BOOK II PART I
to frame statues of such an admirable mecha-
nism, that they coued move and act in obedi-
ence to the will; it is evident the possession of
them would give pleasure and pride, but not
to such a degree, as the same authority, when
exerted over sensible and rational creatures,
whose condition, being compared to our own,
makes it seem more agreeable and honourable.
Comparison is in every case a sure method of
augmenting our esteem of any thing. A rich
man feels the felicity of his condition better by
opposing it to that of a beggar. But there is a
peculiar advantage in power, by the contrast,
which is, in a manner, presented to us, betwixt
ourselves and the person we command. The
comparison is obvious and natural: The imagi-
nation finds it in the very subject: The passage
of the thought to its conception is smooth and
easy. And that this circumstance has a consid-