177 



than any other nobleman in the kingdom ; or if the king were 

 master of all Europe, would they not respectively feel much 

 higher satisfaction in their superiority ? — Hence the pleasure 

 arising from the gratification of the desire of superioritj', in- 

 creases with the number of equals over whom it is attained, 

 and consequently is not equal in the cases above mentioned. 

 ' He also thinks, " that the pleasures of ambition, which 

 " are supposed to be peculiar to high stations, are in reality 

 " common to all conditions." — (So they are, but not in the 

 same degree.) " The farrier who shoes a horse better, and 

 " is in greater request for skill than any man within 10 miles 

 " of him, possesses, for all that 1 can see, the delight of dis- 

 *' tinctlon as truly and substantially as the statesman, the 

 " soldier and the scholar, who have filled all Europe Avith 

 " the reputation of their wisdom, their valour, or their 

 " knowledge." 



Here the doctor confounds the pleasure of ambition, which 

 consists in the desire of power, with that oi distinction, which 

 denotes the desire of attracting attention ; and to this latter 

 his examples apply. What he means by substantialli/, as dis- 

 tinct from truly, I do not understand ; but is it possible that 

 he should confound the simple pleasure of the farrier, arising 

 from the trifling; regard of his few nci2:hbours, with the corn- 

 j7/e>i' multifarious pleasure of the statesman, who has promoted 

 the prosperity of his country, of the soldier who has valiantly 

 defended it, or of the philosojjher, who is honoured and res- 

 voL. XT. 2 a pected 



