虛榮與驕傲是截然不同的兩件事,盡管字面上常常當作同義詞用,一個人可以驕傲而不虛榮。驕傲多半不外乎我們對我們自己的估價,虛榮卻牽涉到我們希望別人對我們的看法。
"Pride, " observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of her reflections, "is a very common failing, I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed; that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary. Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us. "
"If I were as rich as Mr. Darcy, " cried a young Lucas, who came with his sisters, "I should not care how proud I was. I would keep a pack of foxhounds, and drink a bottle of wine a day. "
"Then you would drink a great deal more than you ought, " said Mrs. Bennet; "and if I were to see you at it, I should take away your bottle directly. "
The boy protested that she should not; she continued to declare that she would, and the argument ended only with the visit.