Principles of Morals and

Principles of Morals and Legislation/57
member. This circumstance operates principally through the medium of
religious sensibility and religious biases. It operates, however, as an
indication more or less conclusive, with respect to several other circum-
stances. With respect to some, scarcely but through the medium of the
two just mentioned: this is the case with regard to the quantum and bias
of a man’s moral, sympathetic, and antipathetic sensibility: perhaps in
some cases with regard to quantity and quality of knowledge, strength
of intellectual powers, and bent of inclination. With respect to others, it
may operate immediately of itself: this seems to be the case with regard
to a man’s habitual occupations, pecuniary circumstances, and
connexions in the way of sympathy and antipathy. A man who pays
very little inward regard to the dictates of the religion which he finds it
necessary to profess, may find it difficult to avoid joining in the ceremo-
nies of it, and bearing a part in the pecuniary burthens it imposes. By
the force of habit and example he may even be led to entertain a partial-
ity for persons of the same profession, and a proportionable antipathy
against those of a rival one. In particular, the antipathy against persons
of different persuasions is one of the last points of religion which men
part with. Lastly, it is obvious, that the religious profession a man is of
cannot but have a considerable influence on his education. But, consid-
ering the import of the term education, to say this is perhaps no more
than saying in other words what has been said already.
XLIII. These circumstances, all or many of them, will need to be
attended to as often as upon any occasion any account is taken of any
quantity of pain or pleasure, as resulting from any cause. Has any per-
son sustained an injury? they will need to be considered in estimating
the mischief of the offense.. Is satisfaction to be made to him? they will
need to be attended to in adjusting the quantum of that satisfaction. Is
the injurer to be punished? they will need to be attended to in estimating
the force of the impression that will be made on him by any given pun-
ishment.
XLIV. It is to be observed, that though they seem all of them, on
some account or other, to merit a place in the catalogue, they are not all
of equal use in practice. Different articles among them are applicable to
different exciting causes. Of those that may influence the effect of the
same exciting cause, some apply indiscriminately to whole classes of
persons together; being applicable to all, without any remarkable differ-
ence in degree: these may be directly and pretty fully provided for by the
legislator. This is the case, for instance, with the primary circumstances

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58/Jeremy Bentham
of bodily imperfection, and insanity: with the secondary circumstance
of sex: perhaps with that of age: at any rate with those of rank, of cli-
mate, of lineage, and of religious profession. Others, however they may
apply to whole classes of persons, yet in their application to different
individuals are susceptible of perhaps an indefinite variety of degrees.
These cannot be fully provided for by the legislator; but, as the exist-
ence of them, in every sort of case, is capable of being ascertained, and
the degree in which they take place is capable of being measured, provi-
sion may be made for them by the judge, or other executive magistrate,
to whom the several individuals that happen to be concerned may be
made known. This is the case, 1. With the circumstance of health. 2. In
some sort with that of strength. 3. Scarcely with that of hardiness: still
less with those of quantity and quality of knowledge, strength of intel-
lectual powers, firmness or steadiness of mind; except in as far as a
man’s condition, in respect of those circumstances, maybe indicated by
the secondary circumstances of sex, age, or rank: hardly with that of
bent of inclination, except in as far as that latent circumstance is indi-
cated by the more manifest one of habitual occupations: hardly with
that of a man’s moral sensibility or biases, except in as far as they may
be indicated by his sex, age, rank, and education: not at all with his
religious sensibility and religious biases, except in as far as they may be
indicated by the religious profession he belongs to: not at all with the
quantity or quality of his sympathetic or antipathetic sensibilities, ex-
cept in as far as they may be presumed from his sex, age, rank, educa-
tion, lineage, or religious profession. It is the case, however, with his
habitual occupations, with his pecuniary circumstances, and with his
connexions in the way of sympathy. Of others, again, either the exist-
ence cannot be ascertained, or the degree cannot be measured. These,
therefore, cannot be taken into account, either by the legislator or the
executive magistrate. Accordingly, they would have no claim to be taken
notice of, were it not for those secondary circumstances by which they
are indicated, and whose influence could not well be understood without
them. What these are has been already mentioned.
XLV. It has already been observed, that different articles in this list
of circumstances apply to different exciting causes: the circumstance of
bodily strength, for instance, has scarcely any influence of itself (what-
ever it may have in a roundabout way, and by accident) on the effect of
an incident which should increase or diminish the quantum of a man’s
property. It remains to be considered, what the exciting causes are with

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