Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/86

80 trengthen her contitution and abtain from enervating indulgencies, if artificial notions of beauty, and fale decriptions of enibility, have been early entangled with her motives of action. Mot men are ometimes obliged to bear with bodily inconveniencies, and to endure, occaionally, the inclemency of the elements; but genteel women are, literally peaking, laves to their bodies, and glory in their ubjection.

I once knew a weak woman of fahion, who was more than commonly proud of her delicacy and enibility. She thought a ditinguihing tate and puny appetite the height of all human perfection, and acted accordingly.—I have een this weak ophiticated being neglect all the duties of life, yet recline with elf-complacency on a ofa, and boat of her want of appetite as a proof of delicacy that extended to, or, perhaps, aroe from, her exquiite enibility: for it is difficult to render intelligible uch ridiculous jargon.—Yet, at the moment, I have een her inult a worthy old gentlewoman, whom unexpected misfortunes had made dependent on her otentatious bounty, and who, in better days, had claims on her gratitude. Is it poible that a human creature could have become uch a weak and depraved being, if, like the Sybarites, diolved in luxury, every thing like virtue had not been worn away, or never impreed by precept, a poor ubtitute, it is true, for cultivation of mind, though it erves as a fence againt vice?

Such a woman is not a more irrational monter than ome of the Roman emperors, who were depraved by lawles power. Yet, ince kings&ensp;