IP*. i'^ '^* PERKINS LIBRARY Uulce University ► Kare books c^//' ^^u^ r V N "* ^dfi Ml ^?r4Rf ■\, 3 v^ ^J \ LETTERS TO A YOUNG LADY, ON A VARIETT OF USEFUL AND INTERESTING SUBJECTS ; CALCULATED TO IMPROVE THE HEART, TO FORM THE MANNERS, AND ENLlCHTiN THE U ND»RST ANDI N C. " That our Daughters may be as polifhed Corners of the Temple,'* TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, STRICTURES on FEMALE EDUCATION. By THE R.EV. JOHN BENNETT. F.;OM THL FOURTH LONDON EDITI -N IMPR'J.ED. I ■■ II !■ ■■■ ■ ■! »i'« ■!»■ »iia w ii - IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED FOR W. SPOTSWOOD, AND H. AND P. RICE> Market -fir eet, ^793' ikuca.,<^ Jcr^ i^^ .-^^. o4'7?y ^7: /TO TH« ■y ^ ^'^y^QpEEN OF GREAT-BRITAIN, 0?;:. M A D A M> j| HE encouragement of every thing virtuous and laudable, has been a dif- tinguifhing charaderiftic of your reign ; and if licentioufnefs and vice have in- fefted the kingdom, it is not becaufe they have received any countenance from your fovereign authority, or even vsranted its moft falutary reftraints and pointed oppofition. To your own fex, in particular, you have exhibited a moft inftrudlive and animating example. You have taught them by a filent, but impreffive lan- guage, to depend more for real influ- ence and efteem, on the mild, the foft, and the attracflive graces, than on all the perifiiahle appendages of greatnefs, illuftrious birth, political interference, or even the dazzling fplendours of a throne. A2 Ir DEDICATION. In an age, when artificial gaieties have almoft banifhed the fweeter plea- fures of fimpHcity and nature, you have difplayed as great a fondnefs, as the ne- ceiiary avocations of royalty would per- mit, tor domeftic retirement. Fafhion- ab!e mothers might have derived a Icf- lon from your condud. Your royal breaft has appeared to vibrate with a more exquifite delight, to the careffes of a tender offspring, in the Hiades of Windfor, than it ever received from crowded levees, or the fuperbeft bril- liance of a court. In a period of falfe refinement, vxhcn conjugal fidelity has. not appeared a fa- vourite virtue, your Majefty has been a model of as delicate an attachment, as ever graced the pureft ages of anti- quity, or occurs in the voluminous an- nals of the world. And in an aera of faftidious affluence, when Chriftianity has been undermined by the fubtilty of fceptics, and ftill more dilgraced by the lukewarmnefs and irregularities of its profefTors ; when its grand bulwark, the Chriftian Sabbath, has been daringly at- tacked, particularly amongfl: the higher ranks of people, by many kinds of li- DEDICATION. v centious amufement, you have done every thing in co-operation with our be- loved Monarch, to flop the progrefs of the evil, that could refult from virtuous precepts, or the unfuUied luftre of ex- ample. Amidft this^, how could lli^y have relifhtd tiie luw ribaldry of an .'\iirtophiirics, at a tiir.e wiicn incy were entertained with the fubliine floqutnceof a Deinofthdcs, ajid wiiii the pathetic compofitions of a Sophocles, and an Euripides ? + lloni. Cdyl. Lib. 4. 121, 122. Earip. Hecub. Sophoc. Eietlra. Wood's EUa^ on ihc writings and genius of Homer. Cic. in Vcr. L>b. i, C. 26. FEMALE EDUCATION. I3 men were rough and Infolent *, and the women, for want of a collifion, with their natural aflbci- ates, had not every poffible elegance to charm. Thus unbofomcd in lolitude, the manners of the Grecian Ladies might be pure, but they were not very captivating j their tade might be innocent, but it was not improved. Retirement gave them awkwardncfs ; and awakwardnefs, in its turn, denied them admiration. As tall:e, however, gradually advanced, and knowledge made the feelings exquifitely alive, the Greeks began ardently to pant for an intercourfe with the fex : and, to the eternal difgrace of their morality, they found.it in their ro/^r/ffz.^wj". They gave to vice, the difiincflions of virtue — and af- forded, at the ignominious Ihrinc of proftitutes, what (hould have been the unvarying rewards of merit, of delicacy and difcretion. In reality it was not fo much a matter of wick- cdnefs, as of tafie. "Whilft women of modelly were deprived of all advantages for improving themfelves, thefe courtezans, by mixing in public circles, had acquired all the interelting allurements and* attractions. Hence the unbounded attentions they received. Hence the molt learned men had interviews at their houfes. Hence poets of the higheft fame paid homage to their charms •, and hence the moll celebrated painters endeavoured to immortalife, with a licentious pencil, their me- rit and their graces ! So true is it, that tafte is not, always, a concomitant of virtue, and that * Socrates and Pericles found each other at Afpafia's. Six or fcvcn writers devoted their pens to celebrate thefe counezans. Thiee fa- mous painters employed their pencils to rcprefent thtm to advantage on the canvas; and, when they died, fumptuous monuments were crefted to their memory, Dica:arch Webb on Painting, p. 41. Edaii fur. L.s caraftcrcs dc« lem. Men. Thorn. c 14 STRICTURES ON over a people, in certain periods of fociety, lan- guifhing with I'enfibility, and infcebled in their mo- rals, the brilliant accomplilliments will have a greater influence, than all the virtues and good qualities united. Amongfl: fucli a people, what was female education ? Whilftmodefty was thus openly violated and {hocked, where was moral difcipline, culture and improvement? The behaviour of the R.omans to their women afTumes a different afpect, according to the vary- ing ftate of their tafte, from the revolutions of their empire, the extenfion of their conquefls, from their intercourfe with other nations, and the progrefllve culture of knowledge, politenefs, and refinement. At firft, an hardy, warlike, and heterogeneous race of men, collected from the banditti of all places and countries, lired only with the pafllon of military glory, frugal in their tafte, and rigid in their morals, they expected, and they experi- enced a * ftrong limilarity of rigid qualities in their women, a faithful attention to domeftic du- ties, an inviolable conftancy, and a fubmiflive, un- remitting attention. But their conduct to the fex was that of Defpots to their flaves, unmixed with efteem, and unfoftened with afFeiSlion. They ne- ver thought of treating wives, as their equals, with the luxury of confidence, or the reciprocality of tender f and endearing converfation. If their * DlaL de caufis quae Rom. corrumpebant eloquentiam. Val.Max. Lib. 2. S. 1. Blackwcli's Memoirs of the court of Auguflus, Vol. i. Liv. Lib. a6, C. 49, Alex, ab Alex. Vol. t. p 671. C. 11. Aulus Gell. Noc >tti. Lib. 10. C. 23. ^liaii. Van Hilt. Lib. 2. Plut. Vit. Anton. Kenncti's An:q. E(Tay on the Roman Education. + Amongft the Romans, a wife was confidered, as, in every rc- fpcft, the fldve of her hufband. She might be fold by him at plca- fure, or put to death by an arbitrary exertion of his authority. It fccms probable from the ceremony of '* coemptio," that fhe wa« purchased with a real price from her relations. She was reckoned FEMALE EDUCATION. I5 women had but plain and homely virtue, it was all they delired. They left it to others, whofe minds grafped at lefs than the conqueft of the globe, to engage in fo very effeminate an office, as that of nurfing the embryo graces of their heart, or call- ing forth, by adequate encouragements, the na- tive and unfufpeBed vigour of their underftanding. Valour and a thirft for military glory, confiderably fwallowed up all the tender emotions -, and, whilft to die for their country was the height of their ambition, they left it to the ^lixotifm of other times to expire for a woman. The heroifm of thofe early ages * had not that agreeable accommodation in its manners, that gentlenefs in its nature, or humanity in its exercife, which later times have produced. Warriors had not tempered intrepidity with foftnefs, nor courage with fenfibility. They had not foftened the forbidding portrait of the foldier with the milder graces of the citizen, the philofopher, or the friend. A fuccefsful hero did incapable of having any eftate of her own ; and, whatever, fhe pof- fclTed, at the time of marriage, became the property of her hufband. Heinec. Antiq. Rom. • How favage were the manners of warriors to each other in the lime of Homer. II. Lib. 8. V. 161. Lib. 12, 247, Lib. 23, 473. Lib. 9. 590. Lib 22. 60. Lib. 6. 55. Lib. 17. 125. Lib. 22, 375. Menand. apud Stobaeum. Traits, of a fimilar nature, are dlfcoverable in many of theRomaa heroes. They frequently took great fteps towards the extermination of the people they had conquered. Witnefs their behaviour to Car- thage, Numantia, Corinth, &c. though fomc writers have celebrated their lenity to the vanquifhed, Dion. Halic. Lib. \. Cic. de Off. Lib. I. Poly. L. 10. An ancient writer mentions it as a cuftom of the Scythians to fuck the blood of their enemies killed ia battle. Pomp. Mel. Lib, 2 C. i. Such was the manners of the Saracens, and the American Indians Carv. Travels. The ancient Scythians deftroyed the nations they had conquered. Herod. Melpom. When the Sauromatas invaded Scythia, they laid wafte the whole country, and put to death the vanquilhed. Diod. Sic. Lib. 2. For the cruelty of the Vandals, in this particular, fee Note V. to Robertfon's Hift. of Charles the 5th. Cz l6 STRICTURES ON not, then^ invite a general he had vanqnifhed, to partake of the focial, elegant rcpaft, prepared by j'olitcncfs, ?iVi^f'weetensd \s\\\\ a noble and generous Cv)m all Aeration. Such a combination of, Icem- ingly, oppolite qualities, fuch a fcftening of the n.itural horrors of war, we certainly owe to the luperior progrefs of modern civilization. It was ?:i honour referved for tiie Conquerors of tliL^ pre- fjnt age, and will laft, when the greened: of tl^ir 1 lurels has decayed. Occaftjual mention, indeed, is made of Hvaie il- laftrious Roman * ladies, who, by ftooping from their dignity, to the painful and arduous cR-icc of forming youthful minds, did honour to huma- nity and to their fex. But this attention was, chiefly, laviflied on the boys. It had only in con- templation the training up of orators or heroes for the ftate. Girls are not fo much as mentioned i.i the account. They were filently abandoned to that untutored ignorance, in which Nature li^d jM'oduced them. Amongft this celebrated p.^oplc, women were always thrown info the back ground cf the piece. The picture, at large, was grouped with the laurels, and emblazoned with the trophies and atchievments of the men. -|- As we approach further intoR-oman civiliza- tion, a new page opens on us in the hiftory of women. A revolution, fimilar to that of all other countries, in certain ftages of fociety, took place in the treatment and manners of the lex. Dragged from a long and inglorious confinement, their pa- tronage was courted, and their charms were ad- mired. In a ftate of roufed paffion, and inflamed imagination, as objecSts of plenfarey they had a •* Sic, Corrr-liam, Gracchorum. fic Aurcliam, Julii Carraiis, fic Attiatn, Auguiii matrem. piasiuide educationibus hberorum accepi- mus. Elcnant Dialogue on the Decline of Eloquence. + Cic. Tufc. QjSEll. Lib 5. 85. FEMALE EDUCATION. I7 temporary confequence. Afiatic luxury, imported to the capital, viewed them as a part of fenfual refinement; and, having exhaufted all the other varied regions of fenfuality for its gratification, wilhed at laft to revel in their arms. But the fex are not indebted, to any age or country, for this kind of valuation. It infults their delicacy ; it degrades their underftanding, and has a moft un- happy influence on their fortunes and their tafte. * The manners of the Roman fair quickly took the infection of the times. In the hot-bed of lux- ury, all their virtues and their graces relaxed. Their modelty declined, their chartity became lefs tremblingly alive to the unhallowed touch ; and, by degrees, their delicacy loft its native fairnefs, till, at length, it was tinged with the darkeft fhades of indecency and vice. Never was the fe- male character f more proflituted than at Rome. A reader, who enters on their hiflory with admi- ration, is obliged to clofe it with amazement and regret. Knowledge, which is, generally^ feen in thofe epochs of fociety, wl^en luxury has made con- fiderable advances, difpenfed, indeed, fome of its favours on the fex. The Romans enumerate fe- veral illuftrious women, whom fcience crowning with its grecnelt laurels, has preferved from that oblivion, which is, too generally, the portion of the fair. But they are mentioned, only to be dif- approved by every perfon of fentiment and tafte. Their attainments were of an enormous and im- proper kind ; a dropfy in the underftanding. Be- * Alex, ab Alcxan, Surton, paiTim. Viri pau mulicbiia, mulicrcs pudicitiuin in propa'.ulo habere. Sail. X iv. Lib. 39. t Jiiv. Sat. 6. The female Reader will be higlily gratified by pe- rnfing Owen's maftcily trandation of this fatire, and by the general apologies in favour ol women, with which it is picfaced. C3 l8 STRICTURES ON iides the reign of their talents was but fliort. It preceded but a little while, the extirpation of their Empire. Tiie taper juft (hot forth an extraordi- nary blaze, before it was about to be extinguilhed for ever. Where, in Ihort, fliall wc turn, or whither change the fcene, to fee women with no marks of degradation upon them, treated with rcfpetfl, and educated, as rational and intelligent creatures ? The greateft lawgivers and the brighte/1: geniufes, that ever figured in antiquity, * Confacius, Zo- roafter, Solon, and Lycurgus, famed through the world for their extenlive talent^, and wife Icrgifla- tion, have fcarcely made one (isigl-e decree in fa- vour of this fex, excepting with fomc view, re- mote or immediate, to politic advantage. In the profecution of their favourite fchemes of policy and of national greatnefs, they have conlidered them but as mere, pqfflve inftruments of an exten- five population. Some of thefe Sages have done violence to their delicacy, by the moft immoral and arbitrary regulation. Their chaftity has been violated ; their modedy has been Iliocked, and the file red tie of maj'riage modified and changed, as the ever fluctuating interelfs of fociery have feemevl to require ; and, with bodies to anfwer all poliiical purpofes, very little thought has been lavilhcd on their minds. f Though, in the ages of Chivalry, women receiv- ed a kind of adoration, and numbered in their fer- * LTfprit dcs Loix. Arlftot. de Ren. Lib 7 C. 16. Lending a wife to at:iciid, was recommended to the Spartans by the cefpbiarrd InlU:uti »ns of Lycurgus. Luc. PliaiTal. Mitl Hill, of Greece, VoL 1. p. 192. Piut. in Vit. Lycurg. Solon made fomc trifling rcgi!Rations in lavojrof the fcx ; but ihcy had more" an c\i to pjhiicai u ilicv, than to ihjii Ov\n pcifonal honour or advantige. PoU, Gictk Antiq. + Stuart's View of S )C. in Europe. Ahhc Millot's \l\^. Li'.rairc dcs Tioubadours. Hurd's Letters on Chivalry and Rorninc?, Lctler 3. FEMALE EDUCATION. Ip vice, luch a pompons crowd of heroes, warriors anil knights, yet this appears not to have pro- ceeded fioni that heart-feh efteem, which is con- ferred on intrinlic merit, or an elevated under-' (ianding. In fniSt, they were diftinguiflied merely for their fex. Ik'caufe it was the fajlnon^ they were courted as obje6ls of a romantic protection, and as inftruments of a ridiculous, and viiionary honour. And, though, when this rage expired, their abilities were carried to an extraordinary height, under the powerful workings of an un- natural enthufiaim, they were but difgufting mo- numents of talents mifapplied^ and of tafte mifdi- rilled. A * woman, ifluing out laws, difputing in philofophy, haranguing the Pope in Latin, wri- ting Greek, ftudying Hebrew, commencing The- ologian, and preaching in ppblic, may be a literary heraincy that challenge our wonder, but has no- thing of that ibftnefs, timidity and referve, which, in that lex, fo powerfully captivate our hearts, and inchant our imaginations. f To this fpirit of chivalry, however, the wo- men owe an ^/^r/w/ obligation. It was this which called them forth from confinement and obfcurity into public attention. It was this, which has given birth to that fpecies of gallantry, which, moulded as it has been by increallng knowledge. Ail!, in a greater or a Icfs degree, pervades every part of the continent ot Europe. It is this, which, by giving them a colli lion with fociety, has won- * V VT^ p'lhaps. u'^re ihere ffcn, at any one time, To ni.iny P'inccflcsj^ji^ improvrd underftandin^, as were ihen, in that oart of tiirt>pe. , Tltc Courts of Naples, oi Milan, of Mantua, of Parma, of Fiorence". &c. fonnrd io many fchooh of tafte, in which tncre v\as an emufa:is of the* Orientals are, in general, as unchangeable as the rocks, which fur- round them. The increafing humanity and learn- ing of the times have not yet been able to pene- trate into the Eaft, or give this injured fex the fhadow of relief. Iniiead of confulting the im- provement of their minds, their tyrants and adorers expCiH: nothing from them, but to give their perfons every perfume, and every lufcious advantage, that may communicate an higher zeft to an indelicate moment, and heighten the luxury of mere animal indulgence. As if they had no fouls, they are treated but as brutes of a fuperior order. Even their very virtue is rendered involuntary; their diftrefifes are unpitied, and their fighs are un- heard. In Africa, or the wilds of America, it Js vain to expedl a better fate, or a more refpeclful atten- tion to females. Savages of all countries, indo- • For the immutability of Eaftern cudoms, fee Falc. on the Inf. of Clim. L'Efprit des Loix. Shaw's Travels, p. 227. Mrs. Kio- dcrflcy's Letters from the Eaft Indies, L. 72. FEMALE EDUCATION. 21 lent and cruel, take advantage of fuperior * flrength to opprefs the weaker iex, and bind them in the fetters of flavery and fubordination. In fcnne of thei'e countries, tlie hardfliips of women arc giievous b.^yond all poflibk deicriplion. In one pbce t treated as beafrs of burden, carrying to the war their children, hammocks and provi- iions on their backs ; in another, though nominally united to Sovereigns, yet performing % the drudge- ries of common flaves ; in a third, permitted § to appear, only, in a kneeling pofture, in the pre- ffrce of tlf^r Lords: in a fourth, |j hired out for tl'C wage?? of proiiitution -, here, fold like- cattle, to the ** higheft bidders in a public market ; and there, doomed, when natvne has pronounced them incapable of bearing children, to % be put to death, what heart of tendcrnefs relents not at their lot ? what mind of delicacy does not fliudder at the profpecSi ? But, dcflitute of knowhdge, and devoid of ienfibility, the cruel :J:J favage be- holds fuch fufi'erings with a ftupid unconcern, and would load a fingle murmur of an opprefTcd fex, with a redoubled opprcflicn. Hitherto I have placed the caufc of female ne- glect in the want of a proper civilization and re- finement, and confidered it as refultir;g from, a particular ftage of fociety and manners. 1 have been reviewing periods and nations, in which a • * Robert Hift. of Amer. Vol. i, p. 319. Mill. Dif. of Rank? iti Society, p. i8. Ariftot Pol. Lib. i. C. 2. • + In the brazils. I This is the cafe with the S'?vcreign of Giaga. Kaim's Sketches. § Annoiioft fome of the Xcgroe?, in the coaft of Guinea, Hifluire GciiCjale df s Voyag Tom 5. Liv. 10. Chap. 3. II 111 the kinj^dom of Potany, ** i^monoii the Ciicaflians. f This was the cruelty of the ancient Chincfc to their women. XX Rot^ert. Hill, of Amcr Vol. i, Kaim'sSketch. Vol. 1. p. 187. Pampiei's Voyages, I' 22 STRICTURES ON favage barbarlfm, or an ardent thirft of extending dominion, was confidercd as the elTence of wifdora and of glory. I have been (peculating, at leifure, on the conduct of men, uninfluenced by religious fentiments, and unenlightened by the gofpel. If therefore we have blamed their treatment of this fex, their criminality is confidcrably alleviated by their ignorance, and thofe very phyfical caufes, which produced, palliate the moral guilt, which would, otherwife attend it. We pity women ; and, from views more enlarged than their defpots had, we even pity or forgive their oppreflbrs. If the firft were degraded, infulted or inflaved, can- dour claims in favour of the latter, that no pro- per fenfe of duty operated on their confequence ; that revelation had not dillipated their intelledlual darknefs, or pointed out the awful confequences of actions ; and that they did not know the rich- nefs or the value of the jewel they dcfpifed. But when we come to countries and aeras, when all the fecondary caufes of advanced knowledge, taftc, civilization combine with that, which fhould always be the firfl: (I mean religious principle) to give women every poffible advantage of moral dif- cipline and cultivation; when, as men valuing themlclves on their refinement, we fliould deny no attentions to this weaker fex, and, as Chrifti- ans, are taught that they, like all other human creatures, arc of infinite confequence in the fight of Heaven j that they arc gifted with the treafure of an immortal foul ; that they are training for eternal happinefs or mifery ; that the awful alter- native will very much depend on their prefent edu- cation -, and that the care of it, therefore, is the higheCt duty, that can pofiibly engage the parental folicitudc — with thefe phyjical advantages — thefe fuggcftions of cofifcience — and thefe powerful im- prefl^ions of religion on the mind — what can be FEMALE EDUCATION. 23 faid, if any negligence xsjlill obfervable to thofe, who, at the fame time, are confelTedly the faireft and moft elegant part of the creation ; who bear and nurfe our offspring, are admitted to our bo- foms, alleviate our cares ; who, by their gentle- nefs, compofe the agitations of our minds, and are formed to contribute to all the delicate plea- fures and tranfports of life ? What pleas can we offer to extenuate our guilt ? What evalions can we make at the tribunal of reafon or of Heaven ? and what more than tven favage infenfibility muft mark our characters with an indelible difgrace. The condition of women in England, no doubt, may juftly be pronounced to be fupremely happy, if we compare it with what that of many females has been in fome of the ages, that have jufl: palTed in review before us, or what it //, at prefenty in mod: countries of the world. They have certainly, in their allotment here, as many obvious advan- tages, over women in general^ as Nature has given them a marked fuperiority of perfonal beauty, figure, and attracftions. If Europe has been call- ed the Paradifeo^ the fex, Britain feems to be the choiceft rpot of this Paradife, in which the fove- reign Former has deigned to place the faireft of the fair, and, munificently, to diftil, upon their favoured heads, the richeft of his fvveets. In an happy, and enviable temperature of climate, in the riches of commerce, in the improvement of the arts, in the bleflings of liberty, and of a re- ligion purified from bigotry on the one hand, and fanaticnm on the other, they are, doubtlefs, equal partakers with ourfelves. Nor in the prefent fcale of fociety, do Britifh ladies want confiderable weight. It is xhefajhion of the times to pay them attentions ; and gallantry in planning honours for itfelf, when it feems only ftudious to decorate the brows, and to enhance the confequence of wo- 24 STRICTURES ON men. Incivility to a female, however frivolouSy would, in modern eitiin ition, redound upon its author, how ex tv dijlinguijljed ; and even men of rigid principles are Ld, almoft tnechanically^ to heap flattering compliments and encomiums upon women, for which their private judgment does not always find a claim in their hearts or under- Handing. Still if tliis fex could difcriminate nicely, and would diveft themfelves of an infatu- ating vanity, perhaps they would dii'cover, that even all this amounts not to a rutional ov aw adequate attention. Is it not a flrong impulfe of pafllon, that fug- gefls fuch imooth things i Is it not a fcliifti vanity, that would be called polite, and fland well with the fex .'