1haveplacedNeighbourhoodalongwithKindredamongtherelationsoutofwhichacertainclaimformutualservicesisthoughttospring。However，nooneperhapswouldsaythatmerelocaljuxtapositionisinitselfagroundofduties:itseemsratherthatneighboursnaturallyfeelmoresympathywithoneanotherthanwithstrangers，asthetieofcommonhumanityisstrengthenedevenbysuchconjunctionandmutualassociationasmereneighbourhood(withoutcooperationorfriendship)mayinvolve，andamaninwhomthiseffectisnotproducedisthoughtmoreorlessinhuman。
Andsoinlargetownswherethismutualsympathydoesnotsonaturallygrowup(forallthetownsmenareinasenseneighbours，andonecannoteasilysympathisewitheachindividualinamultitude)，thetieofneighbourhoodisfelttoberelaxed，andneighbouronlyclaimsfromneighbour，asthenearestman，whatonemanmayclaimfromanother。Fortherearesomeservices，slightinordinarytimesbutgreaterinthecaseofexceptionalneed，whichanymanisthoughttohavearighttoaskfromanyother:sothatacomparativelytriflingcircumstancemayeasilygiveaspecialdirectiontothisgeneralclaim，andmakeitseemreasonablethattheserviceshouldbeaskedfromonepersonratherthananother。Thusanydegreeofkinshipseemstohavethiseffect(sincetherepresentationofthistendstoproduceafeelingofunionandconsequentsympathy)，andsoeventhefactofbelongingtothesameprovince，ascreatingaslightprobabilityofcommunityoforigin-andagainsimilaritiesofvariouskinds，asonesympathisesmoreeasilywithone’slike，andsopersonsnaturallyseekaidindistressfromthoseofthesameage，orsex，orrank，orprofession。Thedutyofneighbourhoodseemsthereforeonlyaparticularapplicationofthedutyofgeneralbenevolenceorhumanity。Andtheclaimoffellow-countrymenisofthesamekind:thatis，iftheyaretakenasindividuals；forone’srelationtoone’scountryasawholeisthoughttobeofadifferentkind，andtoinvolvemuchmorestringentobligations。
StillthedutiesofPatriotismaredifficulttoformulate。Forthemereobediencetothelawsofacountrywhichmoralityrequiresfromallitsinhabitantsseemstocomeunderanotherhead:andaliensareequallyboundtothis。Andinthecaseofmostsocialfunctionswhichmenundertake，patriotismisatleastnotaprominentnorindispensablemotivefortheyundertakethemprimarilyforthesakeofpaymentandhavingundertakenthem，areboundbyJusticeandGoodFaithtoperformthemadequately。However，ifanyofthefunctionsofGovernmentareunpaid，weconsiderthatmenexhibitpatriotisminperformingthem:
forthoughitisplausibletosaythattheygettheirpaymentinsocialdistinction，stillonreflectionthisviewdoesnotappeartobequiteappropriate；sincesocialdistinctionisintendedtoexpressfeelingsofhonourandrespect，andwecannotproperlyrendertheseaspartofabargain，butonlyasatributepaidtovirtueorexcellenceofsomekind。Buthowfaranyindividualisboundtoundertakesuchfunctionsisnotquiteclear:
andthequestionseemsgenerallydecidedbyconsiderationsofexpediency，——exceptinsofarasdutiesofthiskinddevolve，legallyorconstitutionally，uponallthecitizensinafreecountry，asisordinarilythecasetosomeextent。Amongthesethedutyoffightingthenationalenemiesisprominentinmanycountries:andevenwherethisfunctionhasbecomeasalariedandvoluntarilyadoptedprofession，itisoftenfelttobeinaspecialsensethe`serviceofone’scountry’，andwethinkitatleastdesirableandbestthatitshouldbeperformedwithfeelingsofpatriotism:aswefinditsomewhatdegradingandrepulsivethatamanshouldslaughterhisfellow-menforhire。AndingreatcrisesofnationalexistencetheaffectionofPatriotismisnaturallyintensified:andeveninordinarytimeswepraiseamanwhorendersservicestohiscountryoverandabovethecommondutiesofcitizenship。
Butwhetheracitizenisatanytimemorallyboundtomorethancertainlegallyorconstitutionallydeterminedduties，doesnotseemtobeclear:
nor，again，istheregeneralagreementonthequestionwhetherbyvoluntaryexpatriationhecanrightfullyrelievehimselfofallmoralobligationstothecommunityinwhichhewasborn。
