their orbits, matter yields to the great governing Spirit.—But an immortal ſoul, not reſtrained by mechanical laws and struggling to free itſelf from the ſhackles of matter, contributes to, inſtead of diſturbing, the order of creation, when, co-operating with the Father of ſpirits, it tries to govern itſelf by the invariable rule that, in a degree, before which our imagination faints, the univerſe is regulated.
Beſides, if women are educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and ſubmit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to ſtop? Are they to be conſidered as vicegerents allowed to reign over a ſmall domain, and anſwerable for their conduct to a higher tribunal, liable to error?
It will not be difficult to prove that ſuch delegates will act like men ſubjected by fear, and make their children and ſervants endure their tyrannical oppreſſion. As they ſubmit without reaſon, they will, having no fixed rules to ſquare their conduct by, be kind, or cruel, juſt as the whim of the moment directs; and we ought not to wonder if ſometimes, galled by their heavy yoke, they take a malignant pleaſure in reſting it on weaker ſhoulders.
But, ſuppoſing a woman, trained up to obedience, be married to a ſenſible man, who directs her judgment without making her feel the ſervility of her ſubjection, to act with as much propriety by this reflected light as can be expected when reaſon is taken at ſecond hand, yet ſhe cannot enſure the life of her protector; he may die and leave her with a large family.
