" In our own time, it has been said that chemistry
enough to keep the pot boiling, and geography enough to know the
different rooms in her house, was science enough for any woman;
whilst Byron, whose sympathies for woman were of a very imperfect
kind, professed that he would limit her library to a Bible and a
cookery-book. But this view of woman's character and culture is
as absurdly narrow and unintelligent, on the one hand, as the
opposite view, now so much in vogue, is extravagant and unnatural
on the other--that woman ought to be educated so as to be as much
as possible the equal of man; undistinguishable from him, except
in sex; equal to him in rights and votes; and his competitor in
all that makes life a fierce and selfish struggle for place and
power and money.
Speaking generally, the training and discipline that are most
suitable for the one sex in early life, are also the most suitable
for the other; and the education and culture that fill the mind of
the man will prove equally wholesome for the woman. Indeed, all
the arguments which have yet been advanced in favour of the higher
education of men, plead equally strongly in favour of the higher
education of women. In all the departments of home, intelligence
will add to woman's usefulness and efficiency. It will give her
thought and forethought, enable her to anticipate and provide for
the contingencies of life, suggest improved methods of management,
and give her strength in every way.
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