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53 Book II u s e c t i o n i u The Principal Distinctions of Duty or Virtue We have now considered the Constitution and Connections of Man, and on these erected a general System of Duty, or Moral Obligation, consonant to Reason, approved by his most sacred and intimate Sense, suitable to his mixed Condition, and confirmed by the Experience of Mankind. We have also traced the final Causes of his Moral Faculties and Affections to those noble Purposes they answer both with regard to the private and the public System. From this Induction it is evident, that there is one Order or Class of Duties which Man owes to himself. Another to Society. And a third to God. The Duties he owes to himself are founded chiefly on the defensive and private Passions, which prompt him to pursue whatever tends to private Good or Happiness, and to avoid, or ward off whatever tends to private Ill or Misery. Among the various Goods which allure and solicit him, and the various Ills which attack or threaten him, “To be intelligent and accurate in selecting one, and rejecting the other, or in preferring the most excellent Goods, and avoiding the most terrible Ills, when there is a Competition among either, and to be discreet in using the best Means to attain the Goods and avoid the Ills, is what we call PruGeneral Division of Duty Duties to one’s self ...

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