In the eye of the spiritual law that
governed my life women were intended for two purposes only: for
the continuation of the human species and to serve as an
instrument in the hands of Satan for tempting the stronger sex to
sin. Marriage was simply a duty imposed by the Bible. Love? So
far as it meant attraction between two persons of the opposite sex
who were not man and wife, there was no such word in my native
tongue. One loved one's wife, mother, daughter, or sister. To be
"in love" with a girl who was an utter stranger to you was
something unseemly, something which only Gentiles or "modern"
Jews might indulge in
But at present all this merely deepened the bewitching mystery of
the forbidden sex in my young blood. And Satan, wide awake and
sharp-eyed as ever, was not slow to perceive the change that had
come over me and made the most of it
There was no such thing as athletics or outdoor sports in my world.
The only physical exercise known to us was to be swinging like a
pendulum in front of your reading-desk from nine in the morning
to bedtime every day, and an all-night vigil every Thursday in
addition.
Pages:
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86