The mother, the
wife, the sister, the relative should share with the husband, the son,
the brother, the kinsman, in the world's honors, in the sufferings,
sorrows, and miseries incidental to all. They are part and parcel of
man, and partake of his nature and his position, as of his fortune.
When man shall cease to view woman, and so deport himself toward her as
a purer, more refined, and more elevated being than himself, that
moment she will sink to his level, and then her prestige for good is
gone forever. That delicacy, refinement, and chasteness, so restraining
and so purifying to man in her association, is the soul of
civilization--the salt of the earth. In its absence, no people are ever
great; for, as it is the spirit of man's honor, so is it a nation's
glory. It must be cherished, for it inspires man's honor by man's
chivalry. Thus she becomes a people's strength; for their crown of
glory is her chastity and angelic purity.
These virtues distinguished the pioneer women of Middle Georgia sixty
years ago. As their husbands were honest and brave, they were chaste
and pious; and from such a parentage sprang the men and women who have
made a history for her pre-eminent among all her sister States.
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