Thy lovely eyes of violet blue,
Thy exquisite cheeks of rosy hue,
Thy hands so like white lilies too, -
All these still sweetly blossom and bloom,
Thy heart alone is cold as the tomb.
This poem by Heinrich Heine is altogether true of too many femme fatales. By no means do I pretend to be a connoisseur of the seductive arts employed by women. Often enough there is no seduction as such involved. But how often have we, as men, fallen for some glimmer of beauty only to discover that deeper within there is nothing. This poem recalls - to my mind, at least - the importance of valuing the beauty of the heart. Such was the case with the shepherd David in the Old Testament and such should be the case with us today. Certainly corporal beauty is delightful, but the beauty of one's character must be much more delightful.
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