MODESTY.—COMPREHENSIVELY CONSIDERED, AND NOT AS A SEXUAL VIRTUE.
Modesty! Sacred offspring of ſenſibility and reaſon!—true delicacy of mind!—may I unblamed preſume to inveſtigate thy nature, and trace to its covert the mild charm, that mellowing each harſh feature of a character, renders what would otherwiſe only inſpire cold admiration—lovely!—Thou that ſmootheſt the wrinkles of wiſdom, and ſofteneſt the tone of the ſublimeſt virtues till they all melt into humanity;—thou that ſpreadeſt the ethereal cloud that ſurrounding love heightens every beauty, it half ſhades, breathing thoſe coy ſweets that ſteal into the heart, and charm the ſenſes—modulate for me the language of perſuaſive reaſon, till I rouſe my ſex from the flowery bed, on which they ſupinely ſleep life away!
In ſpeaking of the aſſociation of our ideas, I have noticed two diſtinct modes; and in defining modeſty, it appears to me equally proper to diſcriminate that purity of mind, which is the effect of chaſtity, from a ſimplicity of character that leads us to form a juſt opinion of ourſelves, equally diſtant from vanity or preſumption, though by no means incompatible with a lofty conſciouſneſs of our own dignity. Modeſty, in the latter ſignification of the term, is, that ſoberneſs of mind which teaches a man not to think more highly of himſelf than he ought to think,
