WOMAN
MAN'S EQUAL.
BY
Rev. THOS. WEBSTER, D.D.
WITH
AN INTRODUCTION BY BISHOP SIMPSON.
CINCINNATI:
HITCHCOCK AND WALDEN.
NEW YORK:
NELSON AND PHILLIPS.
1873
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873,
BY HITCHCOCK & WALDEN,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
TO READERS.
The publishers of "WOMAN MAN'S EQUAL" conscientiously feel that they are
placing before the public the discussion of one of the most important
topics of the day; and they indulge the strong conviction that the
author of this little volume presents this important topic in a manner
at once attractive and convincing. The teachings of nature, history, and
the Word of God are freely drafted, and skillfully arranged to show what
nature designed, what God has taught, and what woman has proved herself
capable of being and doing in the world. The abuses to which the sex has
been subject from the physically stronger "lords of creation," in
heathen nations and in brute ages, are ably and fully set forth.
The lessons of the past are the teachings of the future. Christianity
has enlarged woman's area, and multiplied her duties and
responsibilities. America is ahead of all other nations in
opportunities offered to woman. Public sentiment is in favor of
enlarging her sphere, and woman is venturing into hitherto untried
avenues of employment and usefulness. This is an age of experiment. An
ounce of experiment is worth a pound of theory. Woman's capacity will
first be tested; and, if found equal to the opportunity, no door will be
closed against her. She may preach, orate, lecture, teach, practice
medicine or law or politics; may vote, marshal armies, navigate ships,
and go sailoring or soldiering to her heart's content, and at her own
good-will and pleasure, if she only proves to the age that she has
ability to do and dare in all these directions. This is an age of
discovery, as well as of experiment; and man is daily waking up,
applying, and marshaling new forces for the benefit of the race. Steam,
light, electricity, magnetism, mechanics, have all contributed of their
boundless capacities to human welfare. Man is gradually coming to be
aware that, in the latent powers of woman, only just now on the eve of
development, half the capacities of the human race, like the powers of
steam and lightning, have slumbered, until now, from the beginning of
the creation. A new era is dawning upon the world. This little volume is
one of the rays that herald the coming sun.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
NATURAL RIGHTS.
Equals in the Beginning--Apparent Mental Inferiority result to be
expected when Means of Mental Culture are denied--Natural
Rights--Flattery not an Equivalent for Justice--Dawning
CHAPTER II.
WOMAN IN ANTIQUITY.
Women of Antiquity--Their Condition in Heathen and Mohammedan
Countries--Marriage, Divorce, etc.
CHAPTER III.
LATER ESTIMATE OF WOMAN.
Estimation in which Women were held later--Cause and Effect--Mental
Attainments despite of Oppression and Prohibition--Equal Men in
Government, etc.--Frivolity, Literature, and Home Duties--Muscle not
Mind--Marriage Ceremonies
CHAPTER IV.
THE SEXES EQUAL AT CREATION.
Created Equal--Genesis iii, 16, considered--Monogamy--Lapse into
Heathenism--Polygamy--The Patriarchs--The Law of Maid-servants and
Bondwomen--Divorce; Christ recognized the Equality of Right
therein--Eminent Women of Israel--Virtue and Vice of no Sex
CHAPTER V.
NEW TESTAMENT TEACHINGS.
The New Testament Scriptures--How they Define the Position of Women
CHAPTER VI.
WOMAN BEFORE THE LAW.
Equally amenable to Laws, Human and Divine--To rear and govern a Family
rightly, requires Sound Judgment--Relative Mental Capacity of the Sexes
not yet fairly tested--Comparisons--Christianity has done much, yet much
remains to be done--Right in Each Other's Property--Men juster than the
Laws--Query--Justice should be even-handed--A United Head--Women trained
to perpetuate the Wrongs of their Sex
CHAPTER VII.
WOMAN AND LEGISLATION.
