r THE LAW OF NATURE, O R, PRINCIPLES OF MOR4LITT, DEDUCED FROM THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION O F MANKIND AND THE UNIVERSE. BvC F. VOLLEY. ' For modes of faith, let gracelefs zealots fight ; ' His can't be wrong, whofe life is in the right.*' POPE. PHILADELPHIA : PRINTED FOR. T. STEPHENS BV F. 3* R. BAILEY, .179$. ADVERTISEMENT OF THE EDITOR. IF looks are to be eflimated by their . bulk, this 'will have but a very Jlendcr claim upon the public ; but if they are to be appreciated by their intrinftc con- tents, this will probably rank among feme of the mojl important. As nothing, in general, is of more real utility than a good elementary treatife, fo nothing is attended 'with greater dif- ficulty In the compnfition, and even in IV ADVERTISEMENT* the perufal of it ; becaufe, in fuch a one, there is nothing but analyfis and definition, and an exhibition of truth with all the Jimplicity of precifion. If the work be deficient in truth and pre- cifion, its object is totally defeated , and if it has to boafl of both, it is liable to become abflrufe, even by dint of its All the treatifes on ethics that have hitherto appeared, evidently labour un- der the former of thefe defects, being only a confufed mafs. of detached and unconnected maxims, of precepts with- out ofienfible caufes, and of actions with- out pre-exlftent motives. The pedantic race of morall-zers, that have addref- fed themfelves to mankind on this topic ADVERTISEMENT. V lave treated them like fo many babies > And have kept them in awe by terrifying them with invrfible ghojls and hobgob- lins ; but now when thejlature of man's mind is more advanced in growth, if is time that itjhould hear the language of reafon. The period is arrived, when, men Jhould be taught by the conviftion of their own fenfes, that the radical fource of their melioration and moral improvement is to be looked for, in their organization, in the direction and in- terejl of their paj/ions, and in the very cotiftituetit elements of their exigence. Such is the advantage of the fyjlem ex~ Ixlitedin the prefent work, that mora- lity, by deriving its fundamental prin- ciples from the very nature of things a 1 VI ADVERTISEMENT. becomes Me them fixed and immutable : ivhilft, on the contrary, in all the theo- logical fyjlems, ly being built upon ar- bitrary opinions, indemonjlrable in them- felves, and frequently abfurd, it fluc- tuates, declines, andperifhes with them 9 having, mankind in a flate of abfolute depravity. It is high time to prove, that morality is a phyjical and geometri- al fcience, and, as fuch, fufceptible, like the reft, of calculation and mathe- matical demonflration. But, fince a feal fyjlem of ethics mufl be founded on totlual fatls, and not on the romantic dreams of a fanciful imagination, it may, it is true, have more obflacles, on that account, to combat with, before its principles canbecome general and popular ADVERTISEMENT. Vll Tet it has one confolation to fupport it* that it will gain Jrrength even by the op" pofition that is made againft it ; and the sternal religion of nature will eventually learfway and overturn all the tranfi- tory religions of human fabrication. 'The French treatife, of which the prefent is a tranflation, was publi/hed in I 793> an d appears from its title of " Catechifm of a French Citizen," to be intended as a national manual of ethics ; but, as it may equally be entit- led, The Catechifm of good fenfe and good people, we judge, that it may be naturalized and adopted, in that view, in the United States of America. * Thejimple and pointed Jllle in which it is written, can hardly fail to be agree" Till ADVERTISEMENT. able to thofe who are fond of that kind ef eowpojition which characierifes the works of FRANKLIN. And? if it does not become a clafficai author in the plan of education already projefted, it may at any rate afford fome materials for the conjtruclion of a letter ont* CONTENTS. CHAP. I. OF the -Law of Nature. I H. Characters of the Law of Nature. - * * in. Ttf Principles of the Law of Nature, as they relate to Man. - 29 IV. Of the Bafts of Mo- ralityOf Good Of Evil Of Sin Of Crimes Of Vice and - - 48 Page, CONTENTS, V. Of Individual Virtues Of Knowledge. 57 VI. Of Temperance. - 66 VII. Of Continence. - 77 VIII. Of Courage and Activity. 88 IX. Of Cleanlinefs. - loo X. Of Domejlic Virtues. 107 XI. Of /< ***/ Virtues, and of Juftice. - 1 23 XII. Developement of tie So- cial Virtues. - 12 THE LAW OF NATURE. CHAPTER I. Of the Law of Nature. CV WHAT is tie law of nature? A. It is the regular and con- ftant order of events according to which God rules the univerfe ; the order which his wifdom pre- fents to the fenfes and reafon of mankind, to ferve them as an A THE LAW OF NATURE. equal and general rule of adHon, and to conduct them, without diftinction of country or fet, towards happinefs and perfection. Q^ Give me a clear definition of the ivor d LAW? A. The word law, taken in its literal fenfe, fignifies reading ; becaufe, in early times ordinances and regulations principally corn- pofed the readings delivered to the people ; which were mad~ in order that they might obferve them, and not incur the penal- ties attached to their infraction : whence it follows, that the ori~ THE LAW OF NATURE. 3 ginal ufage explaining the true idea, a law may be defined to be> " A command or a prohibi- " tion of an action, with the " exprefled claufe of a penalty " attached to the infraction $ or " a reward annexed to the ob- " fervation of the order." Q.^ Are there fuch orders in na- ture ? A. Yes. Q^ What means the word NA- TURE ? A. The word nature compre- hends three different fignifica- tions. A *M& 44*469* pwuj&t 9 4 THE LAW OF NATURE. 1. It means the univerfe, or material world : we fay, accord- ing to this fignification, the beau- ties of nature , the riches of nature : that is, of the objects in heaven and on earth prefented to our contemplation. 2. It means the power which animates and moves the univerfe, confidering this power as a dif- tint being, fuch as^ the foul is fuppofed to be with refpecl: to the body. In this fecond fenfe we fay, the intentions of nature^ the incomprehenfible fecrets of nature* t X,/**^ -^ *~z * >f THE LAW OF NATURE. 5 3. It means the partial opera- tion of this power, as exerted in each individual being, or in any clafs of beings : and we fay, in this third fenfe, the nature of man is an enigma ; every being afts according to its nature. Now, fmce the aUons of each individual, or of each clafs of beings, are fubjefted to conftant and general rules 4 which cannot be departed from without chang- ing and difturbing feme general or particular order of things, to thefe rules of adion and motion, A 2 6 THE LAW OF NATURE. is given the name of natural laws, or taius of nature. Q^ Give me examples of thefe laws ? A. It is a law of nature that the fun -enlightens in fucceflion every part of the furface of the terreilrial globe : that his pre- fence excites light and heat : that heat acting on the waters pro- duces vapours : that thefe va- pours raifed in clouds into the higher regions of the atmofphere, form themfelves into rain or mow, andfupply, without ceafmg, the water of fprings and rivers. THE LAW OF NATURE. 7 It is a law of nature that wa- ter flows from an upper to a lower Iituation ; that it feeks its level ; that it is heavier than air ; that all bodies tend towards the earth ; that flame rifes towards the fky ; that it deflroys the organization of vegetables and animals ; that air is effential to the life of cer- tain animals ; that in certain cafes water fuffocates and kills them ; that certain juices of plants, and certain minerals attack their or- gans, and deftroy their life ; and the fame of a variety of facts. 8 THE LAW OF NATURE. Now, fince thefe fafts, and many fimilar ones are conftant, regular, and immutable, they be- come fo many real and poiitive commands to which man is bound to conform, under the exprefs penalty of punifhment attached to their infraction, or well-being connected with their obfervance. So that if a man were to pretend to fee clearly in the dark, or is regardlefs of the progrefs of the feafons, or the action of the ele- ments : if he pretends to exift under water without drowning ; to handle fire without burning THE LAW OF NATURE. p himfelf ; to deprive himfelf of air without fuffocating ; or to drink poifon without deftroying himfelf, he receives from each infraction of the law of nature, a corporal punimment propor- tioned to his tranfgreffion. If, on the contrary, he obferves thefe laws, and founds his practice on the precife and regular relation which they bear to him, he pre- ferves his exiilence and renders it as happy as it is capable of be- ing rendered ; and (ince all thefe laws, coniidered in relation to the human fpecies, have in view 10 THE LAW OF NATURE. only one common end, that of their prefervaticn and their hap- pinefs 3 whence it has been agreed ta afiemble together the differ- ent ideas, and exprefs them by a lingle word, and call them col- Jetively by the name of the law of nature, THE LAW OF NATURE. CHAPTER II. Characters of the Law of Nature* Q^WHATarethe characters of the laiv of nature ? A. We may reckon ten prin- cipal ones. Q^ What is thefirft ? A. To be inherent in, and v ef- fential to the exiltence of things ; confequently to be primitive and anterior to every other law, fo that all thofe which men have adopted from time to time, are 12 THE LAW OF NATURE. only imitations of this ; the per- fection of which laws is to be meafured by their refemblance with this primordial model. Q^ What is thefecond ? A. It is to emanate immedi- ately from God, and to be by him offered to the contemplation of every man, while others are prefented to us by men only, who may happen to be either deceivers or deceived. Q^ What is the third ? A. It is to be common to every time and country ; that is, to be one and univerfal. *THfc LAW OF NATURE, 13 Q^ Is there no other law which is univerfal ? A. No 5 for no other is fuit- ed, and applicable to every people upon earth ; all are local and ac- cidental, fprung from the differ- ing circumftances of places and perfons ; fo that if a given man, or a given event had not exifted, a given law would not have taken place. Q^ What is the fourth charac- ter ? A. That of being uniform and invariable, B 14 THE LAW OF NATURE* Q^ Is there no other law which is uniform and invariable ? A. No ; for that which ac- cording to one is good and vir- tuous, is evil and vicious accord- ing to another ; aiad what is at one time approved, is often con- demned at another by the fame law. Q^ What is the fifth character? A. To be evident and palpable, fince it confifts wholly of fa6ts ever prefent to our fenfes, and capable of demonftration. Q^ Are not other laws evident ? A. No , for they are founded THE LAW OF NATURE. 