Philosophy, mental. 
of the mind may be pleasing in some 
points of view ; but in others it is the con- 
trary ; it diminishes the worth of character 
in those cases where it exists, for constitu- 
tional disinterestedness has no more merit 
than the possessions of a good sight ; and it 
damps too the efforts to obtain disinterest- ’ 
edness. Those who find themselves defi- 
cient, who discover feelings which disin- 
terestedness owns not, have, on the theory 
here proposed, the best encouragement, 
the prospect of success, in their endeavours 
to transfer their affections from self. It 
leads too, humbly and gratefully, to acqui- 
esce, in every means which Providence 
may appoint, to discipline the mind, and 
to purify it from all that can debase. 
In short, it points the view to the highest 
excellence, and directs the means of at- 
taining it. 
4. Habitual Biases. 
48. We now proceed to the last of those 
laws of association, which we propose to 
notice, and in what we shall advance on 
the subject, we shall make a free use of 
Stewart’s Elements.— The leading feature 
of the operations of the associative power 
is that when two or more ideas, &c. are 
presented to the mind, together or in close 
succession, they become connected with 
one another, or blended together, so that 
the one when recalled to the view of the 
mind, is accompanied with the other. But 
we must not limit its exercise to this ope- 
ration ; it not only connects ideas wben 
they are thus presented together to the 
mind, but is the cause of the introduction 
of ideas with one another, which have ne- 
ver before been presented together to the 
mind. An object which has never before 
been presented to the mind, may excite 
numerous ideas, or trains of ideas ; while 
another may continually occur without ex- 
citing a single idea. And the same object 
will affect different persons differently, so 
that in the mind of one it will excite trains 
of thought, while in another it will only 
produce a momentary impression ; and in 
different persons too the same object will 
excite different trains of thought ; and in 
^he same person, at different times, difier- 
ent effects will be produced.— Now all this 
depends upon the habitual or accidental 
biases to particular kinds of connection, 
produced either by the habitual tendency 
of the mental constitution, or more usually 
by the particular culture of the individual 
mind, owing to direct instruction, or to the 
effect of circumstances, operating without 
any intention either on his part or on that! 
of others. 
49. The earliest bond of union betweeil 
objects of thought, is their being presented 
to the mind together, or in close succession, 
through the medium of sensation ; this is 
owing to the objects of sensation being 
connected either in time or place, or in 
other words, owing to the relation of con- 
tiguity in time and place existing between 
these objects. This cause of connection 
among our ideas is what necessarily has the 
earliest efficacy in forming those connec- 
tions, because it does not presuppose, as 
every other does, the existence of other ideas 
in the mind, or the exercise of attention 
to other relations which exist among them. 
Children associate ideas together almost en- 
tirely by this bond of union ; persons of un- 
cultivated minds in the same manner, usually 
have their ideas connected by the same 
bond of union, contiguity of time and place 
of the objects of sensation, producing im- 
pressions on the mind at the same time, or 
in close succession ; and more or less it is a 
connetfting link, or cause of connection, in 
every one, in every period of life. We 
might, U priori, calculate upon its high im- 
portance in the mental structure, and as a 
matter of fact, it is the foundation of all ex- 
perience and philosophy, and at the same 
time the source of numerous prejudices. It is 
the source of numerous prejudices, by lead- 
ing us to expect continued conjunction in 
time or place, where the conjunction was 
only occasional, and thus to suppose a real 
and permanent connection between objects 
which had only an accidental and temporary 
connection. Hence unenlightened expe- 
rience of the past will fill the mind, in num- 
berless instances, with vain expectations, or 
with groundless alarms, concerning the 
future ; hence the regard which is paid to 
unlucky days, to unlucky colours, to the 
influence of the planets, &c. ; apprehensions 
which render human life, to many , a continual 
series of absurd terrors. But this principle 
of connection among our ideas is also the 
foundation of all experience and philosophy ; 
for the grand object of philosophy is the 
knowledge of those laws which regulate the 
succession of events, so that from the past 
we maybe enabled to anticipate the pro- 
bable course of the future, and to regulate 
our conduct accordingly ; and therefore it 
is of the first importance that the connec- 
tions of time and place should have a strong 
power over the mind. Experience is ot a 
more limited nature, but has the same ob- 
