History of European Morals: From Augustus to Charlemagne, Volume 1Appleton, 1913 - Ethics |
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absolutely action affections ancient appear Arrian asserted Aulus Gellius beauty believe benevolence Cæsar Cato causes character Christians Church Cicero civilisation condition dæmons death degree Deity desire Diocletian Dion Chrysostom distinct Divine doctrine Domitian duty emperor Empire endeavoured enjoyment Epictetus Epicurean Epicurus ethics Eusebius evil existence extreme favour feeling gods Greek habits happiness heroic Hist human imagination influence intellectual interest intuitive moralist Justin Martyr Lactantius Laërt mankind Marcus Aurelius ment mind miracles moral motive nations nature Nero never opinion Pagan pain passion perfect persecution philosophers Plato pleasure Pliny Plotinus Plutarch political principles produced prominence punishment realised reason recognised regarded religion religious Roman Rome selfish Seneca sense sensuality slaves society spirit Stoical Stoicism Stoics suffering suicide superstition supreme Tacitus teaching tendency Tertullian theory things tion utilitarian vice virtue virtuous worship writers
Popular passages
Page 59 - And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Page 41 - As between his own happiness and that of others, utilitarianism requires him to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator. In the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. To do as you would be done by, and to love your neighbour as yourself, constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality.
Page 38 - ... the motive has nothing to do with the morality of the action, though much with the worth of the agent.
Page 8 - Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.
Page 13 - If it could be shown that condemnatory phrase, selfishness, applies with especial emphasis to the last-mentioned class, and, in a qualified degree, to the second group; while such terms as unselfishness, disinterestedness, selfdevotion, are applied to the vicarious position wherein we seek our own satisfaction in that of others.
Page 10 - When I condole with you for the loss of your only son, in order to enter into your grief I do not consider what I, a person of such a character and profession, should...
Page 8 - Obligation is the necessity of doing or omitting any action in order to be happy: ie, when there is such a relation between an agent and an action that the agent cannot be happy without doing or omitting that action, then the agent is said to be obliged to do or omit that action.
Page 153 - ... their lives, who proved in the most trying circumstances that no allurements of ambition, and no storms of passion, could cause them to deviate one hair's breadth from the course they believed to be their duty. This was also a Roman characteristic — especially that of Marcus Aurelius.
Page 8 - Now, pleasure is in itself a good : nay, even setting aside immunity from pain, the only good: pain is in itself an evil; and, indeed, without exception, the only evil; or else the words good and evil have no meaning.
Page 8 - Moral good and evil then is only the conformity or disagreement of our voluntary actions to some law, whereby good or evil is drawn on us...