"Page0051" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bloom Howard - The Lucifer Principle (htm))

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Women encourage killers. They do it by falling in love with

warriors and heroes.  Men know it, and respond with overwhelming

enthusiasm.  The Crusaders marched off to war with a lady's favor in

their helmets.  They were not setting out on some mission of gallant

gentleness.  On their way through Asia Minor, the Crusaders literally

roasted Christian babies in cases of mistaken identity.  Because the

local folk did not speak a language they understood, the chivalrous

knights assumed the panicky babblers were heathens.  Heathens, of

course, deserved no mercy.  So the heroes sliced up the adults and

baked the infants on spits, all the while thinking of how the girls back

home would admire their bravery.28

Technically, it's called sexual selection.  The females of a species

develop a craving for a certain kind of guy, and all the males compete

to live up to the female ideal.  Lady peacocks adore hunks with

towering blue tails.  So peacock gentlemen sport foppish plumes.29

Lady bower birds swoon over bachelors with an architectural flare.  So

bower bird males turn sticks and scraps into a Taj Mahal.  And what

have human females gone for in nearly every society and time?

"Courage" and "bravery."  In short, violence.

The poetry of the classic sixth century Arab master Labid is a

testament to the feminine ability to bring out the animal in a man. In

Labid's lyrical verses, a young fellow jostles along on his camel,

dreaming of how he can get his beloved's attention.  She, it seems, does

not recognize his true worth.  He dreams of how he will prove himself

to her. And how will he demonstrate his manliness?  With feats of

daring glory.

Now what is the one feat of daring glory guaranteed to rivet the

admiration of a beauty in Labid's tribal desert society?  You rush into

the nearest village, kill a few of the males and steal as many camels and

old clothes as you can get your hands on.  Greatness belongs to the

killer.  And the young ladies swoon over guys who are great.  Labid

will tell you, it works every time.30

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Women encourage killers. They do it by falling in love with

warriors and heroes.  Men know it, and respond with overwhelming

enthusiasm.  The Crusaders marched off to war with a lady's favor in

their helmets.  They were not setting out on some mission of gallant

gentleness.  On their way through Asia Minor, the Crusaders literally

roasted Christian babies in cases of mistaken identity.  Because the

local folk did not speak a language they understood, the chivalrous

knights assumed the panicky babblers were heathens.  Heathens, of

course, deserved no mercy.  So the heroes sliced up the adults and

baked the infants on spits, all the while thinking of how the girls back

home would admire their bravery.28

Technically, it's called sexual selection.  The females of a species

develop a craving for a certain kind of guy, and all the males compete

to live up to the female ideal.  Lady peacocks adore hunks with

towering blue tails.  So peacock gentlemen sport foppish plumes.29

Lady bower birds swoon over bachelors with an architectural flare.  So

bower bird males turn sticks and scraps into a Taj Mahal.  And what

have human females gone for in nearly every society and time?

"Courage" and "bravery."  In short, violence.

The poetry of the classic sixth century Arab master Labid is a

testament to the feminine ability to bring out the animal in a man. In

Labid's lyrical verses, a young fellow jostles along on his camel,

dreaming of how he can get his beloved's attention.  She, it seems, does

not recognize his true worth.  He dreams of how he will prove himself

to her. And how will he demonstrate his manliness?  With feats of

daring glory.

Now what is the one feat of daring glory guaranteed to rivet the

admiration of a beauty in Labid's tribal desert society?  You rush into

the nearest village, kill a few of the males and steal as many camels and

old clothes as you can get your hands on.  Greatness belongs to the

killer.  And the young ladies swoon over guys who are great.  Labid

will tell you, it works every time.30