thers, even from one's self, and to suggest in its place
as many amiable qualities as possible, so as to strengthen in a
disinterested manner the object of one's love in noble sentiments.
This kind of hypocrisy is in reality an indirect product of altruistic
sentiments. One perceives with pain on reflecting, either the absence
of spontaneous sentiments of sympathy, or the presence of disgust and
bad temper, and one strives to hide the thing by sympathetic
expressions for which one seeks an object, and to which one would wish
to give a durable character. Loyal efforts made in this direction
often succeed in correcting the egoistic humor with which one is
affected, and in giving rise to the sentiments one desires to
experience. One must not, however, by only looking at one side of the
question, allow such efforts to degenerate into maladroit blindness,
which will only have the effect of spoiling the person one loves.

=Egoistic Love.=--It is obvious that the psychic irradiations of the
sexual sense are strongly influenced by the individuality of the one
who loves. The egoist loves in a manner naively egoistic. He is not
wanting in fine words, but in his opinion all sentiment and respect is
due to his person, while he reduces to a minimum his duties toward the
object of his love. He exacts much from the other and gives little.
The good man with altruistic sentiments feels things in an inverse
way; he exacts little from others, and much from himself.

Love differs in different natures, according as they are calm or
lively, imbecile or intelligent, well educated or otherwise: the will
plays a great part here. Weakness and impulsiveness are found in love,
as well as energy and perseverance. In the last point woman is
superior, owing to the greater constancy of her love. There is thus no
domain of the mind which is not influenced by love, and which does not
react on love in its turn.

Intellectual occupations are facilitated by a happy love, while they
are usually hindered by the sorrows of love. Even men of science, so
proud of their calmness, are often more influenced than one would
think in their scientific opinions by their emotional sentiments.
Without a man being aware of it, his sentiments insinuate themselves
into the opinions which he believes to be of a purely intellectual
nature, and direct them unconsciously with much more power than he
generally imagines. Such influences act chiefly on individuals
disposed to s