Book II. Of the Passions.

SECTION I. Division of the subject.

These are called secondary and reflective impressions, as they arise either from original impressions or from the ideas of those impressions. Bodily pains and pleasures are the source of many passions, both when they are actually felt and when they are merely considered by the mind. However, these pains and pleasures arise originally in the soul—or in the body, whichever you prefer to call it—without any preceding thought or perception. For example, a fit of the gout A form of inflammatory arthritis, famously painful and common in the 18th century. produces a long train of passions, such as grief, hope, and fear; yet the pain itself is not derived immediately from any prior emotion or idea.

Reflective impressions may be divided into two kinds: the calm and the violent. Of the first kind is the sense of beauty and deformity in action, artistic composition, and external objects. Of the second kind are the passions of love and hatred, grief and joy, pride and humility. This division is far from being exact. The raptures of poetry and music frequently rise to the greatest height of intensity; meanwhile, those other impressions properly called passions may fade into such a soft emotion that they become, in a sense, imperceptible. However, because the passions are generally more violent than the emotions arising from beauty and deformity, these two types of impressions have commonly been distinguished from each other. Since the subject of the human mind is so vast and varied,