[In the following excerpt, Bornstein discusses The Nobility of the Feminine Sex, concluding that it is "an eloquent plea for the education and liberation of women."]

[Agrippa's De nobilitate et praecellentia foeminei sexus was written] in 1509, [and] it was dedicated to Margaret of Austria to win her favor. Agrippa did not have a chance to present the treatise to Margaret and did not publish it until almost twenty years later. He had to leave the University of Dôle, where he had been lecturing, because of an attack on the orthodoxy of his lectures by Jean Catilinet, provincial superior of the Franciscans in Burgundy. Agrippa was deeply involved in cabalistic studies and had a reputation as a magician. He served as the model for Faustus in Marlowe's Dr. Faustus.

Agrippa's cabalistic studies are reflected in the abstruse etymologies found in De nobilitate. According to the cabalists, the names of things were taken to be reflections of their essence. He also used the Neoplatonic idea of a hierarchy of creatures. He states that since woman was created last, she is the superior creature. His Hebrew studies are reflected in his frequent use of examples from the Old Testament.

Although Agrippa did not get to present De nobilitate to its intended patron, it enjoyed considerable popularity, particularly in England, where it was translated three times. It was translated into prose by David Clapam as A Treatise of the Nobilitie and Excellencye of Woman Kynde (1542). This English prose translation was turned into heroic couplets in a version entitled The Glory of Women or a Looking Glasse for Ladies (1652). An independent translation from the Latin entitled Female Preeminence, or the Dignity and Excellency of that Sex above the Male (1670) was made by Henry Care. The translation by Care is here reprinted. Care, a political writer and journalist, was accused of being sycophantic because of his extravagant dedication to Queen Catherine.

Although the work is not written in debate form, it is strongly polemic. Agrippa musters arguments from etymology, physiology, scripture, history, and contemporary life to demonstrate the superiority of women. His etymologies are entirely fanciful, although some of them were taken seriously in his day. His physiology is inaccurate and sometimes comic. For instance, he says that when women drown, they float face down in the water, whereas men float face (and private parts) up. This shows the natural modesty of women. Some of his arguments are trivial, although ingenious. Another argument he uses to show the modesty of women is that their hair covers their private parts. He uses many exempla from traditional antifeminist literature but changes their import, stating that these tales reflect against men and that men blame women for their own failures and weaknesses. Some of the biblical examples used in this way are the stories of Samson, Lot, David, and Solomon.

Throughout much of the work one is struck by Agrippa's wit but one doubts his seriousness. Toward the end, however, when the reader is amused and off guard, Agrippa's argument becomes more serious. Using biblical examples, he states that men were the first sinners; they introduced drunkenness, polygamy, and murder into the world; they are tyrannical and aggressive and have created many evils, whereas women have created the peaceful arts. This contribution of women is symbolized by the Muses and by female goddesses. Women are more chaste, faithful, and refined; they held all kinds of offices in ancient times, serving as priestesses, doctors, scholars, and rulers; they learn just as quickly as men and have just as many abilities. The only thing that holds women back is the tyranny of men and an education that confines them to the trivialities of life. Agrippa ends with an eloquent plea for the education and liberation of women….