E3DA32
Definition of an Emotion — Part III
Latin
Desiderium est cupiditas sive appetitus re aliqua potiundi quæ ejusdem rei memoria fovetur et simul aliarum rerum memoria quæ ejusdem rei appetendæ existentiam secludunt, coercetur.
Explicatio: Cum alicujus rei recordamur, ut jam sæpe diximus, eo ipso disponimur ad eandem eodem affectu contemplandum ac si res præsens adesset sed hæc dispositio seu conatus dum vigilamus plerumque cohibetur ab imaginibus rerum quæ existentiam ejus cujus recordamur, secludunt. Quando itaque rei meminimus quæ nos aliquo lætitiæ genere afficit, eo ipso conamur eandem cum eodem lætitiæ affectu ut præsentem contemplari, qui quidem conatus statim cohibetur memoria rerum quæ illius existentiam secludunt. Quare desiderium revera tristitia est quæ lætitiæ opponitur illi quæ ex absentia rei quam odimus oritur, de qua vide scholium propositionis 47 hujus partis. Sed quia nomen "desiderium" cupiditatem respicere videtur, ideo hunc affectum ad cupiditatis affectus refero.
English (Elwes 1883)
Regret is the desire or appetite to possess something, kept alive by the remembrance of the said thing, and at the same time constrained by the remembrance of other things which exclude the existence of it.
Explanation: When we remember a thing, we are by that very fact, as I have already said more than once, disposed to contemplate it with the same emotion as if it were something present; but this disposition or endeavour, while we are awake, is generally checked by the images of things which exclude the existence of that which we remember. Thus when we remember something which affected us with a certain pleasure, we by that very fact endeavour to regard it with the same emotion of pleasure as though it were present, but this endeavour is at once checked by the remembrance of things which exclude the existence of the thing in question. Wherefore regret is, strictly speaking, a pain opposed to that of pleasure, which arises from the absence of something we hate (cf. III. xlvii. note). But, as the name regret seems to refer to desire, I set this emotion down, among the emotions springing from desire.
Modern English
Longing is desire or appetite to possess something, kept alive by the memory of that thing and at the same time restrained by the memory of other things that exclude its existence.
Explanation: When we remember a thing, as I have said more than once, we are by that very fact disposed to contemplate it with the same affect as if it were present. But while we are awake, this disposition or striving is generally checked by images of things that exclude the existence of what we remember. So when we remember something that affected us with some kind of joy, we by that fact strive to contemplate it as present with the same affect of joy, and that striving is immediately checked by the memory of things that exclude its existence. Longing is therefore, strictly speaking, a sadness opposed to that joy, which arises from the absence of something we hate — see the scholium of Proposition 47 of this Part (E3P47S). But because the name "longing" (*desiderium*) seems to refer to desire, I place this affect among the desire-affects.