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You and I are Brothers, Savages - [we are young,
we have a Father] — we have been accustomed
to seek our subsistence different ways —
you by hunting — I by Fishing
You oneI am eating aany Fish — that I have caught — you wish
to partake of it — Brother, say you, Give
me some of that Fish - No, answer Yes,say, I reply,
provided you will give me half the Gain
you kill to morrow — Agreed, say you —
Here then is a compact [formed between us]
I have no more than I can eat — But
I will tell you what I will do — You
will go out a hunting tomorrow, as usual.
I shall go out a fishing — when you come homeGive me half
what you catch, and I will give you
half what I catch — Agreed, say you —
Here then is a compact — Here are two
intentions formed and declared — at least declared
— Intentions not absolute but conditional.
1 or strictly speaking
to abstain
from certain acts An intuition of mine to do a certain mentioned act, of
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provided you do another certain act mentioned, & not
otherwise: an intention of your's to do a certain
act, provided mentioned, provided I do
another certain act mentioned — I not otherwise.
This is the 1st compact we ever made —
Is it likely we shall we keep it? I cannot say — it depends
upon accidents as at supposed — But we will suppose it
kept. — We will suppose it frequently renew'd
& as often kept. Observe then how this
pleasure on both sides has been augmented
by the bargain.
Each of us has had 2 dishes every day since
the agreement for one he had before —
Moderate variety in food makes it more agreeable
— here is then the pleasure that
each has of us had in eating increased in its
intensity - probably in its duration; as we
shall have eaten more and longer than before:
at any rate not diminished — at any rate
therefore increased in magnitude — so much
for the pleasure of fraction — Each of us has had 2 chances of a good dinner
for one he had before - our pleasure therefore
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has been increased in [certainty] point
of probability — The pleasure of expectation
that has filled up the intervals between fruition
has therefore receive an increase in
the joint ratio fo the magnitude in & probability
of the pleasure of fruition on which
it was founded.
But now the Scene changes — You have
caught a Hare. I have caught nothing
but a few Minnows — The of
Dinner time is come. We are both
hungry — I have had bad luck, say I, today —
Here is all the fish I have caught — hold
here is half for you — Give me now the
half of3 your Hare. No say you, I
shall eat it all myself, I can spare you
none — Here then is the pleasure
of fruition I had been feeding my imagination myself with
the hope of, destroy'd at once —
The physical pain of hunger, proof unnotsweetened
any longerby any pleasure of expectation, but sower'd
INTROD. Idea of a Compact
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by a new pain of regret, succeeds — [What is
the cause of it? Tis you —]
The natural consquence of this is, that we
should fall a fighting: but this part of the
story is not to our present purpose — we
will pass it over.
As to this pleasure we such of us reaped while the
compact remained inviolate, we have
seen in what it consisted — that pleasure
is now over — When I used to hold myself in catch more
readiness to share my fish with you it was only than I would only because I depended upon
your making me partaker of your game
I find now I can depend upon that no
longer — There is no end of my disposition
to renew this compact - It is not
renewed —
The pleasure resulting to both of us from the
fulfilling of it is at an end — What is thenour
condition — Is itNot the same as if we had
never enter'd at any time into such compact,
nor enjoyed the advantages of it? Not so, but
more It is but worse.
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law in general |
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introd.idea of a compact |
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jeremy bentham |
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