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robbed. The offender, on conviction will be capitally punished, or transported in a state of
servitude. Shall I prosecute him? Not if self-regarding prudence is alone to be my counsellor – for
her counsels would be – Add not to the loss inflicted by the robbery – the farther loss
inflicted on you by the prosecution. Not, if I consult benevolence, – for she would say
the punishment is too great for the offence. And such is the response, which in the
knowledge of every body & especially when the punishment is death, frequently determines
a man's conduct.
But, were the matter rightly considered the response it might be said
would be. Yes! prosecute – for the good of the community requires that neither the
suffering of the offender in the shape of punishment, nor the suffering of yourself
the prosecutor in the shape of vexation & expence should be grudged. Good! – but
I can ill afford it – the pecuniary burthen to me will be greater than that
uncertain unestimated & remote benefit which will grow out of the prosecution & its results. Again
the responses of benevolence have no influence with me. Be they ever so decisive
they have not a preponderant weight in my mind.
In this case, will neither prudence nor benevolence produce action – &
yet if action were not produced the security of society would suffer a serious shock –
a shock serious in proportion to its frequency, & if constant, security would be wholly
destroyed and the general ruin of property would immediately follow. The supposed
virtue in both its forms, is insufficient to preserve society, – and anger, however
dissocial its character – is indispensably necessary.
It is not easy to refute this reasoning under the present state of
our penal code. But it will be immediately seen that the necessity of the passion does
not arise out of the nature of the case but and that it is produced to a great extent by
the imperfections of our Laws: – for if those imperfections were removed the demand for
the passion of anger would at all events be very greatly diminished. Were the want needless expence
& vexation attending a prosecution minimized & all removed the answer of self regarding
prudence might be opposite to what it now is. Were the pernicious excess of
punishment taken away the answer of benevolence would be opposite to what it is.
And if you suppose a state in which the passion of anger were subjected to
the demands of prudence & benevolence, – how few would be the occasions in which
the passion itself could find field for its exercise.
The legislator indeed, whose purpose is to keep delinquency within
bounds – and whose conduct is to produce effect on the national scale – has a claim upon
him somewhat different from that on the individual. The self regarding motives are
in his case, not the prominent ones, – & all while the inhibition of the passion in
the breast of individuals seems demanded by virtue, – benevolence requires from the legislator
such such an exercise of it & as will be a lead to the inflictions of pain as which are likely to minimize the quantity of crime.⊞
⊞ Anger has the quality of being increased by giving vent to itself.
He who swears because he is angry only becomes the more angry in
consequence. The appetite is increased not satisfied by the aliment it feeds
on.
What has been said of anger applies to envy and jealousy. They both
imply the presence of pain. To suppress them in our own breasts is demanded by
prudence – if they exist there in an dominant inoperative state, it is prudence alone that
requires their suppression. If they are likely so to be awakened as to produce
a maleficent influence upon others, their suppression is called for by
benevolence.
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Identifier: | JB/015/311/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
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deontology |
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311 |
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sir john bowring |
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