STUDY VII. 



89 



** the decifion of the Carthaginian Officers and 

 " Governors ferving in Spain : and if, on the con- 

 '' trary, the Carthaginians could allege any ground 

 " of complaint againft the Gauls, the matter 

 " (hould be left to the determination of the Wives 

 " of the Gauls *." 



It will be difficult to reconcile thefe two clafliinor 



o 



authorities, unlefs we pay attention to the re-ac- 

 tion of human things. The power of women pro- 

 ceeds from their oppreffion. The commonalty, 

 as opprefled as they, gave them their confidence, 

 as they had given theirs to the people. Both par- 

 ties were wretched, but mifery attraded them to- 

 ward each other, and they made a common ftock 

 of woe. They decided with the greater equity, 

 that they had nothing to gain or lofe. To the 

 women we muft afcribe the fpirit of gallantry, the 

 thoughtlelTnefs, the gaiety, and, above all, the 

 tafte for raillery, which have, at all times, charac- 

 terized our Nation. With a fong fimply, they 

 have oftener than once made our tyrants tremble. 

 Their ballads have fent many a banner into the 

 field, and put many a battalion to flight. It is by 

 them that ridicule has acquired fuch a prodigious 

 influence in France, as to have become the moft 



* Plutarch, vol. ii. in folio : Virtuous Adions of Women ; 

 page 233. 



terrible 



