,,letters                               
,,on ,,the                              
,,equality ,,of ,,the ,,sexes1          
,,and ,,the                             
,,condition ,,of ,,woman4               
,,addressed ,,to                        
,,mary ,s4 ,,parker1                    
,,president ,,of ,,the                  
,boston ,female ,anti-,slavery ,society4
                                        
,,boston3                               
,,published ,,by ,,isaac ,,knapp1       
#be1 ,,cornhill4                        
#ahch4                                  
,,letters4                              
,,letter ,i4                            
,,the ,,original ,,equality ,,of        
,,woman4                                
,amesbury1 #gth ,mo4 #aath1 #ahcg4      
,,my ,,dear ,,friend1--,in attempting to
 comply with thy request to give my     
views on the ,province of ,woman1 ,i    
feel that ,i am venturing on nearly     
untrodden ground1 and that ,i shall     
advance arguments in opposition to  a   

corrupt public opinion1 and to the      
perverted interpretation of ,holy       
,writ1 which has so universally         
obtained4 ,but ,i am in search of truth2
  and no obstacle shall prevent my      
prosecuting that search1 because ,i     
believe the welfare of the world will be
 materially advanced by every  new      
discovery we make of the designs of     
,jehovah in the creation of  woman4 ,it 
is impossible that we can answer the    
purpose of our being1  unless we        
understand that purpose4 ,it is         
impossible that we should  fulfil our   
duties1 unless we comprehend them2 or   
live up to our  privileges1 unless we   
know what they are4    ,in examining    
this important subject1 ,i shall depend 
solely on the  ,bible to designate the  
sphere of woman1 because ,i believe     
almost every  thing that has been       
written on this subject1 has been the   
result of  a misconception of the simple
 truths revealed in the ,scriptures1 in 
consequence of the false translation of 

many passages of ,holy ,writ4 ,my  mind 
is entirely delivered from the          
superstitious reverence which is        
attached to the ,english version of the 
,bible4 ,king ,james's translators      
certainly were not inspired4 ,i         
therefore claim the original as my      
standard1 believing that to have been   
inspired1 and ,i also claim to  judge   
for myself what is the meaning of the   
inspired writers1 because  ,i believe it
 to be the solemn duty of every         
individual to search the  ,scriptures   
for themselves1 with the aid of the     
,holy ,spirit1 and not be  governed by  
the views of any man1 or set of men4    
,we must first view woman at the period 
of her creation4 #8,and ,god said1  ,let
 us make man in our own image1 after our
 likeness2 and let them have  dominion  
over the fish of the sea1 and over the  
fowl of the air1 and  over the cattle1  
and over all the earth1 and over every  
creeping thing  that creepeth upon the  
earth4 ,so ,god created man in his own  

image1 in  the image of ,god created he 
him1 male and female created he them4'  
,in all this sublime description of the 
creation of man1 7which is a  generic   
term including man and woman17 there is 
not one particle of  difference         
intimated as existing between them4     
,they were both made in  the image of   
,god2 dominion was given to both over   
every other creature1  but not over each
 other4 ,created in perfect equality1   
they were  expected to exercise the     
vicegerence intrusted to them by their  
,maker1  in harmony and love4    ,let us
 pass on now to the recapitulation of   
the creation of man3--#8,the  ,lord ,god
 formed man of the dust of the ground1  
and breathed into his  nostrils the     
breath of life2 and man became a living 
soul4 ,and the ,lord  ,god said1 it is  
not good that man should be alone1 ,i   
will make him an  help meet for him4'   
,all creation swarmed with animated     
beings capable  of natural affection1 as
 we know they still are2 it was not1    

therefore1  merely to give man a        
creature susceptible of loving1 obeying1
 and  looking up to him1 for all that   
the animals could do and did do4 ,it    
was to give him a companion1 in all     
respects his equal2 one who was  like   
himself a free agent1 gifted with       
intellect and endowed with  immortality2
 not a partaker merely of his animal    
gratifications1 but  able to enter into 
all his feelings as a moral and         
responsible being4  ,if this had not    
been the case1 how could she have been  
an help meet for  him8 ,i understand    
this as applying not only to the parties
 entering  into the marriage contract1  
but to all men and women1 because ,i    
believe  ,god designed woman to be an   
help meet for man in every good and     
perfect  work4 ,she was a part of       
himself1 as if ,jehovah designed to make
 the  oneness and identity of man and   
woman perfect and complete2 and when    
the glorious work of their creation was 
finished1 #8the morning stars  sang     

together1 and all the sons of ,god      
shouted for joy4'    ,this blissful     
condition was not long enjoyed by our   
first parents4 ,eve1  it would seem from
 the history1 was wandering alone amid  
the bowers  of ,paradise1 when the      
serpent met with her4 ,from her reply to
 ,satan1  it is evident that the command
 not to eat #8of the tree that is in the
  midst of the garden1' was given to    
both1 although the term man was  used   
when the prohibition was issued by ,god4
 #8,and the woman said unto  the        
serpent1 ,,we may eat of the fruit of   
the trees of the garden1 but  of the    
fruit of the tree which is in the midst 
of the garden1 ,god hath  said1 ,,ye    
shall not eat of it1 neither shall ,,ye 
touch it1 lest ,,ye die4'  ,here the    
woman was exposed to temptation from a  
being with whom she was  unacquainted4  
,she had been accustomed to associate   
with her beloved  partner1 and to hold  
communion with ,god and with angels2 but
 of satanic  intelligence1 she was in   

all probability entirely ignorant4      
,through the  subtlety of the serpent1  
she was beguiled4 ,and #8when she saw   
that the  tree was good for food1 and   
that it was pleasant to the eyes1 and a 
tree to be desired to make one wise1 she
 took of the fruit thereof and  did     
eat4'    ,we next find ,adam involved in
 the same sin1 not through the          
instrumentality of a supernatural agent1
 but through that of his equal1  a being
 whom he must have known was liable to  
transgress the divine  command1 because 
he must have felt that he was himself a 
free agent1  and that he was restrained 
from disobedience only by the exercise  
of  faith and love towards his ,creator4
 ,had ,adam tenderly reproved his  wife1
 and endeavored to lead her to          
repentance instead of sharing  in her   
guilt1 ,i should be much more ready to  
accord to man that  superiority which he
 claims2 but as the facts stand         
disclosed by the  sacred historian1 it  
appears to me that to say the least1    

there was  as much weakness exhibited by
 ,adam as by ,eve4 ,they both fell from 
innocence1 and consequently from        
happiness1 but not from equality4       
,let us next examine the conduct of this
 fallen pair1 when ,jehovah             
interrogated them respecting their      
fault4 ,they both frankly confessed     
their guilt4 #8,the man said1 the woman 
whom thou gavest to be with  me1 she    
gave me of the tree and ,i did eat4 ,and
 the woman said1 the  serpent beguiled  
me and ,i did eat4' ,and the ,lord ,god 
said unto the  woman1 #8,thou wilt be   
subject unto thy husband1 and he will   
rule over  thee4' ,that this did not    
allude to the subjection of woman to man
 is  manifest1 because the same mode of 
expression is used in speaking to  ,cain
 of ,abel4 ,the truth is that the curse1
 as it is termed1 which was  pronounced 
by ,jehovah upon woman1 is a simple     
prophecy4 ,the ,hebrew1  like the       
,french language1 uses the same word to 
express shall and will4  ,our           

translators having been accustomed to   
exercise lordship over their  wives1 and
 seeing only through the medium of a    
perverted judgment1 very  naturally1    
though ,i think not very learnedly or   
very kindly1 translated  it shall       
instead of will1 and thus converted a   
prediction to ,eve  into a command to   
,adam2 for observe1 it is addressed to  
the woman and  not to the man4 ,the     
consequence of the fall was an immediate
 struggle  for dominion1 and ,jehovah   
foretold which would gain the           
ascendency2 but  as he created them in  
his image1 as that image manifestly was 
not lost  by the fall1 because it is    
urged in ,gen4 #i3f1 as an argument why 
the  life of man should not be taken by 
his fellow man1 there is no reason  to  
suppose that sin produced any           
distinction between them as moral1      
intellectual and responsible beings4    
,man might just as well have  endeavored
 by hard labor to fulfil the prophecy1  
thorns and thistles  will the earth     

bring forth to thee1 as to pretend to   
accomplish the  other1 #8he will rule   
over thee1' by asserting dominion over  
his wife4      #8,authority usurped from
 ,god1 not given4    ,he gave him only  
over beast1 flesh1 fowl1    ,dominion   
absolute3 that right he holds    ,by    
,god's donation3 but man o'er woman     
,he made not ,lord1 such title to       
himself    ,reserving1 human left from  
human free4'    ,here then ,i plant     
myself4 ,god created us equal2--he      
created us free  agents2--he is our     
,lawgiver1 our ,king and our ,judge1 and
 to him alone  is woman bound to be in  
subjection1 and to him alone is she     
accountable  for the use of those       
talents with which her ,heavenly ,father
 has  entrusted her4 ,one is her ,master
 even ,christ4                          
,thine for the oppressed in the bonds of
 womanhood1                             
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,ii4                          
,,woman ,,subject ,,only ,,to ,,god4    

,newburyport1 #gth mo4 #ag1 #ahcg4      
,,my ,,dear ,,sister1--,in my last1 ,i  
traced the creation and the fall of  man
 and woman from that state of purity and
 happiness which their  beneficent      
,creator designed them to enjoy4 ,as    
they were one in  transgression1 their  
chastisement was the same4 #8,so ,god   
drove out  the man1 and he placed at the
 ,east of the garden of ,eden a cherubim
  and a flaming sword1 which turned     
every way to keep the way of the  tree  
of life4' ,we now behold them expelled  
from ,paradise1 fallen from  their      
original loveliness1 but still bearing  
on their foreheads the  image and       
superscription of ,jehovah2 still       
invested with high moral                
responsibilities1 intellectual powers1  
and immortal souls4 ,they had  incurred 
the penalty of sin1 they were shorn of  
their innocence1  but they stood on the 
same platform side by side1             
acknowledging no  superior but their    
,god4 ,notwithstanding what has been    

urged1 woman  ,i am aware stands charged
 to the present day with having brought 
sin  into the world4 ,i shall not repel 
the charge by any counter assertions1   
although1 as was before hinted1 ,adam's 
ready acquiescence with his  wife's     
proposal1 does not savor much of that   
superiority in strength  of mind1 which 
is arrogated by man4 ,even admitting    
that ,eve was the  greater sinner1 it   
seems to me man might be satisfied with 
the dominion  he has claimed and        
exercised for nearly six thousand years1
 and that  more true nobility would be  
manifested by endeavoring to raise the  
fallen and invigorate the weak1 than by 
keeping woman in subjection4  ,but ,i   
ask no favors for my sex4 ,i surrender  
not our claim to equality4  ,all ,i ask 
of our brethren is1 that they will take 
their feet from off  our necks1 and     
permit us to stand upright on that      
ground which ,god  designed us to       
occupy4 ,if he has not given us the     
rights which have1 as  ,i conceive1 been

 wrested from us1 we shall soon give    
evidence of our  inferiority1 and shrink
 back into that obscurity1 which the    
high souled  magnanimity of man has     
assigned us as our appropriate sphere4  
,as ,i am unable to learn from sacred   
writ when woman was deprived by  ,god of
 her equality with man1 ,i shall touch  
upon a few points in the  ,scriptures1  
which demonstrate that no supremacy was 
granted to man4  ,when ,god had         
destroyed the world1 except ,noah and   
his family1 by the  deluge1 he renewed  
the grant formerly made to man1 and     
again gave him  dominion over every     
beast of the earth1 every fowl of the   
air1 over all  that moveth upon the     
earth1 and over all the fishes of the   
sea2 into  his hands they were          
delivered4 ,but was woman1 bearing the  
image of her  ,god1 placed under the    
dominion of her fellow man8 ,never6     
,jehovah could  not surrender his       
authority to govern his own immortal    
creatures into  the hands of a being1   

whom he knew1 and whom his whole history
 proved1  to be unworthy of a trust so  
sacred and important4 ,god could not do 
it1  because it is a direct             
contravention of his law1 #8,thou shalt 
worship  the ,lord thy ,god1 and him    
only shalt thou serve4' ,if ,jehovah had
  appointed man as the guardian1 or     
teacher of woman1 he would certainly    
have given some intimation of this      
surrender of his own prerogative4  ,but 
so far from it1 we find the commands of 
,god invariably the same to  man and    
woman2 and not the slightest intimation 
is given in a single  passage of the    
,bible1 that ,god designed to point     
woman to man as her  instructor4 ,the   
tenor of his language always is1 #8,look
 unto ,,me1 and be  ye saved1 all the   
ends of the earth1 for ,i am ,god1 and  
there is none  else4'    ,the lust of   
dominion was probably the first effect  
of the fall2 and as  there was no other 
intelligent being over whom to exercise 
it1 woman  was the first victim of this 

unhallowed passion4 ,we afterwards see  
it exhibited by ,cain in the murder of  
his brother1 by ,nimrod in his  becoming
 a mighty hunter of men1 and setting up 
a kingdom over which to  reign4 ,here we
 see the origin of that ,upas of        
slavery1 which sprang up  immediately   
after the fall1 and has spread its      
pestilential branches  over the whole   
face of the known world4 ,all history   
attests that man  has subjected woman to
 his will1 used her as a means to       
promote his  selfish gratification1 to  
minister to his sensual pleasures1 to be
  instrumental in promoting his comfort2
 but never has he desired to  elevate   
her to that rank she was created to     
fill4 ,he has done all he  could to     
debase and enslave her mind2 and now he 
looks triumphantly on  the ruin he has  
wrought1 and says1 the being he has thus
 deeply injured  is his inferior4       
,woman has been placed by ,john ,quincy 
,adams1 side by side with the  slave1   
whilst he was contending for the right  

side of petition4 ,i  thank him for     
ranking us with the oppressed2 for ,i   
shall not find it  difficult to show1   
that in all ages and countries1 not even
 excepting  enlightened republican      
,america1 woman has more or less been   
made a  means to promote the welfare of 
man1 without due regard to her own      
happiness1 and the glory of ,god as the 
end of her creation4    ,during the     
patriarchal ages1 we find men and women 
engaged in the  same employments4       
,abraham and ,sarah both assisted in    
preparing the  food which was to be set 
before the three men1 who visited them  
in the  plains of ,mamre2 but although  
their occupations were similar1 ,sarah  
was not permitted to enjoy the society  
of the holy visitant2 and as  we learn  
from ,peter1 that she #8obeyed ,abraham1
 calling him ,lord1' we  may presume he 
exercised dominion over her4 ,we shall  
pass on now to  ,rebecca4 ,in her       
history1 we find another striking       
illustration of the  low estimation in  

which woman was held4 ,eleazur is sent  
to seek a wife  for ,isaac4 ,he finds   
,rebecca going down to the well to fill 
her pitcher4  ,he accosts her2 and she  
replies with all humility1 #8,drink1 my 
lord4'  ,how does he endeavor to gain   
her favor and confidence8 ,does he      
approach  her as a dignified creature1  
whom he was about to invite to fill an  
important station in his master's       
family1 as the wife of his only son8    
,no4 ,he offered incense to her vanity1 
and #8he took a golden ear-ring of  half
 a shekel weight1 and two bracelets for 
her hands of ten shekels  weight of     
gold1' and gave them to ,rebecca4       
,the cupidity of man soon led him to    
regard woman as property1 and  hence we 
find them sold to those1 who wished to  
marry them1 as far as  appears1 without 
any regard to those sacred rights which 
belong to  woman1 as well as to man in  
the choice of a companion4 ,that women  
were  a profitable kind of property1 we 
may gather from the description of  a   

virtuous woman in the last chapter of   
,proverbs4 ,to work willingly  with her 
hands1 to open her hands to the poor1 to
 clothe herself with  silk and purple1  
to look well to her household1 to make  
fine linen  and sell it1 to deliver     
girdles to the merchant1 and not to eat 
the  bread of idleness1 seems to have   
constituted in the view of ,solomon1    
the perfection of a woman's character   
and achievements4 #8,the spirit of  that
 age was not favorable to intellectual  
improvement2 but as there  were wise men
 who formed exceptions to the general   
ignorance1 and were  destined to guide  
the world into more advanced states1 so 
there was a  corresponding proportion of
 wise women2 and among the ,jews1 as    
well as  other nations1 we find a strong
 tendency to believe that women were in 
more immediate connection with heaven   
than men4'--,l4 ,m4 ,child's ,con4  of  
,woman4 ,if there be any truth in this  
tradition1 ,i am at a loss to  imagine  
in what the superiority of man consists4

                                        
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,iii4       ,,the ,,pastoral  
,,letter ,,of ,,the ,,general           
,,association ,,of ,,congregational     
,,ministers ,,of ,,massachusetts4       
,haverhill1 #gth ,mo4 #ahcg4    ,,dear  
,,friend1--,when ,i last addressed thee1
 ,i had not seen the ,pastoral  ,letter 
of the ,general ,association4 ,it has   
since fallen into my hands1  and ,i must
 digress from my intention of exhibiting
 the condition of  women in different   
parts of the world1 in order to make    
some remarks  on this extraordinary     
document4 ,i am persuaded that when the 
minds of  men and women become          
emancipated from the thraldom of        
superstition and  #8traditions of men1' 
the sentiments contained in the         
,pastoral ,letter  will be recurred to  
with as much astonishment as the        
opinions of  ,cotton ,mather and other  
distinguished men of his day1 on the    

subject  of witchcraft2 nor will it be  
deemed less wonderful1 that a body of   
divines should gravely assemble and     
endeavor to prove that woman has  no    
right to #8open her mouth for the dumb1'
 than it now is that judges  should have
 sat on the trials of witches1 and      
solemnly condemned  nineteen persons and
 one dog to death for witchcraft4       
,but to the letter4 ,it says1 #8,we     
invite your attention to the dangers    
which at present seem to threaten the   
,,female ,,character with wide-spread   
and permanent injury4' ,i rejoice that  
they have called the attention  of my   
sex to this subject1 because ,i believe 
if woman investigates it1  she will soon
 discover that danger is impending1     
though from a totally  different source 
from that which the ,association        
apprehends1--danger  from those who1    
having long held the reins of usurped   
authority1 are  unwilling to permit us  
to fill that sphere which ,god created  
us to  move in1 and who have entered    

into league to crush the immortal mind  
of woman4 ,i rejoice1 because ,i am     
persuaded that the rights of woman1     
like the rights of slaves1 need only be 
examined to be understood and  asserted1
 even by some of those1 who are now     
endeavoring to smother the              
irrepressible desire for mental and     
spiritual freedom which glows in  the   
breast of many1 who hardly dare to speak
 their sentiments4    #8,the appropriate
 duties and influence of women are      
clearly stated  in the ,new ,testament4 
,those duties are unobtrusive and       
private1 but  the sources of mighty     
power4 ,when the mild1 dependent1       
softening  influence of woman upon the  
sternness of man's opinions is fully    
exercised1 society feels the effects of 
it in a thousand ways4' ,no one  can    
desire more earnestly than ,i do1 that  
woman may move exactly in the  sphere   
which her ,creator has assigned her2 and
 ,i believe her having  been displaced  
from that sphere has introduced         

confusion into the  world4 ,it is1      
therefore1 of vast importance to herself
 and to all the  rational creation1 that
 she should ascertain what are her      
duties and  her privileges as a         
responsible and immortal being4 ,the    
,new ,testament  has been referred to1  
and ,i am willing to abide by its       
decisions1 but  must enter my protest   
against the false translation of some   
passages by  the ,,men who did that     
work1 and against the perverted         
interpretation by  the ,,men who        
undertook to write commentaries thereon4
 ,i am inclined to  think1 when we are  
admitted to the honor of studying ,greek
 and ,hebrew1  we shall produce some    
various readings of the ,bible a little 
different  from those we now have4      
,the ,lord ,jesus defines the duties of 
his followers in his ,sermon on the     
,mount4 ,he lays down grand principles  
by which they should be governed1       
without any reference to sex or         
condition3--#8,ye are the light of the  

world4 ,a city that is set on a hill    
cannot be hid4 ,neither do men light  a 
candle and put it under a bushel1 but on
 a candlestick1 and it giveth  light    
unto all that are in the house4 ,let    
your light so shine before  men1 that   
they may see your good works1 and       
glorify your ,father which  is in       
,heaven4' ,i follow him through all his 
precepts1 and find him  giving the same 
directions to women as to men1 never    
even referring to  the distinction now  
so strenuously insisted upon between    
masculine and  feminine virtues3 this is
 one of the anti-christian #8traditions 
of men'  which are taught instead of the
 #8commandments of ,god4' ,men and women
  were ,,created ,,equal2 they are both 
moral and accountable beings1 and       
whatever is right for man to do1 is     
right for woman4    ,but the influence  
of woman1 says the ,association1 is to  
be private  and unobtrusive2 her light  
is not to shine before man like that of 
her brethren2 but she is passively to   

let the lords of the creation1  as they 
call themselves1 put the bushel over it1
 lest peradventure it  might appear that
 the world has been benefitted by the   
rays of her  candle4 ,so that her       
quenched light1 according to their      
judgment1 will  be of more use than if  
it were set on the candlestick4 #8,her  
influence  is the source of mighty      
power4' ,this has ever been the         
flattering  language of man since he    
laid aside the whip as a means to keep  
woman  in subjection4 ,he spares her    
body2 but the war he has waged against  
her  mind1 her heart1 and her soul1 has 
been no less destructive to her as  a   
moral being4 ,how monstrous1 how        
anti-christian1 is the doctrine that    
woman is to be dependent on man6 ,where1
 in all the sacred ,scriptures1  is this
 taught8 ,alas6 she has too well learned
 the lesson which ,,man has  labored to 
teach her4 ,she has surrendered her     
dearest ,,rights1 and been  satisfied   
with the privileges which man has       

assumed to grant her2 she  has been     
amused with the show of power1 whilst   
man has absorbed all the  reality into  
himself4 ,he has adorned the creature   
whom ,god gave him as  a companion1 with
 baubles and gewgaws1 turned her        
attention to personal  attractions1     
offered incense to her vanity1 and made 
her the instrument  of his selfish      
gratification1 a play-thing to please   
his eye and amuse  his hours of leisure4
 #8,rule by obedience and by submission 
sway1' or  in other words1 study to be a
 hypocrite1 pretend to submit1 but gain 
your point1 has been the code of        
household morality which woman has  been
 taught4 ,the poet has sung1 in sickly  
strains1 the loveliness of  woman's     
dependence upon man1 and now we find it 
re-echoed by those who  profess to teach
 the religion of the ,bible4 ,god says1 
#8,cease ye from  man whose breath is in
 his nostrils1 for wherein is he to be  
accounted  of8' ,man says1 depend upon  
me4 ,god says1 #8,,he will teach us of  

his  ways4' ,man says1 believe it not1  
,i am to be your teacher4 ,this doctrine
  of dependence upon man is utterly at  
variance with the doctrine of the       
,bible4 ,in that book ,i find nothing   
like the softness of woman1 nor the     
sternness of man3 both are equally      
commanded to bring forth the fruits  of 
the ,spirit1 love1 meekness1 gentleness1
 c4    ,but we are told1 #8the power of 
woman is in her dependence1 flowing     
from a consciousness of that weakness   
which ,god has given her for her        
protection4' ,if physical weakness is   
alluded to1 ,i cheerfully concede  the  
superiority2 if brute force is what my  
brethren are claiming1 ,i am  willing to
 let them have all the honor they       
desire2 but if they mean  to intimate1  
that mental or moral weakness belongs to
 woman1 more than  to man1 ,i utterly   
disclaim the charge4 ,our powers of mind
 have been  crushed1 as far as man could
 do it1 our sense of morality has been  
impaired by his interpretation of our   

duties2 but no where does ,god  say that
 he made any distinction between us1 as 
moral and intelligent  beings4    #8,we 
appreciate1' say the ,association1 #8the
 unostentatious prayers  and efforts of 
woman in advancing the cause of religion
 at home and  abroad1 in leading        
religious inquirers ,,to ,,the ,,pastor 
for instruction4'  ,several points here 
demand attention4 ,if public prayers and
 public  efforts are necessarily        
ostentatious1 then #8,anna the          
prophetess1 7or  preacher17 who departed
 not from the temple1 but served ,god   
with  fastings and prayers night and    
day1' #8and spake of ,christ to all them
  that looked for redemption in         
,israel1' was ostentatious in her       
efforts4  ,then1 the apostle ,paul      
encourages women to be ostentatious in  
their  efforts to spread the gospel1    
when he gives them directions how they  
should appear1 when engaged in praying1 
or preaching in the public  assemblies4 
,then1 the whole association of         