^ Is it not a ftudious accommodation- of ourfelves to (what we conceive,) their very fri- volous lentiuients and talle } Is it not a policy, which ihi-iiiks from their cenfure, and would not wholly laciitice their applaufe and admiration ^ Is it not the mechanical influence of manners, unac- companied with any correfpondent conviction, or is it not a motley figure, compofed of all thefe diiFerent materials, which we offer at their ihrine, without any very high opinion of the fex, or any proper eltimation ? If the Ladies knew what unreferved obferva- tions we make upon them, in their abfence, and what degrading liberties are taken with thei^' cha- racters, particularly by thofe, who oft^er *them, when prefent, the moll fuliome adulation, ^ey would know, that this is a necefl^ary caution^nd they would learn to diftinguifli, a fuperficlal po- litenefsfrom a ;r^/rcfpect. If they would realon juflly, they might foon be undeceived. They might conclude from the very face of their pre- vailing education, that we wifli them to bewitch our fenfes by their bc;auty and accomplilhments, FEMALE EDUCATION. I5 inftcad of fecuringour love and our efteeni by any folid qualities, or any rational acquirements. But let us carefully analyze this fubjefl. Let us come to firft principles, and reafon from fa(Sls. Till of late years, a very remarkable negligence prevailed in the culture of their underftanding. It requires no violent effort of memory to recall the period, when there were females, and of no trifling rank, that were not able to compofe or even^^// a letter with propriety; and though, of late, this defe(St has been coniiderably remedied, yet how infufficient is the education, which we ftill generally give them, to fit them to be prudent motliers, fenfible companions, wife and valuable members of fociety, or (what is moll: of all) thoughtful and religious Chriftians ? As foon as they are born, we confign them over to the care of a mercenary nurfe, who infufes, in her milk, the illiberality of her mind, the ruggednefs of her temper, and the pojjible difeafes of her conftitu- tion •, and, when they are of age to difcriminate, and lay in a ftock of ideas, we fend them to a boarding-fchool to learn what ? Mufic, dancing, accomplidiments, diflipation and intrigue — every thing but folid knowledge — every thing but hu- mility — every thing but piety — every thing but virtue ! Is this an adequate difcharge of the parental (that is) the higheft of all Chriftian and focial duties ? Can a mother eafily acquit her confci- ence, If a girl thus vitiated from her early years, becomes the flave of folly, the play-thing of fadiion, the dupe, as fhe grows up, of fome in- fidious villain, or, at leall, theinfipid poifoner of a connexion, that promifed every fweet and every blefiing ? — When fucli a mother lies upon her death-bed, will flie feel no melancholv ree'-ets for D 26 STRICTURES ON a daughter's pnjly nnJ no dreadful anticipation of her future indilcretions ? Can Ihc bid her the laft adieu with a compofed heart, and will not thefe words dart, like a I'un-heam, on her awakeneil confcience, ** And thon fhalt teach thefe ftatutes ** diligently unto thy children, (of thefe furely " daughters are a part,) and fhalt talk of them, *' when thou littelt in thine houfe, and when thou *' walkcft by the way, and when thou licll: down, *' and when thou lifcfl up?" There are, doubtkf^, many exceptions to be made of parents, who are ftudioufly and religioufly attentive to this important duty. The Queen of thefe realms is an illuflrious inftance. Amidft all the incircling cares of greatnefs, and the inchant- ments of a throne, flie has never foi gotten, even for a moment, the tendcreft or the minutefl: at- tentions of a mothiV. Her royal daughters do ho- nour to her effv)rts, and proclaim her fiiccefs. Strangers and foreigners are captivated with their perfoKs, but they who know them bcH-, declare that they difcover ftill fuperior charms in their >,carts and underllanding. Group them in one pirt, ?s culrivaring laudable improvements of the mind, reading the beft authors, proficient in the Belles Lcttres, and convcrfant with the ftudies, which particularly interefl: and ornament their fex. Geography, Aftronomy, Natural Hifi:ory, Poetry, &c. in another, as excelling in all the creative efforts of the needle, fancy-woi k, flowering, em- broidery, &c. and you v/ill have a beautiful pic- ture before*^ you, tliat exhibits woman in iier ze- nith of perfecfticjn, and will be viewed with admi- ration, by the lateft pofterity, when all the little, earthly diftinclions of royalty are fled. * The Princcfs ilo\alof F,n,:;'an(1, independently of her birth, is eftecmcd by people ci real tallc, one cl tne moll accomplilhcd wo- ir.cn in £uro;c. FEMALE EDUCATION. 27 Nor do I wiih to deny the merit of thofe few, who have even handled the pen upon this fubje(Sk. I am read)^ to acknowledge every attention be- ftowed on the fex, by the labours of an Halifax, by the feniiblc and religious obfervations of a Cba- pone, and the more elegant and judicious ficetches of a Gregory. The prcfent writings of Madame la Comteite de Genlis are a treafure to young la- dies. And I review, not without a lingular plea- fure, the great and ever pious Fenelon, efteeming it amongft the hichcft of his paftoral cares, to be- come as well by his pen, as his dilcourfes, the re- ligious guardian and infirucStor of women ; whilft theSpc^Stators, Tatlers, the Guardian, the World, the Rambler, in their refpt:ub!ic places, ?.nd frequently take airings with her in her carriagr. 1 rom ihtic excurfions, the Lady is not fliOcked at returning wiih her Gallant by her fide, in the dulk of the evening; and tha: hufbind V. ould be an objcft of eternal ridicule, whom fuch circumilancts could lead to entertain the moft diflant fufpicion of her virtue — or, i.ithcr, who could not facrifice to the prevalence of fafliion, all the ]:ri\ilc(;es of marriage, and all the delicate feelings of the mind. Bar« rtui'i l>*'.(.ii, Vol. t p. 79. Sharp's Trav. p. 75, t E M A L i: EDUCATION. 3 I of philorophy, anel the progrefs of civilization ? In what future, h-jppy icra ihall the fun of reafoa fliine, uneclipfed, on the fair Inhabitants of this enviable, and delicious, quarter of the globe ? When ihwW a religion, purified from abfurdity, vvliifper with fuccefs, this plain and obvious ar- ticle of irs creed, in their ears, that marriage is iht providential x\c o^ one man to one woman, for their mutual fociciy, comfort, and affil^ance I When their education is more rational, they will know their true dignity. When they undeiftand their true dignity, they will feek, at once, their happincfs and tlieir l.orour, in the fole cxclufivc friendlhip and attentions of the man, to whom they have already difpoled of their hands — and fhould, at the fame time, have given their affec- tions. Their prefent fyflem of culture and max- ims, is abfurd in the extreme; an injury to the other fex, a libel on their own. It is a mortal, grafping at the clouds. Or, in a truer fenfe, it is vanity, tiflued with indelicacy and with guilt. In Spain, * whither the true fpirit of philofo- phy has never yet been able to penetrate, and where the bigotry of a dark and clogging Religion Aill reigns in all its force, we f are delighted with the fight of many beautiful women, but have no pleafure from contemplating their cha- racter or education. We view their perfons and are charmed*, we furvey their minds and preju- dices, and turn away difgufled and amazed. On the minds of this people, the ancient rage of Knight Errantry has, ftill, left fuch a v/ild and romantic enihufiafm, ih.at a u'oman, hap- pening to be left alone with a man, would con- iider herfclf as highly negle<5led, if a fenlibility * SA-liib irr.c's Travels, p. ^86 f E.tn the moral lidicufc of the inimilablc Cervantes ha* not been abjc to cxiirpitc the empire of ablurdiiy in this kingdom. 32 STRICTURES ON to her charms did not prompt him to fuch /Wf- ccnt liberties with her pcrfon, as the females of mofi: other countries would elieem an indignity, •and think themfelves obliged to punifh with eter- nal rcfentment. With fuch fentimcnts, how fallen and how un- defirable is Woman ! In fuch a country, what can be her culture ! Under the tyranny of fucli notions, what the pleafures fhe is able to beftow ! Can they be mixed with confidence, can they be relifhed by the heart ? What fweet flowers pe- rifh in fuch a clime, for want of expanlion ? What rich and what luxuriant boughs fpreau around their poirefTors, only a moping and a me- lancholy darknefs — which, if they were judicioufly pruned and dire«Stcdj might ferve to furnifti out a moft agreeable fliade to refrelh and to enliven all their retirements. From the high-foul'd en- thuiiafm of Spaniili Ladles, under proper regu- lations, what might not be expected ? The great and defpotic Frederick, a prodigy of talents, boundlefs in his genius, and reftlel's in his fchemes, in a very long life, that has been flill more extended by continual exertions, has done nothing over his extenfive dominions, that evinces any great attentions to the fex. They are much in the fame predicament of ignorance and frivolity here, as in many other quarters of the globe : the * only creatures of his kingdom that have not fliared in the benefits of his political greatnefs, and his wife legiflation. What advantages they have enjoyed, have arlfen from pure, phyfical caufes of fociety and mannersf, * Moore in his Travels, and Shorl;)ck in his Letters, have given a jnucli more favourable opinion of this monarch, ihan we have been accultomed to entertain. We have, always, confide: cd liiin as a great warrior, and a confumrnate politician ; but they repieient him, h- uiii;ing with thefe hariher qualities, all the fined feelings of buma- r;,:v, and very cr.viablc literary atlainmcftls. FEMALE EDUCATION. 33 nnconnecf^ed with any moral force from religion^ or any political edicts from the throne. Like other great warriors, the King of Pruffia has been fwallowed up with views, of too immenfc a nature, to attend, in any great degree, to the foftnefs, to the charms, and blandishments of woman. Unlike fome other heroes, he feems to have experienced little even of the/)^v//r^/inftin(SV, that attaches to the fex ; like many other great and infultwg Legiflators, he has fludied more the fecundity of their nature, than the formation of their minds ; through hh territories, rewards have been offered to women, who were pregnant with an offspring, that matrimony had not legitimated* with its facred rites; the interefts of morality, he has not fcrupled to facrifice to thofe of population 5 and though ^'ith a mind, that grafped at univer- fal knowledge, and unlimited fame, his palace at Sans Souci, has been the hofpitable retreat of -{-li- terary men, poets and philoibphers, he feems not to have entertained one fingle thought of calling forth the dormant abilities of women. Too little or \.oo frivolous to engage his notice, they have not been fo happy as to experience his proteiStion. The Emperor, bent as he feems on univerfal * The King of PrufTia does rsol fecm to have one grain of Rclij;ion. Drcamiiig liule of another world, he Uudics only to atrgraiidize bim- fclf, as much as poirible, in ///j. Whfn I think cf him, ?nd inany other defpoiic priijccs, thus lyianiiifing over thtir fpccies, and fceming to fi ppofe ihc bu'k of men, born only for their conveiuence ; when 1 conficler ihcir cruel ccifls, the blood ilcy have Qud, and the ravages ihcy have made in all ages of the v.orId, I aK\ays rcc(.'litft that pallage in the Rcvtla'.ion, ar.d tremble (or them; " And the " kings ot the earth, and ihe great men, and the rich men hid thrm- " fclvcs in the dens and rocks of the mountains, Ai,d laid to the *' moniuains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the f.^ce of " him that fitteih on the th.ronc, and from the wrath o( the Lamb." + Frcdriick's civility to Vol-aire is univerrallv known. 'Ilit quarrel which cnfued, does infini c difcrcdit to the latt. r, and proves him 10 have been one of thofe iniiablc, proud, jealous and vindi(Sllve men, with whom it was impcfTiblc to ii. e on terms of friendlhipor cUieui, 34 STRICTURES ON reformation, aiming, with an enlightened mind, and an enlarged philofophy, to found a powerful and extenfive empire, on the ruins of an abfurd and defolating religion, appears not, any more than his illuftrious neighbour, the patron of this lex. Amongfl: the various projects of his inven- tive fancy, and his reftlefs, ambitious mind, fe- male culture has not been dignified with a place*, and, if monafteries are no longer to immure in chains alid darknefs, the weeping or mifguided fair, it is not that they may become intelligent companions, or diffufe a fofter charm and lullrc on fociety ; but only that, they may turn out more prolific mothers, and more robuft and heal- thy nurfes of embryo heroes, warriors, politici- ans, fubjefls and fervants, to carry on his vaft and complicated fchcmes. Still their value is placed in thcic pfrfons ; ftill their milky bofoms are fup- pofed to comprife all their virtues, aud their charms. Over * the Immenfe territory of Ruflia, a dark- nefs and a barbarifm have, hitherto, prevailed, which obftrucl every idea of female, or indeed any other fpecies of, cultivation. In a country, v/here the Clergy themfelves have been reprefented as palpably f ignorant, littler to encourage the hope of any great attention f to the women of her kingdom. Herfelf wanting true female tafte, flie is not likely to iflue fortli the laws, which regulate and enforce it. A great and an uncommon heroine, fhe feems to know little of thofe champing graces, timidities and delicacies, which culture fliould call forth in woman, and encouragements Ihould ripen -, her portrait is made up of all the glowing colours, without any foftening (hades from the mild and the attratStive. She may be a great woman, and the wonder of the North ; but flie is not a Char- lotte, more beloved, than feared ; a pattern of graces and virtues to her fex, and infinitely more diftinguiflied by thefe, than all the fplendours of her throne. One wonder Arikcs us on the whole of this in* veftigntion. Whilll the Chriftian religion is pro- felTed in thefe kingdoms, whither is its Ipirit fled ? Under all its varying forms and ceremonials, v/hat becomes of its adluating principles, of its fpirit and its power ? The truth is, Chriftianity is the proteus image of every varying country and tafle, debafed with the impuiell mixtures of men j now fliackled with * An Imperial acavlcmy cf arts and fcicnces is now cQablidied at Peteifburg. and Catharine is dillufing, by (vrry poffible method, the fpirit ot enquiry, of lieraturr, nnd refinement. Royal rewards are held forth, as prizes, to roufe cmu'a ion, and to call the fcicnces from their " prcfent, lowly bed." + Wraxall, however, in his Tour through the Northern Parts of Europe, has mentioned a princely and jr.ai^nifkent hnildinj^ at ''e- terfburg, defigned by her prcdccefTor Elizabeth, tor a nunnery, •which the wifdom of Catharine has converted into a place of pjblic education for young women of all conditions. 36 STRICTURES ON fuperftition, then as falfely fublimed by fanaticlfm; often forging chains for the perfon or the con- fcience ; always made fubfervient to the efta- bliflied polity -, feldom enlightened or ftrong enough to influence the conduct, and as rarely looking to the real happinejs or interefts of man- kind. I will not fliock the reader, or any longer ex- hauft his patience with the horrid pi(^ures I could draw * of Danifti, f Polifh, or % Swedifli Women. If I was difpofed for it, a rich abundance of ma- terials is at iiand, to convince him, that in none of thefe laft recited countries, the condition of VTomen is at all lefs unhappy, or the clouds of their oppreffion and ignorance difperfed. Enough has been laid to evince their general degradation and ncglecft. The fa(St is too notorious to be mif- taken, and too ftrong to be controverted. Even in the moft civilized kingdoms, women, in the fame moment, are courted and defpifed. With an exquifite organization, lively paffions, and an happy imagination, that give a difpofition for moft talents, and for every virtue, we train them up to be FRIVOLOUS and insipid ; and, whilft we rob the ftiade of all its fvveeteft comforts, are doing injuries to fociety, that can never be repaired. ♦ Williams on the Northern Governments, Vol. 1. + Vol. 2. p. 643. + Vol. 1. p. 636. FEMALE EDUCATION. 37 Here Love his golden fhafts employs, here liohts His conQant lamp, and waves his purple wings ; Reigns here, and revels not in the bought fmilcs OF harlots, lovelcfs, joylcfs, uncndear'd ; Thefc luU'd by nightingales, embracing flept ; And on their naked limbs, the flow'ry roof Shower *d rofes — Par. Lost, Quid deceit , guid rwn, quo mr(us, quo ferat error. ^ * Hor. A^t. Pc^. * '' I ■" H A T the paflions were implanted in us J[ by the Deity, as the fprings of all oui- alliens, and are therefore, in a certain degree, innocent and lawful, is too obvious a do£lrine> in the theory of morals, to need any illuftration. Amongft thefe paflions, the love of the other fex is infinitely the ftrongeft and the mod univer- fal J and, by operating at a time of life, when the character and habits are molt eflentially affected, has given rile to the greateft revolutions in fociety, and to feme of the moft extraordinary incidents of common life. To touch upon the fubjeft of love, is gliding with an electric force and quicknefs, into every bofom. The defcription of it never fails to cre- ate an univerjal intereft, or to arreit the general * This ElTay is intended to be a philofophical theory of the pro- gnTs of love, asunconncftcd uiih any p^irticnldr religion, or indeed will) any ly^'trn ot R vc'dliun. In the moulding of this pairioi', motal caulcs wjll. doubtlel&, iiavc their influence, but the phyfical will, generally, pieijondcrate over all others. 3S STRICTURES ON nttcntion, whecher we read its progrefs, its ad- ventures, and its revolutions in the fublime and dignified language of hillory, in the pathetic tra- gedy, in the vifionnry novel, or hear it only gl inrt'd at in the eafy and familiar play of focial converla- tion. To the old, it recalls, in an agreeable man- ner, early glowing fondneiTes, and early fcenes, which the chillinefs of years only, now, permits Imagination to enjoy j \\iu\i\ younger people with a rapture, that thrills on all their finel> fenlibili- tics, apply tlie picture, thus gratefully exhibited, to the iicarcfi and the dcareft favourite of their liearts. Love, like all otlier paffions, has fufFercd in the wrong opinions, and the perverfe reprefenta- tions of different men. Libertines have degraded it into downright brutality, forgetting thaty^/i//- me/it is a part of our frame, and that we are pmeth'vig railed above the groveling nature of the hearts that perifli. * Piatoniffs, on the other hand, have refined it into an abftradted union of fouls, independent of matter, as if wc were pure, difembodied fpirits, or as if the phyfical inftinft, for tiie propagation of the fpecies, had not been * The platonic dc6liinc is the faHaticifm of love. It is the pride of fcntiment, raifing to itfcif a temporary fabric, on the ruins of matter. It is an umatural effort to become, what natiuc never meant we (hould be. It is a falfc delicacy, concealin^r under romantic names, a paflion, which neither needs to call forth apologies nor bluHies. No man, perhaps, ever entertained a warm fiicndflnp for a woman, and no woman for a man, in which dUV-rrnce of fcx did not make an cirmtial conlidcration, PoHibly this is the primary movcmeal, which fcts all our putia'iiiy for them at work, if we could nicely trace the fubiil r.nd cleflrical workings ol tlie mind to their fouice. Piatonifm, io fhort, maybe a fine fpun theory, and convey an agreeable found to the fqueamiili ears of delicacy, but has, in few inlbnccs, I believe, been reduced to piaflice. "Yonng Ladies talk without rcfcrve; they think they may do it with iafety and plaufibiiity, of fiiendlhip ioi a man. — Let me warn ihem, that it is, often, a tencicier pafli ni. aiid that fonie cncuinilanccs and a little oproi 'unity luive frequently proved — mucli at tlicir txpenci:^ tht truth of my duffiinc. FEMALE EDUCATION. 3^ Imphnted in us by a Being, T\'ho never errs ; whiift a gloomy religion, ever intent on its own power, emoluments and grandeur, has exalted vows of continence and perpetual virginity into an high degree of fan^lity, and ertecmcd it me- ritorious to triumph over feelings, which a God of purity and perfe^ion had ordained. I need not enter on Txferious refutation of opi- nions which carry their own abfurdity on their forehead. The creed of libertines is contrary to every dicli te of reafon, confcience, religion, and to every principle of found policy, and wife legi- llation. It militates in the Orongeft manner, againft that wife appointment of providence, which obvioufly, from the near equality of num- bers, defigned to appropriate one iu:man to one man. It ftrikes ^t the root of a facred connexion, which is the parent of every fecial and tender relaiion- iliip, the repleniflier of private families, and the florchoufe of the ftate. It would deftroy, at leaft the kappinefs of iin union, whofe veiyef- fence is reciprocal confidence, and reciprocal efletm ; a train of children to be rationally and religioufly educated by thofe, whodifcern in their features, and would imprefs upon their mai^nerf, a refemblance of their own. And it would, ul^ t'lmately^ be fubverdve of that increafe of popula- tion, which the commerce of the fexes was de- figncd to promote. The fccond opinion is too vifionary to be no- ticed ; an attempt at being angels in this taberna- cle of clay, and an attempt, which has generally iunk its abettors as much below the point of their real dignity and excellence, asthey had raifed them- fclves above it in airy fpeculation. Thefe purejl of the pui'eh2i\t betrayed frailties, which the pride oi their philofophy forbad them to confefs i their E2 40 STRICTURES ON fpirlt has wonderfully amalgamated with matter, and a friend ftiip {ormcdy fcrmingiy, in heaven, (by what they have called a fympathy of fouls,) has been ]mpu\c\y cofi/uwma/t'd on earth, whllll nature has alTcrttd her trampled rights over the devotees of a pai titular church, by telling all the woild, in the anecdotes of hiflory, that they have only fublVituted the ftolen debaucheries and excefTes of a convent, for the pure and hallowed pleafures of the marriage bed. Nothing but a found and a compichcnfive phi- lofopliy, gioundcd on the principles of nature and of truth, will ever fland the teft of experi- ence, or of a critical inveiligatlon. All other no»- tio:ii of this paflion, not founded in fuch philo- fophy, will quickly difappear with the authors, who abet them. The frothy bubble burils, as joon as it is handled. The cobweb fyl^em is de- ranged by the touch of life. Love is a paflion, not to be eradicatedy but only to be properly regu- lated and controuled. And it will always rage with a violence \n private, proportioned to the «/i- /.