Erōtomania or A treatise discoursing of the essence, causes, symptomes, prognosticks, and cure of love, or erotique melancholy. Written by Iames Ferrand Dr. of Physick

CHAP. XXVIII. Whether the Love of Women be stronger, and more dangerous then that of Men.

IT is most certaine, that, as Galen saies, a Hot complexion, or such a one that is Hot and Dry, is much more prone to dis∣honest and irregular Love, then any other Complexiō, or Temperature whatsoever: from whence we may also inferre, that the Loves of these Complexions, must ne∣cessarily be also the most violent, and so by Consequence, that Men must be oftner, and more grievously tormented with this Malady, then Women, who are of a Tem∣perature both lesse Hot, and lesse Dry: For as much as Nature had never brought forth a Woman, but only for want of Heat; and therfore Aristotle calls them the Defect, and Imperfection of Nature: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. The Female seemes only to be the Is∣sue of Natures Impotence.

But Chrysippus the Philosopher, as Ga∣len reports him, neglecting these weake reasons, affirmes the contrary: and saies, that Love is a Motion of the Minde, that is irrefragable, & opposeth it selfe against the power and rule of Reason: which is also approved both by Aristotle, and also all the Schoole of Physick.

Whence we may conclude, that with∣out all doubt a Woman is in her Loves more Passionate, and more furious in her follies, then a man is: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉: saies Hippocrates, lib. de his quae ad Ʋirg. spect. Women are Naturally of meaner Spirits and lesse cou∣rage, then Men; neither is their reason so strong as theirs: and therefore are they lesse able to make resistance against so strong a Passion, as Galen saies. And hereto agrees that of the faire Hero, in her Epistle to her deare Leander.

Ʋrimur igne pari: sed sum tibi viribus Jm∣par. Fortius ingenium suspicor esse viris. Ʋt corpus, teneris, sic mens infirma puellis.

Our flames are equall: but your kinder Fate Hath lent your strength, your Heats to temperate. But in our weaker Sexe, our Passions find. A feeble Body beares a feebler Minde.

This opinion is confirmed also by daily experience, which affords us Examples great store of Women, that are ready to run Mad for Love; but seldome any Men, whom we never see brought to that Ex∣tremity: unlesse they be some effeminate weake spirited fellowes, that have been alwaies broughtup in Lascivious courses, and in Ladies Laps. And this is confirmed by the Poet also.

Parcior in nobis, nec tam furiosa, Libido. Legitimum finem flamma virilis habet.

Lust in us Men doth not so often raigne. Our Flames would still a lawfull end at∣taine.

This Assertion may also bee proved by a strong Naturall reason, which may be col∣lected out of Aristotle, lib. 3, de Part. A∣nimal. cap. 4. & lib. 1. de Gener. cap. 4.

where he saies, that Nature hath given streight Entrals, or Guts, without any tur∣nings, or windings at all, to all gluttonous and ravenous Creatures; as Birds of prey, and the Wolfe: but on the contrary, shee hath variously and artificially interwoven the Bowels of those that it was expedient should bee sober and temperate; as Men. Whence we collect, that, Quoniam eadem Natura (quae 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,) in foeminis va∣sa spermatica, propiora, & juxta cornuae Matricis posuit: contrà verò in maribus e∣adem è longinquo, extra ventrem reiecit; ne facultates Animae principales, Imaginatio, Memoria, & Iudicium, per Pudendorum Sympathiam & vicinitatem perturbaren∣tur, (〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Quae propinqua, & communia sunt Affectionibus, ea, prima, & maximè vitiantur:) Foeminas hunc Amo∣rem Brutum magis violentum habere. Nec immeritò: Consentaneum enim videtur, Naturam, aliquâ superadditâ voluptate, dolores illos, quos in puerperiis patitur iste sexus, compensare.

So that although perhaps Men appeare outwardly to be the more prone to Lust of ••he two: yet must we not therefore pre∣sently conclude women to be utterly free from the same desires, although they cun∣ningly dissemble them as much as possibly they can. And therefore they may, not un∣••tly, be compared unto an Alembick, that ••ands quietly upon its frame, without any ••ew of Fire at all under it: but if you but ••ift it up, and look under it; and could but ••s easily see into the hearts of these Wo∣men; you shall there discover an equall Heat in both.