Chapter I: I Enter upon a serious and difficult undertaking; in the prosecution (3)

CVII. I think it is now time to depart from the labyrinths of physics, and to enter on the open and pleasing plains of history, and to persuade by examples, that the understandings of the women, are not inferior to those of the men, even for the attainment of the most difficult sciences. This is the best method, which can be fallen upon to convince the vulgar, who are generally more influenced by examples, than arguments. To recite all that occur, would be tiresome, and therefore, I shall only mention some of those women, who, in these latter ages, have been the most eminently distinguished for their learning, and who have flourished in our own country Spain, and in the neighbouring kingdoms.

CVIII. Spain, which strangers hold cheap in this particular, has, to the honour of literature, produced many women, remarkably eminent for all sorts of learning. The principal ones are the following.

CIX. _Donna Anna de Cervaton_, lady of honour to the Germanic Queen de Fox, second wife of Don Ferdinand the Catholic; she was a most celebrated woman, but more so on account of her learning and rare talents, than for her uncommon beauty, which was so striking, that she was generally allowed to be the finest woman about the court. In Lucio Marino Siculo, may be seen the Latin letters which that author wrote her, and the lady’s answers in the same idiom.

CX. _Donna Isabel de Joya_, in the sixteenth century, was esteemed a woman of great learning. It is told of her, that she preached in the church of Barcelona, to the amazement of a great concourse of auditors. I suppose the prelates who permitted it, judged that the injunction of the Apostle, which in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, prohibits women to speak in the church, admitted of some exceptions, in the same manner the injunction did, which prohibits them to teach in the Epistle to Timothy; for it is a fact, that Priscilla, who was the companion of this same apostle, taught and instructed Apollo Pontonicusin the evangelic doctrine, as appears from the Acts of the Apostles; and that afterwards passing to Rome in the pontificate of Paul III. she, in the presence of the cardinals, much to their satisfaction, explained many of the difficult passages in the books of the subtile Scotus; but what redounded most of all to her honour, was her having converted in that capital of the world, a great number of Jews to the catholic faith.

CXI. _Luisa Sigea_, a native of Toledo, but of French extraction, besides being skilled in philosophy, and sound literature, was ornamented in a singular manner, with a knowledge of languages, for she understood Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac; and it is said, she wrote a letter to pope Paul III. in each of these languages. Her father, Diego Sigea, being afterwards called to the court of Lisbon, as preceptor to Theodosius of Portugal duke of Braganza; the infanta Donna Maria of Portugal, daughter of the king Don Manuel, and of his third wife, Donna Leonora of Austria, who was a great lover of letters, took much pleasure in the company of the learned Sigea; who afterwards married with Francisco de Cuevas, the Lord of Villanasur, and a cavalier of Burgos, from which marriage, as Don Luis Salazar informs us in his history of the house of Farnese, there descended a fine progeny, which are now living in Castile.

CXII. _Donna Oliva Sabuco de Nantes_, a native of Alcaraz, was a woman of sublime penetration, and of an elevated genius, eminent for her knowledge of physical, medicinal, moral, and political matters, as may be seen by her writings; but the thing which most illustrated and distinguished her, was her new phisiological system, where, in opposition to all the antients, she maintained, that it is not the blood which invigorates the body, but a white fluid issuing from the brain, which pervades the whole nervous system; and she attributes almost all disorders to this vital dew being vitiated. This system, which the incuriosity of Spain neglected, the curiosity of England embraced with eagerness, and now we receive from the hands of strangers as their invention, that, which in reality was originally our own. Fatal genius of Spaniards, who, in order that what is produced in their own country should seem pleasing to them, must have it first monopolized by strangers, and afterwards by those strangers sold to them again. It seems also, that this great woman was beforehand with Renard Descartes, in broaching the opinion, that the brain was the seat of the rational soul, though she did not, like Descartes, confine its habitation to the pineal gland only, but supposed it to occupy the whole substance. The confidence which Donna Oliva had in her own abilities to defend her singular opinions, was such; that in an epistle-dedicatory addressed to count Barajas, president of Castile, she intreats him to use his authority, to convene together the most learned natural philosophers, and doctors of medicine in Spain, and that she would undertake to convince them, that the physics, and medicinal doctrines, which were taught in the schools, went all on erroneous principles. She flourished in the reign of Philip II.

CXIII. _Donna Bernarda Ferreyra_, a Portuguese lady, the daughter of Don Ignatio Ferreyra, a knight of the order of St. Jago, besides knowing and speaking with ease various languages, understood poetry, rhetoric, philosophy, and the mathematics. She left many poetical writings; and our famous Lopez de Vega, had such a veneration for the extraordinary merit of this lady, that he dedicated to her his elegy, intituled La Philis.

CXIV. _Donna Juana Morella_, a native of Barcelona, was a woman of wonderful learning. Her father having killed a man, was obliged to fly, and carried her with him into Lyons in France, where this extraordinary child, betaking herself to study, made so rapid a progress, that at twelve years of age (which was in the year 1607) she defended conclusions in philosophy publicly, which she afterwards committed to writing, and dedicated to Margaret of Austria, queen of Spain. At the age of seventeen, according to the relation of Guidon Patin, who lived at that time, she entered upon public disputations in the jesuits college at Lyons. She understood philosophy, music, and jurisprudence, and it is said, that she spoke fourteen languages. She took the veil, in the Dominican convent of saint Præxedis at Avignon.

