52. The necessity of pursuing true happiness the foundation of liberty.
As therefore the highest perfection of
intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness; so the care of ourselves, that
we mistake not imaginary for real happiness, is the necessary foundation of our liberty. The stronger ties we have
to an unalterable pursuit of happiness in general, which is our greatest good, and which, as such, our desires
always follow, the more are we free from any necessary determination of our will to any particular action, and
from a necessary compliance with our desire, set upon any particular, and then appearing preferable good, till we
have duly examined whether it has a tendency to, or be inconsistent with, our real happiness: and therefore, till we
are as much informed upon this inquiry as the weight of the matter, and the nature of the case demands, we are, by
the necessity of preferring and pursuing true happiness as our greatest good, obliged to suspend the satisfaction of
our desires in particular cases.
