ll these, the dictates of goodwill are the surest of coinciding with
utility, since utility corresponds precisely to the widest and
best-advised goodwill. Even here, however, there may be failure, since
benevolence towards one group may clash with benevolence towards
another. Next stands love of reputation, which is less secure, since it
may lead to asceticism and hypocrisy. Third comes the desire of amity,
valuable as the sphere in which amity is sought is extended, but also
liable to breed insincerity. Religion would stand first of all if we all
had a correct perception of the divine goodness; but not when we
conceive of God as malevolent or capricious; and, as a matter of fact,
our conception of the Deity is controlled by our personal biases.

The self-regarding motives are, _ex hypothesi_, not so closely related
to utility as the social motives, and the dissocial motives manifestly
stand at the bottom of the scale. In respect to any particular action
there may be a conflict of motives, some impelling towards it, others
restraining from it; and any motive may come in conflict with any other
motive. It will be found hereafter that in the case of some offences the
motive is material in the highest degree, and in others wholly
immaterial; in some cases easy, and in others impossible to gauge.

_III.--The Principles of Punishment_

Goodness or badness, then, cannot be predicated of the motive. What is
good or bad in the man when actuated by one motive or another is his
disposition, or permanent attitude of mind, which is good or bad as
tending to produce effects beneficial to the community. It is to be
considered in regard to its influence on (1) his own happiness; (2)
other people's. The legislator is concerned with it so far as it is
mischievous to others. A man is held to be of a mischievous disposition
when it is presumed--for it is a mere presumption--that he inclines to
acts which appear to him mischievous. Here it is that "intentionality"
and "consciousness" come in.

Where the tendency of the act is good, and the motive is a social one, a
good disposition is indicated; where the tendency is bad, and the motive
is self-regarding, a bad disposition is indicated. Otherwise, the
indication of good or bad disposition may be very dubious or
non-existent; as may easily be seen by constructing examples. Now, our
problem is to measure the depravity of a man's disposition, which may be
defined as the sum of his intent