ves a seat of
honour in an assemblage of men. She is, moreover, always respected by
the king, and praised by learned men, and her favour being sought for by
all, she becomes an object of universal regard. The daughter of a king
too, as well as the daughter of a minister, being learned in the above
arts, can make their husbands favourable to them, even though these may
have thousands of other wives besides themselves. And in the same
manner, if a wife becomes separated from her husband, and falls into
distress, she can support herself easily, even in a foreign country, by
means of her knowledge of these arts. Even the bare knowledge of them
gives attractiveness to a woman, though the practice of them may be only
possible or otherwise according to the circumstances of each case. A man
who is versed in these arts, who is loquacious and acquainted with the
arts of gallantry, gains very soon the hearts of women, even though he
is only acquainted with them for a short time.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 11: The author wishes to prove that a great many things are
done by people from practice and custom, without their being acquainted
with the reason of things, or the laws on which they are based, and this
is perfectly true.]

[Footnote 12: The proviso of being married applies to all the teachers.]

CHAPTER IV.

THE LIFE OF A CITIZEN.[13]

Having thus acquired learning, a man, with the wealth that he may have
gained by gift, conquest, purchase, deposit,[14] or inheritance from his
ancestors, should become a householder, and pass the life of a citizen.
He should take a house in a city, or large village, or in the vicinity
of good men, or in a place which is the resort of many persons. This
abode should be situated near some water, and divided into different
compartments for different purposes. It should be surrounded by a
garden, and also contain two rooms, an outer and an inner one. The inner
room should be occupied by the females, while the outer room, balmy with
rich perfumes, should contain a bed, soft, agreeable to the sight
covered with a clean white cloth, low in the middle part, having
garlands and bunches of flowers[15] upon it, and a canopy above it, and
two pillows, one at the top, another at the bottom. There should be also
a sort of couch besides, and at the head of this a sort of stool, on
which should be placed the fragrant ointments for the night, as well as
flowers, pots containing collyrium and other fr