dictated to us by Nature. Beneficence and generofity we think due to the generous and beneficent. Thofe whofe hearts never open to the feelings of humanity, fhould, we think, be fhut out in the fame manner, from the affections of all their fellowcreatures, and be allowed to live in the midst of fociety, as in a great defert where there is nobody to care for them, or to inquire after them. The violator of the laws of juftice ought to be made to feel himself that evil which he has done to another; and fince no regard to the fufferings of his brethren is capable of reftraining him, he ought to be over-awed by the fear of his own. The man who is barely innocent, who only observes the laws of juftice with regard to others, and merely abftains from hurting his neighbours, can merit only that his neighbours in their turn fhould respect his innocence, and that the fame laws thould be religiously obferved with regard to him.

CHA P. I I.

Of the fenfe of Justice, of Remorfe, and of the confcioufnefs of Merit.

THERE can be no proper motive for hurting

our neighbour, there can be no incitement to do evil to another, which mankind will go along with, except juft indignation for evil which that other has done to us. To difturb his happiness merely because it ftands in the way of our own, to take from him what is of real use to him merely because it may be of equal

or of more use to us, or to indulge, in this manner, at the expense of other people, the natural preference which every man has for his own happiness above that of other people, is what no impartial fpectator can go along with. Every man is, no doubt, by nature, firft and principally recommended to his own care; and as he is fitter to take care of himself than of any other perfon, it is fit and right that it should be fo. Every man, therefore, is much more deeply interested in whatever immediately concerns himself, than in what concerns any other man and to hear, perhaps of the death of another perfon, with whom we have no particular connexion, will give us lefs concern, will spoil our stomach, or break our reft much less than a very infignificant difafter which has befallen ourselves. But though the ruin of our neighbour may affect us much less than a very fmall misfortune of our own, we must not ruin him to prevent that small misfortune, nor even to prevent our own ruin. We muft, here, as in all other cafes, view ourselves not fo much according to that light in which we may naturally appear to ourselves, as according to that in which we naturally appear to others. Though every men may, according to the proverb, be the whole world to himself, to the rest of mankind he is a moft infignificant part of it. Though his own happiness may be of more importance to him than that of all the world befides, to every other perfon it is of no more confequence than that of any other man. Though it may be true, therefore, that every individual, in his

KA

own breaft, naturally prefers himself to all mankind, yet he dares not look mankind in the face, and avow that he acts according to this principle. He feels that in this preference they can never go along with him, and that how natural foever it may be to him, it must always appear exceffive and extravagant to them. When he views himself in the light in which he is conscious that others will view him, he fees that to them he is but one of the multitude in no refpect better than any other in it. If he would act fo as that the impartial fpectator may enter into the principles of his conduct, which is what of all things he has the greatest desire to do, he muft, upon this, as upon all other occafions, humble the arrogance of his felf-love, and bring it down to fomething which other men can go along with. They will indulge it fo far as to allow him to be more anxious about, and to pursue with more earneft affiduity, his own happiness than that of any other perfon. Thus far, whenever they place themselves in his fituation, they will readily go along with him. In the race for wealth, and honors, and preferments, he may run as hard as he can, and ftrain every nerve and every muscle, in order to outftrip all his competitors. But if he fhould juftle, or throw down any of them, the indulgence of the fpectators is entirely at an end. It is a violation of fair play, which they cannot admit of. This man is to them, in every respect, as good as he: they do not enter into that felf-love by which he prefers himself fo much to this other, and cannot go

along with the motive from which he hurt him: They readily, therefore fympathize with the natural refentment of the injured, and the offender becomes the object of their hatred and indignation. He is fenfible that he becomes fo, and feels that thofe fentiments are ready to burft out from all fides against him.

As the greater and more irreparable the evil that is done, the refentment of the fufferer runs naturally the higher; fo does likewife the fympathetic indignation of the fpectator, as well as the sense of guilt in the agent. Death is the greateft evil which one man can inflict upon another, and excites the highest degree of resentment in thofe who are immediately connected with the flain. Murder, therefore, is the most atrocious of all crimes which affect individuals only, in the fight both of mankind, and of the person who has committed it. To be deprived of that which we are poffeffed of, is a greater evil than to be disappointed of what we have only the expectation. Breach of property, therefore, theft and robbery, which take from, us what we are poffeffed of, are greater crimes than breach of contract, which only disappoints us of what we expected. The most facred laws of justice, therefore, those whose violation feems to call loudeft for vengeance and punishment, are the laws which guard the life and perfons of our neighbour; the next are thofe which guard his property and poffeffions; and laft of all come those which guard what are called his perfonal rights, or what is due to him, from the promises of others.

The violator of the more facred laws of justice can never reflect on the fentiments which mankind must entertain with regard to him, without feeling all the agonies of fhame, and horror, and confternation. When his paffion is gratified, and he begins coolly to reflect on his paft conduct, he can enter into none of the motives which influenced it. They appear now as deteftable to him as they did always to other people. By fympathizing with the hatred and abhorrence which other men must entertain for him, he becomes in fome measure the object of his own hatred and abhorrence. The fituation of the perfon, who suffered by his injuftice, now calls upon his pity. He is grieved at the thought of it; regrets the unhappy effects of his own conduct, and feels at the fame time that they have rendered him the proper object of the refentment and indignation of mankind, and of what is the natural confequence of refentment, vengeance and punishment. The thought of this perpetually haunts him, and fills him with terror and amazement. He dares no longer look fociety in the face, but imagines himself as it were rejected, and thrown out from the affections of all mankind. He cannot hope for the confolation of fympathy in this his greatest and most dreadful diftrefs. The remembrance of his crimes has fhut out all fellow-feeling with him from the hearts of his fellow-creatures. The fentiments which they entertain with regard to him, are the very thing which he is most afraid of. Every thing feems hoftile, and he would be glad to fly to some