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     The work of creation was about complete when "The Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a help--meet for him." Gen. ii. 18. While the divine purpose in the creation of woman is not very explicitly stated, in a general way several things at least are implied: First, that God created her for a companion for man--" it is not good that he should be alone." And second, as a co-partner in the busy scenes of this life--" I will make an help--meet for him." Paul, speaking on this subject (1 Cor. xi. 8, 9) says; "For the man was not of the woman, but the woman of the man; neither was the

man created for the woman, but the woman for the man." Hence, whatever else may have entered into the divine purpose in her creation, this one thing is clear--she was created for

     Some people have very strange notions indeed about the true province of woman--her duties, privileges, rights, influence and possibilities. Some have cherished the idea--perhaps derived from the term "help-meet"--that she was created for purely household and other manual service--in short, to be a slave to man. This idea is of heathen origin. Household duties, it is true, are included in her sphere of usefulness, but in the providence of God this has proven only the humbler part in her sphere of life's duties. Christian civilization lids given woman a more honorable place in the home, in society and in the Church, than that of a household slave. It has placed her where God purposed she should be--truly a help--meet for man. Notwithstanding the fact that Robert Ingersoll has declared the Bible the woman's tyrant, no book or set of books has ever done so much for

the amelioration of woman, and to cause her proper relation to man to be recognized and honored, as the Bible. For confirmation of this statement we need only look into India, Japan, Africa, or into any other heathen land, and compare the condition of woman in these lands with her condition in our own land--the land of Bibles and of true civil and religious liberty. A single observation will prove to the satisfaction of any person of intelligence and candor that the assertion of this modern blasphemer is a preposterous absurdity. In our own land, as in no other, woman enjoys her proper liberty, has the privilege to enjoy her rights, and operates in her proper sphere with becoming dignity and honor, in proportion as she avails herself of the means of qualification. In this, as in no other land, is woman assuming the attitude of a true "help--meet" for man, and that in proportion as she embraces the opportunities, and uses the means, which the Bible has placed at her command. But it is said that according to the laws of nature water can never rise above its level. So with the members of human society. It is well, therefore, that we consider

necessary in the development of true womanhood.

Woman is susceptible of many and wonderful developments. With her acute mental conceptions, and her keen moral sensibilities, she has placed within her reach possibilities peculiar to herself.

     In the minds of some people the ideal woman is expressed in what they are pleased to call "Refinement!" And what strange ideas they have of "refinement!" In their, minds a beautiful form, dressed in silk or other costly attire, with a pretty face under a canopy of frizzes of their own or other hair, and folded about them a pair of lily-white hands unused only to the touch of musical instruments, constitute refinement. Admit it that some of these features add greatly to the attractions of women, but they have nothing whatever to do with true refinement. In this, other and more fundamental principles are involved. In our minds true refinement embraces at least three elements of character, viz.: intelligence, industry, and the grace of God.

     There has been a time when it was thought

but the progress of time has effected a resurrection of thought on this subject. We are living in

a literary age--in a time when genuine intelligence is appreciated, and when nothing so signally blights womanly dignity and true refinement as ignorance.

     The term intelligence is comprehensive and includes:

     1. A proper knowledge of household duties. As the mistress of the house, woman can only be master of the situation by having a general and practical knowledge of all its duties. "And with this," one has said, "woman becomes the queen of the home; without it, she becomes its servant." But intelligence embraces more than this.

     2. It includes literary culture. By this we do not mean a classical education alone; nor a general knowledge of the different classes and grades of literature; nor yet a familiarity with that class of common, trashy literature so abundant in our land, which steals away your time, wastes your moral nature, and makes havoc of your mental vigor. But by literary culture we mean that training and development of mind necessary to fit you for at least any of the ordinary vocations of life, together with the constant use and a general knowledge of that class of literature which affords culture for mind and heart as well. The classics
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prepare the mind by proper development, and the inculcation of certain fundamental principles, not alone to fill certain vocations in life, but also to properly read and glean from the best literature of our land. It is this which properly developes the mind, inspires original thought, and invigorates man's whole being. Without this

     In this age of education and literature, every advantage is offered to woman to rise to the honor and dignity of true womanhood, and, in her proper sphere, to be co-equal with man; and to be, in the true sense, a help--meet for him.

