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Rich men and princes by conferring honours on philosophers adorn both
themselves and the philosophers ; but, on the other hand, philosophers by
paying court to the rich do not enhance the repute of the rich but lower
their own. So is it with women also ; if they subordinate themselves to
their husbands, they are commended, but if they want to have control, they
cut a sorrier figure than the subjects of their control. And control ought
to be exercised by the man over the woman, not as the owner has control of a
piece of property, but, as the soul controls the body, by entering into her
feelings and being knit to her through goodwill. As, therefore, it is
possible to exercise care over the body without being a slave to its
pleasures and desires, so it is possible to govern a wife, and at the same
time to delight and gratify her.
Plutarch. Moralia. with an English Translation by. Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. 2.
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