The English works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, Volume 06 (of 11)
Thomas Hobbes · en
They that do injury _openly_ are: such, whose friends have been injured.
And such as have the judges for friends. And such as can escape their
trial at law. And such as can put off their trial. And such as can
corrupt the judges. And such as can avoid the payment of their fine. And
such as can defer the payment. And such as cannot pay at all. And such
as by the injury get manifestly much, and presently; when the fine is
uncertain, little, and to come. And such as get by the injury money, by
the penalty shame only. And such on the contrary as get honour by the
injury, and suffer the mulct of money only, or banishment, or the like.
And such as have often escaped or been undiscovered. And such as have
often attempted in vain. And such as consider present pleasure more than
pain to come, and so intemperate men are apt to do injury. And such as
consider pleasure to come more than present pain, and so temperate men
are apt to do injury. And such as may seem to have done it by fortune,
nature, necessity, or custom; and by error, rather than by injustice.
And such as have means to get pardon. And such as want necessaries, as
poor men; or unnecessaries, as rich men. And such as are of very good or
very bad reputation.
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CHAPTER XIII.
PRESUMPTIONS OF INJURY DRAWN FROM THE PERSONS THAT SUFFER, AND FROM THE
MATTER OF THE INJURY.
Of those that do injury, and why they do it, it hath been already
spoken. Now of the _persons_ that suffer, and of the _matter_ wherein
they suffer, the _common opinions_ are these.
_Persons_ obnoxious to injury are: such as have the things that we want,
either as necessary, or as delightful. And such as are far from us. And
such as are at hand. And such as are unwary and credulous. And such as
are lazy. And such as are modest. And such as have swallowed many
injuries. And such as we have injured often before; and such as never
before. And such as are in our danger. And such as are ill-beloved
generally. And such as are envied. And our friends; and our enemies. And
such as, wanting friends, have no great ability either in speech or
action. And such as shall be losers by going to law: as strangers and
workmen. And such as have done the injuries they suffer. And such as
have committed a crime, or would have done, or are about to do. And such
as, by doing them an injury, we shall gratify our friends or superiors.
And such whose friendship we have newly left, and accuse. And such as
another would do the injury to, if we should not. And such as by
injuring, we get greater means of doing good.
The _matters_ wherein men are obnoxious to injury are: those things
wherein all, or most men use to deal unjustly. And those things which
are easily hid, and put off into other hands, or altered. And those
things which a man is ashamed to have suffered. And those things wherein
prosecution of injury, may be thought a love of contention.