To “love our neighbor _as ourselves_” must refer solely to voluntary love,
for we have no regard to our own agreeable qualities in the love of self.
Self‐love is simply the desire and will to please and gratify self. This
then is _the kind_ of love that can properly be demanded of all. Each one
can justly be required to will or choose to please and gratify others the
same as we do ourselves. Each can be required to estimate the happiness of
every other mind as of the same value as his own, and to exercise _good
willing_ for others as we do for our own enjoyment. From this primary
principle necessarily results the law demanding that the good of the
commonwealth shall always take precedence of any individual concern. If we
are bound to value the happiness of each mind as _equal_ in value to our
own, the inevitable result is that we are to estimate the happiness of
_many_ minds as of _more_ value than our own, so as always to make our own
enjoyment and wishes subordinate and secondary to the general good.
Still more are we to regard the feelings and wishes of our Creator and
Supreme Lord. He has infinite susceptibilities of enjoyment and suffering,
and thus whatever retards or promotes his wishes and plans must be of as
much more value as his powers of enjoyment and suffering are greater than
ours. The _love of good willing_ then should have first reference to God
as the one whose will and wishes are of more value than any other being in
this relation alone. Still more are we bound to regard his will and wishes
as first in value, because his chief end and aim is the most possible
happiness to all the creatures he has made. To will to please God as the
chief end of our existence is the same as to choose to make the most
possible happiness, not only to him, but to all his creatures.
Involuntary love is valuable as rendering it easier and more agreeable to
labor for the welfare of others. Those whose interesting traits please us;
those who, as children or friends, contribute to our enjoyment, and those
who in any way give us pleasure, it is far easier to will for their
enjoyment than it is to do so for those who do nothing to please us, and
perhaps only give us discomfort, anxiety or disgust.
This exhibits an indirect way of securing the love of good will toward
those who neither please us by their agreeable qualities, nor are causes
of enjoyment to us in any way. Involuntary affection may be so strongly
excited toward one whose qualities or conduct cause delight to self, that
the desire to please that friend may become more animating than the desire
for any personal gratification. Should such a friend be deeply interested
in the happiness of his children, or of any other persons, whose character
and conduct may in no way please us, still the desire to gratify such a
friend may lead to good willing to those whom he loves, for his sake, in
order to please and gratify him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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