CXV. The celebrated nun of Mexico, _Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz_, is so well known to every body by her learned and ingenious poetical works, that it is needless to say any thing in her eulogium. I shall only mention, that the least of her accomplishments was her talent for poetry, although that was the thing, for which she was most celebrated. Many Spanish poets have been superior to her in point of poetical genius, but perhaps no one has equalled her, with regard to her universal knowledge, in all kinds of faculties. Her poetry was natural, but she wanted energy. In the critical part of the sermon of father Viera, he gives her credit for her ingenuity; but to speak the truth, she was not equal in that respect, to that learned jesuit himself, of whom she was the opponent: nor is there any thing extraordinary, in a woman’s being found inferior to a man, who, for elevation of thought, reasoning with perspicuity, and explaining himself with clearness, has not yet been equalled by any preacher whatever.

CXVI. The panegyric of the late _duchess of Aveiro_, is also needless, as her memory is still recent at court, and all over Spain.

SECT. XVII.

CXVII. The learned ladies of France, are very numerous, because there, they in general have more opportunities of studying, and more time allowed them for doing it, than they have in most other countries; I shall therefore, only recite such of them as were most famous.

CXVIII. _Susana de Hubert_, wife of Charles Jardin, an attendant of Henry III. understood philosophy and theology, and was well versed in the writings of the fathers. She had learned the Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages; but her christian piety, which was exceedingly exemplary, contributed more to the advancement of her true glory, than her vast erudition.

CXIX. _Maria de Guernay_, a Parisian of illustrious family, to whom the learned Dominic Baudio gave the name of the Syren of France, arrived to such a pitch of glory and fame, for genius and literature, that there was scarce a learned man of her time, who did not esteem it a great honour to keep-up a literary correspondence with her; and hence it was, that there were found in her cabinet when she died, letters, from the cardinals Richelieu, Bentivolio, and Perron; from San Francisco de Sales, and other enlightened prelates; from Charles the First, duke of Mantua, from the Count de Ales, from Erycio Puteano, Justus Lipsius, Messrs. Balzac, Maynard, Heinsius, Cæsar Capacio, Carlos Pinto, and many other men, of the most shining parts and learning in that age.

CXX. _Madalena Scuderi_, who was called with great reason the Sappho of her age, as she equaled that most celebrated Greek lady, in the elegance of her compositions, and excelled her much, in the purity of her manners. She was eminent for her learning, but incomparable for her judgment and discretion, as her many and excellent works testify. Her Artamenes, or Cyrus the Great, and her Clelia, in which tracts, in imitation of Barclay’s Argenis, under the figure of novels, much true history is contained, are pieces of consummate value, and in my judgment, are preferable to any thing of the kind that has been written in France, or any other country, the Argenis only excepted. The nobleness of the thoughts, the harmonious combination of the narrative, the pathetic efficacy of the persuasion, the liveliness of the descriptions, and the native purity, majesty, and force of the style, make a composition, which all together, is admirable and enchanting; to this we may add, by way of enhancing the value of the performance, that the amorous passages, are described with all the delicacy and decency possible, the moral virtues, represented in the most engaging and attractive light, and the heroic ones, with the most brilliant splendor. As a proof of the prodigious talents of this woman, the honour of having her entered as a member of their societies, was industriously sought after, by all those academies, whose institutions, allowed of admitting among them persons of her sex. She in the year 1671, gained the prize of eloquence in the French academy, which amounted to the same thing, as that truly-noble body, having pronounced her the most eloquent person in all France. The most Christian king, Lewis XIV. whose attention, no elevated merit escaped, settled on her a pension of twelve hundred livres a year, and cardinal Mazarine had long before, by his will, bequeathed her a legacy of the same value, and she received another donation to about the same amount, from the learned chancellor of France, Louis de Boucherat; by the help of which, she was enabled to pass through a regular, glorious, and long life, which terminated in the year 1701.

CXXI. _Antonieta de la Guardia_, beautiful both in shape and features, with which bodily perfections, the sweetness of her disposition, and the charms of her soul corresponded; so that it seemed as if nature had taken pride, with respect to her, of uniting in one woman, all the graces of person, and attractions of mind. She was so eminent for poetry, that, at a time in which this art was much cultivated, and in high estimation in France, there was not any man whatever in that extensive kingdom, who excelled her in it. Her works were collected in two volumes, which I have not seen. She died in 1694, leaving a daughter, the heir of her genius and accomplishments, who won the prize for poetry in the French academy.

