2d. The Church claims the credit of originating and sustaining the various steps of progress by which woman has been elevated. She claims to have originated and to sustain the idea that woman is man's equal, and to recognize her as such in the Church.
3d. She points with pride to the superior education and intelligence of the women of Christian countries, and contrasts this intellectual altitude with that of women elsewhere. She says that women owe their superior opportunities of education and advancement to their religion.
4th. But above all the clergy attempt to silence those who ask questions, by calling attention to the superior legal status of woman in Christian countries, and asserting that the Church secured this, and that it made marriage honorable and home a possibility.
5th. The clergy claim that the Bible is woman's best friend and staunchest defender, and that it is the originator of morality.
HISTORICAL FACTS.
"The moment there is fixation, petrification and death
ensue." "Profound sincerity is the only basis of
character."
—Emerson.
CIVILIZATION.
We are told that our superior civilization and high moral tone are due to Christianity. I think that this is not true. The whole, or at least much the larger and foundation part of the question of civilization—where it shall grow and where only live, where it shall drag and where scarcely exist—seems to me to be decided primarily by environment, the basis of which is climate and soil.