But if you have either no fellow-feeling for the misfortunes I have met with, or none that bears any proportion to the grief which diftracts me; or if you have either no indignation at the injuries I have fuffered, or none that bears any proportion to the refentment which transports me, we can no longer converfe upon thefe fubjects. We become intolerable to one another. I can neither fupport your company, nor you mine. You are confounded at my violence and paffion, and I am enraged at your cold infenfibility and want of feeling.

In all fuch cafes, that there may be fome correfpondence of fentiments between the fpectator and the perfon principally concerned, the fpectator muft, first of all endeavour, as much as he can, to put himself in the fituation of the other, and to bring home to himself every little circumftance of distress which can poffibly occur to the sufferer. He muft adopt the whole cafe of his companion with all its minutest incidents; and strive to render, as perfect as poffible, that imaginary change of fituation upon which his fympathy is founded.

After all this, however, the emotions of the fpectator will ftill be very apt to fall short of the violence of what is felt by the fufferer. Mankind, though naturally fympathetic, never conceive, for what has befallen another, that degree of paffion which naturally animates the perfon principally concerned. That imaginary change of fituation, upon which their fympathy is founded, is

but

but momentary. The thought of their own. fafety, the thought that they themselves are not really the fufferers, continually intrudes itself upon them; and though it does not hinder them from conceiving a paffion fomewhat analogous to what is felt by the fufferer, hinders them from conceiving any thing that approaches to the fame degree of violence. The perfon principally concerned is fenfible of this, and, at the fame time paffionately defires a more compleat fympathy. He longs for that relief which nothing can afford him but the entire concord of the affections of the fpectators with his own. To fee the emotions of their hearts, in every refpect, beat time to his own, in the violent and difagreeable paffions, conftitutes his fole confolation. But he can only hope to obtain this by lowering his paffion to that pitch, in which the fpectators are capable of going along with him. He must flatten, if I may be allowed to say so, the sharpness of its natural tone, in order to reduce it to harmony and concord with the emotions of thofe who are about him. What they feel, will, indeed, always be, in fome refpects, different from what he feels, and compaffion can never be exactly the fame with original forrow; because the fecret confcioufnefs that the change of fituations, from which the fympathetic fentiment arifes, is but imaginary, not only lowers it in degree, but, in fome measure, varies it in kind, and gives it a quite different modification. Thefe two fentiments, however,

may,

may, it is evident, have fuch a correfpondence with one another, as is fufficient for the harmony of fociety. Though they will never be unifons, they may be concords, and this is all that is wanted or required.

In order to produce this concord, as nature teaches the fpectators to affume the circumftances of the perfon principally concerned, fo fhe teaches this laft in fome measure to affume thofe of the fpectators. As they are continually placing themfelves in his fituation, and thence conceiving emotions fimilar to what he feels; fo he is as conftantly placing himself in theirs, and thence conceiving fome degree of that coolness about his own fortune, with which he is fenfible that they will view it. As they are conftantly confidering what they themselves would feel, if they actually were the fufferers, fo he is as conftantly led to imagine in what manner he would be affected if he was only one of the fpectators of his own fituation. As their fympathy makes them look at it, in fome measure, with his eyes, fo his fympathy makes him look at it, in fome measure, with theirs, especially when in their prefence and acting under their obfervation: and as the reflected paffion, which he thus conceives, is much weaker than the original one, it neceffarily abates the violence of what he felt before he came into their prefence, before he began to recollect in what manner they would be affected by it, and to view his fituation in this candid and impartial light.

The

The mind, therefore, is rarely fo disturbed, but that the company of a friend will reftore it to fome degree of tranquillity and fedatenefs. The breaft is, in fome measure, calmed and compofed the moment we come into hiss prefence. We are immediately put in mind of the light in which he will view our fituation, and we begin to view it ourfelves in the fame light; for the effect of fympathy is inftantaneous. We expect lefs fympathy from a common acquaintance than from a friend: we cannot open to the former all thofe little circumftances which we can unfold to the latter: we affume, therefore, more tranquillity before him, and endeavour to fix our thoughts upon thofe general outlines of our fituation which he is willing to confider. We expect ftill lefs fympathy from an affembly of ftrangers, and we affume, therefore, ftill more tranquillity before them, and always endeavour to bring down our paffion to that pitch, which the particular company we are in may be expected to go along with. Nor is this only an affumed appearance: for if we are at all masters of ourselves, the prefence of a mere acquaintance will really compofe us, ftill more than that of a friend; and that of an affembly of strangers ftill more than that of an acquaintance.

Society and converfation, therefore, are the moft powerful remedies for reftoring the mind to its tranquillity, if, at any time, it has unfortunately loft it as well as the best prefervatives of that equal and happy temper, which is fo neceffary to felf fatisfaction and enjoyment,

enjoyment. Men of retirement and speculation, who are apt to fit brooding at home over either grief or refentment, though they may often have more humanity, more generofity, and a nicer fenfe of honour, yet feldom poffefs that equality of temper which is fo common among men of the world.

CHA P. V.

Of the amiable and respectable virtues.

UPO

PON thefe two different efforts, upon that of the spectator to enter into the fentiments of the perfon principally concerned, and upon that of the perfon principally concerned, to bring down his emotions to what the spectator can go along with, are founded two different fets of virtues. The foft, the gentle, the amiable virtues, the virtues of candid condefcenfion and indulgent humanity, are founded upon the one: the great, the awful and refpectable, the virtues of felfdenial, of felf-government, of that command of the paffions which fubjects all the movements of our nature to what our own dignity and honour, and the propriety of our own conduct require, take their origin from the other.

How amiable does he appear to be, whose fympathetic heart feems to re-echo all the fentiments of thofe with whom he converses, who grieves for their calamities, who refents