Dio Lewis

“ Let them see that you are industrious, economical, with habits that secure health and strength, that your life is earnest and real, that you are willing to begin at the beginning in life with the man you would consent to marry, then marriage will become the rule, and not as now, among certain classes, the exception.
Ah, if ever the time shall come, when young women have occupations, and can sustain a healthy, dignified attitude toward men,—if ever the time shall come when women are not such pitiful dependents, then marriage will become universal, and we shall all be happier, better, nobler. ”

“ But, if a young woman, of fair mental capacity, breaks through the trammels of propriety, rides the saddle astride, climbs fences and trees, joins a base-ball club, or acquires distinction in any roystering game which demands pluck and endurance, you may expect something; she possesses the elements of a strong womanhood. I would prefer one such woman, either in the hospitals at Gettysburg, or at the head of a family of children, to a dozen women who were chiefly distinguished in girlhood for immaculate collars and bows. ”

“ I wish I could command for an hour the pen of a Jenkins, and give the names of the various ribbons and shades of ribbons, of the laces, their origin, style, and value. (Each kind of lace has a history, which is dear to the heart of the devotee of fashion.) I wish I could describe the hundred and one crimps and frills and things. I wish I could command the pen of one of these amazing writers about woman's dress. I would give you ten pages of it.
I say again, that the trimming mania has become insufferable. Unless a woman has a dressmaker, she must be the veriest slave. ”

“ Women rule in the social sphere, and are responsible for its vices.
In all this world, there is no other spectacle so bewildering and so sad, as this queen of the social sphere, living in the midst of drunken howls, the sickening fumes of tobacco, and in a hot-bed of licentiousness, and hiding the magic wand with which she might dispel every social iniquity, and then standing before a mirror, paint her cheeks and eyebrows, and adjust her curls, and ribbons, and flowers, and bows and jewelry. ”

“ The stomach and liver are clogged and deranged, the blood is filled with crudities and impurities, the brain is crowded with this vicious blood, and yet the Good Father has given us such an immense reserve, that we can bear all this, and still have force enough left to move about, to think, to feel, and sometimes to have hours of real enjoyment. ”

“ It seems to me that one special advantage will be found in the intimate relations between a productive garden and the comfort of a family. What a stimulus to a loving mother, that the products of her garden not only gratify the palates of her loved ones, but make important contributions to their health. It seems to me that, more than any other occupation I can name, the cultivation of a garden in connection with a family, would come in to afford special gratification to the wife and mother. ”

“ But it occurred to me, a few years ago, to deny myself the custard pie so thick and luscious, to refuse the chicken pie, with its rich crust, to deny myself all the desserts and other tit-bits, and live on a moderate quantity of plain beef and bread. Since then, my pilgrimages to the home-shrine have greatly refreshed both body and soul, and I return home to resume my duties with new pleasure and new strength. Why will people, (I trust my mother will pardon the question,) why will people prepare such elaborate and tempting dishes for their friends? ”

“ Even if a girl had no other object in life than to get a husband, no investment would pay like an occupation. It would give her independence and dignity. Margaret Fuller says:—
"That the hand may be given with dignity, she must be able to stand alone."
Nothing disgusts young men like the undisguised eagerness with which their advances are met. Is a young man a "catch?" send him to Saratoga and watch a few days. The girls do not get down on their knees at his feet, and implore him to take pity on them and marry them, but they do everything else that can be conceived of. ”

“ As much as I desire to live, so much do I long, by this book, to help my country-women to a higher and purer life. Cherishing this hope in my heart of hearts, and knowing that nothing but truth can, in the long run, prevail, I have read this discussion of dress over and over again, and asked myself, and asked my wife and my sister, if the statements I have made are quite true, and if they are made in the proper spirit. ”

“ I said to them, "Your son who has been taken from you, was carefully screened from the sunshine. When he rode out in the baby-wagon, it was always under cover. And he slept always in that bedroom, into which the direct rays of the sun never come; that great tree makes it impossible. A child cannot live where a plant will not grow; and if you doubt what I am telling you, try a pot of flowers in Charlie's bedroom. You will find that, in a single month, the leaves will fall, and the plant will die. Charlie spent three quarters of his life in that bedroom." ”

“ It is true that many strong, muscular women are coarse and ignorant; they have given their lives to hard work, and have been denied all opportunities to cultivate their minds and manners. To compare such with the petted, pampered daughters of social and intellectual opportunity, and then to treat the strong body of the one as the source of the coarseness and ignorance within, and, in the other case, to treat the weak, delicate body as the source of the fine culture, is to reason like an idiot. ”

“ Wearing an unfashionable dress is not half so bad; going into the street with the bonnet of two years ago, even, will not unsex you like a smiling indifference to these desperate struggles of your sisters. To avoid starvation on one hand, and crime on the other, they plead with the world for justice.
In this city of Boston there are twenty thousand women starving on needle-work, and five thousand who live, or die, by crime. A few brave ones, driven to the wall, hope, by calling attention to their helplessness, to obtain sympathy and justice. ”

“ My own horror of these seminaries, where girls study (under the suggestions and example of the worst among them,) every species of deception and trick, is such, that I would prefer that my daughter should never learn to read the name of the God who made her, rather than acquire all learning and accomplishments, under such demoralizing influences. Thousands of young women while learning a little music and French, acquire a habit of concealment and indirection, which marks all their subsequent career. ”

“ No thoughtful man who has watched her in the character of nurse, even when she is uneducated, will entertain a doubt about her happy qualifications for the management of the sick.
The most important responsibilities of a physician have reference to ventilation, cleanliness, bathing, feeding,—in brief, to nursing; and no one but a stupid, obstinate man would suggest her inferiority for such services.
I have no doubt that, finally, the medical profession will fall almost exclusively into the hands of women, as its most important part, nursing, already has. ”

“ DENTISTS. Nothing has surprised me more, than that women have not engaged in the profession of dentistry. Her gentle touch, the size and flexibility of her fingers, her quick sympathies, her instinctive sense of proportion and beauty, and her conscientiousness present, altogether, singular qualifications for the dental profession. Dentistry is a lucrative business, and the doors are wide open to women. ”

“ The Yankee brain has realized the brightest hopes of the political seer. The United States Government must not, cannot part with its wise, prudent helmsman.
Is it not an alarming fact, that, among Yankees, marriage is becoming unfashionable, and children still more unfashionable; that, among the very few children born, so many die in infancy; and still again, that, among the very small number who escape the perils of childhood, so small a proportion are endowed with that vigorous health on which alone can be planted a vigorous manhood. ”

“ THIS DRESS CHECKS YOUR MOVEMENTS. Secondly, with that wasp waist, your lungs, stomach, liver, and other organs squeezed down out of their place, and into one half their natural size, and with that long trail dragging on the ground, how can any man of sense, who knows that life is made up of use, of service, of work; how can he take such partner? He must be desperate to unite himself for life with such a deformed, fettered, half breathing ornament. ”

“ What I want is a true wife, a real, substantial woman, a companion, an adviser, a friend, one whose voice is not a mere echo of mine, but who has a distinct individuality, with judgment, opinions and will of her own. ”

“ So far from thinking that man is an angel, and woman a nothing, and a bad nothing, the strongest article in my religious creed is, that when woman has been redeemed from the shilly-shally, lace, ribbon, and feather life, into which she has so unhappily drifted,—when woman shall be restored to herself, she will be strong enough in soul to take us men in her arms, and carry us to heaven. ”

“ The only dark spot in this bright picture is, that women are starved while performing this valuable labor.
I know a beautiful, bright young woman, in this city, who is regarded as one of the best teachers in the city, who presides in one of the most beautiful rooms in one of the grandest buildings in Boston, but who, when out of the school palace, is obliged to crawl away with her mother into a dingy, miserable garret, where they spend their time in contriving how to make their pennies last through the year. ”

“ Men go prowling about, seeking to seduce and ruin girls, and will stand by each other, even in this infamous business. When a poor girl, overcome by the arts of an oily-tongued villain, perhaps by a promise of marriage, consents to sin, how you drop her, and shun her, and sneer at her. A hundred times I have heard chivalrous men declare that, "women have no honor; they never stand by each other. If one gets into trouble, the rest forsake her, and run away." Girls, if you care to commend yourselves to men, stand by these unfortunate ones, encourage them, help them. ”

“ Of course I know that most fashionable ladies are better than they seem, that this contemptible disguise which they wear,— this falsehood which they repeat in the hair, the skin, the shape and form of each and every part of the body, is not deliberate falsehood, but the result of a thoughtless compliance with fashion ”

“ Free, bravo, American women hold out to the world the bible of social, political and religious freedom; and, anon, we see them down on their knees waiting the arrival of a steamer, from France, to learn how they may dress their bodies for the next month. ”

“ A small waist! I am a physiologist, and know what a small waist means. It means the organs of the abdomen jammed down into the pelvis; it means the organs of the chest stuffed up into the throat; it means a weak back; it means a delicate, nervous invalid; it means a suffering patient, and not a vigorous helpmate.
Thousands of men dare not venture, because they wisely fear that, instead of a helpmate, they will get an invalid to take care of. Besides, this bad health in you, just as in men, made the mind, as well as the body, faddled and effeminate. ”

“ Stand up straight, walk erect, sit erect, and even when you are in bed at night, don't put three pillows under your head, and watch your toes all night, but keep yourself straight. If you do this, your lungs, heart, liver, stomach, and all the other organs in the body, will have room for work. My dear child, if you observe this rule, you will not only bear with you the air of a noble woman, but you will contribute more than by any other single rule, to the vigor of your body, and the maintenance of your health. ”

“ They make very good ghosts, but are not worth much as girls. God hung up that great sun in the heavens as the fountain of light, health, beauty and glory for our earth. Our young folks, by living in houses with piazzas, shade- trees, close blinds and curtains, and by using in their walks broad- brimmed hats, gloves, parasols and veils deprive themselves, in great part, of the many blessings which our Heavenly Father would confer on them through the great sun. ”

“ How different, yet how grand, is the gentle Heloise, more remarkable for her faithful affection, than for her learning and talents, choosing rather to be dishonored in the world's estimation, than to injure her craven husband by avowing their marriage. ”

“ Miss Leonora desires, above all things, to be a lady, and to be always, and everywhere, and immediately recognized as a lady. How clear it is that the one, unmistakable, conclusive proof is, that she should look and move like a lady. If she looks strong, and moves with a will, she will be mistaken for a worker, for a servant. If she looks delicate, and moves languidly, it will be seen at once that she does not belong to the working class. ”

“ The stomach becomes weak and deranged, the body heavy and in-elastic, the mind foggy and sluggish, the temper irritable.
In no other department of American life do we so much need a thorough reform. Fashionable people hate the word reform, but in this connection no other word will answer; we must set about a thorough, earnest, radical reform.
The Creator has so contrived our bodies, He has made them so resistant and elastic, that an occasional abuse seems to make little impression. ”