Self-education

Preface

The translator of Self-Education, in presenting the second edition to the public, feels able to say that it is more worthy of perusal than before, the translation having been a good deal revised, and the numerous misprints of the first edition, corrected. It is perhaps due to the translator's own taste, however, to say, that the pecuhar, proverbial style of the original makes it impossible to give it a flowing style in English.

It will be observed, that the few chapters, containing the metaphysical views, which constituted the First Book in the other edition, have been omitted in this. It is intended to retranslate these, in a much more free manner, and publish them separately, at some future time. They were omitted, in this book, because it was found that their metaphysical character created a prejudice in the minds of many persons ; and thus cut off the class of readers to whom the practical part would be most interesting and useful. These chapters will be published in such a form as to be adapted for the higher classes in schools; and will, of course, be accessible to any, whose interest in the Author's metaphysical views may be excited by an acquaintance with his beautiful ethics.

SECTION I. ' Employment of the Moral Powers

I. How the Love of Excellence modifies Self-love . 9

II. Justice 16

III. How the Love of Excellence purifies the Affections 24

IV. Goodness of Heart 33

V. Of False Sensibility 46

VI. Rectitude of Intention ...... 53

VII. How the Love of Excellence may err ... 61

SECTION IL Fruits of Self-Governmknt.

I. Power over Inclination . . . . . • 72

II. Limits and Moderation 80

III. Strength of Character 90

VI CONTENTS.

IV. Independence and Obedience . . . • . 102 V. Right Direction of Activity 114

VI. Temper 123

VII. Errors in Self-Government 129

Section III

The Harmony between the Love of Excellence and Self- Government.

Chapter. Page.

I. Consistent Characters . . . . . . 136

II. Greatness of Soul 141

III. Dignity of Character 148

IV. Inward Peace . . . . . . . 156

V. How Moral contributes to Intellectual Progress . . 165 VI. How Man is led to Religion by the Developement of

the Moral Powers 179

SECTION I. Inward Discipline

I. Simplicity 191

II. Exercise and Habits . . . . . . 199

III. Cultivation of Sensibility 210

IV. Meditation, a Means of c\iltivating Sensibility . 225 V. Maxims and Rules 2-35

VI. Use of Allegores : Rewards and Punishments , 242

CONTENTS. VU

VII. Tendency to ExceUence 248

VIII. How to acquire and preserve Self-Government . 258 IX. Of the Difficulties we meet with in the Study of Self 267

X. The Advantages that may be drawn from our own Faults 274

SECTION II. Discipline of External Circumstances

Chapter. Page.

I. Imitation and Example . * . . . . 284

II. Friends and Enemies 293

III. Solitude and Society . . . . . . 301

IV. Plan of Life 312

V. Different Human Conditions .... 318

VI. Labor .233

VII. Pleasure and Repose 339

VIII. Trials 346

IX. Progress in Different Periods of Life . . . 357

X. How Intellectual Progress conduces to Moral Progress 364 XI. Religion considered as the Accomplishment of Man's

Education 375

INTRODUCTION.

GENERAL COJSTDITIONS OF MORAL PROGRESS.

Man, placed on the confines of two worlds, the mate- Vial and moral, the transient and eternal, the visible and invisible world, borrows from each and communicates with both, being intermedial, and a bond between them ; and this mixed condition partly explains the contrasts his nature exhibits. In his relations with the external world he is passive ; in his relations with the region of sentiment and tliought he is active ; in the one he receives ; in the other he produces ; and the first order of relations serves as a prelude for the second. Man, however, reacts upon the material world by the operations of the arts, as afterwards he submits himself voluntarily, in the moral world, to an enlightened dependence, by accepting the laws which govern his nature.

