,ver4#ab4ab4jj99;,,end99          ,this 
etext was produced by  ,amy ,e ,zelmer  
a4zelmercqu4edu4au  ,col ,choat         
,c,choatsanderson4net4au  ,sue ,asscher 
asschersdingoblue4net4au            ,a  
,,vindication ,,of ,,the ,,rights ,,of  
,,woman1  ,,with ,,strictures ,,on      
,,political ,,and ,,moral ,,subjects1   
,,by ,,mary ,,wollstonecraft4    ,,with 
,a ,,biographical ,,sketch ,,of ,,the   
,,author4          ,,contents4          
,,introduction4    ,,chapter #a4  ,,the 
,,rights ,,and ,,involved ,,duties ,,of 
,,mankind ,,considered4    ,,chapter #b4
  ,,the ,,prevailing ,,opinion ,,of ,a  
,,sexual ,,character ,,discussed4       
,,chapter #c4  ,,the ,,same ,,subject   
,,continued4    ,,chapter #d4           
,,observations ,,on ,,the ,,state ,,of  
,,degradation ,,to ,,which ,,woman  ,,is
 ,,reduced ,,by ,,various ,,causes4     
,,chapter #e4  ,,animadversions ,,on    
,,some ,,of ,,the ,,writers ,,who ,,have
 ,,rendered  ,,women ,,objects ,,of     
,,pity1 ,,bordering ,,on ,,contempt4    

,,chapter #f4  ,,the ,,effect ,,which   
,,an ,,early ,,association ,,of ,,ideas 
,,has ,,upon  ,,the ,,character4        
,,chapter #g4  ,,modesty4               
,,comprehensively ,,considered1 ,,and   
,,not ,,as ,a  ,,sexual ,,virtue4       
,,chapter #h4  ,,morality ,,undermined  
,,by ,,sexual ,,notions ,,of ,,the      
,,importance  ,,of ,a ,,good            
,,reputation    ,,chapter #i4 ,,of ,,the
 ,,pernicious ,,effects ,,which ,,arise 
,,from ,,the ,,unnatural  ,,distinctions
 ,,established ,,in ,,society4          
,,chapter #aj4  ,,parental ,,affection4 
,,chapter #aa4  ,,duty ,,to ,,parents   
,,chapter #ab4  ,,on ,,national         
,,education    ,,chapter #ac4  ,,some   
,,instances ,,of ,,the ,,folly ,,which  
,,the ,,ignorance ,,of  ,,women         
,,generates2 ,,with ,,concluding        
,,reflections ,,on ,,the ,,moral        
,,improvement ,,that ,a ,,revolution    
,,in ,,female ,,manners ,,may           
,,naturally ,,be  ,,expected ,,to       
,,produce4  #h ,april1 #bjja      ,a    

,,brief ,,sketch ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,of 
,,mary ,,wollstonecraft4    ,m4         
,wollstonecraft was born in #agei4  ,her
 father was so great a  wanderer1 that  
the place of her birth is uncertain2 she
 supposed1  however1 it was ,london1 or 
,epping ,forest3  at the latter place   
she  spent the first five years of her  
life4  ,in early youth she  exhibited   
traces of exquisite sensibility1        
soundness of  understanding1 and        
decision of character2 but her father   
being a  despot in his family1 and her  
mother one of his subjects1 ,mary1      
derived little benefit from their       
parental training4  ,she received  no   
literary instructions but such as were  
to be had in ordinary day  schools4     
,before her sixteenth year she became   
acquainted with ,mr4  ,clare a          
clergyman1 and ,miss ,frances ,blood2   
the latter1 two years  older than       
herself2 who possessing good taste and  
some knowledge of  the fine arts1 seems 
to have given the first impulse to the  

formation of her character4  ,at the age
 of nineteen1 she left her  parents1 and
 resided with a ,mrs4 ,dawson for two   
years2 when she  returned to the        
parental roof to give attention to her  
mother1  whose ill health made her      
presence necessary4  ,on the death of   
her  mother1 ,mary bade a final adieu to
 her father's house1 and became  the    
inmate of ,f4 ,blood2 thus situated1    
their intimacy increased1  and a strong 
attachment was reciprocated4  ,in #aghc 
she commenced a  day school at          
,newington green1 in conjunction with   
her friend1 ,f4  ,blood4  ,at this place
 she became acquainted with ,dr4 ,price1
 to whom  she became strongly attached2 
the regard was mutual4    ,it is said   
that she became a teacher from motives  
of benevolence1  or rather philanthropy1
 and during the time she continued in   
the  profession1 she gave proof of      
superior qualification for the          
performance of its arduous and important
 duties4  ,her friend and  coadjutor    

married and removed to ,lisbon1 in      
,portugal1 where she  died of a         
pulmonary disease2 the symptoms of which
 were visible  before her marriage4  ,so
 true was ,mary's attachment to her1    
that  she entrusted her school to the   
care of others1 for the purpose of      
attending ,frances in her closing scene4
  ,she aided1 as did ,dr4  ,young1 in   
,stealing ,narcissa a grave4  ,her mind 
was expanded by  this residence in a    
foreign country1 and though clear of    
religious  bigotry before1 she took some
 instructive lessons on the evils of    
superstition1 and intolerance4    ,on   
her return she found the school had     
suffered by her absence1 and  having    
previously decided to apply herself to  
literature1 she now  resolved to        
commence4  ,in #aghg she made1 or       
received1 proposals  from ,johnson1 a   
publisher in ,london1 who was already   
acquainted  with her talents as an      
author4  ,during the three subsequent   
years1  she was actively engaged1 more  

in translating1 condensing1 and         
compiling1 than in the production of    
original works4  ,at this time  she     
laboured under much depression of       
spirits1 for the loss of her  friend2   
this rather increased1 perhaps1 by the  
publication of  ,mary1 a novel1 which   
was mostly composed of incidents and    
reflections connected with their        
intimacy4    ,the pecuniary concerns of 
her father becoming embarrassed1 ,mary  
practised a rigid economy in her        
expenditures1 and with her savings  was 
enabled to procure her sisters and      
brothers situations1 to  which without  
her aid1 they could not have had access2
 her father  was sustained at length    
from her funds2 she even found means to 
take under her protection an orphan     
child4    ,she had acquired a facility  
in the arrangement and expression of    
thoughts1 in her avocation of           
translator1 and compiler1 which was  no 
doubt of great use to her afterward4    
,it was not long until she  had occasion

 for them4  ,the eminent ,burke produced
 his celebrated  ,reflections on the    
,revolution in ,france4  ,mary full of  
sentiments  of liberty1 and indignant at
 what she thought subversive of it1     
seized her pen and produced the first   
attack upon that famous work4  ,it      
succeeded well1 for though intemperate  
and contemptuous1 it was  vehemently and
 impetuously eloquent2 and though ,burke
 was beloved  by the enlightened friends
 of freedom1 they were dissatisfied and 
disgusted with what they deemed an      
outrage upon it4    ,it is said that    
,mary1 had not wanted confidence in her 
own powers  before1 but the reception   
this work met from the public1 gave her 
an opportunity of judging what those    
powers were1 in the estimation  of      
others4  ,it was shortly after this1    
that she commenced the work  to which   
these remarks are prefixed4  ,what are  
its merits will be  decided in the      
judgment of each reader2 suffice it to  
say she  appears to have stept forth    

boldly1 and singly1 in defence of that  
half of the human race1 which by the    
usages of all society1 whether  savage  
or civilized1 have been kept from       
attaining their proper  dignity--their  
equal rank as rational beings4  ,it     
would appear that  the disguise used in 
placing on woman the silken fetters     
which  bribed her into endurance1 and   
even love of slavery1 but increased  the
 opposition of our authoress3  she would
 have had more patience  with rude1     
brute coercion1 than with that imposing 
gallantry1  which1 while it affects to  
consider woman as the pride1 and        
ornament of creation1 degrades her to a 
toy--an appendage--a  cypher4  ,the work
 was much reprehended1 and as might well
 be  expected1 found its greatest       
enemies in the pretty soft              
creatures--the spoiled children of her  
own sex4  ,she accomplished  it in six  
weeks4    ,in #agib she removed to      
,paris1 where she became acquainted with
  ,gilbert ,imlay1 of the ,united       

,states4  ,and from this acquaintance   
grew an attachment1 which brought the   
parties together1 without  legal        
formalities1 to which she objected on   
account of some family  embarrassments1 
in which he would thereby become        
involved4  ,the  engagement was however 
considered by her of the most sacred    
nature1  and they formed the plan of    
emigrating to ,america1 where they      
should be enabled to accomplish it4     
,these were the days of  ,robespierrean 
cruelty1 and ,imlay left ,paris for     
,havre1 whither  after a time ,mary     
followed him4  ,they continued to reside
 there1  until he left ,havre for       
,london1 under pretence of business1 and
  with a promise of rejoining her soon  
at ,paris1 which however he did  not1   
but in #agie sent for her to ,london4   
,in the mean time she had  become the   
mother of a female child1 whom she      
called ,frances in  commemoration of her
 early friendship4    ,before she went  
to ,england1 she had some gloomy        

forebodings that  the affections of     
,imlay1 had waned1 if they were not     
estranged from  her2 on her arrival1    
those forebodings were sorrowfully      
confirmed4  ,his attentions were too    
formal and constrained to pass          
unobserved  by her penetration1 and     
though he ascribed his manner1 and his  
absence1 to business duties1 she saw his
 affection for her was only  something  
to be remembered4  ,to use her own      
expression1 ,love1 dear  delusion6      
,rigorous reason has forced me to       
resign2 and now my  rational prospects  
are blasted1 just as ,i have learned to 
be  contented with rational enjoyments4 
,to pretend to depict her  misery at    
this time would be futile2 the best idea
 can be formed of  it from the fact that
 she had planned her own destruction1   
from  which ,imlay prevented her4  ,she 
conceived the idea of suicide a  second 
time1 and threw herself into the        
,thames2 she remained in the  water1    
until consciousness forsook her1 but she

 was taken up and  resuscitated4  ,after
 divers attempts to revive the          
affections of  ,imlay1 with sundry      
explanations and professions on his     
part1  through the lapse of two years1  
she resolved finally to forgo all  hope 
of reclaiming him1 and endeavour to     
think of him no more in  connexion with 
her future prospects4  ,in this she     
succeeded so  well1 that she afterwards 
had a private interview with him1 which 
did not produce any painful emotions4   
,in #agif she revived or improved an    
acquaintance which commenced  years     
before with ,wm4 ,godwin1 author of     
,political ,justice1 and  other works of
 great notoriety4  ,though they had not 
been  favourably impressed with each    
other on their former acquaintance1     
they now met under circumstances which  
permitted a mutual and just             
appreciation of character4  ,their      
intimacy increased by regular and       
almost imperceptible degrees4  ,the     
partiality they conceived for  each     

other was1 according to her biographer1 
,in the most refined  style of love4    
,it grew with equal advances in the mind
 of each4  ,it would have been          
impossible for the most minute observer 
to have  said who was before1 or who    
after4  ,one sex did not take the       
priority which long established custom  
has awarded it1 nor the  other overstep 
that delicacy which is so severely      
imposed4  ,neither  party could assume  
to have been the agent or the patient1  
the  toil-spreader or the prey in the   
affair4  ,when in the course of  things 
the disclosure came1 there was nothing  
in a manner for  either to disclose to  
the other4    ,mary lived but a few     
months after her marriage1 and died in  
child-bed2 having given birth to a      
daughter who is now known to the        
literary world as ,mrs4 ,shelly1 the    
widow of ,percy ,bysche ,shelly4    ,we 
can scarcely avoid regret that one of   
such splendid talents1 and  high toned  
feelings1 should1 after the former      

seemed to have been  fully developed1   
and the latter had found an object in   
whom they  might repose1 after their    
eccentric and painful efforts to find a 
resting place--that such an one should  
at such a time1 be cut off  from life is
 something which we cannot contemplate  
without feeling  regret2 we can scarcely
 repress the murmur that she had not    
been  removed ere clouds darkened her   
horizon1 or that she had remained  to   
witness the brightness and serenity     
which might have succeeded4  ,but thus  
it is2 we may trace the cause to        
anti-social arrangements2  it is not    
individuals but society which must      
change it1 and that  not by enactments1 
but by a change in public opinion4      
,the authoress of the ,rights of ,woman1
 was born ,april #agei1 died  ,september
 #agig4    ,that there may be no doubt  
regarding the facts in this sketch1 they
  are taken from a memoir written by her
 afflicted husband4  ,in  addition to   
many kind things he has said of her1 7he

 was not  blinded to imperfections in   
her character7 is1 that she was ,lovely 
in her person1 and in the best and most 
engaging sense feminine in  her manners4
      ,,to    ,m4 ,,talleyrand          
,,perigord1    ,,late ,,bishop ,,of     
,,autun4    ,sir3--    ,having read with
 great pleasure a pamphlet1 which you   
have lately  published1 on ,national    
,education1 ,i dedicate this volume to  
you1  the first dedication that ,i have 
ever written1 to induce you to  read it 
with attention2 and1 because ,i think   
that you will  understand me1 which ,i  
do not suppose many pert witlings will1 
who  may ridicule the arguments they are
 unable to answer4  ,but1 sir1 ,i  carry
 my respect for your understanding still
 farther3  so far1  that ,i am confident
 you will not throw my work aside1 and  
hastily  conclude that ,i am in the     
wrong because you did not view the      
subject in the same light yourself4     
,and pardon my frankness1 but ,i  must  
observe1 that you treated it in too     

cursory a manner1  contented to consider
 it as it had been considered formerly1 
when  the rights of man1 not to advert  
to woman1 were trampled on as           
chimerical4  ,i call upon you1          
therefore1 now to weigh what ,i have    
advanced respecting the rights of woman1
 and national education2  and ,i call   
with the firm tone of humanity4  ,for my
 arguments1 sir1  are dictated by a     
disinterested spirit3  ,i plead for my  
sex1 not  for myself4  ,independence ,i 
have long considered as the grand       
blessing of life1 the basis of every    
virtue2 and independence ,i  will ever  
secure by contracting my wants1 though  
,i were to live on  a barren heath4     
,it is1 then1 an affection for the whole
 human race that makes my  pen dart     
rapidly along to support what ,i believe
 to be the cause of  virtue3  and the   
same motive leads me earnestly to wish  
to see  woman placed in a station in    
which she would advance1 instead of     
retarding1 the progress of those        

glorious principles that give a         
substance to morality4  ,my opinion1    
indeed1 respecting the rights  and      
duties of woman1 seems to flow so       
naturally from these simple  principles1
 that ,i think it scarcely possible1 but
 that some of the  enlarged minds who   
formed your admirable constitution1 will
  coincide with me4    ,in ,france1     
there is undoubtedly a more general     
diffusion of  knowledge than in any part
 of the ,european world1 and ,i         
attribute  it1 in a great measure1 to   
the social intercourse which has long   
subsisted between the sexes4  ,it is    
true1 ,i utter my sentiments  with      
freedom1 that in ,france the very       
essence of sensuality has  been         
extracted to regale the voluptuary1 and 
a kind of sentimental  lust has         
prevailed1 which1 together with the     
system of duplicity  that the whole     
tenor of their political and civil      
government  taught1 have given a        
sinister sort of sagacity to the ,french

  character1 properly termed finesse2   
and a polish of manners that  injures   
the substance1 by hunting sincerity out 
of society4  ,and1  modesty1 the fairest
 garb of virtue has been more grossly   
insulted  in ,france than even in       
,england1 till their women have treated 
as  ,,prudish that attention to decency 
which brutes instinctively  observe4    
,manners and morals are so nearly       
allied1 that they have often been       
confounded2 but1 though the former      
should only be the natural  reflection  
of the latter1 yet1 when various causes 
have produced  factitious and corrupt   
manners1 which are very early caught1   
morality becomes an empty name4  ,the   
personal reserve1 and sacred  respect   
for cleanliness and delicacy in domestic
 life1 which ,french  women almost      
despise1 are the graceful pillars of    
modesty2 but1 far  from despising them1 
if the pure flame of patriotism have    
reached  their bosoms1 they should      
labour to improve the morals of their   

fellow-citizens1 by teaching men1 not   
only to respect modesty in  women1 but  
to acquire it themselves1 as the only   
way to merit their  esteem4             
,contending for the rights of women1 my 
main argument is built on  this simple  
principle1 that if she be not prepared  
by education to  become the companion of
 man1 she will stop the progress of     
knowledge1 for truth must be common to  
all1 or it will be  inefficacious with  
respect to its influence on general     
practice4  ,and how can woman be        
expected to co-operate1 unless she know 
why  she ought to be virtuous8  ,unless 
freedom strengthen her reason  till she 
comprehend her duty1 and see in what    
manner it is  connected with her real   
good8  ,if children are to be educated  
to  understand the true principle of    
patriotism1 their mother must be a      
patriot2 and the love of mankind1 from  
which an orderly train of  virtues      
spring1 can only be produced by         
considering the moral and  civil        

interest of mankind2 but the education  
and situation of  woman1 at present1    
shuts her out from such investigations4 
,in this work ,i have produced many     
arguments1 which to me were  conclusive1
 to prove1 that the prevailing notion   
respecting a  sexual character was      
subversive of morality1 and ,i have     
contended1  that to render the human    
body and mind more perfect1 chastity    
must  more universally prevail1 and that
 chastity will never be respected  in   
the male world till the person of a     
woman is not1 as it were1  idolized when
 little virtue or sense embellish it    
with the grand  traces of mental beauty1
 or the interesting simplicity of       
affection4    ,consider1 ,sir1          
dispassionately1 these observations1 for
 a glimpse  of this truth seemed to open
 before you when you observed1 that to  
see one half of the human race excluded 
by the other from all  participation of 
government1 was a political phenomenon  
that1  according to abstract principles1

 it was impossible to explain4  ,if so1 
on what does your constitution rest8    
,if the abstract rights  of man will    
bear discussion and explanation1 those  
of woman1 by a  parity of reasoning1    
will not shrink from the same test3     
though a  different opinion prevails in 
this country1 built on the very         
arguments which you use to justify the  
oppression of woman1  prescription4     
,consider1 ,i address you as a          
legislator1 whether1 when men contend   
for their freedom1 and to be allowed to 
judge for themselves1  respecting their 
own happiness1 it be not inconsistent   
and unjust  to subjugate women1 even    
though you firmly believe that you are  
acting in the manner best calculated to 
promote their happiness8  ,who made man 
the exclusive judge1 if woman partake   
with him the  gift of reason8    ,in    
this style1 argue tyrants of every      
denomination from the weak  king to the 
weak father of a family2 they are all   
eager to crush  reason2 yet always      

assert that they usurp its throne only  
to be  useful4  ,do you not act a       
similar part1 when you ,,force all      
women1  by denying them civil and       
political rights1 to remain immured in  
their families groping in the dark8 ,for
 surely1 sir1 you will not  assert1 that
 a duty can be binding which is not     
founded on reason8  ,if1 indeed1 this be
 their destination1 arguments may be    
drawn from  reason2 and thus augustly   
supported1 the more understanding women 
acquire1 the more they will be attached 
to their duty1  comprehending it1 for   
unless they comprehend it1 unless their 
morals be fixed on the same immutable   
principles as those of man1  no         
authority can make them discharge it in 
a virtuous manner4  ,they  may be       
convenient slaves1 but slavery will have
 its constant  effect1 degrading the    
master and the abject dependent4        
,but1 if women are to be excluded1      
without having a voice1 from a          
participation of the natural rights of  

mankind1 prove first1 to  ward off the  
charge of injustice and inconsistency1  
that they want  reason1 else this flaw  
in your ,,new ,,constitution1 the first 
constitution founded on reason1 will    
ever show that man must1 in  some shape1
 act like a tyrant1 and tyranny1 in     
whatever part of  society it rears its  
brazen front1 will ever undermine       
morality4    ,i have repeatedly         
asserted1 and produced what appeared to 
me  irrefragable arguments drawn from   
matters of fact1 to prove my  assertion1
 that women cannot1 by force1 be        
confined to domestic  concerns2 for they
 will however ignorant1 intermeddle with
 more  weighty affairs1 neglecting      
private duties only to disturb1 by      
cunning tricks1 the orderly plans of    
reason which rise above their           
comprehension4    ,besides1 whilst they 
are only made to acquire personal       
accomplishments1 men will seek for      
pleasure in variety1 and  faithless     
husbands will make faithless wives2 such

 ignorant beings1  indeed1 will be very 
excusable when1 not taught to respect   
public  good1 nor allowed any civil     
right1 they attempt to do themselves    
justice by retaliation4    ,the box of  
mischief thus opened in society1 what is
 to preserve  private virtue1 the only  
security of public freedom and universal
  happiness8    ,let there be then no   
coercion ,,established in society1 and  
the  common law of gravity prevailing1  
the sexes will fall into their  proper  
places4  ,and1 now that more equitable  
laws are forming your  citizens1        
marriage may become more sacred2 your   
young men may  choose wives from motives
 of affection1 and your maidens allow   
love  to root out vanity4    ,the father
 of a family will not then weaken his   
constitution and  debase his sentiments1
 by visiting the harlot1 nor forget1 in 
obeying the call of appetite1 the       
purpose for which it was  implanted2 and
 the mother will not neglect her        
children to practise  the arts of       

coquetry1 when sense and modesty secure 
her the  friendship of her husband4     
,but1 till men become attentive to the  
duty of a father1 it is vain  to expect 
women to spend that time in their       
nursery which they1  wise in their      
generation1 choose to spend at their    
glass2 for  this exertion of cunning is 
only an instinct of nature to enable    
them to obtain indirectly a little of   
that power of which they are  unjustly  
denied a share2 for1 if women are not   
permitted to enjoy  legitimate rights1  
they will render both men and themselves
  vicious1 to obtain illicit privileges4
    ,i wish1 sir1 to set some           
investigations of this kind afloat in   
,france2 and should they lead to a      
confirmation of my principles1  when    
your constitution is revised1 the rights
 of woman may be  respected1 if it be   
fully proved that reason calls for this 
respect1 and loudly demands ,,justice   
for one half of the human race4    ,i   
am1 sir1    ,yours respectfully1    ,m4 

,w4      ,,introduction4    ,after      
considering the historic page1 and      
viewing the living world  with anxious  
solicitude1 the most melancholy emotions
 of sorrowful  indignation have         
depressed my spirits1 and ,i have sighed
 when  obliged to confess1 that either  
nature has made a great difference      
between man and man1 or that the        
civilization1 which has hitherto  taken 
place in the world1 has been very       
partial4  ,i have turned  over various  
books written on the subject of         
education1 and  patiently observed the  
conduct of parents and the management of
  schools2 but what has been the result8
 a profound conviction1 that  the       
neglected education of my fellow        
creatures is the grand source  of the   
misery ,i deplore2 and that women in    
particular1 are rendered  weak and      
wretched by a variety of concurring     
causes1 originating  from one hasty     
conclusion4  ,the conduct and manners of
 women1 in  fact1 evidently prove1 that 

their minds are not in a healthy state2 
for1 like the flowers that  are planted 
in too rich a soil1  strength and       
usefulness are sacrificed to beauty2 and
 the flaunting  leaves1 after having    
pleased a fastidious eye1 fade1         
disregarded on  the stalk1 long before  
the season when they ought to have      
arrived  at maturity4  ,one cause of    
this barren blooming ,i attribute to a  
false system of education1 gathered from
 the books written on this  subject by  
men1 who1 considering females rather as 
women than human  creatures1 have been  
more anxious to make them alluring      
mistresses  than rational wives2 and the
 understanding of the sex has been so   
bubbled by this specious homage1 that   
the civilized women of the  present     
century1 with a few exceptions1 are only
 anxious to inspire  love1 when they    
ought to cherish a nobler ambition1 and 
by their  abilities and virtues exact   
respect4    ,in a treatise1 therefore1  
on female rights and manners1 the works 

which have been particularly written for
 their improvement must not  be         
overlooked2 especially when it is       
asserted1 in direct terms1  that the    
minds of women are enfeebled by false   
refinement2 that the  books of          
instruction1 written by men of genius1  
have had the same  tendency as more     
frivolous productions2 and that1 in the 
true style  of ,mahometanism1 they are  
only considered as females1 and not as a
  part of the human species1 when       
improvable reason is allowed to be  the 
dignified distinction1 which raises men 
above the brute  creation1 and puts a   
natural sceptre in a feeble hand4       
,yet1 because ,i am a woman1 ,i would   
not lead my readers to suppose1  that ,i
 mean violently to agitate the contested
 question respecting  the equality and  
inferiority of the sex2 but as the      
subject lies in  my way1 and ,i cannot  
pass it over without subjecting the main
  tendency of my reasoning to           
misconstruction1 ,i shall stop a moment 

to deliver1 in a few words1 my opinion4 
,in the government of the  physical     
world1 it is observable that the female1
 in general1 is  inferior to the male4  
,the male pursues1 the female           
yields--this is  the law of nature2 and 
it does not appear to be suspended or   
abrogated in favour of woman4  ,this    
physical superiority cannot be          
denied--and it is a noble prerogative6  
,but not content with this  natural     
pre-eminence1 men endeavour to sink us  
still lower1 merely  to render us       
alluring objects for a moment2 and      
women1 intoxicated  by the adoration    
which men1 under the influence of their 
senses1  pay them1 do not seek to obtain
 a durable interest in their hearts1  or
 to become the friends of the fellow    
creatures who find amusement  in their  
society4    ,i am aware of an obvious   
inference3 from every quarter have ,i   
heard  exclamations against masculine   
women2 but where are they to be  found8 
,if1 by this appellation1 men mean to   

inveigh against their  ardour in        
hunting1 shooting1 and gaming1 ,i shall 
most cordially  join in the cry2 but if 
it be1 against the imitation of manly   
virtues1 or1 more properly speaking1 the
 attainment of those  talents and       
virtues1 the exercise of which ennobles 
the human  character1 and which raise   
females in the scale of animal being1   
when they are comprehensively termed    
mankind--all those who view  them with a
 philosophical eye must1 ,i should      
think1 wish with me1  that they may     
every day grow more and more masculine4 
,this discussion naturally divides the  
subject4  ,i shall first  consider women
 in the grand light of human creatures1 
who1 in  common with men1 are placed on 
this earth to unfold their  faculties2  
and afterwards ,i shall more            
particularly point out their  peculiar  
designation4    ,i wish also to steer   
clear of an error1 which many           
respectable  writers have fallen into2  
for the instruction which has hitherto  

been addressed to women1 has rather been
 applicable to ,,ladies1 if  the little 
indirect advice1 that is scattered      
through ,sandford and  ,merton1 be      
excepted2 but1 addressing my sex in a   
firmer tone1 ,i pay  particular         
attention to those in the middle class1 
because they  appear to be in the most  
natural state4  ,perhaps the seeds of   
false  refinement1 immorality1 and      
vanity have ever been shed by the       
great4  ,weak1 artificial beings raised 
above the common wants and  affections  
of their race1 in a premature unnatural 
manner1  undermine the very foundation  
of virtue1 and spread corruption        
through the whole mass of society6  ,as 
a class of mankind they have  the       
strongest claim to pity6 the education  
of the rich tends to  render them vain  
and helpless1 and the unfolding mind is 
not  strengthened by the practice of    
those duties which dignify the  human   
character4  ,they only live to amuse    
themselves1 and by the  same law which  

in nature invariably produces certain   
effects1 they  soon only afford barren  
amusement4    ,but as ,i purpose taking 
a separate view of the different ranks  
of  society1 and of the moral character 
of women1 in each1 this hint  is1 for   
the present1 sufficient2 and ,i have    
only alluded to the  subject1 because it
 appears to me to be the very essence of
 an  introduction to give a cursory     
account of the contents of the work  it 
introduces4    ,my own sex1 ,i hope1    
will excuse me1 if ,i treat them like   
rational  creatures1 instead of         
flattering their ,,fascinating graces1  
and  viewing them as if they were in a  
state of perpetual childhood1  unable to
 stand alone4  ,i earnestly wish to     
point out in what true  dignity and     
human happiness consists--,i wish to    
persuade women to  endeavour to acquire 
strength1 both of mind and body1 and to 
convince them1 that the soft phrases1   
susceptibility of heart1  delicacy of   
sentiment1 and refinement of taste1 are 

almost  synonymous with epithets of     
weakness1 and that those beings who are 
only the objects of pity and that kind  
of love1 which has been  termed its     
sister1 will soon become objects of     
contempt4    ,dismissing then those     
pretty feminine phrases1 which the men  
condescendingly use to soften our       
slavish dependence1 and despising  that 
weak elegancy of mind1 exquisite        
sensibility1 and sweet  docility of     
manners1 supposed to be the sexual      
characteristics of  the weaker vessel1  
,i wish to show that elegance is        
inferior to  virtue1 that the first     
object of laudable ambition is to obtain
 a  character as a human being1         
regardless of the distinction of sex2   
and that secondary views should be      
brought to this simple  touchstone4     
,this is a rough sketch of my plan2 and 
should ,i express my  conviction with   
the energetic emotions that ,i feel     
whenever ,i think  of the subject1 the  
dictates of experience and reflection   

will be  felt by some of my readers4    
,animated by this important object1 ,i  
shall disdain to cull my phrases or     
polish my style--,i aim at being        
useful1 and sincerity will render me    
unaffected2 for wishing rather  to      
persuade by the force of my arguments1  
than dazzle by the  elegance of my      
language1 ,i shall not waste my time in 
rounding  periods1 nor in fabricating   
the turgid bombast of artificial        
feelings1 which1 coming from the head1  
never reach the heart4  ,i  shall be    
employed about things1 not words6 and1  
anxious to render  my sex more          
respectable members of society1 ,i shall
 try to avoid  that flowery diction     
which has slided from essays into       
novels1 and  from novels into familiar  
letters and conversation4    ,these     
pretty nothings1 these caricatures of   
the real beauty of  sensibility1        
dropping glibly from the tongue1 vitiate
 the taste1  and create a kind of sickly
 delicacy that turns away from simple   

unadorned truth2 and a deluge of false  
sentiments and  over-stretched feelings1
 stifling the natural emotions of the   
heart1 render the domestic pleasures    
insipid1 that ought to sweeten  the     
exercise of those severe duties1 which  
educate a rational and  immortal being  
for a nobler field of action4    ,the   
education of women has1 of late1 been   
more attended to than  formerly2 yet    
they are still reckoned a frivolous sex1
 and  ridiculed or pitied by the writers
 who endeavour by satire or  instruction
 to improve them4  ,it is acknowledged  
that they spend  many of the first years
 of their lives in acquiring a          
smattering of  accomplishments3         
meanwhile1 strength of body and mind are
  sacrificed to libertine notions of    
beauty1 to the desire of  establishing  
themselves1 the only way women can rise 
in the  world--by marriage4  ,and this  
desire making mere animals of them1     
when they marry1 they act as such       
children may be expected to act3  they  

dress2 they paint1 and nickname ,god's  
creatures4  ,surely these  weak beings  
are only fit for the seraglio6  ,can    
they govern a  family1 or take care of  
the poor babes whom they bring into the 
world8    ,if then it can be fairly     
deduced from the present conduct of the 
sex1 from the prevalent fondness for    
pleasure1 which takes place of  ambition
 and those nobler passions that open and
 enlarge the soul2  that the instruction
 which women have received has only     
tended1  with the constitution of civil 
society1 to render them  insignificant  
objects of desire2 mere propagators of  
fools6 if it  can be proved1 that in    
aiming to accomplish them1 without      
cultivating their understandings1 they  
are taken out of their  sphere of       
duties1 and made ridiculous and useless 
when the short  lived bloom of beauty is
 over991 ,i presume that ,,rational men 
will  excuse me for endeavouring to     
persuade them to become more  masculine 
and respectable4    799,footnote4  ,a   

lively writer1 ,i cannot recollect his  
name1 asks  what business women turned  
of forty have to do in the world47      
,indeed the word masculine is only a    
bugbear3  there is little  reason to    
fear that women will acquire too much   
courage or  fortitude2 for their        
apparent inferiority with respect to    
bodily  strength1 must render them1 in  
some degree1 dependent on men in the    
various relations of life2 but why      
should it be increased by  prejudices   
that give a sex to virtue1 and confound 
simple truths  with sensual reveries8   
,women are1 in fact1 so much degraded by
 mistaken notions of female  excellence1
 that ,i do not mean to add a paradox   
when ,i assert1 that  this artificial   
weakness produces a propensity to       
tyrannize1 and  gives birth to cunning1 
the natural opponent of strength1 which 
leads them to play off those            
contemptible infantile airs that        
undermine esteem even whilst they excite
 desire4  ,do not foster  these         

prejudices1 and they will naturally fall
 into their  subordinate1 yet           
respectable station in life4    ,it     
seems scarcely necessary to say1 that ,i
 now speak of the sex in  general4      
,many individuals have more sense than  
their male  relatives2 and1 as nothing  
preponderates where there is a constant 
struggle for an equilibrium1 without it 
has naturally more gravity1  some women 
govern their husbands without degrading 
themselves1  because intellect will     
always govern4      ,,vindication ,,of  
,,the ,,rights ,,of ,,woman4            
,,chapter #a4    ,,the ,,rights ,,and   
,,involved ,,duties ,,of ,,mankind      
,,considered4    ,in the present state  
of society1 it appears necessary to go  
back to  first principles in search of  
the most simple truths1 and to  dispute 
with some prevailing prejudice every    
inch of ground4  ,to  clear my way1 ,i  
must be allowed to ask some plain       
questions1 and  the answers will        
probably appear as unequivocal as the   

axioms on  which reasoning is built2    
though1 when entangled with various     
motives of action1 they are formally    
contradicted1 either by the  words or   
conduct of men4    ,in what does man's  
pre-eminence over the brute creation    
consist8  ,the answer is as clear as    
that a half is less than the whole2 in  
,reason4    ,what acquirement exalts one
 being above another8  ,virtue2 we      
spontaneously reply4    ,for what       
purpose were the passions implanted8    
,that man by  struggling with them might
 attain a degree of knowledge denied to 
the brutes3  whispers ,experience4      
,consequently the perfection of our     
nature and capability of  happiness1    
must be estimated by the degree of      
reason1 virtue1 and  knowledge1 that    
distinguish the individual1 and direct  
the laws  which bind society3  and that 
from the exercise of reason1  knowledge 
and virtue naturally flow1 is equally   
undeniable1 if  mankind be viewed       
collectively4    ,the rights and duties 

of man thus simplified1 it seems almost 
impertinent to attempt to illustrate    
truths that appear so  incontrovertible3
  yet such deeply rooted prejudices have
 clouded  reason1 and such spurious     
qualities have assumed the name of      
virtues1 that it is necessary to pursue 
the course of reason as it  has been    
perplexed and involved in error1 by     
various adventitious  circumstances1    
comparing the simple axiom with casual  
deviations4    ,men1 in general1 seem to
 employ their reason to justify         
prejudices1  which they have imbibed1   
they cannot trace how1 rather than to   
root  them out4  ,the mind must be      
strong that resolutely forms its own    
principles2 for a kind of intellectual  
cowardice prevails which  makes many men
 shrink from the task1 or only do it by 
halves4  ,yet  the imperfect conclusions
 thus drawn1 are frequently very        
plausible1 because they are built on    
partial experience1 on just1  though    
narrow1 views4    ,going back to first  

principles1 vice skulks1 with all its   
native  deformity1 from close           
investigation2 but a set of shallow     
reasoners  are always exclaiming that   
these arguments prove too much1 and that
  a measure rotten at the core may be   
expedient4  ,thus expediency is         
continually contrasted with simple      
principles1 till truth is lost  in a    
mist of words1 virtue in forms1 and     
knowledge rendered a  sounding nothing1 
by the specious prejudices that assume  
its name4    ,that the society is formed
 in the wisest manner1 whose            
constitution  is founded on the nature  
of man1 strikes1 in the abstract1 every 
thinking being so forcibly1 that it     
looks like presumption to  endeavour to 
bring forward proofs2 though proof must 
be brought1 or  the strong hold of      
prescription will never be forced by    
reason2 yet  to urge prescription as an 
argument to justify the depriving men   
7or women7 of their natural rights1 is  
one of the absurd sophisms  which daily 

insult common sense4    ,the            
civilization of the bulk of the people  
of ,europe1 is very  partial2 nay1 it   
may be made a question1 whether they    
have acquired  any virtues in exchange  
for innocence1 equivalent to the misery 
produced by the vices that have been    
plastered over unsightly  ignorance1 and
 the freedom which has been bartered for
 splendid  slavery4  ,the desire of     
dazzling by riches1 the most certain    
pre-eminence that man can obtain1 the   
pleasure of commanding  flattering      
sycophants1 and many other complicated  
low calculations  of doting self-love1  
have all contributed to overwhelm the   
mass of  mankind1 and make liberty a    
convenient handle for mock patriotism4  
,for whilst rank and titles are held of 
the utmost importance1  before which    
,genius must hide its diminished head1  
it is1 with a  few exceptions1 very     
unfortunate for a nation when a man of  
abilities1 without rank or property1    
pushes himself forward to  notice4      

,alas6 what unheard of misery have      
thousands suffered to  purchase a       
cardinal's hat for an intriguing obscure
 adventurer1 who  longed to be ranked   
with princes1 or lord it over them by   
seizing  the triple crown6    ,such1    
indeed1 has been the wretchedness that  
has flowed from  hereditary honours1    
riches1 and monarchy1 that men of lively
  sensibility have almost uttered       
blasphemy in order to justify the       
dispensations of providence4  ,man has  
been held out as independent  of his    
power who made him1 or as a lawless     
planet darting from its  orbit to steal 
the celestial fire of reason2 and the   
vengeance of  heaven1 lurking in the    
subtile flame1 sufficiently punished his
  temerity1 by introducing evil into the
 world4    ,impressed by this view of   
the misery and disorder which pervaded  
society1 and fatigued with jostling     
against artificial fools1  ,rousseau    
became enamoured of solitude1 and1 being
 at the same time  an optimist1 he      

labours with uncommon eloquence to prove
 that man  was naturally a solitary     
animal4  ,misled by his respect for the 
goodness of ,god1 who certainly for what
 man of sense and feeling  can doubt it6
 gave life only to communicate          
happiness1 he considers  evil as        
positive1 and the work of man2 not aware
 that he was  exalting one attribute at 
the expense of another1 equally         
necessary  to divine perfection4        
,reared on a false hypothesis1 his      
arguments in favour of a state of       
nature are plausible1 but unsound4  ,i  
say unsound2 for to assert  that a state
 of nature is preferable to civilization
 in all its  possible perfection1 is1 in
 other words1 to arraign supreme wisdom2
  and the paradoxical exclamation1 that 
,god has made all things  right1 and    
that evil has been introduced by the    
creature whom he  formed1 knowing what  
he formed1 is as unphilosophical as     
impious4    ,when that wise ,being1 who 
created us and placed us here1 saw the  

fair idea1 he willed1 by allowing it to 
be so1 that the passions  should unfold 
our reason1 because he could see that   
present evil  would produce future good4
  ,could the helpless creature whom he  
called from nothing1 break loose from   
his providence1 and boldly  learn to    
know good by practising evil without his
 permission8  ,no4  ,how could that     
energetic advocate for immortality argue
 so  inconsistently8  ,had mankind      
remained for ever in the brutal state   
of nature1 which even his magic pen     
cannot paint as a state in  which a     
single virtue took root1 it would have  
been clear1 though  not to the sensitive
 unreflecting wanderer1 that man was    
born to  run the circle of life and     
death1 and adorn ,god's garden for some 
purpose which could not easily be       
reconciled with his attributes4    ,but 
if1 to crown the whole1 there were to be
 rational creatures  produced1 allowed  
to rise in excellency by the exercise of
 powers  implanted for that purpose2 if 

benignity itself thought fit to call    
into existence a creature above the     
brutes1 who could think and  improve    
himself1 why should that inestimable    
gift1 for a gift it  was1 if a man was  
so created as to have a capacity to rise
 above  the state in which sensation    
produced brutal ease1 be called1 in     
direct terms1 a curse8  ,a curse it     
might be reckoned1 if all our  existence
 was bounded by our continuance in this 
world2 for why  should the gracious     
fountain of life give us passions1 and  
the  power of reflecting1 only to       
embitter our days1 and inspire us with  
mistaken notions of dignity8  ,why      
should he lead us from love of          
ourselves to the sublime emotions which 
the discovery of his wisdom  and        
goodness excites1 if these feelings were
 not set in motion to  improve our      
nature1 of which they make a part1 and  
render us  capable of enjoying a more   
godlike portion of happiness8  ,firmly  
persuaded that no evil exists in the    

world that ,god did not design  to take 
place1 ,i build my belief on the        
perfection of ,god4    ,rousseau exerts 
himself to prove1 that all ,,was right  
originally3  a  crowd of authors that   
all ,,is now right3  and ,i1 that all   
,,will ,,be  right4    ,but1 true to his
 first position1 next to a state of     
nature1  ,rousseau celebrates barbarism1
 and1 apostrophizing the shade of       
,fabricius1 he forgets that1 in         
conquering the world1 the ,romans  never
 dreamed of establishing their own      
liberty on a firm basis1 or  of         
extending the reign of virtue4  ,eager  
to support his system1 he  stigmatizes1 
as vicious1 every effort of genius2 and 
uttering the  apotheosis of savage      
virtues1 he exalts those to demigods1   
who were  scarcely human--the brutal    
,spartans1 who in defiance of justice   
and  gratitude1 sacrificed1 in cold     
blood1 the slaves that had shown        
themselves men to rescue their          
oppressors4    ,disgusted with          

artificial manners and virtues1 the     
citizen of  ,geneva1 instead of properly
 sifting the subject1 threw away the    
wheat with the chaff1 without waiting to
 inquire whether the evils1  which his  
ardent soul turned from indignantly1    
were the consequence  of civilization1  
or the vestiges of barbarism4  ,he saw  
vice  trampling on virtue1 and the      
semblance of goodness taking place of   
the reality2 he saw talents bent by     
power to sinister purposes1 and  never  
thought of tracing the gigantic mischief
 up to arbitrary  power1 up to the      
hereditary distinctions that clash with 
the mental  superiority that naturally  
raises a man above his fellows4  ,he did
  not perceive1 that the regal power1 in
 a few generations1  introduces idiotism
 into the noble stem1 and holds out     
baits to  render thousands idle and     
vicious4    ,nothing can set the regal  
character in a more contemptible point  
of  view1 than the various crimes that  
have elevated men to the supreme        

dignity4  ,vile intrigues1 unnatural    
crimes1 and every vice that  degrades   
our nature1 have been the steps to this 
distinguished  eminence2 yet millions of
 men have supinely allowed the nerveless
  limbs of the posterity of such        
rapacious prowlers1 to rest quietly  on 
their ensanguined thrones4    ,what but 
a pestilential vapour can hover over    
society1 when its  chief director is    
only instructed in the invention of     
crimes1 or  the stupid routine of       
childish ceremonies8  ,will men never be
 wise8  will they never cease to expect 
corn from tares1 and figs from          
thistles8    ,it is impossible for any  
man1 when the most favourable           
circumstances concur1 to acquire        
sufficient knowledge and strength  of   
mind to discharge the duties of a king1 
entrusted with  uncontrolled power2 how 
then must they be violated when his very
  elevation is an insuperable bar to the
 attainment of either wisdom  or virtue2
 when all the feelings of a man are     

stifled by flattery1  and reflection    
shut out by pleasure6  ,surely it is    
madness to make  the fate of thousands  
depend on the caprice of a weak fellow  
creature1 whose very station sinks him  
,,necessarily below the  meanest of his 
subjects6  ,but one power should not be 
thrown down  to exalt another--for all  
power intoxicates weak man2 and its     
abuse  proves1 that the more equality   
there is established among men1 the     
more virtue and happiness will reign in 
society4  ,but this1 and any  similar   
maxim deduced from simple reason1 raises
 an outcry--the  church or the state is 
in danger1 if faith in the wisdom of    
antiquity is not implicit2 and they who1
 roused by the sight of  human calamity1
 dare to attack human authority1 are    
reviled as  despisers of ,god1 and      
enemies of man4  ,these are bitter      
calumnies1  yet they reached one of the 
best of men1 7,dr4 ,price47 whose ashes 
still preach peace1 and whose memory    
demands a respectful pause1  when       

subjects are discussed that lay so near 
his heart4    ,after attacking the      
sacred majesty of kings1 ,i shall       
scarcely  excite surprise1 by adding my 
firm persuasion1 that every  profession1
 in which great subordination of rank   
constitutes its  power1 is highly       
injurious to morality4    ,a standing   
army1 for instance1 is incompatible with
 freedom2  because subordination and    
rigour are the very sinews of military  
discipline2 and despotism is necessary  
to give vigour to  enterprises that one 
will directs4  ,a spirit inspired by    
romantic  notions of honour1 a kind of  
morality founded on the fashion of the  
age1 can only be felt by a few officers1
 whilst the main body must  be moved by 
command1 like the waves of the sea2 for 
the strong wind  of authority pushes the
 crowd of subalterns forward1 they      
scarcely  know or care why1 with        
headlong fury4    ,besides1 nothing can 
be so prejudicial to the morals of the  
inhabitants of country towns1 as the    

occasional residence of a set  of idle  
superficial young men1 whose only       
occupation is gallantry1  and whose     
polished manners render vice more       
dangerous1 by  concealing its deformity 
under gay ornamental drapery4  ,an air  
of  fashion1 which is but a badge of    
slavery1 and proves that the soul  has  
not a strong individual character1 awes 
simple country people  into an imitation
 of the vices1 when they cannot catch   
the slippery  graces of politeness4     
,every corps is a chain of despots1 who1
  submitting and tyrannizing without    
exercising their reason1 become  dead   
weights of vice and folly on the        
community4  ,a man of rank or  fortune1 
sure of rising by interest1 has nothing 
to do but to  pursue some extravagant   
freak2 whilst the needy ,,gentleman1 who
 is  to rise1 as the phrase turns1 by   
his merit1 becomes a servile  parasite  
or vile pander4    ,sailors1 the naval  
gentlemen1 come under the same          
description1 only  their vices assume a 

different and a grosser cast4  ,they are
 more  positively indolent1 when not    
discharging the ceremonials of their    
station2 whilst the insignificant       
fluttering of soldiers may be  termed   
active idleness4  ,more confined to the 
society of men1 the  former acquire a   
fondness for humour and mischievous     
tricks2 whilst  the latter1 mixing      
frequently with well-bred women1 catch a
  sentimental cant4  ,but mind is       
equally out of the question1 whether    
they indulge the horse-laugh or polite  
simper4    ,may ,i be allowed to extend 
the comparison to a profession where    
more mind is certainly to be found2 for 
the clergy have superior  opportunities 
of improvement1 though subordination    
almost equally  cramps their faculties8 
,the blind submission imposed at college
 to  forms of belief1 serves as a       
noviciate to the curate who most        
obsequiously respects the opinion of his
 rector or patron1 if he  means to rise 
in his profession4  ,perhaps there      

cannot be a more  forcible contrast than
 between the servile1 dependent gait of 
a  poor curate1 and the courtly mien of 
a bishop4  ,and the respect and         
contempt they inspire render the        
discharge of their separate  functions  
equally useless4    ,it is of great     
importance to observe1 that the         
character of every  man is1 in some     
degree1 formed by his profession4  ,a   
man of sense  may only have a cast of   
countenance that wears off as you trace 
his  individuality1 whilst the weak1    
common man1 has scarcely ever any       
character1 but what belongs to the body2
 at least1 all his opinions  have been  
so steeped in the vat consecrated by    
authority1 that the  faint spirit which 
the grape of his own vine yields cannot 
be  distinguished4    ,society1         
therefore1 as it becomes more           
enlightened1 should be very  careful not
 to establish bodies of men who must    
necessarily be made  foolish or vicious 
by the very constitution of their       

profession4    ,in the infancy of       
society1 when men were just emerging out
 of  barbarism1 chiefs and priests1     
touching the most powerful springs  of  
savage conduct--hope and fear--must have
 had unbounded sway4  ,an  aristocracy1 
of course1 is naturally the first form  
of government4  ,but clashing interests 
soon losing their equipoise1 a monarchy 
and  hierarchy break out of the         
confusion of ambitious struggles1 and   
the foundation of both is secured by    
feudal tenures4  ,this appears  to be   
the origin of monarchial and priestly   
power1 and the dawn of  civilization4   
,but such combustible materials cannot  
long be pent  up2 and getting vent in   
foreign wars and intestine              
insurrections1  the people acquire some 
power in the tumult1 which obliges their
  rulers to gloss over their oppression 
with a show of right4  ,thus1  as wars1 
agriculture1 commerce1 and literature1  
expands the mind1  despots are          
compelled1 to make covert corruption    

hold fast the  power which was formerly 
snatched by open force499  ,and this    
baneful  lurking gangrene is most       
quickly spread by luxury and            
superstition1  the sure dregs of        
ambition4  ,the indolent puppet of a    
court first  becomes a luxurious        
monster1 or fastidious sensualist1 and  
then  makes the contagion which his     
unnatural state spreads1 the  instrument
 of tyranny4    799,footnote4  ,men of  
abilities scatter seeds that grow up1   
and have  a great influence on the      
forming opinion2 and when once the      
public  opinion preponderates1 through  
the exertion of reason1 the  overthrow  
of arbitrary power is not very distant47
    ,it is the pestiferous purple which 
renders the progress of  civilization a 
curse1 and warps the understanding1 till
 men of  sensibility doubt whether the  
expansion of intellect produces a       
greater portion of happiness or misery4 
,but the nature of the  poison points   
out the antidote2 and had ,rousseau     

mounted one step  higher in his         
investigation2 or could his eye have    
pierced through  the foggy atmosphere1  
which he almost disdained to breathe1   
his  active mind would have darted      
forward to contemplate the perfection   
of man in the establishment of true     
civilization1 instead of taking  his    
ferocious flight back to the night of   
sensual ignorance4      ,,chapter #b4   
,,the ,,prevailing ,,opinion ,,of ,a    
,,sexual ,,character ,,discussed4    ,to
 account for1 and excuse the tyranny of 
man1 many ingenious  arguments have been
 brought forward to prove1 that the two 
sexes1  in the acquirement of virtue1   
ought to aim at attaining a very        
different character3  or1 to speak      
explicitly1 women are not  allowed to   
have sufficient strength of mind to     
acquire what really  deserves the name  
of virtue4  ,yet it should seem1        
allowing them to  have souls1 that there
 is but one way appointed by providence 
to  lead ,,mankind to either virtue or  

happiness4    ,if then women are not a  
swarm of ephemeron triflers1 why should 
they be kept in ignorance under the     
specious name of innocence8  ,men       
complain1 and with reason1 of the       
follies and caprices of our  sex1 when  
they do not keenly satirize our         
headstrong passions and  groveling      
vices4  ,behold1 ,i should answer1 the  
natural effect of  ignorance6  ,the mind
 will ever be unstable that has only    
prejudices  to rest on1 and the current 
will run with destructive fury when     
there are no barriers to break its      
force4  ,women are told from  their     
infancy1 and taught by the example of   
their mothers1 that a  little knowledge 
of human weakness1 justly termed        
cunning1 softness  of temper1 ,,outward 
obedience1 and a scrupulous attention to
 a  puerile kind of propriety1 will     
obtain for them the protection of  man2 
and should they be beautiful1 every     
thing else is needless1  for at least   
twenty years of their lives4    ,thus   

,milton describes our first frail       
mother2 though when he tells  us that   
women are formed for softness and sweet 
attractive grace1 ,i  cannot comprehend 
his meaning1 unless1 in the true        
,mahometan  strain1 he meant to deprive 
us of souls1 and insinuate that we were 
beings only designed by sweet attractive
 grace1 and docile blind  obedience1 to 
gratify the senses of man when he can no
 longer soar  on the wing of            
contemplation4    ,how grossly do they  
insult us1 who thus advise us only to   
render  ourselves gentle1 domestic      
brutes6  ,for instance1 the winning     
softness1 so warmly1 and frequently     
recommended1 that governs by  obeying4  
,what childish expressions1 and how     
insignificant is the  being--can it be  
an immortal one8  who will condescend to
 govern by  such sinister methods6      
,certainly1 says ,lord ,bacon1 man is of
  kin to the beasts by his body3 and if 
he be not of kin to ,god by  his spirit1
 he is a base and ignoble creature6     

