the foundations of personality-第52章

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he　values　drop　out　of　existence。　The　victims　of　anhedonia　at　first　pass　from　one　〃pleasure〃　to　another；　hoping　each　will　please　and　satisfy；　but　it　does　not。　Food；　drink；　work；　play；　sex；　music；　art；all　have　lost　their　savor。　Restless；　introspective；　with　a　feeling　of　unreality　gripping　at　his　heart；　the　patient　finds　himself　confronting　a　world　that　has　lost　meaning　because　it　has　lost　enthusiasm　in　desire　and　satisfaction。　How　does　this　unhappy　state　arise？　In　the　first　place；　from　the　very　start　of　life　people　differ　in　the　quality　of　eagerness。　There　is　a　wide　variability　in　these　qualities。　Of　two　infants　one　will　call　lustily　for　whatever　he　wants；　show　great　glee　in　anticipating；　great　eagerness　in　seeking；　and　a　high　degree　of　satisfaction　when　his　desire　is　gratified。　And　another　will　be　lackadaisical　in　his　appetite；　whimsical；　〃hard　to　please〃　and　much　more　difficult　to　keep　pleased。　Fatigue　will　strip　the　second　child　of　the　capacity　to　eat　and　sleep；　to　say　nothing　of　his　desires　for　social　pleasures；　whereas　it　will　only　dampen　the　zeal　and　eagerness　of　the　first　child。　There　is　a　hearty　simple　type　of　person　who　is　naively　eager　and　enthusiastic；　full　of　desire；　passion　and　enthusiasm；　who　finds　joy　and　satisfaction　in　simple　things；　whose　purposes　do　not　grow　stale　or　monotonous；　there　is　a　finicky　type；　easily　displeased　and　dissatisfied；　laying　weight　on　trifles；　easily　made　anhedonic；　victims　of　any　reduction　in　their　own　energy　（which　is　on　the　whole　low）　or　of　any　disagreeable　event。　True；　these　sensitive　folk　are　creators　of　beauty　and　the　esthetic；　but　also　they　are　the　victims　of　the　malady　we　are　here　discussing。　Aside　from　this　temperament；　training　plays　its　part。　I　think　it　a　crime　against　childhood　to　make　its　joys　complex　or　sophisticated。　Too　much　adult　company　and　adult　amusements　are　destructive　of　desire　and　satisfaction　to　the　child。　A　boy　or　girl　whose　wishes　are　at　once　gratified　gets　none　of　the　pleasure　of　effort　and　misses　one　of　the　essential　lessons　of　life。that　pleasure　and　satisfaction　must　come　from　the　chase　and　not　from　the　quarry；　from　the　struggle　and　effort　as　well　as　from　the　goal。　Montaigne；　that　wise　skeptic；　lays　much　homely　emphasis　on　this；　as　indeed　all　wise　men　do。　But　too　great　a　struggle；　too　desperate　an　effort；　exhausts；　and　as　a　runner　lies　panting　and　motionless　at　the　tape；　so　we　all　have　seen　men　reach　a　desired　place　after　untold　privation　and　sacrifice　and　who　then　found　that　there　seemed　to　be　no　energy；　no　zeal　or　desire；　no　satisfaction　left　for　them。　The　too　eager　and　enthusiastic　are　exposed；　like　all　the　overemotional；　to　great　recessions；　great　ebbs；　in　the　volume　of　their　feeling　and　feel　for　a　time　the　direst　pain　in　all　experience；　the　death　in　life　of　anhedonia。　After　an　illness；　particularly　influenza；　when　recovery　has　seemingly　taken　place；　there　develops　a　lack　of　energy　feeling　and　the　whole　syndrome　of　anhedonia　which　lasts　until　the　subtle　damage　done　by　the　disease　passes　off。　Half　or　more　of　the　〃nervousness〃　in　the　world　is　based　on　actual　physical　trouble；　and　the　rest　relates　to　temperament。　When　a　great　purpose　or　desire　has　been　built　up；　has　drained　all　the　enthusiasm　of　the　individual　and　then　suddenly　becomes　blocked；　as　in　a　love　affair；　or　when　a　business　is　threatened　or　crashes　or　when　beauty　starts　to　leave；then　one　sees　the　syndrome　of　anhedonia　in　essential　purity。　A　great　fear；　or　an　obsessive　moral　struggle　（as　when　one　fights　hopelessly　against　temptation）；　has　the　same　effect。　