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Article ESSAY ON JUSTICE. ← Page 2 of 2 Article ANECDOTE OF SANTEUIL. Page 1 of 1
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Essay On Justice.
True generosity is a duty as indispensably necessary as those imposed by law . It is a rule imposed upon us by reason , which should be the sovereign law of a rational being . But this generosity does not consist in obeying every impulse of humanity , in following blind passions , and impairing our circumstances by present benefactionsso as to render us incapable of future ones .
, Misers are generally characterised as men without honour , or without humanity , who live only to accumulate , and to this passion sacrifice every other happiness . They have been described as madmen , who in the midst of abundance banish every p leasure , and make from imaginary wants real necessities . But few , very few , correspond to this exaggerated p icture ; and perhaps there is not one in whom all
these circumstances are found united . Instead of this we find the sober and the industrious branded by the vain and the idle with this odious appellation ; men who , by frugality and labour , raise themselves above their equals , and contribute their share of industry to the common stock . Whatever the vain or the ignorant may say , it were well for society had we more of these characters among us . In general , these close men are . found at last the true benefactors of society . With an avaricious man we seldom lose in our dealings , but too frequently in our commerce with prodigality .
A man who has taken his ideas of mankind from study alone , generally comes into the world with an heart melting- at every fictitious distress . Thus he is induced , by misplaced liberality ,- to put himself into the indigent circumstances of the person he relieves . The advice of one of the ancients to a young man whom he saw giving away all his substance to pretended distress was not amiss . " It is possible" said he" that the person you relieve may be an
, , honest man ; and I know that you who relieve him are such . You see , then , that by your generosity you rob a man who is certainly deserving , to bestow it on one who may possibly be a rogue ; and while you are unjust in rewarding uncertain merit , you are doubl y guilty by stripping yourself . "
Anecdote Of Santeuil.
ANECDOTE OF SANTEUIL .
ONE day Santeuil had gone into a confessional to be more at liberty to pray , perhaps to think of some work he had in hand . A lady seeing him took him for a father confessor , and , kneeling down , revealed all the passages of her life to him . When she had finished , perceiving the supposed father made her no answer , she demanded absolution . "Plow can I do that ? " said Santeuil"I
, ? m no priest . " " How ' . " said the lady , much surprised , " why did you hearken to me ? " " Why did you speak to me ? " replied Santeuil- ? " " I will immediately , " said she , " make my complaints to the prior . " "And I , " replied Santeuil , " will relate the whole of your fine intrigues to your husband , '"
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essay On Justice.
True generosity is a duty as indispensably necessary as those imposed by law . It is a rule imposed upon us by reason , which should be the sovereign law of a rational being . But this generosity does not consist in obeying every impulse of humanity , in following blind passions , and impairing our circumstances by present benefactionsso as to render us incapable of future ones .
, Misers are generally characterised as men without honour , or without humanity , who live only to accumulate , and to this passion sacrifice every other happiness . They have been described as madmen , who in the midst of abundance banish every p leasure , and make from imaginary wants real necessities . But few , very few , correspond to this exaggerated p icture ; and perhaps there is not one in whom all
these circumstances are found united . Instead of this we find the sober and the industrious branded by the vain and the idle with this odious appellation ; men who , by frugality and labour , raise themselves above their equals , and contribute their share of industry to the common stock . Whatever the vain or the ignorant may say , it were well for society had we more of these characters among us . In general , these close men are . found at last the true benefactors of society . With an avaricious man we seldom lose in our dealings , but too frequently in our commerce with prodigality .
A man who has taken his ideas of mankind from study alone , generally comes into the world with an heart melting- at every fictitious distress . Thus he is induced , by misplaced liberality ,- to put himself into the indigent circumstances of the person he relieves . The advice of one of the ancients to a young man whom he saw giving away all his substance to pretended distress was not amiss . " It is possible" said he" that the person you relieve may be an
, , honest man ; and I know that you who relieve him are such . You see , then , that by your generosity you rob a man who is certainly deserving , to bestow it on one who may possibly be a rogue ; and while you are unjust in rewarding uncertain merit , you are doubl y guilty by stripping yourself . "
Anecdote Of Santeuil.
ANECDOTE OF SANTEUIL .
ONE day Santeuil had gone into a confessional to be more at liberty to pray , perhaps to think of some work he had in hand . A lady seeing him took him for a father confessor , and , kneeling down , revealed all the passages of her life to him . When she had finished , perceiving the supposed father made her no answer , she demanded absolution . "Plow can I do that ? " said Santeuil"I
, ? m no priest . " " How ' . " said the lady , much surprised , " why did you hearken to me ? " " Why did you speak to me ? " replied Santeuil- ? " " I will immediately , " said she , " make my complaints to the prior . " "And I , " replied Santeuil , " will relate the whole of your fine intrigues to your husband , '"