15 on paft and doubtful facts j on equivocal and fufpicious teilimo- ny ; and on proofs which can- not be prefented to the fenfes. Q^ What is thefatb character? A. To be reafonable 5 becaufe its precepts, and its whole doc- trine, are conformable to reafon, and agreeable to the human un- derflanding. Q^ Is no other law reafonable ? A. No ; for they all contradict the reafon and underflanding of man, and impofe upon him, ty- rannically, a blind and imprac- ticable belkf. 1 6 THE LAW OF NATURE, Q^ What is the feventh charac* ter? A. To be juft, becaufe in this law the puniihment is proportion- ed to the tranfgreffion. Q.^ Are not other laws jiift ? A. No; for they frequently attach to merit or to criminality, difproportionate pumfhment or re- ward, and impute merit and cri- minality to actions which are null or indifferent. Q.^ What is the eighth charac- ter ? A. To be pacific and tolerant \ becaufe according to the law of nature, all men being brethren, and equal in rights, it advifes all to peace and toleration, even for their errors. Q^ Are not other laius pacific ? A. No ; for they all breath diflenfion, difcord, and war, and divide men among each other by means of exclufive pretenfions to truth and power. Q^ What Is the ninth character of this law ? A. To be equally beneficent to all men, and to teach them all the true method of being better and happier. B 2 I 8 THE LAW OF NATURE. Q^ Are not the re/1 likeivife be* neficent ? A. No , for none teach the true road to happinefs ; they all really amount to nothing but per- nicious or futile performances : and this is proved by facts, fince after fo many laws, religions, le- giflators, and prophets, Men re- main ftill as unhappy and as ig- norant as they were five thou- fand years ago. Q.^ What is the loft character of the law of nature ? A. It is its being of itfelf fuffi- dent to render Men happier and THE LAW OF NATURE. 10 better, becaufe it includes what- ever is good and ufeful in every other law, civil or religious : that is, it is in its eflence the moral part of them all ; fo that were they diverted of it, they would be reduced to the ftate of chime- rical and imaginary opinions, and be of no practical utility. Q.^ Recapitulate all thefc cha~ rafters ? A. I have faid that the law of nature is, Primitive ; Immediate s or of original ema* nation j '20 'THE LAW OF NATURE. Univerfal ; Invariable ; Evident; Reafonable ; Juft; Pacific ; ^Beneficent ; And_of itfelf jfufficient ^ And it is becaufe it unites in itfelf all thefe attributes of per- feftion and of truth, that there has always exiiled in the human heart, an involuntary and fecret inclination to regard it, as in a pe- culiar fenfe, the true religion , the only one adapted to the nature of THE LAW OF NATURE. 21 man, and the only one worthy of God, from whom it emanates. Q^ If, as you afferty it ema- nates immediately from God, does it teach us his exiftence ? A. Yes ; very poiitively ; for every man, who obferves with attention, the aftonifhing fcene of the univerfe, the more he me- ditates on the properties and at- tributes of ' each exiftence, and on the admirable order and har- mony of their motions, the more will he be convinced that there is a fupreme agent, a univerfal identical mover, defigned'by 22 THE LAW OF NATURE. 'the name God : and it is fo true that the law of nature is fuffici- ent to raife us to the knowledge of God, that whatever men have pretended to know of him by other means, has been conftant- ly found to be ridiculous and abfurd ; and they have been ob- liged to return to the unchange- able notions of natural reafon. Q^ Is it not true then that the followers of the law of nature are atheifts. ? A. No : it is not true. On the contrary, they have ftronger and more noble ideas of the THE LAW OF NATURE. 23 nity than the greater part of man- kind ; for they do not defile it by the addition of the weaknefles and paffions of human nature. Q^ What is the ivorjhip 'which they render him ? A. A worfhip which confiils entirely in aftion ; in the obferva- tion and practice of all the rules which the fupreme wifdom has impofed upon the motions of each being ; eternal and inalter- able rules which maintain the or- der and harmony of the univerfe, and which, confidered in relar 24 THE LAW OF NATURE. tion to man, compofe the law of nature. Q^ Was the law of tiature ever known before the prefent day? A. It has been fpoken of in eve- ry age. The greater part of law- givers have pretended to make it the bafis of their laws ^ but they have brought forward only a few of its precepts, and have had but vague ideas of it as a whole. Q^ Why has this happened ? A. Becaufe, though it is fimplc in its bafis, it forks in its deve- lopement and its confequences, a complicated aggregate which THE LAW OF NATURE. 2 requires the knowledge of a num- ber of fafts, and the whole fa- gacity of reafon, in order to be underftood. Q.^ Does not inJllnEl alone in- Jlruffi us in the law of nature ? No : for inftinft fignifies only that blind fentiment which leads us, without difcrimmation, to- wards whatever pleafes our fen- fes. Q^ Why then is it faid that the law of nature is engraven on the hearts of all men ? A. It is laid, for two reafons, T/?, Becaufe it has been remarked C ** + 26 THE LAW OF NATURE. that there are actions and fenti- ments common to all mankind, arifing from their fimilar organi- zation. 2<9j Becaufe it was an opinion of the ancient philofo- phers, that men were born into the world with innate or ready formed ideas ; an opinion which is now demonftrated to be an er- ror. Q^ Do philofophers then deceive themfelves ? A. Yes ; they do. Q.^ How happens this ? A. i/?, From their nature as men. 2^/, Becaufe ignorant per- THE LAW OF NATURE. 27 fons call every man who reafons a philofopher, whether he rea- fon well or ill. 3^, Eecaufe thofe who reafon on a variety of fub- jects, and are the firft to reafon on them, are liable to deceive themfelves. Q^ Since the law of nature is not written^ may it not be conjlder- ed as arbitrary and ideal ? A. No ; becaufe it confifts al- together in facts, whofe demon- ilration may be at any time re- called before the fenfes, and form a fcience as precife and exact as thofe of geometry and mathe- 28 THE LAW OF NATURE* inatics : and this very circum- ftance, that the law of nature forms an exaft fcience, is the reafon why men, who are born in ignorance, and live in carelefs- nefs, have, till this day, known it only fuperficially. THE LAW OF NATURE. 29 CHAPTER III. Tie Principles of the Law of Na- ture as they relate to Man. <^JjNFOLD the principles of the laiv of nature as they relate to man ? A. They are (imple^ and re- ducible to fingie fundamental pre- cept. Q.^ What is this precept f A. Se'f-prefervation. 30 THE LAW OF NATURE* Q.^ Is not happmefs likewjfe a precept of the laiu of nature ? A. Yes ; but as happinefs is an accidental circumftance which taikes place, only in confequence of the unfolding of the facul- ties of man, and the develope- ment of the focial fyftem, it is not the primary and direft end propofed by nature. It is an ob- jeft of luxury fuperaddcd to the neceflary and fundamental objecl; of felf-prefervation. Q.^ In what manner does nature ecmmand felf-prefervation. ? A. By two powerful and in- voluntary fenfations \vhich ftie has THE LAW OF NATURE. 3! attached as two guides or guar- dian genii to all our adtions : one, the fenfation of pain, by which (lie informs us of, and turns us from whatever tends to our definition. The other, the fenfation of pleafure, by which me attracts and leads us towards every thing that tends to our prefervation, and the unfolding of our faculties. Q^ Pleafure then is not an evil or n fifty as the cafuifts have pretended ? A. No ; it is of that clafs only when it tends to the deftruc- tion of life and health, which, 32 THE LAW OF NATURE. as the cafuifts themfelves confefs, are derived to us from God. Q^ Is pleafure the principal ob~ jeEl of our ex'iftence as feme philo- fophers have ajjerted ? A. No ; no more than pain is : by pleafure nature encourages us to live , by pain, it makes us fhrink from death. Q^ How do you prove this offer- tion ? A. By two palpable fadls ; the one, the pleafure carried too far, condufts into deftrudlion , for inftance, a man who abufes the pleafure of eating and drinking, THE LAW OF NATURE. 33 attacks his health, and injures his exiflence. The other, that pain fometimes tends to our pre- fervation ; for inftance, a man who orders his mortified limb to be amputated, fuffers pain, but it is in order that he may not perifh altogether* Q.^ But does not this prove that our fenfes may deceive us 'with re- fpeEl to this end of f elf -prefer vation ? A. Yes ; they may for a time. Q^ How do our fenfations de- ceive us ? A. In two ways; through our ignorance and our paflions, 34 THE LAW OF NATURE. Q^ When do they deceive us through our ignorance ? A: When we adt without knowing the ation and effel of objels on our fenfes ; for in- ftance, when a man handles net- tles without knowing their qua- lity of flinging , or when he chews opium in ignorance of its foporific properties. Q.^ When do they deceive us through our pajpons. ? A. When, though we are ac- quainted with the hurtful afcion of objels 3 we, notwithflanding, give way to the violence of our THE LAW OF NATURE. 