"It is the hardest Thing in the World to know that a Man is not Mercenary, that he does not act on base and ungenerous Principles, even when he is her Equal, because being absolute Master, she and all the Grants he makes her are in his Power, and there have been but too many Instances of Husbands, that by wheedling, or threatening their Wives, by seeming Kindness, or cruel Usage, have persuaded or forced them out of what has been settled on them. So that the Woman has in Truth no Security but the Man's honor and Good-nature, a Security that in this present Age no wise Person would venture much upon. A Man enters into Articles very readily before Marriage, and so he may, for he performs no more of them afterwards than he thinks fit. A Wife must never dispute with her Husband; his Reasons are now, no doubt on't, better than hers, whatever they were before; he is sure to persuade her out of her Agreement, and bring her, it must be supposed Willingly, to give up what she did vainly hope to obtain, and what she thought had been made sure to her. And if she shows any Refractoriness, there are Ways enough to humble her; so that by Right or Wrong the Husband gains his Will. For Covenants between Husband and Wife, like Laws in an Arbitrary Government, are of little Force, the Will of the Sovereign in All is All. Thus it is in Matter of fact, I will not answer for the Right of it; for if the Woman's Reasons, upon which those Agreements are grounded, are not just and good, why did he consent to them? Was it because there was no other Way to obtain his Suit, with an Intention to annul them when it shall be in his Power? Where then is his Sincerity? But if her Reasons are good, where is his Justice in obliging her to quit them? He neither acts like an equitable or honest Man." pages 43-45

      "But how can a Woman scruple entire Subjection, how can she forbear to affirm the Worth and Excellency of the Superior Sex, if she at all considers it! Have not all the great Actions that have been performed in the World been done by Men? Have they not founded Empires and over-turned the? Do they not make Laws and continually repeal and amend them? Their vast Minds lay Kingdoms waste, no Bounds or Measures can be prescribed to their Desires. War and Peace depend on them; they form Cabals and have the Wisdom and Courage to get over all the rubs, the petty Restraints which Honor and Conscience may lay in the way of their desired Grandeur. What is it they cannot do? They make Worlds and ruin them, form Systems of universal Nature, and dispute eternally about them; their Pen gives Worth to the most trifling Controversy; not can a Fray be inconsiderable if they have drawn their Swords in't. All that the wise Man pronounces is an oracle, and every Word the Witty speaks, a Jest. It is a Woman's Happiness to hear, admire and praise them, especially if a little Ill-nature keeps them at any time from bestowing the Applauses to each other! And if she aspires no further, she is thought to be in her proper Sphere of Action, she is as wise and as good as can be expected from her!" pages 59-60

      "But, alas! what poor Woman is ever taught that she should have a higher Design than to get her a Husband? Heaven will fall in of course; if she makes but an Obedient and Dutiful Wife, she cannot miss of it. A Husband indeed is thought by both Sexes so very valuable, that scarce a Man who can keep himself clean and make a Bow, but thinks he is good enough to pretend to any Woman; no matter for the Difference of Birth or Fortune, a Husband is such a Wonder-working Name as to make an Equality, or something more, whenever it is obtained." page 66

      "It is therefore very much a Man's Interest, that Women should be good Christians; for in this, as in every other Instance, he who does his Duty, finds his own Account in it. Duty and turn Interest are one and the same Thing, and he who thinks otherwise is to be pittied for being so much in the Wrong: But what can be more the Duty of the Head, than to instruct and improve those who are under Government? She will freely leave him the quiet Dominion of this World, whose Thoughts and Expectations are placed on the next. A Prospect of Heaven, and that only, will cure that Ambition which all generous Minds are filled with, not by taking it away, but by placing it on a right Object. She will discern a Time when her Sex shall be no Bar to the best Employments, the highest Honor; a Time when that Distinction, now so much used to her Prejudice, shall be no more; but, provided she is not wanting to her self, her Soul shall shine as bright as the greatest Hero's. This is a true, and indeed, the only Consolation; this makes her a sufficient compensation for all the neglect and Contempt the ill-grounded Customs of the World throw on her; for all the Injuries brutal Power may do to her, and is a sufficient Cordial; to support her Spirits, be her Lot in the World what it may. " p. 84

      "Besides, it were ridiculous to suppose, that a Woman, were she ever so much improved, could come near the topping Genius of the men, and therefore why should they envy or discourage her? Strength of Mind goes along with Strength of Body, and 'tis only for some odd Accidents which Philosophers have not yet thought worth while to inquire into, that the sturdiest Porter is not the wisest Man! As therefore the Men have the Power in their hands, as there's no dispute of their having the Brains to manage it! " page 86

      The first version of this work had neither an appendix nor a preface. In subsequent editions, Astell added a Preface. Eventually, since the Preface is so long, she added it as an Appendix. The Appendix begins of page 95.

