other. Men and women are both
involved, but women differently from men, because women themselves are
very different from men. The difference between men and women is the
whole difference between a religion and a moral code. Men are pagan.
They have never been Christian. Women are wholly Christian, and have
assimilated the entire genius of Christianity.

"The ideal of conduct which men have followed has been one of
self-realization, tempered by a broad principle of equity which has been
translated into practice by means of a code of laws. A man's desire and
ideal has been to satisfy the wants which a consciousness of his several
senses gives rise to. His vision of attainment has therefore been a
sensuous one, and if in his desire for attainment he has transgressed
the law, his transgression has sat but lightly upon him. A law is an
objective thing, laid upon a man's will from outside. It does not enter
the inner recesses of consciousness, as does a religion. It is nothing
more than a body of prohibitions and commands, which can be obeyed,
transgressed or evaded with little injury to the soul. With women moral
matters have been wholly different. Resting for support upon a religion,
their moral code has received its sanction and force from within. It has
thus laid hold on consciousness with a far more tenacious grip. Their
code being subjective, transgression has meant a darkening of the
spirit, a sullying of the soul. Thus the doctrine of self-renunciation,
which is the outstanding feature of Christian ethics, has had the most
favorable circumstances to insure its realization, and with women it has
won completely--so completely that it now exerts its influence
unconsciously. Seeking the realization of the will of others, and not
their own, ever waiting upon the minds of others, women have almost lost
the instinct for self-realization, the instinct for achievement in their
own persons."

Whether she is right is a moot question. Certainly in such matters as
testimony in court, the customs-tariff, and the minor city ordinances,
women show no particular respect for the law. Ibsen sought in "The
Doll's House" to show that her morality had no connection with the laws
of the world of men. Even in matters of human relationship it is
doubtful if women give any more of an "inner assent" to law than do men.
Woman's failure to achieve that domination of the world which
constitutes individuality and freedom--this Dora Marsden would e