To say the truth, I do not know of what use is an improved taste, if the individual be not rendered more independent of the casualties of life; if new sources of enjoyment, only dependent on the solitary operations of the mind, are not opened.

A young bamboo shoot growing among mature bamboo in soft morning light. — AI-generated editorial illustration · Quotations

What does this quotation mean?

From Chapter 2 of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Read the surrounding argument as well as the excerpt; its historical language and philosophical assumptions shape its meaning.

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Source: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman , Chapter 2

Edition: English electronic text

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From A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Excerpt checked against the linked public-domain English edition. Korean rendering and context note by Quotations; not an authorized translation. Historical punctuation is retained; line breaks and editorial footnote markers are normalized.

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