      The Reflector, who hopes Reflector is not bad English, (now Governor is happily of the Feminine Gender) guarded against Curiosity in vain: For a certain ingenuous Gentleman, as she is informed, had the Good-nature to own these Reflections, so far, as to affirm that he had the Original MS. in his Closet, a Proof she is not able to produce; and so to make himself responsible for all their Faults, for which, she returns him all due Acknowledgment. However, the Generality being of Opinion, that a Man would have had more Prudence and Manners than to have Published such unseasonable Truths, or to have betrayed the Arcana Imperii of his Sex; she humbly confesses, that the Contrivances and Execution of this Design, which is unfortunately adduced of being so destructive to the Government, (of the Men, I mean) is entirely her own. She neither advised with Friends, nor turned over ancient or modern Authors, nor prudently submitted to the Correction of such as are, or such as think they are good Judges, but with an English spirit and Genius, set upon the Forlorn Hope, meaning no Hurt to anybody, nor designing any thing but the public Good, and to retrieve, if possible, the Native Liberty, the Rights and Privileges of the Subject.

      Far be it from her to stir up Sedition of any sort: none can abhor it more; and she heartily wishes, that our Masters could pay their Civil and Ecclesiastical Governors the same Submissions, which they themselves exact from the Domestic Subjects. Nor can she imagine how she any way undermines the masculine Empire, or blows the Trumpet of Rebellion to the Moiety of Mankind. Is it by exhorting Women, not to expect to have their own Will in any thing, but to be entirely Submissive, when once they have made Choice of a Lord and master, though he happen not to be so wise, so kind, or even so just a Governor as was expected? She did not, indeed, advise them to think his Folly Wisdom, nor his Brutality, that Love and Worship he promised in his matrimonial Oath; for this required a Flight of Wit and Sense much above her poor Ability, and proper only to Masculine Understandings. However, she did not in any manner prompt them to Resist, or to Abdicate the Perjured Spouse, though the Laws of God, and the Land, make special Provision for it, in a Case, wherein, as is to be feared, few Men can truly plead Not Guilty.

      'Tis true, through want of learning, and of that Superior Genius which Men, as Men, lay claim to, she was ignorant of the Natural Inferiority of our Sex, which our Masters lay down as a Self-evident and Fundamental Truth. She saw nothing in the Reason of Things, to make this either a Principle or a Conclusion, but much to the contrary; it being Sedition at least, if not Treason, to assert it in this Reign. For if by the natural Superiority of their Sex, they mean, that every Man is by Nature superior to every Woman, which is the obvious Meaning, and that which must be stuck to if they would speak Sense, it would be a Sin in any Woman, to have Dominion over any Man, and the greatest Queen ought not to command, but to obey, her Footman: because no Municipal laws can supersede or change the Law of Nature: So that if the Dominion of the Men be such, the Salique Law, as unjust as English Men have ever thought it, ought to take Place over all the Earth, and the most glorious Reigns in the English, Danish, Castilian, and other Annals, were wicked Violations of the Law of Nature!

      If they mean that some Men are superior to some Women, this is no great Discovery; had they turned the Tables, they might have seen that some Women are superior to some Men. Or had they been pleased to remember their Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, they might have known, that One Woman is superior to All the Men in these nations, or else they have sworn to very little Purpose. And it must not be supposed, that their Reason and Religion would suffer them to take Oaths, contrary to the Law of Nature and Reason of Things.

      By all which it appears, that our Reflector's Ignorance is very pitiable; it may be her Misfortune, but not her Crime, especially since she is willing to be better informed, and hopes she shall never be so obstinate as to shut her Eyes against the Light of Truth, which is not to be charged with Novelty, how late soever we may be blessed with the Discovery. Nor can Error, be it as ancient as it may, ever plead Prescription against Truth. And since the only way to remove all Doubts, to answer all Objections, and to give the Mind entire Satisfaction, is not by Affirming, but by Proving, so that every one may see with their own Eyes, and judge according to the best of their own Understandings; she hopes it is no Presumption to insist on this Natural Right of Judging for her self, and the rather, because by quitting it, we give up all the means of Rational Conviction. Allow us then as many Glasses as you please to help our Sight, and as many good Arguments as you can afford to convince our Understanding: but don't exact we beseech you, to affirm that we see such Things as are only the Discovery of men who have quicker Senses; or, that we understand, and know what we have by hear-say only; for to be so excessively Complaisant, is neither to see nor to understand.

