The record-union., 1893-06-08
HOMAGE TO WOMEN.
The inclination of Brute Force tc
Moral Power.

Moral Power.
Language, even more than institutions,
shows always this recognition of some-
thing higher in the feminine nature, even
where the actual and visible woman was
most deSpised and wronged. In the new
volume of extracts from Thoreau's de-
lightful diaries - the volume called
A utunln-we find Thoreau, a celibate and
a lonely man, dwelling with admiration
upon this evidence from language. The
practice Of giving the feminine gender 10
all ideal eXcellences perSonlhed is mark
of refinement observable in the mythOlO-
gies of even the most barbarous nations.
| Glory and victory are even Of the iemi-
nine gender, but it takes manly qualities
to get them. Man is masculine, but his
manliness (UfFtHS) feminine. 1t is the
inclination Of brute force to moral
power" Among the Greeks, while
mind was masculine, truth, honor and
country were feminine; and so were
strength, force. art. Most of these char
acteristics extend into modern languages;
thus in German, while intellect der Yer
StdHdj is masculine, the soul (die See{e)
is feminine; and though country (ddS
Land has become neuter, yet country
in the sense of landscape or neigh
borhood (oiie Ld7IdSchdtt, de GegeHD
is still feminine. OF course it will
not do to press these analogies very
far. but there Is no doubt that some in
stinctive feeling of fitness lies behind the
gender of words in languages which still
retain that very inconvenient and puz-
Zling characteristic.
1t is when we pass into the realm of
mythology. and see that every system of
manifold deties has its goddesses, often
equal, sometimes superior to the gods,
that we see the instructive recognition of
the feminine element. The mysterious
deity who remains in the background,
who gave birth to the very gods them
selves, and to whom they are TO return,
is quite as likely to be woman as a
man. Behind the all-powerful Zeus or
Jupiter stands his mother, Cybele or
Rhea, "the mother of the gods'; and,
| though she had a husband, Saturn, yet
his worship was local and almost trivial
compared to the wide extent and vast
dignity of hers. Readers of Keats ''Hy-
perion" will remember that while Saturn
Is painted as old, palsied, and powerless,
his wife Rhea is still young, beautiful,
and immortal. Even among the later
Greek deities it was not Zeus, but Here
and Athene who could, conformity, con-
fer valor on men; and they go into battle
together bearing the iegis of supreme
power. With Poseidon Tor Neptune) to
aid them, they almost succeed i'll putting
ZeuS himself i'll chains, and he is delIv
cred with difficulty at the last moment.
Indeed, there is no nation of modern
times in which the power of women
comes 50 near to equality with that oil
men as in the councils of the Greek
deties. OF the Oriental and French
novel type of womanhood-the weak, de-
based, sensual being-there is really not
trace to be found there. Aphrodite her
self is far above it; and three out
of four OF the greater goddessses-
Here Juno, Athene Minerva and
Artemis DIANA are essentially noble
and beautiful ideal figures. 1t is inn
possible that the young Greek woman
! hood should not have been elevated and
dignlfied by the contemplation of types
so august.-Harper's Bazaar.