,men1 indeed1  appear to me to act in a 
very unphilosophical manner1 when they  
try  to secure the good conduct of women
 by attempting to keep them  always in a
 state of childhood4  ,rousseau was more
 consistent when  he wished to stop the 
progress of reason in both sexes2 for if
 men  eat of the tree of knowledge1     
women will come in for a taste3  but1   
from the imperfect cultivation which    
their understandings now  receive1 they 
only attain a knowledge of evil4        
,children1 ,i grant1 should be innocent2
 but when the epithet is  applied to    
men1 or women1 it is but a civil term   
for weakness4  ,for  if it be allowed   
that women were destined by ,providence 
to acquire  human virtues1 and by the   
exercise of their understandings1 that  
stability of character which is the     
firmest ground to rest our  future hopes
 upon1 they must be permitted to turn to
 the fountain  of light1 and not forced 
to shape their course by the twinkling  
of  a mere satellite4  ,milton1 ,i      

grant1 was of a very different  opinion2
 for he only bends to the indefeasible  
right of beauty1  though it would be    
difficult to render two passages1 which 
,i now  mean to contrast1 consistent3   
but into similar inconsistencies are    
great men often led by their senses3--  
,to whom thus ,eve with perfect beauty  
adorned3  ,my author and disposer1 what 
thou bidst  ,unargued ,i obey2 so ,god  
ordains2  ,god is thy law1 thou mine2 to
 know no more  ,is woman's happiest     
knowledge and her praise4    ,these are 
exactly the arguments that ,i have used 
to children2 but ,i  have added1 ,your  
reason is now gaining strength1 and1    
till it  arrives at some degree of      
maturity1 you must look up to me for    
advice3  then you ought to ,,think1 and 
only rely on ,god4    ,yet1 in the      
following lines1 ,milton seems to       
coincide with me1 when  he makes ,adam  
thus expostulate with his ,maker3--     
,hast thou not made me here thy         
substitute1  ,and these inferior far    

beneath me set8  ,among unequals what   
society  ,can sort1 what harmony or     
delight8  ,which must be mutual1 in     
proportion due  ,given and received2 but
 in disparity  ,the one intense1 the    
other still remiss  ,cannot well suit   
with either1 but soon prove  ,tedious   
alike3  of fellowship ,i speak  ,such as
 ,i seek fit to participate  ,all       
rational delight4    ,in treating1      
therefore1 of the manners of women1 let 
us1  disregarding sensual arguments1    
trace what we should endeavour to  make 
them in order to co-operate1 if the     
expression be not too  bold1 with the   
,supreme ,being4    ,by individual      
education1 ,i mean--for the sense of the
 word is not  precisely defined--such an
 attention to a child as will slowly    
sharpen the senses1 form the temper1    
regulate the passions1 as they  begin to
 ferment1 and set the understanding to  
work before the body  arrives at        
maturity2 so that the man may only have 
to proceed1 not  to begin1 the important

 task of learning to think and reason4  
,to prevent any misconstruction1 ,i must
 add1 that ,i do not believe  that a    
private education can work the wonders  
which some sanguine  writers have       
attributed to it4  ,men and women must  
be educated1 in  a great degree1 by the 
opinions and manners of the society they
  live in4  ,in every age there has been
 a stream of popular opinion  that has  
carried all before it1 and given a      
family character1 as it  were1 to the   
century4  ,it may then fairly be        
inferred1 that1 till  society be        
differently constituted1 much cannot be 
expected from  education4  ,it is1      
however1 sufficient for my present      
purpose to  assert1 that1 whatever      
effect circumstances have on the        
abilities1  every being may become      
virtuous by the exercise of its own     
reason2  for if but one being was       
created with vicious inclinations--that 
is1 positively bad-- what can save us   
from atheism8 or if we  worship a ,god1 

is not that ,god a devil8               
,consequently1 the most perfect         
education1 in my opinion1 is such an    
exercise of the understanding as is best
 calculated to strengthen  the body and 
form the heart2 or1 in other words1 to  
enable the  individual to attain such   
habits of virtue as will render it      
independent4  ,in fact1 it is a farce to
 call any being virtuous  whose virtues 
do not result from the exercise of its  
own reason4  ,this was ,rousseau's      
opinion respecting men3  ,i extend it to
 women1  and confidently assert that    
they have been drawn out of their       
sphere by false refinement1 and not by  
an endeavour to acquire  masculine      
qualities4  ,still the regal homage     
which they receive is  so intoxicating1 
that1 till the manners of the times are 
changed1  and formed on more reasonable 
principles1 it may be impossible to     
convince them that the illegitimate     
power1 which they obtain by  degrading  
themselves1 is a curse1 and that they   

must return to  nature and equality1 if 
they wish to secure the placid          
satisfaction  that unsophisticated      
affections impart4  ,but for this epoch 
we must  wait--wait1 perhaps1 till kings
 and nobles1 enlightened by reason1     
and1 preferring the real dignity of man 
to childish state1 throw  off their     
gaudy hereditary trappings2 and if then 
women do not  resign the arbitrary power
 of beauty1 they will prove that they   
have ,,less mind than man4  ,i may be   
accused of arrogance2 still ,i  must    
declare1 what ,i firmly believe1 that   
all the writers who have  written on the
 subject of female education and        
manners1 from  ,rousseau to ,dr4        
,gregory1 have contributed to render    
women more  artificial1 weaker          
characters1 than they would otherwise   
have been2  and1 consequently1 more     
useless members of society4  ,i might   
have  expressed this conviction in a    
lower key2 but ,i am afraid it would    
have been the whine of affectation1 and 

not the faithful expression  of my      
feelings1 of the clear result1 which    
experience and  reflection have led me  
to draw4  ,when ,i come to that division
 of  the subject1 ,i shall advert to the
 passages that ,i more  particularly    
disapprove of1 in the works of the      
authors ,i have just  alluded to2 but it
 is first necessary to observe1 that my 
objection  extends to the whole purport 
of those books1 which tend1 in my       
opinion1 to degrade one half of the     
human species1 and render women         
pleasing at the expense of every solid  
virtue4    ,though to reason on         
,rousseau's ground1 if man did attain a 
degree  of perfection of mind when his  
body arrived at maturity1 it might  be  
proper in order to make a man and his   
wife ,,one1 that she should  rely       
entirely on his understanding2 and the  
graceful ivy1 clasping  the oak that    
supported it1 would form a whole in     
which strength and  beauty would be     
equally conspicuous4  ,but1 alas6       

husbands1 as well  as their helpmates1  
are often only overgrown children2 nay1 
thanks  to early debauchery1 scarcely   
men in their outward form1 and if the   
blind lead the blind1 one need not come 
from heaven to tell us the  consequence4
    ,many are the causes that1 in the   
present corrupt state of society1       
contribute to enslave women by cramping 
their understandings and  sharpening    
their senses4  ,one1 perhaps1 that      
silently does more  mischief than all   
the rest1 is their disregard of order4  
,to do every thing in an orderly manner1
 is a most important  precept1 which    
women1 who1 generally speaking1 receive 
only a  disorderly kind of education1   
seldom attend to with that degree of    
exactness that men1 who from their      
infancy are broken into method1         
observe4  ,this negligent kind of       
guesswork1 for what other epithet  can  
be used to point out the random         
exertions of a sort of  instinctive     
common sense1 never brought to the test 

of reason8  prevents their generalizing 
matters of fact1 so they do to-day1     
what they did yesterday1 merely because 
they did it yesterday4    ,this contempt
 of the understanding in early life has 
more baneful  consequences than is      
commonly supposed2 for the little       
knowledge  which women of strong minds  
attain1 is1 from various circumstances1 
of a more desultory kind than the       
knowledge of men1 and it is  acquired   
more by sheer observations on real life1
 than from  comparing what has been     
individually observed with the results  
of  experience generalized by           
speculation4  ,led by their dependent   
situation and domestic employments more 
into society1 what they  learn is rather
 by snatches2 and as learning is with   
them1 in  general1 only a secondary     
thing1 they do not pursue any one branch
  with that persevering ardour necessary
 to give vigour to the  faculties1 and  
clearness to the judgment4  ,in the     
present state of  society1 a little     

learning is required to support the     
character of  a gentleman2 and boys are 
obliged to submit to a few years of     
discipline4  ,but in the education of   
women the cultivation of the            
understanding is always subordinate to  
the acquirement of some  corporeal      
accomplishment2 even while enervated by 
confinement and  false notions of       
modesty1 the body is prevented from     
attaining that  grace and beauty which  
relaxed half-formed limbs never exhibit4
  ,besides1 in youth their faculties are
 not brought forward by  emulation2 and 
having no serious scientific study1 if  
they have  natural sagacity it is turned
 too soon on life and manners4  ,they   
dwell on effects1 and modifications1    
without tracing them back to  causes2   
and complicated rules to adjust         
behaviour are a weak  substitute for    
simple principles4    ,as a proof that  
education gives this appearance of      
weakness to  females1 we may instance   
the example of military men1 who are1   

like  them1 sent into the world before  
their minds have been stored with       
knowledge or fortified by principles4   
,the consequences are  similar2 soldiers
 acquire a little superficial knowledge1
 snatched  from the muddy current of    
conversation1 and1 from continually     
mixing with society1 they gain1 what is 
termed a knowledge of the  world2 and   
this acquaintance with manners and      
customs has  frequently been confounded 
with a knowledge of the human heart4    
,but can the crude fruit of casual      
observation1 never brought to the  test 
of judgment1 formed by comparing        
speculation and experience1  deserve    
such a distinction8 ,soldiers1 as well  
as women1 practice  the minor virtues   
with punctilious politeness4  ,where is 
then the  sexual difference1 when the   
education has been the same2 all the    
difference that ,i can discern1 arises  
from the superior advantage  of liberty 
which enables the former to see more of 
life4    ,it is wandering from my       

present subject1 perhaps1 to make a     
political remark2 but as it was produced
 naturally by the train of  my          
reflections1 ,i shall not pass it       
silently over4    ,standing armies can  
never consist of resolute1 robust men2  
they may  be well disciplined machines1 
but they will seldom contain men  under 
the influence of strong passions or with
 very vigorous  faculties4  ,and as for 
any depth of understanding1 ,i will     
venture  to affirm1 that it is as rarely
 to be found in the army as amongst     
women2 and the cause1 ,i maintain1 is   
the same4  ,it may be further  observed1
 that officers are also particularly    
attentive to their  persons1 fond of    
dancing1 crowded rooms1 adventures1 and 
ridicule4  ,like the ,,fair sex1 the    
business of their lives is gallantry4   
,they  were taught to please1 and they  
only live to please4  ,yet they do  not 
lose their rank in the distinction of   
sexes1 for they are still  reckoned     
superior to women1 though in what their 

superiority  consists1 beyond what ,i   
have just mentioned1 it is difficult to 
discover4    ,the great misfortune is   
this1 that they both acquire manners    
before  morals1 and a knowledge of life 
before they have from reflection1  any  
acquaintance with the grand ideal       
outline of human nature4  ,the          
consequence is natural2 satisfied with  
common nature1 they become a  prey to   
prejudices1 and taking all their        
opinions on credit1 they  blindly submit
 to authority4  ,so that if they have   
any sense1 it is  a kind of instinctive 
glance1 that catches proportions1 and   
decides  with respect to manners2 but   
fails when arguments are to be pursued  
below the surface1 or opinions analyzed4
    ,may not the same remark be applied 
to women8  ,nay1 the argument may  be   
carried still further1 for they are both
 thrown out of a useful  station by the 
unnatural distinctions established in   
civilized  life4  ,riches and hereditary
 honours have made cyphers of women to  

give consequence to the numerical       
figure2 and idleness has produced  a    
mixture of gallantry and despotism in   
society1 which leads the  very men who  
are the slaves of their mistresses1 to  
tyrannize over  their sisters1 wives1   
and daughters4  ,this is only keeping   
them in  rank and file1 it is true4     
,strengthen the female mind by enlarging
  it1 and there will be an end to blind 
obedience2 but1 as blind  obedience is  
ever sought for by power1 tyrants and   
sensualists are  in the right when they 
endeavour to keep women in the dark1    
because  the former only want slaves1   
and the latter a play-thing4  ,the      
sensualist1 indeed1 has been the most   
dangerous of tyrants1 and  women have   
been duped by their lovers1 as princes  
by their  ministers1 whilst dreaming    
that they reigned over them4    ,i now  
principally allude to ,rousseau1 for his
 character of ,sophia  is1 undoubtedly1 
a captivating one1 though it appears to 
me grossly  unnatural2 however1 it is   

not the superstructure1 but the         
foundation of her character1 the        
principles on which her education  was  
built1 that ,i mean to attack2 nay1     
warmly as ,i admire the  genius of that 
able writer1 whose opinions ,i shall    
often have  occasion to cite1           
indignation always takes place of       
admiration1 and  the rigid frown of     
insulted virtue effaces the smile of    
complacency1 which his eloquent periods 
are wont to raise1 when ,i  read his    
voluptuous reveries4  ,is this the man1 
who1 in his ardour  for virtue1 would   
banish all the soft arts of peace1 and  
almost  carry us back to ,spartan       
discipline8  ,is this the man who       
delights  to paint the useful struggles 
of passion1 the triumphs of good        
dispositions1 and the heroic flights    
which carry the glowing soul  out of    
itself8  ,how are these mighty          
sentiments lowered when he  describes   
the prettyfoot and enticing airs of his 
little favourite6  ,but1 for the        

present1 ,i waive the subject1 and1     
instead of severely  reprehending the   
transient effusions of overweening      
sensibility1 ,i  shall only observe1    
that whoever has cast a benevolent eye  
on  society1 must often have been       
gratified by the sight of humble  mutual
 love1 not dignified by sentiment1 nor  
strengthened by a  union in intellectual
 pursuits4  ,the domestic trifles of the
 day  have afforded matter for cheerful 
converse1 and innocent caresses  have   
softened toils which did not require    
great exercise of mind1  or stretch of  
thought3  yet1 has not the sight of this
 moderate  felicity excited more        
tenderness than respect8  ,an emotion   
similar  to what we feel when children  
are playing1 or animals sporting1       
whilst the contemplation of the noble   
struggles of suffering merit  has raised
 admiration1 and carried our thoughts to
 that world where  sensation will give  
place to reason4    ,women are1         
therefore1 to be considered either as   

moral beings1 or  so weak that they must
 be entirely subjected to the superior  
faculties of men4    ,let us examine    
this question4  ,rousseau declares1 that
 a woman  should never1 for a moment    
feel herself independent1 that she      
should be governed by fear to exercise  
her ,,natural cunning1 and  made a      
coquetish slave in order to render her a
 more alluring  object of desire1 a     
,,sweeter companion to man1 whenever he 
chooses  to relax himself4  ,he carries 
the arguments1 which he pretends to     
draw from the indications of nature1    
still further1 and insinuates  that     
truth and fortitude the corner stones of
 all human virtue1  shall be cultivated 
with certain restrictions1 because with 
respect  to the female character1       
obedience is the grand lesson which     
ought  to be impressed with unrelenting 
rigour4    ,what nonsense6  ,when will a
 great man arise with sufficient        
strength of mind to puff away the fumes 
which pride and sensuality  have thus   

spread over the subject6  ,if women are 
by nature inferior  to men1 their       
virtues must be the same in quality1 if 
not in  degree1 or virtue is a relative 
idea2 consequently1 their conduct       
should be founded on the same           
principles1 and have the same aim4      
,connected with man as daughters1 wives1
 and mothers1 their moral  character may
 be estimated by their manner of        
fulfilling those  simple duties2 but the
 end1 the grand end of their exertions  
should  be to unfold their own          
faculties1 and acquire the dignity of   
conscious virtue4  ,they may try to     
render their road pleasant2 but  ought  
never to forget1 in common with man1    
that life yields not the  felicity which
 can satisfy an immortal soul4  ,i do   
not mean to  insinuate1 that either sex 
should be so lost1 in abstract          
reflections or distant views1 as to     
forget the affections and  duties that  
lie before them1 and are1 in truth1 the 
means appointed  to produce the fruit of

 life2 on the contrary1 ,i would warmly 
recommend them1 even while ,i assert1   
that they afford most  satisfaction when
 they are considered in their true      
subordinate  light4    ,probably the    
prevailing opinion1 that woman was      
created for man1  may have taken its    
rise from ,moses's poetical story2 yet1 
as very  few it is presumed1 who have   
bestowed any serious thought on the     
subject1 ever supposed that ,eve was1   
literally speaking1 one of  ,adam's     
ribs1 the deduction must be allowed to  
fall to the ground2  or1 only be so far 
admitted as it proves that man1 from the
  remotest antiquity1 found it          
convenient to exert his strength to     
subjugate his companion1 and his        
invention to show that she ought  to    
have her neck bent under the yoke2      
because she as well as the  brute       
creation1 was created to do his         
pleasure4    ,let it not be concluded1  
that ,i wish to invert the order of     
things2  ,i have already granted1 that1 

from the constitution of their  bodies1 
men seem to be designed by ,providence  
to attain a greater  degree of virtue4  
,i speak collectively of the whole sex2 
but ,i see  not the shadow of a reason  
to conclude that their virtues should   
differ in respect to their nature4  ,in 
fact1 how can they1 if  virtue has only 
one eternal standard8  ,i must1         
therefore1 if ,i  reason                
consequentially1 as strenuously         
maintain1 that they have the  same      
simple direction1 as that there is a    
,god4    ,it follows then1 that cunning 
should not be opposed to wisdom1  little
 cares to great exertions1 nor insipid  
softness1 varnished  over with the name 
of gentleness1 to that fortitude which  
grand  views alone can inspire4    ,i   
shall be told1 that woman would then    
lose many of her peculiar  graces1 and  
the opinion of a well known poet might  
be quoted to  refute my unqualified     
assertions4  ,for ,pope has said1 in the
 name  of the whole male sex1    ,yet   

ne'er so sure our passions to create1   
,as when she touch'd the brink of all we
 hate4    ,in what light this sally     
places men and women1 ,i shall leave to 
the  judicious to determine2 meanwhile  
,i shall content myself with  observing1
 that ,i cannot discover why1 unless    
they are mortal1  females should always 
be degraded by being made subservient to
 love  or lust4    ,to speak            
disrespectfully of love is1 ,i know1    
high treason against  sentiment and fine
 feelings2 but ,i wish to speak the     
simple  language of truth1 and rather to
 address the head than the heart4  ,to  
endeavour to reason love out of the     
world1 would be to out  ,quixote        
,cervantes1 and equally offend against  
common sense2 but an  endeavour to      
restrain this tumultuous passion1 and to
 prove that it  should not be allowed to
 dethrone superior powers1 or to usurp  
the  sceptre which the understanding    
should ever coolly wield1 appears  less 
wild4    ,youth is the season for love  

in both sexes2 but in those days of     
thoughtless enjoyment1 provision should 
be made for the more  important years of
 life1 when reflection takes place of   
sensation4  ,but ,rousseau1 and most of 
the male writers who have followed his  
steps1 have warmly inculcated that the  
whole tendency of female  education     
ought to be directed to one point to    
render them  pleasing4    ,let me reason
 with the supporters of this opinion1   
who have any  knowledge of human nature1
 do they imagine that marriage can      
eradicate the habitude of life8  ,the   
woman who has only been taught  to      
please1 will soon find that her charms  
are oblique sun-beams1  and that they   
cannot have much effect on her husband's
 heart when  they are seen every day1   
when the summer is past and gone4  ,will
  she then have sufficient native energy
 to look into herself for  comfort1 and 
cultivate her dormant faculties8 or1 is 
it not more  rational to expect1 that   
she will try to please other men2 and1  

in  the emotions raised by the          
expectation of new conquests1 endeavour 
to forget the mortification her love or 
pride has received8  ,when  the husband 
ceases to be a lover--and the time will 
inevitably  come1 her desire of pleasing
 will then grow languid1 or become a    
spring of bitterness2 and love1 perhaps1
 the most evanescent of all  passions1  
gives place to jealousy or vanity4    ,i
 now speak of women who are restrained  
by principle or prejudice2  such women  
though they would shrink from an        
intrigue with real  abhorrence1 yet1    
nevertheless1 wish to be convinced by   
the homage  of gallantry1 that they are 
cruelly neglected by their husbands2    
or1 days and weeks are spent in dreaming
 of the happiness enjoyed  by congenial 
souls1 till the health is undermined and
 the spirits  broken by discontent4     
,how then can the great art of pleasing 
be  such a necessary study8 it is only  
useful to a mistress2 the chaste  wife1 
and serious mother1 should only consider

 her power to please  as the polish of  
her virtues1 and the affection of her   
husband as  one of the comforts that    
render her task less difficult1 and her 
life happier4  ,but1 whether she be     
loved or neglected1 her first  wish     
should be to make herself respectable1  
and not rely for all  her happiness on a
 being subject to like infirmities with 
herself4    ,the amiable ,dr4 ,gregory  
fell into a similar error4  ,i respect  
his  heart2 but entirely disapprove of  
his celebrated ,legacy to his           
,daughters4    ,he advises them to      
cultivate a fondness for dress1 because 
a  fondness for dress1 he asserts1 is   
natural to them4  ,i am unable to       
comprehend what either he or ,rousseau  
mean1 when they frequently  use this    
indefinite term4  ,if they told us1 that
 in a pre-existent  state the soul was  
fond of dress1 and brought this         
inclination with  it into a new body1 ,i
 should listen to them with a half      
smile1 as ,i  often do when ,i hear a   

rant about innate elegance4  ,but if he 
only  meant to say that the exercise of 
the faculties will produce this         
fondness1 ,i deny it4  ,it is not       
natural2 but arises1 like false         
ambition in men1 from a love of power4  
,dr4 ,gregory goes much further2 he     
actually recommends  dissimulation1 and 
advises an innocent girl to give the lie
 to her  feelings1 and not dance with   
spirit1 when gaiety of heart would  make
 her feet eloquent1 without making her  
gestures immodest4  ,in  the name of    
truth and common sense1 why should not  
one woman  acknowledge that she can take
 more exercise than another8 or1 in     
other words1 that she has a sound       
constitution2 and why to damp  innocent 
vivacity1 is she darkly to be told1 that
 men will draw  conclusions which she   
little thinks of8  ,let the libertine   
draw  what inference he pleases2 but1 ,i
 hope1 that no sensible mother  will    
restrain the natural frankness of youth1
 by instilling such  indecent cautions4 

,out of the abundance of the heart the  
mouth  speaketh2 and a wiser than       
,solomon hath said1 that the heart      
should  be made clean1 and not trivial  
ceremonies observed1 which it is not    
very difficult to fulfill with          
scrupulous exactness when vice  reigns  
in the heart4    ,women ought to        
endeavour to purify their hearts2 but   
can they do so  when their uncultivated 
understandings make them entirely       
dependent  on their senses for          
employment and amusement1 when no noble 
pursuit  sets them above the little     
vanities of the day1 or enables them to 
curb the wild emotions that agitate a   
reed over which every passing  breeze   
has power8  ,to gain the affections of a
 virtuous man1 is  affectation          
necessary8    ,nature has given woman a 
weaker frame than man2 but1 to ensure   
her  husband's affections1 must a wife1 
who1 by the exercise of her mind  and   
body1 whilst she was discharging the    
duties of a daughter1  wife1 and mother1

 has allowed her constitution to retain 
its  natural strength1 and her nerves a 
healthy tone1 is she1 ,i say1 to        
condescend1 to use art1 and feign a     
sickly delicacy1 in order to  secure her
 husband's affection8 ,weakness may     
excite tenderness1 and  gratify the     
arrogant pride of man2 but the lordly   
caresses of a  protector will not       
gratify a noble mind that pants for and 
deserves  to be respected4  ,fondness is
 a poor substitute for friendship6      
,in a seraglio1 ,i grant1 that all these
 arts are necessary2 the  epicure must  
have his palate tickled1 or he will sink
 into apathy2  but have women so little 
ambition as to be satisfied with such a 
condition8  ,can they supinely dream    
life away in the lap of  pleasure1 or in
 the languor of weariness1 rather than  
assert their  claim to pursue reasonable
 pleasures1 and render themselves       
conspicuous1 by practising the virtues  
which dignify mankind8  ,surely she has 
not an immortal soul who can loiter life

 away1  merely employed to adorn her    
person1 that she may amuse the languid  
hours1 and soften the cares of a        
fellow-creature who is willing to  be   
enlivened by her smiles and tricks1 when
 the serious business of  life is over4 
,besides1 the woman who strengthens her 
body and exercises her mind  will1 by   
managing her family and practising      
various virtues1 become  the friend1 and
 not the humble dependent of her        
husband2 and if she  deserves his regard
 by possessing such substantial         
qualities1 she  will not find it        
necessary to conceal her affection1 nor 
to pretend  to an unnatural coldness of 
constitution to excite her husband's    
passions4  ,in fact1 if we revert to    
history1 we shall find that the  women  
who have distinguished themselves have  
neither been the most  beautiful nor the
 most gentle of their sex4    ,nature1  
or to speak with strict propriety ,god1 
has made all things  right2 but man has 
sought him out many inventions to mar   

the work4  ,i now allude to that part of
 ,dr4 ,gregory's treatise1 where he     
advises a wife never to let her husband 
know the extent of her  sensibility or  
affection4  ,voluptuous precaution2 and 
as  ineffectual as absurd4  ,love1 from 
its very nature1 must be  transitory4   
,to seek for a secret that would render 
it constant1  would be as wild a search 
as for the philosopher's stone1 or the  
grand panacea2 and the discovery would  
be equally useless1 or  rather          
pernicious to mankind4  ,the most holy  
band of society is  friendship4  ,it has
 been well said1 by a shrewd satirist1  
that  rare as true love is1 true        
friendship is still rarer4    ,this is  
an obvious truth1 and the cause not     
lying deep1 will not  elude a slight    
glance of inquiry4    ,love1 the common 
passion1 in which chance and sensation  
take place  of choice and reason1 is in 
some degree1 felt by the mass of        
mankind2 for it is not necessary to     
speak1 at present1 of the  emotions that

 rise above or sink below love4  ,this  
passion1  naturally increased by        
suspense and difficulties1 draws the    
mind  out of its accustomed state1 and  
exalts the affections2 but the  security
 of marriage1 allowing the fever of love
 to subside1 a  healthy temperature is  
thought insipid1 only by those who have 
not  sufficient intellect to substitute 
the calm tenderness of  friendship1 the 
confidence of respect1 instead of blind 
admiration1  and the sensual emotions of
 fondness4    ,this is1 must be1 the    
course of nature--friendship or         
indifference  inevitably succeeds love4 
,and this constitution seems perfectly  
to  harmonize with the system of        
government which prevails in the moral  
world4  ,passions are spurs to action1  
and open the mind2 but they  sink into  
mere appetites1 become a personal       
momentary  gratification1 when the      
object is gained1 and the satisfied mind
  rests in enjoyment4  ,the man who had 
some virtue whilst he was  struggling   

for a crown1 often becomes a voluptuous 
tyrant when it  graces his brow2 and1   
when the lover is not lost in the       
husband1  the dotard a prey to childish 
caprices1 and fond jealousies1  neglects
 the serious duties of life1 and the    
caresses which should  excite confidence
 in his children are lavished on the    
overgrown  child1 his wife4    ,in order
 to fulfil the duties of life1 and to be
 able to pursue  with vigour the various
 employments which form the moral       
character1  a master and mistress of a  
family ought not to continue to love    
each other with passion4  ,i mean to    
say1 that they ought not to  indulge    
those emotions which disturb the order  
of society1 and  engross the thoughts   
that should be otherwise employed4  ,the
 mind  that has never been engrossed by 
one object wants vigour--if it can  long
 be so1 it is weak4    ,a mistaken      
education1 a narrow1 uncultivated mind1 
and many sexual  prejudices1 tend to    
make women more constant than men2 but1 

for the  present1 ,i shall not touch on 
this branch of the subject4  ,i will  go
 still further1 and advance1 without    
dreaming of a paradox1 that  an unhappy 
marriage is often very advantageous to a
 family1 and  that the neglected wife   
is1 in general1 the best mother4  ,and  
this  would almost always be the        
consequence1 if the female mind was more
  enlarged2 for1 it seems to be the     
common dispensation of  ,providence1    
that what we gain in present enjoyment  
should be  deducted from the treasure of
 life1 experience2 and that when we  are
 gathering the flowers of the day and   
revelling in pleasure1 the  solid fruit 
of toil and wisdom should not be caught 
at the same  time4  ,the way lies before
 us1 we must turn to the right or left2 
and he who will pass life away in       
bounding from one pleasure to  another1 
must not complain if he neither acquires
 wisdom nor  respectability of          
character4    ,supposing for a moment1  
that the soul is not immortal1 and that 

man  was only created for the present   
scene2 ,i think we should have  reason  
to complain that love1 infantine        
fondness1 ever grew insipid  and palled 
upon the sense4  ,let us eat1 drink1 and
 love1 for  to-morrow we die1 would be  
in fact the language of reason1 the     
morality of life2 and who but a fool    
would part with a reality for  a        
fleeting shadow8  ,but1 if awed by      
observing the improvable powers  of the 
mind1 we disdain to confine our wishes  
or thoughts to such a  comparatively    
mean field of action2 that only appears 
grand and  important as it is connected 
with a boundless prospect and sublime   
hopes2 what necessity is there for      
falsehood in conduct1 and why  must the 
sacred majesty of truth be violated to  
detain a deceitful  good that saps the  
very foundation of virtue8  ,why must   
the female  mind be tainted by coquetish
 arts to gratify the sensualist1 and    
prevent love from subsiding into        
friendship or compassionate  tenderness1

 when there are not qualities on which  
friendship can be  built8  ,let the     
honest heart show itself1 and ,,reason  
teach passion  to submit to necessity2  
or1 let the dignified pursuit of virtue 
and  knowledge raise the mind above     
those emotions which rather imbitter    
than sweeten the cup of life1 when they 
are not restrained within  due bounds4  
,i do not mean to allude to the romantic
 passion1 which is the  concomitant of  
genius4  ,who can clip its wings8  ,but 
that grand  passion not proportioned to 
the puny enjoyments of life1 is only    
true to the sentiment1 and feeds on     
itself4  ,the passions which  have been 
celebrated for their durability have    
always been  unfortunate4  ,they have   
acquired strength by absence and        
constitutional melancholy4  ,the fancy  
has hovered round a form of  beauty     
dimly seen--but familiarity might have  
turned admiration  into disgust2 or1 at 
least1 into indifference1 and allowed   
the  imagination leisure to start fresh 

game4  ,with perfect propriety1         
according to this view of things1 does  
,rousseau make the mistress  of his     
soul1 ,eloisa1 love ,st4 ,preux1 when   
life was fading before  her2 but this is
 no proof of the immortality of the     
passion4    ,of the same complexion is  
,dr4 ,gregory's advice respecting       
delicacy  of sentiment1 which he advises
 a woman not to acquire1 if she has     
determined to marry4  ,this             
determination1 however1 perfectly       
consistent with his former advice1 he   
calls ,,indelicate1 and  earnestly      
persuades his daughters to conceal it1  
though it may  govern their conduct3  as
 if it were indelicate to have the      
common  appetites of human nature4      
,noble morality6 and consistent with the
 cautious prudence of a  little soul    
that cannot extend its views beyond the 
present minute  division of existence4  
,if all the faculties of woman's mind   
are  only to be cultivated as they      
respect her dependence on man2 if1  when

 she obtains a husband she has arrived  
at her goal1 and meanly  proud1 is      
satisfied with such a paltry crown1 let 
her grovel  contentedly1 scarcely raised
 by her employments above the animal    
kingdom2 but1 if she is struggling for  
the prize of her high  calling1 let her 
cultivate her understanding without     
stopping to  consider what character the
 husband may have whom she is destined  
to marry4  ,let her only determine1     
without being too anxious about  present
 happiness1 to acquire the qualities    
that ennoble a rational  being1 and a   
rough1 inelegant husband may shock her  
taste without  destroying her peace of  
mind4  ,she will not model her soul to  
suit  the frailties of her companion1   
but to bear with them3  his  character  
may be a trial1 but not an impediment to
 virtue4    ,if ,dr4 ,gregory confined  
his remark to romantic expectations of  
constant love and congenial feelings1 he
 should have recollected1  that         
experience will banish what advice can  

never make us cease to  wish for1 when  
the imagination is kept alive at the    
expence of  reason4    ,i own it        
frequently happens1 that women who have 
fostered a  romantic unnatural delicacy 
of feeling1 waste their lives in        
,,imagining how happy they should have  
been with a husband who could  love them
 with a fervid increasing affection     
every day1 and all  day4  ,but they     
might as well pine married as single1   
and would not  be a jot more unhappy    
with a bad husband than longing for a   
good  one4  ,that a proper education2   
or1 to speak with more precision1 a     
well stored mind1 would enable a woman  
to support a single life  with dignity1 
,i grant2 but that she should avoid     
cultivating her  taste1 lest her husband
 should occasionally shock it1 is       
quitting a  substance for a shadow4  ,to
 say the truth1 ,i do not know of what  
use is an improved taste1 if the        
individual be not rendered more         
independent of the casualties of life2  

if new sources of enjoyment1  only      
dependent on the solitary operations of 
the mind1 are not  opened4  ,people of  
taste1 married or single1 without       
distinction1  will ever be disgusted by 
various things that touch not less      
observing minds4  ,on this conclusion   
the argument must not be  allowed to    
hinge2 but in the whole sum of enjoyment
 is taste to be  denominated a blessing8
    ,the question is1 whether it        
procures most pain or pleasure8  ,the   
answer will decide the propriety of ,dr4
 ,gregory's advice1 and show  how absurd
 and tyrannic it is thus to lay down a  
system of slavery2  or to attempt to    
educate moral beings by any other rules 
than those  deduced from pure reason1   
which apply to the whole species4       
,gentleness of manners1 forbearance1 and
 long suffering1 are such  amiable      
godlike qualities1 that in sublime      
poetic strains the ,deity  has been     
invested with them2 and1 perhaps1 no    
representation of his  goodness so      

strongly fastens on the human affections
 as those that  represent him abundant  
in mercy and willing to pardon4         
,gentleness1  considered in this point  
of view1 bears on its front all the     
characteristics of grandeur1 combined   
with the winning graces of              
condescension2 but what a different     
aspect it assumes when it is  the       
submissive demeanour of dependence1 the 
support of weakness  that loves1 because
 it wants protection2 and is forbearing1
 because  it must silently endure       
injuries2 smiling under the lash at     
which  it dare not snarl4  ,abject as   
this picture appears1 it is the         
portrait of an accomplished woman1      
according to the received  opinion of   
female excellence1 separated by specious
 reasoners from  human excellence4  ,or1
 they 7,vide ,rousseau1 and ,swedenborg7
 kindly  restore the rib1 and make one  
moral being of a man and woman2 not     
forgetting to give her all the          
submissive charms4    ,how women are to 

exist in that state where there is to be
 neither  marrying nor giving in        
marriage1 we are not told4  ,for though 
moralists have agreed1 that the tenor of
 life seems to prove that  ,,man is     
prepared by various circumstances for a 
future state1 they  constantly concur in
 advising ,,woman only to provide for   
the  present4  ,gentleness1 docility1   
and a spaniel-like affection are1  on   
this ground1 consistently recommended as
 the cardinal virtues of  the sex2 and1 
disregarding the arbitrary economy of   
nature1 one  writer has declared that it
 is masculine for a woman to be         
melancholy4  ,she was created to be the 
toy of man1 his rattle1 and  it must    
jingle in his ears1 whenever1 dismissing
 reason1 he chooses  to be amused4      
,to recommend gentleness1 indeed1 on a  
broad basis is strictly  philosophical4 
,a frail being should labour to be      
gentle4  ,but when  forbearance         
confounds right and wrong1 it ceases to 
be a virtue2  and1 however convenient it

 may be found in a companion1 that      
companion will ever be considered as an 
inferior1 and only inspire  a vapid     
tenderness1 which easily degenerates    
into contempt4  ,still1  if advice could
 really make a being gentle1 whose      
natural  disposition admitted not of    
such a fine polish1 something toward    
the advancement of order would be       
attained2 but if1 as might  quickly be  
demonstrated1 only affectation be       
produced by this  indiscriminate        
counsel1 which throws a stumbling block 
in the way  of gradual improvement1 and 
true melioration of temper1 the sex is  
not much benefited by sacrificing solid 
virtues to the attainment  of           
superficial graces1 though for a few    
years they may procure the  individual's
 regal sway4    ,as a philosopher1 ,i   
read with indignation the plausible     
epithets  which men use to soften their 
insults2 and1 as a moralist1 ,i ask     
what is meant by such heterogeneous     
associations1 as fair defects1  amiable 

weaknesses1 etc48 ,if there is but one  
criterion of morals1  but one archetype 
for man1 women appear to be suspended by
 destiny1  according to the vulgar tale 
of ,mahomet's coffin2 they have neither 
the unerring instinct of brutes1 nor are
 allowed to fix the eye of  reason on a 
perfect model4  ,they were made to be   
loved1 and must  not aim at respect1    
lest they should be hunted out of       
society as  masculine4    ,but to view  
the subject in another point of view4   
,do passive  indolent women make the    
best wives8  ,confining our discussion  
to  the present moment of existence1 let
 us see how such weak creatures  perform
 their part8  ,do the women who1 by the 
attainment of a few  superficial        
accomplishments1 have strengthened the  
prevailing  prejudice1 merely contribute
 to the happiness of their husbands8    
,do they display their charms merely to 
amuse them8  ,and have women1  who have 
early imbibed notions of passive        
obedience1 sufficient  character to     

manage a family or educate children8    
,so far from it1  that1 after surveying 
the history of woman1 ,i cannot help    
agreeing  with the severest satirist1   
considering the sex as the weakest as   
well as the most oppressed half of the  
species4  ,what does history  disclose  
but marks of inferiority1 and how few   
women have  emancipated themselves from 
the galling yoke of sovereign man8  ,so 
few1 that the exceptions remind me of an
 ingenious conjecture  respecting       
,newton3  that he was probably a being  
of a superior  order1 accidentally caged
 in a human body4  ,in the same style ,i
  have been led to imagine that the few 
extraordinary women who have  rushed in 
eccentrical directions out of the orbit 
prescribed to  their sex1 were ,,male   
spirits1 confined by mistake in a female
  frame4  ,but if it be not             
philosophical to think of sex when the  
soul is mentioned1 the inferiority must 
depend on the organs2 or  the heavenly  
fire1 which is to ferment the clay1 is  

not given in  equal portions4    ,but   
avoiding1 as ,i have hitherto done1 any 
direct comparison of the  two sexes     
collectively1 or frankly acknowledging  
the inferiority of  woman1 according to 
the present appearance of things1 ,i    
shall only  insist1 that men have       
increased that inferiority till women   
are  almost sunk below the standard of  
rational creatures4  ,let their         
faculties have room to unfold1 and their
 virtues to gain strength1  and then    
determine where the whole sex must stand
 in the  intellectual scale4  ,yet1 let 
it be remembered1 that for a small      
number of distinguished women ,i do not 
ask a place4    ,it is difficult for us 
purblind mortals to say to what height  
human  discoveries and improvements may 
arrive1 when the gloom of  despotism    
subsides1 which makes us stumble at     
every step2 but1 when  morality shall be
 settled on a more solid basis1 then1   
without  being gifted with a prophetic  
spirit1 ,i will venture to predict1     

that woman will be either the friend or 
slave of man4  ,we shall  not1 as at    
present1 doubt whether she is a moral   
agent1 or the link  which unites man    
with brutes4  ,but1 should it then      
appear1 that  like the brutes they were 
principally created for the use of man1 
he will let them patiently bite the     
bridle1 and not mock them with  empty   
praise2 or1 should their rationality be 
proved1 he will not  impede their       
improvement merely to gratify his       
sensual appetites4  ,he will not with   
all the graces of rhetoric1 advise them 
to submit  implicitly their             
understandings to the guidance of man4  
,he will  not1 when he treats of the    
education of women1 assert1 that they   
ought never to have the free use of     
reason1 nor would he recommend  cunning 
and dissimulation to beings who are     
acquiring1 in like  manner as himself1  
the virtues of humanity4    ,surely     
there can be but one rule of right1 if  
morality has an  eternal foundation1 and

 whoever sacrifices virtue1 strictly so 
called1 to present convenience1 or whose
 ,,duty it is to act in such  a manner1 
lives only for the passing day1 and     
cannot be an  accountable creature4     
,the poet then should have dropped his  
sneer when he says1    ,if weak women go
 astray1  ,the stars are more in fault  
than they4    ,for that they are bound  
by the adamantine chain of destiny is   
most  certain1 if it be proved that they
 are never to exercise their own        
reason1 never to be independent1 never  
to rise above opinion1 or to  feel the  
dignity of a rational will that only    
bows to ,god1 and  often forgets that   
the universe contains any being but     
itself1 and  the model of perfection to 
which its ardent gaze is turned1 to     
adore attributes that1 softened into    
virtues1 may be imitated in  kind1      
though the degree overwhelms the        
enraptured mind4    ,if1 ,i say1 for ,i 
would not impress by declamation when   
reason  offers her sober light1 if they 

are really capable of acting like       
rational creatures1 let them not be     
treated like slaves2 or1 like  the      
brutes who are dependent on the reason  
of man1 when they  associate with him2  
but cultivate their minds1 give them the
  salutary1 sublime curb of principle1  
and let them attain conscious  dignity  
by feeling themselves only dependent on 
,god4  ,teach them1  in common with man1
 to submit to necessity1 instead of     
giving1 to  render them more pleasing1 a
 sex to morals4    ,further1 should     
experience prove that they cannot attain
 the same  degree of strength of mind1  
perseverance and fortitude1 let their   
virtues be the same in kind1 though they
 may vainly struggle for  the same      
degree2 and the superiority of man will 
be equally clear1  if not clearer2 and  
truth1 as it is a simple principle1     
which  admits of no modification1 would 
be common to both4  ,nay1 the order  of 
society1 as it is at present regulated1 
would not be inverted1  for woman would 

then only have the rank that reason     
assigned her1  and arts could not be    
practised to bring the balance even1    
much  less to turn it4    ,these may be 
termed ,utopian dreams4  ,thanks to that
 ,being who  impressed them on my soul1 
and gave me sufficient strength of mind 
to dare to exert my own reason1 till    
becoming dependent only on him  for the 
support of my virtue1 ,i view with      
indignation1 the mistaken  notions that 
enslave my sex4    ,i love man as my    
fellow2 but his sceptre real or usurped1
 extends  not to me1 unless the reason  
of an individual demands my homage2  and
 even then the submission is to reason1 
and not to man4  ,in  fact1 the conduct 
of an accountable being must be         
regulated by the  operations of its own 
reason2 or on what foundation rests the 
throne of ,god8    ,it appears to me    
necessary to dwell on these obvious     
truths1  because females have been      
insulted1 as it were2 and while they    
have  been stripped of the virtues that 

should clothe humanity1 they have  been 
decked with artificial graces1 that     
enable them to exercise a  short lived  
tyranny4  ,love1 in their bosoms1 taking
 place of every  nobler passion1 their  
sole ambition is to be fair1 to raise   
emotion  instead of inspiring respect2  
and this ignoble desire1 like the       
servility in absolute monarchies1       
destroys all strength of  character4    
,liberty is the mother of virtue1 and if
 women are1 by  their very constitution1
 slaves1 and not allowed to breathe the 
sharp invigorating air of freedom1 they 
must ever languish like  exotics1 and be
 reckoned beautiful flaws in nature2 let
 it also be  remembered1 that they are  
the only flaw4    ,as to the argument   
respecting the subjection in which the  
sex has  ever been held1 it retorts on  
man4  ,the many have always been        
enthralled by the few2 and1 monsters who
 have scarcely shown any  discernment of
 human excellence1 have tyrannized over 
thousands of  their fellow creatures4   

,why have men of superior endowments    
submitted to such degradation8  ,for1 is
 it not universally  acknowledged that  
kings1 viewed collectively1 have ever   
been  inferior1 in abilities and virtue1
 to the same number of men taken  from  
the common mass of mankind--yet1 have   
they not1 and are they  not still       
treated with a degree of reverence1 that
 is an insult to  reason8  ,china is not
 the only country where a living man has
 been  made a ,god4  ,,men have         
submitted to superior strength1 to enjoy
 with  impunity the pleasure of the     
moment--,,women have only done the same1
  and therefore till it is proved that  
the courtier1 who servilely  resigns the
 birthright of a man1 is not a moral    
agent1 it cannot be  demonstrated that  
woman is essentially inferior to man1   
because she  has always been subjugated4
    ,brutal force has hitherto governed 
the world1 and that the science  of     
politics is in its infancy1 is evident  
from philosophers  scrupling to give the

 knowledge most useful to man that      
determinate  distinction4    ,i shall   
not pursue this argument any further    
than to establish an  obvious inference1
 that as sound politics diffuse liberty1
 mankind1  including woman1 will become 
more wise and virtuous4      ,,chapter  
#c4    ,,the ,,same ,,subject           
,,continued4    ,bodily strength from   
being the distinction of heroes is now  
sunk  into such unmerited contempt1 that
 men as well as women1 seem to  think it
 unnecessary3  the latter1 as it takes  
from their feminine  graces1 and from   
that lovely weakness1 the source of     
their undue  power2 and the former1     
because it appears inimical with the    
character of a gentleman4    ,that they 
have both by departing from one extreme 
run into another1  may easily be proved2
 but it first may be proper to observe1 
that a  vulgar error has obtained a     
degree of credit1 which has given force 
to a false conclusion1 in which an      
effect has been mistaken for a  cause4  

,people of genius have1 very frequently1
 impaired their  constitutions by study1
 or careless inattention to their       
health1  and the violence of their      
passions bearing a proportion to the    
vigour of their intellects1 the sword's 
destroying the scabbard has  become     
almost proverbial1 and superficial      
observers have inferred  from thence1   
that men of genius have commonly weak1  
or to use a  more fashionable phrase1   
delicate constitutions4  ,yet the       
contrary1  ,i believe1 will appear to be
 the fact2 for1 on diligent inquiry1 ,i 
find that strength of mind has1 in most 
cases1 been accompanied by  superior    
strength of body1 natural soundness of  
constitution1 not  that robust tone of  
nerves and vigour of muscles1 which     
arise from  bodily labour1 when the mind
 is quiescent1 or only directs the      
hands4    ,dr4 ,priestley has remarked1 
in the preface to his biographical      
chart1 that the majority of great men   
have lived beyond forty-five4  ,and1    

considering the thoughtless manner in   
which they lavished  their strength1    
when investigating a favourite science1 
they have  wasted the lamp of life1     
forgetful of the midnight hour2 or1     
when1  lost in poetic dreams1 fancy has 
peopled the scene1 and the soul  has    
been disturbed1 till it shook the       
constitution1 by the passions  that     
meditation had raised2 whose objects1   
the baseless fabric of a  vision1 faded 
before the exhausted eye1 they must have
 had iron  frames4  ,shakespeare never  
grasped the airy dagger with a nerveless
  hand1 nor did ,milton tremble when he 
led ,satan far from the  confines of his
 dreary prison4  ,these were not the    
ravings of  imbecility1 the sickly      
effusions of distempered brains2 but the
  exuberance of fancy1 that in a fine   
phrenzy wandering1 was not  continually 
reminded of its material shackles4    ,i
 am aware1 that this argument would     
carry me further than it may  be        
supposed ,i wish to go2 but ,i follow   

truth1 and still adhering to  my first  
position1 ,i will allow that bodily     
strength seems to give  man a natural   
superiority over woman2 and this is the 
only solid  basis on which the          
superiority of the sex can be built4    
,but ,i  still insist1 that not only the
 virtue1 but the ,,knowledge of the  two
 sexes should be the same in nature1 if 
not in degree1 and that  women1         
considered not only as moral1 but       
rational creatures1 ought  to endeavour 
to acquire human virtues 7or            
perfections7 by the ,,same  means as    
men1 instead of being educated like a   
fanciful kind of  ,,half being1 one of  
,rousseau's wild chimeras4    ,but1 if  
strength of body be1 with some show of  
reason1 the boast of  men1 why are women
 so infatuated as to be proud of a      
defect8  ,rousseau has furnished them   
with a plausible excuse1 which could    
only have occurred to a man1 whose      
imagination had been allowed to  run    
wild1 and refine on the impressions made

 by exquisite senses1  that they might1 
forsooth have a pretext for yielding to 
a natural  appetite without violating a 
romantic species of modesty1 which      
gratifies the pride and libertinism of  
man4    ,women deluded by these         
sentiments1 sometimes boast of their    
weakness1 cunningly obtaining power by  
playing on the ,,weakness of  men2 and  
they may well glory in their illicit    
sway1 for1 like  ,turkish bashaws1 they 
have more real power than their masters3
  but  virtue is sacrificed to temporary
 gratifications1 and the  respectability
 of life to the triumph of an hour4     
,women1 as well as despots1 have now1   
perhaps1 more power than they  would    
have1 if the world1 divided and         
subdivided into kingdoms and  families1 
was governed by laws deduced from the   
exercise of reason2  but in obtaining   
it1 to carry on the comparison1 their   
character is  degraded1 and             
licentiousness spread through the whole 
aggregate of  society4  ,the many become

 pedestal to the few4  ,i1 therefore    
will  venture to assert1 that till women
 are more rationally educated1  the     
progress of human virtue and improvement
 in knowledge must  receive continual   
checks4  ,and if it be granted1 that    
woman was not  created merely to gratify
 the appetite of man1 nor to be the     
upper  servant1 who provides his meals  
and takes care of his linen1 it  must   
follow1 that the first care of those    
mothers or fathers1 who  really attend  
to the education of females1 should be1 
if not to  strengthen the body1 at      
least1 not to destroy the constitution  
by  mistaken notions of beauty and      
female excellence2 nor should girls     
ever be allowed to imbibe the pernicious
 notion that a defect can1  by any      
chemical process of reasoning become an 
excellence4  ,in this  respect1 ,i am   
happy to find1 that the author of one of
 the most  instructive books1 that our  
country has produced for children1      
coincides with me in opinion2 ,i shall  

quote his pertinent remarks  to give the
 force of his respectable authority to  
reason499    799,footnote4  ,a          
respectable old man gives the following 
sensible  account of the method he      
pursued when educating his daughter4  ,i
  endeavoured to give both to her mind  
and body a degree of vigour1  which is  
seldom found in the female sex4  ,as    
soon as she was  sufficiently advanced  
in strength to be capable of the lighter
  labours of husbandry and gardening1 ,i
 employed her as my constant  companion4
  ,selene1 for that was her name1 soon  
acquired a  dexterity in all these      
rustic employments which ,i considered  
with  equal pleasure and admiration4    
,if women are in general feeble both  in
 body and mind1 it arises less from     
nature than from education4  ,we        
encourage a vicious indolence and       
inactivity1 which we falsely  call      
delicacy2 instead of hardening their    
minds by the severer  principles of     
reason and philosophy1 we breed them to 

useless arts1  which terminate in vanity
 and sensuality4  ,in most of the       
countries  which ,i had visited1 they   
are taught nothing of an higher nature  
than a few modulations of the voice1 or 
useless postures of the  body2 their    
time is consumed in sloth or trifles1   
and trifles  become the only pursuits   
capable of interesting them4  ,we seem  
to  forget1 that it is upon the         
qualities of the female sex1 that our   
own domestic comforts and the education 
of our children must  depend4  ,and what
 are the comforts or the education which
 a race of  beings corrupted from their 
infancy1 and unacquainted with all the  
duties of life1 are fitted to bestow8   
,to touch a musical  instrument with    
useless skill1 to exhibit their natural 
or affected  graces1 to the eyes of     
indolent and debauched young men1 who   
dissipate their husbands' patrimony in  
riotous and unnecessary  expenses3      
these are the only arts cultivated by   
women in most of  the polished nations  

,i had seen4  ,and the consequences are 
uniformly such as may be expected to    
proceed from such polluted  sources1    
private misery1 and public servitude4   
,but1 ,selene's education was regulated 
by different views1 and  conducted upon 
severer principles2 if that can be      
called severity  which opens the mind to
 a sense of moral and religious duties1 
and  most effectually arms it against   
the inevitable evils of  life4--,mr4    
,day's ,sandford and ,merton1 ,volume   
#c47    ,but should it be proved that   
woman is naturally weaker than man1     
from whence does it follow that it is   
natural for her to labour to  become    
still weaker than nature intended her to
 be8  ,arguments of  this cast are an   
insult to common sense1 and savour of   
passion4  ,the ,,divine ,,right of      
husbands1 like the divine right of      
kings1 may1  it is to be hoped1 in this 
enlightened age1 be contested without   
danger1 and though conviction may not   
silence many boisterous  disputants1    

yet1 when any prevailing prejudice is   
attacked1 the  wise will consider1 and  
leave the narrow-minded to rail with    
thoughtless vehemence at innovation4    
,the mother1 who wishes to give true    
dignity of character to her  daughter1  
must1 regardless of the sneers of       
ignorance1 proceed on a  plan           
diametrically opposite to that which    
,rousseau has recommended  with all the 
deluding charms of eloquence and        
philosophical  sophistry3  for his      
eloquence renders absurdities plausible1
 and  his dogmatic conclusions puzzle1  
without convincing those who have  not  
ability to refute them4    ,throughout  
the whole animal kingdom every young    
creature requires  almost continual     
exercise1 and the infancy of children1  
conformable  to this intimation1 should 
be passed in harmless gambols1 that     
exercise the feet and hands1 without    
requiring very minute  direction from   
the head1 or the constant attention of a
 nurse4  ,in  fact1 the care necessary  

for self-preservation is the first      
natural  exercise of the understanding1 
as little inventions to amuse the       
present moment unfold the imagination4  
,but these wise designs of  nature are  
counteracted by mistaken fondness or    
blind zeal4  ,the  child is not left a  
moment to its own direction1            
particularly a  girl1 and thus rendered 
dependent--dependence is called natural4
    ,to preserve personal beauty1       
woman's glory6 the limbs and faculties  
are cramped with worse than ,chinese    
bands1 and the sedentary life  which    
they are condemned to live1 whilst boys 
frolic in the open  air1 weakens the    
muscles and relaxes the nerves4  ,as for
 ,rousseau's  remarks1 which have since 
been echoed by several writers1 that    
they  have naturally1 that is from their
 birth1 independent of education1  a    
fondness for dolls1 dressing1 and       
talking1 they are so puerile as  not to 
merit a serious refutation4  ,that a    
girl1 condemned to sit  for hours       

together listening to the idle chat of  
weak nurses or to  attend at her        
mother's toilet1 will endeavour to join 
the  conversation1 is1 indeed very      
natural2 and that she will imitate  her 
mother or aunts1 and amuse herself by   
adorning her lifeless  doll1 as they do 
in dressing her1 poor innocent babe6 is 
undoubtedly a most natural consequence4 
,for men of the greatest  abilities have
 seldom had sufficient strength to rise 
above the  surrounding atmosphere2 and1 
if the page of genius has always been   
blurred by the prejudices of the age1   
some allowance should be made  for a    
sex1 who1 like kings1 always see things 
through a false  medium4    ,in this    
manner may the fondness for dress1      
conspicuous in women1 be  easily        
accounted for1 without supposing it the 
result of a desire  to please the sex on
 which they are dependent4  ,the        
absurdity1 in  short1 of supposing that 
a girl is naturally a coquette1 and that
 a  desire connected with the impulse of

 nature to propagate the  species1      
should appear even before an improper   
education has1 by  heating the          
imagination1 called it forth            
prematurely1 is so  unphilosophical1    
that such a sagacious observer as       
,rousseau would  not have adopted it1 if
 he had not been accustomed to make     
reason  give way to his desire of       
singularity1 and truth to a favourite   
paradox4    ,yet thus to give a sex to  
mind was not very consistent with the   
principles of a man who argued so       
warmly1 and so well1 for the            
immortality of the soul4  ,but what a   
weak barrier is truth when it  stands in
 the way of an hypothesis6  ,rousseau   
respected--almost  adored virtue--and   
yet allowed himself to love with sensual
  fondness4  ,his imagination constantly
 prepared inflammable fuel for  his     
inflammable senses2 but1 in order to    
reconcile his respect for  self-denial1 
fortitude and those heroic virtues1     
which a mind like  his could not coolly 

admire1 he labours to invert the law of 
nature1 and broaches a doctrine pregnant
 with mischief1 and  derogatory to the  
character of supreme wisdom4    ,his    
ridiculous stories1 which tend to prove 
that girls are  ,,naturally attentive to
 their persons1 without laying any      
stress on  daily example1 are below     
contempt4  ,and that a little miss      
should  have such a correct taste as to 
neglect the pleasing amusement of       
making ,o's1 merely because she         
perceived that it was an ungraceful     
attitude1 should be selected with the   
anecdotes of the learned  pig499        
799,footnote4  ,i once knew a young     
person who learned to write  before she 
learned to read1 and began to write with
 her needle  before she could use a pen4
  ,at first indeed1 she took it into her
  head to make no other letter than the 
,o3  this letter she was  constantly    
making of all sizes1 and always the     
wrong way4  ,unluckily one day1 as she  
was intent on this employment1 she      

happened to see herself in the looking  
glass2 when1 taking a  dislike to the   
constrained attitude in which she sat   
while writing1  she threw away her pen1 
like another ,pallas1 and determined    
against  making the ,o any more4  ,her  
brother was also equally averse to      
writing3  it was the confinement1       
however1 and not the constrained        
attitude1 that most disgusted him4      
,rousseau's ,emilius47    ,i have1      
probably1 had an opportunity of         
observing more girls in  their infancy  
than ,j4 ,j4 ,rousseau4  ,i can         
recollect my own  feelings1 and ,i have 
looked steadily around me2 yet1 so far  
from  coinciding with him in opinion    
respecting the first dawn of the  female
 character1 ,i will venture to affirm1  
that a girl1 whose  spirits have not    
been damped by inactivity1 or innocence 
tainted by  false shame1 will always be 
a romp1 and the doll will never excite  
attention unless confinement allows her 
no alternative4  ,girls and  boys1 in   

short1 would play harmless together1 if 
the distinction of  sex was not         
inculcated long before nature makes any 
difference4  ,i  will1 go further1 and  
affirm1 as an indisputable fact1 that   
most of  the women1 in the circle of my 
observation1 who have acted like        
rational creatures1 or shown any vigour 
of intellect1 have  accidentally been   
allowed to run wild1 as some of the     
elegant  formers of the fair sex would  
insinuate4    ,the baneful consequences 
which flow from inattention to health   
during infancy1 and youth1 extend       
further than is supposed1  dependence of
 body naturally produces dependence of  
mind2 and how  can she be a good wife or
 mother1 the greater part of whose time 
is  employed to guard against or endure 
sickness2 nor can it be  expected1 that 
a woman will resolutely endeavour to    
strengthen her  constitution and abstain
 from enervating indulgences1 if        
artificial  notions of beauty1 and false
 descriptions of sensibility1 have been 

early entangled with her motives of     
action4  ,most men are sometimes        
obliged to bear with bodily             
inconveniences1 and to endure1          
occasionally1 the inclemency of the     
elements2 but genteel women  are1       
literally speaking1 slaves to their     
bodies1 and glory in their  subjection4 
,i once knew a weak woman of fashion1   
who was more than commonly  proud of her
 delicacy and sensibility4  ,she thought
 a  distinguishing taste and puny       
appetite the height of all human        
perfection1 and acted accordingly4  ,i  
have seen this weak  sophisticated being
 neglect all the duties of life1 yet    
recline  with self-complacency on a     
sofa1 and boast of her want of appetite 
as a proof of delicacy that extended to1
 or1 perhaps1 arose from1  her exquisite
 sensibility3  for it is difficult to   
render  intelligible such ridiculous    
jargon4  ,yet1 at the moment1 ,i have   
seen her insult a worthy old            
gentlewoman1 whom unexpected            

misfortunes had made dependent on her   
ostentatious bounty1 and who1  in better
 days1 had claims on her gratitude4  ,is
 it possible that a  human creature     
should have become such a weak and      
depraved being1  if1 like the           
,sybarites1 dissolved in luxury1 every  
thing like  virtue had not been worn    
away1 or never impressed by precept1 a  
poor substitute it is true1 for         
cultivation of mind1 though it  serves  
as a fence against vice8    ,such a     
woman is not a more irrational monster  
than some of the  ,roman emperors1 who  
were depraved by lawless power4  ,yet1  
since  kings have been more under the   
restraint of law1 and the curb1  however
 weak1 of honour1 the records of history
 are not filled with  such unnatural    
instances of folly and cruelty1 nor does
 the  despotism that kills virtue and   
genius in the bud1 hover over  ,europe  
with that destructive blast which       
desolates ,turkey1 and  renders the men1
 as well as the soil unfruitful4        

,women are every where in this          
deplorable state2 for1 in order to      
preserve their innocence1 as ignorance  
is courteously termed1 truth  is hidden 
from them1 and they are made to assume  
an artificial  character before their   
faculties have acquired any strength4   
,taught from their infancy1 that beauty 
is woman's sceptre1 the mind  shapes    
itself to the body1 and1 roaming round  
its gilt cage1 only  seeks to adorn its 
prison4  ,men have various employments  
and  pursuits which engage their        
attention1 and give a character to the  
opening mind2 but women1 confined to    
one1 and having their thoughts          
constantly directed to the most         
insignificant part of themselves1       
seldom extend their views beyond the    
triumph of the hour4  ,but was  their   
understanding once emancipated from the 
slavery to which the  pride and         
sensuality of man and their short       
sighted desire1 like  that of dominion  
in tyrants1 of present sway1 has        

subjected them1  we should probably read
 of their weaknesses with surprise4  ,i 
must  be allowed to pursue the argument 
a little farther4    ,perhaps1 if the   
existence of an evil being was allowed1 
who1 in the  allegorical language of    
scripture1 went about seeking whom he   
should devour1 he could not more        
effectually degrade the human  character
 than by giving a man absolute power4   
,this argument branches into various    
ramifications4  ,birth1 riches1  and    
every intrinsic advantage that exalt a  
man above his fellows1  without any     
mental exertion1 sink him in reality    
below them4  ,in  proportion to his     
weakness1 he is played upon by designing
 men1  till the bloated monster has lost
 all traces of humanity4  ,and that     
tribes of men1 like flocks of sheep1    
should quietly follow such a  leader1 is
 a solecism that only a desire of       
present enjoyment and  narrowness of    
understanding can solve4  ,educated in  
slavish  dependence1 and enervated by   

luxury and sloth1 where shall we find   
men who will stand forth to assert the  
rights of man2 or claim the  privilege  
of moral beings1 who should have but one
 road to  excellence8 ,slavery to       
monarchs and ministers1 which the world 
will  be long in freeing itself from1   
and whose deadly grasp stops the        
progress of the human mind1 is not yet  
abolished4    ,let not men then in the  
pride of power1 use the same arguments  
that  tyrannic kings and venal ministers
 have used1 and fallaciously  assert1   
that woman ought to be subjected because
 she has always  been so4  ,but1 when   
man1 governed by reasonable laws1 enjoys
 his  natural freedom1 let him despise  
woman1 if she do not share it with  him2
 and1 till that glorious period arrives1
 in descanting on the  folly of the sex1
 let him not overlook his own4          
,women1 it is true1 obtaining power by  
unjust means1 by practising  or         
fostering vice1 evidently lose the rank 
which reason would  assign them1 and    

they become either abject slaves or     
capricious  tyrants4  ,they lose all    
simplicity1 all dignity of mind1 in     
acquiring power1 and act as men are     
observed to act when they have  been    
exalted by the same means4    ,it is    
time to effect a revolution in female   
manners1 time to  restore to them their 
lost dignity1 and make them1 as a part  
of the  human species1 labour by        
reforming themselves to reform the      
world4  ,it is time to separate         
unchangeable morals from local manners4 
,if  men be demi-gods1 why let us serve 
them6  ,and if the dignity of the       
female soul be as disputable as that of 
animals1 if their reason  does not      
afford sufficient light to direct their 
conduct whilst  unerring instinct is    
denied1 they are surely of all creatures
 the  most miserable and1 bent beneath  
the iron hand of destiny1 must  submit  
to be a ,,fair ,,defect in creation4    
,but to justify the ways of  providence 
respecting them1 by pointing out some   

irrefragable  reason for thus making    
such a large portion of mankind         
accountable  and not accountable1 would 
puzzle the subtlest casuist4    ,the    
only solid foundation for morality      
appears to be the character  of the     
,supreme ,being2 the harmony of which   
arises from a balance of  attributes2   
and1 to speak with reverence1 one       
attribute seems to  imply the           
,,necessity of another4  ,he must be    
just1 because he is  wise1 he must be   
good1 because he is omnipotent4  ,for1  
to exalt one  attribute at the expense  
of another equally noble and necessary1 
bears the stamp of the warped reason of 
man1 the homage of passion4  ,man1      
accustomed to bow down to power in his  
savage state1 can  seldom divest himself
 of this barbarous prejudice even when  
civilization determines how much        
superior mental is to bodily  strength2 
and his reason is clouded by these crude
 opinions1 even  when he thinks of the  
,deity4  ,his omnipotence is made to    

swallow  up1 or preside over his other  
attributes1 and those mortals are       
supposed to limit his power             
irreverently1 who think that it must be 
regulated by his wisdom4    ,i disclaim 
that species of humility which1 after   
investigating  nature1 stops at the     
author4  ,the high and lofty ,one1 who  
inhabiteth eternity1 doubtless possesses
 many attributes of which  we can form  
no conception2 but reason tells me that 
they cannot  clash with those ,i adore1 
and ,i am compelled to listen to her    
voice4    ,it seems natural for man to  
search for excellence1 and either to    
trace it in the object that he worships1
 or blindly to invest it  with          
perfection as a garment4  ,but what good
 effect can the latter  mode of worship 
have on the moral conduct of a rational 
being8  ,he  bends to power2 he adores a
 dark cloud1 which may open a bright    
prospect to him1 or burst in angry1     
lawless fury on his devoted  head1 he   
knows not why4  ,and1 supposing that the

 ,deity acts from  the vague impulse of 
an undirected will1 man must also follow
 his  own1 or act according to rules1   
deduced from principles which he        
disclaims as irreverent4  ,into this    
dilemma have both enthusiasts  and      
cooler thinkers fallen1 when they       
laboured to free men from the  wholesome
 restraints which a just conception of  
the character of  ,god imposes4    ,it  
is not impious thus to scan the         
attributes of the ,almighty3  in  fact1 
who can avoid it that exercises his     
faculties8 for to love  ,god as the     
fountain of wisdom1 goodness1 and power1
 appears to be  the only worship useful 
to a being who wishes to acquire either 
virtue or knowledge4  ,a blind unsettled
 affection may1 like human  passions1   
occupy the mind and warm the heart1     
whilst1 to do  justice1 love mercy1 and 
walk humbly with our ,god1 is forgotten4
  ,i  shall pursue this subject still   
further1 when ,i consider religion  in a
 light opposite to that recommended by  

