sort than two Persons would do by throwing Flowers at each other The same that have the Humour of Contradicting have also a perpetual Inclination to Correct and reform all Matters but they are as unprofitable as troublesome they know not how to testifie a Good-will in their reproofs no more than a good Spirit in their Disputes All that which comes from their harsh Humour is displeasing though they speak that which is true they do it so ungracefully that instead of making People good they make them their Enemies As soon as such Persons are seen they are distasted after that we have an aversion for them at last an abhorrence they are generally the Objects either of Hatred or Laughter Complaisance succeeds much better since as it commends without Flattery so it reproves without Injury This knows the Art of curing pleasantly it takes from the Medicine its bitterness without robbing it of its strength It is a Sun that does not diminish his Light to make it the more tolerable to sore Eyes it refrains from dazling with its Beams but not from enlightning If the Load-stone has not only the Vertue to attract Iron but also to show the Pole Complaisance Charms the greatest Spirits as well as the small ones It enlightens those that have Eyes and attracts those that have none They who know and understand it see its force they that do not yet feel it In truth it has a secret Vertue for the conquering of Hearts it is a Loadstone that draws even Iron I mean the most Clownish and Barbarous It insensibly wins upon us even when it reproves it does not fall with an impetuous violence like Hail but as gently as Snow Though the Snow be cold yet it wraps up the Earth as in a Mantle of Wool to which the Holy Ghost compares it to the end it may cherish and keep warm the Seed that is in it In like manner though Reproof be in it self somewhat disagreeing yet it fails not to make good Designs and vertuous Undertakings bud and sprout in our Hearts Complaisance obliges while it reprehends And if this strikes it is but with a Rod of Roses where it strikes it leaves a Flower instead of a Wound Without this the best Advice seems but a Reproach without it Correction is Injurious Praise is disagreeable and Conversation troublesome Complaisance is not a blind Vertue it has Eyes as well as Hands it does not strike blindfold There are some faults it reproves and some it bears with it endures what it cannot hinder and prevent And in truth excepting the brotherly Correction to which Christianity obliges us what matter is it to us if many Erre or if they have ill Opinions unless it be in matters of Conscience or that concern their Salvation As we do not undertake to heal all that are Sick we are not bound to endeavour the undeceiving of all those that are in Error We should have no less trouble and difficulty in becoming the Correctors of all the ill Opinions in the World than if we should go about to heal all the Distempers that are in it We have not this in charge this care appertains to the Providence of God and not to us Besides what need is there that we should speak all our Sentiments or make known every where all that which displeases or contents us One that is wise ought well to consider always that which he says but he is never bound to say all that he thinks There is no need that for the avoiding of a lye he should fall into Indiscretion To be free he does not need to be Uncivil we do not injure Truth every time that we do not speak it We are always forbidden to say that which is false but we are not commanded to say always all that is true There is no Law that obliges us to speak all our Sentiments or to discover all our Thoughts On the other side this great liberty of speaking is not only-unjust or troublesome but also dangerous this Imprudent plainness provokes the most mild Persons when the true Complaisance would soften the most rugged Clytus lost the love of Alexander by speaking too freely Scipio won the Heart of Syphax by having treated him with gentleness The one by Complaisance preserved his Life in company of a Barbarian the other by using an indiscreet freedom lost his by an intimate Friend Daily experience affords us examples enough of this sort so that we need not seek for them in the Histories of past Ages we sufficiently find every day that without Complaisance we become odious and intolerable to all the World Where there is no Complaisance there can be no Civility and without these two lovely Qualities Society cannot be but very troublesome Especially let the Ladies observe that as their Faces cannot please without Beauty so neither can their Conversation without Complaisance BUT THAT WE may say what yet further concerns them After we have seen how Complaisance ought to be practised let us now take notice how they should receive it Let us learn the difference there is between a Complaisant Person and a Flatterer for fear the Ladies should take the one for the other The Example