      That the custom of the World, has put Women, generally speaking, into a State of subjection, is not denied; but the Right can no more be proved from the Fact, than the Predominancy of vice can justify it. A certain great Man, has endeavored to prove, by Reasons not contemptible, that in the Original State of Things the Woman was the Superior, and that her subjection to the Man is an effect of the Fall, and the Punishment of her Sin: And, that ingenious Theorist Mr. Whitson, asserts, That before the Fall there was a greater Equality between the two Sexes. However this be, 'tis certainly no Arrogance in a Woman to conclude, that she was made for the Service of God, and that this is her End. Because God made all Things for Himself, and a rational Mind is too noble a Being to be made for the Sake and Service of any Creature, the Service she at any Time becomes obliged to pay to a Man, is only a Business by the bye, just as it may be any man's business and Duty to keep Hogs; he was not Made for this, but if her Hires himself out to such an Employment, he ought conscientiously to perform it. Nor can any thing be concluded to the contrary from St. Paul's Argument, I Cor. xi for her argues for Decency and Order, according to the present Custom and State of Things: Taking his Words strictly and literally, they prove too much, in that, Praying and Prophesying in the Church are allowed the Women, provided they do it with their Head covered as well as the Men; and no Inequality can be inferred from hence, that the Head of every Man is Christ, and that the Head of the Woman is the Man, and the Head of Christ is God; it being evident from the Form of Baptism, that there is no natural Inferiority among the Divine Persons, but that they are in all Things Coequal. The Apostle, indeed, adds, that the Man is the Glory of God, and the Woman the Glory of Man, & But what does he infer from hence? He says not a Word of Inequality, or natural Inferiority; but concludes, that a Woman ought to cover her Head, and a Man ought not to cover his, and that even nature itself teaches us, that if a Man have long Hair it is a Shame unto him. Whatever the Apostle's Argument proves in this Place, nothing can be plainer, than that there is much more said against the present Fashion of Men's wearing long Hair, than for that Supremacy they lay claim to. For by all that appears in the Text, it is not so much a Law of Nature, that Women should obey Men, as that Men should not wear long Hair. Now how can a Christian Nation allow Fashions contrary to the Law of Nature, forbidded by an Apostle, and declared by him to be a Shame to Men? Or if Custom may make an Alteration in one Case, it may in another, but what then becomes of the nature and Reason of Things? Besides, the Conclusion the Apostle draws from his Argument concerning Women, viz. that they should have Power on their Heads because of the Angels, is so very obscure a Text, that that ingenious Paraphrast, who pleads so much for the natural Subjection of Women, ingeniously confesses, that he does not understand it. Probably it refers to some Custom among the Corinthians, which being well known to them, the Apostle only hints at it, but which we are ignorant of, and therefore apt to mistake him. 'Tis like, that the false Apostle whom St. Paul writes against, had led Captive some of their rich and powerful, but silly Women, who having as mean an Opinion of the Reason God had given them, as any Deceiver could desire, did not, like the nobleminded Bereans, search the Scriptures whether those Things were so, but lazily took up with having Men's Persons in admiration, and followed their Leaders blindfold, the certain Rout to Destruction. And it is also probable, that the same cunning Seducer employed these Women to carry on his own Designs, and putting them upon what he might not think fit to appear in himself, made them guilty of indecent Behavior in the Church of Corinth. And therefore St. Paul thought it necessary to reprove them so severely, in order to humble them; but this being done, he takes care in the Conclusion to set the Matter on a right Foot, placing the two Sexes on a Level, to keep Men, as much as might be, from taking those Advantages which People who have Strength in their Hands, are apt to assume over those who can't contend with them. For, says he, Nevertheless, or notwithstanding the former Argument, the Man is not without the Woman, nor the Woman without the Man, but all Things of God. The Relation between the two Sexes is mutual, and the Dependence reciprocal, both of them depending entirely upon God, and upon Him only; which, one would think, is no great Argument of the natural Inferiority of either Sex.

      Our Reflector is of Opinion, that Disputes of this kind, extending to Human nature in general, and not peculiar to those to whom the Word of God has been revealed, ought to be decided by natural Reasons only. And, that the Holy Scripture should not be interested in the present Controversy, in which it determines nothing, any more than it does between the Copernican and Ptolomean Systems. The Design of those Holy Books being to make us excellent Moralists and perfect Christians, not great Philosophers; and being writ for the Vulgar as well as for the Learned, they are accommodated to the common way of Speech and the Usage of the World; in which we have but a short Probation, so that it matters not much what Part we act, whether of Governing or Obeying, provided we perform it well with respect to the World to come.

      One does not wonder, indeed, that when an Adversary is drove to a Non-pluss, and Reason declares against him, he flies to Authority, especially to Divine, which is infallible, and therefore ought not to be disputed. But Scripture is not always on their side who make Parade of it, and through their Skill in Languages, and the Tricks of the Schools, wrest it from its genuine Sense to their own Inventions. And supposing, not granting, that it were apparently to the Women's Disadvantage, no fair and generous adversary but would be ashamed to urge this Advantage: Because Women, without their own Fault, are kept in Ignorance of the Original, wanting Languages and other Helps to Criticize on the Sacred Text, of which, they know no more, than Men are pleased to impart in their Translations. In short, they show their Desire to maintain their Hypotheses, but by no means their Reverence to the Sacred oracles, who engage them in such Disputes. And therefore, the Blame be theirs, who have unnecessarily introduced them in the present Subject, and who, by saying, that the Reflections were not agreeable to Scripture, oblige the Reflector to show, that those who affirm it must either mistake her Meaning, or the Sense of Holy Scripture, or both, if they think what they say, and do not find fault merely because they resolve to do so. For, had she ever writ any thing contrary to those sacred Truths, she would be the first in pronouncing its Condemnation.

      But what says the Holy Scripture? It speaks of Women as in a State of Subjection, and so it does of the Jews and Christians, when under the Dominion of the Chaldeans and Romans, requiring of the one as well as of the other, a quiet Submission to them under whose Power they lived. But will any one say, that these had a Natural Superiority and Right to Dominion? that they had a superior Understanding, or any Pre-eminence, except what their greater Strength acquired? Or, that the other were subjected to their Adversaries for any other Reason but the Punishment of their Sins, and, in order to their Reformation? Or for the Exercise of their Virtue, and because the Order of the World and the Good Society required it?

