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　　Inthefirstplace，CommonSensegivesusonly，atthebest，anestimatetrueforanaverageortypicalhumanbeing:and，aswehavealreadyseen，itisprobablethatanyparticularindividualwillbemoreorlessdivergentfromthistype。Inanycase，therefore，eachpersonwillhavetocorrecttheestimateofcommonopinionbytheresultsofhisownexperienceinordertoobtainfromittrustworthyguidanceforhisownconduct:andthisprocessofcorrection，itwouldseem，mustbeinvolvedinallthedifficultiesfromwhichwearetryingtoescape。

　　But，secondly，theexperienceofthemassofmankindisconfinedwithinlimitstoonarrowforitsresultstobeofmuchavailinthepresentinquiry。

　　Themajorityofhumanbeingsspendmostoftheirtimeinlabouringtoavertstarvationandseverebodilydiscomfort:andthebriefleisurethatremainstothem，aftersupplyingthebodilyneedsoffood，sleep，etc。，isspentinwaysdeterminedratherbyimpulse，routine，andhabit，thanbyadeliberateestimateofprobablepleasure。Itwouldseem，then，thatthecommonsensetowhichwehaveheretorefercanonlybethatofaminorityofcomparativelyrichandleisuredpersons。

　　Butagain，wecannottellthatthemassofmankind，oranysectionofthemass，isnotgenerallyandnormallyundertheinfluenceofsonicofthecausesofmal-observationpreviouslynoticed。Weavoidthe``idolsofthecave’’bytrustingCommonSense，butwhatistoguardusagainstthe``idolsofthetribe’’？Moreover，thecommonestimateofdifferentsourcesofhappinessseemstoinvolvealltheconfusionofideasandpointsofview，whichindefiningtheempiricalmethodofHedonismwehavetakensomepainstoeliminate。Inthefirstplaceitdoesnotdistinguishbetweenobjectsofnaturaldesireandsourcesofexperiencedpleasure。

　　NowwehaveseenBooki。chap。iv。thatthesetwoarenotexactlycoincident——indeedwefindnumerousexamplesofmenwhocontinuenotonlytofeelbuttoindulgedesires，thegratificationofwhichtheyknowbyampleexperiencetobeattendedwithmorepainthanpleasure。Andthereforethecurrentestimateofthedesirabilityofobjectsofpursuitcannotbetakentoexpresssimplymen’sexperienceofpleasureandpain:formenareapttothinkdesirablewhattheystronglydesire，whetherornottheyhavefounditconducivetohappinessonthewhole:andsothecommonopinionwilltendtorepresentacompromisebetweentheaverageforceofdesiresandtheaverageexperienceoftheconsequencesofgratifyingthem。

　　Wemustallowagainfortheinterminglingofmoralwithpurelyhedonisticpreferencesintheestimateofcommonsense。Forevenwhenmendefinitelyexpectgreaterhappinessfromthecourseofconductwhichtheychoosethanfromanyother，itisoftenbecausetheythinkittheright，ormoreexcellent，ormorenoblecourse；making，moreorlessunconsciously，theassumptionwhichweshallpresentlyhavetoconsider

　　thatthemorallybestactionwillprovetobealsothemostconducivetotheagent’shappiness。Andasimilarassumptionseemstobemade——withoutadequatewarrant——asregardsmerely&aelig；stheticpreferences。

　　Again，theintroductionofthemoraland&aelig；stheticpointsofviewsuggeststhefollowingdoubt:——Arewetobeguidedbythepreferenceswhichmenavow，orbythosewhichtheiractionswouldleadustoinfer？Ontheonehand，wecannotdoubtthatmenoften，fromweaknessofcharacter，failtoseekwhattheysincerelybelievewillgivethemmostpleasureinthelong-run:ontheotherhand，asagenuinepreferenceforvirtuousorrefinedpleasureisamarkofgenuinevirtueorrefinedtaste，menwhodonotreallyfeelsuchpreferenceareunconsciouslyorconsciouslyinfluencedbyadesiretogaincreditforit，andtheirexpressestimateofpleasuresisthusmodifiedandcoloured。

　　But，evenifwehadnodoubtongeneralgroundsthatCommonSensewouldproveourbestguideinthepursuitofhappiness，weshouldstillbeperplexedbyfindingitsutterancesonthistopicverydeficientinclearnessandconsistency。I

