the want of a real, imaginary distress is frequently substituted, and felt as keenly as the real,) the cure, from the ignorance of the cause, becomes impracticable; unless the attention of the party so suffering be turned from the imaginary to a real pain. This is a method of mitigation employed by nature. For instance, a fit of the gout will sometimes cure the spleen. In like manner, the active excitement of hope and fear leads men of liberal minds to gaming, and other spirit-stirring pursuits, to prevent the fatigue they would otherwise feel from the dead calm of passionless inaction. 3. Happiness does not consist in an elevated station of life. For if all superiority afforded pleasure, the greater the number over whom such superiority is found to be, the greater would be the quantity of happiness enjoyed. But superiority is a term of confined import, and relates only to a comparison amongst persons who deem themselves generally equal. The shepherd is not pleased with his superiority as compared with his dog, nor the prince as compared with a peasant. Where no competition exists, the superiority is lost; a fact little noticed by most men. But if the rustic can excel fellow-rustics, or the prince fellow-princes, in points where they respectively contend for mastery; then, and only then, does the idea of superiority bring with it actual satisfaction. Hence the pleasure of ambition is not confined, as generally thought, to men of high rank in life, but is in reality common to all conditions. The farrier, who is in the greatest request for his veterinary skill, possesses the delight of distinction, as truly and substantially as the prime-minister does whose skill is required to settle the affairs of the nation. In either case, it is not the object of competition, but_the_consciousness of overcoming a rival, that constitutes the pleasure of superiority. Philosophers smile at the contempt shown by the rich to 155 What is said of imaginary distress? 156 What is the natural method of curing a trifling ailment? 157 What pursuits are accounted for on this principle? 158 What is the third negative assertion? 159 What would be the result if all superiority afforded pleasure? 160 What is necessary to make superiority a pleasure? 161 What kind of superiority does yield satisfaction? 162 Where does this fact show the pleasures of ambition to be? Give an illustration. 163 What do philosophers think of contempt shown by the rich, concerning ambitious strifes among the poor? Why? the petty rivalries of the poor; which, after all, are quite as reasonable as the squabbles of the rich themselves, to whom and to the poor the pleasure of success is the same. That happiness, then, of the great, which depends on the pleasures of ambition, is not greater than the happiness of the vulgar. But whether the pursuits of ambition in any case can a source of happiness, is a question both irrelevant and doubtful. In those pursuits, the pleasure of success is exquisite; but so also is the anxiety of pursuit, and the pain of disappointment if that should happen. But what is worse, the pleasure when obtained is short-lived. Rivals that are left behind are less regarded than those in view before; a succession of new struggles is kept up as long as an opponent remains; and when there is none, the pleasure and the pursuit are both at an end. Happiness, then, does not consist in the pleasures of sense, in the absence of pain, or in the pursuits of ambition. II. We are now to consider in what happiness does consist. In life, the great art is to know beforehand, what will please for a time and continue to please. But this foreknowledge is difficult of attainment. Some pleasures, alluring at a distance, become, when possessed, insipid or shortlived; while others start up unthought of. The necessity of this foreknowledge is the greater, because it is commonly impracticable to change, after an experiment has been tried; and were the change more practicable, it would be unadvisable, as such shifting is unfavorable to the happiness of any condition. Through the great variety of taste in man, arising from every different shade of original structure and accidental situation, it is impossible to devise a plan of universal happiness. All that can be attempted is, to describe a mode of life, in which the majority will seem the happiest; for though the apparent happiness is not the true indication of what is real, it is the best we can arrive at. 164 Is there happiness in any ambition? 165 Give some description of the pursuit of it. 166 What is the conclusion of this section of the chapter? 167 What is the great art in seeking for happiness? 168 Why is this foreknowledge difficult? 169 What increases the necessity of this knowledge? 170 Will any plan of happiness be adapted to all? Why? 171 What is our best criterion of happiness? With this maxim as the guide, happiness will be found to consist 1. In the exercise of the social affections. Good spirits are a proof of apparent, if not of real happiness. Now as they who lead a social life, surrounded by objects of affection, possess better spirits than they who pass a solitary life, it is fair to infer that they are more happy. In like manner, the exercise of social sympathies increases the sum of happiness by connecting the individual with the rest of mankind, through the refreshing medium of acts kindly done and gratefully acknowledged. 