Hindoo gentleman assured Mr. Erskine that it is recognizable in his
countrymen.
Shyness, as the derivation of the word indicates in several
languages,[1327] is closely related to fear; yet it is distinct from
fear in the ordinary sense. A shy man no doubt dreads the notice of
strangers, but can hardly be said to be afraid of them, he may be as
bold as a hero in battle, and yet have no self-confidence about trifles
in the presence of strangers. Almost every one is extremely nervous
when first addressing a public assembly, and most men remain so
throughout their lives; but this appears to depend on the consciousness
of a great coming exertion, with its associated effects on the system,
rather than on shyness;[1328] although a timid or shy man no doubt
suffers on such occasions infinitely more than another. With very young
children it is difficult to distinguish between fear and shyness; but
this latter feeling with them has often seemed to me to partake of the
character of the wildness of an untamed animal. Shyness comes on at a
very early age. In one of my own children, when two years and three
months old, I saw a trace of what certainly appeared to be shyness,
directed towards myself after an absence from home of only a week. This
was shown not by a blush, but by the eyes being for a few minutes
slightly averted from me. I have noticed on other occasions that
shyness or shamefacedness and real shame are exhibited in the eyes of
young children before they have acquired the power of blushing.
As shyness apparently depends on self-attention, we can perceive how
right are those who maintain that reprehending children for shyness,
instead of doing them any good, does much harm, as it calls their
attention still more closely to themselves. It has been well urged that
nothing hurts young people more than to be watched continually about
their feelings, to have their countenances scrutinized, and the degrees
of their sensibility measured by the surveying eye of the unmerciful
spectator. Under the constraint of such examinations they can think of
nothing but that they are looked at, and feel nothing but shame or
apprehension. [1329]
_Moral causes: guilt_. With respect to blushing from strictly moral
causes, we meet with the same fundamental principle as before, namely,
regard for the opinion of others. It is not the conscience which raises
a blush, for a man may sincerely regret some slight fault committed in
218