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"Pride. An inordinate esteem of oneself. It is inordinate because it is contrary to the truth. It is essentially an act or disposition of the will desiring to be considered better than a person really is. Pride may be expressed in different ways: by taking personal credit for gifts or possessions, as if they had not been received from God; by glorying in achievements, as if they were not primarily the result of divine goodness and grace; by minimizing one's defects or claiming qualities that are not actually possessed; by holding oneself superior to others or disdaining them because they lack what the proud person has; by magnifying defects of others or dwelling on them. When pride is carried to the extent that a person is unwilling to acknowledge dependence on God and refuses to submit his or her will to God or lawful authority, it is a grave sin. The gravity arises from the fact that a person shows contempt for God or of those who take his place. Otherwise, pride is said to be imperfect and venially wrong.
"While not all sins are pride, it can lead to all sorts of sins, notably presumption, ambition, vainglory, boasting, hypocrisy, strife, and disobedience. Pride strives for perverse excellence. It despises others and, depending on its perversity, even looks down upon God. The remedies for pride are a sincere knowledge of oneself, the acceptance of daily humiliations, avoidance of even the least self-complacency, humble acknowledgment of one's faults, and prayerful communion with God" (Hardon, 342).
Summa Theologica: Part I of Second Part Q. 84 Art. 2
Whether pride is the beginning of every sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that pride is not the beginning of every sin. For
the root is a beginning of a tree, so that the beginning of a sin seems to
be the same as the root of sin. Now covetousness is the root of every sin,
as stated above [1862](A[1]). Therefore it is also the beginning of every
sin, and not pride.
Objection 2: Further, it is written (Ecclus. 10:14): "The beginning of the
pride of man is apostasy [Douay: 'to fall off'] from God." But apostasy from
God is a sin. Therefore another sin is the beginning of pride, so that the
latter is not the beginning of every sin.
Objection 3: Further, the beginning of every sin would seem to be that which
causes all sins. Now this is inordinate self-love, which, according to
Augustine (De Civ. Dei xiv), "builds up the city of Babylon." Therefore
self-love and not pride, is the beginning of every sin.
On the contrary, It is written (Ecclus. 10:15): "Pride is the beginning of
all sin."
I answer that, Some say pride is to be taken in three ways. First, as
denoting inordinate desire to excel; and thus it is a special sin. Secondly,
as denoting actual contempt of God, to the effect of not being subject to
His commandment; and thus, they say, it is a generic sin. Thirdly, as
denoting an inclination to this contempt, owing to the corruption of nature;
and in this sense they say that it is the beginning of every sin, and that
it differs from covetousness, because covetousness regards sin as turning
towards the mutable good by which sin is, as it were, nourished and
fostered, for which reason covetousness is called the "root"; whereas pride
regards sin as turning away from God, to Whose commandment man refuses to be
subject, for which reason it is called the "beginning," because the
beginning of evil consists in turning away from God.
Now though all this is true, nevertheless it does not explain the mind of
the wise man who said (Ecclus. 10:15): "Pride is the beginning of all sin."
For it is evident that he is speaking of pride as denoting inordinate desire
to excel, as is clear from what follows (verse 17): "God hath overturned the
thrones of proud princes"; indeed this is the point of nearly the whole
chapter. We must therefore say that pride, even as denoting a special sin,
is the beginning of every sin. For we must take note that, in voluntary
actions, such as sins, there is a twofold order, of intention, and of
execution. In the former order, the principle is the end, as we have stated
many times before (Q[1], A[1], ad 1; Q[18], A[7], ad 2; Q[15], A[1], ad 2;
Q[25], A[2]). Now man's end in acquiring all temporal goods is that, through
their means, he may have some perfection and excellence. Therefore, from
this point of view, pride, which is the desire to excel, is said to be the
"beginning" of every sin. On the other hand, in the order of execution, the
first place belongs to that which by furnishing the opportunity of
fulfilling all desires of sin, has the character of a root, and such are
riches; so that, from this point of view, covetousness is said to be the
"root" of all evils, as stated above [1863](A[1]).
This suffices for the Reply to the First Objection.
Reply to Objection 2: Apostasy from God is stated to be the beginning of
pride, in so far as it denotes a turning away from God, because from the
fact that man wishes not to be subject to God, it follows that he desires
inordinately his own excellence in temporal things. Wherefore, in the
passage quoted, apostasy from God does not denote the special sin, but
rather that general condition of every sin, consisting in its turning away
from God. It may also be said that apostasy from God is said to be the
beginning of pride, because it is the first species of pride. For it is
characteristic of pride to be unwilling to be subject to any superior, and
especially to God; the result being that a man is unduly lifted up, in
respect of the other species of pride.
Reply to Objection 3: In desiring to excel, man loves himself, for to love
oneself is the same as to desire some good for oneself. Consequently it
amounts to the same whether we reckon pride or self-love as the beginning of
every evil.
Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas
Whether pride is a sin?
Whether pride is a mortal sin?
Whether pride is the most grievous of sins?
Whether pride is the first sin of all?
Whether pride was the first man's first sin?
Whether the first man's pride consisted in his coveting God's likeness?
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pride
Pride is the excessive love of one's own excellence. It is ordinarily accounted one of the seven capital sins. St. Thomas, however, endorsing the appreciation of St. Gregory, considers it the queen of all vices, and puts vainglory in its place as one of the deadly sins.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12405a.htm
Pride - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Christian dogma, pride (or vanity) is the excessive belief in one's own abilities that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride
SUMMA THEOLOGICA: Is pride a sin?
A man is said to be proud, because he wishes to appear above (super) what he really is"; for he who wishes to overstep beyond what he is, is proud.
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/316201.htm
SUMMA THEOLOGICA: Is pride a special vice?
It must, however, be observed that this generic character of pride admits of the possibility of all vices arising from pride sometimes, but it does not imply that all vices originate from pride always.
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/316202.htm
Treatise on Sin and Vice
Pride (superbia), on the other hand is the beginning of all sins, since (i) pride in the broad sense, as an inclination toward contempt of God, is the source of the aversion by which we turn away from God and subjection to his law, whereas (ii) pride in the narrow sense of an inordinate desire for one's own excellence serves as the ultimate motive or end in the order of intention for inordinate appetites which are "fed" or facilitated by wealth.
http://www.nd.edu/~afreddos/courses/406/sin-vice.htm
The struggle with the capital sins: pride
At times we forget that God is the source of these gifts, and we attribute them to ourselves. This constitutes a disorder, for it denies, at least implicitly, that God is our first principle. In like manner we are tempted to act for self, or to gain the esteem of others, instead of acting for God, and of referring to Him all the honor. This is again a disorder, for it denies, at least in the same implicit manner, that God is our last end. Such is the twofold disorder found in this vice. We can, then, define pride as an inordinate love of self, which causes us to consider ourselves, explicitly or implicitly, as our first beginning and last end. It is a species of idolatry, for we make gods of ourselves...
http://www.tldm.org/Lent/pride.htm
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Hardon, John A. (1985). Pocket Catholic Dictionary. Abridged edition of Modern Catholic Dictionary Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
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