428 IMMORTALITY. 



course of spirits who preserve their own centres of 

 activity, in agreement amid diversity, In the sym- 

 pathy of kindred souls which is desired just because 

 It Is the sympathy of others ; it aims not at union in 

 the sense of effacement of individuals, but In the 

 sense of harmony ; It respects the individuality of 

 the friend, and values it because of Its very dis- 

 tinctness. In love, on the other hand, if we have 

 interpreted aright the indications of feelings which 

 dimly prognosticate Its inner essence, there Is none 

 of this : the union It desires is absolute, and requires 

 a complete sacrifice of self. 



And again, to consider them with respect to their 

 attitude towards extraneous Influences : the harmony 

 of friendship resents the Intrusion of uncongenial 

 elements, but Is not In Itself hostile to any widening 

 of Its sphere ; on the contrary, the natural Impulse 

 of a sociable nature Is " to be friends with all men," 

 the Ideal of social harmony Is all-embracing. And 

 it is not as such prone to jealousy : we wish that 

 our friends should also be friends of one another, 

 and labour to effect this. Love, on the other hand, 

 is distinguished from all the other forms of affec- 

 tion by Its exclusiveness ; jealousy Is part of its 

 essence, and is the repulsion which will not brook 

 the Intrusion of any foreign force upon the intimate 

 attraction of the human molecule. A pair of lovers 

 are sufficient for each other ; they require no one 

 else, and will not admit others into the intensity 

 of their mutual feelings. Would it not be the 

 height of absurdity to suggest to lovers what is the 

 desire of friends, viz., that they should love the 

 largest possible number and be loved by them ? 

 For does not lovev desire wholly and solely to 

 possess that which it loves, and resent the Intrusion 