Nor，finally，doesthereseemtobeanyconsensusastowhateachmanowestohisfellow-men，assuch。TheUtilitariandoctrine，aswehaveseen，isthateachmanoughttoconsiderthehappinessofanyotherastheoreticallyofequalimportancewithhisown，andonlyoflessimportancepractically，insofarasheisbetterabletorealisethelatter。AnditseemstomedifficulttosaydecidedlythatthisisnottheprincipleofgeneralBenevolence，asrecognisedbythecommonsenseofmankind。Butitmustbeadmittedthatthereisalsocurrentalowerandnarrowerestimateoftheservicesthatweareheldtobestrictlyboundtorendertoourfellowmengenerally。Thislowerviewseemstorecognise(l)——aswasbeforenoticed——anegativedutytoabstainfromcausingpainorharmtoanyofourfellow-men，exceptinthewayofdeservedpunishment；towhichwemayadd，asanimmediatecorollary，thedutyofmakingreparationforanyharmthatwemayhavedonethem:and(2)apositivedutytorender，whenoccasionoffers，suchservicesasrequireeithernosacrificeonourpart，oratleastoneverymuchlessinimportancethantheservicerendered。Further，ageneralobligationofbeing`usefultosociety’bysomekindofsystematicworkisvaguelyrecognised；richpersonswhoaremanifestdronesincursomedegreeofcensurefromthemajorityofthoughtfulpersons。BeyondthissomewhatindefinitelimitofDutyextendstheVirtueofBenevolencewithoutlimit:forexcessisnotthoughttobepossibleindoinggoodtoothers，norinthedispositiontodoit，unlessitleadsustoneglectdefiniteduties。
UnderthenotionofBenevolenceasjustdefined，theminorrulesofGentleness，Politeness，Courtesy，etc。maybebrought，insofarastheyprescribetheexpressionofgeneralgoodwillandabstinencefromanythingthatmaycausepaintoothersinconversationandsocialdemeanour。Thereis，however，animportantpartofPolitenesswhichitmaybewelltonoticeanddiscussseparately；theduty，namely，ofshowing，marksofReverencetothosetowhomtheyareproperlydue。
ReverencewemaydefineasthefeelingwhichaccompaniestherecognitionofSuperiorityorWorthinothers。Itdoesnotseemtobenecessarilyinitselfbenevolent，thoughoftenaccompaniedbysomedegreeoflove。Butitsethicalcharacteristicsseemanalogoustothoseofbenevolentaffection，insofaras，whileitisnotafeelingdirectlyunderthecontrolofthewill，weyetexpectitundercertaincircumstancesandmorallydislikeitsabsence，andperhapscommonlyconsidertheexpressionofittobesometimesaduty，evenwhenthefeelingitselfisabsent。
Still，astothislatterdutyofexpressingreverence，thereseemstobegreatdivergenceofopinion。Forthefeelingseemstobenaturallyexcitedbyallkindsofsuperiority，——notmerelymoralandintellectualexcellences，butalsosuperioritiesofrankandposition:
andindeedinthecommonbehaviourofmenitistothelatterthatitismoreregularlyandformallyrendered。Andyet，again，itiscommonlysaidthatReverenceismoreproperlyduetotheformer，asbeingmorerealandintrinsicsuperiorities:andmanythinkthattoshowanyreverencetomenofrankandpositionratherthantoothersisservileanddegrading:andsomeevendislikethemarksofrespectwhichinmostcountriesareexactedbyofficialsuperiorsfromtheirsubordinates，sayingthatobediencelegallydefinedisallthatisproperlyowedinthisrelation。
AmoreseriousdifficultyofasomewhatsimilarkindariseswhenweconsiderhowfaritisadutytocultivatetheaffectionofLoyalty:meaningbythisterm——whichisusedinvarioussenses——theaffectionthatisnormallyfeltbyawell-disposedservantorofficialsubordinatetowardsagoodmasterorofficialsuperior。Ontheonebanditiswidelythoughtthatthedutiesofobediencewhichbelongtotheserelationswillbebetterperformedifaffectionentersintothemotive，nolessthanthedutiesofthefamilyrelations:butintheformercaseitseemstobeatenableviewthatthehabitsoforderlinessandgoodfaith-ungrudgingobediencetolawandungrudgingfulfilmentofcontract-willordinarilysuffice，withoutpersonalaffection；and，ontheotherhand，adispositiontoobeysuperiors，beyondthelimitsoftheirlegalorcontractualrightstoissuecommands，mayeasilybemischievousinitseffects，ifthesuperiorsareill-disposed。Inthecaseofawiseandgoodsuperioritis，indeed，clearlyadvantageousthatinferiorsshouldbedisposedtoobeybeyondtheselimits；butitisnotthereforeclearthatthisdispositionisonewhichitshouldbemadeadutytocultivatebeyondthedegreeinwhichitresultsspontaneouslyfromasenseofthesuperior’sgoodnessandwisdom。NordoIthinkthatanydecidedenunciationofdutyonthispointcanbeextractedfromCommonSense。
WehavenexttoconsiderthedutiesofAffectionthatariseoutofrelationshipsvoluntarilyassumed。