35 defires and our appetites \ for inftance, when a man who knows that wine inebriates, drinks, not- withilandmg, to excefs. Q^What refultsfrom thefefaEls ? A. The refult is, that the ig- norance in which we enter the world, and the inordinate appe- tites to which we give ourfelves up, are oppofed to our felf-pre- fervation \ that in confequence, the inftruciiion of our minds, and the moderation of our paflions, are two obligations, or two laws, immediately derived from the firft law of prefervation. 36 THE LAW OF NATURE. Q.^ But if we are born ignorant^ Is not ignorance a part of the law of nature ? A. No more than it is for us to remain in the naked and feeble ftate of infancy : far from its be- ing a law of nature, ignorance is an obflacle in the way of all her laws. It is the true original fin. Q^ Whence then has it happened that moralifts have exifted ivho con- j j , ftdered it as a virtue and y perfec- tion ? A. Becaufe, through caprice, or mifanthropy, they have con- founded the abufe of our know- THE LAW OF NATURE. 37 ledge itfelf ; as though becaufc men mifemploy the faculty of fpeaking, it were neceflary to cut out their tongue ; as though perfection and virtue confided in the annihilation, and not in the unfolding and proper em- ployment of our faculties. Q^ Is injlrucllon then neceffarily indifperifiUe for marl's exiftcnce ? A. Yes ; fo indifpenfible, that without it, he mufl be every in- * ftant ftruck and wounded by all the beings which furround him ; for if he did not know the ef~ fefts of fire, he would burn him- D 38 THE LAW OF NATURE* felf; of water, he would be drowned , of opium, he would be poifoned. If in the favage {late he is unacquainted with the cunning and fubterfuges of ani- mals, and the art of procuring game, he perifhes with hunger : if in a (late of fociety, he does not know the progrefs of the feafons, he can neither cultivate the earth, nor provide himfelf with food : and the like may be faid of all his aftions arifmg from all his wants. Q^ But can man y *in a Jlate of folltude^ acquire all thefe ideas n&~ THE LAW OF NATURE. 39 eeffary to his exiftence and the un- folding of his faculties. A. No ; he cannot do it but by the afliftance of his fellows ^ living with hirrL a ftate of fociety. L 1 Q^ But is not a Jlate of fociety a Jlate unnatural to man ? A. No j it is, en the contrary, a neceffity, a law impofed upon him by his very organization ; for, i/?, Nature has fo conftituted the human being, that he^ctoes not behold his likenefs of another fex without experiencing emo- tions, and' an atfcraftion inducing him to live in a domefiic .{late, , 40 THE LAW OF NATURE. which is already a ftate of fo- ciety : id. In rendering him fen- fible, fhe has fo organized him, that the fenfations of others are refiefted into himfelf, and excite in him co-fentiments of plea- fure or pain, which become the attractive force and indiiToluble bond of focial life : 3^, In fine, the ftate of fociety eftab- lifhed on the wants of man, is nothing more than an addition- al means of fulfilling the law of prefervation : and to fay, that fuch a ftate is unnatural, becaufe it is more advanced towards THE LAW OF NATURE. 4! perfection, is to fay that a fruitj which in the woods is bitter and wild, is no longer a production of nature, after having become fweet and delicious in the garden in which it has been cultivated. Q^ Why then have philofophers denominated the favage Jlate of life, a Jlate of perfection ? A. Becaufe, as I have before obferved, the vulgar have often- given the appellation of philofo- phers, to capricious perfons, who, through morofenefs, wounded va- nity, or difguft with the vices of D 2 42 THE LAW OF NATURE. focial life, have formed a chimeri- cal idea of the favage ftate, con- tradictory to their own fyflem of the perfe&ability of man. Q^ What is the true meaning of the ivord philofopher ? A. The word philofopher Cg- nifies lover of wifdom : now, fmce wifdom confifls in the prac- tice of the laws of nature, that man is a true philofopher who underftands thefe laws in their full extent, and, with precifion, renders his conduit conformable to them. THE LAW OF NATURE, 43 Q^Wkat is man in afavagejlate ? A. A Brute and ignorant animal j a mifchievous and ferocious bead, like a bear or an ourang-outang. Q^ Is he happy in fuck a ft ate ? A. No; for he has but the fen- fations of the moment ; and thefe fenfations are habitually fenti- ments of violent and preffing wants which he cannot gratify ; feeing that he is ignorant by na- ture, and feeble by his ftate of infulation from fociety. Q^ Is he free ? A. No : he is the moft flavifh of beings ; his life depends on 44 THE LAW OF NATURE. all that furrounds him , he has not the power to eat when he is hungry , to reft himfelf when he is weary, or to warm himfelf when he is cold : he is in danger of periihing every inftant. Na- ture, it is true, has exhibited fuch beings only, as it were, by chance : and, it is evident, that the efforts of the human race have, from the beginning, been employed to extricate it from this ftate of violence ; fo ftrong is the defire of preferva- ticn. THE LAW OF NATURE. 45 Q^ But does not this defire cf f elf -prefers at ion produce in indivi- duals egoifm, that is, the love of t* fe/fy and is not egoifm abhorrent to the facial ft ate. A. No , for, if by egoifm is un- t derflood an inclination to injure others, it is no longer the love of felf but the hatred of our neigh- bour. The love of felf, taken in its true fenfe, is not only con- fiilent with a (late of fociety, but is likewife its firmeft fupport ; fince we are under a neceffity of not doing injury to others, left 46 THE LAW OF NATURE.' they fhould, in return, do inju- ry to ourfelves. Thus the prefervation of man, and the unfolding of his facul- ties, which have in view the fame end, are the true law which na- ture has followed in the produc- tion of the human fpecies : and from this fimple and fruitful prin- ciple, are derived, muft be re- ferred, and ultimately meafured all our ideas of good and evil, vice and virtue, juftice and in- juftice, truth and error, of what is permitted and v/hat .is forbid- THE LAW OF NATURE* 47 den 5 the foundation of all moral conduft, whether in the indivi- dual man, or the man of focial life. 48 THE LAW OF NATURE. CHAPTER IV. Of the Bafts of Morality Of Good Of Evil Of Sin Of Crimes Of Vice and Virtue. Q^ WHAT is good) according to the law of nature? A. Whatever tends to preferve and ameliorate mankind, O. What is evil ? ^>*^ A. Whatever tends to the de- finition and deterioration of the human race. LAW OF NATURE. 49 Q c What Is underftood by PHT- SICAL good or evil, and MORAL good or evil ? . A. By the word plyfical> is meant whatever afts immediately upon the body ; health is a phyfi- cal good ; ficknefs is a phyfical evil. By moral) is underftood what- ever is effected by confequences more or lefs remote : calumny is a moral evil ; a fair reputation is a moral good, becaufe .both of them are the occafion of certain difpofitions and habits in other men, with refpecl: to ourfdves, which are ufeful or prejudicial to E 50 THE LAW OF NATURE. our well-being, and which at- tack or contribute to the means of exigence. Q^ IFljatever then tends to pre~ fervatlon or production is good ? A. Yes ; and this is the reafon why fome legiflators have ranked in the clafs of things pleafmg to God, the cultivation of a field> and the fruitfulnefs of a woman* Q. Every thing which tends to bring on death is of tonfcquencc evil? A. Yes ; and for this reafon, fome legiflators have extended THE LAW OF NATURE. 51 the idea of evil and fin to the killing of any animals. Q^ The murder of a man, is it then a crime according to the law of nature ? A. Yes ; and the greateil that can be committed ; for all other evils may be repaired ; but mur- der can never be done away. Q^What Is a fin according to the la e w of nature ? A. Whatever tends to difturb the order eftabliihed by nature, for the prefervation and perfefta- bility of man and of fociety. $2 THE LAW OF NATURE. Q^ Can intention be a merit or a crime ? A. No ; for it is only an idea without reality ; but it is a be- ginning of fin and evil, by the inclination to aft, of which it is the caufe. Q^ What is virtue according to the law of nature ? A. The practice of actions which are ufeful to the individual and to fociety. Q.^ What ftgnifies the 'word in- dividual ? , A. It fignifies a perfon confider- cd as infulated from every other. THE LAW OF NATURE. 53 Q^ What is via according to the law of nature ? A. It is the praftice of aftions prejudicial to the individual and to fociety. Q^ Have not virtue and vice an object purely fpiritual and abflr act- ed from fenfe ? A. No -, they are always ulti- mately referable to a phyficalendj and this end is invariably the de- ftru6tion or prefervation of the body. Q^Have vice and virtue de~ grees of Jlrength and intenfity ? 2 54 THE LAW OF NATURE.' A. Yes ; according to the im- portance of the faculties which they attack or favour ; and ac- cording to the number of indi- viduals in whom thefe faculties are thus aflifted or injured. ' Q^ Give me an example ? A. The adlion of faving a man's life is more virtuous than that of faving his wealth : the aft of faving the lives of ten men, is more fo than that of fav- ing the life of a fmgle perfon : and an aftion which is ufeful to the whole human race, is more virtuous than an aHon ufefut only to a fingle nation. THE LAW OF NATURE. 55- Q^ /// what manner does the law of nature prefcribe the prafticc of good and virtue, and forbid that of evil and of vice ? A. By the advantages refult- ing from the practice of good and virtue in the prefervatioii of our bodies, and the injuries which our very exiilence receives from the practice of evil and vice. Q^ Its precepts then are found in and founded upon action ? Q^Yes ; they are action itfelf, confidered in its prefent eiFecl:, and its future confequences. Q^ What divifion do you make of the virtues ? 56 THE LAW OF NATURE. -A. We divide them into three clafles ; ifi, Private virtues, or thofe which refer to fmgle and infulated perfons ; id y Domeilic virtues, of thofe which relate to families ; 3^, Social virtues, or thofe which refpecT; fociety at large. THE LAW OF NATURE. CHAPTER V. Of Individual or Private Virtues* Of Knowledge. are tie private vir- tues ? A. There are five principal ones : namely, knowledge ; which comprehends prudence and wif- dom. zd. Temperance j which in* eludes fobriety and chaltity. 