THE WOMAN OF EVOLUTION AND PESSIMISM. 327 
the lines of action which Schopenhauer suggests. The 
social problem of any society worthy to be called civil- 
ized will not be solved by the regulation of polygamy 
nor by the perpetuation of masculine selfishness. 
We may note, too, that the “lady-nuisance” which 
distresses the philosopher is only a phase of the “ lord- 
nuisance ” which has temporarily stood 
in the way of the progress of European 
democracy. If the “lady-nuisance” is 
ridiculous to-day, the “lord-nuisance” will be equally 
absurd to-morrow. Pomp and fatuity know no sex. 
The dry rot of life without effort affects men and wo- 
men alike. Schopenhauer’s attitude throughout the dis- 
cussion of woman is that of a d/asé collector discussing 
his neighbour’s bric-a-brac. He finds it out of taste 
and out of harmony—not worth half it cost. But it is 
none of his business, and he has no responsibility for it. 
But, waiving all minor criticisms, we find in this 
harsh review many elements of truth. 
It is an expression of the results of an attempt to 
“see things as they really are.” But to see things in 
such fashion is not to see the whole 
truth. The greatest truth lies in what 
shall be, in the flow of the underlying 
stream of tendencies. Why are things as they are? 
From what condition have they come, and what is the 
movement of the forces which govern future conditions? 
If the work and the life of woman seem less impor- 
tant than those of man, it is because we measure them 
‘«The lord- 
nuisance.” 
Blindness of 
pessimism. 
which is peculiarly her own. Having got there, she stays there ; 
she dies there. The boy passes her as the tortoise did the hare. 
He goes on, if he is a philosopher, and lets her remain in the dark 
ages, where she belongs. If he happens to bea fool, which is 
customary, he stops and hangs around in her vicinity.” (Dam- 
nation of Theron Ware, p. 324.) 
