Editing  The Twentieth epistle of Horace to his book, modernized by the author of Female conduct, and applied to his own book, by Thomas Marriott on TypeWright was surprisingly interesting. Once I found a rhythm, I spotted common errors easily. The author repeated  words like “truth,” “virtue” and “morals” over and over again. Though they were not the words that needed fixing, these words provided context clues. This helped me determine the meaning of other words in the sentence and understand the author’s perspective. Though the title indicated that Marriott got his inspiration from a conduct book, I did not know that there would be a lot of similarities between his book and the conduct books we read in class.

Marriott’s book reflects the methods used by authors of conduct books during the eighteenth century. The first thing that drew my attention was the title. The author used an epistle to create a conduct book. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an epistle is a literary work in the form of a letter and usually written in verse. While conduct books like Pamela and Evelina were not written in verse, the protagonists communicated their situations and thoughts through letters. Authors of conduct books used the epistle form to add a sense of reality to their writing. For example, the editor of Pamela stated “if these be laudable or worthy recommendations, the Editor of the following Letters, which have their foundation both in Truth and Nature, ventures to assert, that all these ends are obtained here, together.” (31). By emphasizing that the letters are founded in truth and nature, Richardson reveals that the readers during the eighteenth century wanted a level of truth in their writing in order to connect with it. Marriott applied this logic to his book as he stated “and from what Source, religious Frenzy flows; That marks the Bounds of Virtue, and of Wit, And shows the real, from the Counterfeit; That, from primeval Time, the Truth displays” (30). This highlights that religion and virtue go hand in hand in order to reveal the truth about a person. Also, Marriott upholds and celebrates virtue just as Richardson and Burney highlight in their books. He says “for virtue only can give true renown,” (30) reinforcing the importance of virtue in the eighteenth century.

Furthermore, in the later part of the document, the author focuses on telling the reader his purpose and what he hopes the reader will get from reading it. Though this is unusual since we usually read this in the preface of the conduct book. This structure indicates that the author tried to ensure that no one misunderstood the reasoning behind his book. He states “that I ne’er thirsted, for poetic Fame, That to instruct the Fair, is all my Aim, Fond of your moral, and religious Theme” (29). In disregarding poetic Fame, the author tries to highlight his authenticity. As a conduct book, it becomes important for him to establish his credibility. He therefore tries to establish himself as reliable by first describing himself as a teacher (31) and says that his purpose is “To give Instruction, only to the Fair” (33).  He ascribes his conduct book to women highlighting that virtue and morals were gendered in eighteenth century society.

Overall, the writers during the eighteenth century used the letter writing form to structure conduct books. This emphasized the importance of virtue and morals for women. In the conduct books read this semester, women must uphold these attributes, but men fight against it without any consequence. In all, the gendered nature of conduct books speaks to the fact that the eighteenth-century society limited the ways in which women could view themselves. 

Works Cited

“Epistle.” Home : Oxford English Dictionary. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

Marriott, T. (1759) “Marriott, T.  “The Twentieth Epistle of Horace to His Book, Modernized by the Author of Female Conduct, and Applied to His Own Book. And Intended as an Answer to the Remarks on His Book, Made by the Writer of the Critical Review, and by the Writer of the Monthly Review.” Published by W. Owen, at Homer’s Head, near Temple-Bar, 1759

Richardson, Samuel. “Preface by the Editor.” Preface. Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded. New York:   Penguin Group, 1985. 31. Print.