164 



2dly, Various delicacies and refinements, so contrived as 

 to flatter the senses, particularly those of taste and smell. 



Indulgence to the desire of possessing such objects and de- 

 licacies is called luxury* . 



Betwixt these principal classes (of each of which, except 

 the last, there are various degrees) there exist various inter- 

 mediate conditions, participating of those classes betwixt 

 which they lie, as the industrious and the professional, which 

 lie betwixt the poor and the rich ; and the official, which, ac- 

 cording to the nature of the office, lies either betwixt the 

 poor and the rich, or betwixt the rich and the opulent. 



It may, I think, be laid down as evident maxims, 1**, that 

 the principal source of pleasure to mankind consists in the 

 prudent gratification of innocent and attainable desires; the 

 pleasing emotions arising therefrom, and just and benevolent 

 sentiments, together with the intervenient tranquil hope of 

 such gratification. And 2^°, that complex pleasures are by far 

 the most durable and valuable. 



As the gratification of our desires relates to a future period, 

 prudence requires that Ave should examine first the proba- 

 bility of our attaining that period : as it %vere idle to aim at a 

 gratification obtainable only at a period to which it is impro- 

 bable we should arrive; or to undervalue any advantage 



obtainable 



* From Xmu, solvo, as it was supposed to relax and unnerve the mind. 



