wonder

Webster’s Dictionary defines wonder as “a cause of astonishment or admiration” and also “a rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience.” Descartes defines wonder as a sudden surprise of the soul which makes it tend to consider attentively those objects which seem to it rare and extraordinary. An object that is uncommon to our accustomed nature leaves us in a state of awe because of its peculiarity. We are unsure whether to bask in its goodness or its badness or both combined.
This passion of wonder does not change the flow of the heart or blood, only it tends to play on the mind. There is no apparent change in our bodies only our minds. Our thoughts of the moment change and begin to form questions that will nevertheless need answering. This is why Descartes says the strength lies in the novelty and the movement it causes from the start. Wonder brings a sense of newness and breaks us...