5 3 THE LAW OF NATURE. %d. Courage ; or ftrength of body and mind. 4**. Adivity ; that is, the love of labour, and a proper em- ployment of our time. $th. Laftly ; cleanlinefs, or purity of body, as well in our cloathing, as in our dwellings. Q.^ Ho<w does the law of nature prescribe to its the poffe/fion of know- ledge ? A. In this way : The man who is acquainted with the caufes and effeis of things, provides in a very extenfive and certain manner for his own preservation, and the THE LAW OF NATURE* 59 . developement of his faculties* Knowledge is for him, as it were light aling upon its appropriate organ, making him difcern all the objefts which furround him, and in the midfl of which he moves, with precifion and clearnefs. And for this reafcn, we ufed to fay an enlightened man, to deiignate. a wife and well informed man. By the help of knowledge and information, we are never left \vithout refources, and means of fubfiftence,; and whence a philo- fopher, who had fufFered fhip- wreck,. obferved juftly to hi* 60 THE LAW OF NATURE. companions, who were lamenting the lofs of their fortunes, " As for me, I carry all my fortune " in myfelf." Q^ What is the vice oppofed to knowledge ? . A. Ignorance. CX^ Hoiv does tbe laiy of nature forbid ignorance ? . A. By the great injury which our exiilence fuftains from it : for the ignorant who are unac- quainted with either caufes or ef- fefts, commit every inftant mif- takes^the moil pernicious to them- felves or others : like a blind man THE LAW OF NATURE. 6l who walks groping his way, and who at every ftep Humbles againfl, or is joflled by his companions. Q.^ What difference is there be- tween an ignorant man and a fool f A. The fame that there is be- tween a blind man who ingenu- Oufly acknowledges his want of fight, and a blind man who pre- tends to fee diflintly. Folly is ignorance with a fuperadded pre- tention to knowledge. Q^ Are ignorance and folly com- mon ? A. Yes, very common : they are the habitual and general difea* F 62 THE LAW OF NATURE. fes of mankind. Above three thoufand years fines, the wifeft of men obferved, that the num- ber of fools is infinite ; and the world has not changed. Q.^ Hoiu happens this ? A. Becaufe to become inform- ed, is the work of much time and labour ; and becaufe men, born ignorant, but fearful of trouble, find it more convenient to remain blind, and pretend to fee clearly, Q^ What .difference is there be- tween the man of learning and the. man of <wifdom ? tTHE LAW OF NATURE. 63 A. The man of learning pof- fefles the theory, and the man of wifdom the practice . Q.^ What is prudence ? A. An anticipated view, a forefight of effects, and the con- fequences of every event : a fore- fight by which a man avoids the dangers which threaten him, and feizes and raifes up opportunities which are favourable : whence it appears, that he provides on a large and fure fcale, for his pre-* fent and future confervation ; while the imprudent man, who 64 THE LAW OF NATURE. neither calculates his progrefs nor his conduct, the efforts required, nor the refinances to overcome, falls every moment into a thou- fand difficulties and dangers, which more or lefs, flowly deftroy his faculties and his being. Q^ When the go/pel declares, Happy are the poor in fpirit, Does it mean the ignorant and impru~ dent ? A. No 5 for at the fame time that it advifes the fimplicity of doves, it connects with it the pru- dent cunning of the ferpent. By THE LAW OF NATURE. 65 fimplenefs of fpirit is meant rec- titude ; and the precept of the gofpel is no other than that of nature. 66 THE LAW OF NATURE. CHAPTER VI. Of Temperance. Q^ WHAT is temperance ? A. A well regulated employ- ment of our faculties; which prevents our ever exceeding in our fenfible pleafures the end of nature, felf-confervation. It is the moderation of our paf- fions. Q.^ What is the vice oppofed to temperance, ? TftE LAW OF NATURE. 67 A. The want of government over our paflions 5 an over-great cagernefs to poflefs enjoyments : in a word, cupidity. Q^ What are the principal branches of temperance ? A. Sobriety, and continence or chaflity. Q^ In what manner does the /aw of nature enjoin fobriety ? A. By its powerful influence ever our health. The man of fobriety digeils his food with comfort ; he is not opprefled by the weight of his aliment : his ideas are clear and eafily impvef- 68 THE LAW OF NATURE. fed ; he performs every function well ; he attends with diligence to his bufinefs ; he grows old free from' ficknefs ; he does not throw away his money in remedies for diforders.; he enjoys with gay good humour the goods which fortune or prudence have procur- ed for him. Thus does gener- ous nature make a thoufand re- wards flow from a fingle virtue. Q.^ By what means dees fie pro* tibit gluttony ? A. By the numerous evils at- tached to it. The glutton, op- preffed by his aliment^ digeits THE LAW OF NATURE. 69 with pain and difficulty ; his head difturbrd by the fumes arifing during bad digeftion, is incapable cf receiving neat and clear ideas ; he gives himfelf up with fury to the inordinate movements of lux- ury and anger, which deftroy his health ; his body becomes fat, heavy, and unfit for labour ; he pafTes through painful and ex- penfive fits of ficknefs , he rarely lives to old age, and his latter part of life is marked by infirmi- ty and difguft. Q^ Ought we to look upon ob* ftinence and fafting as virtuous ac- tions. ? ^O THE LAW OF NATURE. A. Yes ; after we have eaten too much , for, in that cafe, ab- flinence and failing are efficaci- ous and fimple remedies; but when the body has need of nou- rimment, to refufe it and let it fuffer through thirft or hunger, is madnefs, and a real fin againft the law of nature. Q^ In e wbat light does this law confider drunkennefs ? A. As the vileft and moft per- nicious of vices. The drunkard deprived of the fenfe and reafon given us by God, profanes the gifts of the divinity j he lowers THE LAW OF NATURE. 7! himfelf to the condition of the brutes ; incapable of directing his fteps, he totters and falls as in a fit of epilepfy : he wounds himfelf, and endangers his own life : his weaknefs in this ft ate renders him the play-thing, and the fcorn of all around him : he contracts, during his drunken- nefs, ruinous engagements, and lofes the management of his af- fairs : he fuffers violent and out- rageous obfervations to efcape him, which raife him up ene- rnicsj and bring him to repent- ance : he fills his houfe v/. 72 THE LAW OF NATURE. trouble and chagrin ; and he con- cludes by a premature death, or an old age, comfortlefs and dif- eafed. Q^ Does the law of nature abfo~ lutely forbid the ufe of wine ? A. No ; it only forbids the abufes of it ; but as the paflage from the proper to the improper ufe of it, is for the vulgar, very fliort and eafy, perhaps thofe le- giflators who have forbidden the ufe of wine, have, in fo doing, rendered a fervice to mankind. Q^Does the law of nature for- bid the ufe of certain meats and THE LAW OF NATURE. 73 vegetables, on certain days, or dur- ing certain feafons ? A. No ; it forbids only what is abfolutely prejudicial to health ; its precepts on this fcore vary as men do, and compofe a very delicate and important fcience ; for the quality, the quantity, and the combination of our aliments, have a very great influence, not only on the momentary affections of the mind, but iikewife on its habits and difpoiitions. A man failing is not the fame- as after a repail, though of the moft fober kind. A glafs of wine, a diih G 74 THE LAW OF NATURE, of coffee, produce various de- grees of vivacity, activity, difpo- {ition to anger, fadnefs or gaiety : one fpecies of food, becaufe it lies heavy on the ftomach, renders a perfon morofe and peevifh ; ano- ther which is eafily digeiled, dif- pofes to cheerfuJnefs and love, and produces in us an inclina- tion to be obliging. The ufe of vegetables, as they afford little nourifhment, render the body weak, and induce repofe, inac- tivity and mildnefs of character : the ufe of flefh-meats, as they nourifh much, and of Qurituou* THE LAW OF NATURE. 75 liquors as they ftimulate the nerves, induce livelinefs, reftlefs- nefs, audacity. Now, from thefe habits of taking different kinds of food, refult conftitutional ha- bits, which form in the end va- rious temperaments, each diftin- guifhed by a peculiar character : and hence it appears, why in hot countries legiilators have pro- mulgated as laws, rules of diet. Long experience had taught the ancients, that the dietetic fcience compofed a confiderable portion of that of morals : among the Egyptians, among the ancient 76 THE LAW OF NATURE. Perfians, and even among the Greeks, in their Areopagus, af- fairs of confequence were never debated on, except the members of the council were failing; and it has been remarked, that among every people who deliberate dur- ing t|ie warmth of a repafl, or during the fumes of digefdon, the debates are invariably furious and turbulent, and their refults frequently unreafonable and def- tru&ive of the public peace. THE LAW OF NATURE. 77 CHAPTER VII. Of Continence. QC DOES the law of nature pre- fcribe continence ? A. Yes , becaufe moderation in the enjoyment of the moft vio- lent of our fenfations, is not only ferviceable, but indifpenfible for the maintenance of our ftrength and health ; and becaufe it may be demonflrated by a fimple cal- G2 78 THE LAW OF NATURE. dilation, that in return for a few minutes of privation, we are re- paid by long days of vigour of mind and body. CX How does it forbid libertin- ifm ? A. By the innumerable evils which it entails upon our exift- ence, phyfical and moral. The man who abandons himfelf to it, becomes enervated and languid ; he is no longer able to attend to his ftudies or his bulmefs ; he contracts idle and expeniive ha- bits, which diminifh his means of livelihood, his reputation and his THE LAW OF NATURE. 