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Show Just now, when the Catholic woman, with a touching mixture of docility and ambition, is asking herself the question ques-tion "How far she is justified in participating par-ticipating in the modern movement of the advancement of woman," it may not be amiss to call to mind a little vcrk bearing on one phase of the subject, sub-ject, Which was "published long enough ago to be now in ; danger-of ' becoming forgotten. And yet. this; , would be a pity, for though it is an old book, Its ideas are still new'. It. 13; the great Bishop Dupanloup's work' on "Studious Women," a translation of which appeared ap-peared in this country in 1S69, published by Patrick Donahue of Boston. When we remember the ideas that prevailed even twenty-five years ag?, on the subject of the education of women , in America, no less than In France, j the work of the famous bishop of Or- j leans seems quite- radical and r.evolu-j tionary. Certainly it was. so far ahead of his time, that reading'it today, one cannot but feel that it is still applicable applic-able to the situation. For although Mgr. Dupanloup's ideas on the education of women are now held by many men and women, by far the greater number hold as yet to the opinions he so ably combats com-bats in this book. These opinions he sets forth in his opening chapter by a few quotations from De Maistre, who viewed the question ques-tion of a higher education for women with sentiments of horror and foreboding. forebod-ing. Though De Maistre wrote so long ago, we all know a great many very good people-T-women as well. as men whom his' ideas would suif 'very well today. Our noble champion proceeds to answer an-swer M. De Maistre as follows: "All M. de Maistre's theory reduces itself to this: Women must remain in their own province and not usurp the province of men. Yes. certainly, the only question is to know what is the province of men. Is man by divine right the sole master of the kingdom of intelligence? God has given him more physical strength and I agree with M. de Maistre that, notwithstanding Judith and Joan of Arc, women 'ought not to aspire in any way to wield the sword, or to be generals cf an army. But is their intelligence exactly proportioned propor-tioned to their physical force, and is it subject to the same conclusions? I have never thought so. It seems to me that St. Theresa is as capable as M. da Maistre of managing a pen. But, duobtless the great merit, the incomparably in-comparably honorable aim of a woman is to bring up her children well, and to make men of her sons, as her greatest great-est gratification, and her first' duty ought to be to make her husband happy. hap-py. But to make a husband and "children "chil-dren happy and good, to make men of her sons, 'brave lads,' as M. de Maistre I says, 'who believe in God and do not I fear cannon,' a woman is needed who ' has a strong intelligence," judgment and character, who is persevering, industrious industri-ous and reflecting. In one word, the worthy and intelligent companion com-panion of her husband." Our author goes on in his third chapter chap-ter to strengthen his arguments by quoting a long list of the most Shining examples of Illustrious and learned I Christian women frpm the first days of Christianity down to his own day. He mentions women famous in. every branch of science, letters and art known to the early and middle ages, and an imposing and magnificent array it is of splendid women noted for their profound pro-found intelligence and ' canonized for their exalted virtues. It is noticeable that the list dwindles as it approaches modern time3. One is led to wonder and to seek reasons. The author himself him-self presently suggests one which throws much light cn the subject,, and which must have rather startled the world of his day. Thus is it: "The prejudice against the cultiva- tion of the intellect in woman is one of the "most culpable notions of the Eighteenth century that century of licentiousness li-centiousness and implet It was advantageous for those profligate husbands to hav worthless wive3. A superior woman oblige3 her husband to reckon with her. He is forced to be influenced by the controlling controll-ing power of an intelligent mind, and he does not feel himself at liberty to follow all his caprices, and this is the reason why vicious. A terrible, spectacle was presented to the world of the corruption of French society at that period. How-could How-could M. de Maistre who had under his eyes the remains" of this corruption, corrup-tion, and.' witnessed the chastisements that it desarved, fail to see that the degraded de-graded position assigned to woman was one of its first causes, and that the prejudice against the intellectual ele-' vation of woman was the natural offspring off-spring of vice? But the author of "Studious Women" is not content with championing the right of women to intellectual development, develop-ment, he gees further, and assert that it is a duty. If it were only . a right, women might choose tewsacrifice it; being be-ing a duty, they are not free to do 'so. On the subject of' woman's place in the social organism, he has this to say: "Until you have persuaded wrman that she is created first of all for God, next for herself and for her own soul, and lastly for her husband and her children, but after God, with God. and always fcr God. you will have done ! nothing either for the happirec-3 cr the honor of vour families. "This excessive absorption of the personality per-sonality of the wife' in her husband was, perhaps, useful for the ancient matron;: ; ' but the Christian woman feels she has .another destiny, j " The Christian woman -IroV.s upon herself as the companion of man, 3 his helpmate, as much iii earthly