An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex/Dedication

To Her Royal Highnes the
 * Princes Anne of Denmark.

MADAM,

F in adventuring to lay this little Piece at your Highnees Feet, and humbly to beg your Royal Protection of it, I have preum&rsquo;d too far, be pleas&rsquo;d to impute it to your own mot gracious Goodnes, the knowledge of which encourag&rsquo;d me. Our Sex are by Nature tender of their own Off-pring, and may be allow&rsquo;d to have more fondnes for thoe of the Brain, thenthan [sic] any other; becaue they are o few, and meet with o many Enemies at their firt appearance in the World. I hope therefore to find pardon, if like an indulgent Parent, I have endeavour&rsquo;d to advance my firt Born, by entering it very early into your Highnees Service. I have not preum&rsquo;d to approach your Highnes out of any Confidence in the merits of this Eay, but of the Caue which it pleads, wherein the Honour of the whole Sex eem&rsquo;d to exact of me no les a Patronage than that of the Bet, as well as Greatet among &rsquo;em, whom they are all ambitious to ee at their head. I have only endeavour&rsquo;d to reduce the Sexes to a Level, and by Arguments to raie Ours to an Equallity at mot with the Men: But your Highnes by illutrious Example daily convinces the World of our Superiority, and we ee with wonder, Vertues in you, Madam, greater than your Birth. In this I am peculiarly happy, that I am exempted from the common Task of other Dedicators, who lie under an Obligation of publihing to the World thoe Excellencies of their Patrons, which perhaps appear no where but in their Epitles. In me it were as great folly, to pretend to make known the Illutrious Quallities of your Highnes, as it wou&rsquo;d be to go about to demontrate by Argument, that the Sun hin&rsquo;d, to a Crowd that are warm&rsquo;d by the Influence of it.

I had attempted the Character of a conummate Woman, could I, tho&rsquo; but faintly have haddow&rsquo;d the inimitable Graces of your Highnes; but the impoibillity of that Task forc&rsquo;d me to deit. It were eay here to lanch into thoe glorious particulars, which affirmed of any other than your Royal Highnes, would have been extravagance of Flattery; but to you Injutice, and in me the highet preumption, to attempt with my feeble Hand thoe perfections, which the ablet mut fall infinitely hort of. The lutre of your Royal Vertues, Madam, like the Sun, gives us warmth and light, and while at a modet ditance we admire it, improves our ight, which too bold a view confounds, yet the meanet and mot ignorant ee thoe Glories, which the mot exquiite Artit can never expres. The World therefore will rather jutify than condemn my conduct, if I do not wrong o bright an Original with a dark obcure Copy.

Madam, Tho&rsquo; the world may condemn my performance, it mut applaud my choice in this Addres, and own that had I known as well how to Argue, as to Intance, I mut infallibly have Triumph&rsquo;d over all Oppoition. It may be eaie to evade, or baffle the force of my Arguments, but it is impoible without the utmot Stupidity and Injutice, to deny the manifet Advantages of thoe Illutrious Graces, which raie your Highnes o far above theirs as well as your own Sex. In this I have imitated the conduct of prudent Generals, who, when they doubt the ufficiency of their trength, retire to ome trong Fort, and ret ecure under the Protection of it.

There is yet another Reaon, Madam, which tho&rsquo; the leat jutifiable, was nevertheles mot prevalent with me to devote this Eay to your Highnes. My Ambition to hew the profound Repects I have always had for your Highnes, would not uffer me to let lip any occaion of expreing it, even tho&rsquo; I bluh for the meanesmeanness [sic] of it. Thus I find my elf reduc&rsquo;d by my Zeal, to the condition of poor Tenants, who mut expoe their Poverty, to hew their Affection to their Lord in a worthles Preent. I am enible of the rahnes of my Ambition in apiring to the Patronage of Your Highnes, and the need I have of an Apology; but were I able to make one as I ought, I hould have taken care to have had les occaion for it. Yet I doubt not from Your Goodnes that Indulgence, which I cannot expect from Your Jutice, nor but that you will (like Heaven, whoe more immediate Images Princes are) accept my unprofitable Service, for the incerity with which it is tender&rsquo;d. If my unfeign&rsquo;d Submiion may procure pardon for my Preumption, that Your Happines may equal Your illutrious Vertues, and Your Royal Peron be as far out of the reach of Fortune, as your Fame and Honour of Detraction, hall ever be the prayers of


 * Madam,


 * Your Royal Highnes&rsquo;s
 * mot Humble, mot
 * Obedient, and mot
 * Devouted Servant