79 credit \ his intrigues occafion him embarraflrnents, cares, quarrels, and law-fuits, not to take into the account heavy and grievous dif- eafes j the decreafe of his flrength by an internal and flow poifon ; the (tupefaHon of his intellect: by the exhauftion of the nervous influence ; and laflly a premature and infirm old age. Q^ Is that confummats chajlity which is fo much inculcated in mo- nafllc itiflitiitiofiS) regarded as a virtue by the natural law ? A. No; for fuch chaftity is nelllier of utility to the fociety 8o THE LAW OF NATURE. at large where it is prevalent, nor even to the individuals who are rigoroufly obfervant of it : nay, it is demonftrably prejudicial to both. In the firil place, it is de- trimental, to fociety at large, be- caufe it checks the progrefs of its population, which is one of its great fources of wealth and pow- er : and, becaufe the perfons, who devote themfelves to a life of celibacy, by confining their views and affections within the narrow fphere of their own ex- Silence, for the moil part con- trait a felfifli partiality for them- THE LAW OF NATURE. 8 1 felves, which alienates their minds from the general interefts of the community. In the fecond place, it is inju- rious to individuals, becaufe it excludes them from a multiplici- ty of affeftions and relations, which have a coniiderahle mare in the formation of the domeilic and focial virtues. Again, it frequently happens, from the cir- cumilances of age, temperament, and diet, that abfolute continence impairs the health, and lays the foundation of ferious difeafes, by Counteracting tliofe laws by which $2 THE LAW OF NATURE. nature maintains and perpetuates the fpecies. Not to mention that thofe who are fuch rigid and en- thufiaftic advocates for unlimited abftinence in this refpeft, even where their fmcerity cannot be called in queftion, totally militate againft their own dofhrine, which confecrates the law of nature by the -well known command, a Be fruitful and multiply" Q^ Why is chaftity confidered as a virtue of greater importance to women than to men ? A. Becaufe the breach of chaf- tity ia women is attended with THE LAW OF NATURE. 8j- far more alarming and injurious confequences to themfelves and to fociety ; for, exclufive of the afflictions and difeafes of every, denomination to which they are liable in common with the other fex, they incur all the various inconveniences that precede, ac- company, and follow a ftate of motherhood, of which they run the hazard ; and if this mould chance out of the p#le of the law, they become expofed to the fconi and derifion of the world, which unavoidably embitters the remain-* ing portion of their exiftence. 84 THE LAW OF NATURE. Again they are furcharged with the expences arifing from the maintenance and education of children that are unprotected and without relations : by which means they become impoverifhed and diftrefled, both in mind and for- tune. In this (late, deprived of that frefhnefs and that health in which their charms chiefly con- fift, carrying about with them an unufual and painful burden, they are lefs fought after by the men ; they find no folid eftablifhment, they fall into poverty, mifery, abafement, and drag on in wret- THE LAW OF NATURE. 85 chednefs, a life of abject unhap- pinefs. Q^ Does the Jaw of nature dc- fcend to fcruple our deftres or thoughts ? A. Yes ; becaufe according to the phyfical laws of the human body, thoughts and defires awaken the fenfes, and foon ftimulate to action. Moreover, by another law of nature, in the organization of our body, thefe actions become a fpecies of mechanical want, re- peated according to periods of days or weeks ; fo that at any given epoch/ the want or defire to per- il 86 THE LAW OF NATURfc. form a given aftion, or produce a given fecretion, always arifes : and if this ation or fecretion are prejudicial to health, the habit becomes definitive of life itfelL Thus defires and thoughts become of real importance in nature. Q.^ Ought ntodefty to be confidsr- ed as a virtue ? A. Yes; becaufe modefty, con- fidered as a bafliful timidity with regard to certain aftions, maintains the mind and body in all the habits tending to the good order and felf-prefervation of the individual; A modeft woman is efteemed* THE LAW OF NATURE, 87 fought after, eftablifhed in all the advantages of fortune which affure her exiftence, and render it agreeable ; while the immodeft woman and the proftitute are de- fpifed, rejefted, and abandoned to mifery and difgrace. 88 THE LAW OF NATURE. CHAPTER VIII. Of Courage and AcJivity* CX^ /[RE courage and Jlrength of body and wind, virtues according to the law of nature? A. Yes , and very important virtues ; for they are efficacious and indifpenfible means of effect- ing our prefervation and well- being. The courageous and ftrong man repels oppreilion , defends THE LAW OF NATURE. $ his life, his liberty, his property ; by his labour he procures for himfelf fubfiftence in abundance, and enjoys it with tranquillity and peace of mind. If any misfor- tune happens to him from which his prudence could not guard him, he fupports it with firmnefs and refignation ; and, for this reafon, the ancient moralifts accounted ftrength and courage among their four principal virtues. Q.^ Ought vueaknefs and cow* fir dice to be confidered as vices ? A. Yes -, fincc it is true that H 2 po THE LAW OF NATURE. they are connected with athoufand calamities. The weak and cow- ardly live in the midft of care, and in perpetual agony ; their health is undermined by the terror they are under, often an ill-founded one, of danger and attack : and this terror, which is itfelf an evil, is not the remedy of any other evil ; on the contrary, it renders man a flave to whoever is delir- ous of opprefling him: and by the fubjeftion and abafement of all his faculties, degrades and cor- rupts his means of exiftence, and makes his life depend, as it were, THE LAW OF NATURE. pi on the will and caprice of other men. Q^ But after what you have faid of the influence of aliments^ are not courage and Jlrength, as well as many ether virtues, in a, great meafure the effect of our tem- perament , or phyjical conftitution ? A. Yes ; this is true, to fuch a degree, that thefe qualities are tranfmitted to us in our birth, and by our blood, with the ele- ments on which thefe depend. Repeated and unvarying fafts prove, that in every race of ani- mals, certain phyfical and moral 2 THE LAW OF NATURE, qualities attached to the various individuals of each race, are augmented or diminifhed accord- ing to the combinations and ad- mixture which take place be- tween the feveral races. Q. But if our wills and exer- tions are not fuffi dent to procure us tkefe qualities^ is it a crime in us to be dejlitutt of them ? A. No : it is not a crime, but a misfortune , it is what the an- cients called a melancholy fata- lity : but even in this cafe, it ftill is in fome meafure in our power to acquire them; for, from the THE LAW OF NATURE. 93 moment that we have learnt on what phyfical elements depend fuch and fuch qualities, we arc enabled* to prepare for their pro- duftion, and to excite them to unfold themfelves by an able ma- nagement of the elements ; and in this conliflis the fcience of edu- cation, which, according as it is directed, perf e els or renders worfe, both individuals and entire races, fo as to change altogether their nature and inclinations : and this it is which renders fo important the knowledge of the laws of na- ture, by which thefe operations 94 THE LAW OF NATURE. and changes are effected with cer- tainty and of neceffity. Q. Why do you fay that activi- ty is a virtue according to the law pf nature? A. Becaufe the man who la- bours and employs his time ufe- fully, derives from fo doing, in* numerable advantages with re- fpel to his exiftence. Is he poor ? his labour furnifhes him with fub- (iftence : and if, in addition, he is fober, continent, and prudent, he foon acquires many conve- niences, and enjoys the fweets of life : his very labour produces THE LAW OF NATURE. p in him thofe virtues \ for as long as he continues to employ his mind and his body, he is not af- fected by inordinate defires \ he is free from dullnefs ; he con- traits mild and pleafant habits; he augments his ftrength and his health, and arrives to an old age of felicity and peace. Q^ Are idlenefs and Jloth then vices in the order of nature ? A. Yes ; and the moil perni-* cious of all vices ; for they lead to every other. In idlenefs and {loth man remains ignorant, and even lofles die knowledge which 96 THE LAW OF NATURE. he had before acquired, falling into all the evils which accompa- ny ignorance and folly. In idle- nefs and floth, man, devoured by liftlefs dullnefs, gives himfelf up to all the lufts of fenfe, whofe empire, as it increafes and ex- tends from day to day, renders him intemperate, gluttonous, lux- urious, enervate, cowardly, bafe, and defpicable. The certain ef- fects of all which vices are, the ruin of his fortune, the wafting of his health, and the termina- tion of his life in the anguifh of difeafe and poverty. LAW OF NATU&fe. C)f Q^ If I underfland you, it would appear that poverty is a vice ? A. No ; it is not a vice j but ftill lefs is it a virtue ; for it is much more frequently injurious than ufeful ; it is even common- ly the refult of vice, or its firil occaflon \ for every individual vice conduces towards indigence ; even to the privation of the ne- ceflaries of life ; and when a man is in want of the neceflaries, he is on the point of endeavour- ing to procure them by vicious methods : that is, methods hurt- 8 If HE LAW OF NATtJRE. ful to fociety. All the private virtues, on the contrary, tend to procure for man an abundance of fubfiftence 5 and when he has more than he can confume, it be- comes more eafy for him to give to others, and to perform actions ufeful to fociety. Q^ Do you look lipon riches as a virtue ? A. No ; but flill lefs are they a vice. It is their employment only which can be denominated virtu- ous or vicious, according as it is ufeful or hurtful to mail and to THE LAW OF NATURE. 99 fociety. Wealth is an inftru- ment, whofe ufe and employ- ment only determine its viciouf* nefs or virtue. XOO THE 1AW OF NATURE* CHAPTER IX. Of Ckanlinefs. Q. ^/VHT do you rank ckanlinefs in tie clafs of virtues ? A. Bccaufe it is really one of the moft important, as it has a powerful influence on the health and -preservation of the body. Ckanlinefs, as well in our gar- ments as in our dwellings, pre- vents the pernicious effe&s of THE LAW OF NATURE. IQI dampnefs, of bad fmells, and of contagious vapours arifing from fubftances abandoned to putrify : cleanlinefs keeps up a free per- fpiration, renews the air, refrelh- es the blood, and even animates and enlivens the mind. Whence we fee that perfons attentive to the cleanlinefs of their perfons and their habitations, are in ge- neral more healthy, and lefs ex- pofed to difeafes than thofe who live in filth and nailinefs ;. and it may moreover be remarked, that cleanlinefs brings with it, through* l^ J02 THE LAW OF NATURE. out every part of domeftic dif- cipline, habits of order and ar- rangement, which are among the firft and beft methods and ele- ments of happinefs. Q^ // uncleanllnefs then, orfl- thinefsy a real vice ? A. Yes; as real as drunken- nefs, or as floth, from which, for the moft part, it derives its origin. Uncleanlinefs is a fecondary, and often a firft caufeof a multitude of flight diforders, and even of dan- gerous fickneffes. It is well known in medicine, that it generates the itch, the fcald-head, the leprofy, THE LAW OF NATURE. 103 no lefs certainly than the fame diforders are produced by cor- rupted or acrid aliments : that it contributes to the contagious pow- er of the plague and of malig-r nant fevers ; that it even gives birth to them in hofpitals and pri* fons : that it occafions rheuma- tifm by incrufting the Ikin with dirt, and checking perfpiration j not to mention the difgraceful in- convenience of being devoured by infects, the unclean appendage of abject mifery. For this caufe, the greater part of the ancient legiflators have 104 THE LAW OF NATURE. eonftituted cleanlinefs, under the title of purity, one of the eflen- tial dogmas of their feveral reli- gions : hence, the reafon of their driving from fociety, and fubj ebb- ing even to corporal punifhment, thofe who fuffered themfelves to fce attacked by the difeafes which are engendered by uncleanlinefs ; why they inftituted and confe- crated the ceremonies of ablution, bathing, baptifm, and of purifi- cation even by fire, and by the aromatic effluvia of incenfes, myrrhs, benzoin, &c. So that the whole fyftem of impure taints* THE LAW OF NATURE. IOJ aU thofe rites referring to things clean and unclean, which in after times degenerated into prejudices and abufes, were, in their origin, derived from the judicious ob- fervations made by wife and well- informed men, on the great influ- ence which the cleanlinefs of the body, both with refpecl to its cloathing and its habitation, pof- fefles over the health, and by an immediate confequence, over the mind and the moral faculties. Thus all the individual or pri- vate virtues have for their more or lefs direct, and more or lefs proxi*- 10(5 THE LAW OF NATURE. mate end, the prefervation of the man who pratifes them ; while by the prefervation of each indi- vidual, they tend to infure that of the family and of fociety at large, which is nothing more than the united fum of thofe individu-* ak. THE LAW OF NATURE. 107 CHAPTER X. Of Dome/tic virtues. Q^ yyHAT do you mean by do* meftic virtues ? A. I mean the pra6lice of thofe aftions which are ufeful to a family, that is, to a number of perfons living under one roof. Q^ What are thofe virtues ? A. Oeconomy, parental affec- tion, conjugal love, iSlial love, JO& T&E LAW OF NATURE* brotherly love, and the fulfilment of the reciprocal duties of matter and fervant. Q.^ What is Oeconomy ? A. Taken in its moil extenfivd fignification, it is the proper ad- miniftration of whatever concerns the exiftence of the family or houfehold; but as fubfiftence holds the firft rank among thefe cir- cumftance's, the word ceconomy has been reftricHed to the em- ployment of our money in pro- curing for us the primary wants of life. LAW OF NATURE. 1 09 Q^ Why is Occonomy a virtue ? A. Becaufe the man who cra- ters into no ufelefs expence al- ways pofiefles a fuperabundance, which conftitutes real wealth, and by means of which he procures for hirnfelf and his family, all that is truly ufeful and conve- nient ; without taking into the account, that by this means he cnfures to himfelf refources a- gainft accidental and unforefeen lofles ; fo that himfelf and his fa- mily live in a tranquil and plea- fant ftate of eafe, which is the bads of all human happiriefs* 110 THE LAW OF NATURE, Q^ Are dtffipation and prodiga- lity then vices ? A. Yes ; for they bring a man at laft to the want of the necefla- ries of life \ he falls into poverty, mifery, and abjet difgrace \ fo that even his acquaintance, fear- ful of being obliged to reftore to him what he has fquandered with them or upon them, fly from him as a debtor from his credi- tor, and he is left abandoned by all the world. Q^ What is parental affeEtion ? A. The afliduous care which a parent takes to bring up hi* THE LAW OF NATURE. Ill children in the habit of every ac- tion ufeful to themfelves and to fociety. Q^ In 'what refpeEl is parental tendernefs a virtue, 'with refpeffi to pa rents ? A. In as much as the parents who bring up their children in good habits, lay up for the v/hole courfe of their lives thofe enjoy- ments and aids which are grate- ful to us at all times., and enfure againft old age, thofe fupports and confolations which are re- quired by the wants and calami- ties of that period of life. 112 THE LAW OF NATURE. Q^ Is parental affeElion a com- mon virtue ? A. No ; notwithftanding all parents make a parade of it, it is a rare virtue ; they do not love their children ; they carefs them and they fpoil them ; what they love in them, is the agency of their wills, the inflruments of their power, the trophies of their vanity, the play-things of their leifure hours. It is not fo much the good of their children that they propofe, as their fubmiflion and obedience : and if amongft THE LAW OF NATURE. 113; children we find fo many ex- amples of filial ingratitude, it is becaufe amongft parents there are fo many examples of ignor- ant and defpotic kindnefs* Q^ Why do you fay that conjugal love is a virtue ? A. Becaufe the concord and union which are the confequence of the affe&ion fubfiftmg between married perfons, eftablimmthebo- fom of their family a multitude of habits which contribute to its pro- fperityandconfervation: united by the bonds of marriage, they love their houfehold and quit it rarely v K 2 114 THE LAW OF NATURE. they fuperintend every part of its adminiftration ; they attend to the education of their children ; they keep up the refpeclfumefs and fidelity of their domeflics ; they prevent all diforder and diflipationj and by the whole of their good con- duel, ' live in eafe and reputation : while thofe married perfons who have no affection for each other, fill their dwelling with quarrels and diftrefs ; excite war among their children and among their domeftics, and lead them both into every kind of vicious habit ; fo that each waftes, pillages, and LAW OF NATURE, tlj fobs in their feveral way : their re- venues are abforbed without re- turn ; debts follow debts , the difcontented parties fly each other and recur to law-fuits, and the whole family falls into diforder, ruin, difgface, and the want of the neceiTaries of life. Q^ Is adultery a crime according to the laiv of nature ? A. Yes ; for it is followed by a numerous train of habits hurt- ful to the married perfons, and to their family. The \^ife or the hufband given up to the love of Il6 THE LAW OF NATURE, ftrangers, neglecl: their own dwel- ling, defer! it, and diveft as much as poffible its revenues from their right ufe, fpending them on the objeft of their affe&ions : hence quarrels, fcandal, law-fuits, the contempt of children and fervants, the pillage and final ruin of the whole houfe : not to mention that the adulterous woman com- mits the moil heinous of all robberies, giving heirs to her huf- band of foreign blood, who de- prive of their lawful portion his true offspring. THE LAW OF NATURE. 117 Q^What is flial love ? A. I: is, on the part of child- ren, the practice of fuch actions as are ufeful to themfelves and to their parents. Q^ What motives does the /aw of nature prefent to enforce filial love ? A. Three chief motives : i/?, Sentiment , for from our earlieft infancy, the affectionate folici- tudes of our parents, produce in us the mild habits of attachment. 2^/, The fenfe of juftice-, for child- ren owe their parents a return, andj as it were, a reparation for Il8 THE LAW OF NATURE. the troubles, and even for the ex- pences which they have occafion- ed them. 3^ Perfonal Intereft j for if we al ill towards our pro- genitors,, we offer our own child- ren examples of rebellion and ingratitude^ which authorize them to render us the like at any fu- ture day. Qi. Ought ive to underftand fry filial love a paffive and blind fub- nnjjlon ? A. No 5 but a reafonable fuh- miffion, founded on an acquaint- ance with the mutual rights and duties of parents and of child- THE LAW OF NATURE. I f ten ; rights and duties, without whofe obfervance, their conduct towards each other, Can amount to nothing better than diforder. Q.^ Why is brotherly love a vir* tue? A. Becaufe the concord and union which refult from the mu- tual affection of brethren, eftab- lifh the power, fafety, and pre- fervation of families. Brethren, in union mutually defend each other from all oppreflion, affift each other in their mutual wants, fupport each other under misfor- tune, and thus fecure' their com- r20 THE LAW OF NATURE. mon exiilence ; while brethren, in a ftate of difunion, each be- ing abandoned to his perfonal ilrength, fall into all the incon- veniences of infulation from fo- ciety, and of individual feeble- nefs. This truth was ingeniouf- ly exprefled by that King of Scy- thia, who, on his death-bed, hav- ing called his children round him, ordered them to break a bundle of arrows ; when the young men, though in full vigour, were not able to accomplim this, he took the bundle in his turn, and hav- ing untied it, broke each feparate THE XAW OF NATURE. 