Chapter 7

 Another outstanding feature of to-day, to which the Society of Friends ought to 96have a special relation, is that which is spoken of as the Women’s Movement. This undoubtedly¹ expresses much more than a political or social aspiration². It corresponds in some measure to the democratic movement and indicates the stirring of spiritual aspirations³. Its symptoms are seen not only in the movement for women’s suffrage⁴, and not only in Western countries. A recent book, published by the wife of one of the ruling chiefs of India, is symptomatic of great changes that are taking place all over the East. The book is a statement of the positions which are open to women in Western countries, and an urgent plea for the opening of these doors to the women of the East also. Although lacking in the realization⁵ of the difficulty of suddenly making so great a change in India, the book is well worthy⁶ of notice as indicating the stirrings of a new life among Indian women. Hardly any contrast could be imagined greater than their condition in the past and that which is sketched⁷ out for them in the future by the authoress of this book. Probably many 97will have noticed that an incident in the deliberations of the Provisional National Convention of China at Nanking was the presentation of a petition from the women of that country for the granting of women’s suffrage.

 

I was recently made vividly⁸ aware of the vast difference between the practice of Friends and that of other Christian⁹ denominations¹⁰ by the consideration of a report on the relations between men and women in the mission field, which was presented to a representative Missionary¹¹ Conference in Great Britain last summer. The report urged that an equal share in the management of mission affairs should be given to women, and brought forward a strong array of reasons in favor thereof. It was referred to by a member of one of the largest missionary societies as “a momentous¹² report.” A lady Friend described it as “daring incursions into the obvious.” The fact is that we as Friends possess the very thing which some other Churches are beginning to realize they need. A brilliant writer and prominent Free Church leader 98in Great Britain has recently asked the question why, in these days of the higher education of women, should the ministry¹³ be a monopoly of the men; and we Friends echo, with the thought of Elizabeth Fry and Hannah Chapman Backhouse and many another in our minds, “Why, indeed!” To the spiritual insight and courage of our forefathers¹⁴ we owe it, that in the Society of Friends we can say “There is neither male nor female.” I wonder if we sufficiently¹⁵ realize how great an heritage this is—how sacred a trust; and if we take sufficient pains to bring our message in this respect to the notice of others. If the women’s movement, with all its great possibilities, is to be a contribution, as it ought to be, to the building up of the Kingdom of God, the Churches need to adopt a sympathetic attitude towards it, and to express in their own organizations their readiness to adapt themselves to meet its ideals. If they are to do this with confidence, what greater stimulus¹⁶ could they have than the knowledge, which few outside our borders possess, I fear, of the 99uniform experience of our Society throughout its history? The Church needs to realize with greater vividness how much the consecrated¹⁷ womanhood in her midst can contribute to her life, and to give women the fullest opportunity to make that contribution.

1 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

2 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

3 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

4 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

5 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

6 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

7 sketched   

v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

12 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

16 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

17 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》