be. Noble women give nobility to the
sphere of action and influence in which they move. Genius, worth, mental
and moral power, owe more to woman than to all things else. If I wished
to bless the world, I should bless woman. If I wished to sweeten a
stream, I should mingle the sweet in its fountain. If I wished to make
an oak strong, I would put water and nourishment at its roots. If I
wished to rear me a noble horse, I should take care that its mother
possessed the strength and qualities I wished in the animal. It is clear
to my mind, if we would do a good thing for mankind, we must do it for
woman. Woman should be unshackled, her soul set free, her ambition
awakened, her nobility developed, her strength nurtured, her mind
educated, her normal sense quickened, her consciences sanctified, her
affections taught to wind their tendrils about all that is noble.

Such being the natural position of woman, we hold it as a self-evident
truth, that she should be educated deeply, thoroughly, solidly; that the
first work of every reformer, every philanthropist, every statesman,
every Christian, is to help and urge onward the education of woman.

I. The dwelling-place of the human mind, the instrument of its actions
in its world-sphere, is the body. Between the mind and body there is an
intimate, mysterious, and wonderful relation. They act and react upon
each other. The condition of each one affects the condition of the
other: a diseased body tends to produce a diseased condition of mind; a
disturbed mind wears upon the body; a nervous hot-blooded body is a
constant irritation and flame to the mind; a passionate, restless mind
gives no peace to the body.

Thus they act and react upon each other in all their multiform
movements, conditions, and activities. No action or condition of the one
is negative to the other. The state of the body, then, is important to
the mind, to its free and easy action, to its natural growth and ready
culture. This is a fact criminally overlooked by the great mass of
mankind, and especially by women. It is overlooked by many teachers, and
in our general system of mental education.

To train the body is our first care. To develop its strength, to secure
and preserve proper tone, to make it harmonious, active, and beautiful,
to plant in its vitality the roses of health and sow in its blood the
seeds of enduring life and activity, is our first and imperious duty. To
neglect the body is to neglect the min