第66章

trainedingoodhabits，intellectual，moral，andphysical:anditiscommonlybelievedthatthebestoreventheonlyknownmeansofattainingtheseendsinevenatolerabledegreeisaffordedbytheexistinginstitutionoftheFamily，restingasitdoesonabasisoflegalandmoralrulescombined。ForLawfixesaminimumofmutualservicesanddrawsthebroadoutlinesofbehaviourforthedifferentmembersofthefamily，imposingontheparentslifelongunionandcompletemutualfidelityandthedutyofprovidingfortheirchildrenthenecessariesoflifeuptoacertainage；inreturnforwhichitgivesthemthecontroloftheirchildrenforthesameperiod，andsometimeslaysonthelattertheburdenofsupportingtheirparentswhenagedanddestitute:sothatMorality，ininculcatingacompleterharmonyofinterestsandanamplerinterchangeofkindnesses，ismerelyfillingintheoutlinesdrawnbyLaw。

Wefound，however，inattemptingtoformulatethedifferentdomesticdutiesasrecognisedbyCommonSense，thatthereseemedtobeinmostcasesalargevaguemarginwithrespecttowhichgeneralagreementcouldnotbeaffirmed，andwhich，infact，formsanarenaforcontinualdisputes。ButwehavenowtoobservethatitisjustthismarginwhichrevealsmostclearlythelatentUtilitarianismofcommonmoralopinion:forwhenthequestionisonceraisedastotheprecisemutualduties(e。g。)ofhusbandsandwives，orofparentsandchildren，eachdisputantcommonlysupportshisviewbyaforecastoftheeffectsonhumanhappinesstobeexpectedfromthegeneralestablishmentofanyproposedrule；thisseemstobethestandardtowhichthematteris，bycommonconsent，referred。

Similarlytheclaimtoservicesthatarisesoutofspecialneed(whichnaturalsympathymovesustorecognise)mayobviouslyberestedonanutilitarianbasis:indeedtheproperfulfilmentofthisdutyseemssoimportanttothewell-beingofsociety，thatithasinmoderncivilisedcommunitiesgenerallybeenbroughttosomeextentwithinthesphereofGovernmentalaction。Wenoticedthatthemainutilitarianreasonwhyitisnotrightforeveryrichmantodistributehissuperfluouswealthamongthepoor，isthatthehappinessofallisonthewholemostpromotedbymaintaininginadultsgenerally(exceptmarriedwomen)，theexpectationthateachwillbethrownonhisownresourcesforthesupplyofhisownwants。ButifIammadeawarethat，owingtoasuddencalamitythatcouldnothavebeenforeseen，another’sresourcesaremanifestlyinadequatetoprotecthimfrompainorseriousdiscomfort，thecaseisaltered；mytheoreticalobligationtoconsiderhishappinessasmuchasmyownbecomesatoncepractical；andIamboundtomakeasmuchefforttorelievehimaswillnotentailagreaterlossofhappinesstomyselforothers。If，however，thecalamityisonewhichmighthavebeenforeseenandavertedbypropercare，mydutybecomesmoredoubtful:forthenbyrelievinghimIseemtobeindangerofencouragingimprovidenceinothers。InsuchacaseaUtilitarianhastoweighthisindirectevilagainstthedirectgoodofremovingpainanddistress:anditisnowmoreandmoregenerallyrecognisedthatthequestionofprovidingforthedestitutehastobetreatedasautilitarianproblemofwhichthesearetheelements，——whetherweareconsideringtheminimumthatshouldbesecuredtothembylaw，orthepropersupplementaryactionofprivatecharity。

Poverty，however，isnottheonlycaseinwhichitisconducivetothegeneralhappinessthatonemanshouldrenderunboughtservicestoanother。Inanyconditionorcallingamanmayfindhimselfunabletowardoffsomeevil，ortorealisesomelegitimateorworthyend，withoutassistanceofsuchkindashecannotpurchaseontheordinarycommercialterms；——assistancewhich，ontheonehand，willhavenobadeffectonthereceiver，fromtheexceptionalnatureoftheemergency，whileatthesametimeitmaynotbeburdensometothegiver。Here，again，somejuristshavethoughtthatwheretheservicetoberenderedisgreat，andtheburdenofrenderingitveryslight，itmightproperlybemadematteroflegalobligation:sothat(e。g。)ifIcouldsaveamanfromdrowningbymerelyholdingoutahand，IshouldbelegallypunishableifIomittedtheact。But，howeverthismaybe，themoralrulecondemningtherefusalofaidinsuchemergenciesisobviouslyconducivetothegeneralhappiness。

Further，besidesthese——sotosay——accidentallyunboughtservices，therearesomeforwhichthereisnormallynomarket-price；

suchascounselandassistanceintheintimateperplexitiesoflife，whichoneisonlywillingtoreceivefromgenuinefriends。Itmuchpromotesthegeneralhappinessthatsuchservicesshouldbegenerallyrendered。Onthisground，aswellasthroughtheemotionalpleasureswhichdirectlyspringfromit，weperceiveFriendshiptobeanimportant