Sir 10:13

“"The gate of hell" means the beginning of sin because it is written, "The wages of sin is death," and to say "death" is equivalent to saying "hell." The Scripture also explains what constitutes the beginning of sin: "The beginning of every sin is pride." Therefore pride is the gate of hell. When one inquires concerning the causes that have produced heresies, one sees that they were born from pride because pride pushes people, in the end, toward heresies and schisms when they boast of their abilities and their holiness with the goal of attracting people to themselves but with the result of detaching them from Christ. But all heresies and schisms derive from these children of pride who will not overcome the catholic church, as it was precisely foretold, "The gates of hell will not prevail against it."”

“Who could say anything clearer or of more value? "Pride is the beginning," it says, not simply of some but "of every sin," in order to emphasize how pride is, in itself, the cause of all sins. Not only is it in itself sin, but also no sin could have been, can be or ever will be committed without pride. Every sin, in effect, is nothing other than contempt of God, leading one to trample on his commandments. And what, other than pride, inspires people to this contempt? Indeed, in the devil it showed itself to be the cause of eternal damnation, and from the angel that he was he became (precisely) the devil. And it was he who, knowing that he was cast out of heaven for the sin of pride and banished to this dark prison, and corrupting the one whom God had created innocent, with serpentine cunning he insinuated the vice of pride in humankind. He was certain that once pride, the root of every evil, was accepted, the man would then easily commit all sins, which germinate only in the proud soul.”

“For as long as we live in this life, what else do we do against malignant spirits but stand in battle array? As we have said before, the mind of a teacher is perhaps struck by some pride. But whether lest he himself perish, or lest through his example he drag others to perdition, he vigilantly and swiftly looks around himself, he gnaws at himself in his thoughts; bringing the life of his hearers to memory, he humbles himself, and in whatever ways he is able he acts lest pride rule in his mind, lest it dominate in his work. For it is written: The beginning of all sin is pride. What then will be the fruit of good work before the eyes of God, if it has rotted from the root of pride? Often, as has been said, his mind is tempted by anger; but more quickly he collects himself by looking around at himself, and pressing himself down with the weight of discipline he acts lest the motion of his mind pass into speech, lest it burst forth in voice. And it happens that the anger of a disturbed mind, where it arises through negligence, there being suffocated by judgment it dies. From this it is brought about that from conceived fault the mind brings forth virtue, because even if it was unwilling to guard itself strongly lest it rise to motion, nevertheless it strongly conquered itself in the commotion.”

“Of actual sins there is one beginning, a twofold root, a threefold fuel, and a sevenfold head or capital sin. There is one beginning, namely pride, according to what is written: The beginning of all sin is pride. Since mortal sin is an actual departure from the First Principle, and departure from the First Principle cannot occur except through contempt of Him, either in Himself or in His commandment, and contempt of the First Principle is pride: it is therefore necessary that every mortal fault or offense take its beginning from pride. But because no one despises the Supreme Principle, or His commandment in itself, except by reason of something else that he either wishes to acquire or fears to lose: hence it is necessary that every actual sin draw its origin from a twofold root, namely fear and love; which are roots of evils, though not equally primary. For every fear has its origin from love: for no one fears to lose something unless he loves to have it; and therefore fear is nourished by those things by which love too is nourished. Now disordered love regards a changeable good: and since that is threefold—interior, namely excellence; exterior, money; inferior, carnal wantonness—hence it is necessary that there be three radical fuels of actual sins, toward which when the soul is carried in a disordered manner, all actual sins arise. And because this happens according to a sevenfold manner, therefore there are seven capital sins, from which the universality of vices is generated. For our will is either disordered because it desires what is not to be desired, or because it shuns what is not to be shunned. If one desires what is not to be desired, namely a good as of now, or a changeable or apparent good: it is either interior, and thus it is private excellence, which pride loves; or it is exterior, and thus it is sufficiency, which avarice loves; or inferior, and thus either delectable because it serves the conservation of the individual, and thus it is nourishment, which is delectable according to taste and is desired by gluttony; or because it serves the conservation of the species, and thus it is sexual union, which is delectable according to touch and is desired by lust. If, however, the will is disordered because it flees what is not to be fled, this can occur in three ways: for it either flees according to the perverse instinct of the rational power, and thus it is envy; or according to the instinct of the irascible power, and thus it is wrath; or according to the instinct of the concupiscible power, and thus it is sloth. Whence, because there are four principal objects of desire and three powers according to whose instinct there is flight, therefore the capital sins are seven in number.”