We have said that man is connected with two worlds. Through the senses, he takes possession of his terrestrial abode ; the affections and the intellect are the portals which give him access to the other ; where morality and religion await him, to render him at once happy and free', useful to himself and to others. Thus our organization has a direction towards perfection, each organ contributino- its share to the result, each delivering to the other what it has progressively drawn forth; like a precious plant, whose roots are in the soil, and whose sap is abundant, which raises 1

» INTRODUCTION.

towards heaven its branches and foliage, unfolds odoriferous flowers, and is loaded with fruits that afford seeds of a new future : or, like the general system of the laws of the universe, in which the phenomena of the earth are in relation with those of the heavens ; and in which the qualities inherent to each substance, such as heat, light, motion, and reproduction, are so combined, as to produce a general and ever-renewed harmony.

To the five degrees of the ascending scale* correspond five kinds of good, which are so many special ends, marking out for each order of faculties the destination which is proper for it. The exercise of the senses has for its object the preservation of the individual, which we may call personal good ; the affections identify personal good with the happiness of others ; the intellect has truth for its end and science for its treasure, which form an intellectual good ; the moral faculties have duty for their end and virtue for their treasure ; while religious worship puts man in possession of the future, and gives him an end beyond the limits of his terrestrial existence, in his communion with Him who is the source and beginning of all things. But none of these different ends is exclusive ; no one remains isolated ; each serves in its turn as a means and an instrument to all the others ; they become more powerful in their turn, in proportion as they themselves approach perfection, and that which is the most elevated of all, is of all the most fruitful. The simplicity and unity of this system are remarkable ; religion sanctions, commands, and rewards virtue, which is the means of personal good and general happiness, and alone gives true value to the understanding, and brings it to perfection.

The perfection of all beings consists in the faithfulness with which they conform themselves to their nature. The

*The senses, the affections, the intellect, and the moral and the religious faculties.

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF MORAL PROGRESS. 3

perfection of man, then, consists in his pursuing and attaining the five kinds of good, which we have just mentioned, according to the relations of subordination and harmony, which exist between them ; for it is thus, as we have just seen, that the different orders of his faculties will accomplish their respective destinations.

Two essential conditions, therefore, serve as a basis to our progress ; one is, that we should know how to find the end which is best in itself; the other is, that we should be capable of attaining it ; and these conditions suppose complete liberty ;* that is, the liberty of choosing, and of acting according to our choice. If, when exercising the will, we do not consider what is best, this capricious exercise is the abuse rather than the use of it. If, when aiming at the best, we have not force of will to attain it, we are consumed in vain desires, and our very sense of the excellence of the end becomes our despair. But by this union of a two-fold condition, we join the merit of choice to that of effort ; the value of the one being in the motive, that of the other in the instfument,

Hence we have two great moral powers, upon which seems to depend our progress ; namely, the Love of Good, and Self-government. In common language, the Love of Good means zeal for the interests of humanity ; but we give it its most extensive and general sense. In good, we comprehend all that is excellent in itself, as an end proposed to the human will, (adopting the language of the sages of antiquity ; ) and by love we understand that enlightened, free, generous emotion of the soul, which is as entirely devoted as it is sincere ; and this principle therefore may perhaps be better distinguished, if we call it the Love of Excellence.

* Moral liberty means, (1.) the liberty with which man is endowed of appreciating the comparative worth of the five kinds of good offered to him through the five orders of his faculties; and (2.) the liberty of acting accordingly, notwithstanding circumstances.

INTRODUCTION.

This devotion to excellence, this kind of consecration, by which man gives up himself and all he possesses to the end, which he has acknowledged as his destiny, is the true living principle of humanity, tlie source of all the great and useful, which it produces : it is the soul of heroism and the genius of virtue. The essence of all our moral activity dwells in this. It is an expansive force, indefinite and illimitable , a profound, inward, insatiable passion of the soul, it is at the same time delightful and peaceful, because it puts the soul into its natural element, carries it into the midst of order, accomplishes all its wishes, and satisfies all the desires, which are derived from itself Happy and proud of what we have just acquired, the joy we feel is not only a desire to acquire more, but a new power.