,dr4 ,gregory1 who treats  it as a      
matter of sentiment or taste4    ,to    
return from this apparent digression4   
,it were to be wished1  that women would
 cherish an affection for their         
husbands1 founded  on the same principle
 that devotion ought to rest upon4  ,no 
other  firm base is there under heaven1 
for let them beware of the  fallacious  
light of sentiment2 too often used as a 
softer phrase  for sensuality4  ,it     
follows then1 ,i think1 that from their 
infancy  women should either be shut up 
like eastern princes1 or educated in    
such a manner as to be able to think and
 act for themselves4    ,why do men halt
 between two opinions1 and expect       
impossibilities8  ,why do they expect   
virtue from a slave1 or from a being    
whom the  constitution of civil society 
has rendered weak1 if not vicious8      
,still ,i know that it will require a   
considerable length of time to          
eradicate the firmly rooted prejudices  
which sensualists have  planted2 it will

 also require some time to convince     
women that they  act contrary to their  
real interest on an enlarged scale1 when
 they  cherish or affect weakness under 
the name of delicacy1 and to  convince  
the world that the poisoned source of   
female vices and  follies1 if it be     
necessary1 in compliance with custom1 to
 use  synonymous terms in a lax sense1  
has been the sensual homage paid  to    
beauty3  to beauty of features2 for it  
has been shrewdly  observed by a ,german
 writer1 that a pretty woman1 as an     
object of  desire1 is generally allowed 
to be so by men of all descriptions2    
whilst a fine woman1 who inspires more  
sublime emotions by  displaying         
intellectual beauty1 may be overlooked  
or observed with  indifference1 by those
 men who find their happiness in the    
gratification of their appetites4  ,i   
foresee an obvious retort2  whilst man  
remains such an imperfect being as he   
appears hitherto  to have been1 he will1
 more or less1 be the slave of his      

appetites2  and those women obtaining   
most power who gratify a predominant    
one1  the sex is degraded by a physical1
 if not by a moral necessity4    ,this  
objection has1 ,i grant1 some force2 but
 while such a sublime  precept exists1  
as1 be pure as your heavenly father is  
pure2 it  would seem that the virtues of
 man are not limited by the ,being who  
alone could limit them2 and that he may 
press forward without  considering      
whether he steps out of his sphere by   
indulging such a  noble ambition4  ,to  
the wild billows it has been said1 thus 
far  shalt thou go1 and no further2 and 
here shall thy proud waves be  stayed4  
,vainly then do they beat and foam1     
restrained by the  power that confines  
the struggling planets within their     
orbits1  matter yields to the great     
governing ,spirit4  ,but an immortal    
soul1  not restrained by mechanical     
laws1 and struggling to free itself     
from the shackles of matter1 contributes
 to1 instead of disturbing1  the order  

of creation1 when1 co-operating with the
 ,father of  spirits1 it tries to govern
 itself by the invariable rule that1 in 
a degree1 before which our imagination  
faints1 the universe is  regulated4     
,besides1 if women are educated for     
dependence1 that is1 to act  according  
to the will of another fallible being1  
and submit1 right  or wrong1 to power1  
where are we to stop8  ,are they to be  
considered as viceregents1 allowed to   
reign over a small domain1  and         
answerable for their conduct to a higher
 tribunal1 liable to  error8    ,it will
 not be difficult to prove1 that such   
delegates will act  like men subjected  
by fear1 and make their children and    
servants  endure their tyrannical       
oppression4  ,as they submit without    
reason1  they will1 having no fixed     
rules to square their conduct by1 be    
kind or cruel1 just as the whim of the  
moment directs2 and we ought  not to    
wonder if sometimes1 galled by their    
heavy yoke1 they take a  malignant      

pleasure in resting it on weaker        
shoulders4    ,but1 supposing a woman1  
trained up to obedience1 be married to a
  sensible man1 who directs her         
judgment1 without making her feel the   
servility of her subjection1 to act with
 as much propriety by this  reflected   
light as can be expected when reason is 
taken at second  hand1 yet she cannot   
ensure the life of her protector2 he may
 die  and leave her with a large family4
    ,a double duty devolves on her2 to  
educate them in the character of  both  
father and mother2 to form their        
principles and secure their  property4  
,but1 alas6 she has never thought1 much 
less acted for  herself4  ,she has only 
learned to please men1 to depend        
gracefully  on them2 yet1 encumbered    
with children1 how is she to obtain     
another protector2 a husband to supply  
the place of reason8  ,a  rational man1 
for we are not treading on romantic     
ground1 though he  may think her a      
pleasing docile creature1 will not      

choose to marry  a ,,family for love1   
when the world contains many more pretty
  creatures4  ,what is then to become of
 her8  ,she either falls an  easy prey  
to some mean fortune hunter1 who        
defrauds her children of  their paternal
 inheritance1 and renders her miserable2
 or becomes  the victim of discontent   
and blind indulgence4  ,unable to       
educate  her sons1 or impress them with 
respect2 for it is not a play on  words 
to assert1 that people are never        
respected1 though filling an  important 
station1 who are not respectable2 she   
pines under the  anguish of unavailing  
impotent regret4  ,the serpent's tooth  
enters  into her very soul1 and the     
vices of licentious youth bring her     
with sorrow1 if not with poverty also1  
to the grave4    ,this is not an        
overcharged picture2 on the contrary1 it
 is a very  possible case1 and something
 similar must have fallen under every   
attentive eye4    ,i have1 however1     
taken it for granted1 that she was well 

disposed1  though experience shows1 that
 the blind may as easily be led into a  
ditch as along the beaten road4  ,but   
supposing1 no very improbable           
conjecture1 that a being only taught to 
please must still find her  happiness in
 pleasing2 what an example of folly1 not
 to say vice1  will she be to her       
innocent daughters6  ,the mother will be
 lost in  the coquette1 and1 instead of 
making friends of her daughters1 view   
them with eyes askance1 for they are    
rivals--rivals more cruel than  any     
other1 because they invite a comparison1
 and drive her from the  throne of      
beauty1 who has never thought of a seat 
on the bench of  reason4    ,it does not
 require a lively pencil1 or the        
discriminating outline  of a caricature1
 to sketch the domestic miseries and    
petty vices  which such a mistress of a 
family diffuses4  ,still she only acts  
as  a woman ought to act1 brought up    
according to ,rousseau's system4  ,she  
can never be reproached for being       

masculine1 or turning out of  her       
sphere2 nay1 she may observe another of 
his grand rules1 and1  cautiously       
preserving her reputation free from     
spot1 be reckoned a  good kind of woman4
  ,yet in what respect can she be termed
 good8  ,she abstains1 it is true1      
without any great struggle1 from        
committing gross crimes2 but how does   
she fulfil her duties8  ,duties6--in    
truth she has enough to think of to     
adorn her body and  nurse a weak        
constitution4    ,with respect to       
religion1 she never presumed to judge   
for herself2  but conformed1 as a       
dependent creature should1 to the       
ceremonies of  the church which she was 
brought up in1 piously believing1 that  
wiser heads than her own have settled   
that business3  and not to  doubt is her
 point of perfection4  ,she therefore   
pays her tythe of  mint and cummin1 and 
thanks her ,god that she is not as other
 women  are4  ,these are the blessed    
effects of a good education6 these the  

virtues of man's helpmate4  ,i must     
relieve myself by drawing a  different  
picture4    ,let fancy now present a    
woman with a tolerable understanding1   
for ,i  do not wish to leave the line of
 mediocrity1 whose constitution1        
strengthened by exercise1 has allowed   
her body to acquire its full  vigour2   
her mind1 at the same time1 gradually   
expanding itself to  comprehend the     
moral duties of life1 and in what human 
virtue and  dignity consist4  ,formed   
thus by the relative duties of her      
station1 she marries from affection1    
without losing sight of  prudence1 and  
looking beyond matrimonial felicity1 she
 secures her  husband's respect before  
it is necessary to exert mean arts to   
please him1 and feed a dying flame1     
which nature doomed to expire  when the 
object became familiar1 when friendship 
and forbearance  take place of a more   
ardent affection4  ,this is the natural 
death  of love1 and domestic peace is   
not destroyed by struggles to  prevent  

its extinction4  ,i also suppose the    
husband to be virtuous2  or she is still
 more in want of independent principles4
    ,fate1 however1 breaks this tie4    
,she is left a widow1 perhaps1  without 
a sufficient provision3  but she is not 
desolate6  ,the pang  of nature is felt2
 but after time has softened sorrow into
  melancholy resignation1 her heart     
turns to her children with  redoubled   
fondness1 and anxious to provide for    
them1 affection  gives a sacred heroic  
cast to her maternal duties4  ,she      
thinks that  not only the eye sees her  
virtuous efforts1 from whom all her     
comfort now must flow1 and whose        
approbation is life2 but her            
imagination1 a little abstracted and    
exalted by grief1 dwells on  the fond   
hope1 that the eyes which her trembling 
hand closed1 may  still see how she     
subdues every wayward passion to fulfil 
the  double duty of being the father as 
well as the mother of her  children4    
,raised to heroism by misfortunes1 she  

represses the  first faint dawning of a 
natural inclination1 before it ripens   
into  love1 and in the bloom of life    
forgets her sex--forgets the  pleasure  
of an awakening passion1 which might    
again have been  inspired and returned4 
,she no longer thinks of pleasing1 and  
conscious dignity prevents her from     
priding herself on account of  the      
praise which her conduct demands4  ,her 
children have her love1  and her        
brightest hopes are beyond the grave1   
where her imagination  often strays4    
,i think ,i see her surrounded by her   
children1 reaping the reward of  her    
care4  ,the intelligent eye meets her's1
 whilst health and  innocence smile on  
their chubby cheeks1 and as they grow up
 the  cares of life are lessened by     
their grateful attention4  ,she lives   
to see the virtues which she endeavoured
 to plant on principles1  fixed into    
habits1 to see her children attain a    
strength of  character sufficient to    
enable them to endure adversity without 

forgetting their mother's example4      
,the task of life thus fulfilled1 she   
calmly waits for the sleep of  death1   
and rising from the grave may say1      
behold1 thou gavest me a  talent1 and   
here are five talents4    ,i wish to sum
 up what ,i have said in a few words1   
for ,i here throw  down my gauntlet1 and
 deny the existence of sexual virtues1  
not  excepting modesty4  ,for man and   
woman1 truth1 if ,i understand the      
meaning of the word1 must be the same2  
yet the fanciful female  character1 so  
prettily drawn by poets and novelists1  
demanding the  sacrifice of truth and   
sincerity1 virtue becomes a relative    
idea1  having no other foundation than  
utility1 and of that utility men        
pretend arbitrarily to judge1 shaping it
 to their own convenience4    ,women1 ,i
 allow1 may have different duties to    
fulfil2 but they are  ,,human duties1   
and the principles that should regulate 
the discharge  of them1 ,i sturdily     
maintain1 must be the same4    ,to      

become respectable1 the exercise of     
their understanding is  necessary1 there
 is no other foundation for independence
 of  character2 ,i mean explicitly to   
say1 that they must only bow to the     
authority of reason1 instead of being   
the ,,modest slaves of opinion4    ,in  
the superior ranks of life how seldom do
 we meet with a man of  superior        
abilities1 or even common acquirements8 
,the reason  appears to me clear2 the   
state they are born in was an unnatural 
one4  ,the human character has ever been
 formed by the employments  the         
individual1 or class pursues2 and if the
 faculties are not  sharpened by        
necessity1 they must remain obtuse4     
,the argument may  fairly be extended to
 women2 for seldom occupied by serious  
business1 the pursuit of pleasure gives 
that insignificancy to  their character 
which renders the society of the ,,great
 so insipid4  ,the same want of         
firmness1 produced by a similar cause1  
forces them  both to fly from themselves

 to noisy pleasures1 and artificial     
passions1 till vanity takes place of    
every social affection1 and  the        
characteristics of humanity can scarcely
 be discerned4  ,such  are the blessings
 of civil governments1 as they are at   
present  organized1 that wealth and     
female softness equally tend to debase  
mankind1 and are produced by the same   
cause2 but allowing women to  be        
rational creatures they should be       
incited to acquire virtues  which they  
may call their own1 for how can a       
rational being be  ennobled by any thing
 that is not obtained by its ,,own      
exertions8      ,,chapter #d4           
,,observations ,,on ,,the ,,state ,,of  
,,degradation ,,to ,,which ,,woman ,,is 
,,reduced  ,,by ,,various ,,causes4     
,that woman is naturally weak1 or       
degraded by a concurrence of            
circumstances is1 ,i think1 clear4  ,but
 this position ,i shall simply  contrast
 with a conclusion1 which ,i have       
frequently heard fall from  sensible men

 in favour of an aristocracy3  that the 
mass of mankind  cannot be any thing1 or
 the obsequious slaves1 who patiently   
allow  themselves to be penned up1 would
 feel their own consequence1 and  spurn 
their chains4  ,men1 they further       
observe1 submit every where  to         
oppression1 when they have only to lift 
up their heads to throw  off the yoke2  
yet1 instead of asserting their         
birthright1 they  quietly lick the dust1
 and say1 let us eat and drink1 for     
to-morrow  we die4  ,women1 ,i argue    
from analogy1 are degraded by the same  
propensity to enjoy the present moment2 
and1 at last1 despise the  freedom which
 they have not sufficient virtue to     
struggle to  attain4  ,but ,i must be   
more explicit4    ,with respect to the  
culture of the heart1 it is unanimously 
allowed  that sex is out of the         
question2 but the line of subordination 
in  the mental powers is never to be    
passed over4  ,only absolute in         
loveliness1 the portion of rationality  

granted to woman is1  indeed1 very      
scanty2 for1 denying her genius and     
judgment1 it is  scarcely possible to   
divine what remains to characterize     
intellect4    ,the stamina of           
immortality1 if ,i may be allowed the   
phrase1 is the  perfectibility of human 
reason2 for1 was man created perfect1 or
  did a flood of knowledge break in upon
 him1 when he arrived at  maturity1 that
 precluded error1 ,i should doubt       
whether his  existence would be         
continued after the dissolution of the  
body4  ,but in the present state of     
things1 every difficulty in morals1     
that escapes from human discussion1 and 
equally baffles the  investigation of   
profound thinking1 and the lightning    
glance of  genius1 is an argument on    
which ,i build my belief of the         
immortality of the soul4  ,reason is1   
consequentially1 the simple  power of   
improvement2 or1 more properly speaking1
 of discerning  truth4  ,every          
individual is in this respect a world in

 itself4  ,more or less may be          
conspicuous in one being than other2 but
 the  nature of reason must be the same 
in all1 if it be an emanation of        
divinity1 the tie that connects the     
creature with the ,creator2 for1  can   
that soul be stamped with the heavenly  
image1 that is not  perfected by the    
exercise of its own reason8  ,yet       
outwardly  ornamented with elaborate    
care1 and so adorned to delight man1    
that with honour he may love1 7,vide    
,milton7 the soul of woman is  not      
allowed to have this distinction1 and   
man1 ever placed between  her and       
reason1 she is always represented as    
only created to see  through a gross    
medium1 and to take things on trust4    
,but1  dismissing these fanciful        
theories1 and considering woman as a    
whole1 let it be what it will1 instead  
of a part of man1 the  inquiry is1      
whether she has reason or not4  ,if she 
has1 which1 for  a moment1 ,i will take 
for granted1 she was not created merely 

to be  the solace of man1 and the sexual
 should not destroy the human           
character4    ,into this error men have1
 probably1 been led by viewing education
  in a false light2 not considering it  
as the first step to form a  being      
advancing gradually toward perfection2  
7,this word is not  strictly just1 but  
,i cannot find a better47 but only as a 
preparation for life4  ,on this sensual 
error1 for ,i must call it  so1 has the 
false system of female manners been     
reared1 which robs  the whole sex of its
 dignity1 and classes the brown and fair
 with  the smiling flowers that only    
adorn the land4  ,this has ever been    
the language of men1 and the fear of    
departing from a supposed  sexual       
character1 has made even women of       
superior sense adopt the  same          
sentiments4  ,thus understanding1       
strictly speaking1 has been  denied to  
woman2 and instinct1 sublimated into wit
 and cunning1 for  the purposes of life1
 has been substituted in its stead4     

,the power of generalizing ideas1 of    
drawing comprehensive  conclusions from 
individual observations1 is the only    
acquirement  for an immortal being1 that
 really deserves the name of knowledge4 
,merely to observe1 without endeavouring
 to account for any thing1  may1 7in a  
very incomplete manner7 serve as the    
common sense of  life2 but where is the 
store laid up that is to clothe the soul
  when it leaves the body8    ,this     
power has not only been denied to women2
 but writers have  insisted that it is  
inconsistent1 with a few exceptions1    
with their  sexual character4  ,let men 
prove this1 and ,i shall grant that     
woman  only exists for man4  ,i must1   
however1 previously remark1 that the    
power of generalizing ideas1 to any     
great extent1 is not very  common       
amongst men or women4  ,but this        
exercise is the true  cultivation of the
 understanding2 and every thing         
conspires to  render the cultivation of 
the understanding more difficult in the 

female than the male world4    ,i am    
naturally led by this assertion to the  
main subject of the  present chapter1   
and shall now attempt to point out some 
of the  causes that degrade the sex1 and
 prevent women from generalizing  their 
observations4    ,i shall not go back to
 the remote annals of antiquity to trace
 the  history of woman2 it is sufficient
 to allow1 that she has always  been    
either a slave or a despot1 and to      
remark1 that each of these  situations  
equally retards the progress of reason4 
,the grand  source of female folly and  
vice has ever appeared to me to arise   
from narrowness of mind2 and the very   
constitution of civil  governments has  
put almost insuperable obstacles in the 
way to  prevent the cultivation of the  
female understanding3  yet virtue  can  
be built on no other foundation6  ,the  
same obstacles are thrown  in the way of
 the rich1 and the same consequences    
ensue4    ,necessity has been           
proverbially termed the mother of       

invention2 the  aphorism may be extended
 to virtue4  ,it is an acquirement1 and 
an  acquirement to which pleasure must  
be sacrificed1 and who  sacrifices      
pleasure when it is within the grasp1   
whose mind has not  been opened and     
strengthened by adversity1 or the       
pursuit of  knowledge goaded on by      
necessity8  ,happy is it when people    
have the  cares of life to struggle     
with2 for these struggles prevent their 
becoming a prey to enervating vices1    
merely from idleness6  ,but1 if  from   
their birth men and women are placed in 
a torrid zone1 with  the meridian sun of
 pleasure darting directly upon them1   
how can  they sufficiently brace their  
minds to discharge the duties of  life1 
or even to relish the affections that   
carry them out of  themselves8          
,pleasure is the business of a woman's  
life1 according to the  present         
modification of society1 and while it   
continues to be so1  little can be      
expected from such weak beings4         

,inheriting1 in a  lineal descent from  
the first fair defect in nature1 the    
sovereignty of beauty1 they have1 to    
maintain their power1 resigned  their   
natural rights1 which the exercise of   
reason1 might have  procured them1 and  
chosen rather to be short-lived queens  
than  labour to attain the sober        
pleasures that arise from equality4     
,exalted by their inferiority 7this     
sounds like a contradiction7  they      
constantly demand homage as women1      
though experience should  teach them    
that the men who pride themselves upon  
paying this  arbitrary insolent respect 
to the sex1 with the most scrupulous    
exactness1 are most inclined to         
tyrannize over1 and despise the  very   
weakness they cherish4  ,often do they  
repeat ,mr4 ,hume's  sentiments2 when   
comparing the ,french and ,athenian     
character1 he  alludes to women4  ,but  
what is more singular in this whimsical 
nation1 say ,i to the ,athenians1 is1   
that a frolic of yours during  the      

,saturnalia1 when the slaves are served 
by their masters1 is  seriously         
continued by them through the whole     
year1 and through the  whole course of  
their lives2 accompanied too with some  
circumstances1 which still further      
augment the absurdity and  ridicule4    
,your sport only elevates for a few     
days1 those whom  fortune has thrown    
down1 and whom she too1 in sport1 may   
really  elevate forever above you4  ,but
 this nation gravely exalts those1  whom
 nature has subjected to them1 and whose
 inferiority and  infirmities are       
absolutely incurable4  ,the women1      
though without  virtue1 are their       
masters and sovereigns4    ,ah6 why do  
women1 ,i write with affectionate       
solicitude1 condescend  to receive a    
degree of attention and respect from    
strangers1  different from that         
reciprocation of civility which the     
dictates of  humanity1 and the          
politeness of civilization authorise    
between man  and man8  ,and why do they 

not discover1 when in the noon of       
beauty's power1 that they are treated   
like queens only to be  deluded by      
hollow respect1 till they are led to    
resign1 or not  assume1 their natural   
prerogatives8  ,confined then in cages1 
like  the feathered race1 they have     
nothing to do but to plume  themselves1 
and stalk with mock-majesty from perch  
to perch4  ,it is  true1 they are       
provided with food and raiment1 for     
which they  neither toil nor spin2 but  
health1 liberty1 and virtue are given in
  exchange4  ,but1 where1 amongst       
mankind has been found sufficient       
strength of mind to enable a being to   
resign these adventitious  prerogatives2
 one who rising with the calm dignity of
 reason above  opinion1 dared to be     
proud of the privileges inherent in man8
 and  it is vain to expect it whilst    
hereditary power chokes the  affections1
 and nips reason in the bud4    ,the    
passions of men have thus placed women  
on thrones2 and1 till  mankind become   

more reasonable1 it is to be feared that
 women will  avail themselves of the    
power which they attain with the least  
exertion1 and which is the most         
indisputable4  ,they will smile1  yes1  
they will smile1 though told that--     
,in beauty's empire is no mean1  ,and   
woman either slave or queen1  ,is       
quickly scorn'd when not ador'd4    ,but
 the adoration comes first1 and the     
scorn is not anticipated4    ,lewis the 
,x,i,vth1 in particular1 spread         
factitious manners1 and  caught in a    
specious way1 the whole nation in his   
toils2 for  establishing an artful chain
 of despotism1 he made it the interest  
of the people at large1 individually to 
respect his station1 and  support his   
power4  ,and women1 whom he flattered by
 a puerile  attention to the whole sex1 
obtained in his reign that prince-like  
distinction so fatal to reason and      
virtue4    ,a king is always a king1 and
 a woman always a woman3 7,and a wit1   
always a wit1 might be added2 for the   

vain fooleries of wits and  beauties to 
obtain attention1 and make conquests1   
are much upon a  par47  his authority   
and her sex1 ever stand between them and
  rational converse4  ,with a lover1 ,i 
grant she should be so1 and her         
sensibility will naturally lead her to  
endeavour to excite emotion1  not to    
gratify her vanity but her heart4  ,this
 ,i do not allow to be  coquetry1 it is 
the artless impulse of nature1 ,i only  
exclaim  against the sexual desire of   
conquest1 when the heart is out of the  
question4    ,this desire is not        
confined to women2 ,i have endeavoured1 
says  ,lord ,chesterfield1 to gain the  
hearts of twenty women1 whose  persons  
,i would not have given a fig for4  ,the
 libertine who in a  gust of passion1   
takes advantage of unsuspecting         
tenderness1 is a  saint when compared   
with this cold-hearted rascal2 for ,i   
like to  use significant words4  ,yet   
only taught to please1 women are always 
on the watch to please1 and with true   

heroic ardour endeavour to  gain hearts 
merely to resign1 or spurn them1 when   
the victory is  decided1 and            
conspicuous4    ,i must descend to the  
minutiae of the subject4    ,i lament   
that women are systematically degraded  
by receiving the  trivial attentions1   
which men think it manly to pay to the  
sex1  when1 in fact1 they are           
insultingly supporting their own        
superiority4  ,it is not condescension  
to bow to an inferior4  ,so  ludicrous1 
in fact1 do these ceremonies appear to  
me1 that ,i  scarcely am able to govern 
my muscles1 when ,i see a man start with
  eager1 and serious solicitude to lift 
a handkerchief1 or shut a  door1 when   
the ,,lady could have done it herself1  
had she only moved  a pace or two4    ,a
 wild wish has just flown from my heart 
to my head1 and ,i will not  stifle it  
though it may excite a horse laugh4  ,i 
do earnestly wish  to see the           
distinction of sex confounded in        
society1 unless where  love animates the

 behaviour4  ,for this distinction is1  
,i am firmly  persuaded1 the foundation 
of the weakness of character ascribed to
  woman2 is the cause why the           
understanding is neglected1 whilst      
accomplishments are acquired with       
sedulous care3  and the same  cause     
accounts for their preferring the       
graceful before the heroic  virtues4    
,mankind1 including every description1  
wish to be loved and  respected for     
,,something2 and the common herd will   
always take the  nearest road to the    
completion of their wishes4  ,the       
respect paid  to wealth and beauty is   
the most certain and unequivocal2 and of
  course1 will always attract the vulgar
 eye of common minds4  ,abilities and   
virtues are absolutely necessary to     
raise men from  the middle rank of life 
into notice2 and the natural consequence
 is  notorious1 the middle rank contains
 most virtue and abilities4  ,men  have 
thus1 in one station1 at least1 an      
opportunity of exerting  themselves with

 dignity1 and of rising by the exertions
 which  really improve a rational       
creature2 but the whole female sex are1 
till their character is formed1 in the  
same condition as the rich3  for they   
are born1 ,i now speak of a state of    
civilization1 with  certain sexual      
privileges1 and whilst they are         
gratuitously granted  them1 few will    
ever think of works of supererogation1  
to obtain the  esteem of a small number 
of superior people4    ,when do we hear 
of women1 who starting out of obscurity1
 boldly  claim respect on account of    
their great abilities or daring         
virtues8  ,where are they to be found8  
,to be observed1 to be  attended to1 to 
be taken notice of with sympathy1       
complacency1 and  approbation1 are all  
the advantages which they seek4  ,true6 
my  male readers will probably exclaim2 
but let them1 before they draw  any     
conclusion1 recollect1 that this was not
 written originally as  descriptive of  
women1 but of the rich4  ,in ,dr4       

,smith's ,theory of  ,moral ,sentiments1
 ,i have found a general character of   
people of  rank and fortune1 that in my 
opinion1 might with the greatest        
propriety be applied to the female sex4 
,i refer the sagacious  reader to the   
whole comparison2 but must be allowed to
 quote a  passage to enforce an argument
 that ,i mean to insist on1 as the one  
most conclusive against a sexual        
character4  ,for if1 excepting          
warriors1 no great men of any           
denomination1 have ever appeared        
amongst the nobility1 may it not be     
fairly inferred1 that their  local      
situation swallowed up the man1 and     
produced a character  similar to that of
 women1 who are ,,localized1 if ,i may  
be allowed  the word1 by the rank they  
are placed in1 by ,,courtesy8  ,women1  
commonly called ,ladies1 are not to be  
contradicted in company1 are  not       
allowed to exert any manual strength2   
and from them the  negative virtues only
 are expected1 when any virtues are     

expected1  patience1 docility1          
good-humour1 and flexibility2 virtues   
incompatible with any vigorous exertion 
of intellect4  ,besides by  living more 
with each other1 and to being seldom    
absolutely alone1  they are more under  
the influence of sentiments than        
passions4  ,solitude and reflection are 
necessary to give to wishes the force   
of passions1 and enable the imagination 
to enlarge the object and  make it the  
most desirable4  ,the same may be said  
of the rich2 they  do not sufficiently  
deal in general ideas1 collected by     
impassionate thinking1 or calm          
investigation1 to acquire that  strength
 of character1 on which great resolves  
are built4  ,but hear  what an acute    
observer says of the great4    ,do the  
great seem insensible of the easy price 
at which they may  acquire the public   
admiration8 or do they seem to imagine1 
that to  them1 as to other men1 it must 
be the purchase either of sweat or  of  
blood8  ,by what important              

accomplishments is the young nobleman   
instructed to support the dignity of his
 rank1 and to render  himself worthy of 
that superiority over his fellow        
citizens1 to  which the virtue of his   
ancestors had raised them8 ,is it by    
knowledge1 by industry1 by patience1 by 
self-denial1 or by virtue  of any kind8 
,as all his words1 as all his motions   
are attended to1  he learns an habitual 
regard for every circumstance of        
ordinary  behaviour1 and studies to     
perform all those small duties with the 
most exact propriety4  ,as he is        
conscious how much he is observed1  and 
how much mankind are disposed to favour 
all his inclinations1  he acts1 upon the
 most indifferent occasions1 with that  
freedom and  elevation which the thought
 of this naturally inspires4  ,his air1 
his manner1 his deportment all mark that
 elegant and graceful sense  of his own 
superiority1 which those who are born to
 an inferior  station can hardly ever   
arrive at4  ,these are the arts by which

 he  proposes to make mankind more      
easily submit to his authority1 and  to 
govern their inclinations according to  
his own pleasure3  and in  this he is   
seldom disappointed4  ,these arts1      
supported by rank and  pre-eminence1    
are1 upon ordinary occasions1 sufficient
 to govern  the world4  ,lewis ,,xiv4   
during the greater part of his reign1   
was  regarded1 not only in ,france1 but 
over all ,europe1 as the most  perfect  
model of a great prince4  ,but what were
 the talents and  virtues1 by which he  
acquired this great reputation8 ,was it 
by the  scrupulous and inflexible       
justice of all his undertakings1 by the 
immense dangers and difficulties with   
which they were attended1 or  by the    
unwearied and unrelenting application   
with which he pursued  them8  ,was it by
 his extensive knowledge1 by his        
exquisite  judgment1 or by his heroic   
valour8  ,it was by none of these       
qualities4  ,but he was1 first of all1  
the most powerful prince in  ,europe1   

and consequently held the highest rank  
among kings2 and  then1 says his        
historian1 'he surpassed all his        
courtiers in the  gracefulness of his   
shape1 and the majestic beauty of his   
features4  ,the sound of his voice noble
 and affecting1 gained those hearts     
which his presence intimidated4  ,he had
 a step and a deportment1  which could  
suit only him and his rank1 and which   
would have been  ridiculous in any other
 person4  ,the embarrassment which he   
occasioned to those who spoke to him1   
flattered that secret  satisfaction with
 which he felt his own superiority4'    
,these  frivolous accomplishments1      
supported by his rank1 and1 no doubt1   
too1 by a degree of other talents and   
virtues1 which seems1  however1 not to  
have been much above mediocrity1        
established this  prince in the esteem  
of his own age1 and have drawn even from
  posterity1 a good deal of respect for 
his memory4  ,compared with  these1 in  
his own times1 and in his own presence1 

no other virtue1  it seems1 appeared to 
have any merit4  ,knowledge1 industry1  
valour1  and beneficence1 trembling1    
were abashed1 and lost all dignity      
before them4    ,woman1 also1 thus in   
herself complete1 by possessing all     
these  ,,frivolous accomplishments1 so  
changes the nature of things1    --,that
 what she wills to do or say  ,seems    
wisest1 virtuousest1 discreetest1 best2 
,all higher knowledge in ,,her          
,,presence falls  ,degraded4  ,wisdom in
 discourse with her  ,loses             
discountenanc'd1 and like folly shows2  
,authority and reason on her wait4--    
,and all this is built on her           
loveliness6    ,in the middle rank of   
life1 to continue the comparison1 men1  
in  their youth1 are prepared for       
professions1 and marriage is not        
considered as the grand feature in their
 lives2 whilst women1 on  the contrary1 
have no other scheme to sharpen their   
faculties4  ,it  is not business1       
extensive plans1 or any of the excursive

 flights  of ambition1 that engross     
their attention2 no1 their thoughts are 
not employed in rearing such noble      
structures4  ,to rise in the  world1 and
 have the liberty of running from       
pleasure to pleasure1  they must marry  
advantageously1 and to this object their
 time is  sacrificed1 and their persons 
often legally prostituted4  ,a man1     
when he enters any profession1 has his  
eye steadily fixed on some  future      
advantage 7and the mind gains great     
strength by having all  its efforts     
directed to one point7 and1 full of his 
business1  pleasure is considered as    
mere relaxation2 whilst women seek for  
pleasure as the main purpose of         
existence4  ,in fact1 from the          
education which they receive from       
society1 the love of pleasure may  be   
said to govern them all2 but does this  
prove that there is a sex  in souls8    
,it would be just as rational to        
declare1 that the  courtiers in ,france1
 when a destructive system of despotism 

had  formed their character1 were not   
men1 because liberty1 virtue1 and       
humanity1 were sacrificed to pleasure   
and vanity4  ,fatal passions1  which    
have ever domineered over the ,,whole   
race6    ,the same love of pleasure1    
fostered by the whole tendency of their 
education1 gives a trifling turn to the 
conduct of women in most  circumstances3
  for instance1 they are ever anxious   
about secondary  things2 and on the     
watch for adventures1 instead of being  
occupied  by duties4    ,a man1 when he 
undertakes a journey1 has1 in general   
the end in  view2 a woman thinks more of
 the incidental occurrences1 the        
strange things that may possibly occur  
on the road2 the impression  that she   
may make on her fellow travellers2 and1 
above all1 she is  anxiously intent on  
the care of the finery that she carries 
with  her1 which is more than ever a    
part of herself1 when going to  figure  
on a new scene2 when1 to use an apt     
,french turn of  expression1 she is     

going to produce a sensation4  ,can     
dignity of  mind exist with such trivial
 cares8    ,in short1 women1 in general1
 as well as the rich of both sexes1     
have acquired all the follies and vices 
of civilization1 and missed  the useful 
fruit4  ,it is not necessary for me     
always to premise1  that ,i speak of the
 condition of the whole sex1 leaving    
exceptions  out of the question4  ,their
 senses are inflamed1 and their         
understandings neglected2 consequently  
they become the prey of  their senses1  
delicately termed sensibility1 and are  
blown about by  every momentary gust of 
feeling4  ,they are1 therefore1 in a    
much  worse condition than they would be
 in1 were they in a state nearer  to    
nature4  ,ever restless and anxious1    
their over exercised  sensibility not   
only renders them uncomfortable         
themselves1 but  troublesome1 to use a  
soft phrase1 to others4  ,all their     
thoughts  turn on things calculated to  
excite emotion2 and1 feeling1 when  they

 should reason1 their conduct is        
unstable1 and their opinions  are       
wavering1 not the wavering produced by  
deliberation or  progressive views1 but 
by contradictory emotions4  ,by fits and
  starts they are warm in many pursuits2
 yet this warmth1 never  concentrated   
into perseverance1 soon exhausts itself2
 exhaled by  its own heat1 or meeting   
with some other fleeting passion1 to    
which  reason has never given any       
specific gravity1 neutrality ensues4    
,miserable1 indeed1 must be that being  
whose cultivation of mind has  only     
tended to inflame its passions6  ,a     
distinction should be made  between     
inflaming and strengthening them4  ,the 
passions thus  pampered1 whilst the     
judgment is left unformed1 what can be  
expected to ensue8  ,undoubtedly1 a     
mixture of madness and folly6    ,this  
observation should not be confined to   
the ,,fair sex2 however1  at present1 ,i
 only mean to apply it to them4         
,novels1 music1 poetry and gallantry1   

all tend to make women the  creatures of
 sensation1 and their character is thus 
formed during  the time they are        
acquiring accomplishments1 the only     
improvement  they are excited1 by their 
station in society1 to acquire4  ,this  
overstretched sensibility naturally     
relaxes the other powers of the  mind1  
and prevents intellect from attaining   
that sovereignty which  it ought to     
attain1 to render a rational creature   
useful to others1  and content with its 
own station2 for the exercise of the    
understanding1 as life advances1 is the 
only method pointed out by  nature to   
calm the passions4    ,satiety has a    
very different effect1 and ,i have often
 been forcibly  struck by an emphatical 
description of damnation1 when the      
spirit  is represented as continually   
hovering with abortive eagerness  round 
the defiled body1 unable to enjoy any   
thing without the  organs of sense4     
,yet1 to their senses1 are women made   
slaves1  because it is by their         

sensibility that they obtain present    
power4    ,and will moralists pretend to
 assert1 that this is the condition in  
which one half of the human race should 
be encouraged to remain  with listless  
inactivity and stupid acquiescence8     
,kind  instructors6 what were we created
 for8  ,to remain1 it may be said1      
innocent2 they mean in a state of       
childhood4  ,we might as well  never    
have been born1 unless it were necessary
 that we should be  created to enable   
man to acquire the noble privilege of   
reason1 the  power of discerning good   
from evil1 whilst we lie down in the    
dust  from whence we were taken1 never  
to rise again4    ,it would be an       
endless task to trace the variety of    
meannesses1  cares1 and sorrows1 into   
which women are plunged by the          
prevailing  opinion1 that they were     
created rather to feel than reason1 and 
that all the power they obtain1 must be 
obtained by their charms  and weakness2 
,fine by defect1 and amiably weak6      

,and1 made by this amiable weakness     
entirely dependent1 excepting  what they
 gain by illicit sway1 on man1 not only 
for protection1  but advice1 is it      
surprising that1 neglecting the duties  
that  reason alone points out1 and      
shrinking from trials calculated to     
strengthen their minds1 they only exert 
themselves to give their  defects a     
graceful covering1 which may serve to   
heighten their  charms in the eye of the
 voluptuary1 though it sink them below  
the  scale of moral excellence8         
,fragile in every sense of the word1    
they are obliged to look up to  man for 
every comfort4  ,in the most trifling   
dangers they cling to  their support1   
with parasitical tenacity1 piteously    
demanding  succour2 and their ,,natural 
protector extends his arm1 or lifts up  
his voice1 to guard the lovely          
trembler--from what8  ,perhaps the      
frown of an old cow1 or the jump of a   
mouse2 a rat1 would be a  serious       
danger4  ,in the name of reason1 and    

even common sense1 what  can save such  
beings from contempt2 even though they  
be soft and  fair8    ,these fears1 when
 not affected1 may be very pretty2 but  
they shew a  degree of imbecility1 that 
degrades a rational creature in a way   
women are not aware of--for love and    
esteem are very distinct  things4    ,i 
am fully persuaded1 that we should hear 
of none of these  infantine airs1 if    
girls were allowed to take sufficient   
exercise  and not confined in close     
rooms till their muscles are relaxed and
  their powers of digestion destroyed4  
,to carry the remark still  further1 if 
fear in girls1 instead of being         
cherished1 perhaps1  created1 were      
treated in the same manner as cowardice 
in boys1 we  should quickly see women   
with more dignified aspects4  ,it is    
true1  they could not then with equal   
propriety be termed the sweet  flowers  
that smile in the walk of man2 but they 
would be more  respectable members of   
society1 and discharge the important    

duties  of life by the light of their   
own reason4  ,educate women like  men1  
says ,rousseau1 and the more they       
resemble our sex the less  power will   
they have over us4  ,this is the very   
point ,i aim at4  ,i  do not wish them  
to have power over men2 but over        
themselves4    ,in the same strain have 
,i heard men argue against instructing  
the  poor2 for many are the forms that  
aristocracy assumes4  ,teach them  to   
read and write1 say they1 and you take  
them out of the station  assigned them  
by nature4  ,an eloquent ,frenchman1 has
 answered  them2 ,i will borrow his     
sentiments4  ,but they know not1 when   
they  make man a brute1 that they may   
expect every instant to see him         
transformed into a ferocious beast4     
,without knowledge there can be  no     
morality6    ,ignorance is a frail base 
for virtue6  ,yet1 that it is the       
condition for which woman was organized1
 has been insisted upon by  the writers 
who have most vehemently argued in      

favour of the  superiority of man2 a    
superiority not in degree1 but essence2 
though1 to soften the argument1 they    
have laboured to prove1 with  chivalrous
 generosity1 that the sexes ought not to
 be compared2 man  was made to reason1  
woman to feel3  and that together1 flesh
 and  spirit1 they make the most perfect
 whole1 by blending happily  reason and 
sensibility into one character4    ,and 
what is sensibility8  ,quickness of     
sensation2 quickness of  perception2    
delicacy4  ,thus is it defined by ,dr4  
,johnson2 and the  definition gives me  
no other idea than of the most          
exquisitely  polished instinct4  ,i     
discern not a trace of the image of ,god
 in  either sensation or matter4        
,refined seventy times seven1 they are  
still material2 intellect dwells not    
there2 nor will fire ever make  lead    
gold6    ,i come round to my old        
argument2 if woman be allowed to have an
  immortal soul1 she must have as the   
employment of life1 an  understanding to

 improve4  ,and when1 to render the     
present state  more complete1 though    
every thing proves it to be but a       
fraction of  a mighty sum1 she is       
incited by present gratification to     
forget her  grand destination4  ,nature 
is counteracted1 or she was born only to
  procreate and rot4  ,or1 granting     
brutes1 of every description1 a  soul1  
though not a reasonable one1 the        
exercise of instinct and  sensibility   
may be the step1 which they are to take1
 in this life1  towards the attainment  
of reason in the next2 so that through  
all  eternity they will lag behind man1 
who1 why we cannot tell1 had the  power 
given him of attaining reason in his    
first mode of existence4    ,when ,i    
treat of the peculiar duties of women1  
as ,i should treat of  the peculiar     
duties of a citizen or father1 it will  
be found that ,i  do not mean to        
insinuate1 that they should be taken out
 of their  families1 speaking of the    
majority4  ,he that hath wife and       

children1 says ,lord ,bacon1 hath given 
hostages to fortune2 for  they are      
impediments to great enterprises1 either
 of virtue or  mischief4  ,certainly the
 best works1 and of greatest merit for  
the  public1 have proceeded from the    
unmarried or childless men4 ,i say  the 
same of women4  ,but1 the welfare of    
society is not built on  extraordinary  
exertions2 and were it more reasonably  
organized1  there would be still less   
need of great abilities1 or heroic      
virtues4  ,in the regulation of a       
family1 in the education of  children1  
understanding1 in an unsophisticated    
sense1 is  particularly required3       
strength both of body and mind2 yet the 
men  who1 by their writings1 have most  
earnestly laboured to domesticate       
women1 have endeavoured by arguments    
dictated by a gross appetite1  that     
satiety had rendered fastidious1 to     
weaken their bodies and  cramp their    
minds4  ,but1 if even by these sinister 
methods they  really ,,persuaded women1 

by working on their feelings1 to stay at
  home1 and fulfil the duties of a      
mother and mistress of a family1 ,i     
should cautiously oppose opinions that  
led women to right conduct1  by         
prevailing on them to make the discharge
 of a duty the business  of life1 though
 reason were insulted4  ,yet1 and ,i    
appeal to  experience1 if by neglecting 
the understanding they are as much1     
nay1 more attached from these domestic  
duties1 than they could be  by the most 
serious intellectual pursuit1 though it 
may be  observed1 that the mass of      
mankind will never vigorously pursue an 
intellectual object1 ,i may be allowed  
to infer1 that reason is  absolutely    
necessary to enable a woman to perform  
any duty  properly1 and ,i must again   
repeat1 that sensibility is not reason4 
,the comparison with the rich still     
occurs to me2 for1 when men  neglect the
 duties of humanity1 women will do the  
same2 a common  stream hurries them both
 along with thoughtless celerity4       

,riches  and honours prevent a man from 
enlarging his understanding1 and        
enervate all his powers1 by reversing   
the order of nature1 which  has ever    
made true pleasure the reward of labour4
  ,pleasure--enervating pleasure is1    
likewise1 within woman's reach  without 
earning it4  ,but1 till hereditary      
possessions are spread  abroad1 how can 
we expect men to be proud of virtue8    
,and1 till  they are1 women will govern 
them by the most direct means1          
neglecting their dull domestic duties1  
to catch the pleasure that  is on the   
wing of time4    ,the power of women1   
says some author1 is her sensibility2   
and  men not aware of the consequence1  
do all they can to make this  power     
swallow up every other4  ,those who     
constantly employ their  sensibility    
will have most3 for example2 poets1     
painters1 and  composers4  ,yet1 when   
the sensibility is thus increased at the
  expense of reason1 and even the       
imagination1 why do philosophical  men  

complain of their fickleness8  ,the     
sexual attention of man  particularly   
acts on female sensibility1 and this    
sympathy has been  exercised from their 
youth up4  ,a husband cannot long pay   
those  attentions with the passion      
necessary to excite lively emotions1    
and the heart1 accustomed to lively     
emotions1 turns to a new lover1  or     
pines in secret1 the prey of virtue or  
prudence4  ,i mean when  the heart has  
really been rendered susceptible1 and   
the taste  formed2 for ,i am apt to     
conclude1 from what ,i have seen in     
fashionable life1 that vanity is oftener
 fostered than sensibility  by the mode 
of education1 and the intercourse       
between the sexes1  which ,i have       
reprobated2 and that coquetry more      
frequently proceeds  from vanity than   
from that inconstancy1 which            
overstrained  sensibility naturally     
produces4    ,another argument that has 
had a great weight with me1 must1 ,i    
think1 have some force with every       

considerate benevolent heart4  ,girls1  
who have been thus weakly educated1 are 
often cruelly left  by their parents    
without any provision2 and1 of course1  
are  dependent on1 not only the reason1 
but the bounty of their  brothers4      
,these brothers are1 to view the fairest
 side of the  question1 good sort of    
men1 and give as a favour1 what children
 of  the same parents had an equal right
 to4  ,in this equivocal  humiliating   
situation1 a docile female may remain   
some time1 with a  tolerable degree of  
comfort4  ,but1 when the brother        
marries1 a  probable circumstance1 from 
being considered as the mistress of the 
family1 she is viewed with averted looks
 as an intruder1 an  unnecessary burden 
on the benevolence of the master of the 
house1  and his new partner4    ,who can
 recount the misery1 which many         
unfortunate beings1 whose  minds and    
bodies are equally weak1 suffer in such 
situations--unable to work and ashamed  
to beg8  ,the wife1 a  cold-hearted1    

narrow-minded woman1 and this is not an 
unfair  supposition2 for the present    
mode of education does not tend to      
enlarge the heart any more than the     
understanding1 is jealous of  the little
 kindness which her husband shows to his
 relations2 and  her sensibility not    
rising to humanity1 she is displeased at
 seeing  the property of ,,her children 
lavished on an helpless sister4         
,these are matters of fact1 which have  
come under my eye again and  again4     
,the consequence is obvious1 the wife   
has recourse to  cunning to undermine   
the habitual affection1 which she is    
afraid  openly to oppose2 and neither   
tears nor caresses are spared till  the 
spy is worked out of her home1 and      
thrown on the world1  unprepared for its
 difficulties2 or sent1 as a great      
effort of  generosity1 or from some     
regard to propriety1 with a small       
stipend1  and an uncultivated mind into 
joyless solitude4    ,these two women   
may be much upon a par1 with respect to 

reason and  humanity2 and changing      
situations1 might have acted just the   
same  selfish part2 but had they been   
differently educated1 the case  would   
also have been very different4  ,the    
wife would not have had  that           
sensibility1 of which self is the       
centre1 and reason might  have taught   
her not to expect1 and not even to be   
flattered by the  affection of her      
husband1 if it led him to violate prior 
duties4  ,she would wish not to love    
him1 merely because he loved her1 but on
  account of his virtues2 and the sister
 might have been able to  struggle for  
herself1 instead of eating the bitter   
bread of  dependence4    ,i am1 indeed1 
persuaded that the heart1 as well as the
  understanding1 is opened by           
cultivation2 and by1 which may not      
appear so clear1 strengthening the      
organs2 ,i am not now talking of        
momentary flashes of sensibility1 but of
 affections4  ,and1 perhaps1  in the    
education of both sexes1 the most       

difficult task is so to  adjust         
instruction as not to narrow the        
understanding1 whilst the  heart is     
warmed by the generous juices of spring1
 just raised by  the electric           
fermentation of the season2 nor to dry  
up the feelings  by employing the mind  
in investigations remote from life4     
,with respect to women1 when they       
receive a careful education1 they  are  
either made fine ladies1 brimful of     
sensibility1 and teeming  with          
capricious fancies2 or mere notable     
women4  ,the latter are  often friendly1
 honest creatures1 and have a shrewd    
kind of good  sense joined with worldly 
prudence1 that often render them more   
useful members of society than the fine 
sentimental lady1 though  they possess  
neither greatness of mind nor taste4    
,the intellectual  world is shut against
 them2 take them out of their family or 
neighbourhood1 and they stand still2 the
 mind finding no  employment1 for       
literature affords a fund of amusement1 

which they  have never sought to relish1
 but frequently to despise4  ,the       
sentiments and taste of more cultivated 
minds appear ridiculous1  even in those 
whom chance and family connexions have  
led them to  love2 but in mere          
acquaintance they think it all          
affectation4    ,a man of sense can only
 love such a woman on account of her    
sex1  and respect her1 because she is a 
trusty servant4  ,he lets her1 to       
preserve his own peace1 scold the       
servants1 and go to church in  clothes  
made of the very best materials4  ,a man
 of her own size of  understanding      
would1 probably1 not agree so well with 
her2 for he  might wish to encroach on  
her prerogative1 and manage some        
domestic  concerns himself4  ,yet women1
 whose minds are not enlarged by        
cultivation1 or the natural selfishness 
of sensibility expanded by  reflection1 
are very unfit to manage a family2 for  
by an undue  stretch of power1 they are 
always tyrannizing to support a         

superiority that only rests on the      
arbitrary distinction of  fortune4  ,the
 evil is sometimes more serious1 and    
domestics are  deprived of innocent     
indulgences1 and made to work beyond    
their  strength1 in order to enable the 
notable woman to keep a better  table1  
and outshine her neighbours in finery   
and parade4  ,if she  attend to her     
children1 it is1 in general1 to dress   
them in a  costly manner--and1 whether1 
this attention arises from vanity or    
fondness1 it is equally pernicious4     
,besides1 how many women of this        
description pass their days1 or1 at     
least their evenings1 discontentedly4   
,their husbands acknowledge  that they  
are good managers1 and chaste wives2 but
 leave home to  seek for more agreeable1
 may ,i be allowed to use a significant 
,french word1 piquant society2 and the  
patient drudge1 who fulfils  her task1  
like a blind horse in a mill1 is        
defrauded of her just  reward2 for the  
wages due to her are the caresses of her

 husband2  and women who have so few    
resources in themselves1 do not very    
patiently bear this privation of a      
natural right4    ,a fine lady1 on the  
contrary1 has been taught to look down  
with  contempt on the vulgar employments
 of life2 though she has only  been     
incited to acquire accomplishments that 
rise a degree above  sense2 for even    
corporeal accomplishments cannot be     
acquired with  any degree of precision1 
unless the understanding has been       
strengthened by exercise4  ,without a   
foundation of principles taste  is      
superficial2 and grace must arise from  
something deeper than  imitation4  ,the 
imagination1 however1 is heated1 and the
 feelings  rendered fastidious1 if not  
sophisticated2 or1 a counterpoise of    
judgment is not acquired1 when the heart
 still remains artless1  though it      
becomes too tender4    ,these women are 
often amiable2 and their hearts are     
really more  sensible to general        
benevolence1 more alive to the          

sentiments that  civilize life1 than the
 square elbowed family drudge2 but1     
wanting  a due proportion of reflection 
and self-government1 they only  inspire 
love2 and are the mistresses of their   
husbands1 whilst they  have any hold on 
their affections2 and the platonic      
friends of his  male acquaintance4      
,these are the fair defects in nature2  
the women  who appear to be created not 
to enjoy the fellowship of man1 but to  
save him from sinking into absolute     
brutality1 by rubbing off the  rough    
angles of his character2 and by playful 
dalliance to give  some dignity to the  
appetite that draws him to them4        
,gracious  ,creator of the whole human  
race6 hast thou created such a being as 
woman1 who can trace thy wisdom in thy  
works1 and feel that thou  alone art by 
thy nature1 exalted above her--for no   
better purpose8  ,can she believe that  
she was only made to submit to man her  
equal2  a being1 who1 like her1 was sent
 into the world to acquire virtue8  ,can

 she consent to be occupied merely to   
please him2 merely to  adorn the earth1 
when her soul is capable of rising to   
thee8  ,and  can she rest supinely      
dependent on man for reason1 when she   
ought  to mount with him the arduous    
steeps of knowledge8    ,yet1 if love be
 the supreme good1 let women be only    
educated to  inspire it1 and let every  
charm be polished to intoxicate the     
senses2 but1 if they are moral beings1  
let them have a chance to  become       
intelligent2 and let love to man be only
 a part of that  glowing flame of       
universal love1 which1 after encircling 
humanity1  mounts in grateful incense to
 ,god4    ,to fulfil domestic duties    
much resolution is necessary1 and a     
serious kind of perseverance that       
requires a more firm support than       
emotions1 however lively and true to    
nature4  ,to give an example of  order1 
the soul of virtue1 some austerity of   
behaviour must be  adopted1 scarcely to 
be expected from a being who1 from its  

infancy1 has been made the weathercock  
of its own sensations4  ,whoever        
rationally means to be useful1 must have
 a plan of conduct2  and1 in the        
discharge of the simplest duty1 we are  
often obliged to  act contrary to the   
present impulse of tenderness or        
compassion4  ,severity is frequently the
 most certain1 as well as the most      
sublime proof of affection2 and the want
 of this power over the  feelings1 and  
of that lofty1 dignified affection1     
which makes a  person prefer the future 
good of the beloved object to a present 
gratification1 is the reason why so many
 fond mothers spoil their  children1 and
 has made it questionable1 whether      
negligence or  indulgence is most       
hurtful3  but ,i am inclined to think1  
that the  latter has done most harm4    
,mankind seem to agree1 that children   
should be left under the  management of 
women during their childhood4  ,now1    
from all the  observation that ,i have  
been able to make1 women of sensibility 

are  the most unfit for this task1      
because they will infallibly1 carried   
away by their feelings1 spoil a child's 
temper4  ,the management of  the temper1
 the first and most important branch of 
education1  requires the sober steady   
eye of reason2 a plan of conduct equally
  distant from tyranny and indulgence2  
yet these are the extremes  that people 
of sensibility alternately fall into2   
always shooting  beyond the mark4  ,i   
have followed this train of reasoning   
much  further1 till ,i have concluded1  
that a person of genius is the most     
improper person to be employed in       
education1 public or private4  ,minds of
 this rare species see things too much  
in masses1 and  seldom1 if ever1 have a 
good temper4  ,that habitual            
cheerfulness1  termed good humour1 is1  
perhaps1 as seldom united with great    
mental  powers1 as with strong feelings4
  ,and those people who follow1 with    
interest and admiration1 the flights of 
genius2 or1 with cooler  approbation    

suck in the instruction1 which has been 
elaborately  prepared for them by the   
profound thinker1 ought not to be       
disgusted1 if they find the former      
choleric1 and the latter morose2        
because liveliness of fancy1 and a      
tenacious comprehension of mind1  are   
scarcely compatible with that pliant    
urbanity which leads a  man1 at least to
 bend to the opinions and prejudices of 
others1  instead of roughly confronting 
them4    ,but1 treating of education or 
manners1 minds of a superior class  are 
not to be considered1 they may be left  
to chance2 it is the  multitude1 with   
moderate abilities1 who call for        
instruction1 and  catch the colour of   
the atmosphere they breathe4  ,this     
respectable  concourse1 ,i contend1 men 
and women1 should not have their        
sensations heightened in the hot-bed of 
luxurious indolence1 at the  expence of 
their understanding2 for1 unless there  
be a ballast of  understanding1 they    
will never become either virtuous or    

free3  an  aristocracy1 founded on      
property1 or sterling talents1 will ever
  sweep before it1 the alternately timid
 and ferocious slaves of  feeling4      
,numberless are the arguments1 to take  
another view of the subject1  brought   
forward with a show of reason2 because  
supposed to be  deduced from nature1    
that men have used morally and          
physically to  degrade the sex4  ,i must
 notice a few4    ,the female           
understanding has often been spoken of  
with contempt1 as  arriving sooner at   
maturity than the male4  ,i shall not   
answer this  argument by alluding to the
 early proofs of reason1 as well as     
genius1 in ,cowley1 ,milton1 and ,pope1 
7,many other names might be  added47 but
 only appeal to experience to decide    
whether young men1  who are early       
introduced into company 7and examples   
now abound7 do  not acquire the same    
precocity4  ,so notorious is this fact1 
that  the bare mentioning of it must    
bring before people1 who at all mix  in 

the world1 the idea of a number of      
swaggering apes of men whose            
understandings are narrowed by being    
brought into the society of  men when   
they ought to have been spinning a top  
or twirling a hoop4    ,it has also been
 asserted1 by some naturalists1 that men
 do not  attain their full growth and   
strength till thirty2 but that women    
arrive at maturity by twenty4  ,i       
apprehend that they reason on  false    
ground1 led astray by the male          
prejudice1 which deems beauty  the      
perfection of woman--mere beauty of     
features and complexion1  the vulgar    
acceptation of the world1 whilst male   
beauty is allowed  to have some         
connexion with the mind4  ,strength of  
body1 and that  character of            
countenance1 which the ,french term a   
physionomie1  women do not acquire      
before thirty1 any more than men4  ,the 
little  artless tricks of children1 it  
is true1 are particularly pleasing  and 
attractive2 yet1 when the pretty        

freshness of youth is worn  off1 these  
artless graces become studied airs1 and 
disgust every  person of taste4  ,in the
 countenance of girls we only look for  
vivacity and bashful modesty2 but1 the  
springtide of life over1 we  look for   
soberer sense in the face1 and for      
traces of passion1  instead of the      
dimples of animal spirits2 expecting to 
see  individuality of character1 the    
only fastener of the affections4  ,we   
then wish to converse1 not to fondle2 to
 give scope to our  imaginations1 as    
well as to the sensations of our hearts4
    ,at twenty the beauty of both sexes 
is equal2 but the libertinism of  man   
leads him to make the distinction1 and  
superannuated coquettes  are commonly of
 the same opinion2 for when they can no 
longer  inspire love1 they pay for the  
vigour and vivacity of youth4  ,the     
,french who admit more of mind into     
their notions of beauty1 give  the      
preference to women of thirty4  ,i mean 
to say1 that they allow  women to be in 

their most perfect state1 when vivacity 
gives place  to reason1 and to that     
majestic seriousness of character1 which
  marks maturity2 or1 the resting point4
  ,in youth1 till twenty the  body      
shoots out2 till thirty the solids are  
attaining a degree of  density2 and the 
flexible muscles1 growing daily more    
rigid1 give  character to the           
countenance2 that is1 they trace the    
operations of  the mind with the iron   
pen of fate1 and tell us not only what  
powers are within1 but how they have    
been employed4    ,it is proper to      
observe1 that animals who arrive slowly 
at  maturity1 are the longest lived1 and
 of the noblest species4  ,men  cannot1 
however1 claim any natural superiority  
from the grandeur of  longevity2 for in 
this respect nature has not             
distinguished the  male4    ,polygamy is
 another physical degradation2 and a    
plausible argument  for a custom1 that  
blasts every domestic virtue1 is drawn  
from the  well-attested fact1 that in   

the countries where it is established1  
more females are born than males4  ,this
 appears to be an indication  of nature1
 and to nature apparently reasonable    
speculations must  yield4  ,a further   
conclusion obviously presents itself2 if
 polygamy  be necessary1 woman must be  
inferior to man1 and made for him4      
,with respect to the formation of the   
foetus in the womb1 we are  very        
ignorant2 but it appears to me probable1
 that an accidental  physical cause may 
account for this phenomenon1 and prove  
it not to  be a law of nature4  ,i have 
met with some pertinent observations on 
the subject in ,forster's ,account of   
the ,isles of the ,south ,sea1  that    
will explain my meaning4  ,after        
observing that of the two  sexes amongst
 animals1 the most vigorous and hottest 
constitution  always prevails1 and      
produces its kind2 he adds1--,if this be
  applied to the inhabitants of ,africa1
 it is evident that the men  there1     
accustomed to polygamy1 are enervated by

 the use of so many  women1 and         
therefore less vigorous2 the women on   
the contrary1 are  of a hotter          
constitution1 not only on account of    
their more  irritable nerves1 more      
sensitive organization1 and more lively 
fancy2 but likewise because they are    
deprived in their matrimony of  that    
share of physical love which in a       
monogamous condition1 would  all be     
theirs2 and thus for the above reasons1 
the generality of  children are born    
females4    ,in the greater part of     
,europe it has been proved by the most  
accurate lists of mortality1 that the   
proportion of men to women is  nearly   
equal1 or1 if any difference takes      
place1 the males born are  more         
numerous1 in the proportion of #aje to  
#ajj4    ,the necessity of polygamy1    
therefore1 does not appear2 yet when a  
man seduces a woman1 it should ,i think1
 be termed a ,,left-,,handed  marriage1 
and the man should be ,,legally obliged 
to maintain the  woman and her children1

 unless adultery1 a natural divorcement1
  abrogated the law4  ,and this law     
should remain in force as long as  the  
weakness of women caused the word       
seduction to be used as an  excuse for  
their frailty and want of principle2    
nay1 while they  depend on man for a    
subsistence1 instead of earning it by   
the  exercise of their own hands or     
heads4  ,but these women should not  in 
the full meaning of the relationship1 be
 termed wives1 or the  very purpose of  
marriage would be subverted1 and all    
those  endearing charities that flow    
from personal fidelity1 and give a      
sanctity to the tie1 when neither love  
nor friendship unites the  hearts1 would
 melt into selfishness4  ,the woman who 
is faithful to  the father of her       
children demands respect1 and should not
 be  treated like a prostitute2 though  
,i readily grant1 that if it be         
necessary for a man and woman to live   
together in order to bring up  their    
offspring1 nature never intended that a 

man should have more  than one wife4    
,still1 highly as ,i respect marriage1  
as the foundation of almost  every      
social virtue1 ,i cannot avoid feeling  
the most lively  compassion for those   
unfortunate females who are broken off  
from  society1 and by one error torn    
from all those affections and           
relationships that improve the heart and
 mind4  ,it does not  frequently even   
deserve the name of error2 for many     
innocent girls  become the dupes of a   
sincere affectionate heart1 and still   
more  are1 as it may emphatically be    
termed1 ,,ruined before they know the   
difference between virtue and vice3  and
 thus prepared by their  education for  
infamy1 they become infamous4  ,asylums 
and ,magdalens  are not the proper      
remedies for these abuses4  ,it is      
justice1 not  charity1 that is wanting  
in the world6    ,a woman who has lost  
her honour1 imagines that she cannot    
fall  lower1 and as for recovering her  
former station1 it is impossible2  no   

exertion can wash this stain away4      
,losing thus every spur1 and  having no 
other means of support1 prostitution    
becomes her only  refuge1 and the       
character is quickly depraved by        
circumstances over  which the poor      
wretch has little power1 unless she     
possesses an  uncommon portion of sense 
and loftiness of spirit4  ,necessity    
never  makes prostitution the business  
of men's lives2 though numberless  are  
the women who are thus rendered         
systematically vicious4  ,this1         
however1 arises1 in a great degree1 from
 the state of idleness in  which women  
are educated1 who are always taught to  
look up to man  for a maintenance1 and  
to consider their persons as the proper 
return for his exertions to support     
them4  ,meretricious airs1 and  the     
whole science of wantonness1 has then a 
more powerful stimulus  than either     
appetite or vanity2 and this remark     
gives force to the  prevailing opinion1 
that with chastity all is lost that is  

respectable in woman4  ,her character   
depends on the observance of  one       
virtue1 though the only passion fostered
 in her heart--is love4  ,nay the honour
 of a woman is not made even to depend  
on her will4    ,when ,richardson makes 
,clarissa tell ,lovelace that he had    
robbed her  of her honour1 he must have 
had strange notions of honour and       
virtue4  ,for1 miserable beyond all     
names of misery is the condition  of a  
being1 who could be degraded without its
 own consent6  ,this  excess of         
strictness ,i have heard vindicated as a
 salutary error4  ,i shall answer in the
 words of ,leibnitz--,errors are often  
useful2  but it is commonly to remedy   
other errors4    ,most of the evils of  
life arise from a desire of present     
enjoyment  that outruns itself4  ,the   
obedience required of women in the      
marriage state1 comes under this        
description2 the mind1 naturally        
weakened by depending on authority1     
never exerts its own powers1  and the   

obedient wife is thus rendered a weak   
indolent mother4  ,or1  supposing that  
this is not always the consequence1 a   
future state  of existence is scarcely  
taken into the reckoning when only      
negative virtues are cultivated4  ,for  
in treating of morals1  particularly    
when women are alluded to1 writers have 
too often  considered virtue in a very  
limited sense1 and made the foundation  
of it ,,solely worldly utility2 nay1 a  
still more fragile base has  been given 
to this stupendous fabric1 and the      
wayward fluctuating  feelings of men    
have been made the standard of virtue4  
,yes1 virtue  as well as religion1 has  
been subjected to the decisions of      
taste4    ,it would almost provoke a    
smile of contempt1 if the vain          
absurdities of man did not strike us on 
all sides1 to observe1 how  eager men   
are to degrade the sex from whom they   
pretend to receive  the chief pleasure  
of life2 and ,i have frequently1 with   
full  conviction1 retorted ,pope's      

sarcasm on them2 or1 to speak           
explicitly1 it has appeared to me       
applicable to the whole human  race4  ,a
 love of pleasure or sway seems to      
divide mankind1 and the  husband who    
lords it in his little harem1 thinks    
only of his  pleasure or his            
convenience4  ,to such lengths1 indeed1 
does an  intemperate love of pleasure   
carry some prudent men1 or worn out     
libertines1 who marry to have a safe    
companion1 that they seduce  their own  
wives4  ,hymen banishes modesty1 and    
chaste love takes its  flight4    ,love1
 considered as an animal appetite1      
cannot long feed on itself  without     
expiring4  ,and this extinction1 in its 
own flame1 may be  termed the violent   
death of love4  ,but the wife who has   
thus been  rendered licentious1 will    
probably endeavour to fill the void left
  by the loss of her husband's          
attentions2 for she cannot contentedly  
become merely an upper servant after    
having been treated like a  goddess4    

