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Woman: Quotations from Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations
Loveliest of women! heaven is in thy soul, Beauty and virtue shine forever round thee, Bright'ning each other! thou art all divine!— ADDISON — Cato. Act III. Sc. 2.
Divination seems heightened and raised to its highest power in woman.— AMOS BRONSON ALCOTT — Concord Days.
August. Woman. On one she smiled, and he was blest; She smiles elsewhere-we make a din! But 'twas not love which heaved her breast, Fair child!-it was the bliss within.— MATTHEW ARNOLD — Euphrosyne.
But woman's grief is like a summer storm, Short as it violent is.— JOANNA BAILLIE — Basil. Act V. Sc. 3.
Not she with trait'rous kiss her Saviour stung, Not she denied him with unholy tongue; She, while apostles shrank, could danger brave, Last at his cross, and earliest at his grave.— EATON S. BARRETT — Woman. Pt. I. L. 141.
Oh, woman, perfect woman! what distraction Was meant to mankind when thou wast made a devil! What an inviting hell invented. S.— BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER — Comedy of Monsieur Thomas. Act III. Sc. 1.
Then, my good girls, be more than women, wise: At least be more than I was; and be sure You credit anything the light gives life to Before a man.— BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER — The Maid's Tragedy. Act II. Sc. 2.
A worthless woman! mere cold clay As all false things are! but so fair, She takes the breath of men away Who gaze upon her unaware: I would not play her larcenous tricks To have her looks!— E. B. BROWNING — Bianca among the Nightingales. St. 12.
You forget too much That every creature, female as the male, Stands single in responsible act and thought, As also in birth and death.— E. B. BROWNING — Aurora Leigh. Bk. II. L. 472.
Auld Nature swears, the lovely dears Her noblest work she classes, O: Her 'prentice hand she tried on man, An' then she made the lasses, O.— BURNS — Green Grow the Rashes.
Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn, Gay as the gilded summer sky, Sweet as the dewy milk-white thorn, Dear as the raptured thrill of joy.— BURNS — Address to Edinburgh.
To see her is to love her, And love but her forever; For nature made her what she is, And never made anither!— BURNS — Bonny Lesley.
The souls of women are so small, That some believe they've none at all; Or if they have, like cripples, still They've but one faculty, the will. C.— BUTLER — Miscellaneous Thoughts.
A lady with her daughters or her nieces Shine like a guinea and seven-shilling pieces.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto III. St. 60.
And whether coldness, pride, or virtue dignify A woman, so she's good, what does it signify?— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto XIV. St. 57.
And whispering, "I will ne'er consent"consented.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto I. St. 117.
But O ye lords of ladies intellectual, Inform us truly, have they not henpecked you all?— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto I. St. 22.
But she was a soft landscape of mild earth, Where all was harmony, and calm, and quiet, Luxuriant, budding; cheerful without mirth.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto VI. St. 53.
Heart on her lips, and soul within her eyes, Soft as her clime, and sunny as her skies.— BYRON — Beppo. St. 45.
Her stature tall-I hate a dumpy woman.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto I. St. 61.
I love the sex, and sometimes would reverse The tyrant's wish, "that mankind only had One neck, which he with one fell stroke might pierce; " My wish is quite as wide, but not so bad, And much more tender on the whole than fierce; It being (not now, but only while a lad) That womankind had but one rosy mouth, To kiss them all at once, from North to South.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto VI. St.27.
I've seen your stormy seas and stormy women, And pity lovers rather more than seamen.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto VI. St. 53.
She was his life, The ocean to the river of his thoughts, Which terminated all.— BYRON — The Dream, St. 2.
Soft as the memory of buried love, Pure as the prayer which childhood wafts above.— BYRON — The Bride of Abydos. Canto I. St. 6.
What a strange thing is man! and what a stranger Is woman! What a whirlwind is her head, And what a whirlpool full of depth and danger Is all the rest about her.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto IX. St. 64.
The world was sad; the garden was a wild; And man, the hermit, sigh'd-till woman smiled.— CAMPBELL — Pleasures of Hope. Pt. II. L. 37.
Of all the girls that are so smart, There's none like pretty Sally.— HENRY CAREY — Sally in our Alley.
Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.— CONGREVE — The Mourning Bride. Act III. Sc. 2.
The sweetest noise on earth, a woman's tongue; A string which hath no discord.— S. BARRY CORNWALL — Rafaelle and Fornarina. Sc. 2.
Her air, her manners, all who saw admired; Courteous though coy, and gentle, though retired: The joy of youth and health her eyes display'd, And ease of heart her every look convey'd.— CRABBE — Parish Register. Pt. II.
Whoe'er she be, That not impossible she, That shall command my heart and me.— CRASHAW — Wishes to his (Supposed)
น. Mistress. Man was made when Nature was But an apprentice, but woman when she Was a skilful mistress of her art. Cupid's Whirligig. 1607. And, like another Helen, fir'd another Troy.— DRYDEN — Alexander's Feast. L. 154.
And that one hunting, which the devil design'd For one fair female, lost him half the kind.— DRYDEN — Theodore and Honoria. L. 427.
A woman's counsel brought us first to woe, And made her man his paradise forego, Where at heart's ease he liv'd; and might have been As free from sorrow as he was from sin.— DRYDEN — Cock and the Fox. L. 557.
I am resolved to grow fat and look young till forty, and then slip out of the world with the first wrinkle and the reputation of five and twenty.— DRYDEN — The Maiden Queen. Act III. Sc. 1.
She hugg'd the offender, and forgave the offence; Sex to the last.— DRYDEN — Cymon and Iphigenia. L. 367.
For the beauty of a lovely woman is like music.— GEORGE ELIOT — Adam Bede. Ch. XXXIII.
Her lot is made for her by the love she accepts.— GEORGE ELIOT — Felix Holt. Ch. XLIII.
When greater perils men environ, Then women show a front of iron; And, gentle in their manner, they Do bold things in a quiet way.— THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH — Betty Zane.
For silence and chaste reserve is woman's genuine praise, and to remain quiet within the house.— EURIPIDES
Are women books? says Hodge, then would mine were An Almanack, to change her every year.— BENJ. FRANKLIN — Poor Richard, Dec.,
1737. Where is the man who has the power and skill To stem the torrent of a woman's will? For if she will, she will, you may depend on't; And if she won't, she won't; so there's an end on't. From the Pillar Erected on the Mount in the Dane John Field, Canterbury. Examiner, May 31, 1829. A cat has nine lives and a woman has nine cats' lives.— FULLER — Gnomologia.
And when a lady's in the case, You know all other things give place.— GAY — Fables. The Hare and Many Friends. L. 41.
How happy could I be with either, Were t'other dear charmer away! But, while ye thus tease me together, To neither a word will I say.— GAY — The Beggar's Opera. Act II. Sc. 2.
If the heart of a man is depressed with cares, The mist is dispell'd when a woman appears.— GAY — The Beggar's Opera. Act II.
'Tis a woman that seduces all mankind; By her we first were taught the wheedling arts.— GAY — The Beggar's Opera. Act I. Sc. 1.
I am a woman-therefore I may not Call to him, cry to him, Fly to him, Bid him delay not!— R. W. GILDER — A Woman's Thought.
When lovely woman stoops to folly, And finds too late that men betray, What charm can soothe her melancholy? What art can wash her guilt away?— GOLDSMITH — Vicar of Wakefield. Ch. XXIV.
Mankind, from Adam, have been women's fools; Women, from Eve, have been the devil's tools: Heaven might have spar'd one torment when we fell; Not left us women, or not threatened hell. GEO. GRANVILLE (Lord Lansdowne)- She-Gallants. First, then, a woman will, or won't, -depend on't; If she will do't, shewill; and there's an end on't. But, if she won't, since safe and sound your trust is, Fear is affront: and jealousy injustice.— AARON HILL — Epilogue to Zara.
O woman, woman, when to ill thy mind Is bent, all hell contains no fouler fiend.— HOMER — Odyssey. Bk. XI. L. 531.
Pope's trans. She moves a goddess, and she looks a queen.— S. HOMER — Iliad. Bk. III. L. 208.
Pope's trans. What mighty woes To thy imperial race from woman rose.— HOMER — Odyssey. Bk. XI. L. 541.
Pope's trans. But, alas! alas! for the woman's fate, Who has from a mob to choose a mate! 'Tis a strange and painful mystery! But the more the eggs the worse the hatch; The more the fish, the worse the catch; The more the sparks the worse the match; Is a fact in woman's history.— HOOD — Miss Kilmansegg. Her Courtship. St. 7.
God in his harmony has equal ends For cedar that resists and reed that bends; For good it is a woman sometimes rules, Holds in her hand the power, and manners, schools, And laws, and mind; succeeding master proud, With gentle voice and smiles she leads the crowd, The somber human troop.— VICTOR HUGO — Eviradnus. V.
'WOMAN. O woman! thou wert fashioned to beguile : So have all sages said, all poets sung.— JEAN INGELOW — The Four Bridges. St. 68.
I am very fond of the company of ladies. I like their beauty, I like their delicacy, I like their vivacity, and I like their silence.
Of all wild beasts on earth or in sea, the great est is a woman.— MENANDER — E Supposititio. P. 182.
O woman, born first to believe us; Yea, also born first to forget; Born first to betray and deceive us, Yet first to repent and regret.— JOAQUIN MILLER — Charity.
A bevy of fair women.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. XI. L. 582.
For nothing lovelier can be found In woman, than to study household good.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. IX. L. 232.
Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, In every gesture dignity and love.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. VIII. L. 488.
My latest found, Heaven's last best gift, my ever new delight!— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. V. L. 18.
*** create at last Oh ! why did God, * create at last * * * * * * This novelty on earth, this fair defect Of nature, and not fill the world at once With men as angels without feminine. S.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. X. L. 888.
Disguise our bondage as we will, 'Tis woman, woman rules us still.— MOORE — Sovereign Woman. St. 4.
My only books Were woman's looks, And folly's all they've taught me.— MOORE — The Time I've Lost in Wooing.
น. For if a young lady has that discretion and modesty, without which all knowledge is little worth, she will never make an ostentatious parade of it, because she will rather be intent on acquiring more, than on displaying what she has.— HANNAH MORE — Essays on Various
Subjects. Thoughts on Conversation. A penniless lass wi' a lang pedigree.— LADY NAIRNE — The Laird o' Cockpen.
Who trusts himself to women, or to waves, Should never hazard what he fears to lose.— OLDMIXON — Governor of Cyprus.
X. O woman! lovely woman! Nature made thee To temper man: we had been brutes without you; Angels are painted fair, to look like you : There's in you all that we believe of Heaven, Amazing brightness, purity, and truth, Eternal joy, and everlasting love.— THOMAS OTWAY — Venice Preserved. Act I. Sc. 1.
What mighty ills have not been done by woman! Who was't betray'd the Capitol? A woman; Who lost Mark Antony the world? A woman; Who was the cause of a long ten years' war, And laid at last old Troy in ashes? Woman; Destructive, damnable, deceitful woman!— THOMAS OTWAY — The Orphan. Act III. Sc. 1.
Who can describe Women's hypocrisies! their subtle wiles, Betraying smiles, feign'd tears, inconstancies! Their painted outsides, and corrupted minds, The sum of all their follies, and their falsehoods.— THOMAS OTWAY — Orpheus.
Still an angel appear to each lover beside, But still be a woman to you.— PARNELL — When thy Beauty Appears.
To chase the clouds of life's tempestuous hours, To strew its short but weary way with flow'rs, New hopes to raise, new feelings to impart, And pour celestial balsam on the heart; For this to man was lovely woman giv'n, The last, best work, the noblest gift of Heav'n.— THOMAS LOVE PEACOCK — The Visions of
Love. And mistress of herself, though china fall.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 268.
Fine by defect, and delicately weak.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 43.
Ladies, like variegated tulips, show 'Tis to their changes half their charms we owe.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 41.
Men some to business, some to pleasure take; But every woman is at heart a rake; Men some to quiet, some to public strife; But every lady would be queen for life.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 215.
Most women have no characters at all.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 2.
