Joseph Butler

“ Hence a new species of riches came into the world, consisting of things which it might have done well enough without, yet thought desirable, as affording pleasure to the imagination, or the senses. And these went on increasing, till, at length, the superfluities of life took in a vast larger compass of things than the necessaries of it. Thus luxury made its inroad, and all the numerous train of evils its attendance; of which poverty, as bad an one as we may account it, is far from being the worst. ”

“ And the temper of covetousness is, we all know, directly contrary to that of charity, and eats out the very heart of it. Then, lastly, there are good sort of people, who really want to be told that they are included in the admonitions to be given to the rich, though they do see others richer than themselves.
The ranks of rich and poor being thus formed, they meet together: they continue to make up one society. The mutual want which they still have of each other, still unites them inseparably. ”

“ A vicious rich man cannot pass through life without doing an incredible deal of mischief, were it only by his example and influence; besides neglecting the most important obligations, which arise from his superior fortune. Yet still, the fewer of them he neglects and the less mischief he does, the less share of the vices and miseries of his inferiors will lie at his door; the less will be his guilt and punishment. But conscientious persons of this rank must revolve again and again in their minds, how great the trust is which God has annexed to it. ”

“ Vice is itself of ill-desert, and therefore shall be punished in all; though its ill-desert is greater or less, and so shall be its punishment, in proportion to men's knowledge of God and religion, but it is in the most literal sense true, that "he who knew not his Lord's will, and committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten, though with few stripes." ”

“ Let me again remind you of the additional reason which persons of fortune have to take particular care of their whole behaviour, that it be in all respects good and exemplary, upon account of the influence which it will have upon the manners of their inferiors. And pray observe how strictly this is connected with the occasion of our present meeting; how much your good behaviour in private life will contribute to promote the good design of all these charities, and how much the contrary would tend to defeat it, and even to produce the evils which they are intended to prevent or to remedy. ”

“ And can there be a stronger inducement to endeavour the reformation of the world, and bring it to a sense of virtue and religion, than the assurance given us, "that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way," and, in like manner, he also who preventeth a person's being corrupted, by taking care of his education, "shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins?" ”

“ Now, it should seem that employing some share of the children's time in easy labour suitable to their age, which is done in some of our charity-schools, might be done in most others of them with very good effect, as it is in all those of a neighbouring kingdom. Then, as the only purposes of punishments, less than capital, are to reform the offenders themselves, and warn the innocent by their example, everything which should contribute to make this kind of punishments answer these purposes better than it does, would be a great improvement. ”

“ And others make a custom of giving to idle vagabonds; a kind of charity, very improperly so called, which one really wonders people can allow themselves in, merely to be relieved from importunity, or at best to gratify a false good-nature. For they cannot but know that it is, at least, very doubtful whether what they thus give will not immediately be spent in riot and debauchery. Or suppose it be not, yet still they know they do a great deal of certain mischief, by encouraging this shameful trade of begging in the streets, and all the disorders which accompany it. ”

“ All this approves itself to our natural understanding, though it is by means of Christianity chiefly, that it is thus enforced upon our consciences. And Christianity, as it is more than a dispensation of goodness, in the general notion of goodness, even a dispensation of forgiveness, of mercy, and favour, on God's part, does in a peculiar manner heighten our obligations to charity among ourselves. ”

“ To conclude: let our charity towards men be exalted into piety towards God, from the serious consideration, that we are all his creatures, a consideration which enforces that duty upon our consciences, as we have any regard to him. This kind of adjuration, and a most solemn one it is, one often hears profaned by a very unworthy sort of people, when they ask relief for God's sake. ”

“ What we have to bestow in charity being a trust, we cannot discharge it faithfully, without taking some care to satisfy ourselves in some degree, that we bestow it upon the proper objects of charity. One hears persons complaining that it is difficult to distinguish who are such: yet often seeming to forget, that this is the reason for using their best endeavours to do it. ”

“ Yet the desire of such things insensibly becomes immoderate, and the use of them almost of course, degenerates into luxury; which, in every age, has been the dissipation of riches, and, in every sense, the ruin of those who were possessed of them; and therefore cannot be too much guarded against by all opulent cities. And as men sink into luxury, as much from fashion as direct inclination, the richer sort together may easily restrain this vice, in almost what degree they please ”

“ And if every one discharged his share of the trust faithfully, whatever be his share of it, the world would be quite another place from what it is. But that cannot be, till covetousness, debauchery, and every vice, be unknown among the rich. ”

“ It is, I suppose, acknowledged that they have greater liberty here than they have anywhere else in the world; but unless care be taken for giving them some inward principle, to prevent their abusing this greater liberty, which is their birthright, can we expect it will prove a blessing to them? Or will they not, in all probability, become more dissolute, or more wild and extravagant, whatever wrong turn they happen to take, than people of the same rank in other countries? ”

