[Character by Samuel Smiles]@TWC D-Link bookCharacter CHAPTER XI 10/65
But the happiness of woman, as of man, depends in a great measure upon her individual completeness of character.
And that self-dependence which springs from the due cultivation of the intellectual powers, conjoined with a proper discipline of the heart and conscience, will enable her to be more useful in life as well as happy; to dispense blessings intelligently as well as to enjoy them; and most of all those which spring from mutual dependence and social sympathy. To maintain a high standard of purity in society, the culture of both sexes must be in harmony, and keep equal pace.
A pure womanhood must be accompanied by a pure manhood.
The same moral law applies alike to both. It would be loosening the foundations of virtue, to countenance the notion that because of a difference in sex, man were at liberty to set morality at defiance, and to do that with impunity, which, if done by a woman, would stain her character for life.
To maintain a pure and virtuous condition of society, therefore, man as well as woman must be pure and virtuous; both alike shunning all acts impinging on the heart, character, and conscience--shunning them as poison, which, once imbibed, can never be entirely thrown out again, but mentally embitters, to a greater or less extent, the happiness of after-life. And here we would venture to touch upon a delicate topic.
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