PRIDE, POWER, AND ARROGANCE
Pride is both a virtue and a vice. If
you heal a sick person , you can be proud of your achievement. But if you kill him
out of enmity, you commit a sin, and your action is most vicious.
Forgiveness, not revenge , is a noble
deed. Humility, not pride, is venerable. Pride is not the noblest feature of
any quality you may be having. Humility makes your actions, in spite of your powerfulness,
lovely and admirable.
Power should be constructive, not
destructive. It ought to be forward-looking , not regressive. Napoleon Bonaparte ( 1769-1821), the Former Emperor of France,
said : Even in war moral power is to
physical as there parts out of four.
An American banker and journalist
Frank A. Vanderlip (1864-1937) said : Since nothing is settled until it is
settled right, no matter how unlimited power a man may have, unless he
exercises it fairly and justly his actions will return to plague him.
Misuse of power anywhere is sinful
and condemnable.
The French philosopher and Catholic
writer Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) believed: Justice without power is
inefficient; power without justice is tyranny. Justice without power is
opposed, because there are always wicked men. Power without justice is soon
questioned. Justice and power must therefore be brought together, so that
whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.
Arrogance is defined as “ the quality of being unpleasantly proud, behaving as if one is more important or
superior to others. It involves an exaggerated self-opinion, often
characterized by rudeness, contempt, and the dismissal of others’ views.”
The Scottish philosopher and
historian David Hume (1711-1776) said: When men are most sure and arrogant they
are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper
deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities.
Finally, before concluding, this quote
by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910): An arrogant person considers
himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a
person’s main task in life ---becoming a better person.
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G.R.Kanwal
5th April 2026
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