618 
twigs or earth, and partakes of the hum- 
ble meal set before him, forgetful of the 
splendid repast, which awaits his compa- 
nions on the other side of the ocean——-He 
listens to his TaLes oF Love, and ap- 
plauds his feats of war—His history, his 
genealogy, sculptured in rude symbols by 
the pointed arrow, become more interest- 
ing to him than the most’ brilliant pedi- 
gree that heraldry can boast of. Such is 
the power of custom, which unites toge- 
ther beings of different characters, and 
harmonizes things apparently incon- 
ruous ! 
“ T shall now take notice of that kind 
of society among human beings which 
owes its existence and its gratifications to 
sympathy ; or to a similarity of feelings, 
tastes, and pursuits. 
“ Tn order to solve the question, which 
seemis to have been proposed by some ele- 
ganv peeuc writers, 7. e. ‘ Whethersym- 
pathy really exists among all animate, and 
even apparently inanimate, subtances?’* 
it would be necessary to pass through the 
immense scale of creation, from the stone 
to the intellectual powers ! which would 
be an undertaking not only too extensive 
for, but evidently unconnected with, my 
present purpose ; therefore [ shall merely 
take notice of those sympathetic sensa- 
tions, which appear peculiarly to cha- 
tacterize human beings, and give rise to 
society among them: these are as various 
as their causes are distinct. 
“ Individuals of similar trades, and the 
Jabouring part of mankind, are often 
drawn toyether in a bond of social union ; 
being subjected, generally speaking, to 
the same evils, and entitled to the same 
advantages, they feel the same wants, 
and enjoy the same pleasures. 
“Persons in the same professions, 
whose views in life are nearly alike, often 
seek the society of each other. 
‘¢ Children and young people also na- 
turally associate; they compare their 
tasks, deplore their hardships, feel the 
same privations, and partake of the same 
enjoyments, 
“ Tnvalids sympathize with each other, 
and are often seen assembled in groups, 
at places to which they have been sent 
for the recovery of their health, To talk 
about their complaints seems to be al- 
@bost a temporary removal of them; ner 
does this propensity at all argue weak- 
néss, Or an extraordinary degree of frailty, 
being often attached, under such circum- 
* Admitting that e807 may sometimes be 
@pplied to the accident of any being. 
Retrospect of Domestic Literature—Politics, Ke. 
stances, to the most exalted as well as to 
the mast feeble characters: it is merely 
the same principle acting in a different 
manner; or, in other words, sympathy, 
operating on the lower instead of the 
higher nature of human beings: thesym- 
pathy arising trom mere animal wants and 
infirmities belongs to the former: and 
that which takes place in consequence of 
a similarity of intellectual pursuits, or 
moral excellence, seems peculiarly ap- 
propriated to the latter; this kind of sym- 
pathy brings human society to the last 
degree of perfection, waiting many indi- 
viduals by one perpetual compact, the ba~ 
sis of which is virtue, in bonds of indisso~ 
luble amity. 
“The most sublime kind of sympathy 
appears to be connected with the adverse, 
rather than with the prasperous, scenes of 
lite. Among the sensations to which it 
gives rise may be reckoned the delight 
which we sometimes feel, when under the 
pressure of any calamity, in reflecting 
that a virtuous person participates in our 
sufferings. What! can we delight in the 
misery of another, and even in that of an 
innocent individual? Are we so selfish as 
to exult because another suffers with us ? 
Ought we not rather to feel regret that 
superior merit should be atflicted? In or- 
der to answer those questions, we must 
trace through the windinys of self-love, 
vanity, and weakness, the source of those 
sympathetic feelings, which, in pain and 
in adversity, southe and console us; the 
source is pure, but from it issue many 
branches, which are tainted more or less 
with passions and weaknesses of huma- 
nity. 
“The following is an instance of the 
kind of sympathy now alluded to:—On a 
bed of sickness, or amidst the gloom of a 
prison, the most noble energies of the 
soul, which sometimes lay dormant in 
prosperity, again burst forth. Obliged to 
make great efforts, we feel the extent of 
our powers, and are better able to esti- 
mate those of another, which seem to en- 
courage and invigorate us. What pio- 
ture can be more gratifying to us, when 
struggling with the ‘oppressor’s wrong,’ 
&c. than a person conquering affliction 
by fortitude? The love of virtue im- 
mediately animates our heart, and 
produces those indescribable emotions 
which belong to sympathy in distress. 
The dove of virtue, not any selfish prin- 
ciple, is here the source of sympathy. 
Misfortues appear honouruble, mingled 
with such emotions; and every new pang 
seems to be a new privilege. This.is cer 
tainly 
