In our last discussion we classified human duty under three heads, Religious Duty, Personal Duty, and Social Duty.

The wide and deep topic of Religious Duty we leave aside in this Course. No one in Christian lands holds that a woman's duties of Prayer, Thanksgiving, Repentance, Faith, &c, towards God, differ from those of a man. The books devoted to such themes are equally addressed to both sexes.

The second great branch of Duty, Personal Duty, is the subject of our present consideration. In the last lecture you will remember, we advanced so far as to rank these duties above Social Duties. In other words, whenever it would appear that a Personal Duty (such as Chastity or Veracity) clashes with a Social Duty (such as Benevolence), the Personal Duty must at all hazards, be chosen. It is for example, an offence to bear false witness in favour of our neighbour, as well as against him.

An inquiry into the grounds and reasons why each special personal virtue holds its place in morals, would carry us far, indeed, beyond the limits of these Lectures. Very interesting, and also very lofty views, on the subject, may be found by those who may care to go deeply into it, in Kant's Metaphysic of Ethics. All that I can here afford to do, is to mark those features of personal character which will be admitted by every one to constitute that Moral Perfection, which is the aim of existence for a rational free agent.