AN ENQUIRY Into the ORIGIN of MORAL VIRTUE.
ALL untaught Animals are only sollicitous of pleasing themselves, and
naturally follow the bent of their own Inclinations, without considering the
good or harm that from their being pleased will accrue to others. This is
the Reason, that in the wild State of Nature those creatures are fittest to
live peaceably together in great Numbers, that discover the least of
Understanding, and have the fewest Appetites to gratify; and consequently no
Species of Animals is, without the Curb of Government, less capable of
agreeing long together in Multitudes than that of Man; yet such are his
Qualities, whether good or bad, I shall not determine, that no Creature
besides himself can ever be made sociable: But being an ex-traordinary
selfish and headstrong, as well as cunning Animal, however he may be subdued
by superior Strength, it is impossible by Force alone to make him tractable,
and receive the Improvements he is capable of.
The Chief Thing, therefore, which Lawgivers and other wise Men, that have
laboured for the Establishment of Society, have endeavour’d, has been to
make the People they were to govern, believe, that it was more beneficial
for every Body to conquer than indulge his Appetites, and much better to
mind the Publick than what seem’d his private Interest. As this has always
been a very difficult Task, so no Wit or Eloquence has been left untried to
compass it; and the Moralists and Philosophers of all Ages employed their
utmost Skill to prove the Truth of so useful an Assertion. But whether
Mankind would have ever
believ’d it or not, it is not likely that any Body could have
persuaded them to disapprove of their natural Inclinations, or prefer the
good of others to their own, if at the same time he had not shew’d them an
Equivalent to be enjoy’d as a Reward for the Violence, which by so doing
they of necessity must commit upon themselves. Those that have undertaken to
civilize Mankind, were not ignorant of this; but being unable to give
so many real Rewards as would satisfy all Persons for every individual
Action, they were forc’d to contrive an imaginary one, that as a general
Equivalent for the trouble of Self-denial should serve on all Occasions, and
without costing any thing either to themselves or others, be yet a most
acceptable Recompense to the Receivers.
They thoroughly examin’d all the Strength and Frailties of our Nature,
and observing that none were either so savage as not to be charm’d with
Praise, or so despicable as patiently to bear Contempt, justly concluded,
that Flattery must be the most powerful Argument that could be used to Human
Creatures. Making use of this bewitching Engine, they extoll’d the
Excellency of our Nature above other Animals, and setting forth with
unbounded Praises the Wonders of our Sagacity and Vastness of Understanding,
bestow’d a thousand Encomiums on the Rationality of our Souls, by the Help
of which we were capable of performing the most noble Atchievements. Having
by this artful way of Flattery insinuated themselves into the Hearts of Men,
they began to instruct them in the Notions of Honour and Shame; representing
the one as the worst of all Evils, and the other as the highest Good to
which Mortals could aspire: Which being done, they laid before them how
unbecoming it was the Dignity of such sublime Creatures to be
sollicitous about gratifying those Appetites, which they had in common with
Brutes, and at the same time unmindful of those higher Qualities that gave
them the preeminence over all visible Beings. They indeed confess’d, that
those impulses of Nature were very pressing; that it was troublesome to
resist, and very difficult wholly to subdue them. But this they only used as
an Argument to demonstrate, how glorious the Conquest of them was on the one
hand, and how scandalous on the other not to attempt it.
To introduce, moreover, an Emulation amongst Men, they divided the whole
Species into
two Classes, vastly differing from one another: The one consisted of
abject, low-minded People, that always hunting after immediate Enjoyment,
were wholly incapable of Self-denial, and without regard to the good of
others, had no higher Aim than their private Advantage; such as being
enslaved by Voluptuousness, yielded without Resistance to every gross
desire, and made
no use of their Rational Faculties but to heighten their Sensual Pleasure.
