of tradition; whilst
we retain a lively and deep interest in those who are constantly
before our eyes, even if they be only pet animals. This shows how
much men are limited by their senses, and how true is the remark that
Goethe makes in _Tasso_ about the dominant influence of the present
moment:--

_Die Gegenwart ist eine maechtige Goettin_[1]

[Footnote 1: Act iv., se. 4.]

_Friends of the house_ are very rightly so called; because they are
friends of the house rather than of its master; in other words, they
are more like cats than dogs.

Your friends will tell you that they are sincere; your enemies are
really so. Let your enemies' censure be like a bitter medicine, to be
used as a means of self-knowledge.

A friend in need, as the saying goes, is rare. Nay, it is just the
contrary; no sooner have you made a friend than he is in need, and
asks for a loan.

SECTION 34. A man must be still a greenhorn in the ways of the
world, if he imagines that he can make himself popular in society by
exhibiting intelligence and discernment. With the immense majority
of people, such qualities excite hatred and resentment, which are
rendered all the harder to bear by the fact that people are obliged to
suppress--even from themselves--the real reason of their anger.

What actually takes place is this. A man feels and perceives that the
person with whom he is conversing is intellectually very much his
superior.[1]

[Footnote 1: Cf. _Welt als Wills und Vorstellung_, Bk. II. p. 256 (4th
Edit.), where I quote from Dr. Johnson, and from Merck, the friend
of Goethe's youth. The former says: _There is nothing by which a man
exasperates most people more, than by displaying a superior ability of
brilliancy in conversation. They seem pleased at the time, but their
envy makes them curse him at their hearts._ (Boswells _Life of
Johnson_ aetat: 74).]

He thereupon secretly and half unconsciously concludes that his
interlocutor must form a proportionately low and limited estimate of
his abilities. That is a method of reasoning--an enthymeme--which
rouses the bitterest feelings of sullen and rancorous hatred. And so
Gracian is quite right in saying that the only way to win affection
from people is to show the most animal-like simplicity of
demeanor--_para ser bien quisto, el unico medio vestirse la piel del
mas simple de los brutos_.[1]

[Footnote 1: _Translator's Note_.--Balthazar Graeian, _Oraculo manual,
y arte de prudencia_, 24