Once more, among absolutely right acts may be named certain of those
which we class as benevolent. I say certain of them, because such
benevolent acts as entail submission to pain, positive or negative,
that others may receive pleasure, are, by the definition, excluded.
But there are benevolent acts of a kind yielding pleasure solely. Some
one who has slipped is saved from falling by a by-stander: a hurt is
prevented and satisfaction is felt by both. A pedestrian is choosing
a dangerous route, or a fellow-passenger is about to alight at the
wrong station, and, warned against doing so, is saved from evil: each
being, as a consequence, gratified. There is a misunderstanding between
friends, and one who sees how it has arisen explains, the result being
agreeable to all. Services to those around in the small affairs of
life, may be, and often are, of a kind which there is equal pleasure
in giving and receiving. Indeed, as was urged in the last chapter, the
actions of developed altruism must habitually have this character.
And so, in countless ways suggested by these few, men may add to one
another's happiness without anywhere producing unhappiness--ways which
are therefore absolutely right.
In contrast with these consider the many actions which from hour to
hour are gone through, now with an accompaniment of some pain to the
actor and now bringing results that are partially painful to others,
but which nevertheless are imperative. As implied by antithesis with
cases above referred to, the wearisomeness of productive labor as
ordinarily pursued, renders it in so far wrong; but then far greater
suffering would result, both to the laborer and his family, and
therefore far greater wrong would be done, were this wearisomeness not
borne. Though the pains which the care of many children entail on a
mother form a considerable set-off from the pleasures secured by them
to her children and herself, yet the miseries immediate and remote,
which neglect would entail, so far exceed them that submission to such
pains up to the limit of physical ability to bear them becomes morally
imperative as being the least wrong. A servant who fails to fulfill an
agreement in respect of work, or who is perpetually breaking crockery,
or who pilfers, may have to suffer pain from being discharged;
but since the evils to be borne by all concerned if incapacity or
misconduct is tolerated, not in one case only but habitually, must
be much greater, such infliction of pain is warranted as a means to
preventing greater pain. Withdrawal of custom from a tradesman whose
charges are too high, or whose commodities are inferior, or who gives
short measure, or who is unpunctual, decreases his welfare, and perhaps
injures his belongings; but as saving him from these evils would imply
bearing the evils his conduct causes, and as such regard for his
well-being would imply disregard of the well-being of some more worthy
or more efficient tradesman to whom the custom would else go, and as,
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