The Principles of Pride and Humility

The object of a passion is different from its cause.

Pride [ego] and humility [shame] have the self for their object through a natural and original property.

• The constancy of this phenomenon proves this.

The self is always the object of pride [ego] and humility [shame]

• This makes pride [ego] and humility [shame] different from other passions.

These original qualities are from the soul itself.

This makes the a soul with pride and humility have the self for its object.

Is the cause of pride [ego] and humility [shame] as natural as the self which is it object?

Men can never become entirely indifferent to their power, riches, beauty or personal merit.

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The causes of pride and humility are:

• natural, but not original [fixed or constant]
• very many, many of which:
  • are the effects of art
  • arise partly from:
    • the industry which houses, furniture, clothes
    • caprice
      • Caprice determines their kinds and qualities.
    • the good fortune of men

It discovers the effects that result from the different mixtures and combinations of bodies.

We must conclude that each cause of pride and humility is not adapted to the passions by a distinct original quality.

Instead, there are some circumstances common to all of them, which their efficacy depends on.

The principles of Nature are few, but the effects are many.

The unskillful naturalist recourses to a different quality for each different operation.

Moral philosophy is in the same condition as natural philosophy, with regard to astronomy before Copernicus’ time.

The ancients knew the maxim that nature does nothing in vain.

But they invented intricate systems of the heavens which seemed inconsistent with true philosophy.