“Now that we are among men,” he said, “just one final remark about your myths: your Proculus, Hercules, and other heroes of fable did not feel that honor was satisfied with mere numerical exploits – which were no less fabulous than themselves. As you say, it was a game, and they played it hard. They had to have virgins, virgins, lots of virgins! While it is a medical fact that. . .”

“An experimental fact too – for I can see what you are going to say,” interrupted the general.

“It is a medical fact that a virgin’s embrace is difficult and painful enough to prevent a man from either wishing to or being able to repeat it so frequently.”

“Our chaste friend didn’t think of that,” said the general.

“The answer is simple,” said Marcueil. “To take a historical – or, if you prefer to call it that, a mythological – example, we must obviously admit that Hercules, in his entire person, was superior to other men and also in. . . what shall I call it? in stature, in corpulence. . .”

“In caliber,” said the general. “There are no ladies present, and anyway, it’s a term in ordnance.”

“Gynecologists speak of the measure of a demivirgin,” continued Marcueil. “If we suppose that a lesser known practice admits of the measure of a demigod, then it follows that, for certain men, all women are virgins; some a little more, some a little less. . .”

“Don’t let your conclusions overtake your premises, please,” objected the doctor. “Don’t say ‘certain men,’ but Hercules alone, if you must. . .”

“And he isn’t here,” the general thought fit to add, subtly.

“That’s true, he isn’t here – I was forgetting,” said Marcueil in a rather strange tone. “Well then, let us take another example. Supposing a woman were to undergo a certain number of sexual assaults, say twenty-five, to take an arbitrary figure, as the professors have it. . .”

“ ‘There’s another star in my plate,’ as the fairy story goes,” muttered Bathybius, half-annoyed. “Enough of paradoxes, my dear fellow, please don’t throw any more at us. . . if you want us to discuss things scientifically. . . although there’s really nothing left to discuss.”

“Twenty-five different men, just to humor you, doctor!”

“That’s more natural,” said the general.

“You mean, more scientific,” corrected Bathybius, with unexpected gentleness.

“What would be the result, physiologically speaking? The affected tissues would contract. . .”

The doctor guffawed:

“No, certainly not. They would relax, and long before then.”

“Where did you ever see such nonsense?” asked the general. “Is this another historical example?”

“It’s still quite simple,” continued Marcueil. “The woman known in history for having polished off more than twenty-five lovers in one day is. . .”

“Messalina,” cried both the others.