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bility of man , ( here seems to be yet a kind of impenetrability in the nature of the causes of the degrees
of perfection which different men attain . Looking at the question something superficially , it seems reasonable to admit that according
to the opportunities of moral improvement which a man possesses , considering the circumstances iu which he is placed ,, his bodily Constitution and spirits , —so must we judge of the degree o { moral
rectitude , to which he has attained . Thus two men may have advanced to the same elevation in the scale of moral excellence , although one may have committed more mis .
deeds than the other j owing to his temptations having been greater , or his means of resisting them less . A man ' s absolute state of moral habitude is to be judged by the degree in which he has a p .
proached a capability of enjoying moral happiness ; of comprehend . ing the nature and excellence of virtue . A man may have passed through life without having evinced any great dereliction of
principle , without having committed any enormous faults ; and yet be fi fty little able to comprefiencf the dignity of virtue : whilst another man with deeper reflection , and compelled frequently to act upon
stimulating and perplexing occasions ; resisting some temptations j » nd yielding to others , may pos . JtjMf ' truer notions of the nature of
moral obligation , higher conceptions of the essence of virtue , and consequently be better fitted for jjh * eqjoyment of pure ancT rational happiness .
But the comparative merit of SUStl a man i $ not determined by its ostensible virtue ; a third man
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whom circumstances may have driven into retirement , may pos- » sess the same merit , though he
have not displayed the same vir * tue ; the contingents of his life not having been such as to call for great exertions . The merit of the one has been proved—the
merit of the other may exist * The warrior who mounts a breach in the face of the enemy , awl t . hft soldier who would eagerly have performed the same exploit if tb $ task had been allotted him , are equally meritorious * One receives a laurel crown ; both deserve it .
In like manner a man A , may have committed more misdeed * than another man , B , and yet hie the more virtuous character in the estimation of his fellow men , whilst at the same time his absolute
merit may not be greater thaa the same qualification in B . Tbe personal privations and hardships which A may have undergone in the manifestation of his virtue
are a distinct consideration : fo £ these he deserves a recompence in proportion to their extent , in the same manner as the endurance of unavoidable misfortune in ordinary life is , in the eye of
justice , a title of rccompeuce U > the sufferer * But the chief sub ~ ject of applause is the inward complexion of the mind , that energy of soul , that exertion of virtuous principle which prompted to the endurance of suffering , and
was the chief support under ita pressure —and with these qualities it is possible that the character B might equally be endued , thougU he possessed not the opportunity to display them . This might be the case . The merit of A is ma ** nifest ; the merit of 15 remain * la * be proved *
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Suggestions concerning Moral Capability . 9 $
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VOL , IX # N
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1814, page 89, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2437/page/17/
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