for the shame of being overcome, we shou’d Convince but not Triumph,
and rather Conceal our Conquest than Publish it. We doubly oblige
our Neighbours when we reduce them into the Right Way, and keep it
from being taken notice of that they were once in the Wrong, which is
certainly a much greater satisfaction than that blaze of Glory which is
quickly out, that noise of Applause which will soon be over. For the
gaining of our Neighbour, at least the having honestly endeavour’d
it, and the leading our own Vanity in Triumph are Real Goods and such
as we shall always have the Comfort of. It is to be wish’d that such
Propositions as are not attended with the Clearest Evidence were
deliver’d only by way of Enquiry, since even the brightest Truth
when Dogmatically dictated is apt to offend our Readers, and make
them imagine their Liberty’s impos’d on, so far is Positiveness from
bringing any body over to our Sentiments. And besides, we’re all of us
liable to mistake, and few have Humility enough to confess themselves
Deceiv’d in what they have confidently asserted, but think they’re
obliged in Honour to maintain an Opinion they’ve once been Zealous
for, how desirous soever they may be to get rid on’t, cou’d they do it
handsomely. Now a Modest way of delivering our Sentiments assists us in
this, and leaves us at liberty to take either side of the Question as
Reason and Riper Consideration shall determine.
In short, as Thinking conformably to the Nature of Things is True
Knowledge, so th’ expressing our Thoughts in such a way, as most
readily, and with the greatest Clearness and Life, excites in others
the very same Idea that was in us, is the best Eloquence. For if our
Idea be conformable to the Nature of the thing it represents, and
its Relations duly stated, this is the most effectual way both to
Inform and Perswade, since Truth being always amiable, cannot fail
of attracting when she’s plac’d in a Right Light, and those to whom
we offer her, are made Able and Willing to discern her Beauties.
If therefore we throughly understand our Subject and are Zealously
affected with it, we shall neither want suitable words to explain, nor
perswasive Methods to recommend it.
And since Piety and Vertue shou’d in spite of the mistaken Customs
of the Age be the principal Theme of a Christians Conversation; that
which those who bear that Sacred Name ought always to regard some way
or other, even when it might be unseasonable to speak of it directly,
the way to be good Orators is to be good Christians, the Practice of
Religion will both instruct us in the Theory, and most powerfully
inforce what we say of it. Did we truly relish the Delights of GOD’s
Service, we cou’d neither refrain from talking of the Pleasure, nor be
so ill-natur’d as not to strive to Communicate it; and were we duly
warm’d with a Zeal for his Glory and concern for our Neighbours Soul,
no Figures of Rhetoric, no Art of Perswasion wou’d be wanting to us. We
shou’d diligently watch for Opportunities, and carefully improve them,
accommodating our Discourse to the Understanding and Genius of all we
cou’d hope to do good to.
Besides, by being True Christians we have Really that Love for others
which all who desire to perswade must pretend to; we’ve that _Probity_
and _Prudence_, that _Civility_ and _Modesty_ which the Masters of this
Art say a good Orator must be endow’d with; and have pluck’d up those
Vicious Inclinations from whence the most distastful faults of Writing
proceed. For why do we chuse to be Obscure but because we intend to
Deceive, or wou’d be thought to see much farther than our Neighbours?
One sort of Vanity prompts us to be Rugged and Severe, and so possess’d
with the imagin’d Worth and Solidity of our Discourse, that we think
it beneath us to Polish it: Another disposes us to Elaborate and
Affected ways of Writing, to Pompous and improper Ornaments; and why
are we tediously Copious but that we fancy every Thought of ours is
extraordinary? Contradiction is indeed for our advantage as tending to
make us wiser, yet our Pride makes us impatient under it, because it
seems to Lessen that Esteem and Deference we desire shou’d be paid us.
