Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/264

258 How trangely mut the mind be ophiticated when this ort of tate imprees it! But, till thee monuments of folly are levelled by virtue, imilar follies will leaven the whole mas. For the ame character, in ome degree, will prevail in the aggregate of ociety: and the refinements of luxury, or the vicious repinings of envious poverty, will equally banih virtue from ociety, conidered as the characteritic of that ociety, or only allow it to appear as one of the tripes of the harlequin coat, worn by the civilized man.

In the uperiour ranks of life, every duty is done by deputies, as if duties could ever be waved, and the vain pleaures which conequent idlenes forces the rich to purue, appear o enticing to the next rank, that the numerous cramblers for wealth acrifice every thing to tread on their heels. The mot acred truts are then conidered as inecures, becaue they were procured by interet, and only ought to enable a man to keep good company. Women, in particular, all want to be ladies. Which is imply to have nothing to do, but litlesly to go they carcely care where, for they cannot tell what.

But what have women to do in ociety? I may be aked, but to loiter with eay grace; urely you would not condemn them all to uckle fools and chronicle mall beer! No. Women might certainly tudy the art of healing, and be phyicians as well as nures. And midwifery, decency eems to allot to them, though I am afraid the word midwife, in our dictionaries, will oon give place to accoucheur, and one proof of the former delicacy of the ex be effaced from the language. They&ensp;