Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-02-09
The Revival of the Amazon.

morbid and monstrous illusion that is being worked
by the sensational newspapers in behalf of the
virile maiden. The Mahommedan idea of woman
may be put into a phrase-it is a mans sensuous
idea of woman property. The Christian idea
of her is that she is the equal of man, but dis
similar, that she shall be free without being any
less woman-n fact, Christianity is primarily
based upon feminine virtues, meekness humility,
chastity long suffering, love, and until the founder
of Christianity put these qualities in evidence the
world had worshiped the masculine qualities of
resistance, endurance, force and defiance. Even
the Hellenic type of woman an Amazon
The founder of the Mosem religion appears to
have had lurking suspicion that woman, if left
to herself would become or less of a man,
but it never, of course, occurred to his Oriental
imagination that in the worst stages of social de-
velopment man would lend hand to unsex her.
To the nomadic mind of the east only
valuable to woman. The conception of
an Amazon belongs to distinct debauchery of
the male imagination under Greek esthetcism, at
time when masculine prowess and masculine
virtues dominated art and poetry less than
religion and society
However, the Greek legends may be dismissed
with the remark that the only actual attempts
that have been made since that day to revive the
Amazon, have been made in the barbarous king
dom of Dahomey and in the Christian city of New
York. and in both these places the revivers have
neglected the physiological precaution of the
Greeks.
| have before at this moment two circulars
issued by boxing masters and addressed to young
ladies who wish to acquire the fashionable
art of selfdefense.'' And i'll addition to that
have NJ. Pavot's remarks to this effect
"As for the legend that Amazons were Cappado-
clan she-soldiers who burned off the right breast
of their daughters to facilitate the drawing of the
bow NJ Pavot remarks that this is not necessary,
as a lady has only to follow fencing lessons with
passion, equestrianism and violent exercise in
general when she will become equal to that true
type of AmazOnism--man.
One of these boxing masters interviewed by
reporter being asked-"Do really box?"
answered:
"Well, should say they do 1 saw case the
other night the east side of Fifth avenue, just
above the Cathedral. A tall fnelooking girl, as
straight as an ash and supple willow, was
walking there alone. A chap who had been fol-
lowing her, and had passed and repassed her and
had fallen back reached her side for the third or
fourth time, took off his hat and spoke to her.
"She knocked the hat out of his hand with her
right shot him between the eyes like flash with
the left sent him sprawling the walk and
passed without ever degning a glance at him.
at was fine shouted, for couldn't help it,
and I suppose half dozen people couldn't help
it either for they laughed
1t must be distinctly understood that this sort
of thing does not make woman masculine. On
the contrary, at refnes and polishes her." and
he takes occasion to add, with fine authoritative
sagacity, "there probably is no art through which
a bright mind can shine easily,"-as the art of
smuggling!
Now laying aside all social and sentimental con-
sderations in discussing this attempt to revive
the Amazon, let me come at once to the physio-
logical feature which the Greeks were so careful
not to overlook 1t is imperatively necessary that
the work should begin by an eradication of that