Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/34

28 What acquirement exalts one being above another? Virtue; we pontaneouly reply.

For what purpoe were the paions implanted? That man by truggling with them might attain a degree of knowledge denied to the brutes; whipers Experience.

Conequently the perfection of our nature and capability of happines, mut be etimated by the degree of reaon, virtue, and knowledge, that ditinguih the individual, and direct the laws which bind ociety: and that from the exercie of reaon, knowledge and virtue naturally flow, is equally undeniable, if mankind be viewed collectively.

The rights and duties of man thus implified, it eems almot impertinent to attempt to illutrate truths that appear o incontrovertible; yet uch deeply rooted prejudices have clouded reaon, and uch purious qualities have aumed the name of virtues, that it is neceary to purue the coure of reaon as it has been perplexed and involved in error, by various adventitious circumtances, comparing the imple axiom with caual deviations.

Men, in general, eem to employ their reaon to jutify prejudices, which they have imbibed, they cannot trace how, rather than to root them out. The mind mut be trong that reolutely forms its own principles; for a kind of intellectual cowardice prevails which makes many men hrink from the tak, or only do it by halves. Yet the imperfect concluions thus drawn, are frequently very plauible, becaue they are built on partial experience, on jut, though narrow, views. Going&ensp;