　　donotmerelymeanthattheyaredifferentindifferentagesandcountries——thatwemightexplainasduetovariationsinthegeneralconditionsofhumanlife——:butthatseriousconflictsandambiguitiesarefoundifweconsideronlythecurrentcommonsenseofourownageandcountry。Wecanmakealistofsourcesofhappinessapparentlyrecommendedbyanoverwhelmingconsensusofcurrentopinion:ashealth，wealth，friendshipandfamilyaffections，fameandsocialposition，power，interestingandcongenialoccupationandamusement，——includingthegratification，insomeform，oftheloveofknowledge，andofthoserefined，partlysensual，partlyemotional，susceptibilitieswhichwecall&aelig；sthetic。[1]Butifweinquireintotherelativevalueoftheseobjectsofcommonpursuit，weseemtogetnoclearanswerfromCommonSense——unless，perhaps，itwouldbegenerallyagreedthathealthoughttobeparamounttoallothersecondaryends:thoughevenonthispointwecouldnotinfergeneralagreementfromobservationoftheactualconductofmankind。Nay，evenasregardsthepositiveestimateofthesesourcesofhappiness，wefindoncloserexaminationthatthesupposedconsensusismuchlessclearthanitseemedatfirst。Notonlyaretherenumerousandimportantbodiesofdissidentsfromthecurrentopinions:buttheverysamemajority，thesameCommonSenseofMankindthatmaintainstheseopinions，isfoundinasingularandunexpectedmannertowelcomeandapprovetheparadoxesofthesedissidents。Menshowareallystartlingreadinesstoadmitthattheestimatesofhappinesswhichguidethemintheirordinaryhabitsandpursuitsareerroneousandillusory；

　　andthatfromtimetotimetheveilis，asitwere，lifted，andtheerrorandillusionmademanifest。

　　For，first，menseemtoattachgreatvaluetotheamplegratificationofbodilyappetitesandneeds:thewealthierpartofmankindspendaconsiderableamountofmoneyandforethoughtuponthemeansofsatisfyingtheseinaluxuriousmanner:andthoughtheydonotoftendeliberatelysacrificehealthtothisgratification——commonsensecondemnsthatasirrational——stillonemaysaythattheyarehabituallycourageousinpressingforwardtotheveryvergeofthisimprudence。

　　Andyetthesamepeoplearefondofsayingthat``hungeristhebestsauce’’，andthat``temperanceandlabourwillmakeplainfoodmoredelightfulthanthemostexquisiteproductsoftheculinaryart’’。Andtheyoftenarguewithperfectsinceritythattherichhavereallynoadvantage，orscarcelyanyadvantage，overthecomparativelypoor，inrespectofthesepleasures；forhabitsoonrendersthemoreluxuriousprovisionforthesatisfactionoftheiracquiredneedsnomorepleasanttotherichthantheappeasingofhismoreprimitiveappetitesistothepoorman。Andthesameargumentisoftenextendedtoallthematerialcomfortsthatwealthcanpurchase。Itisoftencontendedthathabitatoncerendersusindifferenttothesewhiletheyareenjoyed，andyetunabletodispensewiththemwithoutannoyance:sothatthepleasuresofthemerelyanimallifearenogreatertotherichthantothepoor，butonlymoreinsecure。Andfromthisthereisbutashortsteptotheconclusion，thatwealth，inthepursuitofwhichmostmenagreeinconcentratingtheirefforts，andontheattainmentofwhichallcongratulateeachother，——wealth，forwhichsomanyrisktheirhealth，shortentheirlives，reducetheirenjoymentsofdomesticlife，andsacrificethemorerefinedpleasuresofcuriosityandart，——isreallyaverydoubtfulgain，inthemajorityofcases；becausethecaresandanxietieswhichitentailsbalance，formostmen，theslightadvantageoftheluxurieswhichitpurchases。

　　Andsimilarly，althoughsocialrankandstatusis，inEngland，anobjectofpassionatepursuit，yetitiscontinuallysaid，withgeneralapproval，thatitisofnointrinsicvalueasameansofhappiness；thatthoughtheprocessofascendingfromalowergradetoahigherisperhapsgenerallyagreeable，andtheprocessofdescendingfromahighertoalowercertainlypainful，yetpermanentexistenceontheloftierlevelisnomorepleasantthanonthehumbler；thathappinessistobefoundaseasilyinacottageasinapalaceifnot，indeed，moreeasilyinthecottage:andsoforth。

　　StillmoretritearethecommonplacesastotheemptinessandvanityofthesatisfactiontobederivedfromFameandReputation。Thecaseofposthumousfame，indeed，isastrikinginstanceofthegeneralpropositionbeforelaiddown，thatthecommonlyacceptedendsofactionaredeterminedpartlybytheaverageforceofdesiresthatarenotdirectedtowardspleasure，norconformedtoexperiencesofpleasure。

　　Forposthumousfameseemstorankprettyhighamongtheobjectsthatcommonopinionregardsasgoodordesirablefortheindividual:andthepursuitofitisnotordinarilystigmatisedascontrarytoprudence，evenifitleadsamantosacrificeotherimportantsourcesofhappinesstoaresultofwhichbeneverexpectstobeactuallyconscious。Yettheslightestreflectionshowssuchapursuittobeprimafacieirrational，fromanegoisticpointofview；andeverymoraliserhasfoundthisanobviousandpopulartopic。Theactualconsciousnessofpresentfameisnodoubtverydelightfultomostpersons:stillthemoraliserdoesnotfinditdifficulttomaintainthateventhisisattendedwithsuchcounterbalancingdisadvantagesasrenderitshedonisticvalueverydoubtful。

