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THE RELATIVE DUTIES OF MANKIND. [Part III.

miserable. One neighbour is, perhaps, more successful thananother, in the management of his affairs ; or he acquires a largershare of honor and esteem; hence, again, arise jealousy, envy,and ill-will, manifested on every occasion, and in every formwhich can annoy and disturb him against whom these balefulpassions are excited.

(2.) Again, neighbourhoods are frequently disturbed by mutualirritations, proceeding originally from very slight provocations.Two adjoining neighbours, perhaps, both lay claim to the same stripor nook of land, of no real importance to either. At first, theymutually urge their claims in moderate and decent language ; byand by one of them uses angry and irritating expressions; to thissucceed mutual abuse and menaces ; at length comes actual vio-lence, in expectation of which, each arms himself for combat;and, it may be, the loss of the life or limbs of one or both ofthe combatants is the fruit of a controversy originally insignificant.

(3.) Sometimes a single individual, of a restless and turbulenttemper, disturbs an entire neighbourhood, by exciting quarrelsand lawsuits, fomenting jealousies, forming parties, &c. Oneor a few individuals may make a neighbourhood so uncomfortableand undesirable, that the worthy and peaceable may be com-pelled to leave it in self-defence. Juvenal mentions one way ofdoing this,* and a hundred other ways of doing the same thingare known to every bad neighbour.

* Sat. XIV. 145.