Page:Essays, Moral and Political - David Hume (1741).djvu/174

 vident Marks of his Lineage and Descent. Others insist upon the blind Sides of human Nature, and can discover nothing, except Vanity, in which Man surpasses the other Animals, whom he affects so much to despise. If an Author possesses the Talent of Rhetoric, and Declamation, he commonly takes Party with the former: If his Turn lies towards Irony and Ridicule, he naturally throws himself into the other Extreme.

far from thinking, that all those, who have depreciated Human Nature, have been Enemies to Virtue, and have exposed the Frailties of their Fellow-Creatures with any bad Intention. On the contrary, I am sensible, that a very delicate Sense of Virtue, especially when attended with somewhat of the Misanthrope, is apt to give a Man a Disgust of the World, and to make him consider the common Course of Human Affairs with too much Spleen and Indignation. I must, however, be of Opinion, that the Sentiments of those, who are inclined to think favourably of Mankind, are much more advantageous to Virtue, than the contrary Principles, which give us a mean Opinion of our Nature. When a Man