Seduction advice from two thousand years ago

[Rick]

I offer this link more for amusement purposes than anything else. It's a poem from Ovid (a poet back in the days of the Roman empire) on how to seduce women.

Quote:True, if modesty does not permit a woman to make the first advance, it nevertheless delights her to yield when her lover takes the initiative. In truth a lover reposes too much confidence in his good looks if he thinks that a woman will be the first to ask. ’Tis for him to begin, for him to entreat her; and to his supplications she will incline her ear. Ask and thou shalt receive; she only waits to be implored. Tell her the cause and origin of your desire. Jove bent the knee to the heroines of old times, and for all his greatness, none ever came of her own accord to entreat him. If, however, you only get disdain for all your pains, draw back and press your suit no farther. Many women long for what eludes them, and like not what is offered them. Cool off; don't let her think you too importunate. Do not betray the hope of too swift a victory; let Love steal in disguised as Friendship. I've often seen a woman thus disarmed, and friendship ripen into love.

It's interesting that seduction advice has been around for basically as long as we've been able to write.

[Halo Effect]

Wow, awesome!

It still seems very relevant today. Which is awesome because the context is completely different! (except the "become friends first", but he might mean that one should stay a little mysterious and not too easy, judging from the sentences around it.

[Mark]

It's interesting, reading some of Casanova's stuff too, it seems that supplication was the way to go for most of human history. Casanova would say ridiculous things to women he met. If you think about it, men owned all of the property, had all of the power, forcing them to supplicate for sex may have been the only way women could wield any social power at all.

[Rick]

I don't know that much about Casanova, but didn't he seduce a lot of women by getting them away from boyfriends/lovers they didn't like?

And Halo, I don't think Ovid is saying to be friends first, but rather if she rejects you, stop pursuing her. Not so different from a lot of pick-up theory today.