THE GEOMETRICAL METHOD. 553 



conduct, even though it he so binding a one as the 

 observance of a promise, must rest its own foundations 

 upon the theory of the subject, and the theory, there- 

 fore, cannot rest upon it. 



3. Passing over less important instances, I 

 shall come at once to the most remarkable example 

 afforded by our own times of the geometrical method 

 in politics; emanating from persons who were well 

 aware of the distinction between Science and Art ; who 

 knew that rules of conduct must follow, not precede, 

 the ascertainment of laws of nature, and that the 

 latter, not the former, is the legitimate field for the 

 application of the deductive method. I allude to the 

 interest-philosophy of the Bentham school. 



The profound and original thinkers who are com- 

 monly known under this description, founded their 

 general theory of government upon one comprehen- 

 sive premiss, namely, that men's actions are always 

 determined by their interests. There is an ambiguity 

 in this last expression ; for, as the same philosophers, 

 especially Bentham, systematically gave the name of 

 an interest to anything which a person likes, the pro- 

 position may be understood to mean only this, that 

 men's actions are always determined by their wishes. 

 In this sense, however, it would not bear out any of 

 the consequences which these philosophers drew from 

 it; and the word,, therefore, in their political reason- 

 ings, must be understood to mean (which is also the 

 explanation they themselves, on such occasions, gave 

 of it,) what is commonly termed private, or worldly, 

 interest. 



Taking the doctrine, then, in this sense, an objec- 

 tion presents itself in limine which might be deemed 

 a fatal one, namely, that so sweeping a proposition is 



