6* REFLECTIONS UPON MARRIAGE. Cfje Cfjirt! eutimh To which is Added A Preface, in Anfwer to fome If a Virgin Marry ^ floe hnth not finned ' ncverthe- Icfsfuchfi'Onll have trouble. The H^ife is hound by the LavQ fo long as her i Huf' band liveth , but if her Husband be dead floe is at liberty to be Married to whom fke willy only in the Lord, But fhe is happer if Jhe fo abide after my Judgment, i Cor. 7. ^8, 39, 40. LONDp N-c Printed for Jf.JFi/fe, at tht Kin (r's Head in St. P^r/f sChurch-Yard, 1706. > fj ^/ ■■■■■■■ ■ ■■ «i 1 . I _Jl — — - — —~^ fSfS- I preface; TUefe I{efleHions being made in the Country^ where the Book, ^^^^^ occafiond them came hut late to Hand, the Reader is dcfird to excufe their Vnfeafonablenefs as well as other Faults j and to believe that they have no other Dejign than to CorreH feme Ahufes^ which are not the lefs hecaufe Tower and Prefcription feem to Authori:{e them. If any . ' K fo needlejly curious as to enquire from what Hatid they come^ they may fleafe to k^now, that it js net ggod Manners to aik^t fince the Title-? age > does not tell them I We are all of us fuffciently Vain^ and with- out doubt the Celebrated Name of Author, which mo[i are fo fond cf^ had not been avoided but for very good J^eafons : To name but one ; Who will care to pull upon themfelves an Hornet's Nefl ? 't/j a very great Vault to regard rather who it is that Speakj^ than what is Spoken j and either to fubmit to Authority^ when we fhould only yield to \enfon ; or if }{cafon prefs too hardi to think, to ward it off by Perfonal OhjeBions and t(efieBions. Bold Truths may pafs while the Speaker is Incognito, but are not endurd when he is known j few Minds being ftrong enough to bear what contradiBs their Principles and PraHices with- out Recriminating when they can. And tho" to tell the Truth be the moji friendly Office^ yet whcfoever is fo hardy as to venture at it^ jhall he counted an Enemy forfo doing, \ , Thus 'Jhe Preface. T4ius far the old Advertliement, when tlie.Rer .» But the Refle6tor, 'rvho hopes Refle6lor is not bad EngJifhf novp Governor is kr.ppily of the Feminine Gender^ h^d as good or better hn-ve fnid nothing , For People by beijig forbid, are only excited to a more cw rious Enquiry. A certain Ingenious Gentleman (^as floe is iytformd) had the Good-Nature to ovon thefe B^fleBions, fo far as to affrm that he had' the Original M. S. in his Clofet, a Proof /he is npf able to produce'^ and fo to make himfclf refponfible for all their Faults, for which Jhe returns him all due Acknow* lodgment. However^ the Generality being of Opinion^ that a Man would have had more Prudence and Man* Tiers than to hai'e Puhlijlo'd fuch unfeafonable Truths, or to have betrayed the Arcana Imperil of his Sex^ Jhe humbly confeffes, that the Contrivance and Execu* tioncf this Dejjgn, which is mifortunately accused of being fo dejiruciive to the Government, of the Men I mean, is entirely h(:r own. She neither advisd with Friehdsj nor turnd over Antient cr Modern Authors, nor prudently fubmittedfo the Correclion of fuch as are, or fuch as think they are good Judges, but with an Englifh Spirit and Genius, fet cut upon the Forlorn "Hope, meani?7g no hurt to any body, nor defigning any thing but the Publick^ Good, and to retrieve, if pof" fible, the Native Liberty, the Bights and Privileges of the SubjcB. Far be it from her to ftir up Sedition of any fort, nofie can abhor it more', and jhe heartily wifhes that our Majlers woud pay their Civil and Ecclefiajlical Governors the fame Suhmifjion, which they thcmfelvcs exABfrom their Domejiic ^bjeiis» Nor can floe ima- The Preface; imagine how [he nny way U7idermines the Mafiuline Er/ipircy or blcvQS the Trumpet cf l^ebelllcn to theMoiery cf Mankind* Is it by exhorting PPomeny not to eX' peft to have their own Will in any things but to be en- tirely SubmiJJive^ wheti once they have made choice of a Lord and Mafter^ tho* he happen not to be fo Wifc^ fo Kjnd^ or even fo Juft a Governor as vpas expeSled ? She did not indeed advife them to think^hh Folly Wifdom^ nor his Brutality that hove and Worfoip he promifed in his Matrimonial Oath^ for this req^uired a Flight of Wit and Senfe much above her poor Ability^ and proper only to MafculineZJnderftandings. However fhs did not iyi any manner prompt them to Esfj% or to Abdicate the Perjurd Spcufe, tho^ the Laws of GOD and the Land make fpecial Provifion for it^ in a cafe wherein^ as is to be fear d^ few Men can truly plead N.t Guilty, ^Tis true^ thro^ Want of Learnings and of that Su- perior Genius which Men as Men lay claim to^ ftoe vpas ignorant of the Natural Inferiority of our Scx^ vohich our Majlejrs lay down as a Self-Evident and Fundamental Truth. She faw nothing in the B^afon of Things^ to make this either a Principle or a Conclw Jion^ but much to the contrary j it being Sedition at leaji^ if not Treafon to ajfert it in this B^ign. For if by the Natural Superiority cf their Sex^ they mean that every Man is by Nature fuperior to every Woman^ which is 'the obvious meaning, and that which mufh he fiuck^ to if they would fpeak Senfe, it ^ouJ^d be a Sin in any Woman to have Do7ninion over any Man, and the greatefi (^ueen oughfnot to command but to obey hex Footman , hecaufe no Municipal Laws can fuperfede er change the Law of Nature j fo that if the Dominion of the Men be fuch, the Salique Law, as unfuft as En- glifli Men have ever thought it, ought to take place , A over The Preface. over flll the Earthy nrid the mofl glorhus I{cigns in the Englifh, Daniflij Caftlllan, and other Annals^ ncrc wicked Vioiaticns of the Law of Nature I If they tncan thai *(brne Men are fuperior to fbme Pl'orhen^ this is no great D'lfcovery j had they turnd the Tables they 77jight have fcen that fbme H-^omen are Superior to fome Men, Or had they beenpleafed to remember their Oaths ef Allegiance and Supremacy^ they ynight have known that One Woman is fw- perior to All the Men in thefe Nations, or elfe they have fworn to very little purprfe. And it muft not be fuppos d , that their I{cafon and E^ligion won d fuffer them to takp Oaths, contrary to the Law of Na- ture andI{eafon of thi7?gs. By all which it appears^ that our }{efleciors Igno- ranee is vsryptiablc, it may be her Misfortune hut not hir Crime, efpecially fincejhe is willing to be better in* formed, and hopes foe floall never be fo ohftiyiate as to fhut her Eyes againfl the Light of Truth, which is not to be chargd with Novelty, how late foever we may be blcfs'd with the Difcovery, Nor can Error, be it as Antient as it may, ever plead Prefcription againfi Truth. Andjince the only way to remove all Doubts, to anfwer all Objeclions, and to give the Mind entire Satisfaction, is not by Affirming, but by Proving, fo that every one may fee with their own Eyes, and Judge according to the befi of their own Z/nderfland" hi'^s. She hopes it is 710 Prefumption to infft on this Natural Rjght of Judging for her fclf, and the rather, hccaufe by quitting it, we give up all the Means of I{ntional ConviBion.* Allow ;/; tJje72 as many Glaffes as you plcaje to help . our Sight, and as many good Argu- ments its you can afford to Convince our Vnderfland- 'ings : But dont cxaci of us we befcech you, to ajfrm that wc fee fiich things <;> are only the Difcovery of Men The Preface- Men vqIjO have quicker Senfes ; or that vpe undcrftnnd and I\pGW vphat vpe have by Hear-fay only j for to be fo excejfively Ccnipla/fant^ is neither to fee nor to under- fiand. That the Cuflwi of the PVorld hdi put Wom2n,gc72eraU iy h^eakjngyinto a Slate of Suhjcclio)?^ is not deny^d'^ but the HJght can 720 more be proved from the Fncl-y than the Predominancy of Vice can jufife it. A certain great Man has endeavour d to frcve by I{eafons not co72tewptible^ that i?2 the Originnl Stnte of things the H^oman was the Superior^ and that her Subjection ta the Man ps an EffeEl of the Fa'lj nnd the Punifhment ofherSin* And that Ingenious Xbccri ft Mr. Whlfton ajferts, That before the Fall there was a greater equa- lity between the two Sexes* Flowevcr this be-, "'tis e'er' tainly no Arrcgance in a Vl'^oman to CGncludc^ that [h^ was made for the Service of GOD, and that thk is her End, Bccaufe GOD made all Thhigs for Himfclf and a B^ational Mind is too noble a Being to be Made for the Sake and Service of any Creature. The Service foe at any time becomes cbligd to pay to. a Man^ is only a. Bufinefs by the Bye, Jufi as it may be any Maris Bu- finefs and Duty to keep Hogs 5 he was not Made for this, but if he hires himfelf out to fuch an Ejv.plcyment ^ he ought confcientioujly to perform it. Nor can any thing he concluded to the contrary from St, Pa.uP^ Argu- ment^ I Cor. II. For, he argues only for Decency and Order ^ according to the prefeyit Cuftom and State of things. Taking his Words firiElly and literally^ they prove too much, in that Praying and Prophecying in ihe Church arc allow. d the Women, provided they da it with their Head Cover d, as well as the Men , and no inequa, .? inferr d from hence, neither from the Graddtjvri p:c Apoftle there ufes, that the Head or ^ytvy Man is Chrift, and that the Head of the Wd- A % mai The Preface. V man is the Man, and the Head of Chrift is GOD ; It being evident from the Form' of Baptifm^ that there is no natural Inferiority among the Divine Pcrfons-) hut that they are in all things Coequal. The Apoftlc indeed adds, that the Man is the Glory of God, and the Woman the Glory of the Man, ^c. But what does he infer from hence ? he fays not a word of Inequality, or natural Inferiority, hut concludes, that a Pieman oughf to Cover her head, and a lidan ought not to cover his, and that even Nature it (elf, leaches us, that if a Man have long hair it is a fhame unto him. Whatever the Afoftles Argument ■proves in this place, nothing can he plainer, than that there is much more fnid againft the frefent Fafhion cf ^Aicn s wearing long Hair, than for that S^.premacy they lay claim to. For by all that ap- pears in the Text, it is 77ct fo much a Law of Nature, that Women fhcu d Obey Men, as that Men Jkoud ■not wear 'long Hair* Now how can a Chriflian Na^ tion allow Fafloions contrary to the Law cf Nature, forbidden by an Apoflle, and declared by him to be a fhame to Man ? Or if Cuftcm may make an alteration in one Cafe it may in another, but what then beccm.es of the Nature and B^afon cf things ? Befides, the Conclufion the Apoflle draws from his Argument con- cerning Women, viz. that they fhou'd have power on their heads becaufe of the Angels, is fo very obfcure a Text, That that Ingenious Paraphrnft who pleads fo much for the Natural Subje6lion ^ ^^d upon Him only ; which one wo/d think is no great Argument of the natural Inferiority cf either Sex, ^ 0«r Refle6lor is of Opinion that Diffutcs of this kind, extending to Human Nature in general, nndno^ peculiar to thofe to whom the Word cf GOD has been rcveal'd, ought to be decided by natural [{cafin ojzly. And that the Holy Scriptures (houd not he Intercffed in theprefent Controverfy, in which it determifies no- thing, any more than it does between the Copernican -■ md Ptolomean Sjftems. The Dcfign of thofe Holy Books Th^ Preface, jBookj being to make us exeellent Moralifts and Perfeti Chriftians, not grcnt Philofophers, Andhehig writ for the Vulgar as well as for tfjc Learjied^ they are nc commodated to the common way of Speech and the ZJfage of the H^orld ; in which we have but a fhort Probation^ fo that it matters not much what -part we AB, whether of Governing or Obeying^ provided we perform it well with refpeH to the World to ccmc. One does not wonder indeed'^ that when an-Adverfary is drove to a Nonplus and t{eafon declares againfl him^ he flies to Authority^ efpecially to Divine^ which is infal^ lible^and therefore ought not to be difputed. But Scripture is not always on their fide who mak^e parade of it^ and thro their shjll in Languages and the Trickj of the Schools^ wreft it from its genuine fenfe to their own fnveutions. And fuppofing^ not granting^ that it were apparently to the Woman s Dif advantage^ no fair and generous Adverfary but woud be nfharnd to urge this /idvantage. Becaufe Women without their own Fault, are kep't in Ignorance of the Original, wanting Lan' guages and other helps to Criticife on the Sacred Text, ef which they kjtow no more, than Men are pleas d to impart in their Tranflations. InJJoort, they /hew their defire to maintain their Hypothefes, but by no tneans their Reverence to the Sacred Oracles who engage them in fuch Difputes. And therefore the blame be theirs, ^ho have unneceffarilj introduced them in theprefent SubjeB, and who by faying that the Refi[e6i;ions were not agreea- ble to Scripture, oblige the B^efleHor to [hew that thofe who affirm it mufl either miflake her Meaning, or the Scnfe of Holy Scripture, or both, if they thinly vphat they fay, and do not find fault merely becaufe they re- folve to do fo. For had floe ever writ any thing con» trary to thofe facred Truths , [he woud be the firfi in pronouncing its Condemnation. Bit The Preface. i But what fays the Hcly Scripture? It fieahs of Women as in a State of SiihjcBion^ andfo it does of the Jews ajid Chriftians when tinder the Dominion of I the Chaldeans and Romans, requiring of the one as rvell as of the other a quiet fuhmifjion to them under whofe Power they liv^d. But mil any one fay that thefe had a Natural Superiority and BJght to Dominion ? that they had a fuperior Vnderftanding , or any Pre- eminence^ except vghdt their greater Strength acquired? Or that the other were [uhjeBed to their Adverfaries for any other B^eafon hut the Punifhment of their fins y and in order to their B^eformation ? Or for the Exer^ cife of their Vertue^ and hecaufe the Order of the World and the Good of Society requir d it ? If Mankind had never fmrid^ Beafon woud always have been ohey^d^ there woud have been no ftruggh for Dominion^ and Brutal Power woud not have pre- vaifd. But in the laps d State of Mankind^ and novc-r that Men will not be guided by their Ke/jfon but by their Appetites^ and do net what they ought but yohat they can, the Bjafon^ or that which flands for it, (he Will and Pleafure of the Governor is to be the ^ea' ' fon of thcfe who will not be guided by their own , and mufl take place for Order'' s Jake, altho^ itfJoou d not be conformable to right I{eafon. Nor can there be any Society great or little^ from Empires down to private ' — Families, without a laft B^efort , to determine the Af- ^^.^-^fairscf that Society by an irrejiftible Sentence, Now unlefs this Supremacy be fix d fomewhere^ there will be A perpetual Contention about it, fuch is the love of Dominion, and let the^eafon of things be what it may^ thofe who. have leaf Force, or Cunning to fupply ity will have the Difadv ant age » So that Jince Women are acknowledged to have leaft Bodily ftrength, their being, commanded to obey is in pure kjndnejs to thcmy and for The Preface. for their Qjici^ and Security, as well as fcr the Exer^ cife of their Vertue. But does it fotlovo that Domcftic Governors have more Senjethan their SuhjeBs , any more than that other Governors have ? Me do 7iot find that any Man thinkj the worfe of his own 'Under* jianding hecaufe another has fuperior Power j or con- cludes himfelf left capable of a Pofi of Honour and Authority, hecaufe he is not Prefer^ d to it. How much time wou*d lie on Mens hands, how empty woud the Places cf Concourfe be, and howfilent moft Companies, did Men forbear to Cenfure their Governors , that is in eJfeB to thinh^ themfelves Heifer. Indeed Govern- ment wou d he much more dcfirahle than it is, did it invcft the Poffefjor with a fuperior Vnderftanding as well as Power. And if mere Power gives a Rjght to E^de, there can he no fuch thing as Vfurpation j hut a Highway'Man fo long as he has firength to force, has ^alfi- a BJght to require our Obedience, Again, if Abfolute Sovereignty he not necejjary in a Statcip how comes it to he fo in a Family ? or if in a Fkmily whyyiot in a State ', fince no B^cafon can be al- ledgdfor the one that will not hold more ftrongly for the other ? If the Authority of the Husband fo far as it extends, is f acred and inalienable, why 7iGt of the Prince ? The Dcmeftic Sovereign is without Difpute Elected^ and the Stipulations and CcntraB are mutual , is it not then partial in Men to the lafi degree, to contend for , and p^'acijfe that Arbitrary Dominion in their Families, which they alitor and exclaim againft in the State ? For if Arbitrary Power is evil in itfelf^ and an improper Method of Governing Rational and Free Agents, it ought not td he PraEiis^d any where \ Nor is it lefs , hut rather more mifchievous in Fami» lies than in Kingdoms, by how much I occoo Tyrants are worfe than one. l-Vijat tho* a Husband cant dc frive The Preface. prhe a Wife of Life voithout being refponfihic to the LaWi he may hoxoevcr do what is much more grievous ^ to a generous Miyid^ render Life mifernble^ for vokich floe has 710 B^dreCs^ fcarce Pity which is afforded to every other Ccwplainant^ It being thought a iVife^s Duty to fluff er everything without Complaint, J/ all Men are born free , how is it that all fVo7nen are born Slaves ? as they rtnift be if the being flubjeHcd to the inconftant, uncerruin, unknown, arbitrary Will of Men, be the perfe6l Condition of Slavery ? and if the Effcnce of Freedom conflfts , as our M afters flay it does, in havirig n ilanding Rule to live by ? And why is Slavery flo much condctimd afid ftrcve a* gainft In pneCafe, and flo highly applauded, and held flo 7ieceffary and flo f acred in another ? 