Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/217

Rh practice, they cannot live without love. But, when a ene of duty, or fear of hame, obliges them to retrain this pampered deire of pleaing beyond certain lengths, too far for delicacy, it is true, though far from criminality, they obtinately determine to love, I peak of the paion, their hubands to the end of the chapter—and then acting the part which they foolihly exacted from their lovers, they become abject woers, and fond laves.

Men of wit and fancy are often rakes; and fancy is the food of love. Such men will inpire paion. Half the ex, in its preent infantile tate, would pine for a Lovelace; a man o witty, o graceful, and o valiant: and can they deerve blame for acting according to principles o contantly inculcated? They want a lover, and protector; and, behold him kneeling before them—bravery protrate to beauty! The virtues of a huband are thus thrown by love into the back ground, and gay hopes, or lively emotions, banih reflection till the day of reckoning comes; and come it urely will, to turn the prightly lover into a urly upicious tyrant, who contemptuouly inults the very weaknes he fotered. Or, uppoing the rake reformed, he cannot quickly get rid of old habits. When a man of abilities is firt carried away by his paions, it is neceary that entiment and tate varnih the enormities of vice, and give a zet to brutal indulgences; but when the glos of novelty is worn off, and pleaure palls upon the ene, laciviounes becomes barefaced, and enjoyment only the deperate effort of weaknes flying from Rh