Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/269

Rh

ARENTAL affection is, perhaps, the blindet modification of pervere elf-love; for we have not, like the French, two terms to ditinguih the puruit of a natural and reaonable deire, from the ignorant calculations of weaknes. Parents often love their children in the mot brutal manner, and acrifice every relative duty to promote their advancement in the world.—To promote, uch is the perverity of unprincipled prejudices, the future welfare of the very beings whoe preent exitence they embitter by the mot depotic tretch of power. Power, in fact, is ever true to its vital principle, for in every hape it would reign without controulcontrol [sic] or inquiry. Its throne is built acros a dark abys, which no eye mut dare to explore, let the baeles fabric hould totter under invetigation. Obedience, unconditional obedience, is the catch-word of tyrants of every decription, and to render 'aurance doubly ure,' one kind of depotim upports another. Tyrants would have caue to tremble if reaon were to become the rule of duty in any of the relations of life, for the light might pread till perfect day appeared. And when it did appear, how would men mile at the ight of the bugbears at which they tarted during the night of ignorance, or the twilight of timid inquiry. Rh