g
Of the whole shame, and then the jeopardy
For good or ill, what shall that master be?
Reject she cannot, and if she but stays
His suit, 'tis shame on all that woman's days.
So thrown amid new laws, new places, why,
'Tis magic she must have to prophesy.
Home never taught her that--how best to guide
Towards peace this thing that sleepeth at her side,
And she, who, labouring long, shall find some way
Whereby her lord may bear with her, nor fray
His yoke too fiercely, blessed is the breath
That woman draws! Else let her pray for death.
Her lord, if he be wearied of her face
Within doors, gets him forth; some merrier place
Will ease his heart; but she waits on, her whole
Vision enchained on a single soul.
And then, forsooth, 'tis they that face the call
Of war, while we sit sheltered, hid from all
Peril. False mocking. Sooner would I stand
Three times to face their battles, shield in hand,
Than bear our child."--EURIPIDES.

If we turn now from eastern civilisation to ancient Greece, the
picture there presented to us is in many ways in sharp contrast to
anything we have yet examined. The Greeks founded western
civilisation, but their rapid advance in general culture was by no
means accompanied by a corresponding improvement in the position of
women. The fineness of their civilisation and their exquisite
achievement in so many directions makes it the more necessary to
remember this.

At one time there would seem to have been in prehistoric Greece a
period of fully developed mother-rights, as is proved by numerous
survivals of the older system so frequently met with in Greek
literature and history. This was at an earlier stage of civilisation,
before the establishment of the patriarchal system. There is little
doubt, however, that the influence of mother-right remained as a
tradition for long after the actual rights had been lost by
women.[253] It will be remembered how great was the astonishment of
the Greek travellers at the free position of the Egyptian women, in
particular the apparent subjection of the husband to his wife. Now,
such surprise is in itself sufficient to prove a different conception
of the relation of the sexes. The patriarchal view whereby the woman
is placed under the protection and authority of the man was already
clearly established in the Hellenic belief. Yet, in spite of this
fact, the position of the woman wa