As to the third point, the tendency of truth to the improve- Importance of general ment of our political inftitutions, this is in reality the fubjedl of t^t'^ ^°?"■" political imthe prefent volume, and has been particularly argued in fome of provement. the earlier divifions of the work. If politics be a fcience, the inveftigation of truth muft be the means of unfolding it. If men refemble each other in more numerous and eflential par- ticulars than thofe in which they differ, if the beft purpofes that can be accomplifhed refpefting them be to make them free and virtuous and wife, there muft be one beft method of advancing thefe common purpofes, one beft mode of focial exiftence deducible from the principles of their nature. If truth be one, there muft be one code of truths on the fubjedl of our reciprocal duties. Nor is the inveftigation of truth only the beft mode of arriving at the obje£t of all political inftitutions, but it is alfo the heft mode of introducing and eftablifhing it. Difcuflion is the - path that leads to difcovery and demonftration. Motives fer- ment in the minds of great bodies of men till all is ripe for adlon^ 23? OF SINCERITY.
52^9 D ^Y; adion. The more familiar the mind becomes with the ideas of ^^^^^^^~[^.which they confift and the propofitions that exprefs them, the more fully is it pervaded with their urgency and importance.
SECTION II.
OF SINCE Rirr.
NATURE OF THIS VIRTUE. — ITS EFFECTS — UPON OUR OWN ACTIONS — UPON OUR NEIGHBOURS. — ITS TENDENCY TO PRODUCE FORTITUDE. — EFFECTS OF INSINCERITY. CHA- RACTER WHICH SINCERITY WOULD ACQUIRE TO HIM WHO PRACTISED IT. — OBJECTIONS. — THE FEAR OF GIVING UNNECESSARY PAIN. ANSWER. — THE DESIRE OF PRESERVING MY LIFE. THIS OBJECTION PROVES TOO MUCH. — ANSWER. SECRECY CONSIDERED. — THE SE- CRETS OF OTHERS. — STATE SECRETS. — SECRETS OF PHI- LANTHROPY.
Section IT. T T is evident in the laft place, that a fl:ri£t adherence to truth Nature of this wiU havc the beft effect upon our minds in the ordinary commerce of life. This is the virtue which has commonly been known by the denomination of fmcerity; and, whatever certain accom- Tirtue.
OF SINCERITY.
II.
accommodating moralifts may teach us, the value of nncenty BOOK iv.
will be in the higheft degree obfcured, when it is not complete. ^— Sec Real fmcerity depofes me from all authority over the ftatement \ of fa(£ls. Similar to the duty which Tully impofes upon the ] hiftorian, it compels me not to dare " to utter what is flilfe, or j conceal what is true." It annihilates the baftard prudence, which / would inllrudl me to give language to no fentiment that may be \ prejudicial to my interefts. It extirpates the low and felfifli | principle, v/hich would induce me to utter nothing " to the dif- advantage of him from whom I have received no injury." It \ compels, me to regard the concerns of my fpecies as my own \ concerns. What I know of truth, of morals, of religion, of \ government, it compels me to communicate. All the praife ^ which a virtuous man and an honeft adion can merit, I am obliged to pay to the uttermoft mite. I am obliged to give language to all the blame to which profligacy, venality, hy- pocrify and circumvention are fo juftly entitled. I am not em- powered to conceal any thing I know of myfelf, whether it tend to my honour or to my difgrace. I am obliged to treat every other man with equal franknefs, without dreading the imputation of flattery on the one hand, without dreading his refentment and enmity on the other.
Did every man impofe this law upon himfelf, he would be itsefFea* obliged to confider before he decided upon the commiffion of an aaion°s^'^''^'* equivocal adion, whether he chofe to be his own hiftorian, to be Section II.
be the future narrator of the fcene in which he was engaging. It has been juftly obferved that the popifh practice of auricular confeflion has been attended with fome falutary efFedls. How much better would it be, if, inftead of a practice thus ambigu- ous, and which may be converted into fo dangerous an engine of ecclefiaftical defpotifm, every man would make the world his confelfional, and the human fpecies the keeper of his con- fcience?
upon our nelghbourf.
