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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83eb494 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69485 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69485) diff --git a/old/69485-0.txt b/old/69485-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 635348d..0000000 --- a/old/69485-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3865 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Letters on the equality of the sexes, -and the condition of woman, by Sarah Moore Grimke - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Letters on the equality of the sexes, and the condition of woman - -Author: Sarah Moore Grimke - -Release Date: December 6, 2022 [eBook #69485] - -Language: English - -Produced by: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS ON THE EQUALITY OF -THE SEXES, AND THE CONDITION OF WOMAN *** - - - - - - LETTERS - - ON THE - - EQUALITY OF THE SEXES, - - AND THE - - CONDITION OF WOMAN. - - - ADDRESSED TO - - MARY S. PARKER, - - PRESIDENT OF THE - - Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society. - - - BOSTON: - PUBLISHED BY ISAAC KNAPP, - 25, CORNHILL. - - 1838. - - - - - LETTERS. - - - - - LETTER I. - - THE ORIGINAL EQUALITY OF WOMAN. - - - _Amesbury, 7th Mo. 11th, 1837._ - -MY DEAR FRIEND,--In attempting to comply with thy request to give my -views on the Province of Woman, I feel that I am venturing on nearly -untrodden ground, and that I shall advance arguments in opposition to -a corrupt public opinion, and to the perverted interpretation of Holy -Writ, which has so universally obtained. But I am in search of truth; -and no obstacle shall prevent my prosecuting that search, because I -believe the welfare of the world will be materially advanced by every -new discovery we make of the designs of Jehovah in the creation of -woman. It is impossible that we can answer the purpose of our being, -unless we understand that purpose. It is impossible that we should -fulfil our duties, unless we comprehend them; or live up to our -privileges, unless we know what they are. - -In examining this important subject, I shall depend solely on the -Bible to designate the sphere of woman, because I believe almost every -thing that has been written on this subject, has been the result of -a misconception of the simple truths revealed in the Scriptures, in -consequence of the false translation of many passages of Holy Writ. My -mind is entirely delivered from the superstitious reverence which is -attached to the English version of the Bible. King James’s translators -certainly were not inspired. I therefore claim the original as my -standard, _believing that to have been inspired_, and I also claim to -judge for myself what is the meaning of the inspired writers, because -I believe it to be the solemn duty of every individual to search the -Scriptures for themselves, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, and not be -governed by the views of any man, or set of men. - -We must first view woman at the period of her creation. ‘And God said, -Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness; and let them have -dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and -over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing -that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in -the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.’ -In all this sublime description of the creation of man, (which is a -generic term including man and woman,) there is not one particle of -difference intimated as existing between them. They were both made in -the image of God; dominion was given to both over every other creature, -but not over each other. Created in perfect equality, they were -expected to exercise the vicegerence intrusted to them by their Maker, -in harmony and love. - -Let us pass on now to the recapitulation of the creation of man:--‘The -Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his -nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord -God said, it is not good that man should be alone, I will make him an -help meet for him.’ All creation swarmed with animated beings capable -of natural affection, as we know they still are; it was not, therefore, -merely to give man a creature susceptible of loving, obeying, and -looking up to him, for all that the animals could do and did do. It -was to give him a companion, _in all respects_ his equal; one who was -like himself _a free agent_, gifted with intellect and endowed with -immortality; not a partaker merely of his animal gratifications, but -able to enter into all his feelings as a moral and responsible being. -If this had not been the case, how could she have been an help meet for -him? I understand this as applying not only to the parties entering -into the marriage contract, but to all men and women, because I believe -God designed woman to be an help meet for man in every good and perfect -work. She was a part of himself, as if Jehovah designed to make the -oneness and identity of man and woman perfect and complete; and when -the glorious work of their creation was finished, ‘the morning stars -sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.’ - -This blissful condition was not long enjoyed by our first parents. Eve, -it would seem from the history, was wandering alone amid the bowers -of Paradise, when the serpent met with her. From her reply to Satan, -it is evident that the command not to eat ‘of the tree that is in the -midst of the garden,’ was given to both, although the term man was -used when the prohibition was issued by God. ‘And the woman said unto -the serpent, WE may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but -of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath -said, YE shall not eat of it, neither shall YE touch it, lest YE die.’ -Here the woman was exposed to temptation from a being with whom she was -unacquainted. She had been accustomed to associate with her beloved -partner, and to hold communion with God and with angels; but of satanic -intelligence, she was in all probability entirely ignorant. Through the -subtlety of the serpent, she was beguiled. And ‘when she saw that the -tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a -tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and -did eat.’ - -We next find Adam involved in the same sin, not through the -instrumentality of a supernatural agent, but through that of his equal, -a being whom he must have known was liable to transgress the divine -command, because he must have felt that he was himself a free agent, -and that he was restrained from disobedience only by the exercise of -faith and love towards his Creator. Had Adam tenderly reproved his -wife, and endeavored to lead her to repentance instead of sharing -in her guilt, I should be much more ready to accord to man that -superiority which he claims; but as the facts stand disclosed by the -sacred historian, it appears to me that to say the least, there was -as much weakness exhibited by Adam as by Eve. They both fell from -innocence, and consequently from happiness, _but not from equality_. - -Let us next examine the conduct of this fallen pair, when Jehovah -interrogated them respecting their fault. They both frankly confessed -their guilt. ‘The man said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with -me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat. And the woman said, the -serpent beguiled me and I did eat.’ And the Lord God said unto the -woman, ‘Thou wilt be subject unto thy husband, and he will rule over -thee.’ That this did not allude to the subjection of woman to man is -manifest, because the same mode of expression is used in speaking to -Cain of Abel. The truth is that the curse, as it is termed, which was -pronounced by Jehovah upon woman, is a simple prophecy. The Hebrew, -like the French language, uses the same word to express shall and will. -Our translators having been accustomed to exercise lordship over their -wives, and seeing only through the medium of a perverted judgment, very -naturally, though I think not very learnedly or very kindly, translated -it _shall_ instead of _will_, and thus converted a prediction to Eve -into a command to Adam; for observe, it is addressed to the woman and -not to the man. The consequence of the fall was an immediate struggle -for dominion, and Jehovah foretold which would gain the ascendency; but -as he created them in his image, as that image manifestly was not lost -by the fall, because it is urged in Gen. 9:6, as an argument why the -life of man should not be taken by his fellow man, there is no reason -to suppose that sin produced any distinction between them as moral, -intellectual and responsible beings. Man might just as well have -endeavored by hard labor to fulfil the prophecy, thorns and thistles -will the earth bring forth to thee, as to pretend to accomplish the -other, ‘he will rule over thee,’ by asserting dominion over his wife. - - ‘Authority usurped from God, not given. - He gave him only over beast, flesh, fowl, - Dominion absolute: that right he holds - By God’s donation: but man o’er woman - He made not Lord, such title to himself - Reserving, human left from human free.’ - -Here then I plant myself. God created us equal;--he created us free -agents;--he is our Lawgiver, our King and our Judge, and to him alone -is woman bound to be in subjection, and to him alone is she accountable -for the use of those talents with which her Heavenly Father has -entrusted her. One is her Master even Christ. - - Thine for the oppressed in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER II. - - WOMAN SUBJECT ONLY TO GOD. - - - _Newburyport, 7th mo. 17, 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--In my last, I traced the creation and the fall of -man and woman from that state of purity and happiness which their -beneficent Creator designed them to enjoy. As they were one in -transgression, their chastisement was the same. ‘So God drove out -_the man_, and he placed at the East of the garden of Eden a cherubim -and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the -tree of life.’ We now behold them expelled from Paradise, fallen from -their original loveliness, but still bearing on their foreheads the -image and superscription of Jehovah; still invested with high moral -responsibilities, intellectual powers, and immortal souls. They had -incurred the penalty of sin, they were shorn of their innocence, -but they stood on the same platform side by side, acknowledging _no -superior_ but their God. Notwithstanding what has been urged, woman -I am aware stands charged to the present day with having brought sin -into the world. I shall not repel the charge by any counter assertions, -although, as was before hinted, Adam’s ready acquiescence with his -wife’s proposal, does not savor much of that superiority _in strength -of mind_, which is arrogated by man. Even admitting that Eve was the -greater sinner, it seems to me man might be satisfied with the dominion -he has claimed and exercised for nearly six thousand years, and that -more true nobility would be manifested by endeavoring to raise the -fallen and invigorate the weak, than by keeping woman in subjection. -But I ask no favors for my sex. I surrender not our claim to equality. -All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off -our necks, and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God -designed us to occupy. If he has not given us the rights which have, as -I conceive, been wrested from us, we shall soon give evidence of our -inferiority, and shrink back into that obscurity, which the high souled -magnanimity of man has assigned us as our appropriate sphere. - -As I am unable to learn from sacred writ when woman was deprived by -God of her equality with man, I shall touch upon a few points in the -Scriptures, which demonstrate that no supremacy was granted to man. -When God had destroyed the world, except Noah and his family, by the -deluge, he renewed the grant formerly made to man, and again gave him -dominion over every beast of the earth, every fowl of the air, over all -that moveth upon the earth, and over all the fishes of the sea; into -his hands they were delivered. But was woman, bearing the image of her -God, placed under the dominion of her fellow man? Never! Jehovah could -not surrender his authority to govern his own immortal creatures into -the hands of a being, whom he knew, and whom his whole history proved, -to be unworthy of a trust so sacred and important. God could not do it, -because it is a direct contravention of his law, ‘Thou shalt worship -the Lord thy God, and _him only_ shalt thou serve.’ If Jehovah had -appointed man as the guardian, or teacher of woman, he would certainly -have given some intimation of this surrender of his own prerogative. -But so far from it, we find the commands of God invariably the same to -man and woman; and not the slightest intimation is given in a single -passage of the Bible, that God designed to point woman to man as her -instructor. The tenor of his language always is, ‘Look unto ME, and be -ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none -else.’ - -The lust of dominion was probably the first effect of the fall; and as -there was no other intelligent being over whom to exercise it, woman -was the first victim of this unhallowed passion. We afterwards see -it exhibited by Cain in the murder of his brother, by Nimrod in his -becoming a mighty hunter of men, and setting up a kingdom over which to -reign. Here we see the origin of that Upas of slavery, which sprang up -immediately after the fall, and has spread its pestilential branches -over the whole face of the known world. All history attests that man -has subjected woman to his will, used her as a means to promote his -selfish gratification, to minister to his sensual pleasures, to be -instrumental in promoting his comfort; but never has he desired to -elevate her to that rank she was created to fill. He has done all he -could to debase and enslave her mind; and now he looks triumphantly on -the ruin he has wrought, and says, the being he has thus deeply injured -is his inferior. - -Woman has been placed by John Quincy Adams, side by side with the -slave, whilst he was contending for the right side of petition. I -thank him for ranking us with the oppressed; for I shall not find it -difficult to show, that in all ages and countries, not even excepting -enlightened republican America, woman has more or less been made a -_means_ to promote the welfare of man, without due regard to her own -happiness, and the glory of God as the end of her creation. - -During the _patriarchal_ ages, we find men and women engaged in the -same employments. Abraham and Sarah both assisted in preparing the -food which was to be set before the three men, who visited them in the -plains of Mamre; but although their occupations were similar, Sarah -was not permitted to enjoy the society of the holy visitant; and as -we learn from Peter, that she ‘obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord,’ we -may presume he exercised dominion over her. We shall pass on now to -Rebecca. In her history, we find another striking illustration of the -low estimation in which woman was held. Eleazur is sent to seek a wife -for Isaac. He finds Rebecca going down to the well to fill her pitcher. -He accosts her; and she replies with all humility, ‘Drink, my lord.’ -How does he endeavor to gain her favor and confidence? Does he approach -her as a dignified creature, whom he was about to invite to fill an -important station in his master’s family, as the wife of his only son? -No. He offered incense to her vanity, and ‘he took a golden ear-ring of -half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels -weight of gold,’ and gave them to Rebecca. - -The cupidity of man soon led him to regard woman as property, and -hence we find them sold to those, who wished to marry them, as far as -appears, without any regard to those sacred rights which belong to -woman, as well as to man in the choice of a companion. That women were -a profitable kind of property, we may gather from the description of -a virtuous woman in the last chapter of Proverbs. To work willingly -with her hands, to open her hands to the poor, to clothe herself with -silk and purple, to look well to her household, to make fine linen -and sell it, to deliver girdles to the merchant, and not to eat the -bread of idleness, seems to have constituted in the view of Solomon, -the perfection of a woman’s character and achievements. ‘The spirit of -that age was not favorable to intellectual improvement; but as there -were wise men who formed exceptions to the general ignorance, and were -destined to guide the world into more advanced states, so there was a -corresponding proportion of wise women; and among the Jews, as well as -other nations, we find a strong tendency to believe that women were in -more immediate connection with heaven than men.’--L. M. Child’s Con. -of Woman. If there be any truth in this tradition, I am at a loss to -imagine in what the superiority of man consists. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER III. - - THE PASTORAL LETTER OF THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF CONGREGATIONAL - MINISTERS OF MASSACHUSETTS. - - - _Haverhill, 7th Mo. 1837._ - -DEAR FRIEND,--When I last addressed thee, I had not seen the Pastoral -Letter of the General Association. It has since fallen into my hands, -and I must digress from my intention of exhibiting the condition of -women in different parts of the world, in order to make some remarks -on this extraordinary document. I am persuaded that when the minds of -men and women become emancipated from the thraldom of superstition and -‘traditions of men,’ the sentiments contained in the Pastoral Letter -will be recurred to with as much astonishment as the opinions of -Cotton Mather and other distinguished men of his day, on the subject -of witchcraft; nor will it be deemed less wonderful, that a body of -divines should gravely assemble and endeavor to prove that woman has -no right to ‘open her mouth for the dumb,’ than it now is that judges -should have sat on the trials of witches, and solemnly condemned -nineteen persons and one dog to death for witchcraft. - -But to the letter. It says, ‘We invite your attention to the dangers -which at present seem to threaten the FEMALE CHARACTER with wide-spread -and permanent injury.’ I rejoice that they have called the attention -of my sex to this subject, because I believe if woman investigates it, -she will soon discover that danger is impending, though from a totally -different source from that which the Association apprehends,--danger -from those who, having long held the reins of _usurped_ authority, are -unwilling to permit us to fill that sphere which God created us to -move in, and who have entered into league to crush the immortal mind -of woman. I rejoice, because I am persuaded that the rights of woman, -like the rights of slaves, need only be examined to be understood and -asserted, even by some of those, who are now endeavoring to smother the -irrepressible desire for mental and spiritual freedom which glows in -the breast of many, who hardly dare to speak their sentiments. - -‘The appropriate duties and influence of women are clearly stated -in the New Testament. Those duties are unobtrusive and private, but -the sources of _mighty power_. When the mild, _dependent_, softening -influence of woman upon the sternness of man’s opinions is fully -exercised, society feels the effects of it in a thousand ways.’ No one -can desire more earnestly than I do, that woman may move exactly in the -sphere which her Creator has assigned her; and I believe her having -been displaced from that sphere has introduced confusion into the -world. It is, therefore, of vast importance to herself and to all the -rational creation, that she should ascertain what are her duties and -her privileges as a responsible and immortal being. The New Testament -has been referred to, and I am willing to abide by its decisions, but -must enter my protest against the false translation of some passages by -the MEN who did that work, and against the perverted interpretation by -the MEN who undertook to write commentaries thereon. I am inclined to -think, when we are admitted to the honor of studying Greek and Hebrew, -we shall produce some various readings of the Bible a little different -from those we now have. - -The Lord Jesus defines the duties of his followers in his Sermon on the -Mount. He lays down grand principles by which they should be governed, -without any reference to sex or condition:--‘Ye are the light of the -world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light -a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth -light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before -men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which -is in Heaven.’ I follow him through all his precepts, and find him -giving the same directions to women as to men, never even referring to -the distinction now so strenuously insisted upon between masculine and -feminine virtues: this is one of the anti-christian ‘traditions of men’ -which are taught instead of the ‘commandments of God.’ Men and women -were CREATED EQUAL; they are both moral and accountable beings, and -whatever is _right_ for man to do, is _right_ for woman. - -But the influence of woman, says the Association, is to be private -and unobtrusive; her light is not to shine before man like that of -her brethren; but she is passively to let the lords of the creation, -as they call themselves, put the bushel over it, lest peradventure it -might appear that the world has been benefitted by the rays of _her_ -candle. So that her quenched light, according to their judgment, will -be of more use than if it were set on the candlestick. ‘Her influence -is the source of mighty power.’ This has ever been the flattering -language of man since he laid aside the whip as a means to keep woman -in subjection. He spares her body; but the war he has waged against her -mind, her heart, and her soul, has been no less destructive to her as -a moral being. How monstrous, how anti-christian, is the doctrine that -woman is to be dependent on man! Where, in all the sacred Scriptures, -is this taught? Alas! she has too well learned the lesson which MAN has -labored to teach her. She has surrendered her dearest RIGHTS, and been -satisfied with the privileges which man has assumed to grant her; she -has been amused with the show of power, whilst man has absorbed all the -reality into himself. He has adorned the creature whom God gave him as -a companion, with baubles and gewgaws, turned her attention to personal -attractions, offered incense to her vanity, and made her the instrument -of his selfish gratification, a play-thing to please his eye and amuse -his hours of leisure. ‘Rule by obedience and by submission sway,’ or -in other words, study to be a hypocrite, pretend to submit, but gain -your point, has been the code of household morality which woman has -been taught. The poet has sung, in sickly strains, the loveliness of -woman’s dependence upon man, and now we find it re-echoed by those who -profess to teach the religion of the Bible. God says, ‘Cease ye from -man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted -of?’ Man says, depend upon me. God says, ‘HE will teach us of his -ways.’ Man says, believe it not, I am to be your teacher. This doctrine -of dependence upon man is utterly at variance with the doctrine of the -Bible. In that book I find nothing like the softness of woman, nor the -sternness of man: both are equally commanded to bring forth the fruits -of the Spirit, love, meekness, gentleness, &c. - -But we are told, ‘the power of woman is in her dependence, flowing -from a consciousness of that weakness which God has given her for her -protection.’ If physical weakness is alluded to, I cheerfully concede -the superiority; if brute force is what my brethren are claiming, I am -willing to let them have all the honor they desire; but if they mean -to intimate, that mental or moral weakness belongs to woman, more than -to man, I utterly disclaim the charge. Our powers of mind have been -crushed, as far as man could do it, our sense of morality has been -impaired by his interpretation of our duties; but no where does God -say that he made any distinction between us, as moral and intelligent -beings. - -‘We appreciate,’ say the Association, ‘the _unostentatious_ prayers -and efforts of woman in advancing the cause of religion at home and -abroad, in leading religious inquirers TO THE PASTOR for instruction.’ -Several points here demand attention. If public prayers and public -efforts are necessarily ostentatious, then ‘Anna the prophetess, (or -preacher,) who departed not from the temple, but served God with -fastings and prayers night and day,’ ‘and spake of Christ to all them -that looked for redemption in Israel,’ was ostentatious in her efforts. -Then, the apostle Paul encourages women to be ostentatious in their -efforts to spread the gospel, when he gives them directions how they -should appear, when engaged in praying, or preaching in the public -assemblies. Then, the whole association of Congregational ministers are -ostentatious, in the efforts they are making in preaching and praying -to convert souls. - -But woman may be permitted to lead religious inquirers to the PASTORS -for instruction. Now this is assuming that all pastors are better -qualified to give instruction than woman. This I utterly deny. I have -suffered too keenly from the teaching of man, to lead any one to him -for instruction. The Lord Jesus says,--‘Come unto me and learn of me.’ -He points his followers to no man; and when woman is made the favored -instrument of rousing a sinner to his lost and helpless condition, -she has no right to substitute any teacher for Christ; all she has to -do is, to turn the contrite inquirer to the ‘Lamb of God which taketh -away the sins of the world.’ More souls have probably been lost by -going down to Egypt for help, and by trusting in man in the early -stages of religious experience, than by any other error. Instead of -the petition being offered to God,--‘Lead me in thy truth, and TEACH -me, for thou art the God of my salvation,’--instead of relying on the -precious promises--‘What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall -HE TEACH in the way that he shall choose’--‘I will instruct thee and -TEACH thee in the way which thou shalt go--I will guide thee with mine -eye’--the young convert is directed to go to man, as if he were in -the place of God, and his instructions essential to an advancement in -the path of righteousness. That woman can have but a poor conception -of the privilege of being taught of God, what he alone can teach, who -would turn the ‘religious inquirer aside’ from the fountain of living -waters, where he might slake his thirst for spiritual instruction, to -those broken cisterns which can hold no water, and therefore cannot -satisfy the panting spirit. The business of men and women, who are -ORDAINED OF GOD to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to a lost -and perishing world, is to lead souls to Christ, and not to Pastors for -instruction. - -The General Association say, that ‘when woman assumes the place and -tone of man as a public reformer, our care and protection of her seem -unnecessary; we put ourselves in self-defence against her, and her -character becomes unnatural.’ Here again the unscriptural notion is -held up, that there is a distinction between the duties of men and -women as moral beings; that what is virtue in man, is vice in woman; -and women who dare to obey the command of Jehovah, ‘Cry aloud, spare -not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their -transgression,’ are threatened with having the protection of the -brethren withdrawn. If this is all they do, we shall not even know -the time when our chastisement is inflicted; our trust is in the Lord -Jehovah, and in him is ever-lasting strength. The motto of woman, when -she is engaged in the great work of public reformation should be,--‘The -Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the -strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ She must feel, if she -feels rightly, that she is fulfilling one of the important duties -laid upon her as an accountable being, and that her character, instead -of being ‘unnatural,’ is in exact accordance with the will of Him to -whom, and to no other, she is responsible for the talents and the gifts -confided to her. As to the pretty simile, introduced into the ‘Pastoral -Letter,’ ‘If the vine whose strength and beauty is to lean upon the -trellis work, and half conceal its clusters, thinks to assume the -independence and the overshadowing nature of the elm,’ &c. I shall only -remark that it might well suit the poet’s fancy, who sings of sparkling -eyes and coral lips, and knights in armor clad; but it seems to me -utterly inconsistent with the dignity of a Christian body, to endeavor -to draw such an anti-scriptural distinction between men and women. Ah! -how many of my sex feel in the dominion, thus unrighteously exercised -over them, under the gentle appellation of _protection_, that what they -have leaned upon has proved a broken reed at best, and oft a spear. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER IV. - - SOCIAL INTERCOURSE OF THE SEXES. - - - _Andover, 7th Mo. 27th, 1837._ - -MY DEAR FRIEND,--Before I proceed with the account of that oppression -which woman has suffered in every age and country from her _protector_, -man, permit me to offer for your consideration, some views relative -to the social intercourse of the sexes. Nearly the whole of this -intercourse is, in my apprehension, derogatory to man and woman, as -moral and intellectual beings. We approach each other, and mingle -with each other, under the constant pressure of a feeling that we are -of different sexes; and, instead of regarding each other only in the -light of immortal creatures, the mind is fettered by the idea which is -early and industriously infused into it, that we must never forget the -distinction between male and female. Hence our intercourse, instead -of being elevated and refined, is generally calculated to excite and -keep alive the lowest propensities of our nature. Nothing, I believe, -has tended more to destroy the true dignity of woman, than the fact -that she is approached by man in the character of a female. The idea -that she is sought as an intelligent and heaven-born creature, whose -society will cheer, refine and elevate her companion, and that she -will receive the same blessings she confers, is rarely held up to her -view. On the contrary, man almost always addresses himself to the -weakness of woman. By flattery, by an appeal to her passions, he seeks -access to her heart; and when he has gained her affections, he uses -her as the instrument of his pleasure--the minister of his temporal -comfort. He furnishes himself with a housekeeper, whose chief business -is in the kitchen, or the nursery. And whilst he goes abroad and -enjoys the means of improvement afforded by collision of intellect -with cultivated minds, his wife is condemned to draw nearly all her -instruction from books, if she has time to peruse them; and if not, -from her meditations, whilst engaged in those domestic duties, which -are necessary for the comfort of her lord and master. - -Surely no one who contemplates, with the eye of a Christian -philosopher, the design of God in the creation of woman, can believe -that she is now fulfilling that design. The literal translation of the -word ‘help-meet’ is a helper like unto himself; it is so rendered in -the Septuagint, and manifestly signifies a companion. Now I believe -it will be impossible for woman to fill the station assigned her by -God, until her brethren mingle with her as an equal, as a moral being; -and lose, in the dignity of her immortal nature, and in the fact of -her bearing like himself the image and superscription of her God, the -idea of her being a female. The apostle beautifully remarks, ‘As many -of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There -is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is -neither _male_ nor _female_; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’ Until -our intercourse is purified by the forgetfulness of sex,--until we rise -above the present low and sordid views which entwine themselves around -our social and domestic interchange of sentiment and feelings, we never -can derive that benefit from each other’s society which it is the -design of our Creator that we should. Man has inflicted an unspeakable -injury upon woman, by holding up to her view her animal nature, and -placing in the back ground her moral and intellectual being. Woman has -inflicted an injury upon herself by submitting to be thus regarded; and -she is now called upon to rise from the station where _man_, not God, -has placed her, and claim those sacred and inalienable rights, as a -moral and responsible being, with which her Creator has invested her. - -What but these views, so derogatory to the character of woman, could -have called forth the remark contained in the Pastoral Letter? -‘We especially deplore the intimate acquaintance and promiscuous -conversation of _females_ with regard to things “which ought not to -be named,” by which that modesty and delicacy, which is the charm of -domestic life, and which constitutes the true influence of woman, -is consumed.’ How wonderful that the conceptions of man relative to -woman are so low, that he cannot perceive that she may converse on any -subject connected with the improvement of her species, without swerving -in the least from that modesty which is one of her greatest virtues! -Is it designed to insinuate that woman should possess a greater degree -of modesty than man? This idea I utterly reprobate. Or is it supposed -that woman cannot go into scenes of misery, the necessary result of -those very things, which the Pastoral Letter says ought not to be -named, for the purpose of moral reform, without becoming contaminated -by those with whom she thus mingles? - -This is a false position; and I presume has grown out of the -never-forgotten distinction of male and female. The woman who goes -forth, clad in the panoply of God, to stem the tide of iniquity and -misery, which she beholds rolling through our land, goes not forth to -her labor of love as a female. She goes as the dignified messenger of -Jehovah, and all she does and says must be done and said irrespective -of sex. She is in duty bound to communicate with all, who are able and -willing to aid her in saving her fellow creatures, both men and women, -from that destruction which awaits them. - -So far from woman losing any thing of the purity of her mind, by -visiting the wretched victims of vice in their miserable abodes, by -talking with them, or of them, she becomes more and more elevated and -refined in her feelings and views. While laboring to cleanse the minds -of others from the malaria of moral pollution, her own heart becomes -purified, and her soul rises to nearer communion with her God. Such a -woman is infinitely better qualified to fulfil the duties of a wife and -a mother, than the woman whose _false delicacy_ leads her to shun her -fallen sister and brother, and shrink from _naming those sins_ which -she knows exist, but which she is too fastidious to labor by deed and -by word to exterminate. Such a woman feels when she enters upon the -marriage relation, that God designed that relation not to debase her -to a level with the animal creation, but to increase the happiness and -dignity of his creatures. Such a woman comes to the important task of -training her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, with a -soul filled with the greatness of the beings committed to her charge. -She sees in her children, creatures bearing the image of God; and she -approaches them with reverence, and treats them at all times as moral -and accountable beings. Her own mind being purified and elevated, she -instils into her children that genuine religion which induces them to -keep the commandments of God. Instead of ministering with ceaseless -care to their sensual appetites, she teaches them to be temperate in -all things. She can converse with her children on any subject relating -to their duty to God, can point their attention to those vices which -degrade and brutify human nature, without in the least defiling her -own mind or theirs. She views herself, and teaches her children to -regard themselves as moral beings; and in all their intercourse with -their fellow men, to lose the animal nature of man and woman, in the -recognition of that immortal mind wherewith Jehovah has blessed and - enriched them. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER V. - - CONDITION IN ASIA AND AFRICA. - - - _Groton, 8th Mo. 4th, 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--I design to devote this letter to a brief examination -of the condition of women in Asia and Africa. I believe it will be -found that men, in the exercise of their usurped dominion over woman, -have almost invariably done one of two things. They have either made -slaves of the creatures whom God designed to be their companions and -their coadjutors in every moral and intellectual improvement, or they -have dressed them like dolls, and used them as toys to amuse their -hours of recreation. - -I shall commence by stating the degrading practice of SELLING WOMEN, -which we find prevalent in almost all the Eastern nations. - -Among the Jews,-- - - ‘Whoever wished for a wife must pay the parents for her, or perform - a stipulated period of service; sometimes the parties were solemnly - betrothed in childhood, and the price of the bride stipulated.’ - -In Babylon, they had a yearly custom of a peculiar kind. - - ‘In every district, three men, respectable for their virtue, were - chosen to conduct all the marriageable girls to the public assembly. - Here they were put up at auction by the public crier, while the - magistrate presided over the sales. The most beautiful were sold - first, and the rich contended eagerly for a choice. The most ugly, - or deformed girl was sold next in succession to the handsomest, and - assigned to any person who would take her with the least sum of money. - The price given for the beautiful was divided into dowries for the - homely.’ - -Two things may here be noticed; first, the value set upon personal -charms, just as a handsome horse commands a high price; and second, the -utter disregard which is manifested towards the feelings of woman. - - ‘In no part of the world does the condition of women appear more - dreary than in Hindostan. The arbitrary power of a father disposes - of them in childhood. When they are married, their husbands have - despotic control over them; if unable to support them, they can lend - or sell them to a neighbor, and in the Hindoo rage for gambling, wives - and children are frequently staked and lost. If they survive their - husbands, they must pay implicit obedience to the oldest son; if they - have no sons, the nearest male relation holds them in subjection; and - if there happen to be no kinsmen, they must be dependent on the chief - of the tribe.’ - -Even the English, who are numerous in Hindostan, have traded in women. - - ‘India has been a great marriage market, on account of the emigration - of young enterprising Englishmen, without a corresponding number - of women. Some persons actually imported women to the British - settlements, in order to sell them to rich Europeans, or nabobs, who - would give a good price for them. How the importers acquired a right - thus to dispose of them is not mentioned; it is probable that the - women themselves, from extreme poverty, or some other cause, consented - to become articles of speculation, upon consideration of receiving a - certain remuneration. In September, 1818, the following advertisement - appeared in the Calcutta Advertiser: - - FEMALES RAFFLED FOR. - - Be it known, that six fair pretty young ladies, with two sweet - engaging children, lately imported from Europe, having the roses of - health blooming on their cheeks, and joy sparkling in their eyes, - possessing amiable tempers and highly accomplished, whom the most - indifferent cannot behold without rapture, are to be raffled for next - door to the British gallery.’ - -The enemy of all good could not have devised a better means of debasing -an immortal creature, than by turning her into a saleable commodity; -and hence we find that wherever this custom prevails, woman is regarded -as a mere machine to answer the purposes of domestic combat or sensual -indulgence, or to gratify the taste of her oppressor by a display of -personal attractions. - - ‘Weighed in the balance with a tyrant’s gold, - Though nature cast her in a heavenly mould.’ - -I shall now take a brief survey of the EMPLOYMENTS of women in Asia -and Africa. In doing this, I have two objects in view; first to show, -that women are capable of acquiring as great physical power as men, -and secondly to show, that they have been more or less the victims of -oppression and contempt. - - ‘The occupations of the ancient Jewish women were laborious. They - spent their time in spinning and weaving cloth for garments, and for - the covering of the tents, in cooking the food, tending the flocks, - grinding the corn, and drawing water from the wells.’ - -Of Trojan women we know little, but we find that-- - - ‘Andromache, though a princess and well beloved by her husband, fed - and took care of the horses of Hector.’ - -So in Persia, women of the middling class see that proper care is taken -of the horses. They likewise do all the laborious part of the house -work. - - ‘The Hindoo women are engaged in every variety of occupation, - according to the caste of their husbands. They cultivate the land, - make baskets and mats, bring water in jars, carry manure and various - other articles to market in baskets on their heads, cook food, tend - children, weave cloth, reel thread and wind cocoons.’ - - ‘The Thibetian women of the laboring classes are inured to a great - deal of toil. They plant, weed, reap, and thresh grain, and are - exposed to the roughest weather, while their indolent husbands are - perhaps living at their ease.’ - - ‘Females of the lower classes among the Chinese endure as much labor - and fatigue as the men. A wife sometimes drags the plough in rice - fields with an infant tied upon her back, while her husband performs - the less arduous task of holding the plough.’ - - ‘The Tartar women in general perform a greater share of labor than the - men; for it is a prevalent opinion that they were sent into the world - for no other purpose, but to be useful and convenient SLAVES to the - stronger sex.’ ‘Among some of the Tartar tribes of the present day, - females manage a horse, hurl a javelin, hunt wild animals, and fight - an enemy as well as the men.’ - - ‘In the island of Sumatra, the women do all the work, while their - husbands lounge in idleness, playing on the flute, with wreaths of - globe amaranth on their heads, or racing with each other, without - saddle or stirrup, or hunting deer, or gambling away their wives, - their children, or themselves. The Battas consider their wives and - children as slaves, and sell them whenever they choose.’ - - ‘The Moors are indolent to excess. They lie whole days upon their - mats, sleeping and smoking, while the women and slaves perform all the - labor. Owing to their uncleanly habits, they are much infested with - vermin; and as they consider it beneath their dignity to remove this - annoyance, the task is imposed on the women. They are very impatient - and tyrannical, and for the slightest offence beat their wives most - cruelly.’ - -In looking over the condition of woman as delineated in this letter, -how amply do we find the prophecy of Jehovah to Eve fulfilled, ‘Thy -husband will rule over thee.’ And yet we perceive that where the -physical strength of woman is called into exercise, there is no -inferiority even in this respect; she performs the labor, while man -enjoys what are termed the pleasures of life. - -I have thought it necessary to adduce various proofs of my assertion, -that men have always in some way regarded women as mere instruments of -selfish gratification; and hope this sorrowful detail of the wrongs of -woman will not be tedious to thee. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER VI. - - WOMEN IN ASIA AND AFRICA. - - - _Groton, 8th Mo. 15th, 1837._ - -DEAR FRIEND,--In pursuing the history of woman in different ages and -countries, it will be necessary to exhibit her in all the various -situations in which she has been placed. - -We find her sometimes _filling the throne_, and exercising the -functions of royalty. The name of Semiramis is familiar to every -reader of ancient history. She succeeded Ninus in the government of -the Assyrian empire; and to render her name immortal, built the city -of Babylon. Two millions of men were constantly employed upon it. -Certain dykes built by order of this queen, to defend the city from -inundations, are spoken of as admirable. - -Nicotris, wife of Nabonadius, the Evil-Merodach of Scripture, was a -woman of great endowments. While her husband indulged in a life of ease -and pleasure, she managed the affairs of state with wisdom and prudence. - - ‘Zenobia queen of Palmyra and the East, is the most remarkable - among Asiatic women. Her genius struggled with and overcame all the - obstacles presented by oriental laws and customs. She knew the Latin, - Greek, Syriac, and Egyptian languages; and had drawn up for her own - use an abridgement of oriental history. She was the companion and - friend of her husband, and accompanied him on his hunting excursions - with eagerness and courage equal to his own. She despised the - effeminacy of a covered carriage, and often appeared on horseback in - military costume. Sometimes she marched several miles on foot, at the - head of the troops. Having revenged the murder of her husband, she - ascended the throne, and for five years governed Palmyra, Syria, and - the East, with wonderful steadiness and wisdom.’ - - ‘Previous to the introduction of Mohammedism into Java, women often - held the highest offices of government; and when the chief of a - district dies, it is even now not uncommon for the widow to retain the - authority that belonged to her deceased husband.’ - -Other instances might be adduced to prove that there is no natural -inferiority in woman. Not that I approve of woman’s holding the reins -of government over man. I maintain that they are equal, and that God -never invested fallen man with unlimited power over his fellow man; -and I rejoice that circumstances have prevented woman from being more -deeply involved in the guilt which appears to be inseparable from -political affairs. The few instances which I have mentioned prove -that intellect is not sexed; and doubtless if woman had not almost -universally been depressed and degraded, the page of history would have -exhibited as many eminent statesmen and politicians among women as -men. We are much in the situation of the slave. Man has asserted and -assumed authority over us. He has, by virtue of his power, deprived -us of the advantages of improvement which he has lavishly bestowed -upon himself, and then, after having done all he can to take from -us the means of proving our equality, and our capability of mental -cultivation, he throws upon us the burden of proof that God created man -and woman equal, and endowed them, without any reference to sex, with -intelligence and responsibilities, as rational and accountable beings. -Hence in Hindostan, even women of the higher classes are forbidden to -read or write; because the Hindoos think it would inevitably spoil them -for domestic life, and assuredly bring some great misfortune upon them. -May we not trace to the same feeling, the disadvantages under which -women labor even in this country, for want of an education, which would -call into exercise the powers of her mind, and fortify her soul with -those great moral principles by which she would be qualified to fill -_every_ department in _social_, _domestic_ and _religious_ life with -dignity? - -In Hindostan, the evidence of women is not received in a court of -justice. - -In Burmah, their testimony is not deemed equal to that of a man, and -they are not allowed to ascend the steps of a court of justice, but are -obliged to give their testimony outside of the building. - -In Siberia, women are not allowed to step across the foot-prints of -men, or reindeer; they are not allowed to eat with men, or to partake -of particular dainties. Among many tribes, they seem to be regarded as -impure, unholy beings. - - ‘The Mohammedan law forbids pigs, dogs, women and other impure animals - to enter a mosque; and the hour of prayers must not be proclaimed by a - female, a madman, a drunkard, or a decrepit person.’ - -Here I am reminded of the resemblance between the situation of women in -heathen and Mohammedan countries, and our brethren and sisters of color -in this Christian land, where they are despised and cast out as though -they were unclean. And on precisely the same ground, because they are -said to be inferior. - -The treatment of women as wives is almost uniformly the same in all -heathen countries. - -The ancient Lydians are the only exception that I have met with, and -the origin of their peculiar customs is so much obscured by fable, that -it is difficult to ascertain the truth. Probably they arose from some -great benefit conferred on the state by women. - -Among the Druses who reside in the mountains of the Anti Libanus, -a wife is often divorced on the slightest pretext. If she ask her -husband’s permission to go out, and he says,--‘Go,’ without adding ‘but -come back again,’ she is divorced. - -In Siberia, it is considered a wife’s duty to obey the most capricious -and unreasonable demands of her husband, without one word of -expostulation or inquiry. If her master be dissatisfied with the most -trifling particular in her conduct, he tears the cap or veil from her -head, and this constitutes a divorce. - -A Persian woman, under the dominion of the kindest master, is treated -much in the same manner as a favorite animal. To vary her personal -graces for his pleasure, is the sole end and aim of her existence. -As moral or intellectual beings, it would be better for them to be -among the dead than the living. The mother instructs her daughter in -all the voluptuous coquetry, by which she herself acquired precarious -ascendency over her absolute master; but all that is truly estimable in -female character is utterly neglected. - -Hence we find women extravagantly fond of adorning their persons. -Regarded as instruments of pleasure, they have been degraded into mere -animals, and have found their own gratification principally in the -indulgence of personal vanity, because their external charms procured -for them, at least a temporary ascendency over those, who held in their -hands the reins of government. A few instances must suffice, or I shall -exceed the limits I have prescribed to myself in this letter. - -During the magnificent prosperity of Israel, marriages were conducted -with great pomp; and with the progress of luxury and refinement, women -became expensive, rather than profitable in a pecuniary point of view. -Hence probably arose the custom of wealthy parents giving a handsome -dowry with their daughters. On the day of the nuptials, the bride was -conducted by her female relations to the bath, where she was anointed -with the choicest perfumes, her hair perfumed and braided, her eyebrows -deepened with black powder, and the tips of her fingers tinged with -rose color. She was then arrayed in a marriage robe of brilliant color; -the girdle and bracelets were more or less costly. - -Notwithstanding the Chinese women have no opportunity to rival each -other in the conquest of hearts, they are nevertheless very fond of -ornaments. Bunches of silver or gilt flowers are always interspersed -among their ringlets, and sometimes they wear the Chinese phœnix made -of silver gilt. It moves with the slightest motion of the wearer, -and the spreading tail forms a glittering aigrette on the middle of -the head, and the wings wave over the front. Yet a Chinese ballad -says,--The pearls and precious stones, the silk and gold with which -a coquette so studiously bedecks herself, are a transparent varnish -which makes all her defects the more apparent. - -The Moorish women have generally a great passion for ornament. They -decorate their persons with heavy gold ear-rings, necklaces of amber, -coral and gold; gold bracelets; gold chains and silver bells for the -ankles; rings on the fingers, &c. &c. The poorer class wear glass beads -around the head, and curl the hair in large ringlets. Men are proud of -having their wives handsomely dressed. - -The Moors are not peculiar in this fancy. Christian men still admire -women who adorn their persons to gratify the lust of the eye and the -pride of life. Women, says a Brahminical expositor, are characterized -by an inordinate love of jewels, fine clothes, &c. &c. I cannot deny -this charge, but it is only one among many instances, wherein men -have reproached us with those very faults and vices which their own -treatment has engendered. Is it any matter of surprise that women, -when unnaturally deprived of the means of cultivating their minds, of -objects which would elevate and refine their passions and affections, -should seek gratification in the toys and the trifles which now too -generally engage their attention? - -I cannot close this, without acknowledging the assistance and -information I have derived, and shall continue to derive on this part -of my subject, from a valuable work entitled ‘Condition of Women, by -Lydia M. Child.’ It is worth the perusal of every one who is interested -in the subject. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER VII. - - CONDITION IN SOME PARTS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA. - - - _Brookline, 8th Mo., 22d, 1837._ - -DEAR SISTER,--I now come to the consideration of the condition of woman -in Europe.--In this portion of the world, she does not appear to have -been as uniformly or as deeply debased, as in Eastern countries; yet we -shall find little in her history which can yield us satisfaction, when -we regard the high station she was designed to occupy as a _moral and -intellectual_ being. - -In Greece, if we may judge from what Eustathius says, ‘women should -keep within doors, and there talk,’--we may conclude, that in general -their occupations were chiefly domestic. Thucydides also declares, that -‘she was the best woman, of whom the least was said, either of good -or of harm.’ The heathen philosophers doubtless wished to keep woman -in her ‘_appropriate sphere_;’ and we find our clerical brethren of -the present day re-echoing these pagan sentiments, and endeavoring to -drive woman from the field of moral labor and intellectual culture, -to occupy her talents in the pursuit of those employments which will -enable her to regale the palate of her lord with the delicacies of the -table, and in every possible way minister to his animal comfort and -gratification. In my humble opinion, woman has long enough subserved -the interests of man; and in the spirit of self-sacrifice, submitted -almost without remonstrance to his oppression; and now that her -attention is solicited to the subject of her rights, her privileges -and her duties, I would entreat her to double her diligence in the -performance of all her obligations as a _wife_, a _mother_, a _sister_, -and a _daughter_. Let us remember that our claim to stand on perfect -equality with our brethren, can only be substantiated by a scrupulous -attention to our domestic duties, as well as by aiding in the great -work of moral reformation--a work which is now calling for the energies -and consecrated powers of every man and woman who desires to see the -Redeemer’s kingdom established on earth. That man must indeed be narrow -minded, and can have but a poor conception of the power of moral truth -on the female heart, who supposes that a correct view of her own rights -can make woman _less solicitous to fill up every department of duty_. -If it should have this effect, it must be because she has not taken a -comprehensive view of the whole subject. - -In the history of Rome, we find a little spot of sunshine in the -valley where woman has been destined to live, unable from her lowly -situation to take an expansive view of that field of moral and mental -improvement, which she should have been busy in cultivating. - - ‘In the earliest and best days of Rome, the first magistrates and - generals of armies ploughed their own fields, and threshed their own - grain. Integrity, industry and simplicity, were the prevailing virtues - of the times; and the character of woman was, as it always must be, - graduated in a degree by that of man. Columella says, Roman husbands, - having completed the labors of the day, entered their houses free - from all care, and there enjoyed perfect repose. There reigned union - and concord and industry, supported by mutual affections. The most - beautiful woman depended for distinction on her economy and endeavors - to assist in crowning her husband’s diligence with prosperity. All was - in common between them; nothing was thought to belong more to one than - another. The wife by her assiduity and activity within doors, equalled - and seconded the industry and labor of her husband.’ - -In the then state of the world, we may conclude from this description, -that woman enjoyed as much happiness as was consistent with that -comparatively unimproved condition of our species; but now a new and -vast sphere of usefulness is opened to her, and she is pressed by -surrounding circumstances to come up to the help of the Lord against -the giant sins which desolate our beloved country. Shall woman shrink -from duty in this exigency, and retiring within her own domestic -circle, delight herself in the abundance of her own selfish enjoyments? -Shall she rejoice in her home, her husband, her children, and forget -her brethren and sisters in bondage, who know not what it is to call a -spot of earth their own, whose husbands and wives are torn from them by -relentless tyrants, and whose children are snatched from their arms by -their unfeeling task-masters, whenever interest, or convenience, tempts -them to this sacrilegious act? Shall woman disregard the situation of -thousands of her fellow creatures, who are the victims of intemperance -and licentiousness, and retreating to the privacy of her own -comfortable home, be satisfied that her whole duty is performed, when -she can exhibit ‘her children well clad and smiling, and her table -neatly spread with wholesome provisions?’ Shall she, because ‘her house -is her _home_,’ refuse her aid and her sympathy to the down trodden -slave, to the poor unhappy outcasts who are deprived of those blessings -which she so highly prizes? Did God give her those blessings to steel -her heart to the sufferings of her fellow creatures? Did he grant -her the possession of husband and children, to dry up the fountains -of feeling for those who know not the consolations of tenderness and -reciprocal affection? Ah no! for every such blessing, God demands a -grateful heart; and woman must be recreant to her duty, if she can -quietly sit down in the enjoyments of her own domestic circle, and not -exert herself to procure the same happiness for others. - -But it is said woman has a mighty weapon in secret prayer. She has, I -acknowledge, _in common with man_; but the woman who prays in sincerity -for the regeneration of this guilty world, will accompany her prayers -by her labors. A friend of mine remarked--‘I was sitting in my chamber, -weeping over the miseries of the slave, and putting up my petitions -for his deliverance from bondage; when in the midst of my meditations, -it occurred to me that my tears, unaided by effort, could never melt -the chain of the slave. I must be up and doing.’ She is now an active -abolitionist--her prayers and her works go hand in hand. - -I am here reminded of what a slave once said to his master, a Methodist -minister. The slaveholder inquired, ‘How did you like my sermon -to-day?’ ‘Very good, master, but it did not preach me free.’ - -Oh, my sisters, suffer me to entreat you to assert your privileges, and -to perform your duties as moral beings. Be not dismayed at the ridicule -of man; it is a weapon worthy only of little minds, and is employed by -those who feel that they cannot convince our judgment. Be not alarmed -at contumely, or scorn; we must expect this. I pray that we may meet -it with forbearance and love; and that nothing may drive us from the -performance of our high and holy duties. Let us ‘cease from man, whose -breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?’ and -press forward in all the great moral enterprises of the age, leaning -_only_ on the arm of our Beloved. - -But I must return to the subject I commenced with, viz. the condition -of woman in Europe. - - ‘The northern nations bore a general resemblance to each other. War - and hunting were considered the only honorable occupations for men, - and all other employments were left to women and slaves. Even the - Visigoths, on the coasts of Spain, left their fields and flocks to - the care of women. The people who inhabit the vast extent of country - between the Black sea and the North sea, are divided into various - distinct races. The women are generally very industrious; even in - their walks, they carry a portable distaff, and spin every step of the - way. Both Croatian and Walachian women perform all the agricultural - operations in addition to their own domestic concerns.’ - -Speaking of the Morlachian women, M. Fortis says, ‘Being treated like -beasts of burden, and expected to endure submissively every species -of hardship, they naturally become very dirty and careless in their -habits.’ - -The Cossack women afford a contrast to this disgusting picture. -They are very cleanly and industrious, and in the absence of their -husbands, supply their places by taking charge of all their usual -occupations, in addition to their own. It is rare for a Cossack woman -not to know some trade, such as dyeing cloth, tanning leather, &c. - -The condition of Polish and Russian serfs in modern times is about -the same. The Polish women have scarcely clothing enough for decency, -and they are subjected to great hardships and privations. ‘In Russia, -women have been seen paving the streets, and performing other similar -drudgery. In Finland, they work like beasts of burden, and may be -seen for hours in snow water, up to the middle, tugging at boats and -sledges.’ - -In Flanders and in France, women are engaged in performing laborious -tasks; and even in England, it is not unusual to see them scraping up -manure from the streets with their hands, and gathering it into baskets. - -In Greece, even now the women plough and carry heavy burdens, while the -lordly master of the family may be seen walking before them without any -incumbrance.[1] - -Generally speaking, however, there is much more comparative equality of -labor between the sexes in Europe than among the Orientals. - -I shall close this letter with a brief survey of the condition of women -among the Aborigines of America. - - ‘Before America was settled by Europeans, it was inhabited by Indian - tribes, which greatly resembled each other in the treatment of their - women. Every thing, except war and hunting, was considered beneath the - dignity of man.--During long and wearisome marches, women were obliged - to carry children, provisions and hammocks on their shoulders; they - had the sole care of the horses and dogs, cut wood, pitched the tents, - raised the corn, and made the clothing. When the husband killed game, - he left it by a tree in the forest, returned home, and sent his wife - several miles in search of it. In most of the tribes, women were not - allowed to eat and drink with men, but stood and served them, and then - ate what they left.’ - -The following affecting anecdote may give some idea of the sufferings -of these women: - - ‘Father Joseph reproved a female savage for destroying her infant - daughter. She replied, “I wish my mother had thus prevented the - manifold sufferings I have endured. Consider, father, our deplorable - situation. Our husbands go out to hunt; we are dragged along with one - infant at our breast, and another in a basket. Though tired with long - walking, we are not allowed to sleep when we return, but must labor - all night in grinding maize and making chica for them.--They get drunk - and beat us, draw us by the hair of the head, and tread us under foot. - Would to God my mother had put me under ground the moment I was born.”’ - -In Greenland, the situation of woman is equally deplorable. The men -hunt bears and catch seals; but when they have towed their booty to -land, they would consider it a disgrace to help the women drag it home, -or skin and dress it. They often stand and look idly on, while their -wives are staggering beneath the load that almost bends them to the -earth. The women are cooks, butchers, masons, curriers, shoemakers and -tailors. They will manage a boat in the roughest seas, and will often -push off from the shore in the midst of a storm, that would make the -hardiest European sailor tremble. - -The page of history teems with woman’s wrongs, and it is wet with -woman’s tears.--For the sake of my degraded sex every where, and for -the sake of my brethren, who suffer just in proportion as they place -woman lower in the scale of creation than man, lower than her Creator -placed her, I entreat my sisters to arise in all the majesty of moral -power, in all the dignity of immortal beings, and plant themselves, -side by side, on the platform of human rights, with man, to whom they -were designed to be companions, equals and helpers in every good word - and work. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Since the preceding letters were in type, I have met with the -following account in a French work entitled ‘De l’education des meres -de famille ou de la civilization du Genre Humain par les femmes,’ -printed at Brussels in 1837. ‘The periodicals have lately published -the following circumstance from the journal of an English physician, -who travelled in the East. He visited a slave market, where he saw -about twenty Greek women half naked, lying on the ground waiting for -a purchaser. One of them attracted the attention of an old Turk. The -barbarian examined her shoulders, her legs, her ears, her mouth, her -neck, with the minutest care, just as a horse is examined, and during -the inspection, the merchant praised the beauty of her eyes, the -elegance of her shape, and other perfections; he protested that the -poor girl was but thirteen years of age, &c. After a severe scrutiny -and some dispute about the price, she was sold body and soul for 1375 -francs. The soul, it is true, was accounted of little value in the -bargain. The unfortunate creature, half fainting in the arms of her -mother, implored help in the most touching accents, but it availed -nothing.--This infernal scene passed in Europe in 1829, only 600 -leagues from Paris and London, the two capitals of the human species, -and at the time in which I write, it is the living history of two -thirds of the inhabitants of the earth.’ - - - - - LETTER VIII. - - ON THE CONDITION OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES. - - - _Brookline, 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--I have now taken a brief survey of the condition of -woman in various parts of the world. I regret that my time has been so -much occupied by other things, that I have been unable to bestow that -attention upon the subject which it merits, and that my constant change -of place has prevented me from having access to books, which might -probably have assisted me in this part of my work. I hope that the -principles I have asserted will claim the attention of some of my sex, -who may be able to bring into view, more thoroughly than I have done, -the situation and degradation of woman. I shall now proceed to make a -few remarks on the condition of women in my own country. - -During the early part of my life, my lot was cast among the -butterflies of the _fashionable_ world; and of this class of women, -I am constrained to say, both from experience and observation, that -their education is miserably deficient; that they are taught to regard -marriage as the one thing needful, the only avenue to distinction; -hence to attract the notice and win the attentions of men, by their -external charms, is the chief business of fashionable girls. They -seldom think that men will be allured by intellectual acquirements, -because they find, that where any mental superiority exists, a woman -is generally shunned and regarded as stepping out of her ‘appropriate -sphere,’ which, in their view, is to dress, to dance, to set out to the -best possible advantage her person, to read the novels which inundate -the press, and which do more to destroy her character as a rational -creature, than any thing else. Fashionable women regard themselves, -and are regarded by men, as pretty toys or as mere instruments of -pleasure; and the vacuity of mind, the heartlessness, the frivolity -which is the necessary result of this false and debasing estimate of -women, can only be fully understood by those who have mingled in the -folly and wickedness of fashionable life; and who have been called from -such pursuits by the voice of the Lord Jesus, inviting their weary and -heavy laden souls to come unto Him and learn of Him, that they may -find something worthy of their immortal spirit, and their intellectual -powers; that they may learn the high and holy purposes of their -creation, and consecrate themselves unto the service of God; and not, -as is now the case, to the pleasure of man. - -There is another and much more numerous class in this country, who are -withdrawn by education or circumstances from the circle of fashionable -amusements, but who are brought up with the dangerous and absurd -idea, that _marriage_ is a kind of preferment; and that to be able to -keep their husband’s house, and render his situation comfortable, is -the end of her being. Much that she does and says and thinks is done -in reference to this situation; and to be married is too often held -up to the view of girls as the sine qua non of human happiness and -human existence. For this purpose more than for any other, I verily -believe the majority of girls are trained. This is demonstrated by -the imperfect education which is bestowed upon them, and the little -pains taken to cultivate their minds, after they leave school, by the -little time allowed them for reading, and by the idea being constantly -inculcated, that although all household concerns should be attended -to with scrupulous punctuality at particular seasons, the improvement -of their intellectual capacities is only a secondary consideration, -and may serve as an occupation to fill up the odds and ends of time. -In most families, it is considered a matter of far more consequence -to call a girl off from making a pie, or a pudding, than to interrupt -her whilst engaged in her studies. This mode of training necessarily -exalts, in their view, the animal above the intellectual and spiritual -nature, and teaches women to regard themselves as a kind of machinery, -necessary to keep the domestic engine in order, but of little value as -the _intelligent_ companions of men. - -Let no one think, from these remarks, that I regard a knowledge -of housewifery as beneath the acquisition of women. Far from it: -I believe that a complete knowledge of household affairs is an -indispensable requisite in a woman’s education,--that by the mistress -of a family, whether married or single, doing her duty thoroughly -and _understandingly_, the happiness of the family is increased to -an incalculable degree, as well as a vast amount of time and money -saved. All I complain of is, that our education consists so almost -exclusively in culinary and other manual operations. I do long to see -the time, when it will no longer be necessary for women to expend so -many precious hours in furnishing ‘a well spread table,’ but that their -husbands will forego some of their accustomed indulgences in this way, -and encourage their wives to devote some portion of their time to -mental cultivation, even at the expense of having to dine sometimes on -baked potatoes, or bread and butter. - -I believe the sentiment expressed by the author of ‘Live and let Live,’ -is true: - - ‘Other things being equal, a woman of the highest mental endowments - will always be the best housekeeper, for domestic economy, is a - science that brings into action the qualities of the mind, as well as - the graces of the heart. A quick perception, judgment, discrimination, - decision and order are high attributes of mind, and are all in daily - exercise in the well ordering of a family. If a sensible woman, an - intellectual woman, a woman of genius, is not a good housewife, it - is not because she is either, or all of those, but because there is - some deficiency in her character, or some omission of duty which - should make her very humble, instead of her indulging in any secret - self-complacency on account of a certain superiority, which only - aggravates her fault.’ - -The influence of women over the minds and character of _children_ of -both sexes, is allowed to be far greater than that of men. This being -the case by the very ordering of nature, women should be prepared by -education for the performance of their sacred duties as mothers and as -sisters. A late American writer,[2] speaking on this subject, says in -reference to an article in the Westminster Review: - - ‘I agree entirely with the writer in the high estimate which he - places on female education, and have long since been satisfied, - that the subject not only merits, but _imperiously demands_ a - thorough reconsideration. The whole scheme must, in my opinion, - be reconstructed. The great elements of usefulness and duty are - too little attended to. Women ought, in my view of the subject, - to approach to the best education now given to men, (I except - mathematics and the classics,) far more I believe than has ever yet - been attempted. Give me a host of educated, pious mothers and sisters, - and I will do more to revolutionize a country, in moral and religious - taste, in manners and in social virtues and intellectual cultivation, - than I can possibly do in double or treble the time, with a similar - host of educated men. I cannot but think that the miserable condition - of the great body of the people in all ancient communities, is to be - ascribed in a very great degree to the degradation of women.’ - -There is another way in which the general opinion, that women are -inferior to men, is manifested, that bears with tremendous effect on -the laboring class, and indeed on almost all who are obliged to earn -a subsistence, whether it be by mental or physical exertion--I allude -to the disproportionate value set on the time and labor of men and -of women. A man who is engaged in teaching, can always, I believe, -command a higher price for tuition than a woman--even when he teaches -the same branches, and is not in any respect superior to the woman. -This I know is the case in boarding and other schools with which I -have been acquainted, and it is so in every occupation in which the -sexes engage indiscriminately. As for example, in tailoring, a man has -twice, or three times as much for making a waistcoat or pantaloons as -a woman, although the work done by each may be equally good. In those -employments which are peculiar to women, their time is estimated at -only half the value of that of men. A woman who goes out to wash, works -as hard in proportion as a wood sawyer, or a coal heaver, but she is -not generally able to make more than half as much by a day’s work. The -low remuneration which women receive for their work, has claimed the -attention of a few philanthropists, and I hope it will continue to do -so until some remedy is applied for this enormous evil. I have known -a widow, left with four or five children, to provide for, unable to -leave home because her helpless babes demand her attention, compelled -to earn a scanty subsistence, by making coarse shirts at 12¹⁄₂ cents -a piece, or by taking in washing, for which she was paid by some -wealthy persons 12¹⁄₂ cents per dozen. All these things evince the -low estimation in which woman is held. There is yet another and more -disastrous consequence arising from this unscriptural notion--women -being educated, from earliest childhood, to regard themselves as -inferior creatures, have not that self-respect which conscious equality -would engender, and hence when their virtue is assailed, they yield to -temptation with facility, under the idea that it rather exalts than -debases them, to be connected with a superior being. - -There is another class of women in this country, to whom I cannot -refer, without feelings of the deepest shame and sorrow. I allude to -our female slaves. Our southern cities are whelmed beneath a tide -of pollution; the virtue of female slaves is wholly at the mercy of -irresponsible tyrants, and women are bought and sold in our slave -markets, to gratify the brutal lust of those who bear the name of -Christians. In our slave States, if amid all her degradation and -ignorance, a woman desires to preserve her virtue unsullied, she is -either bribed or whipped into compliance, or if she dares resist her -seducer, her life by the laws of some of the slave States may be, -and has actually been sacrificed to the fury of disappointed passion. -Where such laws do not exist, the power which is necessarily vested in -the master over his property, leaves the defenceless slave entirely -at his mercy, and the sufferings of some females on this account, -both physical and mental, are intense. Mr. Gholson, in the House of -Delegates of Virginia, in 1832, said, ‘He really had been under the -impression that he owned his slaves. He had lately purchased four -women and ten children, in whom he thought he had obtained a great -bargain; for he supposed they were his own property, _as were his -brood mares_.’ But even if any laws existed in the United States, as -in Athens formerly, for the protection of female slaves, they would be -null and void, because the evidence of a colored person is not admitted -against a white, in any of our Courts of Justice in the slave States. -‘In Athens, if a female slave had cause to complain of any want of -respect to the laws of modesty, she could seek the protection of the -temple, and demand a change of owners; and such appeals were never -discountenanced, or neglected by the magistrate.’ In Christian America, -the slave has no refuge from unbridled cruelty and lust. - -S. A. Forrall, speaking of the state of morals at the South, says, -‘Negresses when young and likely, are often employed by the planter, or -his friends, to administer to their sensual desires. This frequently is -a matter of speculation, for if the offspring, a mulatto, be a handsome -female, 800 or 1000 dollars may be obtained for her in the New Orleans -market. It is an occurrence of no uncommon nature to see a Christian -father sell his own daughter, and the brother his own sister.’ The -following is copied by the N. Y. Evening Star from the Picayune, a -paper published in New Orleans. ‘A very beautiful girl, belonging to -the estate of John French, a deceased gambler at New Orleans, was sold -a few days since for the round sum of $7,000. An ugly-looking bachelor -named Gouch, a member of the Council of one of the Principalities, was -the purchaser. The girl is a brunette; remarkable for her beauty and -intelligence, and there was considerable contention, who should be -the purchaser. She was, however, persuaded to accept Gouch, he having -made her princely promises.’ I will add but one more from the numerous -testimonies respecting the degradation of female slaves, and the -licentiousness of the South. It is from the Circular of the Kentucky -Union, for the moral and religious improvement of the colored race. -‘To the female character among our black population, we cannot allude -but with feelings of the bitterest shame. A similar condition of moral -pollution and utter disregard of a pure and virtuous reputation, is -to be found _only without the pale of Christendom_. That such a state -of society should exist in a Christian nation, claiming to be the -most enlightened upon earth, without calling forth any _particular -attention_ to its existence, though ever before our eyes and _in our_ -families, is a moral phenomenon at once unaccountable and disgraceful.’ -Nor does the colored woman suffer alone: the moral purity of the white -woman is deeply contaminated. In the daily habit of seeing the virtue -of her enslaved sister sacrificed without hesitancy or remorse, she -looks upon the crimes of seduction and illicit intercourse without -horror, and although not personally involved in the guilt, she loses -that value for innocence in her own, as well as the other sex, which -is one of the strongest safeguards to virtue. She lives in habitual -intercourse with men, whom she knows to be polluted by licentiousness, -and often is she compelled to witness in her own domestic circle, those -disgusting and heart-sickening jealousies and strifes which disgraced -and distracted the family of Abraham. In addition to all this, the -female slaves suffer every species of degradation and cruelty, which -the most wanton barbarity can inflict; they are indecently divested -of their clothing, sometimes tied up and severely whipped, sometimes -prostrated on the earth, while their naked bodies are torn by the -scorpion lash. - - ‘The whip on WOMAN’S shrinking flesh! - Our soil yet reddening with the stains - Caught from her scourging warm and fresh.’ - -Can any American woman look at these scenes of shocking licentiousness -and cruelty, and fold her hands in apathy, and say, ‘I have nothing to -do with slavery’? _She cannot and be guiltless._ - -I cannot close this letter, without saying a few words on the benefits -to be derived by men, as well as women, from the opinions I advocate -relative to the equality of the sexes. Many women are now supported, in -idleness and extravagance, by the industry of their husbands, fathers, -or brothers, who are compelled to toil out their existence, at the -counting house, or in the printing office, or some other laborious -occupation, while the wife and daughters and sisters take no part in -the support of the family, and appear to think that their sole business -is to spend the hard bought earnings of their male friends. I deeply -regret such a state of things, because I believe that if women felt -their responsibility, for the support of themselves, or their families -it would add strength and dignity to their characters, and teach -them more true sympathy for their husbands, than is now generally -manifested,--a sympathy which would be exhibited by actions as well as -words. Our brethren may reject my doctrine, because it runs counter -to common opinions, and because it wounds their pride; but I believe -they would be ‘partakers of the benefit’ resulting from the Equality of -the Sexes, and would find that woman, as their equal, was unspeakably -more valuable than woman as their inferior, both as a moral and an -intellectual being. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] Thomas S. Grimke. - - - - - LETTER IX. - - HEROISM OF WOMEN--WOMEN IN AUTHORITY. - - - _Brookline, 8th Mo. 25th, 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--It seems necessary to glance at the conduct of women -under circumstances which place them in juxtaposition with men, -although I regard it as entirely unimportant in proving the moral -equality of the sexes; because I condemn, in both, the exercise of that -brute force which is as contrary to the law of God in men as in women; -still, as a part of our history, I shall notice some instances of -courage exhibited by females. - -‘Philippa, wife of Edward III., was the principal cause of the victory -gained over the Scots at Neville Cross. In the absence of her husband, -she rode among the troops, and exhorted them to “be of good courage.”’ -Jane, Countess of Mountfort, and a contemporary of Philippa, likewise -possessed a great share of physical courage. The history of Joan of -Arc is too familiar to need repetition. During the reign of James II. -a singular instance of female intrepidity occurred in Scotland. Sir -John Cochrane being condemned to be hung, his daughter twice disguised -herself, and robbed the mail that brought his death warrant. In the -mean time, his pardon was obtained from the King. Instances might be -multiplied, but it is unnecessary. I shall therefore close these proofs -of female courage with one more fact. ‘During the revolutionary war, -the women shared in the patriotism and bravery of the men. Several -individuals carried their enthusiasm so far as to enter the army, where -they faced all the perils and fatigues of the camp, until the close of -the war.’ - -When I view my countrywomen in the character of soldiers, or even -behold them loading fire arms and moulding bullets for their brethren -to destroy men’s lives, I cannot refrain a sigh. I cannot but contrast -their conduct at that solemn crisis with the conduct of those women -who followed their Lord and Master with unresisting submission, to -Calvary’s Mount. With the precepts and example of a crucified Redeemer, -who, in that sublime precept, ‘Resist not evil,’ has interdicted to his -disciples all war and all violence, and taught us that the spirit of -retaliation for injuries, whether in the camp, or at the fire-side, is -wholly at variance with the peaceful religion he came to promulgate. -How little do we comprehend that simple truth, ‘By this shall all men -know that ye are my disciples, if ye have _love one to another_.’ - -Women have sometimes distinguished themselves in a way more consistent -with their duties as moral beings. During the war between the Romans -and the Sabines, the Sabine women who had been carried off by the -Romans, repaired to the Sabine camp, dressed in deep mourning, with -their little ones in their arms, to soften, if possible, the feelings -of their parents. They knelt at the feet of their relatives; and -when Hersilia, the wife of Romulus, described the kindness of their -husbands, and their unwillingness to be separated from them, their -fathers yielded to their entreaties, and an alliance was soon agreed -upon. In consequence of this important service, peculiar privileges -were conferred on women by the Romans. Brutus said of his wife, ‘I -must not answer Portia in the words of Hector, “Mind your wheel, and -to your maids give law,” for in courage, activity and concern for her -country’s freedom, she is inferior to none of us.’ After the fatal -battle of Cannæ, the Roman women consecrated all their ornaments to the -service of the state. But when the triumvirs attempted to tax them for -the expenses of carrying on a civil war, they resisted the innovation. -They chose Hortensia for their speaker, and went in a body to the -market-place to expostulate with the magistrates. The triumvirs wished -to drive them away, but they were compelled to yield to the wishes of -the people, and give the women a hearing. Hortensia pleaded so well the -cause of her sisters, who resolved that they would not voluntarily aid -in a _civil war_, that the number of women taxed was reduced from 1400 -to 400. - -In the wars of the Guelphs and the Ghibbelines, the emperor Conrad -refused all terms of capitulation to the garrison of Winnisberg, but -he granted the request of the women to pass out in safety with such of -their effects as they could carry themselves. Accordingly, they issued -from the besieged city, each bearing on her shoulders a husband, son, -father, or brother. They passed unmolested through the enemy’s camp, -which rung with acclamations of applause. - -During our struggle for independence, the women were as exemplary as -the men in various instances of self-denial: they refused every article -of decoration for their persons; foreign elegances were laid aside, and -they cheerfully abstained from luxuries for their tables. - -English history presents many instances of women exercising -prerogatives now denied them. In an action at law, it has been -determined that an unmarried woman, having a freehold, might vote for -members of Parliament; and it is recorded that lady Packington returned -two. Lady Broughton was keeper of the gatehouse prison. And in a much -later period, a woman was appointed governor of the house of correction -at Chelmsford, by order of the court. In the reign of George II. the -minister of Clerkenwell was chosen by a majority of women. The office -of grand chamberlain in 1822 was filled by two women; and that of clerk -of the crown, in the court of king’s bench, has been granted to a -female. The celebrated Anne, countess of Pembroke, held the hereditary -office of sheriff of Westmoreland, and exercised it in person, sitting -on the bench with the judges. - -I need hardly advert to the names of Elizabeth of England, Maria -Theresa of Germany, Catharine of Russia, and Isabella of Spain, to -prove that women are capable of swaying the sceptre of royalty. The -page of history proves incontestibly, not only that they are as well -qualified to do so as men, but that there has been a comparatively -greater proportion of good queens, than of good kings; women who have -purchased their celebrity by individual strength of character. - -I mention these women only to prove that intellect is not sexed; that -strength of mind is not sexed; and that our views about the duties of -men and the duties of women, the sphere of man and the sphere of woman, -are mere arbitrary opinions, differing in different ages and countries, -and dependant solely on the will and judgment of erring mortals. - -As moral and responsible beings, men and women have the same sphere of -action, and the same duties devolve upon both; but no one can doubt -that the duties of each vary according to circumstances; that a father -and a mother, a husband and a wife, have sacred obligations resting on -them, which cannot possibly belong to those who do not sustain these -relations. But these duties and responsibilities do not attach to them -as men and as women, but as parents, husbands, and wives. - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER X. - - INTELLECT OF WOMAN. - - - _Brookline, 8th Mo. 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--It will scarcely be denied, I presume, that, as a -general rule, men do not desire the improvement of women. There are few -instances of men who are magnanimous enough to be entirely willing that -women should know more than themselves, on any subjects except dress -and cookery; and, indeed, this necessarily flows from their assumption -of superiority. As _they_ have determined that Jehovah has placed -woman on a lower platform than man, they of course wish to keep her -there; and hence the noble faculties of our minds are crushed, and our -reasoning powers are almost wholly uncultivated. - -A writer in the time of Charles I. says--‘She that knoweth how to -compound a pudding, is more desirable than she who skilfully compounded -a poem. A female poet I mislike at all times.’ Within the last century, -it has been gravely asserted that, ‘chemistry enough to keep the pot -boiling, and geography enough to know the location of the different -rooms in her house, is learning sufficient for a woman.’ Byron, who -was too sensual to conceive of a pure and perfect companionship -between the sexes, would limit a woman’s library to a Bible and cookery -book. I have myself heard men, who knew for themselves the value of -intellectual culture, say they cared very little for a wife who could -not make a pudding, and smile with contempt at the ardent thirst for -knowledge exhibited by some women. - -But all this is miserable wit and worse philosophy. It exhibits that -passion for the gratification of a pampered appetite, which is beneath -those who claim to be so far above us, and may justly be placed on -a par with the policy of the slaveholder, who says that men will be -better slaves, if they are not permitted to learn to read. - -In spite, however, of the obstacles which impede the progress of women -towards that state of high mental cultivation for which her Creator -prepared her, the tendency towards the universal dissemination of -knowledge has had its influence on their destinies; and in all ages, a -few have surmounted every hindrance, and proved, beyond dispute, that -they have talents equal to their brethren. - -Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus, was distinguished for -virtue, learning and good sense. She wrote and spoke with uncommon -elegance and purity. Cicero and Quinctilian bestow high praise upon -her letters, and the eloquence of her children was attributed to -her careful superintendence. This reminds me of a remark made by my -brother, Thomas S. Grimke, when speaking of the importance of women -being well educated, that ‘educated men would never make educated -women, but educated women would make educated men.’ I believe the -sentiment is correct, because if the wealth of latent intellect among -women was fully evolved and improved, they would rejoice to communicate -to their sons all their own knowledge, and inspire them with desires to -drink from the fountain of literature. - -I pass over many interesting proofs of the intellectual powers of -women; but I must not omit glancing at the age of chivalry, which -has been compared to a golden thread running through the dark ages. -During this remarkable era, women who, before this period, had been -subject to every species of oppression and neglect, were suddenly -elevated into deities, and worshipped with a mad fanaticism. It is -not improbable, however, that even the absurdities of chivalry were -beneficial to women, as it raised them from that extreme degradation -to which they had been condemned, and prepared the way for them to -be permitted to enjoy some scattered rays from the sun of science -and literature. As the age of knight-errantry declined, men began to -take pride in learning, and women shared the advantages which this -change produced. ‘Women preached in public, supported controversies, -published and defended theses, filled the chairs of philosophy and -law, harangued the popes in Latin, wrote Greek and read Hebrew. Nuns -wrote poetry, women of rank became divines, and young girls publicly -exhorted Christian princes to take up arms for the recovery of the -holy sepulchre. Hypatia, daughter of Theon of Alexandria, succeeded -her father in the government of the Platonic school, and filled with -reputation a seat, where many celebrated philosophers had taught. The -people regarded her as an oracle, and magistrates consulted her in -all important cases. No reproach was ever uttered against the perfect -purity of her manners. She was unembarrassed in large assemblies of -men, because their admiration was tempered with the most scrupulous -respect. In the 13th century, a young lady of Bologna pronounced a -Latin oration at the age of twenty-three. At twenty-six, she took the -degree of doctor of laws, and began publicly to expound Justinian. At -thirty, she was elevated to a professor’s chair, and taught the law -to a crowd of scholars from all nations. Italy produced many learned -and gifted women, among whom, perhaps none was more celebrated than -Victoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara. In Spain, Isabella of Rosera -converted Jews by her eloquent preaching;’ and in England the names -of many women, from Lady Jane Gray down to Harriet Martineau, are -familiar to every reader of history. Of the last mentioned authoress, -Lord Brougham said that her writings on political economy were doing -more good than those of any man in England. There is a contemporary -of Harriet Martineau, who has recently rendered valuable services -to her country. She presented a memorial to Parliament, stating the -dangerous parts of the coast, where light-houses were needed, and at -her suggestion, several were erected. She keeps a life-boat and sailors -in her pay, and has been the means of saving many lives. Although she -has been deprived of the use of her limbs since early childhood, yet -even when the storm is unusually severe, she goes herself on the beach -in her carriage, that she may be sure her men perform their duty. She -understands several languages, and is now engaged in writing a work on -the Northern languages of Europe. ‘In Germany, the influence of women -on literature is considerable, though less obvious than in some other -countries. Literary families frequently meet at each others’ houses, -and learned and intelligent women are often the brightest ornaments of -these social circles.’ France has produced many distinguished women, -whose names are familiar to every lover of literature. And I believe it -is conceded universally, that Madame de Stael was intellectually the -greatest woman that ever lived. The United States have produced several -female writers, some of whom have talents of the highest order. But -women, even in this free republic, do not enjoy _all_ the intellectual -advantages of men, although there is a perceptible improvement within -the last ten or twenty years; and I trust there is a desire awakened -in my sisters for solid acquirements, which will elevate them to their -‘appropriate sphere,’ and enable them to ‘adorn the doctrine of God our -Saviour in all things.’ - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER XI. - - DRESS OF WOMEN. - - - _Brookline, 9th Mo., 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--When I view woman as an immortal being, travelling -through this world to that city whose builder and maker is God,--when -I contemplate her in all the sublimity of her spiritual existence, -bearing the image and superscription of Jehovah, emanating from Him -and partaking of his nature, and destined, if she fulfils her duty, -to dwell with him through the endless ages of eternity,--I mourn that -she has lived so far below her privileges and her obligations, as a -rational and accountable creature; and I ardently long to behold her -occupying that sphere in which I believe her Creator designed her to -move. - -Woman, in all ages and countries, has been the scoff and the jest of -her lordly master. If she attempted, like him, to improve her mind, she -was ridiculed as pedantic, and driven from the temple of science and -literature by coarse attacks and vulgar sarcasms. If she yielded to -the pressure of circumstances, and sought relief from the monotony of -existence by resorting to the theatre and the ball-room, by ornamenting -her person with flowers and with jewels, while her mind was empty and -her heart desolate; she was still the mark at which wit and satire and -cruelty levelled their arrows. - -‘Woman,’ says Adam Clarke, ‘has been invidiously defined, _an animal -of dress_. How long will they permit themselves to be thus degraded?’ -I have been an attentive observer of my sex, and I am constrained to -believe that the passion for dress, which so generally characterizes -them, is one cause why there so is little of that solid improvement -and weight of character which might be acquired under almost any -circumstances, if the mind were not occupied by the love of admiration, -and the desire to gratify personal vanity. I have already adduced some -instances to prove the inordinate love of dress, which is exhibited -by women in a state of heathenism; I shall, therefore, confine myself -now to what are called Christian countries; only remarking that -previous to the introduction of Christianity into the Roman empire, the -extravagance of apparel had arisen to an unprecedented height. ‘Jewels, -expensive embroidery, and delicious perfumes, were used in great -profusion by those who could afford them.’ The holy religion of Jesus -Christ came in at this period, and stript luxury and wealth of all -their false attractions. ‘Women of the noblest and wealthiest families, -surrounded by the seductive allurements of worldly pleasure, renounced -them all. Undismayed by severe edicts against the new religion, they -appeared before the magistrates, and by pronouncing the simple words, -“I am a Christian,” calmly resigned themselves to imprisonment, -ignominy and death.’ Could such women have had their minds occupied -by the foolish vanity of ornamental apparel? No! Christianity struck -at the root of all sin, and consequently we find the early Christians -could not fight, or swear, or wear costly clothing. Cave, in his work -entitled ‘Primitive Christianity,’ has some interesting remarks on this -subject, showing that simplicity of dress was not then esteemed an -unimportant part of Christianity. - -Very soon, however, when the fire of persecution was no longer blazing, -pagan customs became interwoven with Christianity. The professors of -the religion of a self-denying Lord, whose kingdom was not of this -world, began to use the sword, to return railing for railing, to take -oaths, to mingle heathen forms and ceremonies with Christian worship, -to engraft on the beautiful simplicity of piety, the feasts and -observances which were usual at heathen festivals in honor of the gods, -and to adorn their persons with rich and ornamental apparel. And now if -we look at Christendom, there is scarcely a vestige of that religion, -which the Redeemer of men came to promulgate. The Christian world is -much in the situation of the Jewish nation, when the babe of Bethlehem -was born, full of outside observances, which they substitute for mercy -and love, for self-denial and good works, rigid in the performance -of religious duties, but ready, if the Lord Jesus came amongst them -and judged them by their fruits, as he did the Pharisees formerly, to -crucify him as a slanderer. Indeed, I believe the remark of a late -author is perfectly correct: - - ‘Strange as it may seem, yet I do not hesitate to declare my belief - that it is easier to make Pagan nations Christians, than to reform - Christian communities and fashion them anew, after the pure and - simple standard of the gospel. Cast your eye over Christian countries, - and see what a multitude of causes combine to resist and impair - the influence of Christian institutions. Behold the conformity of - Christians to the world, in its prodigal pleasures and frivolous - amusements, in its corrupt opinions and sentiments, of false honor. - Behold the wide spread ignorance and degrading superstition; the power - of prejudice and the authority of custom; the unchristian character of - our systems of education; and the dread of the frowns and ridicule of - the world, and we discover at once a host of more formidable enemies - to the progress of _true religion_ in Christian, than in heathen - lands.’ - -But I must proceed to examine what is the state of professing -Christendom, as regards the subject of this letter. A few words will -suffice. The habits and employments of fashionable circles are nearly -the same throughout Christian communities. The fashion of dress, which -varies more rapidly than the changing seasons, is still, as it has -been from time immemorial, an all-absorbing object of interest. The -simple cobbler of Agawam, who wrote in Massachusetts as early as 1647, -speaking of women, says, - - “It is no marvel they wear drailes on the hinder part of their heads, - having nothing, as it seems, in the fore part, but a few squirrels’ - brains to help them frisk from one fashion to another.’ - -It must, however, be conceded, that although there are too many women -who merit this severe reprehension, there is a numerous class whose -improvement of mind and devotion to the cause of humanity justly -entitle them to our respect and admiration. One of the most striking -characteristics of modern times, is the tendency toward a universal -dissemination of knowledge in all Protestant communities. But the -character of woman has been elevated more by participating in the -great moral enterprises of the day, than by anything else. It would -astonish us if we could see at a glance all the labor, the patience, -the industry, the fortitude which woman has exhibited, in carrying on -the causes of Moral Reform, Anti-Slavery, &c. Still, even these noble -and ennobling pursuits have not destroyed personal vanity. Many of -those who are engaged in these great and glorious reformations, watch -with eager interest, the ever varying freaks of the goddess of fashion, -and are not exceeded by the butterflies of the ball-room in their love -of curls, artificial flowers, embroidery and gay apparel. Many a woman -will ply her needle with ceaseless industry, to obtain money to forward -a favorite benevolent scheme, while at the same time she will expend on -useless articles of dress, more than treble the sum which she procures -by the employment of her needle, and which she might throw into the -Lord’s treasury, and leave herself leisure to cultivate her mind, and -to mingle among the poor and the afflicted more than she can possibly -do now. - -I feel exceedingly solicitous to draw the attention of my sisters to -this subject. I know that it is called trifling, and much is said about -dressing fashionably, and elegantly, and becomingly, without thinking -about it. This I do not believe can be done. If we indulge our fancy -in the chameleon caprices of fashion, or in wearing ornamental and -extravagant apparel, the mind must be in no small degree engaged in the -gratification of personal vanity. - -Lest any one may suppose from my being a Quaker, that I should like to -see a uniform dress adopted, I will say, that I have no partiality -for their peculiar costume, except so far as I find it simple and -convenient; and I have not the remotest desire to see it worn, where -one more commodious can be substituted. But I do believe one of the -chief obstacles in the way of woman’s elevation to the same platform -of human rights, and moral dignity, and intellectual improvement, with -her brother, on which God placed her, and where he designed her to -act her part as an immortal creature, is her love of dress. ‘It has -been observed,’ says Scott, ‘that foppery and extravagance as to dress -_in men_ are most emphatically condemned by the apostle’s silence on -the subject, for this intimated that surely _they_ could be under no -temptation to such a childish vanity.’ But even those men who are -superior to such a childish vanity in themselves, are, nevertheless, -ever ready to encourage it in women. They know that so long as we -submit to be dressed like dolls, we never can rise to the stations of -duty and usefulness from which they desire to exclude us; and they are -willing to grant us paltry indulgences, which forward their own design -of keeping us out of our appropriate sphere, while they deprive us of -essential rights. - -To me it appears beneath the dignity of woman to bedeck herself in -gewgaws and trinkets, in ribbons and laces, to gratify the eye of man. -I believe, furthermore, that we owe a solemn duty to the poor. Many a -woman, in what is called humble life, spends nearly all her earnings in -dress, because she wants to be as well attired as her employer. It is -often argued that, as the birds and the flowers are gaily adorned by -nature’s hand, there can be no sin in woman’s ornamenting her person. -My reply is, God created me neither a bird nor a flower; and I aspire -to something more than a resemblance to them. Besides, the gaudy colors -in which birds and flowers are arrayed, create in them no feelings of -vanity; but as human beings, we are susceptible of these passions, -which are nurtured and strengthened by such adornments. ‘Well,’ I am -often asked, ‘where is the limitation?’ This it is not my business to -decide. Every woman, as Judson remarks, can best settle this on her -knees before God. He has commanded her not to be conformed to this -world, but to be transformed by the renewing of her mind, that she may -know what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. He made -the dress of the Jewish women the subject of special denunciation by -his prophet--Is. 3: 16-26; yet the chains and the bracelets, the rings -and the ear-rings, and the changeable suits of apparel, are still worn -by Christian women. He has commanded them, through his apostles, not -to adorn themselves with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly -array. Not to let their adorning be the ‘outward adorning of plaiting -the hair, or of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but let -it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, -even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight -of God of great price;’ yet we disregard these solemn admonitions. -May we not form some correct estimate of dress, by asking ourselves -how we should feel, if we saw ministers of the gospel rise to address -an audience with ear-rings dangling from their ears, glittering rings -on their fingers, and a wreath of artificial flowers on their brow, -and the rest of their apparel in keeping? If it would be wrong for -a minister, it is wrong for every professing Christian. God makes no -distinction between the moral and religious duties of ministers and -people. We are bound to be ‘a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a -peculiar people, a holy nation; that we should show forth the praises -of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.’ - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER XII. - - LEGAL DISABILITIES OF WOMEN. - - - _Concord, 9th Mo., 6th, 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--There are few things which present greater obstacles -to the improvement and elevation of woman to her appropriate sphere -of usefulness and duty, than the laws which have been enacted to -destroy her independence, and crush her individuality; laws which, -although they are framed for her government, she has had no voice in -establishing, and which rob her of some of her _essential rights_. -Woman has no political existence. With the single exception of -presenting a petition to the legislative body, she is a cipher in the -nation; or, if not actually so in representative governments, she is -only counted, like the slaves of the South, to swell the number of -law-makers who form decrees for her government, with little reference -to her benefit, except so far as her good may promote their own. I -am not sufficiently acquainted with the laws respecting women on the -continent of Europe, to say anything about them. But Prof. Follen, -in his essay on ‘The Cause of Freedom in our Country,’ says, ‘Woman, -though fully possessed of that rational and moral nature which is the -foundation of all rights, enjoys amongst us fewer legal rights than -under the civil law of continental Europe.’ I shall confine myself to -the laws of our country. These laws bear with peculiar rigor on married -women. Blackstone, in the chapter entitled ‘Of husband and wife,’ -says:-- - - ‘By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, - _the very being, or legal existence of the woman_ is suspended during - the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that - of the husband under whose wing, protection and cover she performs - everything.’ ‘For this reason, a man cannot grant anything to his - wife, or enter into covenant with her; for the grant would be to - suppose her separate existence, and to covenant with her would be to - covenant with himself; and therefore it is also generally true, that - all compacts made between husband and wife when single, are voided by - the intermarriage. A woman indeed may be attorney for her husband; but - that implies no separation from, but is rather a representation of, - her love.’ - -Here now, the very being of a woman, like that of a slave, is absorbed -in her master. All contracts made with her, like those made with slaves -by their owners, are a mere nullity. Our kind defenders have legislated -away almost all our legal rights, and in the true spirit of such -injustice and oppression, have kept us in ignorance of those very laws -by which we are governed. They have persuaded us, that we have no right -to investigate the laws, and that, if we did, we could not comprehend -them; they alone are capable of understanding the mysteries of -Blackstone, &c. But they are not backward to make us feel the practical -operation of their power over our actions. - - ‘The husband is bound to provide his wife with necessaries by law, as - much as himself; and if she contracts debts for them, he is obliged - to pay for them; but for anything besides necessaries, he is not - chargeable.’ - -Yet a man may spend the property he has acquired by marriage at the -ale-house, the gambling table, or in any other way that he pleases. -Many instances of this kind have come to my knowledge; and women, who -have brought their husbands handsome fortunes, have been left, in -consequence of the wasteful and dissolute habits of their husbands, -in straitened circumstances, and compelled to toil for the support of -their families. - - ‘If the wife be indebted before marriage, the husband is bound - afterwards to pay the debt; for he has adopted her and her - circumstances together.’ - -The wife’s property is, I believe, equally liable for her husband’s -debts contracted before marriage. - - ‘If the wife be injured in her person or property, she can bring no - action for redress without her husband’s concurrence, and his name as - well as her own: neither can she be sued, without making her husband a - defendant.’ - -This law that ‘a wife can bring no action,’ &c., is similar to the law -respecting slaves, ‘A slave cannot bring a suit against his master, or -any other person, for an injury--his master, must bring it.’ So if any -damages are recovered for an injury committed on a wife, the husband -pockets it; in the case of the slave, the master does the same. - - ‘In criminal prosecutions, the wife may be indicted and punished - separately, unless there be evidence of coercion from the fact that - the offence was committed in the presence, or by the command of her - husband. A wife is excused from punishment for theft committed in the - presence, or by the command of her husband.’ - -It would be difficult to frame a law better calculated to destroy the -responsibility of woman as a moral being, or a free agent. Her husband -is supposed to possess unlimited control over her; and if she can offer -the flimsy excuse that he bade her steal, she may break the eighth -commandment with impunity, as far as human laws are concerned. - - ‘Our law, in general, considers man and wife as one person; yet there - are some instances in which she is separately considered, as inferior - to him and acting by his compulsion. Therefore, all deeds executed, - and acts done by her during her coverture (i. e. marriage,) are void, - except it be a fine, or like matter of record, in which case she must - be solely and secretly examined, to learn if her act be voluntary.’ - -Such a law speaks volumes of the abuse of that power which men have -vested in their own hands. Still the private examination of a wife, to -know whether she accedes to the disposition of property made by her -husband is, in most cases, a mere form; a wife dares not do what will -be disagreeable to one who is, in his own estimation, her superior, -and who makes her feel, in the privacy of domestic life, that she has -thwarted him. With respect to the nullity of deeds or acts done by a -wife, I will mention one circumstance. A respectable woman borrowed of -a female friend a sum of money to relieve her son from some distressing -pecuniary embarrassment. Her husband was from home, and she assured the -lender, that as soon as he returned, he would gratefully discharge the -debt. She gave her note, and the lender, entirely ignorant of the law -that a man is not obliged to discharge such a debt, actually borrowed -the money, and lent it to the distressed and weeping mother. The father -returned home, refused to pay the debt, and the person who had loaned -the money was obliged to pay both principal and interest to the friend -who lent it to her. Women should certainly know the laws by which they -are governed, and from which they frequently suffer; yet they are kept -in ignorance, nearly as profound, of their legal rights, and of the -legislative enactments which are to regulate their actions, as slaves. - - ‘The husband, by the old law, might give his wife moderate correction, - as he is to answer for her misbehavior. The law thought it reasonable - to entrust him with this power of restraining her by domestic - chastisement. The courts of law will still permit a husband to - restrain a wife of her liberty, in case of any gross misbehavior.’ - -What a mortifying proof this law affords, of the estimation in which -woman is held! She is placed completely in the hands of a being subject -like herself to the outbursts of passion, and therefore unworthy to be -trusted with power. Perhaps I may be told respecting this law, that -it is a dead letter, as I am sometimes told about the slave laws; but -this is not true in either case. The slaveholder does kill his slave -by moderate correction, as the law allows; and many a husband, among -the poor, exercises the right given him by the law, of degrading -woman by personal chastisement. And among the higher ranks, if actual -imprisonment is not resorted to, women are not unfrequently restrained -of the liberty of going to places of worship by irreligious husbands, -and of doing many other things about which, as moral and responsible -beings, _they_ should be the _sole_ judges. Such laws remind me of -the reply of some little girls at a children’s meeting held recently -at Ipswich. The lecturer told them that God had created four orders -of beings with which he had made us acquainted through the Bible. The -first was angels, the second was man, the third beasts; and now, -children, what is the fourth? After a pause, several girls replied, -‘WOMEN.’ - - ‘A woman’s personal property by marriage becomes absolutely her - husband’s, which, at his death, he may leave entirely away from her.’ - -And farther, all the avails of her labor are absolutely in the power -of her husband. All that she acquires by her industry is his; so that -she cannot, with her own honest earnings, become the legal purchaser -of any property. If she expends her money for articles of furniture, -to contribute to the comfort of her family, they are liable to be -seized for her husband’s debts: and I know an instance of a woman, who -by labor and economy had scraped together a little maintenance for -herself and a do-little husband, who was left, at his death, by virtue -of his last will and testament, to be supported by charity. I knew -another woman, who by great industry had acquired a little money which -she deposited in a bank for safe keeping. She had saved this pittance -whilst able to work, in hopes that when age or sickness disqualified -her for exertion, she might have something to render life comfortable, -without being a burden to her friends. Her husband, a worthless, idle -man, discovered this hid treasure, drew her little stock from the -bank, and expended it all in extravagance and vicious indulgence. I -know of another woman, who married without the least idea that she was -surrendering her rights to all her personal property. Accordingly, she -went to the bank as usual to draw her dividends, and the person who -paid her the money, and to whom she was personally known as an owner -of shares in that bank, remarking the change in her signature, withdrew -the money, informing her that if she were married, she had no longer -a right to draw her dividends without an order from her husband. It -appeared that she intended having a little fund for private use, and -had not even told her husband that she owned this stock, and she was -not a little chagrined, when she found that it was not at her disposal. -I think she was wrong to conceal the circumstance. The relation of -husband and wife is too near and sacred to admit of secrecy about money -matters, unless positive necessity demands it; and I can see no excuse -for any woman entering into a marriage engagement with a design to keep -her husband ignorant that she was possessed of property. If she was -unwilling to give up her property to his disposal, she had infinitely -better have remained single. The laws above cited are not very unlike -the slave laws of Louisiana. - - ‘All that a slave possesses belongs to his master; he possesses - nothing of his own, except what his master chooses he should possess.’ - - ‘By the marriage, the husband is absolutely master of the profits of - the wife’s lands during the coverture, and if he has had a living - child, and survives the wife, he retains the whole of those lands, - if they are estates of inheritance, during his life; but the wife - is entitled only to one third if she survives, out of the husband’s - estates of inheritance. But this she has, whether she has had a child - or not.’ ‘With regard to the property of women, there is taxation - without representation; for they pay taxes without having the liberty - of voting for representatives.’ - -And this taxation, without representation, be it remembered, was the -cause of our Revolutionary war, a grievance so heavy, that it was -thought necessary to purchase exemption from it at an immense expense -of blood and treasure, yet the daughters of New England, as well as of -all the other States of this free Republic, are suffering a similar -injustice--but for one, I had rather we should suffer any injustice or -oppression, than that my sex should have any voice in the political -affairs of the nation. - -The laws I have quoted, are, I believe, the laws of Massachusetts, and, -with few exceptions, of all the States in this Union. ‘In Louisiana -and Missouri, and possibly, in some other southern States, a woman not -only has half her husband’s property by right at his death, but may -always be considered as possessed of half his gains during his life; -having at all times power to bequeath that amount.’ That the laws which -have generally been adopted in the United States, for the government -of women, have been framed almost entirely for the exclusive benefit -of men, and with a design to oppress women, by depriving them of all -control over their property, is too manifest to be denied. Some liberal -and enlightened men, I know, regret the existence of these laws; and -I quote with pleasure an extract from Harriet Martineau’s Society in -America, as a proof of the assertion. ‘A liberal minded lawyer of -Boston, told me that his advice to testators always is to leave the -largest possible amount to the widow, subject to the condition of her -leaving it to the children; but that it is with shame that he reflects -that any woman should owe that to his professional advice, which -the law should have secured to her as a right.’ I have known a few -instances where men have left their whole property to their wives, when -they have died, leaving only minor children; but I have known more -instances of ‘the friend and helper of many years, being portioned off -like a salaried domestic,’ instead of having a comfortable independence -secured to her, while the children were amply provided for. - -As these abuses do exist, and women suffer intensely from them, our -brethren are called upon in this enlightened age, by every sentiment of -honor, religion and justice, to repeal these unjust and unequal laws, -and restore to woman those rights which they have wrested from her. -Such laws approximate too nearly to the laws enacted by slaveholders -for the government of their slaves, and must tend to debase and -depress the mind of that being, whom God created as a help meet for -man, or ‘helper like unto himself,’ and designed to be his equal and -his companion. Until such laws are annulled, woman never can occupy -that exalted station for which she was intended by her Maker. And just -in proportion as they are practically disregarded, which is the case -to some extent, just so far is woman assuming that independence and -nobility of character which she ought to exhibit. - -The various laws which I have transcribed, leave women very little more -liberty, or power, in some respects, than the slave. ‘A slave,’ says -the civil code of Louisiana, ‘is one who is in the power of a master, -to whom he belongs. He can possess nothing, nor acquire anything, but -what must belong to his master.’ I do not wish by any means to intimate -that the condition of free women can be compared to that of slaves in -suffering, or in degradation; still, I believe the laws which deprive -married women of their rights and privileges, have a tendency to -lessen them in their own estimation as moral and responsible beings, -and that their being made by civil law inferior to their husbands, has -a debasing and mischievous effect upon them, teaching them practically -the fatal lesson to look unto man for protection and indulgence. - -Ecclesiastical bodies, I believe, without exception, follow the example -of legislative assemblies, in excluding woman from any participation -in forming the discipline by which she is governed. The men frame the -laws, and, with few exceptions, claim to execute them on both sexes. In -ecclesiastical, as well as civil courts, woman is tried and condemned, -not by a jury of her peers, but by beings, who regard themselves as -her superiors in the scale of creation. Although looked upon as an -inferior, when considered as an intellectual being, woman is punished -with the same severity as man, when she is guilty of moral offences. -Her condition resembles, in some measure, that of the slave, who, -while he is denied the advantages of his more enlightened master, is -treated with even greater rigor of the law. Hoping that in the various -reformations of the day, women may be relieved from some of their legal -disabilities, I remain, - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER XIII. - - RELATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. - - - _Brookline, 9th Mo., 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--Perhaps some persons may wonder that I should attempt -to throw out my views on the important subject of marriage, and may -conclude that I am altogether disqualified for the task, because I -lack experience. However, I shall not undertake to settle the specific -duties of husbands and wives, but only to exhibit opinions based on -the word of God, and formed from a little knowledge of human nature, -and close observation of the working of generally received notions -respecting the dominion of man over woman. - -When Jehovah ushered into existence man, created in his own image, -he instituted marriage as a part of paradisaical happiness: it was a -_divine ordination_, not a civil contract. God established it, and man, -except by special permission, has no right to annul it. There can be no -doubt that the creation of Eve perfected the happiness of Adam; hence, -our all-wise and merciful Father made her as he made Adam, in his own -image after his likeness, crowned her with glory and honor, and placed -in her hand, as well as in his, the sceptre of dominion over the whole -lower creation. Where there was perfect equality, and the same ability -to receive and comprehend divine truth, and to obey divine injunctions, -there could be no superiority. If God had placed Eve under the -guardianship of Adam, after having endowed her, as richly as him, with -moral perceptions, intellectual faculties, and spiritual apprehensions, -he would at once have interposed a fallible being between her and her -Maker. He could not, in simple consistency with himself, have done -this; for the Bible teems with instructions not to put any confidence -in man. - -The passage on which the generally received opinion, that husbands are -invested by divine command with authority over their wives, as I have -remarked in a previous letter, is a prediction; and I am confirmed in -this belief, because the same language is used to Cain respecting Abel. -The text is obscure; but on a comparison of it with subsequent events, -it appears to me that it was a prophecy of the dominion which Cain -would usurp over his brother, and which issued in the murder of Abel. -It could not allude to any thing but physical dominion, because Cain -had already exhibited those evil passions which subsequently led him to -become an assassin. - -I have already shown, that man has exercised the most unlimited and -brutal power over woman, in the peculiar character of husband,--a word -in most countries synonymous with tyrant. I shall not, therefore, -adduce any further proofs of the fulfilment of that prophecy, ‘He -will rule over thee,’ from the history of heathen nations, but just -glance at the condition of woman in the relation of wife in Christian -countries. - -‘Previous to the introduction of the religion of Jesus Christ, the -state of society was wretchedly diseased. The relation of the sexes to -each other had become so gross in its manifested forms, that it was -difficult to perceive the pure conservative principle in its inward -essence.’ Christianity came in, at this juncture, with its hallowed -influence, and has without doubt tended to lighten the yoke of bondage, -to purify the manners, and give the spiritual in some degree an empire -over the animal nature. Still, that state which was designed by God to -increase the happiness of woman as well as man, often proves the means -of lessening her comfort, and degrading her into the mere machine of -another’s convenience and pleasure. Woman, instead of being elevated -by her union with man, which might be expected from an alliance with -a superior being, is in reality lowered. She generally loses her -individuality, her independent character, her moral being. She becomes -absorbed into him, and henceforth is looked at, and acts through the -medium of her husband. - -In the wealthy classes of society, and those who are in comfortable -circumstances, women are exempt from great corporeal exertion, and -are protected by public opinion, and by the genial influence of -Christianity, from much physical ill treatment. Still, there is a vast -amount of secret suffering endured, from the forced submission of women -to the opinions and whims of their husbands. Hence they are frequently -driven to use deception, to compass their ends. They are early taught -that to appear to yield, is the only way to govern. Miserable sophism! -I deprecate such sentiments, as being peculiarly hostile to the dignity -of woman. If she submits, let her do it openly, honorably, not to gain -her point, but as a matter of Christian duty. But let her beware how -she permits her husband to be her conscience-keeper. On all moral and -religious subjects, she is bound to think and to act for herself. Where -confidence and love exist, a wife will naturally converse with her -husband as with her dearest friend, on all that interests her heart, -and there will be a perfectly free interchange of sentiment; but _she -is no more bound to be governed by his judgment_, than he is by hers. -They are standing on the same platform of human rights, are equally -under the government of God, and accountable to him, and him alone. - -I have sometimes been astonished and grieved at the servitude of -women, and at the little idea many of them seem to have of their own -moral existence and responsibilities. A woman who is asked to sign a -petition for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, or -to join a society for the purpose of carrying forward the annihilation -of American slavery, or any other great reformation, not unfrequently -replies, ‘My husband does not approve of it.’ She merges her rights and -her duties in her husband, and thus virtually chooses him for a savior -and a king, and rejects Christ as her Ruler and Redeemer. I know some -women are very glad of so convenient a pretext to shield themselves -from the performance of duty; but there are others, who, under a -mistaken view of their obligations as wives, submit conscientiously to -this species of oppression, and go mourning on their way, for want of -that holy fortitude, which would enable them to fulfil their duties as -moral and responsible beings, without reference to poor fallen man. O -that woman may arise in her dignity as an immortal creature, and speak, -think and act as unto God, and not unto man! - -There is, perhaps, less bondage of mind among the poorer classes, -because their sphere of duty is more contracted, and they are deprived -of the means of intellectual culture, and of the opportunity of -exercising their judgment, on many moral subjects of deep interest and -of vital importance. Authority is called into exercise by resistance, -and hence there will be mental bondage only in proportion as the -faculties of mind are evolved, and woman feels herself as a rational -and intelligent being, on a footing with man. But women, among the -lowest classes of society, so far as my observation has extended, -suffer intensely from the brutality of their husbands. Duty as well as -inclination has led me, for many years, into the abodes of poverty and -sorrow, and I have been amazed at the treatment which women receive -at the hands of those, who arrogate to themselves the epithet of -_protectors_. Brute force, the law of violence, rules to a great extent -in the poor man’s domicil; and woman is little more than his drudge. -They are less under the supervision of public opinion, less under the -restraints of education, and unaided or unbiased by the refinements of -polished society. Religion, wherever it exists, supplies the place of -all these; but the real cause of woman’s degradation and suffering in -married life is to be found in the erroneous notion of her inferiority -to man; and never will she be rightly regarded by herself, or others, -until this opinion, so derogatory to the wisdom and mercy of God, is -exploded, and woman arises in all the majesty of her womanhood, to -claim those rights which are inseparable from her existence as an -immortal, intelligent and responsible being. - -Independent of the fact, that Jehovah could not, consistently with his -character as the King, the Lawgiver, and the Judge of his people, give -the reins of government over woman into the hands of man, I find that -all his commands, all his moral laws, are addressed to women as well as -to men. When he assembled Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, to issue -his commandments, we may reasonably suppose he gave all the precepts, -which he considered necessary for the government of moral beings. Hence -we find that God says,--‘Honor thy father and thy mother,’ and he -enforces this command, by severe penalties upon those who transgress -it: ‘He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to -death’--‘He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put -to death’--Ex. 21: 15, 17. But in the decalogue, there is no direction -given to women to obey their husbands: both are commanded to have no -other God but Jehovah, and not to bow down, or serve any other. When -the Lord Jesus delivered his sermon on the Mount, full of the practical -precepts of religion, he did not issue any command to wives to obey -their husbands. When he is speaking on the subject of divorce, Mark 16: -11, 12, he places men and women on the same ground. And the Apostle, -1st Cor. 7: 12, 13, speaking of the duties of the Corinthian wives and -husbands, who had embraced Christianity, to their unconverted partners, -points out the same path to both, although our translators have made a -distinction. ‘Let him not put her away,’ 12--‘Let her not leave him,’ -13--is precisely the same in the original. If man is constituted the -governor of woman, he must be her God; and the sentiment expressed to -me lately, by a married man, is perfectly correct: ‘In my opinion,’ -said he, ‘the greatest excellence to which a married woman can attain, -is to worship her husband.’ He was a professor of religion--his wife a -lovely and intelligent woman. He only spoke out what thousands think -and act. Women are indebted to Milton for giving to this false notion, -‘confirmation strong as proof of holy writ.’ His Eve is embellished -with every personal grace, to gratify the eye of her admiring husband; -but he seems to have furnished the mother of mankind with just -intelligence enough to comprehend her supposed inferiority to Adam, and -to yield unresisting submission to her lord and master. Milton puts -into Eve’s mouth the following address to Adam: - - ‘My author and disposer, what thou bidst, - Unargued I obey; so God ordains-- - God is thy law, thou mine: to know no more, - Is woman’s happiest knowledge and her praise.’ - -This much admired sentimental nonsense is fraught with absurdity and -wickedness. If it were true, the commandment of Jehovah should have run -thus: Man shall have no other gods before ME, and woman shall have no -other gods before MAN. - -The principal support of the dogma of woman’s inferiority, and -consequent submission to her husband, is found in some passages -of Paul’s epistles. I shall proceed to examine those passages, -premising 1st, that the antiquity of the opinions based on the false -construction of those passages, has no weight with me: they are the -opinions of interested judges, and I have no particular reverence -for them, _merely_ because they have been regarded with veneration -from generation to generation. So far from this being the case, I -examine any opinions of centuries standing, with as much freedom, and -investigate them with as much care, as if they were of yesterday. -I was educated to think for myself, and it is a privilege I shall -always claim to exercise. 2d. Notwithstanding my full belief that the -apostle Paul’s testimony, respecting himself, is true, ‘I was not a -whit behind the chiefest of the apostles,’ yet I believe his mind was -under the influence of Jewish prejudices respecting women, just as -Peter’s and the apostles were about the uncleanness of the Gentiles. -‘The Jews,’ says Clarke, ‘would not suffer a woman to read in the -synagogue, although a servant, or even a child, had this permission.’ -When I see Paul shaving his head for a vow, and offering sacrifices, -and circumcising Timothy, to accommodate himself to the prepossessions -of his countrymen, I do not conceive that I derogate in the least from -his character as an inspired apostle, to suppose that he may have been -imbued with the prevalent prejudices against women. - -In 1st Cor. 11: 3, after praising the Corinthian converts, because -they kept the ‘ordinances,’ or ‘traditions,’ as the margin reads, -the apostle says, ‘I would have you know, that the head of every -man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of -Christ is God.’ Eph. 5: 23, is a parallel passage. ‘For the husband -is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church.’ -The apostle closes his remarks on this subject, by observing, ‘This -is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.’ I -shall pass over this with simply remarking, that God and Christ are -one. ‘I and my Father are one,’ and there can be no inferiority where -there is no divisibility. The commentaries on this and similar texts, -afford a striking illustration of the ideas which men entertain of -their own superiority, I shall subjoin Henry’s remarks on 1st Cor. 11: -5, as a specimen: ‘To understand this text, it must be observed, that -it was a signification either of shame, or subjection, for persons to -be veiled, or covered in Eastern countries; contrary to the custom -of ours, where the being bare-headed betokens subjection, and being -covered superiority and dominion; and this will help us the better to -understand the reason on which he grounds his reprehension, ‘Every -man praying, &c. dishonoreth his head,’ i. e. Christ, the head of -every man, by appearing in a habit unsuitable to the rank in which -God had placed him. The woman, on the other hand, that prays, &c. -dishonoreth her head, i. e. the man. She appears in the dress of her -_superior_, and throws off the token of her subjection; she might with -equal decency cut her hair short, or cut it off, the common dress of -the man in that age. Another reason against this conduct was, that -the man is the image and glory of God, the representative of that -glorious dominion and headship which God has over the world. It is the -man who is set at the head of this lower creation, and therein bears -the resemblance of God. The woman, on the other hand, is the glory -of the man: she is his representative. Not but she has dominion over -the inferior creatures, and she is a partaker of human nature, and so -far is God’s representative too, but it is at second hand. She is the -image of God, inasmuch as she is the image of the man. The man was -first made, and made head of the creation here below, and therein the -image of the divine dominion; and the woman was made out of the man, -and shone with a _reflection of his glory_, being made superior to -the other creatures here below, but in subjection to her husband, and -deriving that _honor from him_, out of whom she was made. The woman was -made for the man to be his help meet, and not the man for the woman. -She was, naturally, therefore, made subject to him, because made for -him, for HIS USE AND HELP AND COMFORT.’ - -We see in the above quotation, what degrading views even good men -entertain of women. Pity the Psalmist had not thrown a little light on -this subject, when he was paraphrasing the account of man’s creation. -‘Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned -him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the -works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.’ Surely -if woman had been placed below man, and was to shine only by a lustre -borrowed from him, we should have some clear evidence of it in the -sacred volume. Henry puts her exactly on a level with the beasts; -they were made for the use, help and comfort of man; and according to -this commentator, this was the whole end and design of the creation -of woman. The idea that man, as man is superior to woman, involves an -absurdity so gross, that I really wonder how any man of reflection can -receive it as of divine origin; and I can only account for it, by that -passion for supremacy, which characterizes man as a corrupt and fallen -creature. If it be true that he is more excellent than she, as man, -independent of his moral and intellectual powers, then every man is -superior by virtue of his manship, to every woman. The man who sinks -his moral capacities and spiritual powers in his sensual appetites, -is still, as a man, simply by the conformation of his body, a more -dignified being, than the woman whose intellectual powers are highly -cultivated, and whose approximation to the character of Jesus Christ is -exhibited in a blameless life and conversation. - -But it is strenuously urged by those, who are anxious to maintain their -usurped authority, that wives are, in various passages of the New -Testament, commanded to obey their husbands. Let us examine these texts. - - Eph. 5: 22. ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto - the Lord.’ ‘As the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be - to their own husbands in every thing.’ - - Col. 3: 18. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is - fit in the Lord.’ - - 1st Pet. 3: 2. ‘Likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own - husbands; that if any obey not the word, they may also without the - word be won by the conversation of the wives.’ - -Accompanying all these directions to wives, are commands to husbands. - - Eph. 5: 25. ‘Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the - Church, and gave himself for it.’ ‘So ought men to love their wives as - their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself.’ - - Col. 3: 19. ‘Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against - them.’ - - 1st Pet. 3: 7. ‘Likewise ye husbands, dwell with them according to - knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and - as being heirs together of the grace of life.’ - -I may just remark, in relation to the expression ‘weaker vessel,’ that -the word in the original has no reference to intellect: it refers to -physical weakness merely. - -The apostles were writing to Christian converts, and laying down -rules for their conduct towards their unconverted consorts. It no -doubt frequently happened, that a husband or a wife would embrace -Christianity, while their companions clung to heathenism, and husbands -might be tempted to dislike and despise those, who pertinaciously -adhered to their pagan superstitions. And wives who, when they were -pagans, submitted as a matter of course to their heathen husbands, -might be tempted knowing that they were superior as moral and religious -characters, to assert that superiority, by paying less deference to -them than heretofore. Let us examine the context of these passages, -and see what are the grounds of the directions here given to husbands -and wives. The whole epistle to the Ephesians breathes a spirit of -love. The apostle beseeches the converts to walk worthy of the vocation -wherewith they are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with -long suffering, forbearing one another in love. The verse preceding -5, 22, is ‘SUBMITTING YOURSELVES ONE TO ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF GOD.’ -Colossians 3, from 11 to 17, contains similar injunctions. The 17th -verse says, ‘Whatsoever ye do in word, or in deed, do all in the name -of the Lord Jesus.’ Peter, after drawing a most touching picture of -Christ’s sufferings for us, and reminding the Christians, that he -had left us an example that we should follow his steps, ‘who did no -sin, neither was guile found in his mouth,’ exhorts wives to be in -subjection, &c. - -From an attentive consideration of these passages, and of those in -which the same words ‘submit,’ ‘subjection,’ are used, I cannot but -believe that the apostles designed to recommend to wives, as they -did to subjects and to servants, to carry out the holy principle -laid down by Jesus Christ, ‘Resist not evil.’ And this without in -the least acknowledging the right of the governors, masters, or -husbands, to exercise the authority they claimed. The recognition of -the existence of evils does not involve approbation of them. God tells -the Israelites, he gave them a king in his wrath, but nevertheless as -they chose to have a king, he laid down directions for the conduct of -that king, and had him anointed to reign over them. According to the -generally received meaning of the passages I have quoted, they directly -contravene the laws of God, as given in various parts of the Bible. Now -I must understand the sacred Scriptures as harmonizing with themselves, -or I cannot receive them as the word of God. The commentators on these -passages exalt man to the station of a Deity in relation to woman. -Clarke says, ‘As the Lord Christ is the head, or governor of the -church, and the head of the man, so is the man the head, or governor of -the woman. This is God’s ordinance, and should not be transgressed. -‘As unto the Lord.’ The word church seems necessarily to be understood -here: that is, act under the authority of your husbands, as the church -acts under the authority of Christ. As the church submits to the Lord, -so let wives submit to their husbands.’ Henry goes even further--‘For -the husband is the head of the wife. The metaphor is taken from the -head in the natural body, which being the seat of reason, of wisdom and -of knowledge, and the fountain of sense and motion, is more excellent -than the rest of the body.’ Now if God ordained man the governor of -woman, he must be able to save her, and to answer in her stead for all -those sins which she commits by his direction. Awful responsibility. -Do husbands feel able and willing to bear it? And what becomes of the -solemn affirmation of Jehovah? ‘Hear this, all ye people, give ear all -ye inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor.’ ‘None -can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him, -for the redemption of the soul is precious, and man cannot accomplish -it.’--_French Bible._ - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - - LETTER XIV. - - MINISTRY OF WOMEN. - - - _Brookline, 9th Mo. 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--According to the principle which I have laid -down, that man and woman were created equal, and endowed by their -beneficent Creator with the same intellectual powers and the same moral -responsibilities, and that consequently whatever is _morally_ right -for a man to do, is _morally_ right for a woman to do, it follows as -a necessary corollary, that if it is the duty of man to preach the -unsearchable riches of Christ, it is the duty also of woman. - -I am aware, that I have the prejudices of education and custom to -combat, both in my own and the other sex, as well as ‘the traditions -of men,’ which are taught for the commandments of God. I feel that I -have no sectarian views to advance; for although among the Quakers, -Methodists, and Christians, women are permitted to preach the glad -tidings of peace and salvation, yet I know of no religious body, who -entertain the Scripture doctrine of the perfect equality of man and -woman, which is the fundamental principle of my argument in favor of -the ministry of women. I wish simply to throw my views before thee. -If they are based on the immutable foundation of truth, they cannot -be overthrown by unkind insinuations, bitter sarcasms, unchristian -imputations, or contemptuous ridicule. These are weapons which are -unworthy of a good cause. If I am mistaken, as truth only can prevail, -my supposed errors will soon vanish before her beams; but I am -persuaded that woman is not filling the high and holy station which God -allotted to her, and that in consequence of her having been driven from -her ‘appropriate sphere,’ both herself and her brethren have suffered -an infinity of evils. - -Before I proceed to prove, that woman is bound to preach the gospel, -I will examine the ministry under the Old Testament dispensation. -Those who were called to this office were known under various names. -Enoch, who prophesied, is designated as walking with God. Noah is -called a preacher of righteousness. They were denominated men of God, -seers, prophets, but they all had the same great work to perform, viz. -to turn sinners from the error of their ways. This ministry existed -previous to the institution of the Jewish priesthood, and continued -after its abolition. _It has nothing to do with the priesthood._ It -was rarely, as far as the Bible informs us, exercised by those of the -tribe of Levi, and was common to all the people, women as well as -men. It differed essentially from the priesthood, because there was -no compensation received for calling the people to repentance. Such a -thing as paying a prophet for preaching the truth of God is not even -mentioned. They were called of Jehovah to go forth in his name, one -from his plough, another from gathering of sycamore fruit, &c. &c. Let -us for a moment imagine Jeremiah, when God says to him, ‘Gird up thy -loins, and arise and speak unto the people all that I command thee,’ -replying to Jehovah, ‘I will preach repentance to the people, if they -will give me gold, but if they will not pay me for the truth, then let -them perish in their sins.’ Now, this is virtually the language of the -ministers of the present day; and I believe the secret of the exclusion -of women from the ministerial office is, that that office has been -converted into one of emolument, of honor, and of power. Any attentive -observer cannot fail to perceive, that as far as possible, all such -offices are reserved by men for themselves. - -The common error that Christian ministers are the successors of the -priests, is founded in mistake. In the particular directions given -to Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the office of the -priesthood, their duties are clearly defined: see Ex. 28th, 29th and -30th chap. There is no commission to Aaron to preach to the people; his -business was to offer sacrifice. Now why were sacrifices instituted? -They were types of that one great sacrifice, which in the fulness of -time was offered up through the eternal Spirit without spot to God. -Christ assumed the office of priest; he ‘offered himself,’ and by so -doing, abolished forever the order of the priesthood, as well as the -sacrifices which the priests were ordained to offer.[3] - -But it may be inquired, whether the priests were not to teach the -people. As far as I can discover from the Bible, they were simply -commanded to read the law to the people. There was no other copy that -we know of, until the time of the kings, who were to write out a copy -for their own use. As it was deposited in the ark, the priests were -required, ‘When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in -the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all -Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, women, and -children, that they may hear,’ Deut. 31: 9-33. See also Lev. 10: 11, -Deut. 33: 10, 2d Chr. 17: 7-9, and numerous other passages. When God is -enumerating the means he has used to call his people to repentance, he -never, as far as I can discover, speaks of sending his priests to warn -them; but in various passages we find language similar to this: ‘Since -the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this -day, I have even sent unto you all my servants, the PROPHETS, daily -rising up early and sending them. Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor -inclined their ear, but hardened their neck; they did worse than their -fathers.’ Jer. 7: 25, 26. See also, 25: 4. 2 Chr. 36: 15. and parallel -passages. God says, Is. 9: 15, 16. ‘The prophet that teacheth lies, -he is the tail; for the leaders of this people cause them to err.’ -The distinction between priests and prophets is evident from their -being mentioned as two classes. ‘The prophets prophesy falsely, and -the priests bear rule by their means,’ Jer. 5: 31. See also, Ch. 2: 8. -8:1-10. and many others. - -That women were called to the prophetic office, I believe is -universally admitted. Miriam, Deborah and Huldah were prophetesses. The -judgments of the Lord are denounced by Ezekiel on false prophetesses, -as well as false prophets. And if Christian ministers are, as I -apprehend, successors of the prophets, and not of the priests, then of -course, women are now called to that office as well as men, because God -has no where withdrawn from them the privilege of doing what is the -great business of preachers, viz. to point the penitent sinner to the -Redeemer. ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the -world.’ - -It is often triumphantly inquired, why, if men and women are on an -equality, are not women as conspicuous in the Bible as men? I do not -intend to assign a reason, but I think one may readily be found in -the fact, that from the days of Eve to the present time, the aim of -man has been to crush her. He has accomplished this work in various -ways; sometimes by brute force, sometimes by making her subservient to -his worst passions, sometimes by treating her as a doll, and while he -excluded from her mind the light of knowledge, decked her person with -gewgaws and frippery which he scorned for himself, thus endeavoring to -render her like unto a painted sepulchre. - -It is truly marvellous that any woman can rise above the pressure of -circumstances which combine to crush her. Nothing can strengthen her -to do this in the character of a preacher of righteousness, but a -call from Jehovah himself. And when the voice of God penetrates the -deep recesses of her heart, and commands her to go and cry in the -ears of the people, she is ready to exclaim, ‘Ah, Lord God, behold -I cannot speak, for I am a woman.’ I have known women in different -religious societies, who have felt like the prophet. ‘His word was in -my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with -forbearing.’ But they have not dared to open their lips, and have -endured all the intensity of suffering, produced by disobedience to -God, rather than encounter heartless ridicule and injurious suspicions. -I rejoice that we have been the oppressed, rather than the oppressors. -God thus prepared his people for deliverance from outward bondage; -and I hope our sorrows have prepared us to fulfil our high and holy -duties, whether public or private, with humility and meekness; and that -suffering has imparted fortitude to endure trials, which assuredly -await us in the attempt to sunder those chains with which man has bound -us, galling to the spirit, though unseen by the eye. - -Surely there is nothing either astonishing or novel in the gifts of -the Spirit being bestowed on woman: nothing astonishing, because there -is no respect of persons with God; the soul of the woman in his sight -is as the soul of the man, and both are alike capable of the influence -of the Holy Spirit. Nothing novel, because, as has been already shown, -in the sacred records there are found examples of women, as well as of -men, exercising the gift of prophecy. - -We attach to the word prophecy, the exclusive meaning of foretelling -future events, but this is certainly a mistake; for the apostle Paul -defines it to be ‘speaking to edification, exhortation and comfort.’ -And there appears no possible reason, why women should not do this as -well as men. At the time that the Bible was translated into English, -the meaning of the word prophecy, was delivering a message from God, -whether it was to predict future events, or to warn the people of the -consequences of sin. Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, mentions in a -letter, that the minister being absent, he went to, ---- to prophecy to -the people. - -Before I proceed to prove that women, under the Christian dispensation, -were anointed of the Holy Ghost to preach, or prophecy, I will mention -Anna, the (last) prophetess under the Jewish dispensation. ‘She -departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers -night and day.’ And coming into the temple, while Simeon was yet -speaking to Mary, with the infant Savior in his arms, ‘spake of Christ -to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.’ Blackwall, a -learned English critic, in his work entitled, ‘Sacred Classics,’ says, -in reference to this passage, Luke 2: 37--‘According to the _original_ -reading, the sense will be, that the devout Anna, who attended in the -temple, both night and day, spoke of the Messiah to all the inhabitants -of that city, who constantly worshipped there, and who prepared -themselves for the worthy reception of that divine person, whom they -expected at this time. And ’tis certain, that other devout Jews, not -inhabitants of Jerusalem, frequently repaired to the temple-worship, -and might, at this remarkable time, and several others, hear this -admirable woman discourse upon the blessed advent of the Redeemer. -A various reading has Israel instead of Jerusalem, which expresses -that religious Jews, from distant places, came thither to divine -offices, and would with high pleasure hear the discourses of this great -prophetess, so famed for her extraordinary piety and valuable talents, -upon the most important and desirable subject.’ - -I shall now examine the testimony of the Bible on this point, after -the ascension of our Lord, beginning with the glorious effusion of the -Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. I presume it will not be denied, -that women, as well as men, were at that time filled with the Holy -Ghost, because it is expressly stated, that women were among those who -continued in prayer and supplication, waiting for the fulfilment of -the promise, that they should be endued with power from on high. ‘When -the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were ALL with one accord -in one place. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of -fire, and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the -Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave -them utterance.’ Peter says, in reference to this miracle, ‘This is -that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass -in the last days, said God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; -and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy--and on my servants -and on my hand-maidens, I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, -and they shall prophesy.’ There is not the least intimation that this -was a spasmodic influence which was soon to cease. The men and women -are classed together; and if the power to preach the gospel was a -supernatural and short-lived impulse in women, then it was equally -so in men. But we are told, those were the days of miracles. I grant -it; but the men, equally with the women, were the subjects of this -marvellous fulfilment of prophecy, and of course, if women have lost -the gift of prophesying, so have men. We are also gravely told, that -if a woman pretends to inspiration, and thereupon grounds the right -to plead the cause of a crucified Redeemer in public, she will be -believed when she shows credentials from heaven, i. e. when she works -a miracle. I reply, if this be necessary to prove her right to preach -the gospel, then I demand of my brethren to show me their credentials; -else I cannot receive their ministry, by their own showing. John Newton -has justly said, that no power but that which created a world, can -make a minister of the gospel; and man may task his ingenuity to the -utmost, to prove that this power is not exercised on women as well as -men. He cannot do it until he has first disclaimed that simple, but all -comprehensive truth, ‘in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.’ - -Women then, according to the Bible, were, under the New Testament -dispensation, as well as the Old, the recipients of the gift of -prophecy. That this is no sectarian view may be proved by the following -extracts. The first I shall offer is from Stratton’s ‘Book of the -Priesthood.’ - - ‘While they were assembled in the upper room to wait for the blessing, - in number about one hundred and twenty, they received the miraculous - gifts of the Holy Spirit’s grace; they became the channels through - which its more ordinary, but not less saving streams flowed to three - thousand persons in one day. The whole company of the assembled - disciples, male and female, young and old, were all filled with the - Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave - them utterance. They all contributed in producing that impression upon - the assembled multitude, which Peter was instrumental in advancing to - its decisive results.’ - -Scott, in his commentary on this passage, says-- - - ‘At the same time, there appeared the form of tongues divided at the - tip and resembling fire; one of which rested on each of the whole - company.’ ‘They sat on every one present, as the original determines. - At the time of these extraordinary appearances, the whole company were - abundantly replenished with the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, - so that they began to speak with other tongues.’ - -Henry in his notes confirms this: - - ‘It seems evident to me that not the twelve apostles only, but all the - one hundred and twenty disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost alike - at this time,--all the seventy disciples, who were apostolical men and - employed in the same work, and all the rest too that were to preach - the gospel, for it is said expressly, Eph. 4: 8-12: ‘When Christ - ascended up on high, (which refers to this) he gave gifts unto men.’ - The all here must refer to the all that were together.’ - -I need hardly remark that man is a generic term, including both sexes. - -Let us now examine whether women actually exercised the office of -minister, under the gospel dispensation. Philip had four daughters, who -prophesied or preached. Paul calls Priscilla, as well as Aquila, his -helpers; or, as in the Greek, his fellow laborers[4] in Christ Jesus. -Divers other passages might be adduced to prove that women continued to -be preachers, and that _many_ of them filled this dignified station. - -We learn also from ecclesiastical history, that female ministers -suffered martyrdom in the early ages of the Christian church. In -ancient councils, mention is made of deaconesses; and in an edition of -the New Testament, printed in 1574, a woman is spoken of as minister -of a church. The same word, which, in our common translation, is now -rendered a servant of the church, in speaking of Phebe, Rom. 16: 1, is -rendered minister, Eph. 6: 21, when applied to Tychicus. A minister, -with whom I had lately the pleasure of conversing, remarked, ‘My rule -is to expound scripture by scripture, and I cannot deny the ministry of -women, because the apostle says, ‘help those women who labored with me -IN THE GOSPEL.’ He certainly meant something more than pouring out tea -for him.’ - -In the 11th Ch. of 1 Cor., Paul gives directions to women and men how -they should appear when they prophesy, or pray in public assemblies. -It is evident that the design of the apostle, in this and the three -succeeding chapters, is to rectify certain abuses which had crept into -the Christian church. He therefore admonishes women to pray with their -heads covered, because, according to the fashion of that day, it was -considered immodest and immoral to do otherwise. He says, ‘that were -all one as if she were shaven;’ and shaving the head was a disgraceful -punishment that was inflicted on women of bad character. - - ‘These things,’ says Scott, ‘the apostle stated as decent and proper, - but if any of the Corinthian teachers inclined to excite contention - about them, he would only add, v. 16, that he and his brethren knew of - no such custom as prevailed among them, nor was there any such in the - churches of God which had been planted by the other apostles.’ - -John Locke, whilst engaged in writing his notes on the Epistles of St. -Paul, was at a meeting where two women preached. After hearing them, -he became convinced of their commission to publish the gospel, and -thereupon altered his notes on the 11th Ch. 1 Cor. in favor of women’s -preaching. He says,-- - - ‘This about women seeming as difficult a passage as most in St. - Paul’s Epistles, I crave leave to premise some few considerations. - It is plain that this covering the head in women is restrained to - some peculiar actions which they performed in the assembly, expressed - by the words praying, prophesying, which, whatever they signify, - must have the same meaning applied to women in the 5th verse, that - they have when applied to men in the 4th, &c. The next thing to - be considered is, what is here to be understood by praying and - prophesying. And that seems to me the performing of some public action - in the assembly, by some one person which was for that time peculiar - to that person, and whilst it lasted, the rest of the assembly - silently assisted. As to prophesying, the apostle in express words - tells us, Ch. 14: 3, 12, that it was speaking in the assembly. The - same is evident as to praying, that the apostle means by it publicly - with an audible voice, ch. 14: 19.’ - -In a letter to these two women, Rebecca Collier and Rachel Bracken, -which accompanied a little testimony of his regard, he says, - - ‘I admire no converse like that of Christian freedom; and I fear no - bondage like that of pride and prejudice. I now see that acquaintance - by sight cannot reach the height of enjoyment, which acquaintance - by knowledge arrives unto. Outward hearing may misguide us, but - internal knowledge cannot err.’ ‘Women, indeed, had the honor of - first publishing the resurrection of the God of love--why not again - the resurrection of the spirit of love? And let all the disciples of - Christ rejoice therein, as doth your partner, John Locke.’ - -See ‘The Friend,’ a periodical published in Philadelphia. - -Adam Clarke’s comment on 1 Cor. 11: 5, is similar to Locke’s: - - ‘Whatever be the meaning of praying and prophesying in respect to the - man, they have precisely the same meaning in respect to the woman. - So that some women at least, as well as some men, might speak to - others to edification and exhortation and comfort. And this kind of - prophesying, or teaching, was predicted by Joel 2: 28, and referred - to by Peter; and had there not been such gifts bestowed on women, the - prophesy could not have had its fulfilment.’ - -In the autobiography of Adam Clarke, there is an interesting account -of his hearing Mary Sewall and another female minister preach, and he -acknowledges that such was the power accompanying their ministry, that -though he had been prejudiced against women’s preaching, he could not -but confess that these women were anointed for the office. - -But there are certain passages in the Epistles of St. Paul, which seem -to be of doubtful interpretation; at which we cannot much marvel, -seeing that his brother Peter says, there are some things in them hard -to be understood. Most commentators, having their minds preoccupied -with the prejudices of education, afford little aid; they rather tend -to darken the text by the multitude of words. One of these passages -occurs in 1 Cor. 14. I have already remarked, that this chapter, with -several of the preceding, was evidently designed to correct abuses -which had crept into the assemblies of Christians in Corinth. Hence -we find that the men were commanded to be silent, as well as the -women, when they were guilty of any thing which deserved reprehension. -The apostle says, ‘If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence -in the church.’ The men were doubtless in the practice of speaking -in unknown tongues, when there was no interpreter present; and Paul -reproves them, because this kind of preaching conveyed no instruction -to the people. Again he says, ‘If any thing be revealed to another that -sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.’ We may infer from this, -that two men sometimes attempted to speak at the same time, and the -apostle rebukes them, and adds, ‘Ye may ALL prophesy one by one, for -God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.’ He then proceeds to -notice the disorderly conduct of the women, who were guilty of other -improprieties. They were probably in the habit of asking questions, on -any points of doctrine which they wished more thoroughly explained. -This custom was common among the men in the Jewish synagogues, after -the pattern of which, the meetings of the early Christians were in -all probability conducted. And the Christian women, presuming on the -liberty which they enjoyed under the new religion, interrupted the -assembly, by asking questions. The apostle disapproved of this, because -it disturbed the solemnity of the meeting: he therefore admonishes the -women to keep silence in the churches. That the apostle did not allude -to preaching is manifest, because he tells them, ‘If they will _learn_ -any thing, let them ask their husbands at home.’ Now a person endowed -with a gift in the ministry, does not ask questions in the public -exercise of that gift, for the purpose of gaining information: she is -instructing others. Moreover, the apostle, in closing his remarks on -this subject, says, ‘Wherefore, brethren, (a generic term, applying -equally to men and women,) covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak -with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.’ - -Clarke, on the passage, ‘Let women keep silence in the churches,’ says: - - ‘This was a Jewish ordinance. Women were not permitted to teach in the - assemblies, or even to ask questions. The rabbins taught that a woman - should know nothing but the use of her distaff; and the saying of - Rabbi Eliezer is worthy of remark and execration: ‘Let the words of - the law be burned, rather than that they should be delivered by women.’ - -Are there not many of our Christian brethren, whose hostility to the -ministry of women is as bitter as was that of Rabbi Eliezer, and who -would rather let souls perish, than that the truths of the gospel -should be delivered by women? - - ‘This,’ says Clarke, ‘was their condition till the time of the gospel, - when, according to the prediction of Joel, the Spirit of God was to be - poured out on the women as well as the men, that they might prophesy, - that is, teach. And that they did prophesy, or teach, is evident from - what the apostle says, ch. 11: 5, where he lays down rules to regulate - this part of their conduct while ministering in the church. But does - not what the apostle says here, let your women keep silence in the - churches, contradict that statement, and show that the words in ch. - 11, should be understood in another sense? for here it is expressly - said, that they should keep silence in the churches, for it was not - permitted to a woman to speak. Both places seem perfectly consistent. - It is evident from the context, that the apostle refers here to asking - questions, and what we call dictating in the assemblies.’ - -The other passage on which the opinion, that women are not called to -the ministry, is founded, is 1 Tim. 2d ch. The apostle speaks of the -duty of prayer and supplication, mentions his own ordination as a -preacher, and then adds, ‘I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, -lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner -also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel,’ &c. I shall here -premise, that as the punctuation and division into chapters and verses -is no part of the original arrangement, they cannot determine the sense -of a passage. Indeed, every attentive reader of the Bible must observe, -that the injudicious separation of sentences often destroys their -meaning and their beauty. Joseph John Gurney, whose skill as a biblical -critic is well known in England, commenting on this passage, says, - - ‘It is worded in a manner somewhat obscure; but appears to be best - construed according to the opinion of various commentators (See Pool’s - Synopsis) as conveying an injunction, that women as well as men should - pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. - 1 Tim. 2: 8, 9. ‘I will therefore that men pray everywhere, &c.; - likewise also the women in a modest dress.’ (Compare 1 Cor. 11: 5.) ‘I - would have them adorn themselves with shamefacedness and sobriety.’’ - -I have no doubt this is the true meaning of the text, and that the -translators would never have thought of altering it had they not been -under the influence of educational prejudice. The apostle proceeds -to exhort the women, who thus publicly made intercession to God, not -to adorn themselves with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly -array, but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good -works.’ The word in this verse translated ‘professing,’ would be more -properly rendered preaching godliness, or enjoining piety to the gods, -or conducting public worship. After describing the duty of female -ministers about their apparel, the apostle proceeds to correct some -improprieties which probably prevailed in the Ephesian church, similar -to those which he had reproved among the Corinthian converts. He says, -‘Let the women LEARN in silence with all subjection; but I suffer not -a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in -silence,’ or quietness. Here again it is evident that the women, of -whom he was speaking, were admonished to learn in silence, which could -not refer to their public ministrations to others. The verb to teach, -verse 12, is one of very general import, and may in this place more -properly be rendered dictate. It is highly probable that women who had -long been in bondage, when set free by Christianity from the restraints -imposed upon them by Jewish traditions and heathen customs, run into -an extreme in their public assemblies, and interrupted the religious -services by frequent interrogations, which they could have had answered -as satisfactorily at home. - -On a candid examination and comparison of the passages which I have -endeavored to explain, viz., 1 Cor. chaps. 11 and 14, and 1 Tim. 2, -8-12. I think we must be compelled to adopt one of two conclusions; -either that the apostle grossly contradicts himself on a subject of -great practical importance, and that the fulfilment of the prophecy -of Joel was a shameful infringement of decency and order; or that -the directions given to women, not to speak, or to teach in the -congregations, had reference to some local and peculiar customs, which -were then common in religious assemblies, and which the apostle thought -inconsistent with the purpose for which they were met together. No -one, I suppose, will hesitate which of these two conclusions to adopt. -The subject is one of vital importance. That it may claim the calm and -prayerful attention of Christians, is the desire of - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[3] I cannot enter fully into this part of my subject. It is, however, -one of great importance, and I recommend those who wish to examine it, -to read ‘The Book of the Priesthood,’ by an English Dissenter, and -Beverly’s ‘View of the Present State of the Visible Church of Christ.’ -They are both masterly productions. - -[4] Rom. 16: 3, compare Gr. text of v. 21, 2. Cor. 8: 23; Phil. 2: 25; -1 Thes. 3: 2. - - - - - LETTER XV. - - MAN EQUALLY GUILTY WITH WOMAN IN THE FALL. - - - _Uxbridge, 10th Mo. 20th, 1837._ - -MY DEAR SISTER,--It is said that ‘modern Jewish women light a lamp -every Friday evening, half an hour before sunset, which is the -beginning of their Sabbath, in remembrance of their original mother, -who first extinguished the lamp of righteousness,--to remind them of -their obligation to rekindle it.’ I am one of those who always admit, -to its fullest extent, the popular charge, that woman brought sin into -the world. I accept it as a powerful reason, why woman is bound to -labor with double diligence, for the regeneration of that world she has -been instrumental in ruining. - -But, although I do not repel the imputation, I shall notice some -passages in the sacred Scriptures, where this transaction is mentioned, -which prove, I think, the identity and equality of man and woman, and -that there is no difference in their guilt in the view of that God who -searcheth the heart and trieth the reins of the children of men. In Is. -43: 27, we find the following passage--‘Thy first father hath sinned, -and thy teachers have transgressed against me’--which is synonymous -with Rom. 5: 12. ‘Wherefore, as by ONE MAN sin entered into the world, -and death by sin, &c.’ Here man and woman are included under one term, -and no distinction is made in their criminality. The circumstances of -the fall are again referred to in 2 Cor. 11: 3--‘But I fear lest, by -any means, as the serpent _beguiled_ Eve through his subtility, so -your mind should be beguiled from the simplicity that is in Christ.’ -Again, 1st Tim. 2: 14--‘Adam _was not deceived_; but the woman being -_deceived_, was in the transgression.’ Now, whether the fact, that Eve -was beguiled and deceived, is a proof that her crime was of deeper -dye than Adam’s, who was not deceived, but was fully aware of the -consequences of sharing in her transgression, I shall leave the candid -reader to determine. - -My present object is to show, that, as woman is charged with all the -sin that exists in the world, it is her solemn duty to labor for its -extinction; and that this she can never do effectually and extensively, -until her mind is disenthralled of those shackles which have been -riveted upon her by a ‘_corrupt public opinion, and a perverted -interpretation of the holy Scriptures_.’ Woman must feel that she is -the equal, and is designed to be the fellow laborer of her brother, or -she will be studying to find out the _imaginary_ line which separates -the sexes, and divides the duties of men and women into two distinct -classes, a separation not even hinted at in the Bible, where we are -expressly told, ‘there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one -in Christ Jesus.’ - -My views on this subject are so much better embodied in the language -of a living author than I can express them, that I quote the passage -entire: ‘Woman’s rights and man’s rights are _both_ contained in -the _same_ charter, and held by the _same_ tenure. _All rights_ -spring out of the _moral_ nature: they are both the root and the -offspring of _responsibilities_. The physical constitution is the mere -_instrument_ of the _moral_ nature; sex is a mere _incident_ of this -constitution, a provision necessary to this _form_ of existence; its -_only_ design, not to give, nor to take away, nor in any respect to -modify or even _touch_ rights or responsibilities in any sense, except -so far as the peculiar offices of each sex may afford less or more -_opportunity_ and ability for the exercise of rights, and the discharge -of responsibilities; but merely to continue and enlarge the human -department of God’s government. Consequently, I know nothing of _man’s_ -rights, or _woman’s_ rights; _human_ rights are all that I recognise. -The doctrine, that the _sex of the body_ presides over and administers -upon the rights and responsibilities of the moral, immortal nature, is -to my mind a doctrine kindred to blasphemy, _when seen in its intrinsic -nature_. It breaks up utterly the _relations_ of the two natures, and -reverses their functions; exalting the animal nature into a monarch, -and humbling the moral into a slave; making the former a proprietor, -and the latter its property.’ - -To perform our duties, we must comprehend our rights and -responsibilities; and it is because we do not understand, that we now -fall so far short in the discharge of our obligations. Unaccustomed to -think for ourselves, and to search the sacred volume, to see how far we -are living up to the design of Jehovah in our creation, we have rested -satisfied with the sphere marked out for us by man, never detecting -the fallacy of that reasoning which forbids woman to exercise some -of her noblest faculties, and stamps with the reproach of indelicacy -those actions by which women were formerly dignified and exalted in the -church. - -I should not mention this subject again, if it were not to point out to -my sisters what seems to me an irresistible conclusion from the literal -interpretation of St. Paul, without reference to the context, and the -peculiar circumstances and abuses which drew forth the expressions, -‘I suffer not a woman to teach’--‘Let your women keep silence in the -church,’ i. e. congregation. It is manifest, that if the apostle meant -what his words imply, when taken in the strictest sense, then women -have no right to _teach_ Sabbath or day schools, or to open their lips -to sing in the assemblies of the people; yet young and delicate women -are engaged in all these offices; they are expressly trained to exhibit -themselves, and raise their voices to a high pitch in the choirs of our -places of worship. I do not intend to sit in judgment on my sisters for -doing these things; I only want them to see, that they are as really -infringing a _supposed_ divine command, by instructing their pupils in -the Sabbath or day schools, and by singing in the congregation, as if -they were engaged in preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to a -lost and perishing world. Why, then, are we permitted to break this -injunction in some points, and so sedulously warned not to overstep -the bounds set for us by our _brethren_ in another? Simply, as I -believe, because in the one case we subserve _their_ views and _their_ -interests, and act _in subordination to them_; whilst in the other, we -come in contact with their interests, and claim to be on an equality -with them in the highest and most important trust ever committed to -man, namely, the ministry of the word. It is manifest, that if women -were permitted to be ministers of the gospel, as they unquestionably -were in the primitive ages of the Christian church, it would interfere -materially with the present organized system of spiritual power and -ecclesiastical authority, which is now vested solely in the hands of -men. It would either show that all the paraphernalia of theological -seminaries, &c. &c. to prepare men to become evangelists, is wholly -unnecessary, or it would create a necessity for similar institutions -in order to prepare women for the same office; and this would be -an encroachment on that learning, which our hind brethren have -so ungenerously monopolized. I do not ask any one to believe my -statements, or adopt my conclusions, because they are mine; but I do -earnestly entreat my sisters to lay aside their prejudices, and examine -these subjects _for themselves_, regardless of the ‘traditions of -men,’ because they are intimately connected with their duty and their -usefulness in the present important crisis. - -All who know any thing of the present system of benevolent and -religious operations, know that women are performing an important -part in them, in _subserviency to men_, who guide our labors, and are -often the recipients of those benefits of education we toil to confer, -and which we rejoice they can enjoy, although it is their mandate -which deprives us of the same advantages. Now, whether our brethren -have defrauded us intentionally, or unintentionally, the wrong we -suffer is equally the same. For years, they have been spurring us up -to the performance of our duties. The immense usefulness and the vast -influence of woman have been eulogized and called into exercise, and -many a blessing has been lavished upon us, and many a prayer put up -for us, because we have labored by day and by night to clothe and feed -and educate young men, whilst our own bodies sometimes suffer for -want of comfortable garments, and our minds are left in almost utter -destitution of that improvement which we are toiling to bestow upon the -brethren. - - ‘Full many a gem of purest ray serene, - The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear; - Full many a flower is born to blush unseen - And waste its sweetness on the desert air.’ - -If the sewing societies, the avails of whose industry are now expended -in supporting and educating young men for the ministry, were to -withdraw their contributions to these objects, and give them where they -are _more needed_, to the advancement of their _own sex_ in useful -learning, the next generation might furnish sufficient proof, that -in intelligence and ability to master the whole circle of sciences, -woman is not inferior to man; and instead of a sensible woman being -regarded as she now is, is a lusus naturæ, they would be quite as -common as sensible men. I confess, considering the high claim men in -this country make to great politeness and deference to women, it does -seem a little extraordinary that we should be urged to work for the -brethren. I should suppose it would be more in character with ‘the -generous promptings of chivalry, and the poetry of romantic gallantry,’ -for which Catherine E. Beecher gives them credit, for them to form -societies to educate their sisters, seeing our inferior capacities -require more cultivation to bring them into use, and qualify us to be -helps meet for them. However, though I think this would be but a just -return for all our past kindnesses in this way, I should be willing -to balance our accounts, and begin a new course. Henceforth, let the -benefit be reciprocated, or else let each sex provide for the education -of their own poor, whose talents ought to be rescued from the oblivion -of ignorance. Sure I am, the young men who are now benefitted by the -handy work of their sisters, will not be less honorable if they occupy -half their time in earning enough to pay for their own education, -instead of depending on the industry of women, who not unfrequently -deprive themselves of the means of purchasing valuable books which -might enlarge their stock of useful knowledge, and perhaps prove a -blessing to the family by furnishing them with instructive reading. If -the minds of women were enlightened and improved, the domestic circle -would be more frequently refreshed by intelligent conversation, a means -of edification now deplorably neglected, for want of that cultivation -which these intellectual advantages would confer. - - - DUTIES OF WOMEN. - -One of the duties which devolve upon women in the present interesting -crisis, is to prepare themselves for more extensive usefulness, by -making use of those religious and literary privileges and advantages -that are within their reach, if they will only stretch out their hands -and possess them. By doing this, they will become better acquainted -with their rights as moral beings, and with their responsibilities -growing out of those rights: they will regard themselves, as they -really are, FREE AGENTS, immortal beings, amenable to no tribunal but -that of Jehovah, and bound not to submit to any restriction imposed -for selfish purposes, or to gratify that love of power which has -reigned in the heart of man from Adam down to the present time. In -contemplating the great moral reformations of the day, and the part -which they are bound to take in them, instead of puzzling themselves -with the harassing, because unnecessary inquiry, how far they may go -without overstepping the bounds of propriety, which separate male and -female duties, they will only inquire, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have us to -do?’ They will be enabled to see the simple truth, that God has made no -distinction between men and women as moral beings; that the distinction -now so much insisted upon between male and female virtues is as absurd -as it is unscriptural, and has been the fruitful source of much -mischief--granting to man a license for the exhibition of brute force -and conflict on the battle field; for sternness, selfishness, and the -exercise of irresponsible power in the circle of home--and to woman a -permit to rest on an arm of flesh, and to regard modesty and delicacy, -and all the kindred virtues, as peculiarly appropriate to her. Now to -me it is perfectly clear, that WHATSOEVER IT IS MORALLY RIGHT FOR A -MAN TO DO, IT IS MORALLY RIGHT FOR A WOMAN TO DO; and that confusion -must exist in the moral world, until women takes her stand on the same -platform with man, and feels that she is clothed by her Maker with the -_same rights_, and, of course, that upon her devolve the _same duties_. - -It is not my intention, nor indeed do I think it is in my power, to -point out the precise duties of women. To him who still teacheth by -his Holy Spirit as never man taught, I refer my beloved sisters. There -is a vast field of usefulness before them. The signs of the times give -portentous evidence, that a day of deep trial is approaching; and I -urge them, by every consideration of a Savior’s dying love, by the -millions of heathen in our midst, by the sufferings of woman in almost -every portion of the world, by the fearful ravages which slavery, -intemperance, licentiousness and other iniquities are making of the -happiness of our fellow creatures, to come to the rescue of a ruined -world, and to be found co-workers with Jesus Christ. - - ‘Ho! to the rescue, ho! - Up every one that feels-- - ’Tis a sad and fearful cry of woe - From a guilty world that steals. - Hark! hark! how the horror rolls, - Whence can this anguish be? - ’Tis the groan of a trammel’d people’s souls, - _Now bursting_ to be free.’ - -And here, with all due deference for the office of the ministry, which -I believe was established by Jehovah himself, and designed by Him to -be the means of spreading light and salvation through a crucified -Savior to the ends of the earth, I would entreat my sisters not to -_compel_ the ministers of the present day to give their names to great -moral reformations. The practice of making ministers life members, or -officers of societies, when their hearts have not been touched with a -live coal from the altar, and animated with love for the work we are -engaged in, is highly injurious to them, as well as to the cause. They -often satisfy their consciences in this way, without doing anything to -promote the anti-slavery, or temperance, or other reformations; and we -please ourselves with the idea, that we have done something to forward -the cause of Christ, when, in effect, we have been sewing pillows like -the false prophetesses of old under the arm-holes of our clerical -brethren. Let us treat the ministers with all tenderness and respect, -but let us be careful how we cherish in their hearts the idea that they -are of more importance to a cause than other men. I rejoice when they -take hold heartily. I love and honor some ministers with whom I have -been associated in the anti-slavery ranks, but I do deeply deplore, for -the sake of the cause, the prevalent notion, that the clergy must be -had, either by persuasion or by bribery. They will not need persuasion -or bribery, if their hearts are with us; if they are not, we are better -without them. It is idle to suppose that the kingdom of heaven cannot -come on earth, without their co-operation. It is the Lord’s work, -and it must go forward with or without their aid. As well might the -converted Jews have despaired of the spread of Christianity, without -the co-operation of Scribes and Pharisees. - -Let us keep in mind, that no abolitionism is of any value, which is -not accompanied with deep, heartfelt repentance; and that, whenever -a minister sincerely repents of having, either by his apathy or his -efforts, countenanced the fearful sin of slavery, he will need no -inducement to come into our ranks; so far from it, he will abhor -himself in dust and ashes, for his past blindness and indifference -to the cause of God’s poor and oppressed: and he will regard it as a -privilege to be enabled to do something in the cause of human rights. -I know the ministry exercise vast power; but I rejoice in the belief, -that the spell is broken which encircled them, and rendered it all but -blasphemy to expose their errors and their sins. We are beginning to -understand that they are but men, and that their station should not -shield them from merited reproof. - -I have blushed for my sex when I have heard of their entreating -ministers to attend their associations, and open them with prayer. The -idea is inconceivable to me, that Christian women can be engaged in -doing God’s work, and yet cannot ask his blessing on their efforts, -except through the lips of a man. I have known a whole town scoured to -obtain a minister to open a female meeting, and their refusal to do so -spoken of as quite a misfortune. Now, I am not glad that the ministers -do wrong; but I am glad that my sisters have been sometimes compelled -to act for themselves: it is exactly what they need to strengthen them, -and prepare them to act independently. And to say the truth, there is -something really ludicrous in seeing a minister enter the meeting, -open it with prayer, and then take his departure. However, I only -throw out these hints for the consideration of women. I believe there -are solemn responsibilities resting upon us, and that in this day of -light and knowledge, we cannot plead ignorance of duty. The great moral -reformations now on the wheel are only practical Christianity; and -if the ministry is not prepared to labor with us in these righteous -causes, let us press forward, and they will follow on to know the Lord. - - - CONCLUSION. - -I have now, my dear sister, completed my series of letters. I am -aware, they contain some new views; but I believe they are based on -the immutable truths of the Bible. All I ask for them is, the candid -and prayerful consideration of Christians. If they strike at some -of our bosom sins, our deep-rooted prejudices, our long cherished -opinions, let us not condemn them on that account, but investigate -them fearlessly and prayerfully, and not shrink from the examination; -because, if they are true, they place heavy responsibilities upon -women. In throwing them before the public, I have been actuated solely -by the belief, that if they are acted upon, they will exalt the -character and enlarge the usefulness of my own sex, and contribute -greatly to the happiness and virtue of the other. That there is a root -of bitterness continually springing up in families and troubling the -repose of both men and women, must be manifest to even a superficial -observer; and I believe it is the mistaken notion of the inequality of -the sexes. As there is an assumption of superiority on the one part, -which is not sanctioned by Jehovah, there is an incessant struggle -on the other to rise to that degree of dignity, which God designed -women to possess in common with men, and to maintain those rights and -exercise those privileges which every woman’s common sense, apart from -the prejudices of education, tells her are inalienable; they are a part -of her moral nature, and can only cease when her immortal mind is -extinguished. - -One word more. I feel that I am calling upon my sex to sacrifice what -has been, what is still dear to their hearts, the adulation, the -flattery, the attentions of trifling men. I am asking them to repel -these insidious enemies whenever they approach them; to manifest by -their conduct, that, although they value highly the society of pious -and intelligent men, they have no taste for idle conversation, and -for that silly preference which is manifested for their personal -accommodation, often at the expense of great inconvenience to their -male companions. As an illustration of what I mean, I will state a fact. - -I was traveling lately in a stage coach. A gentleman, who was also -a passenger, was made sick by riding with his back to the horses. I -offered to exchange seats, assuring him it did not affect me at all -unpleasantly; but he was too polite to permit a lady to run the risk of -being discommoded. I am sure he meant to be very civil, but I really -thought it was a foolish piece of civility. This kind of attention -encourages selfishness in woman, and is only accorded as a sort of -quietus, in exchange for those _rights_ of which we are deprived. Men -and women are equally bound to cultivate a spirit of accommodation; -but I exceedingly deprecate her being treated like a spoiled child, -and sacrifices made to her selfishness and vanity. In lieu of these -flattering but injurious attentions, yielded to her as an inferior, as -a mark of benevolence and courtesy, I want my sex to claim nothing from -their brethren but what their brethren may justly claim from them, -in their intercourse as Christians. I am persuaded woman can do much -in this way to elevate her own character. And that we may become duly -sensible of the dignity of our nature, only a little lower than the -angels, and bring forth fruit to the glory and honor of Emanuel’s name, -is the fervent prayer of - - Thine in the bonds of womanhood, - - SARAH M. GRIMKE. - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - -Errors in punctuation have been fixed. - -Page 7: “Thy both” changed to “They both” - -Page 8: “flesh, flowl” changed to “flesh, fowl” - -Page 9: “moral responsibilites” changed to “moral responsibilities” - -Page 21: “Pastoral Lerter” changed to “Pastoral Letter” - -Page 25: “messenger of Jehevah” changed to “messenger of Jehovah” - -Page 36: “and someties” changed to “and sometimes” - -Page 43: In the footnote, “de famille on de” changed to “de famille ou -de” and “Paris and Loudon” changed to “Paris and London” - -Page 48: “os well as” changed to “as well as” - -Page 50: “making a waistcoast” changed to “making a waistcoat” - -Page 57: “he mean time” changed to “the mean time” - -Page 61: “INTELLLECT OF WOMAN” changed to “INTELLECT OF WOMAN” - -Page 67: “Christian countres” changed to “Christian countries” - -Page 70: “glorions reformations” changed to “glorious reformations” - -Page 79: “der husband’s” changed to “her husband’s” - -Page 89: “the same gound” changed to “the same ground” - -Page 101: “but hardende” changed to “but hardened” - -Page 118: “so seduously” changed to “so sedulously” - -Page 120: “lusses naturæ” changed to “lusus naturæ” - -Page 122: “forst ernness” changed to “for sternness” - -Page 128: “woman can can do much” changed to “woman can do much” - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS ON THE EQUALITY OF THE -SEXES, AND THE CONDITION OF WOMAN *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Letters on the equality of the sexes, and the condition of woman</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Sarah Moore Grimke</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 6, 2022 [eBook #69485]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS ON THE EQUALITY OF THE SEXES, AND THE CONDITION OF WOMAN ***</div> - - - -<h1> LETTERS<br><span class="vsmall">ON THE</span><br> - -EQUALITY OF THE SEXES,<br> - -<span class="vsmall">AND THE</span><br> - -<span class="big">CONDITION OF WOMAN.</span></h1> - -<p class="center p2"> -ADDRESSED TO<br> -<span class="big">MARY S. PARKER,</span><br> -<span class="small">PRESIDENT OF THE</span><br> -Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society.<br> -</p> -<hr class="r5"> -<p class="center"> -<span class="big">BOSTON:</span><br> -PUBLISHED BY ISAAC KNAPP,<br> -25, CORNHILL.</p> -<hr class="r5"><p class="center"> -1838.<br> -</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTERS">LETTERS.</h2> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_I">LETTER I.<br><span class="small">THE ORIGINAL EQUALITY OF WOMAN.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Amesbury, 7th Mo. 11th, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Friend</span>,—In attempting to comply with thy request to -give my views on the Province of Woman, I feel that I am venturing -on nearly untrodden ground, and that I shall advance arguments -in opposition to a corrupt public opinion, and to the perverted -interpretation of Holy Writ, which has so universally obtained. But I -am in search of truth; and no obstacle shall prevent my prosecuting -that search, because I believe the welfare of the world will be -materially advanced by every new discovery we make of the designs of -Jehovah in the creation of woman. It is impossible that we can answer -the purpose of our being, unless we understand that purpose. It is -impossible that we should fulfil our duties, unless we comprehend them; -or live up to our privileges, unless we know what they are.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span></p> - -<p>In examining this important subject, I shall depend solely on the -Bible to designate the sphere of woman, because I believe almost every -thing that has been written on this subject, has been the result of -a misconception of the simple truths revealed in the Scriptures, in -consequence of the false translation of many passages of Holy Writ. My -mind is entirely delivered from the superstitious reverence which is -attached to the English version of the Bible. King James’s translators -certainly were not inspired. I therefore claim the original as my -standard, <i>believing that to have been inspired</i>, and I also -claim to judge for myself what is the meaning of the inspired writers, -because I believe it to be the solemn duty of every individual to -search the Scriptures for themselves, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, -and not be governed by the views of any man, or set of men.</p> - -<p>We must first view woman at the period of her creation. ‘And God said, -Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness; and let them have -dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and -over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing -that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in -the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.’ -In all this sublime description of the creation of man, (which is a -generic term including man and woman,) there is not one particle of -difference intimated as existing between them. They were both made in -the image of God; dominion was given to both over every other creature, -but not over each other. Created in perfect equality, they were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span> -expected to exercise the vicegerence intrusted to them by their Maker, -in harmony and love.</p> - -<p>Let us pass on now to the recapitulation of the creation of man:—‘The -Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his -nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord -God said, it is not good that man should be alone, I will make him an -help meet for him.’ All creation swarmed with animated beings capable -of natural affection, as we know they still are; it was not, therefore, -merely to give man a creature susceptible of loving, obeying, and -looking up to him, for all that the animals could do and did do. It was -to give him a companion, <i>in all respects</i> his equal; one who was -like himself <i>a free agent</i>, gifted with intellect and endowed -with immortality; not a partaker merely of his animal gratifications, -but able to enter into all his feelings as a moral and responsible -being. If this had not been the case, how could she have been an help -meet for him? I understand this as applying not only to the parties -entering into the marriage contract, but to all men and women, because -I believe God designed woman to be an help meet for man in every good -and perfect work. She was a part of himself, as if Jehovah designed to -make the oneness and identity of man and woman perfect and complete; -and when the glorious work of their creation was finished, ‘the morning -stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.’</p> - -<p>This blissful condition was not long enjoyed by our first parents. -Eve, it would seem from the history, was wandering alone amid the -bowers of Paradise, when the serpent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> met with her. From her reply to -Satan, it is evident that the command not to eat ‘of the tree that is -in the midst of the garden,’ was given to both, although the term man -was used when the prohibition was issued by God. ‘And the woman said -unto the serpent, <span class="allsmcap">WE</span> may eat of the fruit of the trees of -the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the -garden, God hath said, <span class="allsmcap">YE</span> shall not eat of it, neither shall -<span class="allsmcap">YE</span> touch it, lest <span class="allsmcap">YE</span> die.’ Here the woman was exposed -to temptation from a being with whom she was unacquainted. She had been -accustomed to associate with her beloved partner, and to hold communion -with God and with angels; but of satanic intelligence, she was in all -probability entirely ignorant. Through the subtlety of the serpent, she -was beguiled. And ‘when she saw that the tree was good for food, and -that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one -wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat.’</p> - -<p>We next find Adam involved in the same sin, not through the -instrumentality of a supernatural agent, but through that of his -equal, a being whom he must have known was liable to transgress the -divine command, because he must have felt that he was himself a free -agent, and that he was restrained from disobedience only by the -exercise of faith and love towards his Creator. Had Adam tenderly -reproved his wife, and endeavored to lead her to repentance instead -of sharing in her guilt, I should be much more ready to accord to man -that superiority which he claims; but as the facts stand disclosed -by the sacred historian, it appears to me that to say the least, -there was as much weakness exhibited by Adam as by Eve.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> They both -fell from innocence, and consequently from happiness, <i>but not from -equality</i>.</p> - -<p>Let us next examine the conduct of this fallen pair, when Jehovah -interrogated them respecting their fault. They both frankly confessed -their guilt. ‘The man said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with -me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat. And the woman said, the -serpent beguiled me and I did eat.’ And the Lord God said unto the -woman, ‘Thou wilt be subject unto thy husband, and he will rule over -thee.’ That this did not allude to the subjection of woman to man is -manifest, because the same mode of expression is used in speaking to -Cain of Abel. The truth is that the curse, as it is termed, which was -pronounced by Jehovah upon woman, is a simple prophecy. The Hebrew, -like the French language, uses the same word to express shall and -will. Our translators having been accustomed to exercise lordship -over their wives, and seeing only through the medium of a perverted -judgment, very naturally, though I think not very learnedly or very -kindly, translated it <i>shall</i> instead of <i>will</i>, and thus -converted a prediction to Eve into a command to Adam; for observe, -it is addressed to the woman and not to the man. The consequence of -the fall was an immediate struggle for dominion, and Jehovah foretold -which would gain the ascendency; but as he created them in his image, -as that image manifestly was not lost by the fall, because it is urged -in Gen. 9: 6, as an argument why the life of man should not be taken by -his fellow man, there is no reason to suppose that sin produced any -distinction between them as moral, intellectual and responsible beings. -Man might<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span> just as well have endeavored by hard labor to fulfil the -prophecy, thorns and thistles will the earth bring forth to thee, as to -pretend to accomplish the other, ‘he will rule over thee,’ by asserting -dominion over his wife.</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">‘Authority usurped from God, not given.</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He gave him only over beast, flesh, fowl,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dominion absolute: that right he holds</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By God’s donation: but man o’er woman</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He made not Lord, such title to himself</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Reserving, human left from human free.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Here then I plant myself. God created us equal;—he created us free -agents;—he is our Lawgiver, our King and our Judge, and to him alone -is woman bound to be in subjection, and to him alone is she accountable -for the use of those talents with which her Heavenly Father has -entrusted her. One is her Master even Christ.</p> - -<p class="center">Thine for the oppressed in the bonds of womanhood,</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_II">LETTER II.<br><span class="small">WOMAN SUBJECT ONLY TO GOD.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Newburyport, 7th mo. 17, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My dear Sister</span>,—In my last, I traced the creation and the -fall of man and woman from that state of purity and happiness which -their beneficent Creator designed them to enjoy. As they were one in -transgression, their chastisement was the same. ‘So God drove out -<i>the man</i>, and he placed at the East of the garden of Eden a -cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of -the tree of life.’ We now behold them expelled from Paradise, fallen -from their original loveliness, but still bearing on their foreheads -the image and superscription of Jehovah; still invested with high -moral responsibilities, intellectual powers, and immortal souls. They -had incurred the penalty of sin, they were shorn of their innocence, -but they stood on the same platform side by side, acknowledging <i>no -superior</i> but their God. Notwithstanding what has been urged, woman -I am aware stands charged to the present day with having brought sin -into the world. I shall not repel the charge by any counter assertions, -although, as was before hinted, Adam’s ready acquiescence with his -wife’s proposal,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> does not savor much of that superiority <i>in -strength of mind</i>, which is arrogated by man. Even admitting that -Eve was the greater sinner, it seems to me man might be satisfied with -the dominion he has claimed and exercised for nearly six thousand -years, and that more true nobility would be manifested by endeavoring -to raise the fallen and invigorate the weak, than by keeping woman in -subjection. But I ask no favors for my sex. I surrender not our claim -to equality. All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their -feet from off our necks, and permit us to stand upright on that ground -which God designed us to occupy. If he has not given us the rights -which have, as I conceive, been wrested from us, we shall soon give -evidence of our inferiority, and shrink back into that obscurity, which -the high souled magnanimity of man has assigned us as our appropriate -sphere.</p> - -<p>As I am unable to learn from sacred writ when woman was deprived by -God of her equality with man, I shall touch upon a few points in the -Scriptures, which demonstrate that no supremacy was granted to man. -When God had destroyed the world, except Noah and his family, by the -deluge, he renewed the grant formerly made to man, and again gave him -dominion over every beast of the earth, every fowl of the air, over all -that moveth upon the earth, and over all the fishes of the sea; into -his hands they were delivered. But was woman, bearing the image of her -God, placed under the dominion of her fellow man? Never! Jehovah could -not surrender his authority to govern his own immortal creatures into -the hands of a being, whom he knew, and whom his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> whole history proved, -to be unworthy of a trust so sacred and important. God could not do it, -because it is a direct contravention of his law, ‘Thou shalt worship -the Lord thy God, and <i>him only</i> shalt thou serve.’ If Jehovah had -appointed man as the guardian, or teacher of woman, he would certainly -have given some intimation of this surrender of his own prerogative. -But so far from it, we find the commands of God invariably the same to -man and woman; and not the slightest intimation is given in a single -passage of the Bible, that God designed to point woman to man as her -instructor. The tenor of his language always is, ‘Look unto ME, and be -ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none -else.’</p> - -<p>The lust of dominion was probably the first effect of the fall; and as -there was no other intelligent being over whom to exercise it, woman -was the first victim of this unhallowed passion. We afterwards see -it exhibited by Cain in the murder of his brother, by Nimrod in his -becoming a mighty hunter of men, and setting up a kingdom over which to -reign. Here we see the origin of that Upas of slavery, which sprang up -immediately after the fall, and has spread its pestilential branches -over the whole face of the known world. All history attests that man -has subjected woman to his will, used her as a means to promote his -selfish gratification, to minister to his sensual pleasures, to be -instrumental in promoting his comfort; but never has he desired to -elevate her to that rank she was created to fill. He has done all he -could to debase and enslave her mind; and now he looks triumphantly on -the ruin he has wrought, and says, the being he has thus deeply injured -is his inferior.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> - -<p>Woman has been placed by John Quincy Adams, side by side with the -slave, whilst he was contending for the right side of petition. I -thank him for ranking us with the oppressed; for I shall not find it -difficult to show, that in all ages and countries, not even excepting -enlightened republican America, woman has more or less been made a -<i>means</i> to promote the welfare of man, without due regard to her -own happiness, and the glory of God as the end of her creation.</p> - -<p>During the <i>patriarchal</i> ages, we find men and women engaged in -the same employments. Abraham and Sarah both assisted in preparing the -food which was to be set before the three men, who visited them in the -plains of Mamre; but although their occupations were similar, Sarah -was not permitted to enjoy the society of the holy visitant; and as -we learn from Peter, that she ‘obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord,’ we -may presume he exercised dominion over her. We shall pass on now to -Rebecca. In her history, we find another striking illustration of the -low estimation in which woman was held. Eleazur is sent to seek a wife -for Isaac. He finds Rebecca going down to the well to fill her pitcher. -He accosts her; and she replies with all humility, ‘Drink, my lord.’ -How does he endeavor to gain her favor and confidence? Does he approach -her as a dignified creature, whom he was about to invite to fill an -important station in his master’s family, as the wife of his only son? -No. He offered incense to her vanity, and ‘he took a golden ear-ring of -half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels -weight of gold,’ and gave them to Rebecca.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span></p> - -<p>The cupidity of man soon led him to regard woman as property, and -hence we find them sold to those, who wished to marry them, as far as -appears, without any regard to those sacred rights which belong to -woman, as well as to man in the choice of a companion. That women were -a profitable kind of property, we may gather from the description of -a virtuous woman in the last chapter of Proverbs. To work willingly -with her hands, to open her hands to the poor, to clothe herself with -silk and purple, to look well to her household, to make fine linen -and sell it, to deliver girdles to the merchant, and not to eat the -bread of idleness, seems to have constituted in the view of Solomon, -the perfection of a woman’s character and achievements. ‘The spirit of -that age was not favorable to intellectual improvement; but as there -were wise men who formed exceptions to the general ignorance, and were -destined to guide the world into more advanced states, so there was a -corresponding proportion of wise women; and among the Jews, as well as -other nations, we find a strong tendency to believe that women were in -more immediate connection with heaven than men.’—L. M. Child’s Con. -of Woman. If there be any truth in this tradition, I am at a loss to -imagine in what the superiority of man consists.</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_III">LETTER III.<br><span class="small">THE PASTORAL LETTER OF THE GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF CONGREGATIONAL -MINISTERS OF MASSACHUSETTS.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Haverhill, 7th Mo. 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Friend</span>,—When I last addressed thee, I had not seen the -Pastoral Letter of the General Association. It has since fallen into my -hands, and I must digress from my intention of exhibiting the condition -of women in different parts of the world, in order to make some remarks -on this extraordinary document. I am persuaded that when the minds of -men and women become emancipated from the thraldom of superstition and -‘traditions of men,’ the sentiments contained in the Pastoral Letter -will be recurred to with as much astonishment as the opinions of -Cotton Mather and other distinguished men of his day, on the subject -of witchcraft; nor will it be deemed less wonderful, that a body of -divines should gravely assemble and endeavor to prove that woman has -no right to ‘open her mouth for the dumb,’ than it now is that judges -should have sat on the trials of witches, and solemnly condemned -nineteen persons and one dog to death for witchcraft.</p> - -<p>But to the letter. It says, ‘We invite your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> attention to the dangers -which at present seem to threaten the FEMALE CHARACTER with wide-spread -and permanent injury.’ I rejoice that they have called the attention -of my sex to this subject, because I believe if woman investigates it, -she will soon discover that danger is impending, though from a totally -different source from that which the Association apprehends,—danger -from those who, having long held the reins of <i>usurped</i> authority, -are unwilling to permit us to fill that sphere which God created us to -move in, and who have entered into league to crush the immortal mind -of woman. I rejoice, because I am persuaded that the rights of woman, -like the rights of slaves, need only be examined to be understood and -asserted, even by some of those, who are now endeavoring to smother the -irrepressible desire for mental and spiritual freedom which glows in -the breast of many, who hardly dare to speak their sentiments.</p> - -<p>‘The appropriate duties and influence of women are clearly stated -in the New Testament. Those duties are unobtrusive and private, but -the sources of <i>mighty power</i>. When the mild, <i>dependent</i>, -softening influence of woman upon the sternness of man’s opinions is -fully exercised, society feels the effects of it in a thousand ways.’ -No one can desire more earnestly than I do, that woman may move exactly -in the sphere which her Creator has assigned her; and I believe her -having been displaced from that sphere has introduced confusion into -the world. It is, therefore, of vast importance to herself and to -all the rational creation, that she should ascertain what are her -duties and her privileges as a responsible and immortal being.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> The -New Testament has been referred to, and I am willing to abide by its -decisions, but must enter my protest against the false translation of -some passages by the <span class="allsmcap">MEN</span> who did that work, and against the -perverted interpretation by the <span class="allsmcap">MEN</span> who undertook to write -commentaries thereon. I am inclined to think, when we are admitted to -the honor of studying Greek and Hebrew, we shall produce some various -readings of the Bible a little different from those we now have.</p> - -<p>The Lord Jesus defines the duties of his followers in his Sermon on the -Mount. He lays down grand principles by which they should be governed, -without any reference to sex or condition:—‘Ye are the light of the -world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light -a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth -light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before -men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which -is in Heaven.’ I follow him through all his precepts, and find him -giving the same directions to women as to men, never even referring -to the distinction now so strenuously insisted upon between masculine -and feminine virtues: this is one of the anti-christian ‘traditions of -men’ which are taught instead of the ‘commandments of God.’ Men and -women were <span class="allsmcap">CREATED EQUAL</span>; they are both moral and accountable -beings, and whatever is <i>right</i> for man to do, is <i>right</i> for -woman.</p> - -<p>But the influence of woman, says the Association, is to be private -and unobtrusive; her light is not to shine before man like that of -her brethren; but she is passively to let the lords<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span> of the creation, -as they call themselves, put the bushel over it, lest peradventure -it might appear that the world has been benefitted by the rays of -<i>her</i> candle. So that her quenched light, according to their -judgment, will be of more use than if it were set on the candlestick. -‘Her influence is the source of mighty power.’ This has ever been the -flattering language of man since he laid aside the whip as a means to -keep woman in subjection. He spares her body; but the war he has waged -against her mind, her heart, and her soul, has been no less destructive -to her as a moral being. How monstrous, how anti-christian, is the -doctrine that woman is to be dependent on man! Where, in all the sacred -Scriptures, is this taught? Alas! she has too well learned the lesson -which <span class="allsmcap">MAN</span> has labored to teach her. She has surrendered her -dearest <span class="allsmcap">RIGHTS</span>, and been satisfied with the privileges which -man has assumed to grant her; she has been amused with the show of -power, whilst man has absorbed all the reality into himself. He has -adorned the creature whom God gave him as a companion, with baubles -and gewgaws, turned her attention to personal attractions, offered -incense to her vanity, and made her the instrument of his selfish -gratification, a play-thing to please his eye and amuse his hours of -leisure. ‘Rule by obedience and by submission sway,’ or in other words, -study to be a hypocrite, pretend to submit, but gain your point, has -been the code of household morality which woman has been taught. The -poet has sung, in sickly strains, the loveliness of woman’s dependence -upon man, and now we find it re-echoed by those who profess to teach -the religion of the Bible. God says, ‘Cease ye from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span> man whose breath -is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?’ Man says, -depend upon me. God says, ‘HE will teach us of his ways.’ Man says, -believe it not, I am to be your teacher. This doctrine of dependence -upon man is utterly at variance with the doctrine of the Bible. In -that book I find nothing like the softness of woman, nor the sternness -of man: both are equally commanded to bring forth the fruits of the -Spirit, love, meekness, gentleness, &c.</p> - -<p>But we are told, ‘the power of woman is in her dependence, flowing -from a consciousness of that weakness which God has given her for her -protection.’ If physical weakness is alluded to, I cheerfully concede -the superiority; if brute force is what my brethren are claiming, I am -willing to let them have all the honor they desire; but if they mean -to intimate, that mental or moral weakness belongs to woman, more than -to man, I utterly disclaim the charge. Our powers of mind have been -crushed, as far as man could do it, our sense of morality has been -impaired by his interpretation of our duties; but no where does God -say that he made any distinction between us, as moral and intelligent -beings.</p> - -<p>‘We appreciate,’ say the Association, ‘the <i>unostentatious</i> -prayers and efforts of woman in advancing the cause of religion at -home and abroad, in leading religious inquirers <span class="allsmcap">TO THE PASTOR</span> -for instruction.’ Several points here demand attention. If public -prayers and public efforts are necessarily ostentatious, then ‘Anna the -prophetess, (or preacher,) who departed not from the temple, but served -God with fastings and prayers night and day,’ ‘and spake of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> Christ to -all them that looked for redemption in Israel,’ was ostentatious in her -efforts. Then, the apostle Paul encourages women to be ostentatious in -their efforts to spread the gospel, when he gives them directions how -they should appear, when engaged in praying, or preaching in the public -assemblies. Then, the whole association of Congregational ministers are -ostentatious, in the efforts they are making in preaching and praying -to convert souls.</p> - -<p>But woman may be permitted to lead religious inquirers to the -<span class="allsmcap">PASTORS</span> for instruction. Now this is assuming that all pastors -are better qualified to give instruction than woman. This I utterly -deny. I have suffered too keenly from the teaching of man, to lead any -one to him for instruction. The Lord Jesus says,—‘Come unto me and -learn of me.’ He points his followers to no man; and when woman is made -the favored instrument of rousing a sinner to his lost and helpless -condition, she has no right to substitute any teacher for Christ; all -she has to do is, to turn the contrite inquirer to the ‘Lamb of God -which taketh away the sins of the world.’ More souls have probably -been lost by going down to Egypt for help, and by trusting in man in -the early stages of religious experience, than by any other error. -Instead of the petition being offered to God,—‘Lead me in thy truth, -and <span class="allsmcap">TEACH</span> me, for thou art the God of my salvation,’—instead -of relying on the precious promises—‘What man is he that feareth the -Lord? him shall <span class="allsmcap">HE TEACH</span> in the way that he shall choose’—‘I -will instruct thee and <span class="allsmcap">TEACH</span> thee in the way which thou shalt -go—I will guide thee with mine eye’—the young convert is directed to -go to man, as if he were<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> in the place of God, and his instructions -essential to an advancement in the path of righteousness. That woman -can have but a poor conception of the privilege of being taught of -God, what he alone can teach, who would turn the ‘religious inquirer -aside’ from the fountain of living waters, where he might slake his -thirst for spiritual instruction, to those broken cisterns which can -hold no water, and therefore cannot satisfy the panting spirit. The -business of men and women, who are <span class="smcap">ordained of God</span> to preach -the unsearchable riches of Christ to a lost and perishing world, is to -lead souls to Christ, and not to Pastors for instruction.</p> - -<p>The General Association say, that ‘when woman assumes the place and -tone of man as a public reformer, our care and protection of her seem -unnecessary; we put ourselves in self-defence against her, and her -character becomes unnatural.’ Here again the unscriptural notion is -held up, that there is a distinction between the duties of men and -women as moral beings; that what is virtue in man, is vice in woman; -and women who dare to obey the command of Jehovah, ‘Cry aloud, spare -not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their -transgression,’ are threatened with having the protection of the -brethren withdrawn. If this is all they do, we shall not even know -the time when our chastisement is inflicted; our trust is in the Lord -Jehovah, and in him is ever-lasting strength. The motto of woman, when -she is engaged in the great work of public reformation should be,—‘The -Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the -strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ She must feel, if she -feels rightly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> that she is fulfilling one of the important duties -laid upon her as an accountable being, and that her character, instead -of being ‘unnatural,’ is in exact accordance with the will of Him to -whom, and to no other, she is responsible for the talents and the gifts -confided to her. As to the pretty simile, introduced into the ‘Pastoral -Letter,’ ‘If the vine whose strength and beauty is to lean upon the -trellis work, and half conceal its clusters, thinks to assume the -independence and the overshadowing nature of the elm,’ &c. I shall only -remark that it might well suit the poet’s fancy, who sings of sparkling -eyes and coral lips, and knights in armor clad; but it seems to me -utterly inconsistent with the dignity of a Christian body, to endeavor -to draw such an anti-scriptural distinction between men and women. Ah! -how many of my sex feel in the dominion, thus unrighteously exercised -over them, under the gentle appellation of <i>protection</i>, that what -they have leaned upon has proved a broken reed at best, and oft a spear.</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_IV">LETTER IV.<br><span class="small">SOCIAL INTERCOURSE OF THE SEXES.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Andover, 7th Mo. 27th, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Friend</span>,—Before I proceed with the account of that -oppression which woman has suffered in every age and country from her -<i>protector</i>, man, permit me to offer for your consideration, some -views relative to the social intercourse of the sexes. Nearly the whole -of this intercourse is, in my apprehension, derogatory to man and -woman, as moral and intellectual beings. We approach each other, and -mingle with each other, under the constant pressure of a feeling that -we are of different sexes; and, instead of regarding each other only -in the light of immortal creatures, the mind is fettered by the idea -which is early and industriously infused into it, that we must never -forget the distinction between male and female. Hence our intercourse, -instead of being elevated and refined, is generally calculated to -excite and keep alive the lowest propensities of our nature. Nothing, -I believe, has tended more to destroy the true dignity of woman, than -the fact that she is approached by man in the character of a female. -The idea that she is sought as an intelligent and heaven-born creature, -whose society<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> will cheer, refine and elevate her companion, and that -she will receive the same blessings she confers, is rarely held up -to her view. On the contrary, man almost always addresses himself to -the weakness of woman. By flattery, by an appeal to her passions, he -seeks access to her heart; and when he has gained her affections, -he uses her as the instrument of his pleasure—the minister of his -temporal comfort. He furnishes himself with a housekeeper, whose chief -business is in the kitchen, or the nursery. And whilst he goes abroad -and enjoys the means of improvement afforded by collision of intellect -with cultivated minds, his wife is condemned to draw nearly all her -instruction from books, if she has time to peruse them; and if not, -from her meditations, whilst engaged in those domestic duties, which -are necessary for the comfort of her lord and master.</p> - -<p>Surely no one who contemplates, with the eye of a Christian -philosopher, the design of God in the creation of woman, can believe -that she is now fulfilling that design. The literal translation of the -word ‘help-meet’ is a helper like unto himself; it is so rendered in -the Septuagint, and manifestly signifies a companion. Now I believe it -will be impossible for woman to fill the station assigned her by God, -until her brethren mingle with her as an equal, as a moral being; and -lose, in the dignity of her immortal nature, and in the fact of her -bearing like himself the image and superscription of her God, the idea -of her being a female. The apostle beautifully remarks, ‘As many of you -as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither -Jew nor Greek,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> there is neither bond nor free, there is neither -<i>male</i> nor <i>female</i>; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’ -Until our intercourse is purified by the forgetfulness of sex,—until -we rise above the present low and sordid views which entwine themselves -around our social and domestic interchange of sentiment and feelings, -we never can derive that benefit from each other’s society which it -is the design of our Creator that we should. Man has inflicted an -unspeakable injury upon woman, by holding up to her view her animal -nature, and placing in the back ground her moral and intellectual -being. Woman has inflicted an injury upon herself by submitting to be -thus regarded; and she is now called upon to rise from the station -where <i>man</i>, not God, has placed her, and claim those sacred and -inalienable rights, as a moral and responsible being, with which her -Creator has invested her.</p> - -<p>What but these views, so derogatory to the character of woman, could -have called forth the remark contained in the Pastoral Letter? -‘We especially deplore the intimate acquaintance and promiscuous -conversation of <i>females</i> with regard to things “which ought not -to be named,” by which that modesty and delicacy, which is the charm -of domestic life, and which constitutes the true influence of woman, -is consumed.’ How wonderful that the conceptions of man relative to -woman are so low, that he cannot perceive that she may converse on any -subject connected with the improvement of her species, without swerving -in the least from that modesty which is one of her greatest virtues! -Is it designed to insinuate that woman should possess a greater degree -of modesty than man?<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> This idea I utterly reprobate. Or is it supposed -that woman cannot go into scenes of misery, the necessary result of -those very things, which the Pastoral Letter says ought not to be -named, for the purpose of moral reform, without becoming contaminated -by those with whom she thus mingles?</p> - -<p>This is a false position; and I presume has grown out of the -never-forgotten distinction of male and female. The woman who goes -forth, clad in the panoply of God, to stem the tide of iniquity and -misery, which she beholds rolling through our land, goes not forth to -her labor of love as a female. She goes as the dignified messenger of -Jehovah, and all she does and says must be done and said irrespective -of sex. She is in duty bound to communicate with all, who are able and -willing to aid her in saving her fellow creatures, both men and women, -from that destruction which awaits them.</p> - -<p>So far from woman losing any thing of the purity of her mind, by -visiting the wretched victims of vice in their miserable abodes, by -talking with them, or of them, she becomes more and more elevated and -refined in her feelings and views. While laboring to cleanse the minds -of others from the malaria of moral pollution, her own heart becomes -purified, and her soul rises to nearer communion with her God. Such a -woman is infinitely better qualified to fulfil the duties of a wife and -a mother, than the woman whose <i>false delicacy</i> leads her to shun -her fallen sister and brother, and shrink from <i>naming those sins</i> -which she knows exist, but which she is too fastidious to labor by deed -and by word to exterminate. Such a woman feels when she enters upon the -marriage relation,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span> that God designed that relation not to debase her -to a level with the animal creation, but to increase the happiness and -dignity of his creatures. Such a woman comes to the important task of -training her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, with a -soul filled with the greatness of the beings committed to her charge. -She sees in her children, creatures bearing the image of God; and she -approaches them with reverence, and treats them at all times as moral -and accountable beings. Her own mind being purified and elevated, she -instils into her children that genuine religion which induces them to -keep the commandments of God. Instead of ministering with ceaseless -care to their sensual appetites, she teaches them to be temperate in -all things. She can converse with her children on any subject relating -to their duty to God, can point their attention to those vices which -degrade and brutify human nature, without in the least defiling her -own mind or theirs. She views herself, and teaches her children to -regard themselves as moral beings; and in all their intercourse with -their fellow men, to lose the animal nature of man and woman, in the -recognition of that immortal mind wherewith Jehovah has blessed and -enriched them.</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_V">LETTER V.<br><span class="small">CONDITION IN ASIA AND AFRICA.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Groton, 8th Mo. 4th, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—I design to devote this letter to a brief -examination of the condition of women in Asia and Africa. I believe it -will be found that men, in the exercise of their usurped dominion over -woman, have almost invariably done one of two things. They have either -made slaves of the creatures whom God designed to be their companions -and their coadjutors in every moral and intellectual improvement, or -they have dressed them like dolls, and used them as toys to amuse their -hours of recreation.</p> - -<p>I shall commence by stating the degrading practice of SELLING WOMEN, -which we find prevalent in almost all the Eastern nations.</p> - -<p>Among the Jews,—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Whoever wished for a wife must pay the parents for her, or perform -a stipulated period of service; sometimes the parties were solemnly -betrothed in childhood, and the price of the bride stipulated.’</p> -</div> - -<p>In Babylon, they had a yearly custom of a peculiar kind.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘In every district, three men, respectable for their virtue, were -chosen to conduct all the marriageable girls to the public assembly. -Here they were put up at auction by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> public crier, while the -magistrate presided over the sales. The most beautiful were sold -first, and the rich contended eagerly for a choice. The most ugly, -or deformed girl was sold next in succession to the handsomest, and -assigned to any person who would take her with the least sum of money. -The price given for the beautiful was divided into dowries for the -homely.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Two things may here be noticed; first, the value set upon personal -charms, just as a handsome horse commands a high price; and second, the -utter disregard which is manifested towards the feelings of woman.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘In no part of the world does the condition of women appear more -dreary than in Hindostan. The arbitrary power of a father disposes -of them in childhood. When they are married, their husbands have -despotic control over them; if unable to support them, they can lend -or sell them to a neighbor, and in the Hindoo rage for gambling, wives -and children are frequently staked and lost. If they survive their -husbands, they must pay implicit obedience to the oldest son; if they -have no sons, the nearest male relation holds them in subjection; and -if there happen to be no kinsmen, they must be dependent on the chief -of the tribe.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Even the English, who are numerous in Hindostan, have traded in women.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘India has been a great marriage market, on account of the emigration -of young enterprising Englishmen, without a corresponding number -of women. Some persons actually imported women to the British -settlements, in order to sell them to rich Europeans, or nabobs, who -would give a good price for them. How the importers acquired a right -thus to dispose of them is not mentioned; it is probable that the -women themselves, from extreme poverty, or some other cause, consented -to become articles of speculation, upon consideration of receiving a -certain remuneration. In September, 1818, the following advertisement -appeared in the Calcutta Advertiser:</p> - -<p class="center">FEMALES RAFFLED FOR.</p> - -<p>Be it known, that six fair pretty young ladies, with two sweet -engaging children, lately imported from Europe, having the roses of -health blooming on their cheeks, and joy sparkling in their eyes, -possessing amiable tempers and highly accomplished, whom the most -indifferent cannot behold without rapture, are to be raffled for next -door to the British gallery.’</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span></p> - -<p>The enemy of all good could not have devised a better means of debasing -an immortal creature, than by turning her into a saleable commodity; -and hence we find that wherever this custom prevails, woman is regarded -as a mere machine to answer the purposes of domestic combat or sensual -indulgence, or to gratify the taste of her oppressor by a display of -personal attractions.</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">‘Weighed in the balance with a tyrant’s gold,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Though nature cast her in a heavenly mould.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>I shall now take a brief survey of the <span class="allsmcap">EMPLOYMENTS</span> of women in -Asia and Africa. In doing this, I have two objects in view; first to -show, that women are capable of acquiring as great physical power as -men, and secondly to show, that they have been more or less the victims -of oppression and contempt.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘The occupations of the ancient Jewish women were laborious. They -spent their time in spinning and weaving cloth for garments, and for -the covering of the tents, in cooking the food, tending the flocks, -grinding the corn, and drawing water from the wells.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Of Trojan women we know little, but we find that—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Andromache, though a princess and well beloved by her husband, fed -and took care of the horses of Hector.’</p> -</div> - -<p>So in Persia, women of the middling class see that proper care is taken -of the horses. They likewise do all the laborious part of the house -work.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘The Hindoo women are engaged in every variety of occupation, -according to the caste of their husbands. They cultivate the land, -make baskets and mats, bring water in jars, carry manure and various -other articles to market in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> baskets on their heads, cook food, tend -children, weave cloth, reel thread and wind cocoons.’</p> - -<p>‘The Thibetian women of the laboring classes are inured to a great -deal of toil. They plant, weed, reap, and thresh grain, and are -exposed to the roughest weather, while their indolent husbands are -perhaps living at their ease.’</p> - -<p>‘Females of the lower classes among the Chinese endure as much labor -and fatigue as the men. A wife sometimes drags the plough in rice -fields with an infant tied upon her back, while her husband performs -the less arduous task of holding the plough.’</p> - -<p>‘The Tartar women in general perform a greater share of labor than the -men; for it is a prevalent opinion that they were sent into the world -for no other purpose, but to be useful and convenient <span class="allsmcap">SLAVES</span> -to the stronger sex.’ ‘Among some of the Tartar tribes of the present -day, females manage a horse, hurl a javelin, hunt wild animals, and -fight an enemy as well as the men.’</p> - -<p>‘In the island of Sumatra, the women do all the work, while their -husbands lounge in idleness, playing on the flute, with wreaths of -globe amaranth on their heads, or racing with each other, without -saddle or stirrup, or hunting deer, or gambling away their wives, -their children, or themselves. The Battas consider their wives and -children as slaves, and sell them whenever they choose.’</p> - -<p>‘The Moors are indolent to excess. They lie whole days upon their -mats, sleeping and smoking, while the women and slaves perform all the -labor. Owing to their uncleanly habits, they are much infested with -vermin; and as they consider it beneath their dignity to remove this -annoyance, the task is imposed on the women. They are very impatient -and tyrannical, and for the slightest offence beat their wives most -cruelly.’</p> -</div> - -<p>In looking over the condition of woman as delineated in this letter, -how amply do we find the prophecy of Jehovah to Eve fulfilled, ‘Thy -husband will rule over thee.’ And yet we perceive that where the -physical strength of woman is called into exercise, there is no -inferiority even in this respect; she performs the labor, while man -enjoys what are termed the pleasures of life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span></p> - -<p>I have thought it necessary to adduce various proofs of my assertion, -that men have always in some way regarded women as mere instruments of -selfish gratification; and hope this sorrowful detail of the wrongs of -woman will not be tedious to thee.</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_VI">LETTER VI.<br><span class="small">WOMEN IN ASIA AND AFRICA.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Groton, 8th Mo. 15th, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Friend</span>,—In pursuing the history of woman in different -ages and countries, it will be necessary to exhibit her in all the -various situations in which she has been placed.</p> - -<p>We find her sometimes <i>filling the throne</i>, and exercising the -functions of royalty. The name of Semiramis is familiar to every -reader of ancient history. She succeeded Ninus in the government of -the Assyrian empire; and to render her name immortal, built the city -of Babylon. Two millions of men were constantly employed upon it. -Certain dykes built by order of this queen, to defend the city from -inundations, are spoken of as admirable.</p> - -<p>Nicotris, wife of Nabonadius, the Evil-Merodach of Scripture, was a -woman of great endowments. While her husband indulged in a life of ease -and pleasure, she managed the affairs of state with wisdom and prudence.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Zenobia queen of Palmyra and the East, is the most remarkable -among Asiatic women. Her genius struggled with and overcame all the -obstacles presented by oriental laws and customs. She knew the Latin, -Greek, Syriac, and Egyptian languages; and had drawn up for her own -use an abridgement of oriental history. She was the companion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span> and -friend of her husband, and accompanied him on his hunting excursions -with eagerness and courage equal to his own. She despised the -effeminacy of a covered carriage, and often appeared on horseback in -military costume. Sometimes she marched several miles on foot, at the -head of the troops. Having revenged the murder of her husband, she -ascended the throne, and for five years governed Palmyra, Syria, and -the East, with wonderful steadiness and wisdom.’</p> - -<p>‘Previous to the introduction of Mohammedism into Java, women often -held the highest offices of government; and when the chief of a -district dies, it is even now not uncommon for the widow to retain the -authority that belonged to her deceased husband.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Other instances might be adduced to prove that there is no natural -inferiority in woman. Not that I approve of woman’s holding the reins -of government over man. I maintain that they are equal, and that God -never invested fallen man with unlimited power over his fellow man; -and I rejoice that circumstances have prevented woman from being more -deeply involved in the guilt which appears to be inseparable from -political affairs. The few instances which I have mentioned prove -that intellect is not sexed; and doubtless if woman had not almost -universally been depressed and degraded, the page of history would have -exhibited as many eminent statesmen and politicians among women as -men. We are much in the situation of the slave. Man has asserted and -assumed authority over us. He has, by virtue of his power, deprived -us of the advantages of improvement which he has lavishly bestowed -upon himself, and then, after having done all he can to take from -us the means of proving our equality, and our capability of mental -cultivation, he throws upon us the burden of proof that God created man -and woman equal, and endowed them, without any reference to sex, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span> -intelligence and responsibilities, as rational and accountable beings. -Hence in Hindostan, even women of the higher classes are forbidden to -read or write; because the Hindoos think it would inevitably spoil -them for domestic life, and assuredly bring some great misfortune upon -them. May we not trace to the same feeling, the disadvantages under -which women labor even in this country, for want of an education, which -would call into exercise the powers of her mind, and fortify her soul -with those great moral principles by which she would be qualified to -fill <i>every</i> department in <i>social</i>, <i>domestic</i> and -<i>religious</i> life with dignity?</p> - -<p>In Hindostan, the evidence of women is not received in a court of -justice.</p> - -<p>In Burmah, their testimony is not deemed equal to that of a man, and -they are not allowed to ascend the steps of a court of justice, but are -obliged to give their testimony outside of the building.</p> - -<p>In Siberia, women are not allowed to step across the foot-prints of -men, or reindeer; they are not allowed to eat with men, or to partake -of particular dainties. Among many tribes, they seem to be regarded as -impure, unholy beings.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘The Mohammedan law forbids pigs, dogs, women and other impure animals -to enter a mosque; and the hour of prayers must not be proclaimed by a -female, a madman, a drunkard, or a decrepit person.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Here I am reminded of the resemblance between the situation of women in -heathen and Mohammedan countries, and our brethren and sisters of color -in this Christian land, where<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> they are despised and cast out as though -they were unclean. And on precisely the same ground, because they are -said to be inferior.</p> - -<p>The treatment of women as wives is almost uniformly the same in all -heathen countries.</p> - -<p>The ancient Lydians are the only exception that I have met with, and -the origin of their peculiar customs is so much obscured by fable, that -it is difficult to ascertain the truth. Probably they arose from some -great benefit conferred on the state by women.</p> - -<p>Among the Druses who reside in the mountains of the Anti Libanus, -a wife is often divorced on the slightest pretext. If she ask her -husband’s permission to go out, and he says,—‘Go,’ without adding ‘but -come back again,’ she is divorced.</p> - -<p>In Siberia, it is considered a wife’s duty to obey the most capricious -and unreasonable demands of her husband, without one word of -expostulation or inquiry. If her master be dissatisfied with the most -trifling particular in her conduct, he tears the cap or veil from her -head, and this constitutes a divorce.</p> - -<p>A Persian woman, under the dominion of the kindest master, is treated -much in the same manner as a favorite animal. To vary her personal -graces for his pleasure, is the sole end and aim of her existence. -As moral or intellectual beings, it would be better for them to be -among the dead than the living. The mother instructs her daughter in -all the voluptuous coquetry, by which she herself acquired precarious -ascendency over her absolute master; but all that is truly estimable in -female character is utterly neglected.</p> - -<p>Hence we find women extravagantly fond of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> adorning their persons. -Regarded as instruments of pleasure, they have been degraded into mere -animals, and have found their own gratification principally in the -indulgence of personal vanity, because their external charms procured -for them, at least a temporary ascendency over those, who held in their -hands the reins of government. A few instances must suffice, or I shall -exceed the limits I have prescribed to myself in this letter.</p> - -<p>During the magnificent prosperity of Israel, marriages were conducted -with great pomp; and with the progress of luxury and refinement, women -became expensive, rather than profitable in a pecuniary point of view. -Hence probably arose the custom of wealthy parents giving a handsome -dowry with their daughters. On the day of the nuptials, the bride was -conducted by her female relations to the bath, where she was anointed -with the choicest perfumes, her hair perfumed and braided, her eyebrows -deepened with black powder, and the tips of her fingers tinged with -rose color. She was then arrayed in a marriage robe of brilliant color; -the girdle and bracelets were more or less costly.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the Chinese women have no opportunity to rival each -other in the conquest of hearts, they are nevertheless very fond of -ornaments. Bunches of silver or gilt flowers are always interspersed -among their ringlets, and sometimes they wear the Chinese phœnix made -of silver gilt. It moves with the slightest motion of the wearer, -and the spreading tail forms a glittering aigrette on the middle of -the head, and the wings wave over the front. Yet a Chinese ballad -says,—The pearls and precious stones, the silk and gold with which -a coquette<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> so studiously bedecks herself, are a transparent varnish -which makes all her defects the more apparent.</p> - -<p>The Moorish women have generally a great passion for ornament. They -decorate their persons with heavy gold ear-rings, necklaces of amber, -coral and gold; gold bracelets; gold chains and silver bells for the -ankles; rings on the fingers, &c. &c. The poorer class wear glass beads -around the head, and curl the hair in large ringlets. Men are proud of -having their wives handsomely dressed.</p> - -<p>The Moors are not peculiar in this fancy. Christian men still admire -women who adorn their persons to gratify the lust of the eye and the -pride of life. Women, says a Brahminical expositor, are characterized -by an inordinate love of jewels, fine clothes, &c. &c. I cannot deny -this charge, but it is only one among many instances, wherein men -have reproached us with those very faults and vices which their own -treatment has engendered. Is it any matter of surprise that women, -when unnaturally deprived of the means of cultivating their minds, of -objects which would elevate and refine their passions and affections, -should seek gratification in the toys and the trifles which now too -generally engage their attention?</p> - -<p>I cannot close this, without acknowledging the assistance and -information I have derived, and shall continue to derive on this part -of my subject, from a valuable work entitled ‘Condition of Women, by -Lydia M. Child.’ It is worth the perusal of every one who is interested -in the subject.</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_VII">LETTER VII.<br><span class="small">CONDITION IN SOME PARTS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Brookline, 8th Mo., 22d, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sister</span>,—I now come to the consideration of the condition -of woman in Europe.—In this portion of the world, she does not -appear to have been as uniformly or as deeply debased, as in Eastern -countries; yet we shall find little in her history which can yield -us satisfaction, when we regard the high station she was designed to -occupy as a <i>moral and intellectual</i> being.</p> - -<p>In Greece, if we may judge from what Eustathius says, ‘women should -keep within doors, and there talk,’—we may conclude, that in general -their occupations were chiefly domestic. Thucydides also declares, that -‘she was the best woman, of whom the least was said, either of good or -of harm.’ The heathen philosophers doubtless wished to keep woman in -her ‘<i>appropriate sphere</i>;’ and we find our clerical brethren of -the present day re-echoing these pagan sentiments, and endeavoring to -drive woman from the field of moral labor and intellectual culture, -to occupy her talents in the pursuit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span> of those employments which will -enable her to regale the palate of her lord with the delicacies of the -table, and in every possible way minister to his animal comfort and -gratification. In my humble opinion, woman has long enough subserved -the interests of man; and in the spirit of self-sacrifice, submitted -almost without remonstrance to his oppression; and now that her -attention is solicited to the subject of her rights, her privileges -and her duties, I would entreat her to double her diligence in the -performance of all her obligations as a <i>wife</i>, a <i>mother</i>, a -<i>sister</i>, and a <i>daughter</i>. Let us remember that our claim to -stand on perfect equality with our brethren, can only be substantiated -by a scrupulous attention to our domestic duties, as well as by aiding -in the great work of moral reformation—a work which is now calling -for the energies and consecrated powers of every man and woman who -desires to see the Redeemer’s kingdom established on earth. That man -must indeed be narrow minded, and can have but a poor conception of the -power of moral truth on the female heart, who supposes that a correct -view of her own rights can make woman <i>less solicitous to fill up -every department of duty</i>. If it should have this effect, it must be -because she has not taken a comprehensive view of the whole subject.</p> - -<p>In the history of Rome, we find a little spot of sunshine in the -valley where woman has been destined to live, unable from her lowly -situation to take an expansive view of that field of moral and mental -improvement, which she should have been busy in cultivating.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘In the earliest and best days of Rome, the first magistrates and -generals of armies ploughed their own fields, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> threshed their own -grain. Integrity, industry and simplicity, were the prevailing virtues -of the times; and the character of woman was, as it always must be, -graduated in a degree by that of man. Columella says, Roman husbands, -having completed the labors of the day, entered their houses free -from all care, and there enjoyed perfect repose. There reigned union -and concord and industry, supported by mutual affections. The most -beautiful woman depended for distinction on her economy and endeavors -to assist in crowning her husband’s diligence with prosperity. All was -in common between them; nothing was thought to belong more to one than -another. The wife by her assiduity and activity within doors, equalled -and seconded the industry and labor of her husband.’</p> -</div> - -<p>In the then state of the world, we may conclude from this description, -that woman enjoyed as much happiness as was consistent with that -comparatively unimproved condition of our species; but now a new and -vast sphere of usefulness is opened to her, and she is pressed by -surrounding circumstances to come up to the help of the Lord against -the giant sins which desolate our beloved country. Shall woman shrink -from duty in this exigency, and retiring within her own domestic -circle, delight herself in the abundance of her own selfish enjoyments? -Shall she rejoice in her home, her husband, her children, and forget -her brethren and sisters in bondage, who know not what it is to call a -spot of earth their own, whose husbands and wives are torn from them -by relentless tyrants, and whose children are snatched from their arms -by their unfeeling task-masters, whenever interest, or convenience, -tempts them to this sacrilegious act? Shall woman disregard the -situation of thousands of her fellow creatures, who are the victims of -intemperance and licentiousness, and retreating to the privacy of her -own comfortable home, be satisfied that her whole duty is performed, -when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> she can exhibit ‘her children well clad and smiling, and her -table neatly spread with wholesome provisions?’ Shall she, because -‘her house is her <i>home</i>,’ refuse her aid and her sympathy to -the down trodden slave, to the poor unhappy outcasts who are deprived -of those blessings which she so highly prizes? Did God give her those -blessings to steel her heart to the sufferings of her fellow creatures? -Did he grant her the possession of husband and children, to dry up -the fountains of feeling for those who know not the consolations of -tenderness and reciprocal affection? Ah no! for every such blessing, -God demands a grateful heart; and woman must be recreant to her duty, -if she can quietly sit down in the enjoyments of her own domestic -circle, and not exert herself to procure the same happiness for others.</p> - -<p>But it is said woman has a mighty weapon in secret prayer. She has, -I acknowledge, <i>in common with man</i>; but the woman who prays in -sincerity for the regeneration of this guilty world, will accompany -her prayers by her labors. A friend of mine remarked—‘I was sitting -in my chamber, weeping over the miseries of the slave, and putting up -my petitions for his deliverance from bondage; when in the midst of my -meditations, it occurred to me that my tears, unaided by effort, could -never melt the chain of the slave. I must be up and doing.’ She is now -an active abolitionist—her prayers and her works go hand in hand.</p> - -<p>I am here reminded of what a slave once said to his master, a Methodist -minister. The slaveholder inquired, ‘How did you like my<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> sermon -to-day?’ ‘Very good, master, but it did not preach me free.’</p> - -<p>Oh, my sisters, suffer me to entreat you to assert your privileges, and -to perform your duties as moral beings. Be not dismayed at the ridicule -of man; it is a weapon worthy only of little minds, and is employed by -those who feel that they cannot convince our judgment. Be not alarmed -at contumely, or scorn; we must expect this. I pray that we may meet -it with forbearance and love; and that nothing may drive us from the -performance of our high and holy duties. Let us ‘cease from man, whose -breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?’ and -press forward in all the great moral enterprises of the age, leaning -<i>only</i> on the arm of our Beloved.</p> - -<p>But I must return to the subject I commenced with, viz. the condition -of woman in Europe.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘The northern nations bore a general resemblance to each other. War -and hunting were considered the only honorable occupations for men, -and all other employments were left to women and slaves. Even the -Visigoths, on the coasts of Spain, left their fields and flocks to -the care of women. The people who inhabit the vast extent of country -between the Black sea and the North sea, are divided into various -distinct races. The women are generally very industrious; even in -their walks, they carry a portable distaff, and spin every step of the -way. Both Croatian and Walachian women perform all the agricultural -operations in addition to their own domestic concerns.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Speaking of the Morlachian women, M. Fortis says, ‘Being treated like -beasts of burden, and expected to endure submissively every species -of hardship, they naturally become very dirty and careless in their -habits.’</p> - -<p>The Cossack women afford a contrast to this disgusting picture. -They are very cleanly and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> industrious, and in the absence of their -husbands, supply their places by taking charge of all their usual -occupations, in addition to their own. It is rare for a Cossack woman -not to know some trade, such as dyeing cloth, tanning leather, &c.</p> - -<p>The condition of Polish and Russian serfs in modern times is about -the same. The Polish women have scarcely clothing enough for decency, -and they are subjected to great hardships and privations. ‘In Russia, -women have been seen paving the streets, and performing other similar -drudgery. In Finland, they work like beasts of burden, and may be -seen for hours in snow water, up to the middle, tugging at boats and -sledges.’</p> - -<p>In Flanders and in France, women are engaged in performing laborious -tasks; and even in England, it is not unusual to see them scraping up -manure from the streets with their hands, and gathering it into baskets.</p> - -<p>In Greece, even now the women plough and carry heavy burdens, while the -lordly master of the family may be seen walking before them without any -incumbrance.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span></p> - -<p>Generally speaking, however, there is much more comparative equality of -labor between the sexes in Europe than among the Orientals.</p> - -<p>I shall close this letter with a brief survey of the condition of women -among the Aborigines of America.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Before America was settled by Europeans, it was inhabited by Indian -tribes, which greatly resembled each other in the treatment of their -women. Every thing, except war and hunting, was considered beneath the -dignity of man.—During long and wearisome marches, women were obliged -to carry children, provisions and hammocks on their shoulders; they -had the sole care of the horses and dogs, cut wood, pitched the tents, -raised the corn, and made the clothing. When the husband killed game, -he left it by a tree in the forest, returned home, and sent his wife -several miles in search of it. In most of the tribes, women were not -allowed to eat and drink with men, but stood and served them, and then -ate what they left.’</p> -</div> - -<p>The following affecting anecdote may give some idea of the sufferings -of these women:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Father Joseph reproved a female savage for destroying her infant -daughter. She replied, “I wish my mother had thus prevented the -manifold sufferings I have endured. Consider, father, our deplorable -situation. Our husbands go out to hunt; we are dragged along with one -infant at our breast, and another in a basket. Though tired with long -walking, we are not allowed to sleep when we return, but must labor -all night in grinding maize and making chica for them.—They get drunk -and beat us, draw us by the hair of the head, and tread us under foot. -Would to God my mother had put me under ground the moment I was born.”’</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span></p> - -<p>In Greenland, the situation of woman is equally deplorable. The men -hunt bears and catch seals; but when they have towed their booty to -land, they would consider it a disgrace to help the women drag it home, -or skin and dress it. They often stand and look idly on, while their -wives are staggering beneath the load that almost bends them to the -earth. The women are cooks, butchers, masons, curriers, shoemakers and -tailors. They will manage a boat in the roughest seas, and will often -push off from the shore in the midst of a storm, that would make the -hardiest European sailor tremble.</p> - -<p>The page of history teems with woman’s wrongs, and it is wet with -woman’s tears.—For the sake of my degraded sex every where, and for -the sake of my brethren, who suffer just in proportion as they place -woman lower in the scale of creation than man, lower than her Creator -placed her, I entreat my sisters to arise in all the majesty of moral -power, in all the dignity of immortal beings, and plant themselves, -side by side, on the platform of human rights, with man, to whom they -were designed to be companions, equals and helpers in every good word -and work.</p> - -<p class="center">Thine in the bonds of womanhood</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Since the preceding letters were in type, I have met with -the following account in a French work entitled ‘De l’education des -meres de famille ou de la civilization du Genre Humain par les femmes,’ -printed at Brussels in 1837. ‘The periodicals have lately published -the following circumstance from the journal of an English physician, -who travelled in the East. He visited a slave market, where he saw -about twenty Greek women half naked, lying on the ground waiting for -a purchaser. One of them attracted the attention of an old Turk. The -barbarian examined her shoulders, her legs, her ears, her mouth, her -neck, with the minutest care, just as a horse is examined, and during -the inspection, the merchant praised the beauty of her eyes, the -elegance of her shape, and other perfections; he protested that the -poor girl was but thirteen years of age, &c. After a severe scrutiny -and some dispute about the price, she was sold body and soul for 1375 -francs. The soul, it is true, was accounted of little value in the -bargain. The unfortunate creature, half fainting in the arms of her -mother, implored help in the most touching accents, but it availed -nothing.—This infernal scene passed in Europe in 1829, only 600 -leagues from Paris and London, the two capitals of the human species, -and at the time in which I write, it is the living history of two -thirds of the inhabitants of the earth.’</p> - -</div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_VIII">LETTER VIII.<br><span class="small">ON THE CONDITION OF WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Brookline, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My dear Sister</span>,—I have now taken a brief survey of the -condition of woman in various parts of the world. I regret that my time -has been so much occupied by other things, that I have been unable to -bestow that attention upon the subject which it merits, and that my -constant change of place has prevented me from having access to books, -which might probably have assisted me in this part of my work. I hope -that the principles I have asserted will claim the attention of some of -my sex, who may be able to bring into view, more thoroughly than I have -done, the situation and degradation of woman. I shall now proceed to -make a few remarks on the condition of women in my own country.</p> - -<p>During the early part of my life, my lot was cast among the butterflies -of the <i>fashionable</i> world; and of this class of women, I am -constrained to say, both from experience and observation, that their -education is miserably deficient; that they are taught to regard -marriage as the one thing needful, the only avenue to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span> distinction; -hence to attract the notice and win the attentions of men, by their -external charms, is the chief business of fashionable girls. They -seldom think that men will be allured by intellectual acquirements, -because they find, that where any mental superiority exists, a woman -is generally shunned and regarded as stepping out of her ‘appropriate -sphere,’ which, in their view, is to dress, to dance, to set out to the -best possible advantage her person, to read the novels which inundate -the press, and which do more to destroy her character as a rational -creature, than any thing else. Fashionable women regard themselves, -and are regarded by men, as pretty toys or as mere instruments of -pleasure; and the vacuity of mind, the heartlessness, the frivolity -which is the necessary result of this false and debasing estimate of -women, can only be fully understood by those who have mingled in the -folly and wickedness of fashionable life; and who have been called from -such pursuits by the voice of the Lord Jesus, inviting their weary and -heavy laden souls to come unto Him and learn of Him, that they may -find something worthy of their immortal spirit, and their intellectual -powers; that they may learn the high and holy purposes of their -creation, and consecrate themselves unto the service of God; and not, -as is now the case, to the pleasure of man.</p> - -<p>There is another and much more numerous class in this country, who are -withdrawn by education or circumstances from the circle of fashionable -amusements, but who are brought up with the dangerous and absurd idea, -that <i>marriage</i> is a kind of preferment; and that to be able to -keep their husband’s house, and render<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> his situation comfortable, is -the end of her being. Much that she does and says and thinks is done -in reference to this situation; and to be married is too often held -up to the view of girls as the sine qua non of human happiness and -human existence. For this purpose more than for any other, I verily -believe the majority of girls are trained. This is demonstrated by -the imperfect education which is bestowed upon them, and the little -pains taken to cultivate their minds, after they leave school, by the -little time allowed them for reading, and by the idea being constantly -inculcated, that although all household concerns should be attended -to with scrupulous punctuality at particular seasons, the improvement -of their intellectual capacities is only a secondary consideration, -and may serve as an occupation to fill up the odds and ends of time. -In most families, it is considered a matter of far more consequence -to call a girl off from making a pie, or a pudding, than to interrupt -her whilst engaged in her studies. This mode of training necessarily -exalts, in their view, the animal above the intellectual and spiritual -nature, and teaches women to regard themselves as a kind of machinery, -necessary to keep the domestic engine in order, but of little value as -the <i>intelligent</i> companions of men.</p> - -<p>Let no one think, from these remarks, that I regard a knowledge -of housewifery as beneath the acquisition of women. Far from it: -I believe that a complete knowledge of household affairs is an -indispensable requisite in a woman’s education,—that by the mistress -of a family, whether married or single, doing her duty thoroughly and -<i>understandingly</i>, the happiness of the family is increased to -an incalculable degree, as well as a vast amount of time and money<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> -saved. All I complain of is, that our education consists so almost -exclusively in culinary and other manual operations. I do long to see -the time, when it will no longer be necessary for women to expend so -many precious hours in furnishing ‘a well spread table,’ but that their -husbands will forego some of their accustomed indulgences in this way, -and encourage their wives to devote some portion of their time to -mental cultivation, even at the expense of having to dine sometimes on -baked potatoes, or bread and butter.</p> - -<p>I believe the sentiment expressed by the author of ‘Live and let Live,’ -is true:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Other things being equal, a woman of the highest mental endowments -will always be the best housekeeper, for domestic economy, is a -science that brings into action the qualities of the mind, as well as -the graces of the heart. A quick perception, judgment, discrimination, -decision and order are high attributes of mind, and are all in daily -exercise in the well ordering of a family. If a sensible woman, an -intellectual woman, a woman of genius, is not a good housewife, it -is not because she is either, or all of those, but because there is -some deficiency in her character, or some omission of duty which -should make her very humble, instead of her indulging in any secret -self-complacency on account of a certain superiority, which only -aggravates her fault.’</p> -</div> - -<p>The influence of women over the minds and character of <i>children</i> -of both sexes, is allowed to be far greater than that of men. This -being the case by the very ordering of nature, women should be prepared -by education for the performance of their sacred duties as mothers and -as sisters. A late American writer,<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> speaking on this subject, says -in reference to an article in the Westminster Review:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘I agree entirely with the writer in the high estimate which he -places on female education, and have long since been satisfied, -that the subject not only merits, but <i>imperiously demands</i> -a thorough reconsideration. The whole scheme must, in my opinion, -be reconstructed. The great elements of usefulness and duty are -too little attended to. Women ought, in my view of the subject, -to approach to the best education now given to men, (I except -mathematics and the classics,) far more I believe than has ever yet -been attempted. Give me a host of educated, pious mothers and sisters, -and I will do more to revolutionize a country, in moral and religious -taste, in manners and in social virtues and intellectual cultivation, -than I can possibly do in double or treble the time, with a similar -host of educated men. I cannot but think that the miserable condition -of the great body of the people in all ancient communities, is to be -ascribed in a very great degree to the degradation of women.’</p> -</div> - -<p>There is another way in which the general opinion, that women are -inferior to men, is manifested, that bears with tremendous effect on -the laboring class, and indeed on almost all who are obliged to earn -a subsistence, whether it be by mental or physical exertion—I allude -to the disproportionate value set on the time and labor of men and -of women. A man who is engaged in teaching, can always, I believe, -command a higher price for tuition than a woman—even when he teaches -the same branches, and is not in any respect superior to the woman. -This I know is the case in boarding and other schools with which I -have been acquainted, and it is so in every occupation in which the -sexes engage indiscriminately. As for example, in tailoring, a man has -twice, or three times as much for making a waistcoat or pantaloons as -a woman, although the work done by each may be equally good. In those -employments which are peculiar to women, their time is estimated at -only half the value of that of men. A woman who goes out to wash, works -as hard in proportion as a wood sawyer, or a coal heaver, but she is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span> -not generally able to make more than half as much by a day’s work. The -low remuneration which women receive for their work, has claimed the -attention of a few philanthropists, and I hope it will continue to do -so until some remedy is applied for this enormous evil. I have known -a widow, left with four or five children, to provide for, unable to -leave home because her helpless babes demand her attention, compelled -to earn a scanty subsistence, by making coarse shirts at 12¹⁄₂ cents -a piece, or by taking in washing, for which she was paid by some -wealthy persons 12¹⁄₂ cents per dozen. All these things evince the -low estimation in which woman is held. There is yet another and more -disastrous consequence arising from this unscriptural notion—women -being educated, from earliest childhood, to regard themselves as -inferior creatures, have not that self-respect which conscious equality -would engender, and hence when their virtue is assailed, they yield to -temptation with facility, under the idea that it rather exalts than -debases them, to be connected with a superior being.</p> - -<p>There is another class of women in this country, to whom I cannot -refer, without feelings of the deepest shame and sorrow. I allude to -our female slaves. Our southern cities are whelmed beneath a tide -of pollution; the virtue of female slaves is wholly at the mercy of -irresponsible tyrants, and women are bought and sold in our slave -markets, to gratify the brutal lust of those who bear the name of -Christians. In our slave States, if amid all her degradation and -ignorance, a woman desires to preserve her virtue unsullied, she is -either bribed or whipped into compliance, or if she dares resist her -seducer,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> her life by the laws of some of the slave States may be, -and has actually been sacrificed to the fury of disappointed passion. -Where such laws do not exist, the power which is necessarily vested in -the master over his property, leaves the defenceless slave entirely -at his mercy, and the sufferings of some females on this account, -both physical and mental, are intense. Mr. Gholson, in the House of -Delegates of Virginia, in 1832, said, ‘He really had been under the -impression that he owned his slaves. He had lately purchased four women -and ten children, in whom he thought he had obtained a great bargain; -for he supposed they were his own property, <i>as were his brood -mares</i>.’ But even if any laws existed in the United States, as in -Athens formerly, for the protection of female slaves, they would be -null and void, because the evidence of a colored person is not admitted -against a white, in any of our Courts of Justice in the slave States. -‘In Athens, if a female slave had cause to complain of any want of -respect to the laws of modesty, she could seek the protection of the -temple, and demand a change of owners; and such appeals were never -discountenanced, or neglected by the magistrate.’ In Christian America, -the slave has no refuge from unbridled cruelty and lust.</p> - -<p>S. A. Forrall, speaking of the state of morals at the South, says, -‘Negresses when young and likely, are often employed by the planter, or -his friends, to administer to their sensual desires. This frequently is -a matter of speculation, for if the offspring, a mulatto, be a handsome -female, 800 or 1000 dollars may be obtained for her in the New Orleans -market. It is an occurrence of no uncommon nature to see a Christian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> -father sell his own daughter, and the brother his own sister.’ The -following is copied by the N. Y. Evening Star from the Picayune, a -paper published in New Orleans. ‘A very beautiful girl, belonging to -the estate of John French, a deceased gambler at New Orleans, was sold -a few days since for the round sum of $7,000. An ugly-looking bachelor -named Gouch, a member of the Council of one of the Principalities, was -the purchaser. The girl is a brunette; remarkable for her beauty and -intelligence, and there was considerable contention, who should be -the purchaser. She was, however, persuaded to accept Gouch, he having -made her princely promises.’ I will add but one more from the numerous -testimonies respecting the degradation of female slaves, and the -licentiousness of the South. It is from the Circular of the Kentucky -Union, for the moral and religious improvement of the colored race. -‘To the female character among our black population, we cannot allude -but with feelings of the bitterest shame. A similar condition of moral -pollution and utter disregard of a pure and virtuous reputation, is -to be found <i>only without the pale of Christendom</i>. That such a -state of society should exist in a Christian nation, claiming to be the -most enlightened upon earth, without calling forth any <i>particular -attention</i> to its existence, though ever before our eyes and <i>in -our</i> families, is a moral phenomenon at once unaccountable and -disgraceful.’ Nor does the colored woman suffer alone: the moral purity -of the white woman is deeply contaminated. In the daily habit of -seeing the virtue of her enslaved sister sacrificed without hesitancy -or remorse, she looks upon the crimes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> of seduction and illicit -intercourse without horror, and although not personally involved in -the guilt, she loses that value for innocence in her own, as well as -the other sex, which is one of the strongest safeguards to virtue. She -lives in habitual intercourse with men, whom she knows to be polluted -by licentiousness, and often is she compelled to witness in her own -domestic circle, those disgusting and heart-sickening jealousies -and strifes which disgraced and distracted the family of Abraham. -In addition to all this, the female slaves suffer every species of -degradation and cruelty, which the most wanton barbarity can inflict; -they are indecently divested of their clothing, sometimes tied up and -severely whipped, sometimes prostrated on the earth, while their naked -bodies are torn by the scorpion lash.</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">‘The whip on <span class="allsmcap">WOMAN’S</span> shrinking flesh!</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Our soil yet reddening with the stains</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Caught from her scourging warm and fresh.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>Can any American woman look at these scenes of shocking licentiousness -and cruelty, and fold her hands in apathy, and say, ‘I have nothing to -do with slavery’? <i>She cannot and be guiltless.</i></p> - -<p>I cannot close this letter, without saying a few words on the benefits -to be derived by men, as well as women, from the opinions I advocate -relative to the equality of the sexes. Many women are now supported, in -idleness and extravagance, by the industry of their husbands, fathers, -or brothers, who are compelled to toil out their existence, at the -counting house, or in the printing office, or some other laborious -occupation, while the wife and daughters and sisters take no part in -the support of the family, and appear to think that their sole business -is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> to spend the hard bought earnings of their male friends. I deeply -regret such a state of things, because I believe that if women felt -their responsibility, for the support of themselves, or their families -it would add strength and dignity to their characters, and teach -them more true sympathy for their husbands, than is now generally -manifested,—a sympathy which would be exhibited by actions as well as -words. Our brethren may reject my doctrine, because it runs counter -to common opinions, and because it wounds their pride; but I believe -they would be ‘partakers of the benefit’ resulting from the Equality of -the Sexes, and would find that woman, as their equal, was unspeakably -more valuable than woman as their inferior, both as a moral and an -intellectual being.</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Thomas S. Grimke.</p> - -</div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_IX">LETTER IX.<br><span class="small">HEROISM OF WOMEN—WOMEN IN AUTHORITY.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Brookline, 8th Mo. 25th, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—It seems necessary to glance at the conduct -of women under circumstances which place them in juxtaposition with -men, although I regard it as entirely unimportant in proving the moral -equality of the sexes; because I condemn, in both, the exercise of that -brute force which is as contrary to the law of God in men as in women; -still, as a part of our history, I shall notice some instances of -courage exhibited by females.</p> - -<p>‘Philippa, wife of Edward III., was the principal cause of the victory -gained over the Scots at Neville Cross. In the absence of her husband, -she rode among the troops, and exhorted them to “be of good courage.”’ -Jane, Countess of Mountfort, and a contemporary of Philippa, likewise -possessed a great share of physical courage. The history of Joan of -Arc is too familiar to need repetition. During the reign of James II. -a singular instance of female intrepidity occurred in Scotland. Sir -John Cochrane being condemned to be hung, his daughter twice disguised -herself, and robbed the mail that brought his death warrant. In<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> the -mean time, his pardon was obtained from the King. Instances might be -multiplied, but it is unnecessary. I shall therefore close these proofs -of female courage with one more fact. ‘During the revolutionary war, -the women shared in the patriotism and bravery of the men. Several -individuals carried their enthusiasm so far as to enter the army, where -they faced all the perils and fatigues of the camp, until the close of -the war.’</p> - -<p>When I view my countrywomen in the character of soldiers, or even -behold them loading fire arms and moulding bullets for their brethren -to destroy men’s lives, I cannot refrain a sigh. I cannot but contrast -their conduct at that solemn crisis with the conduct of those women -who followed their Lord and Master with unresisting submission, to -Calvary’s Mount. With the precepts and example of a crucified Redeemer, -who, in that sublime precept, ‘Resist not evil,’ has interdicted to his -disciples all war and all violence, and taught us that the spirit of -retaliation for injuries, whether in the camp, or at the fire-side, is -wholly at variance with the peaceful religion he came to promulgate. -How little do we comprehend that simple truth, ‘By this shall all men -know that ye are my disciples, if ye have <i>love one to another</i>.’</p> - -<p>Women have sometimes distinguished themselves in a way more consistent -with their duties as moral beings. During the war between the Romans -and the Sabines, the Sabine women who had been carried off by the -Romans, repaired to the Sabine camp, dressed in deep mourning, with -their little ones in their arms, to soften, if possible, the feelings -of their parents. They knelt at the feet of their relatives;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span> and -when Hersilia, the wife of Romulus, described the kindness of their -husbands, and their unwillingness to be separated from them, their -fathers yielded to their entreaties, and an alliance was soon agreed -upon. In consequence of this important service, peculiar privileges -were conferred on women by the Romans. Brutus said of his wife, ‘I -must not answer Portia in the words of Hector, “Mind your wheel, and -to your maids give law,” for in courage, activity and concern for her -country’s freedom, she is inferior to none of us.’ After the fatal -battle of Cannæ, the Roman women consecrated all their ornaments to the -service of the state. But when the triumvirs attempted to tax them for -the expenses of carrying on a civil war, they resisted the innovation. -They chose Hortensia for their speaker, and went in a body to the -market-place to expostulate with the magistrates. The triumvirs wished -to drive them away, but they were compelled to yield to the wishes of -the people, and give the women a hearing. Hortensia pleaded so well the -cause of her sisters, who resolved that they would not voluntarily aid -in a <i>civil war</i>, that the number of women taxed was reduced from -1400 to 400.</p> - -<p>In the wars of the Guelphs and the Ghibbelines, the emperor Conrad -refused all terms of capitulation to the garrison of Winnisberg, but -he granted the request of the women to pass out in safety with such of -their effects as they could carry themselves. Accordingly, they issued -from the besieged city, each bearing on her shoulders a husband, son, -father, or brother. They passed unmolested through the enemy’s camp, -which rung with acclamations of applause.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span></p> - -<p>During our struggle for independence, the women were as exemplary as -the men in various instances of self-denial: they refused every article -of decoration for their persons; foreign elegances were laid aside, and -they cheerfully abstained from luxuries for their tables.</p> - -<p>English history presents many instances of women exercising -prerogatives now denied them. In an action at law, it has been -determined that an unmarried woman, having a freehold, might vote for -members of Parliament; and it is recorded that lady Packington returned -two. Lady Broughton was keeper of the gatehouse prison. And in a much -later period, a woman was appointed governor of the house of correction -at Chelmsford, by order of the court. In the reign of George II. the -minister of Clerkenwell was chosen by a majority of women. The office -of grand chamberlain in 1822 was filled by two women; and that of clerk -of the crown, in the court of king’s bench, has been granted to a -female. The celebrated Anne, countess of Pembroke, held the hereditary -office of sheriff of Westmoreland, and exercised it in person, sitting -on the bench with the judges.</p> - -<p>I need hardly advert to the names of Elizabeth of England, Maria -Theresa of Germany, Catharine of Russia, and Isabella of Spain, to -prove that women are capable of swaying the sceptre of royalty. The -page of history proves incontestibly, not only that they are as well -qualified to do so as men, but that there has been a comparatively -greater proportion of good queens, than of good kings; women who have -purchased their celebrity by individual strength of character.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span></p> - -<p>I mention these women only to prove that intellect is not sexed; that -strength of mind is not sexed; and that our views about the duties of -men and the duties of women, the sphere of man and the sphere of woman, -are mere arbitrary opinions, differing in different ages and countries, -and dependant solely on the will and judgment of erring mortals.</p> - -<p>As moral and responsible beings, men and women have the same sphere of -action, and the same duties devolve upon both; but no one can doubt -that the duties of each vary according to circumstances; that a father -and a mother, a husband and a wife, have sacred obligations resting on -them, which cannot possibly belong to those who do not sustain these -relations. But these duties and responsibilities do not attach to them -as men and as women, but as parents, husbands, and wives.</p> - -<p class="center">Thine in the bonds of womanhood,</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_X">LETTER X.<br><span class="small">INTELLECT OF WOMAN.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Brookline, 8th Mo. 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—It will scarcely be denied, I presume, that, -as a general rule, men do not desire the improvement of women. There -are few instances of men who are magnanimous enough to be entirely -willing that women should know more than themselves, on any subjects -except dress and cookery; and, indeed, this necessarily flows from -their assumption of superiority. As <i>they</i> have determined that -Jehovah has placed woman on a lower platform than man, they of course -wish to keep her there; and hence the noble faculties of our minds are -crushed, and our reasoning powers are almost wholly uncultivated.</p> - -<p>A writer in the time of Charles I. says—‘She that knoweth how to -compound a pudding, is more desirable than she who skilfully compounded -a poem. A female poet I mislike at all times.’ Within the last century, -it has been gravely asserted that, ‘chemistry enough to keep the pot -boiling, and geography enough to know the location of the different -rooms in her house, is learning sufficient for a woman.’ Byron, who -was too sensual to conceive of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> pure and perfect companionship -between the sexes, would limit a woman’s library to a Bible and cookery -book. I have myself heard men, who knew for themselves the value of -intellectual culture, say they cared very little for a wife who could -not make a pudding, and smile with contempt at the ardent thirst for -knowledge exhibited by some women.</p> - -<p>But all this is miserable wit and worse philosophy. It exhibits that -passion for the gratification of a pampered appetite, which is beneath -those who claim to be so far above us, and may justly be placed on -a par with the policy of the slaveholder, who says that men will be -better slaves, if they are not permitted to learn to read.</p> - -<p>In spite, however, of the obstacles which impede the progress of women -towards that state of high mental cultivation for which her Creator -prepared her, the tendency towards the universal dissemination of -knowledge has had its influence on their destinies; and in all ages, a -few have surmounted every hindrance, and proved, beyond dispute, that -they have talents equal to their brethren.</p> - -<p>Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus, was distinguished for -virtue, learning and good sense. She wrote and spoke with uncommon -elegance and purity. Cicero and Quinctilian bestow high praise upon -her letters, and the eloquence of her children was attributed to -her careful superintendence. This reminds me of a remark made by my -brother, Thomas S. Grimke, when speaking of the importance of women -being well educated, that ‘educated men would never make educated -women, but educated women would make educated men.’<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> I believe the -sentiment is correct, because if the wealth of latent intellect among -women was fully evolved and improved, they would rejoice to communicate -to their sons all their own knowledge, and inspire them with desires to -drink from the fountain of literature.</p> - -<p>I pass over many interesting proofs of the intellectual powers of -women; but I must not omit glancing at the age of chivalry, which has -been compared to a golden thread running through the dark ages. During -this remarkable era, women who, before this period, had been subject to -every species of oppression and neglect, were suddenly elevated into -deities, and worshipped with a mad fanaticism. It is not improbable, -however, that even the absurdities of chivalry were beneficial to -women, as it raised them from that extreme degradation to which they -had been condemned, and prepared the way for them to be permitted to -enjoy some scattered rays from the sun of science and literature. -As the age of knight-errantry declined, men began to take pride in -learning, and women shared the advantages which this change produced. -‘Women preached in public, supported controversies, published and -defended theses, filled the chairs of philosophy and law, harangued the -popes in Latin, wrote Greek and read Hebrew. Nuns wrote poetry, women -of rank became divines, and young girls publicly exhorted Christian -princes to take up arms for the recovery of the holy sepulchre. -Hypatia, daughter of Theon of Alexandria, succeeded her father in the -government of the Platonic school, and filled with reputation a seat, -where many celebrated philosophers had taught. The people regarded her -as an oracle, and magistrates<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> consulted her in all important cases. No -reproach was ever uttered against the perfect purity of her manners. -She was unembarrassed in large assemblies of men, because their -admiration was tempered with the most scrupulous respect. In the 13th -century, a young lady of Bologna pronounced a Latin oration at the age -of twenty-three. At twenty-six, she took the degree of doctor of laws, -and began publicly to expound Justinian. At thirty, she was elevated -to a professor’s chair, and taught the law to a crowd of scholars -from all nations. Italy produced many learned and gifted women, -among whom, perhaps none was more celebrated than Victoria Colonna, -Marchioness of Pescara. In Spain, Isabella of Rosera converted Jews by -her eloquent preaching;’ and in England the names of many women, from -Lady Jane Gray down to Harriet Martineau, are familiar to every reader -of history. Of the last mentioned authoress, Lord Brougham said that -her writings on political economy were doing more good than those of -any man in England. There is a contemporary of Harriet Martineau, who -has recently rendered valuable services to her country. She presented -a memorial to Parliament, stating the dangerous parts of the coast, -where light-houses were needed, and at her suggestion, several were -erected. She keeps a life-boat and sailors in her pay, and has been -the means of saving many lives. Although she has been deprived of the -use of her limbs since early childhood, yet even when the storm is -unusually severe, she goes herself on the beach in her carriage, that -she may be sure her men perform their duty. She understands several -languages, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> is now engaged in writing a work on the Northern -languages of Europe. ‘In Germany, the influence of women on literature -is considerable, though less obvious than in some other countries. -Literary families frequently meet at each others’ houses, and learned -and intelligent women are often the brightest ornaments of these social -circles.’ France has produced many distinguished women, whose names are -familiar to every lover of literature. And I believe it is conceded -universally, that Madame de Stael was intellectually the greatest -woman that ever lived. The United States have produced several female -writers, some of whom have talents of the highest order. But women, -even in this free republic, do not enjoy <i>all</i> the intellectual -advantages of men, although there is a perceptible improvement within -the last ten or twenty years; and I trust there is a desire awakened -in my sisters for solid acquirements, which will elevate them to their -‘appropriate sphere,’ and enable them to ‘adorn the doctrine of God our -Saviour in all things.’</p> - -<p class="center">Thine in the bonds of womanhood,</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_XI">LETTER XI.<br><span class="small">DRESS OF WOMEN.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Brookline, 9th Mo., 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—When I view woman as an immortal being, -travelling through this world to that city whose builder and maker is -God,—when I contemplate her in all the sublimity of her spiritual -existence, bearing the image and superscription of Jehovah, emanating -from Him and partaking of his nature, and destined, if she fulfils her -duty, to dwell with him through the endless ages of eternity,—I mourn -that she has lived so far below her privileges and her obligations, as -a rational and accountable creature; and I ardently long to behold her -occupying that sphere in which I believe her Creator designed her to -move.</p> - -<p>Woman, in all ages and countries, has been the scoff and the jest of -her lordly master. If she attempted, like him, to improve her mind, she -was ridiculed as pedantic, and driven from the temple of science and -literature by coarse attacks and vulgar sarcasms. If she yielded to -the pressure of circumstances, and sought relief from the monotony of -existence by resorting to the theatre and the ball-room, by ornamenting -her person with flowers and with jewels, while<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> her mind was empty and -her heart desolate; she was still the mark at which wit and satire and -cruelty levelled their arrows.</p> - -<p>‘Woman,’ says Adam Clarke, ‘has been invidiously defined, <i>an -animal of dress</i>. How long will they permit themselves to be thus -degraded?’ I have been an attentive observer of my sex, and I am -constrained to believe that the passion for dress, which so generally -characterizes them, is one cause why there so is little of that -solid improvement and weight of character which might be acquired -under almost any circumstances, if the mind were not occupied by the -love of admiration, and the desire to gratify personal vanity. I -have already adduced some instances to prove the inordinate love of -dress, which is exhibited by women in a state of heathenism; I shall, -therefore, confine myself now to what are called Christian countries; -only remarking that previous to the introduction of Christianity -into the Roman empire, the extravagance of apparel had arisen to an -unprecedented height. ‘Jewels, expensive embroidery, and delicious -perfumes, were used in great profusion by those who could afford them.’ -The holy religion of Jesus Christ came in at this period, and stript -luxury and wealth of all their false attractions. ‘Women of the noblest -and wealthiest families, surrounded by the seductive allurements of -worldly pleasure, renounced them all. Undismayed by severe edicts -against the new religion, they appeared before the magistrates, and -by pronouncing the simple words, “I am a Christian,” calmly resigned -themselves to imprisonment, ignominy and death.’ Could such women have -had their minds occupied by the foolish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span> vanity of ornamental apparel? -No! Christianity struck at the root of all sin, and consequently we -find the early Christians could not fight, or swear, or wear costly -clothing. Cave, in his work entitled ‘Primitive Christianity,’ has some -interesting remarks on this subject, showing that simplicity of dress -was not then esteemed an unimportant part of Christianity.</p> - -<p>Very soon, however, when the fire of persecution was no longer blazing, -pagan customs became interwoven with Christianity. The professors of -the religion of a self-denying Lord, whose kingdom was not of this -world, began to use the sword, to return railing for railing, to take -oaths, to mingle heathen forms and ceremonies with Christian worship, -to engraft on the beautiful simplicity of piety, the feasts and -observances which were usual at heathen festivals in honor of the gods, -and to adorn their persons with rich and ornamental apparel. And now if -we look at Christendom, there is scarcely a vestige of that religion, -which the Redeemer of men came to promulgate. The Christian world is -much in the situation of the Jewish nation, when the babe of Bethlehem -was born, full of outside observances, which they substitute for mercy -and love, for self-denial and good works, rigid in the performance -of religious duties, but ready, if the Lord Jesus came amongst them -and judged them by their fruits, as he did the Pharisees formerly, to -crucify him as a slanderer. Indeed, I believe the remark of a late -author is perfectly correct:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Strange as it may seem, yet I do not hesitate to declare my belief -that it is easier to make Pagan nations Christians, than to reform -Christian communities and fashion them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> anew, after the pure and -simple standard of the gospel. Cast your eye over Christian countries, -and see what a multitude of causes combine to resist and impair -the influence of Christian institutions. Behold the conformity of -Christians to the world, in its prodigal pleasures and frivolous -amusements, in its corrupt opinions and sentiments, of false honor. -Behold the wide spread ignorance and degrading superstition; the power -of prejudice and the authority of custom; the unchristian character of -our systems of education; and the dread of the frowns and ridicule of -the world, and we discover at once a host of more formidable enemies -to the progress of <i>true religion</i> in Christian, than in heathen -lands.’</p> -</div> - -<p>But I must proceed to examine what is the state of professing -Christendom, as regards the subject of this letter. A few words will -suffice. The habits and employments of fashionable circles are nearly -the same throughout Christian communities. The fashion of dress, which -varies more rapidly than the changing seasons, is still, as it has -been from time immemorial, an all-absorbing object of interest. The -simple cobbler of Agawam, who wrote in Massachusetts as early as 1647, -speaking of women, says,</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“It is no marvel they wear drailes on the hinder part of their heads, -having nothing, as it seems, in the fore part, but a few squirrels’ -brains to help them frisk from one fashion to another.’