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    noticed , by those . , around him , is invpktiefetf to sheW Ms t ^ easiii ^ s , though inconvenience and even injury may be the consequence of the disclosure . To render him h&ppy , afcleast far the moment , it must be known that he is in possession of what does not fait to every person ' s lot .

    There fs a temper which finds its happiness in styling a particular object or acquirement its own . Without coveting what belongs to others * it has higher and more habitual thoughts 6 t property than are qjurte consistent with just

    reflection and enlightened virtue Nor , probably , is there any class of / men , the lovers of money exdented who are more characterized by this kind of selfishness than persons greatly attached to ornanients and elegancies . So far as

    theit * own taste is concerned , they are much more disposed to receive tfrarrgjve ; and it is well if their unwillingness to part with what they have does not extend to the

    whok ^ of tbeir deportment . Universally , the least costly pleasures are the best ; the most rational , the most innocent . This truth , which should be inscribed on jhe hearts of the young , is madly disregarded by numbers- of

    mankind . Among those men of affluence who indulge themselves in the gratifications which are the subject of this paper , many devote an inordinate share of their property to what , after all , is a sort of refined selfishness , and as the

    consequence , are unable , to assiat tihe indigent . This is a common , case and a prevailing , evil . Buti what shall we say . of persons who , with very moderate means of subsistence , bestow so mucfy on eleacuities ttud decorations as to rts

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    serve nothing tor tt * e claims ot poverty and distress / ~ Theyex ~ pose themselves to contempt from their superiors in wealth and station , and are not compensated by the blessings of their inferiors . It is an indisputable fact that the delights sought from elegant

    attire , and from outward ornaments of the same dtjscrrgliony . cannot be procured at a sum whicfL bears a very small proportion , tpt , the incomes of the generality of mankind . On the other band ,

    no person of thought , will deny ,, that the relief of tjbie needy ; } s ^ leading duty ; not the occasic ^ aj . relief of them by scanty , rel j acl ^ Hj ^ and perhaps equivocal alr ^ s ^ . ^ ut , a deliberate , uniform and kind attention to their wants . NoW ^

    what do we learn froi-n tpfSi . C ^ A * trast between the expensi ^^ ss qC , the pleasures of taste , as they aro usually pursued , and pur ^ bLga ^ , tion to provide , in soptie ^ eg ^ f ^ for the necessitous ? We clear } v ; perceive that the ; se objects are in ~ consistent . with each other . Can

    we doubt then which should be preferred ? Since the perfection of art consists in the successful imituUQrx o £ general nature , we have , in thiji fact an acknowledgment , of theV

    inferiority of art , the ryipst , $ kilft 4 > works of which are not mcleedlV be compared with those qf tfltfc % Great Creator . Its pperjatipns shrinks as it werefrom anv

    nice-, ness of scrutiny ; thougjb t he ^ please at a somewhatdistant . sig | itXr and much contrivance is , ijtsea to . give them this effect . Th ^ > v oxk & .

    of nature , < m the cpritrary will bear the closest insp ^ ctji ^ ii ^ , and ' hav

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    18 E&ay on the Pursuit of the Pleasures of Taste and Imagination .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1814, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2436/page/18/