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| 21093 | Friendship without community spirit misses out on the main part of virtue |
| Full Idea: A man who is only susceptible of friendship, without public spirit or a regard to the community, is deficient in the most material part of virtue. | |||
| From: David Hume (That Politics may be reduced to a Science [1750], p.21) | |||
| A reaction: I think this is aimed at the epicureans. If the highest virtues are focused on one's friends that can easily lead to injustice, because it can tolerate prejudice against people who are very unlike one's friends. |
| 21091 | It would be absurd if even a free constitution did not impose restraints, for the public good |
| Full Idea: A republican and free form of government would be an obvious absurdity, if the particular checks and controls, provided by the constitution, had really no influence, and made it not the interest, even of bad men, to act for the public good. | |||
| From: David Hume (That Politics may be reduced to a Science [1750], p.14) | |||
| A reaction: Presumably if you attain absolute power you can write any old constitution you like (Clause 1: the presidency is for life). But there does seem much point in doing it - unless it is to facilitate the use of the law for persecutions. |
| 21092 | Nobility either share in the power of the whole, or they compose the power of the whole |
| Full Idea: A nobility may possess power in two different ways. Either every nobleman shares the power as part of the whole body, or the whole body enjoys the power as composed of parts, which each have a distinct power and authority. | |||
| From: David Hume (That Politics may be reduced to a Science [1750], p.15) | |||
| A reaction: He says the first type is found in Venice, and is preferable to the second type, which is found in Poland. Presumably in the shared version there is some restraint on depraved nobles. The danger is each noble being an autocrat. |