The Learned Lady in England, 1650-1760Reynolds, Myra
History
The Learned Lady in England, 1650-1760
Reynolds, Myra
Women -- Education -- Great Britain; Women -- Great Britain; Women authors, English
10. The final and crucial objection is elaborately stated:
"How shall time be found to teach children these things here
proposed? Boys go to school ordinarily from seven till sixteen or
seventeen, and not above one in four attain so much knowledge in
the Tongues as to be admitted into the University, where no great
accuracy is required, and they learn nothing else usually besides
a little History. Gentlewomen will not ordinarily be sent out so
soon, nor is it convenient they should continue so long. Further,
half their time, it is supposed, must be spent in learning those
things that concern them as Women. Twice as many things are
proposed to be taught Girls in half the time, as Boyes do learn,
which is impossible."
The rest of the article is taken up with an analysis of Lilly's
_Grammar_, to show how slow and burdensome and distasteful are its
methods, and to an analysis of the short cuts to knowledge devised
by Mrs. Makin and Mr. Lewis. For instance, Lilly's long rule for
substantives is simplified into, "Any word with _a_, _an_, or _the_
in front of it is a substantive." If you wish to distinguish between
a noun and an adjective you have but to note that nouns change
when you make a plural, adjectives do not. And so on with many
shrewd little tricks of learning whereby the parts of speech may
be known at a glance, the nature of said parts of speech not being
in question. The whole of Mrs. Makin's scope and plan of education
seems superficial and uncoördinated until seen in the light of the
contemporary training of boys as she describes it. Then her system
seems alive and energetic in its effort to slough off non-essentials.
In passing, Mrs. Makin frequently utters wise and far-seeing opinions
concerning the education of girls.
If any desire to know what they should be instructed in? I
answer: I cannot tell where to begin to admit Women, nor from
what part of Learning to exclude them, in regard of their
Capacities. The whole _Encyclopoedia_ of Learning may be useful
some way or other to them. "Grammar, Rhetorick, Logick, Physick,
the Tongues, Mathematics, Geography, History, Musick, Painting,
Poetry"--all of these should be open to women, and all could be
advantageously used by them.
With regard to the pleasures of the student she says, "Delight and
Pleasure are the attendants on Learning."
There is no pleasure greater than what is founded in Knowledge;
it is the First Fruits of Heaven, and a glimpse of that Glory we
afterwards expect. There is in all an innate desire of knowing,
and the satisfying this is the greatest pleasure. Men are very
cruel, that give them leave to look at a distance, only to know
they do not know; to make any thus to tantalize is a great
torment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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