Excerpt from A Dissertation on the Influence of the Passions: In the Production and Modification of Disease Hence it is, in fact, the most lucid exhibition of the operation of Attraction. Thus, in that state of mind called Rancour, where the greatest possible aversion or abhorrence is supposed to exist, its force is commensurate only with the protraction of revenge; it dies instantly when our eagerness to injure the hated object is glutted. This is the Attraction of the mind to Evil. The Passions, according to their general acceptation, are merely the intense exertion of some of these modifications of attraction; or where that attraction is no longer obedient to the direction of Reason. In this state of over-exertion even the principle which naturally inclines us to good, often becomes as pernicious as that which makes us prone to evil. A Passion, in strict language, however, means a sudden and violet commotion of the mind, accompanied and distinguished by certain preternatural phenomena of the voice, gesture, or expressions; and "opposed tot hat state of tranquility wherein a man is master of himself." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.