BOOK II PART II
ers, that it is not the great disproportion be-
twixt ourself and another, which produces it;
but on the contrary, our proximity. A com-
mon soldier bears no such envy to his gen-
eral as to his sergeant or corporal; nor does an
eminent writer meet with so great jealousy in
common hackney scriblers, as in authors, that
more nearly approach him. It may, indeed, be
thought, that the greater the disproportion is,
the greater must be the uneasiness from the
comparison. But we may consider on the other
hand, that the great disproportion cuts off the
relation, and either keeps us from comparing
ourselves with what is remote from us, or di-
minishes the effects of the comparison. Resem-
blance and proximity always produce a rela-
tion of ideas; and where you destroy these ties,
however other accidents may bring two ideas
together; as they have no bond or connecting