Taxation without Representation--One-sided Legislation--Similar
Objections urged against the Extensions of Franchise--Domestic
Discord--Present Causes--Citizenship not Inconsistent with Home
Duties--The State has been benefited at the Risk of her Life through all
Ages--Assertions confuted--Modern Churches have departed from Primitive
Usages--The Friends--Women as Philanthropists, Public Speakers, Artists,
Physicians--Educated Women during the Late War--The Universities
CHAPTER VIII.
FAMOUS WOMEN OF ANTIQUITY.
Dido, Queen of Carthage--Cleopatra--Lucretia--Zenobia--Hypatia--Other
Famous Names
CHAPTER IX.
EMINENT WOMEN OF MODERN TIMES.
The Countess of Montfort--Anna Askew--Esther Inglis--Lady
Pakington--Mrs. Mary Washington--Mrs. Wesley--Mrs. Fletcher--Miss
Crosby--Ann Hasseltine--Sarah H.B. Judson--The Misses Chandler--Other
Eminent Characters of Modern Times
INTRODUCTION.
Christianity is the special friend of woman. Christian civilization has
exalted her almost infinitely above the position to which either
paganism or Mohammedanism assigned her. This elevation is the natural
outgrowth of the example and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. Unlike other
ancient great instructors, he did not repel women from discipleship, but
cordially welcomed her presence wherever he taught. His lessons of
wisdom, and his precious promises of life everlasting, were in all their
fullness addressed to her as freely as to the most honored of men. His
illustrations of sweeping the house to find the lost piece of silver,
and of the leaven hid in three measures of meal, were drawn from her
employments, and were probably suggested by her presence. To the cry of
the poor Syro-Phenician woman, no less than to that of the centurion or
nobleman, did he give his attention and sympathy, and with equal speed
did he answer the agonizing prayer. Rising far above the trammels of
Jewish prejudice, while he sat weary at the mouth of Jacob's well, he
taught the beauty of spiritual worship to the astonished woman of
Samaria. She became his first missionary to the people of her city, to
whom she told the story of his wonderful wisdom, and said, "Is not this
the Christ?" How kind must have been his spirit, how tender his words,
to the sisters at Bethany, to cause the exclamation, "If thou hadst been
here, my brother had not died!" How consoling must have been his
accents, which drew the fair penitent to his feet, and which led her, in
loving adoration, to wash them with her tears and to wipe them with the
hairs of her head! How wonderful the manifestation of that Divine
condescension and love which elicited that gratitude which still lingers
in the rich perfumes of the alabaster-box of precious ointment! No
marvel that women "followed him from Galilee," stood sorrowfully
beholding his crucifixion, and when he was taken from the cross,
"followed after and beheld the sepulcher, and how his body was laid."
Their devotion was rewarded, on the morning of his resurrection, by
their being made the first messengers of his glorious triumph. On such
perfect equality were men and women placed by the blessed Savior as to
terms of salvation and Gospel privileges, that the apostle exclaims, "In
Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female." All are members of his
body, and in him all become one.
As Christian influences more fully control society, and as the spirit of
Christ permeates the masses, the position of woman becomes more
elevated. She is no longer considered as a slave, and compelled to bear
every burden, as in savage life; nor is she a mere attendant, or
minister to sensual pleasure, as among the Mohammedans. The bars are
removed from the doors of the harem, and the veil is taken from her
face. She sits with the family at the table, entertains her guests, and
enjoys their society. She studies with her brothers in the same school,
recites to the same teachers, and reads the same books. With her
friends, she joins in the service and song and worship of, the
sanctuary, converses in the social assembly, and listens to
distinguished speakers as they discuss topics of literature, art,
science, or statesmanship. The cry of suffering humanity touches her
heart, and she is deeply interested in the great movements toward the
elevation of the race. In this ascent, every step she has taken has been
in opposition to the protest of the spirit of other civilizations, which
yet lurks in many a breast. To be seen by strangers, to have her face
unveiled, to sit in public assemblies, to study sciences and arts, is
contrary to nature, is an offense against purity, and tends to destroy
her loveliness,--said these inveterate croakers. Yet society recognized
her influence and power, and believed she had both rights and duties.
Step by step, odious laws have been repealed, her right to her own
property has been in great measure secured, doors of usefulness have
been opened before her, her voice is welcomed from the platform, and her
writings from the press. She visits the sick and the prisoner, and
pleads for the suffering, until hospitals and asylums are founded in
their behalf. She soothes the sorrows of the aged, takes the hand of the
orphan to lead him in paths of safety, and in the tumult of war
ministers to the wounded and dying.
Amidst her general activity, many questions arise as to what further
avenues of usefulness may properly open. How far may she engage in
business, and in what branches? what is her proper work in the Church,
and to what extent may she perform public religious services? is she
properly a citizen, and what privileges or rights should she enjoy?--are
inquiries which are considered and discussed. The greatest interest is
at present excited by the question, "Should women have the ballot?" and
both in this country and in England it has able advocates and strong
opponents.
It can not be denied that the answer of the large majority is in the
negative, and that in many instances this answer comes in the form of
the laugh of ridicule or in the sneer of contempt. Such is the fate of
all incipient efforts for reformation; but where a cause is
intrinsically just, it can survive and triumph.
Without entering into the general discussion, two points may be briefly
noted. First, this question is considered only in Christian lands. It is
not even heard of elsewhere. It is mooted only in countries where the
Bible is placed in the hands of the common people. It is strong only
where free institutions have been established, and where liberal ideas
have prevailed. It is the outgrowth of Bible freedom. Secondly, many of
its opponents are persons of strong intellect, of broad views, of great
benevolence, and of unquestioned piety. Yet in the opposition we find
also all, or nearly all, of the most ignorant classes of society. We
find also in the opposition, with very few exceptions, the entire class
of venders of intoxicating drinks, drunkards, gamblers, and other
notoriously vicious characters. Is there any reason for such an
aggregation? On the other hand, the friends of the measure, though fewer
in number, are generally found among the intelligent and religious
members of the community. It is true that a few of those who desired to
be recognized as leaders of the movement are known as free-thinkers or
infidels; and a still smaller number have been advocates of free-love
and other loathsome vagaries. The opponents of the cause have skillfully
presented their names as representatives of the idea, and have thus cast
such odium upon it that many timid persons, dreading even an apparent
association with them, have feared to express their own convictions.
These odious parties, however, are very few in number, and their
influence is constantly diminishing. There can be no question that
four-fifths of the friends of female suffrage are to-day active members
of various Christian Churches; and of them no small number are ministers
distinguished for their learning, benevolence, and piety.
The signs of the times indicate a determined struggle between temperance
and intemperance. The use of intoxicating liquors is the source of
nine-tenths of all the dark and terrible crimes that disgrace humanity.
It whets the assassin's dagger, and pours poison into the cup of the
suicide. It beggars the laborer, breaks the heart of the anguished wife,
and starves the helpless children. It fills jails and penitentiaries
with victims, and hospitals and asylums with the injured and hopelessly
wrecked. It fastens on society an army of police to be supported, and it
oppresses the land with taxes. The money amassed by the venders buys our
legislators, corrupts our judges and governors, and controls our
political parties. Who shall stay its ravages, or curtail its power?
My conviction is, and for years has been, that the only hope is in
giving the ballot to women. True, some women love strong drink, and some
are vile; yet the vast majority are utterly opposed to intemperance.
None so well as the drunkard's wife knows the terrible evil, or so
keenly feels its pangs. Could the mother, who bows her head in sorrow as
she beholds her loved boy hastening to ruin; the wife, whose once
affectionate husband has been transformed into a demon; the daughter,
whose cheek has been mantled with shame at her father's fall, and who
has suffered the bitterness of blasted hopes and of dismal
poverty,--could they have the ballot, how quickly would the rum-shops be
closed, and our youth be preserved from multi-fold temptations! What
other triumph could compare with this?