</p> -</div> - -<p>It must, however, be conceded, that although there are too many women -who merit this severe reprehension, there is a numerous class whose -improvement of mind and devotion to the cause of humanity justly -entitle them to our respect and admiration. One of the most striking -characteristics of modern times, is the tendency toward a universal -dissemination of knowledge in all Protestant communities. But the -character of woman has been elevated more by participating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> in the -great moral enterprises of the day, than by anything else. It would -astonish us if we could see at a glance all the labor, the patience, -the industry, the fortitude which woman has exhibited, in carrying on -the causes of Moral Reform, Anti-Slavery, &c. Still, even these noble -and ennobling pursuits have not destroyed personal vanity. Many of -those who are engaged in these great and glorious reformations, watch -with eager interest, the ever varying freaks of the goddess of fashion, -and are not exceeded by the butterflies of the ball-room in their love -of curls, artificial flowers, embroidery and gay apparel. Many a woman -will ply her needle with ceaseless industry, to obtain money to forward -a favorite benevolent scheme, while at the same time she will expend on -useless articles of dress, more than treble the sum which she procures -by the employment of her needle, and which she might throw into the -Lord’s treasury, and leave herself leisure to cultivate her mind, and -to mingle among the poor and the afflicted more than she can possibly -do now.</p> - -<p>I feel exceedingly solicitous to draw the attention of my sisters to -this subject. I know that it is called trifling, and much is said about -dressing fashionably, and elegantly, and becomingly, without thinking -about it. This I do not believe can be done. If we indulge our fancy -in the chameleon caprices of fashion, or in wearing ornamental and -extravagant apparel, the mind must be in no small degree engaged in the -gratification of personal vanity.</p> - -<p>Lest any one may suppose from my being a Quaker, that I should like to -see a uniform dress adopted, I will say, that I have no partiality<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> -for their peculiar costume, except so far as I find it simple and -convenient; and I have not the remotest desire to see it worn, where -one more commodious can be substituted. But I do believe one of the -chief obstacles in the way of woman’s elevation to the same platform -of human rights, and moral dignity, and intellectual improvement, with -her brother, on which God placed her, and where he designed her to act -her part as an immortal creature, is her love of dress. ‘It has been -observed,’ says Scott, ‘that foppery and extravagance as to dress <i>in -men</i> are most emphatically condemned by the apostle’s silence on -the subject, for this intimated that surely <i>they</i> could be under -no temptation to such a childish vanity.’ But even those men who are -superior to such a childish vanity in themselves, are, nevertheless, -ever ready to encourage it in women. They know that so long as we -submit to be dressed like dolls, we never can rise to the stations of -duty and usefulness from which they desire to exclude us; and they are -willing to grant us paltry indulgences, which forward their own design -of keeping us out of our appropriate sphere, while they deprive us of -essential rights.</p> - -<p>To me it appears beneath the dignity of woman to bedeck herself in -gewgaws and trinkets, in ribbons and laces, to gratify the eye of man. -I believe, furthermore, that we owe a solemn duty to the poor. Many a -woman, in what is called humble life, spends nearly all her earnings in -dress, because she wants to be as well attired as her employer. It is -often argued that, as the birds and the flowers are gaily adorned by -nature’s hand, there can be no sin in woman’s ornamenting her person. -My reply<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> is, God created me neither a bird nor a flower; and I aspire -to something more than a resemblance to them. Besides, the gaudy colors -in which birds and flowers are arrayed, create in them no feelings of -vanity; but as human beings, we are susceptible of these passions, -which are nurtured and strengthened by such adornments. ‘Well,’ I am -often asked, ‘where is the limitation?’ This it is not my business to -decide. Every woman, as Judson remarks, can best settle this on her -knees before God. He has commanded her not to be conformed to this -world, but to be transformed by the renewing of her mind, that she may -know what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. He made -the dress of the Jewish women the subject of special denunciation by -his prophet—Is. 3: 16-26; yet the chains and the bracelets, the rings -and the ear-rings, and the changeable suits of apparel, are still worn -by Christian women. He has commanded them, through his apostles, not -to adorn themselves with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly -array. Not to let their adorning be the ‘outward adorning of plaiting -the hair, or of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but let -it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, -even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight -of God of great price;’ yet we disregard these solemn admonitions. -May we not form some correct estimate of dress, by asking ourselves -how we should feel, if we saw ministers of the gospel rise to address -an audience with ear-rings dangling from their ears, glittering rings -on their fingers, and a wreath of artificial flowers on their brow, -and the rest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span> of their apparel in keeping? If it would be wrong for -a minister, it is wrong for every professing Christian. God makes no -distinction between the moral and religious duties of ministers and -people. We are bound to be ‘a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a -peculiar people, a holy nation; that we should show forth the praises -of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.’</p> - -<p class="center">Thine in the bonds of womanhood,</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_XII">LETTER XII.<br><span class="small">LEGAL DISABILITIES OF WOMEN.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Concord, 9th Mo., 6th, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—There are few things which present greater -obstacles to the improvement and elevation of woman to her appropriate -sphere of usefulness and duty, than the laws which have been enacted -to destroy her independence, and crush her individuality; laws which, -although they are framed for her government, she has had no voice in -establishing, and which rob her of some of her <i>essential rights</i>. -Woman has no political existence. With the single exception of -presenting a petition to the legislative body, she is a cipher in the -nation; or, if not actually so in representative governments, she is -only counted, like the slaves of the South, to swell the number of -law-makers who form decrees for her government, with little reference -to her benefit, except so far as her good may promote their own. I -am not sufficiently acquainted with the laws respecting women on the -continent of Europe, to say anything about them. But Prof. Follen, -in his essay on ‘The Cause of Freedom in our Country,’ says, ‘Woman, -though fully possessed of that rational and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span> moral nature which is the -foundation of all rights, enjoys amongst us fewer legal rights than -under the civil law of continental Europe.’ I shall confine myself to -the laws of our country. These laws bear with peculiar rigor on married -women. Blackstone, in the chapter entitled ‘Of husband and wife,’ -says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, -<i>the very being, or legal existence of the woman</i> is suspended -during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated -into that of the husband under whose wing, protection and cover she -performs everything.’ ‘For this reason, a man cannot grant anything to -his wife, or enter into covenant with her; for the grant would be to -suppose her separate existence, and to covenant with her would be to -covenant with himself; and therefore it is also generally true, that -all compacts made between husband and wife when single, are voided by -the intermarriage. A woman indeed may be attorney for her husband; but -that implies no separation from, but is rather a representation of, -her love.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Here now, the very being of a woman, like that of a slave, is absorbed -in her master. All contracts made with her, like those made with slaves -by their owners, are a mere nullity. Our kind defenders have legislated -away almost all our legal rights, and in the true spirit of such -injustice and oppression, have kept us in ignorance of those very laws -by which we are governed. They have persuaded us, that we have no right -to investigate the laws, and that, if we did, we could not comprehend -them; they alone are capable of understanding the mysteries of -Blackstone, &c. But they are not backward to make us feel the practical -operation of their power over our actions.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘The husband is bound to provide his wife with necessaries by law, as -much as himself; and if she contracts debts for them, he is obliged -to pay for them; but for anything besides necessaries, he is not -chargeable.’</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span></p> - -<p>Yet a man may spend the property he has acquired by marriage at the -ale-house, the gambling table, or in any other way that he pleases. -Many instances of this kind have come to my knowledge; and women, who -have brought their husbands handsome fortunes, have been left, in -consequence of the wasteful and dissolute habits of their husbands, -in straitened circumstances, and compelled to toil for the support of -their families.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘If the wife be indebted before marriage, the husband is bound -afterwards to pay the debt; for he has adopted her and her -circumstances together.’</p> -</div> - -<p>The wife’s property is, I believe, equally liable for her husband’s -debts contracted before marriage.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘If the wife be injured in her person or property, she can bring no -action for redress without her husband’s concurrence, and his name as -well as her own: neither can she be sued, without making her husband a -defendant.’</p> -</div> - -<p>This law that ‘a wife can bring no action,’ &c., is similar to the law -respecting slaves, ‘A slave cannot bring a suit against his master, or -any other person, for an injury—his master, must bring it.’ So if any -damages are recovered for an injury committed on a wife, the husband -pockets it; in the case of the slave, the master does the same.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘In criminal prosecutions, the wife may be indicted and punished -separately, unless there be evidence of coercion from the fact that -the offence was committed in the presence, or by the command of her -husband. A wife is excused from punishment for theft committed in the -presence, or by the command of her husband.’</p> -</div> - -<p>It would be difficult to frame a law better calculated to destroy the -responsibility of woman as a moral being, or a free agent. Her husband<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> -is supposed to possess unlimited control over her; and if she can offer -the flimsy excuse that he bade her steal, she may break the eighth -commandment with impunity, as far as human laws are concerned.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Our law, in general, considers man and wife as one person; yet there -are some instances in which she is separately considered, as inferior -to him and acting by his compulsion. Therefore, all deeds executed, -and acts done by her during her coverture (i. e. marriage,) are void, -except it be a fine, or like matter of record, in which case she must -be solely and secretly examined, to learn if her act be voluntary.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Such a law speaks volumes of the abuse of that power which men have -vested in their own hands. Still the private examination of a wife, to -know whether she accedes to the disposition of property made by her -husband is, in most cases, a mere form; a wife dares not do what will -be disagreeable to one who is, in his own estimation, her superior, -and who makes her feel, in the privacy of domestic life, that she has -thwarted him. With respect to the nullity of deeds or acts done by a -wife, I will mention one circumstance. A respectable woman borrowed of -a female friend a sum of money to relieve her son from some distressing -pecuniary embarrassment. Her husband was from home, and she assured the -lender, that as soon as he returned, he would gratefully discharge the -debt. She gave her note, and the lender, entirely ignorant of the law -that a man is not obliged to discharge such a debt, actually borrowed -the money, and lent it to the distressed and weeping mother. The father -returned home, refused to pay the debt, and the person who had loaned -the money was obliged to pay both principal and interest to the friend -who lent it to her. Women should certainly know the laws by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span> which they -are governed, and from which they frequently suffer; yet they are kept -in ignorance, nearly as profound, of their legal rights, and of the -legislative enactments which are to regulate their actions, as slaves.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘The husband, by the old law, might give his wife moderate correction, -as he is to answer for her misbehavior. The law thought it reasonable -to entrust him with this power of restraining her by domestic -chastisement. The courts of law will still permit a husband to -restrain a wife of her liberty, in case of any gross misbehavior.’</p> -</div> - -<p>What a mortifying proof this law affords, of the estimation in which -woman is held! She is placed completely in the hands of a being subject -like herself to the outbursts of passion, and therefore unworthy to be -trusted with power. Perhaps I may be told respecting this law, that -it is a dead letter, as I am sometimes told about the slave laws; but -this is not true in either case. The slaveholder does kill his slave -by moderate correction, as the law allows; and many a husband, among -the poor, exercises the right given him by the law, of degrading -woman by personal chastisement. And among the higher ranks, if actual -imprisonment is not resorted to, women are not unfrequently restrained -of the liberty of going to places of worship by irreligious husbands, -and of doing many other things about which, as moral and responsible -beings, <i>they</i> should be the <i>sole</i> judges. Such laws remind -me of the reply of some little girls at a children’s meeting held -recently at Ipswich. The lecturer told them that God had created four -orders of beings with which he had made us acquainted through the -Bible. The first was angels, the second was man,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span> the third beasts; -and now, children, what is the fourth? After a pause, several girls -replied, ‘<span class="allsmcap">WOMEN</span>.’</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘A woman’s personal property by marriage becomes absolutely her -husband’s, which, at his death, he may leave entirely away from her.’</p> -</div> - -<p>And farther, all the avails of her labor are absolutely in the power -of her husband. All that she acquires by her industry is his; so that -she cannot, with her own honest earnings, become the legal purchaser -of any property. If she expends her money for articles of furniture, -to contribute to the comfort of her family, they are liable to be -seized for her husband’s debts: and I know an instance of a woman, who -by labor and economy had scraped together a little maintenance for -herself and a do-little husband, who was left, at his death, by virtue -of his last will and testament, to be supported by charity. I knew -another woman, who by great industry had acquired a little money which -she deposited in a bank for safe keeping. She had saved this pittance -whilst able to work, in hopes that when age or sickness disqualified -her for exertion, she might have something to render life comfortable, -without being a burden to her friends. Her husband, a worthless, idle -man, discovered this hid treasure, drew her little stock from the -bank, and expended it all in extravagance and vicious indulgence. I -know of another woman, who married without the least idea that she was -surrendering her rights to all her personal property. Accordingly, she -went to the bank as usual to draw her dividends, and the person who -paid her the money, and to whom she was personally known as an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> owner -of shares in that bank, remarking the change in her signature, withdrew -the money, informing her that if she were married, she had no longer -a right to draw her dividends without an order from her husband. It -appeared that she intended having a little fund for private use, and -had not even told her husband that she owned this stock, and she was -not a little chagrined, when she found that it was not at her disposal. -I think she was wrong to conceal the circumstance. The relation of -husband and wife is too near and sacred to admit of secrecy about money -matters, unless positive necessity demands it; and I can see no excuse -for any woman entering into a marriage engagement with a design to keep -her husband ignorant that she was possessed of property. If she was -unwilling to give up her property to his disposal, she had infinitely -better have remained single. The laws above cited are not very unlike -the slave laws of Louisiana.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘All that a slave possesses belongs to his master; he possesses -nothing of his own, except what his master chooses he should possess.’</p> - -<p>‘By the marriage, the husband is absolutely master of the profits of -the wife’s lands during the coverture, and if he has had a living -child, and survives the wife, he retains the whole of those lands, -if they are estates of inheritance, during his life; but the wife -is entitled only to one third if she survives, out of the husband’s -estates of inheritance. But this she has, whether she has had a child -or not.’ ‘With regard to the property of women, there is taxation -without representation; for they pay taxes without having the liberty -of voting for representatives.’</p> -</div> - -<p>And this taxation, without representation, be it remembered, was the -cause of our Revolutionary war, a grievance so heavy, that it was -thought necessary to purchase exemption from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span> it at an immense expense -of blood and treasure, yet the daughters of New England, as well as of -all the other States of this free Republic, are suffering a similar -injustice—but for one, I had rather we should suffer any injustice or -oppression, than that my sex should have any voice in the political -affairs of the nation.</p> - -<p>The laws I have quoted, are, I believe, the laws of Massachusetts, and, -with few exceptions, of all the States in this Union. ‘In Louisiana -and Missouri, and possibly, in some other southern States, a woman not -only has half her husband’s property by right at his death, but may -always be considered as possessed of half his gains during his life; -having at all times power to bequeath that amount.’ That the laws which -have generally been adopted in the United States, for the government -of women, have been framed almost entirely for the exclusive benefit -of men, and with a design to oppress women, by depriving them of all -control over their property, is too manifest to be denied. Some liberal -and enlightened men, I know, regret the existence of these laws; and -I quote with pleasure an extract from Harriet Martineau’s Society in -America, as a proof of the assertion. ‘A liberal minded lawyer of -Boston, told me that his advice to testators always is to leave the -largest possible amount to the widow, subject to the condition of her -leaving it to the children; but that it is with shame that he reflects -that any woman should owe that to his professional advice, which -the law should have secured to her as a right.’ I have known a few -instances where men have left their whole property to their wives, when -they have died, leaving only minor children; but I have known<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> more -instances of ‘the friend and helper of many years, being portioned off -like a salaried domestic,’ instead of having a comfortable independence -secured to her, while the children were amply provided for.</p> - -<p>As these abuses do exist, and women suffer intensely from them, our -brethren are called upon in this enlightened age, by every sentiment of -honor, religion and justice, to repeal these unjust and unequal laws, -and restore to woman those rights which they have wrested from her. -Such laws approximate too nearly to the laws enacted by slaveholders -for the government of their slaves, and must tend to debase and -depress the mind of that being, whom God created as a help meet for -man, or ‘helper like unto himself,’ and designed to be his equal and -his companion. Until such laws are annulled, woman never can occupy -that exalted station for which she was intended by her Maker. And just -in proportion as they are practically disregarded, which is the case -to some extent, just so far is woman assuming that independence and -nobility of character which she ought to exhibit.</p> - -<p>The various laws which I have transcribed, leave women very little more -liberty, or power, in some respects, than the slave. ‘A slave,’ says -the civil code of Louisiana, ‘is one who is in the power of a master, -to whom he belongs. He can possess nothing, nor acquire anything, but -what must belong to his master.’ I do not wish by any means to intimate -that the condition of free women can be compared to that of slaves in -suffering, or in degradation; still, I believe the laws which deprive -married women of their rights and privileges, have a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> tendency to -lessen them in their own estimation as moral and responsible beings, -and that their being made by civil law inferior to their husbands, has -a debasing and mischievous effect upon them, teaching them practically -the fatal lesson to look unto man for protection and indulgence.</p> - -<p>Ecclesiastical bodies, I believe, without exception, follow the example -of legislative assemblies, in excluding woman from any participation -in forming the discipline by which she is governed. The men frame the -laws, and, with few exceptions, claim to execute them on both sexes. In -ecclesiastical, as well as civil courts, woman is tried and condemned, -not by a jury of her peers, but by beings, who regard themselves as -her superiors in the scale of creation. Although looked upon as an -inferior, when considered as an intellectual being, woman is punished -with the same severity as man, when she is guilty of moral offences. -Her condition resembles, in some measure, that of the slave, who, -while he is denied the advantages of his more enlightened master, is -treated with even greater rigor of the law. Hoping that in the various -reformations of the day, women may be relieved from some of their legal -disabilities, I remain,</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_XIII">LETTER XIII.<br><span class="small">RELATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Brookline, 9th Mo., 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—Perhaps some persons may wonder that I should -attempt to throw out my views on the important subject of marriage, and -may conclude that I am altogether disqualified for the task, because I -lack experience. However, I shall not undertake to settle the specific -duties of husbands and wives, but only to exhibit opinions based on -the word of God, and formed from a little knowledge of human nature, -and close observation of the working of generally received notions -respecting the dominion of man over woman.</p> - -<p>When Jehovah ushered into existence man, created in his own image, -he instituted marriage as a part of paradisaical happiness: it was a -<i>divine ordination</i>, not a civil contract. God established it, and -man, except by special permission, has no right to annul it. There can -be no doubt that the creation of Eve perfected the happiness of Adam; -hence, our all-wise and merciful Father made her as he made Adam, in -his own image after his likeness, crowned her with glory and honor, -and placed in her hand, as well as in his, the sceptre of dominion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> -over the whole lower creation. Where there was perfect equality, and -the same ability to receive and comprehend divine truth, and to obey -divine injunctions, there could be no superiority. If God had placed -Eve under the guardianship of Adam, after having endowed her, as richly -as him, with moral perceptions, intellectual faculties, and spiritual -apprehensions, he would at once have interposed a fallible being -between her and her Maker. He could not, in simple consistency with -himself, have done this; for the Bible teems with instructions not to -put any confidence in man.</p> - -<p>The passage on which the generally received opinion, that husbands are -invested by divine command with authority over their wives, as I have -remarked in a previous letter, is a prediction; and I am confirmed in -this belief, because the same language is used to Cain respecting Abel. -The text is obscure; but on a comparison of it with subsequent events, -it appears to me that it was a prophecy of the dominion which Cain -would usurp over his brother, and which issued in the murder of Abel. -It could not allude to any thing but physical dominion, because Cain -had already exhibited those evil passions which subsequently led him to -become an assassin.</p> - -<p>I have already shown, that man has exercised the most unlimited and -brutal power over woman, in the peculiar character of husband,—a word -in most countries synonymous with tyrant. I shall not, therefore, -adduce any further proofs of the fulfilment of that prophecy, ‘He -will rule over thee,’ from the history of heathen nations, but just -glance at the condition of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> woman in the relation of wife in Christian -countries.</p> - -<p>‘Previous to the introduction of the religion of Jesus Christ, the -state of society was wretchedly diseased. The relation of the sexes to -each other had become so gross in its manifested forms, that it was -difficult to perceive the pure conservative principle in its inward -essence.’ Christianity came in, at this juncture, with its hallowed -influence, and has without doubt tended to lighten the yoke of bondage, -to purify the manners, and give the spiritual in some degree an empire -over the animal nature. Still, that state which was designed by God to -increase the happiness of woman as well as man, often proves the means -of lessening her comfort, and degrading her into the mere machine of -another’s convenience and pleasure. Woman, instead of being elevated -by her union with man, which might be expected from an alliance with -a superior being, is in reality lowered. She generally loses her -individuality, her independent character, her moral being. She becomes -absorbed into him, and henceforth is looked at, and acts through the -medium of her husband.</p> - -<p>In the wealthy classes of society, and those who are in comfortable -circumstances, women are exempt from great corporeal exertion, and -are protected by public opinion, and by the genial influence of -Christianity, from much physical ill treatment. Still, there is a vast -amount of secret suffering endured, from the forced submission of women -to the opinions and whims of their husbands. Hence they are frequently -driven to use deception, to compass their ends. They are early taught -that to appear<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span> to yield, is the only way to govern. Miserable sophism! -I deprecate such sentiments, as being peculiarly hostile to the dignity -of woman. If she submits, let her do it openly, honorably, not to -gain her point, but as a matter of Christian duty. But let her beware -how she permits her husband to be her conscience-keeper. On all moral -and religious subjects, she is bound to think and to act for herself. -Where confidence and love exist, a wife will naturally converse with -her husband as with her dearest friend, on all that interests her -heart, and there will be a perfectly free interchange of sentiment; but -<i>she is no more bound to be governed by his judgment</i>, than he is -by hers. They are standing on the same platform of human rights, are -equally under the government of God, and accountable to him, and him -alone.</p> - -<p>I have sometimes been astonished and grieved at the servitude of -women, and at the little idea many of them seem to have of their own -moral existence and responsibilities. A woman who is asked to sign a -petition for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, or -to join a society for the purpose of carrying forward the annihilation -of American slavery, or any other great reformation, not unfrequently -replies, ‘My husband does not approve of it.’ She merges her rights and -her duties in her husband, and thus virtually chooses him for a savior -and a king, and rejects Christ as her Ruler and Redeemer. I know some -women are very glad of so convenient a pretext to shield themselves -from the performance of duty; but there are others, who, under a -mistaken view of their obligations as wives, submit conscientiously<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> to -this species of oppression, and go mourning on their way, for want of -that holy fortitude, which would enable them to fulfil their duties as -moral and responsible beings, without reference to poor fallen man. O -that woman may arise in her dignity as an immortal creature, and speak, -think and act as unto God, and not unto man!</p> - -<p>There is, perhaps, less bondage of mind among the poorer classes, -because their sphere of duty is more contracted, and they are deprived -of the means of intellectual culture, and of the opportunity of -exercising their judgment, on many moral subjects of deep interest and -of vital importance. Authority is called into exercise by resistance, -and hence there will be mental bondage only in proportion as the -faculties of mind are evolved, and woman feels herself as a rational -and intelligent being, on a footing with man. But women, among the -lowest classes of society, so far as my observation has extended, -suffer intensely from the brutality of their husbands. Duty as well as -inclination has led me, for many years, into the abodes of poverty and -sorrow, and I have been amazed at the treatment which women receive -at the hands of those, who arrogate to themselves the epithet of -<i>protectors</i>. Brute force, the law of violence, rules to a great -extent in the poor man’s domicil; and woman is little more than his -drudge. They are less under the supervision of public opinion, less -under the restraints of education, and unaided or unbiased by the -refinements of polished society. Religion, wherever it exists, supplies -the place of all these; but the real cause of woman’s degradation<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> and -suffering in married life is to be found in the erroneous notion of her -inferiority to man; and never will she be rightly regarded by herself, -or others, until this opinion, so derogatory to the wisdom and mercy of -God, is exploded, and woman arises in all the majesty of her womanhood, -to claim those rights which are inseparable from her existence as an -immortal, intelligent and responsible being.</p> - -<p>Independent of the fact, that Jehovah could not, consistently with his -character as the King, the Lawgiver, and the Judge of his people, give -the reins of government over woman into the hands of man, I find that -all his commands, all his moral laws, are addressed to women as well as -to men. When he assembled Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, to issue -his commandments, we may reasonably suppose he gave all the precepts, -which he considered necessary for the government of moral beings. Hence -we find that God says,—‘Honor thy father and thy mother,’ and he -enforces this command, by severe penalties upon those who transgress -it: ‘He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to -death’—‘He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put -to death’—Ex. 21: 15, 17. But in the decalogue, there is no direction -given to women to obey their husbands: both are commanded to have no -other God but Jehovah, and not to bow down, or serve any other. When -the Lord Jesus delivered his sermon on the Mount, full of the practical -precepts of religion, he did not issue any command to wives to obey -their husbands. When he is speaking on the subject of divorce, Mark 16: -11, 12, he places men and women on the same ground. And the Apostle,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> -1st Cor. 7: 12, 13, speaking of the duties of the Corinthian wives and -husbands, who had embraced Christianity, to their unconverted partners, -points out the same path to both, although our translators have made a -distinction. ‘Let him not put her away,’ 12—‘Let her not leave him,’ -13—is precisely the same in the original. If man is constituted the -governor of woman, he must be her God; and the sentiment expressed to -me lately, by a married man, is perfectly correct: ‘In my opinion,’ -said he, ‘the greatest excellence to which a married woman can attain, -is to worship her husband.’ He was a professor of religion—his wife a -lovely and intelligent woman. He only spoke out what thousands think -and act. Women are indebted to Milton for giving to this false notion, -‘confirmation strong as proof of holy writ.’ His Eve is embellished -with every personal grace, to gratify the eye of her admiring husband; -but he seems to have furnished the mother of mankind with just -intelligence enough to comprehend her supposed inferiority to Adam, and -to yield unresisting submission to her lord and master. Milton puts -into Eve’s mouth the following address to Adam:</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">‘My author and disposer, what thou bidst,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Unargued I obey; so God ordains—</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">God is thy law, thou mine: to know no more,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is woman’s happiest knowledge and her praise.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>This much admired sentimental nonsense is fraught with absurdity and -wickedness. If it were true, the commandment of Jehovah should have run -thus: Man shall have no other gods before <span class="allsmcap">ME</span>, and woman shall -have no other gods before <span class="allsmcap">MAN</span>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span></p> - -<p>The principal support of the dogma of woman’s inferiority, and -consequent submission to her husband, is found in some passages -of Paul’s epistles. I shall proceed to examine those passages, -premising 1st, that the antiquity of the opinions based on the false -construction of those passages, has no weight with me: they are the -opinions of interested judges, and I have no particular reverence for -them, <i>merely</i> because they have been regarded with veneration -from generation to generation. So far from this being the case, I -examine any opinions of centuries standing, with as much freedom, and -investigate them with as much care, as if they were of yesterday. -I was educated to think for myself, and it is a privilege I shall -always claim to exercise. 2d. Notwithstanding my full belief that the -apostle Paul’s testimony, respecting himself, is true, ‘I was not a -whit behind the chiefest of the apostles,’ yet I believe his mind was -under the influence of Jewish prejudices respecting women, just as -Peter’s and the apostles were about the uncleanness of the Gentiles. -‘The Jews,’ says Clarke, ‘would not suffer a woman to read in the -synagogue, although a servant, or even a child, had this permission.’ -When I see Paul shaving his head for a vow, and offering sacrifices, -and circumcising Timothy, to accommodate himself to the prepossessions -of his countrymen, I do not conceive that I derogate in the least from -his character as an inspired apostle, to suppose that he may have been -imbued with the prevalent prejudices against women.</p> - -<p>In 1st Cor. 11: 3, after praising the Corinthian converts, because -they kept the ‘ordinances,’ or ‘traditions,’ as the margin reads, -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> apostle says, ‘I would have you know, that the head of every -man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of -Christ is God.’ Eph. 5: 23, is a parallel passage. ‘For the husband -is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church.’ -The apostle closes his remarks on this subject, by observing, ‘This -is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.’ I -shall pass over this with simply remarking, that God and Christ are -one. ‘I and my Father are one,’ and there can be no inferiority where -there is no divisibility. The commentaries on this and similar texts, -afford a striking illustration of the ideas which men entertain of -their own superiority, I shall subjoin Henry’s remarks on 1st Cor. 11: -5, as a specimen: ‘To understand this text, it must be observed, that -it was a signification either of shame, or subjection, for persons to -be veiled, or covered in Eastern countries; contrary to the custom -of ours, where the being bare-headed betokens subjection, and being -covered superiority and dominion; and this will help us the better to -understand the reason on which he grounds his reprehension, ‘Every -man praying, &c. dishonoreth his head,’ i. e. Christ, the head of -every man, by appearing in a habit unsuitable to the rank in which -God had placed him. The woman, on the other hand, that prays, &c. -dishonoreth her head, i. e. the man. She appears in the dress of her -<i>superior</i>, and throws off the token of her subjection; she might -with equal decency cut her hair short, or cut it off, the common dress -of the man in that age. Another reason against this conduct was, that -the man is the image and glory of God, the representative<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span> of that -glorious dominion and headship which God has over the world. It is the -man who is set at the head of this lower creation, and therein bears -the resemblance of God. The woman, on the other hand, is the glory -of the man: she is his representative. Not but she has dominion over -the inferior creatures, and she is a partaker of human nature, and so -far is God’s representative too, but it is at second hand. She is the -image of God, inasmuch as she is the image of the man. The man was -first made, and made head of the creation here below, and therein the -image of the divine dominion; and the woman was made out of the man, -and shone with a <i>reflection of his glory</i>, being made superior -to the other creatures here below, but in subjection to her husband, -and deriving that <i>honor from him</i>, out of whom she was made. The -woman was made for the man to be his help meet, and not the man for the -woman. She was, naturally, therefore, made subject to him, because made -for him, for <span class="allsmcap">HIS USE AND HELP AND COMFORT</span>.’</p> - -<p>We see in the above quotation, what degrading views even good men -entertain of women. Pity the Psalmist had not thrown a little light on -this subject, when he was paraphrasing the account of man’s creation. -‘Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned -him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the -works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.’ Surely -if woman had been placed below man, and was to shine only by a lustre -borrowed from him, we should have some clear evidence of it in the -sacred volume. Henry puts her exactly on a level with the beasts; -they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> were made for the use, help and comfort of man; and according to -this commentator, this was the whole end and design of the creation -of woman. The idea that man, as man is superior to woman, involves an -absurdity so gross, that I really wonder how any man of reflection can -receive it as of divine origin; and I can only account for it, by that -passion for supremacy, which characterizes man as a corrupt and fallen -creature. If it be true that he is more excellent than she, as man, -independent of his moral and intellectual powers, then every man is -superior by virtue of his manship, to every woman. The man who sinks -his moral capacities and spiritual powers in his sensual appetites, -is still, as a man, simply by the conformation of his body, a more -dignified being, than the woman whose intellectual powers are highly -cultivated, and whose approximation to the character of Jesus Christ is -exhibited in a blameless life and conversation.</p> - -<p>But it is strenuously urged by those, who are anxious to maintain their -usurped authority, that wives are, in various passages of the New -Testament, commanded to obey their husbands. Let us examine these texts.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Eph. 5: 22. ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto -the Lord.’ ‘As the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be -to their own husbands in every thing.’</p> - -<p>Col. 3: 18. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is -fit in the Lord.’</p> - -<p>1st Pet. 3: 2. ‘Likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own -husbands; that if any obey not the word, they may also without the -word be won by the conversation of the wives.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Accompanying all these directions to wives, are commands to husbands.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Eph. 5: 25. ‘Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the -Church, and gave himself for it.’ ‘So ought men to love their wives as -their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself.’</p> - -<p>Col. 3: 19. ‘Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against -them.’</p> - -<p>1st Pet. 3: 7. ‘Likewise ye husbands, dwell with them according to -knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and -as being heirs together of the grace of life.’</p> -</div> - -<p>I may just remark, in relation to the expression ‘weaker vessel,’ that -the word in the original has no reference to intellect: it refers to -physical weakness merely.</p> - -<p>The apostles were writing to Christian converts, and laying down -rules for their conduct towards their unconverted consorts. It no -doubt frequently happened, that a husband or a wife would embrace -Christianity, while their companions clung to heathenism, and husbands -might be tempted to dislike and despise those, who pertinaciously -adhered to their pagan superstitions. And wives who, when they were -pagans, submitted as a matter of course to their heathen husbands, -might be tempted knowing that they were superior as moral and religious -characters, to assert that superiority, by paying less deference to -them than heretofore. Let us examine the context of these passages, -and see what are the grounds of the directions here given to husbands -and wives. The whole epistle to the Ephesians breathes a spirit of -love. The apostle beseeches the converts to walk worthy of the vocation -wherewith they are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with -long suffering, forbearing one another in love. The verse preceding -5, 22, is ‘SUBMITTING YOURSELVES ONE TO ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF GOD.’ -Colossians 3, from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> 11 to 17, contains similar injunctions. The 17th -verse says, ‘Whatsoever ye do in word, or in deed, do all in the name -of the Lord Jesus.’ Peter, after drawing a most touching picture of -Christ’s sufferings for us, and reminding the Christians, that he -had left us an example that we should follow his steps, ‘who did no -sin, neither was guile found in his mouth,’ exhorts wives to be in -subjection, &c.</p> - -<p>From an attentive consideration of these passages, and of those in -which the same words ‘submit,’ ‘subjection,’ are used, I cannot but -believe that the apostles designed to recommend to wives, as they -did to subjects and to servants, to carry out the holy principle -laid down by Jesus Christ, ‘Resist not evil.’ And this without in -the least acknowledging the right of the governors, masters, or -husbands, to exercise the authority they claimed. The recognition of -the existence of evils does not involve approbation of them. God tells -the Israelites, he gave them a king in his wrath, but nevertheless as -they chose to have a king, he laid down directions for the conduct of -that king, and had him anointed to reign over them. According to the -generally received meaning of the passages I have quoted, they directly -contravene the laws of God, as given in various parts of the Bible. Now -I must understand the sacred Scriptures as harmonizing with themselves, -or I cannot receive them as the word of God. The commentators on these -passages exalt man to the station of a Deity in relation to woman. -Clarke says, ‘As the Lord Christ is the head, or governor of the -church, and the head of the man, so is the man the head, or governor of -the woman. This is God’s ordinance, and should not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> be transgressed. -‘As unto the Lord.’ The word church seems necessarily to be understood -here: that is, act under the authority of your husbands, as the church -acts under the authority of Christ. As the church submits to the Lord, -so let wives submit to their husbands.’ Henry goes even further—‘For -the husband is the head of the wife. The metaphor is taken from the -head in the natural body, which being the seat of reason, of wisdom and -of knowledge, and the fountain of sense and motion, is more excellent -than the rest of the body.’ Now if God ordained man the governor of -woman, he must be able to save her, and to answer in her stead for all -those sins which she commits by his direction. Awful responsibility. -Do husbands feel able and willing to bear it? And what becomes of the -solemn affirmation of Jehovah? ‘Hear this, all ye people, give ear all -ye inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor.’ ‘None -can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him, -for the redemption of the soul is precious, and man cannot accomplish -it.’—<i>French Bible.</i></p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke.</span><br> -</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_XIV">LETTER XIV.<br><span class="small">MINISTRY OF WOMEN.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Brookline, 9th Mo. 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—According to the principle which I have laid -down, that man and woman were created equal, and endowed by their -beneficent Creator with the same intellectual powers and the same moral -responsibilities, and that consequently whatever is <i>morally</i> -right for a man to do, is <i>morally</i> right for a woman to do, it -follows as a necessary corollary, that if it is the duty of man to -preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, it is the duty also of woman.</p> - -<p>I am aware, that I have the prejudices of education and custom to -combat, both in my own and the other sex, as well as ‘the traditions -of men,’ which are taught for the commandments of God. I feel that I -have no sectarian views to advance; for although among the Quakers, -Methodists, and Christians, women are permitted to preach the glad -tidings of peace and salvation, yet I know of no religious body, who -entertain the Scripture doctrine of the perfect equality of man and -woman, which is the fundamental principle of my argument in favor of -the ministry of women. I wish simply<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> to throw my views before thee. -If they are based on the immutable foundation of truth, they cannot -be overthrown by unkind insinuations, bitter sarcasms, unchristian -imputations, or contemptuous ridicule. These are weapons which are -unworthy of a good cause. If I am mistaken, as truth only can prevail, -my supposed errors will soon vanish before her beams; but I am -persuaded that woman is not filling the high and holy station which God -allotted to her, and that in consequence of her having been driven from -her ‘appropriate sphere,’ both herself and her brethren have suffered -an infinity of evils.</p> - -<p>Before I proceed to prove, that woman is bound to preach the gospel, -I will examine the ministry under the Old Testament dispensation. -Those who were called to this office were known under various names. -Enoch, who prophesied, is designated as walking with God. Noah is -called a preacher of righteousness. They were denominated men of God, -seers, prophets, but they all had the same great work to perform, viz. -to turn sinners from the error of their ways. This ministry existed -previous to the institution of the Jewish priesthood, and continued -after its abolition. <i>It has nothing to do with the priesthood.</i> -It was rarely, as far as the Bible informs us, exercised by those of -the tribe of Levi, and was common to all the people, women as well as -men. It differed essentially from the priesthood, because there was -no compensation received for calling the people to repentance. Such a -thing as paying a prophet for preaching the truth of God is not even -mentioned. They were called of Jehovah to go forth in his name, one -from his plough, another<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> from gathering of sycamore fruit, &c. &c. Let -us for a moment imagine Jeremiah, when God says to him, ‘Gird up thy -loins, and arise and speak unto the people all that I command thee,’ -replying to Jehovah, ‘I will preach repentance to the people, if they -will give me gold, but if they will not pay me for the truth, then let -them perish in their sins.’ Now, this is virtually the language of the -ministers of the present day; and I believe the secret of the exclusion -of women from the ministerial office is, that that office has been -converted into one of emolument, of honor, and of power. Any attentive -observer cannot fail to perceive, that as far as possible, all such -offices are reserved by men for themselves.</p> - -<p>The common error that Christian ministers are the successors of the -priests, is founded in mistake. In the particular directions given -to Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons to the office of the -priesthood, their duties are clearly defined: see Ex. 28th, 29th and -30th chap. There is no commission to Aaron to preach to the people; his -business was to offer sacrifice. Now why were sacrifices instituted? -They were types of that one great sacrifice, which in the fulness of -time was offered up through the eternal Spirit without spot to God. -Christ assumed the office of priest; he ‘offered himself,’ and by so -doing, abolished forever the order of the priesthood, as well as the -sacrifices which the priests were ordained to offer.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span></p> - -<p>But it may be inquired, whether the priests were not to teach the -people. As far as I can discover from the Bible, they were simply -commanded to read the law to the people. There was no other copy that -we know of, until the time of the kings, who were to write out a copy -for their own use. As it was deposited in the ark, the priests were -required, ‘When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in -the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all -Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, women, and -children, that they may hear,’ Deut. 31: 9-33. See also Lev. 10: 11, -Deut. 33: 10, 2d Chr. 17: 7-9, and numerous other passages. When God is -enumerating the means he has used to call his people to repentance, he -never, as far as I can discover, speaks of sending his priests to warn -them; but in various passages we find language similar to this: ‘Since -the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this -day, I have even sent unto you all my servants, the <span class="allsmcap">PROPHETS</span>, -daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they hearkened not unto me, -nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck; they did worse than -their fathers.’ Jer. 7: 25, 26. See also, 25: 4. 2 Chr. 36: 15. and -parallel passages. God says, Is. 9: 15, 16. ‘The prophet that teacheth -lies, he is the tail; for the leaders of this people cause them to -err.’ The distinction between priests and prophets is evident from -their being mentioned as two classes. ‘The prophets prophesy falsely, -and the priests bear rule by their means,’ Jer. 5: 31. See also, Ch. 2: -8. 8: 1-10. and many others.</p> - -<p>That women were called to the prophetic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> office, I believe is -universally admitted. Miriam, Deborah and Huldah were prophetesses. The -judgments of the Lord are denounced by Ezekiel on false prophetesses, -as well as false prophets. And if Christian ministers are, as I -apprehend, successors of the prophets, and not of the priests, then of -course, women are now called to that office as well as men, because God -has no where withdrawn from them the privilege of doing what is the -great business of preachers, viz. to point the penitent sinner to the -Redeemer. ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the -world.’</p> - -<p>It is often triumphantly inquired, why, if men and women are on an -equality, are not women as conspicuous in the Bible as men? I do not -intend to assign a reason, but I think one may readily be found in -the fact, that from the days of Eve to the present time, the aim of -man has been to crush her. He has accomplished this work in various -ways; sometimes by brute force, sometimes by making her subservient to -his worst passions, sometimes by treating her as a doll, and while he -excluded from her mind the light of knowledge, decked her person with -gewgaws and frippery which he scorned for himself, thus endeavoring to -render her like unto a painted sepulchre.</p> - -<p>It is truly marvellous that any woman can rise above the pressure of -circumstances which combine to crush her. Nothing can strengthen her -to do this in the character of a preacher of righteousness, but a -call from Jehovah himself. And when the voice of God penetrates the -deep recesses of her heart, and commands her to go and cry in the -ears of the people, she is ready to exclaim, ‘Ah, Lord God, behold -I cannot<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> speak, for I am a woman.’ I have known women in different -religious societies, who have felt like the prophet. ‘His word was in -my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with -forbearing.’ But they have not dared to open their lips, and have -endured all the intensity of suffering, produced by disobedience to -God, rather than encounter heartless ridicule and injurious suspicions. -I rejoice that we have been the oppressed, rather than the oppressors. -God thus prepared his people for deliverance from outward bondage; -and I hope our sorrows have prepared us to fulfil our high and holy -duties, whether public or private, with humility and meekness; and that -suffering has imparted fortitude to endure trials, which assuredly -await us in the attempt to sunder those chains with which man has bound -us, galling to the spirit, though unseen by the eye.</p> - -<p>Surely there is nothing either astonishing or novel in the gifts of -the Spirit being bestowed on woman: nothing astonishing, because there -is no respect of persons with God; the soul of the woman in his sight -is as the soul of the man, and both are alike capable of the influence -of the Holy Spirit. Nothing novel, because, as has been already shown, -in the sacred records there are found examples of women, as well as of -men, exercising the gift of prophecy.</p> - -<p>We attach to the word prophecy, the exclusive meaning of foretelling -future events, but this is certainly a mistake; for the apostle Paul -defines it to be ‘speaking to edification, exhortation and comfort.’ -And there appears no possible reason, why women should not do this as -well as men. At the time that the Bible was translated into English, -the meaning of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> word prophecy, was delivering a message from God, -whether it was to predict future events, or to warn the people of the -consequences of sin. Governor Winthrop, of Massachusetts, mentions in a -letter, that the minister being absent, he went to, —— to prophecy to -the people.</p> - -<p>Before I proceed to prove that women, under the Christian dispensation, -were anointed of the Holy Ghost to preach, or prophecy, I will -mention Anna, the (last) prophetess under the Jewish dispensation. -‘She departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and -prayers night and day.’ And coming into the temple, while Simeon was -yet speaking to Mary, with the infant Savior in his arms, ‘spake of -Christ to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.’ Blackwall, -a learned English critic, in his work entitled, ‘Sacred Classics,’ -says, in reference to this passage, Luke 2: 37—‘According to the -<i>original</i> reading, the sense will be, that the devout Anna, who -attended in the temple, both night and day, spoke of the Messiah to -all the inhabitants of that city, who constantly worshipped there, -and who prepared themselves for the worthy reception of that divine -person, whom they expected at this time. And ’tis certain, that other -devout Jews, not inhabitants of Jerusalem, frequently repaired to -the temple-worship, and might, at this remarkable time, and several -others, hear this admirable woman discourse upon the blessed advent -of the Redeemer. A various reading has Israel instead of Jerusalem, -which expresses that religious Jews, from distant places, came thither -to divine offices, and would with high pleasure hear the discourses -of this great prophetess, so famed for her extraordinary piety and -valuable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span> talents, upon the most important and desirable subject.’</p> - -<p>I shall now examine the testimony of the Bible on this point, after -the ascension of our Lord, beginning with the glorious effusion of the -Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. I presume it will not be denied, -that women, as well as men, were at that time filled with the Holy -Ghost, because it is expressly stated, that women were among those who -continued in prayer and supplication, waiting for the fulfilment of the -promise, that they should be endued with power from on high. ‘When the -day of Pentecost was fully come, they were <span class="allsmcap">ALL</span> with one accord -in one place. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of -fire, and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the -Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave -them utterance.’ Peter says, in reference to this miracle, ‘This is -that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass -in the last days, said God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; -and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy—and on my servants -and on my hand-maidens, I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, -and they shall prophesy.’ There is not the least intimation that this -was a spasmodic influence which was soon to cease. The men and women -are classed together; and if the power to preach the gospel was a -supernatural and short-lived impulse in women, then it was equally -so in men. But we are told, those were the days of miracles. I grant -it; but the men, equally with the women, were the subjects of this -marvellous fulfilment of prophecy, and of course, if women<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> have lost -the gift of prophesying, so have men. We are also gravely told, that -if a woman pretends to inspiration, and thereupon grounds the right -to plead the cause of a crucified Redeemer in public, she will be -believed when she shows credentials from heaven, i. e. when she works -a miracle. I reply, if this be necessary to prove her right to preach -the gospel, then I demand of my brethren to show me their credentials; -else I cannot receive their ministry, by their own showing. John Newton -has justly said, that no power but that which created a world, can -make a minister of the gospel; and man may task his ingenuity to the -utmost, to prove that this power is not exercised on women as well as -men. He cannot do it until he has first disclaimed that simple, but all -comprehensive truth, ‘in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female.’</p> - -<p>Women then, according to the Bible, were, under the New Testament -dispensation, as well as the Old, the recipients of the gift of -prophecy. That this is no sectarian view may be proved by the following -extracts. The first I shall offer is from Stratton’s ‘Book of the -Priesthood.’</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘While they were assembled in the upper room to wait for the blessing, -in number about one hundred and twenty, they received the miraculous -gifts of the Holy Spirit’s grace; they became the channels through -which its more ordinary, but not less saving streams flowed to three -thousand persons in one day. The whole company of the assembled -disciples, male and female, young and old, were all filled with the -Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave -them utterance. They all contributed in producing that impression upon -the assembled multitude, which Peter was instrumental in advancing to -its decisive results.’</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span></p> - -<p>Scott, in his commentary on this passage, says—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘At the same time, there appeared the form of tongues divided at the -tip and resembling fire; one of which rested on each of the whole -company.’ ‘They sat on every one present, as the original determines. -At the time of these extraordinary appearances, the whole company were -abundantly replenished with the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, -so that they began to speak with other tongues.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Henry in his notes confirms this:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘It seems evident to me that not the twelve apostles only, but all the -one hundred and twenty disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost alike -at this time,—all the seventy disciples, who were apostolical men and -employed in the same work, and all the rest too that were to preach -the gospel, for it is said expressly, Eph. 4: 8-12: ‘When Christ -ascended up on high, (which refers to this) he gave gifts unto men.’ -The all here must refer to the all that were together.’</p> -</div> - -<p>I need hardly remark that man is a generic term, including both sexes.</p> - -<p>Let us now examine whether women actually exercised the office of -minister, under the gospel dispensation. Philip had four daughters, who -prophesied or preached. Paul calls Priscilla, as well as Aquila, his -helpers; or, as in the Greek, his fellow laborers<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> in Christ Jesus. -Divers other passages might be adduced to prove that women continued -to be preachers, and that <i>many</i> of them filled this dignified -station.</p> - -<p>We learn also from ecclesiastical history, that female ministers -suffered martyrdom in the early ages of the Christian church. In -ancient councils, mention is made of deaconesses; and in an edition of -the New Testament, printed in 1574, a woman is spoken of as minister -of a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> church. The same word, which, in our common translation, is now -rendered a servant of the church, in speaking of Phebe, Rom. 16: 1, is -rendered minister, Eph. 6: 21, when applied to Tychicus. A minister, -with whom I had lately the pleasure of conversing, remarked, ‘My rule -is to expound scripture by scripture, and I cannot deny the ministry of -women, because the apostle says, ‘help those women who labored with me -<span class="allsmcap">IN THE GOSPEL</span>.’ He certainly meant something more than pouring -out tea for him.’</p> - -<p>In the 11th Ch. of 1 Cor., Paul gives directions to women and men how -they should appear when they prophesy, or pray in public assemblies. -It is evident that the design of the apostle, in this and the three -succeeding chapters, is to rectify certain abuses which had crept into -the Christian church. He therefore admonishes women to pray with their -heads covered, because, according to the fashion of that day, it was -considered immodest and immoral to do otherwise. He says, ‘that were -all one as if she were shaven;’ and shaving the head was a disgraceful -punishment that was inflicted on women of bad character.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘These things,’ says Scott, ‘the apostle stated as decent and proper, -but if any of the Corinthian teachers inclined to excite contention -about them, he would only add, v. 16, that he and his brethren knew of -no such custom as prevailed among them, nor was there any such in the -churches of God which had been planted by the other apostles.’</p> -</div> - -<p>John Locke, whilst engaged in writing his notes on the Epistles of St. -Paul, was at a meeting where two women preached. After hearing them, -he became convinced of their commission to publish the gospel, and -thereupon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span> altered his notes on the 11th Ch. 1 Cor. in favor of women’s -preaching. He says,—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘This about women seeming as difficult a passage as most in St. -Paul’s Epistles, I crave leave to premise some few considerations. -It is plain that this covering the head in women is restrained to -some peculiar actions which they performed in the assembly, expressed -by the words praying, prophesying, which, whatever they signify, -must have the same meaning applied to women in the 5th verse, that -they have when applied to men in the 4th, &c. The next thing to -be considered is, what is here to be understood by praying and -prophesying. And that seems to me the performing of some public action -in the assembly, by some one person which was for that time peculiar -to that person, and whilst it lasted, the rest of the assembly -silently assisted. As to prophesying, the apostle in express words -tells us, Ch. 14: 3, 12, that it was speaking in the assembly. The -same is evident as to praying, that the apostle means by it publicly -with an audible voice, ch. 14: 19.’</p> -</div> - -<p>In a letter to these two women, Rebecca Collier and Rachel Bracken, -which accompanied a little testimony of his regard, he says,</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘I admire no converse like that of Christian freedom; and I fear no -bondage like that of pride and prejudice. I now see that acquaintance -by sight cannot reach the height of enjoyment, which acquaintance -by knowledge arrives unto. Outward hearing may misguide us, but -internal knowledge cannot err.’ ‘Women, indeed, had the honor of -first publishing the resurrection of the God of love—why not again -the resurrection of the spirit of love? And let all the disciples of -Christ rejoice therein, as doth your partner, John Locke.’</p> -</div> - -<p>See ‘The Friend,’ a periodical published in Philadelphia.</p> - -<p>Adam Clarke’s comment on 1 Cor. 11: 5, is similar to Locke’s:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘Whatever be the meaning of praying and prophesying in respect to the -man, they have precisely the same meaning in respect to the woman. -So that some women at least, as well as some men, might speak to -others to edification and exhortation and comfort. And this kind of -prophesying, or teaching, was predicted by Joel 2: 28, and referred<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span> -to by Peter; and had there not been such gifts bestowed on women, the -prophesy could not have had its fulfilment.’</p> -</div> - -<p>In the autobiography of Adam Clarke, there is an interesting account -of his hearing Mary Sewall and another female minister preach, and he -acknowledges that such was the power accompanying their ministry, that -though he had been prejudiced against women’s preaching, he could not -but confess that these women were anointed for the office.</p> - -<p>But there are certain passages in the Epistles of St. Paul, which seem -to be of doubtful interpretation; at which we cannot much marvel, -seeing that his brother Peter says, there are some things in them hard -to be understood. Most commentators, having their minds preoccupied -with the prejudices of education, afford little aid; they rather tend -to darken the text by the multitude of words. One of these passages -occurs in 1 Cor. 14. I have already remarked, that this chapter, with -several of the preceding, was evidently designed to correct abuses -which had crept into the assemblies of Christians in Corinth. Hence we -find that the men were commanded to be silent, as well as the women, -when they were guilty of any thing which deserved reprehension. The -apostle says, ‘If there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the -church.’ The men were doubtless in the practice of speaking in unknown -tongues, when there was no interpreter present; and Paul reproves them, -because this kind of preaching conveyed no instruction to the people. -Again he says, ‘If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, -let the first hold his peace.’ We may infer from this, that two men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> -sometimes attempted to speak at the same time, and the apostle rebukes -them, and adds, ‘Ye may <span class="allsmcap">ALL</span> prophesy one by one, for God -is not the author of confusion, but of peace.’ He then proceeds to -notice the disorderly conduct of the women, who were guilty of other -improprieties. They were probably in the habit of asking questions, on -any points of doctrine which they wished more thoroughly explained. -This custom was common among the men in the Jewish synagogues, after -the pattern of which, the meetings of the early Christians were in -all probability conducted. And the Christian women, presuming on the -liberty which they enjoyed under the new religion, interrupted the -assembly, by asking questions. The apostle disapproved of this, because -it disturbed the solemnity of the meeting: he therefore admonishes -the women to keep silence in the churches. That the apostle did not -allude to preaching is manifest, because he tells them, ‘If they will -<i>learn</i> any thing, let them ask their husbands at home.’ Now a -person endowed with a gift in the ministry, does not ask questions -in the public exercise of that gift, for the purpose of gaining -information: she is instructing others. Moreover, the apostle, in -closing his remarks on this subject, says, ‘Wherefore, brethren, (a -generic term, applying equally to men and women,) covet to prophesy, -and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently -and in order.’</p> - -<p>Clarke, on the passage, ‘Let women keep silence in the churches,’ says:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘This was a Jewish ordinance. Women were not permitted to teach in the -assemblies, or even to ask questions. The rabbins taught that a woman -should know nothing but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span> the use of her distaff; and the saying of -Rabbi Eliezer is worthy of remark and execration: ‘Let the words of -the law be burned, rather than that they should be delivered by women.’</p> -</div> - -<p>Are there not many of our Christian brethren, whose hostility to the -ministry of women is as bitter as was that of Rabbi Eliezer, and who -would rather let souls perish, than that the truths of the gospel -should be delivered by women?</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘This,’ says Clarke, ‘was their condition till the time of the gospel, -when, according to the prediction of Joel, the Spirit of God was to be -poured out on the women as well as the men, that they might prophesy, -that is, teach. And that they did prophesy, or teach, is evident from -what the apostle says, ch. 11: 5, where he lays down rules to regulate -this part of their conduct while ministering in the church. But does -not what the apostle says here, let your women keep silence in the -churches, contradict that statement, and show that the words in ch. -11, should be understood in another sense? for here it is expressly -said, that they should keep silence in the churches, for it was not -permitted to a woman to speak. Both places seem perfectly consistent. -It is evident from the context, that the apostle refers here to asking -questions, and what we call dictating in the assemblies.’</p> -</div> - -<p>The other passage on which the opinion, that women are not called to -the ministry, is founded, is 1 Tim. 2d ch. The apostle speaks of the -duty of prayer and supplication, mentions his own ordination as a -preacher, and then adds, ‘I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, -lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner -also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel,’ &c. I shall here -premise, that as the punctuation and division into chapters and verses -is no part of the original arrangement, they cannot determine the sense -of a passage. Indeed, every attentive reader of the Bible must observe, -that the injudicious separation of sentences often<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> destroys their -meaning and their beauty. Joseph John Gurney, whose skill as a biblical -critic is well known in England, commenting on this passage, says,</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>‘It is worded in a manner somewhat obscure; but appears to be best -construed according to the opinion of various commentators (See Pool’s -Synopsis) as conveying an injunction, that women as well as men should -pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. -1 Tim. 2: 8, 9. ‘I will therefore that men pray everywhere, &c.; -likewise also the women in a modest dress.’ (Compare 1 Cor. 11: 5.) ‘I -would have them adorn themselves with shamefacedness and sobriety.’’</p> -</div> - -<p>I have no doubt this is the true meaning of the text, and that the -translators would never have thought of altering it had they not been -under the influence of educational prejudice. The apostle proceeds -to exhort the women, who thus publicly made intercession to God, not -to adorn themselves with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly -array, but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good -works.’ The word in this verse translated ‘professing,’ would be more -properly rendered preaching godliness, or enjoining piety to the gods, -or conducting public worship. After describing the duty of female -ministers about their apparel, the apostle proceeds to correct some -improprieties which probably prevailed in the Ephesian church, similar -to those which he had reproved among the Corinthian converts. He says, -‘Let the women <span class="allsmcap">LEARN</span> in silence with all subjection; but I -suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but -to be in silence,’ or quietness. Here again it is evident that the -women, of whom he was speaking, were admonished to learn in silence, -which could not refer to their public ministrations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span> to others. The -verb to teach, verse 12, is one of very general import, and may in -this place more properly be rendered dictate. It is highly probable -that women who had long been in bondage, when set free by Christianity -from the restraints imposed upon them by Jewish traditions and -heathen customs, run into an extreme in their public assemblies, and -interrupted the religious services by frequent interrogations, which -they could have had answered as satisfactorily at home.</p> - -<p>On a candid examination and comparison of the passages which I have -endeavored to explain, viz., 1 Cor. chaps. 11 and 14, and 1 Tim. 2, -8-12. I think we must be compelled to adopt one of two conclusions; -either that the apostle grossly contradicts himself on a subject of -great practical importance, and that the fulfilment of the prophecy -of Joel was a shameful infringement of decency and order; or that -the directions given to women, not to speak, or to teach in the -congregations, had reference to some local and peculiar customs, which -were then common in religious assemblies, and which the apostle thought -inconsistent with the purpose for which they were met together. No -one, I suppose, will hesitate which of these two conclusions to adopt. -The subject is one of vital importance. That it may claim the calm and -prayerful attention of Christians, is the desire of</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> I cannot enter fully into this part of my subject. It -is, however, one of great importance, and I recommend those who wish -to examine it, to read ‘The Book of the Priesthood,’ by an English -Dissenter, and Beverly’s ‘View of the Present State of the Visible -Church of Christ.’ They are both masterly productions.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> Rom. 16: 3, compare Gr. text of v. 21, 2. Cor. 8: 23; -Phil. 2: 25; 1 Thes. 3: 2.</p> - -</div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="LETTER_XV">LETTER XV.<br><span class="small">MAN EQUALLY GUILTY WITH WOMAN IN THE FALL.</span></h2></div> - - -<p class="right"> -<i>Uxbridge, 10th Mo. 20th, 1837.</i><br> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Sister</span>,—It is said that ‘modern Jewish women light -a lamp every Friday evening, half an hour before sunset, which is the -beginning of their Sabbath, in remembrance of their original mother, -who first extinguished the lamp of righteousness,—to remind them of -their obligation to rekindle it.’ I am one of those who always admit, -to its fullest extent, the popular charge, that woman brought sin into -the world. I accept it as a powerful reason, why woman is bound to -labor with double diligence, for the regeneration of that world she has -been instrumental in ruining.</p> - -<p>But, although I do not repel the imputation, I shall notice some -passages in the sacred Scriptures, where this transaction is mentioned, -which prove, I think, the identity and equality of man and woman, and -that there is no difference in their guilt in the view of that God who -searcheth the heart and trieth the reins of the children of men. In Is. -43: 27, we find the following passage—‘Thy first father hath sinned,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> -and thy teachers have transgressed against me’—which is synonymous -with Rom. 5: 12. ‘Wherefore, as by <span class="allsmcap">ONE MAN</span> sin entered into -the world, and death by sin, &c.’ Here man and woman are included -under one term, and no distinction is made in their criminality. The -circumstances of the fall are again referred to in 2 Cor. 11: 3—‘But -I fear lest, by any means, as the serpent <i>beguiled</i> Eve through -his subtility, so your mind should be beguiled from the simplicity that -is in Christ.’ Again, 1st Tim. 2: 14—‘Adam <i>was not deceived</i>; -but the woman being <i>deceived</i>, was in the transgression.’ Now, -whether the fact, that Eve was beguiled and deceived, is a proof that -her crime was of deeper dye than Adam’s, who was not deceived, but was -fully aware of the consequences of sharing in her transgression, I -shall leave the candid reader to determine.</p> - -<p>My present object is to show, that, as woman is charged with all the -sin that exists in the world, it is her solemn duty to labor for its -extinction; and that this she can never do effectually and extensively, -until her mind is disenthralled of those shackles which have been -riveted upon her by a ‘<i>corrupt public opinion, and a perverted -interpretation of the holy Scriptures</i>.’ Woman must feel that she -is the equal, and is designed to be the fellow laborer of her brother, -or she will be studying to find out the <i>imaginary</i> line which -separates the sexes, and divides the duties of men and women into two -distinct classes, a separation not even hinted at in the Bible, where -we are expressly told, ‘there is neither male nor female, for ye are -all one in Christ Jesus.’</p> - -<p>My views on this subject are so much better<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> embodied in the language -of a living author than I can express them, that I quote the passage -entire: ‘Woman’s rights and man’s rights are <i>both</i> contained in -the <i>same</i> charter, and held by the <i>same</i> tenure. <i>All -rights</i> spring out of the <i>moral</i> nature: they are both the -root and the offspring of <i>responsibilities</i>. The physical -constitution is the mere <i>instrument</i> of the <i>moral</i> nature; -sex is a mere <i>incident</i> of this constitution, a provision -necessary to this <i>form</i> of existence; its <i>only</i> design, -not to give, nor to take away, nor in any respect to modify or -even <i>touch</i> rights or responsibilities in any sense, except -so far as the peculiar offices of each sex may afford less or more -<i>opportunity</i> and ability for the exercise of rights, and the -discharge of responsibilities; but merely to continue and enlarge the -human department of God’s government. Consequently, I know nothing of -<i>man’s</i> rights, or <i>woman’s</i> rights; <i>human</i> rights are -all that I recognise. The doctrine, that the <i>sex of the body</i> -presides over and administers upon the rights and responsibilities -of the moral, immortal nature, is to my mind a doctrine kindred to -blasphemy, <i>when seen in its intrinsic nature</i>. It breaks up -utterly the <i>relations</i> of the two natures, and reverses their -functions; exalting the animal nature into a monarch, and humbling the -moral into a slave; making the former a proprietor, and the latter its -property.’</p> - -<p>To perform our duties, we must comprehend our rights and -responsibilities; and it is because we do not understand, that we now -fall so far short in the discharge of our obligations. Unaccustomed to -think for ourselves, and to search the sacred volume, to see how far we -are living up to the design of Jehovah in our creation, we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span> have rested -satisfied with the sphere marked out for us by man, never detecting -the fallacy of that reasoning which forbids woman to exercise some -of her noblest faculties, and stamps with the reproach of indelicacy -those actions by which women were formerly dignified and exalted in the -church.</p> - -<p>I should not mention this subject again, if it were not to point -out to my sisters what seems to me an irresistible conclusion from -the literal interpretation of St. Paul, without reference to the -context, and the peculiar circumstances and abuses which drew forth -the expressions, ‘I suffer not a woman to teach’—‘Let your women keep -silence in the church,’ i. e. congregation. It is manifest, that if -the apostle meant what his words imply, when taken in the strictest -sense, then women have no right to <i>teach</i> Sabbath or day schools, -or to open their lips to sing in the assemblies of the people; yet -young and delicate women are engaged in all these offices; they are -expressly trained to exhibit themselves, and raise their voices to a -high pitch in the choirs of our places of worship. I do not intend to -sit in judgment on my sisters for doing these things; I only want them -to see, that they are as really infringing a <i>supposed</i> divine -command, by instructing their pupils in the Sabbath or day schools, and -by singing in the congregation, as if they were engaged in preaching -the unsearchable riches of Christ to a lost and perishing world. Why, -then, are we permitted to break this injunction in some points, and -so sedulously warned not to overstep the bounds set for us by our -<i>brethren</i> in another? Simply, as I believe, because in the one -case we subserve <i>their</i> views and <i>their</i> interests, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span> -act <i>in subordination to them</i>; whilst in the other, we come in -contact with their interests, and claim to be on an equality with them -in the highest and most important trust ever committed to man, namely, -the ministry of the word. It is manifest, that if women were permitted -to be ministers of the gospel, as they unquestionably were in the -primitive ages of the Christian church, it would interfere materially -with the present organized system of spiritual power and ecclesiastical -authority, which is now vested solely in the hands of men. It would -either show that all the paraphernalia of theological seminaries, -&c. &c. to prepare men to become evangelists, is wholly unnecessary, -or it would create a necessity for similar institutions in order to -prepare women for the same office; and this would be an encroachment -on that learning, which our hind brethren have so ungenerously -monopolized. I do not ask any one to believe my statements, or adopt -my conclusions, because they are mine; but I do earnestly entreat my -sisters to lay aside their prejudices, and examine these subjects -<i>for themselves</i>, regardless of the ‘traditions of men,’ because -they are intimately connected with their duty and their usefulness in -the present important crisis.</p> - -<p>All who know any thing of the present system of benevolent and -religious operations, know that women are performing an important part -in them, in <i>subserviency to men</i>, who guide our labors, and are -often the recipients of those benefits of education we toil to confer, -and which we rejoice they can enjoy, although it is their mandate -which deprives us of the same advantages. Now, whether our brethren -have defrauded us intentionally, or unintentionally,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> the wrong we -suffer is equally the same. For years, they have been spurring us up -to the performance of our duties. The immense usefulness and the vast -influence of woman have been eulogized and called into exercise, and -many a blessing has been lavished upon us, and many a prayer put up -for us, because we have labored by day and by night to clothe and feed -and educate young men, whilst our own bodies sometimes suffer for -want of comfortable garments, and our minds are left in almost utter -destitution of that improvement which we are toiling to bestow upon the -brethren.</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">‘Full many a gem of purest ray serene,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear;</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Full many a flower is born to blush unseen</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And waste its sweetness on the desert air.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>If the sewing societies, the avails of whose industry are now expended -in supporting and educating young men for the ministry, were to -withdraw their contributions to these objects, and give them where they -are <i>more needed</i>, to the advancement of their <i>own sex</i> -in useful learning, the next generation might furnish sufficient -proof, that in intelligence and ability to master the whole circle of -sciences, woman is not inferior to man; and instead of a sensible woman -being regarded as she now is, is a lusus naturæ, they would be quite -as common as sensible men. I confess, considering the high claim men -in this country make to great politeness and deference to women, it -does seem a little extraordinary that we should be urged to work for -the brethren. I should suppose it would be more in character with ‘the -generous promptings of chivalry, and the poetry of romantic gallantry,’ -for which Catherine E.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> Beecher gives them credit, for them to form -societies to educate their sisters, seeing our inferior capacities -require more cultivation to bring them into use, and qualify us to be -helps meet for them. However, though I think this would be but a just -return for all our past kindnesses in this way, I should be willing -to balance our accounts, and begin a new course. Henceforth, let the -benefit be reciprocated, or else let each sex provide for the education -of their own poor, whose talents ought to be rescued from the oblivion -of ignorance. Sure I am, the young men who are now benefitted by the -handy work of their sisters, will not be less honorable if they occupy -half their time in earning enough to pay for their own education, -instead of depending on the industry of women, who not unfrequently -deprive themselves of the means of purchasing valuable books which -might enlarge their stock of useful knowledge, and perhaps prove a -blessing to the family by furnishing them with instructive reading. If -the minds of women were enlightened and improved, the domestic circle -would be more frequently refreshed by intelligent conversation, a means -of edification now deplorably neglected, for want of that cultivation -which these intellectual advantages would confer.</p> - - -<h3>DUTIES OF WOMEN.</h3> - -<p>One of the duties which devolve upon women in the present interesting -crisis, is to prepare themselves for more extensive usefulness, by -making use of those religious and literary privileges and advantages -that are within their reach, if they will only stretch out their hands -and possess them. By doing this, they will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> become better acquainted -with their rights as moral beings, and with their responsibilities -growing out of those rights: they will regard themselves, as they -really are, <span class="allsmcap">FREE AGENTS</span>, immortal beings, amenable to -no tribunal but that of Jehovah, and bound not to submit to any -restriction imposed for selfish purposes, or to gratify that love of -power which has reigned in the heart of man from Adam down to the -present time. In contemplating the great moral reformations of the -day, and the part which they are bound to take in them, instead of -puzzling themselves with the harassing, because unnecessary inquiry, -how far they may go without overstepping the bounds of propriety, -which separate male and female duties, they will only inquire, ‘Lord, -what wilt thou have us to do?’ They will be enabled to see the simple -truth, that God has made no distinction between men and women as moral -beings; that the distinction now so much insisted upon between male -and female virtues is as absurd as it is unscriptural, and has been -the fruitful source of much mischief—granting to man a license for -the exhibition of brute force and conflict on the battle field; for -sternness, selfishness, and the exercise of irresponsible power in -the circle of home—and to woman a permit to rest on an arm of flesh, -and to regard modesty and delicacy, and all the kindred virtues, as -peculiarly appropriate to her. Now to me it is perfectly clear, that -<span class="allsmcap">WHATSOEVER IT IS MORALLY RIGHT FOR A MAN TO DO, IT IS MORALLY RIGHT -FOR A WOMAN TO DO</span>; and that confusion must exist in the moral -world, until women takes her stand on the same platform with man, and -feels that she is clothed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> by her Maker with the <i>same rights</i>, -and, of course, that upon her devolve the <i>same duties</i>.</p> - -<p>It is not my intention, nor indeed do I think it is in my power, to -point out the precise duties of women. To him who still teacheth by -his Holy Spirit as never man taught, I refer my beloved sisters. There -is a vast field of usefulness before them. The signs of the times give -portentous evidence, that a day of deep trial is approaching; and I -urge them, by every consideration of a Savior’s dying love, by the -millions of heathen in our midst, by the sufferings of woman in almost -every portion of the world, by the fearful ravages which slavery, -intemperance, licentiousness and other iniquities are making of the -happiness of our fellow creatures, to come to the rescue of a ruined -world, and to be found co-workers with Jesus Christ.</p> - -<p class="poetry"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">‘Ho! to the rescue, ho!</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Up every one that feels—</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">’Tis a sad and fearful cry of woe</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">From a guilty world that steals.</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hark! hark! how the horror rolls,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Whence can this anguish be?</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">’Tis the groan of a trammel’d people’s souls,</span><br> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Now bursting</i> to be free.’</span><br> -</p> - -<p>And here, with all due deference for the office of the ministry, which -I believe was established by Jehovah himself, and designed by Him to -be the means of spreading light and salvation through a crucified -Savior to the ends of the earth, I would entreat my sisters not to -<i>compel</i> the ministers of the present day to give their names -to great moral reformations. The practice of making ministers life -members, or officers of societies, when their hearts have not been -touched with a live coal from the altar,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span> and animated with love for -the work we are engaged in, is highly injurious to them, as well as to -the cause. They often satisfy their consciences in this way, without -doing anything to promote the anti-slavery, or temperance, or other -reformations; and we please ourselves with the idea, that we have -done something to forward the cause of Christ, when, in effect, we -have been sewing pillows like the false prophetesses of old under the -arm-holes of our clerical brethren. Let us treat the ministers with -all tenderness and respect, but let us be careful how we cherish in -their hearts the idea that they are of more importance to a cause than -other men. I rejoice when they take hold heartily. I love and honor -some ministers with whom I have been associated in the anti-slavery -ranks, but I do deeply deplore, for the sake of the cause, the -prevalent notion, that the clergy must be had, either by persuasion or -by bribery. They will not need persuasion or bribery, if their hearts -are with us; if they are not, we are better without them. It is idle -to suppose that the kingdom of heaven cannot come on earth, without -their co-operation. It is the Lord’s work, and it must go forward with -or without their aid. As well might the converted Jews have despaired -of the spread of Christianity, without the co-operation of Scribes and -Pharisees.</p> - -<p>Let us keep in mind, that no abolitionism is of any value, which is -not accompanied with deep, heartfelt repentance; and that, whenever -a minister sincerely repents of having, either by his apathy or his -efforts, countenanced the fearful sin of slavery, he will need no -inducement to come into our ranks; so far from it, he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> will abhor -himself in dust and ashes, for his past blindness and indifference -to the cause of God’s poor and oppressed: and he will regard it as a -privilege to be enabled to do something in the cause of human rights. -I know the ministry exercise vast power; but I rejoice in the belief, -that the spell is broken which encircled them, and rendered it all but -blasphemy to expose their errors and their sins. We are beginning to -understand that they are but men, and that their station should not -shield them from merited reproof.</p> - -<p>I have blushed for my sex when I have heard of their entreating -ministers to attend their associations, and open them with prayer. The -idea is inconceivable to me, that Christian women can be engaged in -doing God’s work, and yet cannot ask his blessing on their efforts, -except through the lips of a man. I have known a whole town scoured to -obtain a minister to open a female meeting, and their refusal to do so -spoken of as quite a misfortune. Now, I am not glad that the ministers -do wrong; but I am glad that my sisters have been sometimes compelled -to act for themselves: it is exactly what they need to strengthen them, -and prepare them to act independently. And to say the truth, there is -something really ludicrous in seeing a minister enter the meeting, -open it with prayer, and then take his departure. However, I only -throw out these hints for the consideration of women. I believe there -are solemn responsibilities resting upon us, and that in this day of -light and knowledge, we cannot plead ignorance of duty. The great moral -reformations now on the wheel are only practical Christianity; and -if the ministry is not prepared to labor with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> us in these righteous -causes, let us press forward, and they will follow on to know the Lord.</p> - - -<h3>CONCLUSION.</h3> - -<p>I have now, my dear sister, completed my series of letters. I am -aware, they contain some new views; but I believe they are based on -the immutable truths of the Bible. All I ask for them is, the candid -and prayerful consideration of Christians. If they strike at some -of our bosom sins, our deep-rooted prejudices, our long cherished -opinions, let us not condemn them on that account, but investigate -them fearlessly and prayerfully, and not shrink from the examination; -because, if they are true, they place heavy responsibilities upon -women. In throwing them before the public, I have been actuated solely -by the belief, that if they are acted upon, they will exalt the -character and enlarge the usefulness of my own sex, and contribute -greatly to the happiness and virtue of the other. That there is a root -of bitterness continually springing up in families and troubling the -repose of both men and women, must be manifest to even a superficial -observer; and I believe it is the mistaken notion of the inequality of -the sexes. As there is an assumption of superiority on the one part, -which is not sanctioned by Jehovah, there is an incessant struggle -on the other to rise to that degree of dignity, which God designed -women to possess in common with men, and to maintain those rights and -exercise those privileges which every woman’s common sense, apart from -the prejudices of education, tells her are inalienable; they are a part -of her moral<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span> nature, and can only cease when her immortal mind is -extinguished.</p> - -<p>One word more. I feel that I am calling upon my sex to sacrifice what -has been, what is still dear to their hearts, the adulation, the -flattery, the attentions of trifling men. I am asking them to repel -these insidious enemies whenever they approach them; to manifest by -their conduct, that, although they value highly the society of pious -and intelligent men, they have no taste for idle conversation, and -for that silly preference which is manifested for their personal -accommodation, often at the expense of great inconvenience to their -male companions. As an illustration of what I mean, I will state a fact.</p> - -<p>I was traveling lately in a stage coach. A gentleman, who was also -a passenger, was made sick by riding with his back to the horses. I -offered to exchange seats, assuring him it did not affect me at all -unpleasantly; but he was too polite to permit a lady to run the risk of -being discommoded. I am sure he meant to be very civil, but I really -thought it was a foolish piece of civility. This kind of attention -encourages selfishness in woman, and is only accorded as a sort of -quietus, in exchange for those <i>rights</i> of which we are deprived. -Men and women are equally bound to cultivate a spirit of accommodation; -but I exceedingly deprecate her being treated like a spoiled child, -and sacrifices made to her selfishness and vanity. In lieu of these -flattering but injurious attentions, yielded to her as an inferior, as -a mark of benevolence and courtesy, I want my sex to claim nothing from -their brethren but what their brethren may justly claim from them,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span> -in their intercourse as Christians. I am persuaded woman can do much -in this way to elevate her own character. And that we may become duly -sensible of the dignity of our nature, only a little lower than the -angels, and bring forth fruit to the glory and honor of Emanuel’s name, -is the fervent prayer of</p> - -<p class="center"> -Thine in the bonds of womanhood,<br> -</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">Sarah M. Grimke</span>.<br> -</p> - -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop chap"> -<div class="chapter transnote"> - -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<p>Errors in punctuation have been fixed.</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_7">7</a>: “Thy both” changed to “They both”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_8">8</a>: “flesh, flowl” changed to “flesh, fowl”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_9">9</a>: “moral responsibilites” changed to “moral responsibilities”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_21">21</a>: “Pastoral Lerter” changed to “Pastoral Letter”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_25">25</a>: “messenger of Jehevah” changed to “messenger of Jehovah”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_36">36</a>: “and someties” changed to “and sometimes”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_43">43</a>: In the footnote, “de famille on de” changed to “de famille ou -de” and “Paris and Loudon” changed to “Paris and London”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_48">48</a>: “os well as” changed to “as well as”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_50">50</a>: “making a waistcoast” changed to “making a waistcoat”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_57">57</a>: “he mean time” changed to “the mean time”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_61">61</a>: “INTELLLECT OF WOMAN” changed to “INTELLECT OF WOMAN”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_67">67</a>: “Christian countres” changed to “Christian countries”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_70">70</a>: “glorions reformations” changed to “glorious reformations”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_79">79</a>: “der husband’s” changed to “her husband’s”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_89">89</a>: “the same gound” changed to “the same ground”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_101">101</a>: “but hardende” changed to “but hardened”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_118">118</a>: “so seduously” changed to “so sedulously”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_120">120</a>: “lusses naturæ” changed to “lusus naturæ”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_122">122</a>: “forst ernness” changed to “for sternness”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_128">128</a>: “woman can can do much” changed to “woman can do much”</p> - -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS ON THE EQUALITY OF THE SEXES, AND THE CONDITION OF WOMAN ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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