460 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1702. 
well said by a shrewd satirist, “ that 
rare as'true love is, true friendship 
is still rarer.” 
This is an obvious truth, and the 
€ause not lying deep, will not elude 
a slight glance of inquiry. 
Love, the.common passion, in 
which chance and sensation take 
place of choice and reason, is, in 
some degree, felt by the mass of 
mankind; for it is not necessary to 
speak, at present, of the emotions 
that rise above or sink below love. 
This passion, naturally increased by 
suspense and difficulties, draws the 
miud out of its accustomed state, 
and: exalts the affections; but the 
security of marriage, allowing the 
fever of love to subside, a healthy 
temperature is thought insipid only 
by those who have not sufficient in- 
telleet to substitute the calm ten- 
derness of friendship, the confidence 
of respect, instead of blind admira- 
tion, and the sensual emotions of 
fondness. 
This is, must be, the course of 
nature :—friendship or indifference 
inevitably succeeds love. And this 
constitution seems perfectly to har- 
monize with the system of goverti- 
ment which’ prevails in the moral 
world. Passions are spurs to action, 
and open the mind; but they sink 
into mere appetites, become a per- 
sonal and momentary gratification 
when the object is gained, and the 
satisfied mind rests in enjoyment. 
That man who had some virtue 
whilst he was struggling for a crown, 
often become a voluptuous tyrant 
when if graces his brow; and when 
the lover is not Jost in the husband, 
the dotard,. a prey both to childish 
caprices and fond jealousies, ne- 
glects the’ serious duties of life; and 
the’ caresses which should excite 
confidence in his children are lavish» 
ed on the overgrown child, iis wife: 
Tn order to fulfil the duties of life, 
and to be able to pursue with vigour 
the various employments which 
form the moral character, a master 
and mistress of a family ought not 
to continue to love each other with 
passion. I mean to say, that they 
ought not to indulge those emotions 
which disturb the order of society, 
and engross the thoughts that should 
be otherwise employed. The mind 
that has never been engrossed’ by 
one object, wants vigour:—if it can 
long be so, it is weak. 
A mistaken education, a narrow 
uncultivated mind, and many séxual 
prejudices, tend to make women 
more constant than men; but, for 
the present, I shall not touch on this 
branch of the subject. I will go still 
further, and advance without dream= 
ing of a paradox, that an unhappy 
marriage is often very advantageous 
to a family, and that the neglected 
wife is, in general, the best mother; 
—and this would almost always be 
the consequence if the female mind 
was more enlarged; for it seems to 
be the common dispensation of Pro- 
vidence, that what we gain in pre+ 
sent enjoyment should be dedueted 
from the treasure of life, experiences 
and that when we are gathering the 
flowers of the day, and revelling ‘in 
pleasure, the solid fruit of toil and 
wisdom should not be caught at the 
same time. The way lies before us. 
we must turn to the right or left; 
and he who will pass life’away if 
bounding from one pleasure to’an+ 
other, must not coniplain if he ne 
ther acquires wisdom or respects 
lity of character. jit ett 
Supposing, for a moment, ‘that 
the soul is not immortal, and that 
man 
