These violent delights have violent ends, And in the taste confounds the appetite; Romeo and Juliet, alt 2. fc. 6. The fame holds in the causes of all violent pleasures : these causes are not naturally fufceptible of habit. Great paffions fuddenly raised are incompatible with a habit of any fort. In particular they never produce affection or 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 who is furprised with * Violent love without affection is finely exemplified in the following story. When Conftantinople was taken by the Turks, Irene, a young Greek of an illuftrious family, fell into the hands of Mahomet II. who was at that time in the prime of youth and glory. Irene's charms conquered the favage heart of Mahomet. He abandoned himself to his new mistress; and fhut himself up with her, denying access even to his minifters. His paffion feemed to increase with time. In the most important expeditions, frequently would he abandon the army, and fly to his Irene. War was at a stand, for victory M VOL. II. was 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 custom. But two causes concur to prevent this effect was no longer the monarch's favourite paffion. The foldiers, accustomed to booty, began to murmur, and the infection fpread even among the commanders. The Basha Mustapha, confulting the fidelity he owed his mafter, 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 resolution. He ordered Muftapha to affemble the troops next morning; and then retired with precipitation to Irene's apartment. Never before did that princess appear fo charming: never before did the prince bestow fo many tender careffes. To give a new luftre to her beauty, he exhorted her women next morning to bestow all their art and care on her dress. He took her by the hand, led her into the middle of the army, and pulling off her vail, demanded at the Bafhas with a fierce look, whether they had ever beheld fo accomplished a beauty? After an awful pause, Mahomet with one hand laying hold of the young Greek by her beautiful locks, and with the other pulling out his fimitar, fevered the head from the body at one ftroke. Then turning to his grandees, with eyes wild and furious," This fword," fays he, "when it is my will, "knows to cut the bands of love." in the more intenfe pleafures. These, by an original law in our nature, increase quickly to their full growth, and decay with no less precipitation *; and custom is too flow in its operation to overcome this law. Another caufe is not lefs powerful. The mind is exhaufted with pleasure as well as with pain. Exquifite pleasure is extremely fatiguing; occafioning, as a naturalist would say, great expence of animal fpirits . And therefore, of fuch the mind cannot bear fo frequent gratification as to fuperinduce a habit. If the thing which raises the pleasure return before the mind have recovered its tone and relish, disgust ensues instead of pleasure. A habit never fails to admonish us of the wonted time of gratification, by raising a pain for want of the object, and a defire to have it. The pain of want is always first felt; the defire naturally follows; and upon See chap. 2. part 3. Lady Eafy, upon her husband's reformation, expresses to her friend the following fentiment. "Be fatisfy'd; Sir Charles has made me happy, even to a pain of joy.” presenting the object, both vanish instantaneously. Thus a man accustomed to tobacco, feels, at the end of the ufual interval, a confused pain of want, which in its firft appearance points at nothing in particular, though it foon fettles upon its accustomed object. The fame may be observed in perfons addicted to drinking, who are often in an uneasy restless state before they think of their bottle. In pleafures indulged regularly and at equal intervals, the appetite, remarkably obfequious to custom, returns regularly with the usual time of gratification; and a fight of the object in the interim, has scarce any power to move it. This pain of want arifing from habit, seems directly oppofite to that of fatiety. Singular it must appear, that frequency of gratification should produce effects fo opposite as are the pains of excess and of want. The appetites that refpect the preserva tion and propagation of our fpecies, are attended with a pain of want fimilar to that occafioned by habit. Hunger and thirst are uneafy fenfations of want, which always precede the defire of eating or drink ing and a pain for want of carnal enjoyment precedes the defire of a proper object. The pain being thus felt independent of an object, cannot be cured but by gratification. An ordinary paffion, in which defire precedes the pain of want, is in a different condition. It is never felt but while the object is in view; and therefore by removing the object out of thought, it vanisheth with its defire and pain of want*. These natural appetites above mentioned, differ from habit in the following particular, They have an undetermined direction toward all objects of gratification in general; whereas an habitual appetite is directed upon a particular object. The attachment we have by habit to a particular woman, differs widely from the natural paffion which comprehends the whole fex; and the habitual relish for a particular difh, is far from being the fame with a vague appetite for food. Notwithstanding this difference, it is still remarkable, that nature hath inforced the gratification of certain natural See chap. 2. part 3. appetites |