The Anatomy of Melancholy

“Find an old woman of very ugly appearance, in ugly, shabby clothes. Let her carry a menstrual cloth concealed in her lap, and say that his beloved is a drunkard, wets the bed, is epileptic and unchaste; that her body has monstrous growths, with foul breath and other deformities which old women know about. If he will not be persuaded by this, let her suddenly draw out the menstrual cloth, hold it before his face and cry, ‘Such is your beloved!’ And if he does not desist after this, he is no man, but a devil incarnate.”

Avicenna says much the same in book 3, fen 1, treatise 4, chapter 24, on the treatment of Elishi: “Let old women tell filthy things that will fill him with disgust, and sordid things; let them keep at it.”

Arculanus says the same in chapter 16 of his commentary on book 9 of Rhazes, and so forth.

At the same time, as they disparage the former beloved, to bring about a quicker change they must praise another lover: “introduce another woman.” Arrange for him or her to be courted, or to court someone more beautiful, of better standing, fortune, birth or family, and much to be preferred.

You will find another, if this Alexis scorns you.

By this means, which Jason Pratensis recommends, turn the stream of affection in another direction:

Every love is driven out by a new successor.

Or, as Valesius advises, diminish it by dividing it, as a great river, split into many channels, finally runs low.

And I urge you to have two mistresses at once, and so forth.

If you suspect you may be caught, make sure, says the poet, to have two mistresses at once, or go from one to another. A man beside a good fire in cold weather is reluctant to leave it, although a better one in the next room would comfort him just as much; there is as much difference in “this woman” as in “this fire.” Or take him to public shows, plays or gatherings, where he can see a variety of people, and he will probably loathe his first choice.

Take him just to the next town, perhaps even the next house, and, as Paris lost his love for Oenone on seeing Helen, and Cressida forsook Troilus through her association with Diomedes, he will dislike his former mistress and leave her entirely behind him—as Theseus left Ariadne, once his loving mistress, fast asleep on the island of Dia to seek her own fortune.