Topic
Vanity — the excessive concern with one's appearance, achievements, or how one is perceived by others — has been a target of moralists, satirists, and poets since antiquity. The quotes gathered here approach the subject with more nuance than simple condemnation. Vanity, these writers note, is not identical with self-respect or with the desire to do good work; it is specifically the displacement of those legitimate concerns by the substitute of reputation and appearance. The vain person substitutes the impression of quality for quality itself, the admiration of others for the development of genuine worth. These reflections trace vanity's consequences across personal, social, and political life, noting how reliably it corrupts judgment and how predictably it disappointments those who rely on it. Several voices here also note the ubiquity of vanity — the way it operates in virtually everyone to some degree — and argue that this makes honest self-examination more important than moralistic finger-pointing.
Ambition often puts Men upon doing the meanest Offices; so climbing is performed in the same Posture with creeping.
Imitation is the sincerest of flattery.