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emotion denotes the outward indication of an internal feeling, and speaks of the emotions of anger, of fear, &c. Lord Kames limits it to those feelings which, while they do not spring from the body, do yet manifest their existence and character by their peculiar influence upon the body. It is in this last sense that the word is here used. An Emotion differs from a Sensation by not originating in an affection of body; and from a Cognition, by being pleasurable or painful.

Emotions, like other states of feeling, imply knowledge. Something beautiful or deformed, sublime or ridiculous, is known, and contemplated, and on the contemplation springs up the appropriate feeling, followed by the characteristic expression of countenance, or attitude, or manner.

In themselves considered, Emotions can scarcely be called Springs of Action. They tend rather, while they last, to fix attention on the objects or occurrences which have excited them. In many instances, however, Emotions are succeeded by Desires to obtain possession of the objects which awaken them, or to remove ourselves from the presence of such objects. When an Emotion is thus succeeded by some degree of Desire, it forms, according to Lord Kames and Mr. Tappan, a Passion, and becomes, according to its nature, a powerful and permanent Spring of Action. (Tappan, Of the Will, p. 161.) Emotions, then, are awakened through the medium of the Intellect, and are varied and modified by the conception we form of the objects to which they refer.

Emotions manifest their existence and character by sensible effects upon the body.

Emotions in themselves and by themselves lead to quiescence and contemplation, rather than activity. But they combine with Springs of Action, and give to them a character and a colouring. What is said to be done from Surprise or Shame has its proper Spring-the Surprise or Shame being concomitant.

4 "The feelings of beauty, grandeur, and whatever else is comprehended under the name of Taste, do not lead to action, but terminate in delightful contemplation; which

constitutes the essential distinction between them and the moral sentiments, to which, in some points of view, they may doubtless be likened."-Mackintosh, Dissert., p. 238.

CHAPTER II.

OF DESIRE.

ACCORDING to the Classification adopted, the difference between APPETITE and DESIRE may be thus stated.

Appetite is a blind impulse, and does not imply the possession or exercise of intelligence, Desire is not blind, but is accompanied by the exercise of Intelligence as to its object.

tends towards Desire is gra

Appetite is implanted in full form and vigour, and its object as strongly before experience as after it. dually developed, and receives new power from the development of our intellectual faculties.

In short, Appetite belongs to man because he is possessed of an animal nature, and is a living creature Desire belongs to him because he is possessed of an intelligent nature, and is a reasonable being. Matter has its attractions and affinities. Brutes have their Instincts and Appetites. Man only has Desires, properly so called.

But, while Desires imply Intelligence, they are not the mere efflux or product of that Intelligence; and, while the objects of our Desires are known, it is not, solely, in consequence of knowing them that we desire them; but rather, because we have a capacity of Desiring. There is a tendency, on our part, towards certain ends or objects, and there is a fitness in them to give us pleasure when they are attained. Our Desires of such ends or objects are NATURAL and PRIMARY. Natural but not Instinctive, for they imply intelligence; Primary and not Factitious, for they result from the constitution of things, and the constitution of the human mind, antecedent to experience and education.

It has been maintained, however, that there are no original principles in our nature, carrying us towards particular objects; but that, in the course of experience, we learn what gives us pleasure or painwhat does us good or ill; that we flee from the one class of objects, and follow after the other; that, in this way, likings and dislikings, inclinations and aversions, spring up within us; and that all the various passions and pursuits of human life are produced and prompted by sensibility to pleasure and pain, and a knowledge of what affects that sensibility; and, thus, all our Desires may be resolved into one general Desire of happiness or well-being.

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There is room for difference of opinion as to the number of these Desires which are original; but there is little room for doubting that there are some which may be so designated. Every being has a nature. Everything is what it is by having such a nature. Man has a nature; and his nature has an end. This end is indicated by certain tendencies. He feels inclination or Desire towards certain objects, which are suited to his faculties and fitted to improve them. The attainment of these objects gives pleasure—the absence of them is a source of uneasiness. Man seeks them by a natural and spontaneous effort. In seeking them, he comes to know them better and desire them more eagerly. But the intelligence which is gradually developed, and the development which it may give to the Desires, should not lead us to overlook the fact, that the Desires primarily existed as inherent tendencies of our nature, aiming at their correspondent objects; spontaneously, it may be, in the first instance, but gradually gaining clearness and strength by the aid and concurrence of our intellectual and rational powers.

Among those primitive tendencies, belonging to human nature, which at once indicate the destiny and urge forward the improvement of man, the following may be noticed :

THE DESIRE OF KNOWLEDGE or the PRINCIPLE OF CURIOSITY.