With this conviction, I hail with pleasure this volume from the pen of
Dr. Webster. It discusses an important question calmly, clearly,
forcibly. I may not agree with all of his positions, or with some of his
Biblical criticisms, yet I believe the work possesses much merit, will
lead to serious thoughtfulness, and be productive of good.
I also rejoice that the enterprising publishers whose names appear on
the imprint have added this volume to their catalogue, and have thus
given the influence of their names, and their widely extended means of
circulation, to a cause so intimately connected with the interests of
humanity. The Church, in its various denominations, and by its varied
agencies, must ever be, as it ever has been, the leader and the guide in
great moral movements.
M. SIMPSON.
WOMAN MAN'S EQUAL.
CHAPTER I.
Natural Rights.
In the discussion of the question of woman's equality with man, I
purpose to prove from the Bible, as I believe I can, that at the
creation there was neither superiority nor inferiority ordained between
Adam and Eve; and that the partial distinctions which have for ages
existed, and which still exist, are of man's invention; and may,
therefore with propriety, be examined, and, where found unfair or
oppressive, may be justly condemned.
I hope also to be able to establish the fact, from history, that in
every age, whenever an opportunity has afforded itself, women have
proved themselves to be fully men's equals in intellectual capacity, in
morality, industry, and religion; and that, in matters of government,
they have proved themselves to be as wise and judicious rulers as any of
the opposite sex, under the same, or similar, circumstances. That the
instances in which women have been called to places of power and
responsibility in the State are comparatively rare, is not to be
attributed to natural incapacity or mental inferiority, but to the fact
of the persistent efforts made by men to keep them as much as possible
in the background; that in many instances women have broken the fetters
of oppression and prejudice by which they were bound, and have ascended
the hill of fame in advance of their male opponents. If, then, women
have in other and darker ages over-leaped the formidable barriers placed
in their way, and thus benefited their respective nations, and sometimes
the world, by their intrepidity, why should obstructions be placed in
their path now, in this day of professed light and progress? Freedom,
improvement, and righteousness ought to be the watchwords of the
nations.
After enduring years of ridicule and contempt, the advocates of women's
rights begin to see some slight indications that their labors have not
been altogether futile. Both in England and America the movement is now
making considerable progress. Persons of wealth, of high position in the
social scale, and of sound education, have become its warm friends and
advocates; but, so hard is it to remove old-time prejudice, it is
probable that many years may yet elapse before women will be allowed to
enjoy equal rights and privileges with men.
All great reforms, whether European or American, are of slow growth,
and are usually denounced as running counter to Scripture and common
sense; as witness the discussions on the disestablishment of the Irish
Church in Britain, and on the abolition of slavery in the United States;
both of which reforms were fiercely assailed as contrary to the Word of
God and reason, and declared to be in fact the offspring of infidelity.
But, like these two great reforms, when movements of vital importance
are once inaugurated, their arriving at perfection is but a matter of
time. Right is almost always sure to prevail in the end.
The claiming for women equality with men, not only in mental capacity,
but in civil and ecclesiastical rights, may shock the preconceived
opinions of many persons, and will probably subject the individual
advancing such views to the charge of fanaticism and false teaching; yet
we conceive the claim to be consistent with reason, justice, and the
Word of God; and its full recognition to be of vital importance to the
entire race of mankind. In the discussion of this question, the object
will not be to flatter women, or to give offense to men; but simply to
present the requirements of impartial justice with regard to a portion
of the human race, who, because of their sex, have for centuries been
held in a position little, if any, better than that of slaves; and who,
up to the present time, are deprived of their natural rights and
privileges by the laws of our own and other countries, professedly
civilized, enlightened, and Christian. While, therefore, the injustice
suffered, both in the past and the present, by women, will be briefly
presented in the following pages, there is still no wish to deprive the
"lords of creation" of any really God-appointed privilege. But should we
happen to come in contact with the selfishness and the usurped
prerogatives of men, we will not hesitate to expose what we conceive to
be grievous wrongs, because of their antiquity.
