What Price Beauty

Beauty and Godliness

Its a question we might put to Paris … from the ancient city of Troy.  He had grabbed the beautiful Helen … wife of King Menelaus … and made off to Troy.  It began a war that lasted 10 years … and caused the downfall of Troy … reportedly … the only part of the Western experience that remained in contact with the ancient Gods of Asia Minor. Historically … the Egyptian experience continued to be represented by the Hellenistic Gods all the way to the Ptolemaic Dynasty until 30 BC.

 

It was of course ironical. The Gods of Asia Minor appeared to harbor a double standard regarding the role of beauty in the affairs of man … however … the Hellenistic civilization that grew up … and extended itself to the Greek and Roman experiences … took a peculiar obsession with  the idea of beauty … as the gateway to the development of mind in man. The Gods had rewarded Paris with the apple of discord for his support of beauty … and possibly initiated the events that was to follow.

 

However what I find inquisitive about the legend is the fact that … Paris in the Asia  Minor experience …   on a visit to Sparta … betrayed the Asia Minor ideal … and became enamored of the beauty of Helen and broke more than one rule by his actions. Did he thereby prove the Western account of the role of beauty ?

 

Now the reasons for the war that took place becomes clear … and no doubt the supporters of Sparta … must have been completely enraged by a double standard practiced by the Gods of Asia Minor. I find it particularly fascinating that the war was fought on the extraordinary considerations of beauty as an issue in life. It raises it above the ordinary … and places it on the altar of the faithful … to contend that beauty is next to Godliness.

 

Indic philosophy propounds  a similar proposition about beauty … but moves it as a vehicle for the attainment of knowledge. With knowledge … the man returns to support the cause for beauty … as the inspiration for civilization … and the organization of society. However for the longer-term …  society needs knowledge that is more than skin-deep for its survival.

 

Another observation we make of the practice … is in the way … that an inordinate emphasis of beauty takes the quality away from the experience of men … and assigns it as the sole possession of women. That is today a hotly contested issue in the same sex situation … and is viewed as potentially creating a situation of bondage of the man to the woman … especially in association with the pleasure principle. 

 

A home that is without a woman … is experienced as being devoid of any grace or beauty. A man may bring himself to regain … his personal experience of beauty … from the days of his youth … but society can do better … to balance the role of beauty … without creating a convolution of the experience with the pleasure principle. Certainly it calls for an attitude that is reliant on a decorum as regards beauty and pleasure in human behavior.

 

But more than that … a home that is without the feminine touch … is missing the scent of beauty … in the way the eros energies in a woman … cultivate a concoction … which are like flowers attracting bees. It acts on the male eros qualities … to move them to find comfort … in the ambiance of the scent. I use the … Lovillea brand of aroma therapy spray … and spray my room … from time to time. Miraculously … it substitutes for the lack of female company … since my separation … at least as far as the scent.

 

In another aspect of the relation  between the genders … the man realizes in a subconscious way .. . that the woman is supported by dream messages … that works with her chemistry to keep her bodily functions  stable. And curiously … the man becomes partially aware of such dreams … experienced by the woman. However its an area that doesn't reveal itself clearly … but simply hints at the attachment that the man forms … in relation to the dreams she has of him … and the enigmatic animation of the gestures in her disposition.

 

In the legends of the nymphs … the bards make mention of the Meliae … which is a group of nymphs related to mind … that is also referred to as being bee-like in their active natures with regards to knowledge. Its illustrative of the natural relation that knowledge … brings to the experience of the passions … for their mutual benefit. Its an arrangement in which they bring much to share.

 

One significant sharing aspect … is the way the female scent works on the Meliae of the male in the mind. It creates a calming disposition in the male … and is strongly identified with the female. The images we cherish of an Athena in armor … a Joan leading the French forces … or a Nike of Samothrace leading the Greek Navy … are especially fond on account of the way a man creates an appreciation and understanding of the valor of a woman.

 

I wish there was more in the nature of these insights to share … but the issues are carefully guarded by the will of life … and shares its insights sparingly. It makes me appreciate the delicate nature of the issues … and the way in which its application brings about … both an estrangement and reconciliation between the genders. Its not for the truth seeker that they open their doors to … but the one who loves life.

 

The famous dragon lady engages nymphs of another sort for her purpose … but is likely to leave a trail that's hard to follow. A true lady's preferred nymph of choice would be the Meliae. Its boisterous … noisy and is fond of activity … the perfect stimulation for the mind that is intent on learning. And certainly … that would also be the preferred choice of society.