It would linger, gradually diminishing in intensity, over a period of time that was dictated by its own volatility and the properties of its carrier. All of the technical advances that perfumery has known in terms of analysis and synthesis, production, and application, have not altered the fact that once we release a fragrance, we have no more control over its expansion and its fading in the dimensions of space and time than did the ancients who first used it for their religious ceremonies, worldly feasts and personal embellishment.
