iO Global Patterns of Politics and Cultitre . . . . trust put in him;both to havk a part in the legislative and.ihe supreme execution of the law, j .acts against both when he goes about to set up his own arbitrary will as the law of the so- ; ciety. He acts also contrary to his trust when he employs. the force, treaure; and offices of . j : . the society, to cormpt the representativ.es, and gain them to his purposes. . '. . The end of government is the good of rnankiid, and which is bestfor mankind, that the people should be alwaysexposed to the boundless will of tyranny, or that the rulers should \ be sometimes liable. to be opposed when they grow exorbitant in the use of their'power, and 1 employ it for.the destruction and not the preservation of the properties of'their people? If a controversy arise between a prince and some of the people in a matter where the i law is silent or'doubtful, and the thing be of great consequence, I should think the proper. i. umpire in such a case should be'the body of the people. . .'. But if the prince or whoever : . they be in the administration decline that way of determination, the appeal then Lies nowhere . : but to heaven; force between either persons who have no known superior on earth, or which : . permits no appeal to a judge on earth, being properly a state of war, wherein the appeal lies ., only to heaven, and ixi that statehe injured party must judge for himself when he will.tNnk : fit to make use of that appeal and put himself upon it. . . . . 1 ' . . .. - . : . Sophia, Woman ~ oInferior t to Man . The politics of the ~ n l i ~ h t k n m ew n ti r e quite ohen thepolitics of gender. Despite the importance of women in advancing'much of the Enlightenment's agenda, eighteenth-century Europe remairied.very much a man's world; Women . Such as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (see Reading 14) or Olyrnpe de Gouges (see Reading 31 ), who wished to enter the professions'of law'or medicine or . .. . . " sought political equali.ty, confronted enor'mous barriers becauseof their sex. Ce. gal and medical authorities insisted that, with the exception.of a few well,-born . women.such as empresses.and.quee,ns,,most women were biol-ogicallyand in- .. tellectually inferior to men and therefore should not be invested with higher. learning or permitted to wield political power. Not surprisingly, in.spiteof its professed commitment to use reason to.remedy social ills, few men of the En. lightenment were willirig to consider the advancement of women's rights as a reasonable cause. Women who challenged this view quite often wrote under a -pseudonymto protect their families from retribution or to avoi.d,the personal abuse that so often accompanied, the discussion of women's rights. The unknown author who wrote this essay under the pseudonym'of.!'Sophia, a Person of Quality" might wel.1 have been Lady Mary Wortley ~ o n t a ~ u although. ; the. evidence remains inconclusive. , ' , ' ' . , ' - , . . QUESTI.ONS TO CONSIDER 1. How would you compare Sophia's views of women with ~ean-~ad~ues'~ousseau's Sophie (see Reading 20) and Olympe de Gouges (see Reading 31)?. How . . do these . . three readings suggest the sexual politics of the.Enlightenment?, . - . . . Governnlent and Politics in the Enlightenment 61 . - : . . < +-, Sophia's argument that education,exercise, and i m , pressionst not gender; are the key ,elements'that ensure diversity? 3. sophiA insists that women, by their nature, have a special aptitude for oratory, rhetbri~,medicine, and teaching. Is this true? Why?..Wh.y_no.t?-.-~ 4. ~ o persuasive w are her arguments with. respect to women''~role in educatior! and in the military! . . . . . ' . . . . -.7 . H O W w o u l d you evaluate . , . , \Yhether Women Are Inferior to Men La the Intellectual Capac'ity, or Not " . . ' . . . .. . . . . . . . . mrtran be no real diversity contracted from the body. All divefsity then must come from . cduc3[ion.exercise, and the .impressions of those external objects which surround us in dif--.: fcrs'nt circumstances. The same Creator, by the same laws, unites.the souls of women and men to their ref spective bohies. The same sentiments, passions, and propensions cement that union i r b o t h . 1 And h e soul operating in the same manner in the one and the other is capable of the very m e functions in both. . . To render this more evident,'we need only consider the texture of the head, the seat . . .. of the stiences, and thepartwhere the soul exerts itself most. All the researches of anatomy - . . .. :' . have not yet been able' to show us the least difference in this part between .men , a d women.'