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1820 Sept. 12
"Here is a man who has debited passed fifty year of his life
"to in the endeavour to make the law qualify himself for framing such a body of law as shal be in the highest degree conducive to the confessedly
"proper ends of law. He thinks he can execute such a
"work, and is ready to execute one for you, if you will
"bespeak it from him. What should besides Why not accept the offer? If the work
"is good for nothing, the loss is his all his, you are but where you are." Suppose
this question, put by a popular society – suppose it
what pretence could be found, what pretence could be
found for not not giving the a favourable answer? In case of necessity Suppose it
the question put by the commander of an army?
would that be an act of insubordination? Is it thus that
commanders of armies speak when they their meaning
is to substitute military tyranny to regular civil government?
"Oh but we are and we alone, are competent to the such a task
"our competence is not to be questioned: we want nothing
"from this or any other foreigner. Much better adapted to the
"situations are our exigencies of our own country than any work he would which he or any other foreigner could possibly execute would be
"ours." Such if it be found necessary by them to say any thing will
be the language of
the man of law.
Well then, of what
you say be true
. Well then, if that be as was it be, let his work come into out,
instance, the course here is the greater will be your .
In every other art is not competition the matter of excellence?
how comes it to be otherwise in theirs? yours?
"Oh but he is a hunter, the whole body texture of the
"work will be infected by his heresy." Well if it be, what
then? If the heresy he heretical parts are separable from the rest, you pick
them out: if not, you throw away burn the whole. It will serve
for favel, at the worst.
"The prepossession of the public, is if any part
"of it are they likely to be in any danger of being too favourable to this foreigner, and
"he a hunger? If besides this he were as an enemy would it be
"any reason why we should not make our profit of him? as much
profit as we can.
It depends upon us to take
as much from him, or as little, we we please."
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Identifier: | JB/013/240/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 13.
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1820-09-22 |
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correspondence |
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recto |
d18 |
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jeremy bentham |
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draft of letter 2690, vol. 10 |
4689 |
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