The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

but if they are not natural they should not be made,
and no person should be held blameworthy for not
making them. Very often the conduct that people
complain of in others is not more than the healthy
reaction of natural egoism against the grasping
rapacity of a person whose ego extends beyond its
proper limits.
The fourth maxim that we mentioned consists of
realising that other people spend less time in
thinking about you than you do yourself. The insane
victim of persecution mania imagines that all sorts
of people, who, in fact, have their own avocations
and interests, are occupied morning, noon, and
night in an endeavour to work a mischief to the
poor lunatic. In like manner, the comparatively
sane victim of persecution mania sees in all kinds
of actions a reference to himself which does not, in
fact, exist. This idea, of course, is flattering to his
vanity. If he were a great enough man, it might be
true. The actions of the British Government for
many years were mainly concerned to thwart
Napoleon. But when a person of no special