Thus Addison begins his series of celebrated essays entitled "The Pleasures of the Imagination" in his journal, "The Spectator". Since now many may not have heard of Addison, let alone read him, it is proposed to give a gist of these essays, which nowadays may be discussed under "Aesthetics."
He divides these pleasures under the following headings:
Primary Pleasures, i.e., sensory pleasures, mainly sight. He correctly surmises that once these sights are observed, the faculty of imagination may provide even a man in prison to entertain himself with scenes & landscapes more beautiful than found in Nature. He also eulogises architecture of noble buildings like the Pyramids & The Great Wall of China as providing awe.
Secondary Pleasures of the imagination are provided by Literature, Sculpture, Painting & Music. Homer, Virgil, Ovid & Milton among the Poets provide pleasures greater than words wider than those joined to sight. Fantasy, created entirely by the writer is another genre. Imagination contrasted with Understanding is cultivated by the study of History & Science.
To conclude, The Pleasures of the Imagination are not so gross as those of the senses, nor so refined as those of the Understanding. A man of Imagination is let into a great many pleasures that the common people are not capable of receiving.
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