ng interpreted, means, that so free are the parties
from a liability to suspicion, so innately virtuous and pure are they,
that each man can safely trust his wife with another man, and each woman
her husband with another woman. But this piece of false refinement, like
all others, overshoots its mark; it says too much; for it says that the
parties have _lewd thoughts in their minds_. This is not the _fact_,
with regard to people in general; but it must have been the origin of
this set of consummately ridiculous and contemptible rules.

195. Now I would advise a young man, especially if he have a pretty
wife, not to commit her unnecessarily to the care of any other man; not
to be separated from her in this studious and ceremonious manner; and
not to be ashamed to prefer her company and conversation to that of any
other woman. I never could discover any _good-breeding_ in setting
another man, almost expressly, to poke his nose up in the face of my
wife, and talk nonsense to her; for, in such cases, nonsense it
generally is. It is not a thing of much consequence, to be sure; but
when the wife is young, especially, it is not seemly, at any rate, and
it cannot possibly lead to any good, though it may not lead to any great
evil. And, on the other hand, you may be quite sure that, whatever she
may _seem_ to think of the matter, she will not like _you_ the better
for your attentions of this sort to other women, especially if they be
young and handsome: and as this species of fashionable nonsense can do
you no good, why gratify your love of talk, or the vanity of any woman,
at even the risk of exciting uneasiness in that mind of which it is your
most sacred duty to preserve, if you can, the uninterrupted
tranquillity.

196. The truth is, that the greatest security of all against jealousy in
a wife is to show, to _prove_, by your _acts_, by your words also, but
more especially by your _acts_, that you prefer her to all the world;
and, as I said before, I know of no act that is, in this respect, equal
to spending in her company every moment of your _leisure_ time. Every
body knows, and young wives better than any body else, that people, who
can choose, will be where _they like best to be_, and that they will be
along with those _whose company they best like_. The matter is very
plain, then, and I do beseech you to bear it in mind. Nor do I see the
use, or sense, of keeping a great deal of _company_, as it is called.
What company c