Page:The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana.djvu/170

134 by others and in various other sports, free from all disease, possessed of a perfect body, strong, and not addicted to drinking, powerful in sexual enjoyment, sociable, showing love towards women and attracting their hearts to himself but not entirely devoted to them, possessed of independent means of livelihood, free from envy, and last of all, free from suspicion.

Such are the good qualities of a man.

The woman also should have the following characteristics, viz.:

She should be possessed of beauty, and amiability, with auspicious body marks. She should have a liking for good qualities in other people, as also a liking for wealth. She should take delight in sexual unions resulting from love, and should be of a firm mind, and of the same class as the man with regard to sexual enjoyment.

She should always be anxious to acquire and obtain experience and knowledge, be free from avarice, and always have a liking for social gatherings, and for the arts.

The following are the ordinary qualities of all women, viz.:

To be possessed of intelligence, good disposition, and good manners; to be straightforward in behavior, and to be grateful; to consider well the future before doing anything; to possess activity, to be of consistent behavior, and to have a knowledge of the proper times and places for doing things; to speak always without meanness, loud laughter, malignity, anger, avarice, dullness, or stupidity, to have a knowledge of the Kama Sutra, and to be skilled in all the arts connected with it.

The faults of women are to be known by the absence of any of the above mentioned good qualities.

The following kinds of men are not fit to be resorted to by courtezans, viz.:

One who is consumptive; one who is sickly; one whose mouth contains worms; one whose breath smells like human excrement; one whose wife is dear to him; one who speaks harshly; one who is always suspicious; one who is avaricious; one who is pitiless; one who is a thief; one who is self-conceited; one who has a liking for sorcery; one who does not care for respect or disrespect; one who can be gained over even by his enemies by means of money; and, lastly, one who is extremely bashful.

Ancient authors are of opinion that the causes of a courtezan resorting to men are love, fear, money, pleasure,