eart of
a woman like the Countess, with what discretion I would use my
advantages? How many gradations there would be in the law I should
impose upon myself to overlook them successively and even leisurely?
Of how many amiable pleasures, unknown to men, would not I be the
creator? Like a miser, I would contemplate my treasure unceasingly,
learn its precious value, feel that in it consisted all my felicity,
base all my happiness upon the possession of it, reflect that it is
all mine, that I may dispose of it and yet maintain my resolution not
to deprive myself of its use.

What a satisfaction to read in the eyes of an adorable woman the power
you have over her; to see her slightest acts give birth to an
impression of tenderness, whenever they relate to you; to hear her
voice soften when it is to you or of you she speaks; to enjoy her
confusion at your slightest eagerness, her anxiety at your most
innocent caresses? Is there a more delicious condition than that of a
lover who is sure of being loved, and can there be any sweeter than at
such moments? What a charm for a lover to be expected with an
impatience that is not concealed; to be received with an eagerness all
the more flattering from the effort made to hide the half of it?

She dresses in a fashion to please; she assumes the deportment, the
style, the pose that may flatter her lover the most. In former times
women dressed to please in general, now their entire toilette is to
please men; for his sake she wears bangles, jewelry, ribbons,
bracelets, rings. He is the object of it all, the woman is transformed
into the man; it is he she loves in her own person. Can you find
anything in love more enchanting than the resistance of a woman who
implores you not to take advantage of her weakness? Is there anything,
in a word, more seductive than a voice almost stifled with emotion,
than a refusal for which she reproaches herself, and, the rigor of
which she attempts to soften by tender looks, before a complaint is
made? I can not conceive any.

But it is certain that as soon as she yields to your eagerness, all
these pleasures weaken in proportion to the facility met. You alone
may prolong them, even increase them, by taking the time to know all
the sweetness and its taste. However, you are not satisfied unless
the possession, be entire, easy, and continuous. And after that, you
are surprised to find indifference, coolness, and inconstancy in your
heart. Have you not don