I will show you the secrets of these people, for I do not wish to be like them. Look at the palace with the marble pillars, ornamented with crystal windowpanes and copper. A rich man lives there. He inherited his wealth from his miserly father. His character he acquired in the street, where he learned all its vices. Two years ago he married a woman about whom he knew nothing save that her father had a hereditary position and a high rank among the elite of the city. The honeymoon had scarcely ended when he became bored and annoyed with her and once again began spending his nights with loose women. He left her in his palace as a drunkard leaves behind an empty wine jar. At first she wept and suffered. Then she learned patience, finding the consolation given the one who has recognized her mistake and knows that her tears are too precious to be spilled for the loss of a man such as her husband. Now she is preoccupied with a passion for a handsome and fair-spoken youth, pouring the yearning of her heart into his hands and filling his pockets with her husband’s gold—a husband who no longer looks at her, as she no longer looks at him.

“Now look at that house surrounded by a lush garden. It is the home of a man born to a noble family that long governed the country. Now their station is lower. Their wealth has been dispersed and their sons are idle and lazy. Some years ago this man married. Though the girl was ugly, she was very rich. After he had gotten possession of her immense wealth, he forgot her existence and took a pretty mistress, leaving his wife to bite her nails in regret and waste away in longing. Now she spends her time pleating her hair, darkening her eyes, coloring her face with powders and creams, and adorning her body with satin and silk. She hopes that some visitor will look on her with favor, but no stares come her way save from the mirror.

“Then look at that great house adorned with murals and statues. It is the house of a woman whose face is beautiful but whose soul is foul. Her first husband died, and she inherited his wealth and estates. She chose a man weak of body and will to be her husband. His name protects her from people’s tongues, and his presence defends her from accusations. Now she is like a bee among her admirers, sucking what is sweet and pleasurable from each flower.