CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Ubrary BS575 .A18 1898 Paradox on women, wherein it Is.spuflt'* * olin 3 1924 029 285 983 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029285983 PARADOX ON WOMEN TWO HUNDRED and FIFTY COPIES only, of this virtuous little ' booke * have been printed, viz., 150 copies on Papier * DE Chine, which are numbered from I to 150; and 100 copies on Papier DE HoLLANDE, which are nxunbered from 151 to 250. No. 113 a T /"' /P n ///n a /I (7 ]lZg-m. ■?: DiSPUTATIO PERJUCUNDA QUA AWONYlfUS PROBARE NITITUR MULiERES Homines non esse. A PARADOX ON WOMEN WHEREIN IT IS SOUGHT . TO , PROVE THAT THEY DO NOT BELONG TO THE HUMAN SPECIES PA RIS CHARLES CARRINGTON MDCCCXCVin Ayis Deux exemplaires de cet ouvrage, destines aiix Collections Nationales, ont c'tt* deposes couformement a la loi. En consequence, I'Editeur se reserve le droit de propriete dc la traduction , ct poursuivra tous contrefacteurs ou debitants de contrefafons. PARADOX WOMEN . ARE THEY HUMAN ? PARADOX ON WOMEN. Nothing but insults? What a pleasant gift you will say, ladies. To assert that we do not belong to the human race surely that is the acme of man's malice. It is true that all that does not flatter you astonishes you. Accustomed to being praised you are not used to the paradoxes of Theologians and Philosophers. Never- theless a sentiment adopted by a great part of the earth's inhabitants ought not to appear so absurd to you. No one is ignorant how you are treated VIII PARADOX ON WOMEN by Mahomet in the Koran. The women whom he admits into his Paradise for the pleasure of the elect are Houris, girls who are (eternally virgins, and of a different sort to those who die every day at Constantinople. The Paradox which is here presented to you is worn- out/ and it is but reviving old rubbish, and yet it was nearly being passed as an article of faith in the Council of Macon. The fathers of the Council gravely consulted the question, as to whether women were human beings, and only decided in the affirmative after a long investigation. * If the ajicient Philosophers have had the same doubt, console yourselves, fair ladies, the Philosophers of your century do not think so ridiculously ; they only attack your graces and your talents. When your sweet songs and melodious voices entranced all who heard you, a Philos- opher of this century cried, "You do not know how to sing, you have no music in you, and all the worse for you if you have." t Another declares that "you dp not know how to dance "s although in your dances your steps are so light and graceful. § Those brilliant eyes, ruby lips, that colouring and beauty with whi jh you captivate. " All hearts do not belong to you," said another modem Philosopher, "they are but spirit changes".** Continue to be always charming, and despise all these * In the Council of Macon a Bishop having maintained that women could not and ought not to be qualified as human beings, the question was discussed during several as 'serablies ; they disputed warmly, ihe opinions seemed equally divided, but at last the partisans of the fair sex triumphed and it was solemnly declared that they made part of the human race. Gregoire de Tours. L. 8. Pblygam. triumphan, page 123. f Rousseau. § Cahusac. ** Malebranche. PARADOX ON WOMEN IX philosophical dreams. Become Philosophers in your turn, for in our time women can be so fearlessly. Predict the wonderful year when men shall become women to these wickei men who would deny that you were of their species, prove to them that, if there are examples of women metamorphosed into men, it is not^ impossible that one of these days men will turn into women. * As for you, faint-hearted women, who will be alarmed by the doubts cast upon your salvation, be reassured, you will be saved. The Reverend Pere Postel' promises vfctory to all women. If you are not redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ you certainly will be, said this good father by a certain nun called La Mere Jeanne whom I knew at Venice. Can you not believe the word of a so-called member of the (Company of Jesus? t * Plutarch relates that in Hs time a woman named Coeneus was transformed into a man. The journal de Verdun makes mention of several girls and women becoming men. There is also a. talk of a girl of 17 years, metamorphosed into a boy in a village near Charleroi. In another journal there, is an account of a young man being delivered of A daughter. f GuiUaume Postel had been -^ Jesuit, he was an extraordinary man. Some thought him a prodigy of learning, and others a. maniac. We willingly accede to this latter opinion. He has written a book which is very rare and choice, under the title of "Woman's Victory". PREFACE. This is the translation of a singular little book which appeared in 1595, having for title: " Disputatio perjuciinda- qua Anonymus probare nititur mulieres homines non esse." Some notes have been added, and some parts omitted which only bore upon the errors of Sociniaus or Ana- baptists. The Author of this little work pretends to prove by passages of Scripture that women are not of the human race. A Minister of Brandenburg, named Gedicus, refuted this seriously without understanding the Author*s' aim, which was to make a violent satire against the Sodnians; for what can one imagine more calculated to turn them into ridicule, or more mortifying, than to show them that the carping strictures with which they contested the consubstantiality of the Son of God, are capable of being turned to prove that the Scriptures nowhere call women human. Thus one is wrong in imagining that there is anything serious in this little work ; as was before said it is literally nothing but a satire against the abuse of the Interpretations made by the Heretics of the Holy Scriptures. We know that all Heresies are only false interpretations of the ' Bible. There is not one, even to M. Lapeirere^s fantastical ideas of the Pre-adamites, which XII PREFACE is not founded, if they m.ay be believed, on the testimony of Holy Writ. Luther was quite right when he called the Bible the book of the Heretics. The Scriptures, said the celebrated Montesquieu, is a country where Christians of all sects make descents, as it were to pillage; it is a field of battle where the hostile nations which meet each other engage in warfare, attack or skirmish in all soils of ways. Most of the Interpreters do not seek in the Scriptures that which they ought to believe, but that which they believe themselves, they have not regarded it as a Book in which were contained the dogmas they ought to receive, but as a work which could give Authority to their own ideas. It is for that that they have corrupted the meanings, and tortured all the passages. We trust our fair readers will show no severity against this theological jesting. If the theory seem rather cruel to them they are not less the most cherished part of the h\mian race: we are nevertheless convinced of the real advantages which they have over men, for we cannot deny that besicjes beauty and the graces of the body, they possess a certain delicacy of wit which men cannot attain by themselves. The man even who has the most wit is but an uncut dieunond if he has not been polished by the fair sex. PARADOX ON WOMEN ARE THEY OF THE HUMAN SPECIES PARADOX ON WOMEN. In which an endeavour is made to prove that they are not of the human species. Since it is permitted in Sarmatia * to believe and teach that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are not God, we think that it ought to be here allowed to teach and believe that women are not of the human race, and consequently that Jesus Christ not having suffered for them in this world, there is no salvation for them in the next. If in such a country of liberty, we tolerate and even sometimes reward those who blaspheme loudly against the Creator, ought we to fear punishment when we only attack creatures ? Readers will doubtless condemn us for the title of the book, but if they admire truth of opinion in Philosophers, they will not condemn us. We maintain that we ought to believe nothing * Sarmatia has beea looked upon at all times as a barbarous country. The Greeks and Romans had their Sarmatia, we also have