第27章

Letusproceed，then，toconsiderhowfarthesocialsanctioninsuchcasessuppliesthedefectsofthelegal。Nodoubtthehopeofpraiseandlikingandservicesfromone’sfellow-men，andthefearofforfeitingtheseandincurringinsteadaversion，refusalofaid，andsocialexclusion，areconsiderationsoftenimportantenoughtodeterminetherationalegoisttolaw-observance，evenindefaultofadequatelegalpenalties。Stillthesesanctionsareliabletofailjustwherethelegalpenaltiesaredefective；socialnolessthanlegalpenaltiesareevadedbysecretcrimes；andincasesofcriminalrevolutionaryviolence，theefficacyofthesocialsanctionisapttobeseriouslyimpairedbythepartyspiritenlistedonthesideofthecriminal。Forithastobeobservedthattheforceofthesocialsanctiondiminishesveryrapidly，inproportiontothenumberofdissidentsfromthecommonopinionthatawardsit。Disapprobationthatisatonceintenseandquiteuniversalwouldbesosevereapenaltyasperhapstooutweighanyimaginableadvantages；

sinceitseemsimpossibleforahumanbeingtolivehappily，whateverothergoodshemayenjoy，withoutthekindlyregardsofsomeofhisfellows:

andso，incontemplatingtheconventionalportraitofthetyrant，whoisrepresentedasnecessarilysuspiciousofthosenearesthim，evenofthemembersofhisownfamily，wefeelpreparedtoadmitthatsuchalifemustinvolvetheextremeofunhappiness。Butwhenweturntocontemplatetheactualtyrannicalusurpers，wickedstatesmen，successfulleadersofunwarrantedrebellion，and，speakinggenerally，thegreatcriminalswhosepositionraisesthemoutofthereachoflegalpenalties，itdoesnotappearthatthemoralodiumunderwhichtheyliemustnecessarilycountformuchinanegoisticcalculationofthegainandlossresultingfromtheirconduct。

Forthisdisesteemisonlyexpressedbyaportionofthecommunity:anditsutteranceisoftendrownedintheloud-voicedapplauseofthemultitudewhoseadmirationislargelyindependentofmoralconsiderations。Noraretherewantingphilosophersandhistorianswhosejudgmentmanifestsasimilarindependence。

Itseems，then，impossibletoaffirmthattheexternalsanctionsofmen’slegaldutieswillalwaysbesufficienttoidentifydutywithinterest。AndacorrespondingassertionwouldbestillmoreunwarrantedinrespectofmoraldutiesnotincludedwithinthesphereofLaw。Insayingthis，IamfullysensibleoftheforceofwhatmaybecalledthePrincipleofReciprocity，bywhichcertainutilitarianshaveendeavouredtoprovethecoincidenceofanyindividual’sinterestwithhissocialduties。Virtues(theysay)arequalitieseitherusefulordirectlyagreeabletoothers:

thustheyeitherincreasethemarketvalueofthevirtuousman’sservices，andcauseotherstopurchasethematahigherrateandtoallottohimmoredignifiedandinterestingfunctions；ortheydisposementopleasehim，bothoutofgratitudeandinordertoenjoythepleasuresofhissocietyinreturn:andagain——sincemanisanimitativeanimal——theexhibitionofthesequalitiesisnaturallyrewardedbyareciprocalmanifestationofthemonthepartofothers，throughthemereinfluenceofexample。I

donotdoubtthattheprospectoftheseadvantagesisanadequatemotiveforcultivatingmanyvirtuesandavoidingmuchvice。Thusonsuchgroundsarationalegoistwillgenerallybestrictandpunctualinthefulfilmentofallhisengagements，andtruthfulinhisassertions，inordertowintheconfidenceofothermen；andhewillbezealousandindustriousinhiswork，inordertoobtaingraduallymoreimportantandthereforemorehonourableandlucrativeemployment；andhewillcontrolsuchofhispassionsandappetitesasarelikelytointerferewithhisefficiency；andwillnotexhibitviolentangeroruseunnecessaryharshnesseventowardsservantsandsubordinates；andtowardshisequalsandsuperiorsinrankliewillbegenerallypoliteandcomplaisantandgood-humoured，andprompttoshowthemallsuchkindnessascostsbutlittleinproportiontothepleasureitgives。Still，reflectionseemstoshowthattheconductrecommendedbythislineofreasoningdoesnotreallycoincidewithmoralduty。For，first，whatonerequiresforsocialsuccessisthatoneshouldappear，ratherthanbe，usefultoothers:andhencethismotivewillnotrestrainonefromdoingsecretharmtoothers，orevenfromactingopenlyinawaythatisreallyharmful，thoughnotperceivedtobeso。Andagain，amanisnotusefultoothersbyhisvirtueonly，butsometimesratherbyhisvice；ormoreoftenbyacertainadmixtureofunscrupulousnesswithhisgoodandusefulqualities。Andfurther，m