'Tis true that GOD told Eve after the Fall that her Husband fhou'd Rule over her : A72d flo it is that he told E(au by the mouth of Ifaac his Father, that he fooud ferve his younger Brother, and fjoud in timcj and when he was prong enough to do it, break the Yoke from off his Neck. Now why one Text, fooud be a Command any more .tha?i the other, and nop both of them be Prediclions only j or why the former (houd prove Adam'j 7iaturdl BJght to J^ufe, and. much iefls every Mans, any more than the latter is a Proof of Jacob'^s BJght to }{ule^ and of E(kus to l{ebel, one is yet to learn ? The Text in both Cafes foretel- ling what wou dbc '^ but neither of them detertnining- vohat ought to be. But the Scripture comtnands Wives to fubmit themfelvcs to their own Husbands. True '^for which St. Paul gives a Myftical {{eaflon QEph 5. X I, &c ) and St, Peter 4 Prudential and Charitable one (l St. Pet. 5.) but neither of them derive that Suljccliojh from the Law of Nature, ^ay Sz-.Paul, as if he fore. a flnw The Preface, favf and meant to prevent this Plea^ givi7ig direSlions for their ConduH to H^omeyi in general^ I Tim. 2, vohen be comes to fpenk. of SuDJe<5lion, he cha^igcs his Phrafefrom Women v^hich denotes the whole Scx^ to Woman which in the New Tejlamcnt is appropriated to a iVife* As for his not fujfcring Ti^cmen to fpeak^ in the Churchy no fohcr Perfon that I kjiow of pretends to it, 'That Learned Paraphraft . indeed^ who lays fo much ftrefs on the Natural Subje6i:ion, provided this Pre rogative he fecur d, is willing to give up the other. For be endeavours to prove that hifpird PVomen as well as Men us^d to Jpeak^ in the Church, and that St, Paul does not forbid it^ but ojily takes care that the Vf^'omen pooud (jgnifie their SubjcHioji by wearing a Veil, But the Apodle is his cw7i bcft Expofitor-^ let us therefore compare his Precepts with his PraBice^ for he was all' ef a piece, and did ?iot contradiH himfelf. Now by this Coinparifoyi we find, that tho'' he forbids PVoyjien to tg-ach in the Church, and this for fcv era I Prudential i{eafoj2s, like thofe he introduces with an I give my Opinion, and now (peak I not the Lord, ayid not becaufc of any Law of Nature, or Pcfitive Diviyie Pre- cept, for that the words they arc Commanded (l Cor- 14' ^4*) ^^^ "^^ ^^^ ^^^^ Original, appears from the Italic CharaHey^ yet he did not found this Prohibition oft any fuppos'd want, of Vnderftanding in jVoman, or of .ability to I each j 7ieither does he coii" fine them at all times to learn in filence. For the Eloquent Apollos who was himfelf a Teacher, was in' JiruBcd by Prifcilla as well as by her Husband Aqulla, 4nd was improv d by them both in the Chriftian Faith* Nor does St. Paul blame her for this,- or fuppcfe that /he Ufui*p*d Authority over that great Man, fo far from thisi that as Jhe is always honourably mentioned The Preface. 171 Holy Serif ture , fo our Apoftle in his Salutatiovsy Rom 1 6. places her in the Front, even before her Husband, givi7ig to her as well as to him^ the Noble Title of his Helper in Chrift Jefus , and of one to whom all the Churches of the Gentiles had great Obligations, But it will be /aid perhaps, that in I Tim. 2. Iji^ C^c. St. Paul argues for theWotna72^s fubjetiion frovi the I^enfnn of things. To thts I aijfwer, that it muji be confejfd that this (according to the vulgar Interprctati^ on) is a very obfcure place, and I Jhoud be glad to fee a Natural, and not a Fore d hit erp re tat ion giveij. of it by thofe who take it Literally, TVbereas if it be tah,en Al- legorical ly, with rcjpccl to the Myflical Vnion between Chriji and his Church, to. which St, I* aul frequently ac' commodates the Matri?nonial I{elatio7i, the diffcultics vatiifk. For the Earthly Add.ins bcingYovnid before Eve, fee7ns as little to prove her Natural SubjeBion to him, as the Living Creatures, Fi floes. Birds nndBeafts being For?n d before them both, proves that Mnfikjnd muft be fuljecl to thcfe Animals. Nor can the Apo- flie mean that Eve only finned j or that foe only was Deceived, for if Adam fimid wilfully and kjjowingly, he became the greater Tranfgrejfor, But it is very true that the Second Adam, the Man Chrifi Jefus, was firft form'd, and then his Spoufe the Church. He was not in any rcfpect Deceiv'd, nor does foe pretend to Infallibility, And from this fecond Adam, pro' mis\i to Eve in the Day of our firjl Parent s Tranf' grejfion, and from Him only,do all their [{ace,Men as well as Pfomen, derive their Hopes of Sahntion. Nor is if promis dto either Sex on any other Terms befides Per* feverance in Faith, Charity, Holinefs and Sobriety. If th: Learyied will not admit cf this Interpret/t- tion^ I k^ow not ho^v to contend with them. For Senfe a X is The Preface. h a Porricn tb/tt GOD Hiwfdf hns hcenpleaidto di- pvfbute to both Sexes mth nn hyipartial Hnnd^ but Lcnmhig is vohat Men have engrod d to thernfei'vcst And one cnn t but admire their great Ivi^rcvcments ! For after doubtitig whether there rvai Juch a thiiig as "^ruthy and after wany hundred years Difputes abmt ity in the lafl Century an extraordinary Genius arojcy ( rvhom yet feme are pleased to call a Vifionary ) en* quired after it^ and laid down the be ft Method of finding it. Not to the general lihfng of the Men of Letters^ perhaps, b^caufc it was wrote in a vulgar Language^ and was fo natural dind c^fj (t> to debafi Truth to Common Vnderftandings, f sewing t o plainly that Learniyig and true IQiowledge are two very dif- ferent things, " For it often happens ^fays that Author) *' that Women and Children ackiwwledge thcFalfhocd of *' thofe Prejudices we contend with , bccaufe they do not *' dare to judge without cxamination^and they bring all the atteyition they are capable cfto what they reade* Hfcreas 'on the contrary^ the Learned contifwc wedded to their own Opinicfis, bccaufe they will not take the trouble of exa- ^^minifig what is contrary to their received DoElrines. Sciences ' indeed have . been invented and taught lomg ago , andy di Men grew better advis'^d , new ModelFd^ So that it is become a covfiderable piece of Learning to give an account of the I{ifc and Progrcf of the Sciences^ and of the various Opinions of Men concerning them. But Certainty and Demonfiration arc much pretended to in this prcfent Age, and being obtain d in m.i?:y things^ tis hop'd Men will never Difpute thcjn nvay in that which is of greatcji Impoy tance-f the iVay cf Salvation, And bccaufe there is not any thing more certain than what is delivered in the Oracles of GO O, we come now to confider what they offer in favour of our Sex* Let The Preface* Let: it he premised , {nccording to the ^eafomng of a -very Ingenious Perfon i?2 a like Cnfe ) that One Text for us^ is more to he regarded than many againfi «;• Bccaufe that One heiz/g different from vohat Cujlcm has ejlahliflo'^d^ ought to he taken voith Philofophical StriH^ nefs ; whereas the Many being expref'^d according ta the vulgar Mode of Speech^ ought to have no greater ftreji laid on them^ than that evident Condcjccnfion vpill hear. One place then were fuffcictit , hut. ne have many Infances wherein Holy Scripture covfidcrs H^O" men very differently from what they appear in the com* won Prejudices of Manf{ind. The World will hardly allow a Woman to fay any tJji'ng wellj unlefs asfhe horrows it from Men^ or is aj^ fjfted hy them : But GOD Himfelf allows that the Daughters of Zelophehad fpake righr, a7id paffes their J{equeft into a Law. Confidering how much th^ Tyranny (hall I fayy or the fuperior Force f Men 9 keeps Women from ABing in the H'orld^ or doing any thing confiderahlcy and rememhring withal the corrcife- mfs of the Sacred Story^ nofmallpart of it is hefton: d in tranfmitting the Hiftory of Women famous in their Generatio?is : Two of the Cajionical Bocks hearing the N^'-tnes of thofe great Women whofe Vertues and Actions fi-'-c t:??re recorded. Ruuh being calCd from among the Gentiles to he an Anceftor of the Meffiah, and Efther being rais d up hy GOD to be the great hiflrument of the Deliverance and Prrjperity of the Jcwijh 'Church. The Char aBer of Ifiac, tho one of the mofi hUmclefs. Men tak^en notice of in the Old Teftament^ mufi give place to Rebecca's,, whrfe AffeBicns arc more ^eafo^ nably plac d then his, her Favourite Son being the fame who was GOD s Favourite. Nor was the Blejjing hejlowd accordingjQ his but to per Defire j fo that if you The Preface. you will not aliorv , that her Command to Jacob fw peifcded Ifaac's to E(au, his dcfire to give the Blef- Jtng to this Son, being evidently an effeB of his Far- tiality : Ton muft at lenft grant that fue paid greater deference to the Divine l^ev elation, and for this Z^rrf- fon at leaft, had a HJght to oppofs her Husband^ Dc- fign ^ which it fecms Jfaac voas fenfdde of, when uPon his Dijappointment he trembled lb exceedingly. And fo much notice is taken even of Rebecca s 'Nurfe, that we hhve an account where f:e Died and where f}:c was Buried. GOD 7*5" plciii d to record it among His Favours to the Ingrateful Jews, that He fcnt before them His Seivants-Moihsy Aaron, and MIRIAM; who was alfo a Prophetcfl, and InJlruBed the Hhnen how to bear their part with Mofes in his Triumphal Hymn, Is fhe to be blam d for her Ambition ? and is not the High Prieft Aaron aJfo ? who has his p?are in the ^eprorf as well ai in the Crime ^ nor coudjloe have mcv d Seditionrif Jloe had not been a confidcrahle Per- [on, which appears alfo by the ^cfpe^ the People paid her, in deferring their Journey till foe was ready. VVI:erc p:all we find a nobler piece of Poetry than Deborah's Song ? or a better and greater }{}dcr than that I{e}7owncd H^oman whofe Government fo much ex» cell d that of the former Judges ? And tho'^ foe had a Husbajid, floe her felf Judgd Ifrael and confc^uently was his Sovereign, of whom we know 720 more than the Name. PVoich Inflance, as I humbly fuppofe, over- throws the prete7ice of Natural Inferiority. Por it is mt the. bare Relation of a Fait, by which 7ione ought to be concluded, utilefs it is conformable to a J{ule, and to the I{eaf'on of things : But Deborah' j Government ■ was confer^ d on her by GOD Himfelf Confequently the Sovereignty of a Woman is not contrary to the The Preface. Law of Nature j for the Lavo of Nature is the Law cf GOD, who cannot coiitradi^ Hirnfclf '^ and yet it was GOD who h}fpir\i and Approved that great Wcman^ raifmg her up to Judge and to Deliver Bis People IC- rael. t^ot to infift on the Courage of that 'valiant H^'oniati who deliver d XhebeZ by Jlaying the Affailant'^ nor upon the preference which GOD thought fit to give to Sanip- (bn's Mother, in fending the Angel to her, and not to her Hushaiid, whofe vulgar Fear foe fo prudently ayi- fwerd, as plainly fhews her fuperior Vnderftanding : Topafs over AhigSiirs wife ConduSl, whereby Jloe pre- fervid her Family and deferv d Davld'j ack^wwledg- ments, for refraining him from doi?7g a Hjifh and un- fufifiable Action , the Holy Penman giving her the Characier of a Woman of good Underftanding. whilfl her Husband has that of a Churlifh and Foolif:^ Perfon, and n Son of Belial : To fay yiothing of the wife Woman {as the Text calls /;^r )^o/Tckoah _; or of her of Abel who has the fame Epithet, aiid who by her Prudence deliver d the City and appeased a dangerous I{cbellion : Nor of the Qj-ieen of Sheba'^ ^ whofe' Jour7tey to hear the PFJfdom of Solomo.- , Jloews her own good Judgment and great fJo are in tJjat excels lent Endowment, Soiomon does not thinly himfelf toe iVife to be InftruBed by his Mother, nor ,too neat to Record her Leffons, which if he had follow d he might havejpard the trouble of P^epeyitnncc, and been deliver d from a great deal of that Vanity he Jo deeply J{egrets, H^jat '^afoti can be ajjignd why the Mothers of the Icings of Judah, are fo frequently rioted in thofe very fhort accou7its that are given of their 'Reigns, but the great J{efpeB paid them, or perhaps their Influence en the Government, and /hare in the Adminiftration ? This The Preface. This is 7io: imfrobablcy fmce the wielded Athaliah had fower to carry on her Intrigues Jo far as to get fojjeffion of the Throne^ and to l^eep it for form Tears. T\clther was there any neceffity for Afa s removing his Mother { or Grandmother ) from being Q^een^ if this were merely Titular^ and did not carry Pcrver and Autho- rity along with it, And voe find what Influence ]qZ2l'' bel had in Ifrael, indeed to her Husband s and her cwn Dejlruciion. It\was a Widow- Woman whom GOD made choice of to fuftain his Prophet Elijah at Zarephah. And theHiJiory of the Shunamite is a noble hiftance of the Account that is rntde of H^umen in Holy Scripture* For whether it was not the Cuftom in Shunem for the Husband to Diciate^ or whether her s was confcious of her fupericr Vertue, or whatever was the I{eafony we find it is fhe who Governs^ dwelling with great Honour and SatisfaHlon among her ov/n People* iVhich Happhiefl foe underftood jo welly and was fo far from a troublefome Ambition^ that fhe dcfires no '^commendation to the K^ng or Captain of the Hoft when the Prophet offer d ity being already greater than they coud mah^ her, The Text calls her a Great Woman, whilji her Husband is hardly tal^en ftotice ofy and this no otherwife than as performing the Office of a Bau'fff. It is her Piety and Hfpltality that are P^ corded, She invites the Prophet to her Houfc ; who Converfcs with and is entertain d by her. She gives 'her Husband no account of her Affairs any further than to tell him her Dcfigns that he may fee them ^Executed. And when he defires to kjiow the reafon of her ConduBy all the Anfwer fhe affords isy Well, or as the Margin has it from the Hebrew^ Peace, Nor can this be thought affumijigy fmce it is no more than vphat the Prophet encourages, for all his Addreffes are to The Preface. to her, he tnkes no Notice of her Hushnnd, Hh Be- ticfits are confer d on her, V/; (he mid her Houfliold whom he warns of a Famine, and tk (he who appeals to the Kj77g for the F(efiitution of her Houle and Land. J wou'd not infer from hence that H^omen ge" nerally fpeakjngy ought to govern in their Families when they have a Busband, hut I thinks this Ivftance and Example is afufficient Prorf that if by Cvfloyn or Contract^ or the Lavas of the Country^ or Birth-right (as in the Cafe of Sovereign Prificejfes) they have the fufreme Authority^ it is no Vfurpation, nor do they Aci contrary to Hcly Scripture^ nor C07ifequer,tly to the Law of Nature, For they are no where that I know of forbidden to cLiim their Juft Bjgbt : The Apoftlo ^tis true won d not have them ufurp Authority where Cuflom and the Law of the ftrongefl had brought them; into Suhp^^ion^ ai it has in thefe parts cf the World, Tho in remoter Regions , if Travellns rightly inform us, the SucceJJion to the Crown is entaii'd on the Fe- male Line. GOD Himfelf who is no Refpe£ler of PerlbnSj with whom there is neither Bond nor Free, Male nor Female, but they are all one in Chrift Jeflis, did not deny Women that Divine Gift the Spirit of Prophecy, neither under the Jewipo nor Chriftian Dij- penfation. We have nam^d two great Prophetejfes already, Miriam and Deborah, and bejides other In- Jlancesy Huldah the Prophetefl was fuch an Oracle thai- the good King Joiiah, that great Pattern cf Vertue, fends even the High Priejl himfelf to confult her, and to receivs direBions from her in the mofl arduous Af- fairs, It ihall come to pafi, faith the Lord, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flefli, and 70111* Sons and your Daughters (hall Prophefy, which vftfi accordingly fulfil i*d by the Mijfon of the Holy b Gbolt The Preface. Ghofl en the clay of Pentecoft, m St. Peter tells u:-. And hcfides others^ there is mention of four Daughter's c/Phiiip, Virgins who did Frophefy. For as in thcOldy fo in the 'New Teftament^ iVvmen make a ccrfidcrahlc Figure j the Holy Firgin receiving the greatcfl Honour that Human Nature is cApnhle of^ when the Son of GOD vouchfafed to be her Son and to derive his Hw manity froyn her only, ^A7td if it is a greater Bl effing to hear the Word of GOD and keep it, who are more cojifiderahle for their Affiduity in this than the Female Difciples of our Lord ? Mary being Exemplary^ and receiving a noble Encomium from Him^ for her Choice of the better Fart^ It woud be thought tedious to enumerate all the excellent M'^omen ^nentiond in the Necv T^eflament^ Tvhofe humble Penitence and arde7it Love , as Mag- dalen'jj their lively Faith and holy Importunity ^ as the SyrO'^\\Qmch.