My views have withstood the test of time. My ideas were imbedded into the constitutions of revolutionary France and of the United States of America. In modern terms my views express the underpinning Republican principle of common sense liberal humanism. The principle function of human reason is the search for Truth. This search is part of the Universal Nature of Man.
Truth is the good.
Actions in conflict with these virtues are abhorrent. Pain and pleasure are irrelevant in all actions done in accordance with this duty. Self-interest can never be used as a yardstick for action. This is the root of all discontent - and an idea completely at variance with the Universal Nature. I say that virtue in a great man is moral - not political.