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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6361377 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51856 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51856) diff --git a/old/51856-0.txt b/old/51856-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 80e2c68..0000000 --- a/old/51856-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4655 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The kiss and its history, by Kristoffer Nyrop - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The kiss and its history - -Author: Kristoffer Nyrop - -Translator: William Frederick Harvey - -Release Date: April 24, 2016 [EBook #51856] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KISS AND ITS HISTORY *** - - - - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - THE KISS AND ITS HISTORY - - - - - THE KISS - - And its History - - BY - - DR CHRISTOPHER NYROP - - _Professor of Romance Philology at the University of Copenhagen_ - - TRANSLATED BY - - WILLIAM FREDERICK HARVEY - - _M.A., Hertford College, Oxford; Barrister-at-Law of the Inner - Temple; Lecturer in English at the University of Lund - (Sweden); sometime Professor of English Literature - at the University of Malta_ - - LONDON - - SANDS & CO. - - 12 BURLEIGH STREET, STRAND - - 1901 - - TO - - WALTER BENSON, Esquire - - I DEDICATE MY MODEST PART IN THIS BOOK - IN TOKEN OF A FRIENDSHIP WHICH - HAS GROWN STAUNCHER WITH - THE GROWTH OF - YEARS - - ἦ μεγάλα χάρις - Δώρῳ ξὐν όλίγῳ· πάντα δἐ τιμᾶντα τἀ πἀρ ϕίλων - THEOCRITUS, _Idyl_ xxviii., 24, 25. - -“Surely great grace goes with a little gift, and all the offerings of -friends are precious.” - - Je célèbre des jeux paisibles, - Qu’en vain on semble mépriser, - Les vrais biens des âmes sensibles, - Les doux mystères du baiser. - DORAT. - - To gentle sports due praise I render, - At which some wits have vainly sneered: - The true delight of spirits tender, - The kiss’s mysteries endeared. - W. F. H. - - - - -TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE - - -The following treatise, which is the work of a Romance philologist of -high European reputation, has not only gone through two editions in -Denmark, but has also been translated into German, Swedish, and Russian. -The popularity which this learned and at the same time charming little -book rapidly acquired abroad, and the favourable criticisms passed on it -by Continental scholars, have encouraged me to present it to my -fellow-countrymen in an English dress. With regard to the numerous -poetical quotations that form so striking a feature of this book, those -which I have translated myself may be distinguished from such as I have -borrowed from standard versions by the appended initials, W. F. H. - -INNER TEMPLE, LONDON, _2nd August 1901_. - - - - -AUTHOR’S PREFACE - - Wenn ich nur selber wüsste, - Was mir in die Seele zischt! - Die Worte und die Küsse - Sind wunderbar vermischt. - - Oh, could I but decipher - What ’tis that fills my mind. - The words are with the kisses - So wond’rously combined. - HEINE. - - -Dante, in the fifth canto of his _Hell_, has celebrated the power a kiss -may have over human beings. In the course of his wanderings in the -nether world, when he has reached the spot where abide those who have -sinned through love, he sees two souls that “flutter so lightly in the -wind.” These are Francesco da Rimini and her brother-in-law Paolo. He -asks Francesco to tell him: - - “In the time of your sweet sighs, - By what, and how love granted, that ye knew - Your yet uncertain wishes?” - -Whereto she replies: - - “One day - For our delight we read of Lancelot, - How him love thrall’d. Alone we were, and no - Suspicion near us. Ofttimes by that reading - Our eyes were drawn together, and the hue - Fled from our alter’d cheek. But at one point - Alone we fell. When of that smile we read, - The wished smile, so rapturously kissed - By one so deep in love, then he, who ne’er - From me shall separate, at once my lips - All trembling kiss’d. The book and writer both - Were love’s purveyors. In its leaves that day - We read no more.”[1] - -I have had a special object in prefacing my studies on the history of -kissing with these famous verses, for I regarded it in the light of a -duty to caution my readers emphatically, and at the very outset, as to -the danger of even reading about kisses; and I consider that, having -done this, I have warned my readers against pursuing the subject, and -“forewarned is forearmed,” or, “_homme averti en vaut deux_.” - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - -CHAP. PAGE - -I. WHAT IS A KISS? 3 - -II. LOVE KISSES 29 - -III. AFFECTIONATE KISSES 79 - -IV. THE KISS OF PEACE 101 - -V. THE KISS OF RESPECT 113 - -VI. THE KISS OF FRIENDSHIP 141 - -VII. VARIOUS KINDS OF KISSES 161 - -VIII. THE ORIGIN OF KISSING 177 - -L’ENVOI 189 - - - - -I - -WHAT IS A KISS? - - - - -CHAPTER I - -WHAT IS A KISS? - - -It may perhaps seem somewhat futile to begin with discussing what a kiss -is: that every child of course knows. We are greeted with kisses -directly we enter the world, and kisses follow us all our life long, as -Hölty sings-- - - Giving kisses, snatching kisses, - Keeps the busy world employed. - W. F. H. - -Nevertheless the question is not altogether superfluous. It seems to me -even to offer certain points of interest, inasmuch as it is by no means -so easy as people may imagine to define what a kiss is. If we turn to -the poets we are often put off with the answer that a kiss is something -that should be merely felt, and that people would do well to refrain -from speculating as to what it actually is. - - What says this glance? What meaning lurks in this - Squeezing of hands, embrace, and ling’ring kiss? - This only can your heart explain to you. - What have such matters with the brain to do? - W. F. H. - -So, for instance, says Aarestrup; but he adds as a sort of explanation-- - - But when I see thee my fond kiss denying, - And straightway, nathless, mine embrace not spurning, - Then needs must I to tedious arts be turning, - And let crabb’d wisdom from my lips go flying. - - Know then the voice alone interprets rightful - And with poetic fire from heart’s depth welleth, - And yet the sweetest of them all by no means! - - Whereas the bosom, arms, and lips, and eye-sheens-- - How shall I call it? for the total swelleth - Unto a language wordless as delightful. - W. F. H. - -which has not brought us nearer to a solution of the question. Other -poets give us an allegorical transcription, couched in vague poetical -terms, which rather refer to the feelings of which the kiss may be an -expression than attempt to define its physiology. Thus Paul Verlaine -defines a kiss as “the fiery accompaniment on the keyboard of the teeth -of the lovely songs which love sings in a burning heart.” - - Baiser! rose trémière au jardin des caresses! - Vif accompagnement sur le clavier des dents, - Des doux refrains qu’Amour chante en les cœurs ardents - Avec sa voix d’archange aux langueurs charmeresses! - -This definition, which seems to me to be as original as it is beautiful -and apt, deals, however, exclusively with the kiss of love; but kisses, -as we all know, are capable of expressing many other emotions, and it -enlightens us not one whit as to the external side of the nature of a -kiss. Let us, therefore, leave the poets, and seek refuge with the -philologists. - -In the _Dictionary of the Danish Philological Society_ (_Videnskabernes -Selskabs Ordbog_) a kiss is defined as “a pressure of the mouth against -a body.” As every one at once perceives, this explanation is very -unsatisfactory, for, from the above statements, we could hardly accept -more than one, viz., the mouth. Now, of course, it is quite clear that -one of the first requisites for a kiss is a mouth. “Einen Kuss an sich, -ohne Mund, kann man nicht geben,” say the Germans, and it is also -remarkable that in Finnish, _antaa sunta_, “to kiss,” means literally -“to give mouth.” - -How does the mouth produce a kiss? - -A kiss is produced by a kind of sucking movement of the muscles of the -lips, accompanied by a weaker or louder sound. Thus, from a purely -phonetic point of view, a kiss may be defined as an inspiratory bilabial -sound, which English phoneticians call the lip-click, _i.e._, the sound -made by smacking the lip. This movement of the muscles, however, is not -of itself sufficient to produce a kiss, it being, as you know, employed -by coachmen when they want to start their horses; but it becomes a kiss -only when it is used as an expression of a certain feeling, and when the -lips are pressed against, or simply come into contact with, a living -creature or object. - -The sound which follows a kiss has been carefully investigated by the -Austrian _savant_, W. von Kempelen, in his remarkable book entitled _The -Mechanism of Human Speech_ (Wien, 1791). He divides kisses into three -sorts, according to their sound. First he treats of kisses proper, which -he characterises as a _freundschaftlich hellklatschender Herzenskuss_ -(an affectionate, clear-ringing kiss coming from the heart); next he -defines the more discreet, or, from an acoustic point of view, weaker -kiss; and, lastly, speaks contemptuously of a third kind of kiss, which -is designated an _ekelhafter Schmatz_ (a loathsome smack). - -Many other writers have, although in a less scientific manner, sought to -define and elucidate the sound that arises from a kiss. Johannes -Jørgensen says very delicately in his _Stemninger_ that “the plash of -the waves against the pebbles of the beach is like the sound of long -kisses.” - -It is generally, however, an exclusively humorous or satirical aspect -that is most conspicuous. In the _Seducer’s Diary_ (_Forførerens -dagbog_) of Sören Kierkegaard, Johannes speaks of the engaged couples -who used to assemble in numbers at his uncle’s house: “Without -interruption, the whole evenings through, one hears a sound as if a -person was going round with a fly-flap: that is the lovers’ kisses.” A -still more drastic comparison is found in the German expression, “the -kiss sounded just like when a cow drags her hind hoof out of a swamp.” -This metaphor, which is used, you know, by Mark Twain, is as graphic as -it is easy of comprehension; whereas, on the other hand, I am somewhat -perplexed with regard to an old Danish expression that is to be found in -the Ole Lade’s Phrases (_Fraser_): “He kissed her so that it rang just -as it does when one strikes the horns off felled cows.” Another old -author speaks of kissing that sounds as if one was pulling the horn out -of an owl. - -The emotions expressed by this more or less noisy lip-sound are manifold -and varying: burning love and affectionate friendship, exultant joy and -profound grief, etc., etc.; consequently there must be many different -sorts of kisses. - -The austere old Rabbis only recognised three kinds of kisses, viz.: -those of greeting, farewell, and respect. The Romans had also three -kinds, but their classification was essentially at variance with the -Rabbis’: they distinguished between _oscula_,[2] friendly kisses, -_basia_, kisses of love, and _suavia_, passionate kisses. The -significance of these words is clearly expressed in the following -lines:-- - - Basia coniugibus, sed et oscula dantur amicis, - Suavia lascivis miscantur grata labellis. - -But the Romans’ division is by no means exhaustive; kisses are and have -been actually employed to express many other feelings than those -above-mentioned. - -That kisses in this book are arranged in five groups, viz., kisses of -passion, love, peace, respect, and friendship, is chiefly due to -practical considerations; for, to be precise, these artificially-formed -groups are inadequate, and, besides, often overlap one another. - -A modern French writer reckons no less than twenty sorts of kisses, but -I find in German dictionaries over thirty different designations: -_Abschiedskuss_, _Brautkuss_, _Bruderkuss_, _Dankkuss_, _Doppelkuss_, -_Ehrenkuss_, _Erwiderungskuss_, _Feuerkuss_, _Flammenkuss_, -_Frauenkuss_, _Freundschaftskuss_, _Friedenskuss_, _Gegenkuss_, -_Geisterkuss_, _Handkuss_, _Honigkuss_, _Inbrunstkuss_, _Judaskuss_, -_Lehenskuss_, _Liebeskuss_, _Mädchenkuss_, _Minnekuss_, _Morgenkuss_, -_Mutterkuss_, _Nebenkuss_, _Pantoffelkuss_, _Segenskuss_, -_Söhnungskuss_, _Undschuldskuss_, _Vermählungskuss_, _Versöhnungskuss_, -_Wechselkuss_, _Weihekuss_, _Zuckerkuss_, etc., etc. In German the verb -itself, “to kiss,” is varied in many different ways, _e.g._, in Germany -one may _auküssen_, _aufküssen_, _ausküssen_, _beküssen_, _durchküssen_, -_emporküssen_, _entküssen_, _erküssen_, _fortküssen_, _herküssen_, -_nachküssen_, _verküssen_, _vorbeiküssen_, _wegküssen_, _widerküssen_, -_zerküssen_, _zuküssen_, and _zurückküssen_. - -We must give the Germans the credit of being thorough, and in the -highest degree methodical and exhaustive in their nomenclature, for can -we conceive a more admirable word than, for instance, _nachküssen_, -which is explained as “making up for kisses that have been omitted, or -supplementing kisses”? However, on the other hand, it cannot be denied -that they are at the same time awkward and tasteless in their -expressions; a word such as _ausküssen_, which, for instance, is used in -the refrain: _Trink aus! Küss aus!_ seems to me to smack perilously of -the ale-house. - -We have now seen what a kiss is; but before proceeding to investigate -the different kinds of kisses, their significance in the history of -civilisation, and treatment in poetry, it still remains for us to reply -to some of the ordinary queries regarding the nature and characteristics -of the kiss. - -In the first place we must investigate the kiss in its gustative aspect. -I here confine myself to what Kierkegaard calls “the perfect kiss,” -_i.e._, the kiss between man and woman; kisses between men are, -according to that authority, insipid. - -_Küssen, wo smekt dat? see de maid._ Yes, its taste naturally depends -entirely on the circumstances, and experience is here a teacher that -sets every theory at nought; but a few leading features may, however, be -indicated. - -When Lars Iversen, in Schandorph’s _Skovfogedbørnene_, has kissed Mette -Splyd, he wipes his mouth and says, when he has got well outside the -door, “That tasted like meat that has been kept too long.” When the old -minnesinger, King Wenceslaus of Bohemia, had kissed his sweetheart he -sang: “Just as a rose that opens its calix when it drinks the sweet dew, -she offered me her sugar-sweet red mouth.” - - Recht als ein rôse diu sich ûz ir klôsen lât, - Swenn si des süezen touwes gert, - Sus bòt si mir ir zuckersüezen ròten munt. - -As we perceive from both these examples, there is a great distinction -between kisses in their gustative aspect, but, for obvious reasons, I -shall entirely exclude the variety represented by Mette Splyd. - -The most frequently employed and, at the same time undoubtedly the most -fitting epithet of a kiss, is that it is sweet. The shepherd in the -French pastorals is fond of asking for a sweet kiss (_un doux baiser_), -and poets innumerable, like Wenceslaus, have sung about the beloved’s -sugar mouth. During the Renaissance such expressions as her _bouche -sucrine_ (sugary mouth) and _bouche pleine de sucre et d’ambregris_ -(mouth full of sugar and ambergris) were often employed. - -We find this further borne out by two Latin epigrams. One asks:--“What -is sweeter than mead?” and the answer runs: “The dew of heaven. And what -is sweeter than dew?--Honey from Hybla? What is sweeter than -honey?--Nectar. Than nectar?--A kiss.” - - Quid mulso præstat? Ros cœli. Rore quid? Hyblæ Mel. Melle hoc? - Nectar. Nectare? Suaviolum. - -The second epigram goes through a similar string of comparisons, and -arrives at the same result: “What is better than sugar?--Honey-cake. -Than honey-cake?--The flavour of honey-combs. Than this flavour?--Dewy -kisses”-- - - Saccharo quid superat? Libum. Quid libo? Favorum Gustus. At hunc - gustum? Basia roscidula. - -Kisses are sweet as woman’s gentle breath, which, according to a -Roumanian folk-song, smells of “delicate young wine,” or, as the French -poets say, of “thousands of flowers.”-- - - Laughing mouth, mouth to caress, - Kissing ere its lips you press; - Sweet for kissing, balmy breath - Like the perfume of fresh heath. - W. F. H. - -A woman’s breath, which intoxicates man, is, as it were, the ethereal -expression of her whole being. In the description of the youthful -Blancheflor we are told that her breath is so delicious and refreshing -that he who experiences it knows not pain, and needs no food for a whole -week. - - De sa bouche ist si douce haleine, - Vivre en peut-on une semaine; - Qui au lundi le sentiroit - En la semaine mal n’avroit. - -Moreover, as the flavour of a kiss depends on the woman’s mouth, let -us, therefore, investigate how a woman’s mouth ought to be fashioned in -order to fulfil its purpose from a philematological point of view. When -the mediæval French poets describe a beautiful and desirable woman they -say of her mouth that it must be “well-formed and sweet to kiss” (_bien -faite et douce pour baiser_). The troubadours likewise in their love -poems praise the mouth that is _ben faita ad obs de baisar_. - -If more detailed explanations are wanted they can easily be given. The -lips must, in the first place, be bewitchingly soft; next, they must be -as red as coral: - - Los labios de la su boca - Como un fino coral, - -or else red as roses: - - La bocca piccioletta e colorita, - Vermiglia come rosa di giardino, - Piagente ed amorosa per baciare.[3] - -This last simile is one of the most frequently employed. The beloved -one’s mouth is likened to a rose; it has the scent and colour of a -rose: - - Hæc dulcis in amore - Est et plena decore, - Rosa rubet rubore, - Et lilium convallium - Tota vincit odore, - -sang the wandering clerks in the Middle Ages, the jolly Goliards, and -they extolled the youth who was lucky enough to kiss the mouth of such a -woman: - - Felix est qui osculis mellifluis - Ipsius potitur. - -And, they went on to say, “on every maiden’s lips the kiss sits like a -rose which only longs to be plucked”: - - Sedit in ore - Rosa cum pudore. - -The old German minnesingers use the expression _Küssblümlein_ -(kiss-floweret), and a bard of the Netherlands sings: “My beloved is my -summer, my beloved is my joy, all the roses bloom every time she gives -me a kiss”: - - Mijn liefken is mijn somer, - Min liefken is mijn lust, - En al de rosen bloejen - So dicmael si mi cust. - -But all this is only poetry, merely feeble imageries which only give an -entirely weak idea of the reality. How accurate is Thomas Moore when, -in one of his poems, he declares that roses are not so warm as his -beloved’s mouth, nor can the dew approach it in sweetness. - -Now if we turn to the other aspect of the case and see what women expect -from a man’s kiss, then the question becomes somewhat more difficult to -treat, inasmuch as so exceedingly few women have treated of kisses in -poetry--a fact which is also in itself quite natural. Runeberg, who -himself has so often sung the praises of kissing without, however, being -versed in their nature: - - For my part I’ve ne’er understood - Of kisses what can be the good; - But I should die if kept away - From thy red lips one single day. - W. F. H. - -asks his beloved: - - Now, dearest maiden, answer me, - What joy can kisses bring to thee? - W. F. H. - -But she fails to answer him: - - I ask thee now, as I asked this, - And all thy answer’s kiss on kiss. - W. F. H. - -Besides, it seems very evident from the last line that the situation did -not admit of the calmer and more sober observation which forms the -necessary condition for a reliable answer to the question. I am, -therefore, obliged to attempt to reply to the question myself; but I -readily admit my deficiency in the essential qualification of being able -to do so in a satisfactory manner. Moreover, the literary material at my -disposal is exceedingly inadequate, and, for that reason, I cannot claim -any universal application for my treatment of the subject. - -In the first place it seems indisputable that a woman gives a decided -preference to a man with a beard; at all events a heiduke sings in a -Roumanian ballad: “I am still too young to marry; my beard has not yet -sprouted. What married woman then will care about kissing me?” - - Că simt voinic neinsorat; - Nici mustete nu m’a dat: - Cum simt bun de sărutat - La neveste cu bărbat? - -To judge from the part the heidukes play in the ballad literature of the -Roumanians and Serbs, they must be very experienced in everything that -has to do with women and love, and their testimony must therefore be -accepted as being sufficiently reliable. Besides, we find the same taste -among women in Northern Europe. In Germany there is said to be nothing -in a kiss without a beard: _Ein Kuss ohne Bart ist eine Vesper ohne -Magnificat_ (a kiss without a beard is like Vespers without the -Magnificat); or, still more strongly, _Ein Kuss ohne Bart ist ein Ei -ohne Salz_ (a kiss without a beard is like an egg without salt). The -young girls in Holland also incline to this point of view: _Een kussje -zonder baard, een eitje zonder zout_ (an egg without salt), and they -have in the Frisian Islands some who share their taste: _An Kleeb sanner -Biard as äs en Brei sanner Salt_ (porridge without salt). Lastly, the -Jutland lassies also take the same view of the matter--in fact they are, -if I may say so, even more refined in their requirements; a kiss is not -only to sound, but it must have some flavour about it--it ought to be -strong and luscious: _At kysse en karl uden skrå og skaeg er som at -kysse en leret vaeg_ (kissing a fellow without a quid of tobacco and a -beard is like kissing a clay wall), say those who express themselves in -the most refined manner; but there are others who are not so particular -in the choice of words, and these latter say straight out: _Å kys jen, -dæ hveken røger eller skråer, de æ som mæ ku kys æ spæ kal i r._, -(kissing one who neither smokes nor chews tobacco is like kissing a -new-born calf on the rump). On the other hand, a person should not be -too wet about the mouth--that they do not like; _e.g._, the scornful -saying: “He is nice to kiss when one is thirsty,” or, as the German -girls say: _Einen Kuss mit Sauce bekommen_ (to get a kiss with sauce). - -It apparently follows from this that women are not so simple in their -tastes as men; a kiss by itself is not sufficient, it requires some -condiment or other in addition--and, for the credit of women’s taste, -let it be said--this need not always be tobacco. In a French folk-song -the lover tells us that he has smeared his mouth with fresh butter so -that it may taste better: - - J’avais toujou dans ma pochette - Du bon bieur’ frais, - O qué je me gressais la goule, - Quand j’ l’embrassais. - -I have already mentioned in my preface how dangerous the mere reading -about kisses may be; but, apart from literature, a kiss is something -which has to be dealt with most cautiously. Now hear what Socrates said -to Xenophon one day: “Kritobulus is the most foolhardy and rash fellow -in the world; he is rasher than if he meant to dance on naked -sword-points or fling himself into the fire; he has had the audacity to -kiss a pretty face.”--“But,” asked Xenophon, “is that such a deed of -daring? I am certainly no desperado, but still I think I would venture -to expose myself to the same risk.”--“Luckless wight,” replied Socrates, -“you are not thinking what would betide you. If you kissed a pretty -face, would you not that very instant lose your freedom and become a -slave? Would you not have to spend much money on harmful amusements, and -would you not do much which you would despise, if your understanding -were not clouded? Hercules forbid what dreadful effects a poor kiss can -have! And dost thou marvel at it, Xenophon? You know, I take it, those -tiny spiders which are not half the size of an obol, and yet they can, -through merely touching a person’s mouth, cause him the keenest pains; -nay, even deprive him of his understanding. But, by Jupiter, anyhow this -is quite another matter; for spiders poison the wound directly they -inflict a sting. O, thou simple fellow, dost thou not know that lustful -kisses are poisoned, even if thou failest to perceive the poison? Dost -thou not know that she to whom the name of beautiful is given is a wild -beast far more dangerous than scorpions; for the latter only poison us -by their touch, whereas beauty destroys us without actual contact with -us, and even ejects from a long distance a venom so dangerous that -people are deprived thereby of their wits. This is the reason why I -advise you, O Xenophon, to run away as fast as you can the very instant -you see a beautiful woman, and with regard to yourself, O Kritobulus, I -deem you will act most prudently in spending a whole year abroad; for -that is the least time necessary for curing thy wound.”[4] - -It may perhaps be thought that Socrates’ fear of kissing is a trifle -exaggerated, his idea possibly arising from a certain prejudice derived -from Mistress Xantippe; anyhow, nowadays, we regard the matter from a -far more sober point of view. We ought, nevertheless, to be well on our -guard against the frivolous opinion expressed in so many modern sayings, -that a kiss is a thing of no consequence whatever. The Italians bluntly -assert “that a mouth is none the worse for having been kissed” (_bocca -baciata non perde ventura_), and a French writer of the present day even -goes so far as to compare a kiss with those usually-harmless bullets -which are exchanged in modern duels. _Bah! deux baisers, qu’est que -cela? On les échange comme des balles sans résultat, et l’honneur reste -satisfait_ (Bah! two kisses. What of that? They are exchanged like -bullets that miss the mark, and honour is satisfied). - -This frivolous notion must not, however, be deemed peculiar to the Latin -nations: it is to be met with even in the North. In Norway there is a -song: - - Jens Johannesen, the Goth so brave, - The maid on her chops a good buss gave. - He kissed her once, and once again, - But each time was she likewise fain, - But each time was she likewise fain. - W. F. H. - -As you see, the last line of the verse is repeated as if for the -purpose of duly impressing the moral of the song. - -It is said in Als: _Et kys er et stow, den der it vil ha et, ka vask et -ow_ (a kiss is like a grain of dust, which any one who would be rid of -it can wash away). We read as far back as Peder Syv[5]: _Et kys kan -afviskes_ (a kiss can be washed away), but he adds solemnly, and for our -warning: “She who permits a kiss also permits more; and he who has -access to kisses has also access to more.” Even the Germans say: _Kuss -kann man zwar abwischen, aber das Feuer im Herzen nich löschen_ (a kiss -may indeed be washed away, but the fire in the heart cannot be -quenched). - -Thus hardly the shadow of a doubt ought to exist as to kisses being -extraordinarily dangerous--or, in any case, capable of becoming so--far -more dangerous, for instance, than dynamite or gun-cotton; in the first -place, at any rate, inasmuch as people are not in the habit of walking -about with such explosives in their pockets, whereas every one has -kisses always at hand, or, more correctly speaking, in their mouths; -secondly, we are rid of dynamite when once it has exploded, but, on the -other hand, we can never actually be quit of a kiss--without at the same -time returning it; for we take back the kisses we give, you know, and we -give, too, those we take back--and, adds the proverb, “nobody is the -loser.” _Einen Kuss den man raubt giebt man wieder_ (One returns a -stolen kiss), say the Germans; and the Spaniards have expressed the same -thought in a neat little _copla_: “Dost thy mother chide thee for having -given me a kiss? Then take back, dear girl, thy kiss, and bid her hold -her tongue.” - - ¿Porque un beso me has dado - Riñe tu madre? - Toma, niña, tu beso; - Dile que calle. - -Marot has treated the same subject in his epigram _Le Baiser Volé_, or -the Stolen Kiss. - - About my daring now you grieve, - To snatch a kiss without ado, - Nor even saying, “By your leave.” - Come, I will make my peace with you, - And now I want you to believe - I’m loth your soul again to grieve - By theft of kisses, since, alack, - My kiss has wrought such dole and teen; - Yet ’tis not lost; I’ll give it back, - And that right blithely, too, I ween. - W. F. H. - -There is a French anecdote of the present day about a student who took -the liberty of kissing a young girl. She got very angry, however, and -called him an insolent puppy, whereupon he retorted with irrefutable -logic: _Pour Dieu! Mademoiselle ne vous fâchez pas, si ce baiser vous -gêne, rendez-le-moi_ (For goodness’ sake, don’t be cross, young lady. If -that kiss annoys you, give it back to me). It seems to have had a more -amicable settlement in the case of a Danish couple who had resolved to -break off their engagement: “It is best, I suppose, that we return each -other’s letters?” said he. “I think so too,” replied she, “but shall we -not at the same time give each other all our kisses back?” They did so, -and thus agreed to renew their engagement. - -This little story shows us that a kiss is something which cannot be so -easily lost, and I hope, not least for the sake of my book, that we -shall concur in the Italian proverb which says: _Bacio dato non e mai -perduto_ (a kiss once given is never lost). - - - - -II - -LOVE KISSES - - A long, long kiss, a kiss of youth and love - And beauty, all concentrating like rays - Into one focus, kindled from above; - Such kisses as belong to early days, - Where heart, and soul, and sense, in concert move, - And the blood’s lava, and the pulse a blaze, - Each kiss a heart-quake,--for a kiss’s strength - I think, it must be reckon’d by its length. - BYRON. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -LOVE KISSES - - -“At the time of the world’s creation kisses were created and cruel -love.” Thus begins a Cypriot folk-song, and it is assuredly without the -shadow of a doubt that among all nations which on the whole know -kissing, it gets its sublimest meaning as the expression of love. - -In the transport of love the lovers’ lips seek each other. When Byron’s -Don Juan wanders one evening along the shore with his Haidee, they -glance at the moonlit sea which lies outspread before them, and they -listen to the lapping of the waves and the whispering murmur of the -breeze, but suddenly they - - Saw each other’s dark eyes darting light - Into each other--and, beholding this, - Their lips drew near, and clung into a kiss. - - * * * * * - - They had not spoken, but they felt allured, - As if their souls and lips each other beckoned, - Which, being joined, like swarming bees they clung-- - Their hearts the flowers from whence the honey sprung. - -The kiss of love is the exultant message of the longing of love, love -eternally young, the burning prayer of hot desire, which is born on the -lovers’ lips, and “rises,” as Charles Fuster has said, “up to the blue -sky from the green plains,” like a tender, trembling thank-offering. - - Que tous les cœurs soient apaisés - Et toutes les lèvres ouvertes, - Qu’un frémissement de baisers - Monte au ciel bleu des plaines vertes! - -The love kiss, rich in promise, bestows an intoxicating feeling of -infinite happiness, courage, and youth, and therefore surpasses all -other earthly joys in sublimity--at any rate all poets say so--and no -one has expressed it in more exquisite and choicer words than Alfred de -Musset in his celebrated sonnet on Tizianello: - - Beatrix Donato was the soft sweet name - Of her whose earthly form was shaped so fair; - A faithful heart lay in her breast’s white frame, - Her spotless body held a mind most rare. - - The son of Titian, for her deathless fame, - Painted this portrait, witness of love’s care, - And from that day renounced his art’s high claim, - Loth that another dame his skill should share. - - Stranger, if in your heart love doth abide, - Gaze on my lady’s picture ere you chide. - Say if perchance your lady’s fair as this. - Then mark how poor a thing is fame on earth; - Grand as this portrait is, it is not worth-- - Believe me on my oath--the model’s kiss. - W. F. H. - -Thus even the highest work of art, yea, the loftiest reputation, is -nothing in comparison with the passionate kiss of a woman one loves. -This is what life has taught Musset, and a half melancholy sigh rings -through his exultation over the omnipotence of love. In turning to the -more _naïve_ speech of popular poetry, we find in a German -_Schnaderhüpfel_ (Improvisation) a corresponding homage to the kiss as -the noblest thing in the world: - - My sweetheart’s poor, - But fair to behold. - What use were wealth? - I cannot kiss gold. - W. F. H. - -And we all yearn for kisses and we all seek them; it is idle to struggle -against this passion. No one can evade the omnipotence of the kiss, the -best resolutions, the most solemn oaths, are of no avail. A pretty -little Servian folk-song treats of a young girl who swore too hastily. - - Yestreen swore a maiden fair, - Ne’er again I’ll wear a garland, - Ne’er again I’ll wear a garland, - Wine again I’ll never drink, - Never more I’ll kiss a laddie. - - Yestreen swore the maiden fair, - Clean to-day her oath’s regretted: - If I decked myself with flow’rets, - Then the flow’rets made me fairer; - If I quaffed the wine that’s ruddy, - Then my heart grew all the blither; - If I kissed my heart’s beloved, - Life to me grew doubly dearer.[6] - W. F. H. - -It is through kisses that a knowledge of life and happiness first comes -to us. Runeberg says that the angels rejoice over the first kiss -exchanged by lovers. - - The evening star was sitting beside a silver cloud, - A maid from out a twilight grove addressed this star aloud, - “Come, tell me, star of evening, what angels think in heaven - When by a youth and maiden the first sweet kiss is given?” - And heaven’s bashful daughter was heard to deign reply: - “On earth the choir of angels bright look down from out the sky, - And see their own felicity then mirrored on the earth, - But death sheds tears, and turns his eyes away from such blest mirth.” - W. F. H. - -Only death weeps over the brief duration of human happiness, weeps -because the bliss of the kiss endures not for ever. And likewise, even -after death, lovers kiss. Jannakos and Helena, his plighted bride, die -before their wedding day. They die in a kiss and are buried together; -but over their grave grew a cypress and an orange tree, and the latter -stretched forth its branches on high and kissed the cypress. - -The happiest man is the man who has the kiss. In the Greek romance of -_Babylonika_, which was attributed to Jamblicus, who lived in the second -century of the Christian era, three lovers contend for the favour of a -young maid. To one she has given the cup out of which she was wont to -drink; the second she has garlanded with flowers that she herself has -worn; to the third she has given a kiss. Borokos is called on as judge -to decide as to which has enjoyed the highest favour, and he -unhesitatingly decides the dispute in favour of the last. - -The same subject is often the theme of folk-poetry, and the verdict -never alters; the joy bestowed by a kiss surpasses all other joys. A -Hungarian ballad runs thus: - - As the hart holds dear the fountain, - And the bee the honied flow’rets, - So the noble grape I cherish; - After this songs melting, tender, - Kisses, too, of lips of crimson, - As thine own, O Cenzi mine. - - But the wine’s might fires my senses, - And songs wake within me blitheness, - And with love intoxicated, - With thy love, mine own beloved. - And my heart no more is longing - After purple, after gew-gaws, - After what the others long for. - - Happy am I in the clinking - Of the goblet filled with rich wine; - Happier still amidst sweet singing; - But my happiness were greatest, - Dared I press my kisses on a - Mouth, and that mouth only thine. - W. F. H. - -The same idea is still more delicately expressed in the following -Servian ballad: - - Proudly cried a golden orange - On the breezy shore: - “Certainly nowhere happiness - Is found to equal mine.” - - Answered a green apple - From its apple tree: - “Fool to boast, golden orange, - On the breezy shore; - For happiness such as I’ve found, - Its like cannot be seen.” - - Then said the breezy meadow, - As yet untouched by scythe: - “Too conceited, little apple, - That speech of thine, meseems, - For happiness such as I’ve found, - Its like cannot be seen.” - - Then spake a lovely maiden, - Unsullied by a kiss: - “Thou pratest folly, grass-plot, - Instead of sooth, I ween, - For happiness such as I’ve found - Its like cannot be seen.” - - But a handsome lad made answer - To every speech they made; - “You’re mad, all mad, to utter - Such words as I’ve just heard, - For no one in the universe - Can be so blest as I.” - - “Golden orange by the breezy - Shore I pluck thee now. - Apple, from thy apple tree - To-day I’ll shake thee down. - Grass-plot, I’ll mow thee level - With my scythe-strokes to-day. - Maiden, as yet unsullied - To-day I’ll kiss thy lips.” - W. F. H. - -In another Servian lay, the lover sings that he would rather kiss his -sweetheart than be the Sultan’s guest. In Spain the lover wishes he were -the water-cooler so that he might kiss his darling’s lips when she is -drinking: - - Arcarrasa de tu casa, - Chiquiya, quisiera ser, - Para besarte los labios - Quando fueras á beber. - -The Greeks say that the kiss is “the key to Paradise”; yea, it is -Paradise itself, declares Wergeland: - - Nay, bride, thine embrace more than heav’n I prize; - Oh, kiss me once more that to heav’n I rise. - W. F. H. - -The kiss is a preservation against every ill. “No ill-luck can betide me -when she bestows on me a kiss,” sings the old trouvère, Colin Muset: - - Se de li ai un douz baisier - Ne me porroit nus mals venir. - -It gives health and strength, adds Heine: - - Yet could I kiss thee, O my soul, - Then straightway I should be made whole. - W. F. H. - -It carries life with it; it even bestows the gift of eternal youth--if -one can believe the words of the Duke of Anhalt the minnesinger: - - Your mouth is crimson; over its sweet portal - A kindly Genius seems for ever flowing. - If on that mouth a kiss I were bestowing, - Methinks I should in sooth become immortal. - W. F. H. - -The Persians, too, had the same idea. The jovial Hafiz laments that -“sour wisdom added to old age and virtue” has laid waste his strength, -but a remedy is to be found for these: - - “Come and drink,” the maiden whispered, - “Sin and sweetness, youthful folly, - Lovingly from lips of crimson, - From my bosom’s lily chalice, - And live on with strength redoubled.” - W. F. H. - -And if a kiss is no good, then nought avails. In another passage the -same bard says, that were he suddenly on some occasion to feel himself -tormented by agony and unrest, no one is to give him bitter -medicine--for such he detests--but: - - Hand me the foaming juice of the vine, - Jest and sing from your heart to mine, - - And if these prove not a remedy sure, - Then a pair of red lips you must straight procure. - - But if these latter avail not to save, - May I be laid deep down in the grave. - W. F. H. - -In the case of lovers a kiss is everything; that is the reason why a man -stakes his all for a kiss. In _Enthousiasme_ Aarestrup says: - - Ha, you’re blushing! What red roses - Deck your lips! A man were fain to, - If a chasm yawned before him, - Straightway peril life to gain you. - W. F. H. - -And man craves for it as his noblest reward: - - From beyond the high green mountains - Lamentations fraught with sadness - Issue, soft as from a girl’s voice. - Then a youth the sound pursueth, - And he sees a maiden shackled - Fast in fetters thick of roses. - - Then the fair maid called unto him: - “Doughty youth, come here and help me; - I’ll be to you as a sister.” - - But the youth straightway made answer: - “In my home I have a sister.” - - “Doughty youth, come here and help me, - For a brother-in-law I’ll choose thee.” - - Then the lad again made answer: - “In my home I have that title.” - - “Come, young hero, and assist me, - And I’ll be thy heart’s belovèd.” - - Quickly kissed he then the maiden - Ere he loosed her from her fetters, - Then went homeward with his bride. - W. F. H. - -Thus runs a Servian ballad, and innumerable analogues to it are to be -found in the folk-lore of other countries, in ballads as well as tales. -It is, you know, for a kiss from the princess’s lovely mouth that the -swine-herd sells his wonderful pan. - -But women are aware, too, of the witchery that dwells on their lips, and -the power that lies in their kiss. According to a remarkable _saga_ -which forms the subject of one of Heine’s poems, King Harald Hårfager -sits at the bottom of the sea in captivity to a mermaid. The king’s head -is reposing on her bosom; but, suddenly, a violent tremor thrills him, -he hears the Viking shouts which reach him from above, he starts from -his dream of love and groans and sighs: - - And then the King from the depth of his heart - Begins sobbing, and wailing, and sighing, - When quickly the water-fay over him bends, - With loving kisses replying. - -Man is the slave of the kiss; by a kiss woman tames the fiercest man; by -means of a kiss man’s will becomes as wax. Our peasant girls in Denmark -know this, too, right well. When they want one of the lads to do them a -service they promise him “seven sweet kisses and a bit of white sugar on -Whitsunday morning.” “But he will get neither,” they say to themselves. - -Now, as we have discussed the kiss and its importance as the direct -expression of love and erotic emotions, we will pass over to certain -more special aspects of its nature. - -In the very first place, then, we have the quantitative conditions. - -It is a matter of common knowledge that lovers are liberal in the -extreme in the question of kisses, which are given and taken to -infinity, and these have likewise continually the same intoxicating -freshness as at the first meeting. Everything in love is, you know, a -reiteration, and yet love is a perpetual renewing. How inspiriting are -the words of Tove to King Waldemar, as J. P. Jacobsen gives them: - - And now I say for the first time: - “King Volmer, I love thee,” - And kiss thee now for the first time, - And fling mine arms round thee; - But should you say I’ve said this before, - And you to kisses are fain, - Then say I: “King, he’s but a fool - Who minds such trifles vain.” - W. F. H. - -What has a love kiss to do with the law of renewal? That one does not -arrive at anything by _one_ kiss is expressed with sufficient plainness -in an Istro-Roumanian proverb: _Cu un trat busni nu se afla muliere_ -(with a single kiss no woman is caught). - -This maxim holds good besides in the case of both men and women. But how -many kisses are necessary then? - -There is a little Greek folk-song called “All good things are three.” It -runs as follows: - - Your first kiss brought me near to the grave, - Your second kiss came my life to save; - But if a third kiss you’ll bestow, - Not even death can bring me woe. - W. F. H. - -But, nevertheless, we may assume without a shadow of a doubt that he was -not satisfied with these three kisses--lovers are not wont to be so -easily contented. The Spaniards and many other nations besides say of -lovers that “they eat each other up with kisses;” but more than three -are certainly required for that purpose: - - Take this kiss and a thousand more, my darling, - W. F. H. - -sings Aarestrup, but Catullus outbids him, however, in one of his songs -to Lesbia: - - A thousand kisses; add five score: - Another thousand kisses more; - Then best forget them all, - Lest any wight with evil eye - Our too close counting might espy, - And dire mishap befall.[7] - W. F. H. - -As we see, Catullus’ love has no trifling start over Aarestrup’s, and so -a later poet seems likewise to think that even his demands are quite -ridiculously small. “Nay,” says Joachim du Bellay to his Columbelle, -“give me as many kisses as there are flowers on the mead, seeds on the -field, and grapes in the vineyards, and so that you shall not deem me -ungrateful, I will immediately give you as many again.” - -Du Bellay, moreover, bitterly upbraids the poet of Verona for asking for -so few kisses that they can, when taken together, be counted: - - In truth Catullus’ wants are small, - And little can they really mean, - Since he could even count them all. - W. F. H. - -I must, however, take Catullus’ part to a certain extent; he is not so -precise in his demands of Lesbia as Du Bellay makes out; in another poem -he asks her: - - Thy kisses dost thou bid me count, - And tell thee, Lesbia, what amount - My rage for love and thee could tire, - And satisfy and cloy desire? - -And the answer runs: - - Many as grains of Libyan sand - Upon Cyrene’s spicy land - From prescient Ammon’s sultry dome - To sacred Battus’ ancient tomb; - Many as stars that silent ken - At night the stolen loves of men. - Yes, when the kisses thou shall kiss - Have reached a number vast as this, - Then may desire at length be stayed, - And e’en my madness be allayed: - Then when infinity defies - The calculations of the wise; - Nor evil voice’s deadly charm, - Can work the unknown number harm. - -This being the case, it is a divine blessing that, according to the -Finnish saying, “the mouth is not torn by being kissed, nor the hand by -being squeezed”: - - Suu ei kulu suudellessa, - Kāsi kāttā annellessa. - -But even if the mouth is not exactly torn, yet much kissing may be -almost harmful; but there is only one remedy to be found for this--“you -must heal the hurts by fresh kisses.” - -Dorat, who may be regarded as a high authority on philematology, -expressly says: - - A second kiss can physic - The evil the first has wrought. - W. F. H. - -And Heine, whose authority in these questions should hardly be inferior, -holds quite the same theory: - - If you have kissed my lips quite sore, - Then kiss them whole again; - If we till evening meet no more, - Then hurry will be vain. - - You have still yet the whole, whole night, - My dearest heart, know this: - One can in such a long, long night, - Kiss much and taste much bliss. - -I make use of the last of the verses quoted as a transition to the next -question we have to investigate, viz., the qualitative aspect of -kissing, as I regard it apart from its merely gustative qualities, which -have already been considered. - -The love kiss gleams like a cut diamond with a thousand hues; it is -eternally changing as the sun’s shimmer on the waves, and expresses the -most diverse states and moods, ranging from humble affection to burning -desire. - -The love kiss “quenches the fire of the lips,” quells and stills longing -and desire, but it also burns and arouses regret. Margaret sits at her -spinning-wheel, and, in tremulous longing, calls to mind Faust’s ardent -kiss: - - My peace is gone, - My heart is sore: - ’Tis gone for ever - And evermore. - - And the magic flow - Of his talk, the bliss - In the clasp of his hand, - And, oh, his kiss! - - My bosom yearns - For him alone; - Ah, dared I clasp him, - And hold, and own! - - And kiss his mouth, - To heart’s desire, - And on his kisses - At last expire! - -Numberless poets have varied the theme of the quenching yet burning -kisses of love. - - O’er me flows in streams delicious - Kisses’ rosy and glowing rain, - W. F. H. - -sings Waldemar at his meeting with Tove, and Aarestrup laments: - - In vain I’m seeking - In ev’ry land, - Thy sweetness burning - Of mouth and hand. - W. F. H. - -This “burning sweetness” seems to be an indubitable characteristic of a -genuine love kiss; we even find it again in Heine: - - The world’s an ass, the world can’t see, - Thy character not knowing, - It knows not how sweet thy kisses be, - How rapturously glowing. - -The emotions consequent on the first kiss have been described in the old -_naïve_, but, nevertheless, exceedingly delicate love-story, of Daphnis -and Chloe. As a reward Chloe has bestowed a kiss on Daphnis--an innocent -young-maid’s kiss, but it has on him the effect of an electrical shock: - -“Ye gods, what are my feelings. Her lips are softer than the rose’s -leaf, her mouth is sweet as honey, and her kiss inflicts on me more pain -than a bee’s sting. I have often kissed my kids, I have often kissed my -lambs, but never have I known aught like this. My pulse is beating fast, -my heart throbs, it is as if I were about to suffocate, yet, -nevertheless, I want to have another kiss. Strange, never-suspected -pain! Has Chloe, I wonder, drunk some poisonous draught ere she kissed -me? How comes it that she herself has not died of it?” - -Impelled, as it were, by some irresistible force, Daphnis wanders back -to Chloe; he finds her asleep, but dares not awake her: “See how her -eyes slumber and her mouth breathes. The scent of apple-blossoms is not -so delicious as her breath. But I dare not kiss her. Her kiss stings me -to the heart, and drives me as mad as if I had eaten fresh honey.” -Daphnis’ fear of kisses disappears, however, later on, directly his -simplicity has made room for greater selfconsciousness. That a kiss is -like the sting of a bee, or pains like a wound, is a metaphor which many -poets have used, and the metaphor comes undoubtedly near the truth. -With growing passion, kisses become mad and violent: - - Thy ruby lips, they kissed so wild, - So madly, so soul-disturbing; - W. F. H. - -and such kisses leave marks behind them. Aarestrup’s mistress has -beautiful plump shoulders: - - They curve, as of a goddess, - So naked and so bold. - - I’ll brand your comely shoulders, - Such guerdon have they earned! - Look where my lips enfevered - Have scars of crimson burned. - W. F. H. - -Hafiz’ mistress is afraid that “his too hot kisses will char her -delicate lips.” With continually increasing desire kisses grow more and -more voluptuous, and assume forms which have been celebrated by poets of -antiquity and the Renaissance. Many burning, erotic verses have been -composed on the subject _columbatim labra conserere_, or kissing as -doves kiss. - -Kisses at last grow into bites. Mirabeau, in a love-letter to Sophie, -writes: “I am kissing you and biting you all over, _et jaloux de la -blancheur je te couvre de suçons_”; and the classic poets often speak of -the tiny red marks on cheeks or lips, neck or shoulders, which the -lovers’ _morsiunculæ_ have left behind. - -Arethusa writes to Lycas: “What keeps you till now so long away from me? -Oh, suffer no young girl to print the mark of her teeth on your neck.” -The Italians use the expression _baciare co’ denti_ (kiss with the -teeth) to signify “to love.” We can only treat these kisses as a sort of -transitional link, of shorter or longer duration, according to -circumstances. They are, as it were, “a sea fraught with perils,” which -in Mlle. de Scudéry’s celebrated letter (_la carte de tendre_), carries -one to strange countries (_les terres inconnues_); but, as these -countries lie outside the regions of pure philematology, I shall not -pursue my investigations further. I will, however, first quote what old -Ovid has written, although I am not at all prepared to assert that his -opinion is entitled to have any special weight, more especially as it -is far from being unimpeachable from a moral point of view: - - Oscula qui sumpsit, si non et cetera sumet, - Hæc quoque quæ data sunt perdere dignus erit. - Quantum defuerat pleno post oscula voto? - Heu mihi rusticitas, non pudor ille fuit.[8] - -After the foregoing it would seem superfluous to enter into a closer -investigation of--if the term be allowed--the topographical aspects of -kissing. The love kiss is, as you are aware, properly directed towards -the mouth--a fact sufficiently known, and in testimony of which I have, -moreover, brought forward a number of passages from respectable and -trustworthy writers. I shall only add a German “Sinngedicht” of -Friedrich von Logau: - - If you will kiss, then kiss the mouth, - All other sorts are but half blisses, - The face--ah, no--nor hand, neck, breast, - The mouth alone can give back kisses. - W. F. H. - -Von Logau’s vindication of the mouth as the only place that ought to be -kissed is extremely logical, and, I take it, from a purely theoretical -point of view, unobjectionable; but, practically, the case is quite the -contrary. The royal _trouvère_, Thibaut de Champagne, treats in a -lengthy poem--one of the so-called _jeux-partis_--the question whether -one should kiss one’s mistress’s mouth or feet. Baudouin’s opinion is in -favour of kissing her on the mouth, and he gives his reasons for it at -some length; but Thibaut replies, that he who kisses his darling on the -mouth has no love for her, because that is the way one kisses any little -shepherdess one comes across; it is only by kissing her feet that a -lover shows his affection, and it is by such means alone that her favour -is to be won. - -The question of feet or mouth is threshed out minutely by the two -contending parties, who at last agree in the opinion that one ought to -kiss both parts, beginning with the feet and ending with the mouth. - -It cannot be denied that Thibaut de Champagne has a far better insight -into the matter than Von Logau, and yet even the old French poet’s point -of view must be characterised as being somewhat narrow. - -All the other poets, you must know, teach us that not only the mouth, -but every part of our sweetheart’s body says, “Kiss me.” - - Friends, if it only were my fate! - If fate would will it so, - I’d kiss her beauties small and great - From bosom down to toe. - W. F. H. - -So sings Aarestrup, and he returns again and again to the same idea in -his _ritorneller_: - - When scarce the mouth can longer feel such fooling, - Because thy lips are all too hotly burning, - Press them to bosom’s Alpine snows for cooling. - - The arms so white and tender woo caresses; - A lovely pleasance, too, those plump white shoulders! - But through the soul a bosom-kiss straight presses. - - Her snow-white shoulders! All what may be said on - Such beauty I have uttered. For my guerdon - Grant me one now to rest my weary head on. - - At kisses pressed upon your neck’s fair closes - You thrilled and threw your head back, and I straightway - Planted upon your throat my kisses’ roses. - - About my darling I am wheeling, flying, - Like to a gadfly round a lily’s chalice, - Buzzing until in nectar-cup mute dying. - W. F. H. - -Allow me also to call your attention to a pretty little myth which Dorat -composed about a “kiss in the bosom’s Alpine snow.” The kiss is a fair -rose, and roses bloom everywhere in these tracks; through witchcraft two -vigorous rosebuds sprouted forth on woman’s white bosom: - - Le bouton d’un beau sein est éclos du baiser; - Une rose y fleurit pour y marquer sa trace; - Fier de l’avoir fait naître, il aime à s’y fixer. - -But if the object of one’s affection is not within reach, and _oscula -corporalia_ are, for that reason, practically impossible, her image may -be kissed, as a French song naïvely says: - - I will make a portrait gay, - Like to thee, set in a locket; - Kiss it five score times a day - Guard it safely in my pocket. - W. F. H. - -But if one is not fortunate enough to possess an image of the object of -one’s affection, then anything that has in any way been associated with, -or is reminiscent of, him or her may be kissed. Tovelille exults to King -Volmer: - - For all my roses I’ve kissed to death - Whilst thinking, dear love, of thee. - W. F. H. - -But F. Rückert sings with pain and mockery: - - With fervour the hard stone I’m kissing, - For your heart is as hard as a stone. - W. F. H. - -Such _oscula impropria_ are often mentioned by ancient as well as modern -poets. _Propertius_ (I. 16) says: - - Ah, oft I’ve hither sped with verse to greet - Thee, leaning on thy steps with kisses pressed. - How often, traitress, turning towards the street, - I’ve laid in secret garlands on thy crest. - W. F. H. - -Eighteen hundred years afterwards Dorat writes: - - I kiss the kindly blades of grass - Because they have approached your charms: - The sands o’er which your footsteps pass, - And leafy boughs that stretched their arms - To hide our happiness, dear lass. - W. F. H. - -Lovers often send each other kisses through the air, as in Béranger’s -well-known song on the detestable Spring: - - We loved before we ever met; - Our kisses crossed athwart the air. - W. F. H. - -But should the distance be too great for such a platonic interchange of -kisses, certain small, obliging _postillons d’amour_ are employed Heine -uses his poems for that purpose: - - O would that all my verses - Were kisses light and sweet: - I’d send them all in secret - My sweetheart’s cheeks to greet. - -While the young girl in Runeberg has recourse to a rose that has just -blossomed: - - Through the grove amidst the blooming flow’rets - Walked the bonnie maiden unattended, - And she plucked a new-born rose, exclaiming: - ‘Lovely flow’ret, if you’d only wings on, - I would send you to my well-belovèd - When I’d fastened just two tiny greetings - Lightly on your right wing and your left wing; - One should bid him cover you with kisses, - And the other send you back to me soon.’ - W. F. H. - -But however much poets may clothe with grace such kisses sent and -received by post--and it cannot be denied that many of them are -extraordinarily charming from a poetical point of view--they are, and -must be, nevertheless, in reality only certain mean substitutes with -which lovers in the long run cannot feel fully satisfied. “The kiss,” -says the practical Frenchmen, “is a fruit which one ought to pluck from -the tree itself” (_Le baiser est un fruit qu’il faut cueiller sur -l’arbre_). Kisses ought to be given, as they should be taken, in secret; -only in such case have they their full freshness, their intoxicating -power. Heine says of such: - - Kisses that one steals in darkness, - And in darkness then returns-- - How such kisses fire the spirit, - If with ardent love it burns! - -No profane eyes should see them: they only concern the pair of -lovers--none other in the whole world. Secrecy and silence must rest -over these kisses, as over all else that regards the soul of love, so -that the butterfly’s wings may not lose their delicate down. - -The strait-laced Cato degraded a senator of the name of Manilius for -having kissed his wife in broad daylight and in his daughter’s presence. -Plutarch, however, considers the punishment excessive, but adds: “How -disgusting it is in any case to kiss in the presence of third parties.” -Clement of Alexandria, one of the Fathers of the Church, endorses this -opinion, and exhorts all married people to refrain from kissing one -another before their servants. - -All delicate-minded persons must undoubtedly sympathise with the -ancient ascetic conception in proportion as they unconsciously follow it -in practice. A kiss to or from a woman we love is a far too delicate -pledge of affection to bear the gaze of strangers. - -How many engaged couples would, do you suppose, find favour in Cato’s -eyes? How often do they not by their behaviour offend the commonest -notions of decency? Their kisses and caresses, which ought to be their -secret possession, they expose quite unconcernedly to the sight of all. -One evening at a large party I saw a young girl ostentatiously kiss on -the mouth the gentleman to whom she was engaged. Cato would certainly -turn in his grave if he knew that such immodest behaviour was actually -tolerated by people of refinement and position; and how disgusted and -indignant he would be--unless, indeed, he preferred to smile--at the -sight of the duty-kisses after dinner, which are often exchanged between -man and wife at dinner-parties. Ah, yes, when the belly’s full ...! How -warranted is Kierkegaard’s satire on the conjugal domestic kiss with -which husband and wife, in lack of a napkin, wipe each other’s mouth -after meals. On the lips of youth alone you reap the sweetest harvests: - - Sur les lèvres de la jeunesse - Tu fais les plus douces moissons. - (DORAT). - -The young maiden will only give her love-kiss to her sweetheart, the -stalwart swain; an old suitor is spurned with scorn. The lovely Mara, -white and red, walked by the spring and tended her sheep: - - See an old, old suitor comes riding up on horseback, - Shouting: “God’s peace be thine, fair Mara, white and red. - Tell me, canst thou offer me a draught of cold clear water; - Tell me, can the basil ever verdant here be gathered, - And may I snatch a kiss from thee, fair Mara, white and red?” - W. F. H. - -But straightway comes the answer from fair Mara, white and red: - - “I charge thee, old, old suitor, to horse and ride hence quickly, - No drink is here thy portion from the fountain cold and clear, - And the ever-verdant basil by thee shall not be gathered, - Nor durst thou snatch a kiss from me, fair Mara, white and red.” - W. F. H. - -Again, fair Mara, white and red, walked by the spring and tended her -sheep: - - See a young and handsome suitor comes riding up on horseback, - Shouting: “God’s peace be thine, fair Mara, white and red. - Tell me, canst thou offer me a draught of cold clear water; - Tell me, can the basil ever verdant here be gathered, - And may I snatch a kiss from thee, fair Mara, white and red?” - W. F. H. - -But straightway comes the answer from fair Mara, white and red: - - “I charge thee, handsome laddie, to horse and ride hence quickly, - Wouldst thou drink of this cool fountain, thou must hither - come some morning, - For cold and clear’s the water in the hours of early dawn. - Wouldst thou gather from the bushes, thou must hither come at mid-day, - For the flower-trees smell the sweetest about the noon-tide hour. - Wouldst thou kiss the beauteous Mara, then hither come at evening, - At evening sighs each maiden who finds herself alone.” - W. F. H. - -In another Servian ballad we find the same glorification of the stalwart -young lover, the same contempt for, and detestation of, old men who go -a-wooing. - - High upon a mountain’s slope once stood a maiden, - Mirroring her lovely image in the stream, - And her image in these words addressing: - ‘Image fraught to me with so much sadness - Had I known a time was ever coming - When thou shouldst be kissed by agèd lover, - Then amidst the green hills I had wandered, - Gath’ring with my hands their bitter herbage, - Squeezing out of it its acrid juices, - Washed thee then therewith that thou should’st savour - Bitterly wheresoe’r the old man kissed thee.’ - - ‘O my lovely image, had I known that - Thou wert fated for a young man’s kisses, - I had hurried to the verdant meadows, - Gathered all the roses in the meadows, - Squeezing from the roses their sweet juices, - Laved thee with them, O mine image, that thou - Savoured of fragrance wheresoe’r he kissed thee.’ - W. F. H. - -A kiss must be given and taken in frank, joyous affection. To have -recourse to violence is unknightly, unlovely, and despicable in the -highest degree. This is a sphere wherein the brutal axiom regarding the -right of the stronger can never hold good. An Albanian folk-song tells -us of a young man who is in search of a young maiden with whom he is in -love; he finds her at a brook, and, against her will, kisses her mouth -and cheeks. Filled with shame, the young maiden tries to wash away the -kisses in the brook, but its water is dyed red, and “when the women in -the neighbouring village come thither to wash their clothes, the latter -turn red instead of white. And, in the gardens watered with water from -the brook, scarlet flowers sprout up; and the birds which drank of the -water thereof lost their power of song.” - -This ballad shows us, in burning words, how deeply a man outrages a -woman when he kisses her against the dictates of her heart. A Southern -imagination alone can find an expression so sublime and poetical: in -French it runs simply and frankly: _Un baiser n’est rien, quand le -cœur est muet_. In Teutonic countries it is expressed somewhat more -awkwardly. In Denmark people say: _Kys med gevalt er æg uden salt_ (a -kiss snatched by force is as an egg without salt); and in Germany still -less elegantly: _Ein aufgezwungener Kuss ist wie ein Hühneraug’ am Fuss_ -(like a corn on one’s foot). - -The question of kissing by main force can be treated not only from an -ethical, but also from a juristic point of view. Holberg relates that in -Naples the individual who kissed in the street a woman against her will -was punished by not being allowed to approach within thirty miles -distance of the spot where the outrage had taken place; and a German -jurist wrote in the end of the eighteenth century, a minute and -extremely solid treatise on the remedy that a woman has against a man -who kisses her against her will (_Von dem Rechte des Frauenzimmers gegen -eine Mannperson, die es wider seinen Willen küsset_). The author begins -by classifying kisses; he distinguishes between lawful and unlawful -kisses, and frames the following classification:-- - -Kisses are either - - - I.--LAWFUL, - - _A._ As spiritual kisses. - - _B._ As kisses of reconciliation and kisses of peace. - - _C._ As customary kisses; partly, - - _a._ By way of salutation. - - 1. At meeting. - - 2. On arrival. - - 3. At departure; partly, - - _b._ As mark of courtesy. - - _c._ In jest. - - _D._ As kisses of respect. - - _E._ As kisses on festive occasions. - - _F._ As kisses of love: - - α. Between married people. - - β. Between such as are engaged to be married. - - γ. Between parents and children. - - δ. Between relations. - - ε. Between intimate friends; or, - - - II.--UNLAWFUL, when they are given-- - - _A._ Out of treachery or malice. - - _B._ Out of lust. - -After this particularly happy attempt to reduce kissing to a system, our -jurist maintains the view that all depends on the person who kisses and -the person who is kissed. - -If, for instance, a peasant or a vulgar citizen takes such a liberty as -to kiss a noble and high-born lady against her will, her claim against -the aggressor ought to be far greater than it would be in the case of -one of less ignoble descent; but, on the other hand, if Hans steals from -his Greta “an informal, hearty, rustic kiss,” and she complains to the -authorities about it, there will scarcely be any grounds for litigation. - -On the whole, says he, a kiss between individuals of the same position -in society is not to be regarded as a tort, and he more closely defines -how he arrives at this conception. It can only be actionable in the case -of a party having some consciously unchaste intention when he kissed, or -in the case of an _osculum luxuriosum_ or _libidinosum_--in such cases -only can a verdict be brought in of what, according to Roman law, is -termed _crimen osculationis_, and in no other case can the wrong-doer be -punished by fine or imprisonment, _propter voluntatem perniciosæ -libidinis_. The punishment, however, should be proportioned in severity -according to the rank of the injured party. In the case of a nun or a -married woman it ought to be most severe; less severe if the lady be -unmarried but betrothed, and mildest when she is neither married nor -betrothed. - -But if the unchaste intention cannot be distinctly proved, the woman has -no grounds for complaining of any sort, and, in accordance with the -procedure of the German courts, the kiss is to be considered innocent -till the contrary is proved. - -Our jurist thus takes a really liberal view in the case of a “kiss taken -by force”; he may almost be said to regard it as _eine grosse -Kleinigkeit_ (an unimportant trifle). - -With regard to the question of a woman’s right to defend herself in -such cases, he is of opinion that she is justified in repulsing the -insulter by a box on the ears, but only if the offence amounts to -_crimen osculationis_, and this box on the ears may not be inflicted -with “the fist of an Amazon,” as, by such requital, she easily loses her -right to take legal action in the matter. She must, above all, be -careful that the box on the ears be not excessive (_die Ohrfeige -proportionirlich einzukleiden_), as otherwise the man can bring an -action against her; consequently the woman ought to use her right of -self-defence with great caution. - -Our jurist concludes with considerations of cases when the woman who has -been kissed forfeits all claims, viz., when, for instance, by look or -gestures she says, “I should like to see the man who would dare to kiss -me,” and, by such conduct, obviously exposes herself to the danger. - -Holberg has also occupied himself with this question, and tells the -following story in one of his epistles (No. 199):-- - -“Last week I was at a party where a curious incident happened. A person -stole up to a lady and gave her a kiss unexpectedly. The Vestal virgin -took this _douceur_ in such ill part that, in her wrath, she gave him a -sound box on the ears. He gave a start, and every one expected he was -going to pay her back in the same coin; but, to show his respect for the -fair sex, he made a low bow, and kissed the very hand that had but -lately struck him. All present praised this act of courtesy, on his -part.” Holberg, on the contrary, does not commend the man’s politeness; -like the German jurist, he sees nothing wrong about a kiss--indeed, he -even goes so far as to say that the young man ought to have given the -maiden a box on the ears in return. This coarse way of looking at the -subject from a bachelor’s point of view is wittily defended in the -following rather startling way: - -“I candidly confess that if anything of the kind had happened to me I -should have returned the good lady’s salutation in the same way, and -that not out of anger or desire of being revenged, but for the purpose -of showing the courtesy with which one ought to treat a woman; for -kissing the lady on the hand which has boxed his ears is equivalent to -saying: ‘As you are a feeble creature of no importance, and cannot hurt -me, your act deserves ridicule rather than revenge or rage.’ No -sensible woman can be pleased with such a compliment, as there is -nothing worse than being treated like a puppet; and I hope no maid or -matron will take this opinion of mine in ill part, but will rather -regard it as a proof of the justice I have always shown to women by -always taking them seriously. A kiss is nothing but a salutation, and -cannot be looked on as anything else. We are no longer living in the -golden age, when a young lady almost fainted at hearing the word -pronounced.” - -English ladies regard the matter from quite another point of view. In -1837 Mr Thomas Saverland brought an action against Miss Caroline Newton, -who had bitten a piece out of his nose for his having tried to kiss her -by way of a joke. The defendant was acquitted, and the judge laid it -down that “when a man kisses a woman against her will she is fully -entitled to bite his nose, if she so pleases.”--“And eat it up, if she -has a fancy that way,” added a jocular barrister half aloud. - -Let us next consider how the thing stands when it is apparently only a -question of a kiss snatched by force--for it is, you know, a matter of -general knowledge that a woman’s “No” is not always to be taken -seriously. The refusal may, you know, be merely feigned. The maiden’s -“No” is the swain’s “Yes,” Peder Syv teaches us, and Runeberg, who also -understood women, says:-- - - Ev’ry girl is fond of kisses, - Though she may pretend to scorn them. - W. F. H. - -If one is now convinced that the German proverb which says: _Auf ein -Weibes Zunge ist Nein nicht Nein_ (On a woman’s tongue “no” is not -“no”), what then? Well, but how the point is to be finally settled is -not satisfactorily explained by the authorities within my reach; and -this is the reason why I dare not pronounce an opinion on the question -at issue. But I am convinced that the momentary difficulty will afford -the man the necessary diplomatic qualities as well as the requisite -tact. There is only one thing I can lay down for certain, viz., that if -a man follows his natural simplicity and reserve, and takes the girl’s -feigned “No” seriously, she will only laugh at him afterwards--such, -again, is woman’s nature. - -A well-known French _chanson_ deals with a hunter who meets a young -girl out in the forest. Struck by her beauty, he wants to kiss her: - - And takes her by her white hand, - Intending to caress her; - W. F. H. - -but she begins to cry, and, moved by her tears, he releases her; but he -has hardly got clear of the wood before she begins to laugh at him -heartily, and in derision shouts after him: “When you’ve got hold of a -quail you ought to pluck it, and when you’ve got hold of a girl you -ought to embrace her”: - - Quand vous teniez la caille, - Il fallait la plumer. - Quand vous teniez la fillette, - Il fallait l’embrasser. - -I quote these verses, for they may possibly afford inexperienced young -men some matter for reflection. - -Besides, a woman’s “No” has often a piquancy about it which lovers of a -somewhat more refined class set great store by. Even Martial (v. 46) has -expressed himself in favour of this in a little epigram which begins -thus: - - While ev’ry joy I scorn, but that I snatch; - And me thy furies more than features catch. - -And Marot, who was likewise much skilled in “_ars amandi_,” even begs -his mistress not to give him her kisses readily: - - Mouth of coral, rare and bright, - That in kissing seems to bite; - Longed-for mouth, I pray you this: - Feign deny me when you kiss. - W. F. H. - -Dorat has also expressed himself in favour of such. “Promise me nine -kisses,” says he to his Thais, “give me eight, and let me struggle for -the ninth.” - - The first eight kisses you accord - Will crown my love’s felicity; - But I shall die in joy’s reward - If for the ninth a struggle be. - W. F. H. - -Even if the answer is not a decided negative, yet it can, you know, be -couched in such equivocal words as to be tantamount to neither a -permission nor a refusal. Many girls agree with the Swedish song: - - But “yes” ’s a word I will not say, - Nor will I either answer “nay.” - W. F. H. - -There is a saying in Jutland that runs thus: “Maren, may I kiss -you?--Guess. You won’t then, I suppose?--Guess once more? You -will?--But how could you guess it then?” This tallies capitally with the -following German saying: “_Zwinge mich, so thu’ ich keine Sünde,” sagte -das Mädchen_ (“Constrain me, so that I shall not commit sin,” said the -maiden). Naturally in this case, there can be no question of any _crimen -osculationis_, for, as the jurists have it, _volenti non fit injuria_. - -Let us finally examine all these kisses from an ethical standpoint. We -have all of us, you know, learnt from our earliest childhood that-- - - He who kisses maidens hath - A very naughty habit; - W. F. H. - -and popular belief adds, by way of warning, that it causes sores on the -mouth. Ah, yes, that is certainly very true, but what becomes of our -childish lore in the main when we attain to somewhat riper age? Now, -only listen to the ballad about what happened in the case of the young -Serb, in spite of all he had learnt: - - Here, so people told us, - Dwells a youth industrious, - Who from ancient volumes - Late and early studies. - - As for books they tell us: - Don’t vault on the saddle, - Buckle not thy sword on, - Drink no wine that fuddles, - Never kiss a maiden. - - But the young man harkens - Not to what they tell him: - Keenest sword he seizes, - Hottest wine he drinketh, - Fairest maids he kisses. - W. F. H. - -When so learned a man as our Serb succumbs to the tempting kiss, what is -to be said then about all the rest who are less instructed? And let us -remember ere we sit in judgment on any one--and it ought to be regarded -as peculiarly extenuating circumstances--that a woman’s mouth is a -direct incentive to kissing, that it is formed, as you know, for that -purpose, asserts an old troubadour, and created to kiss and smile:-- - - And when I gazed upon her red mouth sweet, - To match whose charms not Jove himself were meet, - That mouth for laughter and for kisses framed, - I fell thereof so amorous straightway - That I lacked power to do aught or to say. - W. F. H. - -The roguish mouth with the white teeth and the moist red, -delicately-shaped lips say to every man who is not made of marble, -“Kiss me, kiss me”: - - Her fresh mouth’s playing - Seems ever saying - To kiss I am fain - Again, again. - W. F. H. - -How human is Byron’s wish that all women had but one mouth so that he -might kiss them all at the same time: - - That womankind had but one rosy mouth, - To kiss them all at once from north to south. - -Runeberg has uttered a similar wish, and with a minute account of his -reasons: - - I gaze on a bevy of damsels, - I’m gazing and gazing incessant, - The fairest of all I’ll be choosing, - And yet as to choice I’m uncertain; - For one has the brightest of bright eyes, - Another girl’s cheeks are more rosy, - A third one’s lips are the riper, - The fourth has a heart far more tender. - There isn’t a single maid lacking - A something that captures my senses. - There isn’t one there I’d say “no” to, - Oh, would I might kiss the whole bevy! - W. F. H. - -Even an ecclesiastic such as Æneas Silvius Piccolomini, when wishing to -describe how beautiful and fascinating a young girl was, writes that -“no one could see her without being seized at once with a desire to kiss -her.” So as not to shock my readers, I may mention that he wrote this -before he was made Pope and assumed the name of Pius II. - -It ought now to be taken as proved that women--beautiful women--and -kisses are of a piece. It is at the same time nature’s ordinance, and we -find it verified in all countries and in all ages. Odin himself says, -you know, in Hávamál, where he instructs mortals in the wisdom of life: - - Ships are for voyages, - And shields for ward, - Sword-blades to smite, - And maids to kiss. - W. F. H. - -And the Greeks sing: “Wine belongs to chestnuts, honey to nuts, and -kisses morning and night to young maids.” - -I am inclined to assume that women also agree with this view; certainly -I have no positive enunciation to support my assumption, but I am able -to quote a German proverb which most assuredly points in this direction: -“_Ich kann das Küssen nicht leiden_,” _sagte das Mädchen_, “_wenn ich -nicht dabei bin_” (“I cannot bear kissing,” said the maiden, “when I am -not taking any part in it.”) - -Now if, in spite of all I have quoted, some rigid moralist or other will -persist that kissing young maids is always a “bad” habit, and if, -peradventure, a still sterner moralist will maintain it is a sin into -the bargain, I should reply that, in any case, it is one of those sorts -of sin that are venial. The Pope himself will not refuse his absolution, -say the Italians, and they certainly ought to understand things in Rome. -“Kiss me,” runs an Italian folk-song, “the Pope will forgive you; kiss -me and I will kiss you, and the Pope will forgive us both.” - - O bella figlia, o bella garzona, - Baciate me, chè il Papa vi perdona; - Baciate me, chè io bacerò vui, - Chè il Papa ci perdona tutti e dui. - -If the Pope is so complaisant then, to be sure, a subordinate servant of -the Church such as Aarestrup’s Father Hugo may well say: - - Child, a kiss is but a trifle, - If it’s only long and sweet. - W. F. H. - - - - -III - -AFFECTIONATE KISSES - - Seigneur, tu m’as donné les baisers de ma mère, - Je te bénis, Seigneur! - F. E. ADAM. - - I bless thee, O Lord, for having given me my mother’s kisses. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -AFFECTIONATE KISSES - - -A kiss can also express feelings from which the erotic element is -excluded--feelings that are consequently less ardent and longing, but, -most frequently, far deeper and more lasting. - -A kiss is expressive of love in the widest and most comprehensive -meaning of the word, bringing a message of loyal affection, gratitude, -compassion, sympathy, intense joy, and profound sorrow. In the first -place a kiss is the expression of the deep and intense feeling which -knits parents to their offspring. At its entrance into the world the -little helpless infant is received by its father’s and mother’s warm -kiss. In the Middle Ages they kissed the new-born baby thrice in the -name of the Holy Trinity. And the parent’s kiss follows the child -through life. When Hector takes leave of his wife Andromache he lifts -his little son up into his arms, but the child is afraid of his father’s -helmet, “of the gleam of the copper and the nodding crest of -horse-hair.” - - And from his brow - Hector the casque removed, and set it down, - All glittering, on the ground; then kissed his child, - And danced him in his arms.[9] - -The Evangelist Luke tells the story of the Prodigal Son’s return home. -“But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had -compassion, and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” - -The parent’s kiss is like the good angel which shields the child from -all evil. When Johannes in Sören Kierkegaard’s _Forførerens dagbog_ -would describe the impression made on him by Cordelia he says, “She -looked so young and fresh, as if nature like a tender and opulent mother -had that very instant released her from her hand,” and he goes on to -say: “It seemed to me as if I had been witness to this farewell scene; I -marked how the loving mother once again embraced her and bade her -farewell; I heard her say: ’Go out into the world now, my child; I have -done all for you. Now take this kiss as a seal upon your lips; ’tis a -seal the sanctuary preserves; no one can break it against your own will, -but when the right man comes, you shall understand him.’ And she presses -a kiss on her lips--a kiss which, not like a human kiss, takes aught, -but a divine kiss that gives all.” The chaste purity, which is -Cordelia’s halo and protection, is, as it were, the reflection of a -mother’s kiss. - -It is for this reason also that in the _sagas_ a quite irresistible -power is attributed to the parent’s kiss. When Vildering, the king’s -son, quits Maid Miseri and journeys alone to his parents to tell them -what has befallen him, she implores him to be especially careful not to -let his parents kiss him, “for should that happen, you will forget me -utterly.” In spite of his caution his mother kisses him, and oblivion -covers the past; he forgets his betrothed, who is sitting and waiting -for him in the depths of the forest. - -Kisses of affection are exchanged not only between parents and children, -but between all the members of the same family; we find them even -outside the more narrow family circle, everywhere where deep affection -unites people. - -When Naomi bade her son’s wife farewell, “they lifted up their voice and -wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto -her.” When Moses went to meet his father-in-law, “he did obeisance and -kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came -into the tent;” and when Jacob had wrestled with the Lord he met Esau, -ran towards him, fell on his neck and kissed him. - -The family kiss was also much in vogue with the Romans. Propertius, in -one of his elegies, chides his mistress for inventing quite _ad libitum_ -a whole crowd of relations so as always to have at hand some one to kiss -her. This is how that came to pass: In ancient times there was a -so-called _jus osculi_, which allowed all a woman’s relations to kiss -her. There are several curious stories about this peculiar privilege. -The old traditions, which have been solemnly discussed by several -writers, relate that once upon a time women were forbidden to drink -wine; the above-mentioned law must have been instituted so that the -parties concerned should, in a pleasant and practical way, be able to -satisfy themselves about observing the prohibition. This highly -improbable explanation has been defended in a thesis for the degree of -Doctor of Philosophy even in the eighteenth century. - -The kiss of affection is often mentioned by the early Greeks. Odysseus, -on reaching his home, meets his faithful shepherds, discloses his -identity to them, and shows them, as a certain proof, the cicatrix of a -wound that he had on one occasion received when out hunting: - - “But come, another token most manifest will I show, - That the truth in your souls may be strengthened, and my very - self ye may know. - Lo the scar of the hurt, which the wood-boar with his white - tooth drave on a tide, - When with Autolycus’ children I sought Parnassus’ side!”[10] - - So saying, the rags about him from the mighty weal he drew, - And they twain looked upon it, and all the tale they knew; - And they wept, and o’er wise Odysseus they cast their hands, they twain, - And kissed his head and his shoulders, and loved him and were fain.[11] - -In the same hearty manner the shepherd Eumæus received Odysseus’ son on -the latter’s return from his journey, and lucky escape from the -treacherous plot of the suitors: - - And on the head he kissed him, and both his eyes so fair, - And both his hands, moreover, and he shed a mighty tear; - And e’en as a loving father makes much of his dear son, - Who has come from an alien country where the tenth long year is done, - His only son and darling for whom he hath travailed sore, - E’en so the goodly swineherd now kisseth him o’er and o’er - Telemachus the godlike, as one escaped from death.[A] - -He gets the same reception from his old nurse and his mother: - - But the nurse, e’en Euryclea, beheld him first of all - As the fleecy fells she was spreading o’er the painted seats of the hall, - And, weeping, went straight toward him; and the other maids thereto - Of Odysseus hardy-hearted, all round about him drew, - And they kissed him and caressed him, his shoulders and his head.[12] - - * * * * * - - Then Penelope the wise-heart from her chamber forth she sped, - Like to golden Aphrodite or Artemis the fair, - And she cast her arms amidst weeping round her son beloved and dear; - And therewithal she kissed him, his head and his lovely eyes.[13] - -We have another famous scene of recognition, but of far later date, in -the old French epic of Girart de Roussillon. Girart, after many years’ -absence, returns in poverty and sickness to France. He presents himself -to the queen, who recognises him by means of a ring, and, “although it -was Good Friday, she fell on Girart’s neck and kissed him seven times.” - -It would perhaps be superfluous to quote more instances of the kisses of -affection. We meet with it in all ages in grave and solemn moments, not -only among those who love each other, but also as an expression of -profound gratitude. When the Apostle Paul took leave of the elders of -the congregation at Ephesus, “they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s -neck and kissed him” (Acts xx. 37). - -When De Malesherbes had solicited for himself the perilous honour of -undertaking the defence of Louis XVI., that monarch got up and, in -order to show his gratitude, kissed him publicly. - -Even among persons who are utter strangers to each other, kisses such as -these may be exchanged. The profoundest sympathy with, the warmest -interest in, another’s weal or woe can be instantly created. - -The story of Ingeborg Vinding and Poul Vendelbo Løvenørn is well known. -H. P. Giessing relates it, just as he heard it, in the following form: -Poul Vendelbo, the poor student, went one day on the ramparts round -Copenhagen, and walked with two rich noblemen who, like himself, had -matriculated at the university from Horsen’s School. They happened to -notice a singularly beautiful woman sitting at the window of one of the -adjacent houses. One of the noblemen then said half-mockingly to -Vendelbo, “Now, if you could get a kiss from that lady, Poul, we would -defray the expenses of that tour abroad which you are so anxious to -make.” Vendelbo took him at his word, went up to the beautiful lady, and -told her how his whole future possibly depended on her. She then drew -him towards the window, and, in the view of the nobleman, gave him the -kiss he craved. He went abroad, and, returning at last as -Adjutant-General Løvenørn, paid the fair lady a visit. She was none -other than Ingeborg Vinding. - -This is the anecdote, equally characteristic of both parties, that Carl -Ploug has so prettily treated in his poem _Et Kys_ (A Kiss). - -The professor’s daughter is sitting alone in the sitting-room, and -“humming a song she has learnt by heart.” Then some one knocks at the -door, and in steps young Poul with his audacious request; first she will -refuse him indignantly: - - Ere yet a word she uttered - She raised her eyes again. - Their angry flash should wither - That overbold young swain. - - But, ah, he stood so quiet, - With such a modest grace, - With features stamped with honour, - And such a noble face. - - Once more the maiden’s glances - Looked down, their anger dead, - And with a blush delicious - She spoke him fair instead. - - “‘Twas wrong indeed, I take it, - That you should boldly dare - Address a well-born maiden - By stealth with such a prayer. - - “But if your looks belie not, - You good and noble are, - And so your path to fortune - I should be loth to mar.” - - Then by the hand she leads him - To where the window is, - She blushes and she trembles; - They interchange a kiss. - W. F. H. - -It would be superfluous to say more about this poem, which I suppose is -the most popular of Ploug’s essays in epic narrative. How far the -anecdote is historical is uncertain; but with the knowledge we have of -his and her character it cannot, in any case, be regarded as improbable. -Ploug may thus be right when he says: - - A kiss has with its gentle flame - Once kindled honour’s beacon high; - A kiss has given Denmark’s fame - A hero’s name that shall not die. - W. F. H. - -In early French literature there is a story somewhat akin to this; it -occurs in the old miracle play of “_La Marquise de la Gaudine_.” In her -husband’s absence she has been falsely accused of adultery and thrown -into prison. Nobody dares to undertake her defence when, suddenly, a -knight named Anthenor steps up and offers, with sword in hand, to -undertake the defence of her innocence, having a long time back owed her -a deep debt of gratitude for having, on one occasion, saved his life by -a kiss. He himself tells us naïvely and ingenuously how it happened: -“Once upon a time I found myself, as you are aware, in peril of death; -the king suspected me and believed I aspired to his wife’s favour. Ah, -this was not the case at all, you know. But one day he said he would -believe me if I divulged to him who my sweetheart was. I did not know -what to do, and to save my life I said that the _marquise_ was my -_amie_. He was not, however, content with this, but, as a proof, -demanded that I should take her by the waist in his presence and ask her -for a kiss. She gave it me and thus saved me from the snare the king had -laid. I shall never be able to repay her for what she has done for me.” - -The kiss of affection is also bestowed on some person or thing that -excites detestation and abhorrence. - -The legends of St Martin tell us how, on coming one day to Lutetia, -followed by a great crowd of people, he caught sight of a leper at the -gate of the city, who was so terrible an object to look at that -everybody turned away from him with loathing. To give those who followed -him a lesson in Christian charity, he went up to the poor sick man, -kissed and blessed him, and on the following morning the latter was -cured as by a miracle. - -It is just through overcoming oneself in respect to that which is -intrinsically foul and repugnant that this kiss gets its high -significance and dignity. St Francis of Assisi had bidden farewell to an -existence of luxury, bestowed his wealth on the necessitous, and lived -the life of a beggar, but his conversion was still incomplete; he did -not become ripe for his great work of charity until he had overcome his -repugnance to the leprous. One day, when out riding, he met one of these -wretched sufferers, whose whole body was like a great open wound, and he -reined his horse aside in disgust; but shame overtook him at once, he -leapt off his horse, spoke kindly to the sick man, gave him what money -he had, and kissed both his hands. Such is the account given by the -historical chronicles, but the legend goes on to say that the leper -immediately afterwards vanished: it was Christ Himself who wished, in -this wise, to bestow His benediction on the noble and beautiful life’s -work of the saint. - -The kiss of affection also plays an important part in folk-poetry; that -alone has power to cast off spells, that alone breaks all the bonds of -witchcraft and sorcery, and is able to restore man to his original -shape. - -In the Scotch ballad of Kempion we are told how the Earl of -Estmereland’s daughter is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, who at -last by magic arts changes her into a snake: - - Cum heir, cum heir, ye freely feed - And lay your head low on my knee; - The heaviest weird I will you read, - That ever was read to gay ladye. - - O meikle dolour sall ye dree, - And aye the salt seas o’er ye’se swim; - And far mair dolour sall ye dree, - On Estmere crags, when ye them climb. - - “I weired ye to a fiery beast, - And relieved sall ye never be, - Till Kempion, the king’s son, - Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss thee.” - - O meikle dolour did she dree, - And aye the salt seas o’er she swam; - And far mair dolour did she dree - On Estmere crags, when she them clamb. - - And aye she cried for Kempion, - Gin he would but come to her hand. - -At last Kempion hears her voice, and straightway rows towards the foot -of the mountain: - - Out of my stythe I winna rise, - - * * * * * - - Till Kempion, the king’s son, - Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me; - -implores the snake; but Kempion dares not. The snake coils in and out, -and the mountain is aflame; at last Kempion summons all his courage: - - He’s louted him o’er the lofty crag, - And he has given her kisses three; - Awa she gaed, and again she cam, - The loveliest ladye e’er could be! - -The same subject is found in the ballads of other countries. In the -Danish _Jomfruen i ormeham_ the young maiden has been changed into a -little snake, compelled to wriggle in the grass. However, the knight -Jennus comes: - - It was the brave knight Jennus; - Forth to the greenwood he hies. - As o’er the grass he rideth, - A little snake he espies. - - It was the brave knight Jennus; - Over his saddle he lay. - He kissed the little serpent; - A maiden it turned straightway. - - It was the brave knight Jennus; - Troth to the maid he did plight. - He bade them keep his wedding - For both with much delight. - W. F. H. - -In another ballad the maiden has been turned by her stepmother into a -lime-tree, and makes her moan: - - She changed me into a lime-tree, and - She bade me e’en in the greenwood stand. - - She bade me stand and hope for no bote, - Until a king’s son should kiss my root. - - Here have I tarried for years full five, - Nor kissed me has any king’s son alive. - - Here have I tarried for years now ten, - Nor has a king’s son kissed me since then. - W. F. H. - -But at last the hour of her freedom arrives; the king’s daughter has -heard the lime-tree’s lamentation, and she sends a message to her -brother, who comes at once: - - He hoisted his silken sail of red, - And o’er the salt sea on he sped. - - The knight on his back a red cloak threw, - And fared to the lime-tree without ado. - - He kissed himself the lime-tree’s feet, - Which straight became a maiden sweet. - W. F. H. - -Corresponding poetical stories of the redeeming power of the kiss are to -be found in the literature of many countries, especially, for example, -in the Old French Arthurian romances (_Lancelot_, _Guiglain_, _Tirant le -blanc_) in which the princess is changed by evil arts into a dreadful -dragon, and can only resume her human shape in the case of a knight -being brave enough to kiss her. This kiss is called _le fier baiser_. -From French the subject migrated to Italian literature, in which it was -taken up and made use of first in _Carduino_, later on in Boiardo’s -_Orlando innamorato_. The hero, after many perilous adventures, reaches -an enchanted castle where a young and beautiful maiden is sitting by a -tomb. She tells him she can be released if he will venture to lift the -stone from the tomb and kiss what then appears. Without giving it a -second thought, the knight opens the tomb, and a horrible serpent with -hissing tongue and venomous breath darts forth. Trembling with fear, he -fulfils his promise, and that very instant the monster is transformed -into a lovely fairy who overwhelms her benefactor with recompenses. This -_motif_ formed the subject of a drama in the last century by Gozzi in -_La donna serpente: fiaba teatrale tragicomica_. - -Finally many folk-stories on this subject may be quoted. In the tale of -“Beauty and the Beast,” the transformed prince begged the young maiden -he had carried off on his back for a kiss. “No,” answered she, “how -could I kiss you who are so ugly and have seven horns on your forehead?” -Then the beast went its way, and she saw it no more till one day she -found it lying dead under a bush in the garden, whereupon she wept as -she had never wept before, and cast herself down on the beast and kissed -it. Then it returned to life, and the ugly beast became the handsomest -prince her eyes could see. He then told her that he had been bewitched -by a wicked fairy, and could not be delivered unless a maid fell in love -with him and kissed him, despite his ugliness. - -In this case the kiss redeems from death, and likewise death itself is -nothing more than a great kiss of affection. When a human being quits -this earthly life it is God who takes His child in His arms, kisses it, -and carries it away from earth to brighter and more blissful spheres. - -This highly poetical and beautiful conception of death has found -expression in Italian, where, instead of the word “die,” one can say, -“fall asleep in the Lord’s kiss” (_addormentarsi nel bacio del -Signore_). And this has got flesh and blood in an old legend of the -saints, where it is told of St Monica that, as she lay dying on her -couch, a little child whom nobody knew came and kissed her on her -breast, and straightway, as if the child had called her, she bowed her -head and breathed forth her last sigh. - -The kiss of affection follows man even after death; with a kiss one -takes leave of the lifeless body. - -In Genesis we read that when Jacob was dead, “Joseph fell upon his -father’s face and wept upon him and kissed him”; and it is told of Abu -Bekr, Mahomet’s first disciple, father-in-law, and successor, that, when -the prophet was dead, he went into the latter’s tent, uncovered his -face, and kissed him. - -In the curious poem of _Ebbe Tygesøns dödsridt_, when the knight’s horse -carries his corpse back to his betrothed, it is said: - - She lifted up his gory head, - And raised it to her lips to kiss; - She swooned away, and fell back dead, - In very sooth, as she did this. - W. F. H. - -In ancient times lovers always demanded of each other this act of love. -“When the alabaster box, filled with Syrian perfume, has been poured out -over my dead body, then do thou, O Cynthia, press thy last kisses on my -cold lips,” sings Propertius in one of his elegies: - - Osculaque in gelidis pones suprema labellis, - Cum dabitur Syrio munere plenus onyx. - _Propertius_ iii. 4, 29, 30. - -And the same wish is expressed by Tibullus (I., i. 61, 62): - - Flebis et arsuro positum me, Delia, lecto, - Tristibus et lacrymis oscula mixta dabis. - - “You’ll weep for me, dear Delia, ere flames have caught my bier, - And mingle with your kisses full many a bitter tear.” - W. F. H. - -The death-kiss is something so natural that it is superfluous to point -out its existence amongst different nations. It was not only a mark of -love, but it was also an article of belief that the soul might be -detained for a brief while by such a kiss. Ovid, in his _Tristia_, -laments over his joyless existence in Tomis, whither Augustus had -banished him, and is in despair because, when the hour of death -approaches, he will not have his beloved wife by his side to detain his -fleeting spirit by her kisses mingled with tears. - -The kiss is the last tender proof of love bestowed on one we have loved, -and was believed, in ancient times, to follow mankind to the nether -world. Even in our own days, popular belief in many places demands that -the nearest relative shall kiss the corpses forehead ere the coffin lid -is screwed down; in certain parts, indeed, it is incumbent on every one -who sees a dead body to kiss it, otherwise he will get no peace for the -dead. - - - - -IV - -THE KISS OF PEACE - - Salute invicem in osculo sancto. - _Pauli Epist. ad Romanos_, xvi. 16. - - Salute one another with an holy kiss. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE KISS OF PEACE - - -The kiss, as expressive of deep, spiritual love, also came to figure in -the primitive Christian Church. - -Christ has said: “Peace be with you, my peace I give you,” and the -members of Christ’s Church gave each other peace symbolically through a -kiss. St Paul repeatedly speaks of the “holy kiss” (ϕίλημα ἄγιον), and, -in his Epistle to the Romans, writes: “Salute one another with an holy -kiss”; and he reiterates this exhortation in both his Epistles to the -Corinthians (1, xvi. 20, and 2, xiii. 12), and his first Epistle to the -Thessalonians (v. 26), wherein he says: “Greet all the brethren with an -holy kiss.” - -The holy kiss has gradually found admission into the ritual of the -Church, and was imparted on occasions of particular solemnity, such as -baptism, marriage, confession, ordination, obsequies, etc., etc. At a -wedding the ceremony was as follows: On the conclusion of High Mass and -after the _Agnus Dei_ had been chanted, the bridegroom went up to the -altar and received the kiss of peace from the priest. After this he -returned to his wife, and gave her the priest’s kiss of peace at the -foot of the crucifix. Reminiscences of this rite still survive in -several churches in England. - -The holy kiss played an important part even at the Mass; in the Greek -Church it was imparted before, in the Roman Catholic Church after, the -consecration of the elements. The priest kissed the penitent, and -through this kiss gave him peace; this was the true kiss of peace -(_osculum pacis_). We have a peculiar memorial of this in Old Irish, -where the word _pōc_, which is derived from the Latin _pax_, means -“kiss,”--not “peace.” This change of meaning must, I suppose, be -attributed partly to a misunderstanding of the priest’s words when he -kissed the penitent: _Pacem do tibi_ (Peace I give unto thee), _i.e._, -people understood the kiss as the chief thing, and thought _pacem_ -referred to that. The same peculiarity is again to be met with in -mediæval Spanish, where _paz_ has also the meaning of “kiss.” In an -ancient romance which relates how Fernando dubbed the Cid a knight, it -says at the end, “He buckled a sword on his waist, and gave him ‘peace’ -(_i.e._, a kiss) on the mouth”: - - El rey le ciñó la espada - Paz en la boca le ha dado. - -The holy kiss occurs even in the early Christian love-feasts, the -so-called ἀγαπαί, and indeed was often exchanged in the church itself by -all the faithful without regard to sex, which gave the heathen cause for -scandal, and its use was restricted so that only men kissed men, and -women, women. - -The kiss of peace was in vogue in France down to the thirteenth century. -We find it in the story about a very unpleasant incident to which Queen -Margaret, the wife of St Louis, was exposed. One day when she was in -church and the kiss of peace was to be imparted, she saw close beside -her a woman in splendid apparel, and taking the latter to be a lady of -rank, she gave her the kiss of peace. It turned out, however, that the -queen had made a mistake; she had kissed one of the common courtesans -who always swarmed about the Court. She then complained to the king, the -consequence of which was that certain ordinances were drawn up with -respect to the dress of women of that class, in order to render all -confusion with respectable women henceforward impossible. - -The kiss of peace in the churches seems to have been abolished in the -latter part of the Middle Ages, at different times in different -countries. - -In the middle of the thirteenth century a special instrument for -conveying the kiss was introduced into England--the so-called -_osculatorium_ or _tabella pacis_, which was composed of a metal disc -with a holy picture, and was passed round the church to be kissed. - -From the English Church the osculatory was gradually introduced into -other churches, but nowhere does it appear to have contrived to rejoice -in any particularly long stay. In various ways it gave occasion to -scandal. - -It was provocative of contention and strife in the church itself, when -people of position quarrelled violently as to whom the honour belonged -of kissing it first. Contentions as to precedence at church are, as we -see, of long standing. - -It seems also to have served as a sort of profane intermediary between -lovers. When a young and beautiful girl kissed it she had close beside -her a fine young fellow who waited impatiently to take it directly from -her hand and lips. We read in one of Marot’s poems: - - I told the maid that she was fair; - I’ve kissed the Pax just after her. - W. F. H. - -Through the use of the osculatory, the well-known custom of gallants -such as, from the Greek romances and Ovid, existed in ancient times, was -revived--Huet calls it _elegans urbanitatis genus_--when the lover drank -out of the goblet from the very place which the beloved one’s lips had -touched. Formerly a sort of _pax_ was employed even in Danish churches. -The Catholic priests showed the people “a picture in a book” (of course -the picture of some saint), and this picture was kissed by the -congregation; for which purpose a small fee termed “kiss-money” or -“book-money” was handed to the parish clerk. - -Even after the use of the _pax_ had been abolished by the Reformation, -the “book-money,” as a customary due to the clerk, was retained. But at -a congress at Roskilde in 1565, parish clerks were forbidden to demand -this fee. - -The holy kiss is still imparted in the Greek Church on Easter Sunday; -all the faithful greet each other in church with kisses, and the words, -“Christ is risen,” the reply to which being, “Verily, He hath risen.” In -the Roman Catholic liturgy this usage has been confined to certain -masses, and the holy kiss is only exchanged among the clergy, not among -the members of the congregation. First, the bishop and archdeacon kiss -the altar, then the archdeacon kneels down and the bishop gives him the -kiss of peace with the words: _Pax tibi, frater, et ecclesiæ sanctæ Dei_ -(Peace be with thee, brother, and with God’s Holy Church). The -archdeacon answers: _Et cum spiritu tuo_ (And with thy spirit), after -which he gets up, genuflects towards the altar, and carries the kiss of -peace to the chief canon, whom he kisses on the left cheek with the -words _pax tibi_, and thus it is sent round to all the officiating -clergy with many different ceremonies. - -The holy kiss soon spread beyond the walls of the church, and came into -usage even in secular festivities. Thus, during the Middle Ages, it was -the custom to seal the reconciliation and pacification of enemies by a -kiss. The old German poets mention such a kiss under the name of -“Vredekuss,” and so widespread was the custom of the kiss of -reconciliation, that the verb _at sone_, or _udsone_, got the meaning of -“to kiss.” _Sônen_ has still this meaning in Frisian. - -In an old French miracle-play St Bernard of Clairvaux says to Count -William and the Bishop of Poitiers, who had had a long-standing feud -with each other, and between whom he had managed to make peace: “In -order to show that your friendship is true and sincere, you must kiss -each other.” Count William then goes up to the bishop, saying: “My lord, -I crave your forgiveness for the wrong I have inflicted on you; I have -erred greatly towards you. Kiss me now to seal our peace, and I will -kiss you with loyal heart.” - -Even knights gave each other the kiss of peace before proceeding to the -combat, and forgave one another all real or imaginary wrongs. - -In _Covenant Vivien_, Vivien exchanges the kiss of peace with Girart and -six other illustrious warriors before the great fight with King Desramé -begins. - -Manzoni has made use of the kiss of peace in the pathetic scene in _I -promessi Sposi_ (The Betrothed), when Fra Cristoforo obtains forgiveness -from the nobleman whose son he has slain. The nobleman receives the monk -in his palace. Surrounded by all his relations, he stands in the middle -of his great hall, with left hand on his sword-hilt, whilst with his -right he holds a flap of his cloak pressed against his chest. Cold and -stern, he gazes contemptuously and with suppressed wrath at the novice -as he enters, but the latter exhibits such touching remorse and noble -humility that the nobleman, there and then, abandons his stiffness. He -raises up the kneeling brother himself, grants him his forgiveness, and, -finally, “carried away by the emotion that prevailed, he threw his arms -round the latter’s neck, and gave and received the kiss of peace.” - -After the Middle Ages the kiss of peace disappears altogether as the -official token of reconciliation; solitary instances, indeed, can -certainly be quoted from Catherine of Medici’s Court, but they are -rather to be regarded as studied efforts to re-introduce an old and -abandoned usage. After the murder of Francis de Guise in 1563, his widow -and brother meet Admiral de Coligny; the latter swore that he had not -the least suspicion of the assassin’s plot, whereupon they kiss each -other, and mutually promise to forget all enmities, and henceforward to -live in peace and harmony. This kiss of peace was as powerless to revive -the old custom as Lamourette’s memorable attempt at the time of the -Revolution. On the 7th July 1792, when the quarrel amongst the members -of the Legislative Assembly had reached a terrible height, at the time -when the Austrian and Prussian armies were marching on Paris, Lamourette -got up and made a fervent patriotic speech, in which, in the most moving -terms, he exhorted all the members of the Assembly to sink their -differences. He finished by saying: “Let us forget all dissension and -swear everlasting fraternity”--_et jurons-nous fraternité éternelle_, -and the deputies at once fell into each others arms, and in a universal -kiss of reconciliation every one forgave each other’s wrongs. But this -unity did not last long. The quarrels began again the following day, and -two years afterwards Lamourette himself died by the guillotine; but the -expression, a kiss of Lamourette--_un baiser de Lamourette_--still -survives in the French language as a half ironical term for a -short-lived reconciliation. - - - - -V - -THE KISS OF RESPECT - - Les rois des nations, devant toi prosternés, - De tes pieds baisent la poussière. - RACINE--_Athalie._ - -The kings of the Gentiles, prostrate before thee, kiss the dust of thy -feet. