Catholic priest Andreas Capellanus for women:
Dear Lady,
“I believe and it is true that all good men are set in this life by God to serve the desires of yourself and of other ladies, and it seems to me established by the clearest reasoning that men can be nothing nor drink of the fount of goodness, unless they so act under the persuasion of ladies. But though all good things clearly derive from women, and the Lord has granted them so exalted a preference, and they are said to be the cause and source of all good things, a clear obligation lies on them that they must show themselves to men who perform good deeds so that the worth of such men seems to grow in every way from Virtue to virtue under their gaze.”
– The book by Catholic priest Andreas Capellanus, commonly called De amore (“About Love”). Author Andreas Capellanus (André le Chapelain) lived in the 12th century.
