Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women

Aims and Aids for Girls and
Young Women, by

George Sumner Weaver This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere
at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg
License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Aims and Aids for Girls and Young Women On the Various
Duties of Life, Physical, Intellectual, And Moral Development;
Self-Culture, Improvement, Dress, Beauty, Fashion, Employment,
Education, The Home Relations, Their Duties To Young Men,
Marriage, Womanhood And Happiness.
Author: George Sumner Weaver
Release Date: March 14, 2007 [EBook #20819]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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AIMS AND AIDS FOR Girls and Young Women,
ON THE
VARIOUS DUTIES OF LIFE,
INCLUDING
PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL, AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT;
SELF-CULTURE, IMPROVEMENT, DRESS, BEAUTY, FASHION,
EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, THE HOME RELATIONS, THEIR
DUTIES TO YOUNG MEN, MARRIAGE, WOMANHOOD AND
HAPPINESS.
BY REV. G. S. WEAVER,
AUTHOR OF "HOPES AND HELPS," "MENTAL SCIENCE,"
"WAYS OF LIFE," ETC.
NEW YORK: FOWLER AND WELLS, PUBLISHERS, 308
BROADWAY. London: William Horsell, 492 Oxford Street.
BOSTON: } 1856. { PHILADELPHIA: 142 Washington-st.} { No. 231
Arch-street.
ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR
1855, BY FOWLER AND WELLS, IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE OF
THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK.
DAVIES AND ROBERTS, STEREOTYPERS, 201 William Street,
New York.

PREFACE.
My interest in woman and our common humanity is my only apology
for writing this book. I see multitudes of young women about me,
whose general training is so deficient in all that pertains to the best
ideas of life, and whose aims and efforts are so unworthy of their
powers of mind and heart, that I can not make peace with my own
conscience without doing something to elevate their aims and quicken
their aspirations for the good and pure in thought and life. Our female
schools are but poor apologies for the purposes of mind-culture and
soul-development. The idea of life they inspire is but a skeleton of
custom-service and fashion-worship. It is altogether subservient to
what is, not what should be. Society does little else than to teach its
girls to be dolls and drudges. The prevailing current of instruction and
influence is deplorably low. I feel confident that the best part of society
is longing for something better. To obtain it, each one has but to live
out, and express to the world his idea of a true life.
In regard to the book I may say, whatever it lacks it has the merit of
being in earnest. I hope those who see its deficiencies will make haste
to supply them in some form of instruction or encouragement to the
class the book addresses. Thinking fathers and mothers and teachers
will not complain of this humble effort to serve their daughters and
pupils, but will rather add more in a similar direction, and seek to
complete what I have endeavored to begin. While life is spared, I hope
to work in this field, that my own daughters, as well as those of others,
may attain a worthy womanhood.
G. S. W. ST. LOUIS, 1855.

CONTENTS.
Lecture One.
GIRLHOOD.
Angels view Girlhood with Solicitude and Delight--Beauty no

perpetual Pledge of Safety--Nothing in Man or Things impels a
Provident Regard for it--Blossoming Womanhood an Object of Deep
Interest and Pity--Girlhood's first Work is to Form a Character--It
should be Pure and Energetic--Woman only a Thing--Her Education
progressing--Physical Health should be Preserved--A Woman not
Herself without Physical Strength--Woman must be Independent, and
Earn her own Livelihood--Character must Embody Itself in an Outward
Form to be of Service to the World Page 9-21
Lecture Two.
BEAUTY.
God a Lover of Beauty--Every thing in the Universe Beautiful--The
Admirer of Beauty should Reverence its Author--The Love of Beauty
elevating in its Tendency--Its Abuses Fearful--Man a Part of Nature,
and God in all--Woman the most Perfect Type of Beauty--Youthful
Woman exposed to great Temptation--Beauty a Charming, but
Dangerous Gift--The most Beautiful should be the most Pious--Beauty
of Person Worthless without Loveliness of Character--"Strong-minded"
Women not Beautiful--Beauty the Nurse of Vanity--Value of Character
depreciates with Increase of Beauty when substituted for Moral
Worth--Beauty only Skin-deep--Beauty Two-fold: Inward and
Outward--Inward Beauty shines through--Beauty of Soul made
Washington, Josephine, and Channing glorious--Every Woman may be
Beautiful--Cheerfulness, Agreeable Manners, a Correct Taste, and
Kindness should