Heaven’s brightest rose shall bloom;
For woman’s best is unbegun,
Her advent yet to come.”
Miss Becker, of Manchester, in a paper on some supposed differences in the minds of men and women, read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in Norwich, August 25, 1868, submits the three following propositions:—“I. That the attribute of sex does not extend to mind: that there is no distinction between the intellects of men and women, corresponding to and dependent on the special organization of their bodies. II. That any broad marks of distinction which may at the present time be observed to exist between the minds of men and women collectively, are fairly traceable to the influence of the different circumstances under which they pass their lives, and cannot be proved to adhere in each class, in virtue of sex. III. That in spite of the external circumstances which tend to cause divergence in the tone of mind, habits of thought, and opinions of men and women; it is a matter of fact that these do not differ more among persons of opposite sexes than they do among persons of the same; that comparing any one man with any one woman, or any class of men with any class of women, the difference between their mental characteristics will not be greater than may be found between two individuals or classes, compared with others of the same sex.”
MORAL EQUALITY.
The capacity for goodness is greater and nobler than the ability to acquire knowledge; and it is almost universally admitted that woman is more largely endowed with the lofty moral sense and the generous affection from which all true greatness springs, than man. Intellectual glory cannot compare with the moral halo that gilds the following picture: “Take a woman who is possessed of a large intellect, say—but intellect well disciplined, well stored—gifted with mind, and graced with its specific piety, whose chief delight it is to do kind deeds to those beloved. Her life is poured out like the fair light of heaven around the bedside of the sick; she becomes like a last sacrament to the dying man, bringing back a reminiscence of the best things of mortal life, and giving a foretasted prophecy of the joys of heaven—her very presence an alabaster box of ointment exceeding precious, filling the house with its balm of a thousand flowers. Her love adorns the path in which she teaches youthful feet to tread, and blooms in amaranthine loveliness above the head laid low in earth. She would feel insulted by gratitude. God can give no greater joy to mortal men than the consciousness whence such a life wells out. Not content with blessing the few whom friendship joins to her, her love enlarges and runs over the side of the private cup, and fills the bowl of many a needy and forsaken one. Oh, in the presence of such affection as this, the intellect of Plato would be abashed, and say,—‘Stand back, my soul, for here is something holier than thou. In sight of such excellence, I am ashamed of intellect; I would not look upon the greatest that ever spoke to ages yet unborn.’”
We cannot but feel that the eloquent author was right in making the embodiment of such goodness a woman; for under all conditions, from the lowest barbarism to the highest civilization, her sense of right is conspicuous, and her generous affection is proverbial. Both in Latin and Greek almost every moral excellence is expressed by nouns in the feminine gender. Virtus, Sophia, Fides, Justitia, and Charitas, are examples. Some are of opinion that there was much philosophy in the mythology of the ancients; but, be this as it may, it is certain that in nearly all languages the virtues, when personified, are spoken of in the feminine gender; intimating that the nature of woman is pre-eminently adapted for their exemplification.
“Perhaps,” says William M’Combie, in his “Hours of Thought,” “if we would see moral elevation apart, as far as possible, from all earthly excitements, we must leave the halls of riches, and the possessors of high intellectual endowments, and enter the dwelling of the lonely female of threescore years and ten, whose ‘acquaintances’ have gone down into ‘darkness,’—who has outlived all that were dearest to her heart on earth. We shall, perhaps, find her sitting in a corner of her confined apartment, scarcely visible amidst smoke, distressed with disease, or suffering under acute pain, with only the literal ‘bread’ and ‘water,’ which the word of God hath made sure. Yet the language of thankfulness is on her tongue, and her countenance brightens with contentment as if lighted by a ray from heaven; the withdrawment of earthly comforts and cares seem to have opened a wider entrance for the heavenly consolation; and her distresses and her pains only impel her forward in her journey to the celestial city. In the want of earthly associates, she enjoys more intimate communion with her God, and the ineffably animating language of the Saviour has become, as it were, an element of her mind.” “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
RELIGIOUS EQUALITY.
The capacity for religion is the highest part of human nature, and the qualities which constitute religion, the noblest which it is possible to cultivate. If the choice were possible, that to-morrow every woman and maiden should become worthy of being associated with those splendid intellects, some few score of which have done the main part of the work of thinking for the rest of the world; or else should become unchangeably and fearlessly religious,—would any true and wise lover of his country for a moment hesitate to choose the latter? Can there be any doubt which would contribute most to the happiness, and in the end, to the honour, greatness, and security of the world.