Whence come those sharp Reflections, those imagin’d strains of Wit,
not to be endur’d amongst Christians, and which serve not to Convince
but to Provoke, whence come they but from Ill-nature or Revenge, from
a Contempt of others and a desire to set forth our own Wit? Did we
write less for our selves we should sooner gain our Readers, who are
many times disgusted at a well writ Discourse if it carries a tang
of Ostentation: And were our Temper as Christian as it ought to be,
our Zeal wou’d be spent on the most Weighty things, not on little
differences of Opinions.
I have made no distinction in what has been said between Speaking and
Writing, because tho they are talents which do not always meet, yet
there is no material difference between ’em. They Write best perhaps
who do’t with the gentile and easy air of Conversation; and they Talk
best who mingle Solidity of Thought with th’ agreableness of a ready
Wit. As for _Pronunciation_, tho it takes more with some Auditors
many times than Good Sense, there needs little be said of it here,
since Women have no business with the Pulpit, the Bar or St. _Stephens
Chappel_: And Nature does for the most part furnish ’em with such a
Musical Tone, Perswasive Air and winning Address as renders their
Discourse sufficiently agreeable in Private Conversation. And as to
spelling which they’re said to be defective in, if they don’t believe
as they’re usually told, that it’s fit for ’em to be so, and that to
write exactly is too Pedantic, they may soon correct that fault, by
Pronouncing their words aright and Spelling ’em accordingly. I know
this Rule won’t always hold because of an Imperfection in our Language
which has been oft complain’d of but is not yet amended; But in this
case a little Observation or recourse to Books will assist us; and if
at any time we happen to mistake by Spelling as we Pronounce, the fault
will be very Venial, and Custom rather to blame than we.
I’ve said nothing of _Grammar_ tho we can’t Write properly if we
transgress its Rules, supposing that Custom and the reading of English
Books are sufficient to teach us the Grammar of our own Tongue, If
we do but in any measure attend to them. And tho Women are generally
accus’d of Writing false English, if I may speak my own Experience,
their Mistakes are not so common as is pretended, nor are they the only
Persons guilty. What they most commonly fail in is the Particles and
Connexion, and that generally thro a Briskness of temper which make
them forget, or Hast which will not suffer ’em to read over again what
went before. And indeed, those who Speak true Grammar unless they ’re
very Careless cannot write false, since they need only peruse what
they’ve Writ, and consider whether they wou’d express ’emselves thus in
Conversation.
[Sidenote: Art of speaking.]
But for this and for _Figures_, &c. and indeed for all that relates
to this Subject, I must refer you to an Ingenious Treatise which
handles it fully, and to which I’me oblig’d in great measure for what
little skill I have. Observing only, that whatever it is we Treat of,
our Stile shou’d be such as may keep our Readers Attent, and induce
them to go to the End. Now Attention is usually fixt by Admiration,
which is excited by somewhat uncommon either in the Thought or way
of Expression. We fall a sleep over an Author who tells us in an
ordinary manner no more than we knew before: He who wou’d Take must
be Sublime in his Sense, and must cloath it after a Noble way. His
Thoughts must not be superficial, such as every one may fall into at
the first glance, but the very Spirits and Essence of Thinking, the sum
of many hours Meditation folded up in one handsome and comprehensive
Period, whose Language is Intelligible and Easy that the Readers
may not lose the pleasure of the Kernel, by the pain they find in
cracking the Shell. The most difficult Subject must be made easy by
his way of handling it; tho his Matter may deserve a Meditation, yet
his Expressions must be so Clear that he needs not be read twice to
be Understood; _these_ are to be Natural and Familiar, condiscending
to the meanest Capacity, whilst his Thoughts are Great enough to
entertain the highest. He Discourses always on a Useful Subject in a
manner agreeable to it, and pleases that he may Instruct; Nothing seems
Studied in his whole Composition, yet every thing is Extraordinary, a
Beautiful Harmony shining thro all its parts. No Sentence is Doubtful,
no word Equivocal, his Arguments are Clear and his Images Lively; all
the Ideas he excites in your Mind, as nearly resemble the thing they
represent as Words can make them. Whilst th’ exactness of his Method,
and Force of his Reason Enlighten and Convince the Mind; the Vivacity
of his Imagination and insinuating Address, gain the Affections and
