16 Feb y 1813

Church II Topics Ch.6

A man being thus

thus urged to this

freely deceptive

process, as it is

by exertion his end

is to be attained, the

more exertion, the

more merit. But

the more clearly

false a proposition

is the more exertion

is

necessary to

produce belief in it.

By the conjunct mass of punishment and reward considered

as being so thus about to be applied, an interest a mass of interest has been created

[by which a man is has been led] or a mass of force, a matter by which

he is urged to do whatsoever depends upon

his will towards rendering his judgment to embrace

the persuasion proposed. Towards this end what is in his in the

power power of his will to do is to set to work to employ his exertion in the way and to apply in and to his understanding and judgment the above mentioned process

above described under the appellation of the freely-deceptive

process. But sure it is by such that the

object, if it at all be attained will be attained, hence [+]

in so far as reward

is the species of inducement

looked to

the more strenuous the exertion the greater or more certain

will the prospect of reward naturally appears to be.

In so far as depends upon exertion, the probability of

success being as the magnitude or intensity of the exertion,

hence the idea of merit will attach itself not only to

success but to the exertion upon which that success

depends. But supposing success attained — attained

by exertion, the more plainly the falsity of the

proposition is - in other words the greater the degree in which

to an eye by which it were permitted to be viewed will

to the purpose of forming an indigenous persuasion in

relation to it, the falsity of it would be made manifest,

the greater will naturally have been necessary to be employed, and

employed accordingly in the production of it.

The more palpably

absurd any proposition

the more exertion necessary

to believe it. Merit

& reward being as the

the exertion are as the

absurdity

The more palpably absurd any proposition is the

greater the exertion necessary to produce by means of the

freely-deceptive or self-deceptive process a persuasion of the

verity of it the merit, being as the exertion is as the

absurdity, and the reward being as the merit is also as the absurdity

For Thus For thus Thus the absurdity

of the proposition

is the increase of the

exertion employed

in producing

a persuasion of its verity.

of the verity of it.