if i could be bothered to type I would put a sunday times article all about romanticism (i.e. the romantic movement in the west not flowers etc)

But interestingly would our non western friends agree with the following extract from it

"Many cultures have celebrated the art of sex - we need only think of the erotic murals of Pompeii and ancient India. But romantic love - the belief that sexual attraction can be the opening to a lifelong bond between two unique individuals that secures happiness for both - is something quite different. Such a sense of sanctified fulfilment is found nowhere except the late modern west"