BOOK III PART III
this passion is, the greater is the commotion.
There must also be some passion or sentiment
on the other side; and this passion can pro-
ceed from nothing but sympathy. The senti-
ments of others can never affect us, but by be-
coming, in some measure, our own; in which
case they operate upon us, by opposing and
encreasing our passions, in the very same man-
ner, as if they had been originally derived from
our own temper and disposition. While they
remain concealed in the minds of others, they
can never have an influence upon us: And even
when they are known, if they went no farther
than the imagination, or conception; that fac-
ulty is so accustomed to objects of every differ-
ent kind, that a mere idea, though contrary to
our sentiments and inclinations, would never
alone be able to affect us.