47. Pride is the root of vices and of all evils. — That this Leviathan might fall in all the things spoken of above, pride alone smites itself. For it would not have withered through all those branches of vices, had it not first rotted at the root through this. For it is written: The beginning of all sin is pride (Sir. 10:15). For through this the enemy himself fell; through this he laid low the man who followed him. With that same weapon he assailed the salvation of our immortality by which he extinguished the life of his own blessedness. But for this reason the Lord set it at the end of His discourse, so that, when after all evils He named the pride of this Leviathan, He might indicate what was worse than all evils. And moreover, by the very fact that it is placed at the bottom, it is shown to be the root of the vices.
For just as the root is hidden below, yet from it the branches spread outward, so pride conceals itself within, yet from it manifest vices at once sprout forth. No evils would come out into the open, unless this first bound fast the man who was falling in secret. This it is that makes the mind of this Leviathan boil like a pot. Whence also it shakes human minds in a certain fever of madness, but through open works it shows how, once shaken, it overturns the soul. For within it first bubbles up in exaltation what afterwards foams outwardly in the deed. 48. It attacks not one virtue only, as the other vices do, but all.
— But since the occasion for a discussion of pride has offered itself, we ought to examine it more subtly and carefully, and to show how great and of what kind it comes upon human minds, and to whom and in what manner it creeps in. For the other vices assail only those virtues by which they themselves are destroyed, so that anger, for instance, attacks patience, gluttony attacks abstinence, lust attacks continence. But pride, which we have called the root of the vices, is by no means content with the extinction of a single virtue, but rears itself up against all the members of the soul, and, like a general and pestilential disease, corrupts the whole body; so that whatever is done under its invasion, even if it appears to be a virtue, is thereby rendered a service not to God but to vainglory alone.
For pride, when it bursts into the mind, intercepts it like some tyrant who seizes a besieged city; and the wealthier the man it has captured, the harsher it rises in its domination, because the more the work of virtue is done without humility, the more fully it lords it over him. But whoever has received its tyranny into his captive mind suffers this first loss: that, with the eye of his heart shut, he loses the fairness of judgment. For all things that are well done by others displease him, and only those things please him which he himself has done, even wrongly.
He always despises the works of others, always admires what he himself does; because whatever he has done, he believes he has done in a singular way, and in that which he displays through desire of glory, he flatters himself through his thought; and while he judges himself to surpass all others in everything, walking about with himself through the broad spaces of his imaginings, he silently proclaims his own deeds. Sometimes indeed the mind is led to such exaltation that in that whereby it swells, it becomes unbridled even in the ostentation of its speech. But ruin follows the more easily, the more shamelessly each man exalts himself in his own eyes. Hence it is written: Before ruin the heart is exalted (Prov. 16:18). Hence it is said through Daniel: The king was walking in the palace of Babylon, and he answered and said:
Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my strength, and in the glory of my majesty (Dan. 4:30)? But how swift a vengeance repressed this swelling, He immediately added, saying: While the word was yet in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: To thee it is said, O king Nebuchadnezzar: Thy kingdom shall pass from thee, and they shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with the cattle and wild beasts; thou shalt eat hay like an ox, and seven times shall pass over thee (Dan. 4:31–32). Behold, because the swelling of the mind brought itself forth even to open words, the patience of the Judge at once burst forth even to sentence; and He struck him the more severely, the more immoderately his pride had raised itself up;
and because in enumerating he had told the good things in which he took pleasure, he heard enumerated the evils by which he should be smitten. 49. One kind of exaltation arises from secular things, another from spiritual. There is one pride of prelates, another of subjects. Humility is the mother of the virtues. What the proud build grows only for ruin. — But it must be known that this very exaltation of which we treat possesses some men from secular things, and others indeed from spiritual. For one man swells with gold, another with eloquence, another with the lowest and earthly things, another with the highest and heavenly virtues; yet it is one and the same thing that is enacted before the eyes of God, although, coming to human hearts, it is cloaked in their sight with a different garb.
For when he who formerly was proud of earthly glory is afterwards exalted over his sanctity, the exaltation has by no means forsaken his heart, but coming to him in its accustomed way, it has changed its garment so that it cannot be recognized. 50. It must also be known that this tempts prelates in one way and subjects in another. For to the prelate it suggests in his thoughts that he has risen above the rest by the merit of his life alone; and if any good things have at any time been done by him, it importunately throws these before his mind; and while it insinuates that he alone has singularly pleased God, that it may the more easily persuade what it suggests, it calls the very recompense of the power committed to him as witness to it, saying that unless almighty God discerned him to be better than these men, He would not have given all these under his rule;
and it soon lifts up his mind, and shows those who are subject to him as vile and useless, so that he no longer regards any as worthy for him to speak to with equanimity. Whence also the tranquillity of his mind is soon turned into wrath, because, while he despises all, while without measure he reproves the understanding and life of everyone, he spreads himself out into anger the more unbridledly, the more he thinks those committed to him to be unworthy of himself. 51. But on the contrary, when pride goads the heart of the subject, it strives above all to bring this about: that they utterly neglect to consider their own deeds, and always sit as judges of their ruler by silent thoughts; who, while they importunately regard in him what they ought to reprove, never see in themselves what they should correct.
