Democritus plucked his eye out because he could not look at a woman without thinking of her as a woman. If he had read a few of our novels, he would have torn himself to pieces.

Summary

This quote, most likely said in a joking manner, suggests that the fictional portrayal of women in novels is much more captivating and alluring than reality. It implies that Democritus, an ancient philosopher, was so infatuated with women that he plucked out his eye to avoid being distracted by their femininity. The quote humorously implies that if Democritus had access to the detailed and enticing descriptions of women in modern novels, his obsession would have been so strong that he would have gone to even greater extremes.

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