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A woman must always take care to imitate the she-wolf when she wants to steal ewes, for, in order not to fail completely, the wolf must attack a thousand to capture one; she doesn't know which she will take before she has taken it. So a woman ought to spread her nets everywhere to catch all men; since she cannot know which of them she may have the grace to catch, at least she ought to hook onto all of them in order to be sure of having one for herself. If she does so, it should never happen that she will have no catch at all from among the thousands of fools who will rub up against her flanks. Indeed she may catch several, for art is a great aid to nature.

And if she does hook several of those who want to put her on the spit, let her be careful, however events run, not to make appointments at the same hour with two of them. If several were to appear together they would think themselves deceived and they might even leave her. An event like this could set her back a long way, for at the least she would lose what each had brought her. She should never leave them anything on which they might grow fat, but plunge them into poverty so great that they may die miserable and in debt; in this way she will be rich, for what remains theirs is lost to her.

She should not love a poor man, for a poor man is good for nothing; even if he were Ovid or Homer, he wouldn't be worth two drinking mugs. Nor should she love a foreign traveler, for his heart is as flighty as his body, which lodges in many places; no, I advise her not to love a foreigner. However, if during his stay he offers her money or jewels she should take them all and put them in her coffer; then he may do as he pleases in haste or at his leisure.

And if any man, either an honest man or a swindler, should make promises, hoping to beg for her love and bind her to him by vows, she may exchange vows, but she must be careful not to put herself at his mercy unless she gets hold of the money also. If he makes any promise in writing, she must see if there is any deception or if his good intentions are those of a true heart. She may then soon write a reply, but not without some delay. Delay excites lovers as long as it is not too great.

Now when she hears a lover's request, she should be reluctant to grant all of her love, nor should she refuse everything, but try to keep him in a state of balance between fear and hope. When he makes his demands more pressing and she does not yield him her love, which has bound so strongly, she must arrange things, through her strength and craft, so that hope constantly grows little by little as fear diminishes until peace and concord bring the two together. In giving in to him, she, who knows so many wily ruses, should swear by God and by the saints that she has never wished to give herself to anyone, no matter how well he may have pleaded; then she should say, "My lord, this is my all by the faith which I owe to Saint Peter or Rome, I give myself to you out of pure love, not because of your gifts. The man isn't born for whom I would do this for any gift, no matter how greatly he desired it. I have refused many a worthy man, for many have gazed adoringly at me. I think you must have cast a spell over me; you have sung me a wicked song." Then she should embrace him closely and kiss him so that he will be even better deluded.

But if she wants my advice, she should think only of what she can get. She is a fool who does not pluck her lover down to the last feather, for the better she can pluck the more she will have, and she will be more highly valued when she sells herself more dearly. Men scorn what they can get for nothing; they don't value it at a single husk. If they lose it, they care little, certainly not as much as does one who has bought it at a high price.

But if she sees that he recognizes that he may be giving her more than he ought and that he may think himself seriously harmed by the large gifts on which he is in the habit of feeding her, and if she feels that she does not urge him to give anything, then she should ask him to lend to her, swearing that she is quite ready to pay him back on any day that he will name. But I certainly forbid that anything ever be given back.

And if he has nothing to bring her and swears, in order to comfort her, and promises by his foot and his hand that he will bring her something the next day, she should turn deaf ears to him. Let her believe nothing; all his tales are tricks. All man are very expert liars. These wastrels have told me more lies, made me more vows and oaths in past times then there are saints in paradise. When he has nothing to pay with, at least let him pledge at the wine merchant's for two, three, or four pennies, or let him go have a good time somewhere else outside.

A woman who is not a simpleton should pretend to be a coward, to tremble, be fearful, distraught, and anxious when she must receive her lover; she should let him understand as true that she is receiving him in very great peril when she deceives her husband for him, or her guardians or her parents, and that if the thing that she wants to do in secret were open, she would be dead without fail. She should swear that he cannot stay if his presence is to bring about her instant death. Afterward, when she has enchanted him well, he will remain at her will.

Next, a lady must sigh and pretend to get angry, to attack him and run at him and say that he hasn't been late without some reason, and that some other woman was keeping him at home, someone whose solaces were more pleasing to him, and that now she is indeed betrayed when he hates her on account of another. She should certainly be called a miserable creature, when she loves without being loved. When the man, with his silly ideas, hears this speech, he will believe, quite incorrectly that she loves him very loyally and that she may be more jealous of him than Vulcan ever was of his wife Venus, when he found her taken in the act with Mars. The fool had so spied upon them that he captured two of them in strong bonds, as they were joined and linked in the game of love, in the nets that he had forged of brass.

As soon as Vulcan knew that he had caught the two of them in the act with the net that he had put around the bed he was a great fool when he dared to do so, for he who thinks that he can keep his wife to himself has very little knowledge he had the gods come quickly. They laughed a lot and made fun they saw them in this situation. Nearly all of the gods were amazed by the beauty of Venus, who made many complaints and laments, shamed and angered as she was at having been thus captured; never had she experienced such shame. But it was no great wonder if Venus would not have loved him for anything, even though she called him her husband. No, by God, not even if he had been Absalom, with his blond locks, or Paris, son of the king of Troy, would she ever have been compliant with him, since she, the fair one, knew very well what all women know how to do.