Strengthen me by sympathizing with my strength, not my weakness.

The line asks for a kind of friendship (or moral support) that reinforces a person’s better capacities rather than indulging their frailties. Instead of bonding over complaint, defeat, or dependency, the speaker wants sympathy that recognizes agency, resilience, and the possibility of self-command. In a Transcendentalist key often associated with Alcott’s thought, it implies that people grow by being addressed at their highest level—treated as capable of virtue and improvement—so that encouragement becomes a form of ethical education. The quote also warns that excessive pity can unintentionally fix someone in weakness, whereas respectful confidence can help them rise to their own strength.