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II . On the Agency of Habits in the Regeneration of Feelings , Having formerly ascertained the cause of the temporary deadness of the sensibility which sometimes attends the formation , of habits , we now proceed to the pleasanter task of describing its renovation , and of tracing the progress of its purification .
It is well worth while to undergo the painful struggle which we have described as appointed to many ingenuous young minds , for the sake of experiencing the ever-growing delight which attends the development of emotions far more pure in their nature and exalted in their character , than the interne but short-lived feelings of youth . Devotion , in the purest state in which it can be cherished previous to the formation of habits of piety , yields but little enjoyment , compared with that which attends the further advancement of the mind . The high excitement which is felt by the inexperienced so « l
while undergoing the rapid changes of its emotions , the alternations of sunshine , lightnings , and thick clouds , may gladly be resigned for the calm delight of watching the day-spring from on high , as it increases more and more unto the perfect day . The steadfast hope , the cheerful trust , and still improving satisfactions , which are the natural rewards of devotional habits , far transcend , in their influence on our happiness , the highest fervours of an undisciplined piety . The manner in which these satisfactions spring up and grow within us may be easily explained .
When we are led by a sense of duty , rather than by inclination , to offer the services of devotion , that degree of pleasure which ever attends upon obedience to conscience will neutralize and perhaps overpower the pain arising from the consciousness of our deadness of feeling . Prayer is ( as it has been no less truly than beautifully expressed )
" A stream which , from the fountain of the heart , Issuing , however feebly , nowhere flows Without access of unexpected strength : " and the aid thus granted to our efforts ( not a supernatural aid , but no less welcome from its being the offsprin g of association ) affords encouragement and pleasure . Our pleasurable feelings become connected with the time , the place , and the service , and are easily excited again in similar
circumstances : so that if there were no hindrances to the process , our pleasures would increase in a rapid proportion with every act of devotion . There are , however , drawbacks , many and great , and worldly thoughts , consciousness of guilt , and a thousand adverse circumstances besides , intervene to check the flow of our devotion , and render our efforts painful and sometimes almost fruitless . Yet , if we steadily persevere , our advancement in piety
will be sensible , and on the whole satisfactory . Our pleasurable emotions will overbalance the painful more and more continually : and aa we become more able to see God in every thing , all the events of ouc lives , all th « cirw cumstaoces of our being , will lend their influence to feed " this calm , this beautiful and sdent tire , " which is destined at length to consume all that is
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ON THE AGENCY OP FEELINGS IN THE FORMATION OF HABITS ; AND ON THE AGENCY OF HABITS IN THE REGENERATION OF FEELINGS .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1829, page 159, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2570/page/7/
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