\7/i/rc7 reftraints laid on it before the pubHc eye, Piiclicraft and fanaticifm may appear to have to- rally^xtinguiflied the flame *, but the embers will revive with the firft gale of opportunity, and the iire will confume happinefs and morals. Thfs pafTion of love will always receive its par- ticular form and modification from the peculiar cir- cumftances of rudenefs or civilization, from the particular climate, government, religion and tem- perament of the people, amongft whom it is found. The mode, in which love is confidered, will always prefer ibe the method of treating wo- men, who are the objeds of it. The light, in which females are viewed, whether of refpeiftabi- lity or degradation, will produce their particular kind of education. Their education will, princi- FEMALE EDUCATION. 4I pally, form their character and manners ; and, if we confider the ftrong and univerfal force of th's paffion, the manners and characters of women will have the ftrongert reciprocal influence on the purfuits and habits, on the complexion and the tafte, on the private and the public happinefs of any people. This fympathy for the other fex is then in its proper ftate of vigour and perfe(Slion, when, to that ardour of paflion, which is dire£led to their perfons, we join a tender nefs of fentiment, which efteems them as companions, as formed to foften the forrows and misfortunes, and to communicate a zeft, an elevation and a poignancy to all the real pleafures and enjoyments of life. The flrft of thefe caufes multiplies the fpecies and extends po- pulation j the latter tifTues animal with rational, fentiment with fenfation, and makes the know- ledge and underftanding of the man rife above the groflnefs and ftupidity of the brute. Such a rational and proper fentiment of women will not be the produce of every age, or of every fituation. Many happy circumftances muft concur to produce and cherish it. The fii ft and latefl: ftages of fociety, in any country, will not be pro- pitious to its growth. ]t is but in a certain ftate of manners, that it will vegetate or fpring. — Rudenefs is a frofl:, which nips it in the bud, and, under the fcorching fun of extreme refinement, it gradually dies. It is very late in making its appearance, and, like other of the fweeteft flow- ers of mortality, it is but for an hour. It wholly depends upon the ftate of kingdoms ; and king- doms never long " continue in one ftay.'' It has occurred, in the courfe of the former eiTay, how favages treat women. Love, with thtw^ is mere animal inftin^l. It has nothing of E3 .4- S T R I C T U R E S -O N entiment in its groveling compofition ; and they gratify it with as little ceremony, as their hunger or their thirft. * Women, in fuch places and fuch xras of fo- ciety, are the mere involuntary flaves of their def- pots. Their charms do not appear of fuilicient confequence to inftigate the defire of an exclufive appropriation. Every comer is admitted to their bofoms ; and a bofom ftruggling with indifcr'im'inate violence, feels no preference, and can know no diltindlion. As fociety emerges from the infancy of rude- nefs into fome degree of form, the idea of pro- perty of every fpecies will begin to prevail, and ivomin will be included in the eftimation. That defire, which was lavifhed on the fex at large, will be confined to a few. Confidering lemalcs, as a fpecies of treafure, a man will wiih to be- come the fole, exclufive proprietor of one or n'lOre of them, as of any object, according to the laws and circumftances of his country. The fame talle, which appropriates a fine garden or an eftate, will prompt him to fill his Wiileferaglio with the faireft of the fair. When any people have arrived to a certain de- gree of knowledge, civilization, and poUtenefs, women will have all that rational confequence, which I have defcribed. The finefl feelings of the * Dr. Stuart, in his hiftory of Society in Europe, has, in a very niaHerly maniifr, combated this idea of women, in a favagc condi- tion, being in a ilate of abjeft fervility; but, with all proper dc- fcicnce to his elegant pen, and diftinguifhed abili'.ics, I feel myfelf inclined to thiuk, that the inftances he has adduced, are only fo many exceptions, which may eafily be admitted, without dcflroving the truth or validity of the general ru'e. His hiftory of Society in turope is, however, in my idea, a maflerly fkcfch of genius and learning, and ranks him with the firft writers of the age. Falconer in his hllays on the influence of Climate, has likev.ifc, adopted this opinion, p. 283. For very contrary ftntimcnls, Ice Ar)l>. Pol. L>b. 1. C. 2. Robert. IJill. of America, Vol. 1, p. 321. Kuim't Sketch, Vol. i. FEMALE EDUCATION. 43 foul will vibrate to tlieir chariTis ; their delicacy will infpire attention , their weaknefs will be the ftrongeft claim to protedlion. Love and friend- (hip will bow at their Ihrine, and offer them that mingled tribute of lentiment and of defire, which is alone worth their acceptance. The virtue of fuch an xra will both produce and preferve the purity of their morals, and the purity of their morals will be refle6\ed back on the honour, the exiftence, and profperity of fuch a ftate. This will be the gcUen age of the fex. It will be the epoch of their triumphs, and their conquefts. I know not whether this idea may be over- trained, and drawn beyond the line of human imperfe<51:ion •, but, in revolving over the hiftory of the world, I ftel myfelf inclined to doubt, whether fuch a period ever has exifled. It does not appear in the annals of * antiquity. It is not vifible in the prefent face of Europe. Has it been in the paft ? As profperity and riches increafe in a kingdom, the morals of the women, like thofe of the other fex, will not fail to fuffer in the general cor- ruption. Paffions, heated by exceffes, and unre- ftrained by religious principle, will be violent and ungovernable; and that luxury, which feeks every other fcnfual pleafure, will not fail to dif- folve in that, which is confefledly the higheft fpe- cies of animal gratification. Licentious writings, (the produce of fo rank an sera) Pwomances, No- vels, Pictures, and the varied, /W^//V^2/^ reprefen- tations of the ftage f will accelerate the laft con- * Of all people, perhaps, the ancient Germans had the grealeft veneration for women. Tacit. Germ. C. 8. Mallet's North. Antiq. tranilated, 8vo. Vol. \. p. 317. Plut, de Virtut. muiier. P.)lv.-c>M Stra'a^cni. Lib. 7. + Tacitus fays of the ancient Germans, fcpta pudicitiie agunt, nullis fpe^acutorv:/t illccbris, nullis con\ivicJuni iiritationibus corrupta». T»c. dc Mor. Germ. C. 19. 44 STRICTURES ON vulfions cf virtue, and fmoiher the juft expiring embers of female relerve. An enervated body in the fex cannot long refill this extraordinary fer- ment. An enfeebled mind will not have vigour to ftruggle with temptation. Marriage will be a burdenfome, and intolerable rcftraint on a rov- ing inclination. Inconftancy will be frequent, and divorces fued for as the only refource, Jiowever poor, and however difgraceful, from an unhappy connexion. A vagrant, ever relllefs appetite will pant for variety. Libertinifm will eredt its defo- lating flandard on the ruins of delicacy ; and, in the general perverfion of tafte, chaftity will be- Whatcver may be faid of the fublime, moral fcntimcnts contained In feme plays, it is certain, that, on the whole, the reprefentationi of the ftagc are liighly pernicious to the morals of young people. Such feniimentj, no doubt, are, occafional/y, intcrfperfcd through them, but, in fa6l, (erve only, as a fpccious fwcet to gild over the poifun, that lurks beneath. For it is rtoi thc(e fntimaits, that give to plays the amazing intcreft they have over our hearts. Let any per- fon endeavour to recollcft the moft ferious and (entimcntal plays wc have in our language, and we will find them, at the fame lime, to be the worft received of any others, in the reprefentaiion. And what is the reafon ? they have not fo much of that love p/ot and de- nouement, they have not enough of that vivid colouring and appeal to the tcuder pajfions, which give thefe entertainments, particularly with young people, fuch inexprediblc charms. Can it be prudent to heighten palfions, always of themfclves fufHciently fervid, or to blow up fiames, which already rage fo powerfully, as to threaien the dcftruftion of the houfe we live in ? Mr. Addifon has juftly faid, that the ftage, under proper regula- tions, might be made an excellent fource of entertainment and in- flruftion; but, if it was laid under fuch fevere rcflri£lioiis, as the cha{Hty of this good man's tafte would have prcfcribed, there is reafon to apprehend, it would foon be defertcd. It is true that plays are purilicd from fome of their former inde- cencies ; and, that the public ear would be fhockcd at indelicacies, which, oncet it heard with the higheft approbation. But this fcems more an effeft of refinement, than of virtue. Wc can flill boar the Jentiv:ei,t, though we fhould bludi at the cxprefiTion ; we love the impuiity,\i it comes but in a cleanly gzYh. Our tafte, in fliort, has taught us to (hudder at all vulgar things, (and indelicacy is in the number.) whilft the progrefs of licentious pafTion and the hiftory of Intrigues, prove that our hearts are not \tl\, but, perhaps, more deeply, corrupted. And it is known to be tiie cffential doftrine of FEMALE EDUCATION. 45 come an nnfafliionable virtue. Such have been mofl; nations of antiquity in a certain ftagc and progreflion of their empire. Such were Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, Athens, Rome, in the accumu- lation of fuccefles ; and (not to mention other invidious inftanccf,) fuch, in feme degree, at the prefent moment, is the profperous and opulent ifland of Great Britain. The abfurd and romantic fpirit of chivalry never yet totally extinguifhed, which pays un- meaning compliments, where it feels no efteem, in conjunction with the other caufes, which have been enumerated, compofes that nwtley mixture of attention and negltdl, of flattery and con- tempt, oi homage and of infult which we extend to the fair. For in faimte in its IteaJ, any thing of fcie\)ce, or any tiling of tafte, would be elleemed an horrid hoor, unfit for polite or rafisnn/ focittyy to b • cx,)oicd with ritlicul:, and branded with contempt. In this career of gallantry, much time muft be fpent, and in thai precious and important feafon of life, when the foundations of every thing ^/-^'af fhould be laid, when -.nativity Ihould be roufed, when talents Ihould be ripened, and when the thirft of glory (liould be felt, as the grand and ftimulating movement of the foul. With men of finilhed gaiety, fcarcely is a little life fufficient for the purpofe. Attention and attachment muft be varied and multiplied in an endlefs fucceflion. This fair one muft be forfaken, and another muft be addrcfled. It were horrid to be conftant, where variety is the fafhion, where fafhion only gives the laurel of diftincSlion, and adjudges it to fit moft gracefully, upon the brows of thofe, who can make their ravages amongft the fex, diffufive as their connexions. Nor is the lofs of time the only difadvantage, arifing from this fyrtem. The propenflties it gives are unfavourable to every great and magnanimous exertion. Young men become infenfibly ajjimilated to the frivol oulnefs they addrefs, and affccl to admire ; and that frivoloufnefs extends itfelf to all their habits and modes of thinking, to all their defigns and all their undertakings, to all their aflions and interccurfe with the world. They get modes of FEMALE EDUCATION. ^9 levity, efteminacyand diflipation, which are equally incompatible with the acquirement of fcience, or the laborious efforts of virtue. Their purfuits of every kind will be marked with this frivolity. The youth which fliould be the glory of a nation, will become its reproach. Inftead of climbing, with arduous labour, the facred hill of virtue or of learning, they will endeavour to transform and remodify their nature, and take up with fuch im- perfe^ fragments of both, as they are able to find in the bofom of pleafure, or the inglorious vale of indulgence. Such a revolution this age has ex- perienced. This expedient has been ridiculoujly attempted. Philofophy has refigned its ufual fternnefs, and dropped its abdra^Sted language to pleafe the Ladies, Authors, in general, affecl to lie upon the toilet. They Ikim the furface, and publiOithc beauties of Jlne luriters. Morality affumesJ the meretricious drels of novels to captivate the tafte. We have very pretty preachers ; we have amiable Senators •, we have very polite officers ; and few great men. Confequences fo malignant, and fo comprehenfive in their effecfts, dcferve confi- deration. A difeafe, fo interwoven with the vitals of the conftitution, fliould not be negle6led. I have not enumerated half the evils of this faftiion. If it prevents many marriages, it robs thoie, which do exiil:, of all their fweetnefs and all their joys. It is in retirement, that fenfible minds look for real, heart-felt fatisfaflion. It is in woman, as the friend and companion of that retirement, that feltifh is exalted into fecial enjoyment, and that the fweets of friendfliip and the luxury of confidence leave us nothing to defire but their liability and their duration. How does the mod uiitant profpecl: of Inch a ftate, amidft the toils F 5© STRICTURES ON of labour, the wrinkles of care, and the agonies of difappointment, charm the moft elevated and penetrating mind ! How often has it adminiftered courage to the hero, eloquence to the fcnator, and how equally do the monarch and the peafant court it, as a relaxation from their toils ! The tender interview of He6lor with Andromache, immortalized by Homer, and the modeft, timid flirinking of Allyanax from his helmit, are plea- fures which the purefl virtue may acknowledge for her own, and which the greiiteA: Scholars, Cienerals or Politicians need not bluHi to accept as a recompence for their fatigues ! How pleafing to rclign the fceptj'e and the laurel for the foft- ncfles of fuch an intimacy, the carefles of fuch a friend ; and to forget, in the afFeiftions of a vir- tuous woman, tumults, conlli(Sts, difappointment, and the world ! But let not fancy dream over all the blifs of fuch a fccne, to be awakened only in diHippoint- ment. The prcfvnt education of women blafts this profpe61, and deftroys fuch an hope. Senli- ble men, if they be determined to form this con- nexion, muft do it often to a difadvantage. They muft, in general, marry females merely. They muft not always expedl, in them, aflociates or friends. The union of knowledge and talents with frivolouinefs and infipidity, cannot be agree- able. What is not agreeable, will not be lalling. The heart can feel no durable attachment, where it knows no efleem. Without the fccrct concur- rence of the heart, there cannot be enjoyment. Marriage is notldngmore than a bare, ceremoni- ous union of hands. Tiiis feeming paradife of fweets, will roughen, as we approach it, into a wildernefsof thorns. The fenlcs are foon palled. Dii'guft fucceeds to fatiety ; quarrels to difguft ; where the loul has no frclh graces to expand, and FEMALE EDUCATION. 5I there remain no new and unexplored treafures in the underftanding. Though this fubjecl is of To immenfe a magni- tude, and fo intimately conne<5led with the iirft and deareft interefts of fociety, as to deferve the attention of any monarch or legillator in the world ; yet, in a free and opulent country like our own, where education cannot be made a pub- lic concern, and where any particular ediiSls of a prince would be efteemed a grofs infringement on tiie liberty of the fubje^St, it is only in the power of parents or guardians to remove or palliate fo malignant an evil. If there be a fpecijick, it is a better and a more rational education of women ; and, if that education is to be better and more rational^ it mufl: not be left to a vain, a fuperiicial or mercenary governefs, but planned by the wif- dom, and executed by the zeal and affection of thofe mothers, who under providence, have given them exiftence. If we confider the exquifite pleafure, which Nature has annexed, in every creature, to an early care and protedion of its offspring, it is amazing that they, who are dignified with the human form and the privilege of underftandin; , fhould form the only melancholy exception, by appearing wholly infcnfible to, or not driving to enjoy it -, that woman, who lays claim to an ex- quifite fenfibility, can tamely give her child, from the moment of its birth, into the bofom of an illiberal, low, or, perhaps, a difeafed nurfe, to im- bibe at once, in her corrupted milk, the unhappy peculiarities of her mind and conftitution ! But how much more wonderful is it, and melancholy ilill, that llie can be contented with barely afford- ing exiftence to a girl, and afterwards refign her to the frippery, the pride and nonfenfe of a oub- F2 52 STRICTURES ON lie fchool, regardlcfs of her early morals and im- preflions, whilll (he is feeking for herfelf an ar- iificial enjoyment in the glitter of gaiety, in the tumult of pleafure, or the intoxicating fumes of public admiration. Though fafhion may fanclify fuch a fcandalous inattention, that fhe may limit the horizon of good and evil, of virtue and of vice by the ap- plaufes or the ccnfures, by the cuftoms and extra- vagancies of a licentious age, yet the moment is at hand, when flie muft think that a daughter, ftepping into a world of fedudtion and of fnares, needed every falutary caution, and every prudent admonition; that a woman, formed to be the millrefs of a family, fhould have had her accom- plifliments mixed \\\\.\\ Jubjtantial qualilies and do- mejiic aiientidu ; that a woman expofed, from the nature of her fex, to frequent ficknefTes, furrows and misfortunes, would have wanted the powerful balm of religion to alleviate and heal ; that woman formed to be an help meet for the man, the par- taker of his fortune, as the fharer of his bed, fhould have cultivated an ability for rational knowledge and amufing converfation ; and (what is the higheft conlideration of all,) that a woman, born for an eternal exiftence, born for the fociety of glorified fpirits, and the enjoyment of God in a future exiftence, (hould certainly have received fome more interefting lectures than the graces of manner, and fludtuations of fafliion, or the trifling, and empty ftudy of elegance or admira- tion. If a mother can think that there is not only an unnatural indecency, but even the higheft criminality in the negletSt of fuch inftrudion, Ihe has yet to learn what are the firft, initiary prin- ciples of nature and of virtue, and perhaps her av/akened confcience may teach them at a time, when, her beauty being fhrivelled with the wrin- FEMALE EDUCATION. 53 kles of age, there Is no fyren voice of flattery to bewitch, and repetition has made all the circle of her pleafures too ftale to amufe ! Why indeed had woman her exiftence, but to dignify and ennoble it by fuch fuperior employ- ments ? When does flie appear to fo much ad- vantage, as when, furrounded, in her nurfery, by k train of prattlers, fhe is holding forth the moral page for the inftruiStion of one, and pouring out the milk of health to invigorate the frame and conftitution of another ? When is her fnowy bo- fom half fo ferene, or when thrills it with fuch an innocent and pleafing rapture, as in thefe iilent moments of domeftic attention, or thefe attitudes" of undilfembled love ? What painter, wandering, with a creative fancy, over all the exhaufllefs riches of nature, can give us fo inchanting and delightful a pitSture in fo elegant a frame ? Whac pleafures of the Levee^ the Drawing Room, or Majquerade can vie, in flavour, with thefe more retired, maternal fatisfa^Stions ? And when can woman ever be faid to confiilt the real dignity and happinefs of her fex, but when flie is thus con- fcientioufly difcharging her duty to the man, to whom fhe has plighted, at the altar of her God, her vows and her affciStions ? Such maternal culture, fuch a revolution in the fentiments and condu6t of that fex, would be at- tended with the happiefl advantages. An altera- tion would foon be viflble on the face of fociety. If the minds of women were placed upon folid objedls, by a judicious and early culture, they would become at once the ornament and blefiing, as noiA) there is but too much reafon to apprehend, that they are only the bane and corrupters of fociety. Their charms would be the ftimulating prize of valour, merit, underflanding. Their ^onverfation would be a foft, but powerful fpur F3 • 54 STRICTURES ON to every noble action; and, in the' intervals, \vhich would be then devoted to their company, the Ibul would be acquiring an elafticity and a vi- gour for every great and dignified undertaking. Little do women know of their own real in- terefl, if they do not think themfelves efTentially interefted in lupli a revolution. They would then be approached with efteem and veneration. The frothinefs of compliment would, gradually, be changed into the language of truth. Tlieir em- pire over our hearts, then, founded on the immu- table qualities of the mind, would be glorious and permanent, not fubjedl to expire in the wrinkles of age, or wither with the tranfient rofes of beauty. Their converfation would give chearful- Befs and delicacy of fentiment ; and ours would give inftruftion. There would be a gentle con- fiidt and emulation of talents, and both parties would be mutually improved by the mutual col- lifion. Their friendfliip would be courted, and our morals would be improved. In the refine- ment of our tafte, we ftiould difdain to ftoop 'for pkafure to an harlot ; we fhould look for real en- joyment with women, who had fentiment and u?i' derjlanding. We fliould dare to converfe upon rational fub- jecfts, and they would liften with attention. They would not expeft that extravagant homage, which fteals our time, as well as our attention from elevated purfuits. They would incite us to great and noble atchievements in the fenate or the camp, in fcience and the arts ; and their glory would confift (as it always fliould,) in fhar- ing our diftinflions. The petit maitre would dwindle into his native infignificance. Without qualities to procure the efteem of one fex, this poor, amphibious animal would juftly become the derifion of the other. Marriage would be more FEMALE EDUCATION. 55 frequent, inviolate and facred, not checked by extravagance, not difgraced with infidelity or poifoned with diffipation. Unimpaired conlVituti- ons would produce a race of hardy and of healthy children, who, in time, might become the de- fenders of their country, and the pillars of a de- clining ftate. Women would attain to that golden age, which I have been defcribing ; and men, though not in paradife, would have delicious pleafures fpread round their retirements. ^snssrraRS) Quis autem dicat Naturam maligne cum mulieribus ingenils cglfle, aut virtutcs illarum in artlum rctraxiffo ? P:ir illis, niihi crcde, vigor; par ad lioncfta (hbeat) facukas ell. Laboiem doiorcmque ex aequo, fi confuevere, patiuntur. Sen. in Conf. ad Marc, Who can fay that Nature has been unkind to the faculties of women, or reftrained their virtues within narrow limits ? They have (be- lieve me) an equal vigour with ourfelves and an equal ability for honourable aftions. Labour and forrow, if excrciied with them, they bear with equal fortitude and refolutioa. To how no more Is woman's liappiejl knowledge, and her praife. Mil. Par. Lost. T. H E nature of my undertaking calls for fome reflexions on the quality, the degree and extent of female talents. And this will involve me in the hackneyed comparil<)n, which has fo fre- quently been made, betwixt the natural endow- Bf^cnts and underftanding of the different fexes — • 56 STRICTURES ON an enquiry, which though it has agitated the cu- riofity, and employed the pens of fo many inge- nious writers, does not fecra to have been purfued with that difintereftednefs and candour, which had fo much in contemplation the difcovery of truth, as the fupporting of a fyftem. The talents of women have been degraded by fome to an unreafonable ebb of feeblenefs and fri- volity, and exalted by others to as unnatural an eminence of brilliancy and diflinftion. In the ages immediately fucceeding thofe of Chivalry, it was faJlAonahle to fpeak of women, as of prodigies in fcience, and to decorate, with equally lavifh encomiums, their underftanding and their charmsr. Nor was this tafte confined merely to individuals. Even nations have been as * proud of producing a lift of literary heroines, as of tracing their an- tiquity from the remoteft ages or their origin from kings. Intereft, policy, or fafliion have continued what enthufiafm thus began. Authors, who have wiftied to ftand well with the fex, to lie upon the toilet, to be diftinguifhed with their favours, and to acquire the reputation of gallantry and tafte, have Supported the fame fulfome panegyrics. A rational enquirer has only to obferve, that, if ftich extraordinary womea ever ^/Wexift, they were only a kind of phenomena in their horizon, and neither prove the general ftate of female talents, nor the general fuperiority of female underftanding. From the foot of an Hercules, there is no deducing the \x.{\}i2\ Jlature and proportions of a man. The Alps would give a moft improper idea of the commoo mountains and fcenery of nature. * See Feyjoo's vindication of women, tranflated from the Spanifh, by J. Brett, £fq; in which is given a lift of females diftinguifhed with every fpecics of knowledge, and graced with all the polite ac« •ojr^plilhmeQts. FEMALE EDUCATION. 57 Though I am privately convinced of the abfur- dity of this comparifon betwixt the talents of the fexes ; though I conceive it to be more a matter of curiofity than ufe, more calculated to amufc or difplay ingenuity than to ferve the caufe of fcience or of truth, yet philofophers have conde- fcended to enter into it with fo much minutenefs, and to enlarge upon it with fo nice a difcrimina- tion, as to have rendered it a plaufible, and to the general defign of this work, fomething of a neceflary and an eflential inveftigation. They have difle(Sled the peculiar Grganization of women to difcover the moft latent llamina of talents, or the phy ileal, unhappy caufes which obdrufSled their exiltence. From the fize, formation, tem- perature and quality of tlieir brain, * Ariftotle, Alniaricus, ^lalebranche, and many others have reafoned to their particular degree of capacity and underfranding ; but whoever has read their obfervations muft allow, that fuch a fpecies of refearch is but laborious trifling, from which no certain inferences can be drawn, and no folid or rational improvements can be repeated. It may be fuppofed with great probability and fairnefs, that their very outward frame is marked with the phyftcal inferiority. It appears not to be calculated for fuch efforts of thinking, as the more abftra^ed fciences require, and which entail on the moft robuft confUtution even of men, lan- gour and difeafe. The delicacy of the cverlafling pea, which fo happily unites elegance with fweet- nefs, would be eafily opprelTed. The tender plant, which is refreilied with gentle gales, would be en- tirely overwhelmed or exterminated by a whirl- wind. Providence always wife, and always bene- volent, has adapted the frame and organization * Arift. ^. 5. Qu«ft. 26. Macrob. Saturn. Lib. 7. ^8 STRICTURES ON to their burdens. Where robuftncfs Is denied, vigorous and athletic excrcifes are not expelled. Principles oi analogy 2ive, favourable to my argu- ment. Obfervations on the brute creation con- firm It. * Amongll: birds, hearts, infecHiS, animals in general, the males arc obferved to have greater ftrength, courage, vigour, enterprize ; females, fuperior beauty of plumage, form, proportion, more delicacy and foftnefs, but withal an higher degree of timidity and weaknefs. The great God of nature is thus uniform in all his plans and in all his operations. Superiority, for the fake of order and proteflion, muft be Xodgtd fotncwhere. And it fcems providential ly^ lodged in the males. But let us not take up with this prefumptive rea- fonlng. Let us rather have recourfe to experienec and facts. There are but two points of view, from which we can fee this fubjeiing qualities of genius in his proteilion. But paiallels wouM be cndlefs, and thefc example* aieonly produced lo (how, how rarely, even in the gieaiefl men, tncfe leparaie, and, fecnviu^ly, oil'coitijir evcciLncies arc uni.cd. * BuHok's Hill. Nat. F E M A L II E I» U C A r 1 O N. 6l fplierc in which an all-wife Providence intended them to move ; but, as that differs ejfcnilallj in the two fexes, fo *' likewife does the nature of their facuUies, and the texture of their under- ftanding. Who would think of contrafling the oak with the willow, or a myrtle with the delicate and almoft tratifpareut balfam ? Who would com- pare the abilities of an Archin:edes with thofe of an -j- Addilbn ? Their merits were wholly oppofitc in their cad *, yet merits they h'Jh had, and which have challenged the univerfal admiration of the world, and to which the very lateft pofterity muft bear an ample tribute of applaufe. Let us, however, look more nearly at the con- traft. Vfomen tlien have a more brilliant fancy, a quicker apprehenfion, and a more exquidte tafte. When they apply their faculties to their proper ftudies, how wonderfully do they charm, and how poignantly do they delight ! In works that re» t * Arift. de Ilift. Anim. Cap. i. Ill omnibus vero, quorum procreatio eft, fceminam et marcm, fimiii fere modo, natsra diftinxit nioribas, quibus mas divert a fceraina, quod priecipue turn in homine, turn eiiam in iis, qiac mag- niiudine praetlant, et quadrupcdes viviparc funt, pcrcipitur ; iuut enim focmina; moribus mollioribns, milefcunt celerius, et maluia facilius patiunlur; difcunt etiam imilan turque ingcniofius. f It is always bold and invidious to appreciate ti.e fcparatc merits of different wiitcrs. Yet no one, I truit, need be o fended, when I fay, tliatfor real ufcfulncrs, for promoiin^ theintcrells of morality and virtue, for laughing ablurdity and affectation out of counteiiunce, and for fixinc; the true ffandard of delicacy in Icniirnent, and pro- priety in lafte, the Britifn nation owes an eternal obligation to the very elegant labours of Addifon. I would rather be .Author of the Speftator, than of almoft all the laboured fyftcins of Phyfics or Mc- taphyfics, that ever made their appearance in the world. Whenever 1 have been reading a-.iy of this excellent writer's Satur- day's papers, I always regret t'nat Dr. Johnfon's criticifms on him ever fell in my way, I feel myfclf relutlant in fuppofing, that he inherited the little foiblci of humanity, and tliat literary envy, jca- loufy, or ambition had any footing in a breaR, that iceins fo much txpaiidc-l witii the noblell icntuntius, and clevaicd with thefubiimcit l.iiclilalions. 6Z STRICTURES OM quire the cflbrts of Imagination only, how ani- mated and defcriptivc is a woman's pen ! What pictures docs Hi^* exhibit ! How fort are the tint?, how glowing arc the colours, and how imnallioned the touches of her pjncil ! But v/hcthcr it arifcs from an original dth^ in their frame and conftitution — whether it is that unquiet Imagination and ever refllefs fenfibility afford not opportunity or leifurc enough for deep meditation, it is very certain, that tht-y cannot, like the men, arrange, combine, abllra^t, purfuc and diverfify a long train of ideas, r.nd in every thing that requires the more fubjlantial talents, muft fubmit to a ftrong and a marked inferiority. The truth is, that relHeffncfs of fenlibility, and that inquietude of Imagination, which debar the pofllbility of great attainments, were providen- tially defigned to compofe the very life and eflence of their graces. They are the very medium by which they pleafe. If they were conftituted to^ have dM'c firnmefs and our depth, they would want their native and their ftrongeft attractions. They would ceafe to be ivovieu, and they would ceafe to charm. It may be faid, that judgment is principally farmed by comparifon and obfervation -, and that the weaknefs of theirs arifes from their want of opportunities to improve it ; the referve of their fex, their domcftic duties, and fedentary life chiefly confining them to a very narrow circle, v/hilft bufinefs, ambition, curiofity or pleafure, lead us into the world, to fee various countries, manner^, cuftoms ; to hear in different coffee- houfes, clubs and focieties, the fentiments of all ranks and denominations of people, and to wit- nefs characters of every kind and magnitude, of every different lliade, and every oppofitc com- plexion. This is all in fome meafure true, btiil FEMALE EDUCATION. 63 it docs not account for that original difference be- twixt tlie intellecfis of man and woman, which is difcoverable at an c.wly period of life, for that palpable oppofition of the thoughtful to the llvclyj^ of ih.Q Jinn to the delit-att', and of the profoundj to the chearing, which nature feems indujlrioujly^ to have made chara^eriftic of the fexes. I would alk the warmeft panegyrift of women, v/hether he can fancy that there ever exiltcd cfie in the world, who, with the utmoft flrength and cultivation of her mind, could have purfued fuch n train of thinking as a Locke, could have com- bined with a Montefquieu, arranged like an Eu- clid, or fcrutinized the fccrcts of nature like a Newton. It is true I have mentioned only prodi^ g'les of men. It is true that nature, by extraor- dinary efforts in the production of luch charac- ters, feems to have exhaufted for a confiderable time, all her riches and her powers. The queHion, likewife, it may be urged, will always be unfiir, till women have enjoyed equal advants^^s, and been called forth, by limilar encouragements, into literary greatnefs. But dropping all the fubLihieG of argument, and rcafoning only fi-om what ap- pear the original ftamina in the minds of both., t ^•;^,^ g3nceive it to be a queftion, which every man's •^*f' tbnvidtions and private obfervations will anfwer in tlie negative, whatever tendernefs to the fex may lead him to affecl^ or delicacy to conceal. But here again comes in falfe panegyric. Wo- men have been defcribed with every talent, that does honour to humanity. Illuflrious '■* Queens, * Scmiramis, the two Afpafias, Elizabetli of England, Ca'hailiie of Medici, who is faid to have difpcllcd the fears, and vanquiilicd the fioth of Ferdinand ; Margaret of Denmark in the 14th century, the Amazons, Catharine of Ruflia, Semlramis, Artemifia, Thomvris, Zenobiaj the Maid of Orleans, &<:. G2 44 STRICTURES ON Politicians, Heroines, glitter in the hifloric page. Some women have encountered the abftrufenefs * To deliberate, in public, on national concerns, was a privilege fommon lo women, in all the Gothic and Celtic tribes. Plut. dcVir. mulier. In fomc parts of America, at this vet \ hour, they are called to the national meetings, to give their advice and counlcl. Chadcv. Jour. Ilift Let. 13. 18. In the days of Tacitus, the German women debated in the afTem- Mits of their tjibc& The ancient Britons, he tells us, made uu ex- ception of fcx, with refpeft to government. Sec. Vit. Agric. C 16. At Sparta, the women interfered in the affairs of fiate, md affumcd a fupeiioriiy over the men. It was fo in\£{;ynt. Piinv informs us, that in the ifland of Mcroc, they rcigntd fur many fucccflive ages. .Amorgfl the Lacedaemonians, they had a great fliare in the pcliii- rnl government. Arift, Pol. Lib. 2. In the ifldnd of Formofa, they exrrcifc the faccrdotal furiflion. Les frmmes (fays Charlevoix of the Americans) ont la principale au'oritc chcz tous Its peuples, de la langue Huronne, ft on rn ex- etj'C It Canton Irorj-jois d' Onneyouth, ou elle efl alternative cntre Ics d<"ux.fexes. Charlcv. Jour. Hifl. L. 18. On the riibjti^ of the warlike couraj^c of women, fee Hifl. of Amcr. I'v ATr-r>nio de Herrera, Vol. 3. p. 170. tranflaicd by Stevens. D'Ok- Itan's H;fl. dcs Rcvoiutioi-s d'Efp?.jjnc, Tom. r. * A Spanifh book, intituled El Theatre Critico, has produced the following itiilsnces of furprifing literary women in Spain : Ann do Ccrvaton, lady of the bed-chamber to Quctn l'Vrdin:rci the Ca;hclic's fccond confnrt. I'^ibella de Joya, in the fixtcenth century, preached in the earhe- of Darcclona, and folved many points, in the books of the fubtil Sco'us, before the whol*^ college of cardinals. L')uifea Si.i^ea is rtprcfented as miftrcfs of Latin, Greek, Hcb:ew, Arabic and Syriac. Olivia Sabiico de Nantes is faid to kave written excellently on phyHeal, medical, moral, and political fubjefts. Sernarda Ferreyra is defcribcd, as well verfed in the rhetoric, philorophy, and mathematics. Juana Morella is faid to have pofTcfTcd a profoimd knowledge of philofophy, divinity and jurifprudcnce, bcfidcs fpcaking fourteen different languages. As great things are faid of fevrral French and Italian Ladies. Sufan de Habcrt ; Maryde Gourney, correfponding with all the Cardinals, R'lchlieu, Benlivoglu*, Perron, Francis, and the mofl fdinous liicrari of her age. Magdalene Scuderi, auihorcfs of fevcral excellent pocriis, honoured with anadnjifTion into all the academies, in 1671 gaining the French AcadenwV prize of eloquence, bountifully remembered in the will of CardinalMazaiin, and enjoying, from Louis the 14th, a conHdcrable ] enHon for life. Anna le Fevre, or Madam Qacier, •f whofe talents it is unnccelFary to fpcak. FEMALE EDUCATION. 6^ of mathematics. Others have lo\ed to wander in the hibyrinths of metaphyfics. But what progrefs have they made ? Wliat great featb have they at- chieved ? Let cool experience anfwer the queftion. If we admit that fuch defcriptions have not been exaggerated ; if we could fuppofe that we were not treading npon fairy ground (and yet who muft not have this doubt ?) have any of thefe female efforts pleafed, or have any of thefe ufnin- tural labours gained immortality ? Either they never exiftcd at all, or they have been raifed in- finitely beyond the bounds of probability and truth. In Italy, Dorothea Bucca bad a Doftor's degree conferred upon her by the Univc!%-, and held kfturcs in the 15th century, which were greatly fre^jaented. ifotta Nogaiola, born at Verona. Laura Cercti, a native of BreTcia, in the 16th century, v/ho taugiit philofophy in that city, at the giddy age of eighteen. Caffandra Fideli, Catharine de Cibo, Dutchcfsof Camerino. I.u- cretia Helena Cornaro, born in the year 1646. InGen-pany, Anna Maria Schurma, whoie hiilory is fo curijus a.od cxtraardinary, that I cannot forbear iranfcribing fornc pafl.igcs of it. In her Tixih year (fays the Author) fhe coald cut moll delicait figures in paper, without any teacher or pallcrn ; atcight, fhc in a fcv days, learned to draw and colour flowers in a maflcrly manner; in the tenth year, only three hours prafitice brought her to an admirable de- licacy in embroidery ; {he was periedtiy acquainted v/ith the German, Dutch, Englifh, French, Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrev., liyridc, Chaldean, Arabic, and the Ethiopian languages ; and her poetical genius has left feveral monuments (lill much eflcemed. She likewise iiandled the pencil, chizcl and buiinwiih great dt-licacy; &:c. &c. Crcdat JiidaL-us Apella ! ! In Ireland, Conftantia Gricrfon, who died in the year 1733, ^^^ and in the twcnty-feventh year of her age, was certainly, a prodigy of talents, Tiic Greek and Latin languages, hi dory, divinity, pliilofo- phy and mathematics were familiar to her. Of her (kill in the Latin tongue, Ihe gave a flriking proof, by her dediiation of tlie Dublin Kdition of Tacitus to Lord Caiteret, and by that of Terence 10 his fon, to whom flie, likewifc, wrote a Greek Epigram. See en account of this Lady in Mrs. Bubcr's poems. In England, Lady Jane Gray was undoubtedly a literary pheno- menon. So arc fome o'.hcrs of the prcTcnt day. The curious reader will meet with more particulars on this intcrefting fubj. ft, by con- fulting Thickiicfle's Sketches of the lives and writings of froich Liidics. Q3 66 STRICTURES ON As to politics, what were they, at any of the periods, when women have been celebrated for their political attainments ? Were they not the petty interefts of as petty a territory, whole views and wants terminated chiefly in itfelf, without looking to any other quarter of the globe ? Did they ever require that univerfal penetration, that comprehenfivenefs of refearch, that (Iretch and vi- gour of thought, that wonderful combination of i'chemes and ideas, that retrofpedion and anticipa- tion, that bringing paft and prefent into one com- mon point of view, which the immenfe, ditfufive, complicated concerns of large, extended kingdoms, at the /r^;// period, and in the 7?iodern circum- ftances of Europe, abfolutely demand ? It will follow from the obfervations, likcwife, that have been already made in this effay, that women are not calculated to prefidc over kingdoms. They were not formed to hold the reins of empire, to pe- netrate into the views and wants, or to adjufi: the various and complicated interefts of confiicling iiates. The reign of queens has, generally, been a burlefque upon government, the tyranny of fome capricious favourite, whom they have efpoufed, and whofe fentiments they have adopted, in pro- portion as tliey have admired l\\s per/on or addrefs. On him have devolved all the burdens of the flate, and to him iias been allotted the more enviable u3ice of apportioning the royal fmiles. He has been the real pilot of the veflcl, whilil the woman he has governed by his policy or his attractions, has fat, in ojlnifihle majefty, at the helm. Befide the political greatnefs of thefe Ladies is equivocal from the peculiar circumflances of their age. Amidil a race of pigmies, a perfon of cnlinary ftaturc is a giant. "When times are ignorant and barbarous, common knowledge is confidered as a prodigy. The Ruftic, who can fpell a ncwfpaper. FEMALE EDUCATION. 6 J IS at once, the fcholar and the orac/e of his village. The ftar, tliat tvvinivles in a dark and gloomy night, is welcomed as a fun. Nor let the fex fuppofe me f heir accufer or their foe. If I have not v.holly wiflahcfi the method, I mean to be their advocate and friend. I have left them the feeds of every thing, that pleafes and captivates in V^'oman. "Their brows were not in- tended to be ploughed with wrinkles, nor their innocent gaiety damped by abftra(5lion. They were perpetually to pleafe, and perpetually to en- liven. If we were to plan the edifice, they were to furnifii the cmhel::jhrnents. If we were to lay out and cultivate the garden, tkey were beautifully \o fringe its bordeis with flowers, and nil it with perfume. If we were defined to luptrinteud the mmiagemait of kingdoms, they \Vere to be the fairell ornaments of thofe kingdoms, the embel- lifhers of fociety, and the fweeteners of life. If we confult fcripture, we Ihall difcover that fuch was the original intention of heaven in the formation of the iexes. The fcntence of fubor- dination obviouily implies, that man fhould have the preeminence on fubjects, that require extenlive knowledge, courage, ftrength, a6livity, talents or laborious application. Women were not formed for political eminence or literary refinement. The foftnefs of their nature, the delicacy of their frame, the timidity of their difpolition, and the modefty of their fex, abfolutely difqualify them for fuch dilliculties and exertions. Their deftiny of bearing and nmfing children, the neceffity of fuperintending domeflic concerns, and the pecu- liar difeafes, to which they are liable, leave theni little titi>e for fuch public undertakings, whilft the humble oflices in which they are engaged, con- fer a blefiing ai>d a benefit upon fociety, that are infinitely beyond the coldnefs of knowledge, and, <58' STRICTURES ON the apathy of fpeculation. The wife, the mother, and the oeconomiffc of a family would, unfortu- nately, be loft in the literary pedant ; the order of nature would be totally reverfed, and the po- pulation of the globe prepolieroufly facrificcd to the cold, forbidding pride of a fludious virginity. The woman of the clolfter would want the graces of a citizen of the world. In that ardour of un- derftanJing, which roufes emulation, flie would lofe that foothing manner, which conciliates and endears. The world would be deprived of its faireft ornaments, life of its higheft zcft, and man of that gentle bofom, on which he can recline amidft the toils of labour, and the agonies of dif- appointment. So far as the qualities of the hiart are con- cerned (and this has, fometimes, formed a part of the queftion,) I think the fcxes will not bear a comparifon. Women, in this refpect, have every claim to a mT^r'ktd. fuperioy'iiy. If their re- tired, domeftic life did not, of itfelf, lead to more innocence and contemplation, their natural d\{^0' fitions are certainly more favourable to piety and virtue. Their ftrong fenfe of weaknefs prompts them to fupplicate the protection and affiftance of a fuperior, invifible power, whilft their exquiiitc fenfibility powerfully difpofes them for all the energy and ardour of devotion. In the lift, which Scripture has given us of con- verts to Chriftianity, in the very early ages, we meet with holy women, not a few. The fathers of the Romifti church maintained an opinion, which was borrowed, no doubt, from clofe obfer- vation, that the number of glorified females in heaven, would exceed that of men ; and monaf- teries can produce their thoufands of this fex, who, impelled by an holy, though mifguided zeal, have facrificed beauty, fortune, friends i every thing FEMALE EDUCATION. 4f) that could charm and every thing that could en- gage, for the lonelinefs of a convent and the ri- gid aufterities of a perpetual devotion ! It has been faid that women are more artfol, and fond of fubterfuge than the men, and per- liaps there may be fome degree of juftice and au- thenticity in the obfervation. But does not this arife from the juft and neceflary jealoufy they en- tertain of the other fex, and from the cruel talk which we impofe upon them, of not knowing whether, in the guife of a friend, they may not meet with a betrayer and a foe ? If a woman has not referve upon many occalions, v/e criminate and defpife her ; if flie has, we load it with the odious name of artifice and diffimulation. In fo rigorous a fyftem, we do not leave her \.