LXXXVII. 

The life of a woman is either of the head, of the heart, or of passion.  When a woman reaches the age to form an estimate of life, her husband ought to find out whether the primary cause of her intended infidelity proceeds from vanity, from sentiment or from temperament.  Temperament may be remedied like disease; sentiment is something in which the husband may find great opportunities of success; but vanity is incurable.  A woman whose life is of the head may be a terrible scourge.  She combines the faults of a passionate woman with those of the tender-hearted woman, without having their palliations.  She is destitute alike of pity, love, virtue or sex.

LXXXVIII.  A woman whose life is of the head will strive to inspire her husband with indifference; the woman whose life is of the heart, with hatred; the passionate woman, with disgust.

LXXXIX. 

A husband never loses anything by appearing to believe in the fidelity of his wife, by preserving an air of patience and by keeping silence.  Silence especially troubles a woman amazingly.

XC. 

To show himself aware of the passion of his wife is the mark of a fool; but to affect ignorance of all proves that a man has sense, and this is in fact the only attitude to take.  We are taught, moreover, that everybody in France is sensible.

        
                         XCI. 

The rock most to be avoided is ridicule.—­“At least, let us be affectionate in public,” ought to be the maxim of a married establishment.  For both the married couple to lose honor, esteem, consideration, respect and all that is worth living for in society, is
                        to become a nonentity.

These axioms relate to the contest alone.  As for the catastrophe, others will be needed for that.

We have called this crisis Civil War for two reasons; never was a war more really intestine and at the same time so polite as this war.  But in what point and in what manner does this fatal war break out?  You do not believe that your wife will call out regiments and sound the trumpet, do you?  She will, perhaps, have a commanding officer, but that is all.  And this feeble army corps will be sufficient to destroy the peace of your establishment.

“You forbid me to see the people that I like!” is an exordium which has served for a manifesto in most homes.  This phrase, with all the ideas that are concomitant, is oftenest employed by vain and artificial women.

The most usual manifesto is that which is proclaimed in the conjugal bed, the principal theatre of war.  This subject will be treated in detail in the Meditation entitled:  Of Various Weapons, in the paragraph, Of Modesty in its Connection with Marriage.

Certain women of a lymphatic temperament will pretend to have the spleen and will even feign death, if they can only gain thereby the benefit of a secret divorce.