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE KISS OF RESPECT - - -Margaret of Scotland, who was betrothed to Charles the Seventh’s son, -the Dauphin Louis (afterwards Louis XI.), one day walked through a hall -where Alain Chartier was sitting asleep in a chair. On perceiving the -sleeping poet, she went up to him and kissed him on the lips. Many of -her suite were astonished at this, “for nature had, so far as Chartier -was concerned, suffered a beautiful and rich mind to take up its abode -in an ugly body.” The princess replied that they were not to marvel at -what she had done, for it was not the man she had kissed, but the mouth -from which so many golden words had proceeded. Margaret’s kiss was -therefore an expression of the respect she had for the poet, and the -admiration and regard inspired by his poetical genius. A little further -back in the Middle Ages we meet with another striking instance of a -kiss as expressive of veneration; but this kiss is of a more humble -nature. We are told that, when the Emperor Otto I. had taken leave of -his pious mother in the church attached to a monastery, the latter -followed him with her eyes as long as she could, and then returned to -the church and kissed the place whereon his feet had stood. - -The kiss of veneration is of ancient origin; from the remotest times we -find it applied to all that is holy, noble, and worshipful--to the gods, -their statues, temples, and altars, as well as to kings and emperors; -out of reverence, people even kissed the ground, and both sun and moon -were greeted with kisses. - -In the first book of Kings God says to Elijah: “Yet I have left me seven -thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and -every mouth which hath not kissed him” (xix. 18). - -In the thirty-first chapter of Job, Job extols his own piety: “If I -beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and my -heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand” (26, -27). Here, undoubtedly, allusion is made to the kissing of hands -whereby the heathen were wont to salute the heavenly bodies. - -When the prophet Hosea laments over the idolatry of the children of -Israel, he says that they make molten images of calves and kiss them. - -Even in remote classical times a similar homage was paid to the gods; -people kissed the hands, knees, and feet, even the mouths, of their -idols. Cicero informs us, in one of his speeches against Verres, that -the lips and beard of the famous statue of Hercules at Agrigentum were -worn away by the kisses of devotees. - -Bayle tells us, in reference to this passage, that a physician was asked -one day why it was that a bronze face could, in this manner, be worn -away through being kissed, whereas, on the other hand, kisses did not -leave the slightest trace on the countenance of the most fashionable -courtesan. His answer was that the reason, he supposed, was that statues -were kissed for centuries, but that the woman in question was only -kissed for a very few years, viz., so long as her beauty lasted. This -explanation was, however, considered unsatisfactory, and the physician’s -attention was called to the fact that soft flesh must be far sooner -worn away than hard bronze; besides, lover’s kisses being considerably -more violent than those of mere respect. The physician then urged -another reason, viz., that which kisses wear away from bronze lips is -lost for ever, but that which is worn away from living lips is -immediately replaced by renewal of tissue in the body. - -The kiss of veneration came to play a very important part in Christian -society. St Luke the Evangelist tells us that when Christ sat at meat in -the Pharisee’s house there came a woman who had been a great sinner, -bringing with her a vase of ointment. “And stood at his feet behind him -weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with -the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the -ointment” (vii. 38). When the Pharisee wondered at His having allowed -such a woman to touch Him, He rebuked him by the parable of the two -debtors, and added, “Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the -time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou -didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.” - -Again in the Psalms, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from -the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they -that put their trust in him.” - -C. H. Spurgeon used these lines as the text of a sermon he preached in -the “Music Hall,” London, on the 3rd of July 1859, in which he did his -utmost to make his congregation understand what is meant by saying we -are to “kiss Christ.” “The kiss,” says he, “is a mark of worship; to -kiss Christ is at the same time to recognise Him as God, and to pay Him -divine worship. The kiss is a mark of homage and subjection; we ought -likewise to acknowledge Christ as our King, and promise to follow -blindly His behests. The kiss is a sign of reconciliation; we ought to -show that we are reconciled with God. Lastly, the kiss is the greatest -of all tokens of love; to kiss Christ is therefore only a figurative way -of expressing to love Him with deep and fervent love.”[14] - -As the woman that was a sinner showed her reverence for Christ by -kissing His feet, so all saintly men and women henceforward were -honoured in a like manner. They were saluted humbly by kisses on their -hands or feet, and the legend goes that he who kissed the hand of St -Dominic never afterwards committed sin. In many countries, more -especially in Southern Italy, kissing the hands of the priest is still -customary. - -The kiss reverential was extended to everything that was holy, or had -been consecrated to sacred purposes. - -People kissed the Cross with the image of the Crucified, and such -kissing of the Cross is always regarded as a particularly holy act. In -many countries it is required, on taking an oath, as the highest -asseveration that the witness is speaking the truth, and as a last act -of charity, the image of the Redeemer is handed to the dying or -death-condemned to be kissed. Kissing the Cross brings blessing and -happiness. In the south of France people used formerly, in moments of -difficulty or danger, when no Cross was at hand, to kiss their thumbs -laid in the form of a cross. When devout Catholics salute the Pope by -humbly kissing his slipper, they are fond of explaining away this -greeting. They say that it is not to be taken as any personal homage -paid to the Pope; the kiss having nothing to do with his slipper, but -the cross which is embroidered on it. Therefore Christ it is to whom -they are prostrating themselves. This idea, however, is undoubtedly a -later fancy; the kiss on the slipper ought, I take it, more correctly to -be considered as humble homage to the Pope as primate of the Church, and -such, therefore, must be the view the Pope himself holds, since he has, -times without number, exempted cardinals and other persons of high rank -from kissing his slipper. The number of kings and ambassadors who, in -the course of time, have refused to submit to this ceremony, have -undoubtedly regarded it as a humiliation; and popular conception bears -this out thoroughly. To “kiss the slipper” has become in many languages -synonymous with a low and unworthy cringing. In the old German war-song -against Charles V., we find: - - Ah, think the whole imperial race - Through Popery fell in sore disgrace - And German might was riven. - Will you for all their knavery - To slipper-kiss be given? - W. F. H. - -People kiss the image of Our Lady. The legend tells us that John of -Antioch even dared to kiss Mary’s mouth, and this kiss gave him wisdom -and great eloquence, and spread a golden glory round his mouth, hence -his surname Chrysostom (golden mouth).[15] - -People kiss the pictures and statues of saints. Down in St Peter’s -church in Rome there is a remarkable old bronze figure of St Peter, -which is said to date from the fifth century, and the faithful have, in -all ages, shown the highest veneration to this image, in consequence of -which a great part of the right foot has been gradually kissed away. - -Even nowadays the kiss bestowed on the pictures of the saints plays an -enormous part in the Roman Catholic, but more particularly in the Greek -Church. Not only their pictures, but even their relics are kissed; they -make both soul and body whole. St Balbina obtained forgiveness for her -sins by kissing St Peter’s chains, and Pascal’s niece was cured of a -disease in her eyes by kissing one of the thorns of Christ’s Crown. This -cure, the historical authenticity of which is, however, somewhat -doubtful, made a great sensation, and provoked a violent controversy -between the Jansenists and Jesuits. - -Besides, there are legends innumerable of sick people regaining their -health by kissing relics; innumerable, too, are the satires which arose -by reason of abuses in respect to cures which were achieved with relics -genuine and false. One of the best known is perhaps the mediæval story -of _The Monk’s Breeches_. - -A Franciscan friar was a very intimate friend of a merchant in Orleans -and his wife--especially of the latter. One evening the merchant -returned home unexpectedly from a journey, and the friar, who had tried -to the best of his ability to entertain the wife in the husband’s -absence, for certain circumstances which were capable of being -misunderstood, thought it wisest to disappear as quick as possible; but -in his haste he forgot his breeches. The merchant, however, did not -notice anything; the night was dark, and next morning he even put on the -friar’s breeches instead of his own. On coming back home from his office -in the afternoon--he had long discovered his mistake--he demanded, with -violent and hasty words, an explanation from his wife; but the latter, -who had discovered at once in the morning what had happened, hurriedly -sent a messenger to the friar to consult with him as to what was to be -done. According to their arrangement she answered her husband very -calmly: - -“My dear friend, don’t fly into a passion; you ought to thank me instead -of quarrelling with me. You know we have no children, and we have tried -everything--but all in vain. Now I heard that St Francis’ breeches could -work miracles, even of that sort, and that is why I had them fetched for -you. Take them off now, for I expect some one from the monastery will be -coming for them directly.” The poor man in his delight quickly got out -of his breeches, and directly he had done so there came a knocking at -the door. It was the friar, followed by a choir boy carrying holy-water -and a censer. He had come to fetch the precious relic of the monastery, -and inquisitive neighbours flocked in from all quarters. He wrapped the -breeches reverently up in a white hand-cloth, and sprinkled them with -holy-water while the boy incensed them, after which he lifted up the -sacred bundle. Meanwhile all fell on their knees, and after pronouncing -a panegyric on St Francis, he himself carried round the breeches so that -the people who had assembled might kiss them. This they did with deep -piety and emotion, more especially the honest and grateful merchant. - -This little story afforded much merriment in the Middle Ages. People -found much enjoyment in its burlesque humour, and never got tired of -hearing it. It occurs as a _fabliau_, a _farce_, and a story, and -belongs to the _facetiæ_ with which the Pope’s Secretary, Poggio, amused -his friends in _Il Bugiale_ (The Lie Manufactory). - -Even as regards the great ones of this world the kiss used to serve in -various ways as a mark of humility and reverence. Its use in ancient -times was remarkably widespread; people threw themselves down on the -ground before their rulers, kissed their footprints, literally “licked -the dust,” as it is termed. In the Psalms, Solomon sings of the promised -King: “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his -enemies shall lick the dust”; and the prophet Isaiah says: “Kings shall -be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow -down to thee with their face before the earth and lick up the dust of -thy feet” (xlix. 23). - -They kissed not only the ground under the powerful, but also their feet, -knees, hands, or the hem of their garments. - -Certain Roman Emperors adopted these oriental usages. Thus Caligula -ordered people to kiss his hands and feet, and even in the Middle Ages -the custom of kissing the feet of kings was in vogue. - -Nearly everywhere, wheresoever an inferior meets a superior, we observe -the kiss of respect. The Roman slaves kissed the hands of their masters; -pupils and soldiers those of their teachers and captains respectively. - -During the Middle Ages the vassal paid homage to his feudal lord by a -kiss on the hand or foot, hence the expression _devoir la bouche et les -mains_. It is well-known what befell Charles the Simple when Rollo, the -Norman chieftain, had to pay him feudal homage. The proud Viking would -not bow down to the king, but laid hold of the latter’s feet and lifted -them up to his mouth, whereat the king, amidst the laughter of the -spectators, tumbled down. Thus the scene is depicted briefly and -graphically in the _Roman de Rou_:-- - - Quant baisier dut le pie, baisier ne le deigna, - La main tendi aual, le pie al rei leua, - A sa bouche le traist e le rei enuersa; - Asez s’en ristrent tuit, e li reis se dreça.[16] - -They also kissed their liege lords on the thigh, and this method of -kissing can be traced down to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; -but the kiss on the hand was undoubtedly most frequently in use; and it -was the general custom for the vassal at the same time to hand his lord -a present, which is the reason why the word _baise-main_ (hand-kiss) -gradually got this meaning. - -If the lord was absent when the vassal waited on him, the latter had to -kiss the door, the lock or bolt, which was regarded as a valid -substitution for kissing the hand. From this arose the expressions, -_baiser l’huis_, (the door), _baiser le verrouil_, (the bolt), which -were used partly as an expression of slavish subserviency, and partly -in an ironical sense of lovers who have been rejected by their -mistresses, and thus constrained to - - Kiss the door, and kiss its chains - For ladies’ sake who are within. - W. F. H. - -As expressive not only of respect, but also of repentance, children in -former days were made to kiss the rod by which they had been chastised. -Geiler von Keiserberg writes in the sixteenth century: “When children -are thrashed they kiss the rods and say: - - Liebe ruot, trute ruot - werestu, ich tet niemer guot.[17] - -“They kiss the rods and jump over them, yea they leap over them.” We -have a memorial of this custom in the phrase, “kissing the rod.” - -There is still one great power that we have not mentioned, and one who -demands, too, homage by kisses, _i.e._, the devil; but, in order that -the humility shown to him may be as great as possible, he must be kissed -on his behind, _i.e._, on the place where the back ceases to be called -the back. Old pictures of the Sabbath on Blocksberg exhibit to us his -Satanic majesty, in the guise of a goat or cat, sitting on a high seat, -while his worshippers reverently approach and kiss him under his tail. -In several confessions of witches we find this kiss still more closely -described: “The devil has a big tail, and under it a sort of face, but -with this face he never speaks, as the only use he makes of it is to let -his most devoted followers kiss the same; for kissing this face is -regarded as an especially great honour.” This somewhat awkward kiss -occurs, moreover, in several sagas. In _Harehyrden_ the Jeppe gives up -his magic flute to the king on condition that the latter kisses his ass -under its tail. It can also be shown in actual life, and we have some -anecdotes from the Middle Ages which seem to prove that the _podex_-kiss -was used as a derisory punishment. There is also a story told of a merry -knight, once upon a time, compelling a party of monks to pay their -respects to their abbot in the aforesaid less dignified way. - -Kisses _in ano_ seem also to have been required of neophytes on their -reception into certain secret societies. - -The part this kiss plays in insulting speech ought to be sufficiently -well known. The Romans ere now spoke about _lingere culum_ or _lambere -nates_; the Germans more decently say: _Küss mich da ich sitz’_ (Kiss me -where I sit), or _Er kann mich küssen da wo ich keine Nase habe_ (He can -kiss me where I have no nose). Frenchmen even use the last mentioned -paraphrastic expression. It is told in an old poem about Theodore de -Beza, whose youth was, as you are aware, a very dissipated one, that, on -one occasion, he said of a lady that he would like to kiss her, but he -did not know how he could manage to do so as her nose was far too long. -When the lady learnt this she wittily replied: - - ... Pour si peu ne tenez, - Car si cela seulement vous en garde! - J’ai bien pour vous un visage sans nez.[18] - -We have no knowledge if this offer tempted the rigid Calvinist that was -to be; but the lady was undoubtedly young, and even if he had not found -her face so remarkably beautiful, yet it would have been very different -had the invitation come from an old crone, as the well-known saying, -“_baiser le cul de la vieille_,” implies the deepest ignominy that can -befall a man, at any rate a gambler--viz., to lose without scoring a -point. - -There is a Jutland variant of the story about Theodore de Beza: “I was -driving one day with Niels Hundepenge, and we saw at a distance a woman -walking on in front. Says Niels, ‘Peter, there goes a pretty girl; just -see what a figure, and how she steps out.’ When we got up to her we -found she was pock-marked and hideous. Then says Niels, ‘Now, my girl, -if you were only as good-looking in front as you are behind, I should -want to kiss you.’ ‘Well, if you think so,’ replied she, ‘you can kiss -me, you know, where you fancy I am best looking.’” - -Allow me, in connection with this, to call your attention to a -peculiarity about the Latin word _osculum_. The first syllable os of -course signifies “mouth,” the two last, on the other hand, mean the -correlative part on the reverse side of the body. This circumstance has -been made use of in a Latin anecdote about a married lady. An -importunate suitor asked her for a kiss, whereupon she replied that -this could not be granted, inasmuch as the first of what he asked -absolutely belonged to her husband, but, as she did not wish to be too -hard on him, he was welcome to have the last: - - Syllaba prima meo debetur tota marito, - Sume tibi reliquas, non ero dura, duas.[19] - -In modern times the ceremonious kiss of respect has gone clean out of -fashion in the most civilised countries; it is only retained in the -Church, but in all other domains it is practically unknown--so unknown, -indeed, that in many cases the practice would be offensive or -ridiculous. - -Kissing the earth is another instance of such kisses that I shall quote. -It plays a part in the old stories about Junius Brutus. Together with -King Tarquin’s sons he journeyed to Delphi to consult the oracle. The -answer they received was that the supreme power would fall to the lot of -him who first kissed his mother. Brutus then made a pretence of -stumbling, and as he fell he kissed the earth, our common mother. A few -years after this, the royal family were expelled from Rome, and Brutus -and Lucius Tarquinius were elected consuls. - -People also kissed the earth for joy on returning to their native land -after a lengthened absence. When Agamemnon returned from the Trojan War: - - Stepped he forth inwardly glad to the shore of his well-loved country, - Kissing and kissing again his mother earth while the scalding - Tears down his cheeks were coursing, though his heart was - brimming with blitheness. - -Even nowadays people feel glad at seeing their native country again -after long absence, but they have another way of expressing their joy, -and, without exaggeration, it would be safe to assert that if any one -returning from a journey wished to emulate Agamemnon, that person would -undoubtedly be put down as mad. - -We find in Holberg (“Ulysses of Ithaca,” or “A German Comedy”) a parody -of the old usage, where Ulysses says: “Let us fall down, after the old -hero’s fashion, and kiss our mother earth.” They fall down and kiss the -ground, but Chilian gets up hurriedly and says: “The deuce! I don’t -really understand the use of these ceremonies. Eugh, somebody has been -here before--that I can plainly perceive.” - -The old custom now only survives in certain sayings. Frenchmen use the -expression _baiser la terre_ (to kiss the earth), jeeringly, of a person -falling; and the German, _die Erde küssen_ (to kiss the earth), is a -euphemistic way of saying “die.” I may add, for the sake of -completeness, that kissing the earth still occurs sporadically nowadays -in the sense of the profoundest humility mingled with regret. When -Raskolnikow, in Dostojewski’s novel of that name, has confided to Sonja -how he murdered the old usurer’s wife, he exclaims in his despair: “And -what shall I do now?”--“What shall you do now,” exclaims Sonja, and her -eyes flash: “Get up, go hence at once; station yourself at a crossway, -kneel down and kiss the earth you have defiled, bow down thus before all -the people, and say to them: ‘I have committed murder.’ Then God shall -give you new life.” And, finally, when Raskolnikow has determined -publicly to acknowledge his crime and denounce himself as a murderer, he -falls prostrate on his knees in the middle of the market-place, bows -down, and, amidst the laughter and derision of the bystanders, kisses -the dirty ground with ecstasy and delight. - -In Europe, at least, we no longer kiss the ground before the feet of the -mighty, any more than we salute them by kissing their hands or feet; a -bow more or less gracious, according to circumstances, serves the same -purpose generally. Nevertheless, at certain courts, such as the Spanish, -English, and Russian, kissing the hand is still customary as a sort of -ceremonial salutation; but its practice is usually confined to certain -solemn occasions. - -Individuals of princely rank excepted, the kiss of respect to superiors -is to be regarded as all but extinct; but even in the eighteenth -century, kissing the hem of their garments is mentioned as a salutation -befitting ladies of exalted rank, and in Holberg’s _Politiske -Kandestøber_ (the Political Pewterer), we see how Madame Abrahamsen and -Madame Sanderus even kissed Gedske on the apron. - -Kissing, as expressive of admiration, still undoubtedly occurs, but can -scarcely be said to be particularly general; it becomes less and less -common as we approach our own time. - -A half-ironical instance occurs in Molière; in _Les Femmes Savantes_ -Armande and Philaminte fall into raptures over Vadius’ great learning. -_Du grec! O ciel! du grec! Il sait du grec, ma sœur!_ (Greek! good -heavens! Greek! He knows Greek, sister), says the one, and the other -answers: _Du grec! quelle douceur!_ (Greek! how sweet!). In their -boundless enthusiasm they ask Vadius to let them kiss him as a mark of -their admiration. He accepts this salutation very politely, if not with -any particularly great joy; but when he turns to young Henriette, from -whose lips he is especially desirous of receiving so tender an -expression of admiration, she rejects him quite abruptly with the -remark: _Excusez-moi, monsieur, je n’entends pas le Grec_ (Excuse me, -sir, I don’t understand Greek). - -The pedantic Vadius got just what he deserved--a kiss as dry as dust -from two middle-aged, sexless blue-stockings, which nobody begrudges -him. On the other hand, many, perhaps, will read with envy of the -homage received by Benjamin Franklin at the French Court. Mme. de -Campan, in her _Mémoires_, says: “At one of the splendid entertainments -given in Franklin’s honour, I saw how the most beautiful of the three -hundred ladies present was chosen to place a laurel crown on the white -locks of the American philosopher and imprint a kiss on each of the old -man’s cheeks.” - -The kiss of admiration and respect has, I suppose, been the longest to -survive in the form of kissing ladies’ hands. Formerly, in many -countries, it constituted a friendly greeting on meeting a lady or -saying good-bye to her; but nowadays this custom has grown obsolete in -most places; nevertheless we have certain literary reminiscences of it. -In Austria people say _Küss die Hand, gnädige Frau_, and _Sârut mâna_ in -Roumania, but still it is comparatively rare that this expression is -followed by actual kisses, as was formerly the case. _Je vous baise les -mains_ is now only used in an ironical sense in France. Ceremonial -kisses, however, still flourish in Spain to a marked degree, not only in -the language of the Court, but also in general conversation. When I was -first presented to a Spanish lady I expressed my gladness at making her -acquaintance by kissing her hand--only, however, by figure of -speech--but her husband at once pointed out to me in a laughing way, -that I had failed to show her proper respect. One can only kiss a -Spanish lady’s feet: _Beso à usted los pies_ or _à los pies de usted_ (I -kiss your feet), as they say. - -Before leaving the subject of the kiss reverential I will mention two -different ways in which it has been used. Formerly it was the custom, at -least at the French Court, for pages to first kiss the articles they -were to hand to distinguished personages. Henri Estienne tells an -anecdote about a page who had to carry a letter to the Princess of -Naples. It was expressly enjoined on him to kiss it (_baisez-la_), but -the page pretended he had misunderstood the words, so when he had to -leave the letter he first kissed the unsuspecting princess. - -We find another peculiar form of the kiss reverential in the cases when -a person kisses his own hand before offering it to the guest he would -especially honour, or before accepting a present for which he wishes to -show his gratitude in an extraordinarily polite manner.[A] - -In an old comedy of Marivaux, “_Harlequin poli par l’Amour_,” a fairy -falls in love with a rustic lout. She carries him off, entertains him in -her castle, and tries in every possible way to gain his love; but he -remains utterly callous to all her blandishments, and behaves all the -time in a most foolish manner. He takes a fancy to a valuable ring the -fairy is wearing; she removes it from her finger and gives it to him, -but when he scarcely says “Thank you” for it, she says to chide him: -_Mon cher Arlequin, un beau garçon comme vous, quand une dame lui -présente quelque chose, doit baiser la main en la reçevant_.[20] -Arlequin takes hold of the fairy’s hand and kisses it; but she corrects -him again, and says: “He does not understand me once, but I like his -mistake. It is your own hand, you know, that you should kiss.”[21] - -This usage still prevails amongst old peasants in Jutland, and is termed -receiving something with “kissed hand,” or “kiss hand.” The expression -_Kusshand_ is also employed in German, and is explained thus: “Gruss, -wobei man die eigne Hand küsst und dann nach der zu grüssenden Person -hin bewegt oder sie reicht.” The same sort of greeting is found both in -England and France. Voltaire tells us that children in certain countries -are taught to kiss their right hand when anybody gives them something -good. Even at the present day, in certain places on the Alps, peasants -express their thanks by kissing their hand before taking what is given -to them. - - - - -VI - -THE KISS OF FRIENDSHIP - - Par amistiet l’en baisat en la buche. - _Chanson de Roland._ - - For friendship pressed a kiss upon his mouth. - W. F. H. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE KISS OF FRIENDSHIP - - -The kiss is also employed as a conventional salutation between persons -who only stand on a footing of friendship or acquaintance with each -other. In our northern countries the friendly kiss usually occurs only -between ladies, but in this instance its usage is very widely extended. -With men and women it is properly only allowable when there is a marked -difference in age between both parties, but, on the other hand, it -seldom or never takes place between men, with the exception, however, of -royal personages who, on solemn occasions, are wont to greet and take -leave of each other with more or less sincere kisses of greeting and -farewell. Here we find ourselves again in a sphere in which, alas, we -have sadly fallen away from the good old ways. In former times, to wit, -the friendly kiss was very common with us between man and man as well -as between persons of opposite sexes. In guilds it was customary for the -members to greet each other “with hearty handshakes and smacking -kisses,” and, on the conclusion of a meal, people thanked and kissed -both their hosts and hostesses. In a description of a wedding in the -olden time in the district of Voer in Denmark we read: - -“When they had eaten, the parish clerk got up first, put his arms round -the parson’s neck, and kissed him on the mouth, saying: _Tak for mad, -hr. pastor_ (Thanks for your hospitality, sir priest). Then the parson -planted himself against a chest of drawers, and all the women, old and -young, went up to him, one after the other, and kissed him on the mouth. -Some of the old goodies could not quite reach him, for the priest was a -big, tall man, and they had actually to climb on to his boots, though he -stooped down to them slightly.” Peder Havgård said that he would not -have cared much to be in the parson’s place, for it was a mean and poor -country thereabouts, and some of the women were very shabbily-dressed -and dirty-looking. - -If we glance outside Denmark it appears that the kiss of friendship is -considerably in vogue. In Iceland it is still a general form of -salutation, although of late years there is said to be a certain falling -off in its use; and every one who travels in South Germany and Austria -can study at the very first railway station the different forms of that -kind of kiss which in those countries is specially used by way of -leave-taking; officers and students, farmers and merchants, all treat -each other to sounding kisses, usually on the cheek. One can observe the -same sort of thing in France, but more especially in Italy. I can attest -from personal experience that it is looked upon as the most natural -thing in the world for people to kiss their intimate friends when saying -good-bye, a shake of the hand being far too cold a leave-taking beneath -the warm sky of Italy. - -It is, however, undoubted that, speaking generally, the custom of -kissing, as an ordinary greeting, has immensely declined; in ancient -times and in the Middle Ages it was much more frequent than nowadays. - -It was the common practice with the Hebrews for acquaintances, when they -met, to kiss each other on the head, hands, and shoulders; and it was -assuredly with a kiss of pretended friendship that Judas betrayed his -Master. - -Even the Greeks in former times used kissing as a common salutation; not -only friends and acquaintances kissed each other, but also persons who -quite accidentally met when they were travelling. - -The custom of kissing, however, became less general later on. In a -discourse of Dion Chrysostomus, called _From Eubœa_, or “The Hunter,” -is a story of a rustic coming to the city and meeting two acquaintances -in the assembly, whom he goes up to and kisses. “But,” says the rustic, -“people laughed prodigiously at my kissing them, and, on that occasion, -I learnt that it is not customary for people of the city to kiss each -other.”[22] - -Kissing seems to have been much more in vogue with the Romans, amongst -whom it was the usual custom for people to salute each other with a kiss -on the hand, the cheek, or the mouth. Many even scented their mouths in -order to render their kisses more pleasing--or less unpleasant. Martial -laments over this usage in a little epigram to Posthumus: - - What’s this that myrrh doth still smell in thy kiss, - And that with thee no other odour is? - ’Tis doubt, my Posthumus, he that doth smell - So sweetly always, smells not very well. - -This kissing of friends gradually became a veritable nuisance to the -country. Fashion ordained that every one should give and receive such -kisses, but, in reality, every one preferred evading them. Martial, in -another epigram to this same Posthumus, exclaims: - - Posthumus late was wont to kiss - With one lip, which I loth; - But now my plague redoubled is,-- - He kisses me with both. - -and - - Posthumus’ kisses some must have, - And some salute his fist; - Thy hand, good Posthumus, I crave, - If I may choose my list. - -Under such frightful circumstances people had recourse to shifts which -seem almost as unsavoury as the kisses they would escape: - - Why on my chin a plaster clapped; - Besalved my lips, that are not chapped; - Philænis, why? The cause is this: - Philænis, thee I will not kiss. - -But such artifices, however, are of very little use; no one escapes the -_basiatores_ (kissers). They prowl about the streets and market-places; -not even the walls of the home, nor even the enforced solitariness of -the most hidden-places served as a protection against them: - - There are no means the kissing tribe to shun, - They meet you, stop you, after you they run, - Press you before, behind, to each side cleave, - No place, no time, no men, exempted leave; - A dropping nose, salved lips, can none reprieve, - Gangrenes, foul running sores, no one relieve; - They kiss you in a sweat, or starved with cold, - Lovers’ their mistress’ kisses cannot hold; - A chair is no defence, with curtains guarded, - With door and windows shut, and closely warded, - The kissers, through a chink will find a way, - Presume the tribune, consul’s self, to stay; - Nor can the awful rods, or Lictor’s mace, - His stounding voice away these kissers chase, - But they’ll ascend the Rostra, curule chair, - The judges kiss while they give sentence there. - Those laugh they kiss, and those that sigh and weep; - ’Tis all the same whether you laugh or weep; - Those who do bathe, or recreate in pool, - Who are withdrawn to ease themselves at stool. - Against this plague I know no fence but this: - Make him thy friend whom thou abhorr’st to kiss. - -All greet one another with kisses; every condition of life, every -handicraft, found a representative amongst the _basiatores_. When a -man, in ancient times, was afraid of meeting his tailor, it was not so -much on account of the latter’s bill as by reason of his kisses. - -“Rome,” says Martial, “gives, on one’s return after fifteen years’ -absence, such a number of kisses as exceeds those given by Lesbia to -Catullus. Every neighbour, every hairy-faced farmer, presses on you with -a strongly-scented kiss. Here the weaver assails you, there the fuller -and cobbler, who has just been kissing leather; here the owner of a -filthy beard, and a one-eyed gentleman; there one with bleared eyes, and -fellows whose mouths are defiled with all manner of abominations. It was -hardly worth while to return.” - -People kissed whenever they met: morning and evening, at all seasons of -the year: spring and autumn, summer and winter. The winter kisses seem -to have been especially unpleasant, and Martial censures them, in the -strongest terms, in his epigram to Linus: - - ’Tis winter, and December’s horrid cold - Makes all things stark; yet, Linus, thou lay’st hold - On all thou meet’st; none can thy clutches miss; - But with thy frozen mouth all Rome dost kiss. - What could’st more spiteful do, or more severe, - Had’st thou a blow o’ th’ face, or box o’ th’ ear? - My wife, this time, to kiss me does forbear, - My daughter, too, however debonaire. - But thou more trim and sweeter art. No doubt - Th’ icicles, hanging at thy dog-like snout, - The congealed snivel dangling on thy beard, - Ranker than th’ oldest goat of all the herd. - The nastiest mouth i’ th’ town I’d rather greet, - Than with thy flowing frozen nostrils meet. - If therefore thou hast either shame or sense, - Till April comes no kisses more dispense. - -That Martial’s epigrams depict the actual state of the case without any -particular exaggeration it may, among other things, be inferred from the -fact that the Emperor Tiberius, according to Suetonius, issued an edict -against these _cotidiana oscula_ (daily kisses). - -The friendly kiss was likewise much in vogue in the Middle Ages. - -In _La Chanson de Roland_ the Saracen king receives Ganelon with a kiss -on the neck, and then displayed to him his treasures: - - Quant l’ot Marsilies, si l’ad baisiet el’ col; - Pois, si cumencet à uvrir ses trésors. - (603). - -And Ganelon salutes the Saracen chiefs in the same way, and “they -kissed each other on face and chin”: - - “Bien serat fait”--li quens Guenes respunt; - Pois, se baisièrent es vis e es mentuns. - (625, 628). - -The friendly kiss is, on the whole, pretty often mentioned in the Old -French epics. “Out of friendship he kissed him on the mouth” is a verse -that frequently recurs: - - _Par l’amistiet l’en baisat en la buche._ - -The kiss of friendship was also exchanged between the opposite sexes. It -was the general custom for ladies to salute with a kiss any stranger -whether he came as an ambassador, expected guest, or a chance passer-by. -In the old French mystery-play of St Bernard de Menton, the Lord of -Miolan is sitting one day with his wife and daughters in the hall of his -castle, when a squire steps in and announces that some strangers have -arrived. The lord of the castle receives them courteously, bids them -welcome in God’s name, and at once orders his wife do her duty to them. -She, too, bids them welcome, and kisses them; at last it comes to the -turn of the little girls, who assure their father that they know their -duty right well, and are even willing to perform it: - - A vostre bon commandement - Les bayserons et festoyrons, - Trestons le myeulx que nous pourrons, - Mon seigneur, à vostre talent. - -Which may be rendered thus: - - As it is your orders dear, - We will kiss and make good cheer, - All, so far as in us lies, - Since your wishes that comprise. - W. F. H. - -Whereupon they kiss the strange gentlemen. In the poem of “Huon de -Bordeaux” we are told how Huon’s mother, the Duchess of Bordeaux, -receives the French king’s embassy with kisses. The queen, in Marie de -France’s _Lai de Graelan_, sends an ambassador after Graelan to make his -acquaintance, and, when he arrives, goes to meet him, and kisses him on -the mouth. - -In other Romance countries, too, kissing serves as a common mode of -greeting, which fact can be incidentally substantiated by means of -philology, inasmuch as the Latin verb _salutare_ (‘to greet’) both in -Spanish and Roumanian, and partially in French, has acquired the meaning -of ‘to kiss.’ - -When Abengalvon, in the old _Pöema del Cid_, meets Minaya Alvar Fañez, -he advances smilingly towards him in order to kiss him, and he “greets” -him on the shoulder, “for such was his wont”: - - Sonrisando de la boca, ibalo abrazar, - En el ombro lo saluda, ca tal es su usaje. - -The expression “to greet on the mouth” likewise occurs many times; but -also the verb _saludar_ (‘to hail’) is also used alone, as in the -Roumanian _sâruta_, to express ‘to kiss.’ - -Even in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the friendly kiss -flourished in France. When Leo Rozmital, the Bohemian nobleman, paid his -respects to Louis XI. at Meung-sur-Loire, the king led him to the queen, -and both she and all the ladies of her court kissed him on the mouth. - -We get further information in a letter from Annibale Caro dated 29th -October, 1544. It is addressed to the Duke of Palma, and describes the -visit of the French Queen Eléonore to the Emperor Charles V. in -Brussels. “When we met,” says he, “the ceremony of reception with -kissing of the ladies was, in the highest degree, interesting; it -seemed as if I had been present at the Rape of the Sabines. Not only the -higher nobility, but even all the rest took each his lady, and the -Spaniards and Neapolitans were the most eager. It gave rise to much -merriment when the Countess of Vertus, Charlotte de Pisseleu, was -observed to lean over her saddle to such an extent, in order to kiss the -Emperor, that she slid off her horse, and kissed the earth instead of -His Majesty’s mouth. The Emperor hurried up to her assistance, and with -a smile kissed her heartily (_e ridendo la baciò saporitamente_). -Directly afterwards Duke Ottavio rode up, jumped quickly off his horse, -and the Emperor himself conducted him to the Queen’s carriage, and there -he was presented to the distinguished ladies. The Duke kissed the -Queen’s hand and was about to remount his charger, but the Emperor -called him back, and told him that he ought also to kiss Mdme. -d’Etampes, who was sitting right opposite to the Queen in the carriage. -Like a good Frenchman, he exceeded the Emperor’s order and kissed her on -the mouth.” - -A vast quantity of other evidence goes to show how general was the -friendly kiss of salutation even during the Renaissance, especially -among the upper classes. Henri Estienne satirises it in his _Apologie -pour Hérodote_. “Kisses are allowed,” writes he, “in France between -noblemen and ladies, whether they do or do not belong to the same -family. If a high-born dame is in church, and any fop of her -acquaintance comes, she must, in conformity with the usage prevailing in -good society, get up, even if she be absorbed in the deepest devotion, -and kiss him on the mouth.” - -Even Montaigne expresses his disapproval of such a state of things. “It -is,” says he, “a highly reprehensible custom that ladies should be -obliged to offer their lips to every one who has a couple of lackeys at -his heels, however undesirable he may be, and we men are no gainers -thereby, for we have to kiss fifty ugly women to three pretty ones.” - -None the less, the friendly kiss held its ground right through the -seventeenth and even a part of the eighteenth century. Molière’s -marquesses kiss each other whenever they meet; for instance, in the -famous eleventh scene in _Les Précieuses ridicules_, when Mascarille -and Jodelet fall into each other’s arms with many warm kisses. In _Le -Misanthrope_ Alceste reproaches Philinte with embracing and kissing -every one, and “when I ask you who it is, you scarcely know his name!” - - Vous chargez la fureur de vos embrassements; - Et quand je vous demande après, quel est cet homme, - À peine pouvez-vous dire comme il se nomme. - -La Bruyère has, time after time, satirised this foolish custom, which, -especially at Court, seems to have assumed colossal dimensions; but even -in middle-class circles etiquette required men to salute ladies with a -kiss. - -In an old comedy entitled _Le Gentilhomme guespin_ a father presents his -son, who is extraordinarily awkward and clumsy. The latter does not know -how he ought to behave to the ladies of the house, so the father in -despair gives him a dig in the ribs, and whispers in his ear: “He’s -bashful. Kiss the lady. One always greets a lady with a kiss.” - - ... Il est honteux. Là, baisez donc Madame; - C’est toujours en baisant qu’on salue une femme, - -Molière has made use of this scene in _Le Malade imaginaire_, where -Thomas Diafoirus pedantically asks when he is introduced to Angélique: -_Baiserai-je?_ (Am I to kiss?). - -In England we come across pretty nearly the same state of things. -Erasmus of Rotterdam, in one of his _Epistolæ familiares_, expresses his -great satisfaction with English customs: “When you arrive every one -kisses you; at your departure they bid you good-bye and kiss you; you -come back, then fresh kisses. You are kissed when you meet any one, and -so, too, when you separate. Wheresoever you go everything is filled with -kisses, and if you have only once tasted how delicate these kisses are, -and the deliciousness of their savour, you would want, my dear Faustus, -to be banished to England for time and eternity.” In another passage, -where Erasmus is speaking of the state of the inns in England, which he -mentions in terms of unqualified praise, he winds up as follows: -“Everywhere at the inns one meets with pretty, smiling girls: they come -and ask for one’s soiled clothes; they wash them and soon bring them -back again. When the travellers are about to resume their journey these -girls kiss them, and take as affectionate a farewell of them as if the -latter were their brothers or near relations.” - -And Holberg in his letter writes: “In England it is considered -uncourteous to enter a house without saluting one’s hostess with a -kiss.” - -Even in the Low Countries the friendly kiss was much in vogue. Adrianus -Höreboord, a professor at the University of Leyden, has, in a Latin -treatise, investigated the question as to whether the custom of allowing -strangers to kiss young girls, widows, and other persons’ wives, on -paying a visit, can be said to be in conformity with the laws of -chastity. Höreboord’s opinion is that such practice is in no way -objectionable: as a kiss can be given without any _arrière pensée_ the -kisses demanded by politeness may be quite chaste. - -Erycius Puteanus, the learned Dutch philosopher, on the contrary, holds -that the aforesaid custom is not without danger--at any rate to more -sensually-disposed temperaments. In a letter on the education of a young -Italian girl he writes that he would never suffer any one to kiss his -pupil, adding: “Our Flemish girls never do so; they are not so ardent. -They do not comprehend the language of love in glances and kisses. In -the matter of Italian girls on the other hand, things are quite -different, and I teach my pupil the speech of our country and our -customs, kissing excepted.” - -The kiss of friendship was so general in Germany, even in the eighteenth -century, that Klopstock could write to a friend in 1750: _Vergessen sie -nicht zu mir auf einen Kaffee und auf einen Kuss zu kommen_. It seems, -however, soon to have fallen into disuse. - -As far back as 1747, Lessing had ridiculed it in a poem: - - The kiss with which my friend will greet me - Is not what’s rightly termed a kiss, - But only formal salutation - Because cold fashion bids him this. - W. F. H. - - - - -VII - -VARIOUS KINDS OF KISSES - - Einen Kuss in Ehren - Darf niemand wehren. - _German Proverb._ - - No one should take amiss - An honest-hearted kiss. - W. F. H. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -VARIOUS KINDS OF KISSES - - -It has been previously shown by numerous examples that kissing occupies -a prominent place in certain ceremonies. It would be easy to multiply -instances of this. - -We know from Roman law that the so-called _osculum interveniens_, which -concerned gifts, was exchanged between engaged couples. The law enacts -that, in the event of one of the contracting parties dying before the -marriage, only a moiety of the presents are to be returned, provided a -kiss was exchanged at the betrothal, but, if no kiss had been exchanged, -all the presents were to be returned.[23] - -The kiss was regarded as the introduction, as it were, to matrimonial -cohabitation--_initium consummationis nuptiarum_; it was symbolical of -marriage--_viri et mulieris conjunctio_. Certain ancient jurists have -even discussed the question whether a married woman who has suffered -herself to be kissed by a stranger has not thereby rendered herself -guilty of adultery. - -The decree of the Roman law which, so far as I know, still partly holds -good in Greece, is met with again in the Latin countries during the -Middle Ages. It was incorporated in the law of the Visigoths (_Lex -Romana Visigothorum_), and migrated thence to the different old Spanish -_fueros_ and the old French law, in which the word _osculum_ was also -used in the learned form _oscle_. It was likewise admitted into the law -of the Lombards, and Italy is most probably the West European country -where _donatio propter osculum_ has been longest retained. We find, even -down to our own times, traces of the same in customary laws. - -This is probably the only ceremonial kiss that has received legal -sanction; but wherever elsewhere we may turn our eyes and investigate -old ceremonies, we constantly find the kiss a necessary and important -part. - -Its usage was, for instance, general at weddings. Thomas Platter, who -studied at the University of Montpellier at the end of the sixteenth -century, tells us, in his “Diary,” that the majority of marriages took -place in private, without witnesses, through fear of witchcraft; though -the wedding feast, on the contrary, was celebrated in public with a vast -concourse of guests, and with many merry episodes. At the conclusion of -the feast the bride was divested of her bridal array, amidst jokes and -raillery, smart young bachelors having to take off her garters; and when -at last she sat up in bed, clad only in linen, then all the guests, male -and female, came and kissed her on the mouth, and the kisses were -followed by facetious compliments and good wishes. - -Moreover, at the later ceremony of dubbing a knight, the newly-made -knight of the Golden Fleece was kissed by the master of the ceremonies, -and had afterwards to kiss all the senior knights present. - -At certain academical functions the kiss also formed part of the festal -ceremony; in the seventeenth century the Dean, when degrees were -conferred, kissed all the new doctors and masters. - -Even in the guilds we meet with the kiss, though in a somewhat peculiar -form. Hübertz tells us that at the ceremony of admitting a member into -the Guild of Tanners, the candidate chose for his “Kränzjungfer” a girl -who had to be “fairly a maiden.” She painted black moustaches on his -upper lip, and the senior member placed a crown on his head. This done, -he kissed the latter, removed the crown, and decorated him instead with -a “Jungferkranz.” Finally, the senior member made a speech to the new -member, and gave him three boxes on the ears, on which the girl kissed -him, and washed off his moustaches, whilst “Vater” hung a sword to his -waist. - -The ceremony of reception into the Guild of Carpenters was followed by a -feast, at which the members, as a sign that they were now grown-up, were -allowed, on the payment of a mark, to kiss the barmaid, who was usually -the innkeeper’s daughter. - -It is easily understood that the kiss likewise came to play a prominent -part in many different dances and games. - -Kiss-dances were very common during the Middle Ages and even later. -Montaigne describes one that he witnessed at Augsburg in 1580. “The -ladies,” said he, “sit in two rows along the walls of the room. The -gentlemen go away and bow to them; they kiss the latter’s hands, and the -ladies get up, but without kissing them on the hand. Then each gentleman -puts his arm round the lady’s waist, right beneath her shoulder, kisses -her, and lays his cheek to hers.”[24] Whether it is the lady’s check or -mouth that is kissed, he omits to state; but it is certain that kisses -on the mouth were not uncommon. - -A Swiss traveller who stayed for some time in France in the middle of -the sixteenth century relates that, when he was in Montpellier, he was -invited to a ball, and there met a very beautiful young lady; but, he -adds, her nose was a trifle too long, and so her partner had great -difficulty in kissing her mouth, “as is the general custom.” - -The kiss-dance has not yet died out in Germany; but it appears no longer -to have the graceful forms of the Renaissance period, if we can trust -Fritz Reuter’s description in his _Journey to Belgium_. At a wedding -when the kiss-dance is to be held, the parish clerk cautiously inquires -of the clergyman whether kissing is regarded as unbefitting his -priestly dignity, but when the answer comes short and shrewd, “Kiss -away,” he bows to Mrs Black and--smack!--gives her a couple of hearty -kisses right on her mouth. Madame was thoroughly frightened, but that -did not avail, but every time he swang round with her, she got a proper, -smacking kiss. - -But it is evident from _Romeo and Juliet_ that even in England there -were dances in which a gentleman was allowed to kiss his partner. All -know the beautiful words with which Romeo claims his right: - - If I profane with my unworthiest hand - This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: - My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand - To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. (I. 5.) - -One can still take the same liberty at Christmastide under the -mistletoe. I know a young English lady who was offended with an American -gentleman who did not dare to avail himself of his privilege, because he -thought that this custom was obsolete in Europe. - -Kissing in our time still plays an important part in France in the -refrains of dance songs. _Le Bouquet de ma Mie_ ends with: - - Bell’ bergère, embrasse-moi, - Embrasse, embrasse, embrasse! - -And in _Ramenez vos Moutons, Bergère_, is sung by way of conclusion: - - Tombez à genoux, - Jurez devant tous. - D’être un jour époux - Et embrassez-vous.[25] - -There is, I suppose, no doubt that in these games the kiss is given and -taken, as the _dramatis personæ_ are generally children, but what takes -place when adults amuse themselves with these _rondes_, I do not know; -but I consider it probable that the gentleman will demand as his due a -kiss, at any rate on the cheek. There also exists an old _ronde à -baisers_, which is very characteristic and merry. In this it is the lady -who has to take the first step: - - Madame, entrez dans la danse, - Regardez-en la cadence, - Et puis vous embrasserez - Celui que vous aimerez.[26] - -As the living expression of the warmest and sincerest human feelings -kissing has been credited, in the world of fairy tales and superstition, -with a considerable curative and prophylactical power. - -We have seen, in the old sagas and ballads, how enchantments are broken -by means of a kiss; we have seen how holy men in the legends restore the -sick to health by means of a kiss, etc. Kissing has, on the whole, -influenced popular credulity to a large extent, and of the numerous -superstitious notions concerning it I only quote some few: - -If you would protect yourself against lightning you should make three -crosses before you, and kiss the ground three times. (Germany.) - -If you want to have luck in gambling you must kiss the cards before the -game begins. (France.) - -If you have the toothache you should kiss a donkey on his chops. -(Germany.) This very efficacious advice is found as far back as Pliny. - -If you drop a bit of bread on the floor you must kiss it when you pick -it up. The same respect is also to be shown to books you have dropped. -(Denmark, Germany.) - -According to Danish superstition, it is a bad omen when the first person -you meet of a morning is an old woman; nevertheless, you can ward off -all evil consequences by giving her a kiss. Evil must be expelled by -evil. - -People kiss little children when they have knocked themselves, in order -to take away the pain; they must “kiss them well again,” as it is -termed, or, as Englishmen say, “kiss the place and make it well.” - -The Greenland mother, who does not understand kissing as expressive of -love, kisses her sick child on the breast, shoulders, hips, and navel to -restore it to health. - -As the loving kiss of a living human creature brings life, health, and -happiness, so it is thought, on the other hand, that kisses of a -supernatural being bring destruction. - -In Lucian’s _True History_ there is a description of a perilous journey -to the realms of fancy. In one of these the travellers came upon a -remarkable vineyard wherein all the vines at the bottom were green and -luxuriant, but those above had the shape of women. “They greeted us, as -we drew nigh, and bade us halt. Some of us kissed them on the mouth, -and those who were kissed lost their understanding and reeled about like -drunken men. But worse befell those who had suffered themselves to be -embraced by these women; they were powerless to extricate themselves -from the latter’s arms, and we beheld their fingers changed into boughs -and twigs.”