The first conclusion they reached was, 'Every wife loves her husband not for his face but for his intelligence shown in his duties and behaviour. You may be sure therefore that a wife unites herself with her husband's intelligence, and so with him. If therefore a man loves himself for his intelligence, he withdraws this from his wife into himself, which causes division, not union. Moreover, to love one's own intelligence is to be wise of oneself, and this is to be crazy; so it is loving ones own folly.'

To this the men said, 'Perhaps a wife unites herself with her husband's virility?' The wives laughed at this and said, 'There is no lack of virility when a husband loves his wife from his intelligence, but there is when he does from his folly. Intelligence is loving none but one's wife, a love not lacking in virility. But folly is loving not one's wife, but the whole sex, and this love does lack virility. Do you grasp this?'

[2] Their second conclusion was, 'We women are designed by birth to be the love of our husbands' intelligence. If therefore men love their own intelligence, this cannot be united with its true love, which resides with the wife. And if the husband's intelligence is not united with its true love residing with the wife, pride turns intelligence into folly, and conjugial love becomes coldness. Can any woman unite her love with coldness? And can any man unite the folly of his pride with the love of intelligence?'

'But,' said the men, 'how is a man to be respected by his wife, if he does not exaggerate his intelligence?' 'By love,' replied the wives, 'because love respects. Respect cannot be separated from love, but love can be from respect.'

[3] Finally they reached this third conclusion. 'It seems as if you love your wives, and you do not see that you are loved by them and so you love them in return, and your intelligence is a receiver. So if you love the intelligence in yourselves, it becomes a receiver for your own love, and self-love, not tolerating any equal, can never become conjugial, but so long as it lasts, it remains scortatory.'

This silenced the men, yet they went on murmuring, 'What is conjugial love?' Some husbands in heaven heard this, and they confirmed from there the three conclusions reached by the wives.