A man is lord in his own family, and his guests are, in a manner,
subject to his authority: Hence, he is always the lowest person in the company; attentive to the
wants of every one; and giving himself all the trouble, in order to please, which may not betray
too visible an affectation, or impose too much constraint on his guests.*54 Gallantry is nothing
but an instance of the same generous attention. As nature has given man the superiority above
woman, by endowing him with greater strength both of mind and body; it is his part to alleviate
that superiority, as much as possible, by the generosity of his behaviour, and by a studied
deference and complaisance for all her inclinations and opinions. Barbarous nations display this
superiority, by reducing their females to the most abject slavery; by confining them, by beating
them, by selling them, by killing them. But the male sex, among a polite people, discover their
authority in a more generous, though not a less evident manner; by civility, by respect, by
complaisance, and, in a word, by gallantry. In good company, you need not ask, Who is the
master of the feast? The man, who sits in the lowest place, and who is always industrious in
helping every one, is certainly the person. We must either condemn all such instances of
generosity, as foppish and affected, or admit of gallantry among the rest. The ancient
MUSCOVITES° wedded their wives with a whip, instead of a ring. The same people, in their
own houses, took always the precedency above foreigners, even*55 foreign ambassadors. These
two instances of their generosity and politeness are much of a piece.
A man is lord in his own family, and his guests are, in a manner,subject to his authority: Hence, he is always the lowest person in the company; attentive to thewants of every one; and giving himself all the trouble, in order to please, which may not betraytoo visible an affectation, or impose too much constraint on his guests.*54 Gallantry is nothingbut an instance of the same generous attention. As nature has given man the superiority abovewoman, by endowing him with greater strength both of mind and body; it is his part to alleviatethat superiority, as much as possible, by the generosity of his behaviour, and by a studieddeference and complaisance for all her inclinations and opinions. Barbarous nations display thissuperiority, by reducing their females to the most abject slavery; by confining them, by beatingthem, by selling them, by killing them. But the male sex, among a polite people, discover theirauthority in a more generous, though not a less evident manner; by civility, by respect, bycomplaisance, and, in a word, by gallantry. In good company, you need not ask, Who is themaster of the feast? The man, who sits in the lowest place, and who is always industrious inhelping every one, is certainly the person. We must either condemn all such instances ofgenerosity, as foppish and affected, or admit of gallantry among the rest. The ancientMUSCOVITES° wedded their wives with a whip, instead of a ring. The same people, in theirown houses, took always the precedency above foreigners, even*55 foreign ambassadors. Thesetwo instances of their generosity and politeness are much of a piece.
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