The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-09-11

w AMY ~DG De ~ss on @2 the Iu sle r ihsn
the Lord had made" tempted
TIE nOther OF mankind TO eat of the
forbidden lruit, the Voice in the Garden
said 10 her, Il viii greatly multiply
my sorrOw," 1t can scarcely be denied
that this curse has been fulfilled So
manifold and incesSant have been the
SCrfoWs OF woman since the legendary
account Of the creation OF the world
nat one cannot help thinking the whole
business somewhat unfair, if-for
merely being "beguiled" by a beast of
The field who was known to be more
subtil" than any other, and sfIerward
being given away" by Coward Adam
Eve ana all the descendants of her sex
should be compelled to suffer centuries
OF torture. Tne Injustice is manifestly
crue! and arbitrary-yet il would seem
TO have followed poor Accused Eve
from iheA til now. Il viii greatly
multiply by sOrrOwi" And sorrow has
been nGiil. HE'D to such an aggravated
end barD-i0us extent upon her IN
fortunate lead that in the Jewish
iitual to ,i.s very day there is 4 part
Of the serve therein the men. stand
ing in tbs - essence OF women, indi-
vidually Sa. - thank thee, o God, for
not having H.. je me q woman" thus
deliberately L.sultinG. in their very
house OF worship, the sex Of their
lnOthersi
But from the earliest times, if we
are to accept historical testimony, the
jews OF The ancient world appear 10
have treated women in the majority as
Something Ncrser than their Dog, d
little lower than their horse" Save and
except those rare cases where the jew
ish woman suddenly found out her
latent powers and employed them to
advantage. the Jewish man made her
fetch ard carry for him like a veritable
beast Of burden. He yoked her TO his
ploW with oxen-he sold and ex-
changed her with his friends as freely
as any other article OF commercials
base uses" Of her were various, and
seldom 10 his credit-While, such as
they were, they only lasted so long as
they satisfied his immediate humor
When done with she was cast out
The kind of casting out" to which she
was subjected is not always explained
But IL may be taken for granted that
I'm many instances she was either killed
outright, or turned adrift TO die Of star
walton and WEAKNESS. The Jews in
their Biblical days were evidently not
much affected by her griefs. They
were Gods chosen" people-and that
women were the mothers OF the whole
CHOSEN race appeared 10 call Tor no
claim on their chivalrous tenderness or
consideration.
Looking back through the vista Of
time to that tabled Eden, when she
listened TO the tempting of the sub
till one, the wrongs and injustices en-
dured by Accused Eve at the hand
of Coward Adam make up a calendar
of appalling. almost superhuman crime.
Man has taken the full license allowed
him by the old Genesis story. which, by
the way. was of course invented by
man himself for his own convenience.
Thy desire shall be to thy husband
and he shall rule over thee" And
among all tribes, and in all nations he
has ruled, with a rod of ironi The
Christian digpensation interfered some
what with his former reign Of tyranny.
for with the birth Of Christ came, to a
certain extent the idealization and
Qualification of womanhood. The
Greeks and Romans, however, had q
latent giimmering idea of what woman
in all her glory should be. and OF what
she might possibly attain to in the fu-
ture-for all their grandest SYM
bols of life. such as truth, beauty. JUS
tice, fortune. fame, wisdom, are repre-
scented by their sculptors clothed in the
female form divine. 1t is a curious fact