　　Again，thecurrentestimateofthedesirabilityofPoweristolerablyhigh，andperhapsthemorecloselyandanalyticallyweexaminetheactualmotivesofmen，themorewidespreadandpredominantitspursuitwillappear:formanymenseemtoseekwealth，knowledge，evenreputation，asameanstotheattainment，ofpower，ratherthanfortheirownsakesorwithaviewtootherpleasures。Andyetmenassentwillinglywhentheyaretoldthatthepursuitofpower，asoffame，ispromptedbyavainambition，neversatisfied，butonlyrenderedmoreuneasyby，suchsuccessasispossibleforit:thattheanxietieswhichattendnotonlythepursuitbutthepossessionofpower，andthejealousiesanddangersinseparablefromthelatter，faroutweighitspleasures。

　　Societyofsomesortnoonecandenytobenecessarytohumanhappiness:butstillthekindanddegreeofsocialintercoursewhichisactuallysoughtbythemorewealthyandleisuredportionofthecommunity，withnolittleexpenditureoftime，trouble，andmeans，isoftendeclaredtoyieldamostthinandmeagreresultofpleasure。

　　Wefind，nodoubt，greatagreementamongmodernmoralisersastotheimportanceoftheexerciseofthedomesticaffectionsasameansofhappiness:andthiscertainlyseemstohaveaprominentplaceintheplanoflifeofthemajorityofmankind。Andyetitmayfairlybedoubtedwhethermeningeneraldovaluedomesticlifeveryhighly，apartfromthegratificationofsexualpassion。Certainlywheneveranypartofcivilisedsocietyisinsuchastatethatmencanfreelyindulgethispassionandatthesametimeavoidtheburdenofafamily，withoutanyseriousfearofsocialdisapprobation，celibacytendstobecomecommon:ithasevenbecomesocommonastoexcitethegraveanxietyoflegislators。Andthoughsuchconducthasalwaysbeendisapprovedbycommonsense，itseemstoberathercondemnedasanti-socialthanasimprudent。

　　Thusourexaminationshowsgreatinstabilityanduncertaintyinthemostdecisivejudgmentsofcommonsense——since，asIhavesaid，bodilycomfortandluxury，wealth，fame，power，societyaretheobjectswhichcommonopinionseemsmostclearlyandconfidentlytorecommendassourcesofpleasure。ForthoughthepleasuresderivedfromArtandthecontemplationofthebeautifulinNature，andthoseofcuriosityandtheexerciseoftheintellectgenerally，arehighlypraised，itisdifficulttoformulatea``commonopinion’’inrespectofthem，sincethehighestimatesoftensetuponthemseemtoexpresstherealexperienceofonlysmallminorities。Andthoughthesehavepersuadedthemassofmankind，orthatportionofitwhichispossessedofleisure，toletCultureberegardedasanimportantsourceofhappiness；theycanscarcelybesaidtohaveproducedanygenerallyacceptedopinionastoitsimportanceincomparisonwiththeothersourcesbeforementioned，thepleasuresofwhicharemoregenuinelyappreciatedbythemajority；stilllessastotherelativevalueofdifferentelementsofthisculture。

　　Butevensupposingtheconsensus，inrespectofsourcesofhappiness，werefarmorecompleteandclearthanimpartialreflectionseemstoshow，itsvaluewouldstillbeconsiderablyimpairedbythedissentofimportantminorities，whichwehavenotyetnoticed。

　　Forexample，manyreligiouspersonsregardallmundanepleasuresasmeanandtrifling；sofullofvanityandemptinessthattheeagerpursuitofthemisonlypossiblethroughever-renewedillusion，leadingtoever-repeateddisappointment。Andthisviewissharedbynotafewreflectivepersonswhohavenoreligiousbias:asisevidentfromthenumerousadherentsthatPessimismhaswoninrecenttimes。Indeedasomewhatsimilarjudgment，onthevalueoftheordinaryobjectsofhumanpursuit，hasbeenpassedbymanyphilosopherswhohavenotbeenpessimists:andwhenweconsiderthatitisthephilosopher’sespecialbusinesstoreflectwithcareandprecisiononthefactsofconsciousness，weshallhesitate，inanydisputebetweenphilosophersandthemassofmankind，toletourconclusionbedeterminedbymerelycountingheads。Ontheotherhand，ashasbeenalreadyobserved，thephilosopher’ssusceptibilitiesandcapacitiesoffeelingdonotfairlyrepresentthoseofhumanityingeneral:andhenceifhe~