,she is still handsome1 and1 instead of 
transferring her  fondness to her       
children1 she only dreams of enjoying   
the sunshine  of life4  ,besides1 there 
are many husbands so devoid of sense and
  parental affection1 that during the   
first effervescence of  voluptuous      
fondness1 they refuse to let their wives
 suckle their  children4  ,they are only
 to dress and live to please them3  and 
love1 even innocent love1 soon sinks    
into lasciviousness when the  exercise  
of a duty is sacrificed to its          
indulgence4    ,personal attachment is a
 very happy foundation for friendship2  
yet1  when even two virtuous young      
people marry1 it would1 perhaps1 be     
happy if some circumstance checked their
 passion2 if the  recollection of some  
prior attachment1 or disappointed       
affection1  made it on one side1 at     
least1 rather a match founded on esteem4
  ,in that case they would look beyond  
the present moment1 and try to  render  
the whole of life respectable1 by       

forming a plan to regulate  a friendship
 which only death ought to dissolve4    
,friendship is a serious affection2 the 
most sublime of all  affections1 because
 it is founded on principle1 and        
cemented by  time4  ,the very reverse   
may be said of love4  ,in a great       
degree1  love and friendship cannot     
subsist in the same bosom2 even when    
inspired by different objects they      
weaken or destroy each other1  and for  
the same object can only be felt in     
succession4  ,the vain  fears and fond  
jealousies1 the winds which fan the     
flame of love1  when judiciously or     
artfully tempered1 are both incompatible
 with  the tender confidence and sincere
 respect of friendship4    ,love1 such  
as the glowing pen of genius has traced1
 exists not on  earth1 or only resides  
in those exalted1 fervid imaginations   
that  have sketched such dangerous      
pictures4  ,dangerous1 because they not 
only afford a plausible excuse to the   
voluptuary1 who disguises  sheer        

sensuality under a sentimental veil2 but
 as they spread  affectation1 and take  
from the dignity of virtue4  ,virtue1 as
 the  very word imports1 should have an 
appearance of seriousness1 if not       
austerity2 and to endeavour to trick her
 out in the garb of  pleasure1 because  
the epithet has been used as another    
name for  beauty1 is to exalt her on a  
quicksand2 a most insidious attempt to  
hasten her fall by apparent respect4    
,virtue1 and pleasure are not1  in fact1
 so nearly allied in this life as some  
eloquent writers  have laboured to      
prove4  ,pleasure prepares the fading   
wreath1 and  mixes the intoxicating cup2
 but the fruit which virtue gives1 is   
the recompence of toil3  and1 gradually 
seen as it ripens1 only  affords calm   
satisfaction2 nay1 appearing to be the  
result of the  natural tendency of      
things1 it is scarcely observed4        
,bread1 the  common food of life1 seldom
 thought of as a blessing1 supports the 
constitution1 and preserves health2     

still feasts delight the heart  of man1 
though disease and even death lurk in   
the cup or dainty  that elevates the    
spirits or tickles the palate4  ,the    
lively heated  imagination in the same  
style1 draws the picture of love1 as it 
draws every other picture1 with those   
glowing colours1 which the  daring hand 
will steal from the rainbow that is     
directed by a mind1  condemned1 in a    
world like this1 to prove its noble     
origin1 by  panting after unattainable  
perfection2 ever pursuing what it       
acknowledges to be a fleeting dream4    
,an imagination of this  vigorous cast  
can give existence to insubstantial     
forms1 and  stability to the shadowy    
reveries which the mind naturally falls 
into when realities are found vapid4    
,it can then depict love with  celestial
 charms1 and dote on the grand ideal    
object2 it can  imagine a degree of     
mutual affection that shall refine the  
soul1  and not expire when it has served
 as a scale to heavenly2 and1  like     

devotion1 make it absorb every meaner   
affection and desire4  ,in each other's 
arms1 as in a temple1 with its summit   
lost in the  clouds1 the world is to be 
shut out1 and every thought and wish1   
that do not nurture pure affection and  
permanent virtue4  ,permanent  virtue6  
alas6 ,rousseau1 respectable visionary6 
thy paradise would  soon be violated by 
the entrance of some unexpected guest4  
,like  ,milton's1 it would only contain 
angels1 or men sunk below the  dignity  
of rational creatures4  ,happiness is   
not material1 it  cannot be seen or     
felt6  ,yet the eager pursuit of the    
good which  every one shapes to his own 
fancy1 proclaims man the lord of this   
lower world1 and to be an intelligential
 creature1 who is not to  receive1 but  
acquire happiness4  ,they1 therefore1   
who complain of  the delusions of       
passion1 do not recollect that they are 
exclaiming  against a strong proof of   
the immortality of the soul4    ,but1   
leaving superior minds to correct       

themselves1 and pay dearly  for their   
experience1 it is necessary to observe1 
that it is not  against strong1         
persevering passions2 but romantic1     
wavering  feelings1 that ,i wish to     
guard the female heart by exercising the
  understanding2 for these paradisiacal 
reveries are oftener the  effect of     
idleness than of a lively fancy4        
,women have seldom sufficient serious   
employment to silence their  feelings2 a
 round of little cares1 or vain         
pursuits1 frittering  away all strength 
of mind and organs1 they become         
naturally only  objects of sense4  ,in  
short1 the whole tenor of female        
education  7the education of society7   
tends to render the best disposed1      
romantic and inconstant2 and the        
remainder vain and mean4  ,in the       
present state of society1 this evil can 
scarcely be remedied1 ,i am  afraid1 in 
the slightest degree2 should a more     
laudable ambition  ever gain ground1    
they may be brought nearer to nature and

 reason1  and become more virtuous and  
useful as they grow more respectable4   
,but ,i will venture to assert1 that    
their reason will never acquire         
sufficient strength to enable it to     
regulate their conduct1 whilst  the     
making an appearance in the world is the
 first wish of the  majority of mankind4
  ,to this weak wish the natural        
affections and  the most useful virtues 
are sacrificed4  ,girls marry merely to 
,,better ,,themselves1 to borrow a      
significant vulgar phrase1 and have     
such perfect power over their hearts as 
not to permit themselves to  ,,fall ,,in
 ,,love till a man with a superior      
fortune offers4  ,on this  subject ,i   
mean to enlarge in a future chapter2 it 
is only necessary  to drop a hint at    
present1 because women are so often     
degraded by  suffering the selfish      
prudence of age to chill the ardour of  
youth4    ,from the same source flows an
 opinion that young girls ought to      
dedicate great part of their time to    

needle work2 yet1 this  employment      
contracts their faculties more than any 
other that could  have been chosen for  
them1 by confining their thoughts to    
their  persons4  ,men order their       
clothes to be made1 and have done with  
the subject2 women make their own       
clothes1 necessary or ornamental1  and  
are continually talking about them2 and 
their thoughts follow  their hands4  ,it
 is not indeed the making of necessaries
 that  weakens the mind2 but the        
frippery of dress4  ,for when a woman in
  the lower rank of life makes her      
husband's and children's clothes1  she  
does her duty1 this is part of her      
business2 but when women  work only to  
dress better than they could otherwise  
afford1 it is  worse than sheer loss of 
time4  ,to render the poor virtuous1    
they  must be employed1 and women in the
 middle rank of life did they not  ape  
the fashions of the nobility1 without   
catching their ease1  might employ them1
 whilst they themselves managed their   

families1  instructed their children1   
and exercised their own minds4          
,gardening1 experimental philosophy1 and
 literature1 would afford  them subjects
 to think of1 and matter for            
conversation1 that in  some degree would
 exercise their understandings4  ,the   
conversation  of ,french women1 who are 
not so rigidly nailed to their chairs1  
to  twist lappets1 and knot ribbands1 is
 frequently superficial2 but1 ,i        
contend1 that it is not half so insipid 
as that of those ,english  women1 whose 
time is spent in making caps1 bonnets1  
and the whole  mischief of trimmings1   
not to mention shopping1                
bargain-hunting1  etc4 etc43  and it is 
the decent1 prudent women1 who are most 
degraded by these practices2 for their  
motive is simply vanity4  ,the wanton1  
who exercises her taste to render her   
person alluring1  has something more in 
view4    ,these observations all branch 
out of a general one1 which ,i have     
before made1 and which cannot be too    

often insisted upon1 for1  speaking of  
men1 women1 or professions1 it will be  
found1 that the  employment of the      
thoughts shapes the character both      
generally and  individually4  ,the      
thoughts of women ever hover around     
their  persons1 and is it surprising    
that their persons are reckoned most    
valuable8  ,yet some degree of liberty  
of mind is necessary even to  form the  
person2 and this may be one reason why  
some gentle wives  have so few          
attractions beside that of sex4  ,add to
 this1 sedentary  employments render the
 majority of women sickly1 and false    
notions  of female excellence make them 
proud of this delicacy1 though it be    
another fetter1 that by calling the     
attention continually to the  body1     
cramps the activity of the mind4        
,women of quality seldom do any of the  
manual part of their dress1             
consequently only their taste is        
exercised1 and they acquire1 by         
thinking less of the finery1 when the   

business of their toilet is  over1 that 
ease1 which seldom appears in the       
deportment of women1  who dress merely  
for the sake of dressing4  ,in fact1 the
  observation with respect to the middle
 rank1 the one in which  talents thrive 
best1 extends not to women2 for those of
 the  superior class1 by catching1 at   
least a smattering of literature1  and  
conversing more with men1 on general    
topics1 acquire more  knowledge than the
 women who ape their fashions and faults
 without  sharing their advantages4     
,with respect to virtue1 to use the word
  in a comprehensive sense1 ,i have seen
 most in low life4  ,many poor  women   
maintain their children by the sweat of 
their brow1 and keep  together families 
that the vices of the fathers would have
  scattered abroad2 but gentlewomen are 
too indolent to be actively  virtuous1  
and are softened rather than refined by 
civilization4  ,indeed the good sense   
which ,i have met with among the poor   
women  who have had few advantages of   

education1 and yet have acted           
heroically1 strongly confirmed me in the
 opinion1 that trifling  employments    
have rendered women a trifler4  ,men1   
taking her 7',i  take her body1' says   
,ranger47 body1 the mind is left to     
rust2 so  that while physical love      
enervates man1 as being his favourite   
recreation1 he will endeavour to enslave
 woman3  and who can tell  how many     
generations may be necessary to give    
vigour to the virtue  and talents of the
 freed posterity of abject slaves8      
7',supposing  that women are voluntary  
slaves--slavery of any kind is          
unfavourable to human happiness and     
improvement4'--',knox's  ,essays'47     
,in tracing the causes that in my       
opinion1 have degraded woman1 ,i  have  
confined my observations to such as     
universally act upon the  morals and    
manners of the whole sex1 and to me it  
appears clear1  that they all spring    
from want of understanding4  ,whether   
this  arises from a physical or         

accidental weakness of faculties1 time  
alone can determine2 for ,i shall not   
lay any great stress upon the  example  
of a few women 7,sappho1 ,eloisa1 ,mrs4 
,macaulay1 the ,empress  of ,russia1    
,madame d',eon1 etc4  ,these1 and many  
more1 may be  reckoned exceptions2 and1 
are not all heroes1 as well as heroines1
  exceptions to general rules8  ,i wish 
to see women neither heroines  nor      
brutes2 but reasonable creatures47 who1 
from having received a  masculine       
education1 have acquired courage and    
resolution2 ,i only  contend that the   
men who have been placed in similar     
situations  have acquired a similar     
character1 ,i speak of bodies of men1   
and  that men of genius and talents have
 started out of a class1 in  which women
 have never yet been placed4            
,,chapter #e4    ,,animadversions ,,on  
,,some ,,of ,,the ,,writers ,,who ,,have
 ,,rendered ,,women  ,,objects ,,of     
,,pity1 ,,bordering ,,on ,,contempt4    
,the opinions speciously supported1 in  

some modern publications on  the female 
character1 and education1 which have    
given the tone to  most of the          
observations made1 in a more cursory    
manner1 on the  sex1 remain now to be   
examined4    ,,section #e4a4    ,i shall
 begin with ,rousseau1 and give a sketch
 of the character of  women in his own  
words1 interspersing comments and       
reflections4  ,my  comments1 it is true1
 will all spring from a few simple      
principles1  and might have been deduced
 from what ,i have already said2 but the
  artificial structure has been raised  
with so much ingenuity1 that  it seems  
necessary to attack it in a more        
circumstantial manner1  and make the    
application myself4    ,sophia1 says    
,rousseau1 should be as perfect a woman 
as ,emilius is a  man1 and to render her
 so1 it is necessary to examine the     
character  which nature has given to the
 sex4    ,he then proceeds to prove1    
that women ought to be weak and passive1
  because she has less bodily strength  

than man2 and from hence  infers1 that  
she was formed to please and to be      
subject to him2 and  that it is her duty
 to render herself ,,agreeable to her   
master--this  being the grand end of her
 existence4    ,supposing women to have 
been formed only to please1 and be      
subject  to man1 the conclusion is just1
 she ought to sacrifice every other     
consideration to render herself         
agreeable to him3  and let this  brutal 
desire of self-preservation be the grand
 spring of all her  actions1 when it is 
proved to be the iron bed of fate1 to   
fit  which1 her character should be     
stretched or contracted1 regardless  of 
all moral or physical distinctions4     
,but if1 as ,i think may be             
demonstrated1 the purposes of even this 
life1 viewing the whole1  are subverted 
by practical rules built upon this      
ignoble base1 ,i  may be allowed to     
doubt whether woman was created for man3
  and  though the cry of irreligion1 or 
even atheism be raised against me1  ,i  

will simply declare1 that were an angel 
from heaven to tell me  that ,moses's   
beautiful1 poetical cosmogony1 and the  
account of the  fall of man1 were       
literally true1 ,i could not believe    
what my  reason told me was derogatory  
to the character of the ,supreme        
,being3  and1 having no fear of the     
devil before mine eyes1 ,i  venture to  
call this a suggestion of reason1       
instead of resting my  weakness on the  
broad shoulders of the first seducer of 
my frail  sex4    ,it being once        
demonstrated1 continues ,rousseau1 that 
man and  woman are not1 nor ought to be1
 constituted alike in temperament  and  
character1 it follows of course1 that   
they should not be  educated in the same
 manner4  ,in pursuing the directions of
 nature1  they ought indeed to act in   
concert1 but they should not be engaged 
in the same employments3  the end of    
their pursuits should be the  same1 but 
the means they should take to accomplish
 them1 and1 of  consequence1 their      

tastes and inclinations should be       
different4  7,rousseau's ',emilius'1    
,volume #c page #agf47    ,girls are    
from their earliest infancy fond of     
dress4  ,not content  with being pretty1
 they are desirous of being thought so2 
we see1  by all their little airs1 that 
this thought engages their  attention2  
and they are hardly capable of          
understanding what is  said to them1    
before they are to be governed by       
talking to them of  what people will    
think of their behaviour4  ,the same    
motive1  however1 indiscreetly made use 
of with boys1 has not the same  effect3 
provided they are let to pursue their   
amusements at  pleasure1 they care very 
little what people think of them4  ,time
  and pains are necessary to subject    
boys to this motive4    ,whencesoever   
girls derive this first lesson it is a  
very good one4  ,as the body is born1 in
 a manner before the soul1 our first    
concern  should be to cultivate the     
former2 this order is common to both    

sexes1 but the object of that           
cultivation is different4  ,in the one  
sex it is the developement of corporeal 
powers2 in the other1 that  of personal 
charms3  not that either the quality of 
strength or  beauty ought to be confined
 exclusively to one sex2 but only that  
the order of the cultivation of both is 
in that respect reversed4  ,women       
certainly require as much strength as to
 enable them to move  and act           
gracefully1 and men as much address as  
to qualify them to  act with ease4    99
    99    99    99    99    99    99    
99    99    99    99    99    99    99  
,children of both sexes have a great    
many amusements in common2 and  so they 
ought2 have they not also many such when
 they are grown up8  ,each sex has also 
its peculiar taste to distinguish in    
this  particular4  ,boys love sports of 
noise and activity2 to beat the  drum1  
to whip the top1 and to drag about their
 little carts3  girls1 on the other     
hand1 are fonder of things of show and  

ornament2 such as mirrors1 trinkets1 and
 dolls2 the doll is the  peculiar       
amusement of the females2 from whence we
 see their taste  plainly adapted to    
their destination4  ,the physical part  
of the art  of pleasing lies in dress2  
and this is all which children are      
capacitated to cultivate of that art4   
99    99    99    99    99    99    99  
99    99    99    99    99    99    99  
,here then we see a primary propensity  
firmly established1 which  you need only
 to pursue and regulate4  ,the little   
creature will  doubtless be very        
desirous to know how to dress up her    
doll1 to  make its sleeve knots1 its    
flounces1 its head dress1 etc41 she is  
obliged to have so much recourse to the 
people about her1 for their  assistance 
in these articles1 that it would be much
 more agreeable  to her to owe them all 
to her own industry4  ,hence we have a  
good  reason for the first lessons which
 are usually taught these young         
females3  in which we do not appear to  

be setting them a task1 but  obliging   
them1 by instructing them in what is    
immediately useful to  themselves4      
,and1 in fact1 almost all of them learn 
with reluctance  to read and write2 but 
very readily apply themselves to the use
 of  their needles4  ,they imagine      
themselves already grown up1 and think  
with pleasure that such qualifications  
will enable them to decorate            
themselves4    ,this is certainly only  
an education of the body2 but ,rousseau 
is  not the only man who has indirectly 
said that merely the person of  a young 
woman1 without any mind1 unless animal  
spirits come under  that description1 is
 very pleasing4  ,to render it weak1 and
 what  some may call beautiful1 the     
understanding is neglected1 and girls   
forced to sit still1 play with dolls1   
and listen to foolish  conversations2   
the effect of habit is insisted upon as 
an undoubted  indication of nature4  ,i 
know it was ,rousseau's opinion that the
  first years of youth should be        

employed to form the body1 though in    
educating ,emilius he deviates from this
 plan2 yet the difference  between      
strengthening the body1 on which        
strength of mind in a  great measure    
depends1 and only giving it an easy     
motion1 is very  wide4    ,rousseau's   
observations1 it is proper to remark1   
were made in a  country where the art of
 pleasing was refined only to extract   
the  grossness of vice4  ,he did not go 
back to nature1 or his ruling  appetite 
disturbed the operations of reason1 else
 he would not have  drawn these crude   
inferences4    ,in ,france1 boys and    
girls1 particularly the latter1 are only
  educated to please1 to manage their   
persons1 and regulate their  exterior   
behaviour2 and their minds are corrupted
 at a very early  age1 by the worldly   
and pious cautions they receive1 to     
guard them  against immodesty4  ,i speak
 of past times4  ,the very confessions  
which mere children are obliged to make1
 and the questions asked by  the holy   

men ,i assert these facts on good       
authority1 were  sufficient to impress a
 sexual character2 and the education of 
society was a school of coquetry and    
art4  ,at the age of ten or  eleven2    
nay1 often much sooner1 girls began to  
coquet1 and talked1  unreproved1 of     
establishing themselves in the world by 
marriage4    ,in short1 they were made  
women1 almost from their very birth1 and
  compliments were listened to instead  
of instruction4  ,these1  weakening the 
mind1 ,nature was supposed to have acted
 like a  step-mother1 when she formed   
this after-thought of creation4    ,not 
allowing them understanding1 however1 it
 was but consistent to  subject them to 
authority1 independent of reason2 and to
 prepare  them for this subjection1 he  
gives the following advice3    ,girls   
ought to be active and diligent2 nor is 
that all2 they  should also be early    
subjected to restraint4  ,this          
misfortune1 if  it really be one1 is    
inseparable from their sex2 nor do they 

ever  throw it off but to suffer more   
cruel evils4  ,they must be subject1    
all their lives1 to the most constant   
and severe restraint1 which  is that of 
decorum3  it is1 therefore1 necessary to
 accustom them  early to such           
confinement1 that it may not afterward  
cost them too  dear2 and to the         
suppression of their caprices1 that they
 may the  more readily submit to the    
will of others4  ,if1 indeed1 they are  
fond of being always at work1 they      
should be sometimes compelled to  lay it
 aside4  ,dissipation1 levity1 and      
inconstancy1 are faults  that readily   
spring up from their first propensities1
 when  corrupted or perverted by too    
much indulgence4  ,to prevent this      
abuse1 we should learn them1 above all  
things1 to lay a due  restraint on      
themselves4  ,the life of a modest woman
 is reduced1 by  our absurd             
institutions1 to a perpetual conflict   
with herself3  not  but it is just that 
this sex should partake of the          

sufferings which  arise from those evils
 it hath caused us4    ,and why is the  
life of a modest woman a perpetual      
conflict8  ,i  should answer1 that this 
very system of education makes it so4   
,modesty1 temperance1 and self-denial1  
are the sober offspring of  reason2 but 
when sensibility is nurtured at the     
expense of the  understanding1 such weak
 beings must be restrained by arbitrary 
means1 and be subjected to continual    
conflicts2 but give their  activity of  
mind a wider range1 and nobler passions 
and motives  will govern their appetites
 and sentiments4    ,the common         
attachment and regard of a mother1 nay1 
mere habit1  will make her beloved by   
her children1 if she does nothing to    
incur  their hate4  ,even the restraint 
she lays them under1 if well  directed1 
will increase their affection1 instead  
of lessening it2  because a state of    
dependence being natural to the sex1    
they  perceive themselves formed for    
obedience4    ,this is begging the      

question2 for servitude not only debases
 the  individual1 but its effects seem  
to be transmitted to posterity4         
,considering the length of time that    
women have been dependent1 is  it       
surprising that some of them hug their  
chains1 and fawn like the  spaniel8     
,these dogs1 observes a naturalist1 at  
first kept their  ears erect2 but custom
 has superseded nature1 and a token of  
fear  is become a beauty4    ,for the   
same reason1 adds ,rousseau1 women have 
or ought to have1  but little liberty2  
they are apt to indulge themselves      
excessively  in what is allowed them4   
,addicted in every thing to extremes1   
they  are even more transported at their
 diversions than boys4    ,the answer to
 this is very simple4  ,slaves and mobs 
have always  indulged themselves in the 
same excesses1 when once they broke     
loose from authority4  ,the bent bow    
recoils with violence1 when the  hand is
 suddenly relaxed that forcibly held it3
  and sensibility1  the plaything of    

outward circumstances1 must be subjected
 to  authority1 or moderated by reason4 
,there results1 he continues1 from this 
habitual restraint1 a  tractableness    
which the women have occasion for during
 their whole  lives1 as they constantly 
remain either under subjection to the   
men1 or to the opinions of mankind2 and 
are never permitted to set  themselves  
above those opinions4  ,the first and   
most important  qualification in a woman
 is good-nature or sweetness of temper2 
formed to obey a being so imperfect as  
man1 often full of vices1  and always   
full of faults1 she ought to learn      
betimes even to  suffer injustice1 and  
to bear the insults of a husband without
  complaint2 it is not for his sake1 but
 her own1 that she should be  of a mild 
disposition4  ,the perverseness and     
ill-nature of the  women only serve to  
aggravate their own misfortunes1 and the
  misconduct of their husbands2 they    
might plainly perceive that such  are   
not the arms by which they gain the     

superiority4    ,formed to live with    
such an imperfect being as man1 they    
ought to  learn from the exercise of    
their faculties the necessity of        
forbearance2 but all the sacred rights  
of humanity are violated by  insisting  
on blind obedience2 or1 the most sacred 
rights belong  ,,only to man4    ,the   
being who patiently endures injustice1  
and silently bears  insults1 will soon  
become unjust1 or unable to discern     
right from  wrong4  ,besides1 ,i deny   
the fact1 this is not the true way to   
form  or meliorate the temper2 for1 as a
 sex1 men have better tempers  than     
women1 because they are occupied by     
pursuits that interest the  head as well
 as the heart2 and the steadiness of the
 head gives a  healthy temperature to   
the heart4  ,people of sensibility have 
seldom good tempers4  ,the formation of 
the temper is the cool work  of reason1 
when1 as life advances1 she mixes with  
happy art1  jarring elements4  ,i never 
knew a weak or ignorant person who had a

  good temper1 though that              
constitutional good humour1 and that    
docility1 which fear stamps on the      
behaviour1 often obtains the  name4  ,i 
say behaviour1 for genuine meekness     
never reached the  heart or mind1 unless
 as the effect of reflection2 and1 that 
simple  restraint produces a number of  
peccant humours in domestic life1  many 
sensible men will allow1 who find some  
of these gentle  irritable creatures1   
very troublesome companions4    ,each   
sex1 he further argues1 should preserve 
its peculiar tone  and manner3  a meek  
husband may make a wife impertinent2 but
  mildness of disposition on the woman's
 side will always bring a man  back to  
reason1 at least if he be not absolutely
 a brute1 and will  sooner or later     
triumph over him4  ,true1 the mildness  
of reason2  but abject fear always      
inspires contempt2 and tears are only   
eloquent when they flow down fair       
cheeks4    ,of what materials can that  
heart be composed1 which can melt when  

insulted1 and instead of revolting at   
injustice1 kiss the rod8  ,is  it unfair
 to infer1 that her virtue is built on  
narrow views and  selfishness1 who can  
caress a man1 with true feminine        
softness1 the  very moment when he      
treats her tyrannically8  ,nature never 
dictated  such insincerity2 and though  
prudence of this sort be termed a       
virtue1 morality becomes vague when any 
part is supposed to rest on  falsehood4 
,these are mere expedients1 and         
expedients are only  useful for the     
moment4    ,let the husband beware of   
trusting too implicitly to this servile 
obedience2 for if his wife can with     
winning sweetness caress him  when      
angry1 and when she ought to be angry1  
unless contempt had  stifled a natural  
effervescence1 she may do the same after
 parting  with a lover4  ,these are all 
preparations for adultery2 or1 should   
the fear of the world1 or of hell1      
restrain her desire of pleasing  other  
men1 when she can no longer please her  

husband1 what  substitute can be found  
by a being who was only formed by nature
  and art to please man8  what can make 
her amends for this  privation1 or where
 is she to seek for a fresh employment8 
where  find sufficient strength of mind 
to determine to begin the search1  when 
her habits are fixed1 and vanity has    
long ruled her chaotic  mind8    ,but   
this partial moralist recommends cunning
 systematically and  plausibly4         
,daughters should be always submissive2 
their mothers1 however1  should not be  
inexorable4  ,to make a young person    
tractable1 she  ought not to be made    
unhappy2 to make her modest she ought   
not to  be rendered stupid4  ,on the    
contrary1 ,i should not be displeased at
  her being permitted to use some art1  
not to elude punishment in  case of     
disobedience1 but to exempt herself from
 the necessity of  obeying4  ,it is not 
necessary to make her dependence        
burdensome1  but only to let her feel   
it4  ,subtilty is a talent natural to   

the  sex2 and as ,i am persuaded1 all   
our natural inclinations are right  and 
good in themselves1 ,i am of opinion    
this should be cultivated  as well as   
the others3  it is requisite for us only
 to prevent its  abuse4    ,whatever is1
 is right1 he then proceeds triumphantly
 to infer4  ,granted2 yet1 perhaps1 no  
aphorism ever contained a more          
paradoxical assertion4  ,it is a solemn 
truth with respect to ,god4  ,he1       
reverentially ,i speak1 sees the whole  
at once1 and saw its just  proportions  
in the womb of time2 but man1 who can   
only inspect  disjointed parts1 finds   
many things wrong2 and it is a part of  
the  system1 and therefore right1 that  
he should endeavour to alter what       
appears to him to be so1 even while he  
bows to the wisdom of his  ,creator1 and
 respects the darkness he labours to    
disperse4    ,the inference that follows
 is just1 supposing the principle to be 
sound3 ,the superiority of address1     
peculiar to the female sex1 is  a very  

equitable indemnification for their     
inferiority in point of  strength3      
without this1 woman would not be the    
companion of man2  but his slave3  it is
 by her superiour art and ingenuity that
 she  preserves her equality1 and       
governs him while she affects to obey4  
,woman has every thing against her1 as  
well our faults as her own  timidity and
 weakness3 she has nothing in her       
favour1 but her  subtilty and her       
beauty4  ,is it not very reasonable1    
therefore1 she  should cultivate both8  
,greatness of mind can never dwell with 
cunning or address2 for ,i shall not    
boggle about words1 when their  direct  
signification is insincerity and        
falsehood2 but content  myself with     
observing1 that if any class of mankind 
be so created  that it must necessarily 
be educated by rules1 not strictly      
deducible from truth1 virtue is an      
affair of convention4  ,how could       
,rousseau dare to assert1 after giving  
this advice1 that in the  grand end of  

existence1 the object of both sexes     
should be the  same1 when he well knew1 
that the mind formed by its pursuits1 is
  expanded by great views swallowing up 
little ones1 or that it  becomes itself 
little8    ,men have superiour strength 
of body2 but were it not for mistaken   
notions of beauty1 women would acquire  
sufficient to enable them to  earn their
 own subsistence1 the true definition of
 independence2  and to bear those bodily
 inconveniences and exertions that are  
requisite to strengthen the mind4       
,let us then1 by being allowed to take  
the same exercise as boys1  not only    
during infancy1 but youth1 arrive at    
perfection of body1  that we may know   
how far the natural superiority of man  
extends4  ,for what reason or virtue can
 be expected from a creature when the   
seed-time of life is neglected8         
,none--did not the winds of heaven      
casually scatter many useful seeds in   
the fallow ground4    ,beauty cannot be 
acquired by dress1 and coquetry is an   

art not so  early and speedily attained4
  ,while girls are yet young1 however1  
they are in a capacity to study         
agreeable gesture1 a pleasing           
modulation of voice1 an easy carriage   
and behaviour2 as well as to  take the  
advantage of gracefully adapting their  
looks and attitudes  to time1 place1 and
 occasion4  ,their application1         
therefore1 should  not be solely        
confined to the arts of industry and the
 needle1 when  they come to display     
other talents1 whose utility is already 
apparent4 ,for my part ,i would have a  
young ,englishwoman cultivate  her      
agreeable talents1 in order to please   
her future husband1 with  as much care  
and assiduity as a young ,circassian    
cultivates her's1  to fit her for the   
,haram of an ,eastern bashaw4    ,to    
render women completely insignificant1  
he adds1--,the tongues of  women are    
very voluble2 they speak earlier1 more  
readily1 and more  agreeably than the   
men2 they are accused also of speaking  

much  more3  but so it ought to be1 and 
,i should be very ready to convert  this
 reproach into a compliment2 their lips 
and eyes have the same  activity1 and   
for the same reason4  ,a man speaks of  
what he knows1  a woman of what pleases 
her2 the one requires knowledge1 the    
other  taste2 the principal object of a 
man's discourse should be what is       
useful1 that of a woman's what is       
agreeable4  ,there ought to be  nothing 
in common between their different       
conversation but truth4    ,we ought    
not1 therefore1 to restrain the prattle 
of girls1 in the  same manner as we     
should that of boys1 with that severe   
question1  ',to what purpose are you    
talking8' but by another1 which is no   
less  difficult to answer1 ',how will   
your discourse be received8'  ,in       
infancy1 while they are as yet incapable
 to discern good from evil1  they ought 
to observe it as a law1 never to say any
 thing  disagreeable to those whom they 
are speaking to3  what will render  the 

practice of this rule also the more     
difficult1 is1 that it must  ever be    
subordinate to the former1 of never     
speaking falsely or  telling an untruth4
  ,to govern the tongue in this manner  
must  require great address indeed2 and 
it is too much practised both by  men   
and women4  ,out of the abundance of the
 heart how few speak6  ,so few1 that ,i1
 who love simplicity1 would gladly give 
up  politeness for a quarter of the     
virtue that has been sacrificed to  an  
equivocal quality1 which1 at best1      
should only be the polish of  virtue4   
,but to complete the sketch4  ,it is    
easy to be conceived1 that if  male     
children be not in a capacity to form   
any true notions of  religion1 those    
ideas must be greatly above the         
conception of the  females3  it is for  
this very reason1 ,i would begin to     
speak to  them the earlier on this      
subject2 for if we were to wait till    
they  were in a capacity to discuss     
methodically such profound questions1   

we should run a risk of never speaking  
to them on this subject as  long as they
 lived4  ,reason in women is a practical
 reason1  capacitating them artfully to 
discover the means of attaining a  known
 end1 but which would never enable them 
to discover that end  itself4  ,the     
social relations of the sexes are indeed
 truly  admirable3  from their union    
there results a moral person1 of which  
woman may be termed the eyes1 and man   
the hand1 with this  dependence on each 
other1 that it is from the man that the 
woman is  to learn what she is to see1  
and it is of the woman that man is to   
learn what he ought to do4  ,if woman   
could recur to the first  principles of 
things as well as man1 and man was      
capacitated to  enter into their minutae
 as well as woman1 always independent of
  each other1 they would live in        
perpetual discord1 and their union      
could not subsist4  ,but in the present 
harmony which naturally  subsists       
between them1 their different faculties 

tend to one common  end2 it is difficult
 to say which of them conduces the most 
to it3  each follows the impulse of the 
other2 each is obedient1 and both  are  
masters4    ,as the conduct of a woman  
is subservient to the public opinion1   
her faith in matters of religion1 should
 for that very reason1 be  subject to   
authority4  ',every daughter ought to be
 of the same  religion as her mother1   
and every wife to be of the same        
religion  as her husband3  for1 though  
such religion should be false1 that     
docility which induces the mother and   
daughter to submit to the  order of     
nature1 takes away1 in the sight of     
,god1 the criminality  of their         
error'499  ,as they are not in a        
capacity to judge for  themselves1 they 
ought to abide by the decision of their 
fathers  and husbands as confidently as 
by that of the church4    799,footnote4 
,what is to be the consequence1 if the  
mother's and  husband's opinion should  
chance not to agree8  ,an ignorant      

person  cannot be reasoned out of an    
error1 and when persuaded to give up    
one prejudice for another the mind is   
unsettled4  ,indeed1 the  husband may   
not have any religion to teach her      
though in such a  situation she will be 
in great want of a support to her       
virtue1  independent of worldly         
considerations47    ,as authority ought 
to regulate the religion of the women1  
it is  not so needful to explain to them
 the reasons for their belief1 as  to   
lay down precisely the tenets they are  
to believe3  for the  creed1 which      
presents only obscure ideas to the mind1
 is the source  of fanaticism2 and that 
which presents absurdities1 leads to    
infidelity4    ,absolute1 uncontroverted
 authority1 it seems1 must subsist      
somewhere3  but is not this a direct and
 exclusive appropriation of  reason8    
,the ,,rights of humanity have been thus
 confined to the male  line from ,adam  
downwards4  ,rousseau would carry his   
male  aristocracy still further1 for he 

insinuates1 that he should not  blame   
those1 who contend for leaving woman in 
a state of the most  profound ignorance1
 if it were not necessary1 in order to  
preserve  her chastity1 and justify the 
man's choice in the eyes of the  world1 
to give her a little knowledge of men1  
and the customs  produced by human      
passions2 else she might propagate at   
home  without being rendered less       
voluptuous and innocent by the exercise 
of her understanding3  excepting1       
indeed1 during the first year of        
marriage1 when she might employ it to   
dress1 like ,sophia4  ,her  dress is    
extremely modest in appearance1 and yet 
very coquettish in  fact3  she does not 
make a display of her charms1 she       
conceals  them2 but1 in concealing them1
 she knows how to affect your           
imagination4  ,every one who sees her1  
will say1 ,there is a modest  and       
discreet girl2 but while you are near   
her1 your eyes and  affections wander   
all over her person1 so that you cannot 

withdraw  them2 and you would conclude  
that every part of her dress1 simple  as
 it seems1 was only put in its proper   
order to be taken to pieces  by the     
imagination4  ,is this modesty8  ,is    
this a preparation for  immortality8    
,again4  ,what opinion are we to form of
 a system of  education1 when the author
 says of his heroine1 that with her1    
doing things well is but a ,,secondary  
concern2 her principal concern  is to do
 them ,,neatly4    ,secondary1 in fact1 
are all her virtues and qualities1 for1 
respecting religion1 he makes her       
parents thus address her1  accustomed to
 submission--,your husband will instruct
 you in good  time4    ,after thus      
cramping a woman's mind1 if1 in order to
 keep it fair1  he has not made it quite
 a blank1 he advises her to reflect1    
that a  reflecting man may not yawn in  
her company1 when he is tired of        
caressing her4  ,what has she to reflect
 about1 who must obey8 and  would it not
 be a refinement on cruelty only to open

 her mind to  make the darkness and     
misery of her fate ,,visible8  ,yet     
these are  his sensible remarks2 how    
consistent with what ,i have already    
been  obliged to quote1 to give a fair  
view of the subject1 the reader  may    
determine4    ,they who pass their whole
 lives in working for their daily bread1
  have no ideas beyond their business or
 their interest1 and all  their         
understanding seems to lie in their     
fingers' ends4  ,this  ignorance is     
neither prejudicial to their integrity  
nor their  morals2 it is often of       
service to them4  ,sometimes1 by means  
of  reflection1 we are led to compound  
with our duty1 and we conclude1  by     
substituting a jargon of words1 in the  
room of things4  ,our own  conscience is
 the most enlightened philosopher4      
,there is no need  of being acquainted  
with ,tully's offices1 to make a man of 
probity3  and perhaps the most virtuous 
woman in the world is the least         
acquainted with the definition of       

virtue4  ,but it is no less true1  than 
an improved understanding only can      
render society agreeable2  and it is a  
melancholy thing for a father of a      
family1 who is fond  of home1 to be     
obliged to be always wrapped up in      
himself1 and to  have nobody about him  
to whom he can impart his sentiments4   
,besides1 how should a woman void of    
reflection be capable of  educating her 
children8  ,how should she discern what 
is proper for  them8  ,how should she   
incline them to those virtues she is    
unacquainted with1 or to that merit of  
which she has no idea8  ,she  can only  
sooth or chide them2 render them        
insolent or timid2 she  will make them  
formal coxcombs1 or ignorant blockheads2
 but will  never make them sensible or  
amiable4  ,how indeed should she1 when  
her husband is not always at hand to    
lend her his reason --when  they both   
together make but one moral being8  ,a  
blind will1 eyes  without hands1 would  
go a very little way2 and perchance his 

abstract reason1 that should concentrate
 the scattered beams of her  practical  
reason1 may be employed in judging of   
the flavour of  wine1 discanting on the 
sauces most proper for turtle2 or1 more 
profoundly intent at a card-table1 he   
may be generalizing his ideas  as he    
bets away his fortune1 leaving all the  
minutiae of education  to his helpmate  
or chance4    ,but1 granting that woman 
ought to be beautiful1 innocent1 and    
silly1 to render her a more alluring and
 indulgent companion--what  is her      
understanding sacrificed for8  ,and why 
is all this  preparation necessary only1
 according to ,rousseau's own account1  
to  make her the mistress of her        
husband1 a very short time8  ,for no    
man ever insisted more on the transient 
nature of love4  ,thus  speaks the      
philosopher4  ,sensual pleasures are    
transient4  ,the  habitual state of the 
affections always loses by their        
gratification4  ,the imagination1 which 
decks the object of our  desires1 is    

lost in fruition4  ,excepting the       
,supreme ,being1 who is  self-existent1 
there is nothing beautiful but what is  
ideal4    ,but he returns to his        
unintelligible paradoxes again1 when he 
thus  addresses ,sophia4  ,emilius1 in  
becoming your husband1 is become  your  
master1 and claims your obedience4      
,such is the order of  nature4  ,when a 
man is married1 however1 to such a wife 
as ,sophia1  it is proper he should be  
directed by her3  this is also agreeable
  to the order of nature3  it is1       
therefore1 to give you as much          
authority over his heart as his sex     
gives him over your person1  that ,i    
have made you the arbiter of his        
pleasures4  ,it may cost  you1 perhaps1 
some disagreeable self-denial2 but you  
will be  certain of maintaining your    
empire over him1 if you can preserve it 
over yourself2  what ,i have already    
observed1 also shows me1 that  this     
difficult attempt does not surpass your 
courage4    ,would you have your husband

 constantly at your feet8 keep him at   
some distance from your person4  ,you   
will long maintain the  authority of    
love1 if you know but how to render your
 favours rare  and valuable4  ,it is    
thus you may employ even the arts of    
coquetry  in the service of virtue1 and 
those of love in that of reason4    ,i  
shall close my extracts with a just     
description of a comfortable  couple4   
,and yet you must not imagine1 that even
 such management  will always suffice4  
,whatever precaution be taken1 enjoyment
 will1  by degrees1 take off the edge of
 passion4  ,but when love hath  lasted  
as long as possible1 a pleasing habitude
 supplies its place1  and the attachment
 of a mutual confidence succeeds to the 
transports of passion4  ,children often 
form a more agreeable and  permanent    
connexion between married people than   
even love itself4  ,when you cease to be
 the mistress of ,emilius1 you will     
continue to  be his wife and friend2 you
 will be the mother of his children4    

7,rousseau's ,emilius47    ,children1 he
 truly observes1 form a much more       
permanent connexion  between married    
people than love4  ,beauty he declares  
will not be  valued1 or even seen1 after
 a couple have lived six months         
together2 artificial graces and coquetry
 will likewise pall on the  senses3  why
 then does he say1 that a girl should be
 educated for  her husband with the same
 care as for an eastern haram8    ,i now
 appeal from the reveries of fancy and  
refined licentiousness  to the good     
sense of mankind1 whether1 if the object
 of education  be to prepare women to   
become chaste wives and sensible        
mothers1  the method so plausibly       
recommended in the foregoing sketch1 be 
the  one best calculated to produce     
those ends8  ,will it be allowed that   
the surest way to make a wife chaste1 is
 to teach her to practise  the wanton   
arts of a mistress1 termed virtuous     
coquetry by the  sensualist who can no  
longer relish the artless charms of     

sincerity1 or taste the pleasure arising
 from a tender intimacy1  when          
confidence is unchecked by suspicion1   
and rendered interesting  by sense8     
,the man who can be contented to live   
with a pretty useful companion  without 
a mind1 has lost in voluptuous          
gratifications a taste for  more refined
 enjoyments2 he has never felt the calm 
satisfaction  that refreshes the parched
 heart1 like the silent dew of          
heaven--of  being beloved by one who    
could understand him4  ,in the society  
of  his wife he is still alone1 unless  
when the man is sunk in the  brute4     
,the charm of life1 says a grave        
philosophical reasoner1  is sympathy2   
nothing pleases us more than to observe 
in other men  a fellow-feeling with all 
the emotions of our own breast4    ,but1
 according to the tenor of reasoning by 
which women are kept  from the tree of  
knowledge1 the important years of youth1
 the  usefulness of age1 and the        
rational hopes of futurity1 are all to  

be sacrificed1 to render woman an object
 of desire for a short  time4  ,besides1
 how could ,rousseau expect them to be  
virtuous and  constant when reason is   
neither allowed to be the foundation of 
their virtue1 nor truth the object of   
their inquiries8    ,but all ,rousseau's
 errors in reasoning arose from         
sensibility1 and  sensibility to their  
charms women are very ready to forgive6 
,when  he should have reasoned he became
 impassioned1 and reflection  inflamed  
his imagination1 instead of enlightening
 his  understanding4  ,even his virtues 
also led him farther astray2 for1  born 
with a warm constitution and lively     
fancy1 nature carried him  toward the   
other sex with such eager fondness1 that
 he soon became  lascivious4  ,had he   
given way to these desires1 the fire    
would have  extinguished itself in a    
natural manner1 but virtue1 and a       
romantic  kind of delicacy1 made him    
practise self-denial2 yet1 when fear1   
delicacy1 or virtue restrained him1 he  

debauched his imagination2  and         
reflecting on the sensations to which   
fancy gave force1 he  traced them in the
 most glowing colours1 and sunk them    
deep into  his soul4    ,he then sought 
for solitude1 not to sleep with the man 
of nature2  or calmly investigate the   
causes of things under the shade where  
,sir ,isaac ,newton indulged            
contemplation1 but merely to indulge his
  feelings4  ,and so warmly has he      
painted what he forcibly felt1  that1   
interesting the heart and inflaming the 
imagination of his  readers2 in         
proportion to the strength of their     
fancy1 they imagine  that their         
understanding is convinced1 when they   
only sympathize  with a poetic writer1  
who skilfully exhibits the objects of   
sense1  most voluptuously shadowed1 or  
gracefully veiled2 and thus making  us  
feel1 whilst dreaming that we reason1   
erroneous conclusions are  left in the  
mind4    ,why was ,rousseau's life      
divided between ecstasy and misery8     

,can  any other answer be given than    
this1 that the effervescence of his     
imagination produced both2 but1 had his 
fancy been allowed to cool1  it is      
possible that he might have acquired    
more strength of mind4  ,still1 if the  
purpose of life be to educate the       
intellectual part  of man1 all with     
respect to him was right2 yet1 had not  
death led  to a nobler scene of action1 
it is probable that he would have       
enjoyed more equal happiness on earth1  
and have felt the calm  sensations of   
the man of nature1 instead of being     
prepared for  another stage of existence
 by nourishing the passions which       
agitate  the civilized man4    ,but     
peace to his manes6  ,i war not with his
 ashes1 but his  opinions4  ,i war only 
with the sensibility that led him to    
degrade  woman by making her the slave  
of love4    4444,curs'd vassalage1      
,first idoliz'd till love's hot fire be 
o'er1  ,then slaves to those who courted
 us before4  ,dryden4    ,the pernicious

 tendency of those books1 in which the  
writers  insidiously degrade the sex1   
whilst they are prostrate before their  
personal charms1 cannot be too often or 
too severely exposed4    ,let us1 my    
dear contemporaries1 arise above such   
narrow prejudices6  ,if wisdom is       
desirable on its own account1 if virtue1
 to deserve  the name1 must be founded  
on knowledge2 let us endeavour to       
strengthen our minds by reflection1 till
 our heads become a balance  for our    
hearts2 let us not confine all our      
thoughts to the petty  occurrences of   
the day1 nor our knowledge to an        
acquaintance with  our lovers' or       
husbands' hearts2 but let the practice  
of every duty  be subordinate to the    
grand one of improving our minds1 and   
preparing our affections for a more     
exalted state6    ,beware then1 my      
friends1 of suffering the heart to be   
moved by  every trivial incident3  the  
reed is shaken by a breeze1 and         
annually dies1 but the oak stands firm1 

and for ages braves the  storm4    ,were
 we1 indeed1 only created to flutter our
 hour out and die--why  let us then     
indulge sensibility1 and laugh at the   
severity of  reason4  ,yet1 alas6 even  
then we should want strength of body and
  mind1 and life would be lost in       
feverish pleasures or wearisome         
languor4    ,but the system of          
education1 which ,i earnestly wish to   
see  exploded1 seems to presuppose1 what
 ought never to be taken for  granted1  
that virtue shields us from the         
casualties of life2 and  that fortune1  
slipping off her bandage1 will smile on 
a  well-educated female1 and bring in   
her hand an ,emilius or a  ,telemachus4 
,whilst1 on the contrary1 the reward    
which virtue  promises to her votaries  
is confined1 it is clear1 to their own  
bosoms2 and often must they contend with
 the most vexatious worldly  cares1 and 
bear with the vices and humours of      
relations for whom  they can never feel 
a friendship4    ,there have been many  

women in the world who1 instead of being
  supported by the reason and virtue of 
their fathers and brothers1  have       
strengthened their own minds by         
struggling with their vices  and        
follies2 yet have never met with a hero1
 in the shape of a  husband2 who1 paying
 the debt that mankind owed them1 might 
chance  to bring back their reason to   
its natural dependent state1 and        
restore the usurped prerogative1 of     
rising above opinion1 to man4           
,,section #e4b4    ,dr4 ,fordyce's      
sermons have long made a part of a young
 woman's  library2 nay1 girls at school 
are allowed to read them2 but ,i  should
 instantly dismiss them from my pupil's1
 if ,i wished to  strengthen her        
understanding1 by leading her to form   
sound  principles on a broad basis2 or1 
were ,i only anxious to cultivate  her  
taste2 though they must be allowed to   
contain many sensible  observations4    
,dr4 ,fordyce may have had a very       
laudable end in view2 but these         

discourses are written in such an       
affected style1 that were it only  on   
that account1 and had ,i nothing to     
object against his  ,,mellifluous       
precepts1 ,i should not allow girls to  
peruse them1  unless ,i designed to hunt
 every spark of nature out of their     
composition1 melting every human quality
 into female weakness and  artificial   
grace4  ,i say artificial1 for true     
grace arises from  some kind of         
independence of mind4    ,children1     
careless of pleasing1 and only anxious  
to amuse  themselves1 are often very    
graceful2 and the nobility who have     
mostly lived with inferiors1 and always 
had the command of money1  acquire a    
graceful ease of deportment1 which      
should rather be  termed habitual grace 
of body1 than that superiour            
gracefulness  which is truly the        
expression of the mind4  ,this mental   
grace1 not  noticed by vulgar eyes1     
often flashes across a rough            
countenance1  and irradiating every     

feature1 shows simplicity and           
independence of  mind4  ,it is then we  
read characters of immortality in the   
eye1 and  see the soul in every gesture1
 though when at rest1 neither the  face 
nor limbs may have much beauty to       
recommend them2 or the  behaviour1 any  
thing peculiar to attract universal     
attention4  ,the  mass of mankind1      
however1 look for more ,,tangible       
beauty2 yet  simplicity is1 in general1 
admired1 when people do not consider    
what they admire2 and can there be      
simplicity without sincerity8  but1 to  
have done with remarks that are in some 
measure desultory1  though naturally    
excited by the subject4    ,in          
declamatory periods ,dr4 ,fordyce spins 
out ,rousseau's eloquence2  and in most 
sentimental rant1 details his opinions  
respecting the  female character1 and   
the behaviour which woman ought to      
assume to  render her lovely4    ,he    
shall speak for himself1 for thus he    
makes nature address man4  ,behold these

 smiling innocents1 whom ,i have graced 
with my fairest  gifts1 and committed to
 your protection2 behold them with love 
and  respect2 treat them with tenderness
 and honour4  ,they are timid and  want 
to be defended4  ,they are frail2 ,o do 
not take advantage of  their weakness6  
,let their fears and blushes endear     
them4  ,let  their confidence in you    
never be abused4  ,but is it possible1  
that  any of you can be such barbarians1
 so supremely wicked1 as to abuse  it8  
,can you find in your hearts99 to       
despoil the gentle1 trusting  creatures 
of their treasure1 or do any thing to   
strip them of their  native robe of     
virtue8  ,curst be the impious hand that
 would dare  to violate the unblemished 
form of ,chastity6  ,thou wretch6 thou  
ruffian6 forbear2 nor venture to provoke
 heaven's fiercest  vengeance4  ,i know 
not any comment that can be made        
seriously on  this curious passage1 and 
,i could produce many similar ones2 and 
some1 so very sentimental1 that ,i have 

heard rational men use the  word        
indecent1 when they mentioned them with 
disgust4    799,footnote4  ,can         
you8--,can you8 would be the most       
emphatical  comment1 were it drawled out
 in a whining voice47    ,throughout    
there is a display of cold1 artificial  
feelings1 and  that parade of           
sensibility which boys and girls should 
be taught to  despise as the sure mark  
of a little vain mind4  ,florid appeals 
are  made to heaven1 and to the         
,,beauteous ,,innocents1 the fairest    
images  of heaven here below1 whilst    
sober sense is left far behind4  ,this  
is not the language of the heart1 nor   
will it ever reach it1 though  the ear  
may be tickled4    ,i shall be told1    
perhaps1 that the public have been      
pleased with  these volumes4  ,true--and
 ,hervey's ,meditations are still read1 
though he equally sinned against sense  
and taste4    ,i particularly object to 
the lover-like phrases of pumped up     
passion1 which are every where          

interspersed4  ,if women be ever        
allowed to walk without leading-strings1
 why must they be cajoled  into virtue  
by artful flattery and sexual           
compliments8  ,speak to  them the       
language of truth and soberness1 and    
away with the lullaby  strains of       
condescending endearment6  ,let them be 
taught to respect  themselves as        
rational creatures1 and not led to have 
a passion for  their own insipid        
persons4  ,it moves my gall to hear a   
preacher  descanting on dress and       
needle-work2 and still more1 to hear him
  address the ',british fair1 the       
fairest of the fair'1 as if they had    
only feelings4    ,even recommending    
piety he uses the following argument4   
,never1  perhaps1 does a fine woman     
strike more deeply1 than when1 composed 
into pious recollection1 and possessed  
with the noblest  considerations1 she   
assumes1 without knowing it1 superiour  
dignity  and new graces2 so that the    
beauties of holiness seem to radiate    

about her1 and the by-standers are      
almost induced to fancy her  already    
worshipping amongst her kindred angels6 
,why are women to  be thus bred up with 
a desire of conquest8 the very epithet1 
used  in this sense1 gives me a sickly  
qualm6  ,does religion and virtue  offer
 no stronger motives1 no brighter       
reward8  ,must they always be  debased  
by being made to consider the sex of    
their companions8  ,must they be taught 
always to be pleasing8  ,and when       
levelling  their small artillery at the 
heart of man1 is it necessary to tell   
them that a little sense is sufficient  
to render their attention  ,,incredibly 
,,soothing8  ,as a small degree of      
knowledge entertains in  a woman1 so    
from a woman1 though for a different    
reason1 a small  expression of kindness 
delights1 particularly if she have      
beauty6  ,i should have supposed for the
 same reason4    ,why are girls to be   
told that they resemble angels2 but to  
sink  them below women8  ,or1 that a    

gentle1 innocent female is an object    
that comes nearer to the idea which we  
have formed of angels than  any other4  
,yet they are told1 at the same time1   
that they are only  like angels when    
they are young and beautiful2           
consequently1 it is  their persons1 not 
their virtues1 that procure them this   
homage4    ,idle empty words6  what can 
such delusive flattery lead to1 but     
vanity and folly8  ,the lover1 it is    
true1 has a poetic licence to  exalt his
 mistress2 his reason is the bubble of  
his passion1 and he  does not utter a   
falsehood when he borrows the language  
of  adoration4  ,his imagination may    
raise the idol of his heart1  unblamed1 
above humanity2 and happy would it be   
for women1 if they  were only flattered 
by the men who loved them2 ,i mean1 who 
love the  individual1 not the sex2 but  
should a grave preacher interlard his   
discourses with such fooleries8    ,in  
sermons or novels1 however1             
voluptuousness is always true to its    

text4  ,men are allowed by moralists to 
cultivate1 as nature  directs1 different
 qualities1 and assume the different    
characters1  that the same passions1    
modified almost to infinity1 give to    
each  individual4  ,a virtuous man may  
have a choleric or a sanguine           
constitution1 be gay or grave1          
unreproved2 be firm till be is  almost  
over-bearing1 or1 weakly submissive1    
have no will or opinion  of his own2 but
 all women are to be levelled1 by       
meekness and  docility1 into one        
character of yielding softness and      
gentle  compliance4    ,i will use the  
preacher's own words4  ,let it be       
observed1 that in  your sex manly       
exercises are never graceful2 that in   
them a tone  and figure1 as well as an  
air and deportment1 of the masculine    
kind1 are always forbidding2 and that   
men of sensibility desire in  every     
woman soft features1 and a flowing      
voice1 a form not robust1  and demeanour
 delicate and gentle4    ,is not the    

following portrait--the portrait of a   
house slave8  ,i  am astonished at the  
folly of many women1 who are still      
reproaching  their husbands for leaving 
them alone1 for preferring this or that 
company to theirs1 for treating them    
with this and the other mark  of        
disregard or indifference2 when1 to     
speak the truth1 they have  themselves  
in a great measure to blame4  ,not that 
,i would justify  the men in any thing  
wrong on their part4  ,but had you      
behaved to  them with more ,,respectful 
,,observance1 and a more ,,equal        
,,tenderness2  ,,studying ,,their       
,,humours1 ,,overlooking ,,their        
,,mistakes1 ,,submitting ,,to  ,,their  
,,opinions in matters indifferent1      
passing by little instances  of         
unevenness1 caprice1 or passion1 giving 
,,soft answers to hasty  words1         
complaining as seldom as possible1 and  
making it your daily  care to relieve   
their anxieties and prevent their       
wishes1 to  enliven the hour of dulness1

 and call up the ideas of felicity3  had
 you pursued this conduct1 ,i doubt not 
but you would have  maintained and even 
increased their esteem1 so far as to    
have  secured every degree of influence 
that could conduce to their  virtue1 or 
your mutual satisfaction2 and your house
 might at this  day have been the abode 
of domestic bliss4  ,such a woman ought 
to  be an angel--or she is an ass--for  
,i discern not a trace of the  human    
character1 neither reason nor passion in
 this domestic  drudge1 whose being is  
absorbed in that of a tyrant's4         
,still ,dr4 ,fordyce must have very     
little acquaintance with the human      
heart1 if he really supposed that such  
conduct would bring back  wandering     
love1 instead of exciting contempt4     
,no1 beauty1  gentleness1 etc4 etc4 may 
gain a heart2 but esteem1 the only      
lasting affection1 can alone be obtained
 by virtue supported by  reason4  ,it is
 respect for the understanding that     
keeps alive  tenderness for the person4 

