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I " INSANITY: ITS CAUSE AND .• CUBE. 13
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
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I of feniale education . What wonder If th . 9 course of _training and tne mode of life we reprobate should sow and cherish the seeds of
insanity unsanitary . conditions Over-excitem to ent which and the aimlessness human , mind are two can " of be subjected the most ,
and it is easy to trace to them restlessness , melancholy , and tendency to the ainful class of hysterical affections ; then comes the overthrow
of some p cherished hope , the disappointment of some overpowering affection , and the final plunge into t ] ie abyss of madness .
Disappointed affection is set down as the immediate cause of a large proportion of the female cases in our lunatic asylums . Of
course we have not a word to say against the due develoj > ment of the affections ; we would not have them weakened , we would only
have the judgment and the will strengthened , which need not be done at their expensebut ought to contribute to their power and
elevation . But if perfect , sanity consists in the right balance of all the in the sway of the reason , and in the control of the
passions powers and , emotionsthen it cannot consist with affections which the guidance , of reasonwith emotions which refuse to be
whole under escape the mental control structure of their into possessor ruin , . , and An may undue at p any lace time is given throw to the the
affectional nature of women . They are taug'ht from their infancy that affection is their most lovely and lovable quality . And so it
is , but only in conjunction with other and higher qualities . In natures of no great depth of any kind , the result of the stimulants
_applied is a mannerism of affection fatal to all truth of character , while "in natures really affectionate it develops the feelings into
morbid power . . And what in reality is the worth of that affection which has no discriminationno foundation in justice and truth ,
, which lavishes equal fondness on a favorite lap-dog and the dearest of friendswhich will as readily lend itself to cherish the most selfish _,
propensities , of an ignoble nature , as to satisfy the heart of the noblest and worthiest ?
Now we begin , we suppose , to show the cloven foot , to make a demand for strong-minded women . Yes , we own it , while
repudiating much that this most abused term has been made to include . Strength is not coarseness ; on the contrary , it is nature ' s
foundation for ease and symmetry and grace : and without that foundation , the beautiful superstructure is short-lived and insecure . This is
true equally of the graces of person and of mind , as all _wKo have we come aknesses closely will in be contact ready with enoug what h to confess considered . That the a woman amiable ' s
strength of judgment and strength of moral purpose should equal the strength of her affections , ought surely to be the guiding
maxim upon which her training should proceed , even if the harmony and beauty of her nature were the only things to be considered , and
it is only when this perfect balance is approximated to , that we approximate to the perfect woman , _higli-minded and sincere , and at
the same time tender and graceful .
I " Insanity: Its Cause And .• Cube. 13
I " INSANITY : ITS CAUSE AND . CUBE . 13
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Sept. 1, 1859, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01091859/page/13/
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