The World of Courtesans c10.140

c10.140

The Vita is asked whether hidden desire or openly expressed desire is to be preferred. He says that openly expressed desires lodge in a courtesan alone, but hidden desires are common to both, a courtesan and a housewife. Unlike a housewife, the courtesan is selective in her love. Some men say that since a courtesan is free to make love as she chooses, she is not required to hide her sex urges. The Vita, however, asserts that against her wishes she is forced to yield to an old acquaintance, to the king's brother-in-law and to those who flatter the bawd. It is a rare thing for a courtesan to love truly with her heart, to approach a lover personally, to suffer in his absence, to refuse to wear ornaments and manifest all the signs of love when she is reunited with him. When this happens the pleasure that follows is indescribable.