Wollstonecraft, Mary - A Vindication of The Rights of Woman

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7t:J . a. 2.
.,.-----
"
r--
VINDICATION
OF TH!
RIGHTS OF WOMAN:
'STRICTURES
oH
rOLITICAL AND MORAL SUBJECTS.
J3r MARY WOLLSTONECR.t\FT.
-
f"\JS"
THJ:: THIRD
J. 0 N D 0
I"Jl.JNTJlD ]OHKSON
1
ND7Z, ST. PAVL's (;;HVIlCH l"Al.il
A
TO
- ,
M. TALLEYRAND-PERIGORD,
l.ATE BISHOP OF AUTUN
. SIR,
HAVING read with great plea{ure II pam
phlet which you have lately publihed, I
dedicate this volume to you; to induce you to
reconfider the fubjeCl:, and maturely weigh
what I have advanced refpeeting the rights
of woman and national education: and I
call with the firm tone of humanity; for.
my arguments, Sir, are ditl:ated by a dilin-
terefted fpirit-I plead for my fex-not for
myfelf, Independence I have long confi-
dered as the grand bleffing of life, the bafis
of
iv DEDICATION.
of every virtue-:-and independence I will
ever fecure by contracting my wants, though
I were to live on a heath.
It is then an affection for the whole hu-.
man race that makes my dart rapidly
along to fupport what I to be the
caufe of virtue: and the fame motive leads
me .earneftly to wifh to woman placed in
a ftation in which fhe would advance,
!tead of retanling, the progrefs of t.hofe glori-
ous priIJ,ciples that give a fqbftance to
ty. My opinion, indeed, refpeCling the righta
and duties of woman, feerns to flow fo
rally from thefe fimple principles, that I
think it fcarcely but that JQIllC of
the enlarged minds who formed your admi""!.
J,"able confiitution, will coincide with me.. J
In there is undoQbtedly a
neral diffufion of knowledge than in any part
o.f the European world, I it, in)
4 a
DEDICATION
v
a great meafure; to the. focial infercourfe
which has long fubfifted between the fexes.
It is true, i utter my fentiments with freedom;
that in France the very effence of ferifuality
has been extraCted to regale the voluptuary;
and a kind of fentimentalluft has prevailed;
which, together with the fyfiem of duplicity
that -the whole tenout of their political and
civil.government taught, have given a finiftei
fort df fagacity to the French
.properlyternied fineffe; from which naturally
flow a poiilh of manners that injures the.
fubftance, by hunting fincerity out of fociety.
-And, modefiy, the fair-eft garb of virtueI
has been more grofsly infulted in France than
in EnghlOd, till. their WQIilen have ..
.ed as prudifh that attention to -decencyj
brutes inftin8:ively obferve.
Marinet.s and motals. are I
often -confounded; but,
:the:fcmiledhould only be natu.ra1
b refleCtion
.
VI

refleCtion of the latter, yet, when various
caufes have produced faCtitious and corrupt
Planners, which are very early caught, mo-
rality becomes an empty name. The per-
fonal referve, and facred refpeCt for cleanli-
nefs and delicacy in domeftic life, which
French women almoft defpife, are the grace-
ful pillars of modefty; but, far fr?m de-
fpifing them, if the pure flame of patriotifm
havereachedtheir bofoms, they1hould labour
. tqimprove the morals of their fellow-citizens,
by teaching men, not only to refpect mo-
.d.efty in women, but to acquire it themfelves,
as the only way to merit their
Contending for the rights of woman, my
main argument is built on this fimple princi-
ple, that if fue be not prepared by education
. to become the companion of man, fue will
fiop the progrefs of knowledge and virtue;
for truth muft be common to all, or it will be
inefficacious with refpea: to its influence on
general

vii
general practice. And how can woman be
expefred to co-operate unlefs fhe know why
{he ought to be' virtuous? unlefs freedom
ftrengthen her reafon till rue comprehend
her duty, and fee in what manner it is con-
nected with her real goodr If children are to
be educated to underftand the true principle
of patriotifm, their mother muft be a patriot;
and the love of mankind, from which an
orderly train of virtues fpring, can only be
"produced by confidering the moral and civil
intereft of but the education arid
of woman, at prefent, ruuts her
out from "fuch
1n this work I have produced manyargu-
ments, which to me were to
that the prevailing notion refpecHng a fexdal
character was fubverfive of morality, and I
have contended, that to render the human
body and mind more perfect, chaftity muff
b 2 more
...
Vlll DEDICATION.
more univerfally prevail, and that chaftity
will never be refpectcd in the male world till
the perfon of a woman is not, as it were,
idolized, when little virtue or fenfe embellifh
it with the grand traces of mental beauty, or
the interefiing firnplicity of afieCl:ion.
Confider, Sir, difpaffionately;thefe obfer-
vations-for a glirnpfe of this truth feemed t.o
open before you when you obferved, C that
C to' fee one half of the human race excluded
C by the other from all participation of go-
C vernment, was a political phrenomenon
C that, according to abftraCl: principles, it
C was impoffible to explain: If to, on what
does your conftitution reft? If the abftrat1:
rights of man will bear difcuffion and expla-
nation, thore of woman, by a parity ofreafon-
ing,will not fhrink from the fame teft: though
a different opinion prevails in thi!J country,
built on the very arguments which you ufe to
juftify
n EDICATION.
.
U!
jufiify the oppreffion of woman-prefcrip-
tion.
Confider, I addrefs YOll as a legiflator)
whether, when men contend for their free-
dom, and to be allowed to judge for them-
felves re{peCling their happinefs, it be not
inconfifient and unjuft to fubjugate women,
even though you believe that you are
acHng in the manner beft calculated to pro-
mote their happinefs? Who made man the
judge, if woman partake with
gift of reafon'?
In this
nation, from the weak king to the weak fa-
ther of a family; they are all euger to crulh
'reafon; yet always affert that they ufurp its
throne only to be ufeful. Doyou not act a fimi-
lar part, when youfircc all women, by deny-
i.ng them civil and political rights, to remain
immuredintheir families groping in the dark?

b 3 fOf
. ,.

for furely, Sir, you will not affert, that a duty
can be binding which is not founded on,
fon? If indeed this be their defiination, argu-
ments may be drawn from reafon; and thus
auguftIy fupported, the more underftanding
women acquire, the more they will be attach,,:
ed to their duty-comprehending it-fQr \1n-
lefs they it, their morals
'io be fixed Qn the fame immutabJe principle
of IIlan, nQ authority can make
it in a manner_ They
be naves, hqt llavery win
have its confiant effect, qegrading the mar",
and the abject
But, if women are to be excluded, witq..
out having a voice, from a participation Qf
the natural rights of mankind, prove
ward of,f the charge of injufiice and incoq-
fiftencyJ they want reafon-elfe
flaw in your NEW CONSTITUTION
WHI thew that man in fame lha.pe,

DEDICATION. Xl
ad: like a tyrant, tyranny, in whatever
palt of fociety- jt i.ts brazen front, will
ever undermine morality.
I have repeatedly afferted, and produced
what appeared to me irrefragable arguments
drawn from matters of faCt, to prove my
affertion,. that women cannot, by force, be
confined. to domeftic concerns; for they
will, however ignorant, with
more weighty affairs, negleCting private du-
ties only to diLl:urb, by cunning tricks) the
order!y plans of reafon which rife above
their comprehenfion,
Befides, whilft they are only made to ac-
quire perfonal accomplifhments, men will
feek for plea[ure in variety, and faithlefs huf-
bands will make faithlefs wives: fuch igno-
rant beings, indeed, will be very excufable
when, not taught to refpetl: public good, nor
b t allowed
.
)tU DEDICATION.
allowed any civil rights, they attempt to dQ
themfe1ves juftice by
The boxof mifchief thus 'in fociety,
what is to 'preferve private virtue, the only
(ecurity of public and univerfal
pinefs? '
Let there' be then' no coercion: ejlablijheq
in fociety, and the 4;ommon law of gravity
prevailing, the fexes will fall into their pro-
per places;' And, now that more equitable
are forming your citizens,
may become more facred: your young men
may choofe wives from motives of afieClion,
and your maidens allQw loye to root out
vanity.
The father of, a family will not then
weaken his conftitution and debafe his fen...
t!ments, by vifiting the harlot, nor forget, in

DEnlCA.rrl()N.
obeying. the calli of: appetite, JOL'
wbichirWas implanted. And, the mother
will- riot negleCt her. to
wbep, and modefty;
fecure her the frielldiliip of her ...
But, till men becomeatt.entive to the duty
ef a father, it is vain to expe<!t women to
(pend that in their nurfery which they,
C wife in their generation,' choofe to fpend
their.'glafs; for this exertion of cunning is
cnly an inftinCt of nature to enable them to
pbtain indirecUy a little of that power of
which they are unjuftly denied a lhare: for.
jf women are not permitted to enjoy 'legiti-
mate rights, they will render both men and
vicious, to obtain illicit privileges.
I wiili, Sir, to fet fome inveftigitions of
this kind afloat in France; and 9tou1d they
to a confirmation of my principles) when
I
:xiv DEDICATION.
your conftitution is, revifed the Rights of
Woman may. be refpeaed, ifit be fallyproved
that reafon calls for this' refpeet, and loudly
demands JUSTICE .. fOf one half of the hu..
. "
man race.
lam, SIR,
) '.
M.W.
ADVERTISEMENT.
WHEN I began to write this work, I di-
vided it into three parts, fuppofing that one
volume would contain a full difcuffion of the
which feemed to me to rife natu-
rally from a few fimple principles j but frelh
jlluftrations occurring as I advanced, I now
prefent only the firft part to the public.
Many fubjeCl:s, however, which I have
curforilyalluded to, call for particular invef-
tigation, efpecially the laws relative to wo-
men, and the confideration of their peculiar
duties. Thefe will furnifh ample matter for
a fecond volume, which in due time will be
publilhed, elucidate fome of the fentiments,
;md complet(;: many of the {ketches begun in

-
CH A P. I.
Page
V'he rights and involved duties-if
eo'!fidered I S
'CH A P. 'H.
crhe ,prevailing opinion '!f a jeXIIIJ/ eha-
ratier:.. tliftuffid 3z
H.A_P. DI.
crJ;t fame fu/;jeS continued
7S
-c HA P. IV.
ObJervalions on the }iate of degradation to
which woman is redur:ed by 'Various
caujes 109
CH A P. V.
AnimadvetjionS'on who
have rendered 'lJ!omen objetls if pity,
"ordering on contempt 170
CHAP.
..
XYlll
CONTENTS.
CH A P. VI.
Page
'['he eJfeli which an early qfJOciation of
ideas has upon the charafl.er 259
CH A P. VII.
, cO'!fidered, and
not as a fexual virtue . 213
CH A P. VIII.
Morality undermined by ftxual notians of
the importance of a good reputation
C HA P. lX.
,
Of the pernicious dfeC1s which arifc ftoin .
the unnatural diflinC1ions dfablifhed in
facie!), . 320'
CH A P. X
. Parental affee1io1t,
CHAP., :xL
DU!j parmls
349
CHAp.
-CONTENTS.
CHAP. XII.
Oil national education
CHAP. XIII.
:xix
Page
,,61
~
Some injlances of the folly which tht igno-
rance of women generates; with con-
cluding re.fleClions on the moral improve-
ment that a revolution infemale man-
ners might naturally iJe expeCled to
produce 4- 14-
INTRODUCTION.
AFTER confidering the hiftoric page, and
viewing the living world with anxious foli-
citude, the moll: melancholy emotions of for-
rowful indignation have depreffed my fpirirs,
and I have fighed when obliged to confefs,
that either nature has made a great difference I
b e t w e e ~ man and man, or that the civilization
which has hitherto taken place in the world
has been very partial. I have turned over va-
rious books written on the fubject of educa-
tion, and patiently obferved the conduct of
parents and the management of khools; but
what has been the refult ?-a profound con-
viCtion that the neglected education of my
fellow-creatures is the grand fource of the
mifery I deplore; and that women, in parti-
cular, are rendered weak and wretched by a
"ariety ofconcurring caufes, originating from
one hafty condufion. The conduCt: and
manners of women, in faCt, evidently prove
B that
,
2
INTRODUCTION.
that their minds are pot in a healthy !tate;
for, like the flowers which are planted in
too rich a foil, ftrength and ufefulnefs are
facrificed to beauty; and the flaunting leaves,
after having pleafed a faftidiO'lls eye, fade,
difregarded on the ftalk, long before the f e a ~
fon when they ought to have arrived at ma-
turity..-..,.One caufe of this barren blooming
I attribute to a falfe fyftem of education,
ga:thered from the books written on this fub-
jeCt by men who, confidering females rather
as women than human creatures, have been
more anxious to make them alluring mif-
treffes than affectionate wives and rational
mothers; and the underfianding of the fex .
has been fo bubbled by this fpecious homage,
that the civilized -women of the prefent cen-
tury, with a few exceptions, are only anxious
to infpire love, when they ought tocherilh a
nobler ambition, and by their abilities and
virtues exaa refpeCt.
In a treatife, therefore, on female rights
and manners, the works which have been
particularly written for their improvement
muft not be overlooked; efpecially when it
is afferted, in direCt terms, that the minds
of women are enfeebled by falferefinement;
-+ that

inftl11Cl:ion, written by
men of )lave had fame tendency
1lS more frivoJol,ls prod.utti,ons; and that, in
. of Mahometanifm, they are
as a.ki.nd of fubordinate beings, and
,npt as apart of the human fpecies,
improveable reaCoD is allowed to be thedigni-
lied .diftinCliion above .the
brute creation, and puts a natural fceptre in
.fee.bIe hand. .
Yet, becaufe J am a won;t"n, I wQ\1.Ic;l
Jead my readers to that I.mean vio-
lently to agitate the contefied quefti011 re-
(peftjng . or inferiority of the
:bQt as the fupjeCl: lies in ,my way, and
I ,cannot pafsit over without fubjeEting the
main tendency of my reafoniI;1g to mifcon-
J lhall flop a moment to deliver,
plY9p,inion..-In the govern-
.ment of the world h is obfervable
that the in .point of ftrength is, in
.iqferi9r .to the male. This is the
law of nature; and it does not appear .to:be
or abrogated'in favour of woman.
fuperiority cannot, there-
be it ,is a noble preroga-
tive! Bllt .not cpntent with thi,s natural pre-
B 2 eminence,
4
INTRODUCTI
eminence, men endeavour to fink us1tUI
lower, merely to render us 'alluring 'ob-
jeCts for a moment; and women, iritoxi-
cated by the adoration which men, under
the influence of their fenfes, pay them,
do not feek to obtain a durable intereft in
"their hearts, or to become the friends of the
fellow creatures who find amufement in their
fociety.
1am aware of an obvious inference:-from
everyquarter have I heard exclamations againft
mafculine womenj but where are they to be
found? If by this men mean to
inveigh againft their ardour in hunting, hoat-
ing, and gaming, ,I {hall moft cordiallyjoin
.in the cry; but if it be againft the imitation
of manly virtues, or, more properly fpeaking,
. the attainment of thofe talents and virtues,
the exercife of which ennobles the human
charaCter, and which raife females In the
{cale of animal being,' when they are com-
prehenfively termed mankind i-all thofewho
. them with a philofophic eye muft, 1
ihould think, .wifh with me, that they may
day grow more and more mafculine.
This difcuffion naturally divides the fub-
jecL I hall firft confider women in the
. '"'... grand
INTRODUCTION.
5
grand l i g ~ t ofhuman creatures, who, in com-
mon with men, are placed on this earth to
unfold their faculties; and afterwards I {hall
more particularly point out their peculiar
defignation.
I wifu alfo to fteer clear of an error which
many refpeCtable writers have fallen into j for
the inftruction which has hitherto been ad-
dreffed to women, has rather been applicable
to ladies, if the little indirect advice, that is
fcattered through Sandford and Merton, be
excepted; but, addreffing my fex in' a firmer
tone, I pay particular attention to thofe ill
the middle clafs, becaufe they appear to be
in the moft natural flate. Perhaps the feeds
of falfe-refinement. immorality, and vanity,
have ever been fhed by the great. Weak,
artificial beings, raifed above the common
wants and affections of their race, in a pre-
mature unnatural manner, undermine the
very foundation of virtue, and fpread forrup-
tion through the whole mafs of [ociety! As
a clafs of mankind they have the ftrongeft
claim to pity j the education of the rich tends
to render them vain and helplefs, and the
unfolding mind is not ftrengthened by the
practice of thofe duties which dignify the hu-
B 3 m3n
6
INTRODUCTION..
Difmiffing
,
man character.-They only live to amufe
themfelves, and by the fame law which in
nature invariably producc:scertain effects, they
loon only afford barren amufeineilt.
But as I purpofe taking a feparate view of
the different ranks of fociety, and of the mo-
ral character of women, in each, this hint is;
for the prefent, and I have only
alluded to the fubjeCt, becaufe. it to
me to be the very effence of an introduction
to give a cur[ory account of the contents of.
the work it introduces.
My own fex, I hope, will excufe me, if I
treat them like rational creatures, inftead of
flattering their fafcinating graces, and view...
ing them as if they were in a ftate of perpe-
tual childhood, unable to ftand alone. I ear...
neftly wiih to point out in what true dignity
and human happinefs confifts-I wiih to per-
f uade women to endeavour to acquirefirength,
both of mind and body, and to convince them
that the foft phrafes, fufceptibility of heart,
delicacy of fentiment, and refinement of
tafte, are almoft fynonymous with epithets of
weaknefs, and that thore beings who'are only
the objects of pity and that kind of love,
which has been termed its fifter, will foon
become objeCts of contempt.
INTRODUCTION.
7
Difmiffing then thofe pretty feminine
phrafes, which the men condefcendingly ufe
to foften our llavifh dependence, and defpif-
ing that weak elegancy of mind, exquifite fen-
fibility, and {weet docility of manners, fup-
pored to be the fexual characteriftics of the
weaker veffel, 1 wifh to hew that elegance
is inferior to virtue, that the firft object of
laudable ambition is to obtain a character as
a human being, regardlers of the diftinCl:ion
of fex; and that fecondary views lhould be
brought to this fimple touchftone.
This is a rough 1ketch of my plan; and
fhould 1exprefs my conviCl:ion with the ener-
getic emotions that I feel whenever I think
of the fubject, the dictates of experience and
reflection will be felt by fome of my readers.
Animated by this important object, 1 lhall
difdain to cull my phrafes or polifh my ftyle;
-I aim at being ufeful, and fincerity will
render me unaffected; fOf, wifhing rather to
perfuade by the force of my arguments, than
dazzle by the elegance of my language, I
fhall not wafte my time in rounding periods,
or inYabricating the turgid hombaft of arti- .
fidal feelings, which, coming from the head,
never reach the heart.-I lhall b ~ employed
a 4 about
8
INTRODUCTION.
about things, not words I-and, anxious to
render my [ex more refpeCtable members of
fociety, .I {hall try to avoid that flowery dic-
tion which has flided from drays into novels,
and from novels into familiar letters and
converfation.
Thefe pretty fuperlatives, dropping glibly
from the tongue, vitiate the tafie, and create
a kind of fickly delicacy that turns away
from fimple unadorned truth; and a deluge
of faIfe fentiments and overfrretched feel-
"ings, fiifling the natural e m o t i o ~ s of the
heart, render the domefiic' pIeafures infi-
pid, that ought to fwceten the exercife of
thofe fevere duties, whichedllcate a rational
and immortal being for a nobler field of ac-
tion.
The education of women has, of late, been
more attended to than formerly; yet they
are fiill reckoned a frivolous fex, and ridi-
culed or pitied by the writers who endeavour
by fatire or infiruCl:ion to improve them. It
is acknowledged that they fpcmd many of the
nrft years of their lives in acquiring a [matter-
ing of accomplifhments; meanwhile firength
of body and mind are facrificed to libertine
notions of beauty) to the defire of efiablifh-
ll1g
INTRODUCTION.
9
ing themfdves,-the only way women can
. rife in the world,-by marriage. And this
defire making mere animals of them,. when
they marry they act as fueh children may
be expeCted to aB: :-.they drers; they paint,
and nickname God's creatures.-Surc1y thefe
weak beings a ~ e only fit for a feraglio !-
Can they be expeCted to govern a family with
judgment,or take care of the poor babes
whom they bring into the world?
If then it can be fairly deduced from the
prefent conduB: of the fex, from the preva-
lent fondnefs for pleafure which takes place
of ambition and thofe nobler pallions that
open and enlarge the foul; that the inftruB:ion
which women have hitherto received has only
tended, with the confiitution of civil fociety,
to render them infigniflcant objeB:s of defire
-mere' propagators of fools I-if it can be
proved that in aiming to accomplifh them,
without cultivating their underftandings, they
are taken out of their fphere of duties, and
made ridiculous and urelefs when the fhort-
lived bloomef beauty is over ; ; ~ , I prefume
... A lively writer, I cannot recolleCt his name, afks
what bufinefs women turned of forty have to do in the
world?
that
10 I-NTRODUCTION.
that rational men will excufe me for endea-
vouring to perfuade them to become more
mafcllline and refpeCl:able.
Indeed the word mafculine is only a bug-
bear: there is little reafon to fear that wo-
men will acquire too much courage or forti-
tude j for their apparent with re-
fpea: to bodily ftrength, muft render them,
in fome degree, dependent on men in the-
various relations of life; but why lhould it
be increafed by prejudices that give a fex to
virtue, and confound fimple truths with
fenfual reveries?
Women are, in faa, fo much degraded
by miftaken notions of female excellence, that,
I do not mean to add a paradox when I affert,
that this artificial weaknefs produces a pro-
penfity to tyrannize, and gives birth to cun-
ning, the natural opponentof ftrength, which
leads them to play off thofe contemptible
infantine airs that undermine efteem even
whilft they excite defire. Let men become
more chafte and mode!!, and if do
not grow wifer in the fame ratio, it will be
clear that they have weaker underftandings.
It feems fcarce1y neceffary to fay, that I now
[peak of the fex in general. Many in.
dividuals,
INTRODUCTION.
II
dividuals have more fenfe than their male re-
latives; and, as nothing preponderates where
there is a conftant ftruggle for an equili-
brium, without it has naturally more gravity,
fome women govern their hufbands without
degrading themfelves, becaufe intelleCl: will
always govern.
VINDICATION
,
VINDICATION
- OF THE
RIG a T S 0 F W 0 M A N.
PAR T I.
CH A P. I.
THE RIGHTS AND I ~ V O L V E D DUTIES OF
MANKIND CONSIDERED.
IN the prefent ftate of fociety it appears ne-
ceffary to go back to firft principles in fearch
of the moll: fimple truths, and to difpute
with fame prevailing prejudice every inch of
ground. To clear my way, I mull: be al-
lowed to a1k fome. plain quell:ions, and the
anfwers will probably appear as unequivocal
as the axioms on which reafoning is built;
though, when entangled with various motives
of aCtion, they are formally contradiCted, ei-
ther by the words or conduct of men.
In what does man's pre-eminence over the
brute creation confift? The anfwer is as
Clear as that a half is lefs than the whole;
in Reafon.
What acquirement exalts one being above
another? Virtue; we fpontaneoufly reply.
For
16 V1NDJCATlON OF THE
For what purpofe were the paffions im-
planted? That man by ftruggling with them
might attain ~ degree of knowledge denied
to the brutes; whifpers Experience
. Confequently the perfeaion of our nature
andcapability ofhappinefs, muft be eftimated
by the degree of reafon) virtue, and know-
ledge, that diftinguilh the indiYidual, and
direB: the Jaws which bind fociety: and that
from the exercife of reafon, knowledge and
virtue naturally flow, is equally undeniable,
if mankind be viewed colleCtively.
The rights and duties of man thus flmpli-
tied, it, feems almoft impertinent to attempt
to iUuftrate truths that appear fo incontro-
vertible; yet fuch deeply rooted prejudices
have clouded reafon, and fuch fpurious qua-
lities have affumed the name ofYirtues, that
it is neceflary to purfue the courfe of reafon
as it has been perplexed and involved in error,
by various adventitious circumftances, com-
paring the fimple axiom with cafual de-
viations..
Men, in general, feem to employ their rea-
fon to juftify prejudices, which they have im-
bibed, they can fcarce1y trace bow, rather
than
IlIGHTS OF WOMAN. 17
than to root them out. The mind muft be
ftrong thatrefolutely forms its ownprinciples;
for a kind of intelleB:ual cowardice prevails
which makes many men fhrink from the talk,
or onlydo it by Yet the imperfeB: con-
clufions thusdrawnj are frequently very plau-
fible, becaufe they are built on expe.
rience, on juft, though narrow, views.
Going back to firft principles, vice ikulks,
with all its native deformity, from clofe invef-
tigation; but a fet of fhallow reaforiers are
always exclaiming thatthefe arguments prove
. too much, and that a meafure rotten at the
core may be expedient. Thus expediency is
continually contrafted with Limple principles,
till truth is 10ft in a mift of words, virtue, in
f()rms, and knowledge rendered a founding
nothing, by the ipecious prejudices that af-
fume its name.
That the fociety is forrfJed in the wifeft man-
, ner, whofe conftitution is founded on the na-
tureof man, (hikes, in the abll:ratt, every
thinking being fo forcibly, t]1at it looks like
prefumption to endeavour to bring forward
proofs; though proof mull: be brought, or
the thong hold of prefcription will never be
forced by reafon; yet to urge prefcription as
C an
.,
18 VINDICATION OF THE
an to juftify the deprivil)g men (or
women) of their natural rights, is one of the
abfurd fophifms which daily infult common
fenfe.
The civilization of the bulk of the people
of Europe is very partial; nay, it may be
made a.queftion, whether they have acquired
any virtues in exchange for innocence, equi-
valent to the mifery produced by the vices
that have been plaftered over unfightly igno-
rance, and the freedom which has been bar-
tered .for fplendid aavery. The defire of
dazzling by riches, the moft certain pre-emi-
nence that man can obtain, "the pleafure of
commanding flattering fycophants, and many
other complicated low calculations of doting
felf-Iove, have all contributed to overwhelm
the mafs of mankind, and make liberty a
convenient handle for mock patriotifm. For
whilft rank and titles are held of the ut-
moft importance, beforewhichGenius er muft
hide its diminifhed head," it is, with a few
exceptions, very unfortunate for a nation
when a man ofabilities, without rank or pro-
perty, pufhes himfelf forward to notice.-
Alas I what unheard of mifery have thou-
fands to pUfchafe a cardinal's hat for
an
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 19
an intriguing obfcure adventurer, who longed
to be ranked with princes, or lord it over
them by feizing the triple crown 1
Such, indeed, has been the wretchednefs
that has flowed from hereditary honours,
riches, and mortarchy, that men of lively
fenfibility have almoft uttered blafphemy iri
order toj uftify thedifpenfations of providence.
Man.has been held out as independent of his
power who made him, or as a lawlefs planet
darting from its orbit to fteal the celeftial fire
of reafon; and the vengeance of heaven, lurk-
ing in the fubtile flame, like Pandora's pent
up mifchiefs, fufficiently punifhed his teme-
. rity, by introducing evil into the world.
ImpreLfed by this view of the mifery and
diforder which pervaded fociety, and fatigued
withjoftling againft artificial fools, Rouffeau
became enamoured of folitude, and, being at
the fame time an optimift, he labours with
uncommon eloquence to pfove that man was
naturally a folitary animal. Mined by his
refpect for the goodnefs of God, who cer-
tainly-for what man of fenre and feeling can
doubt it I-gave life only to communicate
happinefs, he confiders evil as pofitive, and
the work of man; not aware that he was
C :z exalting
exalting one attribute at the expence of ano-
ther, equally neceffary tq divine perfeaion.
Reared on a faIfe hypothefis his arguments
in favour of a ftatc of nature are plaufible, but
unfound. I fay unfound) for to affert that a
ftate of nature is preferable to civilization,
in all its poffible perfeCtion, is,inother words,
to arraign fupreme wifdom; and the para-
doxical exclamation, that God has made all
things right, and that error has been intro-
duced by the creature, whom he formed,
knowing what he formed, is as unphilofophi..
cal as impious.
When'that wife Beingwho created us and'
placed us here, faw the idea, he willed,
by allowing it to be fo, that the paffions
:fhould unfold our reafon, becaufe he could
fee that prefent evil w'ould produce future
good. Could the' hel pIefs whom he
called from nothing break loofefrom his pro-
vidence, and boldly learn to know good by
praaifingevil, without his permiffion? No.-
Howcould that energetic advocate for immor-
tality argue fo inconfiftentJy? Had mankind
remained for ever in the brutal ftate of na-
ture, which even his magic pen cannot paint
as a ftate in which a fingle virtue took root,
it
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 21
it would have been clear, though not to the
fenfitive unreflecting wanderer, that man
was born to run the circle of life and death,
and adorn God's garden for fome purpofe
which could not eafily be reconciled with his
attributes.
But if, to crown the whole, there were
to be rational creatures produced, allowed to
rife in excellence by the exercife of powers
implanted for that purpofe; if benignity it-
felf thought fit to call intoexiftence a creature
above the brutes *, who could think and im-
prove himfelf, why fhould that ineftimable
gift, for a gift it was, if man was fo created
as to have a capacity to rife above the ftate in
whichfenfation producedbrutaleafe, becalled,
in direct terms, a curre? A eurfe it might be
reckoned; if the whole of our exiftence were
bounded by our continuance in this world;
for why fhould the gracious fountain of life
give us pallions, and the power of reflecting,
lit Contrary to the opinion of anatomifis, who argue by
analogy from the formation of the teeth, fiomach, and intef-
tines, Rouff'eau will not allow a man to be a carnivorous
animal. And, carried away from nature by a l o v ~ of fyfiem,
he difputes whether man be a gregarious animal, though the
long and helplefs fiate of infancy feems to point him out as
particularly impelled to pair, the firfi: fiep towards herding.
C 3 only
only to imbitter our days and infpire us with
miftaken notions of dignity? Why fhould
he lead us from love of ourfelves to'the fup..
l ~ m e emotions which the difcovery of his wif-
dom and goodnefs excites, if thefe feelings
were not fet in motion to improve our nature,
of which they make a part, and render us
capable of enjoying a,more godlike portion of
happinefs ? Firmly perf\laded that no evil
exifts in the world that God did not defign to
take place, I build, my belief on the perfec-
tion of God,.
Rouffeau exerts h i m f ~ l f to prove that all WIlS
right originally: a crowd of authors that all
is now right: and I, that all will be right.
But, true to his firft pofition, next to a ftate
of nature, Rouffeau celebrates barbacifm, and
apoftropbizing the iliade of Fabricius, he for-
What would you fay to a mechanic whom you had de-
fired to make a watch to point out ~ e hour of the day, if, to
lhewhi. ingenuity, he added wheels to make it a repeater,
&c. that perplexed the fimple mechanifm; lhould he urge,
to excufe himfelf-had you net touched a certain fpring, you
would have known nothing of the matter, and that he lhould
have amufed himfelf by making an experiment without doing
you any harm: would you not retort fairly upon him, by
infifiing that if he had not added thofe need1e/S wheels and
fprings, the accident could not have happened i
gets
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 23
gets that, in conquering the world, the Ro..;
mans never dreamed of their own
liberty on a firm bafis, or of extending the
reign ofvirtue. Eager to fupport his fyftem,
he ftigmatizes. as vicious, every effort of ge-
nius; and, uttering the apotheofis of favage
virtues, he exalts thofe to demi-gods, who
were fcarcely human-the brutal Spartans,
who, in defiance of j and gratitude, fa-
crificed, in cold blood, the naves who had
{hewn themfelves heroes to refcue their op-
preffors.
Difgufted with artificial manners and vir-
tues, citizen of Geneva, inftead of pro-
perly [tfting the fubjett, threw away the
wheat with the chaff, without waiting to
inquire whether the evils which his ardent
foul from indignantly, were the con-
fequence of civilization or the veftiges of bar-
barifm. He faw vice trampling on virtue,
an4. the ffmblance of goodnefs taking place
of the reality; he faw talents bent by power
" to finifter purpofes, and never of
tracing the gigantic mifchief up to arbitrary
power, up to the hereditary diftinctions that
clafh with the mental fuperiority that natu-
rally raifes a man ahovt' his fellows. He did
C 4- not
not perceive that regal power, in a few ge-
nerations, introduces idiotifm into the noble
frem, and holds out baits to render thou-
fands idle and vicious.
Nothing can' fet the regal character in
a more contemptible point of view, than
the various crimes that have elevated men to
the fupreme dignity.-Vile intrigues, unna":
tural crimes, and every vice that degrades olir
llature, have been the fieps to this diftin-
guifhcd eminence; yet mi.11ions of men have
fupinely allowed thenervelefs limbs of the
pofterity of fuch rapacicus prowlers to reft
quietly on their enfanguined thrones , ~ .
What but a peftilential vapour can hover
over fociety when its chief direetor is only
inftruded in the invention of qimes, or the
frupid routine of childifh ceremonies? Will
men never be wife ?-will they never ceafe to
expeet corn from tares, and figs from thiftles?
It is impoffible for any man, whenthe moft
favourable circumftances concur, to acquire
fufficient knowledge and firength of mind
to difcharge the duties of a king, entrufted
with uncontrouled power j how then muft
"\t Could there be a greater il1[ult offered to the rights of
man than the beds of juftice in France, when an infant was
made the organ of the deteftable Dubois !
4 they
'RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 2S
they be violated when his very elevation is
3n infuperable bar to the. attainment of ei-
ther wifdom or virtue; when all the feelings
of a man are fiifled by flattery, and refleetion
fuut out by pleafure! Surely it is madnefs
to make the fate of thoufands depend on the
caprice of a weak fellow creature, whofe
very fiation finks him necdfarily below the
meaneftofhis fubjeCts! But one powerlhould
not be thrown down to exalt another-for all
power inebriates weak man; and its abufo
proves that the more equality there is efta-
blilhed among men, the more virtue and hap-
pinefs will reign in fociety. But this and any
fimilar maxim deduced from fimple reafon,
raifes an outcry-the church or the ftate is
in danger, if faith in the wifdom of anti-
quity is not implicit; and they who, roufed
by the fight of human calamity, dare to at..
tack human authority, are reviled as defpifers
of God, and enemies of man. Thefe are
bitter calumnies, yet they reached one of the
ben: of men i ! ~ , whore allies frill preach peace,
and whofe memory demands a refpecHul
paufe, when fubjects are difcuffed that lay
fo near his heart.-
Dr. Price.
After
After attacking the facred majeftyofKings,
I lha11 fcarcely excite furprife by adding
my firm, perfuafion that every profeffion, in
which great fubordinatioll of rank confti-
tutes its power, is highly injurious to mo-
rality.
A ftanding army, fOf inftance; is incom-
patible with freedom; becaufe fubordiriatipn
and rigour are the very finews of military
difcipline; and defpotifm is necelfary to give
vigour to enterprizes that one will direas.
A fpirit infpired by romantic notions of ho-
nOUf, a kind of ,morality founded on the
fafhion of the age, can only be felt -by a few
officers, whilft the main body muft be
moved by command, like the waves of the
fea; for the thong wind of authority pufues
the crowd of fubalterns they
fcarcely know or care why, with headlong,
fury. _
Betides, nothing can be fo prejudicial to
the morals of the inhabitants of country
towns as the occational refidencc of a fet of
idle fuperficial young men, whofe only oc...
cupation is gallantry, and whofe polilhed
render vice more dangerous, by
concealing its deformity under gay
mental
R:IGHTS OF WOMAN. 27
mental drapery. An air of falhion, which
is but a badge of flavery, and proves that the
foul has not a {hong individual character,
awes fimple country people into an imitation
of the vices, when they cannot catch the flip-
pery graces, of politenefs. Every corps is a
chain of defpots, who, fubmitting and ty'-
rannizing without exer<;ifing their rearon,
become dead weights of vice and folly on the
community. A man of rank or fortune,
fure of rifing by intereft, has nothing to do
but to purfue fome extravagant fteak; whilft
the needy gentleman, who is to rife, as the
phrafe turns, by his merit, becomes a fer-
vile parafite or vile pander.
Sailors, the naval gentlemen, come under
the fame defcription, only their ~ i c e s affume
a different and a groffer caft. They are
morepofitively indolent, when not difcharg-
ing the ceremonials of their ftation; whilft
the infignificant fluttering of foldiers may be
termed aCtive idlenefs. More confined to
the (ociety of men, the former acquire a fond- /
nefs for humour and mifchievous tricks ';
whilft the latter, mixing frequently with
well-bred women, catch a fentimental cant.
__But mind is equally out of the, queftion,
whether
whether they indulge the horfe-laugh, or
polite fimper.
May I be allowed to extend the compari.
fon to a profeffion where more mind is cer-
tainly to be found; for the clergy have fu-
perior of improvement, though
fubordination aImoft equally cramps their fa-
culties? The blind fubmiffion impofed at
college to forms of belief ferves as a novi-
tiate to the curate, who mull: obfequiouily
refpeCl: the opinion of his rector or patron,
if he mean ,to rife in his profeffion. Per-
haps there cannot be a forcible contraft
than between the fervile dependant gait of a
poor curate and the courtly mien of a bi1hop.
And the refpeB: and contempt they infpire
render the difcharge of their feparate func-
tions equally ufelefs.
It is of great importance to obferve that
the character of every man is, in fome de-
-gree, formed by his profeffion. A man of
fenfe may only, have a caft of countenance
that wears off as you trace his individuality,
whilft the weak, common man has fcarcely
ever any charaeter, but what belongs to the
body; at leaft, all his opinions have been fo
fteeped in the vat confecrated by authority,
that
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 29
that the faint fpirit which the grape of his
own vine yields cannot be diftinguilhed. '
S ~ i e t y , therefore, as it becomes more en-
lightened, fuould be very careful not to e11:a-
blifh bodies of men who 'mu11: neceffarily be
made foolifh or vicious by the very conftitu-
tion of their profeffiotJ.
In the infancy' of focietyJ when men were
juLt emerging out of barbarifm, chiefs and
priefts, touching the moLt powerful fprings
of favage conduct, hope'and fear, muLt have
had unbounded fway. An' ariftocracYt of
courfe, is naturally- the fir11: form of govern-
ment. But, clafhing' in.terefts foon lofing
their equipoife, a monarcby. and 'hierarchy
break out of the confufion of ambitious
ftruggles, and the foundation of both is fe-
cured by feudal tenures. This appears to be
the origin of monarchical and prieftly power,
and the dawn of civilization. But fuch
combuftible materials cannot long be pent
up; and, getting vent in foreign wars and in-
teftine infurrections, the people acquire fome
power in the tumult, which obliges their
rulers toglofs over their oppreffion withafuew
of right. Thus, as wars, agriculture, com-
merce,
merce, and literature, expand the mind,
defpots. are compelled to make covert corrup-
tion hold faft the power which was formerly
fnatched by open force -. And this baneful
IurIting gangrene is moftquickly fpread by
luxury and fuperftition, the fure dregs of
ambition. The indolent puppet of a court -
full: becomes a luxurious mOllfter, or fafti-
dious fenfualift, and then makes the c o n t a ~
gion which hjs unnatural ftate fpread, the
inftrument of tyranny.
It is the peftiferous purple which renders
the progrefs of civilization a curfe, and warps
the underftanding,. till men of fenfibility
doubt whether the expanfion of intelleCt:
produces a greater portion of happinefs or
mifery. But the nature of the poifol1 points
out the antidote; and had Rouffeau mount-
ed one fiep higher in his inveftigation, or
could his eye have pierced through the foggy
atmofphere, which he almoft difdained to
Men of abilities fcatter feeds that grow up and have
a great influence Qn the forming opinion; and when once
the public opinion preponderates, through the exertioR
of reafoD, the overthrow of arbitrary power is not very
cJifiant.
breathe,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3'
his active mind would have darted
forward to cC?ntemplate the pefecHon of man
in the eftablilhment of true civilization, in-
ftead of taking his ferocious flight back to
the of fenfual ignorance.
CHAP.
,
32 VINDICATION or THE
CH A P. lI.
THE PREVAILING OPINION OF A SEXUAL
CHARACTER DISCUSSED.
To account for, and excufe the tyranny of
man, many ingenious arguments have been
brought forward to prove, that the two fexes,
in the acquirement of virtue, ought to aim at
attaining a very different c h a r ~ a e r ; or, to
{peak explicitly, women are not allowed to
have fufficient ftrength of "mind to acquire
what really defervesthe name of virtue. Yet
it lhould feem, allowing them to have fouls,
that there is but one way appointed by Pro-
vidence to lead mankind to either virtue or
happinefs.
If then women are not a fwarm of
. ephemeron triflers, why fhould they be
kept in ignorance under the fpecious name
of innocence? Men complain, and; with
reafon, of the follies and caprices of our
{ex, when they do not keenly fatirize
our headftrong pamons and groveling vices.
-Behold,
R.IGHTS OF WOMAN. 33
......Behold, I fhould anfwer, the natural ef-
fect of ignorance! The mind will ever be
unfiable that has only prejudices to refi on,
and the current will run with defiruCtive
fury when there are no barriers to break its
force. I Women are told from their infancy,
and taught by the example .of their mothers,
that a little knowledge of human weaknefs,
jufily tenned cunning, foftnefs of, temper,
outward obedience, and a fcrupulous atten-
tion to a puerile kind of propriety, will ob-
tain for them the proteCtion of IUan j and
fhould they be beautiful, every thing elfe is
needlefs, for, at leaft, twenty years of their
lives.
Thus Milton defcribes our firit frail mo-
ther; though when he tells us that women
are formed for foftnefs and fweet attractive
grace, I cannot comprehend his meaning,
unlefs, in the true Mahometanftrain, he meant
to deprive us of fouls, and infinuate that we
were beings only defigned by f weet attrac-
tive grace, and docile blind obedience, to gra-
tify the fenfes of man when he can no longer
foal' on the wing of contemplation.
How grofsly do they infult us who thus ad-
vife us only to render ourfelves gende, domefiic
D brutes!
34 ; VINDICATION OF THE
brutes 1 For inftance, the winningfoftnefs lO
warmly, and frequently, recommended, that
governs byobeying. Whatchildifhexpreffions,
and how infignificant is the being-cap it be an
immortal one? who will condefcend to go-
vern by fuch finifter methods? 'Certainly,'
fays Lord Bacon, ' mart is of kin to the
, beafts by his body; and if he be not of kin
I to God by his fpirit, he is a bafe and igno-
C ble creature I' Men, indeed, appear to me
to act in a very unphilofophical manner when
they try to f e c u r ~ the good conduct of wo-
men by attempting to keep them always in a
ftate of childhood. Rouffeau was more con-
fiftent when he wiihed to fiop the progrefs
of reafon in both fexes, for if men eat of the
tree of knowledge, women will come in for
Cl tafte; but, from the imperfect cultivation
which their underftandings now receive, they
only attain a knowledge of evil.
Children, I grant, ihould be innocent;
but when the epithet is applied to men, or
women, it is but a civil term for weaknefs.
For if it be allowed that women were def-
tined by Providence to acquire human virtues,
and by the exercife of their underftandings,
that ftability of character which is the firmeft
ground
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3S
ground to reftour future hopes upon, they
mufr be permitted to turn to the fountain of
light, and not forced to fhape their courfe by
the twinkling of a mere fatellite. Mil-
ton, I grant, was of a very different opinion;
for he only bends to the indefeafible right of
, beauty, though it would be difficult to ren-
der two paffages which I now mean to
contralt,-confifrent. But into fimilar incon-
fifiencies are great men often led by their
fenfes.
, To whom thus Eve with perfell beauty adorn'd.
- , My Author and Difpofer, what thou bidll:
, Unargued 1 ohey; [0 God ordai;ls j
God is thy law, thou mine: to know no more
, Is Woman's happill knowledge and h e ~ praifi.'
Thefe are exaCtly the arguments that I have
ured to children; but 1 have added, your
reafon is now gaining ftrength, and, till it ar-
rives at fame degree of maturity, you mull:
look up to me for advice-then you ought to
think, and only rely on God.
Yet in the following lines Milton feems to
coincide with me; when he makes Adam
thus expofiulate with his Maker.
, Haft thou not made me here thy fubll:itute,
.
, And there inferior far beneath me fet?
D 2 c Among
,
I
36 VINDICATION OF T H ~
, Among unequals what fociety
Can fort, what harmony or true delight?
Which muH be mutual, in proportion due
, Giv'n and receiv'd; but in diJParity
The one intenfe, the other fiill remifs
Cannot well fuit with either, but foon prove
Tedious alike: offillowjbip I fpeak
Such as I feek, fit to participate
All rational delight-'
In treating, therefore. of the manners of
women, let us, difregarding fenfual argu-
ments, trace what we lhould endeavour to
make themin order to co.operate, if the expref-
Ion b ~ not too bold, with the fupreme Being.
By individual education, I mean, for the
fenfe of the word is not precifely defined,
fuch an attention to a child as will nowly
iharpen the fenfes, form the temper, regu-
late the pafIions as they begin to ferment,
and fet the underftanding to work before the
body arrives at maturity; fo that the man
may only have to proceed, not to begin, the
important taikoflearningtothink and reafon.
To prevent any mifconftruCtion, I muft
add, that I do not believe that a private edu-
cation can work the wonders which f o m ~
fanguine writers have attributed to it. Men
and women muft be educated. in a great
degree, by the opinions and manners of the
fociety
RIGHTS OF. WOMAN. 37
foeiety they live in. In every age there has
been a ftream of popular opinion that has
carried all before it, and given a family cha-
raerer, as it were, to the c e n t ~ r y . It may
then fairly be inferred, that, till fociety be
differently conftituted, much cannot be ex-
peered from education. It is, however, fuf-
ficient for my prefent purpofe to affert, that,
whatever effeCt: circumftances have on the
abilities, every being may become virtuous
by the exercife of its own reafon; for if but
one being was created with vicious inclina..
tions, that is pofitively bad, what can fave
us from atheifm? or if wc wodhip a God,
is not that God a devil?
Confequently, the moft perfect education,
in my opinion, is fuch an exercife of
the underftanding as is bell: calculated to
ftrengthen the body and form the heart. Or,
in other words, to enable the individual to
attain fuch habits of virtue as will render it
independent. In faa, it is a farce to call any
being virtuous whofe virtues do not refult
from the exercife of its own reafon. This
was Rouffeau's opinion refpeB:ing men: I ex-
tend it to women, and confidently affert that
they have been drawn out of their fphere by
falfe refinement, and not by an endeavour to
D 3 acquire
acquire mafculine qualities. Still the regal
,homage which they receive is fo intoxicat-
.. ing, that till the manners of the times are
changed, and formed on more reafonable prin-
ciples, it may be impollible to convince them
that the.i1legitimate power, which they ob-
tain, by degrading themfelves, is a curfe,
and that they muft return to nature andequa-
lity, if they wilh to fecme the placid fatif-
faction that unfophifticated affeCtions im-
part. But for this epoch we mull: wait
,-..wait, perhaps, till kings and nobles, en-
lightened by reafon, and, preferring the real
dignity of man to childifh flate, throw off
their gaudy heredit?ry trappings: and if then
women do not refign the arbitrary power of
beauty-they will prove that they have lifs
mind than man.
J may be accufed of arrogance j frill I muft
declare what I firmly believe, that all the writ-
ers who have written on the fubjetl: of fe-
male education and manners, from Rouffeau
to Dr. Gregory, have contributed to render
women more artificial, weak charaCters, than
they would otherwife have been; and con...
fequently, more ufelers members of foeiety.
I might have expreffed this convitl:ion in a
lower key; but I am afraid it would have
4 been
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 39
been. the whine of affeCtation, and not the
faithful expreffion of my feelings, of the clear
r e f ~ l t which experience and refleCtion have
led me to draw. When I come to that divi.
fion of the fubjett, I !hall advert to the paf-
fages that I more particularly difapprove of,
in the works of the authors I have juft alluded
to; but it is firft neceffary to obferve, that
my objeCtion extends to the whole purport of
thofe books, which tend, in my opinion, to
degrade one half ~ f the human fpecies, and
render women pleafing at the expence of
every folid virtue.
Though, toreafon on Roufff:au'sground,if
man did attain a degree of perfeCtion of mind
when his body arrived at maturity, it might be
proper, in order to make a man and his wife
one, that !he !hould rely entirely on his under-
ftanding; and the graceful ivy, clafping the
oak that fupported it, would form a whole
in which ftrength and beautywould beequally
confpicuous. But, alas! hufuands, as well
as their helpmates, are often only overgrown
children; nay, thanks "to early debauchery,
fcarcely men in their outward form-and if
the blind lead the blind, one need not come
from heaven to tell us the confequence.
D of. Many
Many are the caufes that, in the prefent
corrupt flate of fociety, contribute to en!lave
women by cramping theirunderll:andings and
fharpening their fenfes. One, perhaps, that
filently does more mifchief than all the reft,
is their difregard of order.
To do every thing in an orderly manner,
is a mail: important precept, which women,
who, generally fpeaking, receive only a dif-
orderly kind of education, fe1dom attend to
with that degree of exactnefs that men, who
from their infancy are broken into method,
obferve. This negligent-kind of guefs-work,
for what other epithet can be ufed to point
out the random exertions of a fort of inftinc-
tive common fenfe, never brought to the teil:
of reafon? prevents their generalizing matters
of fact-fa they do to-day, what they did
yefterday, merely becaufe they did it yef-
terday.
This contempt of the underftanding in
early life has more baneful confequences than
iscommonlyfuppofed; for the littleknowledge
which women of il:rong minds attain, is, from
various. circumftances, of a more defultory
kind than the knowledge of men, and it is
acquired more by heer on real
6 life,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 41
life, than from comparing what has been in-
dividually obferved with the refults of ex-
perience generalized by fpeculation. Led
. by their dependent fituation and domeftic
employments more into fociety, what they
learn is rather by fnatches j and as learning is
with them, in general, only a fecondary thing,
they do not purfue anyone branch with that
perfevering ardour neceffary to give vigour to
the faculties, andc1earnefs tothejudgment. In
the prefent late of fociety, a little learning is
required to fupport the character of a gentle-
man; and boys are obtiged to fubmit to a
few years of difcipline. But in the education
of women, the cultivation of the underfiand..
ing is always fubordinate to the acquirement
of fome corporeal accomplifhment; even
while enervated by confinement and falfe no-
tions of modefty, the body is prevented from
attaining that grace and beauty which relaxed
half-formed limbs never exhibit. Befides, in
youth their faculties are not brought forward
by emulation; and having no ferious fcien-
tific ludy, if they have natural fagaeity it is
turned too foon on life and manners. They
dwell on effeCts, and modifications, without
tracing them back to caufes; and compli-
cated
.4-2 VINDlCATION OF THE
cated rules to adjuft behaviour are a weak
fubftitute for fimple principles.
As a proofthat education gives this appear-
ance of weaknefs to females, we may inftance
the example of military men, who are, like
them, fent into the world before their minds
have been ftored with knowledge or fortified
by principles. The confequences art fimilar;
foldiers acquire a little fu perficial knowledge,
fnatched from the Il)uddy current of conver-
ration, and, from continually mixing with
fociety, they gain, what is termed a k n ~ w
ledge of the world; and this acquaintance
with manners and cuftoms has frequently
been confounded with a knowledge of the
human heart. ,But can the crude fruit of .
eafual obfervation, never brought to the teft
of judgment, formed' by comparing [pecula-
tion and experience, deferve fuch a diftinc-
tion? Soldiers, as well as women, praCtife
tne minor virtues with punCtilious politenefs.
Where is then the fexual differc;nce, when
the education has been the fame? All the
difference that I can difcern, arifes from the
fuperior advantage of liberty, which enables
the former to fee more of life.
It is wandering from my prefent fubject,
perhaps,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 43
perhaps, to make a political remark; but, as
it was produced naturally by the train of my
reflections, I {hall not pafs' it filently ovel'.
Standing armies can never confift of refo-
lute robuft men; they m ~ be well difci-
plined machines, but they will feldom con-
tain men under the influence of thong paf-
flons, or with very vigorous faculties. And
as for any depth of underftanding, I will ven..
,tun: toafflrm, tQat it is as rarely to be found
in thearmy as amongft women; and the caufe,
I maintain. is the fame. It may be further
obferved, that officers are alfo particularly
attentive ~ o their perfons, .fond of dancing,
crowded rooms, adventures, and ridicule.
Like the fair fex, the bufinefs of their lives is
gallantry.-They were taught to pleafe,' and
they only live to pleafe. Yet they do not
lofe their rank in the diftinCtion of fexes, for
they are frill reckoned fuperior ~ o women,
though in what their fuperiority confifts, be-
yond what I have juft mentioned, it is diffi-
cult to difcover.
The great misfortune is this, that they
Why !hould women be cenfureq. with petulant acri-
mony, becaufe they feem to have a paffion for a fcarIet coat?
Has not education placed them more on a level with fol-
eliers than any other c1afs of meQ?
both
"44 VINDICATION OF THE
both acquire manners before morals, and a
knowledge of life before they have, from re-
flection, anyacquaintancewith the grandideal
outline of human nature. The confequence
is natuioal; fatisfied with common nature, they
become a prey to prejudices, and taking all
their opinions oncredit, they blindly fubmit to
authority. So that, if they have any fenfe, it
is a kindofinftinaive glance, that catches pro-
portions, and decides with refpea to manners;
but fails when arguments are to be "purfued
below the furface, or opinions analyzed.
May not the fame remark be applied to.
women? Nay, the argument may be car-
ried frill further, for they are both thrown
out of a ufeful !tation by the unnatu...
ral diftinCtions eftablifhed in civilized life.
Riches and hereditary honours have made
cyphers of women to give confequence to
the numerical figure; and idlenefs has pro-
duced a mixture of gallantry and defpotifm
into {ociety, whieh leads the very men who
are the naves of their miftrdfes to tyrannize
over their fifters, wives, and daughter-s. This
is only keeping them in rank and file, it is
true. Strengthen the female mind byenlarg-
ing it, and there will be an end to blind
obedience; but, as blind obedience is ever
fought
R.IGHTS or 'WOMAN. 4-5
for by power, tyrants and fenfualifrs
are in the right when they endeavour to keep
women in the dark, becaufe the former only
want naves, and the latter a play-thing.
The fenfualifr, indeed, has been the moil:
dangerous of tyrants, and women have been
duped by their lovers, as princes by their mi-
nifters, whilfi dreaming that they reigned
over them.
I now principally allude to Roufi"eau.
for his charaCter of Sophia is,
a captivati,ng one, though it appears to me
grofsly unnatural; however it is not the
fuperfrruCture, but the foundation of her
charatler, the principles on which her edu-
cation was built, that I mean to ::lttack; nay.
warmly as I admire the genius of that able
writer, whofe opinions I often have oc-
cafion to cite, always takes place
of admiration, and the rigid frown ofinfulted
virtue effaces the fmile of complacency,
which his eloquent periods are wont to raife,
when I read his voluptuous reveries. Is
this the ,man, who, in his ardour ,for vir-
tuc, would banifh all the foft arts of peace,
and almoft carry us back to Spartan difci-
pllne? Is this the man who delights to paint
the ufeful ftruggles of pallion, the triumphs
of
46 VIN!>lCATION OF THE
'Of good difpofitions, and the heroic flights
which carry the glowing foul out of itfelf?
-How are thefe mighty fentiments towered
when he defcribes the pretty foot and enticing
airs of his little favourite! But, for the pre-
fent, I wave the fUbje-a, and, inftead of fe-
verely reprehending the tranfient effufions of
overweening fenfibility, I {hall only obferve,
that whoever has caft a benevolent eye on
fociety, rnuft often have been gratified by the
fIght of humble mutual love, not digRified
by fentiment, or firengthened by a union in
intellectual purfuits. The domefric trifles
of the day have afforded matters for cheerful
converfe, and innocent careffes. have foftened
tAils which did not require great exercife of
mind or ftretch of thought: yet, has not the
fight of this moderate felicity excited more
tendernefs than refpect? An emotion fimilar
to what we feel when children are playing,
or animals fpOl-ting *, whilft the contempla-
tion
Similar feelings has Milton's pleafing piCl:ure of para-
difiacal happinefs ever raifed in my mind; yet, intl:ead of
envying the lovely pair, I have, with confcious dignity, or
Satanic pride, turned to hell for fublimer objeCts. In the
fame tyle, when viewing Come noble monument of human
art, I have traced the emanation of the Deity in the order I
admired, till, defcending from that giddy height, I have
caught myfelf contemplating., the granJeO: of all human
fights;
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 47
tion of the noble ftruggles at fuffering merit
has raifed admiration, andcarried our thoughts
to that world where fenfation will give place
to reafon.
Women are, therefore, to be confidered
either as moral beings, or fo weak that they
muft be entirely fubjeCted to the fuperior
faculties of men.
Let us examine thisquefiion. Rouffeau
\
declares that a woman lhould never, for a
moment, feel herfelf independent, ,that She
fuould be governed by fear to exercife her
natural cunning, and made a coquetilh nave
in order to render her a more alluring objeCt:
of defire, afweeter companion to man, when-
ever he choofes to relax himfelf. He carries
the arguments, which he pretends to draw
from the indications' of nature, fEll further,
and infinuates that truth and fortitude, the
corner ftones of all human virtue, fhould be
cultivated with certain reftritlions, becaufe,
with refpea to the female character, obe-
dience is the grand leffon whlch ought to
be impreffed with unrelenting rigour.
What' nonfenfe! when will a great man
afire with fufficient ftrengthof mind to puff
fights ;-fo1" fancy quickly placed, in fome folitary recees, an
outcafl: offortune, rifing fuperior to paffion and difcontent.
away
48 , VINDICATION OF THE
away the fumes which pride and fenfuality
have thus fpread over the rubject! If women
are by nature inferior to men, their virtues
m ~ f t be the fame in quality, if not in de-
gree, or virtue is a relative idea; c o n f e ~
quently, their conduCl fhould be founded on
the fame principles, and have the fame aim.
Connetled with man as daughters, wives,
and mothers, their moral character may be
eftimated by their manner of fulfilling thofe
fimple duties; but the end, the grand end of
their exertions iliould be to unfold their own
faculties and acquire the dignity of confcious
virtue. They may try to render their road
pleafant; but ought never to forget, in com-
mon with man, that life yields not the feli-
city.which can fatisfyan immortal foul. I
do not. mean to infinuate that either fex
fhould be fo loft in abftraCl: reflections or dif.
tant views, as to forget the affections and
duties that lie before them, and are, in truth,
the means appointed to produce the fruit of
life: on the contrary, I would warmly re-
commend them, even while I afIert, that they'
afford moft fatisfaCtion when they are confi-
dered in their true, fober light.
Probably the prevailing opinion, that wo-
man was created for man, may have taken
its
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 49
its rife from Mofes's poetical fiory) yet, as
'Very few, it is prefumed, who have beftowed
any ferious thought on the fubjeCt, ever fup-
pofed that Eve was, literally fpeaking, One
of Adam's ribs, the deduB:ion muft be al-
lowed to fall to the ground; or, only be fo
far admitted as it proves that man, from the
remoteft antiquity, found it convenient to
exert his ftrength to fubjugate his compa-
nion, and his invention to !hew that !he
ought to have her neck bent under the yoke,
becaufe the whole creation was only created
for his convenience or pleafure.
Let it not be concluded that I wilh to in-
vert the order or things; 1 have already
granted, t ~ a t , from the confiitution of their
. bodies, men feem to be defigned by Providence
to attain a greater degree of virtue: I fpeak
colleaively of the whole [ex) but I fee not
the fhadow of a reafon to conclude that their
virtues fhould differ in refpea to their nature.
In faCt, how can they, if virtue has only one
eternal ftandard? I mull: therefore, if I reafon
confequentially, as ftrenuoufly maintain that
they have the fame fimple direetion, as that
there is a God.
E It
It follows that cunning fuould ll()t
be oppofed to wifdom, little cares to
or infipid foftnefs, varnithed over
with the name of gentlenefs, to that forti-
tude which grand views alone can infpire.
1{hall be told that woman would then
of her peculiar graces, and the
of well known poet might be quoted to re-
fute my unqualified affertion. For Pope has
(aid, in the name of the whole male fex,
.
C Yet ne'er fo fure our paffion to create,
, As when {he touch'cl the brink of all we hate.'
In what light this fally places men and
women, I <hall leave to the judicious to de-
termine j meanwhile I {hall content myfelf
with obferving, that I cannot difcover why,
unlefs they are mortal, females ihould al-
ways be degraded by being made fubfervient
to love or 1uft.
To fpeak difrefpecHully of love is, I know,
high treafon againft fentiment and fine feel-
ings; but I wifu to fpeak the fimple
of truth, rather to addrefs the heaq than
the heart. To endeavour to reafon love out
of the world, would be to out Q.2ixote Cer-
vantes,
.RIGHTS OF' WOMAN. SI
vantes) and equally offend againfr common
fenfe i but an endeavour to rehain this tumtiI-
tU6us pallion) and to prove that it fhould not
be allowed to dethrone fuperior powers, or to
ufurp _the fceptre which the utldetftandit1g
fhould ever coolly wield) appears lefs wild.
Youth is the feafon for love 111 both fexes ;
but in thofe days of thoughtlefs enjoyment
provifion fhould be made for the more iIti.:.
portant years of life) when reflection takes
place of fenfation. But RoufH:au, and maR:
of the male writers who have followed his'
fteps, -have warmly inculcated that the whole
tendency of female education ought to be
diretted' to one point :-to render them
p1eafing.
Let me reafon with the fupporters of this
opinion who have any knowledge of human
nature, do they imagine that marriage can
eradicate the habitude of life? The woman
whQ has only been taught to pleafe will Coon
find that her charms are oblique funbeams)
and that they cannot have much effect ori
her h-ufband's heart when they are feen every
day, ,when the fummer is paIred and gone.
Will fhe then have fufficient native energy to
look into herfelf for c-amfort) and cultivate
E 2 her
her dormant faculties? or, .is it not more
rational to expeCt: that !he will try to pleafe
other men j and, in the emotions raifed by
the expeetation of new conquefts, endeavour
to forget the her love or pride
has received? When the hufband ceafes to
be a lover-and the time will inevitably come,
her defire of pleafing will then grow languid,
or become a fpring of bitternefs; and love,
perhaps, the moft evanefcent of all paffions,
gives place to jea:Ioufy or vanity.
I now[peakof women who arereftrained by
principle or prejudice; fuch women, though
they would' !hrink from an intrigue with real
abhorrence, yet, neverthelefs, wi!h to be con-
vinced by the homage of gallantry that they are
cruelly neglected by their hufbands; or, days
and weeks are fpent in dreaming of the happi-
nefs enjoyed by congenial fouls till their healrh
is undermined and their fpirits broken by dif-
content. How then can the great art of
pleafing be fuch a nece{[ary ftudy? it is only
ufeful to a miftrefs; the chafte wife, and
ferious mother, lhould only confider her power
to pleafe as the polilh of her virtues, andthe
affection of her hufband as one of the corn
forts that render her taik lefs difficult and
her
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. S3
her life happier.:.......But, whether fue be loved
or neglected, her firfi wifu fuould be to make
herfelf and not to rely for all
happinefs on a being fubjeCt to like infirxPi-
ties with herfe1f. i
The worthy Dr. Gregory fell into a fUni-
lar error. I refpea: his heart; but
difapprove of his celebrated Legacy to his
Daughters. .
He advifes them to cultivate a fondnefs for
drefs, becaufe a fondnefs for drefs, he alferts,
is natural to them. I am unable tocompre-
hend what either he or Roulfeau mean, when
they frequent! y ufe this indefinite term. If
they told us that in a pre-exiftent ftate the
I
foul was fond of drefs, and brought this incli-
nation with it into a body, I ihould
liften to them with a half fmile, as I often do
when I hear a rant about innate elegance.-
But if he only meant to fay that the exerdfe
of the faculties will produce this fondnefs-
I deny it.-It is not natural; but arifes, like
falfe ambition in men, from a love of power.
Dr. Gregory goes much further; he ac-
tually recommends diffimulation, and advifes
an innocent girl to give the lie to her feelings,
and not dance with fpirit, when gaiety of
E 3/ heart
5+ VINDICATION OF TH-E
hea,1;t would make her feet eloquent
her geftures immopeft. In the Qamo
of and cowmon (enfe
J
why fhould not
wqman acknowledge that {he can
more exercife than another? or, in other
that (he has a found conftitution; and
why., innocent vivacity, is Jhe darkly
1p be told that men, will draw conclufions
which !he little thinks' on-Let the
dra,w what he pleafes; but, I hope,
no fenfible mother will refirain the na-
t.ural franknefs.of youth by infrilling fuch in.
Out of the ahmldance OD
the' heart the' mouth fpeaketl); and wifer
t.ha,nSolomon hathfaid, that the heartiliouldJ
IDq.q<; and not trivial ceremonies.
Qhferv.ed, which it is not very difficult to f,ul.,.
fj-J: fcrIJpulous exaCtnefsvv.hen vice reigns
in.- heatt.
WOllle.n OlJght to endecwour to purify their
heart.,; hat ca,n they do fo when their uncul- .
tiva,teq qnde.rftC\ndings. make them entirely
<lepe,ndent 011 their fenfes. far employment and;
when no,noble purfuit f<::t'8
little vanities of: the day, or enables.
tAe,m to c.Qtb the: wild emotions that agitate
a reed_ over which every. paffing breeze has'
power l _
"
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 55
power? To gain the aff"eB:ions of a virtuous
man, is affeB:ation neceffary? Nature has
given woman a weaker frame than man; but,
to enfure her hufband's affeB:ions, mufta wife,
who by the of her mind and body
whilft he was di{charging the duties of a
daughter, wife, and mother, has allowed her
conftitution to retain its natural ftrength, and
her nerves a healthy tone, is he, I fay, to 0011-
defcend to ufe art and reign a fickly delicacy in
order to fecure her hufband's affeClion? Weak-
nefs may excitetendernefs, and gratify the ar-
rogant pride of mal}; but the lordly careffes
of a proteB:or will not gratify a noble mind
that pants for, and deferves to be
Fondnefs is a poor fubftitute for friendlhip!
In a feraglio, I grant, that all thefe arts
are necefiary; the epicure muft have his pa-
late tickled, or he will fink into apathy; but
have women fo little ambition as to be fatif-
fled with fuch a condition ? Can theyfupinely
dream away in the lap of pleafure, or the
languor of wearinefs, rather than affert their
claimtopurfue reafon,ablepleafures andrender
themfelves confpicuous, by practifing .the vir-
tues which dignify mankind? Surely he has
not an immortal foul who can loiter life away
E 4 merely
merely employed to adorn her per(on, that
lie may amu[e the languid hours, and foften
the cares of a fellow-creature who is willing
to be enlivened by her fmiles and tric.ks,
when the ferious bufinefs of life is over.
Befides, the woman who ftrengthens her
body and exerci{es her mind will, by manag..
ing her family and praClifing various virtues,
become the friend, and not the humble de-
pendent ,of her hulband; and if he, by pof-
fdling fuch fubftantial qualities, merit his re-
gard, !he will not find it nece{[ary to conceal
her affeaion, nor to pretend to an unnatural
coldnefs ofconftitution to excite her hulband's
paffions, Ip faa, if we revert to hiLlory, we
{hall find that the women who have diLlin-
guifhed themfel yes have neither been the moft
beautiful nor the moft gentle of their [ex.
Natqre, or, to fpeak with aria propriety,
God, has fllade all things right j but man has
fought him out many inventions to mar the
work. I now allude to that p ~ r t pfDr. G r e ~
gory's treati(e, where he advifes a wife never
to let her hulband know the extent of her
fenfibility or affeaion. Voluptuous precau-
tion, and as ineffectual as abfurd.-Love,
from. its very nature, muft be tranlitory. To
feel\
This
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. - 57
reek for a fecret that would render it con-
ftant) would be as wild a fearch as for the
philofopher's ftone, or the grand panacea:
and the difcovery would be equally ufelefs,
or rather pernicious, to mankind. The moft
holy band offociety is friendfhip. It has been
well faid, by a lhrewd fatirift, "that rare as
true love is, true frienclfhip is frill rarer."
This is an obvious truth, and the caufe
not lying d e e p ~ will not elude a flight glance
of iniquiry. ,
Love, the common pamon, in which
chance and fenfation take pla:e of choice and
reafan, is, i ~ fome degree, felt by the mafs
of mankind; for it is not neceffary to [peak,
at prefent, of the emotions that rife above or
fink below -love. This paffion, naturally in-
creafed by fufpenfe and difficulties, draws
the mind out of its accuftomed ftate, and ex-
alts the affeCtions; but the fecurity of mar-
riage, allowing the fever of love to fubfide, a
healthy temperature is thought infipid, only
by thore who have not fufficient intellect:
to fubftitute the calm tendemefs of friend-
fhip, the confidence of tefpeCt, inftead of
blind admiration, and the fenfual emotions
of fondnefs.
This is, muft be, the conrfe of nature.
-frien<ifhip or indifference inevitably fuc-
ceeds love..,-And this conftitution feems per-
fectly to harmonize with the fyftem of go-
'vernment which prevails in the moral woqd.
Paffions are fpurs to action, and open the
mind; but they fink into mere appetites, be-
come a perfonal and momentary gratification,
when the objeft is g<iined,. and the [atisned
mind refts in enjoyment. The man who
had fome virtue whilft he was ftruggling for
a crown, often becomes a voluptuous tyrant
when it graces his brow; and, when the
lover is not 10ft in the hufband, the dotard"
a prey to childifh caprices, and fond jealou-
fies) negleCts the ferious duties of life, and"
thecareifes which fuould excite confidence in I
his children are lavifued on the overgrown-
child, h i ~ wife.
In ordel to fulfil the duties of life, and to
be able topurfue with vigour the ....arious em-
ployments which form the moral character, a
mafter and miftrefs of a family ought not to
continue to love each other with pamon. I
mean to fay) that they ought not to indulge
thofe emotions" which difturb the order of
fociety, and engrofs the .thoughts that iliC?uld
. be
RIGHTS 0" WOMAN. 59
be Qtherwife employed. The mind that has
never engrofTed by one objeB: wants vi-
gour-if it can long be fo, it is weak.
A mifiaken education, a narrow, unculti-
vated mind, and many fexual prejudices, tend
to make: women more conftant than men j
but, fo.r theprefent, I f.h.all not touch on this
branch of the. fubjecr. I will go frill further,
without dreaming of a paradox,
that. anunhappy marriag.e is often very advan.-
tageousto a family, anA that the negleCted
wife is, in general, the beft mother. And
this WQuld almoft always be the confequence
if the female mind were more enlarged: for,
.it- [eems to be the common difpenfation of
Providence, that wha.t w.e 'gain in. prefent en...
joyment "lhould.be deduCted f,om the treafure
\
of life,. experience j and that when we are
gathering the flowers of' the day and
in the folid fruit oftoil and wifCJom
thould not be caught at the fame time. The
way lies before. us, we muft turn to the. right
or left; and he who will pafs life away in
bounding from one pleafure to another, muft
not c.amplain if he acquire neither wifdom nor
refpeClability of charaCler..
Suppofmg,
Suppofing, for a moment, that the foul is
not immortal, and that man was only created
for the prefent fcene,-I think we fhould
have rearon to complain that love, infantine
fondnefs, ever grew infipid and palled upon
the fenfe. Let us eat, drink, and love, for
to-morrow we die, would be, in' faa, the
language 'of reafon, the morality-of life; and
who but a fool would part with a reality for a
fleeting fhadow? But, if awed by obferving
the improbable powers of the mind, we dif-
dain to contine our wifhes or thoughts to fuch
a comparatively mean field of action; that
only appears grand and important, as it is
conneCl:ed with a boundlefs profpea and fub-
lime hopes, what neceffity is there for falfe-
hood in conduct, and why mull: the facred
majefiy of truth be violated to detain a de-
ceitful good that faps the very foundation of
virtue? Why muft the female mind be tainted
by coquetifh arts to gratify the fenfualift, and
prevent love from fubfiding into friendfhip,
or compaffionate tendernefs, when there are
not qualities ~ n which friendfhip.can be built?
Let the honeft heart {hew itfelf, -and reafon
. ~ a c h paffioll to fubmit to necefiity; or, let
the
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 61
the dignified purfuit of virtue and knowledge
raife the mind above thofe emotions which
rather imbitter than fweeten the cup of life,
when they are not ref1:rained within due
bounds.
I do not mean to allude to the romantic
paffion, which is the concomitant of genius.
-Who can clip its wingr But that grand
paffion not proportioned to the puny enjoy-
ments of Jife, is only true to the fentiment,
and feeds on itfelf., The paffions which have
been celebrated for their durability have al-
ways been unfortunate. They have acquired
ftrength by abfence and confiitutional me-
lancholy.-The fancy has hovered round
a form of beauty dimly feen-but familiarity
might have'turned admiration into difguft;
or, at leaft, into indifference, and allowed
the imagination leifure to !tart frelh game.
With perfeCt propriety. a c c o r d i ~ g to this
view of things, does Rouffeau make themif-
trefs ofhis foul, Eloifa, love St. Preux, when
life was fading before her; but this is no proof
of the immortality of the paffion.
Of the fame complexion is Dr. Gregory's
advice refpecting delicacy offentiment, which
he advifes a womannot to acquire, if the have
determined to marry. This determination,
however,
62 VINDICATION OF THt
however, perfeCtly confiftent with his former
advice, he calls indelicate, and earneftly per...
fuades his daughters to conceal it
f
though it
may govern their conduct :-a8 ifit were in-
delicate to have the common appetites ofhu-
man nature.
Noble morality! and confiftent with the-
cautious prudence of a little foul that cannot
extend its views beyond the prefent minutedi-
vifion of exiftence. If all the faculties of wo-
man's mind are only to be cultivated as they
refpeB: her dependence on man; if, when a
hufbandbeobtained,fhehavearrivedathergoal,
andmean!yproud refis fatisfied withfuch a pal-
try crown, let her grovel contentedly, fcarcely
raifed by her employments above the animal
kingdom; but, if, firuggling for the prize of
her high calling, {he look beyond the prefent _
fcene, let her cultivate her underfianding
without fiopping to confider what charaCter
the hulband may have whom {he is deftined
to marry.' Let her only determine, without
being too anxious about prefent happinefs, ,to
acquire thequalities that ennoble a rational
being, and a rough inelegant hufband may
iliock her, tafte without deftroying her p'eace
of mind. She will not model her foul to fuit
, the
- 4
RIGHTS OF 63
frailties of her companion, but to beat
with them: his charaCter may be a trial, but
not an impediment to virtue.
. If Dr. Gregory confined his remark to
romantic expeCtations of conftant love and
congenial feelings, he fuould have recolleCted
that experience will banifh what advice canne-
ver make us ccafe to wifh for, when the ima-
gination is kept alive at the expence ofreafon.
I own it frequently happens that wo-
men who have foftered a romantic unnatural
delicacy of feeling, wafte their* lives in ima-
gimng how happy they fhould have been with
a huiband who could love them with a fervid
increafing affeCtion every day, and all day.
tQey might as well pine married as fingle
-and would not be a jot more unhappy with
a bad huiband than longing for a good one.
That a proper education; Of, to fpeak with
more precifion, a well fiored mind, would
enable a woman to fupport a fingle life with
dignity, I grant; but that he hould avoid
cultivating her tafie, left her hufband fhould
!hock it, is quitting a
for a fuadow. To fay the truth, I do not
know of what ufe is an improved tafte, if
For example, the herd of Novelil:s.
the
64 VINDl CATION OF 'fHt
the 'individual be not rendered more inde:..
pendent of the cafualties of life; if new
fources of enjoyment, only dependent on the
folitary operations ofthe mind, arenotapened.
People of tafte, married or fingle, without
diftinB:ion, will ever be difgufted by "ariou,
things that touch not lefs obferving minds.
On this conclufion, the argument muft not
be allowed to hinge; but in 'the whole furn.
of enjoyment is tafte to be denominated a
bleffing?
The queftion is, whether it procures moft
pain or pleafure? The anfwer will decide
the propriety of Dr. Gregory's advice, and
lhew how abfurd and tyrannic it is thus to lay
down a fyftem of fiavery; or to attempt tQ
educate moral brings by any other rules than
thofe deduced from pure reafon, which apply
to the whole fpecies.
Gentlenefs of manners, forbearance and
long-fuffering, are fuch amiable Godlike
qualities, th?t in fublime poetic firains the
Deity has been invefted with them; and,
perhaps, no reprefentation of his goodnefs fa
ftrongly faftens on the human affections as
thofe that reprefent him abundant in mercy
and willing to pardon. Gentlenefs, con-
fidered
lUGHTS oF' WOMAN. 65
dered inthis point of view, bears on its front
all the charaCleriftics of grandeur, combined
withthewinninggraces of condefcenfion; but
what a different afpeCl it affumes when it is
the fubmiffive demeanour of dependence, the
fupport of weaknefs that loves, becaufe it
wants proteCtion; and is forbearing, becaufeit
muft filently endure injuries; fmiling under
the lafhat which it dare not fnarI. AbjeCt as this
piCture appears, it is the portrait of an accom-
plifhed woman,' according to the received
opinion of female excellence. feparated by fpe-
dous reafoners from human excellence. Or,
they kindly reftore the rib, and make one
moral being of a man and woman; not forget-
ting to give her all the' fubmiffive charms.'
How women are to exift in that ftate where
there is to be neither marrying nor g i v ~ n g in
marriage, we are not told. For though mo-
ralifts have agreed that'the tenor of life feems
to prove that man is prepared by various cir-
cumfrances for a future 1bte, they con!l:antly
concur in advifing woman only to provide for
the prefent. Gentlenefs. docility. and a fpa-
niel-like affection are, on this ground, con-
iifiently recommended as the cardinal virtues
Vide RoufI'eau, and Swcdenborg.
F of
CL
66 VINDICA,.1'lON OF TltE
of the {ex; and, .difregarding the arbitraPf
economy of nature, writer has declared
that it is mafculine for a woman to be melan-'
choly. She was created to be the toy of
man, his rattle, and it muft jingle in his
whenever, reafon, be choofes tQ
be amufed.
To indeed, on 3
broad bafis is ftriCtly philofophical. A frail
being lhould labour to be gentle. But when
forbearance confounds right and wrong, it
to be a virtue;. and, however
nient it may be found in a companion-that
companion will ever be confidered as an
rior,and only infpirc avapidtendernefs, which
eafily into contempt. Still, if
advice could really IP.ake a being gentle,
whofe natural difpofition admitted not of '
fuch a fine polilh, fomething towards the.
advancement of order would be attained; llut
if, as might quickly be demonftrated, oniy
feelation be produced by this indifcriminate
counfd, which throws aftumbling-blockin
way of gradual improvement, and true
ration of temper, the fex is not much benefit-.
ed by facrificingfolid virtues to the
of fuperficial graces, though for a few years
they
tuottTS OF WOMAN; 67
they may procure the regal
fway.
As a philofopher) I read with indignation
the plaufible epithets which men ufc to foften
their infults; and; as a morali!t) I aik what
is meant by fuch heterogeneous affociations.
as fair defects, amiable weakneffes, &c. P
If there be but one criterion of morals, butane
archetype for man, women appear to be fur.
pended by defHny, according to thevulgartale
of Mahomet's coffin; they have neither th@
unerring infiincr of brutes, nor are allowed
to fix the eye of reafon on a perfeCt mo'del.
They were made to be loved, and mu!l: not
jlim at refpecr, left they fuould be h,unted out
of fociety as mafculine.
But to view the fubjeB: in another point of
view. Do paffive indolent women make th'1
befi: wives P Confining. our rlifcuffion to the
prefent moment of exiftence, let us fee how
fuch weak creatures perform their part? Do
the women who, by the attainment of a few
fuperficial accomplifuments, have
.ed the prevailing prejudice, merely contribute
to the happinefs of their hu!bands? Do they
difplay their charms merely to amu[e them? .
And have women, who have early
F 2 notions
68 VINDICATION OF Tit!
notions of paffive obedience, fnfficient cha"f
. raCter to manage a family or educate children1
So far from it, that, after furveying the hif-
tory of woman, I cannot help, agreeing with
the fevereft fatirift, confidering the [ex as
the weakeft as well as the moft oppreffed
half of the fpecies. What does hifiory dif-
clofe but marks of inferiority, and how few
women have emancipated themfelves from
the galling yoke of fovereign man ?-So few,
that the exceptions remind me of an ingeni-
ous ~ o n j e a u r e refpetting Newton: that he
was probably a being of fuperior order, ac-
cidently cagedin a human .body. Following
the fame train of thinking, I have been led to
imagine that the few extraordinary women
who have rulhed in eccentrical direCtions out
of the' orbit prefcribed to their fex, were male
fpirits, confined by miftake in female frames.
But if it be not philofophical to think of fex
when the foul is mentioned, the inferiority
rnuft depend on the organs; or the heavenly
fire, which is to ferment the clay, is not
given in equal portions.
But avoiding, as I have hitherto done,
any direC1 comparifon of the two fexes col-
lectively, or frankly ackllQwledging the in,;,
8 feriority
RIGHT! OF WOMAN. 69
feriority of woman. according to the prefent
appearance of things, I fuall only infift that
men haveincreafed that inferiority till wo-
men are almoft funk below the ftandard of
rational creatures. Let their have
room to unfold, and their virtues to gain
ftrength, and determine where the
whole fex muft frand in the intelleCtual fcale.
Yet let it be remembered, that for a [mall
number of diftinguifhed women I do not afk
a place.
It is difficult for us purblind mortals to fay
to what height human difcoveries and im:'
provementsmayarrivewhen the gloom of def-
potifm fubfides, which makes us ftumble at
every ftep; but, when morality !hall be fet-
tled on a more folid bafis, then, without be-
ing gifted 'with a prophetic fpirit, I will
ture to predict that woman will be either the
friend or nave of man. We {hall not, as at
prefent, doubt whether {he is a moral agent,
or the link which unites man with brutes.
But, !hould it then appear, that like the
brutes they were principallY created for the
ufe of man, he will let them patiently bite
the bridle, and not mock them with empty
praife; or, fhould their rationality be proved,
'F 3 he
70 \?ll1lDICATION OF THE
he will not impede their improvement merely
to gratify his fenfual appetites. He will not)
with all the graces of rhetoric, advife them to
fubmit implicitly their under!l:anding ~ o the
guidance of man. He will not, when he
treats of the education of women, affert that
they ought never to have the free ufe of rea..
'fon, nor would he recommencL.cunning and
diffimulationto beings who are acquiring, in
like manner as himfelf, the virtues of hu..
manity.
Sui-dy there can be but' one rule of right)
if morality has an eternal foundation, and
whoever facrifices virtue, ftricHy fo called,
t ~ prefent convenic-llce, or whofe duty it is to
act in fuch a manner, lives only for the paff..
ing day, and cannot be an accountable
creature.
The poet then fhouW have dropped his
fneer when he fays,
U If weak women go afiray,
" The fiars are more in fault t h ~ n they."
For that they are bound by the adamantine
chain of defl:iny is moft certain, ifit be proved
that they are never to exercife their own rea-
{on, neve\ to be independent, never to rife
above
RIGHTS GF WOMAN. 7*
above opiniml, or to feel the dignity of a
rational will that only bows to God, and often
forgets thin the univerfe contains any being
but itfelf -and model of perfeCliOll t-a
which its ardent gaze is turned, to adore attri..
butes that, foftened. into virtaes; may be imi-
tated in kind, the degree overwhelmi
- the enraptured mind.
If, I fay, for I v,rould not imprefs by de-
tlamation wh'en Rearon offers het fof>er light,
if they be really capable of acting like rational
creatures, let them not be treafed Jile flerves j
at, like the brutes who are dependent on the'
reafon of man, when they affociate with: himj
but cultivate their minds, give them the fa...
lutary) fubIime curb of prin{;iple. and Tet them
attain confcious dignity by feeling themfelves
only dependent on God. Teach them; in-
common with man,. to fubmit to m!ceffity,
inftead of giving., to render them more ploof..
ing, a {ex to morals.
Further,- fhould experience prove thaf they
cannot attain the fame degree of ftrength of
mind, perfeverance,. and fortitude, let their
virtues be the fame in kind, though they may
vainly ftruggle for the fame degree; and the
Of man win be equally clear, if not
F It clearer i
clearer i and truth, as it is firnple principlo,
which admits of no modification, would be
common to both. ,Nay, the order of fociety
as it is at prefent would not be'
verted, for woman would then only have the
rank that reafon affigned her, and arts coulc:l
not be praCtifed to l>ring the balance
much lefs to turn n.
Thefe may be termed Utopian dreams.-:.'!
Thanks to that Being who impreffed them
on my foul, and gave me fufficient firengt4
of mind to dare to exert my own reafon,
becoming dependent only 011 him for the fup-
port of my virtue, I view, with
the mifiaken notions' that enfiave my fex.
I love man my fellow i but his fcepter,
real, or ufurpeQ., extends not to me,
the reafoll of an individual demands my ho-
mage. and e"ven then the fubmiffion is to rea-
{on, and not to man. In faCt, the conduCt of
an accountable being muft be regulated bythe
operations of its own reafon i or on what
foundatioq the throne of God? .
It appears to me to dwell on thefe
f>bvious truths, becaufe females have been
infulated, as it were; and, while they have
been firipped of the virnIes that fuould
.. humanity,
(
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 13
humanity, they have been decked with artifi-
:Cialgraces that enable them toexercifealhort-
lived tyranny. Love, in their boroms, taking
place of every nobler pallon, their foIe ambi-
tion is to be fair, to raife emotion inftead of
infpiring refpeB:; and this ignoble defire, like
the fervility in abfolute monarchies, defiroys
all firength of character. Liberty is the mo-
ther of virtue, and if women be, by their
very conftitution, naves, and not allowed to
breathe thelharp invigorating air of free-
com, they mufr ever languifh like exotics,
and be reckoned beautiful flaws in nature.
As to the refpeCling the [ubjec-
tion in which. the fex has ever been held, it
retorts on man. The many have always been
enthralled by the few; and monfters, who
fcarcely have lhewn any difcernment of hu-
man excellence, have tyrannized over thou-
fands of their fellow-creatures. Why have
men of fuperioui- endowments fubmitted to
(uch degradation? For, is it not univerfalIy
acknowledged that kings, viewed colleB:ively,
have ever been inferior, in abilities and virtue,
to the fame number of men taken from the
mafs of mankind-yet, have they
pot, and are ther not treated with a de-
gree
/
74- .VINDICATION OF THE '

