it is difficult to prevent a certain degree of hatred and disgust from taking place. The more fufceptible the two perfons were of the ftrong attachments of friendship, the more warmly and the more closely they were once united, fo much the more difficult does it become to bring about a re-union or reconcilement. The fanguine and romantic opinions they had formed of one another's worth, and the disappointment which both or either of them feel from the behaviour of the other, inflicts a wound which rankles in the foul, and prevents all future confidence. The fame conduct in another perfon not so dear, with whom there was not fo close an union, would have been paffed over, and made little impreffion; the former distant and cold acquaintance would have gone on as ufual, and forgivenefs would eafily have taken place.

Somewhat fimilar to the fituation of a person who has been disappointed in the conduct of one from whom he expected much happinefs and much friendship, is that of him who, having conceived warm and elevated notions of the world, has been disappointed in all these better expectations. The world, with its pursuits, will appear in an unfavourable light; he will be apt to quit its fociety, and to indulge in folitude his gloomy reflections. His diflike of the world, however, will be of a calm and gentle kind; it

will rather be pity than hatred; though he may think ill of the species, he will be kind to individuals; he may diflike man, but will affist John or James.

Shakespeare, from whose writings much knowledge of the human heart is to be acquired, has prefented us, in feveral of his characters, with a history of that melancholy and mifanthropy I have described above.

*

Of the character of Hamlet, one of my predeceffors has given a delineation which appears to me to be a just one. Naturally of the most amiable and virtuous difpofition, and endued with the most exquifite fenfibility, he is unfortunate; and his misfortunes proceed from the crimes of those with whom he was the most nearly connected, for whom he had the strongest feelings of natural affection. From thefe circumstances, he is hurt in his foul's tendereft part; he is unhinged in his principles of action, falls into melancholy, and conceives disgust at the world; yet amidst all his disguft, and the mifanthropy which he at times difcovers, we conftantly perceive, that goodness and benevolence are the prevailing features of his character; amidst all the gloom of his melancholy, and the agitation in which his calamities involve him, there are occafional outbreakings of a mind richly * Mirror, N° 99, 100.

endowed by nature, and cultivated by education. Had Hamlet poffeffed less sensibility, had he not been so easily hurt by the calamities of life, by the crimes of the perfons with whom he was connected, he would have preserved more equanimity, he would not have been the prey of dark defponding melancholy; the world and all its ufes would not have appeared to him "ftale, "flat, and unprofitable; an unweeded garden "that grows to feed, poffeffed merely by things "rank and gross in nature.”

In the play of "As you like it,” there is brought upon the ftage a perfonage of a more fixed and fyftematic melancholy than that of Hamlet. Hamlet's melancholy and disgust with the world, is occafioned by the particular nature of the misfortunes he meets with. But in Jaques we see a fettled and confirmed melancholy, not proceeding from any misfortune peculiar to himfelf, but arifing from a general feeling of the vanity of the world, and the folly of those engaged in its pursuits. His melancholy is therefore more fettled than that of Hamlet, and is in truth more deeply rooted. He takes no share in the enjoyments of life, but abandons society, and lives in folitude. Hamlet, wounded to the heart by the misfortunes which befal him, and irritated by the crimes of others, feels more poignantly at the time. The feelings of Jaques

are

are more general, and therefore the more calm, but from that very cause are deeper and more fixed. It is to be obferved, however, that the melancholy and mifanthropy of Jaques, like that of Hamlet, proceeds from excefs of tenderness, from too much fenfibility to the evils of the world and the faults of mankind. His moralizing on the poor fequeftered ftag, is a moft beautiful illuftration of his tenderness, and of his nice perception and forrow for the follies and vices of men;-as his comparison of the world to a stage affords a highly finished picture of the estimation in which he holds human life.

In "Timon of Athens," we are prefented with a character in many respects different from that of Hamlet or Jaques. Here we have mifanthropy of a much darker hue. Soured with difappointment; fallen from the height of prospe rity into the lowest state of adversity; deceived by flattering friends; forfaken by the buzzing attendants on wealth and greatness, Timon conceives difgust at the world and its enjoyments; and that difguft produces hatred and averfion at mankind. Yet even here it is obfervable, that with all Timon's mifanthropy, there is a great mixture of original goodness and benevolence. At his firft outfet in life, he was unfufpicious, and wifhed to contribute to the happinefs of all around him. "Being free himself, he thought K 6

"all

"all others fo." Difappointed in the opinion he had formed of the world, and fhocked with the ingratitude he met with; "brought low," as he is faid to be, " by his own heart, undone "by goodness," he becomes a prey to deep gloom and mifanthropy; but with all his mifanthropy, he preserves a sense of honour and of right.

It is to be admitted, however, that as Timon's is a character much inferior to, and much less amiable than that of Hamlet or of Jaques, fo his mifanthropy is of a much blacker and more favage nature. Hamlet's misanthropy arises from a deep fenfe of the guilt of others;Jaques's from a general impreffion of the follies and weakneffes of the world ;-Timon's is produced by a selfish sense of the ingratitude of others to himself. His difguft at the world, therefore, is not mixed with the fame gentleness and amiable tenderness which are displayed by the other two; and he poffeffes as much misanthropy of the blackest fort as it is poffible for human nature to arrive at. Shakespeare indeed holds him forth as a person altogether bereft of reafon. He feems to have thought, that fuch a degree of mifanthropy as Timon is described to be poffeffed of, was inconfiftent with the use of that faculty.

In the criticifm on Hamlet which I before quoted, it is obferved, that amidst all his melan