Wesley Corpus

From our apprehensions of things, from our judgments and reasonings concerning them, all our passions arise; whether those which are more sudden and transient, or those of a permanent nature. And from the several mixtures and modifications of these, our tempers or dispositions flow; very nearly, if not altogether, the same with what are usually termed virtues or vices. 3. Our passions and tempers are the immediate source of all our words and actions. Of consequence, these likewise depend ing on our passions, and our passions on our judgments and apprehensions, all our actions, passions, and judgments are ultimately resolvable into the vibrations of the brain. And all of them together follow each other in one connected chain. 4. “But you will say,” (says the Doctor) “This infers the universal necessity of human actions. I am sorry for it; but I cannot help it.” But since he saw, this destroyed that very essence of morality, leaving no room for either virtue or vice, why did he publish it to the world? Why? Because his brain vibrated in such a manner, that he could not help it. Alas for poor human nature ! If this is so, where is “the dignity of man?” II. 1. But other great men totally disapprove of the doctrine of vibration. They give an entirely different account of this whole affair. They say, the delicate, soft, and almost fluid substance, of which the brain is composed, is absolutely incapable of such vibrations as the Doctor ascribes to it; but that the animal spirits, whatever they are, continually moving through that soft substance, naturally form various traces therein; first, very simple, then less or more compounded; that these are afterward varied innumerable ways; and that from these simple or compounded traces arise simple or compounded ideas, whether of sensation or reflection. From these result the judgments we form, with all our train of reasonings; and, at a little farther remove, our passions, our tempers, and from these our words and actions. 2. It is easy to observe, that this scheme equally infers the universal necessity of human actions. The premises indeed are a little different, but the conclusion is one and the same.