gree of reverence that is an infnlt to (eafon ?
China is not the only country where a living
man has been made a God. Men ha'le fub.
mitted to fuperior il:rength to enjoy with
impunity the pleafute of the moment--wo"
men have only done the fame, and. therefore
till it is that the courtier, who fer-
vilely refigns the birthright of a man, is not
a moral agent, it cannot bedemonftrated that
woman is effentially inferior to man becaufe
lhe has been fubjugated.
Brutal force has hitherto governed the
world, and that the fcience of politics is in
its infancy, is evident from philofophers fcru..
pling to give the knowledge .moil: ufeful to
man that determinate diftinClion.
1 /hall not purfue this argument any fur-
th.er than to eftablifh an obvious
that as fOlmdpolitics diffufe liberty, man...
kind, incInding woman, will become more
wife and virtuous.
CHAP.
IUGRTS. OF WOM....N, 75
CH A l>. Ill.
THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED
.
BODILy ftrength from being the diftincHon
of heroes is now funk into fuch unmerited
contempt that men,.as well as women, feem
to think it unnece{fary: the latter, as it takes
from their feminine graces, and from that
lovely weaknefs the fource of their undue
. .
power; and the former, becaufe it appears
inimical to the charaCter of a gentleman
. That they have both by departing frorn
one extreme run into another, may eafiJy be
proved; but firft it may be proper to obfervc,
that a vulgar error has o b t a i n ~ d a degree of
credit, which has given force to a faJfe con..
dufion, in which an effetl: has been miftaker\
for a caufe.
People of genius have, very frequently,
impaired their conftitutions by ftudy or care-
lefs inattention to their health, and the vio--:
lence of their paffions bearing a proportion to
. the vigour of their intellects, ,the [word's de-
. ftroying
ftroying the fcabbard has become almoft pro.
verbial, and fuperficial obfervers have inferred
from thence, that men of genius have com-
monly weak, or, to ufe a more fahionable
phrafe, delicate confritutions. Yet the con-
trary, I believe, will appear to be the faB:;
for, on diligent itlquiry, I find that ftrength
of mind has, in moft cafes, been accompanied
by fuperior ftrength of body,-natural found-
nefs of conftitution,-not that robuft tone
of nerves and vigour of mufcles, which arife
from bodily labour, when the mind is qui..
efcent, or only direCts the hands.
Dr. Prieftley has remarked, in the pre..
face to his biographical chart, that the ma-
jority of great men have lived beyond' forty- -
five. And, confidering the thoughtlefs man-
ner in which they have lavifhed their ftrength,
when inveftigatiI)g' a favourite fcience they
have wafted the lamp of life, forgetflll of the
midnight hour; or, when, lot\: in poetic
dreams, fancy has peopled the fcene, and the
foul has been difturbed, till it hook the con-
ftitution, by ~ h e pallions that meditation had
raifed; whofe objeCts, the bafelefs fabric of a
vifion" faded before the exhaufted eye, they
JJluft have had iron frames. Shakfpeare n e v ~ r
grafped
RIGHTS or WOMAN. '77
grafped the airy dagger with a nervelefs hand,
nor did Milton tremble when he led Satan
far from the confines of his dreary prifon.-
Thefe were not the ravings of imbecility, the
fickly effufions of diftempered but
the exuberance of fancy, that (in a fine.
phrenzy' wandering, was not continually re-
minded of 'its material {hackles.
I am aware this argument would carry
me further than it may be fuppofed I wifh to
go; but I follow truth, and, frill adhering to
my firft pofition, I will allow that bodily
ftrength feems to give man a natural [upe-
riority over woman; and this is the only fo-
lid bafis on which the fuperiority of the [ex.
can be built. But I frill infift, that not
only the virtue, but the knowledge of the
two fexes lhould be the fame in nature, if
not in and that women, confidered not
only as moral, but rational creatures, ought
to endeavour to acquire human virtues (or
perfeCtions) by the fame. means as men,
inftead of being educated like a fanciful kind
of half being-one of Rouffeau's wild chi-
meras.
But,
C Re{earches intoablhaCl and {peculative truths, the prin-
C ciples and axioms of (dences, in thart, every thing which
, tends
VUI])ICATION OF TilE
Brit, if ftrength of body be, with fome _
fhew of reafon, the boaft of men, why arc
women fo infatuated as to be proud of a de..
fea?
, toO generalize our i.deas, is not the proper province of
C women; their fiudies ihould be relative to points of prac;.
, 'tice; it belongs to them to apply thofe prinCiples whicll
C men have difcovered; and it is'their part to make obl'er-
vations, which direCl: men to the eftabli{hment of geaeral
principles. All the ideas of women, which have not the
C immediate tendency to points of duty, thould be direlted
C to the ROOy of m!n, and to the attainment of thofe agree..
, (, which have t31l:e for their object
, for,as to works of genius, they ar, beyond their capa..
, city; neither have tbey fufficient precifion or power of
C attention to fucceed in {dences which require accuracy
, and as to phy-Heal knowledge, it belongs tothoe only
, who are gIoft a8i\le, inoft illquifitive; wha 'comprehend
the variety of obje&: in fhort, ,it belongs to
, thofe who have ftrongeft powers, and who exerci(c-
them moft, to judge of the relations between (enfible
c. beings and the laws of nature. A woman who is natu;.
rally weak, and does not carry her ide.a$ to any great
c, tent, k,nOWi how to judgct and make a proper eftimateol
C thofe movements which {he fets to work" in order to ai<J
her weakoefs; and thefe movement'S are the paffions of.
C men. The mechanifm the employs is much more power.
c. CuI than owrs; foraU her levers move the ,human
, She mull: have the lkill to incline us to do e.very thing
C which her ,fex will not enable her .to do hl'rfelf, and
, which is neceffiuy or agreeable .to her; therefore ihe
ought to ftudy the mind of man thorou'ghly, not the
1 of
.'
-IUOHTS OF WQMAK.
,
79
Rouffeau has furniJhed them with a

plaufib1e excufe, which could only have oc'"
curred to a man, whore imagination had been
allowed to run wild, and' r(!fiM on the imJ.
preffions made by exquifrte fen{(s
they might, forfooth, have a pretext.
yicddihg to a natural appetitClwithout
ofman in gener;ll, abftraCledJy, but clle c;Ii(PQlitiQns 'Qf thoCe:
men t9 whom Ch.c: is either by tbe laws of her
country or by the force of opinion. She lhould to
penetrate into their real fentimeati from their.cOft'lerfa..
tion, their atlions, i1Pd, getlllres. She Q\ould
have the art, by her Qwn converfatiQn) aCl{OftS,
, looks, and gefiures, to CQDlIllUnu;ate thofe fentiBlent,
which are agreeable to them, without feeming to Intenc!
'it. M.1l will .rgue more philofophieallyabout the hu-
wlll read the heart of maa betttor
, than they. bclongs women, if l may be .J\l}owe4
, the to form an experimental morality, 'll1d te)
, reduce the ftudy Qf man to a fYfiem. \\7Qll)en moft
, wit, men have mofi genius; women obferve, men rea-
, {dh: from the com:urrnce of both wc derive the cleareft
, light v.nd tal'! l.lleij perfeB: knl>wledgc
1
which tl\C1 h.utnan
C mind is, of itfelf, capable of attaining. In one word..
, from hence we acquire die molt intimate acqlJaintance
l
, both with ourfelves and others, of whicp our nature is ca-
, pable; and' it is thus that art has a confiant. tendency to
, perfeCt thofe endowments which nature has befiowed._
, The world is the book of women.' RouJJfau's
1 hope lI1y readers fiill remember the comparjfon, which 1
have; brought forward, between women and officers.
.
mg
ing a romantic fpecies of modefty, which gra....
rifles the pride and libertinifm of man.
Women, deluded by thefe fentiments, fome..
times boaft of their weaknefs, cunninglyob-
taining power by playing on the weaknefs
of men; and they' may well glory in their
illicjt fway, for, -like Turkilh bafhaws,they
have ,more real power than their mafters:
but virtue is facrificed to temporary gratifica-
tions, and the refpectability of life to the tri-
umph of an hour.
Women, as well as defpots, have now,
perhaps, more power than they would have
if the ~ o r l d , divided and fubdivided into
kingdoms and families, were governed by
laws deduq:d from the exercife of reafon i
but'in obtaining it, to carry on the compa-
rifon, their character is degraded, and licen..
tioufners fpread through the whole aggregate
of fociety. The many become, pedeftal to
the few. I, therefore, will venture to af-
fert, that till women are more rationally
educated, the progrefs of human virtue and
improvement in knowledge muft receive con-
tinual checks. And if it be granted that-wo-'
man was not created merely to gratify the
appetite of man, or to be the upper fervant, .
who provides his meals and takes care of his
linen,
lUGHT90F WOMAN. 8r
linen, it muft follow, that the lirA: care of
thofe mothers, or fathers, who really attend '
to the education of females, 1hould be, if
not to firengthen the at leaa, not to
defiroy the confiitution by miftaken notions
of beauty and female excellence; nor iliould
girls ever be allowed to imbibe the pernic.ious
;notion a defect can, by any chemical
proce(s ofreafoning, become an excellence.
In this refpeCl, I am happy to find, that the
author of one of the moll: ipftniCti\'e hooks,
that our country has produced for children,
coincides with me in opinion; I ilial.l quote
his pertinent remarks to give the force of his
refpeCl:able authority to reafon
. But
A refpeClable old man gives the following ac-
count of the method he purfued when educating his
, I endeavoured to give both to her mind and"body a de-
I gree of vigour, which is feloom found in the female fex.
, As foon as ihe was fufficient!y advanced in fl:rength to be
, capable of the lighter labours of hufbandry and gardening,
, I employed her as my con Rant companion. Selene" for
, that was her name, foon acquired a dexterity in all thefe
, ruftic employments, which I conlidered with equal plea-
' .. fure and 4dmiration. If women are in general feeble both.
, in body and mind, it arifes Icfs from nature rhan from edu-
, cation. We encourage a vicious indolence anJinaClivity,
whichwe falfely eaU delicacy; inftead of hardening their
G 4 minds
,
8% VINDICATION OF THE
But fuould it be proved that woman is"
naturally weaker than man, whence does it
followthat it is natural for her to labour to be-
come frill weaker than nature intended her to
be? Arguments of this call: are an intuIt to
l
e mind!; by the (everer principles of rearon and philofophy,
C we breed them to urders arts, which terminate in vanity
e and fen(uality. In moft of the countries whieh I had
viGted, they are taught nothing of an higher nature thana
C few modulations of the voice, or ufe1efs poftures of the
C body j the"ir time is confumed in loth or trifles, and
e triBes become the only purfuits capable of interefting
"C them. We (eem to forget, that it is upon the qualities
C of the female fex that our own domeftic comforts and: the
C education of our muft depend. And what are the
C comforts or "the education which a race of beings, cor-
e rupted from their infancy, and unacquainted with all
C duties of life, are fitted to beftow? To touch a muGca!
inftrument with ufelefs ikill, to exhibit their natural
e or afl"eCl:ed graces to the eyes of indolent and debauched
younr. men, to di/Iipate their hufband's patrimony in
C riotous and uhneceffary expenees, thefe are the only arts
cultivated by women in moft of the polilhed nations I had
.c feen. And theconfequences are unif01'mly fuch as may
C be expeCl:ed to proceed from fueh polluted fources, private
, mifery and public fervitude.
, But Selene's was. regulated by different
C views, and conduCl:ed upon feverer principles; if that
, can be called feverity which opens the mind to a fenfe of
moral and religious duties, and moft efFeClually arms it
I. againfi the inevitable evils of life.'
Mr. D{/y's Sandford and Mtrton, Vol. Ill.
common
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 83
common fenfe, and favour of paffion. The
divine right of hufbands, like the divine right
of kings, may, it is to be hoped, in this en..
lightened age, be contefted without danger,
and, though conviaion may not filence many
boifierous difputants, yet, when any prevail..
ing prejudice is attacked, the wife will conG..
der, and leave the narrow-minded to rail with
thoughtlefs vehemence at innovation.
The mother, who wilbes to give true dig..
nityof character to her daughter, muft, re..
gardlefs of the [neers of ignorance, proceed
on a plan diametrically oppofite to that which
Rouffeau has recommended with all the de..
luding charms ofeloquence and philofophical
fophiftry: for his eloquence renders abfurdi-
ties plaufible, and his d ~ g m a t i c concIufions
puzzle, without convincing, thofe who have
not ability to refute them.
Throughout the whole animal kingdom
every young creature requires almoft conti..
llual exercife, and the infancy of children,
conformable to this intimation, iliould be
paffed in harmlefs gambols, that exercife the
feet and hands, without requiring very minute
direCtion from the head, or the conftant at-
tention of a nurfe. In faCt, the: care necer-
G 2 fary
84 VINDIC A1'l.ON OF THE
fary for fe1f-prefervatioll is, the firti: natural'. ,
'exercife of the underftanding, as little inven-
tions to amuCe the prefent monlent unfold
, the imagination. But. thefe wife defigns of,
nature are counteracted' by miftaken fon,dnefs
or blind' zaaI. ''The child is not left a 'mo--
meut to its own direction, particularly a girl,
and thus rendered dependent-dependence'is
calIed I:1atural.
To preferve perfonal beauty, woman'g
glory! the limbs and faculties are cramped
with worfe than Chinefe baqds,' and the "
fedentary life wh'ich they' are condemned
to live, whilll:' boys frolic in the open
, .weakens- the mufc1es and relaxes 'the nerve,.
-As for Rouffeau's remarks, which ba'Ve
fince been 'echoed by that
they have that is from their
independent ofeducation, a fondnefs' for. dolls,
drdIing, and are fo puerile as
to mer-ita ferious .. , That a girl,
, . to fit for hours together lifiening
-to the idle' chat 'of wea.k nurfes; or to attend
,2t herm9ther's, toilet, will endeavour to join
:the 'converfadon, is, indeed,. very natural;
, ,anti will imitate her mother or au.nts,
and amu[e... herfelf by. adorning her life1eiS
doll,
R1GHTS OF WOMAN. 8S
doll, as they do in dreffing her, poor inno-
cent babe! is undoubtedly a moil: na.tural con.
fequence. For men of the greatefi: abiiities
have fe1dom had fufficient ftrength to rife
-above the furrounding'atmofphere; and, ifthe
pageofgeniu6 have always been blurred by the
prejudices of the age, fame allowance lhould
be made for a fex, who, like kings,
fee things through a falfe medium.
Purfuing thefe refleCtions) the fondnefs for
drefs, confpicuous in women, may be eafily ac-
counted for, without fuppofing.it the refult of
a defire to pleafe. the [ex ori which they arc
dependent. The abfurdity; inlhort, offup..
pofing that.agirI. is naturally a coquette, 'and '.
that a defire conneCted with the impulfe of
nature to' pr9pagate the fpecies,: lhould ap-
pear even before an improper edu-cation has,
by heating thC? imaginatioil, FaIled it forth
prematurely, is fo unphilo{ophjcal, that fuch
a fagacious as Routreau would not
. haveadoptedits if he had,not been accufl:om-'
ed to make reafon give way to his defire cif'
fingul;icity, and trutp. to a favourite paradox.
Yet thus to give a [ex to' mind was' .
very confiftentwith the pri)1cipl.es of'a
who argued fa warmly,. and fa w,ell, for th,e
G. 3. .
86 VINDICATION OF. THE.
immortality of the _fouI.-But what a weak
barrier is truth when it ftands in the way
of an hypothefis! Rouffeau refpeCted-'al-
moft a d o ~ d virtue,.-and yet he allowed
himfe1f to love with fenfual fondnefs. His
imagination confiantly prepared inflammable
{ewe! for his inflammable fenfes; bur, in
order to reconcile his refpeCt for felf-denial,
fortitude, and thofe heroic virtues, which a
mind like his could not coolly admire, he
labours to invert the law of nature, and
broaches a doctrine pregnant with mifchief
and derogatory to the character of fupreme
wifdom.
His ridiculous fiories, which tend to prove
that girls are naturally attentive to their per-
fans, without laying any firefs on daily ex-
ample, are below contempt.-And that a
little mifs lho,uld have fuch a carrea tafie as
to negleCl: the pleafing amufement of making
O's, mere1y.becaufe the perceived that it was an
ungraceful httitude, lhould be' feleCted with
the anecdotes of the learned pig
I have,
, I once .knew a young per(on who learned to write
& before {he learned to rtad, a ~ d began to write with her
& needle before 1he c o l l 1 ~ u ~ a pen. At firft, indeed, {he
. -. I
-. ... , took
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 87
I have, probably, had an opportunity of
obfer,ving girls in their infancy than
J. J. Rouff'eau-I can recollect: my own feel-
ings, and I have looked fteadily around me;
yet, fa (ar from coinciding with him in opi-
nion refpeCting the firfi: dawn of the female
charaCter, I will venture to affirm, that a
girl, whofe fpirits have not been damped by
inaCtivity, or innocence tainted by falfe hamc,
will" always be a romp" and the doll will
never excite attention unlefs confinement al-
lows her no alternative. Girls and' boys, in
hart, would play harmlefsly together, if the
diftinClion of fex was not inculcated long be-
{.ore nature makes any difference.-I will go
further, and affirm, as an indifputable fact,
that moil: of the women, in the circle of my
took it into her head to make no other letter than the 0:
, this letter {he was confrantly making of all fizes, and
, always the wrong way. Unluckily, one day, as fue
, ms intent on this employment, fue happened to fee her-
e {elf in the looking-glaCs; when, taking a difiike to the
,conftrained attitude in which fue fat while writing, fue
f. threw away her pen, like another Pallas, and determined
.' againfr making the 0 any more. Her brother was al(o
,. equally averfe to writing: it was the confinement, how-
, ever, and not connrained attitude, that moll dif-
f guiU:9 RouJliau's Emi!iu!.
,obfervatioD
J

'-
88 VINDICATION' OF THE '
obfervation, 'who have, aCted like rational
or any' vigour of intellect,
have accideptally allowed to run wild-
as.fome of the .elegant formers of ,thefair
fex would infinuate.
Thebaneful confequences which flow from
inatte'ntion, to health. during infancy; and
youth, extend further, than is [uppofed"":'"
of body naturallyproduces depen-
dence of mind; and how can lbe be a good
wife or mother. the greater part of
to guard againfto'r endure
ficknefs.? Nor can,it beexpeCl:ed that a wo-
man will refo1uteIy endeavour toftrengthen
her confiitution and abftaiQfrom enervating
indulgencies,. if artificial J)otions of beauty,
and}alfe of fenfi.bility, have been.
early entangled with her motives ofadion.
- 1vIoil: men ar.e fometimes obliged to' hear with
bodily i'nconveniencies, and to endure; occa,;.
fionally, the of tIle elements;
but genteel women literallJ
naves to their bodies, and glory in their fub-
jetlion. .' .' .
J once a wpman. of {albion, .
who. was inore than c.onlITI9nly, proud of
. delicacy and fenfibility.. She thought a .
tinguilhlng
]tIGHTS OF WOMAN. 89
Jinguifhingtafte and puny appetite the height
of all ,human perfettion, and aCted accqrd..
ingly.-I have feen weak fophiCHcated
being negleCt all the duties, of life" yet re-
cline with felf-complacency ori a foEa, and
boaft of her want of appetite as a proofof de-
IJcacy that extended Of, perhaps, :arore
{rom, her exquifite (enfibility: for it is diffi-
cult to render)nte,lligible fuch
gon.-Yet, at the moment, ,I feen her
infult a worthy old gentlewoman, whom un-
expected misfortunes had made dependent on
her oftentatious bounty, and who, in better
days, had' claims on her gratitude; Is it
pollible that a human' creature, could have
become fuch a weak and depraved being, if,
,like the Sybarites, diffol ved in lux,ury, every.
thing like virtue had not been worn away,
or never impieffed Qy precept, a' poor fubfti-
tute, it is for cultivation ofmind, though
it: {erves as a fenceagainfi 'vice? ,
Such a woman is not a more irrational mon;;,'
fler than fome of the Roman emperors, who
were depraved by lawlefs power. Yet,fince
kings have, been more under the refrraint of
law, and the' curb, however weak, of ho-'
nour, the records of hiftory are Qot filledwith' .
"6 fuch
90 VINDICATION OF TilE
fuch unnatural inftances of folly and cruelty;
nor does the defpotifm that kills virtue and
genius in the bud, hover over Europe with
that defiruCtive blaft which defalates Turkey,
and renders the men, as well as the foil, un-
fruitful.
Women ,are every wherein this deplorable
{late i for, in order to prefervetheir innocence,
as ignorance is courteoufly termed, truth is
hidden from them, and they are made to af-
Ulme an artificial character before their facul-
ties have acquired any firength. Taught
from their infancy that beauty is woman's
{eeptre, the mind lhapes itfelf to the body,
-and, roaming round its gilt cage, only feeks
to adore its prifon. Men have various em-
ployments and purfuits which engage their
a.ttention, and give a character to the Qpen-
ing mind; but women, confined to one, and
having their thoughts conftantly direCled to
the mofi infignificant part of fel..
dom extend their views beyond the triumph
of the hour. But were their underfianding
snce emancipated from the flavery tq which
the pride and fenfuality of man and their
fhort-1ighted defire, like that of dominion in
tyrants, of prefent has fUbjeCted them,
we
":RIGHTS 01l' . 9l
we lhould probably read of their weaknelfes
with furprife. I mull: be allowed to purfue
the argument a little farther.
Perhaps, if the exifience of an evil being
were allowed, who, in the
of fcripture, went about feeking whom he
1bould devour, he could not more effeCtually
degrade the hum;m charaCter than by giving
a man abfolute power.
This t branches into various rami-
fications.-Birth, riches, and every extrinfic
advantage that exalt a man above his fellows,
without any mental exertion', fink him in
reality below them. In proportion to his
weaknefs, he is played upon by defigning
men, till the bloated monfter has loll: all
traces of humanity. And that tribes of men,
like flocks of fheep, fhould quietly follow
fuch a leader, is a folecifm that only a de-
fire of prefent .enjoyment and narrownefs
of underll:anding can folve. Educated in
llavifu dependence, and enervated by luxury
and floth, where {hall we find men who
will frand forth to affert the rights of
man ;--or the privilege of moral
who 1bould have but one road to
excellence? Slavery to nwnarchs and minif-
ters,
92 OF THt
ten, which the world will be long in freeing'
from, and whofe deadly graJp flops the
progrefs of the human mind, is not yet abo-
lilhed.
Let not men then in the pride of power,
nfe the fame arguments that tyrannic kings
and venal minifters have ufed, and fallaci-
oulyaffert that woman ought to be
cd becaufe he has always been fo.-But,.
when man, governed' by reafonable lilws',' en-
joys his natural freedom, Jet him defpife
woman, if fhe do not {hare it with him; and,
till that glorious period arrives, in defcanting
on the folly of the [ex, let him not overlook
his own.
Women, it is true, power by
unjuft means, by praClifing .or faltering vice,
evidently lofe the rank which rea[on would
affign them, and they become either abject
11aves or capricious tyrants. They lofe 'all
fimplicity, all dignity of mind,in acquiring"
p.ower, and aCl as men are ob{erved to i8: .
when they l1ave been exalted by the fame
" .
means.
It is time to effea a revolution in female
manners-time to rellore to them their loft
dignity-'a"nd make them, as" a part" of the
human
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 9'3
human by ,reforming them-
felves to reform the world. It is time to fe-
parate unchangeable morals from local man-
ners.-If men bcr demi-gods-,why let us
ferve them if the dignity of the female
foul be as difputable as that of animals-if
their does"not afford futficientlight to di-
reel: their conduCt whilft unerringinftinais de.
nied-they are furely o'[all creatures the inoLt
mjferable! and, bent beneath the iron hand of .
defiiny, mull: fubmit to be afair in
creation. But to jufiify the ways of Pro.vi-
derice refpeaing them, by pointing out fame
irrefragable feafon for thus making fuch a
large portion of mankind accountable and
not accountable, would puzzle the fu'btileft
cafuift.
The only folid foundation for morality
appears to be'the charatter of 'the fupreme
. Being; the of which arifes from a
balance of attributes i-and, to fpeak with
. reverence, one attribute' feems to imply the
necejJity of another. He muft be jul, becaufe
he is wife, he muft be good, becaufe he is
omnipotent. For to exalt one attribute at
the expence' of another equally noble and
necdfary, bears the itamp of the warped
reafon
94 VIN1:HCATION OF TRP:
rearon of man-the homage of paffion. Mall,
accufromed to bow down to power in his'fa
vage {late, can feldom diveft himfelf of this
barbarous prejudice, even when civilization
determines how much fuperior mental is to
bodily firength; and his reafon is clouded by
thefe crude opinio!ls, even when he thinks'
of the Deity.--..His omnipotence is made to
{wallow up, or prefide over his other a t t r i ~
butes, and thofe mortals are fuppored to limit
his power irreverently, who think that it
rilufrbe regulated by his wifdom.
I difclaim that fpecious humility which,
after inveftigating nature, fiOPi at the author.
-The High and Lofty One. who inhabiteth
eternity, doubtlefs pofeff'es many attributes
of which we can form no conception; but
.reafon tells me that they cannot clafh with
thofe I adore-andI amcompelled to liften to
her voice.
It feems natural for man to fearch for ex-
cellence, and either .to trace it in the object
that he wodhips, or blindly to inveft it with
perfeCtion, as a garment. But what good
effeCt can the latter mode of wor1hip have
on the moral conduet of a rational being?
He bends to power; he adores a da,k cloud,
which
RIGHTS OF 9S
which may gpen a bright profpea to him", to
buft in angry, lawlefs fury, on his devoted
head-he knows not why. -And, frrppofing
that the Diety atts from the vague impulfe
of an undireCted will, man alfo foUow
his own, or aCl according to rules, deduced
from principles which he difclaims as irreve-
rent. Into this dilemma have both enthu-
fiafts and cooler thinkers fallen, when they
laboured to free men from the wholefome
refiraints which a juft conception of the cha-
ra.aer of God impofes.
Iris not impious thus to fcan the attributes
of the Almighty: in faa, who can avoid it
that exeraifes his faculties? For to love God
as the fountain of wifdom, goodnefs, and
power, appears to be the only worhip ufe..
ful to a being who willies to acquire either
virtue or knowledge. A blind unfettled
feCliOn may, like human paffions, occupy
the mind and warm the heart, whilfi, 'to
do, jufiice, love mercy, and walk humbly
with our God, is forgotten. I {hall purfue
this fubjeCl: HillJurther, when I confider reli-
. gion in a lightoppofite to that recommended
by Dr. Gregory, who treats it as a matter of
fentiment or tafie.
T.
9& VINDICATION OF THE
TO return from this apparentdigreffion.
It were to be wilhed that women would che-
rilh an affeCtion for their hubands, founded
on the fame principle that devotion ought to
reft upon. No 'Other firm bafe is there under
heaven-for let them beware of the
light of fentiment j often ufedas a fofter
phl'afe for fenulality. It follows then, I think,
that from their infancy women {hauld either
befuut up like eall:ernp,rinces, oreducated in
fach Ja. manner' as to be able to think and
aCl: for themfelves.
Why do 'men halt between two opinions,
and expeCt impoffibilities? Why do they ex.
'pea virtue froin a' flave, from a being whom
the confiitutio.n .of civil fociety has rendered
weak, if not vicious?
Still Iknowthatit will requireaconfiderable
length oftime to eradicatBthe firmIyrooted pre-
judice9 which fenfualills have planted; it will .
'alforequirefome time to convince women that
they ad: contrary to their real interefi on an
enlarged fcale, when they cherilh or affect
'weaknefs under the name of delicacy, and to
convince the world that the poifoned Cource
of female follies, if it be neceffary,
in compliance with cufiom, . to fyno-
nymous
RIGHTS:"OFWOMAN. 97
nymous in a lax fenfe, has been the
fenfual homage paid to beauty:-to beauty
offeatures; for'it has been fhrewdly obfer.ved
by a German writer, that a pretty woman,
. as an objeCt of defire, is generally allowed, to
. be fo by men of all defcriptions; whi]ft a fine
woman, whp infpires mote fublime emotions
brdifplaying intellectual bcauty,may be Qver-
looked or obferved with indifference, by thofe
men who find their in the gratifi-
cation of their appetites. I {ore[ee an obvi-
ous retort-whilft man remains fuch an im-
perfect being as he.appears hitherto to have
been" he. will, ,more or le[s,. be the flave of
appetites j and. thofe women' obtaining
moft power who gratify a predominant one,
the fex is degraded by a phyfical, if 110t by a
moral neceffi ty.
This objeCtion has, I grant, fame force;
but while fuch a fublime precept exifts, as,
C be pure as your heavenly Father is pure i' it
.: would feern, that the virtues of man are not
. limited by tl,e Being who alone could limit
.them i and that he may prefs forward with-
out confideri ng whether he fteps out of his
i. fphere by indulging fuch a noble ambition
.To the wild billows it been faid, 'thus far
H c filalt
C {halt thougo, and nofurther; and. here lliall
they proud waves be frayed: Vainly then
do they beat and foam, reftrained by the power
that confines the ftruggling planets in their
orbits, matter yields to the great governing
Spirit.-But an immortal foul, not reftrained
by mechanical laws and ftruggling to free
itfelf from the {hackles of matter, contributes
to, inftead ofdifturbing, the order of creation,
when, co-operating with the Father of fpirits,
it tries to govern itfelf by the invariable r u l ~
that, in a degree, before which our imagi-
I nation faints, regulates the univerfe.
Befides, if women he educated for depend.
ence; that is, to aB: according to the will of
another fallible being, and fubmit, right or
wrong, to power, where are we to fiop?
Are they to be confidered as vicegerents al-
lowed to reign over a fmall domain, and a11-
{werable for their conduCl: to a higher tri-
bunal, liable to error?
It will not be difficult to prove that fuch
delegates will aB: like men fubjetl:ed by fear,
and make their children and fetvantS endure
their tyrannical oppreffion. As they fubmit
without reafon, they will, having no fixed
rules to fquare t h ~ i r conduCt by, be kind, or
cruel,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 99
true1, juft as the whim of the moment
direCts; an;d we ought not to wonder if fome-
times, galled by their heavy yoke, they take
a malignant pleafure in reiting it on weaker
ihoulders.
But, fuppofing a woman, trained up to
obedience, be married to a fenfible man,
who directs her judgment without making
her feel the fervility of her fubjeCtion, to act
with as much propriety by this reflected light
as can be expeCled when reafon is taken at
fecond hand, yet {he cannot enCure the life of
her proteCtor j he may die and leave her with
a large family.
A double duty devolves on her; to edu-
cate them in the character of both father and
mother j to form their principles and fecure
their property. But, alas t !he has never
thought, much lefs acted for herfelf. She
has only learned to pleafe men, to depend
gracefully
( In the union of the fexcs, both purfue one common
C object, but not in the fame manner. From their diverfity
C in this particular, arifes the firft determinate difference
C between the moral relations of each. The one lbould
C be aetive and ftrong,' the other paffive and weak: it is
C neceffary the one lhould have both the power and the will,
C and that the other .lhould make little refillance.
C This principle being eftabliilied, it follows that woman
H2 'is
roo VINDICATION OF THE
gra\.efulIy on them; yet, encumbered with
children, how is {he to obtain another pro-
teaor-a huiliand to fupply the place of rea-
fon? A rational man, for we are not tread,ing
, on romantic ground, though he may think
her a pleafing qocile creature, will not choofe
to marry afamiJy for love, when the world
C is exprefsly formed to pleafe the man: if the obligatiOR
C be reciprocal al[o, and the man ought to pleafe in his
C turn, it is not fo immediately neceffary: his great merit
I i. in his power, and he merely becaufe he is
C thong. This, 1 mllfl: confefs, is not one of the refined
C maxims of love; it is, however, one of the laws of na-
I ture, prior to love itfelf.
I If woman be formed to pleafe and be fubjeCl:ed to man,
-c it is her place, to render herfelf agreeable to
I him, infl:ead of challenging his paffion. The violence
, of his defires depends on her charms; it is by means of
, thefe {he fhould urge him to the exertion of thofe powerll
, which nature hath given him. The molt fuccefsful me..
, thod of exciting thonl, is, to render fuch exertion necef-
, fary by rcfiltanre; as, in that cafe, felf-love is added to
, ge!ire, and the one triumphs in the viClory which the other
, obliged to acquire. Hence arife the various modes ofat-
, tack and defence between the fexes; the boldnefs of one
, fex and the timiQity of the other; and, in a word, that
, barrlfulnefs and modelly with which nature hath armel1
, the weak, in order to fubdue the [hang.'
\ Roujftau's Emiliul.
I {hall make no other comment on this ingenious paffage,
than jufl: to obfcrve, that it is the philofophy oflafcivioufnefs.
contains
RrGHTS OF WOMAN. Jor
contains many more pretty creatures. What
is then to become of her? She either falls an
ea(v prey to fame mean who
defraudb her children of their paternal inhe-
ritance, and renders her miferable; or be..
comes 'the viCtim of diicontent and blind in-
dilIgence. Unable to educate her fons, or,
impr'efs them' with refpect; for it is not a '
plavon words to affeit, that pedple are never
J
though filling an important ftatioll,
who are not ,refpettable; fhe pines under the
angu;fh of unavailing.impotent regret.. The
ferpent's tooth enters into her very foul, and ,-
the. vices of licentioQs youth bri11g her with:
forrow, if not with poverty alfo, to the grave.
This is notan overcharged picture; on the
contrary, it is a very poffible cafe, and iome-
thing fimilar mufr have fallen under every at-
tentive eye. .'
I have, however, taken it for granted, that
{he was well-difpofed, thouglt experience
thews, that the blind may as cafj,ly be led into
a ditch as along the beaten road. But fub-
pofing, no very improbable conjecture, that
a being only taught to pleafe mufl: frill fi1ld
her happinefs in pleafing;-what an example
pf folly, not to fay vice, will fhe be to her
H 3 innocent
102' VINDICATION OF THE
innocent daughters I The mother will be loft .
in the coquette. aQd, of making
friends of her' qaughters, view. them with
eyes alkance, fQr they more
cruel than other, becaufe they invite
comparifon, !1nd driye her from the throne qf
beauty, who has never thought of a Oil
the bench of reafQn.
It does not require a lively pencil, Qr
outline of a caricature, tq
. .
the domeftic miferies and petty
which fuch miftrefs. of a
Still he only aCts as a \yoman qugl1t to
brollght up according to Rouffeau's fyftem,
She Cjln be reproached for being mafcu...
line, or out of her fphere i nay, file
may obferve another of his grand rules,
cautiouly preferving her reputation free from
fpot, be reckoned a good kind of woman.
Yet in what refpeCl: can file be termed good?
She abftains, true, without any great
ftruggle, from grofs crimes; but
how does' {he fulfil her duties? Duties I-in
truth {he has enqugh to think of to adorn
her body and llQrfe a weak conftitution.
With refpect to religion, {he never pre",:
fumed tojudgefor herfdf
i
but conformed, as
dependent
RIGHTS OF WOMAN., 103
dependent creature fhould,to the ceremonies
of the church which he was brought up in,
piou1y believing that wirer heads than her
own have fettled that bufinefs :-and not to
doubt is her point of perfeCtion. She there-
fore pays her tythe of mint and c;ummin-
and thanks her God that fhe is not as other
women are. There are the bleff'ed effects of
a good education! Thefe the virtues of man's
help-mate: *!
i muft relieve myfe1f by drawing a difft:r-
ent piCture.
Let fancy now prefent a woman with a
underfrqndin?;, f01" J. do not wih to
leave the line of mediocrity, whofe confti-
hltion, ftrengthened by exercife, has allowed
her body to acquire its full vigour j her
mind, the fame time, gradully
, 0 hQW Jovel}'" exclaims RoulI"eau, {peaking of So-
phia, ' is her ignorance! Happy is he who is defiined to
, infiruCl: her! ,She will never pretend to be the tutor of
, her hu[band, but will be content to be his pupil. l"ar
C from attempting to him tafle, the will
, accommodate her(elf to his. She will be more ellimablc
to him, than if fhe \Vas he will have a pleafurc
C in infiruCl:ing her.' Rauffiau's Emi/iu$.
1{hall content myfelf fimple friendfhipcan
w.hen love expires, between the mafier and his pupil?
H -1- itfelf
I
C
4' VINDr-cATfON .oF ;THB,:
itfelf to comprehend the ,moral ,duties of
and in what human virtue and dignity confift:'
Fbrmed thus by the 'of the
Iative duties of her ftation, !he marties
affection, without Jofing fight of prodence,
and looking beyond matrimonial felicity,
fecures her huiband's refpett before it-is need:-
fary to exert mean arts to pleafe him'land feed
a dying flame; which natare doomed to ex':'
pire when the objeCl: became familiar,
friendfhip and forbearance take plaee of
more ardent affect-ion.-This is thenaturai
death 'Of love, and domefiic peace is not- de:.:
tioyed by'ftruggles to prevent its extintti:Jn.
I alfo fuppofe the,hufband to be virtuous;'
1he is frill more in want of independent
principles. '
Fate, however, l>rook5 this is
left a widow, perhaps, without
provifion; file is not defolate! The pfng
of nature is felt; but .after time has foftened
fortowinto melancholy refignation, her heart
turns to her children with redoubled
nefs, and anxiolls to provide for them, affeClion
gives a facred heroic caft to her. du..
ties. She thinks that not only the eye fees
her virtuous efforts from whom all her corn..
fort
OF WQMAN. IC)S
fort now, mufi: flow, and whofe
Jife; hut herimaginatiou.. ,
by grief, on t4e fond hope
eyes, which her tre.U1bling hand dofed:,
playftilJ feehowihe fubdqes, every wayward,
paffion to fulfil the double of being the.
lather as well as the mother of her c-hildren.
. . , , ' - .
Raifed to heroifmby misfortunes,
faint dawning ofa natural
pefore ripens ,into love, and in the bloom of
fex,":"":""fqrge;s ofan
paffi<?n, whi<;:h might agaip hav:e ';
ilJfp,jred apd ret:uroe4. ' She longer .
of pleafing, and con(cious dignity pre-
from priding;herfelf onaCcollllt of
:the -.y1cll her demands., Her
have love, andher brighteft hqpes.
grave, where ner imaginatioll
often .. '. " ' -.,
, I think i fc;e her by. her chil-::- ,
the of her care.. The.
eye meets hers, whiHl: and
fmileon their chubby and
tb,ey grow up the cares of life are lelfened
hy,the.ir gratefuJ.attention. She lives to
virtqes. which to plant'
principles. fixed into habits, to fe:e
, 8' chilclren
children attain a ftrengthof charaCi:er fuffici-
ent to enable them to endure adverfity with-
out forgetting their mother's example.
The tafk of life thus fulfilled, !he calmly
waits for the fieep of death, and riling from
the grave, may fay-..Behold, thou gaveft me
a talent-and here are five talents.
I wHh to rum up what I have laid in a few
words, for I here throw down my gauntlet,
and deny the exiftence of fexual virtues, not
excepting modefty. For man and woman.
truth, if I underftand the meaning of the
word, mull: be the fame; yet the fanciful
female charaaer, fo prettily drawn by poets ' ,
and novelifts, demanding the facrifice of truth
and fincerity, virtue becomes a relative idea, .
having no other foundation than utility, and
ofthat utility men pretend arbitrarilytoj u d g e ~
fhaping it to their own convenience.
Women, I allow, may have different du"'!'
ties to fulfil; butthey are human duties, and
the principles that fhould regulate the dif-
.charge of them, lfiurdily maintain, muft be
the fame.
To
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. Jtr7
"'0 become refpeaable, the cxercife of their
is neceffary, there is no other
foundation for independence of character; I
mean explicitly to fay that they mull- only
bow to the authority of reafon, infread of
, b.ejng the mDdefl naves of opinion,
In the fuperior ranks of life how feldom
d() we meet with a man of fuperior abili..
Jies, or even c::ommon acqpirements? The
reafon to me clear, the ftate they
;u-e born in an unnatural one. The
humanharaa. has ever been formed by the
employments the individual, or clafs, pur-
(ues; if the fac1JIties are not lharpened
by neceffity, they mull remain obtu(e. The
may fairly be extended to women;
for, fel,dom by ferious bufinefs, the
purfuit ofpleafure gives that infignificancy to
which renders the fociety of
the great fo infipid. The fame want of
firmnefs, produced by a fimilar caufe, forces
them both to fly from themfelves to noify
pleafures, and artificial pamons, till vanity
takes place of every facial affeCtion, and
the characreriftics of humanity can fcarcely
be difcerned. Such are the bleffings of civil
g?vernments, as are at prefent or-
ganized,
VINDICATION OF THE
, ", ,. , .. ..-: -: '!
that wea!th. aqd, .
are pro-..
pr ' wo-.
mrn. to they, be..
/ incited to
their own, fC?i' how, a bei,ng be:
J>y aI)>I thiryg
by its . ' .
r;
CHAP.
I
ON THE STA11E OF DEGRA-
DATION TO VVHICHWOMAN IS' REDUCED
BY VARIOUS CAUSES.
THAT woman is' naturally' weak, or de-
. graded by a concurrence ofcircumftances, is,
I think, But this pofitioll I lhall
fimply contraft with a conc1ufion, which I
'have frequently heard fall from fenfible men
in favour oran ariO:ocracy: that the mats of ..
mankindcannot beanything,or the obfequious
naves, who patiently allow themfelves to be
driven forward, would feel their own confe-
quence
J
and fpum their chains. Men, they
furtherobferve, fubmit every where tooppref-
fion, when they have only to liftup their heads
to throw off the yoke; yet, inftead of afferting
their birthright, they quietly lick the duft,
and fay, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow
we die. Women, I argue from analogy, are
degraded by the fame propenfity to enjoy the
prefel1t moment j and, at laft, 'defpife the
freedom
!I0 VINDICATION or Ta!
freedom 'which they have not fufDcient vir-
tue toftruggle to attain. But I muf\: be more
explicit.
With refpea to the culture of the heart,
it is unanimoufiy allowed that fex is Ollt of
the quefiion; but the line of fubordination
in the mental powers is never to be pafred
over -. Only' abfolute in lovelinefs,' the
portion of rationality granted to woman, is,
indeed, .very fcanty; for, denying her genius
andjudgment, it is fcarcely pollible to divine
what remains to charaB:erize intellect
I The framen of immortality, if I may be
anowed the phrafe, is the perfeB:ibility of
human reafon; for, were man created perfeCt,
or did a flood of knowledge break in upon
Into what inconfifi:endes do men fall wben they argue
without the compafs of principles. Women, w ~ wo-
men, are compared with angels j yet, a fuperiour order of
beings fhould be fuppofed to poff'efs more intellect than
man; or, in what does their fuperiority confifi: 1 In the
fame fi:rain, to drop the fneer, they are allowed to poKefs
more goodnc:fs of heart, piety, and benevolence.-I doubt
the fall, though it be courteoufiy brought f o r w a ~ d , unlefs
ignorante be allowed to be the mother of devotion j for r
am firmly perfuaded that, on an average, the proportion
between virtue and knowledge, is more upon a pa.r than is
commonly iranted.
him,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. I I [
him, when he arrived at maturity, that pre-
. eluded error, I fhould doubt whether his
exiftence would be continued after the dilfo-
lution of the body., But, in the prefent fiate
of things, every difficulty in morals that
efcapes from human difcuffion, and equally
the inveftigation of profound think-
ing, and the lightning glance of genius, is an
argument on which I build my belief of the
immortality of the foul. Reafon is, confe-
quentially, the fimplepower of improvement;
or, more properly fpeaking, of difcerning
truth. Every individual is in this refpect
a world in itfelf. More or lefs may be con-
fpicuous in one being than another; but the
nature of reafon muft be the fame in aU, if
it be an emanation of divinity, the tie that
connects the creature with the Creator; for,
can that foul be fiamped with the heavenly
image, that is not perfetted by the exercife of
its own reafon'*? Yet outwardly ornamented
with elaborate care, and fa adorned to delight
man, C that with honour he may lovet,' the
The brutes,' Cays Lord Monboddo, C remain in the
e fiate in which nature has placed them, except in Co far as
C natural inllinc1 is improved by the culture 'flit be-
e fiow upon them.'
t Vide Milton.
foul
I1 i VlNDlCATioN or THE
foul of woman is not . allowed to have this
diftinBion, and man, ever placed between
her and reafon, {he is always reprefented as
only created to fee through a grofs medium,
and to take things on truit 'But difmiffing
thefe fanciful the,aries, and tonfideting wo-
man_as a whole, let it be what it will, in-
ftead of a part of man, the inquiry is whether
fhe have reafon or not. If the have;. which
j
for a moment, I will take for granted, {he
was not created merely to be fhe folace of
man, and the fexual fhould not defiroy the
human charaBer.
Into this error men have, probably, 'been
led by viewing education iri a falfe light; not
confidering it as the firft fiep to form a being
advancinggraduallytowards perfection~ ! ~ ; but
only as a preparation for life. On this fen..
fualerror, for I mull: call it fa, has the falfe
fyftem of female manners been reared, which
robs the whole {ex of .its dignity, and claifes
the brown and fair with the fmiling flowers
that only adorn the land. This has ever
been the language of men, and the fear of
This word is notftriCl:11 juG, _out. I cannot find a
better.
departing
RIGHTS OF WOMAN; I r3
departing from a fuppofed fexual character,
has made even women of fuperiour fenre
adopt the fame fentiments *. Thus under-
Handing, ftriClly fpeaking, has been denied
to woman i and infiinct, fublimated into wit
'Pleafure's the portion of th' infirior kind;
I But glory, virtue, Heaven for Than defign;d.
After writing thefe iines, how CQuld Mrs. Barbauld
wtite the following ignoble comparifori l
I 7"0 a Lady, withfame paintedflowers.'
C Flowers to the fair: to you thefe flowers I bting-,
, And {hive to greet you with an earlier fpring.
( Flowers SWEET, andgay, and DELicATE LIKE YOU;
C Emblems of innocence, and beauty too.
I With flowers the Graces bind their yellow hairt
, And flowery wreaths confenting lovers wear.
, Flowers, thefale luxury which nature kntw,
, In Eden's pure and guiltlefs garden grew.
I <['0 loftierforms are rougher tafts aj]ign'd;
, ne fheltlring oak reJiJis theflormy wind,
, The tougher yew repels invading.foes,
, And the tall pineflrfllture navies grows;
, But' this loft family, to cares unknown,
C Were born for plea}ure and delight ALON.
I Gay without toil, and lovely without alt,
, 'rhey!pring to CHEER the ftnJe, and GLAD the heart.
, Nor blufh, my fair, to own you copy there;
I lOur BEST, your SWEETEST empire is-to PLEASE.'
po the men tell US; but virtue, fays reafon, mufl: be acquir-
ed by rough toils, and ureful firugglc$ with worldly cares.
I and
114 VINDl CATION OF THE
and cunning, for the purpofes of . life, has
been fubfiituted in its ftead.
The power of generalizing ideas, of draw-
ing comprehenfiveconclufions. from indivi-
dual obfervations, is the onlyacquirement, for
an immortal being, that really deferves the
name of knowledge. Merely to obferve,
without endeavouring to account for any
thing, may, (in a very incomplete manner)
ferve as the common fenfe of tife; but where
is the ftore laid up that is to clothe the foul
when It leaves the body?
This power has not only been denied to
women; but writers have infified that it is
. inconfiftent, with a few exceptions, with
their fexual character. Let men prove this,
and I !hall grant that woman only exifts for
man. I muft, however, previoufly remark,
that the power of generalizing ideas, to any
great extent, is not very common amongft
men or women. But this exercife is the
true cultivatic;>n of the underftanding; and
every thing confpires to render the cultiva-
tion of the underftanding more difficult in
the female than the male world.
I am naturally led by this affertion to the
main fubjeB: of the prefent chapter, and !hall
now
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. II$
noW a t t e ~ p t to point out fome of the cauCes
that degrade the [ex, and prevent women
from generalizing their obfervations.
I {hall not go back to the remote annals of
tmtiquity to trace the hifiory of woman; it is
fufficient to allow that {he pas always' been
.either a fiave, or a defpot, and to remarK,
that e ~ c h ofthefe fituatiol1s equally retards the
progrefs of reafon. The grand fource of
female folly and vice has ever appeared to me
to arife from narrownefs of mind; and the
very conftitution of civil governments has
.put almoft infuperable obftacles in the way
to prevent the cultivation ofthe female under-
ftanding :-yet virtue can be built on 110 other
foundation! The fame obftacles are thrown
in the way of the rich, andthe fame conCe-
quences enfue.
Necellity has been proverbially termed the
motherofinvention-the aphotifmmay beex-
tended to virtue. It is an acquirement, and an
acquirement to which pleafure muft befacrific-
ed-andwhofacrifices pleafurewhen it iswith-
in the grafp, whofe mind has not been opened
and ftrengthened by adverfity, or the purfllit
ofknowledge goaded on bynecellity ?-Happy
I 2 is
is it when people have' the car,es of life to
firuggle with j for there ftruggles prevent
their becoming a prey to enervating vice's,
merely from idlenefs! But, if from their
birth men and women be placed in a torrid
zone, with the meridian fun of pleafure dart-
ing direCtly upon them, how can they fuffi-
ciently brace t h e ~ r minds to difcharge the du-
ties of life, or even to re1ifh the affeCtions
that carry them out of themfelves ?
Pleafure is the bufinefs of woman's life, ac:-
cording to the prefent modification of fociety"
and while it continues to be fa, little can be
expeCted from fuch weak beings. Inheriting,
in a lineal defcent from the firft fair defeCt in
nature, the fovereignty of beauty, they have,
to maintain their power, refigned the natural
rights, which the exercife of reafon might
have procured them, a ~ l d chofen rather to be
fuort-lived queens than labour to obtain the
fober plcafures that arire from equality. Ex-
alted by their inferiority (this founds like a
contradiCtion), they conftantly demand ho-
mage as women, though experience fhould
teach them thi.lt the men who pride them-
felves upon paying this arbitrary infolent re-
fpect to the fex, with the moil: fcrupulous
exaCtnefs,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 117
exaClnefs, are mol inclined to tyrannize over,
. and defpife, the very weaknefs they cheriih.
Often do they repeat Mr. Hume's fenti...
ments; when, comp'aring the French and
Athenian character, he alludes to women.
C But what is more lingular in this whimfical
c nation,' fay I to the Athenians, is, that a
C frolickofyoursduring the Saturnalia, when
C the naves are ferved by their mafters, is feri-
e oully continued by them through the whole
c year, and through the whole courfe of their
c lives; accompanied too with fame circum-
C lances, which frill further augment the
c abfurdity and ridicule. Your [port only
c elevates for a few days thofe whom fortune
C has tllCown down, and whom {he too, in
C fport, may really elevate for eV.er above
'you. But this nation gravely exalts thofe,
C whom nature has fubjeCted to them, and
, whofe inferiority and infirmities are abfo:'
c luteIy incurable. The w o m ~ n , though
c without virtue, are their mafrers and fo.
C vercigns.'
Ah! why do women, I write with affec.
tionate folicitude, condefcend to receive a
degree ofattention and refpeB: from lrangers,
different from that reciprocation of civility
13 which
I 18 ' OF THE
which the diCl:ates of humanity and the po..
. of civilization authorife between man
and man? And, why do they not difcover,
when C in the noon of beauty's power,' that
they are treated like queens only to be deluded
by hollow refpeCt, till they are led to refign,
or not a{[ume, their natural prerogatives?
Confined then in cages like the feathered
race, they have. nothing to do but to plume
themfelves, and fialk with mock majefty
from perch to perch. It is true they are pro-
vided with food and raiment, for which they
neither toil nor fpin; but health, liberty, and
virtue, are given in exchange. Dut, where,
amongft mankind, has been found fufficient
ftrength of mind to enable a being to re....
fign thefe adventitious prerogatives; one who,
rifing with the calm dignity of reafon above
opinion, dared to be proud of the privileges
I inherent in man? And it is vain to
it whilft hereditary power chokes the affec-
tions and nips reafon in the bud.
The paffions of men have thus placed wo-
men on thrones, and, till mankind become
more reafonable, it is to be feared that wo-
men will avail themfelves ofthe power which,
they attain with the leaft exertion, and which
,
:RIGHTS OF WOMAN. '19
is the moil: indifputable. They will fmile,.
-yes, they will fmile, though told that--
, In beauty's empire is no mean,
, And woman, either fiave or queen,
, Is quickly (coro'd when not ador'd.'
But the adoration comes firft, and the fcorn
is not anticipated.
Lewis theXIVth, in particular, fpread fac-
titious manners, and caught, in: a fpecious'
way, the whole nation in his toils; for, efta-
bliIhing an artful chain ofdefpotifm, he made
it the interefr of the people at large. indivi-
dually t9 refpeCl: his ftation and fupport his
power. And, women, whom he flattered by
a puerile attention to the whole fex, ob-
tained in his reign that prince-like difrinCl:ion
fo fatal to reafon and virtue.
A king is always a king-and a woman
always a woman *: his authority and her fex,
ever frand betweeochemand rational converfe.
With a lover, I grant, Ihe fhould be fa,
and her fenfibility will naturally lead her to
endeavour to excite emotion. not to gratify
And a wit, al ways a wit, might be added j for the
vain fooleries of wits and beauties to obtain attention, and
wak.e conquefis) are much upon a par.
14 her
. J2() VINDICATION OF THE.
her vanity) but her heart. This I do not allow
to be coquetry, it is the artlefs impulfe of
nature) I only againft the fexual
defite of conq{left when is out of
the queftion.
This ddire is not confined to women j , J
C haye endeavoured,' rays Lord Chefterfield,
, to gain the hearts of twenty women, whore
C perfons I would not have given a fig for.'
The libertine) who, in a guft of paffion, takes
advantage of unfufpecting tendernefs, is a
faint when compared with" this cold-hearted
rafcal; for I like to ufe fignificant words. Yet _
only taught to pleafe, women are always on
the watch to pleafe, and with true heroic
ardour to gain hearts merely to
refign or fpum them, when the victory is
decided, and confpicuous.
I muft defcend to the minutiCl: of the
fubjeft.
. .
I lament that women are fyftem,atically
degraded by receiving the trivial attention's,
which men think it ruanly to pay to the fex,
when) in faa, they are infultingly fupport-
iQg their own fuperiority. It is not
fccntion to bow to an inferior. So
faB, do thefe cerelponies appear to mc,
that
RIGHTS dF WOMAN. J21
that I fcarcely am able to govern my mur-
des, whrn I fee a man fiart with eager, and
ferious folicitude, to lift a handkerchief, or
!hut a door, when the lady could have done it
herfelf, had !he only moved a pace or two.
A wild with has juft flown from my heart
to my head, and I wm not ftifle it though it
may excite a horfe-laugh.-J do earnefily
wifh to fee the diftinCtion of fex confounded
in fociety, unIefs where love animates the
behaviour. For this difl:inBion is, I ?om
firmly perfuaded, the foundation of the weak-
nefs of charaCter afcribed to woman; is the
eaufe why the underftanding is neglected,
whilft accomplifhments are acquired with
fedulous care: and the fame caufe accounts
for their preferring the graceful before the
heroic virtues.
Mankind, includingeverydefcription, wilh
to be loved and refpetled byJomething; and
the common herd will always take the nearell:
fIOad to the completion of their willies. The
refpeB. paid to wealth and beauty is the moll:
certain, and unequivocal; and, of courfe,
will always attraCt the vulgar eye of
mon minds. Abilities and abfo-
neceffary to raife men from the middle
. rank
J 2:& VINDf CATION OF THE
r:lnk oflife into notice; and the natural con"",
fequeDCt is notorious, the middle rank con-
taws mofl virtue and abilities. Men have
thus, in one fiation, at leaft an opportunity
of exerting themfelves with dignity, and of
. riling by the exertions which really improve
a rational creature; but the whole female fex
are, till their character is formed, in the fame
condition as the rich: for they are born, I
now fpeak of a ftate ofcivilization, with cer..
tain privileges, and whiHl: they are
gratuitouily granted them, few will ever think
of works of fupererogation, to obtain the
efte,;m I)f a fmall number of fUPeriour people.
When do we hear of women who, fiart...
ing out of obfcurity, boldly claim refpelloll
account of their great abilities or daring vir-
tues? Where are they to be found ?-' To be
c obferved, to be attended to, to De taken no-
C tlce of with fympathy, complacency, and
, approbation, are all the advantages which
they f(ek.'-True! \ my male readers will
probably exclaim; but let them, before they
draw any conclulion, recollect this
n t written originally as defcriptive of wo..
men, but .of the rich. In Dr. Smith's
Theory of Moral Sentiments, I have found a
I general
general character of people of rank and for-
tune, that, in my opinion, might with the
greateft propriety be applied to the female
fex. I refer the fagacious reader to thewhole .
comparifon; but mufi: be allowed to quote a
paffage to enforce an argument that I mean to
, infifi: on, as the one moft conc1ufive againfi: a
fexual character. For if, excepting war...
riors, I!Q great men, of any denomination,
have ever appeared amongfi: the nobility, may
it not be fairly inferred that their local fitua...
tion fwallowed up the man, and produced a
charaCter fimilar to that of women, who artJ
loca/izfd, if I may be allowed the word, by
the rank they are placed in, by courtify?
Women, commonly called Ladies, are not
to be contradicted in company, are not al...
lowed to exert any manual ftrength; and
from them the negative virtues only are ex-
pected, when any virtues_are expected, pa..
tience, docility, good-humour, and flexibilitYJ
virtuesincom.patible with any
tion ofintellett. Befides, by living more with
each other) and being feldom abfolutelyalone,
they aremore under the influenceoffentiments
than pamons. Solitudeand refleCtion arenecef-
farytogive towilhes the focceofpaffions,and to

12/4 VINDICATION OF THE
enable the imagination to enlarge the object,
and make it the moil: defirable. The fame may
be {aid of the rich; they do not fufficiently
deal ih general ideas) collected by impaffioned
thinking, or calm inveftigation, to acquire
that ftrength of character on which great re-
[olves are built. But hear what an acute ob-
[erver fays of the great.
C Do the great feem infenfible of the eafy
c price at which they may acquire the publick
c admiration; or do they feem to. imagine
C that to them, as to other men, it muft be
c the purchafe either of fweat or of blood?
( By what important accornpliIhments is the
c young nobleman ildhuCled to fupport the
C dignity of his rank) and to render himfelf
C worthy of that fuperiority over his fellow-
C citizens, to which the virtue of his ancef.
C tors had raifed them? Is it by knowledge,
C by induftry, by patience, by felf-denial,
C or by virtue of any kind? As all his words,
, as all his motions are attended to, he learns
, an habitual regard to every circumfiance of
c ordinary behaviour) and fiudies to perform
C all thofe fmall duties with the- mofi exaCt:
, propriety. . As he is confcious how much
c he is obferved, and how much mankind are
~ difpofed
C difpofed to favour all his inclinations, he
, aas, upon the moft indifferent occafions.
, with that freedom and elevation which the
, thought of this naturally infpires. His
, air, his manner, his deportment, all mark
, thate1egantand graceful fenIe of his own fu-
e periority, which thofe who are bornto infe-
e rior ftation can hardly ever arrive at. Thefe
e are the arts by which he propofes to make
e mankind more eafily fubmit to his autho-
C rity, and to govern their inclinations ac-
e cording to his own pleafure: and in this
, he is feldom difappointed. Thefe arts, [up..
C ported by rank and pre-eminence, are, upon
C ordinary occafions, fufficient to govern the
, world. Lewis XIV. during the greater part
e of his reign, was regarded, not only in
C France, but over all Europe, as the molt
, perfect model of a great prince. But what
, were the talents and virtues by which he
, acquired this great reputation? Was it by
, the fcrupulous and inflexible jufiice of all
, his undertakings, by the immenfe dangers
e and difficulties' with which they, were at-
e tended, or by the unwearied and unreIent-
e ing application with which he purfued
e them? Was it by his extenfive knowledge,
7 by
126 VINDIcATION OF TItE
C by his exquifite judgment, or by his heroic!
c valour? It was by none of thefe qualities.
I But he was, firft of all, the moft powerful
, prince in Europe, and confequently held
C the higheft rank among kings; and then,
C fays h,is hiftorian, "he furpaffed all his cour-
u tiers in the gracefulnefs of his fhape, and
" the majeftic beauty of his features. The
IC found of his voice, noble and affecting,
cc gained thofe hearts which his prefence
cc intimidated. had a ftep and a deport.
4' ment which could fuit only him and his
cc rank, and which would have been ridicu-
le lous in any otherpcl'fon. The embarraif-
" ment which he occafioned to thofe who
cc fpoke to him, flattered that feeret fatif-
" facrion with which he felt his own
cc riority." 'Thefe frivolous accomplilh-
I ments, fupported by his rank, and, no
I doubt too, by a degree of other talents and
I virtues, which feems, not to
I have been much above mediocrity, efta-
I blifhed this prince in the efteem of his own
I age, and have drawn, even from pofterity,
, a good deal of refpea: for his memory.
C Compared with, thefe, in his own times,
and in his own prefence., no other virtue,
, 'it
RI{j'HTS OF WOMAN. 127
C it feems, appeared to have any merit.
C Knowledge, induftry, valour, and benefi-
c cence, trembled, were abathed, and loft
all dignity before them.'
Woman aHo thus' in herfelf complete,' by
poffeffing all thefe frivolous accomplithme"ts,
fa changes tbe nature of things
--' That what {he will to do or fay
C Seems wireR, virtuoufeft, difcreetell, b ~ f t ;
, All higher knowledge in her prtJence falls
, Degraded. Wifdom in dikourfe wittl her
, Lofes difcountenan.:'d, and, like FoHy, {hows ;
, Authority and Reafon on her walt.'- .
And all this is built on her lovelinefs !
In the middle rank of life, to continue the
comparifon, men, in ttu:ir youth, are pre-
pared for profeffions, and marriage isnotcon-
fidered as the grand fearure in their lives;
whilft women, on the contrary, 'have no
other fcheme to barpen their faculties. It
is not bufinefs, extenfive plans, or any of the
exc.urfive flights of ambition, that engrofs
their attention; no, their thoughts are not
employed in rearing fuch noble firuB:ures.
To rife in the world, and have the liberty of
running from pleafure to pleafure, they muft
marry advantageou1y, and to this object their
time
12.8 VINDICATION OF THE
time is facrificed, and their perfons often le-
_gaIly proftituted. A man when he enters
any profeffion has his eye fteadilyfixed on
fame future advantage (and the mind gains
great ftrength by having all its efforts directed
to one point). and, full of his bufiriefs, plea-
fure is confidered as mere relaxation; whilft
women reek for pleafure as the main purpofe
of exiftence. tn faa, from the education,-
which they receive from fociety, the love
of may be faid to govern them all;
but does this prove that there is a fex ill
fouls? It would be jufr as rational to declare
that the courtiers in France: when a defrruc-
tive fyftem of defpotifm had formed their cha- ,
raa:er, were not men, becaufe liberty, virtue,
and humanity, were facrificed to pleafure
and vanity.-Fatal pallions, which have ever
domineered over the whole race!
.The fame love of pleafure, foftered by the
whole tendency of their education, gives a
trifling turn to the condutl: of women in mofi:
circumftances: for inftmce, they are ever
about fecondary things; and on the
for adventures, inftead of being occu-
pied by duties.
A man, when he ajourney, has,
in general, the end in viewj a woman thinks
more
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. J 29
.moreof the incidental qccurrences,
things that may pollibly oc<;ur on the road;
the impreffion thflt. he may make on her
fellow-travellers; and, above all, {he is anxi-
ouOy intept on .the care of ,the finery that
{he carries with her, which is more than
ever a part of herfelf, when going to figure
ou a new fcene; when, to ,ufe an apt French
turn of expreffion, (he is going to produce a
fenfation.-Can dignity of mind exifi: with
fuchtrivial c,ares P
In fhort) women, in ,geI}er<ll, as well as
-the rich of both fexe,s, have acquired all
the follies and vices of civilization, and miffed
, the ufeful,fruit. It is not necdIary for me
always to premife, that'I fpeak of the con-
dition of the whole [ex, le'lving exceptions
Ollt of the Their fenfes are inflamed,
their undefftandjngs neglected, confe-
quently theybecome the prey of their fenfes,
delicately termed fenfibility, _and are blown
about by every mOrneI}tarygufi: of .feeling.
Civilized women are, therefore, fa weakened
, by falfe refinement, t11.at, m9ra1s,
theIr condition is much below what it would
be w.ere they left in a flate nearer to nature.
Ever reftlefs a,nd their over exercifed
K fenfibility
J 30 VINDICATION OF THE
fenfibility not only renders them uncomfort..
, able themfe1ves, but troublefome, to ufe a foft
phrafe, to others. All their thoughts turn
on things calculated to excite emotion ;3nd
feeling, when they fhould reafon, their con-
duCt is, unftable, and their opinions are wa-
vering-not the wavering produced by deli-
beration or progreffive v i e w ~ , but by contra-
diCtoryemotions. By fits and ftarts they are
: warm in many purfuits; yet this warmth,
never concentrated into perfeverance, Coon
exhaufis itfelf; exhaled by its own heat, or
meeting with fome other fleeting paffion, to
which reafon has never given any fpecific gra-
vity, neutrality enfues. Miferable, indeed,
m"uft be that being whofe cultivation of mind
has only tended to inflame its paffions! A
diftinCtion iliould be made between inflaming
and ftrengthening them. The paffions thus
pampered, whilft the judgment is left un-
formed, what can be expeCted 'to enfue ?-
, Uudoubtedly, a mixture of madllefs and folly!
This obfervation iliould not be confined to
thefair f e x ~ however, at prefent, I only mean
to apply it to them.
Novels, mufic, poetry, and gallantry, all
tend to make women the creatures of fenfa-
tion,
RIGHTS O.F WOMAN. 131
tiori, and their charaCl:er is thus formed in the
mould of folly during the time they are ac-
quiring accomplifhments, the only improve-
ment they ~ r e excited, b'y their {tation in fo-
,tiety, to acquire. This overftretched fen-
fibility naturally relaxes the other powers of
the mind, and prevents intellect from attain-
Ing that fovereignty which it ought to attain
to render a rational creature ufeful to others,
and content with its own !tation l for the ex-
ercife of the underftanding, as life advances,
.is the only method pointed out by nature to
talm the pallions
.Satiety has a very diffetent effea, and I
have often been forcibly !truck by an empha-
Ecal defcription of damnation :-when the
fpirit is reprefented as continually hovering
with abortive eagernefs roundthe defiled bodYJ
unable to enjoy any thing without the organs
offenfe. Yet, to theirfenfes, arewomeh made
flaves, becaufe it is by their fenfibility that
they obtain prefent power.
And will morali!ts pretend to affert, that
this is the condition in which one halfof the
human raCe !hould be encourag:ed tb remain
with lifHefs inaCtivityand fiupid acquiefcence?
Kind inftruttors! what were wecreatCi:d for?
K 2 Tu
VINDICAT ION OF THE
To remain, it may be faid, innocent; they
-mean in a ftate of childhood.-We might as
-well never, have been born, unlefs iCwere ne-
ceifary that we iliould be created to enable
'man toacquire the noble privilege of reafon,
the power of difcerning good from evil, \vhilft
we lie down in the duft from 'whence we
were taken, 'Bever to rife again.-
It would be an endlefs -talk to trace'. the
'Variety of meanneffes, and, forrows, into
.which women are plunged. by the' prevailing
opinion, that they w.erecreated rather to feel
than reafon, and that all the power they obtain,
mutt be-obtained by their charms and, weak-
nefs:
c' Fine by defeCt, and amiably weak!'
And, made by this amiable weaknefs entirely
dependent, excepting what they gain by illicit
[way, on man, not for proteCtion, but
advice, is it furpl'ifing that, negleCting the
duties that reafon alone points out, .andlhrink-
iog from trials calculated to ftrengthen their
minds, they only exert themfelves to give their
defeCts a,graceful covering, which may ferve
, to heighten their charms in the eye of the
voluptuary, though it link them below the
fcale of moral excellence?
8 Fragile
lHGWFS OF. WOM-4.N. ItJ3r
Fragile in. e.very, Hmfe. of tile lMord, they
arcobliged. to Wkllpl t-Q-l'flanJOJ; ev.er;y CQm-
fort. In dnngers they cling
to their. fJiLp-p0ft, wi-t:a p;1rafrtlcal: tenocity,
piteou!1y dctmandiI}g Cucc9ur; and; tJ-,ejJ: 11411(-
ral proteCtor his. arm, or lifts QP his
voice,. to gt1'ard tbe lewely. trembler-frQIl)
what? Perhaps. the fmwn of an olp cow, or:
thejurnp of a IOOu[e; a would bea feri-
o ous danger. In; the naJ.rle of reafo.l) , and
even common fenle, what can Cave fuch be-.
jngs from contempt j though they be
foft and fair? -
':('hefe fears, when not affeCted, may pro-
doce pretty attitudes; but they {hew
a. degree of imbecility whic;h degrades a rati-
onal creature in a way women are not a,ware
of--fofloveand are very diQinct things.
I am fuHy perfuaded that we ihQuld hear
of none of thefe infantine airs. if girls. were
allowed to fuffident exerclfc, and not
confined in clafe rooms till their mufcIes are
relaxed, and their' powers of digeftion de-
ftroyed. To carry the remark frill further,
if fear in gids, .inftead of being cherifhed"
perhaps, created, weretreatedin thefamen'tan-
ner as in we fuould quickly
K 3 fee
134 VINDICATION OF THJ
fee women with more dignified
is true, they could not then with equal
priety be termed the [weet flowers that fmile
in the walk of man j but they would be more
refpeClable members of /ociety, and dj/charge
the important duties life by the light of
their own reafon.' c. Educate women like
. . . . . - . .
men/ fays Rouffeau, c and the mare they
C reremble our fex the lefs p()wer they
. C have over This is the very point I
aim ' I do not with them' to haye
over men; but over them(elves. '
In the fame ftrain haye I heard men
againft intruB:ing poor; for many
the that ariftocracy affumes. Teach
C them te> rea.d apd wrlte,' fay they, ' and
C you take Rut of the ftation aligned
c them by An eloquent frenchman,
has anfwered them, I will borrow bis fenti-
ments: they know not, when they
make man a brute, that th<::y may expect
eyery infrant to 'fee him transformed into a
ferocious beaft. Without knowledge there
qm be no morality! . .. '. . '.
Ignorance is a frail bafe for virtue! Yet,
that it is the condition fqr which was
organized, pf;en infifted upon by the.
. . ". . writers,
RIGHTS OF 135
writers who have moll: vehemently argued in.
favour of the fuperiority of man i a fupe-
riority not in degree, but eIfence i
to foften the argument, they have laboured
to prove, with chivalrous generality, that the
[exes ought not to be compared i man was
made to reafon, woman to feel: and that to-
gether, Belli and fpirit, they make the moll:
perfeB: whole, by bh:nding happily reafon
fenfibility into one character.
And whatis fenfibility? c offen-
fation i quicknefs of perception i 'delicacy:
Thus is it defined by Dr. )ohnfon i and
definition gives me no other idea than of the
moLt exquifiteIy poliIhed inftinB:. I difcern
not Cl- trace of the image of God in either fen-
fation or matter. Refined feventy times fe-
ven, they ,are !liB clwelIs
not i nor will fire ever lead gold t
I come round to myoId argument i if wo-
JIlan be allowed to have an immortal foul,
{he muft have, as the employment of
an underftanding to Anp to
render the prefent ftate more complete.
though every thing proves it to be but a
fraCtion a mighty fum, {he is hlcited bypre-
fent to her grand deft-i-
. Kf
J36 VINDICATION OF THE
nature is counteraCl:ed, or {he was
nom only to procreate and rot. Or, grant..
ingbrutes', of every defcription, a foul, though
not a' reafonable one, the exercife of infiinet
. .
alld fenfibility may be the frep, which they
are to in this life, towa'rds the attain..
me'nt of reafo,n in the next; fo that through
all eternity they willlag behind man, who,
why we cannot tell, had the 'power giveq
l.1im of attaining reafon in his firfr mode of
exifi:ence.
When I the peculiar duties of wo""!
mep, as i fuould treat of the peculiar duties
of a citizen or father, it will be found that I
do not mean to infinuate that they fuould be
taken of their families, fpeaking of the
majority. C He that hath wife and children/
Lord Bacon, hath given hofi:ages to
C fortune; for they are impediments to great
C enterprifes, either of virtue or mifchief.
c Certainly the befr works, and of greateft
C merit for the public, have proceeded from
C the unmarried or childlefs men.' I fay
the fame of women. But, the welfare of
.fociety is not built on extraordinary exertions;
and were it more reafonablyorganized, there
wpuld be frill lefs need of great abilities, or
heroic virtues.
In
.
IS
In the regulation of a family, in the edu-
t:ation of children, underftanding, in an un-
fophifticated fenfe, is particularly required:
fhength both of body and mind; yet the
men who, by their writings, have moft ear...
neftly laboured to domefticate women, have
endeavoured, by arguments dictated by agrefs
appetite, which fatiety had rendered faftidious,
to weaken their bodies and cramp their minds.
:But, if even by thefe finifter methods they
really perJuaded women, by working on their
feelings, to ft'ay at home, and fulfil the du..:.
ties of a mother and miftrefs of a family, I
iliouldcautioufly oppofe opinions that led wo-
men to fight conduCt, by prevailing on them
to make the difcharge of fuch important du-
ties the main bufinefs of life, though reafon
. were infulted. Yet, and I appeal to experi-
. erice, if by neglecting the underllal1ding they
be as much, nay, more detached from there
domellic employments, than they could be by
the moft ferious intelleCtual purfuit,' though
it may, be obferved, that the mafs of mankind
will never vigoroufiy purfue an intelleCtual
o b j e a , ~ , I may be allowed to infer that reafon
. The mafs of mankind are rather the naves of their ap-
retites than of their paffions.
is abfolutely neceffary to enable a woman to
perform any duty properly, and I muft again
repeat, that fenfibility is not reafon.
The comparifon with the rich frill occurs
to me; fOf, when men negleCt the duties-of
humanity: women will follow their example;
acommon ftreamhurries themboth along
thoughtlefs celerity. Riches and honours
prevent a man from enlarging his underftand-
ing, and enervate all his powers by reverfing
the order of nature, which has ever made
pleafure the reward of labour. Pleafure--..
enervating pleafure is) likewife, within
men's reach without earning it. But, till
hereditary poffeffions are fpread abroad, how
can we expect men to be .proud of virtue?
And, till they are) women will govern them
by the moft direct means, neglecting their dull
domeftic duties to catch the pleafure that
lightly on the wing of
c The power of the woman,l fays
author, , is her fenfibility;' and men, not
aware of the confequence, do all they can to
make this power fwallow up every
Thofe who conftantly emplpy their
lity will have moft: for example; poets"

RIGHTS OF W-OMAN. n9
painters, and compofer&-. Yet, when the
fenfibility thllS at the expence of
,:eafon, and even the imagination; why dq
philofophical men complain of their
ne(ll? The fexual attention of man
Jarly ach Oil feIflale fenfibility, find-this fym-
pathy has been from their youth
pp. A hu!bandcannot long pay thofe
tentions with the paffion neceffary to excite
lively emotions. and the heart, accuftomed to
Jively emotions, turns to a new lover, or
pines in fet;ret, the prey of virtue or
Aence. I mean when the heart has really been
rendered fufceptible, and the tane formed;
pr I am apt to conclude, from what I pave
feen in fafhionable life, that vanity is oftener
foftered than fenfibility by the mode' of edu-
and the intercourfebetween the fexes,
which I have reprobated; and that coquetry
frequently proceeds from vanity
from that inconftancy, which overftraine<l
fenflbilit!
,. of there dtfcriptiors pour it into their
to amalgamate the grors materials and,
with paffion, give to the inert body a foul; but, in
y.,oman's imagination, love t4efe ethereal

A-nother
141)7 VINDICA:TION OF 'liRE
Another argnment that has had
weight vvith me,. mlifr, I think, Aave fome
fer-cc with 6veryoonfidel'ate heart.
Girls who, have been thus weakly educated',
are oftel'1 cruelly lefit by their parents without
any pr-ovifion; and, of cGurfe, are dependent
on" not only the reafon, but the bounty: of
thcrl.r brothers. Thefe brothers are, to vmwthe
f.airdt fide" of the qlleftion, good {oot of men,
atfd give a6 a favour,. what ,hildten of the
fame" partnts had an equal right tQ. In this
humiliating fituatiofI, a docile fe-
male may remain fome time, with a tc>lerable
degree of comforf. But, when the brother'
marries, a probable circumfrance, from being
confidered as the miftrefs of the. farnil y, he
is with averted looks as an intruder,
an unneceffary burden on the bel1evolence of
'the maftt!f of the boufe, and his n"'ew partner.
Who can recount the mifery, which many
urtfortullate beings, whore minds and bodies
are equa;lly weak; fufferin {uch fituations-'
unable to work, and afhamed to beg? The
wife, a narrow-minded, wo..
man, and this is not an unfair fuppofition i
for the prefent mode of education does not
tend to enlarge the heart any more than the;
under-
RIGHTS ..OF WOMAN. 1,4-1
,underfianding, is jealous of the
;nefswhich her hubandfuews to.hisrelations;
.and herfenfibility not riling to humanity, fhe
.is difplc:afedat feeing the property ofher chil..
dren lavifued on an helplefs fifier.
Thefe are matters of faa, which have
';come under my eye again arid again. The
confequenceis obvious, the wife has recourfe
rto cunning to .unrlarmine the habitual affec-
Ition, which fhe is afraid openly to oppofe;
,and neither tear.s nor careffes are .fpared till
-the fpy is worked' out. of >her home, and
;thrown: on the. world, unprepared for its dif-
'.:ficulties; or fent, as a- great effort of genero-
'fity, or from,fome regard, to propriety, with
a fmall ftipend, and an unc1.l1tiv:ated mind,
into joylefs folitude.
Thefe two women may be much,upon,a
par, with refpecr to reafon :and humanity.;
..and chal)ging firuations," might
:jufi the fame fe1fifh part; but had they
'differently educated, the cafe would alfo
. been very' different. The wife wO.uldnQt
-have had that fenfibility, which felf istije
centre,_ and rearon might have taught her nQt
;to expect, and not even to be flattered by,
the of her huiband, if it led him to
violate
14.2 VINDICATION OF 1'HE
violate prior duties. -She would wilh not td
love him merely becaufe he loved her, bot
, - on account of his virtues; and the fifter
might have been able to ftruggle for herfelf
inftead of eating the bitter bread of depen-
dence.
I am} indeed; perfuaded that the haart, as
well as the is opened by cul-
tivation; and which may not appear fo'
clear, ftrengthening the organs j I am not now
talking of momentary flaihes of fenfibility;
but of affections. And, perhaps, in the edu-
cation of both fexes, the moil: difficult talk is
fo to inilruction as not to narrow
undernanding, whilft the heart is warmed by
the generous juices of fpring, juft raifed by
the eleCtric fermentation of the feafan; nor
to dry up the feelings by employing the mind
in inveftigations remote from life.
With refpeCl: to women; when they re'..
ceive a careful education, they are either made
fine ladies, brimful offenfibility, and teeming
with capricious fancies s or mere notable wo-
men. The latter are often friendlY1 honoft
. creatures, and have a fhrewd 'kind of good
fenfejoined with worldly prudence, that often
render them more ufeful members of fociety
than
'RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 143
than' the fine fentimentallady, though they
poffefs ,neither greatnefs of mind nor tafte.
The intelleCtual world is {hut againft them;
take them out of their family or neighbour-
hood, and they {land frill; the mind finding
no employment, for literature affords a fund
of amufement which they have never fought
to re1ifh
J
but freque!1tly to defpife. The fen..
timents and tafte of more cultivated minds
appear ridiculous, even in thofe whom chance
and family conneCtions have led them to love;
but in mere acquaintance they think it all af-
feClation.
A man of [en(e can only love fuch a woman
on account of her fex, refpeCt her, becaufe
{he is a trufty fervant. He lets her, to preferve
his own peace, fcold the fervants, and go to
church in Clothes made of the very beft mate-
rials. A man of her own' fize of underftandirig
would, probably, not agree fo well with her;
for he might willi to encroach on her prero-
gative, and manage fome concerns
himfelf. Yet women, whofe minds are' not
enlarged by cultivation, or the natural felfifh-
ne[s of fenfibility expanded by refleClion, are
very unfit to manage a family.; for, by an
undue ftretch of power
l
they are
fql1mzmg
144 VI,NDICATION OF THg
rannizing to.fupport a fuperiority only
refts on the arbitrary diftinetion of fortune.
The evil is fometimes more ferious, and do..
meftics are of innocent indulgences,
and made to work beyond their ftrength, in
order to enable the notable woman ta keep,a
better. table, and outfhine her neighbours in
. finery and parade. If fhe attend"to her <;4il-
dren, .it is, in general, to drefs them ina
coftly manner-and, whether this attentian
arife from vanity or fondnefs, it is equally
..
pelnlClOus.
Be!ides, how many women oftqis defcrip..
tion pars their days; or, at leaft, t4eir eveil-
ings, difcontentedly. Their ac- .
.knowledge. that they .goodmanagers, and
chaile wives; but leave home toft;ek fqr
more agreeable, may I be allowed to ufe a
fignificant French word, piquant fociety;
. and the patient drudge, who fulfils her taik,
.like a blind horfe in a mill, is defrauded of
her juft reward; for the wages d:ue to her are
the of her hufband; and women who
have fa few refources in themfelves, do not
very patiently bear this privation ofa natural
,right.
A fine lady, on the contrary, has
taught
RIGHTS OF WOMAK. 145
taught to look down with contempt on the
vulgar employments of life; though {he 'has
only been incited to acquire accomplilbments
th...t rife a degree above fenfe; for even corpo-
real accomplifhments cannot be acquired with
any degree of precifion unlefs the
ing has been firengthened byexercife. With.
out a foundation of principles talle is fuperfi.-
cial, grace mull arife from fomcthing deeper
than imitation. The imagination, however,
is heated, and the feelings rendered fafiidi-
ous, ifnot fophifiicated; or, a counterpoife
of judgment is not acquired, when the heart
Hill remains artlefs, though it becomes tOQ
tender.
Thefe women are often amiable; and their
hearts are really more fenfible to general be..
nevolence, more alive to the fentiments that
civilize life, than the family
drudge; but,' wanting a due proportion of
reflection and [elf-government, they only in.
fpire love; and are the mill:refTes of their huf.
bands, whilfl: they have any hold on their
affeCtions; and the platonk friends of his
male acquaintance. Thefe are the fair de..
feCts in nature; the women who appear to
:ccatednotto enjoy the fellowfuipof man, but
L to
146 VINDICATION OF 'tHE
to Cave him from linking into abfolute bruta-
lity, by rubbing off the rough angles of his
charaCter; and by playful dalliance to give
fome dignity to the appetite that draws hini
to them.-Gracious Creator of the whole hu...
man race! haft thou created fuch a being
llS woman, who can trace thy wifdom in thy
works, and feel that thou alone art by thy
nature exalted above her,-for no better
purpofe ?-Can {he believe that fhe was
only made to fubmit to man, her equal,
a being, who, like her, was fent into' the
world to acquire virtue ?-Can {he confent
to be occupied merely to plea[e him; merely
to adorn the earth, when her foul is capable
of riling to thee ?-And can the reft fupinely
dependent on man for reafon, when {he ought
'to mount with him the arduous fieeps of
knowledge ?-
Yet, if 10ve be the fupreme good, let wo-
men be only educated to i!1fpire it, and let
eve'ry charm be polifhed to intoxicate the
fenfes ; but, if they be moral beings,- let
them have a chance to become intelligent;
and let love to man be only a part of that
glowing flame of ul}iverfallove, which, after
encircling humanity, mounts in grateful in..
cenfe to God.
To
.. iUGHTS OF WOMAN' 747
To fulfil domefiic duties much refolutioli
is necelfary, and a ferious kind of perfever-
ance that requires a morc firm fuppott than
emotions, however lively and true to nature.
To give an example of, order, the foul of
virtue, fome aullerity of behaviour mufi be
adopted, fcareel y to b ~ expeCted from a being
who, from its infancy, has been made the
weathercock of its own fenfations. Who-
e\'er rationally means to be ufeful. mufi have
a plan of conduCt; and, in the difcharge of
the fimpleft duty, we are often obliged to act
contrary to the prefent impulfe. of tendernefs
orcompaflion. Severity is frequently the moll:
certain, as well as the mofi fublime proof of
affeCtion; and the want of this power over
the feelings, and of that lofty, dignified
affeCtion, which makes a perfon prefer the
future good of the beloved object to a prefent
gratification, is the reafon ,why fo many fond
mothers fpoil their children, and has made
it quefiionable whether negligence or indul..
gence be moll: hurtful: but I am inclined to
think, that the latter has done moft harm.
Mankind feem to agree that children hould
be left under the management of women dur-
ing their childhood.. Now, from all the ob-
L 2 fervation
J48 OF TIJE
{ervation that I have able to make, wo-
men of fenfibility are the mo{\: unfit for this
taik, becaufe they will infallibly, carried
away by their feelings, fpoil a child's temper.
The management of the temper, the firft,
moft important branch of education, requires
the fober fteaCly eye of reafon ; a plan of con-
duCt equally diftant and indul-
gence: yet thefe are the extremes that peo-
ple of fenfibility alternately fall into; atways
fuooting beyond the mark. I have followed
this train of reafoning much further t till I have
cpnc1uded, thflt a perfon of genius is the moll:
improper perfon to be employed in education,
public or private. Minds of this rare fpecies
fee things too much in maf[es, and feldom,
if ever, have a good temper. That habitual
,cheerfulnefs, termed good-humour, is, per-
haps, as feldom united great mental
powers, as with firong feelings. And thofe
people who follow, with intereft and admit:a-
tion, the flights of genius; or, with cooler
approbation fuck in the inftruClion which
has been elaborately prepared for them by the
profound thinker, ought not to be difgufi:ed,
if they find the former choleric, and the lat-
ter morofe; becaufe livelinefs of fancy, and-
a tenacious
lUGHTS OF WOMAN. 14-9
a tenacio\ls compfehenGonofmind, are.fcarcely
compatible with that pliant urbanity which
leads a man, at leaft, to bend to the opinions
and prejudices of others, inftead of roughly
confronting them.
But, treating of education or manners.
minds of a fuperior c1afs are not to be confi-
dered, they may be left to chance; it is the
multitude, with moderate abilities, who call
for infiruClion, and catch the colour of the
atmofphere they breathe. This refpeClable
concourfe, I contend, IDen and women, lhould
not have their fenfadons heightened in the
hot-bed ofluxurious indolence, at the expence
of their underftanding; for, unlefs there be a
ballaft of underftanding
t
they will never he..
come either virtuous or free: an ariflocracy,
founded on property, or fterling talents, will
ever fweep before it, the alternately timid"
and ferocious, naves of feeling.
Numberlefs are the argument3, to take an-
other view of the fubject, brought forward
with a {hew of reafon, becaufe fuppofed to
be deduced from nature, that men have ufed
morally andphyfically, to degrade the fex. I
muft notice a few.
The
IS0 VINDICATION ,OF THE
The female underllanding has often been
fpoken of with contempt, as arriving fooner at
, muturity than the male. I !hall not anfwer
this argument by alluding to the early proofs
of reafon. as well as genius, in Cowley, Mil-
ton, and Pope *, but only appeal to expe-
rience to decide whether young men, who
are early introduced into' company (and ex-
amples now abound), do not acquire the fame
precocity. So notorious is this faa, that the
bare mentioning of it mull: bring before peo-
pIe, who at all mix in the world, the idea of
a number of fwaggering apes of men, whofe
. underfiandings are narrowed by being brought
into the fociety of men when they ought to'
pave been [pinning a top or twirling a hOOp.
It has alfo been afferted, by fome natural-
ifts, that men do not attain their full growth
and firength till thirty; but that women ar-
rive at maturity by twenty. I apprehend
that they reafon on fa]fe ground, led aftray
by the male prejudice, which deems beauty
the perfeClion of woman-mere beauty offea-
tures and complexion, the vulgar acceptation
pfthc word, whilft male beauty is allowed to
ij< Many Qther Jl4lmes might be a t l d e d ~
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. . ISI
havefomeconnetl:ion with Strength
of body, and that charaCter of countenance
which the French term a phyjionomie, women
do not acquire before thirty, any more than
men. The little artlefs tricks of children,;
it is true, are particularly pleafing and at-
traetive; yet, when the pretty frelhnefs of
youth is worn off, thefe artlefs graces become
fiudied airs, and difgufi: every perfon of tafte.
In the counteoance of girls we only look for
vivacity and balhful moclefiy; but, the fpring-
tide of life over, we look for foberer fenfe in.
the face, and for traces of paffion, .inftead of
the of animal fpirits; expeCting to
. fee individuality of character, the only faf-
tener of the affections. We then wilh. to
converfe, not to fondle; to give fcope to our
imaginations as well as to the [en1ations of
our hearts.
At twenty the, beauty of both fexes is
equal; but the libertinifm of man leads him
to make the difiinCtion, and fuperannuated
coquettes are cqmmonly of the fame opinion;.
for, when they can no longer infpire love,
The firength of an affection is, generally, in the fame
.proportion as the character of the fpecies in the object be.
loved, is loll in that of the ir.ldividual.
L4 t4ey
J 52 VINl>ICATION Of
they pay for the vigour and vivacity of youth.
The French, who admit more of mind into
their notions of beauty, give the preference to
women of thirty. I mean to fay that they
allow women to be in their moll: perfect flate,
when vivacity gives place to reafan, and to that
majeilic ferioufnefs of character, which marks
maturity;--or, the refting In
tilI twe .ty, the body {hoots out, till thirty
the folids are attaining a degree of denfity ;
and the flexible mufcles, growing daily more
rigid, give character to the countenance j that
is, they trace the operations of the mind
with the iron pen of fate, and tell us not
only what powers are within, but how
have been
It is proper to obferve, that animals who
arrive lowly at maturity, are the
lived, and of the nobleft fpecies. Men can-
not, however, claim any natural fuperiarity
from the grandeur of longevity; for in
this refpeCl nature has not difiinguifhed the
male.
Polygamy is another phyfical degradation;
and a plaufibl(,: argument for a cuftom, that
. blafis e\ery domeflic virtue, is drawn from
the well-attefted faCt, that in the countries
'where'
SliGHTS OF WOMAN. 153
""here it is eftabliilied,.more females are born
than males. This appears to be an indicatiol1
qf nature, and to nature, apparently reafJn-
able fpeculations mull: yield. A further con
c1ufion obvioufiy prefented itfelfj if polygamy
be necea:ary, woman mull: be inferior to man,
and made for him.
refpeCl: to the formation of the
in the womb, we are very ignorant; but it
to me probable, that an accidental
phyfical caufe may account for this pheno...
menon, and prove it not to be a law of na-
ture. I have met with fame pertinent obfer-
vations on the fubjeCl: in Forfier's Account of
the HIes of the South-Sea, that will explail1
my meaning. After that of the
t.wo fexes amongft animals, the moft vigor-
QUS and hotteft prevails,
and produces its kind j he adds,-' If this be
, applied to the inhabitants of Africa, it is evi.
I.dent that the men there, accuftomed to
, polygamy, are enervated by the ufe of fo
, .many women, and theref0re lefs vigorous J
, the women, on the contrary, areofa hotter
confiitution. not only on account of their
. C more irritable nerves, more f-:nfible organi-
and more lively fancy; but likewife
C becaufo
C becaufe they are deprived in their matrimony'
C of that {hare of phyfical love which,. in a
C monogam{)us condition, would all be theirs;'
and thus, for th'e above reafons, the gene-
, rality of are born females:
. c In the greater part of Europe it has been
, proved by the mo{l accurate li{ls of morta-
i lity, thatrthe proportion of men to women
is nearly equal, or, if any difference takes
C place, the males born are more numerous,
C in the proportion of 105 to 100.'
. ' The neceffity of polygamy, therefore, does'
not appear; yet when a man feduces a wo-:
man, itihould, I think, be ternled a lift-
handedmarriage, and the man Lhould be legally
obliged to maintain the woman and her chil.
dren, unlefs adultery, a natural divorcement,'
abrogated the law. And this law lhould re'
main in force as long as the weaknefs of wo-
men caufed the word feduction to be ufedas
an excufe for their frailty and want of prin.
ciple; nay, while they depend on man for a
fubfiftence, inftead of earning it by the
tion of their own hands or heads. But thefe
wome'n ihould not, in the full meaning of
the relationfhip, be termed wives, or the very
purpofe of would be fubverted, and
all
RIGHTS OF 155
all thofe endearing charities that flow from
perfonal fidelity, and give a fanClity to the
/tie, when neither love nor friendlhip unites
the hearts, would' melt into felfilhnefs. The
woman who is faithful to the father of her
children demands refpeCt, and fhould not be
treated like a proftitute; though I readily
grant that ifit be neceffary for a man and wo-
man to together in order to bring up
their offspring, nature never intended that a
man lhould have more than one wife.
Still, highly as I refpetl: marriage, as the
foundation cif almofr every.' focial virtue, I
cannot avoid feeling the moft lively compaf..
fion for thofe unfortunate females who are
broken off from .fociety. -and by one error
torn from all thofe affections and. relationLhips
that improve the heart and mind. It does
not frequently even deferve Jhe name ofer..
ror; for many innocent girls become the
dupes of a fincere, affeCtionate heart, and ftill
more are, as it may emphatically be termed,
ruined before they know the difference be-
tween virtue and vice :-and thus prepared
by their education for infamy, they become
infamous. Afylums and Magdalens ate not
the proper remedies for thefe abufes. It is
J ju!l:ice,
juftice, not charity,that is wanting in the
world I
A woman who has loft her honour, ima-
gines that he cannot fall lower, and as for re-
covering her former !tation, it is J
no exertion can waih this fiain away. Lofing
thus every [pur, and having no other means
ef fupport, profiitution becomes her only re-
fuge, and the character is quickly depraved
bycircumfiancesover which the poor wretch
has little power, unlefs he poireffes an un-
common portion offenfe and l0ftinefs offpirit.
Neceffity never makes proftitution the bufi-
Befs of menls lives; though numberlefs are
the women who are thus rendered fyftemati-
caliy vicious. This, however, arifes, in a'
great. degree, from the fiate of. idlenefs in
- which women are educated, who are always
taught to look up to man for a maintenance,
and to confider their perfons as the prope{
, return for his exertions to fupport them.
Meretricious airs, and the whole fcience of
wantonnefs, have then a morepowerful fiimu-
Ius than either appetite or vanity j and this
remark gives force to the prevailing opinion,
that with chaility all is 10ft that is refpect-
able in woman. Her charaCler on
the
only
RIGHTS OF
the obfenrance of one virtue, though the only
paffion fofiered in her heart-is love. Nay,
the honour of a woman is. not made even to
depend on her will.
When Richalidfon- makes Clariifa tell Love-
lace that he had robbed her of her honour, he
mufi have had firange notions of honour and
virtue. Fot, miferable beyond all names of
mifery is the condition of a being, who could
be degraded without its own confent! This
excefs of firitl:nefs I have heard vindicated as
a falutary error. I ihall anfwer in the words
ofLeibnitz-
C
Errors are often ufeful.; but it
is commonly to remedy other errors.'
Moft of the evils of life arife from a defire
of prefent enjoyment that outruns itfelf. The
obedience required of women in the marriage
flate comes under this defcription; the mind,
naturally weakened by depending on autho-
rity, never exerts its own powers, and'the
obedient wife is thus rendered a weak indo-
- lent mother. Or, fuppofing that this is not
always the confequence, a futurefrate ofexift-
ence is fcarcely taken into the reckoning when
Dr. Young (upports the (ame opinion, in his plays,
when he talks of the misfortune that fhunned the light qf
day.
J sS VINDICATION OF THE
only negative virtues are cultivated. For.
in treating of morals, particularly when
women are alluded to, writers have too
often confidered virtue in a very limited
{enfe, and made the foundation of it folely
worldly utility; nay, a frill more fragile bafe
has been given to this fiupendous fabric, and
the wayward fluctuating feelings of men have
been made the fiandard of virtue. Yes, vir-
tue as well as religion, has been fubjetl:ed to
the decifions of tafie.
It would almofi: provoke a fmile of con-
tempt, if the vain abfurdities of man did not
firike us on all fides, to obferve, how eager
men are to degrade the fex from whom they
pretend to receive the chief pleafure of life;
and I have frequently with full conviction
retorted Pope's (arca(rn on them; or, to fpeak
explicitly, it has appeared to me applicable to
the whole human race. A love of pleafure or
{way [eerns to divide mankind, and the huf-
band who lords it in his little haram thinks
only of his pleaCure or his convenience. To
{uch lengths, indeed, does an intemperate
love of pleaCure carry fome prudent men, or
worn out libertines, who marry to have a
fafe bed fellow, that they feduce their own
wives.
wives.-_Hymen baniilies modefiy, and chafte
love takes its flight.
Love, confidered as an animal appetite,
cannot long feed on itfelf without expiring.
And extinCtion in its own flame, may
be termed the violent death of love. But the
wife who has thus been rendered licentious,
will probably endeavour to fill the void left
by the lafs of her hufband's attentions; for
ilie cannot contentedly become merely an
upper fervant after having been treated like
a goddefs. She is frill handfome, and, in-
Head of transferring her fandnefs to her chil-
dren, file only dreams of enjoying the fun-
fhine of life. Befides, there are many huf-
bands fo devoid of fen(e and parental affection,
the firfi effervefcence of vo.luptuous
fondnefs theyrefufe to let their wives fuckle
their children. They are only to drefs and
live to pleafe them: and love-even innocent
love, foon finks into lafcivioufnefs when the
exerci(e of a duty is, facrificed to its in-
dulgence.
Perfonal attachment is a very happy foun-
dation for friendiliip; yet, when even two vir-
tuous young people marry, it would, per-
hap,s, be happy if fome checked
their
160 VINDICATION OF TH!
their paffion; if the recolleClion of fame prior
attachment, or difappointed affeetion, made .
it on one fide, at leall, rather a match founded
on efteem. In that cafe they would look
beyond the prefent moment, and try to ren..
der the whole of life refpeClable, by forming
a plan to regulate.a friendhip which only
death ought to dilfolve.
Friendthip is a ferious affedion; the moll:
fublime of all affeCtions, becaufe it is founded
on principle, and cemented by time. The
very revel'fe may be faid of love. Ina great
degree, love and friendJhip cannot fubfifi in
the fame bofom; even when infpired by dif-
ferent objeCts they weaken or defiroy each
other, and for the fame object can only be felt
in fucceffion. The vain fea.rs and fond jealou"
les, the winds which fan the flame of love,
when judicioully or artfully tempered, are
both incompatible with the tender confidence
and fincere refpeCt of friend!hip.
Love, fuch as the glowing pen of genius
has traced, exifis not on earth, or only refides
in thofe exalted, fervid imaginations tliat have
tketched fuch dangerous p:C1nres. Danger-
ous, becaufe they not only afford a plaufiblc
excufe to the voluptuary, who difguifes Iheer
7 fenfuality
fenfuality under a fen'timental veil; but as
they fpread affectation, and take from the
. dignity of virtue. Virtue, as the very word
imports, ihould have an appearanceofferiouf-
nefs, if not of aufierity; and to endeavour to
trick her out in the garb of pleafure, becaufe
the epithet has, been ufed :;is another name for
beauty, is to exalt her on a quickfand; a moft
infldious attempt to haften her fall by appa-
rent refpect. Virtue and pleafure are not, in
faCt, fo nearly in this life as fome elo-
quentwriters have laboured to prove. 'Pleafure
prepares the fading wreath, and mixes the in-
toxicatingcup; butthefruitwhichvirtuegives
is the recompence of toil: and, gradually feen
as it ripens; only calm fatisfaCtion;
nay, appearing to be the refult of the natural
tendency of it is fcareely obferved.
Bread, the common food of life, feldom
thought of as a bleffing, fupports the conftitu-
tion and preferves health; frill fealls delight
theheartofman, though difeafe death
lurk in the cup or dainty that elevates the fpi'"
ritsor tickles the palate. The lively heated
imagination likewife, apply the
fon, draws the picture of love, as it draws
every other 'picture, with thofe glowing
M colours,
colours, which the daring hand will fteal
from the rainbow that is direCted by a mind,
condemned in a world like this, to prove its
noble origin by. panting after unattainable
perfeCtion; ever purfuing what it acknow-
ledges to be a fleeting dream. An imagina-
tion of this vigorous caR: can give exiftence
to infubftantial forms, and ftability to the
1hadowy reveries which the mind naturally
falls into when realities -are found vapid. It
can then depiCl: love with celeftial charms,.
and' dote on the grand ideal objeCt-it can
imaginea degree of mutual affeCtion that hall
refine the foul, and not expire when it has
ferved 'as a ' fcale to heavenly;' and, like de-
votion, make it .ubforb every meaner affection
and defire. In each others arms, as is a tem-
ple, with its fummit loft in the clouds, the
world is to be hut out, and every thought
and wih, that do not nurture pure affeCtion
and permanent virtue.-Permanent virtue!
alas! Rouffeau, refpeClable vifionary! th1pa..:
radife would foon be violated by the entrance
of fome unexpeCted gueft. Like Milton's it
would only contain angels, Of men' funk be-
low the dignity of rational creatures. Hap-
pinefs is not material, it cannot be feen or
4 felt !
felt! Yet the eager purtuit ofthe good which
everyone lhapes to his own fancy, proclaims
man the lord of this lower world, and to be
an intelligential creature, who is not to re-
ceive, but acquire happinefs. They, there-
fore, who complain of the delufions of paf-
fion, do not recollect that they are exclaim...
ing againft a ftrong proof of the immo(tality
of the foul. ~
But leavingfuperiorminds to correCt thent-
{elves, andpaydearly for their experience, itis
nece{fary to obferve, that it is not againft .
thong, perfevering pallions; but romantic,
. wavering feelings that I wifh to guard the
female heart by exercifing the underftanding :
for thefe paradifiacal reveries are oftener the
effeCt of idlenefs than of a lively fancy.
Women have feldom fufficient ferious em-
~
ployment to filence their feelings; a round of
little cares, or vain purfuits frittering away
all' ftrength of mind and organs, they be-
come naturallyonlyobjeCts of[enfe.-In lhort,
the whole tenour of female education (the
education of fociety) tends to render the beft
difpofed romantic and inconfrant j and the
remainder vain and mean. In the prefent
flate of fociety this evil can fcarcely be reme-
M 2 died,
died, I am afraid, in the fiighteft degree:
fhould a more laudable ambition ever gain
ground they may be brought nearer to nature'
and reafon,. and become more virtuous and
ufeful as they grow more refpeEtable.
But, I will venture to affert that their rea-
fon will never acquire fufficient ftrength to
enable it to regulate their conduCt, whilft the
making an appearance in the world is the firft

wifh of the majority of mankind. To this
weak with the natural a.feEtions, and the moft
ufeful virtues are facrificed. Girls .marry
m e r ~ l y to better themfelves, to borrow a fig-
nificant vulgar phrafc, and have fuch perfect
power over their hearts as not to permit them-
{elves toJail in love till a man with a fupe-
- rior fortune offers. On this fubject I mean to
enlarge in a future chapter; it is only necef-
fary to drop a hint at pre[ent, becaufe women
are fo often degraded by fuffering the felfiih
, prudence of age to chill the ardour of youth.
Fromthe fame fource flows an opinion that
young girls ought to dedicate great part of
..
their time to needle-work; yet, this employ-
ment contracts their faculties more than any
other that could have -been chofen for them,
by confining their thoughts to their per[ons.
Men
Men order their clothes to be made, and have
done with the fubjeCl:; women make their
own clothes, neceIfary or ornamental, and
are continually talking about them; and their
thoughts followtheir hands. It is not indeed the
making of neceIfaries that weakens the mind;
but the frippery of drefs. For when a woman
in the lower rank of life makes her huiliand's
children's clothes, {he does her duty, this
is her part of the family bufinefs; but when
women work only to drefs better than they
could otherwife afford, it is worfe than {heel'
lofs of time. To render the poor virtuous they
mufr be employed, and women in the middle
rank of life, did they not ape the falhions of
the nobility, without catchingtheireafe, might
employ them, whila they ma-
naged their families, inftruEted their children,
a,nd exercifed their own minds. Gardening,
,experimental philofophy, and literature,
wOl.lld afford them fubjeas to think ot and
matter for converfation, that in fame degree
would exercife their underftandings.. The
converfation of French women, who are not
fo rigidly nailed to their chairs to twill: lappets,
and knot ribands, is frequently fuperficial;
bqt, I contend, that it is not half fa infipid
as that of thofe Englifh women whofe time
M 3 is
] 66 VINDICATION OF THE
is fpent in making caps, bonnets, and the
whole mifchief of trimmings, not to mention
{hopping, &c. and it is
I the decent, prudent women, who are mofi;
degraded by thefepraCl:ices ; for their motive
is fimply vanity. The wanton who <:=xercifes
her talle to render her paffion alluring, has
fomething more in view.
Thefe obfervations all branch Ollt of
general one, which I have before made, and
which cannot be too infifted upon, for,
fpeaking of men, women, or profeffions, it
will be found that the employment of the
thoughts lhapes the character both generally
and individually. The thoughts of women
ever hover round their perfons, and is it fur-
prifing that their perfons are reckoned moft
valuable? Yet fome degree of liberty of
mind is neceffary even to form the perfon;
this may be one reafan why fome gentle
wives have fo few attraCtions befide tpat
of fex. Add to this, fedentary employments
render the majority of women fickly-and
falfe notions of female excellence make
prpud of this delicacy, though it be another
fetter, that by calling the attention conti-
nually to body, cramps the activity of
fhe
Womeq
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. J67
Women of quality feldom do any of the
manual part of their drefs, confequentlyonly
their tafte is exercifed, and they acquire, by
thinking lefs of the finery, when the bufinefs
of their toilet is over, that eafe, which fel-
dom appears in the deportment of women,
who drers merely for the fake of dreffing.
In faCt, the obfervation with refpeCt to the
middle rank, the one in which talents thrive
beft, extends not to women; for thofe of the .
fuperior clafs, by catching, at leaft, a fmat-
tering and converfing more with
men, on general topics, acquire more know-
ledge than the women who ape their falhions
and faults without [haring their advantages.
With refpect to virtue, to ufe the word in a
comprehenfive fenfe, I have feen moft in Iow
life. Many poor women maintain their chil-
dren by the fweat of their brow,and keep
together families that the vices of the fathers
would have fcattered abroad; but gentle-
women are too indolent to be aCtively vir-
tuous, and are foftened than refined
by civiliza!ion. Indeed, the good fenfe which
I have met .with, among the poor women who
have had few advantages of education, and
yet have acted heroically, ftrongly confirmed
M4 me
J68 VINDICATION OF THE
me in the opinion that trifling employments
have rendered woman a trifler., Man, tak..
ing her- body, the, mind is left to ruft; fo
that while phyfical love enervates man, as
being his favourite recreation, he will endea...
'lour to enflave woman :--0and, who can tell,
how many generations may be neceffary to
give vigour' to the virtue and talents of the
freed pofterity of abject flaves t ?
In tracing the caufes that, in my opi-
nion, have degraded woman,' I have con-
fined my obfervations to fuch as univerfally
act upon the morals and manners of the whole
fex, and to me it appears clear they all
fpring from want of underftanding. Whe-
ther this arife from a phyfical or accidental
weaknefs of faculties, time alone can deter-
mine; for I {hall not lay any great firefs on the
example of a few women +who, from hav-

c I takeherbody,tfays Ranger.
t c Suppofing that women are voluntary flaves-:-JIa-
, very of any kind is unfavourable to human happinefs
improvement." Knox's EJIOys.
t Sappho, Eloifa, Mrs. MacauIay, Emprefs of Ruf-
fia, Madame d'Eon, and JXlany
maJ
RIGHTS PF WOMAN. .6,
ing reGeived a mafculine have
quired courage and refolution j I only con-
tend that the men who have been placed in
fimilar fituations, have aequired a fimilar
charaaer-I fpeak of bodies of men, and that
men of genius and talents have ftarted out of
a .c1afs, in wQmen yet

may be reckoned exceptions and, are not all heroes,
well as heroines, exceptions to general rules? I wilh
to fee womep. nor reafopihle

CHAP.
/
170 VINDICATION OF, THE
CH A P. V.
ANIMADVERSIONS ON SOME OF THE' WRI-
. TERS WHO HAVE WOMEN oB-
OF PITY, BORDERING ON- CON-
TEMPT.
T HE opinions fpeciouOy fupported, in fame
modern publications on the female charaCl:er
and education, which have given the tone to
moft of the obfervations made, in a more cur-
rory manner, on the fex, remain now to be
examined.
SECT. 1.
I SHALL begin with Rou{[eau, and give a
fketch of his charaaer of woman, in his own
words, interfperfing comments and reflec-
tions. My comments, it is true, will all
fpring from a few fimple principles, and
might have. been deduced from what I have
already faid; but the artificial ftruCl:ure has
been raifed with fa much ingenuity, that it
fcems
(eerns neceffary to attack it in a more circum.
frantial manner, ancl make the application
myfelf.
Sophia, fays Rouffeau, fhould be as per...
feB: a woman as Emilius is a man, and to
render her fo, it is neceffary to examine the
charatl:er which nature has given to the
fex.
He then proceeds to prove that woman
ought to be weak and paffive, becaufe {he has
lefs bodily ftrength than man j and hence
infers, that fhe was formed to pleafe and to
be fubjeB: to him j and that it is her duty
to render herfelf agreeable to her mafter-
this being the grand end of her exiftence .
however, to give a little mock dignity
to luft, he infifts, that man fhould not exert
his ftrength, but depend on the will of the
woman, when he feeks for with
her.
e Hence we deduce a third confequence
, from the different conftitutions of the fexes;
, which is, that the ftrongeft fhould be maf.
C ter in appearance, and be dependent in fact
C on the weakeft j and that not from any
I have inferted the page 99.
C frivolous
11'2 OF THE
C frivolouspradice of gallantry or vanity of
C proteCtorIhip, but from an invariable law
C of nature, which, furnilhing woman with
C a greater facility. to excite defires than fhe
C has given man' to fatisfy them, makes the
, latter dependant on the good pleafure of the
C former, and compels him to endeavour to
'pleafe in his turn, in order' to obtain her . .
C confent that he Jhould be flrongeji.. On
'th<:fe occafions, the moft delightful cir..
C cumftance a man finds in his victory is, to
, doubt whether it was the woman's weak-
C nefs that yielded to fuperior ftrength,
whether her inclinations fpoke in his
C favour: the females are alfo generally art-
, ful enough to leave this matter in doubt.
e The underftanding of women anfwers in
e this pc:rfecHy to their conftitution:
I fo far from being afhamedof their wtaknefs,
, they glory in it; their tender mufcles make..
C no refiftance; they affeCt to be incapable of
C lifting the fmalle.Q: burthens, and would
C bluIh to be thought rQbl;lft and frrong. To
C what purpofe is all this? Not merely for
C the fake. of appearing but throt;1gh
C artful precaution: it' is thus they pro..
Wh. nonfenfe !
c vide
c vide an excufe beforehand, and a right to
C be feeble when they think it expedient:
I have quoted this paffage, left my read-
ers fhould fufpeB: that I warped the author's
reafoning to fupport my own arguments. I
have already afferted that in educating wo
men thefe fundamental priIJciples lead to a
fyfiem of cunning and lafcivioufnefs.
Suppofing woman to have been formed
only to pleafe, and be fubjeCl: to man, the
conclufion is juft, file ought to facrifice
every other confideration to render herfe1f
agI,"eeable to him: and let this brutal defire
of fe1f-prefervationbe the grand fpring of
all her aCtions, when it is proved to be
the iron bed of fate, to fit which her cha-
raCter Ihould be ftretched or contracted, re...
gardlefs of all moral or phyfical diftinctions.
<'But, if, as I think, may be demonftrated, the
purpofes, of even this life, viewing the whole,
.be fubverted by practical rules built upon this
ignoble bafe, I may be ~ . l l o w e d - to doubt 'whe-
ther woman were created for man: and,
though the cry of irreligion, or even atheifm,
be raifed againfi me, I will 'fimply deClare,
that were an angel from heaven to tell ~ e
that
174 VINI)ICATION or THE
that Mofes's beautiful, poetical cofmogony,
and the account of the fall of man, were lite..
rally true, I ~ o u l d not believe what my rea- I
fon told me was derogatory to the charaCt.er
of the Supreme Being: and, having no fear
of the devil before mine eyes, I venture to
.call this a fuggeftion of reafon, inftead of reft..
ing my weaknefs on the broad fuoulders of
the firft feducer of my frail fex.
c It being once demonftrated/ continues
Rouffeau, , that man and woman are not,
I nor ought to be, conftituted alike in tern...
I perament and charaCter, it follows of courfe
I that they fuould not be educated in the
C fame manner. In purfuing the direCtions
I of nature, they ought indeed to aCt in con-
I cert, but they fuould not be engaged in the
I fame employments: the end of their pur..
I fults fhould be the fame, but the means
( they fuould take to accomplifu them, and
I of oonfequence their taftes and illclimltions,
C iliould be different.'
. . .

I Whether I confider the peculiar deftina-
tion of the [ex, obferve their inclinations,
I or remark their duties, all things equally'
( concur
RIGHTS OF W O ~ A N . 175
C concur to point out the peculiar method of
C education beft adapted to them. Woman
. c and man were made' for each other; but
c their mutual dependence is not the fame.
C The men depend on the women only on
c account of their defires; the women on the
C men both on account of their defires and
C their neceffities: we could fubfift better
C without them than they without us: .
. . . . . . . . .
C For this reafon, the education of the wo-
e men fhould be always relative to the men.
C To pleafe, to be ufeful to us, to make us love
C and efteem them, to educate us when young, ,
C aI.\d take care of us when grown up, to ad-.
C vife, to ~ confole us, to render our lives
C eafy and agreeable: thefe are 'the duties of
C women at all times, and what they fhould
C be taught in their infancy. So long as we
C fail to recur to this principle, we run wide
C of. the mark, and all the pr<:cepts which
C are given them contribute neither to their
C happinefs nor our own.'
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C Girls are from their earlieft infancy fond
C of drers. Not content with being pretty,
e they
.76 VINDICATION OF THE
. C they are defirol1s of being thought {o; we
C {ee, by; all their little airs, that this thought
C engages t h e ~ r attention; and they are hardly
C capable of underftanding what is faid to
C them, before they are to be governed by
C talking to them of what people will think
, of their behaviour. The fame motive,
C however, indifcreetly made ufe of with
C boys, has not the fame efFea: provided
c they are let purfue their arnufements at
.cpleafllre, they cafe very little what people
C think of them. Time and pains a:re necef':'
e fary to fubjeCt: boys to this motive.
C Whencefoever girls derive this firft le(-
C fon, it is a very good one. As the body is
C born, in a manner, before the foul, our firit
C concern lhould be to cultivate the former j
C this order is common to both fexes, but the
C objea of that cultivation is different. In
C the one fex it is the developement of cor-
, poreal powers j in the. other, that of pt:r-
, {onal charms: not that either the quality of
C ftrength or beauty ought to he confined
c exclufively to one fex; but only that the
I order of the cultivation of both is in that
I refpett reverfed. Women certainly re-
e q u i r ~
lUCIlTS OF WOMAN. 177
c quire as much ftrength as to enable them
C to move and act gracefully, and men as
C much addrefs as to qualify them to act
C with cafe:
. . . . . . . .
C Children of both fexes have a great many
C amufements in common; and fotheyought;
C have they not alfo many fnch when they
C are grown up ~ Each fex has alfo its pecu-,
C liar tafte to diftingui!h in this particular.
C Boys love fports of noife andaftivity; to
C beat the drum, to whip the top, and to
C drag about their little carts: girls, on the
C other hand, are fonder of things of fhow
C and ornament; fuch as mirrours, trinkets,
C and dolls: the doll is the peculiar amufe-
C ment of the females; from whence we fee
C their tafte plainly adapted to their deftina-
e tion. The phyfical part of the art of pleaf-
C ing lies in drefs; and this is all which chil-
e dred are capacitated to cultivate of that art:

. '. . .
e Here then we fee a primary propenfity
, firmlyeftablifhed, which you need only to
C purfue and regulate. The little creature
e will doubtlefs be very defirolls to know
N ~ h o w
178' VINDICATION OF THE
e how to drefs up her doll, to' make ..
( knots, its flouncos, its head-drefs, &c.
, is obliged to have fo .much recour(e to the
e people about her, for their affifrance in there
e articles, that it would be much more agree-
e able to her to owe them all to her own in-
e duftry. Hence we have a good reafon for
( the fidl: lefons that are ufualIytaught thefe
( young females: in which we do not appear
( to be fetting them a talk, but obliging
( by inftruCting them in what is im-
( mediate1y ufeful to themfe1ves. And, in
( fact, alII}:oft all of them learn with reluB:.
e ance to read and write j but very readily
( apply themfelves to the ufe of their needles.
e They imagine themfelves already grown
, up, and think with pleafure that fuch qua-
e lifications will enable them to decorate
( themfelves.'
This is certainly only an education of the
body; but Rouffeau is not the only man who
has indireCtly faid that merely the' perfon
of a young woman, without any mind, un-
Iefs animal fpirits come under that defcrip-
tion,' is very ,pleafing. To render it weak,
and what fome may call beautiful, the un-
derftanding ,
dedlariding is negleCled, and girls forced to
fit ftill, playwith dolls and lifl:en tofoolHh con-
verfations ;-the efreCl of habit is inGftedupon
as an undoubted indication 6f nature. I know
it Rouifeau's opinion that the fidl: years
of youth fh'ould he employed to form the
'body, though in educating Emilius he deviates
from this plan; yet, the difference between
nrengtheniiig'the body, on which ftrength
6f mirid in a great meafure depends, and only
giving it ail eafy' motion, is very wide.
Roulfeau's obfervatibns, it is proper to re-
mark, were made in a country wrere the art
bf pleaJing was reaned only to extraCt the
gt"Ofihefs of vice; He did not go hack to na-
turet or his ruling appetite difturbed the ope-
rations of reafon, elfe he would not
drawn thefe crude inferences.
In France boys and girls) particularly the
latter, are only educated to pleafe, to ma-
nage their and regulate the exterior
behaviour; minds are corrupted, at
a very early age, by the worldly and pious
tautions they receive to guard them
immodefty. I fpeak Qf paft times. The very
which mer:e children were obliged
N 2 to
180 V1NDICATfON' OF
to make) and the queftions afked by the holy
men, 1 affert there faas on good authority,
were fufficient to imprefs a fexnaI charaCter;
and the education of fociety was a fchool of
(oquetl'y and art. At the age of ten or eIe-
nay. often much fooner, girls began to
coquet, and talked, unreprO'Ycd, of eftablHh.
ing themfelves in the world by marriage
. In. Ihort, they were treated like women,
almofi from their very birth, andoomplimmts
were lifttntd to inftead of inftruCl.ion. Thefe
.wtakening the mind. Nature wa fuppofed to
have act. like a ftep-mother, when {hcz
formed this after-thought of creation.
Not allowing them underftanding, how-
ever, it but confiftent to fubjeet them to
authority independent of reafon; and to pre-
pare them for this fubjeCtion, he gives the
following advice:
C Girls ought to be aaive and diligent;
l nor is that all; they fhould al[o be early
C fubjecred to reftraint. This misfortune) if
t it really be one, is infeparable from their
l fex; nor do they ever throw it off but to
l fuffer more cruel evils. They muft be fub-
C jea; all their lives, to the moft (onftan!:
and fevere which is that of deco..
rum:
RIGHTS 0"1 WOMAN. 181
.4 rum: it is, thereorc,neceffary to accuf-
, tom them early to fuch confinement, that
I it may not aftcl'wards coft them too dear;
I and to the fuppreffion of their caprices, that
, they may the more readily fubmit to the
I will of others. If, indeed, they be fond
I . of being always at work, they Ihould be
C foruetimes compelled to lay it afide. Dim-
e pation, levity, and inconftancy, are faults
C that readily fpring up frolD; their 'firft pro...
I penfities, when corrupted or perverted by
C too much .indulgence. To prevent this
e abufe, we fhould teach them, above all
C things, to lay a due refrraint on themfeIves.
C The life of a m<?deft woman is reduced, by
C our abfurd infritutions, to a perpetual con-
C fiia with herfe1f: not but it is jufr that this'
c {ex lhould partake of the fufferings which
arife from thofe evils it hath caufed us:
And why is the life of a modeft woman a
perpetual conflict? I fhould an(wer, that this
very fyfrem of education makes it fo. Mo-
defry, temperance, andfe1f-denial, are thefober
offspring of reafon; but when fenfibility is
nurtured at the expenee of the underftand...
ing, fuch weak beings muft be reftrained by
arbitrary means, and be fubjeCted to
N 3 conflitls;
J82 VINDICATION Pf TlJE
conflicts; but give their activity of. mind"
wider range, and nobler paffions and
,will govern their appetites and felltiments.
, The common attachment and regard of
a mother, nay, mere habit, will make her
C beloved by her children, if {he do nothing
to incur their hate. Even the confiraint
, {he lays them under, if well direCted,
, increafe their affection, inftead leffening
it; becaufe a fiate of dependence being
C tural,to the fex, they
formed-for obedience.!
This is begging the ,queftion; for fervitude
not only debafes the individual, but its effects
feern to be tranfmitted to pofterity. Confi-
dering the length of time that women have;
been dependent, is it fm"priCIng that fome of
them hug their chains, and fawn like the
fpaniel? 'Thefe dogs; obferves a natu-
ralift, ' at firfi: kept their ears ereCt; but cuf-
" tom has fuperfeded nature, and a token of.
, fear is become a beauty:
, For the fame reafon,' adds Rouffeau,
C women ha:ve, or ought to have, but little
, liberty; they are apt to indulge themfelves
c exteffively in what is allowed them. Ad-
, dieted in every to extremes, they are
6 even
C even more tranfported at their diverfion's
C than boys:
The anfwer to this is very fimple.. Slaves
and mobs always indulged themfelves in
the fame exceffes, when once they broke
loofe from authoritx.-The bent bow recoils
with violeJle, when the hand is fuddenly
relaxed that forcibly held it j and fenfibility,
the play-thing of outward circumftances,
muft be fuhjeCled to authority, or moderated
by reafon.
, There refuIts,' he ' from this
, habitual reftraint a tractablenefs which wo-
, men pave occafion for during their whole
,lives, as they conftantly remain either un-
, der fubjecrion to the men, or to the opi..
C nions of mankind j and are never permitted
to fet themfelves thofe opinions. The
, firft and moft important qualification in a
womaq is good-nature or [vyeetnefs of tem-
e per: formed to obey a peing [0 jmperfeCl:
.' as man, often full of vices, and always full
, of faults, ought to learn betimes even
to fuffer injuftice, a!ld to bear infults
, of a huiband withqut complaint; it is not
for his fake, but her .Q\VI1, that fhe fhould
, pp of a mild The perverfenefs
, N f ' anet
VINDICATION OF THE
C and ill-nature of the WDmen only ferve to
r aggravate their own misfortunes, and the
, mifcondua of their hulbands; they might
C plainly perceive that fuch are not the arms
'by which they gain the fuperiority:
Formed to live with fuch an imperfeCt:
being as man, they ought to learn from the
exercife of their facul ties the necefiity of for.
bearance: but all the facred rights ofhuma-
nity are violated by, infifiing on biind obe.
(Hence; or, the moil: facred J"ights belong only
to man.
The being who patiently endures
tice, and filentIy bears infults, will foon be-
come unjuft, or unable to difcern right from
wrong. Befides, I deny the faa, this is not
the true way to form or meliorate the
.per; for, as a fex, men have better tern..
pers than women, becaufe they are occupied
by purfuits that intereil: the head as well as
the heart; and the fteadinefs of the head
gives a healthy temperature to the heart.
People of fenfibility have feJdomgood tem-
pers. The formation of the temper is the
cool work of reafon, when, as life advances,
fhe mixes with happy art, jarring elements.
I nev,er knew a weak or ignorant perfon whQ

,
RIGHTS 0' J-Bs
had .a good temper, though that cant:i.tll-
tional good humour, and that docility, which
fear ftamps on the behaviour, often obtains
thetlame. I fay behaviour, meek..
nefs never reached the heart or mind, un1efs
as the effeB; .of refleaion; and that fim.ple re-
ftraint produces anumberof peccant humours
in domeftic life, many fenfible men will allow,
who find fame of thefe gentle irritable crea-
tures, very troublefome companions.
c Each fe,' he further argues, C lhould
C preferve its peculiar tone and manner; a
'meekhuiliand may malea wife impertinent,;
C but mildnefs of difpofition on the woman's
C fwe will al ways bring a man back to rea-
t fan, at leaft if he be not abfolutcly a brute,
C and will fooner or later triumph over him.'
Perhaps the mildnefs of reafon .might fome-
times have this e.ffeCl:; but abject fear always
infpires contempt; and tears are only elo-
when they flow down fair cheeks.
Of what materials can that heart be com-
pofed. which can melt when infulted, and
inftead of revolting at injuftice, kifs the rod?
Is it unfair to infer that her virtue is built
on narrow views and felfifhnefs, who cail
,arefs a man
J
with true feminine foftnefs,
\ the
the very moment when he treats her tyran..
nically r Nature never diCtated fuch infin-
cerity i-and, though prudence of this fort be
termed a virtue, morality becomes vague
when any part is fuppofed to reft on falfe-
hood. Thefe are mere expedients, and ex-
pedients are only ufeful for the moment.
Let the hufband beware of trufting too
implicitly to this fervile obedience; for if his
wife can with winning fweetnefs carcfs him
:when angry, and when {he ought to be angry,
unlefs contempt had ftiB.ed a natural effer-
vercence, {he may do the fame after parting
with a lover. Thefe are all preparations for
adultery; or, fuould the fear of the world,
or of hell, reftrain her defire of pleafing other
men, when {he can no longer pleafe her huf-
band, what fubftitute can be found bya being
:who was only formed, by nature and art, to
pleafe man r what can make her amends for
this privation, or where is !he to feek for a
frefh employment? where find fufficient
ftrength of mind to determine to begin the
fearch, when her habits are fixed, and vanity
has long ruled her chaotic mind r .
this partial moralift: recommends cun,,:,
ning fyfiematically and plaufibly. '
,
RIGHTS OV 187
F Daughters lhould he always fubmiffive;
f their mothers, however, fhould not be in-
,I exorable. To make a young perfon traCl:-
fable, fhe ought not to be made unhappy,
to make her modeft fhe ought not to he
, rendered On the contrary, I fhould
I not be at her being permitred to
, \lfe fome art, not to elude punifhment in
. ' cafe of difobedience, but to herfe1f
, from the neceffity of obeying. It is not
neceffary to make her dependence burden-
I fome, but only to let her feeJ it. Subtilty
( is a talent natural to the fex; and, as I am
I perfuaded, all our natural inclinations are
I right and good in themfeIves, I am of opi-
I nian this fhould be cultivated as \VeIl as
f others: it is requifite for- us only to prevent
its abufe.'
, Whatever is, is right,' -he then proceeds
to infer., Granted;-yet, per-
paps, no aphorifin ever contained a more pa-
radoxical afiertion. It is a folemn truth with
., .
refpect to God. He, reverentially I fpeak,
the whole at and faw its juft pro-.
portions in the womb of time; but man,
can only infpeB: disjointed parts, finds
JPany things wrong; and it is a part of the
,. t'
. fyftem,
19B 'VINPICATI0N OF THE
.{ydem, and therefore right, thu ihouId
.endeavour to alter what appeari to him to be
fo, even while he bows to the Wi100m of
his Creator, and refpeCts the he la-
bours to difperfe.
The inference that follows is juft, {up..
pofing the principle to be found. The fu-
e periority of'addrefs, peculiar to the female
{ex, is a very equitable indemnification foe
c. their inferiorityinpoint offirength : without
C this, woman would not be the companion
, of man; but his ilave: it is by her fuperiolU'
C art and ingenuitythat he preferves her equa-
e lity, and governs him while {he affeCts to
obey. Woman has every thing againft her,
C as well our faults, as her own timidity and
weaknefs; fuehas nothing in her favour, but
e her fubtilty and her beauty. Is it not very
creafonable,. therefore, the fhould cultivate
e both?' Greatnefs of mind can never dwell
with cunning, or addrefs; for I hall not bog-
gle about words, when their direCt fignifica-
.tion is infincerity and falfehood, but content
myfelf with obferving, thatif any clafso.man-
kind be fo created that it muft neceffarily be
educated by rules not ftriB:ly deducibJe,from
truth, virtue is an affair of convention. How
could
RIGHTS OF WOMA)l.
could ttoutfeaudare toa{[ert, aftet giving this
advice, that in the grand end of exiffence the
objeCl: of both fexes fhould be the fame,
he well knew that the mind, forme'd' by its
purfuits, is expatJded by great views (wallow-
ing up little ones, or that it become! itfelr
little?
Men have fuperiour frrength of body I b1lt
were it not for miftaken notions of beauty,
women would acquire fuffieient to enable
them to earn their own fubfiftence, the
definition of iJldependence; and to bear thofe
bodily inconveniencies and exertions that are
requifite to firengthen the mind.
Let uS then, by being allowed to take tile"
fameexcrcifeas boys, notonlyduring infancy,
but youth, arrive at perfeCtion of body, that
we may know how far the natural fupelTioriry
of man extends. For what rearon or virtue
can be expeCted from a creature when the
reed-time of life is neglected? None-did!rtot
t-he winds of heaven cafualIy fcatter many
ufeful feeds in the fallow ground.
, Beauty cannot be acquired by drers, artd
I coquetry is an art not fo early and
(attained. While girls are yet young, how-
.( ever, they are in a capacity to ftudyagree-
cable
cable gefture,.a pleating moduiation of voice.
an eafy carriage and behaviour j as well
C to,take the advantage of adapt...;
ing their looks and attitudes -to time, place;
c and octafiori. Th"eir applicat.ion,
C lhould not be folely confined to the arts of
c induftry and the needle, when they come
, t6 difplay other talents, whofe utility is a1.:
apparent:
, For my part, I would have a: young
c Englilhwoman cultivate her agreeable ta-=
c lents, in order to pleafe her future huband,
c with as much care andaffiduity as a young
c Circaffian cultivates her's, to fit her fof
.c the Haram of an Eaftern bafhaw:
. To render women completelyinfignificanf,
he adds-' The tongues of women are very
, voluble j they fpeak earlier, more readily;
'and more agreeably, than the men; they
, are accufed alfo of fpeaking much more.
C but fo it ought to be, and I lhould be very
, ready to convert this reproach into a c-om-.
, pliment; their lips and eyes have the fame
, aCtivity, and for the fame reafon. A man
, fpeaks of what he knows, a woman of what
Cpleafes her; the one requires knowledge,
the other tafte; the principal object of a
'man's
,
.RIGHTS OF W.OMAN. ,191
e man's difcourfe fllOUld be-what is u(efuI,
C that of a woman's what is agreeable. There
: ought to be nothing in common. between
c. their different c.onverf-ation but truth:
, We ought not, therefore, to reftrain the
C prattle of girls, in the fame manner as we
, lhould that of boys, with that fevere quef-
C tion; 'To what purpoft are you talking? but
C by another, which is no lefs difficult 'to
" anfwer, How 'lvilI your difcourfl be received?
C In infancy, while they are as yet incapable
, to difcern good from evil, they ought to
, obferve it, as a law, never to fay any thing
( difagreeable to ~ h o f e whom they are fpeak-
C ing to = what will render the practice of this
, rule alfo the more difficult, is, that it muLl:
C ever be fubordinate to the former, of never
C fpeaking falfely or telling an untruth.'
To govern the tongue in this manner muLl:
require great addrefs indeed; and it is too
rouGh prattifed both by men and women.-
Out of the abundance of the heart how few
:fpeak! So fe\\" that I, who love fimplicity,
would gladly give up politenefs for a quarrer
of the virtue that has been facrificed to an
equivocal quality which at beft fllOuldonly be
, the polifh of virtue. -
But,
J9Z . VINDrCAl'rON OF Tnt
.
But, to complete the lketch. C It is eatr
~ to be conceived, that if male children be
, not in a capacity to form any true notiomJ
"c of religion, thofe ideas muft be greatly
, above the com:eption of the females: it is
i for this very reafon, I would begin to {peak
~ to them the earlier on this fubjea; for it
c we were to wait till they were in a capa-
; city to' difcufs methodically fuch profound
c queftions, we fhonld run a ritk of never
Ii fpeaking to them on this fubjea as long as
t they lived. Reafon in women is' a: prat-
e tical reafon, capacitating them altfully fo
~ difcover the means of attaining a known
C end, but which would never enable them
C to difcover that end itfelf. The fociar
c'relations of the fexes are indeed truly ad-
, mirable: from their union there refuIts a
C moral perfon, of which woman may be
C termed the eyes, and man the h a n d ~ with
f this dependence on each other, that it is
C from the man that the woman is to learn
e what {he is to fee, and it is of the woman
C that man is to learn what he ought to do.
e If woman could recur to the firft principles
C of things as well as man, and man was
~ capacitated to enter into their minutite as
1 ~ well
RIGHTS or WOMAN;" 193
i well as woman, always independent of
C each other, they would live in perpetual
C difcord, and their union could not fubfift.
C But in the prefent harmony which natu-
C rally fubfifts between them, their different
C faculties tend to one common end: it is
C difficult to fay which of them conduces the
, moft to it: each follows the impulfe of the
C other; each is obedient, arid both are
C maftel's.'
C As the conduct of a woman is fubfervient
C to the public opinion, her faith in matters
, of religion fhould, for that very reafon, be
C fubjeCl: to authority. Every daughter ought
C to ht of the fame religion as her mother,
C and every wife to be of the fame religion.
C as her huJband: fir, tbough ftch religion.
C Jhould J;e fa!fe, that docility which induces
C the mother and daughter to fubmit to the
C order of nature, takes away, in thejight of
C God, the criminality of their error ' ; l ~ . ' As
.. What is to be the confequence, if the mother's and
hufband's opinion fhould chance not to agree? An ignorant
per[on cannot be reaCQned out of an error-and when per-
Juaded to give up one prejudice for another the mind is
unfettled. Indeed, the huiliand may not have any religion
to teach her, though in fuch a fituation fhe will be in great
want of a fupport to her virtue, independent of worldly
confiderations. .
o
C they
194- VINDl CATION OF THE
C they are not in a capacity to judge for them..
C feI ves, they ought to abide by the decifion
C of their fathers and hufbands as confidently
C as by that of the church:
C As authority ought to regulate the reli..
C pan of the women, it is not fa needful to
C explain to them the reafons for their belief,
C as to lay down precifely the tenets they are
C to believe: for the creed, which prefents
C only obfcure ideas to the mind, is the fource
C of fanaticifm j and that which prefents ab-
~ furdities, leads to infidelity:
. Abfolute, uncontroverted authority, it
{eerns, muff fubfifr fomewhere: but is not
thisadireaandexclufive appropriation ofrea-
{on? The rights of humanity have been thus
confined to the male line from Adam down-
wards. Rouffeau would carry his male arif-
tocracy frill further, for he infinuates, that
he Jhould not blame thofe, who contend for
leaving woman in a {late of the moft profound
ignorance, if it were not neceffaryin order
to preferve her chaftity andjuftify the man's
choice, in the eyes of the world, to give her a
little knowledge of men, and thecuftoms pro-
duced by human paffions j e1fe fue might pro-
pagate athome.without being rendered lefs vo-,
luptuous and innocent by the exercife of her
under-
liilderfiandilJg: excepting, indeed; during the
firft year of marriage, when file might em-
ploy it to drefs like Sophia. C Her drefs
C is extremely modeft ill appearance, and
C yet very coquettifil in fact: {he does riot
C make a difplay of her charms, file con- .
( ceals them; but in concealing them; file
C knows how to atfect your imagination.
C Everyone who fees her will fay; There
C is a modeft and difcreet girl; but while
t you are near her, your eyes and affectioQs
C wander all over her perfan, fa that you can-
&- not withdraw them; and you would con-
e dude; that every part of her drefs, fimple
C as it feems, was only put in its proper order
C to be taken to pieces by the imagination:
Is thismodefty? Is this a preparation for im..
mprtality? Again,-'What opinion are we to
form of a fyftem of education, when the au-
thor fays of his heroine, e that with her, doing
C things well, is but afecondary concern; her
( principal concern is to do them neatly.'
in faCt, are all her virtues and
qualities, for, refpeEting religion, he makes
hee parents thus addrefs her, accufiomed' to
fubmiffion,-c Your hufband will infiruCl you
.' in good time.'
After
196 YINDICATIOIf OF THE
Afterthus cramping a woman's mind, if,
in order to keep it fair, he have not made it
quite a blarik, he advifes her to refleCt, that
a reflecting man may not yawn in her com-
pany; when he is tired of careffing her.-
What has {he to refletl: about who muft
obey? and would it not be a refinement oIl
cruelty only to open her mind to make the
darknefs and mifery of her fate vijible? Yet,
there ate his fenfible remarks; how confiftent
with what I have already been obliged to
quote, to give a fair view of the fubjeCl:; the
reader may determine.
, They who pafs their whole lives in work-
C ing for their dally bread, have no ideas be-
e yond their bufinefs or their intereft, and all
e "their underftanding {eerns to lie in their
fingers' ends. This ignorance is neithet
prejudicial to their integt"ity nor their mo-
C rals; it is often of krvice to them. Some-
times; by means of reflection, we are led to
, compound with out duty, and we conclude
, by fubftituting a jargon of words, in the
, room of things. Our own ton[cience is
C the moil: enlightened philofophei. There
, is no need to be acquainted with TuUy's
, offices, to make a man of probity: and
C perhaps the moil: virtuous woman in the
~ w o r l d ~
..
' ..
/
ftlOHTS 9F WOMAN.
I world, is the Ieaft acquainted with the de-
e finition of virtue. . But it no lefs
that an improved underft.anding only can
render fociety agreeable; and it is a melan-
c choly thing for a father of a who
C is fond of home; to be obliged to be aI ways
C wrapped up.in himfelf. and to have nobody
C about him to whom he can impart his
J timents.
C Befides, how fhould a woman void of
C refleCtion be capable of educating her chil-
.c dren r How fhould fhe difcem what-- ,is
C proper for them' How.lhould!he
e them to thofe virtues fhe is unacquainted
c with, or to that merit of which he h.as no
c idea! She can only footh or chide them;
e render them infolent or timjd; !he wiH
.c make them formal coxcombs, or ignorant
c but will never make them fcn-
I fibje or amiable.' How indeed fuould fue,
when her hufband is not always at hand tolen4
her his reafoo ?-when they both together
-make but one moral being. A blind will, ' eyes
c hands,' would goa verr li.ttle way '
and perchance his abftract reafon, ihould
(:Oll,Centratethe beams ofherp.ractical
reafon, may be emplQyed in ju.dgiQg of the
o 3 ' flavour
VINDICATION OP THE
flavour of wine, defcanting on the
moft proper for turtle; OF, more profoundly
intent at a card-table, he may be generalizing,
his ideas as he bets away his fortune, leaving
all the minutia of education to his
01" to chance.
But, granting that woman ought to be
beautiful, innocent, and filly, to render her.
a more alluring and indulgent companion;-.
w.hat is her underftanding facrificed for?\ And
why is all this preparation neceffaryonly,
according to Rouffeau's own account, tomake
her the miftrefs of her hufband, a very fhort
time? For no man ever infifted more on the
ttanfient nature of love. Thus fpeaks the
philofopher. 'Senfual pleafures are tranfient.
C The habitual ftate of the affeB:ions al-
I ways lofes by,their gratification. The
.1 gination, which decks the objeB: of our
C defires, is loft in fruition. Excepting the
I Supreme Being, who is felf-exiftent, there
is nothing beautiful but what is ideal.'
But he returns to his unintelligible
doxes again, when he thus addreffes Sophia.
c Emilius, in becoming your hufband, is
C become your mafter j and claims your
C dience. Such is the order oEnature. When
! a man is marded, to f'.l9h a wife

!tIGHTS OF WOMAN. 199
, as Sophia, it is proper he fhould be direCted
, by her: this is alfo a g r e e a ~ l e to the order
'. of nature: it is, therefore, to give you as
c much authority over his heart as his fex:
, gives him over your perfon, that I have
C made you the arbiter of his pleafures. It
, may coft you, perhaps, fome difagreeable
e felf-denial; but you will be certain ofmain-
, taining your empire over him, if you can
, preferve it over yourfelf-what I have ai-
I ready obferved, alfo, fuows me, that this
e difficult attempt does not furpafs your
f courage.
I Would you have your hulband con...
e ftantly at your feet? keep him at fame
~ diftance from your perfon. You will long
e maintain the authority in love, if you knoW'
e but how to render your favours rare and
'valuable. It is thus you may employ even
I the arts of coquetry in the fervice of virtue,
c and thore of love in that at: reafon.'
I {hall clofe my extraCl:s with a juft de-
fcnption ofa comfortable couple. I And yet
c you muft not imagine, that even fuch ma-
c nagement will always fuffice. Whatever
c precaution be taken, enjoyment will, by
~ degrees, take off the edge of pallion. But
o + ~ when
'000 YINDlCATION 01' THE
,
C when love hath Iafred as long as poffible
J
e a pleafing 4abitude fuppt'ies its place, and
e the attachment of a mutual confidence fue-
e to the tranfports of paffion. Children
e often form a more agreeable and permanent
e conneCtion between married people than
c even love itfe1f. When you ceafe to l:>e
e the miftrefs of Eroilius, you will continue
e to be his wife and friend, you will be the
, ' mother of his children*.'
Children, he truly form amuch
more between married
people than love. Beauty, he will
not be or even (cen, after a couple
have lived :fix months 'together i artificial
graoesand likewife pall onthe
fenfes: why then does he fay that agirl {hould
be educated for her hufuand wi.tll the lame
care as fOf an .eaftern haram?
I now appeal from the reveriesQf fancy
refined li.centioufnefs to the ga'od fenfe
of mankind, if the objeB: of edu-
cation be to prepare women to became chafte
wives and fenfible mothers,
fibly recommended in the fketlh,
be the one beft to produce thofe
.Will be allowed that the fureft way
1ft Roufi"cau's Emilius.
tq
)lIGHTS OF WQMAN. 201
'--to make a wife chafte, is to teach her to /
pra8:ife the wanton arts of a miftre(s, termed
virtuous by the fenfualifl: who can
no longer relifh the artlefs charms offincerity,
or tafte tIie pleafure arifing from a tender
intimacy, when oonfidence is unchecked by
fufpicioD
J
and rendered interefiing by fenfe?
The man who can be contented to live
.
with a pretty, ufeful companion, without
a mind
J
has loft in voluptuous gratifications a
tafte for more refinedenjoyments; he has
never felt the calm fatisfaCtiol1, that refrefues
theparched heart, like the filent dew of hea-
ven,-of being be10vedby one who could un-
derftand him.-In the fociety of his wife he is
1011 alone, unlefs when the man is funk in
the brute. C The charm of life': fays a grave
philofophical reafoner, is C fympathy; -no-
e thing pleafes us more than to obferve in
c other men a feHow-feeling with all the
c emotions 0' 'OUi own hreaft:
But., according:to the tenour of rea(olling,
by which women are kept from the tree Cif
knowledge, the important years
the ufefulnefB-ofage, and the rationalltopes
of futurhy, are aH to he facrificed to!fender
women an objeCt of defire for ajhJJrl -time.
iefides. {how could Roufi"eauexpeCt: them to
be
20Z . VINDIOAT!ON OF THE
be .virtuous and conftant when reafon is nei..
ther allowed to be the foundation of their
virtue', nor truth the objeCt of their inquiries l
But all Rouffeau's errors in reafoning arofe:
fromfenlibility, and fenfibility to theircharms
women are very ready to forgive! When he
ihould have reafoned he became impaffioned,
and reflection inflamed his imagin,ation in-
, fieadofenlightening his underftanding. Even
his virtues alfo led him farther aftray; for,
born with a warm conftitution and lively
fancy, nature carried him toward the other
fex with fuch eager fondnefs, that he foon
became lafcivious. Had he given way to
thefe defires, the fire would have extinguifhed
i t f e l ~ in a natural manner; but virtue, and a
romantic kind of delicacy, made him praClife
felf-denial; yet, when fear, delicacy, or
virtue, reftrained him, he debauched his ima-
gination, and refleCting on the fenfations to
which fancy gave force, he traced them in
the moll glowing colours, and funk them
deep into his foul.
. He then fought for folitude,. not to fleep
with the man of nature; or calmly inveftigate
the caufes of things under the {bade where
Sir IfaacNewton indulged contemplation, but
merely to indulge his feelings. And fo warmly
has
RIGHTS OF WOMAN.
-has he painted, what he forcibly felt, that,
interefting the heart and inflaming the ima.. -
gination of his readers j in proportion to
tlrength of their fancy, they imagine that
underftandil'lg is convinced they
(?nly fympathize with a poetic writer, whQ
fl<,ilfulIy exhibits of fenfe, moll
fhadowed or gracefully veiled-
And thus us feel whilft dreaming
that we reafol1, erroneous conclufions are left
in the mind.
Why was Roufi'eau's life between
ecftafy and mifery? Can any anfwer
be given than this, that the effervefcence of
his imagination produced both j but, had his
fancy allowed to cool, it is poffible that
he might have acquired more ftrength of
mind. Still, if the purpofe of life be to edu-
cate the intelleCtual part of man, all with
refpetl: to him right; yet, had not death
led to a nobler fcene of aCtic)ll, it is probable
that he would have enjoyed more equal hap-
pinefs on earth, and have felt the calm
tions of the man of nature inftead of being
prepared for another frage of exiftence by
nourilhing the pamons which agitate the
man.
peace to his manes I I war not with

V.I;JDICA:rION of THE
hisafhes,' but his opinions. I war only with
the fenfwility' that led him to degrade woman
by making her ,the nave of love.
Curs'd
c FirIi idoliz'a hot fire be o'er,
, Then fiav:es to tbofe wbo'col,lrted us before.'
- Drydm
.- The pernicious tendency of thofe books,
in which writ-ers infidiouly degrade. the
whilft they are proihate before their per-
fonal charms, cannot be too often or too
feverely expp(ed.
'. Let us, my deaf
filch narrow prejudices! If wifdom be defir-
able on its own account, if virtue, to deferv;e
the name, rnuft be founded on knowledge;
let US endeavour to ftrengthen our minds by
.refleCtion, .till our heads become a balance
for our hearts; . us not, confine all our
.thoughts to petty occurr-ences of the day,
'.or our knowledge to an with
our lovers' :or hufbands' but let the
praClice ofevt:.ry duty to
. the grand one .of improving our minds,
prepari.ng our affections for :a more exalted
'flate!
Beware then, my friends, Qf fuffering the
'heart to be moved by every trivial incident:
the
RIGHTS OF WOMAN;
fhe reed is baken by a' breeze, and annl1ally
dies, but the oak ftand-s firm, and for
braves the flonn I
Were we, indeed, only created tq flutter
our hour out and die-why' let us then in-
dulge fenftbility, and laugh at the feverityof
reafon.-Yet, alasl even then wefhould Wanf
ftrength of body and mind, .and life' would
be loft in feverifh pleafures or wearifome
languor. ,
But the fyftem of education, which I ear-
neftly wifh to fee feems to pre-
fuppofe what ought never to be taken, for
granted, that virtue lhields us the ca-
fualties of life; and that fortune, flipping off
, her bandage, will fmile .on a well-educated
female, and bring in her hand an Emilius or
a Telemachus. Whilll:, 0l?- the contrary,
the reward which virtue promife$ to her vo..
taries is c'onfined, it feerns clear, to their own
hofoms; and often mull: they contend with
the moft vexatious worldly cares, bear
with the vices and humours of relations for
whom they can never feel a friendfhip.
There have been many women in the
world who, inftead of being fupported by
the reafon and virtue of their fathers and bro",:
thers,
TINDleATION OF THE
then, have firengthened their own minds by
ftruggHng with their vices and follies; yet
have never met with a hero, in the lhapc of
bufband; who, paying the" debt that man-
kind owed them; might chance to bring bac
their rcafon to its natural dt:pendent ftate, and
reftorethe u{urped prerogative, ofrifingabovc
opin,ion, to man.
5:E C T. n.
DR. FORDYCE'S {ermons long made a
part of a young woman's library; nay, girls at
{chool are allowed to read them; but I fhould
inftantly dit.'i1ifs them from my if 1
wifhed to her underftanding, by
leading her to form found prindples oh a
broad halls; or, were I only anxiouS' to culti-
"ate her tafte; though they muft be a:llowed
to contain many fenfible obfervations.
Dr. Fordyce may have had a very laudable
cnd in view; but there" difconrfes are written
in fuch an affeCted ftyle, that were it only
on that account, and had I nothing to objeCt
againft his mellifluous precepts, I fhould not
allow girls to perufe them, unIefs I defigned
I to
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 2C1
to hunt every (park of nature out of their
compofition, melting every human quality
into female meeknefs and artificial grace. I
fay artificial, for true grace arifes from fome
kind of independence of mind.
Children, .carelefs of pleafing, and only
anxious to amufe themfelves. are often very
graceful; and the nobility who have moftly
lived with inferiours, and always had the
command of money, acquire a graceful eareof
deportment, . which fuould rather be termed
habitual grace of body, than that fupel'iouE'
gracefulnefs which is trl11y the expreffion of
the mind. This mental grace, 110t noticed
by vulgar eyes, often lathes acroes a rough
countenance, and irradiating every feature,
fhows fimplicity and independence of mind.
-It is then we read charaCters of immortality
in the ,?ye. and fee the foul in every gefture;
though when at reft, neithe-r the face .nor
limbs may have much beauty to recommend
them; or the behaviour, any thing peculiar
to attract univerfal attention. The mafs of
mankind, however, look for more tangible
beauty; yet fimplicity is, in general, admired.
when people do not confider what they ad..
mire; and can there be fimplicity without
fincerity? But, to have done with remarks
that
208 VINDICAor ION OF TitE
that' are in fome meafure though
naturally excited by the fubjett-.
- In declamatory periods Dr. Fordyce fpms
but Rouffeau's eloquence; and in moft fen-
timental rant, details his opinions te[peCl:ing
the femalecharatler, and the behaviour which
woman ought to affume to render her lovely..
He {hall fpeak for himfelf, for thus he
makes Nature addrefs man. C Behold thefe
, 'fmiling innocents, whom I have graced
c with my faireft gifts, and committed to
t; 'your proteCtion; behold them with love
'and refpeCl:; treat them with tendernefs
C and honour. They aretimid and want to
be defended. They are frail; 0 do not
C take advantage of their weaknefs I Let
c' their fears and blufhes endear them. Let
C their confidence in you never be abufed.-
C But is it poffible, that any of you can be
C fuch barbarians, fo fupremely wicked, a:J
, to abufe it? Can yon find in your hearts -
c to defpoil the gentle, trufting creatures ol
C their treafure, or do any thing to ftrip them
C of their native robe of virtue? Curf\: be the
, impious hand that would dare to violate
the unblemifhed form of Chaftity! Thou
'" Can you ?-Can you? would be, the moll' emphatical
comment, were it drawled out in a whining voice.
7 wretch!
( wretch I thou ruffian! forbear; nor ven-
C ture to provoke heaven's fierceft vengeance.'
I know not any comment that can be made
ferio'Qf1y on this curious paffage, and I could
produce many timilar ones; and (ome, fo
very fentimentiil, that I have heard rational
men ufe the word indecent, when they men-
tioned them with difguft.
Through,out there is a difplay of cold arti-
and that parade of fenfibility ,
which boys and girls lhould be taught to de-
fpife as (ure mark of a little v3iq. mind.
Floriq appellls are made to J1eaven, and tQ
the be.auteoys innocents, the faireft images of
here below, whilft fober fenfe is left
far behin4.-This is not the langu,age of the
heart, ,nor will it ever reach it, though the
ear may be tickled.
I {hall be told, perhaps, that the public
have bf:en pleafed with thefe volumes.-True
-:and Meditations' are ft,ill read,
he ,finned againll: {enfe and
tafte.
JparticularlyobjetHo thelover-like p11rares
of pumped 1t1p pamon, which are every where
If women be ever allowed to
without leading-ftrings, why mull: they
be
210 vtNDIcATION OF T1tE
-
be cajoled into virtue by artful flattery and
fexual compliments ?-Speak to themthe lan-
guage of truth and fobernefs, and' away with
the lullaby firains of condefcending endear-
Let them be taught to refpeCl: them-
felves as rational creatures, and not led to
have a paffion for their own infipid perfons.
It moves my gall to hear a preacher defcant-
ing on drefs and needle-work j and ftill more,
to hear him addrefs the BritiJhfair, thefairtft
ifthe fair, as if they had only feelings.
Even recommending piety he ures the fol-
lowing argument. 'Never; perhaps, does
'a fine woman ftrike more deeply, than
C when, compored into pious recollection, and
C poffeffed with the llobleft confiderations,
, fhe a{[umesj 'without knowing it, fuperiour
, dignity and new graces; fa that the beau-
C ties of holinefs feem' to radiate about her;
, and the by-ftanders are almoft induced to
, fancy her already worfhipping amongft her
'kindred angels!' Why are women to be
thus bred up with a defire of conqueft? the
'very word, ured in this 'fenfe, gives me a
fickly' qualm! Do religion and virtue offer
no ftronger moti'/es, no brighter reward?
Muft they always 'be by being made
to
:RIGHTS OF WOMAN; 2 I I
to confider the fex of their companions?
Muft they be taughtalways to be' pleafing ?
And when levelling their fmall artillery. at the
heart of man, is it neceifary to tell them that
a little fenfe is fufficient to render their atten-
tion incredibly fiothing? C As a fmall degree
C of knowledge ente,rtains in a woman. fo
l from a woman, though for a different rea-
l fan, afmall of kindnefs delights,
, particularly if {he have beauty!' I ihould
have.fuppofed for'the fame reafon. ,
, . Why are girls to be, told that they rerem--
ble angels; but to fink them below ?
Or, that a gentle innocent female is an ob-
jeCt that comes nearer to the idea which we
have formed'of angels than any other. Yet
they are told, at the fame time, that they
are only like angels when they are young and
beautiful; confequently, it is their perfons, not
, their virtues, that p,rocure them this homage.
Idle' empty words !What can fuch deIu-
five flattery lead to, but and folly?
The lover, it is true, has a poetical licence to
exalt his miftrefs; his reafon is the bubble of
his paffion, and he does not utter a falfehood
when he borrows the language of adoration.
His imagination may raife the idol ef his
P 2 heart,
212 VINDICATION OF TlfE
heart, unblamed, above humanity; and happy
would it be for women, .if they were only
flattered by the men who loved them; I
mean, who love the individual, not the fex ;
but fhould a grave preacher interlard his dif-
courfes with fuch fooleries?
.
In fermons or novels, however, voluptu-'
oufners is always true to its text. Men are
allowed by moralifis to as Nature
direCl:s, different qualities, and affiUDe the
different charaCl:ers, that the fame paffions,
modifiedalmoft each indivi-
dual. A virtuous man may have-a choleric
or a fanguine conftitution, be gay or grave,
I
unreproved ; be firm till he is almoft over-
bearing, or, weakly fubmiffive, have no will
or opinion of his own; but all women are to
be levelled, by meeknefs and docility, into
one charaaer of yielding foftnefs and gentle
cornpliance.
'I will ufe the preacher's own words. C Let'
c it be obferved, that in your fex manly eJl;-
C ercifes are never graceful; that in them a
C tone and figure, as well as an air and deport-
C ment, of the mafculine kind, are always
C forbidding; and that men of fenfibility de-:-
c. fire in every woman foft features, and a
.' flowing
..IGHTS or WOMAN. aI]
C flowing voice, a form, not robuft', and de...
c meanour delicate and gentle:
. Is not the following portrait-..-the portrait
of a houfe nave? 'I am aftonifhed at the folly
C of many women, who are flill reproaching
, their huibands for leaving them alone. for
C preferring this or that compan to theirs,
, for treating them with thii and the .other
-' mark of difregard or indifference; when, to
C fpeak the they have themfelves in
C great meafure to blame. that I would
, juftify the men in any thing wrong on their
C part. But had you behaved to them with
c more refpeClfulolfervance. and a more equal
C tendernlji; their bumours, overlook.
c ing their mijialus,Jubmitting to their opinions
c matters indifferent, pailing by little in-
'. fiances of unevenne(s, or
, givingloft anfwers to 4afty words, com-
iC plaining as feldom as poffibl(:, and Rlaking it
c your daily care to relieve the\r and
prevent their willies, to enliven th{: hour of
c dulnefs, and call up the of felicity:
chad .you purfued this I not
, but you wOt,lid have apd even
'increafed their efteem" fo far as to bave
- f degree of influence that could
., l' 3 '
SECT.
SEC T. Ill.
SUCH paternal folicitude pervacies Dr. Gre-
gory's Legacy to his, Daughters, that 1 enter
on the taCk. of criticifm w'ith affectionate re-
. fpect; but as this little volume has many at-
traCtions to recommend it to the notice of the
mail: refpectable part of my fex, I capnot
filently pafs over arguments that fa fpecioully
fupport opinions which, I think, have had
the mail: baneful effeCt on the mora-Is. and
manners of the female world.
His eafy familiar ftyle is particularly fuited
to the tenor of his advice, and the melancholy
tendernefs which his refpect for the memory
.of a beloved wife, diffuCes t h r ~ ) U g h the whole
work, renders it very intereil:ing; yet there
isa degree of conciCe elegance confpicuous in
many paffages that difiurbs this fympathy;
. and we pop on the author, when we only
expeCted to meet the-father.
Befides, having two objeCts in view, he
fe1dom adhered fteadily to either; for wiiliing
to make his daughters amiable, and fearing
left unhappineCs 11lOuld only be the confe-
quence, of infiilling fentiments that might
. P4 drnw
216 ViNDICATION OF THE
them out of the track of common lifa
without enabling them to aB: with confonant
independence and dignity" he checks the na-
tural flow of his thoughts, and neither
one thing nor the other. '..
In the preface he tens them a mournful
truth, c that they will hear. at leaft onte
their lives, the genuine fentirnents of a
who has no intereft in deceiving
Haplefs womanl what 'be expeae4
from thee when the beings on whom thou
'. ,
art faid naturally to depertd for
fupport, have all an ihtereft in deceiying thee1
This is the root of the evil that has lhed a.
corroding mildew on all thy virtues;
blighting in the bud thy' openii1g
has rendered thee the weak' thing tho\l art'!
It is this feparate intereft-thi$ inUdious ftate
of waffare, that. morality, an4
divides mankind l' . ' ..
If love have made Women
-how many more has' the cold l1nmeaning
intercourfeofgallantry rendered vain and
lefs! yet this heartlefs attention to the fex is
reckor.ed fa manly, fo polite that, tilllociety
is very differently organized, I fear, this veftige
of gothic manners will not be done away by
a more
a more reafonable an4 affeCtionate n10de of
Fondua. Befides, to ftrip it of its imaginary
I muft obferve, that in the moft
European ftates this lip-fervice
rrevails in very great degree, accompanied
with extreme diffolutenefs of motals. In
the that I particularly al-
lude tQ, jt takes place of the moft ferious
ptoral obligations 1 for a man is feldom affaf...
ftnated when in the company of a womal1.
The favage hand of rapine is unnerved by
fpirit j and, if the ftroke of
yengeance be frayed-the lady is en-
treated to pardon rudenefs and depart in
Jhough fprinkled, perhaps, with her
hufband's or brother's blood. .
. ,. .
I pafs over his ftriClures on religion,
I mean to difcuCs that fubjetl: in a
feparate chapter.
. The remarks to behaviour, though
many of very fenfible, I entirely difap-
Prove of, becauCe it to me to be be-
ginning, as it were, at the wrong A
cultivated underftanding, and an affeCtionate
heart, will never want ftarched rules of de-
corum---fornething more fubftantial than
feeniIinefs ':Vill be the refult; and, without
.. under-
218 VINDItCATION OF THE
underftanding the behaviour here recom-
mended, would be rank affeCtation. Decorum,
indeed, is the one thing needful !-decorum is
to fupplunt nature, and banifh all fimplicity
and variety of character out of the female
world. Yet what good end can all this fu-
perficiaf counfel produce? It is, however,
much eafier to point out this or that mode of
behaviour, than to fet the reafon to work;
but, when the mind has been tored with
ufeful knowledge, and ftrengthened by being
employed, the regulation of the behaviour
may fafely be left to its guidance.
Why, for inftance, fhould the following
caution be given when art of every kind muft
contaminate the mind; and why entangle
the grand motives of aCtion, which reafon
and religion equally combine to enforce, with
pitiful worldly Ihifts and flight of hand tricks
to gain the applaufe of gaping taftelefs fools?
C Be even cautious in difplaying your good
C fenfe:'lf. It will be thought you affume a.
C fuperiority over the reft of the company-
.c But if you happen to have any learning,
Let women once acquire good fenfe-and if it derervc
the name, it will teach them; or, of what ufe will it be?
how to employ it.
, 7
~ keep
C keep it a :profound fecret, efpecially from
C the men, who generally look with ajealous
C and malign,ant eye on a woman of great
C parts, anda,cultivated , If
men of real merit; as he afterwards obferves,
be fuperior to this meannefs, wher,e is the ne-
ceffity that,the. behaviour of the whQle. {ex
fhould be mod1.}lated topleafefools, or men,
.who having little claim to refpeB: as indivi-
duals, choofe to keep clofe in' their phalanx.
Men, indeed, who infift on their common fu-
periority, having only this fexual fuperiority,
are certainly veryexcufable.
There would be no end to rules for beha-
viour, ifit be proper always to adopt the tone
of the company; for thus, for ever varying
the key, ajlat would often pafs for a
note.
Surely it have been wifer to have
advifed to improve themfelves till
they rofe above the fumes of vanity; and
then to let the public opinion come round-
,for where are rules ofaccommodation to ftop ?
The narrow path of truth and virtue inclines
neither to the'right nor left-it is a ftraight-
forward bufinefs, and they who are earnefily
, purfuing
VUUHCATJON or TRE.
purfuing their road, may bound 9ver many
decorous prejudices, without leaving rnodefiy
behind. Make the heart dean, and give the
head employment, and I will venture to pre-
diet that will be nothing offenfive in the
behaviour.
The air of fafhion, which many young
people are fo to attain, always ftrikes
me like the ftudied attitudes of fame modern
pictures, copied with taftelefs fervility after
the antiques ;--the foul is left out, and none
of the parts are tied together by what may
properly be termed character. 'This varnifh.
of falhicm, 'which feIdom fticks very clofe to
fenfe, may dazzle the weak; but leave nature
to itfelf, .and it will feldotD difguft the wife.
Befides, when a woman has fufficicnt fenfe
not to pretend to any thing which {he does
not underftand in fame degree, there is no
need ofdetermining to hide her talents under
a bufuel. Let things take their natural courfe,
and all will be well.
It is this fyftem of diffimulation, through;.
out the volume, that I defpife. Women are
always tofiem to be this and that-yet virtue
might apoftrophize them, in the words of
Hamlet-
...
lUGIJTS QF WOMAN_
Hamlet-Seems! I know not feems !-Have
that within that paIeth {how!-
Still the fame tol1( i for in anpther
place, after recommending, without fuffi.-
ciently difcriminating delicacy, he adps, ' The
C men will complain of your referve. They
C will affun: you that a franker behaviour
, wO\Jldmake yOQ morearhiable. But, truit
C me, they are not fincere when they tell
C y9U fsJ.-1 acknowledge that on fome ac..
e cafions it might render you agreeable
C as but it would make you lefs
e amiable at women: an important diftinc-
C cion, which many ofyour are not aware
C of:-
This of being always women, is the
vt:ry conJioufll(fs that degrades the fex.
Excepting with a lover, I mutt repeat with
aform.er would be
well if they were only agreeable or rational
companions.-But in this refpeCl: his advice is
inconfift.ent wit4 apaffage which Jmean
t9.qUQ.te with marked approbation.
C The!entiment, that a ,woman may allow
(aU innocent freedoIlls
J
provided her virtue
( is !ecure, is both grofdy indelicateand dan-
S gerous,
222 VINDJCA1'ION OF THE
C gerous, and has proved fatal to many of
C your fex: With this opinion I perfecUy
coincide. A man, or a woman, of any feel-
ing, mufr always wilh to convince a beloved
objeEtthat it is the careffes of the individual,
not the [ex, that are received and returned
with pleafure j and, that the heart, rather
than the fenCes, is moved.' Without this
natural delicacy, love becomes a felfilh per-
fonal gratification that foon degrades the cha-
raCter.
I carry this fentiment frill further. Affec-
tion, when love is out of the queftion, au-
thorifes many per[onal endearments, that na--
turally' flowing from an innocent heart, give
life to the behaviour; but the perfonal inter-
courfe of appetite, gallantry, ot vanity, is
defpicable. When a man fqueezes the hand
of a pretty woman, handing her to a car-
riage, whom he has never feen before, lhe '
will confider fuch an impertinent freedom in
the light of an infult, if lhe have any true
delicacy, inftead of being flattered by this un-
meaning homage to beauty. Thefe are the
privileges of friendfhip, or/the momentary
homage which the heart pays to vIrtue, when
it
it flafhes fuddenly on the notice-mere ani-
, mal fpirits have no claim to the kindneifes of
affeCtion t
Wifhing to feed the affections with what
is now the food of vanity, I would fain per-
my fex to act. from fimpler principles.
Let them merit love, and they will obtain it,
though they may never be told that-' The
C power of a: fine woman over the hearts of
C_ men, of men of the fineft parts, is even be-
e yond what fue conceives.'
I have already noticed the narrow cautions
with refpeCl: to duplicity, female fofmefs,
delicacy of confiitution; for there are the
changes which he rings round without cear-
ing-in a more decorous manner, it is true,
than Rouifeau; but it all comes home to the
fame point, and whoever is at the trouble to
analyze thefe fentiments, will find the firft
principles not quite fo delicate as the fuper-
ftructui'e.
The fubjeCt of amufements is treated in too
curfory a manner; but with the fame fpirit.
When I treat of friendfhip, love, and mar-
riage, it will be found that we materially
differ in opinion; I {hall not then forefiaU
what I have to obferve on there
fubjeEts;
or
{ubjects; but my remarks to the ge.4
neral tcnor of them" to that cautious family
prudence, to thore confined views of partial
unenlightened affe8ion, which exclUde
fure and improvement, by vainly wifuing to
ward offforrowanderror-and by thus guard-
ing the heart and mind, deftroy alro all their
energy.-It is far better to be often deceived
than never to truft; to be difappointed in love
than never to love; to lore a hu{band's fond-
ners than forfeit his efteem. .
Happy would it be for the world, and fot
individuals, of courre, if all this unavailing
folicitude to attain worldly happinefs, on a
confined plan, were turned into an anxiolls
defire to improve the underftanding.-..
c
Wif...
C dam is the principal thing: therefore get
c wifdom; and with all thy gettings get un-
C derftanding:-
c
How long, ye fimple ones,
C will ye love fimplicity, and hate know.
C ledge?' 8..ith Wifdom to the daughters of
men!-
SECT.
J .,
l' lUGltTS OIl' WOMAN.
. SEC T. IV.
I DO not mean to allude to all the writers
who have written on the fubjtlt of female
manners-it would, in faCt, be only beating
over the old ground, for they have, in tene-
ral, written in the fame firain; but atta6ldng
!he boafied of rniw-the preroga..
tive that may emphatically be called the iron
fceptre of tyranny, the original fin of tyrallts,
1declare againft all power built on prt!judices,
however hoary.
Ifthe fubmifficm demanded be founded on
jgftice-there is no appealing to a
power-for God is Juftice itfelf. Let us then.
as children of the fame parent, if flot bafiar
dized by being the younger born. reafdn to"
.gether, and learn to fubmit to the authority
of reafon-when her voice is difiinClly heard.
But, if it be proved) that this throne of pre-
rogative only refts on a chaotic maCs of pre-
judices, that have no inherent principle of
order to keep them together, Of on an ele.
phant, tortoife, or even the mighty {boulders
of a foa of the earth, they may efcape, who
Q.. dare
226 VlllDICATlON OF THE
dare tQ brave the confequence, without any
breach of duty, without finning againft the
ordex: of things.
Whilft rearon raifes man above the brutal
herd, and death is big with promifes, they
alone are fubjeCl: to blind authority who have
no reliance on their own firength. They
are free-whe will be.free. !'-
The being who can govern itfelf has no-
thing to fear in life; but if any thing deare'
than its own refpect, the price muft be paid
to the lall: farthing.- like every thing
valuable, mull: be loved fcr herfelf alone.; or
{he will not take up her abode with us. She
will not impart that peace, c which paffeth
, underftanding,' when {he is merely made
the frilts of reputation j and refpetled, with
pharifaical exaCtnefs, becaufe c honefty is the
C beft policy:
That the plan of life which enables us to
carry fome knowledge and virtue into ano-
ther world, is the one beft calculated to enfure
content in this, cannot be denied; yet few
act according to this' principle, though
,it be univerfally allowed that it admits not
, He is the free m:m, whom the truth makes free"
Cowptr.
of
a.IGHTS OF -woMAN. 227
of difpute. Prefent pleafure, or prefent pow-
er, carry before it thefe fober convitlions j
and it is for the day, not for life, that man
bargains with happinefs. How few I-how
very few! have fufficient forefight, or reCo-
lution, to endure a fmall evil at the moment,
to avoid a greater hereafter.
Woman in particular, whofe virtue * is
built on mutable prejudices, feld0!ll attains to
this greatnefs of mind j fo that, becoming the
nave of her own feelings, he is eafily fub-
jugated by thofe of others. Thus degraded,
her reafon, her mifiy rea[on I is employed
. rather to hurnifh than to fnap her chains.
Indignantly have I heard women argue ill
the fame track asmen, and adopt the fenti-
ments that brutalize them, with all the perti-
nacityof ignorance.
I mufi illufirate my alfertion hy a few ex-
amples. Mrs. Piozzi, who often repeated
by rote, what fhe did not underfiand, comes
forward with Johnfonian periods.
C Seek not for happinefs in fingularity;
and dread a refinement of wifdom as a de-
.
viation into folly.' Thus he dogmatically
I mean to ufe a word that comprehends more than
c:hafiity the fexual virtue.
<t2 addrefI'ea
:&28 VINDICATION OF THE

adqrtfi"es a new married man j and to eluci-
date .this pompous exordium, Cbe adds, ' I
l! faid that the perfon of your lady would not
I grow more pleafing to you, but pray let her
, never fufpea that it grows lefs f@: that a
I woman will pardon an affront to her under-
, ftandingmuch fo(>nerthan one toher perfon.
, is well known; nqr will any of us contra-
I dia the All our attainments, all
, our arts, are employed to gain and keep
I the heart of man i and what mortification
I can exceed the difappointment,. if the end
be not Qbtainc:d There is no reproof how-
I ever pointed. no punilhment fe-
vere. that a woman of fpirit will not prefer
, to negleCl: i and if{he can endure it without
complaint, it only proves that {he means to
C -make herfelf amends by the attention of
I .others for the flights of her huband I'
There are truly mafculine fcntimentll.-
, All our arts are employed to gain and
, keep the heart of man :'-and what is the
inference ?-if her perfoD and was there
ever a perfoll, though formed with Medicean
fymmetry, that was not fiigbted? be neg-
leaed, {he will make herfe1f amends by en-
deavouring to pleafe other men. Noble mo-
rality!
RIGHTS OF WOI4AN. 229
rality I But thus is the underftanding of the
whole fex affronted, and their virtue deprived
of the common bafis of virtue. A woman
mull: know, that her perfon cannot be as
pleafing to her huband as it was to her lover,
and if file be offended with him for being a
human creature, {he may as well whine about
the lofs of his heart as about any other fooliih
thing.-And this very want ofdifcernmentor
unreafonable anger, proves that he could not
change his fondnefs for her perfon into affec..
tion for her virtues or refpett for her
fianding.
Whilfi women avow, and aa up to fuch
opinions, their underftandings, at leaft, de..
ferve the contempt and obloquy that men.
who never infult their perfQns, have point.
edly levelled at the female mind. And it is
the fentimel')ts of thefe polite men, who do
not wilb to be encumbt:rcd with mind.. that
vain women adept. Yet they
thould know, that infulted rlafen alone Gan
fpread thatft(red referve about the petfon,
which renders human affections, for human
affections have alwayQ fome bafe alloy, as
as is confifi::cnt with the grand end
of exiften(e-the attainment of virtue.
<t.3 The
..
230 VINDICATION OF TH
The Baronefs de Stael fpeaks the fame lan-
guage as the lady juft cited, with more enthu-
fiafm. Her eulogium on Rou.lfeau was acci-
dentally putinto my hands, and herfentiments,
the fentiments of too many of myJex, may
ferve as the a few comments. 'Though
, Rou1Teau,'!he obferves, 'has
, to prevent women from interfering in public
C affairs, and acting a brilliant part in the
, theatre of politics; yet in fpeakingofthem,
C how much has he done it to their fatisfac-
C tion! If he wi!hed to deprive them of
c fame rights foreign to their fex, how has
c he for ever rellored to them all thofe to
c which it has a claim! And in attempting
, to diminilh their influence over the de1i-
c berations of men, how facredly has he efla-
, blithed the empire they ltave over their
, happinefs! In aiding them to defcend from
, an ufurped throne, he has firmly feated
c them upon that to which they were def-
c tined by nature; and though he be full
. c of indignation againll them when they en-
, deavou'r to refemble men,' when they
., ' come before himwith all the charms,'weak-
", n.eJ!es, virtues and errors, of their fex, his
, refpeCl: for their perfons amounts almoft to
, adoration
'adoration.' True !-For never was there a
fenfualifi: who paid more fervent adoration at
the lhrine of beauty. So devout, indeed,
was his refpeCl. for the perfon, that excepting
the virtue of chaftity, for obvious reafons,
he only' wilhed to fee it embellilhed by
charms, weakneffes, and errors. He was
afraid left the aufterity of reafon fuould dif-
turb the foft playfulnefs of love. The mafter
, wifh.ed to have a meretricious fiave to fondle,
entirely dependent on his reafon and bounty;
he did 110t want a companion, whom he
lhould be compelled to efteem, or a friend to
whom he could confide the care of his.chil-
dren's education, fhould death deprive them
of their father, before he had fulfilled the fa..
cred talk. He denies woman reafon, fhuts
her out from knowledge, and turns her afide
from truth i yet his pardon is granted, be..
caufe 'he admits the pamon. of love.' It
would 'require fome ingenuity to lhew"why
women were to be under fuch an obligation
to him for thus admitting love,; when it is
clear that he admits it only for the. relaxation
of men, and to perpetuate the fpecies; but
he talked with paffion, and that powerful
. [pell worked on the fenfibility of a young
Q:4 encomiafr.
21'" V1N'DICATION or THE
encomiaft. 'What fignifies it,' purfufs this,
rhapfodift, C to women, that his reafon dir-
e putes with them the empire, when his
C heart is devotedly theirs.' It i, not em-
pue,.,.......but crquality, that they lhould con-
tend for. Yet, ifthey only wifhed to lengthen
out their {way, they not entirely trufi:
to tmir periOns, for though beauty may gain
a heart, it cannot keep it, even while the:
beauty is in full bloom, unlefs the mind lend,
at. Ltafi, graces.
When women are once fufficiently en-
, lightened to difcover their real interefi, on a
grand fcale, they will, I am perfuaded, be
very. roady to refign all the prerogatives of
love, that are 110t mutual, fpeaking?f them
IS lllfting pIerogatives, for the calm fatisfac-
tion of friend'llip, and the confidence
o.f habitual efteem. Before marriage they
will not affume any infolent airs,. or after-
wards abjeCtly fubmit; but endeavouring to
aa reafonable creil-tures, in both fitua-
tions, Ihey will not be tumbled from a ,throne
to a ftool
Madame Genlis has written {everal enter-
taining books fer children;. and her Letters
on Education afford many ufeful hi-nts, that
fenfible
lltGHTS 01' WOMAN. 233
fenfible parent!; will certainly avail themfelves
of; but her views arc narrow, and her preju-
dices as unreafonable as ftrong.
I <hall pari over her vehement argument in,
favour of the eternity of future punilhments,
becaufe I blulh to think that a human being
'hould ever argue vehemently in fnch a caufe,
and only'make a few remarks on her abfurd
manner of making the parental authority {ub-
plant rearon. For every where does {he in-
. ulcate not only Mind fubmiffion to parents;
but to the opinion of the world-.
She tells a frory of a young man engaged
by his father's cxprefs defire to a girl of for-
tune. Before the marriage could take place,
{he is deprived of her fortune, and thrown
friendlefs on the world. The father prac-
tifes the moft infamous arts to feparate his
A perfon is not to act in this or that wa.y, though COD-
vinced they are right in fo doini, becaufe tOme equivocal
<;ircum{lances may lead the world toJufptl1 that they aaed
from different motives.-This is {acrificing the fubfraace
for a thadow. Let people but watch their one hearts,
and all: rightly, as far as they canjutlge, and they may pa.-
tiently wait till the opinion of the world comes rouncl. It
is beft to be direCl:ed by a fimple motive-for jufiice has
too often been facrificed to propriety i-another word for
c:onvenience.
fon
234 VINDICATtON OF THE
fan from her,' and when the fon deteCts hi,
villany, and following the dictates of ho-
,nour marries the girl, nothing but mifery
enfues, becauJe forfooth he married 'without
his father's confent. On what ground can
religion or morality reft when' jufiice is thus
fet at defiance? With the fame view!he repre-
fents an accomplifhed young woman, as ready
to marry an}' body that her mamma pleafed to
recommend; and, as a6lually marrying the
young man of her own choice, without feel-
ing any emotions of pamoD, becaufe that a
well educated girl had not time to be in love.
Is it pollible to have much re1pect for a fyf-
tern of education that thus infults reafon and
nature?
Manyfunilar opinions occur in her writings,
mixed with fentiments that do honour to her
head and heart. Yet fo much fuperftition is
mixed with her religion, and fo much worldly
wifdom with her morality, that I iliould not
let a young perfon read her works, unlefs I
could afterwardsconverfe on the fubjects, and
point out the contradictions.
,Mrs. Chapone"s Letters are written with
{uch good fenfe, and unaffected humility,
and contain fo many ufeful obfervations, that
I only
RIGHTi OF WOMAN. 235
I I only mention them to pay the worthy wri-
ter . this tribute of refpea. I cannot, it is
true, always coincide in' opinion with her;
but I always refpeCl her.
The very word refpeCl: brings Mrs. Ma-
caulay to my remembrance. The woman of
the greatefi: abilities, undoubtedly, that this
country has ever produced.--And yet this
woman has been fuffered to die without fuf-
ficient refpeCl: paid to her memory.
Pofierity, however, will be more jufi:; and
remember that Catharine Macaulay was all
example of intellectual acquirements fuppof-
cd to be incompatible with the weaknefs of
her fex. In her fiyle of writing, indeed, no
fex appears, for it is like the fenfe it con-
veys, thong and clear.
I will not call hers a mafculine underftand-
ing, becaufe I admit not of fuch an arro-
gant alfumption of reafon; but I contend
that it was a found one, and that her judg-
ment, the matured fruit of profound think-
ing, was a proof that a woman can acquire
judgI,llent, in the full extent of the word.
Poffelnng more penetration than fagacity,'
more underfianding than fancy, {he writes
wit1J fober energy and dofe-
nefs;
nefs; yet fympathy and benevolence give an
intereft to her fentiments, and that vital heat
to arguments, which forces the reader to
weigh them-.
When I firft thought of writing thefe firic-
tures I anticipated Mrs. Macaulay'sappro..
bation, with a little of that fanguine ardour,
which it has been the bufinefs of my life to
deprefs; but foon heard with the fickJy qualm
of difappointed hope; and the frill ferioufnefs
of regret-that {he was no more!
SECT. V.
TAK'nm a view of the different works
which have been written on education, Lord
Chellerfield's .Letters mull not be filently
paffed over. Not that I mean to analyze his
unmanly, immoral fyftem, or even to cull any
of the ufeful, ilirewd remarks which occur
in his epiftles-No, I only mean to make a
few reflections on tbe avowed tendency of
them......the art ofacquiringan earlyknowledge
Coinciding in opinion with Mrs. Macaulay relative to
many branches of education, I refer to her valuable work,
infteau of quoting her fentiments to (upport my own.
of
}UGHTS OF 237
of the world. An art, I will venture to ai-
fert, that preys {ecretly, like the worm in
the bud, on the expanding powers, and turns
to poifon the generous juices which lhould
mount with vigour in the youthful frame, in-
fpiring warm affections and great refolves-.
. For every thing, faith the wife man, there
is a {cafon i-and who would look for the
fruits of autumn during the genial months
of fpring But this is mere declamation, and .
I mean to rearon with thofe worldly-wife
infiruCtOfs, who, inftead of cultivating the
judgment, infiill and render hard
the heart that gradual experience would only
have cooled. An early acquaintance with
human infirmities; Of, what is termed know-
ledge of the world, is, ,the fureft way, in my
OpiniOD, to contraCt the heart and damp the
Datura} youthful ardour which produces not
only great talents, but great virtues. For
the vain attempt to bring forth the fruit of
That children ought to be confiantly guardedagainB:
the vices and foUies of world, appeal'!l, to me, a very
miftaken opinion; for in the courfe of rn, experience; and
eyes have looked I never knew a youth edu-
cated in this manner, who Iiad early imbibed thefe chilling
fufpicions, and repeated by rote the hefitating if or age,
that did not prove a felfitb character.
experience.
238 vtN'DICATION :OF
experience, before the fapling has thrown out
its leaves, 'only exhaufts its ftrength, and
prevents its affurI1ing a natural form; jufi as
the form. and ftrength of fubfiding metals are
. injured when the attraction of cohefion is
dilhirbed.
Tell me, ye who have fiudied the human.
mind, is it not a flrange way to fix prilici...
pIes by {howing young people that they are
{eIdom fiable? And how can they be fortified
. by habits when they are proved to be falla-
cious by example? Why is the ardour of
youth thus to be damped, and the ll]xuriancy
of fancy cut to the quick? This dry caution
may, it is true, guard a charatler from worldly
mifchahces; will infallibly preclude ex-
cellence in either virtue or knowledge . The
lhuribling-block thrown acrofs every path by
fufpicion, will prevent any vigorous exertions
of genius or benevolence, and life will be
ftripped of its moll: alluring charm long r
fore its calm evening, when man lhould re-
tire to contemplationfor comfort
A young man who has been bred up with
oomefiic friends, and led to flore his mind
I already obferved that an early knowledge of the
world, obtained in a natur!ll way, by mixing in the wOlld,
has the fame infiancing officers and women.
with
RIGHTS OF WOMAN., 239

with 'as much fpeculative' knowledge as can
be acquired by reading and the natural reflec-
tions which youthful ebullitions of animal
fpirits and infiinClive feelings infpire, will
enter the world with warm and erroneous ex
peaations. Bilt this appears to be the courfe
of nature; and in morals, as well as in works
of tafte, we fhould be obfervant of her {acred
indications, an4 not prefume to lead when we
,bught obfequiouly to follow.
In the world few people aCl: from principle;
prefent feelings, and early habits, are, the
grand fprings: but how would the former be
deadened, and the latter rendered iron carrod
ing fetters, if the world were !hewn to young
people jufi as it is; when no knowledge of
mankind or their own hearts, flowlyobtained
by experience, rendered them forbearing?
Their fellow creatures would not then be
viewed as frail beings; like themfelves, con-
demned to flruggle with human infirmities,
and fometimes difplaying the light, and fome-
times the dark fide of their charaCter; ex-
torting alternate feelings of love and difgufi;
but guarded againft as beafis of prey, till
every enlarged facial feeling, in a word,-
was eradicated.
In
,In life, on the contrary, as we
difcover the iBlperfeClions of our nature, we
difcovcr virtues, and various circumfi'ances at..
lath us to our fellow creatures, when we mix
with them, and view the fame obje8s, that
are never thought of in a hafty un...
natural knowledge of the world. We fee a
foUy fwell int!> a vice, byalmoft imperceptible
degrees, and pity while we blame; but, if the
hideous monfter burft fuddenly on our light,
fear and difgufi rendering 115 fevere than
man ought to, be, might lead Us with blind
zeal to ufurp the charaCler of omnipotence,
and denounce damnation on our fellow mor.
tals, forgetting that we read the heart,
and that we have feeds of the late vices lurk.
ing in our own.
I have already remarked that we expett:
more from inllrucaion,. than mere inftraCtIDn
tan produce: for,. inftead of preparing
people to encounter the evils of life with dig-
nity, and to acquire wifdom and virtue by
the cxerci.fe of their own faculties,. precepts
are heaped upon precepts, and blind obedi-
ence conviCtion: ibould: be
brooght home to reaim.
Suppofe,
RICHTS OF WOMAN.
SuppoCe, for infiance, that a YO\lng per-
fon in the firit ardour of friendihip deifies the
belovedobjed-whatharm can arife from thi!
enlhuGaftic attachment ?Perhaps it
nece{fary for virtue lirfi to appear in a hu-
man form to imprefs youthful hearts; the
id'ea1 model, which a more matured and ex-
alt,ed mind looks up to, and fuapes for itfdf, .
would elude their fight. He who loves not
his br<;>ther whom he hath feen, how can h\=
l,?vc; God? alked the wifefi: of men.
It is [91' youth to adorn lira ob-
of its affetlion with every good quality,.
the emulation produced by ignorance,'
or, to (peak with more propriety, by inex-
perience, brings forward the mind capable of
forming fuch an affection, and when, in the
1
9
pfe of time, perfection is found not to be
within' the reach of mortals, virtue, ab-
ftraCtedly, is thought beautiful, and wifdol1l
tUl>lime. Admiration then gives place to
friendlhip, properly fa called, becaufe it is
cemented py efieem; and the being wa] ks
alone only dependent on heaven for that
\ emulous panting after perfection which ever
glows in a noble mind. But this knowledge
a mufi gain by the exertion of his own
" R 5aculties;
\.
/
"INDICATION OF TtlE
faculties; and this is furely the bleffed fruit
of difappointed hope! for He who delighteth
, to diffufe happinefs and {hew mercy to the
weak creatures, who are learning to knoW'
him, never implanted a good propenfity to
be a tormenting ignis fatuus.
Out trees are now allowed to {preac;1 with
wild luxuriance, nor do we 'expeCt by force to
combine the majeftic marks of time with
youthful graces; but wait patiently till they
have ftruck deep their root, and braved many
a fiorm.-Is the mind then, w1.J.ich, in pro-
portion to its dignity, advances more flowly
towards perfeetion, to be treated with lefs
refpea? To argue from analogy, every thing
around us is in a progreffive !tate; and when
an umvelcome of life produces al.
moft a fatiety of life, and we difcover by the
natural courfe of things that all that is done
under the fun is vanity, we are drawing near
the awful clofe of the drama. The days of
aetivity and hope are over, and the apponu-,
nities which the fir!t fiage of exifience has
afforded of advancing in the of infelli-
gence, muO: foon be fummed up.-A know-
ledge at this period of the futility of life, or
earlier, if obtained by experience, is very
8
nfeful, becaufe it is "natural; hut when a frail
being is {hewn the follies and vices of man,
that he may be taught prudently to guard
againfi: the common cafualties of life by fa-
crificing his heart-fure1y it is not fpeaking
hadhly to call it the wifdom of this world,
contrafted with the nobler fruit of piety and
experience.
I will venture a paradox, and deliver my
opinion without referve; if men were only
born to form a circle of life and death, it
would be wife to take every fiep that fore..
fight could fnggefi to render life happy.
Moderation in every purfq.it would then be
fuprerne wifdom; and the prudent voluptuary
might enjoy a degree of content, though he
ne;ther cultivated his underfi:andillg nor kept
his heart pure. Prudence, fuppoling we were
mortal, would be true wifdom, or, to be more
explicit, would procure the greatefl: portio!1 of
happinefs, confidering the whole of life, but
knowledge beyond the conveniences of life
would be a curfe.
Why lhould we injure our health by clofe
fiudy? The exalted pleafure w h i c ~ imeIlec-
tu.al purfuits afford .would fcarceIy be equiva.
lent to the hours of languor that fo!low;
efpecially, jf it be neceffary to take into the
"R 2 reckoning
VUU>JCATJON or THE
reckoning the doubts and difappointment9
that cloud our refearches. Vanity and vexa--
tion clofe every inquiry: for the caufe which
we particular!y wilhed to difcover flies like
the before us as we advarice. . The
ignorant, on the contrary, refemble
and fuppore, that if they could walk firaight
forward they fuould at lan: arrive where the
earth and clouds meet. Yet, difappoiotcd as
we are in our refearches, the mind gains
ftrength by the exercife, fufficient, perhaps,
to comprehend the anfwen which, in another
ftep of exifience, it may receive to the-anxious
queftions it afked, when the underftanding
with feeble wing was fluttering round the
vifible effects to dive into the hidden caufe.
The paffions alfo, the winds of life, would
be ufelefs, if not injurious, did the fubfiance
which compofes our thinking being, after wc
have thought in vain, only become the {up-
port of vegetable life, and invigorate a
bage, or bluCh in a fofe. The appetitea
would anfwer every earthly purpofe, and
produce more moderate and permanent hap-
pinefs. But the powers of the foul that are
of little ufe bere, and, probably, difiurb our
animal enjoyments, even while confcious dig-
7 nity
)lICHTS OF WOMAN. 24S
nity makes us glery in poifc:ffing them; prove
that life is merely an education, a flate of
infancy, [0 which the only hopes worth che-
rilhing {hould not be facrificed. I mean.
therefore, to infer, that we ought to have a
precife idea of what we wifh to attain by edu..
cation, for the immortality of the foul is con..
tradiCled by the aCl:ions of manypcople who
firmly profefs the belief.
If you mean to fecure cafe and profperity
on earth as the firft conflderation,and leave
futurity to provide for itfelf; you act pru..
dently in giving your child an early infight
into the weakneffes ofhis nature. You may
not, it is true, make an Inkle of him; but
do not imagine that he will flick to more
than the letter of the law, who'has very early ..
imbibed, a mean opinion of human nature; .
nor will he think it necetrary to rife much
above the common fhndard. He may avoid
grofs vices, becaufe honefty is the b ~ f t policy;
but he will never aim at attaining great vir-
tues. The example of writers and artifrs will
illuftrate tl1is J:emark.
I muO: therefore venture to doubt whether
what has been thought an axiom in morals.
may not have been a dogmatical affertion
- R 3 made
made by men who have coolly feen
kind through the medium of books, and fay.,
in direCl contradiction to them, that the
lation of the paffions is not, always, wifdorn.
-On the contrary, it lhould feern,. that onc
reafon why men have fuperiour
and more fortitude than women, is undoubt-
edly this, that tliey give a freer fcope to the
grand paffions, and by more frequently going
a{lray enlarge their m-inds. If then by the
exercife of their own - reafon they fix on fame
ftable principle, they have probablY to thank
the force of their paffions, nOQri!hed by fa!fe.
views of life, and permitted to overle.ap the
boundary that fecures content. But if.. iQ
the dawn of life, we could foberty furvey the
{cenes before as in perfpeClive, anc,l fee every
thing in its true colours, how could the paf.,
lions gain fufficient ftrength to unfold the:
faculties?
Let me now as from an emine.nce furvey
the world firipped of all its falfe delufive
charms. The clearatmofphere enables me
to fee each objea in its true point of view,
while my heart is fEll. I am calm as the
, I find that all is but lip-wiCdom which wants expe-
rience,' fays Sidney. . .
. profpeCl
RIGHTS OF 247
profpeCl: in a morning the mi(ls, fiowly
difperfing, filently unveil the beauties of na-
ture, refrdhed by refi.
III what light will the warld now appear?
-1 rub my eyes and think, perchance, that I
am juft awaking from a lively dream.
I fee the fons and daughters of men pur...
fuing lhadowi, and anxioufiy wafting
powers to feed pafli:ms which have no ade-
quate objea-if the very excefs ofthefe QUnd
impulfes, pampered by that lying, yeteon-
fiantly trufied guide, the imagination, did.
not, by preparing them fQr at4er fiate,
render !hart fighted mortaIs wifer without
their own conC'-lrrellce; or, what comes to
the fame thing, when they were purfuing
fome imaginary prefent good.
After viewing objects in this light, it would
not be very f<1ciful to imagine that this
world was a fiage on which a pantomime is
daily performed for the amufement of fupe-
[iour beings. would they be diverted to
fee the ambitious man confuming himfelf by
running after a C pur[uing
the bubble fame in the cannon's mouth' that
was to blow him to nothing: for whell: COIl..
fcioufpe(s ir
1\ 4
24
8
VINDICATION OF THE
mount in a whirlwind or, defcend in rain.
And fhould they compaffionately invigorate
his fight and {hew him the thorny path which
led to eminence, that like a quickfand finks
as he afcends, difappointing his hopes when
almoft within his grafp, would he not leave
to others the honour of amufing them, and
labour to fecure the prefent moment, though
from theconfiitution of his nature he would
not find it very eafy to catch the flying ftream l,
Such naves are we to hope and fear J
But, vain as the ambitous man's purfuits
would be, he is often ftriving for fortlething
more fubftantialthan fame-that indeedwould
be the verieQ:meteor, the wildefi 'fire 'that
could lure a man to ruin.-What! renounce
the mofi trifling gratification to be applauded
when he fhould be no more! Wherefore this
llruggle. whether man be mortal or immortal,
if that noble pallion did not real1y raife the ,
being above his felIowsr-
And love! What diverting fcenes would it
tricks muO: yield to more
'egregious folly. To fee a' mortal adorn an
-object with imaginary charms, and then fall
down and wodhip the idol which he had
himfe1f fet .up-how ridiculous! but what
ferious
,
-ltIGHTS OF W.oMAN. 249
feriolls confequences enfue to rob man ofthat
portion ofhappinefs, which the Diety by
calling him into exifl:ence has (Of, on what
can his attributes reft?) indubitably
wou14 not all the purpofes of life have been
much better fulfilled if he had only felt what
has been termed phyficallove? And
J
would
not the ftght of the object, not feen.through
the medium of the imagination, foon reduce
the pallon to an' appetite, . if reflection, the.
noble difiindion ofman, did not give it force,
and ;make it aninA:'rument toraife him above
this earthy drofs, 'by teaching him to love the
centre of all perfeCtion; whofe wifdom ap-
pears clearer and cleal'erinthe works of na-
ture, in proportion as reafon is illuminated
and exalted by cdntemplation, .andbyacquir-
lng that -love of order which the frruggles of
pamon produce?
The habit of .reflection, and the know-
ledge attained by foaering any paffion,might
be {hewn to be equally ufefuI, though the
object be p'rOved equally faUacious j for they
would all appear in the fame light, if they
Were not,magnified by the governing paffion
implanted inli-S by the Autbof' of all good,.
to
210 VJNDICATION OF'THZ
to call forth and llrengthcn the faculties of
each individual, and enable it to attain all the
experience that an infant can obtain, who
does certain things, it cannot tc=l1 why.
I defcend from my height. and mixing, with
my fellow-creatures,. feel myfelf hurried
'ilong the common llream; a,mbition. love,
hope, and fear, exert their wonted power!
though we be convinced by rearon that their
prefent and moll attractive Pfomifes are only
lying dreams; but had the cold hand of cir-
cumfpecHon damped' each generous feeling
before it had left any permanent charaClef,
or fixed fome habit, what could be-expected,
but felfifu pruden<;e and reafon j uO: rifing
above inftinCl:? Who that has read Dean
Swift's difgufting defcription of the Y
and infipid one of. Houyhnhnm'with a philo-
fophical eye, can avoid feeing the futility of
degrading the paffions,' or Il),aking reft
in contentment?
The youth aC1; for \lad h:e the ex-
perience of a grey head he would be fitter for
death than life, though his virtues, -rather
refiding in his head than his heart, could
duce nothing great, and his ..

RIoaTS OF 251
prepal"ed for this world, would not, by its
noble flights, prove that it had a title a
bettet:.
Befides, it i$ npt poffible to give a young
pedon a joll vie-.y oflife;. he mull have llrug-
gled with his before he can
eftimare the force 9f the temptation which
betrayed hi$ brpther into vice. Thofe who
are entering life. and whQ departing,
fee world from fuch very different points
pf view, that can feldom think alike,
the unfledged reaCon of the former
a folitary flight
. 'When we hc:ar of fame dariI?-g crime-it
full oil us the qeepeft lhade of tur-
pitl.lpe, and indignation; but the eye
that gradually raw darknefs thicken, mull:
pbferve it with more compaffionate forbear-
ance. The world cannot be feen by an un-
ploved fpectator, we mufi: mix in the throng,
and feel as rI)en feel before we can judge of
tpeir feelings. If we mean, in {hart, to live
jn the world to grow wifer and better, and
merely to enjoy the good things of life,
we mull: attain a knowledge of others at the
fame time tQ.at we become acquainted with
ledge acquiredany other way
onl.y
252 ViNDICATION oFetrHE
only hardens the heart and perplexes the u n ~
derftanding.
I may be told, that the knowledge thus
acquired, is fometimes purchafed at too dear
a rate. I can only anfwer that I very much
doubt whether any knowledge can be attained
without labour and forrow,; and thofe who
wi!h to fpare their children both, fhould not
complain, if thet are neither wife nor vir-"
tuous. They only aimed at making them
prudent,; and prudence, early in-life, is but
the cautious craft of ignorant felf-Iove.
I have obferved that young people, to
whofe educatiqn particular attention has been
paid, have, in general, been very fuperficial
and conceited, and far from pleafing in any
re[peCl:,. becaufe they had neither the unfuf.
peeling warmth of youth, nor the cool depth
of age. I cannot help imputing this unna;'
tural appearance principally to that hally
premature inftruCtion, which leads them pre-
f u m p t u ~ u n y to repeat all the crude notions
they have taken upon trull, fo that the care-
ful education which they received, makes
\ them all their lives the naves of prejudices.
Mental as well as bodily exertion is, at
firft, irkfome; fo much fo, that the many
would
RIGHTS 'OF WOMAN. 253
fain let others both work and think
. for them. An obfervati9n which I have often
made will illuftrate my meanin
p
When in
a circle of {hangers, or acquaintances, a
fan of moderate abilities afferts an opipion
with heat, I will venture to affirm, for I have
traced this faet home, very often, that it is a
prejudice. Thefe echoes have a pigh refpea=
for the underll:anding of fume relation or
friend, and without fully comprehending the
opinions, which they are fo eager to
they maintain them with. a degree of .obfti-
nacy, that would furprife even the perIon
who concoCted them.
I knllw that a kind of falhion now
of refpetting prejudices j and when anyone
dares to face them, thoughaCluated by hu-
,manity and armed by reafon, he is fuperci-
lioufly alked whether his were fools.
No, I fhould reply; opinions, at. firft, of
every defcription, were all, probably, confi-
dered, and therefore were founded on fome
reafoD; yet not unfrequently, of courfe, it
was r,ather a local expedient than a funda-
mental principle, that would be reafonable at.
all times. But, ,mofs-covered opinions affume
the difproportioned form of prejudices, when
they
~ 5 4 VINDICATION OF THE
they are indolently adopted only becaufe age
has given them a venerahle afpect, though
the rearon on which they were buil t ceafes
to be a reafon, or cannot be traced. Why are
we to love prejudices, merely hecau[e they
are prejudices *r A ptejudice is a fond ohfii..
nate perfuafion for whie" we can give no rea-
fon; for the moment a reafon can be given for
an opinion, it ceafes to be a prejudice; though
it may be an error in judgment: and are we
then advlfed to cheri!h opinions only to (et
-reafon at defiance? This mode of arguing.
if arguing it may be called, reminds me: of
what is vulgarly termed a woman's rea[on.
For women fometimes declare that they love,
or believe
t
certain things, beclJuft they 10Vel
or believe them.
It is irnpoffible to converfe with. people to
any purpofe, who only ufe affirmatives and
negatives. Before you can bring them to a
point, to llart faidy from, you mull go hack
to the fimple principles that were antecedent
to the prej udices broached by power;. and it
is ten to one but you are ftopped by the phi-
lofophical affertion, that certain principles are
Vide Mr. Burke.
lUGH'I'S bF WOMAN. 255
a ~ praClically falfe as they are abftraClly true-.
Nay, it may be inferred, that reafon has whif-
pered fame doubts, for it generally happens
that people affert their opinions with the
greateft heat when they, begin to waver;
fhiving to drive out their own doubts by con..
vincing their opponent, they growangry when
thofe gnawing doubts are thrown back to
prey on themfelves.
The faB: is,that men expet1: from educa-
tion, what education cannot give. A faga-
cious parent or tutor may firengthen, the
body and lharpen the inftruments by which
the child is to, gather knowledge; but ,the
honey mull be the reward of the individual's
own indufiry. It is almoft as abfurd to at-
tempt to make a youth wife by the expe-
rience of another, as to expeCl the body to
grow thong by the exercife whi,ch is only'
talked of, or [cent. Many of thofechildren
whofe conduct: has been moil narrowly
watched, become the weakeft men, becaufe
, Convince.a man againft bis will,
, He's of the fame opinion fiiH.'
t ' One fees nothing when one is content to contem-
, plate on]y; it is neceffary to aa onefelf to be: able to fee
, hGW others aa.. Rouf[e(Juo
their
,/
VINDlCAT IO,N ()l: TS.P;
their inftruaors only infiiU certain notions,
into their minds, that have DQ fQun..
dation than their authority; and if they he,
loved Qr refpeCted, the mind is. cramped in
its exertions. and wavering in its '
The "bufinefs of education in this ca,fc, is:
only to conduct the fuooting tendrils to a prQ-
per, pole; yet after laying pr.ecept upon pre-,
cept, ,without allowing a' child to, acquire
jUdgm,ent'itfelf, parents expeCl: them to aa:'
in the fame manne'r by this borrowed fallaci';'
ous light, as if they had it theml'"
{elves; -an,dbe, they enter Jife, what
their patents are ,at clafe. They do not
, 'confider tha,t the tree, and even the -human
not till it has
reached its. full
Ther.e appqars .to 'be fometbing' analogous,
, In -the mind. ' The fenfes the
. to the during child-
youth; and'the undedianding, as.
, life advances" gives' finnne(s to. the urft fair:
,or' fenfibility-till virtue,
, rather' the Clear conviaion of than
, the' of the heart, i.s
, to' teft on'a rock' againfi which the ftorms of
paffion vai.nly, ',' '
, "
'lhope
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 257 .
I hope I iliall not be mifunderftood when J.
f.'ly, that religion willnot havethiscondenftng
energy, unlefs it be fouuded on'reafon. Ifit
be merely the refuge of weaknefs or wild fa-
l1aticifm, and not a governing principle ol
conduEt, drawn from felf-knowledge, and a.
rational opinion refpeB:ing the attributes of
God, \vhat can it be expeB:ed to produce ? T.he
religion which confitts in watming the affec-
tions, and exalting the imagination, is only
the poetical part, and may afford the indiv'i-
dual pleafure without rendering it a more
moral being. It may be a fubftitute for
worldly purfuits; yet narrow, inftead of en-
larging the heart: but virtue muft be loved
as in it/elf fu-blime and excellent, and not for :'
the advantages it procures ,or the evilS
ifany great degree of excellence' oeexpeCled.
lVlen will not become morai \yhen they only
build airy cafiles in, a futur<: world to corn,. '.
, ,difapPQiqtmelltS whiCh they
meet witpin this; if they their thoqght!i: .
from relative,dPties to, ..
Mofr . life marred q:ythe'
ihuming worldly wifdom of 'men, whO,. or- ..
. getting' that.' they: cannot ferye 'Ood and
blel1cl.. . ' ..
S: '"., '
'.: .
things.-If you wifh to make your fon rich.
purfue one courfe-if you are anxiou,s
to make him virtuous, you m\lft take
ther; but do not imagine that you can bound
from oIre road to the other without lofing
your way.
See an excellent efray on this fubjeCl: by Mrs.
bauld, in Mifcdlaneous Pieces in f'oft.,.
"
CHAP.
R.IGHTS OF WOMAN. . 259
CH A P. VI.
THE EFFECT WHICH AN EARLY ASSOCIA..
TION OF IDEAS HAS t1PON THE CHA..
RACTER.
EDUCATED in the enervating ftyle recom.,.
mended by the on whom I have been
and not having a chance,
from their fubordinate flate in fociety, to re-
cover their 10ft ground, is it furprifing that
women every where appear a defet.l: in na-
ture? Is it furprifing, when we confider what
a determinate effet1 an early affociation of
ideas has on the charaCler, that they negleCl:
their underftandings, and turn all their atten-
tion to their perfons ?
The great advantages which naturally re..
fult from froring the mind with knowledge,
areobvious from the foIlowingconfiderations.
The afrociation of our ideas is
t>f infiantaneous; and the mode.feems
rather to depend 011 the. original teD1perature
of the mind than on the will. . When the
. S 2 ideas
a
ideas, and matters of faa, are once taken in,
they lie by for ufe,. till fome fortuitous cir-
cumftance makes the infonnation dart into
the mind with illuftrative force, that has been
. received at very .differentperiods of our lives.
Like the lightning's flafh are many recollec-
tions; one idea affimilating and explaining
with aftoniihing rapidity. I do not
now allude 'to that quick perception of truth,
which.is fointuitive that it bafHesrefearch,
makes us at a 10fs to determine whether it is
reminifcence or ratiocination, loft fight ofin
its celerity, that opens the dark cloud.. Over
thofe inftantaneous affociations we have little
,
power; for when mind is once enlarged
by excurfive flights, or profound
materials will, in fome degree, ar-
rang; themfelves. The underft.anding, it
is true, may keep us from going ou't of
drawing when we group our thoughts,. or
tranfcribe from the imagination the warm
. .{ketches of fancy; .but the animal fpirits,
the individual charatl:er, give the colouring.
Over this fubtile electric fluid., .how little
power
I [ometin:es, wheninc1iqed .to. laugh at mate...
rialiil:s,. aiked whether, as :Ihe' moil: powerful effects in
nature
power do we poffefs, and over it how little
power can reafon obtain! There fine intract-
able fpirits appear to be the effence of genius,
and beaming in its eagle eye, produce in the
eminent degree the happy energy of
affociatingthoughts thatfurprife, delight, and
inftruCl:. Thefe are the glowing minds that
concentrate pictnres for their fellow-creatures j
forcing them to view with interell: the ob-
jects reflected from the impaffioned imagina-
tion, which they paffed over in nature.
. I muft be allowed to explain myfeIf. The
generality of people cannot fee or feel
calIy, they want fancy, and therefore
from folitude in fearch of fenfible objects j
but when an author them his eye.s they
can fee as he faw, and be 'amufed by im.ages
they could not felea) though lying before
them.
Education thus' only fupplies. the man of
genius with knowledge to give variety and
nature are apparently produced by fluids, the m:jgnetiC'.
&c. the might not fine volatile fluids that em-
braced humanity, keepittg.the morC! refraelory.
parts together-or whether. they were fimply: a liquid fire,
that pervaded the more giving them life
and heat? .
,to
's 3:
> '
contraft
'VINDICATION' TItE
to his affociations j but there is an
habitual affociation of ideas, that grows ( with
C our growth,' which has a great effecl: on
the of mankind j and by
which a turn .is given to the mind that com-
monly remains throughout life. So du.Ctile
is the underftanding, and yet fo fiubborn.
that which depend on adven-
titious circumftances, during the period that
the body takes to arrive at maturity, can fel-
dom be difeDtangled by reafon. One idea
calls up another, its old affociate, and me-
mory, faithful to the firft impreffions, parti-
cularly when the intelleCtual powers are not
employed to cool our fenfations, retraces them
:with mechanicalexactnefs.
habitual {lavery, ta firft impreffions,'
has a more baneful effeCl: on the female than
themale charaCter, becaufe bufinefs and other
dry employments of the underfianding, tend
to deaden the feelings and affociations
that-do, violence to reafon. But females, who
are made women of when they are mere chil.J
dren; and brought back to childhood when
they ought to leave thego;..cart for ever,
.have not fufficient ftrength of mind to efface
the
lUGHTS 263
thefuperinduttions ofart that havefmothered,
nature.
Every thing that they fee or hear ferves to
fix,impreffions, call forth emotions, and a{[o-
ciate ideas, that give a fexualcharaB:er to the
mind. Falfe notions of beauty and delicacy.
- fiop the growth of their limbs and produce a
fickly forenefs, rather than delicacy of or-
gans; and thus weakened by being
in unfolding inftead of examining the firft
affociations, forced on them by every fur..
rounding objeCt, how can they attain the
vigour neceffary to enable them to throw
off their faCtitious charaaer ?-where find
ftrength to recur to reafon and rife fuperiour
to a fyftem of oppreffion, that blafts the fair
promifes of fpring? This cruel affociation of
ideas, which every thing confpires to twift:
into all their habits of thinking, Of, to fpeak
with more precifion, of feeling, receives new
force when they begin to aCt a little for
themfelves; for they then perceive that it is
only through their addrefs to excite emotions
in men, that pleafure and power are to be ob-
tained. Befides, the books profeffedly written
for their inftrucHon, which make thefirll:
impreffion on their minds, all inculcate the
S f fame
t64 VfNDICATION oIl' THE
fame opinions. Educated then in worfe than
Egyptian bondage, it is unreafonable, as well
. cruel, to upraid them with faults that can
fcarce)y be avoided, un1efs a degree of native
vigour be fuppofed, that to the lot of very
few amongf\ mankind.
For inftance, the feverell: farcafms have
been levelled againft the and they have
been ridiculed for repeating C a fet of phrafes
learnt by rote,' when nothing could be more
natural, confidering the education they re-
ceive, and that their C higheft praife is to
C obey, un'argued'-the will of man. If they
be not allowed to have rearon fufficient to
. govern their own conduCt-why, all they
learn-mull: be learned by rote! And when
.all their ingenuity is called forth to adjuft
their drefs, " a pallion for a fcadet coat,' is
fo niltural, that it never furprifed me; and,
allowing Pope's fummary of their character
to be juft,c that every woman is at heart a
C rake: they be bitterly cenfured
for feeking a congenial mind, and preferring
a' rake to a man of fenfe ?
. ',Rakes knowhow to work on their fenfibi-
'whiUl the rn9deft merit of reafonable
1nen has, of c<mrre," lefs effect on their few-
.' ."
. - .
. mgs,
lUG1tTS OF WOMAN. 265
ings, and they cannot reach the heart by the
way of the underfranding, becaufe they have
few fentiments in common.
It [eerns a little abfurd to expect women to
. be more reafonable than men in their likings,
and frill to deny them the uncontrouled ufe
of rearon. When do men fa/I-in-Iove with..
fenfe? When do they, with their fuperioul" .
powers and advantages, turn from the perfon
to the mind? And how can they then expeCl:
women, who are only taught to obferve be-
haviour, and acquire manners. rather than
morals, to defpife what they been all
their lives labouring to attain? Where are
they fuddenly to find judgment enough to
weigh patiently the fenfe of an awkward vir":
tuous man, when his manners, of which.
they are made critical judges, .are rebuffing,.
and his converfation cold and duIJ, becaufe it
does not confift of pretty repartees, ()r wel.l
turned compliments? In order to admire 'or
efreem any thing fOl" a contiI!Uance, we muft, .
at leaft, have our curiofityexcited.bY
ing, in fome degree, \Yhai: we admire; . for'
we ate unable to e.ftimate the q :' .
ties and virtues above ?ur
Such a' refpet,t, when it is may.tie very.
. . lublime;
..
266 vlNtncATION THE
fublime; and the confufed confciouCnefs of
humility may render the dependent creature
an interefting,objeCl, in fame points o( view J
but human love muft have gro{fer ingre-
dients; and the perfon very naturally will
come in for its {hare-and,an ample {hare
it moftly has I
Love is, in a 'great degree, an arbi-
trarypaffiorl, and will reign, like fome other
ftalking mifqhiefs, by its 'own authority,'
without deigning to reafon;. ami it may alfo
be' eafily diftinguifhed from efteem, the'
foundation of friend{hip, becaufe it is often
excited by evanefcent beauties and
though, to give an energy to. fentiment,
fomething more folid muft deepentneir: itil.,
prefiion and'fet;th.e:imaginatiOn to work, to
make ,the moft fair-'the firft good.,
:; Common 'paffions are excited by common.
-qualities.-Men.look for beauty and the fim-,
per of good-humoured docility: women are
captivated be eafy manners; a gentleman-like
man fe1dom fails to pleafe them, and their
thirfryears eagerly drink the' infinuating no-
things of politenefs, whilft they turn from
the founds of the charmer-rea-
fon, charm he never fo wifely. With re-
7
,
fpea to fuperficial accomplilhments, the rake
certainly, has the aqvatltagel and of thefe fe-
males can form an opinion, JQr it is their own
ground. gay and giddy by
whole tenor of their lives, the yery.afpect of
wifdom, or the. fevere of virtue,
have a lugqbrious to then.l j and
produce a kind of reftraint from
and love, fportive child, .patprally revolt.
Without taffej c;xcepting lighter k.ind,
for tafte is the offspring of ludgment, how
can they .difcover and
muft arife from the play of the mind?:;104
how can they be ex.peCted to relilh in a lover
what they not, or'very pot-
fefs themfelves? The. fympathy that:
hearts, and invites. to co,nfidence, in them is
fo very faint, that it cannpttake fire, and thus
mount to pamon. No, I repeat it, the 19v:e
cherifhed by fuch minds, muft have grofter
-
The inference is obvious j till women arc
led exercife their underftandings, they
fhould not be fatirized for their to
fakesj or even for being rakes at heart,
when it appears to be the inevitable confe-
quence of their education. They who live
to
268 VINI>ICATION OF THE
to plea(e-muft find their enjoyments, their
happinefs, in pleafure! It is a trite, yet true
remark, that we never do any thing well,
unlefs we love it for its own fake.
Suppofing, however, for a moment, that
women were. in fome future revolution of
time, to become, what I fincerely wiih them
to be, even love would acquire more ferious
dignity, and be purified in its own fires; and
virtue giving true delicacy to their affeCtions,
they would turn with difgufl: f r o ~ a rake.
Reafoning then, as well as feeling, theonIypro-
vince of woman, 'at prefent, they might eafily
guard againft exteriour graces, and quickly
learn to defpife the fenfibility that had been
excited and hackneyed in. t h ~ ways of women,
whore trade was vice j and allurements, wan-
ton airs. They would recolleCl that the flame,
one muft ufe appropriated expreffions, which
they wilhed to light up, had been exhaufted
by luft, and that the fated appetite, lofing all .
relilhfor pure and fimple pleafures, could only
be roufed by licentious arts or variety:J.What
fatisfaClion could a woman of delicacy pro-
mife herfelf in a union with fuch a man,
when the very artleffnefs of her affeCtion
. 8 might
)tIGHTS 01l' 269
might appear infipid? Thus does Dryden de-
fcribe
-----:-' Where love is dLJty, On kmate fide,
On gull, and fought with furl ypride.'
one to
learn, though much it imports them
'In choice of a hufband, -they
, " l'
fhould be afrray by the of a
lover-.for lover the hufband,evell fuppof-
ing him to be wife and canqot long
remam.
Were women more rationalIy educated,
could take a more comprehenfive viewof
they would be to love but
once in their lives j and after marriage calmly
let pallion fubfide intp friendlhip-into that
tender intimacy, which is the befr refuge
from <;are; yet is built on (uch pure, frill
affeCtions, that idle jealoufies would not be
allowed to the difcharge of the fober
, duties Of to engrofs the thoughts that
ought to be 'otherwife This is a
. . \" - .
late in which many men live; but few, very
few women. And the' difference mayeafily be
accounted fOf, without recurring to a (exual
Men, for whom we are told wo-
'. ; . ,
men
-2.70 YINDICATION OF THE
men'weremade, have too much occupied the
thoughts ofwomen ; and this affociation has fo
entangledlove withall their motivesofaCtion;
and, to harp a little on an'old firing, having
been folely employed either to prepare them-
{elves to excite love, or actually putting their
leffons in praCtice, they cannot live without
love. But, when a fenfe of duty, or fear'of
fhame, obliges them to refirain this pampered
defire of pleafing beyond certain lengths, too
far for delicacy, it is true, though far from
criminality,
I fpeak of tqe paffien, their hufuands to the
end of the chapter-and then aCting the
part which they foolHhly exaCted from. their
lovers, they become abjeCt wooers and fond
naves.
Men of wit and fancy are often rakes; and
fancy is the food. of love. Such men will
infpire paffion. Half the fex, in its prefent
infantine fiate, would pine for a Lovelace; a
man fo witty, fo graceful, and fo valiant:
andcan they deflrve blame for acting accord-
ing to principles fo confiantly inculcated?
They want a lover, and protector; and be-
hold him kneeling before them-bravery
profirate to beautyl The virtues of a huf-
bail&
. '
27'
band are thu.s. thrown by, lqye into the back
ground, and gay hopes, or.liv:e1y emotions,
baniili rei0n till the: day of reckoning
come; came it furely wiJI, to turn the
fprightly lover into a furly fufpicious tyrant,
who contemptuouily infults" the very weak..
nefs he foftered. Or., fuppofing the rake
reformed, he cannot quickly get rid of old
habits. When a man of abilities is fidl: car-
ried away by his paffions, it is neceffary that
fentitnent and taftevarnifh the enormities
ofvice, and give a zeft to brutal indulgences;
but when the glofs of novelty is worn off, an4
pleafurepallsupon the fenfe, Iafciyioufnefs be-
comes barefaced, and enjoyment only the def..
perate effort of weaknefs flying from reflec..
tion as from alegion of devils. Oh! virtue,
thou art not an empty name! All that life
(:an give-thou giveft!
If much comfort cannot be expeCted from
the friendfuip of a reformed rake of fupe-
fiour abilities, what is the confequence when
he lacketh fenfe, as well as principles? Verily
in its moft hideous 1hape. When
the habits of weak people are confolidated by
time, a reformation is barely pallible; and
makes the beings miferable who have
not
272 VJNDl CATION ot THE
not fufficient mind to be amufed by inno-
cent pleafure j like the tradefman who retires
from the hurry of bufinefs, nature prefents to
them only a univerfal blank; and the reftlefs
thoughts prey on the damped fpirits. Their
reformation, as well as his retirement, achjally
makes them wretched, becaufe it deprives
them of all employment. by quenching tht;
hopes and fears that fet in motion their flug...
gifh minds. '
Iffuch be the force of habit; if fuch be the
bondage offolly, how ought we to
guard the mind from froring up vicious a[o-
ciations; and equally careful fhould we be to
cultivate, the underfianding, to fave the poor
wight from the weak dependent ll:ate of
harmlefs ignorance. For it is the right ufe of
reafon alone which makes us independent of
every thing-excepting the unclouded Reafon .
-' Whofe fervice is perfect freedom:
,. I have frequently feen this exemplifi",d WOIT\en whofe
beauty could no longer be repaired. They have retired
from the noify fcenes of diffipation; but, unlc:fs they became
methodifis. the [olitude of the [eleCt focic:ty of their famil,
conne8ions or acquaintance, ,has prefented only a
void; confequently, nervous complaints, and all the ya-
pourifu train of idlenefs, rendered quite as ufe.1efs, and
far more unhappy, than when they joined the giddy throng.
CHAP,
.RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 27j"
/
CH A P. VII.
MODESTY.-COMPREHENSIVELY' CONSIDER-
ED, AND NOT AS A SEXUAL VIRTUE.
MODESTY! Sacred offspring of fenfibility
and reafon I-true delicacy of mind I-may!
unblamed prefume to inveftigate thy nature.
,
and trace to its covert the mild charm, that
mellowing each harlh feature of a charaCter.
renders what would otherwife only infpire
coldadmiration-Iovelyl-Thouthat fmooth-
eft the wrinkles of wifdom, and fofteneft the
tone ofthe fublimeft virtues till they all melt
into humanity;-thou that fpreadeft the ethe-
real cloud that, furrounding love, heightens
every beauty, it half hades, breathing thofe
coyJweets that fteal into the heart, and charm
the fenfes-modulate for me the language of
perfuafive reafon, till I roufe my fex from the-
flowery bed, on which they fupinely Ileep
life away!
In fpeaking of the affociation of our ideas,
I have noticed two diftina modes; and in
T d e f i n ~ n g
A modeft
"274- vtNDICA"ION OF THE
defining- modefty, it appears to me equally
proper to difcriminate that purity of mind,
which is the effea of chaftity, from a fimpli-
, city of charaCter that leads us to form a juft
opinion of ourfelves, equally dift-.ant from
vanity or prefumption, though by no means
incoinpatible with a lofty confcioufnefs of our
. own dignity. Modefty, in the l a ~ t e r fignifi-
cation of the term, is, that fobernefs of mind
which teaches a man not to think more highly
ofhimfeIfthan he ought to think, and fhould
be diftinguifhed from humility, becaufe hu-
mility is a kind of felf-abafement.
Amodeft man often conceives a great plan,
and tenacioufly adheres to it, confcious of
his own ftrength, till fuccefs gives it a fanc-
tion that determines its charaCter. Milton
was not arrogant when he fuffered a fug-
geftion ofjudgment to efcape him that proved
a prophecy; nor was General Wafhington
when he accepted of the command of the
American forces. The latter has always
. been charaCterized as a modeft man; , but had
he been merely humble, he would probably
have furunk back irrefolute, afraid of trufting-
to himfelf the direaion of an enterprife, on
which fo much depend:d.
A mode!l: man is fteady, an humble man
.timid, and a vain one pre[umptuol1s :-this is
thej udgptent, which the obfervation of many
characters, has led me to form. Jefus Chrift
'was modeft, l\lofes was humble, and Peter
vam..
Thus, difcriminating modefry from humi-
lity in one cafe, I do not mean to confound
,it with bafhfl1lnefs in the other. .Bafhful-
neCs; in faCt, is fo diftinet from modefty, that
the moO: bafhful laCs, or raw country lout,
oftell become t h ~ moft impudent; for their
.bafhfulnefs being merely the inftinctive timi.
dity of ignorance, cuftom foon changes it
. into afiurance *. I
The fhamelefs behaviour of the profiitutes,
who infeft the ftreets of this metropolis, raif
l Such is the country.maiden's fright,
, When fidl: a red-coat is in fight,
i Behind the door (he hides her face;
, Next time at di!lance eyes the lace:
, She now can all his terrors !land,
Nor from his fqueeze withdraws her hand.
, She plays familiar in his arms,
, And ev'ry foldier hath his charms;
, From tent to tent fhe fpreads her flame;
, For cufl:om conquers fear and fhamC','
T2
Goy.
, ~ n g
276 VINi>Ic,ATION or TIt!
ing alternate emotions of pity and difguft, may
ferve to ilIutrate this remark. They tram...
pIe on virgin bafhfulnefs with a fort of bra-
'vado, and glorying in their lhame, become
more audacioufly lewd than men, however
depraved, to whom this fexual quality has
not been gratuitoufly granted, ever appear to
be. But thefe poor ignorant wretches never
had any modeftyto lofe, when they configned
themfe1ves to infamy; for modefty is a virtue,
not a quality. No, they were only bafhful,
fuame-faced innocents: and lofing their in-
nocence, their filame-facednefs was rudely I
brufhed off; a virtue would have left fame
veftiges in the mind, had it bee!1 facrificed
to paffion, to make us refpeCl: the grand ruin.
Purity of mind, o r ~ t h a t genuine delicacy,
which is the only virtuous fupport of chaf-
tity, is near akin to that refinement of hu-
manity, which never refides in any but cul-
tivated minds. It is fomethingnobler than
innocence, it is the delicacy of reflection; and
not the coynefs of ignorance. The referve
of reafan, which, like habitual cleanlinefs, is
feJdom feen in any great degree, unlefs the
foul is aaive, may eafily bedillinguilhed from
ruftic lhynefs or wanton ikittifhnefs; and,. fo
far
I
1
far from being incQrnpatible with knowledge,
it is its faireft Wqat a grors idea C?f
modefty had of the following re-
mark! 'The lady who afked the, queftion
C whether women may l]e inftructed rh?
I
moQern fyftem of botany, confiftently with
C female delicacy ?-was accufed of ridiculous
, neverthelefs, if ihe pad propofed
,. the queftion to me, I ihould certainly have
, anfwered-They cannot: Thus is the fair
book of knowledg
1
to be {hut with an evec-
Jailing feal ! On reading fimilar pafi"ages I
reverentially lifted up my eyes and heart t<?
Him who liveth ror ever and ever, and faid,
P my Father, haft Thou by the very confti-
tution of her nature forbid Thy child to feek
Thee in the fair forms of truth? And, can
her foul fullied by the knowledge that
awfully calls her to Thee?
I have then philofophically purfued there
refleCtions till I 1nferred that thofe women
who have mail: improved their reaCon muft
have the moft modefty-though a dignified
fedatenefs of deportment may have fucceeded
theplayful, bewitchingbafhfulneCs of youth
ModeA:y, is the graceful calm of maturity;
b.lhfulnl:fs, the charm Qf vivacious youth.
T 3 And
VINDICATION OF THE
, And thus have I argued. To render chat:::
tity the virtue from which, unfophifticated'
modefty will naturally flow, the attention
fhould be called away frQm employments.
which onlyexercife the fenfibility; and the
, .
heart made to beat time to humanity, rather
than to throb with love. The woman who
has dedicated a confiderable portion :0 het
time topurfuits purely intellectual, and whore
'affections have been exercifed by humane
plans ofufefulnefs, muft have more purity of
mind, as a natural confequence, than the
ignorant beings whofe time and thoughts
have been occupied by gay pleafures or
fchemes to hearts. The regula-
tion
,;
, it I have converfed, as man with man, with medical
meri, on anatomical fubjeCis; and compared the proportioqs
of the human body with artifl:s-yet fuch modefl:y did I
meet with, that I never reminded by word or look of
my fex, of the abfurd r,:,les which m.,ke modefl:y a pharl-
faical cloak of w.eaknefs. And I am perfudded that in the
pur(uit of knowledge women would never be qy
fenfible men, and rarely by men of any defcription, if they
did not by mock modefl:y remind them that they were wo.
men: aCl:uated by the fame fpirit as the Portugueze ladies,
who would think their charms inCulted, if, when left alone
with a man, he did not, at leaft, attempt to be
familiar

",
"'
..RIGHTS OF WOMAN.
of is not modefty, thO\lgll
thofe ft,udy rules of decorum are, in ge-
neral, termed modefr Make 'the
heart let it expand and feel for all tha't
.is human, inftead of being narrowed hy felfifll
pallions; and let the mine! freqpently
template fubjects that
ing, without heating the imagipation, cmd
artlefs moddty will give the fini!hing touches
to the picture. '
She who can difcern the dawn of immor-
tality, ,in ftreaks that !hoot athwart the
miftyuight'of ignorance, promifing a clcare,r
.will re(ped, as a facred temple, the
body. that enfhrines fuch an improvable foul.
True love, likewife, fpreads this kind of
myfterious fanttity round the beloved objeCt,
making the lover moft mod<;:il: when in he;r
prefence *. So re(erved, is affeCtion that,
receiving ret1,lrning perfQnalende'!-rments,
it l)ot only to ihun the human eye,
as a kind pf b\lt to diffufe an
familiar with their per[ons. Men are not always men in
the of nor would women always remem-
ber that they are if they aJlowed acql!irc
underllanding.
Male or female; for the' world contains many mo-
, '1 ,: ,- . - .
dell men.
T 4
2g0. VINDICATION OF THE
encircling cloudy obfcurity to {hut out even
the faucy fparkling funbeams. Yet, that
aff"eCl:ion does not deferve the epithet ofchafte,
which does not receive a fublime gloom of
tender melancholy, that allows the mind for
a moment to frand frill and enjoy the prefent
fatisfatlion, when a confcioufnefs of the Di-
vine prefence is felt-for this muLl: ever bethe .
food ofjoy!
. As I have always been fond of tracing to its
fource in nature any prevailing cuftom, I
have frequently thought that it was a fenti-
ment of affection for whatever had touched
the perfon of an abfent or loft friend, which
gave birth to that refpeB: for relicks, fo much
abufed by felfifh priefts. Devotion, 01' love,
may be allowed to hallow the garments as
well as the perfon; for the lover muft want
fancy who has not a fort of facred refpeet for
the glove or nipper of his miftrefs. He could
110t confound them with vulgar things of the
fame kind. This fine fentiment, perhaps,
would nQt bear to be analyzed by the experi-
mental philofopher-but of fuch fluff is hu-
man rapture Jl1ade up !-A fhadowy phan-
~ . tom glides before us, ,obfcuring every other
object; yet when the foft cloud is grafped,
the
the form melts into common air, leaving a
{olitary void, or fweet perfume, ftolen from
the violet, that memory long holds dear.
But, I have tripped unawares on fairy ground,
feeling the balmy gale of fpring ftealing on
me, though-november frowns.
As a fex, women are more chafte than men;
and as modefty is the effeCt: of chaftity, they
may deferve to have this virtue afcribed to
them-in rather an appropriated fenfe; yet, I
mull: be allowed to add an hefitating if:-for
I doubt whether chaftity will produce mo-
defty, though it may propriety of conduCt';
when it is merely a refpeCt for the opinion of
the world", and when coquetry and the love-
10rn tales of noveIifts employ the thoughts.
Nay, from experience, and reafon, I ihould
be led to expect: to meet with more modefty
amongft men than women, fimply becaufe
men exercife their underftandings more than
women.
But, with refpea to propriety of behavi-
our, excepting one clafs of females,women
have evidently the advantage. What can be
- The immodetl behaviour of many married womeo, ,
who are neverthelefs faithful to their hll,!bands' beds, will
illuftrate this remark.
more
282 VINDICATION OF
more difgufting than that impudent drofs of
gallantry,' thought fo manly, which makes
many men flare infuItingly at evf;.ry female
they meet? Can it be termed refpeCt for the
fex? No, this loofe behaviour hews fuch ha.
bitual depravity, fuch weaknefs 9f mind, that
it is vain to expeCt much public or private vir-
tue, till both men and women grow more mo..
deft-till men, curbing a fenfual fondnefs for
the fex, 0l:" an affeCtation of manly a[urance,
more properly impudence,
each other with ,unlefs or
paffion give the tone, peculiar to it, to
behaviour. I mean even per[oml1 refpeCl:-
the modeft refpeCt of humanity, and fellow-
feeling-not libidinous mockery of gal..
lantry, nor the infolent condefceqfion of pro.
teCtorihip.
To carry the obfervation frill further,
deftymuft heartilydifclaim, andrefufetodwell
,with that debauchery of mind, which leads
man coolly to bring forward,
allufions, orobfcene witticifms., in
the prefence of fellow creature
nowout ofthequefrion, forthen'it is brutality.
RefpeCl: for man, as man, ,is the foundation
of every noble fentiment. much morer
moddt
RIGHTS OF. WOMAN.- 283
modeft is the libertine who .obeys the call of
or fancy, than the lewd joker who
fets the table in a road
This is one of the many inftances in which
It:xual diftinction refpeCting modefty has-
proved fatal to virtue and happinefs. It is,
. however" carried frill further, and woman,
weak woman! made by her education the
flave of fenfibility, is required, on the moft
trying occafions, to refift that fenfibility.
Can any thing,' fays Knox, f be more ab-
furd than keeping women in a ftate of ig..
C norance, and yet fo vehemently to infift on
refifting temptation ?,-Thus when
vi,rtue or honour make it proper to check a
the burden is thrown on the, weaker
'1houlders, contrary to reafon and true me-
'deity, which, at leaft, lhould render the felf..
denial mutual, fay nothing of the genera-
fity of bravery, to be a manly vir-
tue. .
In the fame' ftrain runs Rouffeau's and
Dr. Gregory's advice refpeCling modefty,
ftrangely mifcalled! for, they both defire a
wife to leave it in doubt whether fenfibility
or weaknefs led her to her huIband's arms.-
woman'is irrimodeft who can let the
fhadow
284' VINDICA.TION OF THE
1hadow of fuch a doubt remain in her huC-
.band's mind a moment.
But to ftate the fubjeCt in a different light
...-The want of modefty, which I principally
deplare as fubverfive of morality, arifes from
the ftate of warfare fa ftrenuourt y fupported
by voluptuous men as the very effence of
modeftr, though, in faa, its bane; becauft;
it is a refinement on luft, that men fall intQ
wha have not fufficient virtue to reliCh the;
innocent pleafures of love. A man of deli.,
cacy carries his n o t i ~ n s of modefty fEll fur.,
ther, for neither weaknefs nor fenfibility will
gratify him-he looks for affeClion.
Again; men boaft of their triumphs over
women, what da they boaft of? Truly t h ~
creature of fenfibility was furprifed by her
fenfibility into folly-into vice; and t h ~
dreadful reckoning falls heavily on her own
weak head, when reafon wakes. Foe where
art thou to find comfort, forlorn and difcon..
folate'one? He who ought to have direCted
tby reafon, and fupported thy weaknefs, has
betrayed thee I In a dream of pallon thou
confented to wander through flowery lawns)
The poor m ~ t h fluttering round a candle, burns its
wings.
and
lUCH'tS or WOMAN,2SS
'and heedlersly fteppirrg over the precipice to
which thy guide, inftead of guarding, lured
thee, thou ftarteft from thy dream only to
face a fileering, frowning ~ o r l d , and to find
thyfelf alone in a wafte, for he that triumphed
in thy weaknefs is now -purfuing new con-
quefts; but for thee-there is no redemption
on this fide the grave !-And what refource
'haft thou in an enervated mind to raife a fink-
ing heart?
But, if the fexes be really to live in a
- fiare of warfare, if nature have pointed it out,
let them" act nobly, or let pride whifper to
them, that the viCtory is mean when they
merely vanquilh fenfibility. The real con..
queft is that over affeCtion not taken by fur..
,priCe-when, like Heloifa, a woman gives up
all the world, deliberately, for love. I do not
now confider the wifdom or virtue of fuch a
facrifice, I only contend that it was a facri..
fice to affeCtion, and not merely to fenfibility,
though he had her fhare.-And I muft be
allowed to call her a modeft woman, before
I difmifs this part of the fubjeCt, by faying, .
that till men are more chafie women will be
immodeft. Where, indeed, could modeft
women find huibands from whom they would
, not
VINDIcATtON or
.
not continually turn with difguft? Mbdefiy
muft be cultivated by both fexes, or
it will ever remain a fickly hot-houfe plant,
whilft the affectation of it, the fig leaf bor-
'rowed by wantonnefs, may give a ieft to vo-
luptuous enjoyments.
Men will probably ftill infift that woman
ought to have modefty than man; but
it is not difpaffiollate reafoners who will moB:
eamel1:ly oppofe my opinion. .No, they are
,the men of fancy, the favourites of the fex;
who outwardly refpeet and inwardly defpife
, the weak creatures whom they thus fport
with. They cannot fubmit to refign the
higheft fenfual gratification, nor'even to reliili
the epicurifm of virtue-'felf-denial.
To take another view of the fubjea, con-
fining my remarks to women.
The ridiculous falfities* which are told to
children, from miftaken notions of modefty;
tend
'lit Children very early fee cats with their kittens, birds
with their young ones; &c. Why then are they not to be
told that theit mothers carry and nourilh them iil the fame
way? As there would then be no appearance ofmyfl:ery'
they would never think of the fubjeB: more. Truth may
always be told to children, if it be told gravely; but it is
the immodefl:y of affeCl:ed modefty, that does all the mif-
chief;,
. .
mIXIng
krGltTS OF WOMAN.'
tend very early to inflame their imaginations
and [et their little minds to work, refpecring
fubjeCts, which nature never intended they
, fuould think of till the body arrived fome
degree of maturity; then the paffions natu-
rally begin to tuke place of the fenfes, as in-
firuments to unfold the underftanding, and
form the moral charaBer.
In l1urferies, and boarding-fchools, I fear,
girls are firft (poiled; particularly-in the lat-
ter. A number of girls {leep in the fame
room, and wafh together. And though I"
fuould be forry to contaminate an innocent
creature's mind by inftiHing falfe or
thofe indecent prudifh notions, which early
caution's refpecting the other fex miturally
engender, I fhould be very anxious to pre-
vent their acquiring hafty, or immodeft ha-
bits; and as many girls have learned very
nafty tricks, from ignorant fervants, the'
:chief; and this [moke heats the imagination by vainly en-
deavouring to ob[cure certain objects. If,- indeed, chil-
dren could be kept entirely from improper company, we
.fhould never ;:lIude to any fuch [ubjeCts; but as this is im-
poffible, it is beft to tell them the truth, efpecially as fuch
information, not interefling them, will make no impref-
fion on their imagination.
S
2&8 VINDICATION or THE
mixing'them thus indifcriminately together,
is very improper.
To fay the truth women are, in general,
too familiar with each other, which leads to
that grofs degree of familiarity that-fo fre-
quently renders the marriage ftate unhappy.
Why in the name of decency are fifters, .le..
male intimates, or ladies and their waiting-
I .
women, to be fo grofsly familiar as to forget
the refpeCt which one human creature owes
to another? That fqueamiih delicacy which
fhrinks from the mcft difgufting offices when
affection or humanity lead us to watch at it
fick pillow, is defpicable. But, why wo-
men in health fhould be more familiar with.-
each other than men are, when they boaft of
their fuperior delicacy, is a folecifm in man-
ners which I could never folve.
In order to preferve health and beauty, I
fhould earneftly recommend frequent ablu-
tions, to dignify my advice that it may not
offend the faftidic;ms ear; and byexample
J
girls
ought to be taught to waih and drefs alon!,
AfFeClion would rather make one choofe to perform
there o1Jices, ~ o {pare the delicacy of a friend, by ftiU keep-
ing a veil over them, for the perfonal helpleffilefs, pro-
liUced by ficknefs
J
is of an humbling nature.
7 I without
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. ~ g 9
without any diftinClion of r ~ n k ; arid if euf-
tom fuould make them require fame little
affiftance, let them not require it till that
part ofthe bufinefs is over which ought never
to be done before a fellow-creature;. becattfe
it is an infult to the majefry of human na
ture. Not on the fcote of modefry, but de..
ceney; for the care which fome modeft wo.
men take, making at the fame time a difplay
of that care, not to let their legs be feen, i ~
as ehildifh as immodefr*.
I could proceed frill further, till I animad...
verted on fome frill more nafty euftoms;
which men never fall into. Secrets are told
-where filence ought to reign; and that
regard to cleanlinefs, which fonie teligious
feas have, perhaps, carried too far, efpecialIy
the E{fenes, amongft the Jews, by making
that an infult to God which is only an infult
to humanity, is violated in a beafily manner.
How can delicate women obtrude on notice
that part of the animal a:conomy, which is
r remember to have met with a rentenct!. in a book ot
education, that made me fmile. 'It would be needlefs to
, caution you againft putting your hand, by chance, under
, your neck handkerchief; for a modc:fi: woman never did
, fo ,-
u
fo
ViNDICATION ot
fo very difgufting? And is it not very riitiona'
to conclude, that the women w40 not
been taught to refpeCl: the human Ilature of-
their own fex, in thefe particulars, not
long refpect the mere difference of {ex t4e!r
huiliands? After their maidenifh
is once 10ft, I, in faCt, have
ferved, that women fall into old habits;
treat their hufbands as they did fifte.rS'
01' female acquaintance.
Befides, women from necetrrty, becauCe'
their minds are not cultivated, have recourfe
very often to what I familiarly
wit; and' their intimacies are of the fame
kind. In {hort, with refpect to both mind
and body, they are too intimate. _ de-
cent perfonal referve which is the
of dignity of muft be up
tween woman and woman, or their m,inds
will never gain or modefty.
On this account alia, I object to fe-.
males being {hut up together in nurfedeli'J'
[chools, or convents. I cannot recolleet with-
out indignation, the jokes and hoiden tricks,
which knots of young women indulge them- '
fdves in, when in my youth accident thre\v
me, an awkward fUfric, in, their, way. They,
were
,
RIGHT!! OF WOMAN. 29 I
were ilrrloft on a par with the double mean..
ings, which {hake the convivial table when
the glafs has circulated freely. But, it is
vain to attempt to k e e ~ the heart pure, un-
lefs the head is furnifhed with ideas, and fet
to work to compare them, in order to acquire
judgment, by generalizing fimple ones j and
modefty, by making the underftanding d ~ m p
the fenfibility.
It may be thought that I lay too great a
firefs on perfonal referve; but it is eve1" the
handmaid of modefty. So that were I to
name the graces that ought to adorn beautYt
I Lhould inftantly exclaim, cleanlinefs, neat-
nefs, and perfonal referve. It is obvious, I
fuppofe, that the referve' I mean, has nothing
fexual in it, and that I think it equally necef-
fary in both fexes. So nece{[ary, indeed, is
that referve and cleanlinefs which indolent
women too often negleCt, that I will venture
to affirm that when two or three women live
in the fame houte, the one will b ~ moft re-
fpeeled by the male part of the family, who
refide with them, leaving love entirely out of
the queftion, who pays this kind of habitual
refpeCt to her perfon:
U 2 \Vhen
VINDICATION OF THE
. When domeftic friends meet in a morning,
there will naturally prevail an fe-
rioufnefs, efpecially, if each look forward to
the difchaige of daily duties j and it may be
reckoned fanciful, but this fentiment has
frequently rifen fpontaneou1y in my mind,
I h:ave been pleafed after breathing the fweet-
bracing morning air, to fee the fame kind of
fre!hnefs in the countenances I particularly
loved i I was glad to fee them braced, as it
were, for the day, and ready to run their
courfe with the fun. The greetings of affec-
tion in the morning are by there means n'lOre
l"efpeCtful than the familiar tendernefs which
frequentl.y prolongs the evening talk. Nay.
I have often felt hurt, not to fay difgufred,
'When a friend has appeared, whom I parted
with full dreiTed the evening before, with
her clothes huddled on, becaufe!he chofe to
indulge herfelf in bed till the lafr moment.
Domeftie affeCtion can only be kept alive
by there negleCted attentions; yet if men and
women took half as rilUch pains to drefs habi-
tually neat, as they do to ornament, or rather
to disfigure, their perfons, much would be
done towards the attainment of purity of
But women only drefs to gratify men
of
'RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 293 '
of gallantry; for the lover is always beft
pleafed with the fimple garb t ~ a t fits clofe to
the hape. There is an impertinence in or- ,
naments that rebuffs affeEl:ion; becaufe love
always clings round the idea of home.
As a fex, women are habitually indolent j
and every thing tends to make them fo. I
do not forget the fpurts of activity which
fenfibility produces; but as thefe flights of
feelings only increafe the evil, they are not'
to be confounded with the now, orderly walk,
of reafon. So great in realityjs their mental
and bodily indolence, that till their body be
ftrengthenedand their underftandingenlarged
by aCtive exertions, there is little reafon to
expeCl: that modefty will take place of bah-
fulnefs. They may find it prudent to affume
its femblancej but the fair veil will only be
worn on gala days.
Perhaps, there is not a virtue that mixes,
fo kindly with every other as modefty.-
It is the pale moon-beam that renders more
interefting every virtue it foftens, giving
mild grandeur to the contracted horizon.
Nothing can be more beautiful than the
.poetical fiCtion, which makes Diana with
lier filver crefcent, the goddefs' of chaftity.
U 3 I have
294 VINDICATIall OF THB
I have fometimes that wanderlng
with fedate ftep in fome lonely recefs, a mo..,
deft dame of antiquity mqO: have felt a glow'
of con(CiOLlS clignity when, after contemplat-
ing the- foft fhadowy landfcape, fhe has in-'
vitedwithplacid fervour the mild refleCtion of
her ftfter's beams to turn to her chafte bofom.
A Chrifiian has fiill nobler motives to
cite her to preferve her chafiity and acquire
rnodefiy, for her body has been called the'
Temple of tila living God; of that God who
requires more than modefty of mien. His eye
ftarheth the and let her remember,
that if fhe hope to find favour in the fight of
itfelf; her ohaftity mufil bf:
modefiy, and not on worldly prudence; Qf
a good-reputation will be her only
for that intercourfe, that facred
virtue eftablifhes hetweetl
man and hi$ Maker, muft give rife to
with of being as he is pure!
Aftczr the foregoing remarks, it is
fuperfiqoijs to add, I all thefe
feminine airs of whitq fucceed
baIhfq.lnefs, to is f3:C... to
fecure the heart pf a pr tQ-
force him to be frill a Ipver when na,ture.
. .. . -. . .. . .. . ' . ,

wouM, had he not been interrupted in her
operations, have made love give place to
frlendfhip, as immodeft. The
which a man will feel for the mother of his
children is an excellent fuhftitute for the ar-
dOUT of unfatistied. paffion; but to prolong
th-at ardour it is indelicate, not to fay immo-
deft, for women to feign an unnatural cold-
nefs of confiitution. Women 35 well as men
ought to have the common appetites and paf-
.. I
nons of their nature, they are only brutal
when unchecked by reafon: but the obliga-
tion to check them is the duty of mankind,:
not a fexual duty. Nature, in thefe refpeCts,
may fafely be left to herfe1f
j
let women only
acquire knowledge and humanity, and love
wiU them modefty *. There is no
offalfehoods, difgufting as futile, for ftudied
1
rules of behaviour-only impofe on hallow'
obfervers; a man of fenfe foon fees through,'
and: defpifesthe affectation
.. The behaftour of many newly married women has
often difguffed me. They f.eem anxious never to let their
bufbands forget the priqilege of marriage; and to find no
pleafure in his fociety uhlefs he is aaing the lover. Short,
indeed, muR be the reign of love, when-the flame is thus
,onftantly blowo ulJ) without its receiving any folid fewel !
\If The
9
6
VINDICATION OF TidE
The ol young people, to each'
men CJ.nq women, is the laft thing
that he thoqght of education. In
faa, behaviour in molt circumltances is now
fo much thollgqt that fimplicity of cha-
raaer is rarely to be feen: yet, if men
only anJJ;ious to cultivate each virt4e,
let take root firmly in the mind,
grace refultillg from it, its natural exteriour
mar}{, WOl.dd foon ftrip affeCtation of its
plumes; becaufe, fallacious as
frable, is the conduct that is not founded
llpon truth!
, Would ye, 0 my filters, really poffefs
:p1odefty, ye muft rememl:>er that the pof-
feffion p.f virtue, pf any denomination, is
with and vanity! ye
mull: that fobernefs of mind, which
the exercife of duties, and the purfuit of
alone infpire, or ye will frill
remain a douptf
1l
1 dependent fituation,
and only belove4 )Vhilft ye fair!
The downcaft eye, the rqfy bl
ll
lh, the re-
tiring grace, are proper in their fea-
fon; put modefty, being the child of rea-
fon, cannot long exifr with: the fenfibility
is not by

RIGJlTS OF WOMAN. 297
.when love, even innocent love, is the whole
employ of your lives, your hearts will be too
foft to afford modefty that tranquil retreat,
where fhe delights to dwell, in clafe union
with humanity.
CHAP.
MORALITY UNDERMINED BY SEXUAL NO-
TiONS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD
I

I T has long fince occurred to me that advice
refpeEting behaviour, andall thevarious modes
of preferving a good reputation, which have
been fo ftrenuoufiy inculcated on the female
world
J
were fpecious poifons, that incrufting
morality eat away the fubftance. And, that
this meafuring of fhadows produced a falfe
cs1culation, becaufe their length depends fo
much on r.he height of the fun, aud other
adventitious circumftances.
Whence arifes the eafy falladous beha-
viour of a courtier r From his fituation, un-
doubtedly: for ftanding in need of depend-
euts, he is obliged to learn the art of deny-
ing without giving 9ffence, and, of evafively
feeding hope with the chameleon's food:
thus does' fPOft witll and
eating
RlGlI'tS or WOMAN'. 299
eating away the fincerity cmcl' humanity natu-
ral to man, produce the fine gentleman.
Women likewife acquire, from a {appo(ed
neceffity, an equally artificial mode of beha-
,"iour. Yet truth is not with impunity to
be fported with, for the praCtife-d diffembrer,
at lal:, become the dupe of his own arts,
lofes that fagacity, which has been juftly
termed common- fenfe; namely, a quick
ception of common trnths: which are' con-
ttantly received as fuch by the unfophifticated
mind, though it might nor heNe had fuffi-
cient energy to difcover them- itfelf, when
obfcund by local prejudices. The greater
number of people take theiropinion'S on truft
avoid the troeble of exercifing their awti
minds, and' thefe indolent beings naturalty
- ;ldhcre to the letter, rather than the lpirit'of
a law, divine' or human. /-' Women: rays
fome author, Jl cannot recollect woo, "mind
c, not what only heaven fees:' Why; in-
fhould they? it is' the eye' of man that
they have been taught to dread-and if they
can lulhheir Argus to leep, they feldomthink
of heaven OIl themfelves, becaufe their repu.
tation is fafe; and it is-reputation, .not cha{:
Jjty anq all its fair they are'em.;.
ployed
ployed to keep free from {pot, not as a vir.,.
tue, but to preferve their !tation in the world.
To prove the of this remark, I need
only advert to the intrigues of married wo.
men, particularly in high life, and in coun-
tries where women are fuitably married, ac- .
. cording to their refpective ranks, by their
parents. If an innocent girl become a prey
to love, fhe is degraded for ever, though her
mind' was not pollttted by the arts which
married women, under the convenient cloke
,of marriage, nor has lhe violated.
duty-put the duty of refpecting herfelf.
married woman, on the contrary, breaks
facredengagement, arid becomes a
cruel mother when fheis a falfe and faith
.' ,';
lefs wife. If her huiliand have an af'!"
A _, ,- ..
feilion. for her, , arts which {he muft
,Practi(e tP deceive ,him, render her the
moft, of lwman beings i and, at
any rate,. the peceffary to pre-
ferve appearances, keep her mind in that
childih, or vicious, tumult, which deftroys
a11'its energy. Befides, in time, thofe
people who habitually take cordials te> raife
their fpirits, he will want an intrigue to give
life to her having loft rcdilh for

, RIGHTS OF WOMAN. jOt
plealhres that are not highly feafoned by hope
'or fear.
Sometimes married women aB: frill more
audacioufiy j I will mention an infrance.
A woman of quality, notorious for her gal-
lantries, though as file frill lived with her huf-
band, nobody chofe to place her in the clafs
where {he ought to have been made a
point of treating with the moll: infulting con-
tempt a poor timid. abalhed by a
fenfe ofher former weakn'efs, whom a neigh-
bouring gentleman had feduced and after..
wards married. This woman had aCtually
confounded virtue with reputation j . and, I
do believe, valued herfelf on the propriety of
her behaviour before marriage, though when
once fettled to the fatisfaB:ion of her fa-
mily, fhe and her lord were equally faithlefs,
-fo that the half alive heir to an immenfe
efrate came from heaven knows where!
To view this fubjeCl: in another light.
I have known a number of women who,
if they did not love their huiliands, loved no-
body elfe, give themfelves entirely up to
vanity and diffipation, negleCling every do-
mefric duty j nay, even fquandering away
,tilll the money which fhould have been faved
for
jOf VINDlCATION OF THE
for their heJplefs yowlger children, yet h a l ' ~
plumed themfelves on theirunfullied reputa-
tion, as if the whole compafs of their duty as
wives and mothers was only to preferve it.
Whilft other indolent women, neglecting
every perfonal duty, have thought that they
deferved their hu1bands' affeClion, becaufe, for-
JOoth, theyacted in this re[pect withpropriety.
Weak minds are always fond of relling in
the ceremonials ofduty, but morality offers
much fimpler motives; and it were to be
. wifhed that fuperficial moralifts had {aid lefs
refpeCling behaviour, and outward obfervan-
ees, for unlefs virtue, of any kind, be built on
knowledge, it will only produce a kind of
infipid decency. Refpect for the'opinion of
the world, has, however, been termed the
principal duty of woman in the moft exprefs
words, for Rouffeau declares, ' that reputa-
C tion is no lefs indifpellfable than challity:
C A man,' adds he, , feeure in his own good
e conduCl:, depends only on himfe1f, and
C may brave the public opinion; bu_t a wo-
e man, in behaving well, performs but half
e her duty; as what is thought of her, is a9-
e important to her as what lhe really is. It
e follows 'hence, that the fyftem of a wo-
e man',
alGRTS OF $93
, XDJln's in this refpeCt, be
C direB:ly contrary to that ofours. Opinion
'. is the of the but
, jts yvomep: It is ftriClly .
logical to infer that the virtue that refts OR
opinion is mer.ely wprlply. and that it is the;
of a being to wh9m reafon. has been.
fJut
f
refpeB: to the opinion
of th,e world, l convinced that this clafs
reafoners miftaken.
This reganl for independent of
its being one c;>f the rewards of vir-
tue, however. took its fire from a c,,-ufe that
1hqve already deplored the grCf.nd fource of
female qepravity, the impo4bility of regain-
refpeCtabilityby, a return to virtue, though
spen preferve tl\ejrs during the indulgence of
vice. 1t was natural for women then to en-
deavour to pref(!rve what once loft-was loft
for ever, till this care fwallowing up every
other care, reputation for chaftity. rrecame
the one thing needful to the ft:x. But vain
is the fcrupulolity of ignoraltCe, for neither
religion nor virtue, when they relide in the
heart, require fnch a puerile attention to mere
ceremonies, becaufe the behaviourmuft, upon
\ the
304 ViNDICATION' OF THE
the whole, be proper, when the motive is
~ r e . .
To fupport my opinion I can produce very
refpeCtable authority; and the authority of a
cool reafoner ought to have weight to enforce
confideration, though not to eftablifh a fen-
timent. Speaking ofthe general laws of mo-
rality, Dr. Smith obfervers,-' That by fome
c very extraordinary and unlucky circum-
c fiance, a good man may \ come to be fuf..
e peeled of a crime of which he was altogether
e incapable, and upon that account be moft
e unjuftly expofed for the remaining, part of
e his life to the horror and averfion of man-
e kind. By an accident of this kind he may
C be faid to lofe his all, notwithfranding his
C integrity and juftice, in the fame manner
C as a cautious man, notwithftanding his
e utmoft circumfpeCtion, may be ruined by
c an earthquake or an inundation. Accidents
e of the firft kind, however, are perhaps frill
e more rare, and frill more contrary to the
e common couwe of things than thofe of the
C fecond; and it frill remains true, that the
C praCtife of truth, jufiice, and humanity,
, is a certain and almofr infallible method of
I ~ acquiring
RJGH!TS OF wOMAN. 305
a"cquiring what' thofe virtues chiefly aim at.
e the confidence- and iove of thofe We live
e with. A perfon may be eafily mifrepre.:o.-
t fented with regard to a particulaL atlio-n;
, but it is [carce poffible_ that he iliould be fo
.1 with regard to the general tenor of his con-
e duct. An innocent man may be believed
1 to have done wrong: this, however; will
rarel)' iuippen. On the contrary; the efta...
11 blifuedopinion of the innocence of his man...
'c ners will often lead us to abfolve hini
e where he has really been in the fault, not-
11 withftanding very {hong pre[umptlons.'
I perfectly coincide in. opinion with this
writer, for I verily believe that fe\V of either
fex were ever defpifed fOf certain vices with-
out deferving to ,be dt:lpifed. I fpeak not of
the calumny of the momertt; whith hovers
over a character, like one of the clenfe morning
fogs of November, over this metropqIls, till it
gradually fubfides before the common light of
day, t only contend that the daily condutl: of
the majority prevails to lamp their charaCter
with the impreffion or truth. does
the clear light, hining day after clay refute
the Ignorant furmife, or malicious tale, which
has thrown on a pure character. A
falfe diftorted, for a hort time, its ilia.
X dow
dow-reputation; but it feldom fails to be-
come juft when the cloud'is difperfed that
produced the miftake in vifion.
Many people, undoubtedly, in feveral re-
fpeas obtain a better reputation than, ftriCtly
fpeaking, they deferve; for unremitting in-
duftry will moftly reach its goal in all races..
They who only {hive (or this paltry prize,
like the Pharifecrs, who prayed at the corners
of fireets, to be feen of men, verily oh-
tain the reward they feek; for the heart of
man cannot be read by man I ,Still the fair
fame that is naturally refleCted by good ac-
tions, the man is only employed to
direct his fieps aright, regardlefs of the look-
erS\-on, is, in general, not only moretrue, but
more flue.
There are, it is true, trials when the good
man muft appeal to God from the injuftice of,
man jand amidft the whining candour or
hiffings of envy, ereCt a pavilion in his own
mind to retire to till the rumour be overpaft;
nay, the darts of undeferved cenfure may
pierce an tenderbofom through
, with many farrows i but thefe are all excep-
tions to general rules. And it is according
to common laws that human behaviour
ought to be regulated. The eccentricorbit
4 m
RIGHTS OF wOMAN. 307
. of the comet never influences aftronomical
calculadons refpecting the invariable orcier
eftabliihed in the motion 9f the principfll
bodies of the folar fyftem.
I will then venture to affirm, that after a
man is arrived at maturity, the general out-
line of his charaCter in the world is j nft, al-
lowing f()r the before-mentioned. exceptions
to the rule. I do, not fay that a prudent,
worldly-wife man, with only negative vir-
tues and qualities, may n o ~ fometimes obtain
a fmoot?er reputation than a wifer or a
better man. So far from it, that I am apt
to conclude from experience, that where the
virtue of two people is nearly equal, the moll:
negative charaCter will be liked beft by the
world at large, whilft the other may have
more friends in private life. But the hills
and dales, clouds and furrlhine, confpicuous
in the virtues of great men, fet offeach other;
.and though they afford envious weaknefsa
fairer mark to !hoot at, the real charaCter
will frill work its way to light, though
befpattered by weak affeCtion, or ingenious
malice.
I allude to various biographical writings, but particu-
larl)' to Bofwell's Life of Johnfon.
X 2 With
r- 308 VINDICATION OF THE
With refpeCl: to that anxiety to pre{erve a
reputation hardly earned, leads faga-
'Cious people to analyze it, I Ihall not make
the obvious comment j but I am afraid that
morality is very infidioufiy undermined. in
. 'the feIl}ale world, by the attentionbeing turned
to the hew inftead of the fubftance. A fim-
pIe thing is made ftrangely complicated;
'n-ay. fometimes virtue and its fuadow are fet
'at variance. We hould never, perhaps, have
heard of Lucretia, had {he died to preferve
!ler chafiity LO)ftead of her reputation. Jf we
reallydeferve our own good opinion we fuall
commonly be refpeCled in the world j but if
we pant after higher improvement and higher
'attainments, it is not fufficient to view our- \
as we fuppofe that we are viewed by
others) though this has been ingeniou1y ar-
gued, as the foundation of our moral fenti-
ments.. Becaufe each by-ftander may have
his own befide the prejudices of
his age or country. We iliould rather endea-
vour to 'view ourfelves as we fuppofe that
Being views us who feeth 'each thought ripen
into action, and whofe judgment never
Smith.
twerves
rwerves from the eternal 'rule of right. Righ-
, ..
teous are all his judgments-juft as mercifulJ
Thehumblemindthat feekethtofindfavour ,
in His fight, and calmly examines its conduCt
when only His prefence is felt, will fe1dom
form a very er,roneous opinion of its own vir-
tues. During the ftill hour offelf-colleCtion ,
the angry brow of offended juftice will be
fearfully deprecated, or the tie which draws
man to the Diety will be recognized in the
pure fentiment of reverential adoration, that
fwells the heart without any tumul-
tuous emotions. In thefe folemn moments
man difcovers the germ of thofe vices, which
like- the Java tree filed a peftiferous vapour
around-death is in the lhade! and he per-
ceives them without abhorrence, becaufe he
feels himfe1f drawn by fome cord of love to
all his fellow-creatures, for whofe follies he
is anxious to find every extenuation in their
nature-in himfe1f. If J, he may thus argue,
who exercife my own mind, and have been
refined by tribulatiotl', find the ferpent's egg in
fome fold of my heart, and it with
difficulty, hall n0t I pity thofe who have
ftamped with lefs VjgoUf, or who have heed-
.. lefsly nurtured th,e infidiollS reptile till
poifpned ftream it fucked?
X 3
,.
310. VINDICATION OF THE
confeious of my feeret fins, throw off my
fellow-creatures, "nd calmly fee them drop
into the charm of perdition, that yawns to
receive them.-No! no! The agonized heart
will cry with fuffocating impatience-I too
am a man I and have vices, hid perhaps, from
human eye, that bend me to the duft before
God, and loudly tell me, when all is mute,
that we are formed of the fame earth, and
'breathe the fame element. Humanity thus
rifes naturally outofhumility, and twifr,s the
cords of rove that in various convolutions en..
tangle the heart.
This fympathyextends ftill further, till a
man well pleafed obferves force in arguments
that do not carry conviCl:ion to his own bo..
fain, and he gladly places in, the fairdl: light,
to h:imfe1f, the {hews of reafan that have led
others aftray, rejoiced to find fame reafon in
. all the .errors of man; though before C011-
vinced that he who rules the day makes his
fun to hine on all. Yet, iliaking hands thus
as it were with corruption, one foot on earth,
the other with bold ftride mounts to.heaven,
and claims kindred with fuperiour natures.
Virtues, unobferved by man, drop their balmy
fragrance at this cool hOUf, and the thirfty
land,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 11
land, refrefhed by the pure fireams of comfort
that fuddenly gufh out, is crowned with fmil-
ing verdure j this is the living green on which
that eye may look with complacency that is
too pure to behold iniquity!
But my fpirits flag; and I muft filently
indulge the reverie thefe refleEtions lead to,
unable to defcribe the that ,
calmed when watching the riling
fun; a foft lh.ower drizzling through the leaves
of neighbouring trees, feemed to fall on'my
],mguid, yet tranquil fpirits, to cool the heart
that had been heated by the palf10ns which
reafon laboured to tame.
The leading principles which run through
all my difquiLitions, would render it unnecef-
fary to enlarge on this [ubjeCt, if a con(tant
attention to keep the varnifh of the character '
frefh, and in good condition, were not often
inculcated as the fum total of female duty; if
rules to regulate the behaviour, and to pre-
ferve the reputation, did not too frequently
luperfede moral obligations. But, with rc-
fpea to reputation, the attention is confined
to a ,firigle virtue....... chaftity. If the honour.
of a woman', as it is abfurdly called, be' fafe,
file may neglect every focial duty; nay, ruin
X4 her
'3I2 VINDICATIO,lf OF TlIB
her by gaming and e.xtravagance; yet
frill pyefent ,a fhamelefs front-for truly he
woman!
Mrs. Macaulay jufily that
, there is one fault which a
f of hqnour nQt C9mmit with impunity
She then jufily and hurp,anely adds-' This
! given rife to the and foolHh obfer-
C vation, that the firft fa!Jlt
, in woman has a fadical power to deprave
C the charaaer. But no fuch frail beings
, come out of the hands of nature. The
. ..
" human mind is built of nobler materials.
C than to be eafily corrupted; and with
c their difadvantages of fituation and educa-
C tion, women fddom become entirely aban-
C doned till they are thrown into a ftate of
c defperation, the venomous of
C their own
But, in proportion as this regard for the reo-
putation of chaftity is prized by women, it is
defpifed by rpen: and the two extremes are
equally deftruCtive to morality.
are more under the.: in- -
fluence of their appetites than women; and
their appetites are more depraved byunbridled
and the fafiid,i9US of

ltlGHTS OF WOMAN. 3'3
{atiety. ' has introduced a refinement
in eating, that deftroys the conftitution; and,
degree of gluttony which is fo beaftly, that
a perception of feemlinefs of behaviour mull:
be worn out before one being could eat im-
modeFately in .the preft:nce of another, and
complain ofthe oppreffion that his
intemperance naturally produced. Some wo-
men, particularly French women, have aJfo
loft a fenfe of deEency in this refpect; for
. they will talk very calmly of an indigeftion. ,
It were to be wilhed idlenefswas not
allowed to generate, on the rank foil of
wealth, thofe {warms of fummer infects that
feed on putrefaCtion, we lhould not then be
py the fight of fuch brutal exceffes.
There is rule relative to behaviour that,
I think, ought to regulate every other; and
it is fimply to cheriili fuch an habitual refpeCt
for mankind as may prevent us from difguft-,
ing a fellow-creature for the fake of a prefent
The iqdolence of many
marrie.d women, and others a'little advanced
in life, frequently' leads them to fin againft
;delicacy.For, though convinced that the
perfon is the band of union between the
{exes, yet, how often do they from lheer in-
dolence,
314 VINDICATION 01' THE
dolence
J
Of, to enjoy fome trifling indul-
gence, difguft?
The depravity of the appetite which
the fexes together, has had a ftill more fatal
eIrea. Nature muft ever be the ftandard of
tafte, the gauge of appetite-yet how g[Ofsly
is nature infulted by the voluptuary. Leav--
ing the,refinements of love out of the quef-
non j nature, by making the gratification of
an appetite, in this as well as every
other, a natural and imperious law to pre-
ferve the fpedes; exalts the appetite, and
mixes a little mind and affection with a fen..
fual guft. The feelings of a parent min-
gling with an inftinCl: merely animal, give it
dignity; and the man and woman often
meeting on account of the child, a mutual
intereft and affectionis excited by. the exer-
cife of a common fympathy. Women then
having neceffarily fome duty to fulfil, more
noble than to adorn their perfons, would not
contentedly be the naves of cafualluft j which
is now the fituation of a very confiderab1e
number who are, literally {peaking, fianding
difhes to which every glutton may have ac-
.cefs.
I may
R.IGHTS OF 315
I may be told that great as this enormity is,
it only affeCls a devoted part of the fex-de-
voted for the falvation of the reft: But, falfe
as every affertion might eafily be proved, that
recommends the fanCtioning a fmall evil -
produce a greater good; the does not
ftop here, for the moral character, and peace
of mind, of chafter part of the fex, is un-
dermined by the conduCt of the very women
to whom they allow no refuge from guilt:
whom they inexorably confign to the exer-
cife of arts that lure their hufuands from
them, debauch fons, and force theQl,
let not modeft women fiart, to a{fume, in
fome degree, the fame charaCler themfelves.
For I will venture to affert, that all the caufes
offemale weaknefs, as well as depravity, which
. I have already enlarged on, branch out of one
grand caufe-want of chaftity in. men.
This intemperance, fo prevalent, depraves
the appetite to fuch a degree, that a wanton-
ftimulus is n'ece{fary to roufe it; but the pa-
rental defign of nature is forgotten, and the .
mere perfon, and that for a moment, alone
engroffe's the thoughts. So voluptuous, in-
deed, often grows the luftful prowler, that
he refines on female foftnefs. Something
more
316 OF THE
more foft than woman is then fought for;
till, in Italy and Portugal, men attend the
levees of equivocal beings, to figh for more
than female languor.
To fatisfy this genus of men, women are
made fyllematically voluptuous, and though
they may not all carry their libertinifm to
the fame height, yet this, heartlefs intercour{e
with the fex, which they allow themfelves,
depraves both fexes, becaufe the tafte of men'
is and women, of all daffes, natu-
rally fquare their behaviour to gratify the
, 'tafte by which they obtain pleafure, andpower.
Women becoming, confequently, weaker, in
mind and body, than they ought to be, were
.one of the grand ends of their being taken
into the account, that of bearing and nurfing
children, have not fufficient' ftrength to
charge the firft duty of a mother; and facri-
ficing to lafcivioufnefs the parental affeCtion,
that ennobles infiinet, either deftroy the
embryo in the womb, _or cail: it off when
born. Nature in revery thing demands re-
. fpeet, and thofe who violate her feldom
violate them with The weak
enervated women who catch the
attention of libertines, are unfit to be mo.
thers"
"
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3
J
7
thers, though they may conceive; fo that
the Tich fenfualift, 'who has rioted among'
women, fpreading depravity andmifery, when
he willies to perpetuate his name, receives
from, his wife only an half-formed being
that inherits both its father's and mother's
weaknefs
. the humanity of the prefent
age with the barbarifm of antiquity, great
frrefs has been laid on the favage cuil:om of
expofing the children whom their parents
could not maintain;. whilft the man offenfi":
bility, who thus, perhaps, complains', by his
promifcuous amours produces a moil: deftruc-
tive barrennefs and contagious flagitioufnefs
of manners. Surely nature never intended
that by fatisfying an appetite, fuould
fruftrate the very 'purpofe for which it was
implanted? .
I have before obferved, that men ought to
maintairi the women whom they havefeduced;
this would be one means Qf reforming female
manners, and ftopping an abufe that has an
equally fatal effect. on population and morals.
-Another, nolefs obvious, would be to turn the
attention of woman to the' real 'Virtue of chaf
tity; for to little refpeCl: has that woman a .
claim,
318 VINDICATlON OF THE
claim on the {core of modefty, though her
reputation may be white as the driven fnow
who fmiles on the libertine whilft fue fpurn9
the vietims of his IJwlefs appetites and their
.own folly. '
Befides, the has a taint of the fame fo11y
pure as he efteems herfelf, when file ftudi-
ou1y adorns her perfon only to be feen by
men, to excite refpeClful fighs, and all the
idle homage of what ill called innocent gal- '
lantry" Did women really refpeCt virtue for
its own fake, they would not for 'a com-
penfation in vanity, for the felf-denial' which
they are obliged to praCtife to preferve their
reputation, nor would they affociate with
men who fet -reputation at defiance.
The two fexes mutually corrupt and im-
. prove each other. This I believe to be an
indifputable truth, extending it to every vir-
tue. public fpirit, and '
all the noble train of virtues, on which fodal
virtue and happinefs are built, hould be un-
. derftood and cultivated by all mankind. or
they will be cultivated to little effeet. And,
inftead of furnihing the vicious or idle with
a pretext for violating fome facred dqty, by
.' terming it a fexual one, it would, be wifer to'
, . hew
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3'9
- fuew tbat nature has not made any difference,
for that the unchafie man doubly defeats the
purpofeof nature, by renderingwotnen barren,
and defiroying his own confiitution, though
he avoids the fhame that purfues the crime in
the other fex. There are the phyfical confe-
quences, the moral are fii1l more alarmingi
for virtue is only a nominal diftinction. when
the duties of citizens, hufbands, wives, fa-
thers, mothers, and dire8:ors of families, be-
come merely the felfifh ties of convenience.
Why then do philofophers look for pu1?lic
fpirit? Public fpirit mul\: be nurtured by pri-
vate virtue, or it will refemble the f ~ a i t i o u s
fentimentwhich makes women careful to pre-
ferve their reputation, and Il1en their honour.
A fentiment that often exifrs unfupported by .
virtue, unfupported by that fublime morality
which makes the habitual breach of one duty
a breach of the whole moral law.
CH'AP.
,
VINDICATI9N OF T:II'E
CH A P. IX.
OF THE EERNicu1US EFFECTS' WHICH A:RISi
FROM THE UNNATURAL DISTINCTIONS
ESTABLISHED I N SOCIETY.
FROM the refpeCt paid to property flow, as
from a poifoned fountain, moft of the evils
and 'vices which render this world fuch a
dreary fcene to the contemplative mind.
For it is in the moft polifhed fociety that
noifome reptiles and venomous ferpents lurk
under the rank herbage j and there is volup..
tuoufnefs pampered by the full fultry air,
which reiaxes every good difpofition before it
ripens into virtue..
. One clafs prel"es on another; for all are
aiming to procure refpeCt on account of their
property: and property, once gained, will
, . procure the refpeCl: due only to talents and
virtue. Men negleCl the duties incumbent
'on man, yet are treated like demi-gods; teH..
gion is alfo feparated from morality by a cere...
.monial veil, yet men wonder t h ~ t the world
I if
is almoft, literally a den of fharpers
or oppreffers..
There is a homely proverb, which fpeaks
a lhrewd truth, that whoever devil finds
idle he will employ. 'And what but habi-
tual idlcnefs can hereditary we'a1th and titles
produce r For man is fo confHtuted that
can only attain a proper ufe of his faculties
by exercifing them, and will not
them unlefs necemty, of fome kind, firft
the wheels in motion. Virtue likewife Cf\ll
only be acquired b.y the difcharge pf relative
duties; but the importance of thcfe, facred
duties will fcarcely be felt by the being who
is.cajoled out of his humanity by the flattery
of fycophants. There muft be more equality
eftabliilied in fociety, or morality will never
gain ground, and this .virtuous equality will
not reft firmly even when founded an a rock,
if one half of mankind be chained to its bot..,
tom by fate, for they will be continually un..
derminin_g it through ignorance or pride.
It is vain to expetl virtue from wom\;n till
are, in fome degree, of
men t nay, it is vain to expect that firengtli
of natural affeaion, which would make them
good wives and mothers. Whilft they- are
abfolu tely dependent on their hufuanus they
1( \il1
312 VINDICATION OF 'THE
will be cunning, mean, and felfiili, and the'
men w ~ o can be gratified by the fawning
fondnefs of fpanid-like affeCtion, have not
much delicacy, for ,love is not to be bought,
in any fenfe of the words, its filken wings are
inftantly ilirivelled up when any thing be-
fide a return in' kin1 is fought. Yet whilft
wealth enervates men; and women live, as
it were, by their perfonal charms, how can
we expeCt them to diCcharge thofe ennobling
duties which equally require exertion and
felf.denial. Hereditary property fophifticates
the mind, and the unfortunate viCtims to it,
if! may fo .exprefs myfelf, fwathed from their
birth, feldom exert the locomotive faculty
of body or mind; and, thus viewing every
thing through one medium, and that a falfe
one, they are unable to difcern in what true
merit and happinefs confift.. Falfe, indeed,
muil: be the light when the drapery of fitua-
tion hides the man,' and makes him ftalk in
mafquerade, dragging from one fcene of dif-
fipation to another the nervelefs limbs that
. hang with ftupid liftleffnefs, and rolling round
the vacant eye which plainly' tells us that
there is no mind at home
. I mean, therefore, to infer that the fociety
is not properly organized which does not
compel
men and women to difcharge their
rcfpedive duties, by rn.1king it the' only way
to acquire that countenance from their fel-
!<i>w-creatures, which every human being
willies fome way to attain. The refpect,
confequently, which' is paid to wealth and
mere per[onal charms, is a "true north:'eaft
blaft, that blights the tender bloffoms ofaffec-
tion and virtue. Nature has wifely attached
affections to duties, to fweeten toil, and to
give that'vigour to the exertions of reafon
which only the heart can give. But, the
affection which is put on merely becaufe it is
the appropriated infignia ofacertain
when its duties are not fulfilled, is one of the
empty compliments which vice and folly are
obliged to pay to virtue and the real nature of
things.
To illuftrate my opinion, I need only ob-
ferve, that when a woman is admired for her
beauty, and fuffers herfelf to be fo far intoxi-
catedby admiration {he receives, as to
negleCt to difcharge the indifpenfable duty of
a mother, {he fins againft herfelf by neglect-
ingtocul!iv<lte an affection that would equally
tend to make her ufeful and happy. True
happincfs, I mean all the contentment, and
Y 2 virtuous
324 .VINDICATION OF THE
virtuous fatisfaCtion, that can be fnatched in
this imperfeCt ftate, muft arife from well
regulated affe8:ions; and an affection in-
cludes a duty.' Men are not aware of the
mifery they caufe, and the vicious weaknefs
they cheriili, by only inciting women to ren-
der themfelves pleafing; they do not confider
that they thus make natural and artificial
duties cIaili, by facrificing the comfort and
refpettability of a woman's life to voluptu-
-ous notions of beauty, when in nature they
all harmonize.
Cold would be the heart of a hufband, were
he not rendered unnatural by early debau-
chery, who'did not feel more delight at fee-
ing his child fuckled by its mother, than the
moft artful wanton tricks could ever raife;
. .
yet this natural way of cementing the ma-
trimonial tie, and twifting efteem with fonder
recollections, wealth leads women to fpurn.
To preferve their beauty, and wear the
flowery crown of the day, which gives them
a kind ofright to reign for a fhort time over
the [ex, they negleCt to ftamp impreffions on
their hufbands' hearts, that would be remem-
bered with more tendernefs when the fnow
on the head began to chill the bofom, than
8 even
RIGHTS OF wOMArh 325
even their virgin charms. The maternal fo-'
licitude of a reafonable affe8ionate woman is
very interefting, and the chaftened dignity
with which a mother returns the careffes that
fhe and her child .receive from a father who
has been fulfilling the ferious duties of his
ftation, is not only a refpeaable, but a beau.-i
tiful fight. So fingular, indeed, are my feel-'
ings, and I have endeavoured not to catch
factitious ones, that after having been fa-
tigued with the fight of infipig grandeur and
the fiaV'iih ceremonies that with' cumberous
pomp fupplied the p l a ~ e of domelic affe8:i )ns,
I have turned to fome other fcene to relieve
my eye by reiling it on the refreihl1lg green
every where [cattered by natUre. I have then
viewed with 'pleafure a woman nUffing her
children, and. difcharging the duties of her
ftation with, perhaps, merely a fervant maid
to take off her hands the fervile part of the
houfehold bufinefs. I have feen her prepare
herfelf and children, with only the luxury of
cleanlinefs, to receive her hufband, wh) re- .
turning weary home in the eveniig found
fmiling babes and a clean hearth. My heart
, .
has loitered in the rnidft of the group, and
haseven throbbed with fympathetic emotioll,
y 3 when
when the fcraping of the well known foot
has raifed a pleafing tumult.
WhiH1: my benevolence has been gratified
by contemplating this artlefs pitlure, I have
thought that a couple of this defcription,
equally necefiary and independent of each
other, becaufe each fulfiiled the refpeB:ive
duties of their fration, poffeffed all wat life
could give.-Raifed fufficiently above abjeCt
poverty not to be obliged to weig!l the con-
fequence of every farthing they fpend, and
h a v i n ~ fufficient to prevent their attending to
a frigid fyfiem of reconomy, which' nar-
rows both heart and mind, I declare, fo
vulgar are my conceptions, that I, know. not
what is wanted to render this the happiefi as
well as the moil: refpe.ttable fituation in the
world, but a tafie for literature, to throw a
little variety and interdl into focial converfe,
and fome fuperfluous money to give to the
needy and to Clly books. For it is not plea-
fant when the heart is opened by compaffion
and the head.aCtive in arranging plans of ufe-
fuIners, to have a prim urchin continually
twitching back the elbow to prevent the
hand from drawing out an almoft empty
.purfe, whifpering at the fame time fame
prudential
prudential maxim about the priority of
juftice.
DeCl:ructive, ho\\.'ever, as riches and inhe-
rited honours are to ,the human character,
women are more debafed and cramped, if
pollible, by them, than men, becaufe men
may ftill, in f((me degree, unfold their facul-
by becoming foldiers and ftatefmen.
As foIdiers, I grant, they can now only,
gather, for the moa part, vain glorious lau-
rels, whilft they adjuft to a hair the Eu-
ropean balance, taking efpecial care that no
'bleak northern or found incline the
beam. Bllt the days of true heroifm are
over, when a citizen fought for his country
like a Fabricius or a Waihington, and then
returned to his farm to let his virtuous fer-
vqur run in a more placid; but not a lefs
falutary, fiream. No, our Britilh heroes arc
ofrener {ent from the gaming table than from
the plow j and their pallions have been rather
inflamed by hanging with dumb fufpenfe on,
the turn of a die, than fublimated by panting
after the adventurous march of virtue in the
hiftoric page.
The fiatefman, true, with more
pr9priety quit the Faro Bank, or card-table, to
y 4 guide
',-
328 VINDtCATION OF THI:

guide the h e I ~ , for he has frill but to fhuffle
. and trick. The whole fyfrem of Britifu po-
litics, if fyftem'it may courteou{1y be called,
confifting in multiplying dependentsand con--
triving taxes which grind the poor to pamper
the rich; thus a war, or any wild goofe chace,.
is, as the vulgar ufe the phrafe, a lucky turn-
up of-patronage for the minifter, whofe chief
merit is the art of keeping himfelf In place.
It is not neceffary then that he lhould have
bowels for the poor, fo he can fecure for his
family the odd trick. Or hould fome hew
of refpeEt, for what is termed with ignorant
oftentation an Englihman's birth-right, be
expedient to bubble the gruff maftifr that he
has to lead by the nofe, he can make an empty
{hew, very fafely, by giving his fingle voice,
and fuffering his light fquadron to file off to-
-the other fide. And when a quefiion ofhu-
manity is agitated he may dip a fop in the
milk of human kindnefs, to filence Cerberus,
and talk of the intereft which his heart takes
in an attempt to make the earth no longer
cry f'Of vengeance as it fucks in its children's
blood, though his cold hand may at the very
moment rivet their chains, by fanCtioning
the
lUGHTS OF WOMAN. 32'
the abominable traffick. A minifter is no
, longel
o
a minifter, than -.vhile he can carry a
point, which he is determined to carrYo-Yet
it is not neceffary that a minifter fhould feel
like a man, when a bold pufh might !hake
his feat.
But, to have done withthefe epifodical
obfervations, let me return to the more fpe-
(:ious flavery which chains the very foul of
woman, keeping her for ever under the bond-
~ g e of ignorance.
The prepofterous diftinC1:ions ofrank) which
render civilization a, curfe, ,by dividing the
world between voluptuous tyrants, and cun-
ning envious dependents, corrupt, almoft
equally, every clafs of people, becaufe refpec-
tability is not attached to the difcharge of the
relative duties of life, but to the itation, and
when the duties are not fulfilled the affeCl:ions
cannot gain fufficient ftrength to fortify the
virtue of which they are the natural reward.
Still there are fome loop-holes out of which a
man may creep, and dare to think and act
for himfelf; but for a woman it is an herculean
taik., becaufe {he has difficulties peculiar to her
fex to overcome, which require almoft fuper..
human powers.
A truly
A truly benevolent legiflator always endea-
vours to make it the, intereft of each indivi-
dual to be virtuous j and. thus private virtue
becoming the cement of public happinefs, an
orderly whole is confolidated by the tendency
of all the parts towards a common centre.
But, the private or public virtue ofwoman is
very for Rouffeau, and a nu- .
merous lift of male writers, infift that {he
{hould all her life be fubjetred to a fevere
reftraint, that of propriety.. Why fubjeCl:
her to propriety-blind proprietyJ if lhe be
capable of aCting from a nobler fpring, if{he
be an heir of immortality? Is fugar always to
be produced by vital blood? Is one halfof the
human fpeeies, like the poor African naves,
to be fubjetl: to prejudices that brutalize them,
when principles would be a furer guard, only
, to fweeten the cup of man? Is not this indi..
realy to deny woman reafon? for a gift is a
if it be unfit for ufe.
Women are, in common with men, ren...
dered weak and luxurious by the relaxing.
plea[ures which wealth procures j but added
to this they are made flaves to' their perfons,
and muft render them alluring that man may
. lend
..
. RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 331
leAd them his reaton to guide their tottering
fteps aright. Or fhould ther be ambitious,
they muft govern their tyrants by finifter
trick-s. for without rights there cannot be
any incumbent duties. The laws refpecting
woman, which I mean to difcufs in a future
part, make an abfmd unit of a man and his
wife; and then, by the eafy tranfition of
only canfidering him as rerponfible, !he is
reduced to a mere cypher
The being who diiCharges the duties ofits
ftation is and, fpeaking of wo-
men at large, their firft duty is to themfelves
as rational creatures, and the next, in point
of importance, as citizens, is that, which
includes fo many, of a mother. The rank in
life which difpenfes with their fulfilling this
duty, neceffarily degrades them by making
them mere dolls. Or, fhould they turn to
fomething more important than merely fitting
drapery upon a fmooth block, their minds
are only occupied by fame foft platonic at-
tachment; or, the aCl:ual management of an .
intrigue may keep their thoughts in motion;
for when they neglect: domeftic duties, they
have it not in their power to take the field
and march and counter-march like foldiers,
or
323 'YINDlCATION OF THE
or wrangle in the fenate to keep their (acuI-
ties from rufting.
I know that, as a proof of the inferiority of
the fex, Rouffeau has exultingly exclaimed,
How can they leave the nurfery for the camp f
-And the camp has by fome moralilh been
termedthe fchool of the moft heroic virtues i'
though, I think, it would puzzle a keen
cafuift to prove the reafonablenefs of the
" greater number of wars that have dubbed
heroes. I do not mean to confider this quef-
tion critically; becaufe, having frequently
viewed there freaks of ambition as the firft
natural mode ofcivilization, when theground
muft be torn up, and the woods cleared by
fire and fword, I do not choofe to cal them
pens; but furely the prefent fyftem of war
has little connection with virtue of any deno-'
mination, being ratherthe fchool ofjinejfe and
effeminacy, than of fortitude.
Yet, if war, the only juftifiable
war, in the prefent advanced ftate of fociety,
where virtue can hew its face and ripen
amidft the rigours which purify the air on
the mountain's were alone to be adopted
al juft and glorious, the true heroifm of
tiquiti might again female boroms.-
But
.
.
.IGHTS 'OF 333
But fair and foftly, gentle reader, male 01"
female, dQ not alarm thyfel f, for l
have compared the charaCter of a modern
{Oldie!' with of a civilized woman, I am,
not going to advife turn their difiafr
into amufket, though I fincerely wilh to fee
the bayonet converted. into a pruning-hook.
I only recreated 'an imagi'hation, fatigued by'
contemplating the vices and follies which all,
proceed from a feculent frream of wealth that
has muddied,the' pure rills ofnatural affeClion,
by fuppoftng that focic:ty will' fome time 01"
ether be fo conftituted, that man muft necef...
farily fulfil the duties of a citizen, or be de...
fpifed, and that while he was employed in
any of the departments of civil life, his wife,'
alfo an aCtive citizen, fhould be equally in-
tent to manage her.family, educate 'her
dren, and affift her neighbours.
But, to render her really virtuouiand ufe-
fu1, fhe mull: not, if ihe difcharge her civil
, duties, want, indiv,idually, the proteCtion of
dvillawi; fhe mult: not be dependent om hel"
huIband's bounty for her fubfiftence during
his life, or fupport after his death-for hoW'
can a being be generous who has nothing of
its Of, virtuous, who is not free'
\
The
The wife, in the prefent ftate of things, 'who
is faithful to her hufband, and neither fuckles '
rior educates her children, fcarceIy deferves
the name of a' wife, and has no right to that
, of a citizen. But take away natural rights,
and duties become null.
Women then muft be confidered as only
the wanton folace ofmen, when they become
fa weak in mind and body, that they cannot
exert themfelves, unlefs to purfue fome. frothy
pleafure, or to invent fome frivolous fafhion.
What can be a more' melancholy fight to a
thinking mind, than to look intp the nume-
rous carriages that drive helter-ikelter about
this metropolis in a morning full of pale-faced
creatures who are flying from themfeIves! I
have often wihed, with Dr. Johnfon, to place
iOme of them in a little hop with half a do-
zen children looking up to their languid coun-
tenances for fupport. I am much miftak,en, if
fome latent vigour would not, foon give health
and fpirit to their eyes, and fame lines drawn
by the exercife of reafon on the blank cheeks,.
whichbefore.were only undulated by dimples,
might reftore 10ft dignity to the charaCter,
or rather enable it to attain the true dignity
of its nature. .Virtue is not to be acquired
even
even by {peculation, much lefs by the nega-
tive fupinenefs that wealth naturally.gene-
rates. .
. Befides, when poverty is more difgraceful
than even vice, is not cut to the
quick? Still to avoid though
} confider that women in the common walks'
of-life are called to fulfil the duties of wives
and mothers, by religion and rea[on, I cannot
help lamenting that women of a fuperiour caft'
have not a road open by which they can pur-
fue more extenfive plans of ufefulnefs and'
independence. I may excite laughter, 'oy
dropping anhlnt, which I mean to purfue,
fame future time; for I reallythink that wo-'
men ought to have reprefentatives, inftead of
beingarbitrarilygoverned without having any
direct: !hare allowed them in the deliberations
of government.
But, as the whole fyftem of reprefentation
is 11Ow, in this country, only a convenie,nt
handle for defpotifm, they need not complain,
for they are as well reprefented as a numer-
ous cIafs of hard working who
pay for the [upport of royalty when they
can fcarcely ftop their children's mouths
bread. How are they reprefented whofe very
[weat
, .
VINDICATION OF TH.
{weat {upports the fplendid fiud of en heir
apparent, or varnifues the chariot offome fe-
male favourite who looks down on fhame?
Taxes on the very neceffaries of life, enable
an endlefs tribe of idle princes and princeffes
to pafs with fiupid pomp before a gaping
<;rowd, who almofr wodhip the very pa-
rade which eofts them fo dear. This is mere
gothic grandeur, fomething the barba..
F<)Ui ufelefs parade of having fc;ntinels on
horfebaek at Whitehall, which I could-never
'View a Qf and
ifl<1igmltion.
How ftrangely the mind he fophifti-
wh<:n this fort of irppndfes it!
But, thefe monuments 9f folly are
. by virtue, fimiltlf follies will htaven tbe whole
For the in fome
gree, will prevail in the aggreglf.te of focietyi
Jlld the refinements of-luxury. or the vicious
repinings of ellvious poverty, will eq, Qally ba..
nith virt.qe from fociety, confidered as the
charaCleriftic of that fociety, Of only allow
to appeal: of the ftripes of the barle..
quin coat, worn by the civilized m.n.
In the fuperiour rapks of life, every
is done by deputies, a$ if- duties could ever
be
RH1HTS OF WOMAN. 337
bf: waved, and the vain pleafures which con..
fequent idlenefs forces the rich to purfue,ap-
pear fo enticing to the next rank, that the
numerous fcramblers far wealth facrifice ~ v e r y
thing to tread on their heels. The Ipoft
facred trufts are then confidered as finecures
j
becaufe they were procured by intcreft, and
only fought to enable a man to keep good
company. Women, in particular, all want to
be ladies. Which is fimply to have nothing
to do, but lifilelsly to go they fcarcely care
where, for they cann()t tell what.
But what have women to do in fociety? I
may be aiked, but to loiter with eafy grace;
furely you would not condemn them all to
fuckle ,fools and chronicle fmall beer!
No. Women might certainly fiudy the art
of healing, and be phyficians as well as nurfes.
And midwifery, decency feems to allot to
them, though I am afraid the word mid-
wife, in our diaionaries, will foon give place
to accoucheur, and one proof of the former
delicacy of the [ex be effaced from the lan-
guage.
They might, alfo, ftudy politics, and fettle
their benevolence on the broadeft bafis; for
the reading of hi.fiory will fcarcely be more
Z ufeful
ufefuI than the perufal of romances, if read
as mere biography; if the character of the
times, the political improvements, arts, &c.
be not obferved. In {hort, if it be not con-
fidered as the hift?ry of man; and not of par-
ticular men, who filled a niche in the tem-
ple of fame, and dropped into the black roll-
ing ftream of time, that filently fweeps all
before it, into the fhapelefs void called-eter-
nity.-For fhape, can it be called, C that fhape
C hath none?'
Bufinefs of various kinds, they might like-
wife purfue, if they were educated in a more
orderly manner, which might fave many
from common and legal proftitution. Wo-
men would n ~ t then marry for a fupport, as
men accept of places under government, and
negleCt the implied duties; 110r would an
attempt to earn their own fubfifience, a moft
laudable one! fink them almoft to the level
of thofe poor abandoned creatures who live
by proftitution. For are not milliners and
lnantua-makers reckoned the next c1afs? The
few employments open to women, fo far
from being liberal, are menial; and when a
fuperiour education enables them to take
charge of the education of children as gover-
n e { f e s ~ I
RIGHTS OF 339
nefi"es, they are not treated like the tutors of
fans, even clerical tutors are not al..
ways treated' .in a 'manner calculated to ren-
der them refpetl:able in the ;eyes of their
pupils, to fay ri0thing of the private.comfort .
of the individual. "But as women educated
like gentlewomen, are never defigned for the
humiliating fituation which neceffity fame...
times forces the!? to fill; thefe fituations are
confidered in the light of a degradation; and
they know little of the human heart, who
need to be told, that nothing' fo pain-
fully !harpens fenfibility as fuch a fall in
life.
Some of thefe women might be reftrained
from marrying by a proper fpirit or delicacy,
and others may not have had it in their power
to efcape in this pitiful way from fervitude;
is not that government then very defeCtive,
and very unmindful of the happinefs of one
half of its members, that does not provide
for, honefr, independent women, by encou-
raging them to fill refpeB:ablefiations? But
in order to render their private virtue a public
benefit, they muft have a civilexiftence in
the ftate, married.or fingle; elfe we
continually fee fome worthy woman, '.whofe
Z 2
340 vtNDICATION or Tlft
fenfibility has been rendered painfully acute:
by undeferved contempt, droop like' the lily
( broken down by a plow..fhare.'
It is a melancholy truth j yet fuch is the
bleffed effect of civilization 1 the moll: refpect..
able women are the moll: oppreffed j and,
unlefs they have underftandings far fuperiour
to the common run of underftandings, taking
i.n both fexes, they muft, from being treated
life contemptible beings, become contempt-
ible. How many women thus wafte life
away the prey of difcontent, who might have
praCtifed as phyficians, regulated a farm,
managed a lhop, and ftood ereCt, fupported
by their own induftry, inll:ead of hanging
their heads furcharged with the dew of fenfi-
bility, thatconfumes the beauty to which it at
firft gave luftre j nay, I doubt whether pity
and love are fo near akin as poets feign, for I .
have feldom feen much compaffion excited by
the heIplefIhefs of females, unlefs they were
fair j then, perhaps, pity was the foft hand-
maid of love; or the harbinger of Iuft. '.
. How much more refpeCtable is the woman
who earns her own bread' by fulfilling any
duty, than the mail accomplifhed beauty 1-
beauty did J fay?-fo fenfibIe am I of the
beatJty of morallovelinefs, or the harmonious
propriety
propriety that attunes the paffions of a well-.
regulated mind, that I blulli at making the
comparifon; yet I figh to think how few
women aim at attaining this refpeCl:ability by
withdrawing from the giddy whirl of plea-
fure, or the indolent calm that ftupifies the
good fort of women it fucks in.
Proud of their weaknefs, however, they
mull: always be protetled, guarded from care,
and all the rough toils that dignify the
mind.-If this be the fiat of fate, if they will
m a ~ e themfelves infignificant and contempt-
ible, fweetly to wafte C life away: let them
not expetl to be valued when their beauty
fades, for it is the fate of the faireft flowers
to be admired and pulled to pieces by the
carelefs hand that plucked them. In how
many ways do I \villi, from the pureft bene-
volence', to impre[s this truth on my fex; y,et
I fear that they will not liften to a truth that
dear bought experience has brought h o ~ e to
many an agitated bofom, nor willingly refign .
the privileges of rank and [ex for the privi- .
leges of humanity, to which thofe have no
claim who do not difcharge its duties.
Thofe writers are particularly ufeful, in
. my opinion, who make man feel for man,
Z 3 inde-
",. Z
-'T ,
VINDICATION OF THE
independent of the {tation he fills, or the
drapery of factitious fentiments. I then would
fain convince reafonable men or" the import-
ance of fome of my remarks; and prevail on
them to weigh difpaffionately the whole te-
nor of my obfervations.-I appeal to their un-
derftandings; and, as a fellow-creature, claim,
in the name of my fex, fome interefi: in their
hearts. I entreat them to affift to emancipate
their ,companion, to make her a help meet for
them.
Would men but generouily fnap our chains,
and be content with rational fellowfhip in-
ftead of ilavifh they would find us
more obfervant daughters, more affeB:ionate
fifiers, more faithful wives, more'reafonable
mothers-.in a word, better citizens. We
fhould then love them with true affection,
becaufe we illOuId learn to refpeCt ourfelves;
and the peace of mind of a worthy man would
not be interrupted by the idle vanity of his
wife, nor the babes fent to neftle in a ftrange
.bofom, having never found a home in their
mother's.
CHAP.
R I G H T ~ OF WOMAN. 343
CH A P. X.
PARENTAL AFFECTlON.
PARENTAL affection is, perhaps, the blindeft
modification of perverfe felf-Iove; for we
have not, like the French*, two terms to
diil:inguifhthepurfuit of a naturalandreafon-
able defire, from the ignorant calculations of
weaknefs.' Parents often love their children
in the moil brutal manner, and facrifice every
relative duty to promote their advancement in
theworld.--To promote, fuch is theperverfity
ofunprincipled prejudices, the future welfare
of the very beings whofe prefent exiil:ence
they imbitter by the moft defpotic ilretch of
power. Power, in faa, is ever true to its
vital principle, for in every lhape it would
reign without controul or inquiry. Its throne
is built acrofs a dark abyfs, which no eye
muil dare to explore, left the bafelefs fabric
thould totter under inveftigation. Obedience,
L'amour propre. L'amour defti mime.
uncon-
1
unconditional obedience, is the catch-word
of tyrants of every defcription, and to render
C affurance doubly Cure,' one kind of def...
potifm fupports another. Tyrants would
have caufe to tremble if reaCon were to be.
come the rule of duty in any of the relations
of life, for the light might fpread till perfeCt
day appeared. And when it did appear, how
would men fmile at the fight of the bugbears
at which they ftarted during the night of ig-
norance, or the twilight of timid inquiry.
Parental affection, indeed, in many minds,
is but a pretext to tyrannize where it can be
done with impunity, for only good and wife
men are conten.t with the refpect that will bear
difcuffion. Convinced that they have a right
to what they irifift on, they do tlot fear rea-
fan, or dread the fifting of fubjeB:s that recur
to natural j uftice: bccaufe they firm] y be-
lieve the more enlightened the human
mind beGornes the deeper root will juO: and
fimple principles take. They do not reft in
expedients, or grant that what is metaphy-
fically true can be practically falfe; but dif-
daining the fhifts of the moment they calmly
wait till time,
th9 hifs of Qf env,
I .
]UGHTS OF WOMAN. 345
If the power of refletting on the pact, and.
darting the keen eye of contemplation into
futurity, be the grand privilege of man, it
muft be granted that fome people enjoy this
prerogative in a very limited degree. Every
thing new appears to them wrong; and not
able to diftinguih the pollible from the mon-
trous, they fear where no fear lhould find a
place, running from the light of reafon, as if
it were a firebrand; yet the limits of the pof-
fible have never been defined to frop the
fturdy innovator's hand. .
Woman,' however, a nave in every fituation
to prejudice, feldom exerts enlightened mater-
nal affection; for he either negleCl:s her chil-
dren, or (poils them by improper indulgence.
Befides, the affeCtion of fome women for their
children is, as I have before termed it, fre-
quently very brutifh: for it eradicates every
fpark of humanity. Juftice, truth, every
thing is facrificed by thefe Rebekah's, and
for the fake oftheir own children they violate
the moft facred duties, forgetting the com-
mon relationhip that binds the whole family' -.
on earth Yet, reafon feems to fay)
that they who {uffer one duty, or affeCtion,
{wallow up the reft, have not fufficient.
heart
heart or mind to fulfil that oneconfcientioufly.
It then lofes the venerable afpeCt of a duty,.
and affumes the fantaftic form of a whim.
As the care of children in their infancy is
one of the grand duties annexed to the female
character by nature, this duty would afford
many forcible aTguments for ftrengthening
the female underftanding, if it were properly
confidered.
The formation of the mind muft be begun
very early, and the temper, in particular,
requires the moft judicious attention-an at.
tention which women cannot pay who only
love their children becaufe they are their chil.
dren, and feek no further for the founda.
tion of their duty, than in the feelings of the
m o m ~ n t . It is this want of reafon in their
affections which makes women fo often run
into extremes, and either be the moil: fond or
moil: care1ers and unnatural mothers.
To be a good mother-a woman muft have
fenfe, and that independence of mind which
few women poffefs who are taught to depend
entirely on their hufbands. Meek wives are,
in general, foolifh mothers; wanting their
children to love them beft, and take their
part, in fecret, againft the father, who is
held
held up as a fcarecrow. When chafi:ifement
isnece{fary, though they have offended the
mother, the father muft infliCl: the punifh-
ment; he muft be the judge in all difputes:
but I fhall more fully difcufs this fubjeCl:
.when I treat of private education, I now only
mean to infift, that unlefs the underftanding
of woman be enlarged, and her charaCl:er
rendered more firm, by being allowed to go-
vern her own conduct, the will never have
fufficient (enfe or command of temper to
manage her children properly. Her parental
indeed, fcarcely deferves the name,
when it does not lead her to her chil-
dren, becaufe the difcharge of this duty is
equallycalculated to infpire maternal and filial
affeCtion: and it is the indifpenfable duty of
men and women to fulfil the duties which
give birth to affeCtions that are the fureft pre-
fervatives againft vice. Natural affeClion, as
it is termed, I believe to be a very faint tie,
affeCl:ions muft grow out of the habitual exer-
cife of a mutual, fympathy; and what fym-
pathy does a mother exercife who fends her
babe to a nude, and only takes it from a
nurfe to fend it to a fchool?
In
348 VINDICATION OF
In the exercife of their maternal feelings
providence has furnifhed women with a na-
tural fubftitute for love, when the lover be-
comes only a friend, and mutual confidence
takes placeofoverftrained admiration-achild
then gently twifts the cord, and a
mutual care produces a new mutual fympa-
thy.-But a child, though a pledge of affec-
tion, will not enliven it, if both father and
mother be content to transfer the charge to
hirelings; for they who do their duty by
proxy fhould not murmur if they mifs the
reward of duty........parental affection produces
filial duty.
I
lUGHTS OF WOMAN. 349
CH A P. XI.
DUTY TO
THERE {eerns to be an indolent propenfity
in man to make prefcription always take place
of reafon, and to place every duty on an
arbitrary foundation. The rights of kings
are deduced in a direCl: line from the King of
kings; and that of parents from our firft
parent.
Why do we thus go back for principles that
fhould always rell: on the fame bafe, and have
the fame weight to-day that they had a thou-
rand years ago-and not a jot more? If pa-
rents difcharge their duty they have a thong
hold and facred claim on the gratitude oftheir
children; but few parents are willing to re-
ceive the refpeCl:ful affection oftheir offspring
on fuch terms. They demand obe-
dience, becaufe they do not merit a reafon-
able fervice: and to render thefe demands of
weaknefs and ignorance more binding, a
myfterious fanctity is fpread round the molt
arbitrary
,
1
350 VINDrCATION OP THE
arbitrarfprinciple; .for what other name can
be given to the blind duty of obeying vicious
or weak beings merely becaufe they obeyed
a powerful inftinB:?
The fimple definition of the reciprocal
duty. which naturally fubfifts between pa-
rent and child, may be given in a few words:
The parent who pays proper attention to
helpIefs infancy has a .right to require the
fame attention when the feeblenefs of age
comes upon him. But to fubjugate a rational
being to the mere will of another, after he
is of age to anfwer to faciety for his own con-
duct, is a moO: cruel and undue llretch ofpow-
er; and" perhaps, as injurious to moralit1 as
thofe religious fyftems which do not allow
right and wrong to have anyexiftence, but in
the Divine will.
I never knew a parent who had paid more
than common attention to h i ~ children, dif-
regarded *; on the contrary, the early habit
of relying almoft implicitly on the opini.on Of
a refpected parent is not eafily {hook, even
when matured reafon convinces the child that
his father is not the wifeft man in the world.
This weaknefs, for a weaknefs it is, though
.. Dr. Johnfon .makes the fame obfervation.
the
4
lUCHTS. OF WOMAN. 351
the epithet amiable may be tacked to it, a
reafonable man muft, fteel himfelt againft;
for the abfurd duty, too often inculcated, of
obeying a parent only on account ofhis being
a parent, fhackles the mind, and 'prepares it
for a fiavilh fubmiffion .to any power but
reafon.
I diftinguilh between the natural and acci-
dental duty due to parents.
The parent who feduloufiy endeavours to
form the heart and enlarge the underfianding
of his child, has given that dignity to the
difcharge of a duty, common to the whole
animal world, that only reafon can give.
This is the parental affeCtion of humanity,
and leaves inftinCtive natural affeCtion far be-
hind. Such a parent acquires all the rights
of the moil: facred friendfuip,. and his advice,
even when his child is advanced in life, de-
mands ferious confideration.
With refpetl: to marriage, though a f ~ e r
one and twenty a parent feems to have no
right to withhold his confent on any account j
yet twenty years of folicitude call for a re-
turn, and the fon ought, at leaft, to promife
not to marry for two or three years, fuould
the
35Z VINDICATION OF TRg
the object of his choice not entirelY' tneet
with the approbation of his firft friend.
But, refpeCt for parents is, generally fpeaK"
ing, a much more debafing principle j it is
only a felfifh refpeCl for property. The fa-
ther who is blindly obeyed, is obeyed from
fheer weaknefs, or from motives that degrade
the human charaCter.
A great proportion of the mifcry that wan...
defs, in hideous forms, around the world, is
allowed to rife from the negligence of pa-
rents; and frill thefe are the people who
are mofr tenacious of what they term ana..
tural right, though it be fubverfive of the
birth-right of man, the right of aeting ac-
cording to the direaion of his own rea..
fan.
I have already very frequently had occafion
to ohferve, that vicious or indolent people are
always eager to profit by enforcing arbitrary
privileges; and, generally, in the fame pro-
portion as they JlegleCl: the difcharge of the
duties which alone render the privileges rea..
fonable. T h i ~ is at the bQttom a dictate of
comn1on fenfe, or the infiinCt: of felf-defence,
peculiar 'to ignorant weaknefs j refembling
. that
R.IGHTS OF WOMAN. 353
that infiinCt, which makes a fiib muddy the
water it fwims in to elude its enemy, inflead
of boldly facing it in the clear ftream.
From the clear ftream, of argument, in-
deed, the fupporters of prefcl'iption, of every
denomination, fly; 'and, takin'g refuge in the
darknefs, which, in the language of fubJime
poetry, has been' fuppofed to furround the
throne of Omnipotence, they dare to demand
that implicit refpeCt which is only due to His
unfearchable ways. But, let me not be
thought prefumptuous, the darkllefs which
hides our God from us, only refpeC1:s fpecu-
lative truths-it never obfcures moral ones;
they {hine clearly, for God is light, and
never, by the confiitution of our nature, re-
quires the difcharge of a duty, the rearon-
ablenefs of which does not beam on us when
we open our eyes.
The indolent parent of high rank may, it
is true, extort a !hew of refpeCt from hi.,
child, and fem-ales on the continent are parti-
cularly fuhjeCl: to the views of their families,
who never think of confulting their inclina-
tion, or providing for the comfort of the poor
viCtims of their pride. The confcquence is
notori:ms; thefe dutiful daughters become
, A a aJultere{fes,
354 VINDICATION OF TltE
adultere1res, and neglect the education oftheir
children, from whom they, in their tur13,
exact the fame kind of obedience.
Females, it is true, in all countries, are
too much under the dominion of their, pa-
rents; and few parents think of addreffing
their children in the following manner, though
it is in this reafonable way that Heaven feerns
to command the whole human race. It is
your intereft to obey me till you can judge
for yourfelf; and the Almighty Father of all
has implanted an affection in me to ferve as
a guard to you whiHt your reafon is unfold:.
ing; but when your mind arrives at maturity,
you muft only obey me, or rather refpeet my
opinions, fa far as they coincide with the light
that is breaking in on your own mind.
A flavifh bondage to parents cramps every
faculty of the mind; and Mr.. Locke very
judiciouOy obferves, that c if the mind be
.c curbed and humbled too much in children;
, if their fpirits be abafed and broken much
c by too firiCl: an hand over them; they lofe
, all their vigour and indufiry.' This lriCt
hand may ill fome degree account for "the
weaknefs of women; for girls, from various
caufq, ar.e more kept down by their parents,
.
In..
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3SS

in every fenfe of the word, than boys. The
duty expeCled from them is, like all the du-
ties arbitrarily impofed on women, more from
a fenfe of propriety, more out of refpeet for
decorum, than reafon; and thus taught fia..
vi!hly to fubmit to their parents, they are
prepared for the {lavery of marriage.' I may
be told that a number of women are not
naves in the marriage flate. True, but they
then become tyrants; for it is not rational
freedom, but a lawlefs kind of power refem-
bling the authority exercifed by the favourites
of abfolute monarchs, which they obtain by
debafing means. I do not, likewife, dream
of infinuating that either boys or girls are al-
ways '{laves, I only infill: that when they are
obliged to fubmit to authority blindly, their
faculties are weakened,' and their tempers
rendered imperious or abjeet. I. alfo lament
that parents, indolently availing themfelves of
a fuppofed privilege, damp the firft faint glim-
mering of reafon, rendering at the fame time
the duty, which they' are fa anxious to en-
force, an empty name; becaufe they will
not let it reft on the only baus on which a
duty can rell: iecurely: for unlefs ft be
founded on knowledge, it cannot gain fuffi-
A a 2 cient
cient ftrength to refill: the fquatls of pa(-
fiqn, or the Glent fapping of felf-Iove. But
it is not the parents who have given the
fureft proof of their affection for their chil-
dren, or, to fpeak more properly, who by
fulfilling their duty, have allowed a natural
parental affeCl:ion lo take root in their heartc:,
the child of exercifed fympathy and reafon.
and not the over-weening offspring of felfilh
pride, who moft vehemently inGft on their
children fubmitting to their will merely be-
caufe it is their will. On the contrary, the
parent, who fets a good example, patiently
lets that example work; and it feldom fails
to produce its natural effeCt-filial reverence.
Children cannot be taught too early to
fuhmit to reafon, the true dt:finition of that
neceffity, which Rouffeau inGfted on, with-
out defining it; for to fubmit to rea10n is to
fubmit to the nature of things, and to that
God, who formed them fo, to promote our
real intereft.
Why iliould the minds of children be
warped as they jufi: begin to expand, only to
favour the indolence of parents, who inGft
on a privilege without being willing to pay
the price fixed by nature? I h ~ v e before had'
occaGon
RIGHTS OF 357
occaGon to obferve, that a right always in-
cludes a duty, and I think it may, likewife,
fairly be inferred, that they forfeit the right,
who do not fUlfil the duty.
It is eafier, I grant, to command than rea.
fan; but it does not follow from hence that
children cannot comprehend the reafan why
are made to do certain things habi-
tually: for, from a fieady adherence to 3-
few fimple principles of conduCt flows that
falutary power which a judicious parent gra-
dually gains over a child's mind. And this
power becomes ihong indeed, if tempered
by an even difplay of affeCtion brought home
to the child's heart. For, 1 helieve, as a
general rule, it mull: be allowed that the
affetl:ion which we infpire always refembles
that we cultivate; fa that affeCtions,
which have been fuppofed almoll: difiinCl:
from reafon, may be found more nearly
.netted with than is commonly
Nay, as another proQfQfthe necef..
fity of cultivating the female under-llanding,
it is but jufr to obferve, that the affeCtions
{eem to have a kind of allirIl:al
they merely refide in the .
4
a
3. It

It is the irregular exercife of parental au-
thority that firft injures the mind, and to
there irregularities girls are more fubjea than
boys. The will of thofe who never allow
their will to be difputed, unlefs they happen
to be in a good humour, when they relax
proportionally, is almoft always unreafon..
able. To elude this arbitrary authority girls
very, early learn the leffons which they af-
terwards practife on their hulbands; for I
have frequently feen a little {harp-faced mifs
rule a whole family, excepting that now and
then mamma's anger will burft out of fome
accidental c1oud;-either her hair was ill
<lrdfed., or {he had loft more money at cards,
the nigqt before, than he was willing to
own to her hulband i or fame fuch moral
caufe of anger.
After ob(erving fallies of this kind, I have
been led into a melancholy train of reflection
I myfelfheard a little once fay to i fervant, 'My
C mamma has been fcoldi-ng me finely this morning, becaufe
C her hair was not dreITed to pleafe her.' Though this
remaI:k was pert, it was juft, And what refpeCl could
a girl acquire for fuch a parent witl.\out doing violence tQ
.

concluding that whe'n
their firfi affeCtion mufl: lead them afiray, or
make their duties clafh tiB they refl: on mere
whims and cufi:oms, little can be expeCted
from them as they advance in life. How
indeed can an infl:ruCtor remedy this evil? for
to teach them virtue on any folid principle is
to teach them to defpife their parents. Chil-
dren cannot, ought not, to be taught to make
allowance for the faults of their parents, be-
caufe every fuch allowance weakens the force
of reafon in their minds, and makes them
frill more indulgent to their own. It is one
of the moH fublime virtues of maturity that
leads us to be fevere with refpeCt to ourfelves,
and forbearing to others; but children lhould
only be taught the fimple virtues, for if they
begin too early to make allowance for hu-
man pallions and manners, they wear off the
fine edge of the criterion by which they
fhould regulate their own, and become Ull-
juO: in the fame proportion as they grow in-
dulgent.
The affeCtions of children, and weak peo-
ple, are always felfifh; they love their rela-
tives, becaufe they are beloved by them, and
not on account of their virtues. Yet, till ef.
A a 4 teem
360 VINDICATION OP THE
teem and love are blended together in the
firft affection, and rearon made the foundation
of the Lirn duty, morality will fiumble at the
threfhold. But, till (ociety is very differently
confiituted, parents, I fear, will fiill infift on
being obeyed, becaufe they will be obeyed,
and conftantly endeavour to fettle that pO\.ver
on a Divine right which will not bear t h ~
invefiigation of rearon.
CHAP.;
J
RJOHTS OF WOMAN. 361
GH A P. XII.
pN NATION.(\L EDUCA,TJON.
r:rHE good effects refulting from attention to
private equcation will ever be very confined,
and the parent who puts his own hand
to the plow, will always, in fome degree,
difappointed, 'till education becomes agrand
national concern. A man cannot retire into
a defert with his child, and if he did he could
:, a I. ",
pot brin'g himfelf qack to childhood, and be-
the proper and play-fellow ofan
infant or youth. And when children are
to (oFiety. of men and women,
very foon acquire that kind ofpremature
'flops the' growth of every
power of mind or body. order
to open their' they ihould be excited
to thipk for themfe1ves; and this can only be
mixing a number ofchildren together,
ma'king them jointly the fame
objects.
A child
36% "INDICATION OF THE
A child very foon contraCls a benumbing
indolence of mind, which he has fe1dom fuf-
ficient vigour afterwards to {hake off, when
he only afks a.qucfiion inftead of feeking for
information, and then relies implicitly on the
anfwer he receives. With his equals in age
this could never be the cafe, and the fubjeCls
of inquiry, though they might be influenced,
would "not be entirely under the direClion of
men, who frequently damp, if not deftrQy,
abilities, by bringing them forward too 11af-
tily: "and too haftily they will infallibly be
brought if the child. be confined to
the fociety of a man, however fagacious that r
man may be.
. Befides, in youth the feeds of every affec-
tion fhould be fown, and the refpettful re..
gard, which is felt for a parent, is very dif...
ferent from the facial affections that are to
conftitute the happinefs of life as it advances.
Of thefe equality is the and an inte..
<:ourfe of" fentimertts unc10gged that ob..
fervant ferioufnefs which prevents difputa..
tion, though it may not inforce fubmiffion.
ut a child have ever fuch an affeCl:ion for his
parent, he will always languifu. to play and
prattle with childreni and the "very refpetl;
" he
be feels, for filial always has a dafu
of fear mixed with it, wil1, if it do not teach
him cunning, at leaft prevent him from
pouring out the little fecrets which fidl:
open the heart to friendlhip and confid.ence,
gradually leading to more expanfive bene-
volence. Added to this, he will never ac-
_quire that frank ingenuoufnefs of behaviour;
which young people can only attain by being
frequently in fociety where they dare to fpeak
what they think; neither afraid of being re-
proved for their prefumption, nor laughed at
for their folly.
Forcibly 'impreffed by the refleCtions which
the fight of [chools, as they are at pre(ent
conrluCted, naturally fuggefted, I have for-
merly delivered my opinion rather warmly in
favour of a private education; but further ex-
perience has led me to view the fubject in a
light. I ftill, however, think fchools,
as they are now regufated, the hot-beds of
vice and folly, and the knowledge of human
nature, fuppofed to be there, merely
cunning felfilhnefs.
At fchool boys became gluttons and fiovens
t
and, inftead of CUltivating domeftic affections,
very early ru!h into the libertinifm which
defiroys
deftroys the conftitution before it is formed;
hardening the heart as it weakens the under-
llanding.
I iliould, in fact, be aver[e to boarding-
fchools, if it were for no other reafen than the
unfettled ftate of mind which the expec-
tation of the vacations produces. On there
the -children's thoughts are fixed with eager
anticipating hopes, for, at lea{l, to {peak with
moderation, half of the time, and when they
arrive they are fpent in total diffipation and
beafily indulgeqce. .
But, on the contrary, when they are
brought up at home, though they may pur-
fue a plan of ftudy in a more orderly manner
than can be adopted when near a fourth part
of the year is actually fpent in idlenefs, and
as much moreiQ regret and anticipation; yet
they there acquire too high an opinion of
their own importance, from being allowed to
tyrannize over fervantf, and from the anxiety
expreffed hy moft lllothers, on the fcore of
. manners, who, eager to teach the accom-P
plithments of a gentleman, ftifle, in their.
birth, the virtues of a man. Thus brought
into company when t h ~ y ought to be feri..
oully employed, and treatad: l i ~ e men when
the:i
they are ftill boys, they become vain and
effeminate.
The only way to avoid two extremes
equally injurious to morality, would be to
contrive fome way of combining a public and
private education. Thus to make men citi-
zens two natural.fteps might he taken, which
feem direCtly to lead- to the defired point; for
the domefiic affeCtions, that firfi: open the
heart to the various modifications of huma-
.nity, would be cultivated, whi'lfr the children
were neverthelefs allowed to fpend great part
of their time, on terms ofequality, with other
children.
I frill recolleCt, with pleafure, the country
day-fehool; where a boy trudged in the
morning, wet or dry, carrying his books,
and his dinner, if it were at a confiderable
diftance; a fervant did not then lead mallee
by the hand, for, when he had once put on
coat and breeChes, he was allowed to lhift
for himfelf, and return alone in the evening
to recount the feats of the day clore at the
parental knee. His father's houfe was his
home, and was ever after fondly remem-
bered; nay, I appeal to many fuperiour men,
who were educated in this manner, whether
the
.3U YINDICATION or THE
t ~ e recolleCl:ion of fome lhady lane where
they cOlined their letron; or, of fome ftile,
where they fat making a kite, or mending a
bat, has not endeared their country to them l
But, what boy ever recolleBed with plea- .
fure the years he fpent in dofe confinement,
at an academy near London? unlefs, indeed,
he iliould, by chance, remember the poor
fcare-crow of an ulher, whom he tormented;
or, the tartman, from whom he caught a
cake, to devour it with a cattilh appetite of
felfiiline[s. At. boarding-fchools of every de-
fcription, the relaxation of the junior boys is
Dlifchief; and of the fenior, vice. Befides,
in great fchools, what can be more prejudicial
to the moral character than the fyfiem of
tyranny and abjeCl: navery which is efiablilhed
amongft the boys, to fay nothing of the fia..
very to forms, which makes religion worfe
than a farce? For what good can be expeCl:ed
from the youth who receives the faerament
of the Lord's fupper, to avoid forfeiting half
a guinea, which he probably afterwards fpends
in fome fenfual manner? Half the employ-
ment of the youths is to elude the neceffity
of attending public woriliip; and well they
may, for {neh a conitant repetition of the
4 ~ ~
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3
6
7
fame thing mull: be a very irkfome refiraint
on their natural vivacity. As thefe ceremo-
nies have the moil: fatal effeCt on their morals,
and as a ritual performed by the whea
the heart and mind are far away, is not
now fiored up by our church as a bank to
draw on for the fees of the poor fouls in
purgatory, why fhould they not be
ed?
But the fear of innovation, in this country,
extends to every thing.-This is only a'1:overt

fear, the apprehenfive timidity of indolent
Hugs, who guard, by fliming it over, the
Cn ug place, which they confider in the
of an hereditary ell:ate; and eat, drink, and
enjoy them!elves, inftead of fulfilling the
duties, excepting a few empty forms, for
which it, was endowed. Thefe are the
people who moll: ftrenuoufiy infift on the
will of the founder being obferved, ,crying
out againll: all reformation, as if it were a
violation of jull:ice. I am now alluding par-
ticularly to the relicks of popery retained in
our colleges, when the protefiant members
feem to be Cuch fiicklers for the eltablifhed
church i but their zeal never makes them
laCe light of the fpoil of ignorance, which
rapacIous
tapacious priefl:s of fupetllitious memory have
fcraped together. No,' wife in their genera..
tion, they venerate the prefcriptive right of
poffeffion, as a firong hold, and Hill let the
lluggilh .belI tinkle to prayers, as during the
days when the elevation of the hall: was fup-
pofed to atone for the fins of the people, left
one reformation lhould 'lead to another, and
the fpirit kill the letter. Thefe R..omifh cuf...
toms have the moll: baneful effeCl: on the
morals of our clergy; for the idle vermin
who two or three times a day perform in the
moft flovenly manner a fecvice which they
think ufdefs, but call their dutYf foon
lofe a fenre of duty. At college, forced to
attend or evade public worlhip, they acquire
an habitual contempt for the very fervice, the
performance of which is' to enable them to
live in idlenefs. It is mumbled over as an
affair of bufinefs, as a ftupid boy repeats his
tafk, and frequently the college cant efcapes
from the preacher the moment after he has
left the pulpit, and even whilll: he is eating
the dinner which he earned in fuch a die-
honell: manner.
Nothing, indeed, can be more i r r e v ~ r e n t
than the cathedral fervice as it is now per-
8 fornacd
lnGllTS or WOMAN. 369
formed in this country, neither does it
taih a fet of weaker men than thofe who 'are
theo.aves of thischildifh routine. '. A di(guft.
ing fke!eton of the formerftate is frill exhibit-
ed; but -all the folemnity that interefted the
imagination, if it did not purify the heart, is
ftripped off. The performance of high mars
on the continent mnft imprefs every mind,
where a fixl.rk 0. fancy glows, with that
awful melancholy, that fublime tendernefs,
fo near akin to devoti.on. I do not fay that
thefe devotional feelings are of morec;.lfe
J
in
a moral fenfe, than any other emotion of
tafte; but I contend that the theatrical pomr'
which gratifies our [enfes, is to be preferred to
the cold parade that infultsthe underitanding
without re:1ching the heart.
Amongft remarks on national education,
. fuch cannot be mifjJ!uced, efpe-
cially as the fupporters of thefe eftablilh-
ments, degenerated into pueriIities, affect to
be the champions of religion.-Religion, pure
fource of comfort in this vab of tears! how
has they clear ftream been muddied by the
. '. dabblers, who have prefumptuoufly endea-
voured to confine in one narrow channel,
the living waters that ever flow towards God
B b --the
,
,
370 VINDICATION 01' THE'
-the fublime ocean of exiftence! What
would life be without that peace which the
love of GoQ, when built on humanity, alone
can impart? Every earthly affeetion turns
back, at intervals, to prey upon the heart
that feeds it; ~ n d the pureft effufions of be-
nevolence, often rudely damped by man, muft
mount as a free-will offering to Him who
gave them birth, whore bright image they
faintly reflet\:.
In public fchools, however, religion, con
foundej with irkfome ceremonies and unrea..
fonable reftraints, afiumes the rnoft ungra-
cious afpeet: not the [ober auftere one that
commands refpeB: whilft it infpires fear;. but
a ludicrous caft, that ferves to point a pun.
For, in faCt,. maft of the good frones and
{mart things which ,enliven the fpirits that
have been concentrated at whift, are manu-
faetured out of the incidents to which the
very men labour to give a droll turn who
countenance the abufe to live on the [poil.
There is not; perhaps, in the kingdom, a
more dogmatical, or luxurious fet of men,
thim. the pedantic tyrants who refide in col-
leges and prefide at public fchools. The
vacations are equally injurious to the mo..
fals
alGRTS OF WOMAN, 37
1
ral; of the mafters and pupils, and the inter+'
courfe, whi"h the forl'lli:r keep up with the
nobility, int r o d u c ~ s the fame vanity and ex..
travagance into their families, which banifh
domeftic duties and comforts from the lordly
manfion, whofe ftate is awkwardly aped.
The boys, who live at a great expence with
the mafters and affifbmts, are nevet domef...
ticated, though placed there for that pur..
pofe; fOf, after a filent dinner, they fwallow
a hafly glafs of wine, and retire to plan fame
mifchievous trick, or to ridicule the perfon
or manners of the very people they have
juft been cringing to, and whom they ought
to confider as the repre[entatives of thdr pa.
r(:nt8.
Can it then be a matter of furprife that
, boys become felfifh and vicious who are thus
iliut out from facial converfc? Of that a
mitre often graces the brow of one of thefe
diligent paftors?
The defire of living in the fame ftyle, as
the" rank juil: above them, infects each indi-
vidual and every clafs of people, and mean-
nefS'is the concomitant of this ignoble ambi-
tion; but thofe profeffions are moil: debafing
whofe ladder 'is patronage i yet, out of one
of thefe profeffions the tutors of youth are,
Bb 2 in
372 VIN!HCATION OF THE
in general, chofen. But, can they be ex-
peaed. to infpire independent fentimellts
7
. whofe conduct muft be regulated by the cau-
tious prudence that is ever on the watch fOF
preferment ?
So far, however, from thinking of the
motals of boys, I have heard feveral mafters
offchools argue, that they only undertook to
teach Latin and Greek; and that they had
fulfilled their duty, by fending fome good
fcholars to college.
A few good fcholars, I grant, may have
been formed by emulation and difcipline;
but, to bring forward thefe clever b o y s ~ the
health and morals of a number have been
facrificed. The fdns of our gentry and weal-
thy commoners are moftly educated at thefe
feminaries, and will anyone pretend to af-
fert that the majority, making everyallow-
ance, come under the defcription of ,tolerable
fcholars?
It is not for' the benefit of fociety that a
few brilliant men fhould be brought f o r ~
ward at the expence of the multitude. It is
true, that great men feem to ftart up, as
great revolutions occur, at proper intervals,
to reftore order, and to blow afide the clouds
that
..
RIGHTS OF WOMAN,. 373
tbat thicken over the face of tru t h; but Jet
more reafon and virtue prevail in fociety, and,
thefe {hong winds would not be necefiary.
Public t:ducation, of every
fhould be directed to form citizens; but if
you wi1h to make good citizens, you mull:
lira exercife the affeCtions of a fan and a
brother. This is the only way to expand the
heart; for public affedions, as well as public
virtues, muft ever grow out of the private
character, or they are merely meteors that,
, lhoot athwart a dark lky, and difappear as they
are gazed at and admired.
Few, I believe, have had much affection
for mankind, who did not firfi love their pa-
rents, their brothers, fifters, and even the do-
meLEc bfutes, whom they firfl played with.
The exercife of youthful fym pathies forms the.
moral temperature; and it js the recollection
of there firft affeCtions and purfuits that gives
life to thofe that are afterwards more under
the diret1ion of reaton. In yomh, the fondeft
frieridfhips are formed, the genial juices
mounting at the fame time, kindly mix; or,
rather the heart, tempered for the reception
of friendfhip, is accuftomed to feek for plea-
fureinfomething more noble than the churliIh
gratification of appetite.
Bb 3 In
In order then to infpire a love of home
and domet1:ic pleafures, children ought to he
educated at home, for riotous hclidays only
make them fond of home for their own fakes.
Yet, the vacations, which do not
domefiic affeCtions, continually difturb the
cour[e of ftudy, and render any plan of im-
provement abortive which includes temper-
ance; ftill, were theyabohfhed, children would
be entirely [eparated from their parents, and
I queftion whether they would become better
citizens by facrificing the preparatory affec-
tions, by deftroying the force of relationfhips
that render the marriage ftate as necefIary as
refpeB-able. But, if a private pro-
duce felf-importance, or infulate a man in
his family, the evil is only fuifted, not re-
medied.
This train of reafoning brings me back to
a on' which I mean to dwell, the ne-
ceffity of eftablifhing proper day-fchools.
But, thefe fhould be national e!hblifh-
rnents, for whilft are depen-
dent on the caprice of parents, little exertion
can be e"peCted from them, more than is
neceIfary to pleafe ignoiant people. Indeed,
the neceffity of a mafter's giving the parents'
fame fample of the boy's abilities, which dur-
Ing
RIGHTS OF WOMAN.
. 375
ing the vacation is thewn to every vifitor"J
is productive of more mifchief than would at
firfi be [uppofed. For it is done en-
tirely, -to fpeak with moderation, by the
child itfelf; thus the ma!ler countenances
falfehood, or winds the poor machine up to
fame extraordinary exertion, that injures the
wheels, and !tops the ofgradual im-
provement. Ttle memory is loaded with un-
intelligible words, to make a {hew of, with-
out the underfianding's acquiring any diftinet
ideas: but only that education deferves em-
phatically to be termed cultivation of mind
J
which teaches young people how to begin to
think. The imagination fhould not be allow-
ed to debauch the underfranding before it
gained ftrength, or vanity will become the
forerunne.r of vice: for every way of exhibit-
ing the acquirements of a child is injurious
to its moral character.
How much time is loft in teaching them,
to recite what they do not underftand? whilft
J
feated on benches, all in their bef1:: arraYJ
the mammas liften with aftonilhmcnt to' the
I now particularly allude to the numerous academies
in and about London, and to the behaviour of the trading
ohhis great city,
Bb4-
parrot-
376 VINDICATION OF TilE
parrot-like prattle, uttered in folemn cadences,
all the pomp of ignorance and foUy.
Such exhibitions only ferve to {hike the
fpreadingfibres of vanity through the whole
mind; for they neither teach children to fpeak
fluently. nor bthave gracefully. So far from
it, that thefe frivolous purfuits might com-
prehenfively be termed the ftud.y of affeCtation;
for we now rarely fee a fimple, bathful boy,
though few people of tafie- were ever difgufted
by that awkward fa narnral to
the age, which [chools and an early introduc-"
tion into fociety, have changed into impu-
dence and apifh grimace.
Yet, how can thefe things be remedied-
whilft [choal-mallers depend entirely on pa-
rents for a [ubfiftence; and, when fo many
rival [chooIs hang out their lures, to catch
the attention of vain fathers and mothers._
whafe parental atlectian only leads them to
wifh that their children fhauld audhine thofe
their neighbours?
Without great good luck, a fenfible, con-
"fcientious man, would ftarve before he <;auld
niCe a [chaol, if he difdained to bubble weak
parents by praCtifing the fecret tricks of the
craft.
In
, 1l TGHTS OF WOMAN. 377 .
In the bift regulated f,.:hooIs. however,
where fwarms are not crammed together,
many bad habits .mull be acquired; but, at
common [chools, the' body, heart, and un-
derftanding, are equally ftunted, for parents
are often only in queft of the cheape,ft {chool,
and the mafter could not live, if he did not
take a much greater number than he could
manage himfeIf; nor will the fcanty pittance,
allowed for each child, permit him to hire
'ulhers fufficient to affifr in the difcharge of
the mechanical part of the bufinefs, Befides,
w h a t ~ v e r appearance the houfe and garden
may make, the children do not enjoy the com-
fortofeither, for they arecontinually reminded
by irkfcJme reftriClions that they are not at
home, and the ftate-rooms, garden, &c. muft be
kept in order for the recreation of the parents;
who, of a Sunday, vifit the fchool, . and are
impreflcd by the very parade that renders the
fituation of their children uncomfortable.
With what difguft have I heard {enfible
women, for girls are more refrrained and
cowed than boys, fpeak of the wearifomc
confinement, which they endured at {chool.
Not allowed, perhaps, to ftep out of onc-
broad walk in a fuperb garden, and obliged to
pace with fteady deportment ftupidly back-
wards
wards and forwards, holding up their heads
and turning out their toes, with ihoulders
braced back, inftead of bounding, as nature
diret'ts to complete her own defign, in the
various attitudes fo conducive to health
The pure animal fpirits, which make both
mind and body hoot out, and unfold the
tender bloffoms of hope, are turned four, and
vented in vain willies or pert repinings, that
contract the faculties and fpoil thetemperj elfe
they mount to the brain, and iharpening the
underfranding before it gains proportionable
ftrength, produce that pitiful cunning which
I remember a circumllance that once came under my
own obfervation, and raifed my indignation. I went to
vifit a little boy at a fchool where young children were: pre-
pared for a large ene. The maller took me into the
fchool-room, &c. but whilll I walked down a broad gravel
walk, I could not help obferving that the grafs grew v.ery
luxuriantly on each fide of me. I immediately alked the
child fome queftions, and found that the poor boys were
not allowed to ftir off the walk, and that the maller fome-
times permitted {beep to be turned in to crop the untrodden
grafs. The tyrant of thi's domain ufed to lit by a window
that overlooked the prifon yard, :lnd one nook t l , l r n i n ~ from.
it, where the unfortunate babes could fport freely, he en..
dofed, and planted it with potatoes. The wife likewife
was equally anxious to keep the children in order, teft they
P10uld dirty or tear their clothes.
8 / difgra<:e-
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3i9
difgracefully chara\'lerizes the female mind-
and I fear will ever characterize it whilft wo-
men remain the naves of power!
The little rdpeEl: paid to chaftity in the
male world is, I am per[uaded, the grand
fource of many of the phyfical and moral
evils that torment mankind, as well as of the
vices and follies that degrade and dearoy wo-
men; yet at fchool, boys infalli bly lofe that
decent balhfulne[s, which might have ripened
into modefty, at home.
And what nafty indecent tricks do they not
alfo learn from each other, when a of
them pig together in the fam; bedchamber,
not to fpeak of the vices., which render the
body weak, whilil they effectually prevent
the acquitition of any delicacy of mind.
The little attention paid to the cultivation 'of
modefty, amongft men, produces great de-
pravity in all the relationfhips of fociety; for,
n0t only love-love that ought to purify the
heart, and firft call forth all the youthful
powers, to prepare tHe man to difcharge the
benevolent duties of life, is facrificed to pre-
mature luft; but', all the focial affections are
deadened by the felfiLh gratifications, which
very pollute the mind, and dry up the
generous
380 VINDICATION OP THE
generous juices of the heart. In what an
unnatural manner is innocence often violated;
and what ferious confequences enfue to ren-
der private vices a public peLt. Befides, an
habit of perfonal order, which has more ef-
feCt on the moral character; than is, in ge-
neral, fuppofed, can only be acquired at home,
where that refprcrable referve is kept up
which checks the familiarity, that linking
into beaftlinefs, undermines the affeClion it
infults.
I have already anim?dverted on the bad ha-
bits which females acquire when they are
{hut up together; and, I think, that the
obfervation may fairly be extended to the
other fex, till the natural inference is drawn
which I have had in view throughout-that
. to improve both fexes they ought, not only
in private families, but in public fchools, to
, be educated together. If marriage be the
cement of fociety, mankind Ihould all be
educated after the fame model, or the inter-
courCe of the fexes will never deferve the
name of feIlowIhip, nor will women ever
fulfil the peculiar duties of their fex, till they
become' enlightened citi2;ens, till they be-
come free by being enabled tQ earn their <?wn
fubfiftence)
fubfiilence, independent of men; in the fame
manner, I mean, to prevent mifconftruc-
tion, as one man is independent of another.
Nay, marriage will never be held facred till
women, by being brought up with men, are
prepared to be their companions rather than
their miftreffes; for the -mean doubling:s ,of
cunning wiil' ever render 'them contempt-
ible, whilft oppreffion ren'ders them timid.
So convinced am I of this truth, that I will
venture to predict that virtne will never pre-
vail in fociety till the virtues of both fexes
are founded (>1'1 reafon; and, till the affec-
tions common to both are :allowed to gain
their due ftrength by the difcharge of mu-
tual'
Were boys and girls permitted to purfue
the fame 1tudies together, thofe graceful de-
cencies might early be inculcated which pro-
duce m'odefly without thofc fexual diftinc-
tions that taint the mind. LeIfons of po-
litenefs, and that formulary of
which treads on the heels of falfehood, would
be rendered ufe1efs by habitual propriety of
behaviour. Not, indeed, put on for vifitors
like the courtly robe of politenefs, but the
fober effect of c1eanlinefs of mind. Would
not
not this fimple elegance of fincerity be a
chafte homage paid to domeftic affeClions,
far furpaffing the meretricious compliments
that fhine with fa1fe 1uftre in the heartlefs
intercourfe of fafhionab1e life? But, till more
underftanding preponderates in focietyt there
will ever' be a want of heart and tafte, and
the harlot's rouge will fupply the place.
of that celeftial fuffufion which only virtu-
ous affections can give to the face. Gallan..
try, and what is called love) may Cubfift with-
out of character ; hut the main pil-
lars of friendfhip, are refpeCt and confidence-
efieem is never founded on it cannot tell
what!
A tafte for the fine arts requires great culti-
vation; but not more than a tafte for the virtu-
ous and both fuppofe that enlarge-
. ment of mind which opens fo many fources
of mental pleafure.Why do people hurry
to noify {cenes, and crowded circles? I
fhould anfwer, becaufe they want aClivity of
mind, becaufe they not cherilhed the
virtues of the heart. They only, therefore,
fee and feel in the grofs, and continually pine
after variety,finding every thing thatis fimple
infipid.
This
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 38]
This argument may be carried further
than philofophers are aware of, for if nature
deftined woman, in particular, for the dif-
charge of domcftic duties, {he made her fuf-
ceptible of the attached affections in a great
degree. Now women are notorioufly fond
of pleafurej, and, naturally muft be fo ac-
cording to rrIy definition
t
' pecaufe they Cat:1-
not enter into the minutire of domeftic taite,;
lacking judgment
t
the foundation of all tane.
For the underil:anding, in fpite of fenfual ca-
villers, referves to itfelf the privilege of con-
veyirig'pure joy to the heart.
With what a languid yawn have I feen
an admirable poem thrown down, that a
man of trne tafte returns to, again :md again
with rapture j and, whilft melody has almoft
fufpended refpiratiol1, a lady has afked me
where I bought my gown. I have feen alfo
an eye glanced coldly over a moil: exquifite
picture, reft, fparkling with pleafure, on a
caricature rudely .ketchedj and whilft fome
terrific feature in nature has fpread a fublime
fiiIlnefs through my foul, I have been defired
to obferve the pretty tricks of a lap-dog, that
my perverfe fate forced me to travel with.
Is it furprifing that fuch a taftelers being
Jhould
384 'YINDICATION OF THE .
ihould rather carefs this dog than her chil-
dren? Or, that {he fhould prefer the rant of
flattery to the fimple accents of fincerity? .
To iIluftrate this remark I mull: be allowed
to obferve, that men of the firft genius, and
moft cultivated minds, have appeared to have
the higheft relifu for the fimple beauties of
nature; and they muft have fordbly felt, what
. they have fo well defcribed, the charm whicn
natural affections, and unfophifticated feel-
ings fpread round the human charaCter. It
is this power of looking into the heart, and
refponfively vibrating with each emotioI},
that enables the poet to perfonify each paf-
fion, and the painter to 1ketch with a pencil
of fire.
True tafte is ever the work of the under-
ftanding employed inobferving natural ef-
feas; and till women have more underftand-
ing,. it is vain to expeCt them to poffefs do-
meftic tafte. Their lively fenfes will ever
be at work to harden their hearts, and the
emotions ftruck out of them will continue to
be vivid and tranfitory, unlefs a proper edu-
cation ftore their mind with knowledge.
It is the want of d o m e f t i ~ tafte, and not
the acquirement of knowledge, that takes
women
iUGH'tS OF WOMAN. 3
S
S
womert but of their and tears the
fmiling babe from the breafr that ought to
afford it nourithment. Women have been
allowed to remain in ignorance; and navilh
dependence, manyJ very many years, and
fiill we hear of nothing but their fondnefs of
pleafure and fway, their preference of rakes
and fvldiers, their childilh attachment to toys;
and the vanity that makes them value ac'"
complilhments more than virtues.
Hiftory brings forward a fearful catalogue
of the crimes which their cunning has pro-
duced, when the weak naves have had fuf"
ficient addrefs to over-reach their mafretS. In
France, and in how many other countries,
have men been the luxurious defpots, and
women the crafty minifters.?-Does this
prove that ignorance and dependence domef-
ticate them? Is not their folly the by-word
of the libertines, who relax in their fociety;
and do not men of fenfe continually lament
that an immoderate fondnefs for drefs and
diffipation carries the mother of a family for
ever from home? Their hearts have not
been by knowledge. or their
minds led afrray by fcientific purfuits; yet,
they do not fulfil the peculiar duties which
Cc as
386 .VINDICATION OF THE
as women they are called upon by nature t.
fulfil. On the contrary, the {late of warfare
which fubfifis between the fexes, makes them
employ thofe wiles, that often frufirate the
more open defigns of force.
When, therefore, I call women llaves, I
.mean in a political and civil fenfe; fOT, indi-
reCtly they obtain too much power.. and are
.debafed by their exertions to obtain illicit
fway.
Let an enlightened nation" then try what
effect reafon would have to bring them back
to nature, and their duty; and allowing them
to {hare the advantages of education and go-
vernment with man, fee whether they will
become better, as they grow wifer and be
come free. rhey cannot be injured by the
experiment; for it is not in the power of man
to render them more infignificant than they
are at prefent. ~
To render this praCl:icable, day fchools,
for particular ages, {hould be eftabliihed' by
-government, in which \>oys and girls might
be educated together., The fchool fior.tIlt
younger children, from f i v ~ . to nine years 'of
... France.
age,
RIGwts bt -WOMAN. 387
age, ought to be abfolute.1y free and open to
,all claffes . A fLlfficiem number of mafrers
fuould alfo be cbofen by a feleCt committee,
in each pariih, to whom any complaint of
negligence, &c. might he made, if figned by
.fix of the children's parents.
Uihers would then be tmneceffary; for I
believe experience will ever prove that
kind of fubordinate authority is particuhirly
,injuripu,s to the morals of youth. What,
indeed, can teneJ to. deprave the charaB:er
.more thart outward fubmiffi011. and inward
contempt? Yet how can boys he expeCted
.to treat an uOler with refpea, when the
tnafter feems to confider him in the light 6f a
and almoft to countenance the ridi-.
cule which becomes the chief amufement of
the boys during the play hours?
But. nothing. this kind could occur in
an elementary day-fehool, where boys and
girls, the rich and poor, fhould meet toge,;,;
ther. And to prevent any of thediftinctions
of vanity, they {hol1ld be dreffed alike, and
all obliged to fubmit to the fame difcipline;
Treating this part of the tubjell, I have borrowed
. tome hints from a very fenfible pamphlet, written by the:
late bifhop of Al1tun on Public Education.
C 2 or
3S8 VINDICATIO:-J OF THE
c,r leave the fchool. The fchool-room ought
to be furrounded. by a large piece of ground,
in which the children might be ufefully ex-
ercifed, for at this age they fhould not be
confined to any fedentary' employment for
more than an hour at a time. But thefe re-
laxations might all be rendered a part of ele-
mentaryeducation, for many things improve
and amufe the fenfes, when introduced as a
kind of {how, to the p r i n c i p l e ~ of which,
dryly laid down, children would turn a
deaf ear. For inll:ance, botany, mechanics,
and aftronomy. Reading, writing, arithme-
tic, natural hiftory, and Come fimple expe-
riments in natural philofophy, might fill up
the day; but thefe purfuits lhould never
encroach on gymnaftic plays in the open air.
The elements of religion, hiftory, the hif-
tory of man, and politics, might alfo be
taught by converfations, in the focratic
. form.
After the age of nine, girls and boys, in-
tended for domeftic employments, or mecha-
nical trades, ought to be removed to other
fchools, and receive inftruBioll, in fome mea-
fureappropriated to thedeftination ofeachindi-
vidual, the two fexes being frill together in the
mormng;
morning; but in the afternoon, the girls
fhould attend a fchool, where plain-work,
mantua-making, millinery, &c. would be
their employment.
The young people of fuperiour abilities, or
fortune, might now be taught, in another
fchool, the dead and living languages, the
elements offcience, and continue the ftudyof
hiftory and politics, on a more extenfive [cale,
which would not exclude polite literature.
Girls and boys frill together? I hear fame
readers aik: yes. And I ihould not fear any
other confequence than that fame early at-
tachment might take place; which, whilfi:
it had the bell: effect on the moral character
of the young people, might not perfeCtly
agree with the views of the parents; for it
will be a long tim
7
, I fear, before the world
will be fo far ertlightened that parents, only
anxious to render their children virtuous, {hall
allow them to choofe companions for life
themfelves..
Befides, this would be a fure way to pro-
. mote: early marriages, and from early mar-
riages the moll: falutary phyfical and moral
effeCts naturally flow. What a different cha-
racter does -a married citizen affume from the
Cc 3 felfifh
390 VINDicATION OF THE
fe1filh coxcomb, who lives, but tor himfe1f
J
and who is often afraid to marry left he lhould
not be able to live in a certain ftyle. Great
emergencies excepted, which would rarely
occur in a fociety of which equality was the
bafis, a man can only be prepared to difcharge
the duties of public life, by the habitual prac-
tice of thofe inferiour ones which form the
man.
In this plan of education the conftitu-'
tioD of boys would not be ruined by the early
,debaucheries, which now make, men fo felf-
ifh, or girls rendered weak and vain, by i.n-
90lence. and frivolous purfuits. But, I pre..,
fuppofe, that Cuch a degree of equality fhould
be eftablifhed between the fexes as would
111Ut Ollt gallantry and coquetry, yet allow
friendfhip and love to temper the heart for
the difcharge of higher duties.
Thefe would be fchools of morality-and,
the happinefs of man, allowed to flow from
the pure fprings of duty and affeClion, what
advances might not the human mind make?
Society can only be happy and free in propor-
tion as it is virtuous; but the prefent diftinc-
tions, eftablifhed in {ociety, corrode ~ l l pri-
yate, and blaft all public virtue.
-R.IGHTS oF' WOMAN. 391
I have already inveighed againft the cur-
tom of confining girls to their needle, and
fhutting them out from all political and civil
employments; for by thus narrowing their
minds they are rendered unfit to fulfil the
peculiar duties which nature has affigned
them. .
Only employed about the little incidents of
the day, they neceffarily grow up cunning.
My very foul has often fickened at obferving .
the f1 y tricks praCtifed by women to gain
fome foolifh thing on which their filly hearts
were fet. Not allowed to difpofe of money,
or call any thing their own, they learn to
turn the market penny; or, fhould a huf-
band offend. by fraying from home, or give
rife to fome emotions of jealoufy-a new
gown, or any pretty bawqle, fmooths Juno's
angry brow.
But thefe littlentffes would not degrade their
charaCter, if women were led to refpea them-
felves, if political and moral fubjetls were
opened to them; and .l will venture to
affirm. that this is the only 'way to make
them properly attentive to their domefiic du-
ties.-An active mind embraces the whole
f;ircle of its duties, and finds time enou;;h for
. C c 4 ~ : I .
all. It is not, I affert, a bold attempt toemq?
late virtu,es; it is not the
ment of literary purfqits, 9r the fteady
tigation Qf fcientific fllbjech, - that leads wo-
I11en atray ffoOl t'J'0, it is indolence
and vanity-the love of ploofure and the love
of fway, that will reign paramount in an
empty I fay empty be-
cau(e the education which women now re-
fcarceJy name. Forthe
little that they are led to acquire,
during the important years of youth, is merely
rCl iti\'e to accomplifhments; and accomplifu-
ments without a bQttom, for unlefs the un-
, .., . , . .
be fuperficial and mo-
every grace. Like the of
a made up only ftrike the fenfes in
a crowd; but at home, wanting mind, they
variety. The confeguence is
in gay fcenes of dimpation we meet the arti-
ficial mind and face, for thore who fly
folitude dread, to folitude, the domefiic
circle; having it in their power amufe
theyfeel their own infignificance, or
find nothing to amufe or intereft themfelves.
. Befides, can be more indelicate than
a girl's coming out in the fafhionable world?
-
OF WOMAN.
393

