Essays on the Foundation and Publication of Opinions, and on other Subjects. Essays of the Pursuit of Truth, on the Progress of Knowledge, and the Fundamental Principles of all Evidence and Expectation. [pp. 394-428]

The Formation of Opinions,
and it is a numerous one-men are responsible for their erroneous belief, if they are for any thing.
This opinion is not founded on any speculative reasoning;
it is the dictate of common sense; and is confirmed by
the judgment of unprejudiced mef in every age and every
country, where the inhabitants are capable of forming an
opinion on such subjects. How does it come to pass that all
men are so prone to form opinions favourable to their own
interests? Are they not swayed by an inordinate self-love?
Are not opinions formed under the influence of such feelings
wrong? When a man judges that, in a certain controversy,
his neighbour has injured him, or is indebted to him, while
impartial spectators declare the contrary to be the fact, is
there no evil in these selfish opinions? A man has it in his
power to relieve a number of suffering poor; but having long
indulged and pampered his avarice, under the influence of
this sordid passion, he has persuaded himself, that he is under
no obligation to help the poor; that charity of this kind
only tends to foster indolence and improvidence. Is there
no demerit in such opinions, thus contracted? Suppose a
man to have taken offence at another, because his pride was
not regarded and gratified; and suppose, that through resentment and malevolence, he ascribes the most virtuous conduct
of his neighbour to the basest and most sinister motives, is
there no moral obliquity in such opinions? But, I need not
pursue this topic; the truth is too evident to require any
further illustration. It may, however, be proper before we
dismiss the subject, to state a case, which is, probably, the
very one that has given rise to all these speculations about
men's irresponsibility for their belief and opinions. We will
suppose that God has given a revelation to man, which contains many truths offensive to the pride, and disgustful to the
taste of certain learned philosophers: the consequence is, that
they refuse to give the evidences of this revelation a careful
and impartial examination. Or, depending on their own reason as a sufficient guide, they adopt certain opinions and
maxims which are repugnant to the truths and principles of
revelation; and thus, undertaking to bring these truths to the
test of their own reason, they proudly reject them: concluding, that God never could have made sluchl a communication
to men. And, upon the same principles, they might adopt
the opinion that God never made such a world as this, in
which we live; for the analogy between the Bible and area
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