Keep within Compass and you shall be sure, to avoid many troubles which others endure

Keep within Compass and you shall be sure, to avoid many troubles which others endure

Civic virtues, roles of women, morality, marriage

A young woman stands within a compass inscribed 'Fear God', holding an open book inscribed 'The Pleasures of Imagination Realized'. At her feet is an open chest full of guineas from which hang bank-notes and jewels; it is inscribed 'The Reward of Virtue'. A small dog stands beside her. In the background (right) is a country house, on the left farm-buildings and haystacks. The four corners are filled with the disasters which beset the woman who does not 'keep within compass'. A woman weeps dejectedly with cards and an empty purse on the ground at her feet. A drunken woman lets an infant fall from her arms; on the wall is a torn print inscribed 'Domestic Happiness'. A woman is being conducted to the watch-house by two watchmen, one with his lantern, the other with a rattle. She beats hemp in Bridewell, a man standing behind her with a whip.

Robert Dighton

Winterthur Museum

Bowles & Carver

1785

Tenzin Tsarong

English