\\S'^ extraordinary Piety a)id Upright' 7ief?i as Elizabfth'j ; Hcjpitality, Charity and Dili- gence, as Martha^ Tablcha'j ; ^c. (fee St. Luc. 8.) frequent and ajjiduous Devotions ajid Auftcrities, as Anna s , Confianty and Courage^ Perfeverance and ar- dent Z^aly as that of the Holy Women who attended our Lord to His Crop, when His Difciples generally forfiokji and the mofi Courageous had deny^d. Him j are J\ecorded for our Example, Their Love was fironger than Death, it followed cur Saviour ifito the Grave. Afid lis a [{civarJ, both the Angel and even the Lord Hitnfelf appears firfi to them, and fends them to Preach the great Article cf tly^^efurreftion to the very Apo- files, who being as yet under the Power of the Prejw ' dices cf their Sex, efieem^d the Holy iVcmcns Words as idle Tales and believed them not«r Some Men will hav'e it, that the P^cafon of cur t.'Ord s appearing frpr to the TVcmev, was their being Icnft The Preface. le/ift nhle to kjoep a Secret , a M-^itty and Mafcullne Remarque, and wojiderfully ^veretit ! But not to dijpute whether thofe PVomen were Blahs or no^ there are many Inftances in Holy Scripture of H-^cmen who did not hetray the Confide?ice refos d iyi them. Thus Rahab tho* formerly an ill Woman, being Converted by the Report of thofe MiracUs^ which tho"* the If^ raelires faw, yet they belicv'd not in GOD, nor par their Truft in his Word, She acknowledges the GOD of Heaven, and as a I{cward of her faithful Service in concealing Jouiua s Spies, is with her Fatiiily ex- empted from the B^ine of her Country, and alfi has the Ho7ior of heiiig nnm''d in the Mejfiah s Genealogy^ Michal to fave David'/ Life expofes her felf to the Fury of a Jealous and Tyrannical Prince. A Girl W4s truftcd by David'j Grave Councilors to convey him Intelligence in his Sons I{ebellion j and when 4 Lad had found it out and blah'*d it to Abfalom, the Kings Friends confiding in the Prudence and Fidelity of a iVoman were [ecurd hy her* T-Vhen our Lord efcap dfrom the J&vqs, he truft ed Himfelf in the hands -of Martha /?72^ Mary. So does St: Peter with ano- ther Mary when the Angel delivered him from Herod, the Damfel Rhoda too was acquainted with the Secret. More might he f aid, hut one woud think, here is enough - to fhew , that whatever other Great and Wife P^a^ fo7is Men may have for drjpifing Women, and keepif7g them in Ignorance and Slavery, it carit he from their having learnt to do fo in Holy Scripture. The Bible is for, and 7iot againft us, and caiinot without great viole7ice done to it, he urg d to our Prejudice. However, there are ftrong and prevalent P^ajons which demonftrate the Superiority and Pre'cmincnee of the Men. For in the firft place, Boys have much- Time and Pains^ Care and Cosi h?siow''d on their b ^ F. due at ion The Preface. Education, Girls have little or none. The former are early initiated in the Sciences, are wade adjuaint- ed with Antient and Modern Difcoveries, they Study Bockj and Men^ have all imagi^iahle encouragement ; not only Fame, a dry I\eward new adays^ but; n'fo Title, Authority^ To-K>er, and Hjchcs themfelves vchich ^urchafe all things, are the ^evoard of their Improve' tnent. The latter are rejirain d, frow7i d upor?^ and heat, not for hut from the Mufcs:, Laughter and "Rjdicule that never-failing Scare-Crow is fet up to drive them from the Tree of Kjiowledge» But if in fpite of all Difficulties Nature pre'vails, and they can t be kept fo ignorant as their Maflers vocud have them, they are Jlard upon as Monflers, Cenfur^d, En' vyd^ and every VQay Difcourag*d, or at the beft they have the Fate the Proverb affigns the?n, Vertue is prais'd and ftarv'd. And therefore Jince the courfefl Materials need the moft Curing, as every M'^orkman can inform you, and the voorfi Ground the moji elabo- rate Culture, it U7tdeniably follovps , that Meri iVn- derjlandings are fuperior to fPhnens, for after many Years Study and Experience they become 0^fe and Learned, and iVomen are not Bornfo ! Again, Men are pojfefl d of all Places of Power, Truft and Profit, they mnke Laves atid exercife the Magijlracy, not only the poarpeft Svccrd, but even all the Swords and BlunderbuJJes are theirs, which by the ftrongcfi Logic i^i the iVorld, gives them the bcji Title to every thing they pleafe to claim as their Pre rogntive', who Jl.^ all co7itend with them ? Imincmorial Prcfcription is on their Jide in thcfe farts of the H'orld, Antie7it Tradition and Modern Vfage I Our Fathers have all along both Taught and Pra^is'^d Superiority over the weaker Sex, and confequcntly Women are by Nature i7if crier to Men, as was to he Dcmonflrated, 4n The Preface. An Argument which mufl he acknoxvledgd unanfivera" hle^ for as well 4s I love my Sex^ I will not pretend rt l{efly to iuch DemonftraHon I Only let me beg to he iyifcrm J, to whom we poor Fatherlefi Maids^ and Widows who have left their Mti^ flersy owe SuhjeBion? It can t he to all Men in gC' neralt unlef all Men were agreed to give the Jams Commands ; do we then fall as Strays to the firft who finds us ? By the Maxims offome Men^ and the Con* duB of fome Women one wou'd think, fo. But whoever he he that thus happens to hecome our Majier^ if he al- lows us to he B^afonahle Creatures^ and does not merely Compliment us with that Title, fince no Man denies cur ^eadinefi to ufe our Tongues, it won d tend, I fhoud thinks, to our Mafiers advajjtage, and therefore he may pleafe to he advised to teach us to improve our ^afon. But if ^eafon is only allow'' d m hy way of Raillery, and the fecret Maxim is that we have none, or little more than Brutes, ^tis the heft way to confine us with Chain and Blocks to the Chimney-Corner, which probably might fave the Efiatescffcme Families and the Honor of others, ' I do not propofe this to prevent a Rebellion , for Women &re not fo well united as to form an Infur- reHion. They are for the mcft part Wife enough to Love their Chains, and to difcern how very becomingly they fet. They thiiik^ as humbly of them/elves as their Mafters can wifh, with rejpeci to the other Sex, hut in regard to their own , they have a Spice of Mafcu- line Ambition, every one woud Lead, and none will Follow. Both Sexes being too apt to Envy, and too hackypard in Emulating, and take more delight in detra' Sling from their Neighbour's Vcrtue than in improving their own. And therefor e as to thcfe Women who find themfelves horn for Slavery^ atid are fo/enfib leaf their, €wn Mea7inefs as to conclude it impojfible to attain to any The Preface. iftny thing excellent^ fince they are, or ought to be befl acquainted with their own Strength And Genius^ She's a Fool who VQOU d attempt their Dslivera72ce or Improve- tnent. Neh ef Difintereffed Glary^ and the t{oyal Pleafure cf do- 277g Heroically , if this Glory of her own Sex and En- vy of the other ^ will not thinks we need , er does not hold us worthy of^ the Prote^ion cf her ever ViBoriom Arms, and Men have not the Gratitude for I: er fake at lea ft, to do Juftice to her Sex, who has bccnfuch a univerfal BenefaBreft to theirs : Adieu to the Liber- ties not of this or that Nation or Region only-^ hut of the Moiety of Majikjnd ! To all the great things that VVomen might perform, Injpir d by her Example, En- courag d by her Smiles, and fupported by her Pcrver ! To their Difcovery of New PPorlds for the Exercife of her Goodneft, New Sciences to publico her Fame, and reducing Nature it felf to a Subjeciion to her Em- pire I To their deftroying thofe worft cf Tyrants Impiety and Immorality, which dare to ftalliabcut even in her own Dominions, and to devour Souls almoft with'^ in view of her Throne, leaviyjg a flench behind them fcarce to he corretled even by the Inccnfe of her Devo- tions ! To the iVomcn s fy^t'^in^ a new Path to Honor^. The Preface. in vphich none /hall walk, but fuch ds fccrn to Cringe in order toBJfe, and who are Proof both againft giving and receiz'ing Flattery ! In a word, to thofe Halcyon, or if yon will Millennium Days, in which the H^olf and the Lamb Jhall feed together, and a Tyrannous Domination which Nature never meant, fhall no lon- ger render ufetefl if not hurtful, the Induflry and Vn- derflandings of half Mankind ! IN the preface P. 1. 1. 8. r. are, p. 2.1. 7. r. Ingenuous, p. 6, 1. 22. v,CMen, p. 8. 1. 1 7. r. Women, p. 1 1. 1. 28. r. in neither, p. 17. 1. 22. r. Shebu, In the Book p. 1. 1. id.for hai read once, p. 5. 1. 22. for meer r. mixt, p. 19. 1. 1$. for liVei:, as, p. ^2 1. 27. for ^Mt r. ^w^.p. 33. 1. 19, r. is to receive, p. 35. 1. 25. for cf x,for, p. 42, 1. 4. r. Women, p. 55. 1.5. r. the, p. 77. 1. 2. dele to. ( o SOME REFLECTIONS UPON MARRIAGE. |Uriofity , which is fometimes an occafion of Good, and too fre- quently of Mifchief, by dillur- bing either our Own, or our Neighbour's Repofe, having put me upon reading the Duke and Diitchefs of Maza- rine's Cafe 5 1 thought an Afternoon wou'd not be quite thrown away in purfuing fome Reflexions that it occafion'd. The Name of Mazarine is confiderable enough to draw the Eyes of the Curious, and when one remembers w^hat a noife it had made in Europe^ what Politick Schemes have been Iaid,what vaft Defigns brought about by the Cardinal that bore it 5 how "^tll his meafures were concerted for the Grandeur of that Nation into which he was tranfplanted, and that he wanted nei- ther Power nor Inclination to eftablifh his own Family and make it as confiderable as B any a Reflections nny Subject's could poflible be, and whctt Honours and Riches he had heap'd toge- ther in order to this 5 one cannot but en- quire how it comes about that he fhould befo defeated in this lafl defigti ? and that thole to whom he intrufted his Name and Treafure , Ihould make a figure fo very different from what might have been ex- pected from them ? And tho' one had not Piety enough to make a Religious Refle- ction, yet Civil Prudence would almoft en- force them to fay , that Ma?i being in Ho- nour has no UnderJJanding^ but is co?tipard unto the Beajls that perijb. Me bleifeth his Soul,^ and thinks himfelf a happy Man, imagining his Houfe will endure for ever, and that he has eftablifli'd his Name and Family. But how wife foever he may be in other refpedts, in this he acts no better than the Ignorant and Fooliih. For as he carries nothing away with him when he dies, fo neither will his Pomp and Glory defcend as he intended. Generous and AVorthy Actions only can fecure him from ObIi\'ion, or what is worfe, being remem- bred with Contempt 5 fo little reafon have we to Envy any Man's Wealth and Great- nefs, but much to Emulate his Wifdom aiid Vertue. -- The Dutchefs of Mazarines Name has 'fpread perhaps as far as her Uncle s, and one upon Marr I a oe. 5 one can't help wifliing that fo much Vfk and Beauty, fo much Politenefs and A4* drefs, had been accompany 'd and fuppor- ted by more valuable and lafting Quali- ties 5 one cannot but defire that her Ad- vocate inftead of recriminating had cleared the imputations laid on her, and that fee her felf, who fays enough in her Memoirs to (hew fhe was unfortunate, had faid more toprove her felf difcreet.They mull be high- ly ill-natur'd who do not pity her ill For- tune at the fame time that they muft blame her Conduft, and regret that fuchaTrea- furefhould fall into his hands who was not worthy of it, nor knew how to value and improve it 5 that fhe who was capable of being a great Ornament to her Family and Blefling to the Age flie liv'd in, fhould on- ly ferve (to fay no worfe) as an unhappy Shipwrack to point out the dangers of an ill Education and unequal Marriage. MonfiQur Mazarine is not to be juftified, nor Madam his Spoufe excused. It is no queftion which is moft Criminal, the ha- ving no Senfe, or the abufe of a liberal Portion 5 nor any hard matter to deter- mine who is mort to be pity'd , he whom Nature never qualify 'd for great things, who therefore can't be very fenfible of great Misfortunes 5 or Ihe, who being ca- pable of every t4iing, muft therefore fuf- B 2 fbr 4 Reflections fer more and be the more lamented. Ta be yok'd for Life to a difagreeable Perfofi and Temper 5 to have Folly and Ignorance tyrannize over Wit and Senfe ^ to becon- tradided in every thing one does or fays, and bore down not by Reafon but Autho- rity 5 to be denied ones moft innocent de- lires, for no other caufe but the Will and Pleafure of an abfolute Lord and Mafter, whofe Follies a Woman with all her Pru- dence cannot hide, and whofe Commands file cannot but defpife at the fame time ihe obeys them 5 is a mifery none can have a juft Idea of, but thofe who have felt it. Thefe are great Provocations, but no- thing can juftify the revenging the Injuries we receive from others, upon our felves: llie ItaliaJi Proverb fhews a much better way 5 If yoii would be revengd of your Enemies^ live well. Had Madam maz>a- rine\ Education made a right Improve- ment of her Wit and Senfe, we fhould not have found her feeking Relief by fuch im- prudent, not to fay fcandalous MethodSjas the running away in Difguife with a fpruce Cavalier, and rambling to fo many Courts and Places, (Uor diverting her felf with • fuch Childifh, Ridiculous, or Ill-natur'd •Amufements, as the greateft part of the Adventures in her Memoirs are made up of* True Wit confifts not meerly in doing or upon Marriage. 5 or faying what is out of the way, but in fuch furprizing things as are fit and be- coming the Perfon from whom they come. That which ftirs us up to Laughter mofl: commonly excites our Contempt 5 to pleafe and to make Merry are two \'ery different Talents. But what Remedies can be admi- niftred, what Relief expeded^when Devo- tion, the only true Support in Diflrefs, is turned into Ridicule ? Unhappy is that Grandeur which m.akes us too great to be good 3 and that Wit which fets us at a di- ftance from tnae Wifdom. Even Bigotry it felf, as contemptible as it is, is preftra- bie to Prophane Wit 5 for that only re- quires our Pity, but ^fe deferves our Ab- horrence. A Woman who feeks Confolation under Domeftic troubles from the Gaieties of a Court, from Gaming and Courtfhip, from Rambling and odd Adventures, and the Amufements meer Company affords, may Plaifter up the Sore, but will never heal it - nay, which is worfe,ftie makes it Fefter be- yond a poflibiiity of Cure. She juftifies the Injury her Husband has done her, by ftiev/- ing that whatever other good Qiialities (lie may have, Difcretion, one of the Princi- pal, is wantmg. She may be Innoceiit, but ihe can never ppveftie is fo ; allthat Cha- rity can do for her when fne's Cenfur^d is ^ B 3 only 6 Reflections only to be filent, it can make no Apologies for fufpicious Aftions. An ill Husband may deprive a Wife of the comfort and quiet of her Life ; may give her occafion of exerci- fing her Virtue, may try her Patience and Fortitude to the utmoft, but that's all he can do : 'tis her felf only can accomplifh her Ruin. Had Madam Mazamies Re- ferve been what it ought to be, Monfieur Herard needed not to have warded off fo carefully, the nice Subjeft of the Lady s Honour, nor her Advocate have ftrain'd fo hard for Colours to excufe fuch Aftions as will hardly bear em 5 a Man indeed (hews the beft fide of his Wit, tho' theworft of his Integrity, when he has an ill Caufe to manage. Truth is bold and vehement 5 flie depends upon her own ftrength, and fo fhe be plac'd in a true Light, thinks it not ne- ceflary to ufe Artifice and Addrefs as a Re- commendation 5 but the prejudices of Men have made them neceffary : their Imagina- tion gets the better of their Underftanding, and more judge according to Appearances , than fearch after the Truth of Things. What an ill Figure does a Woman make with all the Charms of her Beauty and Sprightlinefs of her Wit, with all her good Humour and infinuating Addrefs 5 tho' fhe be the belt OEconomift in the World, the mofl entertaining Con^•erfation 3 if fhe re- mit upon Marriage. 