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.ii.4 283 The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smithto the envy of his rivals and the folly of the public.The happiness of the other, onthe contrary, is altogether secure and independent of fortune, and of the caprice ofthose he lives with.The contempt and hatred which may be thrown upon him bythe ignorance of mankind, he considers as not belonging to him, and is not at allmortified by it.Mankind despise and hate him from a false notion of his characterand conduct.If they knew him better, they would esteem and love him.It is nothim whom, properly speaking, they hate and despise, but another person whomthey mistake him to be.Our friend, whom we should meet at a masquerade in thegarb of our enemy, would be more diverted than mortified, if under that disguisewe should vent our indignation against him.Such are the sentiments of a man ofreal magnanimity, when exposed to unjust censure.It seldom happens, however,that human nature arrives at this degree of firmness.Though none but the weakestand most worthless of mankind are much delighted with false glory, yet, by astrange inconsistency, false ignominy is often capable of mortifying those whoappear the most resolute and determined.Dr.Mandeville is not satisfied with representing the frivolous motive of vanity,11as the source of all those actions which are commonly accounted virtuous.He en-deavours to point out the imperfection of human virtue in many other respects.Inevery case, he pretends, it falls short of that complete self-denial which it pretendsto, and, instead of a conquest, is commonly no more than a concealed indulgenceof our passions.Wherever our reserve with regard to pleasure falls short of themost ascetic abstinence, he treats it as gross luxury and sensuality.Every thing,according to him, is luxury which exceeds what is absolutely necessary for thesupport of human nature, so that there is vice even in the use of a clean shirt, or ofa convenient habitation.The indulgence of the inclination to sex, in the most law-ful union, he considers as the same sensuality with the most hurtful gratification ofthat passion, and derides that temperance and that chastity which can be practisedat so cheap a rate.The ingenious sophistry of his reasoning, is here, as upon manyother occasions, covered by the ambiguity of language.There are some of ourpassions which have no other names except those which mark the disagreeableand offensive degree.The spectator is more apt to take notice of them in this de-gree than in any other.When they shock his own sentiments, when they give himsome sort of antipathy and uneasiness, he is necessarily obliged to attend to them,and is from thence naturally led to give them a name.When they fall in with thenatural state of his own mind, he is very apt to overlook them altogether, and ei-ther gives them no name at all, or, if he give them any, it is one which marks ratherthe subjection and restraint of the passion, than the degree which it still is allowedVII.ii.4 284 The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smithto subsist in, after it is so subjected and restrained.Thus the common names" ofthe love of pleasure, and of the love of sex, denote a vicious and offensive degreeof those passions.The words temperance and chastity, on the other hand, seem tomark rather the restraint and subjection which they are kept under, than the degreewhich they are still allowed to subsist in.When he can show, therefore, that theystill subsist in some degree, he imagines, he has entirely demolished the realityof the virtues of temperance and chastity, and shown them to be mere impositionsupon the inattention and simplicity of mankind.Those virtues, however, do notrequire an entire insensibility to the objects of the passions which they mean togovern.They only aim at restraining the violence of those passions so far as notto hurt the individual, and neither disturb nor offend the society.It is the great fallacy of Dr.Mandeville s book to represent every passion as12wholly vicious, which is so in any degree and in any direction [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.ii.4 283 The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smithto the envy of his rivals and the folly of the public.The happiness of the other, onthe contrary, is altogether secure and independent of fortune, and of the caprice ofthose he lives with.The contempt and hatred which may be thrown upon him bythe ignorance of mankind, he considers as not belonging to him, and is not at allmortified by it.Mankind despise and hate him from a false notion of his characterand conduct.If they knew him better, they would esteem and love him.It is nothim whom, properly speaking, they hate and despise, but another person whomthey mistake him to be.Our friend, whom we should meet at a masquerade in thegarb of our enemy, would be more diverted than mortified, if under that disguisewe should vent our indignation against him.Such are the sentiments of a man ofreal magnanimity, when exposed to unjust censure.It seldom happens, however,that human nature arrives at this degree of firmness.Though none but the weakestand most worthless of mankind are much delighted with false glory, yet, by astrange inconsistency, false ignominy is often capable of mortifying those whoappear the most resolute and determined.Dr.Mandeville is not satisfied with representing the frivolous motive of vanity,11as the source of all those actions which are commonly accounted virtuous.He en-deavours to point out the imperfection of human virtue in many other respects.Inevery case, he pretends, it falls short of that complete self-denial which it pretendsto, and, instead of a conquest, is commonly no more than a concealed indulgenceof our passions.Wherever our reserve with regard to pleasure falls short of themost ascetic abstinence, he treats it as gross luxury and sensuality.Every thing,according to him, is luxury which exceeds what is absolutely necessary for thesupport of human nature, so that there is vice even in the use of a clean shirt, or ofa convenient habitation.The indulgence of the inclination to sex, in the most law-ful union, he considers as the same sensuality with the most hurtful gratification ofthat passion, and derides that temperance and that chastity which can be practisedat so cheap a rate.The ingenious sophistry of his reasoning, is here, as upon manyother occasions, covered by the ambiguity of language.There are some of ourpassions which have no other names except those which mark the disagreeableand offensive degree.The spectator is more apt to take notice of them in this de-gree than in any other.When they shock his own sentiments, when they give himsome sort of antipathy and uneasiness, he is necessarily obliged to attend to them,and is from thence naturally led to give them a name.When they fall in with thenatural state of his own mind, he is very apt to overlook them altogether, and ei-ther gives them no name at all, or, if he give them any, it is one which marks ratherthe subjection and restraint of the passion, than the degree which it still is allowedVII.ii.4 284 The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smithto subsist in, after it is so subjected and restrained.Thus the common names" ofthe love of pleasure, and of the love of sex, denote a vicious and offensive degreeof those passions.The words temperance and chastity, on the other hand, seem tomark rather the restraint and subjection which they are kept under, than the degreewhich they are still allowed to subsist in.When he can show, therefore, that theystill subsist in some degree, he imagines, he has entirely demolished the realityof the virtues of temperance and chastity, and shown them to be mere impositionsupon the inattention and simplicity of mankind.Those virtues, however, do notrequire an entire insensibility to the objects of the passions which they mean togovern.They only aim at restraining the violence of those passions so far as notto hurt the individual, and neither disturb nor offend the society.It is the great fallacy of Dr.Mandeville s book to represent every passion as12wholly vicious, which is so in any degree and in any direction [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]