tobacco. This is pleasantly illustrated by Congreve:

Fainall. For a passionate lover, methinks you are a man fomewhat too difcerning in the failings of your mistress.

Mirabell. And for a difcerning man, somewhat too passionate a lover; for I like her with all her faults; nay like her for her faults. Her follies are so natural, or so artful, that they become her; and those affectations which in another woman would be odious, serve but to make her more agreeable. I'll tell thee, Fainall, she once us'd me with that infolence, that in revenge I took her to pieces, fifted her, and feparated her failings; I study'd 'em, and got 'em by rote. The catalogue was so large, that I was not without hopes, one day or other, to hate her heartily: to which end I so us'd myself to think of 'em, that at length, con trary to my design and expectation, they gave me every hour less and less disturbance; till in a few days it became habitual to me, to remember'em without being displeased. They are now grown as familiar to me as my own frailties; and in all probability, in a little time longer, I shall like 'em as well.

The way of the world, aft 1. fc. 3.

:

A

A walk upon the quarterdeck, though in tolerably confined, becomes however fo a greeable by custom, that a failor in his walk on shore, confines himself commonly within the fame bounds. I knew a man who had relinquished the fea for a country-life. In the corner of his garden he reared an artificial mount with a level summit, resembling most accurately a quarterdeck, not only in shape but in fize; and this was his choice walk. Play or gaming, at first barely amusing by the occupation it affords, becomes in time extremely agreeable; and is frequently profecuted with avidity, as if it were the chief business of life. The fame observation is applicable to the pleasures of the internal senses, those of knowledge and virtue in particular. Children have scarce any sense of these pleasures; and men very little, who are in the state of nature without culture. Our taste for virtue and knowledge improves slowly; but is capable of growing stronger than any other appetite in human nature.

To introduce a habit, frequency of acts

is not alone sufficient: length of time is al

fo

1

so necessary. The quickest fucceffion of acts in a short time, is not fufficient; nor a flow succession in the longest time. The effect must be produced by a moderate soft action, and a long series of easy touches removed from each other by short intervals. Nor are these sufficient, without regularity in the time, place, and other circumstances of the action. The more uniform any operation is, the fooner it becomes habitual; and this holds equally in a paffive habit. Variety in any remarkable degree, prevents the effect. Thus any particular food will scarce ever become habitual, where the manner of dreffing is varied. The circumstances then requifite to augment any pleasure and at the long run to form a habit, are weak uniform acts, reiterated during a long course of time without any confiderable interruption. Every agreeable cause which operates in this manner, will grow habitual.

3

Affection and averfion, as distinguished from paffion on the one hand, and on the other from original disposition, are in reality habits respecting particular objects, acquired in the manner above fet forth. The pleasure

pleasure of social intercourse with any person, must originally be faint, and frequently reiterated, in order to establish the habit of affection. Affection thus generated, whether it be friendship or love, seldom swells into any tumultuous or vigorous paffion; but is however the strongest cement that can bind together two individuals of the human species. In like manner, a flight degree of disgust often reiterated with any degree of regularity, grows into the habit of aversion, which generally fubfifts for life.

Those objects of taste that are the most agreeable, are so far from having a tendency to become habitual, that too great indulgence fails not to produce satiety and disgust. No man contracts a habit of taking sugar, honey, or sweet-meats, as he doth of tobacco:

Dulcia non ferimus: fucco renovamur amaro.

Ovid. art. Amand. l. 3.

८

Infipido è quel dolce, che condito

Non è di qualche amaro, e tosto satia.

Aminta di Tasso.

Thefe

These violent delights have violent ends,
And in their triumph die. The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in its own deliciousness,
And in the tafte confounds the appetite;
Therefore love mod'rately, long love doth so:
Too swift arrives as tardy as too flow.

1

Romeo and Juliet, act 2. fc. 6.

The fame holds in the causes of all violent pleasures : these causes are not naturally fufceptible of habit. Great paffions suddenly 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 surprised 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 illustrious 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 savage heart of Mahomet. He abandoned himself to his new mistress; and shut himself up with her, denying access even to his ministers. His passion seemed 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 VOL. II.

M

was