Book Description

Excerpt from A System of Moral Science Science subjects all the facts it uses to a controlling law, and by this law binds all its facts into an orderly system. No elements, however abundant, can become a philosophy without their determining principle. Moral Science must conform to this condition, and, moreover, must find its principle within the spiritual part of man's being. Nature, through all her successions, can reach no absolute rule, and can bind relatively only, according to her connections as found in experience. Her highest appeal is to self-interest, and can never awaken the feeling of spiritual worthiness. With such consequences, it is prudent to take such a direction; for the great revolving wheel will crush those who cross its course. But the spiritual is the supernatural; and nature must be for this, not this for nature. The moral law is above nature, not taken from nature. The virtuous man must say, "I am thus, and I live thus, because this only is worthy of my spiritual being;" not at all, "I stand here and do this, because otherwise the ongoings of nature would torment me." The following work has been prosecuted under the full conviction of such a twofold demand. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.