7 mit her Guard, abate in the Se^-erity oPher Caution and Striclnefs of her Vertue, .and negleft thofe Methods which are neceffary to keep her not only from a C>rime , but from the \'ery fufpicion of one. Are the being forbid having Comedies in her Houfe, an ill natur'd Jeft, difmilling of a Servant, impofing Domeftics, or fre- quent changing them, fufHcient Reafonsto Authorize a Woman's leaving her Husband and breaking from the ftrongeft Bands, ex- pofing her felf to Temptations and Lijuries from the Bad, to the contempt, or at the beft to the pity of the Good, and the juft Cenfure of all ? A Woman of fenfe one would think fhould take little fatisfaclion in the Cringes and Courtfhip of her Adorers, e\'en when (he is fingle 3 but it is Criminal in a Wife to admit them : interefted Per- fons may call it Gallantry, but with the modeft and difci-eet it is like to ha^'e a har- der Name, or elfe Gallantry v%^ill pafs for a fcandalous thing , not to be allow'd^mpng Vertuous Perfons. . But Madam Mazarine is dead, may her Faults die with her ^ may there be no more Qccafion given for the like Adv^entures, or if there Ts, niay the Ladies be more Wife and Good than to take it ! Let us fee then from whence the mifchief, proceeds , aijid try if it can be prevented 3, for .certainly _ ' ' B 4 ' ' " MeD 8 Reflections Men maybe very happy ina Married State 5 'tis their own fault if they are at any time otherwife. The wife Inftitutor of Matri- mony never did any thing in vain 5 we are the Sots and Fools if what he defign'd for our Good, be to us an occafion of falling. For Marriage, notwithftanding all the Wfe talk of the Town, the Satyrs of Ancient or Modern pretenders to Wit, will ne^er lofe its due praife from judicious Perfons. Tho* much maybe faid againft this orthat Match, tho' the Ridiculoulnefs of fome, the Wic^k- ednefs of others and Imprudence of too ma- ny, too often pro\^oke our wonder or fcorn, our indignation or pity, yet Marriage in general is too facred to be treated with Difrefpeft, too venerable to be the fubjeft of Raillery and Buffonery. It is the Infti- tution of Heaven, the mily Honourable way of continuing Mankind , and far be it from us to think there could have been a better than infiniteWifdom has found out for usf But upon what are the Satyrs againfl: Marriage grounded > Not upon the State itfelf, if they arejuft, but upon the ill Choice, or foolifh Conduft of thofe who are in it, and what has Marriage , confi- dered in its felf, to do with thefe ? Let every Man bear his own Burden; If through inordinate Paflion, Raibnefs, Hu- mour, upon M ARRIAGE- 9 mour. Pride, Covetoufnefs, or any the like Folly, a Man makes an Imprudent Choice, Why (hould Marriage be exclaimed a- gainft ? Let him blame himfelf for en- tring into an unequal Yoke, and making Choice of one who perhaps may prove a Burthen, a Difgrace and Plague, inftead of a Help and Comfort to him. Could there be no fuch thing as an happy Mar- riage, Arguments againft Marriage would hold good, but fince the thing is not only poflible, but even very probable, pro\dded we take but comi)etent Care, Ad like Wife Men and Chriftians, and acquit our fehes as we ought, all we ha\'e to fay againft it ferves only to Ihew the Levity or Impiety of our own Minds ^ we only make fome flouriflies of Wit, tho' fcarce without In- juftice 5 and tho' we talk prettily it is but very little to the purpofe. Is it the being ty'd to Oiie that offends us ? Why this ought rather to recom- mend Marriage to us, and would really do fo, were we guided by Reafon, and not by^ Humour or brutifli Pailion. He who does not make Friendfhip the chief inducement to his Choice, and prefer it before any other eonfideratioh , does not deferve a good Wife, and therefore fhould not com-' plain if he goes without one. Now we can never grow weary of our Friends 5 the longer lo Reflections longer we ha^e had them the more they are endeared to us 3 and if we ha\'e One well afFur'd, we need feek no further, but are fufficiently happy in Her. The lo\'e of Variety in this and in other cafes, fhews only the ill Temper ofour own Minds, in that we feek hx fettled Happinefs in this prefent World, where it is not to be found, mftead of being Content with a competent fhare, chearfblly enjoying and being thank- ful for the Good that is afforded us, and patiently bearing with the Incon\'eniences that attend it. The Chriftian Inftitution of Marriage provides the beft that may be for Domerfic Quiet and Content, and for the Education of Children 5 fo that if we wxre not under the tye of Religion, even the Good of So- ciety and civil Duty would oblige us to what that requires at our Hands. And fince the vtvy beft of us are but poor frail Crea- tures, full of Ignorance and Infirmity, fo that in Juftice we ought to tolerate each other, and exercife that Patience towards our Companions to Day, which we Ihall gi\^e them occalion to Ihew towards us to Morrow, the more we are accuftom'd to any one's Com-erfation, the better fhaJl we under ftand their Humour, be more able to comply with their Weaknefs and lefs of- fended at it. For he who would ha>'e e\xry one upon M arriageJ ii onefubmit to his Humours and will not in his turn comply with them, tho' we Ihould fuppofe him always in the Right, whereas a Man of this temper very feldom is fo, he's not fit for a Husband, fcarce fit for Society, but ought to be turn^ out of the Herd to live by himfelf. There may indeed be inconveniencies in a Married Life 5 but is there any Con- dition without them ? And he who lives fingle that he may indulge Licentioufnefs and give up himfelf to the conduft of wild and ungoveir^'d Defires, or indeed out of any other inducement, than the Glory of GOD and the Good of his Soul, through the profped he has of doing more Good, or becaufe his frame and difpofition of Mind are fitted for it, may rail as he pleafes againft Matrimony , but can ne- "\*er juftifie his own Conduft, nor clear it from the imputation of Wickednefs and Folly. But if Marriage.be fuch a bleffed State, how comes it, may you fay, that there are fo few happy Marriages ? Now in an- fwer to this, it is not to be wonder 'd that fo few fucceed , we Ihouid rather be fur- prized to find fo many do, confidering how imprudently Men engage, the Motives they^ ad by, and the very ftrange Condud they obferye throughout. For i^ Reflec ti ons Far pray, what do Men propofe to themfelves in Marriage ? What Qualifi- cations do they look after in a Spoufe? What will llie bring is the nrft enquiry > How many Acres ? Or how much ready Coin > Not that this is altogether an un- neceflary Queftion, for Marriage with- out a Competency , that is, not only a bare Subiiftence, but even a handfome and plentiful Provifion, according to the Quality and Circumftances of the Parties, is no \^ry comfortable Condition. They who marry for Love as they call it, find time enough to repent their rafh Folly, and are not long in being convinced, that whatever fine Speeches might be made in rhe heat of Pallion, there could be no real Kindnefs between thofe who can agree to make each other miferable. But as an Kilate is to be confider'd, fo it lliould not be the Main , much lefs the O^ily confide- ration, for Happinefs does not depend on Wealth, that may be wanting, and too often is, where this abounds. He who Mar- ries himfelf to a Fortune only, muft exped: no other fatisfaclion than that can bring him, but let him not fay thateMarriage, but that his own Covetous or Prodigal Temper, has mad€ him unhappy. What Joy has that Man in all his Plenty, who muft either run from home to pofTefs it, con- upon Marri age. 15 contrary to all the Rules of Juftice, to the Laws of G O D and Man, nay, even in oppofition to Good nature, and Good breeding too, which fome Men make more account of than all the reft • or eife be forc'd to fhare it wuth a Woman whofe Perfon or Temper is difagreeable, whofe prefence is fufRcient to four all his En- joyments 5 fo that if he has any re- mains of Religion, or Good manners, he muft fufFer the uneafinefs of a continual watch, to force himfelf to a conftrain'd Civility ! Few Men have fo much Goodnefs as to bring themfelves to a liking of what they loath'd, meeriy hecaufe it is their Duty to like 5 on the contrary, when they JVIat- ly with an indiiferency , to pleafe their Friends or encreafe their Fortune, the indifferency proceeds to an averf^on, and perhaps even the kindnefs and complaifance of the poor abus'd Wife Ihall only ferve to encreafe it. What follows then > There is no content at. home, fo it is fought elfev/here , and the Fortune fo unjuftly got, IS ascarelefsly fquander'd. The Man takes a loofe, what Ihou'd hinder him? He has all in his hands , and Cuftom has almoil taken off that fmall Reftraint Repu- tation us'd to lay. The Wife finds to'd late what was the Idol the Man "adored, which 14 Reflection s which her Vanity perhaps, or it may be the Commands and importunities of Re- lations , wou'd not let her fee before 5 and now he has got that into his poifefli- on, fliemuft make court to him for a little forry Alimony out of her own Ellate. If Difcretion and Piety prevails upon her Paflions llie fits down quietly, contented with her lot, feeks no Confolation in the Multitude of Adorers, fince he whom only (he defir'd to pleafe , becaufe it was her duty todofo, will take no dehght in her Wit or Beauty : She follows no Di- verfion to allay her Grief, ufes no Cor- dials to fupport her Spirit, that may fully her Vertue or bring a Cloud upon her Reputation, fhe makes no appeals to the m if- judging Croud, hardly mentions her Misfortunes to her moft intimate Ac- quaintance , nor lays a load on her Hus- band to eafe her felf, but wou'd if it were poflible conceal his Crimes , tho' her Prudence and Verfue give him a thoufand Reproaches without her Inten- tion or knowledge 3 and retiring from the World, (he feeks a more folid Com- fort than i't can give her, taking care to do nothing that Cenforioufnefs or even .Malice itftlf can mifconftrue to her pre- judice. Now (he puts on all her Referves, and thinks even innocent Liberties fcarce allow* Uj^on M A R R 1 A G E. | 5 allowable in her Difconfolate State 5 (he has other Bufinefs to mmd ; Nor does (he in her Retirements refleft fo much upon the hand that adminifters this bitter Cup, as confider what is the beft ufe (he can make of it. And thus indeed Marriage, however unfortunate in other refpeds, becomes a very great Bleffing to her. She might have been expofed to all the Temptations of a plentiful Fortune, have given up her felf to Sloth and Luxu- ry, and gone on at the common rate even of the better fort, in doing no hurt, and as little good : But now her kind Hus- band obliges her to Confide)\ and gives opportunity to exercife her Vertue 5 he makes it necelTary to withdraw from thofe Gaities and Pleafures of Life, which do more mifchief under the^ Shew of Inno- cency, than they cou'd if they appeared attended with a Crime, difcompofing and difTolving the Mind, and making it un- capable of any manner of good, to be fure of any thing Great and Excellent. Si- lence and Solitude, the being forc'd from the ordinary Entertainments of her Sta- tion, may perhaps feem a defolate condi- tion at firft, and we may allow her, poor weak Woman ! to be fomewhat (hock'd at . it, (ince even a wife and courageous Man perlmps would not keep his ground* We would i6 Reflect i ons would conceal if we could for the Ho- nour of the Sex, Men*s being baffled and difpirited by a fmaller Matter, were not the Inftances too frequent and too no- torious. But a little time wears off all the un- eafinefs^and puts her in polTeflion of Plea- fures, which till now fhe has unkindly been kept a ftranger to. Affliction, the fin- cereft Friend, the frankeft Monitor, the beft Inftruder, and indeed the only ufefiil School that Women are ever put to, roufes her underftanding, opens her Eyes, fixes her Attention, and diffufes fuch a Light, fuch a Joy into her Mind, as not only In- forms her better, but Entertains her more than ever her Ruel did tho' crouded by the Men of Wit. She now diftinguiffles between Truth and Appearances, between folid and apparent Good 5 has found out the inftability of all Earthly Things, and won't any more be deceiv'd by relying on them 5 can difcern who are the Flatter- ers of her Fortune, and who the Admi- rers and Encouragers of her Vernae 5 ac- counting It no little blefling to be rid of thofe Leeches , who only hung upon her for their own Advantage. Now fo- ber Thoughts fucceed to hmry and imper- ■ tinence , to Forms and Ceremony , (he can fecure her Time, and knows how to Improve upon Ma^^i AGE. 17 Imprdve it • never truly a Happy Woman till (he came in the Eye of the World to be reckon'd Miferable. Thus the Husband's Vices may becoitie an occafion of the Wife's Vertues , and his Negled do her a more real Good than his Kindnefs could. But all injur'd Wives don't behave themfelves after this Fafliion, nor can their Husbands juftly exped it. With what Face can he blame her for following his Example, and being as ex« travagant on the one Hand, as he is on the other? Tho' fee cannot juftifie her Exceffesto GOD, to the World, nor to her felf, yet furely in refped of him they may admit of an excufe. For to all the reft of his Abfurdities, (for Vice is always un- reafonablej he adds one more, who ex- peds that Vertiae from another which he won't pradife himfelf. But fuppofe a Man does not Marry for Money, tho' for one that does not, perhaps there are thoufands that do 3 let him Mar- ry for Love, anHeroick Adion, which makes a mighty noife in the World, partly becaufe of its rarity, and partly in regard of its extravagancy, and what does his Marrying for Love amount to ? There's no great odds between his Marrying for the Love of Motley, or for the Love of Beau- ty, the Man does not ad according to Rea- C fon i8 Reflections Ton in either Cafe, but is governed by ir- regular Appetites. But he loves her Wit perhaps, and this youll fay is mote Spiri- tual, more refin'd 5 not at all if you exa- mine it to the Bottom. For what is that which now adays palfes under the name of Wit ? A bitter and ill-natur'd Rail- lery, a per: Repartee, or a confident talk- ing at all, and in fuch a multitude of Words, it's pdds if fomething or other does not pafs that is furprizing, tho' every thing that furprizes does not pleafe 5 fome things being wonder'd at for their Ugli- nefs, as well as others for their Beauty. True Wit, durft one venture to defcribe it, is quite another thing, it confifts in fuch a Sprightlinefs of Imagination, fuch a reach and turn of thought, fo properly ex- preft, asftrikes and pleafes a judicious Taft. For tho' as one fays of Beauty, 'tis in no Face but in the Lover s Mind^ fo it may be faid of fome fort of Wit, it is not in him that fpeaks, but in the Imagination of his Hearer, yet doubtlefs there is a true Standsrd-Wit, which muft be allowed for fuch by every one who underftands the Terms, I dont fay that they (hall equally like it 5 and it is this Standard-Wit that always pleafes, the Spurious does fo only for a Seafon. Now UpOnMAKKlAGE, 19 Now what is it that ftrikes a judicious Taft ? Not that to be fure which injures the abfent, or provokes the Company, which poifonsthe Mind under pretence of enter- taining it, proceeding from orgiving Coun- tenance to falfe Ideas, to dangerous and immoral Principles. Wit indeed is diftind from Judgment, but it is not contrary to it 5 'tis rather its Handmaid, ferving to a- waken and fix the Attention, thit fo we may Judge rightly. Whatever Charms, does fo becaufe of its Regularity and Propor- tion 5 othervidfe , tho* it is extraordinary and out of the way, it will only be ftaf 'd on like a Monfter, but can never be lik'd. And tho' a thought is ever^fo line and new, ever fo well expreft, if it fuits not with Decorum and good Manners, it is not juft and fit, and therefore offends our Reaion, and confe<:[uently has no Charms , not (hould afford us any entertainment. But it muft notbefuppos'dthat Women's Wit approaches thofe heights which Men arrive at, or that they indulge thofe Li- berties the other take. Decency lays great- er reftraints on them, their timoroufnefs does them this one , and perhaps this only piece of Service, it keeps them from break- ing thro' thofe refhraints,. and following their Maflers and Guides in many of their daring and mafculine Crimes. As the C a World ao Reflections World goes, your Witty^ Men are tifually diftinguilli'd by the Liberty they take with Religion , good Manners , or their Neighbour's Reputation : But, G O D be thank 'd, it is not yet fo bad, as that Wo- men fhouldform Cabals to propagate Athe- iftn and Irreligion. A Man then cannot hope to find a Woman whofe Wit is of a fize with his, but when he doats on Wit it is to be imagin'd he makes choice of that which comes the neareft to his own. Thus, whether it be Wit or Beauty that a Mans in Love with, there's no great hopes of a lafting Happinefs 5 Beauty with alJ the helps of Art is of no long date, the more it is help'd the fooner it decays, and he who only or chiefly chofe for Beau- ty^ will in a little time find the fame rea- fon for another Choice. Nor is that fort of Wit which he prefers of a more fure tenure , cr allowing it to laft, it will not always pleafe. For that which has not a real excellency and value in it felf, enter- tains no longer than that giddy Humour which recommended it to us holds 5 and when we can like on no juft, or on vtry little Ground, tis certain a dillike will a- rife, as lightly and as unaccountably. And it is not improbable that fuch a Huftand may in a little time by ill ufage provoke fach a V/ife to exercife her Wit, that is, . . her upon Marriage. 