     But there is a dangerous tendency confronting us just now. It is of heathen origin. It is the tendency toward caste distinctions. Among the heathen, woman usually occupies one of two extremes--either that of abject servitude, or that of indolent aristocracy--either one of which thwarts the very purpose of her creation. The very principles of refinement are lost, and every element of her nature dwarfed in either of these extremes; and there is a strong tendency in our

land toward these extremes. On the one hand, we have a class of women unduly taxed with labor, at less than nominal wages. On the other hand, there is a class who while away their time in opulence, indolence and luxury. And each of these extremes contributes largely to the fallen women of our land. They are a fruitful source of sin, and ruinous to health and public morals. And for this tendency the only remedy is intelligence--genuine literary culture.

     3. Industry. It is not only important to know how to do a thing, but to profit by the exercise in doing it. God said to our first parents, "By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." In this saying is found a fundamental principle of life--a principle which affects both the health and morals of mankind--and without which we can not live out the full measure 'of our usefulness in life. There are certain inherent qualities in the human constitution which are dependent upon activity for development. I do not believe that God made industry a part of the curse in consequence of the fall; but that sin simply intensified the labor, in that thorns and thistles will now grow spontaneously, and must be rooted out. God himself gave us the example of industry in the creation--he

labored six days and rested the seventh. Our Lord said, "I must be about my Father's business,'' and "I must do the will of him that sent me." And are we better than he in whose image we were created?

     All are familiar with the saying "Cleanliness is next to godliness." And so it is. But of industry we may just as properly say, "it is a part of godliness." For it is one of the first external marks or evidences of a Christian life. The heathen, as a rule, are a lazy people. But as they wake up to see and enjoy the light of Christ, their lethargy begins to succumb to activity, and, as they grow in the divine life, they become habitually more industrious. And this is but the external manifestation of the divine principle within.

     Some centuries ago, a man residing in Egypt became a convert to the Christian faith. The spirit of the times favored asceticism; and he, being of a contemplative mind, conceived the unnatural idea, that if he could retire from society, and spend his time in contemplation, he should attain to the perfection of human happiness on earth. Filled with this thought, he bade adieu to the abodes of men, wandered far into the desert, selected a cave, near which flowed a spring, for his

home, and, subsisting on the scanty crops of roots and herbs which sprang up spontaneously in the adjacent glens and valleys, began his life of meditation and prayer. He had not spent many seasons in his hermitage before his heart grew miserable beyond endurance. The long and weary hours of the day, and the dreary, interminable nights, oppressed and crushed his listless soul. In the extremity of his wretchedness he fell upon his face and cried, "Father, call home thy child! Let me die! I am weary of life!" Thus stricken with grief, he fell asleep; and in his vision an angel stood before him and said "Cut down the palm tree that grows by your spring, and of its fibres construct a rope." The vision passed away, and the hermit awoke with a resolution to fulfill his mission. But he had no ax, and therefore journeyed far to secure one. On his return he felled the tree, and diligently labored till its fibres lay at his feet, formed into a coil of rope. Again the angel stood before him in a vision, and said  "Dominic, you are now no longer weary of life, but you are happy. Know, then, that man was made for labor, and that this, with prayer, constitute his principal duties. Both are essential to happiness. Go, therefore, into the world with this

rope girded about thy loins, as a memorial of what God has done for thee."

     This incident needs no comment It simply illustrates a divine principle, so essential to human happiness, and without the exercise of which no woman can become a true help--meet for man. Combine intelligence and industry, and we have the two more essential human elements in character. But there is another element of character essential to both your happiness and efficiency. in your particular sphere in life, which rises above intelligence and industry as the divine does above the human. Hence I mention

     4. The Grace of God, as the crowning element in the development of true womanhood.

     Of man it has been said (Ps. viii. 5; Heb. ii. 7, 9), "For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor." Of woman one has said, "She is an angel of mercy," and God has said (Prov. xix. 14), "A prudent wife is from the Lord." Marvellous (sic) as is the change effected in any human life by a genuine work of the grace of God, in the woman whose mind and body have received proper culture it is doubly conspicuous. However brilliant her mind may be, and gentle and refined her habits of

life, the grace of God will add to the keenness of its conceptions and brilliancy of its reflections, will sweeten her temper and habits, and give strength and beauty to her character. An illustration may be to the point here. It is said of Michael Angelo that as he was walking one day through an obscure street in Florence, he saw a crude block or marble lying neglected in a yard, half buried in the debris. Indifferent to company and apparel, he set to work to clear away the rubbish, and to rescue the stone from its filthy surroundings. His companions looked on with astonishment; and asked him what he wanted with that worthless piece of rock. "Oh," said he, "there is an angel in that stone, and I must get it out." The marble was taken to his studio, and after hard and patient work he brought forth the angel. And in that act he set an image in the niche of fame that reflects honor upon his name to-day.

