Chapter LXII. Of the Passions of the Mind, their Original Source, Differences, and Kinds

The Philosophy of Natural Magic, by Henry Cornelius Agrippa, L. W. de Laurence ed. [1913], at sacred-texts.com

CHAPTER LXII.

Of the Passions of the Mind, their Original Source, Differences, and Kinds.

The passions of the human mind are nothing else but certain motions or inclinations proceeding from the apprehension of any thing, as of good or evil, convenient or inconvenient. Now these kind of apprehensions

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are of three sorts, viz., Sensual, Rational, and Intellectual. According to these three are three sorts of passions in the soul; for when they follow the sensitive apprehension then they respect a temporary good or evil, under the notion of profitable or unprofitable, or delightful or offensive, and are called natural or animal passions. When they follow the rational apprehension, and so respect good or bad, under the notions of virtue or vice, praise or disgrace, profitable or unprofitable, or honest or dishonest, they are called rational or voluntary passions. When they follow the intellectual apprehension, and respect good or bad, under the notion of just or unjust, or true or false, they are called intellectual passions, or syncrisis, the faculty of choosing from comparison. Now, the subject of the passions of the soul is the concupitive power of the soul, and is divided into that concupiscible and that irascible, and both respect good and bad, but under a different notion. For when the concupiscible power respects good and evil absolutely, love or lust, or, on the contrary, hatred is caused. When it respects good, though absent, so desire is caused; or evil, though absent or at hand, and so is caused horror, flying from, or loathing; or, if it respects good, though present, then there is caused delight, mirth or pleasure; but if evil, though present, then sadness, anxiety, or grief; but the irascible power respects good or bad, under the notion of some difficulty, to obtain the one, or to avoid the other, and this sometimes with confidence. And so there is caused hope or boldness; but when with diffidency, then despair and fear. But when that irascible power riseth into revenge, and this be only about some evil past, as it were, of injury or hurt offered, there is caused anger. And so we find eleven passions in the mind, which are: love, hatred, desire, horror, joy, grief, hope, despair, boldness, fear, and anger.