121 Barrow with his fingers. Be-* hold, faid he, the effect of union ; united in a body, you will be in- vincible ; taken feparately you will be broken like reeds. Q.^ What are the reciprocal du- iies of majlers and fervants ? A. The practice of fuch ac- tions as are refpeftively and equit- ably ufeful to each ; and here be- gin the relations of fociety ; for the rule and meafure of thefe re- fpeftive aftions, is the equilibri- um or equality between the fer- vice and the reward; between what the one performs, and the JL 122 THE LAW OF NATURfe* other gives, which is the funda- mental bafis of all fociety. Thus all the domeftic and in- dividual virtues refer more or lefa mediatly, but always without va- rying to the phyfical object of the amelioration and confervation of man ; and are, in this view, precepts refulting from the funda- mental law propofed by nature in his formation. THE LAW OF NATURE. 123 CHAPTER XI. Of the Social Virtues, and of Juf- the. A. Every aggregated reunion of men living together under the regulations of a contradl tacit or exprefTed for their common pre-* fervation. Q.^ Are the focial virtues many in number ? A. Yes ; we may count as many as there are actions ufeful THE LAW OF NATURE. to fociety ; but they may be all reduced to one principle. Q.^ What is this fundamental principle ? A. Juftice, which itfelf alone comprehends all the focial virtues. Q^ Why do you fay that jujlice is the fundamental^ and almoft only virtue official life ? A. Becaufe it alone embraces the pra&ice of all thofe aftions which are ufeful to fociety , and that every virtue, under the name of charity, humanity, probity, love of country, fmcerity, generofity, fimplicity of manners, and mo- THE LAW OF NATURE. 125 defty, are but varied forms, and diverfified applications of this ax- iom, " Do unto another only that which thou wouldft he mould do unto thee j" which is the .de- finition of juilice. Q^ How does the taw of nature ordain j lift ice ? A. By means of three phyficaji attributes which are inherent in the organization of man.. Q^ What are thefe attributes? A. Equality, liberty, property. Q^ In *what fenfr is equality a phyfical attribute of man ? A. r Becaufe all men having e- qually eyes, hands, a mouth, ears, 126 THE LAW OF NATURE. and being alike under the neceffiU ty of making ufe of them for their life's fake, are by this very faft equally entitled to life, and to the ufe of the elements which contribute to its fupport. They are all equal before God. Q.^ Do you pretend that all men hcar^ fee and feel equally iutll 9 that ihey have equal wants, and equal and likepajfions ? A. No ; for it is a matter of certainty and daily experience, that one man is fhort, and another long-fighted : that one eats much and another little : that one has f HE LAW OF NATURE. 127 moderate, and another violent paf- fions : in a word, that a grown perfon is weak both in body and mind, while another is ftrong in both. Q.^ They are in fact then really unequal ? A. Yes ; in the unfolding of their faculties and powers, but not in the nature and eflence of thefe powers : it is a fluff of the fame kind, but whofe dimenfions are not equal, nor its weight and value the fame with thofe of fome > other pieces : our language has no word calculated to exprefs at the THE LAW OF NATURE. fame time famenefs of nature, and diversity of form and employment, It is a relative equality, and for this reafon I faid, equal before God, and in the order of nature. Q^ Why is Liberty called a phy- Jical attribute of man ? A. Becaufe all men pofleffing fenfes fitted and fufficient for their prefervation ; no one having need of the eye of another man in or- der to fee, of his ear to hear, of his rriouth to eat, or of his foot to walk, they are all made by this means, naturally independent and free. No one is of neceffity fub- THE LAW OF NATtTRE. I2x> jecled to another's rule, nor has right of dominion over him. Q^ But if a man is bornjlrong has he not a natural right to majter and rule over him <who is torn weak ? A. No \ for it is neither with refpecl: to himfelf a matter of neceffity, nor a convention be- tween the two y and in this in- ftance we make improper ufe of the word right, which in its true fenfe fignifies nothing more than juftice, or reciprocal faculties and power* 130 THE LAW OF NATURE. Q^ How is property a phyjical attribute of man ? A. Since every man is formed equal and fimilar to his fellows and confequently free and inde- pendent, every one is the abfolute mafter, the entire proprietor of his body, and the produfls of his labour. Q^ How is jujlice derived from thefe three attributes ? A. From this circumftance, that men being equal, free, and owing nothing to each other, have no right to demand any thing of their fellows, but in proportion ftffe LAW NATURE. Iji as they return for it fomething equivalent; in proportion as the balance of what is given to what is paid, remains in equilibrium , and it is this equality, this equili- brium which is called juftice and equity*, that is to fay, equality and juftice are fynonirnous words 5 are the fame natural law, of which all the focial virtues are but ap* plications and derivatives. * JSyuttas, *9K*lt&ri*9ti a%uaHt<zs t arc all of the fame family. THE LAW OF NATURE. CHAPTER XIL Developement of the Social Virtues. Q^ UNFOLD to me how thefo- cial virtues are derived from the law of nature. How is charity or the love of our neighbour, a pre- cept or application of this Jaw. A. By reafon of the laws of equality and reciprocity ; for when we do injury to another, we give Iiim the right of doing us injury THE LAW OF NATURE. 133 in his turn. .Thus, by attacking the exiflence of another, we make an attack upon our own in cpnfe- quence of the law of reciprocity. On the contrary, when we do good to our neighbour, we have ground and reafon to expecl: an exchange of good, an equivalent: ; and fuch is the character of all the focial virtues, to be ufeful to the man who praftifes them, by the right of reciprocity which they communicate to him over thofe. to whom his good offices have been of fervice. M 134 THE LAW OF NATURE. Q^ Charity then is nothing more thanjujlice ? A. Yes ; it is nothing more than juftice, with this fmgle dif- ference, that ftridl juftice con- fines itfelf to the affertion, " Do not to others the evil which thou wouldft not they mould do unto thee :" and that charity or the love of our neighbour goes fur- ther, even to fay, Do unto others the good which you wifh to re- ceive from them. Thus the Gof- pel, when it faid, that this pre- cept contained all the Law and the Prophets, did no more than THE LAW OF NATURE. 135 announce a precept of the law of nature. Q^ Does it command -us to for-* give injuries ? A. Yes ; in as much as fuch forgivenefs confifts with the pre- fervation of ourfelves. Q^ Does it contain the precept of turning the one cheek after being fmitten on the other ? A. No ; for, in the ifl place, it is not confident with the pre- cept which orders us to love our neighbour as ourfe/ves 9 fince in that cafe we fhould have more love for him who attacks our well- 136 THE LAW OF NATURE. being than for ourfelves : id, Such a command, taken litterally, encourages the wicked to oppref- fion and injuftice ; and the law of nature has been more wife, in prefer ibing a given meafure of courage and moderation, which makes us forget a firft injury, if occafioned by momentary warmth, but which punifhes every act tending to oppreffion. Q. Does the law of nature com- mend u: to do good to other s^ with- out meafure or .imitation ? A. No ; for it is a certain means of occafioning ingratitude. THE LAW OF NATURE. 137 Such is the power of the fenti- ment of juftice implanted in the hearts of men, that they do not give us credit even for acts of kindnefs, if accompanied with indifcretion. They have but one meafure that of juftice. Q^ Is alms-giving a 'virtuous aElion ? A. Yes ; when conducted ac- cording to the fame rule ; other- wife it degenerates into impru- dence and vice, in as much as it encourages indolence, which is hurtful both to the beggar and to the fociety. No one has a right 138 THE LAW OF NATURE. to enjoy the good or labour of another without rendering an equivalent by his own labour. Q^ Does the la t w of nature con- Jider as virtues, hope and faith, which are ufually conjoined 'with charity ? A. No ; for they are ideas not founded on realities ; and if any good effects refult from them, thefe are rather to the profit of thofe who have not imbibed fuch ideas than to thofe who have ; fo that it might be perhaps allow- able to fay, that faith and hope are the virtues of dupes> which THE LAW OF NATURE. 139 turn to the advantage of rogues and cheats. Q^ Does the law of nature pre- fcribe probity ? A. Yes ; for probity is nothing more than a refpecl: paid to our own rights through the medium of the rights of others; a re- fpecl: derived from a prudent and well-made calculation of our own interefts, compared with thofe of others. ut does not this calculation^ includes the complicated in- ter efts and rights of the focial jiatiy demand fuch light y and fuch know* 140 THE LAW OF NATURE. [edge of things, as to render it a Jclence of difficult acquifttion ? A. Yes \ and a fcience fo much the more delicate, as the man of probity pronounces fen- tence in his own caufe. Q^ Is probity then a mark of an enlarged and correct mind ? A. Yes \ for the man of probi- ty almoft always neglects fome prefent intereft for the fake of one which is future ; while on the other hand, the knave is wil- ling to lofe a great intereft to come for the fake of fome trifl- ing one which is prefent. THE LAW OF NATURE. 14'! Q^ Knavery tken is a fign of falfe judgment an narroivnefs of mind ? A. Yes ; and rogues may be defined to be ignorant or foolifh fpecuiators, for they know not their own interefls *, and though they affect warinefs and cunning, their artifices feldom fail to ex- pofe them, and make them known for what they are , to deprive them of the confidence and efteem of others, and of all the advan- tages which might thence refult to their focial and phyfical exifl> ence. They neither live in peace with themfelves, nor with others, 142 THE LAW OF NATURE, and inceffantly alarmed by their conference and their enemies, they enjoy no other real happi- nefs than that of efcaping from the executioner. Q^ Does the /aw of nature for- bid theft ? A. Yes ; for the man who fteals from another, grants him the liberty to fteal in his turn : hence no fecurity in property, nor even in the means of felf-prefer- vation. Thus the man who does injury to another, by a fpecies of re-ation, is hurt himfelf. THE LAW OF NATURE. 