[27] - -I will here call your attention to the Roumanian song about cholera, -which comes in the shape of an ugly old woman to Vîlcu, and Vîlcu -entreats it thus: “Take my horse, take my weapons, but give me still -some days so I may once more see my children, which are as dear to me as -the light of the sun.” But the old woman stretches forth her bony arms, -folds Vîlcu to her bosom, presses her pallid lips to his, and, in a -death-dealing kiss, takes his life, whereupon she departs with a mocking -laugh. The Roumanian text is here very strong: - - Gură pe gură punea, - Buze pe buze lipĭa, - Zilele i le sorbĭa. - Apoĭ cloanza ear ridea, - Cu zilele purcedea, - Si voĭnicul mort cădea. - -Even a spectre’s kiss brings death. In an English variant of the ballad -of Leonora, Margaret says to her dead bridegroom, who is knocking at her -door at night: “Come and kiss me on the cheek and chin.”--“Perhaps I -shall come to thee,” he replies, but: - - If I shou’d come within thy bower, - I am no mortal man; - And shou’d I kiss thy rosy lips, - Thy days will not be long. - -I shall also call your attention, in connection with the foregoing, to a -curious old story of the venomous girl. - -A young maiden had from her tenderest years been reared on all the most -deadly poisons. Her beauty was marvellous, but her breath was so -poisonous that it killed everybody who came near her. She was sent to -the palace of Alexander the Great, as the king’s enemies reckoned on his -falling in love with her and dying in her arms. When the king saw her he -at once wanted to make her his mistress; but the shrewd Aristotle -suspected treachery. He restrained the king, and had a criminal who had -been sentenced to death sent for. The criminal was made to kiss the girl -in presence of the king, and he fell prone on the ground, poisoned by -her breath, like one struck by lightning. - -This story can be traced to India. It found its way into several -mediæval storybooks and attained great popularity. The monks made use of -it in their sermons, and gave it an allegorical interpretation: -Alexander was the good, trustful Christian; Aristotle was the -conscience; the venomous girl, incontinence, which comprehends -everything that is poisonous to the soul; and the criminal is the wicked -man who pursues the lusts of the flesh and suffers his punishment. “Let -us, therefore, abstain from all such things if we wish to reach -Paradise,” is the moral that the monk draws from it at the close of his -sermon. - -In conclusion I will quote several expressions to which kissing has -given rise: - -A lady’s hat which was fashionable in England in 1850, and which had no -brim to it, got the name of _Kiss-me-quick_. In contradistinction to -this, the old-fashioned Danish hats with prominent brims were called -_Kiss-me-if-you-can_. We have a modern variant in the Salvation lasses’ -_Stop-kissing-me_ hat. - -In France, during the last century, there was a colour of -the name of _Baise-moi ma mignonne_, called in England -“heart’s-ease”: _Look-up-and-kiss-me_, _Kiss-me-at-the-garden-gate_, -_Kiss-me-ere-I-rise_ or _Jump-up-and-kiss-me_. - -The verb “to kiss” is often used in a figurative sense, _e.g._, the -Italians say of one who likes drinking, “He kisses the flask” (_Bacia il -fiasco_); the Germans say of mean people, “They kiss the farthing” (_Den -Pfennig küssen_); the English too speak of a _penny-kisser_. - -This figurative meaning is not, however, confined to jocose expressions -and phrases; on the contrary, it occurs perhaps more frequently in -serious prose. - -Our whole life, lived in love to our neighbour and nature, is nothing -more than one long kiss. - -Kaalund somewhere says: - - A babe was I not long ere this, - But time too swiftly slips; - And that is why I press a kiss - So warmly on life’s lips. - W. F. H. - -A similar figurative use is extraordinarily common with the poets. H. C. -Andersen, in _Goose-grass_, says of the lark that it flies past the -tulip and other aristocratic flowers only to light on the sward by the -humble goose-grass, which it kisses with its beak, and for which it -sings its joyous song. The other poets represent the waves as kissing -the white beach, the bees, the scented flowers; and the ears of corn in -the fields as heaving beneath the warm kisses of the sun’s golden rays. -The sun’s kisses are _oscula sancta_; every creature shares in them, for -they are the most beautiful expression of God’s love. Ingemann sings in -a morning hymn: - - The sun looks down on hut and hall, - On haughty king and beggar weeping, - Beholds the great ones and the small, - And kisses babes in cradles sleeping. - W. F. H. - - - - -VIII - -THE ORIGIN OF KISSING - -Les coutumes, quelque étranges qu’elles deviennent parfois à la longue, -ont généralement des commencements très simples. - -MAX MÜLLER. - - -Usages, however strange they may sometimes become in the long run, have -generally very simple beginnings.--_Translated from the above._ - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE ORIGIN OF KISSING - - -With most civilised and many uncivilised nations kissing is the natural -expression of love and its kindred emotions. - -How can it be explained that a kiss has succeeded in getting so deep and -comprehensive a significance? How can a trivial movement of the lips -interpret our innermost feelings in so eloquent a way that there is not -a language which has at its command words approaching to it in -argumentative power? - -Are we face to face with something primitive, or something conventional -and derivative? Is it as natural to kiss when we are transported with -love as it is to smile when we are mirthful, or weep when we are sad? In -other words, is Steele right when he says, in strict conformity with a -Cypriot folk-song previously quoted, that “nature was its author, and it -began with the first courtship?” - -I shall try to answer this question in the following pages, but, -nevertheless, I wish at once to state most expressly that we are now -approaching ground where we know nothing, and where no one can with -certainty know anything. We can only advance more or less likely -hypotheses. - -In the first place, it is important to bear in mind that there are many -races of people who are quite ignorant of kissing as it is generally -understood. Thus it is unknown in a great part of Polynesia, in -Madagascar, and among many tribes of negroes in Africa, more -particularly among those which mutilate their lips. W. Reade, in one of -his books of travel, tells us of the horror which seized a young African -negress when he kissed her. Kissing is likewise unknown amongst the -Esquimaux and the people of Tierra del Fuego. Certain Finnish tribes -appear, from what B. Taylor tells us, not to practise it much. In his -_Northern Travel_ he relates that “while both sexes bathe together in a -state of complete nudity, a kiss is regarded as something indecent.” A -Finnish married woman, on being told by him that it was the usual custom -for husband and wife to kiss each other, angrily exclaimed, “If my -husband were to attempt such a thing, faith, I would warm his ears in -such a way that he would feel it for a whole week.” - -If the question arises as to what these people substitute for kissing, -the fact is well-known that, amongst uncivilised races, there is an -endless number of different ways of salutation; some smack each other on -the arms or stomach, others blow on each other’s hands, others again rub -their right ear and put out their tongue, etc., etc. Here, however, we -must confine ourselves to the salutations which are suggestive of -kissing. - -In many places people are in the habit of saluting with their noses. -This is the so-called Malay kiss, which consists in rubbing or merely -pressing one’s nose against another person’s nose. This nose-salute is -found among the Polynesians, Malays, Esquimaux, certain negro tribes in -Africa--in short, just among the majority of races which are ignorant of -kissing as we understand it. - -Darwin thus describes the Malay kiss: “The women squatted with their -faces upturned; my attendants stood leaning over them, laid the bridge -of their noses at right angles over theirs, and commenced rubbing. It -lasted somewhat longer than a hearty hand-shake with us. During this -process they uttered a grunt of satisfaction.”[28] The French _savant_ -Gaidoz, who has also described this custom, remarks, “I have many times -observed that cats which are fond of one another greet each other in -this way; and I myself once had a cat which always tried to squeeze its -nose against mine as a mark of affection.”[29] - -Everything is in favour of this nose-salute being a very primitive -custom, and its origin may be sought beyond the sense of touch; no -doubt, in the sense of smell. - -Spencer has arrived at the following conclusions: The sheep bleats after -her little lamb which has run away. It sniffs at several lambs that are -skipping about near her, and at last recognises her own by means of the -sense of smell, and undoubtedly feels great delight at recognising it. -In consequence of assiduous repetitions of this a certain relation is -developed between the two factors, so that the smell of the lamb excites -joy in the sheep. - -As every animal has its peculiar smell, so, too, has every human being. -When the patriarch Isaac grew old his eyes began to get dim, and he -could not see. He wished to bless his eldest son, Esau, but Jacob -deceived him by clothing himself in his brother’s garments, and giving -himself out as the latter. Isaac then said to him: “Come near now and -kiss me, my son.” And he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the -smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said: “See the smell of my -son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.” - -The sense of the smell peculiar to some one we are fond of is capable of -exciting pleasure. Timkowski writes of a Mongol father that the latter -time after time smelt his youngest son’s head. This mark of paternal -tenderness serves with the Mongols instead of kisses. In the Philippine -Islands, the sense of smell is so developed that the inhabitants, by -simply sniffing at a pocket-handkerchief, can tell to whom it belongs; -lovers who are separated send one another presents of bits of their -linen, and, in their absence, keep each other in mind by often inhaling -each other’s scent. - -That the delicate perfume that exhales from a woman’s body plays an -important part in love affairs even with modern civilised nations is -too well-known to require more than a passing mention on my part. - -Certain races of mankind now actually salute each other by smelling; -they apply their mouth and nose to a person’s cheek, and draw a long -breath. In their language they do not say “Give me a kiss,” but “Smell -me.” The same sort of kiss is also met with among the Burmese; and with -many Malay tribes the words “smell” and “salute” are synonymous. Other -races do not confine themselves to smelling each other’s faces, but -sniff their hands at every salutation. - -Alfred Grandidier, a French traveller, says of the nose-kiss in -Madagascar: “It always excites the merriment of Europeans, and yet it -has its origin in an extremely refined idea. The invisible air which is -continually being breathed through the lips is to savages, not only, as -with us, a sign of life, but it is also an emanation of the soul--its -perfume, as they themselves say--and, when they mingle and suck in each -other’s breath and odour, they think they are actually mingling their -souls.”[30] - -Then the origin of the nose-kiss, it seems, undoubtedly ought to be -sought--at any rate partly--in the sense of smell. The love of another -human being involves, as a consequence, one’s loving everything -belonging to this other being; and this love is shown _in casu_ by -drinking in his or her breath, whereby, little by little, a peculiar -nose-salutation is very ingeniously developed, which, naturally, is -capable of gradually assuming various conventional forms. - -Now we will proceed to the kiss proper--that on the mouth. How can its -origin be explained?[31] - -It does not seem very rational to assume that the motion of the muscles -in breathing should of itself be the natural, purely physical reflex of -a feeling of love in the same way as, for instance, certain -half-spasmodic contractions of several muscles in the upper part of the -face can be the immediate expression of wrath. - -I do not believe either that the mere contact of the lips with another -person’s face was originally sufficient to express “I love you.” -Naturally, the longing to touch the beloved ones body, to approach it as -closely as possible, is a very essential manifestation of erotic -emotion; but so far as the contact of the lips is concerned, there is -reason for assuming that, originally, without its being the direct -object, it had been, moreover, and perhaps in an equally high degree, a -means of attaining a definite sensual gratification--a gratification -that can be realised by the co-operation of the lips and mouth. - -As the nose-salutation partly originates in smell, so the mouth -salutation may, to a certain extent[32] at least, have its origin in -taste, or--which is even more probable--in both smell and taste? These -latter, as you know, are very closely related to each other. - -The dog shows his joy at his master’s presence by licking the latter’s -hand. Why is this? It would not, I suppose, be too rash to assume that -he as good as “tastes” him; loving his master, he therefore loves the -taste and smell peculiar to him. - -The cow licks her calf, and in this one may presumably see the -expression of a feeling which is to some extent satisfied by this -action. And why so? Undoubtedly by recognising by the tongue (and nose) -the taste (and smell) peculiar to the calf. - -Now, is it not exceedingly probable that the human kiss, in its original -form, can, as to its passive element, be accounted for in an identical -way, viz., as a purely sensual assimilation, by means of the nerves of -taste and smell, of another person’s peculiar qualities with respect to -_gustus_ and _odor_? These qualities have probably been much more -conspicuous in primitive mankind than nowadays, just as it is quite -certain that its faculty of taste and smell were far more developed than -ours. - -And have we not still, especially in the love-kiss, but also in kisses -between women, very numerous representatives of the primitive kiss, -which I should like to term the “taste-kiss.” I have many times pointed -out, in the preceding pages, the part which taste plays in kissing; and -I shall now add what I have often heard young girls say to a lady they -had kissed amorously: “Your kisses taste so nice.” - -From being a natural expression for love the sucking, tasting kiss has, -in course of time, become reduced to nothing more than a simple -inspiratory movement of the lips, which, by analogy, has come to express -many other feelings, such as gratitude, admiration, compassion, -tenderness, etc. It has become at length so degraded as to be used as a -purely conventional salutation. - -If this reasoning be correct, then the mouth-kiss, in the course of its -development, presents a perfect parallel with the nose-kiss. Both these -forms of greeting were originally closely allied, but the mouth-kiss had -better conditions for development than the nose-kiss. It has become a -salutation of a considerably higher sort, and whenever savage tribes -come into contact with civilised nations the nose-kiss is gradually -discarded. Such, for instance, was the case in Madagascar. There is no -doubt that savages can express very deep emotions by the nose-kiss. A -French missionary tells the story of how he was received when he went -back to the island of Pomotu: “When we approached the country all the -population assembled on the beach. They had harpoons in their hands, for -they imagined we were enemies; but, as soon as they saw my cassock, they -shouted, ‘That’s the Father, away with the harpoons,’ and when we -reached the shore they all rushed forward to kiss me by rubbing their -noses against mine, according to the custom of that country. The -ceremony was not very agreeable to me, and I was not altogether pleased -at having to take part in it.”[33] Civilised people, on the other hand, -regard the nose-kiss as something highly ludicrous, and I doubt if any -poet has the power of casting a halo of romance over it. - -The mouth-kiss, on the contrary, is redolent of the purest and most -delicate poesy. A German minnesinger rhapsodises thus: “The radiant sun -is darkened before mine eyes when I behold the roses that bloom on my -darling’s mouth.” - -“He who can pluck these roses may rejoice in the depth of his heart. -Many are the roses I have beheld, but never have I looked on any so -splendid.” - -“How beauteous are the roses one gathers in the valley; nathless her -delicate, ruddy lips conjure up thousands that are lovelier still.” - - - - -L’ENVOI - - Wherefore, methinks, let ev’ry man - Kiss as he knows best, will, should, can; - But I and my beloved know this:-- - How we ought properly to kiss.--PAUL FLEMING. - W. F. H. - - - Printed by - Oliver & Boyd - Edinburgh. - - - FOOTNOTES: - - [1] H. F. Cary’s translation. - - [2] From _osculum_ we get the words osculogy, the science of kissing, - and osculogical, that which pertains to kissing; but the Greek - derivations philematology and philematological are perhaps preferable. - - [3] - - The tiny little mouth, red as a rose - That blossoms hidden in some garden-close, - Pleasant and amorous through being kissed. - W. F. H. - - - [4] Translated from the Danish Version. - - [5] A Danish poet, philologist, and collector of proverbs (1631-1702). - - [6] This and most of the following Servian ballads were translated by - Prof. Nyrop into Danish from the German version of O. P. Ritto. - - [7] From “Various Verses,” 1893. - - [8] - - He who a kiss has snatched and takes naught more, - Deserves to lose the kiss he has in store, - How much was lacking to my perfect bliss? - Not modesty but clownishness was this. - W. F. H. - - - [9] Translated by Edward, Earl of Derby. - - [10] William Morris’ Translation. - - [11] William Morris’ Translation. - - [12] William Morris’ Translation. - - [13] William Morris’ Translation. - - [14] Retranslated from the Danish of the Text. - - [15] We have here a striking example of how legends arise. John, - the Father of the Church, got the epithet “golden-mouth” on account - of his great eloquence; but the people sought another more concrete - explanation, if I may use the term, of that name, the metaphorical use - of which they failed to comprehend. - - [16] - - And when he had to kiss Charles’ foot--such kissing Rollo spurned-- - He thrust his hand forth downward, and to the monarch turned. - He raised the king’s foot to his lips, and overturned the king, - Who quickly rose upon his feet whilst mirth around did ring. - W. F. H. - - - [17] Which may be freely translated: - - Dear, kind rod that’s trusty stood, - Without thee ne’er should I do good. - - - [18] - - ... Well, if you chose - With less to be content, don’t stick at this. - I have for you a face without a nose. - W. F. H. - - - [19] - - My first is for my husband, not for you; - But you’re right welcome to the other two. - W. F. H. - - - [20] My dear Arlequin, a handsome lad like you, when a lady offers him - anything, ought to kiss the hand when he receives it. - - [21] Omitted in the last edition. - - [22] Omitted in the last edition. - - [23] _Si ab sponso rebus sponsæ donatis, interveniente osculo, - ante nuptias hunc vel illam mori contigerit, dimidiam partem rerum - donatarum ad superstitem pertinere præcipimus, dimidiam ad defuncti - vel defunctæ heredes cuiuslibet gradus sint et quocunque iure - successerint, ut donatio stare pro parte media et solvi pro parte - media videatur: osculo vero non interveniente, sive sponsus sive - sponsa obierit, totam infirmari donationem et donatori sponso sive - heredibus eius restitui._ - - [24] Retranslated from the Danish Text. - - [25] - - Now down on your knees fall, - And promise straightway - To be wife and husband, - And then kiss away. - W. F. H. - - - [26] - - Madame, join the dancing throng, - Listen to their measured song; - But remember, for the rest, - You shall kiss whom you love best. - W. F. H. - - - [27] Retranslated from the Danish of the Text. - - [28] Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text. - - [29] Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text. - - [30] Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text. - - [31] Naturally, I am not concerned here with the various explanations - given by the poets as to the origin of the kiss. Gressner, in an - idyll of Daphnis and Chloe, has told us how both the lovers observed - the sport of the doves in the grove and then tried to imitate it by - pressing their mouths together as the doves do their beaks. - - [32] Besides the passive or receptive element of the kiss, which is - essentially the object of my investigation, there is also, as we have - previously noticed, an active element which must not be overlooked, - viz., the contact and muscular sensation at the pressure. During the - erotic transport, which excites the desire for something further of a - brutal and violent nature, the body trembles with powerful muscular - tension, and a pressure or bite of the mouth is one of the forms by - which the passion of love finds expression. It is difficult, in these - pages, to go further into this aspect of the kiss, which is regarded - by certain philosophers as the main one, which it really is in respect - to certain kisses under certain circumstances; but there are other - kisses which are equally so originally, and in which the passive - element seems to me the most essential. The origin of the love-kiss - ought scarcely to be sought in any single source, whether in the sense - of touch or in that of taste and smell combined. Unquestionably both - these elements co-operate in its production, but under constantly - varying conditions, just as the active or the passive element - predominates, the kiss accompanies and interprets according to the - erotic phase. In what follows I shall confine myself exclusively to - the receptive element in the kiss. - - [33] Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -Inbruntskuss=> Inbrunstkuss {pg 9} - -Kuss aus!=> Küss aus! {pg 10} - -eine grosse Kleinigheit=> eine grosse Kleinigkeit {pg 64} - -Er kan mich küssen da wo ich keine Nase habe=> Er kann mich küssen da wo -ich keine Nase habe {pg 128} - -Lucius Turquinius=> Lucius Tarquinius {pg 131} - -the same state of thing=> the same state of things {pg 155} - -pedanticly asks=> pedantically asks {pg 155} - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The kiss and its history, by Kristoffer Nyrop - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KISS AND ITS HISTORY *** - -***** This file should be named 51856-0.txt or 51856-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/5/51856/ - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The kiss and its history - -Author: Kristoffer Nyrop - -Translator: William Frederick Harvey - -Release Date: April 24, 2016 [EBook #51856] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KISS AND ITS HISTORY *** - - - - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="cb">THE KISS AND ITS HISTORY</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="321" height="500" alt="" title="" /> -</div> - -<h1> -THE KISS<br /> -<br /> -<span class="eng">And its History</span></h1> - -<p class="cb">BY<br /> -<span class="smcap">Dr</span> CHRISTOPHER NYROP<br /> -<i>Professor of Romance Philology at the University of Copenhagen</i><br /> -<br /> -<small>TRANSLATED BY</small><br /> -<br /> -WILLIAM FREDERICK HARVEY<br /> - -<i>M.A., Hertford College, Oxford; Barrister-at-Law of the Inner<br /> -Temple; Lecturer in English at the University of Lund<br /> -(Sweden); sometime Professor of English Literature<br /> -at the University of Malta</i><br /> -<br /> -LONDON<br /> - -SANDS & CO.<br /> - -12 BURLEIGH STREET, STRAND<br /> - -1901<br /><br /><br /> -TO<br /> -<br /> -WALTER BENSON, Esquire<br /> -<br /> -I DEDICATE MY MODEST PART IN THIS BOOK<br /> -IN TOKEN OF A FRIENDSHIP WHICH<br /> -HAS GROWN STAUNCHER WITH<br /> -THE GROWTH OF<br /> -YEARS<br /> -</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i14">ἦ μεγάλα χάρις<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Δώρῳ ξὐν όλίγῳ· πάντα δἐ τιμᾶντα τἀ πἀρ ϕίλων<br /></span> -<span class="i10"><span class="smcap">Theocritus</span>, <i>Idyl</i> xxviii., 24, 25.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="c">“Surely great grace goes with a little gift, and all the offerings of -friends are precious.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Je célèbre des jeux paisibles,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Qu’en vain on semble mépriser,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Les vrais biens des âmes sensibles,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Les doux mystères du baiser.<br /></span> -<span class="i12"><span class="smcap">Dorat.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">To gentle sports due praise I render,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">At which some wits have vainly sneered:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The true delight of spirits tender,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The kiss’s mysteries endeared.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<h2><a name="TRANSLATORS_PREFACE" id="TRANSLATORS_PREFACE"></a>TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> following treatise, which is the work of a Romance philologist of -high European reputation, has not only gone through two editions in -Denmark, but has also been translated into German, Swedish, and Russian. -The popularity which this learned and at the same time charming little -book rapidly acquired abroad, and the favourable criticisms passed on it -by Continental scholars, have encouraged me to present it to my -fellow-countrymen in an English dress. With regard to the numerous -poetical quotations that form so striking a feature of this book, those -which I have translated myself may be distinguished from such as I have -borrowed from standard versions by the appended initials, W. F. H.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Inner Temple</span>, <br /><span class="smcap">London</span>, <i>2nd August 1901</i>.</p> - -<h2><a name="AUTHORS_PREFACE" id="AUTHORS_PREFACE"></a>AUTHOR’S PREFACE</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Wenn ich nur selber wüsste,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Was mir in die Seele zischt!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Die Worte und die Küsse<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Sind wunderbar vermischt.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Oh, could I but decipher<br /></span> -<span class="i2">What ’tis that fills my mind.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The words are with the kisses<br /></span> -<span class="i2">So wond’rously combined.<br /></span> -<span class="i12"><span class="smcap">Heine.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Dante, in the fifth canto of his <i>Hell</i>, has celebrated the power a kiss -may have over human beings. In the course of his wanderings in the -nether world, when he has reached the spot where abide those who have -sinned through love, he sees two souls that “flutter so lightly in the -wind.” These are Francesco da Rimini and her brother-in-law Paolo. He -asks Francesco to tell him:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i3">“In the time of your sweet sighs,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By what, and how love granted, that ye knew<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Your yet uncertain wishes?”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Whereto she replies:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i10">“One day<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For our delight we read of Lancelot,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How him love thrall’d. Alone we were, and no<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Suspicion near us. Ofttimes by that reading<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Our eyes were drawn together, and the hue<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fled from our alter’d cheek. But at one point<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Alone we fell. When of that smile we read,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The wished smile, so rapturously kissed<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By one so deep in love, then he, who ne’er<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From me shall separate, at once my lips<br /></span> -<span class="i0">All trembling kiss’d. The book and writer both<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Were love’s purveyors. In its leaves that day<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We read no more.”<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>I have had a special object in prefacing my studies on the history of -kissing with these famous verses, for I regarded it in the light of a -duty to caution my readers emphatically, and at the very outset, as to -the danger of even reading about kisses; and I consider that, having -done this, I have warned my readers against pursuing the subject, and -“forewarned is forearmed,” or, “<i>homme averti en vaut deux</i>.”</p> - -<h2><a name="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS" id="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS"></a>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td><small>CHAP.</small></td><td> </td> -<td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#I">I.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">What is a Kiss?</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_3">3</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#II">II.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Love Kisses</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_29">29</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#III">III.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Affectionate Kisses</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_79">79</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#IV">IV.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">The Kiss of Peace</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_101">101</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#V">V.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">The Kiss of Respect</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_113">113</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#VI">VI.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">The Kiss of Friendship</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_141">141</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#VII">VII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">Various Kinds of Kisses</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_161">161</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#VIII">VIII.</a></td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">The Origin of Kissing</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_177">177</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#LENVOI">L’Envoi</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_189">189</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1"></a>{1}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="I" id="I"></a>I<br /><br /> -WHAT IS A KISS?</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2"></a>{2}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3"></a>{3}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -WHAT IS A KISS?</h2> - -<p>It may perhaps seem somewhat futile to begin with discussing what a kiss -is: that every child of course knows. We are greeted with kisses -directly we enter the world, and kisses follow us all our life long, as -Hölty sings—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Giving kisses, snatching kisses,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Keeps the busy world employed.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Nevertheless the question is not altogether superfluous. It seems to me -even to offer certain points of interest, inasmuch as it is by no means -so easy as people may imagine to define what a kiss is. If we turn to -the poets we are often put off with the answer that a kiss is something -that should be merely felt, and that people would do well<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4"></a>{4}</span> to refrain -from speculating as to what it actually is.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">What says this glance? What meaning lurks in this<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Squeezing of hands, embrace, and ling’ring kiss?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">This only can your heart explain to you.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What have such matters with the brain to do?<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">So, for instance, says Aarestrup; but he adds as a sort of explanation—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But when I see thee my fond kiss denying,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And straightway, nathless, mine embrace not spurning,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then needs must I to tedious arts be turning,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And let crabb’d wisdom from my lips go flying.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Know then the voice alone interprets rightful<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And with poetic fire from heart’s depth welleth,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And yet the sweetest of them all by no means!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Whereas the bosom, arms, and lips, and eye-sheens—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How shall I call it? for the total swelleth<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Unto a language wordless as delightful.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">which has not brought us nearer to a solution of the question. Other -poets give us an allegorical transcription, couched in vague poetical -terms, which rather refer to the feelings of which the kiss may be an -expression than attempt to define its physiology. Thus Paul Verlaine -defines a kiss as “the fiery accompaniment on the keyboard<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5"></a>{5}</span> of the teeth -of the lovely songs which love sings in a burning heart.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Baiser! rose trémière au jardin des caresses!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Vif accompagnement sur le clavier des dents,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Des doux refrains qu’Amour chante en les cœurs ardents<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Avec sa voix d’archange aux langueurs charmeresses!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">This definition, which seems to me to be as original as it is beautiful -and apt, deals, however, exclusively with the kiss of love; but kisses, -as we all know, are capable of expressing many other emotions, and it -enlightens us not one whit as to the external side of the nature of a -kiss. Let us, therefore, leave the poets, and seek refuge with the -philologists.</p> - -<p>In the <i>Dictionary of the Danish Philological Society</i> (<i>Videnskabernes -Selskabs Ordbog</i>) a kiss is defined as “a pressure of the mouth against -a body.” As every one at once perceives, this explanation is very -unsatisfactory, for, from the above statements, we could hardly accept -more than one, viz., the mouth. Now, of course, it is quite clear that -one of the first requisites for a kiss is a mouth. “Einen Kuss an sich, -ohne Mund, kann man nicht geben,” say the Germans,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6"></a>{6}</span> and it is also -remarkable that in Finnish, <i>antaa sunta</i>, “to kiss,” means literally -“to give mouth.”</p> - -<p>How does the mouth produce a kiss?</p> - -<p>A kiss is produced by a kind of sucking movement of the muscles of the -lips, accompanied by a weaker or louder sound. Thus, from a purely -phonetic point of view, a kiss may be defined as an inspiratory bilabial -sound, which English phoneticians call the lip-click, <i>i.e.</i>, the sound -made by smacking the lip. This movement of the muscles, however, is not -of itself sufficient to produce a kiss, it being, as you know, employed -by coachmen when they want to start their horses; but it becomes a kiss -only when it is used as an expression of a certain feeling, and when the -lips are pressed against, or simply come into contact with, a living -creature or object.</p> - -<p>The sound which follows a kiss has been carefully investigated by the -Austrian <i>savant</i>, W. von Kempelen, in his remarkable book entitled <i>The -Mechanism of Human Speech</i> (Wien, 1791). He divides kisses into three -sorts, according to their sound. First he treats of kisses proper, which -he characterises as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7"></a>{7}</span> a <i>freundschaftlich hellklatschender Herzenskuss</i> -(an affectionate, clear-ringing kiss coming from the heart); next he -defines the more discreet, or, from an acoustic point of view, weaker -kiss; and, lastly, speaks contemptuously of a third kind of kiss, which -is designated an <i>ekelhafter Schmatz</i> (a loathsome smack).</p> - -<p>Many other writers have, although in a less scientific manner, sought to -define and elucidate the sound that arises from a kiss. Johannes -Jørgensen says very delicately in his <i>Stemninger</i> that “the plash of -the waves against the pebbles of the beach is like the sound of long -kisses.”</p> - -<p>It is generally, however, an exclusively humorous or satirical aspect -that is most conspicuous. In the <i>Seducer’s Diary</i> (<i>Forførerens -dagbog</i>) of Sören Kierkegaard, Johannes speaks of the engaged couples -who used to assemble in numbers at his uncle’s house: “Without -interruption, the whole evenings through, one hears a sound as if a -person was going round with a fly-flap: that is the lovers’ kisses.” A -still more drastic comparison is found in the German expression, “the -kiss sounded just like when a cow<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8"></a>{8}</span> drags her hind hoof out of a swamp.” -This metaphor, which is used, you know, by Mark Twain, is as graphic as -it is easy of comprehension; whereas, on the other hand, I am somewhat -perplexed with regard to an old Danish expression that is to be found in -the Ole Lade’s Phrases (<i>Fraser</i>): “He kissed her so that it rang just -as it does when one strikes the horns off felled cows.” Another old -author speaks of kissing that sounds as if one was pulling the horn out -of an owl.</p> - -<p>The emotions expressed by this more or less noisy lip-sound are manifold -and varying: burning love and affectionate friendship, exultant joy and -profound grief, etc., etc.; consequently there must be many different -sorts of kisses.</p> - -<p>The austere old Rabbis only recognised three kinds of kisses, viz.: -those of greeting, farewell, and respect. The Romans had also three -kinds, but their classification was essentially at variance with the -Rabbis’: they distinguished between <i>oscula</i>,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> friendly kisses, -<i>basia</i>, kisses of love, and <i>suavia</i>, passionate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9"></a>{9}</span> kisses. The -significance of these words is clearly expressed in the following -lines:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Basia coniugibus, sed et oscula dantur amicis,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Suavia lascivis miscantur grata labellis.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">But the Romans’ division is by no means exhaustive; kisses are and have -been actually employed to express many other feelings than those -above-mentioned.</p> - -<p>That kisses in this book are arranged in five groups, viz., kisses of -passion, love, peace, respect, and friendship, is chiefly due to -practical considerations; for, to be precise, these artificially-formed -groups are inadequate, and, besides, often overlap one another.</p> - -<p>A modern French writer reckons no less than twenty sorts of kisses, but -I find in German dictionaries over thirty different designations: -<i>Abschiedskuss</i>, <i>Brautkuss</i>, <i>Bruderkuss</i>, <i>Dankkuss</i>, <i>Doppelkuss</i>, -<i>Ehrenkuss</i>, <i>Erwiderungskuss</i>, <i>Feuerkuss</i>, <i>Flammenkuss</i>, -<i>Frauenkuss</i>, <i>Freundschaftskuss</i>, <i>Friedenskuss</i>, <i>Gegenkuss</i>, -<i>Geisterkuss</i>, <i>Handkuss</i>, <i>Honigkuss</i>, <i>Inbrunstkuss</i>, <i>Judaskuss</i>, -<i>Lehenskuss</i>, <i>Liebeskuss</i>, <i>Mädchenkuss</i>, <i>Minnekuss</i>, <i>Morgenkuss</i>, -<i>Mutterkuss</i>, <i>Nebenkuss</i>, <i>Pantoffelkuss</i>, <i>Segenskuss</i>, -<i>Söhnungskuss</i>, <i>Undschuldskuss</i>, <i>Vermählungskuss<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10"></a>{10}</span></i>, <i>Versöhnungskuss</i>, -<i>Wechselkuss</i>, <i>Weihekuss</i>, <i>Zuckerkuss</i>, etc., etc. In German the verb -itself, “to kiss,” is varied in many different ways, <i>e.g.</i>, in Germany -one may <i>auküssen</i>, <i>aufküssen</i>, <i>ausküssen</i>, <i>beküssen</i>, <i>durchküssen</i>, -<i>emporküssen</i>, <i>entküssen</i>, <i>erküssen</i>, <i>fortküssen</i>, <i>herküssen</i>, -<i>nachküssen</i>, <i>verküssen</i>, <i>vorbeiküssen</i>, <i>wegküssen</i>, <i>widerküssen</i>, -<i>zerküssen</i>, <i>zuküssen</i>, and <i>zurückküssen</i>.</p> - -<p>We must give the Germans the credit of being thorough, and in the -highest degree methodical and exhaustive in their nomenclature, for can -we conceive a more admirable word than, for instance, <i>nachküssen</i>, -which is explained as “making up for kisses that have been omitted, or -supplementing kisses”? However, on the other hand, it cannot be denied -that they are at the same time awkward and tasteless in their -expressions; a word such as <i>ausküssen</i>, which, for instance, is used in -the refrain: <i>Trink aus! Küss aus!</i> seems to me to smack perilously of -the ale-house.</p> - -<p>We have now seen what a kiss is; but before proceeding to investigate -the different kinds of kisses, their significance in the history of -civilisation, and treatment in poetry, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11"></a>{11}</span> still remains for us to reply -to some of the ordinary queries regarding the nature and characteristics -of the kiss.</p> - -<p>In the first place we must investigate the kiss in its gustative aspect. -I here confine myself to what Kierkegaard calls “the perfect kiss,” -<i>i.e.</i>, the kiss between man and woman; kisses between men are, -according to that authority, insipid.</p> - -<p><i>Küssen, wo smekt dat? see de maid.</i> Yes, its taste naturally depends -entirely on the circumstances, and experience is here a teacher that -sets every theory at nought; but a few leading features may, however, be -indicated.</p> - -<p>When Lars Iversen, in Schandorph’s <i>Skovfogedbørnene</i>, has kissed Mette -Splyd, he wipes his mouth and says, when he has got well outside the -door, “That tasted like meat that has been kept too long.” When the old -minnesinger, King Wenceslaus of Bohemia, had kissed his sweetheart he -sang: “Just as a rose that opens its calix when it drinks the sweet dew, -she offered me her sugar-sweet red mouth.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Recht als ein rôse diu sich ûz ir klôsen lât,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Swenn si des süezen touwes gert,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sus bòt si mir ir zuckersüezen ròten munt.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12"></a>{12}</span></p> - -<p>As we perceive from both these examples, there is a great distinction -between kisses in their gustative aspect, but, for obvious reasons, I -shall entirely exclude the variety represented by Mette Splyd.</p> - -<p>The most frequently employed and, at the same time undoubtedly the most -fitting epithet of a kiss, is that it is sweet. The shepherd in the -French pastorals is fond of asking for a sweet kiss (<i>un doux baiser</i>), -and poets innumerable, like Wenceslaus, have sung about the beloved’s -sugar mouth. During the Renaissance such expressions as her <i>bouche -sucrine</i> (sugary mouth) and <i>bouche pleine de sucre et d’ambregris</i> -(mouth full of sugar and ambergris) were often employed.</p> - -<p>We find this further borne out by two Latin epigrams. One asks:—“What -is sweeter than mead?” and the answer runs: “The dew of heaven. And what -is sweeter than dew?—Honey from Hybla? What is sweeter than -honey?—Nectar. Than nectar?—A kiss.”</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Quid mulso præstat? Ros cœli. Rore quid? Hyblæ Mel. Melle hoc? -Nectar. Nectare? Suaviolum.</p></div> - -<p>The second epigram goes through a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13"></a>{13}</span> similar string of comparisons, and -arrives at the same result: “What is better than sugar?—Honey-cake. -Than honey-cake?—The flavour of honey-combs. Than this flavour?—Dewy -kisses”—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Saccharo quid superat? Libum. Quid libo? Favorum Gustus. At hunc -gustum? Basia roscidula.</p></div> - -<p>Kisses are sweet as woman’s gentle breath, which, according to a -Roumanian folk-song, smells of “delicate young wine,” or, as the French -poets say, of “thousands of flowers.”—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Laughing mouth, mouth to caress,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kissing ere its lips you press;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sweet for kissing, balmy breath<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Like the perfume of fresh heath.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>A woman’s breath, which intoxicates man, is, as it were, the ethereal -expression of her whole being. In the description of the youthful -Blancheflor we are told that her breath is so delicious and refreshing -that he who experiences it knows not pain, and needs no food for a whole -week.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">De sa bouche ist si douce haleine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Vivre en peut-on une semaine;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Qui au lundi le sentiroit<br /></span> -<span class="i0">En la semaine mal n’avroit.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Moreover, as the flavour of a kiss depends<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14"></a>{14}</span> on the woman’s mouth, let -us, therefore, investigate how a woman’s mouth ought to be fashioned in -order to fulfil its purpose from a philematological point of view. When -the mediæval French poets describe a beautiful and desirable woman they -say of her mouth that it must be “well-formed and sweet to kiss” (<i>bien -faite et douce pour baiser</i>). The troubadours likewise in their love -poems praise the mouth that is <i>ben faita ad obs de baisar</i>.</p> - -<p>If more detailed explanations are wanted they can easily be given. The -lips must, in the first place, be bewitchingly soft; next, they must be -as red as coral:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Los labios de la su boca<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Como un fino coral,<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">or else red as roses:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">La bocca piccioletta e colorita,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Vermiglia come rosa di giardino,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Piagente ed amorosa per baciare.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This last simile is one of the most frequently employed. The beloved -one’s mouth is likened to a rose; it has the scent and colour of a -rose:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15"></a>{15}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Hæc dulcis in amore<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Est et plena decore,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Rosa rubet rubore,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Et lilium convallium<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tota vincit odore,<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">sang the wandering clerks in the Middle Ages, the jolly Goliards, and -they extolled the youth who was lucky enough to kiss the mouth of such a -woman:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Felix est qui osculis mellifluis<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Ipsius potitur.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">And, they went on to say, “on every maiden’s lips the kiss sits like a -rose which only longs to be plucked”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sedit in ore<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Rosa cum pudore.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The old German minnesingers use the expression <i>Küssblümlein</i> -(kiss-floweret), and a bard of the Netherlands sings: “My beloved is my -summer, my beloved is my joy, all the roses bloom every time she gives -me a kiss”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Mijn liefken is mijn somer,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Min liefken is mijn lust,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">En al de rosen bloejen<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So dicmael si mi cust.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But all this is only poetry, merely feeble imageries which only give an -entirely weak<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16"></a>{16}</span> idea of the reality. How accurate is Thomas Moore when, -in one of his poems, he declares that roses are not so warm as his -beloved’s mouth, nor can the dew approach it in sweetness.</p> - -<p>Now if we turn to the other aspect of the case and see what women expect -from a man’s kiss, then the question becomes somewhat more difficult to -treat, inasmuch as so exceedingly few women have treated of kisses in -poetry—a fact which is also in itself quite natural. Runeberg, who -himself has so often sung the praises of kissing without, however, being -versed in their nature:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For my part I’ve ne’er understood<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of kisses what can be the good;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But I should die if kept away<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From thy red lips one single day.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">asks his beloved:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now, dearest maiden, answer me,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What joy can kisses bring to thee?<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">But she fails to answer him:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I ask thee now, as I asked this,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And all thy answer’s kiss on kiss.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Besides, it seems very evident from the last line that the situation did -not admit of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17"></a>{17}</span> calmer and more sober observation which forms the -necessary condition for a reliable answer to the question. I am, -therefore, obliged to attempt to reply to the question myself; but I -readily admit my deficiency in the essential qualification of being able -to do so in a satisfactory manner. Moreover, the literary material at my -disposal is exceedingly inadequate, and, for that reason, I cannot claim -any universal application for my treatment of the subject.</p> - -<p>In the first place it seems indisputable that a woman gives a decided -preference to a man with a beard; at all events a heiduke sings in a -Roumanian ballad: “I am still too young to marry; my beard has not yet -sprouted. What married woman then will care about kissing me?”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Că simt voinic neinsorat;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nici mustete nu m’a dat:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Cum simt bun de sărutat<br /></span> -<span class="i0">La neveste cu bărbat?<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>To judge from the part the heidukes play in the ballad literature of the -Roumanians and Serbs, they must be very experienced in everything that -has to do with women and love, and their testimony must therefore be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18"></a>{18}</span> -accepted as being sufficiently reliable. Besides, we find the same taste -among women in Northern Europe. In Germany there is said to be nothing -in a kiss without a beard: <i>Ein Kuss ohne Bart ist eine Vesper ohne -Magnificat</i> (a kiss without a beard is like Vespers without the -Magnificat); or, still more strongly, <i>Ein Kuss ohne Bart ist ein Ei -ohne Salz</i> (a kiss without a beard is like an egg without salt). The -young girls in Holland also incline to this point of view: <i>Een kussje -zonder baard, een eitje zonder zout</i> (an egg without salt), and they -have in the Frisian Islands some who share their taste: <i>An Kleeb sanner -Biard as äs en Brei sanner Salt</i> (porridge without salt). Lastly, the -Jutland lassies also take the same view of the matter—in fact they are, -if I may say so, even more refined in their requirements; a kiss is not -only to sound, but it must have some flavour about it—it ought to be -strong and luscious: <i>At kysse en karl uden skrå og skaeg er som at -kysse en leret vaeg</i> (kissing a fellow without a quid of tobacco and a -beard is like kissing a clay wall), say those who express themselves in -the most refined manner; but there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19"></a>{19}</span> are others who are not so particular -in the choice of words, and these latter say straight out: <i>Å kys jen, -dæ hveken røger eller skråer, de æ som mæ ku kys æ spæ kal i r.</i>, -(kissing one who neither smokes nor chews tobacco is like kissing a -new-born calf on the rump). On the other hand, a person should not be -too wet about the mouth—that they do not like; <i>e.g.</i>, the scornful -saying: “He is nice to kiss when one is thirsty,” or, as the German -girls say: <i>Einen Kuss mit Sauce bekommen</i> (to get a kiss with sauce).</p> - -<p>It apparently follows from this that women are not so simple in their -tastes as men; a kiss by itself is not sufficient, it requires some -condiment or other in addition—and, for the credit of women’s taste, -let it be said—this need not always be tobacco. In a French folk-song -the lover tells us that he has smeared his mouth with fresh butter so -that it may taste better:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">J’avais toujou dans ma pochette<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Du bon bieur’ frais,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">O qué je me gressais la goule,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Quand j’ l’embrassais.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>I have already mentioned in my preface<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20"></a>{20}</span> how dangerous the mere reading -about kisses may be; but, apart from literature, a kiss is something -which has to be dealt with most cautiously. Now hear what Socrates said -to Xenophon one day: “Kritobulus is the most foolhardy and rash fellow -in the world; he is rasher than if he meant to dance on naked -sword-points or fling himself into the fire; he has had the audacity to -kiss a pretty face.”