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.