PASSION. 



Writers on the passions have indulged 

 in a variety of speculations and conjec- 

 tures as to the precise situation of their 

 impetus, in hopes of ascertaining 1 whether 

 that is in the material animated part of 

 man, or in the spiritual. Des Cartes and 

 other philosophers will have their seat to 

 be wholly in the corporeal system ; and 

 Mr. Grove, of a totally opposite opinion, 

 concludes the passions to be " the affec- 

 tions attended with peculiar and extraor- 

 dinary motions of the animal spirits ;" 

 and adds, that he inclines to "think that 

 a sensation of the soul generally precedes 

 a change in the spirits, external objects 

 not being able to raise a ferment in the 

 spirits till they have first struck the mind 

 \vith an idea of something noble, fright- 

 ful, amiable," &c. Mallebranche defines 

 the passions as being all those agitations 

 of the soul, naturally proceeding t: om un- 

 common influence and motion in the 

 blood and animal spirits ; those lie con- 

 trasts with others which are usual with 

 decided intelligences, and which he terms 

 natural inclinations. 



Dr. Cheyne considered the passions in 

 two points of view, spiritual and animal ; 

 the former he supposes to be the emotion 

 produced in the soul by external objects, 

 which become compounded and material 

 by the intervention of the organs of life. 

 The animal he defines by those effects 

 produced by bodies or spirits imme- 

 diately on the body. Dr. Morgan, by in- 

 defatigable observation, drew the fol- 

 lowing conclusion : "That all the grateful 

 or pleasurable passions raise the vital 

 tide, strengthen and quicken the pulse, 

 diffuse the natural heat, and take off any 

 antecedent stimulus or pressure upon the 

 abdomen and inferior organs. And, on 

 the contrary, the painful passions sink 

 and depress the blood, weaken the pulse, 

 recal and concenter the natural heat, and 

 fix a stimulus, or compression, on the in- 

 ferior organs. All the passions impress 

 their characteristic sensations or modifi- 

 cations on the muscles of the larynx, and 

 thus discover themselves by the different 

 modulation and tone of the voice." 

 From which he concludes, that the nerves 

 of the eighth conjugation, or par vagnm, 

 are the principal instruments of the 

 passions. 



Dr. Ueid doubts whether the " principle 

 of esteem as well as gratitude ought to 

 be reckoned in the order of animal prin- 

 ciples, or if they ought not rather to be 

 placed in a higher order." The same 

 author, treating on resentment, has con- 



sidered it as a sudden and instinctive ani- 

 mal principle, common to the brute crea- 

 tion and mankind; at the same time he 

 calls deliberate resentment a rational 

 principle. 



To pursue theories further would he 

 useless, we shall therefore conclude with 

 the opinion of Dr. Cogan, one of the 

 latest writers on the subject : " Without 

 entering therefore into enquiries of this 

 nature, which for want of data must be 

 conjectural and unsatisfactory, it will be 

 more consistent with my plan, simply to 

 state interesting facts, and leave it to the 

 metaphysician to draw such consequences 

 as he may deem most legitimate. It 

 must be admitted that every passion, emo- 

 tion, and affection proceeds from certain 

 impressions or ideas excited concerning 

 the nature, or state, or quality* or agency 

 of the exciting cause. These ideas have 

 undoubtedly their seat in that part of 

 man we distinguish by the appellation of 

 mind." This admitted, the Doctor ad- 

 vances, that the exciting cause must 

 change the state of it in relation to any 

 given object ; thus from total indifference 

 the mind becomes in some particular 

 manner interested, consequently the new 

 impression produces a correspondent 

 change upon the body, and in proportion 

 to the impetus, general observation, and 

 universal phraseology founded upon that 

 observation, demonstrates that a per- 

 ceptible influence of each violent emotion 

 is directed towards the heart, which teels 

 different sensations, pleasant, or tlve re- 

 verse, over which it has no controul, and 

 from this centre diverges the influence of 

 agitated spirits, the slightest effects of 

 which are not visible to the spectator. 

 " Nay," adds this gentleman, " the sub- 

 ject himself is not conscious perhaps of 

 'any thing more than either a change of 

 sentiment on the perception of the 

 stronger influence of a former sentiment 

 connecting with something agreeable or 

 disagreeable in this perception ; a some- 

 thing which attaches more strongly to 

 the object, or creates some degree of re- 

 pugnance. This state of mind is styled 

 an affection, and it appears to be totaJly 

 mental ; but stronger influences produce 

 such changes, that the inward disposition 

 becomes obvious to the spectator, through 

 the medium of the corporeal frame. Jt 

 is now called an emotion, and this may 

 increase in strength until the whole sys- 

 tem becomes agitated and convulsed. 

 From this statement it appears incontes- 

 tible, that the affections and passions 

 have their origin in the mind, while emo- 



