PHILOSOPHY, MORAL. 



.'.v this steady adherence to mode- 

 ration, we ure no losers even with repect 

 to sensible pleasures themselves; for by 

 these means our senses and bodily powers 

 tire preserved in their best stale, and us 

 long- us is consistent with the necessary 

 decay of the body j and this moderation, 

 and its beneficial consequences, directly 

 tend to inspire the mind with perpetual 

 serenity, cheerfulness, and good-will, 

 and with gratitude to the giver of all 

 good. In the common intercourse of 

 life, associated circumstances add greatly 

 to the pleasures of sensation: thus the 

 pleasure of receiving- a vhing from a 

 friend, or sharing- it with a friend, soci- 

 ality and mirth at the time of enjoyment, 

 &e. greatly enhance the gratification of 

 taste. Much more then will the pure and 

 exalted pleasures of piety and benevo- 

 lence increase these pleasures. 



29. We are, then, great gainers on the 

 whole by religious moderation as to sen- 

 sible pleasures; still more so as to the 

 sensible pains and sufferings which the 

 intemperate bring on themselves. These 

 are of the most exquisite kind, and often 

 of long 1 duration, especially when they 

 give intervals of respite. They impair 

 the bodily and mental powers, so as to 

 render most other enjoyments insipid 

 and imperfect; they dispose to peevish- 

 ness, passion, and murmuring against 

 Providence, and are attended with the 

 pangs of a guilty mind. On the whole, 

 the proper method of avoiding the sensi- 

 ble pains, whether the result of excess, or 

 such as occur in the daily discharge of 

 the duties of life, and of obtaining the 

 sensible pleasures in their best and most 

 lasting 1 state, is not to aim at either di- 

 rectly, but in every thing to be guided 

 by the dictates of benevolence, piety, 

 and the moral sense. It is evident that 

 luxury, self-indulgence, and an indolent 

 aversion to perform the duties of a man's 

 station, not only bring on gross bodily 

 diseases, but previously to this, often pro- 

 duce such a degree of anxiety and fear- 

 fulness in minute affairs, as to make per- 

 sons inflict upon themselves greater 

 torments than the most cruel tyrants 

 could inflict. There are cases, how- 

 ever, in which persons are obliged, from 

 a sense of duty, from benevolence, from 

 adherence to true religion, &c. to forego 

 pleasure, and to endure pain; and this, 

 where there is no probability of a re- 

 compense in this life. Here the hopes 

 of futurity lend their aid; and the present 

 pleasure which these afford, is in some 

 cases so great, as to overpower, and 

 almost to annihilate the opposite pains. 



Rules respecting Sensible Pleasures. 



30. " The only rule with respect to our 

 diet," says Dr. Priestley, in his Institutes, 

 " is to prefer those kinds, and that quan- 

 tity, of food, which most conduce to the 

 health and vigour of our bodies. What- 

 ever in eating or drinking is inconsistent 

 with, and obstructs this end, is wrong, 

 and should carefully be avoided; and 

 every man's own experience, assisted 

 with a little information from others, will 

 be sufficient to inform him what is nearly 

 the best for himself in both these re- 

 spects ; so that no person is likely to 

 injure himself through mere mistake." 



31. It is sufficiently obvious, that it is 

 the benevolent affections which give the 

 chief value and highest interest to the 

 sensible pleasures arising from the in- 

 tercourse of the sexes ; and it also ap- 

 pears that these pleasures were designed 

 by the great Author of our frame, to be 

 one chief means of transferring ouraffec* 

 tion and concern from ourselves to 

 others. If, therefore, this great source 

 of benevolence be corrupted or per- 

 verted, the social affections depending 1 

 on it will also be perverted, and degene- 

 rate into selfishness or malevolence. 

 These considerations of themselves point 

 to marriage as the only justifiable mode 

 of indulging the sexual passion. Unre- 

 strained promiscuous intercourse would 

 produce the greatest evils, public and 

 private : by being unrestrained, it would 

 destroy the health, and prevent the 

 propagation of the species; by being 

 promiscuous, it would be ineffectual to 

 promote the tender and benevolent cha- 

 rities, either between the individuals 

 themselves, or towards their offspring, 

 and would produce endless contentions 

 among mankind. Now, though scarcely 

 a.ny known nation has allowed of such 

 entire licentiousness, yet the evils arising 

 from any great degree of it are so abun- 

 dantly obvious and important, that they 

 have almost universally led to some such 

 regulation of sexual intercourse as that 

 of marriage, and prove its necessity for 

 the well-being of society. Further, (to 

 use the words of Paley, whose excellent 

 remarks on this subject we shall freely 

 employ, as suits our purpose), the 

 public' use of marriage institutions, also, 

 consists in their promoting the produc- 

 tion of the greatest number of healthy 

 children, their better education, and the 

 making of due provision for their settle- 

 ment in life ; and, in their promoting the 

 private comfort of individuals, and par- 

 ticularly of the female sex. It may be 