,congregational ministers are           
ostentatious1 in the efforts they are   
making in preaching and praying  to     
convert souls4    ,but woman may be     
permitted to lead religious inquirers to
 the ,,pastors  for instruction4 ,now   
this is assuming that all pastors are   
better  qualified to give instruction   
than woman4 ,this ,i utterly deny4 ,i   
have  suffered too keenly from the      
teaching of man1 to lead any one to him 
for instruction4 ,the ,lord ,jesus      
says1--#8,come unto me and learn of me4'
  ,he points his followers to no man2   
and when woman is made the favored      
instrument of rousing a sinner to his   
lost and helpless condition1  she has no
 right to substitute any teacher for    
,christ2 all she has to  do is1 to turn 
the contrite inquirer to the #8,lamb of 
,god which taketh  away the sins of the 
world4' ,more souls have probably been  
lost by  going down to ,egypt for help1 
and by trusting in man in the early     
stages of religious experience1 than by 

any other error4 ,instead of  the       
petition being offered to ,god1--#8,lead
 me in thy truth1 and ,,teach  me1 for  
thou art the ,god of my                 
salvation1'--instead of relying on the  
precious promises--#8,what man is he    
that feareth the ,lord8 him shall  ,,he 
,,teach in the way that he shall        
choose'--#8,i will instruct thee and    
,,teach thee in the way which thou shalt
 go--,i will guide thee with mine       
eye'--the young convert is directed to  
go to man1 as if he were in  the place  
of ,god1 and his instructions essential 
to an advancement in  the path of       
righteousness4 ,that woman can have but 
a poor conception  of the privilege of  
being taught of ,god1 what he alone can 
teach1 who  would turn the #8religious  
inquirer aside' from the fountain of    
living  waters1 where he might slake his
 thirst for spiritual instruction1 to   
those broken cisterns which can hold no 
water1 and therefore cannot  satisfy the
 panting spirit4 ,the business of men   

and women1 who are  ,,ordained ,,of     
,,god to preach the unsearchable riches 
of ,christ to a lost  and perishing     
world1 is to lead souls to ,christ1 and 
not to ,pastors for  instruction4       
,the ,general ,association say1 that    
#8when woman assumes the place and  tone
 of man as a public reformer1 our care  
and protection of her seem  unnecessary2
 we put ourselves in self-defence       
against her1 and her  character becomes 
unnatural4' ,here again the unscriptural
 notion is  held up1 that there is a    
distinction between the duties of men   
and  women as moral beings2 that what is
 virtue in man1 is vice in woman2  and  
women who dare to obey the command of   
,jehovah1 #8,cry aloud1 spare  not1 lift
 up thy voice like a trumpet1 and show  
my people their  transgression1' are    
threatened with having the protection of
 the  brethren withdrawn4 ,if this is   
all they do1 we shall not even know  the
 time when our chastisement is          
inflicted2 our trust is in the ,lord    

,jehovah1 and in him is ever-lasting    
strength4 ,the motto of woman1 when  she
 is engaged in the great work of public 
reformation should be1--#8,the  ,lord is
 my light and my salvation2 whom shall  
,i fear8 ,the ,lord is the  strength of 
my life2 of whom shall ,i be afraid8'   
,she must feel1 if she  feels rightly1  
that she is fulfilling one of the       
important duties  laid upon her as an   
accountable being1 and that her         
character1 instead  of being            
#8unnatural1' is in exact accordance    
with the will of ,him to  whom1 and to  
no other1 she is responsible for the    
talents and the gifts  confided to her4 
,as to the pretty simile1 introduced    
into the #8,pastoral  ,letter1' #8,if   
the vine whose strength and beauty is to
 lean upon the  trellis work1 and half  
conceal its clusters1 thinks to assume  
the  independence and the overshadowing 
nature of the elm1' c4 ,i shall only    
remark that it might well suit the      
poet's fancy1 who sings of sparkling    

eyes and coral lips1 and knights in     
armor clad2 but it seems to me  utterly 
inconsistent with the dignity of a      
,christian body1 to endeavor  to draw   
such an anti-scriptural distinction     
between men and women4 ,ah6  how many of
 my sex feel in the dominion1 thus      
unrighteously exercised  over them1     
under the gentle appellation of         
protection1 that what they  have leaned 
upon has proved a broken reed at best1  
and oft a spear4                        
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,iv4                          
,,social ,,intercourse ,,of ,,the       
,,sexes4                                
,andover1 #gth ,mo4 #bgth1 #ahcg4       
,,my ,,dear ,,friend1--,before ,i       
proceed with the account of that        
oppression  which woman has suffered in 
every age and country from her          
protector1  man1 permit me to offer for 
your consideration1 some views relative 
to the social intercourse of the sexes4 

,nearly the whole of this  intercourse  
is1 in my apprehension1 derogatory to   
man and woman1 as  moral and            
intellectual beings4 ,we approach each  
other1 and mingle  with each other1     
under the constant pressure of a feeling
 that we are  of different sexes2 and1  
instead of regarding each other only in 
the  light of immortal creatures1 the   
mind is fettered by the idea which is   
early and industriously infused into it1
 that we must never forget the          
distinction between male and female4    
,hence our intercourse1 instead  of     
being elevated and refined1 is generally
 calculated to excite and  keep alive   
the lowest propensities of our nature4  
,nothing1 ,i believe1  has tended more  
to destroy the true dignity of woman1   
than the fact  that she is approached by
 man in the character of a female4 ,the 
idea  that she is sought as an          
intelligent and heaven-born creature1   
whose  society will cheer1 refine and   
elevate her companion1 and that she     

will receive the same blessings she     
confers1 is rarely held up to her  view4
 ,on the contrary1 man almost always    
addresses himself to the  weakness of   
woman4 ,by flattery1 by an appeal to her
 passions1 he seeks  access to her      
heart2 and when he has gained her       
affections1 he uses  her as the         
instrument of his pleasure--the minister
 of his temporal  comfort4 ,he furnishes
 himself with a housekeeper1 whose chief
 business  is in the kitchen1 or the    
nursery4 ,and whilst he goes abroad and 
enjoys the means of improvement afforded
 by collision of intellect  with        
cultivated minds1 his wife is condemned 
to draw nearly all her  instruction from
 books1 if she has time to peruse them2 
and if not1  from her meditations1      
whilst engaged in those domestic duties1
 which  are necessary for the comfort of
 her lord and master4    ,surely no one 
who contemplates1 with the eye of a     
,christian  philosopher1 the design of  
,god in the creation of woman1 can      

believe  that she is now fulfilling that
 design4 ,the literal translation of the
  word #8help-meet' is a helper like    
unto himself2 it is so rendered in  the 
,septuagint1 and manifestly signifies a 
companion4 ,now ,i believe  it will be  
impossible for woman to fill the station
 assigned her by  ,god1 until her       
brethren mingle with her as an equal1 as
 a moral being2  and lose1 in the       
dignity of her immortal nature1 and in  
the fact of  her bearing like himself   
the image and superscription of her     
,god1 the  idea of her being a female4  
,the apostle beautifully remarks1 #8,as 
many  of you as have been baptized into 
,christ1 have put on ,christ4 ,there  is
 neither ,jew nor ,greek1 there is      
neither bond nor free1 there is  neither
 male nor female2 for ye are all one in 
,christ ,jesus4' ,until  our intercourse
 is purified by the forgetfulness of    
sex1--until we rise  above the present  
low and sordid views which entwine      
themselves around  our social and       

domestic interchange of sentiment and   
feelings1 we never  can derive that     
benefit from each other's society which 
it is the  design of our ,creator that  
we should4 ,man has inflicted an        
unspeakable  injury upon woman1 by      
holding up to her view her animal       
nature1 and  placing in the back ground 
her moral and intellectual being4 ,woman
 has  inflicted an injury upon herself  
by submitting to be thus regarded2 and  
she is now called upon to rise from the 
station where man1 not ,god1  has placed
 her1 and claim those sacred and        
inalienable rights1 as a  moral and     
responsible being1 with which her       
,creator has invested her4    ,what but 
these views1 so derogatory to the       
character of woman1 could  have called  
forth the remark contained in the       
,pastoral ,letter8  #8,we especially    
deplore the intimate acquaintance and   
promiscuous  conversation of females    
with regard to things 8which ought not  
to  be named10 by which that modesty and

 delicacy1 which is the charm of        
domestic life1 and which constitutes the
 true influence of woman1  is consumed4'
 ,how wonderful that the conceptions of 
man relative to  woman are so low1 that 
he cannot perceive that she may converse
 on any  subject connected with the     
improvement of her species1 without     
swerving  in the least from that modesty
 which is one of her greatest virtues6  
,is it designed to insinuate that woman 
should possess a greater degree  of     
modesty than man8 ,this idea ,i utterly 
reprobate4 ,or is it supposed  that     
woman cannot go into scenes of misery1  
the necessary result of  those very     
things1 which the ,pastoral ,letter says
 ought not to be  named1 for the purpose
 of moral reform1 without becoming      
contaminated  by those with whom she    
thus mingles8    ,this is a false       
position2 and ,i presume has grown out  
of the  never-forgotten distinction of  
male and female4 ,the woman who goes    
forth1 clad in the panoply of ,god1 to  

stem the tide of iniquity and  misery1  
which she beholds rolling through our   
land1 goes not forth to  her labor of   
love as a female4 ,she goes as the      
dignified messenger of  ,jehovah1 and   
all she does and says must be done and  
said irrespective  of sex4 ,she is in   
duty bound to communicate with all1 who 
are able and  willing to aid her in     
saving her fellow creatures1 both men   
and women1  from that destruction which 
awaits them4    ,so far from woman      
losing any thing of the purity of her   
mind1 by  visiting the wretched victims 
of vice in their miserable abodes1 by   
talking with them1 or of them1 she      
becomes more and more elevated and      
refined in her feelings and views4      
,while laboring to cleanse the minds  of
 others from the malaria of moral       
pollution1 her own heart becomes        
purified1 and her soul rises to nearer  
communion with her ,god4 ,such a  woman 
is infinitely better qualified to fulfil
 the duties of a wife and  a mother1    

than the woman whose false delicacy     
leads her to shun her  fallen sister and
 brother1 and shrink from naming those  
sins which  she knows exist1 but which  
she is too fastidious to labor by deed  
and  by word to exterminate4 ,such a    
woman feels when she enters upon the    
marriage relation1 that ,god designed   
that relation not to debase her  to a   
level with the animal creation1 but to  
increase the happiness and  dignity of  
his creatures4 ,such a woman comes to   
the important task of  training her     
children in the nurture and admonition  
of the ,lord1 with a  soul filled with  
the greatness of the beings committed to
 her charge4  ,she sees in her children1
 creatures bearing the image of ,god2   
and she  approaches them with reverence1
 and treats them at all times as moral  
and accountable beings4 ,her own mind   
being purified and elevated1 she        
instils into her children that genuine  
religion which induces them to  keep the
 commandments of ,god4 ,instead of      

ministering with ceaseless  care to     
their sensual appetites1 she teaches    
them to be temperate in  all things4    
,she can converse with her children on  
any subject relating  to their duty to  
,god1 can point their attention to those
 vices which  degrade and brutify human 
nature1 without in the least defiling   
her  own mind or theirs4 ,she views     
herself1 and teaches her children to    
regard themselves as moral beings2 and  
in all their intercourse with  their    
fellow men1 to lose the animal nature of
 man and woman1 in the  recognition of  
that immortal mind wherewith ,jehovah   
has blessed and                         
enriched them4                          
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,v4                            
,,condition ,,in ,,asia ,,and ,,africa4 
,groton1 #hth ,mo4 #dth1 #ahcg4    ,,my 
,,dear ,,sister1--,i design to devote   
this letter to a brief examination  of  
the condition of women in ,asia and     

,africa4 ,i believe it will be  found   
that men1 in the exercise of their      
usurped dominion over woman1  have      
almost invariably done one of two       
things4 ,they have either made  slaves  
of the creatures whom ,god designed to  
be their companions and  their          
coadjutors in every moral and           
intellectual improvement1 or they  have 
dressed them like dolls1 and used them  
as toys to amuse their  hours of        
recreation4    ,i shall commence by     
stating the degrading practice of       
,,selling ,,women1  which we find       
prevalent in almost all the ,eastern    
nations4    ,among the ,jews1--         
#8,whoever wished for a wife must pay   
the parents for her1 or perform   a     
stipulated period of service2 sometimes 
the parties were solemnly   betrothed in
 childhood1 and the price of the bride  
stipulated4'    ,in ,babylon1 they had a
 yearly custom of a peculiar kind4      
#8,in every district1 three men1        
respectable for their virtue1 were      

chosen to conduct all the marriageable  
girls to the public assembly4   ,here   
they were put up at auction by the      
public crier1 while the   magistrate    
presided over the sales4 ,the most      
beautiful were sold   first1 and the    
rich contended eagerly for a choice4    
,the most ugly1   or deformed girl was  
sold next in succession to the          
handsomest1 and   assigned to any person
 who would take her with the least sum  
of money4   ,the price given for the    
beautiful was divided into dowries for  
the   homely4'    ,two things may here  
be noticed2 first1 the value set upon   
personal  charms1 just as a handsome    
horse commands a high price2 and second1
 the  utter disregard which is          
manifested towards the feelings of      
woman4     #8,in no part of the world   
does the condition of women appear more 
dreary than in ,hindostan4 ,the         
arbitrary power of a father disposes    
of them in childhood4 ,when they are    
married1 their husbands have   despotic 

control over them2 if unable to support 
them1 they can lend   or sell them to a 
neighbor1 and in the ,hindoo rage for   
gambling1 wives   and children are      
frequently staked and lost4 ,if they    
survive their   husbands1 they must pay 
implicit obedience to the oldest son2 if
 they   have no sons1 the nearest male  
relation holds them in subjection2 and  
if there happen to be no kinsmen1 they  
must be dependent on the chief   of the 
tribe4'    ,even the ,english1 who are  
numerous in ,hindostan1 have traded in  
women4     #8,india has been a great    
marriage market1 on account of the      
emigration   of young enterprising      
,englishmen1 without a corresponding    
number   of women4 ,some persons        
actually imported women to the ,british 
settlements1 in order to sell them to   
rich ,europeans1 or nabobs1 who   would 
give a good price for them4 ,how the    
importers acquired a right   thus to    
dispose of them is not mentioned2 it is 
probable that the   women themselves1   

from extreme poverty1 or some other     
cause1 consented   to become articles of
 speculation1 upon consideration of     
receiving a   certain remuneration4 ,in 
,september1 #ahah1 the following        
advertisement   appeared in the         
,calcutta ,advertiser3     ,,females    
,,raffled ,,for4     ,be it known1 that 
six fair pretty young ladies1 with two  
sweet   engaging children1 lately       
imported from ,europe1 having the roses 
of   health blooming on their cheeks1   
and joy sparkling in their eyes1        
possessing amiable tempers and highly   
accomplished1 whom the most             
indifferent cannot behold without       
rapture1 are to be raffled for next     
door to the ,british gallery4'    ,the  
enemy of all good could not have devised
 a better means of debasing  an immortal
 creature1 than by turning her into a   
saleable commodity2  and hence we find  
that wherever this custom prevails1     
woman is regarded  as a mere machine to 
answer the purposes of domestic combat  

or sensual  indulgence1 or to gratify   
the taste of her oppressor by a display 
of  personal attractions4               
#8,weighed in the balance with a        
tyrant's gold1    ,though nature cast   
her in a heavenly mould4'    ,i shall   
now take a brief survey of the          
,,employments of women in ,asia  and    
,africa4 ,in doing this1 ,i have two    
objects in view2 first to show1  that   
women are capable of acquiring as great 
physical power as men1  and secondly to 
show1 that they have been more or less  
the victims of  oppression and contempt4
     #8,the occupations of the ancient  
,jewish women were laborious4 ,they     
spent their time in spinning and weaving
 cloth for garments1 and for   the      
covering of the tents1 in cooking the   
food1 tending the flocks1   grinding the
 corn1 and drawing water from the       
wells4'    ,of ,trojan women we know    
little1 but we find that--              
#8,andromache1 though a princess and    
well beloved by her husband1 fed   and  

took care of the horses of ,hector4'    
,so in ,persia1 women of the middling   
class see that proper care is taken  of 
the horses4 ,they likewise do all the   
laborious part of the house  work4      
#8,the ,hindoo women are engaged in     
every variety of occupation1   according
 to the caste of their husbands4 ,they  
cultivate the land1   make baskets and  
mats1 bring water in jars1 carry manure 
and various   other articles to market  
in baskets on their heads1 cook food1   
tend   children1 weave cloth1 reel      
thread and wind cocoons4'     #8,the    
,thibetian women of the laboring classes
 are inured to a great   deal of toil4  
,they plant1 weed1 reap1 and thresh     
grain1 and are   exposed to the roughest
 weather1 while their indolent husbands 
are   perhaps living at their ease4'    
#8,females of the lower classes among   
the ,chinese endure as much labor   and 
fatigue as the men4 ,a wife sometimes   
drags the plough in rice   fields with  
an infant tied upon her back1 while her 

husband performs   the less arduous task
 of holding the plough4'     #8,the     
,tartar women in general perform a      
greater share of labor than the   men2  
for it is a prevalent opinion that they 
were sent into the world   for no other 
purpose1 but to be useful and convenient
 ,,slaves to the   stronger sex4'       
#8,among some of the ,tartar tribes of  
the present day1   females manage a     
horse1 hurl a javelin1 hunt wild        
animals1 and fight   an enemy as well as
 the men4'     #8,in the island of      
,sumatra1 the women do all the work1    
while their   husbands lounge in        
idleness1 playing on the flute1 with    
wreaths of   globe amaranth on their    
heads1 or racing with each other1       
without   saddle or stirrup1 or hunting 
deer1 or gambling away their wives1     
their children1 or themselves4 ,the     
,battas consider their wives and        
children as slaves1 and sell them       
whenever they choose4'     #8,the ,moors
 are indolent to excess4 ,they lie whole

 days upon their   mats1 sleeping and   
smoking1 while the women and slaves     
perform all the   labor4 ,owing to their
 uncleanly habits1 they are much        
infested with   vermin2 and as they     
consider it beneath their dignity to    
remove this   annoyance1 the task is    
imposed on the women4 ,they are very    
impatient   and tyrannical1 and for the 
slightest offence beat their wives most 
cruelly4'    ,in looking over the       
condition of woman as delineated in this
 letter1  how amply do we find the      
prophecy of ,jehovah to ,eve fulfilled1 
#8,thy  husband will rule over thee4'   
,and yet we perceive that where the     
physical strength of woman is called    
into exercise1 there is no  inferiority 
even in this respect2 she performs the  
labor1 while man  enjoys what are termed
 the pleasures of life4    ,i have      
thought it necessary to adduce various  
proofs of my assertion1  that men have  
always in some way regarded women as    
mere instruments of  selfish            

gratification2 and hope this sorrowful  
detail of the wrongs of  woman will not 
be tedious to thee4                     
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,vi4                          
,,women ,,in ,,asia ,,and ,,africa4     
,groton1 #hth ,mo4 #aeth1 #ahcg4        
,,dear ,,friend1--,in pursuing the      
history of woman in different ages and  
countries1 it will be necessary to      
exhibit her in all the various          
situations in which she has been placed4
    ,we find her sometimes filling the  
throne1 and exercising the  functions of
 royalty4 ,the name of ,semiramis is    
familiar to every  reader of ancient    
history4 ,she succeeded ,ninus in the   
government of  the ,assyrian empire2 and
 to render her name immortal1 built the 
city  of ,babylon4 ,two millions of men 
were constantly employed upon it4       
,certain dykes built by order of this   
queen1 to defend the city from          
inundations1 are spoken of as admirable4

    ,nicotris1 wife of ,nabonadius1 the 
,evil-,merodach of ,scripture1 was a    
woman of great endowments4 ,while her   
husband indulged in a life of ease  and 
pleasure1 she managed the affairs of    
state with wisdom and prudence4         
#8,zenobia queen of ,palmyra and the    
,east1 is the most remarkable   among   
,asiatic women4 ,her genius struggled   
with and overcame all the   obstacles   
presented by oriental laws and customs4 
,she knew the ,latin1   ,greek1 ,syriac1
 and ,egyptian languages2 and had drawn 
up for her own   use an abridgement of  
oriental history4 ,she was the companion
 and   friend of her husband1 and       
accompanied him on his hunting          
excursions   with eagerness and courage 
equal to his own4 ,she despised the     
effeminacy of a covered carriage1 and   
often appeared on horseback in          
military costume4 ,sometimes she marched
 several miles on foot1 at the   head of
 the troops4 ,having revenged the murder
 of her husband1 she   ascended the     

throne1 and for five years governed     
,palmyra1 ,syria1 and   the ,east1 with 
wonderful steadiness and wisdom4'       
#8,previous to the introduction of      
,mohammedism into ,java1 women often    
held the highest offices of government2 
and when the chief of a   district dies1
 it is even now not uncommon for the    
widow to retain the   authority that    
belonged to her deceased husband4'      
,other instances might be adduced to    
prove that there is no natural          
inferiority in woman4 ,not that ,i      
approve of woman's holding the reins  of
 government over man4 ,i maintain that  
they are equal1 and that ,god  never    
invested fallen man with unlimited power
 over his fellow man2  and ,i rejoice   
that circumstances have prevented woman 
from being more  deeply involved in the 
guilt which appears to be inseparable   
from  political affairs4 ,the few       
instances which ,i have mentioned prove 
that intellect is not sexed2 and        
doubtless if woman had not almost       

universally been depressed and degraded1
 the page of history would have         
exhibited as many eminent statesmen and 
politicians among women as  men4 ,we are
 much in the situation of the slave4    
,man has asserted and  assumed authority
 over us4 ,he has1 by virtue of his     
power1 deprived  us of the advantages of
 improvement which he has lavishly      
bestowed  upon himself1 and then1 after 
having done all he can to take from  us 
the means of proving our equality1 and  
our capability of mental  cultivation1  
he throws upon us the burden of proof   
that ,god created man  and woman equal1 
and endowed them1 without any reference 
to sex1 with  intelligence and          
responsibilities1 as rational and       
accountable beings4  ,hence in          
,hindostan1 even women of the higher    
classes are forbidden to  read or write2
 because the ,hindoos think it would    
inevitably spoil them  for domestic     
life1 and assuredly bring some great    
misfortune upon them4  ,may we not trace

 to the same feeling1 the disadvantages 
under which  women labor even in this   
country1 for want of an education1 which
 would  call into exercise the powers of
 her mind1 and fortify her soul with    
those great moral principles by which   
she would be qualified to fill  every   
department in social1 domestic and      
religious life with  dignity8    ,in    
,hindostan1 the evidence of women is not
 received in a court of  justice4    ,in
 ,burmah1 their testimony is not deemed 
equal to that of a man1 and  they are   
not allowed to ascend the steps of a    
court of justice1 but are  obliged to   
give their testimony outside of the     
building4    ,in ,siberia1 women are not
 allowed to step across the foot-prints 
of  men1 or reindeer2 they are not      
allowed to eat with men1 or to partake  
of particular dainties4 ,among many     
tribes1 they seem to be regarded as     
impure1 unholy beings4     #8,the       
,mohammedan law forbids pigs1 dogs1     
women and other impure animals   to     

enter a mosque2 and the hour of prayers 
must not be proclaimed by a   female1 a 
madman1 a drunkard1 or a decrepit       
person4'    ,here ,i am reminded of the 
resemblance between the situation of    
women in  heathen and ,mohammedan       
countries1 and our brethren and sisters 
of color  in this ,christian land1 where
 they are despised and cast out as      
though  they were unclean4 ,and on      
precisely the same ground1 because they 
are  said to be inferior4    ,the       
treatment of women as wives is almost   
uniformly the same in all  heathen      
countries4    ,the ancient ,lydians are 
the only exception that ,i have met     
with1 and  the origin of their peculiar 
customs is so much obscured by fable1   
that  it is difficult to ascertain the  
truth4 ,probably they arose from some   
great benefit conferred on the state by 
women4    ,among the ,druses who reside 
in the mountains of the ,anti ,libanus1 
a wife is often divorced on the         
slightest pretext4 ,if she ask her      

husband's permission to go out1 and he  
says1--#8,go1' without adding #8but     
come back again1' she is divorced4      
,in ,siberia1 it is considered a wife's 
duty to obey the most capricious  and   
unreasonable demands of her husband1    
without one word of  expostulation or   
inquiry4 ,if her master be dissatisfied 
with the most  trifling particular in   
her conduct1 he tears the cap or veil   
from her  head1 and this constitutes a  
divorce4    ,a ,persian woman1 under the
 dominion of the kindest master1 is     
treated  much in the same manner as a   
favorite animal4 ,to vary her personal  
graces for his pleasure1 is the sole end
 and aim of her existence4  ,as moral or
 intellectual beings1 it would be better
 for them to be  among the dead than the
 living4 ,the mother instructs her      
daughter in  all the voluptuous         
coquetry1 by which she herself acquired 
precarious  ascendency over her absolute
 master2 but all that is truly estimable
 in  female character is utterly        

neglected4    ,hence we find women      
extravagantly fond of adorning their    
persons4  ,regarded as instruments of   
pleasure1 they have been degraded into  
mere  animals1 and have found their own 
gratification principally in the        
indulgence of personal vanity1 because  
their external charms procured  for     
them1 at least a temporary ascendency   
over those1 who held in their  hands the
 reins of government4 ,a few instances  
must suffice1 or ,i shall  exceed the   
limits ,i have prescribed to myself in  
this letter4    ,during the magnificent 
prosperity of ,israel1 marriages were   
conducted  with great pomp2 and with the
 progress of luxury and refinement1     
women  became expensive1 rather than    
profitable in a pecuniary point of view4
  ,hence probably arose the custom of   
wealthy parents giving a handsome  dowry
 with their daughters4 ,on the day of   
the nuptials1 the bride was  conducted  
by her female relations to the bath1    
where she was anointed  with the        

choicest perfumes1 her hair perfumed and
 braided1 her eyebrows  deepened with   
black powder1 and the tips of her       
fingers tinged with  rose color4 ,she   
was then arrayed in a marriage robe of  
brilliant color2  the girdle and        
bracelets were more or less costly4     
,notwithstanding the ,chinese women have
 no opportunity to rival each  other in 
the conquest of hearts1 they are        
nevertheless very fond of  ornaments4   
,bunches of silver or gilt flowers are  
always interspersed  among their        
ringlets1 and sometimes they wear the   
,chinese phnix made  of silver gilt4 ,it
 moves with the slightest motion of the 
wearer1  and the spreading tail forms a 
glittering aigrette on the middle of    
the head1 and the wings wave over the   
front4 ,yet a ,chinese ballad           
says1--,the pearls and precious stones1 
the silk and gold with which  a coquette
 so studiously bedecks herself1 are a   
transparent varnish  which makes all her
 defects the more apparent4    ,the     

