date

1 Sept 1811 Jug Util B.II.
1 Sept 1811

Jug Util

B.II. Under Revelation

Ch.5. Mischief. Weakning Natural

5

As to this matter, this much must be acknowledged to be true viz. that the sort of act done being by the supposition mischievous, the seldom /an act of the same sort/ it is committed /done/, the better. So far as the contrition as it is called—the pain which is to bar repentance as its fruit is productive of this fruit, insomuch that all occasion /opportunity/ and temptation notwithstanding, the act /repetition of the act is prevented/ is committed no more, so much the better.

But still unless itself be a good thing, the less there is of the pain so the effect the negative /act/ sort in question, /the act of self-restraint/ do but have place, so much the better, best of all if there be no pain at all in the case.

This however will not satisfy our Christians. Instead of being an evil /the pain is/ pain with them a positive good. As such it is set on the ballance against the evil—the evil of the act repented of. It makes amends for it: it makes compensation for it: and for this compensation atonement is the name.

If the choice depended upon you which is the state of things that should take place? /The [...?]/ /[...?]/ No repetition of the evil, but /nor/ no repentance: no repentance—a course of repentance continued for any length of time, but at the end of the time a repetition notwithstanding? The repentance by all means says the admirer of repentance.

8.

Conceditur the offence being mischievous the seldomer committed the better, thence so far as productive of the effect the contrition is useful.

9.

Yet being pain, so the good be produced the less the better.

10.

Pain quoth our Christians Pain a productive good: else it could not make atonement.

11.

Which best? Non-repetition of the offence but without repentance? or repentance without non-repetition? Quoth the Christian, no repentance.
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    The physical evil of repentance being thus converted into a psychological a moral or rather a religious good. Observe the consequence /consequences/.

    One is that come when it will it makes no difference, so it does but come. The /evil deed/ crime committed be it what it may it is atoned for by repentance, but the mere pain of repentance, although the deathbed being the /place/ scene of it and the act of repentance the /sinners/ mans last act, all practical fruit from it is impossible.

    2. In this same state of things, the greater the pain the greater the merit; and the greater the merit, the greater the quantity of evil, of evil in other shapes which /than/ evil in this shape is capable of atoning for, and expunging from the account.

    In force so great is the merit and power of compensation compensative power /virtue/ attracted to this pain, that it is capable of making atonement not only for the evil of the sinful /evil/ /mischievous/ act by which it was produced, but for the evil of other mischievous acts, of other mischievous acts without number.

    Acting upon this principle, and pursuing it with consistency, a set of Christians in Denmark it is said discovered in premeditated murder the most effectual /efficient/ means that could be devised for recommending themselves /securing to themselves/ to the favour of almighty benevolence.

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    Consequence of the example of the physical evil of repentance into the psychological merit of religious good, 1; Good still, how late soever, even though on deathbed, when all practical fruit is impossible.

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    2. Greater the pain, greater the merit. Thence the quantity of mischief it can attone for and expunge.

    14.

    Be the pain great enough, it may atone for the evil not only of the offence that produced it, but of other offences.

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    Denmark fanatics their contrivance for gaining [...?] by child murder and repentance: process—
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    Merit consisting in repentance in the pain of repentance, (1) /the/ an occasion for repentance was to be made. That this merit might not be effaced by ordinary sins or the indifferent transitions of ordinary life, (2) the [...?] of the meritorious person was to be closed by it it was to fill up /the last act and/ the last scene of life. What then was the means to /be/ chosen for bringing life to /its close/ a termination at the exactly proper period. (3) A man was not to die /by/ with his own hand: that would have been suicide, suicide a crime and a sin that admitts of no repentance /atonement/, suicide the sin against the Holy Ghost excepted, the most unatoneable and most /unpardonable/ irremissionible of all sins. It was therefore to be the hand of another. (4) But what other hand so attainable, and at the same time so apt as that of the executioner of public justice? This was not suicide: no more than Jesus's death. Attainable? but by what means? (5) There was but one, and that was the comitting a crime, the /co-operating in the/ punishing of which would thus become a part of his public duty. (6) /What remained was/ There remained nothing but the /making/ choice of the crime: and in this choice the same religious and christian spirit by which the idea had been suggested still manifested itself /bore away/. A crime was thought of by which crime as it was more good than evil /would/ was to be done, since /the salvation of a soul/ the securing of a [...?] soul against all perils of damnation would be the fruit of it.

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    1. Make an occasion for repentance.

    2. Choose the close of life repentance will then not be obliterated by first offences.

    3. Close not life by your own hand: that excludes repentance. (hence suicide worst of sins, sin against Holy Ghost excepted)

    4. Executioners the [...?] other hand at command.

    5. means committing a capital crime.

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     Quaere whether to observe in the inconsistencies of this reasoning?

    (7) A child was to be pitched upon, a child within that age of innocence /before/ till the expiration of which the /inbred/ capacity of sinning has not /never/ yet ripened into act. This innocent was to be murdered. The soul of the nascent victim /[...?] of [...?]/ rise to heaven: the /slaughterer/ murderer, /found his way/ fell in due course of law into the hands of the executioner. Two birds were thus according to the familiar proverb, killed with one stone. The murderer, taking the primitive martyrs for his patterns, mounted the scaffold and made a glorious end. (8) Physical suffering and /psychological/ mental together, a quantity of pain and then of merit was accumulated to the virtue of which there was no bounds. Sufficient to atone not only for the chosen and voluntary /instrumentary/ sin by which the /injuring sinner/ murderer had been brought /conducted/ to the scaffold, but for all other /the/ sins of his former life /the former part of his life/ /anterior/. (9) In this rich compost of meritorious suffering, the grand /ingredient/ article was the repentance, the pain of the repentance: his business therefore and consequently his case was to inject /condense/ into the interval between conviction and execution or into whatever quantity of time, suppose the interval between conviction and execution, as large a portion of this pretious good as the whole force /strength/ of his mind could contrive to force into it.

    17

    7. Display on the scaffold repentance, contrition in all its glory.

    8. Thus your accumulated merit sufficient to atone not merely for the instrumental sin, but for all prior ones.

    9. Of the suffering the repentance being the only meritorious part, inject of that as much as possible.