תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

or fo artful, that they become her; and thofe affectations which in another woman would be odious, ferve but to make her more agreeable. I'll tell thee, Fainall, the once us'd me with that infolence, that in revenge I took her to pieces, fifted her, and feparated her failings; I ftudy'd 'em, and got 'em by rote. The catalogue was fo large, that I was not without hopes, one day or other, to hate her heartily: to which end I fo us'd myself to think of 'em, that at length, contrary to my defign and expectation, they gave me every hour lefs and less disturbance; till in a few days, it became habitual to me to remember 'em without being difpleafed. They are now grown as familiar to me as my own frailties; and in all probability, in a little time longer, I shall like 'em as well.

The way of the world, Act 1: Sc. 3.

A walk upon the quarter-deck, though intolerably confined, becomes however fo agreeable by cuftom, that a failor in his walk on fhore, confines himself commonly within the fame bounds. I knew a man who had relinquished the fea for a country life in the corner of his garden he reared an artificial mount with a level fummit, resembling most accurately a quarter-deck, not only in shape but in fize; and here he generally walked. In Minorca Governor Kane made an excellent road the whole length of the island; and yet the inhabitants adhere to the old road, though not only longer but extremely bad *. Play

Cc 2

* Custom is a fecond nature. Formerly, the merchants of Bristol had no place for meeting but the street, open

ta

Play or gaming, at first barely amufing by the occupation it affords, becomes in time extremely agreeable; and is frequently profecuted with avidity, as if it were the chief business of life. The fame obfervation is applicable to the pleafures of the internal fenfes, thofe of knowledge and virtue in particular: children have scarce any sense of these pleasures; and men very little who are in the ftate of nature without culture: our taste for virtue and knowledge improves flowly; but is capable of growing stronger than any other appetite in human nature.

To introduce an active habit, frequency of acts is not fufficient without length of time: the quickest fucceffion of acts in a fhort time, is not fufficient; nor a flow fucceffion in the longest time. The effect must be produced by a moderate foft action, and a long series of eafy touches, removed from each other by short intervals. Nor are these fufficient without regularity in the time, place, and other circumftances of the action the more uniform any operation is, the fooner it becomes habitual. And this holds equally in a paffive habit; variety in any remarkable degree, prevents the effect: thus any par ticular food will fcarce ever become habitual,

where

to every variety of weather. An exchange was erected for them with convenient piazzas. But fo rivetted were they to their accustomed place, that in order to dislodge them, the magiftrates were forced to break up the pavement, and to render the place a heap of rough ftones.

where the manner of dreffing is varied. The circumftances then requifite to augment a moderate pleasure, and at the long run to form a habit, are weak uniform acts, reiterated during a long course of time without any confiderable interruption: every agreeable cause that operates in this manner, will grow habitual.

Affection and averfion, as diftinguished from paffion on the one hand, and on the other from original difpofition, are in reality habits refpecting particular objects, acquired in the manner above fet forth. The pleasure of social intercourse with any perfon, muft originally be faint, and frequently reiterated, in order to establish the habit of affection. Affection thus generated, whether it be friendship or love, feldom fwells into any tumultuous or vigorous paffion; but is however the ftrongest cement that can bind together two individuals of the human fpecies. In like manner, a flight degree of disgust often reiterated with regularity, grows into the habit of averfion, which commonly fubfifts for life.

Objects of tafte that are delicious, far from tending to become habitual, are apt, by indulgence, to produce fatiety and disgust: no man contracts a habit of fugar, honey, or fweetmeats, as he doth of tobacco :

Dulcia non ferimus; fucco renovamur amaro.

Ovid. art. amand. l. 3.

Infipido è quel dolce, che condito

Non è di qualche amor a,è tofto fatia.

[blocks in formation]

These violent delights have violent ends,

And in their triumph die. The sweetest honey
Is loathfome in its own deliciousness,

And in the taste confounds the appetite;

Therefore love mod'rately, long love doth fo;
Too fwift arrives as tardy as too flow.

Romeo and Juliet, A&t 11. Sc. 6,

The fame obfervation holds with respect to all objects that being extremely agreeable raise violent paffions: fuch paffions are incompatible with a habit of any fort; and in particular they never produce affection nor averfion; a man who at first fight falls violently in love, has a strong defire of enjoyment, but no affection for the woman * : a

man

* Violent love without affection is finely exemplified in the following ftory. When Conftantinople was taken by the Turks, Irene, a young Greek of an illustrious family, fell into the hands of Mahomet II, who was at that time in the prime of youth and glory. His favage heart being fubdued by her charms, he shut himself up with her, denying accefs even to his minifters: Love obtained such ascendant, as to make him frequently abandon the army, and fly to his Irene. War relaxed, for victory was no longer the monarch's favourite paffion. The foldiers, accustomed to booty, began to murmur; and the infection spread even among the commanders. The Basha Muftapha, confulting the fidelity he owed his master, was the first who durft acquaint him of the difcourfes held publicly to the prejudice of his glory.

The Sultan, after a gloomy filence, formed his refolution. He ordered Muftapha to affemble the troops next morning

man who is furprised with an unexpected favour, burns for an opportunity to exert his gratitude, without having any affection for his benefactor neither does defire of vengeance for an atrocious injury, involve averfion.

It is perhaps not eafy to fay why moderate pleasures gather ftrength by cuftom: but two causes concur to prevent that effect in the more intense pleasures. Thefe, by an original law in our nature, increase quickly to their full growth, and decay with no lefs precipitation *; and cuf

[blocks in formation]

morning; and then with precipitation retired to Irene's apartment. Never before did that princefs appear fo charming; never before did the prince beftow so many warm careffes. To give a new luftre to her beauty, he exhorted her women, next morning, to bestow their utmost art and care on her drefs. He took her by the hand, led her into the middle of the army, and pulling off her vail, demanded of the Bafhas with a fierce look, whether they had ever beheld fuch a beauty? After an awful paufe, Mahomet, with one hand laying hold of the young Greek by her beautiful locks, and with the other pulling out his fcimitar, fevered the head from the body at one ftroke. Then turning to his grandees, with eyes wild and furious," This fword," said he, "when it is my will, "knows to cut the bands of love." However strange it may appear, we learn from experience, that defire of enjoyment, may confift with the most brutal averfion, directed both to the fame woman. Of this we have a noted example in the first book of Sully's Memoirs; to which I choose to refer the reader; for it is too grofs to be transcribed.

*See Chap. 2. Part 3.

« הקודםהמשך »