sphere
into the clear, truthful light of eternity; shall cast off the devices,
the flimsy pretences, the temporary shows, the convenient disguises, of
this mortal life of mixed substance and shadow, and stand a bare, naked,
unclothed fact of being before itself, the universe, and God. Alas! what
multitudes of real dwarfs go out every day, 'unhouseled,' into that
searching light of eternity.

To be the builder of a fair and comely character; to chisel out a work
that shall please the eye of God Himself, in whose estimation Beauty,
being His own attribute, is a most holy thing; to see that work of
beauty take its place in the well-filled gallery of eternity, and to
know that it is your own immortal monument--is this not scope enough,
honor enough, praise and glory enough? If women would but rise to the
height of their real mission, and faithfully and earnestly assume the
rights and fulfil the duties which God has specially devolved upon them,
they would so lead man and society up to a higher point that the claims
they put forth need not be discussed for an hour; because, then, having
proved their adaptability to make good use of every lawful right,
society, which in the end always adjusts its forces properly and
instinctively, will have tacitly fallen into the necessity or the
feasibility of granting them.

Let man erect his scientific formulas, his schools of philosophy, his
structures of reason and thought; let him bid the giant forces of nature
go in harness for his schemes of improvement or aggrandizement; and by
all means let the intellect of woman be cultivated to comprehend
intelligently the marvels of man's work; let her, if she will, measure
the stellar distances, study the mechanical principles or the learned
professions, make a picture or write a book; and there have been women,
true and noble women, who have done all these, women who have proved
themselves capable of as high attainments, as keen and subtile thought
as man; but let her never for such as these abdicate her own nobler
work, neglecting the greater for the less. If a woman has a special
gift, let her exercise it; if she has a particular mission, let her work
it out. Few women, though, are of this elect class. I do not despise,
but rather encourage, natural gifts. But I would have women never forget
that it is not for what they may possibly add to the sum of human
knowledge that the world values them, primarily. _That_ some man is as
likely to do