The only source of calm happiness and inward content, is the consciousness of this Love of Excellence. The models of it are whatever, in great and generous characters, excites admiration, esteem, and emulation. Its fruits may be found in all that diffuses abundant and lasting blessings over the earth ; in all that acts without destroying ; in aW that creates, multiplies, and ameliorates ; and its dignity, and the heritage which awaits it, may be seen in our tendency towards a superior nature, in our participation with ii, and our presentiments of the future. This devotion to excellence, such as we conceive it, finds no aliment in the motives which address the senses ; it only finds in them images, signs, means of communication, and matter for saci-ifices. But though yet blind and unreflecting, it begins to exert itself and flourish in the region of the affections, where we first go beyond personal good. Reason enlightens it in the intellectual region ; while moral sentiment defines and justifies it, and it acknowledges and embraces its true end. But it is fully explained and satisfied in the religious sphere only. The Love of Excpllence subdues Self-love by purifying the idea of self, and then adopting it. But it is always at open war with gross, ^bsojiite; savage, exclusive personal

GfifJfiRAL CONDITIONS OP MORAL PROGRESS. 5

feeling, which it is its calling to struggle with, to conquer and exterminate. It comprehends and mingles in itself the reverence for Law, and the devotion of Love ; for it includes the disinterested principle, which is common to both, and which is equally necessary to obedience and zeal. If we give to this devotion the name of Love, it is because love expresses the most perfect and most elevated obedience. The Love of Excellence is, if we may so speak, animated and active conscience ; it does not merely express its desires ; it supposes approbation of the end we have chosen ; but it is more than approbation, it is a just and holy enthusiasm for what is good ; it is the intense, persevering, and ever-increasing thirst for the best. The characteristic of the Love of Excellence is, to dilate, to aspire to the future, to mount, and to be constantly progressive. Self-government, on the other hand, is the lever by whose aid the inspirations of the Love of Excellence are accomplished; and man disposes of his organs, rules his affections, governs his ideas, and commands his will itself; by turns exciting, moderating, directing, repressing himself In a word, he reigns, his inclinations being his subjects, and his faculties his ministers ; the internal kingdom, over which he is appointed, awaiting the action of his government, to receive order and peace. He reigns, however, not without meeting resistance; but with the mission and power of triumphing, not only by strength, but by right. He not only acts on, but gives law to himself; he is not a tyrant, but a sovereign.

This last consideration demands our most serious attention ; it explains the true character of Self-government. There is Law for man, because there is a destination ; and this Law is promulgated and proclaimed from within. This Law, so deeply felt, is the due proportion of his faculties ; a deposit, a guide, given to the moral being, to conduct him to his end. As the child, the pupil, and the citizen are so many deposits, trusted to parents, tutors, and magistrates ; as parents, tutors, and magistrates are charged to 1*

" INTRODUCTION.

make known to them the laws of reason, and the prescriptions of society, for the greatest good of each and of all ; so also man is a deposit, confided to his own care by Providence, owing protection to himself; and he is the interpreter and organ of the anterior laws, which rule his nature. We here find, as it were, two natures, united in one individual, the one passive, the other active ; one feeble, because ignorant ; the other powerful, because enlightened. Man is his own property, because he must be his own guide. The authority that he exercises over himself, is only that of virtue, deriving from virtue dignity as well as legitimacy ; and the right he has over himself is only the emanation of his duty. Man exercises within himself a true and high magistracy ; for he shows himself there as the delegate and minister of God himself

What are all those forms of ambition with which vanity orments and leads us astray ? What is that external and apparent power, of which we are so jealous, whether we apply our physical strength to matter, or pretend to subdue the wills of other men to the caprices of our own 1 Its character, its source, its fruits are nothing, if it does not go back to the same principle, if it be not also a delegation of virtue. This is the end to which all noble and just ambition ought to aspire, and to which all noble and just ambition can attain. When Augustus cries, " I am master of myself as well as of the world," it certainly is not the master of the world who is sublime, it is the master of himself, who wished for, and was concious of, the only dignity of man. If the condition of the former seems to raise the merit of the latter in our eyes, it is because it renders the triumph of the latter more heroic, because the mortal master of himself has subdued the master of the world.

Self-government begins in the intellect ; man governs the operations of his mind ; he separates and combines his ideas ; he places signs upon them ; he attracts or repels them ; he obeys reason and acknowledges the law of eviiSENERAL CONDITIONS OP J^IORAL PROGRESS. 7

dence. But in morality, Self-government is explained and finds its end ; because it acknowledges the law from which it borrows all its rights, ^— that of duty. Religion consecrates Self-government, because it confounds it with the most perfect obedience, and reveals its true origin. But this internal dignity, thus instituted and confirmed, is transmitted, as it were, by a secondary delegation, to the infe* rior faculties ; and it ennobles while subduing them, because the service, to which it calls them, is legitimate, and, by serving reason, they extend the dominion of which they a.re the organs. Thus the senses, employed in the operations of art, may subdue material nature to the empire of man ; -and the affections, regulated by wisdom, may become the ■bond to unite him to all society ; and understanding and -imagination may create an ideal world through the fine arts, and bring into the mind the whole universe, through the -discoveries of science.

These two great moral powers are not always developed to the same degree ; and sometimes we may even be tempted ■to think, that one increases at the expense of the other. We too often see a high moral enthusiasm in a weak character, and ungenerous sentiments with an energetic will. In the first case there is more contemplation than action ; as in the second there is more motion than fruitfulness. Yet these two powers are also associated by close consanguinity of principle, and one is imperfect when abandoned by the other. What is ardor for excellence, without the courage to accomplish it ; and to what, if not to excellence, shall we present the sacrifice of our inclinations 1 A good action is more meritorious the more efforts it costs ; and an energetic resolution is more praiseworthy, the purer the- motive which inspires it.

Of these two great moral powers, the Love of Excellence and Self-government, one assigns the true direction to our faculties, the other gives them energy ; one belongs to the springs of the will more especially, and the other to the ex-

8 INTRODUCTION.

ercise of liberty ; one seems to contribute more to the gentle, and the other to the strong virtues ; one predominates in qualities, which, like goodness of heart, have an eminently social character ; the other in those of which the merit is xather individual, as temperance and courage ; one was preferred in the school of Plato, the other at the Portico. It was reserved for Christianity to associate them closely ; to confer upon them equal energy ; and to give heroes to the Love of Excellence.

The three principles which preside over the constitution of our nature are Self-love, Law,* and Love. Self-love is purified and enlightened by its alliance with the two others ; and thus Law and Love, both including a disinterested character, govern the system of our moral faculties. Of these three principles, the two last correspond also to the powers whose action is to develope this system ; Law serves as a regulator to Self-government, as Love is the inspiration to the Love of Excellence.

It is in the action and culture of these two powers, that we must seek the secrets of the great art of our moral perfection. The different degrees, which constitute the proper exercise of the five orders of faculties, which we have distinguished, are the general frame of the work. The Love of Excellence and Self-government will serve to fill it. In placing ourselves in the two points of view, which they offer to our meditations, we shall see presented, according to their relations of subordination and analogy, the different means, which concur in self-education.

• Law means the authority of truth over the intellect, and of good over the conscience.

SELF-EDUCATION.

EMPLOYMENT OF THE MORAL POWERS.

CHAPTER L

HOW THE LOVE OF EXCELLENCE MODIFIES SELF-LOVE.-

In considering man in relation to himself and to his fellWbeings, five truths are brought to our view.

1. The just feeling of our rights is acquired by the feeling of our dutiesi^

2. The feeling of duty is the light which guides ua to the knowledge of our true interests.

3. We could not accomplish faithfully what is strictly required of us, were we not animated with that desire of the best, which renders us capable of doing more than is required.

4. The finest dispositions of nature go astray, and the best qualities of character degenerate, if not guided by the Love of Excellence, which is their inspiration.

5. The Love of Excellence is the only principle which can carry on the work, and accomplish the best designs of nature.

We are led to these truths, by investigating the source of individual rights, and following the course of social relations : at every step, the Love of Excellence appears as the guardian of humanity and its creative genius.

The Love of Excellence and Self-love may seem, at first view, contradictory principles ; the latter is eager to enrich itself, and consequently is inclined to take from others ; the former would acquit its sense of obligation even by dispossessing itself The differing errors of certain philosophers have arisen, from this apparent contradiction in the governing principles of human nature. Some have thought that the principle of all human determinations might be traced up to self-interest ; others have believed that duty requires an entire immolation of individual being to the ideal of perfection. And these erroneous speculations, put into practice, have given rise either to the errors of selfishness, or to the exaggerations of that zeal, which misses the end by springing beyond it. The truth is, that the Love of Excellence does not tend to destroy Self-love ; it only would enlighten it, and turn it towards accomplishing the true destiny of man.

We appear to ourselves under a new aspect, in the light of duty. Moral sentiment reveals to us, that Providence has committed to the care of each of us a sacred deposit ; but though we cease to be our own slaves, we do not conseouently become uninterested in ourselves, much less ou? own enemies. Virtue sanctions, directs, and limits SeKlove ; giving it motives through the sense of obligation and the principle of reflection; raising and associating us with our Creator, in his designs and solicitude for his noblest work; in short, it is the guide and protector of man, giving him these four important duties, his own preservation, his own happiness, his own dignity, his own improvement ; and supplying him also with assistance to discharge these duties.

Self-interest alone would not even gain the end of self-preservation. For, guided by this principle, we should make two kinds of mistake; either, under the weight of misfortune, the interest of self-preservation would be lost by life's offering only a compound of good and evil ; or, if the balance seemed turned, we should justify ourselves in the violent resolutions of despair, and lose all the calculations of prudence : or, on the other hand, it would counsel the cowardliness of indifference, even in the presence of a general interest, which commands, us to brave danger. But virtue puts a barrier on the border of the abyss ; or removes the obstacle, which prevents us from flying to the relief of others : for she discovers in life a value beyond that of mere personal good, and superior to it, which will not be sacrificed for merely personal considerations. The true value of life arises from our power of being useful ; and virtue prevents us from sacrificing, even to the preservation of life, this end, for which life was given. Thus far all is harmony ■ for there is no situation, in which a man, however weighed down by personal misfortune, may not be useful, even if he does nothing more than teach how misfortune may be supported. Besides, who could flatter himself, that he had preserved, in the anguish of grief, a sufficiently calm judgment to calculate the chances for the future, or the best means for his personal interest? From the illusions into which the instinct of self-preservation would lead us, virtue protects us, — more than supplying the place of prudence ; do ng also, through its loftier foresight, the work of that instinct, which interest seemed to compromise, for we obtain new securities, and more abundant aid, all unawares to ourselves, even through the exposure of ourselves for the common good. For there is always risk, whether we act or not, and whatever w^e do, when Self-love only is in play ; but virtue creates a kind of good, to which there is no risk in attaching ourselves, not even that of error, for, in the eyes of virtue, error is lost in the intention that springs from perfect rectitude. Self-interest could still less lead us to happiness, or even define it, as is evident from the ever-changing and always incomplete definitions, that the selfish give to it, (who always end in pronouncing it a chimera.) But this is because happiness does not dwell where self-interest seeks it, in the mere enjoyment of pleasure ; for whatever may be the vividness or duration of pleasure, happiness rests upon wider and more difficult conditions, upon a harmony of enjoyments

SELF-EDUCATION.