2. In the employment of our faculties in some interesting distant object. No fulness of present pleasure can insure a continuance of happiness, unless the mind has something to look forward to. Hence we see alacrity of spirits in those men who are engaged in objects of engrossing interest; and dejection in those, whose faculties have not been exerted at all, or have become exhausted from a too violent use of them. To avoid this insupportable vacuity of mind, recourse is had to practices destructive of health, fortune, or character; and objects are sought for with trouble, which could without trouble be obtained. But though hope, by giving rise to continued exertions, is of so much importance as an ingredient in happiness; care must be taken, else it may fret the mind into impatience, or destroy it by despair. To provide, then, ourselves with a succession of pleasurable engagements, there is need of judgment to choose the end adapted to our opportunities, and of imagination to transfer the idea of pleasure to the means used for obtaining that end.: Hence the pleasures most valuable are those productive not of most intensity of fruition, but of activity in their pursuit. 172 What is first mentioned as necessary to happiness? 173 What proof have we that social affections produce happiness? 174 What is next mentioned as necessary to happiness? 175 What is necessary to insure the continuance of present happiness? 176 What is an illustration of this? 177 What does a vacuity of mind lead to? 178 Is it necessary to temper our hope? Why? 179 What two things are necessary for our happiness? 180 What pleasures are most valuable ? Herein has the man, who is in earnest in his endeavors after a future state, the advantage over all the world. His pursuit is one of constant activity, and, unlike other pursuits, ends only with his life. Yet even such a man must have But all such other ends are many ends besides the far one. only subordinate to and co-operate with the main object of his fondest and firmest hopes. Occupation is every thing. And it is the better as it is the more connected with our social state, with reference either to mankind or to individuals; and as exhibited in strenuous endeavors to better in some way others or one's-self. But if faculties or opportunities be wanting to exert ourselves on a large scale or extensive sphere; any engagement, however trifling, provided it be innocent, is better than none. For so long only as the mind is employed, it is happy. Misery is the inevitable result of a mind not fixed for the time being to one pursuit. 3. In the prudent formation of habits. The grand secret in the art of human happiness is to set the habits so that every change may be for the better. But as whatever is habitual is easy, and a return to an old habit after an occasional departure is also easy, those habits are the best, from which a deviation is an indulgence. To the habitually luxurious, dainties are of less worth than, is to the peasant his habitual homely fare; from which when the latter deviates, he finds a feast; while the former must be well entertained to escape disgust. They who sit at cards, and they who follow a plough, so long as both are intent on their respective employments, are equally happy; but to the card-player, interruption is a pain; to the ploughman a pleasure; and hence the Sabbath is a day of rest to one, of restlessness to 181 How does this fact affect a man who lives for a future state? Why is this the case? 182 Can we suppose that any man lives solely for eternity? 183 Of what character are the other objects of a good man? 184 What enhances the value of occupation? 185 What is the value of trifling engagements? 186 What circumstances will render us happy, and what miserable? 187 What is mentioned in the third place as necessary for happi ness? 188 How are such habits set? What is this prudence called? 189 What habits are best? Why? 190 Give some illustrations, in the case of the peasant;-of the laborer ;--of one accustomed to retirement ;-of a reader of scientific works? the other. He who has learned to live alone, enters into company with hilarity, and leaves it without regret; while he who lives only in a crowd, enjoys in company only what the other does alone, habitual gratification. Remove, by a want of health or means, the one from his usual haunts, and he will find in solitude the horrors of melancholy; while the other can find there all the charm of repose. The one, restless through the day, is happy only when asleep; to the other, the day, being furnished with employment for every hour, is never too long; or if unemployed in body, he enjoys a kind of dreamy existence, with a mind at ease and hankering after nothing. In like manner, he who has been accustomed to read works of science and depth of thought, finds in lighter literature a relaxation and relish which is unknown to the reader who, with the desire of novelty alone, is rather seeking amusement than actually amused. And the latter also, quickly exhausting the scanty stock of publications to his taste, is left without objects of interest in the extensive field of intellectual enjoyment. Again, as far as money brings happiness, it is not the income, but its increase, which gives the pleasure. Two persons, one of whom begins with a large and ends with a small income, while the other begins with a small and ends with a large one, may, in the course of the same time, spend the same sum; but their satisfaction will be different, depending on the fact whether they respectively began at the end of the ascending or descending scale. 4. In the enjoyment of health. By health is here meant not only freedom from bodily ailments, but the possession of good spirits; which, though dependent on the state of the body generally, are not usually included in the definition of that word. In this comprehensive sense, health is the one thing needful; and no sacrifice of rank and fortune, business or amusement, will be considered too great for its attainment, by him who pursues his happiness in a rational manner. is a pleasure independent of all others; and of which we can only say that it is the gift of a benevolent Deity; and seems 191 How does money produce pleasure? 192 Give an illustration. 193 What is the fourth requisite for happiness? 194 What is meant by the health here spoken of? It |