      If Mankind had never Sinned, Reason would always have been obeyed, there would have been no Struggle for Dominion, and Brutal Power would not have prevailed. But in the lapsed State of Mankind, and now, that men will not be guided by their Reason but by their Appetites, and do what they ought but what they can, the Reason, or that which stands for it, the Will and Pleasure of the Governor, is to be the Reason of those who will not be guided by their own, and must take Place for Order's sake, although it should not be comfortable to right Reason. Nor can there be any Society great or little, from Empires down to private Families, without a last Resort, to determine the Affairs of that Society by an irresistible Sentence. Now unless this Supremacy be fixed somewhere, there will be a perpetual Contention about it, such is the Love of dominion, and let the Reason of Things be what it may, those who have least Force or Cunning to supply it, will have the Disadvantage. So that since Women are acknowledged to have least Bodily Strength, their being commanded to Obey is in pure Kindness to them, and for their Quiet and Security, as well as for the Exercise of their Virtue. But does it follow, that Domestic Governors have more Sense than their Subjects, any more than that other Governors have? We do not find that any man thinks the worse of his own Understanding, because another has superior Power; or concludes himself less capable of a Post of Honor and Authority, because he is not preferred to it. How much Time would lie on men's Hands, how empty would the Places of Concourse be, and how silent most Companies, did Men forbear to censure their Governors, that is, in effect, to think themselves wiser. Indeed, Government would be much more desirable than it is, did it invest the Possessor with a superior Understanding as well as Power. And if mere Power gives a right to Rule, there can be no such Thing as Usurpation; but a Highway-Man, so long as he has Strength to force, has also a Right to require our Obedience.

      Again, if absolute Sovereignty be not necessary in a State, how comes it to be so in a Family? Or if in a Family why not in a State; since no Reason can be alleged for the one that will not hold more strongly for the other? If the Authority of the Husband, so far as it extends, is sacred and inalienable, why not that of the Prince? The Domestic Sovereign is without Dispute elected, and the Stipulations and Contract are mutual; is it not then partial in Men to the last Degree, to contend for, and practice that Arbitrary Dominion in their Families, which they abhor and exclaim against in the State? For if Arbitrary Power is evil in it self, and an improper Method of Governing Rational and Free Agents, it ought not be practiced any where; nor is it less, but rather more mischievous in Families than in Kingdoms, by how much 100,000 Tyrants are worse than one. What though a Husband can't deprive a Wife of Life without being responsible to the Law, he may, however, do what is much more grievous to a generous Mind, render Life miserable, for which she has no Redress, scarce Pity, which is afforded to every other Complaint, it being thought a Wife's Duty to suffer every thing without Complaint. If all Men are born Free, how is it that all Women are born Slaves? As they must be, if the being subjected to the inconstant, uncertain, unknown, arbitrary Will of Men, be the perfect Condition of Slavery? And, if the Essence of Freedom consists, as our Masters say it does, in having a standing Rule to live by? And why is Slavery so much condemned and strove against in one Case, and so highly applauded, and held so necessary and so sacred in another?

      'Tis true, that God told Eve after the Fall, that her Husband should Rule over her: And so it is, that he told Esau by the Mouth of Isaac his Father, that he should serve his younger Brother, and should in Time, when he was strong enough to do it, break the Yoke from off his Neck. Now, why one Text should be a Command any more than the other, and not both of them be Predictions only; or why the former should prove Adam's Natural Right to Rule, and much less every Man's, any more than the latter is a Proof of Jacob's Right to Rule, and of Esau's to Rebel, one is yet to learn? The Text in both Cases foretelling what would be; but neither of them determining what ought to be.

      But the Scripture commands Wives to submit themselves to their own Husbands. True; for which St. Paul gives a Mystical Reason (Eph. v. 22. &c.) and St. Peter, a Prudential and Charitable one (I Pet. iii.) but neither of them derive that Subjection from the law of Nature. Nay, St. Paul, as if he foresaw and meant to prevent this Plea, giving Directions for their Conduct to Women in general, I Tim. ii. when he comes to speak of Subjection, he changes his Phrase from Women, which denotes the whole Sex, to Woman, which in the New Testament is appropriated to a Wife.

      As for his not suffering Women to speak in the Church, no sober Person that I know of pretends to it. That learned paraphrast, indeed, who lays so much Stress on the Natural Subjection, provided this Prerogative be secured, is willing to give up the other. For he endeavors to prove, that Inspired Women, as well as Men, used to speak in the Church, and that St. Paul does not forbid it, but only takes care that the Women should signify their Subjection by wearing a Veil. But the Apostle is his own best Expositor, let us therefore compare his Precepts with his Practice, for he was all of a Piece, and did not contradict himself. Now by this Comparison we find, that thought he forbids Women to teach in the Church, and this for several Prudential Reasons, like those he introduces with an I give my Opinion, and now speak I, not the Lord, and not because of any Law of Nature, or positiver Divine Precept, for that the Words they are commanded (I Cor xiv. 24) are not in the Original, appears from the Italic Character, yet he did not found this Prohibition on any supposed want of Understanding in Woman, or of Ability to teach; neither does he confine them at all times to learn in Silence. For the eloquent, who was himself a Teacher, was instructed by Priscilla, as well as by her Husband Aquila, and was improved by them both in the Christian faith. Nor does St. Paul blame her for this, or suppose that she usurped Authority over that great Man; so far from this, that as she is always honorably mentioned in Holy Scripture, so our Apostle, in his Salutations, Rom. xvi. places her in the Front, even before her Husband, giving to her, as well as to him, the Noble Title of, his Helper in Christ Jesus, and of one to whom all the Churches of the Gentiles had great Obligations.