“ This being the condition of the lower part of mankind, consider now what influence, as well as power, their superiors must, from the nature of the case, have over them. For they can instil instruction, and recommend it in a peculiar manner by their example, and enforce it still further with favour and encouragement of various kinds. And experience shows, that they do direct and change the course of the world as they please. Not only the civil welfare, but the morals and religion of their fellow-creatures, greatly depend upon them ”

“ The constitution of things being such, that the labour of one man, or the united labour of several, is sufficient to procure more necessaries than he or they stand in need of, which it may be supposed was in some degree the case even in the first ages; this immediately gave room for riches to arise in the world, and for men's acquiring them by honest means—by diligence, frugality, and prudent management. Thus some would very soon acquire greater plenty of necessaries than they had occasion for, and others, by contrary means, or by cross accidents, would be in want of them. ”

“ The instruction of these large families, and the oversight of their morals and religion, plainly belonged to the heads of them. And that obvious humanity, which every one feels, must have induced them to be kind to all whom they found under their roof, in sickness and in old age. In this state of the world, the relation between the rich and the poor could not but be universally seen and acknowledged. Now indeed it is less in sight, by means of artificial methods of carrying on business, which yet are not blameable. But the relation still subsists, and the obligations arising out of it ”

“ Now, this plainly requires that more particular regard should be had to the education of the lower people here than in places where they are born slaves of power, and to be made slaves of superstition. ”

“ Bat since it must be acknowledged of greater consequence, in a religious, as well as civil respect, how persons live than how they die, it cannot but be even more incumbent on us to endeavour, in all ways, to reclaim those offenders who are to return again into the world, than those who are to be removed out of it: and the only effectual means of reclaiming them is, to instil into them a principle of religion. ”

“ What these duties are, will easily be seen, and the obligations to them strongly enforced, by a little further reflection upon both these ranks, and the natural situation which they are in with respect to each other.
The lower rank of mankind go on for the most part, in some track of living, into which they got by direction of example; and to this their understanding and discourse, as well as labour, are greatly confined. Their opinions of persons and things they take upon trust: their behaviour has very little in it original, or of home growth ”

“ For it being the discernment that such and such actions are evil, which renders them vicious in him who does them, ignorance of other things, though it may lessen, yet it cannot remit the punishment of such actions in a just administration, because it cannot destroy the guilt of them; much less can corrupt deference and regard to the example of superiors, in matters of plain duty and sin, have this effect. Indeed, the lowest people know very well, that such ill example affords no reason why they should do ill ”

“ Rich men had the poor for their servants: not only a few for the offices about their persons, and for the care of what we now call domestic affairs; but great numbers also for the keeping of their cattle, the tillage of their fields, for working up their wool into furniture and vestments of necessary use, as well as ornament, and for preparing them those many things at home, which now pass through a multitude of unknown poor hands successively, and are by them prepared, at a distance for the use of the rich. ”

“ And thus their general intercourse, with the superiority on one hand, and dependence on the other, are in no sort accidental, but arise necessarily from a settled providential disposition of things, for their common good. Here, then, is a real standing relation between the rich and the poor. ”

“ Whatever care be taken in the education of these poor children at school, there is always danger of their being corrupted when they come from it; and this danger is greater in proportion to the greater wickedness of the age they have to pass through. ”

“ And he who should supply their wants, would have the property in a proportionable labour of their hands, which he would scarce fail to make use of instead of his own, perhaps together with them, to provide future necessaries in greater plenty. Riches, then, were first bestowed upon the world, as they are still continued in it, by the blessing of God upon the industry of men, in the use of their understanding and strength. Riches themselves have always this source ”

“ Lastly, It is to do it under a sense of the account which will be required of what is committed to our trust, when the rich and poor, who meet here upon terms of so great inequality, shall meet hereafter upon a level, before Him who "is the Maker of them all." ”

“ But to return to the first rich man; whom we left in possession of dependents, and plenty of necessaries for himself and them. A family would not be long in this state, before conveniences, somewhat ornamental, and for entertainment, would be wanted, looked for, and found out. And, by degrees, these secondary wants, and inventions for the supply of them, the fruits of leisure and ease, came to employ much of men's time and leisure. ”

“ In short, He who has distributed men into these different ranks, and at the same time united them into one society, in such sort as men are united, has by this constitution of things, formally put the poor under the superintendency and patronage of the rich. ”

“ So that they may contribute largely to any or all of these charities, and yet undo but a very small part of the mischief which they do, by their example, as well as in other ways. But still the mischief which they do, suppose by their example, is an additional reason why they should contribute to them; even in justice to particular persons, in whose ruin they may have an unknown share of guilt, or, however, injustice to society in general ”

“ And whether it be not a thing practicable, and what would contribute somewhat towards it, to exclude utterly all sorts of revel mirth from places where offenders are confined, to separate the young from the old, and force them both in solitude, with labour and low diet, to make the experiment how far their natural strength of mind can support them under guilt and shame and poverty ”