5521. MORALITY, Code of.—
I know but one code of morality for men, whether acting
singly or collectively. He who says I will
be a rogue when I act in company with a hundred
others, but an honest man when I act
alone, will be believed in the former assertion,
but not in the latter. I would say with the
poet, “hic niger est, hunc tu Romane cavato”.
If the morality of one man produces a just line
of conduct in him, acting individually, why
should not the morality of one hundred men
produce a just line of conduct in them, acting
together?—
To James Madison. Washington ed. iii, 99.
Ford ed., v, 111.
(P.
1789)