. . . ., .Our bnin is perfectly like theirs, we receive the impressions of sense as they do, we mar-. shall and preserve ideas for imagination and memory as they do, and we have all the organs . k y have and apply them to the same purposes as they do. We hear with ears, see with eyes, .; and taste with a tongue as well as they. Nor can'there be any difference between any of our . . orgms and theirs, but that ours are more delicate, and consequently fitter to answer t h e ends . . 5; they were made for, than theirs. ~ v e among n the,men it is univ&rsallyobserved, that the more gross and lumpish are awnmonly sppid; and the more delicate aie, on the other hand, ever the most sprightly. The reason is plain: The soul, while confined to the body, is dependent on itsorgans in all its op- . . L.: aations; 'and therefore the. more free or.clogged those organs are, the more or l'ess must the . .. ;. . soul te at liberty to exert itself. Now it is too well known to.need any support, that the organs . . ! in our sex are of a. much finer, and more delicate temperature .than theirs; and therefore, had , we h e same advantages of shdy allowed us which the men have, there is no'roorn to doubt but we should at least,keep pace with them iri the sciences and eGe1-y useful knowledge. . It can only then be a mean dastardIy jealousy in them to exclude' us from those ad.. vanuges, in which we have so natural a right to emulate therh. Their pretext forso doing, r that study and learning would make women proud and vicious, is pitiful and capricious. No: . false knowledge and superficial learning only can produce so bad.an effect. For true knowl*ge. and solid learning must make women. as well as men, both more humble, and more : finuous. And it must be owned, that if alittle superficial knowledge had rendered s o m e of . oursex vain. it equally 'renders many of theirs insupportable. But that is no reasonwhy solid kming should be denied, or not instilled into; either; rather ought the greater pains to be . ,*en to improve, in both, every disposition to the sciences into a true relish far, and. the ' kmu'ledge o f , them; according to the advice of their brightest writers, as applicable to any . . . . ~ i e n c eas to poetry. . ... , : ' ' : , , ' ' , ' ' ' ' s. , ' , *' F. i.. , Sophia; a Person of Quality, Woman noiinferior to Man: Or a Shot-i and Modest Vindication 4 t h Natural ~ Fair-Sex to Perfect Eqrtolity of Power; Digniry, and Esteem with rhe Me" (London: Jdm Hawkins. 1739). pP-23-62. passim. Spelling, capitalization, and usage h a w been modernized. . '."- R I d h r ~ of the . c , . '1 , . . 62 . Global Patterns d.f Politics and Cttltut-e . . Besides,, let.it be observed, what a wretched circle this poor way of reasoningamong ' the men draws them insensibly into. .Why is lennzing useless to us? Because we have no, share in public offices? And why have we no share in public office? Because we have no learning. They aresensible of the injustice they do to us, a.nd.therefore are reduced to-the mean shift of cloaking it-at the expense of their own reason. But let truth speak for once: Why are they so industrious to debar us from that learning we have an equal'right to with thimselves.'but. for fear of our sharibi ivith, and outshining them in, those public office they fill so miserably? The same sordid selfishness. which urged them to engross all pow and dignity to themselves, prompted them to shut up from us that knowledge which woul have made us their competitors. As nature seems to have designed the men for our drudges, I could easily forgivethe the usurpation by which they first took the trouble of public employment off our hands, if their injustice were content with stopping there. But as one abyss calls on another, andvices seldom go single, they are not satisfied with engrossing all authority into their own hands, but are confident enough to assert that they possess it by right, because we were formed by nature to be underperpetrral subjection to them, for want of abilities to share with them i n government and public ofices. To confute this mannish extravagance, it will be necess to sap i t from the foundation on which it is built. . . . . . .' . . . .Whetherwomen Are Naturally Cdpable of Teaching Sciences or Not .; .: . . . Of ihetoric, we must be allowed to be by nature designed &stresses and models. Eloquence is a talent so natural and peculiar to woman, that .no one can dispute it her. Women can persuade wh.at they and can dictate, defend, or