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We all sufficiently understand what
is meant by, "to do and act;" to walk
for example, to contemplate to handle to strike an
object: it is the most general term
we can make use of to denote any
part portion of Man's employment.
An act is an act either of the body mind
alone or of the mind body: an act of the mind
alone is what exhibits no motion, no
change in the appearance of the Body
An act of the Body always produces
an a new bodily image in the mind imagination of him who
considers it: it represents the parts of
the body of him whose act it is, under
certain colours or in in certain situations with respect
to the other parts points of the same body or
other portions of the same matter, different
from what it was under or in before
it represents an image that might be painted.
Words designed to express that act, must in
order to be understood, convey that image.
But it is the
difference in
colour or in
situation between
in bodies that
makes the difference
in images.
An act of the mind produces no bodily image
in the mind of him who considers it:
but no individual act of this sort can
be known or offer itself to the consideration
of a person other than the agent
but by some act or acts which is or are an act
or acts of the body: that is by the image of the bodily
act in question, or of some object to which that act
has given new appearance.
This act of the body+ by which the act
+ for for shortness
we will
suppose but
one
of the mind offers itself up makes itself known is such
as is found by experience to accompany
it.
If the act of the mental act in question
be such as has accompanied the bodily
act or object in question in my own instance,
I can obtain an idea of it: otherwise
not.
A piece of Paper with marks characters upon it
which by use usage have come to signify represent
that act of the mind
to the mind of him who had been
apprized of that usage the idea of
recollection is an object which has
assumed an appearance given it by
an act of the body. It represents
a sound, which by virtue of a like usage
has come to represent that act of
the mind, and has been used by me
as expressive of that act when at a time when I have
been exercising it.
The bodily acts therefore over which a
Legislature can exercise it's authority
can be no others than what exhibited an
image when properly described.
The acts the whereby a man applies the
several instruments of pleasure [or security]
to their respective purposes are
among the bodily acts and constitute the
greatest part of the bodily acts over
which a Legislature can exercise
its authority.
These for the most part if not entirely
are the same in one country as in
another, under one set of Laws,
as under another. The images which
they exhibit are therefore the same.
The words that characterize them might
therefore be the same.
These acts, these images are such as present
themselves at one time to all the people of a nation. — they
are capable therefore of being expressed by words
intelligible to all the people of that nation.
Law terms might be universally intelligible.
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Identifier: | JB/014/012/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 14.
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014 |
civil code |
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012 |
law terms might be universally intelligible |
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002 |
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text sheet |
1 |
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recto |
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jeremy bentham |
[[watermarks::gr [crown motif] [britannia with shield motif]]] |
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4775 |
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