III.

PART from the struggle between the idea of the indif penfableness of religious duty on the one fide, and compaffion, gratitude, reverence for the age, and love for the humanity and virtue of the perfon whom they are going to destroy, on the other. The representation of this exhibits one of the moft interefting, and perhaps the moft inftructive spectacle that was ever introduced upon any theatre. The fenfe of duty, however, at laft prevails over all the amiable weakneffes of human nature. They execute the crime impofed upon them; but immediately discover their error, and the fraud which had deceived them, and are diftracted with horror, remorfe, and refentment. Such as are our fentiments for the unhappy Seid and Palmira, fuch ought we to feel for every person who is in this manner misled by religion, when we are fure that it is really religion which misleads him, and not the pretence of it, which is made a cover to fome of the worst of human paffions.

As a perfon may act wrong by following a wrong fenfe of duty, fo nature may fometimes prevail, and lead him to act right in oppofition to it. We cannot in this cafe be difpleased to fee that motive prevail, which we think ought to prevail, though the perfon himself is fo weak as to think otherwife. As his conduct, however, is the effect of weakness, not principle, we are far from beftowing upon it any thing that approaches to complete approbation. A bigotted Roman Catholic, who, during the maffacre of St. Bartholomew, had been fo over

VI.

come by compaffion, as to fave fome unhappy CHA P. Proteftants, whom he thought it his duty to destroy, would not feem to be entitled to that high applause which we fhould have beftowed upon him, had he exerted the fame generofity with complete felf-approbation. We might be pleased with the humanity of his temper, but we should still regard him with a fort of pity which is altogether inconfiftent with the admi ration that is due to perfect virtue. It is the fame cafe with all the other paffions. We do not dislike to see them exert themselves properly, even when a falfe notion of duty would direct the perfon to restrain them. A very devout Quaker, who upon being ftruck upon one cheek, instead of turning up the other, fhould fo far forget his literal interpretation of our Saviour's precept, as to bestow fome good discipline upon the brute that infulted him, would not be difagreeable to us. We should laugh and be diverted with his fpirit, and rather like him the better for it. But we fhould by no means regard him with that refpect and efteem which would feem due to one who, upon a like occafion, had acted properly from a juft fense of what was proper to be done. No action can properly be called virtuous, which is not accompanied with the fentiment of felfapprobation.

THE

THEORY

OF

MORAL SENTIMENTS.

IV.

PART IV.

Of the EFFECT of UTILITY upon the SENTIMENT of APPROBATION.

Confifting of One Section.

CHAP. I.

Of the beauty which the appearance of UTILITY beflows upon all the productions of art, and of the extenfive influence of this Species of Beauty.

ΤΗ

PART THAT utility is one of the principal fources of beauty has been obferved by every body, who has confidered with any attention what constitutes the nature of beauty. The conveniency of a houfe gives pleasure to the fpectator as well as its regularity, and he is as much hurt when he obferves the contrary defect, as when he fees the correfpondent windows of different forms, or the door not placed exactly in the middle of the building. That the fitness

of

I.

of any fyftem or machine to produce the end CHAP. for which it was intended, bestows a certain propriety and beauty upon the whole, and renders the very thought and contemplation of it agreeable, is fo very obvious that nobody has overlooked it.

The caufe too, why utility pleafes, has of late been affigned by an ingenious and agreeable philofopher, who joins the greatest depth of thought to the greatest elegance of expreffion, and poffeffes the fingular and happy talent of treating the abftrufeft fubjects not only with the most perfect perfpicuity, but with the most lively eloquence. The utility of any object, according to him, pleases the mafter by perpetually fuggesting to him the pleasure or conveniency which it is fitted to promote. Every time he looks at it, he is put in mind of this pleasure; and the object in this manner becomes a fource of perpetual fatisfaction and enjoyment. The spectator enters by fympathy into the fentiments of the master, and neceffarily views the object under the fame agreeable afpect. When we vifit the palaces of the great, we cannot help conceiving the fatisfaction we fhould enjoy if we ourfelves were the mafters, and were poffeffed of fo much artful and ingeniously contrived accommodation. A fimilar account is given why the appearance of inconveniency should render any object difagreeable both to the owner and to the fpectator.

But that this fitnefs, this happy contrivance of any production of art, fhould often be more valued

X 3

IV.

PART valued, than the very end for which it was intended; and that the exact adjustment of the means for attaining any conveniency or pleasure, fhould frequently be more regarded, than that very conveniency or pleasure, in the attainment of which their whole merit would feem to confift, has not, fo far as I know, been yet taken notice of by any body. That this, however, is very frequently the cafe, may be observed in a thousand inftances, both in the moft frivolous and in the most important concerns of human

life.

When a perfon comes into his chamber, and finds the chairs all standing in the middle of the room, he is angry with his fervant, and rather than fee them continue in that diforder, perhaps takes the trouble himfelf to fet them all in their places with their backs to the wall. The whole propriety of this new fituation arises from its fuperior conveniency in leaving the floor free and difengaged. To attain this conveniency he voluntarily puts himself to more trouble than all he could have fuffered from the want of it ; fince nothing was more easy, than to have fet himself down upon one of them, which is probably what he does when his labour is over. What he wanted, therefore, it feems, was not fo much this conveniency, as that arrangement of things which promotes it. Yet it is this conveniency which ultimately recommends that arrangement, and beftows upon it the whole of its propriety and beauty.

A watch