Conquer the Will. By the weight and closeness of the former you wou’d
take him for an Angel, and the tender and affable sweetness of the
last bespeaks him a Friend. He considers that as mere Florish and
Rhetorick are good for nothing, so neither will bare Reason dull and
heavily express’d perform any great matter, at least not on those who
need it most, whose Palates being deprav’d their Medicines must be
administred in a pleasing Vehicle. Since Mankind are averse to their
Real Happiness, he does not only tell ’em their Duty but Interesses
them in it; and thinking it not enough to run ’em down with the
strength of Reason, he draws ’em over to a Voluntary Submission by
th’ attractives of his Eloquence. For he has a peculiar Turn and Air
which animates every Period, so that the very same Truth which was
dry and Unaffecting in a vulgar Authors words, Charms and Subdues you
when cloath’d in his. He shews no more warmth than may convince his
Readers that he’s heartily persuaded of the Truths he offers them; and
if it is necessary at any time to make use of Figures to give a more
Lively Representation than plain Expressions cou’d, to discribe his
own Passions and excite the same in others upon a just occasion, in
a word to awaken a Stupid and Clear the Mind of a Prejudic’d Reader,
his Figures are duly chosen and discreetly us’d. For he knows that
scarce any thing speaks a greater want of Judgment than the shewing
concern where there needs none, or is a worse fault in Oratory than
the polishing a Wrong or a Trifling Thought, the neatness of whose
dress may strike with Admiration perhaps at first sight, but upon a
review it will certainly appear Contemptible. And therefore as he does
not abound in Superfluous Ornaments, so neither does he reject any
thing that can promote his End, which is not his own Reputation, but
the Glory of his GOD and his Neighbours Edification. He considers the
narrowness of the Humane Mind, and says all that is necessary but no
more; Understands it so well as to know what will move and Please,
and has so much command of himself as to give over when he has done
enough. Yet he can exhaust the most fruitful Subject without making
the Reader weary; for when he enlarges it is in Things not Words, and
he mingles Variety without Confusion. All the divers excellencies of
different Stiles meet in his to make up a perfect one, Strength and
Ease, Solidity and Liveliness, the Sublime and the Plain. He’s neither
so Lofty as to fly out of Sight, nor so humble as to become Creeping
and Contemptible. His Strength does not make him Rugged and Perplext
nor his Smoothness Weak and Nice; tho every thing is Neat, there’s not
a grain of Affectation; he is gratefull to the Ear, but far remov’d
from jingling Cadence. Brief when there is occasion without Dryness
or Obscurity, and Florid enough to entertain th’ Imagination without
Distracting the Mind. There’s not an Antiquated or Barbarous Word to be
found in him, all is Decent, Just and Natural; no peculiar or Affected
Phrases, whether Courtly or Clownish, Grave or Burlesque. For Plain and
Significant Language is ever best, we have a mistaken Idea of Learning
if we think to pretend to’t by sending our Reader every minute to the
Dictionary. Words out of the common way are only allowable when they
express our Sense with greater Force than Ordinary ones cou’d, or when
they are so significant as to ease us of Circumlocutions, a hard word
which I cou’d not avoid without using half a dozen words.
After all, it may not be amiss to take notice that Ornaments are common
to Falshood and Truth, but Clearness and strength of Reasoning are not.
They who wou’d propagate Error usually disguise it in Equivocal Terms
and Obscure Phrases; they strive to engage our Passions, rather than
to Convince our Reason, and carry us away in the torrent of a warm
Imagination. They endeavour to refute, or if they can’t do that, to
Ridicule the contrary opinion, and think this Sufficient to establish
their own. Being much better skill’d in pulling down former Systems
than in building new ones, for it requires no great skill to Object,
and there are many Truths which we’re very Certain of, and yet not able
to answer every Impertinent Enquiry concerning ’em. Their greatest Art
is in confounding things, in giving a probable Air to what they write,
in pretending to Demonstration where the nature of the Truth does not
require’t, and in evading it where it does. An Immoral or Heretical
Discourse therefore may be _Cunningly_ but not _well_ writ, for we can
never plead for Error and Vice with true Eloquence. We may trick’em
up in a handsom Garb, adorn’em with quaint Expressions, and give them
such a plausible turn as may enable them to do very much Mischief; but
this is only a fulsom Carcass, the substance and Life are not there if
Vertue and Truth are wanting.
