Page:Essays, Moral and Political - David Hume (1741).djvu/181

 it. And indeed, this is the only Kind of Comparison, that is worth our Attention, or decides any Thing in the present Question. Were the selfish and vicious Principles of Human Nature so much predominant above the Social and Virtuous, as is asserted by some Philosophers, we ought undoubtedly to entertain a contemptible Notion of Human Nature. I may, perhaps, treat more fully of this Subject in some future Speculation. In the mean Time, I shall observe, what has been prov'd beyond Question by several great Moralists of the present Age, that the social Passions are by far the most powerful of any, and that even all the other Passions receive their Force and Influence from them. Whoever desires to see this Question treated at large, with the greatest Force of Argument and Eloquence, may consult my Lord Shaftsbury's Enquiry concerning Virtue.

my Opinion, there are two Things, which have led astray those Philosophers, that have insisted so much on the Selfishness of Man. In the First Place, they found, that every Act of Virtue or Friendship was attended with a secret Pleasure: From whence they