O! bless'd with temper, whose unclouded ray Can make to-morrow cheerful as to-day; She who can own a sister's charms, or hear Sighs for a daughter with unwounded ear; She who ne'er answers till a husband cools, Or, if she rules him, never shows she rules.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 257.
Offend her, and she knows not to forgive; Oblige her, and she'll hate you while you live.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 137.
Our grandsire, Adam, ere of Eve possesst, Alone, and e'en in Paradise unblest, With mournful looks the blissful scenes sur vey'd, And wander'd in the solitary shade. The Maker saw, took pity, and bestow'd Woman, the last, the best reserv'd of God.— POPE — January and May. L. 63.
Woman's at best a contradiction still.— POPE — Moral Essays. Ep. II. L. 270.
Be to her virtues very kind; Be to her faults a little blind.— PRIOR — An English Padlock.
That if weak women went astray, Their stars were more in fault than they.— PRIOR — Hans Carvel.
A woman is the most inconsistent compound of obstinacy and self-sacrifice that I am acquainted with.— RICHTER — Flower, Fruit, and Thorn Pieces. Ch. V.
Angels listen when she speaks; She's my delight, all mankind's wonder; But my jealous heart would break Should we live one day asunder.— EARL OF ROCHESTER — Song. My Dear Mistress has a Heart. St. 2.
O Woman! in our hours of ease, Uncertain, coy, and hard to please, And variable as the shade By the light quivering aspen made; When pain and anguish wring the brow, A ministering angel thou! ScoTT-Marmion. Canto VI. St. 30. Widowed wife and wedded maid.— S. SCOTT — The Betrothed. Last chapter.
Woman's faith, and woman's trust, Write the characters in dust.— SCOTT — The Betrothed. Ch. XX.
A child of our grandmother Eve, a female; or, for thy more sweet understanding, a woman. น.— Shakespeare — Love's Labour's Lost. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 266.
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety.— Shakespeare — Antony and Cleopatra. Act II. Sc. 2. L. 240.
Ah me, how weak a thing The heart of woman is! Julius Cæsar. Act II. Sc. 4. L. 39. A maid That paragons description and wild fame; One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens, And in the essential vesture of creation Does tire the ingener.— Shakespeare — Othello. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 61.
And is not my hostess of the tavern a most sweet wench? As the honey of Hybla, my old lad of the castle.— Shakespeare — Henry IV. Pt. I. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 45.
A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled, Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty.— Shakespeare — Taming of the Shrew. Act V. Sc. 2. L. 142.
Fair ladies mask'd are roses in their bud: Dismask'd, their damask sweet commixture shown, Are angels veiling clouds, or roses blown.— Shakespeare — Love's Labour's Lost. Act V. Sc. 2. L. 295.
Frailty, thy name is woman!- A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she follow'd my poor father's body, Like Niobe, all tears;-why she, even she, *** married with my uncle.— Shakespeare — Hamlet. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 146.
Have I not in a pitched battle heard Loud 'larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets' clang? And do you tell me of a woman's tongue?— Shakespeare — Taming of the Shrew. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 206.
Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for nought? Passionate Pilgrim. L. 339. Her sighs will make a battery in his breast; Her tears will pierce into a marble heart; The tiger will be mild whiles she doth mourn; And Nero will be tainted with remorse, To hear and see her plaints.— Shakespeare — Henry VI. Pt. III. Act III. Sc. 1. L. 37.
If ladies be but young and fair, They have the gift to know it.— Shakespeare — As You Like It. Act II. Sc. 7. L. 37.
If, one by one, you wedded all the world, Or from the all that are took something good, To make a perfect woman, she you kill'd Would be unparallel'd.— Shakespeare — Winter's Tale. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 13.
I grant I am a woman, but withal, A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife: I grant I am a woman; but withal A woman well-reputed; Cato's daughter. Julius Cæsar. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 292. I thank God I am not a woman, to be touched with so many giddy offences as He hath generally taxed their whole sex withal.— Shakespeare — As You Like It. Act III. Sc. 2. L. 366.