21 her SpJeen on him, and then it is not hard to guefs how very agreeable it will be to him. In a word, when we have reckon'd up how many look no further than the making of their Fortune, as they call it 5 who don't fo much as propofe to themfelves any fatisfadion in the Woman to whom they Plight their Faith, feeking only to be Matters of her Eftate, that fo they may have Money enough to indulge all their ir- regular Appetites 5 who think they are as good as can be expefted, if they are but according to the fafhionable Term, Civil Hiishaiids 3 when we have taken the num- ber of your giddy Lovers, who are not more violent in their Paffion than they are certain to Repent of it ^ when to thefe you have added fuch as Marry without any Thought at all, further than that it is the Cuftom of the World, what others ha\^e done before them, that the Family muflbekept up, the ancient Race preferv'd, and therefore their kind Parents and Guar- dians chufe as they think convenientjWith- out ever confulting the Young ones Incli-- nations, who muft be fatisfied or pretend fo at leaft, upon pain of their difpleafure, and that heavy confequence of it, forfei- ture of their Eftate : Thefe fet afide, I fear there will be but a fmall remainder to C 3 Marry aa Reflections Marry out of better confiderations , and even amongft the few that do, not one in a hundred takes care to deferve his Choice. But do the Women never chufe amifs > Are the Men only in fauh > that is not pretended^ for he who will be juft, nmft be forc'd to acknowledge , that neither Sex are always in the right. A Woman indeed can't properly be faid to Choofe, all that is allowed her, is to Refufe or Accept w^hat is offer d. And when we have made fuch reafonable allowances as are due to the Sex, perhaps they may not appear fo much in fault as one would at fell imagine, and a generous Spirit will find more occafion to pity, than to repro\x. But fure I tranf- grefs it mull not be fuppos'd that the Ladies can do amifs / he is but an ill-bred Fellow who pretends that they need a- mendment ! They sre no doubt on't al- ways in the right, and mofl of all when they take pity on diftrelTed Lovers ! what- ever they fay carries an Authority that no Reafon can refill, and all that they do muft needs be Exemplary ! This is the Modifli Language, nor is there a Man of Honour amongft the whole Tribe that would not venture his Life, nay and his Salvation too in their Defence, if any but himfelf at- tempts to injure theme But I mull ask par- ' don upon Marriage* 2j don if I can*t come up to thefe heights, nor flatter them with the having no faults^which is only a malicious way of continuing and encreafing their Miftakes. Women, it's true, ought to be treated with Civility 5 for fince a little Ceremony and out-fide Refpeft is all their Guard, all the privilege that^s allowed them, it were barbarous to deprive them of it 5 and be- caufe I would treat them civilly, I would not exprefs my Civility at the ufual rate. I would not under pretence of honouring and paying a mighty Deference to the La- dies , call them fools to their faces ^ for what are all the fine Speeches and Sub« miffions that are made , but an abufing them in a well-bred way ? She muft be a Fool with a witnefs, v/ho can believe a Man, Proud and Vain as he is, will lay his boafted Authority , the Dignity and Prerogative of his Sex , one Moment at her Feet, but in profped of taking it up again to more advantage 3 he may call himfelf her Slave a few days , but it is on- ly in order to make her his all the reft of his Life. Indeed that miftaken Self-Love that reigns in the mofl: of us, both Men and Women, that over-good Opinion we have of our felves, and defire that others (houfd have of us, makes us fwallow every thing C 4 that ^4- REY^ECtlO!ji(S that looks like Refpeft, without examin- ing how wide it is from what it appears to be. For nothing is in truth a greater outrage than Flattery and feign'd Subniif- fions, the plain Englifli of which is this, I have a very mean Opinion both of your Underftanding and Vertue, you are weak enough to be imposed on, and vain enough to Inatch at the Bait I throw - there's no danger of your finding out my meaning, or difappointing me of my Ends. I offer you Incenfe 'tis true, but you are like to pay for't, and to make me a Recompence for your Folly in I- magining I would give my felf this trou- ble, did - 1 not hope, nay were I not fure, to find my own account in it. If for " nothing elfe, youll ferve at leaft as an " exercife of my Wit, and how much fo- " ever you fwell with my Breath, 'tis Ide- *' ferve the Praife for talking fo well on fo " poor a Subjed. We who make the Idols, *^ are the greater Deities 5 and as we fet " you up, fo it is in our power to reduce *' you to your firfl: obfcurity, or to fome- *' what worfe, to Contempt ^ you are there- ^' fore only on your good behaviour, and ^'^ are like to be no more than what we " pleafeto make you. This is the Flat- terer s Language afide,this is the true fenfe of his heart,whatever his Grimace may be before the Company. Not cc And if not Love, much - lefs Honour. Love may arife from Pity or a generous Defire to make that Lovely which as yet is not fo, when we fee any .' hopes of Succefs in our Endeavours of im- ^ proving it 5 but Honour fuppofes fome i excellent Qi^alities already, fomething worth our Elteem, but alas there is nothing more contemptible than this trifle of a Man, ! this meer Out-fide, whofe Mind is as bafe and Mean as his external Pomp is Glitter- ing. His Oflice or Title apart, to which fome upon Maruiaoe. 55 fome Ceremonious Obfervance mufl: be paid for Order's fake, there's nothing in him that can command our Refped. Strip him of Equipage and Fortune, and fuch things as only dazle our Eyes and Imagi- nations^ but don't in any meafure afed our Reafon, or caufe a Reverence in our Hearts, and the poor Creature finks be- neath our Notice, becaufe not fupported by real Worth. And if a Woman can neither Love nor Honour, (he does ill in promifing to Obey, fince (he is like to have but a crooked Rule to regulate her Adions* A meer Obedience, fuch as is paid only to Authority, and not out of Love and a fenfe of the Juftice and Reafonablenefs of the Command, will be of an uncertain Tenure. As it can't but be uneafie to the Perfon who pays it, fo he who receives it will be fometimes difappointed when he expeds to find it 5 for that Woman muft be endow 'd with a Wifdom and Good- nefs much above what we fuppofe the Sex capable of, I fear much greater than ere a Man can pretend to, who can fo con- fl:antly conquer her Paflions , and divefl: her felf even of Innocent Self-Love, as to give up the Caufe when {ht is in the right, and to fubmit her eniightned Rea- fon, to the Imperious Didates of a blind Will, and wild Imagination, even when D flie 54- Reflections fhe clearly perceives the ill Confequences of it, the Imprudence, nay Folly and Mad- nefs of fuch a Condud. And if a Woman runs fuch a Rilque when fhe Marries Prudently according to theiOpinionof the World, that is, when fte fiermits her felf to be difpos'd of to a Man equal to her in Birth, Education and Fortune, and as good as the moft of Iiis Neighbours , ( for if none were to Marry , but Men of ftrid: Vertue and Honour, I doubt the World would be but thinly peopled ) if at the very beft her Lot is hard, what can flie exped: who is Sold, or any otherwife betray 'd into mer- cenary Hands, to one who is in rU^ or moll refpeds unequal to her ? A Lover who comes upon wh^t is caird equal Terms, makes no very advantageous Pro- pofal to the Lady he Courts, and to whom he feems to be an humble Servant. For under many founding Compliments , Words that have nothing in them, this is his true meaning, he wants one to manage his Family , an Houfe-keeper , a necef- fary Evil, one whofe Intereft it will be not to wrong him, and in whom there- fore he can put greater confidence than in any he can hire for Money. One who may breed his Children, taking all the care and trouble of their Education, to prefervc upon Marriage. 55 ptefervehls Name and Family. One whofe Beauty , Wit, or good Humour and a- greeable Converfation , will entertain him at Home when he has been contra- difted and difappointed abroad ^ who will do him that Juftice the ill-natur'd World denies him, that is, in any one's Langu;i^e but his own, footh his Pride and Flatter his Vanity, by having always fo much good Senfe as to be on his fide, to conclude him in the right, when others are fo Igno- rant, or fo rude as to deny it. Who will not be Blind to his Merit nor contradict his Will andPleafure, but make it hetv Bufinefs, her very Ambition to content him 5 whofe foftnefs and^ gentle Compli- ance will calm his Faffions, to whom he may fafely difclofe his troublefome Thoughts, and in her Breaft difcharge his Cares 5 whofe Duty, Submiflion and Obfervance, will heal thofe Wounds othet Peoples oppofition or negledrhave given him. In a word, one whom he can intirely Govern, and confequently may form her to his will and liking, who muft be his of Life, and therefore cannot quit his Ser- vice let him treat her how he will. And if this be what every Man expeds, the Sum of his violent Love and Court- fliip, when it is put into Senfe and ren* dred Intelligible^ to what a fine pafs does D ^ m ^6 Reflections flie bring her felf who purchafes a Lord and Mafter, not only with her Money, but with what is of greater Value, at the price of her Difcretion ? Who has not fo much as that poor Excufe, Precedent and Example 5 or if fhe has, they are only fuch as all the World condemns ? She will not^nd him lefs a Governor becaufe {he was once his Superior, on the contrary the fcum of the People are moll Tyrannical when they get the Power, and treat their Betters wnth the greateft Infolence. For as the wife Man long fince obferv'd, a Scr- ^'ant v/hen he Reigns is one of thofe things for vv^hich the Earth is difquieted, and which no body is able to bear. It is the hardeft thing in the World for a Woman to know that a Man is not Mer- cenary, that he does not Ad on bafe and ?ingenerous Principles, even when he is her Equal, Decaufe being abfolute Mafter, fht and all the Grants he makes her are in his JPower, and there have been but too many inftances of Huftands that by wheedling or threatning their Waives, by feeming Kindnefs or cruel Ufage , have perfwaded or forc'd them out of what has been fettled on them. So that the Wo- man has in truth no fccurity but the Man s Honour and Good-nature, a Security th^.t in this prefent Age no wife Perfon would ■ * ven- upon MaK^ I AGE. 57 venture much upon. A Man enters into Articles very readily before Marriage, and fo he may, for he performs no more of them afterwards than he thinks fit, A Wife muft never difpute with her Hus- band, his Reafons are now no doubt on't better than hers, whatever they were be- fore 5 he is fure to perfwade her out of her Agreement , and bring her , it muft be fuppos'd, JVtllingly^ to give up what flie did vainly hope to obtain, and what fhe thought had been made fure to her. And if fhe fhews any Refractor in efs, there are ways enough to humble her ^ fo that by right or wrong the Hilfband gains his WilL For Covenants betwixt Hufband and Wife, like Laws in an Arbitrary Govern- ment, are of little Force, the Will of the Spvereign is aJJ in all. Thus it is in Mat- ter of Fad, I will not anfwer for the Right of it 5 for if the Woman's Reafons upon which thofe Agreements are groun- ded are not Juft and Good, why did he confent to them ? Was it becaufe there was no other way to obtain his Suit, and with an Intention to Annul them when it Ihall be in his Power > Where then is his Sincerity? But if her Reafons are good, where is his Juflice in obliging her to quit them ? He neither way ads like an equitable or honeft Man. D ^ But ^8 REFtECTlONS But when a Woman Marrys unequally and beneath her felf, there is almoft De- monftration that the Man is Sordid and Unfair, that inftead of Loving her he only Loves himfelf, trapans and ruines her to ferve his own Ends. For if he had not a mighty Opinion of himfe If, (which ten:^er is like to make an admirable Hus- band,) he cou'd never imagine that his Perfon and good Qualities fliould make compenfation for all the advantages flie quits on his account. If he had a real Efleem for her or valu'd her Reputation, he wou'd not expofe it , nor have her Difcretion call'd inQueftion for his fake 5 ^nd if he truly Lov'd her he wou'd not reduce her to Straits and a narrow For- tune, nor fo much as lefTen her way of Living to better his own. For fince GOD has plac'd different Ranks in the World, put fome in a higher and fome in a lower Station, for Order and Beauty's fake, and for many good Reafons 5 tho' it is both our Wifdom and Duty not only to fub- mit with Patience , but to be Thankful and well-fatisfied when by his Providence we are brought low, yet there is no man- ner of Reafon for us to Degrade our felves, on the contrary, much why we ought not. The better our Lot is in this World and the more we have of it, the greater upon Marriage, 59 greater is our leifure to prepare for the next 3 we have the more opportunity to exercife that God-like Qiiality, to taft that Divine Pleafure, Doing good to the Bodies and Souls of thofe beneath us. Is it not then ill Manners to Heaven, and an irreligious contempt of its Favours, for a Woman to flight that nobler Employment, to which it has aflign'd her , and thruft her felf down to a meaner Drudgery, to what is in the very literal Senfe a ca- ring for the things of the World, a ca- ring not only to pleafe, but to maintain a Hufband > And a Hufband fo chofen will not at all abate of his Authority and Right to Govern, whatever fair Promifes he might make before. She has made him her Head, and he thinks himfelf as well qualify 'd as the beft to A& accordingly, nor has file given him any fuch Evidence of her Prudence as may difpofe him to make an Ad of Grace in her Favour. Befides, great Obligations are what Superiors can- not bear, they are more than can be re- turn'd 5 to acknowledge, were only to re- proach themfelves with ingratitude, and therefore the readieft way is not to own but overlook them, or rather, as too ma- ny do, to repay them with Aifronts and Injuries, D 4 What 40 Reflections What then is to be done ? How muft a Man chufe, apd what Qualities muft encline a Woman to accept, that fo our Marry 'd couple may he as happy as th^t State can make them ? This is no hard Qiieftion 3 let the Soul be principally con- fider'd, and regard had in the tirft Place to a good Underftanding , a Vertuous Mifid, and in all other refpefts let there be as much equality as may be. If they are good Chriilians and of fuitable Tem- pers all will be well 5 but I fhouJd be ftrewdly tempted to fufped their Chri- ftianity who Marry after any of thofe ways we have been fpeaking of, I dare venture to fay, that they don't Aft accor- ding to the Precepts of the Gofpel, they neither fhev/ the Wifdom of the Serpent, nor the Innocency of the Dove, they have neither fo much Government of them- felves , nor fo much Charity for their Neighbours, they neither take fuch care not to Scandalize others , nor to avoid Temptations themfelves, are neither fo mjjch abo\'e this World, nor fo affefted with the next, as they wou'd certainly be did the Chriftian Religion operate in their Hearts, did they rightly underftand and fincerely Praftife it, or Afted iw^tW ac- cording to the Spirit of the GofpeL But upon Marriage. 