distinguish between right and, wrong, . without'the help of laws. There are few judges; who have not proved themthe most prevalent counsel; and'few pleaders who have not experienced them to be the most clear~headed, equitable judges. When women speak on a subject, they handle it with so delicate a buch, that the men are forced to own'they feel what the former say. All the oratory of the schools is not able to give the men'that eloquence and ease of speech, which costs us nothing A n d that; which their mean envy call loquacity in us, is only a readiness of ideas, and an ease of delivery, which they in vain labor, for ye&, to' attain to. With what hesitation, confusion, and drudgery, do not the h e n labpr to bring forth their thoughts', And when they do utter somethin~tolerable,with what insipid gestures, distortions, &d grimaces, do they murder the few good things they say? Whereas'when a womanspeaks, her air is gen&ally noble 'and presenting, her gesture free; and full .of d5gnity, her action is decent, her words are easy ,and insinuating; her style is pathetic and winning, and her voice melodious, and tuned'to her subject. She can soar to a,level with t h e highest intellect without bombast, and with a complacency natural to the delicacy. of h e r frame, descend to the meanest capacity without meanness. What is there weare unfit lo reason upon which does not offend against decency? When we discourse of good or evil, i t is' well known weare capable of winning to the one, and weaging from the other, the most o b stinate men,if they have but minds susceptible of reason and argument: And that character of integrity, which is imprinted on our countenances while we speak, renders our power of persuasion more prevalent. Sure then, if we are endowed.with a more ~cornmunicativee.10quence than they are, we must be at least as.well qualified as they to teach the sciences: a n d ' if we are not seen in university chairs, it cannot be attrihted to.our want ofcapacityto fill ' ~overnrnentand politics in the Enlightenment 63 hem,but to that violence with which the men support their uhjust intrusion into our places; if not. at !east to our greater modesty and less degree of ambition. If we were to apply 'to the law, we should succeed in it at least as well as the men. The talent we have undisputed, of explaining and unraveli.ng the most knotty intricacies, of stacing our own and other people's pretensions, of discovering thepounds of a dispute, the means to set it right, and of setting engines to work to do ourselves justice, is sufficient to prove that, were we to fill the offices of counsel, judges,.and magi~tfates,w e should show a capacity in business which very few' men can boast of. But peace andjustice is our study, and our pride is to make up, those breaches which the corruption of that sex makes them but industrious to widen. Our Sex seems born to teach and practice medicine; to iestor.5. health to the sick, a n d preserve it to the well. Neatness, haediness, and compliance are one half of a patient's cure; and.in this the men must yield to us: Indeed, we must yield to them in the art of inventing grievance hard names, and puzzling the cure with a number, as well as 'adding to'a with the,costliness of remedies. But we can invent, and have invented, without' the help of ~ a l e nor , ~ippocrates,an *nity of reliefs for the sick, which they and their blind adherents could neither improve nor disapprove.' And an old woman's recipe, as it is termed, has often been known to remove an inveterate distemper which has baffled the researches of a college of graduates.In a word, the observations made by women i n theirpractice:have b e e n so exact, and built upon such solid reason, as to show .more than once the useless pedantry of the major. part of school systems. . ...' . . . ' . .. . :. . ' , ' Whether Women'Are Naturally Qualified for Military Offices, or Not . . . . . . The military art has no mystery in it beyond others, which women cannot attain to. Awornan is as capable as a man of making herself, by.means of a map, acquainted with the good and bad ways, 'thedangerous and safe passes, or the proper situations for encampment. And w h a t should hinder her from making herself mistress of all the stratagems of war, of charging, retreating, surprising, laying ambushes, counterfeiting marches, feigning flights, gi'ving false attacks, supporting real ones, animating the soldiery, and adding example to eloquence . by being the first to m0unt.a breach. Persuasion, heat and example are the soul of victory: And women can.show as much kloquence, intrepidity,,and warmth, where th& honor is at stake, as is requisite to attack or defend a town. . . . What has greatly .helped to confirm the men in the prejudiced notion of a woman's natural weakness, is the common manner of expression which this veryvulgar enor g a v e birth to. When they mean to stigmatize a man with want of courage they call him e r e m i - . note, and when,they would praise a woman for her courage they call her manly. But as these, . 