“ It does not occur to us that we cannot expect others to think better of us than we think of them and the reason this does not occur to us is that our own merits are great and obvious, whereas those of others, if they exist at all, are only visible to a very charitable eye. ”
Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness (1930). copy citation
| Author | Bertrand Russell |
|---|---|
| Source | The Conquest of Happiness |
| Topic | merit reason |
| Date | 1930 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://russell-j.com/beginner/COH-TEXT.HTM |
Context
“This is a mild form of the attitude which, when exaggerated, leads on to persecution mania. We expect everybody else to feel towards us that tender love and that profound respect which we feel towards ourselves. It does not occur to us that we cannot expect others to think better of us than we think of them and the reason this does not occur to us is that our own merits are great and obvious, whereas those of others, if they exist at all, are only visible to a very charitable eye. When you hear that so-and-so has said something horrid about you, you remember the ninety-nine times when you have refrained from uttering the most just and well-deserved criticism of him, and forget the hundredth time when in an unguarded moment you have declared what you believe to be the truth about him.”
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