How extenfive an effedt would be produced, if every man were fure of meeting in his neighbour the ingenuous cenfor, who would tell to himfelf, and publifh to the world, his virtues, his good deeds, his meanneffes and his^'follies? I have no right to rejedl any duty, becaufe it is equally incumbent upon my neighbours, and they do not pradlife it. When I have dif- charged the whole of my duty, it is weaknefs and vice to make myfelf unhappy about the omiffions of others. Nor is it poifible to fay how much good one man fufficiently rigid in his ad- herence to truth would effedt. One fuch man, with genius, information and energy, might redeem a nation from vice.
niicr.c ^^^^ confequence to myfelf of telling every man the truth, to produce regardlefs of perfonal danger or of injury to my interefis in the world, would be uncommonly favourable. I fhould acquire a fortitude that would render rr^e equal to the mod tiying fituationS; that would maintain my prefence of mind entire in fpite of urrences, that would furnlfh me with extem- porary arguments and vvUtJom, and endue my tongue with cf unexpedied occurrences, that would furnifh me with extem- BOOK iv.
^ CHAP. IV Section 11.
irrefiftible eloquence. Animated by the iove of truth, my underftanding would always be vigorous and alert, not as before frequently fubjed to liftleflhefs, timidity znd infipidity. Ani- mated by the love of truth, and by a pafTion infeparable from its nature, and which is almoft the fame thing under another name, the love of my fpecies, I fhould carefully feek for fuch topics as might mofl conduce to the benefit of my neighbours, anxioully watch the progrefs of mind, and inceffantly labour for the extir- pation of prejudice.
What is it that at this day enables a thoufand errors to keep -^^^^^ ^f;„, their ftation in the world, prieftcraft, tefts, bribery, war, cabal, '"'^'^"'y- and whatever elfe is the contempt and abhorrence of the enlight- ened and honeft mind? Cowardice. Becaufe, while vice walks ere£t with an unabafhed countenance, men lefs vicious dare not paint her with that truth of colouring, which fhould at once confirm the innocent and reform the guilty. Becaufe the majority of thofe who are not involved in the bufy fcene, and who, poflefling fome difcernment, fee that things are not alto- gether right, yet fee in fo frigid a way, and with fo imperfedt a view. Many, who deteiS the impofture, are yet abfurd enough to imagine that impofture is neceflary to keep the world in awe, and that truth being too weak to curb the turbulent paf- fions of mankind, it is exceedingly proper to call in knavery and artifice as the abettors of her power. If every man to-day I i would 2^2 OF SINCERITY.
^?,^^5: ^}l: would tell all the truth he knows, three years hence there vfoufcf CriAP. IV.
>~-'7— ^ be fcarcely a falfhood of any magnitude remaining in th& civilifed worlds S^?"'^'' There is no fear that the' character here defcribed fhould decemy would c;enerate into ruir^ednefs and brutality-*. The motive by which raalf dit '^^ '^^ animated affords a fufficient fecurity againft fuch con- fequences. " I tell an unpleafant truth to my neighbour from a convidlion that it is my duty. I am convinced it is my duty, becaufe I perceive the communication is calculated for his benefit." His benefit therefore is the motive of my proceeding, and vdth fuch a motive it Is impoffible I fhould not feek to communicate it in the moft efficacious form, not roufing his refentment, but awakening his moral feelings and his energy. Meanwhile the happieft of all qualifications in order to render truth palatable, is that which rifes fpontaneoully In the fituation we have been confidering. Truth according to the terms of the fuppofition Is to be fpoken from the love of truth. But the face,- the voice, the geflure are fo many indexes to the mind. It is fcareely poffible therefore that the perfon v^^ith whom lam con- verfing fhould not perceive, that I am influenced by no malig- nity, acrimony and envy. In proportion as my motive is pure, at leaft after a few experiments, my manner will become unem- barraffed. There- will be franknefs In my voice, fervour in my geflure, and kindnefs in my heart. That man's mind mufl be * See a particular cafe of this fincerity difcufled in Appendix, No. II. I of OF SINCERITY. 243 of a very perverfe texture, that can convert a beneficent potion BOOK iv.
^ CHAP. IV.
adminiflered with no ungenerous retrofpedl", no felfiih triumph, "^ ^ ' SSCTION IL Into rancour and averfion. There is an energy in the fincerity of a virtuous mind that nothing human can refift.
