Moral philosophy, or the duties of man considered in his individual, domestic, and social capacities / by George Combe.

  • George Combe
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Moral philosophy, or the duties of man considered in his individual, domestic, and social capacities / by George Combe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    15/120 page 11
    When, therefore, we seethe children of good men snatched away by death in infancy or youth, we should ascribe this calamity to these children hav- ing inherited feebly organized bodies from their parents, or having, through ignorance or improper treatment, been led, in their modes of life, to infringe the laws which regulate organic matter. The ob- ject of their death seems to be to impress on the spectators the importance of attending to these laws, and to prevent the transmission of imperfect cor- poreal systems to future beings. If wo see the chil- dren of the wicked flourishing in health and vigour, the inference is, that they have inherited strong con- stitutions from their parents, and have not in their own lives seriously transgressed the organic laws. We have no authority from our philosophy for sup- posing that Providence, in removing the just man’s children, intends merely to try his faith or patience, to wean him from the world, or to give occasion for recompensing him hereafter for his suffering • nor for believing that the unjust man’s family is per- mitted to flourish, with a view of aggravating his guilt by adding ingratitude for such blessings to his other iniquities, in order to augment his punishment in a future life. We see, in those-results, simply the consequences of obedience and disobedience to the laws impressed by the Creator on our constitution. This principle delivers us from some perplexities and diflhculties. When the children of good men are healthy, this circumstance is regarded as agreeable to the notions which we entertain of a just Providence. But when other men, not less excellent, have feeble children, who die prematurely and leave the parents overwhelmed with grief, the course of Providence is regarded as inscrutable; or, by way of reconciling it to reason, we are told that those whom God loveth he chasteneth. When, however, the wicked man’s children die prematurely, this is regarded as a just punishment for the sins of the parents: but some- times they live long, and are prosperous; and this is cited as an example of the long-suffering and loving- kindness of God 1—The understanding is confounded by these contradictory theories, and no conclusions applicable to our practical improvement can be drawn from the events. When we look at the independence of the natural laws,—when we recognise the princi- ple that obedience to each has its peculiar reward, and disobedience its appropriate punishment, we find that our difliculties diminish. The man who obeys every law but one, is punished for his single infraction; and he by whom one only is obeyed, does not, on account of his neglect of all the others, lose the reward of his solitary act of obedience. It still remains true, that “ those whom God loveth, he chasteneth,” because the punishments inflicted for the breach of his laws are instituted in love, to in- duce us to obey them for our own good : but we es- cape from the contradiction' of believing that he sometimes shews his \oy^ hj punishing men who obey his laws; which would be the case if he ailiicted good men by bad health, or by the death of their children, merely as trials and chastisements, indepen- dently of their having infringed the laws of their organic constitution. i We avoid also another contradiction. The most i religious persons who implicitly believe that disease i is sent as a chastisement for sin, or in token of divine i love, never hesitate, when they are sick, to send for [ a physician, and pay him large fees to deliver them ! as speedily as possible from this form of spiritual i discipline. This is very inconsistent on their parts. I The physician, however, proceeds at once to inquire j into the physical causes which have disordered the pa- ; tient’s organization ; he hears of wet feet, exposure i to cold air, checked perspiration, excessive fatigue, I or some similar influence, and he instantly prescribes physical remedies, and is often successful in removing the disorder. In all this proceeding, the common sen.se of the patient and physician leads them to prac- tise the very doctrine which I am expounding. They view the suffering as the direct consequence of the departure of some of the bodily organs from their healthy course of action, and they endeavour to re- store that state. A striking illustration of the difference of prac- tical result between the one and the other of these views of the divine administration is furnished by the history of the cholera. 'W'hen it approached Edinburgh, a board of health was instituted under the guidance of physicians. They regarded the cholera simply as a disease, and they viewed disease as the result of disordered bodily functions. They, there- fore, urged cleanliness, supplied nourishing food to the poor, and provided hos]3itals and medicine for the infected; and these means were, on the whole, surprisingly successful. Rome is at this moment threatened with the approach of cholera; but the Pope and his Cardinals are pleased to view it not as a disease, but as a religious dispensation ; and what means do they use to prevent its approach ? A friend in Rome, in a letter dated November 5. 1835, writes thus :—“ A black image of the Virgin has lately been carried through the city by the Pope and all the Cardinals, for the express-purpose of averting the cholera; so you see we are in a hopeful way, if it should assail us.” The cholera did attack Rome, and fifteen thousand persons fell victims to it, out of a population not much exceeding that of Edinburgh, where fewer than three thousand perished. Every reflecting mind must see the superiority of the pre- cautions used in the city of Edinburgh, over those practised in Rome; yet the opinion that disease is the consequence of disordered bodily organs, and that the action of these organs is regulated by laws peculiar to themselves and distinct from the moral and religious laws, lies at the bottom of these different courses of action. My aim, you will perceive, is to bring our philosophy and our religious notions into harmony, and to render our practice consistent with both. The human mind and its various faculties consti- tute a third class of objects which have received de- finite constitutions, and observe specific laws in their modes of action. These laws are inherent in the constitution of our mental faculties, and are divided into moral, religious, and intellectual. In the works on Phrenology, the faculties are treated of under corresponding divisions, viz., of Animal Propensities, Moral Sentiments, and Intellectual Powers; and the primitive functions, the spheres of activity, and the uses and abuses of each, are described, so far as these are ascertained. Each of these faculties is related to certain objects beneficial to man, which it desires, and there are laws regulating its action in attaining them :—^the faculties are so far independent of each other, thatwemay pursue theobjects of one or more of them, and omit the pursuit ofthe objects of the others: —the results of the action of the faculties are fixed • and certain; and by knowing the primitive functions, the objects and the laws of our faculties, we may an- ticipate, with considerable certainty, the general issue of any course of conduct which we may syste- matically pursue : Farther—when we have acted in conformity with the harmonious dictates of all our faculties we shall find the issue pleasing and bene- ficial 5 whereas when we have yielded to the impulse of the lower propensities in opposition to the moral sentiments and enlightened intellect, which, in cases of conflict, are the ruling powers, we shall reap sorrow and disappointment. I shall illustrate these principles by examples. The propensity of Acquisitiveness desires to acquire property; and this is its primitive function. If it net
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3