CHRISTINE DE PIZAN ‘The Book of the City of Ladies “rast and wth on intron amd ats by gael University i wii =1. Here begins the Book of the City of Ladies, th fit chapter of which explains my and for what prpase te book ae writen (One day. Twas sitingia my study saroonded by many books of diferent ‘Kinds, forithas long beea my habit to engage ia the pursuit of knowledge |My mind had grown weary as Thad spent the day stugpling withthe ‘eighty tomes of vasous authors whom I had been staying for some time. Tlooked up from my book and decided that, for once, I would pt ase these dieu texts and find instead tomething among tod ‘xsy to read fom the works ofthe poet. Ar Tecachied around for some litle book, Thappened to chasee upon « work which did noe belong to ime but was amongst a pile of ocher that had been placed in my tafe keeping, I opened ieup and saw from the tide dat wai by Matheols, ‘With a emle, I made my choice. Alshough Ihed never read it I knew that, walle many other work, eis one wat aid to be writen in pise ‘of women, Yee T had sexealy begun to ead it when my dest mothee called iedown wo supper, frit was time wo eat Tut the book to one Sle, realving td go back to ie the Following day. "The next moming, sited once more in my study at is my urs custom, Tremembered my previous desire to have aloo tis book bby Matheolus.¥ picked Ie up agnin and eead on ite, But, selag the od of immoral language ad ideas it contained che content seemed to me Iikely to appeal only to those who eajoy reading wode of slander and to be of no use whatsoever t9 anyone who wished to pozrie vive ‘or to improve their moral staadaeds I therefore leafed through read the ending, and deeded to switch to some more wordy and profiable ‘work, Yet, having looked a this hook, which I considered to be of no suthotiy, an exaordinary thought became planted in my mind which ‘made me wonder why on earch ft was that so many mie, both cect P240lvea nd othe, have sid and contoue to say and write such swf dasa things bout women and theie way. Twas ata loss a8 how to explain Je Tels oot ue handfal of witess who do thie, nor only this Matheolus ‘shove books neither rogardedau authoritative norintendd tobe ken ‘Sesomy usallmanacrofphlorophess, poets and orators too samerons to mention, who all we to speak with one voice and aze unanimous inthis view that female naire whally given up 0 vice. ‘Az Tulle these ideas over ia my mind agtn and agin, began to amine myoelf und cay own behaviour as aa example of womaahind, In onder to jdge in all ainess aod without preodice whether what so ‘many famous men have said about esi ue, also thought about other ‘omen {keow, the many peicesse and eounless ladies ofl diferent oval anks whe have shared del paivate sad pessonal thoughts with foe No matter which way [looked st i¢ and go mattee how mach 1 ‘med the quesdon over ia my mind, I coud find no evidence from my ‘own exptience tp bear ov ach a negative view of female nature and Ibis, Even 30, given that I coold scarcely fad a moral wock by any authoe which dda’ devote rome chapter ot pursgaph to attacking the female sex, Thad to seep thee wafvouable opinion of women sicc= ‘twas unllely that 90 many leabed mea, who seemed wo be endowed with such great inteligence and insight into all things, could possibly have fied on so many diffrent occasions. Ie was on the basis of this ‘one simple angument that Iwas forced to coadide tha, although my ‘edemtanding was to exude and illinformed to secogaize the geeat flaws in ryeelf and other women, these ea had to bein the sight. Thus T prefered to give mone weight to what others ead than wo Wust ny ‘ova judgement and expedence. “dwele on these thoughts st suc length that twas a J had sue Jn «deep tance: My mind became Blooded with an endless seam of ‘ume ar I socalled all the author who had written on this subject, 1 ‘ume tothe concision that God hn surely created a ile thing win He crowed woman, Indeed [was artounded tae soch a fine craftsman ‘could have wished to make suck an appaling object which, at these ‘Stess would have eke «vert a which all the sin and evi of the ‘Yotld has been collected sod preserved, This thought ispised such @ peat sense of dogo and sade ia me that I began to despise mys fd the whole of my sex as aa abortion in nature ‘With a deep sigh, Lead out 10 God: ‘Oh Loed, how ean this be? less T commit an eto of faith, T cannot doubt that yoo, in your infinite wisdom and perfect goodasss, could make anjing that wasn’e (good. Din't you youre create woman expecially and then endow her ‘Piha he qualies that yoo wished her to have? How could you possibly have made a mistake in anything? Yet here stand women not simply scouted, bu already judged, sentenced and condemned I just cannot odecstand this contadition. If itis tre, dear Lord God, that women Ite pully of such horvors as to many men seem to se, and 48 you Yourelf have sald that the testimony of two of more wimesses Is ‘Concasive' how ean T doubt this word? Oh God, why wast I bor, ‘male ao tha any every desire would be to serve you, to do sight in all, {ings ad to be at potest» rearare as maa claims to be? Since you ‘chose not to show ruth grace to me, peste anton and forgive me, deat Lora If I fil to serve you aswell as T should, for the servant who seceves,fewer rewards rom his loud is less obligated to. him in his erice? ‘Sick at beast, ia my lament to God I uttered there and many other oolsh wotds tae T ehooght mel very unforenate that He ad given, ‘nea female form ‘i GBritin lls bow the lade appeared ber, and bow te fist of then ake 10 ‘er and conforied br in bar dss. Soak in these uauppy thovghts, my head bowed as fin shame and my ‘yes fill of tee, at slomped aguast the asm of my ehait with my Check resting on my hand: Al of sodden, Taw a beum of ight, tke the aye of the ou, sine down into my lp. Since ie was too dat tha din of ay for the sun to come lato may otady, Toke with 2 sar fs if ftom a desp sleep. Tlooked up to see whece the light had come ‘om and all atonce st befoce me tres ladies, crowned and of majestic appearance, whote facer shone with beightoess that lit up me andeverything elie in the place. As you can imagine, wi ill famazement ‘hat they had managed to ener «room whose drs and windows were Allclosed. Tented athe thought thatitmighebe rome kind of4ppaston come to temprme, I quickly made the sign of the ezoes on my forehead. ‘With a smile on he face, te lady who stood a the front ofthe thee auddeessed me Gest My dear daughter, don’t be afta, for we have not ‘come to do you any harm, bur rather, 0 Of ply on your dsteess, we ‘a heze to comfort you, Oar aim is t help yoa get «id of thowe misconceptions which have lotded your mia and made you reject ‘what you know and believe infact tobe the tt jst beenuse 0 many ‘other people have come out with the opposite opinion. You're acting [ike tha fol inthe joke who falls esleep inthe mill and whose ends playa tick on him by deesting him up in-women's lothing. When he ‘wakes up, they manage to coavince him that he is women despite all, evidence othe contrary! My dea gi, whathas happened to your tense? “Have you forgotten that tia the furnace that golds refined increasing Jn yale the more iis eaten tnd fahioned neo difeent shapes? Dos’ you know that ifs the very Bnest things which are the wubject of the ‘most intent dseussioa? Now, ifyou turn your mind tothe very highest ssalm ofall the calm of absirieideas, think for a moment whethes of fot thotepilosophecs whose views sgunst women you've been cing ‘have ever been proven wrong. In fct, they ar all constantly comreting cach other’ opinions, a8 you yourself should know from reading Acs- totes Mugpbsi where he discusses and rofares both this views and ‘hote of Pato and oder philosophers. Don's forget the Doctors of the (Church ether, and Saint Augostiae ia parse, who all cook issue wih ‘Asistotl himself on erin matters, even Gough hele considered to be the greatest of ll authorises on both moral and nataral philosophy. You com to have accepted the pllosophers” views as artes of fith and ‘ht es ierefstable on every point. “As forthe poet you mention, you mutt realize that they rometimes ‘wrote in the manner of fiblés which you have to take ab saying the opposite of what they appeat to say. You should therefore read such ters according tothe grammatical ie of anpnais? which consist of Interpreing something that is negeive in « postive light or vice vera: ‘My advice to you isto read those passages where they citiize women Jn this way and to eon them to your advantage, no mater what the ‘thor’ orignal intention wat. It cold be dat Mathealus i alo meant to be read lke this because there are some passage in his book which, ‘taken literal, ce just out-and-out herery. A for what these authors notjoseMatheolus bu aleo the more authoritative wster ofthe Romans ‘fhe Rarr~sayaboutthe God given, holy ate of mattmony, expesience Should tell you that they are compleriy wrong when they say that ‘manage is insufferable thanks to women, What husband eve gxve hit wife the power over him to utter the kind of insults and obsceniee ‘which these authors claim that women do? Believe me, despite what you've readin books, you've never actually sar such a thing beeaare {te alla pack of outageous les, My dear Bend, I have to aay that ie your aaivety which has led you to take what they come oot with st the tuth, Recum to your senses and stop worrying your head ebout such foolishness Let me tel you tat thove who speak il of worsen da ‘more harm to themscives than they da to the women they actually slander 3+ Chritine rconts bow th lady who had spokan tober old ber ‘who she wat, hat Ber fection and parpace was, and baw the Propbeied that Christine would build acy withthe bp ofthe Bho lai, (On receiving thete monde fiom the distinguished lay, I didn’t know ‘which of my sensce'war the more stack by what the sid: whedhee fe wat my cars as T took in herring words, ox my eye a T admired her great benuty and dees, her noble bearing 2a face. Te was the same for the other Indies too: my gaze darted back and forth from one to the other since they weee algo alike that you eotld hardly ell ther apart “All excep for the thie lady, who was no lees imposing than the other ‘wo, This lady had euch a seen face tha whoever glanced ito her eye, ‘50 matter how beazen they wete, would fel aiid af commiting some ‘mlsdeed since she seemed to threten panishment to all wrongsoess Our of respect for te ladies’ noble appearance, stood up before chem ‘bor ws far too dumbfounded to utter 4 single word. I wai extremely ° 242shed cusows to know who they were and woold have deatly loved to dare tsk them thie eames, where dey were from, why they had come, 25d ‘vhat che pacelese symbols wote that each of them held ike a seepe in Ire sigh hand Yet Tat tink myself worthy to pat these questions to such honourable ladies a these, 90 Theld my tongue and carted on psig at them. Thowgh lightened, Twas also in pare eassured, for the lady's words had aleady begun ro assauge my far. ‘Peesealy, the wise lly who had addeessed me fist seemed 0 seal ‘mpmind and began to answer ny onspoken questions with these words: ‘Rey dene davghter, you should know that iis bythe gace of God, eho oreecs aad ordaine al things, that we, clestal ceatares though we nay be, have been sent down to eazth in onder to restore onder and juste to those instiations which we owsclves have setup at God's Command All duce of we axe Hie daughters, for itwas He who exeated Ge biy eis to brig back men and women when they dit ay fom ‘he neaight and aacrow Should they go astay but yehave the sens to know me when they se me, come to them in spit and speak to thie ‘consience iviracting dhem in the enor of thie waye and showing them how cxacl itis thar dey have done wroag. Thea Y teach them to fellow the conectsond and 0 oid doing whatis undesirable Beeawse ‘tis my sole to light thet way to tbe eue path and eo seach bot men tnd/women to sckoowledge their fame and weaknessel, you see me here holding pa shining miror Uke a scope in my ight hand, You can be sce thes whoever looks int thie mieror, no mater who they may be, ‘hil ee themesves at they ely ae, such sis grest power. Not for oth isi encroved with predows stones, as you can se. With the Telp of this sneror Team determine the nataie, goat and essence of tUltings and cane fll essere of them. Wihost tis micro, nothing {aa eosie to good, Since you obvious waar to kaow what funtion my {So sisters penfort, each of them wil chor speak t9 you in torn and “wil ad het weight to my words by giving You a clear explanation of Toth her name and her powers. “Fic, however I wil el you execdy why we are hese. Lwant 708% now that as we do nothing withost ood season, onr appearance here today has a definite purpose, Though we do not attempt fo be known fel place, since not everyone eevee to acquaint doemsclves with ws, ‘we have none the less come to vse you, our deur fiend. Beemse you have long deste to acquit tive knowiedge by dedicating youself to your stdies, which have ext you off fom the rest of the word, we are ‘Row hete to comfort you ia your tad and dejected sate eis your own ‘ons thar have won you sis reward. You will soon se clealy why it is that your heat nd mind have beea so troubled. "Yer we algo have a futher, moce important reson for coming 10 ‘si you, which well now go onto tellyou about. Ou wish sto prevent Stkete ftom fling into the same exe a8 you and to ensure that, is fou, all worthy laden and valine women are protected om tore ‘tho have stacked hem, The female sox as been left defenceless for ‘longtime now, lke an orchard without wall and bereftof« champion {take up amin order wo protetit Indeed this is because thove trusty Tights who should by sight defend women have been negligent in thelc day aad lacking in viglance, leaving womankind open to attack from Li sdes,Iee no wonder that women have been the losers in this war ‘grins since the envious slandezer and vicios tits who citdize ‘hem here been allowed to aim allmannerof weapons attheicdefenceles taagets Even the strongest city wil fall if theze is no one to defend i, Sod even the most undeserving case will wia i chteis20 one to testify Jenion le Out of the goodness and simply oftheir hears, women Ihave tose in God and have paienly endused the countess veal td wtten asenlis that have been wajosty and shamelessly launched ‘Spon them. Now, howeves it etme For them to be delivered out of the hands of Pharaoh? Fo this earon, we tree Indies whom you see before you have been moved by pie tell you that you are to constr * bulding in the shape of «walled ce, sturdy and impregnable. This has been decreed by God, wo as chosen you to do this with our help fa guidance: Ooly ladies who are of good reputation and worthy of tis wil be mite ino this cy. Ta thore lacking ia wee its gues ‘wil emain forever coved”4 How, bfare th ly revealed ber name, sb sok ot rier Seg abou the iy wich Chrictine sat dtined to bul ad explained thatthe wa ented withthe task of bling ber const the enclose and external wale ‘So you see, my dear daughter, that you alone of all women have been ‘granted che honour of building the City of Ladies. In order to lay the Foundations, you shall daw Gesh wate fom us thee a from a cleat spsing, We wil bring you building materials which wil be stronger and more durable than solid, uncemented male. Your city wil be ‘uspanleled ia splendour and wal lst for all eteriy. ‘Havea't you fead that King Teos founded the city of Troy with the help of Apollo, Minerea and Neptone, whom the people of tht ime Delieved tbe gods?- Haven't you also heaed of Camus, who ested the city of Thebes at the gods" command? Yer, ia the coure of tn, leven these cites fl into rin and decay. However, inthe manner of 2 ‘uve sb, I prophesy to you that thie ry which yoo'ze goog to build ‘with our help wil never fll or be taken, Rather, twill prosper aways, Ingpite ofits enemies who are acta by enry.Thosgh tmay be attacked ‘oa many sides, i wil never be lost or defeated. "Inthe pat, asthe Betty books tell you, cera courageous ladies ‘who sefared the yoke of servitide founded and etaished the ran ‘of Amazonia. For many years afecwurds, thie realm was maintained under the mle of wasions queens, all of whom were noble ladies chosen by the women themsclves, and who governed well and witly, making every efor o keep thee country safe, Thesé women were very song sand powerful, having extended their ale over many of the lands ofthe fexst and having subjugated to thele wil all the neighbouring counties “They wete feared by everyone, even the Greek, who were the bravest sation in the woud at that time..None the less, even the Amazons? power began t0 crumble in due course, at it the wy with all earthly ‘ler, Now, the only trace that ie left ofthat proud realm i ts name ‘By contrast, the cry which you'e going to bull wil be mach more ‘powerfil than these. As has been decided amongnt the the of, ee ‘my task to help you begin by giving you tough indestructible cement ‘which you will nce to se the mighty foundations and to support the great walls chat you must rise all zound, Thee walls should have hage high towers, slid bastions surrounded by moat, and outer forcs with oth nant and manmade defences. This le what « powecial ly ‘most have inorder to est stack. On our advice, you wil sink these foundations deep in ordet to make them as secure as possible, and you. ‘wll cocstruct such high wall hate cityinside willbe tafe fom esau Dear Christine, T have now told you all about why we hue come. However, in order to convince you to give preter weight to my words, Ym going wo reveal niynime to you. The very sound ofit should easoace you that, ifyoa follow my instrstions, you wil nd me to bean afin ‘guide to you ia all your endeawours, Iam called Lady Reason, so test sssured th you are fn good hands, Foe the moment, Iwill sy no more? 5. Christin tls bow the sxcond lady gate ber name explinad shat ber rele was, and read ow she weald help Chrictie to ly ont the binge of te Cy of Las ‘When the frst lady had foshed and before I could say anything, the second lady beyea to spes: My name s Recttade and 1 dwell in henven ‘mote than on earth, However ike a shining ry of igh rent down by God, I bring with ma the menage of His goodness, When I vse dose ‘who dre just, T encourage them t9 do good fn all dings, tative a far 18 possible to five dach person his or her due, to speae and preserve the tat, o protect the rights of the poor and the Inancent, to zefain from stealing fom other, and to uphold the good name of thoee who sce wronpflly accused, Lam the thield and defender of those who terre God and Ihelp to pievent the wicked from abaring their power I make ste tha hove who are indurtions and chastable ar rewarded foe thet. ffors. Through me, God reveals His secrets to those He loves, and ie is who am their advocate in heaven. This splendid sale that you se ‘me holding my sight hand ike ascepte i the yack of tah which separtes ight from wrong and distinguishes between good and evi Whoever follows my yanbtick cannot go arty. It isthe vod of peace, ‘ued by the ast who ell tis ease and which aio strikes down thoee P244syed ‘who do evil What more can It you? With this ul, whose powers Ure init, all things ace measured out. As far as you ate concemed, ‘Bis rulewilelp yout plan the ety which you have been commissioned to build. You'l have good need of tin order to layout the nteor of, thecigy sed to builds high temples, palacesand hooss, is roads, squares tnd marketplaces infact, everything that i needed to accommodates {nabs Tein this cpa that have come t'help you. Don't be put off by the vast circumference ofthe enelosare walls. With the belp BF God and ws tee, you will bud the cy, covedng the whole area ‘vith bean buildings and houres and Jeaving no pace unfilled (6 Christine tls bw the third lady reeled Ba nasne and ened ‘bas bor role wut hon explened tht she weal bop 0 fish off she igh tures of he twnrr and plans and would bring Christina "eguson fr bere accompanied bya st of bl ade. [Nex iswas dhe wun ofthe tid lay to apes My dea ein Christine, Ta Jones the most beloved of God's daughters ince my being arises ‘ireelyfsoen His own. live in wea, on cath nd fn els i heaven, Tosa the plry af th ents and che blessed pis on easth I divide {up and allot to each person thee share ofthe good oz bad tht exch has ‘ove, and in hell I punish the wicked. Iam inelucable ad immovable, having nether fend nor eneany who caa overcome my will ther by ply oF by enuely. My task i pusely and simply to jadge aod repay verjone tecoeding to their jut deserts tis Twhe keep things in oles, fince without me noting remains stable. Tamm patt of God and God is fur of me ia eflec, we amount to the same thing. Whoeves follows The eanaot go wrong, sace any way is dhe te wy. Fstjind foremost, {Teach all men aad women who ae of sound judgementand who believe [moet lol lato and corset thence, e0 do a they would be done ty, to apportion goods without showing fvourism, to speak the et, to avoid snd detest falsehood, nd wo shun al forms of vice. This vessel bt pare gold that you sce me holding amy right hand is ke amesrusing up, given to me by God my futhes, which T use to share out w each Detion exactly what he or the deserves. eis engraved wih the fr de brof the Holy Testy and, sage it aver give out wrong mensue, here ‘Steno grounds for anyone to eotoplain about dheirlot. fora men have thelr owa meanting cupe which they lim to have dexved from mioc, ‘bt tei dgemcat i never accurate as they always give out too much ‘to some and too lial t others. ‘Teould tll you.gven sore about my powers and ray funtion but for a ltme josey tht ofall the Virses, Tam the most import: nce they all colminate in me. We thee ladies whom you see before ‘Josate one andthe same, in the vase that one cannot actindependently tse others What theft lady decider, the socood one put into else Sha then 1 the tind oae, ing allo completion. Ihave been chosen Dy the thece of ts to help you fini of your cy, my tak being 1 oonteuc he big tars OF the great towen, houses and palaces whic Shall be covered in bight gold. will nor only lhe city fll of woxthy Indies for you but I wl also bring you their noble queen who shal be fevered and honoured above alte othe great ladies present. Before 1 hand you the keys to your finished cey wil need your help w forty and make it safe with trong gates dat willbe brougat dowa for you {roo heaven” pCi ells bow abe replied th thre tals ‘Oncel{ Gaished listening to the words spoken by the three ladies, which fad commanded my complete seaton and had totally dlsplled the ‘Shmoay dat I had been feeling before thee asval, Xdaew mpsel€ fll face down in frat of them, aot jst oa wo my knees, oot oF respect for ‘ede noble tatu, Kissing the ground they stood on, T adored them a8 {Psey were grt goddesses, raising them wit these words: OB noble tod worthy lies light ofthe hervenr and of the east, fountains of [aralise benging joy to the blessed, how is it hat you have deigned to ome dowa from your lofry sex and shining thrones 10 vist me, a “tple and ignorant schola, in my ack and ploomy retreat? Flow could Sas ever dnt you eoough for svch graciousness? The sweet rain nd ‘Sow of your wouds have alceady rune ito my sid mind, refreshing aod ‘Splenistng my though which are now seady to take ved sod f putforth new shoots wihich wil bear frit of great virwe and delicious flsvour. But what have T done to be chosen to waderake the task of Duliding a new cty on earth dat you have jase described to me? Tam ‘0 Saint Thomas the Aposte who, by the pace of God, crested a fine palice inthe heavens for the king of India. Nor does tay poor brain Ihave any idea of ator geomeny, let alone of the theory and practice of coostroction, Even ifT could lean the radiments of these tings, my weak femalebody would hardlybestrong enough forsichanundering ‘Yet, honoured ladies, though I'm stil daunted by dhe prospect of thie ‘exordinary ttk, T' know that nothing is Imporsible for God. Nor ‘Should Te afaid that anything which wat undertaken with your hap and advice could not be brought ea saistactory eonclasion. therefore ‘has bot God and you with ll my heart for having entrusted me with such a noble tsk, one which I accept with great lense. Behold your Inandiaiden, ready todo your bidding wil obey your every comma, 50 be iusto me according 0 your word* 8. Christine explains bow Reason instructed ber and bpd br to agin digging the groin onder to ly th omndatons. Lady Reston replied to my words, sayings ‘Stind up adh, daughter, and ‘without farther dela let ws make our way to the Feld of Levert. There ‘we will build the Cty of Ladies on a, fersle ground, wheee falta of all kinds floassh and fresh ream flow, a place where cvery good thing {grows in shondance. Take the spade of your intligence and dig deep to make a great tench all around where you se the Line Ihave traced, i aelp to eaery sway the ods of earth on my shoulders? ‘Obeyig her instructions, I jumped to my fet thanks fo the three Jadies, my body fle mach stronger and lighter than before. She took the Jead and I fllowed on behind. When ye cate to the spot the had described, T began to excavate and cg out the earth withthe spade of my intelligence, just a8 she had dzeered me to do. The fst fal of my Jnbours was this: ‘My lady, Pm remermbediag that image of gold being ‘fined inthe furnace that you used befoce to symbolise the way many smale writers have launched a fllcale attack ofthe ways of women, I ‘ake this image to mean that che more women are cstezed the more iexedounds to thee glory. Bet pleae tll ne exactly what eis that makes, +0 many diferent author slander women in thei writings beewse, iT understand you corecty, they are weong,t0 do 20. Ts fe Natice that makes them do this? Or, if irs ont of hated, how ean you expla Reason answered my question, eaying: ‘My dear daightes, in onder to hep you tee more ceady how sings wand, lee me cary sway thie fiat load of each. Tcaa ell you tha, fr from makiog them slander ‘women, Nature does the complete oppose. There is no stronger ot loser bond in the'world than that whic Nature, in accotdanee with, God's wishes, creates beeween man and woman. Rather, ther ae may other diferent zeazons which explain why men have attached women in ‘the patt and contiaue to do so, inchading those authors whose works you have sleady mentioned. Some of those who eee women did ‘0 with good intentions: dhey wanted to ree ten who had already flea into the itches of depraved and comupe women of 1 prevent ‘others from sullesag the tame fre, and to encourage men generally to avoid Ieding a fostfl end sinfl exstence. They therefore attacked sll women ia order to perroade men to feputd the ence sex as an shominstion, ‘My indy; I sid, “forgive me for interrupting you. Were they ight do 20, since they were acting with good intention? Tent true that ‘one’s nctions ars judged by one's intentions?” “You'ee wrong, ny dear gil she replied, ‘because there is no excuse for plain igndeance. ICT led you with good intentions and ont of splay, would Ibe in the igh® Those who have acted in thie way, ‘whoever they may be, have abused thee powes. Attacking one pasty in the belief that yoo are heneSng ated party i wna, Soi exticizing ‘he nanuze ofall women, which is completely uojurifed ae I wil prove to you by analogy. Condemring all women in order #9 help some misguided men get over their foolish behaviour fs tntamount 10 denouncing fre, which is a vital and benefcal clement, just because ome people are born by i, or to curing water jure becsute some people ate drowhed in it You could apply the sume seasoning al ‘manner of things which can be pet to either good o bad we In. none ‘of these cases should you blame the ching in isl if foolish people use P24sLved fs uowiely, You youre have made these points elsewhere in your ‘Sctings, Those who subsea to there opinions, whether in good ox thd fat, bare overstepped dhe mak inorder to male their point 12s ise comebody cutting ap the whole piece of doth in order to make nels ge coat suply becuse ifs not golag to cost him anything tad no one is going te object. I thus stops anyone ele srom using the Ici instead, a5 you youreit have righ sematd these waters fad tied 10 find.waye to eave mea from ladulgiog in vice and from Fequeating debauched women by stacking oaly the mors and the Ibis of those who were eideady guy of such behaviows, I fealy ‘amit that thoy would have produced texts which were extremely wef, 4s tm the thee’ nothing wore than a woman whois dsslute and ‘epenved: she's Ike a monster, «exestace going aint is own nate, “Shichi tobe timid nee and pore Tean assure You tha hove writes “Who condemn the ete female cx for being sinful when in fer hese evo many women who are extemely venous re not acting with my pproral Theyve committed a grave eros as doalthose who sbsexbe to their viows, So letue throw ost cheae hohe ugly, sssshapen stones fiom your wosk as they hare no place in your beau iy. "Other en have cicaed wounch fot diesen ease: some because ‘hey ae themselves steeped an, some because of hos impediment, Some out of sheet eavy, and some gute simply besuse they naturally ‘Sie delight in sanderoy others, Taereare also some who dos beratse ‘hey lk wo une their enadiion hey have come acsoss these views in ‘books aad so fke to quote the sathors whom they have rad. “Those who ei the female sex because they ae inherently nfl suc men who have wasted the youth on diasolute Uehavione and who have ed afi with many eiferent women. These sea have therefore Eyed caning though thls any expecences and hae grown Old ‘Gillon sepenting of their sine. Indeed, they look back with nostalgia Te the appalling way they weed to camy on when they were younges ‘Now dat old age hae ly caught up with them ad the pial ‘iliag but the fs has grown weak, dey are fll of reget when they ce thay, for them, the “good old day" ae over and they can merely Sratchs younger me ake over from where dey have had to leave of "The only way they can relate thee fustration js to atack women and to ty 0 stop others fom enjoying the pleasucs that they themseves ‘wed w tales You very ofa see old men rock as dhese going ound ‘saying vile snd deporting things, sin the case of your Matheolus, who ‘Geay ats hat he ie jst an ixpoteat old man who would silk hint his desc, He's an excellent example to Hustate my poiot 5 les typical of maay other sila ates. Yet, daa poodness, ntl Old men ae fll of depeeity and soten to the coe lke a leper There are mazy other fine, decent ones whose ‘viscom and virtue have been nourished by mend whose words