Lady Damaris Masham

“ For what can move a juster Commiseration than to see such poor innocents, so far from having the Aid they stand in need of, that even those who the most wish to do them good, and who resent, with the deepest Compassion, every little Malady which afflicts their Bodies, do never attempt to rescue them from the greatest evils which attend them in this Life, but even themselves assist to plunge them therein, by cherishing in them those Passions which will inevitably render them miserable? ”

“ But as this ought never to be made the incitement to any Vertue but in the earliest Childhood of our Reason, so also at no time should Glory (which is the Reward only of Actions transcendently Good, either in kind, or degree) be represented as the purchase of barely not meriting Infamy: The apprehension of which, is a much stronger perswasive to most People not to do amiss, than that of Glory, which cannot consist with it: For no Body can rationally think that Glory can be due to them for doing that, which it would be shameful in them not to do. ”

“ But if no contrary Inclination obstruct this Felicity, a greater cannot certainly be propos'd, since Friendship has been allow'd by the wisest, most vertuous, and most generous Men of all Ages to be the solidest and sweetest pleasure in this World: And where can Friendship have so much advantage to arrive to, and be maintain'd in its Perfection, as where two Persons have inseparably one and the same Interest ”

“ Whilst the silly Creatures who do them so unspeakable Mischiefs are scarce capable of being made to understand the harm that they do; but think Parents ill-natur'd, or that they have fancies fit only to be smil'd at, who will deny their Child a thing for no other reason, it may be, but because he has desir'd it: And who before he is trusted to go alone will check his Resentment, Impatience, Avarice, or Vanity, which they think becomes him so prettily; neither will suffer him to be rewarded for doing what they bid him to do. ”

“ Religion has, I think, been rightly defin'd to be the knowledge how to please God, and thus taken, does necessarily include vertue, that is to say, Moral Rectitude; but as Men have usually apply'd these Terms Vertue and Religion, they stand for things very different and distinct, one from another. For by a Vertuous Man, in all Countries of the World, or less Societies of Men, is commonly meant, by those who so call any one, such a Man as steadily adheres to that Rule of his Actions which is establish'd for a Rule in his Country Tribe, or Society, be that what it will. ”

“ The great end then of Christianity is (in short) to teach us effectually to renounce all Ungodliness and every evil work, by declaring to us, that if we sincerely repent of our Sins past, and indeavour, for the time to come, to obey the Law of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, which is no other than the Law of Reason, or the eternal Rule of Right, we need not despair of God's Mercy from the Imperfection of our Obedience ”

“ A Term which when apply'd to Women, is rarely design'd, by some People, to signifie any thing but the single Vertue of Chastity; the having whereof does with no more Reason intitle a Lady to the being thought such as she should be in respect of Vertue, than a handsome Face, unaccompany'd by other Graces, can render her Person truly Amiable. Or rather, Chastity is so essential to, singly, so small a part of the Merit of a Beautiful Mind, that it is better compar'd to Health, or Youth, in the Body, which alone have small Attractions, but without which all other Beauties are of no Value. ”

“ An Opinion which the too commonly avow'd Scepticism of the Age helps much to confirm unthinking People in; and that the more, because to doubt of what the most believe (tho' few have any other Reason for so doubting but that others do not doubt) has very much prevail'd in our Days to intitle Men to the Reputation of more than ordinary Wit and Sagacity. But the Scepticism among us has truly been so far from being the effect of uncommon Light, and Knowledge ”

“ For tho' it is to be fear'd that few Ladies (from the disadvantage of their own Education) are so well fitted as they ought to be, to take the care of their Children, yet not to be willing to do what they can herein, either as thinking this a matter of too much pains for them, or below their Condition, expresses so senseless a Pride, and so much want of the affectionate and compassionate Tenderness natural to that Sex and Relation, that one would almost be tempted to question whether such Women were any more capable of, than worthy to be the Mothers of Rational Creatures. ”

