[2]
A characteristic of
noble birth is that he who possesses it is more ambitious; for all men, when
they start with any good, are accustomed to heap it up, and noble birth is a
heritage of honor from one's ancestors. Such men are prone to look down even
upon those who are as important as their ancestors,
because the same things1 are more
honorable and inspire greater vanity when remote than when they are recent.
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1 i.e., the advantages and distinctions the family possessed of old; such distinctions, when possessed by those of later date, are less thought of.
Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 22, translated by J. H. Freese. Aristotle. Cambridge and London. Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. 1926.
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