     Young ladies, in your immature state you are only as that crude block of marble amid the rubbish. The culture of your mind and bodies is to your attitude in life what the artist's chisel was to that marble block. And the grace of God is to your lives what the polishing process was to the perfecting of that angel. It took the artist's chisel

to bring out the form of the angel. It takes the culture of mind and body to bring out the natural talents of woman. It took the polishing process to bring out the perfections of expression and beauty in that angel. So it takes the grace and Spirit of God to bring forth the perfections of refined womanhood.

     Thus combining intelligence, industry, and the grace of God, we have a grand symmetrical system of culture--culture for mind, culture for the body, and' culture for the heart. And that woman who, with God's own illumination in her mind, her heart filled with His infinite love, and her life seasoned with His grace, and who is best able to see hanging on the retreating cloud the bow with which God has spanned the life and destiny of her sex, and standing under its emerald arch is thrilled with gratitude, and moved to highest endeavor, is best qualified to instruct, inspire, ennoble and lead those of her kind.

     At this juncture a word to the. parents will not come amiss. Do not be afraid of injuring the minds of your daughters in obtaining a liberal education, nor their bodies by exercise in the ordinary household duties, nor yet be afraid of humility in commending your daughters to Christ.

     This is not consistent with the popular idea of card and dancing parties, it is true. But give your daughters careful literary, physical and spiritual culture and the balance will go by unenvied. Further, should your daughter fall in an unguarded hour, do not cast her away, as too many parents have done. But with a mother's hand of love lift her up, and offer her a father's hand of protection. One of the most cruel customs of our land is that of too many parents offering kindness and protection to almost any kind of a son, even though he be a reprobate. But a daughter falls, and she becomes a cast-away. Not that we would care less for the sons, but more for the daughters. The sons who are best able to care for themselves are helped and protected, even at the hazard of money and home; but the well nigh helpless daughters are cast upon the mercies of an unfriendly world. And thus we furnish daily recruits for the disreputable institutions of our land. One of our Lord's most important lessons was on this point. John viii: 3-11.

     Let us then have culture of mind, culture of

body and culture of heart for our daughters, with proper protection, and we shall in a measure at least begin to realize what jewels God has hid away in them.

     But from this let us turn our attention briefly to

     In the experience of the human race the influence and possibilities of woman have never been fully and accurately measured. And we need not feel astonished at this fact. God has given to woman peculiar elements of power, which in His providence will be silently but surely wielded wherever the human conditions will admit--I say silently, because these as a rule are the more potent forces, and because of this are a peculiar element of her power. Thunder has great faculty for noise--it rumbles and roars till the earth trembles to its very centre, but when its tumble and roll is most terrific it is, as a rule, the most harmless. But the unseen and unheard operations and influences of woman's power are sure and effectual. Love and purity, faith and godliness, are quiet forces, but resistless as the roll of the planets. And she begins to wield these forces just where they prove the most effectual

     The home is the centre--the focal point--from which these forces radiate. One has said, "The woman of Christian culture is to the home what the heart is to the human body, sending life, beauty, ambition and power with each pulsation into every member." While this is a strong statement, it nevertheless contains a vital truth. In the home the woman has her throne. Here she holds in her hands and enshrines' in her heart the moral destiny of her race. God has peculiarly fitted woman by nature, and in His wisdom ordained her the keeper of the home. And here by your hearth--stone and mine, is embosomed (sic), as God's own sacred trust, the glory of the state and nation, the hope of the Church, and the destiny of the world. Dr. Holland, speaking of woman's power in the home, says; "Of this realm woman is the queen. It takes its cue and its hue from her. If she is in the best sense womanly--if she is true and tender, loving and heroic, patient and self devoted--she unconsciously organizes and puts into operation a set of influences that do more to mould (sic) the destiny of the nations than any man or set of men, uncrowned by power or eloquence, can possibly effect. The men of the nation are what their