\\q pojjlbility of ef* caping without cenfure. Either fhe is called s prudipj hypocrite, or flie is called indifcreet. If we carry our refearclies through the whole creation, we (hall find, that, as any creature is deficient in (Irength, it is always furniflied v/ith a proportionate fliare of art and contrivance ; and a little more reflexion will ferve to convince us, that fuch is the all-wife appointment of the Deity, and that thefe inferior qualities are abfolutely ne- cefTary to its exigence and prefervation. In the intercourfe oF I.ove, which forms an effential part in the hillory of this fex, how pow- erfully do they eclipfc our own, and wreft a palm of triumph from the men ! If a woman has once a proper confidence in a man's fincerity, how ge- nerous is her breaft ! Kow noble is her conduct ! How undifguifed and unbofomed her foui I How tender is her friendfliip I How ardent and how immoveable is her afFcclion ! Tlie love of man, in general, has m-M\y foreign ingredients of felfifhnefs or vanity in its compofition. He ajfcHs to love (perhaps, perfuades hiaifelf he loves,) a woman, TO STRICTURES ON whofe connexions, beauty, faOiionablenefs, eclai do honour to his choice, or wliofe fortune gives the wideft range to his hopes, or opens the mort: "unlimited profpects to his ambition. If a 'unmjn loves, it is the man himfelf. She has but this one obje<^t in \ie\v, and it cngyojfes lier foul. Pride, ambition, vanity, diflblvc into tendernefr., and are humbled by the paffion. She rilks friends, character, forlune, eafe, for the fake of her tdoL Jn privacyy flie broods over tlie beloved image, and if mentioned in public, flis tinges it with bluHies. This man is become her Univerfe ; for him alons (lie Jives ; with him fhe would die ! Let this favourite be called by bufinefs or plea- fure into fome foreign country, her days are me» lancholy, her nights without fleep ! Life is infipid, and her foul has no joy ! Her fancy conjures up a thoufand apprchenfions. In htv few, (lumbering moments fne dreams of his danger, and (lie ftarts, at once from the thought and repofe I Every bil- low is his grave ! Every traveller is befmeared with the blood of the endeared abfont ! How defpicable is the villain, who can betray Co much fondncfs ; how infenfible is the foul, that can laugh at fo much tendernefs; and how execrable is that fafhion, which fubftitutes, in its place, the windings of art, and the cokhu^ls of ail eolation I At the fame time, if the merit of virtue is to be eftimated (as it always (hould,) from the ftrength, or weaknefs of the determining itto- fives, how much fuperiar is v>'oman*s ! The love of fame, riches, honour, confequence, give birth to almoft all the great atchievements that diftin- guilli our own fex. If a man be celebrated for valour, fcience, enterprize, he is received into all companies with eulogies. His Sovereign applauds. ''Theatres welcome him witli burfts of admiration. In the countenance of his admiring frienda, he FEMALE EDUCATION. 7 1 continually reads his glory and his greatnefs ; and, when he dies, hijiory llieds over his unperilhable memory, an immortal perfume. Not fo with women. Their virtues, exercifed infclitiide^ and Springing purely from the heart , make no noife, and court no obfervation. La- viflied chiefly on their children and their friends, they blaze not on the world, nor are they thought of dignity or confcquence enough to embeililli the recording page. Still let not thefe degraded fair ones defpond. Let them not complai[i of their humiliating lot. Whilft virtue, tafte, fenfibility or difcernment re- main in tlie world, they will always have an high degree of influence and refpedt. Their rank, though fubordinate, is not unimportant. The 'fervices they do fociety, though not trumpeted by fame, are recorded by gratitude, and graven on the heart ; and they fhare in the honour and dif- tindlions of the men. Their influence often lends confiderable aids in the formation of thofe cha- racters, which hiflory diftingui flies with its un- dying honours. Many are the heroes they have routed into glory. Innumerable are the flatefmen they have ralfed, by their fea'et magic, into fame 5 and whenever they are tempted to repine at the appearance of infigniflcance and inferiority, it be- comes them to remember, that their greatefl: ftrength lies in their ivcakncfs^ their commands in their * tears : that their foftnefs has frequently difarmed the rage of emperors and tyrants ; that * His lacrymis vitain tlainus, ct mifcrefcimus uliro. Virg. Muiierea urbcm, quam armis viri defendere aon poli'cnt, precibus lacrymifqiie dcfcndcrunt. Liv. Hift. Rom. Mcmoria: proditur, quai'dam acies inclinatas jam et labantcs, a focminis reftitutas conflantia precuin ct objeQu pcftorum, et siionflrata comiiius captivitate, quatn longe impaticntius, fcEiniiiarum fuarum nomine, timtnt. Tacit, de Mor. Germ. C. 78. Stu. View of Soc. in Europe, p. iSj 72 S T R I C r VJ E R S ON their blandiflimenis have a Toothing and perfuafivc energy, which great and generous fouls are feldoni able to refift •, that their charms have worked tni» racks in every a^c and nation, and brought about the mod important revolutions of the world. Lcgimus cpiftolas Corncliae, matiis Gracchorura : apparct cj'.is filios, qui cloquentia iloiuerunt, non folum in gremio matris educators tuide, led etiarn ab ea fcrmonis flegantiam haufifTe. Maximum autem matronis ornamentum tile liberos bene inftitutos, mcrito pu'«hat fapieiuifTinia ilia mulicr. Cutn Campana matrona, apud illam hofpi'.q, ornamenta fua, quae crant illo feculo pretiofifTi.na oftcntarct ei muliebriter, traxit cam Jermone, quoufque a fdiola rcdircfU liberi. Qnos rcvcrfos hofpitac exhibcns; " Et haec, inquit, ornamenta mea funt." Qtiiut. Lib. i. C. i. Cic. in Brut. N. 2io. Val. Lib. 4. C. 4. S'.c Corneliam, Gracchorum, fic Aureliam JuliiGaeG'.ris, fic Attiani, AugulU rnairem pra^fuiffe educationibus libcrorum acccpimus. Dialogue on the Decline oj Ltoqaence. J^ J[0 W far a public or a private education is molt to be preferred, is an enquiry, that has agi- tated the curiofity, and employed the pens of many diftinguiflied writers both of ancient and modern times. From the days of Quintilian to the prefent moment, plaufible things have been frequently advanced in favour of bpth, and at- tacked with as many and forcible objections. — Some, indeed, feem to have undertaken the fub- je£t only from a partial, fclfifli principle of re- commending tlie plan, which was bed accommo- dated to iheir o.vn private iiitcrells or p;!car!ar FEMALE EDUCATION. 73 fititat'ion, and notwithftanding the various the- ories, that have prevailed, the general opinian fcemSjCOiafiderably unfixed •, at leaO,both fchemts are itulifcruninately adopted, as other, collateral circumf>ances of fortune, convenience, connexion or accident, influence and direcSt. Without entering at all into the detail of the argument, or attempting to appreciate the fepa- rate merits of the different reafoners, a fenfible mind forms this conclufion, that aprivare educa*- tion is more favourable to morals^ that young people at leaft fhould never be trufted to the dan* gerous infection of public fchoolsj till principles and even habits of virtue have had time to take, rooty but that neither a private, nor public, but an education uniting, in fome degree, the advan- tages of bothy is moil eligible for thofe, who wilh their children to be, at once, pofTcfTed of talents and of virtues. But every thing, in fa£V, that can be oftered on this fubjeiSl:, virill be only vain or amufingy^^r///^- tiofiy till the nation is difpofed to be more liberal in rewarding the Inflru^Slors of our youth. Whilft an exorbitant profuiion, and extrava- gance of expence, in almoft all other cafes, cha- ra(Slerize the kingdom, the education of children, though an objedl of the higheff, private and na^ tional importance, is an article, which we treat with the moft abjtci and ill-judged parfimony, ex« cept only, in thofe circumflances, which relate to frivolcufnefsy accomplijhmenis or conceit to a dan- cing, a muiic, or a fencing malter, who are to teach them * ^r^r^j-, and initiate them in all the petit trifles of fafliionable life. * I would not here be undcrftood, as intending to throw a ftjoma on any of the pleafinf; qualiiies or accomplifhmcnts. Though "''tiic ♦♦ Graces, the Grarcs," were fo perpetually irumpeted forth from thc/r.yaffff mouth of a Chcftertield, as abfoiutely to have ftunncd our H 74 STRICTURES ON Circumftanced as we are, public fchools are the only poilible, ^^;;rn// receptacle for the education of youth ; and, as we pay the teachers, in order that a perlon may not ilarvc by his piofefTion, thefe feminaries muft contain fuch numbers of young people, as it is impofllble for him to tend with any adequate vigilance, fo as either to know their dijpoftticns or their iahntsy their virtues or their vices. Hence men of any liberal fentiments, or any decent fortune will not fubmit to tlie humiliativg tafk. Hence (excepting in a ^t\y public fchools, endowed by the munificence of our more virtuous anceftors, and requiring a graduate from the uni- verlities,) mafters, in general, are but poorly qualified for the office they afTume ; and hence an employment, in itfelf the moft elevated and ho- nourable of all others, in its tendency the moft "ufeful and important to the flate, in the eye of religion and of enlightened reafon, requiring the ftrongeft union of goodnefs and of talents, and, in the founder policy of the ancients, devolving only on the moft diftingulflied and unexception- able characters, is funk, amongft the frivolous and dijppaied moderns, into confiderable difrepute, ears; yet, wlien properly under ftood, and praftifcd to conciliate afTcftion, they have not loft thfir confequcnce, they may be made compatible with every virtue, and fhould not be neglcfted. In ge- neral, the youth at public fchools, attend too little to them ; and, ■whether it atifcs from the ignorance and awkwardnefs of preceptors themfelvcs, from fo many boys being grouped together without any of the fifter fcx to temper their ferocity, from their being fo wholly fwallowcd up with the fevcrer {Indies, that they have little Icifure for mixing in good company, or from the notion of an cj/eminacy, annexed in all claffic writers, to thcf- lit/fc attentions — whatever be the caufe, nothing is a more common fight than the union of an excellent C/ard or vncivil clozvn in the very fame perlon. Such a fptftjclc degrades, difhonours, and raises prejudices againft learning ; at the fame time, graces arc lurcly but an inferior and fecon'. dary conlidcration, whilft folid improvcmeiit, knowledge and virtue fhould always be the frji. FEMALE EDUCATION. 75 Tvliilfl its profeflbrs, intituled to the public grati- tude, generally meet with little but the public con- tempt. , Let it not be faid, that their manners have de- ferved it. Let it not be urged that their ignorance of life and cuftoms, their rudenefs, their pedan- try, their carrying into fociety, the imperioufnefs of a fchool, and expecting indifcriminately from the people they converfe with, the homage paid by pupils to their defpotic throne, have been the real caufe of fuch an odious ftigma thrown upon their order. Though the conducting of a fchool is not favourable either to the temper or the man- ners, yet a pcrfon of r^W education and good fenfe, v^rill generally rife, in his intervals of relaxation, above fuch little difadvantages ; but, if our ava- rice forces othtrs^ and of a lower caft, into this department, it is our avarice, chiefly, that fhould be blamed for their foibles and rheir defcds. With regard to women, I do not know that this famous queftion about a public or a private edu- cation has ever been agitated. Indeed it is not neceflary. Though fucii parents, as think of be- ing generous and liberal, feldom fail to give them the firft, yet the latter, in the eftimate of fober reafon, is certainly to be preferred ; and, whatever elegant or high-founding fchools may be fought out for a girl, yet a mother feems the only gover- nefs, intended by nature. Three principal advantages of public fchools for boys are J ift. That they cure a timid bafli- fulnefs, and eftablifh a confidence, fo necellary for any public charadter or employment ; 2dly, That they excite a proper emulation by the col- lifion of talents ; and 3dly, That they fofter early, lafting friendfhips, fomctimes of a powerful kind, which frequently lead the way to worldly honour 2nd advancement. H2 76 STRICTURES ON The firft of thefe effeds will not, by zjudrchus fiitnJ, be rca:icrubercd to women. Confidence, jn t/jt'w, <* is an horrid bore ;" and let a filly fafhion fuggeft what it will, their fweetcft graces .ure the crimfoning blujhf and the retiring timidity. As to Linulaiion, there arc often children tnough ia their own family, or in the circle of I heir ncaitlt a.cquaintance to communicate the fpiiit i'o far as it is ucctjfary or ufeful amongft liioie, who a>e not to hold the reigns of govein- nient, the oiBccs of l\ate, or the poft of a com- mander, and who cannot afpire to facred great- ijtfs in the honours of the puiple. The laft effedt is fuperfeded, likevvife, by the liaiiire of their fex ; as the grand promotion, of wliich they are capable, is a dignihed marriage, which their ^y^^r acquaintance are not capable of conferring ; which a public life is not likely to cnfure, and which they will always have the greateft chance of forming to advantage, if they rather court the fhade of a meritorious retirement , ilian the intoxicating notice of the public eye. So far, therefore, from their receiving any fo- lid advantages from this method of expofure, I conceive that it often fubjeds girls to numerous inconveniencies, dangers and temptations, which their early age, and yet unripened virtue are not always found fufficient to refift. Thrown together in Ihoals, into one common rcfervoir, at a dangerous age, when nature bids an unufual fervour rife in their blood, when they feel themfclves fprung into a new epoch of exig- ence, actuated with limilar feelings and fimilar delires, and when a relilefs Icifure awakens all the powers of imagination and the fenl'es, they in- lenfibly convey an infeflion to each other by tales oi fentimeiUy fympathy Tundfriendjhipy and by vari- ous communications, fchemes, and artifices^ which FEMALE EDUCATION. 77 the vigilance of no governefs is able to difcover, nor her power to fupprefs. In the heat of ima- gination, her reftraints are conlidered as but a pnidijh bar to the only folid hnpphicfs in life^ a con- nexion wuh the other fcx. In the talle of a li- centious age, viewing paflion, as a hujlnejs ; in the fernjour of nature, feeling it as an infl:in(5t ; and, in the inexperience of youth, fancying it a paradife, in which are no thorns, a country, whofe land- Ikips are all real, as they are beautiful, they behold an enemy in the woman, who reftrains them, and have recourfe to every private method of breaking through the chains, the defpotifni ATiiX formalities of their temporary convents. Hence, from fo many ofFenfive breaths, all pent up together, proceeds a total putrefaction of the moral air. Hence fwarms of novels to inflame their fancy, and elFeiStually to pave the way for their future feduiSiiion. Hence private correipon- dencies, aflignalions, and intrigue. Hence le- vity, giddinefs, and a total forfeiture of that de- licacy and foftnefs, without which it is impoflible for any woman to be lovely, or to fecure the cjleem^ whilll: fhe engages the partia/ity of zn im- paffioned beholder. If I have exaggerated in the defcription, let ex- perience contradidt me. If I have faid the truth, the prejudices or the interefts of particular indivi- duals fiiould not be regarded. The qualitits, which every man of real tafl^ and fenle wilhes, particularly, to find in a wo- man, are innocence, limplicity, and domeftic worth. To thefe he would facrifice all the fan- c'tful accomplifliments. They are to footh his for rows, they are to blefs his marriage, and fweeten his retirement. Boarding fchools wholly counteract thefe difpo- lltions. They trample upon nature, and give us H3 7H STRICTURES O N artificial creatures, artificial looks, and artificial fmiles. In their formal walls, airs, gellures, fyl- lables, articulation, all are ftudied, and are fure to difguft. Like hot beds, they give ?i foriuardnefs to fruits, but deprive them of their natural heaU thinefs and flavour; and xhtfine ladies they fend into the world, feel themfclvcs riJiculoiifly ex- alted above (what they conceive to be,) the gro- veling offices of family cecononiy, or domeftic at- tentions. If women wifh to pleafe, they fliould confider that nothing cnn pleafe long, but the limplicity of nature ; at the fame time, it behoves them to re- member, that they were certainly born for fome- thing more important, and that when the Ihort reign of their charms fliall expire, they will be able to procure a durable elleem by nothing but the folid qualities, and the domeflic virtues. The miftrefs of a family is, no longer, a girl ; and, if men are to diftinguifh themfelves by bufmefs, or letters, by enterprize, or valour, females are furely called on, in their turn, by motives of gra- titude and a dignified ambition, to immortalize themfelves, if poffible, within their own walls, and to tend, with unremitting care and vigilance, the little tender pledges of their mutual afl"c£lion. What fays the wife man .'' ** A good woman look- ** eth well to the ways of her houfliold, and all ** her family is clothed in fcarlet !" Whatever undornejlicates a woman, fo far un- makes her, as to all the valuable purpofes of her exiftence, and is, at once, the bane of her ufe- fulnefs, her happinefs and virtue. It rifles her of her tendernefs, fenlibility, delicacy, and of all the fweeteft of her virtues and her graces. It is un- domejlicuted women, that poifon the fourccs of our fweeteft comforts. It is undomefiicatcd women, that have houfes without any order or arrangement, fer- vants, without difcipline, and children, without F E M A L ii EDUCATION. 79 inftrudlion ; that are friends, without friendfhip, wives, without conftancy, and parents, without af- ferus, a v\ inter without a fpring. Pleafures have not their relifh, and forrow wants a bofum to recline on. Our manners YOUNGLADY. 3 have not their proper foftnefs; our morals tlieir purity, and our fouls feel an uncomfortable void. They, who talk degradiiigly of women, do not know the value of the treafure theydefpife. They have not fufficient tafte to vellfh their excellencies, or purity enough to court their acquaintance. They have taken the portrait of abandoned women, and they think the features applicable to all. The fofter fex, it is certain, are exceedingly Injured by their education. If they were what iXxcj jhould be, they are thofe lights in the pifture of human lire, that are inteijded to cheer all Its darknefs and iis lh:ides. LETTER ir. T^ . . HE education of women is unfortunately directed rather to fuch accomplifliments, as will enable them to make a noife and fparkle in the world, than to thofe quaiities, which might enfnre their comfort here, and Ifappinefs hereafter. Boarding fchools confult but lit- tle thofe domertic qualifications, which are confefledly the higheft point of ufefulnefs in your fex, and dill lefs that folid piety and virtue, which alone, to an in- telligent creature, can be the fource of any real, heart- felt enjoyment. Tliough religion Is IndifpenHibly necefTary to hoth fexes, and in every polfible charader and llation, yet a woman fecms, more pecuiiariy^ to need its enlivening fupports, whiKl her frame mull be confcfild to be ad- mirably calculated for the exercife of all the tender and devout afftciions. The timidity, arifing from the natural 'vveaknefs and delicacy of your frame ; the numerous difeafes, to which you are liable ; that e.sqnifite fcnfibiiity, which in many of you, vibrates to the flighte!l toucli of joy or forrow ; the tremulous anxiety you have for frieiiGS, children, a fan)iiy, whicii nothing can relieve, but a fcule of their being under the protedion of God ; the fedentarlnefs of your life, naturally followed with low fpirics or eniiui^ B2 4 L E T T E R S T O A whiltl ve are feckinsr health and pleafure in the field ; and the many, lorely hours, which in almoll every fituation, ave likely to he your lot, will expofe you to a nnml er of pcc^d'uir forrows, which you cannot, like the men, cither drown in wine, or divert by dlffipatlon. From the era, that you become ma.riaf;eable, the fpherc of your anxieties and affiiftions will be enlarged. The ^i ncialicy of men are far from adin^ on fuch itrici principles of honour and integrity, in their connexions with you, as they wouid ri;^id!y obfcrve, in matters of a jnuch more trivial importance. Some delight in fporting with your nice ft fenfibilitits, and afterwards expofing witli an illiberal triumph, the fondnefs of a cieduioiis and uniufpeding heart ; others, from fafliion merely, and to be called men of gallantry, will fay a ihoufand civil things, and fliow as many preferences ; with no other view, than to amufe the moment, or ac- quire a fantaftic, vifionary honour. A third fort of men (yes it is pofiible that there (hould be inah co- quettes!) wiU do and fay every thing to infpire you with fondnefs, and get poffefiion of your heart, with- out proceeding to that explanation, which nature has intended to come from m, and which the delicacy of your fex, whatever you \x\?i.Y fiiffevi will not permit you to demand. Others, without any particular defigns upon you, or improper attentions, (for attachments fpring up irifcnfiblyt '^"d are as poffible in one fex, as the other,) may be too agreeable for your fr.fety and repofe, , and leave you to a filent, heartfelt concern, which will prey doubly in proportion to its conceahncnt — or even when the indinbliible knot of marriage is lied, and you Ivave refigned every thing, till it comes to your name and perfon, it may be to a man of 7fiere integrity, who knows nothing of thofe many, little, tender attentions, which involve fo great a fhare of a woman's happinefs — it may be to a perfon of great a??!hitio}i^ who has neither lelfure nor inclination for foft domeftic fcenes — it may be to a fafliionable Infqudy who, for the fake of flirting with fome elegant fair, and giving yovn jealoufy the wide ft range, leaves j(7«r charms and the endearments ,of \\h children to perlfli in negledl — nay ftakes, peihapn, Lis very lajl thoufand on the uncertainty of game, when YOUNGLADY. 