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Table of contents
A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER 5.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
CHAPTER 11.
CHAPTER 12.
CHAPTER 13.
A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT.
M.
Wollstonecraft was born in 1759. Her father was so great a
wanderer,
that the place of her birth is uncertain; she supposed, however, it
was London, or Epping Forest: at the latter place she spent the
first
five years of her life. In early youth she exhibited traces of
exquisite sensibility, soundness of understanding, and decision of
character; but her father being a despot in his family, and her
mother one of his subjects, Mary, derived little benefit from their
parental training. She received no literary instructions but such
as
were to be had in ordinary day schools. Before her sixteenth year
she
became acquainted with Mr. Clare a clergyman, and Miss Frances
Blood;
the latter, two years older than herself; who possessing good taste
and some knowledge of the fine arts, seems to have given the first
impulse to the formation of her character. At the age of nineteen,
she left her parents, and resided with a Mrs. Dawson for two years;
when she returned to the parental roof to give attention to her
mother, whose ill health made her presence necessary. On the death
of
her mother, Mary bade a final adieu to her father's house, and
became
the inmate of F. Blood; thus situated, their intimacy increased,
and
a strong attachment was reciprocated. In 1783 she commenced a day
school at Newington green, in conjunction with her friend, F.
Blood.
At this place she became acquainted with Dr. Price, to whom she
became strongly attached; the regard was mutual.It
is said that she became a teacher from motives of benevolence, or
rather philanthropy, and during the time she continued in the
profession, she gave proof of superior qualification for the
performance of its arduous and important duties. Her friend and
coadjutor married and removed to Lisbon, in Portugal, where she
died
of a pulmonary disease; the symptoms of which were visible before
her
marriage. So true was Mary's attachment to her, that she entrusted
her school to the care of others, for the purpose of attending
Frances in her closing scene. She aided, as did Dr. Young, in
"Stealing Narcissa a grave." Her mind was expanded by this
residence in a foreign country, and though clear of religious
bigotry
before, she took some instructive lessons on the evils of
superstition, and intolerance.On
her return she found the school had suffered by her absence, and
having previously decided to apply herself to literature, she now
resolved to commence. In 1787 she made, or received, proposals from
Johnson, a publisher in London, who was already acquainted with her
talents as an author. During the three subsequent years, she was
actively engaged, more in translating, condensing, and compiling,
than in the production of original works. At this time she laboured
under much depression of spirits, for the loss of her friend; this
rather increased, perhaps, by the publication of "Mary, a
novel," which was mostly composed of incidents and reflections
connected with their intimacy.The
pecuniary concerns of her father becoming embarrassed, Mary
practised
a rigid economy in her expenditures, and with her savings was
enabled
to procure her sisters and brothers situations, to which without
her
aid, they could not have had access; her father was sustained at
length from her funds; she even found means to take under her
protection an orphan child.She
had acquired a facility in the arrangement and expression of
thoughts, in her avocation of translator, and compiler, which was
no
doubt of great use to her afterward. It was not long until she had
occasion for them. The eminent Burke produced his celebrated
"Reflections on the Revolution in France." Mary full of
sentiments of liberty, and indignant at what she thought subversive
of it, seized her pen and produced the first attack upon that
famous
work. It succeeded well, for though intemperate and contemptuous,
it
was vehemently and impetuously eloquent; and though Burke was
beloved
by the enlightened friends of freedom, they were dissatisfied and
disgusted with what they deemed an outrage upon it.It
is said that Mary, had not wanted confidence in her own powers
before, but the reception this work met from the public, gave her
an
opportunity of judging what those powers were, in the estimation of
others. It was shortly after this, that she commenced the work to
which these remarks are prefixed. What are its merits will be
decided
in the judgment of each reader; suffice it to say she appears to
have
stept forth boldly, and singly, in defence of that half of the
human
race, which by the usages of all society, whether savage or
civilized, have been kept from attaining their proper dignity—their
equal rank as rational beings. It would appear that the disguise
used
in placing on woman the silken fetters which bribed her into
endurance, and even love of slavery, but increased the opposition
of
our authoress: she would have had more patience with rude, brute
coercion, than with that imposing gallantry, which, while it
affects
to consider woman as the pride, and ornament of creation, degrades
her to a toy—an appendage—a cypher. The work was much
reprehended, and as might well be expected, found its greatest
enemies in the pretty soft creatures—the spoiled children of her
own sex. She accomplished it in six weeks.In
1792 she removed to Paris, where she became acquainted with Gilbert
Imlay, of the United States. And from this acquaintance grew an
attachment, which brought the parties together, without legal
formalities, to which she objected on account of some family
embarrassments, in which he would thereby become involved. The
engagement was however considered by her of the most sacred nature,
and they formed the plan of emigrating to America, where they
should
be enabled to accomplish it. These were the days of Robespierrean
cruelty, and Imlay left Paris for Havre, whither after a time Mary
followed him. They continued to reside there, until he left Havre
for
London, under pretence of business, and with a promise of rejoining
her soon at Paris, which however he did not, but in 1795 sent for
her
to London. In the mean time she had become the mother of a female
child, whom she called Frances in commemoration of her early
friendship.Before
she went to England, she had some gloomy forebodings that the
affections of Imlay, had waned, if they were not estranged from
her;
on her arrival, those forebodings were sorrowfully confirmed. His
attentions were too formal and constrained to pass unobserved by
her
penetration, and though he ascribed his manner, and his absence, to
business duties, she saw his affection for her was only something
to
be remembered. To use her own expression, "Love, dear delusion!
