4p57sc.md (2651B)
1 It would be too long a task to enumerate here all the 2 evil results of pride, inasmuch as the proud are a prey to all 3 the emotions, though to none of them less than to love and pity. 4 I cannot, however, pass over in silence the fact, that a man may 5 be called proud from his underestimation of other people; and, 6 therefore, pride in this sense may be defined as pleasure arising 7 from the false opinion, whereby a man may consider himself 8 superior to his fellows. The dejection, which is the opposite 9 quality to this sort of pride, may be defined as pain arising 10 from the false opinion, whereby a man may think himself inferior 11 to his fellows. Such being the ease, we can easily see that a 12 proud man is necessarily envious (III. xli. note), and only takes 13 pleasure in the company, who fool his weak mind to the top of his 14 bent, and make him insane instead of merely foolish. 15 16 Though dejection is the emotion contrary to pride, yet is the 17 dejected man very near akin to the proud man. For, inasmuch as 18 his pain arises from a comparison between his own infirmity and 19 other men's power or virtue, it will be removed, or, in other 20 words, he will feel pleasure, if his imagination be occupied in 21 contemplating other men's faults; whence arises the proverb, 22 "The unhappy are comforted by finding fellow–sufferers." 23 Contrariwise, he will be the more pained in proportion as he 24 thinks himself inferior to others; hence none are so prone to 25 envy as the dejected, they are specially keen in observing men's 26 actions, with a view to fault–finding rather than correction, in 27 order to reserve their praises for dejection, and to glory 28 therein, though all the time with a dejected air. These effects 29 follow as necessarily from the said emotion, as it follows from 30 the nature of a triangle, that the three angles are equal to two 31 right angles. I have already said that I call these and similar 32 emotions bad, solely in respect to what is useful to man. The 33 laws of nature have regard to nature's general order, whereof man 34 is but a part. I mention this, in passing, lest any should think 35 that I have wished to set forth the faults and irrational deeds 36 of men rather than the nature and properties of things. For, as 37 I said in the preface to the third Part, I regard human emotions 38 and their properties as on the same footing with other natural 39 phenomena. Assuredly human emotions indicate the power and 40 ingenuity, of nature, if not of human nature, quite as fully as 41 other things which we admire, and which we delight to 42 contemplate. But I pass on to note those qualities in the 43 emotions, which bring advantage to man, or inflict injury upon 44 him. 45 46