Treatise on Ethics (1684)

238 Pages·1993·3.91 MB·English

by  Nicolas Malebranche (auth.)

TREATISE ON ETIllCS (1684)
ARCHIVES INTERNATIONALES D'HISTOIRE DES IDlilis
INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS
133
NICOLAS MALEBRANCHE: TREATISE ON ETHICS
(1684)
TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY
CRAIGWALTON
Directors: P. Dibon (paris) and R. Popkin (Washington University, St. Louis)
Editorial Board: 1.F. Battail (paris); F. Duchesneau (Montreal); A. Gabbey (Belfast);
T. Gregory (Rome); S. Hutton (Hatfield Polytechnic); 1.0. North (Groningen);
M.l. Petry (Rotterdam); 1. Popkin (Lexington)
Advisory Editorial Board: 1. Aubin (paris); A. Crombie (Oxford); H. de la Fontaine Verwey
(Amsterdam); H. Gadamer (Heidelberg); H. Gouhier (paris); K. Hanada (Hokkaido
University); W. Kirsop (Melbourne); P.O. Kristeller (Columbia University); Elisabeth
Labrousse (paris); A. Lossky (Los Angeles); 1. Malarczyk (Lublin); E. de Olaso (C.I.F.
Buenos Aires); J. Orcibal (paris); Wolfgang ROd (MUnchen); G. Rousseau (Los Angeles);
H. Rowen (Rutgers University, NJ.); J.P. Schobinger (ZUrich); J. Tans (Groningen)
TREATISE ON ETHICS
(1684)
by
Nicolas Malebranche
Translation with Introduction by
Craig Walton
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Malebranche. Nicolas. 1638-1715.
[Traite de morale. Englishl
Treatise on ethics (1684) I Nicolas Malebranche ; translation with
introduction by Craig Walton.
p. cm. -- (Archlves internationales d'hlstoire des idees
International archives of the hlstory of ideas ; v. 133)
Translation of: Traite de morale.
Inc 1u des index.
ISBN 978-94-010-5094-4 ISBN 978-94-011-2480-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-2480-5
1. Ethlcs. Modern--17th century. 2. Vlrtue--Early works to 1800.
3. Duty--Early works to 1800. 1. Walton. Craig. 1934-
II. Title. III. Series: Archlves lnternationales d'histoire des
idees ; 133.
B1893.T732E5 1992
170--dc20 92-13823
ISBN 978-94-010-5094-4
Printed on acid-free paper
AlI Rights Reserved
© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1993
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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Table of Contents
Translator's Note IX
Translator's Introduction 1
Part One: On Virtue
Chapter One. Universal reason is the Wisdom of God Himself. By
means of it, we all have intercourse with God. Truth and falsehood,
justice and injustice, each is the same for all intelligent beings as it
is for God Himself. Truth and Order: what they are, and what must
be done to avoid error and sin. God is essentially just. He loves His
creatures in proportion as they are lovable, as they resemble Him. In
order to be happy we must be perfect. Virtue, or man's perfection
consists in submission to the immutable Order, never in following
the order of nature. The error of some ancient philosophers on this
subject, based on their ignorance of the simplicity and immutability
of the Divine. 45
Chapter Two. There is no virtue other than the love of Order. Without
this love all virtues are false. We must not confuse duties with
virtue. We are able to acquit ourselves of our duties without virtue.
It is our failure to consult Reason which accounts for approving or
following damnable customs. Faith serves, or leads to Reason; but
Reason is the sovereign and universal law of all intelligent beings. 53
Chapter Three. The love of Order is not different from charity. Two
loves, one as union, the other as kindness. The former rendered only
to power, i.e., only to God. The latter must be proportioned to
personal merit, just as our duties are proportioned to relative merit.
Enlightened self-love is not contrary to love as union. The love of
Order is common to all men. Types of love of Order: natural or free,
temporary or habitual. At present, only that which is free, habitual
and dominant justifies us. Thus virtue consists only in the free,
habitual and dominant love of immutable Order. 60
Chapter Four. Two fundamental truths of this Treatise: first, acts
produce habits, and habits produce acts. Second, the soul does not
always produce acts by its dominant habit. Thus the sinner can avoid
committing a particular sin, and a just man can lose his charity,
because there is no sinner without some love for Order, nor is there
v
VI Table o/Contents
any just man without some self-love. We cannot become just before
God by the strength of free will. Means of acquiring and conserving
Charity, broadly outlined. The order I shall follow in the explanation
of these means. 69
Chapter Five. On the Strength of the mind. Our desires are the
occasional causes of our knowledge. It is difficult to contemplate
abstract ideas. The strength of the mind consists in acquiring the
habit of sustaining the effort of attention. Means for acquiring this
strength of the mind. We must silence the senses, imagination and
passions, govern our studies, meditate only on clear ideas, etc. 75
Chapter Six. On the freedom of the mind. The great rule is to suspend
consent as much as we can. By means of this rule we may avoid
error and sin, just as it is by the strength of the mind that we are
delivered from ignorance. The freedom of the mind, as well as its
strength, is a habit which is fortified by the use we make of it.