Rigorous reason has forced me to resign; and now my rational
prospects are blasted, just as I have learned to be contented with
rational enjoyments." To pretend to depict her misery at this
time would be futile; the best idea can be formed of it from the
fact
that she had planned her own destruction, from which Imlay
prevented
her. She conceived the idea of suicide a second time, and threw
herself into the Thames; she remained in the water, until
consciousness forsook her, but she was taken up and resuscitated.
After divers attempts to revive the affections of Imlay, with
sundry
explanations and professions on his part, through the lapse of two
years, she resolved finally to forgo all hope of reclaiming him,
and
endeavour to think of him no more in connexion with her future
prospects. In this she succeeded so well, that she afterwards had a
private interview with him, which did not produce any painful
emotions.In
1796 she revived or improved an acquaintance which commenced years
before with Wm. Godwin, author of "Political Justice," and
other works of great notoriety. Though they had not been favourably
impressed with each other on their former acquaintance, they now
met
under circumstances which permitted a mutual and just appreciation
of
character. Their intimacy increased by regular and almost
imperceptible degrees. The partiality they conceived for each other
was, according to her biographer, "In the most refined style of
love. It grew with equal advances in the mind of each. It would
have
been impossible for the most minute observer to have said who was
before, or who after. One sex did not take the priority which long
established custom has awarded it, nor the other overstep that
delicacy which is so severely imposed. Neither party could assume
to
have been the agent or the patient, the toil-spreader or the prey
in
the affair. When in the course of things the disclosure came, there
was nothing in a manner for either to disclose to the
other."Mary
lived but a few months after her marriage, and died in child-bed;
having given birth to a daughter who is now known to the literary
world as Mrs. Shelly, the widow of Percy Bysche Shelly.We
can scarcely avoid regret that one of such splendid talents, and
high
toned feelings, should, after the former seemed to have been fully
developed, and the latter had found an object in whom they might
repose, after their eccentric and painful efforts to find a resting
place—that such an one should at such a time, be cut off from life
is something which we cannot contemplate without feeling regret; we
can scarcely repress the murmur that she had not been removed ere
clouds darkened her horizon, or that she had remained to witness
the
brightness and serenity which might have succeeded. But thus it is;
we may trace the cause to anti-social arrangements; it is not
individuals but society which must change it, and that not by
enactments, but by a change in public opinion.The
authoress of the "Rights of Woman," was born April 1759,
diedSeptember
1797.That
there may be no doubt regarding the facts in this sketch, they are
taken from a memoir written by her afflicted husband. In addition
to
many kind things he has said of her, (he was not blinded to
imperfections in her character) is, that she was "Lovely in her
person, and in the best and most engaging sense feminine in her
manners."TOM.
