Kitap 3
Tho' free as Thais, still affect a fright,Thais was a name given to all sorts of lewd women who affected discretion.
For seeming danger heightens the delight.
Oft let the youth in thro' your windows steal,
Tho' he might enter at the door as well;
And sometimes let your maid surprise pretend,
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And beg you in some hole to hide your friend:
Yet ever and anon dispel his fear,
And let him taste of happiness sincere;
Lest, quite dishearten'd with too much fatigue,
He should grow weary of the dull intrigue.
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But I forgot to tell how you may try
Both to evade the husband and the spy.
That wives should of their husbands stand in awe,
Agrees with justice, modesty, and law;
But that a mistress may be lawful prize,
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None but her keeper I am sure denies.
For such fair nymphs these precepts are design'd,
Which ne'er can fail, join'd with a willing mind.
Tho' stuck with Argus' eyes your keeper were,The fable of Argus has been spoken of before; he had a hundred eyes, and kept Io from Jupiter by Juno's order; for which Mercury killed him by command of his father Jove. To make him amends Juno turned him into a peacock, and placed his eyes in the tail.
Advis'd by me you shall elude his care.
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