The Fable of the Bees Or, Private Vices, Public Benefits
Mandeville, Bernard, 1670-1733Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019
Rating 4.5- Word count
- 1.2M words
- Chapters
- 124
Tags
English Originals Western Philosophy History of PhilosophyPolitical AllegoryPower GameHuman NatureIntellectual EnlightenmentSocial CritiqueWestern ThoughtMoral CultivationMoral DilemmaSatirical StyleSummary
Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Fable of the Bees; Or, Private Vices, Public Benefits by Bernard MandevilleAuthor: Mandeville, Bernard, 1670-1733,Language: English, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Jun 4, 2018Editor's review
The Fable of the Bees is Mandeville's work discussing ethics, economics, and social order in the form of fable and satire. Its value lies not in offering mild moral exhortation but in juxtaposing "private vices" with "public benefits," forcing readers to reexamine the complex relations among desire, luxury, division of labor, and prosperity. Its views often unfold through irony, and its arguments are sharp and easily provoke controversy; precisely for this reason it is an intriguing text for understanding modern ethical thought and political economy. This edition is a Project Gutenberg electronic version in the original English, suitable for reading as a classic in intellectual history. Readers should not take the "private vices" in the book as the author's direct position, but attend to the layers of fable narrative and argumentative context. It is advisable to read alongside annotations or relevant introductions to intellectual history, sorting out concepts as one goes.Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in the intellectual history of modern ethics and political economy
- Readers of English originals who enjoy ironic argumentation and allegorical writing
- Upper-level students needing to discuss the relationship between private and public interest
- Enthusiasts seeking to expand their reading of Western intellectual classics
Not a good fit for
- General readers who prefer light stories and dislike argumentative prose
- Readers who need modern Chinese annotation and are uncomfortable with the English original
- Readers expecting systematic moral lessons or inspirational maxims
Reading tips
- Read the preface and the main allegorical poem first to grasp the overall satirical framework, then proceed to the prose arguments.
- Keep pen and paper to sort out key terms like 'private vices' and 'public benefits,' avoiding mistaking irony for literal claims.
- Read alongside intellectual-history introductions or course notes to help locate its targets of argument and period context.
- If the English original is hard going, read Chinese scholarly introductions first, then return to selected key passages in the original.
About the publisher
Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.
Contents
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FAQ
Does this book argue that 'private vices necessarily bring public benefits'?
That is too simple a summary. Mandeville argues through fable and irony, focusing on revealing the complex tension between desire, luxury, and social prosperity, and challenging the moral complacency of his time. Readers should distinguish narrator, fable characters, and authorial intent, understanding them in context rather than taking aphorisms in the book as the author's direct political claims.My English is average—can I read this Gutenberg e-book?
You can try, but be prepared. The style includes allegorical poetry and prose argument, with period-flavored English and multiple layers of argument. Read Chinese introductions or scholarly prefaces first to understand the core issues, then select key chapters; if you only want the gist, use annotated editions or secondary literature for support.What should I pay most attention to while reading?
Irony and argumentative context matter most. Offensive-sounding views are often placed within a fable or a specific argumentative position and cannot be quoted out of context. Note as you read 'who is speaking,' 'to whom,' and 'why,' and trace how core concepts shift across passages to better grasp the text's intellectual tension.This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Mandeville, Bernard, 1670-1733 AuthorBernard Mandeville (1670–1733) was a satirical writer and thinker active in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Public information about his life and nationality is limited, and five of his works are held in this collection. He is best known for The Fable of the Bees: Or, Private Vices, Public Benefits, which uses fable and allegory to explore the paradoxical relationship between desire, luxury, and social prosperity, and which aroused widespread controversy. His An Enquiry into the Causes of the Frequent Executions at Tyburn examines punishment and social problems, while An Enquiry into an Origin of Honour and the Usefulness of Christianity in War discusses ethics and religion. Aesop Dress'd: Or, A Collection of Fables Writ in Familiar Verse reveals his taste for instruction through satire, and A Letter to Dion completes the group. His style is incisive, relying on irony and illustrative argument, and he often challenges moral preconceptions with provocative claims. His work has had a lasting influence on later discussions of human nature, commercial society, and the public good.