Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog Project Gutenberg 2018-06-04 Public domain in the USA. 858 Mandeville, Bernard 1670 1733 De Mandeville, Bernard Mandeville, B. (Bernard) The Fable of the Bees; Or, Private Vices, Public Benefits Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) "The Fable of the Bees; Or, Private Vices, Public Benefits" by Bernard Mandeville is a philosophical work written in the early 18th century. The text explores the complex interplay between individual vices and the collective benefits they purportedly provide to society. Through allegorical storytelling, Mandeville examines moral values, questioning the conventional notions of virtue while illustrating how personal greed and selfishness can lead to a flourishing civilization. The opening of the work lays out Mandeville's critical view of social dynamics, using the metaphor of a bee hive to symbolize human society. He introduces the concept that the bees (representing people) thrive on both cooperation and vice, suggesting that even the most despised traits contribute to societal success. He critiques the apparent disconnect between the moral expectations of individuals and the economic realities that often require selfish behaviors for communal prosperity. Through this engaging metaphor, Mandeville sets the stage for a deeper inquiry into moral virtue and the nature of society. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 42.2 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Ethics -- Early works to 1800 Virtue -- Early works to 1800 Charity-schools -- Early works to 1800 BJ Text Category: Philosophy & Ethics 1598624 2025-07-23T03:43:00.535308 text/html 1578117 2018-06-04T06:57:10 text/html 673817 2025-07-23T03:43:22.782172 application/epub+zip 698029 2025-07-23T03:43:05.241301 application/epub+zip 687493 2025-07-23T03:43:02.880268 application/epub+zip 1138650 2025-07-23T03:43:34.684103 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1005652 2025-07-23T03:43:19.931175 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 972781 2022-08-25T17:31:34.348554 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1282021 2025-07-23T03:42:57.117311 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 1282160 2018-06-04T06:57:08 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 1282173 2018-06-04T06:57:08 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20449 2025-07-23T03:43:34.857098 application/rdf+xml 19546 2025-07-23T03:43:03.096261 image/jpeg 2811 2025-07-23T03:43:02.989254 image/jpeg 467738 2018-06-04T06:57:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 613482 2018-06-04T06:57:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 467639 2018-06-04T06:57:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 597985 2025-07-23T03:43:00.662267 application/octet-stream application/zip en.wikipedia