of Panthea seems to me sufficiently famous to make a good Discovery of this This Lady was no less Modest than Fair she despised praises as much she deserv'd them Lucian describing the Perfections of her Wit and her Face compared her to the Minerva of Phidias and the Venus of Praxiteles Panthea would not accept of the praises that seem'd to her excessive nor endure that they should compare her to the Goddesses Lucian to give an answer to this and to justifie the Comparison he had made shows in a very few words the difference that there is between the praises of an Orator and those of a Flatterer We ought not says he when we would praise a thing to compare it to that which is below it for this were to abate the merit of it nor to that which is its equal for that were to do no more than if it were compared with its self But the Comparison ought to be made with something that is more excellent to the end that what we praise may have the more of brightness and lustre A Hunter says he will not compare a good stout Dog to a Fox when he would commend him because this were too mean a Comparison nor to a Wolf because this is a thing too like him but rather to a Lion who has more of Force and Courage If Praises are without Foundation they are Flatteries If they are without Ornament they are injurious Those who can join Ornament with merit in doing this are just and allowable in what they do It were Flattery to praise one that is crooked for her fine Shapes or one that is bald for the fine Hair she has It may be seen according to this reasoning of Lucian That in praising what is little may be elevated to indifferent
Religion and Learning and then they are railed at for Ignorance Folly and Vice To this Cause must all their Emptiness and Impertinence be imputed hence 't is they are no more useful to the World To this also we must impute all their Vices the ill Influence they have among Men and all the Mischief they do Thus we may see how Important it is to the World and how much for the Interest of the Other Sex that the Women be bred to useful Knowlege and Vertue And thus I have follow'd the Common Custom in giving the Preference to the Men and speaking first of their Interest in this Matter I shall now apply my self directly to the Women themselves and endeavour to make it appear to them how Important and Vseful it is to themselves to be Learned and Vertuous Something is said of Learning in the following Book and therefore I shall say the less here and the Particular Vertues are recommended and therefore I shall only insist upon some General Commendations of it Let me intreat you then to consider the Pleasure and the Advantage of Knowledge This is like Light Chearing and Delightful to the Mind and Ignorance like Darkness is Vncomfortable and Sad. Knowledge enlarges the Soul Ignorance contracts it The former is the Brightness and Beauty of the Soul and adds Lustre to it as Polishing does to a Jewel the latter sullies and dims and makes it ugly Knowledge elevates the Mind Ignorance depresses it Knowledge tends to refine it from the Dregs of Sensuality Ignorance leaves it polluted Knowledge improves its Powers encreases its Liberty and Freedom and releases its Activity from the Shackles that Ignorance lays upon it Ignorance is weak and poor Knowledge is rich and Strong Enough cannot be said in Praise of this inestimable Thing But especially are Moral and Divine Knowledge most to be valued these do especially improve and adorn and will make you acceptable to God and the World and easie and happy in your selves The Rules of Pious and Vertuous Living are the certain Rules of Happiness The making of us Vertuous and Good is the greatest Blessing and the highest Benefit that can possibly be conferr'd upon us Those are most deplorably Ignorant of the Natures both of Vertue and Vice that imagine there can be a greater Good than the One or a greater Evil than the Other that we can be Happy and Vicious or miserable and excellently Vertuous Vertue and Wisdom tame the Appetites and guide them Safely and Honourably They Compose and Calm the Passions and quiet the Mind Vertue sets the Soul in Order which is Beautiful and Pleasant it teaches every Faculty and Power in us its right Place and Office makes it know its Bounds and do its Duty Vice Disorders and Confounds all Vertue is the Health Vice the Sickness of the Soul and as the Health of the Body improves and maintains its Beauty and Strength so does Vertue for the Soul and Vice on the contrary Weakens Deforms and gives it Pain à nd Trouble Vertue is Serene and Calm Vice is Stormy and Tempestuous The Vertuous Woman may live without Fear or Distrust in Tranquility and Repose She has no cause to blush in Company nor to tremble when she is alone She can enjoy the Present Time with Quietness and Peace has neither Shame nor Remorse for what is past and none but fair and joyful Hopes for what is to come The most lasting and most tasteful