_ XI. _Care is to
be taken, lest, by inordinate and immoderate fornications, conjugial
love be 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 be preserved, if the
vague love of the sex be confined to one mistress._ XIV. _Keeping a
mistress is preferable to vague amours, if only one is kept, and she be
neither a maiden nor a married woman, and the love of the mistress be
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.
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