TALLEYRAND PERIGORD,LATE
BISHOP OF AUTUN.Sir:—Having
read with great pleasure a pamphlet, which you have lately
published,
on National Education, I dedicate this volume to you, the first
dedication that I have ever written, to induce you to read it with
attention; and, because I think that you will understand me, which
I
do not suppose many pert witlings will, who may ridicule the
arguments they are unable to answer. But, sir, I carry my respect
for
your understanding still farther: so far, that I am confident you
will not throw my work aside, and hastily conclude that I am in the
wrong because you did not view the subject in the same light
yourself. And pardon my frankness, but I must observe, that you
treated it in too cursory a manner, contented to consider it as it
had been considered formerly, when the rights of man, not to advert
to woman, were trampled on as chimerical. I call upon you,
therefore,
now to weigh what I have advanced respecting the rights of woman,
and
national education; and I call with the firm tone of humanity. For
my
arguments, sir, are dictated by a disinterested spirit: I plead for
my sex, not for myself. Independence I have long considered as the
grand blessing of life, the basis of every virtue; and independence
I
will ever secure by contracting my wants, though I were to live on
a
barren heath.It
is, then, an affection for the whole human race that makes my pen
dart rapidly along to support what I believe to be the cause of
virtue: and the same motive leads me earnestly to wish to see woman
placed in a station in which she would advance, instead of
retarding,
the progress of those glorious principles that give a substance to
morality. My opinion, indeed, respecting the rights and duties of
woman, seems to flow so naturally from these simple principles,
that
I think it scarcely possible, but that some of the enlarged minds
who
formed your admirable constitution, will coincide with me.In
France, there is undoubtedly a more general diffusion of knowledge
than in any part of the European world, and I attribute it, in a
great measure, to the social intercourse which has long subsisted
between the sexes. It is true, I utter my sentiments with freedom,
that in France the very essence of sensuality has been extracted to
regale the voluptuary, and a kind of sentimental lust has
prevailed,
which, together with the system of duplicity that the whole tenor
of
their political and civil government taught, have given a sinister
sort of sagacity to the French character, properly termed finesse;
and a polish of manners that injures the substance, by hunting
sincerity out of society. And, modesty, the fairest garb of virtue
has been more grossly insulted in France than even in England, till
their women have treated as PRUDISH that attention to decency which
brutes instinctively observe.Manners
and morals are so nearly allied, that they have often been
confounded; but, though the former should only be the natural
reflection of the latter, yet, when various causes have produced
factitious and corrupt manners, which are very early caught,
morality
becomes an empty name. The personal reserve, and sacred respect for
cleanliness and delicacy in domestic life, which French women
almost
despise, are the graceful pillars of modesty; but, far from
despising
them, if the pure flame of patriotism have reached their bosoms,
they
should labour to improve the morals of their fellow-citizens, by
teaching men, not only to respect modesty in women, but to acquire
it
themselves, as the only way to merit their esteem.Contending
for the rights of women, my main argument is built on this simple
principle, that if she be not prepared by education to become the
companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge, for
truth
must be common to all, or it will be inefficacious with respect to
its influence on general practice. And how can woman be expected to
co-operate, unless she know why she ought to be virtuous? Unless
freedom strengthen her reason till she comprehend her duty, and see
in what manner it is connected with her real good? If children are
to
be educated to understand the true principle of patriotism, their
mother must be a patriot; and the love of mankind, from which an
orderly train of virtues spring, can only be produced by
considering
the moral and civil interest of mankind; but the education and
situation of woman, at present, shuts her out from such
investigations.In
this work I have produced many arguments, which to me were
conclusive, to prove, that the prevailing notion respecting a
sexual
character was subversive of morality, and I have contended, that to
render the human body and mind more perfect, chastity must more
universally prevail, and that chastity will never be respected in
the
male world till the person of a woman is not, as it were, idolized
when little virtue or sense embellish it with the grand traces of
mental beauty, or the interesting simplicity of affection.Consider,
Sir, dispassionately, these observations, for a glimpse of this
truth
seemed to open before you when you observed, "that to see one
half of the human race excluded by the other from all participation
of government, was a political phenomenon that, according to
abstract
principles, it was impossible to explain." If so, on what does
your constitution rest? If the abstract rights of man will bear
discussion and explanation, those of woman, by a parity of
reasoning,
will not shrink from the same test: though a different opinion
prevails in this country, built on the very arguments which you use
to justify the oppression of woman, prescription.Consider,
I address you as a legislator, whether, when men contend for their
freedom, and to be allowed to judge for themselves, respecting
their
own happiness, it be not inconsistent and unjust to subjugate
women,
even though you firmly believe that you are acting in the manner
best
calculated to promote their happiness? Who made man the exclusive
judge, if woman partake with him the gift of reason?In
this style, argue tyrants of every denomination from the weak king
to
the weak father of a family; they are all eager to crush reason;
yet
always assert that they usurp its throne only to be useful. Do you
not act a similar part, when you FORCE all women, by denying them
civil and political rights, to remain immured in their families
groping in the dark? For surely, sir, you will not assert, that a
duty can be binding which is not founded on reason? If, indeed,
this
be their destination, arguments may be drawn from reason; and thus
augustly supported, the more understanding women acquire, the more
they will be attached to their duty, comprehending it, for unless
they comprehend it, unless their morals be fixed on the same
immutable principles as those of man, no authority can make them
discharge it in a virtuous manner. They may be convenient slaves,
but
slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the
abject dependent.But,
if women are to be excluded, without having a voice, from a
participation of the natural rights of mankind, prove first, to
ward
off the charge of injustice and inconsistency, that they want
reason,
else this flaw in your NEW CONSTITUTION, the first constitution
founded on reason, will ever show that man must, in some shape, act
like a tyrant, and tyranny, in whatever part of society it rears
its
brazen front, will ever undermine morality.I
have repeatedly asserted, and produced what appeared to me
irrefragable arguments drawn from matters of fact, to prove my
assertion, that women cannot, by force, be confined to domestic
concerns; for they will however ignorant, intermeddle with more
weighty affairs, neglecting private duties only to disturb, by
cunning tricks, the orderly plans of reason which rise above their
comprehension.Besides,
whilst they are only made to acquire personal accomplishments, men
will seek for pleasure in variety, and faithless husbands will make
faithless wives; such ignorant beings, indeed, will be very
excusable
when, not taught to respect public good, nor allowed any civil
right,
they attempt to do themselves justice by retaliation.The
box of mischief thus opened in society, what is to preserve private
virtue, the only security of public freedom and universal
happiness?Let
there be then no coercion ESTABLISHED in society, and the common
law
of gravity prevailing, the sexes will fall into their proper
places.
