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1821. April 26.
2. To the quantum of the sacrifice which, by the influence
of self-regarding interest, in proportion to the height of
his situation in this scale is at the same time, incited and
enabled to make of the greatest happiness of the greatest number
to his own private interest according to the conception
he entertains of it, social affection, sympathy, supposing it to
have place, might, with an effective force proportioned to its
intensity, apply a limitative check. But, in the inverse, and not in
the direct, ratio of a man's the height of a man's situation place in
this same scale, will be the intensity and efficiency of this efficient
cause of, and security for, good behaviour. The sympathy
here in question is sympathy of affection: that faculty in virtue of
which, from by the sight of others exhibiting marks of sorrow suffering, he himself
is effected by suffering; from the sight of others exhibiting marks
of enjoyment, he himself reaps enjoyment.
But this sympathy of affection has, for its indispensable
accompaniment or precursor, a correspondent sympathy
of conception: only in consequence of, and in proportion to, the
conception a man entertains of the suffering experienced by
another, can he be made by it to experience suffering in any shape, howsoever
assured of its existence. A man who has never, in any
painful degree, known by this experience what hunger is, can never
be made to feel any considerable uneasiness by any such
information as that at the very time moment at which the information
reached his ears other men, be the multitude of them ever so
great, are experiencing that same sort of pain in a degree
ever so intense.
Sympathy of conception may have place where sympathy
of affection is altogether absent has not place in any degree: a man who, by from his own experience,
has derived the most perfect conception of the pains of
burning may, without imbibing any uneasiness from the sight,
behold others while in a state of suffering produced by that excruciative
operation: so far from
suffering, enjoyment
has, in so many and
such notorious instances
by that same cause:
but without correspondent
sympathy of conception
sympathy of affection
is impossible.
Identifier: | JB/036/007/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 36.
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1821-04-26 |
8-9 |
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036 |
constitutional code |
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007 |
first lines |
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001 |
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copy/fair copy sheet |
1 |
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recto |
c4 / e4 |
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john flowerdew colls |
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10931 |
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