§. VI. For it is to little purpose to Think well and speak well, unless
we _Live well_, this is our Great Affair and truest Excellency, the
other are no further to be regarded than as they may assist us in this.
She who does not draw this Inference from her Studies has Thought in
vain, her notions are Erroneous and Mistaken. And all her Eloquence is
but an empty noise, who employs it in any other design than in gaining
Proselytes to Heaven. I am therefore far from designing to put Women on
a vain pursuit after unnecessary and useless Learning, nor wou’d by any
means persuade them to endeavour after Knowledge cou’d I be convinc’d
that it is improper for ’em. Because I know very well that tho a thing
be never so excellent in it self, it has but an ill grace if it be not
suitable to the Person and Condition it is apply’d to. Fine Cloaths
and Equipage do not become a Beggar, and a Mechanic who must work
for daily bread for his Family, wou’d be wickedly Employ’d shou’d he
suffer ’em to starve whilest he’s solving Mathematical Problems. If
therefore Women have another Duty incumbent on ’em, and such as is
inconsistent with what we here advise, we do ill to take them from it:
But to affirm this is to beg the Question, and is what I will never
grant till it be better prov’d than as yet it appears to be. For if the
Grand Business that Women as well as Men have to do in this World be to
prepare for the next, ought not all their Care and Industry to Centre
here? and since the matter is of Infinite Consequence is it equitable
to deny ’em the use of any help? If therefore Knowledge were but any
ways Instrumental, tho at the remotest distance, to the Salvation of
our Souls, it were fit to apply our selves to it; and how much more
when it is so necessary, that without it we can’t do any thing that’s
Excellent, or Practise Vertue in the most Perfect manner. For unless we
Understand our Duty and the Principles of Religion, we don’t perform
a Rational Service, it is but by Chance that we are Good or so much as
Christians. We are their Property into whose hands we fall, and are led
by those who with greatest Confidence impose their Opinions on us; Are
as moveable as the different Circumstances that befall us; or if we
happen to be Constant in our first way, it is not Reason but Obstinacy
that makes us so. A great deal of Good will be omitted, and very much
Evil, or Imperfection at least, stick to us, if we are not throughly
acquainted with the Law of God and the secret springs and windings of
our Hearts, which is scarce to be obtain’d without much Meditation and
the helps that study affords.
And as when a rash young Traveller is about to run into dangerous
places beset with Thieves and full of Precipices, if you have any
hearty concern for his safety, you’l not think it enough barely to
shew him his way, or even to tell him of the Danger, especially if
the entrance seems fair and inviting and treacherous Companions are
upon the watch to decoy him into it: But you’l expose it in all its
frightful Circumstances, endeavour to quicken his vigilance and excite
his Passions, and all little enough for his Security. So it cannot be
thought sufficient that Women shou’d but just know whats Commanded and
what Forbid, without being inform’d of the Reasons why, since this is
not like to secure them in their Duty. For we find a Natural Liberty
within us which checks at an Injunction that has nothing but Authority
to back it; And tho Religion is indeed supported by the Strongest
Reasons, and inforc’d by the most powerful Motives, yet if we are not
acquainted with ’em, ’tis all one to us as if it were not. But having
spoke of this in the first part we shall not farther enlarge on it here.
Perhaps it will be objected that we’ve said _the great Truths of
Religion carry a force and Evidence suited to the very Vulgar, and that
GOD has not design’d All for Philosophers_. And therefore if the way
to the most necessary Knowlege be so very plain, and all Capacities
are not fitted for higher attainments, what needs this ado about th’
Improvement of our minds? the only thing necessary is to be good
Christians, and we may be that without being Philosophers. Suppose we
may: This will Justify such as want Time and Capacity, but can never
excuse the Sloth and Stupidity of those who have both.