OfthesethemostimportantistheConjugalRelation。Andherewemaybeginbyaskingwhetheritbethedutyofhumanbeingsgenerallytoenterintothisrelation。Itisnodoubtnormaltodoso，andmostpersonsarepromptedtoitbystrongdesires:butinsofarasitcanbesaidtobeprescribedbyCommonSense，itdoesnotseemanindependentduty，butderivativefromandsubordinatetothegeneralmaximsofPrudenceandBenevolence。[1]Andinallmoderncivilisedsocieties，lawandcustomleavetheconjugalunionperfectlyoptional:buttheconditionsunderwhichitmaybeformed，andtoacertainextentthemutualrightsanddutiesarisingoutofit，arecarefullylaiddownbylaw；anditiswidelythoughtthatthisdepartmentoflawmorethanothersoughttobegovernedbyindependentmoralprinciples，andtoprotect，asitwere，byanouterbarrier，thekindofrelationwhichmoralityprescribes，Ifweaskwhattheseprinciplesare，CommonSense——inmodernEuropeancommunities——seemstoanswerthatthemarriageunionoughttobe(1)exclusivelymonogamic，(2)atleastdesignedtobepermanent，and(3)notwithincertaindegreesofconsanguinity。Idonot，however，thinkthatanyofthesepropositionscanonreflectionbemaintainedtobeself-evident。Evenagainstincestweseemtohaveratheranintensesentimentthanaclearintuition；anditisgenerallyrecognisedthat
theprohibitionofallbutmonogamicunionscanonlyberationallymaintainedonutilitariangrounds。2Asregardsthepermanenceofthemarriage-contractallwouldnodoubtagreethatfidelityisadmirableinallaffections，andespeciallyinsocloseandintimatearelationastheconjugal:butwecannottellapriorihowfaritispossibletopreventdecayofloveinallcases:anditiscertainlynotself-evidentthattheconjugalrelationoughttobemaintainedwhenlovehasceased；northatifthepartieshaveseparatedbymutualconsenttheyoughttobeprohibitedfromformingfreshunions。Insofarasweareconvincedoftherightnessofthisregulation，itisalways，Ithink，fromaconsiderationofthegenerallymischievousconsequencesthatwouldensueifitwererelaxed。
Further，inconsideringtheevilsontheoppositesideweareledtoseethatthereisnolittledifferenceofopinionamongmoralpersonsastothekindoffeelingwhichismorallyindispensabletothisrelation。Forsomewouldsaythatmarriagewithoutintenseandexclusiveaffectionisdegradingeventhoughsanctionedbylaw:whileotherswouldconsiderthisamerematteroftaste，oratleastofprudence，providedtherewasnomutualdeception:andbetweenthesetwoviewswemightinsertseveraldifferentshadesofopinion。
Nor，again，isthereagreementastotheexternaldutiesarisingoutoftherelationship。Forallwouldlaydownconjugalfidelity，andmutualassistance(accordingtothecustomarydivisionoflabourbetweenmenandwomen——unlessthisshouldbemodifiedbymutualagreement)。Butbeyondthiswefinddivergence:forsomestatethat``themarriagecontractbindseachparty，wheneverindividualgratificationisconcerned，topreferthehappinessoftheotherpartytoitsown’’:[3]
whileotherswouldsaythatthisdegreeofunselfishnessiscertainlyadmirable，butasamerematterofdutyitisenoughifeachconsiderstheother’shappinessequallywithhis(orher)own。Andastothepowersandlibertiesthatoughttobeallowedtothewife，andtheobedienceduefromhertothehusband——Ineedscarcelyatthepresenttime(1874)wastespaceinprovingthatthereisnoconsensusofmoralopinion。
Theconjugalrelationis，initsorigin，offreechoice，butwhenithasoncebeenformed，thedutiesofaffectionthatariseoutofitarecommonlythoughttobeanalogoustothosearisingoutofrelationsofconsanguinity。Itthereforeholdsanintermediatepositionbetweentheselatter，andordinaryfriendships，partnerships，andassociations，whichmenareequallyfreetomakeandtodissolve。Nowmostassociationsthatmenformareforcertaindefiniteends，determinedbyexpresscontractortacitunderstanding:accordinglythedutyarisingoutofthemismerelythatoffidelitytosuchcontractorunderstanding，whichwillbeconsideredlaterundertheheadsofJusticeandGoodFaith。ButthisdoesnotseemtobethecasewithwhatinastrictsenseofthetermarecalledFriendships:foralthoughFriendshipfrequentlyarisesamongpersonsassociatedforotherends，yettherelationisalwaysconceivedtohaveitsendinitself，andtobeformedprimarilyforthedevelopmentofmutualaffectionbetweenthefriends，andthepleasurewhichattendsthis。Still，itisthoughtthatwhensuchanaffectionhasoncebeenformeditcreatesmutualdutieswhichdidnotpreviouslyexist:wehavethereforetoinquirehowfarthisisthecase，andonwhatprinciplesthesecanbedetermined。
NowhereanewkindofdifficultyhastobeaddedtothosewhichwehavealreadyfoundinattemptingtoformulateCommonSense。Forwefindsomewhosaythat，asitisessentialtoFriendshipthatthemutualkindlyfeeling，andtheservicesspringingfromit，shouldbespontaneousandunforced，neithertheonenortheothershouldbeimposedasaduty；and，inshort，thatthisdepartmentoflifeshouldbefencedfromtheintrusionofmoralprecepts，andlefttothefreeplayofnaturalinstinct。Aridthisdoctrineallwouldperhapsadmittoacertainextent:
