In his suggestive but incomplete analysis of Love, in his _Principles of
Psychology_, Mr. Herbert Spencer names as two of the emotions which
enter into it, the Love of Approbation and Self-Esteem, which he thus
defines: “To be preferred above all the world, and that by one admired
beyond all others, is to have the love of approbation gratified in a
degree passing every previous experience: especially as, to this direct
gratification of it, there must be added that reflex gratification of
it, which results from the preference being witnessed by unconcerned
persons. Further, there is the allied emotion of self-esteem. To have
succeeded in gaining such attachment from, and sway over, another, is a
practical proof of power, of superiority, which cannot fail agreeably to
excite the _amour propre_.”
This is well expressed, but the names are obviously not well chosen. It
is hardly correct to intimate that the “love of approbation” and
“self-esteem” constitute two of the group of emotions which we call
Love. What the lover _feels_ is not a “love of approbation,” etc., but
the emotion of _Pride_ at having conquered and gained possession of so
desirable a prize.