And, now that more equitable laws are forming your citizens,
marriage
may become more sacred; your young men may choose wives from
motives
of affection, and your maidens allow love to root out
vanity.The
father of a family will not then weaken his constitution and debase
his sentiments, by visiting the harlot, nor forget, in obeying the
call of appetite, the purpose for which it was implanted; and the
mother will not neglect her children to practise the arts of
coquetry, when sense and modesty secure her the friendship of her
husband.But,
till men become attentive to the duty of a father, it is vain to
expect women to spend that time in their nursery which they, "wise
in their generation," choose to spend at their glass; for this
exertion of cunning is only an instinct of nature to enable them to
obtain indirectly a little of that power of which they are unjustly
denied a share; for, if women are not permitted to enjoy legitimate
rights, they will render both men and themselves vicious, to obtain
illicit privileges.I
wish, sir, to set some investigations of this kind afloat in
France;
and should they lead to a confirmation of my principles, when your
constitution is revised, the rights of woman may be respected, if
it
be fully proved that reason calls for this respect, and loudly
demands JUSTICE for one half of the human race.I
am, sir,Yours
respectfully,M.
W.
INTRODUCTION.
After
considering the historic page, and viewing the living world with
anxious solicitude, the most melancholy emotions of sorrowful
indignation have depressed my spirits, and I have sighed when
obliged
to confess, that either nature has made a great difference between
man and man, or that the civilization, which has hitherto taken
place
in the world, has been very partial. I have turned over various
books
written on the subject of education, and patiently observed the
conduct of parents and the management of schools; but what has been
the result? a profound conviction, that the neglected education of
my
fellow creatures is the grand source of the misery I deplore; and
that women in particular, are rendered weak and wretched by a
variety
of concurring causes, originating from one hasty conclusion. The
conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove, that their
minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers that are
planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed
to
beauty; and the flaunting leaves, after having pleased a fastidious
eye, fade, disregarded on the stalk, long before the season when
they
ought to have arrived at maturity. One cause of this barren
blooming
I attribute to a false system of education, gathered from the books
written on this subject by men, who, considering females rather as
women than human creatures, have been more anxious to make them
alluring mistresses than rational wives; and the understanding of
the
sex has been so bubbled by this specious homage, that the civilized
women of the present century, with a few exceptions, are only
anxious
to inspire love, when they ought to cherish a nobler ambition, and
by
their abilities and virtues exact respect.In
a treatise, therefore, on female rights and manners, the works
which
have been particularly written for their improvement must not be
overlooked; especially when it is asserted, in direct terms, that
the
minds of women are enfeebled by false refinement; that the books of
instruction, written by men of genius, have had the same tendency
as
more frivolous productions; and that, in the true style of
Mahometanism, they are only considered as females, and not as a
part
of the human species, when improvable reason is allowed to be the
dignified distinction, which raises men above the brute creation,
and
puts a natural sceptre in a feeble hand.Yet,
because I am a woman, I would not lead my readers to suppose, that
I
mean violently to agitate the contested question respecting the
equality and inferiority of the sex; but as the subject lies in my
way, and I cannot pass it over without subjecting the main tendency
of my reasoning to misconstruction, I shall stop a moment to
deliver,
in a few words, my opinion. In the government of the physical
world,
it is observable that the female, in general, is inferior to the
male. The male pursues, the female yields—this is the law of
nature; and it does not appear to be suspended or abrogated in
favour
of woman. This physical superiority cannot be denied—and it is a
noble prerogative! But not content with this natural pre-eminence,
men endeavour to sink us still lower, merely to render us alluring
objects for a moment; and women, intoxicated by the adoration which
men, under the influence of their senses, pay them, do not seek to
obtain a durable interest in their hearts, or to become the friends
of the fellow creatures who find amusement in their society.I
am aware of an obvious inference: from every quarter have I heard
exclamations against masculine women; but where are they to be
found?