41 But it is not enough to enter wifely into this State, care muft be taken of our Con- dud afterwards. A Woman will not want being admonifh'd of her Duty, the cu- flom of the World , CEconomy , every thing almoft reminds her of it. Governors do not often fuifer their Subjefts to forget Obedience through their want of demand- ing it, perhaps Hulbands are buttod^for- ward on this occafion , and claim their Right oftner and more Imperioufly than either Difcretion or good Manners will juftifie, and might have both a more chear- ful and conftant Obedience paid them if they were not fo rigorous in Exading it. For there is a mutual Stipulation, and Love, Honour, and Worfhip, by which certainly Civility and Refpeft at leaft are meant, are as much the Woman's due, as Love, Honour , and Obedience are the Man's, and being the Woman is faid to be the weaker Veffel, the Man fhou'd be more careful not to grieve or offend her. Since her Reafon is fuppos'd to be lefs, and her Paflions ftroiiger than his, he fhou'd not give occafion to call that fiappofition in Qiiefiion by his pettifh Carriage and needlefs Provocations. Since he is the Man, by which very word Cuflom wou'd have us underlland not only greateft ffrength of Body, but even greateft firm- nef5 4^ Reflections nefs and force of Mind, he fhou'd not play the little Majler fo much p.s to exped to be cocker'd, nor run over to that fide which the Woman us'd to be rank'd in 5 for ac- cording to the Wifdom of the Italians^ Willyou What Gratitude can be fufficient for fuch Obligations ? She fhews her good Opini- on of him by the great Truft (he repofes in him, and what a Brute mufl he be who betrays that Truft, or ads any way un- worthy of it ? Ingratitude is one of the bafeft Vices, and if a Man's Soul is funk fo upon Marriage. 45 fo low, as to be guilty of it towards her who has fo generoufly oblig'd him, aiid who fo intirely depends on him, if he can treat her DifrefpeclfuUy, who has fo fully teftify'd her Elteem of him, ihe muft have a ftock of Vertue which he ftiou'd hlufh to difcern, if Ihe can pay him that •Obedience of which he is fo unworthy. Superiors indeed arc too apt to fcjrget the common Privileges of Mankind 5 that their hiferiors fhare with them the greateft Benefits, and are as capable as themfelves of enjoying the fupreme Cjood^ that tho' the Order of the World requires an Outward Refpecl and Obedience from fome to others, yet the Mind is free, no- thing but Reafon can oblige it, 'tis out of the reach of the moft abfoiute fTyrant. Nor will it ever be well either v/ith thofe who Rule or thofe in Subjection, even from the Throne to every Private Family, till thofe in Authority look on themfelves as placed in that Station for the good and improvement of their Subjeds, and not for their own fakes 5 not as the reward of their Merit, or that they may profecute their own Defires and fulfil all their Plea- fure, but as the Reprefentatives of GOD whom they ought to imitate in the Juftice and Equity of their Laws,, in doing good and communicating Bleflings to all beneath them : 4.6 Reflections them : By which, and not by following the imperious Diftates of their own will, they become truly Great and Illuftrious and Worthily fill their Place. And the Go- verned for their Part ceafing to envy the Pomp and Name of Authority, fhou'd re- fpeft their Goveruours as plac'd in GOD s Head, and contribute what they can to eafe them of their real Cares, by a chearful, and ready compliance with their good en- deavours, and by affording them the Plea- fure o^ fuccefsin fuch noble and generous Defigns. For upon a due eftimate things are pretty equally divided 5 thofe in Subjefti- on as they have a lefs Glorious, fo they have an eafier task and a lefs account to give, whereas he who Commands has in a great meafure the Faults of others to anlwer for as well as his own. Tis true he has the Pleafure of doing more good than a Private Perfon can, and Ihall re- ceive the Reward of it when Time fhall be no more, in compenfation for the ha- zards he runs, the difficulties he at pre- fent encounters, and the large Account he is to make hereafter, which Pleafure and Keward are highly defirable and moft wor- thy our purfuit 5 but they are Motives which fuch as ufurp on their Governors, and make them uneafie in the due difcharge of upon Marriage. 47 of their Duty , never propofe. And for thofe other little things that move their Envy and Ambition, they are of no E- fleem with a juft Confiderer, nor will fuch as violently purfue, find their Ac- count in them. But how can a Man refped his Wife when he has a contemptible Opinion of her and her Sex ? When from his own Elevation he looks down on them as void of Under/landing , and full of Ignorance and Paflion, fo that Folly and a Wopaii are equivalent Terms with him ? Can he think there is any Gratitude due to her whofe utmofl: fervices he exafts as Rnd Duty ? Becaufe (he was made to be a Slave to his W^ill, and has no higher end than to Ser\'e and Obey him ! Perhaps we ar- rogate too much to our felves wllen we fay this Material World was made for our fakes 5 that its Glorious Maker has given us the ufe of it is certain, but when we fuppofe a thing to be made purely for our fakes, becaufe we have Dominion over it^ we draw a falfe Conclufion , as he who ihou'd fay the People were made for the Prince who is fet over them, wou'd be thought to be out of his Senfes as well as his Politicks. Yet even allowing that GOD who made every thing in Number, Weight and Meafure, who never ads but 48 Reflections but for fome great and glorious End, an End agreeable to His M^jefty, allowing that He Created fuch a M umber of Ra- tional Spirits merely to ferve their fel- low Creatures, yet how are thefe Lords and JVlaflers helpt by the Contempt they (hew of their poor humble VaiTals ? Is it not rather an hindrance to that Service they expect, as being an undeniable and cofiftant Proof how unworthy they are to recei\^e it ? None of GOD's Creatures abfolutely confider'd are in their own Nature Con- temptible 5 the meanefl Fly, the pooreft Infed hasitsUfe and Vertue. Contempt is fcarce a Human Paflion, one may ven- ture to fay it was not in Innocent Man, for till Sin came into the World, there v/as nothing in it to be contemn'd. But. Pride which makes every thing ferve its purpofes, wrefted this Paffion from its on- ly ufe, fdi that inftead of being an Anti- dote againft Sin, it is become a grand pro- moter of it, nothing making us more wor- thy of that Contempt we ibew, than when poor, weak, dependent Creatures as we are! we look down with Scorn and Dif- dain on others. There is not a furer Sign of a noble Mind, a Mind very far advanced towards PerfccTionj than the being able to bear Con« upon Mae-riaqe. 49 Contempt and an unjuft Treatment from ones Superiors evenly and patiently. For inward Worth and real Excellency are tKe true Ground of Superiority, and one Per- fon is not in reality better than another, but as he is more Wife and Good. But this World being a place of Tryal and goveni'd by general Laws, juft Retribu- tions being referv'd for hereafter, Refpeft and Obedience many times become due for Order's fake to thofe who don*t other- wife deferve them. Now tho' Humility keeps us from over-valuing our felves or viewing our Merit thro' a falfe and mag- nifying Medrnm^ yet it does not put otit our Eyes, it does not, it ought not to de- prive us of that pleafing fentiment which attends our Ading as we ought to Aft, which is as it were a foretaft of Heaven^ otir prefent Reward for doing what is Juft and Fit. And when a Superior do^ a Meaii and unjuft Thing, as all Contempt of one's Neighbour is, and yet this does not pro- voke his Inferiors to refufe that Obfervance which their Stations in the World require, they cannot but have an inward Senfe of their own real Superiority, the other ha^ ving no pretence to it, at the fame time that they pay him an outward Refped: and Deference, which is fach a flagrant Tefti- mony of the fincereft Lo\^e of Order as E ptove-s 50 Reflections proves their Sculs to be of the higheft and noblefl Rank. A Man therefore for his own fake, and to give evidence that he has a Right to thofe Prerogatives he affumes, fliou'd treat Women with a little more Humanity and Regard than is ufually paid them. Your whiffling Wits may feoff at them, and what then > It matters not, for they Rally every thing tho' ever fo Sacred, and rail at the Women commonly in very good Company. Religion, its Priefts, and thofe its moft conftant and regular ProfelTors, are the ufual Subjecls of their manly, man- nerly and furprizing Jefls. Surprizing in- deed ! not for the newnefs of the Thought, the brightnefs of the Fancy, or noblenefs of Expreflion, but for the good Alfurance with which fuch thread-bare Jefts are a- gain and again repeated. But that your grave Dons, your Learned Men, and which is more, your Menof Senfeas they wou'd be thought, fliould ftocp fo low as to make In\^dives againft the Women, forget themfeves fo much as to Jeft with their Slaves, who have neither Liberty nor In* genuity tomake Reprizals! that they fhou'd wafte their Time, and debafe their good Senfe, which fits them for the moft weigh- ty Affairs,fuch as are fuitable to their pro- found W^ifdoms and exalted Underftand- ings/ wpo/2 Marriage* 51 ings ! to render thofe poor Wretches more ridiculous and odious who are already in their Opinion fufficiently contemptible, and find no better exercife of their Wit and Satyr than fuch as are not worth their Pains, tho' it were poflible to Reform them, this, this indeed may juftly be wondred at I I know not whether or no Women are allow'd to have Souls, if they have^perhaps it is not prudent to provoke them too much, left filly as they are, they at laft recrimi- nate, and then what polite and well-bred Gentleman, tho' himfeJf isconcern'd, can forbear taking that lawful Pleafure which all who underftand Raillery muft taft, when they find his Jells who infolently began to peck at his Neighbour, return'd with Intereft upon his own Head ? And indeed Men are too Humane, to3 Wife to venture at it did they not hope for this ef- fed, and exped: the Pleafure of finding their Wit turn to (uch account 5 for if it be lawfijl to reveal a Secret, this is with- out doubt the whole defign of thofe fine Difcourfes which have been made againft the Women from our great Fore-fathers to this prefent Time ! Generous Man has too much Bravery, he is too Juft and too Good to affault a defencelefs Enemy, and if he did inveigh againft the Women it was on- ly to do them Service ! For fince neither E 2 his 51 Reflectioks his Care of their Education , his hearty endeavours to improve their Minds, his wholfome Precepts, nor great Example cou'd dathem good, ashis laft and kindeft Effay, he refolv'd to try what Contempt wou'ddo, and chofe rather to expofe him- felf by a feeming want ofjuftice, Equity, Ingenuity and Good-nature, than fufler Women to remain fuch vain and infignifi- cant Creatures as they have hitherto been reckoned ! And truly Women are fome de- grees beneath what I have thus far thought them, if they do not make the beft ufe of his kindnefs, improve themfelves, and like Chriftians return it. Let us fe« then what is their Part, what muft they do to make the Matrimonial Yoke tolerable to themfelves as w^ell as pleafing to their Lords and Mafters ? That the World is an empty and deceitful Thing, that thofe Enjoyments which ap- peared fo defirable at a diftance, which rais'd our Hopes and Expedations to fuch a mighty Pitch, which we fo paflionately coveted, and fo eagerly purfued, vanifh at our firft approach, leaving nothing behind them but the Folly of Delufion, and the pain of difappointed Hopes, is a common Outcry ^ and yet as common as it is, the' w^e complain of being deceived this Inftant, ^ve do not fail of contributing to the Cheat »^^/2 MaRR lA GE. 5 J Ckat the very next. Tho' in reality it IS not the World that abufes us, 'tis we abufeour felves, it is not the emptinefs of that, but our own falfe Judgments, our unreafonable Defires and Expectations that Torment us ^ for he who exerts his whole ftrength to lift a Straw, ought not to complain of the Burden, but of his own difproportionate endeavour which gives him the pain he feels. The World affords us all the Pleafure a found Judgment caii expecl from it, and anfwers all thofe Ends and Purpofesfor which it was defign'd, let us exped no more than is reafonable^ and then we ihall not fail of our Expeflat tion. It is even fo in the Cafe before us 5 a Woman who has been taught to think Marriage her only Preferment, the Sum- total of her Endeavours, the completion of all her hopes, that which muft fettle and make her Happy in this World, and very few, in their Youth efpecially, car- ry aThought fteddily to a greater diftance^ She who has ken a Lover dying at her Feet, and can't therefore imagine that he who profeffes to receive all his Happinefs from her, can have any other Defign or Defire than to pleafe her 5 whofe Eyes have been dazled with all the Glitter and Pomp of a Wedding, and who hears of no- E 3 thing 54 Reflections thing but Joy and Congratulation ^ who k tranfported with the Pleafure of being out of Pupillage, and Miftrefs not only of her felf but of a Family too : She who is ei- ther fo fimple or fo vain , as to take her Lover at his Word either as to the Praifes he crave her, or the Promifes he made for himfeif5 infum, Ihe whofe Expeftation has been raised by Court-ihip, by all the fine things that her Lover, her Governefs, and Domeftic Flatterers fay, will find a terrible difappointment when the hurry is over, aud when (he comes calmly to confi- der her Condition, and views it no more under a falfc Appearance, but as it truly is. I doubt in fuch a View it will not ap- pear over-dcCrable, if flie regards only the prefent State of Things. Hereafter may make amends for what Ihe mufl: beprepar'd to fuflfer here, then will be her Reward, this is her time of Tryal, the Seafon of exercifing and improving her Vertues. A Woman that is not Miftrefs of her Paflions, that cannot patiently fubmit even when ■Reafon fuffers with her, who does not praftife Paflive Obedience to the utmoft, will never be acceptable to fuch an abfo- lute Sovereign as a Husband. Wifdom ought to Govern without Contradidion, but Strength however will be obey'd. There are but few of thofe wife Perfons - who i upon Marriage. 