ON THE THREE TYPES OF DOMESTIC SOCIETY

...should be practiced, according to Lemnius in The Miracles of Nature, Book 1, Chapter 3. And just as the induction of sterility original: "procuratio sterilitatis," referring to contraception or practices intended to prevent conception is to be detested (Piccart, Observations, decade 8, chapter 9), so too is the "community of wives" original: "comunio Vxorum," referring to polygamy or the sharing of spouses, which the author argues against (Costanus, On Betrothals, 1, number 2). And regarding the praises of marriage, see Canonhiero, On the Introduction, Book 4, Chapter 1. Indeed, even within marriage itself, chastity must be preserved, along with a reverence for procreation. For the source of all health is contained within procreation itself (Mayer, Syllogism, folio 74). Therefore, sexual intimacy original: "Venere," referring to Venus, the goddess of love, used here as a euphemism for sexual intercourse should be used sparingly (Muret, Various Readings, Book 3, chapter 14), and never when the body is burdened by a hangover original: "crapulâ," meaning the physical effects of over-indulgence in food or drink or the mind by wicked passions (see The Caprices of the Cooper, folio 40; Campanella in Moral Philosophy, folio 292, etc.).

All of these things Ocellus Lucanus (a very ancient follower of the Pythagorean philosophy) piously proposes in his treatise On the Nature of the Universe, Chapter 4. "First," he says, "we ought to reflect on this very thing: that we join with women not for the sake of pleasure, but for the sake of procreating offspring. For God gave those very faculties, instruments, and desires to humans not so they might enjoy pleasure, but so that their race might endure and remain forever. For since it is impossible for man himself, who is born mortal, to be made a participant in Divinity if the immortality of the race is lost, God supplied this lack in individuals and rendered this generation infinite and continuous. This one thing, therefore, must be looked to above all: that one should not sleep together for the sake of pleasure. For those who do not unite strictly for the sake of procreating children will wrong and violate the most noble bonds of community. But if they are such that they do not generate children lawfully or temperately, the sons who are born will be wicked, dishonest, and miserable; they will be cursed and detestable to the gods, spirits, and men, as well as to families and cities."

And a little later: "Furthermore, it is necessary that those who devote themselves to the procreation of children take care of the future offspring long beforehand. This first and most significant attention will be applied if they use temperate and healthy food, are not seized by drunkenness, and do not take anything that brings about agitation; for from such things the habits of the body turn out worse. But above all things, one must take care to lie together only with a peaceful and tranquil mind; for when the habits of the body are wicked, inconsistent, and agitated, faulty offspring original: "vitiosa femina," though likely a printer's error for "semina" (seeds/offspring) given the context of procreation usually come from them."

The neglect of this truly philosophical warning is the cause of such great evils in the Republic that I cannot express it in words. And finally, on the honor of marriage, see the works of Henry Suso A 14th-century German mystic, folio 388. The Japanese nobles original: "Iapponii Magnates" are accustomed to sleep with their wives only when the moon is waxing (Belleforest, in his Cosmography, page 376). Truly a great mystery lies hidden in marriage, and it is a type and figure A "type and figure" is a theological term meaning a symbolic representation or foreshadowing of the closest union which exists between Christ and the Church...