reflect, ‘heiegood chante, sine theyspeakinaa honeurableand sober shion. Soch men detest al kinds of wrongdoing snd slander. Ths, rather than sacking ad defaming ids snes, male or female, they coodesn ‘itcin in gence, Their advice o other sto avoid vice, pusue vie ted wick to the seaght and narrow. Those men who have stacked women because of this ows body Impediments sr a impotence ora deformed lib, ate all biter and twisted i the mind. The oy pleasare they have to compensate forthe Incapacity it slander the female sex sace it s women who brag such joy to other mca, That way they ae convinced dt they ean put oxbes ff ecjoying what they temeelres have acer had. "Those men who have elandered the opposite sex out oF esry lave cenuly known women who were levees and more vious tha they ‘ie Out of bisezacss and splte,cavious men such as these ae diven fo néack all women, thakiog tha they ean thereby undemnine thee Inuividsals!gbod eeputation and excelent character, 2s in the case of the mathor of Ox Poy whose name Te Forgotten. Tn this book, he igoce to grat lngihs to asgue Vat men should on no account pase ‘Somen tnd dat those wlio do 0 ate beteaying the tle of bis book: Tete docuine is ne loager “philosophy” but “pilofoly”. However, 1 (Gn ainaze you tha itp defintely he who i dhe archrexponeat of “piiofotly”beeane fall the fale feaoning end eoncousconciions ‘he comes out within his book “As for those men who are slanderoes by namse i's not suspisng if hey exitae women, given that they atack eveyone indiscriminately “You ei take fom one that any man who willl landers the feral tex docs so because he har an evil mind, since he's going against botsseason and mature. Against season, because be ie ackng in grasa and fallag to acknowledge ll he good and indispensable things that woman. thas done for him bots ia the past and sll today, much more than he ‘an ever repay her for. Against nators, in chat even the beds and the Deas ental love thee mate the female ofthe species. Soman acts na most unnatural way whea he, a raonal beng, als to love woman. “Fioally there sre those who dabbleio iterate snd delight in mimick- Jngeven the very Snes works weiten by authors who are grestly mperior to ther, They think themclves to be beyond reproach since they are merely sepeating what others havealzeady sid. Believe me, his i how they ret about making their defamatory remake. Some of them scribble down any eld noasease, verse without thyme or eason, a which they iacuethe ways of women, of pnees or whoever might be, when ie ‘is they themcves, whos habits leave euch to be desired, who are most fn need of mon sefimprovement. Yet the common fll, who ae a= ‘ignorant a they ate, think thar is the best thing they've ever read? 9. Hlow Christin dg ovr th arth in ether words he guatons ‘ebih abe put Yo Rearon adhe amnvers abe red fom br, ‘Now that have prepared and ut out this reat task for you you should ‘any on the tsk of digging up the ground, fllowing the line which I Ihave nid down? ‘In obedience to Reaso’s wishes, Ise to with all my might saying, “My lady, why isi chat Ovid, who is considered to be the grestest of poets (roagh others, myself included thik that Vig a more worthy Of that accolade, if you doa't mind my sying £0), made #0 many ‘exogstory temaria about women in is witings, och asthe Aro Loe, ‘he Remar of Lene and other wor?” ‘Reason replied: ‘Ovid was a muah very wel ered in the theory and practice of waking pocty and his fine mind allowed him to excel in ‘everything he wrote. However, his hody was given overt all nds of| ‘wodllinest and vices ofthe desi: he had ais with many women, ‘ace he hid no sense of moderation and showed no lopalty to a5) parialar one. Throughout his youth he behaved lke this only to end ‘up with dhe reward he sichly deseved: he lost not just his good same and his possessions, but even some pars of hls body! Becanse he was fo licetious, ott in the way he eatied on and in the encouragement Ihe gave to others to do the same, be was finally sen into exile. Even ‘when he was beought back fom banishment by some of his followers, ‘who wet infuentil young men of Rome, he code’ help hime Een falling ito exaaly the eae pater as before. So finaly he wat castrated snd deprived of his organs because of his immorality. He's another good. cxample of what Twas tling you about jat now once he reali that bbe could no longer indulge in the same kind of pleasures at before, he began aticewomen with ily remarks in an attempt to male others espe them t002 "My lady, your words cenainly ring te. However, Te een another book by aa Tailan wer called Cecco e’Ascoll who, if T remember ‘cori, comes from the Marches or Tuscan. In this work, he 72 ‘ome extaocinaly unpleasant things which are worse chan snyching dhe Tye ever tead and which shoulda be peated by anybody with say sees ‘Reason’ response wat My dear gi, don’t he surpsed if Cocco {Ascolslandered the whole of womankind since e hated tod despised ‘themall Being unspeakably wicked, he wied to male all other men share his nasty epinion about women. He too got whit he deserved: thanks to his heretical views he