CXXII. Lady _Maria Madalena Gabriela de Montemar_, daughter of the duke de Montemar, and a Benedictine nun, who was born with all the natural qualifications or dispositions, necessary for attaining the most abstracted, and difficult sciences, for she was endowed with a happy memory, a subtile ingenuity, and a right judgment. In her early time of life, she learned the Spanish, Italian, Latin, and Greek languages; and at fifteen years old, being presented to Maria Teresa of Austria, queen of France, just at her first arrival in that kingdom, she amazed all the court, to hear her speak the Spanish language with elegance and propriety. She acquired a knowledge of all that is now understood, both of the antient, and new philosophy, and was consummately versed in scholastic, dogmatic, expositive, and mystic theology. She made some translations, the most admired of which, were the first books of the Iliad. She wrote upon various subjects, and discussed points of morality, criticism, and such as related to academic matters. Her letters were held in the highest esteem, and Louis XIV. received and read them with great pleasure. She composed admirable verses, though they were but few in number, and those, after once reading them, she used to throw into the fire; which was a sacrifice, her humility induced her to make of many other of her works; and she would have made it of all of them, if by friendly interposition, she had not been prevented from following the dictates of her own inclination. Her piety, and talent for governing, shone forth in equal proportion to her learning; and in consideration of these eminent qualities, she was elected abbess of the congregation of Fontevrauld, of the order of St. Benedict, which has this peculiarity belonging to it, that although it is composed of a great number of monasteries of both sexes, which are scattered about in four provinces, that they all acknowledge as their universal prelate, the abbess of Fontevrauld, a distinguished monastery, which is no less famous for being the theatre of nobility, than of virtue; for they reckon among their prelates, fourteen princesses, five of whom were of the royal house of Bourbon. Lady Montemar filled this high employment, much to the satisfaction, and edification of the world, and also to the benefit and increase of her congregation, exhibiting a woman, commanding the men with dignity, and who in the opinion of those who were under her direction, if she was not superior, was at least equal in point of understanding to the wisest man living. She died in 1704, full of merit and much esteemed.

CXXIII. _Maria Jacquelina de Blemur_, a Benedictine nun, who the most learned Mabillon, in Estud. Monostic. Bibliot. Ecclesiast. Sect. 12, tells us, composed a work, called the Benedictine Year, of seven volumes in quarto; and another, intitled Eulogiums on many illustrious Persons of the Order of Saint Benedict, of two volumes in quarto.

CXXIV. _Anna la Fevre_, commonly known by the name _Madam Dacier_, daughter of the most learned Tanaquildo le Fevre, proved equal to her father in erudition, and superior to him in eloquence; and also in the faculty of writing with elegance and delicacy, her own language. She was a critic of the first rate, so that in this particular, at least with respect to profane authors, there was not a man of her time, neither in France nor out of it, who excelled her. She made many translations from Greek authors, which she illustrated with a variety of comments. Her passion for Homer, excited her to write many dissertations, the object of which was maintaining the superiority of the Greek poet Homer, over the Latin one Virgil, in which, the vivacity of her genius, and the rectitude of her judgment, shone forth with equal splendor; she was chiefly stimulated to do this, from a desire of replying to, and confronting Mons. La Mote, who was a member of the French Academy, and of a contrary opinion; this she did so well, that some partizans of the Latin poet, who had sided with Mons. la Mote, could not deny, that his judgment in comparison of her’s, had but little weight, for want of his having a competent knowledge of Greek, the language Homer wrote in, which his opponent understood to perfection. With regard to the merits of the case, it should be observed, that there are only some Latin authors who give the preference to Virgil, but that there is not a single Greek one, who will allow him to be superior, or even equal to Homer. The circumstance of this last, having in his favour all the Greeks, and many Latins, among whom, one of the most conspicuous is the celebrated historian Velleius Paterculus, who bestows on him the high eulogium, that there never yet was any one who could imitate him; and declares further, that, in his opinion, there never will be any one capable of doing it in time to come: I say, when all this is considered, it should have great weight in determining the question in Homer’s favour. Anna le Fevre, I think, has been dead but a few years.

SECT. XVIII.

CXXV. Italy is little inferior to France, in numbers of learned women; but, for the same reason for which we curtailed the recital of the French ladies, we shall do so by the Italian ones.

CXXVI. _Dorothea Bucca_, a native of Bologna, having from her infancy been destined to the study of letters, advanced in the profession with such giant strides, that the famous university of that city, made in her favour, the singular, and till then unheard-of precedent, of conferring on her the degree of a doctor; and she continued in the university as a professor of divinity, for a long time. She flourished in the fifteenth century.

CXXVII. _Isota Nogarola_, born at Verona, was the oracle of her age; for, over and above being very learned in philosophy, and theology, she added to it, the accomplishment of understanding various languages, and being deeply read in the Fathers; and in point of eloquence, it is asserted, that she was not inferior to the greatest orators of that age. The proofs of her ability in this science, are not vulgar, for she spoke many times before the popes Nicholas V. and Pius II. in the council of Mantua, which was convened, for the purpose of uniting the Christian princes against the Turk. That illustrious protector of letters, cardinal Bessarion, having seen some of the works of Isota, was so charmed with the spirit of them, that he took a journey from Rome to Verona on purpose to see her. This lady, died at the age of thirty-eight, in the year 1466.

CXXVIII. _Laura Ceretti_, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, at the age of eighteen, taught philosophy publickly, with great applause.

CXXIX. _Cassandra Fidele_, a Venetian lady, was so celebrated for her knowledge of the Greek language, and likewise for understanding philosophy, theology, and being deeply read in history, that there was scarce an illustrious prince of that time, who did not give her testimonies of his esteem; and they reckon among the admirers of Cassandra, the popes Julian II., Leo X., Louis XI., king of France, and our Catholic king Ferdinand, and his queen Isabel. She wrote several works, and died at the age of a hundred and two, in the year 1567.

