24 



is incumbent on the Christian advocate to endeavour to take 

 it to pieces and point out its baselessness and unfairness. 



I shall begin, then, by calling attention to the distinction 

 between selfishness and self-love. They are sometimes in used 

 the same sense, but there is a proper and praiseworthy self- 

 love, to which no blame whatever is to be attached. I should 

 prefer to avoid the use of the word, as being liable to be mis- 

 understood, were it not that it has been adopted by Bishop 

 Butler as a convenient expression for that regard to our own 

 interests and happiness which it is not only our privilege, but 

 our duty, to act upon. He calls it reasonable or cool self-love, 

 as leading us to consider and reflect upon the best means of 

 ensuring our happiness in the long run. But while he looks 

 upon this reasonable regard to our well-being as a right and 

 proper motive, he is very far from representing it either as 

 the highest, or the only one that ought to influence us. 

 Benevolence, or a regard for the good of others, should come 

 in at least in an equal degree (" Thou shalt love thy neighbour 

 as thyself"), but both of these principles are subordinate to 

 the moral sense, or conscience, by means of which we judge 

 whether an action is right or wrong, virtuous or vicious, 

 abstracted from its consequences to ourselves or others. This 

 is the moral test to which our actions should be submitted, 

 the principle which, as it were, reigns supreme over all the 

 other principles of our nature. If an action be prompted by 

 benevolence or by that reasonable self-love which I have 

 endeavoured to describe, yet if we see it to be wrong, we 

 ought at once to refrain from doing it. 



That the Christian religion recognises and proceeds upon 

 the view of morality here set forth, cannot, I think, be reason- 

 ably disputed. No doubt it holds out other motives in addition 

 to those above mentioned, but its morality is founded upon 

 eternal principles of rectitude. The Deity Himself acts upon 

 such principles, as already observed, and the precepts given 

 in Scripture show that He would have men to act upon them 

 too. 



Bishop Butler designates a reasonable self-love by the 

 name of prudence, observing that although subordinate to 

 moral considerations, it is very superior to acting merely on 

 such desires as happen for the moment to be uppermost. It 

 is not properly called worldliness ; for prudence is a good and 

 useful trait in the human character, whereas worldliness is not 

 looked upon as such. Worldliness as a term of reproach 

 appears to have little meaning, except when used by believers 

 in a future state of retribution. Christianity recognises pru- 

 dence, or a reasonable regard to one's own interests, us a 



