BOOK II PART II
out any communication together. The want of
relation in the ideas breaks the relation of the
impressions, and by such a separation prevents
their mutual operation and influence.
To confirm this we may observe, that the
proximity in the degree of merit is not alone
sufficient to give rise to envy, but must be as-
sisted by other relations. A poet is not apt
to envy a philosopher, or a poet of a differ-
ent kind, of a different nation, or of a different
age. All these differences prevent or weaken
the comparison, and consequently the passion.
This too is the reason, why all objects appear
great or little, merely by a comparison with
those of the same species. A mountain neither
magnifies nor diminishes a horse in our eyes;
but when a Flemish and a Welsh horse are seen
together, the one appears greater and the other