The author suggests that pride is so resilient that it remains intact even when one consciously chooses to abandon superficial vanity.
The author describes the intellectual thrill of insight as a form of vanity, where the ability to perceive hidden truths feels like a divine power.
A cynical view that virtuous behavior is rarely sustained by its own merit and usually requires the motivation of vanity to persist.
The author confesses that human beings do not actually hate being flattered; they merely take issue with flattery that is delivered poorly or unconvincingly.
A cynical observation that public mourning is often more about validating one's own desirability than genuine grief for a lost partner.
