revision of the third book of the Treatise, and had definitely shown, what certainly was implicit in his system, that all the virtues are such because they conduce to 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number,' he would have stated the Utilitarian principle practically in its modern form. As it was, he freed the doctrine from the unfortunate dogma that the motive of the moral agent is always, in the last resort, egoistic. This was a distinct advance upon Gay, which, however, was wasted upon Tucker, Paley, and Bentham, all of whom reproduce the position of the "Dissertation." Even as stated to-day, the 'greatest happiness' theory does not seem likely to be accepted as the final word of Ethics; but it would hardly be too much to claim that the Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, with all its defects and shortcomings, is the classic statement of English Utilitarianism.