CXX. _Cathalina de Cibo_, dutchess of Camerine, in the March of Ancona, understood Latin, Greek, Hebrew, philosophy, and theology. Her virtue gave splendor to her learning; she built the first convent the Capuchins possessed, and died in the year 1557.

CXXXI. _Martha Marchina_, a Neapolitan of low birth, but elevated genius, who, surmounting the impediments annexed to her humble fortune, managed so as to get herself instructed in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, which she attained a competent knowledge of, with wonderful velocity, and was no vulgar poetess; but her excellent talents were not capable of raising her above the sphere of life in which she was born, the influence of her adverse stars, obstructing the advancement of her fortune. She removed to Rome, where she supported herself and family by making wash-balls: but it is probable, if she had had the same opportunities of studying which have fallen to the lot of other women, that she would have been a prodigy among the females; and even among the men also. She died at the age of forty-six, in the year 1646.

CXXXII. _Lucretia Helena Cornaro_, of the illustrious family of the Cornaro’s of Venice, who, though in the series of this memorial, is the last of the learned Italian women, on account of her being the most modern, we may truly say, without doing injustice to any one, that she in dignity is the first. This woman, who was an honour to her sex, was born in 1646. From her tender infancy, she manifested a violent inclination for letters, with which inclination, the wonderful rapidity of her progress corresponded; for she not only instructed herself with uncommon facility, in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, but she learned also, almost all the living languages of Europe. She distinguished herself so conspicuously in mathematics, philosophy, and sacred theology, that the university of Padua, had resolved to confer on her the degree of a doctor of divinity, which would have been done, if cardinal Barbarigo, the bishop of that city, had not opposed carrying the resolve into execution, on account of some scruples he entertained of the propriety of the thing, it being contrary to the maxim of St. Paul, which prohibits women from administering, or teaching in the church; and thus, to prevent violating this canonical rule, and at the same time, not to be wanting in the proper regard due to the deserving merit of Helena, they fell upon the expedient of making her a doctor of philosophy; the ceremony of conferring which degree on her, was graced and honoured, with the attendance of many princes and princesses, from various parts of Italy. Her eminence in scientific knowledge, could only be exceeded, which in reality it was, by her exemplary piety. At twelve years of age, she took the vow of virginity. And although afterwards, a German prince, solicited with ardour, the hand of Helena, and offered to obtain from the pope a dispensation of her vow, and was likewise assisted in his suit with the intreaties of all her relations, it was impossible to subdue her constancy. In order to cut off at a stroke, the hopes of many other importunate admirers, she was desirous of immediately entering herself a Benedictine nun; but being prevented by her father, she did all she could, which was, to renew by a written instrument, her promise of virginity, together with the addition of the other religious vows, usually taken by nuns; which, after having executed, she delivered into the hands of the abbot of the monastery of St. George, as an oblation to the Benedictine religion. This sacrifice of her liberty, was followed by her leading so exemplary a life within the walls of her father’s house, as might excite the envy of the most austere nun. Her love of retirement was so great, and such was her shame of appearing in public, that, although in obedience to her father’s commands, she suffered herself sometimes to be seen; her conforming to do it gave her such pain, that she was used to say, that obedience would cost her her life. In effect, this was but short, for she passed from it to another, at the age of thirty-eight years, with equal rejoicings of the angels, and lamentations of mankind, leaving many works, which are sufficient to eternize her fame. A number of authors were the panegyrists of this extraordinary woman, among whom, was Gregory Leti, who, in his select extracts from history, gives her the epithets of the heroine of letters, and a monster of science; calling her at the same time, an angel of beauty and candour.

SECT. XIX.

CXXXIII. Germany, in whose frozen region, Apollo has more power to inspire the mind, than to thaw the limbs, presents us with a spark from the sun, in the person of a woman of that country.

