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"haft not strawed; and I was afraid, and hid thy "talent in the earth; lo, there thou haft that is

thine. His lord answered and faid unto him, "Thou wicked and flothful fervant, thou kneweft, "(or knewest thou ?) that I reap where I fowed "not, and gather where I have not ftrawed; thou "oughteft therefore to put my money to the ex"changers, and then at my coming I fhould have "received mine own with ufury. Take therefore "the talent from him, and give it unto him which "hath ten talents; for unto every one that hath "fhall be given, and he shall have abundance ; "but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath; and caft ye the unprofi"table fervant into outer darkness, "weeping and gnashing of teeth."*

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there fhall be

III. In every question of conduct where one fide is doubtful, and the other fide fafe, we are bound to take the fafe fide..

This is best explained by an inftance, and I know of none more to our purpofe than that of fuicide. Suppose, for example's fake, that it appear doubtful to a reafoner upon the subject, whether he may Jawfully destroy himself. He can have no doubt, but that it is lawful for him to let it alone. Here therefore is a cafe, in which one fide is doubtful, and the other fide fafe. By virtue therefore of our rule, he is bound to pursue the fafe fide, that is, to forbear from offering violence to himself, whilft a doubt remains upon his mind concerning the lawfulness of fuicide.

It is prudent, you allow, to take the fafe fide. But our obfervation means fomething more. We affert that the action, concerning which we doubt, whether it may be in itself, or to another, would, in us, whilst this doubt remains upon our minds, be certainly finful. The cafe is exprefsly fo ad

* Mat. xxv. 24, &c.

judged

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judged by St. Paul, with whofe authority we will for the prefent reft contented. "I know and am "perfuaded by the Lord Jefus, that there is "nothing unclean of itself, but to him that ef "teemeth any thing to be unclean to him it is unclean. Happy is he that condemneth not "himfelf in that thing which he alloweth; and he "that doubteth is damned (condemned) if he eat, "for whatsoever is not of faith (i. e. not done with "a full perfuafion of the lawfulness of it) is " fin."

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MORAL PHILOSOPHY.

BOOK II.

MORAL

OBLIGATION.

СНА Р. I.

THE QUESTION, WHY AM I OBLIGED TO KEEP MY WORD? CONSIDERED.

W

HY am I obliged to keep my word?

Because it is right, fays one.-Because it is agree-. able to the fitnefs of things, fays another.-Because it is conformable to reafon and nature, fays a third. Because it is conformable to truth, fays a fourth. Because it promotes the public good, fays a fifth.-Because it is required by the will of God,

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concludes a fixth.

Upon which different accounts, two things are obfervable :

FIRST, that they all ultimately coincide.

The fitness of things, means their fitness to produce happiness: the nature of things, means that actual conftitution of the world, by which fome things, as fuch and fuch actions, for example, pro

duce

duce happiness, and others mifery reason is the principle, by which we difcover or judge of this conftitution: truth is this judgment expreffed or drawn out into propofitions. So that it neceffarily comes to pass, that what promotes the public happiness, or happiness upon the whole, is agreeable to the fitness of things, to nature, to reafon, and to truth; and fuch, (as will appear by and by) is the divine character, that what promotes the general happiness is required by the will of God; and what has all the above properties must needs be right; for right means no more than conformity to the rule we go by, whatever that rule be.

And this is the reafon that moralifts, from whatever different principles they fet out, commonly meet in their conclufions; that is, they enjoin the fame conduct, prescribe the fame rules of duty, and, with a few exceptions, deliver upon dubious cafes the fame determinations.

SECONDLY, it is to be obferved, that these anfwers all leave the matter fhort for the inquirer may turn round upon his teacher with a fecond queftion, in which he will expect to be fatisfied, namely, why am I obliged to do what is right; to act agreeably to the fitnefs of things; to conform to reason, nature, or truth; to promote the public good, or to obey the will of God?

The proper method of conducting the inquiry is, FIRST, to examine what we mean, when we fay a man is obliged to do the thing which we have propofed as an example, namely, "to keep his word."

CHAP.

CHA P. II.

WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY A MAN IS OBLIGED TO DO A THING.

A

MAN is faid to be obliged, "when he is urged by a violent motive refulting from the command of another."

I. "The motive must be violent." If a perfon, who has done me fome little fervice, or has a fmall place in his disposal, ask me upon fome occafion for my vote, I may poffibly give it him, from a motive of gratitude or expectation; but I fhould hardly fay, that I was obliged to give it him, because the inducement does not rife high enough. Whereas, if a father or a master, any great benefactor, or one on whom my fortune depends, require my vote, I give it him of courfe; and my anfwer to all who ask me why I voted fo and fo, is, that my father or niy mafter obliged me; that I had received fo many favours from, or had fo great a dependence upon fuch a one, that I was obliged to vote as he directed

ine.

SECONDLY, "It must refult from the command "of another." Offer a man a gratuity for doing any thing, for feizing, for example, an offender, he is not obliged by your offer to do it; nor would he fay be is; though he may be induced, perfuaded, prevailed upon, tempted. If a magiftrate, or the man's immediate fuperior command it, he confiders himfelf as obliged to comply, though poffibly he would lofe lefs by a refufal in this cafe, than in the former.

I will not undertake to fay that the words obligation and obliged are used uniformly in this fenfe, or always with this diftinction; nor is it poffible to tie

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