I flop not to confider the objections of the man who is im- OLjeaions. merfed in worldly profpedts and puriuits. He that does not know that virtue is better than riches or title mufl; be convinced by arguments foreign to this place.
But it will be afked, " What then, are painful truths to be dif- The fear of clofed to perfons who are already in the moft pitiable circum- ceflary pain, ftances? Ought a woman that is dying of a fever to be informed of the fate of her hufband whofe fkuU has been fradured by a fall from his horfe?"
The moft that could poflibly be conceded to a cafe like this, Anfwcr. Is, that this perhaps is not the moment to begin to treat like a ra- tional being a perfon who has through the courfe of a long life been treated like an infant. But in reality there is a mode in which under fuch clrcumftances truth may fafely be communi- cated; and, if it be not thus done, there is perpetual danger that it may be done in a blunter way by the heedlefs loquacioufnefs of a chambermaid, or the yet undebauched fmcerity of an infant. How many arts of hypocrify, ftratagem and falfliood muft be employed to cover this pitiful fecret? Truth was calculated in I i 2 the 244 C>F SINCERITY.
BOOK IV. tj-ie nature of things to difcipline the mind to fortitude, humanity CHAP. IV. ° *^.. ■' and virtue. Who are we, that we fhould fubvert the nature of Section II.
things and the fyftem of the univerfe, that we fhould breed up a fet of fummer infe£ls, upon which the breeze of fmcerity may ' never blow, and the temped of misfortune never beat ■?
The defire of " But truth may fometlmes be fatal to him that fpeaks It.
mj life. A man, who fought for the Pretender in the year 1 745, when the event happened that difperfed his companions, betook him- felf to folltary flight. He fell in with a party of loyalifts who were feeking to apprehend him; but not knowing his perfon, they enquired of him for intelligence to guide them in their pur- fuit. He returned an anfwer calculated to cheriih them in their miftake, and faved his life."
This objec- This like the former Is an extreme cafe; but the true anfwer to°o much. will probably be found to be the fame. If any one fhould quef- tion this, let him confider how far his approbation of the con- duit of the perfon above cited would lead him. The rebels^ as they were called, were treated in the period from which the example is drawn with the molt illiberal injuftice. This man, guided perhaps by the moll magnanimous motives in what he had done, would have been put to an ignominious death. But, if he had a right to extricate himfelf by falfhood, why not the wretch who has been guilty of forgery, who has deferved pu- nifhment, but who may now be confcious that he has in him materials Section II.
materials and inclination to make a valuable member of fociety? BOOK iv, Nor is the inclination an effential part of the fuppofition. Where- ever the materials exift, it will perhaps be found to be flagrantly unjufi: on the part of fociety to deftroythem, inftead of difcovering the means by which they might be rendered innocent and ufe- ' ful. At this rate, a man has nothing to do but to commit one crime, in order to give him a right to commit a fecond which fliall fecure impunity to the firft.
But why, when fo many hundred individuals have been con- Anfwer. tented to become martyrs to the unintelligible principles of a pitiful fe(St:, fhould not the one innocent man I have been de- fcribing be contented to offer himfelf up a vidim at the fhrine of, veracity? Why fhould he purchafe a few poor years of exile and mifery by the commiffion of falfhood? Had he furren- dered himfelf to his purfuers, had he declared in the prefence of his judges and his country, " I, whom you think too wicked and degenerate to delerve even to live, have chofen rather to en- counter your injuftlce than be guilty of an untruth: I would have efcaped from your iniquity and tyranny if I had been able; but, hedged in on all fidcci, having no means of deliverance but in falfhood, I chearfully fubmit to all that your malice can inflitft ^ rather than violate the majefty of truth:" would he not have done an honour to himfelf, and afforded an example to the world, that would have fully compenfated the calamity of his untimely death? It is in all cafes incumbent upon us to difcharge 246 OF SINCERITY.
charge our own duty, without being infiuenci whether other men will difcharge or negled; theirs.
BOOK IV. charge our own duty, without being influenced by the enquliy Section II.
It muit be remembered however that this is not the true jet . of the argument. The ftrefs does not lie upon the good he would have done: that is precarious. This heroic adion, as ;it is to be feared has been the cafe with many others, migiit be .configned to oblivion. The obje£t of true wifdom under the circumftances we are confidering, is to weigh, not fo much what is to be done, as what is to be avoided. We mull not be guilty of infmcerity. We muft not feek to obtain a defirable obje£t by vile means. We muft prefer a general principle to the merc- -tricious attradlions of a particular deviation. We muft perceive :in the prefervation of that general principle a balance of univer- fal good, outweighing the benefit to arife in any inftance from fuperfeding it. It is by general principles that the bufniefs of the univerfe is carried on. If the laws of gravity and impulfe did not make us know the confequences of our adions, we fhould be incapable of judgment and inference. Nor is this lefs true in morals. He that, having laid down to himfelf a plan of fm- .cerity, is guilty of a fingle deviation, infeds the whole, conta- minates the franknefs and magnanimity of his temper (for fortitude in the intrepidity of lying is bafenefs), and is lefs vir- tuous than the foe againft whom he defends himfelf; for it Is more virtuous in my neighbour to confide in my apparent ho- .Jiefty, than in me to abufe his confidence. In the cafe of mar- tyrdom tyrdom there are two thinf^s to be confiJered. It is an evil not ^>^0KIV.
wantonly to be incurred, for we know not what c;ood yet re- '^ ' ° ^ Section II.
mains for us to do. It is an evil not to be avoided at the ex- pence of principle, for we fhould be upon our guard againfl fet- ting an inordinate A^alue upon our own efforts, and imagining that truth would die, if we were to be deflroyed.
*' But what becomes of the great duty of fecrecy, which the Secrecy confideied.
incomparable Fenelon has made a capital branch in the education of his Telemachus?" It is annihilated. It becomes a truly vir- tuous man not to engage in any adion of which he would be afhamed though all the world were fpedator. Indeed Fenelon with all his ability has fallen into the moft palpable inconfiftency upon this fubjedt. In Ithaca a confiderable part of the merit of Telemachus confifts in keeping his mother's fecrets *. When he arrives in Tyre, he will not be perfuaded to commit or fuffer a deception, though his life was apparently at flake \, What is it of w^hich an honeft man is commonly afliamed? Of virtuous poverty, of doing menial offices for himfelf, of hav- ing raifed himfelf by merit from a humble fituation, and of a thoufand particulars which in reality conftitute his glory. With refped; to aftions of beneficence we cannot be too much upoa our guard againfl a fpirit of oftentation and the charader that imperioully exacts the gratitude of its beneficiaries; but it is certainly an extreme weaknefs to defire to hide our deferts. So * Telemaque. Liv. XVI. f Liv. Ill, far 248 OF SINCERITY.
BOOK IV. £ij. from defirlno: to withhold from the world the know- "• ^ ' ledo;e of our eood deeds, we ought to be forward to exhibit an Si;ctionII. 00 o attradtive and illuftrious example. We cannot determine to keep any thing fecret without rilking at the fame time to commit a hundred artifices, quibbles, equivocations and falf- hoods.
The feciets But the fecrets of others, " have I a power over them?" Probably not: but you have a duty refpefting them. The fa£ts with which you are acquainted are a part of your pofieffions, and you are as much obliged refpeding them as in any other cafe, to employ them for the public good. Have I no right to indulge in myfelf the caprice of concealing any of my affairs, and can another man have a right by his caprice to hedge up and re- state fecrets. ftrain the pa:th of my duty?—" But fta;te fecrets?" This perhaps is a fubje£t that ought not to be anticipated. We fhall have occafion to enquire how minifters of the concerns of a nation came by their right to equivocate, to juggle and over-reach, while private men are obliged to be ingenuous, diredl and fmcere.
S rets oF There is one cafe of a fmgular nature that feems to deferve a philanthropy, fgpg^^j-g examination; tlie cafe of fecrets that are to be kept for the fake of mankind. Full juftice is done to the affirmative fide of this argument by Mr. Condorcet in his Life of Voltaire, where he is juftifying this illuftrious friend of mankind, for his gentle- nefs and forbearance in aflertir^g the liberties.of the fpecies. He iirft firfl; enumerates the inceffant attacks of Voltaire upon fuperllltion, BOOK IV.
hypocritical aulterities and war j and then proceeds: " It is true, ^ the more men are enliglitened, the more they will be free; but let us not put defpots on their guard, and incite them to form a league againft the progrefs of reafon. Let us conceal from them the ftridt and eternal union that fubfifts between knowledge and liberty. Voltaire thought proper to paint fuperftition as the enemy of monarchy, to put kings and princes upon their guard againft the gloomy ferocity and ambition of the priefthood, and to demonftrate that, were it not for the freedom of thought and inveftigation, there would be no fecurity againft the return of papal infolence, of profcriptions, aflaflinations and religious war. Had he taken the other fide of the queftion, had he maintained, which is equally true, that fuperftition and ignorance are the fupport of defpotlfm, he would only have anticipated truths for which the public were not ripe, and have {een a fpeedy end to his career. Truth taught by moderate degrees gradually en- larges the intelle£lual capacity, and infenfibly prepares the equa- lity and happinefs of mankind; but taught without prudential reftraint would either be nipped in the bud, or occafion national concuftions in the world, that would be found premature and therefore abortive*."
What * " Pius ks homines feront eclaires, plus ils ferotit libi'es. — Mais n^avertiJToiis point ies oppvtjjeurs de former tine ligue contre la raifon, cachotis letir Pctroite et nece/fiiire union dcs l:in:i'erjs it de la liberte. — i^vc/ fcra done le devoir d'un pl.ilofiphe P — // ielairera les gouvernemens fur tsut ce quits ont a craindre des pretres. — // fera voir K k (^ue Sf.CTlON 11.
250 OF SINCERITY.
Wliat a co^vardly diftrufi; do reafonings IlketHefe exhibit of the omnipotence of truth! With refped: to perfonal fafety, it will be found upon an accurate examination that Voltaire with all his ingenuity and ftratagera was- for fixty years together the objed' of perpetual, almoft daily perfeciition from courts and minifters*.
He was obliged to retire from country to country, and at lafl: to take advantage of a refidence upon the borders of two flates with a habitation in each* His attempts to fecure the patronage of princes led only to viciffitude and difgrace. If his plan had been more firm and diredl, he would not have been lefs fafe.
Timidity, and an anxious endeavour to fecure to ourfelves a protedlor,. invite perfecution. With the advantages of Voltaire, with his talents and' independence, he might have held the tyrants of the world in awe* Bue fans la liherte de penfir le meme efprit dans le clerge rai7teneralt Us tnemes afpiffinats, les mimes fupplkes, les niemes profcriptionsy les memes guerres civiles.— All lien de montrer que la fuperjlition ejl I'appui du d'efpotifme, avant que la raifon ait raffemhle ajfez de force, il prouvera qu^elle ejl Veiinemie des rois. — Tel eft V efprit de tons les ouvrages de Voltaire — ^le des hommes^ inferieurs a lui, ne voyent pas que ft Voltaire eut fait autrement, ni Montefquieu ni Roujfau n'ouraient pu ecrire leurs ouvrages, que I' Europe fer ait encore fuperflitieufe, et reflerait long-terns efclave. — Ell (tttaquant les opprejfeurs avant d' avoir eclaire les citoyens, on rifque de perdre la liberti et d'etouffer la raifon. L'hifoire offre la preuve de ceite verite. Cambien de foisy nialgre les genereux efforts des amis de la liberie, une feule bataille n'' a-t-elle pas reduit des nations a une fervitude de plnfteurs ftecles!■ — Pourquoi ne pas profter de cette txperience funefle, et favoir attendre des progrh des lumieres une liberie plus reellty plus durable et plus paiftble P" * Vie de Voltaire, par M***, throughout^ As OF SINCERITY. 251 As to the proerefs of truth, it is not fo precarious as its fear- BOOK IV.
° ^ ^ CHAP. IV. ful friends may imagine. Air. Condorcet has juftly infinuated * ■' ' ■^ Skctios II.
in the courfe of his argument, that " in the invention of printin<' is contained the embryo, which in its maturity and vigour is deftined to annihilate the ilavery of the human race*." Books, if proper precautions be employed, cannot be defti-oyed. Knovr- ledge cannot be extirpated. Its progrefs is filent, but infallible; and he is the moft ufeful foldler in this war, who accumulates in an unperifhable form the greateft mafs of truth.
As truth has nothing to fear from her enemies, fhe needs not have any thing to fear from her friends. The man, who pub- lifhes the fublimeft difcoveries. Is not of all others the moft likely to inflame the vulgar, and hurry the great queftion of human happinefs to a premature crifis. The obje£t to be purfued un- doubtedly is, the gradual Impi-ovement of mind. But this end will be better anfwered by exhibiting as much truth as poffible, enlightening a few, and fufFering knowledge to expand in the proportion which the laws of nature and neceffity prefcribe, than Tjy any artificial plan of piecemeal communication that M'e can Invent. There is in the nature of things a gradation in difcovery and a progrefs in improvement, which do not need to be affifted ' by the ftratagems of their votaries. In a word, there cannot be -a more unworthy idea, than that truth and virtue fhould be K k 2 ynder Section IL 252 OF SINCERITY.
BOOK IV. under the neceffity of feekinc; alliance with concealment. The man, who would artfully draw me into a little, that by fo doing he may unawares furprife me into much, I infallibly regard as an impoftor. Will truth, contraded into fome petty fphei-e and fhorn of its beams, acquire additional evidence \ Rather let iBe trufl to its omnipotence, to its congeniality with the nature of Intelledl, to its diredl and irrefiftible tendency to produce liberty, and happinefs, and virtue. Let me fear that I have not enough of it, that my views are too narrow to produce impreflion, and anxioufly endeavour to add to my flock j not apprehend that^ exhibited in its noon-day brightnefs, its luflre and genial naturefliould not be univerfally confefled *^ * See this fubjeft farther purfued In Appeadix, No. IIL APPENDIX, OF THE CONNEXION BETWEEN UNDERSTANDING AND VIRTUE.
CAN EMINENT VIRTUE EXIST UNCONNECTED WITH TA- LENTS? — NATURE OF VIRTUE. — IT IS THE OFFSPRING OF UNDERSTANDING. — IT GENERATES UNDERSTAND- ING. ILLUSTRATION FROM OTHER PURSUITS LOVE — ' AMBITION APPLIED.
CAN EMINENT TALENTS EXIST UNCONNECTED V^^ITH VIR- TUE? ARGUMENT IN THE AFFIRMATIVE FROM ANA- LOGY IN THE NEGATIVE FROM THE UNIVERSALITY OF MORAL SPECULATION — FROM THE NATURE OF VICE AS FOUNDED IN MISTAKE. — THE ARGUMENT BALANCED. — IMPORTANCE'OF A SENSE OF JUSTICE. — ITS CONNEXION WITH TALENTS. ILLIBERALITY WITH WHICH MEN OF TALENTS ARE USUALLY TREATED., A PROPOSITION which, however evident in itfelf, feems BOOK iv. .,.. CHAP. IV, never to have been confidered with the attention it de- *., / . rf • Appendix, ferves, is that which affirms the connexion between underftand- No. i.
Can eminent ing and virtue. Can an honeft ploughman be as virtuous as virtue exift unconnffied CatO? with talents?
254 CONNEXION BETWEEN BOOK IV. Cato? Is a man of weak intelleds and narrow education as CHAP. IV.
' ' capable of moral excellence as the fublimefl genius or the mind Appendix, ^ No. I. jnoft ftored with information and fcience?
Nature of vir- To determine thefe queftions it.is neceflary we fhould recolledt the nature of virtue. Confidered as a perfonal quality it confifts in the difpofition of the mind, and may be defined a de- fire to promote the benefit of intelligent beings in general, the quantity of virtue being as the quantity of defire. Novv^ defire is another name for preference, or a perception of the excel- lence real or fuppofed of any objed. I fay real or fuppofed, for an objedt totally deflitute of real and intrinfic excellence, may become an obje£t of defire by means of the imaginary excellence that is afcribed to It. Nor Is this the only miftake to which hu- man intelligences are liable. We may defire an objed of abfo- lute excellence, not for its real and genuine recommendations' but for fome fiditious attradions we may impute to it. This is always in fome degree the cafe, when a beneficial adion is per- formed from an ill motive.