinguiſhed the male.
Polygamy is another phyſical degradation; and a plauſible argument for a cuſtom, that blaſts every domeſtic virtue, is drawn from the well-atteſted fact, that in the countries where it is eſtabliſhed, more females are born than males. This appears to be an indication of nature, and
