1832 -37. SPECULATES ON THE EMOTIONS. 5 7 



to the inner life. The entries are more full in the first month 

 of its existence than at any future period, though some of them 

 are too sacred and personal to be made public. 



"January llth. Logicians have given much attention to the 

 study of the emotions likely to be legitimately excited by certain 

 occurrences, and on this point Dr. Abercrombie has most parti- 

 cularly dwelt, and yet I cannot perceive the possibility of ever 

 ascertaining or fixing what emotions should originate from known 

 causes ; for in every individual these emotions must differ as 

 well in kind as in degree, and there appears to me no subject 

 better fitted than this to show, to prove, how much mind differs 

 in different individuals, and how essentially it is the reflection 

 of the mind on objects and events which is the greatest cause of 

 joy and sadness, and delight and horror, and not those occurrences 

 themselves, so much so that we often find that the contemplation of 

 such objects awakes startling, striking, and vivid feelings, which 

 these objects themselves did not excite, though apparently cal- 

 culated to do so. There is a curious case illustrative of this in 

 the life of the celebrated physiologist, John Hunter. This gen- 

 tleman had among a collection of animals two leopards, which 

 by some accident escaped one day. Hunter was aroused from 

 his studies by their noise in endeavouring to get away ; and on 

 running down, found them attempting to scale the walls of the 

 court-yard. He courageously sprang forwards, grasped each by 

 the neck, dragged them back to their den, and secured them ; 

 but on retiring again to his study, he was so struck with the 

 risk he had run, and the extreme hazard of the attempt, that 

 the thought almost maddened him. The longer he thought, the 

 more forcibly was he struck with the thought of what danger he 

 had been exposed to. To adduce another case, in one of the 

 autumnal months a summer or two ago, walking along one of 

 the tributary streams of the Tweed, I was struck with the ap- 

 pearance of an old castle near the river. This castle (the Drochill) 

 being in excellent preservation, I walked up to it, and after 

 viewing its external excellences, began to examine the internal 

 accommodation of the donjon-keeps. Looking into one, I saw it 

 had a hard, firm floor, and jumped down through the window 