CXXXIV. This was the famous _Anna Maria Surman_, the glory of both Upper and Lower Germany; for although she was born at Cologne, her parents and ancestors were from the Low Countries. There never had appeared, till her time, a person of either sex, of more universal capacity. All the arts, and all the sciences, recognized, and submitted with equal obedience to the empire of her genius, and none of them ever made the least resistance, when this heroine undertook their conquest. At six years of age, she, without any instruction, cut, with scissars in paper, estimable and delicate figures. At eight, she learned in a few days to paint flowers, and did actually, at the end of that time, paint some, which were much prized. At ten, it did not cost her more than three hours labour, to acquire the art of embroidering with elegance, but her talents for more exalted exercises continued hid, till at twelve years of age, they were discovered in the following manner. She had two brothers, who studied at home, and it was remarked, that at various times, upon their repeating their lessons, when the memory of the boys failed them, the girl would set them right, which she was able to do without any studying, having retained the lessons, from only casually hearing her brothers repeat the words of them, while they were getting them by heart. This mark, joined to the others she had shewn, of being endowed with a capacity that was quite extraordinary, determined her father to permit his daughter to pursue her career in study, which was so correspondent with the bent of her inclination; but the swift motion, with which she passed over the extensive plains of sacred and profane erudition, ought more properly to be called a flight, than a career; and the short time in which she possessed herself of almost all the human sciences, together with sacred theology, and a great knowledge of the scripture, is as astonishing. She understood perfectly, the German, Dutch, English, French, Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, and Arabic languages. She was also endued with the gift of poetry, and composed many very sensible works in verse. In the liberal arts, she acquired applause equal to that which she had obtained in sciences and languages. She understood music scientifically, and played many instruments with dexterity. As a painter, and a statuary, she was excellent; as likewise in the art of engraving. It is related of her, that, having made her own effigy in wax, some artificial pearls, which she had introduced as ornaments to the figure, appeared so natural, that nobody would believe they were wax, till after having made the experiment of pricking them with a pin. Her letters were esteemed, and sought after, not only for the beauty of the stile, but for the elegance of the hand-writing also, insomuch, that all who saw them thought they were inimitable; hence, almost every trace of her pen, was industriously collected, as furniture worthy to adorn a cabinet. There was scarce a great man of her time, who did not give her testimonies of his esteem, and who did not solicit a literary correspondence with her. The illustrious queen of Poland, Louisa Maria Gonzaga, after being married at Paris by proxy to king Stanislaus, in her passage to that kingdom through Germany, condescended to visit Surman at her own house. She would never marry, although a matrimonial connection with her, was arduously solicited by many men of rank and fortune; particularly by Mons. Catec, pensionary of Holland, and a famous poet, who had made some verses in her eulogium, when Anna Maria was but fourteen years old. At length, this woman, who was worthy of being immortal, died in 1678, at seventy-one years of age.

SECT. XX.

CXXXV. I shall omit mentioning many more learned women, which ennobled Germany and other countries, to conclude with a recent example from Asia, as a proof, that female literature is not confined and shut up within the limits of Europe.

CXXXVI. This shall be the charming, discreet, and generous _Sitti Maani_, wife of the famous traveller, Pedro de la Valle, a Roman knight. Maani was born in Mesopotamia, in order that that country, within whose bounds, some expositors believe the garden of Paradise was planted, might be the happy spot which had produced two eminent Rachaels; for it is certain, that Haran, where the beloved wife of Jacob was born, was a place of Mesopotamia. The fame of the nobleness of her genius, the vivacity of her understanding, and the beauty of her person, had been blazoned abroad when she was very young; this excited the curiosity of Pedro de la Valle, and he was desirous of seeing a lady, of whom he had heard so many encomiums. His experience, upon the interview which was permitted him, confirmed the truth of all he had heard, inflamed in his bosom the passion of love, and caused him anxiously to solicit obtaining her for a wife, which purpose he effected; and Maani, after marrying him, not only forsook the Chaldean rites in which she had been bred up, and turned catholic herself, but persuaded her parents to do the same. It is almost incredible, what this amiable Asian acquired in a few years, and indeed the years of her life were but few; for she not only attained a knowledge of all the learning, which those countries, still strangers to the sciences, could afford, but she arrived at understanding twelve different idioms. But the bulk, as well as perfection, of her moral virtues, exceeded that of her acquisitions; among which, though not common to her sex, her courage shone the most brilliant, for she fought armed in three encounters, and with great bravery, in defence of her husband. This woman, in many ways extraordinary, eminent for her talents, and famous for her travels and voyages, in one of them, near Ormuz, became the victim of a fever, which was truly malignant, having deprived her of life at the age of twenty-one. Thus died, to the great grief of all who had known her, this new Rachael, who was so like the antient one, that it seems, as if Nature and Fortune had studiously formed the parallel; both natives of Mesopotamia; both beautiful in extreme; both married to very deserving men, who were strangers to them, and came from other countries; both alike, with respect to their determination, of forsaking the rites of their country, and following the religion of their husbands; both equally conforming, to lead a wandering life, and follow the steps of their consorts; and, in the end, both dying in the flower of their age, and on the road. But the behaviour of the two husbands, at the time of the fatal crisis, seems to have been very different; Pedro de la Valle at that period, appearing to have conducted himself with much more delicacy, than the patriarch Jacob. The last, buried his Rachael on the road, at the place where she died; though it would have corresponded better with the merit of his wife, if he had paid the same care and attention, and had taken the same precaution about her dead carcase, that he did with regard to his own, when he strictly enjoined his son Joseph, to convey it to the sepulchre of his ancestors, which was in Hebron. The tender care and regard for his wife in this last office, which seems to have been little attended to by that fond patriarch, though we should suppose it happened from some powerful reason, either mysterious or natural, which he had for omitting it, shone forth with respect to Pedro de la Valle, in acts of the most punctual and precise reality; and which, in the most refined and nice manner, expressed the affection he bore his departed consort: for after having embalmed the dead body of his adored Maani, he carried it about with him inclosed in a costly urn, four whole years, all which time, he continued to travel through, and explore various parts of Asia; with his eyes ever attentive to her ashes, and his heart and memory to her virtues: till upon returning to Rome, he deposited the remains of his beloved object, in the sepulchre of the noble family of the Valles his ancestors, which they have belonging to them, in the chapel of St. Paul, appertaining to the church of Santa Maria de _Ara Cœli_: this was done with such funeral pomp, that a more magnificent shew of this sort had scarce ever been seen, Pedro de la Valle himself, pronouncing the funeral oration; in doing which, his eyes expressed much more than his lips, as in a short time his lips ceased to move, and left the eyes to speak the rest; for it so happened, that his throat through excessive grief, was obstructed, and he was near being choaked; so that he was unavoidably obliged to leave the oration unfinished; but such of the eloquent clauses as were congealed and obstructed in the passage, melted down, and flowed in tender tears, mixed with sighs, the true and proper accents of grief, which were resounded and echoed back, by a numerous concourse of sympathetic auditors.