There is no human tie so sacred as that of marriage; and yet there is
no covenant so generally violated in some way or other by many of the
contracting parties. The alliance, it is true, may be continued, and
even observed, so far as the letter is concerned. But what of the
spirit? When once true confidence is lost, the sublime and exalted
character of the relation is destroyed. There is no longer any genuine
affection, or real union of heart, between the parties. Nothing will
destroy mutual confidence between two parties sooner than an arrogant
assumption by one of them of fancied superiority over the other.
Self-respect is an inherent principle in human nature. The mind of
prince and peasant is alike actuated by it, and by an instinctive desire
for freedom and independence of action, for the advantages of civil and
religious liberty, and for the exercise of individual rights; and this
instinctive desire is no less strong in the hearts of women than of
men. It is impossible for a woman of proper discernment, and of refined
taste and liberal education, to consider herself, simply because of her
sex, inferior to her own male relatives, or indeed to any one of the
opposite sex, of the same intellectual powers, literary attainments, and
position in society. Nothing but the influence of a misdirected or
perverted education, or the most extreme degradation and ignorance, can
in any one induce the belief that woman is the inferior of man, merely
_because she is a woman_.
No business firm could remain together in harmony for a single day, if
it were understood that one of the partners assumed the position that he
was superior to the other, who, prior to entering into the partnership,
had been received in the same social circles, and who had brought into
the business an equal proportion of funds and of business talent. And
doubly preposterous would the assumption be, if it were based on the
fact that the assumer was the larger or physically stronger man; and,
because possessed of more of the animal nature than his partner, it
therefore became his right to dictate to and control the other.
Such an assumption as this is no more absurd, nor is the reasoning upon
which it is based more illogical, than that which asserts that woman,
because she is a woman, is therefore an inferior, to be ruled at the
discretion of her husband or sons in her own home; and that she ought to
be contented to be considered such, and to be so treated by her own
nation and in her own family. The carrying out of such an idea is more
than absurd. It is monstrous. It is an imposition that has only been
tolerated because the exactions are not in every case so bad as the
system is capable of enforcing; and it is one from which every advocate
of Christian liberty, to be consistent with his profession, should
withdraw both countenance and toleration.
The history of woman's wrongs has for ages been written in tears, often
with her life-blood; and yet the volume has, in most instances, been
concealed in her own bosom, notwithstanding its fearful weight. But if,
at any time, as sometimes happens, unable to keep it hidden longer, she
unfolds the pages of her grief to others, what an outcry is raised
against her! The oppressed Italian peasant, the Russian serf, the
Spanish or American black, all, if they are only of the male sex, may
make their wrongs public, may even resist oppression to the death, and
be applauded for so doing. But let a woman speak so that she can be
heard, no matter how great the outrages from which she has suffered, let
her couch her timid complaint in ever such delicate language, and what a
storm of invective is hurled at her! The very act of complaining is
declared--by the advocates of her inferiority--to be in itself unwifely,
_indecent_. "A woman's voice has no business to be heard outside of her
own house; nor _there_, if her lord decrees otherwise," say they. It is
asserted that she has been induced to give publicity to her
sorrows--indeed, has _occasioned them_--by peevishness or imprudence, or
by something worse; and thus, by an, unfair, sometimes an altogether
_false_, issue being raised, the unhappy victim not merely of
oppression, but of downright brutality, is shut off from justly merited
sympathy. And women, too, who are more fortunately situated, in
possessing somewhat kinder husbands, or in being possessed by them,
shaping their views according to those entertained by the sterner sex,
unite with them in the condemnation of a sorrow-stricken sister; and,
instead of making her burden lighter, contribute to increasing its
weight. Such women having never felt the iron pierce their own souls,
can not realize the woes of those in whose bosoms the barb is rankling
at every pulsation, and they weakly fancy that the sorrows of those
suffering ones are but the inventions of an ill-ordered mind, or, at
most, that the picture has been overdrawn.
