fection; and even when parents are vicious and degraded, their
children may regard them with every strictly filial affection; but
friendship between them is generally impossible without the
co-existence, on both sides, of intrinsic worth, of those responsive
virtues which elicit esteem and dominate sympathy. The great reason
of the failure of a broad, glowing friendship between parents and
children a failure o deplorably common in our homes is the lack, in
heir characters, of that wealth, nobleness, sweetness, patience,
aspiration, which would irresistibly draw them to each other in
mutual honor, love, and joy. The only remedy for this unhappy failure
is the cure of its unhappier cause. Whatever makes characters deep,
rich, pure, and gentle in themselves, tends to make them pleasing to
each other.

It is absurd to suppose, that mean, hateful, and miserable souls will
love each other simply because they are connected by ties of
consanguinity, of interest, or of duty.

Whatever makes us suffer, especially whatever injures our finer
emotions, naturally tends to become repulsive to us, an object of
dislike gathering disagreeable associations. Even a mother, a son, a
father, a daughter, may become such an object, as is illustrated with
melancholy frequency. But when parents and children possess those
high qualities of soul which naturally give pleasure, create
affection, and evoke homage; and when they are not too early
separated, or too much distracted in alien pursuits, a firm and
ardent friendship must spring up between them. The mere parental and
filial relation will become subordinated, as a sober central thread
in a wide web of colored embroidery. The parental instinct and the
filial instinct, weaned from their organic directness, will grow more
complex and mental; and, parallel with this process, the gracious
guardians and the clinging dependants will gradually change into
companions and friends, still retaining, however, sacred vestiges and
memories of the original cords of their union. When we have allowed
proper abatement for the thousands of instances in which this
precious result is not reached, the general statement now made opens
to us a large class of beautiful friendships. In all ages there have
been myriads of mothers and sons, myriads of daughters and fathers,
who were models of devoted, happy friends. Before paying attention to
these, it will be profitable for us to notice the other cases.

Considered