“ Human beings do not grow up from childhood in the possession of unearned distinctions, without pluming themselves upon them. ”
John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women (1869). copy citation
| Author | John Stuart Mill |
|---|---|
| Source | The Subjection of Women |
| Topic | childhood distinction |
| Date | 1869 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27083/27083-h/27083-h.htm |
Context
“led to believe that his vassals were really superior to himself, or to feel that he was placed in command over people as good as himself, for no merits or labours of his own, but merely for having, as Figaro says, taken the trouble to be born. The self-worship of the monarch, or of the feudal superior, is matched by the self-worship of the male. Human beings do not grow up from childhood in the possession of unearned distinctions, without pluming themselves upon them. Those whom privileges not acquired by their merit, and which they feel to be disproportioned to it, inspire with additional humility, are always the few, and the best few. The rest are only inspired with pride, and the worst sort of pride, that which values itself upon accidental advantages, not of its own achieving.”
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