ours. According to this theory the Author, and the Translator are Sarmatians, consequently Barbarians. After this confession no one will be surprised to find barbar- isms nn this book. ^ ^- ^ 4' PARADOX ON WOMEN. that is not expressly stated in Scripture. * We ought not to believe that women belong to the human* race because we can see nothing either in the Old or New Testanient which proves it to us. We see on the contrary maledictions against those who add to the word of "God. We ought then to regard those people as cursed, who by an evil interpretation of some passages would make believe that Women "are human creatures, thus making the Holy Spirit say that which it did not intend. The Heretics who have denied the divinity, of Jesus Christ, althoug-h it is well proved in Holy Writ, would have been better engaged in denying that Women were human beings, since the Script- ures would have been more favourable to them in this respect. If we affirm that, if they are not expressly included under the name of Man, they are at least implicitly" included under this title, what can one conclude from that? Can we call these beings similar to men? Certainly not; for tlje Prophets, Jesus Christ and the Apostles have not called them expressly human creatures, though th^ know that they can be implicitly taken for such. Let us nevertheless, examine some passages in Scripture, which can be turned in favour of Women. We will first quote that text in Genesis where God says, " It is not good that the man should be alone ; * To believe nothing but wKat is contained in the Bible and reject tradition is an Heretical notion which -will make some women doubt if our Sarmatian could be a creature of the elect species. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 5 I will make hjm an help meet for him ". It is clear *they say, by tiiis passage, that the first Woman was created like the fii:i5t man. This specious argument is evidently false, for God did not say, " I will make him a man, or a human creature which^ will be similar to him", so we cannot conclude from that that Eve was made like Adam. God only said, " I win make him a help ". He did not say she would be similar to him simile illi; but simile sibi: suitable for him. * We lay stress on^this passage in order to make it better understood. When God said, " It is not good that the man should be alone, I wiU make him, an help meet for him ", we see nothing in these words except that it is not good to have only one man on the earth. It is evident that he should have a helper, that is to say a means by which he can engender other men, so that he should not be alone. It is evident that Eve ought not to be CQunted in the human race, because she was only made so that Adam should not be alone, and that by her assistance and her means he could perpetuate the human race in order to give him companions of his own species to relieve his solitude. The mother of all herself con- fesses it, for when her son Cain was born she cried ** I have gotten a man from the Lord " f God's * Those who understand Latin will easily understand the difference which there is between the pronoun sibi and illi. It cannot be so well expressed in French or English. •j- There is in the Latin version Possedi Kominem ^er Deum: I have 6 PARADOX ON WOMEN. design for her consisted in the propagation of childreTI; According to v some learned men, Cain and Abel were twin§, and for this same reason. But here is a clearer proof. It is certain that all philosophers admit two causes in every act of nature, one efficient and the other instrumental. The sword-cutler, for example, cannot make a sword without instruments," a writer requires a pen to write with, and a tailor cannot sew without a needle; man also cannot engender without the aid of a woman. * Now as the pen and the needle are not the work-people, but the purely passive instruments for the work-people who use them, so the woman is not an animal of the human species, but only another animal which serves as an instru- ment to the man in the act of generation. When we glance at the parts of women which distinguish- them from men, can we admit any other cause instrumental for the propagation of the human race ? The instrument is always a distinct thing and sepa- rate from the workman who uses it. Woman is thus also as much a distinct being and separate from man as the hammer is an object separate from the hand of the workman who uses it. If any apologist for women raises the objection, God made him a help who resembled him, we possessed a man by the grace of God, but the Sep'tuagint has rendered the Hebrew word Kanath by engender. * I consider women, said a modem philosopher, are created solely to satisfy a disgraceful want, I think I ought to fly from them directly after the physical moment. PARADOX ON WOMEN. ^ reply that the word simile (like unto) is synon3nTiotis in Hebrew and Latin with the word conveniens (suitable or congenial), for an)rthing which is suitable to a thing is conformable to it. The tailor, for example, does not use a liatchet to sew a coat, but a means more conformable to the action of sewing, as a needle. This is why to facilitate the generation of man, God did not wish to give him, Adam, difficult means. He did not give him a quadruped, but an animal more suitable which resembled himself in structure, — in a word, woman. This is why the Apostle expressly says, " Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man." The sense in which we read this passage is that of the most famous Rabbis and Hebrew doctors, for. they quote this word which to them signifies not equality to the person of Adani, but to the convenience with which he could generate. Those who are not satisfied with this interpretation can take the trouble* to study the writings of the famous Theologians of our century, * and''they will see that they are unanimous in teaching that the Hebrew word simile sibi which is like unto him or similar, is badly rendered, and is not the true sense of the Hebrew text that we should translate a help or an ^sistance {adjutorium). which is, convenient or useful. * We must cite here the testimony of the theologians of the i6th century, for it is not surprising that the illustrious doctors of Salamanca of t^s .century are not of the same opinion. 8 PARADOX ON WOMEN. It is thus that Luther has explained it. Castalion, a famous Hebrew scholar, has also translated the passage in this manner, " Let us make him an animal suitable ,to him ". * What we are about to say will perhaps have more weight; God by his foresight knew that He would create Adam and Eve. If He had wished to make Eve of the human race, He would not have said in the singular, let us make a human being, but let us make human beings. Since God thus spoke in the singular, we may conclude from his wdrdS) that he did not mean woman to be a human creature, and that at the beginning of the World He only made a single creature of the human race,' in the person of Adam. What! it may be said, the creature which is created in the image of God, is she not of the human race? Yes, no doubt, but would one have the audacity to deduce from that the inference that Woman is a human being, since she was not made in the image of God ? The * The Arabic version agrees with this sentiment, as do also Onkelos Jonsithan, who translated Secundum anterius ipsius seu qua sit incum- bens anterius ij^sius. Louis de Dieu favours these versions ; he understands it to mean that woman was made to aid in generation, which is much the same as the opinion of St. Augustine, book g, — of Genesis. St. Chrysostom seems also to lean to this opinion. He can scarcely believe that woman "was given to man to be a help-meet to him. He thinks her only gobd for the propagation, of the human race ; for woman, he says, who ought to be a help! and succour to him, is only his ruin, on account of the . snares she spreads for him, and he well understood the Hebrew word Kenedoc, it was not to help man that the woman was made but to be always opposed to him. St. Chrysostom, — ^in Genesem. Cajetan is of the same opinion. , Cajetan, — in Genesem. PARADOX ON WOMEN. ^ Apostle St Paul says positively, " Man is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of Man".