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Our Gift by Boston Teachers of the School Street Universalist Sunday School
page 61 of 98 (62%)
renders her the dutiful and obedient daughter, the kind and affectionate
sister, the trusting and loving companion, and the fond and tender
parent. The old adage, "woman must be _ignorant_ in order to be useful,"
has been long thrown aside among the rubbish of the past, and remembered
only as a relic of the superstitions of other days. _Home_, with its
duties, is woman's sphere of action; and, to fulfil properly those
duties, _she must be educated_; she must not be kept in intellectual
bondage, but must be fully awakened to the responsibilities of her
station. It is she who watches over our infancy, guides our childhood,
presents to our infant minds the rudiments of knowledge, and cheers us
in our progress by showing us the honors which attend those who acquire
_true wisdom_, and therefore must her mind be early taught to comprehend
the duties which devolve upon her.

A broad field is that of Education; and while she strives to make
acquisitions in the various branches of knowledge, let her not forget
that _better_ education of the mind and heart. Talent, without virtue to
guide, is like a ship without sails or rudder, exposed to the wild winds
of the storm on the broad expanse of the ocean. What sadder spectacle
can there be, than to behold a mind employing its talents and its
learning in endeavoring to lead its fellow-beings away from the paths of
rectitude, disregarding the laws of God and man, and refusing to
acknowledge the Source that gave it birth? From such an example we turn
with sorrow and disgust, and gladly look to those good and noble ones
who have adorned their sex. The names of Hannah More, Maria Edgeworth,
Felicia Hemans, Letitia Landon, Harriet Martineau, and a host of others,
show what woman can do when properly educated; for they are equally
distinguished in private, for their amiable and domestic qualities, as
in public for their high intellectual attainments. Let woman follow
their example, never failing to embrace all opportunities presented to
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