N.B. Sitti is a title of honour among the Persians, and equivalent to lady with us.

SECT. XXI.

CXXXVII. That the relation should not appear tedious, we have omitted many modern learned women in this catalogue, and have designedly forbore to mention the antient ones, as an account of them, may be found in an infinite number of books; but we have said enough to evince, what seems of most importance in this argument, which is, that almost all the women, who have dedicated themselves to study, have become eminent, and made considerable figures in the literary world; whereas, there are scarce three in a hundred, among the men devoted to literature, who have been remarkable for their advances in the science, or who could truly and properly, be stiled people of learning and ability.

CXXXVIII. But because this reflection may occasion the women to fancy themselves persons of much superior capacity to the men, it is but just and necessary, by way of checking such presumption, to observe, that this inequality of improvement by study, proceeds, from none of their sex being devoted to it, except those, in whom the people who have had the care of their education have remarked peculiar talents for such pursuits, or those, who have found in themselves a great propensity for literature, and a particular disposition for attaining a knowledge of the sciences; on the other hand, the men are not left to their choice in these matters; the parents, with a view of advancing their fortune, without attending to their capacities, or considering whether they are dull boys, or lads of genius, destine them to the career of letters; and the bulk of mankind being people of scanty abilities, it must unavoidably follow, that a few only can make a figure in the learned world.

CXXXIX. My opinion of the matter however is, that there is no inequality, in the capacities of the one and the other sex. But if the women, to repress the vain contemners of their aptitude for the arts and sciences, should be disposed to pass from the defensive to the offensive, and by way of playing at disputation, to contend for a superiority over the men, they may make use of the arguments I have mentioned above, by which, from the same physical maxims, wherewith the men pretend to bear down, and depreciate the capacities of the women, we have shewn, that it may with more probability be inferred, the talents and aptitude of the tender sex, excel those of the robust.

CXL. To this, we shall add the authority of Aristotle, who in various places teaches, that in all the animal species, expressly including the human, the females are more penetrating and ingenious than the males; particularly in his ninth book, _de Histor. Animal. cap. 1_, where he expresses himself in these words: _In omnibus verò, quorum procreatio est, fæminam, & marem simili ferè modo Natura distinxit moribus, quibus mas differt à fœmina: quod præcipuè tum in homine, tum etiam in iis, quæ magnitudine præstent, & quadrupedes viviparæ sint, percipitur: sunt enim fœminæ moribus mollioribus, mitescunt celerius, & malum facilius patiuntur; discunt etiam, imitanturque ingeniosius._

CXLI. This authority of Aristotle, which gives the advantage to the women, not only in docility, and softness of disposition, but allows also, that they exceed the men in ingenuity; ought to have great weight with those, who are such admirers of Aristotle, as to call him the penetrating genius of Nature, and the sum and perfection of human intelligence. But I must caution the women, not to put too much confidence in Aristotle: because, although in the place we have just cited, he ennobles them with a superiority in point of perspicuity; a little lower down, he is very liberal in his abuse of them, and says, they are greatly addicted to mischief: _Verum malitiosiores, astutiores, insidiores fœminæ sunt_; and although just afterwards, he concedes them the preference to the men, in the noble attribute of tenderness or compassion, he instantly stigmatizes and marks them, with the blemishes of envy, evil-speaking, inveteracy, and other such bad qualities: _Ita quod mulier, misericors magis, & ad lacrymas propensior, quam vir est: invida item magis, & querela & maledicentior, & mordacior._ Upon the whole, I am not clear, whether the ladies will accept the advantage of ingenuity which this philosopher has thought fit to confer on them, loaded with the charges he has been pleased to annex to it; we may however conclude from the premises, that when such a man, who was so ill disposed towards them, admits as a fundamental, that they are more ingenious than men, the evidence of their abilities does not rest on slight ground.

SECT. XXII.

CXLII. It occurs to me here, that it is necessary to say something of the aptitude of women for those arts, which are more elevated than those they commonly exercise themselves in; such as painting, and sculpture. Very few women have dedicated themselves to these applications, but of those few, some have turned out excellent artists. We have already said of the admirable Maria Surman, that she was eminent in painting, sculpture, and engraving.

CXLIII. In Italy, the three sisters, _Sophonisba_, _Lucia_, and _Europa Angosciola_, were celebrated painters; the first of which, Isabella, queen of Spain, the wife of Philip the Second, took into her service, and she was in such high repute, that pope Pius IV. solicited a portrait of that queen, done by the hand of Sophonisba.

CXLIV. _Irene de Spilimberg_ was so excellent in the same art, that her paintings were often taken for those of Titian, who was her contemporary. Fate snatched her away at the age of twenty-six, which event caused universal grief, and drew tears from the eyes of her competitor.

