CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



and refined. In rude ages, it is very much 

 drawn upon as a source of excitement, and at all 

 times it enters as an element of human pleasure. 

 The wonder-worker, conjurer, or showman, is 

 found in all communities. The literature of 

 amusement deals largely in the marvellous. In 

 matters of truth and falsehood, wonder is one 

 of the perverting emotions. 



Tender Emotion. 



This is the feeling lying at the root of the warm 

 affections and the benevolent sentiments of our 

 nature. Generally speaking, living beings are 

 the objects of it, but inanimate things may also 

 call it forth. 



The sensations that incline to tenderness are, 

 first, the gentle or soft stimulants, such as soft 

 touches, gentle sounds, slow movements, temper- 

 ate warmth, mild sunshine. In the next place, 

 very intense pleasures in general are apt to 

 awaken the excitement Under the agitation of 

 great joy, outbursts of tenderness frequently occur. 

 We may observe in any great rejoicing the dis- 

 plays of profuse benevolence and affection. A 

 third well-known stimulant of this state is the 

 very opposite of the foregoing namely, pain. 

 This is the paradox of our constitution. The 

 explanation is, that under pain there is a violent 

 diffused stimulus over all the organs concerned 

 in the expression of feeling, affecting both the 

 movements and the secretions ; and the new 

 excitement reflected from all these parts is found 

 to mitigate the original pain. Certain special 

 sensations operate strongly in touching the tender 

 chords. The high and mellow note occurring in 

 the wail of grief, and the transparent film of 

 lustrous objects, are notable examples. Any- 

 thing delicate, slender, or fragile has a similar 

 power. 



The expression of tenderness is characteristic. 

 The lachrymal secretion and the vocal wail co- 

 operate in the extreme outburst In the milder 

 modes, the features express a tranquil plea- 

 sure. 



The feeling is essentially pleasurable, and taken 

 in ah 1 its developments, makes up a considerable 

 fraction of the sum of human happiness. Being 

 allied to moods of inaction and repose, it comes in 

 happily when the system is unfit for violent ex- 

 citements. The possibility of sustaining it over 

 a very long time, and in the deepest prostration 

 of the system, is perhaps more remarkable than 

 the intensity of it at any one moment, although 

 there are occasions when it is worked up to the 

 pitch of the acutest delight 



In detailing the various species of this feeling, 

 we ought not to omit the tender associations 

 formed in our minds with many inanimate things, 

 as with one's birthplace, dwelling, or other object 

 that has long been mixed up with one's pleasures 

 and cares. As regards living beings, the Family 

 is the foremost sphere of the emotion. Friend- 

 ship, Compassion, Protection, Kindness, and Be- 

 nevolent sentiment in general, are well-known 

 varieties, having regard to the world generally. 

 The peculiar pain inflicted on the susceptibility is 

 termed Sorrow. 



The emotions of Admiration and Esteem are 

 social feelings somewhat akin to tenderness, 

 involving also a tincture of the wonderful. 



348 



Anger. 



This is the foundation of the malevolent asp 

 of our nature, as the foregoing is of benevolence. 

 Anger is prompted by some mode of pain inflicted 

 upon us, and more especially acute, sudden, or 

 unexpected pains. Intentional injury is what 

 rouses it to the most extreme degree. It is a very 

 disturbing passion to the physical system, although 

 the precise nature of the derangement cannot be 

 defined. The character of the feeling itself is 

 marked by this peculiar feature namely, the in- 

 fliction of harm upon the author of the pain that 

 provokes it The irritation of the frame under 

 resentment can be soothed in one of two ways 

 the voluntary self-humiliation of the wrong-doer, 

 or a compulsory humiliation inflicted upon him. 

 It is a fact of our constitution not resolvable into 

 anything more general, that the mind suffering 

 from a shock of injury caused by another person, 

 can be more or less satisfied, appeased, or even 

 delighted by some act of retaliation or retribution 

 causing that person to suffer. Besides this prin- 

 cipal character of the passion of anger, we remark 

 in it a remarkable tendency to stimulate the active 

 energies, as we see in every species of combat 

 between opposing powers. 



Among the recognised species of irascible feel- 

 ing we include Deliberate, as distinguished from 

 Sudden anger, Revenge, Hatred, Malice, and 

 Legal or Punitive Resentment. One form is digni- 

 fied by the title ' righteous indignation ;' and there 

 is a poetic species termed 'noble rage.' The 

 pleasure of Malevolence has been sometimes 

 called in question, and it has been contended that 

 vindictiveness and revenge give nothing but pain 

 to the individual actuated by them. This, how- 

 ever, is not in accordance with the actual experi- 

 ence of life. No person would pursue the sugges- 

 tions of anger, if the consequences were not in 

 some way calculated to appease and gratify the 

 mind lacerated by injury. 



Fear. 



This emotion may be described as a tremulous 

 excitement originating in pain, apprehension, 

 uncertainty, or strangeness ; causing a feeling of 

 intense misery, while wasting the energies and 

 subduing the spirit. Terror and Dread are other 

 names for the general passion. Anxiety, Sus- 

 picion, Panic, Awe, Horror, and Despair are 

 among the species. 



The physical characters of this state are strongly 

 marked, and in some degree definable. The course 

 of the nervous currents is diverted from some 

 channels, and thrown with excessive violence into 

 others. The functions of organic life, digestion, 

 circulation, and the various secretions, are weak- 

 ened, while the expression of the features, the 

 acuteness of the senses, and the activity of the 

 intellect, are unduly quickened. The feeling itself 

 is an extremely virulent kind of misery. This is 

 not the only evil produced. The active energies 

 are stimulated in undue proportion, so as to 

 weaken the general tone of the mind ; hence the 

 subduing efficacy of the passion. Pain alone has 

 very little influence compared with that arising 

 out of the perturbation of fear. The aptitude for 

 resisting this tremulous convulsion of the mental 

 and bodily system is what we mean by Courage. 



