Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/169

Rh equal happines on earth, and have felt the calm enations of the man of nature intead of being prepared for another tage of exitence by nourihing the paions which agitate the civilized man.

But peace to his manes! I war not with his ahes, but his opinions. I war only with the enibility that led him to degrade woman by making her the lave of love.

The pernicious tendency of thoe books, in which the writers inidiouly degrade the ex whilt they are protrate before their peronal charms, cannot be too often or too everely expoed.

Let us, my dear contemporaries, arie above uch narrow prejudices! If widom is deirable on its own account, if virtue, to deerve the name, mut be founded on knowledge; let us endeavour to trengthen our minds by reflection, till our heads become a balance for our hearts; let us not confine all our thoughts to the petty occurrences of the day, nor our knowledge to an acquaintance with our lovers' or hubands' hearts; but let the practice of every duty be ubordinate to the grand one of improving our minds, and preparing our affections for a more exalted tate!

Beware then, my friends, of uffering the heart to be moved by every trivial incident: the reed is haken by a breeze, and annually dies, but the oak tands firm, and for ages braves the torm! Rh