The sociological theory of capital Author:John Rae Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER I. OF ECONOMIC AMBITION AND THE MEANS ESSENTIAL TO ITS REALIZATION. Cicbro gives the following summary of the principles exciting man to action, an... more »d of the mode in which they lead him to act: " inter hominem et beluam hoc maxime interest, quod haec tantum, quantum sensu movetur, ad id solum, quod adest, quodque prsesens est, se accommodat, paullulum admodum sentiens prseteritum, aut futurum. Homo autem, quod rationis est particeps, per quam consequentia cernit, causas rerum videt, earumque progressus, et quasi anteces- siones non ignorat, similitudines comparat, et rebus praesentibus adjungit atque annectit futuras: facile totius vitse cursum videt, ad eamque degendam prseparet res necessarias. Eademque natura vi rationis hominem conciliat homini et ad orationis, et ad vitte societatem: ingeneratque in primis prsecipuum quendam amorem in eos, qui procreati sunt: impellitque ut hominum coetus, et celebrationes, ease, et a se obiri velit: ob easque causas studeat parare ea, quse suppeditent et ad cultum, et ad victum: nee sibi soli, sed conjugi, liberis, ceterisque, quos caros habeat, tuerique debeat." " The chief distinction between man and the inferior animals consists in this. They are moved only by the immediate impressions of sense, and, as its impulses prompt, seek to gratify them from the objects before them, scarce regarding the future, or endeavoring from the experience of the past to provide against what is to come. Man again, as he is endowed with reason, by which he is able to connect effects with their causes,to perceive the principles which guide the progress of affairs, and to join together the present and the future, easily discerns the course of his whole life and prepares whatever may be necessary for passing it in comfort. The same intellect...« less