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.The command of anger, however, does not always appear in such splendid10colours.Fear is contrary to anger, and is often the motive which restrains it;and in such cases the meanness of the motive takes away all the nobleness ofthe restraint.Anger prompts to attack, and the indulgence of it seems sometimesto shew a sort of courage and superiority to fear.The indulgence of anger issometimes an object of vanity.That of fear never is.Vain and weak men, amongtheir inferiors, or those who dare not resist them, often affect to be ostentatiouslypassionate, and fancy that they show, what is called, spirit in being so.A bullytells many stories of his own insolence, which are not true, and imagines thathe thereby renders himself, if not more amiable and respectable, at least moreformidable to his audience.Modern manners, which, by favouring the practiceof duelling, may be said, in some cases, to encourage private revenge, contribute,perhaps, a good deal to render, in modern times, the restraint of anger by fearstill more contemptible than it might otherwise appear to be.There is alwayssomething dignified in the command of fear, whatever may be the motive uponwhich it is founded.It is not so with the command of anger.Unless it is foundedaltogether in the sense of decency, of dignity, and propriety, it never is perfectlyagreeable.To act according to the dictates of prudence, of justice, and proper beneficence,11seems to have no great merit where there is no temptation to do otherwise.But toact with cool deliberation in the midst of the greatest dangers and difficulties; toobserve religiously the sacred rules of justice in spite both of the greatest interestswhich might tempt, and the greatest injuries which might provoke us to violatethem; never to suffer the benevolence of our temper to be damped or discouragedby the malignity and ingratitude of the individuals towards whom it may have beenVI.iii 218 The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smithexercised; is the character of the most exalted wisdom and virtue.Self-commandis not only itself a great virtue, but from it all the other virtues seem to derive theirprincipal lustre.The command of fear, the command of anger, are always great and noble12powers.When they are directed by justice and benevolence, they are not onlygreat virtues, but increase the splendour of those other virtues.They may, how-ever, sometimes be directed by very different motives; and in this case, thoughstill great and respectable, they may be excessively dangerous.The most intrepidvalour may be employed in the cause of the greatest injustice.Amidst great provo-cations, apparent tranquillity and good humour may sometimes conceal the mostdetermined and cruel resolution to revenge.The strength of mind requisite forsuch dissimulation, though always and necessarily contaminated by the basenessof falsehood, has, however, been often much admired by many people of no con-temptible judgment.The dissimulation of Catharine of Medicis is often celebratedby the profound historian Davila; that of Lord Digby, afterwards Earl of Bristol,by the grave and conscientious Lord Clarendon; that of the first Ashley Earl ofShaftesbury, by the judicious Mr.Locke.Even Cicero seems to consider this de-ceitful character, not indeed as of the highest dignity, but as not unsuitable to acertain flexibility of manners, which, he thinks, may, notwithstanding, be, uponthe whole, both agreeable and respectable.He exemplifies it by the characters ofHomer s Ulysses, of the Athenian Themistocles, of the Spartan Lysander, and ofthe Roman Marcus Crassus.This character of dark and deep dissimulation occursmost commonly in times of great public disorder; amidst the violence of fac-tion and civil war.When law has become in a great measure impotent, when themost perfect innocence cannot alone insure safety, regard to self-defence obligesthe greater part of men to have recourse to dexterity, to address, and to apparentaccommodation to whatever happens to be, at the moment, the prevailing party.This false character, too, is frequently accompanied with the coolest and mostdetermined courage.The proper exercise of it supposes that courage, as death iscommonly the certain consequence of detection [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.The command of anger, however, does not always appear in such splendid10colours.Fear is contrary to anger, and is often the motive which restrains it;and in such cases the meanness of the motive takes away all the nobleness ofthe restraint.Anger prompts to attack, and the indulgence of it seems sometimesto shew a sort of courage and superiority to fear.The indulgence of anger issometimes an object of vanity.That of fear never is.Vain and weak men, amongtheir inferiors, or those who dare not resist them, often affect to be ostentatiouslypassionate, and fancy that they show, what is called, spirit in being so.A bullytells many stories of his own insolence, which are not true, and imagines thathe thereby renders himself, if not more amiable and respectable, at least moreformidable to his audience.Modern manners, which, by favouring the practiceof duelling, may be said, in some cases, to encourage private revenge, contribute,perhaps, a good deal to render, in modern times, the restraint of anger by fearstill more contemptible than it might otherwise appear to be.There is alwayssomething dignified in the command of fear, whatever may be the motive uponwhich it is founded.It is not so with the command of anger.Unless it is foundedaltogether in the sense of decency, of dignity, and propriety, it never is perfectlyagreeable.To act according to the dictates of prudence, of justice, and proper beneficence,11seems to have no great merit where there is no temptation to do otherwise.But toact with cool deliberation in the midst of the greatest dangers and difficulties; toobserve religiously the sacred rules of justice in spite both of the greatest interestswhich might tempt, and the greatest injuries which might provoke us to violatethem; never to suffer the benevolence of our temper to be damped or discouragedby the malignity and ingratitude of the individuals towards whom it may have beenVI.iii 218 The Theory of Moral Sentiments Adam Smithexercised; is the character of the most exalted wisdom and virtue.Self-commandis not only itself a great virtue, but from it all the other virtues seem to derive theirprincipal lustre.The command of fear, the command of anger, are always great and noble12powers.When they are directed by justice and benevolence, they are not onlygreat virtues, but increase the splendour of those other virtues.They may, how-ever, sometimes be directed by very different motives; and in this case, thoughstill great and respectable, they may be excessively dangerous.The most intrepidvalour may be employed in the cause of the greatest injustice.Amidst great provo-cations, apparent tranquillity and good humour may sometimes conceal the mostdetermined and cruel resolution to revenge.The strength of mind requisite forsuch dissimulation, though always and necessarily contaminated by the basenessof falsehood, has, however, been often much admired by many people of no con-temptible judgment.The dissimulation of Catharine of Medicis is often celebratedby the profound historian Davila; that of Lord Digby, afterwards Earl of Bristol,by the grave and conscientious Lord Clarendon; that of the first Ashley Earl ofShaftesbury, by the judicious Mr.Locke.Even Cicero seems to consider this de-ceitful character, not indeed as of the highest dignity, but as not unsuitable to acertain flexibility of manners, which, he thinks, may, notwithstanding, be, uponthe whole, both agreeable and respectable.He exemplifies it by the characters ofHomer s Ulysses, of the Athenian Themistocles, of the Spartan Lysander, and ofthe Roman Marcus Crassus.This character of dark and deep dissimulation occursmost commonly in times of great public disorder; amidst the violence of fac-tion and civil war.When law has become in a great measure impotent, when themost perfect innocence cannot alone insure safety, regard to self-defence obligesthe greater part of men to have recourse to dexterity, to address, and to apparentaccommodation to whatever happens to be, at the moment, the prevailing party.This false character, too, is frequently accompanied with the coolest and mostdetermined courage.The proper exercise of it supposes that courage, as death iscommonly the certain consequence of detection [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]