ABSTRACT
Two kinds of men are truly autonomous: the primitive man in isolation and the virtuous man in society. The former, since he has no relations with others, has but to follow his instincts without restraint. Following the impulses of nature, he must be good, and, being immune from the knowledge of evil, he must be happy. To live rightly and happily in contemporary society, man must have the strength to combat evil. He must have virtue; that is, he must obey the dictates of conscience, which are developments under the operation of ‘right reason’ of the fundamental passion implanted by nature or providence: the desire of self-conservation or the amour de soi. The only lesson in morality suitable to infancy, and the most important for all ages, is never to do evil to anyone.