Pleasure attends it Pleasure that no Man can take from her such Delight as does not Torment with Impatience nor make her Sick with Disgust that does not depend as those of the World do on innumerable Circumstances whereof if any one be wanting they are Odious or Insipid Vertue and Wisdom are the only Things that can fit you for all Conditions to adorn them and be happy in them They direct to the most Honourable and comfortable Vse both of a Good and Bad Fortune both of a Married and a Single State These believe me are the most powerful and the most lasting Charms These will gain you true Admirers and sincere Servants while outward Beauty and Ornament procure only fiegned Ones And will hold the Hearts they win faster than the fading Advantages of an outside Inclination may make a Man Court and Seek you it may be enough to be a Woman for this especially if to that there be added Beauty and the Invincible Charms of a good Fortune but these cannot beget a true and lasting love Without Wisdom and Vertue and Knowledge The Servant is no sooner better acquainted but it may be Folly and Vice distaste him and his Addresses are at an End If Interest engage him still then he proceeds to make up the proposed Bargain and there is a Marriage without Love which is an Hell upon Earth Beauty without these Things though it be Charming at the first Sight yet it can secure none but the lightest and most foolish Part of Mankind and in them it kindles no more than a brutish Desire which turns into Distaste very commonly as soon as it is gratified Their mighty Admiration falls into Contempt and one may see the fine and pretty thing sitting alone for all him while the Passionate Lover is hugging a Bottle perhaps and kissing the Glass instead of her and any thing is able to draw or detain him from her Company Knowledge and Vertue would make you worthy of that Love-which Nature inclines us to present you and would make your Society always pleasant and always desirable and that to the best and wisest of Men. It is no small advantage to you that as Wisdom and Vertue are the most charming things and will give you the greatest power you can have over the other Sex so they will direct you to judge rightly of Men and to place your Favours and Affections there where they are best deserv'd where they will be best requited where it will be most for your Honour and Happiness to place them As these will inable you to know and discern which are the best and wisest of them so they will dispose you to value such Men most and to prefer them When guided by these you will not be caught with fine Cloaths or a spruce Mien you will not fall in love with a Man for his boasting of and commending himself nor for his addressing blasphemous Complements to you you will not judge of his worth by the former trick nor of his love by the latter You will not think to be happy and be at the mercy of a fool or expect that he will use you well who has not one Vertue to direct or dispose him to do so Nor will you think that an abundance of Wealth is sufficient alone to make you happy And let me add That your Constant preference of the best and wisest Men would be one of the most powerful means to reform the Age. It would soon make Vertue and Wisdom more generally sought after among Men when it
should appear that these were absolutely necessary to the recommending them to your Favour and Esteem and this also would return to your advantage since by this Influence upon the World it would come to pass that you could not want a proportionable number of fit and worthy Objects of your Affections and Choice To your great advantage it would be to stir up in the Men an Ambition to be well accomplisht too to make them asham'd of Ignorance and Vice by your Example and you your selves would be the more happy in Brothers Husbands and Children And the Women of our Age have perhaps greater advantage than ever their Ancestours had for the Improvement of their Minds at least so far as the Reading of Good Books can contribute towards this When you have a great many of the best Books in the World either wrote in your own Language or Translated into it Translation is a mighty Favour to you It brings the Wisdom of the Ancients to you unveil'd and inables you to study and learn it without the previous discouraging fatigue of Learning Languages We have lately seen some of the choicest Histories and best Pieces of useful Philosophy that Greece or Rome could boast of Translated into English And still this Work of Translating goes on and will especially do so if it has the Encouragement and Favour of your Sex And I would hope to see our own Language as Learned as any other in the World And why may we not see the costly useless Trifles that fill the Closets of our Ladies thrown out and Excellent and Vseful Books set up there in their stead You have almost nothing else to do but to study all the time that you live single and are at liberty from Affairs