These vile grov’ling Wretches, they said, were the Dross of their Kind, and
having only the Shape of Men, differ’d from Brutes in nothing but their
outward Figure. But the other Class was made up of lofty high-spirited
Creatures, that free from sordid Selfishness, esteem’d the Improvements of
the Mind to be their fairest Possessions; and setting a true value upon
themselves, took no Delight but in embellishing that Part in which their
Excellency consisted; such as despising whatever they had in common with
irrational Creatures, opposed by the Help of Reason their most violent
Inclinations; and making a continual War with themselves to promote the
Peace of others, aim’d at no less than the Publick Welfare and the Conquest
of their own Passion.
- Fortior est qui se quàm qui fortissima Vincit
- Mœnia — — — —
These they call’d the true Representatives of their sublime Species,
exceeding in worth the first Class by more degrees, than that it self was
superior to the Beasts of the Field.
As in all Animals that are not too imperfect to discover Pride, we find,
that the finest and such as are the most beautiful and valuable of their
kind, have generally the greatest Share of it; so in Man, the most perfect
of Animals,
it is so inseparable from his very Essence (how cunningly soever some may
learn to hide or disguise it) that without it the Compound he is made of
would want one of the chiefest Ingredients: Which, if we consider, it is
hardly to be doubted but Lessons and Remonstrances, so skilfully adapted to
the good Opinion Man has of himself, as those I have mentioned, must, if
scatter’d amongst a Multitude not only gain the assent of most of them,
as to the Speculative part, but likewise induce several, especially the
fiercest, most resolute, and best among them, to endure a thousand
Inconveniences, and undergo as many Hardships, that they may have the
pleasure of counting themselves Men of the second Class, and consequently
appropriating to themselves all the Excellences they have heard of it.
From what has been said, we ought to expect in the first Place that the
Heroes who took such extraordinary Pains to master some of their natural
Appetites, and preferr’d the good of others to any visible Interest of their
own, would not recede
an Inch from the fine Notions they had receiv’d concerning the Dignity of
Rational Creatures; and having ever the Authority of the Government on their
side, with all imaginable Vigour assert the esteem that was due to those of
the second Class, as well as their Superiority over the rest of their kind.
In the second, that those who wanted a sufficient Stock of either Pride or
Resolution to buoy them up in mortifying of what was dearest to them,
follow’d the sensual dictates of Nature, would yet be asham’d of confessing
themselves to be those despicable Wretches that belong’d to the inferior
Class, and were generally reckon’d to be so little remov’d from Brutes; and
that therefore in their own Defence they would say, as others did, and
hiding their own Imperfections as well as they could, cry up Self-denial and
Publick-spiritedness as much as any: For it is highly probable, that some of
them, convinced by the real Proofs of Fortitude and Self-Conquest they had
seen, would admire in others what they found wanting in themselves; others
be afraid of the Resolution and Prowess of those of the second Class, and
that all of them were kept in aw by the Power of their Rulers; wherefore it
is reasonable to think, that none of them (whatever they thought in
themselves) would dare openly contradict, what by every body else was
thought Criminal to doubt of.
This was (or at least might have been) the manner after which Savage Man
was broke;
from whence it is evident, that the first Rudiments of Morality, broach’d by
skilful Politicians, to render Men useful to each other as well as
tractable, were chiefly contrived that the Ambitious might reap the more
Benefit from, and govern vast Numbers of them with the greater Ease and
Security. This Foundation of Politicks being once laid, it is impossible
that Man should long remain uncivilized: For even those who only strove to
gratify their Appetites, being continually cross’d by others of the same
Stamp, could not but observe, that whenever they check’d their Inclinations
or but followed them with more Circumspection, they avoided a world of
Troubles, and often escap’d many of the Calamities that generally
attended the too eager Pursuit after Pleasure.
First, they receiv’d, as well as others, the benefit of those Actions
that were done for the good of the whole Society, and consequently could not
forbear wishing well to those of the superior Class that perform’d them.
Secondly, the more intent they were in seeking their own Advantage, without
Regard to others, the more they were hourly convinced, that none stood so
much in their way
as those that were most like themselves.