If, by this appellation, men mean to inveigh against their ardour
in
hunting, shooting, and gaming, I shall most cordially join in the
cry; but if it be, against the imitation of manly virtues, or, more
properly speaking, the attainment of those talents and virtues, the
exercise of which ennobles the human character, and which raise
females in the scale of animal being, when they are comprehensively
termed mankind—all those who view them with a philosophical eye
must, I should think, wish with me, that they may every day grow
more
and more masculine.This
discussion naturally divides the subject. I shall first consider
women in the grand light of human creatures, who, in common with
men,
are placed on this earth to unfold their faculties; and afterwards
I
shall more particularly point out their peculiar
designation.I
wish also to steer clear of an error, which many respectable
writers
have fallen into; for the instruction which has hitherto been
addressed to women, has rather been applicable to LADIES, if the
little indirect advice, that is scattered through Sandford and
Merton, be excepted; but, addressing my sex in a firmer tone, I pay
particular attention to those in the middle class, because they
appear to be in the most natural state. Perhaps the seeds of false
refinement, immorality, and vanity have ever been shed by the
great.
Weak, artificial beings raised above the common wants and
affections
of their race, in a premature unnatural manner, undermine the very
foundation of virtue, and spread corruption through the whole mass
of
society! As a class of mankind they have the strongest claim to
pity!
the education of the rich tends to render them vain and helpless,
and
the unfolding mind is not strengthened by the practice of those
duties which dignify the human character. They only live to amuse
themselves, and by the same law which in nature invariably produces
certain effects, they soon only afford barren amusement.But
as I purpose taking a separate view of the different ranks of
society, and of the moral character of women, in each, this hint
is,
for the present, sufficient; and I have only alluded to the
subject,
because it appears to me to be the very essence of an introduction
to
give a cursory account of the contents of the work it
introduces.My
own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational
creatures, instead of flattering their FASCINATING graces, and
viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood,
unable to stand alone. I earnestly wish to point out in what true
dignity and human happiness consists—I wish to persuade women to
endeavour to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to
convince
them, that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of
sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost synonymous with
epithets of weakness, and that those beings who are only the
objects
of pity and that kind of love, which has been termed its sister,
will
soon become objects of contempt.Dismissing
then those pretty feminine phrases, which the men condescendingly
use
to soften our slavish dependence, and despising that weak elegancy
of
mind, exquisite sensibility, and sweet docility of manners,
supposed
to be the sexual characteristics of the weaker vessel, I wish to
show
that elegance is inferior to virtue, that the first object of
laudable ambition is to obtain a character as a human being,
regardless of the distinction of sex; and that secondary views
should
be brought to this simple touchstone.This
is a rough sketch of my plan; and should I express my conviction
with
the energetic emotions that I feel whenever I think of the subject,
the dictates of experience and reflection will be felt by some of
my
readers. Animated by this important object, I shall disdain to cull
my phrases or polish my style—I aim at being useful, and sincerity
will render me unaffected; for wishing rather to persuade by the
force of my arguments, than dazzle by the elegance of my language,
I
shall not waste my time in rounding periods, nor in fabricating the
turgid bombast of artificial feelings, which, coming from the head,
never reach the heart. I shall be employed about things, not words!
and, anxious to render my sex more respectable members of society,
I
shall try to avoid that flowery diction which has slided from
essays
into novels, and from novels into familiar letters and
conversation.These
pretty nothings, these caricatures of the real beauty of
sensibility,
dropping glibly from the tongue, vitiate the taste, and create a
kind
of sickly delicacy that turns away from simple unadorned truth; and
a
deluge of false sentiments and over-stretched feelings, stifling
the
natural emotions of the heart, render the domestic pleasures
insipid,
that ought to sweeten the exercise of those severe duties, which
educate a rational and immortal being for a nobler field of
action.The
education of women has, of late, been more attended to than
formerly;
yet they are still reckoned a frivolous sex, and ridiculed or
pitied
by the writers who endeavour by satire or instruction to improve
them. It is acknowledged that they spend many of the first years of
their lives in acquiring a smattering of accomplishments:
meanwhile,
strength of body and mind are sacrificed to libertine notions of
beauty, to the desire of establishing themselves, the only way
women
can rise in the world—by marriage. And this desire making mere
animals of them, when they marry, they act as such children may be
expected to act: they dress; they paint, and nickname God's
creatures. Surely these weak beings are only fit for the seraglio!