'and such like expressions, are merely. arbitrary .and but a fulsome compliment which the' men, pass 'on,themselves, they establish no truth. The real truth is, that humanity and integrity. the characteristics.of our sex, make us. abhor unjust slaughter, and prefer honorable Peace to unjust war. And therefore to use thesiexpressions with propriety, when a man possesses our viitues he should be called effeminate by way of the highest praise of his g o o d . nature.and justice; a.nd a woman who should.depart from our sex. by espousing the inj-stice ' 'Galen and Hippocrates were two ancient Greek medical authorities. Hippocrates is consideredhe father modern medicine. . 64 . . Global.Pntterns of Politics and Culture . , and cruelty of the men's. nature, should b e called a man; that is, one whom no sacred ties can bind to the observation ofjust treaties, and whom no bloodshed can deter from the mo 'cruel violence and rapine. ; . . Thus far I. think it evidently appears; that'rhere is no.science, office or dig women have not an equal right to share in with the men. Since there can be no su but'that of brutal strength,.shown in the latter, to entitle them to engross all power a rogative to themselves: Nor in.any incapacity proved. in the former, to disqualify the their right, but .what is owing to the unjust oppression of the men, and might beeasily removed: With regard, however, to. the warlike employments, it seems t o b e a dispositi Providence that cus'tom has exempted us from them. As'sailors in a storm throw ove their more useless lumber, so it is but fit that the men should be exposed to the,dangers and hardships of war, while we remain in safety at home. They &e, generally speaking, good for little else but to be our bulwarks, and our smiles are the most notable rewards wh bravest of them all ought to desire, or can deserve, for all the hazards they encount for all the labors they go through for our defense, in the most tedious campaign. . . . . ' . . . Conclusion Thus then does it hitherto fully appear, how falsely ive are deemed, bb the men, that solidity of serise which they' so vainly value, themselves upon. Our right is t with theirs to all public employments; we are endowed, by nature, with geniuses at capable of filling them as theirs can be; and our hearts are as susceptible of virtue as heads are of the sciences. We neither .want spirit, strength, nor.courage, to defend a co tijl, nor prudence to rule it. Our souls are as perfect as theirs, and the organs they depend o n . are generally more refined. if the bodies be compared to decide .the right of excellence in either sex;.we need not contend: The men.themselves I .preiume will give i t , ~ ~ .. he^ cannot deny but that we have the advantage of them in the internal mechanism. of o u r . frames, since in us is produced the most beautiful and wonderful of all creatures: And much have we not the advantage of them in outside? What beauty, comeliness, and graces, has not the heavens attached to our sex above theirs?.I should blush with scorn to me this, if I did not think it an indication of our souls being also in a state of greater'deli For I cannot help thinking that the wise author of nature suited our frames to the s gave us..And surely then the acuteness of our minds; with what passes in the inside of o u r heads,. ought to render us at leastequals to men, since the outside seldom fails to make u s . . their absolute mistresses. And yet I would have none of.my sex'build their authority barely on so slight a foun- . dation. No: ~ o o d ' s e n s will e outlast a handsome face: And the dominion a i n e d over hearts -by reason is. lasting. I'would therefore exhort all my sex to throw aside idle amusements, and to'betake themselves to the improvement of their minds, that we may be able to act with that becoming dignity.our nature has fitted us to; and, without claiming or valuing it, show ourselves worthy something from them, as much above their bare esteem, as they conceit. themselves above us. In a word, let us show them, by'what little we do without aid o f education, the much we might do if they did us justice; thit we may force a blush. from them. . if possible, and compel them to confess their own baseness to us, and that the worst of us deserve much better- treatment than the best of us receive. ow ever, ' . . ' , . . . . . . . . ::,i .B.. , > F ~ ;! i l ,:@ .I. I .. .. :,>>. ,$$ (:I. .?"