a Political Factor 77 



of the leaders of the discontent around him. His 

 sanity and cool-headedness will be thoroughly tried, 

 and if he loses them his power for good will vanish. 



But this is merely to state one form of a general 

 truth. If a man permits largeness of heart to de 

 generate into softness of head, he inevitably be 

 comes a nuisance in any relation of life. If sym 

 pathy becomes distorted and morbid, it hampers 

 instead of helping the effort toward social better 

 ment. Yet without sympathy, without ' fellow-feel 

 ing, no permanent good can be accomplished. In 

 any healthy community there must be a solidarity 

 of sentiment and a knowledge of solidarity of inter 

 est among the different members. Where this soli 

 darity ceases to exist, where there is no fellow-feel 

 ing, the community is ripe for disaster. Of course 

 the fellow-feeling may be of value much in propor 

 tion as it is unconscious. A sentiment that is easy 

 and natural is far better than one which has to be 

 artificially stimulated. But the artificial stimulus is 

 better than none, and with fellow-feeling, as with all 

 other emotions, what is started artificially may be 

 come quite natural in its continuance. With most 

 men courage is largely an acquired habit, and on 

 the first occasions when it is called for it necessi 

 tates the exercise of will-power and self-control ; but 

 by exercise it gradually becomes almost automatic. 



So it is with fellow-feeling. A man who con- 



