1819 July 3

Defence

II Indirect attacks

2

4

Unhappily throughout the whole field of moral including political science an antipathy of the strongest kind has place by which with whatsoever benefit to practical and useful knowledge the use of them may be attended men are rendered averse to the use of new expressions. Where the subject is completely frivolous or belongs to the field of taste so far from being offended they are rather pleased with it. When it belongs to the field of physical science so it do but afford a promise of adding to the stock of clear conception or useful knowledge they are in like manner pleased with it. But in so far as it presents itself as belonging to the field of moral including political science, the distaste and aversion […?], it is little less than universal.

Even in the field of morals taken in its utmost extent, of a new word in so far as its tendency is to inculcate any correspondently new opinion the effect is to produce a sensation which can not generally speaking be otherwise than of the most unpleasant kind. It calls upon them to make /institute/ inquiry into the whole stock of those opinions which they have been imbibing from earliest infancy, amongst them opinions of the utmost impertinence, and in the adherence to which they have been in the constant habit of regarding themselves as most secure from error and practical inconvenience: opinions in a word in their adherence to which they have been confirmed whether perhaps by adoptive prejudice perhaps by inborn weakness, perhaps by sinister interest, perhaps without any perception of the origin of it, by interest-begotten prejudice.

But in the case of that part of the field of morals which is within the department of politics, interest operating /acting/ in full force will, in the case of all men to whom political power has been an object of ambition, be adding its seductive force to all those which have place and operate in the field of morals at large.

An expression which has for its object the helping to shew that this or that good thing to the attainment of which all his exertions have been directed ought not to have existence – where is the man to whom it can be a source of any more agreable emotions[?] than those of terror /horror/ and disgust?