Concerning all other bodily accomplishments we may observe in general, that whatever in ourselves is either useful, beautiful, or surprising, is an object of pride; and it’s contrary, of humility.  Now it is obvious, that every thing useful, beautiful or surprising, agrees in producing a separate pleasure and agrees in nothing else.  The pleasure, therefore, with the relation to self must be the cause of the passion.

Though it should be questioned, whether beauty be not something real, and different from the power of producing pleasure, it can never be disputed, that as surprize is nothing but a pleasure arising from novelty, it is not, properly speaking, a quality in any object, but merely a passion or impression in the soul.  It must, therefore, be from that impression, that pride by a natural transition arises.  And it arises so naturally, that there is nothing in us or belonging to us, which produces surprize, that does not at the same time excite that other passion.  Thus we are vain of the surprising adventures we have met with, the escapes we have made, and dangers we have been exposed to.  Hence the origin of vulgar lying; where men without any interest, and merely out of vanity, heap up a number of extraordinary events, which are either the fictions of their brain, or if true, have at least no connexion with themselves.  Their fruitful invention supplies them with a variety of adventures; and where that talent is wanting, they appropriate such as belong to others, in order to satisfy their vanity.

In this phaenomenon are contained two curious experiments, which if we compare them together, according to the known rules, by which we judge of cause and effect in anatomy, natural philosophy, and other sciences, will be an undeniable argument for that influence of the double relations above-mentioned.  By one of these experiments we find, that an object produces pride merely by the interposition of pleasure; and that because the quality, by which it produces pride, is in reality nothing but the power of producing pleasure.  By the other experiment we find, that the pleasure produces the pride by a transition along related ideas; because when we cut off that relation the passion is immediately destroyed..  A surprising adventure, in which we have been ourselves engaged, is related to us, and by that means produces pride:  But the adventures of others, though they may cause pleasure, yet for want of this relation of ideas, never excite that passion.  What farther proof can be desired for the present system?

There is only one objection to this system with regard to our body:  which is, that though nothing be more agreeable than health, and more painful than sickness, yet commonly men are neither proud of the one, nor mortifyed with the other.  This will easily be accounted for, if we consider the second and fourth limitations, proposed to our general system.  It was observed, that no object ever produces pride