88 



ird April ^ 1894. 



Professor FitzGerald occupied the Chair. 



Professor William Knight, LL.D. (University of St. Andrews), 

 delivered a Lecture on 



THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF WOMEN. 



The Chairman, in introducing the lecturer, said the subject 

 was one of which he thought they heard a good deal, and he 

 was sure it would be of great advantage to them to hear the 

 opinion on the subject of Professor Knight. 



Professor William Knight, who was cordially received, 

 began by dealing with the subject historically. He said it was 

 a mistake to suppose that the higher education of women had 

 been exclusively or mainly a modern achievement. It was 

 distinctively of modern interest, but they had evidence of the 

 higher education and of many notable successes in philosophy, 

 letters, and art amongst the women of the ancient world. Even 

 in the fragements of early Indian literature women were 

 introduced as taking part in philosophical discussions, but it 

 was amongst the Geeeks that they found the most conspicuous 

 results in this as in so many other directions. The manifoldness 

 of the Hellenic culture would lead them to expect what they 

 actually found — that there were women in Greece more highly 

 cultured than any of whom they had authentic record in 

 mediaeval times. Throughout the middle ages they found the 

 condition of women a sad chapter in their history. The shadow 

 of mediaevalism was darkest as it bore upon them. If in those 

 times the education of men was slight, that of women was 

 practically non-existent. It was hard to say, however, what 

 might have happened had the Hellenic and Hebraic elements 



