as the determinants of high status keep shifting, so, too, naturally, will the triggers of status anxiety be altered.

A simple problem of arithmetic: there are far more ambitions than there are grand destinies available.

Rather than teasing the buyers, we may blame the society in which they lived for setting up a situation where the purchase of ornate cabinets felt psychologically necessary and rewarding, where respect was dependent on baroque displays. Rather than a tale of greed, the history of luxury could more accurately be read as a record of emotional trauma. It is the legacy of those who have felt pressured by the disdain of others to add an extraordinary amount to their bare selves in order to signal that they too may lay a claim to love.

Wealth is not an absolute. It is relative to desire. Every time we yearn for something we cannot afford, we grow poorer, whatever our resources. And every time we feel satisfied with what we have, we can be counted as rich, however little we may actually possess.

Sublime places repeat in grand terms a lesson that ordinary life typically teaches viciously: that the universe is mightier than we are, that we are frail and temporary and have no alternative but to accept limitations on our will; that we must bow to necessities greater than ourselves.

For paranoia about 'what other people think' : remember that only some hate, a very few love - and almost all just don't care.

The largest part of what we call 'personality' is determined by how we've opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness".