Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/250

244 Contrating the humanity of the preent age with the barbarim of antiquity, great tres has been laid on the avage cutom of expoing the children whom their parents could not maintain; whilt the man of enibility, who thus, perhaps, complains, by his promicuous amours produces a mot detructive barrennes and contagious flagitiounes of manners. Surely nature never intended that women, by atifying an appetite, hould frutrate the very purpoe for which it was implanted!

I have before oberved, that men ought to maintain the women whom they have educed; this would be one means of reforming female manners, and topping an abue that has an equally fatal effect on population and morals. Another, no les obvious, would be to turn the attention of woman to the real virtue of chatity; for to little repect has that woman a claim, on the core of modety, though her reputation may be white as the driven now, who miles on the libertine whilt he purns the victims of his lawles appetites and their own folly.

Beides, he has a taint of the ame folly, pure as he eteems herelf, when he tudiouly adorns her peron only to be een by men, to excite repectful ighs, and all the idle homage of what is called innocent gallantry. Did women really repect virtue for its own ake, they would not eek for a compenation in vanity, for the elf-denial which they are obliged to practie to preerve their reputation, nor would they aociate with men who et reputation at defiance. The&ensp;