ThedutyofTruth-speakingissometimestakenasastrikinginstanceofamoralrulenotrestingonaUtilitarianbasis。
Butacarefulstudyofthequalificationswithwhichthecommonopinionofmankindactuallyinculcatesthisdutyseemstoleadustoanoppositeresult:fornotonlyisthegeneralutilityoftruth-speakingsomanifestastoneednoproof，butwhereverthisutilityseemstobeabsent，oroutweighedbyparticularbadconsequences，wefindthatCommonSenseatleasthesitatestoenforcetherule。Forexample，ifamanbepursuingcriminalends，itisprimafacieinjurioustothecommunitythatheshouldbeaidedinhispursuitbybeingabletorelyontheassertionsofothers。Here，then，deceptionisprimafacielegitimateasaprotectionagainstcrime:thoughwhenweconsiderthebadeffectsonhabit，andthroughexample，ofevenasingleactofunveracity，thecaseisseentobe，onUtilitarianprinciples，doubtful:andthisisjusttheviewofCommonSense。Again，thoughitisgenerallyaman’sinteresttoknowthetruth，thereareexceptionalcasesinwhichitisinjurioustohim——aswhenaninvalidhearsbadnews——andhere，too，CommonSenseisdisposedtosuspendtherule。Again，wefounditdifficulttodefineexactlywhereinVeracityconsists；forwemayeitherrequiretruthinthespokenwords，orintheinferenceswhichthespeakerforeseeswillbedrawnfromthem，orinboth。PerfectCandour，nodoubt，wouldrequireitinboth:butinthevariouscircumstanceswherethisseemsinexpedient，weoftenfindCommonSenseatleasthalf-willingtodispensewithoneorotherpartofthedoubleobligation。Thuswefoundarespectableschoolofthinkersmaintainingthatareligioustruthmayproperlybecommunicatedbymeansofahistoricalfiction:and，ontheotherhand，theunsuitabilityofperfectfranknesstoourexistingsocialrelationsisrecognisedinthecommonrulesofpoliteness，whichimposeonusnotunfrequentlythenecessityofsuppressingtruthsandsuggestingfalsehoods。IwouldnotsaythatinanyofthesecasesCommonSensepronouncesquitedecidedlyinfavourofunveracity:butthenneitherisUtilitarianismdecided，astheutilityofmaintainingageneralhabitoftruth-speakingissogreat，thatitisnoteasytoproveittobeclearlyoutweighedbyevenstrongspecialreasonsforviolatingtherule。
YetitmaybeworthwhiletopointouthowthedifferentviewsastothelegitimacyofMalevolentimpulses，outofwhichwefoundithardtoframeaconsistentdoctrineforCommonSense，exactlycorrespondtodifferentforecastsoftheconsequencesofgratifyingsuchimpulses。Primafacie，thedesiretoinjureanyoneinparticularisinconsistentwithadeliberatepurposeofbenefitingasmuchaspossiblepeopleingeneral；accordingly，wefindthatwhatImaycallSuperficialCommonSensepassesasweepingcondemnationonsuchdesires。Butastudyoftheactualfactsofsocietyshowsthatresentmentplaysanimportantpartinthatrepressionofinjurieswhichisnecessarytosocialwellbeing；
accordingly，thereflectivemoralistshrinksfromexcludingitaltogether。
Itisevident，however，thatpersonalill-willisaverydangerousmeanstothegeneralhappiness:foritsdirectendistheexactoppositeofhappiness；