“‘As far as the act, on the other hand, is concerned, women view it as determining the comeliness of their children and this explains why you will find a child with a nose like Zayd’s, a mouth like ʿAmr’s, and eyes like Bakr’s;39 this is also a riposte to those who claim that it is in the wife’s interest for her husband to see lots of other women because on his return his libido will have been increased by his contact with them.40 It is different, however, when the woman goes out, for her libido is contained within her. Those idiots who claim that what a man visualizes has an effect on the shaping of the fetus in the womb should look at no women whatsoever other than their wives, lest their offspring turn out to be all females, or at least hermaphrodites, the reason being the discrepancy in the different ways in which the father and the mother visualize.41 Indeed, a woman who exchanges her husband for another in thought and visualization should be nothing less than all men’s object of praise and her husband should think of none but her.’ I said, ‘The necessary implication of your words is that women who are shielded from seeing the generality of men will find no pleasure in one particular man.’ She replied, ‘As for the woman who sees the generality of men, that is so. However, it is not so in the case of the woman who sees none at all, for water, no matter how hot, puts out fire.’ ‘That is true,’ I said, ‘and so it is if read backward, meaning that fire, no matter how cool, heats water.’ ‘It is true,’ she replied, ‘if read backward, but frontward is better.’42
4.2.16
قلت الى كم قسم تقسم اللذة * قالت الى خمسة اقسام * الاول تصورها قبل الوقوع * الثانى ذكرها قبله * الثالث حصولها فعلا بالركنين المذكورين * الرابع تصورها بعد الوقوع * الخامس ذكرها بعده * وكون لذة التصور قبل الوقوع اقوى او بعده اقوالٌ * فذهب بعض الى ان الاولى اقوى * لان الفعل لمّا كان غير حاصل كان الفكر فيه اجول وامعن فلا يقف على حدّ * وزعم آخرون ان الحصول يهيّئ للفكر هيئة معلومة وصورة معينة يعتمد عليها فى قياس ما يترقب من الاعادة والتكرير * وكما حصل الخلاف فى وقتى التصور حصل ايضا فيه وفى الذكر * والعبرة بحدّة التصوّر وذرب اللسان * فاما اصلح الازمنة لها فالصيف عند النسآ والشتآ عند الرجال * فاما الكمية فمن الناس الموحدون ومنهم المثنوية ومنهم اهل التثليث * قلت ومنهم المعتزلة والمعطِّلون * قالت هولآ لا خير فيهم * وما هم جديرون بان يعدّوا مع الناس *
“‘Into how many divisions may pleasure be divided?’ I asked. ‘Into five,’ she responded. ‘The first is visualization of it before its occurrence. The second is discussion of it before the same. The third is its actual realization accompanied by these two essential elements. The fourth is the visualization of it after the act. The fifth is discussion of it afterward. Whether the pleasure of visualizing it is greater before it takes place or afterward is a matter of debate. Some believe the first is greater because when it hasn’t yet happened one’s thoughts about it roam more widely, delve more deeply, and do not stop at any limit. Others claim that the actual occurrence provides one’s thoughts with a known shape and a specific form as a benchmark against which to measure any replay or repetition. Similarly, there is disagreement over the times of its visualization, as also of its discussion, though the crucial point is the clearness of the visualization and the foulness of the tongue. The best time for it is the summer in women’s opinion and the winter in men’s. As to the number of times, some people are Unitarians, some Dualists, and some Trinitarians.’ ‘And some,’ I said, ‘Muʿtazilites and some Muʿaṭṭilites.’43 ‘The last,’ she said, ‘are without redeeming qualities and are unworthy to be counted among mankind.’44
4.2.17
قلت ما شان من يتزوج اثنتين وثلاثا * قالت هو امر مغاير للطبع * قلت كيف وقد كانت سنّة الانبيآء * قالت هل نحن نبحث الان فى الاديان او نتكلم فى الطبيعيات * الا ترى ان الذكور من الحيوانات التى قُدِّر لها ان تعيش مع اناث كثيرة قُدِّر لها ايضا القدرة على كفايتهن كالديك والعصفور مثلا * وغيرها انما يعيش مع واحدة ويكتفى بها * ولما كان الرجل غير قادر على كفاية ثلث لم يكن اهلا لان يحوزهن * وبعدُ فلاىّ سبب حُظرت المراة عن ان تتزوج ثلثة رجال * قلت ان فى كثرة النسآ للرجل الواحد كثرة النسل التى يتوقف عليها عمران الدنيا * وذلك مفقود فى كثرة الرجال للمراة الواحدة * على انى قرات فى بعض الكتب ان هذه العادة لم تزل مستعملة عند بعض الهمج * قالت مه مه اهولآ هم الهمج وانتم المتمدنون الكيّسون * فاما دعواك بتكاثر النسل فى كثرة النسآ فهل سكان الارض الان قليلون * الم تضق بهم البسيطة وتثقل بهم بطونها ويمزَّق اديمها * فما الموجب الى هذا الاكثار سوى البطر والنهم *
“‘What are we to think of men who marry two, or three, wives?’ I asked. ‘It’s against nature,’ she replied. ‘How can that be,’ I asked, ‘when it was the custom of the prophets?’ ‘Is this a discussion about religion,’ she responded, ‘or about natural phenomena? Do you not observe that those animals, such as the rooster and the sparrow for example, that have been granted the capacity to live with a multiplicity of females have also been granted the capacity to satisfy them all?