quote · Legacy record
So woman, born to dignify retreat Unknown to flourish, and unseen be great, To give domestic life its sweetest charm, With softness polish, and with virtue warm: Fearful of fame, unwilling to be known, Should seek but Heaven’s applauses and her own; Should dread no blame but that which crimes impart, The censures of a self-condemning heart.
So woman, born to dignify retreat Unknown to flourish, and unseen be great, To give domestic life its sweetest charm, With softness polish, and with virtue warm: Fearful of fame, unwilling to be known, Should seek but Heaven’s applauses and her own; Should dread no blame but that which crimes impart, The censures of a self-condemning heart.
Approximate author period: c. 1789 AD · early modern
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Hannah More
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1789 AD · early modern
author lifetime midpoint (1745–1833)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 679 · printed citation: Hannah More · subject: WOMAN
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.