★ Keep up to date with the latest news - subscribe to the Transcribe Bentham newsletter; Find a new page to transcribe in our list of Untranscribed Manuscripts
Two offences are proposed — + + come in question One I am a Legislator. I wishes to
know which of them is the greatest — Why? that in
order to know to know which to punish most —
This is one reason —
But punishing of an offence (I mean, the
offence itself that is become obnoxious is seen to do the mischief) is but one
was means of preventing it - there are
other means, as we have seen already under
the title of Indirect Legislation — These
others therefore are so many other reasons;
all coming however under the general reason
of Prevention.
In the same manner of any two offences that
can be proposed one may wishes may wish to know which
is the greatest — Now that is the greatest offence
which produce the greatest most mischief; that is the greatest mischief which contains (taken together) the most pain and danger. (take together) which produces most pain and danger
to know then therefore which [of any number of offences]
produces the greatest mischief, one must know which of them produces the most pain and danger, to know which of them produces the most pain and danger, one must first know
the pain and danger that each of them produces.
---page break---
To know this we must understand the several
ways in which pain & danger can by
an action be produced — This then must
be our first enquiry. an action can produce pain or and danger
Danger is nothing but the chance of Pain —
so that all mischief comes in the end to
Pain.
If I receive a wound, I am in pain —
It is a pain of body — a pain of sufferance +
If I lose a sum of money, I am in pain
It is a pain of mind — a pain of sufferance + + disappointment
If I lose my reputation, If I perceive those with whom I may have to do ill-disposed towards me, I am in pain.
It is a pain of mind — a pain also of sufferance.
If I am under fear of receiving a wound
I am in pain. It is a pain of body mind — a
pain of expectation.
If I am under fear of losing a sum of money
I am in pain. It is a pain of mind — It is a pain of expectation
If I am under fear of losing my reputation
I am in pain — It is a pain of mind — a
pain also of expectation.
---page break---
What need of more repetitions? If I have stand
a chance of being under a pain of sufferance
I am in danger — If I stand a chance
of being under a pain of expectation, I
am in danger.
The Mischief therefore that an act may
produce is of 3 sorts — 1st Pain of
Sufferance. 2d Pain of Expectation. 3.
Danger.
A man receives a wound — there is
pain of sufferance [in him] — I know he has received
it, and at the same time know that I am liable
to receive one from the same cause
here is no pain of sufferance: but here is pain of expectation. [in one] Tutors You
knows not perhaps that he has received it; and
yet are equally liable to receive one from the same
cause — There is danger [to you]
Now what is the cause occasion of this pain of sufferance
of this pain of expectation and of this danger. It
is this one wound & nothing else — At least, and
---page break---
to speak in the strictest manner possible, it
is the cause occasion of the pain of sufferance, & (being known) of
the pain of expectation. To be the occasion
of the danger it is indeed necessary it
should have proceeded from a cause (for instance from
a blow given from by a highwayman for instance) from
which another any other person as well as he who suffer'd [whose
pain of sufferance , was liable to have
received it. Still however where there is danger, it is this same act
that stands as evidence of that danger.
The Mischief therefore that may belong
to one and the same act, is, I will
say, of 3 orders — what gives birth to the rest Order the 1<hi rend='superscript'>st</hi> (for
that is the 1st that is produced, & the occasion of
the rest) Pain of sufferance. Order the
2<hi rend='superscript'>d</hi> Pain of Expectation — Order the 3<hi rend='superscript'>d</hi>.
Danger
"Order" NOTE. The word I must borrow from the Mathematicians
Mathematicians have occasion to distinguish
one sort of curve from another sort of curve.
they call one a curve of the 1st order, another
of the 2d order, & so on.
AESTIMATION. Sect. 1. Three Orders of Mischief. BR.[1]
|
Identifier: | JB/096/140/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 96.
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
096 |
legislation |
||
|
140 |
aestimation sect. i three orders of mischief |
||
|
001 |
|||
|
text sheet |
1 |
||
|
recto |
c1 |
||
|
jeremy bentham |
[[watermarks::gr [crown motif] [britannia with shield motif]]] |
||
|
31144 |
|||