FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   >>  
n getting at a right apprehension. A man's apprehension of motive may change, or be corrected or perverted; and on the other hand, his circumstances may undergo an alteration. * * * * * A man should exercise an almost boundless toleration and placability, because if he is capricious enough to refuse to forgive a single individual for the meanness or evil that lies at his door, it is doing the rest of the world a quite unmerited honour. But at the same time the man who is every one's friend is no one's friend. It is quite obvious what sort of friendship it is which we hold out to the human race, and to which it is open to almost every man to return, no matter what he may have done. * * * * * With the ancients _friendship_ was one of the chief elements in morality. But friendship is only limitation and partiality; it is the restriction to one individual of what is the due of all mankind, namely, the recognition that a man's own nature and that of mankind are identical. At most it is a compromise between this recognition and selfishness. * * * * * A lie always has its origin in the desire to extend the dominion of one's own will over other individuals, and to deny their will in order the better to affirm one's own. Consequently a lie is in its very nature the product of injustice, malevolence and villainy. That is why truth, sincerity, candour and rectitude are at once recognised and valued as praiseworthy and noble qualities; because we presume that the man who exhibits them entertains no sentiments of injustice or malice, and therefore stands in no need of concealing such sentiments. He who is open cherishes nothing that is bad. * * * * * There is a certain kind of courage which springs from the same source as good-nature. What I mean is that the good-natured man is almost as clearly conscious that he exists in other individuals as in himself. I have often shown how this feeling gives rise to good-nature. It also gives rise to courage, for the simple reason that the man who possesses this feeling cares less for his own individual existence, as he lives almost as much in the general existence of all creatures. Accordingly he is little concerned for his own life and its belongings. This is by no means the sole source of courage for it is a phenomenon due to various causes. But it
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   >>  



Top keywords:

nature

 

individual

 
friendship
 

courage

 

friend

 

source

 

feeling

 

existence

 

sentiments

 

injustice


mankind
 

recognition

 

individuals

 

apprehension

 

cherishes

 

concealing

 

change

 

springs

 

corrected

 

stands


recognised

 

valued

 

rectitude

 

sincerity

 

candour

 

praiseworthy

 

entertains

 

perverted

 

malice

 
exhibits

qualities

 
presume
 

motive

 

general

 

creatures

 

Accordingly

 

belongings

 

concerned

 

possesses

 

reason


conscious

 

exists

 

natured

 

simple

 

phenomenon

 

ancients

 

return

 
matter
 

elements

 

partiality