* We see by this passage that as St. Paul refused to women the honour of being in God's image, it is evident that she is not of the same species as man. We must beware of asserting that they are human beings, in order not to blaspheme against God who would not grant them the favour of being made in his image. All the papistical authors agree with this opinion and refrain from contradicting this passage in St, Paul. Suppose we grant that woman has been created similar to man, 'and that she has been made in his image, f can we therefore conclude jfrom that that she is of the human race ? Although man has been created in the image of God, can we infer that she * The Rabbis did not believe that women were created in the image of God, they state that she is less perfect than man, because God only formed her to be a help. A Christian Theologian (Lambert Danoeus) has taught that the image of God is much more striking in man than in woman. The glory, the resemblance of woman to man, only shines on her face as a reflection from man, since she is formed of his substance. The Author of the Commentary- on the Epistles of St. Paul, attributed to St. Ambrose, plainly says upon the 2nd chapter of the ist of Corin- thians that women are not made in the image and resemblance of God. •j- This human form in women, is rather embarrassing to our theory-, but we ought not to trust to appearances. Newton has discovered that scarlet is not red, Malebranche and Barclay that we live in a world of illusions, where there are no bodies, and. without wandering from our subject, we may ask if riiermaids which, according to M. ' Maillet, ^ so perfectly resemble our women, can be called human beings? Can we say - that the savages from the Island of Borneo, who have human faces and bodies, are real men? And the Pongos, and Mandriiles, no traveller will assert that they can be men, although 'diey resemble the human form. lO PARADOX ON "WOMEN. is of the same race as God? Man only resembles God by his rational mind which is in the image of God, because he has a soul like His, gifted like Him v/ith knowledge and power, and capable of knowing and loving God, Had' Eve been created of the same species as Adam, it would follow that tWo persons woidd have committed the sin of disobedience in the terrestrial Paradise, since it is certain that Eve was as guilty as Adam, nevertheless the Apostle says distinctly that there is only one pergon who committed this sin, "As by one man sin entered into the- world", and not by two persons, it is therefore clear, that only the person of Adam is designated by the only man, and that sin had nothing to do with the first woman who is not of the human species. ^ It might be replied to this, that the Apostle meant to designate Eve, who was the first to sin, but the passage is so explicit, that it would make the Apostle belie himself if we gave his expressions- another meaning. Some persons say that St. Paul honoured Adam in indicating him rather than Eve, because he has more dignity. If he has more dig- nity, the inequality is established, Eve would be inferior to him and would be under subjection to him like the animals, over which he had a superi- . ority and a sway which his Creator gave to him. If the woman is subject to the man, iike the beasts, what argument in her favour can be deduced from PARADOX ON WOMEN. ii that?* We must here explain two passages which may be construed against us. It is said in Genesis "Male and Female created He them". It is said in another passage, "And they twain shall be one flesh'', that is to say the male and the female only make one man; or a single person of the human species. It ought not to be difficult to believe that in marriage two persons make but one man, since one is obliged to believe that three persons in God make but one God. We can bring a grammatical reason to bear upon our theory ; for this rational being which constitutes man is certainly of the masculine* gender. It is then only males who descend from Adam that we can look upon as rational beings. We might perhaps quote some grammarians, who have made man masculine and feminine, but these grammarians are grossly mistaken since they have never found any author who has said: this man, haec homo. They do not quote this passage of Cicero where he says: My daughter Tullia was born a man, because it is evident that the word born {nat<^ does not'> refer to the word man but to Tullia. If we said Tullia was born an animal would it follow that the * Tte inferiority and subjection of woman to man has been well proved in tKe Scriptures, and several tracts have been written to exalt the excellence of men. Milton made Adam say in speaking of Eve : " For well I imderstand in. the prime end of Nature her the inferior, in the mind and inward faculties, which most excel; In outward also her resembling less His image who made both, and less expressing the character of t^^at dominion given o'er other ammals," 12 PARADOX ON WOMEN. animal was of the feminine gender? Cicero meant to say that his daughter Tullia was born mortal. To prove that the word homo (man) is not taken for the woman, , we use the etymology of the name. The word homo is derived from the latin word humus (dust) of which the first man was made. The same thing cannot be said of the woman; it is therefore clear that she cannot be comprised in th© signification of the word homo. But let us leave the^se triflings and come back to the testimony of the holy Scriptures, in order not to deviate from one subject. The woman of Cana in approaching Jesus prayed Him to drive the devil' from her child's body, but Jesus did not answer her a word, why was that? Was it pride? We cannot think so, on the con- trary, He was humble and gentle, He invited all those who were in affliction or pain to come unto Him and promised to give them comfort. His silence then simply meant that He had nothing to do with women, and/ women ha4 nothing to do with him. We can prove it. He replied to his disciples who interceded for the woman of Canaan, " I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of- the house of Israel". Oh, women! do you hear this answer? 'Jesus Christ has not been sent /or you. And you, husbands ! do you understand by this' answer that your wives have no part in the Kingdom of Heaven? It may perhaps be said that the Saviour spoke so harshly to this woman, because she was a Gentile. .PARADOX ON WOMEN. 13 This remark is assuredly ridiculous. Does not God love all nations? Did He not send His son as much for the Gentiles as for the people of Israel ? We ought to be ashamed of such an objection. Let us give the real reason why Christ has never treated a Gentile as he did this woman. Numbers of Gentiles nevertheless came to H;m and asked favours of Him, did He receive them unkindly? Did He rebuke them? l^o, on the contrary He received them with unequalled goodness. This is what is surprising in the same passage. The disciples of Chri^ having begged Him to send away this woman because she cried after them, He replied : " It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." Let us admire the wisdom and sense of this answer. And you^ women, do you remark how the Saviour of t!