The Greatest Literature Assaults the Vice of Pride

Pieter van der Heyden, “Pride (Superbia), from the series The Seven Deadly Sins.” Public domain via the Metropolitan Museum of Art

“I’m more important than you” is one of the ugliest things a person can say, and this kind of thinking contributes to most of the problems humanity creates. Racism, nationalism, sexism, etc. essentially originate in a feeling of superiority. We call this feeling of superiority pride.

People today, especially young people, are more inclined to think of pride as something good…