kinds of fornication from the more grievous, and in like manner of adultery; thus it mixes evils, and of different evils makes one pottage, and of different goods one paste. In order therefore that the love of the sex may be distinctly known as to that part by which it inclines and makes advances to adulterous love altogether opposite to conjugial love, it is expedient to examine its beginning, which is fornication; and this we will do in the following series: I. Fornication is of the love of the sex. II. This love commences when a youth begins to think and act from his own understanding, and his voice to he masculine. III. Fornication is of the natural man. IV. Fornication is lust, but not the lust of adultery. V. With some men the love of the sex cannot without hurt he totally checked from going forth into fornication. VI. Therefore in populous cities public stews are tolerated. VII. The lust of fornication is light, so far as it looks to conjugial love, and gives this love the preference. VIII. The lust of fornication is grievous, so far as it looks to adultery. IX. The lust of fornication is more grievous, as it verges to the desire of varieties and of defloration. X. The sphere of the lust of fornication, such as it is in the beginning, is a middle sphere between the sphere of adulterous love and the sphere of conjugial love, and makes an equilibrium. XI. Care is to he taken, lest, by inordinate and immoderate fornications, conjugial love he destroyed. XII. Inasmuch as the conjugial principle of one man with one wife is the jewel of human life and the reservoir of the Christian religion. XIII. With those who, from various reasons, cannot as yet enter into marriage, and from their passion for the sex, cannot restrain their lusts, this conjugial principle may he preserved, if the vague love of the sex he confined to one mistress. XIV. Keeping a mistress is preferable to vague amours, if only one is kept, and she he neither a maiden nor a married woman, and the love of the mistress he kept separate from conjugial love. We proceed to an explanation of each article.
445. I. Fornication is of the love of the sex. We say that fornication is of the love of the sex, because it is not the love of the sex but is derived from it. The love of the sex is like a fountain, from which both conjugial and adulterous love may be derived; they may also be derived by means of fornication, and also without it: for the love of the sex is in every man (homo), and either does or does not put itself forth: if it puts itself forth before marriage with a harlot, it is called fornication; if not until with a wife, it is called marriage; if after marriage with another woman, it is called adultery: wherefore, as we have said, the love of the sex is like a fountain, from which may flow both chaste and unchaste love: but with what caution and prudence chaste conjugial love can proceed by fornication, yet from what imprudence unchaste or adulterous love can proceed thereby, we will explain in what follows. Who can draw