      But, it will be said perhaps, that in I Tim. ii, 13, &c. St. Paul argues for the Woman's Subjection from the Reason of Things. To this I answer, that it must be confessed, that this (according to the vulgar Interpretation) is a very obscure Place, and I should be glad to see a natural, and not a Forced Interpretation given of it by those who take it Literally: Whereas if it be taken Allegorically, with respect to the Mystical Union between Christ and his Church, to which St. Paul frequently accommodates the matrimonial Relation, the Difficulties vanish. For the Earthly Adam's being formed before Eve, seems as little to prove her Natural Subjection to him, as the living Creatures, Fishes, Birds, and Beasts being formed before them both, proves that mankind must be subject to these Animals. Nor can the Apostle mean that Eve only sinned; or that she only was Deceived, for if Adam sinned willfully and knowingly, he became the greater Transgressor. But it is very true, that the Second Adam, the man Christ Jesus, was first formed, and then his spouse the Church. He was not in any respect Deceived, nor does she pretend to Infallibility. And from this second Adam, promised to Eve in the Day of our first Parents Transgression, and from Him only, do all their Race, Men as well as Women, derive their Hopes of Salvation. Nor is it promised to either Sex on any other Terms besides Perseverance in Faith, Charity, Holiness, and Sobriety.

      If the Learned will not admit of this Interpretation, I know not how to contend with them. For Sense is a Portion that God Himself has been pleased to distribute to both Sexes with an impartial Hand, but Learning is what Men have engrossed to themselves, and one can't but admire their great Improvements! For, after doubting whether there is such a thing as Truth, and after many hundred Years Disputes about it, in the last Century an extraordinary genius arose, (whom yet, sore are pleased to call a Visionary) inquired after it, and laid down the best method of finding it. Not to the general Liking of the Men of Letters, perhaps, because it was wrote in a vulgar Language, and was so natural and easy as to debase Truth to common Understandings, showing too plainly, that Learning and true Knowledge are two very different Things.

For it often happens (says that Author) that Women and children acknowledge the Falsehood of those Prejudices we contend with, because they do not dare to judge without Examination, and they bring all the Attention they are capable of to what they read. Whereas on the contrary, the Learned continue wedded to their own Opinions, because they will not take the Trouble of examining what is contrary to their received Doctrines.

      Sciences, indeed, have been invented and taught long ago, and, as Men grew better advised, new modeled. So that it is become a considerable Piece of Learning to give an Account of the Rise and Progress of the Sciences, and of the various Opinions of Men concerning them. But Certainty and Demonstration are much pretended to in this present Age, and being ordained in many Things, 'tis hoped Men will never Dispute them ways in that which is of greatest Importance, the Way of Salvation. And because there is not any thing more certain that what is delivered in the Oracles of God, we come now to consider what they offer in Favor of our Sex.

      Let it be promised, (according to the Reasoning of a very ingenious Person in a like Case) that one Text for us, is more to be regarded than many against us. Because that One being different from what Custom has established, ought to be taken with Philosophical Strictness; whereas the Many being expressed according to the vulgar Mode of Speech, ought to have no greater Stress laid on them, than that evident Condescension will bear. One Place then were sufficient, but we have many Instances wherein Holy Scripture considers Women very differently from what they appear in the common Prejudices of Mankind.

      The World will hardly allow a Woman to say any thing well, unless, as she borrows it from Men, or as assisted by them: But God Himself allows that the Daughters of Zelophehad spoke right, and passes their Request into a Law. Considering how much the Tyranny, shall I say, or the superior Force of Men, keeps Women from Acting in the World, or doing any thing considerable, and remembering withal the Conciseness of the Sacred Story, no small Part of it is bestowed in transmitting the History of Women, famous in their Generations: Two of the Canonical Books bearing the Names of those great Women whose Virtues and actions are there recorded. Ruth being called from among the Gentiles to be an Ancestor of the Messiah, and Esther being raised up by God to be the great Instrument of the Deliverance and Prosperity of the Jewish Church.

      The Character of Isaac, though one of the most blameless Men taken Notice of in the Old Testament, must give Place to Rebecca's, whose Affections are more reasonably placed than his, her Favorite Son being the same who was God's Favorite. Nor was the Blessing bestowed according to his, but to her Desire; so that if you will not allow, that her Command to Jacob superseded Isaac's to Esau, his Desire to give the Blessing to this Son, being evidently an Effect of his Partiality; you must at least grant, that she paid greater Deference to the Divine Revelation, and for this Reason, at least, had a Right to oppose her Husband's Design; which, it seems, Isaac was sensible of, when upon his disappointment, he trembled so exceedingly. And so much Notice is taken even of Rebecca's Nurse, that we have an Account where she died, and where she was buried.

