The design of Rhetoric is to remove those Prejudices that lie in

In the quiet dawn of the Enlightenment, when reason began to challenge the weight of custom and truth struggled to be heard above the din of prejudice, the philosopher Mary Astell — a woman of rare intellect and courage — wrote these immortal words:
"The design of Rhetoric is to remove those Prejudices that lie in the way of Truth, to Reduce the Passions to the Government of Reasons; to place our Subject in a Right Light, and excite our Hearers to a due consideration of it."

These words shine like a torch in the long corridor of human thought, illuminating both the purpose of speech and the duty of the speaker. For Astell, who lived in an age when women were denied the power of education and the pulpit, rhetoric was not a weapon of manipulation, but a sacred art — a bridge between reason and persuasion, between truth and understanding. She saw clearly that to speak well is not to deceive, but to enlighten; not to inflame, but to govern the passions by the gentle hand of reason.

The meaning of her teaching is as eternal as it is noble. Rhetoric, in her view, is not the craft of pleasing words or ornate speech. It is the instrument by which falsehoods are dispelled and truth is made visible to the mind. For humanity, by its nature, is ruled not only by intellect but by emotion — and unless reason guides passion, passion will lead reason astray. Astell understood that truth alone is often not enough; it must be clothed in clarity and grace, that the heart might receive what the mind perceives. The wise speaker, therefore, must first free both themselves and their audience from prejudice — those inherited chains of thought that bind judgment to ignorance — and then invite all to see the world rightly, through the calm lens of understanding.

The origin of Astell’s words lies in her devotion to both philosophy and justice. Born in the seventeenth century, she lived in a time when women were largely denied the education afforded to men. Yet she rose beyond the confines of her society to become one of the first English feminists and a champion of the intellect. Her writings sought not only to elevate women but to awaken reason in all souls, male and female alike. In her work A Serious Proposal to the Ladies (1694), she called for schools for women and for the cultivation of the mind as the path to virtue and freedom. Her vision of rhetoric was thus not the art of domination, but of liberation — a means by which truth could pierce through the fog of ignorance and prejudice that society had long accepted as divine order.

To see her wisdom in life, one need only recall the story of Socrates, the ancient philosopher of Athens. Like Astell, he believed that speech should serve truth, not vanity. Standing before the court that would condemn him, he refused to use rhetoric as a veil for lies. “I would rather speak the truth plainly,” he said, “than save my life with deceit.” His calm words, guided by reason, conquered the noise of his accusers. Though he drank the poison of his sentence, his legacy endured because his rhetoric was pure — a shining example of what Astell described: reason ruling passion, truth overcoming prejudice.

Astell’s teaching also warns against those who misuse speech — who inflame the crowd’s anger, who twist words to serve ambition, who persuade not by truth but by flattery. She saw that rhetoric, when corrupted, becomes a danger greater than ignorance itself. For ignorance is blind, but deceit is deliberate. Thus, she urged her readers to cleanse rhetoric of manipulation, and to restore it to its original design — as a mirror for truth, not a mask for falsehood.

Her vision reaches far beyond the classrooms and salons of her time. In every age, truth struggles against the passions of the multitude — against the storms of anger, fear, and pride. In politics, in religion, in public discourse, the voice of reason is often drowned by the roar of emotion. Astell calls to us across the centuries: tame the passions within before seeking to persuade others. Let your words heal, not wound; enlighten, not enrage. For only when reason governs speech can truth find a home in the hearts of men.

So take this teaching to heart, O seeker of wisdom: speak not merely to be heard, but to awaken understanding. Before you address others, remove the prejudices that cloud your own vision. When you argue, let your aim be not victory, but truth. When you feel anger rise, let reason hold the reins. And when you persuade, do so with integrity — for the greatest orator is not the one who moves the crowd, but the one who leads them toward clarity and virtue.

Thus ends the teaching: rhetoric, rightly used, is the harmony of truth and compassion — the art by which the mind enlightens the heart, and the heart lends warmth to the mind. Let every word you speak serve this sacred design: to bring truth into light, and to raise humanity nearer to wisdom.