In the past he had been what he was without thought, self-appraisal.
The student begins by studying himself, an exercise in self-appraisal which need not by any means involve self-depreciation.
Then look at it this way: the assumption had been a folly and a vanity and a failure in self-appraisal; therefore dismiss it.
For purposes of study he may be all things to all men, but let him see to it that he is not warped in his own self-appraisal.
A formal evaluation of property by an expert, used to establish its market value.