Thus tragic was the end of one of the most highly gifted women the world
has ever produced. She flourished in the reign of the Emperor Theodosius
II, in the early part of the fifth century.
The record of the Famous Women of Antiquity might be lengthened out
indefinitely: Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, so famous in Roman
history; Octavia, the deeply injured wife of Mark Antony; Eudosia, the
wife of Theodosius, with her equally famous sister-in-law, Pulcheria;
the Aspasia of Pericles, who is represented by some writers as having
composed many of the orations given to the world as those of her
husband; the Aspasia of Cyrus, so famous for her gentle modesty and wise
counsels; and Marianne, the last and most unfortunate princess of the
illustrious line of the Maccabees, and wife of the monster, Herod the
Great. Each of these, to do justice to their merits, or to the
transactions which rendered them famous, would require a biography. The
mere mention of their names must suffice just here. Who has not read or
heard of Sappho, the Greek poetess, concerning whose life and moral
character there has been so much controversy--one class of writers
condemning in unstinted measure, as all and utterly vile; the other
class applauding her as being possessed of every virtue? Says one of the
latter: "In Sappho, a warm and profound sensibility, virgin purity,
feminine softness, and delicacy of sentiment and feeling, were combined
with the native probity and simplicity of the Eolian character; and,
although endued with a fine perception of the beautiful and brilliant,
she preferred genuine conscious rectitude to every other source of human
enjoyment.
Pages:
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149