The finest influence of such an education is the development of a
character at once symmetrical, refined, vigorous, confident in its own
resources, yet penetrated with a consciousness of its distance from the
loftiest heights of power; a character which will be an ennobling life
in a household, gently influencing others into quiet paths of
excellence; to be felt rather than seen, to be understood rather in its
results than admired for any manifest attainments in science; an
intellect informed and active, in sympathy with what is known and read
among men; able to bear its part in healthful discussions, yet not
presuming to dictate its opinions; in the presence of which ignorance
becomes enlightened and weakness strong; creating around its home an
atmosphere of taste and intelligence, in which the rudest life loses
some of its asperity, and the roughest toils much of their severity.
Such is the form of female character we seek to create by so enlarged an
education.
The education of the _heart_ reaches deeper, and spreads its influence
further than all things else. The intellect is only a beautiful piece of
mechanism, until the affections pour into it their tremendous vitality,
and send it forth in all directions instinct with power. When the
"dry-light" of the understanding is penetrated by the liquid light of
the emotions, it becomes both light and heat, powerful to vivify,
quicken, and move all things.
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