Eighteenth Century Collection Online Demo

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

above what he had formerly lived in, may be assured that the congratulations of his best friends are not all of them perfectly sincere. An upstart, though of the greatest merit, is generally disagreeable, and a sentiment of envy commonly pre|vents us from heartily sympathising with his joy. If he has any judgment he is sensible of this, and instead of appear|ing to be elated with his good fortune, he endeavours, as much as he can, to smother his joy, and keep down that elevation of mind with which his new circumstances naturally inspire him. He affects the same plainness of dress, and the same modesty of behaviour, which became him in his former station. He redoubles his attention to his old friends, and endea|vours more than ever to be humble, as|siduous, and complaisant. And this is the behaviour which in his situation we most approve of; because we expect, it seems, that he should have more sympa|thy with our envy and aversion to his happiness, than we have with his hap|piness. It is seldom that with all this he succeeds. We suspect the sincerity of his humility, and he grows weary of this
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Title
The theory of moral sentiments: By Adam Smith, ...
Author
Smith, Adam, 1723-1790.
Canvas
Page 86
Publication
London :: printed for A. Millar; and A. Kincaid and J. Bell, in Edinburgh,
1759.

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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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