n of the Divine law, and a
disobedience of the heavenly commandments." Therefore every sin is
pride.

Obj. 3: Further, every special sin is opposed to a special virtue.
But pride is opposed to all the virtues, for Gregory says (Moral.
xxxiv, 23): "Pride is by no means content with the destruction of one
virtue; it raises itself up against all the powers of the soul, and
like an all-pervading and poisonous disease corrupts the whole body";
and Isidore says (Etym. [*De Summo Bono ii, 38]) that it is "the
downfall of all virtues." Therefore pride is not a special sin.

Obj. 4: Further, every special sin has a special matter. Now pride
has a general matter, for Gregory says (Moral. xxxiv, 23) that "one
man is proud of his gold, another of his eloquence: one is elated by
mean and earthly things, another by sublime and heavenly virtues."
Therefore pride is not a special but a general sin.

_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (De Nat. et Grat. xxix): "If he
look into the question carefully, he will find that, according to
God's law, pride is a very different sin from other vices." Now the
genus is not different from its species. Therefore pride is not a
general but a special sin.

_I answer that,_ The sin of pride may be considered in two ways.
First with regard to its proper species, which it has under the
aspect of its proper object. In this way pride is a special sin,
because it has a special object: for it is inordinate desire of one's
own excellence, as stated (A. 1, ad 2). Secondly, it may be
considered as having a certain influence towards other sins. In this
way it has somewhat of a generic character, inasmuch as all sins may
arise from pride, in two ways. First directly, through other sins
being directed to the end of pride which is one's own excellence, to
which may be directed anything that is inordinately desired.
Secondly, indirectly and accidentally as it were, that is by removing
an obstacle, since pride makes a man despise the Divine law which
hinders him from sinning, according to Jer. 2:20, "Thou hast broken
My yoke, thou hast burst My bands, and thou saidst: I will not serve."

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. For
though one may break the commandments of the Law by any kind of sin,
through contempt which pertains to pride, yet one does no