《道德情操论·卷三·论评判自己情感与行为的基础·三·论良心的影响与权威》第15节
The reward which Nature bestows upon good behaviour under misfortune, is thus exactly proportioned to the degree of that good behaviour. The only compensation she could possibly make for the bitterness of pain and distress is thus, too, in equal degrees of good behaviour, exactly proportioned to the degree of that pain and distress. In proportion to the degree of self-command which is necessary in order to conquer our natural sensibility, the pleasure and pride of the conquest are so much the greater; and this pleasure and pride are so great that no man can be altogether unhappy who completely enjoys them. Misery {129} and wretchedness can never enter the breast in which dwells complete self-satisfaction; and though it may be too much, perhaps, to say, with the Stoics, that, under such an accident as that above mentioned, the happiness of a wise man is in every respect equal to what it could have been under any other circumstances; yet it must be acknowledged, at least, that this complete enjoyment of his own self-applause, though it may not altogether extinguish, must certainly very much alleviate his sense of his own sufferings.
注释摘要
这一段描述了一个经济式的等式：自然赋予良好行为的回报，严格对应于行为所需的自我克制程度。斯密在这里处理的，其实是痛苦与道德满足之间的交换关系。他用一种近似权衡的语言说，痛苦越剧烈，克服它所需要的自制力就越大，而自制力越大，伴随征服而来的愉悦与骄傲也就越强烈。这种愉悦被他称为“自我赞许”，它不完全取消苦难，但构成了苦难中唯一的补偿物。 这里的关键在于，他明确…