236 The Duchess of Newcastle 



betray you, or else some other will tell her, for adultery 

 is like murder, it seldom escapes finding out; and 

 since that time Sir W. C.'s lady hath heard of her 

 husband's mistress, but she seems not to be angry 

 at it, but talks of it with great patience, saying, that 

 if her husband takes pleasure in variety, he will be 

 more delighted with her wit, than with his mistress's 

 beauty, and will sooner be tired with gazing on one 

 object, than in hearing divers discourses and diver- 

 sions of wit, sense, reason, judgement, fancy, and 

 speech. Besides, said she, wit attracts the mind more 

 to love, than beauty to admiration, and if my husband 

 loves me best, said she, I am well content he should 

 admire her beauty most, as also to imbrace her as 

 much as he pleases. For I am so dehghted, and wedded 

 to my own wit, that I regard not my husband's amours 

 nor imbracings, for wit is spiritual and not corporeal, 

 it lives with the mind, and not with the body, being 

 not subject to the gross senses; for though wit, said 

 she, may be made known by words and actions, yet 

 those are but the pictures of wit's works, not wit it 

 self, for that cannot be drawn, it is beyond all draughts ; 

 and so much difference, said she, is between my 

 husband's mistress and his wife, as a picture and an 

 invisible spirit, which spirit can both help and hurt, 

 dehght and terrific, damn and glorifie. But howsoever, 

 said she, my wit shall not be my husband's evil spirit, 

 neither to reproach him, nor to disgrace, reprove, 

 delude, or anger him ; but it shall be alwayes ready to 

 defend, commend, inform, delight, and if it could, 

 to reform him; but I believe, said she, that is past 

 the power of my wit, for it is a hard matter to 

 restrain nature from Hberty, especially of the appetites, 

 for the passions of the mind are more easily governed 

 than the appetites of the body, for they are sensual 



