“How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.”

Such a principle was recognized within the law of the harvest. Among many interpretations thereof, freely giving of one's self (with no expectation of return) to another's benefit brings a certain happiness and pleasure to the noble being.

Helping someone when no one will find out about it is an example, or aiding someone in distress even if they support Obama.

100 stars! I believe people are inherently 'good' and do not like to see people suffer or even be unhappy. I do not need to be coerced to be compassionate towards others -- it is my pleasure and my honor. Goodness is its own reward.

I've often wondered why lefty dirtbags hate this guy so much. I can't imagine they've ever actually read him.

Grace and Mercy make the defining difference.

Civilization, in its entirety, is predicated upon the vestigial presence of Grace in infralapsarian Man.
Without Grace, which is the very substance of true Humanity, there can be no empathy, no Mercy, no Humanity, no civilization.