18 Jan y 1810

Parl y. Reform

Note

Ch.18

'.3. Friendship continued

4 or 3

37

14

Nor is the contradiction any other than apparent which a man falls into /engages in/ when he speaks of engaging selfishness in the service of social sympathy. You can not /That which, true it is that/ on any given occasion /individual occasion you can not do, is - to/ engage a man in a disinterested line of conduct by the force of reward, you cannot on one and the same occasion make it his interest to act disinterestedly. But what you can do is - by praise by honour in all the shapes you can contrive to dress it in you may engage a man in such sort by suitable meditation and suitable practice to train in and fashion the general mass of his affections, that on each particular occasion the part /law of nature/ most conducive to the public welfare may by the joint influence of all the forces that have been habitually employed /called to view/ in and of the social affection acting upon the largest scale a scale coextensive with the whole community, find in time a formed[?] disposition a propensity at least, even at the expence of self-regarding interest, especially in its grossest shape, the pecuniary shape, to pursue it.

Such has been the constant and common endeavour of all [...?] and all politicians, and what uphill work what Sisyphian labour, they have always found, history shews in colours but too striking /glaring/. At this time of day is it the part of a man[?] wise politician - is it the part of an honest moralist - by any the slightest intimation, to seek or suffer himself to add to so vast a load of difficulty?