For unless we have very strange Notions of the Divine Wisdom we must
needs allow that every one is placed in such a Station as they are
fitted for. And if the necessity of the world requires that some
Persons shou’d Labour for others, it likewise requires that others
shou’d Think for them. Our Powers and Faculties were not given us for
nothing, and the only advantage one Woman has above another, is the
being allotted to the more noble employment. No body is plac’d without
their own fault, in such unhappy Circumstances as to be incapable of
Salvation, but some are plac’d in such happy ones as to be capable of
attaining much greater degrees of Happiness than others if they do not
neglect them: And shou’d these last do no more than the very utmost
that is expected from the former, I know not how they wou’d acquit
themselves, or what account they cou’d give of their great Advantages.
And therefore tho no body shall be condemn’d because they _Cou’d_ not,
yet we have reason to fear if our Case be such as that we _Might_ but
_Wou’d_ not receive Instruction. She then who makes this Objection must
not take it amiss if we Judge of her in other Cases according to what
she Pleads in this: She must never set up for a Wit, or a censurer
of her Neighbours, must not pretend to be a fine Lady or any thing
extraordinary: but be content to herd amongst the Drudges of the World
who eat Their Bread in the Sweat of their Brows, if she says she wants
Leisure; or in a less acceptable rank amongst the Fools and Ideots,
or but one degree above them, if she says she wants Capacity for this
Employment. It is one thing to be content with Ignorance, or rather
with a less degree of Knowledge, on account of the Station that GOD
has plac’d us in, and Another to Chuse and Delight in’t thro a Stupid
Carelesness, a fear of Trouble, or an Inordinate pursuit of the Cares
and Pleasures of this Mortal Life. This last only shews our Disesteem
of our Souls, our Contempt of GOD and the Talents he has given us,
and exposes us to all the dreadful consequences of such a neglect; to
Punishments to which not only those who misemploy their Lord’s Talent,
but even they who don’t employ it at all, are Obnoxious.
And indeed as unnecessary as it is thought for Women to have Knowledge,
she who is truly good finds very great use of it, not only in the
Conduct of her own Soul but in the management of her Family, in the
Conversation of her Neighbours and in all the Concerns of Life.
Education of Children is a most necessary Employment, perhaps the chief
of those who have any; But it is as Difficult as it is Excellent when
well perform’d; and I question not but that the mistakes which are made
in it, are a principal Cause of that Folly and Vice, which is so much
complain’d of and so little mended. Now this, at least the foundation
of it, on which in a great measure the success of all depends, shou’d
be laid by the Mother, for Fathers find other Business, they will not
be confin’d to such a laborious work, they have not such opportunities
of observing a Childs Temper, nor are the greatest part of ’em like
to do much good, since Precepts contradicted by Example seldom prove
effectual. Neither are Strangers so proper for it, because hardly any
thing besides Paternal Affection can sufficiently quicken the Care
of performing, and sweeten the labour of such a task. But Tenderness
alone will never discharge it well, she who wou’d do it to purpose must
throughly understand Human nature, know how to manage different Tempers
Prudently, be Mistress of her own, and able to bear with all the little
humours and follies of Youth, neither Severity nor Lenity are to be
always us’d, it wou’d ruin some to be treated in that manner which is
fit for others. As Mildness makes some ungovernable, and as there is a
stupor in many from which nothing but Terrors can rouse them, so sharp
Reproofs and Solemn Lectures serve to no purpose but to harden others,
in faults from which they might be won by an agreeable Address and
tender application. GOD himself waits to be gracious and administers
his Medicines in the most proper season, and Parents shou’d imitate
him in this, for the want of observing it, and of accommodating their
Methods to the several Dispositions they have to deal with, is perhaps
the reason that many Pious Persons lose the fruit of their Pains and
Care.