In man there is a natural love of change and variety: the mind is
wearied by continual succession of similar objects, those pleasures
which at first were capable of inspiring emotions of delight; which once
filled the heart with rapture and enthusiasm; as they become familiar,
fade by degrees, they lose their brilliancy, the charm of novelty is
gone, and soon they please no more. The sublimer works of nature, which
have roused the attention of the traveller, excite not similar
sensations in the bosoms of those who have been long acquainted with
their beauties: the lofty mountain “with its robe of mist,” the
stupenduous cliff that overlooks the torrent, and the loud sounding
waters of the tremendous cataract, neither strike them with veneration
nor with awe. Their eyes wander with languor and indifference, over
those scenes in which nature has been most lavish of its beauties. The
mind is attracted by diversity, we follow with avidity any object which
appears fascinating and pleasing, until some fresh pursuit which fancy
has furnished with superior charms captivates the imagination. This love
of variety is predominant in the breast of every individual, it alike
exists in the lowly cottage and the splendid palace, in the circles of
business and in the vortex of pleasure, in the obscure paths of folly
and ignorance, and in the exalted walks of literature and science: and
although those objects which at a distance appeared dazling and
beautiful, may lose their brightness on a nearer approach, still the
acquirements which have cost us much labor and pain, have something in
them peculiarly grateful. Man has ever been considered as a fickle and
inconstant being, rarely content with his present situation, but
continually looking out for brighter and fairer prospects. This
restlessness of the human mind has been considered by some rigid
moralists, as a source of trouble and vexation to those who are under
its influence, but it is also a source of our greatest enjoyments: cold
must be that heart, which is insensible to all the charms of variety,
and but little calculated to partake of present joys, or to anticipate
the more sublime and exalted pleasures which are hid behind the
impenetrable veil of futurity.