143 Q^ Does it forbid the inclination to theft ? A. Yes ; for this inclination naturally leads to aftion : hence the reafon of confidering envy as a fin. Q^ How does it forbid murder ? A. By the moft powerful mo- tives addrefled to the defire of felf-prefervation ; for iy?, The man who attacks another, expofes himfelf to the riik of being killed, according to the law of felf-de* fence : 2d y If he kills his oppo ttent, he gives an equal right, founded on the fame law, to the 144 THE LAW OF NATURE. relations and friends of the de- ceafed, and even to the whole community, of killing him, and Iiis life is no longer in fecurity. Q. How cq?i a man y according to the law of nature, repair any injury which he has committed ? . A. By conferring a proportion- able benefit upon thofe whom he has injured. Q.^ Docs tins law allow him to repair it by prayers, vows, offer- ings ta God, faftingS) or mortifica* tions ? A; No \ for none of thcfc things have any relation to the ac- LAW <*F AW*fe. 1 41 tion which is meant to be atoned for - ? they neither reftore to him who has been robbed, what he has loft, v/hether it be proper- ty or reputation ; nor life to him who has been deprived of it : con- fequently they fail with regard to juftice : they conftitute an illegi- timate contract, by which one man fells to another, a good of which he himfelf is not pofleffed : they tend to a depravation of morals, as they embolden men to commit every fpecies of crime, in the hope of expiation : and they have been the real fources of E LAW OF NATURE,, all thofe. evils which have con- llantly tormented every nation, \vhofe inflitutions permitted thefe expiatory pralices. Q.^ Is fincerity enjoined by the laiu of nature ? A. Yes ; for lying, perfidy, and perjury, excite amongft men, tliftruft, difTenfion, hatred, re- venge, and a multitude of evils, which tend t6 the deftruftion of Ibciety ; whilft fineerity and good faith eflablifh confidence, con- cord, peace, and the other in- finite advantages, which are the neceffary refult of fuch a happy ftate of things* . r . THE LAW OF NATURE. 147 Q^ Does it prefcribe mildnefs and modefly ? A. Yes ; for an afluming and rude deportment while it alienates from us the hearts of other men, infufes into them a difpofition to do us difTervice : Oftentation and vanity, by wounding their felf-love and exciting their jealoufy, pre- vent us from attaining the .point of real utility. Q^ Does it prefcribe humility as a virtue ? A. No ; for there is a natural propenfity in the human heart, to feel a fecret contempt for every 148 THE LAW OF NATURE. tiling which conveys to it the idea of weaknefs ; and by abafmg our- felves^ we encourage in others, pride and oppreflion : we mould hold the balance with an even hand. Q^ Ton have doffed amongst the facial virtues, fimplicity of man- ners 5 what do you mean by that ex- preffion ? A. I mean the confining our wants and defires, to what is really ufeful for the exiftence of the in* dividual and his family : that is to fay, the man ofjimf/e manners THE LAW OF NATURE. 149 has few wants, and is content with little. Q.^ How is this virtue recom- mended to us ? A. By the numerous advan- tages, which it bellows both upon the individual, and upon fociety at large , for the man who ha? few wants, liberates himfelf at once from a crowd of cares, trotu bles and toils, avoids a number of difputes and quarrels, w^ich- arife from the eager defire of gain ; is free from the cares of ambition, the inquietudes of pofleffion, and the fears of lofs ; meeting every Nz 150 THE LAW OF NATURE. where with more than fufficient for his wants, he is the truly rich man ; always content with what he has, he is happy at a fmall ex- pence j and the world at large fearing no rivalfhip from him, fuf- fer him to enjoy tranquility, and are difpofed to do him fervice. Again, if this virtue of fimpli- ciry, were extended to a whole people, it fecures abundance to them ; every thing which they do not immediately confume, becomes to them a fource of trade and commerce to a very great extent ; they labour, they manufacture, THE LAW OP NATURE. and fell their productions to greater advantage than others ; and attain the fummit both of external and internal profperity. Q^ What vice is the direEt oppo* Jlte of this virtue ? A. Cupidity and luxury. Q^ Is luxury a vice both in the individual and in fociety at large ? A. Yes; and to fuch an ex- tent, that, it may be faid to in- clude in it the feeds of all others ; for the man who makes many things necefiary to his happinefs, impofes at the fame time upon himfelf all the cares, and fubmits lt;2 THE L^W OF NATURE. to all the means of acquiring them, whether they be juft or unjirft. Has he already one enjoyment, he wifhes for another, and in the mtdft of fuperfluities, he is never rich ; a commodious habitation will not fatisfy him $ he inuft have a fuperb hotel ; he is not content with a plentiful table; he muft have rare and coftly meats ; he muft have fplendid furniture, ex- penfive apparel, and a long, ufe- lefs train of footmen, horfes, car- riages and women , he muft be conftantly at the gaming table, or at places of public entertainment. THE LAW OF NATURE. 153 Now to fupport their expences, a great deal of money is requisite, and every mode of procuring this, is conlidered at firft as lawful, and afterwards, neceflary ; he be- gins by borrowing, he then fwin- dles, robs, plunders, becomes bankrupt, is at war with mankind, ruins others, and is himfelf ruined. Again, if we confider the ef- fects of luxury upon a nation, it produces the fame ravages upon a large fcale ; in confequencc of its confuming within itfelf all its pro- ductions, . it is poor in the midft of abundance ; it has nothing to j 54 THE LAW OF NATURE. fell to the foreigner ; it manufac- tures at a heavy expence ; it fells its produce at a dear rate, and be- comes a tributary for every thing which it imports : it lofes its ref- peftability, its ftrength, and its means of defence and prefervation abroad ; whilfl at home it is un- dermined, and the bond of union between its members is diflblved. All its citizens being greedy after enjoyments, are perpetually ftrug- gling with each other for the at- tainment of them 5 all are either inflicting injuries, or have the difpofition to do fo : and hence THE LAW OF NATURE, t<j* arife thofe actions and habits of usurpation, which compofe what is called moral corruption, or intef- tine war between the members of the fame fociety. Luxury produ- ces rapacity, rapacity the invafion of others by violence, or by breach of public faith ^from luxury are derived the corruption of the judge, the venality of the witnefs ; the difhonefly of the hufband, the prostitution of the wife, ^pa- rental cruelty, filial ingratitude, the avarice of the mafler, the theft of the fervant, the robbery of pub- He officers of government, the in- THE -t AW OF juftke of the legiflator, lying, per- fidy, perjury, aflaffination, and all the diforders which deflroy fo- ciety ^ fo that the ancient moralifts had an accurate perception of truth, when they declared that all the focial virtues were founded up- on a (implicity of manners, a limi- tation of wants, and contentment with a little ; and we may take as a certain fcale of the virtues or vices of a man, the proportion which his expences bear to his revenue, and calculate from his /demands for money, the extent of his probity, his integrity in fulfil- THE LAW OF NATURE. 157 ling his engagements, his devotion to the public caufe, and the fm- cerity of his attachment to his country (patrle J. Q^ What do you mean by the ivord country (patrie ?) A. I underflancl by that word, a community of citizens who, united by fraternal fentiments and reci- procal wants, unite their indivi- dual forces, for the purpofes of general fecurity, the reaction of which upon each of them, affurnes the beneficial and protecting cha- racter oi paternity (paterniie) In fociety, the members of it form 3 O - 158 THE LAW OF NATURE, bank of intereft : in a country {patrle) they conftitute a family of tender attachments , by means of which charity and the love of our neighbour, are extended to a whole nation. Now as charity cannot be feparated from juftice, no member of this family can pretend to the enjoyment of any advantages, except in proportion to his exertions , if he confume more than this proportion, he of courfe encroaches upon another ; and he can only attain the means of being generous or difmterefted, in proportion as his expences are THE LAW OF NATURE. 1 59 confined within the limits of his acquifitions or pofleflions. Q^ What is your deduction from thefe principles ? A. I conclude from thefe prin- ciples, that all the focial virtues confift in the performance of ac- tions ufeful both to fociety and to the individual : That they may all be traced to the phyfical object of the prefer- vation of man : That nature having implanted in our bofoms the neceffity of this prefervation, impofes all the con- fequences arifmg from it as a law> l6o THE LAW OF NATURE. and prohibits as a crime whatever counteracts the operation of this principle : That we have within us the germ of all virtue, and of all per- feftion : that we have only to attend to the means of exciting it into ation : That we are happy, in exal proportion to the obedience we yield to thofe laws which nature has eftablifhed with a view to our prefervation : That all wifdom, all perfec- tion, all law, all virtue, all phi- lofophy, confift in the practice of THE LA'W OF NATURE. l6l the following axioms, which are founded upon our natural orga* nization : Preferve thyfelf. Inftruft thyfelf. Moderate thyfelf. Live for thy fellow creatures in order that they may live for thee. FINIS<