55 who can be content to be made yet wifei' by Contradiaion, the moft will have their 7F/7/, and it is right becaufe it is their s. Such is the vanity of Humane Nature that nothing pleafes hke an intire Subjedion 3 what Imperfedions won't a Man over-look where this is not wanting ! Tho' we live like Brutes, we wou'd have Incenfe oiFer'd us that is only due to Heaven it felf^wou'd have an abfolute and blind Obedience paid us by all over whom we pretend Authority^ We were not made to Idolize one another, 'etthe whole ftrain of Courtfliip is little efs than rank Idolatry : But does a Man intend to give, and not to receive his ihare in this Religious Worlhip ? No fuch mat- ter ^ Pride and Vanity and Self-love have their Defigns, and if the Lover is fo con- defccnding as to fet a Pattern in the time of hjs Addrelfes, he is fo Julias to expeft his Wife fhou'd ftridly Copy after it all the reft of her Life. But how can a Woman fcruple intire Subjedion, how can Ihe forbear to admire th^ worth and excellency of the Superior Sex, if fhe at ail confiders it > Have not all the great Adions that have been per- formed in the World been done by Men > Have not they founded Empires and over- turn d them? Do not they make Laws and xontinually repeal and amend them? Xteir ' E 4 ■ ■ - vaft 56 Reflections vaft Minds Jay Kingdoms waft, no bounds or meafures can be prefcrib'd to their De- fires. War and Peace depend on them, they form Cabals and have the Wifdom and Courage to get over all thefe Rubs which may lie in the way of their defired Gran- deur. What is it they cannot do > They make Worlds and ruine them, form Sy- ftem^s of uni\^erfal Nature and difpute e- ternally about them ^ their Pen gives worth to the moft trifling Controverfie 5 nor can a fray he inconfiderable if they have drawn their Swords in't. All that the wife Man pronounces is an Oracle, and every Word the Witty fpeaks a Jeft. It is a Woman's Happinefs to hear, admire and praife them, efpecially if a little Ill- nature keeps them at any time from be- ftowing due Applaufes on each other ! And if fhe afpires no further, (he is thought to be in her proper Sphere of Action, fhe is as wife and as good as can be expeded from her ! She then who Marrys ought to lay it down for an indifputable IVIaxim, that her Hulhand muft govern abfolutely and intirely, and that (he has nothing elfe to do but to Pleafe and Obey. She muft not attempt to divide his Authority , or fo much as difpute it, to ftruggle with her Yoke will only make it gall the more, but muft upon Marriaqe. 57 mufl believe him Wife and Good and in all refpefts the beft, at leaft he muft be fo to her. She who can't do this is no way fit to be a Wife, flie may fet up for that pecu- liar Coronet the ancient Fathers talk'd of, but is not qualify 'd to receive that great reward, which attends the eminent exer- cife of Humility and Self-denial, Patience and Refignation, the Duties that a V/ife is caird to. But fome refractory Woman perhaps will fay, how can this be ? Is it poffible for her to believe him Wife and Good who by a thoufand Demonflrations convinces her and all the World of the contrary > Did the bare Name of Hulband confer Senfe on a Man, and the mere being in Authority infallibly qualifie him for Go- vernment, much might be done. But fince a wife Man and a Hufband are not Terms convertible, and how loth foever one is to own it. Matter of Fad won t allow us to deny, that the Head many times ftands in need of the Inferior's Brains to manage it, fhe muft beg leave to be excus'd from I^jch high thoughts of her Sovereign, and if Ihe fubmits to his Power, it is not fo much Reafon as Neceffity that compels her. Now of how little force foever this Objedion may be in other refpeds, me- thinks it is ftrong enough to prove the ne- ceflity 58 Reflect I ON s ceflity of a gcod Education, and that Men never miftake their true Intereft more than when they endeavour to keep Women in Ignorance. Cou'd they indeed deprive them of their Natural good Senfe at the fame time they deny them the due improvement of itjthey might compafs their End ^ other- wife Natural Senfe unaflifted may run in- to a falfe Track, and ferve only to punifti him juftly, who wou'd not allow it to be ufe- ful to himfelf or others. If Man s Autho- rity be juftly eftablifli'd, the more Senfe a Woman has, the more reafon flie will find to fubmit to it ^ if according to the Tradi- tion of our Fathers, (who havmg had Vo(feJ]ion of the Pen, thought they liad alfo the ht^Right to it,) Women's Under- flanding is but Imall, and Men s Partiality adds no Weight to the Obfervation, ought not the more care to be taken to iniprove them ? How it agrees with the Juftice of Men we enquire not, but certainly Heaven is abundantly more equitable ihan to enjoyn Women the hardeft Task and give them the leaft Strength to perform it. And if Men Learned, Wife and Difcreet as they are, who ha\'e as is faid all the advantages of Nature, and without controverfy have, or may have all the afliftance of Art, are fo far from acquitting themfehes as they ought; from ]i\ ing according xo thatRea- fon upon Marri AGE* 59 foil and excellent Underftanding they fo much boaft of, can it be expefted that a Woman who is reckon'd filly enough in her /elf, at leaft comparatively ,and whom Men take care to make yet more fo, can it be ex- peded that flhe ftiou'd conftantly perform fo difficult a Duty as intire Subjedion, to which corrupt Nature is fo averfe } If the Great and Wife Cato^ a Man^ a Man of no ordinary firmnefs and ftrength of Mind, a Man who was efteem'd as an Oracle, and by the Philof ophers and great Men of his Nation equall'd even to the Gods themfelves^ If he with all his Stoical Principles was not able to bear the fight of a triumphant Conqueror , (who perhaps wou'dhavelnfulted and perhaps wou'd not,) but out of a Cowardly fear of an Infult, ran to Death to fecure him from it 5 can it be thought that an ignorant weak Woman iliou'd have patience to bear a continual Out-rage and Infolence all the days of her Life ? Unlefs you will fuppofe her a verj^ Afs^ but then remember what the Italians fay, to Quote them once more, fince being very Huibands they may be prefum'd tc^ have Authority in this Cafe, an Afs tho* Jlow if provolCd will kick. We never fee or perhaps make fport with the ill EflFeds of a bad Education, till it come to touch us home in the ill condud: of 6o Reflegtioks of a Sifter, a Daughter, or V/ife. Then the Women muft be blam'd, their Folly is exclaim'd againft, when all this while it was the wife Man's Fault, who did not kt a better Guard on thofe w^ho according to him ftand in fo much need of one. A young Gentleman, as a celebrated Author tells us, ought abo\-e all things to be acquaint- ed with the State of the World, the Ways snd Humours, the Follies, the Cheats, the Faults of the Age he is fallen into, he fcould by degrees be inform'd of the Vice in Fafhion, and warn'd of the /Application and Defign of thofe who will make it their Bufinefs to corrupt him, (hou'd be told the Arts they ufe and the Trains they lay , be prepar a to be Shocked by fome and carefs'd by others 3 warn'd who are like to oppofe, who to millead, who to undermine , aiid who to ferve him. He fhou'd be inftrufted how to know and diftinguiih them, where he fliou'd let them fee, and when dilfem- hle the Knowledge ofthem and their Aims and Workings. Our Author is much in the right, and not to difparage any other Ac- coinplifliments which are ufeful in their kind, this will turn to more account than any Language or Philofophy , Art or Sci- ence, or any other piece of Good-breeding and fine Education that can be taught him, which are no othenvife excellent than as thev vpon Marriage. 6i they contribute to this, as this does above all things to the making him a wife, a ver- tuous and ufeful Man. And it is not lefs neceflary that a young Lady (hou'd receive the like Inftruclions, whether or no her Temptations be fevv^er, her Reputation and Honour however are to be more nicely preferv'd 3 they may be ruin'd by a little Ignorance or Indifcretion, and then tho' Ihe has kept her Innocence, and fo is fecur'd as to the next World, yet flie is in a great meafure loft to this. A Wo- man cannot be too watchful, too appre- henfive of her danger, nor keep at too great a diftance from^ it, (ince Man whofe Wif- dom and Ingenuity is fo much Superior to hers ! condefcends for his Intereft fome- times, and fometimes by way of Diverfion^ to lay Snares for her. For tho' all Men are Tirtuofi^ Philofophers and Politicians, in comparifon of the Ignorant and Illiterate Women, yet they don't all pretend to be Saints, and 'tis no great Matter to them if Women who were born to be their Slaves, be now and then ruin'd for their Enter- tainment. But according to the' rate that young Women are Educated, according to the way their Time isfpent, they are deftin'd to Folly and Impertinence, to fay no worfe, and which is yet more inhuman, they are blam'd 6a Reflections blani'd for that ill Conduft they are not fufFer'd to avoid, and reproached for thofe Faults they are in a manner forc'd into 5 fo that if Heaven has bellowed any Senfe on them, no other ufe is made of it, tharr to leave them without Excufe. So much and no more of the World is (liewn them, as ferves to weaken and corrupt their Minds, to gi\'e them wrong Notions, and buiy them in mean Purfuits 3 to difturb, not to regulate their Paflions 5 to make them ti- morous and dependant, and in a word, fit for nothing elfe but to ad a Farce for the Diverfion of their Governours. Even Men themfelves improve no other- wife than according to the Aim they take, and the End they propofe 3 and he whofe Defigns are but little and mean, will be the fame himfelf Tho' Ambition, as 'tis ufually underftood , is a Foolifh , not to fay a Eafe and Pitifiil Vice, yet the Afpi- tings of the Soul after true Glory are fo much its Nature, that it feems to have for- got it felf ;ind to degenerate, if it can for- bear 5 and perhaps the great Secret of Edu- cation Jies inaflfedingthe Soulwith a lively Senfe of what is truly its Perfedion, and exciting the moft ardent Defires after it. But, alas! what poor Woman is t\xr taught that (he fliould ha\'e a higher De- Cgn than to eet her a Hufband ? Heaven wilJ upon Marriage. 65 will fall in of coutfe ^ and if fiie makes but an Obedient and Dutiful Wife, (he cannot mifs of it. A Hufband indeed is thought by both Sexes fo very valuable, that fcarce a Man who can keep himfelf clean and make a Bow, but thinks he is good enough to pretend to any Woman, no matter for the Difference of Birth or Fortune, a Huf- band is fuch a Wonder-working Name as to make an Equality , or fomething more, whenever it is pronounced. And indeed were there no other Proof of Mafculine Wifdom, and what a much greater Portion of Ingenuity falls to the Men than to the Women's Share, the Ad- drefs, the Artifice, and Management of an humble Servant were a fufficient Demon- feat ion. What good Condud doeshelhew! what Patience exercife ! what Subtilty' leave untry'd ! what Concealment of his Faults ! what Parade of his Vertues ! what Government of his Paflions ! How deep is his Policy in laying his Defigns at fo great a diflance, and working them up by fuch little Accidents ! How indefatigable is his Indufey , and how confiaht his Watchful- nefs, not to flip any Opportunity that may in the leaft contribute to hisDeiign ! What a handfome Set of Difguifes and Preten- ces is he always furniih'd v/ith ! Howcon- ceal'ddoes he lie ! how little pretend^ till he 64. Reflections he is fure that his Plot will take ! And at the fame time that he nourilhes the Hope of being Lord and Mafter , appears with all the Modefty and Submiffion of an hum- ble and unpretending Admiret. Can a Woman then be too fnuch upon her Guard ? Can her Pradeilce atid Fore- fight, her early Caution, be reckoned un- necelfary Sufpicion, or ill-bred Referve, by any but thofe whofe Defigns they pre- vent, and whofe Interefl: it is to declami againft them ? it being a certain Maxim with the Men, tlio' Policy or Good Breed- ing won't allow them to avow it always , that the Women were made for their Sakes and Service, and are in all refpeds their Inferiors, efpecially in Underflanding 3 fo that all the Compliments they make, all the Addrefs and Complaifance they ufe, all the Kindnefs they profefs, all the Ser\'ice they pretend to pay, has no other Mean- ing, no other End, than to get the poor Woman into their Power, to govern her according to their Dilcretion* This is all pure Kindnefs indeed, and therefore^ no Woman has Reafon to be offended with it , for confidering how much fhe is expos'd in her own, and how fafe in their Keeping, 'tis the wifeft thing fhe can do to put her fdf under Protedion ! And then if they have a tolerable Opinion of her Senfe, and not upon Marriage. 65 not their Vanity but fome better Principle difpofes them to do fomething out of the way, and to appear more generous than the reft of their Sex, they'll condefcend to didate to her, and impart fome of their Prerogative Books and Learning ! 'Tis fit indeed that Ihe fhould entirely depend on their Choice, and walk with the Crutches they are pleased to lend her 3 and if fhe is furnifhed out with fome Notions to fet her a prating, I (hould have faid to inakeher entertaining and the Fiddle of the Com- pany, her Tutor's Time was not ill be- ftowed : And it were a diverting Scene to fee her ftript like the Jaj of her borrowed Feathers, but he, good Man, has not ill Na- ture enough to take Pleafure in it ! You may accuie him perhaps for giving fo much Encouragement to a Woman's Vanity, but your Accufation is groundlefs. Vanity be- ing a Difeafe the Sex will always be guilty of 5 nor is it a Reproach to them, fince Men of Learning and Senfe are over- run with it. But there are few Women whofe Un- derftandings are worth the Management, their Eftates are much more capable of Improvement. No Woman, much lefs a Woman of Fortune, is ever fit to be her own Miftrefs, and he who has not the Vanity to think what much finer things F he 66 Reflections be could perform had he the Ma- nagement of her Fortune ^ or fo much Parti.qlity and Self-love, as to fancy it can't be better beftow'd than in making his 5 will yet be fo hoiieft and humble as to think that 'tis lit flie fliould take his AB- ilance, as Steward at leaft. For the Good Man afpires no fiirther, he would only take the Trouble of her Affairs oif her hand 5 and the Senfe of her Condefcention and his great Obligations, will for ever fecure him againft afting like a Lord and Jv'lafter ! The Steps to Folly as well as Sin are gradual, and almoft imperceptible, and whtn we are once on the Decline, v/e go down without takuig notice on't 3 were it not for this, one coud not account, for thofe ftrange unequal Matches we too of- ten fee. For there was a time no doubt, when a Woman could not have bore the ^XTy thought of what Ihe has been after- wards betray'd into, it would have ap- peared as fhocking to her as it always does to other People ^ and had a Man been fo impolitic as to difcover the leaft intimation of fuch a Defign, he had given her a fuffi- cient Antidote againft it. This your Wife Men are well fatisfy'd of, and underftand their own Intereft too well to let their Defign go bare-fac'd, for that would effe- ftually put a barr to their Succefs. So in- nocent upon Marriage. 67 nocent are they, that they had not the Jeaft Thought at iirft of what their Good Fortune afterwards leads them to ! They would draw upon him , (if they wear a Sword) or fly in her Face who ihould Jet fall the leaft hint that they had fuch In- tentions 5 and this very Eagemefs to avoid the Sufpicion, is a Ihrewd Sign that there' is occafion for't. But who fhall dare to Ihew the Lady het Danger, when will it be feafonable to give her friendly Notice ? If }^ou do it e're ihe is refolv'd, tho' with all the Friendship and Tendernefs imaginable, (he will hard- ly forgive the Affront, or bear the Provo- cation 5 you offer her an Outrage, by en- tertaining fuch a Thought, and 'tis ten to one if you are not afterwards accus'd for putting in her Head what otherwife flie could ne er have dreamt of. And when no direct Proof can be offer 'd , w^hen matter of Prudence is the only thing in Queftion, every Body has fo good an Opinion of their own Underftanding as to think their own way the befl. And when Ihe has her Inno- cence and fair Intentions to oppofe to your Fears and Surmifes, and you cannot pre-- tend to wifh her better than Ihe does heif feif, to be more difinterefs'd and diligeilt in yonr Watchfulnefs, or to fee farther in what fo nearly concerns her, what can be ' F ^ done? 68 Reflections done ? Her ruin is commonly too far ad- vanced to be prevented , e're you can in Good-breeding reach out a hand to help her. For if the Train has took, if fhe is entangled in the Snare, if Love, or rather a Blind unreafonable Fondnefs, which ufurps the Name of that noble Paffion, has gained on her, Reafon and Perfwafion may as properly be urg'dto the Folks in Bethle?n as to her. Tell her of this World, fhe is got above it, and has no regard to its imper- tinent Cenfures 3 tell her of the next, fhe laughs at you, and will never be convinc'd that Adions which are not exprefiy for- bid can be Criminal , tho' they proceed from, and mull neceffarily be reduc'd to ill Principles, tho' they gi\'e Offence, are of ill Example, injure our Reputation, which next to our Innocence we are obli- ged as Chriftians to take the greateft care of, and in a word do more mifchief than we can readily imagine. Tell her of her own Good, you appear yet more ridiculous, for who can judge of her Happinefs but her felf .