,as these volumes are so frequently put 
into the hands of young  people1 ,i have
 taken more notice of them than strictly
 speaking1  they deserve2 but as they   
have contributed to vitiate the taste1  
and enervate the understanding of many  
of my fellow-creatures1 ,i  could not   
pass them silently over4    ,,section   
#e4c4    ,such paternal solicitude      
pervades ,dr4 ,gregory's ,legacy to his 
daughters1 that ,i enter on the task of 
criticism with affectionate  respect2   
but as this little volume has many      
attractions to  recommend it to the     
notice of the most respectable part of  
my sex1  ,i cannot silently pass over   
arguments that so speciously support    
opinions which1 ,i think1 have had the  
most baneful effect on the  morals and  
manners of the female world4    ,his    
easy familiar style is particularly     
suited to the tenor of his  advice1 and 
the melancholy tenderness which his     
respect for the  memory of a beloved    
wife diffuses through the whole work1   

renders  it very interesting2 yet there 
is a degree of concise elegance         
conspicuous in many passages1 that      
disturbs this sympathy2 and we  pop on  
the author1 when we only expected to    
meet the--father4    ,besides1 having   
two objects in view1 he seldom adhered  
steadily to  either2 for1 wishing to    
make his daughters amiable1 and fearing 
lest unhappiness should only be the     
consequence1 of instilling  sentiments1 
that might draw them out of the track of
 common life1  without enabling them to 
act with consonant independence and     
dignity1 he checks the natural flow of  
his thoughts1 and neither  advises one  
thing nor the other4    ,in the preface 
he tells them a mournful truth1 that    
they will  hear1 at least once in their 
lives1 the genuine sentiments of a  man1
 who has no interest in deceiving them4 
,hapless woman6 what can be expected    
from thee1 when the beings on  whom thou
 art said naturally to depend for reason
 and support1 have  all an interest in  

deceiving thee6  ,this is the root of   
the evil  that has shed a corroding     
mildew on all thy virtues2 and blighting
  in the bud thy opening faculties1 has 
rendered thee the weak thing  thou art6 
,it is this separate interest-- this    
insidious state of  warfare1 that       
undermines morality1 and divides        
mankind6    ,if love has made some women
 wretched--how many more has the cold   
unmeaning intercourse of gallantry      
rendered vain and useless6 yet  this    
heartless attention to the sex is       
reckoned so manly1 so  polite1 that till
 society is very differently organized1 
,i fear1  this vestige of gothic manners
 will not be done away by a more        
reasonable and affectionate mode of     
conduct4  ,besides1 to strip it  of its 
imaginary dignity1 ,i must observe1 that
 in the most  civilized ,european       
states1 this lip-service prevails in a  
very  great degree1 accompanied with    
extreme dissoluteness of morals4  ,in   
,portugal1 the country that ,i          

particularly allude to1 it takes place  
of the most serious moral obligations2  
for a man is seldom  assassinated when  
in the company of a woman4  ,the savage 
hand of  rapine is unnerved by this     
chivalrous spirit2 and1 if the stroke of
  vengeance cannot be stayed--the lady  
is entreated to pardon the  rudeness and
 depart in peace1 though sprinkled1     
perhaps1 with her  husband's or         
brother's blood4    ,i shall pass over  
his strictures on religion1 because ,i  
mean to  discuss that subject in a      
separate chapter4    ,the remarks       
relative to behaviour1 though many of   
them very  sensible1 ,i entirely        
disapprove of1 because it appears to me 
to be  beginning1 as it were at the     
wrong end4  ,a cultivated               
understanding1 and an affectionate      
heart1 will never want starched  rules  
of decorum1 something more substantial  
than seemliness will  be the result2    
and1 without understanding1 the         
behaviour here  recommended1 would be   

rank affectation4  ,decorum1 indeed1 is 
the  one thing needful6  decorum is to  
supplant nature1 and banish all         
simplicity and variety of character out 
of the female world4  ,yet  what good   
end can all this superficial counsel    
produce8  ,it is1  however1 much easier 
to point out this or that mode of       
behaviour1  than to set the reason to   
work2 but1 when the mind has been stored
  with useful knowledge1 and            
strengthened by being employed1 the     
regulation of the behaviour may safely  
be left to its guidance4    ,why1 for   
instance1 should the following caution  
be given1 when art  of every kind must  
contaminate the mind2 and why entangle  
the grand  motives of action1 which     
reason and religion equally combine to  
enforce1 with pitiful worldly shifts and
 slight of hand tricks to  gain the     
applause of gaping tasteless fools8  ,be
 even cautious in  displaying your good 
sense499  ,it will be thought you assume
 a  superiority over the rest of the    

company-- ,but if you happen to  have   
any learning keep it a profound secret1 
especially from the  men1 who generally 
look with a jealous and malignant eye on
 a woman  of great parts1 and a         
cultivated understanding4  ,if men of   
real  merit1 as he afterwards observes1 
are superior to this meanness1  where is
 the necessity that the behaviour of the
 whole sex should  be modulated to      
please fools1 or men1 who having little 
claim to  respect as individuals1 choose
 to keep close in their phalanx4  ,men1 
indeed1 who insist on their common      
superiority1 having only  this sexual   
superiority1 are certainly very         
excusable4    799,footnote4  ,let women 
once acquire good sense--and if it      
deserve  the name1 it will teach them2  
or1 of what use will it be how to       
employ it47    ,there would be no end to
 rules for behaviour1 if it be proper   
always to adopt the tone of the company2
 for thus1 for ever varying  the key1 a 
,,flat would often pass for a ,,natural 

note4    ,surely it would have been     
wiser to have advised women to improve  
themselves till they rose above the     
fumes of vanity2 and then to  let the   
public opinion come round--for where are
 rules of  accommodation to stop8  ,the 
narrow path of truth and virtue         
inclines neither to the right nor left1 
it is a straight-forward  business1 and 
they who are earnestly pursuing their   
road1 may bound  over many decorous     
prejudices1 without leaving modesty     
behind4  ,make the heart clean1 and give
 the head employment1 and ,i will       
venture to predict that there will be   
nothing offensive in the  behaviour4    
,the air of fashion1 which many young   
people are so eager to attain1  always  
strikes me like the studied attitudes of
 some modern prints1  copied with       
tasteless servility after the antiques2 
the soul is  left out1 and none of the  
parts are tied together by what may     
properly be termed character4  ,this    
varnish of fashion1 which  seldom sticks

 very close to sense1 may dazzle the    
weak2 but leave  nature to itself1 and  
it will seldom disgust the wise4        
,besides1  when a woman has sufficient  
sense not to pretend to any thing which 
she does not understand in some degree1 
there is no need of  determining to hide
 her talents under a bushel4  ,let      
things take  their natural course1 and  
all will be well4    ,it is this system 
of dissimulation1 throughout the volume1
 that ,i  despise4  ,women are always to
 ,,seem to be this and that--yet virtue 
might apostrophize them1 in the words of
 ,hamlet--,seems6  ,i know not          
seems6--,have that within that passeth  
show6--    ,still the same tone occurs2 
for in another place1 after             
recommending1 7without sufficiently     
discriminating7 delicacy1 he  adds1 ,the
 men will complain of your reserve4     
,they will assure you  that a franker   
behaviour would make you more amiable4  
,but1 trust  me1 they are not sincere   
when they tell you so4  ,i acknowledge  

that  on some occasions it might render 
you more agreeable as companions1  but  
it would make you less amiable as women3
  an important  distinction1 which many 
of your sex are not aware of4    ,this  
desire of being always women1 is the    
very consciousness that  degrades the   
sex4  ,excepting with a lover1 ,i must  
repeat with  emphasis1 a former         
observation--it would be well if they   
were only  agreeable or rational        
companions4  ,but in this respect his   
advice  is even inconsistent with a     
passage which ,i mean to quote with the 
most marked approbation4    ,the        
sentiment1 that a woman may allow all   
innocent freedoms1  provided her virtue 
is secure1 is both grossly indelicate   
and  dangerous1 and has proved fatal to 
many of your sex4  ,with this  opinion  
,i perfectly coincide4  ,a man1 or a    
woman1 of any feeling  must always wish 
to convince a beloved object that it is 
the  caresses of the individual1 not the
 sex1 that is received and  returned    

with pleasure2 and1 that the heart1     
rather than the  senses1 is moved4      
,without this natural delicacy1 love    
becomes a  selfish personal             
gratification that soon degrades the    
character4    ,i carry this sentiment   
still further4  ,affection1 when love is
 out  of the question1 authorises many  
personal endearments1 that  naturally   
flowing from an innocent heart give life
 to the  behaviour2 but the personal    
intercourse of appetite1 gallantry1 or  
vanity1 is despicable4  ,when a man     
squeezes the hand of a pretty  woman1   
handing her to a carriage1 whom he has  
never seen before1  she will consider   
such an impertinent freedom in the light
 of an  insult1 if she have any true    
delicacy1 instead of being flattered  by
 this unmeaning homage to beauty4       
,these are the privileges of            
friendship1 or the momentary homage     
which the heart pays to virtue1  when it
 flashes suddenly on the notice--mere   
animal spirits have no  claim to the    

kindnesses of affection4    ,wishing to 
feed the affections with what is now the
 food of vanity1  ,i would fain persuade
 my sex to act from simpler principles4 
,let  them merit love1 and they will    
obtain it1 though they may never be     
told that3  ,the power of a fine woman  
over the hearts of men1 of  men of the  
finest parts1 is even beyond what she   
conceives4    ,i have already noticed   
the narrow cautions with respect to     
duplicity1 female softness1 delicacy of 
constitution2 for these are  the changes
 which he rings round without ceasing1  
in a more  decorous manner1 it is true1 
than ,rousseau2 but it all comes home   
to the same point1 and whoever is at the
 trouble to analyze these  sentiments1  
will find the first principles not quite
 so delicate as  the superstructure4    
,the subject of amusements is treated in
 too cursory a manner2 but  with the    
same spirit4    ,when ,i treat of       
friendship1 love1 and marriage1 it will 
be found  that we materially differ in  

opinion2 ,i shall not then forestall    
what ,i have to observe on these        
important subjects2 but confine my      
remarks to the general tenor of them1 to
 that cautious family  prudence1 to     
those confined views of partial         
unenlightened  affection1 which exclude 
pleasure and improvement1 by vainly     
wishing to ward off sorrow and          
error--and by thus guarding the  heart  
and mind1 destroy also all their energy4
  ,it is far better to  be often        
deceived than never to trust2 to be     
disappointed in love1  than never to    
love2 to lose a husband's fondness1 than
 forfeit his  esteem4    ,happy would it
 be for the world1 and for individuals1 
of course1 if  all this unavailing      
solicitude to attain worldly happiness1 
on a  confined plan1 were turned into an
 anxious desire to improve the          
understanding4  ,wisdom is the principal
 thing3  ,,therefore get  wisdom2 and   
with all thy gettings get understanding4
  ,how long ye  simple ones1 will ye    

love simplicity1 and hate knowledge8    
,saith  ,wisdom to the daughters of men6
    ,,section #e4d4    ,i do not mean to
 allude to all the writers who have     
written on the  subject of female       
manners--it would in fact be only       
beating over  the old ground1 for they  
have1 in general1 written in the same   
strain2 but attacking the boasted       
prerogative of man--the  prerogative    
that may emphatically be called the iron
 sceptre of  tyranny1 the original sin  
of tyrants1 ,i declare against all power
  built on prejudices1 however hoary4   
,if the submission demanded be founded  
on justice--there is no  appealing to a 
higher power--for ,god is justice       
itself4  ,let us  then1 as children of  
the same parent1 if not bastardized by  
being  the younger born1 reason         
together1 and learn to submit to the    
authority of reason when her voice is   
distinctly heard4  ,but1 if it  be      
proved that this throne of prerogative  
only rests on a chaotic  mass of        

prejudices1 that have no inherent       
principle of order to  keep them        
together1 or on an elephant1 tortoise1  
or even the mighty  shoulders of a son  
of the earth1 they may escape1 who dare 
to brave  the consequence without any   
breach of duty1 without sinning against 
the order of things4    ,whilst reason  
raises man above the brutal herd1 and   
death is big  with promises1 they alone 
are subject to blind authority who have 
no reliance on their own strength4      
,they are free who will be  free699     
799,footnote4  ,he is the free man1 whom
 ,,truth makes free6  ,cowper47    ,the 
being who can govern itself1 has nothing
 to fear in life2 but  if any thing is  
dearer than its own respect1 the price  
must be paid  to the last farthing4     
,virtue1 like every thing valuable1 must
 be  loved for herself alone2 or she    
will not take up her abode with us4     
,she will not impart that peace1 which  
passeth understanding1 when  she is     
merely made the stilts of reputation and

 respected with  pharisaical exactness1 
because honesty is the best policy4     
,that the plan of life which enables us 
to carry some knowledge and  virtue into
 another world1 is the one best         
calculated to ensure  content in this1  
cannot be denied2 yet few people act    
according to  this principle1 though it 
be universally allowed that it admits   
not  of dispute4  ,present pleasure1 or 
present power1 carry before it  these   
sober convictions2 and it is for the    
day1 not for life1 that  man bargains   
with happiness4  ,how few6 how very few6
 have  sufficient foresight or          
resolution1 to endure a small evil at   
the  moment1 to avoid a greater         
hereafter4    ,woman in particular1     
whose virtue99 is built on mutual       
prejudices1  seldom attains to this     
greatness of mind2 so that1 becoming the
  slave of her own feelings1 she is     
easily subjugated by those of  others4  
,thus degraded1 her reason1 her misty   
reason6 is employed  rather to burnish  

than to snap her chains4                
799,footnote4  ,i mean to use a word    
that comprehends more than  chastity1   
the sexual virtue47    ,indignantly have
 ,i heard women argue in the same track 
as men1 and  adopt the sentiments that  
brutalize them with all the pertinacity 
of ignorance4    ,i must illustrate my  
assertion by a few examples4  ,mrs4     
,piozzi1 who  often repeated by rote1   
what she did not understand1 comes      
forward  with ,johnsonian periods4      
,seek not for happiness in singularity2 
and dread a refinement of  wisdom as a  
deviation into folly4  ,thus she        
dogmatically addresses  a new married   
man2 and to elucidate this pompous      
exordium1 she  adds1 ,i said that the   
person of your lady would not grow more 
pleasing to you1 but pray let her never 
suspect that it grows less  so3  that a 
woman will pardon an affront to her     
understanding much  sooner than one to  
her person1 is well known2 nor will any 
of us  contradict the assertion4  ,all  

our attainments1 all our arts1 are      
employed to gain and keep the heart of  
man2 and what mortification  can exceed 
the disappointment1 if the end be not   
obtained3 ,there is  no reproof however 
pointed1 no punishment however severe1  
that a  woman of spirit will not prefer 
to neglect2 and if she can endure  it   
without complaint1 it only proves that  
she means to make herself  amends by the
 attention of others for the slights of 
her husband6    ,these are true         
masculine sentiments4  ,all our ,,arts  
are employed to  gain and keep the heart
 of man3--and what is the inference8--if
  her person1 and was there ever a      
person1 though formed with  ,medicisan  
symmetry1 that was not slighted8 be     
neglected1 she will  make herself amends
 by endeavouring to please other men4   
,noble  morality6  ,but thus is the     
understanding of the whole sex          
affronted1 and their virtue deprived of 
the common basis of virtue4  ,a woman   
must know1 that her person cannot be as 

pleasing to her  husband as it was to   
her lover1 and if she be offended with  
him for  being a human creature1 she may
 as well whine about the loss of his    
heart as about any other foolish thing4 
,and this very want of  discernment or  
unreasonable anger1 proves that he could
 not change  his fondness for her person
 into affection for her virtues or      
respect for her understanding4          
,whilst women avow1 and act up to such  
opinions1 their  understandings1 at     
least1 deserve the contempt and obloquy 
that  men1 ,,who ,,never insult their   
persons1 have pointedly levelled at the 
female mind4  ,and it is the sentiments 
of these polite men1 who do  not wish to
 be encumbered with mind1 that vain     
women thoughtlessly  adopt4  ,yet they  
should know1 that insulted reason alone 
can spread  that ,,sacred reserve about 
the persons which renders human         
affections1 for human affections have   
always some base alloy1 as  permanent as
 is consistent with the grand end of    

existence--the  attainment of virtue4   
,the ,baroness de ,stael speaks the same
 language as the lady just  cited1 with 
more enthusiasm4  ,her eulogium on      
,rousseau was  accidentally put into my 
hands1 and her sentiments1 the          
sentiments  of too many of my sex1 may  
serve as the text for a few comments4   
,though ,rousseau1 she observes1 has    
endeavoured to prevent women  from      
interfering in public affairs1 and      
acting a brilliant part in  the theatre 
of politics2 yet1 in speaking of them1  
how much has he  done it to their       
satisfaction6  ,if he wished to deprive 
them of  some rights1 foreign to their  
sex1 how has he for ever restored to    
them all those to which it has a claim6 
,and in attempting to  diminish their   
influence over the deliberations of men1
 how  sacredly has he established the   
empire they have over their  happiness6 
,in aiding them to descend from an      
usurped throne1 he  has firmly seated   
them upon that to which they were       

destined by  nature2 and though he be   
full of indignation against them when   
they  endeavour to resemble men1 yet    
when they come before him with all      
,,the ,,charms ,,weaknesses1 ,,virtues1 
and ,,errors1 ,,of their sex1 his       
respect for their ,,persons amounts     
almost to adoration4  ,true6--,for      
never was there a sensualist who paid   
more fervent adoration at the  shrine of
 beauty4  ,so devout1 indeed1 was his   
respect for the  person1 that excepting 
the virtue of chastity1 for obvious     
reasons1  he only wished to see it      
embellished by charms1 weaknesses1 and  
errors4  ,he was afraid lest the        
austerity of reason should disturb  the 
soft playfulness of love4  ,the master  
wished to have a  meretricious slave to 
fondle1 entirely dependent on his reason
 and  bounty2 he did not want a         
companion1 whom he should be compelled  
to  esteem1 or a friend to whom he could
 confide the care of his  children's    
education1 should death deprive them of 

their father1  before he had fulfilled  
the sacred task4  ,he denies woman      
reason1  shuts her out from knowledge1  
and turns her aside from truth2 yet  his
 pardon is granted1 because1 he admits  
the passion of love4  ,it would require 
some ingenuity to show why women were to
 be under  such an obligation to him for
 thus admitting love2 when it is clear  
that he admits it only for the          
relaxation of men1 and to perpetuate    
the species2 but he talked with passion1
 and that powerful spell  worked on the 
sensibility of a young encomiast4  ,what
 signifies  it1 pursues this rhapsodist1
 to women1 that his reason disputes     
with them the empire1 when his heart is 
devotedly theirs4  ,it is  not          
empire--but equality1 that they should  
contend for4  ,yet1 if  they only wished
 to lengthen out their sway1 they should
 not  entirely trust to their persons1  
for though beauty may gain a  heart1 it 
cannot keep it1 even while the beauty is
 in full bloom1  unless the mind lend1  

at least1 some graces4    ,when women   
are once sufficiently enlightened to    
discover their real  interest1 on a     
grand scale1 they will1 ,i am persuaded1
 be very  ready to resign all the       
prerogatives of love1 that are not      
mutual1  7speaking of them as lasting   
prerogatives17 for the calm             
satisfaction of friendship1 and the     
tender confidence of habitual  esteem4  
,before marriage they will not assume   
any insolent airs1  nor afterward       
abjectly submit2 but1 endeavouring to   
act like  reasonable creatures1 in both 
situations1 they will not be tumbled    
from a throne to a stool4    ,madame    
,genlis has written several entertaining
 books for children2  and her letters on
 ,education afford many useful hints1   
that  sensible parents will certainly   
avail themselves of2 but her views  are 
narrow1 and her prejudices as           
unreasonable as strong4    ,i shall pass
 over her vehement argument in favour of
 the eternity  of future punishments1   

because ,i blush to think that a human  
being  should ever argue vehemently in  
such a cause1 and only make a few       
remarks on her absurd manner of making  
the parental authority  supplant reason4
  ,for every where does she inculcate   
not only ,,blind  submission to parents2
 but to the opinion of the world499     
799,footnote4  ,a person is not to act  
in this or that way1 though  convinced  
they are right in so doing1 because some
 equivocal  circumstances may lead the  
world to ,,suspect that they acted from 
different motives4  ,this is sacrificing
 the substance for a shadow4  ,let      
people but watch their own hearts1 and  
act rightly as far as  they can judge1  
and they may patiently wait till the    
opinion of the  world comes round4  ,it 
is best to be directed by a simple      
motive--for justice has too often been  
sacrificed to  propriety2--another word 
for convenience47    ,she tells a story 
of a young man engaged by his father's  
express  desire to a girl of fortune4   

,before the marriage could take place   
she is deprived of her fortune1 and     
thrown friendless on the world4  ,the   
father practises the most infamous arts 
to separate his son  from her1 and when 
the son detects his villany1 and1       
following the  dictates of honour1      
marries the girl1 nothing but misery    
ensues1  because forsooth he married    
,,without his father's consent4  ,on    
what  ground can religion or morality   
rest1 when justice is thus set at       
defiance8  ,in the same style she       
represents an accomplished young  woman1
 as ready to marry any body that her    
,,mamma pleased to  recommend2 and1 as  
actually marrying the young man of her  
own  choice1 without feeling any        
emotions of passion1 because that a     
well educated girl had not time to be in
 love4  ,is it possible to  have much   
respect for a system of education that  
thus insults  reason and nature8        
,many similar opinions occur in her     
writings1 mixed with sentiments  that do

 honour to her head and heart4  ,yet so 
much superstition is  mixed with her    
religion1 and so much worldly wisdom    
with her  morality1 that ,i should not  
let a young person read her works1      
unless ,i could afterwards converse on  
the subjects1 and point out  the        
contradictions4    ,mrs4 ,chapone's     
,letters are written with such good     
sense1 and  unaffected humility1 and    
contain so many useful observations1    
that  ,i only mention them to pay the   
worthy writer this tribute of  respect4 
,i cannot1 it is true1 always coincide  
in opinion with  her2 but ,i always     
respect her4    ,the very word respect  
brings ,mrs4 ,macaulay to my            
remembrance4  ,the  woman of the        
greatest abilities1 undoubtedly1 that   
this country has  ever produced4  ,and  
yet this woman has been suffered to die 
without  sufficient respect being paid  
to her memory4    ,posterity1 however1  
will be more just2 and remember that    
,catharine  ,macaulay was an example of 

intellectual acquirements supposed to be
  incompatible with the weakness of her 
sex4  ,in her style of  writing1 indeed1
 no sex appears1 for it is like the     
sense it  conveys1 strong and clear4    
,i will not call her's a masculine      
understanding1 because ,i admit  not of 
such an arrogant assumption of reason2  
but ,i contend that it  was a sound one1
 and that her judgment1 the matured     
fruit of  profound thinking1 was a proof
 that a woman can acquire judgment1  in 
the full extent of the word4            
,possessing more penetration than       
sagacity1 more understanding than fancy1
 she writes with sober  energy1 and     
argumentative closeness2 yet sympathy   
and benevolence  give an interest to her
 sentiments1 and that vital heat to     
arguments1 which forces the reader to   
weigh them499    799,footnote4          
,coinciding in opinion with ,mrs4       
,macaulay relative to  many branches of 
education1 ,i refer to her valuable     
work1 instead  of quoting her sentiments

 to support my own47    ,when ,i first  
thought of writing these strictures ,i  
anticipated ,mrs4  ,macaulay's          
approbation with a little of that       
sanguine ardour which  it has been the  
business of my life to depress2 but soon
 heard with  the sickly qualm of        
disappointed hope1 and the still        
seriousness of  regret--that she was no 
more6    ,,section #e4e4    ,taking a   
view of the different works which have  
been written on  education1 ,lord       
,chesterfield's ,letters must not be    
silently passed  over4  ,not that ,i    
mean to analyze his unmanly1 immoral    
system1 or  even to cull any of the     
useful shrewd remarks which occur in his
  frivolous correspondence--,no1 ,i only
 mean to make a few reflections  on the 
avowed tendency of them--the art of     
acquiring an early  knowledge of the    
world4  ,an art1 ,i will venture to     
assert1 that  preys secretly1 like the  
worm in the bud1 on the expanding       
powers1  and turns to poison the        

generous juices which should mount with 
vigour in the youthful frame1 inspiring 
warm affections and great  resolves4    
,for every thing1 saith the wise man1   
there is reason2 and who would  look for
 the fruits of autumn during the genial 
months of spring8  ,but this is mere    
declamation1 and ,i mean to reason with 
those  worldly-wise instructors1 who1   
instead of cultivating the judgment1    
instil prejudices1 and render hard the  
heart that gradual  experience would    
only have cooled4  ,an early            
acquaintance with  human infirmities2   
or1 what is termed knowledge of the     
world1 is  the surest way1 in my        
opinion1 to contract the heart and damp 
the  natural youthful ardour which      
produces not only great talents1 but    
great virtues4  ,for the vain attempt to
 bring forth the fruit of  experience1  
before the sapling has thrown out its   
leaves1 only  exhausts its strength1 and
 prevents its assuming a natural form2  
just as the form and strength of        

subsiding metals are injured when  the  
attraction of cohesion is disturbed4    
,tell me1 ye who have  studied the human
 mind1 is it not a strange way to fix   
principles  by showing young people that
 they are seldom stable8  ,and how can  
they be fortified by habits when they   
are proved to be fallacious  by example8
  ,why is the ardour of youth thus to be
 damped1 and the  luxuriancy of fancy   
cut to the quick8  ,this dry caution    
may1 it is  true1 guard a character from
 worldly mischances2 but will           
infallibly preclude excellence in either
 virtue or knowledge4  ,the             
stumbling-block thrown across every path
 by suspicion1 will prevent  any        
vigorous exertions of genius or         
benevolence1 and life will be  stripped 
of its most alluring charm long before  
its calm evening1  when man should      
retire to contemplation for comfort and 
support4    ,a young man who has been   
bred up with domestic friends1 and led  
to  store his mind with as much         

speculative knowledge as can be         
acquired by reading and the natural     
reflections which youthful  ebullitions 
of animal spirits and instinctive       
feelings inspire1  will enter the world 
with warm and erroneous expectations4   
,but  this appears to be the course of  
nature2 and in morals1 as well as  in   
works of taste1 we should be observant  
of her sacred  indications1 and not     
presume to lead when we ought           
obsequiously to  follow4    ,in the     
world few people act from principle2    
present feelings1 and  early habits1 are
 the grand springs3  but how would the  
former be  deadened1 and the latter     
rendered iron corroding fetters1 if the 
world were shown to young people just as
 it is2 when no knowledge  of mankind or
 their own hearts1 slowly obtained by   
experience  rendered them forbearing8   
,their fellow creatures would not then  
be  viewed as frail beings2 like        
themselves1 condemned to struggle with  
human infirmities1 and sometimes        

displaying the light and sometimes  the 
dark side of their character2 extorting 
alternate feelings of  love and disgust2
 but guarded against as beasts of prey1 
till every  enlarged social feeling1 in 
a word--humanity1 was eradicated4    ,in
 life1 on the contrary1 as we gradually 
discover the  imperfections of our      
nature1 we discover virtues1 and various
  circumstances attach us to our fellow 
creatures1 when we mix with  them1 and  
view the same objects1 that are never   
thought of in  acquiring a hasty        
unnatural knowledge of the world4  ,we  
see a folly  swell into a vice1 by      
almost imperceptible degrees1 and pity  
while  we blame2 but1 if the hideous    
monster burst suddenly on our sight1    
fear and disgust rendering us more      
severe than man ought to be1  might lead
 us with blind zeal to usurp the        
character of  omnipotence1 and denounce 
damnation on our fellow mortals1        
forgetting that we cannot read the      
heart1 and that we have seeds of  the   

same vices lurking in our own4    ,i    
have already remarked1 that we expect   
more from instruction1 than  mere       
instruction can produce3  for1 instead  
of preparing young  people to encounter 
the evils of life with dignity1 and to  
acquire  wisdom and virtue by the       
exercise of their own faculties1        
precepts  are heaped upon precepts1 and 
blind obedience required1 when          
conviction should be brought home to    
reason4    ,suppose1 for instance1 that 
a young person in the first ardour of   
friendship deifies the beloved          
object--what harm can arise from  this  
mistaken enthusiastic attachment8       
,perhaps it is necessary for  virtue    
first to appear in a human form to      
impress youthful hearts2  the ideal     
model1 which a more matured and exalted 
mind looks up to1  and shapes for       
itself1 would elude their sight4  ,he   
who loves not  his brother whom he hath 
seen1 how can he love ,god8 asked the   
wisest of men4    ,it is natural for    

youth to adorn the first object of its  
affection  with every good quality1 and 
the emulation produced by ignorance1    
or1 to speak with more propriety1 by    
inexperience1 brings forward  the mind  
capable of forming such an affection1   
and when1 in the  lapse of time1        
perfection is found not to be within the
 reach of  mortals1 virtue1 abstractly1 
is thought beautiful1 and wisdom        
sublime4  ,admiration then gives place  
to friendship1 properly so  called1     
because it is cemented by esteem2 and   
the being walks alone  only dependent on
 heaven for that emulous panting after  
perfection  which ever glows in a noble 
mind4  ,but this knowledge a man must   
gain by the exertion of his own         
faculties2 and this is surely the       
blessed fruit of disappointed hope6 for 
,he who delighteth to  diffuse happiness
 and show mercy to the weak creatures1  
who are  learning to know him1 never    
implanted a good propensity to be a     
tormenting ignis fatuus4    ,our trees  

are now allowed to spread with wild     
luxuriance1 nor do we  expect by force  
to combine the majestic marks of time   
with youthful  graces2 but wait         
patiently till they have struck deep    
their root1  and braved many a storm4   
,is the mind then1 which1 in proportion 
to  its dignity advances more slowly    
towards perfection1 to be treated  with 
less respect8  ,to argue from analogy1  
every thing around us is  in a          
progressive state2 and when an unwelcome
 knowledge of life  produces almost a   
satiety of life1 and we discover by the 
natural  course of things that all that 
is done under the sun is vanity1 we  are
 drawing near the awful close of the    
drama4  ,the days of  activity and hope 
are over1 and the opportunities which   
the first  stage of existence has       
afforded of advancing in the scale of   
intelligence1 must soon be summed up4   
,a knowledge at this period  of the     
futility of life1 or earlier1 if        
obtained by experience1 is  very useful1

 because it is natural2 but when a frail
 being is shown  the follies and vices  
of man1 that he may be taught prudently 
to  guard against the common casualties 
of life by sacrificing his              
heart--surely it is not speaking harshly
 to call it the wisdom of  this world1  
contrasted with the nobler fruit of     
piety and  experience4    ,i will       
venture a paradox1 and deliver my       
opinion without reserve2  if men were   
only born to form a circle of life and  
death1 it would  be wise to take every  
step that foresight could suggest to    
render  life happy4  ,moderation in     
every pursuit would then be supreme     
wisdom2 and the prudent voluptuary might
 enjoy a degree of content1  though he  
neither cultivated his understanding nor
 kept his heart  pure4  ,prudence1      
supposing we were mortal1 would be true 
wisdom1  or1 to be more explicit1 would 
procure the greatest portion of         
happiness1 considering the whole of     
life2 but knowledge beyond the          

conveniences of life would be a curse4  
,why should we injure our health by     
close study8  ,the exalted  pleasure    
which intellectual pursuits afford would
 scarcely be  equivalent to the hours of
 languor that follow2 especially1 if it 
be necessary to take into the reckoning 
the doubts and  disappointments that    
cloud our researches4  ,vanity and      
vexation  close every inquiry3  for the 
cause which we particularly wished to   
discover flies like the horizon before  
us as we advance4  ,the  ignorant1 on   
the contrary1 resemble children1 and    
suppose1 that if  they could walk       
straight forward they should at last    
arrive where  the earth and clouds meet4
  ,yet1 disappointed as we are in our   
researches1 the mind gains strength by  
the exercise1 sufficient1  perhaps1 to  
comprehend the answers which1 in another
 step of  existence1 it may receive to  
the anxious questions it asked1 when    
the understanding with feeble wing was  
fluttering round the visible  effects to

 dive into the hidden cause4    ,the    
passions also1 the winds of life1 would 
be useless1 if not  injurious1 did the  
substance which composes our thinking   
being1  after we have thought in vain1  
only become the support of vegetable    
life1 and invigorate a cabbage1 or blush
 in a rose4  ,the appetites  would      
answer every earthly purpose1 and       
produce more moderate and  permanent    
happiness4  ,but the powers of the soul 
that are of little  use here1 and1      
probably1 disturb our animal enjoyments1
 even while  conscious dignity makes us 
glory in possessing them1 prove that    
life is merely an education1 a state of 
infancy1 of which the only  hopes worth 
cherishing should not be sacrificed4  ,i
 mean1 therefore  to infer1 that we     
ought to have a precise idea of what we 
wish to  attain by education1 for the   
immortality of the soul is  contradicted
 by the actions of many people1 who     
firmly profess the  belief4    ,if you  
mean to secure ease and prosperity on   

earth as the first  consideration1 and  
leave futurity to provide for itself1   
you act  prudently in giving your child 
an early insight into the weaknesses  of
 his nature4  ,you may not1 it is true1 
make an ,inkle of him2 but  do not      
imagine that he will stick to more than 
the letter of the  law1 who has very    
early imbibed a mean opinion of human   
nature2 nor  will he think it necessary 
to rise much above the common standard4 
,he may avoid gross vices1 because      
honesty is the best policy2 but  he will
 never aim at attaining great virtues4  
,the example of  writers and artists    
will illustrate this remark4    ,i must 
therefore venture to doubt1 whether what
 has been thought an  axiom in morals1  
may not have been a dogmatical assertion
 made by  men who have coolly seen      
mankind through the medium of books1 and
  say1 in direct contradiction to them1 
that the regulation of the  passions is 
not always wisdom4  ,on the contrary1 it
 should seem1  that one reason why men  

have superiour judgment and more        
fortitude  than women1 is undoubtedly   
this1 that they give a freer scope to   
the grand passions1 and by more         
frequently going astray1 enlarge  their 
minds4  ,if then by the exercise of     
their own reason1 they fix  on some     
stable principle1 they have probably to 
thank the force of  their passions1     
nourished by ,,false views of life1 and 
permitted to  overleap the boundary that
 secures content4  ,but if1 in the dawn 
of  life1 we could soberly survey the   
scenes before us as in  perspective1 and
 see every thing in its true colours1   
how could the  passions gain sufficient 
strength to unfold the faculties8       
,let me now1 as from an eminence1 survey
 the world stripped of all  its false   
delusive charms4  ,the clear atmosphere 
enables me to see  each object in its   
true point of view1 while my heart is   
still4  ,i  am calm as the prospect in a
 morning when the mists1 slowly         
dispersing1 silently unveil the beauties

 of nature1 refreshed by  rest4    ,in  
what light will the world now appear8   
,i rub my eyes and think1  perchance1   
that ,i am just awaking from a lively   
dream4    ,i see the sons and daughters 
of men pursuing shadows1 and anxiously  
wasting their powers to feed passions   
which have no adequate  object--if the  
very excess of these blind impulses     
pampered by that  lying1 yet            
constantly-trusted guide1 the           
imagination1 did not1 by  preparing them
 for some other state1 render short     
sighted mortals  wiser without their own
 concurrence2 or1 what comes to the same
  thing1 when they were pursuing some   
imaginary present good4    ,after       
viewing objects in this light1 it would 
not be very fanciful  to imagine1 that  
this world was a stage on which a       
pantomime is  daily performed for the   
amusement of superiour beings4  ,how    
would  they be diverted to see the      
ambitious man consuming himself by      
running after a phantom1 and1 pursuing  

the bubble fame in the  cannon's mouth  
that was to blow him to nothing3  for   
when  consciousness is lost1 it matters 
not whether we mount in a  whirlwind or 
descend in rain4  ,and should they      
compassionately  invigorate his sight1  
and show him the thorny path which led  
to  eminence1 that like a quicksand     
sinks as he ascends1 disappointing  his 
hopes when almost within his grasp1     
would he not leave to  others the honour
 of amusing them1 and labour to secure  
the present  moment1 though from the    
constitution of his nature he would not 
find it very easy to catch the flying   
stream8  ,such slaves are we  to hope   
and fear6    ,but1 vain as the ambitious
 man's pursuit would be1 he is often    
striving for something more substantial 
than fame--that indeed  would be the    
veriest meteor1 the wildest fire that   
could lure a man  to ruin4  ,what6      
renounce the most trifling gratification
 to be  applauded when he should be no  
more6 ,wherefore this struggle1  whether

 man is mortal or immortal1 if that     
noble passion did not  really raise the 
being above his fellows8    ,and love6  
,what diverting scenes would it         
produce--,pantaloon's  tricks must yield
 to more egregious folly4  ,to see a    
mortal adorn  an object with imaginary  
charms1 and then fall down and worship  
the  idol which he had himself set      
up--how ridiculous6  ,but what serious  
consequences ensue to rob man of that   
portion of happiness1 which  the ,deity 
by calling him into existence has 7or1  
on what can his  attributes rest87      
indubitably promised2 would not all the 
purposes  of life have been much better 
fulfilled if he had only felt what  has 
been termed physical love8  ,and1 would 
not the sight of the  object1 not seen  
through the medium of the imagination1  
soon reduce  the passion to an appetite1
 if reflection1 the noble distinction of
  man1 did not give it force1 and make  
it an instrument to raise him  above    
this earthy dross1 by teaching him to   

love the centre of all  perfection6     
whose wisdom appears clearer and clearer
 in the works  of nature1 in proportion 
as reason is illuminated and exalted by 
contemplation1 and by acquiring that    
love of order which the  struggles of   
passion produce8    ,the habit of       
reflection1 and the knowledge attained  
by fostering  any passion1 might be     
shown to be equally useful though the   
object  be proved equally fallacious2   
for they would all appear in the same   
light1 if they were not magnified by the
 governing passion  implanted in us by  
the ,author of all good1 to call forth  
and  strengthen the faculties of each   
individual1 and enable it to  attain all
 the experience that an infant can      
obtain1 who does  certain things1 it    
cannot tell why4    ,i descend from my  
height1 and mixing with my fellow       
creatures1 feel  myself hurried along   
the common stream2 ambition1 love1 hope1
 and  fear1 exert their wonted power1   
though we be convinced by reason  that  

their present and most attractive       
promises are only lying  dreams2 but had
 the cold hand of circumspection damped 
each  generous feeling before it had    
left any permanent character1 or  fixed 
some habit1 what could be expected1 but 
selfish prudence and  reason just rising
 above instinct8  ,who that has read    
,dean ,swift's  disgusting description  
of the ,yahoos1 and insipid one of      
,houyhnhnm  with a philosophical eye1   
can avoid seeing the futility of        
degrading the passions1 or making man   
rest in contentment8    ,the youth      
should ,,act2 for had he the experience 
of a grey head1 he  would be fitter for 
death than life1 though his virtues1    
rather  residing in his head than his   
heart could produce nothing great1  and 
his understanding prepared for this     
world1 would not1 by its  noble flights1
 prove that it had a title to a better4 
,besides1 it is not possible to give a  
young person a just view of  life2 he   
must have struggled with his own        

passions before he can  estimate the    
force of the temptation which betrayed  
his brother  into vice4  ,those who are 
entering life1 and those who are        
departing1 see the world from such very 
different points of view1  that they can
 seldom think alike1 unless the         
unfledged reason of  the former never   
attempted a solitary flight4    ,when we
 hear of some daring crime--it comes    
full upon us in the  deepest shade of   
turpitude1 and raises indignation2 but  
the eye  that gradually saw the darkness
 thicken1 must observe it with more     
compassionate forbearance4  ,the world  
cannot be seen by an unmoved  spectator1
 we must mix in the throng1 and feel as 
men feel before  we can judge of their  
feelings4  ,if we mean1 in short1 to    
live in  the world to grow wiser and    
better1 and not merely to enjoy the     
good things of life1 we must attain a   
knowledge of others at the  same time   
that we become acquainted with          
ourselves-- knowledge  acquired any     

other way only hardens the heart and    
perplexes the  understanding4    ,i may 
be told1 that the knowledge thus        
acquired1 is sometimes  purchased at too
 dear a rate4  ,i can only answer1 that 
,i very much  doubt whether any         
knowledge can be attained without labour
 and  sorrow2 and those who wish to     
spare their children both1 should not   
complain if they are neither wise nor   
virtuous4  ,they only aimed at  making  
them prudent2 and prudence1 early in    
life1 is but the  cautious craft of     
ignorant self-love4  ,i have observed1  
that young  people1 to whose education  
particular attention has been paid1     
have1 in general1 been very superficial 
and conceited1 and far from  pleasing in
 any respect1 because they had neither  
the unsuspecting  warmth of youth1 nor  
the cool depth of age4  ,i cannot help  
imputing  this unnatural appearance     
principally to that hasty premature     
instruction1 which leads them           
presumptuously to repeat all the  crude 

notions they have taken upon trust1 so  
that the careful  education which they  
received1 makes them all their lives the
  slaves of prejudices4    ,mental as   
well as bodily exertion is1 at first1   
irksome2 so much  so1 that the many     
would fain let others both work and     
think for  them4  ,an observation which 
,i have often made will illustrate my   
meaning4  ,when in a circle of          
strangers1 or acquaintances1 a person   
of moderate abilities1 asserts an       
opinion with heat1 ,i will venture  to  
affirm1 for ,i have traced this fact    
home1 very often1 that it is  a         
prejudice4  ,these echoes have a high   
respect for the  understanding of some  
relation or friend1 and without fully   
comprehending the opinions1 which they  
are so eager to retail1 they  maintain  
them with a degree of obstinacy1 that   
would surprise even  the person who     
concocted them4    ,i know that a kind  
of fashion now prevails of respecting   
prejudices2 and when any one dares to   

face them1 though actuated by  humanity 
and armed by reason1 he is              
superciliously asked1 whether  his      
ancestors were fools4  ,no1 ,i should   
reply2 opinions1 at first1  of every    
description1 were all1 probably1        
considered1 and therefore  were founded 
on some reason2 yet not unfrequently1 of
 course1 it  was rather a local         
expedient than a fundamental principle1 
that  would be reasonable at all times4 
,but1 moss-covered opinions  assume the 
disproportioned form of prejudices1 when
 they are  indolently adopted only      
because age has given them a venerable  
aspect1 though the reason on which they 
were built ceases to be a  reason1 or   
cannot be traced4  ,why are we to love  
prejudices1 merely  because they are    
prejudices8  ,a prejudice is a fond     
obstinate  persuasion1 for which we can 
give no reason2 for the moment a  reason
 can be given for an opinion1 it ceases 
to be a prejudice1  though it may be an 
error in judgment3  and are we then     

advised to  cherish opinions only to set
 reason at defiance8  ,this mode of     
arguing1 if arguing it may be called1   
reminds me of what is  vulgarly termed a
 woman's reason4  ,for women sometimes  
declare that  they love1 or believe     
certain things1 ,,because they love1 or 
believe  them4    ,it is impossible to  
converse with people to any purpose1    
who1 in  this style1 only use           
affirmatives and negatives4  ,before you
 can  bring them to a point1 to start   
fairly from1 you must go back to  the   
simple principles that were antecedent  
to the prejudices  broached by power2   
and it is ten to one but you are stopped
 by the  philosophical assertion1 that  
certain principles are as practically   
false as they are abstractly true4      
,nay1 it may be inferred1 that  reason  
has whispered some doubts1 for it       
generally happens that  people assert   
their opinions with the greatest heat   
when they begin  to waver2 striving to  
drive out their own doubts by convincing

  their opponent1 they grow angry when  
those gnawing doubts are  thrown back to
 prey on themselves4    ,the fact is1   
that men expect from education1 what    
education cannot  give4  ,a sagacious   
parent or tutor may strengthen the body 
and  sharpen the instruments by which   
the child is to gather knowledge2  but  
the honey must be the reward of the     
individual's own industry4  ,it is      
almost as absurd to attempt to make a   
youth wise by the  experience of        
another1 as to expect the body to grow  
strong by the  exercise which is only   
talked of1 or seen4    ,many of those   
children whose conduct has been most    
narrowly  watched1 become the weakest   
men1 because their instructors only     
instill certain notions into their      
minds1 that have no other  foundation   
than their authority2 and if they are   
loved or  respected1 the mind is cramped
 in its exertions and wavering in its   
advances4  ,the business of education in
 this case1 is only to  conduct the     

shooting tendrils to a proper pole2 yet 
after laying  precept upon precept1     
without allowing a child to acquire     
judgment  itself1 parents expect them to
 act in the same manner by this         
borrowed fallacious light1 as if they   
had illuminated it  themselves2 and be1 
when they enter life1 what their parents
 are at  the close4  ,they do not       
consider that the tree1 and even the    
human  body1 does not strengthen its    
fibres till it has reached its full     
growth4    ,there appears to be         
something analogous in the mind4  ,the  
senses  and the imagination give a form 
to the character1 during childhood  and 
youth2 and the understanding as life    
advances1 gives firmness  to the first  
fair purposes of sensibility--till      
virtue1 arising  rather from the clear  
conviction of reason than the impulse of
 the  heart1 morality is made to rest on
 a rock against which the storms  of    
passion vainly beat4    ,i hope ,i shall
 not be misunderstood when ,i say1 that 

religion will  not have this condensing 
energy1 unless it be founded on reason4 
,if it be merely the refuge of weakness 
or wild fanaticism1 and not  a governing
 principle of conduct1 drawn from       
self-knowledge1 and a  rational opinion 
respecting the attributes of ,god1 what 
can it be  expected to produce8  ,the   
religion which consists in warming the  
affections1 and exalting the            
imagination1 is only the poetical  part1
 and may afford the individual pleasure 
without rendering it a  more moral      
being4  ,it may be a substitute for     
worldly pursuits2 yet  narrow instead of
 enlarging the heart3  but virtue must  
be loved as  in itself sublime and      
excellent1 and not for the advantages it
  procures or the evils it averts1 if   
any great degree of excellence  be      
expected4  ,men will not become moral   
when they only build airy  castles in a 
future world to compensate for the      
disappointments  which they meet with in
 this2 if they turn their thoughts from 

relative duties to religious reveries4  
,most prospects in life are marred by   
the shuffling worldly wisdom  of men1   
who1 forgetting that they cannot serve  
,god and mammon1  endeavour to blend    
contradictory things4  ,if you wish to  
make your  son rich1 pursue one course  
--if you are only anxious to make him   
virtuous1 you must take another2 but do 
not imagine that you can  bound from one
 road to the other without losing your  
way499    799,footnote4  ,see an        
excellent essay on this subject by ,mrs4
  ,barbauld1 in ,miscellaneous pieces in
 ,prose47      ,,chapter #f4    ,,the   
,,effect ,,which ,,an ,,early           
,,association ,,of ,,ideas ,,has ,,upon 
,,the  ,,character4    ,educated in the 
enervating style recommended by the     
writers on whom  ,i have been           
animadverting2 and not having a chance1 
from their  subordinate state in        
society1 to recover their lost ground1  
is it  surprising that women every where
 appear a defect in nature8  ,is it     

surprising1 when we consider what a     
determinate effect an early  association
 of ideas has on the character1 that    
they neglect their  understandings1 and 
turn all their attention to their       
persons8    ,the great advantages which 
naturally result from storing the mind  
with knowledge1 are obvious from the    
following considerations4  ,the         
association of our ideas is either      
habitual or instantaneous2 and  the     
latter mode seems rather to depend on   
the original temperature  of the mind   
than on the will4  ,when the ideas1 and 
matters of fact1  are once taken in1    
they lie by for use1 till some          
fortuitous  circumstance makes the      
information dart into the mind with     
illustrative force1 that has been       
received at very different  periods of  
our lives4  ,like the lightning's flash 
are many  recollections2 one idea       
assimilating and explaining another1    
with  astonishing rapidity4  ,i do not  
now allude to that quick perception  of 

truth1 which is so intuitive that it    
baffles research1 and makes  us at a    
loss to determine whether it is         
reminiscence or  ratiocination1 lost    
sight of in its celerity1 that opens the
 dark  cloud4  ,over those instantaneous
 associations we have little power2  for
 when the mind is once enlarged by      
excursive flights1 or  profound         
reflection1 the raw materials1 will1 in 
some degree1  arrange themselves4  ,the 
understanding1 it is true1 may keep us  
from going out of drawing when we group 
our thoughts1 or transcribe  from the   
imagination the warm sketches of fancy2 
but the animal  spirits1 the individual 
character give the colouring4  ,over    
this  subtile electric fluid199 how     
little power do we possess1 and over  it
 how little power can reason obtain6    
,these fine intractable  spirits appear 
to be the essence of genius1 and beaming
 in its  eagle eye1 produce in the most 
eminent degree the happy energy of      
associating thoughts that surprise1     

delight1 and instruct4  ,these  are the 
glowing minds that concentrate pictures 
for their  fellow-creatures2 forcing    
them to view with interest the objects  
reflected from the impassioned          
imagination1 which they passed over  in 
nature4    799,footnote4  ,i have       
sometimes1 when inclined to laugh at    
materialists1 asked whether1 as the most
 powerful effects in nature  are        
apparently produced by fluids1 the      
magnetic1 etc4 the passions  might not  
be fine volatile fluids that embraced   
humanity1 keeping  the more refractory  
elementary parts together--or whether   
they were  simply a liquid fire that    
pervaded the more sluggish materials    
giving them life and heat87    ,i must  
be allowed to explain myself4  ,the     
generality of people  cannot see or feel
 poetically1 they want fancy1 and       
therefore fly  from solitude in search  
of sensible objects2 but when an author 
lends them his eyes1 they can see as he 
saw1 and be amused by  images they could

 not select1 though lying before them4  
,education thus only supplies the man of
 genius with knowledge to  give variety 
and contrast to his associations2 but   
there is an  habitual association of    
ideas1 that grows with our growth1 which
  has a great effect on the moral       
character of mankind2 and by which  a   
turn is given to the mind1 that commonly
 remains throughout life4  ,so ductile  
is the understanding1 and yet so        
stubborn1 that the  associations which  
depend on adventitious circumstances1   
during the  period that the body takes  
to arrive at maturity1 can seldom be    
disentangled by reason4  ,one idea calls
 up another1 its old  associate1 and    
memory1 faithful to the first           
impressions1  particularly when the     
intellectual powers are not employed to 
cool  our sensations1 retraces them with
 mechanical exactness4    ,this habitual
 slavery1 to first impressions1 has a   
more baneful  effect on the female than 
the male character1 because business and

  other dry employments of the          
understanding1 tend to deaden the       
feelings and break associations that do 
violence to reason4  ,but  females1 who 
are made women of when they are mere    
children1 and  brought back to childhood
 when they ought to leave the go-cart   
forever1 have not sufficient strength of
 mind to efface the  superinductions of 
art that have smothered nature4         
,every thing that they see or hear      
serves to fix impressions1 call  forth  
emotions1 and associate ideas1 that give
 a sexual character  to the mind4       
,false notions of beauty and delicacy   
stop the growth  of their limbs and     
produce a sickly soreness1 rather than  
delicacy  of organs2 and thus weakened  
by being employed in unfolding instead  
of examining the first associations1    
forced on them by every  surrounding    
object1 how can they attain the vigour  
necessary to  enable them to throw off  
their factitious character8--where find 
strength to recur to reason and rise    

superior to a system of  oppression1    
that blasts the fair promises of spring8
  ,this cruel  association of ideas1    
which every thing conspires to twist    
into all  their habits of thinking1 or1 
to speak with more precision1 of        
feeling1 receives new force when they   
begin to act a little for  themselves2  
for they then perceive1 that it is only 
through their  address to excite        
emotions in men1 that pleasure and power
 are to  be obtained4  ,besides1 all the
 books professedly written for their    
instruction1 which make the first       
impression on their minds1 all          
inculcate the same opinions4  ,educated 
in worse than ,egyptian  bondage1 it is 
unreasonable1 as well as cruel1 to      
upbraid them with  faults that can      
scarcely be avoided1 unless a degree of 
native  vigour be supposed1 that falls  
to the lot of very few amongst  mankind4
    ,for instance1 the severest sarcasms
 have been levelled against the  sex1   
and they have been ridiculed for        

repeating a set of phrases  learnt by   
rote1 when nothing could be more        
natural1 considering  the education they
 receive1 and that their highest praise 
is to  obey1 unargued--the will of man4 
,if they are not allowed to have  reason
 sufficient to govern their own         
conduct--why1 all they  learn--must be  
learned by rote6  ,and when all their   
ingenuity is  called forth to adjust    
their dress1 a passion for a scarlet    
coat1  is so natural1 that it never     
surprised me2 and1 allowing ,pope's     
summary of their character to be just1  
that every woman is at  heart a rake1   
why should they be bitterly censured for
 seeking a  congenial mind1 and         
preferring a rake to a man of sense8    
,rakes know how to work on their        
sensibility1 whilst the modest  merit of
 reasonable men has1 of course1 less    
effect on their  feelings1 and they     
cannot reach the heart by the way of the
  understanding1 because they have few  
sentiments in common4    ,it seems a    

little absurd to expect women to be more
 reasonable than  men in their          
,,likings1 and still to deny them the   
uncontroled use of  reason4  ,when do   
men ,,fall ,,in ,,love with sense8      
,when do they1 with  their superior     
powers and advantages1 turn from the    
person to the  mind8  ,and how can they 
then expect women1 who are only taught  
to  observe behaviour1 and acquire      
manners rather than morals1 to  despise 
what they have been all their lives     
labouring to attain8  ,where are they   
suddenly to find judgment enough to     
weigh patiently  the sense of an awkward
 virtuous man1 when his manners1 of     
which  they are made critical judges1   
are rebuffing1 and his conversation     
cold and dull1 because it does not      
consist of pretty repartees1 or         
well-turned compliments8  ,in order to  
admire or esteem any thing  for a       
continuance1 we must1 at least1 have our
 curiosity excited by  knowing1 in some 
degree1 what we admire2 for we are      

unable to  estimate the value of        
qualities and virtues above our         
comprehension4  ,such a respect1 when it
 is felt1 may be very  sublime2 and the 
confused consciousness of humility may  
render the  dependent creature an       
interesting object1 in some points of   
view2  but human love must have grosser 
ingredients2 and the person very        
naturally will come in for its          
share--and1 an ample share it mostly    
has6    ,love is1 in a great degree1 an 
arbitrary passion1 and will reign  like 
some other stalking mischiefs1 by its   
own authority1 without  deigning to     
reason2 and it may also be easily       
distinguished from  esteem1 the         
foundation of friendship1 because it is 
often excited  by evanescent beauties   
and graces1 though to give an energy to 
the  sentiment something more solid must
 deepen their impression and set  the   
imagination to work1 to make the most   
fair-- the first good4    ,common       
passions are excited by common          

qualities4  ,men look for  beauty and   
the simper of good humoured docility3   
women are  captivated by easy manners3 a
 gentleman-like man seldom fails to     
please them1 and their thirsty ears     
eagerly drink the insinuating  nothings 
of politeness1 whilst they turn from the
 unintelligible  sounds of the          
charmer--reason1 charm he never so      
wisely4  ,with  respect to superficial  
accomplishments1 the rake certainly has 
the  advantage2 and of these1 females   
can form an opinion1 for it is  their   
own ground4  ,rendered gay and giddy by 
the whole tenor of  their lives1 the    
very aspect of wisdom1 or the severe    
graces of  virtue must have a lugubrious
 appearance to them2 and produce a  kind
 of restraint from which they and love1 
sportive child1  naturally revolt4      
,without taste1 excepting of the lighter
 kind1  for taste is the offspring of   
judgment1 how can they discover1 that   
true beauty and grace must arise from   
the play of the mind8 and how  can they 

be expected to relish in a lover what   
they do not1 or very  imperfectly1      
possess themselves8  ,the sympathy that 
unites hearts1  and invites to          
confidence1 in them is so very faint1   
that it cannot  take fire1 and thus     
mount to passion4  ,no1 ,i repeat it1   
the love  cherished by such minds1 must 
have grosser fuel6    ,the inference is 
obvious2 till women are led to exercise 
their  understandings1 they should not  
be satirized for their attachment  to   
rakes2 nor even for being rakes at      
heart1 when it appears to be  the       
inevitable consequence of their         
education4  ,they who live to  please   
must find their enjoyments1 their       
happiness1 in pleasure6  ,it is a trite1
 yet true remark1 that we never do any  
thing well1  unless we love it for its  
own sake4    ,supposing1 however1 for a 
moment1 that women were1 in some future 
revolution of time1 to become1 what ,i  
sincerely wish them to be1  even love   
would acquire more serious dignity1 and 

be purified in  its own fires2 and      
virtue giving true delicacy to their    
affections1  they would turn with       
disgust from a rake4  ,reasoning then1  
as well  as feeling1 the only province  
of woman1 at present1 they might  easily
 guard against exterior graces1 and     
quickly learn to despise  the           
sensibility that had been excited and   
hackneyed in the ways of  women1 whose  
trade was vice2 and allurement's wanton 
airs4  ,they  would recollect that the  
flame1 7one must use appropriate        
expressions17 which they wished to light
 up1 had been exhausted by  lust1 and   
that the sated appetite1 losing all     
relish for pure and  simple pleasures1  
could only be roused by licentious arts 
of  variety4  ,what satisfaction could a
 woman of delicacy promise  herself in a
 union with such a man1 when the very   
artlessness of  her affection might     
appear insipid8  ,thus does ,dryden     
describe the  situation3    ,where love 
is duty on the female side1  ,on theirs 

mere sensual gust1 and sought with surly
 pride4    ,but one grand truth women   
have yet to learn1 though much it       
imports  them to act accordingly4  ,in  
the choice of a husband they should  not
 be led astray by the qualities of a    
lover--for a lover the  husband1 even   
supposing him to be wise and virtuous1  
cannot long  remain4    ,were women more
 rationally educated1 could they take a 
more  comprehensive view of things1 they
 would be contented to love but  once in
 their lives2 and after marriage calmly 
let passion subside  into               
friendship--into that tender intimacy1  
which is the best  refuge from care2 yet
 is built on such pure1 still           
affections1 that  idle jealousies would 
not be allowed to disturb the discharge 
of  the sober duties of life1 nor to    
engross the thoughts that ought to  be  
otherwise employed4  ,this is a state in
 which many men live2 but  few1 very few
 women4  ,and the difference may easily 
be accounted  for1 without recurring to 

a sexual character4  ,men1 for whom we  
are  told women are made1 have too much 
occupied the thoughts of women2  and    
this association has so entangled love1 
with all their motives  of action2 and1 
to harp a little on an old string1      
having been  solely employed either to  
prepare themselves to excite love1 or   
actually putting their lessons in       
practice1 they cannot live  without     
love4  ,but1 when a sense of duty1 or   
fear of shame1 obliges  them to restrain
 this pampered desire of pleasing beyond
 certain  lengths1 too far for delicacy1
 it is true1 though far from            
criminality1 they obstinately determine 
to love1 ,i speak of their  passion1    
their husbands to the end of the        
chapter--and then acting  the part which
 they foolishly exacted from their      
lovers1 they  become abject wooers1 and 
fond slaves4    ,men of wit and fancy   
are often rakes2 and fancy is the food  
of  love4  ,such men will inspire       
passion4  ,half the sex1 in its present 

infantine state1 would pine for a       
,lovelace2 a man so witty1 so  graceful1
 and so valiant2 and can they ,,deserve 
blame for acting  according to          
principles so constantly inculcated8    
,they want a  lover and protector3 and  
behold him kneeling before them--bravery
  prostrate to beauty6  ,the virtues of 
a husband are thus thrown by  love into 
the background1 and gay hopes1 or lively
 emotions1 banish  reflection till the  
day of reckoning comes2 and come it     
surely  will1 to turn the sprightly     
lover into a surly suspicious tyrant1   
who contemptuously insults the very     
weakness he fostered4  ,or1  supposing  
the rake reformed1 he cannot quickly get
 rid of old  habits4  ,when a man of    
abilities is first carried away by his  
passions1 it is necessary that sentiment
 and taste varnish the  enormities of   
vice1 and give a zest to brutal         
indulgences3 but when  the gloss of     
novelty is worn off1 and pleasure palls 
upon the  sense1 lasciviousness becomes 

barefaced1 and enjoyment only the       
desperate effort of weakness flying from
 reflection as from a  legion of devils4
  ,oh6 virtue1 thou art not an empty    
name6  ,all  that life can give-- thou  
givest6    ,if much comfort cannot be   
expected from the friendship of a       
reformed rake of superior abilities1    
what is the consequence when  he lacketh
 sense1 as well as principles8  ,verily 
misery in its most  hideous shape4      
,when the habits of weak people are     
consolidated by  time1 a reformation is 
barely possible2 and actually makes the 
beings miserable who have not sufficient
 mind to be amused by  innocent         
pleasure2 like the tradesman who retires
 from the hurry of  business1 nature    
presents to them only a universal blank2
 and the  restless thoughts prey on the 
damped spirits4  ,their reformation as  
well as his retirement actually makes   
them wretched1 because it  deprives them
 of all employment1 by quenching the    
hopes and fears  that set in motion     

their sluggish minds4    ,if such be the
 force of habit2 if such be the bondage 
of folly1 how  carefully ought we to    
guard the mind from storing up vicious  
associations2 and equally careful should
 we be to cultivate the  understanding1 
to save the poor wight from the weak    
dependent state  of even harmless       
ignorance4  ,for it is the right use of 
reason  alone which makes us independent
 of every thing--excepting the          
unclouded ,reason--,whose service is    
perfect freedom4      ,,chapter #g4     
,,modesty ,,comprehensively ,,considered
 ,,and ,,not ,,as ,a ,,sexual ,,virtue4 
,modesty6  ,sacred offspring of         
sensibility and reason6 true delicacy   
of mind6 may ,i unblamed presume to     
investigate thy nature1 and  trace to   
its covert the mild charm1 that         
mellowing each harsh  feature of a      
character1 renders what would otherwise 
only inspire  cold admiration--lovely6  
,thou that smoothest the wrinkles of    
wisdom1 and softenest the tone of the   

more sublime virtues till  they all melt
 into humanity6 thou that spreadest the 
ethereal cloud  that surrounding love   
heightens every beauty1 it half shades1 
breathing those coy sweets that steal   
into the heart1 and charm the           
senses--modulate for me the language of 
persuasive reason1 till ,i  rouse my sex
 from the flowery bed1 on which they    
supinely sleep  life away6    ,in       
speaking of the association of our      
ideas1 ,i have noticed two  distinct    
modes2 and in defining modesty1 it      
appears to me equally  proper to        
discriminate that purity of mind1 which 
is the effect of  chastity1 from a      
simplicity of character that leads us to
 form a  just opinion of ourselves1     
equally distant from vanity or          
presumption1 though by no means         
incompatible with a lofty  consciousness
 of our own dignity4  ,modesty in the   
latter  signification of the term1 is   
that soberness of mind which teaches  a 
man not to think more highly of himself 

than he ought to think1  and should be  
distinguished from humility1 because    
humility is a  kind of self-abasement4  
,a modest man often conceives a great   
plan1  and tenaciously adheres to it1   
conscious of his own strength1 till     
success gives it a sanction that        
determines its character4  ,milton  was 
not arrogant when he suffered a         
suggestion of judgment to  escape him   
that proved a prophesy2 nor was ,general
 ,washington when  he accepted of the   
command of the ,american forces4  ,the  
latter has  always been characterized as
 a modest man2 but had he been merely   
humble1 he would probably have shrunk   
back irresolute1 afraid of  trusting to 
himself the direction of an enterprise  
on which so much  depended4    ,a modest
 man is steady1 an humble man timid1 and
 a vain one  presumptuous2 this is the  
judgment1 which the observation of many 
characters1 has led me to form4  ,jesus 
,christ was modest1 ,moses was  humble1 
and ,peter vain4    ,thus discriminating

 modesty from humility in one case1 ,i  
do not  mean to confound it with        
bashfulness in the other4  ,bashfulness1
 in  fact1 is so distinct from modesty1 
that the most bashful lass1 or  raw     
country lout1 often becomes the most    
impudent2 for their  bashfulness being  
merely the instinctive timidity of      
ignorance1  custom soon changes it into 
assurance499    799,footnote4  ,such is 
the country-maiden's fright1  ,when     
first a red-coat is in sight2  ,behind  
the door she hides her face1  ,next time
 at distance eyes the lace3  ,she now   
can all his terrors stand1  ,nor from   
his squeeze withdraws her hand1  ,she   
plays familiar in his arms1  ,and every 
soldier hath his charms2  ,from tent to 
tent she spreads her flame2  ,for custom
 conquers fear and shame47    ,the      
shameless behaviour of the prostitutes  
who infest the streets  of ,london1     
raising alternate emotions of pity and  
disgust1 may  serve to illustrate this  
remark4  ,they trample on virgin        

