CHAPTER XIV.
1 Artemas adviseth the damsels and warneth them. 9 Concerning the choice of an husband. 14 And the preparations for his enticement. 18 He cautioneth the hasty. 20 And counselleth flattery. 22 And artifice. 25 He returneth again unto the choice of an husband. 28 Concerning the terrible things.
List not to the words of that man who hath a leaning towards thee, for he knoweth not the things that he doth say.
2 Let not thine head be uplifted by his flattery, or thy spirit grow proud because of his praise.
3 Yea, if he compareth thine eyes to the stars, and thy teeth to a necklet of pearls, and thine ear to a very rare shell, then heed him not, for he lieth.
4 Remember the rooster; it clucketh so to the old brown hen. Nevertheless, the countenance of an hen, being that which it is, hath little of comeliness about it.
5 When a young man cometh unto thee, having buttons a thousand times burnished, think not that he doeth this thing for thy sake.
6 For it may hap that he but seeketh favour with his captain; or, perchance, it is his wife that sendeth him out thus.
7 When thy man cometh back from the wars, pry not too deeply into his carryings on during the time that he was away.
8 For he is a man that hath done very much for thee. Therefore it is meet that he should also have done a little for himself.
9 ¶ When thou choosest a young man for to husband thee, mark him with great circumspection, and regard him closely, how he behaveth against thy lures.
10 There is one that carrieth upon his arm a coat of burr berri. He walketh with thee through the meadows. And when thy footsteps falter, lo, he spreadeth it out upon the ground for to be a couch unto you.
11 That man, he hath the makings of a safe husband, for he foreseeth things.
12 Yea, verily, such an one as this, he shall turn him neither to the right hand nor to the left hand; but when the time that thou hast appointed, it be come, then shall he kiss thee full upon the lips.
13 And he shall place his two arms around thee also, and he shall say in a manner befitting thy lord all those things that thou hast willed him to say, so that thou shalt verily believe for the instant that thou hast not worked him.
14 ¶ Whensoever thou goest forth with intent, then shalt thou avail thyself of the whole might of thine armoury. Moreover, if there be anything lacking in thee, scruple not to visit the bazaar for to equip thyself more fully.
15 Yea, if thy chest offend thee, fill it out; and thy nose also, if it cometh unto a blue colour by the blast of the wind, a morsel of fine powder, it shall suffice to restore thy comeliness.
16 Lips of scarlet and the pink cheek; lashes to veil thine eyes in night, and twilight shadows for the underneath;
17 Hair that fulfilleth the young man's desire; and teeth white as ivory, set out in order. All these things and more also shalt thou buy with the money thy father doth get of his labour.
18 ¶ Bring up thy mother in the way she should go and restrain her continually. Else shall she hold thee up before the young man's eyes without ceasing, wherefore thou shalt surely lose him.
19 Consider the worm. It sitteth on its hook in a quiet place, nor followeth after the fish. Nay, rather doth it entice him because it sitteth aloof. Do thou, therefore, in like manner.
20 ¶ When a young man speaketh unto thee concerning a miracle that hath saved him his life, then open thine eyes into his, and call him wonderful.
21 For in this manner shalt thou remove the credit of it from the miracle and he will believe thy words. And he will perceive in thee a multitude of charms that erstwhile had been hid.
22 ¶ When a young man embraceth thee, say not unto him that he is the first for to do it; else will he think that thou speakest lies; or, if he believe thee, assuredly he will look for the reason of it.
23 Nay, catch up thy breath in thy throat, and gasp as a bird being strangled, saying unto him, Oh, Timothy (if such his name shall be), assuredly art thou the first that hath kissed my lips like that!
24 For then will he believe thee, and thy words will stir him mightily. For flattery of the subtil kind, it worketh a man; but woman, she liketh it very thick.
25 ¶ Choose not a man to husband thee according to his means alone, but according to his meanness shalt thou choose him also. For how shall it profit thee that his pocket be deep, if thine arm be too short for to fathom it.
26 Neither shalt thou choose him by the stars that he doth wear upon his arm; for thou makest choice of an husband and not of a liquid to drink.
27 The king of thine heart shalt thou call him, and also the lord of thy life. But when thou speakest concerning thy knight of love, then spell thou out the letters of it; verily, there be room for misconception hereabouts.
28 ¶ There are three things which are too terrible for me, yea, four which I know not:
29 The way of a lioness with her cub; the way of a dog with his bone; the way of a miser with his gold; and the way of a maid with her man.
30 And whosoever shall meddle with any of these, he will rue it the length of his days. Neither shall any man feel compassion towards him, for he is condemned of his own foolishness.