"the Honour of being sworn, I take leave to fubscribe "myself, Perlege Mæonio cantatas carmine Ranas, Mart. Epig. 183. 1. 14. To banish anxious Thought, and quiet Pain, Read Homer's Frogs, or my more trifling Strain. T HE Moral World as confifting of Males and Females, is of a mixt Nature, and filled with several Cuftoms, Fashions and Ceremonies, which would have no place in it, were there but One Sex. Had our Species no Females in it, Men would be quite different Creatures from what they are at present; their Endeavours to please the oppofite Sex, polishes and refines them out of those Manners which are moft Natural to them, and often fets them upon modelling themselves, not according to the Plans which they approve in their own Opinions, but according to thofe Plans which they think are most agreeable to the Female World. In a word, Man would not only be an unhappy, but a rude unfinished Creature, were he conversant with none but thofe of his own Make. WOMEN, on the other fide, are apt to form themfelves in every thing with regard to that other half of reafonable Creatures, with whom they are here blended and confused; their Thoughts are ever turned upon appearing amiable to the other Sex; they talk, and move, and fmile, with a Defign upon us; every Feature of their Faces, every Part of their Drefs is filled with Snares and Allure G 2 ments ments. There would be no fuch Animals as Prudes or Coquettes in the World, were there not such an Animal as Man. In fhort, it is the Male that gives Charms to Womankind, that produces an Air in their Faces, a Grace in their Motions, a Softness in their Voices, and a Delicacy in their Complexions. AS this mutual Regard between the two Sexes tends to the Improvement of each of them, we may obferve that Men are apt to degenerate into rough and brutal Natures, who live as if there were no fuch Things as Women in the World; as on the contrary, Women, who have an Indifference or Averfion for their Counter-parts in human Nature, are generally Sour and Unamiable, Sluttish and Cenforious. I am led into this Train of Thoughts by a little Manufcript which is lately fallen into my Hands, and which I hall communicate to the Reader, as I have done fome other curious Pieces of the fame Nature, without troubling him with any Inquiries about the Author of it. It contains a fummary Account of two different States which bordered upon one another. The one was a Commonwealth of Amazons, or Women without Men; the other was a Republick of Males that had not a Woman in their whole Community. As these two States bordered upon one another, it was their way, it feems, to meet upon their Frontiers at a certain Season of the Year, where thofe among the Men who had not made their Choice in any former Meeting, affociated themselves with particular Women, whom they were afterwards obliged to look upon as their Wives in every one of thefe yearly RenCounters. The Children that sprung from this Alliance, if Males, were fent to their respective Fathers; if Females, continued with their Mothers. By means of this Anniverfary Carnival, which lafted about a Week, the Commonwealths were recruited from time to time, and supplied with their respective Subjects. THESE two States were engaged together in a perpetual League, Offenfive and Defenfive, fo that if any Foreign Potentate offered to attack either of them, both the Sexes fell upon him at once, and quickly brought him to Reason. It was remarkable that for many Ages this Agreement continued inviolable between the two States, not . notwithstanding, as was faid before, they were Husbands and Wives: but this will not appear fo wonderful, if we confider that they did not live together above a Week in a Year. IN the Account which my Author gives of the Male Republick, there were several Customs very remarkable. The Men never shaved their Beards, or pared their Nails above once in a Twelvemonth,which was probably about the time of the great annual Meeting upon their Frontiers. I find the Name of a Minister of State in one Part of their Hiftory, who was fined for appearing too frequently in clean Linen; and of a certain great General who was turned out of his Poft for Effeminacy, it having been proved upon him by several credible Witneffes that he washed his Face every Morning. If any Member of the Commonwealth had a foft Voice, a fmooth Face, or a fupple Behaviour, he was banished into the Commonwealth of Females, where he was treated as a Slave, dreffed in Petticoats, and fet a Spinning. They had no Titles of Honour among them, but such as denoted fome bodily Strength or Perfection, as fuch an one the Tall, fuch an one the Stocky, fuch an one the Gruff. Their publick Debates were generally managed with Kicks and Cuffs, infomuch that they often came from the Council Table with broken Shins, black Eyes, and bloody Nofes. When they would reproach a Man in the most bitter Terms, they would tell him his Teeth were white, or that he had a Fair Skin, and a foft Hand. The greatest Man I meet with in their History, was one who could lift Five hundred Weight, and wore fuch a prodigious Pair of Whifkers as had never been feen in the Commonwealth before his Time. These Accomplishments it feems had rendered him fo popular, that if he had not died very feafonably, it is thought he might have enflaved the Republick. Having made this fhort Extract out of the Hiftory of the Male Commonwealth, I fhall look into the History of the neighbouring State which confifted of Females, and if I find any thing in it, will not fail to communicate it to the Publick. G. 3 C Friday, No. 434. Friday, July 18. Quales Threicia cùm flumina Thermodcontis Virg. Æn. 11. v. 66a.. So march'd the Thracian Amazons of old, From the fierce Virgin when the Grecians fied. H DRYDEN.. AVING carefully perufed the Manufcript I mentioned in my Yesterday's Paper, fo far as it relates to the Republick of Women, I find in it feveral Particulars which may very well deferve the Reader's Attention. THE Girls of Quality, from fix to twelve Years old, were put to publick Schools, where they learned to Box and play at Cudgels, with several other Accomplishments of the fame Nature; fo that nothing was more usual than to fee a little Mifs returning Home at Night with a broken Pate, or two or three Teeth knocked out of her Head. They were afterwards taught to ride the great Horfe, to Shoot, Dart, or Sling, and lifted into feveral Companies in order to perfect themselves in Military Exercises. No Woman was to be married 'till fhe had killed her Man. The Ladies of Fashion ufed to play with young Lions instead of Lap-dogs, and when they made any Parties of Diverfion, instead of entertaining themselves at Ombre and Piquet, they would Wreftle and pitch the Bar for a whole Afternoon together. There was never any fuch thing as a Blush seen, or a Sigh heard, in the Commonwealth. The Women never dreffed but to look terrible, to which end they would sometimes after a Battle paint their Cheeks with the Blood of their Enemies. For this Reason likewife the Face which had the moft Scars was looked upon as the most beautiful. If they found Lace, Jewels, Ribbons or any Ornaments in Silver or Gold among the Booty which they had taken, they used to dress their Horfes with it, but never entertained a Thought of wearing it themfelves. There were particular Rights and Privileges allowed to any Member of the Commonwealth, who was a Mother of three Daughters. The Senate was made up of old Women; for by the Laws of the Country none was to be a Counfellor of State that was not paft Child-bearing. They used to boast their Republick had continued Four thousand Years, which is altogether improbable, unless we may suppose, what I am very apt to think, that they measured their Time by Lunar Years. THERE was a great Revolution brought about in this. Female Republick, by means of a neighbouring King,who had made War upon them several Years with various Succefs, and at length overthrew them in a very greatBattle. This Defeat they afcribe to several Causes; fome fay that the Secretary of State having been troubled with the Vapours had committed fome fatal Mistakes in feveral Difpatches about that Time. Others pretend, that the firft Minifter being big with Child, could not attend the Publick Affairs,as fo great an Exigency of State required;but this I can give no manner of Credit to, fince it seems to contradict a Fundamental Maxim in their Government, which I have before mentioned. My Author gives the most probable Reason of this great Disaster; for he affirms that the General was brought to Bed, or (as others fay) miscarried the very Night before the Battle: However it was, this fignal Overthrow obliged them to call in the Male Republick to their Afsistance; but notwithstanding their common Efforts to repulfe the Victorious Ene |