became that Athena of the olive-helm, and cloudy shield, to faith in
whom you owe, down to this date, whatever you hold most precious in
art, in literature, or in types of national virtue.

But I will not wander into this distant and mythical element; I will
only ask you to give its legitimate value to the testimony of these
great poets and men of the world,--consistent, as you see it is, on
this head. I will ask you whether it can be supposed that these
men, in the main work of their lives, are amusing themselves with a
fictitious and idle view of the relations between man and woman;--
nay, worse than fictitious or idle; for a thing may be imaginary,
yet desirable, if it were possible: but this, their ideal of woman,
is, according to our common idea of the marriage relation, wholly
undesirable. The woman, we say, is not to guide, nor even to think
for herself. The man is always to be the wiser; he is to be the
thinker, the ruler, the superior in knowledge and discretion, as in
power.

Is it not somewhat important to make up our minds on this matter?
Are all these great men mistaken, or are we? Are Shakespeare and
AEschylus, Dante and Homer, merely dressing dolls for us; or, worse
than dolls, unnatural visions, the realization of which, were it
possible, would bring anarchy into all households and ruin into all
affections? Nay, if you can suppose this, take lastly the evidence
of facts, given by the human heart itself. In all Christian ages
which have been remarkable for their purity or progress, there has
been absolute yielding of obedient devotion, by the lover, to his
mistress. I say OBEDIENT;--not merely enthusiastic and worshipping
in imagination, but entirely subject, receiving from the beloved
woman, however young, not only the encouragement, the praise, and