Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/35

Rh Going back to firt principles, vice kulks, with all its native deformity, from cloe invetigation; but a et of hallow reaoners are always exclaiming that thee arguments prove too much, and that a meaure rotten at the core may be expedient. Thus expediency is continually contrated with imple principles, till truth is lot in a mit of words, virtue, in forms, and knowledge rendered a ounding nothing, by the pecious prejudices that aume its name.

That the ociety is formed in the wiet manner, whoe contitution is founded on the nature of man, trikes, in the abtract, every thinking being o forcibly, that it looks like preumption to endeavour to bring forward proofs; though proof mut be brought, or the trong hold of precription will never be forced by reaon; yet to urge precription as an argument to jutify the depriving men (or women) of their natural rights, is one of the aburd ophims which daily inult common ene.

The civilization of the bulk of the people of Europe is very partial; nay, it may be made a quetion, whether they have acquired any virtues in exchange for innocence, equivalent to the miery produced by the vices that have been platered over unightly ignorance, and the freedom which has been bartered for plendid lavery. The deire of dazzling by riches, the mot certain pre-eminence that man can obtain, the pleaure of commanding flattering ycophants, and many other complicated low calculations of doting elf-love, have all contributed to overwhelm the mas of mankind, and make liberty a venient&ensp;