A careful and strict enquiry into the modern prevailing notions of that freedom of…

Every pre-possessing fixed Bias on the Mind brings a Degree of moral Inability for the contrary; because so far as the Mind is biassed and pre-possessed, so much Hindrance is there of the contrary. And therefore if moral Inability be inconsistent with moral Agency, or the Nature of Virtue and Vice, then so far as there is any such Thing as evil Disposition of Heart, or habitual Depravity of Inclination; whether Covetousness, Pride, Malice, Cruelty, or whatever else; so much the more excusable Persons are; so much the less have their evil Acts of this Kind, the Nature of Vice. And on the contrary, whatever excellent Dispositions and Inclinations they have, so much are they the less virtuous.

Every pre-possessing fix'd Bias on the Mind brings a Degree of moral Inability for the contrary; because so far as the Mind is biassed and pre-possessed, so much Hindrance is there of the contrary. And therefore if moral Inability be inconsistent with moral Agency, or the Nature of Vertue and Vice, then so far as there is any such Thing as evil Disposition of Heart, or habitual Depravity of Inclination; whether Covetousness, Pride, Malice, Cruelty, or whatever else; so much the more excusable Persons are; so much the less have their evil Acts of this Kind, the Nature of Vice. And on the contrary, whatever excellent Dispositions and Inclinations they have, so much are they the less vertuous.

'Tis evident, that no habitual Disposition of Heart, whether it be to a greater or lesser Degree, can be in any Degree virtuous or vicious; or the Actions which proceed from them at all Praise or Blame-worthy. Because, tho' we should suppose the Habit not to be of such Strength as wholly to take away all moral Ability and self-determining Power; or hinder but that, altho' the Act be partly from Bias, yet it may be in Part from Self-determination; yet in this Case, all that is from antecedent Bias must be set aside, as of no Consideration; and in estimating the Degree of Virtue or Vice, no more must be considered than what arises from self-determining Power, without any Influence of that Bias, because Liberty is exercised in no more: So that all that is the Exercise of habitual Inclination, is thrown away, as not belonging to the Morality of the Action. By which it appears that no Exercise of these Habits, let 'em be stronger or weak can ever have any Thing of the Nature of either Virtue or Vice.