mind fometimes favours this impulfe of paffion, by bestowing a temporary fenfibility upon any object at hand, in order to make it a confident. Thus in the Winter's Tale *, Antigonus addreffes himself to an infant whom he was ordered to expofe, Come, poor babe, I have heard, but not believ'd, the ipirits of the dead The involuntary figns, which are all of them natural, are either peculiar to one paffion, or common to many. Every vivid paffion hath an external expreffion peculiar to itfelf; not excepting pleasant paffions, witnefs admiration and mirth. The pleafant emotions that are lefs vivid, have one common expreffion; from which tends to justify them from necefity. This he does in his dedication of the Double Dealer, in the following words. "When a 66 man in a foliloquy reafons with himself, and pro's and con's, " and weighs all his defigns; we ought not to imagine, that this "6 man either talks to us, or to himself: he is only thinking, and "thinking (frequently) fuch matter as it were inexcufable folly in "him to fpeak. But because we are concealed spectators of the "plot in agitation, and the poet finds it neceffary to let us know "the whole mystery of his contrivance, he is willing to inform us "of this perfon's thoughts; and to that end is forced to make use "of the expedient of fpeech, no other better way being yet invented for the communication of thought." Act 3. fc. 6. we we may gather the ftrength of the emotion, but scarce the kind: we perceive a chearful or contented look; and we can make no more of it. Painful paffions, being all of them violent, are distinguishable from each other by their external expreffions: thus fear, fhame, anger, anxiety, dejection, defpair, have each of them peculiar expreffions; which are apprehended without the leaft confusion: fome painful paffions produce violent effects upon the body, trembling, for example, starting, and fwooning; but these effects, depending in a good measure upon fingularity of constitution, are not uniform in all men. The involuntary figns, fuch of them as are difplay'd upon the countenance, are of two kinds : fome are temporary, making their appearance with the emotions that produce them, and vanishing with the emotions; others, being formed gradually by fome violent paffion often recurring, become permanent signs of that paffion, and ferve to denote the difpofition or temper. The face of an infant indicates no particular difpofition, because it cannot be marked with any character to which time is neceffary: even the temporary figns are extremely awkward, being the first rude effays of Nature to discover internal feelings; thus the fhrieking of a new-born infant, without tears or fobbings, is plainly an attempt to weep; and some of these temporary signs, as fimiling and frowning, cannot be observed for fome months after birth. The permanent signs, VOL. I. Dd formed formed in youth while the body is soft and flexible, are preferved entire by the firmness and folidity that the body acquires; and are never obliterated even by a change of temper. Permanent figns are not produced after a certain age, when the fibres become rigid; fome violent cafes excepted, fuch as reiterated fits of the gout or stone through a courfe of time: but these signs are not fo obftinate as what are produced in youth; for when the cause is removed, they gradually wear away, and at laít vanish. The natural figns of emotions, voluntary, and involuntary, being nearly the fame in all men, form an univerfal language; which no distance of place, no difference of tribe, no diversity of tongue, can darken, or render doubtful: even education, though of mighty influence, hath not power to vary nor fophifticate, far lefs to deftroy, their fignification. This is a wife appointment of Providence: for if thefe figns were, like words, arbitrary and variable, the thoughts and volitions of ftrangers would be entirely hid from us; which would prove a great or rather invincible obftruction to the formation of focieties: but as matters are ordered, the external appearances of joy, grief, anger, fear, shame, and of the other paffions, forming an univerfal language, open a direct avenue to the heart. As the arbitrary figns vary in every country, there could be no communication of thoughts among different nations, were it not for the natural figns, in which all agree and as the difcovering paffions instantly at their birth, is effential to our wellbeing, and often neceffary for felf-prefervation, the author of our nature, attentive to our wants, hath provided a paffage to the heart, which never can be obstructed while our eye-fight remains entire. ་ - In an inquiry concerning the external figns of paffion, actions must not be overlooked: for though fingly they afford no clear light, they are upon the whole the beft interpreters of the heart*. By obferving a man's conduct for a course of time, we difcover unerringly the various paffions that move him to action, what he loves, and what he hates. In our younger years, every fingle action is a mark, not at all ambiguous, of the temper; for in childhood there is little or no difguife: the fubject becomes more intricate in advanced age; but even there, diffi The actions here chiefly in view, are what a paffion fuggefts in order to its gratification. Befide thefe, actions are occafionally exerted to give fome vent to a paffion, without propofing an ultimate gratification. Such occafional action is characteristical of the paffion in a high degree; and for that reafon, when happily invented, has a wonderfully good effect: Hamlet. Oh moft pernicious woman! Oh villain, villain, fmiling damned villain! That one may fmile, and smile, and be a villain; At least I'm fure it may be fo in Denmark. So, uncle, there you are. [Writing. Hamlet, at 1. fc. 8. mulation is feldom carried on for any length of time. And thus the conduct of life is the most perfect expreffion of the internal difpofition. It merits not indeed the title of an univerfal language; because it is not thoroughly understood, but by those who have either a penetrating genius or extenfive obfervation: it is a language, however, which every one can decipher in fome meafure; and which, joined with the other external figns, affords fufficient means for the direction of our conduct with regard to others: if we commit any mistake when fuch light is afforded, it never can be the effect of unavoidable ignorance, but of rathness or inadvertence. Reflecting upon the various expreffions of our emotions, we recognise the anxious care of Nature to discover men to each other. Strong emotions, as above hinted, beget an impatience to express them externally by fpeech, and other voluntary figns, which cannot be fuppreffed without a painful effort: thus a fudden fit of paffion, is a common excufe for indecent behaviour or harth words. As to involuntary figns, thefe are altogether unavoidable: no volition nor effort can prevent the shaking of the limbs, or a pale vifage, when one is agitated with a violent fit of terror: the blood flies to the face upon a fudden emotion of fhame, in fpite of all oppofition; Vergogna, che'n altrui stampo natura, |