《道德情操论·卷六·论德性的品质·二·总论个人品质中影响他人幸福的部分》第1节
INTRODUCTION.--The character of every individual, so far as it can affect the happiness of other people, must do so by its disposition either to hurt or to benefit them. Proper resentment for injustice attempted, or actually committed, is the only motive which, in the eyes of the impartial spectator, can justify our hurting or disturbing in any respect the happiness of our neighbour. {193} To do so from any other motive is itself a violation of the laws of justice, which force ought to be employed either to restrain or to punish. The wisdom of every state or commonwealth endeavours, as well as it can, to employ the force of the society to restrain those who are subject to its authority from hurting or disturbing the happiness of one another. The rules which it establishes for this purpose, constitute the civil and criminal law of each particular state or country. The principles upon which those rules either are, or ought to be founded, are the subject of a particular science, of all sciences by far the most important, but hitherto, perhaps, the least cultivated, that of natural jurisprudence; concerning which it belongs not to our present subject to enter into any detail. A sacred and religious regard not to hurt or disturb in any respect the happiness of our neighbour, even in those cases where no law can properly protect him, constitutes the character of the perfectly innocent and just man; a character which, when carried to a certain delicacy of attention, is always highly respectable and even venerable for its own sake, and can scarce ever fail to be accompanied with many other virtues, with great feeling for other people, with great humanity and great benevolence. It is a character sufficiently understood, and requires no further explanation. In the present section I shall only endeavour to explain the foundation of that order which nature seems to have traced out for the distribution of our good offices, or for the direction and employment of our very limited powers of beneficence: first, towards individuals; and secondly, towards societies. The same unerring wisdom, it will be found, which regulates every other part of her conduct, directs, in this respect too, the order of her recommendations; which are always stronger or weaker in proportion as our beneficence is more or less necessary, or can be more or less useful.
注释摘要
在第六卷“论德性的品质”的导言部分，斯密为整卷的论述划出了一个极为清晰的框架。他首先关心的是，一个人的品格究竟通过什么途径才能对他人的幸福产生影响。他的回答很简单：要么倾向于伤害他人，要么倾向于施惠于他人。这不是一种泛泛而谈的开场白，而是把问题直接拉回到行为与后果的层面——所有涉及他人幸福的事情，归根结底都落在我们是要去伤害还是要去帮助别人这一点上。 紧接…