Can they govern a family, or take care of the poor babes whom they
bring into the world?If
then it can be fairly deduced from the present conduct of the sex,
from the prevalent fondness for pleasure, which takes place of
ambition and those nobler passions that open and enlarge the soul;
that the instruction which women have received has only tended,
with
the constitution of civil society, to render them insignificant
objects of desire; mere propagators of fools! if it can be proved,
that in aiming to accomplish them, without cultivating their
understandings, they are taken out of their sphere of duties, and
made ridiculous and useless when the short lived bloom of beauty is
over*, I presume that RATIONAL men will excuse me for endeavouring
to
persuade them to become more masculine and respectable.(*Footnote.
A lively writer, I cannot recollect his name, asks what business
women turned of forty have to do in the world.)Indeed
the word masculine is only a bugbear: there is little reason to
fear
that women will acquire too much courage or fortitude; for their
apparent inferiority with respect to bodily strength, must render
them, in some degree, dependent on men in the various relations of
life; but why should it be increased by prejudices that give a sex
to
virtue, and confound simple truths with sensual reveries?Women
are, in fact, so much degraded by mistaken notions of female
excellence, that I do not mean to add a paradox when I assert, that
this artificial weakness produces a propensity to tyrannize, and
gives birth to cunning, the natural opponent of strength, which
leads
them to play off those contemptible infantile airs that undermine
esteem even whilst they excite desire. Do not foster these
prejudices, and they will naturally fall into their subordinate,
yet
respectable station in life.It
seems scarcely necessary to say, that I now speak of the sex in
general. Many individuals have more sense than their male
relatives;
and, as nothing preponderates where there is a constant struggle
for
an equilibrium, without it has naturally more gravity, some women
govern their husbands without degrading themselves, because
intellect
will always govern.
CHAPTER 1.
THE
RIGHTS AND INVOLVED DUTIES OF MANKIND CONSIDERED.In
the present state of society, it appears necessary to go back to
first principles in search of the most simple truths, and to
dispute
with some prevailing prejudice every inch of ground. To clear my
way,
I must be allowed to ask some plain questions, and the answers will
probably appear as unequivocal as the axioms on which reasoning is
built; though, when entangled with various motives of action, they
are formally contradicted, either by the words or conduct of
men.In
what does man's pre-eminence over the brute creation
consist?The
answer is as clear as that a half is less than the whole; inReason.What
acquirement exalts one being above another? Virtue; we
spontaneously
reply.For
what purpose were the passions implanted? That man by struggling
with
them might attain a degree of knowledge denied to the brutes:
whispers Experience.Consequently
the perfection of our nature and capability of happiness, must be
estimated by the degree of reason, virtue, and knowledge, that
distinguish the individual, and direct the laws which bind society:
and that from the exercise of reason, knowledge and virtue
naturally
flow, is equally undeniable, if mankind be viewed
collectively.The
rights and duties of man thus simplified, it seems almost
impertinent
to attempt to illustrate truths that appear so incontrovertible:
yet
such deeply rooted prejudices have clouded reason, and such
spurious
qualities have assumed the name of virtues, that it is necessary to
pursue the course of reason as it has been perplexed and involved
in
error, by various adventitious circumstances, comparing the simple
axiom with casual deviations.Men,
in general, seem to employ their reason to justify prejudices,
which
they have imbibed, they cannot trace how, rather than to root them
out. The mind must be strong that resolutely forms its own
principles; for a kind of intellectual cowardice prevails which
makes
many men shrink from the task, or only do it by halves. Yet the
imperfect conclusions thus drawn, are frequently very plausible,
because they are built on partial experience, on just, though
narrow,
views.Going
back to first principles, vice skulks, with all its native
deformity,
from close investigation; but a set of shallow reasoners are always
exclaiming that these arguments prove too much, and that a measure
rotten at the core may be expedient. Thus expediency is continually
