Has it always been considered a sign of a good lover to last long in bed?

by theoddbear

I'm wondering if things that are considered signs of a good lover (lasting long in bed, having a big penis) has been the same historically? If someone happens to know how different cultures approach this I'd be interested in that too.

toga_virilis

I'm not a historian, but I am an amateur Latinist who has read Ovid. From the Ars Amatoria (which, incidentally, is a great read if you're ever looking for some bawdy Roman poetry):

Sed neque tu dominam velis maioribus usus

Desere, nec cursus anteat illa tuos

Ad metam properate simul: tum plena voluptas,

Cum pariter victi femina virque iacent.

Which translates roughly (I'm translating neither poetically nor literally) as:

You should neither desert your lover with too much wind in your sails

nor should she race ahead of you.

You should strive to climax at the same time: that's the greatest pleasure

when a man and a woman lie together, exhausted.

MartinLawrence1000