Sciences of morality

It was impossible for there to be any science of morality, since the priests enjoyed the exclusive privilege of interpreting and judging actions. But these very subtleties, ridiculous and scandalous though they were, helped to discover and to assess the morality and motives of different actions the order and limit of duties and the principles according to which a choice was to be made if these duties conflict much as the study of a crude machine may help a clever mechanic to build a new and less imperfect one. 

---