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43
It is true that For though The world has indeed seen men who have imagined that
by the infliction of misery on themselves they were acting wisely &
virtuously. There was not But their motives after all were the same
as those of the men the rest of mankind & they scourged themselves or starved themselves
on the same calculation of a result of happiness which is sought by other
all mankind. But they reasoned that the harvest of future pleasure
was to grow out of the soil of present pain – & in the anticipation of
that harvest – bountiful & boundless in their eyes – they found a huge
mass of enjoyment. And then they argued farther that patience
was a virtue, – & courage was a virtue, – & that a just being would
find a recompense for their exercise. It seems not to have occurred
to them that the Divine Being if just & good could never desire that
any happiness should be thrown needlessly away – or any suffering
be uselessly entailed inflicted. Their asceticism was utilitarianism
turned upside down – they imagined they approved of actions fonder to men are because they which brought misery with
them disapproved of actions because they were pregnant with felicity.
Perhaps a certain portion of mystery & difficulty was intentionally mixed
up with their theory. The Divine Being they worshipped they were
unwilling to invest in attributes of the same character – however
more vast in extent than with those they which they could not but call
Justice, and wisdom, – & prudence & benevolence in men – for mystery
naturally likes to revel in the regions of imagination. Hence they
framed, – & fancied other principles of conduct for the Deity & amused
themselves by setting up their authority and exercising their ingenuity to reconcile the irreconcilable &
prove the impossible. They introduced Impostures & called them pleasures –
while genuine pleasures took to themselves wings & flew away from
their frown.
The ascetic principle then is but the misapplication of
the greatest happiness principle – while every other standard of morals
will be found to be despotism & egotism. Lord Shaftesbury's moral sense
is but a declaration that the opinion – the moral sense – of the actor
is the true rule of action. To assume its existence is after all but begging the
question. This moral sense If men have it, it is well but it is their not having
it that is the very thing that makes it necessary to say all that is said about look for it or to
the matter find something instead of it.
The danger of assuming it as the principle or originator of right actions
is the adopting its pretended determinations as something which may be and the adoption of its pretended decisions is that they would either exclude
deemed in exclusion of all others, or in concurrence, for as one knows not or interfere with all other principles – the principle of utility itself.
where to draw the line, it comes to the same thing, with others, the measure Where is the line to be drawn? It again In fact the assumption
of rectitude in actions. In other words, the assuming for a cause the very How is the discordance to be reconciled? Opposing forces might
negation of all cause. negative each other. From thence forward all is at sea in confusion. Caprice itself
is erected into a rule.
Its utter incapacity ever to become practically serviceable should alone
one would think be sufficient to give its patronizers a disgust to it.
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Identifier: | JB/015/176/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
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deontology |
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176 |
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recto |
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sir john bowring |
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