Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women: On the Various Duties of Life, Physical, Intellectual, And; Moral Development; Self-Culture, Improvement, Dress, Beauty,; Fashion, Employment, Education, The Home Relations, Their; Duties To Young Men, Marriage, Womanhood And Happiness.Weaver, G. S. (George Sumner)
Science
Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women: On the Various Duties of Life, Physical, Intellectual, And; Moral Development; Self-Culture, Improvement, Dress, Beauty,; Fashion, Employment, Education, The Home Relations, Their; Duties To Young Men, Marriage, Womanhood And Happiness.
Weaver, G. S. (George Sumner)
Conduct of life; Young women
women still, but in character as much antiquated as in custom. This is
to be looked for in the very nature of things. We know that woman's
education in the future is to be quite different from what it was in
the past. We know that the improvements in science and mechanics are
making rapid changes in the nature of the labor of life. Women are fast
entering into new fields of labor. Who knows but the sewing, cooking,
washing, and much else that woman now does, will in a great measure be
done by machinery? If so, woman will be left free to employ herself
elsewhere. There must be a change. It will probably be for the better.
The change will require the culture of new powers or forces in the
female character. Woman will rise, not fall. Her character must rise.
The young women ought to know it, and be preparing for it. Is the
Girlhood of to-day a fit preparation for the duties that will devolve
upon the women of the next generation? Parents ought to ask themselves
this question. And all young women should consider it well. The elements
of a true female character should be carefully studied. It would be well
if some strong hand should write out the moral philosophy of Girlhood as
a book for schools and academics as well as families, that every young
woman might have line upon line and precept upon precept, in the
formation of her character. All desire to possess a true character, but
all do not know how to acquire it.
A second duty devolves upon Girlhood. It is to preserve its physical
health and strength. The richest mind is of but little avail to the
world if locked up in a feeble, sickly body. The noblest character would
not half make its impression on the world if it was imprisoned in
weakness and barricaded with disease. A woman can not be herself unless
she possesses physical as well as mental and moral strength. Girlhood
has both beauty and strength. Why may they not be carried into
womanhood? Shall not the wife and mother retain the beauty and health of
the girl? Shall not the woman retain the physical integrity of the girl?
There is no good reason why she shall not. Health and strength were made
to be life-lasting, or nearly so. So beauty is a rich gift of the Divine
Artist given for life. Why should we dissipate it in an hour? It is
ungrateful, impious to do it. We ought to prize and retain it as a
divine benefaction. God could as well have made Girlhood ugly as
beautiful. His wisdom and love chose to make it a model of grace and
elegance. Has he laid a necessity upon woman's nature that this beauty
shall last but an hour? Far from it. On the other hand, he has made
every provision for its preservation. Why, then, is it not preserved?
Simply because Girlhood is not instructed in the science of health or
life. And this is not so much the fault of young women as it is of
parents and society. We study astronomy in all our schools, but where is
a class instructed in the economy of health? True, some go through a
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