The　enthusiasm　of　purpose　and　the　eagerness　of　appetite　go　at　once；　in　certain　delicate　people；　when　pride　is　seriously　injured　or　when　a　once　established　superiority　is　crumbled。　The　humiliated　man　is　anhedonic；　even　if　he　is　a　philosopher。　The　most　striking　cases　are　seen　in　men　who　have　been　swung　from　humdrum　existence　to　the　exciting；　disagreeable　life　of　war　and　then　back　to　their　former　life。　The　former　task　cannot　be　taken　up　or　is　carried　on　with　great　effort；　the　zest　of　things　has　disappeared；　and　what　was　so　longed　for　while　in　the　service　seems　flat　and　stale；　especially　if　it　is　now　realized　that　there　are　far　more　interesting　fields　of　effort。　In　a　lesser　degree；　the　romances　that　girls　feed　on　unfit　them　for　sober　realities；　and　the　expectation　of　marriage　built　up　by　romantic　novel　and　theater　do　far　more　harm　than　good。　The　triangle　play　or　story　is　less　mischievous　than　the　one　which　paints　married　life　as　an　amorous　glow。　One　could　write　a　volume　on　eagerness；　enthusiasm　and　passion；　satisfaction　and　dissatisfaction。　Life；　to　be　worth　the　living；　must　have　its　enthusiasms；　must　swing　constantly　from　desire　to　satisfaction；　or　else　seems　void　and　painful。　Great　purposes　are　the　surest　to　maintain　enthusiasm；　little　purposes　become　flat。　He　who　hitches　his　wagon　to　a　star　must　risk　indeed；　but　there　is　a　thrill　to　his　life　outweighing　the　joy　of　minor　success。　To　reenthuse　the　apathetic　is　an　individual　problem。　When　the　lowered　pressure　of　the　energy　feeling　is　physical　in　origin；　then　rest　and　exercise；　massage　hydrotherapy；　medicines　（especially　the　bitter　tonics）；　change　of　scene　are　valuable。　And　even　where　the　cause　is　not　in　illness；　these　procedures　have　great　value　for　in　stimulating　the　organism　the　function　of　enthusiasm　is　recharged。　But　one　does　not　neglect　the　value　of　new　hopes；　new　interests；　friendship；　physical　pleasure　and　above　all　a　new　philosophy；　a　philosophy　based　on　readjustment　and　the　nobility　of　struggle。　Not　all　people　can　thus　be　reached；　for　in　some；　perhaps　many　cases；　the　loss　of　these　desires　is　the　beginning　of　mental　disease；　but　patient　effort　and　intelligent　sympathetic　understanding　still　work　their　miracles。

CHAPTER　XI。　THE　EVOLUTION　OF　CHARACTER　WITH　ESPECIAL　REFERENCE　TO　THE　GROWTH　OF　PURPOSE　AND　PERSONALITY　There　have　been　various　philosophies　dealing　with　the　purposes　of　man。　Man　seeks　this　or　thatthe　eternal　good；　beauty；　happiness；　pleasure；　survivalbut　always　he　is　represented　as　a　seeker。　A　very　popular　doctrine；　Hedonism；　now　somewhat　in　disfavor；　represents　him　as　seeking　pleasurable；　affective　states。　The　difficulty　of　understanding　the　essential　nature　of　pleasure　and　pain；　the　fact　that　what　is　pleasure　to　one　man　is　pain　to　another；　rather　discredited　this　as　a　psychological　explanation。　I　think　we　may　phrase　the　situation　fairly　on　an　empirical　basis　when　we　say　that　seeking　arises　in　instinct　but　receives　its　impulse　to　continuity　by　some　agreeable　affective　state　of　satisfaction。　Man　steers　towards　pleasure　and　satisfaction　of　some　type　or　other；　but　the　force　is　the　unbalance　of　an　instinct。　When　we　speak　of　man　as　a　seeker；　we　are　not　separating　him　from　the　rest　of　living　things。　All　life　seeks；　and　the　more　mobile　a　living　thing　is　the　more　it　seeks。　A　sessile　mussel　chained　to　a　rock　seeks　little　but　the　fundamentals　of　nutrition　and　generation　and　these　in　a　simple　way。　An　animal　that　builds　habitations　for　its　young；　courts　its　mate；　plays；　teaches　and　fights；　may　do　nothing　more　than　seek　nutrition　and　generation；　but　it　seeks　these　through　many　intermediary　〃end〃　points；　through　many　impulses；　and　thus　it　has　many　types　of　satisfaction。　When　a　creature　develops　to　the