第28章

The Principles of the Former Essays applied to Government It is beyond all comparison better to prevent than to punish crime.Asystem of government therefore which shall prevent ignorance，and consequently crime，will be infinitely superior to one，which，by encouraging the first，creates a necessity for the last，and afterwards inflicts punishment on both.

The end of government is to make the governed and the governors happy.

That government，then，is the best，which in practice produces the greatest happiness to the greatest number；including those who govern，and those who obey.

In a former Essay we said，and it admits of practical demonstration，that by adopting the proper means，man may by degrees be trained to live in any part of the world without poverty，without crime，and without punishment；for all these are the effects of error in the various systems of training and governing error proceeding from very gross ignorance of human nature.

It is of primary importance to make this ignorance manifest，and to show what are the means which are endowed with that transcendent efficacy.

We have also said that man may be trained to acquire any sentiments and habits，or any character；and no one now，possessing pretensions to the knowledge of human nature，will deny that the government of any independent community may form the individuals of that community into the best，or into the worst characters.

If there be one duty therefore more imperative than another，on the government of every country，it is，that it should adopt，without delay，the proper means to form those sentiments and habits in the people，which shall give the most permanent and substantial advantages to the individuals and to the community.

Survey the acquirements of the earliest ages；trace the progress of those acquirements，through all the subsequent periods，to the present hour；and say if there be anything of real value in them，except that which contributes in practice to increase the happiness of the world.

And yet，with all the parade of learning contained in the myriads of volumes which have been written，and which still daily pour from the press，the knowledge of the first step of the progress which leads to human happiness remains yet unknown or disregarded by the mass of mankind.

The important knowledge to which we allude is，'That the old collectively may train the young collectively，to be ignorant and miserable，or to be intelligent and happy，And，on investigation，this will be found to be one of those simple yet grand laws of the universe，which experience discovers and confirms，and which，as soon as men become familiar with it，will no longer admit of denial or dispute.Fortunate will be that government which shall first acquire this knowledge in theory，and adopt it in practice.

To obtain its introduction into our own country first，a mode of procedure is now submitted to the immediate governing powers of the British Empire；and it is so submitted，with an ardent desire that it may undergo the most full and ample discussion，that if it shall，as on investigation it will，be found to be the only consistent and therefore rational，system of conducting human beings，it may be temperately and progressively introduced，instead of those defective national practices by which the state is now governed.

We therefore proceed to explain how this principle may now be introduced into practice，without injury to any part of society.

For it，is the time and manner of introducing this principle and its consequent practice，which alone constitute any difficulty.

This will appear evident when it is considered that although，from a plain statement of the most simple facts，the truth of the principle cannot fail to prove so obvious that no one will ever attempt openly to attack it；and although its adoption into practice will speedily accumulate benefits of which the world can now form no adequate conception；yet both theory and practice are to be introduced into a society trained and matured under principles that have impressed upon the individuals who compose it the most opposite habits and sentiments：which have been so entwined from infancy in their bodily and mental growth，that the simplicity and irresistible power of truth alone can disentangle them and expose their fallacy.It becomes then necessary，to prevent the evils of a too sudden change，that those who have been thus nursed in ignorance may be progressively removed from the abodes of mental darkness to the intellectual light which this principle cannot fail to produce.The light of true knowledge，therefore，must be first made to dawn on those dwellings of darkness，and afterwards gradually to increase，as it can be borne，by the opening faculties of their inhabitants.

To proceed on this plan it becomes necessary to direct our attention to the actual state of the British population，to disclose the cause of those great and leading evils of which all now complain.

It will then be seen that the foundation on which these evils have been erected is ignorance，proceeding from the errors which have been impressed on the minds of the present generation by its predecessors；and chiefly by that greatest of all errors，the notion that individuals form their own characters.For while this most inconsistent，and therefore most absurd，of all human conceptions shall continue to be forced upon the young mind，there will remain no foundation whatever on which to build a sincere love and extended charity for man to his fellow creatures.

But destroy this hydra of human calamity，this immolator of every principle of rationality，this monster，which hitherto has effectually guarded every avenue that can lead to true benevolence and active kindness，and human happiness will be speedily established on a rock from whence it shall never more be removed.