., ..\ $ @ i3 ..j. ;A $1 .!,& .. . z... .:g :cg' . >' 5-., . 3 .i;. . .. . . ., .. ___ gi . . , . . .. i.,,..-W~~~..."-.'- < :. ,'.F - . . . . .. . . . . .. ... . .... . . . . . . .. . Govcmmenr and PpCirics in the..~nli~hrenmen~' . .65:' .... ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .. . . . ...... ... . . . . . . . ... , , . ". ..;. . . . .. . . ',. .,: . . . ' . . . . . . .. . . . . .s . . ... . . .. .. . . . '. . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . , . . . .. . . .. . . . . , . , .. . . . . . .. . . . , .. . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . . . . ~ousseau,.~ophie or the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . .. .. . . >. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . : Much more traditional in the eighteenth century's vi& of,womeh and theiredu, . ., . . . . . cation is lean-Jacques Rousseau'. (171.2-1 778): .Although' born' in Geneva,. . . . .. .. . ;.. . .. ....I .. .. . . . . . . . . Rousseau spent most ofhis life in ~rance:andwas~certainl,y,influenced by French:,, , , . . . , .. .. . . .. . . . . :. . . . views of women.'French juri'sts, for e'xample, commonly ranked wives of fifth.::' . . . . . . . . 3-family'~household,behind-their husband, Children, domestic.:..,. . . . . . . 1, : . . . .. .. . . . :... . importance.in . . . .: " - : :servan.ts, and any apprentices serving in the household. Awoman charged with. . . ' . ': . ' . . . . . . . .. . .: . . ' : . . . adultery received harsher.penaltiesthan.aman:She.could.be beaten, stiipped:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . :....: . of her dowry, and-sent:teprison.,for.two years' confiriement. 'French.playwrights,'.. . . . . . ." . . . . . . ' : :.. , , . . .,: . . . ' moralists, and theologians-witti some notable exception+unhesitatingly : ' . . . . . . . :. . .I . .. . . .. :. . . . . . . . subscribed to' the notion thatwomen were inferior, rebellious; and prisoners of.: . ' . :. :..... . . ....,: . .. their own p'assioni. Strong discipline, even for noble.wornen, was. necessary,to .... .:.:. . . . . . . . . .. .. ... ' .. . . correct.theire.rringways. So, too, Frenh'church authorities viewed women as . .. . . . . . . ., . " .:' : powerful spurces of corruption.who in large part were- culpable for nearly all'. . . .. . . . . . .. .. . . . . :'.20..~ ' .r .:I Jean-Jacques ' Woman : : : : . .- : :- ;.. .' ( , :- .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . ,: . . . ' . . . . . .... the sins.of the flesh. In 1762,.Rousseau published t ! i n i l e o i ~ nEducation, which:. . . . remains even:today an influenti?l treatise on educational pedagogy. Although.:.. Rouiseau's primary'concern in Eniile is, the'education of men, the last part o f . . ' . '. . . . his study, excerpted.here, is focused on the education, of-women. . . . . . ...... ,: ,, :.,' . . . . 1. According to Ro.usseau, nature dictates that man was born strong and woman weak, .:, . ' . . '. . and once "This.principle being established, it follows.that woman was~specifically~"" : .made.to please man." Is this argument,original with the: eighteenth-century En- . . . . . . . . lightenment?Can you think'of similar arguments-before orafter Rousseau? . .,. . : . . . .. . . . : .. .. . . .. . 2. Rousseau seemito suggkt thatthe Supreme Being gave man reason to govern his ' . > . . . . . .. . . . . :. . . ,passions but "In'endowingwoman with unlimited desires he [the Supreme Being]..-' ; : . . . .. . . . .. added modesty.inorder to,restrain them,." Can thisview be considered enlight-: .:' ,. . . . . ened?Why would the Age,of Enlightenment accept this'expCanation? , . . . . - . . 3. Although Rousseauinsists that man is the'strqngeisex, he also argues that man i s de-. : ' .:. ' : . : . . pendent upon'woman's good willand.seems to beg the question whd is really supe.. . . . . rior when he asks, "ls'weakness that yields to force or is it voluntary self-surrender??. ..... What does he mean here?. . . . . ... .A: How would you compare .the argument and evidence of Soph.ia (see ~ e a d i 1n9~) ' . . . . and Rousseau's.Sophie? H o w d o these twp 'readings suggest the ideals and poll. . . . . . . :tics of the Enlightenment? . . . 