Preview

Pride: Virtue or Vice

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1808 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pride: Virtue or Vice
According to Richard Taylor, “Pride is not a matter of manners or demeanor. One does not become proud simply by affecting certain behavior or projecting an impression that has been formed in the mind. It is a personal excellence much deeper than this. In fact, it is the summation of most of the other virtues, since it presupposes them.” Philosophers and social psychologists have noted that pride is a complex emotion. However, while some philosophers such as Aristotle consider pride to be a profound virtue, others consider it a sin. The view of pride as a sin has permeated Christian theology dating back to Christian monasticism. However, it wasn’t until the late 6th century that pride was elevated in its ranks among the seven deadly or cardinal sins. The Bible, especially the Old Testament, has plenty to say about pride. In the book of Proverbs for example we read, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (16:18). Again in Proverbs 21:4, Scripture says, “Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the lamp of the wicked—are sin. Augustine makes the argument that pride is not just a sin but it is the root of all sin. He often used the following passage to support his claim: “The beginning of pride is when one departs from God, and his heart is turned away from his Maker. For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that has it shall pour out abomination (Sirach 10:12-13).” This paper seeks to examine Augustine’s ethics on pride and how he supports it in his Confessions.
Augustine considered pride to be the fundamental sin, the sin from which all other sins are born. Augustine believed the devil’s sin was rooted in pride. In his Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love, he states that, “Some of the angels…in their pride and impiety rebelled against God, and were cast down from their heavenly abode,” and that the devil “was with his associates in crime exalted in pride, and by that exaltation was with them cast down.” Pride has a certain fascination,



Bibliography: Augustine, Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992) Augustine, The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 1966) Cardinal sin. Dictionary.com. © Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cardinal sin (accessed: February 21, 2013). Taylor, Richard. Ethics, Faith, and Reason (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985) Wogaman, J Westminster John Knox, 1993) -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Richard Taylor, Ethics, Faith, and Reason. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall 1985), 98 [ 2 ] Inc.. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cardinal sin (accessed: February 21, 2013). [ 3 ]. Augustine, The Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 1966), [ 4 ] Westminster John Knox, 1993), 57. [ 7 ]. Augustine, Confessions, translated by Henry Chadwick (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 32.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Pride is unpredictable and often damaging. It has the power to enslave people, driving people to the edge. It clouds their judgment, awakening the cruelty, sheltered deep within their human mind. Pride plays a big role in the short story, “The Scarlet Ibis.” The brother desires pride so greatly that he sacrifices his brother, Doodle, to get it, regardless of the consequences.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Crucible

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Many people would never consider pride as to being a sin, however the Catholic Church considers pride to be a sin because pride is about "me", "myself" and "I", they only worry about themselves and no one else. Although people might not believe it, today's society is filled with pride; from being proud of your heritage to being proud of your sexuality, pride is all around. However, the Catholic Church believes that pride is the foremost among the seven deadly sins because all a prideful person thinks only of himself, and that is the exact opposite of what the Catholic Church teaches. The Catholic Church wants them to forget about themselves and go out and help others. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Reverend Hale, Elizabeth and John Proctor all have a great deal of pride which in each case eventually decided their fate.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Augustine’s Confessions, books I-IX describes Augustine’s life and places an emphasis on his idea of contemptu mundi, and the soul’s journey is back to heaven. In Augustine’s On Christian…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Scarlett Ibis-Pride

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, to some it can be a valuable character trait,…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As we were told when we were young children, too much of a good thing is not a good thing. The same phrase can apply to aspects in lives now. Literature shows how pride can be a good thing, but too much of it is not. In fact, the opposite of pride, humility, is an extremely important value. The Bible and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology both show how a lack of the value humility will result in consequence through characterization and plot.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The bible warns of the pride within ones heart and elated perception of self that grips them deceived. Its apparent in both stories the essence of deceit and how it handicaps the mind. The author’s choice of words and style of writing illuminates the overall presence of sin and darkness, and juxtaposing it’s obvious the travesty in lives today.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus vs Oedipus

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Pride is one of the seven deadly sins. Its effect on people, however, is often subtle at the start and hard to detect. Most proud people will never consider themselves to be truly proud until they come face to face with the consequences of their pride. Sophocles and Shakespeare both address this dilemma in their plays Oedipus and Othello. Through their nobility, their tragic flaws, the fall these flaws cause, and the suffering and wisdom they derive from these falls, Oedipus and Othello reveal the true character of the tragic hero and show the devastating consequences of pride.…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride can be a very powerful thing. It can be very good in helping build self esteem but, too much pride will cause harm to his/her self or others close to them. In Sophocles play, Antigone, the Characters Creon and Antigone show very distinct types of pride which put them in very unpleasant situations. Creon's pride is excessive and causes him to become the tragic hero of the story. Antigone's pride got to her head which didn't allow her to think about how servere the consequences are.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antigone Response

