$ 
 
ON THE 
 
 NATURAL EQUALITY OF MEN; 
 
 ON THE RIGHTS THAT RESULT FROM IT, 
 
 AND ON THE DUTIES WHICH IT IMPOSES. 
 
 TO V/HICH A SILVER MEDAL WAS ADJUDGED BY THF. 
 TEyLERljj£l<^,»OCIET;|r AT HAARLEM, APRIL 1792' 
 
 .<■<•<••< <!►>■.>•►->•• 
 CORRECTED and ENLARGED. 
 
 BY WILLIAM LAWRENCE BROWN, D. D, 
 
 PROFESSOR OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY, AND THE 
 
 LAW OF NATURE, AND OF ECCLF-SI ASTfCAL 
 
 HISTORY J AND MINISTER OF THE 
 
 ENGLISH CHURCH AT UTREGKT. 
 
 THE SECOND AMERICAN EDITIOi;. 
 
 —A'' E IV J R K— 
 
 rRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOHM WAIJ.T?. 
 
 802. 
 
i 
 
 THE 
 
 WILLIAM R. PERKINS 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY 
 
 W 
 
 Rare Books 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 WHOEVER has attentively confidered the ferles 
 of queftions propofed for public difcuffion by 
 the Teylerian Society, will acknowledge that they 
 have ufually had the peculiar advantage of uniting 
 curious inveftigation with general utility. But, of 
 all the queilions propofed by this, or by any literary 
 fociety whatever, none appears either of greater con- 
 fequencein itfelf, or from the complexion of the times, 
 more likely to excite attention, than that which is nov/ 
 offered by this refpe<5lable body, as the fubje<5t of com- 
 petition for the literary honor which they annually 
 confer. It direfily leads to examine the principal 
 foundations of civil fociety, to unfold the chief obliga- 
 tionsof all focial duties, to eftablilh the important ad- 
 vantages of fubordination, on the one hand, and, on 
 the other, to guard againft the dreadful and odious 
 confequcnces both of defpotifm and of anarchy. Such 
 are the momentous confiderations neceffarily conneded 
 with the proper difcuflion of this queftion ; the pro- 
 pofal of which does equal honor to the difcernment 
 and public fpirit of the worthy directors of the Tey- 
 lerian inftitution. Happy may the perfon account 
 himfelf, and juftly will he be entitled to the thanks of 
 his fellow men, who fhall be enabled to treat this fub- 
 jeft in any manner adequate to its real confequence and 
 dignity. Far, indeed, is the writer of this Eilay from 
 prefuming to lay claim to this praifc, but he feels his 
 heart impreiTed by the importance of the fubjeft, and 
 animated with a warm defire of contributing to the 
 public good that portion which his fmall abilities may 
 
permit. Ever fmce he was capable of any rational 
 
 refiedtion, he has found his foul aftuated by the facred 
 
 iJame of Liberty, by an abhorrence of oppreffion, and 
 
 by that love of juftice which didates an equal enjoy- 
 
 ii.ent of all the rights of human nature. The grand 
 
 r>rinciple of the natural equaHty of men, if rightly un- 
 
 Ivillocd, is the only bafis on which univerfal juftice, 
 
 vider, and freedom, can be firmly built, and perma- 
 
 :;ridy iecured. 1 he view exhibited in this ElTay, Co 
 
 if from loofening the bands offocifty, or weakening 
 
 i^atfubordination, without which no government can 
 
 ubfiit, will draw more, clofely every focial tie, and 
 
 .here ftrongly confirm the obligations of legal obedi- 
 
 xice, and the rights of legal authority. 
 
 The writer is fuiHcIently aware that the principles 
 which he attempts to unfold, will not be agreeable 
 either to the wild enthufiafts for liberty, or to the fer- 
 viie and tyrannical abettors of arbitrary power. That 
 m.oderation, which flows from the love and the per- 
 ception of truth (which commonly lies between two 
 extremes) is feldom acceptable to the multitude, who, 
 incqpableof diflinguifning the ufe from the abufe of 
 things, are generally as extravagant and impetuous in 
 the maintenance of right, as in the abetment of wrong. 
 It is only the few, who have fliaken off the fhackles of 
 prejudice, difpelled the clouds of paflion, and burft 
 from the dungeon in which they confine the foul, that 
 can view and reiiih obje^fts as they appear in the pure 
 and fteady light in .vhich nature exhibits them. The 
 eyes of the reft of mankind are either too weak to fuf- 
 tainits luilre, or, if they have beheld it for fome time, 
 become fo much dazzled as to lofe fight of the ob- 
 jedls which it is dcfigned to unfold to them, and arc 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 thus deprived of that dire<rnon in eondudl which it 
 ought to afFord. Of the truth of this alfertion, the 
 times in which we live furnifli abundant and melan- 
 choly examples. 
 
 Since the generality of mankind, then, 'will ever be in 
 extremes, and the wiferfew, if they keep themfelves free 
 from the contagion of popular prejudice and paffion, 
 will, from this very circumftance, feldom acquire any 
 great influence over the general condud ; it may be 
 aHced, of what ufe can fuch writings be, which the 
 multitude will either not read, or not apply to profit, 
 and the more intelligent do not require ? To this quef- 
 tion the anfwer is obvious : — that the progrefs of truth 
 is furc, though flow ; that, if every perfon of difcern- 
 ment and moderation would confider it as his duty to 
 communicate, as far as his fphere niay extend, the light 
 he himfelf has acquired, a great deal of good might at 
 Ua be accomphfiied ; and that to contribute acf 
 portion, however fmall, to the common benefit, is both 
 a fufficient motive and a fufficient reward to a benefo- 
 lent and generous mind. The human foul is formed 
 for truth and virtue. Error, prejudice, and depravity, 
 are unnatural ftates. Superftition and bigotry, po- 
 pular frenzy, or defpotic oppreffion, never can be dei- 
 tined by the Supreme Diredor of the world to hold a 
 perpetual reign, becaufe they countera<5l his wife and 
 benevolent defigns. The pafHons, and the confequent 
 agitations which they excite, as they are violent, can 
 n'-ver be lading, and> from their very violence itfelf, 
 tend, by a fpecies of fermentation, to throve off the 
 dregs of ignorance and folly, which obftrud the im- 
 provement of our fpecies. Thefe convulfions may be 
 compared to texnpclls and hurricanes which overcaft 
 
fi ?R£FACE. 
 
 tl>e flcy Willi a temporary gloom, and often occafion the 
 mod dreadful calamities ; but. in the end, refine the 
 atmofphere, and preferve its falubritv. It Is more na- 
 tural to fuppofe that the progrefs of the world is to- 
 wards improvement and perfeflion, than, as gloomy 
 but contrafisd minds are apt to fancy, towards de- 
 generacy and ruin. Even the final deftrudion of this 
 globe, which Scripture teaches us to expect, will only 
 ferve to introduce a more perfect and glorious fcene. 
 The times in which we live, though agitated with vio- 
 lent convuhions, and marked by ftriking events, are 
 peculiarly favorable to rational inquiry and to fubftan- 
 tial improvement. On the public afi'airs of the world, 
 it has often been faid, that the fpeculations of philofo- 
 phers in their clofets have but httle influence. But 
 fuch an opinion can be adopted by thofe only who arc 
 as great ftrangers to experience as they are to fpecula- 
 tion. The condud of men is commonly direded by 
 their ©pinions. Their opinions are formed by their 
 principles ; their principles, by the inftrudion which 
 they receive, by the books which they read, by the com- 
 pany which they frequent. Hence it is eafy to fee 
 hcAv far the public opinions and condud muft, in a lite- 
 rary age, be affedted by the writings that appear in it. 
 If thefe are didated by foundnefs of judgment, and 
 benignity of heart, they cannot fail «f producing much 
 benefit. 
 
 The time, therefore, and pains employed in fpecula- 
 tions, fuch as are fuggefted by the important queftion I 
 now propofe to difcufs, cannot be miflpent, if the fub- 
 je<5tis treated with any tolerable degree of accuracy and 
 precifion. Even thofe who fail of fuccefs may dill 
 cUim the honor of a laudable attempt ; and from mea 
 
fREFACK. V« 
 
 of fuch judgment and candour as chara(5lerlfe ihofe to 
 whom I have the honor cf addrefling this difcourfe, are 
 fure of obtaining it. Without detaining the attention 
 of my candid readers any longer from the immediate 
 confiJeration of the queftion now before them, I /hall 
 direclly proceed to examine it. As it ftands propofed 
 by the Society, it divides itfelf into three parts ; 
 
 I. In what refpe<ris may men be faid to be equal ? 
 
 II. What are the rights refulting from this equality ? 
 
 III. What are the duties which it impofes ? 
 
AN 
 
 E S S A Y, &c. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 In fwhat Se?ife may all Men he [aid to he Equal ? 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 0/* NATURAL DIVERSITIES i«;«£>;?^ Me Jf. 
 
 THAT all men are, by nature, equal, is an opi- 
 nion fo generally received among thofe who are 
 accuftomed to any degree of philofophical reflexion, 
 that to call it in queftion might appear abfurd, and to 
 prove it fuperfluous. Yet, this opinion, like many ge- 
 neral maxims which obtain a currency in the world 
 however true it may be, in its proper fenfe, is not, j. 
 am inclined to believe, of the greateft part, fufficiertly 
 founded according to the acceptation of thofe who 
 admit it. If it is underftood in any fenfe, exclufive of 
 all natural fuperiority and diftindlion among men, it 
 will be found to contraditft univerfal esperience. At 
 whatever period of human life, in whatever ftate or 
 condition of fociety, we contemplate our fpecies, we 
 (hall find that nature has diftinguiftied individuals 
 from each other, by peculiar and appropriate quali- 
 ties, almoft as remarkably, in fome inftances, as ihc 
 has diftinguiflied the human race from the inferior 
 creatures. Thcfe philofophers, who, in order to ex- 
 
AN ESSAY, kc 
 
 alt thcmfelves, attempt to degrade their fpccles, and 
 difplay their eloquence by defending the mod irration- 
 al paradoieSj aie eager to perfuade us, that, as human 
 nature, in its original (late, is on a level with tlic 
 brutes, fo individuals among mankind derive every 
 ditTerence of corporeal and mental perfecflion that 
 charaderizes them, wholly from the opportunities of 
 improvement which they have enjoyed, or from the hap- 
 py fituations in which they have been placed. Contra- 
 dialing univerfal experience, they drive to refer the 
 judgments which it eftablifhes, to the clafs of popular 
 prejudices ; and, pretending to lead us to the true 
 knowledge of human nature, exhibit to our view si 
 date of brutifti ignorance, and of favage ferofity, 
 which has never exilled but in their own imagina- 
 tions. They carry us back to a period of which there 
 are no monuments, and in which they confider man 
 not as a focial, but as a folitary animal, aiftuated by 
 mere animal inftinds, deftitute of ideas, a mere quad- 
 ruped grazing along with the brutes, and as little dif- 
 tinguiftied from the reft of his fpecies by individual 
 qualities, as his fpecies from the other inhabitants of 
 the foreft. In order to eftablifh this theory fo dif- 
 graceful to human nature, they produce cer- 
 tain relations of travellers, concerning Pongos, and En- 
 jokos, and Ourang-Outangs, whom they conclude to 
 be primitive men, whofe conduct and mode of life can 
 alone fumifh us with juft reprefentations of our ori- 
 ginal condition.* So eafy is it, when a favorite opin- 
 
 • See Rouffcau, furTorigine et les fondemcns dc Pinegalite par- 
 jni les homnaes. Note iGth. This fidion appears to be copied 
 from ancient writers. - ■ — See Lucretius. I. v. \erfe 923. Horace, 
 ferm. lib. i. Sat. 3, verfc 98. Cicero pro. Sextio, c. 42. De 
 ijiventionc, lib. I. c.z. LadlanU djv. inft. lib. 6, c, Jo. Hob- 
 bes de cive, c. viil. ie^ioa i« 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. II 
 
 ion IS to be maintained, or a paradox cftabliHied, to 
 adopt, as principles, judgments deftitute of all evidence* 
 and reje(5l principles fandioned by univerial confent. 
 So apt are the enemies of fyilem, to run into fyftems 
 of their own, whofe fole recommendations is Angu- 
 larity, while ingenious fophiftry is their only fupport. 
 
 Thofe writers fcem "not to have refleded, that if 
 man was originally a brute, he muft ever have con- 
 tinued fo ; and that that inftincfl, which folely they 
 allow to him in that fituation, if it is unerring within its 
 prefcribed compafs, never can, by any improvement, 
 be carried one ftep beyond its primitive limits. 
 That capacity of perfedlion, which they grant to him, 
 as his only dillindtion above the inferior animals, im- 
 plies, in its very nature, more elevated and extenfivc 
 powers, than any of thefe can poffefs. To deny this, 
 is to affert, that a building may be cre«5ted without a 
 foundation, an elegant and beautiful form exhibited 
 without original materials, an efifeft produced without 
 a caufe. Thefe writers feem to overlook the whole 
 analogy of nature, in which every fpecies is diftinguifh- 
 cd from every ather, by properties common to all of 
 the fame clafs, while all the individuals of each (pe* 
 cies are charadlerized by their peculiar qualities. It 
 would be equally abfurd to think of forming a man 
 out of a brute, as to imagine that a fifh may be traaf- 
 formed into a quadruped, 
 
 Thofe, however, who feek not fame, but wifdom, 
 aot brilliancy, but truth, will, in all their inquiriesi 
 concerning human nature, take the human fpecies, as 
 they find it exhibited, in its various forms, by daily 
 pbferyation, by the iacorrupted records of Hiflory, 
 
tt AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 and by the authentic relations of travellers. Beyond 
 thefe fources of information they will not pretend to 
 go in queft of ftates of human nature, which are only 
 to be found in the pidures of poets, or in the hypothe- 
 fis of philofophers equally fanciful; and they will 
 confider it as no lefs lidiculous for any one to philo- 
 fophife on man with an Ourang-Outang before him, 
 than it would be for a perfon, attempting to determine 
 the qualities of gold, to reject an undoubted piece cf 
 that metal, and begin his experiments with a piece ef 
 pinchbeck. For, as a ftatue, however elegantly fin- 
 iilied, ftill contains the rude mafs of marble, on which 
 fo much fymmetry and beauty has been fuperinduced ; 
 fo, man, in the moft civilized Rate of fociety, ftill retains 
 the original principles of his nature on which all the 
 various modifications he has undergone, have been in- 
 grafted. It is the bufinefs of the philofopher to dif- 
 cover thefe amidft all the adventitious citcumftances 
 with which they may be connefted, or the various 
 fliapes and colourings which they may have a/Tumed. 
 No human purfuit, no human inftitution, no human 
 enjoyment, no human corruption itfelf, but may be 
 ultimately referred to fome original principle of our 
 nature ; and without thefe original principles, it is 
 impoffible to account for the power of education, of 
 habit, and of example. If, laying afide all regard 
 to imaginary ftates of human nature, in which none 
 of the principles, which now fo povvg^rfuUy influence 
 our fpecies, are fuppofed to have unfol'^ed themfelves, 
 we fix our attention on mankind as they are exhibited 
 to us in hiftory, and by daily obfervation, there is one 
 important faa, Which muft occur to everyone endow- 
 ed with the fmalle ft refledtion. This faci:, on which 
 X mean chiefly to found my reafonings on the whole 
 
AN ES?>AY, 5cc. i^ 
 
 of this fuojeJl, Is, that, however fimilarthe fpccics may 
 be in general, an infinite diverfity of abilities, talents 
 and character, obtains among the . individuals that 
 compofe it. 
 
 This diverfity is evident with regard both to the 
 body, and to the mind. In fome, we behold great 
 bodily ftrength and dexterity, and a peculiar aptitude 
 for mechanical operations, and for rapid and power- 
 ful movements. In others, the powers of imaginii" 
 tion confpicuoufly unfold themfelves ; while judgment*^ 
 acutenefs, penetration and fagacity, n\ the condu-51 o^ 
 life, diftinguifh another clafs of men. An uncommon 
 clearnefs and energy of intellcd, and an aptitude for 
 the ab(ha<5t fciences, raife others above the common 
 level. Some have an afioniihing faculty of perfua- 
 fion, of addrefs, and m.anagement in moving the af- 
 fedion"^, and influencing the conducft cf their fellov/- 
 jnen. 
 
 . Nor is this diverfity lefs remarkable in the moral 
 qualities of men, than in their corporeal and intellectual 
 powers. Some have a wonderful command of their 
 own pallions, and can preferve their moderaiion and 
 compofure o£ foul amidtf the greatefl provocation^;, 
 and the mod trying calamities ; others are deprived 
 of all felf government by the flighted: adverfity, or 
 by the fmalleft oppofition. Some n^itures are extreme- 
 ly fympathetic, and eafily moved by the diftre/Ies of 
 their fellow men ; while others difcover an adanifli- 
 ing infenfibihty with regard nof. only to the aiHi*!lions 
 of other perfons, but even to their own. Benevolence, 
 and all the gentle and apiiable qualities which accom- 
 . pany it, peculiarly didinguifh fome charac'leis, wail.j 
 
 B 
 
^4 AN ESSAY, Sec. 
 
 fortitude and magnanimity, and all the ftcrn and aw- 
 ful virtues, are the leading features of fome elevated 
 fpirlts. Not to mention the characfleriftical marks of 
 ambition, avarice, voluptuoufnefs, indolence or vanity, 
 which diverfify fuch a number of individuals, it is 
 certain that the moral complexion of men is as vari- 
 ous as their corporeal conftitution, or their mental 
 faculties, and perhaps is greatly influenced by both. 
 
 Nor can It be alledged, that thefe diftIn(5lions of 
 chara(51er are entirely derived from the prefent ftate 
 of fociety, and from different opportunities of culti- 
 vation ; and by no means referable to any original 
 bent of nature. This conclufion will not be authorl- 
 fed either by the induftions of reafon, or by experi- 
 ence. For, in the firfl place, it is hard to be conceiv- 
 ed how any combination of circumftances, or any 
 influence of education and habit, can produce any 
 pow^er or propenfity, of which the original feeds have 
 not been dropped into the conftitution by the hand 
 of the Creator. All that fituation and opportunity 
 can effe(ftuate, is to fumifti thefe inherent powers and 
 propenfitics, with the means of unfolding themfelves, 
 of increafmg in vigour, and of acquiring maturity. If 
 they are entirely wanting, they will never be implant- 
 ed by any effort of human fltill, or be brought into 
 a^lion, by any favorable combination of circumftan- 
 ces. If they exift in any degree, however fmall, op- 
 portunity, etercife and cultivation, will advance them 
 to a pitch of ftrength fo greatly above their primitive 
 condition, as will have the appearance of a real crea- 
 tion. If we attend to the fadl itfelf, it muft be evi- 
 dent that children and favages, who have received 
 no inftru^ion, (hew Tarietics jo charafter, as well at 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 15 
 
 men who have enjoyed all the advantages of polifhed- 
 fociety, and who move in its diflPerent fpheres. Al- 
 though a pronenefs to imitation is univerfally predomi* 
 nant in childhood, yet the manner of imitating, and 
 the obje<Jls to which it is direcJled, are infinitely diver* e 
 fified. As foon as the faculties begin to unfold, all 
 the paffions and propenfities that belong to human 
 nature imperceptibly arife, and, accsrdisig as the one 
 or the other of thefe is moft prevalent, characleriftical 
 features diftinguilh the infant. The obje<5ls that en- 
 gage the attention of the favage, and the defires that 
 animate his purfuits, are indeed few, in comparifOn 
 of thofe that exift in more polifhed ftates of fociety. 
 Yet, as thefe concentrate his whole foul, fo they excite 
 Its energies the more powerfully within their limited 
 compafs, and confpire the more fpeedily to form 
 his charader. In the favage ftate, the genuine im- 
 pulfes and propenfities of nature are freely allowed 
 to appear, and, coUeded in one point, exert thcm- 
 felves with the greater vigour, and give to each indi- 
 vidual that peculiar complexion which refults from 
 the peculiar ftrength of his native powers.* The 
 multiplicity of objeds which attra<5t attentions and ftini- 
 ul ate aiflivity in more polifhed periods of fociety, 
 prevent a characfler frorq being fo fpeedily formed : 
 while the uniform inftitutions of civilized life, mould 
 all the membeis of the community to mutual refem- 
 blance, and contribute to eitace thofe prominent and 
 charaiflerillical features, uhich the hand of nature has 
 impreifed. I mean not to aflert that thofe diver fities 
 €f talents and chara<5ler are wholly to be afcribcd to 
 
 • See Robcrtfon'g Hi<^orjr df America, and Raynar* Hiftoire 
 Philofophiqiie et Politique pallin). 
 
J 6 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 tlie unafflfted powers of nature, but only that they 
 prevail ]p the joint propcrrion of tlicfe powers, and 
 tvf the circuijiftances that call them into exercife. As 
 the fire will foon be extinguifhed, if not conQantly fed 
 by combuftibles, and as thefe ccmbuftibles, however 
 muldplied, will not produce flame, and light, and heat, 
 ;;nlefs they are kindled ; i'o the human faculties, if never 
 called into a<5lion by correfpon.ding fituations, will re- 
 main torpid and inefficacious ; and the moll: favorable 
 concurrence of circumftances will not produce genius, 
 dexterity, fagacity, and virtue, if the original feeds of 
 all thefe qualities are totally wanting. Be this as it 
 may, it is incontroveitible that theie is, among the vari. 
 ous individuals that compcfe the human fpecies, an&l- 
 moft iaHnite diverfity of abilities, temper, and charader. 
 
 From this circumftance a natural wequalify muft 
 neceffarily arife. Thofe talents and difpofitions, vvhich 
 are the moflr amiable and refpedable, diredlly point 
 out their pofrclTors as the objcds of love and efteem. 
 Wherever fuch qualities appear, it is as impoflible 
 for the human mind, unlefs it be mod deplorably 
 depraved, to witlihold its admiration and affection, 
 as it would be for any natural caufe not to produce 
 its eff.d when placed in circumftances adapted to 
 its operation. Every dlfplay of genius, of fagacity, 
 of penetration, and prudence, is calculated to excite 
 the admiration of the beholders, to afford them plea- 
 fure, and if beneficently direfled, to demand their 
 gratitude. Fortitude, magnanimity and generofity, 
 command veneration, and excite efteem. Gentlenefs, 
 moderation, kindnefs, and compafllon, appearing as 
 the diaiaguifhing features in any chara^icr, cannot 
 fail to a^iaa the love and complacency of uil to 
 
AN E8SAY, 5cc. 
 
 v/horn they are known. Even corporeal ftreng'h 
 and dexterity procure a certain degree cf refpeA to 
 their poirefihrs, on account of their utiiicy in life both 
 to others and to themielves. 
 
 It !s equally certain, that refy^^t, eP.eera, veneration 
 and love, enfure to ihofe who ure the objeds of then;, 
 a very high degree of influence over the reft of nrian- 
 kind. Such will be liftened to, imitated, and oo*. red 
 by all who are capable of eftimating the qualities above 
 ineiuioned according to their real merit ; the lulhe 
 which they Hied around their po/Teirors dazzles thofe 
 whofe fouls are lefs difcerning and elevated ; and even 
 the ftupid and the bafe are con drained to pay an in- 
 voluntary homage. That fucii qualities are the on- 
 ly original fources of power and influence, is evident 
 from the conduft of all who afpire at acquiring con- 
 fideration and authority. If they want the reality? 
 they afFeft the appearance of them, and, even .when 
 power alone reduces their fellow men under ihsir 
 fubje<ftion, they endeavor alfo, if not ftupified by the 
 habits of tyranny, to engage their efteem, and to 
 captivate their benevolence, fenfible that dominion, 
 to which thefe give no fupport, can never be fure and 
 lafting. I am far from aifcrting that all power and 
 diftinftion are founded on this natural bafis. La- 
 mentable experience proves the contrary. But, that 
 refpedable and amiable qualities are the primitive 
 fources of authority and pre-eminence; and, wheu 
 freely allowed to exert themfelves, cannot fail to ob- 
 tain them, will be as generally acknowledged as it is 
 certain in fa<Jk.* 
 
 ♦ H<nc« *.lift«ary to accownt for monavchUa having been ^Imo/k 
 B2 
 
AN ESSAY, Sec. 
 
 Nature henelf, then, has evidently eftablifhed unam- 
 biguous di[lin<5lions among men, and produced a very 
 rea^.arkable inequility among the individuals of our 
 Ipeeles. We may freely affert, that if any mortal con- 
 fpicuoufly excelled the refl: of mankind in every poffiblc 
 talent and quality, whether corporeal, intellectual, or 
 iiioral, which difiinguilhes the fpecies in general, and 
 had every poffible opportunity of difplaying this perfec- 
 tion in all its luftre, he would be raifed, by nature her- 
 Telf, as mu :h above the reft of his fellow men as they 
 .re above the inferior animals, and be as clearly defign. 
 d to had and govern them. Or, if all the above men- 
 'oned qualities were the peculiar attributes of any 
 •iven number of men, thefe would be marked out by 
 )ivine Providence, as a glorious ariftocracy or fenate, 
 •> pref.de over the community to which they belonged, 
 
 v.jy where the pnmk'.ve form of government. As no foclety 
 ,;Uid riibfjft withoui fome diiedlng power, and as rude and favage 
 ■vzn AAfcre incapable of extending their views to thofe more compli- 
 ^ui. fyftcms which obfervatiou and experience alone can fugged 
 
 . .i eflabli/h, it was natural for them to pitch on the fimpleft forms 
 •lici) was diftated rather by fentimciit, than by reafon, and to 
 
 vu.<i ihat Toluntary obedience to a chief, which their admiratioa 
 ^ his fyperior quaJities infpired. ThtJ fimple foim lafted as lotg 
 s :he chief continued to difplay thef; virtoe?, and to apply them i« 
 .ch a manner as to conciliate general benevolence. But, as foon 
 i oppreilion rendered him an objed cf hatred, or wesknefs, an 
 bjed of contempt, the eviis cxperie.iced pointed out the ncceflity 
 Kl^curin^? the public welfare on a firmer bafis than the capricious 
 • eafufe of an indiviJu.1 } and the hab'ts of fociety fuggefted more 
 
 ..Tijplicared fydemsof givernment, better adapted to the grand 
 . tvbjpi^.v of political unon. Among boys at fchocl, one diftinguiflied 
 
 by bis courage, his fsgacity, or his art, commonly affumes the 
 
 le.i'l, ano gove^■RS the juvenile com.xu.nity, with a fway as defpo- 
 
 tic as th»t of ary eaftern monarch. The cafe is nearly the fame 
 
 ill At! voluntary tflfvciatiyns. 
 
AN ESSAY, Sec. i§ 
 
 For they would be pofTefled of every qnalification to dif- 
 cern, of every difpofition to purfiie, and, from the willing 
 homage and obedience of the reft of mankind, of every 
 power to fccure,. the public good. Or, laftly, If any 
 human being were inverted with fuch ftrength and 
 agility of body, with fuch compafs of undcrllanding, 
 and with fuch complete maftery of his own paffions, 
 as fully to provide himfelf with every thing uecelfary 
 for his fubfulence, or conducive to his convenience and 
 comfort, and as neither to be expofed to the injuries of 
 others, nor to be tempted to injure them, ncr to be 
 affeded by their misfortunes ; fuch a mortal would be 
 perfe<^ly independent of the reft of mankind ; and as 
 he needed nothing from them, fg he would, in no 
 refped whatever, be their debtor. 
 
 But fuch charaders as thofe above defcrlbed, have 
 never yet exifted in the world, and indeed never can 
 exift. Such an cfTemblage of perfedion is net human 
 but divine. 
 
to AN ESSAY, 8cc. 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 0/^thff DISTRIBUTION ^HUMAN ABILITIES and TALINTI- 
 
 IF we Gonfider the various talents and modes of er- 
 cellence of which the human ipecies is capable, wc 
 fhall acknowledge that neither all thefe, nor any conii- 
 derabls number of thein, have ever been found united 
 in any one individual ; nay, that the higheft degrees 
 of many of them are incompatible with each other. 
 For, when diftinguifhed honors, or extenfive reputii- 
 tion, are acquired by iliuftjrious qualifies, we are not 
 thence to infer that the perfons, to whom thefc diftinc- 
 lions are allotted, furpafs the reft of mankind in every 
 quality belonging to the fpecies ; but only that they 
 have attained fuperiority in fuch, as being more uncom- 
 mon, are, on that account, more admired. Thof« 
 mechanical arts and inferior virtues, without which 
 human fociety could not fubfift, attra<5l no admiration, 
 becaufe they are daily exhibited. Yet the moft illuftri- 
 ous of mankind ftand more in need of the benefits which 
 thefe afford, than their diilinguiflied abilities can confer 
 en the humble pofTefTors of the former. As thofe en- 
 dowed with the qualities moft neceffary in human life, 
 but of inferior eftimation, efpecially fuch as are dlfplay- 
 cd in mechanical labor and art, cannot, from their oc- 
 cupations themfelves, afpire at the fublimer and more 
 elegant abilities which diftinguifh others ; thefc, on the 
 other hand, mull remain deftitute of the more ufeftii 
 
A^ ESSAV, &c. "4l 
 
 ftiie*. TJiat leifnre, meditation, and findy, withou 
 which the faculties of the mind cannot be perfe(5ted, 
 Tieceffarily prevent that full exercife of the corporeal 
 members, which enfures their highefl vigor and agility. 
 A fancy uncommonly lively and bright is adverfe to 
 the patient and accurate refearches of philofcphy, and 
 to the juft application of the intelled, in the difcovery 
 and develcpement of truth, and the improvement of 
 fcience. That minute attention to calculation, that 
 arithmeticiil exac^nefs, and that conftant obfervance of 
 the linvarying routine of bufmefs, which are necefTary 
 to mercantile and economical purfuits, but which pre- 
 fent no imagery to the mind, are inaufpicious to the 
 more elegant enjoyments of tafte, and to the cnltivation 
 of the fine arts. The ftern and awful virtues feldom 
 aflbciate with the gentle and amiable, and, claiming 
 refpedl and veneration, feem to difdain complacency 
 and love. Even fome corporeal perfections appear re- 
 pugnant to others. The moft robuii conformation of 
 the members, and the ftrength it produces, are not 
 eafily united with great agility, and w ith delicate re- 
 finement in the organs of fenfe. In a word, it appears 
 to be the intention of nature, that, although the human 
 faculties are various, and capable of being carried to 
 amazing heights of excellence ; yet this fliould feldom 
 he accomplilhed, unlefs when uncommon culture and 
 improvement are beftowed on fome particular faculty, 
 or at leaft, en a few faculties which have a peculiar na- 
 tive ftrength. 
 
 Variety of talents is, therefore, more applicable to 
 the fpecies than to individuals. The feeds of each (as 
 v,c have above obferved) are, perhaps, cad into every 
 
U AN ESSAY, Itc. 
 
 individual ccBftuvtion, but the foil is diiferently adap- 
 ted to them, and that particular power to which it if 
 favourable, fprings up, and, if properly cultivated, 
 comes to maturity, fpreads around its branches, and 
 bears abundant fruit. It may be obje^ed, that it 
 feems very prepofternus to fuppofe the creator implan. 
 ting in any conftitution the principles of powers, which 
 were never defigned to come to maturity- But, let it 
 be confidered that, as the different improvements of 
 men depend on various occurrences, and, as mention- 
 ed above, the charafteriftical qualities of each individ- 
 ual will be in the united degree of their primitive 
 ftrcngth, andof the opportunities of culture; it was 
 neceflary that the feeds of each fliould be dropped in- 
 to every human frame, fo that, when favourable cir- 
 cumftances concurred, that power which they were bed 
 calculated to improve might fpring up and flourilh, 
 and thus as much human excellence might, on the 
 whole, be produced as the human condition would ad» 
 init. This was, moreover, neceffary in order to con- 
 ftitutc that general fimilarity which charaderifes the 
 fpecies, and unites them together in the bonds of a 
 common nature. 
 
 Be this as it may, it is undoubted that thofe who 
 aVm at diftin<5lion, or even at moderate degrees of ei- 
 ccllence in a great variety of obje<5ls, generally exhibit 
 a ridiculous 6gure ; after having wafted their time, 
 exhaufted their powers, and fuperinduced on their 
 minds habits of inconftancy and ficklenefs. Even the 
 greateft geniufes, when they leave that particular track, 
 in which indulgent nature had provided them with un- 
 fading laurels, and endeavour to invade the |)rovince, 
 and fnatch the rewards of others, while they prefent, 
 on the one hand, the moft aftonifhing inftances o£ the 
 
AN ESI^AY, fte. i^ 
 
 ftrength of the homan mind, afFord, on the other, no left 
 convincing proofs of its weaknefs and vanity.* Hence 
 theneceffity of each individual devoting himfelf to fome 
 favourite and ufeful purfuit, to which every other 
 fliould be fubfervient, and of applying to the diligent 
 difcharge of the duties of that department in which h« 
 can produce the greatefl benefit to mankind, and ac- 
 quire the greateft honour to himfelf. 
 
 From what has been faid in this and the preceding 
 chapter, it appears, in the/ry? place, that nature her* 
 felf has eftablilhed clear and certain diftinflions among 
 men, in the various qualities allotted to each individ- 
 ual, and in the various opportunities furniftied them in 
 the courfe of life for their improvement. Thefe op- 
 portunities may occur, though in inferior degrees, in 
 the rudeft as well as in the mod polilhed ftates of fo- 
 cicty. It is evident, fecondly^ that thefe diftindions 
 comprehend not the perfe^ion of all the human pow- 
 ers, but the fmgular excellence of one, or of a few of 
 tliem, confpicuous in individuals. 
 
 * This might bellluftrated by manj exAtnples of « fooliih Jiffe«- 
 Ution •£ univerfslity of ^eniui. 
 
M AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ^f the MUTUAL DEPENDENCE of MANKINI>. 
 
 FROM the two fa^s eftabilihed in the ccnclufion 
 of thelail chapter, duly co "(^^ered, it appears to 
 me that the juft notion of the natural equality of all 
 mankind, as far as relates to their mutual duties, is to 
 be derived ; and that, however paradoxical it may 
 ieem, an equality the moO: exa<5t and perfe^, in refpect 
 of every moral and focial obligation, fprings from 
 ':?7e<j!ualit^ itfelf, 
 
 Human nature is evidently endowed wiih a varie- 
 ty of appetites and defires, adapted to the various ob- 
 { eels which are capable of fupplying its wants, or of 
 furnifhing it wiih'pleafures. The body {lands in need 
 of conftaiit fupport, which is not to be procured with- 
 out confiderable art and labour- This art and labour 
 muft be greatly increafed. if not only the neceffaries, 
 but alfo the ccnveniencies and elegancies of iifs are de- 
 fircd, and the refinements of fenfe confidered as objed:s 
 of purfuit. The fenfes are not only inlets of pleafures 
 merely corporeal, but of others alio of a more refined 
 and delicate kind, of which the mind under the ifiu- 
 ence of fancy, is the chief percipient. Hence they 
 open a very extenfive field of -human enjoyment, and 
 claim the whole compafs of nature to adminifler ma- 
 terials for the fine arts. The mind of man is eagerly 
 defirous of knowledge, and vvilhes to difcover the rela- 
 tions, the caufes ajid the effc»5ls, of ths various cbjs^ 
 
AN ESSAY, kc. 
 
 that are prefented to it. Not only corporeal wants 
 and appetites, the fenfes of beauty, of harmony, 
 and of magnificence, and the love of knowledge, fub- 
 jedt man to neceffities, which mud be fupplied, or of- 
 fer to him pleafures which he cannot but defire ; he 
 is alfo aduated by various affedions, fome felfiih and 
 fome benevolent, w'hich ferve as conftant fpurs to ac- 
 tion, and impel him into various tracks, according to 
 the different comple ' as of their objeds. 
 
 Such is the nature of man ; and from what has 
 been faid above, as well as from other confiderations 
 on which I (hall flightly touch, it is evident, that each 
 individual is infufFicient, not only for his own perfec- 
 tion, but even for the fupply of his moil urgent necef- 
 fities. The other animals are by nature provided with 
 defence and covering, with fubfiftence and Ihclter. 
 They foon attain the full vigour and the complete ex- 
 ercife of their powers, and, witiiout inftrud:ion or fnc- 
 €Our, can apply them with certainty to their refpedive 
 ends. But man, as he enters into the world naked, de- 
 fencelefs,andi>nprovided with fubfiftence, fo, without the 
 affiftance and co-operation of his fpecies, he muftever 
 remain in the moft abje<5t and comfortlefs condition. 
 The inclemency of the feafons, the fterility of the earth, 
 the ferocity O:' favage animals, his natur-.il •mbecility. 
 oppofe to his comfortable exiftence, fo many and fo 
 powerful obftacles, as he could never exp£(5l of himfelf 
 to furmount. He is afiailed by evils which he cannot 
 repel, fubjetfl to wants which he cannot fupply, and 
 furrounded by objects which he cannot, by his own 
 ftrength, convert to his ufe. Deftined for focicty, he 
 is immediately thrown on its care, and bound by his 
 own weakuefs^ to contribute to its ftrength. 'Defigu- 
 C 
 
26 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 «d to fc-m the mod intimate union with his fellow mea 
 he is conPtituted miferablc and deftitute without them ; 
 but, conftrained by this circumftance, to join his ef- 
 forts to theirs, he derives tlie mod aftoniOiing acquired 
 power from his natural imbecility. Furnilhed with 
 capacities greatly fuperior to inftindl, he at firft exer- 
 cifss them in a manner greatly below it ; and, formed 
 for infinite improvement, he proceeds from the fmall- 
 eft beginnings ; but can neither begin nor proceed with- 
 out the co-operation cf his fellow men. 
 
 What multiplication of ingenuity, what combination 
 ofinduftry, what concurrence of different abilities, are 
 requiute not only to carry to perfedioU:, but even to 
 invent and exercife, with any tolerable degree of dex- 
 terity, thofe mechanical arts and employments, which 
 exalt the citizen above the favage, which fweeten and 
 embellish fecial life, which furnilh all that variety of 
 convenience and pleafure we daily behold and enjoy, 
 and which, from the moft helplefs of the animal crea- 
 tion, render man the lord of the world. Will the fo- 
 reft be felled and moulded into furniture, the quarry 
 be dug and poliihed into materials for building, the 
 marlh drained and converted into arable land, the 
 overflowing river confined to its proper channel, the 
 inferior creatures conftrained to fuccour human weak- 
 nefs by their fuperior Itrength, or their fpoils be manu- 
 faaured into clothing ; will the fuperfluities of one 
 count'-y fupply the deficiencies of another, and naviga- 
 tion unite the moft diftant regions by the mutual and 
 permament ties of beneficial commerce j will all this, 
 and much more, which I forbear to enumerate, be 
 accoropiiilied without tlie united and juftly regulated 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 27 
 
 efforts of the human fpecies, and the 'equal application 
 of the talents of each to the common intereft ?* Will 
 tha fecret fprirgs of nature be explored, and the laws, 
 which fbe obferves through all her different provinces, 
 be inveftigated, unlefs time and opportunity are fur- 
 nifhed to the acute and the ingenious, by means of a 
 commodious fubfiftence provided for them, by the 
 labour and induflry of thofe whofe faculties are leis 
 refined and exalted f 
 
 Thus it appears that, as each individual is totally 
 infufBcient for his own happine's, fo he muft depend, 
 in a great meafure, on the affiftance of others for its 
 attainment ; and that however much any one may con- 
 tribute to the beneiit of his fellow men, by the excellence 
 and fplendor of his abilities, whether natural or ac- 
 quired, he derives from them as much as he can be- 
 Itow, and frequently much more than he gives. 
 
 If the union of all, then, be necefTary for the fufle- 
 nance, the convenience and the happinefs of each ixi- 
 diviJual, and each individual can, in Kis turn, contri- 
 bute coufiderably to the common welfare, it follows, 
 as a neceflary confequence of this determination of 
 nature, that order and fubordination muft be introdu- 
 ced, by which the different members of the communi- 
 ty may have their proper taflis allotted to them, the 
 talents of each be directed to their proper objects, in- 
 jufticeand violence be reftrained, and as great a fum 
 of common fehcity be produced, as the condition of 
 humanity will permit. Hence, new channels are cue 
 out for abilities, namely, thofe which are exercJAd \n 
 
 *See Soiixii'* V-'calth of Nations, Baoic j. 
 
2g AN 7.5SA?, &c. 
 
 cHices of power and authority. As reafon, however, 
 loudly dictates the inftitution of thefe for the common 
 ^onj of the human race ; fo fhe requires that they fall 
 to the lot of thole who are qn ilified to difcharge them. 
 When iljjs a-f^uaily takes place, the order of nature is 
 <;bferved, ,i!id all ns happy confequenccs enfue. Wh.ea 
 this order ii^ overturned, and the different departments 
 of fociety, but efpecially ihofe of the higheft dignity 
 and life, are committed to fuch as are incapable of 
 dilchargiiig the duties of them, all the dilmal effeds of 
 folly, injufiice, and confufion, are fpread through the 
 whole ct the focJal frame, and the evils of that inequa- 
 lity, which LJ-e corruption and blindnefs of mankind 
 hrivc introduced, arefeverely felt. When the talents and 
 meritkof mcnareallowedlhcirfree courfe, are permitted 
 a fair field for their exercife, and are not deprived of 
 thofe rewards v.'hich are by nature annexed to them, there 
 never can be any ground to complain of inequality 
 among men. For, however unequal their abilities and 
 opportunities may be in themfelves, the moft perfe^ 
 equality exifts in the diftribution of the rewards and 
 advantages annexed tc each by the conflitution of na- 
 ture, '^i'he "gc^d efFe(5>s of univerfiil induilry, and the 
 prober application of the powers of every individual, 
 i'c at, to produce the greateft good upon tlie ^/hole, are 
 then felt through all the focial body. Every perfon 
 poiieii'cs that degree of wealth, of confideration, and of 
 honor, to which he is entitled by his honed induftry, 
 v.r by his fervices to the public. The adive and noble 
 minded exert all their powers for the common welfare, 
 in the moft efficacious and iiludrious manner. The 
 indolent and fclfiih are conftraincd, by the indigence 
 au»j contempt into whi^h they mull otherwife fall, to 
 
AN ESSAY, 5cc. 29 
 
 contribute their ihare to it. But, when power and 
 riches are employed to fruftrate virtue of the refpeci 
 which is its due ; abilities, of the diftinftlon and intiu- 
 cnce which they juftly claim ; and honed Indallry, of 
 its natural fruits, a moi\ ihocklng inequality takes place, 
 which can only fubfiil in conjun<flion with the moil 
 edious tyranny. In proportion as this oppreflion pre- 
 vails which throws the principal advantages of fociety 
 into the hands of a few, by no means the moi^ refpec- 
 table of its members, and renders it a patrimony and 
 inheritance, of which they m;iy difpofe at pleafurc, 
 ibciety is corrupted and miferable. In proportion as 
 that inequality is maintained, which the Creator has tf. 
 tablifhed, and which confifts, not in all the members of 
 the focial body being placed on a level, but in mutual 
 dependance and parity of obligation among all, amidd 
 a variety of diftindtions, conditions, and ranks, fociety 
 is happy, fre e, and flourifhing, fecuring to each indi- 
 vidual the full enjoyment of all his natural advantage-^, 
 enfuring to the public the complete produ(5^ of the ef- 
 forts of all well dire<5ted and juftly combined ; uni- 
 ting all the members of the focial body by the tits of 
 mutual intereft and benevolence, and preferving a-^; 
 much liberty as is confident with civil union. 
 
 In fuch a happy date of things, whatever forms of 
 fubordination may exid, as there is a mutual depend- 
 ance among all the parts of the focial body ; fo there 
 is not the fmalleft ground for pride and infolence, on 
 the one hand, or for degradation and debafement of 
 (entiment, on the other. Are any exalted above others 
 by the fuperiority of their mental powers, they are in- 
 ferior to them in other qualities, which ave abfolutely 
 liCcciTary to the fupport and conveaience of life. iV 
 
 C2 
 
30 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 one excels in ufeful qualities, another Is diflinguifiied 
 by agreeable and fhining ones ; and, as pleafure with- 
 out utility, is pernicious, fo utility, without pleafure, 
 becomes languid and infipid. If one is exalted 
 to power, or illuftrious by fame, thofe who faithfully 
 difcharge the duties of an humble and obfcure ftation, 
 enable him to fulfil the duties of his more confpicuous 
 one, and contribute to his exaltation, by occupying 
 thofe parts of the general fyftem, without which the 
 higher orders could not fubfift, and by paying him that 
 deference and refped to which his merit is entitled. 
 If one is eminent by his wifdom and fagacity, by his 
 genius and wit, by his knowledge and erudition ; an- 
 other is no lefs aiding uifhed by his adivity and ftrength» 
 ■jy hh fkill and dexterity, by his induftry and labour. 
 If one ^s venerable by his elevation of foul, by his gen- 
 erofity, public fpirit, and intrepidity ; another is ami- 
 able by his gtntlenefs and complaifance, by his patience, 
 r.iodefty, and meeknefs ; and, if the former qualities 
 vrs the cirirtments, the latter are the great fweetners, of 
 rvff:, while both, operating in conjunction, fupply mu- 
 ti'^l defers, and impart mutual ftrength and embellifh- 
 ir^:ert. If thofe who fill the higher ftations in a becpm- 
 ii)g manner, confer the greateft benefits on their fellow 
 men, they are equally indebted to them for their fup- 
 port. If the latter ftand in need of the judgment and 
 penetration of the former ; in order to devifc the bed 
 plans cf profecuting tte public good, and of main- 
 taining the general fafety ; thcfe, again, ftand in need 
 of their refolution and diligence to carry their plans 
 into eyecuiion. If fome contribute to the inftru(flioa 
 and improvement of their fellow men, by teaching and 
 illuftrating the- gi^nd principles of virtue, on which the 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. jt 
 
 welfare of fociety is principally founded, thofe who en- 
 joy the benefit of their inftru<5lions, turn them to their 
 profit, by pradifing towards them the virtues which 
 they inculcate. If one clafs of men maintain good or- 
 der and peace, and another exercife all the elegant and 
 ufeful arts of fecial life, there are others who fecnre 
 thefe enjoyments and advantages again ft external rnva. 
 fion, and offer their blood as their contribution to 
 the common intereft. 
 
 As, in the human body, therefore, the welf.re of 
 the whole depends upon that of each individual mem- 
 ber, and that again is neceflarily affected by whate\er 
 affcds the whole fyftem ; and there is thus a mutual 
 depcndance and fympathy among all the parts ; fo, in 
 fociety, every individual having a particular portion of 
 talents, and, if properly placed, a partlculai ftation^ 
 conformable to this, allotted to him, becomes necef- 
 fary to the welfare of the whole community, and as he ' 
 affefts, is likewife afit<5led by, its profperity or detri- 
 ment. All are united by mutual dependance and fup- 
 port : break but one link of the chain, and the reft are 
 of no ufe, or, at leaft, are deprived of much advantage 
 and comfort, which Is enjoyed when the focial feries is 
 complete. 
 
 Nor cfught it to bealledgedi,that many of thofe wants, 
 which cannot be fupplied but in fociety^ are not the 
 wants of nature, but are merely adventitious, and gen- 
 erated in that fociety, the neceflity of which they are 
 produced to prove. We readily grant, that in refined 
 and highly poliftied ftatcs of civilized life, where luxury 
 has ttniverfally d^ufed its e^cnunating influence, manj 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 wants and defires are generated, whicli iire not only- 
 net agreeable to nature, but repugnant to human per- 
 •edion and felicity. Ler it however be obftrved, that 
 ihis pernicious tendency to human happinefs, begins by 
 ioofening thofe ties which knit men moft firmly toge- 
 ther. It is felfifti, not fecial, enjoyments which are 
 moft adverfe to human perfe<51icn, and man begins to 
 injure his own happinefs, by fepiuaring it fi cm the 
 general good. Ic is undoubted, that all the original 
 powers of human nature are carried to the higheft per- 
 fedion in fociety, and droop and languilh in folitude. 
 That ftate, furely, which is moft perfe<nive of every 
 human faculty, is the moft natural^ and it is only by the 
 ftrangeft perverfion of terms and ideas that the contra- 
 ry can be aiferted. But the perfe<ftion of the fecial 
 ftate cannot be attained, without the mutual depend- 
 ancfc of mankind, in that extenfive fenfe in which I have 
 exhibited it. That dependance is, therefore, founded 
 in the confticution of nature itfeif. 
 
AN essay; &c. 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FINAL CAUSES of the y kKlY.TY ©/"huMAN TALINTS. 
 
 IT is evidently the intention of Divine Providence 
 in beftowing upon different perfons different pow- 
 ers and abilities, to point them out for different fta- 
 tions and circamftances, to affjgn to them different du- 
 ties and taiks, and thus to promote mod effe<5lually 
 the welfare of the human *fpecies. By this fcheme, it 
 is unqueftionable, many more advantages are obtained, 
 with regard to the belt intereils of mankind, than coi.ld 
 have been fecured by difpenfmg the fame portion of 
 ability and virtue, that diftinguifties our fpecies, on 
 any other plan whatever. For every particular talent 
 is thus cultivated with greater fuccefs, when it occu- 
 pies the conftant and habitual attention of its poffeffor, 
 thao it could have been if he had been overloaded with 
 a Wiulaplicity of employments, or diftraded by the ex- 
 ercife of various abilities. A greater fum of excellence 
 is thus produced in the fpecies, and of confequence, its 
 p€ife<flion and happinefs is more effe(5tually promoted. 
 By this plan of diiiribution, moreover, opportunities 
 are afforded for the exercife of many virtues, which 
 could not have otherwife exifted. Thus, v/ere all 
 equally wife and learned, no opportunity could be af- 
 forded for difplaying either a communicative or a do- 
 cile difpofition. Were all equally rich, or equally 
 powerful, neither gcnerofity nor gratitude could be ex- 
 cited ; and) as there cculd be no demand for fuccour 
 
AN ESSAY, kc. 
 
 and protecflion, on the one hand, fo, on the other, there 
 would be no occafion for condefcenfion and fympathy. 
 Finally, mankind by being rendered abfolutely necefla- 
 ry to each other, are conftrained to maintain a mutual 
 intercourfe of good offices ; and Ibciety is thus united 
 by the firmeft and moll lafting bonds. 
 
 In fad, this diverfity of talents and virtues appears 
 to be Sie chief circumftance which qualifies men for a 
 fecial and political exiftence. Were all endowed with 
 the fame definite portion of powers, of whatever kind, 
 to what purpofe would men aflbciate, fincc they would 
 derive little mere ficm their union than they in- 
 dividually poffefled ? An accumulation of mere 
 (Irength would be the only effed of combined powers, 
 in the fame manner that fix horfes can draw a greater 
 weight, and to a greater diftance, than two. This 
 diverfity of abilities, by rendering mankind mutually 
 dependant from their detached weaknefs, becomes the 
 ftrongeft motive to aflbciation, the moft powerful bond 
 ef fociety, and its greateft excellence and perfedioB, 
 when it is properly arranged^ Without this, an^ on 
 the fuppoiition that the fame fpccific qualities were, 
 as in the brutes, allotted to each individual, amore per- 
 fe<5t equality would indeed be eftablifhed among all the 
 members of the fpecies ; bat it would be an equality 
 afelefs for every purpofe^of aiTociation, and would ferve 
 rather to feparate than to unite them. This circum- 
 ftance I am inclined to think, has not hitherto been fuf- 
 ficiently confidered, at lead not in the light in v/hich 
 I have reprefented it. In this light, thofe pleas of fupe- 
 nor wifdomi or of fupeiior power, which Arilloile,* 
 
 • Pttl. I, f.mot c. 7^ 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 55 
 
 and fonriQ late writers, who appear not very favorable 
 to the caufe of equal freedom, have urged as the foun- 
 dations of the dominion of one part of mankind over 
 the reft, are dellitute of all force. For, if thefe pleas 
 fho^ild be admitted, even in their utmoft extent, they 
 will furnilh no ground for independant dominion and 
 fuperiority, unlefs it can be proved, at the fame time, 
 that the pofleflbrs of thefe qualities are equally endow- 
 ed with every other which is neceffary or conducive to 
 human felicity. Should the wifdom and the ftrength 
 (as is commonly the cafe) be found indifferent fub- 
 je^s, it will remain to be decided to which the fn- 
 periority is to be affigned, and what particular degree 
 of each of thefe qualities is neceflary to conftitute ; 
 rightful claim. Art and ingenuity may likewife fup 
 pofe themfelves entitled to fome portion of dominion, 
 fince it is undoubted that their influence is very confid 
 crable in the affairs of life. In this manner, every 
 thing is thrown into confufion, and no clear notion oi 
 right is any where left. But, by the view we have 
 taken of the fubje(5l, (which will, I flatter myfelf, be 
 found to be the true one) every man acquires a clear and 
 definite claim according to the portion he contributes 
 to the general welfare, a moft falutary equality is ftill 
 left among mankind, and the community is knit together 
 by ties which cannot be dinx)lved, without the oeftruc- 
 tion of general and particular happinefs. In a word, 
 the flighteft contemplation of human nature convinces 
 us that man is defigncd by his Creator for fociety, and 
 as this was his dcftination, he is fb conftituted as t© 
 be impelled towards it by all his propenfities and pow- 
 ers, and linked to it by all his wants and enjoyments, 
 with whatever abilities he may be endowed, or in 
 whatever ftation he may be placed. 
 
AN ESSAY, 8ic. 
 
 C H A P T E R V. 
 
 77v jiifi Notkti of^ the natural equality of men 
 
 is placed in equality of obligation. — The 
 
 proper tendency of ibis doctrine. 
 
 F ROM what hasbeen already fa kl, it will now fuf- 
 ficiently appear, that the mod perfe(5l equality of 
 obligation, of benefits received and returned, fubfifts 
 pmong all the members of fociety, of whatever denonj- 
 ination or degree, who faithfully difcharge their duties ; 
 that that dependance, which the proud and the power- 
 ful are fain to limit to one fphere and ftation, runs 
 through all alike, and that independence, at which all 
 afpire, is no where to be found among men. For al- 
 though any human being fliould be pofTefTed of every 
 imaginable perfe<5lion and advantage ; yet while he 
 lives in fociety, and abundantly fatisfies all his focial 
 propenfities, from which the fublimeft pleafures of hu- 
 man nature are derived, he receives from mankind 
 fuch an ample portion of happinefs, that he is bound 
 to compenfate it by every return, whrdi the utmoii 
 exertion of his abilities can enable him to make. From 
 his elevated fuperiority he is thus obliged to defcend to 
 the equality of a citizen, and of a man. 
 
 In the eye of reafon, therefore, and of the Univer- 
 fal Parent, every honeft ftation of life is equally ho- 
 norable, fince they are all but parts of the great fo- 
 cial body which, hi? wifdom has piauincd, and his pow^ 
 
AN ESSAY, Stc, p 
 
 tr prefcrvcs. In this view, no human creature is more 
 or lefs worthy than another, but in as far as he dii- 
 eharges or negle<5ls the part allotted to him, and aug- 
 ments or diminifties the fum of general felicity ; or as 
 he occupies a place which he is incapable of filling, 
 deprives others jf their juft ftation, fnatches from 
 them the rewards to which they are entitled, or pre- 
 vents them from performing the duties of the ftation 
 in which they are placed, and of the fphere in which 
 they move. 
 
 The principles above eftablifiied are widely differ- 
 ent from thofe which pride and tyranny eri>brace and 
 inculcate. If men are endowed with fuperior abilities, 
 or raifed to an exalted ftation, they will not eafily ad- 
 mit that, between them and their inferiors, the depen- 
 dance and the obligation are reciprocal. Unlefs they 
 are diftinguifhed by peculiar generofity of feniiment 
 they will confider it as no very pleafing dodrine that, 
 between the fovereign and the fubjeft, the magiftrate 
 and the people, the great and the mean, the rich and 
 the poor, the acute and the dull, the learned and the 
 ignorant, there is no difference but in the pofTeflion of 
 .different powers, and in the difcharge of different of- 
 fices peculiar to each capacity, and ufeful to all ; and 
 that, if the firft have a juft demand on the fecond for 
 iubmiflipn and obedience, for honor and refpci^l, for 
 convenience and eafe, the fecond have as juft a claim 
 on them for protedion and defence, for the adminif- 
 tration of juftice, and the prefervation of equal liberty, 
 for the fupply of their wants and the relief of their dif- 
 treffes, for inftru(flion and good example. Pride and 
 tyranny would place, on -T : one fide, all honor and 
 #'e(pe<fl, .and nothbg but din^gard and contempt oa 
 
3S AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 the other ; here, all opprefTion and violeiacc, and thew, 
 all patience and fubmillion ; here, all convenience and 
 pleafurc, and there, all labour and indigence ; here 
 would have the fmallefl: affiftance to be confidered as 
 an eternal obligation, and there, the greateft fervices 
 to pafs for indifpenfible duties. With fuch fentiments, 
 it is no wonder that the mutual dependance and obli- 
 gation of men Ihould be rejected as a dangerous and 
 odious dodrine, equally fubverfivc of public order, and 
 of private right. Thofe who think and a(ft in this 
 manner, either making no returns for the benefits they 
 receive from fociety, or pofTefling no capacity to make 
 them, are eager to reprefent every notion of mutual 
 obligation and equality among men, as imaginary and 
 prefumptuous, and to oblige the world to look on them 
 as its eftablifhed lords. But fuch opinions can never 
 retain their influence, when knowledge has begun to 
 make any progrefs, and mankind to underitand their 
 own nature and dignity. The bodies of men can 
 never be enflaved, when their minds are free ; and the 
 mod diligent care of all defpots, of whatever rank or 
 denomination, ever has been, and ever muft be, to keep 
 mankind in ignorance. As focn as knowledge dif- 
 fufes her light over the dungeon in v/hich they are en- 
 chained, the doors are thrown open, and their chains 
 fall off. In fa<5l, pride and tyranny, by deftroying that 
 mutual obligation, and that juft equality which we 
 Jiave now eftahliQied, fap the very pillars which fupt 
 port gre:itnefs and difplay fplendor. For, if there is no 
 mutual obligation, no parity of right, then power, on 
 the one hand, and weaknefs on the other, are the onlf 
 bonds of focial or civil union. It is eafy to fee where, 
 in fuch circumftances, the greateft power will be found ; 
 whether in the hands of the poor, the mean, the illitcr*- 
 
AN ESSAY, &€. 55 
 
 ••••••...•^••t 
 
 ate ; or in thofc of the rich, the great, the learned, and 
 the ingenious. But if the grand principle of equality of 
 obligation, and of mutual dependance, is adopted in 
 ©pinion, as it is eftabliOied in nature, if ftations and of. 
 fices are neither unjuftly ufurped, nor their duties per- 
 ^dioufly and weakly performed, the obligation to obe- 
 dience and fubmiflion is as ftrorig on inferiors, as 
 that of juftice and difmterefted 'zeal for the public 
 good is on rulers and magiftrates ; and the honor ob- 
 tained by diftinguifhed abilities is equally due to their 
 po/feflbrs, as the fruits of their honefl labour are due 
 to the lower orders of the community. This principle 
 places the fabric of fociety on a firm and lading foun- 
 dation, and all the parts of the building, however dif- 
 ferent in point of fplendor and ornament, are fo clofely 
 connedled, and fo neceffary to the whole, that none of 
 them can be removed or defaced, without injuring the 
 beauty or the folidity of the ftru<5lure. This equally 
 balances all the parts and members of the fecial body, 
 makes pre-eminence itfelf emerge from common inter- 
 eft, and again deprefTes that feparate independence 
 which pre-eminence would afPaxne, by refening it to 
 that coUedlive power from which it Is wholly derived. 
 A cOnftant balance, and rsadlion of obligation and 
 duty, is thus maintained through all the departments 
 of fociety, fimilar to what we obferve in nature. As 
 exhalations and vapours from the ocean and the lowir 
 parts of the earth, refting on the tops of mountains, 
 form the fprings whence are derived the rivers that wateV 
 and fertilize the different regions ©f the globe, and re- 
 turn at lall into the ocean, and thus a conftant circu- 
 lation is maintained ; fo the more elevated fphere of 
 fociety derive their political exiftence and energy from 
 riic general mafs, and, if properly failed, diffufe through . 
 
40 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 the whole focial body a falutary influence, which again 
 ierves to maintain their 4ignity and fplendor. The 
 individuals that occupy thefe fphcres, detached from 
 fociety, and confidered merely as individuals of the hu- 
 man race, are entitled to no diftin<5Hon or fuperioritj, 
 but what arifes from corporeal or mental qualities, 
 which are the diilinftions of nature. But viewed in 
 their connexion with the political body, they claim 
 their pre-emii)ence and power, on the fame principle 
 l>y which fociety is held together, namely, that the 
 general good mull limit the pretenfions of individuals. 
 
 This is that squally of mankind, which has been f» 
 ©ften aiferted, but is feldom well underftood — an equal' 
 ity which the proud and tyrannical difdain, becaufe it 
 oppofes their felfi(hnefs or indolence — an equality which, 
 turbulent and defigning men are fain to abufe as an 
 engine for overturning regularity and government, 
 and for iatroducing that anarchy in the midft of which 
 they themfelves are to rife. It is an squality which 
 implies fubordination — an equality of wants, with a 
 divcrfity of means of fupplying them — an equality of 
 obligation, with different modes of difcharging It. It 
 is an equality which, by rendering all equally neceflary, 
 makes all, who faithfully difcharge their duties, equal-. 
 iy honorable in the fight of God ; but, by requiring 
 higher and lower ftations, and various diftindions and 
 fpheres, eftablifhes different degrees of refpedability 
 and honor among men. It is an equality which de- 
 grades none but the tyrant, the ruffian, the thief, the 
 voluptuary, and the fiuggard ; and exalts all, but thefe> 
 to the ennobling dignity of conftituent members of 
 the grand community of majikind, and of fellow la- 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 41 
 
 bourers with God in advancing the felicity of his moral 
 and intelledual creation. 
 
 Not kfs abfurd than pernicious, therefore, is that ic- 
 vellmg notion, u-hich confounds all diliinflions and 
 ranks, annihilates fubordination, and deftroys that jiilt 
 equality which is founded in nature, and in human 
 happincfs. While this frantic opinion is direcfdy con- 
 trary to the appointment of God in the eftablilhment 
 of fociety, and horribly deftrudive in its confequences, 
 it commonly tends, hke every other extravagant and 
 vicious padlon, to fruftrate its own gratification. 
 Taking liccniioufnefs for liberty ^ it becomes the greatcih 
 promoter of defpotifm. For, as nothing has brought 
 religion more into difrepute, than bigotry, fanaticiim, 
 and hypocrify, which have fo often ailumed that vene- 
 rable and facred name ; and as nothing has brought 
 fo much difgrace on philofophy, both in ancient and 
 modern times, as the profligate lives of pretended phi • 
 lofophers ; fo licentioiifnefs, appearing under the difguire 
 of liberty^ has a dire(5l tendency to render it either 
 odious or contemptible. The tyrannical opprefTcrs of 
 their fellow men, and their fervile abettors, eagerly 
 lay hold of the horrid exceffes which licentioufncfs 
 produces, and at which they fecretly rejoice, as infidclfi 
 delight m the corruptions of religion ; paint them with 
 the deepeft colours of an inflamed imagination ; and 
 afcribe them with triumph to thofe principles of true 
 liberty, to which they are fo repugnant in their origin, 
 and fo pernicious in their confequences. The ignorant 
 multitude, incapable of diftinguifliing appearances from 
 realities, haftily admit both the affertion and its infer- 
 ence, and feek refuge from anarchy in the chains of 
 defpotifm. The wife, however, and the good, wiU 
 D2 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 equally guard againft the wild declamation of the de- 
 
 xnagogue, and the crafty infinuations of the tyrant 
 will hold raft thofe eternal principles of equity which 
 God has impre^ed on their fouls, and, if they cannot 
 tivmce their truth, or inculcate their pradlice on man- 
 kind, will deplore the blindnefs and the corruption of 
 their fpecies, and pray that the Father of Light may 
 at laft unfold a day of knowledge and ferenity, 
 when the benignant voice of truth ihall neither be 
 ftiSed by the mandate of tyranny, nor drowned by 
 the acclamations of tumult ; when the power of op- 
 preffion fhall be extinguifiied together with the defirc 
 ©fit; when freedom fhall be eftabliihed on the bafis 
 <5f fubordination, and fecured by obedience to law ; 
 when men ftiall be attached to juftlce by the permaneBt 
 bleffings of fecurity and peace. 
 
AN ESSAY, ftc. 43 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Scnie Clrcumjlances ^e(^ality not ;jet anfidered. 
 
 HAVING, in the preceding chapters, cjcplained 
 the chief foundation on which it may be afTerted 
 that all men are equal-^ in as far as relates to every 
 fecial and civil duty, I fhall now briefly point out fe- 
 veral other refpe(^s in which the equality of mankind 
 is farther evident. 
 
 I. All men are endowed with the fame frame of 
 body, and with the fame general conftitution of mind. 
 Notwithftanding the diverfities which obtain among 
 individuals, in point of higher or lower degrees of ex- 
 cellence in any of the original faculties of our nature, 
 all the fpecies, excepting fome uncommon andmonftrous 
 inftances, is chara(5lenfed by the fame members and or- 
 gans of body, and by the fame faculties, propenfities 
 and affedions of foul. Does the richefl:, the moft pow- 
 erful, the moft beautiful, the moft ingenious among 
 the fons of men, feel lefs the hrSt of hunger and thirft, 
 of cold and pain, than thofe of contrary defcriplions ; 
 or are thefe'laft lefs diftinguiftiedthan the former, by the 
 general conftrudlion and organs of the human frame ? 
 Do not the rich and the poor, the obfcure and the ele- 
 vated, come into the world in the fame ft ate of imbecility 
 and wretchednefs ? Is the infant of r>pulent parents 
 pofleiTed of greater vigor, or does be require lefs the 
 affiftance of thofeonwhofecarehe is immediately caft, 
 thaa the Itifaat of the peajfant or the beggar i Qxa. h« 
 
44 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 already difcern and provide his food, ufe his limbs, defeird 
 himfelf from danger, an!^, by his hereditary indepen- 
 dence, vindicate the true fuperiority of his condition ? 
 So far is any of thefe from being the cafe, that, if there 
 is any difference in thefe refpe^s, between him and 
 the infant of meaner rank, it is all in favor of the latter. 
 This, from the ftrong and healthy conftitution of his 
 parents, brings along vv^ith him a frame naturally vi- 
 gorous and robuft, and requiring only the moft ordi- 
 nary care for its nourifhment, its prefervation, and its 
 final maturity. The other often inherits from thofe 
 who begat him, afickly and (lender conftitution, which 
 the utmoft attention and afliduity can hardly preferve 
 from extindlion in the moment of birth, and afterwards 
 more frequently debilitate than ftrengthen. 
 
 Again, the fame natural principles, propenfuies and 
 affections, operate on all mankind with different degrees 
 of force, according to their different fituations. All 
 men, of whatever rank or condition, are ftrongly adu- 
 ated by a principle of felf-prefervation, by the love of 
 liberty, by the defire of pleafure and an averfion to 
 pain, by the love of fociety and a dljQike of folitude, by 
 the parental, conjugal and filial attachments, by a 
 fenfe of honor, by refentment of injuries, and by a 
 certain affedion for their country. None are deftitute 
 of fome perception of beauty, order, and magnificence 
 in the works of nature and art, and none, but fuch as 
 are monftroufly corrupted, are infenfible to the eternal 
 diftin6lions of right and wrong, of virtue and vice, 
 of truth and error, in human, judgments and adions. 
 Even the moft ftupid, ignorant and perverfe of the 
 human fpecies, differ, irr this refped, from the brutes, 
 tha.t as they remember the paft, aad anticipate the fu- 
 
AN ESSAY, Ictf. 4JF, 
 
 ture, fo they arc capable of forming and putfuing fomc 
 plan of life, of conceiving fome fyftem of happinefs 
 which they defire to attain, or fome image of mifery 
 which they endeavor to avoid. No human being there- 
 fore, enjoys or fuffers like the inferior animals, accor- 
 ding to the blind impulfes of appetite, or the unantici- 
 pated impreffionsof fenfe, but has fome previous delibe- 
 ration and choice, with regard to the objeds of defire 
 and averfion. Every mortal alfo feels that^ by the 
 birth-right of human nature, he is entitled to certain 
 rights, of which he cannot be deprived without ceafmg 
 to be a man, or without envying the condition of the 
 inferior creatures. Thefe are the common features of 
 humanity which characterize all the fpecies, and eftab- 
 lifli among them fo many points of equality. 
 
 II. All men are equal in being equally cxpofed to 
 ▼Iciflitudes and to death. To attempt any proof of 
 thefe fafts, would be nugatory and ridiculous. But 
 the confequences to be deduced from them, with lef- 
 pedl to the light in which the different orders and dcf- 
 criptions of men ought to view each other, are not fo 
 evident, or at leaft poflefs not that influence over the 
 heart, to which they are in reafon entitled. For, if the 
 moft exalted of mankind muft, as well as the loweft, 
 fubmit to the ftroke of death, and moulder the prey of 
 worms in the grave, if this event equally] hangs over 
 his head every moment, and when it happens, muft 
 ftrip him of every external diftin<5lion, can any preten- 
 fions be more abfurd than thofe of pride, which are 
 folely founded on a pre-eminence fo tranfient and un- 
 certain ? For any one, therefore, to value himfelf on 
 fuch tranfitory diftindions, is as ridiculous as it would 
 be for a traveller to imagine himfelf proprietor ef 
 erery field through which be paiTed. 
 
jjSr AK ESSAY, iix. 
 
 Befides, the ftations which difcriminatc tkf di£ferent 
 orders of fociety, are by no means permanently at- 
 tached to any number of individuals that may r.ow 
 tnjoy them, or to -their defcendents. They are fubjeil 
 to many viciffitudes, andhave a<:on(laBt tendency to 
 change* As the part^ of material nature are in per- 
 petual fluctuation, and are fometimcs altered by fe- 
 cret and filent decays, fometimes by violent convul- 
 fions, by tempefts, huiricanes, inundations, earthquakes 
 and volcanos, fo the various orders of fociety arc ex- 
 pofed to conftant changes, partly by fudden and vio- 
 lent agitations, partly by thofe fccret, but certain cau- 
 fts, which are continually operating the exaltation or 
 the depreffion of men. Foreign wars cr domeftic 
 commotions, (ignal calamities or uncommon profpcr- 
 ity, illuflrious virtues or flagrant vices, produce the 
 moft wonderful alterations in human fortunes. Lea- 
 ving the public tranfa<fHons of our own times, which 
 furniih mod ftriking proofs of this fa<5t, what number- 
 lefs inftances croud into the mind while it revolves the 
 events of ancient or modern hiftory ! 
 
 Fortuna faevo laeta negctio et 
 Ludum infolcntem ludere pertinax 
 Tranfmutat incertos honores. 
 Nunc milii nunc alii benigna*. 
 
 Hoa. Od. 1. iii. 29. 
 
 •P«r fortune ever changing dams 
 
 In.iiilges her malicioui joy, 
 And to\nft«nt plays her haughty ganoc^ 
 
 Prow<i of her office to def^roy; 
 Toiay to me her bounty flows, 
 And a»w oa oziitcs ihe the blifs beftoWi. 
 
 FRArrcis*s Tfanfiat}«»t, 
 
AN ESSAY, kt^ 47 
 
 There is, Isefides, in every (Nation a certain tenden- 
 cy ta change, and the fame caufes that produced the 
 elevation of the higher orders of men, are impercepti- 
 bly operating alfo in favour of others pi aced in inferi- 
 or conditions. As a projeftile, when it has reached 
 Its higheft point of elevation, begins immediately to 
 defcend, and continues its courfe downwards with an 
 accelerated velocity ; fo there appears to be a certain 
 point of exaltation, beyond which human grandeur 
 cannot proceed, and which, by being the termination 
 of fplendor, becomes the beginning of decline, and of 
 iiiial precipitation. On the other hand, as the feed of 
 a tree, from the moment it is dropped into the ground, 
 is continually expanding, and receiving from the earth 
 new additions to its growth, till it noingle its branches 
 with the clouds, and cover the foil with its fhade ; in 
 like manner, among the lower orders of men, there are 
 evident principles of increafe and amelioration of 
 their condition, which fail not to operate fuccefsfully 
 when they are favoured by opportunities. 
 
 For, what are the vices which are apteft to Infe(*1: 
 elevated and aMuent circumftances ; and what the vir- 
 tues which an humble and hard lot moft eafily engen- 
 ders and cherifhes ? In the former, we often behold 
 pride, which excites indignation and hatred, and, con- 
 fequendy, combinations to reprefs it. We behold lux- 
 ury and extravagance, which w^fte rapidly the moft 
 fplen^id fortunes, and incapacitate for exertion and 
 activity. We behold careleflhefs and inattention, 
 which allow people's affairs to run into diforder, and 
 occafion irreparable confufion at laft. We often be- 
 hold, extortion, opprefllon, and flagrant abufe of pow- 
 CTi in order to ret;:ieye brokeo circumHanc**, which 
 
Ht AN ESSAY, kc 
 
 iiaften the rmn they are employed to prcvtntj and pi#- 
 duce indelible difgr^cfi. 
 
 In an humble and feverc lot, we frequently fee hu- 
 mility and modefty, which never fail to conciliate 
 complacency. We fee patience and frugality, of 
 which the former renders the hardeft condition tolera- 
 ble, and the latter draws eafe from penury. We fee 
 induftry, and a fuccefsful exertion of abilities, which 
 firfl; make men ufeful and indifpenfibly neceffary even 
 to their fuperiors ; then bring them into notice and 
 regard ; and^Jaftly, raife them to truft and affluence. 
 Thus, while thofe who are placed in the higheft fta- 
 tions, fuppofmg they have no exertions to make, bc- 
 caufe they have reached the pinnacle of human great- 
 nefs, are verging towards decline and obfcurity, thofe 
 who move in an inferior fphere, urged by their necef- 
 fities, or fl-Jriakted by their ambition, are making 
 conftant effort?- to rife, watching every favourabl* op- 
 pcrtunity of fuccefs, and filently climbing the fteep 
 freni which the former are defcending. Where are 
 now thofe illuftrious families that occupy fuch a re- 
 rr.7-kable place in ancient hiftory ? They are not fure- 
 ly all cxtindl ; their defcendants, doubtlefs, exift fome- 
 where upon the earth. But they are confounded 
 with the general mafs of mankind, while others have 
 arifen to (liine in the fphere from which they have de- 
 parted. It is thus that Divine Providence, which haS| 
 for the wifeft reafons, eftablilhed, an inequality of fta- 
 tions and talents among men, has by allowing their 
 virtues and vices to operate their na tural efFe<51s of al- 
 ternate depreffion and exaltation, reftored the balance* 
 which difappears from the view of fuperficial obfeJr» 
 ycr». 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 49 
 
 III. If we juftly eftimate the advantages and hi- 
 conveniencies of every condition of life, we ftiall find 
 that they nearly balance each other, that the fum of 
 happinefs, fhared among the human fpecies, is divided 
 in pretty equitable portions ; and that equality of en- 
 joyment is another ground, on which the different 
 ranks of fociety, if not the individuals that are placed 
 in them, are on a level. The grand difference, in this 
 refped, confifts in what is appropriated to no ftation or 
 fortune, but is equally open to them all — internal dif- 
 pofition and charader ; which it is unqueftionable may 
 be difplayed in their greateft excellence, and enjoyed 
 in their higheft perfedion, in the loweft, as well as in 
 the mod elevated, fphere. As the different regions of 
 the globe, however removed from the Equator, or the 
 Poles, enjoy equal meafures of light and aarknefs, 
 though diftributed in different manners ; fo the diffe- 
 rent orders of fociety poffefs equal portions of felicity, 
 and are expofed to equal pains, though the modes of 
 enjoyment and fuffering be diverfified. If the honors of 
 an exalted ftation are greater than chofe of an humble 
 one, its duties are alfo more difficult ; if its virtues are 
 more fplendid, its temptations are more enticing, and 
 its vices more confpicuous ; if its enjoyments are more 
 refined, its fufferings are more acute, and its aiBicflions 
 more durable. Is it fuppofed that the burden of labor 
 is heavier than that of indolence, or the pains of indi- 
 gence greater than thofe of fcnluality ? Confider that 
 health often fmiles, on the cheek, of poverty, vvhile dif- 
 eafe deforms the face of opulence. Do any imagine 
 that the folicitude of providing daily fubfiftence is great- 
 er than that which attends the improvement, or the fe- 
 curity, of an extenfive eftate — that the real wants of 
 tinturc affoidmore anxiety and care, tliaa the imagi- 
 E 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 nary demands of extravagance — that the evils whick 
 are really felt, are greater than thofe v/hich diftemper- 
 ed fancy creates ? — let fuch confider the difcontent, 
 the uneafniefs, the deje<5lion, the'wayvt^ard humours and 
 the fuUen gloom, that fo often haunt the great and the 
 wealthy, and acknowledge that deep vifits the couch 
 •f flraw, and flies from the bed of down. 
 
 Do any imagine that it is more difficult to purfuc, 
 with conftancy and firmnefs, the rugged and thorny 
 paths of the humble vale of life, than to maintain the 
 elevated pofts of dignity and honor, in the midft of in- 
 trigue, of competition, of clamour, and of all the un- 
 certainty of favor ? — Let them refled on the folici- 
 tudes and the terrors of the public governor, when un- 
 fuccefsful iffues attend his adminiftration, when the 
 tide of popular approbation begins to ebb, when his 
 enemies fpread difcontent through the land, reprefent 
 him to the people as the author of their calamities, and 
 roufe them to facrifice him as the vidim of their fury. 
 The ftorm often buries on ttiQ palace, when it pafles 
 inofFenfively over the cottage ! 
 
 IV. All men are equal in having fome peculiar du- 
 ty to difcharge, fome peculiar advantages for the ex- 
 hibition of correfponding virtues, fome peculiar temp- 
 ialions to correfponding vices, and in being placed in % 
 courfe of probation for a future and final (late. If 
 the duties of each ftation are properly difcharged, its 
 virtues proportionably difplayed, and its temptations 
 
 '.Mrmounted, it is difficult to fay whether the greateft 
 'praile is due to the fuperior or inferior ranks of fociety. 
 ^i the duties or the virtues of either are negledled, or 
 
 its temptatioas allowed to prevail, the blame is equal 
 
AN ESSAY, kt. 51 
 
 en both fides, altliough the punlfhments are frequent- 
 ly diftributed very unequally under human govern- 
 ments. That all men are at prefent placed in a pre- 
 paratory ftate for a future exiflence, both natural and 
 revealed religion concur in evincing. It is no lefs evi- 
 dent, from the external principles by which the divine 
 government is adminiftered, that the charaders which 
 men have acquired in the prefent period of being, will 
 be the only meafures ofr.heir future fate, and that all 
 thofe diftin6lions, which are wholly external, will then 
 difappear forever ! If any regard is then paid to the 
 different ftations which men have occupied here below, 
 it will only be in order to determine how far they have 
 difcharged the duties of them, and what degree of me- 
 lit, or demerit, is to be affigned to each individual, ac- 
 CGiding to the talents he poffeifed, and the opportuni^ 
 ties he enjoyed for the pra6lice of every virtue. Here 
 all men are placed on the moft perfect equality, have 
 the fame hopes, the fame fears, the fame pleas to urge, 
 the fame titles to produce, or rather are levelled by the 
 fame incapacity of all merit but what is derived from 
 the clemency of the Great Judge, operating through 
 the plan of falvation he has eftabiilhed. With his 
 eyes turned to this fcene, with any adequate impreffion 
 of this awful confummation onhis heart, (and mad muli 
 he be to whofe mind fuch thoughts are never prefent ! ) 
 can any one deny the equality of mankind, nor per- 
 ceive the empty titles, and tinfel fplendors, and idle 
 pageants of this tranfitory period, fvvimming before his 
 fight, and finally difappearing, like the dreams which 
 occcupy his fancy in lleep, but £ddQ and are forgotten 
 when he opens his eyes, and again enjoys the reality ®f 
 things. 
 
AN 
 
 ESSAY, &c. 
 
 BOOK IL 
 
 mat are the RIGHTS refulting from the Natural 
 EQUALITY <j/MEN. 
 
 C H A P T E R I. 
 
 Of the MANNER in 'which n.ve acquire our notion <?/rights. 
 
 I 
 
 N the dlfcuffion of meral and metaphyfical fiibjeas, 
 _ hardly any thing has occafioned greater obfcunty, 
 and, of conlequence, more violent dirputes, than the 
 ambiguity of terms, and the vague and indeterminate 
 ideas annexed to them by different parties. Of this no 
 word can alFord a more ftriking inftance than the term 
 right, efpecially when applied to denote a moral^ capa- 
 city to aa, to popfs, or to dema7id, in certain circum- 
 ftances. Of this the notion will be found to be as va^^ 
 rlous as the philofophical or religious fyRems which 
 men have adopted, the profeffions which they have em- 
 braced, the ftations which they occupy, or the compa- 
 ny they frequent. Although people may agree m 
 fome general and indefinite notions of right, yet, m 
 the peculiar ideas they entertain with regard to its ap- 
 plication to all the particular objc^s of human ad^io« 
 and purfuit, it will be found that iheJr conceptions are 
 
34 AN ESSAY, fee. 
 
 not reducible to any determinate ftandard. We arc 
 not, on this account, however, to imagine that the 
 rights of men are indefinable, or that there are not ge- 
 neral claffes to which they may be reduced. For, altho* 
 ihe private rights of individuals muft vary according 
 ■to their different circumftances and relations, there are 
 ftill certain and permanent principles on which they 
 are founded, and from which they muft be deduced, 
 in order to diftinguiih them from thofe powers which 
 fraud fecretly obtains, or violence openly ufurps. Un- 
 lefs this were the cafe, laws and obligations would be 
 unmeaning; words, and power the only arbiters of right 
 And wrong. 
 
 Without entering at prefent into any abftrufe and 
 refined fpeculations concerning the foundation of moral 
 obligation, I fhall only obfcrve, that we feem in general 
 to denominate that right, which has a tendency to pro- 
 mote the univeifal happinefs of mankind, or that of the 
 individual himfelf, when it is not repugnant to the more 
 exxenfive intereft, whether of the whole fpecies, or of 
 the fmalier communities into which the fpecies is divi- 
 ded. To thefe two general heads, namely, tendency to 
 general, and tendency to particular happinefs, whea 
 properly limited, it will be found that every thing juft 
 and honorable, and praifcworthy, in human fentiments 
 and conduct is ultimately referable. Whoever doesf 
 or p^jfejfe Si or deinandsy what is conducive to the com- 
 mon good, or to his own intereft in confiftency with 
 this, that he fliould do, or pojfefs or demand, we fay he has 
 a right to do, to pojefs, or to dsmartd, it. 
 
 It is evident, that the only notions we can form to 
 *?>ririclves of happinefs, muft be derived from thofe ori- 
 t^iaal principles of our nature, by which certain cbj€ ^ 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 5i 
 
 arc conftitutcd the means of fatisfa<flIon and plcafure, 
 and others the caufes of uneafinefs aad pain. The for* 
 mer become, on that account, dejirahle, and the latter 
 dijkgreeahh and odious. By implanting thefe defires 
 andaverfions in the foul of man, the Creator evidently- 
 intended that they fhould be indulged within the limits 
 he has prefcribed to them ; and, in order to difcover 
 thefe limits, has fuperadded tlie noble faculty of reafon. 
 Accordingly, there feems annexed to every natural 
 defire and propejifity of the heart, a certain feeling of a 
 right to its indulgence. The original propenfities and 
 defires fpring up fpontaneoufly in the foul^ and impel 
 it to aftion. In children, thefe are the firft ftimulants 
 to motion and activity, and, as they are ftill undireded 
 by the higher principles of our nature, and by the im- 
 provements of experience, conftitute their only notions 
 Qi right. As the inferior animals are immediately car- 
 ried by nature towards thofe objeds which are adapted 
 to fatisfy their inftin^tive principles ; fo men, in the firft 
 period of their exiftence, greedily defire and feize whate- 
 ver their appetites or paffions point out to them as agree- 
 able, and confider it as an injury to withhold from them 
 the indulgence ; but fuch is the beautiful order eftablifti- 
 edin the human conftitution, that many of thefe propen- 
 fities limit and balance each other, fo that the immode- 
 rate indulgence of one prevents that fatisfadtion of 
 others, which is alfo a neceffary ingredient of happinefs* 
 Different pains and inconveniencies, foon experienced 
 from unbridled propenfities, fuggeft the neceffity of mo- 
 deration and felf-command. The plegfures and the 
 advantages of fociety, attach men to their fpecieis, and 
 point out, at the fame time, the neceffity of regulating 
 their condud in fuch a manner, as to prevent their de- 
 fires and purfuits from encroaching on the equally vm- 
 ^ural: defires and purfuits of others. 
 
AN E&SAY, &€*, 
 
 Reafon^ reeoUcftlng the paft, and anticipating the 
 future, eftabllfhes fuch rules of aftlon and enjoymem* 
 as unite the perfedion and happinefs of the individual 
 with the general interefl; of the fpecies, and convert the 
 harmonious movements of the vi'hole fecial body into 
 the moft efficacious means of promoting the happinefs 
 of all its members of whatever rank or degree. The 
 moral faculty, furveying fuch a beautiful and falutary 
 arrangement, fandtions it with its approbation, and de- 
 crees that every human being is bound to ad and to 
 enjoy in conformity to the principles of this fyftem. 
 The various relations and circumftances of men being 
 confidered and defined, general maxims are formed, 
 which are denominated the taavs of nature. As the 
 human coniiiLution is the work of the fupreme Creator, 
 whatever is, by juft inference, deducible from this con- 
 ftitution, as a rule of condud to man, is asjuftly held 
 to be a divine law, as if the Omnipotent Legiflator had 
 proclaimed it with the mod audible voice. From thefe 
 general laws, various rights are deduced competent to 
 men, whether as inherent in their common nature, or 
 as belonging to thofe peculiar relations in which they 
 are placed, by the neceffary arrangements of fociety. 
 
 In this manner, the notions of the diiFerecit r'tghti of 
 men are ac-quired. 
 
AN ESSAY, &«. ff^ 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 T^f two grand bitisions cf fuc^Tt ^hlch fotu from 
 the Natural equality of mankind. 
 
 FROM the fhort deducftion contained in the prcce*- 
 ding chapter, joined to what has been eftablifhcd 
 in the firft book, it is evident that there are certain 
 natural rights t which cannot be infringed without over- 
 tTirning the foundations of human fociety, and that 
 there are others which belong only to certain defcrip- 
 lions of men, in confequence of that focial order which 
 is neceflary for the general felicity. The former are to 
 be confidered as the original conditions of the focial 
 compaft ; the latter as the means by which it is to be 
 executed Tand both flow from that idea of equality of 
 •bligation, which we have above illuftrated. 
 
 In the firft place, there arc certain principles fo 
 flrongly interwoven with the human frame, fo inti- 
 mately blended with its eflence, fo efficient of all that 
 can be called humane that the violation of them cannot 
 be regarded in any other light than in that of a degra- 
 dation, nay, an entire extindlion of the diftindlive attri- 
 butes of the human charafler. Of confequence, every 
 man ftipulates, by entering into fociety with his fpecies, 
 that the enjoyments grounded on thefe principles, or in 
 other words, the rights which attach to them, as the 
 gifts of God to his rational creatures, fhall be main- 
 tained to him inviolate ; and referves to himfelf the 
 privilege of defending them at all hazards, whenever it 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 h attempted to wreft them from him. For, as every 
 human being is a conftituent member of the fecial body, 
 he is, while he difcharges the duties incident to his pe- 
 culiar capacity, entitled, equally with every other, to 
 the grand prerogatives of human nature, which civil 
 fociety is intended to maintain and improve. He is as 
 neceflary, as the mod diftinguiflied of mankind, to the 
 general perf^ition and felicity, and he contributes to it 
 that portion which his abilities enable him to furnilh. 
 The rights, therefore^ which are indifpenfibly necef- 
 fary to the prefervation and happinefs of each individu- 
 al, in whatever rank or fituation he may be placed, mufl: 
 equally belong to all, and can never fuflPer the fmalleft 
 diminution from any claims or prerogatives attached 
 to the diftinclions ©f fortune, of rank, or of talents. 
 They are the nece/Tary appendages of that equality 
 which fubfifts among all men amidft the diveriities 
 which fociety and civilization have introduced. 
 
 I ftiall firft briefly enumerate and explain the inhe- 
 rent and original rights of human nature, which equal- 
 ly belong to all men without exception ; and, fecond* 
 ly, thofe adventitious rights, which belong only to par- 
 ticular defcriptions of men, as charadlerized, whether 
 by particular talents, or by particular fituations in 
 civil life, but equally to all to wb^um thcfe defcriptions 
 arc applicable. 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. ^ 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 %f the ORIGINAL and inhir^.nt rights £/* humah 
 
 NATURE. 
 
 i. TT' VERY innocent member of foclety hag a /^r- 
 JLj feci right to life, and to the integrity of his 
 body. No principle is more deeply engraved in the 
 conftitution of all animals, than thatof felf-prefervation. 
 Every living creature has an abhorrence of difTolution, 
 and a ftrong averfion from pain, which is a ftimulant 
 dill more powerful than the love ofpleafure ; becaufe 
 the removal of evil is the fir ft ftep towards enjoyment. 
 Nothing excites the deteftation of mankind more than 
 an unprovoked attempt on life, or even violent afTault, 
 when no more is intended than to wound, or to muti- 
 late. Befides, no man can be ufeful to fociety, but 
 in as far as his life is preferved and fecured, and bodily 
 health and vigour are necelTary to difcharge the moft 
 important focial duties. The right to thefe is facred 
 and inviolable, and, whenever they are unjuftly afTault- 
 ed, every man is entitled to defend them even by the 
 {laughter of the aggreffor, when every other means of 
 fecurity is removed. In this right is evidently included 
 •that of the pref^rvatlon of chaftity when attacked. 
 
 II. Every man has ^.perfeSl right to the full fruits of 
 his own honeft ingenuity and labour. The Creatpr, 
 by beflowing on every perfon a certai n portion of cor- 
 poreal or mental ability, plainly intended that it Ihould 
 be eicercifed. To this enercife men are impelled by 
 
Ho AN ESSAY, «cc. 
 
 the ftlmulants of pleafure, and of pain. Reafon, whick 
 enables mankind to anticipate futurity, fuggefts, from 
 the recolledlion of former wants, the neceffity of pro- 
 viding for them when they fhall again recur. The na- 
 tural produdions, which may be rendered fubfervient 
 to the ufe of man, neceflarily become the property of 
 the firft occupier, becaufe, if they were appropriated 
 to none, they would be ufelefs to all ; at leaft, fuch of 
 them as could afford no prefent ufe would remain ncg- 
 le(5led and uniiMproved. For no man will beftow la- 
 bor and time on that from which he is to receive no 
 profit. Men are ftrongly affefted by a tender foli- 
 eitude for their offspring and near connecEtions, to 
 whom they wifti to impart a ftiare of their fuperfluities 
 during life, and at death, to tranfmit their entire pof- 
 ftflions. They are inflamed with a thirft of honor 
 and applaufe, and eager to obtain them by the difplay 
 of ufeful, of elegant, or of fublime, talents. Befides, 
 while men mutually fupply each other with what they 
 want, for an equivalent, fociety is more clofely cement- 
 ed by a conftant interchange of the various produ(5ls of 
 induftry, o f art, and of wealth ; and, by the different 
 conditions of men in point of fortune, opportunity is, 
 as above obferved, afforded for the exercife of many 
 virtues, which could not otherwife exift. Man's dou- 
 ble capacity, a^ an individual, and as a member of foci- 
 ety, is thus beft preferved, and his felfifti, as well as his 
 focial, propenfities are gratified. In faft, the fame 
 means that enable him mod amply to indulge the for- 
 mer, alfo qualify him for fatisfying moft cffedually the 
 latter. By the exercife and cultivation of all his facul- 
 ties, and by the improvement of the opportunities he 
 enjoys, he beft promotes his own private happinefs, and, 
 in the fame manner, he contributes moft to <be public 
 
AM ESSAY, fcc. 6i 
 
 g9«d. As the perfedlion and folidity of all the parta 
 of a building, praduce the folidity and perfeclion of the 
 whole ; fo, in human fociety, the profperity of all its 
 members in their different relations and circumftances, 
 produces the fum of general happinefs. Notwith (landing 
 therefore, the Utopian fyftem of a community of goods, 
 which fome political projeAors, fixing their eyes on par- 
 tial views of advantage and inconvenience, have en- 
 deavored to recommend, and fomefmaller focieties have 
 exemplified, it is undoubted that both public and pri- 
 vate happinefs require that the right of property fhould 
 be facredly maintained. 
 
 This rigk implies not only that poflefilons already 
 lawfully acquired, (hould remain the inviolable property 
 of their pofTeffors, but alfo that every hone ft and fair 
 mean of acquiring fhould be equally open to all who 
 are placed in the fame circumftances. It requires that 
 9. fair field be granted for the exercife of every ufefiH 
 and ornamental talent, and that its natural rewardi 
 be not withheld from it. Partial and narrow fyftems 
 of policy, whereby the intere ft of a few is only con- 
 sulted, frequently cramp genius, and reftrain induftry, 
 to the great prejudice of the common good. 
 
 Thefe, however, with whatever pretexts they may be 
 poleured, are juftly to be accounted violations of the fa- 
 cred right of property, which regiards not only what men 
 already honeftly poflefs, but alfo, what they may ho- 
 neftly obtain. The powers of their bodies, and the fa- 
 culties of their minds, are the only property which 
 men receive from nature. The exercife of thefe on 
 the various natural produdions, introduced the adven^ 
 titms rights to thefe obje<as, and inheritance and con- 
 
Vz -'AN ESSAY, ftc. 
 
 tra(5ls transferred them from their original proprietors 
 to their fuccefTors. But the foundation of all property 
 IS the common right to the earth and its produdions, 
 which God has granted to mankind, together with the 
 peculiar appropriation which every one made of fomc 
 portion of thefe to himfelf, by the ufe of his mental and 
 corporeal powers. It is abfurd, therefore, that adventi' 
 thus rights fhould be facred, while the primary means of 
 cquiring thefe rights may be wantonly circumfcribed. 
 
 III. All men have an equal right to a fair and ho- 
 fteft charader, till it has been proved that they have juft- 
 ly forfeited it. The lore of character is deeply implanted 
 in the human breaft, and as it can only be extinguifhed 
 with the extin<5lion of integrity ; fo it is ftrong in pro- 
 portion to the ftrength of virtuous and elevated fenti- 
 ments. I'he lofs of reputation, wounding one of the 
 moft lively feelings of tl»e human heart, is one of the 
 sreated calamities in life. With the lofs of charader 
 
 o 
 
 many other evils are unavoidably conne<5led, which, 
 -while they deftroy the private happinefs of the individu- 
 al, alfo fruftrate his public utility. The fuccefs of a 
 perfon in the world, whether in the improvement of 
 his fortune, or in the exercife of his abilities, depend! 
 greatly on the opinion which is entertained of his integ- 
 rity. His ufefulnefs to fociety depends chiefly on the 
 confidence \yhich his fellow men can repofe in him. 
 When any man's honefty is queftioned, his talents, far 
 from being objefts of complacency, are converted into 
 fou'-ces of terror, and mankind naturally combine in 
 order to deprire ihem of thofe opportunities of exertioa 
 \vhich ieem to threaten their own fafety. 
 
 Fame, or diflingui(h-d confideration and refpe(5t, be- 
 long; oaly to eminent abilities, virtues or flaiions. But 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. $g 
 
 * .* 
 
 the character of honefty belongs equally to all wh» 
 faithfully difcharge every fecial and civil obligatioR* 
 Thofe who, in every fituation and circumftance, whe- 
 ther of exaltation or of obfcurity, carry along with 
 them purity of heart and integrity of condudt, meet oa 
 the equal footing of good men, and are equally entitled 
 to all the enjoyment, advantage and confideration, 
 which that charad^er juftly claims, and cannot fail to 
 poflefs, if not clouded by mifreprefentation, or ftained 
 by calumny. The moft illuftrious abilities, or the moft 
 exalted ftation, give not, of themfelves, a better title to 
 a fair and fpotlefs charafter, than the moft moderate 
 parts, or the moft humble circumftances. This r/^^/, 
 till it is loft by vicious adlon, extends to all conditions 
 and ranks without exceptiou. 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 
 
 IV. T? VERY man has 2i perfea right to liherty, of 
 SLi to a<ft in whatever manner he pleafes, pro- 
 "vided he offers no injury to others, and violates no law 
 ena<5^ed by the public authority of tlie civil fociety to 
 which he belongs. As foon as we form the notion of 
 a rational agent, freedom immediately enters into the 
 concepcicm, and all happinefs and all virtue reft on its 
 foundation. For as virtue confifts in the proper ufe of 
 ail our faculties, or in that conduft which is fuited to 
 the human nature and condition ; fo happinefs confifts 
 in the pofT-flion of thofe enjoyments, of which nature 
 has rendered us capable, and which the right ufe of 
 reafon enables us to obtain. But how can he, who is 
 deprived of the power of regulating his own adions, 
 and of determining and direding his purfuits, either 
 e*ert his faculties in fuch a manner as is beft adapted 
 to their ends, or purfue thofe enjoyments, with the 
 greareft vigor, to which he has affigned the higheft va- 
 lue ; how can he, who is fubjedled to the arbitrary will 
 of another, contribute his portion to the common order 
 and felicity, which refults from the combined efforts of 
 all directed to this glorious and comprehenfive end— 
 from the combined exertions of knowledge, wifdom, 
 ikill, ingenuity, dexterity, art, labour, refolution, and 
 vigour, fhared among all the members of the focial 
 body ? Supprefs the juft exertion of any of thefe fepa- 
 riie portions, juft fo much is cut off from the general 
 
AW ESSAY, &c. <55 
 
 perfe^ion and happinefs, andr while individuals arc 
 opprefled, the public fuiFers. Subjed them to the ar* 
 bitrary will of one, or of a few, all the light, and inven- 
 tion, and energy, which reialt from the free, but well 
 regulated efforts, of all ading in harmonious concert, 
 are gone — all that variety of talent, of defign, of pur- 
 fuit, and of operation, which embelHfh, and improve, 
 and ftrengthen, haman fociety, is extinguiihed — and 
 the whole focial mafs, fubordinated to one feeble and 
 impotent will, ever influenced by narrow and contra<ft- 
 cd views, or by cloudy pafTions ; eirher pines in a pHfllv« 
 Jethargy, or, if it is called into action by extraordinary 
 ftimulants, exhauils its {Irength by its efforts, while 
 their produce is wholly drawn off by the privileged 
 part ; fimilar to thofe aged trunks on which we behold 
 a few of the higher branches retaining their fap and 
 verdure, while the tree itfelf is rotten, aod fmking fpee- 
 dily to duft. Thus the prefervalion of liberty is necef- 
 fary to the attainment of public, as well as of private, 
 felicity; nor can it ever be i'uppofed, that any human 
 being, whofe judgment is found, and who has not been 
 corrupted by long habits of fervitude, would either ex- 
 plicitly or tacitly relinquiih what is neceffary to every 
 enjoyment of human nature, and without which fociety 
 itfelf is his greateft curfe. In fhort, liberty and human 
 nature are infeparable ; to deftroy the former is to an- 
 nihilate the latter — is to annihilate every notion of duty, 
 and virtue, and happinefs, beyond what is merely fenfu- 
 al and brutifh. 
 
 It Is no wonder, then, that the love of freedom fliould 
 be ftrong and vigorous in the bread, in proportion to 
 the elevation of fcntiment, the fenie ©f honor, the re- 
 gard for virtue, with which each individual is endow- 
 ed, and tliat, by every generous and feeling foul, 
 
 F2 
 
66 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 fiavery iliould be deemed the greateft of human 
 evils. Bafe, indeed, and corrupted, and broken by 
 habits nf fervile fubjection, muft that man be, who can 
 confider himfelf as the property of his fellow creature, 
 and feels no indignation at the tyrant who reduces him 
 10 this defpicable condition, and who, degrading the 
 rational creation of God, which he has firft debafed io 
 his own foul, outrages heaven while he domineers upon 
 earth. Few of mankind are fo degenerate as to have 
 loid all fenfe of liberty, and of the native dignity of 
 anan. For, although they may fubmit in filence to a 
 defpot, yet they abhor him in htheir earts ; and, when 
 they can do it with fafety, would lay hold of the firft 
 opportunity offhaking off the yoke. The names of maf- 
 ter and flave, annihilate all claims of duty, all volunta- 
 ry off;:rings of affection, and exhibi t man to man ia 
 a Hate of hoftility, where power is the only right, and 
 terror the only obligation.* 
 
 Not with (landing tkis averfion to fervltude, and this 
 love of freedom, fo ftrongly implanted in the humao 
 
 * From thcfe confiderations it may be eftahli/hed as a certain 
 truth, that arbitrary governments, in whatever hands they may be 
 pidced, can never tttedlually fecure the happlnefs of mankind. 
 With whatever wifdom and goodnefs a prince may be endowed, it i« 
 impoflib:e, from the narrownefs of the human min-i, that his views 
 en extend to every department of civil fociety j and he will be una- 
 vo;dabIy eipcCed to impofjtion from fome quarter or other. His ad- 
 jjinJftraticijB, of confequence, can never be marked with that exten- 
 five beneficence, which refults from forms of government which are 
 calculated to coileft into one po'.nc the wifdom, ingenuity and vigor 
 which are dixFufed through the whole foetal body. Befides, as it is 
 the intention of civil fociety t» promote the happinefs of all its men?- 
 bers, it Is impolfiUle that its ends can be obtained, when the fenfe 
 of freedom, which is fo effential an iagredient of human feScity, ie 
 eiihcr to.npletely extinguifhsd, or deprived ofiti enjoyments. 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 5f 
 
 breafl, it muft be confefled, that there is in mankind 
 both anaftonifhing propenfity to tyrannize, and a won- 
 derful facihty in fubmitting to enormous power. 
 The freedom which men claim to themfelves, they are 
 not willing to grant to others, and the principle which 
 infpires the wifti of independence, produces the exercife 
 of oppreffion. The love of pre-eminence and powef 
 rejedls competition and equality ; fond attachment to 
 one's own opinions ftimulates men to prefcribe them as 
 rules to others ; pafTeffion conftantly aims at enlarging 
 it s bounds : elevation and authority have a perpetual 
 t endency upwards, and, in their afcent, deprefs thofe 
 parts through which they move — the generality of 
 mankind, long sccuftomed to admire fplendour and 
 wealth, or eminent talents, readily fubmit to their do- 
 minion ; and voluntary homage often begins the fub- 
 jedion, which is at laft exa<fted as a right. Habits of 
 fervitude debilitate the fenfe of freedom, and the ri- 
 gours of opprefEon are frequently neceffary to roufe it. 
 It is thus that the love of independence ftimulates to 
 encroach on the rights of others, and that fuch en- 
 croachment is fo freq uently fuccefsful. 
 
 On this account, all civil liberty is limited by thefe 
 two conditions, abftinence from injury to others, and 
 fubmiffion to the laws enaded by the authority of po- 
 litical fociety. Whoever injures others is not a free 
 man, but a tyrant, and, if he is free, others are flaves*. 
 As it is the grand defign of civil fociety to fecure men 
 from that injuftice and violence which would foon fub- 
 jed all to the raoft powerful, it is neceffary that the 
 
 • Hence the propriety of the infcrlption libertas on theprlfonc 
 of Genoa. See Kouffeau-«Cofltrat Secial-»and Howard on 
 Frifons. 
 
4% AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 public authority fhould circumfcribe the a<flions of each 
 individual. While all are equally fubjeft to this au- 
 thority, and the colledive power of the whole commu- 
 nity is centered in this point, it follows as a neceiTary 
 confequence of that equality, which confifts in the rela- 
 tion that all equally bear to the fecial body, that the 
 adlions of each fhould be dire<fled an^ Mmited by this 
 relation. No member is fubjeit to anor .ijconfideredas a 
 member, buteverymemberisfubjed to the whole in its 
 colle<flive capacity, and, when this capacity is transfer- 
 red to any part, or to any number of parts of the focial 
 body, thefe deriving their pre-erninence and authority 
 from the whole fociety, have a right to govern all its 
 members, while in eveiy inftance in which they ap- 
 pear as members themfelves, and afl, not in a public* 
 but in a private, capacity, they are equally fubje<5t to 
 the common will, expre/fed by public laws, with all 
 the other members of the community. In civil focie- 
 ty, it is this alone that maintains that equality which 
 fubfifts among all its different members, notwithftand- 
 ing the diverfities which fortune, rank, or talents, have 
 introduced. For, as chefe only dir erfify the mannei* 
 in which each is to contribute his portion to the public 
 good ; fo when all are equally fubje6t to common laws, 
 all are levelled by this common fubje(ftion, and every 
 one is reftrided to that line of condud, which is necef^ 
 fary for the prcfervation and welfare of the political 
 fyflem. Unlimited freedom is unattainable not only 
 in civil fociety, but in every fpecies of affociation what- 
 ever, becaufe the aftlons of every individual of the fb- 
 ciety are limited by the alliens cf all the reft, and by 
 the general defign and conditions of affociation itfelf. 
 The grand defign of every focial union is to obtain the 
 co-operation of all its members for the common good. 
 It is hence incumbent on every one of tliem, fo to regii- 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 late his conduft, as to cpntribute to the end prop©fed. 
 Nay, perfect liberty, if, by that term, we underftand the 
 unreftrained indulgence of every defire and propenfity, . 
 is as inconfiftent with the rational conftitution of each 
 individual, as it is with the principles of civil union* 
 For there is an order eftabliftied by nature among all 
 ©ur defires and paflions ; and reafon is given both to 
 difcover and to maintain it. As the violater of civil 
 «rder ceafes to be a citizen, and becomes a public ene- 
 my, fo he who violates the order of the moral and ra* 
 tional nature ceafes to be a man, degenerates into a 
 brute, and is the deftroyer of his own happinefs. As 
 a man, he only is free, who, delivered from the yoke of 
 paffion, freely follows the di<aates of his nobler facul- 
 ties, and indulges every natural propenfity in confiften- 
 €y with mental order. In like manner, civil fociety is 
 free, when delivered from arbitrary power, in whatever 
 fhape it may exift ; all its members are placed underthg 
 empire and dominion of laws, enforcing the grand 
 principles of political union, and equally binding o« 
 the legiflators themfelves as on the people. If any are 
 raifed above law, or enjoy privileges and prerogatives, 
 which have no relation to the public good, and are 
 burthenfome to the community, in proportion as they 
 are advantageous, to the pofreflbrs of them, the prin- 
 ciples of civil union are oppofed, political equality is 
 fubverted, and oppreflion, more or lefs grievous accor- 
 ding to the degree of fucb inequality, is introduced. 
 
 As the limitation of law Is infeparable fr om the liber* 
 ty to which every citizen has an inconteftible right j 
 fo this right implies that, in every inftance, neither 
 contrary to law, nor Injurious to others, every Innocent 
 perfon, who has reached the years of maturity, and 
 has not voluntarily fubje<aedhis a^oas to the c^ntroiU 
 
70 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 €f Osiers, (hould enjoy the power of afling as he plea- 
 fes. Perfons of found judgment, and of generous fen- 
 tipients, will, in the uie of this freedom, confult not 
 only their own pleafure and advantage, but alfo, the 
 felicity of all to whom their influence may extend. 
 Their purfuits will be charadlerized by a dignity and 
 beneficence, which will point them out as the ornaments 
 offociety, and the objefts of general admiration and 
 gratitude. Such will find thtir moft deligjjtful enjoy- 
 ments in their own higheft improvement, and in their 
 moft extenfive utility to others. Men of inferior ca- 
 pacity, or of a meaner turn of mind, will chiefly devote 
 themfelves to fenfual pleafnres, and to feififh purfuits ; 
 and thus withhold from the public a great deal of be- 
 nefit which they might otherwife contribute. On this 
 account, however, they are not to be deprived of their 
 liberty, as long as they remain with(|p the bounds of ^ 
 that innocence, which, however deficient in a moral 
 and religious light, is fufficient for the maintenance of 
 public peace, and of civil and political order. They 
 are not amenable to human, but to divine juflice ; and 
 mufl be called to ace ount, not in the prefent, but in a 
 future, world. Argument, perfuafion, and example, 
 may be employed ; and every good man will ufe them 
 to the utmoft of his power, in order to diffufe virtue 
 and happinefs among his fpecies. But to ufe violence 
 for tliis purpofe, is both to difappoint the end, and to 
 exhibit an inflance of that folly which is reprobated ia 
 others. Men may be conftrained to be harmlefs and 
 juft^but not to be virtuous and happy i 
 
 In the right of liberty is Included the free ufe of 
 prira4:e judgment in every thing relative to the 
 regulatioa of condu(*t, and efpccially to rellgi^nj as 
 
AM ESSAY,' «c«. A|f 
 
 well as the free communication of fcntiment ivithin 
 tlie bounds above ftated. It is vain to think of en- 
 jaying liberty of a<5lion, if the opinions by which a<5lion 
 is to be direfted are not alfo free. In fa«5l, the right 
 of private judgment cannot be alienated or wrefled 
 , from any human being by any power on earth. The 
 mind of man, conftituted free by its Creator, will ever 
 remain fo, in fpite of every endeavour to enflave it. 
 Ignorance may darken, prejudice reftrain, or corrup- 
 tion pervert, its powers ; ftill the opinions which it 
 really embraces, are fuch, a^ appear to it the beft, ac- 
 cording to the light which it enjoys. But to con- 
 ceive any mortal adopting an opinion, for which h« 
 perceives no ground, is the moft glaring contradidtion 
 —is to fuppofe him admitting and rejecting at once 
 the fame propofitions. With regard to religion, in 
 particular, the right of private judgment, and the free- 
 dom of confcience, are to be maintained, as neceifarily 
 connected with the equality of allmen, above eflablilhed ; 
 for, although religion ever has been, and ever muft be, 
 the ftrongeft bond of fociety, yet the ftrength of thij 
 bond depends on the united evidence of the religious 
 opinions which are adopted, and on the fmcerity witk 
 which they are embraced. It is only when religious 
 opinions are both true in themfelves, and ingenuoully 
 profefTed, that they can exert any aufpicious influence 
 ©n the adions of men* 
 
 Now, to perceive truth is the operation of the on- 
 derftanding. To embrace it with becoming zeal, 
 and to obey its dicflates with undeviating conftancy, is 
 the operation of the heart. The underttanding may- 
 be enlightened by reafon, the heart may be afieded by 
 pcrfuafion, and, in order that elthw inay be produced 
 
71 AN ESSAY, &(*. 
 
 perfect freedom h necefTary. To conTince or to pcrflia^e 
 by violence, is the greatea of abfurdities, is a man- 
 ifeft impoSibility ; and when there is neither con- 
 ▼iftion noT perfu^fion, where can religion fubfift ? 
 Place it where it can only refide — in the underftand- 
 ing and the heart; iteludes all conftraint. Remove it 
 from this habitation, it lofes its falutary influence. 
 
 As religion, therefore, muft, from its very nature, 
 be free, no man can have any right to didate to the 
 confcience of another. All men are equally entitled 
 to ferve God, and all are equally bound to ferve him 
 infpirit and in truth. No man can ferve him with ano- 
 ther's fpirit ; and no man can difcem truth with ano- 
 ther's underftanding. To fubjedl religion to conftraint, 
 is, of confequence, to deftroy its eflence, and to anni- 
 hilate its falutary tendency. Enthufiafm and bigotry, 
 whofc charafler it is to ere^ their own opinions as 
 ftandards for all the world, and to violate the rights 
 of confcience, never fail, if they are fuccefsful, to give 
 birth to hypocrify, as the heir to their ufurped domi- 
 nion. Hence it is eafy to account for the fmall in- 
 fluence which religious opinions have on the conduA 
 of their profefTors, while pure and undefiled religion 
 ought naturally to produce the moft falutary eflfedts, 
 not only in rendering men *vjife unto falvation, but in 
 forming them to the pra(5lice of every focial and civil 
 virtue. Religion is either believed to be fomething 
 very different from what it is, to cenfift merely in 
 forms and ceremonies, in which cafe it has either no ef- 
 fe<5l at all on moral condu^, or a ver y pernicious one— 
 or men are conftrained to profefs what they do not 
 believe ; by which their hearts are corrupted, and their 
 fi^iogs 4ai fentixnents are at conftaat variance, Tljs 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. X3 
 
 glory of God is thus promoted by defacing his image 
 on the human foul, and by transforming his reafona- 
 hie fervice into childifli pageantry and infignlficant 
 pomp, Befides, if any fet of men affume to themfelres 
 the power of prefcribing to others in religious matters, 
 others may, with as good a title, do the fame when- 
 ever they obtain the power. True religion may thus 
 be fupprefled and deftroyed, without its profefTors ha- 
 ving any plea for its defence which is not equally com- 
 petent to the moft abfurd fuperftition. While men thus 
 domineer in religious matters, according as they pof- 
 fefs the power, all religious improvement is precluded ; 
 the wifeft and moft pious of men may be obliged to 
 fubmit, in obfequious filence, to the moft ignorant and 
 impious ; and fuperftition, in all its hideous forms, is 
 put on the fame footing, and enjoys the fame advanta- 
 ges for its maintenance and propagation, with divine 
 revelation itfelf. This right of freedom of judgment 
 carries along with it that of free communication of 
 fentiment, within the limitations above laid down. As 
 there is in man a ftrong natural propenfity to commu- 
 nicate his feelings and fentiments to others, fo the fa- 
 culty by which he is chiefly enabled to communicate 
 tfeem is one of the moft powerful bonds of fociety, and 
 .jone of the chief inftruments of its improvement. By 
 fuppreffing this freedom of communication, the natu- 
 ral equality of men is deftroyed. Thofe from whom 
 St is wrefted are degraded from the condition of mem- 
 bers of the community, and, being ftripped of this pri- 
 vilege, may be prevented from contributing that por- 
 tion to the public good which it might enable them t» 
 afford. How much the improvement and felicity of 
 mankind depend on the free diffufion of knowledge, is 
 . |;©o evident to require any proof. Nvr io it lefs ceitain 
 
 G 
 
t4 AN ESSAY, &e. 
 
 that ignorance and prejudice, ever delighting in 6Atk' 
 ncfs, becaufe their Laponian eyes are toe weak to en- 
 dure the light, are extremely defirous of excluding it 
 from whatever quarter it may fhine. They endeavor, 
 therefore, violently to extinguifli the lamp of reafon, 
 and to filence the voice of truth. If they fucceed, all 
 the rvils of barbarifm are perpetuated ; if the precious 
 rightof free communication of opinion is maintained, 
 private as well as public happinefs is the refult. But, 
 if men embrace and profefs opinions with regard 
 to religion, morals, or politics, the mod grofsly falfe 
 and erroneous, are fuch fyftems to be tolerated, and 
 not rather profcribed as efFrontive to God, and perni- 
 cious to men ? The firft enquiry muft be, whether fuch 
 opinions tend to overturn the principles of civil fociety, 
 and to diflurb its order and peace. If any are fo 
 fooiifh, or fo wicked, as to entertain fentiments fubver- 
 five of thofe fundamental truths on which the mutual 
 obligations of men, and the pradice of all virtue, and 
 civil fociety itfelf, are founded ; fuch may be juftly con- 
 ilrained to abrtain from the propagation of them, or to 
 remove from the focrety of which they are members ; 
 ofjif theyobflinately refufe to comply with a requifition 
 •which felf-prefervation didates, may be juftly punifhed 
 in order to deter others from imitating their example. 
 But as fuch fundamental truths are few, and univer- 
 fally acknowledged, fo they ought not to be unneceflari- 
 ly multiplied in order to fupprefs the exercife of private 
 judgment, or conne(5led with other points in which di- 
 verfity of opinion, faf from being pernicious, conduces 
 to enlarge the bounds of human knowledge, by pour- 
 ing in new light from various inquiry and intelligence. 
 Befides, ?s no fmcere profeilorof any fy ft cm of religion 
 or morals really believes it impious wnd pernicious, 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 75 
 
 ^t,nn the contrary, entertains the higheft opinion of 
 its^cellence, fuch ought rather to be convinced by 
 argunient, than deftroyed by perfecution, and, while he 
 gbftains fronn anions injurious to others, it is unjufh to' 
 treat him with feverity and violence. It is undeniable 
 that bigotry, and fuperftition, and enthufiafm, whether 
 religious or civil, have often produced the moft direful 
 calamities in the world. But it is to be obferved, that 
 this has entirely proceeded from the principle againft 
 which I am now contending, namely, the right of any 
 tnsn to dictate to the confcience of another. For if, 
 ©n the moft important of all fubjet^s, men fupported 
 their caufe by argument and perfuadon only, fuperfti- 
 tion, bigotry and error, would foon be driven from the 
 field, and true religion and pure morality obtain deci- 
 five vidlory in every part of the world. But while dif- 
 ferent fe<5ls and parties mutually reprefent each other 
 SLS the enemies of God and man, and conned, with eve- 
 ry fpeculative opinion, the moft important confcquen - 
 ces to the temporal, as well as the eternal, intereits of 
 mankind, rancour, and hatred, and malevolence, foon 
 bur ft into the flames of the moft violent animofity, 
 perfecution appears in her moft hideons forms, and 
 the caufe of God, and the interefts of mankind, are af- 
 fumed as pretexts for indulging thg moft ferocious paf- 
 iions of the human breaft 1 If, on the one hand, there- 
 fore, profeftions evidently fubverfive of the fundamen- 
 tal principles of fociety have no claim to toleration ; fo, 
 on the other, the greateft caution is to be ufed not to 
 clafs, under this head, opinions which have no connec- 
 tion with the interefts of civil fociety, but regard only- 
 theological or philofophical fpeculation. I mean not 
 that erroneous opinions are always free from blame, 
 becaufe it is an undoubted fa£fc that grror is not always 
 
7« AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 the refult of weaknefs of judgment, but more frequent- 
 ly dill of pride, of obflinacy, or of negligence. But as 
 no man is mafter of another's confcience, fo no man 
 can claim to himfelf the judgmetit of this point with 
 Tcg-ard 50 another, but in as far as opinion is manifeftcd 
 by ai^^ion. To his onun ma^er he Jlandeth or falleth, lulw 
 art thou that judge/} a?iot J: er ? 
 
 The right of liberty, which I have illuftrated at cob- 
 fiJerable length, becaufe it is not generally underftood, 
 includes, firft, perfonal liberty ; fecondly, liberty 'of 
 a<5^ion ; thirdly, liberty of confcience ; fourthly, liberty 
 of communication of fentiment. 
 
 To all thefe modifications of liberty within the limi- 
 tations above Hated, every member of fociety has an 
 equal r'loht ; nor can any difcrimination of rank, of 
 iortune, or of abilities, entitle any one to any privilege 
 i.i thefe refpecls, which is not equally due to every hu. 
 man being who is poiTefled of a found mind, has reach- 
 ed the years of maturity, and has not voluntarily fub- 
 jefted himfelf to the controul of siQOther. 
 
AN ESSAY, 5cc. 77 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 That It is //C'tf INTEREST o/" GOVERNMENTS t'C pTffii-je 
 
 INVIOLATE the Ric/HT (?/" LIB feRTV, as ubovc exfUiueU, 
 
 IT Is a falfe notion to fuppofe that governments are 
 moft firmly eftablifhed when the liberty of the 
 fubjctft, or of the citizen, is deflroyed. It will, in fa(f>, 
 be found, on mature confideration, that it is as much 
 the iiitereft: of governors, as of the governed, that this 
 grand right be religioufly obferved in all its branches* 
 It is true that no government can fubfid in the midll 
 of llcentioufnefs. But, liantloufnefs and defpoftfrn arc 
 only different names for the fame thing. Licentiouf- 
 nefs is a contempt of law, and right, andjuflice — is the 
 dominion of pafuon, and caprice, and violence. And, 
 what other definition can be given of defpotifin ? In 
 the midft of that anarchy which llcentioufnefs introdu- 
 ces, thofe who have acquired the greateft influence 
 over the multitude lead them at their pleafure, and 
 ulbrp the moft defpotic power over the reft of the 
 community. This power continues as long as the fa- 
 vour that produced it, and then gives place to another 
 dominion, equally capricious and cruel. Society is 
 thus agitated with unceaGng convulfions till it fmks 
 under abfolute power, or a happy combination oT cir- 
 cumftances eftablifli the equal and impartial govern- 
 ment of law, and of authority founded on its bafis. 
 
 BefpQtifm produces fimiUr cffeds, though in an in- 
 G 2 
 
7^ AN ESSAY, kc 
 
 rerted courie. It levels all to exalt one ; and, acknow- 
 1 edging no title but force, tramples under foot every 
 cl^iim ol right which is oppofed to its dominion. But, 
 us all power, when feparated from juftice, mud fall 
 before fuperior power contending witli it ; and as 
 fiaves, whenever they have the courage to refift, and 
 ihe fagacity to combine againft, their mafter, muft 
 iiievitably cruih him ; fo, every defpot fhares all the 
 terror he infpires, and joins trembling 'Mith his co7nmanis. 
 Knowing himfeif the enemy of mankind, he can place 
 no confidence in their affedion, and make no appeal 
 to their juftice. When his power begins to totter, the 
 fear that reftrains them is removed, and the intereft 
 that engaged them in his favour pafTes over to the 
 c}uarter where it can be better promoted. While flat- 
 tery is endeavouring to lull him to fccurity, treachery 
 is machinating his deftruiflion ; and he is often over- 
 whelmed before he has time to prepare either for refift- 
 ance or for efcape.* 
 
 To this fituation, difmal even in Its greatefl: pre-emi- 
 nence and fplendor, all abufes of power infenfibly lead. 
 Smaller violations of right are eafily borne, becaufe 
 they are not generally or feverely felt. This fuccefs 
 tempts to greater oppreiTion, while the lull and the 
 advantages of power, ftimulate to extend its limits, 
 
 • It is wonderful how nearly defpotifii, and pure democracy, 
 approach each other. They are both the government of the mob, 
 at leaft on many occafions. In pure democracy this is Sufficiently 
 evident. Defpctifm can only be maintained by the army ; and, 
 v»feen the army is numerous, it can depofe the fovereign at pleafure. 
 The Roman errperors were fucceflively cjedted, dethroned and but-^ 
 chered, by the Pretorian guards. The Turkifti Sultan is at the 
 mercy of the Janiffaries. See Gibbon'fljiiftory of the Decline ani 
 Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. I. chapt ?Hi. p. 309, 8vo editioa* 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 75 
 
 and to €nfure its duration. Oppreffion, at laft, be. 
 comes necelTary to its own fupport, and the fear of 
 redrefs, fuggefts the accumulation of injiiftice. Abu- 
 fes grow intolerable ; violent refiftance appears the only 
 means of relief; and the moment which advances op- 
 preffion to its completion, becomes the period of its 
 overthrow. For, vi^hen the bodies of men are neither 
 effeminated by luxury, nor enfeebled by climate, nor 
 their minds brutified by ignorance, they cannot fail, 
 fooner or later, to Ihake off the yoke of tyranny, and 
 to break her fceptre in pieces. As in fuch circumftan- 
 ces, however, their lethargic pafiivenefs is difpelled by 
 extraordinary ftimulants, and the furious paffions 
 ofrefentment and revenge are violently rouled, the 
 moft atrocious ads of cruelty are exercifed towards 
 tlieir oppreffors, or thofe whom they conceive to have 
 been joined with them in the odious combination againft 
 their fpecies ; and the vindication of violated right is 
 thus often accompanied with the moft flagrant injuftice. 
 In this manner human fociety, which fhould be the 
 fafeguard of human happinefs, fo frequently exhibits 
 alternate fcenes of rigorous defpotifm, and of furioujs 
 anarchy; of injuftice in the maintenance of ufurped 
 power, and of violence in the fubverfion of it ; of grofs 
 abufes in the adminiftration of governments, and of la- 
 mentable calamities in the reformation of them. The 
 only ftable government is that which is founded on 
 equal liberty, limited by la\v, adminiftered witli mode- 
 ration, fupported by the combined interefts of the whole 
 political body, and difplayed in the glorious effe<5ls of 
 internal order, and external fecurity — of improving in* 
 duftry, civilizaitionf and virtue. 
 
8o AN E^AY, &€. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Of RIGHTS peculiar to certain stations and abilities 
 
 BESIDES thofe rights, equally belonglrrg to all, 
 which have been above illuftrated, there are 
 others, which, although they are founded on the diftinc- 
 tions ef rank and fortune, or on the general fubordi- 
 nation which civil fociety requires, are neverthelefs 
 deducible from that notion of equality eftabiiftied m 
 the firft part of this Ellay. 
 
 I. Thofe who are placed in the higher ftations, and 
 invefted with offices of government and command, as 
 they owe the difcharge ©f thefe important fun<fiions 
 to the public, are entitled, from this very confideration, 
 to the obedience of thofe who are fubjecled to their 
 authority. As members of the fecial body they are 
 bound to promote its intereft by the mo ft effedtual 
 means in their power. The peculiar direflion of this 
 titility is determined by their offices themfelves. This 
 line cannot be purfued without the legal obedience 
 andfubmiflionof the reft of the community. Hence 
 that equality of obligation which binds the former to 
 the juft and zealous difcharge of their fundiions, binds 
 alfo the latter to a ready and cheerful fubjedion to their 
 authority. 
 
 II. When the neceflary balance of the political bo- 
 dy» or that encouragement of merit which tends fo 
 powerfully to promote its higheft intereft, have raifcd 
 
AN ESSAY, &e. U 
 
 a certain clafs of men te certain honors and privi- 
 leges ; thefe are, by that equality itfelf which fubfifts 
 among all in their common relation to the public good, 
 entitled to the advantages and refpedl which are an- 
 nexed to their ftation, vi'hich the public welfare requires 
 fhould be maintained in becoming fplendour and 
 dignity. 
 
 When, by political conftitutions, peculiar marks of 
 dIftin(^ion are aliigned to eminent talents and virtues, 
 thofe who difplay them have a juft claim on the public 
 to the diftin<5tion which is their reward, and on every 
 member of the community for the regard which that 
 diftindlion requires. Views of public intereft fuggeft 
 fuch diftin(5lions as incentives to merit, in order to ex- 
 •raft from all the members of the focial body the great- 
 eft poffible fum of exertion, and to diffufe its influence 
 over the whole. It is juft, therefore, that thofe who 
 contribute in the moft diftijiguifhed degree to the com- 
 mon welfare ftould enjoy a proportionable fhare of 
 honor and advantage, adapted to the peculiar man- 
 ner in which their utility has been difplayed. To de- 
 prive them of this would be to deftroy their relation 
 to the community, and that equality w^hich confifts in 
 the common obligation of all to contribute to its bene- 
 fit, and to receive a proportionate return. 
 
 III. When riches, acquired by honeft induftry, or 
 enjoyed in virtue of thofe laws which perpetuate pro- 
 perty, whatever be its value and extent, enable their 
 pofFeiTors to relieve want, to foothe afflldion, to diffufe 
 around them a fpirit of improvement, to encourage in- 
 duftry, and to make their fuperfluity circulate through 
 the general mafs of the community, they confer on the 
 
ta AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 opulent a juft title to confideration and influence, ih 
 proportion to the fuperior benefits they beflow on all 
 who are placed within the fphere of their aflion. It 
 would be as unjuft to deny them this confideration, 
 as it would be to withhold from a day-labourer his hire, 
 or from a good man the efteem which is his due. 
 
 IV. The fame confiderations give to the inferior 
 ranks of fociety, and to the community in general, 
 an equal right to demand that all delegated power and 
 authority, as all civil power undoubtedly is, be employ- 
 ed folely for the ends for which it v/as conferred, and 
 that all honorary diftindlions, be neither beftowed on 
 ihe undeferving, nor perverted to the purpofes of 
 pride, of infolence, and of oppreffion. The commu- 
 nity at large has a right to demand that the legiilative 
 power be conftantly diredted by views of general utili- 
 ty, and not by partial fyftems which injure and diftrefs 
 the whole by throwing all advantages on one fide of 
 the political body ; that the executive power nerer 
 eiceed its legal bounds, and, by an impartial adminif- 
 tration ofjuilice, maintain all in the equal enjoyment 
 of their rights ; that rank be fupported with dignity, and 
 tempered with the affability and condefcenfion becom- 
 ing every citizen ; that wealth be not abufed to intro- 
 duce and foment profligacy of manners, or to abet 
 injuflice; and that talents be not perverted to diflemi- 
 nate ©pinions and principles fubverfive of virtue, and 
 pernicious to fociety. 
 
 V. All men have an equal, tkough imperfeft, right 
 to thofe offices of humanity, which, while they coft 
 the performers of them little trouble, are thefweetners 
 of focial intcrcourfe ; and to the compaiTiota and relief 
 
AN ESSAY, &e, 83 
 
 •f ©thcrs, proportioned to their condition and circum- 
 fiances, when they are overpowered by diftrefs and 
 caliimity. This rtghtj it is true, cannot be fo defined 
 as to admit of any individuaPs claiining a determined 
 portion of the good offices of any of his fellow men ; 
 nay, the fulfilment of its obligations muft from its very 
 nature, be left to every one's judgment and feelings. 
 But, as men a/Tociate for their mutual benefit and com- 
 fort, as humanity is interwoven with the human con- 
 ftitution, and as compaffion with diftrefs is one of the 
 ftrongeft feelings of our nature, it is undoubted that, 
 to every fituation which is calculated tr> call thefe feel- 
 ings into adion, a certain right is annexed to expect and 
 require them, and a general obligation lies on all to 
 advance the happinefs of their fellow men by every 
 mean in their pov»>r. As the ordinary offices ef civi- 
 lity muft vary according to the different conditions and 
 ranks of men ; fo the compaffion which is due to their 
 diftrefs, and the relief which it prompts to afford, muft 
 be greatly affeded by the fame confiderations. For, 
 as a lofs which would ruin a man in narrow circum- 
 flances, would not at all affeft a perfon of affluent for- 
 tune ; fo, on the other hand, there are fituations which 
 would appear to one in an obfcure ftation highly eligi- 
 ble, which wouM overwhelm thofe of a more elevated 
 condition with inexpreffible dejedronandanguifh. "What 
 would feem to one perfon a fingular benefit, would, to 
 another in different circumftances, either be no benefit 
 at all, or interpreted into a cruel affront. All then 
 haVe an equal right to offices of humanity and kind- 
 nefs ; but the degree and manner of th'^fe offices muft 
 be determined by the. circumllances and rank of the 
 perfons towards whom diey are exercifed. This pro- 
 .porUQii is required by equality itfelf* 
 
AN ESSAY, 5cc. %$ 
 
 C A P T E R VII. 
 
 CENERAL lNFERENeES/r«?W the WHOLE $/ this BOOK. 
 
 I HAVE now endeavoured to enumerate, and eftab- 
 lifh, as concifely as poflible, the different rightr 
 that flow from the natural equality of men, confidered 
 in its proper light. Some of thefe arc fo efTentially 
 neceflary to human happinefs, that they cannot be vio- 
 lated without overturning the firft principles of fociety* 
 They are the fundamental articles of the focial compa(5>, 
 for the maintenance of which mankind, if not explicitly, 
 yet tacitly, and by the inftitution of civil fociety itfelf, 
 have ftipulaled to relinquifti fome portion of their na- 
 tural liberty, and to commit, to a certain number of its 
 members, the concentrated power of the community 
 for the benefit of all. Civil fociety annihilates not the 
 natural rights of men, but fences, fecures, and improves 
 them. By circumfcribing them by the limits which the 
 political union requires, it condenfes, as it were, their 
 elTence, and gives it greater flrength and folidity. 
 
 Others of thefe rights flow, indeed, from the fame 
 principles ; but, as they cannot he fo precifely afcer- 
 tained as to eftabliHi an exa^ and definite claim in 
 every particular cafe, they may admit of a lefs rigor- 
 ous obfervance, without wounding the vitals of humaw. 
 aflbciation. If thofe of the former clafs conflitute tbt* 
 foundations of the focial fabric, thofe of the latter 
 indicate the means of its confolidation and higheft im- 
 H 
 
$6 AN ESSAY, Ic-c. 
 
 provement. When all tliefe rights are maintained, 
 according to their refpe(5tive importance, as far as the 
 human condition will admit, focicty is flourifliing and 
 happy under whatever form of political adminiftration 
 it may be placed. There are, it is true, certain forms 
 of government, which, as their conftitution itfelf threa- 
 tens even the moft important of them with deftru<5lion» 
 are, therefore, effentially bad. But, there are others 
 which maintaining the grand prerogatives of human 
 nature, have a direct tendency to advance focial hap- 
 pinefs, though in different degrees. Under fuch go- 
 vernments maakind may always confider it as a fortu- 
 nate circumftance to be placed. That government is 
 the bed in which all the inherent rights of human nature 
 are inviolably fecured, legal authority is maintained, 
 and reftrifled to its objeds, the power of the ftate is em- 
 ployed to promote the general happinefs ; and inequal- 
 ity itfelf tends to preferve equality of law, and parity of 
 obligation, among all the members of the community. 
 
jmimii 
 
 AN 
 
 ESS A Y, &c. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 tVhat are the DUTIES refulllng from th: 
 EQUALITY of MANKIND ? 
 
 II "Hiiin iHiiiw ^1 III iiwii iiiLiaiitfiBaafftfrf' 
 
 C H A P T E Pv I. 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 THE divifion of my fubje(51:, on which I no^v en- 
 ter, opens a field comprehending every fecial 
 and civil duty, becaufe every duty of this clafa fup- 
 pol'es reciprocal obligations founded on the terms of 
 equality, on which men alTociate. Nay, as in order 
 to difcharge the duties we owe to our fellow men, and 
 fellow citizens, it is necefTary to rellrain our felfilH 
 pafTions within juft. bounds ; and, as the Divine au- 
 thority fandions every human alligation and religion is 
 the firmell bond of fcciety, the duties of "piety, as well 
 as thofe of felf-command and moderation) might be in- 
 culcated on the fame pvincipics. Hence a complete 
 treatife of practical morality might be produced. But, 
 as this Eday has already fwelled beyond the bounds 
 which I at firft propoled to it, I Ihall confine ru^rcif 
 to the confidcration cf thcfe duties which dircv^lly flow 
 
t8 AN ESSAY, kc. 
 
 from the principles of equality already eflablifiied, anil 
 from the rights which they confirm. The duties now 
 to be illuftrated will, therefore, correfpond to the 
 two grand divifions of ri^j explained in the prcce- 
 
 aling Beok*. 
 
 • Ch. II. III. IV. VI. 
 
AN ESSAY, Ike 89 
 
 C K iV P T E R II. 
 
 ^// MEN equally houftd to \\vs?\lqt the pRiMitiVE RinMTfl 
 
 of HUMAN NATURE. 
 
 AS the inherent rights of liumRti nature are the 
 fiindamenLil articles of the focial corrpact, f(.r 
 tlie maintenance and preferv-ation of which civil focie- 
 ty is conliitiited, every violation of thefe is not only an 
 atrocious injury to the individual v.ho fuffers it, but is 
 adiresfl attack on fociety itfeif. No pre-eminence or 
 prerogative whatever can give a title to deprive an 
 innocent member of the commanity of thofe rights, 
 without which hisexiftence is either precarious or mif- 
 erahle ; and every attempt to infringe them is, on 
 the part of the aggrelfor, a renunciation of his focial 
 advantages, becaufe thefe advantages are infeparably 
 c<mne(n:ed with the obfervance of th* rights now under 
 confideration. It is to fubflitute force in the place 
 01 right J ^ndy of confequence, to acknowledge thaliifu- 
 perior power is entitled to make him fubmit in his turn . 
 This principle, carried in every initance as far as it 
 will go, tears afunder every focial and civil tie, tram- 
 ples under foot every di(51ate ofjultice, and introduces a 
 ■itite of unceafmg hollility and violence. 
 
 Indeed, fo- eflential are fome ©fthofc rights to the 
 ■very exigence of fociety, that they are fenced and fecS- 
 red by the ftrongeft civil fandions. Life and proper- 
 ty cannot be diredtly attacked without expofmgthc 
 aggreffor to the fevered penaliios. But in what «i va^ 
 H2 
 
90 AN ES3AY, &c. 
 
 riety cf indlreft ways iray injuries of this nature be 
 otFered, without any rifk of human punifhrnent ? Life 
 is deftroyed not only by the dagger, or by the bowl, 
 but by withholding the means of its fupport. Life is 
 not fo defirable on its own account, as on account of 
 the enjoyments which it furnilhes. Property is with- 
 drawn from its lawful pofTefror, not only by robbery, 
 or by tlieft, but alfo by every fpecies of unfair com. 
 merce. Every deceitful pracftice, therefore, whereby 
 advantage is taken, under whatever colour, of the ig- 
 norance or of the neceflity of men, to deprive them of 
 their property without an equivalent, is a violation of 
 the right of property, and every oppreffive acl which 
 cuts off or diminifhes the means ofa comfortable fubfift- 
 ence,Js an attack upon life itfelf. To reduce miCn to the 
 difmal necefflty of dragging out exiftence in miferj 
 and contempt, to make them curfe the day of their 
 birtkj and figh for that of their diflblution, to render 
 the tenderell of nature's ties an aggravation of diftrefs ; 
 v'hat is this but to fpare life in order to perpetuate 
 torment ? And to this difmal condition how great a 
 portion of the human race is reduced — a condition 
 more abje(S tlian that of the brute creation, which na- 
 ture has provided \vith the neceffary fupply of their 
 ■wants, and given them defires for nothing more ! 
 Shall any rights whatever, derived wholly from poli- 
 tical inftitutions, founded, for the moft part, in barba- 
 rous ignorance and tyrannic opprefiion, be oppofed to 
 thofe clear and permanent rights ^ which the Creator 
 has conferred on all men equally, by the gift of life 
 itfelf, and by the natural faculties of providing for its 
 fuppiy ! Shnli he who cultivates the foil be deprived of 
 ail adequate Ihare of the fruits which his induftry pro- 
 duces, ;;nd pine in want, while the labour cf his Ifands 
 
AN ESSAY, kc. fi 
 
 feeds luxurious idlenefs ? Shall the rigf^t of property- 
 be eftabliftied only for thofe who contribute nothing to 
 the general (lock, but confume and wafte v/hat the in- 
 duftry of others has provided, and fliall that property 
 which nature has beftowed on her children, in the fa- 
 culties of their minds and of their bodies, be confiderei 
 as a mark of degradation, and a badge of flavery ? 
 
 How contrary are fuch fentiments, and the cGndu(5t 
 they produce, to thatjuft notion of equality above ef- 
 tablifhed, which reprefents every human being as a con- 
 ftituerit member of the focial body, and in his peculiar 
 ftation, equally necefiary, with every other, to the com- 
 mon welfare ; which exhibits man to man as children 
 of one common parent, as brcthcrn connecfted no lefs 
 by one common intereft, than by one common origin, 
 and difcriminated, by different dillindlons of occupa- 
 tion and place, merely that the general good may be 
 more effectually advanced. For, although fuch views 
 of fociety may, by fome whofe policy is but half wif- 
 Gom, be clalTed among the theories of moralifls, or the 
 'vifions of divines, they are the only reprefentations 
 ihat can ftand the left of reafon, or bear the eye of 
 ir^quiry. 
 
 Equally incumbent, on all men, h the duty to rcf- 
 peel the ri^ht which every innocent individual has to 
 charaHer and //^^;7/. But, how little is this duty re- 
 garded ? Civil laws cannot do fo much for the fecurlty 
 of the rights, to which it relates, as for thofe of life 
 and property ; becaufe it is not fo eafy to define, in 
 erery cafe, their exadt extent, and much more is, on 
 that account, left to the difcretion and virtue of indi- 
 viduals. That degree of cl^rafter which is afTaulted 
 
92 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 by open and dirtd: calnmny, may, indeed, be always 
 exadly afcertained, and every infraction of It become 
 the fiibjecl of legal animadvrerfion. This is alfo the 
 calc with regard to perfonal liberty. But, in how ma- 
 ny inftancesnaay a charadler be ruined, without its being 
 in the power of the injured perfoii to find any legal 
 redrefs ; and how much may one's juIHiberty be cir- 
 cumfcribed and infringed without any ground of legal 
 complaint ? The daily condud^of mankind towards one 
 another, in thefe refpecls,isthe ftrongeft evidence both of 
 the neceflity of a civil government, and of its infuffi- 
 ciencvforthe fecurity of human happinefs. It mani- 
 fefls the malevolent propenfities by which mankind are 
 often actuated, and, of confequence, the neceffity of 
 coercive power ; and, fmce thefe evil propenfities 
 burft out on fo many quarters, notwithftanding the 
 authority of laws, this evinces the great utility of phi- 
 lofophical and religious inftrudion, which applies to 
 the underilanding and the heart, and, by purifying the 
 fource of a^ion, renders ccndu^ more conformable to 
 human nature, and more conducive to human felicity. 
 
 Do unt9 ethers as you nx)}Jh them to do unto you, is 
 a maxim that anfwers every cafe in which we can have 
 any intercourfe with our fellow men. It is founded on 
 theequality of human nature, iimidft all the diverfities 
 of condition and circumilances. It takes, as the rule 
 of condu'fl, the feelings of every individual, fuppofing 
 his condition were exchanged with that of tke perfon 
 towards whom he aifls. It could never, therefore, be 
 a juft ftandard, if the fame duties were not equally- 
 incumbent on all in the fame circumftances. Now, 
 with refpeft to reputation and liberty, which every hu- 
 man being fo warm?/ cheriflics, aud fo eagerly purfues* 
 
AN ESSAY, 80c. 93 
 
 this rule ought to have peculiar efficacy. Yet, in thefe 
 refpedls, it is moft IhamefuUy and frequently Violated. 
 Itis aftonifhing to obferve the general averfionto reproach 
 and cenfure, and the general propenfity to reproach 
 and cenfure others ; the high opinion which moft peo- 
 ple entertain of themfelves, and wlfh the world to en- 
 tertain of them, and their inclination to think ill of 
 others, and to undervalue and diminifti their good 
 qualities. It is natural to fnppofe, that, as the expe- 
 rience of diftrefs renders men prone to compaffion,* 
 fo the love of eharader, and averfion from difgrace, 
 which operate fo powerfully in every human breaft, 
 would render men delicate in inflicting, on others, 
 thofe pains which are fo grievous to themfelves, and in 
 depriving them of thofe fatisfactions which they ac- 
 count fo delicious. But thefe fenfations act, under the 
 impulfe of felfiflinefs in a contrary manner. Men 
 think that the reputation of others ftands in the way of 
 their own, and that thir excellence cannot be exhibited 
 unlefs thofe intcrpofmg eminences be thrown down, 
 and the public eye wholly fixed on themfelves. While 
 men are thus employed in levelling each other, no real 
 pre eminence remains to any, and nothing is difplay 
 to every judicious eye, but one wide extent of maligL 
 and corruption, Every one wifhes his opinion of i 
 neighbor to be believed ; and his wifh is granted. Bu^ 
 the fulfilment of this wifh equally wounds the charac- 
 ters of all. The blemifhcs he dicovers in another, or 
 imputes to him, are acknowledged ; thofe which ano- 
 ther lays to his charge meet with the fame credit. 
 Thus every one by endeavoring to exalt himfelf at 
 another's expence, only points out the means of his 
 ©wn depreffion, and, by fetting the example, provokes 
 
 * Hwd ignara mall miferis fuccuirere difco. 
 
§n, AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 i • 
 
 the reft of niankind to ufe them. Such however, lsth« 
 fafcination of felf-love, that the generality of men fup- 
 pofe thenjfelves very litttle obnoxious to cenfure ; and, 
 while they are indulging the mod vicious paffions of 
 the human heart, envy or revenge, they flatter them- 
 {elves with the vain notion that their turpitude is un- 
 obferved. As often as I refie(5t on the prevalence of 
 detradion, of obloquy, and of flander, I find it difficult 
 to determine whether it proceeds more from weaknefs 
 or from malignity ; whether it is more an objedl of 
 contempt or of deteflation. What can be more ma- 
 lignant than to delight in the deftru<5tion of owe of the 
 deareft of human enjoym.ents ? What more foolifli and 
 ridiculous than for a perfon to affault others, and to 
 fuppofe that the attack will not be returned ? 
 
 The fame abfurdity and ihjuftice is conrpicuous in the 
 mutual condu<5l of men with regard to liberty. How 
 few are ready on every occafion to grant toothers the 
 fame freedom which they take to themfelves ! Such is 
 the fpirit of domination univerfally diffufed, that what 
 Pope limits only to one fex, is equally applicable to 
 th — the love ofpleafurey and the love ofpo'-jjer. Indeed, 
 e one necelTarily draws after it the other. The love 
 A pleafure produces the defire of the means of obtain- 
 ing it, and of extending influence and power as far as 
 poifiblc. For why are men tyrants, but becaufe they 
 wiih freely to indulge their inclinations, unrertrained 
 by jufticc, unlimited by moderation ? While feif-love, 
 therefore, is the predominant principle of the human 
 heart, tyranny will not be confined to thrones and 'Jo- 
 minions to principalities and powers, but fpread 
 through every fphere and condition of iife. It is not 
 fo much the incli nation as the power that is wanting j 
 
AN ESSAY, 3cc. * ^5 
 
 and the temper, which is overbearing and unjuft in 
 private life, would be a Nero if feated on a throne. 
 Let us only confider the fond attachment which moft 
 men have to their own opinions and mode of life, their 
 eager defire to impofe them on others, their impa- 
 tience of contradi<5l:ion, their propenfity to fquare the 
 aflions of other men by their own rule, their lull of 
 homage and precedence, their eagernefs to rife above 
 others, and to indulge their ambition in every little 
 manner which their fphere prefents to them, their re- 
 fentment of affronts and injuries, apparent as well as 
 real, their felf-conceit and averfion from amendment 
 — we behold the feeds of tyranny lurking in almoft 
 every human breaft ; and &all ceafe to wonder that, 
 when great power is poffefTed, it ftould be fo frequently 
 abufed. How feldom is the freedom of fpeech and 
 action enjoyed even in the freed ftates of civil fociety ! 
 Let any one recolle<5l what paffes before his eyes every 
 day ; let him confider how often he is obliged to regu- 
 late his words, not fo much by the internal fentiments 
 of his own heart, as by the opinions and prejudices of 
 thofe with whom he aiTociates, and his adions, not fo 
 much by the immutable rules of duty, as by the ficti- 
 tious ftandards of the world, and he will confefs that 
 none can enjoy the true freedom of a man, but he who 
 has the fortitude to facriflce to this exalted privilege, 
 his moft valuable temporal interefts, and his chief focial 
 pleafures Prejudices born of ignorance, or of pride, 
 are nouriflied by education, ftrengthened by intereft, or 
 fupported by that felf-love which is humbled by the 
 cxpefition of them. Cuftom and fafhion have eftab- 
 lilhed arbitrary rules and forms, which however con- 
 trary to reafon, it is confidered as unlawful, at leaft, as 
 highly ridiculous, to iufringe. The man who pre- 
 
f^ AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 fumes to think, to fpeak, or to a^, differently from the 
 generality, even in matters oFXingular importance to 
 the common good, is looked upon as an unfocial fa- 
 vage being, who feparating himfelf frem his fpecies, is 
 entitled to no fliare of their regard and afFedlion. It is 
 well, if he is not expofed to the fevereft effe(fts of refent- 
 ment and hatred. 
 
 Wealth and external dignity, although they cannot 
 of themfelves introduce one ray of light into the im- 
 derftanding, or implant one virtue in the heart, affume 
 the privilege of dilating in matters of tafte, of politics, 
 of fcience, of morality, and of religion, and of bearing 
 down all who fubfcribe not to their arbitrary decrees. 
 The refpe<5l due to rank, and the influence which for- 
 tune juftly claims, every man of fenfe and of integrity 
 will readily acknowledge and beflow. But that a 
 man's judgement Ihould be meafured by his title, or 
 his merit, weighed by his gold ; that fortune and rank 
 fhould not only pofTefs their rightful precedence, but 
 alfo ufurp the honour which is equally due to genius 
 and learning, to wifdom and virtue ; that a fenfible 
 and honeft man (hould not dare to exprefs his fenti- 
 ments, becaufe they are repugnant to thofe of another 
 decorated with the badges of diftindion, or pofTe/Ted 
 of a large eftate ; is fuch a perverfion of nature, fuch 
 an infra<5lion of liberty, as mankind could never be 
 brought to endure but by thofe habits of fervility 
 which luxurious effeminacy has introduced. It will be 
 anfwered, that this freedom, every man who choofes to 
 ufe it, may enjoy. But at what expence ? at the ex- 
 pence of incurring the keeneft difpleafure of the exal- 
 ted perfon whom he difobliges, and-of feeling his power 
 employed to ruin him ai^d hisnearcft connexions. 
 
AN ESSAY, 5cc. «»7 
 
 But* why tomplam of the. exorbitant and tj'ranni- 
 cal pretenfions of rank and fortune, when genius, 
 which has already feciired fame, frequently exhibit* 
 the fame dogmatical and oppredlve fpirit ^ How of- 
 ten have thofe, whofe literary chara<5ler has already 
 attradled the greateft confideration and refpe^fl, ufur- 
 ped a di<5tatonal power both in converfation and wri- 
 ting, contradided without argument, keenly refented 
 the fmalleft difference of opinion, even v>hen their 
 fentiments were manifeftly abfurd, fiiared out their ap- 
 probation by the meafure of fiattery they received, and 
 inflicted cenfure, not according to perfonal or literary 
 merit, but according to the prejudice or difgufi: by 
 which they were influenced. In reading the lives of 
 fome dillinguiflied geniufes, I have found my indig- 
 nation as much fired by their pride and infol^ nee, and 
 by the tame fubmiflion with which they were borne, 
 as by the oppreflion of civil djfpots, and the fervility 
 of the refl of mankind. In faft, genius and reputation 
 give as little title to domineer as fortune and rank. 
 For, whatever mental fuperiority a many may difplay, 
 he is inferior to others in m ny qualities, equally nc- 
 ceiTaiy to the common good as the talents he poiredcs. 
 Brilliant pouters are frequently counterbalanced by 
 contemptible v/eakne/fes, and great virtues by lliame- 
 ful vices. In proof of this afTertion, I might inftancc 
 the lives of fome of the greatell; literary chara(5lers. 
 
 As individuals are aduatcd by a tyrannical fpi- 
 rit, fo nations claim to themfelves the preroga- 
 tive of reducing to flavery others inhabiting a difle- 
 rent climate, or diftinguilhed by « Hiiferent colour 
 of countenance. Ariftotle, in that very book wl.'t-ie 
 he eftabhfhes the grand principles of a fice gr^vem- 
 
 I 
 
98 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 Jnent,* is not aftiamed to afFert, that the Greeks 
 tv^ere dcftined, by nature, to rule the other nations of 
 the earth ; and founds this right on their fuperior ge- 
 nius and civihzation. Had that philofopher forefeen the 
 prefent ftate of his own country, and that of thofe na- 
 tions whom he confidered as appointed to continue 
 barbarians to the end of time, he would have acknow- 
 ledged the futility of his argument, Bui the nations 
 of Europe, who have exchanged barbarifm for re- 
 finement, have adopted the fame principle, and 
 fuppofe that fuperiority of art and policy carries along 
 with it the right of oppreffing thofe whofe ftate is ftill 
 rude and uncultivated. The principles eftablifhed in 
 this Eflay fufficiently evince that no pre-eminence of 
 iagacity, w'ifdom, ingenuity, or ftrength can entitle 
 any hnman being, or any fociety of men, to deprive 
 others of the inherent and unalienable rights of human 
 nature. 
 
 But, fince principles dlre(5lly contrary to thefe influ- 
 ence the generality of mankind, the prefent ftate of 
 fociety is perfedlly conformable. As few men have 
 the courage to facrifice their intereft, their pleafure, 
 or their fame, to their regard for truth and juftice, 
 the great concern is, to fpeak and adl, not as reafon 
 and virtue diftate, but as interefted views, in conform- 
 3ng to the opinions, humours, and manners of others, 
 may require. For, how is the favor of the greater 
 part of men to be caught, but by adulation and fer- 
 vile refpeft ? and what fo efficacious for incurring their 
 difpleafure, as that manly and generous conduit 
 aud coiiverfation, which indicate lefs folicitude to (e* 
 
 * Politic, lib. I mo. 
 
AN ESSAY, &c, 
 
 cure favor than to enjoy felf-efteem, a greater love of 
 mankind than refped: for individuals ? Hence, melt 
 men have an opinion for every company they freq-jien':, 
 and change their fentiments oftener than their drefs. 
 The art of pleafing, reduced into fyftem, and praclifei 
 by every one who afTumes the charaifler of politenefs, 
 has given the fame (hspe and coloring to the manners 
 of all ; and thofe prominent features, which characte- 
 rize and diftinguifli, are rubbed off by the file of civili- 
 ty and falhion. Politenefs is mailing conftant de- 
 mands — propriety impofing new laws — men are al- 
 ways the (laves of cuftom, and feldom follow the bent 
 of their own genius and temper. Society is a fpecies 
 of ftage, on which the aftors appear in their turns, and 
 play their parts. The real character remains behind 
 the fcenes. The great ccntefl: i?, who fliall a<5t with 
 tlie moll pov/crful efFeft on the fpectators, and pro- 
 duce the completeft illufion. He is, therefore, moPc 
 applauded, and bears the highePc price, who app>3ars 
 leafthlmfelf, and perfonates moll fuccefsfuUy the ?S- 
 fumed charaAer. Should an uncivilized fon of nature 
 be introduced into our European circles, he would, ai 
 firft, conclude that humanity and benevolence had 
 there fixed their abode. But, as foon as he was in- 
 formed that all this was but fccnery and ftage eixv.dl, 
 he would be uncertain whether moft to admire the 
 ikill with which the reprefentation was conducled, or 
 to deteft the duplicity which could fo completetly af- 
 fume the appearance of qualities, of v.'hich thij reality 
 was wanting.* 
 
 By thefe dlUerent infradions of the original rights 
 •See Ro^TcaOi D.fcours furies Sciences ct Ics Arts, p. l^ 
 
loo AN ESSAY, ^. 
 
 of man above Tnenlioned, focisty is reduced to its pre- 
 fent unhappy condition, in which the Hobbefian ftate 
 of nature appears in the midH of civilization and re- 
 finement. The interefts, the purfuits, and the paflions 
 of men conftantly a(5ling in oppofition, infpire, in the 
 midft of unceaHng competition, unremitting caution 
 and felicitous jealoufy. The^fpecious malk of civility 
 and ccmplaifance is often affumed to conceal the mofl 
 hofiiie defigns. The language of nature is unknown, 
 and the.warin sxpreffions of affedion either fall to the 
 j^:oun^ dcllitute of all meaning, or are perverted to 
 convey an ironical conceptionof conter^pt and diflike.* 
 
 ri®\v diiTerent would be the face of fociety, if the juft 
 equality of mankind were duly confidered, and the 
 inherent rights of human nature refpeOed as they 
 ought ! Bmt this confummation, devoutly to be wiflied, 
 will only take place, v/hen men fhall believe and prac- 
 tife Chri(];ianity, and do the nvill of their Heavenly Father 
 9n e^rth-i as it is done in Heaven. 
 
 * Fug'fre pudor, verurraae fidcfque ; 
 In qu->rum ijb.ere locum, iV^uderque, doiiquf, 
 ii.iJlidC^uc, s: vi5_, et amor f.elcr.uus habendi . 
 
 Ovid. MeUT;. I. j. v. \\m. 
 
AK ESSAY, &c. xox 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 The DUTIES 9f thofc 'who are placed in the inferior 
 STATIONS #/* LIFE or endoived nvitb inferior 
 
 CAPACITIES a7ld PJWERS. 
 
 IF the diilribntion of abilities illuftrated m the firtl 
 Book*, and a diverfity of ranks in fociety, be bcil 
 calculated to promote the happinefs, not only of ihe 
 focial body in general, but of every individual tb^t 
 compofes it, how iniquitous arid unrealbnabie is it VQ 
 oppofe tliis plan, and to complain of its arrangenicnt, 
 becaufe it coincides not with the fuggefiioas ofanibi- 
 lion and caprice ? When men defpife thofe talents an4 
 that rank in life which divine providence has alIottc<i 
 them, and afpire at others for which they were nev<;r 
 defigned by nature, they aim at fubverting that equali- 
 ty of obligation which affigns particular diuies to par- 
 ticular abiiitPes and fituations, and requires them to h^ 
 anfwered by others of a different order. For, if eve- 
 ry man is at liberty to defert the poil affigned him, 
 and to invade another's province, how Tnall the ijifc- 
 rior Nations be filled, which are not lefs neceifaiy lo 
 the general welfare than the more eminent ? If in the 
 circumftances in which any given number of men can 
 be placed, the^e be unavoidable hardinips and incon- 
 veniences, why (liould th-efe rather be fupported by 
 iuch as have never been accuUomed to them, aiid are 
 
 12, 
 
102 AN ESSAY, ace. 
 
 therefore totally unqualified for iheir duties, than by 
 thole whom education, and habit, have bed adapted to 
 fuch lituations ? Yet, unlefs thefe inconvenencies be 
 endured, thefe difficulties encountered by feme, the 
 ilations in queftion muft be deferted, and a void left ia 
 the order of fociety equally pernicious to public and 
 to private intereft. 
 
 Still, men complain of their fituation, and eagerly 
 afpire to others more exalted ! But, is there any real 
 foundation for this difcontent, for this reftlefs defire of 
 change ? Is it, as people pretend, that their prefent 
 condition is more painful, more adverfe to virtue, more 
 inaufpicious to the development and exercife of their 
 power?, than thofe which th^y fo fondly defire ? Or 
 is it that men are better acquainted with the difficul- 
 ties and temptations of their prefent fituation, than 
 with thofe of any other, have fondly magnified their 
 own abilities, and ignorantly placad all excellence in 
 the difcharge of the duties of fuperior Rations ? If we 
 examine the cafe with impartial attention, we fhall find 
 ao reafon to hefitate in deternaining the quftion. 
 
 Men readily grant the complaints of thofe who are 
 placed above them to be ill founded, and afcribe their 
 dilTatisfaftion to jheir folly. They haftily prefwme 
 that, if they were fixed in their fituation, they would 
 cafiiy furmount its difficulties, refift its temptations, 
 and fully difcharge its duties. Their inferiors pro- 
 nounce the fame judgment with regard to them and 
 their*circumftances, and, if they envy, they are envied 
 in their turn. A convincing proof this, that, in every 
 condition, there are advantages as well as difficulties f 
 thai, liiuu^h none is exempud from inconvenieiice, 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. to3 
 
 none IS abfolutely infupportable ; and that difcontent 
 with a piefent ftation, and impatient defire of a high- 
 er, proceed from mlftaken notions of both. 
 
 I beg that it may be confidered that I am, at prc< 
 fent, fpeaking only of the different ranks and fituations 
 of human fociety, as they are diverfified for the com- 
 mon happinefs of mankind ; and not of thofe fingular 
 conditions cf diftrefs and mifery, which fall to the lot 
 cf individuals. In thefe, patience and fortitude may 
 be recommended as duties and as confolations ; but 
 contentment can hardly be required. 
 
 But, in furveying the different ftations of life, al- 
 though men grant that there are difficulties and hard* 
 fftips in all of them, they dill believe that thefe diminilh 
 in proportion to the degree of elevation ; and fall, 
 with the greateft weight, on thofe who occupy the 
 lowed places. They fondly imagine, that, if they 
 Gould aftend to a confider able height, they fhoiild there 
 find fome agreeable fpot, where, unmolefted and com* 
 pofed, they might furvey the fteep which they had 
 climbed, and enjoy the delightful profpeft opened 
 around them. But, they refle<5l not on the difficulty 
 of the afcent, on the giddinefs of the fituation, or, if 
 they fhould chance to flip, on the feverity of the fall. 
 The preffiire cf corporeal wants, the burden of daily 
 labor, and the humiliation of contempt, conftitute the 
 primary pains ©f a poor and ignoble condition. It is 
 further deprived of the enjoyments which refult from 
 the cultivation of reafon, and of the other nobler facul- 
 ties of the foul, and is conftrained to toil amidil the 
 darknefs of ignorance. If thofe, to whofe fhare it falls, 
 feel for Uie nsuAW^s of others, they eire deftituts of the 
 
lof AN ESSAY, &a 
 
 means of relieving them, and muft fnfTcr tlse pangs of 
 compaffion, without the divine faii:Jii<ft ion of bencfi* 
 cence. PrelTed with their own (Jiftreircfs, fechng for 
 ihofe in fimiiar, or in Itill more afflicting circumilances, 
 and obferving the fuperfluity of the fons of fortune, 
 they are apt to envy their profperity, to niurmer at 
 the Divine difpenfations, and to pratftice violence or 
 fraud, in order to obtain what their fitaation hai de- 
 nied them. 
 
 They confider not, hewever, that the pleafures of 
 life depend not (o much on the externals of condition 
 ason the difpofitions of the pofTcifor ; that what feems 
 calculated to fatisfy, and to limit, defne, ferves often 
 to inname and extend it ; that the enjoyments which 
 are in men's power are not thofe which they really 
 tafte'; and that to with and to purfue is the unceafuig 
 employment cf man upon earth. He who afcends a 
 mountain, and beholds the view unfolding around 
 him, is fired with greater curiofity to reach the fummit, 
 wheBCC the utmolt bounds of the profpcifc can be defcri- 
 ed. In like manner, no moderate e.x;:ltaticn in the 
 fcale of fociety can falisfy men, wnofe ambition is kind- 
 led, and whofe a<!^ivity engaged. Every ftep becomes 
 only a help to rife higher ; and defire continues impor- 
 tunate even after its obje<51s are all exhaufted. Alex- 
 ander is the trne emblem of ambition, vv^hich is realefs 
 while any thing remains above it 5 and, when it has 
 reached the fummit of its defire s, weeps that the prci- 
 grefs is finiflied ! 
 
 Ye who envy fortune and rank, not fo much for the 
 fenfual pleafures, or the ind ulgeneies of vanity and 
 pride which they afford, as for the fttblime and elegarit 
 
AN ESSAY, &c, 105 
 
 enjoyments which they feem to offer, in the improve- 
 ment of knowledge, the cultivation of genius, and the 
 exercife of the nobleft virtues of human nature — fay 
 if the engagements of public bun nefs, the contentions 
 ©f ambition, the interruptions of company, the endlefs 
 exactions of ceremony, the allurements of pleafure, 
 can afford much leifure for the improvement of the 
 mind, and the cultivation of elegant ftudies ; or that 
 v.'hen the reputation of wifdom, of learning, or of wit, 
 IS acquired without judgement, application, or parts* 
 and flattery amply fupplies every deficiency, there i® 
 any incitement to fuch noble and pleafing purfuits • 
 In a low and indigent ftation, are there greater temp- 
 tations to difcontcnt and envy, than v/hen fuccefs en- 
 flames ambition, and ambition fpurns every inferior 
 degree ? Are the motives dronger to cultivate honefty, 
 and to obfervdthe dictates of juftice, when the feveri-i 
 ty of punilhment hangs over the head of the offender, 
 than when concealment is promifed by intereft, in- 
 quiry removed hy intrigue, or im.punity fecured by 
 power ? Is there lefs fympathy with the diftrefs, or h{s 
 fmcere joy on the profperity of others, „ when men are 
 reminded of their fufferings by the experience of their 
 own, and depend for fubfiilence on their bounty and 
 good opi:uon — than v.hen luxury removes even the 
 afped of want, and opulence fecures independence ? 
 Is there lefs piety and devotoin, lefs reverence for God, 
 whrju men iiteraly implore him for £/aJly bready and de- 
 pend for its i«pply on the continuance of health, and 
 on the fertility of the fealbns, than when, having 7?:uch 
 goods laid up for many years -^ they eaty drinky and are mer- 
 rj/*\ and the immoderate draughts of plenty render 
 
 * Luke, xH. 19, 
 
io6 Al^ ESSAY, &c. 
 
 them forgetful of t^e bountiful hand that beftows it ? 
 
 Suppofing, after all, that the advantages of cultiva- 
 tion and virtue are fully improved by thofe in the high- 
 er ftations, in what do thefe exceed the fame advanta. 
 ges of the inferior, fo as to render them objeds of envy , 
 or caufes of difconient ? — Has not every member of 
 Chrirtian fociety fufEcient opportunity of acquiring 
 the ' fublimeft and moft ufefal branches of human 
 knowledge — the origin, the duties, and the deftination 
 of man — the relation in which he (lands to his Crea- 
 tor and to his fellow men — the divine nature and per- 
 fedions — the gracious plan of falvation the Deity has 
 publifhed to guilty mortals, by the mouth of his own 
 Son, and by his infpired apoftles — the glorious prof- 
 peels opened lo his penetent and amended children be- 
 yond the grave, and the gracious means he hath infti- 
 tuted for their perfedion and felicity ? Do not the 
 heavens, the ocean and the earth, unfoiJ their magni- 
 ficent and numberlefs beauties to the eye of the pea- 
 fant, as well as to that of the monarch ; nay, do they 
 not difclofe to the former many ravidiing fcenes, which 
 the latter can feldom behold ? Are not many even of 
 the moft ftriking and admirable dlfplays of art, which 
 riches have produced, and continue to fupport, equal- 
 ly enjoyed by the meaneft paffenger, as by the pro- 
 prietor himfelf ? It is a grofs miftake to fuppofe, that 
 to provide for one's family by a Hid uous and ho- 
 neft labor, is iefs meritorious than to fupply tlie poor 
 out of an opulent fortune; that patience is Iefs com- 
 mendable thangeneiofity, refignation than munificence, - 
 meeknefs, than nwderation, contentment than conde- 
 fcenfion ; that fociety is Iefs b. nefited by being furnifh- 
 cd with the necelTaries of life, than by being ad-^rned 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 107 
 
 with the refiBsments of art, and by the produ<5iions of 
 genius ; that the public welfare is lefs promoted by du- 
 tiful fubmiflion to lawful authority, by an inoffenfive, 
 regular, and ferviccable conduft, than by the ena<?lion 
 offalutary laws, by the judgment and punifhment of 
 offenders, and by a zealous and difinterefted difcharge 
 of public truft. God accepts no lef& the artlefs devo- 
 tion of the grateful, though uninftrudted, heart, than 
 the copious and fwelling praifes of the enlightened un- 
 underftanding. The coarfer and brawny mufcles are 
 as neceffary to the perfection of the body, as the or- 
 gans of the mo ft delicate texture. 
 
 It is thus evident, chat real happinefs and virtue are 
 not limited to any ftation, but are equally open to all. 
 If there is any exception to this conclufion, it muft be 
 in favor of the middling fpheres of life — in which nei- 
 ther power and opulence tempt to opprefljon and dif- 
 folutenefs of manners, nor poverty and ignorance lead 
 to fraud and violence ; in which neither pride hardens 
 the foul, nor fertility debafes it ;in which the beft en- 
 joyments of life are offered, and its greateft entice- 
 ments to corruption excluded. 
 
 From all that has been faid on this fubje<5l,it clearly 
 appears, that as it is the duty, it is equally the interell 
 of all who are placed in the inferior ranks of life, to dif- 
 charge, with diligence and afliduity the humble ofnces 
 of their (lation, to cultivate contentment with their 
 lot, and to fupprefs the emotions of envy towards thofe 
 who are more exalted, 
 
 It may indeed be objeded, that the defire of ri- 
 (w^ is one of the mod powerful motives to the honQH 
 
t(^ AN ESSAY, 5tc. 
 
 and acfl'ive dlfcharge of every foclal dutr, that one great 
 point of equality among men confifts in the opportuni- 
 ty which all ought to enjoy of exercifing their ufeful 
 or elegant abilities, and that, if every one is to reft 
 fatisfied with the condition in uhich his birth or his 
 circumftances have placed him, exertion muft be dif- 
 couraged, and the general welfare be deprived of the 
 benefit v/hich refults from honeft and generous ambi- 
 tion. We have, moreover, Ihown above, that frequent 
 exchange of ranks and conditions feems to compofe a 
 part of the divine adminiftration of human affairs. If 
 thofe, therefore, whofe fituation is at prefent ignoble 
 and depreffed, are to confider it nis a duty never to af- 
 pire higher, one of the ftrongeft-checks is removed from 
 pride, namely, the uncertainty of its elevation, while 
 dejedlionand poverty are deprived of one of their moft 
 powerful confolations — the e::peftation of more prof- 
 perous days. 
 
 It ought, however, to be confldered, that the doc- 
 trine above inculcated tends not to preclude laudable 
 ambition aad induftry, but only to fupprefs, on the 
 one hand, difcontent, avarice, and envy, and to remove 
 every pretext for indulging thefe paffions under the 
 fpecious colorings of more elevated and generous mo- 
 tives ; and, on the other, to comfort and ftjengthen 
 tiiofe who are apt to view their inferior ftations with 
 an undifcerning eye, which beholds afEidion where 
 happinefs may be found, and degradation wijere true 
 dignity may refide. Nay, if our limits admitted of it, 
 it might eafily be (hewn, that tlie faithful difcharge of 
 the duties of an inferior ftation, and that contented 
 and cheerful mind which partakes of its greateR en- 
 joyments, are the fureft and Tafeft means of advance- 
 
AN ESSAY, kc. 109 
 
 went. I fliall Tatlsfy myfelf, however, with pointing 
 out, in the following chapter, fome important cautions 
 with refpeft to the improvement of our condition. 
 
 K 
 
uo AN ESSAY, kc. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 •A VTiotis to he ohferved in the ^vrsvit of a kic hi. % 
 
 tfW WCr^ FLOURISHING CONDITION. 
 
 LfT^HE defire of improving one's circumflanca 
 X ought never to lead to encroachment on the 
 rights of others, whether natural or acquired. B7 
 the violation of the former, the fundamental princi- 
 ples of fociety are fubverted ; and, by that of the lat- 
 ter, the order neceffary to its exiftence, is deftroyed. 
 V/hoever, therefore, pretends to maintain any of the 
 natural rights of man, by overturning that fubordina- 
 tkon and juft order, vi'hich is the foul and the life of fo- 
 ciety, defeats the very purpofe which he has in view, 
 and exhibits either egregious folly or egregious wick-* 
 ednefs. In either cafe, he becomes a dangerous ene- 
 my to the public intereft, who is to be reftrained and 
 puniftied, 10 prevent him both from injuring others 
 by his pra<5lice, and corrupting them by his example. 
 Such, however, is the intemperance of human pafllons, 
 even thofe of the mod generous kind, when they are 
 Itrongly excited, that the ardour of liberty, and in- 
 dignation at oppreffion, often hurry men to purfue a 
 condudt diredly repugnant to the principles of equity 
 and beneficence which they profefs — to opprefs others 
 when they are contending for freedom ; to be moft 
 iniquitous in defence of juftice ; and, with a view to 
 promote the welfare of fociety, to overturn its founda- 
 tions. Let'the timesjin which we live, declare, in 1^^= 
 ny inftances, the truth of this alTertioci. 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 II I 
 
 11. The duties of the ftation, which people already 
 occupy, ought to limit their endeavors after advance- 
 ment. The co-operation of every individual for the 
 p'tiblic good, TDuft firft difplay its energy in the fphere 
 in which he moves, and be thence tranfmitted to the 
 other parts of thefocial body. By negleding the du- 
 ties of his prefent ftation, a perfon withholds the por- 
 tion he is appointed to contribute to the general wel- 
 fare, and, by encroaching on the province of others, 
 may clog their exertion and fruilrate their utility. To 
 arrive at a more agreeable or more honorable ftation, 
 the faithful difcharge of the duties of a prefent one 
 ought always to be the firft means employed. When 
 thefe are fulfilled, every fair and honeft exertion is n<^ 
 only lawful, but even highly laudable, as the grcateft 
 adlivity of the parts then advances more efleilu-aliy 
 the profperity of the whole. By embr^icing the op- 
 portunities which occur, and by exercifing the talents 
 with which men are endowed, they manifeft their gra- 
 titude to Providence, and they improve its gifts to the 
 greateft advantage. 
 
 III. The duties of any ftatioTi to Trhich men afpire, 
 and their own ability to difcharge them, ought to be 
 confidsred before they attempt to obtain it. For* 
 to occupy a ftation for which one has no capacity, cr 
 with the duties of which he is totally unacquainted, 
 is both to expofe his own folly, and to injure fociety, 
 by betraying a truft which is committed to him. 
 Hence, it is of the utmoft confequence to acquire a 
 completTe knowledge of our own talents and qualities, 
 which the generality of mankind are fo apt to magni- 
 fy, both to their ov/n difgrace, and to the detriment of 
 Others. Inability to difcharge the duties of any iia- 
 
112 AN ESSAY, $^i 
 
 tion, reful ting whether from narrownefs of onderftand- 
 ing, from unhappinefs of temper, or from infirmity of 
 body, fhould be deemed an exprefs declaration of the 
 Divine will againfl: the acquirement of it, and, of con- 
 fequence, a boundar)' not to be pafTed. 
 
 IV. Men's exertions to improve their condition 
 feould be influenced by the confideration of the en- 
 largement, or the contra(Stion, of their utility. From 
 the light in which every man appears as a member of 
 kuman fociety, to whofe benefit he is bound to contri- 
 bute in the moft ample manner poffible, it is plain that 
 itcan never be lawful for any one to change his pre- 
 fent fuuation for another, in which his utility muft be 
 impaired. This is to prefer private to public intereft, 
 to pervert the"quality of a member, to demand more 
 than is compeniated, and to lofe all that dignity and 
 r2a.\ enjoyment which refult from the moft extenfive 
 eneficence. 
 
 It, in the ftation defired, men may be equally ufeful, 
 a<^ in liiZZ TrhiCa tliey occupy, private intereft may be 
 allowed its full force. If, together with advancement, 
 opportunities of utility increafe, every private and 
 public confideration happily unites in ftimulating to 
 the purfuit of it, and every generous heart will wi(h 
 and applaud the fucc efs. 
 
 Thus the rights of others, the duties of a prefent 
 fcation, the talents requifite for a higher, and the more 
 extenfive utility, are the limits within which men ought 
 to confine their exertions for the improvement of their 
 circumftances. Thus, juftice, diligence, ability, and 
 public fpirit, (hould be the conftant attendants in the 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 113 
 
 path of advancement, and the cliltf forwarders of the 
 progrefs. 
 
 But, Iiow little are thefe confideratlons regarded ! 
 When interell or pleafure are conftituted the fole 
 fprings of acVion, every duty that has no tendency to 
 advance their ends is negledled, and offices, inilituted 
 for the benefit of mankind, are IKamefully perverted to 
 iheir prejudice. When the projed is formed of rifmg 
 to preferment without regard to merit, birth, intereft 
 or party-attachments, are the only valid gjc.nnds rf 
 pretenfion. To the moft felfifn confiderations the 
 moft important interefts of fociety are facrificed. Be- 
 fore children can difcover either inclination or capa- 
 city, offices are defigned for them, and kept conftantly 
 in view ; nor were this to be cenfured, if proper care 
 were taken to give them a fuitable education, and their 
 deftination changed, when their temper and talents 
 were perceived to be incompatible with it. But thefe 
 things are feldom much confidered. Wliatever lye 
 the genius or improvements of the perfon in quedion, 
 he mud move in tli€ particular fphere which has been 
 chofen for him. The public welfare h treated as a 
 chimera, which it is the bufmefs of a man well (killed 
 in the ways of the world to ufe as a color to varnifh th« 
 mod interelled defigns, but which none, but an enthu- 
 fiadic or vulgar mind, can think of adopting as a real 
 t)bje(fl of purfuiu When the public welfare, however, 
 is obilrU(fled, private happinefs can not long be enjoy- 
 ed. For, as one chief caufe of the diforder and cor- 
 ruption, which fo often lay wade civil fociety, is the 
 kittle attention which is lliown to adapt men's condi- 
 tion to their abilities and tempers ; fo the mifery of 
 individuals frequently fpr'ngs from the fame fouioe, 
 K2 
 
ii4 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 Men Tnoviiig in a fphere for which they were never 
 defi gned by nature, foon grow difgufted with their 
 lot, and, finding the duties of their ftacion irkfome 
 and oppreffive, either negleft them altogether, to their 
 o\7n irretrievable difgrace, or continue to difcharge 
 them, in fuch a manner as is equally painful to them- 
 felves, and detrimental to others. Thus, Divine Pro- 
 vidence takes vengeance on mankind for infringing its 
 appointments, by allo\.ii.g them to be bewildered in 
 their errors, and the viiftims of their own infatuation. 
 
AN ESSAY, &C. lij 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 T^g l>v TIES of thofe placed in the higher ranks of -lite, 
 and endorjjcd 'with distinguished abilities. 
 
 IT is certainly no eafy matter for a perfon not to 
 confider himfelf as greatly fuperior to the reft of 
 his fpecies, when every one of thofe who furround him 
 pretends that his honor and dignity, his pleafure and 
 fervice, are the only obje<51s which occupy himfelf, and 
 ought to occupy every other ; when every one ap- 
 plauds, with fervile adulation, his moft infignificanC 
 fayings, and moft ridiculous adtions, and adores him 
 as the fource of wifdom, and the centre of power. 
 When a perfon has fo many occafionsof beholding hig 
 fellow men in a contemptibk lighr, it muft require 
 angelic moderation to abftain from treating them ac- 
 cordingly ; to negleft thofe advantages which his cir- 
 cumftances and their fervihty put into his hands for 
 gratifying his own paffions and caprice, at the expence 
 cf their moft valuable interefts. 
 
 When, therefore, I confider this ftate of things, far 
 from being furprifed at the pride, and impatience of 
 contra didion, which often charadcrize the higher ranks 
 of life, or any fpecies of diftinftion and eminence, I am 
 more difpofed to admire the c»ndefcenfion and humani- 
 ty which they fo frequently exhibit. For, thefe 
 vices, though more obfervable in the higher fpheres, 
 becaufe tbe^ are difpUjed in si more confpicuoug 
 
ii6 AH tSSAY, 5cc. 
 
 point of view, are by no means confined to thefe, but 
 pervade every rank, every fjtuation and profelTion of 
 life. Hardly any attainments To low, any circurn (lan- 
 ces fo circumfcribed, as not to afford fcope for feif- 
 fufEciency and oftentation. Who will not feer/j great, 
 if he is as highly exalted as his ideas ofgreatnefs reach, 
 and compares himfelf only with his inferiors : if he 
 eftimates his own knowledge by another's ignorance, 
 his own wifdom by another's folly, his own power by 
 anothei's impotence, his own wealth by another's po- 
 verty, his ®*vvn virtue by another^s depravity ? On 
 what other foundation, than on this partial mode of 
 comp2(rifon, are built the pride and arrogance of even 
 the moft exalted of miankind ? But, if we abandon this 
 magical glafs, which transforms the cottage into a 
 palace, and the infant into a man, and contemplate 
 cbje<51:s in the true lightof nature, we fhall find, that the 
 great difpute only is, who fhall be efleemed the ieaft ig- 
 norant, the leafl foolifh, the Ieaft weak, the Ieaft indi. 
 gent, the Ieaft corrupted ; tliat pride and infolence, 
 which fubvert the parity of obligation fubfifting among 
 all, fhould be banifned from every humanr breaft, and 
 that thofc who move in the higheft and moft iiluftri- 
 Ous fpherss having the beft opportunities of enlar- 
 ging their minds, ought to regulate their opinions by 
 their own knowledge, not by the ignorance of their in*? 
 feriors, to acquire real dignity, by divefling themfelves 
 ofpaflions, which are born of ignorance, and nourifhed 
 by delufion ; aiid, by moderation, equity, affability, 
 and condefcenfion, to conciliate benevolence, enfurc 
 lefpe^, make the rays of virtue eclipfe the fplendors 
 of fortune, and eftablifh a throne which Die Heither 
 can «.re<5k nor overturn. 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 117 
 
 Would men, divefting themfelves, for a moment, of 
 the prejudices which bh'th, education, or luxurious ha- 
 bits, have fixed in their minds, furvey, with the eye of 
 reafon, the conftrudtion of fociety, the principles on 
 which it refts, and the ends which it purfues, and then 
 contemplate the nature and perfedions of the univer- 
 fal parent — what a different light would be thrown on 
 their condition and circumftances, and how different 
 a profped be difclofed to them, from that which they 
 have been accuftonied to behold through the mids of 
 ignorance, or the twilight of felf-deception ! Would it 
 be poffible for them to fuppofe that the Deity lavifhes 
 his bounty on individuals capricioufly ele<5led, merely 
 for their pleafure and profit, and not with any view to 
 the univerlal benefit ; that he has beftowed on one 
 authority and power, in order that he may encroach 
 on tlie liberties, invade the properties, and overawe the 
 confciences of his brethren, and not that he may pro- 
 teA innocence, reftrain oppreflion, and maintain invio- 
 late the inter sfts of jullice, of religion, and of truth ; 
 that, on another, he has conferred wealth and fupcrflu- 
 ity, only to furnifh him with the means of indulging 
 in luxury, or of wallowing in intemperance, and not 
 to open to him a treafure for the fupply of indigence, 
 the relief of diftrefs, the encouragement of induftry, 
 and the reward of merit ; that he has adorned a third 
 with fagacity and genius, that he may find an agreea- 
 ble amufement for himfelf, gratify his paffion for ad- 
 miration, miflead the judgments, and corrupt the 
 hearts of his fellow men, not that he may enlighten, 
 and improve, and lead them to happinefs, through the 
 path ©f virtue ? Can any man of a found mind, who 
 allows himfelf a momont's refle(5tIon, impute fuch a 
 fcheme to infinite goodnefs and wifdom, or confidei* it 
 
ii8 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 in anf other light than in that of the mod atrocious 
 rebellion againft the Divine government ? — A perfon 
 raifed to a high office, placed in exalted rank, or ador- 
 ned by diftinguifhed abilities, is eftablifhed on an emi- 
 nence that his views of the general good may be more 
 extenfive and corre(ft, and that he may apply* to its 
 advancement, the powers he poiTeifes with the greater 
 advantage and fuccefs. As on an eminence, iheieforej 
 the eye is diverted from proximate to remoter objeds ; 
 fo, in an exalted ftation, the narrow concerns of felf 
 ftiould be lefs regarded than the grand and magnificent 
 range which the public welfare prefents to the mind. 
 
 Nor does this view of things diminifh, in the fmrillefl 
 degree, the advantages refulting from eminent rank, 
 fortune, or abilities ; on the contrary, it greatly enhan- 
 ces them. For, if we exclude the opportunities which 
 thefe afford of widely diifufing beneficent influence, 
 and, with the imitation of the divine peifedions, of fha- 
 rlng in fome meafure the divine felicity ; what elfe re- 
 mains bytthe meaneflgratificationsof human nature, but 
 an augmentation ofmifery with an augmentation c^fvice, 
 &atotaldegradationofall that diftinguifhesman from the 
 brutes ? If the rich enjoy not the pleafure of munificence, 
 ofclothing the naked, of feeding the hungry, of fuppor- 
 ting the falling family, of rearing the orphan, offweeten- 
 ingthecup oflhame-faced uncomplaining poverty, with- 
 out rufHing the veil that hides her from public viev/ ; 
 if the powerful are denied the fatisfaition of prote(5ting 
 innocence, of reftraining oppreffion, of drawing modeil 
 merit from its retirement, and, by the juft reward of 
 honor, of rendering it confpicuous and exemplary, of 
 defending fubftantial virtue againft fadion and in- 
 trigue, and of promoting the public good by noble and 
 
AN ESSAY, &e, 119 
 
 tifeful undertakings ; if the wife, the ingenious* aad the 
 learned, are denied the enjoynncnt of comforting afflic- 
 tion of inftrudling ignorance, of dire«5ling perplexity, 
 of correcting prejudice, and of reclaiming vice ; what 
 remains but the more copious indulgence of fenfuality 
 — but the gratifications of the moft ruthlefs paffions 
 that convulfe the breaft which they occupy — and the 
 indulgence of the moft contemptible, though frequent- 
 ly the moft pernicious, vanity difplayed by attempting 
 tofubvert the grand principles of morality, and to poi- 
 fon the divine confolations of religion ? Is there in 
 thefe any thing which a man of judgment would value> 
 defire, and purfue, as priinary objeds ? Were fuch a 
 perfon informed, on his firft fetting out in life, that 
 fuch would be all the enjoyment he fhould reap from 
 the fondeft obje<5ls of his purfuit — would he confider 
 the purchafe as a fufficent recompenfe for his toil and 
 anxiety, his frequent mortifications, and afliduous ftu- 
 dy ? I afTert not that the man, who devotes wholly to fel- 
 filh purpofes the advantages he poffefTes, has no plea- 
 fure, no enjoyment. The' fenfualift, the mifer, the 
 vain, the ambitious, the proud, have each their parti- 
 cular gratifications. But thefe gratifications are un- 
 manly and bafe, and fall infinitely Ihort of the delights of 
 a faithful difcharge ©f duty, and of the fublime enjoy- 
 ments of beneficence. Nor can it be alledged that 
 enjoyments being matters of tafte, it is Impoffible to 
 afcertain their comparative values ; becaufe every man 
 will be partial to his own, and, while the generous 
 extol the joys of beneficence, the felfifti will ever 
 find their happinefs in thofe which center in them- 
 felves. For, in order to compare the different fources 
 of felicity, it Is neceffary to tafte them ; and this can 
 pjijjf be done by men of an exalted and capacious foul, 
 
120 AN ESSAY, Ac. 
 
 who can relifti In the highefl degree both the pleafurcs 
 which attach to felf, and thofe which refiilt from be- 
 nevolence. By feeding the hungry, does any man 
 fpoll his own appetite ? By relieving the diftrefled, 
 does he diminifh his own relifh of eafy circumftances ? 
 By maintaining peace and order in fociety, does he 
 contract his imagination, or diminifh its powers ? By 
 comforting the affli<5tcd, by inftru<5ling the ignorant, 
 or by advifmg the perplexed, does he render his concep- 
 tion lefs clear, his judgment lefs folid, or his memory 
 lefs tenacious ? On the other hand, it is certain that a 
 coniraiSed felfiftinefs weakens and extinguifhes the be- 
 nevolent affe<5lions, and excludes the pleafures they 
 confer. The man wo feeks in wealth only the means 
 of indulging his fenfuality, and promoting his conve- 
 nience, who afpires at power, only to gratify his pride 
 and ambition, or who purfues knowledge only for his 
 own amufement or vanity — fuch a man can have but 
 little relifh of the joys that fpring up and flouriih in a 
 focial and benevolent heart.* 
 
 What is it that, in all the a(5lions, and all the cha- 
 radkrs, whether prefented by daily obfervation, record- 
 ed in hiftory, or figured by imagination, excites ad- 
 miration, and engages efteem ? Is it merely extent of 
 capacity, fuperiority of ftation, or largenefs of fortune ; 
 or is it liberality of fentiment, and kindnefs of heart ? 
 Place the faithful friend, tlie affeflionate parent, the 
 indulgent mafter, the generous patron, the incorrupt 
 magiftrate, the genuine patriot, in the moft difadvanta- 
 geous circumftances ; let him be funk in poverty j over- 
 
 • Hence, Ariftotlevery juftly aflerts, in fevcral places of ha 
 Ethical wrltir.gs, that the^ood man is the oaiy proper judge of hap- 
 
AN ESSAY, kc. 121 
 
 •whelmed with du'*grace, tortured with pain, he will ftill 
 preferve his dignity, and command our refpe»5l ! Nay, 
 the Idfs he enjoys of the advantages, and the mipre he 
 fufFers of the evils, of life, the more glorious will he ap- 
 pear ! But no fitvorable concurrence of circumftances, 
 neither the gifts of nature, the accomplilhments of arts, 
 nor the fplendors of fortune will ever be able to bribe 
 our efleem in behalf, I fay, not of the fenfualifl:, the 
 villain, or the tyrant, but even of the unfocial folitary 
 mortal, who, though he offers no pofitive injury to his 
 fpecies, yet with holds his endeavors for their happi- 
 nefs ! Nay, if fuch a fuppofition be not impious, remove 
 goodnefs from all the other divine attributes, and fup- 
 pofe the Supreme Being unconcerned for the happinefs 
 cf his creation, and fay whether his nature would then 
 appear as amiable, adorable, and tranfcendently excel- 
 lent, as it now appears to every receding mind. And 
 if goodnefs conftitute the fupreme glory of the divine 
 nature, that which gives to every other perfedtion its 
 true beauty and light, and completes the real charac- 
 ter of Deity — Is it poffible that any human excellence 
 or advantage fhould compenfate for the abfence of this 
 primary virtue ? 
 
 If the true excellence of human nature, thus, confifts 
 in benignity, if this necefTarily attracls the regard of 
 the felfiOi themfelves, how comes it to pafs that fo ma- 
 ny who have the nobleft opportunities of gratifying a 
 difpofition fo beautific and glorious, can be reconciled 
 to a contrary conduift — to fenfuality, oppreffion, and 
 perverfion of the fineft abilities ? The weaknefs, the 
 bllndnefs, and the corruption of human nature, are the 
 only fatisfacVoty caufes that can be alledged. 
 
izi AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 But, even in anions the mod apparently felfifh and 
 groveling, a difcerning eye will be able to difcover 
 Ibm^aint gleams of generofity which illumine and re- 
 commend them. Senfuality is clothed with the fpe- 
 dous coloring of fociality, of pleafure communicated 
 as well as received, of jocularity and mirth, of free- 
 dom, and contempt of fervile reftraint. Oppreffion 
 and tyranny are prefented to the mind under the ap- 
 pearance of dignity, of a high fenfe of honor, a noble 
 ambition, attachment to party, nay, even of a love of 
 juftice. Without thefe fidlitious images, the fenfualift 
 would appear to hirafelf as the moft contemptible^ 
 and the cpprefTor as the moft odious, of mankind. 
 
 But, why multiply arguments in a matter where a 
 moment's feeling is more decifive than an age of rea- 
 foning ? Had you ever a faithful friend, into whofebo- 
 fom you poured all the fecrets of your heart — a pa- 
 rent, whofe burden of years you lightened, whofe tot- 
 tering limbs you fupported — a child, whofe affiduous 
 duty, whofe budding virtues, fweetened all your cares 
 of the prefent, and brightened all your hopes of the 
 future — did ever the fympathetic gufh ftart in your eye 
 at the fight of mifery — did ever your hands ftretch forth 
 the unexpeded relief, and difpel the gloom that hangs 
 on the brow of woe, as the fun, burfting through the 
 clouds, renews the face of nature — did you ever dif- 
 charge an important triuft with dignity, difintereftednefs, 
 and honor, and fpread peace and joy among your fel- 
 low men, while t/^e ear njohen it heard you hlejj'ed youy and 
 the eye ivhen it fanuyou gave 'witnefs to you* — fay what 
 delight thefe recoUedions afford — would you exchange 
 
 * Job, xxlx, II, 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 123 
 
 them for a life-time of the moft refined fenfuallty— ■ 
 for Peruvian treafures — or Afiatic power ? 
 
 It appears, then, that the dignity of human nature 
 confiiis not in the greatnefs of men's abilities, wealth, 
 or dominion, but in expanfion, and benignity of foul ; 
 that the former are only means of promoting the pur- 
 pofesofthe latter, and figns that their pofiefTors are 
 p^articularly called, by Divine Mppcintment, to gene- 
 rous and elevated adion ; that one, who poiTeffes all 
 thefe advantages, may be more contemptible than thofe, 
 v/ho, though devoid of them, have the heart which 
 could apply them to their proper ends ; and that one 
 firm purpofe of doing good, will adorn a charafter 
 more than the acuteA: underftanding, the moft opulent 
 fortune, or the moft exalted rank, unaccompanied with 
 a virtuous difpofition. Hence, to be filled with pride 
 and contempt of thofe below us, on account of our ta- 
 lents, or external circumftances, without any regard to 
 the right application of them, is both to act unjuftly, 
 by asking inconfiftently with the charyfter of mem- 
 bers of the community, and ufurping the rights which 
 belong to it alone, and to overturn the bafis on which 
 true fuperiority muft ever reft. It is to content our- 
 felves with the fhadow, without the fubftance, of great- 
 nefs ; and, while God and men unite in calling us to 
 a pre-eminence and happinefs which neither time, nor 
 fortune, nor death can remove, to defcend to the moft 
 contemptible of all conditions, by perverting the moft 
 fplendid powers, and the richeft opportunities — to em- 
 brace the hi«leous form of mifery while celeftial felicity 
 courts us — to change a fertile field into a barren heath 
 . — to dwell in a dungeon while we may walk in the 
 doft refplendent day. In a word, it is the duty of thofe 
 
124 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 who are raifed to the higher flations of life, pofle/Ted of 
 the gifts of fortune, or endowed with fuperior abilities 
 — to maintain juftice, order and peace, in fociety ; to 
 Ondy and purfue the public gccd ; to relieve diftrefs, 
 to encourage induftry, to re A'ard merit, to exercife con- 
 defcenfion and affability towards their inferiors ; to cul- 
 tivate and extend ufeful and elegant knowledge ; to ef- 
 tablifh, and inculcate, the grand principles of morality 
 and religion, to enlighten, liumanize, and improve 
 K)ankind, aud to lead them to virtue and happinefs. 
 
 Thofe who employ in this manner the opportunities 
 and talents with which they are furniflied by Divine 
 Frovjder.ce, are entitled to the highefl veneration of 
 mankind. It is then, that nobility, illuftrious fiation, 
 or diftinguiihed parts, appear in their full fplencfor, and 
 exhibit their poffeiTors as a fpecies of divinities upon 
 earth, who, bearing the refemblance of God as far as 
 human nature will permit, (hare alfo his felicity, and 
 claim the homage of the v.'orld. Let them be difplayed 
 as the infirun.f.its of beneficence, they will reign with 
 aft irreiiftible and permanent dominion, which neither 
 envy, nor malice, nor fadion, nor tumult, will be able 
 lo overturn ; for it is founded in the hearts of men who, 
 feeling, and rejoicing in, its blififul influences, muft ceafe 
 to love themfelves, before they can wifh to withdraw 
 their refped and obedience. 
 
 But, when riches are only the fund of a fordid ava- 
 rice, or the fountain of licentioufnefs and profligacy ; 
 when wifdom is perverted into crafi, and abilities tranf- 
 formed into the minifters of cabal and intrigue^ of de- 
 ception and ignoble policy, ertablifii, uphold, or extend, 
 civil or religious defpotifm ; when rsfplendent genius 
 
AN ESSAY, 5cc. 125 
 
 IS employed in rebellion agalnll God, and In the cor- 
 ruption of men, by propagating irreb'gion and immo- 
 rality ; when pre-eminence and authority a;e in civil 
 life, ufed as the inilruments of pride, injuilice, oppref- 
 fiOA, and cruelty, or fupreme power impeikd by infa- 
 t'lable ambition, deluges the earth with blood, and 
 fpreads devadation and mifery li>rough the habitations 
 of men— reafon eafily penetrates the falfe glitter that 
 furrounds them, and perceives their dtfoimity and 
 blacknefs. She declares their iiiftre to refemble that of 
 thofe noxious vapours, which, rifing from the earth, 
 are kindled into a flaOi in the (k\', and terminate in 
 noii'e and dert:ru6tion ; while ihofe who apply their 
 talents, their riches, or power, t.o the beneficent ends 
 for which they are deftined, are like th^t glorious lu- 
 minary in the heavens, which fnincs with a conftant 
 and ialutary light. 
 
 Thou proud infolent mortal ! who lookePr down 
 from thy lofty ftation on thy brethren of men, and im- 
 agined thtm enly formed to bring their gifts to thy 
 altar, and to bend before thee wkh ferviie homage, 
 know that thy elevation only renderc thee more con- 
 fpicuoady contemptible ! Confider that, fhould thofe 
 whom thou fo infolently dii'pifefl:, adopt th'*- .f>rincipks, 
 andburlt the bands of focird union by which alone they 
 are made thy dependants, the power is theirs, and 
 thine only the fhadow and the phantom. Shou-ld they 
 only withdraw their fupport without inflicfling any po- 
 fitive evil, thou wouldft precipitately fink into a degra- 
 dation lower than that of the meaneft laborer. Lefs 
 inured to want, thou.. wouldil be lefs able to provide 
 for its fupply, and have lefs reafon to exped it from the 
 benignity of others. ■ Confider that, even in thy pre 
 L 2 
 
i2iS AN ESSAY, Sec. 
 
 lent elevation, thou art really more dependant than the 
 moft ignoble of the fons of men. If he is leaft depend, 
 ant who ftands leaft in need of others, he is furely moft 
 dependant who ftands moft in need of them. With 
 cur rank, our necefTities, our demands, our cares, in- 
 creafe. The links by which we are joined to our fellow 
 ir.cn are multiplied, and the very circunfiftance which 
 enlarges our influence diminifties our internal ftrength. 
 He, therefore, who has the greateft number of depend- 
 ants, has only the greateft number of thofe to whom he 
 h indebted for confideration and power. The more 
 lofty and fpacious the edifice is, with the greater pre- 
 cipitation, if its pillars are fapped, does it rufti into ruin* 
 Learn then to feek thy importance and dignity, where 
 •nly thou wilt find them, by difcharging every duty 
 which thy ftation requires, and by diffufing, by thy 
 affability and beneficence, happinefs among mankind. 
 Relinquifhing the phantoms of pride, enjoy the fubftan- 
 tial pre-emineRce of virtue. 
 
 But ye ! who employ your diftinguifhed abilities, or 
 exalted power, for the purpofes for which Providence 
 has be ft owed them, fear not that any portion of that 
 refpe<n:, obedience, and honor, to which you are enti- 
 tled, will be withdrawn. Goodnefs, moving in an ele* 
 vated fphere, and guided by diftinguifhed wifdoln, 
 fhines with fuch an amiable luftre, pofFefies fuch a com- 
 manding influence, and is fo irrefiftably attractive, that 
 fhe reigns over the hearts of men, and is often conftrain- 
 ed to blufh at the homage (he receives, becaufe it ap- 
 proaches adoration. Power may intimidate, fplendor 
 may dazzle, genius may furprife and delight, but good- • 
 &ef& ftl«ne can captivate the heart ! 
 
AN ES$AY, «6. tit 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 nvriEs (om?»on fo ALL nuit/? regard io t/^e use of ike: ^ 
 
 OFtORTUNITIES ^«^ TALENTS. 
 
 WHOEVER attentively examines the human con^ 
 ftitution will difcovei in it feveral inconfiften- 
 ties not fo eafily accounted for. Thus, mankind have 
 a ftrong propenfity to ibciety, and are miferable with- 
 out it ; yet in fociety they are prone to indulge the 
 moft unfocial difpofnions. Nature conftantly draws 
 them to their fpecies, and points out their fweeteft en- 
 joyments, as folely derivable from this fource ; yet 
 the felfifh part of our frame, counterading this didate 
 of nature, corrupts the grand ftreams of happinefs, by 
 turning them into its own channel, and, inftead of al - 
 lowing the individual to adt as a member of the focial 
 body, and to receive from this capacity his higheft 
 dignity and enjoyment, endeavors to render fociety 
 fubfervient to ihe individual. There is in all men a 
 wonderful fondnefs of independence, and a no lefs fur- 
 prifing defire of the fervice aad refpe«5l of others^ 
 I'his is, in fa<fl, to join the greateft contradidions> 
 to force into union things abfolutely incompatible ; 
 for independence can only be fecure^, by an entire fe- 
 paration from mankind, by relinquifhing every claim 
 to their good offices and regards, by renouncing every 
 focial enjoyment, and by deriving happinefs from the 
 ftoresoffelf. As foon as man enters into the ibcial 
 tmlof and iharcs its beaeEciziI infiueaces| he reli&* 
 
If^^ AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 quifhcs his feparate exiftence, and forming a part of a 
 fyftem, is limited by the relations which he bears to the 
 other parts, and to the whole, becomes bound to con- 
 tribute to their fupport and perfedion, according to 
 the fupport and benefit which he receives from them, 
 and is required to exert a beneficial a<flivity propor- 
 tioned to the influence he poiTefTes. Whoever with- 
 holds from the general good any portion of ufefal ef- 
 fort he is able to beftow, is unfiiithful to the conditions, 
 on which he enjoys the benefits of foc^ety, and violates 
 that equality of obligation wiiich fubfifts among all 
 mankind. He alfoTruibates. as far as lies in his -pow- 
 er, th^it plan of Divine w^fdom, whereby the general 
 felicity is intended. For it is certain that the Univer- 
 fal Parent has diftributed among men fuch a portion 
 of abilities and powers, as, duiy cnlti\''ated and impro- 
 ved, would render the condition of all comfortable, in 
 every refpect, and happy. In the prefent ftate of fo- 
 ciety, fome are, indeed, overburthened with labor, and 
 enjoy but a finall degree of convenience ; while others 
 loiter in indolence, and confume the fruits of indultry. 
 This, however, could never be the ca^e, did every one 
 cultivate with diligence his peculiartaleiits,an.l difcharge 
 the duties of his peculiar ftation. It is the ncgleft of this 
 alone that makes it neceffaryto overload fome, in order 
 to fupport that part or the common burden, from which 
 others have treacherouily withdrawn themfeives. 
 
 Hence the principle of ^^?^iz//7;', above illuitrated 
 requires not only that all men fhould religioufly re- 
 gard the rights of ethers, but that they Ihould exert 
 themfeives, to the utmoil of their ability, for the com- 
 mon benefit. Whoever rejeds this requifition defcend^ 
 l^elow tlie rank of a member of fociety, and, inftead 
 
AN ESSAY, ^c- IJ9 
 
 •f rlfin^, as is fooliOily fuppcfe^, above the reft of 
 mankind, by a life of Idlenefs and diflipation, degrades 
 himfelf to the condition of a beggar, who lives on the 
 labor of others, without making any juft return for it. 
 For, however ftrange it may found, it is undoubted, 
 that fociety has a right to the beft exertion of all its 
 members, of the higheft as well as of the loweft, of 
 the moft opulent as well a s of the pooreft, for the com- 
 mon good. 
 
 The queftion is not, what advantage every indivi- 
 dual is content to reap from his own powers and op- 
 portHnities, but what degree of general utility he can 
 eiFeduate. Thefe powers have not been beftowed on 
 him, by their divine author, folely for his own ufe, but 
 chiefly for the benefit of the human race, to whofe 
 happinefs he is deftined to contribute. This proper 
 exercife of the powers of every individual all the other 
 members of fociety Jiave aright to demand, on fair 
 and equal terms. The equivalent every individual 
 obtains by the advantages and comforts which he re- 
 ceives from focial life, and ftill more by that fuperflu- 
 ity which enables any one to live in floth. He is a 
 debtor to the grand community of mankind, and his 
 creditors can call him to repay. 
 
 It is true that, fince it is fo difficult to determine 
 the extent of f very one's capacity, ami the exa(5l mea^ 
 fure of the focial advantages he enjoys, no precife claim 
 can be eftablilhed in every particular cafe. But, the 
 general obligation remains equally ftrcng on all, ar<J 
 none can-wiifully violate it without incurring the blame 
 of his own mind, and the difpleafure of the author of 
 his exiftence. The principle, therefore^ on whick 
 
it^ AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 fome ancient legiflators prohibited any citizen, of what* 
 ever condition or rank, from living in idlenefs, vv^as 
 perfe(5llyjuft in itfelf, although the execution of any 
 law grounded upon it muft ever be extremely difficult, 
 and might occafion greater inconveniencies than thofe 
 which it fliould be intended to obviate. 
 
 As indolence, and the negle<rt of opportunities of 
 utility, are highly unjuft, fo they are extremely con- 
 temptible. For, what charader can be more the obje<5l 
 of contempt, than that of a perion who, though en- 
 dowed with a<5live powers, and furnifhed with ample 
 opportunities of benefiting that [)articular fociety to 
 which he belongs, and from which he receives conftant 
 defence and protedion, vet lives on the labor either of 
 his predecefTors or contemporaries, without teftifying 
 any approbation of their induftry, by which he fubfifts, 
 or making any efforts to imitate their laudable exam- 
 ple ? What can degrade a man more in his own eyes, 
 than the confideration that he has done nothing to be- 
 nefit his friends, to oblige his neighbors, to educate 
 and eftablifh his children, or to promote the interefl 
 and honor of his country ; that he has buried his ta- 
 lents, defeated the end of Providence in beftowing them, 
 and that, when he is cut off by death, the world will 
 ^e delivered from an unneceffary burden, from a pu- 
 rid excrefcence ? 
 
 On the other hand, what can convey, to any perfon, 
 
 1 higher idea o( his own worth and importance, than 
 
 he reflexion that, though but an individual endowed 
 
 /ith one clafs of abilities, yet, by their improvement, 
 
 iie not only enlarges his own enjoyments, but diffufcs 
 
 ;iround him the mofi joyous influences, and promotes 
 
AN ESSAY, *c. ijt 
 
 ihe welfare of the whole human race ; that, though 
 retired from public view, he appears in the ufeful 
 produ(flions of his application and genius ; that, though 
 infirm in body, he renders, by his inventions, the labor 
 of the ftrong and hardy both more eafy to themfelves, 
 and more beneficial to others ; and that, though de- 
 void of public authority, he ftrengthens the political 
 mnion, and advances public order by the juft princi- 
 ples which he eftabiifhes and elucidates ; that, taking 
 another view of the cafe, though ignorant and illiterate, 
 yet he contributes, by his toil and dexterity, to the in- 
 (Irudion and improvement of mankind, while he pro- 
 vides fuftenance and leifure for thofe who are endowed 
 with genius and learning, or placed in thofe ftations 
 where plans of general welfare can be bed conceived, 
 and propofed with the greateft. profpe<fts of fuccefs ? 
 In fine it is an exalting confideration, that, however 
 obfcure a perfon is in himfelf, he is an inftrument in 
 tlie hand of Providence for communicating to mankind, 
 not only the neceffaries of life, but alfo its higheft or- 
 naments and delights, and even of raifing their views 
 above this terrellrial abode, and direding them to a 
 ftate of endlefs felicity, the certainty of which cannot 
 fail to produce the moft falutary effedts on every part of 
 their condu<fl:. No perfon is fo mean and infignificant, 
 as not to affe<ft fome part of the community. In a 
 grand piece of machinery, theTmaller wheels and pins, 
 though lefs obfervable, are not on that account lefs 
 neceffary than others to the juft motion and efFe(ft of 
 the whole. In like manner, the condu(5l of the infe- 
 rior members of fociety not only affeds their own hap- 
 pinefs, or that of their immediate connexions, but dif- 
 fufes its influence, though in a lefs perceptible manner 
 than that of the higher ranks, through the whole io^ 
 
13* AN ESSAY, &». 
 
 cial body. Nay, I may afTert that, as thefe compofe 
 tlie greater part of the community, their ufeful induf- 
 try Is ftill more requilite to the general happinefs ; and 
 that the meaneft laborer, who diligently and honeftly 
 exerts himfelf in his fphere, is entitled to fhare, with 
 the moll exalted of the fons of men, the glorious ap- 
 pellation of the friend of mankind, and of the appro - 
 ved of God ! Should any whom fortune deprefled, or 
 infolence laughs to fcorn, butwhofe foul, rifmg above 
 his fituation, feels the intrinfic dignity of man, and la- 
 ments the narrownefs of his terreftr-al fphere, caft his 
 eye on thefe pages, let him be comforted and ftrength- 
 ened by the reflections above mentioned. There is 
 fomething in the idea that exalts the mind, that kindles 
 the defireofufefulnefs, that roufes a<51ivity, and puts 
 every faculty in motion. When we confider it, we 
 feem defirous of breaking the inglorious chains of in- 
 dolence, and pant for fome worthy obje<ft, fome impor- 
 tant purfuit, to exercife the generous energies of 
 the foul ! 
 
 If the confideratlon of the importance of the mean- 
 eft member of fociety (hould prove a ftrong argument 
 to ufeful diligence, how much greater force muft this 
 argument acquire with regard to thofe whom fortune 
 and rank particularly diftinguifh. Their influence, 
 whether good or bad, is very extenfive. Firft commu- 
 nicated to numerous connections and dependants, it is 
 conveyed through them to other contiguous relations, 
 till it reach at laft the extremities of the fecial fyftem. 
 .Were this influence always of a beneficial nature, foci- 
 ety w^ould feel its falutary efFe<5ls through all its frame, 
 and, inftea'd of that diftempered and deformed face 
 which it fo frequently wears, would affumc the moft 
 
AN ESSAY, &c, 13$ 
 
 healthy and ftniling afped. The face of nature, long 
 hid in fog, or ravaged by tempefts, receives not a more 
 delightful transformation from the returning fun, thart 
 fociety would receive from thofe benignant lights which 
 thus illumined and invigorated it. 
 
 In what light, then, muft thofe perfons appear, who* 
 becaufe their external circumftances free them from 
 the nee effity of laboring for their fubfiftence, imagine 
 themfelves exempted from every fpecies of ufeful ex- 
 ertion ; who, becaufe they are provided with the a* 
 bundant fupply of every corporeal want, think them- 
 felves under no obligation to improve their minds, 01: 
 to engage in any purfuit conducive to the common 
 welfare ; who either yawn away their time in the 
 mod letliargic indolence, or devote it to the mod in- 
 fignificant, frivolous, or vicious enjoyments ; who 
 wafte ingenuity in mere oftentation, degrade reafon to 
 purvey for appetite, and make recreation their ftudy, 
 and amufement their bufniefs — in a word, whofc 
 whole life is either a blank, or a perverfion of exift- 
 ence. The phantom of pleafure, like an ignis fatuusy 
 inftantly difappears, when they think tliey can feize it. 
 The fame infipid round is run over a thoufand times. 
 The fenfes are jaded, the appetites cloyed. Tired ac 
 !aft with the tedious puifuit, thofe votaries of pleafure, 
 like the top that has long been lafhed, doze in the arms 
 of indolence. When they awake at times from iheir 
 infenfibility, their minds are haunted with all the 
 chimeras, all the monfters of vapour and fpleen, which 
 often drive them to burft, by death, the ponderous 
 fetters with which they are loaded. 
 
 I will not afTert, that all who live in this njanncr 
 M 
 
134 AN ESSAY, &c. 
 
 are fenfible of the criminality of their conduft, and 
 perceive that, however averfe from injuftice, breach of 
 truft, and crueJty in their dealings with particular per- 
 ibns, they yet involve themfelves, by this negative 
 vice, this negledt of the due improvement of their ta- 
 lents and opportunities in thefe crimes with refpeft to 
 their fpecies ingcneral. No ; I am convinced that, 
 if they clearly perceived the tendency of their conduifl, 
 many of them, at leaft, would review it with forrow 
 and difguft. Ignorance, and wrong habits contracted 
 in early life, more than any vicious difpofition, are the 
 caufes of a courfe of adionfo Jifgraceful and unhappy 
 to themfelves, andfo detrimental tofociety. 
 
 This reflefllon, however, if it diminifh their crimi- 
 nality, augments the folly of negleding to cultivate 
 thofe rational faculties, which would afford them juft 
 notions of their duty, and diiciofe an elevated region 
 of purfuit and happinefs. For, if they rightly ap- 
 prehended the relation in which all the members of fo- 
 ciety ftand to each other, they would perceive that it 
 is not only the rapacious invader, or the fecret purloin- 
 er, of property, who muft be reputed injurious, but 
 alfo the indolent and the diffipated, who deprives his 
 fellow men of any benefit which he is called to beftow. 
 They would fee that they are under obligation^ not 
 only to abftain from pofitive violations of juftice, but 
 alfoto difcharge many duties of diftinguifhed utility to 
 mankind. To thefe they would acknowledge them- 
 felves particularly called by the appointment of Hea- 
 ven. Relieved from the necefllty of providing for 
 their corporeal wants, their minds are furnifhed with 
 greater freedom for the exercife of its nobler powers, 
 and with a more extenfive range for the difcovery an4 
 
AN ESSAY, &c. 135 
 
 profecution of fchemcs of public good. And as thofe 
 clouds tliat obfcure their underftanding began to re- 
 im)ve, an hundred untail:ed fprings of felicity would 
 ©pen on their hearts. For, if every perfon of fortune 
 and rank employed his moft adive endeavors to excite 
 and maintain a fpirit of induftry and virtue among his 
 dependants, his neighbors, and fellow-citizens, he 
 would find his time and attention fo happily engaged, 
 that he would furvey with contempt his former plea- 
 fures ; he would feem to breathe a purer air, and to 
 live in a region of perpetual funfhine, while the va- 
 pours of low ambition and of fenfual indulgence rol- 
 led below his feet 1 
 
 Man^an only be happy in as far as his powers are duly 
 exercifed ; and thofe powers, which are the mod elevated 
 and capacious, afford the greateft fum of felj^ity. The 
 fame means, therefore, which render any man moft highly 
 beneficial to others, alfo increafe the fum of Ws own en» 
 :oyments, and fuperadd to them that mod delightful of 
 all fatisfakftions — the confcioufnefs of having difcharged, 
 to the utmoft of his power, his duty as a member of the 
 community, and fulfilled the intention of his Creator in 
 fending him into the world. The negledt of the due 
 improvement of any power, or of any opportunity of 
 honorable adion, detrads juft fo much from perfonal 
 enjoyment. As want of circulation corrupts the air, 
 and ftagnatlon the water, fo, indolence fuperinduces 
 a torpor on the mind, which unfits it even for the more 
 refine d pleafures of fenfe, and deprives it of that great 
 fweetener of every enjoyment, the refle<5lion that it is 
 the produce of our own exertions, and natural recom- 
 pence of merit. With regard to diftinclion, acquired 
 by fuccefsful exertions of abilities^ it is certain, that 
 
136 AN ESSAY, ftc. 
 
 the fame obligation which dsmanicd the firft difpla^ 
 of them, requires their continuance while any benefit 
 can thence refult to mankind, and their poflefTors are 
 able to confer it. He who has already exerted pow- 
 ers, by which the aggregate of common good has beett^ 
 increafed, has pledged himfelf to a courfe of diftin- 
 guifhed utility, and, if he relaxes or ceafes his efforts, 
 while his faculties are ftill vigorous, is more culpable 
 than if he had never entered on the honorable career ; 
 becaufe praflice procures facility, and fuccefs fhould 
 animate to frefh enterprife. If felfiOi ambition (hould, 
 as is in this cafe moft probable, be the fole motive to 
 adiion, let it be confidered, that it is perhaps more diffi- 
 cult to preferve than purchafe reputation ancr homage. 
 The enfigns of honor attra<^ the public eye ; elevation 
 places men in a more confpicuous light, where 
 every defi^t, a<; well as every virtue, is more clearly 
 dlfcerned, and more nicely fcrutinized. If thofe, there- 
 fore, who are thus diftinguifhed, are not able to fup- 
 port their fituation with dignity, their difgrace wilf, 
 from the difappointed expefiations of mankind, be 
 more humiliating, and the contempt which they incur 
 more general. Envy will magnify every fault, anni- 
 hilate every virtue, and lafh them with the laurels 
 which fhe has torn from their brows. Happy for 
 themfelves and happy for the world, whofe interefts 
 are always hurt by the degradation of merit, if they 
 kdd never rifen above the vulgar level i 
 
AN ESSAY, Sec. 137 
 
 C K x\ P T E R VII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 f^ I ^HE view of fociety, and of the principles oa 
 \. which it is founded, difclofed in this EiTay, evin- 
 ces the obligation of all its members, of whatever rank 
 or defcription, to contribute tkeir moft active and hon- 
 eil endeavors for the common good. Indeed this 
 obligation is fufficiently inculcated on the lower claffcs, 
 by the neceffity of laboring for their daily fubfiftence, 
 and by the dreadful confequences which idlenefs produ- 
 ces to them and their families. With regard to thefe, 
 it is, therefore, lefs necelTary to unfold the full force of 
 this obligation, than v/ith refpe^t to thofe whofe eaf/ 
 circumll:ances,^feeming to render them independent o 
 their fellow men, feem alfo to exempt them from every 
 debt beyond the limits of ftrift juftice. This independ- 
 -ence we have feewn to be purely imaginary, and utter- 
 ly incempatible with the principles of focial union. 
 The chain of dependance runs equally through all ihc 
 orders of fociety, and binds every individual in thefe 
 orders. While it excludes the extravagant claims et 
 felf love, and fubjeds m^w to more generous and falu, 
 tary principles, it eftabliihes at the fame time a fyflfim 
 which, if univerfally obferved, would fully fecure the 
 moft ciTential interefts of each individual, by fettling 
 them on the broad and immoveable bafis of genera* 
 w^elfere. For, did the rich employ their wealth r^fbp- 
 pl J the wants of the poor; the poor, thsii' labor to 
 Viz 
 
13^ AN ESSAY, 8cc. 
 
 adminill^r to the eafe and convenience of the rich ; the 
 great, their power and authority to protcft the weak 
 and dcfencelefs ; the wife, the ingenious, and the learn- 
 ed, their abilities to infi:ru6l and counfel the ignorant 
 and illiterate ; did every one, in fiiort, impart to his 
 fellow men a portion of the fruits of his talents and 
 advantages ; it is impoflible that any fhould repine at 
 another's poffeirmg what was employed for his own 
 benefit, nay, was m^de more fubfervient to his ufe, 
 tl;:m if he himfelf were the proprietor. For no indi- 
 vidual could fo perfe(fl;ly cultivate all the different tal- 
 ^^ats, nece/Iury for hisfupport and welfare, which are 
 ciitributed among the fpecies, and, while fome particu- 
 Jar one is allotted to each, are all carried to the higheft 
 'ruprovement of which tiiey are fufceptible. 
 
 Thus, the principles of equality v/hich we have ef^ 
 -^hViOitd, at the fame time ttat they reprefs the info* 
 ienct ef pride, the outrages of oppreflion, and the diffi' 
 pation of fenfuality, confirm, neverthelefs, the necef- 
 fity of fubordination, and the juft demiands of lawful 
 v.u hority. They maintain inviolate every natural and 
 every civil diftindion, draw more clofely every fecial 
 iie, and unite all in one harmonious and juftly pro- 
 portioned fyftem, -which brings men together on,,the 
 •jven giound of the inherent rights of human nature, 
 ef reciprocal obligation, and of <a common relation to 
 lie .ccmmunity. Yet, for the maintenance of this 
 4 .^aiity itfelf, they feparate them into different claifes, 
 iiiv.-i^iuveiVlhem with different capacities and offices. 
 Thiii. are the poor and the mean reconciled to their 
 v^rcumH^nces, or comforted under them — the opulent 
 ^u^ iliQ pov»-&:ful are ej:cit€d to beneficence and ccnde- 
 V-.. oiiioii : ihe ingenious and acute are dire<^€d to the 
 
AN ESSAY, 3cc. 139 
 
 Veft ufe of their abilities ; and all are linked together 
 by the powerful ties of common interells, and of re- 
 ciprocal duty. Happy thofe, whofe fouls are capable 
 of rifing to fuch enlarged view's of things, and are ani- 
 mated by them to a conduifl worthy of human nature, 
 worthy of Chriftianity, which reprefents men to each 
 other as children of one parent, as members of one fami- 
 ly, as journeying together through the chequered fcenes 
 of this tranfitory world, towards a region where all 
 the diilinftions of poverty and riches, of obfcurity and 
 fplendor, of power and meannefs, fliall ceafe, every 
 ■inequality difappear ; where virtue alone fliall be ex- 
 alted, and vice degraded forever ! 
 
 It muft, indeed, he acknowledged, that this theory 
 35 too pure ar.d exalted to admit of a complete confor- 
 mity of practice. But man is qualified for endlcfs im- 
 provements in knowledge and virtue, and the happinefs 
 which he attains will exad-ly correfpond to the degrees 
 of his progrefs. In every art and fcience there is an 
 ideal model, which can never be reached even by the 
 moft exa<5l and beautiful execution. What Cicero ob- 
 ferves with regard to a perfedl orator, that he had ne- 
 ver feen any fpeaker tliat could come up to his notions 
 of eloquence, is not lirmted to that art, but is equally 
 applicable to every other. It is, however, to be obfer- 
 ved, that even the excellence which is attained, is whol- 
 ly referable to the pcrfe6l ftandard previoufly eiiirtiHg 
 in tlie artifts mind. In proportion, therefore, as clear 
 and elevated ideas of -excellence are entertained in re- 
 ligion, in morality, and in politics, and a<5lion is direc- 
 ted by thefe, human condu<5t and happinefs will be im- 
 proved and exalted. If, on the other hand, low and 
 ^rovellin^ fiandnrds are adopted, and principles are re* 
 
140 AN 1?SSAY, *:<:. 
 
 gulate(i by eftabliflied praflrce, not pradice reformed 
 by the genuine principles of natur6, mankind t^'ill cort- 
 tiniie to tread in the old and muddy path, and the prd- 
 grefs of the world will be marked with degeneiac]^ 
 and degradation. 
 
 It is the conftant objedion of thofe, T^-ho afe eithet 
 aveiTe from improvement, or too indolent and too tJ- 
 mid to begin or advance it, that the perfection aimed.at 
 is too high for human nature. They thus employ the 
 exiftence of abufes and errors as a reafon for perpetua- 
 ting them. But if the fame reaJbning had always been 
 confidered as juft, mankind w^culd, at this day, dwell in 
 caves, feed upon acorns, fall dov/n before the works of 
 thtir own hands, and be bound in the heavy chain of 
 Heathen ignorance and fuperliition. The inftitut'ons" 
 and refinements of civil fociety muft appear to a fa; 
 vage as extravagant and impracticable, as the fineft 
 theory of moral feniiment and adion appears to thofc 
 wiiofe fouls are immerfed in fenfuality, or fettered by 
 felf-intereft. The queftion is not, what is the prefent 
 practice of mankind, but what tliey" are qualified ulti- 
 mately to attain ; not how far any theory is confor- 
 mable to the prefenr ftate of things, but how far it is 
 founded in nature, adapted to the hiiman faculties, and 
 conducive to human felicity. 
 
 If the principles illuftrated in this Eifay fhould be 
 devoid of every other recommendation, they have at 
 leaft, that which is no inconfidcrable one, of being con- 
 formable to the doctrines of Chriltianity*. For, al- 
 though feme philofophersj who have pretended £reat 
 
 * Jloaaarv!^ sii. 3j 4, 5, 6, 7. aft Ccr. xu. 
 
AN ESSAY, «cc. 141 
 
 ztal for ths rights and the happinefs of mankind, have 
 manifefted, at the fame time, a ftrange antipathy to 
 erery kind of religion, and particularly to the Chrif. 
 tian, it will be found, by every impartial inquirer, that 
 the religion of Jefus Chrift inculcates and fandions 
 every principle on which public and private happinefs 
 can be built. It is true that Chriftianity has frequent. 
 ly been raoft fhamefully corrupted, and, in that cor- 
 rupted form, produced the mod dreadful calamities. 
 But, to explode Chriftianity on this account, is juft as 
 fenfible as to forbid mankind the ufe of water, air, or 
 fire, becaufe thefe elements have often been the vehi, 
 cles ofdeftrudion. Whoever attempts to ereft any 
 fyftem of policy to the exclufion of religion, betrays 
 great ignorance of human nature, and great indiffer- 
 ence for human happinefs. Man is a leligious crea- 
 ture, and is drawn to his Creator by all the principles of 
 Lis conftitution—by the fenfe of his imbecility, by con- 
 fcience, by gratitude and admiration, and by his reafon 
 when duly improved. The grand requifite, then, is to 
 procure for him a religloa pure, (imple, beneficent, and 
 confolotary. This will be found only in the reli- 
 gion of Jefus Chirft, as is exhibited in th5 facred wri- 
 tings. Here the moft perfefl ftandard of duty is erec- 
 ted, in order to engage man to an endlefs progrcfs in 
 virtue ; a fufficient remedy is provided for his devia- 
 tions from it, when accompanied with penitence ; the 
 moft glorious rewards are offered to his perfevering 
 endeavors ; and the ftrongeft fuccours are provided for 
 his weaknefs. Such a religion powerfully ftrengthens 
 every focial and civil obligation, and prepares mea 
 for hosLVQUf by readering them ufeful on earth. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 Page. 
 
 /;; fwhat Sstife may all Men hefaidto he Equal? 9 
 
 C H x^ P T E R I. 
 
 Of Natural Diverfities among Men. ib. 
 
 CHAPTER II, 
 
 Of the Diftribution of Human Abilities and Talents. 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Of the Mutual Dep^n3anee of Mankind. 24 
 
 C H A P T E R IV. 
 Final Caufes of the Vari-ty of Human Talents. 33 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The juft Notioa of the Natural Equality of Men 
 is placed in Equality of Obligation, — The proper 
 Tendency of this Doctrine. 36 
 
 C H A P T E R VL 
 Some Circumftanees of Equality not yet coufidered. 43 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 What are the Rights refidting from the Natural 
 
 Equality of Men ? SZ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Of the Manner in which v/e acquire our Notion of 
 Rights. ib? 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The two Grand Divifions of Rio^hts which flow 
 from the Natural Equality of Mankind. 5^ 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Of the Original ^^d Inherent Rights of Human 
 Nature. 5f 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The fame fubje<5l continued. gj 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 That It is the Intereft of Government, to prefcrve 
 inviolate the Rights of Liberty, as above ex- 
 plained, •^•y 
 C H A P T E R VI. 
 Of Rights peculiar to certain Stations and Abilities. 8« 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 General inferences from the whole of this Book. 85 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 What an the Duties refulting from the Equality of 
 
 Mankind. 87 
 
 C H A P T E R I. 
 Preliminary Obfervations. ib. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 All Men equally bound to Refpe<5l the Primitive 
 Rights of Human Nature. 8^ 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Duties of thofe who are placed in the Inferior 
 Stations of Life, or endowed with Inferior Capa- 
 cities and Powers. 10 1 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Cautions to be obferved in the Purfuit of a Higher 
 and more Flourifhing Condition. no 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Duties of thofe^laced in the Higher Ranks of 
 Life, and endowed with Dlllinguifhed Abilities. 1 15 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Duties common to All, with regard to the Ufe of 
 their Opportunities and Talents. 127 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 CoacluQoiiu 137 
 
'WW