He will leave the latter in their security, and seek the one
lost sheep of his little flock. Thus it exerts a sheltering influence
against the dangers and miseries of human life. It is the law of
home-preservation, written upon the heart, obeyed by the affections, and
impelling each member to yield a voluntary devotion to the welfare of all
the others. It is this which makes it one of the most lovely attributes of
home. It is one of the golden chains that link its members together in
close unity, making one heart of the many that are thus fused together, and
blending into beautiful unison their specific feelings, and hopes and
interests.
It is, therefore, the law of oneness in the family, weaving together, like
warp and woof, the existence of the members, and locking each heart into
one great home-heart, "like the keys of an organ vast," so that if one
heart be out of tune, the home-heart feels the painful jar, and gives forth
discordant sounds. By it we are not only bound to our kindred, but to our
friends, our nation, our race. It impels us to all our acts of benevolence
even to an enemy. Earth would be a dreary scene, and society would be a
curse, if it did not reign in human nature.
Sympathy was a rich and interesting theme with the ancients. It entered
into all their philosophy and religion, and gave rise to numerous fables.
They believed that sympathy was a miraculous principle, and that it reigned
in irrational and inanimate things.
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