SECT. IV.

Of Admiration or Wonder.

TH

HE most primitive and original Paffions, or thofe of the firft Rank, are Admiration, Love and Hatred.

First, Admiration. When we perceive any Object that is rare and uncommon, that is new and frange, either for its Kinds, or for its Qualities; or when we meet with fuch an Occurrence or Event as is unufual or unexpected; or fuch as is at least unusual at fuch a particular Time and Place, we are ftruck with Admiration or Wonder: And that without any Confideration whether the Object be valuable or worthless, whether it be good or evil. We wonder at a very great or a very little Man, a Dwarf or a Giant ; at a very little Horfe, at a huge Snake or Toad, at an Elephant, or a Whale, or a Comet, or at any rare Performances of Art, as moving Machines, fuch as Clocks, Watches with a variety of uncommon Motions and Operations; we wonder at a Piece of extraordinary Wit,

Skill or Learning; even at artificial Trifles, as a Flea kept alive in a Chain; at any uncommon Appearances in Nature difcovered by a Telescope, a Microscope, &c. Admiration has no Regard to the Agreeableness or Difagreeablenefs of the Object, but only the Rarity of it. And for this Reafon Wonder seems to be the firft of the Paffions.

If the Object which is rare or uncommon appear to us on a fudden, or in an unexpected Moment, we give it the Name of Surprise.

If our Wonder arife to a high Degree, we call it Amasement or Astonish

ment.

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This Paffion discovers itself by lifting

of the Hands or the Eyes, and by an intense Fixation of the Sight or the Thoughts. When it rifes very high on a fudden, it will stop the Voice, and reduce the Perfon as it were to the fixed Pofture and Silence of a Statue for a few Moments, this is called Stupor. And if Fear be joined with it, it will produce more unhappy Effects.

Let it be observed, that this Paffion has properly no oppofite, because if the Object

Object be not rare or new, or if the Appearance be not fudden or unexpected, but a mere common and familiar Thing, or an expected Occurrence, we receive it with great calmnefs, and feel no fuch Commotion of Nature about it; we treat it with Neglect instead of Wonder: Now Neglect is no Paffion. The rest of the Paffions, at least the most of them, go in Pairs.

Let us take notice alfo that Admiration is moft frequently excited in young Perfons, and fuch as have had but little Opportunity of furnishing themfelves with the Knowledge of various Things, either in Nature or Providence, or in the Sciences: whereas wife and learned Men, who have feen or known a large Variety of Objects and Events, feldom find Things rare, and new, or ftrange enough to wonder at.'

I might obferve alfo, that those who are of a very heavy and ftupid Genius, have not Curiofity or Sprightlinefs enough in their Conftitution to take notice of Things new and ftrange; and they are not very fubject to Admira

tion.

Thus

Thus it appears why wife Men and Fools do not fo often wonder as Perfons of a middle Rank of Genius or Improvement.

The great End and Defign of this Paffion of Admiration is to fix our Attention upon the admired Object, to imprefs it more effectually upon our Mer mory, as well as to give a fenfible Delight to the Mind of Man, which loves Newness and Variety; and efpecially where the Object has any Thing in it that is valuable or agreeable, which would incline us to esteem or love it. This leads me to the next general Paffions of the firft Rank.

SECT. V.

Love and Hatred.

THE Motions of the Mind, and the correfpondent Ferments of the

Blood, are very numerous in our Nature, and are not always happily diftinguished by thofe Words and Names. which have been commonly applied to them. When we treat of any Subject,

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we must for the moft Part take the Names of Things as we find them, for there is no Poffibility of making the Bulk of Mankind, for whom we write, change their ufual Forms of Speech, in order to obtain a more philofophical Exactnefs.

The next primitive Paffions therefore I continue to call Love and Hatred.

Love in general implies fome Approbation of, or Propenfity towards what appears to us as good: Hatred is a Dif approbation of, or Averfion to what appears to us as Evil. But the Words Good and Evil, in human Languages, being extended to a vaft Variety of dif ferent Objects, the Names of Love and Hatred (but especially Love) have been ufed in as great a Variety of Significa tions, and are become very equivocal Words, i. e. Words of many Meanings. And therefore I take Love and Hatred here in fo general a Senfe, as may be applied to all thofe Paffions which arise from the feveral Objects, which may called Good or Evil.

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In this general Sense therefore the Word Good may fignify any Thing that

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