It being the Interest then of the very worst of them, more than any, to
preach up Publick-spiritedness, that they might reap the Fruits of the
Labour and Self-denial of others, and at the same time indulge their own
Appetites with less disturbance, they agreed with the rest, to call every
thing, which, without Regard to the Publick, Man should commit to gratify
any of his Appetites, V I C E; if in that Action there cou’d be observed the
least prospect, that it might either be injurious to any of the Society, or
ever render himself less serviceable to others: And to give the Name of V I
R T U E to every Performance, by which Man, contrary to the impulse of
Nature,
should endeavour the Benefit of others, or the Conquest of his own Passions
out of a Rational
Ambition of being good.
It shall be objected, that no Society was ever any ways civiliz’d before
the major part had agreed upon some Worship or other of an over-ruling
Power, and consequently that the Notions of Good and Evil, and the
Distinction between Virtue and Vice, were never the
Contrivance of Politicians, but the pure Effect of Religion. Before I answer
this Objection, I must repeat what I have said already, that in this
Enquiry into the Origin of Moral Virtue, I speak neither of Jews
or
Christians, but Man in his State of Nature and Ignorance of the
true Deity; and then I affirm, that the Idolatrous Superstitions of all
other Nations, and the pitiful Notions they had of the Supreme Being, were
incapable of exciting Man to Virtue, and good for nothing but to aw and
amuse a rude and unthinking Multitude. It is evident from History, that in
all considerable Societies, how stupid or ridiculous soever People’s
received Notions have been, as to the Deities they worshipp’d, Human Nature
has ever exerted it self in all its Branches, and that there is no earthly
Wisdom or Moral Virtue, but at one time or other Men have excell’d in it in
all Monarchies and Commonwealths, that for Riches and Power have been any
ways remarkable.
The Ægyptians, not satisfy’d with having Deify’d all the ugly
Monsters they could think on, were so silly as to adore the Onions of their
own sowing;
yet at the same time their Country was the most famous Nursery of Arts and
Sciences in the World, and themselves more eminently skill’d in the
deepest Mysteries of Nature than any Nation has been since.
No States or Kingdoms under Heaven have yielded more or greater Patterns
in all sorts of Moral Virtues than the Greek and Roman
Empires, more especially the latter; and yet how loose, absurd and
ridiculous were their Sentiments as to Sacred Matters? For without
reflecting on the extravagant Number of their Deities, if we only consider
the infamous Stories they father’d upon them, it is not to be denied but
that their Religion, far from teaching Men the Conquest of their Passions,
and the Way to Virtue, seem’d rather contriv’d to justify their Appetites,
and encourage their Vices.
But if we would know what made ’em excel in Fortitude, Courage and
Magnanimity, we must cast our Eyes on the Pomp of their Triumphs, the
Magnificence of their Monuments and Arches; their Trophies, Statues, and
Inscriptions; the variety of their Military Crowns, their Honours decreed to
the Dead, Publick Encomiums on the Living, and other imaginary Rewards they
bestow’d on Men of Merit; and we shall find, that what carried so many of
them to the utmost Pitch of Self-denial, was nothing but their Policy in
making use of the most effectual Means that human Pride could be flatter’d
with.
It is visible then that it was not any Heathen Religion or other
Idolatrous Superstition, that first put Man upon crossing his Appetites and
subduing his dearest Inclinations, but the skilful Management of wary
Politicians; and the nearer we search into human Nature, the more we shall
be convinced, that the Moral Virtues are the Political Offspring which
Flattery begot upon Pride.
There is no Man of what Capacity or Penetration soever, that is wholly
Proof against the Witchcraft of Flattery, if artfully perform’d, and suited
to his Abilities
. Children and Fools will swallow Personal Praise, but those that are more
cunning, must be manag’d with greater Circumspection; and the more general
the Flattery is, the less it is suspected by those it is levell’d at. What
you say in Commendation of a whole Town is receiv’d with Pleasure by all the
Inhabitants: Speak in Commendation of Letters in general, and every Man of
Learning will think himself in particular obliged to you. You may safely
praise the Employment a Man is of, or the Country he was born in; because
you give him an Opportunity of screening the Joy he feels upon his own
account, under the Esteem which he pretends to have for others.
