Page:Observations on Man 1834.djvu/28

 CHAP. III.

THE RULE OF LIFE.

Sect. I.

The Rule of Life, as deducible from the Practice and Opinions of Mankind.

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The practice of mankind affords some direction in respect of the rule of life 445

The opinions of mankind afford a better direction in respect of the rule of life, than their practice 446

The rule of life drawn from the practice and opinions of mankind is favourable to the cause of virtue 447

This rule corrects and improves itself perpetually 452

Sect. II.

The Regard due to the Pleasures and Pains of Sensation, in forming the Rule of Life.

The pleasures of sensation ought not to be made a primary pursuit 454

The pursuit of sensible pleasure ought to be regulated by the precepts of piety, benevolence, and the moral sense 457

Practical rules concerning diet 459

Practical rules concerning the commerce between the sexes 465

Practical rules concerning the hardships, pains, and uneasinesses, which occur in the daily intercourses of life 471

Sect. III.

The Regard due to the Pleasures and Pains of Imagination in forming the Rule of Life.

The pleasures of imagination ought not to be made a primary pursuit 473