Placides et Timeo ou Li secrés as philosophes,
ed. Claude Alexandre Thomasset, Geneva, Droz, 1980.
Translation (c) Jeay and Garay

259. The disciple asks:

"Master", asks the disciple, "why is it that, if a leper has intercourse with a woman who is not leprous, this woman will not become leprous, but the first man who makes love to her afterwards will easily catch the sickness?"
The master answers:
"You must know that the temperament and nature of woman is cold and humid, for Hippocrates says that the hottest woman is colder than the coldest man. Because of its coldness, the semen of a woman is hard and needs to attract the man's sperm which is hot. This is why the rotten sperm of the leper stays in her womb, for there is not sufficient heat. But, when the penis of a man who is not leprous penetrates into the womb, this penis opens up, already heated by its own semen, and the power and strength of the corruption of the rotten sperm infects the body of the healthy man."

[menstruation] 267.

The periods occur when women are fourteen and stop when they are forty-six. There are different kinds of menses. Some are red mixed with white: they are very pungent, and when they come out, the neck of the womb bleeds and it is painful. Some others are like saffron, that is yellow, and cold; they proceed from corruption and bitterness, and are contrary to the nature of the womb. They come to women who have intercourse with men who do not achieve their desire, and these menses are dangerous. Other periods are clear and red, they come naturally every month. These periods, however, do not come equally to all women, but according to their nature and their age. Women who live in sin and delight, and do not work much, have abundant menses; those who work hard daily have light periods, and their menses are abundant in the beginning and light at the end. Girls are not cleansed with them before fourteen, nor the old women after forty-six, as said before, because of their cold nature; sick women do not have periods either, because a serious illness destroys the menses.

256. Why loose women and whores do not easily conceive children.

The disciple asks why loose women, who often have intercourse with men, do not conceive children. The master answers that both semens must be tempered, equally hot and cold, humid and dry when they meet and stay together for a while; otherwise conception is prevented. Loose women, who make love for money, do not enjoy it, the consequence being that they do not emit semen, which is the result of pleasure. This is why they do not conceive.

The disciple says: we may see some loose women who love the men who sleep with them, and nevertheless, they do not conceive. The master answers: "If you knew the form and quality of the womb, you would see that is the woman's fault. The womb has the form of a urinal, its entry is soft, its neck big, its belly is big too and hairy inside in order to better keep the sperm. Inside, there are seven receptacles, shaped like a human being: a women can give birth to seven children at once. Now, it happens that loose women have the neck of their womb opened too widely because of too frequent intercourse. Then the hair inside is sparse near the entry of the womb, where it should be abundant in order to better retain the sperm. This is why you can see that, as soon as they receive a man's sperm, loose women expel it, because the semen is unstable and slippery, and because the walls of the womb are damaged.