1819 July 2

To Erskine

Lett. 7. Whigs Anti Reformists

§.2. Pos. 1. Desire impossible

Purity of Motives

2

To prove this, he is all the while in no slight degree disposed to expose himself to be /to take the chance of being/ killed for the pleasure of taking his chance for killing the man who shall be bold /be impertinent/ enough to dispute /question/ it: for example the man who for the pleasure of trying to kill Lord Castlereagh let /gave/ Lord Castlereagh the pleasure of trying to kill him. Neither of these men you may be sure ever have /had/ any motives but what were of the first water: each man was fonder of the man he was trying to kill than of himself. Each man is commonly generous enough to let in for a competent share of his purity such men as at the moment in question happen to be on his side.: but let him but look at /no sooner does he cast an eye on/ the opposite side, nothing in the motive way is there to be seen but what is the reverse of purity: nothing but corruption or jacobinism, as the case may be.

Look but a little closely /steadily/ into this self-sacrifice which if you will hear each man speak for himself is universal. Look but at it a little steadily and you will find it neither more nor less than sacrifice of personal interest in one shape to personal interest in another shape: as for instance reputation, which begets power, which begets money and factitious dignity, with or without each other.

Suppose even that in one instance out of a thousand, or say out of a hundred, or say out of ten, a man would really desire to give up such a thing as the advowson of a seat of parliament not for reputation sake but for the pure love of the people and nothing else:– what would be the effect of any such purity on the state of the whole representation, in the sum of things?