Liber II, Pars II — Quod filiae civium, et maxime nobilium, regum et principum a discursu et evagatione sunt cohibendae. Cap. XIX.

Liber II, Pars II — Quod filiae civium, et maxime nobilium, regum et principum a discursu et evagatione sunt cohibendae. Cap. XIX.

Since children and boys can arise not only from the use of marriage, but daughters and women can also come forth: after we have discussed what care should be taken regarding sons, it remains to say what care should be taken regarding daughters. But this brief discussion is necessary: because when we have determined the rules of marriage, and shown how women should be governed; we have sufficiently conveyed what care should be taken regarding daughters. For just as it is fitting for spouses to be chaste, modest, abstinent, and sober, so it is fitting for daughters as well. Therefore, these things, and many others that we have said about spouses, should be adapted for daughters. However, we will add a few things to what has been said due to the necessary governance of daughters: among which we will first say that daughters should be restrained from wandering and frivolous behavior. This can be done in three ways. The first is taken so that the opportunity for wrongdoing is removed from daughters. The second is to prevent them from becoming shameless. Third, they should not become lascivious or shameless. For generally, almost all men are inclined to evil, and women even more so, because they more easily fall away from the use of reason. As was said above, our understanding begins with the senses, and especially good things are known through the senses; therefore, it is that generally people do not consider anything good except what is sensible. Therefore, since we have such an inclination toward sensible pleasures, we often fall into them. If there is an opportunity for us to do wrong, as the philosopher says in the Rhetoric. He wants that people, for the most part, do evil when they can. Therefore, the greatest caution to preserve purity and innocence is to avoid opportunities for wrongdoing. For this reason, it is proverbially said, 'The opportunity to steal makes a thief.' If, therefore, in men, where reason is more prominent, there is a great danger from the opportunities for wrongdoing, it is even more so in women, and even more so in daughters or girls. Therefore, they must be properly guarded so that they are not given the opportunity to do wrong, and they should be kept away from wandering and running about. The second way to investigate this matter is to prevent them from becoming immodest. For everything unusual is somewhat modest: those who have not been accustomed among people feel shy about being preserved among them. Among other things, which make girls modest in the sight of men, is not becoming accustomed to them among people. Therefore, when girls become familiar with the sight of men by wandering around and roaming through the land, they become familiar with them, and their modesty is taken away from the company of men. To remove modesty from girls is to take away the restraint that leads them, so they do not act wrongly. For in women, and especially in girls, reason fails, due to which someone is prohibited from pursuing illicit maximum restraint of women, and especially of girls, so that they do not break forth into shameful acts, it seems to be modesty. It is fitting, therefore, to restrain girls from wandering and roaming about, so they don’t become shameless or lose their modesty, which keeps them from shameful actions. A third reason for this is to prevent them from becoming wanton and impudent. For if girls are kept under proper supervision and are not allowed to roam about, they not only become modest but also develop a certain wildness, which is essential for preserving their purity. For we see that even very wild animals, if they become accustomed to human interactions, become domesticated and allow themselves to be touched and handled; but if they are kept away from human contact, they flee from touch and any approach. What we observe in other animals, we also find in women. If women do not roam about and are unaccustomed to the company of men, they are less likely to incline toward lewdness and impudence, much like wild animals that are difficult to bring into human society. Therefore, all citizens, and especially the nobility, and most importantly kings and princes, should take greater care regarding their daughters, so they do not wander about improperly: for from their daughters' impudence and lewdness, a greater evil or danger can arise.