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NOTICES OF BOOKS. 353
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Foreign Literature.
Wife were nearly equal in the state , the family , and the tribe . The men consulted them , and , as in the old Germanic tribes , they were
supposed to be often inspired . The Jewish prophetess , Deborah , were may be very considered active , exciting as a type 1 the of courage this class of . the In men the b tim y their e of app war lause they ,
attending the warriors to battle , and often taking * part in the struggle . From the time of Mahomet women have had but a rare and exceptional influence upon society . They are no _longer the poets
of the tribes ; there are female singers and musicians , but they depend on the rich , and are not honored .
During the wars of Mahomet , the women of the " Gentiles " opposed him with a fury and courage equalling that of the men .
On his side female warriors were not wanting , but the pagan women far exceeded the Islamite women in influence and and what
force of character is seen on the side of Mahomet among energy , the women xnay . be regarded as the last sparks of the wild fire of the heathen
which the religion and social policy of Islamism soon smothered . , The name of Aichah , the beloved of the prophetstands out as the
most prominent of the women of Islam ; next to , her our old friend Zobeidah , the wife of the good Haroun-el-Raschid . Zobeidah was
consulted in all affairs of difficulty , delicacy , or danger , and often chose ministers and officers of state . The first wife of the het
prop was Cadig * a , the rich widow , who , as is well known , married her steward , the famous Mahomet . Why did the prophet , who owed
so much to women , adopt a policy towards them debasing alike to his sex * and theirs ? "I command you to have a care for women
your , for with you they are as your captives and your prisoners " he says , and very soon he reduced the unfortunate prisoners to the state of
household furniture . Yet in the different Hegiras we find the names of a few female saints and warriors and distinguished scholars . In
the fifth Hegira , —i . _# ., the eleventh century , —in the time of Harounel-Raschid , Chohdah was remarkable for her learning . She was a
distinguished professor at Bagdad , and had a large number of male pupils _jbut no women . History gives her the title of Fakhr-el-mica _,
giory of women , or chief of "women ; she is always considered as one of the savants of Islamism . Chohdah was remarkable for the
beautiful manner in w \ bich . she copied Arabian MSS ., no easy accomplishment . She gave lectures in the great at Bagdad
on the ancient books of Maeariel Ockchak . mosque After a remarkable , and successful life she died at the age of ninety . There are no other
names in the long years that follow , that are prominent enough to admit of a notice in our short review .
At the present time , among * the Arabs of Algeria , there are some who have adopted French civilization , and are as proficient as many
French ladies , in reading , writing , and embroidery . We know one and who is teacher in Madame Luce ' s school , in the town of Algiers ,
pretty whose little j acquirement acketted and s are trousered consider g able irls . may Perh be ap some s among who will the
vol . in . 2 c
Notices Of Books. 353
NOTICES OF BOOKS . 353
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), July 1, 1859, page 353, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01071859/page/65/
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