The Fable of the Bees; Or, Private Vices, Public BenefitsMandeville, Bernard
Philosophy
The Fable of the Bees; Or, Private Vices, Public Benefits
Mandeville, Bernard
Charity-schools -- Early works to 1800; Ethics -- Early works to 1800; Virtue -- Early works to 1800
That a man, with small skill in physic, and hardly any learning,
should, by vile arts, get into practice, and lay up great wealth,
is no mighty wonder; but, that he should so deeply work himself into
the good opinion of the world as to gain the general esteem of a
nation, and establish a reputation beyond all his contemporaries,
with no other qualities but a perfect knowledge of mankind, and a
capacity of making the most of it, is something extraordinary. If a
man arrived to such a height of glory should be almost distracted
with pride, sometime give his attendance on a servant or any mean
person for nothing, and, at the same time, neglect a nobleman that
gives exorbitant fees, at other times refuse to leave his bottle
for his business, without any regard to the quality of the persons
that sent for him, or the danger they are in: if he should be surly
and morose, affect to be an humourist, treat his patients like dogs,
though people of distinction, and value no man but what would deify
him, and never call in question the certainty of his oracles: if he
should insult all the world, affront the first nobility, and extend
his insolence even to the royal family: if, to maintain as well as
to increase the fame of his sufficiency, he should scorn to consult
with his betters on what emergency soever, look down with contempt
on the most deserving of his profession, and never confer with any
other physician but what will pay homage to his superior genius,
creep to his humour, and never approach him but with all the slavish
obsequiousness a court-flatterer can treat a prince with: If a man,
in his lifetime, should discover, on the one hand, such manifest
symptoms of superlative pride, and an insatiable greediness after
wealth at the same time, and, on the other, no regard to religion or
affection to his kindred, no compassion to the poor, and hardly any
humanity to his fellow-creatures, if he gave no proofs that he loved
his country, had a public spirit, or was a lover of arts, of books,
or of literature, what must we judge of his motive, the principle he
acted from, when, after his death, we find that he has left a trifle
among his relations who stood in need of it, and an immense treasure
to an university that did not want it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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