PASSION. 
spectators, but out of pity, as it is more 
than probable that the vengeance about to 
be taken will be more than cominensurdte 
with the injury received. 
Anger, in its slightest degree, necessarily 
follows certain occurrences, the conse- 
quences of family and social connections ; 
and its indulgence is allowable under the 
piidance of reason, otherwise it would be 
impossible to correct the aggressions of un- 
thinking persons, or conduct the educa- 
tion of youth ; but beyond this boundary, 
it becomes brutal and degrading to our na- 
ture. Anger may be made habitual by in- 
dulgence ; the nerves are, by this means, 
rendered diseased and irritable, and the 
person thus situated actually falls into an 
universal tremor, with a species of fage, al- 
most at the instant the ear hears, or the eye 
views the cause of offence; indeed some 
cases exist when the mind becomes in- 
flamed at the bare suspicion of what may 
be said or done. Miserable are the feelings 
ot those who suffer anger to overpower their 
reason, and miserable are the effects of 
their rapid and frequently unfounded con- 
ceptions. It may be doubted whether the 
mind, in this state of derangement, can be 
recovered to discrimination and gentleness 
in adults ; it is, therefore, doubly necessary 
to repress any effervescence in the breasts 
of infants, who are known to feel most vio- 
lent paroxysms of rage, even before their 
limbs are capable of supporting them, and 
which have been known to be fatal. This 
circumstance alone proves that our passions 
are received with life in their full vigour, 
consequently every means should be tried 
to soothe and repress them, rather than to 
encourage their increase, by teaching re- 
sentment against animals, friends, and in- 
animate objects, by the detestable practice 
of asking a blow from a child to beat a ta- 
ble or a wainscot, for coming in contact 
with its head or limbs, or a person or ani- 
mal for some offence. Revenge is a twin- 
brother of anger or rage ; we see but little 
of the movements of this branch of the 
passions, as they are generally secret, 
founded on fear, and prey on the vitals of 
the wretch who entertains it ; it is a com- 
pound of courage and apprehension, but 
the latter ever predominates. Revenge is 
not always confined to acts, but descends 
to malice, which delights in insinuations and 
false conclusions ; when successful, the hu- 
man face divine becomes the type of that 
of a fiend, and a smile sets on the features 
which cannot be described. 
Another gradation of anger is hatred, 
which arises from a real or supposed injury. 
Inveterate hatred is a most direful passion, 
distorting every word and every act of tire 
individual tlie subject of it ; whose smiles 
are equally detested with their frowns, and 
whose motives in all cases are supposed to 
be governed by an intention of injuring the 
possessor of this unworthy sensation. Re- 
sentment is a far more generous inmate, be- 
cause it possesses the power of discriminat- 
ing an unintentional from a voluntary in- 
sult, and is vented generally, and immedi- 
ately, in words alone. It must be obvious, 
that he who entertains hatred fosters an in- 
mate which feeds upon his own vitals, even 
when the object bated is unconscious of its 
existence, or has forgot its future conse- 
quences. 
Envy often produces hatred ; the former 
being a most unreasonable passion, seems to 
derive its origin from an innate pr inciple of 
evil ; it is one, in short, which cannot be 
accounted for on any rational gr ounds. The 
person influenced by envy feels some de- 
ficiency, and observes another endowed 
with qualifications either beyond the reach 
of acquirement, or that may be obtairred 
without difficulty ; when the defect lies in 
the person or features, it might be ima- 
gined that the hopeless state of the case 
would produce resignatron, if not content. 
If the acquirements disliked or envied are 
attainable by all mankind, emulation might 
be supposed to urge an attempt at rivalry ; 
but, no ; the envious person rests in listless 
inactivity, and suffers his mind to tear every 
ornament natural or artificial from the sub- 
ject of his dislike, his eyes to express it, 
attd his tongue to depreciate and lessen 
every nrovement of the involuntary enemy of 
his repose. Aver sion is often produced by 
a similar cause ; and yet it must be admit- 
ted, that aversions do sometimes occur in 
minds virtuous and pure, which require the 
str-ongest efforts to subdite them. Those, 
however, generally proceed from the con- 
templation of a set of forbidding features, 
or some peculiarity in the manners of the 
individual disapproved of, and nray be cort- 
quered by exertion. In another sense, 
aversion is proper and justifiable ; the good 
must feel an aversiort for those whose con- 
duct is wicked or disgraceful. 
Hatred is expressed by contemptuous 
looks, or knittirrg of the brows, the raising 
of the lips towards the nostrils, and an 
averted face. Envy exhibits atr eagerness 
to see the departure of its object, when the 
