BOOK II. of the passions.

PART I. of pride and humility

SECTION IX. Of external advantages and disadvantages.

The qualities of the mind and body of the self are the causes of pride and humility. But those of a multiplicity of external objects also produce the affections and obscure these primary ones. A thing must have some relation to us to excite our pride: a beautiful fish in the ocean does not, no matter how much it amazes. The thing must "hang, in a manner" on our self and make an easy transition to our self.

Resemblance here does not keep up with contiguity and causation. A likeness will only, perhaps, produces a more advantageous idea of one’s self.

The vanity resulting from resembling a great person does not go far and is of little moment. The trifles of another are of interest only when the other has shining qualities, which are the real cause of vanity. But the link from them to us through the trifles is tenuous, and one is in some measure ashamed when this is noticed.

Contiguity or causation remain. The association of ideas works silently, "we are scarce sensible of it, and discover it more by its effects than by any immediate feeling or perception. It produces not emotion, and gives rise to no new impression of any kind, but only modifies those ideas, of which the mind was formerly possess'd, and which it cou'd recal upon occasion." The association if ideas is not sufficient to give rise to any passion.

Some other principle concurs in producing the passion. This is the only way to conceive it: the transition would be superfluous otherwise. But they do have an effect, by connecting related impressions and by increasing and diminishing them. The pleasure gives rise to the pride in one’s country, county, parish.

How could the climate, fertility, productivity, language of the homeland produce pride but through the transition?

We can be vain of foreign countries which we have visited, due to the rarity of travelers there.

We can be vain of closer things, connected by blood and friendship.

We want people connected to us to be rich, as we are proud of our own riches, and we remove the poor as far as possible. We pump up our ancestry.

There is the phenomenon of pride in land held a long time and transmitted through males entirely.

The identity of possessions strengthens the relation of blood.

The transmission through males increases pride because of the relative social standing of males and females. "In the society of marriage, the male sex has the advantage above the female." The general rule favors the father, even when the mother is superior in spirit and genius. It also weakens the transition in the imagination when the line of male succession is cut off.