suffered a shameful death at the wake?” ‘My ldy, ve aio come across another He bookie Latin, called Ov ‘Be Surat of Wen, which states thatthe female bodys inherently awe snd defecie a many of ts fonctions ‘Reason epi, "Vou shoulda’t need any other evidence than that of| ‘your ow body toelie dat thie books a complete fabrication and ‘ealled with ies. Though some may abate the book to Aso, eit ‘unthinkable tha philosopher as peat a he would bave produced such ‘outrageous nonsense. Any woman who reads itcan see that, since ceria ‘thiags i says are the complete opposite of her own experience, she can sally assume hat the zet ofthe books equally unzliable. Incidental, do you remember the pata the beginning where he cain that ne of the popes excommuniated any man found ccher ceadig the back out lod eo 2 woman or giving it her to read for heeselE?™ P248ebzd ‘ex, my lady, T do remember that passage” {Do you know what evil motive dove han to put such vile words at the front of his book for glib, folish men to seal” "No, ny lady, you have to tell me” “Te wns because he did't wan women to get hold of his book aad sad iv ot have someone elas sead fe to them for fea that if they di, they would pout scoma on and would recognize it forthe utes rabbis that ies By this mse, he thought be could tc the men who wanted to read his text? ‘aby indy, amongat the other things he sid, seem to remember that, sce going on at gest Ing about female children being the resale of Some weakans of deficiency inthe mother's womb he claimed zat ‘Narace heself is ashauned when she Sees tat she has created such a. mpatec being” "Rel iny dene Castine, eucly fe obvious that tose who come ove “ih dl opinion ae toeaiymaguided snd iatinal? How can Nats, {ho is Gods handmaiden be moce poweefl than her ew msec foe ‘whom she dexives let authoriy in the Gest place? Te is God almighty ‘eho, at the very cote of His being, urtared the idea of cxexting man (ed woman. Whee He pot His ae with into action tod made Adam ‘how the clay of the Relds of Damazeut, He took him to dwell inthe curthiy pase, which hae always beea the nobler place on tis lowly fath, These He put Adam to sleep aad crested the body of woma. flo: one of his sibs, This wat «sign that che was meant to be his ‘companion standing at his side, hom he would love 1s if they were tne flesh, aod not bis rervat fing a his feet. 1f the Divine Covfomaa, linet wan't aaned terete dhe feral fran, why sbould Nase ‘bet Teveally isthe height of erpidity to claim otherwise. Moccoves, how ‘eas the ceeand? Yim not sure f you tealize this, but it was in God's image How ean anybody dare to speak ill of something which bea such snob imprint? There ace however, some who are foolish enough {© muintaia thet when God made man ia His image, this means His physical bod. Ye this snot the eae fora that ime God iad not yet ‘opted luman form, +0 i has to be wadestood to mean the 04, ‘whichis immaterial intellect and wich will esrnble God untl the end (Of dine, He cadowed both male and female with this soul, which He made equally noble and vissous inthe two sexes, Whilst we'e sil on the subject of how the humaa body was formed, woman was crated bythe very finest of exafisiea, And where exacly was she made? Why, fn the earthly paradise. What froa? Wasi from coaste mates? No, it ‘Gas fiom the fncst mate that had yet bean iavented by God: from {he body of man himsele" “oty dy, from what you told me, T can see that woman is re5y ble reaare Yeu all the same, waa’ it Cleeo who ssid that man Should not be subject to woman sod that he who did so based hinself ‘because itis wong eo be sxbjecs 0 one whois your info?” "Reason answered Tis he of she wha ls the more vrtous who Is the saperio being: hums sopedorgy oF infexiony isnot detesmined by sonal dilecence but by the degree to which one has perfected one’s ‘atage and mals. Thos, happy is he who serves the Visgin Macy, for ‘he Is exad even sbove tne angels” ‘ny lady, ie was one of the Caos, the one Who was 2 gret otton, ‘who declared tat if woman hada't been ezated, man would coaverse ‘with the gods? "Reasons reply wasi‘Now you see an example of somcooe who was nopponed to be very wise coming ove with eomedhing ety foolish. Tis, ‘ecmure of woman that man se ide by se with God. As for those ‘who state that i x tanks to a woman, the lady Eve, that man sas Trpuld om pane, my anrwer to them woud be thet man has {rine fr mote tough May than he eveelost rough Eve. Humankind thet now becotse one with God, which never would ave happened if ‘Bye hed’ sinned. Bodh men 2nd women should praise this lt of [Evev aie irl because of estat rch an honowr hasbeen bestowed. fon them: If human nate i fille, due tthe actions of one of Gos creates has been redeemed bythe Crestor Hiaeelf As for convening ‘Tht the gods if womankiad bada't been invented a tis Cato elas, Ts words were auer than he knew. Being a paga, be and thote of his ‘ait believed dat both heaven and bell were sled by the gods. Dut the ‘ne in bell ae what we cal devil. So's definitely tue to say that men Would be conversing with the gods of ball Mary had not come isto the wos?