Muse not that I thus suddenly proceed; For what I will, I will, and there an end.— Shakespeare — Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act I. Sc. 3. L. 64.
Never give her o'er; For scorn at first makes after-love the more. If she do frown, 'tis not in hate of you, But rather to beget more love in you; If she do chide, 'tis not to have you gone, For why, the fools are mad if left alone.— Shakespeare — Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act III. Sc. 1. L. 94.
O most delicate fiend! Who is't can read a woman?— Shakespeare — Cymbeline. Act V. Sc. 5. L. 47.
One woman is fair, yet I am well; another is wise, yet I am well: another virtuous, yet I am well; but till all graces be in one woman, one woman shall not come in my grace.— Shakespeare — Much Ado About Nothing. Act II. Sc. 3. L. 27.
Run, run, Orlando: carve on every tree The fair, the chaste, and unexpressive she.— Shakespeare — As You Like It. Act III. Sc. 2. L. 9.
Say that she rail, why then I'll tell her plain She sings as sweetly as a nightingale; Say that she frown; I'll say she looks as clear As morning roses newly wash'd with dew; Say she be mute and will not speak a word; Then I'll commend her volubility, And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.— Shakespeare — Taming of the Shrew. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 171.
She is a woman, therefore may be woo'd; She is a woman, therefore may be won.— Shakespeare — Titus Andronicus. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 82.
She's beautiful and therefore to be woo'd : She is a woman, therefore to be won.— Shakespeare — Henry VI. Pt. I. Act V. Sc. 3.
S. L. 78. She speaks poniards, and every word stabs: if her breath were as terrible as her terminations, there were no living near her; she would infect to the north star.— Shakespeare — Much Ado About Nothing. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 255.
Then let thy love be younger than thyself, Or thy affection cannot hold the bent: For women are as roses, whose fair flower Being once display'd, doth fall that very hour.— Shakespeare — Twelfth Night. Act II. Sc. 4. L. 37.
There was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act III. Sc. 2. L. 35.
'Tis beauty that doth oft make women proud; But, God he knows, thy share thereof is small: 'Tis virtue that doth make them most admired; The contrary doth make thee wondered at: 'Tis government that makes them seem divine. Henry VI. Pt. III. Act. I. Sc. 4. L. 128. To be slow in words is a woman's only virtue.— Shakespeare — Two Gentlemen of Verona. Act III. Sc. 1. L. 338.
Two women plac'd together makes cold weather.— Shakespeare — Henry VIII. Act I. Sc. 4. L. 22.
Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth, Unapt to toil and trouble in the world, But that our soft conditions and our hearts Should well agree with our external parts?— Shakespeare — Taming of the Shrew. Act V. Sc. 2. L. 165.
Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute? Why, no; for she hath broke the lute to me.— Shakespeare — Taming of the Shrew. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 148.
Women will love her that she is a woman More worth than any man; men, that she is The rarest of all women.— Shakespeare — Winter's Tale. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 110.
Would it not grieve a woman to be overmaster'd with a piece of valiant dust? to make an account of her life to a cloud of wayward marl?— Shakespeare — Much Ado About Nothing. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 63.
You are pictures out of doors, Bells in your parlours, wild-cats in your kitchens, Saints in your injuries, devils being offended, Players in your housewifery, and housewives in your beds.— Shakespeare — Othello. Act II. Sc. 1. L. 110.
A lovely lady garmented in light.— SHELLEY — The Witch of Atlas. St. 5.
One moral's plain, *** without more fuss ; Man's social happiness all rests on us : Through all the drama-whether damn'd or not- Love gilds the scene, and women guide the plot.— R. B. SHERIDAN — The Rivals. Epilogue.
She is her selfe of best things the collection.— SIR PHILIP SIDNEY — The Arcadia.
Thirsis and Dorus. What will not woman, gentle woman, dare When strong affection stirs her spirit up?— SOUTHEY — Madoc. Pt. II. II.
She is pretty to walk with, And witty to talk with, And pleasant too, to think on.— SIR JOHN SUCKLING — Brennoralt. Act II. Sc. 1.
Of all the girls that e'er was seen, There's none so fine as Nelly.— SWIFT — Ballad on Miss Nelly Bennet.
