Mary Astell
English philosopher (1666 to 1731), born in Newcastle, who lived her adult life in London; author of A Serious Proposal to the Ladies (1694, 1697).
Mary Astell did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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Women are denied advantages from infancy and then reproached for lacking them
Women are from their very Infancy debar’d those Advantages, with the want of which they are afterwards reproached, and nursed up in those Vices which will hereafter be upbraided to them.
gutenberg.orgSaid c. 1694–1697This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 7 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
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Women are denied advantages from infancy and then reproached for lacking them
Women are from their very Infancy debar’d those Advantages, with the want of which they are afterwards reproached, and nursed up in those Vices which will hereafter be upbraided to them.
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Parts I and II (1694, 1697; 1697 printing) Said c. 1694–1697
Since the soul was made to contemplate truth, keeping women from knowledge is as cruel and unjust as keeping them from good
Being the Soul was created for the contemplation of Truth as well as for the fruition of Good, is it not as cruel and unjust to preclude Women from the knowledge of the one as from the enjoyment of the other?
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Parts I and II (1694, 1697; 1697 printing) Said c. 1694–1697
A lack of education makes women's talk insipid and their solitude unbearable; learning is necessary to make them useful company
What is it but the want of an ingenious Education, that renders the generality of Feminine Conversations so insipid and foolish and their solitude so insupportable? Learning is therefore necessary to render them more agreeable and useful in company, and to furnish them with becoming entertainments when alone, that so they may not be driven to those miserable shifts, which too many make use of to put off their Time, that precious Talent that never lies on the hands of a judicious Person.
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Parts I and II (1694, 1697; 1697 printing) Said c. 1694–1697
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Those who deny women intellectual improvement must either claim women have no souls or let them cultivate their minds
Let such therefore as deny us the improvement of our Intellectuals, either take up his Paradox, who said that Women have no Souls, which at this time a day, when they are allow’d to Brutes, wou’d be as unphilosophical as it is unmannerly, or else let them permit us to cultivate and improve them.
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Parts I and II (1694, 1697; 1697 printing) Said c. 1694–1697
Piety founded on reason and truth is secure; piety founded on feeling and inclination will not last
Reason and Truth are firm and immutable, she who bottoms on them is on sure ground, Humour and Inclination are sandy Foundations, and she who is sway’d by her Affections more than by her Judgment, owes the happiness of her Soul in a great measure to the temper of her Body; her Piety may perhaps blaze high but will not last long.
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Parts I and II (1694, 1697; 1697 printing) Said c. 1694–1697
In matters of importance women should assert their liberty instead of submitting to impertinent customs
Singularity is indeed to be avoided except in matters of importance, in such a case Why shou’d not we assert our Liberty, and not suffer every Trifler to impose a Yoke of Impertinent Customs on us?
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Parts I and II (1694, 1697; 1697 printing) Said c. 1697
Nothing should be believed merely because it was once believed, but only when it carries clear and uncontested evidence
Disengage our selves from all our former Prejudices, from our Opinion of Names, Authorities, Customs and the like, not give credit to any thing any longer because we have once believ’d it, but because it carries clear and uncontested Evidence along with it.
A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, Parts I and II (1694, 1697; 1697 printing) Said c. 1697
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