5 t!ie unhappy throw may confign both you and your iielplefs babes to poverty and ruin — or it may be to a perfon of a peeviih, ill-natured, faturnine ca(t, artfully concealed, till he had you in pcflefTion, which no atten- tions can alter, no charms can fweeten, and no vivacity can cheer. ITnder thcfe, or indeed any other ditlrefles, r^^iigion is the only true and unfailing refource ; and its hopes and profpcdts, the only folid bafis of confolation. In your many, folitary moments, what can afford the mind fo fovereign a relief, as the exercife of devotion to an all-prcfent God? and, when domelHc forrovvs clufter upon you, which you cannot reveal to any friend on earthy what method have you left, but to pour them into the bofom of your father in keavsri, who is confef- fedly the friend of the friendlcfs, always willing to hear their cries, and always able to proteft. The period, my dear girl, I truft, is diilant, when fuch afHi<5lions fliall attack your glowing fenfibility. They may come, however, when I am no more ; when this tongue cannot give a word of comfort, nor tiiefe eyes drop a fympathizing tear. If they JJ; etc' dy remem- ber my advice, and let your friendfhip.ftrcw a few purple flowers over the grave of Your very faithful and affeftionale LETTER III. 1 CONSIDERED devotion, in my lad letter, only as an advantage for relieving folitude, or as the bed refource under any afllidions. JBut it is, indeed, in it- felf one of the highed and mod exquifite pleafures ; opening the mind to the fublimed contemplations, ex- panding it with the mod delightful hopes, and foothing all its powers with feelings and confolations, that arc infinitely beyond the reach, the nature and the littlenefs of all human things. There mud be a thoufand moments in the life of every peifon, that is not elevated by this devotion, when all B3 6 LETTERSTOA carihly blcffnigs will be cold and Infipid, and the foul mull feel an inexprtfiible languor, though pofftfTed of all the kingdoms of the world, and the glorits of them. Though fome fanatics have m^dc the love of God ridiculous by couching it in too fenfual, rapturous, or cxtravpgant language, yet fuch a pafiion there is, grounded on the moit rational principles, and fpringing from \\\Q pureji fource ; without which our lives would frcqufutly be n.iferable, and our duties, the formal, unanimated fervice of a body without a foul. If we admire v/hat is great, fublime and magnificent, on oth^r cccafious ; if we love what is amiable, diiinte- relied, benevc.ltnt und merciful in many of our feliow- creatures, whom we have never feen, what principle cither of reafon or philofophy forbids us to aJmire and love the fame in God, who is the primary author of all amiablenefs, and at once the foutce and /^ //;."/} of ail poiTible pevfecfllon ; and. if we acknowledgt him as the ])arent of all real happlnefs, where is the abfuidity of cukivailng an intercourfe :i\\d.friendjh}p with him, in order to obtain that happinefs, by prayer, reflexion, £nd pious nfplrations ? Thou Hialt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy foul : This is the/r/? and grsu,t c>.^nimandment. If a virtuous attachment to an imperfeft creature here is attended with fuch tranfports; if friencifliip, jiure and difintercRed, has fuch exquifite enjoyments, the pleafure, refulting from an intimacy with God muli far furpafs all human comprehcnfion, and be Infinitely more exalted and fublime. It is heaven, compared with earth, or the immenfity of fpace, with the little, narrow boundaries of a prifon, or a convi^nt. LETTER IV. N: ^ , E V E R fancy, that religion will render you gloomy, or unplcafing. If indeed you take it from the coarfe daubings of fuperftition or of cnthufiafm, it YOUNGLADY. 7 is a friqhtful monfter, or a melancholy fpedre, that will difcourage people from approaching you. If you deduce it from the fcriptures, and ground it upon reii- fon, folid argument and truth, it will become a fource of perpetual cheerfulnefs to yourfelf, that will be re- flected on tvciy perfon and objedl about you. Never fail to treat, with the greateft reverence, every thing, that relates to the houfe of God, to his minifters, to his facramentp, and to his word. To mention any thing, that is facred, with levity, is a certain mark of a depraved heart, and a weak underftanding. A witty fneer or farcafm, on inch fubjefts is not to be forgiven. It fliocks all the feuhble and better part of mankind, and is a fpecies of blafphcmy ox facrilcge. You remember who has faid, that ** every woman is '* at heart a rake." This ftntence is fevcre, and not to be admitted without rellridlions. Pope was a ran- corous fatirlfl: of women. Whatever be his merit in the world of letters, they, at leaft, owe no extraordinary gratitude to his memory or talents. ** Tread lightly ** upon the afhes of the dead," is a maxim I revere. I would otherwife retaliate his infults on the fcx, and become the champion of their injured honour, 1 would infinuate, tiiat the poet was little and deformed, and had experienced few of their carcfles or aitentions. Other writers, however, have charged you with a llrong preference for ^/^/>/?/fd^ men. But this, furely Is the ungenerous afperlion of your enemies, or of thofe, who have not known the moll deferving amongft you, and have formed an unjutl and unfavourable conclufion, from the unamiablenefs of a few. 21?«r example, I trull, will always contradidl fuch indijcr'nninate cenfure. The idea, if we could admit it in its full extent, would be unfriendly to the focial happinefs of life. It would dellroy that efteem and contidence in your virtues, which the heft and wifed men have uniformly thought no inadequate counterpoife to their forrows, and their cares. A bad duui is terri- ble in fociety ; but an unprincipled nuonan is a monjier. The peace, happinefs and honour of our fex are fo very much in the power oi yours after marriage, that the moll abandoned libertine fliudders at the thought of an B4 S LETTERSTOA union with a wonnan, who lias not piety and virriie. His intimacy with fome females, of a certain cJefcrif^tioJi, "has given him fuch a difgufling pldiirc, as will never be forgotten. In his moments of reflexion, he exe- crates his folly, and, when he delibetates, whom he /liould chufe for tlie co.inpanion of his life, appeals from the trearheroi.'S, ruffitd bofom of an harlot, to one, that will be always faithful, and always ferene. With- or.t /";':/!•, indeed, a womsn can never fully pon'efs the tr.ic powers of plcafing. She will want that meek be- rcvolence, fympathy and foftnefs, which give an inex- prcfiih-e luf,re to her features, and fuch a wonderful afc^ndancy over oar affedions. We fliall not otkericife approach her with confidence, or dar« to repofe any of om-fecrets, our concerns or our forrows, in her fympa- ihrsing breaft. LETTER V. MY DEAR GIRL, F X F your mind is in a proper frame, every thing in you and about you will inculcate the necefTiiy, and prompt you to the cui.tinual exercife of, devotion. You will find yourfelf encompafled with innumerable fears, weaknefles, wants, forrows, difeafes, wifhes, hopes, under which all human creatures will be unable to afTift, or give you any adequate relief; but wherever you cad your eyes, you will, at the fame time, be in- vironed with the immcnfity of a Being, who is poflVf- fed of nil poflible perfe£lIons, and who holdeth the iffues of life and death, of happinefs and mifery, folely in his hands. The power, majefty, grandeur and wifdom of this Being are difcernible in every part of your frame, in every fun6lion of your body, and operation of your mind, nay, in the curious and exquifite formation of every animal and infedl:. They are leen, on a ^\\\ fub' Iwier fcale, in the fize, the diflance?, grandeur, and wonderful revolution of the heavenly bodies j iu the YOUNGLADY. 9 beautifully variegated canopy of heaven, in alltlie deli- cious landfliips of nature, in the plcafing fuccefiian of day and night, fpring and autumn, fummer and winter. In (hort, winds and florms, thunder and lightning, earthquakes and volcanos, the grand, magnificent ocean, waves and comets, fulfilling his word, appearing and and receding, at his fovercign command ; flowers, blof- foms, fruits, foflils, minerals, petrifadlions, precipices, hills, caverns, vallies, ^//tell you, that their Former is inimcnfely magnificent, ** that he doeth wliat he will *' in the armies of heaven, and amongft the inhabitants ** of the earth, and that none can vvithlland the thifn- ** der of his power." This God then is able to gratify your wifhes, ajid fupport you under all your fufferings ; he has nvifJom enough to protedl and guide you ; the queflion then is ; is he nvilling ? On this head, hearken to all nature, for it fpeaks aloud. Look through the numberlefs orders and gradations of animals, infcf^f?, nay the meanell reptiles, and you will beaftonidied with the attention, that hasbeenlavifhedonthem, in the contrivance of their frame, the allotment of their fituation, and the provi- fion, made for their continual fupport. Tkey diXft happy. Shift your eye to all the inaniuiate creation, and you will find it a fcene of harmony, of order, and beauty, and feemingly conftrufted for owx gratification. Lovely pidturefque views delight our imagination ; flnubs and plants and flowers regale us- with aromatic fmells. But 9 poet, of very defcriptive talents, (hall fpeak on this occafion ; Wherefore nature's form So cxquifitely fair? her breath perfumM With fuch ethereal fweetnefs ? whence her voice. Informed at will, to raife or to deprefs Th' impaffion'd foul, and whence the robes of light, Which thus inveft her with more lovely pomp, Than fancy can defcribe ? whence but from Thcc^ O fource divine of never failing love, And thy unmcafui'd goodncfs ? not content With ev'ry food of life to ncurifh man. Thou mak'd all nature, beauty to his eye, B5 lo LETTERS TO A Or mufic to his ear ; well pleasM he fcans 1 he goodly profpeft, and with inward finiles. Treads the gay verdure of the painted plain, Ikholda the azure canopy of heav'n, y^nd livincr lamps, that overarch his head With more than regal fplendour, lends his ears To the lull choir of water, air, and earth. In ev'ry part We trace the bright imprefiions of his hand, In earth, or air, the meadow's purple ftores. The moon's mild radiance, or the virgin form, Blooming with rofy fmiles, we fee pourtray'd That u^jcr^aied beauty } which delights The mind fupreme— Indeed, if you reafon for a moment, why could the Almighty create at all, but to diffufe and variegate en- enjoyment ? Inexhauftible fource of happinefs, from all eternity, he needed not, and, in faft, could not re- ceive, an addition to his oau«. In himfelf fuprcmcly blcfled, fountain of eternal raajelly and fplendour, adored by feraphs, furrounded by myriads of angels and archangels, what dignity could he derive from the cxiflence, or fervices of man, who is but a worm, or the prodiidlion of ten thoufand worlds ? It was infinite wii'dom, therefore, that ilpinefs, than miftry has 12 LETTERS TOA uriTcn from it. There too, when we are able to (lifccrn with glorifed eyes, the whole chain of caufes and cfFedl's, from the beginning, to the end, of time ; the dependence of one link of being on another, and of worlds, on v.'orlds ; this evil we now complain of, may become a means of exalting our ideas of the attributes of the Almighty ; and we fliall blufh at ourfelves for even liaving qucflioned his goodnefs for a moment, or encou- raged a reafoning pride, fo ill becoming creatures, whofe days are few, whofe (Irength is weakncfs, whofe wifdom folly ; and who, in the prefent imviurevient of their underrtanding, fcarcely know the nature of a blade of grafs, or of the very pebbles, on which they tread. Thisquellion concerning the origin of evil has puz- zled the whole tribe of reafoners and philofophers, from the creation, to the* prefent moment. The fcripturc alone has folved the enigma to our fatisfadion. This deranged ftate of things is the providential punifhment of guilt, but at the fame time, contrived in mercy, as a falutary regimen, and as a mode of purifying fallen creatuies for the innocence and happincfs of a better world. Il is a chaos, fitted tq owx prefent confticution, j\nJ will refine as ^e do, into its primitive beauty a.nd fplendour. *' There (hall then be new heavens and a ** new earth, wherein dweilelh righteonfnefs. The " vvoif Ihall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie" ** down wiih the kid, when the earth is full of the ** knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the " feas." Refignalion, in the mean time, has a balm for fufFerIng, and the faith of a chrilHan ** looketh to *' a better country, with foundations, whofe builder ** and maker is God." But fptculations apart, if you draw nigh to thr Al- mighty, he will draw nigh to you ; if you feek his fa- vour and fiicndilip, all things fiiall work together for your good. Tribulation, anguifli, naktdnels, cr fa- mine, or peril or the fword, will all be fo many inftru- menis, in his hands, of procuring 'your eternal happi- ncfs and glory. Remi^mber the gift of his only Son to be n facrlfice for your fins, and It is moie than a thoilfanj lefTuns of a Y O U N G L A D Y. 13 mercy beyond a parallel, and that far exceeds all hu- man comprehenfion. On fo delightful a fiibjeiSi, it is difficult to flop one^s pen, or reftrain the Tallies of imagination. This idea of the fupreme being cafts a delicioiis fragrance over all the real enjoyments of life. It gives an inexpreflible pnignancy to friend (lilp, and to the affe^ion, with which I fhall ever feel my fclf inviolably yours. »<►....<>... c^><^g>. .<>.... .<>... LETTER VT. MY DEAR OIRL, JL/EVOTION, confulercd fimply in itfclf, is an intercourfe betwixt us and God ; betwixt the fupreme, felf-exiftent, inconceivable fpirit, which form- ed and prefervcs the univerfe, and that particular fpirit, with which, for awful reafons, he has animated a por- tion of matter upon earth, that we call man. It is a filent a6l, in which the foul divells itfelf of o?^/'u;^r^ things, flies into heaven, and pours forth all its wants, wifhes, hopes, fears, guilt or pleafurcs, into the bofon* of an ahiigkty friend. Though this devotion, in its firft ftages, maybe a wearifome or inftpid exercife, yet this arifes merely from the depravity of nature, and of our paffions. A little habit will overcome this reluctance. When you have fairly entered on your journey, "the ways of this wif- ** dom will be ways of pleafa'ntnefs, and all its paths, ** peace." True devotion, doubtlefs, requires a confiderable de- gree of ahf}rafiion from the world. • Hence modern chri- lli- vatic, who might as well tell us, that his animal life can be fupported without food ; whoever defpifes them, is the Infidel, that does every thing in his pow- er, to root out the remembrance of God from the earth, and violate the dearefl intercfts of mankind. Whoever conjcientioujly attends, yet coiifiders them, only zsiNtro- duciory to good, is a true, rational chrlllian, that unites the^feparate links of matter and fpirit, and lets his light (hine before men, that they may fee his good works, and glorify his Father, who is in heaven. Lukewarmnefs, an infenfibility to all facred things, fcepticifm, profligacy, and licentious pleafures are the difcriminating traits of tkofe, who negled, from what- ever vain pretences, thefe means of grace. The heft difpofed are gradually hardened, and the poor are plunged into fuch diforders, as bring them to the fatal tree. LETTER Vlir. A N O T H E R excellent method of inkindling piety, is reading the fcriptures. A chrlftian, indeed, Hjould have this facred book, ever folded in his brcaft. There is a rlchiiefs and a comfort in it, that nothing elfe can equal. Every worJ is big with inftrudion 5 YOUNG LAI3Y. 17 every fencence is divine. It is a mine, perpetually opening ; the deeper we dig, the richer is the ore. It is a feaft, adapted to every tafte ; the mod exalted underftanding mufl: admire, and the lomocjl cannot fail to comprehend, its inrtrudlions. If people only read for the fake of entertainment, where can they lind a book equal to the Bible ? What other produf^lon, cither ancient or modern, has fuch ftrikiiig pafTcio^es of the piithetic and fublime, the vehe- ment and impafTioncd? Wiiere are there fuch lofty images, fuch grand conceptions, or fuch pifturefque and animated dcfciiptions, a? in the pfalms ? There is fcarccly a peifon in the world, to Vihofe cafe fome of thetp are not adapted, nor a forrow wliich they cannot footh. In one part, plaintive, afFe<5^ing, penitential ; in another full of triumph and exultation, ennobling, elevating; here defcribing the immenfity, majefty, om- nipoterjce and omniprefence of God; there the littlc- nefs of the world, and the vanity of man ; whoever can read them without emotion, muft be pronounced void both of piety and tafte. The prophets are the true fuh/hne of holy reading. The bold images, metaphors, ailufions and defcriptlons, with which they abound, have been the admiration of the moft accomplifhed fcholars, orators and critics in the world. The proverbs of Solomon and the book of Ecclefiafticus are an excellent fyftem for tlie govern- ment of private life, as well as a fund of fpirimal in- ilrudlion ! They have all the ?narro-iv of our mc^/ern fyftems of good breeding, without any of their p off on. The facred llories of the fcrlpture are related with ama- zing iimpliclty and pathos ; the parables are beautiful- ly pointed and inftruc^^ive ; and the epiilles of St. Paul arc a model of the fublimeil andmoftenergetictloqutnce, that can be found in any age, or in any language. When the immortal Locke and Newton had dived into every «t/?er kind of knowledge, they fat down to contemplate the vanity and poverty of all, in the rich- nefs of the fcriptures. The famous Bacon, an oracle of learning, in his day, and the wonder of all fucceeding ages, confefTed them to be the fource of all realivifdovj. The illutlritus Selden, ou his death«bcd, affured arch- i8 LETTERSTOA bifliop Ufher, that the whole of his immenfe library- could not give him half the comfort, which he derived from or\t Jingle fentence of the infpired wiilings ; and Addifon, whofe name mull be ever dear to evtry friend of religion and virtue, fpent no little time in coUedling together, and arranging into one common point of view, the united evidences of the chiillian rcli^icui. The primitive chriftians ufed to read this book, on their knees. The preface was, '* Open thou, mine " eyes, that 1 may fee the vvondroua things of ihy *' law." Imitate them ou earth, and in //wf you fhall join that illuftrious choir of faints, that are continually worfliipping before the throne in heaven. -<>-"-<>-<^<^ T LETTER IX. H E old Scriptures may appear, in themfelves, dry and infipid; but when you confider them, as ()•/>/- rJighs and tears fpeak ; he feels what he wants, and he needs no artificial arrangement of words. ^\\\\hahes mud be nourilhed with milk. There is a period in the chrlflian, as well as the natural, life, when leading llrings are ne- ceffary to the infant. £ have known people fall into a total difufe of private devotion, folely from a fancied poverty of words. This Is a very dangerous error. Prayers, drawn from books, are furely preferable to no prayers at all. u^rtifchl exercife is better than total inaftion. But prayer of the heart is that fuperlor glow, which arifes from motion in the open air, and exhilarates us with a view of all the charming plflures and productions of nature. As a public fydem of devotion, that of our church is excellent. How fimple and energetic Is the language ! How rich and beautifully varied, are the colleds ! How unconfined and univerfal the prayers, extending to all conditions of men, fituations of life, and comprizing every wifli and forrow of the heart. If other forms do not pleafe your talle, you may contrive to adapt fome portion of this to your private occafions. Two capital trsilts will Orike you in your liturgy ; the great flrefs, laid upon ^efus CkriJ}^ and the continual intcrrceflion for the blefiings of \.h.t holy fpirit. Thcfe are, indeed, the grand leflbn to be learned from It,, as well as from the fcrlptures. They are the pillars of the church ; the ///^and blood of the chrillian fyllem. Without the aionemeiit of Chiift, criminals as \vc Y O U N G L A D Y. 13 arc, there never could liave been any hope of mercy ; without tlic affitlancc and graces of the fpirit, we could not have been purified for the manfionsof glory. If ChriO. his been c:d!ed the fun of righieoufnefs, the holy fpirit is the air, v.'hich purifies and invigojates the whole moral world, and preftrves it from tlagnation and putvefaftion. Meditate frequently on thefe fuffcrings of Cnriil, till you abhor every fin, that produced them ; and in order to be enriched with all graces and blefiings, })ray daily and fervently for this holy fpirit. The good Bifhop Kenn has a few words, in one of his hymns, which wonderfully epitomize our petitions and our wants : Direct, control, fugged this day, All I dcfign, or do, or fay, That all my pow'rs, with all their might, In thy fole glory may unite. LETTER XII: MY DEAR LUCY, Y OUR facred reading needs not to be wholly con- fined to the fcriptures. A few other ferious books will aflift your piety, as well as ferve to ilhijjrate and con. firm the fcriptures themfelves. I cannot, in this refpeft, fo much recommend modern fcrmons, as fome little pradical treatifes of piety. En- glilh difcourfes in general, by a ftrange, fcholaftic mif- management, are not fufficiently addrtlfed to the heart. Either they are learned difquifilions, on iovrxe fpecttla' tivcy controverted fubjtft, more calculated to difplay abihties, than to edify; or they are fpruce, moral ef- lays, with little more of chriftiauity in ihein, than might be gleaned from the works of Plato or Epiftelus. They want that fimplicity, fire, energy, animation, that boldnefs of images, appeal to the confcience, and that i4 L E T T E R S T O A piftiirefqnc dlfplay of heaven and hell, which give fuck an unftion to the writings of St. Paul, and of the fa- thers. Tlicy do not thunder and lighten at the finner ; they do not cany us by a whirlwind, into heaven, and fliew U8 thrones and fceptres ; they convince, but they do not animate ; x\\&y glittery but they do not ivan^t. Ancient divines have more fire and matter. They ftudied the fcripiurcs, more than huvian fyftems. "They were filled with the fpirit ;" they were men of watch- fiilnefs and prayers. A profane fpirit of criticifm or of philofophy, falfely fo called, makes ?/rcold and lan- guid. In pervading many learned or fplendid pages, the heart is often left devoid of one, pious emotion. Many fermons, no doubt, are to be excepted from this cenfiire. Thofe of Archbifhop Seeker contain a fund of folid matter, piety and in{lru(5lion ; but the Jtyls is rather fingular and uncouth. The marble is rich, but it is unpolilhed. There is fuch a thing, as an ele- gant fimplicity. Seeker had a fimplicity without this elegance. Few prelates, however, have deferved fo well from the church, or pofterity. The metropolitan, though placed in the bofom of a court, had neither pride, in- dolence, nor adulation. His vigilance was extraordinary ; his labours, unremitting, and his crofier but an imper- fect emblem of the real paftoral zeal, *' which eat up his foul." The prefent bifhop of London has all the fimplicity of his lUuftrious patron, tiffued with that elegance, which the archbifliop wanted. His fermons have been univerfally read ; they are written on a truly evangelical plan : and their objedl is not merely to aTnufe^ but to inllru6l and edify. LETTER Xin. E VERY perfon (hould read the difcourfes of Sher- lock, who wifhes to fee the grand dodlrlncs of chrlf- tianity properly illuftrated, and inforced with equal energy of argument and language. Sherlock is one of Y O U N G L A D Y. 25 the few original writers of fermons. He is the Locke of divinity, who anatomizes the whole fyftcm, and dif- plays its component parts. Many authors glean all their nnatterfrom othcrbooks. He borrowed his from the fcrijUures and reflexion. He thought many hours, for ivritifig one. If all men did the fame, the prefs would not groan with fuch conti- nual abortions, Ogden's Sermons have very great, original merit. Perhaps I mijcalled them ; they are, more properly, flielches on facred fubjecEls; on the fundamental articles of the chriiliin faith. There is more vigour, and ener- gy and convidiion in one paj^^e of this writer, thiin in whole volutues of fome others, who have received a much more general appiaufe. The do6lor fet.'