Manflaughter, fhall be held the highest pitch Of triumph, to be ftyl❜d great conquerors, Milton, b. 11. The irregular influence of grandeur reaches alfo to other matters: however good, honest, or ufeful, a man may be, he is not fo much refpect ́ed as is one of a more elevated character, tho' of lefs integrity; nor do the misfortunes of the former affect us fo much as those of the latter. And I add, because it cannot be disguised, that the remorfe which attends breach of engagement, is in a great measure proportioned to the figure that the injured perfon makes: the vows and protefta tions of lovers are an illuftrious example; for these commonly are little regarded when made to women of inferior rank, СНАР. 256 CHA P. V. MOTION, AND FORCE. T HAT motion is agreeable to the eye without relation to purpose or defign, may appear from the amufement it gives to infants juvenile exercises are relished chiefly on that account. If a body in motion be agreeable, one will be apt to conclude that at reft it must be disagreeable but we learn from experience, that this would be a rafh conclufion. Reft is one of those circumstances that are neither agreeable nor difagreeable, being view'd with perfect indifferency. -And happy is it for mankind to have the matter fo ordered if rest were agreeable, it would difincline us to motion, by which all things are performed if it were disagreeable, it would be a fource of perpetual uncasiness; for the bulk of the things we see appear to be at rest. A similar inftance of defigning wifdom I have had occafion to explain, in opposing grandeur to littleness, and elevation to lowness of place *. Even in the fimpleft matters, the finger of God is confpicuous: the happy adjustment of the internal na • See chap.4. ture ture of man to his external circumstances, difplay'd in the instances here given, is indeed admirable. Motion is agreeable in all its varieties of quicknefs and flowness; but motion long continued admits fome exceptions. That degree of continued motion which corresponds to the natural course of our perceptions, is the most agreeable. The quickeft motion is for an inftant delightful; but foon appears to be too rápid: it becomes painful by forcibly accelerating the course of our perceptions. Slow continued motion becomes disagreeable from an oppofite cause, that it retards the natural course of our perceptions *. There are other varieties in motion, befide quickness and flowness, that make it more or less agreeable regular motion is preferred before what is irregular; witnefs the motion of the planets in orbits nearly circular: the motion of the comets in orbits lefs regular, is lefs agreeable. Motion uniformly accelerated, refembling an afcending series of numbers, is more agreeable than when uniformly retarded: motion upward is agreeable by tendency to elevation. What then fhall we fay of downward motion regularly accelerated by the force of gravity, compared with upward motion regularly retarded by the fame This will be explained more fully afterward, ch. 9. force? force? Which of thefe is the moft agreeable? This question is not eafily folved. Motion in a straight line is agreeable: but we prefer undulating motion, as of waves, of a flame, of a fhip under fail; fuch motion is more free, and alfo more natural. Hence the beauty of a ferpentine river. The easy and sliding motion of a fluid, from the lubricity of its parts, is agreeable upon that account but the agreeableness chiefly depends on the following circumftance, that the motion is perceived, not as of one body, but as of an endless number moving together with order and regularity. Poets ftruck with that beauty, draw more images from fluids in motion than from folids. Force is of two kinds; one quiefcent, and one exerted in motion. The former, dead weight for example, must be laid afide; for a body at reft is not by that circumstance either agreeable or difagreeable. Moving force only is my province; and tho' it is not feparable from motion, yet by the power of abstraction, either of them may be confidered independent of the other. Both of them are agreeable, because both of them include activity. It is agreeable to see a thing move to fee it moved, as when it is dragged or pushed along, is neither agreeable nor difagreeable, more than when at reft. It is agreeable to see a thing exert force; but it makes not the thing either agreeable or disagreeable, to fee force exerted upon it. Tho' F Tho' motion and force are each of them agreeable, the impreffions they make are different. This difference, clearly felt, is not eafily defcribed. All we can fay is, that the emotion raised by a moving body, refembling its caufe, is felt as if the mind were carried along: the emotion raised by force exerted, resembling also its cause, is felt as if force were exerted within the mind. upon A To illustrate that difference, I give the following examples. It has been explained why fmoke afcending in a calm day, fuppofe from a cottage in a wood, is an agreeable object *; fo remarkably agreeable, that landscape-painters introduce it all occafions. The afcent being natural, and without effort, is pleasant in a calm state of mind: it resembles a gently-flowing river, but is more agreeable, because afcent is more to our taste than defcent. A fire-work or a jet d'eau rouses the mind more; because the beauty of force vifibly exerted, is fuperadded to that of upward motion. To a man reclining indolently upon a bank of flowers, afcending fmoke in a ftill morning is charming; but a fire-work or a jet d'eau roufes him from that fupine posture, and puts him in motion. A jet d'eau makes an impreffion distinguishable from that of a water-fall. Downward motion being natural and without effort, tends rather to quiet the mind than to rouse it: upward motion, * Chap. I. on 4 |