Prince, give praise to our French ladies For the sweet sound their speaking carries; 'Twixt Rome and Cadiz many a maid is, But no good girl's lip out of Paris.— SWINBURNE — Translation from Villon.
Ballad of the Women of Paris. A woman's honor rests on manly love.— ESAIAS TEGNÈR — Fridthjof's Saga. Canto VIII,
Airy, fairy Lilian.— TENNYSON — Lilian.
A rosebud set with little wilful thorns, And sweet as English air could make her, she.— TENNYSON — The Princess. Prologue. L. 153.
For woman is not undeveloped man But diverse; could we make her as the man Sweet love were slain; his dearest bond is this Not like to like but like in difference.— TENNYSON — The Princess. VII.
Queen rose of the rosebud garden of girls. S.— TENNYSON — Maud. Pt. I. XXII. St. 9.
With prudes for proctors, dowagers for deans, And sweet girl-graduates in their golden hair.— TENNYSON — The Princess. Prologue. L. 141.
Woman is the lesser man. U.— TENNYSON — Locksley Hall. St. 76.
She wears that body but as one indues A robe, half careless, for it is the use.— FRANCIS THOMPSON — Her Portrait. St. 7.
He is a fool who thinks by force or skill To turn the current of a woman's will.— SIR SAM'L TUKE — Adventures of Five Hours. Act V. Sc. 3. L. 483.
"Woman" must ever be a woman's highest name, And honors more than "Lady," if I know right.— WALTER VON DER VOGELWEIDE Translated in the Minnesinger of
Germany. Woman and Lady. All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women.— VOLTAIRE
Very learned women are to be found, in the same manner as female warriors; but they are seldom or ever inventors.— VOLTAIRE — A Philosophical Dictionary.
Women. My wife is one of the best wimin on this Continent, altho' she isn't always gentle as a lamb, with mint sauce. aa.— ARTEMUS WARD — A War Meeting.
Not from his head was woman took, As made her husband to o'erlook; Not from his feet, as one designed The footstool of the stronger kind; But fashioned for himself, a bride; An equal, taken from his side.— CHARLES WESLEY — Short Hymns on
Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures. Shall I, wasting in despaire, Dye because a woman's faire? Or make pale my cheeks with care Cause another's rosie are? Be shee fairer than the day, Or the flow'ry meads in May; If she be not so to me, What care I how faire shee be?— GEORGE WITHER — Mistresse of
Philarete. Percy's Reliques. A Creature not too bright or good For human nature's daily food; For transient sorrows, simple wiles, Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears and smiles.— WORDSWORTH — She was a Phantom
C. of Delight. And now I see with eye serene, The very pulse of the machine; A Being breathing thoughtful breath, A Traveller betwixt life and death; The reason firm, the temperate will, Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill.— WORDSWORTH — She was a Phantom
of Delight. A perfect Woman, nobly planned To warn, to comfort, and command.— WORDSWORTH — She was a Phantom
of Delight. Shalt show us how divine a thing A Woman may be made.— WORDSWORTH — To a Young Lady.
Dear Child of Nature. She was a Phantom of delight When first she gleamed upon my sight; A lovely Apparition, sent To be a moment's ornament.— WORDSWORTH — She was a Phantom
of Delight. And beautiful as sweet! And young as beautiful! and soft as young! And gay as soft! and innocent as gay.— YOUNG — Night Thoughts. Night III. L. 81.
Nulla fere causa est, in quâ non fœmina litem. There are few disputes in life, which do not originate with a woman.— JUVENAL — Satiræ. VI. 242.
Parvula, pumilio, chariton mia tota merum sal. A little, tiny, pretty, witty, charming dat ling she.— LUCRETIUS — De Rerum Natura. IV.
1158. Uxori nubere nolo meæ. My wife shall not rule me.— MARTIAL — Epigrammata. VIII. 12. 2.
Mulieri nimio male facere melius est onus, quam bene. A woman finds it much easier to do ill than well.— PLAUTUS — Truculentus. II. 5. 17.
