Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/273

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HERE eems to be an indolent propenity in man to make precription always take place of reaon, and to place every duty on an arbitrary foundation. The rights of kings are deduced in a direct line from the King of kings; and that of parents from our firt parent.

Why do we thus go back for principles that hould always ret on the ame bae, and have the ame weight to-day that they had a thouand years ago—and not a jot more? If parents dicharge their duty they have a trong hold and acred claim on the gratitude of their children; but few parents are willing to receive the repectful affection of their offspring on uch terms. They demand blind obedience, becaue they do not merit a reaonable ervice: and to render thee demands of weaknes and ignorance more binding, a myterious anctity is pread round the mot arbitrary principle; for what other name can be given to the blind duty of obeying vicious or weak beings merely becaue they obeyed a powerful intinct?

The imple definition of the reciprocal duty, which naturally ubits between parent and child, may be given in a few words: The parent who pays proper attention to helples infancy has a right to require the ame attention when the feeblenes of age comes upon him. But to gate&ensp;