Shewing how the method of educating daughters, makes it difficult for them to enter into the spirit of Christian humility. How miserably they are injured and abused by such an education. The spirit of a better education, represented in the character of Eusebia.
1.THAT turn of mind which is taught and encouraged in the education of daughters, makes it exceeding difficult for them to enter into such a sense and practice of humility, as the spirit of Christianity requireth.
*The right education of this sex is of the utmost importance. For tho’ women don’t carry on the trade and business of the world; yet as they are mothers and mistresses of families, that have for some time the care of the education of their children, they are entrusted with that which is of the greatest consequence to human life. For this reason, good or bad women are likely to do as much good or harm in the world, as good or bad men in the greatest business.
*For as the health and strength, or weakness of our bodies, is much owing to their methods of treating us when we were young; so the soundness or folly of our minds is not less owing to these first tempers and ways of thinking, which we eagerly received from the love, tenderness, authority, and constant conversation of our mothers.
*As we call our first language our mother-tongue, so we may as justly call our first tempers our mother-tempers; and perhaps it may be found more easy to forget the language, than to part entirely with those tempers which we learnt in the nursery.
2. It is therefore much to be lamented, that this sex, who have the first forming both of our bodies and minds, are not only educated in pride, but in the silliest and most contemptible part of it.
*They are not indeed suffered to dispute with us the proud prizes of arts and sciences; but we turn them over to the study of beauty and dress, and the whole world conspires to make them think of nothing else. Fathers and mothers, friends and relations, seem to have no other wish towards the little girl, but that she may have a fair skin, a fine shape, dress well, and dance to admiration.
Now if a fondness for our persons, a desire of beauty, a love of dress, be a part of pride (as surely it is a most contemptible part of it) the first step towards a woman’s humility, seems to require a repentance of her education.
For it must be owned, that, generally speaking, good parents are never more fond of their daughters, than when they see them too fond of themselves, and dressed in such a manner, as is a great reproach to the gravity and sobriety of the Christian life.
3. The church has formerly had eminent saints in that sex; and it may reasonably be thought, that it is purely owing to their poor and vain education, that this honour of their sex is for the most part confined to former ages.