infers, that ſhe was formed to pleaſe and to be ſubject to him; and that it is her duty to render herſelf agreeable to her maſter—this being the grand end of her exiſtence[1]. Still, however, to give a little mock dignity to ſenſual deſire, he inſiſts that man ſhould not exert his ſtrength, but depend on the will of the woman, when he ſeeks for pleaſure with her.
'Hence we deduce a third conſequence from the different conſtitutions of the ſexes; which is, that the ſtrongeſt ſhould be maſters in appearance, and be dependent in fact on the weakeſt; and that not from any frivolous practice of gallantry or vanity of protectorſhip, but from an invariable law of nature, which, furniſhing woman with a greater facility to excite deſires than ſhe has given man to ſatisfy them, makes the latter dependent on the good pleaſure of the former, and compels him to endeavour to pleaſe in his turn, in order to obtain her conſent that he ſhould be ſtrongeſt[2]. On theſe occaſions, the moſt delightful circumſtance a man finds in his victory is, to doubt whether it was the woman's weakneſs that yielded to his ſuperiour ſtrength, or whether her inclinations ſpoke in his favour: the females are alſo generally artful enough to leave this matter in doubt. The underſtanding of women anſwers in this reſpect perfectly to their conſtitution: ſo far from being aſhamed of their weakneſs, they glory in it; their tender muſcles make no reſiſtance; they affect to be incapable of lifting
