E3DA15
Definition of an Emotion — Part III
Latin
Desperatio est tristitia orta ex idea rei futuræ vel præteritæ de qua dubitandi causa sublata est.
Explicatio: Oritur itaque ex spe securitas et ex metu desperatio quando de rei eventu dubitandi causa tollitur, quod fit quia homo rem præteritam vel futuram adesse imaginatur et ut præsentem contemplatur vel quia alia imaginatur quæ existentiam earum rerum secludunt quæ ipsi dubium injiciebant. Nam tametsi de rerum singularium eventu (per corollarium propositionis 31 partis II) nunquam possumus esse certi, fieri tamen potest ut de earum eventu non dubitemus. Aliud enim esse ostendimus (vide scholium propositionis 49 partis II) de re non dubitare, aliud rei certitudinem habere atque adeo fieri potest ut ex imagine rei præteritæ aut futuræ eodem lætitiæ vel tristitiæ affectu afficiamur ac ex rei præsentis imagine, ut in propositione 18 hujus demonstravimus, quam cum ejusdem scholiis vide.
English (Elwes 1883)
Despair is pain arising from the idea of something past or future, wherefrom all cause of doubt has been removed.
Explanation: Thus confidence springs from hope, and despair from fear, when all cause for doubt as to the issue of an event has been removed: this comes to pass, because man conceives something past or future as present and regards it as such, or else because he conceives other things, which exclude the existence of the causes of his doubt. For, although we can never be absolutely certain of the issue of any particular event (II. xxxi. Coroll.), it may nevertheless happen that we feel no doubt concerning it. For we have shown, that to feel no doubt concerning a thing is not the same as to be quite certain of it (II. xlix. note). Thus it may happen that we are affected by the same emotion of pleasure or pain concerning a thing past or future, as concerning the conception of a thing present; this I have already shown in III. xviii., to which, with its note, I refer the reader.
Modern English
Despair is sadness arising from the idea of a past or future thing from which every cause of doubt has been removed.
Explanation: Confidence thus springs from hope, and despair from fear, when every cause of doubt about the outcome of a thing is removed. This happens because a person imagines something past or future as present and contemplates it as such, or because he imagines other things that exclude the existence of what had been causing his doubt. For although we can never be certain of the outcome of any particular thing (E2P31C), it can nevertheless happen that we feel no doubt about its outcome. We have shown that not doubting a thing is different from being certain of it (E2P49S); hence it can happen that we are affected by the same affect of joy or sadness toward the idea of a past or future thing as toward the idea of a present thing, as I demonstrated in Proposition 18 of this Part (E3P18), which together with its scholia should be consulted.