Chap. VII.] IMMORAL INFLUENCE OF SKEPTICISM.

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cured the approbation of others. Very different is that restlessdesire of distinction, that passion for theatrical display, whichinflames the heart and occupies the whole attention of vain men.This, of all the passions, is the most unsocial, avarice itself notexcepted. The reason is plain. Property is a kind of goodwhich may be more easily attained, and is capable of more minutesubdivisions, than fame. In the pursuit of wealth, men are led,by an attention to their own interest, to promote the welfare ofeach other; their advantages are reciprocal; the benefits whicheach is anxious to acquire for himself, he reaps in the greatestabundance from the union and connexions of society. The pur-suits of vanity (egotism) are quite contrary. The portion oftime and attention which mankind are willing to spare from theirvocations and pleasures, to devote to the admiration of eachother, is so small, that every successful adventurer is felt to haveimpaired the common stock. The success of one is the disap-pointment of multitudes. For, though there be many rich, manyvirtuous, many wise men, fame must necessarily be the portionof but few. Hence every vain man, every man in whom vanityis the ruling passion, regarding his rival as his enemy, is stronglytempted to rejoice in his miscarriage, and repine at his success.

Besides, as the passions are seldom seen in a simple, unmixedstate, so vanity, when it succeeds, is converted into arrogance;when it is disappointed (and it is often disappointed), it isexasperated into malignity, and corrupted into envy. In thiscase, the vain man commences a determined misanthropist.He detests that excellence he cannot reach. He detests hisspecies, and longs to be revenged for the unpardonable injus-tice he has sustained, in their insensibility to his merits. Helives upon the calamities of the world ; the vices and miseries ofmen are his element and his daily bread. Virtues, talents, andgenius are his natural enemies ; which he persecutes with in-stinctive eagerness and unrelenting hostility. Such a dispositionissues from the dregs of disappointed vanity, a disease whichtaints and vitiates the whole character, wherever it prevails. Itforms the heart to such a profound indifference to the welfare ofothers, that, whatever appearances he may assume, or howeverwide the circle of his seeming virtues may extend, the vain man