Greek, has got hold of it. When in the council which is held by the mortal instruments, as he denominates the passions, and the genius, as he terms the higher principle of reason or conscience, when in this council the mortal instruments prevail over the genius, the state of man, like to a little kingdom, suffers then the nature of an insurrection; in other words, the law of our constitution is violated, the man goes to neck, crime and misery ensue. The Stoical precept was, vivere convenienter naturæ; in Greek, ὁμολογουμένος τῇ φύσει ζῆν, which means, to maintain the law of our being, live conformably to that law. The meaning of which again is simply this, that we must allow that relation of superiority and inferiority to subsist which nature herself has established among the different principles of our constitution, and that in doing so we shall attain to both virtue and happiness. And this, as we have seen, is no other than the foundation on which the whole of Bishop Butler's ethical system reposes. It is unnecessary for me, therefore, to enlarge further on the submission which we must yield to the law of our being if we would attain to virtue and happiness.
6. There is this, however, to be observed, that, unlike Butler, the Stoics make self-love to be the elementary principle of human action. This is a natural principle which leads man, and indeed all animated creatures, to adopt means by which their own preservation and welfare may be secured. To
