An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex/Section 3

I have yet another Argument from Nature, which is, that the very Make and Temper of our Bodies hew that we were never deign&rsquo;d for Fatigue; and the Vivacity of our Wits, and Readines of our Invention (which are confes&rsquo;d even by our Adveraries) demontrate that we were chiefly intended for Thought, and the Exercie of the Mind. Whereas on the contrary it is apparent from the trength and ize of their Limbs, the Vigour and Hardines of their Contitutions, that Men were purpoely fram&rsquo;d and contriv&rsquo;d for Action, and Labour. And herein the Widom and Contrivance of Providence is abundantly manifeted; for, as the one Sex is fortified with Courage and Ability to undergo the neceary Drudgery of providing Materials for the utenance of Life in both; o the other is furnih&rsquo;d with Ingenuity and Prudence for the orderly management and ditribution of it, for the Relief and Comfort of a Family; and is over and above enrich&rsquo;d with a peculiar Tendernes and Care requiite to the Cherihing their poor helples Off-pring. I know our Oppoers uually micall our quicknes of Thought, Fancy and Flah, and chriten their own heavines by the pecious Names of Judgment and Solidity; but it is eaie to retort upon &rsquo;em the reproachful Ones of Dullnes and Stupidity with more Jutice. I hall purue this Point no further, but continue firm in my Peruasion, that Nature has not been o Niggardly to us, as our Adveraries would ininuate, till I ee better caue to the contrary, thenthan [sic] I have hitherto at any time done. Yet I am ready to yield to Conviction, whoever offers it; which I don&rsquo;t uddenly expect. It remains then for us to enquire, whether the Bounty of Nature be wholly neglected, or tifled by us, or o far as to make us unworthy the Company of Men? Or whether our Education (as bad as it is) be not ufficient to make us a ueful, nay, a neceary part of Society for the greatet part of Mankind. This caue is eldom indeed urg&rsquo;d againt us by the Men, though it be the only one, that gives &rsquo;em any advantage over us in undertanding. But it does not erve their Pride, there is no Honour to be gain&rsquo;d by it: For a Man ought no more to value himelf upon being Wier than a Woman, if he owe his Advantage to a better Education, and greater means of Information, then he ought to boat of his Courage, for beating a Man, when his Hands were bound. Nay, it would be o far from Honourable to contend for preference upon this Score, that they would thereby at once argue themelves guilty both of Tyranny, and of Fear: I think I need not have mention&rsquo;d the latter; for none can be Tyrants but Cowards. For nothing makes one Party lavihly depres another, but their fear that they may at one time or other become Strong or Couragious enough to make themelves equal to, if not uperiour to their Maters. This is our Cae; for Men being enible as well of the Abilities of Mind in our Sex, as of the trength of Body in their own, began to grow Jealous, that we, who in the Infancy of the World were their Equals and Partners in Dominion, might in proces of Time, by Subtlety and Stratagem, become their Superiours; and therefore began in good time to make ue of Force (the Origine of Power) to compel us to a Subjection, Nature never meant; and made ue of Natures liberality to them to take the benefit of her kindnes from us. From that time they have endeavour&rsquo;d to train us up altogether to Eae and Ignorance; as Conquerors ue to do to thoe, they reduce by Force, that o they may diarm &rsquo;em, both of Courage and Wit; and conequently make them tamely give up their Liberty, and abjectly ubmit their Necks to a lavih Yoke. As the World grew more Populous, and Mens Neceities whetted their Inventions, o it increas&rsquo;d their Jealouie, and harpen&rsquo;d their Tyranny over us, till by degrees, it came to that height of Severity, I may ay Cruelty, it is now at in all the Eatern parts of the World, where the Women, like our Negroes in our Wetern Plantations, are born laves, and live Prioners all their Lives. Nay, o far has this barbarous Humour prevail&rsquo;d, and pread it elf, that in ome parts of Europe, which pretend to be mot refin&rsquo;d and civiliz&rsquo;d, in pite of Chritianity, and the Zeal for Religion which they o much affect, our