Unkind men are not the only class, however, who assert the inferiority
of the gentler sex. If they were, they might be disposed of in a very
summary manner. There is another class not less dangerous, not less
tyrannical or less arrogant, though somewhat more plausible. These
speak, when occasion suits, quite eloquently, often with indecorous
flippancy, of the "great influence which the _ladies_ are capable of
exerting upon society;" and for the qualified good which the orators
graciously concede that women have accomplished, or may be capable of
accomplishing, they bespatter them with a sort of sneering praise that
is absolutely insulting to a woman of common sense. This style of
fulsome flattery, with some degree of soft attention, graciously
bestowed upon women, these men deem adequate compensation for all the
indignities put upon their so-called inferiors. With what supreme
contempt, therefore, must every right-minded woman listen to such
harangues, or read them when in print!
Learned orators and divines and grave professors may, indeed sometimes
do, soar away almost to the seventh heaven while recounting the heroic
or generous actions of women in past ages. Admiring audiences are told
that "gentle women are the ministering angels, sent by the wisdom of God
to be the comforters of mankind upon earth, as the beloved of our
hearths and homes; that the world, without the gentle hand of woman to
alleviate our sorrows, would be a dark and dreary solitude swept by the
whirlwinds of despair." The delighted listeners are borne away on the
wings of fancy--alas! it is only fancy--till, in imagination, it would
appear that woman had escaped from her worse than Egyptian bondage, had
crossed, without trouble, the Red Sea, passed the dreadful wilderness,
moved out from the plains of Moab, and, by some peculiar magic of her
own, had been deftly wafted over Jordan into the promised land; that
already she had gloried in the tumbling-down of the walls of Jericho,
and had enjoyed the triumph of having the delegation of Gibeonites
coming, in their old garments, to seek an alliance with her as the
chosen of the Lord.
But let a woman allured by such an oration ask a _right_, and how soon
the strain is changed! Let her ask to be placed on an equality with man
in regard to the holding of property, or to civil or ecclesiastical
rights, or authority or position; let the daughters ask equal rights and
privileges with sons; let them request admission into the same colleges
and universities with their brothers, so that they may compete with them
for the honors and degrees conferred in such institutions,--and what
then? The flowery oratory is all gone. The "angels," the "heroic, brave,
and virtuous women," have suddenly become agitators whose conduct is
unseemly. They "are ambitious, indelicate, not to say immodest,
bold-faced females"--whether of the human or some other race we are not
told.
Forgetting, apparently, that the Creator's universal law is liberty of
thought and freedom of action, coupled with a strict responsibility for
the use of both, those who are opposed to women exercising or enjoying
equal rights with men, contend, as an excuse for their opposition, that
some of the women engaged in the present reform movement are extravagant
in their demands, and abuse the privileges they already possess.
Precisely the same thing was said of the slaves in the South. Indeed,
the same argument, variously worded, has been used by oppressors in all
ages. "Ye are idle, ye are idle," is a very old cry.
But, admitting that some women are injudicious and occasionally one is
irreverent, are not men, in advocating their peculiar views on politics,
the same, only in much larger proportion? Are they, therefore, deprived
of the franchise or other privileges? If men were obliged to come to
such a standard as they lay down for women, they would consider the
measure meted out to them a very hard one. Still, if it is a just and
fair way of dealing with woman's suffrage and other questions of
importance, it is an equally just and fair way to deal with men
concerning their right to exercise the franchise.
But, though deprived of the civil and ecclesiastical privileges accorded
to their sons and brothers, women are yet held equally accountable with
them for any infraction of these same civil and ecclesiastical laws. Not
supposed to have sufficient mental capacity to understand what a law
really means, she is yet, if she violates that law, punished for such
violation. And, in the face of all this, it is sneeringly asked, "What
can reasonable women want more than they already have?" The answer is
simple: Equal rights and privileges with men.
And it is to be hoped, for the honor of Christianity and civilization,
that these will soon be accorded.
Very much has been accomplished in several of the States of the
Republic, in regard to giving women a proper position in civil and
educational matters, but much still remains to be done; and just now it
would seem doubtful which country will first accord the suffrage to
them--England or the United States. Eminent statesmen in both of these
countries are moving in the matter.