Logicians From England

"As time went on this state of the law was severely criticised, especially by Bentham, whose theories upon legal subjects have had a degree of practical influence upon the legislation of his own and various other countries comparable only to those of Adam Smith and his successors upon commerce. His view was that the existing law should be repealed, and that in its place there should be enacted a new code, based upon what he regarded as philosophical principles. He found less difficulty than might have been expected (though he found considerable difficulty) in convincing the public of the defects of the existing state of things, but he found it impossible to persuade them to accept a new code from his hands, or from the hands of his disciples. Highly important steps, however, were taken in his life time in the direction of the changes of which he approved."

"When the Queen began to reign there was abroad a spirit of criticism of our legal institutions, a sense of impatience with respect to the eulogies of which they had been so long the subject. A generation had grown up that questioned the wisdom, doubted the virtues, of much which Blackstone pronounced the perfection of human reason. The teaching of Bentham, his assaults on English law and its administrators, renewed with unwearied zeal and abiding conviction throughout a long life, had not been in vain. Some of his disciples held high positions at the Bar; some were about to be raised to the Bench."

"Bentham impressed upon his countrymen the notion that existing institutions were not to be taken for granted, but to be judged by their results, and perpetually readjusted so as to produce "the greatest happiness of the greatest number." He did not invent that useful formula, which he had taken from Priestley, but he drove it into men's minds, and by reiterating it for half a century with a thousand different applications, he undermined the easy acceptance of chartered inefficiency and corruption, characteristic of the eighteenth century. Parliamentary, municipal, scholastic, ecclesiastical, economic reform all sprang from the spirit of Bentham’s perpetual inquiry, "what is the use of it?"—his universal shibboleth, that proved in the end the real English antidote to Jacobinism. The weakness of his system, even in the realm of politics, was the mechanical nature of its psychology, which misrepresented the multiform workings of the human mind."

"For as a hedonist, Bentham apparently bases moral status not on the dignity of rational nature but rather solely on the capacity to feel pleasure and pain. And this is clearly different from the Kantian position. Yet I claim that Bentham’s idea here is in general terms not inconsistent with Kantian ethics but is instead a corollary of the Kantian position. I would even claim that Kantian ethics provides a better justification for it than Bentham’s hedonism–a shallow empiricist doctrine that cannot account properly even for the values it assigns to pleasure and pain in human beings. […] Nonhuman animals do not have the capacity to reason or to talk. Therefore, beyond making the obvious point that they are not persons in the strict sense, whether they have or lack these capacities is irrelevant to how we should treat them. Bentham is therefore correct in telling us not to ask about these matters when we are deciding how to treat animals. What is relevant, because it relates their capacities to those of rational nature, is the fact that they can suffer, and desire, and sometimes also care – about members of their own species, or even occasionally about members of other species, such as humans. Bentham is therefore also correct in telling us what we should ask about these capacities, for they are the relevant ones. Bentham is correct, however, not because Kant is wrong, but because Kant is right."

"In works of labour or of skill I would be busy too: For Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do."

"The wise will make their anger cool At least before 'tis night."

"Birds in their little nests agree; And 'tis a shameful sight, When children of one family Fall out, and chide, and fight."

"But, children, you should never let Such angry passions rise; Your little hands were never made To tear each other's eyes."

"Let dogs delight to bark and bite, For God hath made them so; Let bears and lions growl and fight, For 't is their nature too."

"...but every lyar Must have his portion in the lake That burns with brimstone and with fire."

"And he that does one fault at first And lies to hide it, makes it two."

"One stroke of his almighty rod Shall send young sinners quick to hell."

"A flower may fade before 'tis noon, And I this day may lose my breath."

"A flower, when offered in the bud, Is no vain sacrifice."

"Just as a tree cut down, that fell To north, or southward, there it lies: So man departs to heaven or hell, Fix'd in the state wherein he dies."

"Lord, I ascribe it to thy grace, And not to chance as others do, That I was born of Christian race, And not a Heathen, or a Jew."

"I would not change my native land For rich Peru with all her gold. A nobler prize lies in my hand Than East or Western Indies hold."

"Whene'er I take my walks abroad, How many poor I see! What shall I render to my God For all his gifts to me?"

"There's not a place where we can flee, But God is present there."

"Were I so tall to reach the pole, Or grasp the ocean with my span, I must be measured by my soul; The mind's the standard of the man."

"I have been there, and still would go; 'T is like a little heaven below."

"Then will I set my heart to find Inward adornings of the mind; Knowledge and virtue, truth and grace, These are the robes of richest dress."

"Let me be dressed fine as I will, Flies, worms, and flowers, exceed me still."

"Why should our garments, made to hide Our parents' shame, provoke our pride? The art of dress did ne'er begin, Till Eve our mother learn'd to sin.When first she put the covering on, Her robe of innocence was gone; And yet her children vainly boast In the sad marks of glory lost."

"In books, or work, or healthful play, Let my first years be past, That I may give for every day Some good account at last."

"How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower!"

"How divinely full of glory and pleasure shall that hour be when all the millions of mankind that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God shall meet together and stand around Him, with every tongue and every heart full of joy and praise! How astonishing will be the glory and the joy of that day when all the saints shall join together in one common song of gratitude and love, and of everlasting thankfulness to this Redeemer! With what unknown delight, and inexpressible satisfaction, shall all that are saved from the ruins of sin and hell address the Lamb that was slain, and rejoice in His presence!"

"I believe the promises of God enough to venture an eternity on them."

"The compassion of Christ inclines Him to save sinners, — the power of Christ enables Him to save sinners, — and the promise of Christ binds Him to save sinners. A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On Thy kind arms I fall; Be Thou my Strength and Righteousness, My Saviour and my All."

"My faith would lay her hand On that dear head of Thine, While like a penitent I stand, And there confess my sin."

"I write not for your farthing, but to try / How I your farthing writers, may outvie."

"So, when a raging fever burns, We shift from side to side by turns; And 't is a poor relief we gain To change the place, but keep the pain."

"There is a land of pure delight, Where saints immortal reign; Infinite day excludes the night, And pleasures banish pain."

"When I can read my title clear To mansions in the skies, I'll bid farewell to every fear, And wipe my weeping eyes."

"The tall, the wise, the reverend head Must lie as low as ours."

"Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound."

"Strange that a harp of thousand strings Should keep in tune so long!"

"And while the lamp holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return."

"Fly, like a youthful hart or roe, Over the hills where spices grow."

"Maintain a constant watch at all times against a dogmatical spirit: fix not your assent to any proposition in a firm and unalterable manner, till you have some firm and unalterable ground for it, and till you have arrived at some clear and sure evidence."

"Once a day, especially in the early years of life and study, call yourselves to an account what new ideas, what new proposition or truth you have gained, what further confirmation of known truths, and what advances you have made in any part of knowledge; and let no day, if possible, pass away without some intellectual gain."

"Do not hover always on the surface of things, nor take up suddenly with mere appearances; but penetrate into the depth of matters, as far as your time and circumstances allow, especially in those things which relate to your own profession. Do not indulge yourselves to judge of things by the first glimpse, or a short and superficial view of them; for this will fill the mind with errors and prejudices, and give it a wrong turn and ill habit of thinking, and make much work for retraction."

"He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love."

"No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found."

"Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy."

"Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King. Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room, And heav'n and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing."

"From all who dwell below the skies Let the Creator's praise arise; Let the Redeemer's name be sung Through every land, by every tongue."

"Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day."

"A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun."

"Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home."