      God is pleased to Record it among His Favors to the ungrateful Jews, that He sent before them His Servants Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; who was also a Prophetess, and instructed the Women how to bear their Part with Moses in his Triumphal Hymn. Is she to be blamed for her Ambition? And is not the High Priest Aaron also, who has his Share in the Reproof as well as in the Crime? Nor could she have moved Sedition if she had not been a considerable Person, which appears also by the Respect the People paid her, in deferring their Journey till she was ready.

      Where shall we find a nobler Piece of Poetry than Deborah's Song? Or a better and greater Ruler than that renowned Woman, whose government so much excelled that of the former Judges? And though she had a Husband, she her self judged Israel, and consequently was his Sovereign, of whom we know no more than the Name. Which Instance, as I humbly suppose, overthrows the Pretense of Natural Inferiority. For it is not the bare Relation of a Fact, by which none ought to be concluded, unless it is conformable to a Rule, and to the Reason of Things: but Deborah's Government was conferred on her by God Himself. Consequently the Sovereignty of a Woman is not contrary to the Law of Nature; for the Law of Nature is the Law of God, who cannot contradict Himself; and yet it was God who inspired and approved that great Woman, raising her up to Judge and to Deliver His People Israel.

      Not to insist on the Courage of that valiant Woman, who delivered Thebez by slaying the Assailant; nor upon the Preference which God thought fit to give to Sampson's Mother, in sending the Angel to her, and not to her Husband, whose vulgar Fear she so prudently answered, as plainly as shows her superior Understanding; To pass over Abigail's wise Conduct, whereby she preserved her Family and deserved David's Acknowledgments, for restraining him from doing a rash and unjustifiable Action; the Holy Penman giving her the Character of a Woman of good Understanding, whilst her Husband has that of a Churlish and Foolish Person, and a Son of Belial: To say nothing of the wise Woman (as the Text calls her) of Tekoah; or of her of Abel, who has the same Epithet, and who by her Prudence delivered the City and appeased a dangerous Rebellion: Nor of the Queen of Sheba, whose journey to hear the Wisdom of Solomon, shows her own good Judgment and great Share in that excellent Endowment. Solomon does not think himself too wise to be instructed by his Mother, nor too great to record her Lessons, which, if he had followed, he might have spared the Trouble of Repentance, and been delivered from a great deal of that Vanity he so deeply regrets.

      What Reason can be assigned why the Mothers of the Kings of Judah, are so frequently noted in those very short Accounts that are given of their Reigns, but the great Respect paid them, or perhaps their Influence on the Government, and Share in the Administration? This is not improbable, since the wicked Athaliah had Power to carry on her Intrigues so far as to get Possession of the Throne, and to keep it for some Years. Neither was there any Necessity for Asa's removing his Mother (or Grandmother) from being Queen, if this were merely Titular, and did not carry Power and Authority along with it. And we find that Influence Jezabel had in Israel, indeed to her Husband's and her own Destruction.

      It was a Widow-Woman whom God made choice of to sustain his Prophet Elijah at Zarephah. And the History of the Shunamite is a noble Instance of the Account that is made of Women in Holy Scripture. For whether it was not the Custom in Shunem for the Husband to dictate, or whether her's was conscious of her superior Virtue, or whatever was the Reason, we find it is she who governs, dwelling with great Honor and Satisfaction among her own People. Which Happiness she understood so well, and was so far from a troublesome Ambition, that she desires no Recommendation to the King or Captain of the Host, when the Prophet offered it, being already greater than they could make her. The Text calls her a Great Woman, whilst her Husband is hardly taken Notice of, and this, no otherwise, than as performing, the Office of a Bailiff. It is her Piety and Hospitality that are Recorded, She invites the Prophet to her House; who converses with, and is entertained by her. She gives her Husband no Account of her Affairs any further, than to tell him her Designs, that he may see them executed. And when he desires to know the Reason of her Conduct, all the Answer she affords is, Well, or, as the Margin has it from the Hebrew, Peace. Nor can this be thought assuming, since it is no more than what the Prophet encourages, for all his Addresses are to her, he takes no Notice of her Husband. His Benefits are conferred on her, 'tis she and her Household whom he warns of a Famine, and 'tis she who Appeals to the King for the Restitution of her House and Land. I would not infer from hence, that Women, generally speaking, ought to govern in their Families when they have a Husband; but I think this Instance and Example is a sufficient Proof, that if by Custom or Contract, or the Laws of the Country, or Birth-right, (as in the Case of Sovereign Princesses) they have the supreme Authority, it is no Ursupation, nor do they act contrary to Holy Scripture, nor consequently to the Law of Nature. For they are where, that I know of, forbidden to claim their just Right: The Apostle, 'tis true, would not have them usurp Authority, where Custom and the Law of the strongest had brought them into Subjection, as it has in these Parts of the World. Though in remoter Regions, if Travelers rightly inform us, the Succession to the Crown is entailed on the Female Line.

