Page:The rights of women and the sexual relations.djvu/204

188 But least of all are we concerned with the rights of "beauty." You address me as "fair lady" and "beautiful Luise." How do you know that I am beautiful, and what has beauty to do with our question? Do you share the belief of the officers of the guards who have such a high opinion of women that they expect their stock compliments to be effective in every case, whether they are appropriate or not? I have long since outgrown the folly of considering beauty as of chief importance, or of feeling flattered on being admired; but if I had not yet outgrown it, beauty would lose greatly in my estimation, by seeing it degraded to serve as a stock compliment to a philosopher who has never seen me. As little as it is to the credit of friendship to have everybody address the next one as "dear friend," so little is it to the advantage of beauty, to call an unknown person beautiful, at random, who may possibly be very homely. What would you say if I were to address you as "pretty sir" or "beautiful Arnold?" I do not know whether you deserve such an appellation. But even if I knew you to be an Apollo, I would not call you so, in an open letter, in order not to wrong your beauty by an appearance of mere flattery; and if I were in doubt about it, I would all the more refrain from speaking, in order not to offend you with what might possibly be irony. But why, I ask, do you not observe the same attitude toward me? Because you — you yourself have asked not to be spared — with the contemptuous air