It is common among cunning Men, that understand the Power which Flattery
has upon Pride, when they are afraid they shall be impos’d upon, to
enlarge, tho’ much against their Conscience, upon the Honour, fair Dealing
and Integrity of the Family, Country, or sometimes the Profession of him
they suspect; because they know that Men often will change their resolution,
and act against their Inclination, that they may have the Pleasure of
continuing to appear in the Opinion of Some, what they are conscious not to
be in reality. Thus Sagacious Moralists draw Men like Angels, in hopes that
the Pride at least of Some will put ’em upon copying after the beautiful
Originals which they are represented to be.
When the Incomparable Sir Richard Steele
, in the usual Elegance of his easy Style, dwells on the Praises of his
sublime Species, and with all the Embellishments of Rhetoric sets forth the
Excellency of Human Nature,
it is impossible not to be charm’d with his happy Turns of Thought, and the
Politeness of his Expressions. But tho’ I have been often moved by the Force
of his Eloquence, and ready to swallow the ingenious Sophistry with
Pleasure, yet I could never be so serious, but reflecting on his artful
Encomiums I thought on the Tricks made use of by the Women that would teach
Children to be mannerly. When an aukward Girl, before she can either Speak
or Go, begins after many Intreaties to make the first rude Essays of
Curt’sying, the Nurse falls in an ecstacy of Praise There’s a delicate
Curt’sy! O fine Miss! There’s a pretty Lady! Mama! Miss can make a better
Curt’sy than her Sister Molly! The same is echo’d over by the
Maids, whilst Mama almost hugs the Child to pieces; only Miss Molly,
who being four Years older knows how to make a very handsome Curt’sy,
wonders at the Perverseness of their Judgment, and swelling with
Indignation, is ready to cry at the Injustice that is done her, till, being
whisper’d in the Ear that it is only to please the Baby, and that she is a
Woman, she grows proud at being let into the Secret, and rejoicing at the
Superiority of her Understanding, repeats what has been said with large
Additions, and insults over the Weakness of her Sister, whom all this while
she fancies to be the only Bubble among them. These extravagant Praises
would by any one, above the Capacity of an Infant, be call’d fulsome
Flatteries, and, if you will, abominable Lies, yet Experience teaches us,
that by the help of such gross Encomiums, young Misses will be brought to
make pretty Curt’sies, and behave themselves womanly much sooner, and with
less trouble, than they would without them. ’Tis the same with Boys, whom
they’ll strive to persuade, that all fine Gentlemen do as they are bid, and
that none but Beggar Boys are rude, or dirty their Clothes; nay, as soon as
the wild Brat with his untaught Fist begins to fumble for his Hat, the
Mother, to make him pull it off, tells him before he is two Years old, that
he is a Man; and if he repeats that Action when she desires him, he’s
presently a Captain, a Lord Mayor, a King, or something higher if she can
think of it, till egg’d on by the force of Praise, the little Urchin
endeavours to imitate Man as well as he can, and strains all his Faculties
to appear what his shallow Noddle imagines he is believ’d to be.
The meanest Wretch puts an inestimable value upon himself, and the
highest wish of the Ambitious Man is to have all the World, as to that
particular, of his Opinion: So that the most insatiable Thirst after Fame
that ever Heroe was inspired with, was never more than an ungovernable
Greediness to engross the Esteem and Admiration of others in future Ages as
well as his own; and (what Mortification soever this Truth might be to the
second Thoughts of an Alexander or a Cæsar) the great
Recompence in view, for which the most exalted Minds have with so much
Alacrity sacrificed their Quiet, Health, sensual Pleasures, and every Inch
of themselves, has never been any thing else but the Breath of Man, the
Aerial Coin of Praise. Who can forbear laughing when he thinks on all the
great Men that have been so serious on the Subject of that Macedonian
Madman,
his capacious Soul, that mighty Heart, in one Corner of which,
according to Lorenzo Gratian,
the World was so commodiously Lodged, that in the whole there was room for
Six more? Who can forbear Laughing, I say, when he compares the fine things
that have been said of Alexander, with the End he proposed to himself
from his vast Exploits, to be proved from his own Mouth; when the vast Pains
he took to pass the Hydaspes forced him to cry out? Oh ye
Athenians, could you believe what Dangers I expose my self to, to be
praised by you!
To define then
the Reward of Glory in the amplest manner, the most that can be said
of it, is, that it consists in a superlative Felicity which a Man, who is
conscious of having perform’d a noble Action, enjoys in Self-love, whilst he
is thinking on the Applause he expects of others.
But here I shall be told, that besides the noisy Toils
of War and publick Bustle of the Ambitious, there are noble and generous
Actions that are perform’d in Silence; that Virtue being its own Reward,
those who are really Good have a Satisfaction in their Consciousness of
being so, which is all the Recompence they expect from the most worthy
Performances; that among the Heathens there have been Men, who, when they
did good to others, were so far from coveting Thanks and Applause, that they
took all imaginable Care to be for ever conceal’d from those on whom they
bestow’d their Benefits, and consequently that Pride has no hand in
spurring Man on to the highest pitch of Self-denial.
In answer to this I say, that it is impossible to judge of a Man’s
Performance, unless we are throughly acquainted with the Principle and
Motive from which he acts. Pity, tho’ it is the most gentle and the least
mischievous of all our Passions, is yet as much a Frailty of our Nature, as
Anger, Pride, or Fear. The weakest Minds have generally the greatest Share
of it, for which Reason none are more Compassionate than Women and Children.
It must be own’d, that of all our Weaknesses it is the most amiable, and
bears the greatest Resemblance to Virtue; nay, without a considerable
mixture of it the Society could hardly subsist: But as it is an Impulse of
Nature, that consults neither the publick Interest nor our own Reason, it
may produce Evil as well as Good. It has help’d to destroy the Honour of
Virgins, and corrupted the Integrity of Judges; and whoever acts from it as
a Principle, what good soever he may bring to the Society, has nothing to
boast of but that he has indulged a Passion that has happened to be
beneficial to the Publick. There is no Merit in saving an innocent Babe
ready to drop into the Fire: The Action is neither good nor bad, and what
Benefit soever the Infant received, we only obliged our selves; for to have
seen it fall, and not strove to hinder it, would have caused a Pain,
which Self-preservation compell’d us to prevent: Nor has a rich Prodigal,
that happens to be of a commiserating Temper, and loves to gratify his
Passions, greater Virtue to boast of when he relieves an Object of
Compassion with what to himself is a Trifle.
But such Men, as without complying with any Weakness of their own, can
part from what they value themselves, and, from no other Motive but their
Love to Goodness, perform a worthy Action in Silence: Such Men, I confess,
have acquir’d more refin’d Notions of Virtue than those I have hitherto
spoke of; yet even in these (with which the World has yet never swarm’d) we
may discover no small Symptoms of Pride, and the humblest Man alive must
confess, that the Reward of a Virtuous Action, which is the Satisfaction
that ensues upon it, consists in a certain Pleasure he procures to himself
by Contemplating on his own Worth: Which Pleasure, together with the
Occasion of it, are as certain Signs of Pride, as looking Pale and Trembling
at any imminent Danger, are the Symptoms of Fear.
If the too scrupulous Reader should at first View condemn these Notions
concerning the Origin of Moral Virtue, and think them perhaps offensive to
Christianity, I hope he’ll forbear his Censures, when he shall consider,
that nothing can render the unsearchable depth of the
Divine Wisdom more conspicuous, than that Man, whom Providence had
designed for Society, should not only by his own Frailties and Imperfections
be led into the Road to Temporal Happiness, but likewise receive, from a
seeming Necessity of Natural Causes, a Tincture of that Knowledge, in which
he was afterwards to be made perfect by the True Religion, to his Eternal
Welfare.