fully accomplished, while the object of the paffion fubfifts. Gratitude and revenge are examples of the firft kind: the ends they aim at may be accomplished by a fingle act; and, when that act is performed, the paffions are neceffarily at an end. Love and hatred are examples of the other kind; defire of doing good or of doing mifchief to an individual, is a general end, which admits acts without number, and which feldom is fully accomplished: therefore thefe paffions have frequently the fame duration with their objects.

Laftly, it will afford us another general view, to confider the difference between an original propensity, and affection or averfion produced by cuftom. The former adheres too close to the conftitution ever to be eradicated; and for that reason, the paffions to which it gives birth, continue during life with no remarkable diminution. The latter, which owe their birth and increment to time, owe their decay to the fame cause affection and averfion decay gradually as they grow; and accordingly hatred as well as love are extinguished by long abfence. Affection decays more gradually between perfons, who, living together, have daily occafion to teftify mutually their good-will and kindness: and, when ffection is decayed, habit fupplies its place; for it makes these perfons neceffary to each other, by the pain of feparation*. Affection

* See Chap. 14.

fection to children hath a long endurance, longer perhaps than any other affection: its growth keeps pace with that of its objects: they difplay new beauties and qualifications daily, to feed and augment the affection. But whenever the affection becomes stationary, it must begin to decay; with a flow pace, indeed, in proportion to its increment. In fhort, man with refpect to this life is a temporary being: he grows, becomes ftationary, decays; and fo must all his powers and paffions.

PART IV.

COEXISTENT EMOTIONS AND PASSIONS.

OR a thorough knowledge of the human paf

fions and emotions, it is not fufficient that they be examined fingly and separately as a plurality of them are fometimes felt at the fame inftant, the manner of their coexistence, and the effects thereby produced, ought alfo to be examined. This fubject is extenfive; and it will be difficult to trace all the laws that govern its endless variety of cafes: if fuch an undertaking can be brought to perfection, it must be by degrees. The following hints may fuffice for a firft attempt.

We begin with emotions raised by different founds, as the fimpleft cafe. Two founds that

mix,

That

mix, and, as it were, incorporate before they reach the ear, are faid to be concordant. each of the two founds, even after their union, produceth an emotion of its own, must be admitted: but these emotions, like the founds that produce them, mix fo intimately, as to be rather one complex emotion than two emotions in conjunction. Two founds that refufe incorporation or mixture, are faid to be difcordant: and when heard at the fame inftant, the emotions produced by them are unpleasant in conjunction, however pleafant feparately.

Similar to the emotion raised by mixed founds is the emotion raised by an object of fight with its feveral qualities: a tree, for example, with its qualities of colour, figure, fize, &c. is perceived to be one object; and the emotion it produceth is rather one complex emotion than different emotions combined.

With refpect to coexiftent emotions produced by different objects of fight, it must be observed, that however intimately connected fuch objects may be, there cannot be a concordance among them like what is perceived in fome founds. Different objects of fight, meaning objects that can exift each of them independent of the others, never mix nor incorporate in the act of vifion each object is perceived as it exifts, feparately from others; and each raiseth an emotion different from that raised by the other. And the fame holds in all the caufes of emotion

or

or paffion that can exift independent of each other, founds only excepted.

To explain the manner in which fuch emotions exift, fimilar emotions must be diftinguished from thofe that are diffimilar. Two emotions are faid to be fimilar, when they tend each of them to produce the fame tone of mind: chearful emotions, however different their caufes may be, are fimilar: and fo are those which are melancholy. Diffimilar emotions are eafily explained by their oppofition to what are fimilar: pride and humility, gaiety and gloominefs, are diffimilar emotions.

Emotions perfectly fimilar, readily combine and unite*, so as in a manner to become one complex emotion; witness the emotions produced by a number of flowers in a parterre, or of trees in a wood. Emotions that are oppofite, or extremely diffimilar, never combine or unite: the mind cannot fimultaneously take on oppofite tones: it cannot at the fame inftant be both joyful and fad, angry and fatisfied, proud and humble: diffimilar emotions may fucceed each other

with

*It is easier to conceive the manner of coexistence of fimilar emotions, than to describe it. They cannot be faid to mix or incorporate, like concordant founds: their union is rather of agreement or concord; and therefore I have chofen the words in the text, not as fufficient to exprefs clearly the manner of their coexistence, but only as lefs liable to exception than any other I can find.

with rapidity, but they cannot exift fimultaneously.

Between these two extremes, emotions unite more or lefs, in proportion to the degree of their refemblance, and the degree in which their caufes are connected. Thus the emotions produced by a fine landscape and the finging of birds, being fimilar in a confiderable degree, readily unite, though their caufes are little connected. And the fame happens where the causes are intimately connected, though the emotions themselves have little resemblance to each other; an example of which is a mistress in distress, whose beauty gives pleasure, and her diftrefs pain: these two emotions, proceeding from different views of the object, have very little resemblance to each other; and yet fo intimately connected are their causes, as to force them into a fort of complex emotion, partly pleasant partly painful. This clearly explains fome expreffions common in poetry, a fweet diftrefs, a pleasant pain.

It was neceffary to describe, with fome accuracy, in what manner fimilar and diffimilar emotions coexift in the mind, in order to explain their different effects, both internal and external. This fubject, though obfcure, is capable to be fet in a clear light; and it merits attention, not only for its extenfive ufe in criticifm, but for the nobler purpose of deciphering many intricacies in the actions of men. Beginning with internal effects, I discover two, clearly distinguishable

from