5: Do you see any connections between this reading's -discussionof authority and : :. . ., Rousseau's. The Social Contract.(see.Readi.ng21.)? . . ....... . . ' . , ' , ' , ' , , , ' ' . .. . . . . . I n 'the union of the sexes,. kach alike contributes to the common.end,. though in different * ways. From,this diversitysprings the'fust difference.that may be observed between man' . . . . . . ;. ' . . . . Reprinted'f&n Women. rhe'~amily,and Freedom: The ~ e b a t iet ' . ~ b c ~ m & t sVol. : 1,1750-1880, ed. Susan Groag. Bell and Karen M. Offen with the permission of the Bo,aidof Trusteespf the Leland Standford Junior Uriiversity. . . . .,. . . . . . . ..;....., ....-w% - -,-v,m . . . . . --.ha=- . . .. . . ' ,. < - . .... . . . . .. . ... . . .. . . ..: .. . . .Governineni:andPolitics in.rhe Enlightenment : 67 .: :. - , ,,, .i . * . . . . ... ... . . . . . ., :,.: . .. .. . .. ,.:: :. . . . .. .. .. . .. ..: . . . . :..; . . .. man thus declares war against his corn-.. .. .. .... .. . . .. . . ... . all acts but defeats its own ends,not'~nly,because . .-!! . . .. . panion and gives her the: right to defend her person and her liberty even at the expense.o f , . . . . . .: . ..,.:, .. : . : the aggressor's life, but also because. the woman alone is. the judge of.the situation ahd'a:.'.. ... :., . ; . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . . . . . '( . .child would have no father if any mari riight~usurpa father's rights. . . . . ...:. . . . . . . .. . . . .. .. .. .. ....... .. .Thusthe different constitution of the sexes leads'us to a third conclusion, n@ely;that:. :..:, . : :.:,, ' -. :. I ' < 76, ::: : the strongest seems to.be,themaster;but.depends.in fact on the weakest; this.is.notbased ...:-: : ..:: upon a foolish custom of gallantry; nor upon the magnanimity of.the protector butupon .. . ..:. 1 , :':,. :' .,:. ': ',::. . . : :. . . .. . . ... : . .::. . lnexorable'law of nature; Fornature, .having en'dowed'woman with ,more.power to stirnu-: .:.::. .. .: :. : .... . . . : .late man's desire than he is able to satisfy,.thus makes him dependent on woman's g0.d ivill. . . . . . , . . , .. ,. . and compels him in turn to please. her so that she may consent to '.yield to his s~perior'i . ,:: .- .. . . . . .. .. .. . . strength. Is it weakness that yields to force or is it.voluntaryself-surrender?This uncertainty,;. . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . . , ;.- .. . .:., . .. :'... .::. ... . constitutes the'chief delight of the man's victory, and'the woman is usually c u e g enough . . .:. ... ..: ; . ... . .. ... . . to leave himin doubtiIn this respect women's minds exactlpresemble the? bodies; farfrom> , .. ... ,. ... .. .. . .. .. being ashamed.of theirweakness they reve1.S it; Their soft musclesoffer no resistance; they . . . :. . . :, .: :,: . : ..:.. pretend that they cadaot lift the lightest loads; they. would be ashamed to be strong. And.. :..,' . .:' . I . . . . . . :. .. , . .:'.'.... .. why? This is not merely to appear delicate, they are too 'clever for that; they .are pro@ing -:. . . . . , . themselves beforehand.with:excusesand with theright to.be'weakif need be. ; . ,. . ... ... .. .. . . . . . . ......... .There is no parity-betweenrnk and woman to the importance of sex; The male is, . . : ;:.:. . . . . . . .. . . .. . . : : : . % : :- .:; - ", :1 ; .. :. as only a rnale'at certain moments; the female all her life, or at .least throughout her'youth, 'is:'?;''.:, ; ': ..... . . . .'incessantlyreminded of her sex and: in order to carry' out iti functions she needs a corresponding constitution. She needsto be careful duiing.pregn&cy; she needs rest after child-,:. ' : , .. ":'. . : . . birth; she needs,a.quietand sedentary life while she nukes her children; she needs patience .: . . ... . . . and gentleness in order to.raise'them;-azeal and affection that'tiothing can.discourage:She'.: . : . - . serves as liaison.between'thechildren and.their father. She alone wins the father'slove foi'.;: . . . .. ..;. .: . . . . . .. . . . the children and gives him theconfidence tocall them his'own. HOWmuch tenderness and' ' - . . . , : .:. .,:., .. care is required to.maintain the entire family .in unity! Finally ,allthis should not be i mat-,':'.',, :.,, . . . . , ter of virtue but of inclination;,without which the human Species would soon be extinct 1.'- ' ; , . . . . The relative duties of the twosexes are not and cannot'be.equally rigid. When worn&.' . . . . . : .. . . . .. 'complains about the unjust inequalities placed on her by man she is wrong; this inequality::.:. ..", ..: . . . .. . .: ., . . is by,nomeans a,human institution.orat.least-itis not the work of prejudice but of reson.: .'