114
The
Present State of Ethical Philosophy
borrowed from the Druids
his imperfect
moral
system.
We
shall
enumerate the chief points of disThe most which has ethics.
tinction in
modern
been done
is
the tracing with great precision the of the systems in order to adapt
lines
boundary them, more and more accurately, to the known relations of truth.
The moderns
have made their ethical writ-
ings of a more practical character than the sages of antiquity. It is common to accuse them of
having written on such subjects as admitted of much display, to have paid more regard to the author than to the reader.
The
ancients bal-
anced the comparative excellence of two virtues ; they determined the
or the badness of two vices
question whether solitude or society were the better condition for virtue. The moderns have substituted inquiries of deep interest for those of
We
would ask, in only speculative importance. what of or Socrates discussion Aristotle passing, can compare,
in this respect,
with the train of
reasoning by which Dr. Price arrives at the con-