Page:The pleasures of friendship; a poems in two parts (IA pleasuresoffrien00rowd).pdf/15

ix sacrifice of all selfish enjoyments, which form the essence of this sentiment, when abstracted from the grosser considerations of sense. CICERO observes, in his Essay on Friendship, "that love is a leading and essential principle in constituting that particular species of benevolence called amity," and so high and respectable an authority gave confidence to the application of this sentiment, to one of the strongest and most sublime affections of the heart.

The sublimity of AKENSIDE, the refined polish of ROGERS, the glowing energy of CAMPBELL, are standards of excellence, from a comparison with