ABSTRACT
A sensation is a sentient action of a nerve and the brain; a thought or idea is a sentient action of the brain alone. A sensation, or a thought, is consciousness, and there is no consciousness but that which consists either in a sensation or a thought. Agreeable consciousness constitutes which call happiness, and disagreeable consciousness constitutes misery. As sensations are a higher degree of consciousness than mere thoughts, it follows, that agreeable sensations constitute a more exquisite happiness than agreeable thoughts. To be free from disagreeable consciousness, is to be in a state which compared with a state of misery, is a happy state; absolute happiness does not consist in the absence of misery—if it do, rocks are happy. It consists, as aforesaid, in agreeable consciousness. Health and wealth go far in enabling a person to excite and maintain agreeable consciousness.