mothers make them, as a rule. And the voice which those men speak in the expression of their power is the voice of the women who bore and bred them.  *  *  *  *  As a nation we rise or fall as the character of our homes, presided over by women, rises or falls. And the best gauge of our best prosperity is to be found in the measure by which these homes find multiplication in the land." John Quincy Adams once said, "All I am my mother made me." Let the women of this laud raise the standard of their homes to the full measure of their ability, aided by the grace and wisdom of God--let them place this standard where God would have it and where they alone can place it--and not only the prosperity, but the salvation of our nation is well nigh secured.

     And what has been said of the influence and possibilites of woman in the home is also true of them

     Young friends, the reins of society are largely in your hands to guide whither ye will. It is in your province to grasp them firmly, and in your God--given powers, carry it onward to the heights of moral purity and prosperity, or holding them loosely, to hurl it into the abyss of ruin forever. It

is in your province largely to mould the habits of the young men of our land, and to fix the standard of their moral purity. Nay, it is in a measure in your province to fix their future destiny. It needs but the united voice and action of the young women of our land to circumscribe and subdue the power of tobacco and rum over the young men of our land. But you can not do this by circulating in their presence with a cud of gum in your mouth, or by setting a bottle of wine or rum before them when they call. But by coming before them in all the purity of person and character possible, and with the dignity of cultured womanhood, you at once command their respect and admiration. And as it will be for you to determine what shall be the character of those whose company you accept, and as they must and will have your society, they will almost unconsciously labor to rise to the standard of moral and social purity which you have fixed, and respect you for having placed it so high. It thus lies within your power to become a potent factor in the formation of good society. Nay, more! You are thus destined to become potent factors in the affairs of

     Talk about "Women's Rights!" Woman has all the rights now that she can use effectually. To give her more political right would weaken her moral sway in our land. Where has history recorded a reform movement in our land which has not been directly or indirectly inaugurated by woman? Who but woman brought to public gaze, in all its hideousness, the sin of slavery? Who but woman has given tone and an effectual impetus to the temperance movement of our land? Ah! in the language of the great Otway, "Woman has laid the foundations of empires, and more than once has hurled them to ruin. The empire that could boast a Babylon was founded by a woman--Semiramis, the widow of the founder of Nineveh. The overthrow of the Trojan commonwealth was due to no cause so much as to the beauty and perfidy of Helen."

     Such, my dear young friends, are your influences

for weal or woe. Such are your possibilities. To what extent you will realize them will remain for you to determine. And I trust that you realize and appreciate, to some degree at least, the momentous issues for human destiny God has vested in your lives. And woe to those of your kind, who with such advantages for development, and with such opportunities for the amelioration of their race, waste their time and strength in a mistaken mission, or fritter away their splendid gifts in momentary pleasure, or the silly follies of show and fashion. But glorious will be the crown which God will give the faithful of your kind. Ah, how a thought like this should awaken your aspirations and inspire you to duty! You need the mental, physical and moral culture to fit you to become efficient bread-winners, but for a higher and better reason, to fit you to enjoy the possibilities which God has placed within your reach. But to enjoy a crown sparkling full of the stars of glory, you need constantly to look to the hills whence cometh all strength. As you begin to ascend the. Delectable Mountains, you need to lift your eyes above and beyond the standard of human attainments to the highlands of glory, and there gather food for the mind, food for the soul,

power with God and man in your daily service, and inspiration for your lives. Christ alone can truly mould your lives, inspire your hearts, and lead you into the sublime sphere of true womanhood. But with him enshrined in your hearts and in your live the world is at your command. Oh, the illimitableness of which you are capable! In the beings you are, and in the wide and varied mission to which you have been appointed, what a throne God has set for you! What a sceptre he has put into your hands! What a crown of glory he has lifted to your brow! O! that he who has exalted woman by his incarnation may inspire you with aspirations to the full measure of your influence and possibilities
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© 2003 for the NEGenWeb Project by Pam Rietsch, Ted & Carole Miller.