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Article ESSAY ON PRUDENCE. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Essay On Prudence.
of certainty . She firmly adheres to such as are evident ; those that are not evident , she ranks among probabilities ; and , with respect to some , she absolutely suspends her assent . But , if there happen to be a mixture of the marvellous , she becomes less credulous , and begins to doubt , apprehending some fraud or illusion . ' ¦ . ,, The laws of prudence are somewhat less rigid with respect to
practical dogmas . The heart does not wait for a complete evidence to resolve ; but it must have probable motives , at least , to make a rational determination . To desire objects , which very likely may prove contrary to our happiness , would be a pernicious imprudence ; to desire those that are contrary to good morals , would be absolutely criminal . Nowwhatever is criminal must necessarily be productive of misery ,
, because there is an avenger in heaven , who , sooner or later , leaves no crime unpunished . The prudence relating to points of mere speculation does not fall within our province , but belongs to the metaphysician . That which comes under our examination , is the wise circumspection which regulates our Affections , Words , and Actions .
AFFECTIONS . Our affections are not free , any more than our thoughts ; they generally rise without , the concurrence of the will . The most consummate prudence cannot eradicate them . Beside , the attempt itself would be vain ; for , as they are not voluntary , they cannot be . criminal . Butthough they are innocentstill they are always
danger-, , pus , if they incline us toward objects prohibited by the divine law . W ought to be afraid , lest , by rising too often in our breasts , they should gain too great an influence over the soul , and occupy it entirely ; and lest , by seducing it with flattering hopes , or stunning it with tumultuous clamours , they should render it , at length , inattentive or deaf to the counsels of reason .
The affections over which we should have a guard , either spring up in the soul without the concurrence of the body , are excited by the senses , or raised by external objects . In the first class we place those vain and presumptuous affections , which are the seeds of prides in the second , all corporeal appetites , which are the source of intern-: pesance ; in the third , those desires , whose objects are valuable in our
eyes , only because of our prejudices ; such as those which riches and honours excite , and which in time , when they have taken root , produce avarice and- ambition : for all these different desires , by frequent repetition , become habits , and these habits are what we call passions . ' - The passions themselveswere they even to have a tendency to
, illicit objects , would not be criminal , without the consent ofthe will ; because the repeated desires that form them are not criminal , when the heart , by which they are produced , instantly disavows them . But there is reason to fear , lest they shake the mind by continued efforts , which , weakening it b y degrees , will reduce it , at length , to a state ¦ Of entire subjection .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essay On Prudence.
of certainty . She firmly adheres to such as are evident ; those that are not evident , she ranks among probabilities ; and , with respect to some , she absolutely suspends her assent . But , if there happen to be a mixture of the marvellous , she becomes less credulous , and begins to doubt , apprehending some fraud or illusion . ' ¦ . ,, The laws of prudence are somewhat less rigid with respect to
practical dogmas . The heart does not wait for a complete evidence to resolve ; but it must have probable motives , at least , to make a rational determination . To desire objects , which very likely may prove contrary to our happiness , would be a pernicious imprudence ; to desire those that are contrary to good morals , would be absolutely criminal . Nowwhatever is criminal must necessarily be productive of misery ,
, because there is an avenger in heaven , who , sooner or later , leaves no crime unpunished . The prudence relating to points of mere speculation does not fall within our province , but belongs to the metaphysician . That which comes under our examination , is the wise circumspection which regulates our Affections , Words , and Actions .
AFFECTIONS . Our affections are not free , any more than our thoughts ; they generally rise without , the concurrence of the will . The most consummate prudence cannot eradicate them . Beside , the attempt itself would be vain ; for , as they are not voluntary , they cannot be . criminal . Butthough they are innocentstill they are always
danger-, , pus , if they incline us toward objects prohibited by the divine law . W ought to be afraid , lest , by rising too often in our breasts , they should gain too great an influence over the soul , and occupy it entirely ; and lest , by seducing it with flattering hopes , or stunning it with tumultuous clamours , they should render it , at length , inattentive or deaf to the counsels of reason .
The affections over which we should have a guard , either spring up in the soul without the concurrence of the body , are excited by the senses , or raised by external objects . In the first class we place those vain and presumptuous affections , which are the seeds of prides in the second , all corporeal appetites , which are the source of intern-: pesance ; in the third , those desires , whose objects are valuable in our
eyes , only because of our prejudices ; such as those which riches and honours excite , and which in time , when they have taken root , produce avarice and- ambition : for all these different desires , by frequent repetition , become habits , and these habits are what we call passions . ' - The passions themselveswere they even to have a tendency to
, illicit objects , would not be criminal , without the consent ofthe will ; because the repeated desires that form them are not criminal , when the heart , by which they are produced , instantly disavows them . But there is reason to fear , lest they shake the mind by continued efforts , which , weakening it b y degrees , will reduce it , at length , to a state ¦ Of entire subjection .