      God Himself, who is no Respecter of Persons, with whom there is neither Bond nor Free, Male nor Female, but they are all one in Christ Jesus, did not deny Women that Divine Gift the Spirit of Prophecy, neither under the Jewish nor Christian Dispensation. We have named two great Prophetesses already, Miriam and Deborah; and besides other Instances, Huldah the Prophetess was such an Oracle, that the good King Josiah, that great Pattern of Virtue, sends even the High Priest himself to consult her, and to receive Directions from her in the most arduous Affairs. It shall come to pass, saith the Lord, that I will pour out my spirit upon all Flesh, and your sons and your Daughters shall Prophesy, which was accordingly fulfilled by the Mission of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost, as St. Peter tells us. And, besides others, there is mention of four Daughters of Philip, Virgins, who did Prophesy, from, as in the Old, so in the New Testament, Women make a considerable Figure; the Holy Virgin receiving the greatest Honor that Human Nature is capable of, when the Son of God vouchsafed to be her Son, and to derive his Humanity from her only. And if it is a greater Blessing to hear the Word of God and keep it, who are more considerable for their Assiduity in this, than the Female disciples of our Lord? Mary being Exemplary, and receiving a noble Encomium from Him, for her Choice of the better part.

      It would be thought tedious to enumerate all the excellent Women mentioned in the New Testament, whose humble Penitence and ardent Love, as Magdalen's; their lively Faith and holy Importunity, as the Syrophenician's; extraordinary Piety and Uprightness, as Martha's Tabitha's &c. (see St. Luke viii.); frequent and assiduous Devotions and Austerities, as Anna's; Constancy and Courage, Perseverance and ardent Zeal, as that of the Holy Women who attended our Lord to His cross, when His Disciples generally forsook, and the most Courageous had denied Him; are Recorded for our Example. Their Love was stronger than Death, it followed our Savior into the Grave. And, as a Reward, both the Angel, and even the Lord Himself, appears first to them, and sends them to preach the great Article of the Resurrection to the very Apostles, who being, as yet, under the Power of the Prejudices of their Sex, esteemed the Holy Women's Words as idle Tales, and believed them not.

      Some Men will have it, that the Reason of our Lord's appearing first to the Women, was, their being least able to keep a Secret; a witty and masculine Remark, and wonderfully Reverent! But not to dispute whether those Women were Blabs or no, there are many Instances in Holy Scripture, of Women who did not betray the Confidence reposed in them. Thus Rehab, though formerly an ill Woman, being converted by the Report of those Miracles, which, though the Israelites saw, yet they believed not in God, nor put their Trust in his Word, She acknowledges the God of Heaven, and, as a Reward of her faithful Service in concealing Joshua's Spies, is, with her Family, exempted from the Ruin of her Country, and also, has the Honor of being named in the Messiah's Genealogy. Michal, to save David's Life, exposes her self to the Fury of a Jealous and Tyrannical Prince. A girl was trusted by David's grave Counselors to convey him Intelligence in his son's rebellion; and when a Lad had found it out, and blabbed it to Absalom, the King's Friends confiding in the Prudence and fidelity of a Woman, were secured by her. When our Lord escaped from the Jews, he trusted Himself in the Hands of Martha and Mary. So does St. Peter with another Mary, when the Angel delivered him from Herod, the Damsel Rhoda too, was acquainted with the Secret. More might be said, but one would think here is enough to show, that whatever other great and wise Reasons Men may have for despising Women, and keeping them in Ignorance and Slavery, it can't be from their having learned to do so in Holy Scripture. The Bible is for, and not against us, and cannot without great Violence done to it, be urged to our Prejudice.

      However, there are strong and prevalent Reasons which demonstrate the Superiority and Pre-eminence of the men. For in the first Place, boys have much Time and Pains, Care and Cost bestowed on their Education, Girls have little or none. The former are early initiated in the Sciences, are made acquainted with ancient and modern discoveries, they study Books and Men, have all imaginable Encouragement; not only Fame, a dry Reward now a-days, but also Title, Authority, Power, and riches themselves, which Purchase all Things, are the Reward of their Improvement. The latter are restrained, frowned upon, and beat, not for, but from the Muses; Laughter and Ridicule, that never-failing Scare-Crow, is set up to drive them from the Tree of Knowledge. But if, in spite, of all Difficulties nature prevails, and they can't be kept so ignorant as their Masters would have them, they are stared upon as Monsters, censured, envied, and every way discouraged, or, at the best, they have the Fate the Proverb assigns them, Virtue is praised and starved. And therefore, since the coarsest materials need the most Curing, as every Workman can inform you, and the worst Ground the most elaborate Culture, it undeniably follows, that Men's Understandings are superior to Women's, for, after many Years Study and Experience, they become wise and learned and Women are not Born so!

      Again, Men are possessed of all Places of Power, Trust and Profit, they make Laws and exercise the magistracy, not only the sharpest Sword, but even all the Swords and Blunderbusses are theirs, which by the strongest Logic in the World, gives them the best Title to every Thing they please to claim as their Prerogative: Who shall content with them? Immemorial Prescription is on their Side in these Parts of the World, ancient Tradition and modern Usage! Our Fathers, have all along, both taught and practiced Superiority over the weaker Sex, and consequently Women are by nature inferior to Men, as was to be demonstrated. An Argument which must be acknowledged unanswerable; for, as well as I love my Sex, I will not pretend a Reply to such Demonstration!

