the shortest interval, it becomes not lefs obfcure than the ideas of the other objects mentioned. 17. As the range of an individual is commonly circumfcribed within narrow bounds of space, it rarely happens, that every thing neceffary to be known comes under our own perceptions, Thefe perceptions, therefore, and their correfponding ideas, are a provifion too fcanty for the purposes of life. Language is an admirable contrivance for fupplying this deficiency; for by language, every man may communicate his perceptions to all: and the fame may be done by painting and other imitative arts. The facility of communication is in proportion to the liveliness of the ideas; especially in language, which hitherto has not arrived at greater perfection than to exprefs clear and lively ideas and hence it is, that poets and orators, who are extremely fuccefsful in defcribing objects of fight, find objects, of the other fenfes too faint and obfcure for language. An idea thus acquired of an object at fecond hand, ought to be diftinguished from an idea of memory, though their refemblance has occafioned the fame term idea to be apply'd to both; which is to be regretted, becaufe ambiguity in the fignification of words is a great obstruction to accuracy of conception. Thus nature hath furnished the means of multiplying ideas without end, and of providing every individual with a fufficient stock to anfwer, not only the neceffities, but even the elegancies of life. 18. Further, 1 18. Further, man is endued with a fort of creative power: he can fabricate images of things that have no existence. The materials employ'd in this operation, are ideas of fight, which he can take to pieces and combine into new forms at pleasure their complexity and vivacity make them fit materials. But a man has no But a man has no fuch power over any of his other ideas, whether of the external or internal fenfes: he cannot, after the utmost effort, combine thefe into new forms; because his ideas of fuch objects are too obfcure for this operation. An image thus fabricated cannot be called a fecondary perception, not being derived from an original perception: the poverty of language however, as in the cafe immediately above mentioned, has occafioned the fame term idea to be apply'd to all. This fingular power of fabricating images independent of real objects, is diftinguished by the name imagina tion. 19. As ideas are the chief materials employ'd in reasoning and reflecting, it is of confequence that their nature and differences be understood. It appears now, that ideas may be diftinguished into three kinds; firft, Ideas derived from original perceptions, properly termed ideas of memory; fecond, Ideas communicated by language or other figns; and, third, Ideas of imagination. These ideas differ from each other in many refpects; but the chief foundation of the diftinétion is the difference of their caufes: the first kind is derived derived from real existences that have been objects of our fenfes; language is the cause of the fecond, or any other fign that has the fame power with language and a man's imagination is to himself the cause of the third. It is fcarce neceffary to add, that an idea, originally of imagination, being convey'd to others by language, or any other vehicle, becomes in the mind of thofe to whom it is convey'd, an idea of the fecond kind; and again, that an idea of this kind, being afterward recalled to the mind, becomes in that circumftance an idea of memory. 20. We are not fo conftituted, as to perceive objects with indifferency: thefe, with very few exceptions, appear agreeable or difagreeable; and at the fame time raife in us pleafant or painful emotions. With refpect to external objects in particular, we distinguish those which produce organic impreffions, from thofe which af fect us from a diftance: when we touch a foft and smooth body, we have a pleasant feeling as at the place of contact; which feeling we diftinguish not, at least not accurately, from the agreeableness of the body itfelf; and the fame holds in general with regard to all organic impreffions: it is otherwife in hearing and feeing; a found is perceived as in itself agreeable, and raifes in the hearer a pleafant emotion; an object of fight appears in itself agreeable, and raises in the spectator a pleasant emotion. These are accurately diftinguished: the pleafant emotion is felt felt as within the mind; the agreeableness of the object is placed upon the object, and is perceived as one of its qualities or properties. The agree able appearance of an object of fight, is termed beauty; and the difagreeable appearance of fuch an object is termed ugliness. 21. But though beauty and uglinefs, in their proper and genuine fignification, are confined to objects of fight; yet in a more lax and figurative fignification, they are apply'd to objects of the other fenfes they are fometimes apply'd even to abstract terms; for it is not unufual to fay, a beautiful theorem, a beautiful conftitution of go vernment. 22. A line compofed by a fingle rule, is perceived and faid to be regular: a ftraight line, a parabola, a hyperbola, the circumference of a circle, and of an ellipfe, are all of them regular lines. A figure compofed by a fingle rule, is perceived and said to be regular: a circle, a fquare, a hexagon, an equilateral triangle, are regular figures, being compofed by a single rule that determines the form of each. When the form of a line or of a figure is afcertained by a fingle rule that leaves nothing arbitrary, the line and the figure are faid to be perfectly regular; which is the cafe of the figures now mentioned, and the cafe of a straight line and of the circumference of a circle. A figure and a line that re quire more than one rule for their conftruction, or that have any of their parts left arbitrary, are VOL. II. Kk not not perfectly regular: a parallelogram and a rhomb are lefs regular than a square; the parallelogram being fubjected to no rule as to the length of fides, other than that the opposite fides be equal; the rhomb being fubjected to no rule as to its angles, other than that the oppofite angles be equal: for the fame reason, the circumference of an ellipfe, the form of which is fufceptible of much variety, is lefs regular than that of a circle. 23. Regularity, properly speaking, belongs, like beauty, to objects of fight: and, like beauty, it is also apply'd figuratively to other objects: thus we fay, a regular government, a regular compofition of mufic, and, regular discipline. 24. When two figures are compofed of fimilar parts, they are faid to be uniform. Perfect uniformity is where the conftituent parts of two figures are equal: thus two cubes of the fame dimenfions are perfectly uniform in all their parts. Uniformity lefs perfect is, where the parts mutually correfpond, but without being equal: the uniformity is imperfect between two fquares or cubes of unequal dimenfions; and ftill more fo between a fquare and a parallelogram. 25. Uniformity is alfo applicable to the conftituent parts of the fame figure. The conftituent parts of a square are perfectly uniform: its fides are equal and its angles are equal. Wherein then differs regularity from uniformity? for a figure composed of uniform parts must undoubtedly |