among themselves, or with tmr wants, or with the laws of OUT faculties, or with the capacity we have for relishing it, or with recollections of the past and prospects of the future. Happiness, in short, is a profound economy, that self-interest, in its impatient avidity, cannot combine ; but virtue gives the plan beforehand, putting every thing in place, preserving every thing in its limits, and producing the equilibrium, whence personal good flows> The best counsels of self-interest are only those of experience, which come too late and are too dearly paid for. It is true, there are some philosophical speculations in common practice : but the instrument, by whose aid those learned calculations can be applied to human life ; the measure, which may set limits to immediate good and evil, and give a just value to that which is lost in the distance ; and the power of reasoning with sufficient accuracy, to prevent the illusions of hope and fear, can be obtained from virtue alone, which gives the limits and measure, and guides the reason. It has, as it were, preexisting formulas, which, by assigning rules for our conduct, secure our happiness from delusions of the imagination and errors of judgment. It has also an influence of calmness and serenity, which serves to prevent these errors, and helps to dissipate them.

Self-interest watches over the interest of our individual pride ; but this pride is rather a desire of esteem, than an acquired right to esteem. The support which self-interest takes to maintain itself in the rank which it desires to occupy, does not entirely belong to it. But morality brings to light authentic titles, those of human nature itself, in which we all participate ; they are those which we derive from our noble origin, and which confer on us an imposing vocation ; for our rank upon earth is elevated by virtue to the sacred dignity of probation. Virtue also teaches us the most direct way to obtain esteem, by teaching us to deserve it; and authorizes us to judge opinion when we are calumniated by it, and to repel injustice by contempt. She inspires us with more than love for ourselves, — with self-respect; for in the midst of all the imperfections of our nature, even through the deformities by which vice or error disfigures man, she makes us discover the primitive traits which were impressed upon our nature by Supreme Wisdom, and helps us to renew this celestial impress. She gives to each of us a kind of public character, by calling upon us to live for society; and invests us with that true dignity, which consists in serving the general interest. Finally, self-interest only calls us to the cultivation of our faculties by a mercenary motive, that of being more skilful in the art of satisfying our individual wants ; and how proud -..vse grow from this skilfulness, and the success consequent upon it!

The value of this kind of cultivation is the same to us as that of gold and power : perhaps the value is less, for gold and power are still more easily employed by those who possess them. But, in the eyes of virtue, the treasures which are placed within ourselves, have a much greater value : another interest excites us to improve them ; for how much more vast are the consequences we may expect from our own improvement, when we consider the influence that we exert over the happiness of others; when, in cultivating our faculties, we know that we cultivate a germ sown by the Supreme Hand, and which is to be developed in all future tiine.. ! Our success in this double design depends much more upon our own resources, than upon those we borrow from external circumstances ; it is by inward power that we reap advantage from circumstances. Let us take care not to lavish, wantonly, the accusation of selfishness, upon those moral doctrines, which recommend self-protection to man, although they should contain some theoretical error upon the principle of obligation ; especially, if Self-love, thus introduced into practice, has the characteristic it ought to receive from virtue. To proscribe a lawful Self-love, would be to give the lie to nature, and to put aside the designs of its Author, who wills that Self-love should be inter- 2 ested in the accomplishment of his law, and that the accomplishment of his law should be an immense blessing. But let us guard ourselves from concentrating in the single interest of Self-love, how well soever it may appear to be understood, all the motives, which lead us to excellence ; for then we should break that alliance with a purer principle, from which it gains all its advantages.

The self of selfishness, and the self which virtue takes care of, are not the same ; the former is an idol, to which we offer incense ; we know the latter is blind, and we give it a guide. The first is an absolute end, to which every thing is referred ; the second is an instrument, whose merit consists in the usefulness of its services. Intercourse with the first is restless, full of demands and caprices, as barren for the heart as for the mind : intercourse with the second has charms and nobleness, because virtue diffuses over it its own excellence. The first is impoverished because it is solitary ; the second is enriched by all the alliances it contracts.