^ ■ vorld speaks of you? He does not look upon you as belonging to the human race, He calls you dogs as being of the race of animals. Do you remark that He says clearly that it is not right to take any of the bread intended for the children, that is to say that it is not ^proper to communicate to you His own flesh, which is heavenly bread descended from Heaven, because you are like the animals, * unworthy to receive this bread? It is then in vain to work so hard for your salvation; why do you try to act * It is written in the text: Quce nihil altud es^ quam i^sissime hesiia fesda, we have thought it better to soften this coarse expression for the fair sex. 14 PARADOX ON WOMEN. against the Lord's will ? Stay then in the state in which you were born if you ^would have prosperity in this world. If woman were of the human species, the Saviour *would have expressed Himself badly when He said in speaking of the woman of Canaan, that it was not right to take away the bread from the children of men and give it to the dogs, because we do not take away that which is in common to different persons, to return it to some of these different per- sons, but Christ explained Himself clearly. There- fore humiliate yourselves, proud women, with the woman of Canaan when she said, ** truth Lord ; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table". Perhaps you may be permitted to ask for the crumbs which sometimes fall from the tables of the masters, but not the true nourishing bread which God -supplies to men, as the only persons worthy to eat it. These crumbs do not constitute a real nourishment which gives life, so therefore you will not thus gain the salvation you hope for. Imitate the example of Mary Magdalene, who feeling herself possessed of a devil and looking upon herself as a dog, crept imitating this animal to our Saviour's feet, to implore the help which she obtained by her humiliation, as did also the sister of Martha. Our adversaries, indignant with us, may reply in favour of Women, that Christ said to the Canaanit- ish woman, "Woman, thy faith has saved thee". PARADOX ON WOMEN. 15 When we are not guided by truth, we easily give in to the false. Christ has nowhere said to the woman of Canaan " thy faith has Saved thee " , but He said, " Be it unto thee even as thou wilt", or as it is written in the Gospel, " For this saying go thy way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter", but what was this saying? The avowal which she made, that she knew she was a dog * which could ► at least eat the crumbs which fell from the master's table. If the women of our centuryovish to free themselves from the devils which sometimes possess them, if they would avoid the evils and the miser- ies which afflict them in this life, let them cast off this loride which is common to them, let them own that they are truly nothing but dogs, they will then receive the answer given to the woman of Canaan, ** Be it unto thee even as thou wilt". Our arguments have perhaps little value. Let us agree to what Christ said to the Canaanitish woman, also to the woman who suffered from an issue of bloodj "Thy faith has saved thee", but what can we conclude from thai? Does it follow that women are of the human race, and that the women in the Scriptures obtained from Christthe salvation of their soul? The word save^ applies to the health of the body, because these women to whom Christ spake the * Saci was of opinion that the woman of Canaan really believed herself to be a dog. Godly women, he say^, have owned like the Canaanite, that they were but dogs, and in sa3ri?g^so they also believed it, as she did. 1 6 PARADOX ON WOMEN. words we have quoted, only ask to be cured of their diseases. Mary Magdalene a^ked to be delivered from the demons which tormented ' her body, an- other asked to be cured of her issue of blood. Christ only granted them that which they asked, and they never applied to Him to save their souls, hut only to cure their bodily ills which made them seek an efficacious remedy. This is why, St. Luke has not written, "Thy faith has saved thee, " but, " Thy faith hath made thee whole " and St. Matthew has added, " Her daughter was made whole from that very hour." We can assuredly conclude that there is no question in these passages, of th'b safety or salvation of the soul, since we only obtain it in the next world and that, according to some Theologians, is decided for all eternity.* One must therefore believe that it was only .a question of bodily health, since in effect these women obtained it first after the words of Christ. It niay be objected that faith can only concern a rational creature of the human species. It is an objection' which is inferred from the ambiguity of the word. The devils believe, it is said in Script- ures, and tremble; they consequently have faith, faith therefore does not wholly belong to men. We confuse the different forms • of faith. We do not distinguish by this that faith which justifies the soul * The subject of predesianation is so sublime and so diflGcuIt, according to St. Augustine, that when we would assert our free will, we seem to deny the grace of God, and when we would uphold the grace of God; we seem to take away free will. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 1 7 and which is the only true faith. Of this the Apostle expressly says, "There is but one faith." We do not mean, I repeat, by this, faith purely historic, which does not only concern men but women and devils. Who is the Theologian who has taught that women have a lively faith, against the opinion of the Apostle, who admits of no faith in women, and who says positively that woman is not saved by faith but by the generation of man. The faith of women is like the dead faith of wicked men which according to the Scriptures is more like corpses, than living men. If it were only human beings who were capable of having faith it would follow that male children, who are also human creatures, could have faith, and this as a most ridi- culous supposition. * These women of whom the Scriptures speak knew, and were persuaded, that Jesus Christ was the true Messiah, who could cure aU their maladies, but they also knew that he had not been sent for them. This is why we read in the Gospel that the Apostles were surprised that He deigned to speak to a woman, and it certainly is very mysterious. The necessity which knows no law, compelled them to approach the Messiah, they went -to Him asking to * It is an insult to good sense, said St. Augustine, to imagine that when, children are baptised they are capable of having faith. August. £pit. 57. The existence of faith depends on the reason, since there is no creature devoid of reason who is capable of feeling it; and if anyone would contradict this he must necessarily maintain that faith is bom of ignorance, which is still more absurd. 2 1 8 PARADOX ON WOMEN. be healed, when all the remedies .they had taken for their maladies had failed, when according to the Evangelists they had suffered many things and spent all that they had. They came therefore before the Messiah, with tears in their eyes, and fear in their hearts, to implore His mercy and to ask Him, not for the bread destined for men, but for the crumbs; and. prayed to have the happiness to touch, not His body but only the hem of His garment. Although the divine Messiah did not receive these women with kindness, although He rebuffed them as He did the CaiwcSnitish womafi, that He was angry with ' the woman with the issue for touching the hem bf his robe, neverttieless seeing their great faith. He succoured them in a wonderful manner to the shame of many incredulous men who did not believe as truly as these women, that He was the son of God, sent for Adam and his posterity. This is the reason why the Saviour said these remarkable words, " I have not found so great faith", — that is to say in men, as in women though with these I have no concern. We ought not to be surprised at finding such want of faith in the Israelites, since Christ took away their heritage and gave it to the Gentiles. It has often b^en proved by.^ observation that the faith and confidence, that many invalids have for their, physician, act as a remedy, and give them more relief and alleviation than the remedy and the arts of the physician. We can also assert that the great faith and reliance possessed by these women men- PARADOX ON WOMEN. 