injury, than anger or refentment: deftitute of that paffion, men, like defencelefs lambs, would lie conftantly open to mifchief*. Deliberate anger caused by a voluntary injury, is too well known to require any explanation: if my defire be to refent an affront, I muft ufe means; and these means must be discovered by reflection: deliberation is here requifite; and in that cafe the paffion feldom exceeds juft bounds. But, where anger impels one fuddenly to return a blow, even without thinking of doing mifchief, the paffion is inftinctive; and it is chiefly in fuch a cafe that it is rafh and ungovernable, because it operates blindly, without affording time for deliberation or forefight. Inftinctive anger is frequently raised by bodily pain, by a stroke, for example, on a tender part, which, ruffling the temper, and unhinging the mind, is in its tone fimilar to anger: and when a man is thus beforehand difpofed to anger, he is not nice nor fcrupulous about an object; the person who gave the ftroke, however accidentally, is by an inflammable temper held a proper object, merely for having occafioned the pain. It is ftill more remarkable, that a ftock or a ftone by which I am hurt, becomes an object for F 2 * Brafidas being bit by a mouse he had catched, let it flip out of his fingers: "No creature (fays he) is fo "contemptible, but what may provide for its own fafe"ty, if it have courage." Plutarch, Apothegmata. for my refentment: I am violently excited to crush it to atoms. The paffion, indeed, in that cafe, can be but a fingle flash; for being entirely irrational, it must vanish with the first reflection. Nor is that irrational effect confined to bodily pain: internal distress, when exceffive, may be the occafion of effects equally irrational: perturbation of mind occafioned by the apprehenfion of having loft a dear friend, will, in a fiery temper, produce momentary fparks of anger against that very friend, however innocent: thus Shakespeare, in the Tempest, Alonzo. Sit down and rest. Ev'n here I will put off my hope, and keep it The final words, Well, let him go, are an expreffion of impatience and anger at Ferdinand, whofe abfence greatly diftreffed his father, dreading that he was loft in the ftorm. This nice operation of the human mind, is by Shakespeare exhibited upon another occafion, and finely painted in the tragedy of Othello: Iago, by dark hints and fufpicious circumftances, had roufed Othello's jealoufy; which, however, appeared too flightly founded to be vented upon Defdemena, its proper object. The perturbation and distress diftrefs of mind thereby occafioned, produced a momentary refentment againft Iago, confidered as occafioning the jealousy, though innocent: Othello. Villain, be fure thou prove my love a whore; Be fure of it give me the ocular proof, Or by the wrath of man's eternal foul Thou hadst been better have been born a dog, Than answer my wak'd wrath. Iago. Is't come to this? Othello. Make me fee't; or, at the leaft, fo prove it, That the probation bear no hinge or loop To hang a doubt on: or wo upon thy life! Lago. My noble Lord Othello. If thou doft flander her, and torture me, Never pray more; abandon all remorse; On horror's head horrors accumulate; Do deeds to make heav'n weep, all earth amaz'd: Greater than that. Othello, Act 11. Sc. 8: This blind and abfurd effect of anger is more gaily illustrated by Addison, in a story, the dramatis perfonæ of which are, a cardinal, and a spy retained in pay for intelligence. The cardinal is represented as minuting down the particulars. The fpy begins with a low voice, "Such an 66 one the advocate whispered to one of his "friends within my hearing, that your Eminence was a very great poltroon;" and after having given his patron time to take it down, adds, "That another called him a mercenary ❝rascal F 3 "rafcal in a public converfation." The cardidinal replies, " Very well," and bids him go on. The spy proceeds, and loads him with reports of the fame nature, till the cardinal rifes in a fury, calls him an impudent fcoundrel, and kicks him out of the room *. We meet with inftances every day of refentment raised by lofs at play, and wreaked on the cards or dice. But anger, a furious paffion, is fatisfied with a connection ftill flighter than that of caufe and effect; of which Congreve, in the Mourning Bride, gives one beautiful example: Gonfalex. Have comfort. Almeria. Curs'd be that tongue that bids me be of comfort. Curs'd my own tongue that could not move his pity, Curs'd thefe weak hands that could not hold him here, For he is gone to doom Alphonfo's death. Act IV. Sc. 8. I have chofen to exhibit anger in its more rare appearances, for in these we can beft trace its nature and extent. In the examples above given, it appears to be an abfurd paffion, and altogether irrational. But we ought to confider, that it is not the intention of nature to subject this paffion, in every inftance, to reafon and reflection it was given us to prevent or to repel injuries; and, like fear, it often operates blindly and Spectator, No. 439. and inftinctively, without the least view to confequences the very first apprehenfion of harm, fets it in motion to repel injury by punishment. Were it more cool and deliberate, it would lofe its threatening appearance, and be infufficient to guard us against violence. When fuch is and ought to be the nature of the paffion, it is not wonderful to find it exerted irregularly and capriciously, as it fometimes is where the mifchief is fudden and unforeseen. All the harm that can be done by the paffion in that ftate is inftantaneous; for the shortest delay fets all to rights; and circumstances are seldom fo unlucky as to put it in the power of a paffionate man to do much harm in an inftant. Social paffions, like the selfish, fometimes drop their character, and become inftinctive. It is not unufual to find anger and fear refpecting others fo exceffive, as to operate blindly and impetuoufly, precisely as where they are selfish. |