-?s particularly to hiive (ludied concife- nefs, and his miniature plan fometin)cs leaves the fea- tures of his pieces indiftincing of ox\t grand point. This fhould, always, be kfpt in fir.ht, and the way to it /houid be as dire(5l, conclfe ad iiin^le, as poffble. Divines of the laft century fpcnt more time in proving what \v2L%fel/' evident 9 Vol. I. C i6 LETTERS TO A and illiiftrating it by learned quotations, than would have fufficed for inculcating fomc leflbn of piety, that would never have been forgotten. Modern writers have judicloufly corrected this mirtake. They come more hnv2ediately to the point, and would think it as down- right pedantry to amufe their hearers with a long lift of writers, as to retail little fcraps of Greek or Latin In converfation. Atterbury was the puioit Cicero of his day, and, for the beauty, fvvectncf^ aud harmony of his llyle, has Jiill an admirer in every pcrfon of elegance and tafle. But to me he has always appeared rather graceful, than forcible, and more fplendic!, than impalTioned. He ii always drefled for couv: ; and y'?a^/Viy ornaments, how- ever rich, cannot but have an uninterefting uriiforviity. He is invariably a fine, flowing, pellucid ftream, never that impetuous torrent, which overflows iti banks, car- ries all before it, and gives us the idea of fublimitj and grandeur. Nature would have tired, if flie had prefented us with nothing but fine, level extended laivns. She has wifely intermixed with heaths, barren rocks, and craggy precipices in her infinitely beautiful and va- riegated landflfips. LETTER XV. ^^ H E late, unfortunate Dr. Dodd owed, I fiiould conceive, his great popularity to the advantage of his voice, pcrfon, manner, gtllure and addrefs. For in- deed hiscompofitions have not intrinfic merit enough to have challenged any extraordinary applaufe. Weak, flimfy, fuperficial in his arguments, and ra- ther plaufible, tlian energetic in his language, it muft have been only the popularity of his fubje^lR, the new vt\n oi pathetic, which he attempted, and his fortunate congenial fituation at the Magdalen, and in a metro- poli3, which, under the management of fuch advanta- ges, procured him his extenfive, temporary reputation. But alas ! his popularity was very dearly purchafed ! YOUNGLADY. 27 It was built on the ruins of his innocence and virtue. Happy, if he had lived and died in obfcurity, or been an humble curate in fome fequeftered village, where jef- famines had clafped round his unenvied manfion, with unenlightened ruftics only for his aflbciates ! Admira- tion would not then have dazzled his eyes. His vanity- could not have fought thofe unequal connexions, which he afterwards found himfelf unable t«» fupport, nor ex- penfive pleafures ltd him to an aftion, which wounded religion in its very vitals, and brought fomuch difgracc on his facred profeflion. He might, then, like many other excellent men, have ** fallen afl'itp," amidll the tender offices of be- wailing friends ; and grateful villagers, would have wetted his monument with tears of heart -felt gratitude and efteera. He is now a beacon, rifing high in the bofom of the ocean, which fays to the wary mariner, <* beware of rocks and quickfands." It has been faid, that Dodd, In the beginning of his facred office, was remarkably pious. What is the conclufion ? Hear it from compaflion. Bathed in tears, fhe lifts up her voice, and cries aloud, " Let him who thinketh he ftandeth, <* take heed left he fall." Farlngdon's Sermons have very fingular merit. It is but feldom that fo much vivacity finds its way Into this fpecies of writing. They will improve your heart ; they will pleafe your tafte, and inchant your imagina- tion. It is many years fince I read them ; but the im- preffion they made upon my mind, will never be erafed. If I durft Invidioufly, amidft their many excellencies, mention a defeft, it is that they are not fufficiently full of y^r//'/«r«/ all ufions. It is amazing what force and energy X.\\q judicious Introdudlion of fcriptural paffages, authorities and images, gives to difcourfes of this na- ture. The reft may be the ingenious conje£lures of the author. Thefe ftrike the reader with all the certainty and irreliftible evidence of mathematical demonftration. Though genius and tafte may he permitted to evihel- iiJJjt the facred writings (liould be the grouJid-nvork of all pulpit produdlions. They fliould check our flights into the regions of fancy, and they ftiould guide us through the bewildering mazes of metaphyfics. C2 iS LETTERSTOA Farlngdon is long frnce dead, but the r^al * author of thefe Difcourfts is ytt alive. I have long had the honour of knowing him, and as long have adnnired his talents. And of his virtues and great benevolence, he cxiiibited, I think, no ordinary proof, when, to ferve the family of a deceafrd brother clergyrran, he gave his time, his l.«bour, his abilities, and (what is mcire,) denied himfelf th& dazzling profpcft of relmtation. LETTER XV r. Y X OUNG people are in raptures with (what they chufti to call) Sterne's Sermons. But true cnlicifm will not give ihem fo dignlt^ed a name. They arc the facred ftorits of fcrlpturc, em' tliifhed with his original talent at th;.' defcriptive and pailittic. They are h\s fcnftmen- /«/ journey to Zion ; but have little more of true divi- nity in them, than they might have hrid, if fuch nn heavenly pcrfonagey as Jeiue Chrift, had never lived in the world, nor publilbed his gofpel. Sernions, tli?.t aim only to atnnfe or ejitcrtaifiy are beneath the pulpir. They are the mora! heauifht of divines; an attempt to mix all the coIjuis of the rain- bow, with the dark iolemnlty of a moll ferious g-jrb. They are mufic playing in the ears of a man, whofe houfe is on fire, and can only beguile \\it moment, which fhould be fpent in faving all the valuables of his furni- ture, and efcaping for his life. Dil'jourfes of this na- ture fliould alaim the confcience ; {liould difplay ar once our mifery and tlie moi1e of cure ; fliould probe all the rankling fores of the heart, and pour in the precious oil of d'vine confohitlon. Sterne was a very great, eccentric, original genius, but h^ was never formed for a cIerg)mMn. He had a leviiy of mind, that ill befitted fo ferious a charader. What painrtr, in fancying an altar-piece, would have grouped a beau d'cfprit, ox a facetious bc}i vivanty witli our Saviour and his apoftles at the laft fupper t * Rev. Mr. O n, Reftor of W n. YOUNGLADY. 29 LETTER XVII. X HE Chriftlan Pattern will abundantly recommend itfelf by the name. The tranflatlon of it by Stanhope, 13 too dlffufe. Wefley has, more faithfully, preferved the fpirit and concife energy of the excellent original. The fingular merit of this little book is obvious from its tranflatlon into almoft all languages. Ganganelli afcrihes it, with pride, to an Italian author. But, whatever country gave it birth, it is filled with a facred unftion, and " the wifdom which cometh from above." Head a chapter of it every day, and you will never want a fund of chrillian meditations. There is more true piety and information, couched in Reflexions on the feven Days of the Week, by Mis. Talbot, than you will fometimes meet with in large and fplendid volumes. You cannot have a better train of reflexions for the beginning of your every day. Ttiis good lady lived in the family of Archbifliop Seeker, and feems to have im.bibed that fpirit of piety, which fo eminently diftinguiflied this illuftrious prelate. She 13 long fince dead ; but her little book will live in the hearts of the pious, when time has tarnifhed all the luftre of more founding names, I have always thought, that little, fliort treatifcs of this kind have done the moft extenfive good. We crii carry ihem about us, and the fize dors not deter us from looking nvithin. People will not read large trea- tifes of religion, and writers, in this refpeft, fiiould accommodate themfelves to the weakncfs of mankind. Tender ftomachs cannot digeft rich, fubfiantial food, nor much, at a time, Addifon^s Saturday's papers are all of them inimi- table. They contain a rich fund of knowledge and entertainment, raife the imagination, and improve the heart. The good man very judicioufly appointed them for Saturdays. They are the bell preparatives for be- ing *' truly in the fpirit, on the Lord's day." Scott is not, perhaps, a lively or entertaining wri- 30 LETTERS TO A ler; but his Chriaian Life is a raoft excellent and r«- //c;W fyrtem of divinity. Indeed riibjeds of this na- ture do not admit of fo much rolouring, as fome othcri. Imagination may better lend its charms to painters, poets, orators, than to fyftematic divines. I think, liowever, that, even on facred topics, genius mi^ht more frequently, embcllifh, than it does. Young peo- pie will have language, pathos and piaurefque images, or they will not read. Some little condefccnfion is dv.t to their weaknefs. Children mud be cheated into the taking of ufeful medicines. The pill (hould be gilded, and the bitter mixed with a fweet. LETTER XVIII. T HE immortal Locke analyzed the powers of the human underflanding. Mafon on Self-knowledge is the anatomift of the heart. If you would fee yourfelf in your true colours, you muft he daily convcrfant with tliis book. You fhould take it to your pillow, when you go to fleep. You fhould read it, when you rife. It has, however, in my idea, one capital defcd. It it too much ramified into heads, divifions and fubdivifions. The fize of the houfe is too fmall for the numerous apartments. Though I am, by no means, partial to the latter, fanciful writings of Mr. Law, I will venture to recom- mend the two firft books he ever produced, his Serious Call, and Chriftian Perfeftion. They are very awaken- ing, animated treatifes, written with great fimplicity of llyle, (Ircngth of argument, and originality of man- ner. His Miranda is a very amiable charadter; and, though her piety has fomething of the monafiic, in its air, there are traits in the portrait that deferve your emulation. One cannot rccolleft the legitining of this good man's life, when his conceptions were fo clear, and his man- ner fo impaflioned, without fhuddering at the danger of giving way to fanciful theories, orvifionary writers. Y O U N G L A D Y. 31 It is wonderful, that fo very difcriminating a genius Hiould have been, afterwards, (hackled with the fpiri- tual chemlftry, and the unintelligible rhapfodies of Behmen. But even the great and amiable Fenelon was the difciple of a vifionary. He, who wrote Telemachus, fell into reveries. " We have this treafure in earthen '* veffels, and it ^il/he tinged with our particular com- plexions." LETTER XIX. Y OUNG's Night-Thoughts have confiderable merit, and may occafiona/fyt be read with advantage. But they are much difcoloured with melancholy, and give chriftianity, which is w^/ar^/Zy cheerful, too dark a complexion. Born with no (lender fiiare of ambition, Young had anxioufly and un Cue cejs fully courted proniotion. The bubble always burft, as he atrcmpted to grafp \\. \ the ignis fattius deluded him, as il has done ihoufirds be- (ides. Difappointmcnt is generally followed \vi:h dif- guft, and difguft will always diftate to the pea. With all that fenfibility, which is the infeparable concomitant of genius, the author of the Night- Thoughts had likewife the misfortune to be deprived, by an early death, of feveral of thofe relatives, from whofe tender offices and foothing attentions, he might naturally have expefted, in the evening o^ z. gloomy life, to have received y^^wf confolation. His poems, there- fore, have much the ftrain of Elegy, and his piety is breathed in fighs. But his Night-Thoughts have awakened many into ferloufnefs, and you muft take them, as you do all other^ human things, with their good and their bad. The brighteft pearl is furrounded with a mud. It is the bufinefs of tafte and judgment to make the feparation. The works of Wilfon (the once bi(hop of Sodor and Man,) are a treafure of plain, />r^i7/V^/ devotion. Hit Indian inftrufted, his Parochialiaf his Sacra Frivatat C4 32 LETTERSTOA and his treatife on the facramcnt, are all ferious and int ere (ling. I'h.s gcdd prelate has not difplayed much genius or learning. But his writings are uleful, in proportion to tlieir plainncfs, and will edify thoufands, who could n'.'ver have comprehended the depths of learning, or the fuhtiities of metaphyfics. Thrown into an ignorant 2iX\^ fuperjlitious diocefs, he fto-pcd to the level of the meantft ur.dcrf^anding. He confidered himfelf as the father of his people, and they paid him a fiiial duty and refpedl. The Iflandery?/// vir.ts his grave, and weeps at the rccoUtdion of his dtccafeJ virtues. Such bifhops will live in the memo- ly of the faithful, when fplendour is forgotten. Hit labours were unremitting, his zeal, primitive; and if lie gave no brilliance to the mitre, he added to \\,^Jo\id n-cioht. LETTER XX. J. HE meditations of St. Auftin are admirable, but have fuffered not a little from the tranflaticn. It is, I ftill repeat it, in thefe old books, that we chiefly find the true fpirit of piety. Has it evaporated, like iom^ mineral waters, by a long prefervation ? Or is it that we would be men of philofophy and criticifm, ra- ther than divines? A //^^^i/tr;? theologian plays about the keadi but fcarcely warms the heart ; an ancient wri- ter carries us, by an irrefiftible impulfe, into heaven, and fills us with all the raptures of devotion. The difference will be very forcibly illuft rated by the different con(lru6lion of ancient and modern church- es. The wide magnificence, the luminous darknefs, the mouldering walls and long drawn aile of golhic rtructures infpire us with a pleafing melancholy, thought- fulnefs and devotion ; whilll the glaring light, artificial ornaments, primnefs and convenience of our ?/wdern fynagogues fill U3 only with little, 'worldly ideas of ele- gance and lafle. YOUNG LADY. 33 Beveridge's private thoughts and rcfoUitions richly deferve z place in your colleclion. They are not ani- mated or elegant, but they are pious and ufcful. He is one of thofe hofpitabie friends, that gives us a very comfortable and rich repad without ceremony or often- tation. Taylor is the Shakefpeare of divinity. The fertility of his invention, the force of his arguments, the rich- nefs of his images and the copioufnefs of his (lyle are not often to be paralleled in the works of ancient or modern writers. His holy living and dying is a c/:ief d^csuvre, I do not remember to have received more pleafure and improvement from any book, that 1 have read for fome time paft, than from the two firft volumes of Gan- ganelli's Letters. Befides being furprifed to fee fucli a generous mode of thinking in the fovereign pontiff, fo much vivacity in a vionk^ tempered with fo great a fliare of unaffefted piety, I was quite charmed with the fimplicity of his ftyle, the beauty of his metaphors, and that fpii it of philanthrophy, which pervades the whole,, and does, all along, more honour to his heart, than his eafy periods, to his underftanding. There is fomething in the climate of Italy, which wonderfully heats and fublimes the imagination. It is the gaiden of Europe, and its writers breathe that agreeable perfume with which it is fcented. Ganga- nelli's dtfcription of this country is particularly fplen- did. His (latues breattie. His torrents abfolutcly murmur on the ear. His cliffs have an impending hor- ror on the fancy, and his gardens waft upon us aroma- tic fmells. 1 would ftill gladly hope, notwithflanding all that has been advanced to the contrary, that thefe letters really came from this didinguillied perfon. 1 am not v/illing to give up the idea, that liberality of fentiment has extended itfelf even to the papal thrpne. C5 34 LETTERS TOA LETTER XXI. MY DEAR LUCY, X O U would obferve from the complexion of my laft letter, that I have recommended writers of very different fe^rtf/(?- />■, excelled. From one, he borrowed the moll beau- tiful eye ; from another, an hand ; from a third, a bofom, &c. Thefe, by a wonderful effort of genius, be combined into a perfeft whole. All fyftems, like all human figures, have their defefts; but they have, llkewife, their excellencies. Colledt thefe, diftlnft charms, and work them up In the cru- cible of your heart, till they produce *' the very beauty of holinefs" in your life and coverfatlon. Above all, look through all books and forms and ordinances, up to your God. Cherifli, by eveiy me- thod, a fpirit of devotion. Set the Lord always be- fore you. Confider him, as they#«/of the world, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Think, aft, live, as in his prefence, and do every thing to hi» glory. Begin, continue and end every day, as in his fight, and every adlion, as under his dlredllon. Re- member that all things on earth are but a fliadow ; that time Is tumbling down the fyflera of the univerfe, and that religion only can rife upon the ruins, by the labour^ Jt has iDfcrlbed to Eternity and God. YOUNG LADY. sy LETTER XXII. MY DEAR GIRL, JL HOUGH it may appear to be dealing with you in dry, abftrafted fuhjedis above your age, yet I do think it necefTary, that you fhould underftand the grounds, on which your faith is built, or the teftimo- ny which confirms the truth of chriftlanity, and of the fcriptures. You will thus be preferved from an uncom* fortable fluctuation of opinions, and guarded from the falfe iiifinuatlons cf thofe, that lie in wait to deceive. I believe, indeed, we very falfely eftlmate the peri- od, at which the talents of women begin to open, as well as the degree of their extent and comprehenfion, and fupercilloufly withhold from you, that folid infor- mation which, alone in either fex, can be the true foim- dation of a rational, a fteady and confident conduft. This tcftlmony in favour of revelation, is divided, for the fake of order, into two kinds, inier/ja/ ^nd ex- terna/. The internal is that, which arifts from the na- ture and excellency of the precepts themfehes, and from the writer's having had no private or finider views to anfwer, but confulting only the genera/ good and edi- fication of mankind. This/r/? mark of authenticity Is fixed on every page of the fcriptures. The hiv/s of Chrlft rirj of fuch a nature, as no man Vv'ould have frasned, vvhowifhcd to avail himfelf of the pafli ons, prejudices and intcrelts of mankind ; for they prefcribe, on the other hand, an unlverfal humility, mortification and felf-denial ; ex- hibit, in the ftrongefl colours, the emptlnefs of riches, and the vanity cf ambition ; and have no other view, but to elevate the a{fe(5\ions, regenerate the heart, and put all men on looking beyond the tranfient concerns of this life, to the happincfs of another. What elfi; could happen to the original promulgers of thefe lawSj but that, which a{}ua/iy did, violence and perfecuiion? Our blcfled Lord pofitively declared, thythis king- 36 L E T T E R S T O A dom was not of this world. He fought none of Its dif- linclions, and he received none, unlefs, by a llrange pcrvcrfian of idea?, wc place them in the poverty of a manger, or the tortures of his crofs. His ap^JlUs were iiiilimed with the very fame, diJintereJieJ ztd\. They uiiiiiigly refigned lucrative employments at the call of iheir raaflcr; they cheerfully abandoned weeping friends; undertook the moll hazardous voyages and travels ; had no reft day or night, were carried before kings and governors of the earth, •* and even liated by all men '* for his name's fake." Read the account of their labours, perfecution, ba- riifhment, death ; perufe the hillory of all the martyrs, written with their blood, and tell me, whether their zeal maft not have come from heave?!, or what could ever have Infpired it, but a fincere convldlion of duty, *' a faith, which looked to a city with foundations^ " whofe builder and maker was God." LETTER XXIIL X H I N K, my dear girl, for yourfelf. Are the re- any marks of fecular wifdom or policy or impodure, in the cor.dud of the primitive apoftles and chriftians I Eiiannne the hillory of the whole world, as it relates to religion, and where clfe will you difcover any por- tion of the fame, dlfintercfted fpirit, which adttiated thefe original publifliers of the gofpel ? The Roman emperor inftituted a facred code to work upon the confcleiiccs, and to keep the minds of a favage and a barLarous people in fubjedion Xo government, Zoroallcr, Lycurgus, Solon, all celebrated in their day, and c^-rtainly men of. extraordinary talents, had more a view \.o policy y than any ;,v/jr<7/ iniertfts, in their rer:}edivc fyftems of legiflation. Mahomet availed him- felf of ihe narrow, Jenjunl views, and pafiions of his followers, and of the particular complexion and dlfien- fions of his times, merely to be the fo!e, exclufivc mo- narch of an extenfive empire, and procure aliltle, fad- ing honour and diftindion. Y0UNGLADY. 37 *' The kingdom of all theje men was certainly of this *' world," and their laws, in many inftanccs, were repugnant to right re^fon, and the bell and deareft in- terefts of their fellow creatures. Of Chrift, his very enermes faid, ** never man fpake like this man ?" his in- jun6lions had but one afpefl — to univerj'al happinefs, and one, fimple method to it — univerfal refor??iation. The angels that announced him, at his firft appearance, proclaimed, ** peace on earth, and good-will towards *< men." Nor is the wonderful progress of this religion, in fo Jljort a fpace of time, over ali Alia, and a great part of Europe, indeed over almoll the tx-Z-c/*? of the, theriy known world, the lead convincing proof of its divine original. Confidcr the mifionaries — illiterate fifliermen and mechanics, and you muft conclude, either that they were endowed w'\\.\\fupeniaturalg\hs and afliftance, or that their wonderfuly«c<:^/r was even a greater w/r^^ cUy than the endowment, you difpute. On this fubjed, permit me to recommend to your ferious pcrufal, Soame Jenyns's Internal Evidence of the ChrilHan Religion. He is, on the whole, a fan- ciful writer ; but this is an excellent, little book, that has done much good, and comes with greater force, tQ every bofom, as he was once, according to his own candid confeflion, in the number of thofe, who difput- ed the facred truths of revelation. You will receive great pleafure and improvement, likewife from Addifon's Evi- dences of Chriftianity, arranged and collected into one volume, and from a late, fimilsr produdlion of the ce- lebrated Dr. Beattie. Every lyi-n/ of the fcriptures, indeed, mufl convince any candid or thoughtful perfon, that they come from God. The palTions, pride, vices and interefts of man- kind have induced not a few to fet up for fceptics. *' Much learning has made them mad," or a little has rendered them frivolous and conceited. They have fought only to diftlnguifh thcmfelves by uncommon opinions; they have been dupes to \.\\(:\r owrx fane it d penetration ; they have attempted to grafp the immen- fity of the Deity, in arms ol jiejJj^ or have fhrunk into fccpticifm, as a refuge from their vices. 5S LETTERS TO A Hear what the fcripture faith, ** Every one, that ** doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the ** light, left his deeds flioiild be reproved. Except yc ** become as little children, (humble, docile, tra£la- •* ble,) ye cannot enter iiito the kingdom of heaven. ** How can yc believe, which receive honour one of ** another, and feek not the honour, which cometh of " God only ?" LETTER XXIV. T H E exterTial teflimony, in favour of the chriftian religion, arifes from prophecy, miracles, and the cor- refponding evidence of hiitory. And thefe feem to include all the probable methods, which heaven could employ for the converfion of mankind. The whole facred book of the Old Teftament is, from beginning to end, a clear prediftion of the Mefliah. One of the prophets has foretold the precife year, ia which this *' righteous branch" fhould make his ap- pearance. And this event, you know, has taken place, to the comfort of the chriftian world. Others have predidled the deftruftion of Jerufalem, Babylon, Tyre, the difperfion and calamities of the Jews, &;c. long before they happened ; and all profane hiftory, which has been written fince their time, will inform you, that thefe awful judgments were wonder- fully accomplifhed, in their proper feafon. The Revelation contains darker hints of fome events, that are vifibly \.\\o\ig\i gradually fulfilling, at this mo- ment. But as I can on\y glance at the fubjed, you will fee it treated in fuch a manner, as to confirm your faith and exalt your devotion, in the late Bifhop of Briftoi (Dr. Newton's,) difconrfes on the Prophecies. The miracles of our Saviour and of his immediate apoftlcs meet you in every page of the infpired book ; and in profane hx^ory^ you will learn from thofe, who were avowed enemies to the caufe, that, at a particular period of time, there did exift fuch a facred perfonagc, YOUNG LADY. 39 as Jefiis Clirlft, who wrought miracles, healed the fick, and raifcd the dead ; fuch a fc6l, as that of Chriftians, who met to receive the facrament, who bound themfelves by this oath, to commit no iniquity, pradlifed a won- derful innocence and aufterity of manners, and, beyond all example, loved one another. You will fee likewlfe, in the fame pages, a full defcription of their manners, morals, ceremonies and religious inftitutions. The lapfe of time, moreover, to us, who live in thefc later timefc, has given an additional force to the evi- dences, in favour of revelation. The ingenious author of the Spe6\ator, in his day, confidered the particular cafe of the Jews, their calamities, difpetfion, vagabond, unfettled dale, &:c, as a landing incontcftable ifiiracle^ in fupport of the facrcd writir.gs. They Jiill continue (what is there fo circutnflantialy foretold,) unable to incorporate with any people, and loaded with the ha- tred and abhorrence of all. The teftimony, therefore from their hiftory is proportionably more illuftrated and confirmed. The deftruc^ion of the Romlfh church, likewlfe, 13 palpably predidled in the fcriptures; And, if we may judge from ftrong appearances, is daily approaching. The great and general diffufion of knowledge ; the con- fequent progrefs of religious toleration, and that dlf- perGon of the mifta of prejudice from all eyes, produced by the genial rays of a meridian fun, muft, In time, effedl the downfall of all tyranny and fuperftltion : whiKl the emperor, employed in deftroying monafteries, and encouraging population, appears an inftrument in the hand of Providence, for accelerating the approach of this aufpicious moment. The late difmemberment, moreover, of territory from the Holy See ; the con- tentions, In which the f-jverelgn pontiff has been Involved by thofe monarchs, who once trembled at his frown ; and the mere external deference only, which is paid to his authority, prove that his throne is tottering from its bafe, and, like all other human things, approaching to its diiTolution. Thus is our holy religion founded on a rock, againll which the winds and waves of infi- delity beat in vain. Proud men may reafon, and wicked men pretend to doubt, but *' the very gates of htii (h^ll ujt prevail againl\ it,'* 40 LETTERS TO A LETTER XXV. MY DEAR LUCY, W^ O N D E R not at the dlverfity of opinions in religion. It has been from the ^^'^/V;/;/'/;^, and will con* tinue to be the cafe, to the etjdy of the world. Men will never have the fame religious fentiments, till you can give them the very fame ;;^/'«r<^/difpofitions of hu- mility, candour, teachablenefs ; the fame capacity, education, acquaintance, or even the fame fet of fea- tures or the fame complexion. The hiftory of the church, from the firfl: moment, to the prcfent, is an hiftory of thefe diflenfions. So foon as Chrift and his apoftles dlfappeared, men mixed ** tares of human opinion with this good feed of the word." Even two of thefe apoflles had a flnirp con- tention, and the fplrit 4ias never vanlfhed from their fuccefTors. There has been the fame fafhion In religious opinions, as In common things. Particular notions have been abbetted, laid afide, refumed and dlfmiffed again, under different names and leaders, exaftly like the varying modes of drefs, furniture or entertainments. Nor is this the leaft Impeachment of our holy reli- gion. The truth of that, like the God, whence It comes. Is the " fame yefterday, today, and for ever." It is referved, as the privilege of a more glorious era, that all men fhall be of one " heart and of one foul, and keep the unity of the fplrit in the bond of peace." In all hufuan fyftems of faith, there muft be error. Wl;ere error is involuntary, and fprlngs from no cruH' />;^/ paflions, but only from a weakne!"s or mlfdlrefiion of judgment, the Almighty, who looketh chiefly at the heart, doubtlefs, will forgive. Charity, In the mean time, Is the great bond of union, amongft all Y O U N G L A D Y. 4t parties. «* They fliall come from the ea ft, and from the weft, and fit down In the kingdom of God." If we hope to be companions in glory, we " ftiould <* not furely fall out by the way." The chrirtian blood, which has ftained fo many ages of the church, ha« flowed from the moft malignant and felfifh pafiions. The gofpel breathes nothing but uni- veifal love, and candour and forbearance. ** Ye know <« not what manner of fpiritye are of," is the mild re. b\ike to every perfecutor, that would flay with the fword. LETTER XXVI. J. HOUGH it IS really invidious ^ yet for the fake of direding your judgment, and gratifying a very na- tural and laudable curiofity, I will give you a brief, comprehcnfive flcctch of the opinions of the more cele- brated religio'js feds, that have prtvailed in this king- dom. You will thus be pble to form fome comparative idea of their merits or deftcls ; you will not be fo likely to be " tofied about with every blaft of vain dodrine," and you vviil never feel yourfelf at a lofs, in company, when they become the fubject of converfaliou. Pagans ^x^ thofe who are wholly unenlightened with revelation, and worftiip /V;?//, inllcadofthe true God. Thtle idols have been various, as the caprices or ima- ginations (;f the people, amongft whom they are found ; fometimes fitlitious beings, fuch as Jupittr, Apollo, Mercury, Mars, Juno, Venus, Minerva, &c. fome- times, good qualities perfonificd ; Faith, Hope, Vic- tory, Concord ; fometimes animals, as Serpents, Cro- codiles, &c. or even vegetables; as lieck. Onion, Garlic. Thcfe laft were objects of adoration amongft the Egyptians. Before the appearance of Chrift, almoft the whole world was covered with paganifm. All the learning and politcnefs of Athens and of Rome could not difptl 41 LETTERS TO A this Ignorance. It has only vanlfhed ** where the fui " of righteoufnefs has appeared with healing in his " wings." An ingenious writer has fald, that, if we divide the known countries of the globe into thirty equal parts, five will be Chriftlans ; fix, Mabometans, zad ninetee/j, Pagans, how dreadful the reflexion, that the greateft of all poflible bleflings fliould have penetrated but fo fmall a way ! When we confider the privileges of the gofpel, how gladly woulJ one carry it, if it were pof- fible, into every country of the known world ! How ar- d<;ntly fhould we pray to our father in heaven, that hie kingdom of grace may daily come on earth, and how thankful fiiould we be to that gracious Providence, that has fixed our lot in a chriilian land, and under the en- livening beams of revelation ! LETTER XXVIL MY ©EAR GIRL, M, AHOMETANS are fo called from being fol- lowers of the great impofcor, Mahomet. This extraor- dinary man was born at Mecca, in Arabia, about the middle of the fixth century ; and, in his fortieth year, after fome time prcvioufly fpent in the filence, retire- ment and auftericy of a cave, prcfumed to ftyle hlmfelf, t/:'e Apojlle of God ; pretended to have received from heaven, a new and a hji rtvelation, which was to illuf- trate and inforce, wliat had been miftaken or perverted, in the ckrifttany by the lapfe of time or the fophiftry of men. He affedled, likewife, a commiflion from above, \^ gentler methods fhould prove ineffe^ual^ to propagate his particular religion by the fword. His tenets are contained in the Koran, which, for Its fingularity, is worth your reading. To give them plaufibility, they are interfperfed with fome chriilian dodrincs, but, at the fame time, carry a moft artful addrefs to the paflions } allowing polygamy, and de- YOUNG LADY. 45 fcribing the future paradife, as confiding principally^ of y^«/«<»/ pleafures ; fplendid, filken garments ; rivers of water, wine, milk, honey ; mufic, fealling, and mod beautiful women. Mahomet was a man of great talents and ambition. He had no view, but to render himfelf the fole and formidable monarch of an extenfive empire. Religion v/as made the injirument for executing his wicked and tyrannical defigns. Hence all his auftcrities, difguifes, deceptions. Hence he jiretcnded fuch a familiar inltr* ciHirfe with heaven, and, by his fingular addrcfp, fuund- ed a religion, w lu'ch has continued fince his time, with l}t:le variation, to overipread a confidcrable part of the world. It is proFcflTed by the Turks and Perfians, by fcveral nations amongd the Africans, and by many amongd lie Ead Indians. The outline of it was ficetched by the hands of a great mader. It was fuited to the climate ; it took advantage of the diforders and didenfions, then prevail- ing amongd ChrilUans, and it promifed a fpecies of gratifications, to which our nature will alivays feel the flronged propenlity. The bulk of people, in any country, do not, indeed cannoty think or judge for themfelves ; it will therefore, always be in the power of thofe, who have any popular talents, to make the multitude, their profelytcs and /laves; and thus, if we turn over the hidory of the world, fliall we find the ambition, lud, and avarice of a yt'ou, trampling on the deared intereds of the many* •^>--<>-.<^^ <^5^<^^ ••<>—•<►•• LETTER XXVni. MY DEAR LUCY, U. N D E R the name of Chridians, however dif- fering from each other in private opinions, or divided and fubdivided amongd themfelves, are included all thofe, who embrace the facred revelation and dodlrine of Jefus Cbrift, Amongd thefe, the Roman Catholics, 44 LETTERS TO A both in point of numbers, and the figure they have made in the hiftory of Europe, may feem to claim fome de- gree of precedence.* This religi V), which has fubfifted for fuch a length of lime, and covered fo confiderable a part of the world, is little elfe but a fyflem o^ political tyranny e!labli(hed by the clercry, over the confciences and fortunes of men, merely to enrich and aggrandize tkemjelves. They, who fhould have afpired to no other greatnefs, but to become the fervants of all for thtir eternal good, have undertaken *' to lord it over God's heritage, and rule it with a rod of iron." Can any thing in the world be more inconfiftent ? The Pope in all the plenitude of temporal poA'er, pre- f'jmptuoufly ilyles himfelf the vicar general oi Jcfus ChriR ! that Jefus, who appeared in a manger^ emptied himfeif of all his glory, and difclalmed all temporal greatnefs and diftintlion ! The public worfliip of thepapifts is overloaden with ceremony. It is performed in a /r/:7it members^ they aie, in.lifputaMy, the eftablifhed dodtrlitG of the church, however varnidied over by art, or evaded by afftda- tion ; and though this people at pref:nt, are loyal, in- •offenfive fubjcdls, and fceming^y atidched to the fove- reign on the throne, yet theu; is reafon to fear, that a renewal of their power would be attended with a repe- tition of their violence, and blow u;> Lht- fccmingly ex- tingu'diid embers of hatred and perfecution. Such a many-headed monfler fliould be carefully guarded. Delugts of /t/w^/; blood are not to be forgotten. * The Telling of thcfc indulgpnccs by John Tcrzcl, a D:)minicaTi friar, r mfoH thtlpiiit. of Dr. Martin Luthv-r, profcllor oi DivLni.y in the Univerluy of WiUcnhcrg, in 'he f l.dorare of Saxony, Heciufed g,; thffcs. nopoiing this ahiifc and oihcr errors, to be printed ard nailed tothi door -f the EK ftoral Church, 06lobcr3i, 1517; and this was tnc bcginnmg of the Reformation. 4« LETTERSTOA For their fake, and for the honour of Chrlrtianlty, I do mod ardently wifli their converfion. I long to embrace, as brethren, a thoufand, excellent men, who noiv live, as I cherlfh the memories of many, who have i/, within their communion. Nor do I think the period is \tvy dijijut, Big^>try cannot much longer be a weed in the prefent highly cultivated ftate of Great Britain. I liave before mentioned the emperor, as a probable Inllrument of this good work. His ambition, I truft, will thus be conf<;crated to the glory of God, and the welfare of mankind. The happitll events we celebrate, have, fometimes, fprinig from the impurell paffions. Our own reformation from this church was Jingularly effeded.* The Almighty can bend the counfels of men, in fuch a manner, as to anfwcr his fovereign defigns. " He doth what he will, in the ** armies of heaven, and amongft all the inhabitants gf * *« the earth." LETTER XXIX> i HE Greek church is much lefs known amongll us, as to its dodrlne or difcipline, than the Roman. Indeed there are, comparatively, but few members of it in England. It was firft eftablifhed in Greece, from whence it derived its name, and extends to fome other part of Turkcyf . It is often called the eajterriy in con- tradiflinftion to the Romifh, which is the 'wejiertii church. Though the profeflors of this religion difavow the fu- premacy of the Pope, and many other opinions of the Holy See, yet they are confiderably tinftured with fu- perftition. Their worftiip is overloaden with ceremony, lliew, fplendid drtffes, faftings, aulleriiies, &c, as well as the former. They are governed by blfhops and pa- triarchs. Their head is the patriarch of Conftantinople. • In the rcigo of Henry VIII. + It Is likewifc the eftablifhed Cfcurch throughout the vaft empire of Ruflia in Europe, Y O U N C L A D Y. 47 LETTER XXX. MY DEAR LUCY, \_J I S S E N T E R is a vaguf word, whicli, In I'tt full latitude, may be applied to a//, who differ from the eftablifhed religion. Originally, however, it meant only one kind of people, tl-tn diitinguiflitd by the name of prefbyterians, who rather diffented from the dijciplins and polity^ than the opinions^ of tlic church. Thefe, in general, embraced \\it. fctitinients of Calvin, relating to foreknowledge, divine decrees, irrefidible grace, predeftinatlon, reprobation, t^c. They difclaimed cpifcopacy, and their government was veiled In pref- byters and fynods. The word prrjbyter, means an el- der, dinA JyKod, an eccltfiaftical council or affemhly. The prtjcnt race of di (Tenters may be ftrldly fubdlvi- ded Into two claiTcs ; thofe who ftlll retain the dodrinet of Calvin, and his mode of dlfcipline, and call them- felves, from their form of government, Independents; and fuch, as affume the more fpecious title of pioteftant diffenters. The firft are extremely rigid and puritani- cal In their outward deportment ; but they do not breathe all the /ii;^^/«.....^>..<^"<>-"-<>- LETTER XXXI. jt K E methodifts are cowparativcly a new fc5^, and fprunir up, ?.bout llxty years av(r», Uiidcr the auTpiccs of JohnWcfley, and George WhitReld, ihtr. ftudents at Oxford. The) reccivtd their nnme, frnni utfc6king to live by a iiritter regimen and 7nr.thod^ than ether people. Tl'ey have been long divided into two claffjs, accord* ing to the different principles, tli^cufed by their lead- ert. The firll f()llovved the opinions of Arminius, un- der the guidance of Weflty, who isy//7/a very vene- rable looking patriarch, at their head ; and the other, believing divine decrees, foreknowledge, reprobation and eledion, are more flriftly members of the kirk, (only that they do not aditilt its difcipline) having long fjnce loft their original ^n^di^r,* I do not know, th.it the methodifts, (particularly they, vho follow Weflty, * are diffenters from the efta- blilhmeut, further than in having feparate meetings to • Cf-orge WliitficH. Both before and fince his (^cath, the Count- efs cl Mupiifj^rc^on • as been a pcrfon of great influence among thi» latter cla!s ot Alcthodift«. Y O U N G L A D Y. 4^ inkindlc and Infpi.it the zeal of their followers ; a clf* cumdance, which tbcy conceive to be much negU'ded by the regular clergy. They are baptized with «/j attend our fervices and facranient ; admire our liturgy ; and only blame us for our lulcewarmnefs and want of en- crp-y and animation. This cenfure, it is true, comes but with a very ill grace from fuch a people ; but, I fear, we cannot eafily refute it. They had crlginally a great fhare of enthujiafm. But it is greatly foftened by the indulgence they have re- ceived, and mellowed do'.vn by time. Thc-y are no longer, a new ; they are no longer a perfecuted fed. 1 he journals of Wefley, written in the infancy of bis career, are a ftrange medley of goodnefs and enthu- fiafm. The old man has livt^d long enough to have f-jen his error. That glov/ of Imagination is confider- ably abated, which millook fhadows for fubllance, and made tidion pafs for truth. The great eiror amongll this people, is their employ- ing fuch low, illiterate men, as their infiruflors, and fancying them under the immediate guidance of divine infpiration — preaching up the \\af>tifm, which t/jtry conceive, fliould always be by ijiimerfiou,^ There were many of this perfuafion, amongft the reformed abroad. In Holland, Germany, and the North, they were call- ed Anahaptifts, or Mennonites ; in Piedmont and the fouth, they were found amongft the Albigenfes. In England, they are few, and, at prefent, little men- tioned. The Q_uakers arofe about the middle of the feven- teenth century, f and had their name affixed upon them in derijton from the violent etiiotions-i with which they af- fedled to be agitated^ when they conceived themfelves under the more immediate impulfe of thtfpirit. They explain the whole letter of fcrlpture into a kind of /;/- nvard, and fpiritual a/lti/kn. They never fpeak, preach or exhort in public, but when they fancy themfelves to be moved by the Jfjirit ; they fet afide the necelTity of the external facraments, baptifm and the Lord's fupper, and would certainly be right, if men had no ?7iatte?' in their compofitlon, and If the Imagination was not to be awakened through the medium of the /^/?/>j. They acknowledge no head, but Chrift, no mafter but God ; refufe to pay tithes, and think the common civilities of life profajis and unchriftlan. They even appear covered in the prefence of their fovereign, and addrefs him with the familiar appellation of Thou. They are a religious community within themfelves, and their government Is wholly internaU You may fee their principles ably delineated by their ingenious apo- logift, Barclay. There are, however, many excellent traits In the character of the quakcrs. They are, on the whole, u * They likewife icjeft the baptifm of infants. + George Fox fccnis to have been their founder about the year i6^g. D 2 SZ L E T T E R S 1^ O A peaceable, inoffe n five people ; fupport their own poor; have raanlftfted, for a long time, from a fpiric of hu- manity, a llrong and pointed oppofition to the very In- famous pradlice of tiie flave trade; they never dUlurb the peace of the church, or fliackle the wheels of go. veriiment, and arc tolerated in all their innocent peculi- arities by a libeicl and an cnliglitened kingdom. LETTER XXXI I r. H E Moravians, or the hreihren^ are a fpecies of piott-flants, who, in the fifteenth century, threw off the defpotic yoke of Rome, animated by the zealous exhovtalions and heroic example of John Hufs.* Count Zinzendorff was a very eminent leader of this fed, and, for his fignal fervices amongll them, has been diflin- guifiicd by the name of Paj^a f or fpirltual father ; and a Monfieur la Trobe, who lived in the metropolis, and made continual circuits araongfl. them, has, more lately, acquired great celebrity in their annals. They have more than once pafTed through the fiery ordeal of perfecution. Their religious principles, how- ever, are found and orthodox. At a period, when great clamours were raifcd again ft them, Potter, the then learned Archbifhop of Canterbury, pronounced them a proteftant eplfcopal community, as they retain- ed no doftrines that were repugnant to the articles of the church of England ; and the pious bilhop of Sodor and Man (Wilfonj was created an honorary prefident of (what is called) the reformed Tropin^ In the Unit as fratnt7//t (the unity of the brethren.) Their dlfcljiline and mode of government are very fingular. Thty form vithin themfelves a religious com- * John Hu^'saiul Joromof Pia^^^uc, fuil-rcd martyrdom at Prague in t!ic year 141^- f This was ladier an appellation, which very 1 attiially was iifed in the familiar ciicle of iits family. In the wriiing publiihcd by the United Brethren, they generally ftylc him, the Ordinary of the BiCihitn. YOUNGLADY. 53 muiiity, Independent of every other, and extend to all their brethren throughout the world. They are not fuf- fered to intermarry with people, of a different perfua- fion ; they have groups of religious houfes, fcattcred througii the kingdom ; they have choirs of fingle fifters and brethren ; the firll are occupied in every kind of in- genious needle- work, in which they have made an ama- zing prolkiency, and the latter in all forts of mechani- cal employments ; and their earnings, after a mainte- nance for themfelves, which they rective in the houfe, go into one common fund for the fuppoit of the gene- ral fociety*, and particularly of the children, belong- ing to the married brethren and fillers, which are fed, educated and clothed in thefe religious feminaries. The morals and chaility of their aui;;;/^;; are guarded v.'ith a very peculiar vigilance ; they are not permitted to (lep without the walls of tljeir afylimi, unaccompa- nied by a fuperintendent of their own fex f ; when any of them, or the brethren is married, it is tranfatleil by the calling of lots, and fuppofed to be ordained by a particular providence, and the union is generally formc