bashfulness with a sort of bravado1 and 
glorying in their shame1  become more   
audaciously lewd than men1 however      
depraved1 to whom  the sexual quality   
has not been gratuitously granted1 ever 
appear  to be4  ,but these poor ignorant
 wretches never had any modesty to      
lose1 when they consigned themselves to 
infamy2 for modesty is a  virtue not a  
quality4  ,no1 they were only bashful1  
shame-faced  innocents2 and losing their
 innocence1 their shame-facedness was   
rudely brushed off2 a virtue would have 
left some vestiges in the  mind1 had it 
been sacrificed to passion1 to make us  
respect the  grand ruin4    ,purity of  
mind1 or that genuine delicacy1 which is
 the only  virtuous support of chastity1
 is near a-kin to that refinement of    
humanity1 which never resides in any but
 cultivated minds4  ,it is  something   
nobler than innocence2 it is the        
delicacy of reflection1  and not the    
coyness of ignorance4  ,the reserve of  
reason1 which  like habitual            

cleanliness1 is seldom seen in any great
 degree1  unless the soul is active1 may
 easily be distinguished from rustic    
shyness or wanton skittishness2 and so  
far from being incompatible  with       
knowledge1 it is its fairest fruit4     
,what a gross idea of  modesty had the  
writer of the following remark6  ,the   
lady who  asked the question whether    
women may be instructed in the modern   
system of botany1 consistently with     
female delicacy8 was accused  of        
ridiculous prudery3  nevertheless1 if   
she had proposed the  question to me1 ,i
 should certainly have answered--,they  
cannot4  ,thus is the fair book of      
knowledge to be shut with an everlasting
  seal6  ,on reading similar passages ,i
 have reverentially lifted up  my eyes  
and heart to ,him who liveth for ever   
and ever1 and said1 ,o  my ,father1 hast
 ,thou by the very constitution of her  
nature forbid  ,thy child to seek ,thee 
in the fair forms of truth8  ,and1 can  
her  soul be sullied by the knowledge   

that awfully calls her to ,thee8    ,i  
have then philosophically pursued these 
reflections till ,i  inferred1 that     
those women who have most improved their
 reason must  have the most modesty     
--though a dignified sedateness of      
deportment  may have succeeded the      
playful1 bewitching bashfulness of      
youth499    799,footnote4  ,modesty1 is 
the graceful calm virtue of maturity2   
bashfulness1 the charm of vivacious     
youth47    ,and thus have ,i argued4    
,to render chastity the virtue from     
which  unsophisticated modesty will     
naturally flow1 the attention should  be
 called away from employments1 which    
only exercise the  sensibility2 and the 
heart made to beat time to humanity1    
rather  than to throb with love4  ,the  
woman who has dedicated a  considerable 
portion of her time to pursuits purely  
intellectual1  and whose affections have
 been exercised by humane plans of      
usefulness1 must have more purity of    
mind1 as a natural  consequence1 than   

the ignorant beings whose time and      
thoughts have  been occupied by gay     
pleasures or schemes to conquer hearts4 
,the  regulation of the behaviour is not
 modesty1 though those who study  rules 
of decorum1 are1 in general termed      
modest women4  ,make the  heart clean1  
let it expand and feel for all that is  
human1 instead  of being narrowed by    
selfish passions2 and let the mind      
frequently  contemplate subjects that   
exercise the understanding1 without     
heating the imagination1 and artless    
modesty will give the  finishing touches
 to the picture4    ,she who can discern
 the dawn of immortality1 in the streaks
 that  shoot athwart the misty night of 
ignorance1 promising a clearer  day1    
will respect1 as a sacred temple1 the   
body that enshrines such  an improvable 
soul4  ,true love1 likewise1 spreads    
this kind of  mysterious sanctity round 
the beloved object1 making the lover    
most  modest when in her presence4  ,so 
reserved is affection1 that1  receiving 

or returning personal endearments1 it   
wishes1 not only to  shun the human eye1
 as a kind of profanation2 but to       
diffuse an  encircling cloudy obscurity 
to shut out even the saucy sparkling    
sunbeams4  ,yet1 that affection does not
 deserve the epithet of  chaste which   
does not receive a sublime gloom of     
tender melancholy1  that allows the mind
 for a moment to stand still and enjoy  
the  present satisfaction1 when a       
consciousness of the ,divine presence   
is felt--for this must ever be the food 
of joy6    ,as ,i have always been fond 
of tracing to its source in nature any  
prevailing custom1 ,i have frequently   
thought that it was a  sentiment of     
affection for whatever had touched the  
person of an  absent or lost friend1    
which gave birth to that respect for    
relics1  so much abused by selfish      
priests4  ,devotion1 or love1 may be    
allowed to hallow the garments as well  
as the person2 for the lover  must want 
fancy1 who has not a sort of sacred     

respect for the glove  or slipper of his
 mistress4  ,he could not confound them 
with vulgar  things of the same kind4   
,this fine sentiment1 perhaps1 would not
 bear to be analyzed by the             
experimental philosopher--but of such   
stuff is human rapture made  up6-- ,a   
shadowy phantom glides before us1       
obscuring every other  object2 yet when 
the soft cloud is grasped1 the form     
melts into  common air1 leaving a       
solitary void1 or sweet perfume1 stolen 
from  the violet1 that memory long holds
 dear4  ,but1 ,i have tripped  unawares 
on fairy ground1 feeling the balmy gale 
of spring stealing  on me1 though       
,november frowns4    ,as a sex1 women   
are more chaste than men1 and as modesty
 is the  effect of chastity1 they may   
deserve to have this virtue ascribed  to
 them in rather an appropriated sense2  
yet1 ,i must be allowed to  add an      
hesitating if3-- for ,i doubt1 whether  
chastity will produce  modesty1 though  
it may propriety of conduct1 when it is 

merely a  respect for the opinion of the
 world1 and when coquetry and the       
lovelorn tales of novelists employ the  
thoughts4  ,nay1 from  experience1 and  
reason1 ,i should be lead to expect to  
meet with  more modesty amongst men than
 women1 simply because men exercise     
their understandings more than women4   
,but1 with respect to propriety of      
behaviour1 excepting one class of       
females1 women have evidently the       
advantage4  ,what can be more           
disgusting than that impudent dross of  
gallantry1 thought so manly1  which     
makes many men stare insultingly at     
every female they meet8  ,is this       
respect for the sex8  ,this loose       
behaviour shows such  habitual          
depravity1 such weakness of mind1 that  
it is vain to  expect much public or    
private virtue1 till both men and women 
grow  more modest--till men1 curbing a  
sensual fondness for the sex1 or  an    
affectation of manly assurance1 more    
properly speaking1  impudence1 treat    

each other with respect--unless appetite
 or  passion gives the tone1 peculiar to
 it1 to their behaviour4  ,i mean  even 
personal respect--the modest respect of 
humanity1 and  fellow-feeling2 not the  
libidinous mockery of gallantry1 nor the
  insolent condescension of             
protectorship4    ,to carry the         
observation still further1 modesty must 
heartily  disclaim1 and refuse to dwell 
with that debauchery of mind1 which     
leads a man coolly to bring forward1    
without a blush1 indecent  allusions1 or
 obscene witticisms1 in the presence of 
a fellow  creature2 women are now out of
 the question1 for then it is           
brutality4  ,respect for man1 as man is 
the foundation of every  noble          
sentiment4  ,how much more modest is the
 libertine who obeys  the call of       
appetite or fancy1 than the lewd joker  
who sets the  table in a roar4    ,this 
is one of the many instances in which   
the sexual distinction  respecting      
modesty has proved fatal to virtue and  

happiness4  ,it  is1 however1 carried   
still further1 and woman1 weak woman6   
made by  her education the slave of     
sensibility1 is required1 on the most   
trying occasions1 to resist that        
sensibility4  ,can any thing1  says     
,knox1 be more absurd than keeping women
 in a state of  ignorance1 and yet so   
vehemently to insist on their resisting 
temptation8  ,thus when virtue or honour
 make it proper to check a  passion1 the
 burden is thrown on the weaker         
shoulders1 contrary to  reason and true 
modesty1 which1 at least1 should render 
the  self-denial mutual1 to say nothing 
of the generosity of bravery1  supposed 
to be a manly virtue4    ,in the same   
strain runs ,rousseau's and ,dr4        
,gregory's advice  respecting modesty1  
strangely miscalled6 for they both      
desire a  wife to leave it in doubt1    
whether sensibility or weakness led her 
to her husband's arms4  ,the woman is   
immodest who can let the  shadow of such
 a doubt remain on her husband's mind a 

moment4    ,but to state the subject in 
a different light4  ,the want of        
modesty1 which ,i principally deplore as
 subversive of morality1  arises from   
the state of warfare so strenuously     
supported by  voluptuous men as the very
 essence of modesty1 though1 in fact1   
its  bane2 because it is a refinement on
 sensual desire1 that men fall  into who
 have not sufficient virtue to relish   
the innocent  pleasures of love4  ,a man
 of delicacy carries his notions of     
modesty still further1 for neither      
weakness nor sensibility will  gratify  
him--he looks for affection4    ,again2 
men boast of their triumphs over women1 
what do they boast  of8 ,truly the      
creature of sensibility was surprised by
 her  sensibility into folly--into      
vice299 and the dreadful reckoning      
falls heavily on her own weak head1 when
 reason wakes4  ,for where  art thou to 
find comfort1 forlorn and disconsolate  
one8  ,he who  ought to have directed   
thy reason1 and supported thy weakness1 

has  betrayed thee6  ,in a dream of     
passion thou consentedst to wander      
through flowery lawns1 and heedlessly   
stepping over the precipice  to which   
thy guide1 instead of guarding1 lured   
thee1 thou startest  from thy dream only
 to face a sneering1 frowning world1 and
 to find  thyself alone in a waste1 for 
he that triumphed in thy weakness is    
now pursuing new conquests2 but for     
thee--there is no redemption on  this   
side the grave6  ,and what resource hast
 thou in an enervated  mind to raise a  
sinking heart8    799,footnote4  ,the   
poor moth fluttering round a candle1    
burns its  wings47    ,but1 if the sexes
 be really to live in a state of        
warfare1 if  nature has pointed it out1 
let men act nobly1 or let pride whisper 
to them1 that the victory is mean when  
they merely vanquish  sensibility4  ,the
 real conquest is that over affection   
not taken by  surprise--when1 like      
,heloisa1 a woman gives up all the      
world1  deliberately1 for love4  ,i do  

not now consider the wisdom or virtue   
of such a sacrifice1 ,i only contend    
that it was a sacrifice to  affection1  
and not merely to sensibility1 though   
she had her share4  ,and ,i must be     
allowed to call her a modest woman1     
before ,i dismiss  this part of the     
subject1 by saying1 that till men are   
more chaste1  women will be immodest4   
,where1 indeed1 could modest women find 
husbands from whom they would not       
continually turn with disgust8  ,modesty
 must be equally cultivated by both     
sexes1 or it will ever  remain a sickly 
hot-house plant1 whilst the affectation 
of it1 the  fig leaf borrowed by        
wantonness1 may give a zest to          
voluptuous  enjoyments47    ,men will   
probably still insist that woman ought  
to have more  modesty than man2 but it  
is not dispassionate reasoners who will 
most earnestly oppose my opinion4  ,no1 
they are the men of fancy1  the         
favourites of the sex1 who outwardly    
respect1 and inwardly  despise the weak 

creatures whom they thus sport with4    
,they cannot  submit to resign the      
highest sensual gratification1 nor even 
to  relish the epicurism of             
virtue--self-denial4    ,to take another
 view of the subject1 confining my      
remarks to women4    ,the ridiculous    
falsities which are told to children1   
from mistaken  notions of modesty1 tend 
very early to inflame their imaginations
  and set their little minds to work1   
respecting subjects1 which  nature never
 intended they should think of1 till the
 body arrived  at some degree of        
maturity2 then the passions naturally   
begin to  take place of the senses1 as  
instruments to unfold the               
understanding1 and form the moral       
character4    ,in nurseries1 and        
boarding schools1 ,i fear1 girls are    
first  spoiled2 particularly in the     
latter4  ,a number of girls sleep in    
the same room1 and wash together4  ,and1
 though ,i should be sorry to           
contaminate an innocent creature's mind 

by instilling false  delicacy1 or those 
indecent prudish notions1 which early   
cautions  respecting the other sex      
naturally engender1 ,i should be very   
anxious to prevent their acquiring      
indelicate1 or immodest habits2  and as 
many girls have learned very indelicate 
tricks1 from  ignorant servants1 the    
mixing them thus indiscriminately       
together1  is very improper4    ,to say 
the truth1 women are1 in general1 too   
familiar with each  other1 which leads  
to that gross degree of familiarity that
 so  frequently renders the marriage    
state unhappy4  ,why in the name of     
decency are sisters1 female intimates1  
or ladies and their waiting  women1 to  
be so grossly familiar as to forget the 
respect which one  human creature owes  
to another8  ,that squeamish delicacy   
which  shrinks from the most disgusting 
offices when affection or humanity  lead
 us to watch at a sick pillow1 is       
despicable4  ,but1 why women  in health 
should be more familiar with each other 

than men are1  when they boast of their 
superiour delicacy1 is a solecism in    
manners which ,i could never solve4     
,in order to preserve health and beauty1
 ,i should earnestly  recommend frequent
 ablutions1 to dignify my advice that it
 may not  offend the fastidious ear2    
and1 by example1 girls ought to be      
taught to wash and dress alone1 without 
any distinction of rank2  and if custom 
should make them require some little    
assistance1 let  them not require it    
till that part of the business is over  
which  ought never to be done before a  
fellow-creature2 because it is an       
insult to the majesty of human nature4  
,not on the score of  modesty1 but      
decency2 for the care which some modest 
women take1  making at the same time a  
display of that care1 not to let their  
legs be seen1 is as childish as         
immodest499    799,footnote4  ,i        
remember to have met with a sentence1 in
 a book of  education that made me      
smile4  ,it would be needless to caution

 you  against putting your hand1 by     
chance1 under your neck-handkerchief2   
for a modest woman never did so67    ,i 
could proceed still further1 till ,i    
animadverted on some still  more        
indelicate customs1 which men never fall
 into4  ,secrets are  told--where       
silence ought to reign2 and that regard 
to cleanliness1  which some religious   
sects have1 perhaps1 carried too far1   
especially the ,essenes1 amongst the    
,jews1 by making that an insult  to ,god
 which is only an insult to humanity1 is
 violated in a brutal  manner4  ,how can
 ,,delicate women obtrude on notice that
 part of the  animal economy1 which is  
so very disgusting8  ,and is it not very
  rational to conclude1 that the women  
who have not been taught to  respect the
 human nature of their own sex1 in these
 particulars1  will not long respect the
 mere difference of sex1 in their       
husbands8  ,after their maidenish       
bashfulness is once lost1 ,i1 in  fact1 
have generally observed1 that women fall

 into old habits2 and  treat their      
husbands as they did their sisters or   
female  acquaintance4    ,besides1 women
 from necessity1 because their minds are
 not  cultivated1 have recourse very    
often1 to what ,i familiarly term       
bodily wit2 and their intimacies are of 
the same kind4  ,in short1  with respect
 to both mind and body1 they are too    
intimate4  ,that  decent personal       
reserve1 which is the foundation of     
dignity of  character1 must be kept up  
between women1 or their minds will never
  gain strength or modesty4    ,on this 
account also1 ,i object to many females 
being shut up  together in nurseries1   
schools1 or convents4  ,i cannot        
recollect  without indignation1 the     
jokes and hoiden tricks1 which knots of 
young women indulged themselves in1 when
 in my youth accident threw  me1 an     
awkward rustic1 in their way4  ,they    
were almost on a par  with the double   
meanings1 which shake the convivial     
table when the  glass has circulated    

freely4  ,but it is vain to attempt to  
keep the  heart pure1 unless the head is
 furnished with ideas1 and set to  work 
to compare them1 in order1 to acquire   
judgment1 by  generalizing simple ones2 
and modesty by making the understanding 
damp the sensibility4    ,it may be     
thought that ,i lay too great a stress  
on personal  reserve2 but it is ever the
 hand-maid of modesty4  ,so that were ,i
  to name the graces that ought to adorn
 beauty1 ,i should instantly  exclaim1  
cleanliness1 neatness1 and personal     
reserve4  ,it is  obvious1 ,i suppose1  
that the reserve ,i mean1 has nothing   
sexual in  it1 and that ,i think it     
,,equally necessary in both sexes4  ,so 
necessary indeed1 is that reserve and   
cleanliness which indolent  women too   
often neglect1 that ,i will venture to  
affirm1 that when  two or three women   
live in the same house1 the one will be 
most  respected by the male part of the 
family1 who reside with them1  leaving  
love entirely out of the question1 who  

pays this kind of  habitual respect to  
her person4    ,when domestic friends   
meet in a morning1 there will naturally 
prevail an affectionate seriousness1    
especially1 if each look  forward to the
 discharge of daily duties2 and it may  
be reckoned  fanciful1 but this         
sentiment has frequently risen          
spontaneously in  my mind4  ,i have been
 pleased after breathing the sweet      
bracing  morning air1 to see the same   
kind of freshness in the countenances   
,i particularly loved2 ,i was glad to   
see them braced1 as it were1  for the   
day1 and ready to run their course with 
the sun4  ,the  greetings of affection  
in the morning are by these means more  
respectful1 than the familiar tenderness
 which frequently prolongs  the evening 
talk4  ,nay1 ,i have often felt hurt1   
not to say  disgusted1 when a friend has
 appeared1 whom ,i parted with full     
dressed the evening before1 with her    
clothes huddled on1 because  she chose  
to indulge herself in bed till the last 

moment4    ,domestic affection can only 
be kept alive by these neglected        
attentions2 yet if men and women took   
half as much pains to dress  habitually 
neat1 as they do to ornament1 or rather 
to disfigure  their persons1 much would 
be done towards the attainment of purity
  of mind4  ,but women only dress to    
gratify men of gallantry2 for the  lover
 is always best pleased with the simple 
garb that sits close  to the shape4     
,there is an impertinence in ornaments  
that rebuffs  affection2 because love   
always clings round the idea of home4   
,as a sex1 women are habitually         
indolent2 and every thing tends to  make
 them so4  ,i do not forget the starts  
of activity which  sensibility produces2
 but as these flights of feeling only   
increase  the evil1 they are not to be  
confounded with the slow1 orderly walk  
of reason4  ,so great1 in reality1 is   
their mental and bodily  indolence1 that
 till their body be strengthened and    
their  understanding enlarged by active 

exertions1 there is little reason  to   
expect that modesty will take place of  
bashfulness4  ,they may  find it prudent
 to assume its semblance2 but the fair  
veil will  only be worn on gala days4   
,perhaps there is not a virtue that     
mixes so kindly with every other  as    
modesty4  ,it is the pale moon-beam that
 renders more interesting  every virtue 
it softens1 giving mild grandeur to the 
contracted  horizon4  ,nothing can be   
more beautiful than the poetical        
fiction1  which makes ,diana with her   
silver crescent1 the goddess of         
chastity4  ,i have sometimes thought1   
that wandering with sedate  step in some
 lonely recess1 a modest dame of        
antiquity must have  felt a glow of     
conscious dignity1 when1 after          
contemplating the  soft shadowy         
landscape1 she has invited with placid  
fervour the  mild reflection of her     
sister's beams to turn to her chaste    
bosom4    ,a ,christian has still nobler
 motives to incite her to preserve her  

chastity and acquire modesty1 for her   
body has been called the  ,temple of the
 living ,god2 of that ,god who requires 
more than  modesty of mien4  ,his eye   
searcheth the heart2 and let her        
remember1 that if she hopeth to find    
favour in the sight of purity  itself1  
her chastity must be founded on modesty1
 and not on worldly  prudence2 or verily
 a good reputation will be her only     
reward2 for  that awful intercourse1    
that sacred communion1 which virtue     
establishes between man and his ,maker1 
must give rise to the wish  of being    
pure as he is pure6    ,after the       
foregoing remarks1 it is almost         
superfluous to add1 that  ,i consider   
all those feminine airs of maturity1    
which succeed  bashfulness1 to which    
truth is sacrificed1 to secure the heart
 of a  husband1 or rather to force him  
to be still a lover when nature  would1 
had she not been interrupted in her     
operations1 have made  love give place  
to friendship1 as immodest4  ,the       

tenderness which a  man will feel for   
the mother of his children is an        
excellent  substitute for the ardour of 
unsatisfied passion2 but to prolong     
that ardour it is indelicate1 not to say
 immodest1 for women to  feign an       
unnatural coldness of constitution4     
,women as well as men  ought to have the
 common appetites and passions of their 
nature1  they are only brutal when      
unchecked by reason3  but the obligation
  to check them is the duty of mankind1 
not a sexual duty4  ,nature1  in these  
respects1 may safely be left to herself2
 let women only  acquire knowledge and  
humanity1 and love will teach them      
modesty4  ,there is no need of          
falsehoods1 disgusting as futile1 for   
studied  rules of behaviour only impose 
on shallow observers2 a man of sense    
soon sees through1 and despises the     
affectation4    ,the behaviour of young 
people1 to each other1 as men and women1
 is  the last thing that should be      
thought of in education4  ,in fact1     

behaviour in most circumstances is now  
so much thought of1 that  simplicity of 
character is rarely to be seen2  yet1 if
 men were  only anxious to cultivate    
each virtue1 and let it take root firmly
  in the mind1 the grace resulting from 
it1 its natural exteriour  mark1 would  
soon strip affectation of its flaunting 
plumes2  because1 fallacious as         
unstable1 is the conduct that is not    
founded  upon truth6    7,footnote4     
,the behaviour of many newly married    
women has often  disgusted me4  ,they   
seem anxious never to let their husbands
 forget  the privilege of marriage1 and 
to find no pleasure in his society      
unless he is acting the lover4  ,short1 
indeed1 must be the reign of  love1 when
 the flame is thus constantly blown up1 
without its  receiving any solid fuel47 
,would ye1 ,o my sisters1 really possess
 modesty1 ye must remember  that the    
possession of virtue1 of any            
denomination1 is incompatible  with     
ignorance and vanity6 ye must acquire   

that soberness of mind1  which the      
exercise of duties1 and the pursuit of  
knowledge1 alone  inspire1 or ye will   
still remain in a doubtful dependent    
situation1  and only be loved whilst ye 
are fair6 the downcast eye1 the rosy    
blush1 the retiring grace1 are all      
proper in their season2 but  modesty1   
being the child of reason1 cannot long  
exist with the  sensibility that is not 
tempered by reflection4  ,besides1 when 
love1 even innocent love1 is the whole  
employ of your lives1 your  hearts will 
be too soft to afford modesty that      
tranquil retreat1  where she delights to
 dwell1 in close union with humanity4   
,,chapter #h4    ,,morality ,,undermined
 ,,by ,,sexual ,,notions ,,of ,,the     
,,importance ,,of ,a ,,good             
,,reputation4    ,it has long since     
occurred to me1 that advice respecting  
behaviour1  and all the various modes of
 preserving a good reputation1 which    
have been so strenuously inculcated on  
the female world1 were  specious        

poisons1 that incrusting morality eat   
away the substance4  ,and1 that this    
measuring of shadows produced a false   
calculation1  because their length      
depends so much on the height of the    
sun1 and  other adventitious            
circumstances4    ,from whence arises   
the easy fallacious behaviour of a      
courtier8  ,from this situation1        
undoubtedly3  for standing in need of   
dependents1 he is obliged to learn the  
art of denying without  giving offence1 
and1 of evasively feeding hope with the 
chameleon's  food2  thus does politeness
 sport with truth1 and eating away the  
sincerity and humanity natural to man1  
produce the fine gentleman4    ,women in
 the same way acquire1 from a supposed  
necessity1 an  equally artificial mode  
of behaviour4  ,yet truth is not with   
impunity to be sported with1 for the    
practised dissembler1 at last1  becomes 
the dupe of his own arts1 loses that    
sagacity which has  been justly termed  
common sense2 namely1 a quick perception

 of  common truths3  which are          
constantly received as such by the      
unsophisticated mind1 though it might   
not have had sufficient  energy to      
discover them itself1 when obscured by  
local prejudices4  ,the greater number  
of people take their opinions on trust1 
to avoid  the trouble of exercising     
their own minds1 and these indolent     
beings naturally adhere to the letter1  
rather than the spirit of a  law1 divine
 or human4  ,women1 says some author1 ,i
 cannot  recollect who1 mind not what   
only heaven sees4  ,why1 indeed  should 
they8 it is the eye of man that they    
have been taught to  dread--and if they 
can lull their ,argus to sleep1 they    
seldom think  of heaven or themselves1  
because their reputation is safe2 and it
  is reputation not chastity and all its
 fair train1 that they are  employed to 
keep free from spot1 not as a virtue1   
but to preserve  their station in the   
world4    ,to prove the truth of this   
remark1 ,i need only advert to the      

intrigues of married women1 particularly
 in high life1 and in  countries where  
women are suitably married1 according to
 their  respective ranks by their       
parents4  ,if an innocent girl become a 
prey to love1 she is degraded forever1  
though her mind was not  polluted by the
 arts which married women1 under the    
convenient  cloak of marriage1 practise2
 nor has she violated any duty--but the 
duty of respecting herself4  ,the       
married woman1 on the contrary1  breaks 
a most sacred engagement1 and becomes a 
cruel mother when  she is a false and   
faithless wife4  ,if her husband has    
still an  affection for her1 the arts   
which she must practise to deceive him1 
will render her the most contemptible of
 human beings2 and at any  rate1 the    
contrivances necessary to preserve      
appearances1 will keep  her mind in that
 childish or vicious tumult which       
destroys all its  energy4  ,besides1 in 
time1 like those people who habitually  
take  cordials to raise their spirits1  

she will want an intrigue to give  life 
to her thoughts1 having lost all relish 
for pleasures that are  not highly      
seasoned by hope or fear4    ,sometimes 
married women act still more            
audaciously2 ,i will mention  an        
instance4    ,a woman of quality1       
notorious for her gallantries1 though as
 she  still lived with her husband1     
nobody chose to place her in the  class 
where she ought to have been placed1    
made a point of treating  with the most 
insulting contempt a poor timid         
creature1 abashed by  a sense of her    
former weakness1 whom a neighbouring    
gentleman had  seduced and afterwards   
married4  ,this woman had actually      
confounded  virtue with reputation2 and1
 ,i do believe1 valued herself on the   
propriety of her behaviour before       
marriage1 though when once  settled1 to 
the satisfaction of her family1 she and 
her lord were  equally faithless--so    
that the half alive heir to an immense  
estate  came from heaven knows where6   

,to view this subject in another light4 
,i have known a number of women who1 if 
they did not love their  husbands1 loved
 nobody else1 giving themselves entirely
 up to  vanity and dissipation1         
neglecting every domestic duty2 nay1    
even  squandering away all the money    
which should have been saved for  their 
helpless younger children1 yet have     
plumed themselves on  their unsullied   
reputation1 as if the whole compass of  
their duty  as wives and mothers was    
only to preserve it4  ,whilst other     
indolent women1 neglecting every        
personal duty1 have thought that  they  
deserved their husband's affection1     
because they acted in this  respect with
 propriety4    ,weak minds are always   
fond of resting in the ceremonials of   
duty1  but morality offers much simpler 
motives2 and it were to be wished  that 
superficial moralists had said less     
respecting behaviour1 and  outward      
observances1 for unless virtue1 of any  
kind1 is built on  knowledge1 it will   

only produce a kind of insipid decency4 
,respect  for the opinion of the world1 
has1 however1 been termed the  principal
 duty of woman in the most express      
words1 for ,rousseau  declares1 that    
reputation is no less indispensable than
 chastity4  ,a man1 adds he1 secure in  
his own good conduct1 depends only on   
himself1 and may brave the public       
opinion2 but a woman1 in behaving  well1
 performs but half her duty2 as what is 
thought of her1 is as  important to her 
as what she really is4  ,it follows     
hence1 that the  system of a woman's    
education should1 in this respect1 be   
directly  contrary to that of ours4     
,opinion is the grave of virtue among   
the  men2 but its throne among women4   
,it is strictly logical to infer1  that 
the virtue that rests on opinion is     
merely worldly1 and that  it is the     
virtue of a being to whom reason has    
been denied4  ,but1  even with respect  
to the opinion of the world1 ,i am      
convinced1 that  this class of reasoners

 are mistaken4    ,this regard for      
reputation1 independent of its being one
 of the  natural rewards of virtue1     
however1 took its rise from a cause that
  ,i have already deplored as the grand 
source of female depravity1  the        
impossibility of regaining              
respectability by a return to  virtue1  
though men preserve theirs during the   
indulgence of vice4  ,it was natural for
 women then to endeavour to preserve    
what once  lost--was lost for ever1 till
 this care swallowing up every other    
care1 reputation for chastity1 became   
the one thing needful to the  sex4  ,but
 vain is the scrupulosity of ignorance1 
for neither  religion nor virtue1 when  
they reside in the heart1 require such a
  puerile attention to mere ceremonies1 
because the behaviour must1  upon the   
whole be proper1 when the motive is     
pure4    ,to support my opinion ,i can  
produce very respectable authority2 and 
the authority of a cool reasoner ought  
to have weight to enforce               

consideration1 though not to establish a
 sentiment4  ,speaking of  the general  
laws of morality1 ,dr4 ,smith           
observes--,that by some  very           
extraordinary and unlucky circumstance1 
a good man may come to  be suspected of 
a crime of which he was altogether      
incapable1 and  upon that account be    
most unjustly exposed for the remaining 
part  of his life to the horror and     
aversion of mankind4  ,by an accident   
of this kind he may be said to lose his 
all1 notwithstanding his  integrity and 
justice1 in the same manner as a        
cautious man1  notwithstanding his      
utmost circumspection1 may be ruined by 
an  earthquake or an inundation4        
,accidents of the first kind1 however1  
are perhaps still more rare1 and still  
more contrary to the common  course of  
things than those of the second2 and it 
still remains  true1 that the practice  
of truth1 justice and humanity1 is a    
certain and almost infallible method of 
acquiring what those  virtues chiefly   

aim at1 the confidence and love of those
 we live  with4  ,a person may be easily
 misrepresented with regard to a        
particular action2 but it is scarcely   
possible that he should be so  with     
regard to the general tenor of his      
conduct4  ,an innocent man  may be      
believed to have done wrong3  this1     
however1 will rarely  happen4  ,on the  
contrary1 the established opinion of the
 innocence  of his manners will often   
lead us to absolve him where he has     
really been in the fault1               
notwithstanding very strong             
presumptions4    ,i perfectly coincide  
in opinion with this writer1 for ,i     
verily  believe1 that few of either sex 
were ever despised for certain  vices   
without deserving to be despised4  ,i   
speak not of the calumny  of the moment1
 which hangs over a character1 like one 
of the dense  fogs of ,november over    
this metropolis1 till it gradually      
subsides  before the common light of    
day1 ,i only contend1 that the daily    

conduct of the majority prevails to     
stamp their character with the          
impression of truth4  ,quietly does the 
clear light1 shining day  after day1    
refute the ignorant surmise1 or         
malicious tale1 which  has thrown dirt  
on a pure character4  ,a false light    
distorted1 for  a short time1 its       
shadow--reputation2 but it seldom fails 
to become  just when the cloud is       
dispersed that produced the mistake in  
vision4    ,many people1 undoubtedly in 
several respects1 obtain a better       
reputation than1 strictly speaking1 they
 deserve1 for unremitting  industry will
 mostly reach its goal in all races4    
,they who only  strive for this paltry  
prize1 like the ,pharisees1 who prayed  
at the  corners of streets1 to be seen  
of men1 verily obtain the reward  they  
seek2 for the heart of man cannot be    
read by man6  ,still the  fair fame that
 is naturally reflected by good actions1
 when the man  is only employed to      
direct his steps aright1 regardless of  

the  lookers-on1 is in general1 not only
 more true but more sure4    ,there are1
 it is true1 trials when the good man   
must appeal to ,god  from the injustice 
of man2 and amidst the whining candour  
or  hissing of envy1 erect a pavilion in
 his own mind to retire to1  till the   
rumour be overpast2 nay1 the darts of   
undeserved censure  may pierce an       
innocent tender bosom through with many 
sorrows2 but  these are all exceptions  
to general rules4  ,and it is according 
to  these common laws that human        
behaviour ought to be regulated4  ,the  
eccentric orbit of the comet never      
influences astronomical  calculations   
respecting the invariable order         
established in the  motion of the       
principal bodies of the solar system4   
,i will then venture to affirm1 that    
after a man has arrived at  maturity1   
the general outline of his character in 
the world is  just1 allowing for the    
before mentioned exceptions to the rule4
  ,i  do not say1 that a prudent1       

worldly-wise man1 with only negative    
virtues and qualities1 may not sometimes
 obtain a smoother  reputation than a   
wiser or a better man4  ,so far from it1
 that ,i am  apt to conclude from       
experience1 that where the virtue of two
  people is nearly equal1 the most      
negative character will be liked  best  
by the world at large1 whilst the other 
may have more friends  in private life4 
,but the hills and dales1 clouds and    
sunshine1  conspicuous in the virtues of
 great men1 set off each other2 and     
though they afford envious weakness a   
fairer mark to shoot at1 the  real      
character will still work its way to    
light1 though bespattered  by weak      
affection1 or ingenious malice499       
799,footnote4  ,i allude to various     
biographical writings1 but  particularly
 to ,boswell's ,life of ,johnson47      
,with respect to that anxiety to        
preserve a reputation hardly  earned1   
which leads sagacious people to analyze 
it1 ,i shall not  make the obvious      

comment2 but ,i am afraid that morality 
is very  insidiously undermined1 in the 
female world1 by the attention being    
turned to the show instead of the       
substance4  ,a simple thing is  thus    
made strangely complicated2 nay1        
sometimes virtue and its  shadow are set
 at variance4  ,we should never1        
perhaps1 have heard  of ,lucretia1 had  
she died to preserve her chastity       
instead of her  reputation4  ,if we     
really deserve our own good opinion1 we 
shall  commonly be respected in the     
world2 but if we pant after higher      
improvement and higher attainments1 it  
is not sufficient to view  ourselves as 
we suppose that we are viewed by others1
 though this  has been ingeniously      
argued as the foundation of our moral   
sentiments4  7,smith47  ,because each   
bystander may have his own  prejudices1 
besides the prejudices of his age or    
country4  ,we  should rather endeavour  
to view ourselves1 as we suppose that   
,being  views us1 who seeth each thought

 ripen into action1 and whose  judgment 
never swerves from the eternal rule of  
right4  ,righteous  are all his         
judgments--just1 as merciful6    ,the   
humble mind that seeketh to find favour 
in ,his sight1 and  calmly examines its 
conduct when only ,his presence is felt1
 will  seldom form a very erroneous     
opinion of its own virtues4  ,during    
the still hour of self-collection1 the  
angry brow of offended  justice will be 
fearfully deprecated1 or the tie which  
draws man to  the ,deity will be        
recognized in the pure sentiment of     
reverential  adoration1 that swells the 
heart without exciting any tumultuous   
emotions4  ,in these solemn moments man 
discovers the germ of those  vices1     
which like the ,java tree shed a        
pestiferous vapour  around--death is in 
the shade6 and he perceives them without
  abhorrence1 because he feels himself  
drawn by some cord of love to  all his  
fellow creatures1 for whose follies he  
is anxious to find  every extenuation in

 their nature--in himself4  ,if ,i1 he  
may thus  argue1 who exercise my own    
mind1 and have been refined by          
tribulation1 find the serpent's egg in  
some fold of my heart1 and  crush it    
with difficulty1 shall not ,i pity those
 who are stamped  with less vigour1 or  
who have heedlessly nurtured the        
insidious  reptile till it poisoned the 
vital stream it sucked8  ,can ,i1       
conscious of my secret sins1 throw off  
my fellow creatures1 and  calmly see    
them drop into the chasm of perdition1  
that yawns to  receive them4  ,no6 no6  
,the agonized heart will cry with       
suffocating impatience--,i too am a man6
 and have vices1 hid1  perhaps1 from    
human eye1 that bend me to the dust     
before ,god1 and  loudly tell me when   
all is mute1 that we are formed of the  
same  earth1 and breathe the same       
element4  ,humanity thus rises naturally
  out of humility1 and twists the cords 
of love that in various  convolutions   
entangle the heart4    ,this sympathy   

extends still further1 till a man well  
pleased  observes force in arguments    
that do not carry conviction to his own 
bosom1 and he gladly places in the      
fairest light to himself1 the  shows of 
reason that have led others astray1     
rejoiced to find some  reason in all the
 errors of man2 though before convinced 
that he  who rules the day makes his sun
 to shine on all4  ,yet1 shaking  hands 
thus1 as it were1 with corruption1 one  
foot on earth1 the  other with bold     
strides mounts to heaven1 and claims    
kindred with  superiour natures4        
,virtues1 unobserved by men1 drop their 
balmy  fragrance at this cool hour1 and 
the thirsty land1 refreshed by the  pure
 streams of comfort that suddenly gush  
out1 is crowned with  smiling verdure2  
this is the living green on which that  
eye may  look with complacency that is  
too pure to behold iniquity6 ,but my    
spirits flag2 and ,i must silently      
indulge the reverie these  reflections  
lead to1 unable to describe the         

sentiments that have  calmed my soul1   
when watching the rising sun1 a soft    
shower  drizzling through the leaves of 
neighbouring trees1 seemed to fall  on  
my languid1 yet tranquil spirits1 to    
cool the heart that had  been heated by 
the passions which reason laboured to   
tame4    ,the leading principles which  
run through all my disquisitions1  would
 render it unnecessary to enlarge on    
this subject1 if a  constant attention  
to keep the varnish of the character    
fresh1 and  in good condition1 were not 
often inculcated as the sum total of    
female duty2 if rules to regulate the   
behaviour1 and to preserve  the         
reputation1 did not too frequently      
supersede moral obligations4  ,but1 with
 respect to reputation1 the attention is
 confined to a  single virtue--chastity4
  ,if the honour of a woman1 as it is   
absurdly called1 is safe1 she may       
neglect every social duty2 nay1  ruin   
her family by gaming and extravagance2  
yet still present a  shameless front    

--for truly she is an honourable woman6 
,mrs4 ,macaulay has justly observed1    
that there is but one fault  which a    
woman of honour may not commit with     
impunity4  ,she then  justly and        
humanely adds--,this has given rise to  
the trite and  foolish observation1 that
 the first fault against chastity in    
woman  has a radical power to deprave   
the character4  ,but no such frail      
beings come out of the hands of nature4 
,the human mind is built of  nobler     
materials than to be so easily          
corrupted2 and with all their           
disadvantages of situation and          
education1 women seldom become  entirely
 abandoned till they are thrown into a  
state of  desperation1 by the venomous  
rancour of their own sex4    ,but1 in   
proportion as this regard for the       
reputation of chastity is  prized by    
women1 it is despised by men3  and the  
two extremes are  equally destructive to
 morality4    ,men are certainly more   
under the influence of their appetites  

than  women2 and their appetites are    
more depraved by unbridled  indulgence1 
and the fastidious contrivances of      
satiety4  ,luxury has  introduced a     
refinement in eating that destroys the  
constitution2  and1 a degree of gluttony
 which is so beastly1 that a perception 
of  seemliness of behaviour must be worn
 out before one being could eat         
immoderately in the presence of another1
 and afterwards complain of  the        
oppression that his intemperance        
naturally produced4  ,some  women1      
particularly ,french women1 have also   
lost a sense of decency  in this        
respect2 for they will talk very calmly 
of an indigestion4  ,it were to be      
wished1 that idleness was not allowed to
 generate1 on  the rank soil of wealth1 
those swarms of summer insects that feed
  on putrefaction2 we should not then be
 disgusted by the sight of  such brutal 
excesses4    ,there is one rule relative
 to behaviour that1 ,i think1 ought to  
regulate every other2 and it is simply  

to cherish such an habitual  respect for
 mankind1 as may prevent us from        
disgusting a fellow  creature for the   
sake of a present indulgence4  ,the     
shameful  indolence of many married     
women1 and others a little advanced in  
life1 frequently leads them to sin      
against delicacy4  ,for1 though         
convinced that the person is the band of
 union between the sexes1  yet1 how     
often do they from sheer indolence1 or  
to enjoy some  trifling indulgence1     
disgust8    ,the depravity of the       
appetite1 which brings the sexes        
together1 has  had a still more fatal   
effect4  ,nature must ever be the       
standard of  taste1 the guage of        
appetite--yet how grossly is nature     
insulted by  the voluptuary4  ,leaving  
the refinements of love out of the      
question2 nature1 by making the         
gratification of an appetite1 in  this  
respect1 as well as every other1 a      
natural and imperious law  to preserve  
the species1 exalts the appetite1 and   

mixes a little  mind and affection with 
a sensual gust4  ,the feelings of a     
parent  mingling with an instinct merely
 animal1 give it dignity2 and the  man  
and woman often meeting on account of   
the child1 a mutual  interest and       
affection is excited by the exercise of 
a common  sympathy4  ,women then having 
necessarily some duty to fulfil1 more   
noble than to adorn their persons1 would
 not contentedly be the  slaves of      
casual appetite1 which is now the       
situation of a very  considerable number
 who are1 literally speaking1 standing  
dishes to  which every glutton may have 
access4    ,i may be told1 that great as
 this enormity is1 it only affects a    
devoted part of the sex--devoted for the
 salvation of the rest4  ,but1 false as 
every assertion might easily be proved1 
that  recommends the sanctioning a small
 evil to produce a greater good2  the   
mischief does not stop here1 for the    
moral character1 and peace  of mind1 of 
the chaster part of the sex1 is         

undermined by the  conduct of the very  
women to whom they allow no refuge from 
guilt3  whom they inexorably consign to 
the exercise of arts that lure  their   
husbands from them1 debauch their sons  
and force them1 let  not modest women   
start1 to assume1 in some degree1 the   
same  character themselves4  ,for ,i    
will venture to assert1 that all the    
causes of female weakness1 as well as   
depravity1 which ,i have  already       
enlarged on1 branch out of one grand    
cause--want of  chastity in men4        
,this intemperance1 so prevalent1       
depraves the appetite to such a  degree1
 that a wanton stimulus is necessary to 
rouse it2 but the  parental design of   
nature is forgotten1 and the mere       
person1 and  that1 for a moment1 alone  
engrosses the thoughts4  ,so voluptuous1
  indeed1 often grows the lustful       
prowler1 that he refines on female      
softness4    ,to satisfy this genius of 
men1 women are made systematically      
voluptuous1 and though they may not all 

carry their libertinism to  the same    
height1 yet this heartless intercourse  
with the sex1 which  they allow         
themselves1 depraves both sexes1 because
 the taste of  men is vitiated2 and     
women1 of all classes1 naturally square 
their  behaviour to gratify the taste by
 which they obtain pleasure and  power4 
,women becoming1 consequently weaker1 in
 mind and body1 than  they ought to be1 
were one of the grand ends of their     
being taken  into the account1 that of  
bearing and nursing children1 have not  
sufficient strength to discharge the    
first duty of a mother2 and  sacrificing
 to lasciviousness the parental         
affection1 that ennobles  instinct1     
either destroy the embryo in the womb1  
or cast it off  when born4  ,nature in  
every thing demands respect1 and those  
who  violate her laws seldom violate    
them with impunity4  ,the weak          
enervated women who particularly catch  
the attention of libertines1  are unfit 
to be mothers1 though they may conceive2

 so that the rich  sensualist1 who has  
rioted among women1 spreading depravity 
and  misery1 when he wishes to          
perpetuate his name1 receives from his  
wife only an half-formed being that     
inherits both its father's and  mother's
 weakness4    ,contrasting the humanity 
of the present age with the barbarism of
  antiquity1 great stress has been laid 
on the savage custom of  exposing the   
children whom their parents could not   
maintain2 whilst  the man of            
sensibility1 who thus1 perhaps1         
complains1 by his  promiscuous amours   
produces a most destructive barrenness  
and  contagious flagitiousness of       
manners4  ,surely nature never intended 
that women1 by satisfying an appetite1  
should frustrate the very  purpose for  
which it was implanted8    ,i have      
before observed1 that men ought to      
maintain the women whom  they have      
seduced2 this would be one means of     
reforming female  manners1 and stopping 
an abuse that has an equally fatal      

effect on  population and morals4       
,another1 no less obvious1 would be to  
turn  the attention of woman to the real
 virtue of chastity2 for to  little     
respect has that woman a claim1 on the  
score of modesty1  though her reputation
 may be white as the driven snow1 who   
smiles  on the libertine whilst she     
spurns the victims of his lawless       
appetites and their own folly4          
,besides1 she has a taint of the same   
folly1 pure as she esteems  herself1    
when she studiously adorns her person   
only to be seen by  men1 to excite      
respectful sighs1 and all the idle      
homage of what is  called innocent      
gallantry4  ,did women really respect   
virtue for its  own sake1 they would not
 seek for a compensation in vanity1 for 
the  self-denial which they are obliged 
to practise to preserve their           
reputation1 nor would they associate    
with men who set reputation at          
defiance4    ,the two sexes mutually    
corrupt and improve each other4  ,this  

,i  believe to be an indisputable truth1
 extending it to every virtue4          
,chastity1 modesty1 public spirit1 and  
all the noble train of  virtues1 on     
which social virtue and happiness are   
built1 should be  understood and        
cultivated by all mankind1 or they will 
be  cultivated to little effect4  ,and1 
instead of furnishing the  vicious or   
idle with a pretext for violating some  
sacred duty1 by  terming it a sexual    
one1 it would be wiser to show1 that    
nature has  not made any difference1 for
 that the unchaste man doubly defeats   
the purpose of nature by rendering women
 barren1 and destroying his  own        
constitution1 though he avoids the shame
 that pursues the crime  in the other   
sex4  ,these are the physical           
consequences1 the moral  are still more 
alarming2 for virtue is only a nominal  
distinction  when the duties of         
citizens1 husbands1 wives1 fathers1     
mothers1 and  directors of families1    
become merely the selfish ties of       

convenience4    ,why then do            
philosophers look for public spirit8    
,public spirit  must be nurtured by     
private virtue1 or it will resemble the 
factitious sentiment which makes women  
careful to preserve their  reputation1  
and men their honour4  ,a sentiment that
 often exists  unsupported by virtue1   
unsupported by that sublime morality    
which  makes the habitual breach of one 
duty a breach of the whole moral  law4  
,,chapter #i4    ,,of ,,the ,,pernicious
 ,,effects ,,which ,,arise ,,from ,,the 
,,unnatural  ,,distinctions             
,,established ,,in ,,society4    ,from  
the respect paid to property flow1 as   
from a poisoned  fountain1 most of the  
evils and vices which render this world 
such  a dreary scene to the             
contemplative mind4  ,for it is in the  
most  polished society that noisome     
reptiles and venomous serpents lurk     
under the rank herbage2 and there is    
voluptuousness pampered by the  still   
sultry air1 which relaxes every good    

disposition before it  ripens into      
virtue4    ,one class presses on        
another2 for all are aiming to procure  
respect  on account of their property3  
and property1 once gained1 will  procure
 the respect due only to talents and    
virtue4  ,men neglect  the duties       
incumbent on man1 yet are treated like  
demi-gods2  religion is also separated  
from morality by a ceremonial veil1 yet 
men wonder that the world is almost1    
literally speaking1 a den of  sharpers  
or oppressors4    ,there is a homely    
proverb1 which speaks a shrewd truth1   
that  whoever the devil finds idle he   
will employ4  ,and what but habitual    
idleness can hereditary wealth and      
titles produce8  ,for man is so         
constituted that he can only attain a   
proper use of his faculties  by         
exercising them1 and will not exercise  
them unless necessity1 of  some kind1   
first set the wheels in motion4  ,virtue
 likewise can  only be acquired by the  
discharge of relative duties2 but the   

importance of these sacred duties will  
scarcely be felt by the  being who is   
cajoled out of his humanity by the      
flattery of  sycophants4  ,there must be
 more equality established in society1  
or  morality will never gain ground1 and
 this virtuous equality will  not rest  
firmly even when founded on a rock1 if  
one half of mankind  are chained to its 
bottom by fate1 for they will be        
continually  undermining it through     
ignorance or pride4  ,it is vain to     
expect  virtue from women till they are1
 in some degree1 independent of  men2   
nay1 it is vain to expect that strength 
of natural affection1  which would make 
them good wives and good mothers4       
,whilst they are  absolutely dependent  
on their husbands1 they will be cunning1
 mean1  and selfish1 and the men who can
 be gratified by the fawning  fondness1 
of spaniel-like affection1 have not much
 delicacy1 for  love is not to be       
bought1 in any sense of the word1 its   
silken  wings are instantly shrivelled  

up when any thing beside a return in    
kind is sought4  ,yet whilst wealth     
enervates men2 and women live1  as it   
were1 by their personal charms1 how1 can
 we expect them to  discharge those     
ennobling duties which equally require  
exertion and  self-denial4  ,hereditary 
property sophisticates the mind1 and the
  unfortunate victims to it1 if ,i may  
so express myself1 swathed from  their  
birth1 seldom exert the locomotive      
faculty of body or mind2  and1 thus     
viewing every thing through one medium1 
and that a false  one1 they are unable  
to discern in what true merit and       
happiness  consist4  ,false1 indeed1    
must be the light when the drapery of   
situation hides the man1 and makes him  
stalk in masquerade1  dragging from one 
scene of dissipation to another the     
nerveless  limbs that hang with stupid  
listlessness1 and rolling round the     
vacant eye which plainly tells us that  
there is no mind at home4    ,i mean1   
therefore1 to infer1 that the society is

 not properly  organized which does not 
compel men and women to discharge their 
respective duties1 by making it the only
 way to acquire that  countenance from  
their fellow creatures1 which every     
human being  wishes some way to attain4 
,the respect1 consequently1 which is    
paid to wealth and mere personal charms1
 is a true north-east  blast1 that      
blights the tender blossoms of affection
 and virtue4  ,nature has wisely        
attached affections to duties1 to       
sweeten toil1  and to give that vigour  
to the exertions of reason which only   
the  heart can give4  ,but1 the         
affection which is put on merely because
  it is the appropriated insignia of a  
certain character1 when its  duties are 
not fulfilled is one of the empty       
compliments which vice  and folly are   
obliged to pay to virtue and the real   
nature of  things4    ,to illustrate my 
opinion1 ,i need only observe1 that when
 a woman is  admired for her beauty1 and
 suffers herself to be so far           

intoxicated by the admiration she       
receives1 as to neglect to  discharge   
the indispensable duty of a mother1 she 
sins against  herself by neglecting to  
cultivate an affection that would       
equally  tend to make her useful and    
happy4  ,true happiness1 ,i mean all the
  contentment1 and virtuous satisfaction
 that can be snatched in this  imperfect
 state1 must arise from well regulated  
affections2 and an  affection includes a
 duty4  ,men are not aware of the misery
 they  cause1 and the vicious weakness  
they cherish1 by only inciting  women to
 render themselves pleasing2 they do not
 consider1 that  they thus make natural 
and artificial duties clash1 by         
sacrificing  the comfort and            
respectability of a woman's life to     
voluptuous  notions of beauty1 when in  
nature they all harmonize4    ,cold     
would be the heart of a husband1 were he
 not rendered  unnatural by early       
debauchery1 who did not feel more       
delight at  seeing his child suckled by 

its mother1 than the most artful wanton 
tricks could ever raise2 yet this       
natural way of cementing the            
matrimonial tie1 and twisting esteem    
with fonder recollections1  wealth leads
 women to spurn4  ,to preserve their    
beauty1 and wear  the flowery crown of  
the day1 that gives them a kind of right
 to  reign for a short time over the    
sex1 they neglect to stamp  impressions 
on their husbands' hearts1 that would be
 remembered  with more tenderness when  
the snow on the head began to chill the 
bosom1 than even their virgin charms4   
,the maternal solicitude of a           
reasonable affectionate woman is very   
interesting1 and the  chastened dignity 
with which a mother returns the caresses
 that she  and her child receive from a 
father who has been fulfilling the      
serious duties of his station1 is not   
only a respectable1 but a  beautiful    
sight4  ,so singular1 indeed1 are my    
feelings1 and ,i have  endeavoured not  
to catch factitious ones1 that after    

having been  fatigued with the sight of 
insipid grandeur and the slavish        
ceremonies that with cumberous pomp     
supplied the place of domestic          
affections1 ,i have turned to some other
 scene to relieve my eye1 by  resting it
 on the refreshing green every where    
scattered by nature4  ,i have then      
viewed with pleasure a woman nursing her
 children1 and  discharging the duties  
of her station with1 perhaps1 merely a  
servant made to take off her hands the  
servile part of the  household business4
  ,i have seen her prepare herself and  
children1  with only the luxury of      
cleanliness1 to receive her husband1 who
  returning weary home in the evening1  
found smiling babes and a  clean hearth4
  ,my heart has loitered in the midst of
 the group1 and  has even throbbed with 
sympathetic emotion1 when the scraping  
of  the well known foot has raised a    
pleasing tumult4    ,whilst my          
benevolence has been gratified by       
contemplating this  artless picture1 ,i 

have thought that a couple of this      
description1  equally necessary and     
independent of each other1 because each 
fulfilled the respective duties of their
 station1 possessed all  that life could
 give4  ,raised sufficiently above      
abject poverty not  to be obliged to    
weigh the consequence of every farthing 
they  spend1 and having sufficient to   
prevent their attending to a frigid     
system of economy which narrows both    
heart and mind4  ,i declare1 so  vulgar 
are my conceptions1 that ,i know not    
what is wanted to render  this the      
happiest as well as the most respectable
 situation in the  world1 but a taste   
for literature1 to throw a little       
variety and  interest into social       
converse1 and some superfluous money to 
give  to the needy1 and to buy books4   
,for it is not pleasant when the  heart 
is opened by compassion1 and the head   
active in arranging  plans of           
usefulness1 to have a prim urchin       
continually twitching  back the elbow to

 prevent the hand from drawing out an   
almost empty  purse1 whispering at the  
same time some prudential maxim about   
the  priority of justice4               
,destructive1 however1 as riches and    
inherited honours are to the  human     
character1 women are more debased and   
cramped1 if possible by  them1 than men1
 because men may still1 in some degree1 
unfold their  faculties by becoming     
soldiers and statesmen4    ,as soldiers1
 ,i grant1 they can now only gather1 for
 the most part1  vainglorious laurels1  
whilst they adjust to a hair the        
,european  balance1 taking especial care
 that no bleak northern nook or sound   
incline the beam4  ,but the days of true
 heroism are over1 when a  citizen      
fought for his country like a ,fabricius
 or a ,washington1  and then returned to
 his farm to let his virtuous fervour   
run in a  more placid1 but not a less   
salutary stream4  ,no1 our ,british     
heroes are oftener sent from the gaming 
table than from the plough2  and their  

passions have been rather inflamed by   
hanging with dumb  suspense on the turn 
of a die1 than sublimated by panting    
after the  adventurous march of virtue  
in the historic page4    ,the statesman1
 it is true1 might with more propriety  
quit the ,faro  ,bank1 or card-table1 to
 guide the helm1 for he has still but to
  shuffle and trick4  ,the whole system 
of ,british politics1 if system  it may 
courteously be called1 consisting in    
multiplying dependents  and contriving  
taxes which grind the poor to pamper the
 rich2 thus  a war1 or any wild goose   
chace is1 as the vulgar use the phrase1 
a  lucky turn-up of patronage for the   
minister1 whose chief merit is  the art 
of keeping himself in place4    ,it is  
not necessary then that he should have  
bowels for the poor1  so he can secure  
for his family the odd trick4  ,or      
should some show  of respect1 for what  
is termed with ignorant ostentation an  
,englishman's birth-right1 be expedient 
to bubble the gruff mastiff  that he has

 to lead by the nose1 he can make an    
empty show1 very  safely1 by giving his 
single voice1 and suffering his light   
squadron to file off to the other side4 
,and when a question of  humanity is    
agitated1 he may dip a sop in the milk  
of human  kindness1 to silence          
,cerberus1 and talk of the interest     
which his  heart takes in an attempt to 
make the earth no longer cry for        
vengeance as it sucks in its children's 
blood1 though his cold hand  may at the 
very moment rivet their chains1 by      
sanctioning the  abominable traffick4   
,a minister is no longer a minister than
 while  he can carry a point1 which he  
is determined to carry4  ,yet it is  not
 necessary that a minister should feel  
like a man1 when a bold  push might     
shake his seat4    ,but1 to have done   
with these episodical observations1 let 
me return  to the more specious slavery 
which chains the very soul of woman1    
keeping her for ever under the bondage  
of ignorance4    ,the preposterous      

distinctions of rank1 which render      
civilization a  curse1 by dividing the  
world between voluptuous tyrants1 and   
cunning envious dependents1 corrupt1    
almost equally1 every class of  people1 
because respectability is not attached  
to the discharge of  the relative duties
 of life1 but to the station1 and when  
the  duties are not fulfilled1 the      
affections cannot gain sufficient       
strength to fortify the virtue of which 
they are the natural  reward4  ,still   
there are some loop-holes out of which a
 man may  creep1 and dare to think and  
act for himself2 but for a woman it is  
an herculean task1 because she has      
difficulties peculiar to her sex  to    
overcome1 which require almost          
super-human powers4    ,a truly         
benevolent legislator always endeavours 
to make it the  interest of each        
individual to be virtuous2 and thus     
private virtue  becoming the cement of  
public happiness1 an orderly whole is   
consolidated by the tendency of all the 

parts towards a common  centre4  ,but1  
the private or public virtue of women is
 very  problematical2 for ,rousseau1 and
 a numerous list of male writers1       
insist that she should all her life1 be 
subjected to a severe  restraint1 that  
of propriety4  ,why subject her to      
propriety--blind  propriety1 if she be  
capable of acting from a nobler spring1 
if she  be an heir of immortality8  ,is 
sugar always to be produced by vital    
blood8  ,is one half of the human       
species1 like the poor ,african  slaves1
 to be subject to prejudices that       
brutalize them1 when  principles would  
be a surer guard only to sweeten the cup
 of man8  ,is not this indirectly to    
deny women reason8 for a gift is a      
mockery1 if it be unfit for use4        
,women are in common with men1 rendered 
weak and luxurious by the  relaxing     
pleasures which wealth procures2 but    
added to this1 they  are made slaves to 
their persons1 and must render them     
alluring1  that man may lend them his   

reason to guide their tottering steps   
aright4  ,or should they be ambitious1  
they must govern their  tyrants by      
sinister tricks1 for without rights     
there cannot be any  incumbent duties4  
,the laws respecting woman1 which ,i    
mean to  discuss in a future part1 make 
an absurd unit of a man and his  wife2  
and then1 by the easy transition of only
 considering him as  responsible1 she is
 reduced to a mere cypher4    ,the being
 who discharges the duties of its       
station1 is independent2  and1 speaking 
of women at large1 their first duty is  
to themselves  as rational creatures1   
and the next1 in point of importance1 as
  citizens1 is that1 which includes so  
many1 of a mother4  ,the rank  in life  
which dispenses with their fulfilling   
this duty1  necessarily degrades them by
 making them mere dolls4  ,or1 should   
they turn to something more important   
than merely fitting drapery  upon a     
smooth block1 their minds are only      
occupied by some soft  platonic         

attachment2 or1 the actual management of
 an intrigue may  keep their thoughts in
 motion2 for when they neglect domestic 
duties1 they have it not in their power 
to take the field and march  and        
counter-march like soldiers1 or wrangle 
in the senate to keep  their faculties  
from rusting4    ,i know1 that as a     
proof of the inferiority of the sex1    
,rousseau has  exultingly exclaimed1    
,how can they leave the nursery for the 
camp6  ,and the camp has by some        
moralists been termed the school of the 
most heroic virtues2 though1 ,i think1  
it would puzzle a keen  casuist to prove
 the reasonableness of the greater      
number of wars1  that have dubbed       
heroes4  ,i do not mean to consider this
 question  critically2 because1 having  
frequently viewed these freaks of       
ambition as the first natural mode of   
civilization1 when the ground  must be  
torn up1 and the woods cleared by fire  
and sword1 ,i do not  choose to call    
them pests2 but surely the present      

system of war1  has little connection   
with virtue of any denomination1 being  
rather  the school of ,,finesse and     
effeminacy1 than of fortitude4    ,yet1 
if defensive war1 the only justifiable  
war1 in the present  advanced state of  
society1 where virtue can show its face 
and ripen  amidst the rigours which     
purify the air on the mountain's top1   
were  alone to be adopted as just and   
glorious1 the true heroism of  antiquity
 might again animate female bosoms4     
,but fair and softly1  gentle reader1   
male or female1 do not alarm thyself1   
for though ,i  have contrasted the      
character of a modern soldier with that 
of a  civilized woman1 ,i am not going  
to advise them to turn their  distaff   
into a musket1 though ,i sincerely wish 
to see the bayonet  converted into a    
pruning hook4  ,i only recreated an     
imagination1  fatigued by contemplating 
the vices and follies which all proceed 
from a feculent stream of wealth that   
has muddied the pure rills of  natural  