Whence also they perish the more grievously, the more they turn their eyes away from themselves, because, stumbling on the road of this life, they fall while they look elsewhere. And indeed they assert themselves to be sinners, yet not so great sinners that they should be handed over to so harmful a person in governance. And while they despise his deeds, while they contemn his precepts, they roll down into such madness that they judge God not to care for human affairs, since they grieve to have been committed to one who, as by right, is reproved. And thus, while they are proud against their ruler, they also swell against the judgments of the Creator; and while they pass judgment on the life of their pastor, they also assail the very wisdom of Him who disposes all things.
But often they insolently oppose the words of their ruler, and call this very pride of voice liberty. For thus exaltation sets itself up as though for the uprightness of liberty, just as often fear too substitutes itself for humility. For as very many keep silent out of fear, and yet think they are silent out of humility, so some speak through the impatience of exaltation, and yet believe that they speak through the liberty of uprightness. But sometimes the subjects do not at all reveal the insolent things they feel; and those whose talkativeness is scarcely restrained sometimes fall dumb from the sole bitterness of inward rancor.
Qui, perdoloremmentisprocacitassuæverbasubtrahentes, cummalaloquisoleant, pejustacent, quiacumpeccantesaliquiddecorrectioneaudiunt, indignantesetiamresponsionisverbasuspendunt. Cumhisquandoaspereagitur.
These men, withdrawing the words of their insolence through the pain of their mind, when they are wont to speak evil, keep silence worse; because when, as sinners, they hear anything of correction, in their indignation they suspend even the words of a reply. When one deals harshly with them,
they often break out into the voice of complaint at this very harshness. But when their masters anticipate them gently, they are more grievously indignant at this very humility by which they have been forestalled, and their mind is the more vastly inflamed, the more considerately it is judged weak. These men, verily, because they know not humility, which is the mother of the virtues, lose the profit of their labor, even if there are any good things that they seem to do; because the sturdy loftiness of a rising building is not made firm which is by no means solidified upon the rock through the strength of a foundation. Therefore what the proud build grows only for ruin, because before the mass of the building they do not provide the foundations of humility. Whom we well betray from within, if in few words we show them in their outward doings. 52. The image of the proud man.
— For in all who swell with proud thought within themselves there is clamor in speech, bitterness in silence, dissoluteness in mirth, fury in sadness, unseemliness in action, seemliness in mere appearance, uprightness in gait, rancor in reply. The mind of such men is always strong to inflict insults, weak to bear them; slow to obey, but importunate in provoking others; sluggish toward those things which it both ought and is able to do, but ready for those things which it neither ought nor is able to do. It is bent by no exhortation to that which it does not spontaneously seek, but it seeks to be compelled to that which it secretly desires; for while it fears to become cheap through its own desire, it chooses to endure force upon its very own will. 53.
An exhortation to humility. — Therefore, since we have said that human minds are tempted in one way from secular things and in another from spiritual, let those men hear: All flesh is grass, and its glory as the flower of the field (Isa. 40:6). And let these hear what is said to certain men after miracles: I know not whence you are; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity (Luke 13:27). Let those men hear: If riches abound, set not your heart upon them (Ps. 62:10). Let these hear that the foolish virgins, who come with empty vessels, are shut out from the inward nuptials (Matt. 25:12). Again, since we have said before that prelates are tempted in one way and subjects in another, let those men hear what is said by a certain wise man: Have they made thee a ruler?
Be not lifted up, but be among them as one of them (Sir. 32:1). Let these hear: Obey your superiors, and submit to them; for they watch, as those who must render an account for your souls (Heb. 13:17). Let those men hear, when they glory over the power they have received, that which is said with burning voice to the rich man by Abraham: Remember, son, that thou didst receive good things in thy life (Luke 16:25). Let these hear, when they break out into complaints against their rulers, that which is answered by the voices of Moses and Aaron to the murmuring people: Let not your murmuring be against us, but against the Lord. For what are we (Exod. 16:8)? Let those men hear: They shall be troubled at His presence, the father of orphans and the judge of widows (Ps. 68:5).