,moorish women have generally a great   
passion for ornament4 ,they  decorate   
their persons with heavy gold ear-rings1
 necklaces of amber1  coral and gold2   
gold bracelets2 gold chains and silver  
bells for the  ankles2 rings on the     
fingers1 c4 c4 ,the poorer class wear   
glass beads  around the head1 and curl  
the hair in large ringlets4 ,men are    
proud of  having their wives handsomely 
dressed4    ,the ,moors are not peculiar
 in this fancy4 ,christian men still    
admire  women who adorn their persons to
 gratify the lust of the eye and the    
pride of life4 ,women1 says a           
,brahminical expositor1 are             
characterized  by an inordinate love of 
jewels1 fine clothes1 c4 c4 ,i cannot   
deny  this charge1 but it is only one   
among many instances1 wherein men  have 
reproached us with those very faults and
 vices which their own  treatment has   
engendered4 ,is it any matter of        
surprise that women1  when unnaturally  
deprived of the means of cultivating    

their minds1 of  objects which would    
elevate and refine their passions and   
affections1  should seek gratification  
in the toys and the trifles which now   
too  generally engage their attention8  
,i cannot close this1 without           
acknowledging the assistance and        
information ,i have derived1 and shall  
continue to derive on this part  of my  
subject1 from a valuable work entitled  
#8,condition of ,women1 by  ,lydia ,m4  
,child4' ,it is worth the perusal of    
every one who is interested  in the     
subject4                                
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,vii4                         
,,condition ,,in ,,some ,,parts ,,of    
,,europe ,,and ,,america4               
,brookline1 #hth ,mo41 #bb;d1 #ahcg4    
,,dear ,,sister1--,i now come to the    
consideration of the condition of woman 
in ,europe4--,in this portion of the    
world1 she does not appear to have  been
 as uniformly or as deeply debased1 as  

in ,eastern countries2 yet we  shall    
find little in her history which can    
yield us satisfaction1 when  we regard  
the high station she was designed to    
occupy as a moral and  intellectual     
being4    ,in ,greece1 if we may judge  
from what ,eustathius says1 #8women     
should  keep within doors1 and there    
talk1'--we may conclude1 that in general
  their occupations were chiefly        
domestic4 ,thucydides also declares1    
that  #8she was the best woman1 of whom 
the least was said1 either of good  or  
of harm4' ,the heathen philosophers     
doubtless wished to keep woman  in her  
#8appropriate sphere2' and we find our  
clerical brethren of  the present day   
re-echoing these pagan sentiments1 and  
endeavoring to  drive woman from the    
field of moral labor and intellectual   
culture1  to occupy her talents in the  
pursuit of those employments which will 
enable her to regale the palate of her  
lord with the delicacies of the  table1 
and in every possible way minister to   

his animal comfort and  gratification4  
,in my humble opinion1 woman has long   
enough subserved  the interests of man2 
and in the spirit of self-sacrifice1    
submitted  almost without remonstrance  
to his oppression2 and now that her     
attention is solicited to the subject of
 her rights1 her privileges  and her    
duties1 ,i would entreat her to double  
her diligence in the  performance of all
 her obligations as a wife1 a mother1 a 
sister1  and a daughter4 ,let us        
remember that our claim to stand on     
perfect  equality with our brethren1 can
 only be substantiated by a scrupulous  
attention to our domestic duties1 as    
well as by aiding in the great  work of 
moral reformation--a work which is now  
calling for the energies  and           
consecrated powers of every man and     
woman who desires to see the            
,redeemer's kingdom established on      
earth4 ,that man must indeed be narrow  
minded1 and can have but a poor         
conception of the power of moral truth  

on the female heart1 who supposes that a
 correct view of her own rights  can    
make woman less solicitous to fill up   
every department of duty4  ,if it should
 have this effect1 it must be because   
she has not taken a  comprehensive view 
of the whole subject4    ,in the history
 of ,rome1 we find a little spot of     
sunshine in the  valley where woman has 
been destined to live1 unable from her  
lowly  situation to take an expansive   
view of that field of moral and mental  
improvement1 which she should have been 
busy in cultivating4     #8,in the      
earliest and best days of ,rome1 the    
first magistrates and   generals of     
armies ploughed their own fields1 and   
threshed their own   grain4 ,integrity1 
industry and simplicity1 were the       
prevailing virtues   of the times2 and  
the character of woman was1 as it always
 must be1   graduated in a degree by    
that of man4 ,columella says1 ,roman    
husbands1   having completed the labors 
of the day1 entered their houses free   

from all care1 and there enjoyed perfect
 repose4 ,there reigned union   and     
concord and industry1 supported by      
mutual affections4 ,the most   beautiful
 woman depended for distinction on her  
economy and endeavors   to assist in    
crowning her husband's diligence with   
prosperity4 ,all was   in common between
 them2 nothing was thought to belong    
more to one than   another4 ,the wife by
 her assiduity and activity within      
doors1 equalled   and seconded the      
industry and labor of her husband4'     
,in the then state of the world1 we may 
conclude from this description1  that   
woman enjoyed as much happiness as was  
consistent with that  comparatively     
unimproved condition of our species2 but
 now a new and  vast sphere of          
usefulness is opened to her1 and she is 
pressed by  surrounding circumstances to
 come up to the help of the ,lord       
against  the giant sins which desolate  
our beloved country4 ,shall woman shrink
  from duty in this exigency1 and       

retiring within her own domestic        
circle1 delight herself in the abundance
 of her own selfish enjoyments8  ,shall 
she rejoice in her home1 her husband1   
her children1 and forget  her brethren  
and sisters in bondage1 who know not    
what it is to call a  spot of earth     
their own1 whose husbands and wives are 
torn from them by  relentless tyrants1  
and whose children are snatched from    
their arms by  their unfeeling          
task-masters1 whenever interest1 or     
convenience1 tempts  them to this       
sacrilegious act8 ,shall woman disregard
 the situation of  thousands of her     
fellow creatures1 who are the victims of
 intemperance  and licentiousness1 and  
retreating to the privacy of her own    
comfortable home1 be satisfied that her 
whole duty is performed1 when  she can  
exhibit #8her children well clad and    
smiling1 and her table  neatly spread   
with wholesome provisions8' ,shall she1 
because #8her house  is her home1'      
refuse her aid and her sympathy to the  

down trodden  slave1 to the poor unhappy
 outcasts who are deprived of those     
blessings  which she so highly prizes8  
,did ,god give her those blessings to   
steel  her heart to the sufferings of   
her fellow creatures8 ,did he grant  her
 the possession of husband and children1
 to dry up the fountains  of feeling for
 those who know not the consolations of 
tenderness and  reciprocal affection8   
,ah no6 for every such blessing1 ,god   
demands a  grateful heart2 and woman    
must be recreant to her duty1 if she can
  quietly sit down in the enjoyments of 
her own domestic circle1 and not  exert 
herself to procure the same happiness   
for others4    ,but it is said woman has
 a mighty weapon in secret prayer4 ,she 
has1 ,i  acknowledge1 in common with    
man2 but the woman who prays in         
sincerity  for the regeneration of this 
guilty world1 will accompany her prayers
  by her labors4 ,a friend of mine      
remarked--#8,i was sitting in my        
chamber1  weeping over the miseries of  

the slave1 and putting up my petitions  
for his deliverance from bondage2 when  
in the midst of my meditations1  it     
occurred to me that my tears1 unaided by
 effort1 could never melt  the chain of 
the slave4 ,i must be up and doing4'    
,she is now an active  abolitionist--her
 prayers and her works go hand in hand4 
,i am here reminded of what a slave once
 said to his master1 a ,methodist       
minister4 ,the slaveholder inquired1    
#8,how did you like my sermon  to-day8' 
#8,very good1 master1 but it did not    
preach me free4'    ,oh1 my sisters1    
suffer me to entreat you to assert your 
privileges1 and  to perform your duties 
as moral beings4 ,be not dismayed at the
 ridicule  of man2 it is a weapon worthy
 only of little minds1 and is employed  
by  those who feel that they cannot     
convince our judgment4 ,be not alarmed  
at contumely1 or scorn2 we must expect  
this4 ,i pray that we may meet  it with 
forbearance and love2 and that nothing  
may drive us from the  performance of   

our high and holy duties4 ,let us       
#8cease from man1 whose  breath is in   
his nostrils1 for wherein is he to be   
accounted of8' and  press forward in all
 the great moral enterprises of the age1
 leaning  only on the arm of our        
,beloved4    ,but ,i must return to the 
subject ,i commenced with1 viz4 the     
condition  of woman in ,europe4         
#8,the northern nations bore a general  
resemblance to each other4 ,war   and   
hunting were considered the only        
honorable occupations for men1   and all
 other employments were left to women   
and slaves4 ,even the   ,visigoths1 on  
the coasts of ,spain1 left their fields 
and flocks to   the care of women4 ,the 
people who inhabit the vast extent of   
country   between the ,black sea and the
 ,north sea1 are divided into various   
distinct races4 ,the women are generally
 very industrious2 even in   their      
walks1 they carry a portable distaff1   
and spin every step of the   way4 ,both 
,croatian and ,walachian women perform  

all the agricultural   operations in    
addition to their own domestic          
concerns4'    ,speaking of the          
,morlachian women1 ,m4 ,fortis says1    
#8,being treated like  beasts of burden1
 and expected to endure submissively    
every species  of hardship1 they        
naturally become very dirty and careless
 in their  habits4'    ,the ,cossack    
women afford a contrast to this         
disgusting picture4  ,they are very     
cleanly and industrious1 and in the     
absence of their  husbands1 supply their
 places by taking charge of all their   
usual  occupations1 in addition to their
 own4 ,it is rare for a ,cossack woman  
not to know some trade1 such as dyeing  
cloth1 tanning leather1 c4    ,the      
condition of ,polish and ,russian serfs 
in modern times is about  the same4 ,the
 ,polish women have scarcely clothing   
enough for decency1  and they are       
subjected to great hardships and        
privations4 #8,in ,russia1  women have  
been seen paving the streets1 and       

performing other similar  drudgery4 ,in 
,finland1 they work like beasts of      
burden1 and may be  seen for hours in   
snow water1 up to the middle1 tugging at
 boats and  sledges4'    ,in ,flanders  
and in ,france1 women are engaged in    
performing laborious  tasks2 and even in
 ,england1 it is not unusual to see them
 scraping up  manure from the streets   
with their hands1 and gathering it into 
baskets4    ,in ,greece1 even now the   
women plough and carry heavy burdens1   
while the  lordly master of the family  
may be seen walking before them without 
any  incumbrance4#a    ,generally       
speaking1 however1 there is much more   
comparative equality of  labor between  
the sexes in ,europe than among the     
,orientals4    ,i shall close this      
letter with a brief survey of the       
condition of women  among the           
,aborigines of ,america4     #8,before  
,america was settled by ,europeans1 it  
was inhabited by ,indian   tribes1 which
 greatly resembled each other in the    

treatment of their   women4 ,every      
thing1 except war and hunting1 was      
considered beneath the   dignity of     
man4--,during long and wearisome        
marches1 women were obliged   to carry  
children1 provisions and hammocks on    
their shoulders2 they   had the sole    
care of the horses and dogs1 cut wood1  
pitched the tents1   raised the corn1   
and made the clothing4 ,when the husband
 killed game1   he left it by a tree in 
the forest1 returned home1 and sent his 
wife   several miles in search of it4   
,in most of the tribes1 women were not  
allowed to eat and drink with men1 but  
stood and served them1 and then   ate   
what they left4'    ,the following      
affecting anecdote may give some idea of
 the sufferings  of these women3        
#8,father ,joseph reproved a female     
savage for destroying her infant        
daughter4 ,she replied1 8,i wish my     
mother had thus prevented the   manifold
 sufferings ,i have endured4 ,consider1 
father1 our deplorable   situation4 ,our

 husbands go out to hunt2 we are dragged
 along with one   infant at our breast1 
and another in a basket4 ,though tired  
with long   walking1 we are not allowed 
to sleep when we return1 but must labor 
all night in grinding maize and making  
chica for them4--,they get drunk   and  
beat us1 draw us by the hair of the     
head1 and tread us under foot4   ,would 
to ,god my mother had put me under      
ground the moment ,i was born40'    ,in 
,greenland1 the situation of woman is   
equally deplorable4 ,the men  hunt bears
 and catch seals2 but when they have    
towed their booty to  land1 they would  
consider it a disgrace to help the women
 drag it home1  or skin and dress it4   
,they often stand and look idly on1     
while their  wives are staggering       
beneath the load that almost bends them 
to the  earth4 ,the women are cooks1    
butchers1 masons1 curriers1 shoemakers  
and  tailors4 ,they will manage a boat  
in the roughest seas1 and will often    
push off from the shore in the midst of 

a storm1 that would make the  hardiest  
,european sailor tremble4    ,the page  
of history teems with woman's wrongs1   
and it is wet with  woman's tears4--,for
 the sake of my degraded sex every      
where1 and for  the sake of my brethren1
 who suffer just in proportion as they  
place  woman lower in the scale of      
creation than man1 lower than her       
,creator  placed her1 ,i entreat my     
sisters to arise in all the majesty of  
moral  power1 in all the dignity of     
immortal beings1 and plant themselves1  
side by side1 on the platform of human  
rights1 with man1 to whom they  were    
designed to be companions1 equals and   
helpers in every good word              
and work4                               
,thine in the bonds of womanhood        
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4      ,,footnotes3 
#a ,since the preceding letters were in 
type1 ,i have met with the  following   
account in a ,french work entitled #8,de
 l'education des meres  de famille ou de
 la civilization du ,genre ,humain par  

les femmes1'  printed at ,brussels in   
#ahcg4 #8,the periodicals have lately   
published  the following circumstance   
from the journal of an ,english         
physician1  who travelled in the ,east4 
,he visited a slave market1 where he saw
  about twenty ,greek women half naked1 
lying on the ground waiting for  a      
purchaser4 ,one of them attracted the   
attention of an old ,turk4 ,the         
barbarian examined her shoulders1 her   
legs1 her ears1 her mouth1 her  neck1   
with the minutest care1 just as a horse 
is examined1 and during  the inspection1
 the merchant praised the beauty of her 
eyes1 the  elegance of her shape1 and   
other perfections2 he protested that the
  poor girl was but thirteen years of   
age1 c4 ,after a severe scrutiny  and   
some dispute about the price1 she was   
sold body and soul for #acge  francs4   
,the soul1 it is true1 was accounted of 
little value in the  bargain4 ,the      
unfortunate creature1 half fainting in  
the arms of her  mother1 implored help  

in the most touching accents1 but it    
availed  nothing4--,this infernal scene 
passed in ,europe in #ahbi1 only #fjj   
leagues from ,paris and ,london1 the two
 capitals of the human species1  and at 
the time in which ,i write1 it is the   
living history of two  thirds of the    
inhabitants of the earth4'              
,,letter ,,viii4                ,,on    
,,the ,,condition ,,of ,,women ,,in     
,,the ,,united ,,states4                
,brookline1 #ahcg4    ,,my ,,dear       
,,sister1--,i have now taken a brief    
survey of the condition of  woman in    
various parts of the world4 ,i regret   
that my time has been so  much occupied 
by other things1 that ,i have been      
unable to bestow that  attention upon   
the subject which it merits1 and that my
 constant change  of place has prevented
 me from having access to books1 which  
might  probably have assisted me in this
 part of my work4 ,i hope that the      
principles ,i have asserted will claim  
the attention of some of my sex1  who   

may be able to bring into view1 more    
thoroughly than ,i have done1  the      
situation and degradation of woman4 ,i  
shall now proceed to make a  few remarks
 on the condition of women in my own    
country4    ,during the early part of my
 life1 my lot was cast among the        
butterflies of the fashionable world2   
and of this class of women1  ,i am      
constrained to say1 both from experience
 and observation1 that  their education 
is miserably deficient2 that they are   
taught to regard  marriage as the one   
thing needful1 the only avenue to       
distinction2  hence to attract the      
notice and win the attentions of men1 by
 their  external charms1 is the chief   
business of fashionable girls4 ,they    
seldom think that men will be allured by
 intellectual acquirements1  because    
they find1 that where any mental        
superiority exists1 a woman  is         
generally shunned and regarded as       
stepping out of her #8appropriate       
sphere1' which1 in their view1 is to    

dress1 to dance1 to set out to the  best
 possible advantage her person1 to read 
the novels which inundate  the press1   
and which do more to destroy her        
character as a rational  creature1 than 
any thing else4 ,fashionable women      
regard themselves1  and are regarded by 
men1 as pretty toys or as mere          
instruments of  pleasure2 and the       
vacuity of mind1 the heartlessness1 the 
frivolity  which is the necessary result
 of this false and debasing estimate of 
women1 can only be fully understood by  
those who have mingled in the  folly and
 wickedness of fashionable life2 and who
 have been called from  such pursuits by
 the voice of the ,lord ,jesus1 inviting
 their weary and  heavy laden souls to  
come unto ,him and learn of ,him1 that  
they may  find something worthy of their
 immortal spirit1 and their intellectual
  powers2 that they may learn the high  
and holy purposes of their  creation1   
and consecrate themselves unto the      
service of ,god2 and not1  as is now the

 case1 to the pleasure of man4    ,there
 is another and much more numerous class
 in this country1 who are  withdrawn by 
education or circumstances from the     
circle of fashionable  amusements1 but  
who are brought up with the dangerous   
and absurd  idea1 that marriage is a    
kind of preferment2 and that to be able 
to  keep their husband's house1 and     
render his situation comfortable1 is    
the end of her being4 ,much that she    
does and says and thinks is done  in    
reference to this situation2 and to be  
married is too often held  up to the    
view of girls as the sine qua non of    
human happiness and  human existence4   
,for this purpose more than for any     
other1 ,i verily  believe the majority  
of girls are trained4 ,this is          
demonstrated by  the imperfect education
 which is bestowed upon them1 and the   
little  pains taken to cultivate their  
minds1 after they leave school1 by the  
little time allowed them for reading1   
and by the idea being constantly        

inculcated1 that although all household 
concerns should be attended  to with    
scrupulous punctuality at particular    
seasons1 the improvement  of their      
intellectual capacities is only a       
secondary consideration1  and may serve 
as an occupation to fill up the odds and
 ends of time4  ,in most families1 it is
 considered a matter of far more        
consequence  to call a girl off from    
making a pie1 or a pudding1 than to     
interrupt  her whilst engaged in her    
studies4 ,this mode of training         
necessarily  exalts1 in their view1 the 
animal above the intellectual and       
spiritual  nature1 and teaches women to 
regard themselves as a kind of          
machinery1  necessary to keep the       
domestic engine in order1 but of little 
value as  the intelligent companions of 
men4    ,let no one think1 from these   
remarks1 that ,i regard a knowledge  of 
housewifery as beneath the acquisition  
of women4 ,far from it3  ,i believe that
 a complete knowledge of household      

affairs is an  indispensable requisite  
in a woman's education1--that by the    
mistress  of a family1 whether married  
or single1 doing her duty thoroughly    
and understandingly1 the happiness of   
the family is increased to  an          
incalculable degree1 as well as a vast  
amount of time and money  saved4 ,all ,i
 complain of is1 that our education     
consists so almost  exclusively in      
culinary and other manual operations4 ,i
 do long to see  the time1 when it will 
no longer be necessary for women to     
expend so  many precious hours in       
furnishing #8a well spread table1' but  
that their  husbands will forego some of
 their accustomed indulgences in this   
way1  and encourage their wives to      
devote some portion of their time to    
mental cultivation1 even at the expense 
of having to dine sometimes on  baked   
potatoes1 or bread and butter4    ,i    
believe the sentiment expressed by the  
author of #8,live and let ,live1'  is   
true3     #8,other things being equal1 a

 woman of the highest mental endowments 
will always be the best housekeeper1 for
 domestic economy1 is a   science that  
brings into action the qualities of the 
mind1 as well as   the graces of the    
heart4 ,a quick perception1 judgment1   
discrimination1   decision and order are
 high attributes of mind1 and are all in
 daily   exercise in the well ordering  
of a family4 ,if a sensible woman1 an   
intellectual woman1 a woman of genius1  
is not a good housewife1 it   is not    
because she is either1 or all of those1 
but because there is   some deficiency  
in her character1 or some omission of   
duty which   should make her very       
humble1 instead of her indulging in any 
secret   self-complacency on account of 
a certain superiority1 which only       
aggravates her fault4'    ,the influence
 of women over the minds and character  
of children of  both sexes1 is allowed  
to be far greater than that of men4     
,this being  the case by the very       
ordering of nature1 women should be     

prepared by  education for the          
performance of their sacred duties as   
mothers and as  sisters4 ,a late        
,american writer1#b speaking on this    
subject1 says in  reference to an       
article in the ,westminster ,review3    
#8,i agree entirely with the writer in  
the high estimate which he   places on  
female education1 and have long since   
been satisfied1   that the subject not  
only merits1 but imperiously demands a  
thorough reconsideration4 ,the whole    
scheme must1 in my opinion1   be        
reconstructed4 ,the great elements of   
usefulness and duty are   too little    
attended to4 ,women ought1 in my view of
 the subject1   to approach to the best 
education now given to men1 7,i except  
mathematics and the classics17 far more 
,i believe than has ever yet   been     
attempted4 ,give me a host of educated1 
pious mothers and sisters1   and ,i will
 do more to revolutionize a country1 in 
moral and religious   taste1 in manners 
and in social virtues and intellectual  

cultivation1   than ,i can possibly do  
in double or treble the time1 with a    
similar   host of educated men4 ,i      
cannot but think that the miserable     
condition   of the great body of the    
people in all ancient communities1 is to
 be   ascribed in a very great degree to
 the degradation of women4'    ,there is
 another way in which the general       
opinion1 that women are  inferior to    
men1 is manifested1 that bears with     
tremendous effect on  the laboring      
class1 and indeed on almost all who are 
obliged to earn  a subsistence1 whether 
it be by mental or physical exertion--,i
 allude  to the disproportionate value  
set on the time and labor of men and  of
 women4 ,a man who is engaged in        
teaching1 can always1 ,i believe1       
command a higher price for tuition than 
a woman--even when he teaches  the same 
branches1 and is not in any respect     
superior to the woman4  ,this ,i know is
 the case in boarding and other schools 
with which ,i  have been acquainted1 and

 it is so in every occupation in which  
the  sexes engage indiscriminately4 ,as 
for example1 in tailoring1 a man has    
twice1 or three times as much for making
 a waistcoat or pantaloons as  a woman1 
although the work done by each may be   
equally good4 ,in those  employments    
which are peculiar to women1 their time 
is estimated at  only half the value of 
that of men4 ,a woman who goes out to   
wash1 works  as hard in proportion as a 
wood sawyer1 or a coal heaver1 but she  
is  not generally able to make more than
 half as much by a day's work4 ,the  low
 remuneration which women receive for   
their work1 has claimed the  attention  
of a few philanthropists1 and ,i hope it
 will continue to do  so until some     
remedy is applied for this enormous     
evil4 ,i have known  a widow1 left with 
four or five children1 to provide for1  
unable to  leave home because her       
helpless babes demand her attention1    
compelled  to earn a scanty subsistence1
 by making coarse shirts at #ab cents  a

 piece1 or by taking in washing1 for    
which she was paid by some  wealthy     
persons #ab cents per dozen4 ,all these 
things evince the  low estimation in    
which woman is held4 ,there is yet      
another and more  disastrous consequence
 arising from this unscriptural         
notion--women  being educated1 from     
earliest childhood1 to regard themselves
 as  inferior creatures1 have not that  
self-respect which conscious equality   
would engender1 and hence when their    
virtue is assailed1 they yield to       
temptation with facility1 under the idea
 that it rather exalts than  debases    
them1 to be connected with a superior   
being4    ,there is another class of    
women in this country1 to whom ,i cannot
  refer1 without feelings of the deepest
 shame and sorrow4 ,i allude to  our    
female slaves4 ,our southern cities are 
whelmed beneath a tide  of pollution2   
the virtue of female slaves is wholly at
 the mercy of  irresponsible tyrants1   
and women are bought and sold in our    

slave  markets1 to gratify the brutal   
lust of those who bear the name of      
,christians4 ,in our slave ,states1 if  
amid all her degradation and  ignorance1
 a woman desires to preserve her virtue 
unsullied1 she is  either bribed or     
whipped into compliance1 or if she dares
 resist her  seducer1 her life by the   
laws of some of the slave ,states may   
be1  and has actually been sacrificed to
 the fury of disappointed passion4      
,where such laws do not exist1 the power
 which is necessarily vested in  the    
master over his property1 leaves the    
defenceless slave entirely  at his      
mercy1 and the sufferings of some       
females on this account1  both physical 
and mental1 are intense4 ,mr4 ,gholson1 
in the ,house of  ,delegates of         
,virginia1 in #ahcb1 said1 #8,he really 
had been under the  impression that he  
owned his slaves4 ,he had lately        
purchased four  women and ten children1 
in whom he thought he had obtained a    
great  bargain2 for he supposed they    

were his own property1 as were his      
brood mares4' ,but even if any laws     
existed in the ,united ,states1 as  in  
,athens formerly1 for the protection of 
female slaves1 they would be  null and  
void1 because the evidence of a colored 
person is not admitted  against a white1
 in any of our ,courts of ,justice in   
the slave ,states4  #8,in ,athens1 if a 
female slave had cause to complain of   
any want of  respect to the laws of     
modesty1 she could seek the protection  
of the  temple1 and demand a change of  
owners2 and such appeals were never     
discountenanced1 or neglected by the    
magistrate4' ,in ,christian ,america1   
the slave has no refuge from unbridled  
cruelty and lust4    ,s4 ,a4 ,forrall1  
speaking of the state of morals at the  
,south1 says1  #8,negresses when young  
and likely1 are often employed by the   
planter1 or  his friends1 to administer 
to their sensual desires4 ,this         
frequently is  a matter of speculation1 
for if the offspring1 a mulatto1 be a   

handsome  female1 #hjj or #ajjj dollars 
may be obtained for her in the ,new     
,orleans  market4 ,it is an occurrence  
of no uncommon nature to see a          
,christian  father sell his own         
daughter1 and the brother his own       
sister4' ,the  following is copied by   
the ,n4 ,y4 ,evening ,star from the     
,picayune1 a  paper published in ,new   
,orleans4 #8,a very beautiful girl1     
belonging to  the estate of ,john       
,french1 a deceased gambler at ,new     
,orleans1 was sold  a few days since for
 the round sum of #g1jjj4 ,an           
ugly-looking bachelor  named ,gouch1 a  
member of the ,council of one of the    
,principalities1 was  the purchaser4    
,the girl is a brunette2 remarkable for 
her beauty and  intelligence1 and there 
was considerable contention1 who should 
be  the purchaser4 ,she was1 however1   
persuaded to accept ,gouch1 he having   
made her princely promises4' ,i will add
 but one more from the numerous         
testimonies respecting the degradation  

of female slaves1 and the               
licentiousness of the ,south4 ,it is    
from the ,circular of the ,kentucky     
,union1 for the moral and religious     
improvement of the colored race4  #8,to 
the female character among our black    
population1 we cannot allude  but with  
feelings of the bitterest shame4 ,a     
similar condition of moral  pollution   
and utter disregard of a pure and       
virtuous reputation1 is  to be found    
only without the pale of ,christendom4  
,that such a state  of society should   
exist in a ,christian nation1 claiming  
to be the  most enlightened upon earth1 
without calling forth any particular    
attention to its existence1 though ever 
before our eyes and in our  families1 is
 a moral phenomenon at once             
unaccountable and disgraceful4'  ,nor   
does the colored woman suffer alone3 the
 moral purity of the white  woman is    
deeply contaminated4 ,in the daily habit
 of seeing the virtue  of her enslaved  
sister sacrificed without hesitancy or  

remorse1 she  looks upon the crimes of  
seduction and illicit intercourse       
without  horror1 and although not       
personally involved in the guilt1 she   
loses  that value for innocence in her  
own1 as well as the other sex1 which  is
 one of the strongest safeguards to     
virtue4 ,she lives in habitual          
intercourse with men1 whom she knows to 
be polluted by licentiousness1  and     
often is she compelled to witness in her
 own domestic circle1 those  disgusting 
and heart-sickening jealousies and      
strifes which disgraced  and distracted 
the family of ,abraham4 ,in addition to 
all this1 the  female slaves suffer     
every species of degradation and        
cruelty1 which  the most wanton         
barbarity can inflict2 they are         
indecently divested  of their clothing1 
sometimes tied up and severely whipped1 
sometimes  prostrated on the earth1     
while their naked bodies are torn by the
  scorpion lash4      #8,the whip on    
,,woman',s shrinking flesh6      ,our   

soil yet reddening with the stains      
,caught from her scourging warm and     
fresh4'    ,can any ,american woman look
 at these scenes of shocking            
licentiousness  and cruelty1 and fold   
her hands in apathy1 and say1 #8,i have 
nothing to  do with slavery'8 ,she      
cannot and be guiltless4    ,i cannot   
close this letter1 without saying a few 
words on the benefits  to be derived by 
men1 as well as women1 from the opinions
 ,i advocate  relative to the equality  
of the sexes4 ,many women are now       
supported1 in  idleness and             
extravagance1 by the industry of their  
husbands1 fathers1  or brothers1 who are
 compelled to toil out their existence1 
at the  counting house1 or in the       
printing office1 or some other laborious
  occupation1 while the wife and        
daughters and sisters take no part in   
the support of the family1 and appear to
 think that their sole business  is to  
spend the hard bought earnings of their 
male friends4 ,i deeply  regret such a  

state of things1 because ,i believe that
 if women felt  their responsibility1   
for the support of themselves1 or their 
families  it would add strength and     
dignity to their characters1 and teach  
them more true sympathy for their       
husbands1 than is now generally         
manifested1--a sympathy which would be  
exhibited by actions as well as  words4 
,our brethren may reject my doctrine1   
because it runs counter  to common      
opinions1 and because it wounds their   
pride2 but ,i believe  they would be    
#8partakers of the benefit' resulting   
from the ,equality of  the ,sexes1 and  
would find that woman1 as their equal1  
was unspeakably  more valuable than     
woman as their inferior1 both as a moral
 and an  intellectual being4            
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4      ,,footnotes3 
#b ,thomas ,s4 ,grimke4                 
,,letter ,,ix4                          
,,heroism ,,of ,,women--,,women ,,in    
,,authority4                            

,brookline1 #hth ,mo4 #beth1 #ahcg4     
,,my ,,dear ,,sister1--,it seems        
necessary to glance at the conduct of   
women  under circumstances which place  
them in juxtaposition with men1         
although ,i regard it as entirely       
unimportant in proving the moral        
equality of the sexes2 because ,i       
condemn1 in both1 the exercise of that  
brute force which is as contrary to the 
law of ,god in men as in women2  still1 
as a part of our history1 ,i shall      
notice some instances of  courage       
exhibited by females4    #8,philippa1   
wife of ,edward ,,iii41 was the         
principal cause of the victory  gained  
over the ,scots at ,neville ,cross4 ,in 
the absence of her husband1  she rode   
among the troops1 and exhorted them to  
8be of good courage40'  ,jane1 ,countess
 of ,mountfort1 and a contemporary of   
,philippa1 likewise  possessed a great  
share of physical courage4 ,the history 
of ,joan of  ,arc is too familiar to    
need repetition4 ,during the reign of   

,james ,,ii4  a singular instance of    
female intrepidity occurred in          
,scotland4 ,sir  ,john ,cochrane being  
condemned to be hung1 his daughter twice
 disguised  herself1 and robbed the mail
 that brought his death warrant4 ,in the
  mean time1 his pardon was obtained    
from the ,king4 ,instances might be     
multiplied1 but it is unnecessary4 ,i   
shall therefore close these proofs  of  
female courage with one more fact4      
#8,during the revolutionary war1  the   
women shared in the patriotism and      
bravery of the men4 ,several            
individuals carried their enthusiasm so 
far as to enter the army1 where  they   
faced all the perils and fatigues of the
 camp1 until the close of  the war4'    
,when ,i view my countrywomen in the    
character of soldiers1 or even  behold  
them loading fire arms and moulding     
bullets for their brethren  to destroy  
men's lives1 ,i cannot refrain a sigh4  
,i cannot but contrast  their conduct at
 that solemn crisis with the conduct of 

those women  who followed their ,lord   
and ,master with unresisting submission1
 to  ,calvary's ,mount4 ,with the       
precepts and example of a crucified     
,redeemer1  who1 in that sublime        
precept1 #8,resist not evil1' has       
interdicted to his  disciples all war   
and all violence1 and taught us that the
 spirit of  retaliation for injuries1   
whether in the camp1 or at the          
fire-side1 is  wholly at variance with  
the peaceful religion he came to        
promulgate4  ,how little do we          
comprehend that simple truth1 #8,by this
 shall all men  know that ye are my     
disciples1 if ye have love one to       
another4'    ,women have sometimes      
distinguished themselves in a way more  
consistent  with their duties as moral  
beings4 ,during the war between the     
,romans  and the ,sabines1 the ,sabine  
women who had been carried off by the   
,romans1 repaired to the ,sabine camp1  
dressed in deep mourning1 with  their   
little ones in their arms1 to soften1 if

 possible1 the feelings  of their       
parents4 ,they knelt at the feet of     
their relatives2 and  when ,hersilia1   
the wife of ,romulus1 described the     
kindness of their  husbands1 and their  
unwillingness to be separated from them1
 their  fathers yielded to their        
entreaties1 and an alliance was soon    
agreed  upon4 ,in consequence of this   
important service1 peculiar privileges  
were conferred on women by the ,romans4 
,brutus said of his wife1 #8,i  must not
 answer ,portia in the words of ,hector1
 8,mind your wheel1 and  to your maids  
give law10 for in courage1 activity and 
concern for her  country's freedom1 she 
is inferior to none of us4' ,after the  
fatal  battle of ,cann1 the ,roman women
 consecrated all their ornaments to the 
service of the state4 ,but when the     
triumvirs attempted to tax them for  the
 expenses of carrying on a civil war1   
they resisted the innovation4  ,they    
chose ,hortensia for their speaker1 and 
went in a body to the  market-place to  

expostulate with the magistrates4 ,the  
triumvirs wished  to drive them away1   
but they were compelled to yield to the 
wishes of  the people1 and give the     
women a hearing4 ,hortensia pleaded so  
well the  cause of her sisters1 who     
resolved that they would not voluntarily
 aid  in a civil war1 that the number of
 women taxed was reduced from #adjj  to 
#djj4    ,in the wars of the ,guelphs   
and the ,ghibbelines1 the emperor       
,conrad  refused all terms of           
capitulation to the garrison of         
,winnisberg1 but  he granted the request
 of the women to pass out in safety with
 such of  their effects as they could   
carry themselves4 ,accordingly1 they    
issued  from the besieged city1 each    
bearing on her shoulders a husband1 son1
  father1 or brother4 ,they passed      
unmolested through the enemy's camp1    
which rung with acclamations of         
applause4    ,during our struggle for   
independence1 the women were as         
exemplary as  the men in various        

instances of self-denial3 they refused  
every article  of decoration for their  
persons2 foreign elegances were laid    
aside1 and  they cheerfully abstained   
from luxuries for their tables4         
,english history presents many instances
 of women exercising  prerogatives now  
denied them4 ,in an action at law1 it   
has been  determined that an unmarried  
woman1 having a freehold1 might vote for
  members of ,parliament2 and it is     
recorded that lady ,packington returned 
two4 ,lady ,broughton was keeper of the 
gatehouse prison4 ,and in a much  later 
period1 a woman was appointed governor  
of the house of correction  at          
,chelmsford1 by order of the court4 ,in 
the reign of ,george ,,ii4 the  minister
 of ,clerkenwell was chosen by a        
majority of women4 ,the office  of grand
 chamberlain in #ahbb was filled by two 
women2 and that of clerk  of the crown1 
in the court of king's bench1 has been  
granted to a  female4 ,the celebrated   
,anne1 countess of ,pembroke1 held the  

hereditary  office of sheriff of        
,westmoreland1 and exercised it in      
person1 sitting  on the bench with the  
judges4    ,i need hardly advert to the 
names of ,elizabeth of ,england1 ,maria 
,theresa of ,germany1 ,catharine of     
,russia1 and ,isabella of ,spain1 to    
prove that women are capable of swaying 
the sceptre of royalty4 ,the  page of   
history proves incontestibly1 not only  
that they are as well  qualified to do  
so as men1 but that there has been a    
comparatively  greater proportion of    
good queens1 than of good kings2 women  
who have  purchased their celebrity by  
individual strength of character4    ,i 
mention these women only to prove that  
intellect is not sexed2 that  strength  
of mind is not sexed2 and that our views
 about the duties of  men and the duties
 of women1 the sphere of man and the    
sphere of woman1  are mere arbitrary    
opinions1 differing in different ages   
and countries1  and dependant solely on 
the will and judgment of erring mortals4

    ,as moral and responsible beings1   
men and women have the same sphere of   
action1 and the same duties devolve upon
 both2 but no one can doubt  that the   
duties of each vary according to        
circumstances2 that a father  and a     
mother1 a husband and a wife1 have      
sacred obligations resting on  them1    
which cannot possibly belong to those   
who do not sustain these  relations4    
,but these duties and responsibilities  
do not attach to them  as men and as    
women1 but as parents1 husbands1 and    
wives4                                  
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,x4                            
,,intellect ,,of ,,woman4               
,brookline1 #hth ,mo4 #ahcg4    ,,my    
,,dear ,,sister1--,it will scarcely be  
denied1 ,i presume1 that1 as a  general 
rule1 men do not desire the improvement 
of women4 ,there are few  instances of  
men who are magnanimous enough to be    
entirely willing that  women should know

 more than themselves1 on any subjects  
except dress  and cookery2 and1 indeed1 
this necessarily flows from their       
assumption  of superiority4 ,as they    
have determined that ,jehovah has placed
  woman on a lower platform than man1   
they of course wish to keep her  there2 
and hence the noble faculties of our    
minds are crushed1 and our  reasoning   
powers are almost wholly uncultivated4  
,a writer in the time of ,charles ,i4   
says--#8,she that knoweth how to        
compound a pudding1 is more desirable   
than she who skilfully compounded  a    
poem4 ,a female poet ,i mislike at all  
times4' ,within the last century1  it   
has been gravely asserted that1         
#8chemistry enough to keep the pot      
boiling1 and geography enough to know   
the location of the different  rooms in 
her house1 is learning sufficient for a 
woman4' ,byron1 who  was too sensual to 
conceive of a pure and perfect          
companionship  between the sexes1 would 
limit a woman's library to a ,bible and 

cookery  book4 ,i have myself heard men1
 who knew for themselves the value of   
intellectual culture1 say they cared    
very little for a wife who could  not   
make a pudding1 and smile with contempt 
at the ardent thirst for  knowledge     
exhibited by some women4    ,but all    
this is miserable wit and worse         
philosophy4 ,it exhibits that  passion  
for the gratification of a pampered     
appetite1 which is beneath  those who   
claim to be so far above us1 and may    
justly be placed on  a par with the     
policy of the slaveholder1 who says that
 men will be  better slaves1 if they are
 not permitted to learn to read4    ,in 
spite1 however1 of the obstacles which  
impede the progress of women  towards   
that state of high mental cultivation   
for which her ,creator  prepared her1   
the tendency towards the universal      
dissemination of  knowledge has had its 
influence on their destinies2 and in all
 ages1 a  few have surmounted every     
hindrance1 and proved1 beyond dispute1  

that  they have talents equal to their  
brethren4    ,cornelia1 the daughter of 
,scipio ,africanus1 was distinguished   
for  virtue1 learning and good sense4   
,she wrote and spoke with uncommon      
elegance and purity4 ,cicero and        
,quinctilian bestow high praise upon    
her letters1 and the eloquence of her   
children was attributed to  her careful 
superintendence4 ,this reminds me of a  
remark made by my  brother1 ,thomas ,s4 
,grimke1 when speaking of the importance
 of women  being well educated1 that    
#8educated men would never make educated
  women1 but educated women would make  
educated men4' ,i believe the  sentiment
 is correct1 because if the wealth of   
latent intellect among  women was fully 
evolved and improved1 they would rejoice
 to communicate  to their sons all their
 own knowledge1 and inspire them with   
desires to  drink from the fountain of  
literature4    ,i pass over many        
interesting proofs of the intellectual  
powers of  women2 but ,i must not omit  

glancing at the age of chivalry1 which  
has been compared to a golden thread    
running through the dark ages4  ,during 
this remarkable era1 women who1 before  
this period1 had been  subject to every 
species of oppression and neglect1 were 
suddenly  elevated into deities1 and    
worshipped with a mad fanaticism4 ,it is
  not improbable1 however1 that even the
 absurdities of chivalry were           
beneficial to women1 as it raised them  
from that extreme degradation  to which 
they had been condemned1 and prepared   
the way for them to  be permitted to    
enjoy some scattered rays from the sun  
of science  and literature4 ,as the age 
of knight-errantry declined1 men began  
to  take pride in learning1 and women   
shared the advantages which this  change
 produced4 #8,women preached in public1 
supported controversies1  published and 
defended theses1 filled the chairs of   
philosophy and  law1 harangued the popes
 in ,latin1 wrote ,greek and read       
,hebrew4 ,nuns  wrote poetry1 women of  

rank became divines1 and young girls    
publicly  exhorted ,christian princes to
 take up arms for the recovery of the   
holy sepulchre4 ,hypatia1 daughter of   
,theon of ,alexandria1 succeeded  her   
father in the government of the         
,platonic school1 and filled with       
reputation a seat1 where many celebrated
 philosophers had taught4 ,the  people  
regarded her as an oracle1 and          
magistrates consulted her in  all       
important cases4 ,no reproach was ever  
uttered against the perfect  purity of  
her manners4 ,she was unembarrassed in  
large assemblies of  men1 because their 
admiration was tempered with the most   
scrupulous  respect4 ,in the #acth      
century1 a young lady of ,bologna       
pronounced a  ,latin oration at the age 
of twenty-three4 ,at twenty-six1 she    
took the  degree of doctor of laws1 and 
began publicly to expound ,justinian4   
,at  thirty1 she was elevated to a      
professor's chair1 and taught the law   
to a crowd of scholars from all nations4

 ,italy produced many learned  and      
gifted women1 among whom1 perhaps none  
was more celebrated than  ,victoria     
,colonna1 ,marchioness of ,pescara4 ,in 
,spain1 ,isabella of ,rosera  converted 
,jews by her eloquent preaching2' and in
 ,england the names  of many women1 from
 ,lady ,jane ,gray down to ,harriet     
,martineau1 are  familiar to every      
reader of history4 ,of the last         
mentioned authoress1  ,lord ,brougham   
said that her writings on political     
economy were doing  more good than those
 of any man in ,england4 ,there is a    
contemporary  of ,harriet ,martineau1   
who has recently rendered valuable      
services  to her country4 ,she presented
 a memorial to ,parliament1 stating the 
dangerous parts of the coast1 where     
light-houses were needed1 and at  her   
suggestion1 several were erected4 ,she  
keeps a life-boat and sailors  in her   
pay1 and has been the means of saving   
many lives4 ,although she  has been     
deprived of the use of her limbs since  

early childhood1 yet  even when the     
storm is unusually severe1 she goes     
herself on the beach  in her carriage1  
that she may be sure her men perform    
their duty4 ,she  understands several   
languages1 and is now engaged in writing
 a work on  the ,northern languages of  
,europe4 #8,in ,germany1 the influence  
of women  on literature is considerable1
 though less obvious than in some other 
countries4 ,literary families frequently
 meet at each others' houses1  and      
learned and intelligent women are often 
the brightest ornaments of  these social
 circles4' ,france has produced many    
distinguished women1  whose names are   
familiar to every lover of literature4  
,and ,i believe it  is conceded         
universally1 that ,madame de ,stael was 
intellectually the  greatest woman that 
ever lived4 ,the ,united ,states have   
produced several  female writers1 some  
of whom have talents of the highest     
order4 ,but  women1 even in this free   
republic1 do not enjoy all the          

intellectual  advantages of men1        
although there is a perceptible         
improvement within  the last ten or     
twenty years2 and ,i trust there is a   
desire awakened  in my sisters for solid
 acquirements1 which will elevate them  
to their  #8appropriate sphere1' and    
enable them to #8adorn the doctrine of  
,god our  ,saviour in all things4'      
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,xi4                          
,,dress ,,of ,,women4                   
,brookline1 #ith ,mo41 #ahcg4    ,,my   
,,dear ,,sister1--,when ,i view woman as
 an immortal being1 travelling  through 
this world to that city whose builder   
and maker is ,god1--when  ,i contemplate
 her in all the sublimity of her        
spiritual existence1  bearing the image 
and superscription of ,jehovah1         
emanating from ,him  and partaking of   
his nature1 and destined1 if she fulfils
 her duty1  to dwell with him through   
the endless ages of eternity1--,i mourn 

that  she has lived so far below her    
privileges and her obligations1 as a    
rational and accountable creature2 and  
,i ardently long to behold her          
occupying that sphere in which ,i       
believe her ,creator designed her to    
move4    ,woman1 in all ages and        
countries1 has been the scoff and the   
jest of  her lordly master4 ,if she     
attempted1 like him1 to improve her     
mind1 she  was ridiculed as pedantic1   
and driven from the temple of science   
and  literature by coarse attacks and   
vulgar sarcasms4 ,if she yielded to  the
 pressure of circumstances1 and sought  
relief from the monotony of  existence  
by resorting to the theatre and the     
ball-room1 by ornamenting  her person   
with flowers and with jewels1 while her 
mind was empty and  her heart desolate2 
she was still the mark at which wit and 
satire and  cruelty levelled their      
arrows4    #8,woman1' says ,adam        
,clarke1 #8has been invidiously defined1
 an animal  of dress4 ,how long will    

they permit themselves to be thus       
degraded8'  ,i have been an attentive   
observer of my sex1 and ,i am           
constrained to  believe that the passion
 for dress1 which so generally          
characterizes  them1 is one cause why   
there so is little of that solid        
improvement  and weight of character    
which might be acquired under almost any
  circumstances1 if the mind were not   
occupied by the love of admiration1  and
 the desire to gratify personal vanity4 
,i have already adduced some  instances 
to prove the inordinate love of dress1  
which is exhibited  by women in a state 
of heathenism2 ,i shall1 therefore1     
confine myself  now to what are called  
,christian countries2 only remarking    
that  previous to the introduction of   
,christianity into the ,roman empire1   
the  extravagance of apparel had arisen 
to an unprecedented height4 #8,jewels1  
expensive embroidery1 and delicious     
perfumes1 were used in great  profusion 
by those who could afford them4' ,the   

holy religion of ,jesus  ,christ came in
 at this period1 and stript luxury and  
wealth of all  their false attractions4 
#8,women of the noblest and wealthiest  
families1  surrounded by the seductive  
allurements of worldly pleasure1        
renounced  them all4 ,undismayed by     
severe edicts against the new religion1 
they  appeared before the magistrates1  
and by pronouncing the simple words1    
8,i am a ,christian10 calmly resigned   
themselves to imprisonment1  ignominy   
and death4' ,could such women have had  
their minds occupied  by the foolish    
vanity of ornamental apparel8 ,no6      
,christianity struck  at the root of all
 sin1 and consequently we find the early
 ,christians  could not fight1 or swear1
 or wear costly clothing4 ,cave1 in his 
work  entitled #8,primitive             
,christianity1' has some interesting    
remarks on this  subject1 showing that  
simplicity of dress was not then        
esteemed an  unimportant part of        
,christianity4    ,very soon1 however1  

when the fire of persecution was no     
longer blazing1  pagan customs became   
interwoven with ,christianity4 ,the     
professors of  the religion of a        
self-denying ,lord1 whose kingdom was   
not of this  world1 began to use the    
sword1 to return railing for railing1 to
 take  oaths1 to mingle heathen forms   
and ceremonies with ,christian worship1 
to engraft on the beautiful simplicity  
of piety1 the feasts and  observances   
which were usual at heathen festivals in
 honor of the gods1  and to adorn their 
persons with rich and ornamental        
apparel4 ,and now if  we look at        
,christendom1 there is scarcely a       
vestige of that religion1  which the    
,redeemer of men came to promulgate4    
,the ,christian world is  much in the   
situation of the ,jewish nation1 when   
the babe of ,bethlehem  was born1 full  
of outside observances1 which they      
substitute for mercy  and love1 for     
self-denial and good works1 rigid in the
 performance  of religious duties1 but  

ready1 if the ,lord ,jesus came amongst 
them  and judged them by their fruits1  
as he did the ,pharisees formerly1 to   
crucify him as a slanderer4 ,indeed1 ,i 
believe the remark of a late  author is 
perfectly correct3     #8,strange as it 
may seem1 yet ,i do not hesitate to     
declare my belief   that it is easier to
 make ,pagan nations ,christians1 than  
to reform   ,christian communities and  
fashion them anew1 after the pure and   
simple standard of the gospel4 ,cast    
your eye over ,christian countries1     
and see what a multitude of causes      
combine to resist and impair   the      
influence of ,christian institutions4   
,behold the conformity of   ,christians 
to the world1 in its prodigal pleasures 
and frivolous   amusements1 in its      
corrupt opinions and sentiments1 of     
false honor4   ,behold the wide spread  
ignorance and degrading superstition2   
the power   of prejudice and the        
authority of custom2 the unchristian    
character of   our systems of education2

 and the dread of the frowns and        
ridicule of   the world1 and we discover
 at once a host of more formidable      
enemies   to the progress of true       
religion in ,christian1 than in heathen 
lands4'    ,but ,i must proceed to      
examine what is the state of professing 
,christendom1 as regards the subject of 
this letter4 ,a few words will  suffice4
 ,the habits and employments of         
fashionable circles are nearly  the same
 throughout ,christian communities4 ,the
 fashion of dress1 which  varies more   
rapidly than the changing seasons1 is   
still1 as it has  been from time        
immemorial1 an all-absorbing object of  
interest4 ,the  simple cobbler of       
,agawam1 who wrote in ,massachusetts as 
early as #afdg1  speaking of women1     
says1     8,it is no marvel they wear   
drailes on the hinder part of their     
heads1   having nothing1 as it seems1 in
 the fore part1 but a few squirrels'    
brains to help them frisk from one      
fashion to another4'    ,it must1       

however1 be conceded1 that although     
there are too many women  who merit this
 severe reprehension1 there is a        
numerous class whose  improvement of    
mind and devotion to the cause of       
humanity justly  entitle them to our    
respect and admiration4 ,one of the most
 striking  characteristics of modern    
times1 is the tendency toward a         
universal  dissemination of knowledge in
 all ,protestant communities4 ,but the  
character of woman has been elevated    
more by participating in the  great     
moral enterprises of the day1 than by   
anything else4 ,it would  astonish us if
 we could see at a glance all the labor1
 the patience1  the industry1 the       
fortitude which woman has exhibited1 in 
carrying on  the causes of ,moral       
,reform1 ,anti-,slavery1 c4 ,still1 even
 these noble  and ennobling pursuits    
have not destroyed personal vanity4     
,many of  those who are engaged in these
 great and glorious reformations1 watch 
with eager interest1 the ever varying   

freaks of the goddess of fashion1  and  
are not exceeded by the butterflies of  
the ball-room in their love  of curls1  
artificial flowers1 embroidery and gay  
apparel4 ,many a woman  will ply her    
needle with ceaseless industry1 to      
obtain money to forward  a favorite     
benevolent scheme1 while at the same    
time she will expend on  useless        
articles of dress1 more than treble the 
sum which she procures  by the          
employment of her needle1 and which she 
might throw into the  ,lord's treasury1 
and leave herself leisure to cultivate  
her mind1 and  to mingle among the poor 
and the afflicted more than she can     
possibly  do now4    ,i feel exceedingly
 solicitous to draw the attention of my 
sisters to  this subject4 ,i know that  
it is called trifling1 and much is said 
about  dressing fashionably1 and        
elegantly1 and becomingly1 without      
thinking  about it4 ,this ,i do not     
believe can be done4 ,if we indulge our 
fancy  in the chameleon caprices of     

fashion1 or in wearing ornamental and   
extravagant apparel1 the mind must be in
 no small degree engaged in the         
gratification of personal vanity4       
,lest any one may suppose from my being 
a ,quaker1 that ,i should like to  see a
 uniform dress adopted1 ,i will say1    
that ,i have no partiality  for their   
peculiar costume1 except so far as ,i   
find it simple and  convenient2 and ,i  
have not the remotest desire to see it  
worn1 where  one more commodious can be 
substituted4 ,but ,i do believe one of  
the  chief obstacles in the way of      
woman's elevation to the same platform  
of human rights1 and moral dignity1 and 
intellectual improvement1 with  her     
brother1 on which ,god placed her1 and  
where he designed her to  act her part  
as an immortal creature1 is her love of 
dress4 #8,it has  been observed1' says  
,scott1 #8that foppery and extravagance 
as to dress  in men are most            
emphatically condemned by the apostle's 
silence on  the subject1 for this       

intimated that surely they could be     
under no  temptation to such a childish 
vanity4' ,but even those men who are    
superior to such a childish vanity in   
themselves1 are1 nevertheless1  ever    
ready to encourage it in women4 ,they   
know that so long as we  submit to be   
dressed like dolls1 we never can rise to
 the stations of  duty and usefulness   
from which they desire to exclude us2   
and they are  willing to grant us paltry
 indulgences1 which forward their own   
design  of keeping us out of our        
appropriate sphere1 while they deprive  
us of  essential rights4    ,to me it   
appears beneath the dignity of woman to 
bedeck herself in  gewgaws and trinkets1
 in ribbons and laces1 to gratify the   
eye of man4  ,i believe1 furthermore1   
that we owe a solemn duty to the poor4  
,many a  woman1 in what is called humble
 life1 spends nearly all her earnings in
  dress1 because she wants to be as well
 attired as her employer4 ,it is  often 
argued that1 as the birds and the       

flowers are gaily adorned by  nature's  
hand1 there can be no sin in woman's    
ornamenting her person4  ,my reply is1  
,god created me neither a bird nor a    
flower2 and ,i aspire  to something more
 than a resemblance to them4 ,besides1  
the gaudy colors  in which birds and    
flowers are arrayed1 create in them no  
feelings of  vanity2 but as human       
beings1 we are susceptible of these     
passions1  which are nurtured and       
strengthened by such adornments4        
#8,well1' ,i am  often asked1 #8where is
 the limitation8' ,this it is not my    
business to  decide4 ,every woman1 as   
,judson remarks1 can best settle this on
 her  knees before ,god4 ,he has        
commanded her not to be conformed to    
this  world1 but to be transformed by   
the renewing of her mind1 that she may  
know what is the good and acceptable and
 perfect will of ,god4 ,he made  the    
dress of the ,jewish women the subject  
of special denunciation by  his         
prophet--,is4 #c3 #af-bf2 yet the chains

 and the bracelets1 the rings  and the  
ear-rings1 and the changeable suits of  
apparel1 are still worn  by ,christian  
women4 ,he has commanded them1 through  
his apostles1 not  to adorn themselves  
with broidered hair1 or gold1 or pearls1
 or costly  array4 ,not to let their    
adorning be the #8outward adorning of   
plaiting  the hair1 or of wearing of    
gold1 or of putting on of apparel1 but  
let  it be the hidden man of the heart1 
in that which is not corruptible1  even 
the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit1
 which is in the sight  of ,god of great
 price2' yet we disregard these solemn  
admonitions4  ,may we not form some     
correct estimate of dress1 by asking    
ourselves  how we should feel1 if we saw
 ministers of the gospel rise to address
  an audience with ear-rings dangling   
from their ears1 glittering rings  on   
their fingers1 and a wreath of          
artificial flowers on their brow1  and  
the rest of their apparel in keeping8   
,if it would be wrong for  a minister1  

it is wrong for every professing        
,christian4 ,god makes no  distinction  
between the moral and religious duties  
of ministers and  people4 ,we are bound 
to be #8a chosen generation1 a royal    
priesthood1 a  peculiar people1 a holy  
nation2 that we should show forth the   
praises  of him who hath called us out  
of darkness into his marvellous light4' 
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,xii4                         
,,legal ,,disabilities ,,of ,,women4    
,concord1 #ith ,mo41 #fth1 #ahcg4       
,,my ,,dear ,,sister1--,there are few   
things which present greater obstacles  
to the improvement and elevation of     
woman to her appropriate sphere  of     
usefulness and duty1 than the laws which
 have been enacted to  destroy her      
independence1 and crush her             
individuality2 laws which1  although    
they are framed for her government1 she 
has had no voice in  establishing1 and  
which rob her of some of her essential  

rights4  ,woman has no political        
existence4 ,with the single exception of
  presenting a petition to the          
legislative body1 she is a cipher in the
  nation2 or1 if not actually so in     
representative governments1 she is  only
 counted1 like the slaves of the ,south1
 to swell the number of  law-makers who 
form decrees for her government1 with   
little reference  to her benefit1 except
 so far as her good may promote their   
own4 ,i  am not sufficiently acquainted 
with the laws respecting women on the   
continent of ,europe1 to say anything   
about them4 ,but ,prof4 ,follen1  in his
 essay on #8,the ,cause of ,freedom in  
our ,country1' says1 #8,woman1  though  
fully possessed of that rational and    
moral nature which is the  foundation of
 all rights1 enjoys amongst us fewer    
legal rights than  under the civil law  
of continental ,europe4' ,i shall       
confine myself to  the laws of our      
country4 ,these laws bear with peculiar 
rigor on married  women4 ,blackstone1 in

 the chapter entitled #8,of husband and 
wife1'  says3--     #8,by marriage1 the 
husband and wife are one person in law2 
that is1   the very being1 or legal     
existence of the woman is suspended     
during   the marriage1 or at least is   
incorporated and consolidated into that 
of the husband under whose wing1        
protection and cover she performs       
everything4' #8,for this reason1 a man  
cannot grant anything to his   wife1 or 
enter into covenant with her2 for the   
grant would be to   suppose her separate
 existence1 and to covenant with her    
would be to   covenant with himself2 and
 therefore it is also generally true1   
that   all compacts made between husband
 and wife when single1 are voided by    
the intermarriage4 ,a woman indeed may  
be attorney for her husband2 but   that 
implies no separation from1 but is      
rather a representation of1   her love4'
    ,here now1 the very being of a      
woman1 like that of a slave1 is absorbed
  in her master4 ,all contracts made    

with her1 like those made with slaves   
by their owners1 are a mere nullity4    
,our kind defenders have legislated     
away almost all our legal rights1 and in
 the true spirit of such  injustice and 
oppression1 have kept us in ignorance of
 those very laws  by which we are       
governed4 ,they have persuaded us1 that 
we have no right  to investigate the    
laws1 and that1 if we did1 we could not 
comprehend  them2 they alone are capable
 of understanding the mysteries of      
,blackstone1 c4 ,but they are not       
backward to make us feel the practical  
operation of their power over our       
actions4     #8,the husband is bound to 
provide his wife with necessaries by    
law1 as   much as himself2 and if she   
contracts debts for them1 he is obliged 
to pay for them2 but for anything       
besides necessaries1 he is not          
chargeable4'    ,yet a man may spend the
 property he has acquired by marriage at
 the  ale-house1 the gambling table1 or 
in any other way that he pleases4  ,many

 instances of this kind have come to my 
knowledge2 and women1 who  have brought 
their husbands handsome fortunes1 have  
been left1 in  consequence of the       
wasteful and dissolute habits of their  
husbands1  in straitened circumstances1 
and compelled to toil for the support of
  their families4     #8,if the wife be 
indebted before marriage1 the husband is
 bound   afterwards to pay the debt2 for
 he has adopted her and her             
circumstances together4'    ,the wife's 
property is1 ,i believe1 equally liable 
for her husband's  debts contracted     
before marriage4     #8,if the wife be  
injured in her person or property1 she  
can bring no   action for redress       
without her husband's concurrence1 and  
his name as   well as her own3 neither  
can she be sued1 without making her     
husband a   defendant4'    ,this law    
that #8a wife can bring no action1' c41 
is similar to the law  respecting       
slaves1 #8,a slave cannot bring a suit  
against his master1 or  any other       

person1 for an injury--his master1 must 
bring it4' ,so if any  damages are      
recovered for an injury committed on a  
wife1 the husband  pockets it2 in the   
case of the slave1 the master does the  
same4     #8,in criminal prosecutions1  
the wife may be indicted and punished   
separately1 unless there be evidence of 
coercion from the fact that   the       
offence was committed in the presence1  
or by the command of her   husband4 ,a  
wife is excused from punishment for     
theft committed in the   presence1 or by
 the command of her husband4'    ,it    
would be difficult to frame a law better
 calculated to destroy the              
responsibility of woman as a moral      
being1 or a free agent4 ,her husband  is
 supposed to possess unlimited control  
over her2 and if she can offer  the     
flimsy excuse that he bade her steal1   
she may break the eighth  commandment   
with impunity1 as far as human laws are 
concerned4     #8,our law1 in general1  
considers man and wife as one person2   

yet there   are some instances in which 
she is separately considered1 as        
inferior   to him and acting by his     
compulsion4 ,therefore1 all deeds       
executed1   and acts done by her during 
her coverture 7i4 e4 marriage17 are     
void1   except it be a fine1 or like    
matter of record1 in which case she must
   be solely and secretly examined1 to  
learn if her act be voluntary4'    ,such
 a law speaks volumes of the abuse of   
that power which men have  vested in    
their own hands4 ,still the private     
examination of a wife1 to  know whether 
she accedes to the disposition of       
property made by her  husband is1 in    
most cases1 a mere form2 a wife dares   
not do what will  be disagreeable to one
 who is1 in his own estimation1 her     
superior1  and who makes her feel1 in   
the privacy of domestic life1 that she  
has  thwarted him4 ,with respect to the 
nullity of deeds or acts done by a      
wife1 ,i will mention one circumstance4 
,a respectable woman borrowed of  a     

female friend a sum of money to relieve 
her son from some distressing  pecuniary
 embarrassment4 ,her husband was from   
home1 and she assured the  lender1 that 
as soon as he returned1 he would        
gratefully discharge the  debt4 ,she    
gave her note1 and the lender1 entirely 
ignorant of the law  that a man is not  
obliged to discharge such a debt1       
actually borrowed  the money1 and lent  
it to the distressed and weeping mother4
 ,the father  returned home1 refused to 
pay the debt1 and the person who had    
loaned  the money was obliged to pay    
both principal and interest to the      
friend  who lent it to her4 ,women      
should certainly know the laws by which 
they  are governed1 and from which they 
frequently suffer2 yet they are kept  in
 ignorance1 nearly as profound1 of their
 legal rights1 and of the  legislative  
enactments which are to regulate their  
actions1 as slaves4     #8,the husband1 
by the old law1 might give his wife     
moderate correction1   as he is to      

answer for her misbehavior4 ,the law    
thought it reasonable   to entrust him  
with this power of restraining her by   
domestic   chastisement4 ,the courts of 
law will still permit a husband to      
restrain a wife of her liberty1 in case 
of any gross misbehavior4'    ,what a   
mortifying proof this law affords1 of   
the estimation in which  woman is held6 
,she is placed completely in the hands  
of a being subject  like herself to the 
outbursts of passion1 and therefore     
unworthy to be  trusted with power4     
,perhaps ,i may be told respecting this 
law1 that  it is a dead letter1 as ,i am
 sometimes told about the slave laws2   
but  this is not true in either case4   
,the slaveholder does kill his slave  by
 moderate correction1 as the law allows2
 and many a husband1 among  the poor1   
exercises the right given him by the    
law1 of degrading  woman by personal    
chastisement4 ,and among the higher     
ranks1 if actual  imprisonment is not   
resorted to1 women are not unfrequently 

restrained  of the liberty of going to  
places of worship by irreligious        
husbands1  and of doing many other      
things about which1 as moral and        
responsible  beings1 they should be the 
sole judges4 ,such laws remind me of    
the reply of some little girls at a     
children's meeting held recently  at    
,ipswich4 ,the lecturer told them that  
,god had created four orders  of beings 
with which he had made us acquainted    
through the ,bible4 ,the  first was     
angels1 the second was man1 the third   
beasts2 and now1  children1 what is the 
fourth8 ,after a pause1 several girls   
replied1  #8,,women4'     #8,a woman's  
personal property by marriage becomes   
absolutely her   husband's1 which1 at   
his death1 he may leave entirely away   
from her4'    ,and farther1 all the     
avails of her labor are absolutely in   
the power  of her husband4 ,all that she
 acquires by her industry is his2 so    
that  she cannot1 with her own honest   
earnings1 become the legal purchaser  of

 any property4 ,if she expends her money
 for articles of furniture1  to         
contribute to the comfort of her family1
 they are liable to be  seized for her  
husband's debts3 and ,i know an instance
 of a woman1 who  by labor and economy  
had scraped together a little           
maintenance for  herself and a do-little
 husband1 who was left1 at his death1 by
 virtue  of his last will and testament1
 to be supported by charity4 ,i knew    
another woman1 who by great industry had
 acquired a little money which  she     
deposited in a bank for safe keeping4   
,she had saved this pittance  whilst    
able to work1 in hopes that when age or 
sickness disqualified  her for exertion1
 she might have something to render life
 comfortable1  without being a burden to
 her friends4 ,her husband1 a worthless1
 idle  man1 discovered this hid         
treasure1 drew her little stock from the
  bank1 and expended it all in          
extravagance and vicious indulgence4 ,i 
know of another woman1 who married      

without the least idea that she was     
surrendering her rights to all her      
personal property4 ,accordingly1 she    
went to the bank as usual to draw her   
dividends1 and the person who  paid her 
the money1 and to whom she was          
personally known as an owner  of shares 
in that bank1 remarking the change in   
her signature1 withdrew  the money1     
informing her that if she were married1 
she had no longer  a right to draw her  
dividends without an order from her     
husband4 ,it  appeared that she intended
 having a little fund for private use1  
and  had not even told her husband that 
she owned this stock1 and she was  not a
 little chagrined1 when she found that  
it was not at her disposal4  ,i think   
she was wrong to conceal the            
circumstance4 ,the relation of  husband 
and wife is too near and sacred to admit
 of secrecy about money  matters1 unless
 positive necessity demands it2 and ,i  
can see no excuse  for any woman        
entering into a marriage engagement with

 a design to keep  her husband ignorant 
that she was possessed of property4 ,if 
she was  unwilling to give up her       
property to his disposal1 she had       
infinitely  better have remained single4
 ,the laws above cited are not very     
unlike  the slave laws of ,louisiana4   
#8,all that a slave possesses belongs to
 his master2 he possesses   nothing of  
his own1 except what his master chooses 
he should possess4'     #8,by the       
marriage1 the husband is absolutely     
master of the profits of   the wife's   
lands during the coverture1 and if he   
has had a living   child1 and survives  
the wife1 he retains the whole of those 
lands1   if they are estates of         
inheritance1 during his life2 but the   
wife   is entitled only to one third if 
she survives1 out of the husband's      
estates of inheritance4 ,but this she   
has1 whether she has had a child   or   
not4' #8,with regard to the property of 
women1 there is taxation   without      
representation2 for they pay taxes      

without having the liberty   of voting  
for representatives4'    ,and this      
taxation1 without representation1 be it 
remembered1 was the  cause of our       
,revolutionary war1 a grievance so      
heavy1 that it was  thought necessary to
 purchase exemption from it at an       
immense expense  of blood and treasure1 
yet the daughters of ,new ,england1 as  
well as of  all the other ,states of    
this free ,republic1 are suffering a    
similar  injustice--but for one1 ,i had 
rather we should suffer any injustice or
  oppression1 than that my sex should   
have any voice in the political  affairs
 of the nation4    ,the laws ,i have    
quoted1 are1 ,i believe1 the laws of    
,massachusetts1 and1  with few          
exceptions1 of all the ,states in this  
,union4 #8,in ,louisiana  and ,missouri1
 and possibly1 in some other southern   
,states1 a woman not  only has half her 
husband's property by right at his      
death1 but may  always be considered as 
possessed of half his gains during his  

life2  having at all times power to     
bequeath that amount4' ,that the laws   
which  have generally been adopted in   
the ,united ,states1 for the government 
of women1 have been framed almost       
entirely for the exclusive benefit  of  
men1 and with a design to oppress women1
 by depriving them of all  control over 
their property1 is too manifest to be   
denied4 ,some liberal  and enlightened  
men1 ,i know1 regret the existence of   
these laws2 and  ,i quote with pleasure 
an extract from ,harriet ,martineau's   
,society in  ,america1 as a proof of the
 assertion4 #8,a liberal minded lawyer  
of  ,boston1 told me that his advice to 
testators always is to leave the        
largest possible amount to the widow1   
subject to the condition of her  leaving
 it to the children2 but that it is with
 shame that he reflects  that any woman 
should owe that to his professional     
advice1 which  the law should have      
secured to her as a right4' ,i have     
known a few  instances where men have   

left their whole property to their      
wives1 when  they have died1 leaving    
only minor children2 but ,i have known  
more  instances of #8the friend and     
helper of many years1 being portioned   
off  like a salaried domestic1' instead 
of having a comfortable independence    
secured to her1 while the children were 
amply provided for4    ,as these abuses 
do exist1 and women suffer intensely    
from them1 our  brethren are called upon
 in this enlightened age1 by every      
sentiment of  honor1 religion and       
justice1 to repeal these unjust and     
unequal laws1  and restore to woman     
those rights which they have wrested    
from her4  ,such laws approximate too   
nearly to the laws enacted by           
slaveholders  for the government of     
their slaves1 and must tend to debase   
and  depress the mind of that being1    
whom ,god created as a help meet for    
man1 or #8helper like unto himself1' and
 designed to be his equal and  his      
companion4 ,until such laws are         

annulled1 woman never can occupy  that  
exalted station for which she was       
intended by her ,maker4 ,and just  in   
proportion as they are practically      
disregarded1 which is the case  to some 
extent1 just so far is woman assuming   
that independence and  nobility of      
character which she ought to exhibit4   
,the various laws which ,i have         
transcribed1 leave women very little    
more  liberty1 or power1 in some        
respects1 than the slave4 #8,a slave1'  
says  the civil code of ,louisiana1 #8is
 one who is in the power of a master1   
to whom he belongs4 ,he can possess     
nothing1 nor acquire anything1 but  what
 must belong to his master4' ,i do not  
wish by any means to intimate  that the 
condition of free women can be compared 
to that of slaves in  suffering1 or in  
degradation2 still1 ,i believe the laws 
which deprive  married women of their   
rights and privileges1 have a tendency  
to  lessen them in their own estimation 
as moral and responsible beings1  and   

that their being made by civil law      
inferior to their husbands1 has  a      
debasing and mischievous effect upon    
them1 teaching them practically  the    
fatal lesson to look unto man for       
protection and indulgence4              
,ecclesiastical bodies1 ,i believe1     
without exception1 follow the example   
of legislative assemblies1 in excluding 
woman from any participation  in forming
 the discipline by which she is         
governed4 ,the men frame the  laws1 and1
 with few exceptions1 claim to execute  
them on both sexes4 ,in  ecclesiastical1
 as well as civil courts1 woman is tried
 and condemned1  not by a jury of her   
peers1 but by beings1 who regard        
themselves as  her superiors in the     
scale of creation4 ,although looked upon
 as an  inferior1 when considered as an 
intellectual being1 woman is punished   
with the same severity as man1 when she 
is guilty of moral offences4  ,her      
condition resembles1 in some measure1   
that of the slave1 who1  while he is    

denied the advantages of his more       
enlightened master1 is  treated with    
even greater rigor of the law4 ,hoping  
that in the various  reformations of the
 day1 women may be relieved from some of
 their legal  disabilities1 ,i remain1  
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,xiii4                        
,,relation ,,of ,,husband ,,and ,,wife4 
,brookline1 #ith ,mo41 #ahcg4    ,,my   
,,dear ,,sister1--,perhaps some persons 
may wonder that ,i should attempt  to   
throw out my views on the important     
subject of marriage1 and may  conclude  
that ,i am altogether disqualified for  
the task1 because ,i  lack experience4  
,however1 ,i shall not undertake to     
settle the specific  duties of husbands 
and wives1 but only to exhibit opinions 
based on  the word of ,god1 and formed  
from a little knowledge of human nature1
  and close observation of the working  
of generally received notions           
respecting the dominion of man over     

woman4    ,when ,jehovah ushered into   
existence man1 created in his own image1
  he instituted marriage as a part of   
paradisaical happiness3 it was a  divine
 ordination1 not a civil contract4 ,god 
established it1 and man1  except by     
special permission1 has no right to     
annul it4 ,there can be no  doubt that  
the creation of ,eve perfected the      
happiness of ,adam2 hence1  our all-wise
 and merciful ,father made her as he    
made ,adam1 in his own  image after his 
likeness1 crowned her with glory and    
honor1 and placed  in her hand1 as well 
as in his1 the sceptre of dominion over 
the whole  lower creation4 ,where there 
was perfect equality1 and the same      
ability  to receive and comprehend      
divine truth1 and to obey divine        
injunctions1  there could be no         
superiority4 ,if ,god had placed ,eve   
under the  guardianship of ,adam1 after 
having endowed her1 as richly as him1   
with  moral perceptions1 intellectual   
faculties1 and spiritual apprehensions1 

he would at once have interposed a      
fallible being between her and her      
,maker4 ,he could not1 in simple        
consistency with himself1 have done     
this2 for the ,bible teems with         
instructions not to put any confidence  
in man4    ,the passage on which the    
generally received opinion1 that        
husbands are  invested by divine command
 with authority over their wives1 as ,i 
have  remarked in a previous letter1 is 
a prediction2 and ,i am confirmed in    
this belief1 because the same language  
is used to ,cain respecting ,abel4  ,the
 text is obscure2 but on a comparison of
 it with subsequent events1  it appears 
to me that it was a prophecy of the     
dominion which ,cain  would usurp over  
his brother1 and which issued in the    
murder of ,abel4  ,it could not allude  
to any thing but physical dominion1     
because ,cain  had already exhibited    
those evil passions which subsequently  
led him to  become an assassin4    ,i   
have already shown1 that man has        

exercised the most unlimited and  brutal
 power over woman1 in the peculiar      
character of husband1--a word  in most  
countries synonymous with tyrant4 ,i    
shall not1 therefore1  adduce any       
further proofs of the fulfilment of that
 prophecy1 #8,he  will rule over thee1' 
from the history of heathen nations1 but
 just  glance at the condition of woman 
in the relation of wife in ,christian   
countries4    #8,previous to the        
introduction of the religion of ,jesus  
,christ1 the  state of society was      
wretchedly diseased4 ,the relation of   
the sexes to  each other had become so  
gross in its manifested forms1 that it  
was  difficult to perceive the pure     
conservative principle in its inward    
essence4' ,christianity came in1 at this
 juncture1 with its hallowed  influence1
 and has without doubt tended to lighten
 the yoke of bondage1  to purify the    
manners1 and give the spiritual in some 
degree an empire  over the animal       
nature4 ,still1 that state which was    

designed by ,god to  increase the       
happiness of woman as well as man1 often
 proves the means  of lessening her     
comfort1 and degrading her into the mere
 machine of  another's convenience and  
pleasure4 ,woman1 instead of being      
elevated  by her union with man1 which  
might be expected from an alliance with 
a superior being1 is in reality lowered4
 ,she generally loses her               
individuality1 her independent          
character1 her moral being4 ,she becomes
  absorbed into him1 and henceforth is  
looked at1 and acts through the  medium 
of her husband4    ,in the wealthy      
classes of society1 and those who are in
 comfortable  circumstances1 women are  
exempt from great corporeal exertion1   
and  are protected by public opinion1   
and by the genial influence of          
,christianity1 from much physical ill   
treatment4 ,still1 there is a vast      
amount of secret suffering endured1 from
 the forced submission of women  to the 
opinions and whims of their husbands4   

