change of place, fortune, or fituation, feparate the companion from his circle, his visitors, his club, commonroom, or coffee-house, and the difference will be then marked, Solitude comes to the one clothed with melancholy to the other it brings liberty and quiet. You will fee the one fretful and reftlefs, at a lofs how to difpose of his time, till the hour comes round that he can forget himself in bed: the other easy and satisfied; is ready to admit any little amusement that cafts up, or to turn his hand and attention to the first business that shall present itself. A reader who has inured himself to books of fcience, if a novel, an article of news, a narrative of an interesting voyage, or the journal of a traveller, fall in his way, fits down to the repast with relish, and enjoys his entertainment. Another, with whom nothing goes down but books of humour and pleasantry, feldom can find delight; and when in a bookseller's fhop, is more in fearch of diversion than really diverted, and it is rare that he can enjoy amusement from this innocent fource. So important is it to happiness to constitute babits not of too great indulgence.

Hence CUSTOM hath a greater influence than any other known caufe, to put the rich and the poor upon a level; weak pleasures, the fhare of the latter, become fortu

nately

nately stronger by custom; while voluptuous pleasures, the share of the former, are continually losing ground by fatiety, and therefore real enjoyment indeed oftener falls, from this law, to the fhare of the latter than the former. It is an old and true proverb, Hunger is the beft fauce. Objects of taste that are delicious, far from tending to become habitual, are apt by indulgence to produce fatiety and disgust: no man contracts a habit of fugar, honey, or fweet-meats, as he does of tobacco.

Thefe violent delights have violent ends,

and in their triumph die. The fweetest honey

is loathfome in its own deliciousness,

and in the tafte confounds the appetite;

therefore love mod'rately, long love doth fo;

too swift arrives as tardy as too flow.

SHAKESPEARE.

The fame obfervation, as we have before obferved, holds with respect to all objects that, being extremely agreeable, raise violent paffions. These, by an original law in our nature, increase quickly to their full growth, and decay with no less precipitation: and CUSTOM is too flow in its operation to overcome that law. Exquifite pleasures are extremely fatiguing, occafioning a great expence of the fenforial or irritable principle, and it is wifely ordained, that fatiety and difguft fhall arise from reiteration;

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reiteration; though CUSTOM does exalt more moderate gratifications, and blunt the edge of distress and pain.

Any flight or moderate pleasure frequently reiterated, forms a peculiar connection betwixt us, and what causes that pleasure. This connection termed HABIT, has the effect to awaken our defire or appetite for that thing, when it returns not as ufual. During the course of enjoyment, the pleasure rises insensibly higher and higher, till a habit be established; at which time the pleasure is at its height. It continues not, however, stationary: the fame cuftomary reiteration brings it down infenfibly to almost a state of non-action. A new passion, however, is created; namely, a demand or want of that which was once a strong gratification; and what we have at prefent in view, is to prove, that those things which at firft are but moderately agreeable, are the apteft to become habitual. Spirituous liquors, cheefe, &c. are at first scarcely agreeable, but they are more especially able to produce this new paffion, and to become an habitual appetite and custom prevails so far, as even to make us fond of things originally disagreeable, fuch as fnuff and tobacco. Nay, inftances are not wanting, of people being fond of medicine; and that a face at first dif

agreeable,

agreeable, being afterwards rendered indifferent by familiarity, and at length agreeable by cuftom.

To introduce a habit, frequency of acts is not sufficient without length of time: the quickest fucceffion of acts in a fhort time is not fufficient, nor a flow fucceffion in the longest time. The effect must be produced by a moderate foft action, and a long series of eafy touches, removed from each other by certain intervals. Nor are these often sufficient without regularity in the time, place, and other circumstances of the action: the more uniform any operation is, the fooner it becomes habitual. Thus cuftom hath an effect upon our pleasures, upon our actions, and even upon our thoughts and fenti

ments.

Habit makes no figure during the vivacity of youth: in the middle age it gains the ground; and in old age governs without control. In that period of life, generally speaking, we eat at a certain hour, go to rest at a certain hour, all by the direction of habit: nay, a particular feat, table, bed, comes to be effential; and at habit in any of these cannot be controlled without uneafiness. For which reafon it seldom anfwers the expectations of those who retire from their fhops and counting-houses to enjoy the remainder of their days in VOL. IV.

5 Z

leifure

1

leisure and tranquillity; much less of fuch, who, after the habit of a bustling life, in a fit of chagrin, shut themselves up in cloisters and hermitages; or quit the world, and their stations in it, for folitude and repose. Hence probably the reason why the old Dons of colleges, when they get livings and marry, are fo feldom happy.

Thus the pleasure of focial intercourse with any perfon is often at first very faint, but grows into a lafting affection by reiteration. Affection thus generated, whether it be friendship or love, feldom fwells into any tumultuous or vigorous paffion; but is, however, the strongest cement that can bind together two individuals of the human fpecies. In like manner, a flight degree of disgust often reiterated with regularity, grows into a babit of averfion, which commonly fubfifts for life.

A habit never fails to admonifh us of the wonted time of gratification, by raising a pain for want of the object, and a defire to have it. The pain of want is always first felt; the defire naturally follows; and upon presenting the object, both vanish inftantaneously. In pleasures indulged regularly, and at equal intervals, the appetite, remarkably obfequious to custom, returns regularly with the ufual time of gratification.

8

Hence