EDITOR'S TABLE. 



701 



individual. All this is involved in what Mr. 

 Spencer teaches in his Data of Ethics ; but 

 perhaps it may be made plainer if we sub- 

 stitute for happiness the more comprehen- 

 sive word adaptation. Perfect adaptation 

 that is, the complete and continuous ad- 

 justment of internal relations to external 

 relations would be complete happiness 

 were it attainable, a3 it covers both the 

 physical and psychical sides of our nature. 

 It includes perfect bodily health as well as 

 perfect mental and moral health, and does 

 not oblige those who teach scientific ethics 

 to face the " disagreeable conclusion " men- 

 tioned by your correspondent. In fact, the 

 substitution of adaptation for happiness as 

 the criterion of morals has several advan- 

 tages. 



It base3 morality upon the principles of 

 evolution. The development of society im- 



plies the development of certain moral in- 

 stincts in the individuals who compose it ; 

 for it is apparent that, unless selfishness is 

 more or less restrained by altruism, social 

 growth would be retarded if not stopped. 

 It explains why opinion varies both in time 

 and place in regard to conduct, for actions 

 are considered virtuous by a given society 

 when they are regarded as conducive to its 

 welfare and sinful when they are supposed 

 to be injurious. It accounts for the gains 

 which altruistic sentiments have made upon 

 egoistic, in man's progress upward, as social 

 contact creates and fosters a public opinion 

 in favor of the former, which is slowly be- 

 coming more and more irresistible, until 

 finally shall dawn the era of peace upon 

 earth and good-will to men. 



Robert Mathews. 

 Eochestee, N. T., January 4, 1S91. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



A PROFESSION- FOB WOMEN; 



THE crusade for the higher education 

 of women that is now going on 

 seems to have two chief impelling forces. 

 One is the necessity for a growing num- 

 ber of the sex to provide for their own 

 support ; the second is the weariness of 

 being idle that is afflicting another class 

 of women. It is not necessary to point 

 out here the reasons why women with- 

 out male supporters are more numerous 

 than formerly. They are mainly such 

 as cause the deferment or abandonment 

 of marriage by many men and women, 

 through making family life less attract- 

 ive and single life more satisfactory to 

 both sexes. The same reasons, with 

 others, operate to increase the number 

 of wealthy women who have nothing to 

 occupy them. 



As a remedy for both these ills, col- 

 legiate education is I eing widely pre- 

 scribed. This promises admission to lu- 

 crative professions to the bright women 

 who must support themselves, and offers 

 the degree of a men's college as the 

 goal of their wealthy sisters' efforts. 

 These remarks have been suggested by 

 a recent volume in the International 

 Education Series, on Higher Education 

 of Women in Europe, by Helene Lange, 



which advocates the collegiate education 

 idea, though in a notably reasonable and 

 discriminating manner. But this way 

 of treating the difficulty has serious de- 

 fects. In the first place, it tends to in- 

 crease the evil which it is expected to 

 cure. The lack or deferment of suita- 

 ble marriage is what is at the bottom 

 of the whole matter, and the literary 

 and professional education of women 

 would make this lack greater. Inde- 

 pendence of a husband's support would 

 favor maiden life (though to the ex- 

 tent of preventing false marriage this 

 is a good thing) ; so, too, would the 

 absorption of women's interest and am- 

 bition in study or in a professional 

 career. Moreover, women who have 

 been occupied with books or business to 

 the exclusion of learning how to make 

 a home will not be very desirable as 

 wives. Secondly, the proposed remedy 

 would stimulate that undesirable trait, 

 selfishness. It puts before a young wom- 

 an the ideal of learning a profession for 

 the benefit of self, of winning honors 

 for self, of acquiring a high culture for 

 self. It crowds out the opposite idea 

 of fitting herself to co-operate with a 

 husband for their joint benefit and that 

 of their children, or the idea of using 



