‘Supernatural Charity’: A stell, Shaftesbury and the Problem of Enthusiasm

Abstract In Bart'lemy Fair , M ary A stell identifies a significant instability in Shaftesburian sociability when she argues that his Letter concerning Enthusiasm risks pathologising all social intercourse. Rehabilitating enthusiasm as a source of ‘charity’, A stell argues that sociability must be grounded in reason as well as sentiment. A stell's criticisms help us notice that Shaftesbury's attempts elsewhere to integrate a detoxified enthusiasm into his polite sociability falter when he must balance others’ claims with individual autonomy. By questioning politeness's ethical adequacy, A stell's critique provides evidence of contemporary scepticism about the costs of secularising and sentimentalising social ties.