contrasted with simple principles, till truth is lost in a mist of
words, virtue in forms, and knowledge rendered a sounding nothing,
by
the specious prejudices that assume its name.That
the society is formed in the wisest manner, whose constitution is
founded on the nature of man, strikes, in the abstract, every
thinking being so forcibly, that it looks like presumption to
endeavour to bring forward proofs; though proof must be brought, or
the strong hold of prescription will never be forced by reason; yet
to urge prescription as an argument to justify the depriving men
(or
women) of their natural rights, is one of the absurd sophisms which
daily insult common sense.The
civilization of the bulk of the people of Europe, is very partial;
nay, it may be made a question, whether they have acquired any
virtues in exchange for innocence, equivalent to the misery
produced
by the vices that have been plastered over unsightly ignorance, and
the freedom which has been bartered for splendid slavery. The
desire
of dazzling by riches, the most certain pre-eminence that man can
obtain, the pleasure of commanding flattering sycophants, and many
other complicated low calculations of doting self-love, have all
contributed to overwhelm the mass of mankind, and make liberty a
convenient handle for mock patriotism. For whilst rank and titles
are
held of the utmost importance, before which Genius "must hide
its diminished head," it is, with a few exceptions, very
unfortunate for a nation when a man of abilities, without rank or
property, pushes himself forward to notice. Alas! what unheard of
misery have thousands suffered to purchase a cardinal's hat for an
intriguing obscure adventurer, who longed to be ranked with
princes,
or lord it over them by seizing the triple crown!Such,
indeed, has been the wretchedness that has flowed from hereditary
honours, riches, and monarchy, that men of lively sensibility have
almost uttered blasphemy in order to justify the dispensations of
providence. Man has been held out as independent of his power who
made him, or as a lawless planet darting from its orbit to steal
the
celestial fire of reason; and the vengeance of heaven, lurking in
the
subtile flame, sufficiently punished his temerity, by introducing
evil into the world.Impressed
by this view of the misery and disorder which pervaded society, and
fatigued with jostling against artificial fools, Rousseau became
enamoured of solitude, and, being at the same time an optimist, he
labours with uncommon eloquence to prove that man was naturally a
solitary animal. Misled by his respect for the goodness of God, who
certainly for what man of sense and feeling can doubt it! gave life
only to communicate happiness, he considers evil as positive, and
the
work of man; not aware that he was exalting one attribute at the
expense of another, equally necessary to divine perfection.Reared
on a false hypothesis, his arguments in favour of a state of nature
are plausible, but unsound. I say unsound; for to assert that a
state
of nature is preferable to civilization in all its possible
perfection, is, in other words, to arraign supreme wisdom; and the
paradoxical exclamation, that God has made all things right, and
that
evil has been introduced by the creature whom he formed, knowing
what
he formed, is as unphilosophical as impious.When
that wise Being, who created us and placed us here, saw the fair
idea, he willed, by allowing it to be so, that the passions should
unfold our reason, because he could see that present evil would
produce future good. Could the helpless creature whom he called
from
nothing, break loose from his providence, and boldly learn to know
good by practising evil without his permission? No. How could that
energetic advocate for immortality argue so inconsistently? Had
mankind remained for ever in the brutal state of nature, which even
his magic pen cannot paint as a state in which a single virtue took
root, it would have been clear, though not to the sensitive
unreflecting wanderer, that man was born to run the circle of life
and death, and adorn God's garden for some purpose which could not
easily be reconciled with his attributes.But
if, to crown the whole, there were to be rational creatures
produced,
allowed to rise in excellency by the exercise of powers implanted
for
that purpose; if benignity itself thought fit to call into
existence
a creature above the brutes, who could think and improve himself,
why
should that inestimable gift, for a gift it was, if a man was so
created as to have a capacity to rise above the state in which
sensation produced brutal ease, be called, in direct terms, a
curse?
