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    be necessary , if not to cause ^ at lea ;? t to heighten Ideas of pleasure ? anci may not those paiaful sensations in consequence of being associated through indefinite time , with that pleasure of which they will be foUnd the constant fore *

    runners , conie ultimately to change their character , hi ihe rflind of the intelligent being ; so as to make pleadsufre \ the necessary result of ' every possible , impre ^ sion ?

    This hypothesis may be thrown kito a more tangible shape , in the following proposition and corollaries . Prop . Pleasure is the result of & comparison of sensations * It cannot be doubted that there

    aire many impressions and states bftexistence , which vrould cause pleasu re to some and pain to others ; l ^ r e xam ple , apiece of jerk beef , or an ill-cured herring , is a lux - ury to a half . fanvished savage j whilst to a fulUfed citraenu it

    would operate rather as an emetic . Tola dethronedmonarch , the state t ) f a private gentkman would be tSne of ; galling degradation ; whiUt by ^ thousands setting out in life , it is regarded as the enviable reward of unwearied exertions , and

    the ne plus ultra of human felicity . The supposition of the absolute nature of pleasure , seems irreconcil . able with these facts , as also with

    ike umv ^ rsaiuy Us existence : in all climates sentient beiogs enjoy pleasure ; man , in particular , through all the stales of society , from the most barbarous to the

    fnost ernliaed , through all the ranks of society , from the prince t& the peasant ; and Arpugh all ibe » Mjges of iodiyi ? dual exktence , ft *> ftr the mfant to the hoary edentolot ^ b it eoweival ^ eiipw ^ Jtbwlute , potitive sonwjtfiuig * c « m

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    be fitted to bo many different eituatjons i But suppose pleasure tlie result of a comparison of sensations , and every difficulty vanishes *

    I shall now endeavour to analyse one of our pleasurable emotions * that it may |> e seen how the !> & £ notnena correspond with this theory ; let it be that of eating strawberries J and here I think it

    undeniable , 1 st , That were we to eat nothing but strawberries , we should not have that pleasure in eating them which we now have : —and 2 d . That were we to eat

    them without intermission , the unceasfhg act of eating strawberries would become , like that of breathing the air ,, indifferent . jhtom

    hence it follows , that the pleasure of ^ eating strawberries is purely fhe result of a comparison , from the 1 st instance , fcetweeen th ' e&&vqur of this fruit aud that of otfier edible

    supstances ; from tqe 2 d , between out state wheneatiitig , and that of a previous state of hunger . * ¦!] & * - *¦ * doubt , pleasttres arising from inner

    sources , may bomqtimes constitute a part of the pleasure now under consideration ; for example , if we have been in the practice of eating strawberries with an esteem - ed friend , or in the light and agreeable society of ladies , or in fhe midst pf a delightful landscape ; the pleasure resulting from these causes , may be afterwards continued to the sii&ple act of eating , with which they were previously associated ; but as all coitiWex

    emotions may be reduced to simple ones , it will be sufficient tor consider matteirs Ok the simplest point of view . By the way , the actiiott of brcathiftg mentioned obm » is , a corroboiitiAo of tfcis

    bypoAe ^ is ; we br ^ o ^ e h | ces » anf Ih ^^ yk ^^ t ^^^ ^^ h ^^ liMMl ^ bflUMdlUtaM ^ riAK . SUMkA '» . iAMta » 4 fe UL'ptlliyfJIM ^ XfUBy 'tn UW ^ m&MMMMFp " 'UiwC vW > perkm m&frffi& ^ frbtBtii levere

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    *© Anatyiisrof the Ideuof Pleasure .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1812, page 80, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1745/page/16/