,
Which, in other words, is to bring to market
a marriageable mifs, whofe perfon is taken
from one public place to another, richly capa-
rifoned. Yet, mixing in the, giddy circle
under reftraint, thefe butterflies long to flutter
at large, for the firft affeCtion of their fouls
is their own perfons, to which their atten-
tion has be'en called with the moft fedulous
care whilft they were preparing for the pe-
riod that decides their fate for life. Inftead
of purfuing this idle routine, fighing for
tafteIefs {hew, and heartlefs ftate, with what
dignity would the youths of both fexes form
attachments in the fchools that I have cur-
forily pointed out; in which, as life advanced,
dancing, mufic, and drawing, might be ad..
mitted as relaxations, for at thefe fchools young
people of fortune ought to remain, more or
lefs, till they were of age. Thofe, who
were defigned for particular profeffions, might
attend, three or four in the week,
the fchools for their immediate
ipfi"rqCtiqn. .
I only drop thefe obfervations at prefent,
hints; rather, indeed, as an outline of the
plan I mean, than a digefted one; but I
add, that I highly approve of one regu-
lation
394 VINDICA.TION OF TKE
lation mentioned in the pamphlet already
alluded to, that of making the children and
youths independent of the mafters- r e f p e a ~
illg puniLhment.s. They lhould be tried by
their peers, which would be an admirable
rneth<:>d of fixingiOund principles of juftite
in,the mind, and might have thehappieft e1fe&
on the temper, which is very eady foured or
irritated by tyranny, till it becomes peevifhly
cunning, or ferociouily overbt!:aring.,
My imagination darts forward with bene-
volent fervour to greet thefe amiable and
refpettable groups, in fpite of the fneer-'
ing of cold hearts, who are at liberty to
utter, with frigid relf-importance, the damn-
ing epithet-romantic; the force of which)
1 fuall endeavour to blunt by repeating
the words of an eloquent moralift.-' I
C know not whether the' allufions of a truly
humane heart, whofe zeal renders every
, thing eafy, be not preferable to that tough
.- and repuLfing reafoo, :which always findi
c an indifference for the public good, the,firft:
, 'obftacle to whatever would promote it:
I know that libertines will alfo exclaim,:
that woman would be unfexcd by acquiring
~ The biihep of Autun's.
I
1UGHTS OF WOMAN.. .
It'l"ength of body and mind, and that beauty,
foft bewitching beauty ,.would no longer.
adorn the daughters of men. I amof a 'Very
different opinion, for j think that, on the
we fhollld then fue dignified
and true grace; to produce' which, niany'
powerful phyficaT' and moral caufes would'
relaxed beauty, it is true, or
the graces of helpleffnefs; but fuch as ap-
pears to make us refpefr the human body as
a majeftic pile fit to receive a noble inhabi":
tant, in the relics of antiquity.
I do not forget the popular opinion that the
Grecian fiatues were not modelled after na-
ture. I mean, not according to the prop01'-
tions of a particular man; but that beautiful
limbs and features were [eleCted from various
bodies to form an harmonious whole. This
might, in fome degree, be true. The fine
piCture of an exalted imagination might
be fuperiour to the materials which the fiatu-
,ary found in nature, and thus it might with
propriety be termed rather the model of
mankind than of a man. It was not, how-
the mechanical fe1eClion of limbs and
features; but the ebullition ofan heatedfancy
burft forth, and the fetifes ailden-
larged
396 '"INDICATION OF THE
Jargcd undcrfianding of the artifi felected the
folid matter, which he drew into this glow-
ing focus.
I obfervcd that it was not mechanical,
becaufe a whole was produced-a model
of that grand fimplicity, of thofe concur-
ring energies, which arreft our attention
and command our reverence. For only
infipid lifelefs beauty is produced by a fervile
copy of even oeautiful nature. Yet, inde-
pendent of thefe obfervations.1 believe that
the human form muft have been far more
beautiful than it is at prefent, becaufe ex-
treme indolence, barbarous ligatures, anc\
many caufes, which forcibly act on in
our luxurious ftate of fociety, did not re..,.
tard its cxpanfion. or render it deformed.
Exercife and cleanlinefs appear to be not only
the fureft means of preferving health, but of
promoting beauty, the phyfical caufes only
confidered; yet, this is not futficient, moral
ones mull: or will be tnerely of
that ruftic kind which blooms on the inno-
. .', . ..
cent, wholefome, countenances of fame coun-
try people, whofe tninds have not been ex-
ercifed. To render the peefon perfect, phy-
fleal aI\d Illoral beauty ought to be

at the fame time j each lending and receiving
force by the combination. Judgment mutt
refide ori the brow, affection and fancybeam
in the eye, and humanity curve the cheek,
or vain is the fparklin.g of the fineft eye or
the elegantly turned finifh of the faireft fea-
tures: whilft in every motion that difplays
the active limbs and well-knit joints, grace
and modefty fhould appear. But this fair
affemhlage is not to be brought together by
chance; it is the reward' of exertions calculat-
ed to fupport each other; for judgment can
only be acquired by refleCtion,affeaion by the
difcharge of duties, and humanity by the ex-
ercife of compaffion to every living creature.
Humanity to animals fhould be particularly
inculcated as a part of national education, for
it is not'3.t prefent one of our national virtues.
Tendernefs for their humble dumb domeftics,
amongft the lower clafs, is oftener to be
found in a favage than a civilized flate
.For civilization prevents that intercourfe
which creates affeClion in .the rude hut, or
mud hovel, and leads uncultivated minds who
are only depraved by the refinements which
prevail in the fociety, where they are trodden
under foot by the rich, to domineer over
them
398 VINDICA1'"1011 OF THlt
them to revenge the infults that .they are
obliged to bear from their fuperiours.
This habitual cruelty is
fchoaI, where.it is one of the rqrefpoI'tsof
.the boys to torment the brutes that
fall in their way. The as they
growup, from barbarity to brutes to domeftiC
tyranny over wives; children, and {j:rvants, is
very eafy. Juftice, or even will
not be a powerful fpring of aCticm unlefs it
-extend to the whole creation; nay, I believe
that it may be delivered as an axiom, that
thofe who can fee pain, unmoved, will foon
learn to infliCt it.
The vulgar are fwayed by feelings;
and. the habits which they have acciden-
.tally acquired; but on. partial feelings much
dependence cannot be placed, thQugh they
be juft; for, whcm they are not .invigorated
by refleaion; cunom weakens them, till they
are fcarcely perceptible. The of
our nature are ftrengthened by, pondering
gitations, and dea<Jened by thOtlghtlefsufe.
Macbeth's heart {mote him more for
;murder, the firft, than for a hundred,fuh'"
:fequent ones, which were necelfary to
bd
RIGHTS OFWOMA'N. 399
-back when lufed the epithet vul-
'gar, iI did not mean to 'confine 'my remark
1:0 the poor,.for partial humanity, founded on
1>refent fenfations, or whim, is.quite as confpi-
..cuous, if not more fo" amongft the rich.
The lady who beds tears for the ',hirtl
a fnare, and execrates the deviIs:in
:the iliape of men, who goad to madnefs the
;poor ox, or whip the patient' afs, tottering
'under a burden above its, ftrength, win, ne-
verthelefs, keep her coachmlin and horfes
wholehoun waiting for her, the {harp
rfroftbites,lol' the:rain beats againft the well-
dofed windows which do not admit a breath
of air to tell her how roughly the wind blows
-without. Andlhe who takes her dogs to
bed, and nudes them with a parade of fen:-
fibility, when fick, will fuffer her babes to
grow up crooked in a nurfery. This illuf-
11"ation of my argument is drawn from a
matter of faB:. The woman whom I al-
'lude to was handfome, reckoned very hand-
fame, by thore .who do not fiifs the mind
when the face is plump and fair j but
her underftanding had not bean led from
female duties by literature, nor her inno-
.cence debauched by knowledge. No,!he
was
--
was quite feminine, according to the mafcu..
line acceptation of the word; and, fo fat
from loving thefe fpoiled brutes that filled
the place which her children ought to have
occupied, fhe only lifped out a pretty mix-
ture of French and Englifh nonfenfe, to
pleafe the men who flocked round her. The
wife, mother, and human creature, were all
{wallowedupbythe faCtitious charaCl:erwhich
an improper education and the felfilh vanity
of beauty had produced.
I do not like to make a diftincrion with-
out a difference, and I own that I have been
as much difgufted by the fine lady who
took her lap-dog to her bofom inftead of her
child; as by the ferocity of a man, who, beat-
ing his horfe, declared, that he knew as well
when he did wrong, as a Chriftian.
This brood of folly ihews how miftaken
they are who, if they allow women to leave
their harams, do not cultivate their under-
landings, in order to plant virtues in their
hearts. For h1d they fenfe, they might ac..
quire that dome1lic tafte which would lead
them to love with reafonable fubordination
their whole family, from their hufband to
J
the houfe-dog; nor would they ever infult
humanity
humanity in the perfon of the maa menial
fervant by paying more attention to the com-
fort of a brute, than to that of a fellow-crea...
ture.
My obfervations on national education are
obvioufiy hints; but I principally wilh to en..
force tne neceffity of educating the fexes to..
gether to perfect both, and of making ,hil..
dren fieep at home that they may learn to
love home; yet to make private fupport, in-
Lt.ead of fmothering, publicaffeClions, they
O1ould be fent to fchool to mix with a numbet
ofequals, for only by the joftlings of equality
Gan we form a juft opinion of ourfelves.
To render mankind more virtuQ\.ls, and h1p..
pier of courfe, both fexes mull: act from the
fame prindple; but how can that be expected
when only one is allowed to lee the reafon.
ablcnefs of it? To render alfo the facial com-
paCt truly equitable,. and in order to fpread thofe
enlightening principles, which alone can me-
lionite the fate of man, women ~ n u f t be al--
lowed to found their virtue on knowledge;
which is fcarcely poffible unlefs they be edu--
cated by the fame purfuits as men. For
.'hey are now made fo inferiour by ignorance
and low defires, as not to deferve to be
,. Dd r ~ ~ d
...
40% VINDICATION OF THE
ranked with them; or, by the ferpentine
wrigglings of cunning they mount the tree
of knowledge, and only acquire fufticient to
lead men afiray.
It is pbin from the hiftory of all nations.
that women cannot be confined to merely
, domefiic purfuits, for they will not fulfil fa-
mily duties, unlefs their minds take a wider
range, and whilft they are kept in ignorance
they become in the fame proportion the naves
of pleafure as they are the llaves of man.
Nor can they be lllUt out of great enterprifes.
though the narrownefs of their minds often
make them mar, what they are unable to
comprehend.
The libertinifm, and even the virtues of
fuperiour men, will always give women, of
fome defcription, great power over them;
. and thefe weak women, under the influence
of childifu pamons and felfilh vanity, wilf
throw a falfe light over the objects which the
very men view with their eyes, who ought to
enlighten their judgment. Men offancy, and
thofe fanguine charaCters who mofily hold ,
the helm of human affairs, in general, relax
in the fociety of women; ~ n d furely I need
Dot cite to the moll fuperficial reader of hif..
torf
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 40j
~ 6 r y .the ritirrlerous examples of vice and op-
premon which the private intrigues offernale
favourites have produced; not to dwell on the
mifchief that naturally arifes ftom the blun-
dering interpolition of welt-meaning folly.
For in the tranfattioris of bufinefs it is mucH
better to have to deal with aknave than a fool;
hecaute aknave adheres to fome plan j and any
plan of l-eaforl may be feen through much
fooner than a fudden flight of folly. The
power which vile and foolilh women have had.
Over wife nieri
7
who poffeffed fenfibility, is
notorious; i !hall oniy mention otie inlance.
Who ever drew a more exalted female cha.
ratter than Rauffeau r though in the lunip he
confrantty endeavoured to degrade the (cr.'
And 'why was he thusarixious? 'teuly tojuf-
tify to himfelf the affedion whfch \\'caknefs
and "iftue had made him cheriIb for thaf
fool Therefa. He could tiot raife her to the
tommonleve1 of her [ex; and therefore he la-
boured to bring wOman down to .her's. He
found heraconvenient humble companion, and
pride made him determine to find fame flipe-
tiour virtues in the being whom he cliofe ta
live whii; but did not her conduct: durfng his
Hfe, and after his death. clearly {hew how'
Dd 2 i r o ~ l y
grofsly he was mHlaken who caned her" a
ce1eO:ial innocent. Nay, in the bitternefs of
his heart, he himfClf laments, that when his
bodily infirmities made hiin no longer treat
her like a woman, !he ceared to an
for him. And .it very natural
that (he Lhould, far having fofew {entiments
in common, when the fex.ual tie was "broken,
what was to hold her? To hold her affec-
tioh whofe fenfibiliry' was con'fined to one
fex,nay, to one mao, it requires fenfe to
'tur'n fenfibility into the broad <!hannel of hu-
manity; many women have not mind enough
'to have an affeCtion for a woman, or'a friend-
"{hip for a man. But 'the fexual weakneCs
'that makes woman depend on man .for a fub-
'fifience, produces a kind of cattilh affeCtion
which leads a wife to purr about her hufband
as.,1he woj,lld about any man who fed and ca-
te&ed'her. ,
Men are, however, often gratified by this
kindof faridnefs, which is cl>nfil1ed in a beaftly
manner to themfe1ves; hut ihould they ever
'becom,e more virtuous, they will with t()
'converfe at their fire-fide with a after
they ceafe to play with a mif\refs.
Belides,
OF WOMAN. '4()5
BeIides, underfianding is nece{fary to give
variety and interefi to fenfual enjoyments,
for low, indeed, in the intellectual fca.le, is
the mind that can continue to love when nei-
ther virtue nor fenie give human appear-,
ance to an animal appetite. But fenfe will
always prepondet.\te; and if women be not,
in .general, brought more on a level
men, fame fuperiour women, like the Greek
courtezans, will affemble the men of abilities
around them, and draw from their families
many citizens, who would have frayed at home
had their wives had more fenfe, or the graces
which refult- from the exercife of the under-
landing and fancy, the legitimate parents of
talle. A woman of talents, if the be not ab-
folute1y ugly, will always obtain great power,
raifed by the weakne[s of her fex; and in
proportion as men acquire virtue and
by the of rea[oo. they will look for
both in women, hut they can only acquire
them in the fame way that men do.
In France or Italy, have the con-
fined themleIves to domefiic life? though th.ey
have not hitherto had a political exifience,
yet, have they not illicitly had great. fway?
<:orrupting .themfel ves and the men with
Dd 3 whoee
4-G6 VINDICATION OF THB
whore pallions they played. In {hort, inwhat-
ever light I view the fubjeCt. reafon and ex-
perience convince me that the only methoq
pf leading women to fulfil their peculiar du-
.ties, is to free them from all reftraint by
them to participate the iuherenl
rights of mankind.
Make them free, and they will be,
come wife and virtuous, as men become
more fa; fc,r the improvement mQft be mu-
tual, or the injuftice which one half of
.human race are obliged to fubmit to, retorting
on their opprefi"ors, the virtue of man will be;
worm-eaten by the infect whom he
'under his feet.
Let men take their choice, man and wo-
man were made for each other, though not
1 to become one being and if they will not
women, they will deprave them!
I of improvement and emancipa-
tion of the whole for I know that the;
behaviour of a women, who, by accioo:
. pr following a firong bent of nature
t
have acquired a of knowledge fupe-
riour to that of the rell: of their fex, has often
\leen overbearing; but there have been in-
of women who, attaining

have not difcarded nar have they
always pedantically appeared to defpife the
ignorance which they laboured to difperfe in
their own minds. The exclamations then
which any advice refpeCting female learning,
commonly produces, efpecially from pretty
women, often arife from envy. When they
chance to fee that even the lufi:re of their
eyes, and the flippant fportivene[s of refined
coquetry will not always fecure them atten-
tion, during a whole evening, lhould a wo.
man of a more cultivated underfianding en.
deavour to give a rational turn to the conver-
ration, the common fource of confolation is,
that fueh women feldom get hufbands. What
arts have I not feen filly women ufe to inter-
rupt byflirtation, a very fignificant word to
defcribe fuch a manceuvre, a rational conver-
fation which made the men that they
werct pre'tty women.
But, allowing what is very natural to
man, that the poffeffioll of rare abilities
is really calculated to excite over-weening
pride, difgufiing in both men and women
-in a {tate of inferiority muft the
female faculties have rulled when fuch a
fmallportion of knowledge as thofe women
D d -to
408 OF THE-
attained, who have rneeringly beeri terined
learned women, could be fingular ?-.Suffi.
ciently fo to puff up the potfeffJr. and excite
envy ill her contemporaries, and fome of the
other (ex. Nay, has not a little rationality
expofed many women to the feverefi cenfure?
I advert to well known faCts, for I have fre-
quentlyheard women ridiculed, and everylittle
weaknefs expofed, only becaufe they adopted
the advice of fome medical men, and deviated .
from the beaten track in their mode of treat-
ing their infants. I have actually heard this
barbarous averfion to innovation carried. Rill
further, and a fenfible woman ftigmatized as
an unnatural mother, who has thus been
wifely folicitous to preferve the health of her
children, when in the midft of her care the
has 10ft one by fume of the cafualties of in-
fancy, which no prudence can ward 01f. Her
acquaintance have obferved, that this was
the confequence of new-fangled llotions-
the new-fangled notions of eafe arid deanli-
ne[s. And thofe who pretending to expe...
rience, though they have long to
prejudices have, according to the opi-
nion. ofthe moft fagacious phyficians, thinned
human race, almoft rejoiced at the dif.
after
after that gave a kind of fancuon to pre-
fcription.
, Indeed, if it were only on this account, the
Jlational education of women is. of the utrnoft
confequenqr. for what a number pf human
facrifices are made to that moloch pr.ejudice!
And in hl}w many ways are children de-
firoyed by the lafdvioufi.lefs of man? The
want of natural affeCtion, in many women,
who are drawn from their duty by the admi-
ration of men, and the ignorance ofother?,
render the infancy of man a much more pe-
rilous late than that of brutes; yet men are
unwilling to place women in fituations pro..
per to enable them to acquire fufficient un..
derfianding to know how evtn to nurfe their

So forcibly dQes this truth {hike me, that I
would reft the whole tendency of my reafon-
ing upon it, fur whatever tends to incapacitate
the maternal character, takes woman out of
aer fphere.
But it is vain to expeCl theprefent race of
weak mothers either 'te take that reafonable
care of a child's body, which is neceiTary to
lay the foundation of a goodconfiitution, [up-
that it do not for the fins of its
J fathers;
4
10
VINDICATION OF THE
fathers; or, to manage its temper fo judici-
ouay that the child will not have, as it grows
up, to throw off all that its mother, its firft
inftruB:or, diretlly or indirealy taught; and
unlefs the mind have uncomQ'On vigour,
.womanih follies will lick to the charatler
throughout life. The weaknefs of the mo-
ther will be vifited on the children! And
whiHl: women are, educated to rely on their
hl1bands for judgment, this mull ever be
the confequence, for there is no improving
an underftanding by halves, nor can any' being
.act wifely from imitation, becaufe in every
circumftance of life there is a kind of indivi-
duality, which requires an exertion of judg-
fllent to modify general rules. The being
who can think juftly in one track, will foon
extend its intelleCtual empire i and {he who
has fufficient judgment to manage her chil-
dren, will not fubm'it, right or wrong, to her
hutband, or patiently' to the fociallaws which
make a nonentity of a wife.
In public fchools women, to guard againA:
~ h e errors of ignorance, {hould be taught the
elements of anatomy and medicine, not only
.to enable them to take proper care of their
pwn health, but to make them rational
nllrfQs
InCUTS OF WOMAN. fit
flurfes of their infants. parents. and hufbands;
fDr the bills of mortality are fwelled by the
blunders of felf-willed old women. who give
poflrums of their own without knowing any
thing of the human frame. It is likewife
proper only in a domeftic view. to make
women acquainted with the anatomy of the
JIlind, by allowing the fexes to affociate toge-
ther in c:very purfuit i and by leading them
to obferve the progrefs of the human under-
ftanding i'n the improvement of the fdences
;lnd arts; never forgetting the fcience ofmo-
rality, or the iludy of the political hiliory
pf mankind.
A man has been termed a microcoCm;
every famiIy might alfo be called a
;fiate. States. it is true, have moftly been
by arts that difgrace t4e charac-
ter of man; and the waf)t of a j uft conlli-
tUlion, and equal laws, have fo perplexed
the notions of the worldly wife, that they
plore than quefiion the reafonablenefs of con-
tending for the rights of humanity. Thus
morality, polluted in the national refervoir,
fends off ftreams of vice to corrupt \the con-
fiituent parts of the body politic; but fllOuld
mpre noble, or rather, more jufi principles

.p2 "INDICATION OP
regulate the laws, which ought to be the go-
vernment of fociety. and not thofe who exe-
cute them, duty might become th'e rule o(
private cOJ1duet.
Befides, by the exerci(e of their bodies and
mind"s women would acquire that mental
aClivity fo necefi"ary in the maternal charaCler,
united with the fortitude that di!l:inguilhes
fieadinefs of condua: from the obftinate per-
verfenefs of weaknefs. For it is dangerous
to adviCe the indolent to be .fieady, hecaufe
they infiantly become rigorous, and to rave
themfelves trouble, punilh with feverity faults
that the patient fortitude of rearoD might
have prevented.
But fortitude prefuppofes firength of mind;
and is fi:rength of mind to be acquired by in-
dolent acquiefcence r by aiking advice infiead
of exerting the judgment? by obeying
through fcar, infiead of praClifing the for-
bearance, which we all fi:a-nd in need of
{elves?-The conclufion which I wilh to
draw, i!: obvious; make women rational
tures, and free citizens, and they will quickly
b"ecome good wives, and mothers; that is-if
men do not neglect the duties ofhufbands and
fathers. "
Difcuffing
RIGHTS 'OPWOMAN. 4'3
Difcuffing the advantages which a public
.and private education combined, as I have
lketched, be expected to pro-
duce, I have dwelt moll: on fuch as are par-
ticularly relative fu'the' female warld, be-
cau[e I think the world oppreffed;
yet the gangrene, which the vices engendered
by opprefiion have produted, is not confined
to the morbid part, but pervades fociet1 at
large: fo that when I wiih to fee my. fex be-
come more like moral agents" my heart
bounds with the anticipation of the general
diffufion of that fublime CQntentment which ...
. .. ' , ..
only morality can diffufe.
'.
, ,
CHAP.
c tI X. XIIt.
SOMB 2NSTANCES OF THE FOLLY WHtcit
THE.. IGNOMNCE OF WOMEN GENE'"
:RATES; 'WITH CONCLUDING
ON 'THE MORAL IlI!lPROVEMENT THAT
A REYOLUTIONIN; .FEMALE MANNERS
MIGHT NATURA'LLY BE EXPECTED TeI
PJlODUCE.
' ..
THERE are many follies. in fame degtee, pe
oe
euliar to women: fins againft reafon of corn"
million as well as of omiffion; but all flowing
from ignorance or prej udice, I {hall only point
out fuch as apFear to be particularly injurious
to their moral character. And in animad.
verting on them, I wiili efpecially to provell
that the weaknefs of mind and body, which
men have endeavoured, impelled by various
motives, to perpetuate, prevents their dif..
charging the peculiar duty of their fex: for
when weaknefs of body will not permit them
to fl1ckle their children, and weaknefs or
mind makes them fpoil their tempers--is wo-
man in a natural late?
s t C
, RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 401 S

SEC T. I.
ONJ: glaring inftance of the weaknefs which
proceeds from ignorance, fidl claims
and calls for fevere reproof.
In this metropolis a number of lurking
leeches infamoufiy gain a fubfifience by prac-
tifingon the credulity of women, pretending
to.caft nativities, to ufe the technical phrafe;
and many females who, proud of their rank
and fortune, look down on the vulgar with
fovereign contempt, {hew by this credulity.
that the difiinClion is arbitrary, and that they
have not fuffidently cultivated their minds to
rife above vulgar prejudices. Women, be-
caufe they have not been led to confider the
knowledge of their duty as the one thing
neceffary to know, Of, to live in the prefent
moment by the difcharge of it, are veryanxi-
ous to peep into futurity, to learn what they
have to to render life interefiing. and
to break the vacuum of ignorance.
I muft be allowed to expofiulate ferioufiy
with the ladies who follow thefe idle inven..
tions; for ladies, miftreffes offamilies, are not
alhamed to drive in their own carriages to the

4- 16 VINDICATION OF THE
door of the cunning man-. And if any of
them fhould perufe this work, I entreat them
to anfwer to their own hearts the following
queftions, not forgetting that they are in the
of God.
Do you believe that there is but one God,
and that he is powerful, wife, and good r
Do you believe that all things were created
by him, and that all beings are dependent on
him?
Do you rely on his wifd'om, fo confpicuous
in his works, and in your own frame, and are
you convinced that he has ordered all things
which do not come under the cognizance of
your fenCes, in the fame perfect harmony, to
fulfil his- defigns?
Do you acknowledge' that the power of
looking into futurity, and feeing things that
are not, as if they were, is an attribute of the
Creator? And iliould he, by an impreffion
on the minds of his creatures, think' fit to im-
part to them fome event hid in the lhades of-
I once lived in the neighbourhood of ono of there men,
a kndJome, man, and faw with furprife and
women, whofe appearance and befpoke that
rank in which fem:llcs are fuppofed to receive a fuperioUl'
education, flock to his door.
r time:,
RtGHTS OF WOMAN. 417
time yet unborn, to whom would the fecret
be revealed by immediate infpiration? The
opinion of ages will an(wer this queftion-to
reverend old men, to people dittinguifhed for .
eminent piety.
The oracles of old were thus delivered by
priefts dedicated to the fervice of the God
who was fuppofed to infpire them. The
glare of worldly pomp which furrounded
thefe impoftors, and the refpeCt paid to them
by artful politicians, who knew how to avail
themfelves of this ufeful engine to bend the
necks of the ftrong under the dominion of the
cunning, fpread a facred myfterious veil of
fan8:ity over their lies and abominations.
Impreffed by fuch folemn devotional parade,
a Greek, or Roman lady might be excufed,
if fue inquired of the oracle, when ~ {he was
anxious to pry into futurity, or inquire about
fame dubious event: and her inquiries, how-
ever contrary to reafon, could not be reckoned
iinpious.-But, can the profeffors of Chrifii-
anity ward off that imputation? Can a Chrif-
tian fuppofe that the favourites of the moft
High, the highly favoured, would be obliged
to lurk in difguife, and praCtife the moft dif-
E e honeft
~ p 8 VINDICATION OF THE
honell: tricks to cheat fllly women out of
the money-which the poor cry for in vain?
Say not that fuch queftions are an infult
to common fenfe-for it is your own conduEt,
o ye fooliih women I which throw-s an odium
on your fex I And thefe refleClions {hould
make you {hudder at your thoughtleffnefs,
and irrational devotion.-For I donot fuppofe
that all of you laid afide your religion, fuch
as it is, when you entered thofe myfterious
dwellings. Yet, as I have throughout {up-
pofed myfe1f talking to ignorant women, for
ignorant ye are in the moft emphatical fenfe
of the word, it would be abfurd to reafon
with you on the egregious'folly of defiringto
know what the Supreme Wifdom has con-
cealed.
Probably you would not underftand me,
were I to attempt to {hew you that it would
be abfolutely inconfiftent with the grand pur-
pofe of life, that of rendering human crea-
tures wife and virtuous: and that, were it
fanaioned by God, it would difturb the order
eftabliihed in creation; and if it be not fane-
tioned by God, do you expeCt to hear truth?
Can events be foretold, events which have:
not
RIGHTS OF WOMAN." 4I 9
not yet affumeda body to become fubjeB: to
mortal infpeB:ion, can they be forefeen by a
vicious worldling, who pampers his appetites
by preying on the foolifh ones?
Perhaps, however, you devoutly believe
in the devil, and imagine, to fhift the quef-
tion, that he may affift his votaries; but, if
really refpeB:ing the power of fuch a being,
an enemy to goodnefs and to God, can you
go to church after having been under fuch an
obligation to him?
From thefe delufions to thofe frill more
fafhionable deceptions, prattifed by the whole
tribe of magnetifers, the tranfition is very na-
tural. With refpeCt: to them, it is equally
proper to afk. women a few queftions.
Do you know any thing of the conftruc-
tion of the human frame? if not, it is proper
that you fhould be told what every childought
to know, that when its admirable ceconomy
has been difrurbed by internpe'rance or indo-
lence, I fpeak not of violent diforders, but of
chronical difea[es, it muft be brought into a
healthy ftate again, by flow degrees, and if
the funCtions of life have not been materially
injured; regimen, another word for temper-
ance, air, exercife, and a few medicines,
E e 2 prefcribed
prefcribed by perrons who have ftudied the
human body, are the only human means,
yet difcovered, of recovering "that ineftimable
bleffing health, that will bear inveftigation.
Do you then believe that thefe magnetifers,
who, by hocus pocus tricks, pretend to work
a miracle, are delegated by God, or affifted
by the folver of all thefe kind of difficulties-
the devil?
Do they, when they put to flight, as it is
. faid, diforders that have baffled the powers of
medicine, work in conformity to the light of
reafon? or, do they effeCt thefe wonderful
cures by {upernatural aid?
By a communication, an adept may anfwer,
with the world of fpirits. A noble privilege,
it muft be allowed. Some of the ancients
mention familiar dremons, who guarded
them from danger by kindly intimating, we
. cannot guefs in what manner, when any
danger was nigh j Of, pointed out what they
ought to undertake. Yet the men who laid
claim to this privilege, out of the order of
nature, infifted that it was the reward, or
confequence, of fuperiour temperance and
piety. But the prefent workers of wonders
are not raifed above their fellows by fuperiour
I .
temperance
temperance or fanCtity. They do not-cure
for the love of God, but money. Thefe are
the priefts. of 'quackery, though it is true
they have not the convenient expedient of
felling maffes for fouls in purgatory, or
churches where they can difplay crutches,
and models of limbs made found by a touch
or a word.
I am not converfant with the technical
terms, or initiated into the arcana, there-
fore, I may fpeak improperly j but it is clear
that men who will not conform to the law
of reafon, and earn a fubfiftence in an ho'neft
way, by degrees, are very fortunate in be-
coming acquainted with fuch obliging fpirits.
We cannot, indeed, give them credit for
either great fagacity or goodnefs, elfe they
would have chofen n10re noble inftruments,
when wifhed to {hew themfelves the be...
nevolent of man.
it is, however, little {hort of blafphemy
to pretend to Juch powers!
Fromthe whole tenour ofthedifpenfations of
Providence, it appears evident to fober reafon,
that certain vices produce certain effects; and
can anyone fo grofsly infult the wifdomefGod,
as to fuppQfe that,a miracle will be allowed to
E e 3 difturb
difiurb his general laws, to refiore to health
the intemperate and vicious, merely to enable
them to pur(ue the fame courfe with impu-
nity? Be whole, and fin no more, faid Jefus.
And, are greater miracles to be performed
by tho(e who do not follow his. footfteps,
who healed the body to reach the mind?
The mentioning of the name of Chrift,
after fuch vile impoftors, may difpleafe fome
of my readers-I refpeB: their warmth; but
let them not forget that the followers of thefe
delufions bear his name, and profefs to be
the difciples of him, who faid, by their
works we fhould know who were the chil-
dren of God or the fervants of fin. I allow
that it is eafier to touch the body of a faint,
or to be magnetifed, than to reftrain our ap-
petites or govern our pallions; but health of
body or mind can only be recovered by thefe
means, or we make the Supreme Judge par-
tial and revengeful.
Is he.a man that he fhould change, or pu-
nilh out of re(entment? He-"the common
father, wounds but to heal, fays reafon, and
our irregularities producing certain confe-
quences, we are forcibly fhewn the nature of
vice: that thus learning to know good from
evil,
RIGHTS OF WOMAN~ 423
\ .evil, by experience, we may hate one and
love the other, ill proportion to the wifdom
which w ~ attain.. The poifon contains the
antidote; and we either reform our evil ha-
bits and ceafe to fin againft our own bodies,
to uf..: the forcible language of fcripture, or
a premature death, the punifhment of fin,
fnaps the thread of life.
Here an awful fiop is put to our inquiries.
-But, why fuould I conceal my fentiinents?
Confidering the attributes of God, I believe
that whatever punifument may follow, will
tend, like the anguifu of difeafe, to fhew the
malignity of vice, for the purpofe of reforma-
tIon. Pofitive punifhment appears fo con-
trary to the nature of God, difcoverable in all
his works, and in our own reafon; that I could
fooner believe that the Deity paid no atten-
tion to the conduCt of men, than that he pu-
nifhed without the. benevolent defign of re-
forming.
To fuppofe only that an all-wife and
powerful Being, as good as he is great, fhould
create a being forefeeing, that after fifty
or fixty years of feverifu exiftence, it would
be plunged into never ending woe-is blaf-
phemy. On what will the worm feed that
E e 4 ia
is never to die? On folly, on ignorance, fay .
ye-I fhould blufh iodignantly at drawing the
natural conclufion could I infert it, and wifh
to withdraw myfelf from the wing of my
God! On fuch a fuppofition, I fpeak with re.
verence, he would be a confuming fire. We
thouId wifh, though vainly, to fly from his
prefence when fear abforbed love, and darkncfs
all his counfels I
I kriHw that many devout people boaft of
fubmitting to the Will of God blindly, as to
arbitrary fceptre or rod, on the fame prin-
ciple as the Indians worlhip the deviL In
other words, like people in the common con-
oflife, they do hOIDrage to power, and
under the foot that crufh them.
Rational on the contrary, is a fub-
million tq the will of a being fo perfeCtly
wife, that all he wills muft be directed I:>y the
proper motive-.muft be reafonable.'
. if th45 we refpeCl: God, can we giv(1
credit to the myfterious which
infult his laws} can we believe, though it
fhould fiare us in the face, that he would
'l TI1iracle to authorize confufion by
fanc1if)l1lng an error? Yet we mull:
thefe impious COllclu4ons, or treat
.
RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 4%S
contempt every promife to reftore health to a
difeafed body by fupernatural means, or to
foretell the incidents that can only be forefeen
by God.
SECT. lIt
ANOTHER inftance of that feminine weak-
nefs of charaCter, often produced by a con-
fined education, is a romantic twift of the
mind, which has been very properly termed
fintimental.
Women fubjeCted by ignorance to their
(eI)fations, and only taught to look for hap-
piners in love) refine on fenfual feelings, and
adopt metaphyfical notions refpeCling that
pamon, which lead them lhamefully to neg-
lect the duties of life, and frequently in the
midft of thefefublime.refinements they plump
into ad:ual vice.
Thefe are the women who are amufed by
the reveries of the fiupid noveJifis,who, know-
inglittle ofhuman nature, work up fiale t a l e s ~
;.md defcribe meretricious fcenes, all retailed
in a fentimental jargon, which- equally tend
~ o cqrrupt the t a f t e ~ and draw the heart afide
. from
426 VINDICATION OF 'I-HE
from its daily duties. I do not melltion the;,
underftanding, becaufe never having been
exercifed, its numbering energies reft inac-
tive, like the lurking particles of fire
are fuppofed univerfally to pervade matter.
Females, in faCt, denied all political privi-
leges, and not allowed. as married
excepting in criminal cafes, a civil
have their attention naturally drawn fromthe
inter.e(t of the whole cOIllmunity to that of
the minute parts, though the private duty of
any member of fociety mull: be veryimper-
feClly performed when not conneCted with
the general good. The mighty bufinefs of
female life is to pleafe, reftrained from
entering into more important by
political and civil oppreffion, fentiments be-
come events, and refleCtion deepens what it
fuould,and have effaced, if the 'under-
ftanding had been allowed to take a wider
range. ' ..
. But, confinedto trifling they
naturally imbibe opinions which the. only
kind of reading calculated to intereft an inno-
cent frivolous mind, infpires. Unable to grafp
any thing great, is it furprifing that they find
the reading of hiftory a very dry tatk, and
. difquifitions
IUCHTS OF WOMAN. 427
tlifquifitions addreifed to the underfranding
intolerably tedious, and almofr unintelligible?
Thus are they neceifarily dependent on the
novelifr for'amufement. Yet, when I exclaim
againft novels, I mean when contrafted
o
with
thofe works which exercife the underfranding
and regulate the imagination.-For any kind
of reading I think better than leaving a blank
frill a blank, becaufe the mind muft receive a
degree of enlargement and -obtain a little
ftrength by a flight exertion of its thinking
powers; befides, even the produCtions that
are only addreifed to the imagination, raife
the reader a little above the grofs gratification
.ofappetites, to which the mind has not given
a" lhade of delicacy.
This obfervation is the refult of experience;
for I have known feveral notable women, and
one in particular, who was a very good wo-
man-as good as fuch a narrow mind would
allow her to be, who took care that her
daughters (three in nember) lhould never
fee a novel. As lhe was a woman offortune
.and falhion, they had various mafters to at-
tend them, and a fort of menial governefs to
watch their footfteps. From their mafrers
they learned how tables, chairs, &c. were
called
Could
42-8 VINDICATION OF THE
called in French and Italian; but as the few
books thrown in their way were far above
their capacities, or devotional, they neither
acquired ideas nor fentiments, and paired
their time, when' not compelled to repeat
words, in dreffing, quarrelling with eachother,
~ r converfing with their maids by ftealth,
till they were brought into company as mar..
riageable.
Their mother, a widow, was bufy in the
mean time in keeping up her connecrions,'as
:the termed a numerous acquaintance, left her
girls fhould want a proper introduCtion into
the great world. And thefe young ladies,
with minds vulgar in every {enfe of the
word, and fpotled tempers, entered life puffed
,up with notions of their own confequence,
and looking down with contempt on thofe
.who could not vie with them in drefs and
parade.
With refpetl: to love, nature, or their nurfes,
had taken care to teach them the phyfical
meaning of the word; and, as they had few
topics of converfation, and fewer refinements
of fentiment, theyexpreifed their grofs wifhes
not in very delicate phrafes, when they fpok
e
freely, talking of matrimony. .
RlGtITS or W O M A ' N ~ 429
Cpuld thefe girls have been injured by the
perufal of novels? 1 almoft forgot a fuade in
the charaCl:er of one of them j {he affected a
fimplicity bordering on folly, and with a lim-
per would utter the moft immodeft remarks
and queftiolls, the full meaning of which he
had learned whilft fecluded from the world,
and afraid to fpeak in her mother's prefence,
who governed' with a high hand: they were
all educated, as {he prided herfe1f, in a moft
exemplary manner; and read their chapters
and pfalms before breakfaft, never touching
a filly novel. .
This is only one inftance; but I recolletl:
many other women who, not led by degrees
to proper ftudies, and not permitted to choofe
for themfelves, have indeed been overgrown
children j or have obtained, by mixing in the
world, a little of what is termed common
fenfe: that is, a diftinCl: manner of feeing
common occurrences, as they {land detached:
but what deferves the name of intelleCt, the
power of gaining general or abftracr ideas, or
even intermediate ones, was out of the'quef-
tion. Their minds were quiefcent, and
when they were not foufed by fenfible ob-
jeCtS
430 VUfDICATION OF THE
jeCls and employments of that kind, they
were low-fpirited, would cry, or go.to fleep.
When, therefore, I advife my fex not to
read fuch flimfy works, it is to induce them
to read fomething fuperiour; for I coincide
in opinion with a fagacious man, who, hav-
ing a daughter and niece under his care, pur-
fued a very different plan with eac.h.
The niece, who had confidetable abilities,
had, before {he was left to his guardianfuip,
been indulged in defultory reading. Her he
endeavoured to lead, and did lead to hiftory
and moral dlays; but his daughter, whom
a fond weak mother had indulged, and who
confequently was ,averfe to every thing like
application, he allowed to read novels: and
nfed to juftify his conduct by faying, that if
fheever attained a reli{h for reading them, he
fhould have fome foundation to w o ~ k upon;
and that erroneous opinions were better than
none at all.
In fact the female mind has been fo totally
negleCted, that knowledge was only to beac-
quired from this muddy fource, till from
reading novels fome women of fuperiour ta-
lents learned to defpife them.
The
RIGHTS OF WOMAN" 43'1
The beft method. I believe, that can be
adopted to correCl: a fondnefs for novels is to
ridicule them: not indifcriminately, for then
it would have little effeCt; but, if a judicious
perfon, with fame turn for humour, would
read feveral to a young girl, and' point out
both by tones, and apt comparifons with pa-
thetic incidents and heroic charaCters in hif-
tory, how fooliilily and ridiculouny they cari- .
catured human nature, juft opinions might he
fubftitu'ted inftead of romantic fentiments.
In one refpecr, however, the majority of
both fexes refemble, and equally ihewa want
oftafteand modefty. Ignorant women, forced
to be chafte to preferve their reputation, al-
low their imagination to revel in the unna-
tural ~ n d meretricious fcenes iketched by the
nov:el writers of the day, lighting as infipid
the fober dignity, and matron graces of
hiftory*, whilft men carry the fame vitiated
tafte into life, and fly for amufement to the
wanton, from the unfophifticated charms
I am not now alluding to that fuperiority of mind
which leads to the creation of ideal beauty, when he, (ur-
veyed with a penetrating eye, appears a tragi-comedy, in
which little can be feen to fatisfy the heart without the
help of fancy.
7
of
432 VINDICATION OF TB:!
of virtue, and the grave refpe8:ability ot
fenfe.
Befides, the reading of novels makes wo-
men, and particularly ladies of fafhion, very
fond of ufing thong expreffions and fuperIa-
tives in converfation; and, though the difii-
pated artificial life which they lead prevents
their cherifhing any thong legitimate paffion,
the language of paffion in aft"eCled tones flips
for ever from their glib tongues, and every
trifle produces thofe phofphoric burfts which
only"mimick in the dark the flame of paffion.
SECT. 11[.
IGNORANCE and the miftaken cunning that
nature fharpens in weak heads as a principle
of felf-prefervation, render women very fond
of drefs, and produce all the vanity which
fuch a fondnefs may naturally be expected to
generate, to the exc1ufion of emulation and
magnanimity.
I agree with Roufi"eau that the phyfical part
of the art of pleafing confifts in: ornaments,
and for that very reafon I fhould guard girls
againft the contagious fondnefs for drefs fo
common
ltIGH-TS OF -WOMAN. 433
c<?"tnmon to weak women, that, they 'may
not reft in the -phyfical part. Yet, weak. are
the women who imagine that they can long
pleafe- without the aid of the mind, Of, ill
other words, without the moral art of pleaf..
ing. But the moral art, if it be not a pro",,:
fanation to ufe the word art, when alluding
to the grace which is an effea: of virtue, and
not the motive of aCtion, is never to be found
withignorance; the fporri venefs ofinnocence,
fo pleafing to refined libertines of both fexes,
is widely different in its effence from this fli-
perioul' gracefulnefs.
A{hanginclination for external ornaments
ever appears in barbarous !tates, only the
men 110t the women adofn themfelves; for
where women are allowed to be fa far on a
level with men, fociety has advanced, at
- lea!t, one fiep in civilization.
The attention to drefs, therefore, which
has been thought a fexual propenfity, I thirik
natural to mankind. But I ought to expre[s
myfelf with more precifion. When the mind
is not fufficiently opened to take pleafure in
refleCtion, the body will be adorned with fe-
dulous care; and ambition will appear in tat-
tooing or painting it.
F f So
4}4 VINDICATION - 'tHE
SO far is this firft inclinatiol1 carried, that
.' '.
even the hellifh yoke of flavay cannot frifle
the ravagedefire ofadmiration Vfhieh the-black
heroei inherit from both their parents, for all
the hardly earned of a nave are C9m.
J.l1onlyexpended in a little tawdry finery. And
I have feldom known a good male or female;
fervant that was not particularly ofdrefs.
Their clothes were their riches; and, I argue
from analogy, that the fondnefs for drefs, fC)
extravagant in females, arifes from the
caufe--want of cultivation of mind. When
men meet they converfe about bufinefs,
tics, or literature; but, ,fays Swift, c hQYV Q.a-"
': turally do-women apply their hands to each
c others h1ppets and fuffles.' And v.ery
ral is it-Jar they have not any bufinefs tQ
intereft them, have not a tafte for
and they find politics dry, becaufe they have
not acquired a love for mankind by turning
their thoughts to the grand pur[uits
the human race, and promote general hap-
pinefs.
_Befides, various are thepaths to power
fame which by accident or choice men pur-
fue, and though theyjoftle againfr each othera-
for men of the fame profeffion are fe1dolU
6
friends
J
yet there is a much greater number
of their. fellow-creatures with whom th:=y
never cIafh. But women are very differently
fituated with refpeB: to each other-for they
are all rivals.
Before marriage it is their bufiriefs to pleafe
men; and after, with a few exceptions, they
follow the fame fcent with all the perfevering
pertinacity of inftinB:. Even virtuous wo-
men never forget theit' [ex in company, for
they are for ever trying to make themfelves
agreeable. A female beauty, and a male wit,
appear to be equally anxious to draw theatten-
tion of the company to themfelves; and the
animofity of 'Contemporary wits is proverbial.
It is then furprifing that when the foIe
ambition of woman centres in ~ e a u t y , and
intereft gives vanity additional force, perpe-
tual rivalfhips iliould enfue? They are all
rul1ning the f a ~ e race, and 'would rife above
the virtue of mortals, if they did not view
each other with a fufpicious and eveh envi-
ous eye.
An immoderate fondnefs for drefs, for plea-
lure, and for fway, are the pallions of favages;
the pallions that occupy thofe uncivilized
beings who have not yet extended the domi-
F f 2 nion
+36 VINDICATION OF, THE
nion of the mind, or even learned to think
with the energy neceffary to concatenate that
abftratl train of thought which produces
principles. And that women from theiredo-
cation and the prefent fiate of civilized life,
are in the fame condition, cannot, r think,
be controverted.. To laugh at them then, 01'
fatirize the follies of a being who is never to
be allowed to aB: freely from the light of her
own reafon, is as abfurd as cruel; for, that
they who are taught blindly to obey authority,
will endeavour cunningly to elude it, is moft
natural and certain.
Yet Jet it be proved that they ought to obey
man implicitly, and I !hall immediately agree
that it is woman's duty to cultivate a fondners
for drefs, in order to p}eafe, and a propenfity
to cunning for her own
The virtues, however, which are rupported
by ignorance muft ever be wavering-the
hOllfe built on fand courd not endure a 1l:orm;
It is almofi: unneceifary to draw the inference.
-If women are to be made virtuous by au-
thority, which is a contradiction in terms,
let them be immured in feraglios and watched
with a jealous eye.-Fear not that the iron
will enter into their fouls-for the fouls that
can
can bear fuch treatment are made of yielding
materials, j uft animated enough to give life to
the body.
, Matter too faft a lailing mark to bear,
, And beft diftinguilh'd by black, brown, or fair.'
The moil: cruel wounds will of courfe foon
heal, and they may frill people the world, and
drers to pleafe man-all the purpofes which
certain celebrated writers have allowed that
~ h e y were created to fulfil.
SEC T. IV.
WOMEN are fuppofed to poffefs more fen-
fiblity, and even humanity, than men, and
their {hang attachments and inftantaneous
emotions of compaffion are given as proofs;
but the clinging affeCtion of ignorance has
feldom any thing noble in it, and may moftly
be refoived into felfifhnefs, as well as the
afFeClionofqhildren and brutes. Ihaveknown
many weak women whofe fenfibility was en-
tirelyengrofied by their hufbands; and as for
their humanity, it was very faint indeed,
or rather it was only a tranfient emotion
of compaffion. Humanity does not con..
~ f t 'in a fqueamifh ear,' rays an eminent
F f 3 orator.

438 V1NDIGATION OF THE
orator. C It belongs to the mind as wen as
C the nerves.'
But this kind of exclufive affeCtion, though
it degrades the individual, fhould not be
brought forward as a proof of the inferiority
'of the fex, it is the natural
quence of confined views; for even women
offuperior fenfe, having their attention turned.
to little employments, "and private plans,
rarely rife to heroifrn, unlefs when fpurred
on by love! and love, as an heroic paffion,
like genius, appears but once in an age. I
therefore agree with the moralift who afferts,
c that much genero-
C fity as men;' and that narrow
tions, tq jufiice and humanity are
often facrificed, render the fex apparendy
ferior, efpecially, as they are
{pired by men; but I contend that the heart
would expand as the underfi:anding gained
ftrength, if women were not dt;prelfed from
their cradles.
I know that a little fenfibility, and greqt
weaknefs, will a fhong at-
'tachment, and that reafon mufi cementfri6nd-
fhip; confequently, I allow that more friend-
. 1hip to be in the male thap. the fe-
male
RIGHTS 439
male world, and that men have a higher fenCe
Qfjuftice. The exclllfive atfecHc)hs;of Women
,[eem indeed to refemble moft
love for his country. He cr?Ih
Carthage, not to fave Rome, but to promote
its vain-giory; and, in general, it is to
that humanity is facrificed, for
'nuine duties fupport each other.
. Befides, how can women be jllft or gene-
rous, when they are +he laves .ofinjuftice ..
SECT.V.
As the rearing of children, that is t the
laying a foundation of found health both of
b'ody'and mind in the rifing generation, has
juftly been infill:ed on as the peculiar deftina-
tion of woman, the ignorance that incapaci-
tates them mull: be contrary to the order of
things. And contend that their minds can
take in' much more, and ought to do fo, Qf
they will .never become fenfible mothers.
Many men attend to the breeding of horfes,
and overlook the management of the ftable,
who would, ftrange want of fenfeand feel-
think themfelves degraded by paying
. F f 't
--
VINDICATION OF THE
I
any attention to. the n,urfery;
children ar,e abfolurely murdered by the,ig;-
Dorance of women 1 But when ,they efcape,
,anetare; deftroyed neither by unnatural negli-
gence nor blind fonduefs, how few are ma!'"
,naged properiy with refpeCt: to lhe infan.t
mind I So that to break the fpirit, to
'become vicio!l.s' at home, a child is fent,tQ
fchool; and:' the 'methods taken there, which
. . '.,' ..,
.n1ufi be to a number
in' order, [catter the feeds of almoft every
vice in the foil thus forcibly torn up.
I have fometimes compared the ftruggles
of thefe poor children, who ought never to
have felt re!haint, nor would, had they been
, ' .
always held in with an even hand, to the
defpairing plunges of a fpirited filly, wbi,h I
have feen breaking on a {hand: its feet Ink-
ing deeper and deeper in the f.md e"ery time
it endeavoured to throw its rider, till at lall:
it fullenly fubmitted.
. 1 have always found horfes, animals 1
attached to, very traetable when treated with
humanity and fteadinefs, fo that ldoubt whe-
ther the violent methods taken to break them,
do not eLIentially.injure them; I am, how-
ever, certaiq. th-at a child never be
thus
RIGHTS. OF' WOMAN. 44
t
fordbly tamed after it has injudicioufly
aIIowedt-orun wild:. for every violation
"Dfju[tice and reafon, in the treatment
(ken, their reafon. And, foearly
do they catch a character, tnat the bafe of. tile
moral charaaer, experience leads'me to:irifef,
fixed before their feventhyear, the period
.dgring" which women are allowed the
of children.' Afterwards it too.
often happens that half thebufinefsof educa-
tion to correCt, and very imperfeB:lyis it
done, if dOI;1e haftily, the: faults, which they
would never have acquired if their mothers
had had more underftanding.
One ftriking inftan.ce of the folly of-wo:'
p1en mull: not be omitted.-The manner in
,which they treat fervants in the prefence of
permitting them to fuppofe that
they ought to wait on them, and bear their
humours. A child lhoulrl always be made to
;receiye affiftance from a man or woman as a
favour; .and, 'as' the firft leffon of independ..
" ence, they fhould practically be taught, by
example of their mother, not to require
that perfonal attendance, which it is an in-
fult to humanity to require, when in health;
inftead of being led to affume airs ofcon-
fequence,
'442 ,VUtlrtr-eATloN or T!l:Z
{equence, a fenfe:e>f 'their own' wellkneFJ
fuPuld:firft make'them feel the' natural
lity,of man'" Yet'; how (requeritly have I
indjgnantly heard, fervants irnperioufiy called
:t()-put. childrel1-ta bed, and')fent 'clwayagain
,and again, bec-clufcrmafter or roils hl'tngabout
JIl*Jllma, rto lay! longer..
,0a;'(iO:1}y little idol;all thdft
moll:; .difgufting humourS- were 'exhibited
whith cluiraCieri:Ze'a .
: .In lhort, (pea14ng ofthe :inajonty of trio':'
thars, they lea'\tc their chikirefi' entirely to
.the: ,ctllre.;o, furvants i or, becaufe they are
their trea.t th'emas if. they were
littledemi".gods, ,though I have always ob-
that.the women who,thus idOlize their
'<:hildren, fddom (hew common humanity to
feel leaf} tendernefs for any
children. but their own.
\ It' however, thefe exduHve affeClions,
individual manner of feeing things,
by whicJi keep women
ever at a :ll:aud, with refpe6l: to improve-
. and make .many' of them dedicate
their lives to their children only to weaken
their bodies and fpoil their tempers, fruftnlt-:-
any phm ofeducatk>n that:a more
,... 1' .
RI GRTS OF' WOMAN. #3 .
I'ational father may: adopt 'j for unlefs a rod;;'
iher com:ur, the father who reftrairis' 'will
be confidered as a tyrant";' ;-
B'ut, fulfilling the of' a 'mother, a
worftan with a found conffitutlonf may fiiR
teep her perfon fcrupuloufly neat, and affift
to' maintain"her :i{ neceffary, by
reading andtonverfations withboth fexes, in...
difcriminately, improve her mind. Fornature
tlas fe) ,wifely"ordered things, did women
their children, they would preferve their
ownhealth, and there would be fuch an inter.i.
val between:the 'birth 'child, . th'at
fhould fee' a noufeful of babes. And
did they purfue 'a: plan o(c'onduCt, and not
mfte their'time in foHowing' the fafhionable
vagaries {)f drefs, the management of their
houfehold and chiklren need nofiliut themout
from: literature, or prevent their attaching
themfelves to 'a fdence, with, theN: ftearly eye
which ftrengthens the mind, or practifing
Qne of the fine arts that cultivate the tafte.
But, vifiting to difplay finery, card-playing,
and balls, not to mention the idle bume of
, morning trifling, draw wQmen fr:(}ffi their
duty to vc:nder them infignificant, to render
pleafing. to the prefent accep...
, tation
I
i

. 0': THE
tation of the word; to every man, their
.hufuand. For a of pJeafure!i in which
the affeCtions are not.exercifed, cannot be faid
to improve the underftanding, it be'
.feeing t116 world; yet the
heart is rendered cold and av:erfeto dut'y, by
fuch a fenfelefs which becomes
from habit even it has ceafed
to amufe.
, But, we hall not women affeCl:ionate
dU- more equaljty be, eftablifhed in fociety
.till ranks.. are and women.freed.
neither {hall we fee domeftic
happinefs, t4dimple grandeur can":
nqt be reiifhed by 9r
!Jor will the important taik.
be properly begun till the perfol} of a womqn
is no longer preferred to her ,For
'\Y.p,uhi be as wife to exped corn from tare$;
figs from t1)iftles, as that a foolith ignQ'!
rant, womalllhould be flgqod
SEC T. VI.
It is not neceffary to inform.the.
reader, now I enter on my concluding reflec-
tions, that the difcuffignofthis merely
confifts in opening a few fimple principles, and
6
'IUGItTS ot
clearing away the rubbifu which obfcmed.
them. But, as all readers are not
I muft be allowed to add fome explanatory
remarks to bring the fubjett home to relU"on-
to that luggifu rea(pn, which fupinely takes
opinions on truft,. and obilinate1y fupports
them to fpare itfelf the labour of thinking.
Moralifts have unanimouly agreed, that
unlefs virtue be nurfed by liberty, it will
never attain due firength-and what they fay
of man J extend to mankind, infifting that
in all cafes morals muft be fixed on immuta-
ble principles; and, that the being cannot be
rational or virtuous, who obeys any
authority, but that of reafon. .
To render women truly ufeflll members of
fociety, I argue that they fhould be led, by
having their underftandings cultivated on a
large fcale, to acquire a rational affection for
their country, founded on knowledge, be-
caufe it is obvious that we are little interell:ed
about we do not underftand. And to
render this general knowledge of due im-
portance, I have endeavoured to {hew that
private are never properly fulfilled un-
lefs the underftanding enlarges the heart; and
t!Jat virtue is only an aggregate of
private.. But, the diainCtions efrabF{hed in
fociety
446 :VJNDJCA'fION or :rHE
fociety" undermillC both. by beating out the
folid gold of virtu", till it becomes only the
tinfel-covering of vice; for whilft wealth
renders a man more refpeCtable than virtue,
wealth will be fought before virtue; and,
whilft women's perfons are carea-ed; when a
childifh fimper {hews an abfence of mind-
the mind will lie fallow. Yet, true
tuoufnefs muft proceed from the mind-for
what can equal the fenfations produced by
mutual affeCtion, fupported by mutual re"
fpea? What are the cold, or fevetilh careffes
of appetite, but fin embracing death, .com-
pared with the modeft overflowings of a pure
heart and exalted imagination? Yes, let me
tell the libertine of fancy when he defpifes
underftanding i'n woman-that the mind,
which he difregaJ'ds, gives life to the enthu-
fiaftic affeC1ion frorn rapture, hort-
lived as it is, alone cari flow! . And, that,
without virtue, a fexual attachment muft ex-
pire, like a tallow'Candle in the focket, creat-
ing intolerable difguft. To prove this, I
need only obferve, that men who have wafted
great part of their lives with women, and
with whom they have fought for pleafure
with eager thirft, entertain the meaneft opi':'
nion of the fex.-Virtue, true refiner ofjoy t
-if
RIBH'tS O ~ WOMAN. 441
-if foolUh men were to fright ,thee:from'
C:l:lrth, in order to give loofe to all their appe-
tites without a check-fome fenfual wight!
of tafte would fcale the heavens to invite'.thee
back, to give a zeft to pleafure!
That women at prefent are by ignorance
re.ndeted foolifh or vicious, is, I think, not
to 'be difputed; and, that the moft falutary
effects tending to improve mankind might be
expeCted from a R.ltY.OLUTiON iJ;}female man-
ners} appears, at leaft, with a face of proba-
bility, to ri'C out of the obfel'vation. For'
as marriage has been termed the parent of
thore endearing charities which draw man
from the brutal herd, the corrupting inter-
courfc that wealth, idlenefs, and fol-l)r, pro-
duce between the fexes, is more univerfalIy
injurious to morality than all the other vices-
of mankind colle8ively confidered. To adul-
terous luft the mail facred duties are facri-
ficed, becaufe. before marriage,men" by a
promifc:uous: intimacy with women, learned
t:o confider love as a felfilh gratification-
learned to feparate it not only from efteem,
but from the affection merely built on habit,
which mixes a little humanity with it. ]llf-
tiee and \friendfhip are alfo fet at defiance,
and that purity of tafte is vitiated which
- would
5. [OS'
448 VJNDICAXION OF "HE
would naturallylead a man to relifh an artlefs
difplay of affeCtion rather than affected airs.
B,ut that noble fimplicity of affeCtion, which
dares to appear unadorned, has few attrac
tions for the libertine, though it be the
charm, which by cementing the matrimonial
tie, fecures to the pledges of a warmer paf-
fion the neceffary parental attention; for
children will never be properly educated till
friendfilip fubfifts between parents. Virtue
flies from a houfe divided againft itfelf-and
a whole legion of devils take up their refi-
dence there.
The aff'etl:ion of hubands and wives can-
not be pure when they have fo few fenti-
ments in common" and when fo little confi-
dence is eftabliChed at home, as mull: be the
cafe when their purfuits are fo different. That
intimacy from which tendernefs fhould flow,
will not, cannot fubfift between the vicious.
Contending, therefore, that the fexual dif.'
tinCtion which men have fo warmly infifted.
upon, . is arbitrary, I have dwelt on an ob-
fervation, that feveral fenfible men, withwhom
I have converfed on the fubject, allowedto be
well founded; and it is fimply this, that the
little chaftity to be found amongft men, and
confequent difregard of modofty, tend to de-
gr,ade
,
grade both fexes; and further, that the mo-
defty of women, characterized as fuch, will
often be only the artful veil of wantonnefs
inftead of being the natural refleCtion of pu- .
rity, till modefiy be univerfally refpeCted.
From the tyranny of man, I firmly believe,
the greater number of female follies proceed;
and the cunning, which I allow m a k ~ s at pre-
fent a part of their charaCter, I likewife have
repeatedly endeavoured to prove, is pro-
duced by oppreffion.
Were not dilfenters, for inflance, a clafs
of people, with ftrict truth, characterized as
cunning? And may I not lay fome firefs on
. this fatl: to prove, that when any power but
reafon curbs the free fpirit of man, diffimula..,
tion is praCtifed, and the various !bifts of art
are naturally called forth? Great attention to
decorum, which was carried to a degree of
fcrupulofity, and all that puerile buftle about
trifles and confequential folemnity, which
Butler's caricature of a dilenter, brings before
the imagination, {baped their perfons as well as
their minds in the mould of prim littlenefs.
I fpeak collectively, for I know how many
ornaments to human nature have been en-
rolled amongft fectaries j yet, I alfert, that
the fame narrowprejudice for their fea, which
G g wornell
.---
..
1
,
women have for their families, prevailed in the
diffenting part of the community, however
worthy in other refpects; and alfo that
the fame timid prudence, or headftrong
efforts, often difgraced the exertions of both.
Oppreffion thus formed many of the features
of their charaCter perfeRly to coincide with
that of the oppreffed half of mankind; for
is it not notorious that diffenters were, like
women, fond of together, and
afking advice of each other, till by a com-
plication of little contrivances, fame little
end was brought about? A fimilar attention
to preferve their reputation was confpicuous
in the diffenting and female world, and was
produced by a fimilar caufe.
Afferting the rights which women in com-
mon with men ought to contend for, I have
not attempted to extenuate their faults; but
to prove them to be the natural.confequence
of their education and itation in fociety. If
fa, it is reafonable to fuppore that they will
change their charaCter, and correCt their vices
and follies, when they are allowed to be free
in a phyfical, moral, and civil fenfe.
. Let
I had further enlarged on the which might
reafonably be expeCted to 'refult from an improvement in
tcmale
RIGHTS OF 451
Let woman {hare the rights, and' {he will
emulate the virtues of man; for {he muft
grow more perfect when emancipated, 6r
jufiify the authority that chains fuch a weak
being to her duty.-If the latter, it will be
expedient to open a frelh trade with Ruffia
for whips: a prefent which a father {hould
always make to his fon-in-Iaw on his
wedding day, that a huiliand may keep his
whole family in order by the fame means;
and without any violation of juftice reign,
wielding this fceptre, foIe mafter of his houfe,
becaufe he is the only being in it who has
reafon :-the indefeafible earthly fo-
vereignty breathed into man by the 'Maf-
ter of the univerfe. Allowing this po-
fition, women have not any inherent rights
to claim; and, by the fame rule, their
duties vanifh, for rights and duties in-
feparable.
Be juft then, 0 ye men of !
,and mark not more feverely what wo-
men do amifs, than the vicious tricks of
female manners, towards the general reformation of fo-
ciety j but it appeared to me that fuch refleaions would
more properly clare the laft volume.
the
&:c.
the aorfe or the afs for whom ye provide
provender-and allow her the privileges of
to whom ye deny the rights of
or ye will be worfe than Egyptian
tak-mafters, expeCting. virtue where nature
has not given underftanding!
I
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Wollstonecraft, Mary - A Vindication of The Rights of Woman

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immuredintheir families groping in the dark?

74- .VINDICATION OF THE '

Rouffeau has furniJhed them with a

making an appearance in the world is the firft

:&28 VINDICATION OF THE

RIGHTS OF WOMAN., 239

328 VINDtCATION OF THI:

RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 3SS

358 VINDICATION OF THE

, RIGHTS OF WOMAN. 401 S

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