BOOK I. $ 69. type. des bons effets dans la monarchie; elle donne la vie à ce gouvernement." We are but too well acquainted, The ambitious in England, with the excessive action of this principle; we know but too well the desire to be distinguished from the minutely different class below, and assimilated to the minutely different class above; we need a renovation, as of a genial spring restoring the wintry earth to life and warmth, a renovation which will relax the cankering gripe of this ambition, and restore, by the substitution of more natural aims, the sense and enjoyment of independence and brotherhood. 5. Passing to another subordinate type, humility is one of the emotions of comparison of being, and when the tendency to it is strongly marked produces a character very distinctly and obviously traced, that of the humble, meek, and lowly disposition. But this emotion has no passion founded on it, since its nature is to withdraw from rivalry and emulation rather than to court them. It combines readily with goodwill and love to others, and as such is itself amiable. It is from this combination that it acquires the title of a virtue, since a low estimate of oneself, if combined with illwill to others in consequence of that estimate, is hateful. The tendency to form a low estimate of self in comparison with others seems to belong to a low degree of mental activity, since it is to acquiesce in a judgment which derives its pleasure from the small amount of burden or task which it imposes. It enables the person to acquiesce in being guided by others; it aims at peace and rest, and avoids responsibility. Hence the humble character receives its colour from the other emotions with which it may be combined. Humility in com BOOK I. $ 69. type. bination with love is the state of mind which is meant by the term humility as the name of a Christian virtue. It may seem strange to find humility The ambitious classed under the head of ambition, being as it is rather a deterrent from rivalry, which is the soul of ambition. But it must be remembered that ambition is the character formed by the passions arising from emotions of comparison, not from these emotions themselves, which are opposites to each other; the passions are envy, jealousy, and emulation; when any of the emotions are predominant, they will form subordinate types of character which may be very different from those of the passions. The emotions on the side of the comparison unfavourable to self, that is, ashamedness, admiration of externals, humility, and admiration of essentials, as already said, have no passions; the passions spring from these emotions in combination with those on the other side of the balance, favourable to self; and yet these emotions may be strongly marked, so as to serve as foundations for distinct but subordinate types of character. And what is said of humility may be said also of other subordinate forms of these emotions, either alone or in combination with others, such as selfdenial, unselfishness, complaisance, submissiveness. A comparison with other persons, their possessions and faculties, is essential to all these emotions and their modifications of character; but the comparison itself does not become a passion, unless the superiority of self over others is the object of desire; and this desire is ambition. § 70. The self 70. 1. Another type of character is founded upon pride, one branch of the emotions which arise isolating type. in reflection on self alone. Reserve is the charac BOOK I. $ 70. The self isolating type. teristic of these; but the reserve of self-respect is modesty, that of pride is defiance. The emotions of reflection on self alone were described in § 30 as supposing two kinds of comparison to have taken place, first, comparison between oneself and other persons, secondly, comparison between the good and the bad features in one's own nature or history. Everything which can possibly be considered good in oneself or favourable to oneself may become material, object, or framework, for the emotion of pride. The comparison is then, in pride, given up by the unfavourable side of it being forgotten, not purposely but spontaneously, and the favourable side alone dwelt upon; only what is good in oneself is dwelt upon, the good in others and the bad in others are equally dropped out of view; and therewith all reciprocal obligations between oneself and others denied. This kind of pride, then, has no career before it, because it is founded, by its nature, in an error, in mistake of the facts of its representational framework. It requires a comparison to exist, and it tries to eliminate all comparison; it destroys the framework which is necessary to it. It might be pictured as lopping off the bough on which it is seated. It aims both at isolation from others and at isolation from portions and parcels of itself. Yet to effect this isolation it must keep producing and reproducing in thought the objects from which it would make abstraction. The future before it is only secured by the strengthening of the natural tendency which may be due to repeated acts of indulgence; the aim of the passion is not to intensify itself, but to intensify or complete the isolation which is one element of its object. BOOK I. CH. IV. $ 70. The self 2. But although this kind of pride has no career, the case is different with that kind of it which is self-respect, attaching to an ideal of character formed of other elements, and comparing itself constantly isolating type. with its own ideal; an emotion which is noble in proportion to the nobility of the character constituting the ideal, and which shares its career. When this ideal is noble, self-respect becomes one kind of Honour, which is an essential characteristic of all excellence; the other kind of Honour being that belonging to emulation (§ 69. 4). This kind of pride consists, then, in exclusive cultivation of one's own ideal; but that ideal may include the cultivation of every virtue. Towards others the conduct of the self-respecting man will be marked by a reserved benevolence, by scrupulous justice, by attentive delicacy and politeness. "There are proud men," says Landor, "of so much delicacy that it almost conceals their pride, and perfectly excuses it." Pericles and Aspasia, cxii. This kind of pride I should call selfrespect. The two kinds of pride must therefore be carefully distinguished, and that only which is the passion of self-isolation denied entrance into the system of virtues. 3. The combination of the irascible emotions with the better kind of pride has been touched upon in § 68. 4; they will also combine with the worse kind of pride, the tendency to proud self-isolation. The resulting disposition is then morose, sullen, sulky, a disposition too well known by its name to require description. The framework of this compound emotion, which, since it is a compound one, is already habit and disposition of character, is distinguished by the representation of some unwarranted intrusion VOL. I. LL Воок І. $ 70. The self isolating type. § 71. The amuse or encroachment on the rights of the person feeling sullen; of some intrusion on his self-isolating position. Take away the self-isolation, or take away the irascibility, either of the two elements of the compound emotion, and the emotion loses its peculiar character which we call sullenness or sulkiness. 4. It was said in § 30. 2, ad fin. that the emotion which arises in reflection on self alone was the most deeply rooted of all the reflective emotions, the staple and basis of the character, upon which all others might be conceived as engrafted. Nothing is more true; unless this emotion is strong, there can be no strength of character; it is the fountain-head of moral, that is, of reflective life, the emotion which is inseparable from reflection on self or self-consciousness; the source of de facto energy, as justice is of de jure validity. But, as we have seen, it is parted immediately into two streams, pride and self-respect, with the honour which belongs to each, and which is again different from the honour of emulation. The two characters, based respectively upon pride and upon self-respect, or which draw their life from these opposite streams, may be considered as dividing the world of character between them. The proud man is self-centred, the man of self-respect submits to revolve, as it were, round the centre of the universe, and to live his life as a part in a vast whole. The opposition between the two is the opposition between self-will and willing submission to universal laws. The latter alone is fully compatible with habits founded on the sense of justice and the moral law. § 71. Perhaps we ought not to omit a type or ment-seeker. rather a class of characters which forms a prominent portion of mankind, but one not perhaps so numerous |