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[Illustration: FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.]
LIVES
OF
CELEBRATED WOMEN:
BY THE AUTHOR OF
PETER PARLEY'S TALES.
BOSTON:
BRADBURY, SODEN & CO.
MDCCCXLIV.
Entered according to Act of Congress,
in the year 1844,
By S. G. GOODRICH,
In the Clerk's Office of the District
Court of Massachusetts.
STEREOTYPED AT THE
BOSTON TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
WM. A. HALL & CO., PRINTERS,
12 Water Street.
PREFACE.
It is an oft-quoted proposition of Rousseau, that "the glory of
woman lies in being unknown." If this be true, we shall deserve
little credit for placing before the world these brief sketches of a
few of the sex who have acquired celebrity among mankind. We are
disposed to think, however, that the oracular words of the Genevan
philosopher--though they may coincide with the despotism of the lords
of creation, who would arrogate, not merely the sceptre of power, but
the trump of fame, entirely to themselves--like most other oracles,
are liable to many exceptions.
It may indeed be true that the _happiness_ of women is generally to be
found in the quiet of the domestic circle; but that all, without
distinction, should be confined to it, and that whenever one of the
sex departs from it, she departs from her allotted sphere, is no more
true than a similar proposition would be of men. Elizabeth of England,
though little to be esteemed as a woman, did as much credit to her sex
as her father did to his; and while he enjoys the renown of having
achieved the reformation in England, she is entitled to the credit of
having been not only his superior as a sovereign, but one of the
greatest sovereigns that ever occupied a throne. Joan of Arc performed
achievements for her country scarcely less than miraculous; and Hannah
More afforded, by her pen, more efficient protection to the three
kingdoms against the volcanic shock of the French revolution than the
entire army and navy of Great Britain.
Will any one pretend that these persons would have better fulfilled
their destiny, if confined to the quiet precincts of the fireside? If
woman is only to be a housewife, why are gifts bestowed upon her, that
make her often the rival, and sometimes the _master_, of the other
sex, even in the higher walks of ambition? Was Sappho's harp, the
mere echo of which has thrilled upon the ear of nearly thirty
centuries, given only to be touched in the secluded harem of some
Lesbian lord? Why had Sevigne such a magic pen, Roland so noble and
dauntless a soul, the maid of Saragossa a patriotism so inspired and
inspiring, if they were designed by their Creator only to preside over
the nursery, the dairy, and the kitchen? If women are created but to
attend to the comforts of the other sex at home, why are such spirits
as those of the lovely and lamented Davidsons ever formed--spirits
bursting with music and poetry, like the Eolian string, that gives
forth its unbidden melody, only because God made it so? Was Mrs.
Hemans designed but to serve her surly and unappreciating lord? Are
Lady Montagu, Mrs. Barbauld, Madame de Stael, Miss Edgeworth, Miss
Sedgwick, Hannah More, Mrs. Sigourney,--who must be regarded as among
the most efficient civilizers of modern times,--to be set down as
violators of a great law which should govern woman's destiny? In
short, shall we, in Christian countries, who make it our boast that we
have elevated woman to free companionship with man, still look
backward, return to the selfish philosophy of the Turk, shut woman up
in the harem, and gloss over our despotism by quotations from the
Swiss Diogenes?
While we repeat that, in general, women consult their true dignity and
happiness by seeking a quiet domestic career, we still maintain that
such among them as have endowments suited to exert a happy influence
upon mankind at large, are as truly fulfilling their duty and their
destiny, by giving them scope, as are the other sex in doing the same
under the like circumstances. It is believed that the following pages,
although they notice only a few of those women who have acquired a
deserved celebrity, will furnish ample argument to sustain the ground
we assume.