“ Love among us brings with it no trouble, no frenzy: it is a languid passion which leaves our souls serene ”
Montesquieu, Persian Letters (1721). copy citation
| Author | Montesquieu |
|---|---|
| Source | Persian Letters |
| Topic | passion love |
| Date | 1721 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by John Davidson |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Persian_Letters |
Context
“It seems to have been the chief aim of our holy Prophet to restrain us from everything that might disturb the reason: he has prohibited the use of wine, which steals away man's brains; by a special law he has forbidden games of chance; and where the cause of passion could not be removed he has subdued it. Love among us brings with it no trouble, no frenzy: it is a languid passion which leaves our souls serene: plurality of wives saves us from the dominion of women, and tempers the violence of our desires.
Paris, the 18th of the moon of Zilhage, 1714.
Letter 57 Usbek to Rhedi, at Venice
AN immense number of courtesans are maintained by the libertines of Paris, and a great crowd of dervishes by its bigots.”
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