Form and face: let women be
Good: beauty is but a snare:
Gladly woo, if good is she.
After the strewn leaves of roses
Richer the rich mind uncloses.
Boorish is he, and unwise,
Who judges women by the eyes.
Heinrich von Rugge penned this poem (He That Loves A Rosy Cheek) and it was later translated by Jethro Bithell. This poem is really quite simple, while being, at the same time, profound. Almost everyone knows that the truest beauty is not measured only physically, for men that is visually. It must go deeper. It's not only the corporal that must be observed, but also her character and her conduct and so much more. Yet, though we know all this still we allow ourselves to be seduced by the plainer form of beauty, external or physical beauty. It is a lot harder to search beyond the surface. There is, of course, no one capable of claiming perfection but there is much more beauty to be found underneath the exterior than there is on the exterior. This is not to say that the exterior (physical beauty) should be completely overlooked in a mystical (or martyrial) sort of way. No. It is to say that one must not reduce oneself to cheap thrills. Those do not satisfy. True satisfaction is found when true beauty is found.
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