“ Nature, diligent in the service of men, has been no niggard in her dowry of desire; to women also she has not been unkind, and has destined us to be the living instruments of the enjoyment of our masters; she has set us on fire with passion in order that they may live at ease ”
Montesquieu, Persian Letters (1721). copy citation
| Author | Montesquieu |
|---|---|
| Source | Persian Letters |
| Topic | enjoyment passion |
| Date | 1721 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by John Davidson |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Persian_Letters |
Context
“or if it were inclination alone that bound us, a more potent feeling might perhaps weaken it. But, when the laws bestow us on one man they withdraw us from all others, and place us as far from them as if a hundred thousand leagues intervened.
Nature, diligent in the service of men, has been no niggard in her dowry of desire; to women also she has not been unkind, and has destined us to be the living instruments of the enjoyment of our masters; she has set us on fire with passion in order that they may live at ease; should they quit their insensibility, she has provided us to restore them to it, without our ever being able to taste the happiness of the condition into which we put them.
Yet, Usbek, do not think that your situation is happier than mine;”
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