Page:Medical Inquiries and Observations Upon the Diseases of the Mind - Benjamin Rush.djvu/319

This page needs to be proofread.
312
On the Diseases

Chapter XVII.

On Derangement of the Passions..

The passions have been divided into two great classes, 1, such as are intended to impel us to real or supposed good; and, 2, such as are in- tended to defend us from real, or supposed evil. The former are objects of desire^ the latter of aversion. Those of them which are most sub- ject to derangement, or to an unreasonable and morbid excess, are love, grief, fear, and anger. After mentioning the symptoms of their diseases, and their remedies, I shall consider that morbid phenomena of joy, envy, malice, and hatred, and conclude the chapter with a few remarks upon the torpor of the passions. Of Love. This passion, which was implanted in the hu- man breast for the purpose of bringing the sexes together, and thereby increasing their happiness, becomes a disease only where it is disappointed iq