136 



are united, and the difficulty of separating the consideration 

 of their effects. 



Can this operation of novelty be a law of our nature, in- 

 terwoven with our frame ; or has the habit of thus being af- 

 fected, arisen from the pleasure we derived from every ob- 

 ject, when the world was new to us, and the consequent 

 stimulation to similar fenjoyments ? 



Be this as it may, the dominion of habit is not superficial. 

 Its sway can be traced in the depths of our constitution ; 

 and its power over the functions of the frame would lead us 

 to regard it as a primitive law of our nature. 



Labour of body' and exertion of mind, those great pro- 

 moters of sleep, no longer produce their effects on a patient 

 familiar with laudanum. The drops must be administered 

 before re&;t can be hoped for. The epicure, accustomed to 

 spicy condinients with his food, cannot digest it without 

 them ; and the stimuli of the natural sepretions, cease to be 

 stimuli, to intestines enervated by the use of cathartics. 



If these internal actions so little within the dominion of 

 the will, are still subjected to the government of Habit, we 

 need not be surprised that this law of our constitution should 

 predominate in our voluntary actions. Every muscle in the 

 frame performs its office with ease, or difficulty, according as 

 it has been exercised ; and dexterity, grace and skill are the 

 fruits of repeated practice. The smith toils throughout the 

 day with a sledge, which a ploughman, as robust, could not 

 wield for an hour. A skUful rider will " turn and wind a 



