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74 DOMESTIC LIFE.
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.
"In A Multitude Of Councillorsthere , Is...
any worldly purpose . That which , bestows the " power of _judging rightly—the knowledge of divine and human things ; " that which ,
" makes men judge what are the best ends , and what the best means to attain them , and gives a man advantage of council and direction /'
must be cultivated by all who wish to produce a given effect upon their generation . And how is this to be attained?—not by studies ,,
or special knowledges _; for Bacon says that " wise men use _tJiem _? for they teach not their own use , but that is a wisdom without
them and above them , won . hy observation . " By observation then we must become wise in our generation ;
not by a narrow descent , on and fear of particulars , but by summing up these into their results , hearing what everybody has to say , and
deducting thence a reasonable estimate of the wisdom of the course we take . That intellect which is firmly rooted in a clear moral
conviction , and yet possesses the most rapid power of absorbing and analysing the opinions of others and the experience of daily
life , will be the wisest in its practical work ; firm , without rigidity ; clear , without shallowness ; humble , without weakness ; practical ,
without presumption . These thoughts have been induced hy the receipt of many letters
from correspondents in all parts of the country , letters which by reason of their number , their length , and our very limited space ,
we have not been able to admit into "Open Council , " and which we have yet been glad to receiveas indications of the vital interest
, which our Journal inspires , and of the many currents of opinion flowing into one common channel—a desire for the true
improvement of women . Nobody who remembers the fable of the gold and silver shield will be surprised to hear that the most
opposite objections are sometimes raised to the particular line in which we steer ; one letter complaining that we ig : nore the whole
problem , or cluster of problems , relating to domestic life , and to the home , another censuring us for wishing to drive women down into
a narrow sphere of household work . Singularly enough these two letters severally refer to two articles which proceeded froin the same
pen , and cannot therefore be accounted for by the diversity of opinion which will leak out among * the different contributors to a magazine ;
— -contributors who in our case differ widely in age , sex , and circumstance .
As therefore we entitled the first article of our last number , Professions for Women , we will try to touch with a very cautious hand ,
a subject infinitely more difficult , because of infinitely more importance , that of Domestic Life .
. The first letter which we open bears the signature of " M . A . B . " and commences thus , " I have noticed with regret that whenever the
subject of " Work for Women " has been handled in your Journal , the claims of Domestic life seem to be entirely overlookedor , at
, most , little regarded . "
We would fain draw the attention of our correspondent and of
74 Domestic Life.
74 DOMESTIC _LIFE .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Oct. 1, 1858, page 74, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01101858/page/2/
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