The accomplish'd woman written originally in French ; since made English by the Honourable Walter Montague, Esq.
About this Item
- Title
- The accomplish'd woman written originally in French ; since made English by the Honourable Walter Montague, Esq.
- Author
- Du Bosc, Jacques, d. 1660.
- Publication
- London :: Printed for Gabriel Bedell and Tho. Collins ...,
- 1656.
- Rights/Permissions
-
To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
- Subject terms
- Women -- Early works to 1800.
- Link to this Item
-
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A36720.0001.001
- Cite this Item
-
"The accomplish'd woman written originally in French ; since made English by the Honourable Walter Montague, Esq." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A36720.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 25, 2025.
Pages
Page [unnumbered]
To the DUTCHESSE of BUCKINGHAM Her Grace.
Madam,
IF yee could see your self without the help of a re∣flex, I should not need to present you with this glass,
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but since even internal spe∣culations result most from outward intuitions in this mirror of an Accomplished woman, you may let your self into your self at your eies, and so fit them with an ob∣ject proportionable to their own beauty: and only thus could I lessen the distance be∣tweene my obligations and my services, by an exact ac∣compt of you to your selfe, since it is so hard for you to take it from our sex, which are auditors in the valuation of yours, because the loveli∣nesse of your person may ex∣pose even a true estimate of your vertues to your suspi∣tion
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of passion. This is the only ill office, Madam, your body can do your mind, which it doth by so faire meanes, that you may easily forgive it. The original of this Woman is French, whose perfection must needs fall some degrees, in this change of the Horizon. You, Ma∣dam, are in English the E∣dition, as well as the Dedi∣cation, and your actions do translate better this booke, then my words; so that this cannot enform your under∣standing in any new unac∣quired grace or vertue, but by a duplication of your me∣mory, convince your mode∣stie
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of a needlesse desire to improve; and as your con∣versation may be instruction for others, so this which was meant for edification, is but strict enough for your entertainment. Here (Ma∣dam) you shall find Ill both severely reproved, and fairely shamed, by shewing the ex∣cellency of good in Ill's grea∣test brag, Variety: and shame doth not only restrain, but rectifie more then fear; For women apprehend lesse the effusion of blood for punish∣ment, then the diffusion of it for shame. Here you shall find humors as well mix'd and shadowed by one another, as
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ever you saw colours; and so much diversity in Loves archery, as one would think Cupid shot out of a Rain-bow. Each severall humour hath a point to fasten on its correspondency, therefore there is no wondring at the seeming extravagancy of pas∣sions.
Here (Madam) I conceive, you may learne by reading, what you cannot so easily by conversation, because no body dares tell it you, when any bo∣dy is in love with you; which you may be assured of, when you find a judicious admirer of an Accomplish'd Woman; and this Rule is their prote∣ction
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as well as their discove∣ry. I (Madam) may be an admirer of this Woman in French, but an excuser of this in the language of
Your Graces most Humble and Obedient Servant, WALTER MONTAGUE.