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Article LEIBNIZ AND SPINOZA. ← Page 5 of 25 →
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Leibniz And Spinoza.
and that we shall do better to err in making the motives of men too good than in always believing them to be eAil . There is scarcely anything in the book itself Avhich may not be found much more forcibly expressed by Rochefoucauld ; but here Ave have the replies of Leibniz to each article . Some of these Ave shall notice . With regard to temperanceDe l'Esprit says
, , " it is but surmounting one passion by another ; " and he adds , " that men avoid the grosser excesses out of a regard for life and health . " But if this be granted , it does not folloAV that there is anything to blame in the motive . All men know that intemperance injures health , and shortens life ; yet he Avho abstainsand still more he Avho reformsdeserve praise that they
, , prefer the good to the evil . With regard to prudence , the Abbe lays it doAvn as a rule , that rectitude of intention is wanting in it ; and that so far as any man is guided by prudential motives , so far he is destitute of high and honourable ones . Now possibly the easiest Avay of disposing of such an argument as thisAvould be to draw it out to its consequences .
, If I avoid gambling , inordinate speculation , and excessive expense , lest I should lose my property , and bring myself and my family to ruin , then I am governed by prudential motives , and consequently I am devoid of integrity . It Avill therefore
follow , that if I desire to preserve honour and integrity , I must lay aside prudence altogether . Leibniz shows that no motive can be blameable which leads to these results ; not that men may not do much evil and at the same time some good , but that in itself all that tends to enable us to overcome eA'il , and so far as it does so , is good ; but neither of the parties to this
dispute seem to have reflected , that if no evil results from any particular line of conduct , then there can be nothing wrong in pursuing it , so that it is the known consequences of any act Avhich renders it expedient or otherwise ; and taking its expediency on a large and Christian basis , Avhich is the measure of its laAvfulness , gambling that risked no man's property ,-
—extravagance that diminished no man ' s means , would be contradictions in terms ; prudence would have no objection to make to them ; they would be no longer criminal ; and if principle and prudence teach the same things , it will be generally found that men learn the lesson from both . He who reflects deeply will see that the beautiful and the true Avill be in constant
accordance Avith the expedient ; or that nothing can be expedient save that which is at once the TO KCI \ 6 V and the TO TTOETTOV . The Abbe says , that it is very rare to find persons makingmuch profession of reli g ion , possessed of real probity . In reply to this , Leibniz admits that real probity is by no means VOL . II . 2 B "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Leibniz And Spinoza.
and that we shall do better to err in making the motives of men too good than in always believing them to be eAil . There is scarcely anything in the book itself Avhich may not be found much more forcibly expressed by Rochefoucauld ; but here Ave have the replies of Leibniz to each article . Some of these Ave shall notice . With regard to temperanceDe l'Esprit says
, , " it is but surmounting one passion by another ; " and he adds , " that men avoid the grosser excesses out of a regard for life and health . " But if this be granted , it does not folloAV that there is anything to blame in the motive . All men know that intemperance injures health , and shortens life ; yet he Avho abstainsand still more he Avho reformsdeserve praise that they
, , prefer the good to the evil . With regard to prudence , the Abbe lays it doAvn as a rule , that rectitude of intention is wanting in it ; and that so far as any man is guided by prudential motives , so far he is destitute of high and honourable ones . Now possibly the easiest Avay of disposing of such an argument as thisAvould be to draw it out to its consequences .
, If I avoid gambling , inordinate speculation , and excessive expense , lest I should lose my property , and bring myself and my family to ruin , then I am governed by prudential motives , and consequently I am devoid of integrity . It Avill therefore
follow , that if I desire to preserve honour and integrity , I must lay aside prudence altogether . Leibniz shows that no motive can be blameable which leads to these results ; not that men may not do much evil and at the same time some good , but that in itself all that tends to enable us to overcome eA'il , and so far as it does so , is good ; but neither of the parties to this
dispute seem to have reflected , that if no evil results from any particular line of conduct , then there can be nothing wrong in pursuing it , so that it is the known consequences of any act Avhich renders it expedient or otherwise ; and taking its expediency on a large and Christian basis , Avhich is the measure of its laAvfulness , gambling that risked no man's property ,-
—extravagance that diminished no man ' s means , would be contradictions in terms ; prudence would have no objection to make to them ; they would be no longer criminal ; and if principle and prudence teach the same things , it will be generally found that men learn the lesson from both . He who reflects deeply will see that the beautiful and the true Avill be in constant
accordance Avith the expedient ; or that nothing can be expedient save that which is at once the TO KCI \ 6 V and the TO TTOETTOV . The Abbe says , that it is very rare to find persons makingmuch profession of reli g ion , possessed of real probity . In reply to this , Leibniz admits that real probity is by no means VOL . II . 2 B "