BOOK III PART III
would not be mortified by that fiction: But
when a man, whom we are really persuaded
to be of inferior merit, is presented to us; if
we observe in him any extraordinary degree of
pride and self-conceit; the firm persuasion he
has of his own merit, takes hold of the imagi-
nation, and diminishes us in our own eyes, in
the same manner, as if he were really possessed
of all the good qualities which he so liberally
attributes to himself. Our idea is here precisely
in that medium, which is requisite to make it
operate on us by comparison. Were it accom-
panied with belief, and did the person appear
to have the same merit, which he assumes to
himself, it would have a contrary effect, and
would operate on us by sympathy. The influ-
ence of that principle would then be superior to
that of comparison, contrary to what happens
where the person’s merit seems below his pre-