"The poem in itself was not much more than a clever jeu d'esprit, but the Remarks and the Inquiry into the Origin of Moral Virtue, which he published in defence of his thesis, are among the acutest psychological tracts of the age... The passions which produce the effect of virtue are those that spring from pride and the sense of power and the desire of luxury... Such a theory of the passions is a legitimate, if onesided, deduction from the naturalistic philosophy as it left the hands of Locke; the ethical conclusions, it will be observed, have a curious similarity with the later system of Nietzsche. The theory of Mandeville was too violently in opposition to the common sense of mankind to produce much direct influence, but it remained as a great scandal of letters."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Poets from EnglandPhilosophers from EnglandEconomists from EnglandPhilosophers from the NetherlandsPeople from Rotterdam
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Paul Elmer More, The Drift of Romanticism: Shelburne Essays Eighth Series (1913), pp. 160-161
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Mandeville
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Bernard Mandeville
1670 – 1733
niederländischer Arzt und Sozialtheoretiker
62 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Bernard Mandeville →
Related Quotes
"Then leave Complaints: Fools only strive To make a Great an Honest Hive. T'enjoy the World's Conveniences, Be fam'd i…"
"They that examine into the Nature of Man, abstract from Art and Education, may observe, that what renders him a Socia…"
"If laying aside all worldly Greatness and Vain-Glory, I should be ask'd where I thought it was most probable that Men…"
"Vast Numbers throng'd the fruitful Hive; Yet those vast Numbers made 'em thrive; Millions endeavouring to supply Each…"
"They put off hearings wilfully, To finger the refreshing fee."
"Thus every Part was full of Vice, Yet the whole Mass a Paradise; Flatter'd in Peace, and fear'd in Wars, They were th…"
"The worst of all the Multitude Did something for the Common Good."
"Luxury Employ'd a Million of the Poor, And odious Pride a Million more; Envy it self, and Vanity, Were Ministers of I…"
"Thus Vice nurs'd Ingenuity, Which join'd with Time and Industry, Had carry'd Life's Conveniences, It's real Pleasures…"
"So Vice is beneficial found, When it's by Justice lopt and bound; Nay, where the People would be great, As necessary …"