Evening star., 1925-09-09

her approach, the more she is eclipseC
until no longer seen.
| Quite otherwise, a woman ough
to display the charms of her virtue
and the sweetness of her disposition
| in her husbands presence, but in his
| absence to retire to silence and re-
servedness at home"
Maxim No. IL shows how centurie:
do make difference:
"As In musical concords, when the
upper strings are so tuned as exactly
| to accord, the bass always gives thu
tone; so in well regulated and wei
ordered families all things are car
| ried on with the harmonious consen
and agreement Of both parties, bu
the conduct and contrivance chiefly
| rebounds to the reputation and man
agement of the husband"
Today. perhaps we would be more
inclined to say that the conduct o.
the home chiefly rebounds to the
reputation and certainly the man
agement of the wife.
Wives who spend more on clothes
than they ought are censured by the
ancient writer, in his No. II:
1T is a common proverb that the
sun is too strong for the North wind
for the more the wind ruffles anC
strives to force a mans upper gar
ments from his back, the faster h'
holds II, and the closer he wraps 4
about his shoulders.
But he who so briskly defended
himself from being plundered by the
wind, when once the sun begins tc
scald the air, is then constrained tC
throw away, not only his flowing gar
| ment. but his tunic also.
This puts US in mind of the prac
tice of most women. who, being limit
ed by their husbands in their ex
travagances of feasting and super
fluities of habit, presently flll the
house with noise and uproar; where
as, If they would suffer them
selves to be convinced by reason anC
soft persuasion. they would OF them
selves acknowledge their vanity and
| submit to moderation"
Maybe,
Cato elected a certain Roman out
Of the Senate for kissing his wife ir
the presence Of his daughter" says
Plutarch. Cato was an old simp, al
around, who spent his life screaming
Carthage must be destroyed"D
"It is true, the punishment wal
somewhat too severe" admits Plu
tarch, but If kissing and hugging il
the sight of others be unseemly, a.
indeed it is, how much more in
decent is it to chide and brawl and
maunder one at another while
strangers are in company?
"If lawful familiarity and caresse,
between man and wife are not al
lowed but in their private retirements
shall the bitter interchange and louC
discoveries OF invective and incon
siderate passion be thought an enter
tainment pleasingly proper for uncon
cerned and public earS2'
In his No. 10, Plutarch says: at
behooVeS a woman not to make pc
culiar and private friendships of hei
own, but to esteem only her hus
bands acquaintance and familiars a
hers"
The Egyptian women. he says, were
anciently never wont to wear shoes
to the end that they might accuston
themselves to stay at home. But
our women, for they, unless allowed
their jewels, their bracelets and
necklaces, their gaudy vestments
gowns and petticoats, all bespangled
with gold, and their embroidered
buskins, will never stir abroad"
We Will leave Plutarch. amiable
perhaps too serious, with his No. 81
.'Theano, as she was dressing her
self one morning in her chamber, by
chAnCe uScoVered some part or her
naked arm. Upon which, one of the
company crying out, oh, what q
lovely arm is there ''Tis very true
she said, but yet not common
Thus ought a chaste and virtuous
woman not only to keep her naked
arms from open view, but to lock up
her very words and set a guard upon
her lips, especially in the company OF
strangers, since there is nothing
which sooner discovers the qualities
and conditions of a woman than her
discourse.
Nor of man. either. It may be
q addad