It would be difficult to determine whether the age is growing better or worse; for I think our plays are growing like sermons, and our sermons like p… - Anna Laetitia Barbauld

O gently guide my pilgrim feet
To find thy hermit cell;
Where in some pure and equal sky
Beneath thy soft indulgent eye
The modest virtues dwell.

If an author would have us feel a strong degree of compassion, his characters must not be too perfect.

The cheerful light, the vital air, Are blessings widely given; Let nature's commoners enjoy
The common gifts of heaven.The well-taught philosophic mind
To all compassion gives; Casts round the world an equal eye, And feels for all that lives.<p>If mind, as ancient sages taught, A never dying flame, Still shifts thro' matter's varying forms, In every form the same, Beware, lest in the worm you crush A brother's soul you find; And tremble lest thy luckless hand Dislodge a kindred mind.