Page:Four Dissertations - David Hume (1757).djvu/169

 receive a much greater satisfaction from the approbation of those, whom we ourselves esteem and approve of, than of those, whom we contemn and despise.

esteem is obtained after a long and intimate acquaintance, it gratifies our vanity in a peculiar manner.

suffrage of those, who are shy and backward in giving praise, is attended with an additional relish and enjoyment, if we can obtain it in our favour.

a great man is nice in his choice of favourites, every one courts with greater earnestness his countenance and protection.

never gives us much pleasure, unless it concur with our own opinion, and extol us for those qualities, in which we chiefly excel.

phænomena seem to prove, that the favourable opinions of others are regarded only as authorities, or as confirmations of our own opinion. And if they have more influence in this subject than in any other, it is