of the World To be sure there is nothing you can do so much to your advantage as to entertain and employ your selves much with Good Books I need not Recommend to you Plutarch or Hierocles or Livy or Seneca or the Excellent Antoninus lately Translated with the Learned and Vseful Reflections of Madam Dacier a Philosopher of your own Sex at this time Famous for her Wit and Learning Nor shall I mention any more since they may be met with at every Booksellers And it is chiefly my present Business to Recommend the following Book Here then you have the Characters of the Vertues and Vices very faithfully and truly drawn Whereby you may learn to distinguish the one from the other and may avoid that common and mischievous Error of mistakeing Vertue for Vice and Vice for Vertue Vice is an Vgly Name and that which almost all abhor should be imputed to them and Vertue is generally in the Notion commended and esteemed and therefore almost all pretend to Vertue in general But when we come to the reproof of particular Vices and to charge them upon those that are Guilty and so when we come to insist upon particular Vertues and to urge the Practice of them Then the World boggles and hesitates or it may be is angry and opposes Then the beloved Vice will not be believed to be a Vice and it shall be accounted ill nature or moroseness or a particular spite that calls it so And the Vertue that we want and do not care to put in practice will not be allow'd to be a Vertue but shall be disputed against The one will be defended under a soft and specious name and the other rejected under a bad one Thus do many Persons often deceive themselves to their disparagement and shame and misery While they cannot discern aright in this matter they perhaps shun the most Honourable Vertues and embrace the most shameful Vices They will refuse what is good and betake themselves to what is hurtful They will be asham'd of Vertue and boast of their Vices Further as Persons are apt for themselves to find out this way to evade the Arguments for Vertue and the Reproofs of Vice so they will endeavour to influence others after the same manner They that are Vicious naturally desire to have others like themselves that their better practice may not condemn or disparage them that others may fall into the same inconveniencies which they have brought themselves to by their wickedness and so may not be able to deride or despise them or that they may accomplish upon those who are yet afraid of Vice some base and shameful design To these Purposes they endeavour much the confounding of all things and especially of the natural and common signs of Passions and Vices in the Soul These they would fain have not regarded nor believed to be the Marks and Symptoms of any such things Highly necessary it is then to be possest with a clear and distinct knowledge of these things And here you have Vertue represented in her true Beauty and Lustre and the ugly Mask the frightful Vizor which spiteful Sinners put upon her is taken off You may see her in all her Charms as far as they can be represented in a Description or Picture of her which I confess cannot have the advantages of the Life in a sublime Example but yet may be sufficient to beget in us some Love and Admiration of the Beauty And here you have also Vice represented in its true Colours and all her Deformity shown as far as was consistent with Modesty and Discretion and the Paint and Disguise which the Vicious Wit of the World puts upon her is also removed Here are Motives to Vertue and just Disswasives from Vice proposed The Means of practising and improving in the one and of abstaining from and mortifying the other You have the Subjects treated on such as are of common Vse and Concern such as relate to every one The Vertues such as all may reach and the Vices such as all are exposed to You have all the Discourse plain and easie Free from the crabbed terms of the Schools You have a Philosopher not dictating after the rudeness of an Academy but complementing and insinuating his wholsome Counsels in the stile and manner of a Courtier And if thà t will recommend the Book further I must tell you That the most of it was written by a very Eminent Person in a Neighbour Nation who had the Honour to be a Counsellour and Preacher in Ordinary to the King that then Reigned there Here you have an Excellent Anatomy as it were of the Soul a view of the Insides of Mankind so that you may see the secret Motions Workings and Effects of all sorts of Passions and Humours Here you may learn the World then without mingleing with it which is the safest way and the pleasantest of doing this For thus you will not be in danger of being corrupted or vexed with the wickedness and folly of it while you are learning it which things in Converse you will be constantly exposed to This Book like a Mariners Chart shows the Rocks and Shelves of Vice whereon unwary and untaught Souls are wont to make Shipwrack of