Abstract
SENTIMENT is a beautiful thing in its way, and when that way happens to coincide with the way of common sense, the man must be a brute who defies it. But unluckily that does not always happen, as is testified by several instances that could but here shall not be cited, for they will come uncalled to the recollection of many of our readers, and indeed to some they are ever present. These need not to have the difference between a sound and an unsound sentiment pointed out. But there is also a sentiment that is perfectly sound at the start, and yet, chiefly through want of knowledge—we hesitate to call it ignorance, because that might imply blame—sooner or later begins to betray symptoms of running on the wrong track, when, if the brakes cannot be applied, it comes into violent collision with common sense. As the latter is the weightier mass the harm it gets from the impact is not often very serious, and the injuries received seldom cause more than delay, however annoying that may be; but the effect on the lighter body is apt to be destructive, and though in some cases it may be only repelled with slight damage, in others it may be shattered. In either event, seeing that it set out with good intentions, the result is to be regretted.
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References
NATURE, viii., p. 1, (May 1, 1873).
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The New Bird-Protection Bill. Nature 49, 54–55 (1893). https://doi.org/10.1038/049054a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/049054a0
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