st is against us. Neither do I feel called upon to show
what woman's proper sphere is. In every great reform the majority
have always said to the claimant, no matter what he claimed, "You
are not fit for such a privilege." Luther asked of the Pope
liberty for the masses to read the Bible. The reply was that it
would not be safe to trust the masses with the word of God. "Let
them try," said the great reformer, and the history of three
centuries of development and purity proclaims the result.

The lower classes in France claimed their civil rights; the right
to vote, and to a direct representation in government, but the
rich and lettered classes cried out, "You can not be made fit."
The answer was, "Let us try." That France is not as Spain,
utterly crushed beneath the weight of a thousand years of
misgovernment, is the answer to those who doubt the ultimate
success of the experiment.

Woman stands now at the same door. She says: "You tell me I have
no intellect. Give me a chance." "You tell me I shall only
embarrass politics; let me try." The only reply is the same stale
argument that said to the Jews of Europe: You are fit only to
make money; you are not fit for the ranks of the army, or the
halls of Parliament.

How cogent the eloquent appeal of Macaulay: "What right have we
to take this question for granted? Throw open the doors of this
House of Commons; throw open the ranks of the imperial army,
before you deny eloquence to the countrymen of Isaiah, or valor
to the descendants of the Maccabees."

It is the same now with us. Throw open the doors of Congress;
throw open those court-houses; throw wide open the doors of your
colleges, and give to the sisters of the De Staels and the
Martineaus the same opportunity for culture that men have, and
let the results prove what their capacity and intellect really
are. When woman has enjoyed for as many centuries as we have the
aid of books, the discipline of life, and the stimulus of fame,
it will be time to begin the discussion of these questions: "What
is the intellect of woman?" "Is it equal to that of man?" Till
then, all such discussion is mere beating of the air. While it is
doubtless true, that great minds make a way for themselves, spite
of all obstacles, yet who knows how many Miltons