158 THE BEST POLICY. 



moral. Tliere are modes of wrong-doing which 

 have teni[)tation.s for us all, each of us after his 

 own kind — sins that do most easily beset us; 

 and, as regards these, we are so far confessedly in 

 an imperfect moral condition. But there are 

 other modes of wrong-doing which present no 

 temptation at all to many of us, brutal, or dirty, 

 or disgraceful actions from which we shrink im- 

 mediately of our own accord, and which no amount 

 of inducement or encouragement could ever for a 

 moment tempt us to commit; and, as regards these, 

 we may consider ourselves so far in a perfectly 

 and truly moral condition. The really honest 

 man is thus the man who abstains from dishonesty 

 not because he believes it to be bad policy, but 

 because the bare idea of such conduct is immedi- 

 ately repugnant to his conscience and his better 

 feelings. 



Even if we take into consideration the existence 

 of future rewards and punishments, the same 

 thing is to a great extent true. To be sure, we 

 may say that, from this point of view, at least, 

 honesty is always in the long run the best pol- 

 icy, for all who believe in a retribution for 

 deeds performed in this world. Yet here again a 

 great many j^eople, no doubt, deceive themselves 

 at first sight, answering readily enough that they 

 abstain from such and such acts from the just fear 

 of future consequences. But, in reality, to abstain 



