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ject of external influence and impressions ; whereas it is its highest boast and gtecy that it Xeuds iru . the . mcat ^ emajrkable naaqner to exalt ^ refine ^ and spiritualize the mind , to raise our views ot the dignity of hurnati nature , to elevate our conceptions' of the more excellent 2 nd happy state to which , as a necessary result -of Ihe constitution our Maker has given us , we are constantly tendjnfo It shews how , from being originally the creatures of sense , mere
inasses of material organization , alive to no impressions mose maae vy external objects upon our senses , capable of nOne but earthly and sensual pleasures , we are gradually emancipated from this slavish dependence upon such sources of knowledge and enjoyment;—how , from being originally purely selfish * we are led * in consequence of the intimate connexion of ouc nappiness with that of others * and our dependence upon their kindness and assistance * to cultivate the dispositions of benevolence and compassion
;how it happens that our conceptions and views are gradually enjarged , expanded and enlightened , so that we become interested in the welfare of our ; friends , of Our country * of mankind , of every beirig which is capable of enjoyment ;—thus tracing ihe successive steps of that glorious progress by which our affections are withdrawn from this earthly scene , and finally placed upon things above . Considered in this point of view , and followed out to , its remotest consequences , when we are led to regard each individual as a member of the great community , his interest and happiness intimately
connected with the greatest good of the whole , to which end the events which befal him are likewise necessarily conducive , I know of no theory which is better fitted to inspire us with just ideas of the dignity and importance of man in the scale of being ; no theory which displays more full y the wisdom manifested in his constitution , the infinite goodness evinced in the manner in which every thing is made to work together for the greatest ultimate happiness , or which harmonizes so perfectly with the discoveries of revelation , concerning out state , our duties , and our expectations , both here and hereafter . *
, In examining the various kinds of pleasure and pains of which we ar $ susceptible , Dr . Hartley had reduced them to seven classes , those of sense , imagination , ambition , self-interest * sympathy , theopathy , and the moral Sense . He considers all the passions and affections to which we are subject * as they are excited by these different kinds of objects or these different views of our situation and connexion with other beings around us . In the " rule of life , " in whicn he proposes to estimate the comparative value of different objects of pursuit , to weigh in an accurate balance the various
desires by which we are actuated , and to determine what ought to be our iritis mate end > our leading and primary pursuit ; he accordingly regulates his inquiries by the same classification . With respect to the merits of this claissification , it may be sufficient to observe at present , that however ingeniously it may be adapted to illustrate his leading doctrine of association * and the mode in which the different classes may be conceived to follow one another in the order of time , being gradually generated from notions , pleasures and desires derived from objects of sense , yet it does not necessarily
* These views and applications of Hartley ' a system are no where better or more ably illustrated than in various parts of Dr . Priestley ' s works , particularly in bis tefcfcay on the Analogy of the Divine Dispensations , and his admirable Sermon on the Duty of not Living to 'Ounrelves ; performances , both of them , which , if their author had written nothing else , would alone have entitled him to a place in the tot rank of moral and Christian philosophers . , ,
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294 Hartley's fimie of Life .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1828, page 294, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2560/page/6/
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