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the Greek drama, "Antigone", written by Sophocles in 442 BC, a blind prophet named Teiresias tried to change the stubborn mind of Creon, the king of Thebes. Creon was determined to punish his deceased son, Polyneices, for being a traitor to the kingdom by not giving his body a proper burial. Teiresias tried to teach Creon otherwise. Creon always listened to the wise teachings of Teiresias, but after listening intently to the words that he spoke, Creon began to believe that Teiresias was against him, and that someone was bribing Teiresias to spread lies. After a bit of arguing back and forth, Creon began to believe that his pride got in the way of God's truth, and that he should forgive those who he wronged. All throughout the book, Creon is the perfect person to show how that "pride is the only crime". There are three ways in which I can prove that this quote is ideal for someone dealing with arrogance: by using the play itself, real life situations, and most importantly through God's own Word.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “There was a pear tree near out vineyard, full of fruit, but it was not tempting because of its taste or appearance. Many of us lewd young me went late one night (having prolonged our street sports as was our custom) to shake and rob that tree. We took huge loads, not so we could eat them, and after tasting the pears, we threw the, to the hogs. We did this because we wanted to and because it was prohibited. Behold my heart, O God, behold my heart, which you pitied in the bottom of the bottomless pit. Let my heart tell you what it sought there: that I should be gratuitously evil, having no temptation to wickedness, but wickedness itself. It was foul, and I loved it; I loved to perish, I loved my own faults, not that for which I was at fault, but the fault itself. Foul, soul, falling from your heavens to utter destruction, seeking nothing through the shame, only the shame itself!” (Excerpt by Augustine of Hippo from his Autobiography, Confessions)…

    • 905 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Pride: the Tragic Flaw

    • 2081 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Though sometimes used in stories or fables as something to aspire to, such as being proud of one 's work, pride is looked upon as quite the opposite in Beowulf. In Seamus Heaney 's translation, pride is depicted as an unfortunate, often fatal, flaw which will eventually lead to tragedy or the untimely demise of the character cursed with this trait. Many of the main characters display this affliction, several examples being Hrothgar, whose pride leads to the deaths of his people, Beowulf, whose pride leads to his demise, and even Wiglaf, whose pride foreshadows tragedy in his future. Even though pride may seem a useful asset at times, it will almost never remain so. In the vast majority of cases, the pride held by a person will lead to tragedy either for themselves, or someone else.…

    • 2081 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride In The Crucible

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the Christian faith or tradition, there are seven deadly sins that are considered the worst thing one can do, leading to that person’s downfall. Of all the sins, pride is considered the most negative character trait one can have. It is defined as; a deep pleasure derived from esteem in one’s own achievement, a super confidence and high esteem in one’s own abilities and inordinate vanity. Pride fools a person into thinking the source of greatness is only found within themselves. Pride considered to be the most negative attribute for the reason of being the key to all other deadly sins. All in all, pride corrupts the common good. In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucibles”, pride foreshadowed the the downfall of Salem.…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Antigone-Pride Essay

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages

    (C.S. Lewis). Pride can take over the lives of people who have it within them. It is ok to feel proud but if the sense of pride is exaggerated it will lead to arrogance and therefore to problems. In the book Antigone, by Sophocles, pride is displayed as good and bad. Pride can have a big impact on people when it is taken for granted. Sophocles uses such powerful language and gives such great imagery with his words that it is apparent pride is greatly implied in his book. The conflicts and morals being taught to us in his book states that pride is something that should be gained and kept with honor.…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story “Scarlet Ibis” written by James Hurst, a theme is shown to the reader that sometimes, pride can be a destructive weapon in life if we use it to look down on others. The narrator starts the story by jumping into the past, he tells a story where he was ashamed of having a mentally and physically disabled brother, and spends all summer teaching him how to walk. However, he does this out of embarrassment and shame not out of love. One stormy night, Brother leaves Doodle behind alone forcing him to run faster, but he pushes too far, causing Doodle’s death. From Doodle’s death, he realizes how his pride got in his way of accepting Doodle for the way he is not for what he isn’t. In the story, he admits “I did not know then that pride…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Arrogance is an emotion which almost all cultures love to hate. Even from antiquity, this most human of emotions, sometimes given names such as “pride”, “hubris”, “elitism”, and “pretentiousness”, has appeared as a force of undoing, evil, and destruction in drama, mythology, scripture, poetry, art, and literature. Historical examples abound, from the view of hubris as the principal crime one could commit in ancient Greece (and therefore its use as the principal flaw by which the protagonist is undone in Greek tragedy) to the mention of Pride as one of the Seven Deadly Sins in Christianity. The modern era doesn’t escape either: “pride comes before the fall” has become a common maxim, while commonly sought-after qualities in an employee include…

    • 1636 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics