Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/280

274 he was willing to own to her huband; or ome uch moral caue of anger.

After oberving allies of this kind, I have been led into a melancholy train of reflection repecting females, concluding that when their firt affection mut lead them atray, or make their duties clah till they ret on mere whims and cutoms, little can be expected from them as they advance in life. How indeed can an intructor remedy this evil? for to teach them virtue on any olid principle is to teach them to depie their parents. Children cannot, ought not, to be taught to make allowance for the faults of their parents, becaue every uch allowance weakens the force of reaon in their minds, and makes them till more indulgent to their own. It is one of the mot ublime virtues of maturity that leads us to be evere with repect to ourelves, and forbearing to others; but children hould only be taught the imple virtues, for if they begin too early to make allowance for human paions and manners, they wear off the fine edge of the criterion by which they hould regulate their own, and become unjut in the ame proportion as they grow indulgent.

The affections of children, and weak people, are always elfih; they love others, becaue others love them, and not on account of their virtues. Yet, till eteem and love are blended together in the firt affection, and reaon made the foundation of the firt duty, morality will tumble at the threhold. But, till ociety is very differently contituted, parents, I fear, will till init on being obeyed, becaue they will be obeyed, and contantly endeavour to ettle that power on a Divine right which will not bear the invetigation of reaon. .