. . .'. . .' . : ;. : . < She to whom nature has entrusted &e care.of the.children must hold herself.accountable~for. . . . . . . ..them. No'doubt every breach of.faith is wrong and every unfaithful husband who deprives :. . . ...: .... . . . . . , : his wife of the sole reward for the'austereduties of her sex is anunjust and barbarous man; . ' . .'.',. :. . . .' .. .. But the unfaithful .wife is worse.. She.dissolves the family and breaks.al1'the bonds of.na-:' : ':. . . . . . . . . ture; by giving her husband children who are not his own she betrays both him and them : . . . . : and adds perfidy to faithlessness. .,; . .. . . Thus it is not enough that a wife shoul'dbe faithful, but that she should be so judged ':. .. by her husband, by her neighbors and by the world. She must be modest,. devoted, reserved. . . . . . . . . . . . . and she should exhibit to the wo'rld as to her own conscience testimony to her virtue. Fi. nally, for a father'to love his children he must esteem their mother. For these re,asonsthe a p , . . - . pearance of correct behavior must be among women's duties; it repays them with honor and . "reputation that are no less indispensable than chastity itself. From these principles derives, along with the moral difference of the sexes; a new motive for duty and propriety that pre- . . . . . . scribes to women.'inparticular the most scrupulous,attentionto their conduct, manners, and . . : . . behavior. To advance vague aiguments about the equality of the sexes and the similarity.of . , - ,.. their duties is to lose-oneself in vain declamation and does not respond to my argument. : .. Once it,is demonstrated that man &d woman are not, and should not be constituted . - the same, eitherin,character.or in temperament, it follows that they should not have the, . . .. >. same,education. In following the,directions of nature they must act together b.utthey,should . . . . . . . . . . .. . . -. . . ; ' , , : , ; ' , ' : ,,,-, : , ' ' . .'' ' , , ' ' ' ' , ' ' . . . 6 8 ?.] Global Pattern of Politics ,and Culture . . .. . . .. . . . . < A 9,. . . :. . . . . , ... . .:. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . '.. . not do-thesame.things,;the& duties have'icox&on &,.but &.duties th~mselvksare dif-:.':': . . . . . . . ... . .ferent and consequently also the tastes,that diictthem. After having tried to form the nat- ....:. . . .. . work incomplet'e, how:the worn* is to .,: .,.. . . ural man,'let us also see, in ordernot:~to~leave:our . . . . . .. . . , . . be formed who' suits this man, . . : : . . .. . . , . . . . . .. . . .. If you would glways b e . ~ ~&ided, ll f0116w the .indicati;ns of nature..All that char-! . .. .. . . .. acterizes .sexual,di&erenceought to be respected or established by'nature. You are always ' . - ' ) : . . ... .. . . .. ... .saying that women have. faults-.thatwe men do not have: .Yourpride deceives you; they,. : ., . .. . . . , . would be faults in you butthey are W e s in tbem; things would go'less well if they did not; 1, : : .. . : : ... .: . . . ' . ....,. . have tliem.Preventthese so-called faults from degeneratingibutbeware of destroying them," : .: . .:. .. . . . . _, . .. ... .. ... .. . .... Women, for their part,,are'.always complain&g that we raise them only to be vain and: ' . : . . . .... . . .. .. ,.:. .. , .: coquettish; that we keep them amused with a3le.i so that .wemay more easily remain their:.' ,.. . . . . .- . , masters; they blame us forthe faults we attribute.to.them..,mat stupidity! And since when', . : 1:' . : . . . . . . idit men who concern themselves with,the eduration:of girls? Wh0,i.spreventing the moth- .:.. , . . . . . . ,,. . .. ... . ers from raising them as't h e please?.Thereare no schools for girls-what a tragedy! Would . . . . .. ... ... . . .God; there wemnone for boys!. They wouw be iaised more sensibly axid more straightfor- :. . . . . .. .., . . .. wardly. IS anyone forcing y o q daughters to -waste theu time on foolish trifles? Are they. . , :. . : . : . ' forced against thelrwill to ,spend.half their lives on.their-appearance, folloyhg your ex- . . ..: . . ..' . . . ample?. Are you prevented:hm..htxucting them, or having them instructed,according to . . . .. . . ... . yourwishes?.Is it our fault if they please us when they are beautiful, if their a h a i d graces$.. . .,, . .. .: . . : ; . seduce &, if the art they learnfrom you attracts andflatters us,if we like to see them taste: . . .. ..,. - ... . .' fully. attired, if we let.them.display at:leisure.the weapons with which F ey subjugate us? . : ... . . . . . . . - ' . W e U then, decide to raise them like.men; the men will gladly agree; the more women want ::. .. . . . . . . . . to resemble them; the less women will, govern them, and then men will truly be themasters. . j . . . . .. . . . :.. All.the faculties common ,to the ,two,sexesare not equally divided; but taken as a; . .....'