affection1 by supposing that society    
will some time or  other be so          
constituted1 that man must necessarily  
fulfil the  duties of a citizen1 or be  
despised1 and that while he was employed
  in any of the departments of civil    
life1 his wife1 also an active  citizen1
 should be equally intent to manage her 
family1 educate her  children1 and      
assist her neighbours4    ,but1 to      
render her really virtuous and useful1  
she must not1 if she  discharge her     
civil duties1 want1 individually1 the   
protection of  civil laws2 she must not 
be dependent on her husband's bounty for
  her subsistence during his life1 or   
support after his death--for  how can a 
being be generous who has nothing of its
 own8 or1  virtuous1 who is not free8   
,the wife1 in the present state of      
things1 who is faithful to her husband1 
and neither suckles nor  educates her   
children1 scarcely deserves the name of 
a wife1 and  has no right to that of a  
citizen4  ,but take away natural rights1

  and there is of course an end of      
duties4    ,women thus infallibly become
 only the wanton solace of men1 when    
they are so weak in mind and body1 that 
they cannot exert  themselves1 unless to
 pursue some frothy pleasure1 or to     
invent  some frivolous fashion4  ,what  
can be a more melancholy sight to a     
thinking mind1 than to look into the    
numerous carriages that drive           
helter-skelter about this metropolis in 
a morning1 full of  pale-faced creatures
 who are flying from themselves4  ,i    
have often  wished1 with ,dr4 ,johnson1 
to place some of them in a little shop1 
with half a dozen children looking up to
 their languid countenances  for        
support4  ,i am much mistaken1 if some  
latent vigour would not  soon give      
health and spirit to their eyes1 and    
some lines drawn by  the exercise of    
reason on the blank cheeks1 which before
 were only  undulated by dimples1 might 
restore lost dignity to the character1  
or rather enable it to attain the true  

dignity of its nature4  ,virtue is not  
to be acquired even by speculation1 much
 less by the  negative supineness that  
wealth naturally generates4    ,besides1
 when poverty is more disgraceful than  
even vice1 is not  morality cut to the  
quick8  ,still to avoid misconstruction1
 though  ,i consider that women in the  
common walks of life are called to      
fulfil the duties of wives and mothers1 
by religion and reason1 ,i  cannot help 
lamenting that women of a superiour cast
 have not a  road open by which they can
 pursue more extensive plans of         
usefulness and independence4  ,i may    
excite laughter1 by dropping an  hint1  
which ,i mean to pursue1 some future    
time1 for ,i really think  that women   
ought to have representatives1 instead  
of being  arbitrarily governed without  
having any direct share allowed them  in
 the deliberations of government4       
,but1 as the whole system of            
representation is now1 in this country1 
only a convenient handle for despotism1 

they need not complain1 for  they are as
 well represented as a numerous class of
 hard working  mechanics1 who pay for   
the support of royality when they can   
scarcely stop their children's mouths   
with bread4  ,how are they  represented1
 whose very sweat supports the splendid 
stud of an heir  apparent1 or varnishes 
the chariot of some female favourite who
  looks down on shame8  ,taxes on the   
very necessaries of life1 enable  an    
endless tribe of idle princes and       
princesses to pass with stupid  pomp    
before a gaping crowd1 who almost       
worship the very parade  which costs    
them so dear4  ,this is mere gothic     
grandeur1 something  like the barbarous1
 useless parade of having sentinels on  
horseback  at ,whitehall1 which ,i could
 never view without a mixture of        
contempt and indignation4    ,how       
strangely must the mind be sophisticated
 when this sort of  state impresses it6 
,but till these monuments of folly are  
levelled  by virtue1 similar follies    

will leaven the whole mass4  ,for the   
same character1 in some degree1 will    
prevail in the aggregate of  society3   
and the refinements of luxury1 or the   
vicious repinings  of envious poverty1  
will equally banish virtue from society1
  considered as the characteristic of   
that society1 or only allow it  to      
appear as one of the stripes of the     
harlequin coat1 worn by the  civilized  
man4    ,in the superiour ranks of life1
 every duty is done by deputies1 as  if 
duties could ever be waved1 and the vain
 pleasures which  consequent idleness   
forces the rich to pursue1 appear so    
enticing  to the next rank1 that the    
numerous scramblers for wealth sacrifice
  every thing to tread on their heels4  
,the most sacred trusts are  then       
considered as sinecures1 because they   
were procured by  interest1 and only    
sought to enable a man to keep ,,good   
,,company4  ,women1 in particular1 all  
want to be ladies4  ,which is simply to 
have nothing to do1 but listlessly to go

 they scarcely care where1  for they    
cannot tell what4    ,but what have     
women to do in society8  ,i may be      
asked1 but to  loiter with easy grace2  
surely you would not condemn them all to
  suckle fools1 and chronicle small     
beer6  ,no4  ,women might certainly     
study the art of healing1 and be        
physicians as well as nurses4  ,and     
midwifery1 decency seems to allot to    
them1 though ,i am afraid the  word     
midwife1 in our dictionaries1 will soon 
give place to  accoucheur1 and one proof
 of the former delicacy of the sex be   
effaced from the language4    ,they     
might1 also study politics1 and settle  
their benevolence on  the broadest      
basis2 for the reading of history will  
scarcely be  more useful than the       
perusal of romances1 if read as mere    
biography2 if the character of the      
times1 the political  improvements1     
arts1 etc4 be not observed4  ,in short1 
if it be not  considered as the history 
of man2 and not of particular men1 who  

filled a niche in the temple of fame1   
and dropped into the black  rolling     
stream of time1 that silently sweeps all
 before it1 into  the shapeless void    
called eternity4  ,for shape can it be  
called1  that shape hath none8          
,business of various kinds1 they might  
likewise pursue1 if they were  educated 
in a more orderly manner1 which might   
save many from  common and legal        
prostitution4  ,women would not then    
marry for a  support1 as men accept of  
places under government1 and neglect the
  implied duties2 nor would an attempt  
to earn their own subsistence1  a most  
laudable one6 sink them almost to the   
level of those poor  abandoned creatures
 who live by prostitution4  ,for are not
  milliners and mantuamakers reckoned   
the next class8  ,the few  employments  
open to women1 so far from being        
liberal1 are menial2  and when a        
superior education enables them to take 
charge of the  education of children as 
governesses1 they are not treated like  

the  tutors of sons1 though even        
clerical tutors are not always treated  
in a manner calculated to render them   
respectable in the eyes of  their       
pupils1 to say nothing of the private   
comfort of the  individual4  ,but as    
women educated like gentlewomen1 are    
never  designed for the humiliating     
situation which necessity sometimes     
forces them to fill2 these situations   
are considered in the light  of a       
degradation2 and they know little of the
 human heart1 who need  to be told1 that
 nothing so painfully sharpens the      
sensibility as  such a fall in life4    
,some of these women might be restrained
 from marrying by a proper  spirit or   
delicacy1 and others may not have had it
 in their power  to escape in this      
pitiful way from servitude2 is not that 
government then very defective1 and very
 unmindful of the happiness  of one half
 of its members1 that does not provide  
for honest1  independent women1 by      
encouraging them to fill respectable    

stations8  ,but in order to render their
 private virtue a public  benefit1 they 
must have a civil existence in the      
state1 married or  single2 else we shall
 continually see some worthy woman1     
whose  sensibility has been rendered    
painfully acute by undeserved  contempt1
 droop like the lily broken down by a   
plough share4    ,it is a melancholy    
truth2 yet such is the blessed effects  
of  civilization6 the most respectable  
women are the most oppressed2  and1     
unless they have understandings far     
superiour to the common  run of         
understandings1 taking in both sexes1   
they must1 from being  treated like     
contemptible beings1 become             
contemptible4  ,how many  women thus    
waste life away1 the prey of discontent1
 who might have  practised as           
physicians1 regulated a farm1 managed a 
shop1 and  stood erect1 supported by    
their own industry1 instead of hanging  
their heads surcharged with the dew of  
sensibility1 that consumes  the beauty  

to which it at first gave lustre2 nay1  
,i doubt whether  pity and love are so  
near a-kin as poets feign1 for ,i have  
seldom  seen much compassion excited by 
the helplessness of females1 unless     
they were fair2 then1 perhaps1 pity was 
the soft handmaid of love1  or the      
harbinger of lust4    ,how much more    
respectable is the woman who earns her  
own bread by  fulfilling any duty1 than 
the most accomplished beauty6  beauty   
did  ,i say8 so sensible am ,i of the   
beauty of moral loveliness1 or the      
harmonious propriety that attunes the   
passions of a well-regulated  mind1 that
 ,i blush at making the comparison2 yet 
,i sigh to think  how few women aim at  
attaining this respectability1 by       
withdrawing  from the giddy whirl of    
pleasure1 or the indolent calm that     
stupifies the good sort of women it     
sucks in4    ,proud of their weakness1  
however1 they must always be protected1 
guarded from care1 and all the rough    
toils that dignify the mind4  ,if this  

be the fiat of fate1 if they will make  
themselves  insignificant and           
contemptible1 sweetly to waste life     
away1 let  them not expect to be valued 
when their beauty fades1 for it is the  
fate of the fairest flowers to be       
admired and pulled to pieces by  the    
careless hand that plucked them4  ,in   
how many ways do ,i wish1  from the     
purest benevolence1 to impress this     
truth on my sex2 yet ,i  fear that they 
will not listen to a truth1 that        
dear-bought  experience has brought home
 to many an agitated bosom1 nor         
willingly resign the privileges of rank 
and sex for the privileges  of humanity1
 to which those have no claim who do not
 discharge its  duties4    ,those       
writers are particularly useful1 in my  
opinion1 who make man  feel for man1    
independent of the station he fills1 or 
the drapery  of factitious sentiments4  
,i then would fain convince reasonable  
men of the importance of some of my     
remarks and prevail on them to  weigh   

dispassionately the whole tenor of my   
observations4  ,i appeal  to their      
understandings2 and1 as a               
fellow-creature claim1 in the  name of  
my sex1 some interest in their hearts4  
,i entreat them to  assist to emancipate
 their companion to make her a help meet
 for  them6    ,would men but generously
 snap our chains1 and be content with   
rational fellowship1 instead of slavish 
obedience1 they would find  us more     
observant daughters1 more affectionate  
sisters1 more  faithful wives1 more     
reasonable mothers--in a word1 better   
citizens4  ,we should then love them    
with true affection1 because we  should 
learn to respect ourselves2 and the     
peace of mind of a  worthy man would not
 be interrupted by the idle vanity of   
his wife1  nor his babes sent to nestle 
in a strange bosom1 having never found  
a home in their mother's4      ,,chapter
 #aj4    ,,parental ,,affection4        
,parental affection is1 perhaps1 the    
blindest modification of  perverse      

self-love2 for we have not1 like the    
,french two terms  7,l'amour propre1    
,l'amour de soi meme7 to distinguish the
 pursuit of  a natural and reasonable   
desire1 from the ignorant calculations  
of  weakness4  ,parents often love their
 children in the most brutal  manner1   
and sacrifice every relative duty to    
promote their  advancement in the world4
  ,to promote1 such is the perversity of
  unprincipled prejudices1 the future   
welfare of the very beings  whose       
present existence they imbitter by the  
most despotic stretch  of power4        
,power1 in fact1 is ever true to its    
vital principle1 for  in every shape it 
would reign without controul or inquiry4
  ,its  throne is built across a dark   
abyss1 which no eye must dare to        
explore1 lest the baseless fabric should
 totter under  investigation4           
,obedience1 unconditional obedience1 is 
the  catch-word of tyrants of every     
description1 and to render  assurance   
doubly sure1 one kind of despotism      

supports another4  ,tyrants would have  
cause to tremble if reason were to      
become the  rule of duty in any of the  
relations of life1 for the light might  
spread till perfect day appeared4  ,and 
when it did appear1 how  would men smile
 at the sight of the bugbears at which  
they started  during the night of       
ignorance1 or the twilight of timid     
inquiry4    ,parental affection1 indeed1
 in many minds1 is but a pretext to     
tyrannize where it can be done with     
impunity1 for only good and  wise men   
are content with the respect that will  
bear discussion4  ,convinced that they  
have a right to what they insist on1    
they do  not fear reason1 or dread the  
sifting of subjects that recur to       
natural justice3  because they firmly   
believe1 that the more  enlightened the 
human mind becomes1 the deeper root will
 just and  simple principles take4      
,they do not rest in expedients1 or     
grant  that what is metaphysically true 
can be practically false2 but           

disdaining the shifts of the moment they
 calmly wait till time1  sanctioning    
innovation1 silences the hiss of        
selfishness or envy4    ,if the power of
 reflecting on the past1 and darting the
 keen eye of  contemplation into        
futurity1 be the grand privilege of man1
 it must  be granted that some people   
enjoy this prerogative in a very        
limited degree4  ,every thing now       
appears to them wrong2 and not  able to 
distinguish the possible from the       
monstrous1 they fear  where no fear     
should find a place1 running from the   
light of reason  as if it were a        
firebrand2 yet the limits of the        
possible have  never been defined to    
stop the sturdy innovator's hand4       
,woman1 however1 a slave in every       
situation to prejudice seldom  exerts   
enlightened maternal affection2 for she 
either neglects her  children1 or spoils
 them by improper indulgence4  ,besides1
 the  affection of some women for their 
children is1 as ,i have before  termed  

it1 frequently very brutish2 for it     
eradicates every spark  of humanity4    
,justice1 truth1 every thing is         
sacrificed by these  ,rebekahs1 and for 
the sake of their own children they     
violate the  most sacred duties1        
forgetting the common relationship that 
binds  the whole family on earth        
together4  ,yet1 reason seems to say1   
that  they who suffer one duty1 or      
affection to swallow up the rest1 have  
not sufficient heart or mind to fulfil  
that one conscientiously4  ,it then     
loses the venerable aspect of a duty1   
and assumes the  fantastic form of a    
whim4    ,as the care of children in    
their infancy is one of the grand duties
  annexed to the female character by    
nature1 this duty would afford  many    
forcible arguments for strengthening the
 female understanding1  if it were      
properly considered4    ,the formation  
of the mind must be begun very early1   
and the temper1  in particular1 requires
 the most judicious attention--an       

attention  which women cannot pay who   
only love their children because they   
are their children1 and seek no further 
for the foundation of their  duty1 than 
in the feelings of the moment4  ,it is  
this want of  reason in their affections
 which makes women so often run into    
extremes1 and either be the most fond1  
or most careless and  unnatural mothers4
    ,to be a good mother--a woman must  
have sense1 and that independence  of   
mind which few women possess who are    
taught to depend entirely  on their     
husbands4  ,meek wives are1 in general1 
foolish mothers2  wanting their children
 to love them best1 and take their part1
 in  secret1 against the father1 who is 
held up as a scarecrow4  ,if they  are  
to be punished1 though they have        
offended the mother1 the  father must   
inflict the punishment2 he must be the  
judge in all  disputes3  but ,i shall   
more fully discuss this subject when ,i 
treat  of private education1 ,i now only
 mean to insist1 that unless the        

understanding of woman be enlarged1 and 
her character rendered more  firm1 by   
being allowed to govern her own conduct1
 she will never  have sufficient sense  
or command of temper to manage her      
children  properly4  ,her parental      
affection1 indeed1 scarcely deserves the
  name1 when it does not lead her to    
suckle her children1 because the        
discharge of this duty is equally       
calculated to inspire maternal  and     
filial affection2 and it is the         
indispensable duty of men and  women to 
fulfil the duties which give birth to   
affections that are  the surest         
preservatives against vice4  ,natural   
affection1 as it is  termed1 ,i believe 
to be a very weak tie1 affections must  
grow out  of the habitual exercise of a 
mutual sympathy2 and what sympathy  does
 a mother exercise who sends her babe to
 a nurse1 and only  takes it from a     
nurse to send it to a school8    ,in the
 exercise of their natural feelings1    
providence has furnished  women with a  

natural substitute for love1 when the   
lover becomes  only a friend and mutual 
confidence takes place of overstrained  
admiration--a child then gently twists  
the relaxing cord1 and a  mutual care   
produces a new mutual sympathy4  ,but a 
child1 though a  pledge of affection1   
will not enliven it1 if both father and 
mother  are content to transfer the     
charge to hirelings2 for they who do    
their duty by proxy should not murmur if
 they miss the reward of  duty--parental
 affection produces filial duty4        
,,chapter #aa4    ,,duty ,,to ,,parents4
    ,there seems to be an indolent      
propensity in man to make  prescription 
always take place of reason1 and to     
place every duty  on an arbitrary       
foundation4  ,the rights of kings are   
deduced in a  direct line from the ,king
 of kings2 and that of parents from our 
first parent4    ,why do we thus go back
 for principles that should always rest 
on  the same base1 and have the same    
weight to-day that they had a  thousand 

years ago--and not a jot more8  ,if     
parents discharge their  duty they have 
a strong hold and sacred claim on the   
gratitude of  their children2 but few   
parents are willing to receive the      
respectful affection of their offspring 
on such terms4  ,they demand  blind     
obedience1 because they do not merit a  
reasonable service3  and to render these
 demands of weakness and ignorance more 
binding1  a mysterious sanctity is      
spread round the most arbitrary         
principle2  for what other name can be  
given to the blind duty of obeying      
vicious or weak beings1 merely because  
they obeyed a powerful  instinct8 ,the  
simple definition of the reciprocal     
duty1 which  naturally subsists between 
parent and child1 may be given in a few 
words3  ,the parent who pays proper     
attention to helpless infancy  has a    
right to require the same attention when
 the feebleness of  age comes upon him4 
,but to subjugate a rational being to   
the mere  will of another1 after he is  

of age to answer to society for his  own
 conduct1 is a most cruel and undue     
stretch of power2 and  perhaps as       
injurious to morality1 as those         
religious systems which  do not allow   
right and wrong to have any existence1  
but in the  ,divine will4    ,i never   
knew a parent who had paid more than    
common attention to  his children1      
disregarded 7,dr4 ,johnson makes the    
same  observation472 on the contrary1   
the early habit of relying almost       
implicitly on the opinion of a respected
 parent is not easily  shaken1 even when
 matured reason convinces the child that
 his  father is not the wisest man in   
the world4  ,this weakness1 for a       
weakness it is1 though the epithet      
,,amiable may be tacked to it1 a        
reasonable man must steel himself       
against2 for the absurd duty1 too  often
 inculcated1 of obeying a parent only on
 account of his being  a parent1        
shackles the mind1 and prepares it for a
 slavish  submission to any power but   

reason4    ,i distinguish between the   
natural and accidental duty due to      
parents4    ,the parent who sedulously  
endeavours to form the heart and enlarge
  the understanding of his child1 has   
given that dignity to the  discharge of 
a duty1 common to the whole animal      
world1 that only  reason can give4      
,this is the parental affection of      
humanity1 and  leaves instinctive       
natural affection far behind4  ,such a  
parent  acquires all the rights of the  
most sacred friendship1 and his  advice1
 even when his child is advanced in     
life1 demands serious  consideration4   
,with respect to marriage1 though after 
one and twenty a parent  seems to have  
no right to withhold his consent on any 
account2 yet  twenty years of solicitude
 call for a return1 and the son ought1  
at  least1 to promise not to marry for  
two or three years1 should the  object  
of his choice not entirely meet with the
 approbation of his  first friend4      
,but1 respect for parents is1 generally 

speaking1 a much more  debasing         
principle2 it is only a selfish respect 
for property4  ,the  father who is      
blindly obeyed1 is obeyed from sheer    
weakness1 or  from motives that degrade 
the human character4    ,a great        
proportion of the misery that wanders1  
in hideous forms  around the world1 is  
allowed to rise from the negligence of  
parents2 and still these are the people 
who are most tenacious of  what they    
term a natural right1 though it be      
subversive of the  birth right of man1  
the right of acting according to the    
direction  of his own reason4    ,i have
 already very frequently had occasion to
 observe1 that  vicious or indolent     
people are always eager to profit by    
enforcing  arbitrary privileges2 and    
generally in the same proportion as they
  neglect the discharge of the duties   
which alone render the  privileges      
reasonable4  ,this is at the bottom1 a  
dictate of common  sense1 or the        
instinct of self-defence1 peculiar to   

ignorant  weakness2 resembling that     
instinct1 which makes a fish muddy the  
water it swims in to elude its enemy1   
instead of boldly facing it  in the     
clear stream4    ,from the clear stream 
of argument1 indeed1 the supporters of  
prescription1 of every denomination1    
fly3  and taking refuge in the          
darkness1 which1 in the language of     
sublime poetry1 has been  supposed to   
surround the throne of ,omnipotence1    
they dare to demand  that implicit      
respect which is only due to ,his       
unsearchable ways4  ,but1 let me not be 
thought presumptuous1 the darkness which
 hides  our ,god from us1 only respects 
speculative truths-- it never  obscures 
moral ones1 they shine clearly1 for ,god
 is light1 and  never1 by the           
constitution of our nature1 requires the
 discharge of  a duty1 the              
reasonableness of which does not beam on
 us when we  open our eyes4    ,the     
indolent parent of high rank may1 it is 
true1 extort a show of  respect from his

 child1 and females on the continent are
  particularly subject to the views of  
their families1 who never  think of     
consulting their inclination1 or        
providing for the comfort  of the poor  
victims of their pride4  ,the           
consequence is notorious2  these dutiful
 daughters become adulteresses1 and     
neglect the  education of their         
children1 from whom they1 in their turn1
 exact  the same kind of obedience4     
,females1 it is true1 in all countries1 
are too much under the  dominion of     
their parents2 and few parents think of 
addressing  their children in the       
following manner1 though it is in this  
reasonable way that ,heaven seems to    
command the whole human race4  ,it is   
your interest to obey me till you can   
judge for yourself2 and  the ,almighty  
,father of all has implanted an         
affection in me to  serve as a guard to 
you whilst your reason is unfolding2 but
 when  your mind arrives at maturity1   
you must only obey me1 or rather        

respect my opinions1 so far as they     
coincide with the light that is         
breaking in on your own mind4    ,a     
slavish bondage to parents cramps every 
faculty of the mind2 and  ,mr4 ,locke   
very judiciously observes1 that if the  
mind be curbed  and humbled too much in 
children2 if their spirits be abased and
  broken much by too strict an hand over
 them2 they lose all their  vigour and  
industry4  ,this strict hand may1 in    
some degree1  account for the weakness  
of women2 for girls1 from various       
causes1  are more kept down by their    
parents1 in every sense of the word1    
than boys4  ,the duty expected from them
 is1 like all the duties  arbitrarily   
imposed on women1 more from a sense of  
propriety1 more  out of respect for     
decorum1 than reason2 and thus taught   
slavishly  to submit to their parents1  
they are prepared for the slavery of    
marriage4  ,i may be told that a number 
of women are not slaves in  the marriage
 state4  ,true1 but they then become    

tyrants2 for it is  not rational        
freedom1 but a lawless kind of power1   
resembling the  authority exercised by  
the favourites of absolute monarchs1    
which  they obtain by debasing means4   
,i do not1 likewise1 dream of           
insinuating that either boys or girls   
are always slaves1 ,i only  insist1 that
 when they are obliged to submit to     
authority blindly1  their faculties are 
weakened1 and their tempers rendered    
imperious  or abject4  ,i also lament1  
that parents1 indolently availing       
themselves of a supposed privilege1 damp
 the first faint glimmering  of reason  
rendering at the same time the duty1    
which they are so  anxious to enforce1  
an empty name2 because they will not let
 it  rest on the only basis on which a  
duty can rest securely3  for1  unless it
 be founded on knowledge1 it cannot gain
 sufficient  strength to resist the     
squalls of passion1 or the silent       
sapping of  self-love4  ,but it is not  
the parents who have given the surest   

proof of their affection for their      
children1 7or1 to speak more  properly1 
who by fulfilling their duty1 have      
allowed a natural  parental affection to
 take root in their hearts1 the child of
  exercised sympathy and reason1 and not
 the over-weening offspring  of selfish 
pride17 who most vehemently insist on   
their children  submitting to their     
will1 merely because it is their will4  
,on the  contrary1 the parent who sets a
 good example1 patiently lets that      
example work2 and it seldom fails to    
produce its natural  effect--filial     
respect4    ,children cannot be taught  
too early to submit to reason1 the true 
definition of that necessity1 which     
,rousseau insisted on1 without  defining
 it2 for to submit to reason1 is to     
submit to the nature of  things1 and to 
that ,god who formed them so1 to promote
 our real  interest4    ,why should the 
minds of children be warped as they just
 begin to  expand1 only to favour the   
indolence of parents1 who insist on a   

privilege without being willing to pay  
the price fixed by nature8  ,i have     
before had occasion to observe1 that a  
right always includes  a duty1 and ,i   
think it may1 likewise fairly be        
inferred1 that they  forfeit the right1 
who do not fulfil the duty4    ,it is   
easier1 ,i grant1 to command than       
reason2 but it does not  follow from    
hence1 that children cannot comprehend  
the reason why  they are made to do     
certain things habitually2 for1 from a  
steady  adherence to a few simple       
principles of conduct flows that        
salutary  power1 which a judicious      
parent gradually gains over a child's   
mind4  ,and this power becomes strong   
indeed1 if tempered by an even  display 
of affection brought home to the child's
 heart4  ,for1 ,i  believe1 as a general
 rule1 it must be allowed1 that the     
affection  which we inspire always      
resembles that we cultivate2 so that    
natural affections1 which have been     
supposed almost distinct from  reason1  

may be found more nearly connected with 
judgment than is  commonly allowed4     
,nay1 as another proof of the necessity 
of  cultivating the female              
understanding1 it is but just to        
observe1  that the affections seem to   
have a kind of animal capriciousness    
when they merely reside in the heart4   
,it is the irregular exercise of        
parental authority that first  injures  
the mind1 and to these irregularities   
girls are more  subject than boys4  ,the
 will of those who never allow their    
will to  be disputed1 unless they happen
 to be in a good humour1 when they      
relax proportionally1 is almost always  
unreasonable4  ,to elude this  arbitrary
 authority1 girls very early learn the  
lessons which they  afterwards practise 
on their husbands2 for ,i have          
frequently seen a  little sharp-faced   
miss rule a whole family1 excepting that
 now and  then mamma's anger will burst 
out of some accidental cloud-- either   
her hair was ill-dressed199 or she had  

lost more money at cards1 the  night    
before1 than she was willing to own to  
her husband2 or some  such moral cause  
of anger4    799,footnote4  ,i myself   
heard a little girl once say to a       
servant1  ,my mamma has been scolding me
 finely this morning1 because her  hair 
was not dressed to please her4  ,though 
this remark was pert1  it was just4     
,and what respect could a girl acquire  
for such a  parent1 without doing       
violence to reason87    ,after observing
 sallies of this kind1 ,i have been led 
into a  melancholy train of reflection  
respecting females1 concluding that     
when their first affection must lead    
them astray1 or make their  duties clash
 till they rest on mere whims and       
customs1 little can  be expected from   
them as they advance in life4  ,how1    
indeed1 can an  instructor remedy this  
evil8 for to teach them virtue on any   
solid  principle is to teach them to    
despise their parents4  ,children       
cannot1 ought not to be taught to make  

allowance for the faults of  their      
parents1 because every such allowance   
weakens the force of  reason in their   
minds1 and makes them still more        
indulgent to their  own4  ,it is one of 
the most sublime virtues of maturity    
that leads  us to be severe with respect
 to ourselves1 and forbearing to        
others2 but children should only be     
taught the simple virtues1 for  if they 
begin too early to make allowance for   
human passions and  manners1 they wear  
off the fine edge of the criterion by   
which they  should regulate their own1  
and become unjust in the same proportion
  as they grow indulgent4    ,the       
affections of children1 and weak people1
 are always selfish2  they love others1 
because others love them1 and not on    
account of  their virtues4  ,yet1 till  
esteem and love are blended together in 
the first affection1 and reason made the
 foundation of the first  duty1 morality
 will stumble at the threshold4  ,but1  
till society is  very differently       

constituted1 parents1 ,i fear1 will     
still insist on  being obeyed1 because  
they will be obeyed1 and constantly     
endeavour  to settle that power on a    
,divine right1 which will not bear the  
investigation of reason4      ,,chapter 
#ab4    ,,on ,,national ,,education4    
,the good effects resulting from        
attention to private education will     
ever be very confined1 and the parent   
who really puts his own hand  to the    
plow1 will always1 in some degree be    
disappointed1 till  education becomes a 
grand national concern4  ,a man cannot  
retire  into a desert with his child1   
and if he did1 he could not bring       
himself back to childhood1 and become   
the proper friend and  play-fellow of an
 infant or youth4  ,and when children   
are confined  to the society of men and 
women1 they very soon acquire that kind 
of premature manhood which stops the    
growth of every vigorous power  of mind 
or body4  ,in order to open their       
faculties they should be  excited to    

think for themselves2 and this can only 
be done by  mixing a number of children 
together1 and making them jointly       
pursue the same objects4    ,a child    
very soon contracts a benumbing         
indolence of mind1 which he  has seldom 
sufficient vigour to shake off1 when he 
only asks a  question instead of seeking
 for information1 and then relies       
implicitly on the answer he receives4   
,with his equals in age this  could     
never be the case1 and the subjects of  
inquiry1 though they  might be          
influenced1 would not be entirely under 
the direction of  men1 who frequently   
damp1 if not destroy abilities1 by      
bringing  them forward too hastily3  and
 too hastily they will infallibly be    
brought forward1 if the child could be  
confined to the society of a  man1      
however sagacious that man may be4      
,besides1 in youth the seeds of every   
affection should be sown1 and  the      
respectful regard1 which is felt for a  
parent1 is very  different from the     

social affections that are to constitute
 the  happiness of life as it advances4 
,of these1 equality is the basis1  and  
an intercourse of sentiments unclogged  
by that observant  seriousness which    
prevents disputation1 though it may not 
inforce  submission4  ,let a child have 
ever such an affection for his  parent1 
he will always languish to play and chat
 with children2 and  the very respect he
 entertains1 for filial esteem always   
has a dash  of fear mixed with it1 will1
 if it do not teach him cunning1 at     
least prevent him from pouring out the  
little secrets which first  open the    
heart to friendship and confidence1     
gradually leading to  more expansive    
benevolence4  ,added to this1 he will   
never acquire  that frank ingenuousness 
of behaviour1 which young people can    
only  attain by being frequently in     
society1 where they dare to speak  what 
they think2 neither afraid of being     
reproved for their  presumption1 nor    
laughed at for their folly4    ,forcibly

 impressed by the reflections which the 
sight of schools1  as they are at       
present conducted1 naturally suggested1 
,i have  formerly delivered my opinion  
rather warmly in favour of a private    
education2 but further experience has   
led me to view the subject in  a        
different light4  ,i still1 however1    
think schools1 as they are  now         
regulated1 the hot-beds of vice and     
folly1 and the knowledge of  human      
nature1 supposed to be attained there1  
merely cunning  selfishness4    ,at     
school1 boys become gluttons and        
slovens1 and1 instead of  cultivating   
domestic affections1 very early rush    
into the  libertinism which destroys the
 constitution before it is formed2      
hardening the heart as it weakens the   
understanding4    ,i should1 in fact1 be
 averse to boarding-schools1 if it were 
for no  other reason than the unsettled 
state of mind which the expectation  of 
the vacations produce4  ,on these the   
children's thoughts are  fixed with     

eager anticipating hopes1 for1 at least1
 to speak with  moderation1 half of the 
time1 and when they arrive they are     
spent  in total dissipation and beastly 
indulgence4    ,but1 on the contrary1   
when they are brought up at home1 though
 they  may pursue a plan of study in a  
more orderly manner than can be         
adopted1 when near a fourth part of the 
year is actually spent in  idleness1 and
 as much more in regret and             
anticipation2 yet they  there acquire   
too high an opinion of their own        
importance1 from  being allowed to      
tyrannize over servants1 and from the   
anxiety  expressed by most mothers1 on  
the score of manners1 who1 eager to     
teach the accomplishments of a          
gentleman1 stifle1 in their birth1  the 
virtues of a man4  ,thus brought into   
company when they ought to  be seriously
 employed1 and treated like men when    
they are still  boys1 they become vain  
and effeminate4    ,the only way to     
avoid two extremes equally injurious to 

morality1  would be to contrive some way
 of combining a public and private      
education4  ,thus to make men citizens1 
two natural steps might be  taken1 which
 seem directly to lead to the desired   
point2 for the  domestic affections1    
that first open the heart to the various
  modifications of humanity would be    
cultivated1 whilst the children  were   
nevertheless allowed to spend great part
 of their time1 on  terms of equality1  
with other children4    ,i still        
recollect1 with pleasure1 the country   
day school2 where a  boy trudged in the 
morning1 wet or dry1 carrying his books1
 and his  dinner1 if it were at a       
considerable distance2 a servant did not
  then lead master by the hand1 for1    
when he had once put on coat and        
breeches1 he was allowed to shift for   
himself1 and return alone in  the       
evening to recount the feats of the day 
close at the parental  knee4  ,his      
father's house was his home1 and was    
ever after fondly  remembered2 nay1 ,i  

appeal to some superior men who were    
educated in  this manner1 whether the   
recollection of some shady lane where   
they  conned their lesson2 or1 of some  
stile1 where they sat making a  kite1 or
 mending a bat1 has not endeared their  
country to them8    ,but1 what boy ever 
recollected with pleasure the years he  
spent in  close confinement1 at an      
academy near ,london8 unless indeed he  
should by chance remember the poor      
scare-crow of an usher whom he          
tormented2 or1 the tartman1 from whom he
 caught a cake1 to devour  it with the  
cattish appetite of selfishness4  ,at   
boarding schools  of every description1 
the relaxation of the junior boys is    
mischief2 and of the senior1 vice4      
,besides1 in great schools what  can be 
more prejudicial to the moral character1
 than the system of  tyranny and abject 
slavery which is established amongst the
 boys1  to say nothing of the slavery to
 forms1 which makes religion worse  than
 a farce8  ,for what good can be        

expected from the youth who  receives   
the sacrament of the ,lord's supper1 to 
avoid forfeiting  half-a-guinea1 which  
he probably afterwards spends in some   
sensual  manner8  ,half the employment  
of the youths is to elude the  necessity
 of attending public worship2 and well  
they may1 for such  a constant          
repetition of the same thing must be a  
very irksome  restraint on their natural
 vivacity4  ,as these ceremonies have   
the  most fatal effect on their morals1 
and as a ritual performed by the  lips1 
when the heart and mind are far away1 is
 not now stored up by  our church as a  
bank to draw on for the fees of the poor
 souls in  purgatory1 why should they   
not be abolished8    ,but the fear of   
innovation1 in this country1 extends to 
every  thing4  ,this is only a covert   
fear1 the apprehensive timidity of      
indolent slugs1 who guard1 by sliming it
 over1 the snug place1  which they      
consider in the light of an hereditary  
estate2 and eat1  drink1 and enjoy      

themselves1 instead of fulfilling the   
duties1  excepting a few empty forms1   
for which it was endowed4  ,these are   
the people who most strenuously insist  
on the will of the founder  being       
observed1 crying out against all        
reformation1 as if it were a  violation 
of justice4  ,i am now alluding         
particularly to the  relicks of popery  
retained in our colleges1 where the     
protestant  members seem to be such     
sticklers for the established church2   
but  their zeal never makes them lose   
sight of the spoil of ignorance1  which 
rapacious priests of superstitious      
memory have scraped  together4  ,no1    
wise in their generation1 they venerate 
the  prescriptive right of possession1  
as a strong hold1 and still let  the    
sluggish bell tingle to prayers1 as     
during the days1 when the  elevation of 
the host was supposed to atone for the  
sins of the  people1 lest one           
reformation should lead to another1 and 
the spirit  kill the letter4  ,these    

,romish customs have the most baneful   
effect  on the morals of our clergy2 for
 the idle vermin who two or three  times
 a day perform1 in the most slovenly    
manner a service which  they think      
useless1 but call their duty1 soon lose 
a sense of duty4  ,at college1 forced to
 attend or evade public worship1 they   
acquire  an habitual contempt for the   
very service1 the performance of which  
is to enable them to live in idleness4  
,it is mumbled over as an  affair of    
business1 as a stupid boy repeats his   
task1 and  frequently the college cant  
escapes from the preacher the moment    
after he has left the pulpit1 and even  
whilst he is eating the  dinner which he
 earned in such a dishonest manner4     
,nothing1 indeed1 can be more irreverent
 than the cathedral service  as it is   
now performed in this country1 neither  
does it contain a  set of weaker men    
than those who are the slaves of this   
childish  routine4  ,a disgusting       
skeleton of the former state is still   

exhibited2 but all the solemnity1 that  
interested the imagination1  if it did  
not purify the heart1 is stripped off4  
,the performance  of high mass on the   
continent must impress every mind1 where
 a  spark of fancy glows1 with that     
awful melancholy1 that sublime          
tenderness1 so near a-kin to devotion4  
,i do not say1 that these  devotional   
feelings are of more use1 in a moral    
sense1 than any  other emotion of taste2
 but ,i contend1 that the theatrical    
pomp  which gratifies our senses1 is to 
be preferred to the cold parade  that   
insults the understanding without       
reaching the heart4    ,amongst remarks 
on national education1 such observations
 cannot be  misplaced1 especially as the
 supporters of these establishments1    
degenerated into puerilities1 affect to 
be the champions of  religion4          
,religion1 pure source of comfort in    
this vale of tears6  how has thy clear  
stream been muddied by the dabblers1 who
 have  presumptuously endeavoured to    

confine in one narrow channel1 the      
living waters that ever flow toward     
,god-- the sublime ocean of  existence6 
,what would life be without that peace  
which the love of  ,god1 when built on  
humanity1 alone can impart8  ,every     
earthly  affection turns back1 at       
intervals1 to prey upon the heart that  
feeds it2 and the purest effusions of   
benevolence1 often rudely  damped by    
men1 must mount as a free-will offering 
to ,him who gave  them birth1 whose     
bright image they faintly reflect4      
,in public schools1 however1 religion1  
confounded with irksome  ceremonies and 
unreasonable restraints1 assumes the    
most ungracious  aspect3  not the sober 
austere one that commands respect whilst
 it  inspires fear2 but a ludicrous     
cast1 that serves to point a pun4  ,for1
 in fact1 most of the good stories and  
smart things which  enliven the spirits 
that have been concentrated at whist1   
are  manufactured out of the incidents  
to which the very men labour to  give a 

droll turn who countenance the abuse to 
live on the spoil4    ,there is not1    
perhaps1 in the kingdom1 a more         
dogmatical or  luxurious set of men1    
than the pedantic tyrants who reside in 
colleges and preside at public schools4 
,the vacations are equally  injurious to
 the morals of the masters and pupils1  
and the  intercourse1 which the former  
keep up with the nobility1 introduces   
the same vanity and extravagance into   
their families1 which banish  domestic  
duties and comforts from the lordly     
mansion1 whose state  is awkwardly aped 
on a smaller scale4  ,the boys1 who live
 at a  great expence with the masters   
and assistants1 are never  domesticated1
 though placed there for that purpose2  
for1 after a  silent dinner1 they       
swallow a hasty glass of wine1 and      
retire to  plan some mischievous trick1 
or to ridicule the person or manners  of
 the very people they have just been    
cringing to1 and whom they  ought to    
consider as the representatives of their

 parents4    ,can it then be a matter of
 surprise1 that boys become selfish and 
vicious who are thus shut out from      
social converse8 or that a mitre  often 
graces the brow of one of these diligent
 pastors8 ,the desire  of living in the 
same style1 as the rank just above them1
 infects  each individual and every     
class of people1 and meanness is the    
concomitant of this ignoble ambition2   
but those professions are  most debasing
 whose ladder is patronage2 yet out of  
one of these  professions the tutors of 
youth are in general chosen4  ,but1 can 
they be expected to inspire independent 
sentiments1 whose conduct  must be      
regulated by the cautious prudence that 
is ever on the  watch for preferment8   
,so far1 however1 from thinking of the  
morals of boys1 ,i have heard  several  
masters of schools argue1 that they only
 undertook to teach  ,latin and ,greek2 
and that they had fulfilled their duty1 
by sending  some good scholars to       
college4    ,a few good scholars1 ,i    

grant1 may have been formed by emulation
 and  discipline2 but1 to bring forward 
these clever boys1 the health and       
morals of a number have been sacrificed4
    ,the sons of our gentry and wealthy 
commoners are mostly educated at  these 
seminaries1 and will any one pretend to 
assert1 that the  majority1 making every
 allowance1 come under the description  
of  tolerable scholars8    ,it is not   
for the benefit of society that a few   
brilliant men  should be brought forward
 at the expence of the multitude4  ,it  
is  true1 that great men seem to start  
up1 as great revolutions occur1  at     
proper intervals1 to restore order1 and 
to blow aside the clouds  that thicken  
over the face of truth2 but let more    
reason and virtue  prevail in society1  
and these strong winds would not be     
necessary4  ,public education1 of every 
denomination1 should be directed to form
  citizens2 but if you wish to make good
 citizens1 you must first  exercise the 
affections of a son and a brother4      

,this is the only  way to expand the    
heart2 for public affections1 as well as
 public  virtues1 must ever grow out of 
the private character1 or they are      
merely meteors that shoot athwart a dark
 sky1 and disappear as they  are gazed  
at and admired4    ,few1 ,i believe1    
have had much affection for mankind1 who
 did not  first love their parents1     
their brothers1 sisters1 and even the   
domestic brutes1 whom they first played 
with4  ,the exercise of  youthful       
sympathies forms the moral temperature2 
and it is the  recollection of these    
first affections and pursuits1 that     
gives  life to those that are afterwards
 more under the direction of  reason4   
,in youth1 the fondest friendships are  
formed1 the genial  juices mounting at  
the same time1 kindly mix2 or1 rather   
the heart1  tempered for the reception  
of friendship1 is accustomed to seek for
  pleasure in something more noble than 
the churlish gratification of  appetite4
    ,in order then to inspire a love of 

home and domestic pleasures1  children  
ought to be educated at home1 for       
riotous holidays only  make them fond of
 home for their own sakes4  ,yet1 the   
vacations1  which do not foster domestic
 affections1 continually disturb the    
course of study1 and render any plan of 
improvement abortive which  includes    
temperance2 still1 were they abolished1 
children would be  entirely separated   
from their parents1 and ,i question     
whether they  would become better       
citizens by sacrificing the preparatory 
affections1 by destroying the force of  
relationships that render  the marriage 
state as necessary as respectable4      
,but1 if a private  education produce   
self-importance1 or insulates a man in  
his  family1 the evil is only shifted1  
not remedied4    ,this train of         
reasoning brings me back to a subject1  
on which ,i  mean to dwell1 the         
necessity of establishing proper        
day-schools4    ,but these should be    
national establishments1 for whilst     

school-masters are dependent on the     
caprice of parents1 little  exertion can
 be expected from them1 more than is    
necessary to  please ignorant people4   
,indeed1 the necessity of a master's    
giving  the parents some sample of the  
boy's abilities1 which during the       
vacation1 is shown to every visiter1 is 
productive of more mischief  than would 
at first be supposed4  ,for they are    
seldom done  entirely1 to speak with    
moderation1 by the child itself2 thus   
the  master countenances falsehoods1 or 
winds the poor machine up to  some      
extraordinary exertion1 that injures the
 wheels1 and stops the  progress of     
gradual improvement4  ,the memory is    
loaded with  unintelligible words1 to   
make a show of1 without the             
understanding's acquiring any distinct  
ideas3 but only that  education deserves
 emphatically to be termed cultivation  
of mind1  which teaches young people how
 to begin to think4  ,the imagination   
should not be allowed to debauch the    

understanding before it gained          
strength1 or vanity will become the     
forerunner of vice3  for every  way of  
exhibiting the acquirements of a child  
is injurious to its  moral character4   
,how much time is lost in teaching them 
to recite what they do not  understand6 
whilst1 seated on benches1 all in their 
best array1 the  mammas listen with     
astonishment to the parrot-like prattle1
 uttered  in solemn cadences1 with all  
the pomp of ignorance and folly4  ,such 
exhibitions only serve to strike the    
spreading fibres of vanity  through the 
whole mind2 for they neither teach      
children to speak  fluently1 nor behave 
gracefully4  ,so far from it1 that these
  frivolous pursuits might              
comprehensively be termed the study of  
affectation3 for we now rarely see a    
simple1 bashful boy1 though  few people 
of taste were ever disgusted by that    
awkward  sheepishness so natural to the 
age1 which schools and an early         
introduction into society1 have changed 

into impudence and apish  grimace4      
,yet1 how can these things be remedied  
whilst schoolmasters depend  entirely on
 parents for a subsistence2 and when so 
many rival  schools hang out their lures
 to catch the attention of vain fathers 
and mothers1 whose parental affection   
only leads them to wish1 that  their    
children should outshine those of their 
neighbours8    ,without great good luck1
 a sensible1 conscientious man1 would   
starve before he could raise a school1  
if he disdained to bubble  weak parents1
 by practising the secret tricks of the 
craft4    ,in the best regulated        
schools1 however1 where swarms are not  
crammed together many bad habits must be
 acquired2 but1 at common  schools1 the 
body1 heart1 and understanding1 are     
equally stunted1  for parents are often 
only in quest of the cheapest school1   
and the  master could not live1 if he   
did not take a much greater number  than
 he could manage himself2 nor will the  
scanty pittance1 allowed  for each      

child1 permit him to hire ushers        
sufficient to assist in  the discharge  
of the mechanical part of the business4 
,besides1  whatever appearance the house
 and garden may make1 the children do   
not enjoy the comforts of either1 for   
they are continually  reminded1 by      
irksome restrictions1 that they are not 
at home1 and  the state-rooms1 garden1  
etc4 must be kept in order for the      
recreation of the parents2 who1 of a    
,sunday1 visit the school1 and  are     
impressed by the very parade that       
renders the situation of  their children
 uncomfortable4    ,with what disgust   
have ,i heard sensible women1 for girls 
are more  restrained and cowed than     
boys1 speak of the wearisome confinement
  which they endured at school4  ,not   
allowed1 perhaps1 to step out of  one   
broad walk in a superb garden1 and      
obliged to pace with steady  deportment 
stupidly backwards and forwards1 holding
 up their heads1  and turning out their 
toes1 with shoulders braced back1       

instead of  bounding1 as nature directs 
to complete her own design1 in the      
various attitudes so conducive to       
health4  ,the pure animal spirits1      
which make both mind and body shoot out1
 and unfold the tender  blossoms of hope
 are turned sour1 and vented in vain    
wishes1 or  pert repinings1 that        
contract the faculties and spoil the    
temper2  else they mount to the brain   
and sharpening the understanding  before
 it gains proportionable strength1      
produce that pitiful  cunning which     
disgracefully characterizes the female  
mind--and ,i  fear will ever            
characterize it whilst women remain the 
slaves of  power6    ,the little respect
 which the male world pay to chastity   
is1 ,i am  persuaded1 the grand source  
of many of the physical and moral evils 
that torment mankind1 as well as of the 
vices and follies that  degrade and     
destroy women2 yet at school1 boys      
infallibly lose that  decent            
bashfulness1 which might have ripened   

into modesty at home4    ,i have already
 animadverted on the bad habits which   
females acquire  when they are shut up  
together2 and ,i think that the         
observation  may fairly be extended to  
the other sex1 till the natural         
inference  is drawn which ,i have had in
 view throughout--that to improve both  
sexes they ought1 not only in private   
families1 but in public  schools1 to be 
educated together4  ,if marriage be the 
cement of  society1 mankind should all  
be educated after the same model1 or    
the intercourse of the sexes will never 
deserve the name of  fellowship1 nor    
will women ever fulfil the peculiar     
duties of their  sex1 till they become  
enlightened citizens1 till they become  
free1  by being enabled to earn their   
own subsistence1 independent of men2  in
 the same manner1 ,i mean1 to prevent   
misconstruction1 as one man  is         
independent of another4  ,nay1 marriage 
will never be held sacred  till women by
 being brought up with men1 are prepared

 to be their  companions1 rather than   
their mistresses2 for the mean doublings
 of  cunning will ever render them      
contemptible1 whilst oppression  renders
 them timid4  ,so convinced am ,i of    
this truth1 that ,i will  venture to    
predict1 that virtue will never prevail 
in society till  the virtues of both    
sexes are founded on reason2 and1 till  
the  affection common to both are       
allowed to gain their due strength by   
the discharge of mutual duties4    ,were
 boys and girls permitted to pursue the 
same studies together1  those graceful  
decencies might early be inculcated     
which produce  modesty1 without those   
sexual distinctions that taint the mind4
  ,lessons of politeness1 and that      
formulary of decorum1 which treads  on  
the heels of falsehood1 would be        
rendered useless by habitual  propriety 
of behaviour4  ,not1 indeed put on for  
visiters like the  courtly robe of      
politeness1 but the sober effect of     
cleanliness of  mind4  ,would not this  

simple elegance of sincerity be a chaste
  homage paid to domestic affections1   
far surpassing the meretricious         
compliments that shine with false lustre
 in the heartless  intercourse of       
fashionable life8  ,but1 till more      
understanding  preponderate in society1 
there will ever be a want of heart and  
taste1 and the harlot's rouge will      
supply the place of that  celestial     
suffusion which only virtuous affections
 can give to the  face4  ,gallantry1 and
 what is called love1 may subsist       
without  simplicity of character2 but   
the main pillars of friendship1 are     
respect and confidence--esteem is never 
founded on it cannot tell  what4    ,a  
taste for the fine arts requires great  
cultivation2 but not more  than a taste 
for the virtuous affections3  and both  
suppose that  enlargement of mind which 
opens so many sources of mental         
pleasure4  ,why do people hurry to noisy
 scenes and crowded circles8  ,i should 
answer1 because they want activity of   

mind1 because they have not  cherished  
the virtues of the heart4  ,they only1  
therefore1 see and  feel in the gross1  
and continually pine after variety1     
finding  every thing that is simple1    
insipid4    ,this argument may be       
carried further than philosophers are   
aware  of1 for if nature destined woman1
 in particular1 for the discharge  of   
domestic duties1 she made her           
susceptible of the attached  affections 
in a great degree4  ,now women are      
notoriously fond of  pleasure2 and      
naturally must be so1 according to my   
definition1  because they cannot enter  
into the minutiae of domestic taste2    
lacking judgment the foundation of all  
taste4  ,for the  understanding1 in     
spite of sensual cavillers1 reserves to 
itself  the privilege of conveying pure 
joy to the heart4    ,with what a       
languid yawn have ,i seen an admirable  
poem thrown down1  that a man of true   
taste returns to1 again and again with  
rapture2  and1 whilst melody has almost 

suspended respiration1 a lady has  asked
 me where ,i bought my gown4  ,i have   
seen also an eye glanced  coldly over a 
most exquisite picture1 rest1 sparkling 
with  pleasure1 on a caricature rudely  
sketched2 and whilst some terrific      
feature in nature has spread a sublime  
stillness through my soul1 ,i  have been
 desired to observe the pretty tricks of
 a lap-dog1 that  my perverse fate      
forced me to travel with4  ,is it       
surprising1 that  such a tasteless being
 should rather caress this dog than her 
children8  ,or1 that she should prefer  
the rant of flattery to the  simple     
accents of sincerity8    ,to illustrate 
this remark ,i must be allowed to       
observe1 that men of  the first genius1 
and most cultivated minds1 have appeared
 to have  the highest relish for the    
simple beauties of nature2 and they must
  have forcibly felt1 what they have so 
well described1 the charm1  which       
natural affections1 and unsophisticated 
feelings spread round  the human        

character4  ,it is this power of looking
 into the heart1  and responsively      
vibrating with each emotion1 that       
enables the poet  to personify each     
passion1 and the painter to sketch with 
a pencil  of fire4    ,true taste is    
ever the work of the understanding      
employed in  observing natural effects2 
and till women have more understanding1 
it is vain to expect them to possess    
domestic taste4  ,their lively  senses  
will ever be at work to harden their    
hearts1 and the  emotions struck out of 
them will continue to be vivid and      
transitory1 unless a proper education   
stores their minds with  knowledge4     
,it is the want of domestic taste1 and  
not the acquirement of  knowledge1 that 
takes women out of their families1 and  
tears the  smiling babe from the breast 
that ought to afford it nourishment4    
,women have been allowed to remain in   
ignorance1 and slavish  dependence1     
many1 very many years1 and still we hear
 of nothing but  their fondness of      

pleasure and sway1 their preference of  
rakes and  soldiers1 their childish     
attachment to toys1 and the vanity that 
makes them value accomplishments more   
than virtues4    ,history brings forward
 a fearful catalogue of the crimes which
  their cunning has produced1 when the  
weak slaves have had  sufficient address
 to over-reach their masters4  ,in      
,france1 and in  how many other         
countries have men been the luxurious   
despots1 and  women the crafty          
ministers8  ,does this prove that       
ignorance and  dependence domesticate   
them8  ,is not their folly the by-word  
of the  libertines1 who relax in their  
society2 and do not men of sense        
continually lament1 that an immoderate  
fondness for dress and  dissipation     
carries the mother of a family for ever 
from home8  ,their hearts have not been 
debauched by knowledge1 nor their minds 
led astray by scientific pursuits2 yet1 
they do not fulfil the  peculiar duties1
 which as women they are called upon by 

nature to  fulfil4  ,on the contrary1   
the state of warfare which subsists     
between the sexes1 makes them employ    
those wiles1 that frustrate  the more   
open designs of force4    ,when1        
therefore1 ,i call women slaves1 ,i mean
 in a political and  civil sense2 for1  
indirectly they obtain too much power1  
and are  debased by their exertions to  
obtain illicit sway4    ,let an         
enlightened nation then try what effect 
reason would have to  bring them back to
 nature1 and their duty2 and allowing   
them to  share the advantages of        
education and government with man1 see  
whether they will become better1 as they
 grow wiser and become  free4  ,they    
cannot be injured by the experiment2 for
 it is not in  the power of man to      
render them more insignificant than they
 are at  present4    ,to render this    
practicable1 day schools for particular 
ages should  be established by          
government1 in which boys and girls     
might be  educated together4  ,the      

school for the younger children1 from   
five  to nine years of age1 ought to be 
absolutely free and open to all         
classes499  ,a sufficient number of     
masters should also be chosen by  a     
select committee1 in each parish1 to    
whom any complaint of  negligence1 etc4 
might be made1 if signed by six of the  
children's  parents4    799,footnote4   
,treating this part of the subject1 ,i  
have borrowed  some hints from a very   
sensible pamphlet written by the late   
bishop  of ,autun on public ,education47
    ,ushers would then be unnecessary2  
for1 ,i believe1 experience will  ever  
prove1 that this kind of subordinate    
authority is particularly  injurious to 
the morals of youth4  ,what1 indeed1 can
 tend to  deprave the character more    
than outward submission and inward      
contempt8  ,yet1 how can boys be        
expected to treat an usher with  respect
 when the master seems to consider him  
in the light of a  servant1 and almost  
to countenance the ridicule which       

becomes the  chief amusement of the boys
 during the play hours8    ,but nothing 
of this kind could occur in an          
elementary day-school1  where boys and  
girls1 the rich and poor1 should meet   
together4  ,and  to prevent any of the  
distinctions of vanity1 they should be  
dressed alike1 and all obliged to submit
 to the same discipline1 or  leave the  
school4  ,the school-room ought to be   
surrounded by a  large piece of ground1 
in which the children might be usefully 
exercised1 for at this age they should  
not be confined to any  sedentary       
employment for more than an hour at a   
time4  ,but these  relaxations might all
 be rendered a part of elementary       
education1  for many things improve and 
amuse the senses1 when introduced as a  
kind of show1 to the principles of which
 dryly laid down1 children  would turn a
 deaf ear4  ,for instance1 botany1      
mechanics1 and  astronomy4  ,reading1   
writing1 arithmetic1 natural history1   
and some  simple experiments in natural 

philosophy1 might fill up the day2  but 
these pursuits should never encroach on 
gymnastic plays in the  open air4  ,the 
elements of religion1 history1 the      
history of man1  and politics1 might    
also be taught by conversations1 in the 
socratic form4    ,after the age of     
nine1 girls and boys1 intended for      
domestic  employments1 or mechanical    
trades1 ought to be removed to other    
schools1 and receive instruction1 in    
some measure appropriated to  the       
destination of each individual1 the two 
sexes being still  together in the      
morning2 but in the afternoon1 the girls
 should  attend a school1 where plain   
work1 mantua-making1 millinery1 etc4    
would be their employment4    ,the young
 people of superior abilities1 or       
fortune1 might now be  taught1 in       
another school1 the dead and living     
languages1 the  elements of science1 and
 continue the study of history and      
politics1 on a more extensive scale1    
which would not exclude polite          

literature4  ,girls and boys still      
together8 ,i hear some readers  ask3    
yes4  ,and ,i should not fear any other 
consequence1 than that  some early      
attachment might take place2 which1     
whilst it had the  best effect on the   
moral character of the young people1    
might not  perfectly agree with the     
views of the parents1 for it will be a  
long time1 ,i fear1 before the world is 
so enlightened1 that  parents1 only     
anxious to render their children        
virtuous1 will let  them choose         
companions for life themselves4         
,besides1 this would be a sure way to   
promote early marriages1 and  from early
 marriages the most salutary physical   
and moral effects  naturally flow4      
,what a different character does a      
married citizen  assume from the selfish
 coxcomb1 who lives but for himself1 and
 who  is often afraid to marry lest he  
should not be able to live in a  certain
 style4  ,great emergencies excepted1   
which would rarely  occur in a society  

of which equality was the basis1 a man  
could  only be prepared to discharge the
 duties of public life1 by the  habitual
 practice of those inferior ones which  
form the man4    ,in this plan of       
education1 the constitution of boys     
would not be  ruined by the early       
debaucheries1 which now make men so     
selfish1  nor girls rendered weak and   
vain1 by indolence and frivolous        
pursuits4  ,but1 ,i presuppose1 that    
such a degree of equality should  be    
established between the sexes as would  
shut out gallantry and  coquetry1 yet   
allow friendship and love to temper the 
heart for the  discharge of higher      
duties4    ,these would be schools of   
morality--and the happiness of man1     
allowed to flow from the pure springs of
 duty and affection1 what  advances     
might not the human mind make8  ,society
 can only be happy  and free in         
proportion as it is virtuous2 but the   
present  distinctions1 established in   
society1 corrode all private1 and  blast

 all public virtue4    ,i have already  
inveighed against the custom of         
confining girls to  their needle1 and   
shutting them out from all political and
 civil  employments2 for by thus        
narrowing their minds they are rendered 
unfit to fulfil the peculiar duties     
which nature has assigned them4    ,only
 employed about the little incidents of 
the day1 they  necessarily grow up      
cunning4  ,my very soul has often       
sickened at  observing the sly tricks   
practised by women to gain some foolish 
thing on which their silly hearts were  
set4  ,not allowed to dispose  of money1
 or call any thing their own1 they learn
 to turn the  market penny2 or1 should a
 husband offend1 by staying from home1  
or  give rise to some emotions of       
jealousy--a new gown1 or any pretty     
bauble1 smooths ,juno's angry brow4     
,but these ,,littlenesses would not     
degrade their character1 if women  were 
led to respect themselves1 if political 
and moral subjects  were opened to them2

 and ,i will venture to affirm1 that    
this is the  only way to make them      
properly attentive to their domestic    
duties4  ,an active mind embraces the   
whole circle of its duties1 and finds   
time enough for all4  ,it is not1 ,i    
assert1 a bold attempt to  emulate      
masculine virtues2 it is not the        
enchantment of literary  pursuits1 or   
the steady investigation of scientific  
subjects1 that  lead women astray from  
duty4  ,no1 it is indolence and vanity  
--the  love of pleasure and the love of 
sway1 that will reign paramount in  an  
empty mind4  ,i say empty1 emphatically1
 because the education  which women now 
receive scarcely deserves the name4     
,for the little  knowledge they are led 
to acquire during the important years of
  youth1 is merely relative to          
accomplishments2 and accomplishments    
without a bottom1 for unless the        
understanding be cultivated1            
superficial and monotonous is every     
grace4  ,like the charms of a  made-up  

face1 they only strike the senses in a  
crowd2 but at home1  wanting mind1 they 
want variety4  ,the consequence is      
obvious2 in  gay scenes of dissipation  
we meet the artificial mind and face1   
for  those who fly from solitude dread  
next to solitude1 the domestic  circle2 
not having it in their power to amuse or
 interest1 they  feel their own         
insignificance1 or find nothing to amuse
 or interest  themselves4    ,besides1  
what can be more indelicate than a      
girl's coming out in  the fashionable   
world8  ,which1 in other words1 is to   
bring to  market a marriageable miss1   
whose person is taken from one public   
place to another1 richly caparisoned4   
,yet1 mixing in the giddy  circle under 
restraint1 these butterflies long to    
flutter at large1  for the first        
affection of their souls is their own   
persons1 to  which their attention has  
been called with the most sedulous care1
  whilst they were preparing for the    
period that decides their fate  for     

life4  ,instead of pursuing this idle   
routine1 sighing for  tasteless show1   
and heartless state1 with what dignity  
would the  youths of both sexes form    
attachments in the schools that ,i have 
cursorily pointed out2 in which1 as life
 advanced1 dancing1 music1  and drawing1
 might be admitted as relaxations1 for  
at these schools  young people of       
fortune ought to remain1 more or less1  
till they  were of age4  ,those1 who    
were designed for particular            
professions1  might attend1 three or    
four mornings in the week1 the schools  
appropriated for their immediate        
instruction4    ,i only drop these      
observations at present1 as hints2      
rather1 indeed  as an outline of the    
plan ,i mean1 than a digested one2 but  
,i must  add1 that ,i highly approve of 
one regulation mentioned in the         
pamphlet already alluded to 7,the       
,bishop of ,autun71 that of making  the 
children and youths independent of the  
masters respecting  punishments4  ,they 

should be tried by their peers1 which   
would be  an admirable method of fixing 
sound principles of justice in the      
mind1 and might have the happiest effect
 on the temper1 which is  very early    
soured or irritated by tyranny1 till it 
becomes  peevishly cunning1 or          
ferociously overbearing4    ,my         
imagination darts forward with          
benevolent fervour to greet these       
amiable and respectable groups1 in spite
 of the sneering of cold  hearts1 who   
are at liberty to utter1 with frigid    
self-importance1  the damning epithet-- 
romantic2 the force of which ,i shall   
endeavour to blunt by repeating the     
words of an eloquent moralist4  ,i know 
not whether the allusions of a truly    
humane heart1 whose  zeal renders every 
thing easy1 is not preferable to that   
rough and  repulsing reason1 which      
always finds in indifference for the    
public  good1 the first obstacle to     
whatever would promote it4    ,i know   
that libertines will also exclaim1 that 

woman would be  unsexed by acquiring    
strength of body and mind1 and that     
beauty1  soft bewitching beauty6 would  
no longer adorn the daughters of men4   
,i am of a very different opinion1 for  
,i think1 that1 on the  contrary1 we    
should then see dignified beauty1 and   
true grace2 to  produce which1 many     
powerful physical and moral causes would
  concur4  ,not relaxed beauty1 it is   
true1 nor the graces of  helplessness2  
but such as appears to make us respect  
the human body  as a majestic pile1 fit 
to receive a noble inhabitant1 in the   
relics of antiquity4    ,i do not forget
 the popular opinion1 that the ,grecian 
statues were  not modelled after nature4
  ,i mean1 not according to the         
proportions of a particular man2 but    
that beautiful limbs and  features were 
selected from various bodies to form an 
harmonious  whole4  ,this might1 in some
 degree1 be true4  ,the fine ideal      
picture of an exalted imagination might 
be superior to the  materials which the 

painter found in nature1 and thus it    
might with  propriety be termed rather  
the model of mankind than of a man4  ,it
  was not1 however1 the mechanical      
selection of limbs and features1  but   
the ebullition of an heated fancy that  
burst forth2 and the  fine senses and   
enlarged understanding of the artist    
selected the  solid matter1 which he    
drew into this glowing focus4    ,i     
observed that it was not mechanical1    
because a whole was  produced--a model  
of that grand simplicity1 of those      
concurring  energies1 which arrest our  
attention and command our reverence4    
,for only insipid lifeless beauty is    
produced by a servile copy of  even     
beautiful nature4  ,yet1 independent of 
these observations1 ,i  believe1 that   
the human form must have been far more  
beautiful than  it is at present1       
because extreme indolence1 barbarous    
ligatures1  and many causes1 which      
forcibly act on it1 in our luxurious    
state  of society1 did not retard its   

expansion1 or render it deformed4       
,exercise and cleanliness appear to be  
not only the surest means of  preserving
 health1 but of promoting beauty1 the   
physical causes  only considered2 yet1  
this is not sufficient1 moral ones must 
concur1 or beauty will be merely of that
 rustic kind which blooms  on the       
innocent1 wholesome countenances of some
 country people1  whose minds have not  
been exercised4  ,to render the person  
perfect1  physical and moral beauty     
ought to be attained at the same time2  
each lending and receiving force by the 
combination4  ,judgment must  reside on 
the brow1 affection and fancy beam in   
the eye1 and  humanity curve the cheek1 
or vain is the sparkling of the finest  
eye or the elegantly turned finish of   
the fairest features2  whilst  in every 
motion that displays the active limbs   
and well-knit  joints1 grace and modesty
 should appear4  ,but this fair         
assemblage  is not to be brought        
together by chance2 it is the reward of 

exertions met to support each other2 for
 judgment can only be  acquired by      
reflection1 affection1 by the discharge 
of duties1 and  humanity by the exercise
 of compassion to every living creature4
    ,humanity to animals should be      
particularly inculcated as a part of    
national education1 for it is not at    
present one of our national  virtues4   
,tenderness for their humble dumb       
domestics1 amongst the  lower class1 is 
oftener to be found in a savage than a  
civilized  state4  ,for civilization    
prevents that intercourse which creates 
affection in the rude hut1 or mud cabin1
 and leads uncultivated  minds who are  
only depraved by the refinements which  
prevail in the  society1 where they are 
trodden under foot by the rich1 to      
domineer  over them to revenge the      
insults that they are obliged to bear   
from  their superiours4    ,this        
habitual cruelty is first caught at     
school1 where it is one of  the rare    
sports of the boys to torment the       

miserable brutes that  fall in their    
way4  ,the transition1 as they grow up1 
from barbarity  to brutes to domestic   
tyranny over wives1 children1 and       
servants1  is very easy4  ,justice1 or  
even benevolence1 will not be a powerful
  spring of action1 unless it extend to 
the whole creation2 nay1 ,i  believe    
that it may be delivered as an axiom1   
that those who can  see pain1 unmoved1  
will soon learn to inflict it4    ,the  
vulgar are swayed by present feelings1  
and the habits which  they have         
accidentally acquired2 but on partial   
feelings much  dependence cannot be     
placed1 though they be just2 for1 when  
they  are not invigorated by reflection1
 custom weakens them1 till they  are    
scarcely felt4  ,the sympathies of our  
nature are strengthened  by pondering   
cogitations1 and deadened by thoughtless
 use4  ,macbeth's heart smote him more  
for one murder1 the first1 than for  a  
hundred subsequent ones1 which were     
necessary to back it4  ,but1  when ,i   

used the epithet vulgar1 ,i did not mean
 to confine my remark  to the poor1 for 
partial humanity1 founded on present    
sensations or  whim1 is quite as        
conspicuous1 if not more so1 amongst the
 rich4    ,the lady who sheds tears for 
the bird starved in a snare1 and        
execrates the devils in the shape of    
men1 who goad to madness the  poor ox1  
or whip the patient ass1 tottering under
 a burden above  its strength1 will1    
nevertheless1 keep her coachman and     
horses  whole hours waiting for her1    
when the sharp frost bites1 or the  rain
 beats against the well-closed windows  
which do not admit a  breath of air to  
tell her how roughly the wind blows     
without4  ,and  she who takes her dogs  
to bed1 and nurses them with a parade of
  sensibility1 when sick1 will suffer   
her babes to grow up crooked in  a      
nursery4  ,this illustration of my      
argument is drawn from a matter  of     
fact4  ,the woman whom ,i allude to was 
handsome1 reckoned very  handsome1 by   

those who do not miss the mind when the 
face is plump  and fair2 but her        
understanding had not been led from     
female duties  by literature1 nor her   
innocence debauched by knowledge4  ,no1 
she  was quite feminine1 according to   
the masculine acceptation of the  word2 
and1 so far from loving these spoiled   
brutes that filled the  place which her 
children ought to have occupied1 she    
only lisped  out a pretty mixture of    
,french and ,english nonsense1 to please
 the  men who flocked round her4  ,the  
wife1 mother1 and human creature1  were 
all swallowed up by the factitious      
character1 which an  improper education1
 and the selfish vanity of beauty1 had  
produced4    ,i do not like to make a   
distinction without a difference1 and ,i
 own  that ,i have been as much         
disgusted by the fine lady who took her 
lap-dog to her bosom1 instead of her    
child2 as by the ferocity of a  man1    
who1 beating his horse1 declared1 that  
he knew as well when he  did wrong as a 

