Other Limitations of My System

Limitation 3. The pleasant or painful object is very discernible and obvious to ourselves and others.

This has an effect on joy and pride, like limitations 1 and 2.

We feel happier, more virtuous or beautiful, when we appear so to others.

But we are still more ostentatious of our virtues than of our pleasures.

Limitation 4. The inconstancy of the cause of pride and joy and the short duration of its connection with ourselves

The casual and inconstant gives little joy, and even less pride.

The short term nature of the thing makes us less joy from it and therefore less pride.

We foresee that the thing will change.

We compare it to ourselves which is more durable.

We do not assign excellence to ourselves for a postiive short term thing.

The self is not so essential to joy than to pride.

This is why short term joys have more force than pride.

Limitation 5: The enlargement of this system

General rules* influence pride, humility, and all the other passions [impressions].

Hence we form a notion of different ranks of men, suitable to the power of riches they have.

We do not change this notion with the change of their health or their temper which may deprive them of their possessions.

This principle also applies to our reasonings [ideas].

General rules and maxims influence the passions.

• These facilitate the effects of all the principles

If an alien were suddenly transported into our world, he would be embarrassed with every thing from his unbiased perspective.

He would not understand why we humans attribute certain passions to certain things.

The passions are often varied by very inconsiderable principles. ◦ These do not always play with a perfect regularity, especially on the first trial.

Custom and practice have:

• brought to light all these principles
• settled the just value of everything

These:

• contribute to the easy production of the passions
• guide us, by means of general established maxims, in the proportions we should observe in preferring one object to another.

This remark may obviate difficulties that may arise from causes which I shall hereafter ascribe to particular passions. ◦ These passions may be esteemed too refined to operate so universally and certainly, as they are found to do.

I shall close this subject with a reflection derived from these five limitations: ◦ The proudest persons, who have most reason for their pride in the eye of the world, are not always the happiest. ◦ The most humble persons are not always the most miserable.

An evil may be real even if its cause has no relation to us.

It may be real, without: ▪ being peculiar ▪ being constant ▪ showing itself to others ▪ falling under the general rules.

Such evils as these will not fail to render us miserable, though they have little tendency to reduce pride. ◦ Perhaps the most real and solid evils of life have this nature.