God has planted in man a sense of ambition, and a satisfaction arising
from the contemplation of his excelling his fellows in something deemed
valuable amongst them. It is this passion that drives men to all the
ways we see in use of signalizing themselves, and that tends to make
whatever excites in a man the idea of this distinction so very pleasant.
It has been so strong as to make very miserable men take comfort, that
they were supreme in misery; and certain it is, that, where we cannot
distinguish ourselves by something excellent, we begin to take a
complacency in some singular infirmities, follies, or defects of one
kind or other. It is on this principle that flattery is so prevalent;
for flattery is no more than what raises in a man's mind an idea of a
preference which he has not.