第38章

First，toavoidconfusion，wemustremarkthatLoveisnotmerelyadesiretodogoodtotheobjectbeloved，althoughitalwaysinvolvessuchadesire。Itisprimarilyapleasurableemotion，whichseemstodependuponacertainsenseofunionwithanotherperson，anditincludes，besidesthebenevolentimpulse，adesireofthesocietyofthebeloved:andthiselementmaypredominateovertheformer，andevenconflictwithit，sothatthetrueinterestsofthebelovedmaybesacrificed。

Inthiscasewecalltheaffectionselfish，anddonotpraiseitatall，butratherblame。IfnowweaskwhetherintenseLoveforanindividual，consideredmerelyasabenevolentimpulse，isinitselfamoralexcellence，itisdifficulttoextractaverydefiniteanswerfromCommonSense:butIthinkitinclinesonthewholetothenegative。Wearenodoubtgenerallyinclinedtoadmireanykindofconspicuously`altruistic’conductandanyformofintenselove，howeverrestrictedinitsscope；yetithardlyseemsthatthesusceptibilitytosuchindividualisedbenevolentemotionsisexactlyregardedasanessentialelementofmoralPerfection，whichweoughttostriveafterandcultivatelikeothermoralexcellences；weseem，infact，todoubtwhethersucheffortisdesirableinthiscase，atleastbeyondthepointuptowhichsuchaffectionisthoughttoberequiredfortheperformanceofrecognisedduties。Again，wethinkitnaturalanddesirablethat——asgenerallyspeakingeachpersonfeelsstrongaffectionforonlyafewindividuals，——inhiseffortstopromotedirectlythewell-beingofothersheshould，toagreatextent，followthepromptingsofsuchrestrictedaffection:butwearehardlypreparedtorecommendthatheshouldrenderservicestospecialindividualsbeyondwhatheisboundtorender，andsuchasarethenaturalexpressionofaneagerandoverflowingaffection，withouthavinganysuchaffectiontoexpress:although，aswasbeforesaid，incertainintimaterelationswedonotapproveofthelimitsofdutybeingtooexactlymeasured。

Onthewhole，then，Iconcludethat——whilewepraiseandadmireenthusiasticBenevolenceandPatriotism，andaretouchedandcharmedbythespontaneouslavishoutflowofGratitude，Friendship，andthedomesticaffections——stillwhatchieflyconcernsusasmoralists，underthepresenthead，istheascertainmentoftherightrulesofdistributionofservicesandkindacts，insofarasweconsidertherenderingofthesetobemorallyobligatory。Forprovidedamanfulfilstheseduties(andobservestheotherrecognisedrulesofmorality)CommonSenseisnotpreparedtosayhowfaritisrightorgoodthatheshouldsacrificeanyothernobleandworthyaim——suchasthecultivationofknowledgeoranyofthefinearts——totheclaimsofphilanthropyorpersonalaffection:

thereseemtobenogenerallyaccepted``intuitional’’principlesfordeterminingsuchachoiceofalternatives。[3]

Whatthenarethedutiesthatweowetoourfellow-men-sofarastheydonotseemtocomeundertheheadofJusticemoreproperlythanBenevolence？Perhapsthemereenumerationofthemisnotdifficult。Weshouldallagreethateachofusisboundtoshowkindnesstohisparentsandspouseandchildren，andtootherkinsmeninalessdegree:andtothosewhohaverenderedservicestohim，andanyotherswhomhemayhaveadmittedtohisintimacyandcalledfriends:andtoneighboursandtofellow-countrymenmorethanothers:andperhapswemaysaytothoseofourownracemorethantoblackoryellowmen，andgenerallytohumanbeingsinproportiontotheiraffinitytoourselves。Andtoourcountryasacorporatewholewebelieveourselvestoowethegreatestsacrificeswhenoccasioncalls(butinalowerstageofcivilisationthisdebtisthoughttobeduerathertoone’skingorchief):andasimilarobligationseemstoberecognised，thoughlessdefinitelyandinalessdegree，asregardsminorcorporationsofwhichwearemembers。Andtoallmenwithwhomwemaybebroughtintorelationweareheldtooweslightservices，andsuchasmayberenderedwithoutinconvenience:butthosewhoareindistressorurgentneedhaveaclaimonusforspecialkindness。Thesearegenerallyrecognisedclaims:butwefindconsiderabledifficultyanddivergence，whenweattempttodeterminemorepreciselytheirextentandrelativeobligation:andthedivergencebecomesindefinitelygreaterwhenwecomparethecustomsandcommonopinionsn