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then unfortunately it does not rest here; that which might have been advantageously employed as a measure of precaution only, is adopted as a principle of action; the mind broods over the miserable condition of society; it becomes aware of the little dependence that can be placed on the help of man; it suffers from injustice; it finds its confidence betrayed, its interests sacrificed to any selfish consideration, its friendships misplaced, its estimate of character falsified, its esteem engaged by unworthy objects, and by them thrown away as worthless; it becomes melancholy from such a detail of practical misery, and falls into hypochondriasis, or misanthropy, according to the prevailing physical temperament, and the principal characteristic of its preceding modes and habits of thought and feeling; suspicion and distrust exert their baneful influence over the mind, and by degrees, friendship and love, purity of motive, rectitude of action, esteem, respect, and consideration are all treated as mere illusions, from the deceitful influence of which they have escaped; an escape on which they congratulate themselves.

The truths of religion are the only sure antidote to this state of mind; by them it will be led to the cause of all this misery; by them it will learn its own proneness to evil, and that it is only preserved by the influence of divine grace; by them it will be taught to pity instead of resenting, and to forgive instead of seeking to return evil for evil, or even punishment for evil;

and thus again will it be brought round to the exercise of the principle of benevolence—that charity which can find no substitute in literary acquisition, and philosophical knowledge, or biblical learning, or devotional lore; that charity which must be a fruit of faith, and without which true faith can have no existence; that charity which consists not in simply feeding the hungry, or relieving the distressed, clothing the poor, administering to the wretched, healing the sick, or succouring the destitute; a principle which never fails under the most unpropitious circumstances, but remains as a ground of action, “which suffereth long and is kind; which envieth not; which vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1 Corinthians xiii. 4—7.

From this parent stock of benevolence, flow many of the blessings of society, the sweets of friendship, the delights of love, the endearments of relationship. We have already sketched, as far as our present design will permit, the influence of conjugal, parental, and filial affection; and in a future stage of our inquiry, the subjects of friendship and society will pass under review, so that we shall now direct our attention very shortly, to the nearest associated passion, viz. jealousy.

SECTION VI. Of Jealousy.

IT has been supposed, that the passion of jealousy arose from, and was an evidence of intense affection; and as such, it has been often palliated, excused, and almost vindicated. But this is a most mistaken notion; trace the operation of the principle, and watch its origin, and it will be found incompatible with the existence of perfect love.

The influence of jealousy is very early discernible in the young mind; and even the nursery is not exempted from its inroads. It consists in this feeling; a fear lest others should possess a greater share in the returns of affection, than we ourselves; or lest these returns should be unequal to the love we bear and manifest towards others. In either of these cases, it must be seen that want of confidence, distrust, and a consequent loss of respect, and esteem, are the sources from which these exhibitions of jealousy must flow. But it has been before shewn, that confidence, ingenuousness, respect, and esteem, are necessary to the production, and continuance of love; and if these be indispensable ingredients in the formation of affection, it follows, that their opposite principles cannot be received as evidence of the intensity, the highest, and most perfect state of the passion. The conclusion is absurd :

and let no one palliate to himself the existence of jealousy, or rather encourage its development on this ground; or he will harbour in his bosom a serpent, whose sting will never be extracted, whose poison will circulate through every part of the character, and will influence every act and thought, will be brought into activity by the slightest circumstance, and will descend to those

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trifles light as air," which to the jealous, are invested with a sacredness and certainty, that no argument can dissipate; and which are confirmed by time, and deepened by opposition, and augmented by suspicion, and magnified by distrust, and realized by passion.

The first influence of jealousy may be traced in children; and in their minds, is most intimately associated with envy, a principle with which it is at all times very nearly allied. Thus it will often arise from one infant possessing a toy, or any other mark of favour, which the other has not; it will first feel the passion of envy for the valuable good, whatever it may be, and this will eventually lead to jealousy of the individual, who has vouchsafed the boon! This feeling which in its early stage, is only occasionally excited, will by frequent repetition become habitual; and habit will ripen into passion. The child in whom jealousy has been once powerfully excited, will be ever on the watch for food, to nourish its malignant principle: and occasions for its exercise will not long be wanting, since it is at once ungenerous and unjust, and therefore frames to

itself a source of suspicion in the very good qualities and good conduct of its compeers. This passion having taken deep root in the mind, the child suffers a marked diminution of affection for its associates, who have become the objects of jealousy; love to its parents is supplanted by a sense of injury, a doubt of their affection, a distrust in the equity of their decisions, and a carelessness of compliance with their wishes; the bond of relationship is severed; the unity of the social compact is destroyed; every evil passion is fostered; the influence of paternal government is lost; the hopes of education are blasted; the growth of the moral virtues is repressed; the influence of religion over the conduct is supplanted; the heart is occupied by a demon before whose sway reason and intellect, judgment and reflection, duty and conscience are laid prostrate and enslaved; and it has become the miserable victim of a passion which knows no bounds; under whose influence, truth and justice, prudence, reputation, gratitude, the hope of worldly success, the motives of benevolence, the love of esteem, the claims of pity, and the laws of God, all, all, are yielded to falsehood and artifice, the most cruel injustice, the imprudence of infatuation, the love of revenge, the basest ingratitude, the gratification of a blind passion, the dictates of selfishness, the luxury of malice, the whisper of hatred, the unpitying demands of that passion, which is cruel, and which in the full tide of its headlong course, is arrested by no barrier human

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