Lecture on Love

The Empress of Asturia, a woman in the absolute zenith of her loveliness, well formed, in the full maturity of her beauty, and her passions, had long seen the injustice of the world with regard to the pleasures of love. With respect to herself, this had not affected her; her exalted station and her boundless wealth, (in conjunction with the carelessness of her husband), had enabled her to indulge in all the wildest excesses of love and lust. She had tasted all the pleasures of love with her own sex of all ages, and with men, and had determined, as a true priestess of Venus, she would do everything to initiate all her sex into the methods by which they can indulge freely in the loosest pleasure, with perfect secrecy and safety, and without danger or any damage to their honour in any way, only using the most ordinary care and the simplest precautions. She therefore arranged that on a certain day, she would deliver a lecture to all her intimate friends, old and young, which should be taken, what delights of lasciviousness were safe, what to be avoided: even children were allowed to be present, for as she truly remarked, you cannot teach them too early what to avoid, so as to do away with the chance of dishonour to themselves and their families, in those times when their passions would have to be gratified.