Page:Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo.djvu/121

 And at the four corners, one of which looked out over a river, another over a stable, the third one over the kitchen, and the fourth one over the cellar of the prince, he had four luxurious dwelling quarters built. And in the seraglio he had the statue placed on a high base. When he was free from his affairs the Prince used to come there often to amuse himself. And when he discussed various topics with his barons, he dropped a lie in the argumentation to tempt the statue to laugh which gave him great delight.

This prince was a man with excellent scientific knowledge who studied a lot. Because he had read many books in which the authors wrote that women were wicked and perfidious animals, he had decided from an early age on that he never wanted to marry. All of his subjects felt very distressed about this. Because he was a virtuous Prince for which everyone was grateful, they wished him to have offspring who would succeed him in governing the state.

So, one day in his presence four of his principal barons took it upon themselves to reason with him and to let him know that while most women are very deceptive and are imperfect creatures there are, however, also wise and good ones. They concluded that he should not refrain from taking a wife. This is especially necessary for those who are heads of a great state, as he was, so that they are able to leave successors.