OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



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pleafures. He no longer touches objefts folely for the pleafure of 

 handling them. He willies to know their relations, and he feels as 

 many agreeable feafations as he forms new ideas. 



Touching expofes him more frequently to pain than the other 

 fenfes. But pleafure is always within his reach, and pain is felt on- 

 ly at intervals. His defires confift chiefly of the efforts of his mind 

 to recal the moft agreeable ideas. But that kind of defire of which 

 the fenfe of touch renders him capable, includes motion, or the 

 power of fearching for fenfations. Hence his enjoyments are not li- 

 mited to the ideas prefented by the imagination, but extend to all 

 the objedts he can reach ; and his defires, inftead of being concen- 

 trated into modes of his exiftence, as in the other fenfes, lead him 

 always to external bodies, which are the objeds of his love, hatred, 

 and other paffions. 



By motion he acquires the idea of fpace. Repeated experience 

 of difcovering new fenfations renders him capable of curiofity. But 

 pain repreffes his defire of moving, and makes him difBdent. Hence 

 he learns to move with caution; and the fame chance that led him 

 to lay hold of a ftick, will teach him to ufe it for exploring what 

 may be hurtful to him. Pleafure and pain are the fources of all his 

 ideas, the number of which acquirable by our ftatue is almoft infi- 

 nite. He learns to compare his different fenfations, and to diftin- 

 guifh different bodies. He acquires the idea of figure, and becomes 

 capable of reflexion and abftradion. He acquires likewife the ideas^ 

 of aumber, of duration, of fpace, and of immenfity. 



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