Multa sunt mulierum vitia, sed hoc e multis maximum, Cum sibi nimis placent, nimisque operam dant ut placeant viris. Women have many faults, but of the many this is the greatest, that they please themselves too much, and give too little attention to pleasing the men.— PLAUTUS — Pœnulus. V. 4. 33.
Nam multum loquaces merito omnes habemus, Nec mutam profecto repertam ullam esse Hodie dicunt mulierem ullo in seculo. I know that we women are all justly accounted praters; they say in the present day that there never was in any age such a wonder to be found as a dumb woman.— PLAUTUS — Aulularia. II. 1. 5.
Aut amat aut odit mulier, nihil est tertium. A woman either loves or hates: she knows no medium. S.— SYRUS — Maxims.
Novi ingenium mulierum; Nolunt ubi velis, ubi nolis cupiunt ultro. I know the nature of women. When you will, they will not; when you will not, they come of their own accord.— TERENCE — Eunuchus. IV. 7. 42.
Dux femina facti. A woman was leader in the deed. น.— VIRGIL — Eneid. I. 364.
Varium et mutabile semper, Fœmina. A woman is always changeable and capricious.— VIRGIL — Eneid. IV. 569.
Kennst du das Land wo die Citronen blühen, Im dunkeln Laub die Gold-Orangen glühn, Ein sanfter Wind vom blauen Himmel weht Die Myrte still und hoch der Lorbeer steht? Kennst du es wohl? Dahin! Dahin, Möcht' ich mit dir, O mein Geliebter, ziehn. Knowest thou the land where the lemontrees flourish, where amid the shadowed leaves the golden oranges glisten, -a gentle zephyr breathes from the blue heavens, the myrtle is motionless, and the laurel rises high? Dost thou know it well? Thither, thither, fain would I fly with thee, O my beloved!— GOETHE — Wilhelm Meister. Mignon's
Lied. Was man in der Jugend wünscht, hat man im Alter die Fülle. What one has wished for in youth, in old age one has in abundance.— GOETHE — Wahrheit und Dichtung.
Motto to Part II.
Les femmes ont toujours quelque arrièrepensée. Women always have some mental reservation.— S. DESTOUCHES — Dissipateur. V. 9.
Souvent femme varie Bien fol est qui s'y fie. Woman is often fickle-foolish is he who trusts her.— FRANÇOIS I — Scratched with his ring on
a window of Chambord Castle. See— BRANTÔME — Discours. Vies des
Dames galantes. IV. Toute fille lettrée restera fille toute sa vie, quand il n'y aura que des hommes sensés sur la terre. Every blue-stocking will remain a spinster as long as there are sensible men on the earth.— ROUSSEAU — Émile. I. 5.
Une femme bel-esprit est le fléau de son mari, de ses enfants, de ses amis, de ses valets, de tout le monde. A blue-stocking is the scourge of her husband, children, friends, servants, and every one.— ROUSSEAU — Émile. I. 5.
Das Ewig-Weibliche zieht uns hinan. The eternal feminine doth draw us on.— GOETHE — Faust. II. 5.
Denn das Naturell der Frauen Ist so nah mit Kunst verwandt. For the nature of women is closely allied to art.— GOETHE — Faust. II. I.
Denn geht es zu des Bösen Haus Das Weib hat tausend Schritt voraus. When toward the Devil's House we tread, Woman's a thousand steps ahead.— GOETHE — Faust. I. 21. 147.
Der Umgang mit Frauen ist das Element guter Sitten. The society of women is the foundation of good manners.— GOETHE — Die Wahlverwandtschaften.
II. 5. Ehret die Frauen! sie flechten und weben Himmlische Rosen in's irdische Leben. Honor women! they entwine and weave heavenly roses in our earthly life.— SCHILLER — Würde der Frauen.
Ein edler Mann wird durch ein gutes Wort Der Frauen weit geführt. A noble man is led by woman's gentle words.— GOETHE — Iphigenia auf Tauris. I. 2.
162. 162. Es ist doch den Mädchen wie angeboren, dass sie allem gefallen wollen, was nur Augen hat. The desire to please everything having eyes seems inborn in maidens.— SALOMON GESSNEK — Evander und