Vanity (n.) is so closely allied to virtue, and to love the fame of laudable actions approaches so near the love of laudable actions for their own sake, that these passions are more capable of mixture than any other kinds of affection; and it is almost impossible to have the latter without some degree of the former.
Vanity (n.) among the Suevi was martial: they dressed their hair not to love or be loved but to look more terrible to their enemies.
Vanity (n.) is the importunate demand for praise that encroaches on other people's secret vanity — and betrays that you do not feel entitled to it.
Vanity (n.) has a tiny jurisdiction: my name is known to so few that hardly anyone can flatter or mortify me, whereas tyranny anywhere in any age stirs my repugnance.
Vanity (n.) chooses talents over virtues: we display our wit, learning and bravery with care, and are more ambitious to excel in them than in the social virtues that matter far more.
Vanity (n.) is hard to escape when a man speaks long of himself — so the cure is to be short.
Vanity (n.) is so closely allied to virtue that it is almost impossible to love laudable actions without loving their fame.