Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of EthicsDrake, Durant
Philosophy
Problems of Conduct: An Introductory Survey of Ethics
Drake, Durant
Ethics
WE have now discussed the more recurrent problems of the individual,
and pointed out the salient duties that private life entails. But there
remains something to be added before we shall have clearly pointed
the way to personal happiness. "Mere morality," even when coupled with
good fortune, is not enough; a sinless man, scrupulous to fulfill the
least command of the law, may yet be anxious, restless, depressed,
unsatisfied. We need more than morality, as the word is commonly used;
we need religion - or something of the sort. There is no doubt that
for the attainment of a pervasive and stable happiness there is nothing
so good as the best sort of religion; but, as in discussing self-
control, we must here steer clear of religious controversy and phrase
what we have to say in the colder terms of "mere morality." And though
there will be a great loss in feeling, in persuasiveness and unction
thereby, there will be gain in clearness. It is possible to express
in the drab tones of morality the profound insights which have made
religion the great guide to happiness; and even the man who deems
himself irreligious may, if he takes to heart these more prosaic counsels,
find something of the peace that has been the boon of true believers.
The threefold key to happiness:
I. HEARTY ALLEGIANCE TO DUTY.
The one thing above all others that makes
life worth living is the utter devotion of the heart and will to the
commands of morality. To throw one's self whole-heartedly into the
game, to play one's part for all it is worth, transforms what were
else a grim and unhappy necessity into a glorious opportunity. The
happy man is the loyal man, the man who has taken sides, who has
enrolled himself definitely on the side of right and tastes the zest of
battle. He has something to live for, and something lasting. He has
put his heart into a cause that the limitations and accidents of life
cannot take from him, he has laid up his treasure in heaven, where
moth and rust doth not corrupt or thieves break through and steal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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