The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1895-12-15
and glory with the masculine, the
Heavenly Mother and Father.

, Heavenly Mother and Fatnef.
ssAs to womans subsection, on which
both the canon and the civil law de-
light to dwell, it is important to note
that equal dominion is given to woman
over every living thing, but not one
word is said giving man dominion over
woman"
Ellen Battelle Dietrich comes next
in the role of commentator. She in
sists that the first three chapters of
lGenesis contain ''two entirely separate
and very contradictory stories of crea-
ton, written by two different, but
equally anonymous authors. She
gives extracts to prove that the ser
pent was more truthful than God.
| Naturally the rib story gives the wo-
man some concern. Mrs. Blake regards
it az ridiculous, but she finds solace IN
the assertion of woman's supremacy
in the marriage relation in the verse:
Therefore shall Il man leave his father
| and his mother and cleave unto his
wife" Nothing appears about the
| he is commanded to make his wife the
Matriarchate. OF course, Adams con-
duet in the garden scene comes in for
strong condemnation. 1t is very mean
| and cowardly on his part to throw all
! the blame of disobedience on the wo-
man. Mrs Blake naturally takes the
part of Eve, whom she vests with the
noblest attributes of her sex. With
regard to the conversation between
Eve and the tempter she says:
I'm this prolonged interview the nm
preiudiced reader must be impressed
with the coruage, the dignity and the
lofty ambition of the woman The
tempter evidently had pro
found knowledge of human ma
ture. and saw at a glance the high
| character of the person he met 10y
| chance in his walks in the garden. lie
did not try to tempt her from the path
of duty by brilliant jewels, rich
dresses. worldly Injuries or pleasures,
but with the wisdom Of the gods. Like
| Socrates or Plato, his powers of con-
eersaton and asking pulling ques-
tions were, no doubt, marvellous, and
he reused in the woman that intese
thirst for knowledge that the simple
pleasures of picking flowers and talk
ing with Adam did not satisfy. Com
pared with Adam, she appears to great
advantage through the entire drama"
MRS. COLBY'S QUALMS.
Mrs. Colby evidently had some
qualms of conscience when her turn
came. She finds much to commend in
some portions of Genesis. She even
goes SO far as to disagree with what
Mrs. Stanton and Mrs Blake have TO
say about the creation and Adam S
conduct in the Garden OF Eden. Moth
ing can surpass in grandeur, she says,
s'thc account in the first chapter OF
- l. ! n
it satisfies the highest aspirations and
the deepest longings of the human
soul" The last clause has am antique
flavor, and is evidently the result of
unconscious cerebration. which occa
sionally attacks the new woman. as
we'll as the old man. But Mrs. Colby
destroys the effect of her appreciation
of the inspired account of the creation
by some rather pert criticisms about
Noah and his ark. She would have
built ii differently, had she happened
around that way. Says she:
"The paucity of light and air in this
ancient vessel shows that woman had
no part in its architecture or a series
of portfolios would have been deemed
indispensable"
Mrs. Colby also endeavors to show
that woman's obedience did not enter
into the divine plan. In the two in
stances in which Sarah obeyed Abra-
ham, she says:
God had to interfere with miracle
to save them from the result of that
obedience, and both Abraham and
Sarah were reproved. While twice,
once by direct command of God,
Abraham obeyed Sarah. You cannot
find a direct command Of God or Christ
for the wife to obey the husband"
BRINGS IN THE SILVER QUESTION.
Abraham and Sarah afford Mrs.
Stanton an opportunity in the next
chapter to make a suggestion TO Con-
gress on the currency question. Ehis
is how she does it:
s-It is seldom that the age and death
of any woman are recorded by the sa-
cred historian, but Sarah seems to
have been specially honored, not only
in the mention Of her demise and ripe
wears. but in the tender manifestations
of grief by Abraham and his palnstak-
ing selection of her burial place. That
Abraham paid for all this in silver,
current money with the merchant,
might suggest to the financiers OF our
day that our commercial relations
might be adjusted with the same coin,
especially rs we have plenty of it.
! IF our bimetallists III the halls ofleg-
| islation were conyersant with sacred
history they might get fresh inspira-
| ton from the views of the patriarehs
on good money"
CONTEMPT FOR ABRAHAM.
Is,.r4 hon. m, Mrs RIakp exureSSeS her
contempt for Abraham as man. She
sees nothing for Abraham as a man.
She sees nothing grand or poetical in
| his character. On the other hand she
thinks he is a bad pattern for the other
patriarchs. She says on this score:
Like many a modern millionaire, he
WAS not self-made but wife-made
man. When Pharaoh sent him away
with his dangerously beautiful wife
| he is described as being rich in cattle,
in silver and in gold, but it is little
curious that the man who thus gained
wealth as the price of his wife's dis
honor should have been held up as a
model of. all the patriarchal virtues
Rebeckah and Rachel are somewhat
roughly handled by Mrs. Stanton.
She says it was good test
of the formers patience and
| humility ''to draw water for
an hour, with dozen men looking on
at their ease and none Of them Offering
help" She sums up her opinion ofthe
| Pentateuch as follows: