[Boston—Thursday, 19 November 1868]
Nov 19. We had a family dinner in honor of our own wedding day. Mother looked well and we were all very happy together.
Grand Convention for advocating Suffrage of Women came off yesterday & the day before. J. and I looked in, but there were so many hard faced unlovely women full of forthputting-ness about, we retreated hastily. My heart is wholly with the movement, but the movers alas! are often women who love to un-sex themselves and crave audience from the rostrum.
I have found such a small “bit” today in an article by Sainte Beuve on J.J. Ampére, he is speaking of Chateaubriand’s hatred of a rival.
“C’est une remarque que Quintilian à faite en ternes excellentes; dès que l’idéa de rivalté a disparu, dès que l’amour-propre est désarmé, il n’y à plus que bienveillance: quoties discessit aemulatio, succedit humanitas.” In the poetic nature this is eminently true. Sensibility makes us feel the pangs of jealousy but Love restores the balance to humanity.
