ty of reaſon above opinion, dared to be proud of the privileges inherent in man? And it is vain to expect it whilſt hereditary power chokes the affections and nips reaſon in the bud.
The paſſions of men have thus placed women on thrones, and, till mankind become more reaſonable, it is to be feared that women will avail themſelves of the power which they attain with the leaſt exertion, and which is the moſt indiſputable. They will ſmile,—yes, they will ſmile, though told that—
'In beauty's empire is no mean,
And woman, either ſlave or queen,
Is quickly ſcorn'd when not ador'd.'
But the adoration comes firſt, and the ſcorn is not anticipated.
Lewis the XIVth, in particular, ſpread factitious manners, and caught, in a ſpecious way, the whole nation in his toils; for, eſtabliſhing an artful chain of deſpotiſm, he made it the intereſt of the people at large, individually to reſpect his ſtation and ſupport his power. And women, whom he flattered by a puerile attention to the whole ſex, obtained in his reign that prince-like diſtinction ſo fatal to reaſon and virtue.
A king is always a king—and a woman always a woman[1]: his authority and her ſex, ever ſtand between them and rational converſe. With a lover, I grant, ſhe ſhould be ſo, and her ſenſibility will naturally lead her to endeavour to excite emotion, not to gratify her vanity, but her
- ↑ And a wit, always a wit, might be added; for the vain fooleries of wits and beauties to obtain attention, and make conqueſts, are much upon a par.
