It Is Impossible To Reduce,

The First Of Earthly Blessings, Independence.

[every Age], However Destitute Of Science Or Virtue, Sufficiently Abounds With Acts Of Blood And Military Renown.

The Brutal Soldiers Satisfied Their Sensual Appetites Without Consulting Either The Inclination Or The Duties Of Their Female Captives; And A Nice Question Of Casuistry Was Seriously Agitated, Whether Those Tender Victims, Who Had Inflexibly Refused Their Consent To The Violation Which They Sustained, Had Lost, By Their Misfortune, The Glorious Crown Of Virginity. There Were Other Losses Indeed Of A More Substantial Kind And More General Concern.

Women [in Ancient Rome] Were Condemned To The Perpetual Tutelage Of Parents, Husbands, Or Guardians; A Sex Created To Please And Obey Was Never Supposed To Have Attained The Age Of Reason And Experience. Such, At Least, Was The Stern And Haughty Spirit Of The Ancient Law . . .

Of The Various Forms Of Government Which Have Prevailed In The World, An Hereditary Monarchy Seems To Present The Fairest Scope For Ridicule.