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Article SELFISHNESS AND BENEVOLENCE COMPARED. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Selfishness And Benevolence Compared.
productive . What then would man be in his prercnt state , were rest his delight , his fnmmitm bomim ? Thus upon the activity of man deoend all his comforts internal and external . ' Admitted ( say my antagonists ) man is not blamed for his activity in procuring the comforts of life , but for his restlessness in never being satisfied with his present comforts . ' These writers certainly will
not condemn restlessness iu the lump : they will approve restlessness in doing good ; which undoubtedly is one of the noblest properties that belong to human nature . Restlessness then , as far as reprehensible , must be confined to the selfish passions : nor can ail these be comprehended ; for surely there is no vice in restlessness to acquire fame , or the good-will of others . Restlessness , with regard to corporeal enjoyments , 1 acknowledge to be-hurtful : nor is it even there a defect in the nature of man ,
but one of the pernicious consequences of indulg ing such enjoyments to excess . As they are the lowest enjoyments of our nature , intemperance in them soon produces satiety and disgust ; from which the luxurious have no relief but by frequent change of objects . This miserable restlessness , the fruit of Intemperence in grovelling pleasures , will not find a fingle votary . Consider , on the other hand , a social disposition . A man of benevolence , whose happiness chiefly consists in serving others , can never rest satisfied in his present state : opportunities of doing good daily occur , and employ him without end : the more opulent he is , the more restless he will be ; because opulence multip lies his opportunities of
doing good . ¦ Activity is essential to a social being : to a selfish being it is of no use , after procuring the means of living . A selfish man , who , by his opulence , has all the luxuries of life at command , and dependants without number , has no occasion for activity . Llence it may fairly be inferred , that were man destined by Providence to be entirely selfish , he would be disposed bhis constitution to restarid would be active
y , never when he could avoid ' it . The natural activity of man , therefore , is to mc evidence , that his Maker did not intend him to be purel y a selfish being . This leads me to compare selfishness with benevolence . Selfishness in one instance is not only innocent , but laudable : which is , in coveting fame or good-will . These appetites , however , prevail but in few , compared with the appetite for corporeal p leasures . It would be too
extensive for the present ess ? . }* , to shew all ths advantages of benevolence over corporeal p leasures ; that no corporeal p leasure contributes so much to happiness as the exercise of benevolence ; that the latter raises a man in his own esteem , and in that of others ; whereas the former lessens him in both . I shall therefore confine myself to one particular : which is , the superior advantage of benevolence from its permanency , Corporeal leasureshowever sweet at firstsoon lose their relish ; nor is there any
p , , way to prevent satiety but change of objects . This is strongly exemplified in that low commerce between the sexes , founded on the carnal appetite merely ; which requires new objects daily , because the pleasure of the same object is soon at an end . Nor can novelty long support this grovelling appetite : frequent repetition without waiting the calls oi
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Selfishness And Benevolence Compared.
productive . What then would man be in his prercnt state , were rest his delight , his fnmmitm bomim ? Thus upon the activity of man deoend all his comforts internal and external . ' Admitted ( say my antagonists ) man is not blamed for his activity in procuring the comforts of life , but for his restlessness in never being satisfied with his present comforts . ' These writers certainly will
not condemn restlessness iu the lump : they will approve restlessness in doing good ; which undoubtedly is one of the noblest properties that belong to human nature . Restlessness then , as far as reprehensible , must be confined to the selfish passions : nor can ail these be comprehended ; for surely there is no vice in restlessness to acquire fame , or the good-will of others . Restlessness , with regard to corporeal enjoyments , 1 acknowledge to be-hurtful : nor is it even there a defect in the nature of man ,
but one of the pernicious consequences of indulg ing such enjoyments to excess . As they are the lowest enjoyments of our nature , intemperance in them soon produces satiety and disgust ; from which the luxurious have no relief but by frequent change of objects . This miserable restlessness , the fruit of Intemperence in grovelling pleasures , will not find a fingle votary . Consider , on the other hand , a social disposition . A man of benevolence , whose happiness chiefly consists in serving others , can never rest satisfied in his present state : opportunities of doing good daily occur , and employ him without end : the more opulent he is , the more restless he will be ; because opulence multip lies his opportunities of
doing good . ¦ Activity is essential to a social being : to a selfish being it is of no use , after procuring the means of living . A selfish man , who , by his opulence , has all the luxuries of life at command , and dependants without number , has no occasion for activity . Llence it may fairly be inferred , that were man destined by Providence to be entirely selfish , he would be disposed bhis constitution to restarid would be active
y , never when he could avoid ' it . The natural activity of man , therefore , is to mc evidence , that his Maker did not intend him to be purel y a selfish being . This leads me to compare selfishness with benevolence . Selfishness in one instance is not only innocent , but laudable : which is , in coveting fame or good-will . These appetites , however , prevail but in few , compared with the appetite for corporeal p leasures . It would be too
extensive for the present ess ? . }* , to shew all ths advantages of benevolence over corporeal p leasures ; that no corporeal p leasure contributes so much to happiness as the exercise of benevolence ; that the latter raises a man in his own esteem , and in that of others ; whereas the former lessens him in both . I shall therefore confine myself to one particular : which is , the superior advantage of benevolence from its permanency , Corporeal leasureshowever sweet at firstsoon lose their relish ; nor is there any
p , , way to prevent satiety but change of objects . This is strongly exemplified in that low commerce between the sexes , founded on the carnal appetite merely ; which requires new objects daily , because the pleasure of the same object is soon at an end . Nor can novelty long support this grovelling appetite : frequent repetition without waiting the calls oi