,hence they are frequently  driven to   
use deception1 to compass their ends4   
,they are early taught  that to appear  
to yield1 is the only way to govern4    
,miserable sophism6  ,i deprecate such  
sentiments1 as being peculiarly hostile 
to the dignity  of woman4 ,if she       
submits1 let her do it openly1          
honorably1 not to gain  her point1 but  
as a matter of ,christian duty4 ,but let
 her beware how  she permits her husband
 to be her conscience-keeper4 ,on all   
moral and  religious subjects1 she is   
bound to think and to act for herself4  
,where  confidence and love exist1 a    
wife will naturally converse with her   
husband as with her dearest friend1 on  
all that interests her heart1  and there
 will be a perfectly free interchange of
 sentiment2 but she  is no more bound to
 be governed by his judgment1 than he is
 by hers4  ,they are standing on the    
same platform of human rights1 are      
equally  under the government of ,god1  
and accountable to him1 and him alone4  

,i have sometimes been astonished and   
grieved at the servitude of  women1 and 
at the little idea many of them seem to 
have of their own  moral existence and  
responsibilities4 ,a woman who is asked 
to sign a  petition for the abolition of
 slavery in the ,district of ,columbia1 
or  to join a society for the purpose of
 carrying forward the annihilation  of  
,american slavery1 or any other great   
reformation1 not unfrequently  replies1 
#8,my husband does not approve of it4'  
,she merges her rights and  her duties  
in her husband1 and thus virtually      
chooses him for a savior  and a king1   
and rejects ,christ as her ,ruler and   
,redeemer4 ,i know some  women are very 
glad of so convenient a pretext to      
shield themselves  from the performance 
of duty2 but there are others1 who1     
under a  mistaken view of their         
obligations as wives1 submit            
conscientiously to  this species of     
oppression1 and go mourning on their    
way1 for want of  that holy fortitude1  

which would enable them to fulfil their 
duties as  moral and responsible beings1
 without reference to poor fallen man4  
,o  that woman may arise in her dignity 
as an immortal creature1 and speak1     
think and act as unto ,god1 and not unto
 man6    ,there is1 perhaps1 less       
bondage of mind among the poorer        
classes1  because their sphere of duty  
is more contracted1 and they are        
deprived  of the means of intellectual  
culture1 and of the opportunity of      
exercising their judgment1 on many moral
 subjects of deep interest and  of vital
 importance4 ,authority is called into  
exercise by resistance1  and hence there
 will be mental bondage only in         
proportion as the  faculties of mind are
 evolved1 and woman feels herself as a  
rational  and intelligent being1 on a   
footing with man4 ,but women1 among the 
lowest classes of society1 so far as my 
observation has extended1  suffer       
intensely from the brutality of their   
husbands4 ,duty as well as  inclination 

has led me1 for many years1 into the    
abodes of poverty and  sorrow1 and ,i   
have been amazed at the treatment which 
women receive  at the hands of those1   
who arrogate to themselves the epithet  
of  protectors4 ,brute force1 the law of
 violence1 rules to a great extent  in  
the poor man's domicil2 and woman is    
little more than his drudge4  ,they are 
less under the supervision of public    
opinion1 less under the  restraints of  
education1 and unaided or unbiased by   
the refinements of  polished society4   
,religion1 wherever it exists1 supplies 
the place of  all these2 but the real   
cause of woman's degradation and        
suffering in  married life is to be     
found in the erroneous notion of her    
inferiority  to man2 and never will she 
be rightly regarded by herself1 or      
others1  until this opinion1 so         
derogatory to the wisdom and mercy of   
,god1 is  exploded1 and woman arises in 
all the majesty of her womanhood1 to    
claim those rights which are inseparable

 from her existence as an  immortal1    
intelligent and responsible being4      
,independent of the fact1 that ,jehovah 
could not1 consistently with his        
character as the ,king1 the ,lawgiver1  
and the ,judge of his people1 give  the 
reins of government over woman into the 
hands of man1 ,i find that  all his     
commands1 all his moral laws1 are       
addressed to women as well as  to men4  
,when he assembled ,israel at the foot  
of ,mount ,sinai1 to issue  his         
commandments1 we may reasonably suppose 
he gave all the precepts1  which he     
considered necessary for the government 
of moral beings4 ,hence  we find that   
,god says1--#8,honor thy father and thy 
mother1' and he  enforces this command1 
by severe penalties upon those who      
transgress  it3 #8,he that smiteth his  
father1 or his mother1 shall surely be  
put to  death'--#8,he that curseth his  
father1 or his mother1 shall surely be  
put  to death'--,ex4 #ba3 #ae1 #ag4 ,but
 in the decalogue1 there is no direction

  given to women to obey their husbands3
 both are commanded to have no  other   
,god but ,jehovah1 and not to bow down1 
or serve any other4 ,when  the ,lord    
,jesus delivered his sermon on the      
,mount1 full of the practical  precepts 
of religion1 he did not issue any       
command to wives to obey  their         
husbands4 ,when he is speaking on the   
subject of divorce1 ,mark #af3  #aa1    
#ab1 he places men and women on the same
 ground4 ,and the ,apostle1  #ast ,cor4 
#g3 #ab1 #ac1 speaking of the duties of 
the ,corinthian wives and  husbands1 who
 had embraced ,christianity1 to their   
unconverted partners1  points out the   
same path to both1 although our         
translators have made a  distinction4   
#8,let him not put her away1'           
#ab--#8,let her not leave him1'         
#ac--;is precisely the same in the      
original4 ,if man is constituted the    
governor of woman1 he must be her ,god2 
and the sentiment expressed to  me      
lately1 by a married man1 is perfectly  

correct3 #8,in my opinion1'  said he1   
#8the greatest excellence to which a    
married woman can attain1  is to worship
 her husband4' ,he was a professor of   
religion--his wife a  lovely and        
intelligent woman4 ,he only spoke out   
what thousands think  and act4 ,women   
are indebted to ,milton for giving to   
this false notion1  #8confirmation      
strong as proof of holy writ4' ,his ,eve
 is embellished  with every personal    
grace1 to gratify the eye of her        
admiring husband2  but he seems to have 
furnished the mother of mankind with    
just  intelligence enough to comprehend 
her supposed inferiority to ,adam1 and  
to yield unresisting submission to her  
lord and master4 ,milton puts  into     
,eve's mouth the following address to   
,adam3      #8,my author and disposer1  
what thou bidst1    ,unargued ,i obey2  
so ,god ordains--    ,god is thy law1   
thou mine3 to know no more1    ,is      
woman's happiest knowledge and her      
praise4'    ,this much admired          

sentimental nonsense is fraught with    
absurdity and  wickedness4 ,if it were  
true1 the commandment of ,jehovah should
 have run  thus3 ,man shall have no     
other gods before ,,me1 and woman shall 
have no  other gods before ,,man4       
,the principal support of the dogma of  
woman's inferiority1 and  consequent    
submission to her husband1 is found in  
some passages  of ,paul's epistles4 ,i  
shall proceed to examine those passages1
  premising #ast1 that the antiquity of 
the opinions based on the false         
construction of those passages1 has no  
weight with me3 they are the  opinions  
of interested judges1 and ,i have no    
particular reverence  for them1 merely  
because they have been regarded with    
veneration  from generation to          
generation4 ,so far from this being the 
case1 ,i  examine any opinions of       
centuries standing1 with as much        
freedom1 and  investigate them with as  
much care1 as if they were of yesterday4
  ,i was educated to think for myself1  

and it is a privilege ,i shall  always  
claim to exercise4 #b;d4                
,notwithstanding my full belief that the
  apostle ,paul's testimony1 respecting 
himself1 is true1 #8,i was not a  whit  
behind the chiefest of the apostles1'   
yet ,i believe his mind was  under the  
influence of ,jewish prejudices         
respecting women1 just as  ,peter's and 
the apostles were about the uncleanness 
of the ,gentiles4  #8,the ,jews1' says  
,clarke1 #8would not suffer a woman to  
read in the  synagogue1 although a      
servant1 or even a child1 had this      
permission4'  ,when ,i see ,paul shaving
 his head for a vow1 and offering       
sacrifices1  and circumcising ,timothy1 
to accommodate himself to the           
prepossessions  of his countrymen1 ,i do
 not conceive that ,i derogate in the   
least from  his character as an inspired
 apostle1 to suppose that he may have   
been  imbued with the prevalent         
prejudices against women4    ,in #ast   
,cor4 #aa3 #c1 after praising the       

,corinthian converts1 because  they kept
 the #8ordinances1' or #8traditions1' as
 the margin reads1  the apostle says1   
#8,i would have you know1 that the head 
of every  man is ,christ1 and the head  
of the woman is the man2 and the head of
  ,christ is ,god4' ,eph4 #e3 #bc1 is a 
parallel passage4 #8,for the husband  is
 the head of the wife1 even as ,christ  
is the head of the ,church4'  ,the      
apostle closes his remarks on this      
subject1 by observing1 #8,this  is a    
great mystery1 but ,i speak concerning  
,christ and the ,church4' ,i  shall pass
 over this with simply remarking1 that  
,god and ,christ are  one4 #8,i and my  
,father are one1' and there can be no   
inferiority where  there is no          
divisibility4 ,the commentaries on this 
and similar texts1  afford a striking   
illustration of the ideas which men     
entertain of  their own superiority1 ,i 
shall subjoin ,henry's remarks on #ast  
,cor4 #aa3  #e1 as a specimen3 #8,to    
understand this text1 it must be        

observed1 that  it was a signification  
either of shame1 or subjection1 for     
persons to  be veiled1 or covered in    
,eastern countries2 contrary to the     
custom  of ours1 where the being        
bare-headed betokens subjection1 and    
being  covered superiority and dominion2
 and this will help us the better to    
understand the reason on which he       
grounds his reprehension1 #8,every  man 
praying1 c4 dishonoreth his head1' i4 e4
 ,christ1 the head of  every man1 by    
appearing in a habit unsuitable to the  
rank in which  ,god had placed him4 ,the
 woman1 on the other hand1 that prays1  
c4  dishonoreth her head1 i4 e4 the man4
 ,she appears in the dress of her       
superior1 and throws off the token of   
her subjection2 she might with  equal   
decency cut her hair short1 or cut it   
off1 the common dress of  the man in    
that age4 ,another reason against this  
conduct was1 that  the man is the image 
and glory of ,god1 the representative of
 that  glorious dominion and headship   

which ,god has over the world4 ,it is   
the  man who is set at the head of this 
lower creation1 and therein bears  the  
resemblance of ,god4 ,the woman1 on the 
other hand1 is the glory  of the man3   
she is his representative4 ,not but she 
has dominion over  the inferior         
creatures1 and she is a partaker of     
human nature1 and so  far is ,god's     
representative too1 but it is at second 
hand4 ,she is the  image of ,god1       
inasmuch as she is the image of the man4
 ,the man was  first made1 and made head
 of the creation here below1 and therein
 the  image of the divine dominion2 and 
the woman was made out of the man1  and 
shone with a reflection of his glory1   
being made superior to  the other       
creatures here below1 but in subjection 
to her husband1 and  deriving that honor
 from him1 out of whom she was made4    
,the woman was  made for the man to be  
his help meet1 and not the man for the  
woman4  ,she was1 naturally1 therefore1 
made subject to him1 because made for   

him1 for ,,his ,,use ,,and ,,help ,,and 
,,comfort4'    ,we see in the above     
quotation1 what degrading views even    
good men  entertain of women4 ,pity the 
,psalmist had not thrown a little light 
on  this subject1 when he was           
paraphrasing the account of man's       
creation4  #8,thou hast made him a      
little lower than the angels1 and hast  
crowned  him with glory and honor4 ,thou
 madest him to have dominion over the   
works of thy hands2 thou hast put all   
things under his feet4' ,surely  if     
woman had been placed below man1 and was
 to shine only by a lustre  borrowed    
from him1 we should have some clear     
evidence of it in the  sacred volume4   
,henry puts her exactly on a level with 
the beasts2  they were made for the use1
 help and comfort of man2 and according 
to  this commentator1 this was the whole
 end and design of the creation  of     
woman4 ,the idea that man1 as man is    
superior to woman1 involves an          
absurdity so gross1 that ,i really      

wonder how any man of reflection can    
receive it as of divine origin2 and ,i  
can only account for it1 by that        
passion for supremacy1 which            
characterizes man as a corrupt and      
fallen  creature4 ,if it be true that he
 is more excellent than she1 as man1    
independent of his moral and            
intellectual powers1 then every man is  
superior by virtue of his manship1 to   
every woman4 ,the man who sinks  his    
moral capacities and spiritual powers in
 his sensual appetites1  is still1 as a 
man1 simply by the conformation of his  
body1 a more  dignified being1 than the 
woman whose intellectual powers are     
highly  cultivated1 and whose           
approximation to the character of ,jesus
 ,christ is  exhibited in a blameless   
life and conversation4    ,but it is    
strenuously urged by those1 who are     
anxious to maintain their  usurped      
authority1 that wives are1 in various   
passages of the ,new  ,testament1       
commanded to obey their husbands4 ,let  

us examine these texts4     ,eph4 #e3   
#bb4 #8,wives1 submit yourselves unto   
your own husbands as unto   the ,lord4' 
#8,as the church is subject unto        
,christ1 so let the wives be   to their 
own husbands in every thing4'     ,col4 
#c3 #ah4 ,wives1 submit yourselves unto 
your own husbands1 as it is   fit in the
 ,lord4'     #ast ,pet4 #c3 #b4         
#8,likewise ye wives1 be in subjection  
to your own   husbands2 that if any obey
 not the word1 they may also without the
   word be won by the conversation of   
the wives4'    ,accompanying all these  
directions to wives1 are commands to    
husbands4     ,eph4 #e3 #be4            
#8,husbands1 love your wives even as    
,christ loved the   ,church1 and gave   
himself for it4' #8,so ought men to love
 their wives as   their own bodies4 ,he 
that loveth his wife1 loveth himself4'  
,col4 #c3 #ai4 #8,husbands1 love your   
wives1 and be not bitter against        
them4'     #ast ,pet4 #c3 #g4           
#8,likewise ye husbands1 dwell with them

 according to   knowledge1 giving honor 
unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel1
 and   as being heirs together of the   
grace of life4'    ,i may just remark1  
in relation to the expression #8weaker  
vessel1' that  the word in the original 
has no reference to intellect3 it refers
 to  physical weakness merely4    ,the  
apostles were writing to ,christian     
converts1 and laying down  rules for    
their conduct towards their unconverted 
consorts4 ,it no  doubt frequently      
happened1 that a husband or a wife would
 embrace  ,christianity1 while their    
companions clung to heathenism1 and     
husbands  might be tempted to dislike   
and despise those1 who pertinaciously   
adhered to their pagan superstitions4   
,and wives who1 when they were  pagans1 
submitted as a matter of course to their
 heathen husbands1  might be tempted    
knowing that they were superior as moral
 and religious  characters1 to assert   
that superiority1 by paying less        
deference to  them than heretofore4 ,let

 us examine the context of these        
passages1  and see what are the grounds 
of the directions here given to husbands
  and wives4 ,the whole epistle to the  
,ephesians breathes a spirit of  love4  
,the apostle beseeches the converts to  
walk worthy of the vocation  wherewith  
they are called1 with all lowliness and 
meekness1 with  long suffering1         
forbearing one another in love4 ,the    
verse preceding  #e1 #bb1 is            
#8,,submitting ,,yourselves ,,one ,,to  
,,another ,,in ,,the ,,fear ,,of ,,god4'
  ,colossians #c1 from #aa to #ag1      
contains similar injunctions4 ,the #agth
  verse says1 #8,whatsoever ye do in    
word1 or in deed1 do all in the name  of
 the ,lord ,jesus4' ,peter1 after       
drawing a most touching picture of      
,christ's sufferings for us1 and        
reminding the ,christians1 that he  had 
left us an example that we should follow
 his steps1 #8who did no  sin1 neither  
was guile found in his mouth1' exhorts  
wives to be in  subjection1 c4    ,from 

an attentive consideration of these     
passages1 and of those in  which the    
same words #8submit1' #8subjection1' are
 used1 ,i cannot but  believe that the  
apostles designed to recommend to wives1
 as they  did to subjects and to        
servants1 to carry out the holy         
principle  laid down by ,jesus ,christ1 
#8,resist not evil4' ,and this without  
in  the least acknowledging the right of
 the governors1 masters1 or  husbands1  
to exercise the authority they claimed4 
,the recognition of  the existence of   
evils does not involve approbation of   
them4 ,god tells  the ,israelites1 he   
gave them a king in his wrath1 but      
nevertheless as  they chose to have a   
king1 he laid down directions for the   
conduct of  that king1 and had him      
anointed to reign over them4 ,according 
to the  generally received meaning of   
the passages ,i have quoted1 they       
directly  contravene the laws of ,god1  
as given in various parts of the ,bible4
 ,now  ,i must understand the sacred    

,scriptures as harmonizing with         
themselves1  or ,i cannot receive them  
as the word of ,god4 ,the commentators  
on these  passages exalt man to the     
station of a ,deity in relation to      
woman4  ,clarke says1 #8,as the ,lord   
,christ is the head1 or governor of the 
church1 and the head of the man1 so is  
the man the head1 or governor of  the   
woman4 ,this is ,god's ordinance1 and   
should not be transgressed4  #8,as unto 
the ,lord4' ,the word church seems      
necessarily to be understood  here3 that
 is1 act under the authority of your    
husbands1 as the church  acts under the 
authority of ,christ4 ,as the church    
submits to the ,lord1  so let wives     
submit to their husbands4' ,henry goes  
even further--#8,for  the husband is the
 head of the wife4 ,the metaphor is     
taken from the  head in the natural     
body1 which being the seat of reason1 of
 wisdom and  of knowledge1 and the      
fountain of sense and motion1 is more   
excellent  than the rest of the body4'  

,now if ,god ordained man the governor  
of  woman1 he must be able to save her1 
and to answer in her stead for all      
those sins which she commits by his     
direction4 ,awful responsibility4  ,do  
husbands feel able and willing to bear  
it8 ,and what becomes of the  solemn    
affirmation of ,jehovah8 #8,hear this1  
all ye people1 give ear all  ye         
inhabitants of the world1 both low and  
high1 rich and poor4' #8,none  can by   
any means redeem his brother1 or give to
 ,god a ransom for him1  for the        
redemption of the soul is precious1 and 
man cannot accomplish  it4'--,french    
,bible4                                 
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,,letter ,,xiv4                         
,,ministry ,,of ,,women4                
,brookline1 #ith ,mo4 #ahcg4    ,,my    
,,dear ,,sister1--,according to the     
principle which ,i have laid  down1 that
 man and woman were created equal1 and  
endowed by their  beneficent ,creator   

with the same intellectual powers and   
the same moral  responsibilities1 and   
that consequently whatever is morally   
right  for a man to do1 is morally right
 for a woman to do1 it follows as  a    
necessary corollary1 that if it is the  
duty of man to preach the  unsearchable 
riches of ,christ1 it is the duty also  
of woman4    ,i am aware1 that ,i have  
the prejudices of education and custom  
to  combat1 both in my own and the other
 sex1 as well as #8the traditions  of   
men1' which are taught for the          
commandments of ,god4 ,i feel that ,i   
have no sectarian views to advance2 for 
although among the ,quakers1            
,methodists1 and ,christians1 women are 
permitted to preach the glad  tidings of
 peace and salvation1 yet ,i know of no 
religious body1 who  entertain the      
,scripture doctrine of the perfect      
equality of man and  woman1 which is the
 fundamental principle of my argument in
 favor of  the ministry of women4 ,i    
wish simply to throw my views before    

thee4  ,if they are based on the        
immutable foundation of truth1 they     
cannot  be overthrown by unkind         
insinuations1 bitter sarcasms1          
unchristian  imputations1 or            
contemptuous ridicule4 ,these are       
weapons which are  unworthy of a good   
cause4 ,if ,i am mistaken1 as truth only
 can prevail1  my supposed errors will  
soon vanish before her beams2 but ,i am 
persuaded that woman is not filling the 
high and holy station which ,god        
allotted to her1 and that in consequence
 of her having been driven from  her    
#8appropriate sphere1' both herself and 
her brethren have suffered  an infinity 
of evils4    ,before ,i proceed to      
prove1 that woman is bound to preach the
 gospel1  ,i will examine the ministry  
under the ,old ,testament dispensation4 
,those who were called to this office   
were known under various names4  ,enoch1
 who prophesied1 is designated as       
walking with ,god4 ,noah is  called a   
preacher of righteousness4 ,they were   

denominated men of ,god1  seers1        
prophets1 but they all had the same     
great work to perform1 viz4  to turn    
sinners from the error of their ways4   
,this ministry existed  previous to the 
institution of the ,jewish priesthood1  
and continued  after its abolition4 ,it 
has nothing to do with the priesthood4  
,it  was rarely1 as far as the ,bible   
informs us1 exercised by those of the   
tribe of ,levi1 and was common to all   
the people1 women as well as  men4 ,it  
differed essentially from the           
priesthood1 because there was  no       
compensation received for calling the   
people to repentance4 ,such a  thing as 
paying a prophet for preaching the truth
 of ,god is not even  mentioned4 ,they  
were called of ,jehovah to go forth in  
his name1 one  from his plough1 another 
from gathering of sycamore fruit1 c4 c4 
,let  us for a moment imagine ,jeremiah1
 when ,god says to him1 #8,gird up thy  
loins1 and arise and speak unto the     
people all that ,i command thee1'       