CXLV. _Teresa de Po_ was held in great estimation at Naples as a painter; and precious traits of her pencil, may be seen in the cabinet of the most excellent marquis of Villena, who employed her when she was vice-queen of Naples.

CXLVI. And even in statuary, Italy has produced famous women. _Propercia de Rossi_ was generally applauded for her beautiful designs, and well-wrought statues in marble; but the distinguished _Labinia Fontana_, acquired greater applause than her, or indeed than any one else. I have had information of but one female painter in France, though she was of the first rate. This was _Isabela Sophia de Cheron_, known by the name of _Madame le Hai_; who, over and above possessing talents beyond the degree of mediocrity, for music and poetry, was a most finished painter; and became so celebrated for her skill in this art, that the dauphin, who was son to Louis XIV. employed her to paint him and all his children: and Casimir, king of Poland, who, after his voluntary abdication of that crown, resided in Paris, caused her to do the same for him, and many people of the first rank and quality in France followed their example; and even deigned to go and sit at the house of Isabela, which the prince of Condé did several times. The emperor Joseph, endeavoured to draw her to Vienna, by the offer of a large pension; but not being able to prevail on her, he sent her the drawings of his own likeness, and those of all the imperial family, that from them she might paint their portraits. Her designs and colouring, were exquisite, and her facility of execution, wonderful, for she would continue to bear a part in whatever conversation occurred, without giving the least relaxation to the operations of the pencil; but her christian and generous actions, added to the piety of her spirit, made her more esteemed, than the traits of her hand; and she died as she lived, in the year 1711.

CXLVII. But where the equal degree of aptitude in the women for the noble arts, compared to that of the men, is most conspicuous, is in the instance of music, which is a faculty suited indifferently to either sex; as the females who apply themselves to it, in proportion to the time they study, generally make as great progress as the men do; nor does a master of this art, find more difficulty in teaching girls than boys. I knew one girl of this profession, who, before she arrived at the age of fifteen, was a composer. I have purposely, in the mention of so many illustrious women, avoided touching on the exquisite endowments of our most enlightened queen, Donna Isabel of Farnese, because it would have been presumption in so gross a pen as mine, to undertake the discussion of so sublime a subject; and because another, much better cut, and superiorly qualified for the task, has, between the escutcheons of her royal house, drawn some traces of the excellencies and splendor of her person.

SECT. XXIII.

CXLVIII. I am aware now, that against all I have said, it may be replied to me to this effect: If women are equal to men, in their aptitude for arts, sciences, political œconomy, and government, why has God established the mastery, and superiority in the men, by the sentence in the third chapter of Genesis, which says, _Sub viri potestate eris?_ Because it is probable, he gave the government to that sex, which he knew to be most capable of executing it.

CXLIX. I answer first, that the specific meaning of the text is not certainly known, on account of the variation in the versions. The reading in the Septuagint is: _Ad virum conversio tua._ In the Aquilean: _Ad virum societas tua._ In the Samaritan: _Ad virum appetitus, vel impetus tuus._ And the learned Benedict Perceyra says, that by translating the Hebrew literally, the sentence will run thus: _Ad virum desiderium, vel concupiscentia tua._

CL. I answer secondly, that it might be insisted, the political subjection of the woman was absolutely a punishment for her sin, and therefore, that in the state of innocence there was no such thing. The text at least does not contradict such an opinion; for it rather seems, that if it had been intended the woman should obey the man in the state of innocence, God would have intimated this subjection, at the time he formed her; and from these premises, it cannot so properly be inferred, that God gave the man the preference, on account of his possessing an understanding superior to the woman’s, as that it was done, because she gave the first occasion to sin.

CLI. I say thirdly, that admitting, God from the beginning gave the rule over the woman to the man, it does not follow from thence, that he endued him with an understanding superior to her’s; but it rather seems likely, this was done for the sake of maintaining family order and decorum, for allowing them to be equal in point of talents, unless the government and direction was vested in one, all would be anarchy and confusion. Among the probable species of governments, the moral philosophers, copying after Aristotle, have held or considered, that which is called the Timocracian, to be the worst and most exceptionable: for by this, all the individuals of the republic have equal authority, and an equal voice; but in the case of a man and his wife, this mode of directing, with respect to œconomical government, would not only be imperfect, but impossible; for among a multitude of people, where there is a variety of opinions, the dispute may be decided by a plurality of votes; which cannot be done between a man and his wife, for they are one, to one; and thus if they should happen to be of different sentiments, unless one of them had the superiority, the point could never be settled; but it may be said, why, if their capacities were equal, should God think fit to give the superiority to the men? Various reasons and motives may be assigned for this, such as his excelling the women in many other useful qualities, for example, constancy and courage; which virtues, are necessary for making proper determinations, and for supporting them after they are made, by subduing and bearing down all the obstacles, produced by vain and light fears; but we should do better, instead of reasoning in this way, to confess, we for the most part are ignorant of the motives of divine resolutions.

SECT. XXIV.

CLII. I shall conclude this discourse, by endeavouring to set aside an exception that may be made to the undertaking; which is, that persuading mankind of the intellectual equality of both sexes, does not seem to be productive of any utility to the public, but is rather likely to occasion mischief, as it tends to foment in the women, presumption and pride.

