But though this principle can exist in the midst of poverty and misery, it may be weakened, and sometimes wholly obliterated, through the prevalence of luxury, or the love of pleasure. The sanctioned frequency of in fanticide among many nations arises from the parents finding their children an obstruction to their individual gratifications. On this principle is founded the society of the Arreoys in the South Sea islands : the society is, or rather was, held in the highest respect, and all who became members of it were bound in the most solemn manner to destroy all their children. An instance is re corded of a member of this society being married to a daughter of one of the kings, by whom he had eight children, who were all murdered in succession, without the slightest imputation of blame. \Ve are happy to record the triumph of Christianity over this most bar barous and inhuman practice.
It is not only among the ignorant and uninformed vo taries of pleasure that this subversion of parental affec tion has been witnessed : it has often been found to exist to a most disgraceful extent, during periods of the highest intellectual refinement : for nothing is sacred to the love of pleasure ; it prostrates every generous affection, and erases from the human heart those charac ters which were engraven on it by the hand of its Maker. Strong as the parental feeling is, then, we may see the necessity of every accessary aid that can be brought into action, to maintain its influence against the deadening effects of luxury, and the love of indul gence. And Providence, in its wisdom, has furnished such aids. In fashionable life, children are little re garded ; and if they sometimes appear less spoiled than the children of the lower orders, it is only because they engage less of the attention of their parents, and thus accidentally escape that injudicious kindness which ren ders them intractable and disobedient. A fashionable mother cannot submit to the drudgery of nursing her child ; and a fashionable father would give himself very little trouble about his instruction, were it not to sup port the eclat of a name, and to inherit the family for tune and honours. We believe, indeed, that were it not for such considerations as these, there would be few children among the lovers of pleasure to make any de mands on parental affection.
Juvenal gives a horrible account of the practices which were adopted in his time, to avoid the incumbrance of a family. His unvarying malignity to the fair sex might render his testimony suspected, were it not borne out by other evidence.
Scd jacet aurato viz ulla pucrpera Iccto : Tantum artcs hujus, tantum medicamina possunt, Qum steriles lack, atque homines in venire necandos Conducit.
But the powerful feeling of parental affection is weak ened or destroyed, not only by the prevalence of luxury, or the love of pleasure ; it might also be endangered by the necessitous circumstances of the parents, were there not counteracting considerations to induce the rudest and most wretched tribes to rear and protect their children. Among savage nations, children would be in danger of being neglected, as the love of ease might get the better of parental affection. But this is counteracted by the ..onsideration, that the strength of their family or their tribe is to be advanced by tjte children whom they rear. And that this consideration is more powerful, in many instances, than parental affection, appears from this, that among savage nations none but healthy and well-formed children ever arrive at maturity : from which we may naturally infer, that the weakly and deformed are either exposed, or allowed to perish through neglect.
Love is an affection decidedly benevolent, as it leads us directly to desire the happiness of the person whom we love. Love cannot exist but between persons of different sexes ; it is therefore evident that the sexual passion is a strong element in its composition. We, indeed, extend the meaning of the term ; and when we feel any strong partiality for a person, arising either from gratitude or from the perception of amiable qualities, we are said to love him : and we believe, in fact, that there cannot be love even between the sexes, unless it be founded on some real or supposed mental excellence. Where love really exists, the desire of enjoyment is always accompanied with esteem of the person beloved : without this it is mere brutal appetite.
Beauty is, perhaps, the principal attraction ; it is of ten the only one that seems to be recognised. But if we proceed to analyse this magical quality, we shall find that it owes its influence chiefly to the idea that the face is an index of the mind ; and that the perfec tion of beauty is always supposed to imply the perfec tion of amiableness in character and disposition. Every heroine of romance is always a paragon of beauty ; and no writer has yet had sufficient confidence in his own powers, to attempt to interest his readers in behalf of an ugly woman. All this proceeds on the idea, that beauty is generally accompanied with some amiable or exalted mental qualifications.