28th Thread: Of the wise ways to conduct a sexual life

Come closer, my dear child, that I might impart some of the experience I have garnered along the years, as wisdom, while my hair are not yet been tipped by white, has become my sweet companion. If I, thy mother, do not advise thee, who else will take on such a loving purpose? When the woman straddles the man, her enjoyment is facilitated. That is the first principle thou needst understand. The second is that love and pleasure should never be combined, as you would become too dependent on a man, a dangerous state of affairs for us women.

In the capital, women are entitled to all kinds of entertainment, they go to places of pleasure and to beauty salons, they cultivate artistic relationships with famous men. Here distractions are few, a little theater, hardly any circus. Austere traditions persist, from the dark times when a man had the right to kill his daughter for adultery. So thou wilt have to select a man that is safe, one of thy brothers for example, or a slave that is faithful to thee. Do not lavish gifts on the slave even if he is the finest young man, otherwise he will forget his position, and shall rule over thee, which is neither desirable nor becoming. I only want your happiness, through satisfaction and safety. Instruct him, as thou wouldst order him to wash the floor of the stockroom, on how to use his tongue, if thou likest that best, or to pleasure thee with his maleness while containing his ejaculation. In this case, a eunuch is better, even if they are difficult to control, being very popular. Our share, as women constantly fearing pregnancy, is hardly enviable. Men, who send their concubines to the abortionist after every tryst, are favored by the Fates.