the art of kissing

THE ART OF KISSING
by HUGH MORRIS
Copyright 1936 (USA) Reprinted 1988 (USA) Digitized 1995 (USA)
Brought to you by meaning: the significance of something
CONTENTS
Different Kinds of Kisses
Why People Kiss
Why Kissing Is Pleasant
Approved Methods of Kissing
Kisses Are But Preludes to Love
Preparing for the Kiss
How to Approach a Girl
The Technique of Kissing
How to Kiss Girls with Different Sizes of Mouths
Enjoy the Thrills of Kissing
The French "Soul" Kiss
Put Variety into Your Kisses
The "Vacuum" Kiss
The "Spiritual" Kiss
The Eyelash Kiss
The "Pain" Kiss
The "Nip" Kiss
Variation Kisses Are the Spice of Love
Electric Kissing Parties
The Dancing Kiss
The Surprise Kiss
Kissing Under the Mistletoe
Kissing Games
"ARRANGE IT SO THAT THE GIRL IS SEATED AGAINST THE ARM OF THE SOFA"
The dictionary says that a kiss is "a salute made by touching with the l\
ips pressed closely together and
suddenly parting them." From this it is quite obvious that, although a d\
ictionary-may know something
about words, it knows nothing. about kissing.
If we are to get the real meaning of the word kiss, instead of going to \
the old fogies who compile
dictionaries, we should go to the poets who still have the hot blood of \
youth coursing in their veins. For,
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instance, Coleridge called a kiss, "nectar breathing." Shakespeare says \
that a kiss is -a "seal of love.
Martial, that old Roman poet who hid ample opportunity to do research wo\
rk on the subject, says that a
kiss was "the fragrance of balsam extracted- from aromatic trees; the ri\
se odor yielded by the teeming
saffron; the perfume of fruits mellowing in their winter buds; the flowe\
ry meadows in the summer;
amber warmed by the hand of a girl; a bouquet of flowers that attracts t\
he bees."
Yes, a kiss is all of these ... and more.
Others have said that a kiss was: the balm of love; the first and last o\
f joys; love's language; the seal of
bliss; love's tribute; the melting sip; the nectar of Venus; the languag\
e of love.
Yes, a kiss is all of these . . . and more.
For a kiss can never be absolutely defined. Because each kiss is differe\
nt from the one before and the one
after. just as no two people are alike, so are no two kisses alike. For \
it is people who make kisses. Real,
live people pulsating with life and love and extreme happiness.
DIFFFERENT KINDS OF KISSES
Of course, there are different kinds of kisses. For instance, there is t\
he kiss that the devout person
implants on the ring of the Pope. There is the maternal kiss of a mother\
on her child. There is the friendly
kiss of two people who are meeting or are separating. There is the kiss \
that a king exacts from his
conquered subjects. But although all of these are called kisses, they ar\
e not the kisses* that we are going
to concern ourselves with in this book. Our kisses are going to be the o\
nly kind of kisses worth
considering . the kisses of love. The kiss perhaps, that Robert-Bums had\
in mind when he wrote:Honeyed seal of soft affections,
Tenderest pledge of future bliss,
Dearest tie of young connections,
Love's first snowdrop, virgin kiss.
The amazing thing about the kiss is that although mankind has been kissi\
ng ever since Adam first turned
over on his side and saw Eve lying next to him, there has been practical\
ly nothing written on the subject.
Every year, hundreds of books are published telling you how to reduce, h\
ow to gain, how to get a job,
how to cook, how to write and even how to live. But, on the art of kissi\
ng, very little has been written. -
One reason for this lack of proper instruction is accounted for by the V\
ictorian. sense of morals which
has persisted through the ages. To the blue-nosed Puritans of the past a\
nything that concerned love was
dirty, pornographical. John Bunyan's writings show what these, Puritans \
thought of' the kiss. He wrote in
big infamous "The Pilgrim's Progress," "the common salutations of women \
I abhor. It is odious to me in
whomsoever I see it. When I have seen good men salute those women that t\
hey have visted, or that have
visited them, I have made my objections against it; and when they have a\
nswered that it was but a piece
of civility, I have told them that it was not a comely sight. Some, inde\
ed, have urged the holy kiss; but
then, I have asked them why they make their balks; why they- did salute \
the most handsome and let the
ill-favored ones go." Perhaps old Bunyan thought that way because be was\
one of the "ill-favored" who
went unkissed and were let "go."
But, nowadays, people have taken a broader outlook on life. Our plays ar\
e becoming more civilized and
less stiff. Our arts are no more censored by laws. Our books are being w\
ritten about subjects that no
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