Who does not foresee, that if the women courted
the men, they would seldom be accepted? They would either be indignantly
rejected, or be enticed to lasciviousness, and also would dishonor their
modesty. Moreover, as was shewn above, the men have not any innate love
of the sex; and without love there is no interior pleasantness of life:
wherefore to exalt their life by that love, it is incumbent on the men
to compliment the women; courting and intreating them with civility,
courtesy, and humility, respecting this sweet addition to their life.
The superior comeliness of the female countenance, person, and manners,
above that of the men, adds itself as a proper object of desire.
298. III. THE WOMAN OUGHT TO CONSULT HER PARENTS, OR THOSE WHO ARE IN
THE PLACE OF PARENTS, AND THEN DELIBERATE WITH HERSELF, BEFORE SHE
CONSENTS. The reason why parents are to be consulted is, because they
deliberate from judgement, knowledge, and love; from _judgement_,
because they are in an advanced age, which excels in judgement, and
discerns what is suitable and unsuitable: from _knowledge_, in respect
to both the suitor and their daughter; in respect to the suitor they
procure information, and in respect to their daughter they already know;
wherefore they conclude respecting both with united discernment: from
_love_, because to consult the good of their daughter, and to provide
for her establishment, is also to consult and provide for their own and
for themselves.
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