According to Aristotle (Metaphys., lib. i. cap. 1), “All men have a natural Desire of knowledge. This is shown by the avidity with which they seek the informations of the senses. They are sought for their own sake, and independently of their usefulness; especially those of the sense of sight."

Cicero is understood to be quoting Panatius, a Greek philosopher, when he says (De Finibus, lib. v. cap. 18), "The chief characteristic of man is the inquisition and investigation of the truth. Hence it is that, when we are free from necessary duties and cares, we eagerly seek to see, or hear, or learn something new. There is such an inborn love of knowledge and science in us, that it is plain we would be carried toward these things without any inviting prospect of emoany lument." The Desire of Knowledge is manifested long before estimate can be formed of its uses. Had we never sought knowledge till we saw the good it was to do us, much of it would never have been gained; even what was most important for us to know might have been neglected; and the little that we did learn would have But human happiness and human improvebeen learned as a task. ment have been provided for in the constitution of human nature.

Born ignorant, we desire to know. Desiring to know, we delight in the attainment of knowledge; and delighting in the attainment, we are at once rewarded for our exertions, and stimulated to continue and increase them.

THE DESIRE OF SOCIETY is manifested at a very early age. "Attend," says Mr. Smellie (Phil. of Nat. Hist., p. 416), “to the eyes, the features, and gestures of a child, when another child is presented to it; both, instantly, previous to the possibility of instruction or habit, exhibit the most evident expressions of joy. Their eyes sparkle, and their features and gestures demonstrate, in the most unequivocal manner, a mutual attachment." It may be observed, too, that in all their amusements and sports, children are naturally social. And although man, in a more advanced and mature state, may be capable of bearing solitude, and may even, under peculiar circumstances, come to like it, yet still it may be said that, in general, he manifests a strong Desire of Society. He multiplies and prolongs the occasions of meeting with his fellow-men. The intercourse which is necessary to carry forward the business of life is but brief and limited, when compared with the long and happy hours which are spent in the family circle, at the festive board, or in the communion of thought and feeling, at literary, political, or religious associations. In short, Society or social intercourse, under various forms, is an object of natural and strong Desire to man. The important influence which this Desire has, in stimulating his activity and in advancing his intellectual and moral improvement, argues it to be an original element of his nature; and the laws and regulations to which it gives rise, in a state of civilization, instead of being, as Hobbes and others would represent them to be, evidences of a natural enmity between man and man, are the means which man takes to secure and sweeten the charities of family and friendship, amidst the endearments of which he is born, delights to live, and scarcely fears to die.

"And is he dead, whose glorious mind

Lifts thine on high?

To live in hearts we leave behind,

Is not to die."-Campbell.

This leads to the notice of another Desire which is natural to man, viz., THE DESIRE OF ESTEEM.

It is impossible to see human beings together, without seeing that they have a strong Desire for the good opinion of one another.

This Desire is manifested in the earliest years. The child, even before it attains to the use or understanding of articulate language, is soothed and pleased by the smiles of the nurse or mother, and is mortified by any indication of neglect. In the whole business of human life it is seen that a Desire to stand well with others is prevalent. Even they who are conscious that they have no strong claim upon the Esteem of their fellow-men, still flatter themselves with the hope, that there is something about them to save them from contempt, which is feared as the greatest of evils. And, for beings who have been born to live in society, it is most important that they should thus have been made sensible of the good or bad opinion of one another.

The Desire of Esteem is so strong as to stretch beyond death; a fact inconsistent with the theory which attempts to resolve this Desire into a love of the pleasure or advantage which the good opinion of others may procure for us. For, what pleasure or advantage can arise from posthumous respect or fame? Yet men often sacrifice their health, and even their life, in seeking to obtain them.

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Similar remarks might be made with regard to the DESIRE OF POWER, or the principle of Ambition, and the DESIRE OF SUPERIORITY, or the principle of Emulation. These cannot be resolved into any other principles more simple, and may be considered as original elements of human nature.

Desire is characteristic of beings whose nature and condition are imperfect. It involves a sense of want or defect, and a tendency to some object or some act which is to relieve or supply it. Our Desires, therefore, may be as many and various as are our wants and defects, and the objects or acts which may relieve or supply them. But the different forms which Desires may assume, or the different names by which they may be denoted, in different circumstances, should not lead us to regard them as so many principles differing in kind. What is common to all forms and degrees of Desire is tendency towards some object or some act, which is to relieve some want, or to supply some defect, or to remove some uneasiness. And, in so far as the want, or defect, or uneasiness is inseparable from the nature and condition of man, the tendency towards what is to relieve, or supply, or remove it, may be regarded as originally belonging to his constitution as a human being.

5 "Cupido dominandi cunctis affectibus flagrantior est."-
"-TACITUS.

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