productive of a painful repulfive emotion. Sympathy upon this fuppofition would not be annihilated; but it would be rendered useless. For it would be gratified by flying from or avoiding the object, instead of clinging to it, and affording relief. The condition of man would in reality be worse than if sympathy were totally eradicated; because fympathy would only ferve to plague those who feel it, without producing any good to the afflicted.

Loath to quit fo interesting a subject, I add a reflection, with which I fhall conclude. The external figns of paffion are a strong indication, that man, by his very constitution, is framed to be open and fincere. A child, in all things obedient to the impulses of na ture, hides none of its emotions: the favage and clown, who have no guide other than pure nature, expose their hearts to view by giving way to all the natural figns: and even when men learn to diffemble their fentiments, and when behaviour degenerates into art, there ftill remain checks, which keep diffimulation within bounds, and prevent a great part of its mischievous effects. T 2 The

The total fuppreffion of the voluntary figns during any vivid paffion, begets the utmost uneafinefs, which cannot be endured for any confiderable time. This operation becomes indeed lefs painful by habit but luckily the involuntary figns, cannot by any effort be fuppreffed or even diffembled. An abfolute hypocrify, by which the character is concealed and a fictitious one affumed, is made impracticable; and nature has thereby prevented much harm to fociety. We may pronounce therefore, that nature, herfelf fincere and candid, intends that mankind fhould preferve the fame character, by cultivating fimplicity and truth, and banishing every fort of diffimulation that tends to mifchief.

CHAP.

149

CHA P. XVI.

SENTIMENTS.

E

VERY thought fuggefted by a paffion
or emotion, is termed a fentiment *.

The knowledge of the fentiments peculiar to each paffion confidered abstractly, will not alone enable an artist to make a just representation of nature. He ought, over and above, to be acquainted with the various appearances of the fame paffion in different perfons. Paffions, it is certain, receive a tincture from every peculiarity of character; and for that reason, it rarely happens that any two perfons vent their paffions precisely in the fame manner. Hence the following rule concerning dramatic and epic compofitions, That a paffion be adjusted to the character, the fentiments to the paffion, and the language to the fentiments.

See Appendix.

If

If nature be not faithfully copied in each of thefe, a defect in execution is perceived. There may appear fome resemblance; but the picture upon the whole will be infipid, through want of grace and delicacy. A painter, in order to represent the various attitudes of the body, ought to be intimately acquainted with muscular motion: not lefs intimately acquainted with emotions and characters ought a writer to be, in order to represent the various attitudes of the mind. A general notion of the paffions, in their groffer differences of ftrong and weak, elevated and humble, fevere and gay, is far from being fufficient. Pictures formed fo fuperficially, have little refemblance, and no expreffion. And yet it will appear by and by, that in many inftances our reputed mafters are deficient even in this fuperficial knowledge.

In handling the prefent fubject, it would be endless to trace even the ordinary paffions through their nicer and more minute differences. Mine fhall be an humbler tafk; which is, to felect from the best writers inftances of faulty fentiments, after pa

ving the way by fome general obfervations." To talk in the language of mufic, each paffion hath a certain tone, to which every fentiment proceeding from it ought to be tuned with the greatest accuracy. This is no easy work, especially where fuch har mony is to be fupported during the courfe of a long theatrical representation. In order to reach fuch delicacy of execution, it is necessary that a writer affume the precife character and paffion of the perfonage reprefented. This requires an uncommon genius. But it is the only difficulty; for the writer, who, forgetting himself, can thus perfonate another, fo as to feel truly and distinctly the various agitations of the paffion, need be in no pain about the fentiments thefe will, flow without the leaft study, or even preconception; and will frequently be as delightfully new to himself as afterward to his reader. But if a lively picture even of a fingle emotion require an effort of genius; how much greater must the effort be, to compofe a paffionate dialogue, in which there are as many different tones of paffion as there are fpeakers? With what

ductility