Examples of the utility of such use in physics, in ethics and in civil
life. 83
Chapter Seven. On obedience to Order. Means of acquiring a stable and
dominant disposition to obey it. This cannot be done without grace.
How much the good use of the mind's strength and freedom
contributes to grace: by the light which that usage generates in us,
by the contempt it teaches us for our passions, and by the purity it
reestablishes and conserves in our imagination. 91
Chapter Eight. On the means furnished by religion for acquiring the
love of Order. Jesus Christ is the occasional cause of grace. We
must call upon Him with confidence. When we approach the
Sacraments, our momentary love of Order is changed into habitual
love, because of the permanent desires of Jesus Christ. Proof of this
truth essential to the conversion of sinners. Fear of hell as good a
motive as the desire for eternal felicity. We must not confuse the
motive with the end. The desire to be happy, or self-love, must make
us conform to Order, or subject ourselves to the Divine law. 98
Chapter Nine. Why the Church in its prayers addresses itself to the
Father by way of the Son. We must pray to the Holy Virgin, the
Angels and Saints, but not as occasional causes of inner grace. The
Angels and the demons have power as occasional causes over
bodies. Thus demons can tempt us, and Angels can promote the
efficacy of Grace. 108
Chapter Ten. On the occasional causes of those feelings and move
ments of the soul which resist the efficacy of grace, whether grace of
light or of feeling. The union of the mind to God is immediate, and
that of the mind to the body is not. Explanation of some general
laws of the union of soul and body, needed for understanding what
follows. 114
Chapter Eleven. On what sort of death we must die in order to see God,
Table oJContents vii
to be united to Reason and delivered from concupiscence. The grace
of faith gives us this happy death. Christians are dead to sin because
of baptism, and are living in the risen Jesus Christ. On the mortifica
tion of the senses, and the use we must make of them. We must be
united to, or separated from, bodies without either loving or fearing
them. But the most sure remedy of all is to break off all intercourse
with them, as much as we can. 120
Chapter Twelve. On the imagination. This term is obscure and con
fused. What, in general, imagination is. Different sorts of imagina
tion. How its effects are dangerous. On what people call
'sophistication.' This quality strongly opposed to the grace of Jesus
Christ. It is fatal to those possessing it, and to those valuing and
admiring it in others who do not possess it. 127
Chapter Thirteen. On the passions. What they are. Their dangerous
effects. We must moderate them. Conclusion of the first part of this
Treatise. 135
Part Two: On Duties
Chapter One. The just often do wicked deeds. Love of Order must be
enlightened if it is to be well-governed. Three conditions for making
an action perfectly virtuous. We must study the duties of man in
general, and take time each day while so doing, particularly to
examine the order and circumstances of duties. 143
Chapter Two. Our duties to God should be related to His attributes -
His power, His wisdom and His love. God alone is the real cause of
all things. The duties we must render to His power, which consist
chiefly in clear judgments and in movements governed by these
judgments. 145
Chapter Three. On the duties we owe to God's wisdom. It alone
enlightens our minds, in consequence of certain natural laws, of
which our desires are the occasional causes which determine their
efficacy. Judgments and duties of minds in relation to universal
Reason. 152
Chapter Four. Duties owed to Divine love. Our will is only a con
tinuous impression of the love God bears toward Himself, Who
alone is the true good. Evil cannot be loved, but that which is neither
good nor evil can be taken for an evil. Similarly we cannot hate the
good, but the true good is, in effect, evil to the wicked, being the
cause of their misery. In order that God may be seen by us as good,
our love must be like His, always submissive to Divine law. Duties. 157
Chapter Five. The three Divine Persons each impress their own mark
on our minds, and our duties honor all three equally. Duties consist
of nothing but inner movements, which must nevertheless appear
viii Table o/Contents
outside us because of the society we have with other men. 163
Chapter Six. Duties in society, generally. Two sorts of society.
Everything must be related to the eternal society. Different kinds of
love and respect. General principles of our duties toward men. These
duties must be exterior and relative. The danger of rendering inward
duties to men. Commerce with the world very dangerous. 168
Chapter Seven. Duties of esteem are owed to everyone - to the least of
men, to the greatest sinners, to our enemies and persecutors, to the
accomplished and the unaccomplished. It is difficult to govern with
precision either these duties or those of benevolence, because of the
differences in personal and relative merit, and their various combina-
tions. A general rule, the surest that can be given on this issue. 173
Chapter Eight. Duties of benevolence and respect. We ought to procure
true goods for all men, not relative goods. How does a man acquit
himself of the duties of benevolence? Unjust complaints of worldly
people. The duties of respect ought to be proportioned to the share
of power. 181
Chapter Nine. Duties owed to Sovereigns. Two sovereign powers.
Their difference. Rights of concession of obedience of subjects. 187
Chapter Ten. Domestic duties of husband and wife. Principle of these
duties. Those of fathers concerning their children, in relation to the
eternal society, and to civil society. On their instruction in the
sciences and morals. Parents ought to be their example, and guide
them by Reason. They have no right to harm or insult their children.