replying to ,jehovah1 #8,i will preach  
repentance to the people1 if they  will 
give me gold1 but if they will not pay  
me for the truth1 then let  them perish 
in their sins4' ,now1 this is virtually 
the language of the  ministers of the   
present day2 and ,i believe the secret  
of the exclusion  of women from the     
ministerial office is1 that that office 
has been  converted into one of         
emolument1 of honor1 and of power4 ,any 
attentive  observer cannot fail to      
perceive1 that as far as possible1 all  
such  offices are reserved by men for   
themselves4    ,the common error that   
,christian ministers are the successors 
of the  priests1 is founded in mistake4 
,in the particular directions given  to 
,moses to consecrate ,aaron and his sons
 to the office of the  priesthood1 their
 duties are clearly defined3 see ,ex4   
#bhth1 #bith and  #cjth chap4 ,there is 
no commission to ,aaron to preach to the
 people2 his  business was to offer     
sacrifice4 ,now why were sacrifices     

instituted8  ,they were types of that   
one great sacrifice1 which in the       
fulness of  time was offered up through 
the eternal ,spirit without spot to     
,god4  ,christ assumed the office of    
priest2 he #8offered himself1' and by so
  doing1 abolished forever the order of 
the priesthood1 as well as the          
sacrifices which the priests were       
ordained to offer4#c    ,but it may be  
inquired1 whether the priests were not  
to teach the  people4 ,as far as ,i can 
discover from the ,bible1 they were     
simply  commanded to read the law to the
 people4 ,there was no other copy that  
we know of1 until the time of the kings1
 who were to write out a copy  for their
 own use4 ,as it was deposited in the   
ark1 the priests were  required1 #8,when
 all ,israel is come to appear before   
the ,lord thy ,god in  the place which  
he shall choose1 thou shalt read this   
law before all  ,israel in their        
hearing4 ,gather the people together1   
men1 women1 and  children1 that they may

 hear1' ,deut4 #ca3 #i-cc4 ,see also    
,lev4 #aj3 #aa1  ,deut4 #cc3 #aj1 #b;d  
,chr4 #ag3 #g-i1 and numerous other     
passages4 ,when ,god is  enumerating the
 means he has used to call his people to
 repentance1 he  never1 as far as ,i can
 discover1 speaks of sending his priests
 to warn  them2 but in various passages 
we find language similar to this3       
#8,since  the day that your fathers came
 forth out of the land of ,egypt unto   
this  day1 ,i have even sent unto you   
all my servants1 the ,,prophets1 daily  
rising up early and sending them4 ,yet  
they hearkened not unto me1 nor         
inclined their ear1 but hardened their  
neck2 they did worse than their         
fathers4' ,jer4 #g3 #be1 #bf4 ,see also1
 #be3 #d4 #b ,chr4 #cf3 #ae4 and        
parallel  passages4 ,god says1 ,is4 #i3 
#ae1 #af4 #8,the prophet that teacheth  
lies1  he is the tail2 for the leaders  
of this people cause them to err4'  ,the
 distinction between priests and        
prophets is evident from their  being   

mentioned as two classes4 #8,the        
prophets prophesy falsely1 and  the     
priests bear rule by their means1' ,jer4
 #e3 #ca4 ,see also1 ,ch4 #b3 #h4       
#h3a-aj4 and many others4    ,that women
 were called to the prophetic office1 ,i
 believe is  universally admitted4      
,miriam1 ,deborah and ,huldah were      
prophetesses4 ,the  judgments of the    
,lord are denounced by ,ezekiel on false
 prophetesses1  as well as false        
prophets4 ,and if ,christian ministers  
are1 as ,i  apprehend1 successors of the
 prophets1 and not of the priests1 then 
of  course1 women are now called to that
 office as well as men1 because ,god    
has no where withdrawn from them the    
privilege of doing what is the  great   
business of preachers1 viz4 to point the
 penitent sinner to the  ,redeemer4     
#8,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 which      
taketh away the sins of the  world4'    
,it is often triumphantly inquired1 why1
 if men and women are on an  equality1  
are not women as conspicuous in the     

,bible as men8 ,i do not  intend to     
assign a reason1 but ,i think one may   
readily be found in  the fact1 that from
 the days of ,eve to the present time1  
the aim of  man has been to crush her4  
,he has accomplished this work in       
various  ways2 sometimes by brute force1
 sometimes by making her subservient to 
his worst passions1 sometimes by        
treating her as a doll1 and while he    
excluded from her mind the light of     
knowledge1 decked her person with       
gewgaws and frippery which he scorned   
for himself1 thus endeavoring to  render
 her like unto a painted sepulchre4     
,it is truly marvellous that any woman  
can rise above the pressure of          
circumstances which combine to crush    
her4 ,nothing can strengthen her  to do 
this in the character of a preacher of  
righteousness1 but a  call from ,jehovah
 himself4 ,and when the voice of ,god   
penetrates the  deep recesses of her    
heart1 and commands her to go and cry in
 the  ears of the people1 she is ready  

to exclaim1 #8,ah1 ,lord ,god1 behold   
,i cannot speak1 for ,i am a woman4' ,i 
have known women in different  religious
 societies1 who have felt like the      
prophet4 #8,his word was in  my heart as
 a burning fire shut up in my bones1 and
 ,i was weary with  forbearing4' ,but   
they have not dared to open their lips1 
and have  endured all the intensity of  
suffering1 produced by disobedience to  
,god1 rather than encounter heartless   
ridicule and injurious suspicions4  ,i  
rejoice that we have been the oppressed1
 rather than the oppressors4  ,god thus 
prepared his people for deliverance from
 outward bondage2  and ,i hope our      
sorrows have prepared us to fulfil our  
high and holy  duties1 whether public or
 private1 with humility and meekness2   
and that  suffering has imparted        
fortitude to endure trials1 which       
assuredly  await us in the attempt to   
sunder those chains with which man has  
bound  us1 galling to the spirit1 though
 unseen by the eye4    ,surely there is 

nothing either astonishing or novel in  
the gifts of  the ,spirit being bestowed
 on woman3 nothing astonishing1 because 
there  is no respect of persons with    
,god2 the soul of the woman in his sight
  is as the soul of the man1 and both   
are alike capable of the influence  of  
the ,holy ,spirit4 ,nothing novel1      
because1 as has been already shown1  in 
the sacred records there are found      
examples of women1 as well as of  men1  
exercising the gift of prophecy4    ,we 
attach to the word prophecy1 the        
exclusive meaning of foretelling  future
 events1 but this is certainly a        
mistake2 for the apostle ,paul  defines 
it to be #8speaking to edification1     
exhortation and comfort4'  ,and there   
appears no possible reason1 why women   
should not do this as  well as men4 ,at 
the time that the ,bible was translated 
into ,english1  the meaning of the word 
prophecy1 was delivering a message from 
,god1  whether it was to predict future 
events1 or to warn the people of the    

consequences of sin4 ,governor          
,winthrop1 of ,massachusetts1 mentions  
in a  letter1 that the minister being   
absent1 he went to1 ---- to prophecy to 
the people4    ,before ,i proceed to    
prove that women1 under the ,christian  
dispensation1  were anointed of the     
,holy ,ghost to preach1 or prophecy1 ,i 
will mention  ,anna1 the 7last7         
prophetess under the ,jewish            
dispensation4 #8,she  departed not from 
the temple1 but served ,god with fasting
 and prayers  night and day4' ,and      
coming into the temple1 while ,simeon   
was yet  speaking to ,mary1 with the    
infant ,savior in his arms1 #8spake of  
,christ  to all them that looked for    
redemption in ,jerusalem4' ,blackwall1 a
  learned ,english critic1 in his work  
entitled1 #8,sacred ,classics1' says1   
in reference to this passage1 ,luke #b3 
#cg--#8;,according to the original      
reading1 the sense will be1 that the    
devout ,anna1 who attended in the       
temple1 both night and day1 spoke of the

 ,messiah to all the inhabitants  of    
that city1 who constantly worshipped    
there1 and who prepared  themselves for 
the worthy reception of that divine     
person1 whom they  expected at this     
time4 ,and 'tis certain1 that other     
devout ,jews1 not  inhabitants of       
,jerusalem1 frequently repaired to the  
temple-worship1  and might1 at this     
remarkable time1 and several others1    
hear this  admirable woman discourse    
upon the blessed advent of the          
,redeemer4  ,a various reading has      
,israel instead of ,jerusalem1 which    
expresses  that religious ,jews1 from   
distant places1 came thither to divine  
offices1 and would with high pleasure   
hear the discourses of this great       
prophetess1 so famed for her            
extraordinary piety and valuable        
talents1  upon the most important and   
desirable subject4'    ,i shall now     
examine the testimony of the ,bible on  
this point1 after  the ascension of our 
,lord1 beginning with the glorious      

effusion of the  ,holy ,spirit on the   
day of ,pentecost4 ,i presume it will   
not be denied1  that women1 as well as  
men1 were at that time filled with the  
,holy  ,ghost1 because it is expressly  
stated1 that women were among those who 
continued in prayer and supplication1   
waiting for the fulfilment of  the      
promise1 that they should be endued with
 power from on high4 #8,when  the day of
 ,pentecost was fully come1 they were   
,,all with one accord  in one place4    
,and there appeared unto them cloven    
tongues like as of  fire1 and it sat    
upon each of them2 and they were all    
filled with the  ,holy ,ghost1 and began
 to speak with other tongues as the     
,spirit gave  them utterance4' ,peter   
says1 in reference to this miracle1     
#8,this is  that which was spoken by the
 prophet ,joel4 ,and it shall come to   
pass  in the last days1 said ,god1 ,i   
will pour out my ,spirit upon all flesh2
  and your sons and your daughters shall
 prophesy--and on my servants  and on my

 hand-maidens1 ,i will pour out in those
 days of my ,spirit1  and they shall    
prophesy4' ,there is not the least      
intimation that this  was a spasmodic   
influence which was soon to cease4 ,the 
men and women  are classed together2 and
 if the power to preach the gospel was a
  supernatural and short-lived impulse  
in women1 then it was equally  so in    
men4 ,but we are told1 those were the   
days of miracles4 ,i grant  it2 but the 
men1 equally with the women1 were the   
subjects of this  marvellous fulfilment 
of prophecy1 and of course1 if women    
have lost  the gift of prophesying1 so  
have men4 ,we are also gravely told1    
that  if a woman pretends to            
inspiration1 and thereupon grounds the  
right  to plead the cause of a crucified
 ,redeemer in public1 she will be       
believed when she shows credentials from
 heaven1 i4 e4 when she works  a        
miracle4 ,i reply1 if this be necessary 
to prove her right to preach  the       
gospel1 then ,i demand of my brethren to

 show me their credentials2  else ,i    
cannot receive their ministry1 by their 
own showing4 ,john ,newton  has justly  
said1 that no power but that which      
created a world1 can  make a minister of
 the gospel2 and man may task his       
ingenuity to the  utmost1 to prove that 
this power is not exercised on women as 
well as  men4 ,he cannot do it until he 
has first disclaimed that simple1 but   
all  comprehensive truth1 #8in ,christ  
,jesus there is neither male nor        
female4'    ,women then1 according to   
the ,bible1 were1 under the ,new        
,testament  dispensation1 as well as the
 ,old1 the recipients of the gift of    
prophecy4 ,that this is no sectarian    
view may be proved by the following     
extracts4 ,the first ,i shall offer is  
from ,stratton's #8,book of the         
,priesthood4'     #8,while they were    
assembled in the upper room to wait for 
the blessing1   in number about one     
hundred and twenty1 they received the   
miraculous   gifts of the ,holy         

,spirit's grace2 they became the        
channels through   which its more       
ordinary1 but not less saving streams   
flowed to three   thousand persons in   
one day4 ,the whole company of the      
assembled   disciples1 male and female1 
young and old1 were all filled with the 
,holy ,ghost1 and began to speak with   
other tongues as the ,spirit gave   them
 utterance4 ,they all contributed in    
producing that impression upon   the    
assembled multitude1 which ,peter was   
instrumental in advancing to   its      
decisive results4'    ,scott1 in his    
commentary on this passage1 says--      
#8,at the same time1 there appeared the 
form of tongues divided at the   tip and
 resembling fire2 one of which rested on
 each of the whole   company4' #8,they  
sat on every one present1 as the        
original determines4   ,at the time of  
these extraordinary appearances1 the    
whole company were   abundantly         
replenished with the gifts and graces of
 the ,holy ,spirit1   so that they began

 to speak with other tongues4'    ,henry
 in his notes confirms this3     #8,it  
seems evident to me that not the twelve 
apostles only1 but all the   one hundred
 and twenty disciples were filled with  
the ,holy ,ghost alike   at this        
time1--all the seventy disciples1 who   
were apostolical men and   employed in  
the same work1 and all the rest too that
 were to preach   the gospel1 for it is 
said expressly1 ,eph4 #d3 #h-ab3 #8,when
 ,christ   ascended up on high1 7which  
refers to this7 he gave gifts unto men4'
   ,the all here must refer to the all  
that were together4'    ,i need hardly  
remark that man is a generic term1      
including both sexes4    ,let us now    
examine whether women actually exercised
 the office of  minister1 under the     
gospel dispensation4 ,philip had four   
daughters1 who  prophesied or preached4 
,paul calls ,priscilla1 as well as      
,aquila1 his  helpers2 or1 as in the    
,greek1 his fellow laborers#d in ,christ
 ,jesus4  ,divers other passages might  

be adduced to prove that women continued
 to  be preachers1 and that many of them
 filled this dignified station4    ,we  
learn also from ecclesiastical history1 
that female ministers  suffered         
martyrdom in the early ages of the      
,christian church4 ,in  ancient         
councils1 mention is made of            
deaconesses2 and in an edition of  the  
,new ,testament1 printed in #aegd1 a    
woman is spoken of as minister  of a    
church4 ,the same word1 which1 in our   
common translation1 is now  rendered a  
servant of the church1 in speaking of   
,phebe1 ,rom4 #af3 #a1 is  rendered     
minister1 ,eph4 #f3 #ba1 when applied to
 ,tychicus4 ,a minister1  with whom ,i  
had lately the pleasure of conversing1  
remarked1 #8,my rule  is to expound     
scripture by scripture1 and ,i cannot   
deny the ministry of  women1 because the
 apostle says1 #8help those women who   
labored with me  ,,in ,,the ,,gospel4'  
,he certainly meant something more than 
pouring out tea  for him4'    ,in the   

#aath ,ch4 of #a ,cor41 ,paul gives     
directions to women and men how  they   
should appear when they prophesy1 or    
pray in public assemblies4  ,it is      
evident that the design of the apostle1 
in this and the three  succeeding       
chapters1 is to rectify certain abuses  
which had crept into  the ,christian    
church4 ,he therefore admonishes women  
to pray with their  heads covered1      
because1 according to the fashion of    
that day1 it was  considered immodest   
and immoral to do otherwise4 ,he says1  
#8that were  all one as if she were     
shaven2' and shaving the head was a     
disgraceful  punishment that was        
inflicted on women of bad character4    
#8,these things1' says ,scott1 #8the    
apostle stated as decent and proper1    
but if any of the ,corinthian teachers  
inclined to excite contention   about   
them1 he would only add1 v4 #af1 that he
 and his brethren knew of   no such     
custom as prevailed among them1 nor was 
there any such in the   churches of ,god

 which had been planted by the other    
apostles4'    ,john ,locke1 whilst      
engaged in writing his notes on the     
,epistles of ,st4  ,paul1 was at a      
meeting where two women preached4 ,after
 hearing them1  he became convinced of  
their commission to publish the gospel1 
and  thereupon altered his notes on the 
#aath ,ch4 #a ,cor4 in favor of women's 
preaching4 ,he says1--     #8,this about
 women seeming as difficult a passage as
 most in ,st4   ,paul's ,epistles1 ,i   
crave leave to premise some few         
considerations4   ,it is plain that this
 covering the head in women is          
restrained to   some peculiar actions   
which they performed in the assembly1   
expressed   by the words praying1       
prophesying1 which1 whatever they       
signify1   must have the same meaning   
applied to women in the #eth verse1 that
   they have when applied to men in the 
#dth1 c4 ,the next thing to   be        
considered is1 what is here to be       
understood by praying and   prophesying4

 ,and that seems to me the performing of
 some public action   in the assembly1  
by some one person which was for that   
time peculiar   to that person1 and     
whilst it lasted1 the rest of the       
assembly   silently assisted4 ,as to    
prophesying1 the apostle in express     
words   tells us1 ,ch4 #ad3 #c1 #ab1    
that it was speaking in the assembly4   
,the   same is evident as to praying1   
that the apostle means by it publicly   
with an audible voice1 ch4 #ad3 #ai4'   
,in a letter to these two women1        
,rebecca ,collier and ,rachel ,bracken1 
which accompanied a little testimony of 
his regard1 he says1     #8,i admire no 
converse like that of ,christian        
freedom2 and ,i fear no   bondage like  
that of pride and prejudice4 ,i now see 
that acquaintance   by sight cannot     
reach the height of enjoyment1 which    
acquaintance   by knowledge arrives     
unto4 ,outward hearing may misguide us1 
but   internal knowledge cannot err4'   
#8,women1 indeed1 had the honor of      

first publishing the resurrection of the
 ,god of love--why not again   the      
resurrection of the spirit of love8 ,and
 let all the disciples of   ,christ     
rejoice therein1 as doth your partner1  
,john ,locke4'    ,see #8,the ,friend1' 
a periodical published in ,philadelphia4
    ,adam ,clarke's comment on #a ,cor4 
#aa3 #e1 is similar to ,locke's3        
#8,whatever be the meaning of praying   
and prophesying in respect to the   man1
 they have precisely the same meaning in
 respect to the woman4   ,so that some  
women at least1 as well as some men1    
might speak to   others to edification  
and exhortation and comfort4 ,and this  
kind of   prophesying1 or teaching1 was 
predicted by ,joel #b3 #bh1 and referred
   to by ,peter2 and had there not been 
such gifts bestowed on women1 the       
prophesy could not have had its         
fulfilment4'    ,in the autobiography of
 ,adam ,clarke1 there is an interesting 
account  of his hearing ,mary ,sewall   
and another female minister preach1 and 

he  acknowledges that such was the power
 accompanying their ministry1 that      
though he had been prejudiced against   
women's preaching1 he could not  but    
confess that these women were anointed  
for the office4    ,but there are       
certain passages in the ,epistles of    
,st4 ,paul1 which seem  to be of        
doubtful interpretation2 at which we    
cannot much marvel1  seeing that his    
brother ,peter says1 there are some     
things in them hard  to be understood4  
,most commentators1 having their minds  
preoccupied  with the prejudices of     
education1 afford little aid2 they      
rather tend  to darken the text by the  
multitude of words4 ,one of these       
passages  occurs in #a ,cor4 #ad4 ,i    
have already remarked1 that this        
chapter1 with  several of the preceding1
 was evidently designed to correct      
abuses  which had crept into the        
assemblies of ,christians in ,corinth4  
,hence  we find that the men were       
commanded to be silent1 as well as the  

women1 when they were guilty of any     
thing which deserved reprehension4  ,the
 apostle says1 #8,if there be no        
interpreter1 let him keep silence  in   
the church4' ,the men were doubtless in 
the practice of speaking  in unknown    
tongues1 when there was no interpreter  
present2 and ,paul  reproves them1      
because this kind of preaching conveyed 
no instruction  to the people4 ,again he
 says1 #8,if any thing be revealed to   
another that  sitteth by1 let the first 
hold his peace4' ,we may infer from     
this1  that two men sometimes attempted 
to speak at the same time1 and the      
apostle rebukes them1 and adds1 #8,ye   
may ,,all prophesy one by one1 for  ,god
 is not the author of confusion1 but of 
peace4' ,he then proceeds to  notice the
 disorderly conduct of the women1 who   
were guilty of other  improprieties4    
,they were probably in the habit of     
asking questions1 on  any points of     
doctrine which they wished more         
thoroughly explained4  ,this custom was 

common among the men in the ,jewish     
synagogues1 after  the pattern of which1
 the meetings of the early ,christians  
were in  all probability conducted4 ,and
 the ,christian women1 presuming on the 
liberty which they enjoyed under the new
 religion1 interrupted the  assembly1 by
 asking questions4 ,the apostle         
disapproved of this1 because  it        
disturbed the solemnity of the meeting3 
he therefore admonishes the  women to   
keep silence in the churches4 ,that the 
apostle did not allude  to preaching is 
manifest1 because he tells them1 #8,if  
they will learn  any thing1 let them ask
 their husbands at home4' ,now a person 
endowed  with a gift in the ministry1   
does not ask questions in the public    
exercise of that gift1 for the purpose  
of gaining information3 she is          
instructing others4 ,moreover1 the      
apostle1 in closing his remarks on  this
 subject1 says1 #8,wherefore1 brethren1 
7a generic term1 applying  equally to   
men and women17 covet to prophesy1 and  

forbid not to speak  with tongues4 ,let 
all things be done decently and in      
order4'    ,clarke1 on the passage1     
#8,let women keep silence in the        
churches1' says3     #8,this was a      
,jewish ordinance4 ,women were not      
permitted to teach in the   assemblies1 
or even to ask questions4 ,the rabbins  
taught that a woman   should know       
nothing but the use of her distaff2 and 
the saying of   ,rabbi ,eliezer is      
worthy of remark and execration3 #8,let 
the words of   the law be burned1 rather
 than that they should be delivered by  
women4'    ,are there not many of our   
,christian brethren1 whose hostility to 
the  ministry of women is as bitter as  
was that of ,rabbi ,eliezer1 and who    
would rather let souls perish1 than that
 the truths of the gospel  should be    
delivered by women8     #8,this1' says  
,clarke1 #8was their condition till the 
time of the gospel1   when1 according to
 the prediction of ,joel1 the ,spirit of
 ,god was to be   poured out on the     

women as well as the men1 that they     
might prophesy1   that is1 teach4 ,and  
that they did prophesy1 or teach1 is    
evident from   what the apostle says1   
ch4 #aa3 #e1 where he lays down rules to
 regulate   this part of their conduct  
while ministering in the church4 ,but   
does   not what the apostle says here1  
let your women keep silence in the      
churches1 contradict that statement1 and
 show that the words in ch4   #aa1      
should be understood in another sense8  
for here it is expressly   said1 that   
they should keep silence in the         
churches1 for it was not   permitted to 
a woman to speak4 ,both places seem     
perfectly consistent4   ,it is evident  
from the context1 that the apostle      
refers here to asking   questions1 and  
what we call dictating in the           
assemblies4'    ,the other passage on   
which the opinion1 that women are not   
called to  the ministry1 is founded1 is 
#a ,tim4 #b;d ch4 ,the apostle speaks of
 the  duty of prayer and supplication1  

mentions his own ordination as a        
preacher1 and then adds1 #8,i will1     
therefore1 that men pray everywhere1    
lifting up holy hands1 without wrath and
 doubting4 ,in like manner  also1 that  
women adorn themselves in modest        
apparel1' c4 ,i shall here  premise1    
that as the punctuation and division    
into chapters and verses  is no part of 
the original arrangement1 they cannot   
determine the sense  of a passage4      
,indeed1 every attentive reader of the  
,bible must observe1  that the          
injudicious separation of sentences     
often destroys their  meaning and their 
beauty4 ,joseph ,john ,gurney1 whose    
skill as a biblical  critic is well     
known in ,england1 commenting on this   
passage1 says1     #8,it is worded in a 
manner somewhat obscure2 but appears to 
be best   construed according to the    
opinion of various commentators 7,see   
,pool's   ,synopsis7 as conveying an    
injunction1 that women as well as men   
should   pray everywhere1 lifting up    

holy hands without wrath and doubting4  
#a ,tim4 #b3 #h1 #i4 #8,i will therefore
 that men pray everywhere1 c42          
likewise also the women in a modest     
dress4' 7,compare #a ,cor4 #aa3 #e47    
#8,i   would have them adorn themselves 
with shamefacedness and sobriety4''     
,i have no doubt this is the true       
meaning of the text1 and that the       
translators would never have thought of 
altering it had they not been  under the
 influence of educational prejudice4    
,the apostle proceeds  to exhort the    
women1 who thus publicly made           
intercession to ,god1 not  to adorn     
themselves with braided hair1 or gold1  
or pearls1 or costly  array1 but 7which 
becometh women professing godliness7    
with good  works4' ,the word in this    
verse translated #8professing1' would be
 more  properly rendered preaching      
godliness1 or enjoining piety to the    
gods1  or conducting public worship4    
,after describing the duty of female    
ministers about their apparel1 the      

apostle proceeds to correct some        
improprieties which probably prevailed  
in the ,ephesian church1 similar  to    
those which he had reproved among the   
,corinthian converts4 ,he says1  #8,let 
the women ,,learn in silence with all   
subjection2 but ,i suffer not  a woman  
to teach1 nor to usurp authority over   
the man1 but to be in  silence1' or     
quietness4 ,here again it is evident    
that the women1 of  whom he was         
speaking1 were admonished to learn in   
silence1 which could  not refer to their
 public ministrations to others4 ,the   
verb to teach1  verse #ab1 is one of    
very general import1 and may in this    
place more  properly be rendered        
dictate4 ,it is highly probable that    
women who had  long been in bondage1    
when set free by ,christianity from the 
restraints  imposed upon them by ,jewish
 traditions and heathen customs1 run    
into  an extreme in their public        
assemblies1 and interrupted the         
religious  services by frequent         

interrogations1 which they could have   
had answered  as satisfactorily at home4
    ,on a candid examination and        
comparison of the passages which ,i have
  endeavored to explain1 viz41 #a ,cor4 
chaps4 #aa and #ad1 and #a ,tim4 #b1    
#h-ab4 ,i think we must be compelled to 
adopt one of two conclusions2  either   
that the apostle grossly contradicts    
himself on a subject of  great practical
 importance1 and that the fulfilment of 
the prophecy  of ,joel was a shameful   
infringement of decency and order2 or   
that  the directions given to women1 not
 to speak1 or to teach in the           
congregations1 had reference to some    
local and peculiar customs1 which  were 
then common in religious assemblies1 and
 which the apostle thought  inconsistent
 with the purpose for which they were   
met together4 ,no  one1 ,i suppose1 will
 hesitate which of these two conclusions
 to adopt4  ,the subject is one of vital
 importance4 ,that it may claim the calm
 and  prayerful attention of            

