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

do not believe that any peacock envies another
peacock his tail, because every peacock is
persuaded that his own tail is the finest in the
world. The consequence of this is that peacocks
are peaceable birds. Imagine how unhappy the life
of a peacock would be if he had been taught that it
is wicked to have a good opinion of oneself.
Whenever he saw another peacock spreading out
his tail, he would say to himself:
‘I must not imagine that my tail is better than that,
for that would be conceited, but oh, how I wish it
were! That odious bird is so convinced of his own
magnificence! Shall I pull out some of his feathers?
And then perhaps I need no longer fear comparison
with him.’
Or perhaps he would lay a trap for him, and prove
that he was a wicked peacock who had been guilty
of unpeacockly behaviour, and he would denounce
him to the assembly of the leaders. Gradually he
would establish the principle that peacocks with
specially fine tails are almost always wicked, and