—“But,” asked Xenophon, “is that such a deed of -daring? I am certainly no desperado, but still I think I would venture -to expose myself to the same risk.”—“Luckless wight,” replied Socrates, -“you are not thinking what would betide you. If you kissed a pretty -face, would you not that very instant lose your freedom and become a -slave? Would you not have to spend much money on harmful amusements, and -would you not do much which you would despise, if your understanding -were not clouded? Hercules forbid what dreadful effects a poor kiss can -have! And dost thou marvel at it, Xenophon? You know, I take it, those -tiny spiders which are not half the size of an obol, and yet they can, -through merely touching a person’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21"></a>{21}</span> mouth, cause him the keenest pains; -nay, even deprive him of his understanding. But, by Jupiter, anyhow this -is quite another matter; for spiders poison the wound directly they -inflict a sting. O, thou simple fellow, dost thou not know that lustful -kisses are poisoned, even if thou failest to perceive the poison? Dost -thou not know that she to whom the name of beautiful is given is a wild -beast far more dangerous than scorpions; for the latter only poison us -by their touch, whereas beauty destroys us without actual contact with -us, and even ejects from a long distance a venom so dangerous that -people are deprived thereby of their wits. This is the reason why I -advise you, O Xenophon, to run away as fast as you can the very instant -you see a beautiful woman, and with regard to yourself, O Kritobulus, I -deem you will act most prudently in spending a whole year abroad; for -that is the least time necessary for curing thy wound.”<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p>It may perhaps be thought that Socrates’ fear of kissing is a trifle -exaggerated, his idea possibly arising from a certain prejudice derived -from Mistress Xantippe; anyhow,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22"></a>{22}</span> nowadays, we regard the matter from a -far more sober point of view. We ought, nevertheless, to be well on our -guard against the frivolous opinion expressed in so many modern sayings, -that a kiss is a thing of no consequence whatever. The Italians bluntly -assert “that a mouth is none the worse for having been kissed” (<i>bocca -baciata non perde ventura</i>), and a French writer of the present day even -goes so far as to compare a kiss with those usually-harmless bullets -which are exchanged in modern duels. <i>Bah! deux baisers, qu’est que -cela? On les échange comme des balles sans résultat, et l’honneur reste -satisfait</i> (Bah! two kisses. What of that? They are exchanged like -bullets that miss the mark, and honour is satisfied).</p> - -<p>This frivolous notion must not, however, be deemed peculiar to the Latin -nations: it is to be met with even in the North. In Norway there is a -song:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Jens Johannesen, the Goth so brave,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The maid on her chops a good buss gave.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He kissed her once, and once again,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But each time was she likewise fain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But each time was she likewise fain.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>As you see, the last line of the verse is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23"></a>{23}</span> repeated as if for the -purpose of duly impressing the moral of the song.</p> - -<p>It is said in Als: <i>Et kys er et stow, den der it vil ha et, ka vask et -ow</i> (a kiss is like a grain of dust, which any one who would be rid of -it can wash away). We read as far back as Peder Syv<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>: <i>Et kys kan -afviskes</i> (a kiss can be washed away), but he adds solemnly, and for our -warning: “She who permits a kiss also permits more; and he who has -access to kisses has also access to more.” Even the Germans say: <i>Kuss -kann man zwar abwischen, aber das Feuer im Herzen nich löschen</i> (a kiss -may indeed be washed away, but the fire in the heart cannot be -quenched).</p> - -<p>Thus hardly the shadow of a doubt ought to exist as to kisses being -extraordinarily dangerous—or, in any case, capable of becoming so—far -more dangerous, for instance, than dynamite or gun-cotton; in the first -place, at any rate, inasmuch as people are not in the habit of walking -about with such explosives in their pockets, whereas every one has -kisses always at hand, or, more correctly speaking,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24"></a>{24}</span> in their mouths; -secondly, we are rid of dynamite when once it has exploded, but, on the -other hand, we can never actually be quit of a kiss—without at the same -time returning it; for we take back the kisses we give, you know, and we -give, too, those we take back—and, adds the proverb, “nobody is the -loser.” <i>Einen Kuss den man raubt giebt man wieder</i> (One returns a -stolen kiss), say the Germans; and the Spaniards have expressed the same -thought in a neat little <i>copla</i>: “Dost thy mother chide thee for having -given me a kiss? Then take back, dear girl, thy kiss, and bid her hold -her tongue.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">¿Porque un beso me has dado<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Riñe tu madre?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Toma, niña, tu beso;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Dile que calle.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Marot has treated the same subject in his epigram <i>Le Baiser Volé</i>, or -the Stolen Kiss.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">About my daring now you grieve,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To snatch a kiss without ado,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor even saying, “By your leave.”<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Come, I will make my peace with you,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And now I want you to believe<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I’m loth your soul again to grieve<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By theft of kisses, since, alack,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My kiss has wrought such dole and teen;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25"></a>{25}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yet ’tis not lost; I’ll give it back,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And that right blithely, too, I ween.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>There is a French anecdote of the present day about a student who took -the liberty of kissing a young girl. She got very angry, however, and -called him an insolent puppy, whereupon he retorted with irrefutable -logic: <i>Pour Dieu! Mademoiselle ne vous fâchez pas, si ce baiser vous -gêne, rendez-le-moi</i> (For goodness’ sake, don’t be cross, young lady. If -that kiss annoys you, give it back to me). It seems to have had a more -amicable settlement in the case of a Danish couple who had resolved to -break off their engagement: “It is best, I suppose, that we return each -other’s letters?” said he. “I think so too,” replied she, “but shall we -not at the same time give each other all our kisses back?” They did so, -and thus agreed to renew their engagement.</p> - -<p>This little story shows us that a kiss is something which cannot be so -easily lost, and I hope, not least for the sake of my book, that we -shall concur in the Italian proverb which says: <i>Bacio dato non e mai -perduto</i> (a kiss once given is never lost).</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26"></a>{26}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27"></a>{27}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="II" id="II"></a>II<br /><br /> -LOVE KISSES</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A long, long kiss, a kiss of youth and love<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And beauty, all concentrating like rays<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Into one focus, kindled from above;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Such kisses as belong to early days,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where heart, and soul, and sense, in concert move,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And the blood’s lava, and the pulse a blaze,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Each kiss a heart-quake,—for a kiss’s strength<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I think, it must be reckon’d by its length.<br /></span> -<span class="i12"><span class="smcap">Byron.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28"></a>{28}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29"></a>{29}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -LOVE KISSES</h2> - -<p class="nind">“<span class="smcap">At</span> the time of the world’s creation kisses were created and cruel -love.” Thus begins a Cypriot folk-song, and it is assuredly without the -shadow of a doubt that among all nations which on the whole know -kissing, it gets its sublimest meaning as the expression of love.</p> - -<p>In the transport of love the lovers’ lips seek each other. When Byron’s -Don Juan wanders one evening along the shore with his Haidee, they -glance at the moonlit sea which lies outspread before them, and they -listen to the lapping of the waves and the whispering murmur of the -breeze, but suddenly they</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">Saw each other’s dark eyes darting light<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Into each other—and, beholding this,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Their lips drew near, and clung into a kiss.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30"></a>{30}</span><br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i0">They had not spoken, but they felt allured,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">As if their souls and lips each other beckoned,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which, being joined, like swarming bees they clung—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Their hearts the flowers from whence the honey sprung.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The kiss of love is the exultant message of the longing of love, love -eternally young, the burning prayer of hot desire, which is born on the -lovers’ lips, and “rises,” as Charles Fuster has said, “up to the blue -sky from the green plains,” like a tender, trembling thank-offering.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Que tous les cœurs soient apaisés<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Et toutes les lèvres ouvertes,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Qu’un frémissement de baisers<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Monte au ciel bleu des plaines vertes!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The love kiss, rich in promise, bestows an intoxicating feeling of -infinite happiness, courage, and youth, and therefore surpasses all -other earthly joys in sublimity—at any rate all poets say so—and no -one has expressed it in more exquisite and choicer words than Alfred de -Musset in his celebrated sonnet on Tizianello:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Beatrix Donato was the soft sweet name<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of her whose earthly form was shaped so fair;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A faithful heart lay in her breast’s white frame,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Her spotless body held a mind most rare.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31"></a>{31}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The son of Titian, for her deathless fame,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Painted this portrait, witness of love’s care,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And from that day renounced his art’s high claim,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Loth that another dame his skill should share.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Stranger, if in your heart love doth abide,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gaze on my lady’s picture ere you chide.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Say if perchance your lady’s fair as this.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then mark how poor a thing is fame on earth;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Grand as this portrait is, it is not worth—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Believe me on my oath—the model’s kiss.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Thus even the highest work of art, yea, the loftiest reputation, is -nothing in comparison with the passionate kiss of a woman one loves. -This is what life has taught Musset, and a half melancholy sigh rings -through his exultation over the omnipotence of love. In turning to the -more <i>naïve</i> speech of popular poetry, we find in a German -<i>Schnaderhüpfel</i> (Improvisation) a corresponding homage to the kiss as -the noblest thing in the world:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">My sweetheart’s poor,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But fair to behold.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What use were wealth?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I cannot kiss gold.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">And we all yearn for kisses and we all seek them; it is idle to struggle -against this passion. No one can evade the omnipotence of the kiss,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32"></a>{32}</span> the -best resolutions, the most solemn oaths, are of no avail. A pretty -little Servian folk-song treats of a young girl who swore too hastily.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Yestreen swore a maiden fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ne’er again I’ll wear a garland,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ne’er again I’ll wear a garland,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wine again I’ll never drink,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Never more I’ll kiss a laddie.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Yestreen swore the maiden fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Clean to-day her oath’s regretted:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If I decked myself with flow’rets,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then the flow’rets made me fairer;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If I quaffed the wine that’s ruddy,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then my heart grew all the blither;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If I kissed my heart’s beloved,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Life to me grew doubly dearer.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a><br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>It is through kisses that a knowledge of life and happiness first comes -to us. Runeberg says that the angels rejoice over the first kiss -exchanged by lovers.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The evening star was sitting beside a silver cloud,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A maid from out a twilight grove addressed this star aloud,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Come, tell me, star of evening, what angels think in heaven<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When by a youth and maiden the first sweet kiss is given?”<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And heaven’s bashful daughter was heard to deign reply:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“On earth the choir of angels bright look down from out the sky,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33"></a>{33}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">And see their own felicity then mirrored on the earth,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But death sheds tears, and turns his eyes away from such blest mirth.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Only death weeps over the brief duration of human happiness, weeps -because the bliss of the kiss endures not for ever. And likewise, even -after death, lovers kiss. Jannakos and Helena, his plighted bride, die -before their wedding day. They die in a kiss and are buried together; -but over their grave grew a cypress and an orange tree, and the latter -stretched forth its branches on high and kissed the cypress.</p> - -<p>The happiest man is the man who has the kiss. In the Greek romance of -<i>Babylonika</i>, which was attributed to Jamblicus, who lived in the second -century of the Christian era, three lovers contend for the favour of a -young maid. To one she has given the cup out of which she was wont to -drink; the second she has garlanded with flowers that she herself has -worn; to the third she has given a kiss. Borokos is called on as judge -to decide as to which has enjoyed the highest favour, and he -unhesitatingly decides the dispute in favour of the last.</p> - -<p>The same subject is often the theme of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34"></a>{34}</span> folk-poetry, and the verdict -never alters; the joy bestowed by a kiss surpasses all other joys. A -Hungarian ballad runs thus:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">As the hart holds dear the fountain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the bee the honied flow’rets,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So the noble grape I cherish;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">After this songs melting, tender,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kisses, too, of lips of crimson,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As thine own, O Cenzi mine.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But the wine’s might fires my senses,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And songs wake within me blitheness,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And with love intoxicated,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With thy love, mine own beloved.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And my heart no more is longing<br /></span> -<span class="i0">After purple, after gew-gaws,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">After what the others long for.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Happy am I in the clinking<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of the goblet filled with rich wine;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Happier still amidst sweet singing;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But my happiness were greatest,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Dared I press my kisses on a<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Mouth, and that mouth only thine.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The same idea is still more delicately expressed in the following -Servian ballad:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Proudly cried a golden orange<br /></span> -<span class="i1">On the breezy shore:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Certainly nowhere happiness<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is found to equal mine.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35"></a>{35}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Answered a green apple<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From its apple tree:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Fool to boast, golden orange,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">On the breezy shore;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For happiness such as I’ve found,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Its like cannot be seen.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Then said the breezy meadow,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As yet untouched by scythe:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Too conceited, little apple,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That speech of thine, meseems,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For happiness such as I’ve found,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Its like cannot be seen.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Then spake a lovely maiden,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Unsullied by a kiss:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Thou pratest folly, grass-plot,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Instead of sooth, I ween,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For happiness such as I’ve found<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Its like cannot be seen.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">But a handsome lad made answer<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To every speech they made;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“You’re mad, all mad, to utter<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Such words as I’ve just heard,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For no one in the universe<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Can be so blest as I.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Golden orange by the breezy<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Shore I pluck thee now.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Apple, from thy apple tree<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To-day I’ll shake thee down.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Grass-plot, I’ll mow thee level<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With my scythe-strokes to-day.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Maiden, as yet unsullied<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To-day I’ll kiss thy lips.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36"></a>{36}</span></p> - -<p>In another Servian lay, the lover sings that he would rather kiss his -sweetheart than be the Sultan’s guest. In Spain the lover wishes he were -the water-cooler so that he might kiss his darling’s lips when she is -drinking:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Arcarrasa de tu casa,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Chiquiya, quisiera ser,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Para besarte los labios<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Quando fueras á beber.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The Greeks say that the kiss is “the key to Paradise”; yea, it is -Paradise itself, declares Wergeland:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Nay, bride, thine embrace more than heav’n I prize;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Oh, kiss me once more that to heav’n I rise.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The kiss is a preservation against every ill. “No ill-luck can betide me -when she bestows on me a kiss,” sings the old trouvère, Colin Muset:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Se de li ai un douz baisier<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ne me porroit nus mals venir.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>It gives health and strength, adds Heine:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Yet could I kiss thee, O my soul,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then straightway I should be made whole.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37"></a>{37}</span></p> - -<p>It carries life with it; it even bestows the gift of eternal youth—if -one can believe the words of the Duke of Anhalt the minnesinger:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Your mouth is crimson; over its sweet portal<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A kindly Genius seems for ever flowing.<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If on that mouth a kiss I were bestowing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Methinks I should in sooth become immortal.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The Persians, too, had the same idea. The jovial Hafiz laments that -“sour wisdom added to old age and virtue” has laid waste his strength, -but a remedy is to be found for these:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Come and drink,” the maiden whispered,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Sin and sweetness, youthful folly,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Lovingly from lips of crimson,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From my bosom’s lily chalice,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And live on with strength redoubled.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And if a kiss is no good, then nought avails. In another passage the -same bard says, that were he suddenly on some occasion to feel himself -tormented by agony and unrest, no one is to give him bitter -medicine—for such he detests—but:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Hand me the foaming juice of the vine,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Jest and sing from your heart to mine,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38"></a>{38}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And if these prove not a remedy sure,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then a pair of red lips you must straight procure.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But if these latter avail not to save,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">May I be laid deep down in the grave.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In the case of lovers a kiss is everything; that is the reason why a man -stakes his all for a kiss. In <i>Enthousiasme</i> Aarestrup says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ha, you’re blushing! What red roses<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Deck your lips! A man were fain to,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If a chasm yawned before him,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Straightway peril life to gain you.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And man craves for it as his noblest reward:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">From beyond the high green mountains<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Lamentations fraught with sadness<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Issue, soft as from a girl’s voice.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then a youth the sound pursueth,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And he sees a maiden shackled<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Fast in fetters thick of roses.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Then the fair maid called unto him:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Doughty youth, come here and help me;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I’ll be to you as a sister.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">But the youth straightway made answer:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“In my home I have a sister.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Doughty youth, come here and help me,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For a brother-in-law I’ll choose thee.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39"></a>{39}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Then the lad again made answer:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“In my home I have that title.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Come, young hero, and assist me,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And I’ll be thy heart’s belovèd.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i1">Quickly kissed he then the maiden<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Ere he loosed her from her fetters,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Then went homeward with his bride.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Thus runs a Servian ballad, and innumerable analogues to it are to be -found in the folk-lore of other countries, in ballads as well as tales. -It is, you know, for a kiss from the princess’s lovely mouth that the -swine-herd sells his wonderful pan.</p> - -<p>But women are aware, too, of the witchery that dwells on their lips, and -the power that lies in their kiss. According to a remarkable <i>saga</i> -which forms the subject of one of Heine’s poems, King Harald Hårfager -sits at the bottom of the sea in captivity to a mermaid. The king’s head -is reposing on her bosom; but, suddenly, a violent tremor thrills him, -he hears the Viking shouts which reach him from above, he starts from -his dream of love and groans and sighs:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And then the King from the depth of his heart<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Begins sobbing, and wailing, and sighing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When quickly the water-fay over him bends,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With loving kisses replying.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40"></a>{40}</span></p> - -<p>Man is the slave of the kiss; by a kiss woman tames the fiercest man; by -means of a kiss man’s will becomes as wax. Our peasant girls in Denmark -know this, too, right well. When they want one of the lads to do them a -service they promise him “seven sweet kisses and a bit of white sugar on -Whitsunday morning.” “But he will get neither,” they say to themselves.</p> - -<p>Now, as we have discussed the kiss and its importance as the direct -expression of love and erotic emotions, we will pass over to certain -more special aspects of its nature.</p> - -<p>In the very first place, then, we have the quantitative conditions.</p> - -<p>It is a matter of common knowledge that lovers are liberal in the -extreme in the question of kisses, which are given and taken to -infinity, and these have likewise continually the same intoxicating -freshness as at the first meeting. Everything in love is, you know, a -reiteration, and yet love is a perpetual renewing. How inspiriting are -the words of Tove to King Waldemar, as J. P. Jacobsen gives them:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And now I say for the first time:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">“King Volmer, I love thee,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41"></a>{41}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">And kiss thee now for the first time,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And fling mine arms round thee;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But should you say I’ve said this before,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And you to kisses are fain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then say I: “King, he’s but a fool<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who minds such trifles vain.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>What has a love kiss to do with the law of renewal? That one does not -arrive at anything by <i>one</i> kiss is expressed with sufficient plainness -in an Istro-Roumanian proverb: <i>Cu un trat busni nu se afla muliere</i> -(with a single kiss no woman is caught).</p> - -<p>This maxim holds good besides in the case of both men and women. But how -many kisses are necessary then?</p> - -<p>There is a little Greek folk-song called “All good things are three.” It -runs as follows:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Your first kiss brought me near to the grave,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Your second kiss came my life to save;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But if a third kiss you’ll bestow,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Not even death can bring me woe.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But, nevertheless, we may assume without a shadow of a doubt that he was -not satisfied with these three kisses—lovers are not wont to be so -easily contented. The Spaniards and many other nations besides say of -lovers that “they eat each other up with kisses;”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42"></a>{42}</span> but more than three -are certainly required for that purpose:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Take this kiss and a thousand more, my darling,<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">sings Aarestrup, but Catullus outbids him, however, in one of his songs -to Lesbia:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A thousand kisses; add five score:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Another thousand kisses more;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Then best forget them all,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lest any wight with evil eye<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Our too close counting might espy,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And dire mishap befall.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a><br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>As we see, Catullus’ love has no trifling start over Aarestrup’s, and so -a later poet seems likewise to think that even his demands are quite -ridiculously small. “Nay,” says Joachim du Bellay to his Columbelle, -“give me as many kisses as there are flowers on the mead, seeds on the -field, and grapes in the vineyards, and so that you shall not deem me -ungrateful, I will immediately give you as many again.”</p> - -<p>Du Bellay, moreover, bitterly upbraids the poet of Verona for asking for -so few kisses that they can, when taken together, be counted:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">In truth Catullus’ wants are small,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And little can they really mean,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Since he could even count them all.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43"></a>{43}</span></p> - -<p>I must, however, take Catullus’ part to a certain extent; he is not so -precise in his demands of Lesbia as Du Bellay makes out; in another poem -he asks her:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Thy kisses dost thou bid me count,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And tell thee, Lesbia, what amount<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My rage for love and thee could tire,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And satisfy and cloy desire?<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And the answer runs:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Many as grains of Libyan sand<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Upon Cyrene’s spicy land<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From prescient Ammon’s sultry dome<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To sacred Battus’ ancient tomb;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Many as stars that silent ken<br /></span> -<span class="i0">At night the stolen loves of men.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yes, when the kisses thou shall kiss<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Have reached a number vast as this,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then may desire at length be stayed,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And e’en my madness be allayed:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then when infinity defies<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The calculations of the wise;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor evil voice’s deadly charm,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Can work the unknown number harm.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This being the case, it is a divine blessing that, according to the -Finnish saying, “the mouth is not torn by being kissed, nor the hand by -being squeezed”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Suu ei kulu suudellessa,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kāsi kāttā annellessa.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44"></a>{44}</span></p> - -<p>But even if the mouth is not exactly torn, yet much kissing may be -almost harmful; but there is only one remedy to be found for this—“you -must heal the hurts by fresh kisses.”</p> - -<p>Dorat, who may be regarded as a high authority on philematology, -expressly says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A second kiss can physic<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The evil the first has wrought.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And Heine, whose authority in these questions should hardly be inferior, -holds quite the same theory:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">If you have kissed my lips quite sore,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Then kiss them whole again;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If we till evening meet no more,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Then hurry will be vain.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">You have still yet the whole, whole night,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">My dearest heart, know this:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">One can in such a long, long night,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Kiss much and taste much bliss.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>I make use of the last of the verses quoted as a transition to the next -question we have to investigate, viz., the qualitative aspect of -kissing, as I regard it apart from its merely gustative qualities, which -have already been considered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45"></a>{45}</span></p> - -<p>The love kiss gleams like a cut diamond with a thousand hues; it is -eternally changing as the sun’s shimmer on the waves, and expresses the -most diverse states and moods, ranging from humble affection to burning -desire.</p> - -<p>The love kiss “quenches the fire of the lips,” quells and stills longing -and desire, but it also burns and arouses regret. Margaret sits at her -spinning-wheel, and, in tremulous longing, calls to mind Faust’s ardent -kiss:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">My peace is gone,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">My heart is sore:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Tis gone for ever<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And evermore.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And the magic flow<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of his talk, the bliss<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In the clasp of his hand,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And, oh, his kiss!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">My bosom yearns<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For him alone;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ah, dared I clasp him,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And hold, and own!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And kiss his mouth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To heart’s desire,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And on his kisses<br /></span> -<span class="i2">At last expire!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46"></a>{46}</span></p> - -<p>Numberless poets have varied the theme of the quenching yet burning -kisses of love.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O’er me flows in streams delicious<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kisses’ rosy and glowing rain,<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">sings Waldemar at his meeting with Tove, and Aarestrup laments:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">In vain I’m seeking<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In ev’ry land,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy sweetness burning<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of mouth and hand.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This “burning sweetness” seems to be an indubitable characteristic of a -genuine love kiss; we even find it again in Heine:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The world’s an ass, the world can’t see,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thy character not knowing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">It knows not how sweet thy kisses be,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">How rapturously glowing.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The emotions consequent on the first kiss have been described in the old -<i>naïve</i>, but, nevertheless, exceedingly delicate love-story, of Daphnis -and Chloe. As a reward Chloe has bestowed a kiss on Daphnis—an innocent -young-maid’s kiss, but it has on him the effect of an electrical shock:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47"></a>{47}</span></p> - -<p>“Ye gods, what are my feelings. Her lips are softer than the rose’s -leaf, her mouth is sweet as honey, and her kiss inflicts on me more pain -than a bee’s sting. I have often kissed my kids, I have often kissed my -lambs, but never have I known aught like this. My pulse is beating fast, -my heart throbs, it is as if I were about to suffocate, yet, -nevertheless, I want to have another kiss. Strange, never-suspected -pain! Has Chloe, I wonder, drunk some poisonous draught ere she kissed -me? How comes it that she herself has not died of it?”</p> - -<p>Impelled, as it were, by some irresistible force, Daphnis wanders back -to Chloe; he finds her asleep, but dares not awake her: “See how her -eyes slumber and her mouth breathes. The scent of apple-blossoms is not -so delicious as her breath. But I dare not kiss her. Her kiss stings me -to the heart, and drives me as mad as if I had eaten fresh honey.” -Daphnis’ fear of kisses disappears, however, later on, directly his -simplicity has made room for greater selfconsciousness. That a kiss is -like the sting of a bee, or pains like a wound, is a metaphor which many -poets have used, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48"></a>{48}</span> the metaphor comes undoubtedly near the truth. -With growing passion, kisses become mad and violent:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Thy ruby lips, they kissed so wild,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So madly, so soul-disturbing;<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">and such kisses leave marks behind them. Aarestrup’s mistress has -beautiful plump shoulders:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">They curve, as of a goddess,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">So naked and so bold.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I’ll brand your comely shoulders,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Such guerdon have they earned!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Look where my lips enfevered<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Have scars of crimson burned.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Hafiz’ mistress is afraid that “his too hot kisses will char her -delicate lips.” With continually increasing desire kisses grow more and -more voluptuous, and assume forms which have been celebrated by poets of -antiquity and the Renaissance. Many burning, erotic verses have been -composed on the subject <i>columbatim labra conserere</i>, or kissing as -doves kiss.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49"></a>{49}</span></p> - -<p>Kisses at last grow into bites. Mirabeau, in a love-letter to Sophie, -writes: “I am kissing you and biting you all over, <i>et jaloux de la -blancheur je te couvre de suçons</i>”; and the classic poets often speak of -the tiny red marks on cheeks or lips, neck or shoulders, which the -lovers’ <i>morsiunculæ</i> have left behind.</p> - -<p>Arethusa writes to Lycas: “What keeps you till now so long away from me? -Oh, suffer no young girl to print the mark of her teeth on your neck.” -The Italians use the expression <i>baciare co’ denti</i> (kiss with the -teeth) to signify “to love.” We can only treat these kisses as a sort of -transitional link, of shorter or longer duration, according to -circumstances. They are, as it were, “a sea fraught with perils,” which -in Mlle. de Scudéry’s celebrated letter (<i>la carte de tendre</i>), carries -one to strange countries (<i>les terres inconnues</i>); but, as these -countries lie outside the regions of pure philematology, I shall not -pursue my investigations further. I will, however, first quote what old -Ovid has written, although I am not at all prepared to assert that his -opinion is entitled to have any special weight, more especially as it -is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50"></a>{50}</span> far from being unimpeachable from a moral point of view:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Oscula qui sumpsit, si non et cetera sumet,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Hæc quoque quæ data sunt perdere dignus erit.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Quantum defuerat pleno post oscula voto?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Heu mihi rusticitas, non pudor ille fuit.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>After the foregoing it would seem superfluous to enter into a closer -investigation of—if the term be allowed—the topographical aspects of -kissing. The love kiss is, as you are aware, properly directed towards -the mouth—a fact sufficiently known, and in testimony of which I have, -moreover, brought forward a number of passages from respectable and -trustworthy writers. I shall only add a German “Sinngedicht” of -Friedrich von Logau:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">If you will kiss, then kiss the mouth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">All other sorts are but half blisses,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The face—ah, no—nor hand, neck, breast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The mouth alone can give back kisses.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Von Logau’s vindication of the mouth as the only place that ought to be -kissed is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51"></a>{51}</span> extremely logical, and, I take it, from a purely theoretical -point of view, unobjectionable; but, practically, the case is quite the -contrary. The royal <i>trouvère</i>, Thibaut de Champagne, treats in a -lengthy poem—one of the so-called <i>jeux-partis</i>—the question whether -one should kiss one’s mistress’s mouth or feet. Baudouin’s opinion is in -favour of kissing her on the mouth, and he gives his reasons for it at -some length; but Thibaut replies, that he who kisses his darling on the -mouth has no love for her, because that is the way one kisses any little -shepherdess one comes across; it is only by kissing her feet that a -lover shows his affection, and it is by such means alone that her favour -is to be won.</p> - -<p>The question of feet or mouth is threshed out minutely by the two -contending parties, who at last agree in the opinion that one ought to -kiss both parts, beginning with the feet and ending with the mouth.</p> - -<p>It cannot be denied that Thibaut de Champagne has a far better insight -into the matter than Von Logau, and yet even the old French poet’s point -of view must be characterised as being somewhat narrow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52"></a>{52}</span></p> - -<p>All the other poets, you must know, teach us that not only the mouth, -but every part of our sweetheart’s body says, “Kiss me.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Friends, if it only were my fate!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If fate would will it so,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I’d kiss her beauties small and great<br /></span> -<span class="i2">From bosom down to toe.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">So sings Aarestrup, and he returns again and again to the same idea in -his <i>ritorneller</i>:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">When scarce the mouth can longer feel such fooling,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Because thy lips are all too hotly burning,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Press them to bosom’s Alpine snows for cooling.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The arms so white and tender woo caresses;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A lovely pleasance, too, those plump white shoulders!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But through the soul a bosom-kiss straight presses.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Her snow-white shoulders! All what may be said on<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Such beauty I have uttered. For my guerdon<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Grant me one now to rest my weary head on.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">At kisses pressed upon your neck’s fair closes<br /></span> -<span class="i2">You thrilled and threw your head back, and I straightway<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Planted upon your throat my kisses’ roses.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">About my darling I am wheeling, flying,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Like to a gadfly round a lily’s chalice,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Buzzing until in nectar-cup mute dying.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Allow me also to call your attention to a pretty little myth which Dorat -composed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53"></a>{53}</span> about a “kiss in the bosom’s Alpine snow.” The kiss is a fair -rose, and roses bloom everywhere in these tracks; through witchcraft two -vigorous rosebuds sprouted forth on woman’s white bosom:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Le bouton d’un beau sein est éclos du baiser;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Une rose y fleurit pour y marquer sa trace;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fier de l’avoir fait naître, il aime à s’y fixer.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But if the object of one’s affection is not within reach, and <i>oscula -corporalia</i> are, for that reason, practically impossible, her image may -be kissed, as a French song naïvely says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I will make a portrait gay,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Like to thee, set in a locket;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kiss it five score times a day<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Guard it safely in my pocket.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But if one is not fortunate enough to possess an image of the object of -one’s affection, then anything that has in any way been associated with, -or is reminiscent of, him or her may be kissed. Tovelille exults to King -Volmer:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For all my roses I’ve kissed to death<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whilst thinking, dear love, of thee.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54"></a>{54}</span></p> - -<p>But F. Rückert sings with pain and mockery:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">With fervour the hard stone I’m kissing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For your heart is as hard as a stone.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Such <i>oscula impropria</i> are often mentioned by ancient as well as modern -poets. <i>Propertius</i> (I. 16) says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ah, oft I’ve hither sped with verse to greet<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thee, leaning on thy steps with kisses pressed.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How often, traitress, turning towards the street,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I’ve laid in secret garlands on thy crest.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Eighteen hundred years afterwards Dorat writes:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I kiss the kindly blades of grass<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Because they have approached your charms:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The sands o’er which your footsteps pass,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And leafy boughs that stretched their arms<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To hide our happiness, dear lass.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Lovers often send each other kisses through the air, as in Béranger’s -well-known song on the detestable Spring:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">We loved before we ever met;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Our kisses crossed athwart the air.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But should the distance be too great for such a platonic interchange of -kisses, certain<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55"></a>{55}</span> small, obliging <i>postillons d’amour</i> are employed Heine -uses his poems for that purpose:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O would that all my verses<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Were kisses light and sweet:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I’d send them all in secret<br /></span> -<span class="i2">My sweetheart’s cheeks to greet.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>While the young girl in Runeberg has recourse to a rose that has just -blossomed:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Through the grove amidst the blooming flow’rets<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Walked the bonnie maiden unattended,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And she plucked a new-born rose, exclaiming:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">‘Lovely flow’ret, if you’d only wings on,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I would send you to my well-belovèd<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When I’d fastened just two tiny greetings<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lightly on your right wing and your left wing;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">One should bid him cover you with kisses,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the other send you back to me soon.’<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But however much poets may clothe with grace such kisses sent and -received by post—and it cannot be denied that many of them are -extraordinarily charming from a poetical point of view—they are, and -must be, nevertheless, in reality only certain mean substitutes with -which lovers in the long run cannot feel fully satisfied. “The kiss,” -says the practical Frenchmen, “is a fruit which one ought to pluck from -the tree itself” (<i>Le baiser est un<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56"></a>{56}</span> fruit qu’il faut cueiller sur -l’arbre</i>). Kisses ought to be given, as they should be taken, in secret; -only in such case have they their full freshness, their intoxicating -power. Heine says of such:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Kisses that one steals in darkness,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And in darkness then returns—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How such kisses fire the spirit,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If with ardent love it burns!