“ All People, it is certain, have not a like fitness for, or relish of this pleasure of Friendship, which therefore, however preferable to others in the real advantages of it, cannot be equally valuable to all. But where there is mutually that predominant Disposition to vertuous Love, which is the Characteristick of the most excellent Minds, I think we cannot frame an Idea of so great Happiness to be found in any thing in this Life, as in a Marry'd State. ”

“ From whence it has been that such Men in all Ages, and Places, as were above the prejudices of their Country Religion, and Manners, viz. such as we have now spoken of, have ever had much the same Sentiments in respect of Vertue. But these have always been but a small Number: Custom, and blind Opinion, have ever govern'd the World; and the light of Reason has neither appear'd to Men to be, nor in Fact been any where sufficient to direct the generality of Mankind to Truth ”

“ Nor do Women seem less peculiarly adapted by Nature hereunto, than it can be imagin'd they should be, if the Author of Nature (as no doubt he did) design'd this to be their Province in that division of Cares of Humane Life, which ought to be made between a Man and his Wife. For that softness, gentleness and tenderness, natural to the Female Sex, renders them much more capable than Men are of such an insinuating Condescention to the Capacities of young Children, as is necessary in the Instruction and Government of them, insensibly to form their early Inclinations. ”

“ But whether such Patrons of Ignorance as know nothing themselves which they ought to know, will call it Learning, or not, to understand the Christian Religion, and the grounds of receiving it; it is evident that they who think so much knowledge, as that, to be needless for a Woman, must either not be perswaded of the Truth of Christianity; or else must believe that Women are not concern'd to be Christians. For if Christianity be a Religion from God, and Women have Souls to be sav'd as well as Men ”

“ Whilst those whose Youthful Time has been devoted to Vanities, or Trifles, Age does inevitably deliver over either to melancholy Repentance, or (at best) to the wearisome Languishings which attend a Life deprived of Desire and Enjoyment. ”

“ But the Gross of Mankind saw not the Force of these Reasonings to be perswaded thereby of a thing so inconceivable by them as that the Life of the Person was not totally extinguish'd in the Death of the Body; and a Resurrection to Life, was what they thought not of, the certainty of which, together with future Reward and Punishment, by enabling us to make a right estimate concerning what will most conduce to our happiness, plainly brings this great encouragement to our Observance of the Law of God, that it lets us see our happiness, and our Duty, are inseparably united therein ”

“ Yet however certain it is, that the dictates of Reason, or Nature, discernable by our natural Faculties, are the commands of God to us, as rational Creatures; it is equally true that the love of happiness (which consists in pleasure) is the earliest, and strongest principle of Humane Nature; and therefore whatever measures Reason does, or might, prescribe, when particular occasions occur, the sentiment of what Men find pleasing or displeasing to them, however contrary to those dictates of right Reason, is very apt to determine their choice. ”

“ That the Gross of Mankind do every where live in opposition to that Rule of Nature which they ought to obey, is a sad Truth; but that we who have this Rule enforc'd by a clearer Light, are included herein, and do in this find the source of many Evils, not only fear'd, but which we actually feel, are Considerations yet more affecting, and not a little aggravated in that, within Memory, this heretofore sober Nation has been debauch'd from Principles of Vertue and Religion, to such an excess of Vice and Prophaneness, that it has been Fashionable to have no shame of the grossest Immoralities ”

“ The improvements of Reason, however requisite to Ladies for their Accomplishment, as rational Creatures; and however needful to them for the well Educating of their Children, and to their being useful in their Families, yet are rarely any recommendation of them to Men; who foolishly thinking, that Money will answer to all things, do, for the most part, regard nothing else in the Woman they would Marry: And not often finding what they do not look for, it would be no wonder if their Off-spring should inherit no more Sense than themselves. ”

“ Which is yet all the ground of not allowing that Pleasure, and Pain, are truly Good, and Evil; the denying of which, can be of no Service to Morality, but the contrary, since Moral Good, and Evil, consider'd antecedently to any positive Law of our Maker, are apt to be thought but a Notion where that inseparable Relation is overlook'd which there is between actions denominated by us vertuous, or vicious, and the Natural Good, and Evil of Mankind. ”