1 9 tioned in Scripture, wrought them more relief than the divine Messiah to whom they had applied for help. We can therefore say without impiety that they were really saved by their faith. Certainly say our antagonists we convict you out of your own mouth. You first state that the Messiah was sent for Adam and his posterity. If He had been sent for the posterity, He was sent for women, who are also Adam's descendants. Secondly you say that woman is saved by the generation. She is then, conclude our antagonists, a human being, worthy of eternal salvation. Wait; do not say too much about your victory; ,we will answer you, prove to us first- that women are reaUy Adam's posterity! You can never prove it; it is clearly shewn in the Old and New ^Testament which are Adam's posterity. It is easffy^ seen those are descended from Adam, who are his sons and grand- sons. Abraham is descended from Adam, Isaac begat Jacob, Jacob" Judas, Judas Phares, Phares Esrom, and so on. But there is no trace of any connection or. posterity of women. We are doubtful about their origin, we do not very well know firom whence they come. It is clear that the posterity of Adam is restricted solely to men, whose origin is certain. Amongst the .Hebrews the girls have no title, and no birthright. * We do not even find * Girls did not inherit in Israel. The law of Moses was not favourable to them in this respect, and as it was decided that they did not form Wfart of the human race, the natural right, this claim which appeals to '^e hearts of all men, was not acknowledged by the Hebrews, 20 ^ PARADOX ON WOMEN. tiiat they were giyen the name of first born, like the boys, these latter were called the first born, even if they were bom after their sisters and they were dedicated to God as the only creatures who would be acceptable to Him. * 'As for the other argument, we can construe it in our favour. He will own that we have asserted with the Apostle that woman is saved by generation ^that is to say, by the children which are bom to her, but we must not conclude from that, that she is a human being, and that she can haVe share in the life eternal; for the theologians, of all sects have taught that the human being is justified by faith, as the rest of men, but by generation. We ought to interpret the word saved, by the health, and the honours which she obtains in this world. We see nowhere that the woman without children will be damned on that account, she was only disgraced and despised by. the ancient law, which was enough to make her life sad and dull, for it is written; "Woe unto the barren woman who has no children in Israel," and it is added, "Blessings be on the fertile woman who leaves children in Israel!" because this last has fulfilled the conditions which the Creator has imposed upon her,, to assist in the propagation of the human race,, whilst the * We may add, that when God divided the,p#Smised land between the Children of Israel, He would not admit women into the distribution, because, according to the idea of St Cyril, God ifejects that which is reprehensible and imperfect, and will only give the promised land to men, because they are pleasing to Him. Cyril, liv. 3. ( PARADOX ON WOMEN. 21 barren woman is perfectly useless in the world. * It would be folly to think that in this passage there is any question of the salvation of women's souls. If they were saved by their children, the death of the Saviour would be as useless as their faith. It would also follow that there is no salvation for virgins, or for women who have had no children, whilst, on the contrary, women who had led evil lives and have had children, would obtain the salvation of their souls. Nevertheless it is written in Scripture, " Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days." Does the evil with which they are threatened, agree with their salvation by generation ? " But take care," still say-^our antagohists, the Apostle has certainly said that women are saved by their children, but he adds in the same passage, " If they continue in the faith. " f We reply that we find the passage differently rendered in the original and in the old manuscripts of scripture. We read: ' "If their sons continue in the faith." Which meaning * Virginity was a disgrace amongst the Hebrews. A greater insult could not be offered to a man, than to reproach him with not continuing :the race of his fathers, and not making their name live in Israel. It was for this that the daughter of Jephthah wept, that she put on mourning as for a dead person, because she would die without having been married, and without having given heirs to her father. From that cause are the threats of God in Isiah 4. i. Jeremiah 31. 22. f The plural in Greek reads, "If they continue in faith and charity ". The greater number of Fathers and Interpreters, attribute it to the children, and not to the mothers, like St. Jerome, and St. Ambrose, etc. Sacy has decided in favour of this opinion. 22 PARADOX ON WOMEN. ' shall we give to it? If you say that women obtain the salvation of their souls if they continue in the faith? Then it is by faith they wiU be saved? You therefore will not agree with the Apostle, who distinctly says they cannot be saved except by the children that are born to them. It would be better to abide by the other meaning which agrees, with the Scriptures; but it is in other respects reasonable to think that as those sons who do not continue in faith' ought not to —be the cause of their mother's damnation, for th^ same cause, those who continue in the faith ought not to be the cause of their sal- vation. We should therefore be right in concluding that the woman who has children only obtains blessings in this world. We have but the example of the Virgin Mary, who ori^ account of her Son, has been blessed above all other women and has received in consequence an eternal reward. There are those who may perhaps pretend to advance an argument difficult to resolve, when they argue that women are human creatures, because we read in the Scriptures, that their sins have been forgiven them. They cite the example of Mary Magdalene the sinner, to whom Christ said : " Go, thy sins are forgiven thee" ; but we cannot deduce ■an inference from a simple example, for although women have received pardon for their sins, we cannot conclude from that that they are of the human race. The Prohibition of God to eat the fruit of the tree of life had no reference to woman, but to PARADOX ON WOMEN. 23 man, for the woman was not created when God made the commandment : " But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it." This warning was not even 'repeated to Eve after her creation; moreover God did not -call her after the disobedience but only said, " Adam, where art thou?" It was to Adam .only that God spoke, He did not reproach Eve. * It is further written, that 'we have all sinned in the person of Adam and not .in the person of Eve, f that we have contracted the original sin of our father and not of our mother. This is why under the ancient law all the n;iale children were circumcised; the girls were not cir- cumcised, because it was only necessary to wash the pollution of original sin in that sex which had contracted it. § Now if woman has not contracted * It was only after the fall of Adam that God conversed with our first forefiather. It was to Adam only that God first addressed Himself after the fall, it was Adam to whom God spake in such poignant words, when seeing him clothed in skins He said: "Here is Adam who has become Ukei unto us; and it seems that Adam only was driven out of Paradise, without reference to Eve, for Scripture only mentions him in the departure. For fear it is written, that Adam would still eat of the tree of Hfe, and lest he should hve eternally, God sent him out of the garden of pleasure, ■j* God, said the learned Dom Cahuet, made an aUiance with Adam, He promised to make him happy, and Adam promised to obey Hinir" Woman counts for nothing in this alKance, she could not have broken it by her personal infidehty, firom which we may infer that if Eve had sinned, and she alone, her sin would have only done harm to her, and not to her posterity. We must conclude by this that it is only men who have sinned In Adam. § St. Augustine; St. Prosper, St. Fulgence, St. Gregory, St. Bernard the Great, liie Venerable Bede, and several doctors, have appeared 24 PARADOX ON WOMEN. original sin, she does not sin at the present time, because it is a principle of religion that men would not sin if they had not been, born in original sin derived from Adam. After what we have just said, it is easy to understand that if women sin, their sins are not different from the faults that animals commit, that they are only mere stupidities or trifles. It may be said that we cannot look after this fashion upon the sins of Mary Magdalene?