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>No profane eyes should see them: they only concern the pair of -lovers—none other in the whole world. Secrecy and silence must rest -over these kisses, as over all else that regards the soul of love, so -that the butterfly’s wings may not lose their delicate down.</p> - -<p>The strait-laced Cato degraded a senator of the name of Manilius for -having kissed his wife in broad daylight and in his daughter’s presence. -Plutarch, however, considers the punishment excessive, but adds: “How -disgusting it is in any case to kiss in the presence of third parties.” -Clement of Alexandria, one of the Fathers of the Church, endorses this -opinion, and exhorts all married people to refrain from kissing one -another before their servants.</p> - -<p>All delicate-minded persons must undoubtedly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57"></a>{57}</span> sympathise with the -ancient ascetic conception in proportion as they unconsciously follow it -in practice. A kiss to or from a woman we love is a far too delicate -pledge of affection to bear the gaze of strangers.</p> - -<p>How many engaged couples would, do you suppose, find favour in Cato’s -eyes? How often do they not by their behaviour offend the commonest -notions of decency? Their kisses and caresses, which ought to be their -secret possession, they expose quite unconcernedly to the sight of all. -One evening at a large party I saw a young girl ostentatiously kiss on -the mouth the gentleman to whom she was engaged. Cato would certainly -turn in his grave if he knew that such immodest behaviour was actually -tolerated by people of refinement and position; and how disgusted and -indignant he would be—unless, indeed, he preferred to smile—at the -sight of the duty-kisses after dinner, which are often exchanged between -man and wife at dinner-parties. Ah, yes, when the belly’s full ...! How -warranted is Kierkegaard’s satire on the conjugal domestic kiss with -which husband and wife, in lack of a napkin, wipe each other’s mouth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58"></a>{58}</span> -after meals. On the lips of youth alone you reap the sweetest harvests:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sur les lèvres de la jeunesse<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tu fais les plus douces moissons.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">(<span class="smcap">Dorat</span>).<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The young maiden will only give her love-kiss to her sweetheart, the -stalwart swain; an old suitor is spurned with scorn. The lovely Mara, -white and red, walked by the spring and tended her sheep:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">See an old, old suitor comes riding up on horseback,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Shouting: “God’s peace be thine, fair Mara, white and red.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tell me, canst thou offer me a draught of cold clear water;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tell me, can the basil ever verdant here be gathered,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And may I snatch a kiss from thee, fair Mara, white and red?”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But straightway comes the answer from fair Mara, white and red:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I charge thee, old, old suitor, to horse and ride hence quickly,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No drink is here thy portion from the fountain cold and clear,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the ever-verdant basil by thee shall not be gathered,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor durst thou snatch a kiss from me, fair Mara, white and red.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59"></a>{59}</span></p> - -<p>Again, fair Mara, white and red, walked by the spring and tended her -sheep:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">See a young and handsome suitor comes riding up on horseback,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Shouting: “God’s peace be thine, fair Mara, white and red.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tell me, canst thou offer me a draught of cold clear water;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tell me, can the basil ever verdant here be gathered,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And may I snatch a kiss from thee, fair Mara, white and red?”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But straightway comes the answer from fair Mara, white and red:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I charge thee, handsome laddie, to horse and ride hence quickly,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wouldst thou drink of this cool fountain, thou must hither come some morning,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For cold and clear’s the water in the hours of early dawn.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wouldst thou gather from the bushes, thou must hither come at mid-day,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For the flower-trees smell the sweetest about the noon-tide hour.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wouldst thou kiss the beauteous Mara, then hither come at evening,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">At evening sighs each maiden who finds herself alone.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In another Servian ballad we find the same glorification of the stalwart -young lover, the same contempt for, and detestation of, old men who go -a-wooing.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">High upon a mountain’s slope once stood a maiden,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Mirroring her lovely image in the stream,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60"></a>{60}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">And her image in these words addressing:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">‘Image fraught to me with so much sadness<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Had I known a time was ever coming<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When thou shouldst be kissed by agèd lover,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then amidst the green hills I had wandered,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gath’ring with my hands their bitter herbage,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Squeezing out of it its acrid juices,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Washed thee then therewith that thou should’st savour<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bitterly wheresoe’r the old man kissed thee.’<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘O my lovely image, had I known that<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thou wert fated for a young man’s kisses,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I had hurried to the verdant meadows,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gathered all the roses in the meadows,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Squeezing from the roses their sweet juices,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Laved thee with them, O mine image, that thou<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Savoured of fragrance wheresoe’r he kissed thee.’<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>A kiss must be given and taken in frank, joyous affection. To have -recourse to violence is unknightly, unlovely, and despicable in the -highest degree. This is a sphere wherein the brutal axiom regarding the -right of the stronger can never hold good. An Albanian folk-song tells -us of a young man who is in search of a young maiden with whom he is in -love; he finds her at a brook, and, against her will, kisses her mouth -and cheeks. Filled with shame, the young maiden tries to wash away the -kisses in the brook, but its water is dyed red, and “when the women in -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61"></a>{61}</span> neighbouring village come thither to wash their clothes, the latter -turn red instead of white. And, in the gardens watered with water from -the brook, scarlet flowers sprout up; and the birds which drank of the -water thereof lost their power of song.”</p> - -<p>This ballad shows us, in burning words, how deeply a man outrages a -woman when he kisses her against the dictates of her heart. A Southern -imagination alone can find an expression so sublime and poetical: in -French it runs simply and frankly: <i>Un baiser n’est rien, quand le -cœur est muet</i>. In Teutonic countries it is expressed somewhat more -awkwardly. In Denmark people say: <i>Kys med gevalt er æg uden salt</i> (a -kiss snatched by force is as an egg without salt); and in Germany still -less elegantly: <i>Ein aufgezwungener Kuss ist wie ein Hühneraug’ am Fuss</i> -(like a corn on one’s foot).</p> - -<p>The question of kissing by main force can be treated not only from an -ethical, but also from a juristic point of view. Holberg relates that in -Naples the individual who kissed in the street a woman against her will -was punished by not being allowed to approach within thirty miles -distance of the spot where<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62"></a>{62}</span> the outrage had taken place; and a German -jurist wrote in the end of the eighteenth century, a minute and -extremely solid treatise on the remedy that a woman has against a man -who kisses her against her will (<i>Von dem Rechte des Frauenzimmers gegen -eine Mannperson, die es wider seinen Willen küsset</i>). The author begins -by classifying kisses; he distinguishes between lawful and unlawful -kisses, and frames the following classification:—</p> - -<p>Kisses are either</p> - -<ul> -<li><span style="margin-left: 2em;">I.—Lawful,</span></li> - -<li> <i>A.</i> As spiritual kisses.</li> -<li> <i>B.</i> As kisses of reconciliation and kisses of peace.</li> -<li> <i>C.</i> As customary kisses; partly, -<ul> - -<li><i>a.</i> By way of salutation. -<ul> - -<li> 1. At meeting.</li> -<li> 2. On arrival.</li> -<li> 3. At departure; partly, -</li> -</ul></li> - -<li> <i>b.</i> As mark of courtesy.</li> -<li> <i>c.</i> In jest.</li></ul></li> - -<li><i>D.</i> As kisses of respect.</li> -<li><i>E.</i> As kisses on festive occasions.</li> -<li><i>F.</i> As kisses of love: -<ul> - -<li> α. Between married people.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63"></a>{63}</span></li> -<li> β. Between such as are engaged to be married.</li> -<li> γ. Between parents and children.</li> -<li> δ. Between relations.</li> -<li> ε. Between intimate friends; or,</li> -</ul></li> - -<li> </li> -<li><span style="margin-left: 2em;"> II.—Unlawful, when they are given—</span></li> -<li> <i>A.</i> Out of treachery or malice.</li> -<li> <i>B.</i> Out of lust.</li> -</ul> - -<p>After this particularly happy attempt to reduce kissing to a system, our -jurist maintains the view that all depends on the person who kisses and -the person who is kissed.</p> - -<p>If, for instance, a peasant or a vulgar citizen takes such a liberty as -to kiss a noble and high-born lady against her will, her claim against -the aggressor ought to be far greater than it would be in the case of -one of less ignoble descent; but, on the other hand, if Hans steals from -his Greta “an informal, hearty, rustic kiss,” and she complains to the -authorities about it, there will scarcely be any grounds for litigation.</p> - -<p>On the whole, says he, a kiss between individuals of the same position -in society is not to be regarded as a tort, and he more closely<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64"></a>{64}</span> defines -how he arrives at this conception. It can only be actionable in the case -of a party having some consciously unchaste intention when he kissed, or -in the case of an <i>osculum luxuriosum</i> or <i>libidinosum</i>—in such cases -only can a verdict be brought in of what, according to Roman law, is -termed <i>crimen osculationis</i>, and in no other case can the wrong-doer be -punished by fine or imprisonment, <i>propter voluntatem perniciosæ -libidinis</i>. The punishment, however, should be proportioned in severity -according to the rank of the injured party. In the case of a nun or a -married woman it ought to be most severe; less severe if the lady be -unmarried but betrothed, and mildest when she is neither married nor -betrothed.</p> - -<p>But if the unchaste intention cannot be distinctly proved, the woman has -no grounds for complaining of any sort, and, in accordance with the -procedure of the German courts, the kiss is to be considered innocent -till the contrary is proved.</p> - -<p>Our jurist thus takes a really liberal view in the case of a “kiss taken -by force”; he may almost be said to regard it as <i>eine grosse -Kleinigkeit</i> (an unimportant trifle).</p> - -<p>With regard to the question of a woman’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65"></a>{65}</span> right to defend herself in -such cases, he is of opinion that she is justified in repulsing the -insulter by a box on the ears, but only if the offence amounts to -<i>crimen osculationis</i>, and this box on the ears may not be inflicted -with “the fist of an Amazon,” as, by such requital, she easily loses her -right to take legal action in the matter. She must, above all, be -careful that the box on the ears be not excessive (<i>die Ohrfeige -proportionirlich einzukleiden</i>), as otherwise the man can bring an -action against her; consequently the woman ought to use her right of -self-defence with great caution.</p> - -<p>Our jurist concludes with considerations of cases when the woman who has -been kissed forfeits all claims, viz., when, for instance, by look or -gestures she says, “I should like to see the man who would dare to kiss -me,” and, by such conduct, obviously exposes herself to the danger.</p> - -<p>Holberg has also occupied himself with this question, and tells the -following story in one of his epistles (No. 199):—</p> - -<p>“Last week I was at a party where a curious incident happened. A person -stole up to a lady and gave her a kiss unexpectedly. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66"></a>{66}</span> Vestal virgin -took this <i>douceur</i> in such ill part that, in her wrath, she gave him a -sound box on the ears. He gave a start, and every one expected he was -going to pay her back in the same coin; but, to show his respect for the -fair sex, he made a low bow, and kissed the very hand that had but -lately struck him. All present praised this act of courtesy, on his -part.” Holberg, on the contrary, does not commend the man’s politeness; -like the German jurist, he sees nothing wrong about a kiss—indeed, he -even goes so far as to say that the young man ought to have given the -maiden a box on the ears in return. This coarse way of looking at the -subject from a bachelor’s point of view is wittily defended in the -following rather startling way:</p> - -<p>“I candidly confess that if anything of the kind had happened to me I -should have returned the good lady’s salutation in the same way, and -that not out of anger or desire of being revenged, but for the purpose -of showing the courtesy with which one ought to treat a woman; for -kissing the lady on the hand which has boxed his ears is equivalent to -saying: ‘As you are a feeble creature of no importance, and cannot hurt -me,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67"></a>{67}</span> your act deserves ridicule rather than revenge or rage.’ No -sensible woman can be pleased with such a compliment, as there is -nothing worse than being treated like a puppet; and I hope no maid or -matron will take this opinion of mine in ill part, but will rather -regard it as a proof of the justice I have always shown to women by -always taking them seriously. A kiss is nothing but a salutation, and -cannot be looked on as anything else. We are no longer living in the -golden age, when a young lady almost fainted at hearing the word -pronounced.”</p> - -<p>English ladies regard the matter from quite another point of view. In -1837 Mr Thomas Saverland brought an action against Miss Caroline Newton, -who had bitten a piece out of his nose for his having tried to kiss her -by way of a joke. The defendant was acquitted, and the judge laid it -down that “when a man kisses a woman against her will she is fully -entitled to bite his nose, if she so pleases.”—“And eat it up, if she -has a fancy that way,” added a jocular barrister half aloud.</p> - -<p>Let us next consider how the thing stands when it is apparently only a -question of a kiss snatched by force—for it is, you know,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68"></a>{68}</span> a matter of -general knowledge that a woman’s “No” is not always to be taken -seriously. The refusal may, you know, be merely feigned. The maiden’s -“No” is the swain’s “Yes,” Peder Syv teaches us, and Runeberg, who also -understood women, says:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ev’ry girl is fond of kisses,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Though she may pretend to scorn them.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>If one is now convinced that the German proverb which says: <i>Auf ein -Weibes Zunge ist Nein nicht Nein</i> (On a woman’s tongue “no” is not -“no”), what then? Well, but how the point is to be finally settled is -not satisfactorily explained by the authorities within my reach; and -this is the reason why I dare not pronounce an opinion on the question -at issue. But I am convinced that the momentary difficulty will afford -the man the necessary diplomatic qualities as well as the requisite -tact. There is only one thing I can lay down for certain, viz., that if -a man follows his natural simplicity and reserve, and takes the girl’s -feigned “No” seriously, she will only laugh at him afterwards—such, -again, is woman’s nature.</p> - -<p>A well-known French <i>chanson</i> deals with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69"></a>{69}</span> a hunter who meets a young -girl out in the forest. Struck by her beauty, he wants to kiss her:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And takes her by her white hand,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Intending to caress her;<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">but she begins to cry, and, moved by her tears, he releases her; but he -has hardly got clear of the wood before she begins to laugh at him -heartily, and in derision shouts after him: “When you’ve got hold of a -quail you ought to pluck it, and when you’ve got hold of a girl you -ought to embrace her”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Quand vous teniez la caille,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Il fallait la plumer.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Quand vous teniez la fillette,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Il fallait l’embrasser.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>I quote these verses, for they may possibly afford inexperienced young -men some matter for reflection.</p> - -<p>Besides, a woman’s “No” has often a piquancy about it which lovers of a -somewhat more refined class set great store by. Even Martial (v. 46) has -expressed himself in favour of this in a little epigram which begins -thus:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">While ev’ry joy I scorn, but that I snatch;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And me thy furies more than features catch.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70"></a>{70}</span></p> - -<p>And Marot, who was likewise much skilled in “<i>ars amandi</i>,” even begs -his mistress not to give him her kisses readily:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Mouth of coral, rare and bright,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That in kissing seems to bite;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Longed-for mouth, I pray you this:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Feign deny me when you kiss.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Dorat has also expressed himself in favour of such. “Promise me nine -kisses,” says he to his Thais, “give me eight, and let me struggle for -the ninth.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The first eight kisses you accord<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Will crown my love’s felicity;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But I shall die in joy’s reward<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If for the ninth a struggle be.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Even if the answer is not a decided negative, yet it can, you know, be -couched in such equivocal words as to be tantamount to neither a -permission nor a refusal. Many girls agree with the Swedish song:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But “yes” ’s a word I will not say,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor will I either answer “nay.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>There is a saying in Jutland that runs thus: “Maren, may I kiss -you?—Guess. You won’t then, I suppose?—Guess once more?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71"></a>{71}</span> You -will?—But how could you guess it then?” This tallies capitally with the -following German saying: “<i>Zwinge mich, so thu’ ich keine Sünde,” sagte -das Mädchen</i> (“Constrain me, so that I shall not commit sin,” said the -maiden). Naturally in this case, there can be no question of any <i>crimen -osculationis</i>, for, as the jurists have it, <i>volenti non fit injuria</i>.</p> - -<p>Let us finally examine all these kisses from an ethical standpoint. We -have all of us, you know, learnt from our earliest childhood that—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He who kisses maidens hath<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A very naughty habit;<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">and popular belief adds, by way of warning, that it causes sores on the -mouth. Ah, yes, that is certainly very true, but what becomes of our -childish lore in the main when we attain to somewhat riper age? Now, -only listen to the ballad about what happened in the case of the young -Serb, in spite of all he had learnt:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here, so people told us,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Dwells a youth industrious,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who from ancient volumes<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Late and early studies.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72"></a>{72}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">As for books they tell us:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Don’t vault on the saddle,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Buckle not thy sword on,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Drink no wine that fuddles,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Never kiss a maiden.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But the young man harkens<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Not to what they tell him:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Keenest sword he seizes,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hottest wine he drinketh,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fairest maids he kisses.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>When so learned a man as our Serb succumbs to the tempting kiss, what is -to be said then about all the rest who are less instructed? And let us -remember ere we sit in judgment on any one—and it ought to be regarded -as peculiarly extenuating circumstances—that a woman’s mouth is a -direct incentive to kissing, that it is formed, as you know, for that -purpose, asserts an old troubadour, and created to kiss and smile:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And when I gazed upon her red mouth sweet,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To match whose charms not Jove himself were meet,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That mouth for laughter and for kisses framed,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I fell thereof so amorous straightway<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That I lacked power to do aught or to say.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The roguish mouth with the white teeth and the moist red, -delicately-shaped lips say to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73"></a>{73}</span> every man who is not made of marble, -“Kiss me, kiss me”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Her fresh mouth’s playing<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Seems ever saying<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To kiss I am fain<br /></span> -<span class="i4">Again, again.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>How human is Byron’s wish that all women had but one mouth so that he -might kiss them all at the same time:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">That womankind had but one rosy mouth,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To kiss them all at once from north to south.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Runeberg has uttered a similar wish, and with a minute account of his -reasons:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I gaze on a bevy of damsels,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I’m gazing and gazing incessant,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The fairest of all I’ll be choosing,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And yet as to choice I’m uncertain;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For one has the brightest of bright eyes,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Another girl’s cheeks are more rosy,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A third one’s lips are the riper,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The fourth has a heart far more tender.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There isn’t a single maid lacking<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A something that captures my senses.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There isn’t one there I’d say “no” to,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Oh, would I might kiss the whole bevy!<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Even an ecclesiastic such as Æneas Silvius Piccolomini, when wishing to -describe how beautiful and fascinating a young girl was,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74"></a>{74}</span> writes that -“no one could see her without being seized at once with a desire to kiss -her.” So as not to shock my readers, I may mention that he wrote this -before he was made Pope and assumed the name of Pius II.</p> - -<p>It ought now to be taken as proved that women—beautiful women—and -kisses are of a piece. It is at the same time nature’s ordinance, and we -find it verified in all countries and in all ages. Odin himself says, -you know, in Hávamál, where he instructs mortals in the wisdom of life:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ships are for voyages,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And shields for ward,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sword-blades to smite,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And maids to kiss.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">And the Greeks sing: “Wine belongs to chestnuts, honey to nuts, and -kisses morning and night to young maids.”</p> - -<p>I am inclined to assume that women also agree with this view; certainly -I have no positive enunciation to support my assumption, but I am able -to quote a German proverb which most assuredly points in this direction: -“<i>Ich kann das Küssen nicht leiden</i>,” <i>sagte das Mädchen</i>, “<i>wenn ich -nicht dabei bin</i>” (“I cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75"></a>{75}</span> bear kissing,” said the maiden, “when I am -not taking any part in it.”)</p> - -<p>Now if, in spite of all I have quoted, some rigid moralist or other will -persist that kissing young maids is always a “bad” habit, and if, -peradventure, a still sterner moralist will maintain it is a sin into -the bargain, I should reply that, in any case, it is one of those sorts -of sin that are venial. The Pope himself will not refuse his absolution, -say the Italians, and they certainly ought to understand things in Rome. -“Kiss me,” runs an Italian folk-song, “the Pope will forgive you; kiss -me and I will kiss you, and the Pope will forgive us both.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O bella figlia, o bella garzona,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Baciate me, chè il Papa vi perdona;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Baciate me, chè io bacerò vui,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Chè il Papa ci perdona tutti e dui.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>If the Pope is so complaisant then, to be sure, a subordinate servant of -the Church such as Aarestrup’s Father Hugo may well say:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Child, a kiss is but a trifle,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If it’s only long and sweet.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76"></a>{76}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77"></a>{77}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="III" id="III"></a>III<br /><br /> -AFFECTIONATE KISSES</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Seigneur, tu m’as donné les baisers de ma mère,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Je te bénis, Seigneur!<br /></span> -<span class="i12"><span class="smcap">F. E. Adam.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I bless thee, O Lord, for having given me my mother’s kisses.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78"></a>{78}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79"></a>{79}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -AFFECTIONATE KISSES</h2> - -<p class="nind">A <span class="smcap">kiss</span> can also express feelings from which the erotic element is -excluded—feelings that are consequently less ardent and longing, but, -most frequently, far deeper and more lasting.</p> - -<p>A kiss is expressive of love in the widest and most comprehensive -meaning of the word, bringing a message of loyal affection, gratitude, -compassion, sympathy, intense joy, and profound sorrow. In the first -place a kiss is the expression of the deep and intense feeling which -knits parents to their offspring. At its entrance into the world the -little helpless infant is received by its father’s and mother’s warm -kiss. In the Middle Ages they kissed the new-born baby thrice in the -name of the Holy Trinity. And the parent’s kiss follows the child -through life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80"></a>{80}</span> When Hector takes leave of his wife Andromache he lifts -his little son up into his arms, but the child is afraid of his father’s -helmet, “of the gleam of the copper and the nodding crest of -horse-hair.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i12">And from his brow<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hector the casque removed, and set it down,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">All glittering, on the ground; then kissed his child,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And danced him in his arms.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The Evangelist Luke tells the story of the Prodigal Son’s return home. -“But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had -compassion, and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”</p> - -<p>The parent’s kiss is like the good angel which shields the child from -all evil. When Johannes in Sören Kierkegaard’s <i>Forførerens dagbog</i> -would describe the impression made on him by Cordelia he says, “She -looked so young and fresh, as if nature like a tender and opulent mother -had that very instant released her from her hand,” and he goes on to -say: “It seemed to me as if I had been witness to this farewell scene; I -marked how the loving mother once again embraced her and bade her -farewell; I heard her say:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81"></a>{81}</span> ’Go out into the world now, my child; I have -done all for you. Now take this kiss as a seal upon your lips; ’tis a -seal the sanctuary preserves; no one can break it against your own will, -but when the right man comes, you shall understand him.’ And she presses -a kiss on her lips—a kiss which, not like a human kiss, takes aught, -but a divine kiss that gives all.” The chaste purity, which is -Cordelia’s halo and protection, is, as it were, the reflection of a -mother’s kiss.</p> - -<p>It is for this reason also that in the <i>sagas</i> a quite irresistible -power is attributed to the parent’s kiss. When Vildering, the king’s -son, quits Maid Miseri and journeys alone to his parents to tell them -what has befallen him, she implores him to be especially careful not to -let his parents kiss him, “for should that happen, you will forget me -utterly.” In spite of his caution his mother kisses him, and oblivion -covers the past; he forgets his betrothed, who is sitting and waiting -for him in the depths of the forest.</p> - -<p>Kisses of affection are exchanged not only between parents and children, -but between all the members of the same family; we find them even -outside the more narrow<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82"></a>{82}</span> family circle, everywhere where deep affection -unites people.</p> - -<p>When Naomi bade her son’s wife farewell, “they lifted up their voice and -wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto -her.” When Moses went to meet his father-in-law, “he did obeisance and -kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came -into the tent;” and when Jacob had wrestled with the Lord he met Esau, -ran towards him, fell on his neck and kissed him.</p> - -<p>The family kiss was also much in vogue with the Romans. Propertius, in -one of his elegies, chides his mistress for inventing quite <i>ad libitum</i> -a whole crowd of relations so as always to have at hand some one to kiss -her. This is how that came to pass: In ancient times there was a -so-called <i>jus osculi</i>, which allowed all a woman’s relations to kiss -her. There are several curious stories about this peculiar privilege. -The old traditions, which have been solemnly discussed by several -writers, relate that once upon a time women were forbidden to drink -wine; the above-mentioned law must have been instituted so that the -parties<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83"></a>{83}</span> concerned should, in a pleasant and practical way, be able to -satisfy themselves about observing the prohibition. This highly -improbable explanation has been defended in a thesis for the degree of -Doctor of Philosophy even in the eighteenth century.</p> - -<p>The kiss of affection is often mentioned by the early Greeks. Odysseus, -on reaching his home, meets his faithful shepherds, discloses his -identity to them, and shows them, as a certain proof, the cicatrix of a -wound that he had on one occasion received when out hunting:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“But come, another token most manifest will I show,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That the truth in your souls may be strengthened, and my very self ye may know.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lo the scar of the hurt, which the wood-boar with his white tooth drave on a tide,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">When with Autolycus’ children I sought Parnassus’ side!”<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">So saying, the rags about him from the mighty weal he drew,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And they twain looked upon it, and all the tale they knew;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And they wept, and o’er wise Odysseus they cast their hands, they twain,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And kissed his head and his shoulders, and loved him and were fain.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84"></a>{84}</span></p> - -<p>In the same hearty manner the shepherd Eumæus received Odysseus’ son on -the latter’s return from his journey, and lucky escape from the -treacherous plot of the suitors:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And on the head he kissed him, and both his eyes so fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And both his hands, moreover, and he shed a mighty tear;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And e’en as a loving father makes much of his dear son,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who has come from an alien country where the tenth long year is done,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His only son and darling for whom he hath travailed sore,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">E’en so the goodly swineherd now kisseth him o’er and o’er<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Telemachus the godlike, as one escaped from death.[A]<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>He gets the same reception from his old nurse and his mother:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But the nurse, e’en Euryclea, beheld him first of all<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As the fleecy fells she was spreading o’er the painted seats of the hall,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, weeping, went straight toward him; and the other maids thereto<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of Odysseus hardy-hearted, all round about him drew,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And they kissed him and caressed him, his shoulders and his head.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a><br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85"></a>{85}</span>Then Penelope the wise-heart from her chamber forth she sped,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Like to golden Aphrodite or Artemis the fair,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And she cast her arms amidst weeping round her son beloved and dear;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And therewithal she kissed him, his head and his lovely eyes.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>We have another famous scene of recognition, but of far later date, in -the old French epic of Girart de Roussillon. Girart, after many years’ -absence, returns in poverty and sickness to France. He presents himself -to the queen, who recognises him by means of a ring, and, “although it -was Good Friday, she fell on Girart’s neck and kissed him seven times.”</p> - -<p>It would perhaps be superfluous to quote more instances of the kisses of -affection. We meet with it in all ages in grave and solemn moments, not -only among those who love each other, but also as an expression of -profound gratitude. When the Apostle Paul took leave of the elders of -the congregation at Ephesus, “they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s -neck and kissed him” (Acts xx. 37).</p> - -<p>When De Malesherbes had solicited for himself the perilous honour of -undertaking<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86"></a>{86}</span> the defence of Louis XVI., that monarch got up and, in -order to show his gratitude, kissed him publicly.</p> - -<p>Even among persons who are utter strangers to each other, kisses such as -these may be exchanged. The profoundest sympathy with, the warmest -interest in, another’s weal or woe can be instantly created.</p> - -<p>The story of Ingeborg Vinding and Poul Vendelbo Løvenørn is well known. -H. P. Giessing relates it, just as he heard it, in the following form: -Poul Vendelbo, the poor student, went one day on the ramparts round -Copenhagen, and walked with two rich noblemen who, like himself, had -matriculated at the university from Horsen’s School. They happened to -notice a singularly beautiful woman sitting at the window of one of the -adjacent houses. One of the noblemen then said half-mockingly to -Vendelbo, “Now, if you could get a kiss from that lady, Poul, we would -defray the expenses of that tour abroad which you are so anxious to -make.” Vendelbo took him at his word, went up to the beautiful lady, and -told her how his whole future possibly depended on her. She then drew -him towards the window, and, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87"></a>{87}</span> the view of the nobleman, gave him the -kiss he craved. He went abroad, and, returning at last as -Adjutant-General Løvenørn, paid the fair lady a visit. She was none -other than Ingeborg Vinding.</p> - -<p>This is the anecdote, equally characteristic of both parties, that Carl -Ploug has so prettily treated in his poem <i>Et Kys</i> (A Kiss).</p> - -<p>The professor’s daughter is sitting alone in the sitting-room, and -“humming a song she has learnt by heart.” Then some one knocks at the -door, and in steps young Poul with his audacious request; first she will -refuse him indignantly:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ere yet a word she uttered<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She raised her eyes again.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Their angry flash should wither<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That overbold young swain.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">But, ah, he stood so quiet,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With such a modest grace,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With features stamped with honour,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And such a noble face.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Once more the maiden’s glances<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Looked down, their anger dead,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And with a blush delicious<br /></span> -<span class="i2">She spoke him fair instead.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88"></a>{88}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“ ’Twas wrong indeed, I take it,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That you should boldly dare<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Address a well-born maiden<br /></span> -<span class="i2">By stealth with such a prayer.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“But if your looks belie not,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">You good and noble are,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And so your path to fortune<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I should be loth to mar.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Then by the hand she leads him<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To where the window is,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She blushes and she trembles;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">They interchange a kiss.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>It would be superfluous to say more about this poem, which I suppose is -the most popular of Ploug’s essays in epic narrative. How far the -anecdote is historical is uncertain; but with the knowledge we have of -his and her character it cannot, in any case, be regarded as improbable. -Ploug may thus be right when he says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A kiss has with its gentle flame<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Once kindled honour’s beacon high;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A kiss has given Denmark’s fame<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A hero’s name that shall not die.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In early French literature there is a story somewhat akin to this; it -occurs in the old<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89"></a>{89}</span> miracle play of “<i>La Marquise de la Gaudine</i>.” In her -husband’s absence she has been falsely accused of adultery and thrown -into prison. Nobody dares to undertake her defence when, suddenly, a -knight named Anthenor steps up and offers, with sword in hand, to -undertake the defence of her innocence, having a long time back owed her -a deep debt of gratitude for having, on one occasion, saved his life by -a kiss. He himself tells us naïvely and ingenuously how it happened: -“Once upon a time I found myself, as you are aware, in peril of death; -the king suspected me and believed I aspired to his wife’s favour. Ah, -this was not the case at all, you know. But one day he said he would -believe me if I divulged to him who my sweetheart was. I did not know -what to do, and to save my life I said that the <i>marquise</i> was my -<i>amie</i>. He was not, however, content with this, but, as a proof, -demanded that I should take her by the waist in his presence and ask her -for a kiss. She gave it me and thus saved me from the snare the king had -laid. I shall never be able to repay her for what she has done for me.”</p> - -<p>The kiss of affection is also bestowed on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90"></a>{90}</span> some person or thing that -excites detestation and abhorrence.</p> - -<p>The legends of St Martin tell us how, on coming one day to Lutetia, -followed by a great crowd of people, he caught sight of a leper at the -gate of the city, who was so terrible an object to look at that -everybody turned away from him with loathing. To give those who followed -him a lesson in Christian charity, he went up to the poor sick man, -kissed and blessed him, and on the following morning the latter was -cured as by a miracle.</p> - -<p>It is just through overcoming oneself in respect to that which is -intrinsically foul and repugnant that this kiss gets its high -significance and dignity. St Francis of Assisi had bidden farewell to an -existence of luxury, bestowed his wealth on the necessitous, and lived -the life of a beggar, but his conversion was still incomplete; he did -not become ripe for his great work of charity until he had overcome his -repugnance to the leprous. One day, when out riding, he met one of these -wretched sufferers, whose whole body was like a great open wound, and he -reined his horse aside in disgust; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91"></a>{91}</span> shame overtook him at once, he -leapt off his horse, spoke kindly to the sick man, gave him what money -he had, and kissed both his hands. Such is the account given by the -historical chronicles, but the legend goes on to say that the leper -immediately afterwards vanished: it was Christ Himself who wished, in -this wise, to bestow His benediction on the noble and beautiful life’s -work of the saint.</p> - -<p>The kiss of affection also plays an important part in folk-poetry; that -alone has power to cast off spells, that alone breaks all the bonds of -witchcraft and sorcery, and is able to restore man to his original -shape.</p> - -<p>In the Scotch ballad of Kempion we are told how the Earl of -Estmereland’s daughter is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, who at -last by magic arts changes her into a snake:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Cum heir, cum heir, ye freely feed<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And lay your head low on my knee;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The heaviest weird I will you read,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That ever was read to gay ladye.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O meikle dolour sall ye dree,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And aye the salt seas o’er ye’se swim;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And far mair dolour sall ye dree,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On Estmere crags, when ye them climb.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92"></a>{92}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I weired ye to a fiery beast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And relieved sall ye never be,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till Kempion, the king’s son,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss thee.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O meikle dolour did she dree,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And aye the salt seas o’er she swam;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And far mair dolour did she dree<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On Estmere crags, when she them clamb.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And aye she cried for Kempion,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Gin he would but come to her hand.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>At last Kempion hears her voice, and straightway rows towards the foot -of the mountain:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Out of my stythe I winna rise,<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Till Kempion, the king’s son,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Cum to the crag, and thrice kiss me;<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">implores the snake; but Kempion dares not. The snake coils in and out, -and the mountain is aflame; at last Kempion summons all his courage:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He’s louted him o’er the lofty crag,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And he has given her kisses three;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Awa she gaed, and again she cam,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The loveliest ladye e’er could be!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The same subject is found in the ballads of other countries. In the -Danish <i>Jomfruen i ormeham</i> the young maiden has been changed into a -little snake, compelled to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93"></a>{93}</span> wriggle in the grass. However, the knight -Jennus comes:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">It was the brave knight Jennus;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Forth to the greenwood he hies.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">As o’er the grass he rideth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A little snake he espies.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">It was the brave knight Jennus;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Over his saddle he lay.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He kissed the little serpent;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A maiden it turned straightway.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">It was the brave knight Jennus;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Troth to the maid he did plight.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He bade them keep his wedding<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For both with much delight.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In another ballad the maiden has been turned by her stepmother into a -lime-tree, and makes her moan:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">She changed me into a lime-tree, and<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She bade me e’en in the greenwood stand.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">She bade me stand and hope for no bote,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Until a king’s son should kiss my root.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here have I tarried for years full five,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor kissed me has any king’s son alive.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Here have I tarried for years now ten,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor has a king’s son kissed me since then.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>But at last the hour of her freedom arrives;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94"></a>{94}</span> the king’s daughter has -heard the lime-tree’s lamentation, and she sends a message to her -brother, who comes at once:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He hoisted his silken sail of red,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And o’er the salt sea on he sped.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The knight on his back a red cloak threw,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And fared to the lime-tree without ado.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He kissed himself the lime-tree’s feet,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which straight became a maiden sweet.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Corresponding poetical stories of the redeeming power of the kiss are to -be found in the literature of many countries, especially, for example, -in the Old French Arthurian romances (<i>Lancelot</i>, <i>Guiglain</i>, <i>Tirant le -blanc</i>) in which the princess is changed by evil arts into a dreadful -dragon, and can only resume her human shape in the case of a knight -being brave enough to kiss her. This kiss is called <i>le fier baiser</i>. -From French the subject migrated to Italian literature, in which it was -taken up and made use of first in <i>Carduino</i>, later on in Boiardo’s -<i>Orlando innamorato</i>. The hero, after many perilous adventures, reaches -an enchanted castle where a young and beautiful maiden is sitting<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95"></a>{95}</span> by a -tomb. She tells him she can be released if he will venture to lift the -stone from the tomb and kiss what then appears. Without giving it a -second thought, the knight opens the tomb, and a horrible serpent with -hissing tongue and venomous breath darts forth. Trembling with fear, he -fulfils his promise, and that very instant the monster is transformed -into a lovely fairy who overwhelms her benefactor with recompenses. This -<i>motif</i> formed the subject of a drama in the last century by Gozzi in -<i>La donna serpente: fiaba teatrale tragicomica</i>.</p> - -<p>Finally many folk-stories on this subject may be quoted. In the tale of -“Beauty and the Beast,” the transformed prince begged the young maiden -he had carried off on his back for a kiss. “No,” answered she, “how -could I kiss you who are so ugly and have seven horns on your forehead?” -Then the beast went its way, and she saw it no more till one day she -found it lying dead under a bush in the garden, whereupon she wept as -she had never wept before, and cast herself down on the beast and kissed -it. Then it returned to life, and the ugly beast became the handsomest -prince her eyes could see.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96"></a>{96}</span> He then told her that he had been bewitched -by a wicked fairy, and could not be delivered unless a maid fell in love -with him and kissed him, despite his ugliness.</p> - -<p>In this case the kiss redeems from death, and likewise death itself is -nothing more than a great kiss of affection. When a human being quits -this earthly life it is God who takes His child in His arms, kisses it, -and carries it away from earth to brighter and more blissful spheres.</p> - -<p>This highly poetical and beautiful conception of death has found -expression in Italian, where, instead of the word “die,” one can say, -“fall asleep in the Lord’s kiss” (<i>addormentarsi nel bacio del -Signore</i>). And this has got flesh and blood in an old legend of the -saints, where it is told of St Monica that, as she lay dying on her -couch, a little child whom nobody knew came and kissed her on her -breast, and straightway, as if the child had called her, she bowed her -head and breathed forth her last sigh.</p> - -<p>The kiss of affection follows man even after death; with a kiss one -takes leave of the lifeless body.</p> - -<p>In Genesis we read that when Jacob was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97"></a>{97}</span> dead, “Joseph fell upon his -father’s face and wept upon him and kissed him”; and it is told of Abu -Bekr, Mahomet’s first disciple, father-in-law, and successor, that, when -the prophet was dead, he went into the latter’s tent, uncovered his -face, and kissed him.</p> - -<p>In the curious poem of <i>Ebbe Tygesøns dödsridt</i>, when the knight’s horse -carries his corpse back to his betrothed, it is said:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">She lifted up his gory head,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And raised it to her lips to kiss;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She swooned away, and fell back dead,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In very sooth, as she did this.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In ancient times lovers always demanded of each other this act of love. -“When the alabaster box, filled with Syrian perfume, has been poured out -over my dead body, then do thou, O Cynthia, press thy last kisses on my -cold lips,” sings Propertius in one of his elegies:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Osculaque in gelidis pones suprema labellis,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Cum dabitur Syrio munere plenus onyx.<br /></span> -<span class="i10"><i>Propertius</i> iii. 4, 29, 30.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">And the same wish is expressed by Tibullus (I., i. 61, 62):</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Flebis et arsuro positum me, Delia, lecto,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Tristibus et lacrymis oscula mixta dabis.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98"></a>{98}</span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“You’ll weep for me, dear Delia, ere flames have caught my bier,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And mingle with your kisses full many a bitter tear.”<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The death-kiss is something so natural that it is superfluous to point -out its existence amongst different nations. It was not only a mark of -love, but it was also an article of belief that the soul might be -detained for a brief while by such a kiss. Ovid, in his <i>Tristia</i>, -laments over his joyless existence in Tomis, whither Augustus had -banished him, and is in despair because, when the hour of death -approaches, he will not have his beloved wife by his side to detain his -fleeting spirit by her kisses mingled with tears.</p> - -<p>The kiss is the last tender proof of love bestowed on one we have loved, -and was believed, in ancient times, to follow mankind to the nether -world. Even in our own days, popular belief in many places demands that -the nearest relative shall kiss the corpses forehead ere the coffin lid -is screwed down; in certain parts, indeed, it is incumbent on every one -who sees a dead body to kiss it, otherwise he will get no peace for the -dead.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99"></a>{99}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV<br /><br /> -THE KISS OF PEACE</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Salute invicem in osculo sancto.<br /></span> -<span class="i6"><i>Pauli Epist. ad Romanos</i>, xvi. 16.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Salute one another with an holy kiss.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -THE KISS OF PEACE</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> kiss, as expressive of deep, spiritual love, also came to figure in -the primitive Christian Church.</p> - -<p>Christ has said: “Peace be with you, my peace I give you,” and the -members of Christ’s Church gave each other peace symbolically through a -kiss. St Paul repeatedly speaks of the “holy kiss” (ϕίλημα ἄγιον), and, -in his Epistle to the Romans, writes: “Salute one another with an holy -kiss”; and he reiterates this exhortation in both his Epistles to the -Corinthians (1, xvi. 20, and 2, xiii. 12), and his first Epistle to the -Thessalonians (v. 26), wherein he says: “Greet all the brethren with an -holy kiss.”</p> - -<p>The holy kiss has gradually found admission into the ritual of the -Church, and was imparted on occasions of particular solemnity, such as -baptism, marriage, confession, ordination,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span> obsequies, etc., etc. At a -wedding the ceremony was as follows: On the conclusion of High Mass and -after the <i>Agnus Dei</i> had been chanted, the bridegroom went up to the -altar and received the kiss of peace from the priest. After this he -returned to his wife, and gave her the priest’s kiss of peace at the -foot of the crucifix. Reminiscences of this rite still survive in -several churches in England.</p> - -<p>The holy kiss played an important part even at the Mass; in the Greek -Church it was imparted before, in the Roman Catholic Church after, the -consecration of the elements. The priest kissed the penitent, and -through this kiss gave him peace; this was the true kiss of peace -(<i>osculum pacis</i>). We have a peculiar memorial of this in Old Irish, -where the word <i>pōc</i>, which is derived from the Latin <i>pax</i>, means -“kiss,”—not “peace.” This change of meaning must, I suppose, be -attributed partly to a misunderstanding of the priest’s words when he -kissed the penitent: <i>Pacem do tibi</i> (Peace I give unto thee), <i>i.e.</i>, -people understood the kiss as the chief thing, and thought <i>pacem</i> -referred to that. The same peculiarity is again to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span> met with in -mediæval Spanish, where <i>paz</i> has also the meaning of “kiss.” In an -ancient romance which relates how Fernando dubbed the Cid a knight, it -says at the end, “He buckled a sword on his waist, and gave him ‘peace’ -(<i>i.e.</i>, a kiss) on the mouth”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">El rey le ciñó la espada<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Paz en la boca le ha dado.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The holy kiss occurs even in the early Christian love-feasts, the -so-called ἀγαπαί, and indeed was often exchanged in the church itself by -all the faithful without regard to sex, which gave the heathen cause for -scandal, and its use was restricted so that only men kissed men, and -women, women.</p> - -<p>The kiss of peace was in vogue in France down to the thirteenth century. -We find it in the story about a very unpleasant incident to which Queen -Margaret, the wife of St Louis, was exposed. One day when she was in -church and the kiss of peace was to be imparted, she saw close beside -her a woman in splendid apparel, and taking the latter to be a lady of -rank, she gave her the kiss of peace. It turned out, however, that the -queen had made a mistake; she had kissed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span> one of the common courtesans -who always swarmed about the Court. She then complained to the king, the -consequence of which was that certain ordinances were drawn up with -respect to the dress of women of that class, in order to render all -confusion with respectable women henceforward impossible.</p> - -<p>The kiss of peace in the churches seems to have been abolished in the -latter part of the Middle Ages, at different times in different -countries.</p> - -<p>In the middle of the thirteenth century a special instrument for -conveying the kiss was introduced into England—the so-called -<i>osculatorium</i> or <i>tabella pacis</i>, which was composed of a metal disc -with a holy picture, and was passed round the church to be kissed.</p> - -<p>From the English Church the osculatory was gradually introduced into -other churches, but nowhere does it appear to have contrived to rejoice -in any particularly long stay. In various ways it gave occasion to -scandal.</p> - -<p>It was provocative of contention and strife in the church itself, when -people of position quarrelled violently as to whom the honour belonged -of kissing it first. Contentions as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span> to precedence at church are, as we -see, of long standing.</p> - -<p>It seems also to have served as a sort of profane intermediary between -lovers. When a young and beautiful girl kissed it she had close beside -her a fine young fellow who waited impatiently to take it directly from -her hand and lips. We read in one of Marot’s poems:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I told the maid that she was fair;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I’ve kissed the Pax just after her.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Through the use of the osculatory, the well-known custom of gallants -such as, from the Greek romances and Ovid, existed in ancient times, was -revived—Huet calls it <i>elegans urbanitatis genus</i>—when the lover drank -out of the goblet from the very place which the beloved one’s lips had -touched. Formerly a sort of <i>pax</i> was employed even in Danish churches. -The Catholic priests showed the people “a picture in a book” (of course -the picture of some saint), and this picture was kissed by the -congregation; for which purpose a small fee termed “kiss-money” or -“book-money” was handed to the parish clerk.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span></p> - -<p>Even after the use of the <i>pax</i> had been abolished by the Reformation, -the “book-money,” as a customary due to the clerk, was retained. But at -a congress at Roskilde in 1565, parish clerks were forbidden to demand -this fee.</p> - -<p>The holy kiss is still imparted in the Greek Church on Easter Sunday; -all the faithful greet each other in church with kisses, and the words, -“Christ is risen,” the reply to which being, “Verily, He hath risen.” In -the Roman Catholic liturgy this usage has been confined to certain -masses, and the holy kiss is only exchanged among the clergy, not among -the members of the congregation. First, the bishop and archdeacon kiss -the altar, then the archdeacon kneels down and the bishop gives him the -kiss of peace with the words: <i>Pax tibi, frater, et ecclesiæ sanctæ Dei</i> -(Peace be with thee, brother, and with God’s Holy Church). The -archdeacon answers: <i>Et cum spiritu tuo</i> (And with thy spirit), after -which he gets up, genuflects towards the altar, and carries the kiss of -peace to the chief canon, whom he kisses on the left cheek with the -words <i>pax tibi</i>, and thus it is sent round to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span> all the officiating -clergy with many different ceremonies.</p> - -<p>The holy kiss soon spread beyond the walls of the church, and came into -usage even in secular festivities. Thus, during the Middle Ages, it was -the custom to seal the reconciliation and pacification of enemies by a -kiss. The old German poets mention such a kiss under the name of -“Vredekuss,” and so widespread was the custom of the kiss of -reconciliation, that the verb <i>at sone</i>, or <i>udsone</i>, got the meaning of -“to kiss.” <i>Sônen</i> has still this meaning in Frisian.</p> - -<p>In an old French miracle-play St Bernard of Clairvaux says to Count -William and the Bishop of Poitiers, who had had a long-standing feud -with each other, and between whom he had managed to make peace: “In -order to show that your friendship is true and sincere, you must kiss -each other.” Count William then goes up to the bishop, saying: “My lord, -I crave your forgiveness for the wrong I have inflicted on you; I have -erred greatly towards you. Kiss me now to seal our peace, and I will -kiss you with loyal heart.”</p> - -<p>Even knights gave each other the kiss of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span> peace before proceeding to the -combat, and forgave one another all real or imaginary wrongs.</p> - -<p>In <i>Covenant Vivien</i>, Vivien exchanges the kiss of peace with Girart and -six other illustrious warriors before the great fight with King Desramé -begins.</p> - -<p>Manzoni has made use of the kiss of peace in the pathetic scene in <i>I -promessi Sposi</i> (The Betrothed), when Fra Cristoforo obtains forgiveness -from the nobleman whose son he has slain. The nobleman receives the monk -in his palace. Surrounded by all his relations, he stands in the middle -of his great hall, with left hand on his sword-hilt, whilst with his -right he holds a flap of his cloak pressed against his chest. Cold and -stern, he gazes contemptuously and with suppressed wrath at the novice -as he enters, but the latter exhibits such touching remorse and noble -humility that the nobleman, there and then, abandons his stiffness. He -raises up the kneeling brother himself, grants him his forgiveness, and, -finally, “carried away by the emotion that prevailed, he threw his arms -round the latter’s neck, and gave and received the kiss of peace.”</p> - -<p>After the Middle Ages the kiss of peace<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span> disappears altogether as the -official token of reconciliation; solitary instances, indeed, can -certainly be quoted from Catherine of Medici’s Court, but they are -rather to be regarded as studied efforts to re-introduce an old and -abandoned usage. After the murder of Francis de Guise in 1563, his widow -and brother meet Admiral de Coligny; the latter swore that he had not -the least suspicion of the assassin’s plot, whereupon they kiss each -other, and mutually promise to forget all enmities, and henceforward to -live in peace and harmony. This kiss of peace was as powerless to revive -the old custom as Lamourette’s memorable attempt at the time of the -Revolution. On the 7th July 1792, when the quarrel amongst the members -of the Legislative Assembly had reached a terrible height, at the time -when the Austrian and Prussian armies were marching on Paris, Lamourette -got up and made a fervent patriotic speech, in which, in the most moving -terms, he exhorted all the members of the Assembly to sink their -differences. He finished by saying: “Let us forget all dissension and -swear everlasting fraternity”—<i>et jurons-nous fraternité éternelle</i>, -and the deputies at once<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> fell into each others arms, and in a universal -kiss of reconciliation every one forgave each other’s wrongs. But this -unity did not last long. The quarrels began again the following day, and -two years afterwards Lamourette himself died by the guillotine; but the -expression, a kiss of Lamourette—<i>un baiser de Lamourette</i>—still -survives in the French language as a half ironical term for a -short-lived reconciliation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="V" id="V"></a>V<br /><br /> -THE KISS OF RESPECT</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Les rois des nations, devant toi prosternés,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">De tes pieds baisent la poussière.<br /></span> -<span class="i9"><span class="smcap">Racine</span>—<i>Athalie.</i><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="c">The kings of the Gentiles, prostrate before thee, kiss the dust of thy -feet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -THE KISS OF RESPECT</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Margaret of Scotland</span>, who was betrothed to Charles the Seventh’s son, -the Dauphin Louis (afterwards Louis XI.), one day walked through a hall -where Alain Chartier was sitting asleep in a chair. On perceiving the -sleeping poet, she went up to him and kissed him on the lips. Many of -her suite were astonished at this, “for nature had, so far as Chartier -was concerned, suffered a beautiful and rich mind to take up its abode -in an ugly body.” The princess replied that they were not to marvel at -what she had done, for it was not the man she had kissed, but the mouth -from which so many golden words had proceeded. Margaret’s kiss was -therefore an expression of the respect she had for the poet, and the -admiration and regard inspired by his poetical genius. A little further -back in the Middle Ages we meet with another<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span> striking instance of a -kiss as expressive of veneration; but this kiss is of a more humble -nature. We are told that, when the Emperor Otto I. had taken leave of -his pious mother in the church attached to a monastery, the latter -followed him with her eyes as long as she could, and then returned to -the church and kissed the place whereon his feet had stood.</p> - -<p>The kiss of veneration is of ancient origin; from the remotest times we -find it applied to all that is holy, noble, and worshipful—to the gods, -their statues, temples, and altars, as well as to kings and emperors; -out of reverence, people even kissed the ground, and both sun and moon -were greeted with kisses.</p> - -<p>In the first book of Kings God says to Elijah: “Yet I have left me seven -thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and -every mouth which hath not kissed him” (xix. 18).</p> - -<p>In the thirty-first chapter of Job, Job extols his own piety: “If I -beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and my -heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand” (26, -27). Here, undoubtedly, allusion is made to the kissing of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span> hands -whereby the heathen were wont to salute the heavenly bodies.</p> - -<p>When the prophet Hosea laments over the idolatry of the children of -Israel, he says that they make molten images of calves and kiss them.</p> - -<p>Even in remote classical times a similar homage was paid to the gods; -people kissed the hands, knees, and feet, even the mouths, of their -idols. Cicero informs us, in one of his speeches against Verres, that -the lips and beard of the famous statue of Hercules at Agrigentum were -worn away by the kisses of devotees.</p> - -<p>Bayle tells us, in reference to this passage, that a physician was asked -one day why it was that a bronze face could, in this manner, be worn -away through being kissed, whereas, on the other hand, kisses did not -leave the slightest trace on the countenance of the most fashionable -courtesan. His answer was that the reason, he supposed, was that statues -were kissed for centuries, but that the woman in question was only -kissed for a very few years, viz., so long as her beauty lasted. This -explanation was, however, considered unsatisfactory, and the physician’s -attention was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span> called to the fact that soft flesh must be far sooner -worn away than hard bronze; besides, lover’s kisses being considerably -more violent than those of mere respect. The physician then urged -another reason, viz., that which kisses wear away from bronze lips is -lost for ever, but that which is worn away from living lips is -immediately replaced by renewal of tissue in the body.</p> - -<p>The kiss of veneration came to play a very important part in Christian -society. St Luke the Evangelist tells us that when Christ sat at meat in -the Pharisee’s house there came a woman who had been a great sinner, -bringing with her a vase of ointment. “And stood at his feet behind him -weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with -the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the -ointment” (vii. 38). When the Pharisee wondered at His having allowed -such a woman to touch Him, He rebuked him by the parable of the two -debtors, and added, “Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the -time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou -didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span></p> - -<p>Again in the Psalms, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from -the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they -that put their trust in him.”</p> - -<p>C. H. Spurgeon used these lines as the text of a sermon he preached in -the “Music Hall,” London, on the 3rd of July 1859, in which he did his -utmost to make his congregation understand what is meant by saying we -are to “kiss Christ.” “The kiss,” says he, “is a mark of worship; to -kiss Christ is at the same time to recognise Him as God, and to pay Him -divine worship. The kiss is a mark of homage and subjection; we ought -likewise to acknowledge Christ as our King, and promise to follow -blindly His behests. The kiss is a sign of reconciliation; we ought to -show that we are reconciled with God. Lastly, the kiss is the greatest -of all tokens of love; to kiss Christ is therefore only a figurative way -of expressing to love Him with deep and fervent love.”<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>As the woman that was a sinner showed her reverence for Christ by -kissing His feet, so all saintly men and women henceforward were -honoured in a like manner. They were saluted humbly by kisses on their -hands or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span> feet, and the legend goes that he who kissed the hand of St -Dominic never afterwards committed sin. In many countries, more -especially in Southern Italy, kissing the hands of the priest is still -customary.</p> - -<p>The kiss reverential was extended to everything that was holy, or had -been consecrated to sacred purposes.</p> - -<p>People kissed the Cross with the image of the Crucified, and such -kissing of the Cross is always regarded as a particularly holy act. In -many countries it is required, on taking an oath, as the highest -asseveration that the witness is speaking the truth, and as a last act -of charity, the image of the Redeemer is handed to the dying or -death-condemned to be kissed. Kissing the Cross brings blessing and -happiness. In the south of France people used formerly, in moments of -difficulty or danger, when no Cross was at hand, to kiss their thumbs -laid in the form of a cross. When devout Catholics salute the Pope by -humbly kissing his slipper, they are fond of explaining away this -greeting. They say that it is not to be taken as any personal homage -paid to the Pope; the kiss having nothing to do with his slipper, but -the cross<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span> which is embroidered on it. Therefore Christ it is to whom -they are prostrating themselves. This idea, however, is undoubtedly a -later fancy; the kiss on the slipper ought, I take it, more correctly to -be considered as humble homage to the Pope as primate of the Church, and -such, therefore, must be the view the Pope himself holds, since he has, -times without number, exempted cardinals and other persons of high rank -from kissing his slipper. The number of kings and ambassadors who, in -the course of time, have refused to submit to this ceremony, have -undoubtedly regarded it as a humiliation; and popular conception bears -this out thoroughly. To “kiss the slipper” has become in many languages -synonymous with a low and unworthy cringing. In the old German war-song -against Charles V., we find:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ah, think the whole imperial race<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Through Popery fell in sore disgrace<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And German might was riven.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Will you for all their knavery<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To slipper-kiss be given?<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>People kiss the image of Our Lady. The legend tells us that John of -Antioch even dared to kiss Mary’s mouth, and this kiss<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span> gave him wisdom -and great eloquence, and spread a golden glory round his mouth, hence -his surname Chrysostom (golden mouth).<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>People kiss the pictures and statues of saints. Down in St Peter’s -church in Rome there is a remarkable old bronze figure of St Peter, -which is said to date from the fifth century, and the faithful have, in -all ages, shown the highest veneration to this image, in consequence of -which a great part of the right foot has been gradually kissed away.</p> - -<p>Even nowadays the kiss bestowed on the pictures of the saints plays an -enormous part in the Roman Catholic, but more particularly in the Greek -Church. Not only their pictures, but even their relics are kissed; they -make both soul and body whole. St Balbina obtained forgiveness for her -sins by kissing St Peter’s chains, and Pascal’s niece was cured of a -disease in her eyes by kissing one of the thorns of Christ’s Crown. This -cure, the historical authenticity of which is, however, somewhat -doubtful, made a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span> sensation, and provoked a violent controversy -between the Jansenists and Jesuits.</p> - -<p>Besides, there are legends innumerable of sick people regaining their -health by kissing relics; innumerable, too, are the satires which arose -by reason of abuses in respect to cures which were achieved with relics -genuine and false. One of the best known is perhaps the mediæval story -of <i>The Monk’s Breeches</i>.</p> - -<p>A Franciscan friar was a very intimate friend of a merchant in Orleans -and his wife—especially of the latter. One evening the merchant -returned home unexpectedly from a journey, and the friar, who had tried -to the best of his ability to entertain the wife in the husband’s -absence, for certain circumstances which were capable of being -misunderstood, thought it wisest to disappear as quick as possible; but -in his haste he forgot his breeches. The merchant, however, did not -notice anything; the night was dark, and next morning he even put on the -friar’s breeches instead of his own. On coming back home from his office -in the afternoon—he had long discovered his mistake—he demanded, with -violent and hasty words, an explanation from his wife; but the latter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span> -who had discovered at once in the morning what had happened, hurriedly -sent a messenger to the friar to consult with him as to what was to be -done. According to their arrangement she answered her husband very -calmly:</p> - -<p>“My dear friend, don’t fly into a passion; you ought to thank me instead -of quarrelling with me. You know we have no children, and we have tried -everything—but all in vain. Now I heard that St Francis’ breeches could -work miracles, even of that sort, and that is why I had them fetched for -you. Take them off now, for I expect some one from the monastery will be -coming for them directly.” The poor man in his delight quickly got out -of his breeches, and directly he had done so there came a knocking at -the door. It was the friar, followed by a choir boy carrying holy-water -and a censer. He had come to fetch the precious relic of the monastery, -and inquisitive neighbours flocked in from all quarters. He wrapped the -breeches reverently up in a white hand-cloth, and sprinkled them with -holy-water while the boy incensed them, after which he lifted up the -sacred bundle. Meanwhile all fell<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span> on their knees, and after pronouncing -a panegyric on St Francis, he himself carried round the breeches so that -the people who had assembled might kiss them. This they did with deep -piety and emotion, more especially the honest and grateful merchant.</p> - -<p>This little story afforded much merriment in the Middle Ages. People -found much enjoyment in its burlesque humour, and never got tired of -hearing it. It occurs as a <i>fabliau</i>, a <i>farce</i>, and a story, and -belongs to the <i>facetiæ</i> with which the Pope’s Secretary, Poggio, amused -his friends in <i>Il Bugiale</i> (The Lie Manufactory).</p> - -<p>Even as regards the great ones of this world the kiss used to serve in -various ways as a mark of humility and reverence. Its use in ancient -times was remarkably widespread; people threw themselves down on the -ground before their rulers, kissed their footprints, literally “licked -the dust,” as it is termed. In the Psalms, Solomon sings of the promised -King: “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his -enemies shall lick the dust”; and the prophet Isaiah says: “Kings shall -be thy nursing fathers, and queens thy nursing mothers:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span> they shall bow -down to thee with their face before the earth and lick up the dust of -thy feet” (xlix. 23).</p> - -<p>They kissed not only the ground under the powerful, but also their feet, -knees, hands, or the hem of their garments.</p> - -<p>Certain Roman Emperors adopted these oriental usages. Thus Caligula -ordered people to kiss his hands and feet, and even in the Middle Ages -the custom of kissing the feet of kings was in vogue.</p> - -<p>Nearly everywhere, wheresoever an inferior meets a superior, we observe -the kiss of respect. The Roman slaves kissed the hands of their masters; -pupils and soldiers those of their teachers and captains respectively.</p> - -<p>During the Middle Ages the vassal paid homage to his feudal lord by a -kiss on the hand or foot, hence the expression <i>devoir la bouche et les -mains</i>. It is well-known what befell Charles the Simple when Rollo, the -Norman chieftain, had to pay him feudal homage. The proud Viking would -not bow down to the king, but laid hold of the latter’s feet and lifted -them up to his mouth, whereat the king, amidst the laughter of the -spectators, tumbled down. Thus the scene is depicted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span> briefly and -graphically in the <i>Roman de Rou</i>:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Quant baisier dut le pie, baisier ne le deigna,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">La main tendi aual, le pie al rei leua,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A sa bouche le traist e le rei enuersa;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Asez s’en ristrent tuit, e li reis se dreça.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">They also kissed their liege lords on the thigh, and this method of -kissing can be traced down to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; -but the kiss on the hand was undoubtedly most frequently in use; and it -was the general custom for the vassal at the same time to hand his lord -a present, which is the reason why the word <i>baise-main</i> (hand-kiss) -gradually got this meaning.</p> - -<p>If the lord was absent when the vassal waited on him, the latter had to -kiss the door, the lock or bolt, which was regarded as a valid -substitution for kissing the hand. From this arose the expressions, -<i>baiser l’huis</i>, (the door), <i>baiser le verrouil</i>, (the bolt), which -were used partly as an expression of slavish<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> subserviency, and partly -in an ironical sense of lovers who have been rejected by their -mistresses, and thus constrained to</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Kiss the door, and kiss its chains<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For ladies’ sake who are within.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">As expressive not only of respect, but also of repentance, children in -former days were made to kiss the rod by which they had been chastised. -Geiler von Keiserberg writes in the sixteenth century: “When children -are thrashed they kiss the rods and say:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Liebe ruot, trute ruot<br /></span> -<span class="i0">werestu, ich tet niemer guot.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">“They kiss the rods and jump over them, yea they leap over them.” We -have a memorial of this custom in the phrase, “kissing the rod.”</p> - -<p>There is still one great power that we have not mentioned, and one who -demands, too, homage by kisses, <i>i.e.</i>, the devil; but, in order that -the humility shown to him may be as great as possible, he must be kissed -on his behind, <i>i.e.</i>, on the place where the back ceases to be called -the back. Old pictures of the Sabbath on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span> Blocksberg exhibit to us his -Satanic majesty, in the guise of a goat or cat, sitting on a high seat, -while his worshippers reverently approach and kiss him under his tail. -In several confessions of witches we find this kiss still more closely -described: “The devil has a big tail, and under it a sort of face, but -with this face he never speaks, as the only use he makes of it is to let -his most devoted followers kiss the same; for kissing this face is -regarded as an especially great honour.” This somewhat awkward kiss -occurs, moreover, in several sagas. In <i>Harehyrden</i> the Jeppe gives up -his magic flute to the king on condition that the latter kisses his ass -under its tail. It can also be shown in actual life, and we have some -anecdotes from the Middle Ages which seem to prove that the <i>podex</i>-kiss -was used as a derisory punishment. There is also a story told of a merry -knight, once upon a time, compelling a party of monks to pay their -respects to their abbot in the aforesaid less dignified way.</p> - -<p>Kisses <i>in ano</i> seem also to have been required of neophytes on their -reception into certain secret societies.</p> - -<p>The part this kiss plays in insulting speech<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span> ought to be sufficiently -well known. The Romans ere now spoke about <i>lingere culum</i> or <i>lambere -nates</i>; the Germans more decently say: <i>Küss mich da ich sitz’</i> (Kiss me -where I sit), or <i>Er kann mich küssen da wo ich keine Nase habe</i> (He can -kiss me where I have no nose). Frenchmen even use the last mentioned -paraphrastic expression. It is told in an old poem about Theodore de -Beza, whose youth was, as you are aware, a very dissipated one, that, on -one occasion, he said of a lady that he would like to kiss her, but he -did not know how he could manage to do so as her nose was far too long. -When the lady learnt this she wittily replied:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">... Pour si peu ne tenez,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Car si cela seulement vous en garde!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">J’ai bien pour vous un visage sans nez.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">We have no knowledge if this offer tempted the rigid Calvinist that was -to be; but the lady was undoubtedly young, and even if he had not found -her face so remarkably beautiful, yet it would have been very different -had the invitation come from an old<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span> crone, as the well-known saying, -“<i>baiser le cul de la vieille</i>,” implies the deepest ignominy that can -befall a man, at any rate a gambler—viz., to lose without scoring a -point.</p> - -<p>There is a Jutland variant of the story about Theodore de Beza: “I was -driving one day with Niels Hundepenge, and we saw at a distance a woman -walking on in front. Says Niels, ‘Peter, there goes a pretty girl; just -see what a figure, and how she steps out.’ When we got up to her we -found she was pock-marked and hideous. Then says Niels, ‘Now, my girl, -if you were only as good-looking in front as you are behind, I should -want to kiss you.’ ‘Well, if you think so,’ replied she, ‘you can kiss -me, you know, where you fancy I am best looking.’ ”</p> - -<p>Allow me, in connection with this, to call your attention to a -peculiarity about the Latin word <i>osculum</i>. The first syllable os of -course signifies “mouth,” the two last, on the other hand, mean the -correlative part on the reverse side of the body. This circumstance has -been made use of in a Latin anecdote about a married lady. An -importunate suitor asked her for a kiss,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> whereupon she replied that -this could not be granted, inasmuch as the first of what he asked -absolutely belonged to her husband, but, as she did not wish to be too -hard on him, he was welcome to have the last:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Syllaba prima meo debetur tota marito,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sume tibi reliquas, non ero dura, duas.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In modern times the ceremonious kiss of respect has gone clean out of -fashion in the most civilised countries; it is only retained in the -Church, but in all other domains it is practically unknown—so unknown, -indeed, that in many cases the practice would be offensive or -ridiculous.</p> - -<p>Kissing the earth is another instance of such kisses that I shall quote. -It plays a part in the old stories about Junius Brutus. Together with -King Tarquin’s sons he journeyed to Delphi to consult the oracle. The -answer they received was that the supreme power would fall to the lot of -him who first kissed his mother. Brutus then made a pretence of -stumbling, and as he fell he kissed the earth, our common mother. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span> few -years after this, the royal family were expelled from Rome, and Brutus -and Lucius Tarquinius were elected consuls.</p> - -<p>People also kissed the earth for joy on returning to their native land -after a lengthened absence. When Agamemnon returned from the Trojan War:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Stepped he forth inwardly glad to the shore of his well-loved country,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kissing and kissing again his mother earth while the scalding<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Tears down his cheeks were coursing, though his heart was brimming with blitheness.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Even nowadays people feel glad at seeing their native country again -after long absence, but they have another way of expressing their joy, -and, without exaggeration, it would be safe to assert that if any one -returning from a journey wished to emulate Agamemnon, that person would -undoubtedly be put down as mad.</p> - -<p>We find in Holberg (“Ulysses of Ithaca,” or “A German Comedy”) a parody -of the old usage, where Ulysses says: “Let us fall down, after the old -hero’s fashion, and kiss our mother earth.” They fall down and kiss the -ground, but Chilian gets up hurriedly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span> and says: “The deuce! I don’t -really understand the use of these ceremonies. Eugh, somebody has been -here before—that I can plainly perceive.”</p> - -<p>The old custom now only survives in certain sayings. Frenchmen use the -expression <i>baiser la terre</i> (to kiss the earth), jeeringly, of a person -falling; and the German, <i>die Erde küssen</i> (to kiss the earth), is a -euphemistic way of saying “die.” I may add, for the sake of -completeness, that kissing the earth still occurs sporadically nowadays -in the sense of the profoundest humility mingled with regret. When -Raskolnikow, in Dostojewski’s novel of that name, has confided to Sonja -how he murdered the old usurer’s wife, he exclaims in his despair: “And -what shall I do now?”—“What shall you do now,” exclaims Sonja, and her -eyes flash: “Get up, go hence at once; station yourself at a crossway, -kneel down and kiss the earth you have defiled, bow down thus before all -the people, and say to them: ‘I have committed murder.’ Then God shall -give you new life.” And, finally, when Raskolnikow has determined -publicly to acknowledge his crime and denounce himself as a murderer, he -falls prostrate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span> on his knees in the middle of the market-place, bows -down, and, amidst the laughter and derision of the bystanders, kisses -the dirty ground with ecstasy and delight.</p> - -<p>In Europe, at least, we no longer kiss the ground before the feet of the -mighty, any more than we salute them by kissing their hands or feet; a -bow more or less gracious, according to circumstances, serves the same -purpose generally. Nevertheless, at certain courts, such as the Spanish, -English, and Russian, kissing the hand is still customary as a sort of -ceremonial salutation; but its practice is usually confined to certain -solemn occasions.</p> - -<p>Individuals of princely rank excepted, the kiss of respect to superiors -is to be regarded as all but extinct; but even in the eighteenth -century, kissing the hem of their garments is mentioned as a salutation -befitting ladies of exalted rank, and in Holberg’s <i>Politiske -Kandestøber</i> (the Political Pewterer), we see how Madame Abrahamsen and -Madame Sanderus even kissed Gedske on the apron.</p> - -<p>Kissing, as expressive of admiration, still undoubtedly occurs, but can -scarcely be said<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> to be particularly general; it becomes less and less -common as we approach our own time.</p> - -<p>A half-ironical instance occurs in Molière; in <i>Les Femmes Savantes</i> -Armande and Philaminte fall into raptures over Vadius’ great learning. -<i>Du grec! O ciel! du grec! Il sait du grec, ma sœur!</i> (Greek! good -heavens! Greek! He knows Greek, sister), says the one, and the other -answers: <i>Du grec! quelle douceur!</i> (Greek! how sweet!). In their -boundless enthusiasm they ask Vadius to let them kiss him as a mark of -their admiration. He accepts this salutation very politely, if not with -any particularly great joy; but when he turns to young Henriette, from -whose lips he is especially desirous of receiving so tender an -expression of admiration, she rejects him quite abruptly with the -remark: <i>Excusez-moi, monsieur, je n’entends pas le Grec</i> (Excuse me, -sir, I don’t understand Greek).</p> - -<p>The pedantic Vadius got just what he deserved—a kiss as dry as dust -from two middle-aged, sexless blue-stockings, which nobody begrudges -him. On the other hand, many, perhaps, will read with envy of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span> -homage received by Benjamin Franklin at the French Court. Mme. de -Campan, in her <i>Mémoires</i>, says: “At one of the splendid entertainments -given in Franklin’s honour, I saw how the most beautiful of the three -hundred ladies present was chosen to place a laurel crown on the white -locks of the American philosopher and imprint a kiss on each of the old -man’s cheeks.”</p> - -<p>The kiss of admiration and respect has, I suppose, been the longest to -survive in the form of kissing ladies’ hands. Formerly, in many -countries, it constituted a friendly greeting on meeting a lady or -saying good-bye to her; but nowadays this custom has grown obsolete in -most places; nevertheless we have certain literary reminiscences of it. -In Austria people say <i>Küss die Hand, gnädige Frau</i>, and <i>Sârut mâna</i> in -Roumania, but still it is comparatively rare that this expression is -followed by actual kisses, as was formerly the case. <i>Je vous baise les -mains</i> is now only used in an ironical sense in France. Ceremonial -kisses, however, still flourish in Spain to a marked degree, not only in -the language of the Court, but also in general conversation. When I was -first presented<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span> to a Spanish lady I expressed my gladness at making her -acquaintance by kissing her hand—only, however, by figure of -speech—but her husband at once pointed out to me in a laughing way, -that I had failed to show her proper respect. One can only kiss a -Spanish lady’s feet: <i>Beso à usted los pies</i> or <i>à los pies de usted</i> (I -kiss your feet), as they say.</p> - -<p>Before leaving the subject of the kiss reverential I will mention two -different ways in which it has been used. Formerly it was the custom, at -least at the French Court, for pages to first kiss the articles they -were to hand to distinguished personages. Henri Estienne tells an -anecdote about a page who had to carry a letter to the Princess of -Naples. It was expressly enjoined on him to kiss it (<i>baisez-la</i>), but -the page pretended he had misunderstood the words, so when he had to -leave the letter he first kissed the unsuspecting princess.</p> - -<p>We find another peculiar form of the kiss reverential in the cases when -a person kisses his own hand before offering it to the guest he would -especially honour, or before accepting a present for which he wishes to -show<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span> his gratitude in an extraordinarily polite manner.[A]</p> - -<p>In an old comedy of Marivaux, “<i>Harlequin poli par l’Amour</i>,” a fairy -falls in love with a rustic lout. She carries him off, entertains him in -her castle, and tries in every possible way to gain his love; but he -remains utterly callous to all her blandishments, and behaves all the -time in a most foolish manner. He takes a fancy to a valuable ring the -fairy is wearing; she removes it from her finger and gives it to him, -but when he scarcely says “Thank you” for it, she says to chide him: -<i>Mon cher Arlequin, un beau garçon comme vous, quand une dame lui -présente quelque chose, doit baiser la main en la reçevant</i>.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> -Arlequin takes hold of the fairy’s hand and kisses it; but she corrects -him again, and says: “He does not understand me once, but I like his -mistake. It is your own hand, you know, that you should kiss.”<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> - -<p>This usage still prevails amongst old peasants in Jutland, and is termed -receiving something with “kissed hand,” or “kiss<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span> hand.” The expression -<i>Kusshand</i> is also employed in German, and is explained thus: “Gruss, -wobei man die eigne Hand küsst und dann nach der zu grüssenden Person -hin bewegt oder sie reicht.” The same sort of greeting is found both in -England and France. Voltaire tells us that children in certain countries -are taught to kiss their right hand when anybody gives them something -good. Even at the present day, in certain places on the Alps, peasants -express their thanks by kissing their hand before taking what is given -to them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI<br /><br /> -THE KISS OF FRIENDSHIP</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Par amistiet l’en baisat en la buche.<br /></span> -<span class="i10"><i>Chanson de Roland.</i><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For friendship pressed a kiss upon his mouth.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -THE KISS OF FRIENDSHIP</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> kiss is also employed as a conventional salutation between persons -who only stand on a footing of friendship or acquaintance with each -other. In our northern countries the friendly kiss usually occurs only -between ladies, but in this instance its usage is very widely extended. -With men and women it is properly only allowable when there is a marked -difference in age between both parties, but, on the other hand, it -seldom or never takes place between men, with the exception, however, of -royal personages who, on solemn occasions, are wont to greet and take -leave of each other with more or less sincere kisses of greeting and -farewell. Here we find ourselves again in a sphere in which, alas, we -have sadly fallen away from the good old ways. In former times, to wit, -the friendly kiss was very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span> common with us between man and man as well -as between persons of opposite sexes. In guilds it was customary for the -members to greet each other “with hearty handshakes and smacking -kisses,” and, on the conclusion of a meal, people thanked and kissed -both their hosts and hostesses. In a description of a wedding in the -olden time in the district of Voer in Denmark we read:</p> - -<p>“When they had eaten, the parish clerk got up first, put his arms round -the parson’s neck, and kissed him on the mouth, saying: <i>Tak for mad, -hr. pastor</i> (Thanks for your hospitality, sir priest). Then the parson -planted himself against a chest of drawers, and all the women, old and -young, went up to him, one after the other, and kissed him on the mouth. -Some of the old goodies could not quite reach him, for the priest was a -big, tall man, and they had actually to climb on to his boots, though he -stooped down to them slightly.” Peder Havgård said that he would not -have cared much to be in the parson’s place, for it was a mean and poor -country thereabouts, and some of the women were very shabbily-dressed -and dirty-looking.</p> - -<p>If we glance outside Denmark it appears<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> that the kiss of friendship is -considerably in vogue. In Iceland it is still a general form of -salutation, although of late years there is said to be a certain falling -off in its use; and every one who travels in South Germany and Austria -can study at the very first railway station the different forms of that -kind of kiss which in those countries is specially used by way of -leave-taking; officers and students, farmers and merchants, all treat -each other to sounding kisses, usually on the cheek. One can observe the -same sort of thing in France, but more especially in Italy. I can attest -from personal experience that it is looked upon as the most natural -thing in the world for people to kiss their intimate friends when saying -good-bye, a shake of the hand being far too cold a leave-taking beneath -the warm sky of Italy.</p> - -<p>It is, however, undoubted that, speaking generally, the custom of -kissing, as an ordinary greeting, has immensely declined; in ancient -times and in the Middle Ages it was much more frequent than nowadays.</p> - -<p>It was the common practice with the Hebrews for acquaintances, when they -met, to kiss each other on the head, hands, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> shoulders; and it was -assuredly with a kiss of pretended friendship that Judas betrayed his -Master.</p> - -<p>Even the Greeks in former times used kissing as a common salutation; not -only friends and acquaintances kissed each other, but also persons who -quite accidentally met when they were travelling.</p> - -<p>The custom of kissing, however, became less general later on. In a -discourse of Dion Chrysostomus, called <i>From Eubœa</i>, or “The Hunter,” -is a story of a rustic coming to the city and meeting two acquaintances -in the assembly, whom he goes up to and kisses. “But,” says the rustic, -“people laughed prodigiously at my kissing them, and, on that occasion, -I learnt that it is not customary for people of the city to kiss each -other.”<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p>Kissing seems to have been much more in vogue with the Romans, amongst -whom it was the usual custom for people to salute each other with a kiss -on the hand, the cheek, or the mouth. Many even scented their mouths in -order to render their kisses more pleasing—or less unpleasant. Martial -laments<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span> over this usage in a little epigram to Posthumus:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">What’s this that myrrh doth still smell in thy kiss,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And that with thee no other odour is?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Tis doubt, my Posthumus, he that doth smell<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So sweetly always, smells not very well.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This kissing of friends gradually became a veritable nuisance to the -country. Fashion ordained that every one should give and receive such -kisses, but, in reality, every one preferred evading them. Martial, in -another epigram to this same Posthumus, exclaims:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Posthumus late was wont to kiss<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With one lip, which I loth;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But now my plague redoubled is,—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He kisses me with both.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">and</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Posthumus’ kisses some must have,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And some salute his fist;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy hand, good Posthumus, I crave,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">If I may choose my list.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Under such frightful circumstances people had recourse to shifts which -seem almost as unsavoury as the kisses they would escape:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Why on my chin a plaster clapped;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Besalved my lips, that are not chapped;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Philænis, why? The cause is this:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Philænis, thee I will not kiss.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span></p> - -<p>But such artifices, however, are of very little use; no one escapes the -<i>basiatores</i> (kissers). They prowl about the streets and market-places; -not even the walls of the home, nor even the enforced solitariness of -the most hidden-places served as a protection against them:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">There are no means the kissing tribe to shun,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They meet you, stop you, after you they run,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Press you before, behind, to each side cleave,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">No place, no time, no men, exempted leave;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A dropping nose, salved lips, can none reprieve,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gangrenes, foul running sores, no one relieve;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They kiss you in a sweat, or starved with cold,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lovers’ their mistress’ kisses cannot hold;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A chair is no defence, with curtains guarded,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With door and windows shut, and closely warded,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The kissers, through a chink will find a way,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Presume the tribune, consul’s self, to stay;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Nor can the awful rods, or Lictor’s mace,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">His stounding voice away these kissers chase,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But they’ll ascend the Rostra, curule chair,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The judges kiss while they give sentence there.