With respect to joy, its natural and universal expression is laughter;
and with all the races of man loud laughter leads to the secretion
of tears more freely than does any other cause excepting distress.
The suffusion of the eyes with tears, which undoubtedly occurs
under great joy, though there is no laughter, can, as it seems to me,
be explained through habit and association on the same principles
as the effusion of tears from grief, although there is no screaming.
Nevertheless it is not a little remarkable that sympathy
with the distresses of others should excite tears more freely
than our own distress; and this certainly is the case.
Many a man, from whose eyes no suffering of his own could wring
a tear, has shed tears at the sufferings of a beloved friend.
It is still more remarkable that sympathy with the happiness or good
fortune of those whom we tenderly love should lead to the same result,
whilst a similar happiness felt by ourselves would leave our eyes dry.
We should, however, bear in mind that the long-continued habit
of restraint which is so powerful in checking the free flow of tears
from bodily pain, has not been brought into play in preventing
a moderate effusion of tears in sympathy with the sufferings
or happiness of others.
Pages:
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324