Let these hear that which is said against the obstinacy of subjects: He who resists the power resists the ordinance of God (Rom. 13:1). Let all together hear: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Let all hear: Every one who exalts his heart is unclean before God (Prov. 16:5, according to the Hebrew and the Septuagint). Let all hear: Why art thou proud, O earth and ashes (Sir. 10:9)? Against the plague of this sickness let us all hear what the Mistress, Truth, teaches, saying: Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Matt. 11:29). 54. God, being humble, teaches that man is not to be proud.
— For to this end the only-begotten Son of God took upon Himself the form of our infirmity; to this end He appeared invisible, not only visible, but even despised; to this end He endured the mockeries of insults, the reproaches of derision, and the torments of sufferings, that God, being humble, might teach man not to be proud. How great, then, is the virtue of humility, for whose sake alone to be truly taught, He who without measure is great was made small even unto the Passion! For because the pride of the devil furnished the origin of our perdition, the humility of God has been found the instrument of our redemption. For our enemy, created great among all things, willed to appear exalted above all things.
But our Redeemer, remaining great above all things, deigned to become small among all things. 55. What the author of death teaches, and what the founder of life. — But we better both uncover the cause of exaltation and lay open the foundations of humility, if in brief remembrance we touch upon what the author of death says, and what the founder of life says. For the former says: I will ascend into heaven (Isa. 14:13); but the latter says through the Prophet: My soul is filled with evils, and my life has drawn near to hell (Ps. 88:3). The former says: Above the stars of heaven I will exalt my throne (Isa. 14:13); the latter says to the human race, expelled from the seats of paradise: Behold, I come quickly, and I will dwell in the midst of thee (Zech. 2:10). The former says:
I will sit on the mount of the covenant, in the sides of the north (Isa. 14:13); the latter says: I am a worm, and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people (Ps. 22:6). The former says: I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High (Isa. 14:14); the latter, whereas He was in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant (Phil. 2:6–7); and through His members He speaks, saying: Lord, who is like unto Thee (Ps. 35:10)? The former speaks through his members, saying: I know not the Lord, and I will not let Israel go (Exod. 5:2). The latter says through Himself: If I should say that I know Him not, I should be like unto you, a liar; but I know Him, and I keep His word (John 8:55).
The former says: The rivers are mine, and I made them (Ezek. 29:9); the latter says: I can of Mine own self do nothing (John 5:30), and again: My Father who abides in Me, He does the works (John 14:10). The former, showing all the kingdoms, says: To thee will I give all this power and their glory, for they are delivered to me, and to whomsoever I will I give them (Luke 4:6); the latter says: My cup indeed you shall drink, but to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to give you, but to those for whom it is prepared by My Father (Matt. 20:23). The former says: You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5); the latter says: It is not yours to know the times or the moments which the Father has put in His own power (Acts 1:7).
The former, that the divine will might be despised and his own be able to be urged, says: Why has God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree of paradise (Gen. 3:1)? And a little after: For God knows that on whatsoever day you shall eat of it, your eyes shall be opened (Gen. 3:5); the latter says: I seek not My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (John 5:30). The former speaks through his members, saying: Let no meadow escape our luxury; let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither; let us everywhere leave the signs of our joy (Wis. 2:8); the latter forewarns His members, saying: You shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice (John 16:20).
The former teaches the minds subject to him nothing other than to seek the summit of loftiness, to transcend all things equal by the swelling of the mind, to pass over the fellowship of all men by lofty exaltation, and to raise themselves up even against the power of the Creator, as is said of these same men through the Psalmist: They have passed over into the disposition of the heart; they have thought and spoken wickedness; they have spoken iniquity on high (Ps. 73:7–8); the latter, coming to the spittings, to the blows, to the buffetings, to the crown of thorns, to the cross, to the lance, and to death, admonishes His members, saying: If any man serves Me, let him follow Me (John 12:26). 56. Pride is the most evident sign of reprobation; humility, of election.
— Since, therefore, our Redeemer rules the hearts of the humble, and this Leviathan is called the king of the proud, we plainly recognize that the most evident sign of the reprobate is pride, but, on the contrary, of the elect is humility. When, therefore, it is known what each man possesses, it is discovered under which king he serves; for each one bears, as it were, a certain title of his work, whereby he easily shows under whose power of ruler he serves. Whence also it is said through the Gospel: By their fruits you shall know them (Matt. 7:16). Lest, therefore, the members of this Leviathan should deceive us even by doing wondrous things, the Lord has shown an open sign by which they may be detected, saying: He is king over all the children of pride.
Who, even if at times they assume a feigned appearance of humility, yet can by no means conceal themselves in all things, because their pride, not enduring to lie hidden for long, when it is covered by one action, is laid bare by another. But those who serve under the King of humility, always fearful and circumspect on every side, fight against the darts of exaltation, and, as if against oncoming blows, they guard the eye above all in their own body, while they principally watch over humility within themselves.