Eighteenth Century Collection Online Demo

The theory of moral sentiments: By Adam Smith, ...

not sufficient, that from ignorance or mis|take, esteem and approbation should some way or other be bestowed upon us. If we are conscious that we do not deserve to be so favourably thought of, and that, if the truth was known, we should be regarded with very opposite sentiments, our satisfac|tion is far from being complete. The man who applauds us either for actions which we did not perform, or for motives which had no sort of influence upon our conduct, applauds not us, but another person. We can derive no sort of satisfaction from his praises. To us they should be more mor|tifying than any censure, and should per|petually call to our minds, the most hum|bling of all reflexions, the reflexion upon what we ought to be, but what we are not. A woman who paints to conceal her ugli|ness, could derive, one should imagine, but little vanity from the compliments that are paid to her beauty. These, we should ex|pect, ought rather to put her in mind of the sentiments which her real complexion would excite, and mortify her the more by the contrast. To be pleased with such ground|less applause is a proof of the most super|ficial levity and weakness. It is what is
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Title
The theory of moral sentiments: By Adam Smith, ...
Author
Smith, Adam, 1723-1790.
Canvas
Page 246
Publication
London :: printed for A. Millar; and A. Kincaid and J. Bell, in Edinburgh,
1759.

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eccodemo/k111361.0001.001
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"The theory of moral sentiments: By Adam Smith, ..." In the digital collection Eighteenth Century Collection Online Demo. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eccodemo/k111361.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 12, 2025.
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