Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Curious Account Given By The Dumb Philosopher.
long as the will is governed by reason , so long a man is in his natural and tranquil state : all his passions are kept within their proper bounds ; and therein consists the happiness of life : but no sooner does self-interest poison his good intentions , and his passions get the better of reason , than he is in an unnatural situation , and a confused state of mind . All his passions are slaves to intemperance , they lead him into a labyrinth of disorders ; and herein consists the greatest misery mankind is liable to in this world . ¦
1 he only method we have to remedy this evil is , to take the opportunity , when our passions are lulled asleep , to weigh , in the balance of experience , the true and intrinsic value of every object ,-which is wont to flatter our imaginations , and thereb y learn not to set our affections chiefly on those things which are least deserving of them ; but , on the contrary , put that value upon all things , as they , with propriety ami justice , deserve ; and , on the other hand , to proportion our sorrow and care to our actual , and not to our imaginary losses and wants .
In this examination of the intrinsic value of . things , we must have ah eye , first , to the goodness , and second , to the duration of them : whether they promote our happiness , and how long they are capable of doing it ? Let us , for instance , examine the honours , pleasures , and riches of this world , by this rule . Are they real substantial goods ? Are they attended with no cares , no apprehensions , no uneasinesses ? far
As as they are liable to any of these , so far they are short of being real felicities . But supposing they were wholly free from these inconveniencies , the question yet remains , of whatduration are they ? Will they last to the end of our days ? How long are we sure of health , or even of life itself to enjoy them ? To conclude , is our life more than a moment in comparison with eternity ? How then can they be said to be durable ? In reality , they are no more than an empty transitory vapour , a thing of nothing , which has no real or essential beino-.
When we have , in this manner , discovered the deceitful alioy of this counterfeit coin , which has blinded the eyes of our understanding , reasons ascends her throne again , and our passions are confined within their proper bounds . Nothing in this world can awake any immoderate desires in us , nor are we ever , beyond measure , concernedtfor the loss or want of any thing . By this alone
we may come very near to the hi ghest pitch of happiness we are here capable of , and keep possession of it when we have attained it . To this we cannot forbear addinga fine paragraph from our Spectators , and shall then leave the reader to loim a judgment upon the whole . b That ingenious author has alledgcd it to be ' a mi ghty mistake , that the passions should be so entirel y subdued , as to be quite
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Curious Account Given By The Dumb Philosopher.
long as the will is governed by reason , so long a man is in his natural and tranquil state : all his passions are kept within their proper bounds ; and therein consists the happiness of life : but no sooner does self-interest poison his good intentions , and his passions get the better of reason , than he is in an unnatural situation , and a confused state of mind . All his passions are slaves to intemperance , they lead him into a labyrinth of disorders ; and herein consists the greatest misery mankind is liable to in this world . ¦
1 he only method we have to remedy this evil is , to take the opportunity , when our passions are lulled asleep , to weigh , in the balance of experience , the true and intrinsic value of every object ,-which is wont to flatter our imaginations , and thereb y learn not to set our affections chiefly on those things which are least deserving of them ; but , on the contrary , put that value upon all things , as they , with propriety ami justice , deserve ; and , on the other hand , to proportion our sorrow and care to our actual , and not to our imaginary losses and wants .
In this examination of the intrinsic value of . things , we must have ah eye , first , to the goodness , and second , to the duration of them : whether they promote our happiness , and how long they are capable of doing it ? Let us , for instance , examine the honours , pleasures , and riches of this world , by this rule . Are they real substantial goods ? Are they attended with no cares , no apprehensions , no uneasinesses ? far
As as they are liable to any of these , so far they are short of being real felicities . But supposing they were wholly free from these inconveniencies , the question yet remains , of whatduration are they ? Will they last to the end of our days ? How long are we sure of health , or even of life itself to enjoy them ? To conclude , is our life more than a moment in comparison with eternity ? How then can they be said to be durable ? In reality , they are no more than an empty transitory vapour , a thing of nothing , which has no real or essential beino-.
When we have , in this manner , discovered the deceitful alioy of this counterfeit coin , which has blinded the eyes of our understanding , reasons ascends her throne again , and our passions are confined within their proper bounds . Nothing in this world can awake any immoderate desires in us , nor are we ever , beyond measure , concernedtfor the loss or want of any thing . By this alone
we may come very near to the hi ghest pitch of happiness we are here capable of , and keep possession of it when we have attained it . To this we cannot forbear addinga fine paragraph from our Spectators , and shall then leave the reader to loim a judgment upon the whole . b That ingenious author has alledgcd it to be ' a mi ghty mistake , that the passions should be so entirel y subdued , as to be quite