Will and willingness. – Someone took a youth to a wise man and said: ‘Look, he is being corrupted by women!’ The wise man shook his head and smiled. ‘It is men who corrupt women’, he exclaimed, ‘and the failings of women should be atoned for and set right in men – for man makes for himself the image (Bild) of woman, and woman shapes herself (bildet sich) according to this image (Bild)’. ‘You are too gentle towards women’, said one in the company; ‘you do not know them!’ The wise man replied, ‘The way of men is will; the way of women is willingness – that is the law of the sexes; truly a hard law for women! All human beings are innocent of their existence; women, however, are doubly innocent. Who could have oil and mercy enough for them?’ ‘Forget oil! Forget gentleness!’ shouted someone else from the crowd; ‘one has to raise women better!’ ‘One has to raise men better’, said the wise man and beckoned to the youth to follow him. – But the youth did not follow him.