Note 307 — Chapter VI · DOMESTIC LIFE—continued.

In general, the most beautiful of a man’s wives or slaves is, of course, for a time, his greatest favourite; but in many (if not most) cases, the lasting favourite is not the most handsome. The love of a Muslim, therefore, is not always merely sensual; nor does the relative condition and comfort of his wife, or of each of his wives, invariably depend so much on his caprice or her own personal charms, as on her general conduct and disposition.