A man whom a woman has won by sheer artifice, she can love to the end of her life. But, after all,
What a refuge, to man, is work—or play! Alas!
Women has no refuge. So,
Men cannot suffer long; women do.
A man flies to work, or sport, or to the gaming-table, or to drink. A woman . . . . . .
He who can tell what a woman does in the sorrow of the soul, will tell us much.
Some women, in sorrow of soul, eat out their hearts in silence; other women, in sorrow of soul, will tell us much. Some women, in sorrow of soul, eat out their hearts in silence; other women, in sorrow of soul, eat out the hearts of others, not in silence. But
Take a taciturn woman seriously. For always
A taciturn woman has suffered much:
A taciturn woman is a lonely one. And probably,
It is only women who really know loneliness:
Give a man a full meal and an outlet for his energy—he is fairly contented; for
A man always has friends or a club; women rarely have either.
* * *
The most superb of physical charms are powerless unless fired by imagination; as the most destructive of explosives is harmless without a cap or a detonator. But,
Given, a detonator, and the coarsest powder can work tremendous havoc.
* * *
What, precisely, will bring a particular man to her feet—that is, par excellence, the feminine problem: and many and various are the experiments by which she tries to resolve it. And,
Few are the men who learn that were won by experiment. For,
Man succumbs to his emotions. He cannot comprehend how it is that
Into feminine emotion, calculation often enters.
* * *
As there are two classes of warriors, so there are two classes of women:
There is the warrior who conquers the world from sheer love of conquest— an Alexander, a Genghis Khan, an Attila, a Napoleon; and there is the warrior who captures a kingdom for the sake of possession—such is your Norman William.
So, there is the woman whom no conquest contents—Aholibah, Cleopatra, Mesalina, Faustine; and there is the woman who is happy with a husband and home—Deborah, Vlmnia, Calpurnia mother of Gracchi.
* * *
One thing, from men, women cannot abide, and this is a hostile and reasonable attitude. And naturally, since
It is only man’s reason that is hostile to women. And When a man clothes himself with reason as with a garment, woman slinks away. And, quite naturally:
Reason and emotion are mortal foes; and
It is on the field of emotion that the battle of love
must be fought.
For,
In the battle of love, the woman chooses and entrenches her position; the man has to act on the offensive. But
Only emotion can cope with emotion; reason but beats the air. Wherefore,