Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: they are objectionable for the ame reason. But textit{in. this reference, though they make the principle of the human conduct a rule of discrimination between what is right or wrong, they do not make it a matter of our first esteem or consideration, but hold the precepts of morality maintained by them in a prior or superior estimation. But if the principle has been esteemed, and instruction in morality, or morality has been given to mankind, by inculcating the principle, the principle has been made at least subservient lo precept; and this is evident in the precepts that are esteemed as moral or virtuous that are obnoxious; for if the principle was not made subservient, in these instances, to the precept, these errors could not be admitted, or prevail, and be esteemed as morality or virtue, which they are; because, if we esteemed the welfare of man as our principle, we could never admit that to be moral which was otherwise, or obnoxious: if, therefore, the principle is considered or esteemed, it is allowed to be relaxed or deviated from in these instances where these errors prevail, and must be confessed is not esteemed as a primary consideration, or in ite extended sense to give law to, and con- troul, all human actions or estimations. textit{'f And in the more general principle of doing good, unless good was more explained as being consonant to the principle of morality, and therefore that what was good was agreeable to human welfare, it is not conceived .Ten have the principle of their con.duct and the sub chapter{Section 4ject of morality sufficiently explained to them in this more general principle; and with regard to the maxim or principle of doing good, it gives them no more knowledge than their common precepts for doing good, for it only refers to them as being w...