“ Whence Want, mutual ill Will, Disobedience of Children, their Extravagance, and all the ill effects of neglected Government, and bad Example follow; till they make such a Family a very Purgatory to every one who lives in it. And as the Original cause of all these mischiefs is Peoples not living like rational Creatures, but giving themselves up to the blind Conduct of their Desires and Appetites; so all who in any measure do thus, will accordingly, more or less, create vexation to each other, because it is impossible that they should ever be at ease, or contented in their own Minds. ”

“ And as we delight in our selves, and receive pleasure from the objects which surround us, sufficient to indear to us the possession and injoyment of Life, we cannot from thence but infer, that this Wise and Powerful Being is also most Good, since he has made us out of nothing to give us a Being wherein we find such Happiness, as makes us very unwilling to part therewith. ”

“ For Parents sometimes do purposely omit it from an apprehension that should their Daughters be perceiv'd to understand any learned Language, or be conversant in Books, they might be in danger of not finding Husbands; so few Men, as do, relishing these accomplishments in a Lady. Nor, probably, would even the example of a Mother herself who was thus qualify'd, and likewise understood, as is afore-said, her Religion, be any great incouragement to her Daughters to imitate her example, but the contrary. ”

“ And thus, by a consideration of the Attributes of God, visible in the Works of the Creation, we come to a knowledge of his Existence, who is an Invisible Being: For since Power, Wisdom and Goodness, which we manifestly discern in the production and conservation of our selves, and the Universe, could not subsist independently on some substance for them to inhere in, we are assur'd that there is a substance where unto they do belong, or of which they are the Attributes. ”

“ And such a one as knows no reason for what she has been taught to believe, but has been reprov'd, perhaps, for demanding one, can very hardly avoid being perswaded that there is much appearance of Truth in this; whence she will soon come to conclude, that she has hitherto been in the wrong, if upon any scruple of Religion, she has not gratify'd her Inclination, in whatever she imagines might tend to make her Life more pleasing to her. ”

“ The necessities of a Family very often, and the injustice of Parents sometimes, causes People to sacrifice their Inclinations, in this matter, to interest; which must needs make this State uneasy in the beginning to those who are otherways ever so much fitted to live well in such a Relation; yet scarce any vertuous and reasonable Man and Woman who are Husband and Wife, can know that it is both their Duty and Interest (as it is) reciprocally to make each other Happy without effectually doing so in a little time. ”

“ The Revelation of an Eternal Life after this, with an express Declaration of Everlasting Rewards and Punishments annex'd to our Obedience, or Disobedience, to the Law of Nature (tho' such a Future State may be reasonably infer'd from all things happening alike to the Good, and to the Bad in this World, and from Men's Natural desire of Immortality) is yet but a necessary inforcement of the Law of Nature to the far greatest part of Mankind, who stand in need of this knowledge, and are uncapable of an Inference so repugnant to what their Senses daily tell them in the case ”

“ By that want of Knowledge which I have ventur'd to say is fashionable, I understand not only ignorance among Men, who have leisure for it, of Arts and Sciences in general; but also, and especially the want of such particular Knowledge as is requisite to every one for the well discharging either their Common or peculiar Business and Duty; wherein Religion is necessarily included, as being the Duty of all Persons to understand, of whatever Sex, Condition, or Calling they are of. ”

“ The first of these is, That those Notions, or Ideas of Vertue, and consequent Rules of Action, which are usually given to such young Persons, do rarely carry along with them an entire conviction of their Truth and Reasonableness: Whence if these Instructions at any time happen strongly to cross the Inclinations of those to whom they are given, it will appear rational to question their Solidity: And when Principles that thwart People's passions or interests, come once to be doubted of by them, it is great odds, that they will sooner be slighted, than better examin'd. ”