1819. Deontology private

S. Benev. and Beneficence

Benevolence and beneficence are either positive or negative. Positive consists in doing good to others: negative in in the not doing evil to others.

Instruments by which good or evil will be done to others are either agency actions or discourse discourses. (a)

Whether the Instrument employed be agency or discourse in so far as the evil produced is of a positive nature — i.e. pain in contradistinction to absence of pleasure it may when considered as being produced as here by the Instrumentality of man be termed annoyance. Annoyance is either punishable or not punishable to wit by law.

This division, it is evident, is not natural but factitious; and as such not a fixed but a moveable one: differing in different places and different times according to the state of the law.

But whatsoever in the place in question — at the time in question may happen to be the state of the law annoyance will be susceptible of nearly the same modifications. Annoyance in so far as punishable by law is termed injury — personal injury:

(a) In addition to these two Instruments which apply to the case where other persons are the persons affected, in the case where a man himself is the party effected add thoughts. By a man thoughts no other persons can be effected except through the medium of actions agency and discourse.