Children owe them obedience in all things. 192
Chapter Eleven. Origin of the diversity of conditions. Reason alone
ought to govern. But force is necessary because of sin. Its legitimate
use is to marshall men to Reason concerning fundamental law.
Duties of superiors and inferiors. 201
Chapter Twelve. On duties among equals. We ought to give them the
place they wish to fill in our minds and hearts. We ought to show
our good inward dispositions toward them, by our expression and
behavior, by real services, and by deferring superiority and excel
lence to them. The most lively and ardent friendships are not the
most solid. We ought to have only as many friends as we can keep
in real friendship. 207
Chapter Thirteen. Continuation of the same subject. In order to be
loved, we must become lovable. Rules for conversation. On
different expressions. On Christian friendships. 214
Chapter Fourteen. On duties each of us owes to himself. These consist,
in general, of working for our own perfection and happiness. 220
Index 223
Translator's Note
Malebranche's Traite de morale was fIrst published in 1684 in Rotterdam by
Reinier Leers. This translation is based on the critical edition edited by Michel
Adam, Tome XI of the Oeuvres completes de Malebranche (Direction: Andre
Robinet) [Paris: Librairie J. Vrin, 1966]. Malebranche's own notes have all
been included, with the notation, "[M.l" (usually at the end of the note). Prof.
Adam's notes are included when supplying detail on Malebranche's sources
and those quotations he could track down. I have also included a few notes of
my own, chiefly to facilitate comparing passages on the same subject. Those
variant readings which indicate substantive changes due either to controversy or
reflection, are included parenthetically and so noted, or, when longer, included
as footnotes. Translations from the Bible are here translated from the French
where M. had already made his own translation from the Latin Vulgate, or,
when he had cited the Latin, I use the Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday,
1971). As often happens in translation from French to English, esprit is given as
'mind', or as 'spirit', depending on the context and the philosophical sense of
the discussion. Usually I have rendered actue! as 'temporary' or 'current', also
depending on the philosophical sense. More often than not I have left now
arcane usages in place, such as 'animal spirits', or 'movements' (instead of
'motives'). My own occasional clarifying insertions are set off by [square
brackets] in the text.
Although I examined the UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library's
copy of James Shipton'S 1694 (London) translation of this work, only the
edition critique of Michel Adam has been relied upon. I want to extend a
particular expression of gratitude to Prof. Andre Robinet of the Centre National
de la Recherche ScientifIque, whose help in making an early copy of Adam's
edition available at the time of its publication first set me off on the course here
completed.
Finally, I want to thank Richard A. Watson for his careful reading and editing
contribution, to Tom Lennon for his comment and encouragement over the
years, and to Richard H. Popkin for keeping my spirits up during the long effort
to accomplish this undertaking. Their high standards are emulated internation
ally, and in some way have moved what is well-made herein; the errors which
remain are my own.
C.W.
IX
CRAIG WALTON
Translator's Introduction
In this introduction I will undertake six related topics, in order: Malebranche's
impact on his own time; his theory of being; his theories of causation and
knowledge; Part One of his Ethics, on virtue; Part Two, on duty; the influence
of his Ethics on some later philosophers; and a final section of appreciation and
assessment of his significance.
I. MALEBRANCHE'S IMPACT ON HIS OWN TIME
In his own time, Nicolas Malebranche was one of the most widely-read and
influential philosophers in Europe. From the time of his first, and most well
known work, the 1674-76 Search after Truth until his final Reflections on
physical premotion just before he died in 1715, he took part for over forty years
in most of the intellectual ferment of what Whitehead later called "the century
of genius". He stands among the small number of philosophers who have
undertaken to construct a philosophical system, from ontology to logic and
theory of knowledge, natural science including kinetics and biology, theological
studies, moral psychology and ethics (including political and social duties), and
one of the earliest studies in comparative Christian and Chinese philosophy and
theology. In the course of this systematic philosophical undertaking he en
deavored to heal and reconcile the growing breach between the mathematically
and mechanically oriented 'new sciences' and the moral and spiritual insight of
Thomistic and, most particularly Augustinian Christianity; he corresponded
with Leibniz concerning controversies in mathematics, the explanation of
kinetic force, and the raging controversies over scholastic Aristotelian
metaphysics, and he worked on the new Leibniz-Newton calculus in the early
1690' S.l He undertook experiments on the formation of the fetus from fertiliza
tion to birth, by keeping large numbers of fertile chicken eggs, opening and
drawing and describing one per day for the full cycle of their maturation; as a
member of the highly-selective Christian 'institute for advanced studies'
maintained by the Oratory in Paris, he was one of the first scholars appointed to
the newly-chartered Royal Academy of Sciences in 16992; he tangled with
Antoine Arnauld concerning the formation of ideas and the problem of how to
verify or falsify them; he had seven of his works placed on the Index of banned
books during his lifetime and replied by writing a defense of what he called
"the spirit of free inquiry"3; his first book provoked John Locke to write a
critical "examination" which was eventually published after Locke's death,4
and later inspired Bishop Berkeley, as a college student, to paraphrase and