Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1859-04-06
Mstellanlons.
GA Plea for Woman.1

Once before, We briefly noticed an address
delivered by Rev. Tnos. A. HoYT, on the
subject of female education, and bearing the
above title. We now take it up again, to
make liberal extracts from its pages; and we
ask the earnest attention of all who have
daughters to educate, and Of those daughters
also, to the enlightened suggestions Of the
reverend orator.
The first part of the address is historical,
showing the estimation in which woman has
been leld in different ages, and her advance
ment to- her true position in society since the
full blaze of the Christian Dispensation
brought about by the Reformation.
Next, he discusses the question, "'rhat is
an adequate education for sron,an r'-and
having made good by high authorities the
position that she is scarcely grade below
man in mental endowments, he proceeds to
say that she deserves as liberal an education
as man, exclusive Of merely professional &C.
quirements. lie congratulate, woman upon
the absence Of the necessity, in her position,
of these warping attainments. Says he:
at is the singular felicity of woman, that
at no period of her education is she subjected
to these one.sided influences. The one noble
object before her is to train, to develop, and
to Inform her mind. The end in view is not
this or that special avocation, hut her own
perfection as q woman; consequently, what
ever studies are best adapted to cultivate
fully and harnuniously her whole nature,
should constitute the training Of these fair
landmarks of Minerva"
The speaker tl:en asks the question, What
auiu do this And from his remarks determin-
ing this enquiry, We copy several passages Of
interest:
"Ti,ne was, when the highest aim Of wo-
man Was 10 be good housewife. and too
many of our ladies at present are satisfied
with the attainment. Now this branch o!
knowledge is not to be desriseL, and there
is q counter danger Of its being neglected,
against which would warn my female hear.
crs. Household thrift is necessary and
valuable attribute of wops5. Domestic
health and comfort, the physical wel.being
| Of children-with which their higher we'll
being is closely cannected--the bappi-
ness of husband, father and brother, and the
pleasures of h.tne, all i'll great measure de-
pend on it. But it is not the chief end Of
our wives and daughters to cook bread and
darn stockings.
",Next came the ides, that what are called
Accomplishments, are the highest good Of
woman. kind. Females were excluded from
were not fit for these studies, or that these
studies were not fit for them. That we ure
STILL to some extent, under the influence Of
this delrisiun, is apparent from the fact that
the grade of education in their institutions is
inferior to that Of our male Colleges.
@Now | wish to advocate Literature, rs
against mere housekeeping, and against
mere ornament. claim HGeraL education
as the rightiul boon of woman.
s.lt Is not necessary that should stop to
define accurately what is meant by liberal
education. The general sense of the term is
well understood. II is such all education as
is afforded by the better class OF Colleges in
this country, and Great Britain, and more
complete in the German Universities"
81 commend, Us the chief parts Of that
liberal education which l have claimed for
woman, Metaphysics and the A'cient Clas-
sizes.
The eloquent gentleman's argument for
the study of Metaphysics is conclusive, and
We wish we had room for it here. But if
our young ladies would only go with him to
the extent of the Classics, we would be sat-
isfled for the nonce. Upon his point Dir.
HoYT thus discourses:
81 urge tho Elassics, because standing