the dependent situation of the beloved object on which it fastens, keeps it almost constantly in exercise. And thus, unless there are some improprieties in the conduct of the child, which check and diminish the results naturally following under such circumstances, it rapidly acquires immense strength. And hence it may be explained in part, that when a son or daughter, in the maturity of youth or on the verge of womanhood, is taken away by death, the grief of the parent, always great at such times, is more intense and excessive than when death takes place in infancy. The death of the child at the later period of life not only blasts a greater number of hopes, but as love, by a long-repeated, cumulative process, has been added and incorporated with love, it carries away, if one may be allowed the expression, a greater portion of the heart. We may unquestionably apply these views to all those affections which are properly characterized as Benevolent, to Friendship, Patriotism, Gratitude, and Sympathy. He who is so situated that he is required to think much on the interests and good of his country, and whose love of country is in this way kept constantly in exercise, will be found, other things being equal, to exhibit in the day of trial a more intense ardour of patriotism than others. He who, by his untiring attentions to the poor, the sick, and the prisoner, has kept his sympathetic affections in action for a long series of years, will find the principle of sympathy more thoroughly consubstantial in his nature, and more intensely operative, than if it had lain dormant. And we may add, that this doctrine, in all its extent, is applicable to the highest of all the Benevolent affections, that of love to God. This ennobling principle, this preeminent trait, which allies us not only to just men made perfect, but to angels, is an improvable one. Under the influence of Habit, we find it, even in the present life, going on from one degree of brightness and strength to another. The more we think of God, the more frequently we connect him with all our ordinary transactions, the more will the broad orb of his glory expand itself to our concep tions, and call forth the homage and love of the heart. ◊ 386. Of the origin of secondary active principles. It is here, in connexion with the views of this Chapter, that we find an explanation of the origin of what are called SECONDARY principles of action. Some individuals, for instance, are seen to possess a decided passion for dress, furniture, and equipage. We are not to suppose that this passion is one which is originally implanted in the human mind, although it may be so permanent and so decided in its action as to have something of that appearance. The probability is, setting aside whatever may be truly interesting or beautiful in the objects, that they are chiefly sought after, not so much for what they are in themselves, as for some form of good, particularly some esteem and honour, to which they are supposed to be introductory and auxiliary. But the desire, existing in the first instance in reference to some supposed beneficial end, has been so long exercised, that we at last, in virtue of what may properly be called a Habit, so closely associate the means and the end, that it is exceedingly difficult to separate them. So that, after a time, we apparently have a real love or affection for the means itself, (the dress, furniture, equipage, or whatever it is,) independently, in a great degree, of the ultimate object, in connexion with which it first excited an interest in us. There are some men, to illustrate the subject still further, who appear to have a strong love for money; we do not mean property in the more general sense of the term, but MONEY, the gold and the silver coin in itself considered, the mere naked issue of the mint. This is one of the various forms which the too common vice of Avarice sometimes assumes. But we cannot suppose that the love of money, in this sense of the terms, is a passion connatural to the human mind, and that men are born with it. It is loved, in the first instance, simply as a means, subordinate to some supposed beneficial end. The person has looked upon it for years as the means of enjoyment, influence, and honour; in this way he has formed a Habit of associating the means and the end; and they have become so closely connected in his thoughts, that, in ordinary cases, he finds himself unable to separate them. Again, we are not to suppose that men are born with a natural desire for the society of mice and spiders, such as we have reason to think they naturally entertain for that of their fellow-men. But in the entire exclusion of all human beings, we find the principle of sociality, deprived of its legitimate and customary sources of gratification, fastening itself upon these humble companions. A man, as in the case of Baron Trenck and Count Lauzun, may form an acquaintance with these animals, which, aided by the principle of Habit, will, after a time, exhibit a distinctness and intensity, which are commonly characteristic only of the original passions. In this way there may unquestionably be formed a series of SECONDARY appetites, propensities, and affections, almost without number. And we have here opened to us a new and interesting view of human nature, capable of being so applied as to explain many things in the history and conduct of men, which, however, we are not at liberty in this connexion to explore more minutely. M M |