16.8. 8. Of the Separation of Women from Men.
The prodigious number of
wives possessed by those who live in rich and voluptuous countries is a
consequence of the law of polygamy. Their separation from men, and their
close confinement, naturally follow from the greatness of this number.
Domestic order renders this necessary; thus an insolvent debtor seeks to
conceal himself from the pursuit of his creditors. There are climates
where the impulses of nature have such force that morality has almost
none. If a man be left with a woman, the temptation and the fall will be
the same thing; the attack certain, the resistance none. In these
countries, instead of precepts, they have recourse to bolts and bars.
One of the Chinese classic authors considers the man as a prodigy of
virtue who, finding a woman alone in a distant apartment, can forbear
making use of force.
[16]
Footnotes
[16]
"It is an admirable touch-stone, to find by oneself a treasure,
and to know the right owner; or to see a beautiful woman in a lonely
apartment; or to hear the cries of an enemy, who must perish without our
assistance." — Translation of a Chinese piece of morality, which may be
seen in Du Halde, vol. iii, p. 151.
