Host or Guest? Or the Authority of Selfless Intellect in Considerations of Virtue and Vice Thyself and thy belongings Are not thine own so proper, as to waste Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves: for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, ’t were all alike As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touch’d But to fine issues: nor Nature never lends The smallest scruple of her excellence, But, like a thrifty goddess, she determines Herself the glory of a creditor, Both thanks and use.⁴²⁷ Their sleep did not last much longer. The last hours of a Chaitra night on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight usually give sound sleep. But Kumud woke up. The pleasure of the touch of Sarasvatichandra’s feet neither allowed her to open her eyes, nor allowed her to sleep. A cuckoo cooed from some tree, and with its call her heart awakened. She awoke to the realisation that his touch had become alluring, a touch of pleasure. She was a little confused, but soon her confusion turned to shame, and shame turned to fright. She tried to lift the beloved’s feet and felt them to be feverish. She imagined their warmth to be the heat of desire; love and compassion filled her heart and she, too, was tempted to prolong the touch. She could not get up. In all this confusion she remembered her dream, which deepened her confusion. The images of her mother, father and parents-in-law flashed before her eyes again. She was startled by that memory. She regained possession of her senses; she gently placed his feet on the platform and moved to one side. She lay down as if asleep and in fact did fall asleep as well. Sarasvatichandra, unaccustomed to her delicate touch, was in a state of incomprehension; his memory of the dream and the pleasure of her touch pulled him along to an unfamiliar world. As the cause of the dreamlike state was removed, he sat up alert. He looked around; as his eyes grew accustomed to the pre-dawn darkness, he saw Kumud asleep at some distance. ‘Is that Kumud Sundari?’ he was about to ask, but instead he gazed upon the lovely form. If there was darkness, there were stars as well. His mind was torn between the desire for pleasure and the knowledge of its undesirability. Kumud woke up from her light sleep and saw Sarasvatichandra. At that very moment the eyes of that fortunate man opened and the question: ‘What should I do? What is my duty?’ washed away all traces of desire. ‘Kumud Sundari! You slept here? Are you awake now?’ he asked. At the same time Kumud asked, ‘Sarasvatichandra! Didn’t you get any sleep?’ She sat up. ‘I was alone in Vasant Gufa and thought of you. Sleep eluded me, so I came here,’ Kumud clarified before Sarasvatichandra could say anything. ‘Did you