> And whilft our Hearts are violently fet upon any thing, there is no convincing us that we mall ever be of another Mind. Our Paflions want no Advocates, they are always furnifli'd with plaufible Pretences, and thofe very Prejudices, which ga\'e rife to this unreafonable Paflion, will for cer- tain ttpOtlM A R R I A G fe. 69 tain give her Obftinacy enough to juftife and continue in it. Befides, fome are fo iJl advis'd as to think to fupport one Indif- cretion with another, they wou'd not have it thought they have made a falfe Step, in once giving countenance to that which is not fit to be continued. Or perhaps the Lady might be willing enough to throw off the Intruder at firft, but wanted Cou- rage to get above the fear of Jiis Calumnies, and the longer flie fuiiers him to buz about her, fhe will find it the harder to get rid of his Importunities. By all which it appears that fhe who really intends to be fecure, muft keep at the greateft diftance from Danger, flie mull not grant the kqft Indul- gence^where fuch ill ufeswallbe pade of it. And fince the cafe is fo, that Woman can never be in fafety who allows a Man opportunity to betray her. Frequent Con- verfation does for certain produce either A^erfion or Liking , and when 'tis once come to Liking, it depends on the Man s Generofity not to impro\'e it farther, and w-here can one find aninftance that this is any fecurity > There are very many in- deed which (hew it is none. How fenfible foever a Woman may appear of another's Indifcretion, if (he will tread in the fany6 Steps, tho* but for a little way, fhe gi\'es us no aifurance that fhe will not fall into F 5 ths 70 Reflections the fame Folly, fhe may perhaps intend very well, but (lie puts it paft her Power toftilfil her good Intentions. Even thofe who have forfeited their Difcretion, the moft valuable thing next to their Vertue, and without which Vertue it felf is but very weak and faint, 'tis like were once as well refolv'd as fhe, they h^d the very fame Thoughts, they made the fame Apo- logies, and their Refentment wou'd have been every whit as great againft thofe who cou'd have imagined they fhou'd fo far forget themfelves. , It were endlefs to reckon up the divers Stratagems Men ufe to catch their Prey, their different ways of infinuatmg which Vary with Circumftances and the Ladies Temper. ' But how unfairly, how bafely foever they proceed, when the Prey is once caught it paffes for lawful Prize, and o- ther Men ha\'ing the fame hopes and pro- jefts fee nothing to find fault with, but that it was not their own Good Fortune. They may exclaim againft it perhaps in a Lady's hearing, but it is only to keep themfelves from being fufpefted, and to give the better Colour to their own De- figns. Sometimesa Woman is cajol'd, and fometimes Hedor'd, fhe is feduc'd to Love a Man, or aw'd into a Fear of him ; He defefids her Honour againft another, or affumes upon Marriage. 71 affumes the Power of blaftino; it himfelf ^ was willing to pals for one of no Confe- quence till he cou'd make himfelf confi- derable at her Cofi. He might be admit- ted at firft to be ker je/i, but he carries on the humxr fo far till he makes her Z-fj- he will either entertain or fer\^e her as occa- fion offers, and fom^^wa^i-or ether gets himfelf intrufted w^ith her Fortune, her Fame, or her Soul. Allow him but a fre- quent and free Converfation, and there-s no manner of Qoeftion but that his Inge- nuity and Application w ill at one time or other get the Afcendant over her. And generally the more humble and un- defigning a Man appears , the more imptO'- bable it looks that he ihould dare to pre- tend, the greater Caution fliou'd beus'd againft him. A bold Addrefs and good Aflurance may fometimes, but does not always, take. To a Woman of Senfe an artificial Modefty and Humility is a thou- fand times more dangerous, for he oiily draws back to receive the moreEncoutage- ment, and fhe regards not what Adi'ances ihe makes towards him, who feems to un- derftaiid himfelf ^nd the World fo well, as to be incapable of making an ill ufe of fhem. Wou'd it not be unreafonable and a piece of Ill-breeding tobefhyof him who has no Pretentions, or onlv fuch as are F 4 " M 71 Reflections Juft and Modeft ? What hurt in a Vifit > Or what if Vifits grow a little more fre- quent ? The Man has fo much difcern- ment, as to rehfli her Wit and Humour, and can fhe do lefs than be Partial to him v/ho is fo Juft to her > He ftrives to pleafe and to render himfelf agreeable, or necef- fary perhaps, 9iid whoever will make it his Bufinefs may find ways enough to do it. For they know but little of Human INature, they never confulted their own Heirts, who are not fenlible what ad- vances a well-manag'd Flattery makes, efpecially from a Perfon of whofe Wit and Senfe one has a good Opinion. His Wit at firftrecoiAmends hisFlatteries,andthefe in requital fct ofFhis Wit , and (he who has been us'd to this high-i'eafon'd Diet, Vvdll fcarce evor reiiih another Converfation. Having got thus far to be fure he is not wanting to his good Fortune, but drives on to an Intimacy, or what they are pleas'd now a-days, tho' very unjuftly, to call a Friendfhip5 all is fsfe under this facred Charader, which fets them above little Aims and mean Defigns. A Charad:er that muft be conduded with the iliceft Honour, allows the greateft Trufts, leads to the higheft Improvements, is attended with the pureft Pleaflires and moft rational Sa- tisfaftion, And^ what if the malicious W^orld. uj^on Marriage. 75 World , envious of his Happinefs, fliou'd take Offence at it, fince he has taken all due Precautions, fuch unjuft and ill-na-^ tur'd Cenfures are not to be regarded 5 for his part the diftance that is between them checks all afpiring defires, but her Con- verfation is what he muft not, cannot w^ant. Life is infipid and not to be en- dured without it 5 and he is too much the Lady's Friend , has too juft a Value for her to entertain a Thought to her difad- vantage ! Now if once it is come to this, GOD help the poor Woman, for not much Ser- vice can be done her by any of her Friends on Earth. That Pretender to be fure will be the Darling, he will worm out every other Perfon, tho' evet fo kind and difin- terefted. For tho' true Friends will en- deavour to pleafe in order to ferve, their Gomplaifance never goes fo far as to prove injurious 5 the beloved Fault is what they chiefly ftrike at, and this the Flatterer al- ways fooths 5 fo that at laft he becomes the moft acceptable Company, and they who are confcious of their own Integrity are not apt to bear fuch an unjuft Diftin- dion, nor is it by this time to any purpofe to remonftrate the Danger of fuch an In- timacy. When a Man, and for certain much more when a Woman, is fallen into this 74 ReFLECTI ONS this Toy], that is, when either have been fo unwary and indifcreet as to let another iind out by what Artifices he may manage their Self-love, and draw it over to his Party, 'tis too late for anyone who is really their Friend, to break the Snare and dif- abufe them. Neither Sex cares to deny themfelves that which pleafes, efpecially when they think they may innocently indulge it 5 and nothing pleafes more than the being ad- mir'd and humourM. We may be told of the Danger, andlhown the Fall of others, but tho' their Misfortunes are ever fo of- ten or fo lively repi:'^fented to us, we are all fo well alfur d of our own good Con- dud, as to believe it will bring us fafe off thofe Rocks on which others have been Shipwrackt. We fuppofe it in our Power tofhorten the Line of our Liberty when ever we think fit, not codidering that the farther we run, we Ihall be the more imwil- ling to Retreat and unable to judge when a Retreat is necelfary. A Woman does not know that ihe is more than half loft when fte admits of thefe Suggeflions5 that thofe Arguments Ihe brings for continuing a Man's Converfation, prove only that llie ought to have quitted it foooer 3 that Li- king infenfibly converts to Love, and that when flie admits a Man to be her Friend, ^tis upon M ARRIAG E. 75 'tis his Fault if be does not make hinifeJf her Hufband. And if Men even the Modefleft and the Beft, are only in purfuit of their own De- signs, when they pretend to do the Lady Service 5 if the Honour they woud feem to do her, tends only to lead her into an Imprudent and therefore a Difbonourable Adion 5 and they have all that good Opi- nion of themfeives as to take every thing for Encouragement, fo that (he who goes beyond a bare Civility tho' ihe meant no more than Refped^ will find it Interpreted a Favour and made ill Ufe of^(for Favours how Innocent foever, rie\^er turn to a La- dy*s advantage 5 ) what fhadow of a Pre- tence can a Woman have for admitting an intimacy with a Man whofe Principles are known to be Loofe and his Pradices Licentious ? can fhe exped to be fafewith him who has ruin d others, and by the very fame Methods he takes with her > If m Intimacy with a Man of a fairCharader gives. Offence, withiaMan of an ill One^ 'tis doubly and trebly Scandalous. And fuppofe. neither her Forcune nor Beauty can Tempt him, he has his ill-natury Pleafure in deftroying that Vertuehe will not Pradife, ox if that can't be done-, in blafting the Rep^jtarion of it at leaft, ami in making the World believe he has made t Cgnqueft tho' he has found a Foil. If 76 Reflections If the Man be the Woman's Inferior, befides all the Dangers formerly men- tian'd, and thofe juft now taken notice of^ file gives fuch a Countenance to his Vices as renders her in great meafure partaker in them, and it can fcarce be thought in fuch Circumftances, a Woman cou'd Like the Man if Ihe were not reconcil'd to his Faults. Is he her Equal and no unfuitable Match, if his Defigns are fair, why don't they Marry, fince they are fo well pleas'd with each other's Converfation, which in this State only can be frequently and fafely allow 'd ? Is he her Better, and fhe hopes by catching him to make her Fortune, ala^ ! the poor Woman is neither acquaint- ed with the World nor her felf, fhe nei- ther knows her own Weaknefs nor his Treachery, and tho' he gives ever fo much Encouragement to this vainHope,'tis only in order to accomplilh her ruin. To be fure the more Freedom fhe allows, the more fhe leffens his Efleem, and that's not likdy to encreafe a real, tho' it may a pre- tended kindnefs^ fhe ought to fiy, if fhe wou'd have him purfue, the ftridefl Ver- tue and Referve being the only way to fecure him. Religion and Reputation are fo fure a Guard, fuch a fecurity to poor defencelefs Woman, that whenever a Man has illDe- {]gni? uj^on Marrxage. 77 figns on her, he is fare to m-ake a Breach into one or both of thefe, by endeavour- ing either to corrupt her Principles to make her lefs ftrift in Devotion, or to leffen her vahie of a fair Reputation, and wou'd perfwade her that lefs than flie ima- gines will fecure her as to the next World, and that not much regard is to be given to the cenfures of this. Or if this be too bold at firft, and will not pafs with her, he has another way to make even her Love to Vertue contribute to its ruin, by perfwading her it never Shines as it ought unlefs it be expos'd, and that (he has no reafon to Boaft of her Vertue unlefs flie has try'd it. An Opinion of the worfl: confequence that may be, and the moft mifchievous to a Woman, becaufe it is calculated to feed her Vanity, and tends indeed to her utter Ruin. For can it be fit to rufli into Temptations when we are taught every day to pray againfl: them ? If the Trials of our Vertue render it Illuftri- ous, 'tis fuch Trials as Heaven is pleas'd to fend us, not thofe of our own feeking. It holds true of both Sexes, that next to the Divine Grace, a Modeft Diftruft of themfelves is their beft Security, none be- ing fo often and fo fliamefully Foil'd, as thofe who depend moft on their own Strength and Refolution. As ^8 ReFLEC T I ONS As to the Opinion of the World, tho' one cannot fay it is always juft, yet ge- nerally it has a Foundation 5 great regard is to be paid to it, and very good ufe to be made of it. Others 7nay be in fault for pafling their Cenfiires, but we certainly areio if we give them any theleafljuft occafion. And fince Reputation is not only one of the Rewards ofVertue, that which always ought, and generally does attend it, but alfo a Guard againft Evil, an Induce- ment to Good, and a great Inftrument in the Hand of the Wife to promote the common caufe of Vertue, the being Pro- digal of the one, looks as if we fet no great value on the other, and fhe who abandons her good Name is not like to preferve her Innocence. A Woman therefore can never have too nice a Senfe of Honour, provided flie does not prefer it before her Duty 5 (he can never be too careful to fecure her Chara- ^r, not only from the fufpicion of a Crime, but even from the fhadow of an Indifcretion. 'Tis well worth her while to renounce the molt Entertaining , and what fome perhaps will cill the moftlm- proving Company , rather than give the World a juft occafion of Sufpicion or Cen- fure. For befi That if he mifemploys, he abufes it > And if he abufes, according to modern Dedu- dion, he forfeits it, I muft leave her there^ A peaceable Woman indeed will not carry it fo far, fhe will neither c[ueftion her Huiband's Right nor his Fitnefs to Go- vern 5 but how ? Not as an abfolute Lord and Mafter, with an Arbitrary and Ty- rannical fway, but as Reafon Governs and Condufts a Man, by propofing what is Jufl and Fit. And the Man whoafts accord- ing to that Wifdoixi he affumes, who wou'd have that Superiority he pretends to, ac- knowledged Juft, will receive no Injury by any thing that has been offer'd here. A Woman will value him the more who is fo upon Marriage. 95 fo Wife and Good, when (he difcerns how mueh he excels the reft of his noble Sex 3 thelefshe requires, the rnpre will he Me- rit that Efteeln and Deference, which thofe who are fo forward ,to exad , feem confcious they don't deferve. So then the Man's Prerogative is not at all infringed, whilft the Woman's Privileges ?re fecur'd^ and if any Woman think her felfhijur'd, flie has a Remedy in referve which few Men will Envy or endeavour to Rob her of, the Exercife and Improvement of her Vertue here, and. the Reward of it here- after. THE END. BO-eiCS Printed for RicJi^ Wilkin at the Ki?igs Head\n ^^^h Church- Yard. . '"' ' >^ "'^ t A Serious Propofal to the Ladles for the Ad- vancement of their true and greatcft Intereft, Part the Firft, the fourth Edition. A Serious Propolal to the Ladies, Part the Se- cond. Wherein a Method is offered foi: the Im- provement of their Minds. Letters concerning the Love of God, between the Author of the Propofal to the Ladies^ and M. John Norris ; Wherein his late Difcourfe, (hew- ing, that it ought to be intire and exclufive of all other Loves, is farther cleared and juftificd. zd Edit. Moderation truly ftated: Or a Review of a late Pamphlet, Entitled, Moderation a Vertue. With a Prefatory Difcourie to Dr. D^Avcnant^ concern- ing his late Effays on Peace and War. ^to, A Fair Way with the Diflenters and their Pa- trons,not writ by Mr. L.— r. or any other furious Jacobite^ whether Clergyman or Layman, but by a very Moderate Perlbn and Dutiful Subject to the Queen. Quarto. An Impartial Enquiry into the Caufes of Re- bellion, and Civil War in this Kingdom. In an Examination oi Dr. K^nnet\ Sermon, Jan, 30th 3704. And Vindication of the Royal Martyr. ^arto. The Chriftian Religion as profeffed by si Daughter of the Church of EngUnd, Oftavo. rgi_^^^^- ^ "^/y/^r,^.,. -- <%)■, r . f'-'^^f J " ""V %L' ^^ , 111 Tf I M ij^Jj i U i