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Church III
bulk of men, that even continual failure unaccompanied
with any instances of accomplishment
have not power to prevent their gaining
credit with a considerable number. The makers
of gold, the curers of diseases without any assuagable
and intelligible cause, the exhibitors
of distant or departed souls have all of them
their numerous tribes of believers even in this
enlightened age. Theology The Doctrine
of a future life, true or false, though it were false, would have has this peculiar
advantage circumstance in its favour that its falshood never could be
detected must ever be proof against experimental detection.
Suppose neither heaven nor hell, both heaven and hell were fiction no one can could
come from either place to inform us <add>make report of the mistake.</add> to apprise us of their nonexistence.
Religion is in this respect upon the footing of
a lottery made up of twenty thousand pound prizes
in which a prize is so little as twenty thousand
pounds: and in which the ticket is purchased by
the sacrifice of no other gratifications than what
on other accounts it is not safe a man's interest
to enjoy.
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IIIChurch
If no coercive system plan of Ecclesiastical polity
is consonant to utility, it may be asked whether
the Government a Nation ought to do any thing and what
in the view of spreading keeping and regulating this
branch of instruction among the people. its members
1
The making a
provision for the
teaching of religion
is less incontestable
than any of the
other ordinary functions
of government
The making of any provision of any kind
for this purpose is at best the utmost but a kind of secondary
duty on the part of government: the clearness
of the benefit and the urgency of the occasion need
being less incontestable than in in this than in the ordinary cases
in which it is customary for government to interpose
The great b The principal at least if not the only proper end and business of government
is protection or defence against positive mischiefs:
whether liable to resorts from foreign
enemies from natural enemies or from
physical calamities. For the accomplishment
of these purposes, so long as the majority consents,
no doubt but coercive methods as
far as is necessary may be employ'd
against individuals against a minority
of the members of the state: since without the employment
Identifier: | JB/005/090/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 5.
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jeremy bentham |
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