* We should reply that the swne were also pos- sessed of devils although they were not guilty of to approve of what is stated. They a£Brm that circumcision remitted original sin, and conferred justifying grace, and whoever had not received it, was eternally deemed. St. Augustine proves in the words of the establishment of circumcision the proof of this opinion. "All male children " it is written, " of which the skin of the prepuce has not been circumcised, will be exterminated by his people, because he has violated my alliance." He maintains that "to be cut off from his people" signifies to be condemned to Hell, and that the alliance referred to in these words " he has violated my alliance " can only refer to Ihat which God made with Adam, and that we have all broken in his person. Besides the Samaritan version of Scripture favours this opinion, as well as the Hebrew where these words, the 8th day, are no longer read. If the opinions of these saintly personages were founded on trutii, what became of the salvation of the poor women in Israel? Strabo believed that the Jews had a law which ordered them to circumcise girls, but it is not an act of religion, it is rather an operation of surgery to cure the inconvenience of long nymphse. * The sins of Mary Magdalene did not render her demoniacal ; it was a convulsive malady. The Jews attributed the greater number of maladies, especially those which troubled the mind and distorted the members, to the malice of demons ; they imagined that these maladies conld only be cured by sending them out. Thus we see in Scripture that when Christ cured the maladies and the possessed, the Jews said it was by virtue of the demons that He performed these miracles. PARADOX ON WOMEN, 25 any sin. The Apostle gives his support to the argument when he, says, " By one man sin entered into the world" (Adam). Woman not having sinned has not wanted a mediator. He has only come to save men who have received the sin of Adam. The Redeemer on the contrary had to be born of a woman who was like Him, without blemish or sin. There i3 no question of any womanlDeing damned in the Scripture, which proves that being incapable by their condition of offending the Divin- ity, they were also safe from eternal perdition. Nevertheless we read that Eve said to the serpent, " God has forbidden us to touch the tree of life. " She erred in speaking thus; for God in making this prohibition, did not address Himself to,her but to Adam, He did not forbid him to touch this tree, but to eat of the fruit thereof. Eve also added, "For fear perhaps that we should die." This was unreasonable. * K she believed in the threat attached to the warning, why did her words imply doubt? Moreover the serpent replied to her positively: *No, thou shalt not die." It is as if he had said: "Why should'st thou die? the prohibition does not concern thee." The event proved that Eve did not die after having eaten the apple;, her eyes were not opened till, after Adam had eaten; at least Eve could not have found out that the curse followed immediately * Hebrew, Chaldean, and Syrian incline to the second person. "For fear thou shalt not die." The threat liien only apphed to Adanii 26 PARADOX ON WOMEN. upon the offence since she offered the fruit to Adam. But why,, may be asked, did God punish her? It is nothing to be surprised at, for God also punished the serpent who had not been forbidden to eat it, and who was not a human being. We can even deny that Eve was punished for eating forbidden fruit ; for how could we make the punishment consist in what God said, " In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children?" She had not seen the tree of life whieh God forbade the fruit to be eaten. The pain which woman suffers in bearing children is transitory ; .it arises from the irritability of the fibres and is com- mon to all female animals, who certainly have not eaten forbidden fruit. * If we search the Scriptures we shall see that far from women having be^n blamed for their crime and their perfidy they have on the contrary received praise and blessings. Rachel is praised for the trick she played upon her father, in hiding the golden idols which she stole from him when she left home. Rebecca was applauded for the artifice which she used- to make her husband Isaac bless his son Jacob to the pre- judice of his son Esau. The treason of the courtesan Rahab, who hid the spies of Joshua, has been commended, as an act of justice. When Sisera fled after his defeat, Jael met him and made him enter her tent. As his hurried flight had" worn out his * When- it was maintained ±0 Pfere Malebranche that animals were not simple machines, but were sensible of pain, he replied pleasantly that apparently they had not eaten forbidden hay. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 2^ strength, he laid himself to rest and Jael covered him, after giving him milk, instead of the water he a^sked for. When Sisera was in a deep sleep, Jael took a large nail which she drove in his head, and barbarously nailed to the earth the head of this General who had trusted himself to her good faith. This detestable action has nevertheles been loaded with praise. It is written in the Scriptures, that Jael shall receive every kind of blessing. No one is ignorant of the history of Judith, who after gaining the' confidence and trust of Holofemes by-her perfidious caresses, cut off his head. Scripture has exalted the action as deserving the highest praise ; it seems that the iniquity of women was considered more as a virtue than the honesty of men. * The daughters of Lot were not blamed for their incest with their father, though the son of an in- cestuous mother is declared unworthy to serve in the Church of Christ. The incestuous Tamar also received pardon for her crime and is declared more just than the patriarch Judah; her incest did not take from her the privilege of qontinuing the line of which the Messiah was bpm. We see also in Holy Scriptures that Christ absolved the woman taken in adultery and did not permit her to be punished. The laws of the Roman Emperors did * If the iniquity of women is praised in Scripture, their good actions on the other hand, are strongly depreciated; for it is written in Scripture that the iniquity of man is more estimable than a ^ood action of a WQma.il, 28 PARADOX ON WOMEN. not permit adulteresses to be put to death or to, be sent to prison for debt. All this proves that their sins are not accounted as real sins; and this is the reason that St. Luke relates that the guests who. were seated at the table of Simon the Pharisee, with Christ, were surprised that He forgave Mary Magdalene her sins, when she had not sotight pardon for them, but only asked for her body to be freed from devils. The object of the remission of her sins, had no regard to her eternal life but to the deliverance of her body from devils. Thus the remission of sins, in women, ought to be taken in a different sense, to the remission of sins in men. Let us add that the Saviour having taught the .^Lord's pra,yer to the Apostles who were men, it is only meet for them and not for women to say in their prayers " Forgive us our trespasses." * In proof of our theory we can afifirm that the reason why the Apostles rebuffed the women who brought their children to Christ was because- amongst those children there were certainly some * The Turkish women, on the coast of Barbary, thought themselves dispensed from reciting prayers. Nearly every one in this country believed and they themselves are fully persuaded, that God only created them in order that they might contribute to ih.e pleasure of the other sex, and perpetuate the human race. This opinion extinguished every trace of virtue in them. Men only esteemed l^em for their own pleasure, and they were despised when they became useless to them. Vide Hist. Modeme, de TAbbaye Marsy. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 29 young girls, for whom the Messiah was not sent, * The Sadducees asked Christ to whom the woman who had married seven brothers, belonged in the resurrection. He replied, "Do ye not therefore err ' because ye know not the Scriptures ? " But why were they in error? Because they probably be- lieved in the resurrection of women ; misunder- standing the Scriptures, where there is no question of their salvation. Jesus continued to say to them : "For when they rise from the dead they neither marry, nor are given in marriage but are as the angels which are in heaven," Why so? Because there will be no women in the resurrection, men will then be like unto the angels of God, in heaven. What are the angels like, now, in heaven? They have certainly no affinity to women, there is no mention of a female angel. Let us then conclude that only men can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said to his own mother : ** Woman what have I to do with thee." If He^ did not belong in any way to His mother who engendered ' Him, there was certainly much less relation between Him and other women. It may be objected that if Christ were called, the Son of man, Mary ought to be called a human being. We can grant that, but it must be acknow- ■ * God is called in the Scriptures the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the men are here called the children of God, and girls the children of men. 30 PARADOX ON WOMEN. ledged that it is more by the grace of God, than by her own nature. This is why the angel said: " Hail thou that art highly favoured,- the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women." Why has she been blessed above all other women? Because she has been granted the favour of being ma.de a human creature, in' preference to all other w-omen. She can reasonably be given the name of man, because she begat without the help of any man, and she herself performed the function of a man. When the women of our century take it into their heads, to have children without the help of men, we will willingly believe that they deserve as much as they do, and that they are of the same species. * A woman who followed Jesus cried out from the middle of the crowd : " Blessed is the womb that bore thee and the paps which thou, hast sucked ! " Christ answered: "Yea rather, blessed arei they that hear the word of God and keep it. " We can see by that that He called in question the salvation of His mother. What can we think of the salvation of other women? It is usual to cover all that is * Some Rabbis have belieyed that there is a difference of sex amongst angels, the one males and the other females; but we have long known that this was a dream of the Rabbis. * Pomponius Mela has spoken of an island near to Ethiopia where there are women who have children without the company of any men. Our modem geographers and travellers make no mention of this isle, which was apparently one of those floating islands which have been submerged. What a pity such a race of women should have been lost. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 3 1 foul and immodest ; hence since the Apostle expressly recommends women to cover their lieads, we may- conclude that they were sullied in the sight of God; they cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven, since it is written that nothing defiled or impure can enter therein. It is also written that women who give themselves over to voluptuousness, are regarded as dead, although they appear to be living. The following passage of St. Paul to the Galatians has been cit-^, against our opinions : ** There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. " They wish to prove by this, that woman is a human being. The inference is not right; for in reasoning thus, we might infer that the Jew and the Greek are men, and draw an inference which would be ridiculous upon a fact which no one doubts. The Jew and the Greek cast off their nationality that they may live only in Christ Jesus. Now in order that woman may also be with man a creature in Christ, she must cast, off her sex; but as the thing is impossible we can infer fi-om that, how much she belongs to Christ. Men can cast off the old man (Adam) ; but has any one ever seen in any part of Scripture that women were asked to cast off the old woman (Eve) ? We cannot see how women can make one with men, in Christ, since Christ himself and the Apostles have commanded men to leave their wives, in order 32 PARADOX ON WOMEN. that they may become perfect, and obtain eternal life. The eunuchs who have no connection with women are extremely praised in Scripture ; Christ was not united to any woman, the Apostles sent them away, and advised others to do the same adding that those who defiled themselves did not please God and that it is well for man to have nothing to do with woman. If the absurd objection is made that a woman is so convinced that she has given birth to a human being when a girl is bom, that she rejoices accord- ing to the Scriptures in spite of her pain, we reply that it is not very common to see women rejoice in the birth of a girl, that they show__much joy in the birth of a boy which is not very surprising according to Aristotle, since he asserts that a girl is a monster in natxire, * or rather as Plato says, an ^ r * Aristol^e has .maintained that natux& only formed women, when on accoimt of the imperfection of nature, she could not make the perfect sex. The Platonic philosophers had a similar idea. Marsilio Ficino asserts that the generative virtue of man strives to produce a male, as being that which is the most peilSct of his kind, but -that universal nature sometimes wishes for a female in order that the propagation due to the con- course of the two sexes shall perfect the universe. The famous Scott has written that woman is only an accident of man, that it is only by occa- sion that, woman is what she 'is, nature intends to produce a man but does not always succeed on account of the indisposition of him who engenders or her who concurs, and then against her first intention she only produces a woman. What is more surprising is that this bizarre idea of Aristotie has been beHeved_by St. Thomas, Cajetan, and several other scholars. The greater part of ancient philosophers have also regarded woman as a man missed. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 33 animal destitute of reason. -'Besides it is written, that woman will be saved by the sons born unto her, and not by the daughters, which is a sufficient motive to maxe her rejoice in the birth of a boy, and which proves that the passage in question has only reference to the birth of male children. Search the Scriptures as much as we will, we shall always find in every^ passage that the word man only applies to men and not to women. I consent to lose their favour, if a -single passage can be found to the contrary. We must not pass in silence a passage of St. Luke, which can be quoted against us: it is said that Christ brought the daughter of Jairus to life again. JHere is a proof that women rise from the dead. We must mind that it is written: Jesus said, "Why make ye this ado and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth." It is clear from these words", that if this girl had been dead Christ would not have resuscitated her. It is certain, by the witness even of the Messiah, that she only slept, and was not dead as they thought; consequently it was not surprising that Plato doubted if he oug^Ht to class women with animals. Anaximander had the presumption to believe they were very inferior to men. Chrisippus regarded them as an ornament which God gave as a present to men. We suppress the taunts of the other philosophers, we only add that all the poets and great philosophers since Orpheus have spoken evil of women. Euripides insulted them, and all that remains to us of Simonides is A violent invective against them. The Latin poets have not been more favourable. If we are to believe Vossius, the grave Jurisconsult Cujas also wished to make sport of them in adopting our paradox. 