as I in heavenly things. . ' She thinks j that the husband and wife ought to help each ether to become better, and after having together formed children for eternity, to share with them the same happiness forever. For such a destiny, the education of woman car not be too consecutive, too masculine, or top serious. ser-ious. i "The contrary system rests in a pagan view of their destiny." . The chapters on the "Danger 'tif Repression'.' Re-pression'.' and the "Fatal Consequences of Ignorance and Frivolity In Womep" are worth publishing entire and scattering scat-tering broadcast as tracts for the benefit ben-efit of the prejudiced. ..They are no less suited to the conditions-of today than they were to those of a preceding gen-! gen-! e ration. ... ' On the subject of .tho advantages of intellectual development to. woman in I her capacity as wife and moth-r. . . I j good bishop is so luminous, cotivin - J j and inspiring that the temptati ,: r , give a few extracts is irresistihit.: "Is she only a mother t giv,. 1. , f ' I to her children, giving up afterwar i .- . mercenaries the functions of m tt. r::!:v j It ii a mother's duty t ; ' tend to the soul as welt a's to th..- 1. j , cf her child;-she can even be mr - 1-- ! ily replaced in his physical than in intellectual and moral edxnat!n. f the former, so rriany people "can ;. her: for the latter, nnless she is s-; . rounded with : obstacles, she n iu- alone. To follow th develuprrwn; mind, and the studios of a young m ... 1 to watch over him, to guide him u that influence that is given by a s u. - and authoritative judgment, by a . pacity joined to kindness, and thus t-pire confidence and ' admiration. . ; this implies a combination of ime!!--:- : ual qualities which, are far from 'u j nary. - . "How many mothers have Ii .--.: ., ; power over the souls of their sons h. -cause they have been unable to n.uirw-, and to develop their intellectual, asth- -have tfane their physical being? To U ; a mother, a mother In .t;i the elevation, the - extent. and the depth offif the word that aln. justifies all the noble efforts of a woman wom-an to acquire the greatest supriohry of mind. Now. if you admit that t'n intellectual development of woman ought to be encouraged, even from a useful point of view, the developmfri: must be complete, and no arbitrary limits to it. must ! fixed beforehajnl. "With regard to her husband, intellectual intel-lectual work makes of him, provided he is intelligent. No g unity can last in married life unless the I fellowship of hearts is accompanied by j the fellowship cf minds. A I woman who has atulied shares her ! . husband'9 serious occupjtior.s. she sup- I ports him in his labors, in his Strug- gles. She follows her husband and precedes pre-cedes her eons. - She' does not make a boast of it, but she rests securely se-curely in her happiness, for she is confident con-fident that nothing can disturb amnion which has to.- its basis the perfect fellowship fel-lowship of two souls and two minds, and that the love of both will last as long as the souls whom it unites." In reply to any objector who may say that the scope of woman's education has widened greatly since Mgr. Duplan-loup Duplan-loup wrote his book on "Studious Women," let the followinsr extracts serve for an answer, as trey were intended in-tended to serve in the author's own ( dav: " 'But,' say my objectors, 'young girls I are taught a vast quantity of things I during their education.' I "Doubtless they are, and this i3 exactly ex-actly what I compFain of: Girls have-not have-not to take a degree, and all their education edu-cation tends to give very extensive and very superficial general notions. Noth-lirg Noth-lirg serious, grave or deep, but a smattering smat-tering cf everything. It is evident that such desultory efforts cannot produce any really good result. In this way a little of everything, and nothing properly, prop-erly, is known; no developed talent; no faculty, not oven a serious taste . for anything is obtained. These half talents, tal-ents, these tastes of superficial study, do no good. This is exactly what is wanted to shine for a moment, end to fall short of being 'something' or 'somebody.' 'some-body.' This is exactly what is wanted to leave off doing anything as soon as the education of the convent i3 over. Now, it is precisely an opposite course I that ought to be adopted, if the object I is to produce serious and persevering women, who may one day be useful to their husbands and their children. "I cannot state everything here, and write a whole treatise on education; I will only say, as a sort of recapitulation, recapitula-tion, that the essential principle is this: A girl must be brought up in a complete com-plete manner. What does this mean? It means to develop her intelligence, her heart, her conscience, her character, at the same time as her practical faculties, facul-ties, without neglecting her health, her physical strength, nor even within due limits, her outward charms; in one 1 word, to render her capable of forming I not only an element in the life of man, i but of sympathizing with hia thoughts, and to realize in marriage that intellectual intel-lectual union which is the perfection of a moral bond and a fellowship of inter- y ests." '"" Wrth this last extract, it is safe to leave the reader, snce it alcne justifies the claim's that this old book is really "a new book. Nothing newer on the subject sub-ject of woman's education has yet been said, and even in our 'American -colleges for the higher educati.n of wo:r.ai no broader, completer or more exalted ideal has been set. In reality, these very colleges are woi-king along exactly the lines marked out by this one little I paragraph cf the good, the great, thy? Catholic Biohop of Orlears. |