,christian4    ,this brood of folly     
shows how mistaken they are who1 if they
 allow  women to leave their harams1 do 
not cultivate their understanding1  in  
order to plant virtues in their hearts4 
,for had they sense1  they might acquire
 that domestic taste which would lead   
them to  love with reasonable           
subordination their whole family1 from  
the  husband to the house-dog2 nor would
 they ever insult humanity in  the      
person of the most menial servant1 by   
paying more attention to  the comfort of
 a brute1 than to that of a             
fellow-creature4    ,my observations on 
national education are obviously hints2 
but ,i  principally wish to enforce the 
necessity of educating the sexes        
together to perfect both1 and of making 
children sleep at home1  that they may  
learn to love home2 yet to make private 
support  instead of smothering public   
affections1 they should be sent to      
school to mix with a number of equals1  
for only by the jostlings of  equality  

can we form a just opinion of ourselves4
    ,to render mankind more virtuous1   
and happier of course1 both sexes  must 
act from the same principle2 but how can
 that be expected when  only one is     
allowed to see the reasonableness of it8
  ,to render  also the social compact   
truly equitable1 and in order to spread 
those enlightening principles1 which    
alone can meliorate the fate  of man1   
women must be allowed to found their    
virtue on knowledge1  which is scarcely 
possible unless they be educated by the 
same  pursuits as men4  ,for they are   
now made so inferiour by ignorance  and 
low desires1 as not to deserve to be    
ranked with them2 or1 by  the serpentine
 wrigglings of cunning they mount the   
tree of  knowledge and only acquire     
sufficient to lead men astray4    ,it is
 plain from the history of all nations1 
that women cannot be  confined to merely
 domestic pursuits1 for they will not   
fulfil  family duties1 unless their     
minds take a wider range1 and whilst    

they are kept in ignorance1 they become 
in the same proportion1 the  slaves of  
pleasure as they are the slaves of man4 
,nor can they be  shut out of great     
enterprises1 though the narrowness of   
their minds  often make them mar what   
they are unable to comprehend4    ,the  
libertinism1 and even the virtues of    
superior men1 will always  give women1  
of some description1 great power over   
them2 and these  weak women1 under the  
influence of childish passions and      
selfish  vanity1 will throw a false     
light over the objects which the very   
men view with their eyes1 who ought to  
enlighten their judgment4  ,men of      
fancy1 and those sanguine characters who
 mostly hold the  helm of human affairs1
 in general1 relax in the society of    
women2  and surely ,i need not cite to  
the most superficial reader of  history1
 the numerous examples of vice and      
oppression which the  private intrigues 
of female favourites have produced2 not 
to dwell  on the mischief that naturally

 arises from the blundering             
interposition of well-meaning folly4    
,for in the transactions of  business it
 is much better to have to deal with a  
knave than a  fool1 because a knave     
adheres to some plan2 and any plan of   
reason  may be seen through much sooner 
than a sudden flight of folly4  ,the    
power which vile and foolish women have 
had over wise men1 who  possessed       
sensibility1 is notorious2 ,i shall only
 mention one  instance4    ,whoever drew
 a more exalted female character than   
,rousseau8  though  in the lump he      
constantly endeavoured to degrade the   
sex4  ,and why  was he thus anxious8    
,truly to justify to himself the        
affection  which weakness and virtue had
 made him cherish for that fool         
,theresa4  ,he could not raise her to   
the common level of her sex2  and       
therefore he laboured to bring woman    
down to her's4  ,he found  her a        
convenient humble companion1 and pride  
made him determine to  find some        

superior virtues in the being whom he   
chose to live with2  but did not her    
conduct during his life1 and after his  
death1  clearly show how grossly he was 
mistaken who called her a celestial     
innocent4  ,nay1 in the bitterness of   
his heart1 he himself laments1  that    
when his bodily infirmities made him no 
longer treat her like  a woman1 she     
ceased to have an affection for him4    
,and it was very  natural that she      
should1 for having so few sentiments in 
common1  when the sexual tie was broken1
 what was to hold her8  ,to hold her    
affection whose sensibility was confined
 to one sex1 nay1 to one  man1 it       
requires sense to turn sensibility into 
the broad channel  of humanity3 many    
women have not mind enough to have an   
affection  for a woman1 or a friendship 
for a man4  ,but the sexual weakness    
that makes woman depend on man for a    
subsistence1 produces a kind  of cattish
 affection1 which leads a wife to purr  
about her husband1  as she would about  

any man who fed and caressed her4       
,men1 are however1 often gratified by   
this kind of fondness which is  confined
 in a beastly manner to themselves1 but 
should they ever  become more virtuous1 
they will wish to converse at their     
fire-side  with a friend1 after they    
cease to play with a mistress4          
,besides1  understanding is necessary to
 give variety and interest to sensual   
enjoyments1 for low1 indeed1 in the     
intellectual scale1 is the mind  that   
can continue to love when neither virtue
 nor sense give a  human appearance to  
an animal appetite4  ,but sense will    
always  preponderate2 and if women are  
not1 in general1 brought more on a      
level with men1 some superior women1    
like the ,greek courtezans will         
assemble the men of abilities around    
them1 and draw from their  families many
 citizens1 who would have stayed at     
home1 had their  wives had more sense1  
or the graces which result from the     
exercise  of the understanding and      

fancy1 the legitimate parents of taste4 
,a  woman of talents1 if she be not     
absolutely ugly1 will always obtain     
great power1 raised by the weakness of  
her sex2 and in proportion  as men      
acquire virtue and delicacy3 by the     
exertion of reason1 they  will look for 
both in women1 but they can only acquire
 them in the  same way that men do4     
,in ,france or ,italy have the women    
confined themselves to domestic  life8  
though they have not hitherto had a     
political existence1 yet1  have they not
 illicitly had great sway8 corrupting   
themselves and  the men with whose      
passions they played8  ,in short1 in    
whatever  light ,i view the subject1    
reason and experience convince me1 that 
the only method of leading women to     
fulfil their peculiar duties1  is to    
free them from all restraint by allowing
 them to participate  the inherent      
rights of mankind4    ,make them free1  
and they will quickly become wise and   
virtuous1 as  men become more so2 for   

the improvement must be mutual1 or the  
justice which one half of the human race
 are obliged to submit to1  retorting on
 their oppressors1 the virtue of man    
will be worm-eaten  by the insect whom  
he keeps under his feet4    ,let men    
take their choice1 man and woman were   
made for each other1  though not to     
become one being2 and if they will not  
improve women1  they will deprave them6 
,i speak of the improvement and         
emancipation of the whole sex1 for ,i   
know that the behaviour of a few women1 
who by accident1 or  following a strong 
bent of nature1 have acquired a portion 
of  knowledge superior to that of the   
rest of their sex1 has often been       
over-bearing2 but there have been       
instances of women who1 attaining       
knowledge1 have not discarded modesty1  
nor have they always  pedantically      
appeared to despise the ignorance which 
they laboured  to disperse in their own 
minds4  ,the exclamations then which any
  advice respecting female learning1    

commonly produces1 especially  from     
pretty women1 often arise from envy4    
,when they chance to see  that even the 
lustre of their eyes1 and the flippant  
sportiveness  of refined coquetry will  
not always secure them attention1 during
 a  whole evening1 should a woman of a  
more cultivated understanding  endeavour
 to give a rational turn to the         
conversation1 the common  source of     
consolation is1 that such women seldom  
get husbands4  ,what arts have ,i not   
seen silly women use to interrupt by    
,,flirtation1 7a very significant word  
to describe such a manoeuvre7  a        
rational conversation1 which made the   
men forget that they were  pretty women4
    ,but1 allowing what is very natural 
to man--that the possession of  rare    
abilities is really calculated to excite
 over-weening pride1  disgusting in both
 men and women--in what a state of      
inferiority  must the female faculties  
have rusted when such a small portion of
  knowledge as those women attained1 who

 have sneeringly been termed  learned   
women1 could be singular8 ,sufficiently 
so to puff up the  possessor1 and excite
 envy in her contemporaries1 and some of
 the  other sex4  ,nay1 has not a little
 rationality exposed many women to  the 
severest censure8  ,i advert to well    
known-facts1 for ,i have  frequently    
heard women ridiculed1 and every little 
weakness  exposed1 only because they    
adopted the advice of some medical men1 
and deviated from the beaten track in   
their mode of treating their  infants4  
,i have actually heard this barbarous   
aversion to  innovation carried still   
further1 and a sensible woman           
stigmatized  as an unnatural mother1 who
 has thus been wisely solicitous to     
preserve the health of her children1    
when in the midst of her care  she has  
lost one by some of the casualties of   
infancy which no  prudence can ward off4
  ,her acquaintance have observed1 that 
this  was the consequence of new-fangled
 notions--the new-fangled notions  of   

ease and cleanliness4  ,and those who1  
pretending to experience1  though they  
have long adhered to prejudices that    
have1 according to  the opinion of the  
most sagacious physicians1 thinned the  
human  race1 almost rejoiced at the     
disaster that gave a kind of sanction   
to prescription4    ,indeed1 if it were 
only on this account1 the national      
education of  women is of the utmost    
consequence2 for what a number of human 
sacrifices are made to that moloch1     
prejudice6  ,and in how many  ways are  
children destroyed by the lasciviousness
 of man8  ,the want  of natural         
affection in many women1 who are drawn  
from their duty  by the admiration of   
men1 and the ignorance of others1 render
 the  infancy of man a much more        
perilous state than that of brutes2 yet 
men are unwilling to place women in     
situations proper to enable  them to    
acquire sufficient understanding to know
 how even to nurse  their babes4    ,so 
forcibly does this truth strike me1 that

 ,i would rest the whole  tendency of my
 reasoning upon it2 for whatever tends  
to  incapacitate the maternal character1
 takes woman out of her sphere4    ,but 
it is vain to expect the present race of
 weak mothers either to  take that      
reasonable care of a child's body1 which
 is necessary to  lay the foundation of 
a good constitution1 supposing that it  
do not  suffer for the sins of its      
fathers2 or to manage its temper so     
judiciously that the child will not     
have1 as it grows up1 to throw  off all 
that its mother1 its first instructor1  
directly or  indirectly taught1 and     
unless the mind have uncommon vigour1   
womanish follies will stick to the      
character throughout life4  ,the        
weakness of the mother will be visited  
on the children6  ,and whilst  women are
 educated to rely on their husbands for 
judgment1 this  must ever be the        
consequence1 for there is no improving  
an  understanding by halves1 nor can any
 being act wisely from  imitation1      

because in every circumstance of life   
there is a kind of  individuality1 which
 requires an exertion of judgment to    
modify  general rules4  ,the being who  
can think justly in one track1 will     
soon extend its intellectual empire2 and
 she who has sufficient  judgment to    
manage her children1 will not submit    
right or wrong1 to  her husband1 or     
patiently to the social laws which makes
 a  nonentity of a wife4    ,in public  
schools women1 to guard against the     
errors of ignorance1  should be taught  
the elements of anatomy and medicine1   
not only to  enable them to take proper 
care of their own health1 but to make   
them rational nurses of their infants1  
parents1 and husbands2 for  the bills of
 mortality are swelled by the blunders  
of self-willed  old women1 who give     
nostrums of their own1 without knowing  
any  thing of the human frame4  ,it is  
likewise proper1 only in a  domestic    
view1 to make women1 acquainted with the
 anatomy of the  mind1 by allowing the  

sexes to associate together in every    
pursuit2  and by leading them to observe
 the progress of the human              
understanding in the improvement of the 
sciences and arts2 never  forgetting the
 science of morality1 nor the study of  
the political  history of mankind4    ,a
 man has been termed a microcosm2 and   
every family might also be  called a    
state4  ,states1 it is true1 have mostly
 been governed by  arts that disgrace   
the character of man2 and the want of a 
just  constitution1 and equal laws1 have
 so perplexed the notions of the        
worldly wise1 that they more than       
question the reasonableness of          
contending for the rights of humanity4  
,thus morality1 polluted in  the        
national reservoir1 sends off streams of
 vice to corrupt the  constituent parts 
of the body politic2 but should more    
noble1 or  rather more just principles  
regulate the laws1 which ought to be    
the government of society1 and not those
 who execute them1 duty  might become   

the rule of private conduct4            
,besides1 by the exercise of their      
bodies and minds1 women would  acquire  
that mental activity so necessary in the
 maternal  character1 united with the   
fortitude that distinguishes steadiness 
of conduct from the obstinate           
perverseness of weakness4  ,for it is   
dangerous to advise the indolent to be  
steady1 because they  instantly become  
rigorous1 and to save themselves        
trouble1 punish  with severity faults   
that the patient fortitude of reason    
might  have prevented4    ,but fortitude
 presupposes strength of mind1 and is   
strength of mind  to be acquired by     
indolent acquiescence8  ,by asking      
advice instead  of exerting the         
judgment8  ,by obeying through fear1    
instead of  practising the forbearance1 
which we all stand in need of           
ourselves8  ,the conclusion which ,i    
wish to draw is obvious2 make  women    
rational creatures and free citizens1   
and they will quickly  become good      

wives1 and mothers2 that is--if men do  
not neglect the  duties of husbands and 
fathers4    ,discussing the advantages  
which a public and private education    
combined1 as ,i have sketched1 might    
rationally be expected to  produce1 ,i  
have dwelt most on such as are          
particularly relative to  the female    
world1 because ,i think the female world
 oppressed2 yet  the gangrene which the 
vices1 engendered by oppression have    
produced1 is not confined to the morbid 
part1 but pervades society  at large2   
so that when ,i wish to see my sex      
become more like moral  agents1 my heart
 bounds with the anticipation of the    
general  diffusion of that sublime      
contentment which only morality can     
diffuse4      ,,chapter #ac4    ,,some  
,,instances ,,of ,,the ,,folly ,,which  
,,the ,,ignorance ,,of ,,women          
,,generates2  ,,with ,,concluding       
,,reflections ,,on ,,the ,,moral        
,,improvement ,,that ,a  ,,revolution   
,,in ,,female ,,manners ,,might         

,,naturally ,,be ,,expected ,,to        
,,produce4    ,there are many follies1  
in some degree1 peculiar to women3  sins
  against reason1 of commission1 as well
 as of omission2 but all  flowing from  
ignorance or prejudice1 ,i shall only   
point out such as  appear to be         
injurious to their moral character4     
,and in  animadverting on them1 ,i wish 
especially to prove1 that the  weakness 
of mind and body1 which men have        
endeavoured by various  motives to      
perpetuate1 prevents their discharging  
the peculiar duty  of their sex3  for   
when weakness of body will not permit   
them to  suckle their children1 and     
weakness of mind makes them spoil their 
tempers--is woman in a natural state8   
,,section #ac4a4    ,one glaring        
instance of the weakness which proceeds 
from ignorance1  first claims attention1
 and calls for severe reproof4    ,in   
this metropolis a number of lurking     
leeches infamously gain a  subsistence  
by practising on the credulity of women1

 pretending to  cast nativities1 to use 
the technical phrase2 and many females  
who1  proud of their rank and fortune1  
look down on the vulgar with  sovereign 
contempt1 show by this credulity1 that  
the distinction is  arbitrary1 and that 
they have not sufficiently cultivated   
their  minds to rise above vulgar       
prejudices4  ,women1 because they have  
not been led to consider the knowledge  
of their duty as the one  thing         
necessary to know1 or1 to live in the   
present moment by the  discharge of it1 
are very anxious to peep into futurity1 
to learn  what they have to expect to   
render life interesting1 and to break   
the vacuum of ignorance4  ,i must be    
allowed to expostulate  seriously with  
the ladies1 who follow these idle       
inventions2 for  ladies1 mistresses of  
families1 are not ashamed to drive in   
their  own carriages to the door of the 
cunning man4  ,and if any of them       
should peruse this work1 ,i entreat them
 to answer to their own  hearts the     

following questions1 not forgetting that
 they are in the  presence of ,god4     
,do you believe that there is but one   
,god1 and that he is powerful1  wise1   
and good8    ,do you believe that all   
things were created by him1 and that all
  beings are dependent on him8    ,do   
you rely on his wisdom1 so conspicuous  
in his works1 and in your  own frame1   
and are you convinced1 that he has      
ordered all things  which do not come   
under the cognizance of your senses1 in 
the same  perfect harmony1 to fulfil his
 designs8    ,do you acknowledge that   
the power of looking into futurity and  
seeing things that are not1 as if they  
were1 is an attribute of the  ,creator8 
,and should he1 by an impression on the 
minds of his  creatures1 think fit to   
impart to them some event hid in the    
shades  of time1 yet unborn1 to whom    
would the secret be revealed by         
immediate inspiration8  ,the opinion of 
ages will answer this  question--to     
reverend old men1 to people             

distinguished for eminent  piety4       
,the oracles of old were thus delivered 
by priests dedicated to the  service of 
the ,god1 who was supposed to inspire   
them4  ,the glare of  worldly pomp which
 surrounded these impostors1 and the    
respect paid  to them by artful         
politicians1 who knew how to avail      
themselves of  this useful engine to    
bend the necks of the strong under the  
dominion of the cunning1 spread a sacred
 mysterious veil of  sanctity over their
 lies and abominations4  ,impressed by  
such  solemn devotional parade1 a ,greek
 or ,roman lady might be excused1  if   
she inquired of the oracle1 when she was
 anxious to pry into  futurity1 or      
inquire about some dubious event3  and  
her inquiries1  however contrary to     
reason1 could not be reckoned impious4  
,but1  can the professors of            
,christianity ward off that imputation8 
,can a  ,christian suppose1 that the    
favourites of the most ,high1 the highly
  favoured would be obliged to lurk in  

disguise1 and practise the  most        
dishonest tricks to cheat silly women   
out of the money1 which  the poor cry   
for in vain8    ,say not that such      
questions are an insult to common sense 
for it is  your own conduct1 ,o ye      
foolish women6 which throws an odium on 
your  sex6  ,and these reflections      
should make you shudder at your         
thoughtlessness1 and irrational         
devotion1 for ,i do not suppose that    
all of you laid aside your religion1    
such as it is1 when you  entered those  
mysterious dwellings4  ,yet1 as ,i have 
throughout  supposed myself talking to  
ignorant women1 for ignorant ye are in  
the most emphatical sense of the word1  
it would be absurd to reason  with you  
on the egregious folly of desiring to   
know what the  ,supreme ,wisdom has     
concealed4    ,probably you would not   
understand me1 were ,i to attempt to    
show you  that it would be absolutely   
inconsistent with the grand purpose of  
life1 that of rendering human creatures 

wise and virtuous3  and  that1 were it  
sanctioned by ,god1 it would disturb the
 order  established in creation2 and if 
it be not sanctioned by ,god1 do you    
expect to hear truth8  ,can events be   
foretold1 events which have  not yet    
assumed a body to become subject to     
mortal inspection1 can  they be foreseen
 by a vicious worldling1 who pampers his
 appetites  by preying on the foolish   
ones8    ,perhaps1 however1 you devoutly
 believe in the devil1 and imagine1  to 
shift the question1 that he may assist  
his votaries8 but if  really respecting 
the power of such a being1 an enemy to  
goodness  and to ,god1 can you go to    
church after having been under such an  
obligation to him4  ,from these         
delusions to those still more           
fashionable deceptions1 practised by the
 whole tribe of  magnetisers1 the       
transition is very natural4  ,with      
respect to them1  it is equally proper  
to ask women a few questions4    ,do you
 know any thing of the construction of  

the human frame8  ,if  not1 it is proper
 that you should be told1 what every    
child ought  to know1 that when its     
admirable economy has been disturbed by 
intemperance or indolence1 ,i speak not 
of violent disorders1 but of  chronical 
diseases1 it must be brought into a     
healthy state again  by slow degrees1   
and if the functions of life have not   
been  materially injured1 regimen1      
another word for temperance1 air1       
exercise1 and a few medicines prescribed
 by persons who have  studied the human 
body1 are the only human means1 yet     
discovered1  of recovering that         
inestimable blessing health1 that will  
bear  investigation4    ,do you then    
believe1 that these magnetisers1 who1 by
 hocus pocus  tricks1 pretend1 to work a
 miracle1 are delegated by ,god1 or     
assisted by the solver of all these kind
 of difficulties--the  devil4    ,do    
they1 when they put to flight1 as it is 
said1 disorders that  have baffled the  
powers of medicine1 work in conformity  

to the  light of reason8 ,or do they    
effect these wonderful cures by         
supernatural aid8    ,by a              
communication1 an adept may answer1 with
 the world of spirits4  ,a noble        
privilege1 it must be allowed4  ,some of
 the ancients  mention familiar demons1 
who guarded them from danger1 by kindly 
intimating 7we cannot guess in what     
manner17 when any danger was  nigh2 or  
pointed out what they ought to          
undertake4  ,yet the men who  laid claim
 to this privilege1 out of the order of 
nature1 insisted1  that it was the      
reward or consequence of superior       
temperance and  piety4  ,but the present
 workers of wonders are not raised above
  their fellows by superior temperance  
or sanctity4  ,they do not cure  for the
 love of ,god1 but money4  ,these are   
the priests of quackery1  though it be  
true they have not the convenient       
expedient of selling  masses for souls  
in purgatory1 nor churches1 where they  
can display  crutches1 and models of    

limbs made sound by a touch or a word4  
,i am not conversant with the technical 
terms1 nor initiated into  the arcana1  
therefore ,i may speak improperly2 but  
it is clear1 that  men who will not     
conform to the law of reason1 and earn a
  subsistence in an honest way1 by      
degrees1 are very fortunate in  becoming
 acquainted with such obliging spirits4 
,we cannot1 indeed1  give them credit   
for either great sagacity or goodness1  
else they  would have chosen more noble 
instruments1 when they wished to show   
themselves the benevolent friends of    
man4    ,it is1 however1 little short of
 blasphemy to pretend to such power4    
,from the whole tenor of the            
dispensations of ,providence1 it appears
  evident to sober reason1 that certain 
vices produce certain  effects3 and can 
any one so grossly insult the wisdom of 
,god1 as to  suppose1 that a miracle    
will be allowed to disturb his general  
laws1 to restore to health the          
intemperate and vicious1 merely to      

enable them to pursue the same course   
with impunity8  ,be whole1 and  sin no  
more1 said ,jesus4  ,and are greater    
miracles to be performed  by those who  
do not follow his footsteps1 who healed 
the body to  reach the mind8    ,the    
mentioning of the name of ,christ1 after
 such vile impostors may  displease some
 of my readers--,i respect their warmth2
 but let them  not forget1 that the     
followers of these delusions bear his   
name1  and profess to be the disciples  
of him1 who said1 by their works we     
should know who were the children of    
,god or the servants of sin4  ,i  allow 
that it is easier to touch the body of a
 saint1 or to be  magnetised1 than to   
restrain our appetites or govern our    
passions2  but health of body or mind   
can only be recovered by these means1 or
  we make the ,supreme ,judge partial   
and revengeful4    ,is he a man1 that he
 should change1 or punish out of        
resentment8  ,he--the common father1    
wounds but to heal1 says reason1 and our

  irregularities producing certain      
consequences1 we are forcibly  shown the
 nature of vice2 that thus learning to  
know good from  evil1 by experience1 we 
may hate one and love the other1 in     
proportion to the wisdom which we       
attain4  ,the poison contains the       
antidote2 and we either reform our evil 
habits1 and cease to sin  against our   
own bodies1 to use the forcible language
 of scripture1  or a premature death1   
the punishment of sin1 snaps the thread 
of  life4    ,here an awful stop is put 
to our inquiries4  ,but1 why should ,i  
conceal my sentiments8  ,considering the
 attributes of ,god1 ,i  believe1 that  
whatever punishment may follow1 will    
tend1 like the  anguish of disease1 to  
show the malignity of vice1 for the     
purpose  of reformation4  ,positive     
punishment appears so contrary to the   
nature of ,god1 discoverable in all his 
works1 and in our own  reason1 that ,i  
could sooner believe that the ,deity    
paid no  attention to the conduct of    

men1 than that he punished without the  
benevolent design of reforming4    ,to  
suppose only1 that an all-wise and      
powerful ,being1 as good as he  is      
great1 should create a being1           
foreseeing1 that after fifty or  sixty  
years of feverish existence1 it would be
 plunged into never  ending woe--is     
blasphemy4  ,on what will the worm feed 
that is never  to die8  ,on folly1 on   
ignorance1 say ye--,i should blush      
indignantly  at drawing the natural     
conclusion1 could ,i insert it1 and wish
 to  withdraw myself from the wing of my
 ,god6  ,on such a supposition1 ,i      
speak with reverence1 he would be a     
consuming fire4  ,we should  wish1      
though vainly1 to fly from his presence 
when fear absorbed  love1 and darkness  
involved all his counsels4    ,i know   
that many devout people boast of        
submitting to the ,will of  ,god        
blindly1 as to an arbitrary sceptre or  
rod1 on the same  principle as the      
,indians worship the devil4  ,in other  

words1 like  people in the common       
concerns of life1 they do homage to     
power1 and  cringe under the foot that  
can crush them4  ,rational religion1 on 
the contrary1 is a submission to the    
will of a being so perfectly  wise1 that
 all he wills must be directed by the   
proper motive--must  be reasonable4     
,and1 if thus we respect ,god1 can we   
give credit to the mysterious           
insinuations which insult his laws8     
,can we believe1 though it  should stare
 us in the face1 that he would work a   
miracle to  authorize confusion by      
sanctioning an error8  ,yet we must     
either  allow these impious conclusions1
 or treat with contempt every  promise  
to restore health to a diseased body by 
supernatural means1  or to foretell1 the
 incidents that can only be foreseen by 
,god4    ,,section #ac4b4    ,another   
instance of that feminine weakness of   
character1 often  produced by a confined
 education1 is a romantic twist of the  
mind1  which has been very properly     

termed ,,sentimental4    ,women1        
subjected by ignorance to their         
sensations1 and only taught  to look for
 happiness in love1 refine on sensual   
feelings1 and  adopt metaphysical       
notions respecting that passion1 which  
lead them  shamefully to neglect the    
duties of life1 and frequently in the   
midst of these sublime refinements they 
plunge into actual vice4    ,these are  
the women who are amused by the reveries
 of the stupid  novelists1 who1 knowing 
little of human nature1 work up stale   
tales1 and describe meretricious scenes1
 all retailed in a  sentimental jargon1 
which equally tend to corrupt the taste1
 and  draw the heart aside from its     
daily duties4  ,i do not mention the    
understanding1 because never having been
 exercised1 its slumbering  energies    
rest inactive1 like the lurking         
particles of fire which  are supposed   
universally to pervade matter4          
,females1 in fact1 denied all political 
privileges1 and not allowed1  as married

 women1 excepting in criminal cases1 a  
civil existence1  have their attention  
naturally drawn from the interest of the
 whole  community to that of the minute 
parts1 though the private duty of  any  
member of society must be very          
imperfectly performed1 when not         
connected with the general good4  ,the  
mighty business of female  life is to   
please1 and1 restrained from entering   
into more  important concerns by        
political and civil oppression1         
sentiments  become events1 and          
reflection deepens what it should1 and  
would  have effaced1 if the             
understanding had been allowed to take a
 wider  range4    ,but1 confined to     
trifling employments1 they naturally    
imbibe  opinions which the only kind of 
reading calculated to interest an       
innocent frivolous mind1 inspires4      
,unable to grasp any thing  great1 is it
 surprising that they find the reading  
of history a  very dry task1 and        
disquisitions addressed to the          

understanding1  intolerably tedious1 and
 almost unintelligible8  ,thus are they 
necessarily dependent on the novelist   
for amusement4  ,yet1 when ,i  exclaim  
against novels1 ,i mean when contrasted 
with those works  which exercise the    
understanding and regulate the          
imagination4  ,for  any kind of reading 
,i think better than leaving a blank    
still a  blank1 because the mind must   
receive a degree of enlargement1 and    
obtain a little strength by a slight    
exertion of its thinking  powers2       
besides1 even the productions that are  
only addressed to  the imagination1     
raise the reader a little above the     
gross  gratification of appetites1 to   
which the mind has not given a shade  of
 delicacy4    ,this observation is the  
result of experience2 for ,i have known 
several notable women1 and one in       
particular1 who was a very good         
woman--as good as such a narrow mind    
would allow her to be1 who  took care   
that her daughters 7three in number7    

should never see a  novel4  ,as she was 
a woman of fortune and fashion1 they had
 various  masters to attend them1 and a 
sort of menial governess to watch  their
 footsteps4  ,from their masters they   
learned how tables1  chairs1 etc4 were  
called in ,french and ,italian2 but as  
the few  books thrown in their way were 
far above their capacities1 or          
devotional1 they neither acquired ideas 
nor sentiments1 and passed  their time1 
when not compelled to repeat ,,words1 in
 dressing1  quarrelling with each other1
 or conversing with their maids by      
stealth1 till they were brought into    
company as marriageable4    ,their      
mother1 a widow1 was busy in the mean   
time in keeping up her  connexions1 as  
she termed a numerous acquaintance lest 
her girls  should want a proper         
introduction into the great world4  ,and
 these  young ladies1 with minds vulgar 
in every sense of the word1 and  spoiled
 tempers1 entered life puffed up with   
notions of their own  consequence1 and  

looking down with contempt on those who 
could not  vie with them in dress and   
parade4    ,with respect to love1       
nature1 or their nurses1 had taken care 
to  teach them the physical meaning of  
the word2 and1 as they had few  topics  
of conversation1 and fewer refinements  
of sentiment1 they  expressed their     
gross wishes not in very delicate       
phrases1 when  they spoke freely1       
talking of matrimony4    ,could these   
girls have been injured by the perusal  
of novels8  ,i  almost forgot a shade in
 the character of one of them2 she      
affected  a simplicity bordering on     
folly1 and with a simper would utter the
  most immodest remarks and questions1  
the full meaning of which she  had      
learned whilst secluded from the world1 
and afraid to speak in  her mother's    
presence1 who governed with a high hand2
  they were  all educated1 as she prided
 herself1 in a most exemplary manner2   
and read their chapters and psalms      
before breakfast1 never touching  a     

silly novel4    ,this is only one       
instance2 but ,i recollect many other   
women who1  not led by degrees to proper
 studies1 and not permitted to choose   
for themselves1 have indeed been        
overgrown children2 or have  obtained1  
by mixing in the world1 a little of what
 is termed common  sense2  that is1 a   
distinct manner of seeing common        
occurrences1 as  they stand detached3   
but what deserves the name of intellect1
 the  power of gaining general or       
abstract ideas1 or even intermediate    
ones1 was out of the question4  ,their  
minds were quiescent1 and  when they    
were not roused by sensible objects and 
employments of  that kind1 they were    
low-spirited1 would cry1 or go to sleep4
    ,when1 therefore1 ,i advise my sex  
not to read such flimsy works1 it  is to
 induce them to read something superior2
 for ,i coincide in  opinion with a     
sagacious man1 who1 having a daughter   
and niece  under his care1 pursued a    
very different plan with each4    ,the  

niece1 who had considerable abilities1  
had1 before she was left  to his        
guardianship1 been indulged in desultory
 reading4  ,her he  endeavoured to lead1
 and did lead1 to history and moral     
essays2 but  his daughter whom a fond   
weak mother had indulged1 and who       
consequently was averse to every thing  
like application1 he allowed  to read   
novels2  and used to justify his conduct
 by saying1 that if  she ever attained a
 relish for reading them1 he should have
 some  foundation to work upon2 and that
 erroneous opinions were better  than   
none at all4    ,in fact1 the female    
mind has been so totally neglected1 that
  knowledge was only to be acquired from
 this muddy source1 till from  reading  
novels some women of superior talents   
learned to despise  them4    ,the best  
method1 ,i believe1 that can be adopted 
to correct a  fondness for novels is to 
ridicule them2  not indiscriminately1   
for  then it would have little effect2  
but1 if a judicious person1 with  some  

turn for humour1 would read several to a
 young girl1 and point  out1 both by    
tones and apt comparisons with pathetic 
incidents and  heroic characters in     
history1 how foolishly and ridiculously 
they  caricatured human nature1 just    
opinions might be substituted  instead  
of romantic sentiments4    ,in one      
respect1 however1 the majority of both  
sexes resemble1 and  equally show a want
 of taste and modesty4  ,ignorant women1
 forced  to be chaste to preserve their 
reputation1 allow their imagination  to 
revel in the unnatural and meretricious 
scenes sketched by the  novel writers of
 the day1 slighting as insipid the sober
 dignity  and matronly grace of         
history199 whilst men carry the same    
vitiated  taste into life1 and fly for  
amusement to the wanton1 from the       
unsophisticated charms of virtue1 and   
the grave respectability of  sense4     
799,footnote4  ,i am not now alluding to
 that superiority of mind  which leads  
to the creation of ideal beauty1 when   

life surveyed  with a penetrating eye1  
appears a tragi-comedy1 in which little 
can  be seen to satisfy the heart       
without the help of fancy47    ,besides1
 the reading of novels makes women1 and 
particularly ladies  of fashion1 very   
fond of using strong expressions and    
superlatives  in conversation2 and1     
though the dissipated artificial life   
which  they lead prevents their         
cherishing any strong legitimate        
passion1  the language of passion in    
affected tones slips for ever from their
  glib tongues1 and every trifle        
produces those phosphoric bursts  which 
only mimick in the dark the flame of    
passion4    ,,section #ac4c4            
,ignorance and the mistaken cunning that
 nature sharpens in weak  heads1 as a   
principle of self-preservation1 render  
women very fond  of dress1 and produce  
all the vanity which such a fondness may
  naturally be expected to generate1 to 
the exclusion of emulation  and         
magnanimity4    ,i agree with ,rousseau1

 that the physical part of the art of   
pleasing consists in ornaments1 and for 
that very reason ,i should  guard girls 
against the contagious fondness for     
dress so common to  weak women1 that    
they may not rest in the physical part4 
,yet1 weak  are the women who imagine   
that they can long please without the   
aid  of the mind2 or1 in other words1   
without the moral art of pleasing4  ,but
 the moral art1 if it be not a          
profanation to use the word art1  when  
alluding to the grace which is an effect
 of virtue1 and not  the motive of      
action1 is never to be found with       
ignorance2 the  sportiveness of         
innocence1 so pleasing to refined       
libertines of  both sexes1 is widely    
different in its essence from this      
superior  gracefulness4    ,a strong    
inclination for external ornaments ever 
appears in  barbarous states1 only the  
men not the women adorn themselves2 for 
where women are allowed to be so far on 
a level with men1 society  has advanced 

at least one step in civilization4      
,the attention to dress1 therefore1     
which has been thought a sexual         
propensity1 ,i think natural to mankind4
  ,but ,i ought to express  myself with 
more precision4  ,when the mind is not  
sufficiently  opened to take pleasure in
 reflection1 the body will be adorned   
with sedulous care2 and ambition will   
appear in tattooing or  painting it4    
,so far is the first inclination        
carried1 that even the hellish yoke  of 
slavery cannot stifle the savage desire 
of admiration which the  black heroes   
inherit from both their parents1 for all
 the  hardly-earned savings of a slave  
are commonly expended in a little       
tawdry finery4  ,and ,i have seldom     
known a good male or female  servant    
that was not particularly fond of dress4
  ,their clothes  were their riches2 and
 ,i argue from analogy1 that the        
fondness for  dress1 so extravagant in  
females1 arises from the same           
cause--want  of cultivation of mind4    

,when men meet they converse about      
business1 politics1 or literature2 but1 
says ,swift1 how naturally  do women    
apply their hands to each others lappets
 and ruffles4  ,and very natural it     
is--for they have not any business to   
interest  them1 have not a taste for    
literature1 and they find politics dry1 
because they have not acquired a love   
for mankind by turning their  thoughts  
to the grand pursuits that exalt the    
human race and  promote general         
happiness4    ,besides1 various are the 
paths to power and fame1 which by       
accident  or choice men pursue1 and     
though they jostle against each other1  
for men of the same profession are      
seldom friends1 yet there is a  much    
greater number of their fellow-creatures
 with whom they never  clash4  ,but     
women are very differently situated with
 respect to  each other--for they are   
all rivals4    ,before marriage it is   
their business to please men2 and after1
 with  a few exceptions1 they follow the

 same scent1 with all the  persevering  
pertinacity of instinct4  ,even virtuous
 women never  forget their sex in       
company1 for they are for ever trying to
 make  themselves ,,agreeable4  ,a      
female beauty and a male wit1 appear to 
be  equally anxious to draw the         
attention of the company to themselves2 
and the animosity of contemporary wits  
is proverbial4    ,is it then           
surprising1 that when the sole ambition 
of woman centres  in beauty1 and        
interest gives vanity additional force1 
perpetual  rivalships should ensue8     
,they are all running the same race1 and
  would rise above the virtue of mortals
 if they did not view each  other with a
 suspicious and even envious eye4    ,an
 immoderate fondness for dress1 for     
pleasure and for sway1 are  the passions
 of savages2 the passions that occupy   
those uncivilized  beings who have not  
yet extended the dominion of the mind1  
or even  learned to think with the      
energy necessary to concatenate that    

abstract train of thought which produces
 principles4  ,and that  women1 from    
their education and the present state of
 civilized  life1 are in the same       
condition1 cannot1 ,i think1 be         
controverted4  ,to laugh at them then1  
or satirize the follies of a being who  
is  never to be allowed to act freely   
from the light of her own reason1  is as
 absurd as cruel2 for that they who are 
taught blindly to obey  authority1 will 
endeavour cunningly to elude it1 is most
 natural  and certain4    ,yet let it be
 proved1 that they ought to obey man    
implicitly1 and ,i  shall immediately   
agree that it is woman's duty to        
cultivate a  fondness for dress1 in     
order to please1 and a propensity to    
cunning  for her own preservation4      
,the virtues1 however1 which are        
supported by ignorance1 must ever  be   
wavering--the house built on sand could 
not endure a storm4  ,it  is almost     
unnecessary to draw the inference4  ,if 
women are to be  made virtuous by       

authority1 which is a contradiction in  
terms1 let  them be immured in seraglios
 and watched with a jealous eye4  ,fear 
not that the iron will enter into their 
souls--for the souls that  can bear such
 treatment are made of yielding         
materials1 just  animated enough to give
 life to the body4    ,matter too soft a
 lasting mark to bear1  ,and best       
distinguish'd by black1 brown1 or fair4 
,the most cruel wounds will of course   
soon heal1 and they may still  people   
the world1 and dress to please man--all 
the purposes which  certain celebrated  
writers have allowed that they were     
created to  fill4    ,,section #ac4d4   
,women are supposed to possess more     
sensibility1 and even humanity1  than   
men1 and their strong attachments and   
instantaneous emotions  of compassion   
are given as proofs2 but the clinging   
affection of  ignorance has seldom any  
thing noble in it1 and may mostly be    
resolved into selfishness1 as well as   
the affection of children and  brutes4  

,i have known many weak women whose     
sensibility was  entirely engrossed by  
their husbands2 and as for their        
humanity1 it  was very faint indeed1 or 
rather it was only a transient emotion  
of  compassion1  ,humanity does not     
consist in a squeamish ear1 says  an    
eminent orator4  ,it belongs to the mind
 as well as the nerves4    ,but this    
kind of exclusive affection1 though it  
degrade the  individual1 should not be  
brought forward as a proof of the       
inferiority of the sex1 because it is   
the natural consequence of  confined    
views3  for even women of superior      
sense1 having their  attention turned to
 little employments1 and private plans1 
rarely  rise to heroism1 unless when    
spurred on by love2 and love as an      
heroic passion1 like genius1 appears but
 once in an age4  ,i  therefore agree   
with the moralist who asserts1 that     
women have  seldom so much generosity as
 men2 and that their narrow  affections1
 to which justice and humanity are often

 sacrificed1  render the sex apparently 
inferior1 especially as they are        
commonly  inspired by men2 but ,i       
contend1 that the heart would expand as 
the  understanding gained strength1 if  
women were not depressed from  their    
cradles4    ,i know that a little       
sensibility and great weakness will     
produce a  strong sexual attachment1 and
 that reason must cement friendship2    
consequently ,i allow1 that more        
friendship is to be found in the  male  
than the female world1 and that men have
 a higher sense of  justice4  ,the      
exclusive affections of women seem      
indeed to resemble  ,cato's most unjust 
love for his country4  ,he wished to    
crush  ,carthage1 not to save ,rome1 but
 to promote its vain glory2 and in      
general1 it is to similar principles    
that humanity is sacrificed1  for       
genuine duties support each other4      
,besides1 how can women be just or      
generous1 when they are the  slaves of  
injustice4    ,,section #ac4e4    ,as   

the rearing of children1 that is1 the   
laying a foundation of  sound health    
both of body and mind in the rising     
generation1 has  justly been insisted on
 as the peculiar destination of woman1  
the  ignorance that incapacitates them  
must be contrary to the order of        
things4  ,and ,i contend1 that their    
minds can take in much more1 and  ought 
to do so1 or they will never become     
sensible mothers4  ,many  men attend to 
the breeding of horses1 and overlook the
 management  of the stable1 who would1  
strange want of sense and feeling6 think
  themselves degraded by paying any     
attention to the nursery2 yet1  how many
 children are absolutely murdered by the
 ignorance of  women6  ,but when they   
escape1 and are neither destroyed by    
unnatural negligence nor blind fondness1
 how few are managed  properly with     
respect to the infant mind6  ,so that to
 break the  spirit1 allowed to become   
vicious at home1 a child is sent to     
school2 and the methods taken there1    

which must be taken to keep a  number of
 children in order1 scatter the seeds of
 almost every vice  in the soil thus    
forcibly torn up4    ,i have sometimes  
compared the struggles of these poor    
children who  ought never to have felt  
restraint1 nor would1 had they been     
always  held in with an even hand1 to   
the despairing plunges of a spirited    
filly1 which ,i have seen breaking on a 
strand2  its feet sinking  deeper and   
deeper in the sand every time it        
endeavoured to throw  its rider1 till at
 last it sullenly submitted4    ,i have 
always found horses1 an animal ,i am    
attached to1 very  tractable when       
treated with humanity and steadiness1 so
 that ,i  doubt whether the violent     
methods taken to break them1 do not     
essentially injure them2 ,i am1 however1
 certain that a child should  never be  
thus forcibly tamed after it has        
injudiciously been  allowed to run wild2
 for every violation of justice and     
reason1 in  the treatment of children1  

weakens their reason4  ,and1 so early do
  they catch a character1 that the base 
of the moral character1  experience     
leads me to infer1 is fixed before their
 seventh year1  the period during which 
women are allowed the sole management of
  children4  ,afterwards it too often   
happens that half the business  of      
education is to correct1 and very       
imperfectly is it done1 if  done        
hastily1 the faults1 which they would   
never have acquired if  their mothers   
had had more understanding4    ,one     
striking instance of the folly of women 
must not be omitted4  ,the manner in    
which they treat servants in the        
presence of  children1 permitting them  
to suppose1 that they ought to wait on  
them1 and bear their humours4  ,a child 
should always be made to  receive       
assistance from a man or woman as a     
favour2 and1 as the  first lesson of    
independence1 they should practically be
 taught1 by  the example of their       
mother1 not to require that personal    

attendance which it is an insult to     
humanity to require1 when in  health2   
and instead of being led to assume airs 
of consequence1 a  sense of their own   
weakness should first make them feel the
 natural  equality of man4  ,yet1 how   
frequently have ,i indignantly heard    
servants imperiously called to put      
children to bed1 and sent away  again   
and again1 because master or miss hung  
about mamma1 to stay a  little longer4  
,thus made slavishly to attend the      
little idol1 all  those most disgusting 
humours were exhibited which            
characterize a  spoiled child4    ,in   
short1 speaking of the majority of      
mothers1 they leave their  children     
entirely to the care of servants3 or1   
because they are  their children1 treat 
them as if they were little demi-gods1  
though  ,i have always observed1 that   
the women who thus idolize their        
children1 seldom show common humanity to
 servants1 or feel the  least tenderness
 for any children but their own4    ,it 

is1 however1 these exclusive affections1
 and an individual  manner of seeing    
things1 produced by ignorance1 which    
keep women  for ever at a stand1 with   
respect to improvement1 and make many of
  them dedicate their lives to their    
children only to weaken their  bodies   
and spoil their tempers1 frustrating    
also any plan of  education that a more 
rational father may adopt2 for unless a 
mother concurs1 the father who restrains
 will ever be considered as  a tyrant4  
,but1 fulfilling the duties of a mother1
 a woman with a sound  constitution1 may
 still keep her person scrupulously     
neat1 and  assist to maintain her       
family1 if necessary1 or by reading and 
conversations with both sexes1          
indiscriminately1 improve her mind4     
,for nature has so wisely ordered       
things1 that did women suckle  their    
children1 they would preserve their own 
health1 and there  would be such an     
interval between the birth of each      
child1 that we  should seldom see a     

house full of babes4  ,and did they     
pursue a  plan of conduct1 and not waste
 their time in following the            
fashionable vagaries of dress1 the      
management of their household  and      
children need not shut them out from    
literature1 nor prevent  their attaching
 themselves to a science1 with that     
steady eye which  strengthens the mind1 
or practising one of the fine arts that 
cultivate the taste4    ,but1 visiting  
to display finery1 card playing1 and    
balls1 not to  mention the idle bustle  
of morning trifling1 draw women from    
their  duty1 to render them             
insignificant1 to render them pleasing1 
according to the present acceptation of 
the word1 to every man1 but  their      
husband4  ,for a round of pleasures in  
which the affections  are not exercised1
 cannot be said to improve the          
understanding1  though it be erroneously
 called seeing the world2 yet the heart 
is  rendered cold and averse to duty1 by
 such a senseless intercourse1  which   

becomes necessary from habit1 even when 
it has ceased to  amuse4    ,but1 till  
more equality be established in society1
 till ranks are  confounded and women   
freed1 we shall not see that dignified  
domestic happiness1 the simple grandeur 
of which cannot be relished  by ignorant
 or vitiated minds2 nor will the        
important task of  education ever be    
properly begun till the person of a     
woman is no  longer preferred to her    
mind4  ,for it would be as wise to      
expect  corn from tares1 or figs from   
thistles1 as that a foolish ignorant    
woman should be a good mother4          
,,section #ac4f4    ,it is not necessary
 to inform the sagacious reader1 now ,i 
enter on  my concluding reflections1    
that the discussion of this subject     
merely consists in opening a few simple 
principles1 and clearing  away the      
rubbish which obscured them4  ,but1 as  
all readers are not  sagacious1 ,i must 
be allowed to add some explanatory      
remarks to  bring the subject home to   

reason--to that sluggish reason1 which  
supinely takes opinions on trust1 and   
obstinately supports them to  spare     
itself the labour of thinking4          
,moralists have unanimously agreed1 that
 unless virtue be nursed by  liberty1 it
 will never attain due strength--and    
what they say of  man ,i extend to      
mankind1 insisting1 that in all cases   
morals must  be fixed on immutable      
principles2 and that the being cannot be
  termed rational or virtuous1 who obeys
 any authority but that of  reason4     
,to render women truly useful members of
 society1 ,i argue1 that they  should be
 led1 by having their understandings    
cultivated on a large  scale1 to acquire
 a rational affection for their country1
 founded  on knowledge1 because it is   
obvious1 that we are little interested  
about what we do not understand4  ,and  
to render this general  knowledge of due
 importance1 ,i have endeavoured to show
 that  private duties are never properly
 fulfilled1 unless the  understanding   

enlarges the heart2 and that public     
virtue is only an  aggregate of private4
  ,but1 the distinctions established in 
society  undermine both1 by beating out 
the solid gold of virtue1 till it       
becomes only the tinsel-covering of     
vice2 for1 whilst wealth  renders a man 
more respectable than virtue1 wealth    
will be sought  before virtue2 and1     
whilst women's persons are caressed1    
when a  childish simper shows an absence
 of mind--the mind will lie fallow4     
,yet1 true voluptuousness must proceed  
from the mind--for what can  equal the  
sensations produced by mutual affection1
 supported by  mutual respect8  ,what   
are the cold or feverish caresses of    
appetite1 but sin embracing death1      
compared with the modest  overflowings  
of a pure heart and exalted imagination8
  ,yes1 let me  tell the libertine of   
fancy when he despises understanding in 
woman--that the mind1 which he          
disregards1 gives life to the           
enthusiastic affection from which       

rapture1 short-lived as it is1  alone   
can flow6  ,and1 that1 without virtue1 a
 sexual attachment  must expire1 like a 
tallow candle in the socket1 creating   
intolerable disgust4  ,to prove this1 ,i
 need only observe1 that men  who have  
wasted great part of their lives with   
women1 and with whom  they have sought  
for pleasure with eager thirst1         
entertain the  meanest opinion of the   
sex4  ,virtue1 true refiner of joy6 if  
foolish men were to fright thee from    
earth1 in order to give loose  to all   
their appetites without a check--some   
sensual wight of taste  would scale the 
heavens to invite thee back1 to give a  
zest to  pleasure6    ,that women at    
present are by ignorance rendered       
foolish or vicious1  is1 ,i think1 not  
to be disputed2 and1 that the most      
salutary  effects tending to improve    
mankind1 might be expected from a       
,,revolution in female manners1 appears 
at least1 with a face of  probability1  
to rise out of the observation4  ,for as

 marriage has  been termed the parent of
 those endearing charities1 which draw  
man  from the brutal herd1 the          
corrupting intercourse that wealth1     
idleness1 and folly produce between the 
sexes1 is more universally  injurious to
 morality1 than all the other vices of  
mankind  collectively considered4  ,to  
adulterous lust the most sacred duties  
are sacrificed1 because1 before         
marriage1 men1 by a promiscuous         
intimacy with women1 learned to consider
 love as a selfish                      
gratification--learned to separate it   
not only from esteem1 but  from the     
affection merely built on habit1 which  
mixes a little  humanity with it4       
,justice and friendship are also set at 
defiance1  and that purity of taste is  
vitiated1 which would naturally lead a  
man to relish an artless display of     
affection1 rather than affected  airs4  
,but that noble simplicity of affection1
 which dares to  appear unadorned1 has  
few attractions for the libertine1      

though it  be the charm1 which1 by      
cementing the matrimonial tie1 secures  
to  the pledges of a warmer passion the 
necessary parental attention2  for      
children will never be properly educated
 till friendship  subsists between      
parents4  ,virtue flies from a house    
divided  against itself--and a whole    
legion of devils take up their          
residence there4    ,the affection of   
husbands and wives cannot be pure when  
they have  so few sentiments in common1 
and when so little confidence is        
established at home1 as must be the case
 when their pursuits are so  different4 
,that intimacy from which tenderness    
should flow1 will  not1 cannot subsist  
between the vicious4    ,contending1    
therefore1 that the sexual distinction1 
which men have  so warmly insisted upon1
 is arbitrary1 ,i have dwelt on an      
observation1 that several sensible men1 
with whom ,i have conversed  on the     
subject1 allowed to be well founded2 and
 it is simply this1  that the little    

chastity to be found amongst men1 and   
consequent  disregard of modesty1 tend  
to degrade both sexes2 and further1 that
  the modesty of women1 characterized as
 such1 will often be only the  artful   
veil of wantonness1 instead of being the
 natural reflection  of purity1 till    
modesty be universally respected4       
,from the tyranny of man1 ,i firmly     
believe1 the greater number of  female  
follies proceed2 and the cunning1 which 
,i allow1 makes at  present a part of   
their character1 ,i likewise have       
repeatedly  endeavoured to prove1 is    
produced by oppression4  ,were not      
dissenters1 for instance1 a class of    
people1 with strict truth  characterized
 as cunning8  ,and may ,i not lay some  
stress on this  fact to prove1 that when
 any power but reason curbs the free    
spirit  of man1 dissimulation is        
practised1 and the various shifts of art
  are naturally called forth8  ,great   
attention to decorum1 which was  carried
 to a degree of scrupulosity1 and all   

that puerile bustle  about trifles and  
consequential solemnity1 which ,butler's
  caricature of a dissenter brings      
before the imagination1 shaped  their   
persons as well as their minds in the   
mould of prim  littleness4  ,i speak    
collectively1 for ,i know how many      
ornaments to  human nature have been    
enrolled amongst sectaries2 yet1 ,i     
assert1  that the same narrow prejudice 
for their sect1 which women have for    
their families1 prevailed in the        
dissenting part of the community1       
however worthy in other respects2 and   
also that the same timid  prudence1 or  
headstrong efforts1 often disgraced the 
exertions of  both4  ,oppression thus   
formed many of the features of their    
character perfectly to coincide with    
that of the oppressed half of  mankind2 
for is it not notorious1 that dissenters
 were like women1  fond of deliberating 
together1 and asking advice of each     
other1  till by a complication of little
 contrivances1 some little end was      

brought about8  ,a similar attention to 
preserve their reputation  was          
conspicuous in the dissenting and female
 world1 and was  produced by a similar  
cause4    ,asserting the rights which   
women in common with men ought to       
contend for1 ,i have not attempted to   
extenuate their faults2 but to  prove   
them to be the natural consequence of   
their education and  station in society4
  ,if so1 it is reasonable to suppose1  
that they  will change their character1 
and correct their vices and follies1    
when they are allowed to be free in a   
physical1 moral1 and civil  sense4      
,let woman share the rights1 and she    
will emulate the virtues of  man2 for   
she must grow more perfect when         
emancipated1 or justify  the authority  
that chains such a weak being to her    
duty4  ,if the  latter1 it will be      
expedient to open a fresh trade with    
,russia for  whips2 a present which a   
father should always make to his        
son-in-law on his wedding day1 that a   

husband may keep his whole  family in   
order by the same means2 and without any
 violation of  justice reign1 wielding  
this sceptre1 sole master of his house1 
because he is the only being in it who  
has reason2 the divine1  indefeasible1  
earthly sovereignty breathed into man by
 the ,master  of the universe4          
,allowing this position1 women have not 
any  inherent rights to claim2 and1 by  
the same rule their duties  vanish1 for 
rights and duties are inseparable4      
,be just then1 ,o ye men of             
understanding6 and mark not more        
severely  what women do amiss1 than the 
vicious tricks of the horse or the  ass 
for whom ye provide provender1 and allow
 her the privileges of  ignorance1 to   
whom ye deny the rights of reason1 or ye
 will be  worse than ,egyptian          
task-masters1 expecting virtue where    
nature has  not given understanding6