he necessarily imagines, and by his imagination is so disposed
that he is actually incapable of doing what he imagines he cannot do. So
long, therefore, as he imagines himself unable to do this or that thing,
so long is he not determined to do it, and consequently so long it is
impossible for him to do it. If, however, we pay attention to what
depends upon opinion alone, we shall be able to conceive it possible for
a man to think too little of himself, for it may happen that while he
sorrowfully contemplates his own weakness he will imagine himself
despised by everybody, although nothing could be further from their
thoughts than to despise him. A man may also think too little of himself
if in the present he denies something of himself in relation to a future
time of which he is not sure; for example, when he denies that he can
conceive of nothing with certitude, and that he can desire and do
nothing which is not wicked and base. We may also say that a man thinks
too little of himself when we see that, from an excess of fear or shame,
he does not dare to do what others who are his equals dare to do. This
emotion, to which I will give the name of despondency, may therefore be
opposed to pride; for as self-satisfaction springs from pride, so
despondency springs from humility, and it may therefore be defined thus:

XXIX. _Despondency_ is thinking too little of ourselves through sorrow.

_Explanation._--We are, nevertheless, often in the habit of opposing
humility to pride, but only when we attend to their effects rather than
to their nature. For we are accustomed to call a man proud who boasts
too much, who talks about nothing but his own virtues and other people's
vices, who wishes to be preferred to everybody else, and who marches
along with that stateliness and pomp which belong to others whose
position is far above his. On the other hand, we call a man humble who
often blushes, who confesses his own faults and talks about the virtues
of others, who yields to every one, who walks with bended head, and who
neglects to adorn himself. These emotions, humility and despondency, are
very rare, for human nature, considered in itself, struggles against
them as much as it can, and hence those who have the most credit for
being abject and humble are generally the most ambitious and envious.

XXX. Self-exaltation is joy with the accompanying idea of some action we
have done, which we imagine people praise.

XXXI. _Shame_ is sorr