sures that constitute it; liowever the number oi" co-existing 

 pleasures contributes to happiness only when they are mode- 

 rate. A si7igle pleasure, if intense, prevents attention to 

 every other ; thus the overwhelming pleasures arising from 

 the sublimity or pathos, of poetry, oratory or music, render 

 us, while in their vigour, insensible to the exquisite versifi- 

 cation of the poet, the elaborate elegance of the orator, and 

 to the fascinating melody of the composer.^ — But (3.) when the 

 strength of these emotions is somewhat abated, tl)cn the 

 pleasures they produce, and those arising from the structure 

 of their exciting causes, are simultaneously perceived. 



4. Intense pleasures are those that engross the entire atten- 

 tion, and thus render us insensible to every other perception 

 of inferior intensity. 



5. Moderate^ are those that attract it more feebly or par- 

 tially. Most are susceptible of various degrees ; the inferior 

 degrees are called amusements ; but even the most trifling, if 

 unattended with pain, either corporeal or mental, as in 

 children, contribute to an inferior degree of happiness. 



6. The inability to fix attention in any degree in our 

 waking hours, occasions a high degree of misery, known by 

 the name of irksomeness or ennui. 



7a. Pleasures, whether intense or moderate, are more or 

 less durable ; the intense, except in a few instances*, are the 

 least; the moderate the most so; the former arc generally 



followed 



• These are stuJy, meditation, and cnmpo^sition. 