CLIII. I might reply to this scruple, by only saying, that, in whatever matter that may present itself to our reflection, knowing the truth, and setting aside error, is an utility which is apparent, and of itself sufficient to justify our enquiry. The right understanding of things, is of itself estimable, without regard to any other end or object in the creation. Truths have their intrinsic value: and the stock, or riches of the understanding, does not consist of any other money. Some pieces are more valuable than others, but none are useless. Nor can the truth we have proved, of itself, induce in the women vanity or presumption. If they, in the perfections of the soul, are truly equal to us, there can be no harm in their knowing, or being sensible of it. St. Thomas, speaking of vain-glory, says, this sin is not incurred by a man’s knowing, or being convinced of the perfection he possesses, and which is contained in him: _Quod autem aliquis bonum suum cognoscat, & approbet, non est peccatum (2 Quæst. 132. Art. 1.)_ and in another place, speaking of presumption, he says, this vice is always founded in some error or mistake of the understanding: _Præsumptio autem est motus appetitivus, quia importat quondam spem inordinatam, habet autem se conformiter intellectui falso (Quæst. 22. Art. 2.)_ The women then, by knowing what they are, if they don’t estimate their qualifications above their real value, can never become vain-glorious, or presumptuous; but by attending to the thing, it will be found, the deception this chapter is calculated to remove, will rather have a different effect; and instead of adding presumption to the women, will take it away from the men.

CLIV. Though I go further, and maintain, the maxim we have established, is not only incapable of occasioning any moral evil, but that it may be productive of much good. Consider, how many men the imagined superiority of talents, has emboldened to attempt criminal conquests over the other sex. In every encounter, the confidence, or diffidence of a person’s own strength or power, goes a great way towards determining the event of the conflict. The man, presuming on the advantage of his superior understanding, proposes boldly; the woman, judging herself inferior, listens with respect. Who can deny, that such circumstances promote a great tendency and disposition, to his becoming a conqueror, and her falling a victim?

CLV. Let the women then know, that, in point of understanding, they are not inferior to the men. They will then determine with confidence, on repelling and refuting those sophisms, by which, under the colour and pretence of reason and arguments, the men attempt injustice and injuries. If a woman can be persuaded, that a man compared to her, is an oracle, she will lend an attentive ear to the most indignant proposition, and will reverence as an infallible truth, the most notorious falsehood. It is very well known, into what acts of turpitude many women have been drawn, by the sect called Molinists, who, before their practices upon them, were esteemed very virtuous persons. This perversion, proceeded from no other cause, than their having considered these Molinists, as men of superior lights and talents, and their having entertained an extreme distrust of their own understandings, when they represented to them clearly, the falsity of those venomous dogmas.

CLVI. There is another consideration to be attended to, which is of great importance in this matter. It is certain, that every one submits easily, and without reluctance, to a person, who he is sensible has some notable advantage over him. A man serves another man without regret, who is more noble than himself, but he does it with great repugnance, if they happen to be equal in birth. The same thing is observable, or may be applied to the case we are treating of. If a woman is under the mistake, that a man is of a much more noble sex than herself, and that she, from a defect in her’s, in comparison to him, is a poor contemptible animal of little value, she will think it no shame to submit to him; and by these pre-disposing circumstances, being aided with the flattery of obsequiousness, she may be betrayed into esteeming that as an honour, which in reality is ignominious. To use the words of St. Leon’s exclamation to the men, let the women then know their dignity, and let them be sensible, that, in point of intellectual capacity, our sex has no advantage over them, and that it will ever be opprobrious and vile in them, to allow a man the dominion of their bodies, save when he is empowered to claim it, by the authority, and under the sanction, of holy matrimony.

CLVII. I have not yet told all the utility, which, in a moral sense, will result to both the men and the women, by extricating them from the error they lay under, with respect to the inequality of the sexes. I firmly believe, this error is the cause, of many marriage-beds having been dishonoured and contaminated with adulteries. It may seem that I am entangling myself in a strange paradox, but this is not the case; I having done no more, than assert an established truth. Attend.

CLVIII. A few months after the souls of two consorts, are united together by the matrimonial bond, a woman begins to lose that estimation, which she at first obtained, as a delectable object newly acquired, and recently possessed. The man, passes from tenderness to lukewarmness, which lukewarmness many times, comes to end in contempt, and positive disestimation. When the husband arrives at this vicious extreme, he, presuming on the advantages which he supposes to be annexed to the superiority of his sex, begins to triumph over, and insult his wife; instructed by, and versed in those sentences, which pronounce, that the most which a woman can attain, may be attained by a boy of fourteen years old, and that it is in vain, to seek for either sense or prudence in them, together with other ridiculous, and injurious reflections of the same kind; treating every thing he observes in his wife, with the utmost contempt. In this situation, if the poor woman attempts to remonstrate, she is accused of raving; all she says, is impertinent, and foreign to the purpose; all she does is wrong. If she is handsome, the attraction of her beauty stands her in little stead, for its charm is dissolved, and the security of possessing it, has made it of no value. The husband only recollects, that his wife is an imperfect animal; and if he neglects her, will upbraid the most spotless woman with being a vase of impurities.