,christians1 is the desire of           
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       
,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4      ,,footnotes3 
#c ,i cannot enter fully into this part 
of my subject4 ,it is1 however1  one of 
great importance1 and ,i recommend those
 who wish to examine it1  to read #8,the
 ,book of the ,priesthood1' by an       
,english ,dissenter1 and  ,beverly's    
#8,view of the ,present ,state of the   
,visible ,church of ,christ4'  ,they are
 both masterly productions4    #d ,rom4 
#af3 #c1 compare ,gr4 text of v4 #ba1   
#b4 ,cor4 #h3 #bc2 ,phil4 #b3 #be2  #a  
,thes4 #c3 #b4                          
,,letter ,,xv4                  ,,man   
,,equally ,,guilty ,,with ,,woman ,,in  
,,the ,,fall4                           
,uxbridge1 #ajth ,mo4 #bjth1 #ahcg4     
,,my ,,dear ,,sister1--,it is said that 
#8modern ,jewish women light a lamp     
every ,friday evening1 half an hour     
before sunset1 which is the  beginning  
of their ,sabbath1 in remembrance of    
their original mother1  who first       

extinguished the lamp of                
righteousness1--to remind them of  their
 obligation to rekindle it4' ,i am one  
of those who always admit1  to its      
fullest extent1 the popular charge1 that
 woman brought sin into  the world4 ,i  
accept it as a powerful reason1 why     
woman is bound to  labor with double    
diligence1 for the regeneration of that 
world she has  been instrumental in     
ruining4    ,but1 although ,i do not    
repel the imputation1 ,i shall notice   
some  passages in the sacred            
,scriptures1 where this transaction is  
mentioned1  which prove1 ,i think1 the  
identity and equality of man and woman1 
and  that there is no difference in     
their guilt in the view of that ,god who
  searcheth the heart and trieth the    
reins of the children of men4 ,in ,is4  
#dc3 #bg1 we find the following         
passage--#8,thy first father hath       
sinned1  and thy teachers have          
transgressed against me'--which is      
synonymous  with ,rom4 #e3 #ab4         

#8,wherefore1 as by ,,one ,,man sin     
entered into the world1  and death by   
sin1 c4' ,here man and woman are        
included under one term1  and no        
distinction is made in their            
criminality4 ,the circumstances of  the 
fall are again referred to in #b ,cor4  
#aa3 #c--#8;,but ,i fear lest1 by  any  
means1 as the serpent beguiled ,eve     
through his subtility1 so  your mind    
should be beguiled from the simplicity  
that is in ,christ4'  ,again1 #ast ,tim4
 #b3 #ad--#8;,adam was not deceived2 but
 the woman being  deceived1 was in the  
transgression4' ,now1 whether the fact1 
that ,eve  was beguiled and deceived1 is
 a proof that her crime was of deeper   
dye than ,adam's1 who was not deceived1 
but was fully aware of the  consequences
 of sharing in her transgression1 ,i    
shall leave the candid  reader to       
determine4    ,my present object is to  
show1 that1 as woman is charged with all
 the  sin that exists in the world1 it  
is her solemn duty to labor for its     

extinction2 and that this she can never 
do effectually and extensively1  until  
her mind is disenthralled of those      
shackles which have been  riveted upon  
her by a #8corrupt public opinion1 and a
 perverted  interpretation of the holy  
,scriptures4' ,woman must feel that she 
is  the equal1 and is designed to be the
 fellow laborer of her brother1 or  she 
will be studying to find out the        
imaginary line which separates  the     
sexes1 and divides the duties of men and
 women into two distinct  classes1 a    
separation not even hinted at in the    
,bible1 where we are  expressly told1   
#8there is neither male nor female1 for 
ye are all one  in ,christ ,jesus4'     
,my views on this subject are so much   
better embodied in the language  of a   
living author than ,i can express them1 
that ,i quote the passage  entire3      
#8,woman's rights and man's rights are  
both contained in  the same charter1 and
 held by the same tenure4 ,all rights   
spring out of the moral nature3 they are

 both the root and the  offspring of    
responsibilities4 ,the physical         
constitution is the mere  instrument of 
the moral nature2 sex is a mere incident
 of this  constitution1 a provision     
necessary to this form of existence2 its
  only design1 not to give1 nor to take 
away1 nor in any respect to  modify or  
even touch rights or responsibilities in
 any sense1 except  so far as the       
peculiar offices of each sex may afford 
less or more  opportunity and ability   
for the exercise of rights1 and the     
discharge  of responsibilities2 but     
merely to continue and enlarge the human
  department of ,god's government4      
,consequently1 ,i know nothing of man's 
rights1 or woman's rights2 human rights 
are all that ,i recognise4  ,the        
doctrine1 that the sex of the body      
presides over and administers  upon the 
rights and responsibilities of the      
moral1 immortal nature1 is  to my mind a
 doctrine kindred to blasphemy1 when    
seen in its intrinsic  nature4 ,it      

breaks up utterly the relations of the  
two natures1 and  reverses their        
functions2 exalting the animal nature   
into a monarch1  and humbling the moral 
into a slave2 making the former a       
proprietor1  and the latter its         
property4'    ,to perform our duties1 we
 must comprehend our rights and         
responsibilities2 and it is because we  
do not understand1 that we now  fall so 
far short in the discharge of our       
obligations4 ,unaccustomed to  think for
 ourselves1 and to search the sacred    
volume1 to see how far we  are living up
 to the design of ,jehovah in our       
creation1 we have rested  satisfied with
 the sphere marked out for us by man1   
never detecting  the fallacy of that    
reasoning which forbids woman to        
exercise some  of her noblest faculties1
 and stamps with the reproach of        
indelicacy  those actions by which women
 were formerly dignified and exalted in 
the  church4    ,i should not mention   
this subject again1 if it were not to   

point out to  my sisters what seems to  
me an irresistible conclusion from the  
literal  interpretation of ,st4 ,paul1  
without reference to the context1 and   
the  peculiar circumstances and abuses  
which drew forth the expressions1  #8,i 
suffer not a woman to teach'--#8,let    
your women keep silence in the  church1'
 i4 e4 congregation4 ,it is manifest1   
that if the apostle meant  what his     
words imply1 when taken in the strictest
 sense1 then women  have no right to    
teach ,sabbath or day schools1 or to    
open their lips  to sing in the         
assemblies of the people2 yet young and 
delicate women  are engaged in all these
 offices2 they are expressly trained to 
exhibit  themselves1 and raise their    
voices to a high pitch in the choirs of 
our  places of worship4 ,i do not intend
 to sit in judgment on my sisters for   
doing these things2 ,i only want them to
 see1 that they are as really           
infringing a supposed divine command1 by
 instructing their pupils in  the       

,sabbath or day schools1 and by singing 
in the congregation1 as if  they were   
engaged in preaching the unsearchable   
riches of ,christ to a  lost and        
perishing world4 ,why1 then1 are we     
permitted to break this  injunction in  
some points1 and so sedulously warned   
not to overstep  the bounds set for us  
by our brethren in another8 ,simply1 as 
,i  believe1 because in the one case we 
subserve their views and their          
interests1 and act in subordination to  
them2 whilst in the other1 we  come in  
contact with their interests1 and claim 
to be on an equality  with them in the  
highest and most important trust ever   
committed to  man1 namely1 the ministry 
of the word4 ,it is manifest1 that if   
women  were permitted to be ministers of
 the gospel1 as they unquestionably     
were in the primitive ages of the       
,christian church1 it would interfere   
materially with the present organized   
system of spiritual power and           
ecclesiastical authority1 which is now  

vested solely in the hands of  men4 ,it 
would either show that all the          
paraphernalia of theological            
seminaries1 c4 c4 to prepare men to     
become evangelists1 is wholly           
unnecessary1 or it would create a       
necessity for similar institutions  in  
order to prepare women for the same     
office2 and this would be  an           
encroachment on that learning1 which our
 hind brethren have  so ungenerously    
monopolized4 ,i do not ask any one to   
believe my  statements1 or adopt my     
conclusions1 because they are mine2 but 
,i do  earnestly entreat my sisters to  
lay aside their prejudices1 and examine 
these subjects for themselves1          
regardless of the #8traditions of  men1'
 because they are intimately connected  
with their duty and their  usefulness in
 the present important crisis4    ,all  
who know any thing of the present system
 of benevolent and  religious           
operations1 know that women are         
performing an important  part in them1  

in subserviency to men1 who guide our   
labors1 and are  often the recipients of
 those benefits of education we toil to 
confer1  and which we rejoice they can  
enjoy1 although it is their mandate     
which deprives us of the same           
advantages4 ,now1 whether our brethren  
have defrauded us intentionally1 or     
unintentionally1 the wrong we  suffer is
 equally the same4 ,for years1 they have
 been spurring us up  to the performance
 of our duties4 ,the immense usefulness 
and the vast  influence of woman have   
been eulogized and called into exercise1
 and  many a blessing has been lavished 
upon us1 and many a prayer put up  for  
us1 because we have labored by day and  
by night to clothe and feed  and educate
 young men1 whilst our own bodies       
sometimes suffer for  want of           
comfortable garments1 and our minds are 
left in almost utter  destitution of    
that improvement which we are toiling to
 bestow upon the  brethren4      #8,full
 many a gem of purest ray serene1       

,the dark unfathomed caves of ocean     
bear2    ,full many a flower is born to 
blush unseen      ,and waste its        
sweetness on the desert air4'    ,if the
 sewing societies1 the avails of whose  
industry are now expended  in supporting
 and educating young men for the        
ministry1 were to  withdraw their       
contributions to these objects1 and give
 them where they  are more needed1 to   
the advancement of their own sex in     
useful  learning1 the next generation   
might furnish sufficient proof1 that  in
 intelligence and ability to master the 
whole circle of sciences1  woman is not 
inferior to man2 and instead of a       
sensible woman being  regarded as she   
now is1 is a lusus natur1 they would be 
quite as  common as sensible men4 ,i    
confess1 considering the high claim men 
in  this country make to great          
politeness and deference to women1 it   
does  seem a little extraordinary that  
we should be urged to work for the      
brethren4 ,i should suppose it would be 

more in character with #8the  generous  
promptings of chivalry1 and the poetry  
of romantic gallantry1'  for which      
,catherine ,e4 ,beecher gives them      
credit1 for them to form  societies to  
educate their sisters1 seeing our       
inferior capacities  require more       
cultivation to bring them into use1 and 
qualify us to be  helps meet for them4  
,however1 though ,i think this would be 
but a just  return for all our past     
kindnesses in this way1 ,i should be    
willing  to balance our accounts1 and   
begin a new course4 ,henceforth1 let the
  benefit be reciprocated1 or else let  
each sex provide for the education  of  
their own poor1 whose talents ought to  
be rescued from the oblivion  of        
ignorance4 ,sure ,i am1 the young men   
who are now benefitted by the  handy    
work of their sisters1 will not be less 
honorable if they occupy  half their    
time in earning enough to pay for their 
own education1  instead of depending on 
the industry of women1 who not          

unfrequently  deprive themselves of the 
means of purchasing valuable books which
  might enlarge their stock of useful   
knowledge1 and perhaps prove a  blessing
 to the family by furnishing them with  
instructive reading4 ,if  the minds of  
women were enlightened and improved1 the
 domestic circle  would be more         
frequently refreshed by intelligent     
conversation1 a means  of edification   
now deplorably neglected1 for want of   
that cultivation  which these           
intellectual advantages would confer4   
,,duties ,,of ,,women4    ,one of the   
duties which devolve upon women in the  
present interesting  crisis1 is to      
prepare themselves for more extensive   
usefulness1 by  making use of those     
religious and literary privileges and   
advantages  that are within their reach1
 if they will only stretch out their    
hands  and possess them4 ,by doing this1
 they will become better acquainted     
with their rights as moral beings1 and  
with their responsibilities  growing out

 of those rights3 they will regard      
themselves1 as they  really are1 ,,free 
,,agents1 immortal beings1 amenable to  
no tribunal but  that of ,jehovah1 and  
bound not to submit to any restriction  
imposed  for selfish purposes1 or to    
gratify that love of power which has    
reigned in the heart of man from ,adam  
down to the present time4 ,in           
contemplating the great moral           
reformations of the day1 and the part   
which they are bound to take in them1   
instead of puzzling themselves  with the
 harassing1 because unnecessary inquiry1
 how far they may go  without           
overstepping the bounds of propriety1   
which separate male and  female duties1 
they will only inquire1 #8,lord1 what   
wilt thou have us to  do8' ,they will be
 enabled to see the simple truth1 that  
,god has made no  distinction between   
men and women as moral beings2 that the 
distinction  now so much insisted upon  
between male and female virtues is as   
absurd  as it is unscriptural1 and has  

been the fruitful source of much        
mischief--granting to man a license for 
the exhibition of brute force  and      
conflict on the battle field2 for       
sternness1 selfishness1 and the         
exercise of irresponsible power in the  
circle of home--and to woman a  permit  
to rest on an arm of flesh1 and to      
regard modesty and delicacy1  and all   
the kindred virtues1 as peculiarly      
appropriate to her4 ,now to  me it is   
perfectly clear1 that ,,whatsoever ,,it 
,,is ,,morally ,,right ,,for ,a  ,,man  
,,to ,,do1 ,,it ,,is ,,morally ,,right  
,,for ,a ,,woman ,,to ,,do2 and that    
confusion  must exist in the moral      
world1 until women takes her stand on   
the same  platform with man1 and feels  
that she is clothed by her ,maker with  
the  same rights1 and1 of course1 that  
upon her devolve the same duties4    ,it
 is not my intention1 nor indeed do ,i  
think it is in my power1 to  point out  
the precise duties of women4 ,to him who
 still teacheth by  his ,holy ,spirit as

 never man taught1 ,i refer my beloved  
sisters4 ,there  is a vast field of     
usefulness before them4 ,the signs of   
the times give  portentous evidence1    
that a day of deep trial is approaching2
 and ,i  urge them1 by every            
consideration of a ,savior's dying love1
 by the  millions of heathen in our     
midst1 by the sufferings of woman in    
almost  every portion of the world1 by  
the fearful ravages which slavery1      
intemperance1 licentiousness and other  
iniquities are making of the  happiness 
of our fellow creatures1 to come to the 
rescue of a ruined  world1 and to be    
found co-workers with ,jesus ,christ4   
#8,ho6 to the rescue1 ho6      ,up every
 one that feels--    ',tis a sad and    
fearful cry of woe      ,from a guilty  
world that steals4    ,hark6 hark6 how  
the horror rolls1      ,whence can this 
anguish be8    ',tis the groan of a     
trammel'd people's souls1      ,now     
bursting to be free4'    ,and here1 with
 all due deference for the office of the

 ministry1 which  ,i believe was        
established by ,jehovah himself1 and    
designed by ,him to  be the means of    
spreading light and salvation through a 
crucified  ,savior to the ends of the   
earth1 ,i would entreat my sisters not  
to  compel the ministers of the present 
day to give their names to great  moral 
reformations4 ,the practice of making   
ministers life members1 or  officers of 
societies1 when their hearts have not   
been touched with a  live coal from the 
altar1 and animated with love for the   
work we are  engaged in1 is highly      
injurious to them1 as well as to the    
cause4 ,they  often satisfy their       
consciences in this way1 without doing  
anything to  promote the anti-slavery1  
or temperance1 or other reformations2   
and we  please ourselves with the idea1 
that we have done something to forward  
the cause of ,christ1 when1 in effect1  
we have been sewing pillows like  the   
false prophetesses of old under the     
arm-holes of our clerical  brethren4    

,let us treat the ministers with all    
tenderness and respect1  but let us be  
careful how we cherish in their hearts  
the idea that they  are of more         
importance to a cause than other men4 ,i
 rejoice when they  take hold heartily4 
,i love and honor some ministers with   
whom ,i have  been associated in the    
anti-slavery ranks1 but ,i do deeply    
deplore1 for  the sake of the cause1 the
 prevalent notion1 that the clergy must 
be  had1 either by persuasion or by     
bribery4 ,they will not need persuasion 
or bribery1 if their hearts are with us2
 if they are not1 we are better  without
 them4 ,it is idle to suppose that the  
kingdom of heaven cannot  come on earth1
 without their co-operation4 ,it is the 
,lord's work1  and it must go forward   
with or without their aid4 ,as well     
might the  converted ,jews have         
despaired of the spread of              
,christianity1 without  the co-operation
 of ,scribes and ,pharisees4    ,let us 
keep in mind1 that no abolitionism is of

 any value1 which is  not accompanied   
with deep1 heartfelt repentance2 and    
that1 whenever  a minister sincerely    
repents of having1 either by his apathy 
or his  efforts1 countenanced the       
fearful sin of slavery1 he will need no 
inducement to come into our ranks2 so   
far from it1 he will abhor  himself in  
dust and ashes1 for his past blindness  
and indifference  to the cause of ,god's
 poor and oppressed3 and he will regard 
it as a  privilege to be enabled to do  
something in the cause of human rights4 
,i know the ministry exercise vast      
power2 but ,i rejoice in the belief1    
that the spell is broken which encircled
 them1 and rendered it all but          
blasphemy to expose their errors and    
their sins4 ,we are beginning to        
understand that they are but men1 and   
that their station should not  shield   
them from merited reproof4    ,i have   
blushed for my sex when ,i have heard of
 their entreating  ministers to attend  
their associations1 and open them with  

prayer4 ,the  idea is inconceivable to  
me1 that ,christian women can be engaged
 in  doing ,god's work1 and yet cannot  
ask his blessing on their efforts1      
except through the lips of a man4 ,i    
have known a whole town scoured to      
obtain a minister to open a female      
meeting1 and their refusal to do so     
spoken of as quite a misfortune4 ,now1  
,i am not glad that the ministers  do   
wrong2 but ,i am glad that my sisters   
have been sometimes compelled  to act   
for themselves3 it is exactly what they 
need to strengthen them1  and prepare   
them to act independently4 ,and to say  
the truth1 there is  something really   
ludicrous in seeing a minister enter the
 meeting1  open it with prayer1 and then
 take his departure4 ,however1 ,i only  
throw out these hints for the           
consideration of women4 ,i believe there
  are solemn responsibilities resting   
upon us1 and that in this day of  light 
and knowledge1 we cannot plead ignorance
 of duty4 ,the great moral  reformations

 now on the wheel are only practical    
,christianity2 and  if the ministry is  
not prepared to labor with us in these  
righteous  causes1 let us press forward1
 and they will follow on to know the    
,lord4                                  
,,conclusion4    ,i have now1 my dear   
sister1 completed my series of letters4 
,i am  aware1 they contain some new     
views2 but ,i believe they are based on 
the immutable truths of the ,bible4 ,all
 ,i ask for them is1 the candid  and    
prayerful consideration of ,christians4 
,if they strike at some  of our bosom   
sins1 our deep-rooted prejudices1 our   
long cherished  opinions1 let us not    
condemn them on that account1 but       
investigate  them fearlessly and        
prayerfully1 and not shrink from the    
examination2  because1 if they are true1
 they place heavy responsibilities upon 
women4 ,in throwing them before the     
public1 ,i have been actuated solely  by
 the belief1 that if they are acted     
upon1 they will exalt the  character and

 enlarge the usefulness of my own sex1  
and contribute  greatly to the happiness
 and virtue of the other4 ,that there is
 a root  of bitterness continually      
springing up in families and troubling  
the  repose of both men and women1 must 
be manifest to even a superficial       
observer2 and ,i believe it is the      
mistaken notion of the inequality of    
the sexes4 ,as there is an assumption of
 superiority on the one part1  which is 
not sanctioned by ,jehovah1 there is an 
incessant struggle  on the other to rise
 to that degree of dignity1 which ,god  
designed  women to possess in common    
with men1 and to maintain those rights  
and  exercise those privileges which    
every woman's common sense1 apart from  
the prejudices of education1 tells her  
are inalienable2 they are a part  of her
 moral nature1 and can only cease when  
her immortal mind is  extinguished4     
,one word more4 ,i feel that ,i am      
calling upon my sex to sacrifice what   
has been1 what is still dear to their   

hearts1 the adulation1 the  flattery1   
the attentions of trifling men4 ,i am   
asking them to repel  these insidious   
enemies whenever they approach them2 to 
manifest by  their conduct1 that1       
although they value highly the society  
of pious  and intelligent men1 they have
 no taste for idle conversation1 and    
for that silly preference which is      
manifested for their personal           
accommodation1 often at the expense of  
great inconvenience to their  male      
companions4 ,as an illustration of what 
,i mean1 ,i will state a fact4    ,i was
 traveling lately in a stage coach4 ,a  
gentleman1 who was also  a passenger1   
was made sick by riding with his back to
 the horses4 ,i  offered to exchange    
seats1 assuring him it did not affect me
 at all  unpleasantly2 but he was too   
polite to permit a lady to run the risk 
of  being discommoded4 ,i am sure he    
meant to be very civil1 but ,i really   
thought it was a foolish piece of       
civility4 ,this kind of attention       

encourages selfishness in woman1 and is 
only accorded as a sort of  quietus1 in 
exchange for those rights of which we   
are deprived4 ,men  and women are       
equally bound to cultivate a spirit of  
accommodation2  but ,i exceedingly      
deprecate her being treated like a      
spoiled child1  and sacrifices made to  
her selfishness and vanity4 ,in lieu of 
these  flattering but injurious         
attentions1 yielded to her as an        
inferior1 as  a mark of benevolence and 
courtesy1 ,i want my sex to claim       
nothing from  their brethren but what   
their brethren may justly claim from    
them1  in their intercourse as          
,christians4 ,i am persuaded woman can  
do much  in this way to elevate her own 
character4 ,and that we may become duly 
sensible of the dignity of our nature1  
only a little lower than the  angels1   
and bring forth fruit to the glory and  
honor of ,emanuel's name1  is the       
fervent prayer of                       
,thine in the bonds of womanhood1       

,,sarah ,m4 ,,grimke4                   
,transcriber's ,notes    ,errors in     
punctuation have been fixed4    ,page   
#g3 8,thy both0 changed to 8,they both0 
,page #h3 8flesh1 flowl0 changed to     
8flesh1 fowl0    ,page #i3 8moral       
responsibilites0 changed to 8moral      
responsibilities0    ,page #ba3         
8,pastoral ,lerter0 changed to          
8,pastoral ,letter0    ,page #be3       
8messenger of ,jehevah0 changed to      
8messenger of ,jehovah0    ,page #cf3   
8and someties0 changed to 8and          
sometimes0    ,page #dc3 ,in the        
footnote1 8de famille on de0 changed to 
8de famille ou  de0 and 8,paris and     
,loudon0 changed to 8,paris and ,london0
    ,page #dh3 8os well as0 changed to  
8as well as0    ,page #ej3 8making a    
waistcoast0 changed to 8making a        
waistcoat0    ,page #eg3 8he mean time0 
changed to 8the mean time0    ,page #fa3
 8,,intelllect ,,of ,,woman0 changed to 
8,,intellect ,,of ,,woman0    ,page #fg3
 8,christian countres0 changed to       

8,christian countries0    ,page #gj3    
8glorions reformations0 changed to      
8glorious reformations0    ,page #gi3   
8der husband's0 changed to 8her         
husband's0    ,page #hi3 8the same      
gound0 changed to 8the same ground0     
,page #aja3 8but hardende0 changed to   
8but hardened0    ,page #aah3 8so       
seduously0 changed to 8so sedulously0   
,page #abj3 8lusses natur0 changed to   
8lusus natur0    ,page #abb3 8forst     
ernness0 changed to 8for sternness0     
,page #abh3 8woman can can do much0     
changed to 8woman can do much0