Note.- He who rightly realizes, that all things follow from the necessity
of the divine nature, and come to pass in accordance with the eternal laws
and rules of nature, will not find anything worthy of hatred, derision, or
contempt, nor will he bestow pity on anything, but to the utmost extent of
human virtue he will endeavour to do well, as the saying is, and to rejoice.
We may add, that he, who is easily touched with compassion, and is moved by
another's sorrow or tears, often does something which he afterwards regrets;
partly because we can never be sure that an action caused by emotion is
good, partly because we are easily deceived by false tears. I am in this
place expressly speaking of a man living under the guidance of reason. He
who is moved to help others neither by reason nor by compassion, is
rightly styled inhuman, for (III: xxvii.) he seems unlike a man.
Prop. LI. Approval is not repugnant
to reason, but can agree therewith
and arise therefrom.
Proof.- Approval is love towards one who has done good to another (Def. of
the Emotions:xix.); therefore it may be referred to the mind, in so far as
the latter is active (III:lix.), that is (III:iii.), in so far as it -
understands; therefore, it is in agreement with reason, &c. Q.E.D.
Another Proof.- He, who lives under the guidance of reason, desires for
others the good which he seeks for himself (IV:xxxvii.); wherefore from
seeing someone doing good to his fellow his own endeavour to do good is
aided; in other words, he will feel pleasure (III:xi.Note) accompanied by
the idea of the benefactor. Therefore he approves of him. Q.E.D.
Note.- Indignation as we defined it (Def. of the Emotions:xx.) is
necessarily evil (IV:xlv.); we may, however, remark that, when the
sovereign power for the sake of preserving peace punishes a citizen
who has injured another, it should not be said to be indignant with the
criminal, for it is not incited by hatred to ruin him, it is led by a sense
of duty to punish him.
Prop. LII. Self-approval may arise
from reason, and that which arises
from reason is the highest possible.
Proof.- Self-approval is pleasure arising from a man's contemplation of
himself and his own power of action (Def. of the Emotions:xxv.). But a
man's true power of action - or virtue is reason herself (III:iii.), as
the said man clearly and distinctly contemplates her (II:xl., II:xliii.);
therefore self-approval arises from reason. Again, when a man is
contemplating himself, he only perceived clearly and distinctly or
adequately, such things as follow from his power of action (III:Def.ii.),
that is (III:iii.), from his power of understanding; therefore in such
contemplation alone does the highest possible self-approval arise. Q.E.D.
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