. . :. +hole, they:offs&tone 'another. Woman is worthmore as a woman andless as a man; wherever she makes her rights valued, she has the advantage; wherever she wishes to usurp ours, she remains inferior to us. One can only respond to this genera1,truth by citing exceptions in the usual manner of the gallant partisans of the fair sex. To cultivate in women the qualities of the men and to neglect those that are their own . is. then, obviously to work to their detriment Shrewd women see this too clearly to be duped by i t In tryingto usurp our advantages they do not abandon their own, but from this it comes to pass that, not W i g able to manage both properly on account of their incompatibility, they . fall short of their own possibilities without attaining to ours, and thus lose half their value. Believe me, judicious mother, do not make a good man of your daughter as though to give the lie to nature. but make of her a good woman, and be assured that she will be worth more ; to herself and to US. Does it follow that she ought to,be raised in complete ignorance and restricted solely . to the duties of the household? Shall man make a servant of his companion? Shall he de- a prive himself of the greatest charm of society? The better to reduce her to servitude, shall : he prevent her from feeling anything or knowing anything? Shall he make of her a real automaton? Certainly not! Nature. who has endowed women with such an agreeable and acute 1 mind, has not so ordered. On the contrary, she would have them think, and judge, and love. and know, and cultivate their minds as they do their faces: these are the weapons she gives 4 them to supplement the strength they lack and to direct our own. They ought to learn many '1 things, but only those which it becomes them to know. Whether I consider the particular destination of the female sex or observe woman's ?I inclinations. or take account of her duties, everything concurs equally to convince me of f the form her education should take. Woman and man are made for each other, but their mutual dependence is not equal: men are dependent on women because of their desires; women : : '.: . . . . .. ... .. . I . , . A . ::.. . ; . ' . ;:. ., . :: ,. . . . . , . , . . . . , :. , , . , , ' ' ' , ,,; ' '. ' , , ' , . . ; : 1.. "., , : i ,. ' ' ' ' , ' ( ' i . . . I C ' : ,,, , ' , :' , ,: ' a . . . , . , ..: . . .. . . &e:dkPendeht on'men bscabseof'both their des& and'their nedds. w e : m e could ~ subsist .. .-' . more easily without womenthan.'they could withoutus. Inorder for women to have what :: .' ':.. -:, ',.i . . . they need to fulfill.:theirpurpose in life, we must giie it tb them, we must wantto give it to : . i:. :..; ' them, we:must believe them worthy; they are deperident on our feelings, onthe price ,we. :. . .. : ':! .., ;:.i .place on their-merit, and on the opinion we.hav'e of their c h a h and of their:virtues.By the '. , .; .... very'law-ofnature, women are at the mercy o f inen's judgments'& much for themselves as: . :. . . . . !, for their children. It is not sufficient. that they be .thought esthable; they'must also-be.ei- :; . . . . .. ', teemed. It is not.sufficiknt that they be.beautiful;,they'must please;.It isnot sufficient they' : . . ..: '.: be well behaved; they must be recogni.zed such. Their honor lies-notonly in theu con-,:.. . .. . ...: . . .-:'.; .'duct but in theii,reputation. It is,im~ossiblefora w ~ m ' ~ . w h o ' ~ e ~ k . h etor be s e morally lf ..!; . ::.:: compromised ever to be considered'virtuous:A man has no one but himself to consider, and::::-. ; .so long as he does right he may defy public opinion; hut when a woman does rigl$t,her t x k ;., .: . . . i is only half finished, and what .people..thinkof her matters as much as what she really is." . . . . :,: .. ..: -Hence it follows that.the system ofwoman's education.'should.in this respectbe the oppo-: . . . . . . :. . ... .. .j ........... . . . . . .. .. . site of ours: among men, opinion is the tomb' of virtue;. among women it is the throne..,, j : .. . . :- ; ,. '- -' , . / ,: '. ' , .. . . . . , . . .,: . ,; ,, . ,.
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