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Article ESSAYS ON EDUCATION.—No. III. ← Page 2 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essays On Education.—No. Iii.
But I must not be understood as exacting so much as this : I require only that somewhat more attention should he paid to the voice of nature ancl of reason ; and replying partially , I would say that , if the question be of a mother who has to gain as well her own , as her children ' s subsistence by means of her personal exertions , it will be necessary to make some concessions in her favour without the fear of their being absurdretaining of coursein all its pristine vigourthe principle laid
, , , down ; with respect to those more favoured matrons who have only to acquit themselves of the especial duties accruing to them from their maternal quality . What an error , truly , to speak of reading , writing , drawing , music , singing , ancl other like amusements , as the habitual occupations of the mother of a family—how prepostrous the idea . ' They must be considered at the most , merely in the light of uyrecable ancl lawful distractions , worthy of holding the second place only in the
regular distribution of the hours of the day , which every good mother ought to make ; but her chief ambition , her most pleasing duty , should be the rearing of her offspring ; that is , in laying the foundation oi their future happiness , as well as their rank ancl consideration in society ; while , on the other hand , she , who from a feeling of insensate egotism , consents to the abandonment of such noble , such important functions , commits an excess of cruelty which can scarcely find even a trifling
palliation in the irreflectioti and want of steadiness distinguishable in those who live submerged in the continual vortex of dissipation peculiar to great ancl populous cities . Nevertheless , we perceive among the most barbarous ancl unenlightened people , no less than among the nations the most advanced in
civilization—in the wilds of Africa , as in the crowded cities of Europethat women are universally excluded from the exercise of any public avocation . Upon what basis then , does it rest this assent so perfectly unanimous on a point respecting which nations could not possibly have consulted amongst themselves so as to have come to a common understanding ? Can it be , perchance , on an usurpation of command made by the stronger sex ? It should seem not ; insomuch that all usurpation in / plies violenceand in whatsoever partakes thereofthere neither is
, , , nor can he duration or uniformity . Moreover , if women are weaker in their physical faculties , they are , on the other hand , endowed with other qualities for governing far more important and efficacious than even force . Delicacy of observation , persuasive eloquence , quickness of comprehension , and occasionally , heroic fortitude , are qualities whieh we are very frequently called upon to admire in women ; while by means of these auxiliariesthey have been ableon various trying occasionsto
, , , rescue lordly man from situations ofthe greatest difficulty and danger . Peter the Great , when encompassed on the banks of the Pruth by ten thousand hostile Turks in arms , retired to the solitude of his tent , to give himself up , free from the prying eye of curiosity , to the overwhelming bitterness of his grief and his despair . He was immediately followed by Catherine his wife , who , in her affectionate efforts to console him and raise his drooping couragehaving inspired him with a faint glimmer of
, hope , he started from his tent , and hy means of his jewels , some money , and two costly fur pelisses , formed a handsome present , which being forwarded to the Grand Vizier , opened the road to negotiations which were forthwith commenced and satisfactorily concluded : and thus , did a woman acquire the glory of placing in a state of comparative safety both the Emperor of Russia and his army .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essays On Education.—No. Iii.
But I must not be understood as exacting so much as this : I require only that somewhat more attention should he paid to the voice of nature ancl of reason ; and replying partially , I would say that , if the question be of a mother who has to gain as well her own , as her children ' s subsistence by means of her personal exertions , it will be necessary to make some concessions in her favour without the fear of their being absurdretaining of coursein all its pristine vigourthe principle laid
, , , down ; with respect to those more favoured matrons who have only to acquit themselves of the especial duties accruing to them from their maternal quality . What an error , truly , to speak of reading , writing , drawing , music , singing , ancl other like amusements , as the habitual occupations of the mother of a family—how prepostrous the idea . ' They must be considered at the most , merely in the light of uyrecable ancl lawful distractions , worthy of holding the second place only in the
regular distribution of the hours of the day , which every good mother ought to make ; but her chief ambition , her most pleasing duty , should be the rearing of her offspring ; that is , in laying the foundation oi their future happiness , as well as their rank ancl consideration in society ; while , on the other hand , she , who from a feeling of insensate egotism , consents to the abandonment of such noble , such important functions , commits an excess of cruelty which can scarcely find even a trifling
palliation in the irreflectioti and want of steadiness distinguishable in those who live submerged in the continual vortex of dissipation peculiar to great ancl populous cities . Nevertheless , we perceive among the most barbarous ancl unenlightened people , no less than among the nations the most advanced in
civilization—in the wilds of Africa , as in the crowded cities of Europethat women are universally excluded from the exercise of any public avocation . Upon what basis then , does it rest this assent so perfectly unanimous on a point respecting which nations could not possibly have consulted amongst themselves so as to have come to a common understanding ? Can it be , perchance , on an usurpation of command made by the stronger sex ? It should seem not ; insomuch that all usurpation in / plies violenceand in whatsoever partakes thereofthere neither is
, , , nor can he duration or uniformity . Moreover , if women are weaker in their physical faculties , they are , on the other hand , endowed with other qualities for governing far more important and efficacious than even force . Delicacy of observation , persuasive eloquence , quickness of comprehension , and occasionally , heroic fortitude , are qualities whieh we are very frequently called upon to admire in women ; while by means of these auxiliariesthey have been ableon various trying occasionsto
, , , rescue lordly man from situations ofthe greatest difficulty and danger . Peter the Great , when encompassed on the banks of the Pruth by ten thousand hostile Turks in arms , retired to the solitude of his tent , to give himself up , free from the prying eye of curiosity , to the overwhelming bitterness of his grief and his despair . He was immediately followed by Catherine his wife , who , in her affectionate efforts to console him and raise his drooping couragehaving inspired him with a faint glimmer of
, hope , he started from his tent , and hy means of his jewels , some money , and two costly fur pelisses , formed a handsome present , which being forwarded to the Grand Vizier , opened the road to negotiations which were forthwith commenced and satisfactorily concluded : and thus , did a woman acquire the glory of placing in a state of comparative safety both the Emperor of Russia and his army .