. And it follows that the man to open his ears widest to
flatterers is he who first flatters himself and is fondest of himself. I
grant you that Virtue naturally loves herself; for she knows herself
and perceives how worthy of love she is. But I am not now speaking of
absolute virtue, but of the belief men have that they possess virtue.
The fact is that fewer people are endowed with virtue than wish to be
thought to be so. It is such people that take delight in flattery.
When they are addressed in language expressly adapted to flatter their
vanity, they look upon such empty persiflage as a testimony to the truth
of their own praises. It is not then properly friendship at all when the
one will not listen to the truth, and the other is prepared to lie. Nor
would the servility of parasites in comedy have seemed humorous to us
had there been no such things as braggart captains. "Is Thais really
much obliged to me?" It would have been quite enough to answer "Much,"
but he must needs say "Immensely." Your servile flatterer always
exaggerates what his victim wishes to be put strongly. Wherefore,
though it is with those who catch at and invite it that this flattering
falsehood is especially powerful, yet men even of soldier and steadier
character must be warned to be on the watch against being taken in by
cunningly disguised flattery. An open flatterer any one can detect,
unless he is an absolute fool the covert insinuation of the cunning
and the sly is what we have to be studiously on our guard against. His
detection is not by any means the easiest thing in the world, for
he often covers his servility under the guise of contradiction, and
flatters by pretending to dispute, and then at last giving in and
allowing himself to be beaten, that the person hoodwinked may think
himself to have been the clearer-sighted. Now what can be more degrading
than to be thus hoodwinked? You must be on your guard against this
happening to you, like the man in the _Heiress_:

How have I been befooled! no drivelling dotards
On any stage were e'er so p1ayed upon.

For even on the stage we have no grosser representation of folly than
that of short-sighted and credulous old men. But somehow or other I have
strayed away from the friendship of the perfect, that is of the "wise"
(meaning, of course, such "wisdom" as human nature is capable of), to
the subject of vulgar, unsubstantial friendships. Let us then return to
our original theme, and