      Only let me beg to be informed, to whom we poor Fatherless Maids, and Widows who have lost their Masters, owe Subjection? It can't be to all Men in general, unless all Men were agreed to give the same Commands; Do we then fall as Strays, to the first who finds us? By the Maxims of some Men, and the Conduct of some Women one would think so. But whoever he be that thus happens to become our master, if he allows us to be reasonable Creatures, and does not merely Compliment us with that Title, since no man denies our Readiness to use our Tongues, it would tend, I should think, to our Master's Advantage, and therefore he may please to be advised to teach us to improve our Reason. but if Reason is only allowed us by way of Raillery, and the secret Maxim is, that we have none, or little more than Brutes, 'tis the best way to confine us with Chain and Block to the Chimney-Cornet, which, probably, might save the Estates of some Families and the Honor of others.

      I do not propose this to prevent a Rebellion, for Women are not so well united as to form an Insurrection. They are for the most part wise enough to love their Chains, and to discern how very becomingly they fit. They think as humbly of themselves as their Masters can wish, with respect to the other Sex, but in regard to their own, they have a Spice of Masculine Ambition; every one would Lead, and none would Follow. Both Sexes being too apt to Envy, and too backward in Emulating. And take more Delight in detracting from their neighbor's Virtue, than in improving their own. And therefore, as to those Women who find themselves born for Slavery, and are so sensible of their own Meanness, as to conclude it impossible to attain to any thing excellent, since they are, or ought to be best acquainted with their own Strength and Genius, She's a Fool who would attempt their Deliverance or Improvement. No, let them enjoy the great Honor and Felicity of their tame, submissive, and depending Temper! Let the Men applause, and let them glory in this wonderful Humility! Let them receive the Flatteries and Grimaces of the other Sex, live unenvied by their own, and be as much beloved as one such Woman can afford to love another! Let them enjoy the Glory of treading in the Footsteps of their Predecessors, and of having the Prudence to avoid that audacious Attempt of soaring beyond their Sphere! Let them Huswife or Play, Dress, and be pretty entertaining Company! Or, which is better, relieve the Poor to ease their own Compassions, read pious Books, say their Prayers, and go to Church, because they have been taught and used to do so, without being able to give a better Reason for their Faith and Practice! Let them not by any means aspire at being Women of Understanding, because no man can endure a Woman of Superior Sense, or would treat a reasonable Woman civilly, but that he thinks he stands on higher Ground, and, that she is so wise as to make Exceptions in his Favor, and to take her measures by his Directions; they may pretend to Sense, indeed, since mere Pretenses only render one the more ridiculous! Let them, in short, be what is called very Women, for this is most acceptable to all sorts of Men; or let them aim at the Title of good devout Women, since some Men can bear with this; but let them not judge of the Sex by their own Scantling: For the great Author of Nature and Fountain of all Perfection, never designed that the Mean and Imperfect, but that the most Complete and Excellent of His Creatures in every Kind, should be the Standard to the rest.

      To conclude; If that Great Queen who has subdued the Proud, and made the pretended Invincible more than once fly before her; who has Rescued an Empire, Reduced a Kingdom, Conquered Provinces in as little Time almost as one can Travel them, and seems to have chained Victory to her standard; who disposes of Crowns, gives laws and Liberty to Europe, and is the chief Instrument in the hand of the Almighty, to pull down and to set up the great men of the Earth; who conquers every where for others, and no where for her self but in the hearts of the Conquered, who are of the Number of those who reap the Benefits of her Triumphs; whilst she only reaps for her self the Laurels of disinterested Glory, and the Royal Pleasure of doing Heroically; if this Glory of her own Sex, and Envy of the other, will not think we need, or does not hold us worthy of, the Protection of her ever victorious Arms, and Men have not the Gratitude, for her sake at least, to do Justice to her Sex, who has been such a universal Benefactress to theirs: Adieu to the Liberties, not of this or that nation or Reign only, but of the Moiety of Mankind! To all the great Things that Women might perform, inspired by her Example, encourage by her Smiles, and supported by her Power! To their discovery of new Worlds for the Exercise of her Goodness, new Sciences to publish her Fame, and reducing Nature it self to a Subjection to her Empire! To their destroying those worst of Tyrants Impiety and Immorality, which dare to stalk about even in her own Dominions, and to devour souls almost within View of her Throne, leaving a Stench behind them scarce to be corrected even by the Incense of her Devotions! To the Women's tracing a new Path to Honor, in which none shall walk but such as scorn to Cringe in order to Rise, and who are Proof both against giving and receiving Flattery! In a Word, to those Halcyon, or, if you will, Millennium Days, in which the Wolf and the Lamb shall feed together, and a Tyrannous Domination, which nature never meant, shall no longer render useless, if not hurtful, the Industry and Understandings of half Mankind! Finis"

Return to Booknotes Menu

e-mail sunshine@pinn.net