3 34 PARADOX ON WOMEN. she was not brought to life again, Christ forbade those who were present, to talk to any one about what had happened. Why so ? In order that women might- not take example from this resurrection and foolishly imagine that one day they would rise again to have a share in eternal salvation. ■* When Jesus resuscitated the young man He did not forbid them to make known this resurrection. The Evangelist says on the contrary that " This rumour of Him went forth throughout all Judaea and throughout all the region round about." St Luke still further proves our assertion. A servant of Jairus came and said to Him, " Thy daughter is dead, trouble not the Master*' (Jesus). This servant evidently^ was of the general opinion that girls, or women, being once dead, ought not to be brought to life again, and had no need of Christ's help. Although the daughter of Jairus was resuscitated, * Several grave persons as St, Jerome, St. Hilary, St. Basil, Origen, St. Tertullian, had a singular idea on the resurrection of women. They maintain that they do not rise again in their own sex, founded principally on these words of^^St. Paul : " Till we all come in the unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God imto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature -of the fulness of Christ." And thus: "To be conformed to the image of His ^Son Jesus Christ." They add to these texts many Theological and Philosophical reasons; for example that man only was created from the earth, and that woman is a monster of nature, etc. According to this opinion we may conclude that women do not rise again in their own sex, with their own bodies, never rise again in point of fact; because that which essentially characterises women is their proper sex, if they are not resuscitated in their own~ sex, Ihey are resuscitated as men; but they have ceased to be women. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 35 we cannot make it a general rule for other women. We read in a legend that St. Germain brought an ass to life, it is only an ass who would afl&rm that there is a resurrection for asses. We can nowhere see in the Scriptures that women have received the Communion of the Eucharist. Christ did not instruct His disciples to administer this Sacrament to them because He did not come into the world to suffer for them. Nevertheless Scripture makes mention of women being baptised. But it must be admitted that Churches, .clocks, and ships are baptised every day ; can we say that they are human beings ? To administer baptism to women, is to act against the commandment which says clearly, " He that believeth, and is baptised shall be saved". He has not said she that believeth. The pronoun he is neither in Greek nor Latin, of the gender common to both man and woman. It is moreover unquestionable in the Holy Fathers, that circumcision is the type of baptism; and that baptism has been substituted by the new law. Now women were not circumcised according to the ancient law, consequently they ought not to be baptised under the new law. Therefore their baptism ought not to be counted valid, because we do not see in Scripture that they have been baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. As St. Paul allowed circumcision to the first Christians out of complaisance, although it was proscribed by the new law, baptism was allowed 36 PARADOX ON WOMEN. to women in the first centuries of the Church by the same complaisance. We should obey, and con- form to law and precepts which are prescribed, and not to examples; thus the baptism of women ought to be of no consideration, and can only be regarded as an ancient custom of no importance. * Some say that women belong tcr the Saviour, as well as men, since He shewed Himself first to women after His resurrection. We may retort that Christ first shewed Himself aft^: His birth to the ox and the ass, so that He bdongs also to the animals, and came into the world for them. What pitiful reasoning! We ought to be able to per- ceive that the only reason why Christ appeared to women first, afber the resurrejction was in order that His resurrection should be published on every side. We all know how women chatter, and their love of spreading abroad all that they know. Never- theless, as in all times, their testimony has not had great weight. Christ would not make use of them as irreproachable witnesses. It is also the reason • The baptism of women may be compared to the dead, or the baptism of the dead, of whom St". Paul speaks in the Ephesians. It was the custom in the early times of the ' Churchy to be baptised for those friends who had died without having been baptised. In these more enlightened times the dead themselves are baptised. This practice has been crushed by the Council of Africa. Baptism in Scripture does not always mean Sacrament : an entire ablution of the body made with water is often called baptism not only by profane authors, but in Holy Scripture. The Je^s baptised some days after circumcision, prostitutes, and even women, as were Sarah and Rebecca, but it was a baptism oi grace. PARADOX ON WOMEN. 37 why St. Thomas and the other Apostles would not believe in it, because they had no other proofs than the evidence of these women. Some of the Apostles even treated them with ridicule. In reality one of the women had difficulty in recognizing Christ, she took Him for a gardener and when she knew Him again. He forbade her to touch Him, which proves incontestably that He would not honour women by His- resurrection. Women will exclaim, We speak, we have a soul, and a share of sense, we are then human beings. We deny the inference. There are birds which speak * and Balaam's ass which was not a. human being, spoke. To speak without sense is to chatter like a magpie. As a proof that women speak without sense, the Apostle forbade them to speak in the Church; why should they have been forbidden, if they spoke rationally ? The law has at all times forbidden them public functions and offices ; for instance they cannot hold the office of Judge, nor exercise the function of Magistrate, barrister or solicitor. Are they not excluded from these duties —by reason of their incapacity or want of sense, f * It was recently proved in a philosophical pampHet, that animals had language. Several authors formerly had the same opinion. To try and find out the means of understanding their langu^e would be a pretty question to propose to the Academy, Naturalists have observed, that 'birds which have a flat tongue, rounded in a certain manner, have a faculty for articulating some words, such as magpies, perroqnets, blackbirds, jay^ etc. f It is said in Genesis that God breathed upon the face of Adam the breath of life,, All the Fathers have understood this breath of life tQ 38 PARADOX ON WOMEN. We do not see in any part of the Scripture that God has given woman a soul. Many sectarians, amongst others the Anabaptists have held one opinion, and have tried to prove from Holy Writ that they have no souls. * If we grant that they have rational souls, that does not prove that they are human creatures, since the angels, and the devils, who are not of our species, also speak and are endowed with rational souls. We see with surprise that the learned Cardinal Hosius has asserted that a, rational soul do^s not essentially constitute man.f mean the soul. They said that God animated man by his breath, and that He put into his body a. spiritual substance, independent of his body, which came immediately from God, and is in consequence, incorruptible and immortal. But did God inspire this spirit of life or soul to women ? The Scripture makes no mention of it. Heidegger has observed in his history of the Patriarchs, that Moses does not speak of the soul of Bve, and that they are ignorant of the reason. * We must grant that women have a. rational soul, since we allow one to animals. It is said in Genesis, "Let the earth bting forth the souls of beasts." Amabe, and Luctance granted them a. spiritual soul and if we may believe Rorarius hers is of a quality other than our own. The cele- brated Plato granted them immortality. "Not only our souls," said he, "but also those of animals hve and shall live, in a state of feeling and of action." The incomparable Grotius was so far from believing that they had no soul, that he has dared to affirm that God ffimself serves them in a sort of way, as a soul. -- To grant a spiritual and immortal soul to beasts, and maintain at the same time that it is different from that of man, is to sustain a Paradox, as M. Bouiller has done, in his philosophical essay on the souls of animals, f Stanislas Hosius was one of the most illustrious of the Fathers in the Council of Trent. He has written some very clever controversial works. Casaubon accused him of having made an apology for what