THE THEORY OF MORAL SENTIMENTS; OR, AN ESSAY TOWARDS An ANALYSIS of the PRINCIPLES by which MEN naturally judge concerning the CONDUCT and CHARACTER, first of their NEIGHBOURS, and afterwards of THEMSELVES. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A DISSERTATION ON THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGES.
BY ADAM SMITH, L.L.D. F.R.S.
Formerly Professor of Philosophy in the University of Glasgow; and Author of the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations.
THE SIXTH EDITION.
DUBLIN:
Printed for J. BEATTY and C. JACKSON, No. 32, SKINNER-ROW.
M,DCC,LXXVII.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
Of the Propriety of Action.
SECTION I.
Of the sense of propriety Page 1.
CHAP. I. Of Sympathy ibid.
CHAP. II. Of the Pleasure of mutual Sympathy 9
CHAP. III. Of the manner in which we judge of the propriety or impropriety of the affections of other men, by their concord or dissonance with our own 14
CHAP. IV. The same subject continued 19
CHAP. V. Of the amiable and respectable virtues 27
SECTION II.
Of the degrees of the different passions which are consistent with propriety 33
CHAP. I. Of the passions which take their origin from the body 34
CHAP. II. Of those passions which take their origin from a particular turn or habit of the imagination 41
CHAP. III. Of the unsocial passions 46
CHAP. IV. Of the social passions 54
CHAP. V. Of the selfish passions 58
SECTION III.
Of the effects of prosperity and adversity upon the judgment of mankind with regard to the propriety of action; and why it is more easy to obtain their approbation in the one state than in the other 64
CHAP. I. That though our sympathy with sorrow is generally a more lively sensation than our sympathy with joy, it commonly falls much more short of the violence of what is naturally felt by the person principally concerned ibid.
CHAP. II. Of the origin of ambition, and of the distinction of ranks 74
CHAP. III. Of the stoical philosophy 89