A curse it might be reckoned, if all our existence was bounded by
our
continuance in this world; for why should the gracious fountain of
life give us passions, and the power of reflecting, only to
embitter
our days, and inspire us with mistaken notions of dignity? Why
should
he lead us from love of ourselves to the sublime emotions which the
discovery of his wisdom and goodness excites, if these feelings
were
not set in motion to improve our nature, of which they make a part,
and render us capable of enjoying a more godlike portion of
happiness? Firmly persuaded that no evil exists in the world that
God
did not design to take place, I build my belief on the perfection
of
God.Rousseau
exerts himself to prove, that all WAS right originally: a crowd of
authors that all IS now right: and I, that all WILL BE
right.But,
true to his first position, next to a state of nature, Rousseau
celebrates barbarism, and, apostrophizing the shade of Fabricius,
he
forgets that, in conquering the world, the Romans never dreamed of
establishing their own liberty on a firm basis, or of extending the
reign of virtue. Eager to support his system, he stigmatizes, as
vicious, every effort of genius; and uttering the apotheosis of
savage virtues, he exalts those to demigods, who were scarcely
human—the brutal Spartans, who in defiance of justice and
gratitude, sacrificed, in cold blood, the slaves that had shown
themselves men to rescue their oppressors.Disgusted
with artificial manners and virtues, the citizen of Geneva, instead
of properly sifting the subject, threw away the wheat with the
chaff,
without waiting to inquire whether the evils, which his ardent soul
turned from indignantly, were the consequence of civilization, or
the
vestiges of barbarism. He saw vice trampling on virtue, and the
semblance of goodness taking place of the reality; he saw talents
bent by power to sinister purposes, and never thought of tracing
the
gigantic mischief up to arbitrary power, up to the hereditary
distinctions that clash with the mental superiority that naturally
raises a man above his fellows. He did not perceive, that the regal
power, in a few generations, introduces idiotism into the noble
stem,
and holds out baits to render thousands idle and vicious.Nothing
can set the regal character in a more contemptible point of view,
than the various crimes that have elevated men to the supreme
dignity. Vile intrigues, unnatural crimes, and every vice that
degrades our nature, have been the steps to this distinguished
eminence; yet millions of men have supinely allowed the nerveless
limbs of the posterity of such rapacious prowlers, to rest quietly
on
their ensanguined thrones.What
but a pestilential vapour can hover over society, when its chief
director is only instructed in the invention of crimes, or the
stupid
routine of childish ceremonies? Will men never be wise? will they
never cease to expect corn from tares, and figs from
thistles?It
is impossible for any man, when the most favourable circumstances
concur, to acquire sufficient knowledge and strength of mind to
discharge the duties of a king, entrusted with uncontrolled power;
how then must they be violated when his very elevation is an
insuperable bar to the attainment of either wisdom or virtue; when
all the feelings of a man are stifled by flattery, and reflection
shut out by pleasure! Surely it is madness to make the fate of
thousands depend on the caprice of a weak fellow creature, whose
very
station sinks him NECESSARILY below the meanest of his subjects!
But
one power should not be thrown down to exalt another—for all power
intoxicates weak man; and its abuse proves, that the more equality
there is established among men, the more virtue and happiness will
reign in society. But this, and any similar maxim deduced from
simple
reason, raises an outcry—the church or the state is in danger, if
faith in the wisdom of antiquity is not implicit; and they who,
roused by the sight of human calamity, dare to attack human
authority, are reviled as despisers of God, and enemies of man.
These
are bitter calumnies, yet they reached one of the best of men, (Dr.
Price.) whose ashes still preach peace, and whose memory demands a
respectful pause, when subjects are discussed that lay so near his
heart.After
attacking the sacred majesty of kings, I shall scarcely excite
surprise, by adding my firm persuasion, that every profession, in
which great subordination of rank constitutes its power, is highly
injurious to morality.A
standing army, for instance, is incompatible with freedom; because
subordination and rigour are the very sinews of military
discipline;
and despotism is necessary to give vigour to enterprises that one
will directs. A spirit inspired by romantic notions of honour, a
kind
of morality founded on the fashion of the age, can only be felt by
a
few officers, whilst the main body must be moved by command, like
the
waves of the sea; for the strong wind of authority pushes the crowd
of subalterns forward, they scarcely know or care why, with
headlong
fury.Besides,
nothing can be so prejudicial to the morals of the inhabitants of
country towns, as the occasional residence of a set of idle
superficial young men, whose only occupation is gallantry, and
whose
polished manners render vice more dangerous, by concealing its
deformity under gay ornamental drapery. An air of fashion, which is
but a badge of slavery, and proves that the soul has not a strong
individual character, awes simple country people into an imitation
of
the vices, when they cannot catch the slippery graces of
politeness.
Every corps is a chain of despots, who, submitting and tyrannizing
without exercising their reason, become dead weights of vice and
folly on the community. A man of rank or fortune, sure of rising by
interest, has nothing to do but to pursue some extravagant freak;
whilst the needy GENTLEMAN, who is to rise, as the phrase turns, by
his merit, becomes a servile parasite or vile pander.Sailors,
the naval gentlemen, come under the same description, only their
vices assume a different and a grosser cast. They are more
positively
indolent, when not discharging the ceremonials of their station;
whilst the insignificant fluttering of soldiers may be termed
active
idleness. More confined to the society of men, the former acquire a
fondness for humour and mischievous tricks; whilst the latter,
mixing
frequently with well-bred women, catch a sentimental cant. But mind
is equally out of the question, whether they indulge the
horse-laugh
or polite simper.