He is censured by some, but envied and followed by others.An individual may, on the other hand, somewhat advance the prosperity of the whole society, or at least of the order in it in which he is himself ranked, by checking his vanity when it urges him to adopt luxuries, permitted to his fortune, though not demanded by it.The nobleman who, in equipage and lackeys, keeps somewhat within the limits which his revenues would afford; the tradesman's wife, who dresses in calico instead of silk, are both, to a small extent, public benefactors.Luxury, indeed, generally advances or recedes slowly, and can scarce be successfully encouraged or opposed but by degrees.There is always, and in every society, one line, to go beyond which is acknowledged extravagance, and another, not to come up to which is accounted sordid parsimony.Crassus was ashamed to use some of his plate, the cost, even to him, appeared too great.(113) It is invidious to run to expenses which others cannot follow, and his guests would have felt themselves too much outshone.He would have been more severely censured, had he ventured to entertain them in the simple style of their ancestors.
It were very difficult to discover a society where vanity does not more or less direct the necessary expenditure.Could this be done, we should there find things estimated solely by their physical qualities, and as these differ greatly, there would be great differences in the estimate made of each.Whatever could really set forth to advantage the beauty or grace of form or feature, would be proportionally prized, as would real beauty in articles of furniture, and in the form and decorations of apartments.
But under this supposition, other circumstances being equal, that would always be preferred which was cheapest.If two articles, therefore, were presented, of which the one was of much greater real beauty than the other, but also much more expensive, though it might be that the former would be preferred, its high cost would be esteemed a defect, and would proportionally diminish the pleasure yielded by it.Very expensive articles would, if possible, be avoided.A very costly dress, for instance, would affect the mind of such spectators disagreeably, as auguring either a want of taste, or want of beauty in the wearer, requiring much adventitious aid to help out the deficiency.It would produce a disagreeable feeling, somewhat similar to that caused by the view of a profuse expenditure of animal power, bringing about only a small effect, and impressing, therefore, with an idea of defective mechanism.In such a society the notions of.most people, and therefore the general rules of conduct, would in this respect be completely different from what they generally are.
Sometimes, though rarely, this passion instead of leading to dissipation, has an effect similar to an enlarged providence, and causes the formation of instruments of slowly returning orders.This is chiefly remarkable in buildings intended to be permanent.If the materials and workmanship of these are not substantial, and such as insure durability to the edifice, the defect is commonly perceptible, and is ridiculed as proceeding from poverty, or from dread of expense.The vanity of the rich man, therefore, here excites him to work for succeeding generations, that he may give the present a high idea of the extent of his resources.He besides, in this way, hopes to make it apparent to his co-temporaries, that a monument of his prosperity and magnificence will descend to future times.The same observation will apply to public works undertaken by a proud and extravagant government.Vanity is always an operator in their formation, and therefore their construction is never altogether regulated by the strength of the accumulative principle, nor are they instruments of the orders which it would indicate."The proud minister of an ostentatious court may frequently take pleasure in executing a work of splendor and magnificence, such as a great highway, which is frequently seen by the principal nobility, whose applause not only flatters his vanity, but even contributes to support his interest at court.But to execute a great number of little works, in which nothing that can be done can make any great appearance, or excite the smallest degree of admiration in any traveller, and which, in short, have nothing to recommend them but their extreme utility, is a business which appears in every respect too mean and paltry to merit the attention of so great a magistrate.Under such an administration, therefore, such works are almost always entirely neglected." (114) It is, however, to be observed, that in regulating public works, and other public affairs, men ought to pay more attention to the concerns of a distant futurity than in the management of their private affairs.A century is a small part of the existence of a nation, though it includes that of several generations of individuals.In statesman, therefore, in the affairs of states, the accumulative principle should be strong.Great durability, consequently, in public works, is always desirable.In like manner governments should borrow on different principles from individuals.No one, for instance, now disputes that it should have been the policy of Great Britain to have borrowed as much on long annuities as possible.The misfortune is, that statesmen generally think of themselves more than of their country, and instead of grappling with present evils, let them grow, content if they grow quietly and imperceptibly, and do not threaten to deprive them of the gratification of maintaining the pride of their power for a few years'