Condition is not very much better. And even in France, a Country that treats our Sex with more Repect than mot do, We are by the Salique Law excluded from Soveraign Power. The French are an ingenious People, and the Contrivers of that Law knew well enough, that We were no les capable of Reigning, and Governing well, than themelves; but they were upicious, that if the Regal Power hou&rsquo;d fall often into the hands of Women, they would favour their own Sex, and might in time retore &rsquo;em to their Primitive Liberty and Equality with the Men, and o break the neck of that unreaonable Authority they o much affect over us; and therefore made this Law to prevent it. The Hitorians indeed tell us other Reaons, but they can&rsquo;t agree among themelves, and as Men are Parties againt us, and therefore their Evidence may jutly be rejected. To ay the truth Madam, I can&rsquo;t tell how to prove all this from Ancient Records, for if any Hitories were anciently written by Women, Time, and the Malice of Men have effectually conpir&rsquo;d to uppres &rsquo;em; and it is not reaonable to think that Men hou&rsquo;d tranmit, or uffer to be tranmitted to Poterity, any thing that might hew the weaknes and illegallity of their Title to a Power they till exercie o arbitrarily, and are o fond of. But ince daily Experience hews, and their own Hitories tell us, how earnetly they endeavour, and what they act, and uffer to put the ame Trick upon one another, &rsquo;tis natural to uppoe they took the ame meaures with us at firt, which now they have effected, like the Rebels in our lat Civil Wars, when they had brought the Royal Party under, they fall together by the Ears about the Dividend. The Sacred Hitory takes no notice of any uch Authority they had before the Flood, and their Own confes that whole Nations have rejected it ince, and not uffer&rsquo;d a Man to live amongt them, which cou&rsquo;d be for no other Reaon, than their Tyranny. For upon les provocation the Women wou&rsquo;d never have been o foolih, as to deprive themelves of the benefit of that Eae and Security, which a good agreement with their Men might have afforded &rsquo;em. &rsquo;Tis true the ame Hitories tell us, that there were whole Countries where were none but Men, which border&rsquo;d upon &rsquo;em. But this makes till for us; for it hews that the Conditions of their Society were nor o eaie, as to engage their Women to tay amongt em; but as liberty preented it elf, they withdrew and retired to the Amazons: But ince our Sex can hardly boat of o great Privileges, and o eaie a Servitude any where as in England, I cut this ungrateful Digreion hort in acknowledgment; tho&rsquo; Fetters of Gold are till Fetters, and the oftet Lining can never make &rsquo;em o eay, as Liberty. You will excue, I know Madam, this hort, but neceary Digreion. I call it neceary, becaue it hews a probable Reaon, why We are at this time in uch ubjection to them, without leening the Opinion of our Sene, or Natural Capacities, either at preent, or for the time pat; beide that it briefly lays open without any Scandal to our Sex, why our Improvements are at preent o diproportion&rsquo;d to thoe of Men. I wou&rsquo;d not have any of our little, unthinking Adveraries triumph at my allowing a diproportion between the Improvements of our Sex and theirs; and I am ure thoe of &rsquo;em that are ingenious Men, will ee no reaon for it from what I have aid. After having granted o great a diparity as I have already done in the cutomary Education, and advantagious Liberties of the Sexes, &rsquo;twere Nonene to maintain, that our Society is generally and upon all accounts as Beneficial, Improving and Entertaining, as that of Men. He mut be a very hallow Fellow, that reorts to, and frequents us in hopes by our means to make himelf coniderable, as a Schollar, a Methematician, a Philoopher, or a States-man. Thee Arts and Sciences are the reult only of much Study and great Experience; and without one at leat of &rsquo;em are no more to be acquir&rsquo;d by the Compnay of Men, however celebrated for any or all of them, than by ours. But there are other Quallifications, which are as indipenably neceary to a Gentleman, or any Man that wou&rsquo;d appear to Advantage in the World, which are attainable only by Company, and Converation, and chiefly by ours. Nor can the greatet part of Mankind, of what Quallity oever, boat much of the ue they make, or the benefit they reap from thee acknowledg&rsquo;d Advantages. So that Schollars only, and ome few of the more thinking Gentlemen, and Men of Buines, have any jut claim to &rsquo;em. And of thee the firt generally fall hort enough ome other way to make the Ballance even. For Schollars, though by their acquaintance with Books, and convering much with Old Authors, they may know perfectly the Sene of the Learned Dead, and be perfect Maters of the Widom, be throughly inform&rsquo;d of the State, and nicely skill&rsquo;d in the Policies of Ages long ince pat, yet by their retir&rsquo;d and unactive Life, their neglect of Buines, and contant Converation with Antiquity, they are uch Strangers to, and o ignorant of the Dometick Affairs and manners of their own Country and Times, that they appear like the Ghots of Old Romans rais&rsquo;d by Magick. Talk to them of the Ayrian, or Perian Monarchies, the Grecians or Roman Common-wealths. They anwer like Oracles, they are uch finih&rsquo;d State-men, that we hou&rsquo;d carce take &rsquo;em to have been les thenthan [sic] Confidents of Semiramis, Tutours to Cyrus the Great, old Cronies of Solin and Lycurgus, or Privy Councellours at leat to the Twelve C&aelig;ars ucceively; but engage them in a Dicoure that concerns the preent Times, and their Native Country, and they hardly peak the Language of it, and know o little of the affairs of it, that as much might reaonably be expected from an animated Egyptian Mummy. They are very much diturbed to ee a Fold or a Plait amis in the Picture of an Old Roman Gown, yet take no notice that their own are thredbare out at the Elbows, or Ragged, and uffer more if Prician&rsquo;s Head be broken than if it were their own. They are excellent Guides, and can direct you to every Ally, and turning in old Rome; yet loe their way at home in their own Parih. They are mighty admirers of the Wit and Eloquence of the Ancients; yet had they liv&rsquo;d in the time of Cicero, and C&aelig;ar wou&rsquo;d have treated them with as much upercilious Pride, and direpect as they do now with Reverence. They are great hunters of ancient Manucripts, and have in great Veneration any thing, that has cap&rsquo;d the Teeth of Time and Rats, and if Age have obliterated the Characters, &rsquo;tis the more valuable for not being legible. But if by chance they can pick out one Word, they rate it higher than the whole Author in Print, and wou&rsquo;d give more for one Proverb of Solomons under his own Hand, than for all his Widom. Thee Supertitious, bigotted Idolaters of time pat, are Children in their undertanding all their lives; for they hang o inceantly upon the leading Strings of Authority, that their Judgments like the Limbs of ome Indian Penitents, become altogether crampt and motionles for want of ue But as thee Men, will hardly be reckon&rsquo;d much uperiour to us upon the account of their Learning or Improvements, o neither will I uppoe another ort diametrically oppoite to thee in their Humors and Opinions:  I mean thoe whoe Ancetors have been wie and provident, and rais&rsquo;d Etates by their Ingenuity and Indutry, and given all their Poterity after &rsquo;em Means, and Leiure to be Fools. Thee are generally ent to School in their Minority, and were they kept there till they came to Years of Dicretion, might mot of &rsquo;em tay, till they cou&rsquo;d tuck their Beards into their Girdles before they left carrying a Satchel. In conformity to Cutom, and the Fahion, they are ent early to erve an Apprenticehip to Letters, and for eight or nine years are whipt up and down through two or three Counties from School to School; when being arriv&rssquo;d at Sixteen, or Seventeen Years of Age, and having made the uual Tour of Latin, and Greek Authors, they are call&rsquo;d Home to be made Gentlemen. As oon as the young Squire has got out of the Houe of Bondage, haken off the awe of Birch, and begins to feel himelf at Liberty, he coniders that he is now Learned enough, (and &rsquo;tis ten to one but his Friends are wie enough to be of his Opinion) and thinks it high time to hake off the barbarous Acquaintance he contracted, with thoe crabbed, vexatious, obcure Fellows, that gave him o much trouble and mart at School, Companions by no means fit for a Gentleman, that writ only to torment and perplex poor Boys, and exercie the tyranny of Pedants and School-maters. Thee prudent reolutions taken up by his Hores, Dogs and Hawks (epecially if his Reidence be in the Country) and the more eneles Animals that tend &rsquo;em. His Groom, his Huntman, and his Falconer are his Tutors, and his walk is from the Stable to the Dog-kennel, and the revere of it. His diverion is drudgery, and he is highet atifaction when he is mot tir&rsquo;d. He wearies you in the Morning with his Sport, in the Afternoon with the noiie RepetionRepetition [sic] and Drink, and the whole Day with Fatigue and Confuion. His Entertainment is tale Beer, and the Hitory of his Dogs and Hores, in which he gives you the Pedigree of every one with all the exactnes of a Herald; and if you be very much in his good Graces, &rsquo;tis odds, but he makes you the Compliment of a Puppy of one of his favourite Bitches, which you mut take with abundance of Acknowledgments of his Civillity, or ele he takes you for a tupid, as well as an ill bred Fellow. He is very contant at all Clubs and Meetings of the Country Gentlemen, where he will uffer nothing to be talk&rsquo;d or hear&rsquo;d of but his Jades, his Curs, and his Kites. Upon thee he rings perpetual Changes, and trepaes as much upon the patience of the Company in the Tavern, as upon their Encloures in the Field, and is leat impertinent, when mot drunk. His grand Buines is to make an Aignation for a Hore Race, or a Hunting Match, and nothing dicompoes him o much as a Diappointment. Thus accomplih&rsquo;d, and finih&rsquo;d for a Gentleman, he enters the Civil Lits, and holds the Scale of Jutice with as much Blindnes as he is aid to do. From hence forward his Worhip becomes as formidable to the Ale-Houes, as he was before Familiar; he izes an Ale Pot, and takes the dimenions of Bread with great Dexterity and Sagacity. He is the terrour of all the Deer and Poultry Stealers in the Neighbourhood, and is o implacable a Perecutor of Poachers, that he keeps a Regiter of all the Dogs and Guns in the Hundred, and is the Scare-Beggar of the Parih. Short Pots, and unjutifiable Dogs and Nets, furnih him with ufficient matter of Preentments, to carry him once a Quarter to the Seions; where he ays little, Eats and Drinks much, and after Dinner, Hunts over the lat Chace, and o rides Worhipfully Drunk home again. At home he Exercies his Authority in granting his Letters Pattents to Petitioners for erecting Shovel Board Tables, and Ginger Bread Stalls. If he happen to live near any little Borough, or Corporation, that ends Burgees to Parliament, he may become ambitious and ue for the Honour of being made their Repreentative. Henceforward he grows Popular, bows to, and treats the Mob all around him; and whether there be any in his Dicoure or not, there is good Sene, in his Kitchin and his Cellar, which is more agreeable and edifying. If he be o happy as to out-tap his Competitour, and Drink his Neighbours in an Opinion of his Sobriety, he is choen, and up he comes to that Honourable Aembly, where he hews his Widom bet by his Silence, and erves his Country mot in his abence.

I give you thee two Characters, Madam, as irreconcileable as Water and Oyl, to hew that Men may, and do often Baffle and Frutrate the Effects of a liberal Education, as well by Indutry as Negligence. &rsquo;Tis hard to ay, which of thee two is the more Sottih; the firt is uch an Admirer of Letters, that he thinks it a diparagement to his Learning to talk what other Men undertand, and will carce believe that two, and two, make four, under a Demontration from Euclid, or a Quotation of Aritotle: The latter has uch a fear of Pedantry always before his Eyes, that he thinks it a Scandal to his good Breeding and Gentility to talk Sene, or write true Englih; and has uch a contemptible Notion of his pat Education, that he thinks the Roman Poets good for nothing but to teach Boys to cap Veres. For my part I think the Learned, and Unlearned Blockhead pretty equal; for &rsquo;tis all one to me, whether a Man talk Nonene, or unintelligable Sene, I am diverted and edified alike by either; the one enjoys himelf les, but uffers his Friends to do it more; the other enjoys himelf and his own Humour enough, but will let no body ele do it in his Company. Thus, Madam, I have et them before you, and hall leave you to determine a Point, which I cannot.