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Those laugh they kiss, and those that sigh and weep;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Tis all the same whether you laugh or weep;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Those who do bathe, or recreate in pool,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who are withdrawn to ease themselves at stool.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Against this plague I know no fence but this:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Make him thy friend whom thou abhorr’st to kiss.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">All greet one another with kisses; every condition of life, every -handicraft, found a representative<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span> amongst the <i>basiatores</i>. When a -man, in ancient times, was afraid of meeting his tailor, it was not so -much on account of the latter’s bill as by reason of his kisses.</p> - -<p>“Rome,” says Martial, “gives, on one’s return after fifteen years’ -absence, such a number of kisses as exceeds those given by Lesbia to -Catullus. Every neighbour, every hairy-faced farmer, presses on you with -a strongly-scented kiss. Here the weaver assails you, there the fuller -and cobbler, who has just been kissing leather; here the owner of a -filthy beard, and a one-eyed gentleman; there one with bleared eyes, and -fellows whose mouths are defiled with all manner of abominations. It was -hardly worth while to return.”</p> - -<p>People kissed whenever they met: morning and evening, at all seasons of -the year: spring and autumn, summer and winter. The winter kisses seem -to have been especially unpleasant, and Martial censures them, in the -strongest terms, in his epigram to Linus:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">’Tis winter, and December’s horrid cold<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Makes all things stark; yet, Linus, thou lay’st hold<br /></span> -<span class="i0">On all thou meet’st; none can thy clutches miss;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But with thy frozen mouth all Rome dost kiss.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">What could’st more spiteful do, or more severe,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Had’st thou a blow o’ th’ face, or box o’ th’ ear?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My wife, this time, to kiss me does forbear,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My daughter, too, however debonaire.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But thou more trim and sweeter art. No doubt<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Th’ icicles, hanging at thy dog-like snout,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The congealed snivel dangling on thy beard,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ranker than th’ oldest goat of all the herd.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The nastiest mouth i’ th’ town I’d rather greet,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Than with thy flowing frozen nostrils meet.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If therefore thou hast either shame or sense,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till April comes no kisses more dispense.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>That Martial’s epigrams depict the actual state of the case without any -particular exaggeration it may, among other things, be inferred from the -fact that the Emperor Tiberius, according to Suetonius, issued an edict -against these <i>cotidiana oscula</i> (daily kisses).</p> - -<p>The friendly kiss was likewise much in vogue in the Middle Ages.</p> - -<p>In <i>La Chanson de Roland</i> the Saracen king receives Ganelon with a kiss -on the neck, and then displayed to him his treasures:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Quant l’ot Marsilies, si l’ad baisiet el’ col;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Pois, si cumencet à uvrir ses trésors.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">(603).<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>And Ganelon salutes the Saracen chiefs in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span> the same way, and “they -kissed each other on face and chin”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Bien serat fait”—li quens Guenes respunt;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Pois, se baisièrent es vis e es mentuns.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">(625, 628).<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The friendly kiss is, on the whole, pretty often mentioned in the Old -French epics. “Out of friendship he kissed him on the mouth” is a verse -that frequently recurs:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>Par l’amistiet l’en baisat en la buche.</i><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The kiss of friendship was also exchanged between the opposite sexes. It -was the general custom for ladies to salute with a kiss any stranger -whether he came as an ambassador, expected guest, or a chance passer-by. -In the old French mystery-play of St Bernard de Menton, the Lord of -Miolan is sitting one day with his wife and daughters in the hall of his -castle, when a squire steps in and announces that some strangers have -arrived. The lord of the castle receives them courteously, bids them -welcome in God’s name, and at once orders his wife do her duty to them. -She, too, bids them welcome, and kisses them; at last it comes to the -turn of the little girls, who assure their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span> father that they know their -duty right well, and are even willing to perform it:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A vostre bon commandement<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Les bayserons et festoyrons,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Trestons le myeulx que nous pourrons,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Mon seigneur, à vostre talent.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Which may be rendered thus:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">As it is your orders dear,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We will kiss and make good cheer,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">All, so far as in us lies,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Since your wishes that comprise.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Whereupon they kiss the strange gentlemen. In the poem of “Huon de -Bordeaux” we are told how Huon’s mother, the Duchess of Bordeaux, -receives the French king’s embassy with kisses. The queen, in Marie de -France’s <i>Lai de Graelan</i>, sends an ambassador after Graelan to make his -acquaintance, and, when he arrives, goes to meet him, and kisses him on -the mouth.</p> - -<p>In other Romance countries, too, kissing serves as a common mode of -greeting, which fact can be incidentally substantiated by means of -philology, inasmuch as the Latin verb <i>salutare</i> (‘to greet’) both in -Spanish and Roumanian, and partially in French, has acquired the meaning -of ‘to kiss.’<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span></p> - -<p>When Abengalvon, in the old <i>Pöema del Cid</i>, meets Minaya Alvar Fañez, -he advances smilingly towards him in order to kiss him, and he “greets” -him on the shoulder, “for such was his wont”:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sonrisando de la boca, ibalo abrazar,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">En el ombro lo saluda, ca tal es su usaje.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The expression “to greet on the mouth” likewise occurs many times; but -also the verb <i>saludar</i> (‘to hail’) is also used alone, as in the -Roumanian <i>sâruta</i>, to express ‘to kiss.’</p> - -<p>Even in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the friendly kiss -flourished in France. When Leo Rozmital, the Bohemian nobleman, paid his -respects to Louis XI. at Meung-sur-Loire, the king led him to the queen, -and both she and all the ladies of her court kissed him on the mouth.</p> - -<p>We get further information in a letter from Annibale Caro dated 29th -October, 1544. It is addressed to the Duke of Palma, and describes the -visit of the French Queen Eléonore to the Emperor Charles V. in -Brussels. “When we met,” says he, “the ceremony of reception with -kissing of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span> ladies was, in the highest degree, interesting; it -seemed as if I had been present at the Rape of the Sabines. Not only the -higher nobility, but even all the rest took each his lady, and the -Spaniards and Neapolitans were the most eager. It gave rise to much -merriment when the Countess of Vertus, Charlotte de Pisseleu, was -observed to lean over her saddle to such an extent, in order to kiss the -Emperor, that she slid off her horse, and kissed the earth instead of -His Majesty’s mouth. The Emperor hurried up to her assistance, and with -a smile kissed her heartily (<i>e ridendo la baciò saporitamente</i>). -Directly afterwards Duke Ottavio rode up, jumped quickly off his horse, -and the Emperor himself conducted him to the Queen’s carriage, and there -he was presented to the distinguished ladies. The Duke kissed the -Queen’s hand and was about to remount his charger, but the Emperor -called him back, and told him that he ought also to kiss Mdme. -d’Etampes, who was sitting right opposite to the Queen in the carriage. -Like a good Frenchman, he exceeded the Emperor’s order and kissed her on -the mouth.”</p> - -<p>A vast quantity of other evidence goes to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span> show how general was the -friendly kiss of salutation even during the Renaissance, especially -among the upper classes. Henri Estienne satirises it in his <i>Apologie -pour Hérodote</i>. “Kisses are allowed,” writes he, “in France between -noblemen and ladies, whether they do or do not belong to the same -family. If a high-born dame is in church, and any fop of her -acquaintance comes, she must, in conformity with the usage prevailing in -good society, get up, even if she be absorbed in the deepest devotion, -and kiss him on the mouth.”</p> - -<p>Even Montaigne expresses his disapproval of such a state of things. “It -is,” says he, “a highly reprehensible custom that ladies should be -obliged to offer their lips to every one who has a couple of lackeys at -his heels, however undesirable he may be, and we men are no gainers -thereby, for we have to kiss fifty ugly women to three pretty ones.”</p> - -<p>None the less, the friendly kiss held its ground right through the -seventeenth and even a part of the eighteenth century. Molière’s -marquesses kiss each other whenever they meet; for instance, in the -famous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> eleventh scene in <i>Les Précieuses ridicules</i>, when Mascarille -and Jodelet fall into each other’s arms with many warm kisses. In <i>Le -Misanthrope</i> Alceste reproaches Philinte with embracing and kissing -every one, and “when I ask you who it is, you scarcely know his name!”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Vous chargez la fureur de vos embrassements;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Et quand je vous demande après, quel est cet homme,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">À peine pouvez-vous dire comme il se nomme.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>La Bruyère has, time after time, satirised this foolish custom, which, -especially at Court, seems to have assumed colossal dimensions; but even -in middle-class circles etiquette required men to salute ladies with a -kiss.</p> - -<p>In an old comedy entitled <i>Le Gentilhomme guespin</i> a father presents his -son, who is extraordinarily awkward and clumsy. The latter does not know -how he ought to behave to the ladies of the house, so the father in -despair gives him a dig in the ribs, and whispers in his ear: “He’s -bashful. Kiss the lady. One always greets a lady with a kiss.”</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i2">... Il est honteux. Là, baisez donc Madame;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">C’est toujours en baisant qu’on salue une femme,<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span></p> - -<p>Molière has made use of this scene in <i>Le Malade imaginaire</i>, where -Thomas Diafoirus pedantically asks when he is introduced to Angélique: -<i>Baiserai-je?</i> (Am I to kiss?).</p> - -<p>In England we come across pretty nearly the same state of things. -Erasmus of Rotterdam, in one of his <i>Epistolæ familiares</i>, expresses his -great satisfaction with English customs: “When you arrive every one -kisses you; at your departure they bid you good-bye and kiss you; you -come back, then fresh kisses. You are kissed when you meet any one, and -so, too, when you separate. Wheresoever you go everything is filled with -kisses, and if you have only once tasted how delicate these kisses are, -and the deliciousness of their savour, you would want, my dear Faustus, -to be banished to England for time and eternity.” In another passage, -where Erasmus is speaking of the state of the inns in England, which he -mentions in terms of unqualified praise, he winds up as follows: -“Everywhere at the inns one meets with pretty, smiling girls: they come -and ask for one’s soiled clothes; they wash them and soon bring them -back again. When the travellers are about to resume their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span> journey these -girls kiss them, and take as affectionate a farewell of them as if the -latter were their brothers or near relations.”</p> - -<p>And Holberg in his letter writes: “In England it is considered -uncourteous to enter a house without saluting one’s hostess with a -kiss.”</p> - -<p>Even in the Low Countries the friendly kiss was much in vogue. Adrianus -Höreboord, a professor at the University of Leyden, has, in a Latin -treatise, investigated the question as to whether the custom of allowing -strangers to kiss young girls, widows, and other persons’ wives, on -paying a visit, can be said to be in conformity with the laws of -chastity. Höreboord’s opinion is that such practice is in no way -objectionable: as a kiss can be given without any <i>arrière pensée</i> the -kisses demanded by politeness may be quite chaste.</p> - -<p>Erycius Puteanus, the learned Dutch philosopher, on the contrary, holds -that the aforesaid custom is not without danger—at any rate to more -sensually-disposed temperaments. In a letter on the education of a young -Italian girl he writes that he would never suffer any one to kiss his -pupil, adding: “Our<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span> Flemish girls never do so; they are not so ardent. -They do not comprehend the language of love in glances and kisses. In -the matter of Italian girls on the other hand, things are quite -different, and I teach my pupil the speech of our country and our -customs, kissing excepted.”</p> - -<p>The kiss of friendship was so general in Germany, even in the eighteenth -century, that Klopstock could write to a friend in 1750: <i>Vergessen sie -nicht zu mir auf einen Kaffee und auf einen Kuss zu kommen</i>. It seems, -however, soon to have fallen into disuse.</p> - -<p>As far back as 1747, Lessing had ridiculed it in a poem:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The kiss with which my friend will greet me<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Is not what’s rightly termed a kiss,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But only formal salutation<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Because cold fashion bids him this.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII<br /><br /> -VARIOUS KINDS OF KISSES</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Einen Kuss in Ehren<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Darf niemand wehren.<br /></span> -<span class="i8"><i>German Proverb.</i><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">No one should take amiss<br /></span> -<span class="i0">An honest-hearted kiss.<br /></span> -<span class="i8">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -VARIOUS KINDS OF KISSES</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">It</span> has been previously shown by numerous examples that kissing occupies -a prominent place in certain ceremonies. It would be easy to multiply -instances of this.</p> - -<p>We know from Roman law that the so-called <i>osculum interveniens</i>, which -concerned gifts, was exchanged between engaged couples. The law enacts -that, in the event of one of the contracting parties dying before the -marriage, only a moiety of the presents are to be returned, provided a -kiss was exchanged at the betrothal, but, if no kiss had been exchanged, -all the presents were to be returned.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span></p> - -<p>The kiss was regarded as the introduction, as it were, to matrimonial -cohabitation—<i>initium consummationis nuptiarum</i>; it was symbolical of -marriage—<i>viri et mulieris conjunctio</i>. Certain ancient jurists have -even discussed the question whether a married woman who has suffered -herself to be kissed by a stranger has not thereby rendered herself -guilty of adultery.</p> - -<p>The decree of the Roman law which, so far as I know, still partly holds -good in Greece, is met with again in the Latin countries during the -Middle Ages. It was incorporated in the law of the Visigoths (<i>Lex -Romana Visigothorum</i>), and migrated thence to the different old Spanish -<i>fueros</i> and the old French law, in which the word <i>osculum</i> was also -used in the learned form <i>oscle</i>. It was likewise admitted into the law -of the Lombards, and Italy is most probably the West European country -where <i>donatio propter osculum</i> has been longest retained. We find, even -down to our own times, traces of the same in customary laws.</p> - -<p>This is probably the only ceremonial kiss that has received legal -sanction; but wherever elsewhere we may turn our eyes and investigate -old ceremonies, we constantly find the kiss a necessary and important -part.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span></p> - -<p>Its usage was, for instance, general at weddings. Thomas Platter, who -studied at the University of Montpellier at the end of the sixteenth -century, tells us, in his “Diary,” that the majority of marriages took -place in private, without witnesses, through fear of witchcraft; though -the wedding feast, on the contrary, was celebrated in public with a vast -concourse of guests, and with many merry episodes. At the conclusion of -the feast the bride was divested of her bridal array, amidst jokes and -raillery, smart young bachelors having to take off her garters; and when -at last she sat up in bed, clad only in linen, then all the guests, male -and female, came and kissed her on the mouth, and the kisses were -followed by facetious compliments and good wishes.</p> - -<p>Moreover, at the later ceremony of dubbing a knight, the newly-made -knight of the Golden Fleece was kissed by the master of the ceremonies, -and had afterwards to kiss all the senior knights present.</p> - -<p>At certain academical functions the kiss also formed part of the festal -ceremony; in the seventeenth century the Dean, when degrees were -conferred, kissed all the new doctors and masters.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span></p> - -<p>Even in the guilds we meet with the kiss, though in a somewhat peculiar -form. Hübertz tells us that at the ceremony of admitting a member into -the Guild of Tanners, the candidate chose for his “Kränzjungfer” a girl -who had to be “fairly a maiden.” She painted black moustaches on his -upper lip, and the senior member placed a crown on his head. This done, -he kissed the latter, removed the crown, and decorated him instead with -a “Jungferkranz.” Finally, the senior member made a speech to the new -member, and gave him three boxes on the ears, on which the girl kissed -him, and washed off his moustaches, whilst “Vater” hung a sword to his -waist.</p> - -<p>The ceremony of reception into the Guild of Carpenters was followed by a -feast, at which the members, as a sign that they were now grown-up, were -allowed, on the payment of a mark, to kiss the barmaid, who was usually -the innkeeper’s daughter.</p> - -<p>It is easily understood that the kiss likewise came to play a prominent -part in many different dances and games.</p> - -<p>Kiss-dances were very common during the Middle Ages and even later. -Montaigne describes one that he witnessed at Augsburg<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span> in 1580. “The -ladies,” said he, “sit in two rows along the walls of the room. The -gentlemen go away and bow to them; they kiss the latter’s hands, and the -ladies get up, but without kissing them on the hand. Then each gentleman -puts his arm round the lady’s waist, right beneath her shoulder, kisses -her, and lays his cheek to hers.”<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> Whether it is the lady’s check or -mouth that is kissed, he omits to state; but it is certain that kisses -on the mouth were not uncommon.</p> - -<p>A Swiss traveller who stayed for some time in France in the middle of -the sixteenth century relates that, when he was in Montpellier, he was -invited to a ball, and there met a very beautiful young lady; but, he -adds, her nose was a trifle too long, and so her partner had great -difficulty in kissing her mouth, “as is the general custom.”</p> - -<p>The kiss-dance has not yet died out in Germany; but it appears no longer -to have the graceful forms of the Renaissance period, if we can trust -Fritz Reuter’s description in his <i>Journey to Belgium</i>. At a wedding -when the kiss-dance is to be held, the parish clerk cautiously inquires -of the clergyman whether<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span> kissing is regarded as unbefitting his -priestly dignity, but when the answer comes short and shrewd, “Kiss -away,” he bows to Mrs Black and—smack!—gives her a couple of hearty -kisses right on her mouth. Madame was thoroughly frightened, but that -did not avail, but every time he swang round with her, she got a proper, -smacking kiss.</p> - -<p>But it is evident from <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> that even in England there -were dances in which a gentleman was allowed to kiss his partner. All -know the beautiful words with which Romeo claims his right:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">If I profane with my unworthiest hand<br /></span> -<span class="i2">This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. (I. 5.)<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>One can still take the same liberty at Christmastide under the -mistletoe. I know a young English lady who was offended with an American -gentleman who did not dare to avail himself of his privilege, because he -thought that this custom was obsolete in Europe.</p> - -<p>Kissing in our time still plays an important part in France in the -refrains of dance songs. <i>Le Bouquet de ma Mie</i> ends with:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Bell’ bergère, embrasse-moi,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Embrasse, embrasse, embrasse!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">And in <i>Ramenez vos Moutons, Bergère</i>, is sung by way of conclusion:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Tombez à genoux,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Jurez devant tous.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">D’être un jour époux<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Et embrassez-vous.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>There is, I suppose, no doubt that in these games the kiss is given and -taken, as the <i>dramatis personæ</i> are generally children, but what takes -place when adults amuse themselves with these <i>rondes</i>, I do not know; -but I consider it probable that the gentleman will demand as his due a -kiss, at any rate on the cheek. There also exists an old <i>ronde à -baisers</i>, which is very characteristic and merry. In this it is the lady -who has to take the first step:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Madame, entrez dans la danse,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Regardez-en la cadence,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Et puis vous embrasserez<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Celui que vous aimerez.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span></p> - -<p>As the living expression of the warmest and sincerest human feelings -kissing has been credited, in the world of fairy tales and superstition, -with a considerable curative and prophylactical power.</p> - -<p>We have seen, in the old sagas and ballads, how enchantments are broken -by means of a kiss; we have seen how holy men in the legends restore the -sick to health by means of a kiss, etc. Kissing has, on the whole, -influenced popular credulity to a large extent, and of the numerous -superstitious notions concerning it I only quote some few:</p> - -<p>If you would protect yourself against lightning you should make three -crosses before you, and kiss the ground three times. (Germany.)</p> - -<p>If you want to have luck in gambling you must kiss the cards before the -game begins. (France.)</p> - -<p>If you have the toothache you should kiss a donkey on his chops. -(Germany.) This very efficacious advice is found as far back as Pliny.</p> - -<p>If you drop a bit of bread on the floor you must kiss it when you pick -it up. The same respect is also to be shown to books you have dropped. -(Denmark, Germany.)<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span></p> - -<p>According to Danish superstition, it is a bad omen when the first person -you meet of a morning is an old woman; nevertheless, you can ward off -all evil consequences by giving her a kiss. Evil must be expelled by -evil.</p> - -<p>People kiss little children when they have knocked themselves, in order -to take away the pain; they must “kiss them well again,” as it is -termed, or, as Englishmen say, “kiss the place and make it well.”</p> - -<p>The Greenland mother, who does not understand kissing as expressive of -love, kisses her sick child on the breast, shoulders, hips, and navel to -restore it to health.</p> - -<p>As the loving kiss of a living human creature brings life, health, and -happiness, so it is thought, on the other hand, that kisses of a -supernatural being bring destruction.</p> - -<p>In Lucian’s <i>True History</i> there is a description of a perilous journey -to the realms of fancy. In one of these the travellers came upon a -remarkable vineyard wherein all the vines at the bottom were green and -luxuriant, but those above had the shape of women. “They greeted us, as -we<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span> drew nigh, and bade us halt. Some of us kissed them on the mouth, -and those who were kissed lost their understanding and reeled about like -drunken men. But worse befell those who had suffered themselves to be -embraced by these women; they were powerless to extricate themselves -from the latter’s arms, and we beheld their fingers changed into boughs -and twigs.”<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p> - -<p>I will here call your attention to the Roumanian song about cholera, -which comes in the shape of an ugly old woman to Vîlcu, and Vîlcu -entreats it thus: “Take my horse, take my weapons, but give me still -some days so I may once more see my children, which are as dear to me as -the light of the sun.” But the old woman stretches forth her bony arms, -folds Vîlcu to her bosom, presses her pallid lips to his, and, in a -death-dealing kiss, takes his life, whereupon she departs with a mocking -laugh. The Roumanian text is here very strong:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Gură pe gură punea,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Buze pe buze lipĭa,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Zilele i le sorbĭa.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i0">Apoĭ cloanza ear ridea,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Cu zilele purcedea,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Si voĭnicul mort cădea.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Even a spectre’s kiss brings death. In an English variant of the ballad -of Leonora, Margaret says to her dead bridegroom, who is knocking at her -door at night: “Come and kiss me on the cheek and chin.”—“Perhaps I -shall come to thee,” he replies, but:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">If I shou’d come within thy bower,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I am no mortal man;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And shou’d I kiss thy rosy lips,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy days will not be long.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>I shall also call your attention, in connection with the foregoing, to a -curious old story of the venomous girl.</p> - -<p>A young maiden had from her tenderest years been reared on all the most -deadly poisons. Her beauty was marvellous, but her breath was so -poisonous that it killed everybody who came near her. She was sent to -the palace of Alexander the Great, as the king’s enemies reckoned on his -falling in love with her and dying in her arms. When the king saw her he -at once wanted to make<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> her his mistress; but the shrewd Aristotle -suspected treachery. He restrained the king, and had a criminal who had -been sentenced to death sent for. The criminal was made to kiss the girl -in presence of the king, and he fell prone on the ground, poisoned by -her breath, like one struck by lightning.</p> - -<p>This story can be traced to India. It found its way into several -mediæval storybooks and attained great popularity. The monks made use of -it in their sermons, and gave it an allegorical interpretation: -Alexander was the good, trustful Christian; Aristotle was the -conscience; the venomous girl, incontinence, which comprehends -everything that is poisonous to the soul; and the criminal is the wicked -man who pursues the lusts of the flesh and suffers his punishment. “Let -us, therefore, abstain from all such things if we wish to reach -Paradise,” is the moral that the monk draws from it at the close of his -sermon.</p> - -<p>In conclusion I will quote several expressions to which kissing has -given rise:</p> - -<p>A lady’s hat which was fashionable in England in 1850, and which had no -brim to it, got the name of <i>Kiss-me-quick</i>. In contradistinction<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span> to -this, the old-fashioned Danish hats with prominent brims were called -<i>Kiss-me-if-you-can</i>. We have a modern variant in the Salvation lasses’ -<i>Stop-kissing-me</i> hat.</p> - -<p>In France, during the last century, there was a colour of the name of -<i>Baise-moi ma mignonne</i>, called in England “heart’s-ease”: -<i>Look-up-and-kiss-me</i>, <i>Kiss-me-at-the-garden-gate</i>, -<i>Kiss-me-ere-I-rise</i> or <i>Jump-up-and-kiss-me</i>.</p> - -<p>The verb “to kiss” is often used in a figurative sense, <i>e.g.</i>, the -Italians say of one who likes drinking, “He kisses the flask” (<i>Bacia il -fiasco</i>); the Germans say of mean people, “They kiss the farthing” (<i>Den -Pfennig küssen</i>); the English too speak of a <i>penny-kisser</i>.</p> - -<p>This figurative meaning is not, however, confined to jocose expressions -and phrases; on the contrary, it occurs perhaps more frequently in -serious prose.</p> - -<p>Our whole life, lived in love to our neighbour and nature, is nothing -more than one long kiss.</p> - -<p>Kaalund somewhere says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A babe was I not long ere this,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But time too swiftly slips;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And that is why I press a kiss<br /></span> -<span class="i2">So warmly on life’s lips.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span></p> - -<p>A similar figurative use is extraordinarily common with the poets. H. C. -Andersen, in <i>Goose-grass</i>, says of the lark that it flies past the -tulip and other aristocratic flowers only to light on the sward by the -humble goose-grass, which it kisses with its beak, and for which it -sings its joyous song. The other poets represent the waves as kissing -the white beach, the bees, the scented flowers; and the ears of corn in -the fields as heaving beneath the warm kisses of the sun’s golden rays. -The sun’s kisses are <i>oscula sancta</i>; every creature shares in them, for -they are the most beautiful expression of God’s love. Ingemann sings in -a morning hymn:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The sun looks down on hut and hall,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On haughty king and beggar weeping,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Beholds the great ones and the small,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And kisses babes in cradles sleeping.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII<br /><br /> -THE ORIGIN OF KISSING</h2> - -<p>Les coutumes, quelque étranges qu’elles deviennent parfois à la longue, -ont généralement des commencements très simples. -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 20%;"><span class="smcap">Max Müller.</span></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Usages, however strange they may sometimes become in the long run, have -generally very simple beginnings.—<i>Translated from the above.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -THE ORIGIN OF KISSING</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">With</span> most civilised and many uncivilised nations kissing is the natural -expression of love and its kindred emotions.</p> - -<p>How can it be explained that a kiss has succeeded in getting so deep and -comprehensive a significance? How can a trivial movement of the lips -interpret our innermost feelings in so eloquent a way that there is not -a language which has at its command words approaching to it in -argumentative power?</p> - -<p>Are we face to face with something primitive, or something conventional -and derivative? Is it as natural to kiss when we are transported with -love as it is to smile when we are mirthful, or weep when we are sad? In -other words, is Steele right when he says, in strict conformity with a -Cypriot folk-song previously quoted, that “nature was its author, and it -began with the first courtship?”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span></p> - -<p>I shall try to answer this question in the following pages, but, -nevertheless, I wish at once to state most expressly that we are now -approaching ground where we know nothing, and where no one can with -certainty know anything. We can only advance more or less likely -hypotheses.</p> - -<p>In the first place, it is important to bear in mind that there are many -races of people who are quite ignorant of kissing as it is generally -understood. Thus it is unknown in a great part of Polynesia, in -Madagascar, and among many tribes of negroes in Africa, more -particularly among those which mutilate their lips. W. Reade, in one of -his books of travel, tells us of the horror which seized a young African -negress when he kissed her. Kissing is likewise unknown amongst the -Esquimaux and the people of Tierra del Fuego. Certain Finnish tribes -appear, from what B. Taylor tells us, not to practise it much. In his -<i>Northern Travel</i> he relates that “while both sexes bathe together in a -state of complete nudity, a kiss is regarded as something indecent.” A -Finnish married woman, on being told by him that it was the usual custom -for husband and wife to kiss each other, angrily exclaimed, “If my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span> -husband were to attempt such a thing, faith, I would warm his ears in -such a way that he would feel it for a whole week.”</p> - -<p>If the question arises as to what these people substitute for kissing, -the fact is well-known that, amongst uncivilised races, there is an -endless number of different ways of salutation; some smack each other on -the arms or stomach, others blow on each other’s hands, others again rub -their right ear and put out their tongue, etc., etc. Here, however, we -must confine ourselves to the salutations which are suggestive of -kissing.</p> - -<p>In many places people are in the habit of saluting with their noses. -This is the so-called Malay kiss, which consists in rubbing or merely -pressing one’s nose against another person’s nose. This nose-salute is -found among the Polynesians, Malays, Esquimaux, certain negro tribes in -Africa—in short, just among the majority of races which are ignorant of -kissing as we understand it.</p> - -<p>Darwin thus describes the Malay kiss: “The women squatted with their -faces upturned; my attendants stood leaning over them, laid the bridge -of their noses at right angles over theirs, and commenced rubbing. It -lasted somewhat<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span> longer than a hearty hand-shake with us. During this -process they uttered a grunt of satisfaction.”<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> The French <i>savant</i> -Gaidoz, who has also described this custom, remarks, “I have many times -observed that cats which are fond of one another greet each other in -this way; and I myself once had a cat which always tried to squeeze its -nose against mine as a mark of affection.”<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p> - -<p>Everything is in favour of this nose-salute being a very primitive -custom, and its origin may be sought beyond the sense of touch; no -doubt, in the sense of smell.</p> - -<p>Spencer has arrived at the following conclusions: The sheep bleats after -her little lamb which has run away. It sniffs at several lambs that are -skipping about near her, and at last recognises her own by means of the -sense of smell, and undoubtedly feels great delight at recognising it. -In consequence of assiduous repetitions of this a certain relation is -developed between the two factors, so that the smell of the lamb excites -joy in the sheep.</p> - -<p>As every animal has its peculiar smell, so, too, has every human being. -When the patriarch Isaac grew old his eyes began to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span> get dim, and he -could not see. He wished to bless his eldest son, Esau, but Jacob -deceived him by clothing himself in his brother’s garments, and giving -himself out as the latter. Isaac then said to him: “Come near now and -kiss me, my son.” And he came near and kissed him, and he smelled the -smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said: “See the smell of my -son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.”</p> - -<p>The sense of the smell peculiar to some one we are fond of is capable of -exciting pleasure. Timkowski writes of a Mongol father that the latter -time after time smelt his youngest son’s head. This mark of paternal -tenderness serves with the Mongols instead of kisses. In the Philippine -Islands, the sense of smell is so developed that the inhabitants, by -simply sniffing at a pocket-handkerchief, can tell to whom it belongs; -lovers who are separated send one another presents of bits of their -linen, and, in their absence, keep each other in mind by often inhaling -each other’s scent.</p> - -<p>That the delicate perfume that exhales from a woman’s body plays an -important part in love affairs even with modern civilised nations<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> is -too well-known to require more than a passing mention on my part.</p> - -<p>Certain races of mankind now actually salute each other by smelling; -they apply their mouth and nose to a person’s cheek, and draw a long -breath. In their language they do not say “Give me a kiss,” but “Smell -me.” The same sort of kiss is also met with among the Burmese; and with -many Malay tribes the words “smell” and “salute” are synonymous. Other -races do not confine themselves to smelling each other’s faces, but -sniff their hands at every salutation.</p> - -<p>Alfred Grandidier, a French traveller, says of the nose-kiss in -Madagascar: “It always excites the merriment of Europeans, and yet it -has its origin in an extremely refined idea. The invisible air which is -continually being breathed through the lips is to savages, not only, as -with us, a sign of life, but it is also an emanation of the soul—its -perfume, as they themselves say—and, when they mingle and suck in each -other’s breath and odour, they think they are actually mingling their -souls.”<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> - -<p>Then the origin of the nose-kiss, it seems, undoubtedly ought to be -sought—at any rate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span> partly—in the sense of smell. The love of another -human being involves, as a consequence, one’s loving everything -belonging to this other being; and this love is shown <i>in casu</i> by -drinking in his or her breath, whereby, little by little, a peculiar -nose-salutation is very ingeniously developed, which, naturally, is -capable of gradually assuming various conventional forms.</p> - -<p>Now we will proceed to the kiss proper—that on the mouth. How can its -origin be explained?<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> - -<p>It does not seem very rational to assume that the motion of the muscles -in breathing should of itself be the natural, purely physical reflex of -a feeling of love in the same way as, for instance, certain -half-spasmodic contractions of several muscles in the upper part of the -face can be the immediate expression of wrath.</p> - -<p>I do not believe either that the mere contact of the lips with another -person’s face was originally sufficient to express “I love you.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span> -Naturally, the longing to touch the beloved ones body, to approach it as -closely as possible, is a very essential manifestation of erotic -emotion; but so far as the contact of the lips is concerned, there is -reason for assuming that, originally, without its being the direct -object, it had been, moreover, and perhaps in an equally high degree, a -means of attaining a definite sensual gratification—a gratification -that can be realised by the co-operation of the lips and mouth.</p> - -<p>As the nose-salutation partly originates in smell, so the mouth -salutation may, to a certain extent<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> at least, have its origin<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span> in -taste, or—which is even more probable—in both smell and taste? These -latter, as you know, are very closely related to each other.</p> - -<p>The dog shows his joy at his master’s presence by licking the latter’s -hand. Why is this? It would not, I suppose, be too rash to assume that -he as good as “tastes” him; loving his master, he therefore loves the -taste and smell peculiar to him.</p> - -<p>The cow licks her calf, and in this one may presumably see the -expression of a feeling which is to some extent satisfied by this -action. And why so? Undoubtedly by recognising by the tongue (and nose) -the taste (and smell) peculiar to the calf.</p> - -<p>Now, is it not exceedingly probable that the human kiss, in its original -form, can, as to its passive element, be accounted for in an identical -way, viz., as a purely sensual assimilation, by means of the nerves of -taste and smell, of another person’s peculiar qualities with respect to -<i>gustus</i> and <i>odor</i>? These qualities have probably been much more -conspicuous in primitive mankind than nowadays, just as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span> it is quite -certain that its faculty of taste and smell were far more developed than -ours.</p> - -<p>And have we not still, especially in the love-kiss, but also in kisses -between women, very numerous representatives of the primitive kiss, -which I should like to term the “taste-kiss.” I have many times pointed -out, in the preceding pages, the part which taste plays in kissing; and -I shall now add what I have often heard young girls say to a lady they -had kissed amorously: “Your kisses taste so nice.”</p> - -<p>From being a natural expression for love the sucking, tasting kiss has, -in course of time, become reduced to nothing more than a simple -inspiratory movement of the lips, which, by analogy, has come to express -many other feelings, such as gratitude, admiration, compassion, -tenderness, etc. It has become at length so degraded as to be used as a -purely conventional salutation.</p> - -<p>If this reasoning be correct, then the mouth-kiss, in the course of its -development, presents a perfect parallel with the nose-kiss. Both these -forms of greeting were originally closely allied, but the mouth-kiss had -better conditions for development than the nose-kiss. It has become a -salutation of a considerably higher<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span> sort, and whenever savage tribes -come into contact with civilised nations the nose-kiss is gradually -discarded. Such, for instance, was the case in Madagascar. There is no -doubt that savages can express very deep emotions by the nose-kiss. A -French missionary tells the story of how he was received when he went -back to the island of Pomotu: “When we approached the country all the -population assembled on the beach. They had harpoons in their hands, for -they imagined we were enemies; but, as soon as they saw my cassock, they -shouted, ‘That’s the Father, away with the harpoons,’ and when we -reached the shore they all rushed forward to kiss me by rubbing their -noses against mine, according to the custom of that country. The -ceremony was not very agreeable to me, and I was not altogether pleased -at having to take part in it.”<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> Civilised people, on the other hand, -regard the nose-kiss as something highly ludicrous, and I doubt if any -poet has the power of casting a halo of romance over it.</p> - -<p>The mouth-kiss, on the contrary, is redolent of the purest and most -delicate poesy. A German minnesinger rhapsodises<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span> thus: “The radiant sun -is darkened before mine eyes when I behold the roses that bloom on my -darling’s mouth.”</p> - -<p>“He who can pluck these roses may rejoice in the depth of his heart. -Many are the roses I have beheld, but never have I looked on any so -splendid.”</p> - -<p>“How beauteous are the roses one gathers in the valley; nathless her -delicate, ruddy lips conjure up thousands that are lovelier still.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="LENVOI" id="LENVOI"></a>L’ENVOI</h2> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Wherefore, methinks, let ev’ry man<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kiss as he knows best, will, should, can;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But I and my beloved know this:—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How we ought properly to kiss.—<span class="smcap">Paul Fleming.</span><br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span></p> - -<p class="c"> -Printed by<br /> -Oliver & Boyd<br /> -Edinburgh.<br /> -</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> H. F. Cary’s translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> From <i>osculum</i> we get the words osculogy, the science of -kissing, and osculogical, that which pertains to kissing; but the Greek -derivations philematology and philematological are perhaps preferable.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The tiny little mouth, red as a rose<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That blossoms hidden in some garden-close,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Pleasant and amorous through being kissed.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Translated from the Danish Version.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> A Danish poet, philologist, and collector of proverbs -(1631-1702).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> This and most of the following Servian ballads were -translated by Prof. Nyrop into Danish from the German version of O. P. -Ritto.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> From “Various Verses,” 1893.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He who a kiss has snatched and takes naught more,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Deserves to lose the kiss he has in store,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">How much was lacking to my perfect bliss?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Not modesty but clownishness was this.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Translated by Edward, Earl of Derby.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> William Morris’ Translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> William Morris’ Translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> William Morris’ Translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> William Morris’ Translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Retranslated from the Danish of the Text.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> We have here a striking example of how legends arise. -John, the Father of the Church, got the epithet “golden-mouth” on -account of his great eloquence; but the people sought another more -concrete explanation, if I may use the term, of that name, the -metaphorical use of which they failed to comprehend.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And when he had to kiss Charles’ foot—such kissing Rollo spurned—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He thrust his hand forth downward, and to the monarch turned.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He raised the king’s foot to his lips, and overturned the king,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who quickly rose upon his feet whilst mirth around did ring.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Which may be freely translated: -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Dear, kind rod that’s trusty stood,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Without thee ne’er should I do good.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">... Well, if you chose<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With less to be content, don’t stick at this.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I have for you a face without a nose.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">My first is for my husband, not for you;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But you’re right welcome to the other two.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> My dear Arlequin, a handsome lad like you, when a lady -offers him anything, ought to kiss the hand when he receives it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Omitted in the last edition.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Omitted in the last edition.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> <i>Si ab sponso rebus sponsæ donatis, interveniente osculo, -ante nuptias hunc vel illam mori contigerit, dimidiam partem rerum -donatarum ad superstitem pertinere præcipimus, dimidiam ad defuncti vel -defunctæ heredes cuiuslibet gradus sint et quocunque iure successerint, -ut donatio stare pro parte media et solvi pro parte media videatur: -osculo vero non interveniente, sive sponsus sive sponsa obierit, totam -infirmari donationem et donatori sponso sive heredibus eius restitui.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Retranslated from the Danish Text.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now down on your knees fall,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And promise straightway<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To be wife and husband,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And then kiss away.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> -</p> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Madame, join the dancing throng,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Listen to their measured song;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But remember, for the rest,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You shall kiss whom you love best.<br /></span> -<span class="i12">W. F. H.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Retranslated from the Danish of the Text.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Naturally, I am not concerned here with the various -explanations given by the poets as to the origin of the kiss. Gressner, -in an idyll of Daphnis and Chloe, has told us how both the lovers -observed the sport of the doves in the grove and then tried to imitate -it by pressing their mouths together as the doves do their beaks.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Besides the passive or receptive element of the kiss, -which is essentially the object of my investigation, there is also, as -we have previously noticed, an active element which must not be -overlooked, viz., the contact and muscular sensation at the pressure. -During the erotic transport, which excites the desire for something -further of a brutal and violent nature, the body trembles with powerful -muscular tension, and a pressure or bite of the mouth is one of the -forms by which the passion of love finds expression. It is difficult, in -these pages, to go further into this aspect of the kiss, which is -regarded by certain philosophers as the main one, which it really is in -respect to certain kisses under certain circumstances; but there are -other kisses which are equally so originally, and in which the passive -element seems to me the most essential. The origin of the love-kiss -ought scarcely to be sought in any single source, whether in the sense -of touch or in that of taste and smell combined. Unquestionably both -these elements co-operate in its production, but under constantly -varying conditions, just as the active or the passive element -predominates, the kiss accompanies and interprets according to the -erotic phase. In what follows I shall confine myself exclusively to the -receptive element in the kiss.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Retranslated from the Danish Version in the Text.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><a name="transcrib" id="transcrib"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Inbruntskuss=> Inbrunstkuss {pg 9}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Kuss aus!=> Küss aus! {pg 10}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">eine grosse Kleinigheit=> eine grosse Kleinigkeit {pg 64}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Er kan mich küssen da wo ich keine Nase habe=> Er kann mich küssen da wo ich keine Nase habe {pg 128}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">Lucius Turquinius=> Lucius Tarquinius {pg 131}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the same state of thing=> the same state of things {pg 155}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">pedanticly asks=> pedantically asks {pg 155}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The kiss and its history, by Kristoffer Nyrop - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KISS AND ITS HISTORY *** - -***** This file should be named 51856-h.htm or 51856-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/5/51856/ - -Produced by Turgut Dincer, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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